News Highlights:
- Roman Catholic Patriarch Michel Sabbah criticizes exclusivism and occupation in the Holy Land in his Xmas message in Bethlehem.
- Israel blocks Arab clergy from reaching their churches in Bethlehem and elsewhere in the West Bank, due to new travel restrictions.
- Israel announces plans to build even more settler housing, on the eve of post-Annapolis negotiations.
- Palestinian officials condemn the settlement expansion and say it will jeopardize any progress.
- Israeli PM Ehud Olmert rules out ceasefire talks with Hamas and the Israeli deputy PM states the Israeli government wants to topple Hamas in Gaza.
Feature:
A live interview from Toronto with Aya Abou Taha from the Near East Cultural and Educational Foundation. Aya had just returned from a trip to Palestine, where she had volunteered with Project Hope in the refugee camps around Nablus. She spoke about her experiences, how the occupation and deprivation were affecting the Palestinian children in the camps, and about the daily grind of the Israeli military checkpoints. Aya concluded by talking about Necef’s projects, all tax-deductible, including an emergency campaign for Gaza.
Focus on Zionism:
Highlights of a Dec. 21st, 2007 Al-Jazeera report from Gaza City about the dialysis patients in Gazan hospitals suffering because of the Israeli blockade on spare parts for the dialysis machines.
Here is an audio file of this show: