Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (28 April – 04 May 2011)

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF wounded seven civilians, including five children and a woman, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Three of the children were wounded in Bil'ein village, west of Ramallah, as two of them were wounded when IOF moved into the village on 28 April 2011 while the third child was wounded in Bil'ein’s weekly protest. The other four Palestinians, including two children and a woman, were wounded in an artillery shelling that targeted a house in the Gaza Strip.

In the West Bank, on 28 April 2011, IOF moved into Bil'ein village, west of Ramallah. Some boys gathered and stoned IOF who immediately responded by firing bullets, rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas canisters and sound bombs. Two children were wounded as a result and many civilians suffered gas inhalation.

IOF used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to Israeli settlement activities and the construction of the annexation wall in the West Bank. As a result, a Palestinian child was wounded during the reporting period. In addition, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international human rights defenders participating in peaceful protests in the West Bank suffered from tear gas inhalation and bruises as they were beaten by IOF.

In the Gaza Strip, on 28 April 2011, four Palestinian civilians were wounded when IOF positioned on the border east of Gaza Valley (Juhor al-Dik) village fired six artillery shells at a house belonging to Jaber Ismail Abu Said, 66. Four of the shells directly hit the house. Four civilians, including two children and a woman, were wounded as a result. The shelling also caused damages to the house, especially the second floor.

Gilad has managed to steer the international discourse through skill, knowledge and intellect into the most taboo subject in western countries, Jews and Israel. The meeting held in Central London on the subject of Zionism Jewishness and Israel headed by Gilad Atzmon included Alan Hart, Sameh Habeeb and Karl Sabbagh was a continuation of this discourse - a discourse that many Zionists and its Jewish supporters have tried to suppress. In a world where one cant mention the 'J' word without being labelled anti Semitic Gilad not only mentions the J word and Zionism but also attempts to highlight what is the driving force that fuels the criminal barabaric policies of the state of Israel. According to Gilad "Jewish identity politics is foreign to humanism and universalism, it is tribal and has evolved as an outcome of an exilic culture."

The meeting was a breath of fresh air where democracy was in full swing, the one subject that is least discussed out of fear of being labelled an anti Semite, or due to Zionists suppressing any debate - was aired by a group of intellectuals, Jews and non Jews to understand where was and is the humanity when thousands of Palestinians, women and children are being systematically killed, bombed and starved to death by Israel - why and how, as the bombs were raining down on Gaza, Israelis families sat on hill tops viewing and cheering the carnage while they were having a picnic? Why the Mavi Mara taking aid to Gaza was attacked by Israeli soldiers and 9 people were horrifically killed?

Gilad Atzmon: Winners and Losers
Lauren Booth: 'Jewishness', scare tactics, and a sense of humour.

The deal spawned angry condemnation from the Israeli ruling coalition, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labeling it a “victory for terrorism” and comparing the new coalition to al-Qaeda. Israeli officials ruled out restarting peace talks again with the Palestinian Authority.

The threats not to resume the peace talks is likely a meaningless one, as Israel ended the talks in September. Officials had repeatedly ruled out restarting the talks before the deal was even announced, and the reconciliation has just become the latest excuse for it.

US President Barack Obama has ruled out a need for the release of photos of Osama bin Laden's body, while the news of the al-Qaeda leader's killing has raised questions worldwide.

In an interview with Press TV, Stephen Lendman, a research associate of the Center for Research on Globalization in Chicago, and Webster Tarpley, an investigative journalist from Washington, expressed their comments on the death of bin Laden. Transcript.

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir warns America of “disastrous consequences” if more Laden-like raids are carried out in the country.

The Pakistani army and the government have been criticized for Monday’s raid on the compound of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, with many angry over the violation of the country’s sovereignty and doubtful of government claims it was not aware of the raid. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said on Thursday “there shall not be any doubt that any repetition of such an act will have disastrous consequences.” He also informed that the episode was a covert operation by United States and his country was not part of it. “Pakistan was not consulted,” he said.

Al-Manar News: Pakistanis Slam US Raid for Bin Laden
The News: More Abbottabad-like raids not to be tolerated: Chief of Army Staff

Photo: Kathy Willens/AP

New York will remain on high alert as President Barack Obama heads for Ground Zero to mark the death of Osama bin Laden [and to bask in the glory].

It is the first time President Obama has visited the site of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York since taking office. He will lay a wreath at the 9/11 memorial and meet relatives of some of the victims, along with police officers and firefighters. The New York Police Department has said the heightened security put in place in response to Osama bin Laden's death will remain until at least after the president has left. Officials have repeated that there are no specific threats against New York but that they assume the al Qaeda leader's "disciples" might try to avenge his death with a terror attack.

Former CIA covert operations officer Mike Baker told Sky News: "There is a sense that they will try to retaliate to show they are still vibrant and relevant and that adds to the concerns, especially with the president's visit." President Obama's visit has been welcomed by New Yorkers keen to mark what they see as a major victory in the 'war on terror'.

Daily Mail: 'Cheese-eating surrender monkeys': American anger at 'arrogant' Europeans' muted reaction to Bin Laden killing

The United Nations Security Council today entered into contentious debate over the ongoing war in Libya. A number of the nations expressed concern that the war, which began on March 19, seems not to have progressed at all and no efforrt is being made to reach a peace deal. Russia and China were the two permanent members openly criticizing the war, with Russian envoy slamming the growing civilian casualties on both sides. China, for its part, warned that the UN resolution used as a pretext for the war was being misinterpreted.

The Hindu: Clinton calls on Qadhafi to 'leave power'

An Australian terrorism expert says he has been given evidence, which could show Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is either seriously ill or dead. Professor Clive Williams from Macquarie University says he has been provided with evidence, by an Indian colleague, to support the theory that bin Laden died of massive organ failure in April last year. Professor Williams says Ayman al Zawahiri, bin Laden's deputy, has been making all statements on behalf of Al Qaeda for around a year. But Professor Williams says it may be impossible to ever prove if the Al Qaeda leader is alive or dead and says it would not make a big difference if Bin Laden was dead.

"It's hard to prove or disprove these things because there hasn't really been anything that allows you to make a judgement one way or the other," he said. "But it does seem strange that Dr Zawahiri has been making all of the statements since then, and nothing's been heard from Bin Laden since I think the December of the year before. "I suppose there's a degree of satisfaction from a counter-terrorism point of view that he's no longer around," he said. "But the things he said and the things he stood for are probably the more important legacy and will motivate people to engage in jihad fighting into the future."

Professor Williams says even if Bin Laden was dead, it would not make that much difference as people would continue to fight for the things they believe he stood for. He has also recommended against confirming his death or otherwise.

"It could be an embarrassment, particularly for an intelligence agency that said you know, we believe his dead, and then, you know a month later he pops up again," he said. "But it does seem reasonably convincing based on the evidence that I've been provided with that he's certainly either severely incapacitated or dead at this stage."

[An image obtained by Reuters shows the outside of Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad complex shortly after the U.S. raid that killed the al Qaeda leader. Reuters says it obtained the images from a Pakistani guard who entered the compound in the early morning hours of Monday, May 2. Editors note: This gallery includes bloody images of the three men killed at the compound by Navy SEALs.]

President Barack Obama has announced that the photos taken by American forces of Osama bin Laden's dead body will not be released publicly.

However the international news agency Reuters has released photos taken on the ground in Pakistan of what appear to be the compound where Navy SEALs engaged in a bloody firefight before [allegedly] killing Osama bin Laden. Reuters reports that the photos were taken about an hour after the assault on "bin Laden's compound" in Abottabad, Pakistan.

View the Reuters photos: Warning, graphic content

In addition to scenes showing the tail assembly of a downed American helicopter, which Reuters claims indicates some kind of previously unknown stealth capability, they show three dead men lying in pools of blood, but no weapons. Reuters says a Pakistani security official took the pictures, and sold them to the news organization.

Yahoo Canada: Photos show three dead men at bin Laden raid house

Jason Ditz: Unilateral Raids in Pakistan the New Normal? - The US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad came without any permission from the Pakistani government. Most people overlooked this given the nature of the target, and assumed the attack was a “special case.” White House spokesman Jay Carney, however, suggested that this was a precedent-setting event, and that President Obama “reserves the right” to launch comparable attacks into Pakistan in the future. “He made very clear during his campaign that that was his view,” Carney insisted, adding that he “feels that it was the right approach and continues to feel that way.” The move clearly didn’t set well with the Pakistani government, which already expressed concern about the incident.

Doug Casey: The Mob-Style Hit on Osama [?]
PressTV: China has criticized the United States for violating' Pakistan's sovereignty
WL Central: Amnesty continues to investigate the assassination of Osama Bin Laden and four others
ABC News: President Obama Picks New National Security Team, 3/4ths of Whom Served Under Bush

Leon Panetta, director of the CIA, revealed there was a 25 minute blackout during which the live feed from cameras mounted on the helmets of the US special forces was cut off. A photograph released by the White House appeared to show the President and his aides in the situation room watching the action as it unfolded. In fact they had little knowledge of what was happening in the compound.

In an interview with PBS, Mr Panetta said: "Once those teams went into the compound I can tell you that there was a time period of almost 20 or 25 minutes where we really didn't know just exactly what was going on. And there were some very tense moments as we were waiting for information. "We had some observation of the approach there, but we did not have direct flow of information as to the actual conduct of the operation itself as they were going through the compound." Mr Panetta also told the network that the US Navy Seals made the final decision to kill bin Laden rather than the president.

Former officials with Pakistan's military and intelligence service say the US wrongfully claims it has killed bin Laden in Pakistan to invade the country for harboring the terror leader.

United States President Barack Obama announced late Sunday that the al-Qaeda leader had been killed in a US military attack on a residence in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad north of the capital, Islamabad. US reports claim that bin Laden had been living in a house near a Pakistani military base since 2005. Speaking to the international Urdu daily Ausaf, the former officials said the terror mastermind had been killed elsewhere, questioning the reason for which the media had not broadcast the whereabouts and the manner of his death.

“Bin Laden has been killed somewhere else, but since the US intends to extend the Afghan war into Pakistan and accuse Pakistan and obtain a permit for its military's entry into the country, it has devised the scenario (about his death).”

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said in a 2007 interview following a failed assassination attempt on her, that bin Laden has been “murdered” years ago.

AWIP: Truth buried at sea: US now says bin Laden Dead