Current News Blog

Israel’s military is claiming that Hamas has a new rocket capable of reaching Tel Aviv and other Israeli population centers. Hamas apparently test-fired their new rocket, believed to be Iranian-made, out into the sea. Hamas denies having a new rocket, saying Israel is trying to turn world opinion against them.

Most of the rockets fired from the Gaza Strip are very short range and have notoriously unreliable aim. Collective Journalism contributor Zouheir al-Najjar had incredible access to a militant group constructing rockets – and they walked him through how they’re made. As you’ll see at the end of the video – the rockets aren’t very precise weapons.

Gaza Rockets (Video)

On the other side of the fence, Israelis in the city of Sderot live in constant siege from the haphazard firing of these unpredictable rockets. The rockets can’t hit specific targets but their unpredictability makes them more of a menace to the civilian population.

City in the Crosshairs (Video)

If Hamas does have this new rocket that Israel claims it does – then the fear is that many more cities would become like Sderot, living in constant fear of wanton rocket fire. Of course the other question will be how many rockets could Hamas get its hands on. They are, after all, under an extensive blockade with just a trickle of supplies coming through their tunnels. Blogger Ibn Larry has a great write-up of the tunnels and blockades – and gives us a shout out as well (thanks!).

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Der Spiegel has a great story of a Palestinian couple, he in Gaza and she in the West Bank, who came together despite the blockade and travel restrictions. How? The bride crawled through a smugglers’ tunnel out of Egypt.

When Mohammed Warda first took his bride in his arms she looked “as if she had just stepped out of a grave that was filled with earth.” He had spent an hour sitting nervously by a big hole in the ground in the Gaza Strip, while May crawled backwards through the tunnel, keeping her eyes closed because of the sand that trickled from the roof. Her groom had to pay $1,500 (€1,021) for her to be smuggled through a tunnel from the Egyptian side of the border to the Gaza Strip. And 23-year-old May knew the whole time that the risky undertaking could cost her her life.

These tunnels serve in many ways as a lifeline for Gazans to the rest of the world, providing them with many valuable supplies that the Israeli blockade won’t let through. They’re also used to smuggle weapons to resistance groups. Zouheir al-Najjar a Gazan and contributor to Collective Journalism made the journey himself.

Gaza Tunnels (Video)

Also from Zouheir al-Najjar:
– Gaza Rockets – Exclusive footage of the bomb-making process of the Palestinian resistance
– Visas Out of Gaza – Palestinians looking to escape Gaza often wait months or years to get clearance to leave

Over at True/Slant, Neal Ungerleider has a write-up of the annual Oktoberfest in a small West Bank town called Taybeh. Oktoberfest in the Palestinian Territories? Well, it’s largely to support homegrown company Taybeh Brewery. He went to visit, and added a slew of photos to his Flickr stream. We’ve got a great piece on the Taybeh Brewery. Enjoy!

Beer of Palestine (Video)

Recently from the Middle East:
- Israeli-Palestinian clashes raise tension in Jerusalem – From the Current News Blog
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Stone-throwing is back in fashion in Jerusalem as clashes and riots have broken out in the city near the religious site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to the Muslims as Haram al-Sharif.

From the BBC:

On Monday, minor clashes broke out at the mosque, although tens of thousands of Jewish worshippers attended a blessing ceremony at the Western Wall for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot without major incident.

Police said they closed the mosque to male worshippers under 50 after finding wheelbarrows full of stones inside the complex.

Elsewhere in Jerusalem, an Israeli policeman was stabbed in the neck while carrying out an inspection on a bus.

Reports said youths began throwing stones after a Palestinian was arrested in connection with the attack.

With a heavy police presence in the streets, Israel is hoping to quiet down any possible clashes in the next few days.

If you’re in Jerusalem, and can tell us anything about what’s been happening, leave a comment over here on Current News.

Also from Israel
- Victims of Peace (Video): Israelis displaced from Gaza during the disengagement still await their chance to return
- Gaza Tunnels (Video): Despite the Israeli blockade, Gazans still manage to get what they need through tunnels under the Egyptian border.

From the irony files: The Daily Telegraph has investigated a photograph taken of Ahmadinejad in 2008 and determined that Holocaust-denying Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may well have a Jewish past.

A close-up of the document reveals he was previously known as Sabourjian – a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver.

The short note scrawled on the card suggests his family changed its name to Ahmadinejad when they converted to embrace Islam after his birth.

From the Daily Telegraph

The article goes on to wonder if the Iranian President’s vitriol for Jewish people is some sort of overcompensation.

This is obviously a very fascinating story if wholly accurate. It strikes me though a possibly a little too neat. While I trust that the Daily Telegraph has accurately translated the text on the identity card – I wonder about some of the other logic. Does the Jewish name mean a Jewish family? Are they certain it was his parents who held the name? Anyone who has any more insight into this, please weigh in.

Comment over here on Current.com, where it was originally clipped by WakeUpPeople.

Previously on Iran
- Iran: It’s just the fact of the talking that’s important
- Student protests and the return of nuke inspectors – An Iran update
- More sanctions for Iran?