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Ivorian forces storm Gbagbo residence

Press TV – April 6, 2011
Pro-Ouattara forces have surrounded the presidential residence in Abidjan

Forces loyal to Ivorian president-elect Alassane Ouattara say they have launched a final assault on the residents of incumbent Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan.

Gbagbo has been holed up in a bunker at his home after being cornered by Ouattara followers.

A spokeswoman for Ouattara forces said on Wednesday that pro-Ouattara forces were closing in on the bunker where Gbagbo is hiding.

“Yes they (Ouattara forces) are in the process of entering the residence to seize Gbagbo, they have not taken him yet, but they are in the process, they are in the building,” Reuters quoted Spokesman Affousy Bamba as saying.

Heavy weapons fire and explosions have been heard near Gbagbo’s residence and the presidential palace. Gbagbo has denied reports that he wants to surrender.

This comes after the UN said three generals loyal to Gbagbo are negotiating conditions for his surrender in return for guarantees of his safety.

Meanwhile, France has denied alleged involvement in attacks on Gbagbo’s residence.

While much of the international community has recognized Ouattara as the winner of the vote, Gbagbo refused to cede power. Tensions further escalated after they both claimed victory and appointed separate cabinets.

Hundreds of people have lost their lives since the controversial presidential election in November 2010.

~

Cynthia McKinney:

Black Agenda Report | April 5, 2011

When I was in the Congress, I received a phone call from Alassane Ouattara from aboard Henry Kissinger’s yacht. I had received many such calls from people wanting to benefit from my good reputation within the human rights and peace community in the United States and they wanted me to sell their particular potion of iniquity to people inside the United States and to the world. Usually, these people were the kind of people accustomed to buying the consciences of public persons, so my “no” resounded rather sharply to them, and I earned yet another set of crosshairs on my forehead, I guess.

Alassane Ouattara and his Zionist wife, Dominique, were seeking my assistance–or maybe my silence–in his effort to become President of Ivory Coast. I applaud Laurent Gbagbo in his efforts to stave off imperialism in Ivory Coast, one of the few African countries that has not one iota of a relationship with the U.S. military. However, Democracy Now, FOX, CNN, AP, Reuters, and all the rest didn’t tell you that when they ran their many stories about Ivory Coast. While the world will celebrate “democracy” arriving in Ivory Coast once Gbagbo is gone, the exact opposite will actually be the case. Handing Ivory Coast over to Henry Kissinger and his ilk is the policy of the Obama Administration. I guess, President Obama is proving his worth: perhaps no one could have done it better.

April 6, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment

Yemeni Forces Martyr 15 Protesters in Taez

Al-Manar – April 4, 2011

Yemeni security forces shot dead 15 anti-regime demonstrators and wounded scores more on Monday, on the second day of lethal clashes in Taez, south of the capital, medics said.

The bloodshed came as demonstrators staged a march on the governorate headquarters in the city to demand the ouster of Yemen’s embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Witnesses said the demonstrators stormed the courtyard of the governorate and that plainclothes gunmen opened fire in an attempt to push them back.

The bloodshed, a day after another protester was shot dead in Taez, sent the death toll to more than 100 in a crackdown on protests in the impoverished Arabian peninsula state since late January.

In a similar confrontation, 13 people were shot and wounded late on Sunday as police clashed with tens of thousands of demonstrators in the western city of Hudaydah, according to witnesses.

Police opened fire as the protesters marched on to the Red City sea’s main local government building, the witnesses said. Thirteen were wounded by live bullets, another 30 by batons and rocks, while 400 others suffered from the effects of tear gas inhalation.

According to a report in the New York Times on Sunday, citing US and Yemeni officials, the US government is dropping its support for Saleh and taking part in efforts to negotiate his departure and a transitional handover.

US officials have told allies they see Saleh’s position as untenable due to the widespread protests, and believe he should leave office, the paper said, adding that negotiations over his departure began more than a week ago.

April 4, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment

Goldstone’s forced redaction does not clear Israeli war crimes

By Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi | April 3, 2011

Judge Richard Goldstone’s op-ed in The Washington Post is a direct result of tremendous and fierce pressure practiced by the Israeli and the Zionist lobby against him, his family and his friends in a frenzied campaign to force him to retreat from his report, an objective yet strong international condemnation against war crimes committed by Israel during its aggression against the Gaza Strip two years ago.

Goldstone’s personal revision –  done under duress – does not change anything related to the report. While carrying his name, it was not developed or written solely by him, but by a Commission he headed. The report remains a document adopted by the Human Rights Council and UN bodies.

Goldstone cannot undo or change a single fact of the report, which has become the most important document for the international condemnation of Israel and the war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.

Israel is trying to exaggerate Goldstone’s statements, although it refused to allow him access to the West Bank and has refused to cooperate with the committee. What we are witnessing is the result of a campaign against Goldstone to force him to say things he is not convinced of. It is a model for the ferocity of the Zionist lobby when it decides to target a person or institution.

This campaign against Goldstone is aimed at clearing the face of Israel to justify a new aggression on Gaza. What is required from the Palestinian Liberation Organization is to take the Goldstone report and the decision of the Hague Tribunal on the apartheid wall and settlements, which has been neglected for a period of six years, to the General Assembly of the United Nations. There they should explicitly demand sanctions on Israel and state that any laxity in the use of these important documents would encourage Israel to launch a counter attack to cancel their influence.

While Benajmin Netanyahu said the Goldstone report should go to the dustbin of history, it is the system of apartheid that should be relegated to history’s dustbin. Israel’s apartheid and the policy of the coalition government of the settlers represented by Netanyahu. As the people of South Africa were liberated, the Palestinian people will be liberated and one day Israel will be condemned its war crimes in Gaza and be convicted of all its previous crimes.

April 3, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment

Palestinian child run over by settler

Ma’an – April 1, 2011

HEBRON — An Israeli settler ran over a three-year-old girl and fled the scene in central Hebron on Thursday, locals said.

Lana Al-Ja’bari was transferred to hospital with moderate injuries, her relatives said

She was run over near the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in the presence of Israeli soldiers, witnesses said.

On Monday, an Israeli settler ran down a Palestinian girl on her way to school south of Hebron. He remained in the area until police arrived.

However, in two other incidents in March, Israeli settlers driving in the West Bank struck Palestinians and drove away.

April 1, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment

BDS victory against Ahava in UK

By Anna Stevens | International Solidarity Movement | March 31, 2011

Protesters outside Ahava, London

In a victory for the BDS movement, the UK flagship store of Ahava has been forced to relocate after years of protests and direct action. Ahava, an Israeli company which sells cosmetic products produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem has been a target for protesters in the UK who have sought to drive it out of London and challenge the legality of the company’s practices. In the past two and a half years protesters have blockaded the shop a number of times, preventing the store from trading. Ahava have so far been unsuccessful in securing any convictions for these actions in court. Under UK law, the crime of aggravated trespass is committed if one disrupts or obstructs a lawful activity on someone else’s property. However activists have argued that Ahava’s business is not lawful as it operates out of an illegal settlement. Ahava has also been under scrutiny for labelling its products as ‘made in Israel’ misleading customers and violating domestic consumer law. They have also been accused of evading tax by mislabelling their products.

Every fortnight the UK flagship store in Covent Garden, London is the site of a protest which regularly draws in large numbers of BDS and Palestine supporters. According to The Jewish Chronicle online these protests have resulted in complaints being made against the company by the neighbouring businesses which have led to a decision not to renew their lease when it expires. The protests have also seemingly effected Ahava UK’s profits, with their accounts up until the end of 2009 showing a total loss of more than £250,000, despite receiving more than £300,000 from its Israeli parent company, with no repayment plan.

April 1, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment

Netanyahu to Abbas: You Can’t Have ‘Peace’ with Both Israel and Hamas

Al-Manar – March 29, 2011

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday that reconciliation between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas could spell the end of the so-called peace process, after an aide to Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian president would be willing to give up U.S. aid if needed to secure unity with the rival faction, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.

“You can’t have peace with both Israel and Hamas,” Netanyahu said. “Choose peace with Israel.”

Abbas is making a heavy push for reconciliation with Hamas, and a senior adviser said Monday that he was prepared to give up hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid if that was what it takes to forge a Palestinian unity deal.

“Of course we need the American money. But if they use it as a way of pressuring us, we are ready to relinquish that aid,” said adviser Azzam Ahmed.

The Palestinian unity government is “isolated internationally” because of Hamas’ refusal to recognize the Zionist entity.

Abbas has offered to visit Gaza to lay the groundwork for national elections. Over the weekend, he met with local Hamas officials in the West Bank.

“The president is working hard in order to bring about a unified Palestinian territory before he goes to the UN,” Ahmed said.

“This visit should be for the sake of achieving progress on the ground and not only for photos and media coverage, said Mushir al Masri,” a Hamas spokesman in Gaza. “The problem is not in forming the government; it’s in reaching an agreement.”

The Palestinians receive more than $470 million a year in direct financial assistance from the U.S. The U.S. hasn’t said what it will do if Hamas returns to power in the West Bank, but it will likely cut off the funds unless Hamas agrees to renounce “violence” and recognize “Israel”. Hamas has given no indication it is prepared to do either, according to Haaretz.

March 29, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment

Turkey defers purchase of F-35 jets

Press TV – March 24, 2011

Turkey has postponed the purchase of 100 US-made F-35 warplanes in objection to the American’s refusal to share the aircraft’s technology.

Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said on Tuesday that negotiations with Pentagon officials over procurement of source codes used in the software designed for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), and codes used externally to operate the military aircraft had not yielded “satisfactory results,” Today’s Zaman newspaper reported on Thursday.

He said a range of topics has been covered in the talks but stressed that it did not yield sufficient grounds to convince Turkey to purchase the jets.

“We will evaluate the order in the next meeting of Turkey’s Defense Industry Implementation Committee,” Gonul said.

Turkish engineers reportedly would not be able to make any changes to the software that operates F-35 fighter jets without the source codes. The external flight codes are also necessary to navigate the jets.

The fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II — also known as Joint Strike Fighter or JSF — is a single-seat, single-engine and multi-role fighter. The aircraft can conduct air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions.

The F-35 Lightning II is manufactured in three different main versions; conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), carrier variant (CV) as well as a short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL). A fourth variant, the F-35 I, is a version exclusively manufactured for the Israeli regime.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Norway and Denmark have contributed financially to the development of F-35. Israel and Singapore have joined the project as security partners.

March 24, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment

‘Yemeni president seeks Saudi asylum’

Press TV – March 22, 2011

Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh has reportedly requested asylum from Saudi Arabia after announcing he will step down by the end of the year.

On Monday night, Saleh told Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz during a telephone conversation that he will be forced to give up power and requested him and his family’s asylum to Saudi Arabia, nahrainnet reported.

Earlier Tuesday, Saleh had expressed his willingness to step down by the year’s end to prepare a peaceful transfer of power in the impoverished Arab nation.

The announcement came as a reversal of Saleh’s recent comments in which he had said he would remain in power until the end of his term in 2013.

During talks with the Saudi officials, Saleh discussed the defection of senior military officials to the opposition and the resignation of many other officials from their posts.

A senior Saudi official is expected to visit Sana’a in the next 24 hours to plan Saleh and his family’s departure to Riyadh.

Saleh has been in office for more than three decades, with several opposition members arguing that his long-promised reforms have not materialized.

Protests began to sweep Yemen in January. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds more have been injured in a brutal crackdown by security forces.

Some 40 percent of Yemen’s population lives on under $2 a day or less, and a third is wrestling with chronic hunger, reports say.

March 22, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment

In Palestine, Everything is Relative: The Settler Violence You Won’t Hear About

By Yousef Munnayer | Permission to Narrate | March 14, 2011

When I heard the horrific news last night that 5 Israeli settlers were murdered in their home in the settlement of Itamar, I knew it would only be a matter of hours before a shoddy piece of journalism describes the murders as the end of a “lull in the violence” or the end of “relative calm” since 4 Israeli settlers were killed in an attack near Hebron last summer. At that time, the Washington Post ran an editorial saying that the attacks then ended “three years of peace” in the region which we posted about.

So I suppose it should come as no surprise that the Washington Post’s own Janine Zacharia leads the way this morning by displaying a complete ignorance of the situation she is supposedly covering or an overt pro-Israel bias (or both). Here’s Zacharia’s story and the critical excerpt:

The Israeli daily Ha’aretz, citing a preliminary investigation, reported that the children killed were ages 11, 3 and a 3-month-old baby. The newspaper also said that another 12-year-old daughter and two of her younger brothers managed to escape.

The attack shattered a relative calm that had prevailed in the West Bank in recent months as Palestinian security forces assert greater control in the territories where they are allowed by Israel to operate and as Israeli and Palestinians forces coordinate security efforts.

Last August, four Jewish settlers were killed in a drive-by shooting in the West Bank.

Zacharia’s chronology is likely representative of the broader mainstream media’s coverage of these events, sadly. American readers or consumers of mainstream media (MSM) are delivered a simple, straightforward message: Israelis are killed about 6 months apart and in between everything was calm.

The problem is that for Zacharia and much of the MSM “relative calm” means no Israelis were attacked, injured or killed and ignores the ongoing occupation and violence against Palestinians.

In this period of “relative calm”, the Israeli Human Rights group B’Tselem recorded at least 41 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied Palestinian territory. This includes Omar Qawasmeh, the 66 year old Palestinian civilian who was massacred in his bed while he slept by raiding Israeli soldiers and two 20-something Palestinian unarmed civilians shot and killed at the same checkpoint less than a week apart.

That reports can describe the killings of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers as “relative calm” and finding them completely unremarkable is disgusting in itself. Still, it’s only part of the story.

Readers may know that one of our ongoing research projects at the Palestine Center is the recording and analysis of Israeli settler violence against Palestinian civilians. This past fall, we made an extensive presentation of these data that shed light on a facet of occupation almost never discussed. The presentation covered data from Jan of 2009-Aug. 2010 and included over 1000 instances of settler violence. Since then, we’ve undertaken the coding of a much more significant period of time that would span 6 years and give us the ability to understand more about the history and trajectory of Israeli settler violence. This would be the most comprehensive analysis of settler violence that I am aware of. I was

hoping to make an updated presentation covering this new data in the fall, however given the recent surge in Israeli settler violence we’ve expedited the project and will make the presentation this spring.

So what instances of settler violence were there in the period of “relative calm” that Zacharia describes? There were, in fact, over 300 instances of settler violence during this period which left over 85 unarmed Palestinians injured, 4 dead, and inestimable property damage (Including thousands of torched or uprooted olive and almond trees). Among these events were over 26 acts of Arson, 59 acts of destruction of property, 32 physical attacks, 20 shootings, 60 acts of stone throwing and 23 instances of theft. There were also 10 instances of vehicular attacks where settlers mowed down Palestinian civilians including a 5-year old and 11 year old in Hebron, an 85-year old in Salfit and this horrifying act caught on video in Jerusalem.

Attacks originated from the settlements of Adora, Ariel, Ateret, Bat Ayin, Beit El, Beitar Elit, Bracha, Dulip, Efrat, Eli, Eli Zehav, Elkana, Elon Moreh, Haggai, Halamish, Harsina, Havat Gilad, Immanuel, Itamar, Kaida, Karmei Tzur, Karmel, Karnei Shomron, Kedumim, Maale Mikhmas, Maon, Maskiyot, Neve Daniel, Rehalim, Revava, Shama, Shuvot Rachel, Shilo, Sussia, Talmon, Kfar Tappuah, Yaki, Yash Adam and Yitzhar. These attacks were directed against 79 different Palestinian villages and cities in every district in the West Bank….and this is only in the past 6 months.

If these 6 months can be described as “relative calm” one really has to wonder just what extent of violence against Palestinian civilians would be considered noteworthy by the mainstream media?

In a world where everything is relative, it seems the mainstream American press has decided that Palestinian lives are relatively worthless compared to Israeli lives. But this is also a world where the mainstream media is losing its grip on the control of storytelling and information that directly contradicts faulty journalism is available at everyone’s finger tips.

We’ll continue to do our part to bring this information, especially about settler violence, to you and we hope you’ll share it with others who’d otherwise be mislead by a relatively worthless mainstream media.

March 14, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment

Cuba sentences US citizen to 15 years

Press TV – March 13, 2011

The Cuban government has sentenced a US contractor to 15 years in prison for covertly distributing laptops and cellular phones on the island.

Washington swiftly decried the jailing of American Alan Gross as “another injustice” and called for his immediate release.

Cuba’s Popular Provincial Tribunal found Gross responsible for “acts against the independence or territorial integrity” of the country, according to a statement read on state-run television.

Gross, 61, was working under contract for the US State Department when he was arrested in late 2009 for distributing the electronic devices to members of Cuba’s small Jewish community.

“Today’s sentencing adds another injustice to Alan Gross’s ordeal,” said US National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor in Washington.

Cuba also said that during the trial, the defendant “acknowledged that he had been used and manipulated” by the US Agency for International Development, which financed Gross’s company.

Gross, who can appeal the sentence, was originally accused of targeting universities, religious centers and ethnic groups to create “underground communications networks designed to foment provocations against the revolution.”

His family was devastated, Gross’s attorney said.

“At this difficult time for Alan and his family, we again call on the Cuban government to release him immediately on humanitarian grounds,” said lawyer Peter Kahn.

March 13, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment

Five West Bank Settlers stabbed to death

By Saed Bannoura – IMEMC News – March 12, 2011

Israeli sources reported that an unknown assailant, presumed to be Palestinian, attacked a family of Israeli settlers in their house in Itamar settlement late Friday night. Israeli authorities have called the murder of the family, which included a 3-year old and a baby, a terror attack.

The area around Itamar settlement in the northern West Bank, near the city of Nablus, has been the site of a number of recent attacks against Palestinians by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the last several weeks, including the beating, stoning and shooting of Palestinians with live ammunition by Israeli settlers.

Friday night’s attack was carried out by an unknown attacker who is presumed to be a Palestinian, and Israeli soldiers streamed into the settlement following the attack and set up a perimeter. The troops then invaded several nearby Palestinian villages and set up checkpoints along nearby Palestinian roads.

According to Israeli media reports, the victims were killed while sleeping in their beds, and include a mother, father, 11-year old, 3-year old and an infant. Another child, 12, reportedly managed to escape to a neighbor’s house to call for help.

The details of the attack are still unclear, and the assailant is still at large. Initial reports indicate that the killer was acting alone, with no connection to any Palestinian group.

If the attack was carried out by a Palestinian with a political motivation, this would mark the largest single attack on Israeli civilians in six years. Israeli forces have killed over 1200 Palestinian civilians in the last six years.

March 12, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment

Settlers raid villages across West Bank

Ma’an – 12/03/2011

NABLUS — Villages across the West Bank have reported raids by settlers following the murder of five Israelis early Saturday morning in Itamar settlement.

A three-month old baby girl, two children aged three and 11, and their parents were all stabbed to death in a brutal attack which has been blamed on Palestinians.

As Israeli forces launched a manhunt across the northern West Bank, residents of several Palestinian villages said they were stormed by angry settlers.

In Burin, near Nablus, village council head Ali Eid said residents of the illegal Bracha settlement raided the village.

Settlers entered Maher Mahmoud Hassen’s home and tried to take his children, who managed to escape, Eid said.

Settlers also entered the homes of Najeh and Hatem Tawfiq E’mran, he added.

Residents of nearby Huwwara also said they were harassed by settlers, who tried to enter Palestinian homes in the eastern side of the town.

Town officials called on residents to gather in the area to protect the homes in a call over the loudspeakers of the local mosque.

Residents responded to the call, and settlers left the area.

Meanwhile in Hebron, settlers threw rocks at a Palestinian Authority civil defense vehicle, smashing the wind screen and injuring the driver, police said.

Ibrahim Abu Sabha sustained head injuries from the shattered glass as he drove between Yatta and Al-Musafer villages in the southern West Bank district.

In the central West Bank village of Beitillu, residents said settlers handed out leaflets threatening residents that their lives were at risk.

Settlers distributed the statement signed by “the Jews from the land of Israel” at the village entrance, locals said.

Israeli forces have detained dozens of Palestinians since the attack in Itamar settlement. Several military checkpoints have been reinstalled and flying checkpoints set up across Nablus. Locals said the army has declared the district a closed military zone.

Israel’s military had no immediate comment.

Tensions between Palestinians and settlers have escalated since the Israeli government removed structures at an illegal outpost west of Nablus on February 28.

Settlers responded to the demolition immediately, firebombing a home in Huwarra. Two children were taken to hospital suffering smoke inhalation.

Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition at Palestinians during clashes with settlers near Nablus on Monday, injuring 10 Palestinians, medics said. One settler was injured by a rock, a spokesman for settlers said.

Settlers also smashed shops and cars and cut down olive trees in Hebron.

On March 3, settlers organized a “day of rage” rallying in Israel and the West Bank and threatening further attacks against Palestinians.

March 12, 2011 Posted by | Aletho News | Leave a comment