Thousands protest Israel's Bedouin relocation plan [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Female #1
In occupied Jerusalem, the occupation authorities closed the Bab al-Maghariba Bridge that leads to al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem. The occupation authorities claimed it was due to concerns over public safety. Yesterday, Arab towns and cities in 1948 Palestine witnessed a comprehensive general strike as tens of thousands demonstrated in front of the Israeli prime minister's office in occupied Jerusalem in protest to the Israeli plan to wipe out the identity of the Negev. The plan entails confiscating at least 900,000 donums of Arab land in the Negev and displacing over 30,000 people. Shuruk Asaad reports from occupied Jerusalem.

Reporter, Female #2
Arab villages and towns inside the Green Line observed a general strike in response to a call by the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Affairs. Meanwhile, thousands of angry Palestinians demonstrated in front of the Israeli prime minister's office in occupied Jerusalem demanding the Israeli government overturn the Praver report that it approved. The plan displaces 30,000 Palestinian Bedouins from the Negev, confiscates approximately 900,000 donums of their land and begins settlement and Judaization programs there.

Guest, Male #1 (Atta Abu Madleem, High Steering Committee of the Arabs of the Negev)
This law does not guarantee the ownership of the land; it ensures the displacement of 30,000 citizens; it ensures that the western Negev is completely cleared of all Arabs. It is the first time in the history of Israel that it says that one part of the state should be devoid of Arabs, the people of the Negev and the Bedouins. It is the western Negev. So we confirm that we will bury this plan whether the state likes it or not.

Reporter, Female #2
The Negev constitutes nearly 60 percent of historic Palestine's territory. In 1948, Israel confiscated 90 percent of this land. And today, it wishes to seize what remains. This road was paved by refusing to recognize nearly 30 Palestinian villages in the Negev in the past few years, leaving tens of thousands of its residents without life's most basic needs, such as water and electricity networks. Today, these villages are facing the threat of complete annihilation.

Guest, Male # 2 (Hamad Abu Daabes, Islamic Movement Within the Green Line)
The plans are not scientific, or professional. They are political and racist. Repressive measures are targeting the citizens to displace them from their land. For this reason, everyone here is taking a united stand in solidarity.

Reporter, Female # 2
Palestinian anger is growing in the Negev and a notable popular involvement is the response to the rising Israeli racism and the old same Israeli approach used against Palestinians. In Jerusalem, it is the construction of settlements and in Hebron, the Triangle, and the Negev: a Judaization campaign. These are the continuous catastrophes facing the Palestinians.

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Israeli foreign minister stands behind Russian vote [IBA, Israel]

There are several disagreements between Jerusalem and the Obama administration. That was the response of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. He told a press conference that Washington is wrong when it calls elections in Russia undemocratic. Liberman went on to say that the results in Russia reflect the mood of the country. Moving to issues closer to home, Lieberman refused to comment on Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich's statement that the Palestinians are not a people and regarding Syria, Lieberman said it was only a matter of time before President Bashar al-Assad is brought down. At the same time, Lieberman warned that Israel is worried about what will come after Assad.

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Jerusalem closes Mughrabi Bridge due to safety concerns [IBA, Israel]

Amid controversy, the Mughrabi Bridge connecting the Western Wall to the Temple Mount was officially shut down today for some repairs. Officials are concerned that the closure by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation could spark a political conflict with Muslim authorities. The Jerusalem municipality officially blocked off the Mughrabi Bridge today after the Heritage Foundation said it was legally bound to shut down the structure due to a possible collapse or fire. Despite the potential safety hazard, the Jordanian government warned against any change in the status quo. The bridge only services Jews and tourists but Israeli authorities have so far failed to tear it down out of fear that it could spark unrest within the Muslim community.

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Libyan revolutionary fighters clash with army [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Female # 1
Calm has been restored to the area near the airport in the Libyan capital Tripoli after clashes were reported between a group of revolutionaries from al-Zintan and Libyan army troops. The transitional authorities said they took control of the situation and downplayed the significance of the incident. Such events are leading to a quick disarmament and the integration of revolutionaries into the new army.

Reporter, Male # 1
These men mostly resemble each other. They are all armed; they come and go in camouflage military outfits in broad daylight near the state's most important institution. But in reality, they differ on many levels. Some are soldiers, while others are former revolutionaries who refuse to give up their weapons. This is one of the new Libya's challenges, with most signs pointing to the country's delay in reorganizing the army, integrating the revolutionaries who wish to join the army into the institution, collecting weapons, and restoring security. The latest such sign was an attack on the new Libyan army commander, General Khalifa Hifter, by a group of revolutionaries from al-Zintan who fired at his convoy.

Guest, Male # 2 (Abdel-Razik el-Shibahy, Libyan Army Spokesman)
When Mr. Khalifa and his convoy reached the bridge, they did not stop at the checkpoint. They passed through without stopping and without greeting the revolutionaries. They did not even know who they were.

Guest, Male # 3 (Ahmed Bani, Libyan National Army Spokesman)
The transitional council, which represents the legitimate authority in Libya, assigned General Khalifa as the commander of ground forces.

Reporter, Male # 1
Removed from disputes over legitimacy, two narratives emerged over what the army commander's convoy was subjected to. But they both agree that weapons spread across Libya's regions pose a great challenge, months after the overthrow of the former regime.

Guest, Male # 4 (Salem Sharif, Libyan Army Officer)
Airspace is threatened by these rockets around the world, and in Libya specifically. And of course they are a risk to civilian planes. So we need to get rid of these weapons quickly.

Reporter, Male # 1
Many areas are still effectively under the control of former revolutionaries. Some of them are still suspicious of the current course of events and are apprehensive of alliances that were formed during the war against al-Gaddafi. Others believe their mission will only be complete once a new army is formed with a new foundation. The new authorities understand the danger but consider the past few weeks of clashes to be isolated cases that do not amount to a threat to the country's security and will not obstruct the restructuring of state institutions.

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Syria holds local elections as violence continues [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Female #1
Syrian opposition sources said security forces killed 17 people in Homs, Hama, Idlib, Daraa and Duma, including four women and three children. The General Commission for the Syrian Revolution added that two villages in Jabal al-Zawiyah of Idlib were subject to violent shelling by heavy and medium weapons while the electricity, water, and communication services there were completely cut off. Meanwhile, the general strike called for by the opposition entered its second day. Opposition sources said stores are continuing to close their doors in a number of regions despite the attempt by the security forces to force the owners to open, as seen in unconfirmed online videos. In addition, the General Commission reported that students in several areas are refusing to go to class.

Reporter, Male #1
The process of nominating candidates for local administrative councils in Syria began with 42,000 candidates competing for 17,000 seats. Meanwhile, the opposition is boycotting both the nomination and the vote. The elections came in response the new local administration's decision aimed at what Damascus referred to as "strengthening the administrative decentralization." Despite Syrian TV's assertion of a large turnout at the polls, other news agencies indicated there was a weak turnout. At one of the polling centers in Damascus, 51 voters cast their votes.

Guest, Male #2 (Sharif Shahadah, Syrian Writer and Analyst)
This confirms that the Syrian government, which spoke of its determination to conduct reforms and began implementing them with political parties then the media, has now come to conduct reforms through elections. I believe that all Syrian provinces are supportive of it, especially since I have called all of our friends in the provinces and they told us that the election is going well.

Reporter, Male #1
Meanwhile, dissidents hid the ballot boxes in some areas such as Talkalakh and az-Zarah in Homs. These images, taken in front of a polling center in al-Qurayyah village of Deir az-Zour, do not demonstrate the opposition's stance on the elections.

Guest, Male #3 (Mohamed Abd Zaid, Coordination Representative for the Revolution in Horan)
They are announcing on loudspeakers that anyone who does not go to the polling centers in all these towns and cities to vote will be harassed, their homes will be raided, and they will be arrested. In the town of Ummalat in Daraa, they tried to force several residents to vote, and then the revolutionaries stormed the municipality building, dismissed them, and smashed the ballot boxes.

Reporter, Male #1
Parallel to this, activists say clashes erupted between the regime's army and groups of army defectors in Idlib, Daraa, and other regions. Civilians were killed and wounded in both provinces. Opposition activists continued rallying for a civil disobedience campaign, which they began on Sunday with a general strike. A number of students refused to go to class for a second consecutive day. Fifty unidentified bodies were found in several neighborhoods of Homs. Our BBC correspondent quoted a forensic source in Homs saying 38 of the bodies were hit by gunfire and several showed signs of torture. In another development, Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi denied Damascus's involvement in the bombing that targeted French soldiers in southern Lebanon. He said the French foreign minister's statement lacked evidence. On Monday, a Turkish cargo truck was fired on by dozens of people in Syria wearing civilian clothes; they blocked it as it headed to Turkey. This was the second operation in which citizens targeted Turks near the Syrian border. Ankara is taking this incident seriously and cautiously in light of the political tension between the two capitals. Hayyan Aqoub, BBC.

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Yemen's children of war [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Male #1
Forces loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh fired shots in the air to disperse a demonstration near the provincial building in Taiz. The demonstrators chanted slogans against Saleh and described him as a "war criminal." They also demanded that the UN Security Council transfer Saleh's case to the International Criminal Court. In addition, they vowed to continue their revolutionary escalation until the regime is toppled and all demands of the revolution are achieved. In another development, a Yemeni security source said that 16 prisoners, including 12 believed to be al-Qaeda-affiliated, have tunneled their way out of prison in the southern Yemeni city of Aden. The stories of Yemenis affected by the shelling of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's forces vary. Among them is the story of Hasna'a, who was completely paralyzed due to a shelling of the Arhab's tribal region north of Sanaa.

Reporter, Male #2
It's a cry of pain and oppression. This child was hit by a shell fired by forces loyal to President Saleh at her village in the tribal region of Arhab north of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, stripping her of her childhood. Dozens of women and children have been injured in the months of shelling that has targeted their villages for their support of the peaceful revolution. Hasna'a was hit by a shell while on her way to a farm near her home that is overlooked by one of Saleh's bases. She is now confined to her home and speaks of her condition.

Guest, Female #1 (Hasna'a)
I feel strong pain. It's intolerable pain that I'm feeling.

Reporter, Male #2
The children of Arhab lived through misery in the fierce shelling that targeted their villages by Saleh's forces. This child and her friend have been disfigured after being hit by a rocket shell in their village. The shrapnel left here is a proof of the systematic targeting of civilians.

Guest, Male #3
My son was injured a month and half or two months ago. He was hit by the shrapnel of a Katyusha rocket fired by Ali Abdullah Saleh's forces. He was striking Arhab while carrying the dove of peace and the olive branch. My son has been disfigured, as you can see. He was in good shape and good health.

Reporter, Male #2
The absence of health centers forced this man to turn his home into a field clinic to help save the injured despite the sharp shortage of medicine and medical equipment.

Guest, Male #4
We are suffering from a shortage of medicine and a deteriorating humanitarian situation as a result of the ongoing war in the region. It's also due to the growing number of displaced residents and the severe cold weather conditions. We are noticing that more children are getting sick due to the cold weather and malnutrition.

Reporter, Male #2
These homes in the villages of the Arhab region are waiting for life to return to normal, as the children hope to enter a new phase and forget all the pains they have endured.

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Iraq PM visits US ahead of troop withdrawal [Press TV, Iran]

Live in Washington, a press conference between US President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nour al-Maliki after their meeting, of course. A lot of issues mentioned there, the most important including President Obama saying that the two sides have reaffirmed their long-term partnership based on the strategic framework agreement between Washington and Baghdad. He said that "we are planning to develop our cooperation with Iraq in the energy sector, in the military sector and in the security sector." In response to questions about whether US troops will be remaining in Iraq after the complete drawdown or whether there will be permanent bases or not, President Obama did mention there that there will not be any bases in Iraq once the US withdraws completely.

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Saudi-backed forces attack protestors as activist slam Bahraini King's visit to London [Press TV, Iran]

In Bahrain, Saudi-backed forces have again attacked anti-regime forces near the capital Manama. The protestors were calling for the downfall of the regime before security forces attacked them. The clashes came a day after an infant was killed by Bahraini forces when she inhaled tear gas on Thursday night. She is the latest victim of the crackdown on anti-regime protestors. Meanwhile activists say that a woman who was arrested in March for playing revolutionary music in her car is still imprisoned. They are calling on the revolutionary community to help get her out of jail. Since mid-February Saudi back-forces have killed dozens of pro-democracy protestors and arrested hundreds more. Bahrain's King Hamad al-Khalifa has received a bitter welcome on his visit to London to meet Prime Minister David Cameron. Dozens of protestors gathered to slam the Bahraini regime's crackdown on protestors. At least one activist was arrested by the British police.

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Iraqis rally to demand the government expel MEK terrorist group on schedule [Al-Forat TV, Iraq]

Presenter, Male #1
The recent Iraqi political scene is witnessing a notable escalation of popular and official demands that the government cleanse the Iraqi territory of terrorist groups, especially the Khalq group, the MEK, and not vindicate the group's crimes against the Iraqi people with impunity. The residents of Diyala and other provinces held a massive rally attended by various parties and tribes demanding the government not succumb to international pressure and commit to its pledge to expel the MEK from Iraq for its crimes and genocide that violate international norms and humanity.

Reporter, Male #2
Despite governmental and constitutional provisions stipulating that terrorist groups are not allowed to exist in Iraq, the Mujahideeni Khalq, or MEK, still resembles a cancer in the body of Iraq. With excessive audacity, it holds depraved power that undermines Iraq's sovereignty aimed at sowing strife among the various communities of the same nation. In addition, it carries out vicious agendas to overthrow the political process. In a massive rally at the gate of Camp Ashraf, residents of Diyala and other provinces of different groups and affiliations, including those still subject to the gang's aggressions, appealed to the government, demanding that it cleanse their land of MEK's toxins. They indicated the province cannot be stable as long as the gang remains at large and incessantly carries out its plans. Expelling the MEK from the country represents an imminent national need and constitutes a response to the people's demands to preserve their interests, security, and sovereignty, which MEK has relentlessly attempted to violate. MEK's crimes include attacks on Iraqi forces and tearing up the Iraqi flag with blatant audacity. For this reason, the protestors' shock at the international community's approach in dealing with the group was not groundless, as all countries that were once sympathetic towards the MEK are now refusing to receive them because the organization is listed as a terrorist group. After the demise of the illegitimate regime that the deceased tyrant secured for this terrorist group, Iraqis were eagerly aspiring to remove all its Baathist remnants, including the MEK. MEK members played a role in the crackdown of the popular uprising, and carried out acts of violence and persecution alongside the perpetrators of Saddam's repression against the Iraqi people throughout the defunct government's reign. The massive rally demanding the expulsion of the MEK is a message to the government, demanding that it not succumb to international pressure to extend the deadline of the gang's expulsion from Iraq. The rally's demand is straightforward: that the government complies with its set schedule to cleanse Iraq of groups that are banned by the constitution voted for by the people. They also demand to recover farmers' lands that were seized by the gang after Saddam's government fell.