Mohammed Morsi faces gravest threat of his Egyptian rule
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood president, Mohammed Morsi, faced the gravest threat of his short rule on Tuesday night as his refusal to compromise over his new powers was challenged by one of the biggest protests since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.
Egyptian court suspends work to protest Morsi move
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s two highest appeals courts suspended their work Wednesday to protest presidential decrees that gave the country’s Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi nearly absolute powers, state television reported.
* Protesters to Morsi: roll back your decree or leave
* Morsi decree that sparked crisis catches aides off guard
* Analysis: Egypt learns the art of politics amid protests challenging Morsi’s decree
* Palestinians warn: back UN statehood bid or risk boosting Hamas.
* Britain will abstain on Palestinian bid without assurances, says William Hague
* Key players and positions on Palestinian statehood
* Palestinian leaders vow to bring any suspects in Yasser Arafat death to justice
* Bones of Arafat can solve riddle of his death
* Why Iran still controls Gaza
* Iran showcases new warships near strategic waters
* Iran complains to UN about repeated US airspace violations
* Defiant Iran vows to press on with uranium enrichment
* Syria: Twin car bombs in Damascus kill 34 people
* Syrians risk lives in battle to protect nation’s ancient sites
* NATO visits southeast Turkey for patriot missiles
See comments for news updates
(Image: AL Monitor)
Nobel peace laureates call for Israel military boycott over Gaza assault
Letter with 52 signatories including artists and activists also denounces US and EU ‘complicity’ through weapons sales
* Analysis: Sunni Leaders Gaining Clout in Mideast
* Kurds say they’ll stop Islamist rebels from moving along Syria’s border with Turkey
* In Egypt and Tunisia, Salafis move from prisons to parliaments
* Syria’s stalemated conflict picks up speed again
Syrian rebels say they never expected the war with the regime to last this long. A string of strategically important victories may move the conflict along again.
* Sunni and Shiite Islam: Do you know the difference? Take our quiz.
Haaretz: Israel adopts new protocol for stateless people – Leaves stateless persons without any social rights for over a decade, and doesn’t address the issue of Bedouin who were never registered with the population registry and thus have no status in Israel
Noam Sheizaf: Why do Israeli pollsters, media ignore the Palestinians?
Ahmed Ferwana: Diary of a war: A journey home – This is the first in a series of journal entries documenting life in Gaza during Israel’s Operation Pillar of Cloud.
November 29
* Palestinians certain to win recognition as a state
* PA Will Take Arafat Case To International Court
* Syrian rebels say they shot down plane
* Syrian villagers cheer downed jet; rebels display captured missiles
* Rebels’ surface-to-air missiles open new page in Syria war
* U.S. Weighs Bolder Effort to Intervene in Syria’s Conflict
* Egypt assembly votes on constitution
* Blow to non-Muslims: Egypt panel agrees to keep Islamic principles in charter
* Morsi to speak as Egypt’s Islamists seek way out of crisis
* Wave of attacks in Iraq kills at least 39
* Military court president pushing to apply Israeli criminal law in West Bank
* * Iran sends message on Gaza, Syria
Iran sent a message last week to the West, the West’s Sunni allies and Israel that it will challenge any attempts at Sunni hegemony in both Gaza and Syria.
* Israel braces for Palestinian victory in U.N. status vote
* For Palestinian leader, stakes higher after Israel-Hamas clash
* Egypt Dispatch: Coptic Christians grapple with fear and faith (Photo Essay)
* Obama must offer a ‘grand deal’ with Iran on its nuclear program
The current trajectory is headed toward a violent endgame, writes this former spokesman for Iran’s nuclear negotiators. The Obama administration needs a new engagement policy with Iran that brings an end to 33 years of a failed ‘diplomacy plus pressure’ policy dubbed as ‘dual-track.’
* Is Russia running a secret supply route to arm Syria’s Assad?
* ‘While Israeli army in West Bank, no UN resolution will make a difference’
Here is a truly superb article at The National Journal about the atrocious job the U.S. media has done informing and educating Americans about the Palestinian side of the Palestine-Israeli conflict, and how that has affected Americans’ attitudes and beliefs about, basically, everything to do with the relationship between Israel and Palestine. The author is Scott McConnell; he’s a founding editor of The American Conservative.
Link: http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/the-official-line-palestine-7769?page=show
Great find, Kathy. Interesting article. Thanks.
* Egypt Clashes Shut Down U.S. Embassy
Glenn Greenwald, Guardian.
AP’s dangerous Iran hoax demands an accounting and explanation
Fighting cuts off Damascus airport, flights suspended
Reuters, By Oliver Holmes, November 29
Beirut – Syrian rebels battled forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad just outside Damascus on Thursday, restricting access to its international airport, and the Dubai-based Emirates airline and EgyptAir stopped flights to the Syrian capital.
A rebel fighter who identified himself as Abu Omar, a member of the Jund Allah brigade, told Reuters that insurgents fired mortars at the airport’s runways and were blocking the road linking it with the capital.
He said insurgents were not inside the airport but were able to block access to and from it.
[...]
A Syrian security source told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the army had started a “cleansing operation” in the capital to confront rebel advances.
Via Slate: Syria’s Internet Just Went Entirely Dark
Syria shuts off Internet access across the country
Shutting down of communications seen as bid to stymie rebel moves as militias attempt assault on the regime’s power base.
The Guardian, By Martin Chulov, November 29
Beirut – Syrian officials shut down nationwide internet access on Thursday and closed Damascus airport as rebels mounted offensives nearby and tried to advance on the capital from four directions. Phone networks were also crippled in much of the country, causing fear and confusion on both sides and fuelling claims that a new rebel push was gaining momentum.
Syria’s information minister blamed “terrorists” for the outage, but the communications shutdown was seen as an attempt to stymie rebel moves as militias try to co-ordinate an assault on Damascus. It was also thought to be aimed at thwarting any plans for advances in other towns and cities.
Opposition groups have also been advancing in northern Syria, particularly near the second city, Aleppo, where the downing of two regime aircraft with surface to air missiles this week has given impetus to a rebel campaign that had become a series of attritional battles.
While officials have frequently shut down internet and mobile phone access to opposition-held areas since the uprising began in March 2011, sometimes for weeks at a time, they have never before cut web and voice communications nationwide.
* Countries That Voted Against Palestine At UN Include United States, Israel And Canada
Vatican hails U.N. Palestine vote, wants guarantees for Jerusalem
Reuters, By Philip Pullella, November 29
Vatican City – The Vatican hailed the United Nations’ implicit recognition of a Palestinian state on Thursday and called for an internationally guaranteed special status for Jerusalem, something bound to irritate Israel.
The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution to upgrade the Palestinian Authority’s observer status at the United Nations from “entity” to “non-member state,” the same status as the Vatican.
“The Holy See welcomes with favor the decision of the General Assembly by which Palestine has become a Non-member Observer State of the United Nations,” a statement said.
NOVEMBER 30
* Morsy on TV: Constitutional Declaration temporary, meets revolutionary goals
* Egypt Islamists hurriedly approve new constitution
* Christians, liberals left out as Islamists back Egypt’s draft constitution
* Egyptians protest after panel approves draft constitution
* Cairo braces for massive anti-charter protest
* Syria: Airport road opens but Internet still cut
* Flights to Damascus airport cancelled for second day
* Syrian rebels begin to challenge al-Assad’s command of skies
‘Friends of Syria’ urge world to unite against Assad regime
* How Israel lost Europe’s support
* After Vote, Palestinians and Israel Search for the Next Step
* The big lie of the UN – Abbas played the part of the Jew after the Holocaust// Dror Eydar
* Israel’s Antimissile System Attracts Potential Buyers
* Kuwait election boycott shifts drama to streets
Tweeted by Bassem Sabry
Egypt presidential advisor @SekinaFouad has apparently just resigned, according to her last 3 tweets.
* Canada recalls some UN diplomats after Palestinian vote
The Conservative Assahola Party of Canada.
* Why Czechs were lone EU vote against Palestinians
* US Still Wary of Sending Arms To Syrian Opposition, Says Envoy
* As terms of Gaza truce are ironed out, concerns loom over its sustainability
* Update: Thousands converge on Tahrir; political leaders pledge to join sit-in
DECEMBER 1
* Egypt crisis: Islamists rally for President Morsi
* Egypt’s Islamists Power Through Resistance
* Egyptians fear decades of Muslim Brotherhood rule, warn Morsi is no friend to US
* US aircraft carrier crosses Suez Canal amid tight security
* Palestinians happy about U.N. vote, but some worry
* Heavy clashes around Syrian capital; tensions running high in neighboring Lebanon
* Rebels in Syria vie for control of main airport
* Fears grow as Syria blackout enters third day
* Has decisive battle of Damascus begun?
* US slams Israel’s decision to expand settlements
* Iran fires cyber police chief over blogger death
* Iraq violence rises in November: blame falls on security forces
* Maliki’s spokesman resigns over Russian arms deal scandal
* Islamists stamp mark on Egypt’s draft constitution
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* World Bank to Spend $6.4 Million in Bid To Save Gaza’s Water System