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Jerusalem Day Interview with Renowned Photojournalist David Rubinger
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Ailing Palestinian Hospital Awaits Cash Infusion
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=35166

VIDEO: Barak: Iran Approaching “Zone of Immunity”
http://media.themedialine.org/media/120514_Barak.wmv

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Bombing Strikes UN’s Syria Mission

A United Nations observer mission team in Syria was attacked by a bomber minutes after it witnessed troops firing on a funeral procession. No one was injured in the bombing in the northern town of Khan Sheikhoun, which damaged the mission’s vehicles, but human rights activists said as many as 20 died in the attack on the funeral. The bombing was captured on video and quickly uploaded to the Internet by activists. It was the second time in a week that UN observers have been the target of violent attacks in Syria after a convoy narrowly escaped a bombing that hit a Syrian military vehicle instead. Observers say the latest attack could put pressure on the observer mission to release its finding publicly; until now its reports have been confidential.

Palestinian Nakba Day Passes Quietly

Nakba Day, when Palestinians recall the “catastrophe” (nakba) of their defeat in the war that led to the establishment of the State of Israel, passed relatively quietly on Tuesday. Rallies were held in Israel as well as in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Clashes between protestors and Israeli troops on the outskirts of Ramallah left some 300 Palestinians lightly injured. At a rally in the city, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the Palestinian’s right of return to the pre-1948 homes in Israel is inalienable. A day earlier, a hunger strike by some 1,600 Palestinian in Israeli prisons came to an end in a deal that restored privileges such as family visits and a ban on solitary confinement. In return, the prisoners agreed to refrain from unspecified “activities against security.”

European Force Attacks Somali Pirate Lair

In a first-ever airborne strike by an international anti-piracy force, European helicopter gunships attacked a pirate base on the Somali coast on Tuesday. Five speedboats were destroyed in the operation. This is the first time the EU Navfor has targeted Somali pirates in their home base since the international mandate was expanded earlier this year to allow strikes on land as well as at sea. Such operations, however, risk the lives and safety of some 300 hostages captured by the pirates, who have so far generally refrained from killing as they seek multi-million dollar ransoms. In response to the raid, the pirates threatened to kill hostages from more than a dozen hijacked vessels if attacked again. A Somali pirate who identified himself as Abdi told the Reuters news agency that a helicopter attacked the central Somali coastline near Hardhere.

War Games Get Underway in Jordan

It’s war -- or rather a game of war: The U.S. and allied forces have started what it being called the largest military exercise in the Middle East in a decade in Jordan close to the Syrian border. The two-week-long exercise is focusing on "irregular warfare," top officers said on Tuesday. More than 12,000 troops from 19 Western and Middle East countries are taking part in the war games. The organizers took pains to scupper rumors that the training is connected to unrest in neighboring Syria. Major General Awni Adwan, the Jordanian army's head of operations and training, said the games had been in the planning phase for three years.  “No forces will be deployed north . . . the exercise is not connected to any real world event,” Adwan said.

Reward Offered for Iranian Rapper’s Death

An Islamist website is offering a $100,000 reward to anyone killing the Iranian-German rapper Shanin Najafi after he allegedly offended the sensibilities of some believers with cynical lyrics invoking the name of the medieval imam, Ali Al-Hadi Al-Naqi, known popularly as Imam Naghi. Fouad Ebadi, manager of the Shia-Online.ir website, said the money was put up by an unidentified Gulf resident. Najafi, whose song “Naghi” makes fund of the “shallow slogan” and Chinese-made prayer rugs common in Iran, conceded that he had expected some controversy, but not a fatwa. “They are taking advantage of the situation and making it look like I was trying to criticize religion and putting down believers,” he told the German broadcaster Deutche Welle.