Netanyahu adds rightwing party to Israeli coalition, open racist Lieberman could be foreign minister
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- Written by Associated Press Associated Press
- Published: 16 March 2009 16 March 2009
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Yisrael Beitenu party leader Avigdor Lieberman could be appointed foreign minister after deal with Likud
Israel's prime minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud party has today agreed a coalition agreement with the rightwing Yisrael Beitenu party, whose leader, Avigdor Lieberman, could now become foreign minister.
Lieberman has been accused of racism for proposing that Israel's Arab citizens sign loyalty oaths or lose their citizenship. Although that plan is unlikely to be implemented, his designation as foreign minister could harm Israel's international ties.
It would be seen in Europe as a setback to Middle East peace efforts. The EU has urged Netanyahu to form a government that embraces the long-standing goal of an independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel.
"Let me say very clearly that the way the European Union will relate to an [Israeli] government that is not committed to a two-state solution will be very, very different," Javier Solana, the EU's foreign and security affairs chief, said yesterday.
Lieberman recently said he supported Palestinian statehood, but he insists such a state should include territory inside Israel containing heavily populated Arab areas – a plan that could strip hundreds of thousands of Arabs of their Israeli citizenship.
Likud party spokeswoman, Dina Libster, said the coalition agreement with the Yisrael Beitenu party included a provision that both sides were prepared to form a government that would include moderate partners, such as the Kadima party of the current foreign minister, Tzipi Livni.
That wording leaves open the possibility that Livni might retain her job if she were to join such an alliance. Israel's media reported over the weekend that Netanyahu had resumed overtures to recruit Livni.
The agreement with Beitenu is Netanyahu's first step towards setting up a coalition of hawkish and Orthodox Jewish parties.
The government taking shape would take a harder line on Palestinian and Arab issues than the outgoing administration of prime minister Ehud Olmert.
Netanyahu has criticised last year's US-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, aimed at partitioning the land and establishing a Palestinian state.
The talks made little progress and Olmert yesterday blamed the weak Palestinian government for the failure. In turn, Palestinian negotiators blamed Israel, citing expansion of West Bank settlements and hundreds of roadblocks in the West Bank.
Netanyahu plans to focus on efforts to bolster the Palestinian economy, leaving issues such as borders, sovereignty and Israeli settlements for a later stage.
In defiance of Israeli commitments to international plans, Netanyahu favours expanding Israel's West Bank Jewish settlements to allow for "natural growth," accommodating the growing families in the communities.
Palestinians reject that approach and have the backing of Barack Obama's US administration. In a recent visit, the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said the goal of negotiations must be the creation of a Palestinian state living next to Israel in peace.
Netanyahu still needs to add several other parties to reach a majority in the 120-member parliament. In the election last month, Likud won 27 seats; Yisrael Beitenu adds another 15.
Kadima won 28 seats, but Netanyahu was chosen to form a government because a majority of members of parliament said they favoured him over Livni as premier.
Netanyahu's negotiators will meet today with a team from Shas, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish party with 11 seats in the parliament. If Kadima stays outside, Netanyahu is expected to try to bring in smaller hardline parties such as Jewish Home, National Union and United Torah Judaism, giving him a majority of 65.
But several of the parties have conflicting claims and agendas, and getting all of them to agree to back Likud is not assured.
American citizen critically injured after being shot in the head by Israeli forces in Ni’lin
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- Written by ISM ISM
- Published: 14 March 2009 14 March 2009
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American citizen critically injured after being shot in the head by Israeli forces in Ni’lin
Updates below Press Release
For Immediate Release
13th Friday 2009, Ni’lin Village: An American citizen has been critically injured in the village of Ni’lin after Israeli forces shot him in the head with a tear-gas canister.
Tristan Anderson from California USA, 37 years old, has been taken to Israeli hospital Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv. Anderson is unconscious and has been bleeding heavily from the nose and mouth. He sustained a large hole in his forehead where he was struck by the canister. He is currently being operated on.
Tristan was shot by the new tear-gas canisters that can be shot up to 500m. I ran over as I saw someone had been shot, while the Israeli forces continued to fire tear-gas at us. When an ambulance came, the Israeli soldiers refused to allow the ambulance through the checkpoint just outside the village. After 5 minutes of arguing with the soldiers, the ambulance passed.
– Teah Lunqvist (Sweden) - International Solidarity Movement
The Israeli army began using to use a high velocity tear gas canister in December 2008. The black canister, labeled in Hebrew as “40mm bullet special/long range,” can shoot over 400 meters. The gas canister does not make a noise when fired or emit a smoke tail. A combination of the canister’s high velocity and silence is extremely dangerous and has caused numerous injuries, including a Palestinian male whose leg was broken in January 2009.
Please Contact:
Adam Taylor (English), ISM Media Office +972 8503948
Sasha Solanas (English), ISM Media Office - +972 549032981
Woody Berch (English), at Tel Hashomer hospital +972 548053082
Tristan Anderson was shot as Israeli forces attacked a demonstration against the construction of the annexation wall through the village of Ni’lin’s land. Another resident from Ni’lin was shot in the leg with live ammunition.
Four Ni’lin residents have been killed during demonstrations against the confiscation of their land.
Ahmed Mousa (10) was shot in the forehead with live ammunition on 29th July 2008. The following day, Yousef Amira (17) was shot twice with rubber-coated steel bullets, leaving him brain dead. He died a week later on 4 August 2008. Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22), was the third Ni’lin resident to be killed by Israeli forces. He was shot in the back with live ammunition on 28 December 2008. That same day, Mohammed Khawaje (20), was shot in the head with live ammunition, leaving him brain dead. He died three days in a Ramallah hospital.
Residents in the village of Ni’lin have been demonstrating against the construction of the Apartheid Wall, deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004. Ni’lin will lose approximately 2500 dunums of agricultural land when the construction of the Wall is completed. Ni’lin was 57,000 dunums in 1948, reduced to 33,000 dunums in 1967, currently is 10,000 dunums and will be 7,500 dunums after the construction of the Wall.
Updates:
Orly Levi, a spokeswoman at the Tel Hashomer hospital, tells Ha’aretz:
He’s in critical condition, anesthetized and on a ventilator and undergoing imaging tests,” She described Anderson’s condition as life-threatening.
Israeli activist Jonathan Pollack told Ynet:
… the firing incident took place inside the village and not next to the fence. There were clashes in the earlier hours, but he wasn’t part of them. He didn’t throw stones and wasn’t standing next to the stone throwers.
There was really no reason to fire at them. The Dutch girl standing next to him was not hurt. It only injured him, like a bullet.
13 March: Anarchists Against the Wall reports on Tristan’s condition (volunteers with AWALLS were present when Tristan was injured and have been at the hospital to oversee his treatment):
The impact of the projectile caused numerous condensed fractures to Anderson’s forehead and right eye socket. During the operation part of his right frontal lobe had to be removed, as it was penetrated by bone fragments. A brain fluid leakage was sealed using a tendon from his thigh, and both his right eye and skin suffered extensive damage. The long term scope of all of Tristan’s injuries is yet unknown.
Israeli and Palestinian groups accept rights medal
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- Written by AP AP
- Published: 13 March 2009 13 March 2009
- Hits: 3963 3963
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A prestigious Dutch human rights award was presented Friday to two groups from Israel and the Palestinian territories even though the director of the Palestinian organization was banned from attending the ceremony.
The Geuzenpenning medal has been presented to Palestinian group al-Haq and Israeli organization B'Tselem at a ceremony in the southern Dutch city of Vlaardingen.
The foundation that makes the annual award praised both groups for their "independent and critical" monitoring of rights abuses in the occupied territories.
The director of al-Haq, Shawan Jabarin, was not able to attend the presentation because Israel refused to lift a travel ban it imposed on him.
Hans Mathijssen, who helped organize the ceremony, said Jabarin was able to watch live through a computer link with Ramallah.
"So, Mr. Jabarin was virtually present at the ceremony," Mathijssen said.
Israel's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday there was evidence Jabarin is involved with terror groups. Jabarin denies the accusation and the organization that presents the medal condemned the decision.
Geuzen Resistance Foundation spokeswoman Edith Kwakernaak said Tuesday the organization was "shocked and disappointed" at the court's decision.
Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen also expressed his disappointment after lobbying unsuccessfully for Jabarin to be allowed to travel to the Netherlands.
The prize recognizes human rights works and is awarded by a foundation named for a Dutch World War II resistance movement.
Previous winners include kidnapped Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and watchdog groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
American citizen critically injured after being shot in the head by Israeli forces in Ni'lin
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- Written by ISM Press Release ISM Press Release
- Published: 13 March 2009 13 March 2009
- Hits: 4063 4063
From: ISM Media Alerts <media@palsolidarity
Reply-To: ism-media+owner@
To: International Solidarity Movement - Media Alerts
<ism-media@googlegro
Subject: [ISM Media Group] American citizen critically injured after being shot
in the head by Israeli forces in Ni'lin
For Immediate Release
13th Friday 2009, Ni'lin Village: An American citizen has been
critically injured in the village of Ni'lin after Israeli forces shot
him in the head with a tear-gas canister.
Tristan Anderson from California USA, 37 years old, is currently being
taken to Israeli hospital Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv. Anderson is
unconscious and has been bleeding heavily from the nose and mouth. He
sustained a large hole in his forehead where he was struck by the
canister.
"The Israeli soldiers were standing on the hill looking over us firing
tear-gas canisters straight into the crowd. Tristan was hit and fell
to the ground. He had a large hole in the front of his head and his
brain was visable. I tried to stop the bleeding, but he was bleeding
heavily from the head, nose and mouth."
Ulrika Jenson (Sweden) - International Solidarity Movement
"Tristan was shot by the new tear-gas canisters that can be shot up to
500m. I ran over as I saw someone had been shot, while the Israeli
forces continued to fire tear-gas at us. When an ambulance came, the
Israeli soldiers refused to allow the ambulance through the checkpoint
just outside the village. After 5 minutes of arguing with the
soldiers, the ambulance passed."
Teah Lunqvist (Sweden) - International Solidarity Movement
Contact:
Ulrika Jenson (English and Swedish) - +972 598 521 158
Teah Lunqvist (English and Swedish) - +972 598 531 036
ISM Media Office - 02-297 1824 or +972 598 503 948
Tristan Anderson was shot as Israeli forces attacked a demonstration
against the construction of the annexation wall through the village of
Ni'lin's land. Another resident from Ni'lin was shot in the leg with
live ammunition.
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is a Palestinian-
For specific media inquires such as interview requests, photo usage, etc. please email the ISM Media Office at media@palsolidarity
Palestinian health care 'ailing', 10% of Palestinian children now have stunted growth.
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- Written by BBC News BBC News
- Published: 12 March 2009 12 March 2009
- Hits: 4221 4221
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza suffer from an "ailing landscape" of health services, a new study claims.
The Lancet medical journal report highlights how 10% of Palestinian children now have stunted growth.
The paper describes the healthcare system in the Palestinian territories as "fragmented and incoherent".
An Israeli government spokesperson said the Lancet had failed to seek its view, and said many Palestinians had accessed medical care in the country.
Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli government, called the report one-sided.
He said: "This is propaganda in the guise of a medical report."
Experts from Birzeit University say death rates among children and expectant mothers have failed to decline in recent years.
The plateau is in spite of good ante-natal care and high rates of child immunisation.
“ The trend for stunting among children is increasing, and the concern is about the long-term effects ”
Dr Hanan Abdul Rahim Birzeit University
Dr Hanan Abdul Rahim said: "There are gaps in care. There's a low level of post-natal care and often it's not given in a timely manner.
"Mortality rates among infants and under-fives haven't declined much. This is unusual when compared with other Arab countries that used to have similar rates but have managed to bring them down.
"The trend for stunting among children is increasing, and the concern is about the long-term effects. It is caused by chronic malnutrition, and affects cognitive development and physical health.
"There are pockets in northern Gaza where the level of stunted growth reaches 30%.
"It's very important that women and children have access to quality care."
Dr Rahim's paper mentions a previously published report from the UN, which says more than 60 Palestinian women have given birth at Israeli checkpoints and 36 of their babies have died as a result.
Another paper says the Palestinian health system fails to be effective and equitable.
'Heartbreaking'
The conditions of military occupation are blamed, but so is the political instability of the Palestinian Authority - which has appointed six health ministers in three years.
“ Israel as a policy enables and encourages people from all over the world to come to Israel for advanced medical treatment ”
Unit of Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories spokesman
The lead author, Dr Awad Mataria, also from Birzeit University, said: "Political havoc is one of the reasons for the failure of the health system - but this has been exaggerated and perpetuated under occupation.
"Also, the policies of foreign aid donors can be fragmented and contradictory."
Dr Mataria's paper note that the Palestinian Authority has received $10bn in recent years - mostly donated by the European Union.
But he and his colleagues say health programmes have focused on relief and emergency, rather than on long-term development.
In an editorial accompanying the series, the Lancet's editor Richard Horton said: "Our series is not about Arab politics, the status of Israel, or existing conventional diplomatic efforts to broker peace."
He added: "The latest storm of violence to engulf Gaza has been heartbreaking to watch, especially for those who have seen first hand the predicaments faced by health professionals trying to maintain a rudimentary, but ultimately failing, health system there."
Israeli response
An Israeli government spokesperson from the office responsible for coordination with the Palestinian territories said the researchers had failed to get a full picture of health care in the region.
He said: "In the two year period supposedly covered by the report over 28,000 Palestinians accessed Israel from the Gaza Strip for medical needs.
"Contrary to the indications of the writers, at no time was medical access from Gaza prevented as a policy.
"On the contrary, the only time medical aid in Israel was prevented was as a direct result of a Palestinian decision or on limited occasions when the crossing in to Israel was under direct threat and attack."
He added: "Israel as a policy enables and encourages people from all over the world to come to Israel for advanced medical treatment it is only natural that our closest neighbour, the Palestinians, enjoy this privilege."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7924199.stm
Published: 2009/03/05 09:10:38 GMT
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