WASHINGTON, 2 June (IPS) - Israel and the US said Friday they would “revisit” a policy that prevents Palestinians from leaving the Gaza Strip to pursue their educational goals one day after a controversial US State Department decision to withdraw all Fulbright Scholarships from students living in the territory. Read more about Gaza Fulbrights, small yet symbolic 

Haaretz.com, the website of the Israeli newspaper often cited as an example of Israel’s liberal, critical media carries paid advertisements from a website openly advocating the total destruction of the Palestinian people, the murder of large numbers of Muslim civilians, the assassination of the family members of Arab rulers, and the use of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons against dozens of countries. Read more about Haaretz.com promotes website advocating genocide and terrorism 

Defining the status of the Palestinian citizens of Israel has always been a puzzle for many scholars. One called the Palestinian citizens “semi-citizens” with accidental citizenship. Another distinguished between “liberal citizenship” granted to the Arabs and “republican citizenship” granted to the Jews. A third distinguished between “incidental citizenship” granted to the Arabs and “substantive citizenship” granted to the Jews. I have contributed to this discussion by claiming that the Palestinians are “citizens without citizenship.” Nimer Sultany comments. Read more about Between oppression and empowerment 

The matrix of vulnerabilities that attend this state of statelessness raises an obvious question: if the Nakba is still in progress, then how will it end? Few people believe Annapolis holds the answer. As Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently admitted, “Nothing has been achieved in the negotiations with Israel yet.” Sharif Hamadeh comments. Read more about From the Nakba to Absurdistan 

From the veranda of his home up on the hillside, Hassan Abed Hassan Jermeh looks out over his village, fertile green fields, and all the way over to the mountains across the border in Jordan. Village elder since 1995, he is intimately familiar with the challenges facing Palestinians in the Jordan Valley. Ben White writes for EI about the continued ethnic cleansing happening in this crucial area of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Read more about The Jordan Valley's forgotten Palestinians 

As US President George W. Bush sang his messianic “happy birthday” speech to the Israeli Knesset, 50,000 or so demonstrators calling for the rightful return of the Palestinian refugees crammed into Ramallah’s Manara Square. Just a few meters away from the mass demonstration, the Baladna Cultural Center opened its contribution to the Nakba commemoration events: a three-day exhibit entitled From the Scent of Bil’in’s Wall. The exhibit closed on 17 May, and we were the first guests that day. Read more about Ramallah commemorates the ongoing Nakba 

The Palestine Investment Conference held from 21 until 23 May in Bethlehem has incited broad resistance from Palestinian popular organizations. In his invitation to investors appointed Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad wrote, “We are throwing a party and the whole world is invited.” EI contributor Adri Nieuwhof writes. Read more about Salam Fayyad's cynical party 

Since Israel’s foundational belief is that Jewish people can only be safe in an exclusively Jewish state, Israel’s charter is simple. Israel is required to maintain itself as a safe haven for all Jewish people. Based on their past experience and national and religious narratives Jewish people deeply believe that it’s only a matter of time before the tide once again turns against them. Read more about A change needs to come 

CAIRO, 23 May (IPS) - On his trip to the region this week, US President George W. Bush dismayed even his staunchest Arab allies by expressing unprecedented levels of US support for Israel. In a rare sign of Egyptian displeasure with Washington, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak left a major economic summit before Bush had a chance to deliver a scheduled address. Read more about Egypt takes a step back from Bush embrace 

JERUSALEM, 22 May (IRIN) - Ahmed al-Baghdadi’s doctors said he must leave the Gaza Strip and travel to Israel to receive urgent life-saving medical care if he hopes to fight the tumours in his body. Rada al-Khadir, aged 22, needs to get treatment immediately, her Israeli doctor said, or her liver disease could prove fatal. Both patients have been denied permission to leave by the Israeli military. Read more about Critically ill patients from Gaza appeal to Israeli court