August 2002

Israeli Army report on killing of photographer "lacking all balance and credibility," says IFJ

International Federation of Journalists 27 August 2002

The Israeli army report on the circumstances of the killing of an Italian photographer earlier this year in the West Bank town of Ramallah was rejected as ‘lacking all balance and credibility’ by the International Federation of Journalists today. 

RSF publishes report on investigation into death of Palestinian photographer Imad Abu Zahra

Reporters Without Borders 29 August 2002

Reporters Without Borders and Damocles Network, an organisation which combats impunity, today released the report of their joint on-site investigation into the fatal bullet injury sustained by Palestinian press photographer Imad Abu Zahra on 11 July 2002 in Jenin, in the Occupied Territories. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 24 April 2002

Although Israeli occupation forces withdrew from some cities, they surrounded and imposed a strict siege on these cities. Israeli forces have attacked Palestinian civilians and property. These attacks have included willful killing and shelling and destruction of property. This week, 29 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 12 children, were killed by Israeli occupation forces. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 15 May 2002

This week, Israeli occupation forces perpetrated more human rights violations against Palestinian civilians and property in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPýT). In an apparent willful killing, Israeli occupation forces shot dead a Palestinian child in Gaza. The child bled to death and his body was discovered on the following day. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 22 May 2002

This week, Israeli occupying forces perpetrated more human rights violations against Palestinian civilians and property in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). They shelled and moved into Palestinian cities and villages and invaded the West Bank cities of Jenin, Tulkarm and Salfit. This week, 12 Palestinians, 11 of them civilians, were killed, including three children and two women. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 5 June 2002

This week, Israeli occupying forces perpetrated more violations of human rights against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). They invaded and encroached into Palestinian areas, such as Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Hebron and Rafah. This week, four Palestinian civilians, including a child were killed by Israeli occupying forces. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 2 July 2002

Israeli occupying forces escalated their war against the Palestinian people under official US support and European silence, which have encouraged the Sharon government to commit more human rights violations against Palestinian civilians and property. This week, six Palestinian civilians, including a child and an old man were killed by Israeli occupying forces. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 30 July 2002

This week Israeli occupying forces have continued their full-scale offensive in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), killing more Palestinians, destroying public and private property and violating fundamental rights of Palestinian civilians, including the rights to life, free movement, access to adequate medical treatment, food, education and work. 

Follow up: Gradstein's unethical payments make public broadcasting headlines -- NPR's Drake avoids making Gradstein accountable

Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry 14 March 2002

Following our publication of the special report, “NPR’s Linda Gradstein takes cash payments from pro-Israeli groups” (19 February 2002), and several follow-up reports, NPR Ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin responded to our concerns on 25 February 2002 and the March 11th issue of the Current, a public broadcasting trade publication ran an in-depth story on the revelations, NPR Mideast correspondent broke ban on speaker fees, by Mike Janssen. Meanwhile, Gradstein’s unchecked bias continues to surface. EI’s Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry report. 

Israel's 'smoking gun': A damp firecracker

Ali Abunimah, Nigel Parry and Laurie King 4 April 2002

Israel has failed to prove a credible direct link between Arafat and acts of terrorism. It pursues and promotes this myth to delegitimise the Palestinian national cause and demonise the Palestinian people as a whole. In truth, this smear tactic is effective, as Arafat has no more capacity to prevent suicide attacks than the Israelis were able to when they controlled 100% of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 

CNN negates Palestinian victims and international law

Michael F. Brown, Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry 24 June 2002

Bowing to strong Israeli pressure, CNN is to broadcast a special series profiling Israeli victims of terror. Astonishingly, neither the website nor the planned series profile any of the more than 1,000 unarmed Palestinian civilians—one quarter of them children—killed or any of the 19,452 Palestinians injured in the past 21 months by Israeli occupation forces. 

The growing clamor for ethnic cleansing

Ali Abunimah Amman, Jordan 27 August 2002


Gamla, an Israeli organization has published detailed plans for the “complete elimination of the Arab demographic threat to Israel” by forcibly expelling all Palestinians. Gamla receives tax deductible contributions via a US charity whose stated goal is “promoting greater tolerance and understanding between religious and secular communities and between Arabs and Jews.” The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah investigates. 

New York Times editorial praises "moderate" Israeli Labour party

Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry 28 February 2001

The New York Times’ editorial praises the Israeli Labor party’s decision to join a “national unity” government on the grounds that it could exert a “moderating influence” on the new government’s approach “on issues like military tactics against Palestinian unrest.” EI notes that if the outgoing Labor government has been “moderate” in its response, Palestinians could well be forgiven for wondering what a harsh response would look like. 

The Secret Weapon

Laurie King Nazareth 23 August 2002

Twice in a row, my friend Maha and I have been lucky at the Kalandia checkpoint: A breeze provided occasional relief from the blazing mid-day sun, and the wait to get through was only an hour each time. Regardless, Kalandia was very disturbing. 

Bethlehem After The Withdrawal

Shirabe Yamada Dheisheh refugee camp, Palestine 23 August 2002

Quiet nights have returned to Bethlehem after the Israeli withdrawal from the area on the 20th. No more waking up to the roaring tanks, sudden burst of explosions and shootings, or not being able to sleep in anticipation of military operations. 

Another Sleepless Night

Shirabe Yamada Dheisheh refugee camp, Palestine 9 August 2002

Curfew was lifted from 9AM to 6PM today, after the terrifying night of house demolitions. In fact, right after I had sent out my last email, another blast vibrated the air, bringing the total number of demolitions to three. The last one was in Aida refugee camp, near the city of Bethlehem. 

Hi from Gaza

Shirabe Yamada Gaza, Palestine 3 August 2002

I am writing from gaza, where I have been for the last three days to coordinate a volunteer program with youth groups here. Compared to the West Bank, Gaza is not so popular for internationals to come and work. 

Unqualified use of the term "Arab Israeli" instead of "Palestinian"

Arjan El Fassed 30 March 2001

In various news reports, the Palestinian minority in Israel is selectively termed as “Arab Israelis” or “Israeli Arabs.” Palestinians living in what became known as Israel call themselves “Palestinians”, sometimes further specifying that they are “Palestinians of 48” and thus are an integral part of the Palestinian people. 

Palestinian "terrorists", Jewish "vigilantes"

Nigel Parry 26 July 2001

Although the use of the adjective ‘vigilante’ is unlikely to be intended by any journalist to imply that killing three Palestinians — including a baby — on their way to a wedding party is an act of ‘justice’, their inappropriate use of this word does make it obvious that many journalists shy away from applying the adjective ‘terrorist’ to Jews or ‘Israelis’ but do not apply the same restraint when writing about Palestinians. 

A non-existent "lull", "quiet", or "calm" -- the blatant semantic clues of journalists admitting they fail to consider Israeli violence against Palestinians noteworthy

Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry 10 January 2002

This is not a new coverage trend, but rather has been a persistent pattern, both with respect to Israel’s violence against Palestinians and during Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon. 

The 'conflict between equals'

Nigel Parry, Laurie King and Ali Abunimah 4 April 2001

Much of the media portrays the current conflict between the Palestinians and the Israeli occupying army as an encounter or contest between equals, ignoring the massive imbalance of military, economic, political and diplomatic power between the Palestinian and Israeli sides. 

The Palestinian people, as a whole, portrayed as supportive of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon

Nigel Parry 12 September 2001

The Palestinian people, who sit glued to their television sets in disturbed silence like the rest of the world, are actually better placed than most to understand what those of us living in America currently feel and are finding it hard to express. 

U.N. Jenin Report 'Flawed'

Human Rights Watch 1 August 2002

The U.N. report on events in Jenin is seriously flawed, Human Rights Watch said today. The report, mandated by a U.N. General Assembly resolution after Israeli objections forced the Secretary-General to disband a U.N. fact-finding team, largely limits itself to presenting competing accounts of the events during the Israeli military operations. 

Intifada on the Internet: Exposing Media Biases Toward Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Nizar Wattad 30 April 2002

In October 2000, a group of dedicated pro-Palestinian activists from around the world combined their efforts to wage an electronic intifada—a digital ‘shaking off’ of the biases present in media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Four months later, Ali Abunimah, Arjan El Fassed, Laurie King-Irani and Nigel Parry officially launched the Electronic Intifada, a Web-based movement geared toward deconstructing the distraction tactics of ‘the Israeli media war machine’ and highlighting the damaging effects those tactics have on accurate reporting. Nizar Wattad reports in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. 

Mistaken assertions that Arafat has not condemned terror "in Arabic"

Daoud Kuttab 9 April 2002

Contrary to what US President George Bush and various media sources have said about Palestinian President Yasser Arafat needing to condemn suicide bombings “in Arabic”, below are translations of three recent statements made by Arafat or representatives of the Palestinian Authority and broadcast in Arabic over the Voice of Palestine radio station, Palestine TV, or WAFA. 

Israeli distortions during the siege on the Church of the Nativity

Nigel Parry St Paul, Minnesota 20 May 2002

On 29 March 2002, Israel began what it called “Operation Defensive Shield”, an unprecedented invasion of Palestinian towns to “defeat the infrastructure of Palestinian terror in all its parts and components” according to the Israeli Cabinet Communique that announced the massive military operation. 

The blogging war

Alan Abbey 22 August 2002


Politically-oriented, personal Web-journals - dubbed ‘blogs’ - have become part of the battle being fought over the Internet between supporters of Israel and of the Palestinians. The Jerusalem Post’s Alan Abbey takes a look. 

Media Distortions and the UN Report on Jenin

Ali Abunimah 31 July 2002

The UN report provides no new information to those who are seriously interested in the truth of what happened in Jenin last April. To the Israelis it provides another propaganda coup and plenty of misleading headlines clearing it of any fault, to Kofi Annan and the UN it provides a welcome end to an embarrassing and politically awkward chapter, and to Palestinians it proves yet again that for Israel impunity, not law, is the rule. 

Radio Sawa: All dressed up with nowhere to go

Ali Abunimah Amman, Jordan 20 August 2002

The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah is currently in Amman, Jordan and tuning into the latest US government propaganda effort, Radio Sawa. One would have hoped that one of the seeds of hope planted in the rubble of the World Trade Center would have been a reevaluation of America’s activities in the Middle East. Apparently, Britney Spears and censored news were a better idea. Oh dear. Turn up that taxi radio, ya habibi. 

No turning back

Ali Abunimah Chicago, Illinois 5 July 2001

It ought to be possible to find a way to resolve political conflicts peacefully so that no more Palestinian or Israeli parents are left to grieve. But the callous indifference and irresponsibility of the world’s great powers, the intransigence of Israel’s leaders and the weakness and divisions in the Arab world ensure that the Palestinian struggle — the last great anti-colonial struggle of the twentieth century — will continue well into the twenty-first. 

An Israeli in Palestine

Jeff Halper 9 July 2001

On the way I had that sinking feeling of powerlessness mixed with outrage that always accompanied me to events like this - an equal mixture of responsibility, anger at the injustice, the fundamental unfairness of it all, and helplessness in the face of an unmoving, uncaring, cruel and supremely self-righteous system of oppression. 

Back to Shatila

Ali Abunimah Shatila, Lebanon 13 July 2001

Abu Ismail is sitting on a sofa as he speaks. The tape recorder sits on a low table in front of him, absorbing his voice, and the noise of mopeds and people from the alley outside. He is in his mid-sixties, but looks perhaps a little older. 

Nothing happened

Gideon Levy 15 August 2002


“Nothing happened. Soldiers opened fire, no one was hurt. Not a thing happened.” Half a dozen bullets fired by an IDF soldier pierced the windshield of a taxi in which Gideon Levy was traveling this week. A personal account. 

Sharon's deadly calculus

Ali Abunimah 19 July 2001

The Palestinian people have made it quite clear that they will resist the occupation until it ends completely, and they are learning more about the occupier’s vulnerabilities every day. Even Sharon will have to stop and think before he does anything more foolish than he has so far. 

Debate between Ali Abunimah and Malcolm Hoenlein on KPFK

David Corn, Ali Abunimah and Malcokm Hoenlein 22 August 2001

On 22 August 2001, The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah appeared on The David Corn Show, a programme on the Pacifica Network’s Los Angeles affiliate, KPFK, to debate the situation in the Middle East with Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice president of the Congress of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. 

Highly improbable plot situations, exaggerated characters, and slapstick elements

Nigel Parry St. Paul, Minnesota 6 September 2001

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres underlined that Israel was pulling out of the conference because of “anti-Israel and anti-Semitic comments,” adding that the conference was “a farce.” And yet one more opportunity to make Israel accountable for the hell on earth it creates daily for Palestinians under its military occupation was neatly side-stepped. 

Letter from Canada

Laurie King Victoria, Canada 12 September 2001

What has happened is so horrible I cannot find the words to express my reactions. I don’t have a television, so it was not until this morning when the Toronto Globe and Mail landed on our front porch that I saw the images—the huge buildings now gone, the body parts in the streets, the people with faces of absolute fear and shock. 

A Few Words

Ali Abunimah Chicago, Illinois 12 September 2001

It is extremely hard to write this morning, and yet I feel I have to. Everything hurts so much. After a few hours sleep, I woke up in the dark, hoping and praying that I had woken up from a nightmare. The nightmare is still there. 

Seizing the moment

Ali Abunimah 1 October 2001

There must be a commitment on the part of the Palestinian leadership to conduct the struggle by the same principles they say they want to live by — full respect for human rights, and full freedom of speech and political participation. If the Palestinians can do this, the sacrifices so many people made in the past year will not have been in vain and they will build an unstoppable movement for freedom and justice that no Israeli government will have any excuse or power to resist. 

You cannot be serious, Mr Peres

Ali Abunimah Chicago, Illinois 9 November 2001

If the situation in the occupied territories caused by Israel’s relentless aggression against the Palestinians living there were not so dreadful, the Sharon-Peres discussions would form the basis for a hilarious and twisted satire. Instead, they are a marker of how far Israel’s political class is from recognising the depth of the crisis they have created and what they need to do to end it. 

Israeli journalists come under fire

Committee to Protect Journalists 13 August 2002

On August 11, Gideon Levy, of the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, his photographer, Miki Kratsman, their driver, and a representative from an international human rights organization were traveling by taxi in Tulkarem. As they approached the IDF’s District Coordination Office (DCO) at about 15 kph, they came under fire from a soldier at a lookout post about 150 meters away. 

Net Effect: The Middle East’s e-War

Shaazka Beyerle 29 July 2002

It’s just after 8 a.m. on a Friday morning and Ali Abunimah is about to pressure National Public Radio (NPR), one of the United States’ most authoritative news sources, to correct itself. How? By zinging an e-mail to NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. Welcome to the Middle East conflict’s cyberfront, an electronic theater of war where anger, outrage, and righteousness are the foot soldiers, and a one-man, makeshift media monitor with a Web site can redraw the battle lines. 

Wired Palestine

Enda Murray 25 January 2002

The internet has been central to the conflict in the Middle East over the past 13 months, spreading news and also mobilising support around the world. Websites of organisations aligned to the opposing sides have aso been attacked by skilled computer hackers in the increasingly complex cyber war. Irishman Enda Murray travelled to Israel and the Occupied territories to meet those involved in the issues. 

Half-truths and double-talk

Sara Leibovich-Dar 24 January 2002

The IDF spokesman’s credibility hit an all-time low after the house demolitions in Rafah. This time, the incredulity extended well beyond the usual circle of skeptics comprised of Palestinians, foreign journalists, human rights organizations and inveterate leftists. 

Life and Death in Palestine

Stephanie Saldana 4 April 2002

When Israeli authorities declared Ramallah a closed military zone early this week, the army decreed that the media would also be banned from the city. What they failed to recognize is that the media is no longer limited to those with press passes. In the age of the internet, anyone can become a journalist. 

Exposing myths

Carolien Roelants 12 March 2001

The Intifada, the Palestinian uprising against Israel, rages also on the Internet. There, a new activist group, The Electronic Intifada. The website was launched on February 28th to push the Palestinian view to the front in what the founders term ‘the war in the media.’ 

Bombs and Wreaths

Ali Abunimah Chicago, Illinois 1 December 2001

I wonder why I am so rarely asked by the same media how I feel when Palestinians are killed. No one asked how I felt last week when five Palestinian schoolboys were killed by a bomb planted by the Israeli occupation forces in their refugee camp in Gaza. 

It's the Occupation

Sam Bahour and Michael Dahan Jerusalem, al-Bireh 2 December 2001

In the wake of the horrific suicide bombings in Israel over the last 48 hours hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made his address to the nation as he simultaneously increased, by yet another step, Israel’s part of the violence in the ensuing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. 

From Nazareth to Bethlehem, anno 2001

Arjan El Fassed and Annet Meeuws Jerusalem 16 December 2001

This week, people around the world will sing “O little town of Bethlehem” and say “peace on earth, goodwill to all people.” However, in the land where Jesus was born, there is no peace and people suffer daily violence. Imagine if today, Joseph and Mary needed to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Would they manage to arrive in time for their son’s birth? Would they be allowed to pass through various checkpoints and roadblocks? 

Response to 'Playing into Sharon's hands' by Robert Malley, The New York Times, 25 January 2002.

Nigel Parry St. Paul, Minnesota 24 January 2002

While reading “Playing Into Sharon’s Hands” (Jan 25th), one should bear in mind that writer Robert Malley was an advisor on this very conflict in an administration described by more than one Israeli official as the ‘most pro-Israeli in history’. For him to be berating Bush for a lack of even handedness and decisive action is high irony. 

Letter from Palestine

Issa Sarras Ramallah, Palestine 12 February 2002

Clouds and rain. Lovely low clouds which hide plenty of things, including the mountains, the settlements and the tanks. For a moment you feel as if you are drinking your morning coffee on a piece of isolated, or liberated, dreamland where peace and harmony prevail. 

Israel's choice

Ali Abunimah Chicago, Illinois 6 March 2002

The Israeli gangster regime is continuing Sharon’s declared campaign to kill Palestinians deliberately and cause them as much pain as possible in order to force them to submit quietly to Israel’s military rule. 

Overview of the current attacks

Nigel Parry St Paul, Minnesota 12 March 2002

The Electronic Intifada remains gravely concerned at the ongoing Israeli attacks, which are resulting in the deaths and serious injury of innocent Palestinian civilians, the damage of family homes and property, and the Israeli state intimidation of the Palestinian civilian population with violence. 

Grave concern for the safety of Palestinian civilians - a call for the universal application of international law

Nigel Parry St Paul, Minnesota 15 March 2002

The following remarks were made on behalf of The Electronic Intifada at a press conference organised by the Minnesota branch of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, in Minneapolis on 15 March 2002. 

Washington's Lethal Double Standards

Mouin Rabbani Ramallah, Palestine 22 April 2002

The United States is entirely correct to insist that there can be no justification for the deliberate and indiscriminate use of violence - i.e. terrorism - against civilian non-combattants in political conflicts. Yet in the Middle East it has honoured this principle mainly in the breach, and applied it in a manner at best laughable. 

There is No News Today

Ali Abunimah Chicago, Illinois 2 May 2002

There is no news today. Or rather the news today is full of stories about Yasir Arafat’s release from his Ramallah prison. This is variously being presented as a cause for jubilation among Palestinians, a personal victory for a ‘defiant’ Arafat, and a ‘success’ for US ‘diplomacy.’ 

Torture distorts hopes of future generations

Arjan El Fassed 24 May 2002

Torture is abhorrent. Torture is illegal. Yet torture is inflicted on virtually every imprisoned Palestinian, including children. Despite the universal condemnation of torture, it is still used to extract confessions, to interrogate, to punish or to intimidate. The victims of torture are not just the people in the hands of the torturers. Friends, families and the wider community all suffer. 

'Before our own eyes'

Ali Abunimah Chicago, Illinois 21 June 2002

The falsehood that Israel ever made significant withdrawals from the occupied territories or that the three and a half million Palestinians subject to its military rule ever enjoyed more freedom than any people corralled into tiny ghettos by an oppressor serves the same purpose as the thoroughly debunked myth that former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak made ‘far-reaching compromises’ at Camp David. 

'The best lack all conviction...'

Laurie King Victoria, Canada 23 June 2002

Lately, we watch the news with one eye shut, the other wincing in anticipation of anguish. Though we mumble to ourselves: “It can’t possibly get worse” as the newscaster reports another dozen Israelis or Palestinians are dead, we dare not say it out loud for fear of tempting fate with such presumption. 

Days go by...

Hanan Elmasu Ramallah, Palestine 27 June 2002

This is my fifth day of curfew, a new experience for me having left here last October and not being subjected to this new form of occupation. 

Letter from Bethlehem

Susan Atallah Bethlehem, Palestine 13 July 2002

I truly lost count of how many incursions we have been exposed to accompanied by curfews since March 2002. We have lived through many hardships in our lives under occupation, but never this cruel. 

The Fourth of July

Susan Brannon East Jerusalem, Palestine 6 July 2002

Watching the fireworks from afar off, I sat and remembered America. America is withdrawing a large amount of their funds to the international NGO humanitarian groups and causing a ripple effect within the donor communities. 

Morning Coffee in Ramallah

Andrea Becker Ramallah, Palestine 4 July 2002

Finally home to Ramallah today to find my plants—dried, limp, purple flowers browned. My home dusty and unlived in, dishes waiting in the sink. Since last week, the strong wind from the valley swept the earth that I had used to cover the little box grave for my dog, Nutmeg. 

'ToraBora Land'

Islah Jad Ramallah, Palestine 3 July 2002

Last night I did not sleep at all. As usual, I was online at my computer until 3 a.m. I have to wait until my cyber-manic daughter Yassmine is through with the internet before I can get online. 

Breaking the Fear

Sam Bahour Ramallah, Palestine 27 June 2002

We finally had a house visit of our cities uninvited guests. Sixteen fully armed Israeli soliders entered our home as part of the house to house searches that they have been carrying out for 4 days now in Ramallah, while we sit under 24-hr curfew. 

Back to occupation, back to "normal"

Islah Jad Ramallah, Palestine 24 June 2002

It’s been awhile since I’ve written; I have needed some time to digest our new situation, one dominated by the presence of the Israeli army. Their presence has never been easy to accept, but what is harder to accept now is that we are back to “normal,” and this, apparently for us, means being in the continuous presence of an occupying army. 

A sense of normalcy

Susan Brannon East Jerusalem, Palestine 25 June 2002

Israel’s reoccupation, the lack of movement and being locked up inside of your own home without the knowledge of knowing how long has become normal. This is the sad thing. 

Nablus: what it really means

Arjan El Fassed Rotterdam, the Netherlands 24 June 2002

I left Palestine on Thursday night. Security at Ben Gurion Airport was tight. As always, thanks to my Arab sounding name, I got a special treatment. ‘Excuses for any inconvenience’, says the security officer at the airport, ‘it’s for your own security’. 

Don't cheat

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 17 June 2002

Today, Palestinian students are nervous. It is the start of the final exams for highschool or ‘tawjihi’ as it is called in Arabic. They have been studying all week and they hope they’ll manage. 

Feeling Frustrated

Annika Hampson East Jerusalem, Palestine 11 June 2002

Israeli tanks are back in Ramallah, and the international media describes it as just another of the ‘almost daily incursions.’ The latest invasion of Jenin a few days ago was explained as a ‘routine patrol.’ 

Ramallah: More of the same

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 10 June 2002

Due to the hot weather I already couldn’t sleep. As I finally thought I would be dreaming, I heard sounds of Apache helicopters hovering above my appartment, followed by machine gunfire minutes later. ‘Ramallah, again,’ I thought. 

'Ramzi is arrested'

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 9 June 2002

It’s really hot today. The television talks about reform, whatever that may be, and another peace plan, whatever that may be. As I came down to the office to check some emails, I got a call from Khader. ‘Ramzi is arrested’, he says. 

The flag flies everywhere

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 7 June 2002

‘Did you hear the news yet?’ asks Awatef as I walked down to the office. I expected another Israeli invasion of yet another Palestinian town or refugee camp, another killing, home demolition, or another plan or arrangement brought forward by CIA directors. ‘It’s the flag again.’ 

The Occupation

Susan Brannon East Jerusalem, Palestine 6 June 2002

Amjad, Mohmund, Asraf, Abeer, Ahmeed and Khaled left from the Tulkurim area yesterday to work in Ramallah. Normally, they walk for 10 minutes from the village to find a taxi off of the main road and go to Ramallah. This time the road was closed and they had to walk around the closures through the mountains. 

The story of Abu Salam

Kevin Daromar Ram, Palestine 4 June 2002

Do you remember when you went to Nablus passing the Israeli colony of Beit El? Do you remember the fence that goes along the colony but makes a sharp U-turn around this Palestinian home? Let me tell you the story of Abu Salam. 

The right to exist

Susan Brannon East Jerusalem, Palestine 3 June 2002

Living in Jerusalem is a different world than living in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm or Gaza; in fact I can say living in Jerusalem is different than living in any other West Bank town or village. 

A Gazan Fisherman's Tale

B. Samed Gaza City, Palestine 2 June 2002

The old fisherman was sitting across the small table, smoking and gazing at the blue sea with sad eyes. The sixty years old fisherman Eid Abu Hasira found himself confined helplessly, sitting and waiting at the cafeteria of Gaza Port, now for weeks at one stretch. 

Checkpoint 'hell'

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 26 May 2002

On Saturday I visited my aunt in Ramallah. The town seemed quiet. Even passing through Qalandia checkpoint seemed easier then before. ‘We thought that they were going to enter last night’, said my aunt suspecting another Israeli invasion of Ramallah and El-Bireh. 

Letter from Bethlehem

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 10 May 2002

Since a week the recurrent hope that the siege of the Church of Nativity and the curfew would be lifted, is dashed each time, but on Friday a real end comes to the almost six-week long affair. 

All in a Day's Work

Catherine Cook Ramallah, Palestine 12 May 2002

Today was an exciting day. My colleague from work made it into the office from his home in Dheishe refugee camp. The atmosphere in the office was one of celebration, rightly so. 

Bethlehem after the siege

Susan Brannon Bethlehem, Palestine 11 May 2002

Today, I went into Bethlehem; I interviewed the Parish Priest, Amjad Sabbara, who was inside the Church compound for 40 days. I think to myself, why 40 days? What an interesting number: Jesus fasted for 40 days, the Israelis wondered through the wilderness for 40 years. Didn’t something else happen for 40 days? I wonder. 

'It was a set up'

Arjan El Fassed Nablus, Palestine 7 May 2002

‘It is a shame’, says Ahmad. ‘It is a set up. This is so obvious. Look at what happened in Beitunia, Ramallah, Nablus and now the deal on the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem. Imagine, as the Israeli public openly speaks about transfer, the Palestinian Authority is approving a deal to deport Palestinians. 

With neighbors like these

Jennifer Loewenstein Rafah, Palestine 1 May 2002

“They raise their children to hate.” That’s what we’re told about the Palestinians. Watch the TV news. Listen to the radio. Pick up the dramatic US news magazines. Ask the intellectuals and the political pundits. 

Blood and sand in Gaza: Impunity and the murders of children

Jennifer Loewenstein Rafah/Khan Younis, Palestine 5 May 2002

There is a halo of blood on the ground where Huda died while sleeping last Tuesday night (4/30/02). Toddler-sized diapers lie strewn on the ground among the concrete heaps where the bedroom wall once stood, and a single blue sandal, tiny as my fist, sits perched in a corner of the room on a wooden slab. Huda was 11 months old. 

Teargas, bullets and a cage: Getting to school in Palestine

Andrea Becker Ramallah, Palestine 5 May 2002

The breaking points are sometimes small, innocuous. You can’t sleep for a week because the Israeli shelling is so bad, there are continuous and horrible reports of death, but we’re fine- “I’m fine. No, I’m ok. Really.”—- then something as silly as trying to fold an omelette in the frying pan, it breaking, and then- the tears fall. 

Gaza On Departing

Ben Granby Gaza City, Palestine 5 May 2002

The makeshift tank barricade on my street is gone. The twin piles of sand were probably never meant to do much more than provide area residents like myself with some sense of security. 

Letter from Bethlehem

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 2 May 2002

Jara and I play in the neighbour’s garden under the pleasant Mediterranean sun. ‘Do you have everything?’ she asks the neighbour. It is one of those routine questions which people now ask each other and which she has picked up as a normal way of showing concern. 

IPI releases report on press freedom violations for the period 28 September to 22 November 2000

International Press Institute 1 December 2000

In a detailed report on the crisis in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Areas, the International Press Institute (IPI) highlighted the disturbing number of injuries to journalists and media professionals between 28 September and 22 November 2000. 

Press freedom violations in Israel and occupied Palestinian areas (28 September 2000 to 28 February 2001)

International Press Institute 6 March 2001

In December, the International Press Institute (IPI) highlighted in a detailed report the number of injuries and other press freedom violations against journalists and media professionals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Areas. The report documented all known such cases since the start of the Palestinian uprising on 28 September 2000. IPI has now updated and revised its report, adding cases of press freedom violations since the beginning of the crisis until 28 February 2001. 

IPI updates report on Israeli-Palestinian conflict and calls for independent monitoring

International Press Institute 26 July 2001

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and media executives, has updated and revised its report on press freedom violations related to the Palestinian Intifada. Covering the period from the beginning of the uprising on 29 September, 2000 until 24 July, 2001, the report provides a detailed examination of the serious abuses of journalists and media outlets in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel. 

Three testimonies from Jenin

Charity Crouse Jenin, Palestine 28 April 2002

‘When they begin shelling the houses, we want to go to our relatives’. So we all go to my brother’s house next to us. We all move over there. Then the Israeli soldiers come with the bulldozer and the tank. They tell us to come out of the house. 

History repeats itself

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 25 April 2002

I cannot avoid reading history over and over again. I am not thinking of recent history in former Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor, or even apartheid South Africa, when listening to daily reports of what is happening around me. I am thinking of recent local and regional history. 

What is justice?

Annet Meeuws East Jerusalem, Palestine 24 April 2002

“The Israeli police evacuates Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah”, I wrote on the website yesterday. It is a long complicated story. Imaan, a colleague, is willing to explain it to me. Last week she visited the families when they were still living in their homes. 

Update from ISM

Huwaida Arraf Ramallah, Palestine 23 April 2002

ISM volunteers Richard Johnson and Sofia Ahmed witnessed two young boys “blown up” in a small field in Jenin Camp yesterday. Sofia reports being only 40 meters away when something exploded. “Although we can’t be positive what it was that exploded, four days ago we saw Israeli soldiers on foot in the exact same place.” 

The final verdict

Hakam Kanafani al-Bireh, Palestine 22 April 2002

I am no longer confined to my apartment. I am now confined to parts of one single city; Ramallah. The army is still present in those other parts, in those other cities, in those other roads surrounding every Palestinian town. 

The 'end' of an occupation

Islah Jad Ramallah, Palestine 22 April 2002

We woke up this morning to see if the Israeli troops withdrew from Ramallah as they claimed yesterday or not. To start with my street, where I live, all that had changed was the fortification of the barrier sealing the beginning of my street and now a new one at the other end. 

Under Siege

Hakam Kanafani al-Bireh, Palestine 17 April 2002

I muster enough courage and decide to defy the curfew by walking ten meters to my neighbor’s home. He invited me over for dinner. Chicken and potatoes. It’s been a while since I’ve tasted chicken. The bombing of Betounia, the town across the hill, started punctually as we were about to eat. 

Jenin diary - April 12 - 15

Kathy Kelly East Jerusalem, Palestine 21 April 2002

When we arrived in Taybeh, soldiers turned us back at the checkpoint. We quickly spotted a taxi driver who drove us to a hilltop and then asked us with a kindly smile, “Can you run?” Grabbing our gear, we scrambled out of his car and began sprinting down the mountainside, across fields strewn with rocks. 

Testimony from Jenin

Kathy Kelly East Jerusalem, Palestine 21 April 2002

We visited the home of Umm and Abu Mahmoud. Their son, Mahmoud, died during the attack on the Jenin Camp. Mahmoud was a 31 year old merchant. His wife was pregnant with their third child, but she miscarried after learning that Mahmoud was killed, reportedly by a bullet wound at the back of his head. 

Searching for the truth in Jenin

Kathy Kelly East Jerusalem, Palestine 21 April 2002

On April 17, we entered the Jenin camp for a third time, accompanied by Thawra. We had met Thawra the night we first entered Jenin. She came into the crowded, makeshift clinic organized by Palestinian Medical Relief Committee workers, cradling Ziad, an 18 day old infant born on the first night of the attack against Jenin. 

Letter from Los Angeles

Judith Bustany Los Angelos, California 21 April 2002

Last night I returned from the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza. I met with religious and political leaders from both sides, spoke with Red Cross workers and people from UNRWA returning from Jenin and Ramallah, and had talks with a Jewish American man and a Japanese woman who’d been trapped in Ramallah, both attempting to go back in with medicines despite the shrapnel still lodged in the Japanese woman’s leg. 

The oracle at Jenin

Jennifer Loewenstein East Jerusalem, Palestine 20 April 2002

On Wednesday I left the wasteland of Gaza and came to East Jerusalem where it is easier to base oneself for traveling. For two days I stayed in the Jenin refugee camp, returning only late this evening. I know I will have to write about it soon in much greater detail than here, even though I know many people are doing this. The sorry truth is that it will not be nearly enough. 

Practical measures are required - words are not enough

Amnesty International 19 April 2002

As the UN Security Council meets today to discuss the grave situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories, Amnesty International reiterates its calls for an international inquiry into alleged human rights abuses against Palestinians in Jenin Refugee Camp since 3 April 2002, and the deployment of international human rights monitors. 

Amnesty International calls for a commission of inquiry into mass arbitrary detention of Palestinians

Amnesty International 23 May 2002

“More than 8,500 Palestinians have been arrested between 27 February and 20 May, many of them arbitrarily detained. These arrests and detentions were accompanied by a consistent pattern of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and sometimes torture,” Amnesty International said in a report released today. 

UN Secretary-General's report on Jenin underscores the need for a full inquiry

Amnesty International 1 August 2002

The UN Secretary-General’s report released today, which is consistent with many of Amnesty International’s findings, underscores the need for a thorough, on-the-spot investigative inquiry into the reports of grave human rights abuses that occurred in the context of the Israeli army incursions into Jenin and other cities last April. 

Israeli commander in Gaza issues military order to seize land to build a new settlement road

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 20 July 2002

PCHR is following up with deep concern the Israeli Occupying Forces activities aiming at controlling and confiscating more Palestinian agricultural land in order to expand the already established illegal settlements and build a new bypass road to connect the settlements with the Israeli territory. 

Israel practices state terror and Sharon expresses his pride of committing war crimes

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 23 July 2002

Israeli belligerent occupying forces have committed another war crime against Palestinian civilians late yesterday night, when an Israeli F-16 fighter jet attacked an apartment building in a highly populated area in Gaza City, killing 15 Palestinian civilians, including 9 children. 

Killing protected civilians with impunity

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 24 July 2002

The killing on Monday of 14 Palestinians, including 8 children, in the al-Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza city was another escalation in the Israeli military assault against the Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The missile strike against the apartment building in a densely populated neighbourhood in the city was the latest attack in the Israeli government’s official political assassination policy. 

PCHR: most recent information Gaza bombing

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 25 July 2002

In the most recent information obtained by PCHR, it is clear that previous information published regarding the victims of the assassination attack in Gaza city three days ago was incorrect. The discovery of three bodies indicates that the work of the Palestinian Civil Defence and rescue teams was halted without completing the search for the victims. 

International Women's day

World Organisation Against Torture 8 March 2002

On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, 8 March, OMCT would like to express its concern over the worldwide prevalence of violence against women, and in particular over the high levels of violence against Palestinian women in Israel and the Occupied Territories. 

'There can be no viable prospects for peace in the region without the full respect for human rights'

World Organisation Against Torture 12 March 2002

Today, the situation continues to deteriorate in a cycle where violence begets violence and where no viable prospects for peace are apparent. Given the fact that the situation continues to worsen, OMCT wonders how far conditions must deteriorate before the International Community reacts with all the urgency that the situation requires. 

State Terrorism

International Federation for Human Rights 24 July 2002

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) strongly condemns the attack committed by the Israeli army on Monday, July 22, in which an F-16 dropped a missile onto a densely populated area of Gaza City, thereby causing the death of 15 people and severely injuring many others. 

Under Siege: 2-15 April 2002

Hakam Kanafani Ramallah, Palestine 18 April 2002

I went out of my house today, for the first time in four days. The Israelis allowed us to buy food but we can only be on the streets for two hours. The city is destroyed. Cars on the side of the road crushed flat like pizza. Tanks rolled over them. 

Cries of the heart

Susan Brannon East Jerusalem, Palestine 18 April 2002

Nestled in the rolling hills and mountains in the north are numerous small Arab villages scattered among the olive trees and agricultural fields. Spring red poppies and wild flowers are in full bloom tucked among various breeds of tall grasses. 

Strange birds above Abu Dis

Abu Dis 17 April 2002

It is a disturbing indication of my acclimation to the militarization of everyday life here that when a group of Apache helicopters began bearing down overhead in a closed village where no one is allowed to be on the streets, what first came to my mind were Lauri Anderson lyrics and second, whether there are batteries in my camera. 

A letter from Oakland

Jaime Omar Yassin Oakland, California 17 April 2002

As a Palestinian-American I enjoy the rights of my country of citizenship. This makes it difficult for me to understand what it must be like to watch another nation’s tanks roll into your community and destroy everything in their path—your car, your neighbor’s house, electrical poles, gardens and community businesses. 

How appropriate !

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 17 April 2002

‘There is a curfew,’ says somebody at the office. I look at him and continue my work. ‘Yes, they have imposed a curfew on a number of neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, including Issawiye and Beit Hanina,’ he says. 

Independence day

Islah Jad Ramallah, Palestine 17 April 2002

So quiet in Ramallah these days, but from time to time we hear explosions because the army is blowing the doors off of ministries, schools, kindergartens, development agencies and houses. Tonight, it is exceptionally noisy. 

ISM enters Jenin refugee camp

Huwaida Arraf Ramallah, Palestine 14 April 2002

Tonight, five members of the International Solidarity Movement are sleeping at a school in Jenin with 800 refugees from the Jenin Refugee Camp. Earlier in the day, nine internationals from the United States, Sweden and Italy entered the refugee camp and started to deliver food to the remaining residents of the camp - women, children and elderly men. 

Sleepless in Gaza

Jennifer Loewenstein Gaza City, Palestine 14 April 2002

Tank fire, machine gun fire, and roosters crowing; explosions, more tank fire, more gun fire, and those stupid all-night roosters with no sense of timing: How Not to Sleep in the Refugee Camp at Rafah-at least if you’re a visitor and listening to the “low intensity war” rage on the borders of the Gaza Strip all night still frays your nerves. 

'As though we are slowly dying'

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 13 April 2002

The main event in the small world in which we live is the announcement of the temporary lifting of the curfew. On Friday afternoon Mary makes a list of things to buy and we divide the work since we can go out only a few hours and neighbours may pass by for a visit. 

Crimes without proof

Susan Brannon East Jerusalem, Palestine 13 April 2002

Cries and pleas rings loud and clear from the Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank town of Jenin. Jenin has been under siege from the Israeli army for 11 days, many of those days the residents have been without food, water and electricity. 

What the US papers say

Owen Gibson London 19 April 2002

The US papers continue to cover the crisis in the Middle East in great detail, with most featuring the latest developments on their front page. However, the overall tone appears to be fairly balanced with most papers going out of their way to give a detached view. 

CPJ mourns Italian photographer killed in West Bank clashes; Egyptian press vehicle shot at

Committee to Protect Journalists 14 March 2002

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is shocked and saddened by the death of Italian free-lance photographer Raffaele Ciriello, who was killed this morning by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank city of Ramallah, according to press reports and eyewitness testimony. 

CPJ urges Israel to investigate shooting death of journalist, other attacks

Committee to Protect Journalists 19 March 2002

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today called on Israel to provide a full accounting of a series of incidents in which a journalist was killed and several others were shot at during the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) large-scale military operation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip last week. 

Israeli soldiers open fire on media, using stun grenades and rubber bullets

International Federation of Journalists 5 April 2002

The International Federation of Journalists today launched a new appeal for Israel to stop targeting journalists and media after Israeli soldiers opened fire on a crowd of television and press staff trying to cover the meeting between United States envoy Anthony Zinni and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. 

IPI releases updated report on press freedom violations in Israeli/Palestinian conflict

International Press Institute 26 April 2002

Since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada on 28 September 2000, journalists have featured heavily among the victims. According to IPI’s research, six journalists have been killed and there have been another 59 incidents in which journalists were injured by gunfire or shelling. 

Reuters photographer detained by Israeli authorities without charges

International Press Institute 24 May 2002

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, strongly condemns the detention without charges of Reuters photographer, Suhaib Jadallah Salem, on 22 May 2002, and five other journalists who are being held by Israeli authorities and denied basic civil and human rights. 

Nablus: 'I feel as if I was raped this morning'

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 3 August 2002

‘I feel as if I was raped this morning’, writes ‘Ala. ‘Thirty well-armed Israeli soldiers walk freely through our home. I don’t have any right but to sit on the chair and keep silent’. Early this morning, after a long night full of sounds of Israeli state terror, the sounds of bombs, shooting and cursing in the streets, Israeli occupiers raided Ala’s home. 

The court has ruled

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 13 April 2002

“Do you already have an answer?” I asked a lawyer present at the Israeli Supreme Court. “No the hearing is still going on, but they’ve already agreed that the International Committee of the Red Cross should be allowed to accompany the Israeli army to examine, collect and identify the bodies and the court advised that the Palestinian Red Crescent Society takes part in the identification process. 

Waking up with Jenin

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 13 April 2002

‘Hi, it’s Di here,’ says my colleague. She left two days ago to Jenin. Together with lawyers, fieldworkers and experts, they’re taking eyewitness accounts from residents of Jenin refugee camp, who were detained and released, and who were able to escape from the refugee camp. 

An unusual siren

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 13 April 2002

It is inevitable that children want to go out after being closed up in the house for a whole week, especially with the beautiful spring weather. The birds whistle their inviting songs. Some gardens are explored, hesitatingly. My four year old daughter, Jara, has made contact with the neighbours’ children and wants to play with them. 

Palestinians and the American people

Sam Bahour Ramallah, Palestine 13 April 2002

The Palestinian people have no grudge against the American public. We never did. As a matter of fact, if one resists the media spin and takes a closer look at what the Palestinians have been struggling for during the last two weeks—let alone the last thirty-five years—it will be revealed that the Palestinian Intifada is a very American struggle. 

A mother's nervous breakdown

Islah Jad Ramallah, Palestine 12 April 2002

It took me some time to collect the bits and pieces of this tragic story.. My sources are I.T.’s husband, a doctor, three of her neighbors and friends. It is a story of the erosion of humanity and utter senselessness. I.T.’s story demonstrates that a human being can be killed twice: once psychologically and then physically. 

'Jad was found. But dead.'

Islah Jad Ramallah, Palestine 12 April 2002

I woke up this morning very tired. I could not get any sleep until 5 a.m. At 3 a.m Saleh, my husband, woke up complaining with a severe headache. I was checking my mail and writing my messages. I could not sleep after hearing the news from Jenin camp, and hearing the SOS calls of some of the fighters left in the camp. 

'How to find a way of talking to Israelis after all that has happened?'

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 12 April 2002

Friday morning, I go out to sniff the air in the garden. Suddenly a group of Israeli soldiers appear and ask whether I am from the University. “No, I am from Holland,” I say illogically, thinking that the word “Holland” helps to keep them out of the house, our main worry. 

An Intifada against intellectual terrorism

Laurie King Victoria, Canada 11 April 2002

Well, I used to be disgusted, but now I try to be amused. It’s hard to say which has done more damage to my stomach lining this week: the reports and images of yet another Sharon-instigated massacre - adding to what a BBC interviewer today referred to as ‘General Sharon’s rather impressive tally of blood-letting’ - or my repeated run-ins with the thought police, who come in all shapes and sizes and no know borders. 

A requiem for the damned

Jennifer Loewenstein Rafah, Palestine 11 April 2002

I no longer believe there should be a Jewish State, and the millions of Palestinians who have long recognized Israel’s existence and hoped that some recompense for their 54 years of suffering might come from repeatedly kissing the asses of their white colonial masters here and in the US are rightly questioning why they’re still doing it. 

The Invasion - Part III

Ben Granby Bethlehem, Palestine 11 April 2002

The nicest thing about the morning of April 3 was the discovery that electricity existed again. This meant working television. Television meant news. News meant information from outside the confines of the Bethlehem Star Hotel. 

How to cover up war crimes?

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 11 April 2002

There is a growing concensus that Israel’s actions suggest an intention to hide evidence of war crimes committed in Jenin refugee camp. Reports from eyewitnesses speak of horror. We’re not thinking of apartheid-South Africa now, but we fear atrocities of Slobodan Milosovic. 

Ramallah: City in rage

Sam Bahour Ramallah, Palestine 10 April 2002

It is becoming more and more difficult to write as Israel’s war crimes start to become known to the public. I started this day by distributing an article written almost a year ago. Let me draw your attention to another one I wrote, again about a year ago. 

Eyewitness Ramallah: Voices team reports

Ali Abunimah Chicago, Ramallah, East Jerusalem 10 April 2002

On Sunday, April 7, Kathy Kelly and Jeff Guntzel of Voices in the Wilderness left Chicago for Israel/Palestine, along with three Catholic Worker companions. Each felt very compelled by the extraordinary witness of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals who, at considerable risk, have nonviolently resisted the Occupation, invasion and acts of random violence that afflict people in Israel and Palestine. 

Jenin: The Palestinian masada

Yosef Grodzinsky Tel Aviv 10 April 2002

Brutalization. The situation is not getting better. Reservists say that they do not understand the goals of this operation. The diminished quality of the army, and the improved military capacity of the Palestinian fighters in the Jenin refugee camp, are having a direct impact on the Palestinian population. 

No witnesses

Patricia Smith Beit Hanina, Palestine 10 April 2002

The woman from Jenin refugee camp said, ‘we couldn’t see what was happening so we looked through the window, we were terrified in case they shot at us.’ 

Asphalt Turned into Dust

Susan Brannon East Jerusalem, Palestine 10 April 2002

Tuesday, April 9, a convoy of 14 international representatives and 9 national relief agencies were allowed to enter into Nablus to deliver needed medical supplies and food to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS). The supplies will be distributed to those who are in need. 

Craven images: Israel obsessed with its PR image – not with morality

Roger Alpher 27 October 2000

Television functions as a continuation of the fight by other means - the organizers of the Palestinian uprising are directors of genius and manipulators of public opinion; the army chief of staff gives out video cameras to soldiers, Israel perceives itself as the victim of a media ambush. The question that keeps coming back to “our” television stations who have been drafted “for our side” is how is it that only “we” see the outrageous gap between the way things appear to be and the way they are, between semblance and essence. 

"The world is against us"

the Haim Baram Column 24 November 2000

THE MOST popular Israeli pop song in the 1970s was The World Is Against Us. It was hardly a masterpiece: the rather simplistic message was accompanied by an equally banal tune. These were the halcyon days of the PLO in the international arena and the 1975 General Assembly resolution which defined Zionism as a form of racism. 

The media war we are losing, but can win

James J. Zogby 19 June 2001

RECENT EFFORTS by the Israeli government and America’s pro-Israel lobby have focused extensively on media coverage of the current crisis between Palestinians and Israelis. From demanding that CNN replace reporters of Palestinian descent with “pro-Israeli reporters” to hiring three additional PR firms to deal with the US media, Israel’s allies have ratcheted up the media war. Go to any pro-Israel organisation’s website and you can find a plethora of action alerts charging that the Western media has it in for Israel. But the truth is, of course, quite the opposite. 

Forcibly transferring relatives of suspected Palestinian suicide bombers would violate international law

Amnesty International 19 July 2002

Early this morning Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have arrested 21 male relatives of Palestinians suspected of having been involved in recent attacks against Israelis. The IDF threatens to transfer them from the West Bank to Gaza. “The forcible transfer of these people under these circumstances is collective punishment,” Amnesty International said. “We call on the Israeli government not to carry out such measures.” 

End collective punishment of Palestinians in Occupied Territories

Amnesty International 22 July 2002

One month after Israel reoccupied villages and towns in the West Bank more than 800,000 Palestinians still suffer the effects of prolonged curfews and closures. Israeli soldiers continue to carry out unlawful killings of Palestinians with impunity. Hundreds of Palestinians remain in detention, including in administrative detention without charge or trial, and destruction or damage to homes and property continues. 

15 Palestinians killed, Sharon: 'A great success'

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 22 July 2002

Ayman missed his second birthday. He was only 18 months old. Mohammad did not pass the age of four, Diana was only five, Mona was killed with her children, four-years old Subhi and six-years old Mohammad, Mohammad al-Shawa died with his five-years old son, Diana Matar was only two months old and Ala Matar did not even get into high school, he was only eleven. 

'When you come back'

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 26 July 2002

Wednesday night, I went to a concert of Vusi Mahlasela. He was performing in at the Jerusalem festival, a musical festival under the theme of ‘songs of freedom’. Vusi Mahlasela was born in Lady Selbourne in Pretoria, during the apartheid regime of South Africa. 

Hebron Settlers

Susan Brannon Hebron, Palestine 29 July 2002

435 Israelis are nestled within the city limits of Hebron in co-habitation with approximately 180,000 Palestinians. The settlers are “guarded” by approximately 1,500 to 2,000 Israeli soldiers costing Israel millions of dollars in operations cost; the ratio is 1 settler to 4 soldiers guarding the post. 

A Missed Opportunity

Ali Abunimah Chicago, Illinois 31 July 2002

Ever since the horrific carnage in Gaza, when Israeli leaders knowingly, willfully and with malice aforethought dropped a 1,000kg bomb on a civilian apartment building killing 15 people, ten of them children, everyone has been expecting a bloody revenge against Israelis. 

Convoy to Nablus: Statement

Andrea Becker East Jerusalem, Palestine 10 April 2002

A joint convoy comprised of representatives from 14 international and 9 national humanitarian agencies working in the West Bank and Gaza set out to Nablus on Tuesday, April 9th. The convoy consisted of 16 vehicles, five of which were carrying basic food and medicines for distribution to the most vulnerable families. 

'Israel commits massacre in Jenin refugee camp'

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 7 April 2002

I just had to write one of the most horrible press releases I ever wrote. Israeli forces are commiting a massacre in Jenin refugee camp. The whole day I have received horrible stories, eye-witness accounts, lists of names of persons killed, affidavits, telephone calls, and faxes. What is happening in Jenin are not only war crimes being committed, or crimes against humanity, but it may potentially violate the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 

'Nablus, I don't hear you !'

Arjan El Fassed Ram, Palestine 7 April 2002

“Hi, I just received a message from Nablus that five hundred Palestinians are besieged in the old city of Nablus, could you confirm this? We have a telephone number, but we know that the telephone lines have been cut and that even people cannot be reached on their mobile phones. We are afraid that a massacre is going to take place.” 

We live in a prison

Ashraf Dabbah Ramallah, Palestine 7 April 2002

First of all, to be honest, I didn’t expect people to reply [to my first message]. But the replies are very important, especially now, because they’re not only for me - I’ve been calling friends and telling them about your support. This support is so important. We live in a prison and feel like we are so alone here so it’s very encouraging to have such replies.