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No holiday for Gaza's labor sector

Rami Almeghari Gaza Strip 4 May 2008


Since the Israeli government enforced the crippling closure of Gaza, the majority of Gaza’s 1.5 million residents have become unable to afford basic commodities. The World Food Program estimates that 80 percent of Gaza’s population is now dependent on food aid. Rami Almeghari writes from the occupied Gaza Strip. 

There is hope in Gaza

Miko Peled 4 May 2008


Israel’s assault on the people of Gaza is so horrendous that it will not soon be forgotten. This vicious attempt by Israel to destroy an entire nation has tipped the scales for good and Zionism will forever be remembered as a blemish in the history of the Jewish people. The people of Gaza, however, give us hope and they will forever be remembered for their courage and resilience during these trying times. Miko Peled comments. 

Egyptian authorities reinforce anti-Palestine campaign

Serene Assir 4 May 2008


Egyptian security covertly organized for the cancellation of a week-long series of cultural events to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Nakba, or the forced expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland by Zionist forces in 1947-48. The events were planned by the Habitat International Coalition-affiliated Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN), alongside a number of Egyptian organizations. EI contributor Serene Assir reports from Cairo. 

West Bank village faces slow death

4 May 2008


AQABA, WEST BANK, 4 May (IRIN) - At the entrance to the small village, laborers continued to work on a cement divider, creating two lanes to make the road safer, while in a side room next to the village kindergarten, Haj Sami Sadiq, the head of the local council, carried on sorting out agricultural development projects for his residents. Sadiq pretends it is “business as usual,” but he knows that at any moment Israeli troops can arrive and begin demolishing most of the village’s structures and even some of the streets. 

The attack on Jimmy Carter

Bill Fletcher Jr. 3 May 2008


Former US President James (Jimmy) Carter has the ability to appear almost out of thin air, landing in the midst of some of the most complex international crises. He has done it again, this time in going to meet with the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas. For reaching out to this significant section of the Palestinian movement, he is being demonized by both the Bush administration and the administration of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Bill Fletcher, Jr. comments. 

Gaza resident dies awaiting permission for cancer treatment

2 May 2008


Mohammed al-Hurani, a 33-year-old resident of Gaza, died 30 April 2008 of cancer while waiting for a reply from the Israel General Security Service to a request from Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. Although al-Hurani was in a grave condition, confined to a bed in hospital, the GSS demanded that the patient come for security questioning at Erez Crossing on 27 April. 

Rare Israeli conviction in 2002 killing of Palestinian

2 May 2008


On 28 April, Israel’s Jerusalem District Court sentenced border policeman Yanai Lazla to six years’ imprisonment for the killing, in 2002, of ‘Amran Abu Hamdiya, 18, from the West Bank town of Hebron. Lazla and three other policemen threw Abu Hamdiya from a jeep moving at high speed after they had abducted, beaten and abused him. His head struck the pavement with great force, killing him. 

Palestinians protest exclusion as government moots minimum wage

1 May 2008


BEIRUT, 1 May (IRIN) - With inflation in double digits and the cost of living rising, the government has proposed raising the minimum wage for the first time in a decade, but Palestinians say they continue to be marginalized in the labour market. Several hundred Palestinians protested at the edge of Shatila camp in south Beirut on 30 April ahead of the 1 May labour day holiday, traditionally a time for workers’ to air their grievances. 

Crossing the Line interviews journalist Mohammed Omer

1 May 2008


This week on Crossing The Line: On 17 April 2008, Fadel Shana’a, a Palestinian camerman with Reuters news agency, was killed when he was struck by an Israeli tank shell in the Gaza Strip. Even though he was holding a camera and was clearly marked as a member of the press, both on his body and his vehicle, Shana’a was fired at by an Israeli tank less than a mile away. Host Naji Ali speaks with Mohammed Omer, a Palestinian journalist based in the Gaza Strip, about the dangers of reporting on Israeli violence.