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"I was afraid they would destroy our trees"

Eva Bartlett Gaza Strip 11 December 2008


Leila pointed towards a lone tree and small house on a ridge above what appeared to be a vacant lot. “This was a great field,” she said, “filled with lime, guava and orange trees. They destroyed them, killed the trees,” she explained, referring to Israeli invasions over the years. “A few days after he learned his trees had been destroyed, the man who owned and tended to the trees passed away.” Eva Bartlett reports from the occupied Gaza Strip. 

On int'l human rights day, Palestinians traumatized

10 December 2008


Today marks the 60th anniversary of International Human Rights Day. It is the day the United Nations declared the issuance of the International Declarations of Human Rights to put new international foundations for enforcing and respecting the sacred life and dignity of all human beings. It is a noteworthy coincidence that the birth of this declaration shares the anniversary of the Palestinian uprooting in 1948, still experienced by Palestinians up until today. 

Help EI keep the light shining on Palestine in 2009

12 December 2008


For almost eight years, The Electronic Intifada (EI) has worked to break the silence, expose the complicity, and give voice to those working for a different world. Every day, educators, activists, journalists, diplomats, students and thousands of others turn to us knowing they will find independent and original news, comment and analysis from leading reporters and writers. 

What was wrong in apartheid S. Africa is wrong in Palestine

Ida Audeh Boulder 11 December 2008


Try talking in Boulder, Colorado about Israel’s policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and you might think you had stepped into a time warp: a time when “foreigners” and their religion could be trashed with impunity, colonialism was something to be proudly embraced, and apartheid in South Africa still had supporters. Ida Audeh writes from the US. 

No Eid celebration in Gaza

Eva Bartlett Gaza Strip 9 December 2008


On Saturday, banks in Gaza were thronged by lines of disappointed Palestinians who were expecting to receive part of their salaries before the Eid al-Adha holiday, which begins on Monday. Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian Authority’s appointed Prime Minister based in Ramallah, foresaw the cash crisis earlier in the week and urged Israel to allow the transfer of shekels to Gaza, citing a needed 250 million shekels ($63 million) to pay the salaries. EI contributor Eva Bartlett reports from the occupied Gaza Strip. 

The EU's blind eye to Israel

David Morrison 10 December 2008


In September 2008, the European Union decided that meetings with Russia about a new partnership agreement would be postponed until the latter ended its military occupation of Georgia. In contrast, in June 2008 the 27-member EU decided to “upgrade” its relations with Israel. Was this in recognition of Israeli adherence to previous agreements with the EU, or progress in the peace process with the Palestinians? On the contrary, it appears to have been a reward for Israel’s military occupation of the territory of several countries, and gross violations of human rights and international law, as well as specific commitments made to the EU. David Morrison comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

Musical resistance against the siege

Sameh A. Habeeb 8 December 2008


On 27 October, a group of young Palestinians, none of them over the age of 25, organized the first music concert of its kind in the Gaza Strip, called Gaza Concert ‘08. Regardless of the awful conditions in the Gaza Strip brought on by the 19-month Israeli siege, the youth sang for freedom, peace and ending the unjust siege. Thousands of people came from all over Gaza while several international and local media outlets covered the event that was sponsored by Action for Peace Italia. A mixture of traditional Palestinian debka dance, rap, and nationalist anthems were performed calling for lifting the siege and ending Israeli occupation. Sameh Habeeb reports from Gaza. 

Israel's "Auschwitz borders" revisited

Ali Abunimah 7 December 2008


In 1969, Israel’s legendary diplomat Abba Eban warned that withdrawal from the territories his country occupied in June 1967 would be a return to “Auschwitz borders.” Since then some Israeli politicians have used these provocative words to attack almost anyone who defies them. Eban’s meaning was clear – by comparing Israel to the most notorious and emblematic Nazi death camp, he was in effect saying that Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular are Nazis no less capable and desirous of exterminating Jews than was Hitler. In Hebron, however, it is Israeli settlers protected by the Israeli army who frequently paint threats such as “Arabs to the gas chambers” on Palestinian houses. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah comments.