News Highlights:
- Palestinian media reports that the three-way summit between Condoleeza Rice, Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas sidestepped all the crucial issues.
- The Guardian quotes Olmert as saying that Israel and the U.S. have already agreed to not recognize the new Palestinian coalition government.
- Palestinian PM criticizes the negative U.S. attitude and says the priority of the new government will be lifting the siege and improving the conditions of the Palestinians.
- Israeli newspaper Maariv says Jordan’s King Abdullah is not happy with the Palestinian unity agreement as he had his own “peace initiative” that would have involved secret negotiations and marginalizing Hamas.
- Israeli archaeologist reveals that remains of an ancient Moslem prayer room near the al-Magharibah Gate in Jerusalem have been kept secret by Israel since 2004.
Feature:
An in-studio interview with Jon Elmer, a Canadian freelance photojournalist, who recently returned from Gaza. Jon talked about what he saw and experienced in Gaza and detailed the horrific conditions people are living under. He explained that because of the Israeli bombing of the Gaza power station last June, blackouts are frequent and can last for 40 hours. He also spoke about the lack of available basics and foodstuffs due to the Israeli siege. (See www.jonelmer.ca )
Focus on Zionism:
Highlights of a Feb. 19th, 2007 Haaretz article about an Israeli anti-wall activist being convicted of participating in a protest in Tel Aviv against the separation barrier.
Here is an audio file of this show: