The Electronic Intifada

Hamas gaining international legitimacy

Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler 2 May 2009


JERUSALEM (IPS) - Delegations from the rival Fatah and Hamas organizations have again failed in Cairo to bridge their differences meant to usher in a Palestinian unity government, but this has in no way slowed inroads which the Islamist movement has been making to increase its international legitimacy — much to Israel’s concern. 

Israel stripping West Bank quarries

Mel Frykberg 2 May 2009


RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din is taking the Israeli military, the Israeli civil administration and a number of Israeli mining companies to court. The rights group alleges they are illegally stripping Palestinian West Bank quarries of raw construction material for the benefit of the Israeli construction industry and the building of illegal Israeli settlements. 

One Voice: manufacturing consent for Israeli apartheid

Ali Abunimah 1 May 2009


The American effort, started by the Bush Administration and continued by President Barack Obama to impose an Israeli-friendly Palestinian leadership has failed, according to new surveys of Palestinians. Hamas emerged from Israel’s attack on Gaza with enhanced legitimacy. Meanwhile, barely a third of Palestinians still support a “two-state solution.” Ali Abunimah analyzes these surveys, and how the pro-Israel group One Voice has used some results to mislead international opinion. 

Tunnels become a lifeline

Erin Cunningham 30 April 2009


RAFAH, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - Pickup trucks speed westward on the Barth highway that flanks the Israeli border in Egypt’s North Sinai region, stacked high with cartons of petrol. They are headed “for Gaza,” the Bedouin residents of Barth village say — through the tunnels that burrow under the Egypt-Gaza border and are filling Gaza’s aid gap in the aftermath of Israel’s deadly assault on the territory. 

The Palestinian Authority's authoritarian turn

Ben White 30 April 2009


The recent attempts to intimidate a critic of the Palestinian Authority, Abdel Sattar Qassem, into silence is disturbing, but is only one incident in a growing trend. The Ramallah-based political leadership, dominated by Fatah, and the PA security forces, are becoming increasingly authoritarian, encouraging a culture of militarized policing and a lack of respect for human rights and the rule of law. Ben White comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

Palestinian women settlement workers' plight

Sarah Irving 1 May 2009


Umm Raed’s sick husband hasn’t worked in more than 20 years. Her own family can’t, or won’t, help support her and her seven children. So her job in the Royalife factory in the Barkan industrial zone, built on illegally confiscated Palestinian land in the Salfit governorate in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was the household’s main source of income. Sarah Irving reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

Egypt's dubious claims spark row with Hizballah

Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani 28 April 2009


CAIRO (IPS) - Egyptian authorities announced earlier this month the discovery of a Hizballah “cell” allegedly planning to carry out violent operations in Egypt. Although Hizballah General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah insists the group was only tasked to assist the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, the government has used the episode to launch a blistering media campaign against the Lebanese Shia resistance group. 

Racism, boycott and a big dose of hypocrisy

Isabelle Humphries 28 April 2009


The Durban Review Conference held last week was initially intended to be a forum to evaluate the progress towards goals set eight years ago. But bullying tactics by certain European/North American states ensured that the draft Durban Review Conference declaration excluded any criticism of Israel. In the planning process original “offensive” statements such as those referring to “unlawful collective punishment” and “torture” were removed. Isabelle Humphries comments for The Electronic Intifada.