Ex-U.S. president Carter to Haaretz: ‘Israel must talk to everyone’
Akiva Eldar;14/4/08
Former United States president Jimmy Carter, who arrived in Israel Sunday, rejects the criticism he’s been subjected to over his planned meeting with Hamas leader Khaled Meshal. According to Carter, peace cannot be achieved without talking to all the relevant people, and he will use the meeting to promote efforts to release Gilad Shalit and to uncover the fate of soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. Carter told Haaretz Sunday in an exclusive interview that he intends to check Meshal’s willingness to accept the Arab League peace initiative. Carter says that acceptance of this plan by Hamas would be a very positive step. Carter said ignoring a large segment of the Palestinian people would make it impossible to achieve peace.
See; http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/974464.html
IDF probing why Palestinians held 16 hours at checkpoint
Akiva Eldar;14/4/08
The Israel Defense Forces has opened an investigation into allegations that 46 Palestinians were detained for no reason at a West Bank checkpoint for 16 hours last week, and their car tires punctured. The human rights group MachsomWatch (which overlooks IDF activity at checkpoints) filed a complaint about the incident with the army. According to a MachsomWatch report, IDF troops at the checkpoint, located along Highway 5, stopped the Palestinian job-seekers, males aged between 14 and 50, on suspicion of trying to enter Israel along with five drivers suspected of ferrying illegals. The Palestinians were detained early in the morning, and kept standing for hours, on the grounds that “when they sit down they make trouble.”
See: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/974462.html
Shin Bet admits using relatives to pressure jailed Palestinians
14/4/08
The Shin Bet security services on Sunday admitted to arresting relatives of individuals under interrogation to extract confessions from the prisoners. The head of the Shin Bet’s interrogration department told the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee: “Certainly we used this method, but only on one occasion. The admission was in a response to a report submitted to the committee on Sunday by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.
See: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/974439.html
See: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/14F0985B-186E-498E-B72B-D2062FD4431A.htm
West Bank security crackdown masks a growing bitterness
Joseph Krauss;14/4/08
After seven years of hiding from the Israeli army in the narrow streets of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Abu Islam has traded his rifle and mask for an oven and an apron. The 39-year-old veteran of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a group loosely tied to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fateh Party, now runs a bakery in the centre of town thanks to an amnesty agreement. But like many in Nablus, which saw fierce fighting during the Intifada, Abu Islam doubts that the latest Palestinian-led security crackdown will pave the way for peace with Israel. He asked that his full name not be used. “The day the Israelis withdraw from the West Bank Hamas will take over… The people are under so much pressure now that the situation could explode at any time,” he says, handing bags of warm flatbread to customers.
See: http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=7138
Tags: Bitterness, Carter, Checkpoint Harrassment, Hamas, Torture