Just Foreign Policy News, July 28, 2012
Catholics, Jews condemn Bachmann's anti-Muslim conspiracy theory
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I) Actions and Featured Articles
*Action: House Must Sanction Bachmann for Anti-Muslim McCarthyism
Rep. Michele Bachmann is using her position on the House Intelligence Committee to promote a conspiracy theory that government officials, including State Department official Huma Abedin, are part of a Muslim Brotherhood plot to infiltrate the U.S. government. Bachmann also claims that Rep. Keith Ellison is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. Bachmann has refused to apologize or back down, even after prominent Republicans like Senator John McCain demanded that she stop. Bachmann's Muslim conspiracy-mongering is part of a broader campaign to intimidate Muslim-Americans from speaking out about U.S. foreign policy. Urge your Representative to take action.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/sanction-bachmann
The Nation: How WikiLeaks Transformed Brazil's Media
A journalist who worked on the WikiLeaks project in Brazil recounts how the revelations changed public expectations of journalism and government transparency.
http://www.thenation.com/article/169081/how-wikileaks-transformed-brazils-media
580,000 ill from cholera in Haiti
651 days, 7,501 dead, 588,725 ill since the UN brought cholera to Haiti. Still there is no apology, no compensation, no implementation of an effective plan to eradicate the disease.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/haiti-cholera-counter
Summary:
U.S./Top News
1) Forty-two religious and secular organizations condemned conservative lawmakers' allegations that Muslim-American individuals connected to the U.S. government may be trying to spread the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Huffington Post reports. They directed their criticisms at Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), who recently wrote to various government agencies and asked them to investigate the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. In their letters, the lawmakers targeted top State Department official Huma Abedin and several advisers to the Department of Homeland Security.
The signatories of the letter condemning the allegations included the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. The Anti-Defamation League has also condemned the lawmakers, calling their allegations "anti-Muslim conspiracy theories."
2) The Ecuadorean government is seeking to avert the "evil" of the extradition of Julian Assange to the US, according to a senior legal adviser to the country's embassy in London, the Guardian reports. Ecuadoran diplomats said they had been seeking assurances from the UK that Assange would not be extradited to the US after the completion of legal proceedings in Sweden, but had received no answer.
The senior legal adviser said that under extradition law, the concept of "specialty" ensures an individual can only be extradited to one country. Once legal proceedings in that country have been completed, the individual is given a 45-day leave, during which they are free to go where they want. Assange should, therefore, be free to travel to any other state once legal proceedings against him are completed in Sweden. However, specialty can be waived by the country granting the initial extradition request – in this case the UK – thereby allowing an individual to be extradited to a third country.
The senior legal adviser said the home secretary, Theresa May, would need to waive specialty under section 58 of the Extradition Act 2003, before Assange could be extradited from Sweden to the US. Despite repeated requests from Ecuador, the Foreign Office has not said whether or not May intends to exercise her powers to allow for any potential future extradition to the US.
Assange's US lawyer, Michael Ratner, said he was certain Assange had already either been secretly indicted by a grand jury in Washington or would face extradition with a view to prosecution. He believed the death penalty remained a possibility. "I have no doubt there is a serious investigation, which has gone on, and is continuing, into Julian Assange and WikiLeaks," he said.
3) Ecuadorean government officials invited the Swedish authorities to London to interview Julian Assange, The Independent reports. An advisor to Ecuador said, "we have asked the Swedish authorities why they want him in Stockholm and not in the UK; and whether they have had any contact with the USA about possible extradition." Assange's Swedish lawyer told the Independent that the questions posed by the Ecuadorean authorities must be answered by the Swedish prosecutor. Per Samuelson said: "I have on behalf of my client asked the prosecutor to go to London to do the interview but have so far not received an answer. I hope she does come this time."
4) Mitt Romney is courting American voters who live in Israel by talking up a military strike on Iran, the Guardian reports. Romney also suggested it was not "right" for the US to act as a negotiator between Israel and the Palestinians.
5) Iran is rapidly gaining new capabilities to strike at U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for any U.S. or Israeli attack against its nuclear facilities, the Washington Post reports. Analysts also cautioned that a conflict could be sparked by an Iranian attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for international economic sanctions.
Iran
6) A BBC Persian Service correspondent said Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was not gloating over the Bulgaria bombing in a speech Thursday in which he spoke of Iran's enemies getting hit back with greater harm than they cause, the Times of Israel reports. Bahman Kalbasi said any Persian speaker would confirm that the Iranian president "was in no way referring" to the previous day's attack in Bulgaria, but to western sanctions on Iran. Ahmadinejad's speech was widely interpreted in Israel as asserting that the Burgas bombing was a revenge attack for the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists, for which Iran has repeatedly blamed Israel.
Israel/Palestine
7) The Israeli Defense Ministry wants to evict hundreds of Palestinians from eight hamlets in a West Bank area the military has designated as a firing zone, rights activists said Tuesday, portraying the decision as a new Israeli land grab, AP reports. The firing zone is located in the southern Hebron Hills area, part of the 60 percent of the West Bank that remain under full Israeli control and are also known as "Area C." Area C is home to about 300,000 Jewish settlers and 150,000 Palestinians, and critics say Israel is using an array of planning and administrative tools to restrict Palestinian development there while expanding settlements.
8) An activist said the longest-ever Palestinian hunger striker has ended his protest after 103 days in exchange for a pledge of release by Israel five months early, AP reports.
Mexico
9) The government's human rights commission says there have been 126 attacks on journalists or media outlets in Mexico since 2000 and only 24 of these cases have been prosecuted, AP reports. Only two of these cases have resulted in convictions. The commission attributes the impunity largely to a failure by authorities to investigate attacks.
Contents:
U.S./Top News
1) Michele Bachmann's Muslim Brotherhood Claims Condemned By Catholic Bishops, 41 Other Groups
Amanda Terkel, Huffington Post, 07/26/2012 4:12 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/michele-bachmann-muslim_n_1706546.html
Washington -- Forty-two religious and secular organizations united on Thursday in condemning conservative lawmakers' allegations that Muslim-American individuals connected to the U.S. government may be trying to spread the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.
They directed their criticisms at Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), who recently wrote to various government agencies and asked them to investigate the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. In their letters, the lawmakers targeted top State Department official Huma Abedin and several advisers to the Department of Homeland Security.
"[W]e write to raise our voices in protest of your recent letters regarding prominent American Muslim individuals and organizations," the 42 organizations wrote in a letter to the lawmakers on Thursday. "These letters question the loyalty of faithful Americans based on nothing more than their religious affiliations and what is at best tenuous evidence of their associations. As such, your actions have serious implications for religious freedom and the health of our democracy."
The signatories include the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which often sides with Republicans on social issues, along with the Interfaith Alliance, American Civil Liberties Union, American Baptist Churches USA, NAACP and United Church of Christ.
"Far from supporting the safety of our country, these accusations distract us from examining legitimate threats using proven, evidence-based security strategies," the groups wrote. "Moreover, we know all too well the danger of casting suspicion on loyal and innocent Americans simply because they hold particular beliefs. We will not stand idly by and allow our country to revive federal investigations into innocent individuals based on their religious adherence."
The Anti-Defamation League has already condemned the lawmakers, calling their allegations "anti-Muslim conspiracy theories."
[...]
2) Ecuador seeks to stop 'evil' of Julian Assange US extradition
Ecuadorean diplomats seek UK assurances that WikiLeaks founder will not be extradited to US after proceedings in Sweden
Paul Lewis, Guardian, Thursday 26 July 2012 13.24 EDT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jul/26/ecuador-julian-assange-extradition-us
The Ecuadorean government is seeking to avert the "evil" of the extradition of Julian Assange to the US, according to a senior legal adviser to the country's embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder has sought sanctuary with a view to claiming asylum.
Diplomats for the small Latin American country said they had been seeking assurances from the UK that Assange would not be extradited to the US after the completion of legal proceedings in Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of sexual assault.
[...]
Two officials at the Ecuadorean embassy said it had been seeking assurances from both the UK and Sweden that Assange would not be eventually sent to the US, but had received no answer. They said Ecuador would now formally ask the US if there were any legal proceedings against Assange or "an investigation which has identified him as a target and which may result in a later extradition request".
The senior legal adviser said: "In legal terms … the evil that Ecuador wishes to prevent is the extradition [of Assange] to the US. Now if there are ways and means of that being tied down, I think that would be a just solution."
[...]
A political adviser to the Ecuadorean government said Assange's asylum claim had presented the country with "an absolutely extraordinary case" that placed it at the centre of a global controversy involving four other countries: the UK, Sweden, the US and Australia, where Assange was born and remains a citizen.
Ecuador was seeking to be an "honest broker", he said, while meeting its international obligations. He said that on Wednesday, Ecuador formally offered the Swedish prosecutor the opportunity to interview Assange inside the London embassy. Sweden had not responded to the proposal.
Most of the discussions have focused on seeking to establish whether, once Swedish legal proceedings against Assange are resolved, there will be any attempts to extradite him to the US.
He said Ecuador was "deeply concerned" at the prospect of Assange's extradition to a country which has the death penalty. "Ecuador has also raised the point – and is very much concerned about – life sentence," he said. "According to our law, life sentence may be equally inhumane, in the sense that any person that has no prospect of leaving confinement is, in fact, as we see it, condemned to a death sentence [for] life. For us, that is equally inhumane."
Assange's US lawyer, Michael Ratner, said he was certain Assange had already either been secretly indicted by a grand jury in Washington or would face extradition with a view to prosecution. He believed the death penalty remained a possibility.
"I have no doubt there is a serious investigation, which has gone on, and is continuing, into Julian Assange and WikiLeaks," he said. However, Ratner said it was highly unlikely the US would confirm to Ecuador or any other party that it intended to prosecute Assange.
Ever since Assange unexpectedly sought refuge at the embassy five weeks ago, diplomats have been in regular discussions with both the Swedish and UK governments.
The two officials estimated there had been more than 20 meetings – including video conferences – with the UK Foreign Office. There had also been around 10 meetings arranged between Ecuadorean and Swedish diplomats, they said.
[...]
The senior legal adviser said that under extradition law, the concept of "specialty" ensures an individual can only be extradited to one country – in the case of Assange, Sweden. Once legal proceedings in that country have been completed, the individual is given a 45-day leave, during which they are free to go where they want.
Assange should, therefore, be free to travel to any other state – including the UK, Ecuador or Australia – once legal proceedings against him are completed in Sweden.
However, specialty can be waived by the country granting the initial extradition request – in this case the UK – thereby allowing an individual to be extradited to a third country.
The senior legal adviser to the Ecuadoreans said that the home secretary, Theresa May, would need to waive specialty under section 58 of the Extradition Act 2003, before Assange could be extradited from Sweden to the US.
Despite repeated requests from Ecuador, the Foreign Office has not said whether or not May intends to exercise her powers to allow for any potential future extradition to the US.
"The concerns that Ecuador has in relation to that whole process is that some states – not least of which the US – have been known to hold back on their extradition requests, to a timely moment, when they can serve the process with greatest impact," the senior legal adviser said. "And so the concern would be that the US has in mind a request for extradition on the basis of WikiLeaks charges."
[...]
3) Ecuadorean officials invite Swedish authorities to London to interview Julian Assange
Kevin Rawlinson, The Independent, Thursday 26 July 2012
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ecuadorean-officials-invite-swedish-authorities-to-london-to-interview-julian-assange-7979239.html
The Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could yet avoid extradition for questioning over sexual assault allegations after Ecuadorean government officials invited the Swedish authorities to London, offering to host an interview there instead.
Senior Ecuadorean government sources said today they have sent a formal request to Sweden and would be happy to facilitate questioning between Mr Assange and the Swedish prosecutor in their west London embassy, where the Wikileaks founder has been staying for the more than a month after claiming asylum.
The embassy, a grand building which sits behind Harrod's in London's chic Knightsbridge, would be the perfect setting, senior officials said today.
His supporters have expressed fears that the American authorities are seeking to prosecute Mr Assange for his involvement with Wikileaks and would use his extradition as an opportunity to pounce. But Ecuadorean officials said they were also seeking assurances that, in the event of his extradition to Sweden, Mr Assange would not later be sent on to the USA.
A senior legal advisor to the Ecuadorean government said they would protect Mr Assange from that prospect for as long as it takes and would be writing to the US authorities in the coming days to ask whether they have any intention of seeking Mr Assange's forward extradition.
He added that they have already asked the British government, which must agree to the extradition, for assurances it would not do so and for information on what contact about a potential extradition – if any - they have had with their American counterparts.
"If Ecuador could be assured that the evil it wishes to prevent: the extradition to the USA of Julian Assange, could be [avoided], then that would be a just solution," the advisor said today.
He acknowledged that the Ecuadorean government has little realistic chance of getting an answer from America on the question of whether or not it plans to seek Mr Assange's extradition. But he added: "The litmus test will be the contact from the UK. If they have no problem giving assurances [that they will not allow it], then we can assume that there has been no request [from America]."
[...]
Of the British government, he said they asked whether or not it would agree to Mr Assange's forward extradition and what discussions British officials have had with their US counterparts on the issue, in a bid to ascertain America's intentions.
He added: "we have asked the Swedish authorities why they want him in Stockholm and not in the UK; and whether they have had any contact with the USA about possible extradition."
[...]
His Swedish lawyer told the Independent that the questions posed by the Ecuadorean authorities must be answered by the Swedish prosecutor. Per Samuelson said: "I have on behalf of my client asked the prosecutor to go to London to do the interview but have so far not received an answer. I hope she does come this time."
4) Mitt Romney woos Israel by considering US strike against Iran
Likely Republican presidential candidate criticises President Obama on Israel as he attempts to win Jewish vote
Harriet Sherwood, Guardian, Friday 27 July 2012 09.26 EDT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/27/mitt-romney-israel-iran-strike
Jerusalem - An American military strike against Iran's nuclear sites should not be ruled out, Mitt Romney has said in interviews with the Israeli media before his visit to the Jewish state.
He also suggested it was not "right" for the US to act as a negotiator between Israel and the Palestinians, and he accused President Barack Obama of publicly criticising its "friend and ally".
[...]
Romney has repeatedly attacked Obama over his administration's stance on Israel and is attempting to win over Jewish voters in the US. More than 70% of Jewish voters backed Obama in 2008, according to exit polls. A recent Gallup poll gave Obama 67% of the Jewish vote compared with 25% supporting Romney.
Presidential candidates traditionally refrain from attacking their opponents while abroad but, in an interview given before his departure from the US, Romney denounced Obama for public criticism of Israel.
He said if he were elected president, "I would treat Israel like the friend and ally it is. We share not only common interests, but also common values," he told the mass circulation Israel Hayom.
"I cannot imagine going to the United Nations, as Obama did, and criticising Israel in front of the world. You don't criticise your allies in public to achieve the applause of your foes. If there were places where we disagree, I would hold these disagreements in private conversations, not in public forums."
In an unusual comment, Romney also said the US should not intervene in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. America has been seen as the key international partner in the peace process for decades.
"Acting as a negotiator and usurping the primary role played by Israel in negotiating for its own future is not the right course for America to take," Romney said.
He added that the pre-1967 borders, which Obama has said should be the basis for negotiations, "are indefensible".
On Iran, Romney told Haaretz, Israel's oldest daily newspaper, that US military action "is by far the least attractive option, but it should not be ruled out. The military option should be evaluated and available if no other course is successful."
In the event of an Israeli military strike on Iran, he indicated he, as president, would stand back. "Prime minister Netanyahu always has to do what he feels is in the best interests of his own nation."
He told Israel Hayom: "My commitment is to take whatever action is necessary to prevent Iran becoming nuclear."
The Israeli government has had a frosty relationship with the Obama administration and would undoubtedly welcome a Romney victory in November. Romney and Netanyahu have been friends since they worked together in the US in the mid-1970s.
[...]
A second advertisement, from the Committee for Israel, displayed quotes criticising Obama in connection with Israel. iVoteIsrael has set a goal of 100,000 eligible Israelis casting a vote in November's election.
5) Iran bolsters retaliation capability in Persian Gulf, experts say
Joby Warrick, Washington Post, July 26
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/iran-bolsters-retaliation-capability-in-gulf-experts-say/2012/07/26/gJQAQuFUCX_story.html
Iran is rapidly gaining new capabilities to strike at U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, amassing an arsenal of sophisticated anti-ship missiles while expanding its fleet of fast-attack boats and submarines, U.S. and Middle Eastern analysts say.
The new systems, many of them developed with foreign assistance, are giving Iran's commanders new confidence that they could quickly damage or destroy U.S. ships if hostilities erupt, the officials say.
Although U.S. Navy officials are convinced that they would prevail in a fight, Iran's advances have fueled concerns about U.S. vulnerabilities during the opening hours of a conflict in the gulf.
Increasingly accurate short-range missiles - combined with Iran's use of "swarm" tactics involving hundreds of heavily armed patrol boats - could strain the defensive capabilities of even the most modern U.S. ships, current and former military analysts say.
[...]
The likelihood that Iran would risk an all-out attack on a vastly superior U.S. fleet is judged to be small. But Iranian leaders could decide to launch a limited strike if Israel or the United States bombed the country's nuclear facilities. Analysts also cautioned that a conflict could be sparked by an Iranian attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz - the narrow passage through which about 20 percent of the world's oil passes from the Persian Gulf into open seas - in retaliation for international economic sanctions.
In either scenario, Iran's ability to inflict significant damage is substantially greater than it was a decade ago. A Pentagon study in April warned that Iran had made gains in the "lethality and effectiveness" of its arsenal. The Pentagon declined to comment for this article.
Iran's increased power to retaliate has led some military experts to question the wisdom of deploying aircraft carriers and other expensive warships to the gulf if a conflict appears imminent.
A 2009 study prepared for the Naval War College warns of Iran's increasing ability to "execute a massive naval ambush" in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway dotted with small islands and inlets and perfectly suited for the kind of asymmetric warfare preferred by Iran's commanders.
[...]
A Middle Eastern intelligence official who helps coordinate strategy for the gulf with U.S. counterparts said some Navy ships could find themselves in a "360-degree threat environment," simultaneously in the cross hairs of adversaries on land, in the air, at sea and even underwater.
"This is the scenario that is giving people nightmares," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in discussing strategy for defending against a possible Iranian attack.
The Navy has ordered new systems for defending against small-boat "swarms," including ship-launched unmanned aerial vehicles and special missiles and artillery rounds for use against fast-attack craft. But many of the new defenses will not be deployed for several months, said Michael Eisenstadt, a former military adviser to the Pentagon and the State Department.
"We're behind and we're catching up," Eisenstadt said. "But if there's a conflict in the near term, we may not be completely ready."
U.S. forces would probably recover quickly from any early losses, but Iranian leaders could claim a psychological victory if the world's media carried images of burning U.S. warships in the gulf, Eisenstadt said. Al-Qaeda landed a similar blow in 2000 when suicide bombers on a small boat heavily damaged the destroyer USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden, an attack that killed 17 sailors and wounded nearly 40 others.
"A lot of Iranian ships would be at the bottom of the gulf, but [Iran] would be able to point to a victory," Eisenstadt said. "The outcome would never be in doubt when you're dealing with the most powerful military in the world. But in their minds they would have shown the world that if you mess with us, you'll pay a heavy price."
[...]
Iran
6) Ahmadinejad was talking about sanctions, not Burgas, in his speech last Thursday, says Persian expert
BBC Persian Service reporter says president's speech contained no word or phrase that related to bombing
Times of Israel, July 22, 2012
http://www.timesofisrael.com/ahmadinejad-was-talking-about-sanctions-not-burgas-in-his-speech-last-thursday-says-persian-expert/
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was not gloating over the Burgas bombing in a speech Thursday in which he spoke of Iran's enemies getting hit back with greater harm than they cause, the BBC's Persian Service correspondent in New York said Sunday.
Bahman Kalbasi, a native Persian speaker who follows Ahmadinejad's speeches closely, said any Persian speaker would confirm that the Iranian president "was in no way referring" to the previous day's attack in Bulgaria in which five Israelis and a Bulgarian was killed, and which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had publicly blamed on Hezbollah and Iran just hours earlier.
Ahmadinejad's speech was widely interpreted in Israel as asserting that the Burgas bombing was a revenge attack for the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists, for which Iran has repeatedly blamed Israel. Channel 2 (Hebrew), Ynet (Hebrew) and The Times of Israel all reported the speech as a case of Ahmadinejad gloating publicly over the terror bombing in Bulgaria, and hinting that Iran was responsible.
But Kalbasi said such interpretations reflect a mistranslation, and that the speech contains no word or phrase that indicates Ahmadinejad was talking about the bombing. The relevant section of the speech relates to western sanctions on Iran and Iran's response, he said, rather than to the Burgas bombing as on ostensible response to the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists.
Kalbasi said the key sentence was in the future tense, rather than the past - "And if anytime they harm us, we will harm them back. And usually the harm we cause is greater than the harm they cause" - and that Ahmadinejad has said "things like this" many times before.
"He was talking about growing international and economic pressure on Iran, and assuring his constituency that their government will stand up for them and fight back," said Kalbasi, noting that Thursday's speech is carried on Ahmadinejad's website.
Israel/Palestine
7) Hundreds of Palestinians face eviction, to make room for Israeli army firing zone
Associated Press, July 24
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/israels-defense-minister-wants-to-remove-hundreds-of-palestinians-from-8-hamlets-in-west-bank/2012/07/24/gJQAnQkO6W_story.html
Ramallah, West Bank - The Israeli Defense Ministry wants to evict hundreds of Palestinians from eight hamlets in a West Bank area the military has designated as a firing zone, rights activists said Tuesday, portraying the decision as a new Israeli land grab.
The firing zone, one of several in the West Bank, covers several thousand acres close to the border with Israel. Hundreds of Palestinian herders and farmers live there for part of the year in caves and shacks.
Israel's government and Palestinian residents of the area have been waging a legal battle for more than a decade. The Defense Ministry told Israel's Supreme Court earlier this week that those being ordered to leave the firing zone have permanent homes elsewhere, and that they must evacuate the area for their own safety.
Shlomo Lecker, a lawyer representing some of the Palestinians, said Tuesday that his clients own much of the area from which they are to be evicted. The Defense Ministry said herders and farmers could be granted access on weekends and Jewish holidays.
The firing zone is located in the southern Hebron Hills area, part of the 60 percent of the West Bank that remain under full Israeli control and are also known as "Area C."
The Palestinian Authority, a self-rule government set up as part of interim peace deals in the 1990s, administers the remaining 38 percent of the land, where more than 90 percent of the Palestinians live.
Area C is home to about 300,000 Jewish settlers and 150,000 Palestinians, and critics say Israel is using an array of planning and administrative tools to restrict Palestinian development there while expanding settlements.
[...]
8) Activist: Palestinian ends hunger strike after 103 days, wins early release by Israel
Associated Press, July 23
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/activist-palestinian-ends-hunger-strike-after-103-days-wins-early-release-by-israel/2012/07/23/gJQAoCWM4W_story.html
Ramallah, West Bank - An activist says the longest-ever Palestinian hunger striker has ended his protest after 103 days in exchange for a pledge of release by Israel five months early.
Sivan Weizman of the Israel Prison Authority confirmed that Akram Rikhawi ended his hunger strike Monday.
Rikhawi, 39, stopped eating on April 12, demanding to be released on medical grounds. He is said to be suffering from asthma and diabetes. He is serving a nine-year sentence for transporting suicide bombers. His official release date is next June.
Kadoura Fares, head of a Palestinian advocacy group for prisoners, says that in exchange for ending the strike, Rikhawi will be released in January.
This year, hundreds of Palestinians have staged hunger strikes to win release or better conditions. Fares says Rikhawi held out longest.
Mexico
9) Mexico: Most attacks on journalists unpunished
Associated Press, Thursday, 07.26.12
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/26/2914298/mexico-most-attacks-on-journalists.html
Mexico City -- The government's human rights commission says there have been 126 attacks on journalists or media outlets in Mexico since 2000 and only 24 of these cases have been prosecuted. Only two of these cases have resulted in convictions.
The commission attributes the impunity largely to a failure by authorities to investigate attacks.
It said Thursday that 82 journalists have been killed and 16 have gone missing since 2000. In that period there have been 28 attacks on media offices or vehicles.
The commission expressed hope Thursday that a new law to protect journalists and human rights activists will reduce the level of impunity.
Estimates of the number of attacks vary. The government's special prosecutor for crimes against journalists says 67 journalists have been killed and 14 disappeared since 2006.
---
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Catholics, Jews condemn Bachmann's anti-Muslim conspiracy theory
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I) Actions and Featured Articles
*Action: House Must Sanction Bachmann for Anti-Muslim McCarthyism
Rep. Michele Bachmann is using her position on the House Intelligence Committee to promote a conspiracy theory that government officials, including State Department official Huma Abedin, are part of a Muslim Brotherhood plot to infiltrate the U.S. government. Bachmann also claims that Rep. Keith Ellison is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. Bachmann has refused to apologize or back down, even after prominent Republicans like Senator John McCain demanded that she stop. Bachmann's Muslim conspiracy-mongering is part of a broader campaign to intimidate Muslim-Americans from speaking out about U.S. foreign policy. Urge your Representative to take action.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/sanction-bachmann
The Nation: How WikiLeaks Transformed Brazil's Media
A journalist who worked on the WikiLeaks project in Brazil recounts how the revelations changed public expectations of journalism and government transparency.
http://www.thenation.com/article/169081/how-wikileaks-transformed-brazils-media
580,000 ill from cholera in Haiti
651 days, 7,501 dead, 588,725 ill since the UN brought cholera to Haiti. Still there is no apology, no compensation, no implementation of an effective plan to eradicate the disease.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/haiti-cholera-counter
Summary:
U.S./Top News
1) Forty-two religious and secular organizations condemned conservative lawmakers' allegations that Muslim-American individuals connected to the U.S. government may be trying to spread the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Huffington Post reports. They directed their criticisms at Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), who recently wrote to various government agencies and asked them to investigate the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. In their letters, the lawmakers targeted top State Department official Huma Abedin and several advisers to the Department of Homeland Security.
The signatories of the letter condemning the allegations included the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. The Anti-Defamation League has also condemned the lawmakers, calling their allegations "anti-Muslim conspiracy theories."
2) The Ecuadorean government is seeking to avert the "evil" of the extradition of Julian Assange to the US, according to a senior legal adviser to the country's embassy in London, the Guardian reports. Ecuadoran diplomats said they had been seeking assurances from the UK that Assange would not be extradited to the US after the completion of legal proceedings in Sweden, but had received no answer.
The senior legal adviser said that under extradition law, the concept of "specialty" ensures an individual can only be extradited to one country. Once legal proceedings in that country have been completed, the individual is given a 45-day leave, during which they are free to go where they want. Assange should, therefore, be free to travel to any other state once legal proceedings against him are completed in Sweden. However, specialty can be waived by the country granting the initial extradition request – in this case the UK – thereby allowing an individual to be extradited to a third country.
The senior legal adviser said the home secretary, Theresa May, would need to waive specialty under section 58 of the Extradition Act 2003, before Assange could be extradited from Sweden to the US. Despite repeated requests from Ecuador, the Foreign Office has not said whether or not May intends to exercise her powers to allow for any potential future extradition to the US.
Assange's US lawyer, Michael Ratner, said he was certain Assange had already either been secretly indicted by a grand jury in Washington or would face extradition with a view to prosecution. He believed the death penalty remained a possibility. "I have no doubt there is a serious investigation, which has gone on, and is continuing, into Julian Assange and WikiLeaks," he said.
3) Ecuadorean government officials invited the Swedish authorities to London to interview Julian Assange, The Independent reports. An advisor to Ecuador said, "we have asked the Swedish authorities why they want him in Stockholm and not in the UK; and whether they have had any contact with the USA about possible extradition." Assange's Swedish lawyer told the Independent that the questions posed by the Ecuadorean authorities must be answered by the Swedish prosecutor. Per Samuelson said: "I have on behalf of my client asked the prosecutor to go to London to do the interview but have so far not received an answer. I hope she does come this time."
4) Mitt Romney is courting American voters who live in Israel by talking up a military strike on Iran, the Guardian reports. Romney also suggested it was not "right" for the US to act as a negotiator between Israel and the Palestinians.
5) Iran is rapidly gaining new capabilities to strike at U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for any U.S. or Israeli attack against its nuclear facilities, the Washington Post reports. Analysts also cautioned that a conflict could be sparked by an Iranian attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for international economic sanctions.
Iran
6) A BBC Persian Service correspondent said Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was not gloating over the Bulgaria bombing in a speech Thursday in which he spoke of Iran's enemies getting hit back with greater harm than they cause, the Times of Israel reports. Bahman Kalbasi said any Persian speaker would confirm that the Iranian president "was in no way referring" to the previous day's attack in Bulgaria, but to western sanctions on Iran. Ahmadinejad's speech was widely interpreted in Israel as asserting that the Burgas bombing was a revenge attack for the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists, for which Iran has repeatedly blamed Israel.
Israel/Palestine
7) The Israeli Defense Ministry wants to evict hundreds of Palestinians from eight hamlets in a West Bank area the military has designated as a firing zone, rights activists said Tuesday, portraying the decision as a new Israeli land grab, AP reports. The firing zone is located in the southern Hebron Hills area, part of the 60 percent of the West Bank that remain under full Israeli control and are also known as "Area C." Area C is home to about 300,000 Jewish settlers and 150,000 Palestinians, and critics say Israel is using an array of planning and administrative tools to restrict Palestinian development there while expanding settlements.
8) An activist said the longest-ever Palestinian hunger striker has ended his protest after 103 days in exchange for a pledge of release by Israel five months early, AP reports.
Mexico
9) The government's human rights commission says there have been 126 attacks on journalists or media outlets in Mexico since 2000 and only 24 of these cases have been prosecuted, AP reports. Only two of these cases have resulted in convictions. The commission attributes the impunity largely to a failure by authorities to investigate attacks.
Contents:
U.S./Top News
1) Michele Bachmann's Muslim Brotherhood Claims Condemned By Catholic Bishops, 41 Other Groups
Amanda Terkel, Huffington Post, 07/26/2012 4:12 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/michele-bachmann-muslim_n_1706546.html
Washington -- Forty-two religious and secular organizations united on Thursday in condemning conservative lawmakers' allegations that Muslim-American individuals connected to the U.S. government may be trying to spread the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.
They directed their criticisms at Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), who recently wrote to various government agencies and asked them to investigate the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. In their letters, the lawmakers targeted top State Department official Huma Abedin and several advisers to the Department of Homeland Security.
"[W]e write to raise our voices in protest of your recent letters regarding prominent American Muslim individuals and organizations," the 42 organizations wrote in a letter to the lawmakers on Thursday. "These letters question the loyalty of faithful Americans based on nothing more than their religious affiliations and what is at best tenuous evidence of their associations. As such, your actions have serious implications for religious freedom and the health of our democracy."
The signatories include the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which often sides with Republicans on social issues, along with the Interfaith Alliance, American Civil Liberties Union, American Baptist Churches USA, NAACP and United Church of Christ.
"Far from supporting the safety of our country, these accusations distract us from examining legitimate threats using proven, evidence-based security strategies," the groups wrote. "Moreover, we know all too well the danger of casting suspicion on loyal and innocent Americans simply because they hold particular beliefs. We will not stand idly by and allow our country to revive federal investigations into innocent individuals based on their religious adherence."
The Anti-Defamation League has already condemned the lawmakers, calling their allegations "anti-Muslim conspiracy theories."
[...]
2) Ecuador seeks to stop 'evil' of Julian Assange US extradition
Ecuadorean diplomats seek UK assurances that WikiLeaks founder will not be extradited to US after proceedings in Sweden
Paul Lewis, Guardian, Thursday 26 July 2012 13.24 EDT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jul/26/ecuador-julian-assange-extradition-us
The Ecuadorean government is seeking to avert the "evil" of the extradition of Julian Assange to the US, according to a senior legal adviser to the country's embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder has sought sanctuary with a view to claiming asylum.
Diplomats for the small Latin American country said they had been seeking assurances from the UK that Assange would not be extradited to the US after the completion of legal proceedings in Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of sexual assault.
[...]
Two officials at the Ecuadorean embassy said it had been seeking assurances from both the UK and Sweden that Assange would not be eventually sent to the US, but had received no answer. They said Ecuador would now formally ask the US if there were any legal proceedings against Assange or "an investigation which has identified him as a target and which may result in a later extradition request".
The senior legal adviser said: "In legal terms … the evil that Ecuador wishes to prevent is the extradition [of Assange] to the US. Now if there are ways and means of that being tied down, I think that would be a just solution."
[...]
A political adviser to the Ecuadorean government said Assange's asylum claim had presented the country with "an absolutely extraordinary case" that placed it at the centre of a global controversy involving four other countries: the UK, Sweden, the US and Australia, where Assange was born and remains a citizen.
Ecuador was seeking to be an "honest broker", he said, while meeting its international obligations. He said that on Wednesday, Ecuador formally offered the Swedish prosecutor the opportunity to interview Assange inside the London embassy. Sweden had not responded to the proposal.
Most of the discussions have focused on seeking to establish whether, once Swedish legal proceedings against Assange are resolved, there will be any attempts to extradite him to the US.
He said Ecuador was "deeply concerned" at the prospect of Assange's extradition to a country which has the death penalty. "Ecuador has also raised the point – and is very much concerned about – life sentence," he said. "According to our law, life sentence may be equally inhumane, in the sense that any person that has no prospect of leaving confinement is, in fact, as we see it, condemned to a death sentence [for] life. For us, that is equally inhumane."
Assange's US lawyer, Michael Ratner, said he was certain Assange had already either been secretly indicted by a grand jury in Washington or would face extradition with a view to prosecution. He believed the death penalty remained a possibility.
"I have no doubt there is a serious investigation, which has gone on, and is continuing, into Julian Assange and WikiLeaks," he said. However, Ratner said it was highly unlikely the US would confirm to Ecuador or any other party that it intended to prosecute Assange.
Ever since Assange unexpectedly sought refuge at the embassy five weeks ago, diplomats have been in regular discussions with both the Swedish and UK governments.
The two officials estimated there had been more than 20 meetings – including video conferences – with the UK Foreign Office. There had also been around 10 meetings arranged between Ecuadorean and Swedish diplomats, they said.
[...]
The senior legal adviser said that under extradition law, the concept of "specialty" ensures an individual can only be extradited to one country – in the case of Assange, Sweden. Once legal proceedings in that country have been completed, the individual is given a 45-day leave, during which they are free to go where they want.
Assange should, therefore, be free to travel to any other state – including the UK, Ecuador or Australia – once legal proceedings against him are completed in Sweden.
However, specialty can be waived by the country granting the initial extradition request – in this case the UK – thereby allowing an individual to be extradited to a third country.
The senior legal adviser to the Ecuadoreans said that the home secretary, Theresa May, would need to waive specialty under section 58 of the Extradition Act 2003, before Assange could be extradited from Sweden to the US.
Despite repeated requests from Ecuador, the Foreign Office has not said whether or not May intends to exercise her powers to allow for any potential future extradition to the US.
"The concerns that Ecuador has in relation to that whole process is that some states – not least of which the US – have been known to hold back on their extradition requests, to a timely moment, when they can serve the process with greatest impact," the senior legal adviser said. "And so the concern would be that the US has in mind a request for extradition on the basis of WikiLeaks charges."
[...]
3) Ecuadorean officials invite Swedish authorities to London to interview Julian Assange
Kevin Rawlinson, The Independent, Thursday 26 July 2012
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ecuadorean-officials-invite-swedish-authorities-to-london-to-interview-julian-assange-7979239.html
The Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could yet avoid extradition for questioning over sexual assault allegations after Ecuadorean government officials invited the Swedish authorities to London, offering to host an interview there instead.
Senior Ecuadorean government sources said today they have sent a formal request to Sweden and would be happy to facilitate questioning between Mr Assange and the Swedish prosecutor in their west London embassy, where the Wikileaks founder has been staying for the more than a month after claiming asylum.
The embassy, a grand building which sits behind Harrod's in London's chic Knightsbridge, would be the perfect setting, senior officials said today.
His supporters have expressed fears that the American authorities are seeking to prosecute Mr Assange for his involvement with Wikileaks and would use his extradition as an opportunity to pounce. But Ecuadorean officials said they were also seeking assurances that, in the event of his extradition to Sweden, Mr Assange would not later be sent on to the USA.
A senior legal advisor to the Ecuadorean government said they would protect Mr Assange from that prospect for as long as it takes and would be writing to the US authorities in the coming days to ask whether they have any intention of seeking Mr Assange's forward extradition.
He added that they have already asked the British government, which must agree to the extradition, for assurances it would not do so and for information on what contact about a potential extradition – if any - they have had with their American counterparts.
"If Ecuador could be assured that the evil it wishes to prevent: the extradition to the USA of Julian Assange, could be [avoided], then that would be a just solution," the advisor said today.
He acknowledged that the Ecuadorean government has little realistic chance of getting an answer from America on the question of whether or not it plans to seek Mr Assange's extradition. But he added: "The litmus test will be the contact from the UK. If they have no problem giving assurances [that they will not allow it], then we can assume that there has been no request [from America]."
[...]
Of the British government, he said they asked whether or not it would agree to Mr Assange's forward extradition and what discussions British officials have had with their US counterparts on the issue, in a bid to ascertain America's intentions.
He added: "we have asked the Swedish authorities why they want him in Stockholm and not in the UK; and whether they have had any contact with the USA about possible extradition."
[...]
His Swedish lawyer told the Independent that the questions posed by the Ecuadorean authorities must be answered by the Swedish prosecutor. Per Samuelson said: "I have on behalf of my client asked the prosecutor to go to London to do the interview but have so far not received an answer. I hope she does come this time."
4) Mitt Romney woos Israel by considering US strike against Iran
Likely Republican presidential candidate criticises President Obama on Israel as he attempts to win Jewish vote
Harriet Sherwood, Guardian, Friday 27 July 2012 09.26 EDT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/27/mitt-romney-israel-iran-strike
Jerusalem - An American military strike against Iran's nuclear sites should not be ruled out, Mitt Romney has said in interviews with the Israeli media before his visit to the Jewish state.
He also suggested it was not "right" for the US to act as a negotiator between Israel and the Palestinians, and he accused President Barack Obama of publicly criticising its "friend and ally".
[...]
Romney has repeatedly attacked Obama over his administration's stance on Israel and is attempting to win over Jewish voters in the US. More than 70% of Jewish voters backed Obama in 2008, according to exit polls. A recent Gallup poll gave Obama 67% of the Jewish vote compared with 25% supporting Romney.
Presidential candidates traditionally refrain from attacking their opponents while abroad but, in an interview given before his departure from the US, Romney denounced Obama for public criticism of Israel.
He said if he were elected president, "I would treat Israel like the friend and ally it is. We share not only common interests, but also common values," he told the mass circulation Israel Hayom.
"I cannot imagine going to the United Nations, as Obama did, and criticising Israel in front of the world. You don't criticise your allies in public to achieve the applause of your foes. If there were places where we disagree, I would hold these disagreements in private conversations, not in public forums."
In an unusual comment, Romney also said the US should not intervene in efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. America has been seen as the key international partner in the peace process for decades.
"Acting as a negotiator and usurping the primary role played by Israel in negotiating for its own future is not the right course for America to take," Romney said.
He added that the pre-1967 borders, which Obama has said should be the basis for negotiations, "are indefensible".
On Iran, Romney told Haaretz, Israel's oldest daily newspaper, that US military action "is by far the least attractive option, but it should not be ruled out. The military option should be evaluated and available if no other course is successful."
In the event of an Israeli military strike on Iran, he indicated he, as president, would stand back. "Prime minister Netanyahu always has to do what he feels is in the best interests of his own nation."
He told Israel Hayom: "My commitment is to take whatever action is necessary to prevent Iran becoming nuclear."
The Israeli government has had a frosty relationship with the Obama administration and would undoubtedly welcome a Romney victory in November. Romney and Netanyahu have been friends since they worked together in the US in the mid-1970s.
[...]
A second advertisement, from the Committee for Israel, displayed quotes criticising Obama in connection with Israel. iVoteIsrael has set a goal of 100,000 eligible Israelis casting a vote in November's election.
5) Iran bolsters retaliation capability in Persian Gulf, experts say
Joby Warrick, Washington Post, July 26
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/iran-bolsters-retaliation-capability-in-gulf-experts-say/2012/07/26/gJQAQuFUCX_story.html
Iran is rapidly gaining new capabilities to strike at U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, amassing an arsenal of sophisticated anti-ship missiles while expanding its fleet of fast-attack boats and submarines, U.S. and Middle Eastern analysts say.
The new systems, many of them developed with foreign assistance, are giving Iran's commanders new confidence that they could quickly damage or destroy U.S. ships if hostilities erupt, the officials say.
Although U.S. Navy officials are convinced that they would prevail in a fight, Iran's advances have fueled concerns about U.S. vulnerabilities during the opening hours of a conflict in the gulf.
Increasingly accurate short-range missiles - combined with Iran's use of "swarm" tactics involving hundreds of heavily armed patrol boats - could strain the defensive capabilities of even the most modern U.S. ships, current and former military analysts say.
[...]
The likelihood that Iran would risk an all-out attack on a vastly superior U.S. fleet is judged to be small. But Iranian leaders could decide to launch a limited strike if Israel or the United States bombed the country's nuclear facilities. Analysts also cautioned that a conflict could be sparked by an Iranian attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz - the narrow passage through which about 20 percent of the world's oil passes from the Persian Gulf into open seas - in retaliation for international economic sanctions.
In either scenario, Iran's ability to inflict significant damage is substantially greater than it was a decade ago. A Pentagon study in April warned that Iran had made gains in the "lethality and effectiveness" of its arsenal. The Pentagon declined to comment for this article.
Iran's increased power to retaliate has led some military experts to question the wisdom of deploying aircraft carriers and other expensive warships to the gulf if a conflict appears imminent.
A 2009 study prepared for the Naval War College warns of Iran's increasing ability to "execute a massive naval ambush" in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway dotted with small islands and inlets and perfectly suited for the kind of asymmetric warfare preferred by Iran's commanders.
[...]
A Middle Eastern intelligence official who helps coordinate strategy for the gulf with U.S. counterparts said some Navy ships could find themselves in a "360-degree threat environment," simultaneously in the cross hairs of adversaries on land, in the air, at sea and even underwater.
"This is the scenario that is giving people nightmares," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in discussing strategy for defending against a possible Iranian attack.
The Navy has ordered new systems for defending against small-boat "swarms," including ship-launched unmanned aerial vehicles and special missiles and artillery rounds for use against fast-attack craft. But many of the new defenses will not be deployed for several months, said Michael Eisenstadt, a former military adviser to the Pentagon and the State Department.
"We're behind and we're catching up," Eisenstadt said. "But if there's a conflict in the near term, we may not be completely ready."
U.S. forces would probably recover quickly from any early losses, but Iranian leaders could claim a psychological victory if the world's media carried images of burning U.S. warships in the gulf, Eisenstadt said. Al-Qaeda landed a similar blow in 2000 when suicide bombers on a small boat heavily damaged the destroyer USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden, an attack that killed 17 sailors and wounded nearly 40 others.
"A lot of Iranian ships would be at the bottom of the gulf, but [Iran] would be able to point to a victory," Eisenstadt said. "The outcome would never be in doubt when you're dealing with the most powerful military in the world. But in their minds they would have shown the world that if you mess with us, you'll pay a heavy price."
[...]
Iran
6) Ahmadinejad was talking about sanctions, not Burgas, in his speech last Thursday, says Persian expert
BBC Persian Service reporter says president's speech contained no word or phrase that related to bombing
Times of Israel, July 22, 2012
http://www.timesofisrael.com/ahmadinejad-was-talking-about-sanctions-not-burgas-in-his-speech-last-thursday-says-persian-expert/
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was not gloating over the Burgas bombing in a speech Thursday in which he spoke of Iran's enemies getting hit back with greater harm than they cause, the BBC's Persian Service correspondent in New York said Sunday.
Bahman Kalbasi, a native Persian speaker who follows Ahmadinejad's speeches closely, said any Persian speaker would confirm that the Iranian president "was in no way referring" to the previous day's attack in Bulgaria in which five Israelis and a Bulgarian was killed, and which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had publicly blamed on Hezbollah and Iran just hours earlier.
Ahmadinejad's speech was widely interpreted in Israel as asserting that the Burgas bombing was a revenge attack for the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists, for which Iran has repeatedly blamed Israel. Channel 2 (Hebrew), Ynet (Hebrew) and The Times of Israel all reported the speech as a case of Ahmadinejad gloating publicly over the terror bombing in Bulgaria, and hinting that Iran was responsible.
But Kalbasi said such interpretations reflect a mistranslation, and that the speech contains no word or phrase that indicates Ahmadinejad was talking about the bombing. The relevant section of the speech relates to western sanctions on Iran and Iran's response, he said, rather than to the Burgas bombing as on ostensible response to the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists.
Kalbasi said the key sentence was in the future tense, rather than the past - "And if anytime they harm us, we will harm them back. And usually the harm we cause is greater than the harm they cause" - and that Ahmadinejad has said "things like this" many times before.
"He was talking about growing international and economic pressure on Iran, and assuring his constituency that their government will stand up for them and fight back," said Kalbasi, noting that Thursday's speech is carried on Ahmadinejad's website.
Israel/Palestine
7) Hundreds of Palestinians face eviction, to make room for Israeli army firing zone
Associated Press, July 24
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/israels-defense-minister-wants-to-remove-hundreds-of-palestinians-from-8-hamlets-in-west-bank/2012/07/24/gJQAnQkO6W_story.html
Ramallah, West Bank - The Israeli Defense Ministry wants to evict hundreds of Palestinians from eight hamlets in a West Bank area the military has designated as a firing zone, rights activists said Tuesday, portraying the decision as a new Israeli land grab.
The firing zone, one of several in the West Bank, covers several thousand acres close to the border with Israel. Hundreds of Palestinian herders and farmers live there for part of the year in caves and shacks.
Israel's government and Palestinian residents of the area have been waging a legal battle for more than a decade. The Defense Ministry told Israel's Supreme Court earlier this week that those being ordered to leave the firing zone have permanent homes elsewhere, and that they must evacuate the area for their own safety.
Shlomo Lecker, a lawyer representing some of the Palestinians, said Tuesday that his clients own much of the area from which they are to be evicted. The Defense Ministry said herders and farmers could be granted access on weekends and Jewish holidays.
The firing zone is located in the southern Hebron Hills area, part of the 60 percent of the West Bank that remain under full Israeli control and are also known as "Area C."
The Palestinian Authority, a self-rule government set up as part of interim peace deals in the 1990s, administers the remaining 38 percent of the land, where more than 90 percent of the Palestinians live.
Area C is home to about 300,000 Jewish settlers and 150,000 Palestinians, and critics say Israel is using an array of planning and administrative tools to restrict Palestinian development there while expanding settlements.
[...]
8) Activist: Palestinian ends hunger strike after 103 days, wins early release by Israel
Associated Press, July 23
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/activist-palestinian-ends-hunger-strike-after-103-days-wins-early-release-by-israel/2012/07/23/gJQAoCWM4W_story.html
Ramallah, West Bank - An activist says the longest-ever Palestinian hunger striker has ended his protest after 103 days in exchange for a pledge of release by Israel five months early.
Sivan Weizman of the Israel Prison Authority confirmed that Akram Rikhawi ended his hunger strike Monday.
Rikhawi, 39, stopped eating on April 12, demanding to be released on medical grounds. He is said to be suffering from asthma and diabetes. He is serving a nine-year sentence for transporting suicide bombers. His official release date is next June.
Kadoura Fares, head of a Palestinian advocacy group for prisoners, says that in exchange for ending the strike, Rikhawi will be released in January.
This year, hundreds of Palestinians have staged hunger strikes to win release or better conditions. Fares says Rikhawi held out longest.
Mexico
9) Mexico: Most attacks on journalists unpunished
Associated Press, Thursday, 07.26.12
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/26/2914298/mexico-most-attacks-on-journalists.html
Mexico City -- The government's human rights commission says there have been 126 attacks on journalists or media outlets in Mexico since 2000 and only 24 of these cases have been prosecuted. Only two of these cases have resulted in convictions.
The commission attributes the impunity largely to a failure by authorities to investigate attacks.
It said Thursday that 82 journalists have been killed and 16 have gone missing since 2000. In that period there have been 28 attacks on media offices or vehicles.
The commission expressed hope Thursday that a new law to protect journalists and human rights activists will reduce the level of impunity.
Estimates of the number of attacks vary. The government's special prosecutor for crimes against journalists says 67 journalists have been killed and 14 disappeared since 2006.
---
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