EA Music Video Special: BBC Censors Rapper Mic Righteous's "Free Palestine" Lyric

The British Broadcasting Corporation has censored the lyric "free Palestine" in a performance by rapper Mic Righteous on BBC Radio 1Xtra.

The song was recorded for a late night hip-hop show on 4 December, but when it was rebroadcast on 30 April, a sound effect was added to mask the offending two words in the rap (at the 2:59 mark in the video above), "I can still scream 'Free Palestine' for my pride, still pray for peace, still burn the Fed for the brutality they spread over the world. Pakistan's a ocean of bodies in the brown water still nobody helps." 

The broadcaster defended its censorship: "All BBC programmes have a responsibility to be impartial when dealing with controversial subjects and an edit was made to Mic Righteous' freestyle to ensure that impartiality was maintained."

Middle East: Obama Plans a Speech, But Little Prospect of Substance (Landler/Cooper)

Mr. Obama had considered laying out American parameters for a peace deal [between Israel and Palestine], several officials said — a move that [Secretary of State] Clinton favored, but one that would have put him at odds with his national security adviser, Thomas E. Donilon, and his top Middle East adviser, Dennis Ross.

But the unity accord between Hamas and Fatah, the party of President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, effectively killed the plans to try to push through an American proposal, one administration official said. “It’s hard to imagine how we do that when Hamas hasn’t agreed” to recognize Israel’s right to exist and to forswear violence against Israel, the official said.

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Syria, Palestine, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Arab Spring Intersects with Nakba Day

2120 GMT: James Miller posted a video earlier depicting Baath Party members running out of a building as protesters attacked it. He has been contacted by the author of the video. The video was taken on Friday, May 13th, in Jisr Alshugour, in Idleb province, northern Syria. The building is the official headquarters of the Bath Party in the region (see video at 1730 GMT).

2000 GMT: Egypt's former First Lady Suzanne Mubarak has told prosecutors that she will turn over $3 million to the country, claiming this is all she has.

The wife of deposed President Hosni Mubarak was questioned last week over corruption charges before being hospitalised with a heart condition.

1945 GMT: Claimed footage of a Syrian armoured vehicle outside the Omari Mosque in the southern town of Daraa:

1930 GMT: Syrian soldiers repeatedly punch and kick two men:

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Israel-Palestine-Syria Video: Hundreds March into Golan Heights on Nakba Day

Israeli forces in the occupied Golan Heights try to prevent hundreds of marchers crossing the border fence from the Syrian-controllled side on Sunday.

Hundreds of residents watch and cheer the marchers, who were protesting on Nakba Day, marking the 1948 expulsion of Palestinians from their lands. Some chant “Filastin Arabiyeh wal Jawlan Suriyeh” (“Palestine is Arab and the Golan is Syrian”).

At the 9-minute mark, a large group of marchers who have just crossed the border fence can seen taking cover while gunfire is heard. The gunfire continues as Israeli soldiers approach the group. More marchers arrive, as the Israelis bring in reinforcements.

(hat tip to jawlany.com and Electronic Intifada)

A 2nd video of the crossing:

Israel-Palestine Breaking: Dozens of Palestinians in "Nakba Day" Demonstrations Injured by Israeli Troops (Al Jazeera English)

UPDATE 1620 GMT: The Associated Press says at least 12 pro-Palestinian protesters are dead and dozens wounded. Four were killed in clashes on the Syrian border --- Al Arabiya adds a report of 10 dead on the Lebanese front.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to act with "maximum restraint". He continued, "But nobody should be mistaken. We are determined to defend our borders and sovereignty."

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Israel-Palestine Special: 4 Ways to Understand Latest Situation (and Why Hamas is on the Rise)

Israel should understand that its state policy of collective punishment has cracked, if not come to an end: Egypt’s announcement that it will permanently open the border crossing with Gaza and plans for a new Gaza flotilla in June are only the drops of a shower washing away West Jerusalem's approach.

If the terms of the Shalit deal are made public, with Hamas offers a relatively "better" deal --- which it will do to increase the international pressure on Israel --- the Gaza group will not only advance in the hearts and minds of millions of Arabs, and possibly some Israelis, as well as boosting its credibility in the eyes of Western capitals. 

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Palestine Special: Fatah & Hamas Make a Deal --- What Will Israel Do?

With smaller Palestinian factions’ signatures, Fatah and Hamas formally ended a four-year conflict on Wednesday. Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas’s Syria-based leader Khaled Mashaal were present in Cairo, and Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank celebrated by raising Palestinian, Hamas, Fatah and Egyptian flags.

The Ramallah-based website, Palestine Monitor, claimed to have the text of the reconciliation deal....

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US-Israel Feature: A Response to Ambassador Michael Oren on "Shared Values"

On Tuesday, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren put forth an article, “The Ultimate Ally”, in Foreign Policy.

Oren starts with the premise of a a strong ally that not only “shares America’s values, reflects its founding spirit, and resonates with its people’s beliefs”, but also politically, militarily and economically enhances Washington’s position in the Middle East. According to Oren, in this “dynamic” relationship, far from one-dimensional, “America needs Israel now more than ever”.

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Palestine Opinion: A Cry of Anguish over Vittorio Arrigoni

Vittorio Arrigoni was killed by Muslims.

I’m not talking about the animals who abducted and then killed him. I’m talking about the Muslims who for decades have turned a blind eye to such acts simply because they do not wish to deal with it. We, the people of the Islamic world, have decided that what is essentially our problem needs to be dealt with by others.

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Israel-Palestine Snapshot: Obama Administration Wonders, "What to Do, What to Do?" (Cooper)

A Republican invitation for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to address Congress next month is highlighting the tensions between President Obama and Mr. Netanyahu and has kicked off a bizarre diplomatic race over who will be the first to lay out a new proposal to reopen the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

For three months, White House officials have been debating whether the time has come for Mr. Obama to make a major address on the region’s turmoil, including the upheaval in the Arab world, and whether he should use the occasion to propose a new plan for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

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