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Alarm bells sound over "Jewish state"

Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani 28 January 2008


CAIRO, 28 January (IPS) - Within recent months, several Israeli and US officials have stressed Israel’s unique character as a “Jewish state.” But according to many Arab observers, the designation negates the right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel, and leaves the door open to expulsion of Israel’s Arab citizens. “The idea of a ‘state for Jews’ neutralizes the right of some five million Palestinian refugees to return to what is now Israel,” Abdel-Halim Kandil, former editor-in-chief of opposition weekly al-Karama told IPS. “It would also subject Arabs resident in Israel to the possibility of expulsion at any moment.” 

Palestinians in Lebanon seek right of return

Rebecca Murray 26 January 2008


TYRE, Lebanon, 25 January (TerraViva/IPS) - “We know when we start a campaign we work for an achievable goal,” declares Wafa Yassir, the energetic head of Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which runs programs for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. “And we know the right of return is not an easy goal. It may not happen in our lifetime. But we have to keep this right for the coming generation, and after that. And one day we will get it because it’s our historic right and we won’t give it up.” 

Gaza scrambles for supplies as border forced open

Rami Almeghari Rafah, Gaza Strip 25 January 2008


Three kids, their mother and their aunt hurried towards the Salah al-Din gate in southern Gaza on Wednesday. The mother, in her early thirties, explained in a rush, “We are heading to al-Arish [the Egypt border town] to follow my mom and brother who entered today after the borders were reopened.” The family was not alone; thousands of other Palestinians thronged nearby, on their way to al-Arish, following the blasting through of the Israeli-built steel walls by Palestinian resistance fighters earlier that day. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari reports from the Egypt-Gaza border. 

Down goes the wall

Laila El-Haddad United States 25 January 2008


Last night I received a text message from my dear friend Fida: “It’s coming down — it’s coming down!” she declared ecstatically. “Laila! The Palestinians destroyed [the] Rafah wall, all of it. All of it not part of it! Your sister, Fida.” More texts followed, as I received periodical updates on the situation in Rafah, where it was 3am. “Two hours ago people were praising God everywhere. The metal wall was cut and destroyed. So was the cement one. It is great, Laila, it is great,” she declared. Laila El-Haddad writes from the US 

Ali Abunimah discusses US presidential candidates on Democracy Now!

24 January 2008


As the news out of Gaza makes international headlines, Democracy Now! took a look at where the Republican and Democratic presidential contenders stand on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Democracy Now! spoke with Electronic Intifada co-founder Ali Abunimah on 24 January. Abunimah commented, “What we’ve seen from Gaza and what we’ve seen time and again in Lebanon is that resistance will continue, that people will not quietly accept the fate that has been designed for them in the boardrooms of the Pentagon and the White House and the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. People will resist.” 

Italians awaken to Palestinian pain

Sabina Zaccaro 24 January 2008


ROME, 25 January (IPS) - Several Italian civil society groups will mark the World Social Forum’s global day of action Saturday by pledging support for Palestinians. “This decentralized World Social Forum (WSF) offers to Palestinian democratic movements the chance of asking Europe to intervene and stop what Nelson Mandela has defined ‘the new apartheid of our century,’” said Mustafa Barghouthi, a pro-democracy activist who was candidate for presidency of the Palestinian National Authority in 2005. He spoke from Ramallah during a WSF press conference in Rome Tuesday. 

Top EU official backs Israel's crimes in occupied Gaza

Ali Abunimah 24 January 2008


A top European Union official has offered full backing for Israel as it continues its illegal blockade of fuel, food, medicine and other vital supplies to the occupied Gaza Strip that has led to a growing humanitarian crisis. At a conference in the Israeli town of Herzliya on 22 January, Franco Frattini, the vice president of the European Commission, stated that “the steps leading up to the Gaza blackout cannot be construed as a war crime,” according to a report on Ynetnews.com, 

US stymies Security Council action on Gaza

Haider Rizvi 23 January 2008


UNITED NATIONS, 23 January (IPS) - Despite intensifying calls for international pressure to address the fast deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip, observers and some diplomats say the UN Security Council has proved as ineffective as it has been for many years concerning issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On Tuesday, the Council called an emergency meeting during which a vast majority of delegates strongly condemned Israel’s blockade of the occupied Palestinian areas and charged that it was violating international humanitarian law. 

Sovereignty by stealth: Eyal Weizman's "Hollow Land"

Ben White 23 January 2008


The architecture of occupation is thoroughly analyzed in the Israeli-born architect Eyal Weizman’s Hollow Land. The study takes us to the heart of a conflict which has always been about land, where “the mundane elements of planning and architecture have become tactical tools and the means of dispossession.” Behind the headlines, the reality on the ground (as well as above and beneath it) continues to be reshaped daily. Ben White reviews. 

Sword dancing while Gaza starves

Osamah Khalil 23 January 2008


A staggering disparity in images has emanated from the Middle East over the past two weeks. While US President George W. Bush received a warm welcome during his tour of the Persian Gulf, Israel pounded Gaza killing over 40 Palestinians, nearly half of them civilians. Bush participated in sword dancing ceremonies, watched the prowess of hunting falcons, and in the United Arab Emirates he was finally greeted with the flowers that he once believed American troops would receive in Iraq. Osamah Khalil comments.