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Mosaic News 06/20/12
June 20, 2012 from Mosaic

Renewed Israeli air strikes on Gaza raise death toll to nine, anti-Assad protests continue unabated in Syria despite violence, Egyptian activists rally to kill "millions of mini-Hosnis" as deposed president nears death, and more.

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Seventy killed across Syria as regime forces shell cities [Future TV, Lebanon]
Seventy killed across Syria as regime forces shell cities [Future TV, Lebanon]

Mosaic | Sep 24

Jihadist group claims responsibility for deadly Egypt-Israel border attack, the two Sudans move towards deal as UN deadline expires, Cairo's graffi...

Chapter 1: Renewed Israeli air strikes on Gaza raise death toll to nine [Press TV, Iran]
Chapter 2: IDF kills Sinai border attack planner in Gaza air strike [IBA, Israel]
Chapter 3: Ulpana settlers agree to leave quietly, as PM Netanyahu promises 300 new homes in Beit El [IBA, Israel]
Chapter 4: Israeli settlers torch and vandalize mosque in West Bank [Palestine TV, Ramallah]
Chapter 5: Anti-Assad protests continue unabated in Syria despite violence [BBC Arabic, UK]
Chapter 6: As Egypt's deposed president nears death, activists rally to kill 'millions of mini-Hosnis' [Al-Alam, Iran]
Chapter 7: Kuwait court dissolves parliament, declares polls illegal [Al Jazeera, Qatar]
Chapter 8: Iran, P5+1 powers fail to settle another dispute [Dubai TV, UAE]
Chapter 9: Quran-burning investigation ends with 'recommendations' for disciplinary action [Dubai TV, UAE]
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Renewed Israeli air strikes on Gaza raise death toll to nine [Press TV, Iran]

Israeli warplanes and assassination drones continue to pound the Gaza Strip for the third consecutive day. A drone attack killed a 14-year-old Palestinian in Gaza's Zeitoun neighborhood; another person lost his life in an Israeli air strike in Rafah. The attack targeted a man on a motorcycle near the Egyptian border. At least nine people have been killed in attacks since Monday.

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IDF kills Sinai border attack planner in Gaza air strike [IBA, Israel]

Violence continues in southern Israel, as over 60 missiles have been fired from Gaza into Israel since yesterday morning, including several Grad rockets launched by Palestinians at the western Negev, striking as far as Beersheba. This afternoon, IDF aircraft hit a squad in the southern Gaza Strip, where they targeted and killed someone from the Salafi jihad movement attached to al-Qaeda who was directly responsible for the planning of the fatal attack on the Sinai-Israel border wall on Monday.

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Ulpana settlers agree to leave quietly, as PM Netanyahu promises 300 new homes in Beit El [IBA, Israel]

A group of Jewish settlers from Beit El slated for eviction under an Israeli court order agreed to leave their disputed homes in the Ulpana neighborhood quietly by July 1, sparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a showdown with a core constituency. The prime minister's office pledged to build 300 new homes in Beit El, and promised that the homes the settlers live in now will be relocated.

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Israeli settlers torch and vandalize mosque in West Bank [Palestine TV, Ramallah]

Presenter, Male #1
Settlers burned a mosque last night in the village of Jab'a, northeast of occupied Jerusalem. They also wrote racist and anti-Arab and Muslim graffiti on the mosque's walls, threatening to carry out additional aggressions.

Reporter, Female #1
As part of the settlers' atrocities, the residents of the village of Jab'a, located northeast of occupied Jerusalem, woke up to a fire engulfing the Zayd Bin Harithah Mosque. The peaceful village has witnessed a series of aggression in various forms and shapes, which the occupation and its settlers alternate in carrying out.

Guest, Male #2 (Omar Jamil, Imam of Jab'a Village Mosque)
At 1:30 am, part of the mosque was on fire. The flame had reached the upper windows. We rushed to the fire site, which is a mosque. And thank God, the fire was controlled. Though a large part of the mosque was burned, the fire did not spread to the entire mosque, and it was controlled. This is a criminal act that should be condemned by everyone.

Reporter, Female #2
Even houses of worship, where God's name is recited, are no longer safe from aggression. The mosque was damaged by the flames of the haters who wrote racist slogans hostile to our people, vowing to launch additional retaliatory attacks.

Guest, Male #3 (Abdullah Siyam, Deputy Governor of Jerusalem)
This attack was carried out by a group of settlers. They left the evidence of their crime by writing a series of racist slogans on the mosque's walls. The settlers attacked this mosque, and therefore attacked the convictions of every Muslim, whether they are in Palestine, or in Senegal, or any other country.

Reporter, Female #2
Though this crime was committed under the cover of the night, it could not have been completed without the occupation army's protection of the settlers who carried out their disgraceful action. The settlers have burned a number of mosques in Buruqin, Yasuf in Salfit, Barqa, and al-Mughair in Ramallah, and the Liban al-Sharqiya in Nablus, as well as the mosque in the village of Tuba in the Upper Galilee and the Beit Fajjar Mosque in Bethlehem.

Guest, Male #4 (Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Minister of Religious Affairs)
We initiated the formation of committees for civil protection that, thank God, managed to foil a number of attempts by the settlers to burn and vandalize mosques and houses in the middle of the night across various areas in the West Bank. These committees will continue to expand to include all mosques and neighborhoods.

Reporter, Female #2
Every time the occupation army comes to the mosque, it deploys its tanks and forces to open an investigation into the incident, and pursue the settlers who carried out the attack. But the investigations end as soon as they start, and the scene continues to repeat itself without anyone being held accountable or punished. On the contrary, the offenders are rewarded for their actions.

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Anti-Assad protests continue unabated in Syria despite violence [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Female #1
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 58 people, including a large number of regime soldiers, were killed today across Syria. Most of them died in the countryside of Damascus and Daraa, which was shelled by helicopters. According to the Syrian Revolution's General Commission, the neighborhoods of Homs and Hama witnessed heavy artillery shelling. Meanwhile, anti-regime protests broke out in different parts of the country.

Reporter, Male #1
This is Talbisa, near Homs, as it endures its 17th day of continuous artillery shelling, according to opposition activists. Talbisa is not the only Syrian city being subjected to intensified artillery shelling. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported violent clashes in a number of regions. The most severe took place in the countryside of Latakia, leading to the death of regime soldiers.

Reporter, Male #1
Opposition activists uploaded images of Hama, which they say is under heavy shelling that led to the burning of houses and stores. Activists said that areas in the countryside of Damascus are still witnessing seesaw battles, as the two sides of the conflict are attempting to seize as much control of these areas as possible. The significance of the site lies in its proximity to the capital Damascus, the headquarters of the powers that be.

Reporter, Male #1
Also in Damascus, opposition activists said most stores and markets shut down as part of a general strike to protest the repressive practices of the regime forces. Activists uploaded images online showing those they say are members of the government forces breaking the locks of stores on strike.

Reporter, Male #1
Syria's state media only showed one side of the press conference of the Syrian representative to the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari, as he held what he referred to as "armed terrorist groups" responsible for the escalation of violence in the country.

Reporter, Male #1
The Syrian scene is not devoid of anti-regime protests. While some neighborhoods in Daraa are witnessing heavy helicopter shelling, these masses came out to demand change. The same can be seen in Idlib, where shelling and clashes caused casualties. Meanwhile, others held demonstrations calling for arming the revolutionaries, in light of the failure to reach diplomatic solutions to the crisis that is still in a deadlock. Amad Shihab, BBC.

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As Egypt's deposed president nears death, activists rally to kill 'millions of mini-Hosnis' [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Female #1
Reports conflicted about the status of deposed President Hosni Mubarak. He is in a coma, according to official Egyptian sources, as media and security sources reported that Mubarak suffered a stroke, and that his heart stopped beating. He was saved by electric shocks more than once.

Reporter, Male #1
The announcement of the critical health condition of deposed President Hosni Mubarak was not surprising, after the people extracted him from the euphoria of power to the court's cages. However, he still dominated Egyptian media, as the people were reiterating their chants in Tahrir Square in protest at the military council's counter-revolution, after it acquired additional powers by issuing a constitutional decree.

Guest, Male #2
We are here today to bring down this decree, and we will be here on Friday, and especially if it escalates. We will protest here until the end of military rule.

Reporter, Male #1
Medical and military sources announced that Mubarak suffered a stroke, and is in a coma that doctors tried to bring him out of. But his current condition is critical. The Egyptian street, which is more concerned with the fate of the revolution than Mubarak's health, expressed the desire to cleanse the country from the figureheads of the former regime, who still hold sensitive positions in the government.

Guest, Male #3
Not just Hosni, we want to get rid of the millions of Hosnis. The Hosnis on the street, in the offices, everywhere. Hosni is not alone. The entire system in Egypt, all the ministries of Egypt, have their Hosni.

Reporter, Male #1
Others expressed relief at the news after he had enslaved the country and religion during his rule, as the people continued to suffer from deprivation.

Guest, Male #4
Look what they have, and what we have. Look at where we are, and who we are.

Reporter, Male #1
The 84-year-old Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for three decades, was transferred to a military hospital from Tora Prison hospital, where he was serving his life sentence. He was convicted of killing revolutionaries even though a judicial declaration was not issued. Observers of the Egyptian scene considered it a possible attempt to get him out of prison.

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Kuwait court dissolves parliament, declares polls illegal [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Male #1
Our Al Jazeera correspondent in Kuwait reported that opposition representatives resigned from the former National Assembly that was reinstated today by the Constitutional Court.

Presenter, Female #1
This comes after the Constitutional Court issued a ruling voiding the parliamentary elections that were conducted earlier this year.

Presenter, Male #1
According to the court, since the parliamentary elections are invalid, the current assembly must be dissolved, and the former assembly, whose majority supports the government, is to be restored.

Reporter, Male #2
The Kuwaiti National Assembly that was elected a few months ago no longer exists. Kuwait's Constitutional Court decided to dissolve it. This court's verdicts are not subject to criticism, and its rulings are final.

Reporter, Male #2
The dissolution comes after repeated crises between the government and the National Assembly. The situation had escalated to the extent that the Emir of Kuwait issued a decision suspending the assembly for a month, one day before government ministers were set to be questioned.

Reporter, Male #2
However, dissolving the assembly did not have any connection to the chaotic relationship it has with the government. The issue started with calls that the 2012 elections were unconstitutional, after members of the former National Assembly filed a lawsuit at the Constitutional Court. And with the ruling that voids the 2012 elections, the previous assembly will be reinstated.

Reporter, Male #2
The difference between the two assemblies is obvious in terms of their political composition. The dissolved assembly holds a majority of opposition figures; most of them are Islamists, while the former assembly is described as close to the government and its policies. In addition, a number of representatives of the former assembly are accused of corruption.

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Iran, P5+1 powers fail to settle another dispute [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Male #1
The talks between the West and Iran over the latter's nuclear program have failed in Moscow. The two-day talks ended with the two sides agreeing to meet again next month in Istanbul. Both sides confirmed they have started to tackle critical issues, but warned that significant gaps still exist between them. With this, the Russians have failed to achieve political gains on the international front. Karim al-Muthafer reports from Moscow.

Reporter, Male #2
Iran and world powers are back to square one. The Russian-sponsored talks failed to bring about a solution to the Iranian nuclear program, shattering Moscow's hopes of achieving political gains. Despite confirmations by both sides of tackling critical issues for the first time, the talks ended with no results, except for an expert-level meeting slated for July 3 in Istanbul. The lack of trust and the significant differences in their positions kept the two sides apart.

Guest, Female #1 (Catherine Ashton, EU Foreign Policy Chief)
The E3+3 remains absolutely committed to the proposal it presented earlier in Baghdad, namely for Iran to stop enriching uranium to the 20-percent level of purity, ship the existing stockpiles abroad, and shut down its enrichment facilities.

Reporter, Male #2
According to Russian observers, Iran displayed diplomatic superiority during these meetings, which enabled it to avoid obstacles placed by the US and the West to prevent it from joining the World Nuclear Association.

Guest, Male #3 (Saeed Jalili, Chief Iranian Nuclear Negotiator)
After the expert-level talks produce practical results, meetings will be held between the deputy heads of the delegations. Then, I will make contact with Catherine Ashton. I hope that the next round of talks will be successful.

Reporter, Male #2
However, all sides agree that hopes alone will not be enough to resolve the crisis, regardless of the number of meetings and their location. Russian diplomacy has thrown its weight behind these talks, aimed at resolving the Iranian nuclear issue, by adopting a policy that appeals to all sides. However, the West remains skeptical of the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program, which thwarted the Russian efforts, and brought the crisis back to square one. Karim al-Muthafer, Dubai TV, Moscow.

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Quran-burning investigation ends with 'recommendations' for disciplinary action [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Male #1
The investigation into the burning of copies of the holy Quran at Afghanistan's Bagram Base last February has ended with recommendations for disciplinary actions against seven US military personnel, as confirmed by a US military official speaking on the condition of anonymity. The official said the matter will be handled by the troops' commander. The burning of the copies of the Quran had sparked a wave of protests and demonstrations that continued for days in Afghanistan.