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More Palestinians arrive at Iraq-Syria border after fleeing Baghdad

22 December 2006


More Palestinians have arrived at the Iraq-Syria border after fleeing Baghdad to escape increasing violence, harassment and targeted killings. The latest group, 41 in all, has been stranded on the Iraqi side of the border with Syria since last Saturday. Iraqi border authorities initially refused to allow them to leave Iraq, citing a lack of proper documentation. Some members of the group do not have any travel documents, while others are holding expired ones – all as a result of suspension until further notice by the Iraqi authorities of renewals or issuance of residence permits. 

Fearing Civil Wars, Cairo Counsels Restraint

Adam Morrow 22 December 2006


While the situation in U.S.-occupied Iraq has slid further into chaos and sectarian strife, Egypt has watched anxiously as two areas closer to home — the occupied Palestinian territories and Lebanon — have also been roiled by the specter of civil war. Although tense political standoffs in both the Gaza Strip and Beirut have prompted a flurry of diplomatic activity by Cairo, there has been little by way of progress in either case. In nearby Gaza, attempts to forge a national unity government between leading opposition party Fatah and the Hamas-led government ended in failure, with the two sides unable to agree on terms for power sharing. 

Archbishop of Canterbury Condemns Israeli Wall Around Bethlehem

22 December 2006


The Israeli-built wall is “a sign of all that is wrong in the human heart”, the Archbishop of Canterbury said today in Bethlehem. Speaking to the town’s civic representatives shortly after walking through the wall, Dr Williams said the wall symbolised “the terrible fear of the other, of the stranger, which keeps us all in one kind of prison or another”, from which God 2,000 years ago came to release people. Dr Williams was speaking on behalf of a delegation of UK church leaders to the town of Christ’s birth, which included the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the moderator of the Free Churches, David Coffey, and the Armenian patriarch of Great Britain, Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian. 

The Role of Participatory Methods for Mobilizing Change

Karma Nabulsi 27 December 2006


Surveys, opinion polls, and now, consultative approaches are increasingly being used to explore Palestinian refugee issues, and to formulate policy. The Civitas project adopted an entirely different approach to the matter. Indeed, civic participation is different even than consultation exercises - participation gives space for the young woman from Egypt (in the quote above) to articulate the complex sentiments, ideology, and political understandings that she possesses. It highlights many of the understandings Palestinians have for Palestine, but crucially it gives a more sophisticated understanding to those reading it about its importance and relevance. 

The 40/60 Campaign for Freedom and Return

Badil 22 December 2006


June 6, 2007 marks 40 years since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, May 15, 2008 marks 60 years of the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe). The future of the Palestinian people is at a crossroads; 2007 - 2008 marks a historic opportunity for faith-based organizations, individuals, community groups, the solidarity movement, unions and political parties to pool resources and activities and campaign for a rights-based solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Critical is the focus on the enforcement of the rights of Palestinian refugees under international law. 

Correspondent for French daily "Liberation" shot in leg

18 December 2006


French journalist Didier Francois, the correspondent of the French newspaper “Liberation” and the French international TV news station France 24, sustained a bullet wound to the leg during the clashes that began early on 17 December 2006 in Gaza between the armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and Fatah militants. “We urge President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh to appeal for calm and to do everything possible to ensure the safety of both Palestinian journalists and foreign correspondents in the Palestinian territories,” Reporters Without Borders said. 

Tueni's killers go unpunished one year on

11 December 2006


The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed that a year after the assassination of leading Lebanese journalist Gebran Tueni in Beirut, the perpetrators remain at large. On December 12, 2005, Tueni, managing director and columnist for the leading daily Al-Nahar, was killed by a bomb that targeted his armored vehicle in east Beirut. Tueni was also a member of parliament and harsh critic of Syrian policies. He was killed on the day he returned home from Paris, where he had spent considerable time because of fears for his safety. To date, his killers have yet to be identified or brought to justice. 

IPI report says political instability undermining press freedom

19 December 2006


In a report titled, “Media in Lebanon: Reporting on a Nation Divided,” the International Press Institute (IPI) provides an assessment of the current challenges to press freedom in Lebanon. Commenting on the report, IPI Director Johann P. Fritz said “The Lebanese media offers diverse and wide-ranging opinion and analysis and enjoys a greater degree of press freedom than many of its regional neighbours, which are home to the some of the most restrictive media environments in the world. In recent years journalists have paid a high price for that freedom. The brutal murders in 2005 of publisher and IPI member Gebran Tueni and leading columnist Samir Qassir and the maiming of TV-journalist May Chidiac have created a climate of fear and insecurity that threatens the vitality of the media.” 

Correspondent for French daily "Liberation" shot in leg while covering clashes

18 December 2006


French journalist Didier Francois, the correspondent of the French newspaper “Liberation” and the French international TV news station France 24, sustained a bullet wound to the leg during the clashes that began early on 17 December 2006 in Gaza between the armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and Fatah militants. “We urge President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh to appeal for calm and to do everything possible to ensure the safety of both Palestinian journalists and foreign correspondents in the Palestinian territories,” Reporters Without Borders said. 

Press Institute report says political instability undermining press freedom

19 December 2006


In a report titled, “Media in Lebanon: Reporting on a Nation Divided,” the International Press Institute (IPI) provides an assessment of the current challenges to press freedom in Lebanon. Commenting on the report, IPI Director Johann P. Fritz said “The Lebanese media offers diverse and wide-ranging opinion and analysis and enjoys a greater degree of press freedom than many of its regional neighbours, which are home to the some of the most restrictive media environments in the world.” “In recent years journalists have paid a high price for that freedom. From 8 to 13 December 2006, IPI carried out a fact-finding mission to Lebanon.