Thursday, July 23, 2009

Arab Affairs

Palestinian Affairs: "Amman revoking Palestinians' citizenship" The Jerusalem Post, By Khaled Abu Toameh (20/7/2009): Jordanian authorities have started revoking the citizenship of thousands of Palestinians living in Jordan to avoid a situation in which they would be "resettled" permanently in the kingdom, Jordanian and Palestinian officials revealed on Monday. The new measure has increased tensions between Jordanians and Palestinians, who make up around 70 percent of the kingdom's population... "Ma'aleh Adumim, Gilo are no different" The Jerusalem Post, By Khaled Abu Toameh (20/7/2009): The Palestinian Authority is hoping that the intervention of the US State Department with Israel to halt a construction project in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood would be the first step toward taking action against new homes in Jewish neighborhoods established in the parts of the city annexed after 1967..."These attempts [by Israel] will fail and east Jerusalem will become the eternal capital of our Palestinian state," Fayad said, calling for an end to settlement construction in all the Palestinian territories, "including Jerusalem and its surroundings." "Blast injures 50 at wedding for nephew of Fatah leader" CNN (21/7/2009): A large explosion late Tuesday at a wedding party for relatives of a Fatah leader injured at least 50 people in Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said... Syrian and Lebanese Affairs "Honour killings in Syria - The law changes. Will attitudes?" The Economist (16/7/2009): BASHAR ASSAD, Syria’s president, has made it a bit harder for men to kill their daughters and sisters for the sake of “honour”. The crime had previously carried no minimum sentence; the maximum was a year. Now, a presidential decree has made a small but significant change: honour-killers must face at least two years in prison... "Lebanese army says suspects were planning foreign attacks" CNN (21/7/2009): The Lebanese army has arrested 10 suspected members of a terrorist network who the military believes were planning to attack targets abroad, the army said.Most of the suspects are not from Lebanon, said the army...