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From The Times of Israel
GOP candidates divided over renewing Patriot Act
Controversial surveillance law expires June 1, leaving libertarians and defense hawks at odds on best way to fight terrorism
May 9, 2015, 11:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican senators eyeing the presidency split over the renewal of the USA Patriot Act surveillance law, with civil libertarians at odds with traditional defense hawks who back tough spying powers in the fight against terrorism.
The political divide will be on stark display this month as Congress debates reauthorization of the post-Sept. 11 law ahead of a June 1 deadline. The broader question of privacy rights has gained attention since a former National Security Agency systems administrator, Edward Snowden, disclosed in 2013 that the NSA had been collecting and storing data on nearly every American’s phone calls for years.
On one side, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina want Congress to permanently reauthorize parts of the law, giving the NSA much of its surveillance authority.
If there were another attack, “the first question out of everyone’s mouth is going to be, ‘why didn’t we know about it?’” Rubio said this week in a speech on the Senate floor. “And the answer better not be, ‘because this Congress failed to authorize a program that might have helped us know about it.’”
The rise of Islamic State militants, the continued threat from al-Qaida and the ongoing civil war in Syria have pushed national security to the forefront in the 2016 race for the GOP nomination, with some candidates determined to show their toughness. On NSA surveillance, however, Americans are wary of government intrusion.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The Nat’l Jewish Democratic Council’s questions for Scott Walker
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a likely candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is about to visit Israel for the first time — without media, as we reported last week.
So the National Jewish Democratic Council has ginned up a few questions for him. Some of these are, unsurprisingly, of the gotcha variety. (Like, why is this his first visit, when Hillary Clinton has been there dozens of times? Well, Walker is a governor, HRC was first lady, senator from New York and secretary of state.)
One of their questions leapt out at me, though, not so much for what it says about Walker, but for what it says about how the political discourse on Israel has evolved:
How do your positions differ from Sheldon Adelson, one of the primary backers of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), the organization co-funding your trip? You may recall that last November, Mr. Adelson reportedly said, “So Israel won’t be a democratic state, so what?” Do you think that Israel needs to remain a democratic state in the future? Do you also support a Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security?
From PressTV
EU criticizes new Israeli settlement plan
The European Union (EU) has criticized the Israeli regime for its new plan to continue illegal settlement expansion on the occupied Palestinian lands.
The criticism came two days after Israel approved the construction of 900 new illegal settler units in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The 28-member EU said in a statement on Saturday that the Tel Aviv regime’s plans are in fact an obstacle to the so-called peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.
“Israel’s determination to continue its settlement policy despite the urging of the international community not only threatens the viability of the two-state solution but also seriously calls into question its commitment to a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians,” the statement read.
US State Department spokesman, Jeff Rathke, had earlier called the Israeli regime’s decision “disappointing” and “damaging.”
From PressTV
Israel troops attack West Bank protest, several wounded
Several Palestinians have sustained injuries when Israeli forces attacked a group of Palestinians staging a protest rally in the occupied West Bank over the Tel Aviv regime’s expansionist polices.
On Friday, dozens of Palestinians held a demonstration in the town of Silwad, located 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) northeast of Ramallah, on Friday afternoon to express their resentment with illegal Israeli settlements.
Violence erupted when Israeli soldiers stormed the gathering and fired tear gas canisters as well as live bullets at demonstrators to break up the protest. Young Palestinian men hurled stones and empty bottles at the Israeli troopers in return.
The Israeli forces also broke into dozens of homes in the occupied West Bank and violently searched them, causing excessive property damage.
Later in the day, Israeli military vehicles rolled into al-Jalazone Palestinian refugee camp, located 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) north of Ramallah, and used rounds of rubber-coated and live bullets as well as gas bombs to disperse a weekly protest.
From PressTV
Israeli troops shoot, injure Palestinian teen in Gaza
Israeli military forces have shot and critically injured a teenager in the Gaza Strip as the Tel Aviv regime’s acts of aggression against the Palestinians in the besieged territory continue unabated.
Palestinian emergency services spokesman, Ashraf al-Qudra, said Israeli troops shot a 17-year-old boy, whose name was not immediately released, in the head near a fence separating the blockaded coastal enclave from the Israeli-occupied Palestinian lands on Friday.
An Israeli army spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the shooting, claiming that Israeli forces opened fire after a group of Palestinians had been seen “approaching the fence.”
The incident comes less than a month after a 14-year-old Palestinian boy, identified as Fadi Abu Mandil, was critically wounded by a stray Israeli bullet while studying in his home in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Mandil has already been transferred to the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, where he is set to undergo surgery. The Palestinian teenager’s family says the boy is unable to walk.
From PressTV
Ethiopians nabbed in demos say abused by Israeli police
A number of Ethiopians arrested during last week’s protests against the Tel Aviv regime’s racism and police brutality say they were abused while in custody.
The Ethiopians said the Israeli police denied them medical treatment although they were badly beaten and did not allow them out to relieve themselves, Israeli newspaperHaaretz reported on Friday.
Describing the police conduct as brutal and contemptuous, those nabbed also emphasized that they would not have been treated that way if they had different skin color.
Nebo Ari Bako, one of the protesters arrested, was quoted as saying that he had his jaw and several of his teeth broken after a policeman pulled his hair, choked him and twisted his arm while another officer hit him in the face and back of the head with a police radio.
Bako further noted that he was taken to Meir Hospital for treatment some three hours later after he was wounded.
From PressTV
New report sheds light on Israeli atrocities in West Bank
A Palestinian organization has published a new report shedding further light on the Israeli atrocities committed against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in April.
In the report, published on Thursday, the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan said that Israeli soldiers killed one teen and kidnapped 120 Palestinians in al-Quds (Jerusalem) in April.
According to the report, Israeli troops shot and killed 16-year-oil Ali Saeed Abu Ghannam on April 25 when he was trying to cross a military roadblock in the city.
“Israel held the body of the slain teen, and tried to place preconditions by attempting to force the family to pay a high fine, and limit the number of [the] Palestinian[s] who would participate in the funeral ceremony, but the family refused the Israeli demands,” the report said.
The information center, which is known as Silwanic, said that scores of Palestinians were also shot and injured by Israeli forces in April.
From PressTV
Israel approves construction of 900 new settler units
Israel has approved the construction of 900 new illegal settler units in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), despite mounting international criticism of its expansionist policies.
An Israeli activist group known as Peace Now said on Thursday that the city’s district planning committee has given the go-ahead for the new housing units to be built in Ramat Shlomo settlement.
“They’ve approved the request, and now they’re allowed to build,” media outlets quoted Peace Now spokeswoman, Hagit Ofran, as saying, who also added, “The plan (for 900 units) has been approved even though they don’t have the roads.”
The Israeli Interior Ministry had already announced a plan to build hundreds of settler homes in the same ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in East al-Quds. However, construction was delayed because the planning committee said new roads need to be built first.
The latest approval comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finally managed to form his ruling coalition before a deadline for the formation of new government. He has announced a deal with the Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi), a Zionist pro-settlement party.
International criticism is growing against Israel’s settlement activities. The international community regards all Israeli settlements built on the occupied Palestinian land as illegal.
