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Content about fertile crescent

August 29, 2015

Two months after formally recognizing Palestine, the Vatican objected to a Palestinian request for the two observer states to be allowed to raise their flags at UN headquarters.

The ongoing dilemmas over Palestinian statehood took a new turn this week as the Vatican objected to a Palestinian Authority request for the two observer states to the United Nations to be allowed to raise their flags at its headquarters. The Palestinian leadership called on the UN to adopt a resolution approving the raising

January 28, 2015

Hezbollah fighters attacked an Israeli military convoy in the Shaba'a Farms border area—contested by Israel, Lebanon and Syria—in retaliation for an Israeli air-strike on Syria.

Hezbollah fighters attacked an Israeli military convoy in the Shaba'a Farms border area Jan.

September 19, 2014

Interior Minister Gideon Saar has ordered that the Israel's population registry recognize a separate "Aramean" identity—an apparent move to erode Palestinian identity.

The Jerusalem Post reports Sept. 17 that Interior Minister Gideon Saar has ordered that the Israel's population registry recognize a separate "Aramean" identity.

June 16, 2014

Hebron and the West Bank are heavily militarized as Israeli troops hunt for three youths whose abductions have now been claimed (somewhat dubiously) in the name of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Israel's Haaretz reported June 14 that a "Pamphlet Number 1" issued in the name of the Islamist State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and circulated around Hebron is claiming responsibility for the abduction of three Israelis in the West Bank—but the statement's authenticity is in doubt.

March 8, 2014

Zionist settlers in Hebron raise a banner reading "Palestine never existed!" This perverse denialism is alas mirrored in much that the "left" is saying about Ukraine.

This is pretty funny.

February 19, 2014

Israeli forces bulldozed five structures belonging to a Bedouin community in East Jerusalem that had years earlier been displaced from its lands in the Negev.

Israeli forces on Feb.

January 26, 2014

Leftist Palestinian parties held demonstrations across the West Bank in opposition to negotiations with Israel and US Secretary of State John Kerry's "framework proposal."

Leftist Palestinian parties on Jan. 25 held demonstrations across the West Bank in opposition to negotiations with Israel and US Secretary of State John Kerry's framework proposal that will serve as the basis for proposed talks.

October 31, 2013

Municipality officers escorted by Israeli soldiers issued demolition warrants for thousands of Palestinian homes in two East Jerusalem neighborhoods.

Municipality officers escorted by Israeli soldiers issued demolition warrants for thousands of Palestinian homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ras Khamis and Ras Shahada on Oct.

August 10, 2013

At least 28 Palestinian refugees were killed in Syria last month as refugee camps in the country continue to be dragged into the civil war, leaving thousands displaced. 

At least 28 Palestinian refugees were killed in Syria during July as refugee camps in the country continue to be dragged into the civil war. The UN agency for Palestine refugees,UNRWA, estimates that the homes of 44,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria have been damaged by conflict, and that half of t

July 22, 2013

An Israeli magistrate's court ruled to evict a Palestinian family from their home in East Jerusalem, after a six year legal battle to prove ownership of the property.

An Israeli magistrate's court ruled July 21 to evict a Palestinian family from their home in East Jerusalem, after a six year legal battle to prove ownership of the property. The court ruled that the house is absentee property and ordered the Siam family to leave the premises by the end of July, Nathira Siam told Ma'an News Agency. The family was also ordered to pay 40,000 she

June 7, 2013

Israel released former Palestinian Minister of Prisoner Affairs Wasfi Qabaha at a Nablus checkpoint, ending his two-year detention without charge or trial.

Israel on June 6 released former Palestinian Minister of Prisoner Affairs Wasfi Qabaha, ending his two-year detention without charge or trial. Previous to the two years in administrative detention, Qabaha had been detained by Israel nine times and spent 13 years in jail.

April 24, 2013

Israel's claim that Syria has used chemical weapons comes as rebel militias have assumed positions near the line of control in the Golan Heights.

The Assad regime's use of chemical weapons is announced as a "

March 29, 2013

With Israel's harsh restrictions on freedom of movement, Palestinian Christians' attempt at a Good Friday procession in Jerusalem is converted into a protest for rights and dignity. 

Such a perverse historical irony.

August 3, 2012

Holocaust-denying comments by a Hamas official win international coverage, while an Israeli military invasion of al-Aqsa Mosque received practically no mainstream reportage.

Hamas spewed some predictable ugliness about a Palestinian official's visit to the site of the Auschwitz death camp in Poland—and the mainstream and Zionist press predictably plays it for all it is worth. Ziad al-Bandak, an adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas, made the visit this week, prompting Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum t

August 1, 2012

Romney's notorious comments in Jerusalem were not only deeply racist to the Palestinians, but played into the anti-Semitic trope of the shrewd money-grubbing Jewish "Shylock."

You knew this was gonna be bad, but racist—and anti-Semitic?

April 30, 2012

In a move blasted by rights organizations, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that buildings of the Ulpana settlement outpost on the West Bank, ordered destroyed because of a claim by Palestinian land-owners, would receive a 60-day reprieve.

Israel's Supreme Court on April 29 ruled that buildings of the Givat HaUlpana settlement outpost at Beit El on the West Bank, ordered destroyed because of a claim by Palestinian land-owners, would receive a 60-day reprieve. The State Attorney's Office had filed the appeal on two days before, asking for a three-month delay in the scheduled demolition of the Ulpana outpost.

April 22, 2012

UN aid agencies in the occupied West Bank protested that Israel destroyed 21 homes of Palestinian Bedouin refugees at Khalayleh north of East Jerusalem—leaving 54 people homeless, including 35 children.

UN agencies in the occupied West Bank said April 22 that Israel last week destroyed 21 homes of Palestinian Bedouin refugees—leaving 54 people homeless, including 35 children.

April 2, 2012

The US Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in MBZ v. Clinton that the ability of a US national born in Jerusalem to list Israel as place of birth on a passport is not a political question, but remanded the case for a ruling specifically on the issue.

On March 26, the US Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in MBZ v. Clinton that the ability of a US national born in Jerusalem to list Israel as place of birth on a passport is not a political question, but remanded the case for a ruling specifically on the issue.

February 25, 2012

In the worst clash in the recent protests at Jerusalem's Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, Israeli police used tear gas and stun grenade at the entrance of al-Aqsa Mosque. Protests began after right-wing politicians called for closing the site to Muslims.

Hundreds of Muslim worshippers clashed with police Feb. 24 at Jerusalem's Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. Israeli authorities said that following Friday prayers, a large group of worshippers began hurling rocks at the controversial Mughrabi Bridge leading to the Mount.

January 21, 2012

An Israeli government plan to create a greenbelt around Jerusalem is fueling opposition among Palestinians and their supporters, who say the chain of parks  is a land grab that consolidates Israel's grip on occupied East Jerusalem. 

An Israeli government plan to create a greenbelt around Jerusalem is fueling opposition among Palestinians and their supporters. Mayor Nir Barkat's hopes the plan, which focuses on archeological preservation, will boost tourism in Jerusalem, but critics say the parks amount to a land grab that consolidates Israel's grip on occupied East Jerusalem.

December 16, 2011

Amid days of three-way violence on the West Bank between Palestinian protesters, Jewish settlers and Israeli security forces, global outrage is growing at the death of a young Palestinian man in a demonstration against seizure of village lands.

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the West Bank Dec.

October 7, 2011

Members of U.S. Congress move to impose severe economic penalties on Palestine if it continues to seek statehood. This is an offense against the "democratic" values that both the U.S. and Israel purport to uphold.

Enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as fundamental human prerogatives are "the right of the people peaceablyto assemble, and to petition...for a redress of grievances." The amendment expressly banned Congress from abridging that right.

October 1, 2011

The US has already cut funds to the Palestinian Authority as a punitive measure in response to its statehood bid. From Kosova to Western Sahara, numerous other countries around the world similarly wait and sacrifice for UN recognition.

The UN Security Council’s Standing Committee on Admission of New Members is currently considering Palestine's application for full United Nations membership.

September 26, 2011

The right-wing blogosphere is having a field day with claims that Palestinian ambassador Maen Rashid Areikat called for a "Jew-free Palestinian state." But Areikat responds that it's "a total fabrication" and a "total set-up" by conservo-bloggers.

The right-wing blogosphere is having a field day with this one. The Daily Call started it all with a Sept.