News Highlights:
- Israeli military invade Nablus and the Balata refugee camp, damaging homes and arresting 11 Palestinians; university female student also grabbed at a checkpoint.
- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice visits region, and plans for summit with Israeli PM and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
- Palestinian officials, including Abbas, reject U.S./Israeli idea of “temporary state”.
- Israeli human rights group criticizes Israeli military for saying it doesn’t have the authority to protect Palestinian civilians from settler attacks in Hebron/AlKhalil.
- Mahmoud Abbas to travel to Damascus, as unity talks continue there between Hamas and Fateh officials.
Feature:
A special Eyewitness Palestine, with two reports from Israeli human rights groups and academics. The first report was from Israeli professor Ilan Pappe and was carried on The Electronic Intifada on Jan. 11th, 2007. The report analyzed Israeli military policies in the West Bank and Gaza, labelling them as ethnic cleansing and genocide. Prof. Pappe also looked ahead to 2007 and stated boycott and divestment were the only way of stopping Israel. The second report was from Btselem and talked about the new military order in the West Bank that forbids Israelis and tourists from transporting Palestinians in their cars without a permit.
Focus on Zionism:
Highlights of a Jan. 15th, 2007 Haaretz article about two Israeli officers that got just probation over the killing of four Palestinian civilians, when an Israeli tank fired directly into a crowd breaking curfew.
Here is an audio file of this show: