News Highlights:
- Human rights groups call for the immediate opening of the Rafah crossing at the Gaza border, indicating that 20 people have already died waiting to return to Gaza.
- Int’l. Federation of Journalists and the Palestinian Journalists Union both criticize the action by Hamas militants in seizing Palestinian newspapers; some Hamas legislators also condemn the violation of press freedom.
- For the first time, the appointed Palestinian Authority cabinet publishes a policy platform that drops resistance to Israeli occupation as a basic principle.
- Another Palestinian political prisoner dies in an Israeli jail from lack of medical attention.
- Hamas official releases documents showing that Mahmoud Abbas’ government was corrupt financially.
- Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak calls for scorning of draft dodgers, after new report shows that a quarter of all draft-age males are not enlisted in the army.
Feature:
A live interview with Palestinian-American professor Dr. George Bisharat from California. Dr. Bisharat talked about his family history, and why he got involved in the Palestinian struggle. He explained that he felt the two-state solution sells the Palestinians short and also called for supporting the boycott and divestment campaign against Israel. Dr. Bisharat also discussed how he was the target of prominent Zionist groups and why they seemed threatened by his writings and activities.
Focus on Zionism:
Highlights of a July 30th, 2007 article in the Israeli news website Ynet about five Israeli soldiers who were not held responsible for their part in critically wounding a Palestinian civilian because they stated they were only carrying out orders.
Here is an audio file of this show: