be just

BBC NEWS | Africa | 'Fighter influx' for Somali group : "An Islamist commander in Somalia has told the BBC there has been an influx of fighters from overseas joining their battle against the interim government. The al-Shabab militant leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said several hundred foreigners had joined their militia, many from Pakistan."

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Gaza girl killed in border clash : "A 17-year-old Palestinian girl has been killed in Gaza by Israeli fire. After initial denials, Israeli army officials said the girl was killed by Israeli troops during a clash with Palestinian militants on Thursday. Reports say that two others were injured in the exchange in central Gaza near the Israeli border. The Gaza-Israel border has been quiet, except for sporadic violence, since Israel launched a devastating three-week campaign in Gaza in late December. Six months after the offensive, Gaza remains under blockade, a state of affairs Israel says will continue while its soldier Gilad Shalit remains in Hamas captivity. Reports named the 17-year-old girl as Hyam Ayash, a resident of the Deir al-Balah refugee camp. West Bank violence Separately in the West Bank, a Palestinian woman carrying a toy gun was shot and wounded by Israel soldiers as she approached a checkpoint, the Israeli military says. Reports suggest the wo...

AFP: Amnesty accuses Israel of using human shields in Gaza : "JERUSALEM (AFP) — Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israeli forces of war crimes, saying they used children as human shields and conducted wanton attacks on civilians during their offensive in the Gaza Strip. The London-based human rights group also accused Hamas of war crimes, but said it found no evidence that the Islamist rulers of Gaza used civilians as human shields during the 22-day offensive Israel launched on December 28. It also reiterated its call for an international arms embargo against Israel. 'Much of the destruction was wanton and resulted from direct attacks on civilian objects,' Amnesty said in a study. Israeli troops forced Palestinians to stay in one room of their home while turning the rest of the house into a base and sniper position, 'effectively using the families, both adults and children, as human shields and putting them at risk,' the group said. 'Intentionally using...

Housing Minister: Spread of Arab population must be stopped - Haaretz - Israel News : "Housing Minister Ariel Atias on Thursday warned against the spread of Arab population into various parts of Israel, saying that preventing this phenomenon was no less than a national responsibility. 'I see [it] as a national duty to prevent the spread of a population that, to say the least, does not love the state of Israel,' Atias told a conference of the Israel Bar Association, which focused on a reforming Israel's Land Administration. The Shas minister referred to Harish, a housing project built for the Haredi community in northern Israel, saying that the Arab population from the nearby Wadi Ara was spreading into the Harish area."

A Message from Cynthia from a Cell Block in Israel : Information Clearing House - ICH : "Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire Speaks from Israeli Jail Cell After Arrest on Boat Delivering Humanitarian Aid to Gaza"

Iraq a Failed Imperialist Venture : Information Clearing House - ICH : "Iraq a Failed Imperialist Venture By Haroon Siddiqui July 03, 2009 'The Star' -- American troops were not welcomed with flowers in Iraq but their departure from cities and towns has been. Iraqis celebrated National Sovereignty Day Tuesday as U.S. troops were yanked out of populated centres and put into remote bases. In time, even that hidden presence will begin to grate on the Iraqis, just as a U.S. military base in Saudi Arabia had spurred Osama bin Laden and others. Yet this limited troop pullout is being hailed as a triumph. One is reminded of Richard Nixon's 1973 boast of 'peace with honour' in Vietnam. The 1973 Paris treaty that led to the U.S. troop withdrawal was a face-saving formula. In Iraq, too, the U.S. has little choice but to get out. Not only did the Iraqi invasion and occupation prove the limits of military power, it also exposed how incapable America has become at nati...

McKinney: I'm in jail in Israel | ajc.com Former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney revealed in a phone call posted online that she is in an Israeli prison with others who attempted to run a blockade to deliver supplies to Gaza. McKinney and about 18 other activists in Israeli custody for the past three days will likely be released by Sunday, according to the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. Spokesman Jonathan Peled said preparations are being made to deport the activists. “It is taking slightly longer. Former congresswoman McKinney is not cooperating with the authorities” and refusing to sign a document acknowledging deportation, he said. “It’ll take a couple more days before she is put on a plane and flown out of Israel,” Peled said. A blog entry Thursday on a MySpace page for McKinney said the passengers refused to admit in writing to violating the blockade and trespassing Israeli territorial waters. The Greek-registered Arion with 21 passengers aboard was in ...