UK protesters to picket Israeli embassy

Sun Dec 11, 2011 1:25PM GMT

 

 

 

 

British anti-war and pro-Palestinian campaigners will hold a rally outside the Israeli regime's embassy in London to mark the third anniversary of Tel Aviv's massacre of Palestinian civilians in “Operation Cast Lead.”

The Israeli army launched a 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip on December 27, 2008, killing at least 1,166 Palestinian civilians.

The massacre was condemned by the United Nation's Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, chaired by the Jewish South African Justice Richard Goldstone, which found Tel Aviv guilty of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity for the use of white phosphorous bombs against Palestinian civilians, among others.

Goldstone later revised his conclusion that the Israeli regime's army intentionally targeted Palestinian civilians during the three-week invasion.

The Goldstone's u-turn was condemned by independent analysts and human rights groups that described the move as a proof for an organized international conspiracy by Zionist lobbies and the western governments, led by the US, to silence any call for justice against Tel Aviv's crimes.

Against such a backdrop, seven leading British campaign groups said they will hold a rally named “End the Siege on Gaza” on Tuesday, December 27, under the motto “We will not forget - Justice for Palestine - End Israeli war crimes.”

“Join us to commemorate three years since Israeli attack on the Palestinian people in Gaza in December 2008 / January 2009 and to protest against the continuing violence and siege against Palestinians living in Gaza,” the campaigners said in a joint statement.

The rally has been called by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, British Muslim Initiative, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Friends of Al Aqsa, Stop the War Coalition, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Palestinian Forum in Britain.

AMR/GHN/HE

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/215050.html

'Arbel leak was serious blow to state security'

By JPOST.COM STAFF AND GIL HOFFMAN 
10/06/2011 11:38 

FM Avigdor Lieberman: Deputy ambassador suspension a security matter, not freedom of information concern; Arbel confessed to leak and accepted responsibility; PM mishandled Trajtenberg issue.

Deputy Ambassador Dan Arbel's suspension was the result of a "serious blow to state security" and not for leaking material - a freedom of information issue - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in an interview with Israel Radio on Wednesday.

It will take a lot of effort to repair damage done by the leak, he said. Lieberman also denied the veracity of reports claiming the information Arbel shared was already known to a journalist.

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Israel’s deputy ambassador to Washington, Arbel, was suspended on Tuesday for allegedly leaking sensitive information  to a Haaretz reporter in 2009.

According to Lieberman, Arbel confessed to the leak during the investigation and accepted responsibility.

Lieberman also emphasized that the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) opens investigations because of security concerns, not because of ministers' political whims.

The foreign minister explained that there legal restrictions on government workers speaking to the media and that some people in sensitive positions are not allowed to speak to journalists at all.

That's why government departments have a spokesperson unit, he said.

According to Lieberman, the Arbel incident is now under investigation in cooperation with the attorney-general.

Lieberman also addressed the Trajtenberg Committee report, saying that, "Trajtenberg's recommendations on housing for instance are not acceptable to us. Criteria for benefits shouldn't be number of years of marriage and number of children but whether they served in the army and if both parents are working."

"No one talked to [Israel Beiteinu] about the committee before it was appointed or after the report was published," he complained. "We asked to delay the meeting, because we hadn't gotten a chance to read all of it."

"I told Netanyahu on Wednesday that this is not the way to handle things and this was a blunder. We are not trying to debate the prime minister or break up his coalition."

Lieberman refuted claims that he is seeking early election, saying that "it is not in my interest to have an election before or after the hearing but when the term ends in [October] 2013."

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=240769

Official at Israel's U.S. embassy dismissed for leaking sensitive info

• Published 00:21 05.10.11
• Latest update 00:21 05.10.11

It is not known whether Dan Arbell, who has held several senior postings in his more than 20 years of service, will return to Israel or whether he will be reassigned within the ministry.

By Barak Ravid

The Deputy Chief of Mission of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., Dan Arbell, was recently relieved of his duties by Foreign Ministry Director General Rafael Barak, after Arbell admitted he had leaked sensitive information to the press.

It is not known whether Arbell, who has been at the ministry for more than 20 years and has held several senior postings, will return to Israel or whether he will be reassigned within the ministry.

	The Foreign Ministry building in Jerusalem.
	Photo by: Olivier Fitoussi

Senior Foreign Ministry officials said Arbell's dismissal is the latest episode in a witch hunt that began two years ago and has escalated since Barak took over as director general, targeting anyone suspected of holding contacts with journalists. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Barak has endeavored to insulate the ministry from the media and to exclude many high-ranking figures in the ministry from official activities.

On Tuesday, Barak sent a memorandum to all ministry employees in Israel and abroad, titled "End of employment due to leak." He explained his wish to brief the recipients about "a serious matter regarding unauthorized contacts with journalists, as a result of which I was forced to take a professional measure against a respected, senior, high-ranking employee and to remove him from his position."

Barak added that the incident involved "giving sensitive confidential information obtained in the course of the employee's job to an Israeli journalist. The contact with the journalist was unauthorized and violated ministry directives." He further explained in the memo that the employee confessed to the leak during an investigation, adding: "In light of the diplomatic sensitivity and the seriousness of the matter, I concluded that I had no choice but to remove the employee from his post immediately."

Barak made no explicit mention in the memo that the Shin Bet security service conducted the investigation into the incident.

Haaretz has learned that the leak in question occurred about two and a half years ago.

On September 21 Barak issued a memo to Israeli diplomats hinting at the Arbell affair, albeit without naming him, and warning them not to speak to reporters.

This is the second time in Barak's two years as director general that a senior diplomat was removed from his post over alleged contacts with the press. In the first incident, Alon Bar was dismissed as head of strategic affairs in the ministry. Bar was later exonerated by the Shin Bet; his security clearance was restored and he was appointed ambassador to Spain.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/official-at-israel-s-u-s-embassy-dismissed-for-leaking-sensitive-info-1.388188

Israel evacuates embassy in Jordan ahead of protests

By HERB KEINON 
09/14/2011 23:54 

Israel tells diplomats in Amman to come home as Facebook page calls for protest under the banner:"No Zionist embassy on Jordanian territory"; decision comes days after protesters storm mission in Cairo.

Israel evacuated its embassy in Jordan Wednesday evening, hours before a Facebook organized march under the banner (in Arabic) of "No Zionist embassy on Jordanian territory."
Unlike in Egypt, where diplomats lived with their families, in Amman the Israeli delegation serves without their families, and comes home for weekends.

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The decision came just days after the 13-hour rampage at the Israeli embassy in Cairo, during which six security guards locked themselves behind a steel door while mobs ransacked the embassy.

Egyptian commandos rescued those six security guards from the Cairo embassy, as protesters broke into archives and threw documents from the building's windows into the street below where demonstrators were celebrating.

The government has said that Israel would respect the peace treaty with Egypt, and was determined to return its envoy as soon as possible.

Jpost.com staff contributed to this report.

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