October 27, 2005
The Israeli-Palestinian Tit-for-Tat
"Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has vowed "wide-ranging and ceaseless" operations against Palestinian militants after the first suicide bombing [October 26, 2005] in two months," reports the BBC and other news agencies.
I wonder whether the bombing would have been carried out if Mr. Sharon's had shelved his policy of killing Muslim leaders in Palestine. Surely, he didn't think he could continue to do whatever he wanted without retaliation. Just asking. Here's more.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 07:35 AM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2005
What is Sharon's Post Disengagement Strategy
Al-Ahram's Graham Usher offers an informative analysis of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's strategy following Israel's recent disengagement from the Gaza Strip. It's worth reading.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 09:00 PM | Comments (0)
September 29, 2005
Is a New Phase of Conflict Developing in the Middle East?
"It is a moot point whether the Palestinian uprising is over," contends Reuters correspondent Matthew TostevinIn in an analysis of Israeli-Palestinian relations. "A new phase of conflict is already taking shape in the Middle East." Here's his analysis.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 05:59 AM | Comments (0)
September 13, 2005
Helena Cobban: 'Gaza Relieved (if not yet free)'
Helena Cobban at Just World News wrote on September 12, 2005: "I can just imagine the elation for the 1.3 million Palestinians in Gaza that the vast majority of their terrain has now been evacuated by the Israeli military. Fabulous! Now a Gazan person can do such radical things as travel the length of the Strip without having to pass through any IOF checkpoints or stroll on that large portion of the beach from which previously they all were banned.
Cobban added: "From this description of today's developments by AP's Ravi Nessman and Mariam Fam, it seems as if Gazans have even be able to cross freely into the Strip from the Egyptian side of the border, which is interesting and significant." Read why.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 06:38 AM | Comments (0)
September 07, 2005
Why Was Moussa Arafat Murdered?
Moussa Arafat, a cousin and former head of Public Security in the Gaza Strip for the late Palestinian National Authority president Yassir Arafat, was murdered at dawn today when "a group of 100 masked militants stormed" his home in Gaza, "dragged him out in his pajamas and killed him in the street in a burst of gunfire," according to The Times Online of London and other publications.
Here is The Times' report..
Posted by Munir Umrani at 06:41 AM | Comments (0)
August 18, 2005
Some 230,000 Jewish Settlers Will Remain in the West Bank
According to Reuters,"while 8,500 settlers are to leave dusty Gaza, only a few hundred will be removed from the West Bank. Reuters called the landlocked Palestinian territory "the cradle of Jewish history."
The wire service said "some 230,000 settlers will remain" in the West Bank territory." Here's more.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 10:33 PM | Comments (0)
Canada's Foreign Minister Praises Mature Leadership on Gaza
Commenting on Israel's withdrawal and eviction of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip, Pierre Pettigrew, Canada's foreign minister, said "I appreciate the very mature leadership on both sides," meaning the Israelis and the Palestinians. According to Canada.com, he made the statement "after a speech to the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations. Read more here.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)
Many Arabs View Gaza Evictions With Approval, Skepticism
Brian Whitaker at The Guardian of London noted in the paper's August 19, 2005 edition that, "Arab TV viewers in the Middle East have been watching" the eviction of Israeli settlers from "Gaza with a mixture of guarded approval and scepticism."
There are interesting quotes in his article.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 09:37 PM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2005
Gaza Settlements Story Getting a Lot of Blog Play
As of this posting, Technorati has 41,882 posts about Gaza. Many of them are on the eviction of Jewish settlers from a portion of the occupied territory.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 03:08 AM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2005
Why, Ariel, Why?
Elizabeth Davies of The Independent Online of London concluded in an August 13, 200 article that, "The planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip will bring the most sweeping changes the area has witnessed since Jewish settlements were first established in the aftermath of the 1967 Six-Day war."
"But what many hardline Israelis find hard to understand," she wrote, "is how the architect of settlement construction, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, has become the main reason for their dismantling. Here's more.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)
Palestininians Begin Israeli Pullout Celebrations
Mideast.jpost.com has an insightful article headlined "Pullout celebrations begin in the Palestinian Authority."
Posted by Munir Umrani at 05:05 PM | Comments (0)
Ayalon Vows There Will be No Scorched Earth Policy in Gaza
Danny Ayalon, Israel's ambassador to the United States, told the National Press Club in Washington on August 12, 2005 that there will be "No scorched earth policy in Gaza," according to Ynetnews.com
I wonder how he knows for certain.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 04:59 PM | Comments (0)
