The four deported students are among the last Gaza students still studying in the West Bank.� In 2000, there were over 300 Gaza students studying at Birzeit University, in 2004 there are only 39.� Since October 2000, the Israeli Authorities have made it virtually impossible for Palestinians to gain or renew the permits required by Israel, the occupying power, to move between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.� Gaza students enrolled in universities in the West Bank have been forced to either overstay their original permits, facing all the ramifications that this entails, or to drop out of university entirely. � Read more about Four Birzeit University Students Illegally Deported to Gaza
Ahmad Nafaa, a Palestinian refugee from Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp in south Lebanon and active member of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees, was forcibly detained Tuesday evening around 9 PM, by Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC) at Metro-McGill. Ahmad is now facing deportation to the U.S, where he will be held in detention indefinately, before he is ultimately deported back to Ein el-Hilweh camp. Read more about Take action against the deportation of Ahmad Nafaa
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee expresses deep concerned by the alarming hostility expressed by media commentators towards the Palestinian people in the wake of the death of Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat. These comments, with exceptions, contain a surprising array of dehumanizing and overtly racist comments against the Palestinian people. Comments such as the ones listed below can only be regarded as an incitement to ethnic hatred of the Palestinians. Surely the denigration of an ethnic group, a people who have been living under an ongoing 37-year Israeli military occupation, constitutes a violation of any system of journalistic standards. Read more about Protest Biased Media Coverage of Palestine and Palestinians
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights requests your urgent intervention. The Center calls upon the international community to take effective action to put an end to Israeli violations of human rights and the rights of children in the occupied Palestinian territories, in particular in the north of the Gaza Strip. The Center also calls human rights organizations and child rights NGOs, coalitions and individuals to take whatever steps within their power to mobilize a more effective intervention to prevent violations of international humanitarian law and human rights standards. Read more about International community must act to stop killing Palestinian children
In a New York Times column today, PLO legal adviser Michael Tarazi lays out the case for solving the deadlocked Palestinian-Israeli conflict through “a one-state solution in which citizens of all faiths and ethnicities live together as equals.” That the New York Times printed this article represents a major breakthrough of this idea into the mainstream. Tarazi’s article is sure to draw a sharp negative reaction from those who wish to stifle a free debate. If you support equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis, and want to see this discussion expand, the New York Times needs to hear from you. Read more about Write to comment on New York Times opinion piece
For the last 48 hours, the Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC), medical facilities are in state of top emergency in the northern governorate of Gaza Strip. The medical teams are working continuously to cope with the increasing number of causalities, due to a massive incursion of Israeli forces to the northern governorate, especially Jabalia. Israeli tanks, helicopters, and other military forces are attacking the area through four main sectors. Israeli forces are demolishing houses, destroying infrastructure and bulldozing trees at the same time they snipe at every moving target, disregarding whether it is a child, women, old man or a youth. Read more about Urgent Appeal from UHWC Gaza
On Tuesday, Sep. 28, Israel’s high court will hear Tali Fahima’s appeal against her administrative (read: without a trial) detention. She is now held in solitary confinement, with no access to books, newspapers, cigarettes, and basic amenities. The 28 years old independent solidarity activist from Kiryat-Gat has committed the worst crime an Israeli can, she crossed the barriers to work with Palestinians in Jenin refugee camp, and befriended a militant. The Israeli high court will hear Tali Fahima’s appeal against her administrative detention on Tuesday, Sep. 28, at 6 pm. Supporters are encouraged to attend the court session. Read more about Free Tali Fahima
At 1:00am the Israeli Army attacked homes on Old Najav Street in Nablus, West of the old city. Five young men were killed and one eleven year-old girl. Medical examination evidence suggests the five men were executed. International Solidarity activists, who are presently accompanying UPMRC medical teams in the area, interviewed the Director of Rafidia Hospital, Dr. Samir Abu Srour, where the five men and the young girl were taken. According to Dr. Srour, four of the five men were shot in the head at close range. The bullets did not pass through their skulls and instead exploded the young men’s heads, indicating that they were shot at close range. Read more about Demand investigation into alleged execution of five Palestinians
The Internet information service Yahoo! has omitted information about Palestine’s athletes competing in the 2004 Olympics at Athens. Yahoo! has extensive Olympics coverage, one of the features of which is a search engine that allows users to look up any athlete by name or to look up all the athletes representing a country — except that the athletes from Palestine are mysteriously missing. EI’s Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry explain the problem and ask for action. Read more about Yahoo! Sports makes Palestine's Olympians disappear
We must again note that CNN’s reporting of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not all bad. But, once again, here is a report that employs terminology to describe land — the central issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — that comes straight from the Israeli lexicon. The language of this report suggests that the status of West Bank land is unclear, that it is “disputed”. The status of this land is anything but unclear and is defined by international law as occupied territory, regardless of the views of Israel or CNN. Read more about CNN goes where few have dared to go, adopting Israel's "disputed" territories terminology
