June 2003

An open letter to the survivors of the Sabra and Shatila massacre

Ellen Siegel 29 June 2003

Ellen Siegel is a registered nurse. She volunteered her services at the Gaza Hospital in Sabra Camp in Beirut in 1982, and was there during the massacre. She testified, as a witness, before the Kahan Commission of Inquiry in Jerusalem. This is a letter she wrote to her friends and fellow massacre survivors and witnesses in Beirut in the wake of Belgium’s decision to weaken its universal jurisdiction (anti-atrocity) legislation in response to pressure from the US Government. 

BBC Transcript of "Israel's Secret Weapon" (part 1)

29 June 2003

Israel declared over the weekend that it is cutting off ties with the BBC to protest a repeat broadcast of a documentary about non-conventional weapons said to be in Israel. The program was broadcast for the first time in March in Britain, and was rerun Saturday on a BBC channel that is aired all over the world. The boycott decision was made by Israel’s public relations forum, made up of representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Foreign Ministry and the Government Press Office. It was decided that government offices won’t assist BBC producers and reporters, that Israeli officials will not give interviews to the British network, and that the Government Press Office will make it difficult for BBC employees to get press cards and work visas in Israel. Before the broadcast Saturday, Israeli officials tried to pressure the BBC to cancel the broadcast, saying that the program was biased and presented Israel as an evil dictatorship. Here is a complete transcript of the program. 

Nablus: Ras al Ain

6 May 2002


On Thursday 4 April, the Israeli forces bombarded the Al Khadra Mosque during the invasion of the West Bank town of Nablus. They were trying to enter the Old Town through the mosque and destroyed most of it. Al Khadra Mosque is one of the oldest building in Nablus, established in 1187 during the Mamluk era. 

My way to Ras al-Ain

Arjan El Fassed Nablus, Palestine 14 January 2000

While I sat there I was remembering “A Million Suns in my blood”, a poem by Tawfiq Zeyad. “They stripped me of water and oil / And the salt of bread, the shining sun
the warm sea, the taste of knowledge / And a loved one who - twenty years ago - went off / Whom I wish (if only for an instant) to embrace”. 

A sharp increase in torture, ill treatment and violence in GSS interrogations

Public Committee Against Torture in Israel 25 June 2003

On the occasion of the UN International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture tomorrow, June 26, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) published some of its finding on torture in Israel. These findings are part of a report that will be published by PCATI in the coming weeks. 

Nablus bakery

6 May 2002


During its April invasion of Nablus between 3 April and 21 April 2002, Israeli forces shelled a bakery in the old city of Nablus. Nablus was especially hard hit, especially in its old city, which contained many buildings of cultural, religious and historic significance. Much of the destruction appears to have occurred in the fighting as a result of the use by Israeli tanks, helicopter gunships and bulldozers. 

Confronting Impunity for War Crimes: The Choice before Belgium -- and All of Us

Laurie King 27 June 2003

“Seasoned and objective analysts have been surprised and alarmed at American officials’ extreme reactions to Belgium’s recently modified universal jurisdiction law. US threats seem excessive and hysterical, especially since the new law successfully filtered out two cases lodged in the Belgian courts against US officials for alleged war crimes committed in Iraq in 1991 and 2003. Could there be any unspoken reasons for the unprecedented and impolitic arm-twisting of the Belgian government by US officials in recent weeks?” Laurie King-Irani examines the political context of recent attempts to gut Belgium’s admirable universal jurisdiction law. 

Destruction of Jenin refugee camp

24 April 2002


In the early hours of 3 April 2002, Israeli forces invaded Jenin refugee camp. By the time the Israeli forces partly withdrew and the lifting of the curfew on 18 April, 52 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers were killed. More than 150 homes were destroyed and more rendered homeless. On April 25, 2002, Charity Crouse visited Jenin refugee camp and witnessed the destruction. 

One thousand days, more than 3000 people killed

26 June 2003

One thousand days of violence have killed just over 3,000 people (2,398 Palestinians and 704 Israelis) and left 28,000 injured (23,150 Palestinians and 4,849 Israelis) in Israel and the Palestinian Autonomous and Occupied Territories. This is the human toll since the second Intifada started on September 29, 2000, according to figures from the Palestine Red Crescent (PRCS) and Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s equivalent of a Red Cross or Red Crescent Society. 

Israel's June 25th incursion into Rafah's Hay Salaam district

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza Strip 26 June 2003


“It is no longer surprising to anyone here that American citizens get treated as Palestinians. It has been clear for ages that America does not take care of its own, much less those who come from such forgotten places as Rafah. As US passport holders, we have been advised by our embassy to leave the area. It is our own fault for being there if we are injured; our country has aligned itself nicely with Israel’s new policy of disclaiming any responsibility for human life in the Gaza Strip.” Laura Gordon writes from occupied Rafah. 

The road to peace needs no map

Hasan Abu Nimah 26 June 2003


“It is true, and it must be recognised, that without immense US pressure, the Sharon government would not have endorsed the roadmap. But it is also true that by endorsing the dozen or more reservations that Israel conditioned its acceptance upon, Washington has rendered the Israeli acceptance of the roadmap meaningless. What followed from that point on has been totally futile, obstructive, even dangerously counterproductive.” Hasan Abu Nimah comments. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 26 June 2003

This week, Israeli forces killed 5 Palestinians, including two women. Four of the victims were killed in extra-judicial executions. Israeli forces invaded Palestinian areas and demolished 12 homes and razed agricultural lands in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces continued to shell Palestinian residential areas and continued to use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Dozens of Palestinian civilians were arrested as the siege on Palestinian communities continued. 

Open letter concerning the use of ill-treatment and torture on Palestinian detainees

25 June 2003

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the world’s largest network of NGO’s fighting against torture, has written an open letter to Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon regarding its concerns about the use of ill-treatment and torture - including the use of various forms of torture that were outlawed by a 1999 Israeli High Court of Justice ruling - in Israel and the Occupied Territories. 

Dreaming of Palestine

James J. Zogby Washington D.C. 25 June 2003

“It was more than 30 years ago that I fell in love with Palestine. It was 1971 and I was in Lebanon doing research for my doctoral dissertation. Ghassan Kanafani, the brilliant Palestinian novelist, advised me that ‘to learn about us, you must go to the camps and immerse yourself in the people.’ The stories these refugees told were so achingly vivid in detail, so raw in the emotion they conveyed, and so right in the simple justice they demanded. It was this, I came to believe, that had kept Palestine alive.” James Zogby writes about hope and dreams of Palestine. 

The long journey from Nablus to Tel Aviv

Neta Golan Nablus, Palestine 25 June 2003


“My father passed away last week. I took Nawal, my two month old daughter, and attempted to go to Tel Aviv to attend the funeral and grieve with my family. Nablus, the city I live in, was besieged and completely sealed off. This has been the case for most of the last two years. Israeli soldiers threatened to shoot anyone approaching the checkpoint.” Neta Golan writes from Nablus. 

On learning lessons: Belgium's universal jurisdiction law under threat

Laurie King 24 June 2003

“In an unprecedented act of interference in a sovereign state’s judicial and political processes, the US government yesterday forced the Belgian government to gut Belgium’s admirable and progressive universal jurisdiction legislation (anti- atrocity law), which had already undergone careful reconfiguration in Belgium’s parliament two months ago. The US feared that this law, which incorporates international law into Belgian national law, might lead to the prosecution of US military or governmental officials, or their possible arrest in Belgium. Numerous legal impediments to these possibilities exist. Belgium outlined all of them in an attempt to deflect US pressure, but to no avail in the face of US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s strong-arm techniques of persuasion.” Laurie King-Irani explains. 

Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post duel over democracy

Jacob Laksin 5 June 2003

It wasn’t a border dispute so much as a margin dispute. More to the point, it was the highly-flammable material between the margins that fueled last week’s clash over press freedoms and democracy between two of Israel’s most influential newspapers. Compared with the leading Israeli daily Yediot Aharanot (published only in Hebrew and with a weekday circulation of 350,000), the dailies Haaretz (50,000 per weekday) and The Jerusalem Post, (a mere 15,000 per weekday) are not the biggest players on the Israeli media market. But both Haaretz and The Post command an influence beyond their numbers in Israel. Must-reading among visiting diplomats and journalists, the weekly international edition of The Post, and the two papers’ English Web sites draw large numbers of American Jews, thereby informing the Middle East debate within the world’s largest, most powerful Jewish Diaspora community. So when Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken floated the charge that Israeli press freedoms where in jeopardy, word washed up on American shores.” Jacob Laksin writes in 

End the fake evacuations

Gideon Levy 24 June 2003

“The operation to evacuate the West Bank outposts undertaken by Ariel Sharon’s government is a farce that is bad for the peace process. It would be better to stop this charade as soon as possible, because its damage is immeasurably greater than any good it might be doing. The only ones gaining from this absurd eviction performance is the prime minister, the right wing and the settlers. The losers are the Palestinians and mainly, the peace process. The Americans, who are full partners to this deceit, should also pull themselves together and realize that this absurdity is no good for peace.” Gideon Levy writes in Ha’aretz. 

Escaping what entraps us: reflections from Jerusalem

Laurie King Victoria 22 June 2003

“Not only Palestinians are desperately trapped now in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but Jews are, too. Fear and anxiety are unshakeable daily companions. The outward manifestation of this mental landscape is the many infrastructural projects erupting everywhere along the seam between East and West Jerusalem. These public works projects are not about the ‘public’; they will not improve or enhance common spaces, but rather, will only further constrict shared spaces by diverting traffic, housing, commerce, and socializing according to racial distinctions. Walls and barricades are omnipresent, marring Jerusalem’s beauty and cutting into its soul, wounding all who see it, Palestinians and Israelis, Arabs and Jews, locals and foreigners.” EI co-founder Laurie King-Irani reports on a recent visit to Jerusalem. 

New survey shows that ordinary Israelis and Palestinians are keen to move forward with the Road Map and are in favour of starting economic cooperation

World Economic Forum 21 June 2003

A specially commissioned poll to coincide with the World Economic Forum’s Global Summit of Peace and Reconciliation in Jordan shows huge agreement between the majority of Palestinians and Israelis concerning the peace process. 

Curfew in Ramallah

6 September 2002


On 6 September 2002, EI’s Arjan El Fassed drove with Dr. Dima Amin through the empty streets of Ramallah. Israeli occupying forces had imposed a curfew on the city and residents were forced to stay inside their homes. The only other moving vehicle was an ambulance. Graffity on the walls spell the words “apartheid” and “no peace, no justice”. 

Nablus: Shubi family - demolished and killed

6 May 2002


Since the outbreak of the second Intifada posters of Palestinian martyrs are common on the walls of Palestinian towns. In Nablus, there is one poster that people stop to stare at. On 6 May 2002, EI’s Arjan El Fassed visited Nablus and filmed the devastation left behind after Israeli forces ended their brutal invasion of April 2002. This particular footage includes the martyrs’ poster of the al-Shubi family. 

On the right of return

Raja Halwani 23 June 2003


The right of return of Palestinian refugees is a legal and a political right. But it is also a moral one, explains Raja Halwani, associate professor of philosophy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in this essay for The Electronic Intifada. 

Walls of separation

Daleep Mukarji 18 June 2003

Christian Aid director, Dr Daleep Mukarji, has recently returned from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. While in the West Bank town of Qalqilya he witnessed the construction of the Israeli security fence which will eventually surround the West Bank. 

Iraq: Hundreds of Palestinian refugees evicted by landlords

19 June 2003


Haifa Sports Club used to be a Palestinian cultural centre in Baladiyat in northeastern Baghdad. The Palestinian flag flies high with a sign next to it saying “No to settlements and yes to the right of return”. But since the fall of Saddam Hussein, some Palestinians have found themselves discriminated against and homeless. Now the club has been turned into an informal refugee camp to accommodate about 250 families. 

Hell on earth: Qalandia checkpoint

2 May 2002


Qalandia checkpoint is one of the largest Israeli military checkpoints in the occupied West Bank. This checkpoint is not located on a border, but between the Palestinian town Ramallah, Qalandia refugee camp, and the Palestinian town of ar-Ram. It separates Ramallah residents from southern Palestinian towns and the northern Palestinian neighbourhoods of Jerusalem. Israeli soldiers check identity cards. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

19 June 2003

This week Israeli forces killed 17 Palestinians, including two children and a woman. In extra-judicial executions 14 Palestinians were killed. Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas. In Rafah, Israeli forces demolished more than 29 homes and razed large areas of agricultural land throughout the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces continued indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas and demolished three homes belonging to families of wanted Palestinians. Israeli forces rounded up more Palestinian men and boys and continued to impose its tight siege on Palestinian communities. 

International legal export: Israel's assassinations are war crimes

17 June 2003


In an opinion, unprecedented for it�s severity, Professor Antonio Cassese, renowned expert on international humanitarian law, determines that the assassinations carried out by the IDF in the Occupied Territories could be included in the legal definition of war crimes. Professor Cassese�s opinion will be submitted tomorrow to the High Court of Justice prior to the hearing scheduled for July 8, 2003 on the petition filed by LAW-The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI). 

EI "Voices of Peace" acceptance speech at ADC conference

19 June 2003


Two Electronic Intifada and Electronic Iraq co-founders, Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry, were at the 20th National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington DC on 14 June 2003 to accept the ADC’s Voices of Peace Award on behalf of the founders of EI and sister site Electronic Iraq. The award was presented to EI and eIraq “in recognition of its commitment to bringing the concerns, voices, and experiences of the Iraqi and Palestinian peoples to audiences the world over via the Internet.” 

A quiet night on Rafah's sliding scale

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza Strip 19 June 2003

“It is still light out when we get to Abu Jameel’s garden. Rows of cactus line the road, bulbous green hedges expanding the boundaries between gardens. Cement box houses punctuate the land, which is a flat expanse of greenery and sand. It is the season for corn, and stalks reach high as somebody’s head. Watermelon vines cover the earth, weaving here and there around large squashes.” Laura Gordon writes from Rafah 

The ghosts of Rafah

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza Strip 19 June 2003


“Rafah, you are going to break my heart. People coming, people leaving, bleary eyed ghosts. The football moon illuminates the soft city full of soft people laying down to dreams unraveling in their hands. Even the concrete fades into sand. Even the refuse, covered with sand, catches fire in the night. The dreams of waste are heavenbound.” Laura Gordon writes from beseiged Rafah. 

Promises of an unpredicatable future

Jordan Topp 19 June 2003

There is no work this summer for the majority of people in Bourj el Barajneh refugee camp. Less work than last summer, I am told, when local NGOs estimated unemployment rates were around 60- 80% for those Palestinians living here. With hope of Return looking bleaker under current negotiations, people here—especially the young men—are doing whatever they can to leave. Jordan Topp reports from Bourj el Barajneh Refugee Camp, Beirut, Lebanon. 

Trial of ISM olive grove defenders begins

19 June 2003

The trial of Neta Golan and Shelly Nativ, Israeli citizens and members of the International Solidarity Movement, opened this morning in Hashalom court house in Kfar Saba. The two are accused of blocking IDF bulldozers in the village Dir Istya near Salfit to prevent them from uprooting Palestinian olive trees. Golan and Nativ are charged with interfering with police work, interfering with a public servant’s work (the bulldozer driver) and disobeying a decree of “closed military zone”. 

EI accepts Voices of Peace Award at ADC conference

18 June 2003


Two Electronic Intifada co-founders, Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry, were at the 20th National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington DC on 14 June 2003 to accept the ADC’s Voices of Peace Award on behalf of the founders of EI and sister site Electronic Iraq. The award was presented to EI and eIraq “in recognition of its commitment to bringing the concerns, voices, and experiences of the Iraqi and Palestinian peoples to audiences the world over via the Internet.” [Quicktime format, 7.8MB] 

ISM coordinator Huwaida Arraf arrested at Huwara checkpoint

18 June 2003


ISM founder Huwaida Arraf was taken into custody at Huwara Checkpoint near Nablus on June 18th after she protested the abusive treatment Palestinians were receiving from Israeli forces. Huwaida began negotiating with soldiers to secure the release of two Palestinian men who had been detained in the sun with their hands tied behind their backs for over 3 hours. One of the men has a bad back and was detained while trying to cross the checkpoint on his way to an appointment with a physician. 

Cindy and Craig Corrie accept first ever Rachel Corrie Activist Award at ADC conference

17 June 2003


Craig & Cindy Corrie At the 20th annual conference of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, held in Washington DC from 12-15 June 2003, Cindy and Craig, parents of slain activist Rachel Corrie received the first ever Rachel Corrie Activism Award. In this video clip from the conference, Cindy talks about Rachel’s experiences on the ground in Rafah. [4:36 mins, Quicktime file, 6.5MB] 

The wall in Tulkarem

18 August 2002


This footage follows the lines of Israel’s apartheid wall on a map. EI’s Arjan El Fassed filmed through which areas in and around Tulkarem Israel’s apartheid wall will be built. Most of the owners of the land already had been notified that their land was to be confiscated by military orders. The wall cuts a water pipeline built by the farmers. 

Qalqilya wall

18 August 2002


Israel’s apartheid wall filmed on August 18, 2002 by EI’s Arjan El Fassed, in and around Qalqilya. Footage shows the wall from both sides of the 1967 demarcation line. This eight-meter high concrete wall, complete with lookout towers located every fifty meters along its length, traps and isolates over 12,000 people. 

The Israeli colony Psagot

6 September 2002


The settlement Psagot built on occupied and confiscated Palestinian land overlooking Ramallah. On March 4, 2002, Israeli tanks stationed at Psagot shelled two Palestinian civilian cars, killing mother of three, Bushra Abu Quaik, her three children Mohammad (9), Baraq (14), and Aziza (17), and two other children, Arafat Khalil Masri and Shayma Masri both aged 7. 

Israeli forces attack medical center

13 June 2003

At 3am this morning, the Israeli occupying army surrounded and blocked the village, declaring a curfew. At 12pm some of the villagers heard cries for help. They discovered that the army was burying alive three of the villagers who were seeking safety in a cave. The soldiers shut off the entrance to the cave. The villagers attempted to rescue them but were shot at by the army. 

Illuminating Thomas Friedman

M. Shahid Alam 17 June 2003


A webpage on Thomas Friedman, maintained by Farrar, Straux & Giroux, declares that as the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times, he is in a “unique position to interpret the world for American readers. Twice a week, Friedman’s commentary provides the most trenchant, pithy, and illuminating perspective in journalism.” M. Shahid Alam pitches in. 

Rounding up the Arabs

Negar Azimi 13 June 2003

Among advocates of Arab-American rights in the US, the response to the proposed mass deportations has been significant. In an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly Ali Abunimah, vice-president of the Arab-American Action Network and co-founder of the Internet magazine Electronic Intifada, cautioned against the consequences of such draconian measures. “The fact that the government is moving to deport so many people will potentially harm efforts to fight terrorism, because it will erode trust in the government.” 

Photostory: Injured ISM activist Brian Avery returns home

Brooks de Wetter-Smith and Michael F. Brown 16 June 2003


On 5 April 2003, Israeli troops shot International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist Brian Avery in Jenin. Avery, a 24-year-old American citizen from Albuquerque, New Mexico, experienced serious wounds to his face after Israeli troops shot at him with heavy machine gun fire from an armoured personnel carrier (APC). On 14 June 2003, Brian finally returned home after months of hospitalisation, to be greeted by a crowd of 60 people that included family and well-wishers at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina. Photos by Brooks de Wetter-Smith. 

Children of death

Uri Avnery 16 June 2003

A week after the ship of peace was solemnly launched on its perilous voyage from Aqaba harbor, it was hit by a torpedo. It is not yet clear whether it is wrecked or can continue on its way in spite of the damage. Veteran Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery comments. 

My (almost) conversation with Colin Powell

Ali Abunimah 16 June 2003


“As soon as US Secretary of State Colin Powell sat down I decided to seize the moment to go and speak with him. I had been stewing in my seat, listening to Powell give an address to the packed banquet hall in which he offered Arab-Americans and Arab people no positive message, except for pro forma declarations of how valued Arab-Americans are as a part of US society.” EI’s Ali Abunimah recounts a brief encounter at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s (ADC) annual convention on 14 June, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia. Photos by Nigel Parry. 

Israeli violations of press freedom: Third update

International Press Institute 15 June 2003

IPI published its third update on violations of press freedom in Israel and the OPT since 2000. While the casualties toll continued to rise, the percentages stayed roughly the same. Israelis were responsible for 82.9 percent of the 310 press freedom violations recorded by IPI from 28 September 2000 to 20 May 2003, Palestinians for 12.5 per cent. Ten journalists have been killed in the uprising and there have been a further 116 incidents in which journalists were injured by gunfire or shelling. During the conflict, journalists have been subject to targeted shootings, beatings, harassment, censorship, threats and obstruction in carrying out their profession. In addition, media outlets have been targeted and destroyed and broadcasting equipment seized and confiscated. 

Working her own road map

Ann S. Kim 15 June 2003

The Mideast was new territory for Mary-Lou Leiser Smith before her first trip to the Holy Land. Now, it’s the center of her heart’s work. These days, Smith is preparing for a conference in November at UNC-Chapel Hill — one focus will be the role of U.S. aid in the conflict. On Saturday, she was part of an enthusiastic group at Raleigh-Durham International Airport greeting peace activist Brian Avery on his return to the United States. Ann S. Kim of The News and Observer reports. 

Israel's use of "Orders Prohibiting Meeting with Counsel" increase risk of torture

13 June 2003


Eric Sottas, director of the World Organization Against Torture sent a letter to Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon calling on him to order the immediate cessation of the use of Orders Prohibiting Meeting with Counsel and any other practices that increase the risk of torture and to take all measures necessary to ensure that the absolute prohibition of torture is recognised by Israeli law. 

Interview with comedienne Maysoon Zayid

Nigel Parry 14 June 2003


Palestinian American comedienne Maysoon Zayid is a rising force who has appeared on MTV, As the World Turns, and 20/20. EI’s Nigel Parry caught up with Zayid at the annual conference of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) conference where she performed to a packed and appreciative crowd at the Friday dinner honoring Arab American achievements. Listen to EI’s first audio interview in MP3 format. 

ADC Resolutions Adopted at the 2003 National Convention

14 June 2003


Members of the Arab American community and its supporters gathered at the 20th Annual Convention of the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC), the nation’s largest Arab-American membership organization, held in Arlington, VA from the 12th to the 15th of June, 2003. At the Convention, the ADC Board of Directors adopted and committed the organization to a number of resolutions. 

Israel can halt this now

Oona King 12 June 2003

British Labour MP Oona King visited the occupied Palestinian territories last week. She came to the conclusion that, given the scale of the atrocities and collective punishment waged by the Israelis against Palestinians, she has no choice but to boycott Israeli products. 

Israel bulldozes Palestinian buildings at Rafah crossing point

Lora Gordon 13 June 2003

We thought they would bomb the Gaza International Airport but instead they bulldozed the Palestinian-run buildings at Rafah Crossing Point (RCP), officially/unofficially ending the Palestinian-Israeli joint supervision intended for the checkpoint since it was reorganized under the Cairo Agreement after Oslo. Laura Gordon writes from occupied Rafah. 

Enough blame to go around

Ali Abunimah 13 June 2003


One week after the Aqaba summit, the Israeli-Palestinian death toll climbed into the dozens with no sign of the violence slowing. EI’s Ali Abunimah says that Sharon and Hamas have formed a strategic partnership against peace, but blame for the disaster does not stop with them. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 11 June 2003

This week Israeli forces killed 20 Palestinians, including four women and a child. The majority of the casualties, 15 of the 20, were killed during four assassinations in Gaza, including two brothers and two sisters. Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas and demolished more than 40 homes and razed large areas of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces also demolished public and private facilities at the Rafah Terminal. Israeli forces continued indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas and continued illegal actions against the families of wanted Palestinians and those who allegedly carried out armed attacks against Israeli targets, resulting the destruction of 2 homes. Israel continued its tight siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. All border crossings have been closed. Beit Hanoun has been under Israeli military siege for the fourth consecutive week. 

Palestinian Filmmaker this year's winner of the Nestor Almendros Prize for courage and commitment in human rights filmmaking

Human Rights Watch 12 June 2003


Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad is winner of this year’s Nestor Almendros Prize for courage and commitment in human rights filmmaking. He will be presented the prize at the 14th Annual Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, which takes place in New York from 13 to 26 June. 

Israeli closures spur phenomenon of Palestinian "one-shekel-kids"

Defence for Children International-Palestine Section 12 June 2003

A one shekel kid is an under-age worker selling nic-nacs, sweets, cakes or cheap plastic items for a shekel a piece. DCI took a small sample of these children this week for International Child Labour Day on June 12. DCI Palestine notes that the deteriorating economic situation in the Palestinian territories due to Israeli closures and curfews is having a significant impact on children, both in terms of a falling standard of living and loss of opportunities and the rising incidence of child labour to supplement meager family income. 

Head of World Food Programme to visit occupied Palestinian territories

World Food Programme 11 June 2003

With increasing numbers of Palestinians becoming dependent on international food aid, the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, James T. Morris, on Wednesday began in Jerusalem a three-day visit to review first hand WFP�s efforts to provide food aid to Palestinians impoverished by deteriorating security and economic conditions over the past two years. 

Owners of demolished homes shut down Rafah Governorate

International Solidarity Movement 10 June 2003

This is the third day that protestors have effectively shut down the Rafah Governorate in the Gaza Strip. Over one hundred men, women, and children have come together to demand compensation for their homes, which have been demolished by Israeli forces armed with American Caterpillar D9 and D10 Bulldozers since the beginning of the Intifada. 

Exploring the truth: Pictland, Pictishism and Peace

11 June 2003


Inspired by the Zionists who established a Jewish state in Palestine, the Pictish people who lived here for hundreds of years are reclaiming Scotland. Persecuted throughout the world the time has come for a Pictish state, the only place where the Picts can possibly be safe. Asked whether peace is possible the Picts say: “We�re prepared to make painful concessions. For example a couple of years ago we offered to let the Scots set up a Scottish state in Sutherland, a miserable, wet expanse of freezing-cold peat bog”. Scottish correspondent Hajjis al-Bint reports. 

As the Road Map unravels...

Hasan Abu Nimah 11 June 2003


Israel is doing everything possible to derail the road map, and the Palestinians’ Mahmoud Abbas is powerless to stop them. Regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah argues that more concessions from a leader who already made too many will neither halt the bloodshed nore bring peace with justice. 

British MPs in Gaza condemn Israeli missile strikes

Christian Aid 9 June 2003

MPs Ms Oona King and Dr Jenny Tonge are today in Gaza City with Christian Aid and local organisations to look at the humanitarian crisis and agricultural restrictions in the area. Following the Israeli attacks on Abdel Aziz Rantissi, Dr Tonge said: “I am gravely concerned that the Israeli government has launched an attack in such close proximity to Gaza’s main hospital.” 

Factsheet: "Unauthorized" Settlement Outposts

PLO Negotiations Affairs Department 10 June 2003


In an effort to demonstrate compliance with the Road Map, the Israeli government has started to dismantle 15 of what it calls “unauthorized” settlement outposts in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The facts are that the dismantlement is not consistent with Israel’s Road Map obligations, the dismantled outposts are dummies, and — most poignently — there is no such thing as an “authorized” settlement if settlements are illegal under international law. 

Pro-Palestine lobby group launched

American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights 10 June 2003


Today, a Pro-Palestine Lobby is born, the American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights (AAPER). AAPER is dedicated to representing all Americans who support the great cause of Palestinian rights to freedom and equality. AAPER is divided into two distinct organizations with complementary missions: one focused on education and the other devoted to lobbying. 

Israeli military continues to kill through "cease fire"

Kristen Ess Gaza City, Gaza Strip 10 June 2003

“Since the current situation and both recent and long-term history have proven that in the eyes of the Israelis, all Palestinians are wanted, they can continue to kill whichever Palestinians they want. Their target today was Al-Rantisi from Hamas. They killed a little girl and a woman instead.” Kristen Ess writes from Bethlehem. 

Belgium rules that Yaron and others will be investigated and tried for 1982 massacre

10 June 2003

This morning’s ruling in the trial against Ariel Sharon, Amos Yaron, and other Israelis and Lebanese responsible for the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre brought a clear, decisive victory in the legal battle waged for the last two years by the survivors and victims. The following press release from the lawyers representing the survivors explains the significance of the ruling. 

US media ignore Israeli violence after Aqaba summit

Ali Abunimah 10 June 2003


Following the 4 June Aqaba summit between President Bush and Israeli and Palestinian leaders, the US media fell quickly into the pattern of ignoring or severely downplaying Israeli attacks on Palestinians, and playing up Palestinian counterviolence as a threat to a budding “peace process.” The media, rather than correcting the record, simply amplify the distortions. Palestinians are unjustly blamed for ‘reigniting’ a cycle of violence that in reality never paused for a single day. EI’s Ali Abunimah reports. 

Israeli rockets strike car carrying Hamas leader

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 10 June 2003

Two Israeli combat helicopters launched six missiles at a car passing through a densely populated area in Gaza city. Dr. Abdul Aziz Rantisi, a prominent leader of Hamas, his son Ahmad and two of his bodyguards were traveling in the car. The attack killed a woman, who was passing by the area. More than 30 civilians, including eight children were wounded. Dr. Rantisi survived the attack but was wounded in his left leg. 

No lifting of restrictions on freedom of movement in OPT

Democracy and Workers' Rights Center 4 June 2003

Israeli declarations that restrictions on freedom of movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories have been eased as a good will gesture for the meeting in Jordan between Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers and US President Georges Bush reveal untrue as Israeli military checkpoints continue to forbid access of Palestinians citizens to their workplaces, schools, hospitals in cities centers and hamper movement between localities. 

Protest Israeli bombing of civil institutions

Lora Gordon 9 June 2003


Tonight, it appears that the Israeli army will bomb the Gaza International Airport. This morning, PA forces located in the airport were told by the Israeli military to evacuate. The Gaza Airport, located in Rafah, Gaza Strip, is one of the five exit/entry points in the Gaza Strip, of which only two have been open, with greatly reduced accessability, since October 9, 2000. The airport itself has been closed since that date. Early this evening, an F16 was seen flying over Rafah. Journalists have been at the site all day, photographing and waiting for something to happen. 

Interview: AAPER, America's Pro-Palestine, Pro-Peace Lobby

14 June 2003

The American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights (AAPER) is one of the newest organizations in Washington, DC. Launched this week as America’s pro-Palestine, pro-peace, pro-human rights lobby, AAPER’s mission is to educate the American public about Palestinians’ human and national rights, as well as the US government’s role in the Arab-Israeli relationship. Electronic Intifada co-founder Laurie King-Irani recently interviewed AAPER’s founder, George Naggiar, about his formative influences, guiding visions, and ultimate goals for this new and unique lobbying organization. 

The Sabra and Shatila Case in Belgium: A Guide for the Perplexed

Laurie King 16 June 2003

“Reports announcing the death of the case lodged by survivors of the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Belgium have been greatly exaggerated and persistent, but to date, categorically false. For supporters of the growing global campaign against impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the good news is that this case is still very much alive, although it has been affected by rulings of the International Court of Justice, wear and tear on Belgium’s bi-lateral ties with the US and Israel, and a global political context that has sharpened debate about war crimes, impunity, and the limitations and requirements of international criminal prosecution.” Laurie King-Irani, North American Coordinator for the International Campaign for Justice for the Victims of Sabra and Shatila, explains recent political and legal twists and turns in the landmark war crimes case in Belgium. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 5 June 2003

This week, Israeli forces killed 6 Palestinians, including a child and one killed in another extra-judicial execution in Khan Yunis. Israeli forces conducted a number of raids on Palestinian areas, demolished 17 Palestinian homes and razed more than 80 dunums of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces continued to shell indiscriminately at residential areas and destroyed four homes in its retaliatory campaign against Palestinian families of wanted persons. Israeli forces continued to arbitrarily detain Palestinians and continued its siege on Palestinian towns, villages and refugee camps. 

This is the Israeli 'cease fire,' the Israeli 'goodwill'

Kristen Ess Bethlehem 6 June 2003


I ask him why the Israelis are building more checkpoints at a time when they should be dismantling them. He replies, “When they want to show the would that they are implementing the Road Map, they will show pictures of themselves on the news removing these new checkpoints and the regular ones will remain. They want to trick the world as usual.” Kristen Ess writes from Bethlehem. 

Rafah, home of the strongest people in the world

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza 6 June 2003


“It’s past midnight and the only sound is the ceiling fan pushing the muggy summer air around and around, while no matter how hard I wash my skin still retains a faint layer of dirt, dust, and sweat. The fan drowns out the sound of bullets, mostly, so you can sleep in our apartment now cloaked is some illusion of normalcy. We got the fans a couple of weeks ago, when the heat became unbearable and we were feeling rich.” ISM activist Laura Gordon writes from Rafah. 

Thirty-six years of silence

Gordon Murray 6 June 2003


The occupation of Palestine has festered for thirty-six years too long. Despite Canada’s official position that Israel must withdraw from all the land it occupied in 1967, the Canadian government has done nothing as Israel illegally installed entire cities on the territory it stole by force. Now, under the guise of security, the Israeli government is building a multi-billion dollar prison wall that will effectively annex up to 40 per cent of the West Bank, yet Canada remains silent. Gordon Murray from ISM Canada comments. 

Violence, settlements and peace

Ali Abunimah 6 June 2003


President Bush’s summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in Aqaba, Jordan, ended this week on an upbeat note. But Sharon’s announcement that Israel will dismantle “unauthorized” settler outposts as its contribution to implementing Phase 1 of the “road map,” and his failure to announce a construction freeze in other settlements, is a sign that the initiative will quickly run aground unless Bush forcefully upholds his peace plan, says EI founder Ali Abunimah in a Chicago Tribune commentary. 

Israel teargasses peaceful demonstrators in Nablus

5 June 2003

Israeli Occupation Forces threw tear gas at peaceful demonstrators today at the Huwarra checkpoint outside Nablus. The demonstation primarily comprised of representatives from the medical, educational, legal, journalist, civil and human rights organizations from Nablus along with internationals from the International Solidarity Movement. Several local and international peaceful demonstrators were taken away for medical treatment. 

Appeal from the residents of Qalqiliya

Lands Defense Committees in the District of Qalqiliya, Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, The Palestinian Environment NGO Network (PENGON), Palestinian Farmers Union, Palestinian Farmers Union and The Local and Popular Organizations in the District of Qalqiliya 5 June 2003

“This is an appeal for help and an honor sent from the hearts of thousands of children, women and elders whose trees are being uprooted, whose lands are being razed, whose elders and children are being beaten daily.” The people of Qalqiliya, the Land Defense Committees and the Apartheid Wall Campaign - PENGON, the Farmers Union, and popular and local organizations in Qalqiliya ask for help. 

Doctor Earle's diagnosis

Robert Everett-Green 4 June 2003

“American singer Steve Earle, no stranger to rehab himself, has a few prescriptions for an ailing America,” Robert Everett-Green writes in the Toronto Globe and Mail. “I’m not anti-Semitic, but I am anti-Zionist,” says Earle. “Why do we expect the Palestinians who have lived there for a couple of thousand years to accept that they should be second-class citizens in their own homeland?” 

The Road Map: Where next after Aqaba?

Ali Abunimah 4 June 2003


President Bush’s two days of Middle East summitry are being hailed in the United States as a diplomatic and political triumph. And indeed even by bringing Arab and Israeli leaders to Sharm al-Sheikh and Aqaba, Bush did more than many people thought was possible. But, writes EI founder Ali Abunimah, the elation is likely to be short lived as the carefully crafted final statements by Bush, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, and the Palestinians’ Mahmoud Abbas paper over the lop-sided concessions made by each side. 

The Road Map -- a matter of time

Hasan Abu Nimah 4 June 2003


With the twin summits in Sharm Al Sheikh and Aqaba underway, many believe that the likelihood of a major breakthrough in the efforts to break the cycle of Israeli-Palestinian violence and resuming serious talks towards a settlement are realistic. Yet while optimism may be justified in the short run, regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah argues that it is only a matter of time before the whole scheme falls apart right in front of everybody’s wide open eyes. 

Dynamic husband-wife team fight Israeli occupation

Kristel Halter 1 June 2003

With the advent of the intifada in September 2000, Adam Shapiro witnessed the unprovoked killing of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli Army. ‘One of my friends, Aseel Asleh, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was killed in civilian protests against the occupation,’ he remembers. ‘I realized that I could not stand by and watch. As someone who was an American but understood and experienced life in the Arab world, I could not be silent, especially as American-made weapons and the American government gave such overwhelming support to the Israelis’.” Kristel Halter of Beirut’s Daily Star interviews Adam Shapiro and Huweida Arraf, husband and wife, Jew and Arab, about their struggle to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine. 

Holy fire

Elizabeth Sanders and Marthame Sanders Zababdeh, Palestine 1 June 2003

“The Easter tradition among the churches of Palestine and Israel is unique. On Holy Saturday, the day before Orthodox Easter, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem enters the tomb of the Holy Sepulchre. After a moment of prayer, he emerges with the Holy Fire, passing it on by candle to the gathered faithful. From there, with shouts of Christos Anesti! (‘Christ is risen!’), it is spread to the churches of this land, a symbol of the miracle of resurrection spread throughout the world. In past years, someone would go down from Zababdeh to Jerusalem to bring the light back. It has been three years since that has happened because of travel restrictions on Palestinians in the occupied territories.” Elizabeth and Marthame Sanders, Americans living in a Christian Palestinian village in the West Bank, describe the twists and turns of an amazing journey under occupation. 

The new anti-Semitism?

Jonathan Cook 3 June 2003


Anti-Semitism, like some plague-inducing virus, is “evolving” — or so warns Holocaust scholar Daniel J. Goldhagen in the American Jewish weekly The Forward. According to the author, the lessons of the Holocaust are slowly being forgotten and a “free-floating” globalised hatred of Jews is being spread via the Internet and television. EI contributor Jonathan Cook looks at the realities. 

Arrest and detention: A measure of first resort for Palestinian children

Defence for Children International-Palestine Section 31 May 2003

This international children’s day, DCI draws the world’s attention to the plight of the Palestinian child, particularly those deprived of their liberty and locked away in Israeli prisons, which comprises an increasing number of under-18’s in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.