NOVANEWS
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Window of democracy has likely already shut (and Hillary knocks at Suleiman’s door)
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Who built the Suez Canal?
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Mike Huckabee’s ill informed and dangerous views on Israel/Palestine may end up in the White House
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Gaza Justice minister asks U.N. to follow up on the Goldstone Report
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The Bush-Obama line on Palestine: forget ’67
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American revolution
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Obama envoy to Egypt revealed to work for pro-Mubarak (and not surprisingly pro-Israel) lobby firm
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JVP leader is targeted ‘for Treason and Incitement against Jews’
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Who is afraid of BDS?
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Broad coalition of Israeli and Palestinian h.r. orgs call on UN to follow through on Goldstone Report
Window of democracy has likely already shut (and Hillary knocks at Suleiman’s door)
Feb 07, 2011
Philip Weiss
It helps to know something about Egypt if you’re writing about it. (I guess). Here’s a really smart piece by Joshua Stacher of Kent State at Foreign Affairs saying that the “democratic window has probably already closed,” that the regime has never broken down, its central institution, the military, remaining as powerful as ever. And now the gov’t is successfully playing the young demonstrators off against the ordinary citizens’ desire for normal times. Some grim excerpts (Thanks to Ibn Tufayl):
If those guiding the transition choose to direct it toward a democratic end, then it will have to include forces that are currently banned in the country, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, and individuals who have been tortured or imprisoned, such as Ayman Nour. It will have to include the youth elements from the street organizing committees as well as the irrelevant figures that head the country’s existing opposition parties. Managing such a transition from dictatorship to democracy is a massive challenge even in the best of times. The leader of the transition will therefore determine whether it results in a genuine democracy or continuous authoritarian rule. If that person is General Omar Suleiman, who was sworn in as vice president on January 30, the prospects for democracy are grim…
The protesters have been given an ambiguous choice about this transition. Go home and — perhaps — be invited to the negotiating table later, or continue protesting and be excluded from Suleiman’s negotiations. Some independent figures, such as Amr Moussa and Nabil Fahmy, have broken ranks with the protesters and met with Suleiman. Given that many of these individuals held previous appointments in Mubarak’s Egypt, protesters will likely be skeptical of their intentions as agents of change.
There is no doubt that the post-Mubarak era is afoot, but it is not necessarily a democratic one. The Egyptian military leaders that are governing the country seem content to leave Mubarak in his place so Suleiman can act as the sitting president. Indeed, even leading government officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have begun to direct their concerns to Suleiman’s office. Hence, as the protesters in Tahrir Square — and the non-protesters facing empty refrigerators and wallets at home — have begun to feel the state’s squeeze, the regime has so far maintained its ability to control how the conflict is unfolding.
When the uprising began in Egypt, many linked the events in Tunis and Cairo and declared that 2011 might be the Arab world’s 1989. Instead, 2011 is showing just how durable and adaptable the authoritarian regimes of the Arab world truly are. Faced with real challenges and moments of potential breakdown, Egypt’s military did not hesitate or even break a sweat
Who built the Suez Canal?
Feb 07, 2011
James North
My old history books gave the credit for constructing the Suez Canal to Ferdinand de Lesseps, a French developer. But he had help.
The excavation took some 10 years using forced labour (Corvée) of Egyptian workers during a certain period. Some sources estimate that over 30,000 people were working on the canal at any given period, that altogether more than 1.5 million people from various countries were employed, and that thousands of laborers died on the project.
Part of my family’s history is that my great-grandfather was unable to settle down right away after fighting with the Union Army in the American Civil War at the ferocious battles of Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. He travelled around the world, arriving in 1869 in Egypt just as the canal was opening. In Cairo, he attended one of the first performances of Verdi’s opera Aida, written for the occasion.
Those hundreds of thousands of Egyptians who actually built the Suez Canal also have descendants — who also have family memories. As they continue to bravely occupy Tahrir Square, they might be excused if they have not lost their suspicions about Western sincerity.
Mike Huckabee’s ill informed and dangerous views on Israel/Palestine may end up in the White House
Feb 07, 2011
Wayne Smith
Arutz Sheva is an Israeli news service associated with the settler movement.
I find former pastor, turned politician and political commentator, Mike Huckabee’s recent statements in Jerusalem quite inflammatory and incredibly uninformed. I am an evangelical pastor volunteering for 3 months in Israel/Palestine with an international Christian organization called Ecumenical Accompaniment Program for Palestine and Israel. Let me share my perspective of a few of Mr. Huckabee’s statements based on the “facts on the ground” as I understand them here in Israel/Palestine.
Huckabee: “My question is how would the government of the United States feel if Prime Minister Netanyahu began to dictate which people could live in the Bronx, which ones could live in Manhattan, and which could live in Queens. The Jewish settlers’ have the right to build anywhere in the place that God gave them.”
There is a semblance of logic here but East Jerusalem is not Israel’s territory to control. It is territory which it occupied by force in 1967 and illegally annexed as part of Israeli Jerusalem soon after its conquest. True, the US might not like being told who can build in the Bronx or Queens, but that analogy doesn’t apply here. It is more like the New York National Guard invading Newark, New Jersey, annexing it as part of New York City, and then severely restricting the residents in any construction while a flood of New Yorkers invaded with official support and few building limitations. Iraq conquered Kuwait by force of arms and felt it had every right to relocate Iraqi civilian population into Kuwait City but the US and the world community did not take too kindly to that whole scenario. Oh, and by the way, such a right of Jews to build wherever they want in this occupied territory is ILLEGAL. The Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory, states very clearly that “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”
Huckabee: “If Palestinians want an independent state, they should seek it from Arabs — not Israel. There are vast amounts of territory that are in the hands of Muslims, in the hands of Arabs.”
The aspiration of Palestinian nationhood is not based on a request to Israel to magnanimously give up a chunk of its sovereign territory to provide space for a Palestinian nation. It is based on international law calling upon the state of Israel to relinquish territory they have occupied and controlled by force of arms. Israel’s very right to exist is based on the UN mandate to partition Palestine, granting Israel nationhood with boundaries established through the negotiated armistice of 1948. They have no international right to control the occupied Palestinian Territories. If those occupied territories were returned to the former sovereign control of Egypt in the case of Gaza, and Jordan in the case of the West Bank, then we would be talking about calling upon Arab countries to release these territories for a Palestinian state. It is the height of injustice and ignorance to suggest that Palestinians vacate a land that they have occupied for hundreds and hundreds of years to give way to the State of Israel, the vast majority of whose population has come to this region in the last 100 years. Such a suggestion means that the 1.5 million in Gaza and 2.5 million in West Bank would follow in the footsteps of the 700,000 who fled as refugees from the area mandated for Israel in 1948.
Huckabee: “This place is the place that God gave them.”
As a fellow pastor I believe I understand what Mr. Huckabee means when he talks about this being Israel’s “God given land”, but my understanding of a just, loving and merciful God would never relegate the 4 million Palestinians who are indigenous to this area to the dust pile of history to make way for the nation of Israel. It is my belief that God not only cares about the Israeli people but He also passionately cares for and walks among this gracious, industrious and determined Palestinian people.
It is most alarming to me that Mike Huckabee, who at one time had his eye on the Oval Office and may yet again, would make such uninformed, provocative and unconstructive statements in the midst of this tension filled area. May it be that more knowledgeable, balanced and productive voices from America be raised up.
Wayne Smith has been a pastor at Praise Covenant Church in Tacoma, Washington for the past 10 years.
Gaza Justice minister asks U.N. to follow up on the Goldstone Report
Feb 07, 2011
Kate
And other news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers
13 Jewish homes approved in Sheikh Jarrah
7 Feb – Construction plans drawn up ‘with sole aim of creating trouble,’ says Meretz councilman, but head of Israel Land Fund argues, ‘Arabs should thank Jews for letting them stay free of charge on land that belongs to them’ … Aside from the approved 13, sources in the municipality said plans were in the works for hundreds of new homes.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4025141,00.html
Jerusalem set to approve contentious Jewish housing in Arab neighborhood
7 Feb – The Jerusalem Municipal Committee for Planning and Building is expected to approve today the construction of two buildings that will include 13 apartments for Jewish residents in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Backing the plan are settler organizations who currently occupy three homes in the neighborhood. Following the plan’s approval, it will be necessary to evict a number of Palestinian families living on the site in order for construction to commence. The planning committee is also expected to approve a new access road south of Har Homa, which will enable the expansion of the neighborhood.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/jerusalem-set-to-approve-contentious-jewish-housing-in-arab-neighborhood-1.341693
IOA takes hold of endowed Islamic land in central J’lem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)– The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) ordered the seizure of endowed Islamic piece of land belongs to 15 Palestinian families in central occupied Jerusalem in order to establish a settlement project. Ziyad Qawas, the guardian of this land that contains other endowed real estate, said the IOA issued an order to confiscate this land which is located west of the US consulate in Nablus street in addition to other property including a mosque, a gas station, a garage and stores built on this land.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.
Israel razes Araqib village for the 12th time
NAZARETH, (PIC)– Bulldozers of the Israeli interior ministry, escorted by big numbers of Israeli police and army forces, on Monday razed all houses in the village of Araqib in the Negev for the 12th consecutive time, Palestinian sources reported. Dr. Awad Abu Freih, the spokesman for the committee in defense of Araqib, said that the bulldozers of the so-called Israel land administration and of the interior ministry demolished all constructions in the Bedouin village and left women and children in the open, cold weather without shelter. He told the Quds Press that police and army forces encircled the village’s graveyard and assaulted the inhabitants who resorted to the cemetery for sanctuary.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd
Palestinian family ‘imprisoned’ in own home
The Al Khatib family is from the village of Hizma, a Palestinian town on the northeastern outskirts of Jerusalem. The village sits on some 10,400 dunams of land and is surrounded by five Palestinian villages: Anata, Beit Hanina, Shufa’t, Jab’a & Ar-Ram. However, in 2004 the Israeli military began clearing village land for construction of the Separation Wall. When the five-kilometer stretch of the wall cutting through Hizma was completed, the village lost about 4,318 dunams of land – and the Al Khatib family. The 24-person Palestinian family is now surrounded by the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Ze’ev, imprisoned in their own home. The village of Hizma borders the settlements of Pisgat Ze’ev, Neve Yaakov, Geva Binyamin, and Almon.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/jerusalem/3259-palestinian-family-imprisoned-in-own-home-
New pictures of the school in Eil il Hilwe [Jordan Valley]
7 February
http://www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=161:new-pictures-of-the-school-in-ein-il-hilwe&catid=15:2010&Itemid=21
Jewish settlers bulldoze archaeological sites
SALFIT, (PIC)– Jewish settlers started on Sunday to bulldoze vast areas of Deir Sama’an in Kufr Al-Dik village west of Salfit, which is famous for its archaeological sites. Eyewitnesses reported that the area is strategic and fertile and is rich in Roman relics, describing it as one of the most important archaeological sites in Salfit district. The inhabitants said that they could not enter that area for the past eight years after the establishment of a settlement outpost near it. [The word ‘Deir’ دير found in many village names means ‘monastery’ and such villages normally have archaeological sites, not necessarily Christian ones]
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2
Leading rabbi calls Israelis to prepare to build alleged temple
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)– A leading West Bank rabbi said Saturday that the Aqsa Mosque must be taken from Palestinian hold in order to pave the way for the alleged temple. “We must save the site and return it to Israeli ownership; and if we cannot build the temple on grounds of law it does not absolve us from doing what we actually are able of,” said Dov Lior, rabbi of the Karyat Arba settlement near Al-Khalil. He is also considered the chief rabbi in the occupied West Bank.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2
Fearless in the West Bank / Akiva Novick
Special: Jewish hikers ignore security warnings, go on trips throughout Judea and Samaria … Friday trips around territories under Palestinian rule have grown into a trend recently, drawing hikers from around the country. These excursions have turned into yet another territorial battle between Israelis and Palestinians in the area, keeping security forces busy … Naturally, there are those looking to cause trouble. The activist group Garin Jericho and its Nablus and Hebron equivalents hold protest trips to the cities that had Israeli presence prior to the signing of the Oslo Accords. “The goal is to return to these cities, and through that return to the rest of Judea and Samaria,” says Meir Bretler, one senior activist.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4024789,00.html
Violence
Israeli gunboats strike Palestinian fishermen
Gaza Strip (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli gunboats stationed off Gaza city shore opened Monday heavy fire at Palestinian fishermen; no causalities were reported. Local sources said that the fishermen were enforced to leave the sea after being targeted by Israeli fire.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/8403-israeli-gunboats-strike-palestinian-fishermen.html
Palestinian worker shot by IOF soldiers
GAZA, (PIC)– A Palestinian worker collecting gravel east of Gaza city was shot by the Israeli occupation forces and sustained injuries, medical sources said on Monday. Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman for medical services, told the PIC that the worker was slightly wounded in the incident. He added that the soldiers fired at a group of workers in Shujaia suburb using machine guns and injured one of them who was hospitalized.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd
B’Tselem petitions High Court to order JAG’s office to decide in the case of Firas Qasqas, killed three years ago
The incident took place on 2 Dec. 2007 in the village of a-Tira, Ramallah District. Firas Qasqas, a 32-year-old husband and father of three from the village of Batir in Bethlehem District, came to a-Tira with his family to visit relatives. According to information obtained by B’Tselem, that afternoon, Qasqas and two of his brothers-in-law went for a walk in an open area near the houses of the village. Suddenly, they saw a group of soldiers some 500 meters from them. Without warning, the soldiers opened fire at the three men, who were unarmed and had not done anything to endanger the soldiers’ lives. A bullet struck Qasqas in the back and exited from his stomach
http://www.btselem.org/English/Firearms/20110207_Qasqas_petition.asp
Madhut Yusuf’s relatives consider petitioning against Gantz
Family members of Druze soldier Madhat Yusuf, who was killed at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus in September 2000, told Ynet on Saturday they were considering filing a petition with the High Court of Justice against Major-General Benny Gantz.Gantz, who has been named as Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s choice as the next IDF chief of staff, was commander of the Judea and Samaria Division at the time. It was claimed he did not exhaust all options to save Yusuf, who was badly injured in clashes in the Joseph’s Tomb compound, despite the fact that there was a force ready to enter and rescue the soldier.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4024293,00.html
Statement: Israelis attempt murder of six reporters in OJ
RAMALLAH, (PIC)– A Palestinian rights group accused in a press statement released Sunday the Israeli army of attempting to kill six journalists amid assaults on 36 civilians during clashes that broke out Friday in East Jerusalem. According to the Rasid (Monitor) human rights society, a military unit deliberately targeted an assembly including news correspondents covering clashes that erupted between the troops and residents of the Bab Al-Amoud neighborhood, when soldiers fired rubber bullets and toxic gas used for the third time against unarmed civilians. The soldiers had intent of premeditated murder, the statement says.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD
Activism / Solidarity / BDS
A week’s collection of Israel/Palesting VIDEOS
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/2/4/941354/-Israel-Palestine-News
Nabi Saleh marches with the people of Egypt
6 Feb – Despite pounding rain and aggressive repression tactics employed by the army, the village of Nabi Saleh marched Friday in solidarity with the people of Egypt. The demonstration was also in honor of 14 year Nabi Saleh resident Islam Tamimi, who was arrested in a night raid in the village almost three weeks ago and remains in jail.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/02/16526/
Who’s afraid of the cultural boycott? / Max Blumenthal & Joseph Dana
…We began to understand the power of the cultural boycott in disrupting the apathy that pervades middle class, urban Israeli society. Apathy allows Israelis to live in comfort behind iron walls while remaining immune to the occupation and inoculated from its horrors. The culture of apathy allows them to watch the news and let out a groan of concern without thinking seriously about political engagement … The cultural boycott forces Israelis to deal with Israel’s behavior towards Palestinians by targeting them where it counts most: in the heart of their affluent comfort zones.
http://maxblumenthal.com/2011/02/whos-afraid-of-the-cultural-boycott/
Palestinians speak on growing boycott of Israel / Kim Bullimore
…Over the past five years, the BDS campaign has gone from strength to strength internationally, with trade unions, student groups and other sectors announcing support. Kim Bullimore spoke with Omar Barghouti and Hind Awwad in Ramallah about the growing international campaign. Barghouti is a Palestinian political and cultural analyst and a founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). Awwad is the national coordinator of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC).
http://directaction.org.au/issue29/palestinians_speak_on_growing_boycott_of_israel
Rutgers pro-Palestinian rally not what enraged Jewish students think
The Forward – The Saturday evening event was a stop on a multi-city tour titled Never Again for Anyone, stressing that neither Jews nor Arabs should suffer at the hands of aggressors. Days earlier, the conservative blog Atlas Shrugged had exhorted readers to protest the pro-Palestinian presentation at Rutgers University, whose organizers the blog described as “Holocaust Deniers and Islamic Supremacists.”
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/rutgers-pro-palestinian-rally-not-what-enraged-jewish-students-think-1.341378
War crimes
New flotilla for Gaza on deadly raid’s anniversary
MADRID (AFP) — A new flotilla of ships will try to reach Gaza at the end of May to mark the first anniversary of deadly Israeli raid against a similar convoy that killed nine Turkish activists, organizers said Monday. The flotilla that will try to break Israel’s blockade of the territory this time will consist of around 15 boats with activists from 25 nations compared to just six ships last year, they told a news conference in Madrid.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357889
Report: Gaza complains to UN over Goldstone follow-up
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) 7 Feb — Gaza Minister of Justice Mohammed Faraj Al-Ghoul reportedly sent a letter to UN officials last week, asking why the international body had failed to follow-up on local efforts to respond to allegations outlined in the Goldstone report.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357679
Detention
IOF troops detain 10 Palestinians, mostly minors
RAMALLAH, (PIC)– The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up ten Palestinian citizens in various West Bank areas at dawn Monday mostly minors, local sources reported. Quds Press reported that a large number of IOF soldiers stormed tens of Palestinian homes and searched them after forcing their inhabitants into the open, cold weather. Palestinian sources said that IOF soldiers barged into Beit Ummar town, north of Al-Khalil, and took away six minors.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc
Group: Prisoners denied basic needs
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Palestinian detainees held in Israel’s Etzion prison near Bethlehem are denied basic needs, Palestinian Prisoners’ Society lawyer said Sunday. The lawyer said Israeli authorities refused to allow the organization to bring blankets, clothing or food to detainees. He said the prisoners were considering starting a hunger strike in protest at conditions in the facility.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357502
‘We were for blackmail’ escaped Hamas prisoner says
[Ayman Noufel was] detained in 2007 after Hamas forces in Gaza ripped a section of the border wall down, allowing thousands of Strip residents to spill into Egypt, where most bought provisions and fuel. “I left to get things we needed for the house, I was riding in a car and we passed a checkpoint of Egyptian security. I was arrested and taken immediately to the El-Arish police center where I was questioned and tortured for two weeks,” Noufel said. Egyptian officials said he was detained for belonging to Hamas … During the interrogation sessions, Noufal said, “They asked what kind of weaponry Hamas had, how prepared the movement was and what the range of projectiles had reached.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357600
Haniyeh visits escaped prisoner
Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday visited a Hamas militant who returned to the Gaza Strip after escaping an Egyptian jail. Haniyeh congratulated Noufel on his release, and said he prayed to God to protect all resistance fighters. Ayman Noufel, a leader in Hamas’ armed wing the Al-Qassam Brigades, returned to the Al-Buriej refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357829
Palestinian held by Israel sustains stroke upon hearing of son’s death
GAZA, (PIC)– A Palestinian man held in the Israeli Ramle prison sustained a stroke after hearing his 16-year-old son had died from cirrhosis of the liver. Two months later, his family has no clue to his whereabouts or medical condition. The man Fawzi Atiyya Abu Ghunaim like many other Palestinians jailed in Israel has been denied family visits and contact under the Shalit law imposed four years ago. Abu Ghunaim, a father of eight, was arrested in 2009 and has since been detained without sentence.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Siege
OPT: Prices soar in Gaza as Rafah, tunnels close
GAZA, 7 Feb (IRIN) – More than a week of political unrest in Egypt has heightened the threat of a humanitarian crisis in neighbouring Gaza. Egyptian soldiers fled their posts on the northern border on 30 January, forcing the Rafah crossing – a critical valve for the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza – to close.
Around 60 Palestinians, attempting to return home via Cairo when Gaza’s southern border closed, are still being held in the “deportation room” at Cairo airport. Among them are six children and several critically ill patients who are running out of medication.
… Petrol has now run out entirely and the only fuel available is the limited amount coming from Israel at treble the price. A fuel shortage in Gaza would not only mean no cars, but also no electricity.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=91844
Housing Ministry criticized UNRWA’s ‘weak’ role in Gaza reconstruction
GAZA, (PIC)– The Ministry of Public Works and Housing urged the UN Relief Works Agency to shoulder responsibility in rebuilding the war-torn Gaza, criticizing the “weak, partisan” role it has so far played. “The UN has played a partisan role in rebuilding Gaza,” the ministry said in a press statement on Sunday. “It has veered from its humanitarian role and begun to act as one of the Quartet who have besieged Gaza.” Discussing the effects of the recent Israeli war on Gaza, the statement says 100,000 residential units have yet to be restored, 55,000 of those being completely destroyed.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=
The circles in the sky over Gaza / Yasmeen El Khoudary
People keep talking of a new war. They tell you about their neighbors — they’re probably too shy to admit that it’s their family, not their neighbors — who already started stocking up on food items and candles in preparation for the upcoming war. “People are really scared,” they tell you, using “people” instead of “we.” Everyone — groundless news reports and loud rumors — is saying that they can hear the war drums, can’t you?! … Well, congratulations Israel for winning the psychological war on Gaza. No, you don’t find it enough that you are honored to be the only power on the planet that finds purpose in physically besieging a whole population, but you also want to drive them mad.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11779.shtml
Bulk goods crossing continues to operate
Israeli authorities told their counterparts on the Gaza crossings that two terminals would be open for the limited transfer of goods on Monday, officials said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357622
Reprisals
2 mortar shells hit south; no injuries or damage
6 Feb – Palestinians fired two mortar bombs at Israel which hit the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4024772,00.html
Egyptian uprising and Palestine
Palestinian security suppressing West Bank fervor over Egypt protests / Amira Hass
We are still preoccupied with demonstrations and their dispersal in this part of the world. After the immediate shock and anger died down last Wednesday, however, one could not help but notice the European, mainly French, scent that wafted from Al-Manara Square in Ramallah where the Palestinian Authority once again suppressed a demonstration of support for the Egyptian people that evening. A few hours earlier, in the same streets, supporters of Fatah had held an undisturbed demonstration in support of the Egyptian government and President Hosni Mubarak.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/palestinian-security-suppressing-west-bank-fervor-over-egypt-protests-1.341722
Palestinian streets quiet as PA suppresses protests / Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH, Feb 7, 2011 (IPS) – The Palestinian Authority (PA) is using brute force and intimidation tactics – similar to those deployed in Cairo – to suppress pro-Egyptian and Tunisian protests in the West Bank. However, despite PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his ruling Fatah party being all too keenly aware of their own tenuous grip on power, it appears Palestinians are not yet ready to rise up like their brethren in the region.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54390
Now Gaza begins to shake / Pam Bailey
6 Feb – Gaza City – Ripple effects of the Egyptian uprising are now spreading to Gaza, where some groups are planning a new rally next week. Moves by some Gazans to mimic protesters in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen by taking to the streets are making the Hamas government nervous. Government officials sponsored an official rally in solidarity with the Egyptian protesters earlier, but when a small group of journalists and bloggers organized their own, six women and eight men were arrested
http://www.truth-out.org/now-gaza-begins-shake67503
Egyptian uprising and Israel
Israel turns down another Egyptian request to send more troops to Sinai
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)– Israel has refused an Egyptian request to send more troops to the Sinai Peninsula to confront growing dangers as described by Egyptian sources, Hebrew daily Maariv reported on Monday. It said that the Egyptians justified their request by saying that it was meant to confront the growing dangers in the peninsula, citing the latest explosion in the gas pipeline.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2
Will Egypt unrest affect Israel’s electric supply?
An interview with Electric Corporation head Amos Lasker — The lack of political stability in Egypt, together with Saturday’s fire in the pipeline transporting natural gas to Israel and Jordan, has focused Israeli attention on its natural gas sources. While the current disruption appears to be temporary, those in charge of Israel’s energy economy must prepare now for the possibility of more prolonged interruptions, whether due to problems operating the pipeline or a reversal in Egypt’s commitment to supplying natural gas to Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/will-egypt-unrest-affect-israel-s-electric-supply-1.341721
Minister: Israel to step up plans for gas imports
JERUSALEM (AFP) 7 Feb – Israel is to step up plans for an offshore platform for importing liquid natural gas in the wake of the weekend attack on an Egyptian gas pipeline, a cabinet minister said on Sunday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357467
Army Chief Ashkenazi: Prepare for all-out war
In his final days on the job, Chief of Staff Ashkenazi warns about growing radicalization in region; given recent changes across Middle East, Israel must prepare for a battle in several theaters, he says … However, Ashkenazi said that both Hamas and Hezbollah pose only a limited threat to Israel at this time. “I do not underestimate Hamas or Hezbollah, but they cannot take over the Negev or Galilee,” he said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4025266,00.html
Politics / Diplomacy
Hamas says Gaza cabinet shuffle still on books
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) 7 Feb — A shuffled cabinet has been set and is ready to assume its duties, Hamas politburo member Khalil Al-Hayya said in a statement Monday, adding that the body would not take office until the timing was right.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357655
Abbas, Abdullah meet as region remains in turmoil
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas sat with Jordan’s King Abdullah on Sunday, the PA government press agency WAFA reported, saying the two discussed the latest political developments in the region.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357555
Haneyya: Gaza will not detract from Jordan’s sovereignty
GAZA, (PIC)– Palestinian Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haneyya, receiving a medical delegation from Jordan on Monday, expressed strong refusal of an Israeli proposal that would have Palestinian refugees resettle in Jordan as an alternative homeland. “We cannot engage in any Israeli project that detracts from Jordan’s sovereignty,” Haneyya said. “The Palestinians are honored guests in Jordan until they return to their land.”
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd8
Other Palestine news
Palestinians want Bethlehem on UN heritage list
BETHLEHEM, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – The Palestinian Authority is to launch a campaign to get the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Jesus’s traditional birthplace, added to UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites, officials said on Sunday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110206/wl_mideast_afp/palestiniansbethlehemunescocultureheritage
Palestinian artist wins Joan Miro prize
Palestinian-British artist Mona Hatoum has received the 2011 Joan Miro Prize for her great skill in connecting personal experience with universal values.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/164128.html
Ma`an Arabic readers divided on Palestine papers
6 Feb – Readers of Ma’an’s Arabic-language news site were divided over the publication of leaked PLO documents by the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera, according to a survey. Almost 60,000 readers answered a poll on the news site, and 56.8 percent (33,310) said Al-Jazeera should not have published the papers. Meanwhile 24,887 voters, 42.4 percent, disagreed and said the network was right to uncover the documents. Of readers polled, 434 (0.7 percent) were neutral.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356701
Other Israel news
North Korean couple gets refugee status in Israel
Man, woman in their 50s flee oppressive regime, infiltrate Israel from Egypt and settle in Jerusalem. Interior Ministry grants request for political asylum, says it is ‘falsely depicted as being intolerant’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4024363,00.html
‘Taliban women’: A cover story
Newly-religious women walking around covered head-to-toe in black clothes are growing in numbers. Even six-year-old girls are made to hide their faces. Haredi rabbis finally condemn growing trend
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4021877,00.html
Anti-secular MK to be reinstated
Israel Eichler, who called Israel ‘evil regime’, seculars ‘two-legged animals’, to be sworn in to Knesset
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4024870,00.html
Analysis / Opinion
Palestine is the key to Arab democracy / Sam Bahour
…The obvious question is: if Palestinians are so experienced in taking to the streets, why then are there so few serious demonstrations in Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem or Gaza in solidarity with the Egyptian people? The reason is that the Palestinian Authority has been co-opted by a US-dominated and foreign-funded agenda which, in times of crisis, understands a single tool: force.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357809
It will not happen to us / Akiva Eldar
7 Feb – The Israeli Democracy Index for 2010, published recently by the Israel Democracy Institute, shows that nearly 40 percent of Israelis believe there is too much freedom of expression in Israel. 59 percent of Jews who identify with the right, 49 percent of those who say they are center, and 39 percent of those who believe they are left, think that human and civil rights groups such as the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and B’Tselem cause damage to the country. Avigdor Lieberman knew what he was doing when he declared war on them.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/it-will-not-happen-to-us-1.341726
Multiculturalism – Arab, that is / Merav Michaeli
7 Feb …what Cameron is basically saying is that “this swarthy Islam doesn’t fit in so well in our nice white country.” It seems that the white Westerner’s primeval fear of the Arab mob is uncontrollable, and is sparked even if the mob is in Egypt and demanding freedom. Many Israelis who travel to London and return astounded by the fact that “the streets are full of Arabs,” can probably relate. Indeed, this white, Western fear exists here to the same extent, and here too it is reinforced by the masses demonstrating in Egypt. So there’s a good chance that we’ll soon hear the prime minister or one of his ministers taking a page from Cameron in justifying more measures against the Arab community in Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/multiculturalism-arab-that-is-1.341728
In Mideast, US backing means absolute power / Fadi Elsalameen
America’s horses, Salam Fayyad and Mahmoud Abbas, I am sorry to say, have created an authoritarian police state that is actively suppressing people’s dissatisfaction with them … “America’s horse” is the Arab leader who is backed by the United States and given a license to rule however he deems appropriate, as long as he doesn’t threaten Israel’s security or other American interests in the region. In return, he is allowed to abuse human rights and deny his people economic and political rights.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/in-mideast-u-s-backing-means-absolute-power-1.341180
A US accepted by the Arab world is good for Israel / Gideon Levy
6 Feb – After two years of letting the Middle East down, U.S. President Barack Obama finally appeared this past week in all his glory … Even if the worst scenario happens (which is doubtful ) and the Muslim Brotherhood rises to power in Egypt, the United States will be perceived as having stood in the right place without inflaming the hatred against it. The Muslim Brotherhood will have to remember this, and with them the masses of Egyptians, Arabs and Muslims.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/a-u-s-accepted-by-the-arab-world-is-good-for-israel-1.341500
Made in America – the People’s Revolution / Yvonne Ridley
US administrations have been blighted since 9/11 by a deadly cocktail of arrogance and ignorance with a twist of strong desire for revenge thrown in. But before you take aim and fire you have to know your enemy, and the scattergun policies of the Bush Junior and Obama regimes have served only to create hatred and mistrust against the US in areas where it was never really present before. In fact, far from driving the likes of al-Qaeda into oblivion, this strategy turned America into al-Qaeda’s most successful recruiting officer.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/articles/americas/2027-made-in-america-the-peoples-revolution
Iraq
Saturday: 4 Iraqis killed, 10 Iraqis, 9 Iranians, 2 Pakistanis injured
At least five Iraqis were killed while 21 people were wounded. Among the wounded were Pakistani and Iranian pilgrims who were traveling to shrines in Salah ad-Din province. Separately, journalists decried new restrictions against them. Also, the Victory Arch, which symbolized Saddam’s rule, is being rebuilt.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/02/05/saturday-4-iraqis-killed-10-iraqis-9-iranians-2-pakistanis-wounded/
Sunday: 3 Iraqis wounded
Sunday was fairly peaceful as only three people were reported injured in light violence. Clashes also took place during a demonstration in Basra, but no casualties were reported in them.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/02/06/sunday-3-iraqis-wounded/
Iraq cabinet ramps up spending as oil prices rise
AFP – Iraq’s government submitted a revised draft budget to MPs for approval on Sunday, raising projected public spending as oil prices have increased, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. The new spending programme estimates overall expenditure at $81.86 billion, or 96.6 trillion Iraqi dinars, while income will be $68.56 billion, leaving a shortfall of $13.3 billion– about a 16 percent budget deficit.
http://www.france24.com/en/20110206-iraq-cabinet-ramps-spending-oil-prices-rise
Iraq repairs Saddam’s triumphal sword arch
Officials in Iraq have begun to restore the notorious “Hands of Victory” arch in Baghdad, enraging many who see the massive bronze sculpture commissioned by Saddam Hussein to mark the war with Iran as a symbol of the brutality and excesses of his long rule.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-repairs-saddams-triumphal-sword-arch-2206361.html
Lebanon
Ghajar withdrawal on hold
Israel freezes plan to pull out of border village of Ghajar as result of toppling of Lebanese government, tensions over Hariri report, official in Jerusalem says. ‘We won’t be giving Hezbollah free gifts,’ he says
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4024810,00.html
Hariri ally quits talks on new Lebanon gov’t
BEIRUT (AFP) 7 Feb — Christian leader Amin Gemayel on Monday said his pro-West party would not join Lebanon’s next cabinet, accusing the Iran-backed Hezbollah of seeking to unilaterally control the new government.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110207/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonpoliticsgovernment
Lebanon tribunal debates terrorism at first hearing
LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) Feb — The U.N.-backed Lebanon tribunal opened its first session on Monday trying to settle legal points before it can issue arrest warrants in the assassination of former premier Rafik al-Hariri.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110207/wl_nm/us_lebanon_tribunal
Mikati strives to form gov’t as Lebanon crisis drags on
BEIRUT (AFP) – Ten days after the appointment of Hezbollah-backed candidate Najib Mikati as its new prime minister, Lebanon is yet to see a government as a political deadlock drags on. “We are still stuck in this impasse as the crisis is deep, and there is no deep solution to this crisis,” said Sahar Atrache, an analyst with the International Crisis Group think tank.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110206/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonpoliticsgovernment
Other Mideast, Arab world
Banned Islamists say time for change in Morocco
RABAT, Feb 7 (Reuters) – The banned Islamist group Justice and Charity, believed to be Morocco’s biggest opposition force, has said “autocracy” will be swept away unless the country pursues deep democratic reform.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/banned-islamists-say-time-for-change-in-morocco
Jordan’s tribes warn of revolt if no reform
(AP) Members of Jordan’s major Bedouin tribes are warning of a Tunisia or Egypt-style revolt in the country if the US-backed ruler does not speed up political reforms. It is very rare for Jordan’s tribesmen, who form the bedrock of support for the monarch, to criticize the government.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4025118,00.html
Islamists reject offer to join new Jordan gov’t
AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — Jordan’s Islamist opposition said on Sunday it has rejected an offer to join a new government led by Prime Minister Marruf Bakhit and tasked with pushing through reforms.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357525
Tunisia takes steps to halt ‘security breakdown’
TUNIS, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Tunisia suspended activities of the former ruling party on Sunday, saying it acted to prevent a breakdown in security after some of the worst unrest since the president was ousted in a revolt last month. Security officials in the coalition government put in place after President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia have said there is a conspiracy by officials close to the old administration to spread chaos and take back power.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/tunisia-suspends-activities-of-ex-ruling-party
U.S.
Help bring Al Jazeera English to US airwaves / Jillian C. York
What’s preventing your cable provider from carrying Al Jazeera English? Part of the reasoning over the years–that is, beyond the histrionics–has been lack of demand, but in light of recent events, it seems that argument may no longer be valid … For their part, Al Jazeera has recently launched a slick campaign for Americans to “Demand Al Jazeera”; the website (http://english.aljazeera.net/demandaljazeera/) encourages viewers to enter their zipcode to contact their local provider and demand the channel.
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/help-bring-al-jazeera-english-to-u-s-airwaves.html#more-35644
‘The Palestine Cables’: Al Jazeera is viewed in White House for Egypt coverage, but US complained about its 08-09 Gaza coverage / Alex Kane
Despite the fact that the Obama administration has been watching Al Jazeera to get the latest out of Egypt, the U.S. has a tortured history with Al Jazeera, as Jeremy Scahill of the Nation points out: bombing its offices in Afghanistan, shelling a hotel in Iraq and killing the network’s Iraq correspondent and holding a network employee in Guantanamo Bay for seven years. Recent WikiLeaks cables obtained by Counterpunch add more to the U.S.-Al Jazeera story. According to a January 31 story authored by Kathleen Christison, the U.S. government, in the wake of the 2008-09 Israeli assault on Gaza, held a meeting with Al Jazeera to complain about its coverage of the assault:
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/the-palestine-cables-al-jazeera-is-viewed-in-white-house-for-egypt-coverage-but-u-s-complained-about-its-08-09-gaza-coverage.html
Israelis to receive expedited clearance in US airports
Israel joins US program that will allow travelers go through automated biometrics checks upon arrival
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4024868,00.html
Arab unrest complicates counterterrorism efforts
WASHINGTON (AP) — The unrest engulfing Arab streets and threatening authoritarian governments in the Mideast is complicating U.S. counterterrorism efforts, scrambling the volatile battleground against al-Qaida in Yemen and raising concerns about the durability of Egypt’s stance against militants.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110206/ap_on_re_us/us_mideast_unrest_terrorism
The Bush-Obama line on Palestine: forget ’67
Feb 07, 2011
Alex Kane
The election of President Barack Obama brought great hope that his administration could be the one to bring about a settlement to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. But Obama has largely followed the Bush administration’s pro-Israel slant. New documents released by WikiLeaks and Al Jazeera shed further light on the continuation of the Bush administration’s disastrous policy on Israel/Palestine.
As part of its ongoing release of secret State Department cables, WikiLeaks yesterday released documents concerning Brazil. One 2005 document, written from the U.S. embassy in Brazil, centers on a first-time gathering in Brazil between Arab and South American leaders. The U.S. was worried about language concerning Israel/Palestine in the final document that came out of the summit:
Despite repeated Brazilian promises over many months that the Summit Declaration would not contain language inimical to Middle East peace efforts, the final text contains problematic paragraphs that existed in earlier declaration drafts. In addition to the demand that Israel withdraw to its June 4, 1967 frontiers, the declaration also calls on Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice July 2004 decision on dismantling the security wall.
The reference to the 1967 borders and the International Court of Justice decision as “problematic” is unsurprising, given that the Bush administration showed the utmost contempt for international law. This cable further confirms the Bush administration’s double-dealings when it came to the borders of a future Palestinian state: while the Bush administration backed the 2003 Road Map that called for a halt to Israeli settlement building, a secret letterto the Israeli government contradicts that plan:
In a key sentence in Bush’s 2004 letter, the president stated, “In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli populations centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.”
Contempt for international law, and support for Israel’s insistence that negotiations not be based on the 1967 borders, has continued into the Obama administration. Despite President Obama’s pledge in 2009 to push for a “viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967,” documents published by Al Jazeera as part of the “Palestine Papers” tell a different story. Ali Abunimah, writing in Al Jazeera, analyzes:
The next day [after Obama’s 2009 UN speech] during a meeting at the US Mission to the United Nations in New York, Erekat refused an American request to adopt Obama’s speech as the terms of reference for negotiations. Erekat asked Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Hale why the Obama administration would not explicitly state that the intended outcome of negotiations would be a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with a third party security role and a staged Israeli withdrawal. Hale responded, “You ask why? How would it help you if we state something so specific and then not be able to deliver?” according to Palestinian minutes of the meeting.
At the same meeting, which Mitchell himself later joined, Erekat challenged the US envoy on how Obama could publicly endorse Israel as a “Jewish state” but not commit to the 1967 borders. Mitchell, according to the minutes, told Erekat “You can’t negotiate detailed ToRs [terms of reference for the negotiations]” so the Palestinians might as well be “positive” and proceed directly to negotiations. Erekat viewed Mitchell’s position as a US abandonment of the Road Map.
On 2 October 2009 Mitchell met with Erekat at the State Department and again attempted to persuade the Palestinian team to return to negotiations. Despite Erekat’s entreaties that the US should stand by its earlier positions, Mitchell responded, “If you think Obama will force the option you’ve described, you are seriously misreading him. I am begging you to take this opportunity.”
Erekat replied, according to the minutes, “All I ask is to say two states on 67 border with agreed modifications. This protects me against Israeli greed and land grab – it allows Israel to keep some realities on the ground” (a reference to Palestinian willingness to allow Israel to annex some West Bank settlements as part of minor land swaps). Erekat argued that this position had been explicitly endorsed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice under the Bush administration.
“Again I tell you that President Obama does not accept prior decisions by Bush. Don’t use this because it can hurt you. Countries are bound by agreements – not discussions or statements,” Mitchell reportedly said.
The US envoy was firm that if the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not agree to language in the terms of reference the US would not try to force it. Yet Mitchell continued to pressure the Palestinian side to adopt formulas the Palestinians feared would give Israel leeway to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank without providing any compensation.
At a critical 21 October 2009 meeting, Mitchell read out proposed language for terms of reference:
“The US believes that through good faith negotiations the parties can mutually agree on an outcome that achieves both the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state encompassing all the territory occupied in 1967 or its equivalent in value, and the Israeli goal of secure and recognized borders that reflect subsequent developments and meets Israeli security requirements.”
Erekat’s response was blunt: “So no Road Map?” The implication of the words “or equivalent in value” is that the US would only commit to Palestinians receiving a specific amount of territory — 6258 square kilometers, or the equivalent area of the West Bank and Gaza Strip — but not to any specific borders.
Alex Kane blogs on Israel/Palestine at alexbkane.wordpress.com, where this post originally appeared. Follow him on Twitter @alexbkane.
American revolution
Feb 07, 2011
Philip Weiss
I insist that the Egyptian revolution is having a huge effect on our discourse. Two indications that I am right:
–On Saturday, Hillary Mann Leverett was on MSNBC. Alex Witt asked her about the Muslim Brotherhood, and Leverett said they were a legitimate part of the Egyptian polity and were opposed to the inhumane blockade of Gaza. Or words to that effect. She went on for a bit about Gaza. It was a huge moment for the mainstream media, not to hear the usual b.s. about Hamas and weapons.
–Today on WNYC, public radio in New York, Brian Lehrer hosted on Nawal El Saadawi, an Egyptian feminist. When Lehrer got out some homiletics about how Suzanne Mubarak had been good for feminism in Egypt and had battled female genital mutilation, El Saadawi dismissed him, saying that the first lady had coopted feminism and actually deterred the battle against female genital mutilation. (This same analysis, applied to the Palestinians, would allow Americans to understand how the P.A. has normalized the occupation.) But let me salute Lehrer. To his great credit, Lehrer has been staggered by the Egyptian revolution and has responded by opening up his show to many Arab and Arab-American voices, including voices of the Egyptian Diaspora.
On the other hand, look at the list of 8 names just below the word “Directory” at Foreign Policy (it’s on a strip at the left hand side, halfway down the page). Eight men, five of them Jewish. No Arab-Americans. Yes I know, this is the flavor of the U.S. establishment. But it sure does feel a little samey.
Obama envoy to Egypt revealed to work for pro-Mubarak (and not surprisingly pro-Israel) lobby firm
Feb 07, 2011
Seham
Here is the latest from Twitter:
And more recent developments:
Alert: End US tear gas & military aid to Egypt, Tunisia & Israel
Egyptians, Americans and people worldwide have been outraged in the last days by the photos, twitter messages and news articles showing that the tear gas canisters fired by Egyptian police at peaceful, pro-democracy protesters in Egypt are “Made in USA.” While we are seeing these pictures now from Egypt, we have seen similar ones in recent months from Tunisia and Palestine. All three places have had in common repressive governments, armed by US companies with tear gas and other weapons. All three have used extreme violence against unarmed protesters who were demanding basic human rights, maiming and even killing protesters with impunity. In all three places, Combined Systems Inc., a US company based in Jamestown, Pennsylvania, is providing the tear gas – often under its brand-name CTS, an acronym for Combined Tactical Systems – that these governments are employing to crush protest, deny human rights and cling to power.
http://adalahny.org/press-releases-other/action-alert-end-us-tear-gas-supply-and-military-aid-to-egypt-tunisia-and-israel
Talks fail to end Egypt protests
Pro-democracy protests continue at Tahrir Square, a day after government held talks with opposition to end turmoil.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/20112764216497806.html
Tahrir Square remains resilient
Pro-democracy protesters continue to defy the curfew and rally in Tahrir Square, they say that they would rather sleep under a tank than allow anyone to evict them.
Egypt opposition enters talks
The Muslim Brotherhood joined talks with Omar Suleiman, the newly appointed Egyptian vice-president, on Sunday, but said that it had little trust in the government following through on promised reforms. Meanwhile, over a million protesters flooded Cairo’s Tahrir Square, observing a “Day of the Marytrs”, with both Muslims and Christians offering prayers for those who have died since protests began on January 25. Hundreds of thousands also protested in the cities of Alexandria and Mansoura. Al Jazeera’s Emike Umolu has more.
Live blog Feb 7 – Egypt protests
From our Doha headquarters, we keep you constantly updated on Egypt, with reporting from Al Jazeera staff.
http://english.aljazeera.net/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/node/3431
Egypt tycoon says Google executive to be freed
CAIRO, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Egyptian telecoms tycoon Naguib Sawiris said on Sunday that authorities had promised him a Google Inc <GOOG.O> executive missing in Cairo would be freed on Monday. Sawiris told a television satellite channel he owns that he had asked for Wael Ghonim’s release during talks with Vice President Omar Suleiman on Sunday, alongside opposition groups, to try to end the country’s political turmoil.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/egypt-tycoon-says-google-executive-to-be-freed
Confessions of criminals : The police set us free !!
These videos show the criminals whom were set free by the orders of Habib El-Adly on January 28th and 29th to create chaos and fear in the society. There is no logic what so ever that thousands of prisoners in prisons across Egypt to escape in this way knowing how strong our prison system is. There is no logic what so ever that hundreds of dangerous thugs arrested in police stations to escape and take gun like that ,in fact it is insulting because as far as I know the police officers should stop them even if it costs them their life.
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/02/confessions-of-criminals-police-set-us.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29
Security forces camp attacked in Egypt’s Rafah
CAIRO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) — Militants attacked a camp belonging to Egyptian security forces in the town of Rafah in the Sinai Peninsula early Monday morning and one civilian was injured, security sources said. Attackers fired three grenades at the camp, a security source told Xinhua, adding that one exploded in the camp and the other two exploded in the desert.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-02/07/c_13721705.htm
Probe finds Sinai pipeline blast was caused by bomb
Sinai security sources says ‘foreign elements’ targeted pipe that supplies Jordan; supplies to Israel were halted as a precaution.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/probe-finds-sinai-pipeline-blast-was-caused-by-bomb-1.341844?localLinksEnabled=false
Revealed: US envoy’s business link to Egypt
Frank Wisner, President Barack Obama’s envoy to Cairo who infuriated the White House this weekend by urging Hosni Mubarak to remain President of Egypt, works for a New York and Washington law firm which works for the dictator’s own Egyptian government.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/revealed-us-envoys-business-link-to-egypt-2206329.html
Obama envoy Wisner works for Egypt military, business lobbyists
High-powered Washington lobby firms have helped the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak secure enormous benefits in Washington. President Obama’s special envoy to Egypt, Frank Wisner, works for one such firm which has had many contracts with Egypt’s military and leading business families.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11782.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
On Egypt, Clinton acknowledges a Mubarak ouster now could complicate transition
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made her comments as the administration appeared to be realizing the risks and complexities of a transition to democracy in a key strategic ally of 80 million people.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=82f651c82322741a3dbd8338535d0b59
Egypt’s Treaty With Israel Is ‘Rock Solid,’ ElBaradei Says Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel is “rock solid,” Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. “I assume Egypt will continue to respect it,” ElBaradei said when asked about the current treaty. He also said “everyone in Egypt, everyone in the Arab world wants to see an independent Palestinian state.” Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule has been shaken by almost two weeks of popular demonstrations. Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-02-06/egypt-s-treaty-with-israel-is-rock-solid-elbaradei-says.html
Israel ‘refuses’ more Egyptian troops on Arab soil
“… Fearing a complete breakdown of the peace treaty with Cairo, the government last week refused a second Egyptian request to allow it to deploy more military forces in Sinai, The Jerusalem Post has learned. As first reported last week by the Post, Israel allowed the Egyptian military to deploy units in Sinai for the first time since the signing of the peace treaty in 1979, in response to growing anarchy in the country. Two battalions – amounting to about 800 soldiers – were deployed in the Sharm e-Sheikh region and around Rafah, which is split between the Sinai and the Gaza Strip….”
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/02/israel-refuses-more-egyptian-troops-on.html
Army tries to limit Cairo protest camp space
CAIRO, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Anti-government protesters swarmed over army trucks and armoured vehicles on Sunday to stop a move by troops to squeeze the area they have occupied in central Cairo for more than a week. The army wants to persuade protesters to leave Tahrir Square and the surrounding area, a traffic hub in downtown Cairo, to allow life to get back to normal after near economic paralysis.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/army-tries-to-limit-cairo-protest-camp-space
Senior US Marine Says “Multiple Platoons” Are Headed To Egypt
A senior member of the US Marine corps is telling people “multiple platoons” are deploying to Egypt, a source tells us. There is a system within the US Marines that alerts the immediate families of high-ranking marines when their marine will soon be deployed to an emergency situation where they will not be able to talk to their spouses or families.
http://www.businessinsider.com/senior-us-marine-says-multiple-platoons-are-headed-to-egypt-2011-2#ixzz1DCUtkamH
Suleiman ‘panned’ Egypt opposition
Leaked US cables raise questions over whether vice-president can be honest broker in any talks with Muslim Brotherhood.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/20112620314460519.html
Omar Suleiman ‘Demonized’ Muslim Brotherhood: WikiLeaks
Egypt’s new vice president, Omar Suleiman, has long sought to demonize the opposition Muslim Brotherhood in his contacts with skeptical U.S. officials, leaked diplomatic cables show, raising questions whether he can act as an honest broker in the country’s political crisis. U.S. Embassy messages from the anti-secrecy WikiLeaks cache of 250,000 State Department documents, which Reuters independently reviewed, also report that the former intelligence chief accused the Brotherhood of spawning armed extremists and warned in 2008 that if Iran ever backed the banned Islamist group, Tehran would become “our enemy.” The disclosure came as Suleiman met on Sunday with opposition groups, including the officially banned Brotherhood, to explore ways to end Egypt’s worst political crisis decades.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/06/omar-suleiman-muslim-brotherhood_n_819341.html
Shocking ‘Egypt images’ emerge
Videos uploaded on YouTube appear to show scenes of recent violence in Cairo and Alexandria.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201126145542683316.html
Egypt impasse continues
As the government tries to get the country back to normal, protesters continue to demand Mubarak’s ouster.
http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2011/02/201126101023682669.html
Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt talks
Opposition group says it is sticking to condition that Hosni Mubarak step down, as about a million protest in Cairo.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201126131743308918.html
The Lede: Latest Updates
Mohamed ElBaradei told CNN he would not negotiate with the regime until President Mubarak resigns.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=4290b5de9e774b460d75ff44f5dc201b
Opposition figure ElBaradei slams Egypt talks
WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei slammed fledgling negotiations on Egypt’s future on Sunday and said he was not invited to the talks. The Nobel Peace laureate said weekend talks with Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman were managed by the same people who had ruled the country for 30 years and lack credibility. He said the negotiations were not a step toward the change protesters have demanded in 12 days of demonstrations calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/opposition-figure-elbaradei-slams-egypt-talks
Madeleine Albright: ‘The Mubarak era is over’
Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Sunday that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s time as leader should be over. “I think there is never an indispensable leader,” she told CNN’s Candy Crowley. “There is a time with dignity that one needs to leave.” “I think that the Mubarak era — my own personal opinion — is the Mubarak era is over and the question is how to have a process that really works properly, that allows these various voices to come together and not disagree on some of the tactical aspects,” Albright added. The Clinton-era State Department head also suggested that Israel needed to come to terms with the new reality in Egypt.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/albright-mubarak-era-over/
Customers queue at Egypt banks
Some 341 bank branches, including 152 in Cairo, are opening across the country after a week.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/20112681158721997.html
Wikileaks: “US officials ‘consistently skeptical’ of Suleiman’s effort to depict the Brotherhood as the bogey man …”
“… Omar Suleiman, has long sought to demonize the opposition Muslim Brotherhood in his contacts with skeptical U.S. officials, leaked diplomatic cables show, raising questions whether he can act as an honest broker in the country’s political crisis. U.S. Embassy messages from the anti-secrecy WikiLeaks cache of 250,000 State Department documents, which Reuters independently reviewed, also report that the former intelligence chief accused the Brotherhood of spawning armed extremists and warned in 2008 that if Iran ever backed the banned Islamist group, Tehran would become “our enemy.”
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/02/wikileaks-us-officials-consistently.html
Egypt’s chief archaeologist says mummies are safe
LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – None of the mummies in Cairo’s main archaeological museum were damaged during a break-in last week but 70 other exhibits will need restoration, top Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass said on Sunday.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/egypts-chief-archaeologist-says-mummies-are-safe
EGYPT: Vigilantes fill security vacuum
CAIRO 07 February 2011 (IRIN) – “The situation is becoming so dangerous these days… Thieves are everywhere and if we don’t stay up all night, we could wake up in the morning to find our properties looted,” Farouk, a civil engineer in his late thirties and one of the watchmen manning a checkpoint in the well-heeled residential area of Nasr City in northern Cairo, told IRIN.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=91854
Mubarak’s empire remains strong
Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, has an extensive network of business connections and homes in some of the most sought-after locations around the world. But while Egypt’s economy may be suffering, Mubarak’s personal wealth remains strong. Al Jazeera’s Paul Brennan reports on the Mubarak empire.
Egypt’s elite fears instability
Well-heeled Egyptians, who drive the country’s economy, are concerned about ongoing unrest.
http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2011/02/20112784021333846.html
Protests/Protesters/Attacks Against Them & Eyewitness Accounts
The Martyrs
http://twitpic.com/3wvmsf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7zm8nHwvpQ&feature=player_embedded
Artists and Intellectuals Sign a Statement Demanding the Stepping Down of Mubarak
http://www.maxajl.com/?p=4909&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+http%2Fwwwmaxajlcom%2Ffeedrss2+%28Jewbonics%29
Pictures of the dead rise in Egypt’s Tahrir Square
Loved ones carry posters of the deceased to gain strength from their sacrifices and to keep memories of them alive. Some estimates put the death toll at about 300. They carry posters with photos of young men killed in the last two weeks in demonstrations around their country. Appearing daily in Tahrir Square, those commemorating the deaths blame President Hosni Mubarak’s government, and they demand justice.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/FNYXDjofDng/la-fg-egypt-dead-20110207,0,2615753.story
Amnesty International: Fears for Google employee in Egypt
Amnesty International warns that a Google employee reportedly arrested in Cairo during mass protests is facing a serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment by Egyptian security forces. Amnesty International today warned that a Google employee reportedly arrested in Cairo during mass protests is facing a serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment by Egyptian security forces. Father of two Wael Ghuneim was arrested by Egyptian security forces on 28 January 2011 during protests in Cairo, eyewitnesses said. His whereabouts remain unknown.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/fears-google-employee-egypt-2011-02-06
Copts join Tahrir protests in display of unity
Egypt’s Coptic Christians held a mass in Cairo’s Tahrir Square Sunday afternoon as a sign of Muslim-Christian unity. “God bless the dead. God bless the dead,” recited a Coptic priest wearing a crucifix. By his side, a Muslim sheikh stood holding a Koran, as the faithful chanted “A single hand.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=124617
Christians, Muslims “One Hand” in Egypt’s Youth Revolution
Sunday saw a return to Egypt of themes of national unity across the Christian-Muslim divide that recalled the heyday of early Egyptian nationalism in 1919, when the modern nation was formed in the cauldron of mass demonstrations against British colonial rule. Nowadays, Copts are roughly 10 percent of the Egyptian population, or about 8 million people. Coptic Christianity is its own branch of the faith, tracing itself to the foundational teaching of the Apostle Mark the Evangelist in Alexandria.
Egyptian voices reflect diversity
Al Jazeera meets the vanguards of the pro-democracy protests that have flooded Cairo’s Tahrir Square for 12 days.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201126194730350605.html
Getting Married in square
Ola and Ahmed got married at Al Tahrir square , yes they got married in front of hundred thousands protesters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqiDHqfXhJk
Real News Video: Egypt: Protesters Dismiss ‘Cosmetic Changes’
http://palestinianpundit.blogspot.com/2011/02/real-news-video-egypt-protesters.html
Egyptian Protesters Fear Retribution, But Press On
Though members of the Egyptian government have made some concessions, political activists remain worried about their safety and the future of Egypt. This will be especially true in the coming week, when many officials are expected to return to work. “The calmer things are, the more fear there will be because the Ministry of Defense people will be back to work,” Cairo native Eman Hashim told The Huffington Post by phone.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/05/egypt-protesters-fear_n_819184.html?utm_campaign=020511&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-world&utm_content=FullStory
Egyptian women well represented in Tahrir protest
CAIRO (AFP) — Veiled from head to toe, or dressed in trendy outfits, Egyptian women are out in force in the ongoing opposition rally in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, countering stereotypes common in parts of the West. “I’ve been coming here since Friday 28 [of January],” said novelist Sahar Al-Moggi, waving an Egyptian flag during a crowded rally at Tahrir Square — the focal point of 12 days of protests demanding the departure of embattled President Hosni Mubarak.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357373
Revolutionaries on the rooftop (part two)
Translation via DotSub coming soon. Young protesters occupying an apartment building near the site of fierce battles between pro- and anti-government crowds discuss their motivations, the events of the past two weeks, and the diverse make-up of Egypt’s democracy movement. (With reporting and translation by Lara el-Gibaly)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsb8xrZmCWw&feature=youtube_gdata
Revolutionaries on the rooftop (part three)
Translation via DotSub coming soon. Young protesters occupying an apartment building near the site of fierce battles between pro- and anti-government crowds discuss their motivations, the events of the past two weeks, and the diverse make-up of Egypt’s democracy movement. (With reporting and translation by Lara el-Gibaly)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loY-hFDmvC4&feature=youtube_gdata
Wednesday night intense battle
Strong images which appear to show scenes of the intense fighting in Cairo and Alexandria from last Wednesday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqydgpyVNKY&feature=youtube_gdata
Even children understand Mubarak is to blame
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if9SPHGHaZU&feature=player_embedded
29/1/2011 The Battle for Lazoughli Square
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFd0ho3ymw8&feature=player_embedded
#Jan25 Martyr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5duYPWZAh88&feature=player_embedded
#Jan25 Tahrir martyrs funeral
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCrj5fODITw&feature=player_embedded
Following the Yellow Baby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO28D4ullO4&feature=player_embedded
#Jan25 The Revolution’s Soldiers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5e_C3OPNUY&feature=player_embedded
More #Jan25 videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8WM6_lPuEY&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d1CQ9kkfb8&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L5ruTm0SNM&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loY-hFDmvC4&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ni5y0RbSZs&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRcTf0h2jE0&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMVcVWp_h4k&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWCh52Ml-Us&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXx67qbY4JY&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es4jG0AwhWI&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLWaAf0oSgk&feature=player_embedded
Throwing flowers at the protesters
http://yfrog.com/hsyofwxj
Revolutionary Women
http://justimage.org/blog/2011/02/06/revolutionary-women/
Egypt protests: the Tahrir Square medic
Doctors came under attack while still treating injured protesters Dina Omar is a 30-year-old Egyptian cardiologist living in Beirut; when news broke of Egypt’s anti-Mubarak uprising last month she flew back to Cairo and has been working at a frontline medical station in Tahrir Square since. I found out about the 25 January protests the day after they happened while surfing the internet, and I knew straight away that I needed to return – not just to check on my family, but also to witness something momentous that was happening to my country. I booked a flight and was due to travel on the Friday, but it was then that violence flared up across the country and the plane wouldn’t take off. We all sat in the airport terminal watching these horrific images from Cairo on the television, and it was terrifying – I couldn’t get any sleep. On Saturday the plane finally made it and as we touched down in Cairo I couldn’t have been happier. My family are originally from Heliopolis but now they live in New Cairo, and as I reached the neighbourhood all that happiness quickly drained away. Security had disappeared; our street is full of half-built villas with no protection, and my brother and the doorman had to stand through the night defending our home from looters.
http://newsbreakingonline.com/news/egypt-protests-the-tahrir-square-medic.html
Angry Friday protest in Giza
Anti-Mubarak protest on Nile Street, Agouza Giza on Angry Friday. The protesters were trying to reach to Al Tahrir square in Cairo while police then blocked all bridges between Cairo and Giza. Giza, Egypt. 28/01/2011
http://www.demotix.com/news/578145/angry-friday-protest-giza
At Night in Tahrir Square, Cairo Protest Gives Way to Poetry and Performances, Anthony Shadid
Some protesters collapse in exhaustion at the end of the day, but no one else seems willing to surrender a moment that feels imbued with the idealism of defiance.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=41161709684569357486eb3dde25a3d9
Media Repression & Role of Media and Social Networking
Egypt frees Al Jazeera journalist
Military releases Ayman Mohyeldin following appeal by the channel and correspondent’s supporters.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201126202228183972.html
Egypt detains Al Jazeera journalist
Channel calls for immediate release of correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin, detained by Egyptian military.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/02/201126181913527735.html
Ayman Mohyeldin, Al-Jazeera English Correspondent, Detained In Egypt
CAIRO — The Egyptian military detained a correspondent for Al-Jazeera’s English-language news channel in Cairo on Sunday, said the network, which has been targeted repeatedly throughout the unrest in Egypt. Ayman Mohyeldin, an American citizen, was detained near Tahrir Square, where protests calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak continued for a 13th day.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/06/ayman-mohyeldin-aljazeera_n_819278.html
Egyptian prime minister: Arrest of journalists ‘not intended, my dear’
Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq appeared to feign surprise Sunday when he was told that journalists and human rights activists had been arrested at anti-government protests in his country. “Why are you detaining them?” CNN’s Candy Crowley asked. “Oh, frankly speaking, it’s not intended at all my dear,” Shafiq replied. “I insist to assure all of the authorities here not to ban anyone or not to bother anyone doing his work. But during some periods, such as the period we’re passing now, you will not be — it’s rather difficult to be sure 100 percent that this man or [some] men [aren’t exhibiting] some bad behavior.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/egyptian-pm-arrest-journalists-not-intended/
How Twitter engineers outwitted Mubarak in one weekend
The way Twitter managed to get past Egypt’s internet shutdown was the perfect example of a crisis breeding innovation.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/feb/06/twitter-speak-tweet-mubarak-networker
Inside Story – Egypt through a US media lens
The US media’s coverage of events in Egypt has been described by some critics as a recipe for killing the democracy movement in its cradle. The mainstream American media have wheeled out the usual suspects to offer their expertise on the topic – but do they really get it? On this episode of Inside Story we shine a spotlight on US media coverage of the uprising in Egypt and ask whether their reporting has been professional and impartial or US-centric and commercially driven. And what about the knock-on effect on the American public? Could the mainstream media’s ratings war be driving them to create fear of democracy in the Middle East so as to make the story relevant to their viewers?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4Sc4Ypdslg&feature=youtube_gdata
Al-Jazeera is helping to break the silence | Wadah Khanfar
In an era of transparency, the Middle East’s fate can no longer be decided behind closed doors. It is almost a century since the state borders that today divide the Middle East were drawn up. The shape of the region was negotiated behind closed doors and imposed by colonial powers without consulting its people. The impact of those deals still haunts the region and, many would argue, plays a central role in its instability.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/07/aljazeera-break-silence-media-middle-east
Friends of the Dictator
US Sen Kerry encouraged by movement toward a new Egypt
WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said on Sunday he’s encouraged by what he described as the rapid and dramatic series of events toward a new Egypt without President Hosni Mubarak. “Tally up what has happened in the last 12 days,” said Kerry, who has echoed calls by President Barack Obama and others for Mubarak to promptly end his 30-year-old rule.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/us-sen-kerry-encouraged-by-movement-toward-a-new-egypt
Palestinian security suppressing West Bank fervor over Egypt protests
The European-trained Palestinian Special Police Force has become a leading security apparatus in the West Bank.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/palestinian-security-suppressing-west-bank-fervor-over-egypt-protests-1.341722?localLinksEnabled=false
World Solidarity
Protesters march in San Francisco to support Egypt
Calling for an end to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s reign, a few thousand protesters marched in San Francisco on Saturday in what they called a show of solidarity with the people of Egypt and countless others throughout the world.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/05/BAOA1HJDVT.DTL#ixzz1DCVrSzH7
Hanadi Omar and Mazin Qumsiyeh, “Rallies throughout Occupied Palestine in Solidarity with Egypt and Tunisia”
This was Ramallah’s fourth and largest rally in solidarity with the peoples of Egypt and Tunisia. The previous three, organized by youth groups, were violently suppressed by Palestinian Authority agents, funded primarily by the US and the EU. The PA also sent in plainclothes officers into today’s crowd who chanted pro-Abbas slogans and assaulted several of the protesters. The organizers stressed that they will continue mobilizing in support of human rights, against the Israeli occupation and status quo, and in solidarity with struggles around the world, especially in Arab countries, for freedom, democracy, and social justice. The next upcoming event is a call by the Popular Committees in Palestine to demonstrate in front of Israeli embassies worldwide on Friday, February 11th, against injustice and dictatorship and in solidarity with persecuted nations under the slogan “People Can Bring Change and Make the Impossible Possible.”
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/oq060211.html
As’as Abukhalil’s Commentary
Guerrilla warfare in Egypt
Are you following what is happening in `Arish in Egypt? There is some kind of guerrilla warfare activities going on. They today struck security barracks with rockets.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/guerrilla-warfare-in-egypt.html
“The Egyptian Uprising and the (US) Counter-Revolution: Some Notes,As`ad AbuKhalil
Once again, Operation Ajax is exploding before our eyes in Cairo and Egyptian provinces. America’s policies towards our region have not progressed over the years and decades, and American has not learned from its mistakes and sins. On the contrary; America’s policies have become more audacious, humiliating and insulting to our intelligence. Things have become worse since the fifties: the US has subcontracted the decision making of its policies and wars for Israel. What Walid Jumblat calls (with deliberate vagueness and ambiguity lest he angers his friend “Jeff”) the “game of nations” is merely an American-Israeli-Saudi plot. (continued, click link to read the rest)
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/egyptian-uprising-and-us-counter_06.html
Mubarak’s foreign minister
This is one of the funniest gem this week. Mubarak stooge, his foreign minister, spoke today. He said that countries around the world should not interfere in “tafa’ul” (interaction) between the state and the people” in Egypt. I kid you not. So the national uprising is merely an interaction between the state and the people. I guess the Iranian Revolution was a dance between the Shah and his people.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/mubaraks-foreign-minister_07.html
Mubarak clip
Aljazeera Arabic has unearthed a clip from 1990-91 in which Mubarak calls on Saddam Husayn to resign and save his people. Ha.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/mubarak-clip.html
US relations with the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty–I mean, Egypt
“The Egyptian government receives about $2 billion a year from the United States, with most of that assistance going to its military. Last year the U.S. sent about $1.3 billion to Egypt’s military compared to about $250 million in economic aid, and the Obama administration requested similar amounts for the 2011 fiscal year, as Britain’s Telegraph reports. The U.S. has long made the case that its unconditional funding for Egypt strengthens relations between the countries and provides benefits for the U.S. such as expedited processing for U.S. Navy warships sailing through the Suez Canal. Indeed, one of the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks noted that “President Mubarak and military leaders view our military assistance program as the cornerstone of our mil-mil relationship and consider the USD 1.3 billion annual FMS as ‘untouchable compensation’ for making and maintaining peace with Israel.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/us-relations-with-egyptian-israeli.html
Repression in “stable” UAE
A citizen was arrested for speaking in solidarity with the Egyptian protesters.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/repression-in-stable-uae.html
Hillary on Egypt
“Revolutions have overthrown dictators in the name of democracy,” she reminded her audience, “only to see the process hijacked by new autocrats who use violence, deception and rigged elections to stay in power.” Did you say that about the protests in Iran? And did you not support groups in Iran (and Iraq) that even engage in car bombings? Or are car bombings an acceptable tool of democratic change when perpetrated by your tools and allies against a government that you oppose?
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/hillary-on-egypt.html
Egyptian military prison
Yesterday, on Egyptian Mubarak TV, a protester was talking about his ordeal when he was kicked and arrested by Egyptian soldiers. He said that he was taken to a “military prison.” He was interrupted and told that, no it was not a military prison. He said: I read the name with my own eyes: it was “a military prison.” The anchor person said: I am being told that it was not a military prison. The guy then said the Egyptian equivalent of “whateverrr.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/egyptian-military-prison.html
Ronald Reagan on Husni Mubarak
“Some may not realize that the U.S.-Egyptian collaboration on security issues goes back over 100 years.” —Ronald Reagan
“Our hope lies in statesmen like President Bourguiba and King Hussein, President Mubarak and Prime Minister Peres.” —Ronald Reagan, 1985
“I value the counsel of President Mubarak as an Arab leader committed to peace.” —Ronald Reagan, 1988;
“I thank you, my brother, President Mubarak, and wish you every continued success.” —Ronald Reagan, February 14, 1984;
“King Hussein, President Mubarak are men I greatly admire.” —Ronald Reagan, February 14, 1984;
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/ronald-reagan-on-husni-mubarak.html
Bill Clinton on Mubarak
“I don’t think we would be where we are today if it weren’t
for President
Mubarak.” —Bill Clinton |
“We believe that working together we can help to bring more
prosperity to the Egyptian people.” —Bill Clinton |
“I thank you for your wise counsel, your strong leadership, and
your iron determination.” —Bill Clinton |
“I especially want to thank President Mubarak for
Egypt’s…partnership in the peace process and for playing a
critical role in our efforts here. ” —Bill Clinton |
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/bill-clinton-on-mubarak.html
Lessons from Lebanon
The Egyptian protesters should learn from the Lebanese opposition. In 2007, the Lebanese opposition took to a downtown square hoping to extract concession from a lousy government (a tool of the House of Saud) that really conspired against resistance to Israel in Lebanon. They stayed there for a year or more, I think, and they basically got nothing. They even resisted early calls to engage in civil disobedience and to take over government buildings. They stayed in the square doing nothing, which gave the other side enough time to engage in counter-propaganda and sectarian mobilization. If they used the early momentum to push forward and get out of the damn square, they would have achieved more, much more.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/lessons-from-lebanon.html
hypocrisy
““That takes some time,” Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton said, speaking at a Munich security conference. “There are certain things that have to be done in order to prepare.” She also stressed the dangers of holding elections without adequate preparation. “Revolutions have overthrown dictators in the name of democracy, only to see the process hijacked by new autocrats who use violence, deception and rigged elections to stay in power,” she said.”
Prepare? Back when Rafiq Hariri was assassinated in 2005, the US government refused to even postpone the election for one week. Jeffrey Feltman made it clear as US ambassador in Lebanon that his empire would not put up with one day of delay in election. Prepare? Did you adopt that policy toward the communist governments?
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/hypocrisy.html
Mubarak State TV
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Mubarak state TV has begun allowing views that are critical of the regime–much more than the Saudi media which still exercise a fanatic policy of protecting Mubarak. Yesterday, a pro-Mubarak anchorperson, hosted a group of people to discuss the crisis. There was a wishy washy guy who said that he participated on Jan. 25th but that now he wants order (as if the two don’t clash, logically). But there was a famous protesters’ leader Isra’ `Abdul-Fattah: she is really a firebrand and she won the show. She has a sharp and logical mind and can deconstruct any argument. She was most impressive. There was another leftist youth leader and he said that there are some 20 or so anarchists among the protesters (but he was dismissive of them). I was impressed how he talked about the assassination of Sadat–with glee.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/mubarak-state-tv_06.html
House of Saud
I have been receiving a lot of information and some details about a rushed Saudi intelligence covert operation in Egypt. I don’t have any proof yet, but the folks in Egypt know about it already, I gather.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/house-of-saud.html
History of US opposition to democracy worldwide
“But none of that seemed to matter: what was important to Carter’s White House was the preservation of US national security interests – not the democratic impulses of a Korean population sick from 18 years of dictatorship. As the citizens of Kwangju waited for a sign of hope, Carter’s team made a fateful decision: to support Chun’s plan to put down the rebellion by force.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/history-of-us-opposition-to-democracy.html
Al-Azhar
The book burners of Al-Azhar–the Islamic center for kooky fatwas and subservience to tyranny and Saudi money–have spoken. In a week, when US, EU, Israeli statements on Egypt are coming out at the rate of 30 per hour, Al-Azhar singled out Iran for its intervention in internal Egyptian affairs. The center said that Islam should be revised: that Mubarak–not God–should be worshiped.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/al-azhar_06.html
Counter-Revolution in Egypt
“Though Mr. Mubarak appeared to have done what people familiar with the diplomacy said the U.S. had asked—declare he won’t seek re-election—his speech didn’t end tensions in Egypt and didn’t put the U.S. on the side of the people in the street…While the swelling protests have raised the pressure on Mr. Mubarak, U.S. officials have played an increasingly prominent role in his deliberations over the past two days…With the prospect of Mr. Mubarak remaining in office until the fall, the U.S. and Egyptian regime appeared to be working together to try to ensure a transition that wouldn’t immediately thrust opposition groups into positions of power.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/counter-revolution-in-egypt.html
Jihadi Bin Ladenite website
The NYT had an article last week about chats on Egypt in Jihadi, Bin Ladenite websites. My theory: most of the writers in those websites are crazies and people who work in Arab, Western, and Israeli intelligence agencies. I don’t even bother with them anymore. Too obvious.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/jihadi-bin-ladenite-website.html
Thomas Friedman
Thomas Friedman is too silly to comment on. I don’t want to comment on his silly comment today, but I would like people to go back to archives and find me words of praise that he had written for Mubarak over the years. Also, what is most annoying about him is this; whenever he goes to developing countries, he always has quotations attributed to “my friend Muhammad” or “my friend Kim” or whatever. Suspiciously, the quotations from those “friends” seem to always confirm his own thesis about everything and they all speak in shallow English, just like him. And they all suspiciously sound like one another, as in: “My friend Muhammad in Jordan tells me that government is like Falafil.” In South Korea, the quotation becomes: “My friend Kim in South Korea tells me that government is like Kimchi.” And so on. Also, if you add the number of “friends” cited by Friedman, they can easily add up to thousands of people dispersed around the world. A man with thousands of friends is a man with no friends at all. I don’t know why, but I always felt sorry for Friedman’s daughters. I can imagine their agony in long car ride with his annoying laugh and boring stories in the front seat. I would rather be raised by monkeys that raised by Thomas Friedman–and the monkeys would have better insights on foreign affairs, and they would have more complex ideas in their heads, but that is just me.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/thomas-friedman.html
America and Israel: the Muslim/Arab reaction
The European campaign of the crusades poisoned relations between Muslims and Europeans for a very long time. Similarly, US embrace of Israel (clearly on racist terms), will leave very long term repercussions on relations between the US and Muslims/Arabs.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/america-and-israel-muslimarab-reaction.html
Putting Mubarak on Trial
The protesters in Tahrir Square keep demanding a trail of Mubarak. Well, they can themselves do that, if they want. There is something called revolutionary justice with its own courts, u know. No one faulted the Romanian people when they dealt with their dictator.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/putting-mubarak-on-trial.html
You are not fooling anybody
“America doesn’t understand,” said Ibrahim Mustafa, 42, who was waiting to enter Tahrir Square. “The people know it is supporting an illegitimate regime.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/02/you-are-not-fooling-anybody.html
Analysis/Op-ed
Who holds power in Egypt?
The ruling party, army, internal security and an emerging business elite form the core of Hosni Mubarak’s regime.
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/anger-in-egypt/2011/02/2011266573647420.html
Egypt’s fate hangs in balance
As the Egyptian government tries to get the country back to work, security has been tightened around Liberation Square. Banks and businesses are planning to re-open, but the pro-democracy protestors are still there with their demand to ouster Mubarak. Muslim Brotherhood, country’s largest opposition group, is holding talks with the government and outcome of the talks will be crucial in the days to come. Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher reports from Cairo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T-wBZIwuz4&feature=youtube_gdata
A timetable for constitutional reform, Issandr El Amrani
If you’ve been following this blog for a few days, you will have noticed that the debate in Egypt is centering on the question of how to proceed with either a new constitution or adapting the current constitution to the circumstances. We’ve highlighted the proposal by Bahgat and Abdelaty, thestatement by a group of establishment figures, and indeed the debate about having multiple vice-presidents to handle a transition. And of course, at the heart and soul of the protest movement in Tahrir, the continuing non-negotiable demand of Mubarak’s removal.
http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/2/7/a-timetable-for-constitutional-reform.html
The U.S.-Egyptian Breakup | Foreign Affairs – Steve Cook
The United States should greatly lower its expectations of what is possible in the post-Mubarak era and come to terms with the end of the strategic relationship. Expecting the new Egyptian president — whoever that may be — to carry on a partnership with Washington is like Václav Havel asking the Soviets for assistance after Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution in 1989. To be sure, there are no Havels in Egypt, and Washington is not Soviet-era Moscow — but the analogy rings true enough for those people in Cairo’s Tahrir Square or the Alexandria corniche who saw U.S.-made F-16s fly overhead or were choked by tear gas produced in the United States.
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67347/steven-a-cook/the-us-egyptian-breakup?page=show
Egypt Burning
This film tells the story of five days in January 2011 when the people of Egypt broke through a barrier of fear they had known for a generation and rose in revolt against their president. Anger had long been brewing in Egypt – strikes, unemployment and sectarian tension were on the rise. Small networks of activists had been agitating against Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic rule for years. But it was only when another Arab country, Tunisia, rose up against its tyrant that the Egyptian activists attracted mass support. People took to the streets across Egypt demanding political freedoms, an end to state corruption and a better quality of life for the impoverished population. Egypt Burning captures those critical moments as history unfolded through interviews with Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3FQXYdyHCg&feature=youtube_gdata
A harrowing day shows the resilience and tactics of Egypt’s security state
Said Haddadi and his colleagues were released after 24 hours with bruised wrists and insults ringing in their ears. They were the lucky ones.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/DvoQmOBxQWY/A-harrowing-day-shows-the-resilience-and-tactics-of-Egypt-s-security-state
How long can Egyptian military navigate middle ground?
The army has managed to keep the public trust while remaining loyal to Hosni Mubarak, one of its own. But a history of crushing dissent indicates that its tolerance for protesters may not hold if its interests are threatened. When bread shortages swept Egypt in 2008, the government didn’t rely on the free market or its own warehouses, but turned instead to army bakeries to churn out millions of flat loaves to calm the angry masses. A few months later, as fire raced through the upper house of parliament, soldiers helped put out the flames.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/qovjcq2Nwt0/la-fg-egypt-military-20110207,0,5393652.story
‘Rejected’ … or is it?
“Opponents of Hosni’s embattled regime have dismissed as insufficient an offer to include them in political reform plans, and have renewed their demands that he step down…. Omar Suleiman agreed to sit down on Sunday with the groups, which included the banned Muslim Brotherhood, was in itself a landmark concession, but the talks produced no breakthrough in the two-week-old standoff. As night fell, central Cairo’s now iconic Tahrir Square was still filled with thousands of anti-regime protesters, adamant that the start of dialogue will not divert them from their campaign to unseat Egypt’s strongman.
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/02/opponents-of-egyptian-president-hosni.html
Is Obama wobbling on democracy for Egypt?, Stephen M. Walt
President Obama is reportedly angry with the U.S. intelligence agencies for failing to anticipate the upheavals in Tunisia or Egypt. His irritation is silly, because there’s a well-founded social science literature (by Timur Kuran, Susanne Lohmann, and Marc Granovetter, among others) explaining why it is nearly impossible to predict the onset of a revolutionary upheaval. You can identify countries where the government is unpopular or illegitimate, and thus were a rebellion might occur, but that doesn’t tell you if or when a popular uprising of the sort we have been watching will occur.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/05/is_obama_wobbling_on_democracy_for_egypt
Robert Fisk: The wrong Mubarak quits. Soon the right one will go
The old man is going. The resignation last night of the leadership of the ruling Egyptian National Democratic Party – including Hosni Mubarak’s son Gamal – will not appease those who want to claw the President down. But they will get their blood. The whole vast edifice of power which the NDP represented in Egypt is now a mere shell, a propaganda poster with nothing behind it.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-the-wrong-mubarak-quits-soon-the-right-one-will-go-2205852.html
Robert Fisk: Exhausted, scared and trapped, protesters put forward plan for future
On a day of drama and confusion in Cairo, opponents of the Mubarak regime propose a new kind of politics.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-exhausted-scared-and-trapped-protesters-put-forward-plan-for-future-2205079.html
The Egyptian crisis: another day, another two US policies
An American envoy’s praise for Mubarak has raised the question once more of what Washington really thinks
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/julian-borger-global-security-blog/2011/feb/06/egypt-obama-administration
Indyk Won’t Apologize for U.S. Policy Toward Egypt [Video-Today!]
The new activist group RootsAction put out an alert this week calling on the U.S. government to apologize for its policy of backing a dictator in Egypt for 30 years. Washington Stakeout today questioned Martin Indyk (currently director of foreign policy at Brookings, senior adviser to U.S. government envoy George Mitchell. He has worked in the past at Washington Institute for Near East Policy and American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC]): Sam Husseini: “Does the U.S. foreign policy establishment owe the Egyptian people an apology for having backed a dictator for all these years? …”
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/576/indyk-wont-apologize-for-u.s.-policy-toward-egypt_video-today-
The danger to Egypt’s revolution comes from Washington
The greatest danger to the Egyptian revolution and the prospects for a free and independent Egypt emanates not from the “baltagiyya” — the mercenaries and thugs the regime sent to beat, stone, stab, shoot and kill protestors in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities last week — but from Washington, writes EI’s Ali Abunimah.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11781.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Kara N. Tina, “Egypt: Which Way Is the Way Forward? Interview with Hossam el-Hamalawy”
It is true that virtually all the opposition groups, whether they are the traditional political parties or the youth groups, have taken part in the uprising but the protests still remain spontaneous. Which means, on the one hand, the people always surprise you by their militancy from below that exceeds all expectation, but, on the other hand, there is always confusion about what is the way forward and what the clear alternative is. This could pose the threat of this revolution being hijacked. . . . The intervention of the working class in the movement is also another question mark, because definitely in some of the provinces where mass protests were organized they contained a majority of workers.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/hamalawy070211.html
A private estate called Egypt | Salwa Ismail
Only a thousand families count in a country that Mubarak and his cronies regard as their fiefdom. There is a lot more behind Hosni Mubarak digging in his heels and setting his thugs on the peaceful protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square than pure politics. This is also about money. Mubarak and the clique surrounding him have long treated Egypt as their fiefdom and its resources as spoils to be divided among them.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/06/private-estate-egypt-mubarak-cronies
Amr: Official Egyptian Press Tall Tales about the Protesters
The campaign against the Egyptian protest movement by Egyptian officialdom, has been two-pronged. One tactic has been to attempt to neuter the foreign press. This step then allowed a propaganda campaign by the organs of the State-owned media, which has been shameless in distorting the realities on the ground. The employees of Egyptian government newspapers and television stations are nothing more than ruling party hacks but they are not without their talents. While some of the rumors they were circulating were marginally plausible, others were off the wall.
http://www.juancole.com/2011/02/amr-official-egyptian-press-tall-tales-about-the-protesters.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29
A proposal to integrate the opposition into the heart of the state, Philip Weiss
As a foreigner who has absolute starry-eyed confidence in the youth committee that is at the vanguard of the revolution, even I am a little afraid right now of them being coopted by the U.S. and the lobby and other regressive forces in this vaunted transition period. But Issandr El Amrani has a proposal to “integrate the opposition into the heart of the state” thru the appointment of five vice presidents. The opposition, he states, is divided– so maybe this will redound to the Palestinians’ unification?
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/a-proposal-to-integrate-the-opposition-into-the-heart-of-the-state.html
Americans need to get their priorities straight, Philip Weiss
I’m sure this has been tweeted already, but: Shouldn’t the Egyptian revolution put The Social Network over the top for Best Picture? And inasmuch as young Jesse Eisenberg could become Best Actor for portraying facebook genius Mark Zuckerberg, isn’t that a fair trade for the end of the Jewish state in a state of its citizens? What do you think, Mom?
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/americans-need-to-get-their-priorities-straight.html
Some quick thoughts about the situation in Egypt
(Please consider the following as the superficial musings and impressions of an interested observer who openly admits that he does not know Egypt and does not pretend to understand what is happening there – me. The Saker)
http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2011/02/some-quick-thoughts-about-situation-in.html
Egypt protesters call for final countdown
Egyptian protesters call for fresh multi-million-strong rallies against out-of-favor President Hosni Mubarak and his government in the coming days. Egyptian demonstrators gathered in Cairo’s Liberation Square on Sunday to honor the martyrs of 13 days of anti-government protests.
http://jnoubiyeh.com/2011/02/egypt-protesters-call-for-final.html
Will Egypt’s government now strike a deal with the Muslim Brotherhood?
The Muslim Brotherhood said it was entering direct talks with the government Sunday. Democracy protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square remain suspicious of any compromise deals that may be promised by Vice President Omar Suleiman.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/1VYPJ6fXjRw/Will-Egypt-s-government-now-strike-a-deal-with-the-Muslim-Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood at Mubarak’s Banquet
Only a traitor would refer to the Egyptian Revolution as “the Egyptian Crisis,” the likes of Al-Arabiya News Channel, funded by Saudi Arabia. The Muslim Brotherhood representatives to Al-Jazeera have been consistently referring to it as a “crisis” that Egyptians need to get out of.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2011/02/muslim-brotherhood-at-mubaraks-banquet.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kabobfest%2FGrillMe+%28KABOBfest%29
We are all part of Egypt’s revolution
“It’s been almost two weeks since the Egyptian uprising began. I type these words sitting in my dirtied and blood-soaked jeans, as I have no change of clothes. But all that really isn’t important now, because we are in a state of revolt.” EI’s Matthew Cassel writes from Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11783.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Searching for Egyptian unity in Ramallah, Linah Alsaafin
The last few days of the solid millions of protesting Egyptians got me thinking how Palestinians would react in a similar situation. But the fact of the matter is that we are so segmented from each other, with political party allegiances prioritizing over national ones, that it was hard for me to envisage a true Palestinian people revolution where citizens from all walks of life, young old religious secular rich poor students employees etc, intensely unite against a common adversary (either the PA or the Israeli occupation-take your pick) simply for the reason of wanting a proper representative or their basic freedom, without propagating factional or religious interests.
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/egyptian-solidarity-rally-worked-this-time-sort-of.html
Egypt’s Three Revolutions: The Force of History behind this Popular Uprising
When the Egyptian Uprising of 2011 began, we heard media pundits, friends, and colleagues milling about in search of apt metaphors to describe the mass protests and revolution in Egypt. In so far as “history” was mobilized in these discussions, it was generally as repetition or analogy. Hence: the Berlin Wall; Tiananmen Square; the first Palestinian Intifada; the Iranian Revolution; the Paris Commune; and the French Revolution, as well as Egypt’s own 1919 and 1952 revolutions. But do these vivid comparisons conceal more than they reveal? Indeed, one could argue that one of the most striking aspects of the contemporary media discussions surrounding Mubarak’s Egypt is the absence of any real sense of history. It is not enough to fill this void with rhetorical comparisons and poetic license.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/569/egypts-three-revolutions_the-force-of-history-behind-this-popular-uprising
The Egyptian upsurge: why we never saw it coming, Justin Raimondo
The Obama administration has veered all over the map when it comes to the Egyptian uprising, beginning with Vice President Joe Biden declaring his fulsome support for his dear friend Hosni Mubarak, and refusing to characterize him as a dictator. That Obama’s crew were asleep at the wheel – delegating their response to a figure whom no one in Washington takes very seriously – was painfully apparent as the Cairo revolt showed every signof becoming a full-scale nationwide revolution.
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2011/02/06/caught-in-the-headlights/
Tunisia and Egypt Ripples Felt Throughout Arab World
Sayyed Nasrallah to Speak Today on Egyptian Revolution
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is to deliver a speech Monday afternoon via video link in support of the Egyptian people’s revolution and in support of Egypt’s Arab identity. The speech will be at the end of a rally organized by a number of Lebanese political parties and figures at Ghobeiry square, Beirut. The rally will be held under the slogans “In support of the Egyptian people’s revolution against the Camp David regime” and “In support of Egypt’s Arab identity,” organizers said. Camp David refers to the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and the Zionist entity. The gathering will also voice support for “strengthening the approach of resistance in the Arab nation.”
http://almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=1363&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=14&s1=1
Inside Story – Egypt vs Tunisia
What are the differences between both revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt? What are the possible ramifications? How would this impact on shaping the future in both countries? And does people’s power actually work?
Hamas could rise with Brotherhood
Hamas has been in power in Gaza for four years, and is firmly entrenched in the community. The organisation’s early origins lie in the Muslim Brotherhood, neighbouring Egypt’s banned opposition group. While Egypt’s political turmoil shakes up the Middle East, Hamas could benefit if the Brotherhood becomes a rising political force following the country’s current crisis. Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston reports from Gaza.
Iraq swirls with rumors of Egypt-like protests to come
With their televisions set to 24-hour coverage of the turmoil in Egypt, Iraqis have mounted a number of modest protests in recent days against power, water, and food shortages.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/5bC8XNCLz2o/Iraq-swirls-with-rumors-of-Egypt-like-protests-to-come
‘We were for blackmail’ escaped Hamas prisoner says
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — “I felt pride and joy when I returned to Gaza, but at the same time I felt such sadness for the raw destruction apparent just on the walk home,” Ayman Noufel recalled of his entry into the Gaza Strip after escaping from an Egyptian prison earlier in the week.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357600
Peres: Israeli-Palestinian peace urgent in light of Egypt crisis
President tells 11th annual Herzliya conference that the sluggish pace of the peace process means that the conflict is being ‘exploited to the detriment of all sides’.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/peres-israeli-palestinian-peace-urgent-in-light-of-egypt-crisis-1.341633?localLinksEnabled=false
OPT: Egyptian regime change hope for Gaza
RAMALLAH 07 February 2011 (IRIN) – Possible regime change in Egypt, sparked by mass popular protests against President Hosni Mubarak since 25 January, could usher in a new leadership not as committed to maintaining the Gaza blockade, observers say.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=91848
“.. The West Bank looks ripe for its own revolution ..”
“… In some ways, the West Bank looks ripe for its own people’s revolution. Palestinians are frequently called the best educated Arab population in the world, especially if that assessment includes the Diaspora living in Europe and elsewhere. And the ruling Fatah party is best known for patronage. The security apparatus intimidates civil society as well as local operatives of Hamas …Nor does it help that Egypt erupted just after the satellite news channel al-Jazeera published confidential papers of Palestinian peace negotiators. The exposé, clearly calculated to embarrass Abbas, succeeded on that score. …But much else argues against rebellion… “A wave of demonstrations is not going to take place here because of the complexity of the situation,” says Said Zeedani, a senior official at al-Quds University, near Jerusalem. “But I think the Palestinian Authority, due to the events in Tunisia and Egypt and their likely extension, is going to be negatively affected, in terms of being to some extent discredited because of its alliance with the Israeli regime, and because it belongs to the same camp as these so-called ‘moderate regimes.”’..
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-palestinian-authority-is-worried.html
Avnery says underlying cause of Egypt is… Palestine, Philip Weiss
The ad below the excerpt is from Gush Shalom in Haaretz. And Uri Avnery gets it. Here’s his column and wonderful excerpt. By the way, this isn’t about the two-state solution or the 23-state solution. It’s about the Israel lobby and the the enforced political backwardness of the Arab world in the name of “the only democracy in the Middle East,” which isn’t. It’s about human rights and international law.
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/avnery-says-underlying-cause-of-egypt-is-palestine.html
“The US is ‘quietly’ passing assurances to the Saudis that unlike Egypt, America will not ‘hesitate to support the Saudi monarchy’ ..”
“…The crisis in Egypt continues to dominate the foreign policy agenda, but no longer threatens to overwhelm it. US officials concede that the Administration got off to a slow start, but they now believe that they have established a productive dialogue with their Egyptian counterparts, both on the government and opposition sides. The prospects for an “orderly transition” have improved measurably, with Secretary of Defense Gates playing a considerable role in this effort. As one State Department official commented privately to us: “We now have a chance of emerging from this crisis without having to make a one-sided choice between democracy and stability.” Despite this guarded optimism, however, the Administration is well aware that the US posture in the Middle East may be at a turning point. A National Security Council official commented: “Egypt has been the pivot on which ourpresence in the region has depended. If we now face a less sympathetic government there, the implications are far-reaching.”
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/02/us-is-quietly-passing-assurances-to.html
Prabir Purkayastha, “Tunisia, Egypt, and Beyond: Interview with Aijaz Ahmad”
About the protest, let me say that Tunisia has had a recent history of protests, repeated ones, the last one was in 2008. . . . The pattern of protests in Tunisia has been that they were mostly in the South and in the coastal regions, the poorer regions of Tunisia. This time, for the first time, they came into Tunis. They did not start in the capital. They started in the historic homelands of protests. But they came into Tunis. That’s where it became a mass protest. Otherwise, these were congregations of 300 people here, 500 people there, and so on. So, that is what is new: that the city has risen. Who has risen in the city? To start with, professional classes, educated and employed.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/ahmad060211.html
Arab revolts damage Al-Qaeda’s violent narrative, analysts say
CAIRO: If the popular revolts which have rocked Tunisia and Egypt gain momentum and spread across the Middle East, they could strike a catastrophic blow to Al-Qaeda’s violent ideology, experts say. While some in the West fear the protests in the Arab world could see authoritarian secular regimes overthrown by equally hard-line Islamists, other observers say the movements pose a far greater threat to jihadi militants.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=124626#axzz1DEfdRU5k
JVP leader is targeted ‘for Treason and Incitement against Jews’
Feb 07, 2011
annie
Haaretz changed its headline this morning but the opening paragraph is still sitting there:
Estee Chandler, who heads anti-Israel organization, found a poster of her picture, her workplace, other personal details and names of her relatives [on the front porch] at her West coast home.
The poster charged her with using “her own presumed Jewishness as a weapon against the Jewish People and the Jewish State of Israel while conspiring with other well-known anti-Israel groups to assist in Israel’s destruction and to otherwise engender hatred and incite further violence against the Jewish People and the Jewish State of Israel.”
Chandler responds:
“I was forewarned about extremists when I first decided to start a Jewish Voice for Peace chapter here in my hometown of Los Angeles. I went into it with my eyes open. While I didn’t think anything would happen this soon, I can’t say it wasn’t something I didn’t anticipate. Ultimately I think these people really are cowards, and not really to be feared. We are the silent majority of American Jews and it’s time for us to stop being silent. If we raise our voices a fraction of the level of these people- we will become the message, too many people who are with us are afraid. Ultimately nonviolence is the only thing that has ever won out.”
