March 2003

Meanwhile, in Palestine...

Omar Karmi 30 March 2003

The US appears to be the only country in the world that fails to realize the centrality of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict for Middle East peace. It appears that the road map this administration is navigating by will take it to Baghdad, Damascus, Tehran and Riyadh before it realizes that all roads lead to Jerusalem. That’s a long route to take. 

Israel's contradiction: victimhood with power

Kathleen and Bill Christison 30 March 2003


Jeff Halper Jeff Halper is an Israeli anthropologist, until his retirement a year ago a professor at Ben Gurion University, a transplant 30 years ago from Minnesota, a harsh critic of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and, as founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), perhaps the leading peace and anti-occupation activist in Israel. Kathleen and Bill Christison interview the Israeli activist. 

Palestinian Land Day 2003

Badil 29 March 2003

The commemoration of Palestinian Land Day this year coincides with the ongoing Israeli reoccupation and military siege of Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps in the 1967 occupied Palestinian territories and the US-UK led war against Iraq. 

Israelis trained US troops in Jenin-style urban warfare

Justin Huggler 29 March 2003

“The American military has been asking the Israeli army for advice on fighting inside cities, and studying fighting in the West Bank city of Jenin last April, unnamed United States and Israeli sources have confirmed. Reports that US troops trained with Israeli forces for street-to-street fighting have been denied. If the US army believes the road to Baghdad lies through Jenin, there is reason for Iraqi civilians to be concerned. During fighting in the Jenin refugee camp last April, more than half the Palestinian dead were civilians.” Justin Huggler of The Independent files a disturbing story on the institutionalization of war crimes, from Warsaw, to Jenin, and perhaps to Baghdad, too. 

Sharon's real fence plan

Jonathan Cook 28 March 2003


“For months, Israeli officials have been furiously shuttling between Jerusalem and the White House lobbying to have the peace ‘road-map’ torn up. A memo from Sharon’s office, published in the Israeli daily Haaretz two weeks ago, revealed that, along with more than 100 other alterations, Israel was urging the Americans to change the road map’s goal from creating an ‘independent’ Palestinian state to one with ‘certain attributes of sovereignty’.” Jonathan Cook reports on Ariel Sharon’s late conversion to the utility of a growing dividing wall that is changing facts on the ground for Palestinians. 

War in Iraq and Israeli occupation: A devastating resonance

Ali Abunimah and Hussein Ibish 28 March 2003


For almost three years Arabs have been subjected to daily images of Palestinians being killed by Israeli occupation forces in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They see the United States not only doing nothing to stop this, but continuing to supply Israel with high-tech weapons, particularly Apache attack helicopters. Now they see those same Apache helicopters bringing war to Iraq. The spectacle of an American occupation of Iraq may dovetail in the minds of many with the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, and be seen as an American extension in Iraq of what Israel is doing to the Palestinians. EI’s Ali Abunimah and ADC Communications Director Hussein Ibish ask what it will take to mitigate the damage. 

Amendments to Belgian war crimes law will not affect suit against Sharon, Yaron

Sharon Sadeh 27 March 2003

“Belgium plans to impose restrictions on the Universal Jurisdiction Law, which facilitates indicting and trying foreigners for crimes against humanity not committed on Belgian soil. The amendments, however, would not affect the suit against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, since they would refer to charges brought only after July 2002. ” Sharon Sadeh reports for Haaretz. 

As war rages to the east of us, we continue to bury the dead here

Sandra Olewine Bethlehem, Palestine 26 March 2003


“Early last evening I was on the phone to a friend in the US, when gunfire erupted nearby. It was loud enough that my friend on the other end of the line could hear it. A few seconds later another loud round went off. Moments later I could hear the sound of an ambulance approaching.” Rev. Sandra Olewine writes from Bethlehem. 

Myriad forms of ethnic cleansing

Kristen Ess Gaza City, Palestine 27 March 2003

At 3am the Israeli military invaded the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun with Apache helicopters and tanks. The bulldozers demolished 100s of trees, further desecrating the land. If one were not watching this happen, it might be easy to arrive here next year and truly believe that this was a land without a people. The Israeli military has destroyed thousands of dunams of orange and olive trees, shrubs, grass, and life. The US donated helicopters fired missiles into the Beit Hanoun Palestinian National Security building, killing two men who were at work. Kristen Ess writes from Gaza. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 27 March 2003

This week, Israeli forces killed 7 Palestinians, including 3 children. Four of the victims, including a child, were killed in an extra-judicial execution. Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas, accompanied by indiscriminate shelling. The Israeli retaliatory campaign continues against families of wanted Palestinians and those who allegedly have carried out armed attacks against Israeli targets. A number of Palestinians have been detained and the tight siege of the OPT has continued. 

'I just want a moment of peace'

Reema Abu Hamdieh Ramallah, Palestine 26 March 2003

Living under the Israeli occupation has led one Palestinian women to a life of fear and depression. As Israeli troops continue to make it impossible for her to live a normal life, she summons the courage to write a letter to her friends in Vermont. Reema Abu Hamdieh writes from Ramallah. 

Why do Israel, the US, and the EU discriminate against Palestinian refugees and IDPs?

Badil 21 March 2003

March 21 marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Refugees and IDPs often face multiple forms of racial discrimination. Sometimes racial discrimination is a root cause of displacement. Too often refugees and IDPs are discriminated against in places of exile. Racial discrimination, moreover, is frequently a barrier to the right of refugees and IDPs to return to their homes of origin following the cessation of conditions that led to their displacement. 

Belgium's war crimes law under threat

25 March 2003

A breaking news report from BBC World Service reveals that Belgium’s universal jurisdiction law, under which a case has been lodged by survivors of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre against Ariel Sharon, Amos Yaron, and others, is now threatened by fears that the law will allow war crimes cases to be brought against former President George H.W. Bush for atrocities committed during the 1991 Gulf War, and against President George W. Bush and others in his administration for launching an illegal war on Iraq. 

Rachel

Ghassan Andoni 25 March 2003

This is the first time in which I could sit behind the computer and write about the tragic murder of Rachel. Since that happened many of us at the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) have lived through really hard times. What added to my sadness and grief is being the one who received and went through almost all of what was written about Rachel’s tragedy. Ghassan Andoni writes from Beit Sahour. 

A new Sykes-Picot Agreement: Yasser Arafat discusses the future

Kathleen and Bill Christison Ramallah 24 March 2003

Our arrival at Yasser Arafat’s headquarters was fairly dramatic, or at least it gave us, accustomed as we are to nothing more exciting than quietly writing at a computer in our comfortable home, a keen sense of the drama of the occasion. The meeting had been arranged from Amman, without our asking, by the friend of friends of ours, a Palestinian in Amman who had known Arafat for years and set up the meeting through one of Arafat’s advisers. Kathleen and Bill Christison write from Ramallah. 

Time for better decisions to be made on Palestine-Israel

Ziad J. Asali 24 March 2003

The sad fact is that the issue of Palestine has become the latest “last refuge of scoundrels.” The rest of us, unencumbered by divine certitude about the future and open to reason and compromise, have found it harder to have a public voice and space. It is our task to reclaim both. ADC president Ziad J. Asali offers an overview of the bigger picture. 

Gazan branch of Union of Health Work Committees to name new cultural center after Rachel Corrie

Mona El-Farra 23 March 2003

The Union of Health Work Committees Board of Directors has decided to name its new children and youth cultural center in the Rafah Refugee Camp after Rachel Corrie. By naming the center after Rachel, this will provide a lasting outstanding memorial to our Palestinian kids so that they can know and keep in mind that they are not alone in this struggle. Dr. Mona El-Farra writes for Union of Health Work Committees-Gaza. 

Palestinians: long-term hopefulness still dominates

Kathleen and Bill Christison Ramallah, Palestine 23 March 2003

Hanan Ashrawi tells us bluntly that the principal aim of Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and his right-wing, Zionist fundamentalist government is to make sure that no Palestinian state ever exists as a viable entity. Their goal, she says, “is not just dismantling the infrastructure, the structures of Palestinian statehood, but dismantling an identity: not just preventing formation of a viable Palestinian state but eliminating a nation and a people.” The message that Ashrawi sees is clear wherever you go in the occupied West Bank. Bill and Kathleen Christison write from Ramallah. 

Jenin: Fourth Day of Collective Punishment for Ya'bad; Israeli Army Keeps up Pressure on ISM

21 March 2003

Following the killing of a Jewish settler by a member of the Palestinian resistance at about 2 pm on Wednesday afternoon, the Israeli Army of Occupation around Jenin has been taking its revenge upon Ya’bad, a town about 8 kilometres to the west of Jenin, close to the bypass road upon which the killing took place. ISM activists report from Jenin. 

Peace activist Rachel Corrie remembered on home campus

David Ammons 22 March 2003

More than 1,800 family, friends and faculty attended the memorial for Rachel Corrie at The Evergreen State College. At a news conference, Rachel’s parents displayed photos they described as 286 children who have died in Israel and the disputed occupied territory in the past two years. “They deserve as much notice as Corrie on the morning news,” Cindy Corrie said. David Ammon reports from Olympia for The Associated Press. 

War in a very small place

Bill Christison and Kathleen Christison Jerusalem 21 March 2003

We sit in a Jerusalem hotel on Friday night — the third night of the war — watching what looks like the beginning of Operation Shock and Awe, or some variation of it, in Baghdad, wondering how our former colleagues on the Iraq Peace Team are faring under this massive bombardment, wondering how frightened they must be, wondering how we would be responding ourselves if we were there. We are not there, but we have another war to report on, another civilian population under attack and siege. We went to Jenin in Palestine on Thursday. Bill and Kathy Christison report on what they are finding on their tour around Palestine. 

Rachel Corrie: Detailed eyewitness account, remembrance, and thoughts about the future

Joseph Smith Rafah, Gaza Strip 21 March 2003

“I am deeply saddened at the loss of a good friend and a brilliant activist. I am outraged that these soldiers have murdered my friend, as they have murdered thousands of Palestinian civilians. I am terrified at what they will do to internationals and other dissenting voices in the future. I now feel how every Palestinian family must feel. I am determined to continue to resist this brutal occupation, and have learned from the courage and dedication that Rachel displayed.” Joe Smith, an ISM volunteer in Rafah who was with Rachel Corrie when she was murdered, honors her spirit, details the events leading up to her killing, and worries that Israeli impunity may triumph again. 

ISM: The killing of Rachel Corrie and its aftermath

21 March 2003

Our friend and fellow activist for peace, Rachel Corrie, was killed on Sunday March 16, when she was run over by an Israeli-driven, US-made (Caterpillar D9) bulldozer, while trying to prevent a Palestinian civilian home from being demolished by the Israeli military in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip. This extended statement from the International Solidarity Movement offers an overview of and background to the event and ISM’s notes on the events and aftermath. 

Israel violently disrupts Rachel Corrie memorial service in Gaza

Robyn Long East Jerusalem 21 March 2003


On the 18th of March, three of Rachel Corrie’s friends from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) were delivering her body to Tel Aviv as three friends and I entered the Gaza Strip. Her brutal murder by the Israeli solider, fortified in a bulldozer, was the first topic of discussion with community members from the Palestinian police officers who checked our passports to the children in south Rafah who live beside the place where Rachel was killed. 

Rachel's last mail

Rachel Corrie and Craig Corrie Rafah, Olympia 20 March 2003

On Tuesday the British Guardian newspaper ran a series of emails from Rachel Corrie, the American peace activist killed by an Israeli army bulldozer. Here the Guardian publishs her final exchange with her father. 

Weekly report on human rights

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 20 March 2003

This week Israeli forces killed 27 Palestinians, including 7 children. In addition, an American peace activist killed by Israeli forces in Rafah. Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas, accompanied by indiscriminate shelling. Israeli forces continued to use Palestinian civilians as human shields. The Israeli retaliatory campaign continues against families of wanted Palestinians and those who allegedly have carried out armed attacks against Israeli targets. A number of Palestinians have been detained. The severe siege of the OPT has continued. 

Activist's memorial service disrupted

Chris McGreal 19 March 2003

Israeli forces fired teargas and stun grenades yesterday in an attempt to break up a memorial service for Rachel Corrie, the American peace activist killed by an army bulldozer in Gaza on Sunday. Witnesses including several dozen foreigners and Palestinian supporters say Israeli armoured vehicles tried to disperse the gathering at the spot in Rafah refugee camp where Ms Corrie was crushed to death. 

Planned House resolution to call for investigation into Rachel Corrie killing

Huwaida Arraf 19 March 2003

Congressman Brian Baird’s office arranged a press conference for the Corrie Family on the morning of 19 March 2003 on Capitol Hill, in which the congressman participated and announced his plan to introduce a resolution in Congress later this week. ISM coordinator Huwaida Arraf reports on the development. 

The Lilliputians are no longer tiny people

Tanya Reinhart 19 March 2003

It appears that all the Lilliputians managed to do so far is to delay the giant for a few months. But these months were crucial. Today the Lilliputians are no longer tiny people. It started with thousands of small organizations, scattered around the globe and communicating over the Internet - organizations which are connected by a shared sense that if things go on like this, the human race will destroy itself. Tanya Reinhart writes in Yediot Aharonot. 

"On the brink of..."

Suheir Hammad 19 March 2003

“This is not a poem. This is not a threat. / This is a promise. / God has a better imagination / than all of us combined and I do not / know what form retribution will take / but I have seen karma happen and it will / again, and when it does I will chant / the names of the innocent and I will stand / with those who have kept their hands clean of blood/ and their hearts clear of hate.” Poet Suheir Hammad offers an elegy for the life and work of Rachel Corrie. 

What a Week!

Sam Bahour al-Bireh 19 March 2003

IDF uses $10.2 million shopping center project under construction in Ramallah/Al-Bireh as temporary military base. Sam Bahour writes from Ramallah. 

Neither the living nor the dead

Benaz Somiry-Batrawi Columbia 19 March 2003

“The tragic death of American peace activist Rachel Corrie in Rafah refugee camp, killed when an Israeli bulldozer ran over her, came one day after millions of Americans demonstrated peacefully against war in Iraq, and only one day after I received similar tragic news from my family.” Benaz Somiry-Batrawi writes from Columbia, Missouri. 

This is a road map to nowhere

Ahmad Samih Khalidi 19 March 2003

George Bush and Tony Blair’s burst of enthusiasm for Palestine and the ‘road map’ is a transparent attempt to stretch the sticking plaster of a Middle East settlement over the gaping wound of the Iraq crisis. But what the Palestinians need is an end to occupation, not bogus statehood writes Ahmad Samih Khalidi in The Guardian. 

Amnesty International Condemns Killing of Rachel Corrie - Group Calls for Investigation, Suspension of Weapons Transfers

Amnesty International 17 March 2003

Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) today condemned the killing of Rachel Corrie and called for an independent investigation of her death. The organization also renewed a call for a suspension of US transfers to Israel of military equipment, including bulldozers, which have been used to commit human rights abuses. Amnesty International has consistently condemned violations by all parties to the conflict and called on these parties to take all possible measures to bring to an end the killing and wounding of civilians. 

LAW fears more human rights violations during a war on Iraq

LAW 18 March 2003

LAW fears an increase of punitive home demolitions, intended to punish the families of ‘wanted’ political activists, of suicide bombers and other armed combatants. Since the beginning of the Intifada, at least 1,133 homes have been demolished. In the past two weeks, 17 homes have been demolished as collective punishment. LAW fears an increase in home and land destruction on security pretexts, particularly around the Egypt-Palestine border in Gaza, and around the northern West Bank sections close to Israel’s apartheid wall. In the past two weeks, 15 homes were demolished on security pretexts. 

Four eyewitnesses describe the murder of Rachel Corrie

Tom Dale, Greg Schnabel, Richard Purssell and Joe Smith 19 March 2003


American peace activist Rachel Corrie was murdered by an Israeli bulldozer driver on 16 March 2003 while attempting to defend a Palestinian doctor’s home from demolition. Four of the seven other International Solidarity Movement members present have written down their recollections of the incident: Tom Dale (US), Greg Schnabel (UK), Richard Purssell (UK), and Joe Smith (US). Courtesy of the International Solidarity Movement. 

"I made them a stadium in the middle of the camp"

Tsadok Yeheskeli 31 May 2002

This interview was first published in Yediot Aharonot, Israel’s most widely circulated tabloid paper, on 31 May 2002. It is an eyewitness testimony concerning what happened in Jenin, as told by a member of the Israeli military who was proud of his actions. Shortly after publication, the unit to which the man belongs received from the army command received an official citation for outstanding service. Courtesy of Gush Shalom. 

Activists demand immediate halt of Caterpillar bulldozer sales to Israeli Defense Forces

18 March 2003

“SUSTAIN (Stop U.S. Tax-funded Aid to Israel Now) joins hundreds of other organizations in calling for international attention to and protection of the Palestinian people. SUSTAIN asks American citizens to contact the Caterpillar corporation to express their outrage at the killing of Rachel Corrie, and to demand an end to all sales of the company’s products to the Israeli military.” 

Of broken bodies and unbreakable laws

Laurie King 19 March 2003


“Rachel Corrie died for the sins of all High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions who have neglected to discharge their legally binding obligations to protect human rights and prevent impunity for confirmed rights violators. It should not fall on the shoulders of college seniors from Olympia, Washington to rectify the tragedies that nation states helped to create and are obligated to prevent.” EI co-founder Laurie King-Irani traces the sources of Rachel Corrie’s courage to the principles of International Humanitarian Law while noting that her murder highlights the urgency of halting Israeli impunity. 

International, Israeli, Palestinian health workers call on Israeli Government to guarantee health workers protection

World Health Organization 15 March 2003

In an unprecedented call for protection, international, Israeli and Palestinian aid agencies joined together today to call upon the Government of Israel to ensure that its military respects the neutrality of all health personnel, services and property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) including east Jerusalem. Since the start of the current conflict in September 2000, 25 Palestinian health workers, including ambulance drivers, doctors, nurses and medical volunteers, have been killed and 419 have been injured. 

Fury from Qalqiliya

Robyn Long Qalqiliya, Palestine 18 March 2003


Sundes, an eight year old girl living in Qalqiliya, lead me upstairs to the room where her mother, Suher al Hindi, was killed last fall when shot by Israeli soldiers through a window in their home. 

Increased targeting of International Solidarity Movement

Michael Shaik 15 March 2003

On 14 February 2002 the ISM faced two almost simultaneous crisis in Rafah and Nablus. Both involved incidents where members of the ISM were in danger of being killed or seriously injured by the soldiers of the Israeli Occupying Army while conducting non-violent resistance to the occupation. ISM Media Coordinator Michael Sheikh writes about two events with direct bearing on the Rachel Corrie case. 

Remembering Rachel Corrie

Peter Bohmer 16 March 2003


Rachel Corrie was an incredibly good person. I mourn and am very saddened by her murder earlier today, 16 March 2003. She was killed by a bulldozer as the Israeli military ran over her as she was protesting the destruction of Palestinian homes in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Rachel grew up in Olympia, Wa. I originally met her when she was a student in the options program at Lincoln school around 1989. She was a friend of my son and played on the same YMCA basketball team as my daughter. Rachel and I talked a lot the last two years and marched together at various demos. Rachel was a totally caring and gentle person who was outraged by oppression wherever it took place and had become very active working for social justice and peace. Peter Bohmer, a friend of Rachel Corrie’s from Olympia, writes about Rachel’s life. 

Rachel Corrie, Nuha Sweidan and Israeli War Crimes

Steve Niva 16 March 2003


“The Israeli bulldozer that ran over and killed American peace activist Rachel Corrie, 23, in the Gaza Strip today had killed before. A few weeks ago, on March 3, an Israeli bulldozer killed a nine-month pregnant Palestinian woman, Nuha Sweidan, while destroying the house next door in a dilapidated Gaza refugee camp. Palestinian witnesses said that Mrs. Sweidan, 33, bled to death under the rubble as she cradled her 18-month-old daughter. Her unborn baby also died.” Steve Niva, a faculty member of Evergreen State College, makes an important call for action. 

Internationals and Palestinians Demonstrate in Rafah

Rachel Corrie 15 February 2003

At 11 am on Saturday the 15th of February 100-150 Palestinians were joined in Rafah by nine internationals in a march for peace for the people of Iraq, in protest of US government policies towards the people of Iraq and Palestine, and in support of the political rights of protesters in New York City. This demonstration occurred in conjunction with protests around the world. Rachel Corrie writes for the ISM. 

Photostory: Israeli bulldozer driver murders American peace activist

Nigel Parry and Arjan El Fassed 16 March 2003

On 16 March 2003 in Rafah, occupied Gaza, 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie was murdered by an Israeli bulldozer driver. Rachel was in Gaza opposing the bulldozing of a Palestinian home as a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement. Photos clearly show she was well marked, had a megaphone, and posed no threat to the bulldozer driver. “This is a regrettable accident,” Israeli Defence Forces [sic] spokesman Captain Jacob Dallal was reported as saying in Ha’aretz newspaper. “We are dealing with a group of protesters who were acting very irresponsibly, putting everyone in danger.” 

Heading for Jerusalem

Kathleen Christison and Bill Christison Amman, Jordan 14 March 2003

We have a picture taped above a computer at home, sent to us a month ago on the email circuit, of a naked Palestinian man who has just been strip-searched by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Ramallah and relieved of his clothes altogether, now surrounded by other Palestinian men trying to cover him. 

US activist, Rachel Corrie, 23, killed by IDF bulldozer in Gaza

16 March 2003

“Rachel was alone in front of the house as we were trying to get them to stop. She waved for the bulldozer to stop and waved. She fell down and the bulldozer kept going. We yelled, ‘Stop, stop,’ and the bulldozer didn’t stop at all. It had completely run over her and then it reversed and ran back over her.” An American International Solidarity Movement activist was killed today while protesting and trying to prevent a house demolition in Gaza. 

Why Israel is so excited about "prime minister" Abu Mazen

Ali Abunimah 15 March 2003


Mahmoud Abbas (“Abu Mazen”) Under intense pressure, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has appointed a Palestinian “prime minister.” EI’s Ali Abunimah writes that popular objections to this move stem both from the notion of introducing a “prime minister” in the context of an endless foreign military occupation, and the notoriously corrupt character of the person Arafat chose for the job. 

Amnon Rubinstein's lazy -- and misleading -- math

Jonathan Cook 11 March 2003

“To be an Arab in Israel is also to suffer from a qualitatively different kind of discrimination: a racism that is unknown to anyone who can claim to be an “ethnic Jew,” or, in the case of the Russian Christians, a “social Jew.” The discrimination is not just structural but ideological: it is the negation of the Arab citizen’s right to an identity as an Israeli. It is felt in the absolute exclusion of the minority from all aspects of the Zionist nation-building programme.” Jonathan Cook exposes the logical and methodological flaws in the writings of former Israeli government minister Professor Amnon Rubinstein. 

Israeli Army Continues its Killing Spree in the Gaza Strip

Kristen Ess Gaza Strip 8 March 2003


At 8 this morning Gaza City shook. One man just told me, “I was coming up the stairs to work. I thought the whole building was going down.” Neighbors stuck their heads from windows to see what was happening. Four US donated Apache helicopters hung in the sky, two on each side above our heads, firing missiles directly into a car. The explosions were terrifying to an already targeted and terrorized people. Kristen Ess writes from Occupied Gaza. 

Report from the medical front lines in Gaza

Steve Sosebee Gaza, Palestine 10 March 2003


My 5-member Italian plastic surgery team wrapped up their final two operations on Thursday afternoon two hours behind schedule, which was not too bad, considering we were working 15 hour days on average for a week. By our third night in the Gaza Strip, the nocturnal shooting and explosions from the nearby Israeli settlement of Dugit and the Khan Younis refugee camp no longer woke us up. A controlled exhaustion had taken over and even the war outside was merely an occasional distraction. Steve Sosebee writes from Gaza. 

The countdown begins

Diaa Hadid Ram, Palestine 9 March 2003

Last week, before a new wave of work came in, we thought about having a press conference “what will happen in Palestine with a war on Iraq?” One of my colleagues raised an eyebrow - I had asked him to speak - he simply answered my question, “More of the same shit, Diaa, what else?” Diaa Hadid writes from Ram, occupied Palestine. 

Israeli forces kill 4 Palestinians in another extra-judicial execution

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 8 March 2003

In the latest in the Israeli state-affirmed policy of extra-judicial assassination of Palestinian activists, Israeli occupying forces killed a senior leader of Hamas and 3 of his guards this morning.  Four Israeli combat helicopters flew over Gaza city and launched 4 missiles at a civilian car, in which 5 Palestinian civilians were traveling, in a densely populated area in the city. 

Photo of the Day

Bassam Al-Aflaam 10 March 2003

Photo of the Day is a BNN feature which offers a photograph on a day, and calls it “Photo of the Day”. This is not to imply that this is a regular feature, nor that this photo is truly the mother of all photos for the day in question. Usual disclaimers apply. 

Severe Attack on the Gaza Strip

Kristen Ess Gaza Strip 7 March 2003


Gaza Strip hospitals are urgently requesting blood and medical supplies that under constant Israeli closure they are unable to get. They have run out of space for all of the dying Palestinians. Israeli occupation forces have injured 100s of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip over the past week alone. This week has been particularly brutal in the Gaza Strip. Under the violent Israeli occupation Palestinians are held hostage, unable to get away from invading Israeli soldiers shelling from tanks, firing from Apaches in the sky, and shooting guns at any Palestinian who is here. Kristen Ess writes from Gaza. 

Letter from Bethlehem

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 7 March 2003

We got two full days of snow. It came with storm, so we found ourselves in a kind of emergency state. With so much snow falling on the roofs, water started to trickle down through the porous stones, and soon black spots appeared on the walls signaling humidity. 

Myths and Disasters

Hasan Abu Nimah 7 March 2003

Israel is good at floating vague ideas that grow in their generosity and magnanimity if they are rejected but quickly prove empty of any meaningful content if accepted, writes regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah, who recently visited Washington and found a number of dangerous myths about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict alive and well. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 5 March 2003

This week, Israeli forces killed 28 Palestinians, including six children, a deaf young man, two old men and two women, one of whom was pregnant. Israeli forces conducted a number of invasions, accompanied by indiscriminate shelling and continued to use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Israeli forces demolished Palestinian homes and arbitarily detained Palestinians. Israel continued to impose a strict siege on Palestinian areas. 

Poisoning Palestinian bedouins land in unrecognized village Abda

Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages of the Palestinian Bedouin 3 March 2003

On 3 March 2003, without prior warning, two airplanes belonging to the Israel Lands Administration (ILA), accompanied by a large number of police forces and Green “Black” Patrol members, sprayed toxic chemicals on houses and on more than 2,000 dunams (500 acres) of crops belonging to the residents of Abda, an unrecognized village in the Negev. 

Israeli military "assistance order" amounts to continued use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, say human rights organisations

Adalah 3 March 2003

On 27 February 2003, Adalah, on behalf of six human rights organizations and in its own name, submitted arguments to the Supreme Court of Israel challenging the Israeli army’s recent military “assistance order”. Human rights organizations are seeking to prohibit the Israeli army from using Palestinian civilians as human shields and as hostages. 

Nablus: History under rubble

Ghadeer Shaka'a Nablus, Palestine 3 March 2003


Yesterday I went to the old city accompanying a reporter. The first place we went to was the Yasmina quarter. The first martyr in this latest invasion was from this neighbourhood. He was shot in his legs and died waiting for medical aid. Israeli occupation soldiers prevented medical personnel from reaching him. 

Al-Bureij refugee camp: Israeli forces kill 8 Palestinians, including pregnant woman

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 3 March 2003


Israeli forces killed 8 Palestinians, including a pregnant woman who bled to death under the ruins of her destroyed home in Bureij refugee camp. Israeli forces demolished 14 homes and a mosque. This Israeli military campaign came less than 24 hours after a similar operation in Khan Younis, which left three Palestinians dead, 39 others wounded and a number of Palestinian homes destroyed. 

AIPAC, ADL refuse to condemn inclusion of ethnic cleansers in new Israel government

Ali Abunimah 3 March 2003

Leading pro-Israeli organizations in the United States have pointedly refused to condemn Ariel Sharon’s inclusion in his new government of the National Union alliance parties whose members ran for election on a platform openly advocating the “transfer” – or ethnic cleansing – of the Palestinians. EI’s Ali Abunimah phoned up the leading US pro-israel groups, AIPAC and ADL to find out why they were remaining silent about policies that fit the international legal definition of genocide. 

US media ignore Sharon's embrace of ethnic cleansers in new Israeli cabinet

Ali Abunimah, Michael F. Brown and Nigel Parry 3 March 2003


The inclusion in the new Israeli government of the racist National Union, which openly calls for the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, received muted coverage in the US media and passed largely without comment. EI co-founders Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry, and regular EI contributor Michael Brown analyse how the US media mishandled the story in this coverage trend. 

Khan Younis: Israeli forces kill two Palestinians, wound 39, demolish dozens of homes

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 2 March 2003

Israeli forces invaded Khan Younis refugee camp, killing two Palestinians, wounding 39, including seven inside Nasser hospital. In addition, Israeli forces destroyed an apartment building, rendering dozens of neighboring homes destroyed and bulldozed five additional homes. They also demolished large parts of the walls surrounding Nasser hospital and an UNRWA preparatory school. 

Net plays big role in war news, commentary

Mary Anne Ostrom 27 February 2003

Americans are turning to the Internet in record numbers for news and opinion, underscoring in new ways the Web’s powerful, global reach as the United States prepares for war. By the millions, they are going online to get up-to-the minute news, read reports in the foreign and alternative press, and check out so-called “warblogs,” electronic diaries pushing myriad views on the conflict with Iraq, reports Mary Anne Ostrom for The Mercury News.