By Agence France-Presse
Saturday, December 1, 2012 20:30 EST

Arab and Turkish foreign ministers on Saturday condemned Israel’s plans to build 3,000 settler homes in east Jerusalem after the Palestinians won non-member observer status at the United Nations.

The ministers “condemned the Israeli decision to establish 3,000 housing units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank,” according to a joint statement released at the end of the Turkish-Arab Cooperation Forum in Istanbul.

They called on the international community to exert all efforts to halt the Israeli settlement activities which they said “are illegal and contrary to (UN) Security Council decisions resolutions and international law.”

Israel revealed plans to build the 3,000 new homes a day after the Palestinians’ historic success at the United Nations on Thursday.

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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/12/01/middle-eastern-diplomats-condemn-israeli-settlement-plans/

By Agence France-Presse
Sunday, December 2, 2012 10:34 EST

The phone rang at 3:00 am: “You have five minutes to evacuate the house,” an Israeli officer said in flawless Arabic. Within minutes, an Israeli drone fired a warning shot.

The Israeli military employed a range of warnings to civilians during its November 14-21 bombardment to halt rocket fire into Israel by Gaza militants, but nevertheless civilian deaths were high.

During the offensive, 174 Palestinians were killed — including more than 100 civilians, among them at least 37 children and 14 women — and six Israelis, two soldiers and four civilians including a woman, according to both sides.


“The Israeli army called on the cell phone and gave us five minutes to get out,” said Ayman al-Ahmad Khouli, who was living with his brothers and their families, 45 people in all, in a three-storey house in Zeitun, a neighborhood of Gaza City near the border with Israel.

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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/12/02/more-than-100-gaza-civilians-killed-during-latest-conflict-report/