Friday, June 21, 2013
Khaled Abu Toameh: Lebanon's Apartheid Laws
The Lebanese, who have always despised Palestinians, are afraid of incorporating them into their economy and workforce. Many Lebanese hold the Palestinians and the PLO responsible for destroying their country, especially during the civil war that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people during the 1970's and 1980's.CAMERA: Al-Jazeera English Airs 'Nakba' Myth
What is disturbing about the Apartheid laws in Lebanon and the mistreatment of Palestinians by Arab countries is the silence of the international community and media.
Even UNRWA, which is supposed to look after the well-being of Palestinian refugees, continues to turn a blind eye to Lebanon's Apartheid laws.
When contacted by The Daily Star for comment on the plight of the Palestinians in Lebanon, UNRWA's public information officer Hoda Samra said she had "no public statement to make regarding this particular issue."
There is little doubt that this "Nakba" production is a preview of the type of slick propaganda that can be expected from al-Jazeera when it replaces the programming on Current TV network later this year. At that time, the number of potential viewers will be greatly multiplied since Current TV, unlike al-Jazeera English, is carried by major providers such as Comcast, Verizon, and DirecTV. It's doubtful from a business model viewpoint that providers will chose to cancel Current since al-Jazeera network, in all likelihood, will provide the channel either free or at minimal cost to the providers. The Arab network states that “Al Jazeera English is available free-to-air through satellite and cable providers around the world.”Are we there yet? BBC improves its accuracy regarding Hamas designation
No context is offered concerning the fact that Zaboun was in fact detained due to his membership of a terrorist organization or that the arrests followed the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip.Ex-President Carter Seeks Weakened Sanctions on Terror Groups
Neither is any mention made of the fact that Zaboun has headed the ‘charity’ Al Islah in Bethlehem for many years – an organization known to both Israel and the Palestinian Authority due to its history of channelling funding to Hamas’ terrorist-supporting infrastructure from abroad.
And yet, the BBC provides Zaboun with a platform from which to sanitize the activities of his terrorist organization and present himself as a beleaguered parliamentarian:
Former President Jimmy Carter is spearheading an effort to convince the United States to weaken sanctions on terrorist groups, The Hill reported.ADL Voices Concerns Over Anti-Israel ‘Summer Camps’ for Children as Young as 8
Carter and other foreign policy experts sent a petition to Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, asking him to exempt peace groups from policies that make it a crime to offer negotiation training and humanitarian law classes to terror groups.
The Anti-Defamation League voiced its concern Wednesday that three groups with anti-Israel agendas will stoke anti-Israel sentiment in children during “summer camps” and “summer institutes” they are planning to establish in New York and Chicago this summer.Two weeks after appointment, Palestinian PM resigns
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah tendered his resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, just two weeks after his swearing in, Ma’an News Agency reported.Two tweet legacy reveals dysfunctional Palestinian leadership
According to the report, Hamdallah resigned due to “differences over his authorities.”
These two tweets, the only ones issued by newly appointed (and freshly resigned) Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah give more away about the dysfunctional nature of the Palestinian leadership than Mahmoud Abbas might hope.Electric Company Suggests: Cut Off Power to PA
The Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) has put together a list of sanctions that it could impose on the Palestinian Authority (PA) if it does not pay its debt to the IEC, which currently stands at 820 million shekels.Ashton Calls on Israel to End Gaza 'Siege'
The PA acquires 95% of its electricity in Judea and Samaria and 75% of its electricity in Gaza from Israel.
Ashton praised UNRWA's work and pledged that the EU would "continue to be the strongest supporter, that we will give the financial support that is needed, but also the political support."Hamas Sentences 'Collaborator' to Death by Hanging
Hamas officials, with whom Ashton did not meet, urged her to "act immediately to lift the siege of Gaza" and "remove Hamas from the list of terrorist organizations" of the EU, arguing that Hamas simply “defends its people and believes in democracy and openness to the world."
The defendant, identified only by his initials KC, was "condemned to capital punishment by hanging for collaborating with the Zionist occupier," ministry spokesman Islam Shahwan announced on Facebook.Bulgaria reveals new evidence on Hezbollah-Burgas link
Bulgaria claims it has previously undisclosed evidence that further implicates Hezbollah in a deadly terrorist attack last year on Bulgarian soil, JTA has learned.Hosni Mubarak fortune estimated at $1.3bn USD
A Bulgarian representative to the European Union said Wednesday that investigators have discovered that a Hezbollah operative was the owner of a printer used to produce fake documents that facilitated the July 19, 2012 bombing of a bus filled with Israeli tourists in Burgas. Five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver were killed in the attack.
Egyptian authorities released the information at a time when around 40 per cent of the Egyptian population is living below the poverty line.Syria and Egypt Can’t Be Fixed
Public attorney Mahmoud Al Hefnawi told a Cairo criminal Court on Thursday that the estimated wealth includes 3 billion Egyptian pounds in cash, corporate stakes worth 5 billion and real-estate assets worth 1 billion.
Egypt remains a pre-modern society, with nearly 50% illiteracy, a 30% rate of consanguineal marriage, a 90% rate of female genital mutilation, and an un- or underemployment rate over 40%. Syria has neither enough oil nor water to maintain the bazaar economy dominated by the Assad family.Egypt's Coptic Christians say they are 'no longer safe'
Both were disasters waiting to happen. Economics, to be sure, set the stage but did not give the cues: Syria’s radical Sunnis revolted in part out of enthusiasm for the ascendancy of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and partly in fear of Iran’s ambition to foster Shi’ite ascendancy in the region.
Heba Morayef, Regional Human Rights Watch director, worries that extremists are now free to encourage discrimination on TV. “It’s very scary because of the sudden uptick in violence, compounded by the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood has in no way tried to reign it back and has at times participated.”New Iran leader a ‘change in style, not of substance,’ Netanyahu says
Iran’s new leader presents a smiling face, but does not represent a change in policy for the regime in Tehran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during his address to the closing session of the 2013 Israel Presidential Conference on Thursday evening.Iran Neighbor Accepts First Israeli Ambassador
The Islamic Republic must not be allowed to build a nuclear weapon, the prime minister said, speaking to a packed crowd of dignitaries on a wide range of topics currently facing Israel.
The Central Asian state of Turkmenistan, which shares a 1,000 kilometer border with Iran, has accepted the credentials of the first ever Israeli ambassador to the country, state media said Wednesday.
