News Highlights:
- Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh says he is hopeful the unity talks in Saudi Arabia will produce permanent results.
- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials tell Israel to stop excavations near the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem which could damage archaeological ruins; excavations may also endanger regional diplomatic efforts.
- British Foreign Secretary visits region following last week’s quartet meeting in Washington, which disagreed over the policy of isolating Hamas.
- Date set for 3-way summit with Ehud Olmert, Mahmoud Abbas and Condoleeza Rice on Feb. 19; Olmert says he hopes Abbas will not form unity government.
- Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians condemns the creation of a parliamentary “Israel Allies Caucus” by the Harper government.
Feature:
A live interview with Randy Janzen from Nelson, B.C. who recently returned from a trip to the occupied Palestinian territories. Randy volunteered with the Christian Peacemaker Team CPT in Hebron/AlKhalil and he gave some background about the CPT and how they were invited as witnesses by the mayor of Hebron over 10 years ago. Randy spoke about the difficulties Palestinian civilians were facing in crossing one of the major streets, Shuhada St., in the city and also detailed some of the other harassment Palestinians faced.
Focus on Zionism:
Highlights of a Feb. 5th, 2007 article in the British Independent about a new organization of British Jews that was launched as a counter-balance to the uncritical support for Israeli policies from the established Jewish groups.
Here is an audio file of this show: