Salem-News.com Palestine articles Page 23

Hague, Sworn Enemy of Criminal Impunity, Still Soft on Israel`s War Crimes

Knowing his record, isn't that just another case of our brave Foreign Secretary shooting his mouth off? Judge for yourselves.

(LONDON) - A few days ago we were talking about Agent Willie Hague's self­proclaimed commitment to smoke out war criminals, bring them to account and support the International Criminal Court in its investigations.

“If you commit war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide you will not be able to rest easily in your bed,” he said. But knowing his record, isn't that just another case of our brave Foreign Secretary shooting his mouth off? Judge for yourselves.

Jordan Revisited

Jordan, a constitutional monarchy where I did my bachelor degree, is still a fascinating, beautiful and diverse place.

(BETHLEHEM) - The distance from Amman to my house in Beit Sahour is 45 miles (72 kilometers). In normal situations, that should take 1-1.5 hours. Sunday it took me some 13 hours (i.e. Ten times more) and I arrived at my home at 3 AM. I won’t bore you with details of misery and can just summarize the main reason: occupation.

The illegal military occupation and colonization of the West Bank by Israeli forces has now been in place for almost 47 years, one of the longest in history. I see the worst of people and the best of people daily. I spent five days in Jordan working on biodiversity issues with my friend Prof. Zuhair Amr.

Is Netanyahu Certifiable?

Though I am not an expert on the subject, it seems to me that what Netanyahu needs most of all is some psychiatric help.

(LONDON) - The expanded and most explicit form of my headline question is this.

Is Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu of sound mind and knowingly talking propaganda nonsense about threats to Israel’s security in order to fool the world including most of its Jews, or, is he unbalanced, mentally disturbed, even clinically insane?

Village Destruction in the Jordan Valley

Israel is aided and abetted by every U.S. President and Congress and every American tax payer who elects pro-Israel governments. We are all guilty because we tolerate or encourage the permanent intimidation of our public officials by Israel and its American allies.

(CHICAGO) - British journalist and author Victoria Brittain traveled to the Jordan Valley to see the actual conditions and latest developments in one of the areas under discussion in the peace negotiations John Kerry is conducting between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

A people under military occupation, prisoners in their own land, controlled by outside forces, live in the area in which Victoria Brittain traveled.

NY Mayor Tells AIPAC: `Part of my job description is to be a defender of Israel`

The mayor says he feels a “special obligation” to support Israel.

(CHICAGO Mondoweiss) - My goodness. Here’s a tape of NY Mayor Bill de Blasio praising Israel at a closed-door function for the Israel lobby group AIPAC in Manhattan last night, reported by Sally Goldenberg of Capital NY.

De Blasio said that the U.S. should boycott Saudi Airlines, and that the Israeli-Cornell campus that his predecessor Michael Bloomberg set in motion in NY is “an extraordinary transcendent development” that will go forward under his administration.

17,000 Being Starved to Death in Damascus and No One Cares

17,000 Palestinian Refugees in the Yarmouk Camp in Damascus are being starved to death by Al Qaeda Terrorists who will not let them leave to buy food.

(DAMASCUS ) - This has been going on for months now and the world is turning a blind eye to their plight. Instead the west are supporting the very terrorists who are using these people as human shields.

There are babies in the camp who have already died. One mother managed to escape to get some food so that she could make milk to breastfeed her baby. The terrorists prevented her returning and the baby died.

Deadly Blast at Haret Hreik Leaves Neighborhood Devastated

LBCI TV in Beirut reported that, "the group of the Palestinian Ahmed Taha has links to the suicide bombing." However reliable sources told Salem-News that this is not true, adding that no Palestinians were involved.

(SALEM / BEIRUT) - Naharnet Newsdesk in Beirut, reports that the booby-trapped Kia car that exploded Tuesday in Haret Hreik came from the Sabra Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, on the outskirts of the southern suburbs.

Dr. Franklin Lamb, an international attorney and observer who lives in the area, adds that the car originated from an area near the Cola intersection leading to Fakhani, the former "Security Zone" of the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) where one can catch a van ride to the Masnaa border crossing.

PRESS TV: Blast at Haret Hreik Claims Promising Young Lives

Teen in Dahieh who escaped three bombings dies in blast. Salem-News.com writer Franklin Lamb knew two of the victims.

(SALEM / BEIRUT) - Naharnet News began their article about the death of Maria Jawhari, a teen girl in Beirut, with her quote, "This is the third bombing that I escape, I don't know if the fourth will kill me – feeling sad."

18-year-old Maria Hussein al-Jawhari wrote those words on her Facebook page on 02 January 2014, in the wake of the deadly blast that rocked al-Arid Street in Haret Hreik.

Battling Racism in the South Hebron Hills

Umm al-Ara’is, Khushiyya and Twaneh by David Shulman

(UMM AL-KHAIR, Occupied Palestine) - It’s not a good time to walk through the fields. The first, tentative green shoots are pushing up from soft soil irrigated by last month’s fierce snowfall.

At Umm al-Khair, the huge field we cleared of rocks and thorns last summer is now a miracle of Irish green, wildly at odds with the browns and purples of the desert. The light is wintry, crisp, more than sufficient to highlight the gap between good and evil.

So When Will International Justice Save Palestine?

“If you commit war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide you will not be able to rest easily in your bed: the reach of international justice is long and patient.... There is no expiry date for these crimes...." (William Hague, British foreign secretary)

(LONDON) - Eighteen months ago UK foreign secretary William Hague delivered an important speech at the Hague, home of the International Criminal Court.

He spoke of a growing reliance on a rules ­based international system. "We depend more and more on other countries abiding by international laws.... We need to strengthen the international awareness and observance of laws and rules....”