From our correspondent Sarah Ferguson:

The irony couldn't be more clear. New York City police and their union, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, are suing the NYPD for spying on them at rallies and demonstrations held during their contract dispute with the city in the summer of 2004.

After a month-long volley of op-eds in neo-con pubs, misquotes in Jewish papers, capped with an attack by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the powers-that-be are now comparing Chavez to Hitler. How predictable. From the New York Times:

February 3, 2006
Chávez Ousts U.S. Diplomat on Spying Charge

By JUAN FORERO
BOGOT

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Freddy Pressner, president of the Venezuela Confederation of Israelite Associations (CAIV) meet over the recent flap over allegations of anti-Semitic remarks by Chavez:

Venezuela's Chavez, Jews reconcile

President of Jewish community satisfied, says president not anti-Semitic
Reuters
Jan. 21

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday met with local Jewish leaders after a top Jewish rights group accused him of making anti-Semitic remarks during a televised Christmas Eve speech.

Danny Rubinstein, longtime journalist and Palestinian affairs analyst for the respected Israeli daily Ha'aretz, believes that Arafat was poisoned, but felt proscribed from writing about his conclusions in Ha'aretz. Rubinstein explained why in an interview to Keshev, The Center for the Protection of Democracy in Israel:

From the AP Jan. 30:

Bombs in Iraq target 5 Christian buildings

BAGHDAD - Car bombs exploded in quick succession Sunday near four Christian churches and the office of the Vatican envoy, killing three people and raising new concerns about sectarian tensions. At least 17 other people were killed in other violence around the country.

No group claimed responsibility for the bombings, which occurred within a half-hour near two churches in Baghdad and two in Kirkuk, 180 miles to the north. The fifth bomb exploded about 50 yards from the Vatican mission in the capital.

From the International Solidarity Movement:

Palestinians United Again to Appeal for the Release of Peace Activists held Hostage in Iraq
January 30th, 2006
ISM

Following the recent release of new video footage of the four Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members being held hostage in Iraq, Palestinian leaders united again to appeal for their release.

With the election behind them, representatives of Fatah and Hamas, along with religious leaders, have come together to appeal for the release of the hostages, political prisoners and all those working for Justice. The two Hamas representatives, in calling for their release, refered to them as friends of the Palestinians, stating that “These people support us against the occupation,

Interview with Khaled Meshal, head of Hamas' Politboro, from Jan. 27 print version of Italy's La Repubblica:

by Alix Van Buren
“The Super-Most Wanted

Hamas won 76 seats out of 132 contested in the Palestinian parliament. The Hamas victory surprised many, defying all polls. In the last few days, it was revealed the US pumped millions into Fatah's campaign. A Palestinian commented that since Israel and the US wanted Fatah to win, most Palestinians surmised that whatever the US and Israel want the Palestinians to do is usually the opposite of what's actually good for them, so they voted for Hamas instead.

Selections from Israeli and Palestinian sources, as translated by BBC Monitoring: