August 2003

CAMERA's half-baked attack on Cook

Nigel Parry 30 August 2003


In the rare event of articles critical of Israel breaking into the mainstream US media, a flood of denunciations from letter writers and Zionist lobby groups usually follows. Editors insist that their coverage is not affected by such tactics. But the truth is that these well-financed groups believe it is worth investing huge amounts of time, energy, and money in organising these campaigns. On 27 May 2003, a commentary piece by British journalist Jonathan Cook, entitled “A cage for Palestinians: A 1,000-kilometer fence preempts the road map”, was published in the International Herald Tribune. EI’s Nigel Parry looks at one instance of the lobby in action. 

Violence will end when occupation ends

Hasan Abu Nimah 29 August 2003


The two devastating bomb attacks in Baghdad and Jerusalem last week have further confirmed the fragile nature of measures taken so far to deal with the two complex issues of Palestine and Iraq. It was particularly shocking, and deeply agonising to realise that even the United Nations’ Baghdad headquarters would not be spared the evil of those whose main interest, it seems, is only to spread death, destruction and total chaos. The United Nations, and the many noble people who fell victim in the senseless, horrendous attack had no reason to be there other than to help the Iraqis overcome the suffering of the war, and provide them with much needed assistance to rebuild their shattered country and battered society. Yet, argues regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah, the lesson of these atrocities is once again that occupation breeds chaos, violence and endless resistance. 

Regional Focus: The problem of Arab reform

Ali Abunimah 30 August 2003


The Arab states are in desperate need of reform. Their hundreds of millions of people — the vast majority of them under age 30 — lack the basic freedoms and opportunities that they crave. EI’s Ali Abunimah considers the vexing problem of what can be an agent for much needed change. Some believe that an external “shock,” like the US invasion of Iraq can shake things up for the better. Abunimah believes its urgent that we search for a more positive and constructive path to democracy. 

A cage for Palestinians: A 1,000-kilometer fence preempts the Road Map

Jonathan Cook 27 May 2003

The security wall Israel is hastily constructing around the West Bank - officially justified by the need to stop terror attacks - will cage in more than 2 million Palestinians. Another electrified fence is already imprisoning 1 million Palestinians in Gaza. Little attention has focused on this wall, mainly because it is assumed it follows the Green Line, the internationally recognized border that existed between Israel and the West Bank until the war of 1967. But Sharon admitted in a recent interview with the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that the wall will be at least 1,000 kilometers long (625 miles), whereas the Green Line is only 360 kilometers long. Jonathan Cook writes from Nazareth. 

Israeli forces kill 4 Palestinian activists in latest extra-judicial assassination in Gaza City

25 August 2003

PCHR strongly condemns the latest extra-judicial assassination carried out by Israeli occupying forces in Gaza City on Sunday, 24 August 2003, which left dead 4 members of the military wing of Hamas movement, the Ezziddin al-Qassam Brigade. PCHR is deeply concerned about the persistent escalation of aggressive acts carried out by Israeli occupying forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. PCHR is especially concerned by the Israeli government’s official adoption of the policy of extra-judicial assassinations; the only state in the world which openly commits such crimes. 

PCHR calls for transfer of registration of NGOs to PA Ministry of Justice to protect independence of Palestinian civilian society

28 August 2003

On 19 August 2003, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) approved in a first reading a draft law submitted by the Palestinian Authority cabinet. This draft legislation included amendments to the Law of Charitable Societies and NGOs which provided that the authority to register and supervise such groups would be transferred to the Civil Work Affairs Bureau. 

PCHR calls upon the Palestinian Authority to cancel its decision to freeze funds of charitable societies

28 August 2003

PCHR is deeply concerned with regard to the latest measures taken by the Palestinian Monetary Fund against dozens of charitable societies and NGOs, including freezing their accounts in all banks inside the Occupied Palestinian Territories.  PCHR asserts that these measures violate human rights standards, and warns of the tragic consequences for thousands of poor Palestinian families which receive social, educational, health and relief services from these organisations.  

Weekly report on human rights violations

28 August 2003


This week, Israeli occupying forces escalated their illegal military actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), causing more casualties among Palestinian civilians. PCHR is concerned that further escalation may take place, as Israeli officials stated that Israeli occupying forces would continue to target Palestinian activists. In flagrant disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians, Israeli occupying forces committed more extra-judicial assassinations. They invaded the northern West Bank towns of Nablus and Jenin. 

Journalists find "calm" when only Palestinians die

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting 22 August 2003


The deadly bus bombing in Jerusalem on August 19 was foreshadowed by a pair of suicide attacks a week earlier which killed two Israeli civilians. While U.S. media tended to portray these attacks as a return to violence after a relatively peaceful period, there were numerous killings in the weeks leading up to the suicide bombings that underscore the lack of evenhanded attention given to loss of life in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. FAIR reports. 

Terror in Nablus

Kate Gillam Nablus, Palestine 26 August 2003

I just had the hardest day of my life. Let me start off by telling you that yesterday i had to get into Nablus while it was under curfew. I was with three Palestinians. I had a hard time getting here and, once in Nablus, I had to walk up to a tank and another armored vehicle and negotiate with them to let us through and they didn’t let the one male go past so he walked around. We eventually got around. 

Shebaa Farms: CNN and the US media encounter difficult terrain

Michael F. Brown 27 August 2003


During my formative years in North Carolina, my daddy used to say to me, “Son, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” My father’s adage applies all too well to CNN. Over the past 16 months, Partners for Peace has repeatedly contacted CNN to explain that Shebaa Farms is not in Israel, but in occupied territory. Time and again, we have sent letters stating that the United Nations regards Shebaa Farms as Syrian while Hezbollah sees it as Lebanese. The one thing we know is that it is not Israeli. Michael Brown writes for EI. 

Largest demolition in years: Israel destroys entire commercial market in one day

21 August 2003


Marking the single largest demolition of buildings in years, the entire commercial area of Nazlat ‘Isa was today raised to the ground as some 15 bulldozers, accompanied by large numbers of military and border police, entered the community at 5:00 AM and destroyed over 100 shops and 5 homes. The market, which was previously targeted in January of this year with the destruction of 82 or close to , of its shops, has been the commercial center for the entire region. The bulldozers began the demolitions early in the morning and continued unabated until the late hours of the night. 

Israel issues demolition orders for the destruction of 18 Palestinian homes in Jerusalem

12 August 2003

The Jerusalem Center for Social & Economic Rights (JCSER) has revealed that demolition orders have been issued against eighteen Palestinian houses in Al-Ashqariyeh in Beit Hanina, north of Occupied Jerusalem, and delivered to the home-owners. High fines have been imposed on the owners, with the Israeli authorities citing ‘illegal’ construction. 

EI's Ali Abunimah in USA Today's "Talk Today"

21 August 2003


This week’s devastating violence between Israel and the Palestinians appears to have rendered the eight-week-old truce, or hudna, null and void. After Thursday’s killing of a senior Hamas official by Israel in retaliation for a suicide bombing of a bus in Jerusalem which 20 people died. The Islamic militant group Hamas threatened revenge and formally abandoned the cease-fire. EI’s Ali Abunimah answers questions from readers of USA Today on what it takes “to stop the violence between Israel and the Palestinians.” 

Weekly report on human rights violations

21 August 2003

This week, Israeli forces assassinated a Palestinian activist in Hebron and in an apparent wilful killing Israeli forces killed a child in Tulkarem. Israeli forces continued to indiscriminately shell Palestinian residential areas and invaded a number Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces demolished a home in Rafah and raided a number of homes in the West Bank. Three homes were demolished as Israel continued its reprisals against families of wanted Palestinians. Israeli forces established three new observation towers in Khan Yunis and instated a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. 

Israel rules to compensate Palestinian fishermen for destruction of boat

20 August 2003

In an unprecedented ruling since the beginning of the current Intifada, the compensation department of the Israeli Ministry of Defense ruled to award two Palestinians from Deir al-Balah - represented by PCHR – NIS 245,000 (approximately US$10,200) in compensation for the loss of their boat that was destroyed by Israeli occupying forces on 18 January 2002. 

Before we blame the Palestinians

Hillel Schocken 20 August 2003

In “All talk and no dialogue” (Haaretz, August 15), Ze’ev Schiff states that it’s “clear that the truce does not in fact exist,” and explains that the Palestinian government “is incapable of implementing the hudna,” that Abu Mazen cannot “enforce” the agreement among the various Palestinian organizations, and that “the leading trio - Abu Mazen, Minister of State for Security Affairs Mohammed Dahlan, and Finance Minister Salam Fayyad - is incapable of enforcing the hudna even on the armed groups within its own movement, the Fatah.” Hillel Schocken comments in Ha’aretz. 

Palestinian residents of old city Hebron leave their homes

19 August 2003

B’Tselem’s new report, released today, shows that since the outbreak of the intifada, many Palestinians have left their homes in Area H-2 in Hebron (the area in which the settlers also reside). B’Tselem’s research indicates that since September 2000, some 43% of the residents of the three main streets in the Casbah have left their homes, at least 2,000 businesses have closed, and three schools in which 1,835 pupils studied were taken over by the IDF and closed. 

Destruction for the Wall

19 August 2003

Israeli bulldozers, accompanied with three military jeeps along with armed guards of the Israeli construction companies, began bulldozing 50 dunums of lands along the eastern side of the Qalqiliya Wall for its so-called “buffer zone”. Among the destruction were vegetables crops and water pipes. The buffer zone of this portion of the Wall will be 50 meters wide and run the length of 2 kilometers. The decision to restart the work in the area was sudden and with no notification as very few people among the landowners were present upon the arrival of the bulldozers. 

Road Map obscured by blood

Michael Shaik 19 August 2003


Last Tuesday two Palestinian suicide bombers attacked targets in Rosh Ha’ayin in northern Israel and the Jewish settlement of Ariel in the West Bank. Two Israelis were killed and thirteen wounded in the attacks. The Hamas organisation and Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, to which the bombers belonged, claimed that the attacks were in retaliation for an Israeli attack on the Askar refugee camp, in which two Palestinians were killed. Israel’s immediate response has been to cancel any further releases of Palestinian prisoners and to demolish the family home of one of the bombers, as well as the homes of those families who had the misfortune of living in the same building. In the longer term, if previous practice is anything to go by, the family home of the other bomber will be demolished and Israel will insist that it can make no further concessions until the Palestinian Authority eliminates all forms of militant resistance to the Occupation. Former ISM Media Coordinator Michael Shaik comments. 

Up against the Apartheid Wall

Daniel Jacob Quinn Jenin, Palestine 19 August 2003


Life here on the ground in occupied Palestine is rarely reported in the United States. The brutal impact of Israel’s military occupation is hidden behind the rhetoric of pundits and politicians, many of whom have never met a Palestinian. They have never, as I have, held a sick Palestinian child in their arms as her parents beg soldiers to let them pass a checkpoint. They have never babysat Palestinian children while their mother goes out to find out what happened to her husband during an armed invasion of their refugee camp. Daniel Jacob Quinn writes from occupied Jenin. 

Photo of the Day

19 August 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. A Palestinian Reuters cameraman was shot and killed while filming near a U.S.-run prison on the outskirts of Baghdad. Witnesses said he was shot by soldiers on an American tank from close range. US soldiers need help to distinguish between some of the more difficult-to-identify items that people carry in Iraq. 

On the Right of Return - Part II

Raja Halwani 19 August 2003


In an earlier essay for The Electronic Intifada, on the right of return of Palestinian refugees, Raja Halwani concluded that it is one thing to recognize this right and another to implement it. In this follow up essay, Halwani takes an in-depth look at arguments for and against implementing the right in practice. 

Efforts to negate right of return have long, ignoble history

Issam Nashashibi 29 August 2003


Issam Nashashibi In this commentary for EI, Issam Nashashibi argues that the recent poll purporting to show that few Palestinian refugees want to exercise their right of return is only the latest of many efforts to manage Palestinians’ expectations and convince them to accept less than their fundamental rights. This effort, like others before it, will not succeed. 

The Wall in Palestine: Security as Pretense for Dispossession

Jamal Juma' 18 August 2003


Here in Palestine we have been watching with great despair the visits of Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Sharon to Washington. Amidst the rhetoric of negotiations, over 100 bulldozers are working non-stop, every day, to continue construction of the Wall, which highlights the actual path that the Road Map is paving. While President Bush was correct in calling the Wall “a problem” and referring to it as “a wall snaking through the West Bank,” on the ground there is no sign of an end to what has been called the largest “project” ever undertaken by Israel. PENGON coordinator Jamal Juma’ comments. 

At the end of a ceasefire that never was

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza Strip 18 August 2003

There is shooting along the border and shooting at weddings and for an untrained ear it’s hard to tell the difference except by location. A Kalashnikov is low and hollow and echoes. An M-16 is a bit shriller, a bit louder. Machine gun fire comes from the border only. Tank shells come from the border only. Laura Gordon reports from Rafah. 

Etzion

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 18 August 2003

“Don’t remind me,” says Mary. “I’ll go if I have the courage.” I asked her about visiting Etzion, the office near the Gush Etzion settlement between Bethlehem and Hebron where the Israeli ‘Civil Administration’ is located and where Bethlehemites have to ask for their tasreeyeh (“permit”). We are preparing ourselves for a holiday to Cyprus together with the kids and Imm Hannah and Janet, Mary’s mother and sister. Jara and Tamer have Dutch passports, Mary and her family however not and they therefore need a permit to enter Tel Aviv airport. 

The Israeli Supreme Court approves order denying Palestinian detainee access to legal representation

18 August 2003

The Israeli Supreme Court rejected a request submitted by PCHR to cancel an order that has denied a Palestinian detainee access to his lawyer.  PCHR is concerned that the detainee, Mohammed Rajab Mohammed Timraz, 33, from Deir al-Balah, may have been subjected to torture by the GSS interrogators.  

US policy towards journalists in Iraq: Shoot first and ask questions later

18 August 2003


IPI is deeply concerned by the killing of Dana because it bears the hallmarks of an engagement policy which invites the allied military to shoot first and ask questions later. An engagement rule that, if continued, will only serve to increase the number of journalists killed in Iraq. At a time when President Bush has declared the war in Iraq to be over, IPI fears that the current engagement rules have not evolved to reflect this change and that the death of Dana reinforces this viewpoint. 

Mazen Dana: In his own words

18 August 2003


Yesterday, Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana was shot and killed by US occupation forces in Iraq. In 2001, Dana was honored by the Committee to Protect Journalists ago for his years of courageous reporting on the conflict in his hometown of Hebron in the West Bank. He worked for the Reuters news agency covering one of the most dangerous beats in the world, the West Bank city of Hebron, where journalists are routinely targets of violence. Dana has been wounded repeatedly during the seven years he has documented the clashes in his hometown for Reuters. 

IFJ calls for Iraq probe after Palestinian journalist shot dead by US troops

18 August 2003


The International Federation of Journalists has called for an independent and open inquiry into the killing yesterday afternoon of a Palestinian cameraman in Iraq by US troops, only days after the Federation accused the Pentagon of a “cynical whitewash” over a previous attack on media in which two journalists were killed. The shooting of Mazen Dana, an award-winning journalist working for the Reuters news agency, is “more tragic evidence of what appears to be casual disregard of journalists’ safety by military commanders,” said IFJ’s Aidan White. 

Palestinian cameraman Mazen Dana killed in Baghdad

17 August 2003


Mazen Dana, a veteran television cameraman for Reuters, was killed in Baghdad on Sunday while filming outside the city’s Abu Ghraib prison. According to wire service reports, Dana was shot by U.S.soldiers riding on a tank in the Iraqi capital. The 43-year-old Palestinian was honored by CPJ two years ago for his years of courageous reporting on the conflict in his hometown of Hebron in the West Bank. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for a full investigation into the shooting, and a public accounting of the circumstances. 

UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination calls on Israel to revoke Nationality and Entry into Israel law

14 August 2003

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination adopted a decision in which it called on Israel to revoke the Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) in order to facilitate family unification on a non-discriminatory basis. 

Curriculum reform should start in the U.S. and Israel

Joseph Massad 18 August 2003

One of the bitter ironies of the last few years is the continuous calls issued from the United States, that school curricula across the Arab (and Muslim) worlds should be changed in order to reflect the American (and Israeli) view of the world. Yet, writes Joseph Massad, it is the school curricula and textbooks which the United States and Israel both use are in need of equally, if not more, major overhauling, to come close to objective, or at least more inclusive, representations of reality. 

Who undermines the right of return?

Salman Abu Sitta 18 August 2003

Salman Abu Sitta, president of the London-based Palestine Land Society examines a recently conducted poll among Palestinian refugees, questioning its methodology and refuting many of the claims that have been made from it. The continued dedication of Palestians to working for this right, refutes the assumption that the refugees only want shelter, food and legal papers and willingly accept settlement elsewhere. Dr. Abu Sitta contributed this article to EI. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

14 August 2003


This week, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in ‘Askar refugee camp in Nablus. During a wide-scale Israeli military invasion of Hebron, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian activist. Israeli forces continued to shell Palestinian residential areas. Israeli forces demolished a home in ‘Askar refugee camp as Israel continues its campaign of collective punishment and reprisal. Israeli forces continued to use Palestinian civilians as human shields in military operations and deny access of Palestinian farmers to their agricultural lands. Meanwhile Israeli forces razed more land and continued its tight siege on Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 

A unique kind of protest: Arabs and Jews defend Bedouins' rights in the Negev

15 August 2003

The Israeli Government’s Six-Year Plan for the Negev, signed early in 2003, proposes to destroy dozens of unrecognized Bedouin villages, and to concentrate the 75,000 residents thus displaced into seven planned settlements. The plan was prepared and signed without any participation of the Bedouin communities of the Negev, and goes against their needs, rights and traditional way of life. “Together Forum” members are struggling to stop this plan and to establish a new alternative plan with full cooperation by the Bedouins in order to serve the needs of all the Negev residents — Bedouins and Jews together. 

The Palestine Water for Life Campaign

Palestinian Hydrology Group 10 August 2003


The Palestine Water for Life Campaign is an online campaign and international advocacy effort that looks at the current water crisis and water relief needs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Campaign is an important part of the Palestinian Hydrology Group�s Water and Sanitation, Hygiene (WaSH) Monitoring Project, which produces a comprehensive monthly report that pinpoints the particular needs related to water and sanitation of all the 708 localities in the West Bank and Gaza. 

Report: "Thirsting for Justice - violations of the human right to water in Palestine"

14 August 2003

In spring of this year, CESR, in collaboration with local Palestinian NGOs, conducted a project to document violations of Palestinians’ human right to water. From the construction of the wall of separation in the northern West Bank to the destruction of drinking water wells in Gaza, to Israel’s refusal to provide water services to unrecognized villages in the Negev, CESR found widespread and severe human rights violations. 

Israeli military appeal committee defers conclusion of second six-month review of transfer order

13 August 2003

On Sunday, 10 August 2003, an Israeli Military Appeal Committee convened in Erez to conduct the second six month review of an Israeli military order which transferred Intisar and Kifah ‘Ajouri from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.  After representations, the Committee deferred the conclusion until a later, unspecified, date. 

Back to barbed wire and separation walls mentality

Hasan Abu Nimah 13 August 2003


Recently, we have been witnessing a raging debate about the separation wall which Israel has been building around itself, to prevent further Palestinian “suicide attacks.” But the wall will also include the settlements and the bypass roads built during the interim period under the Oslo accords, to link them with Israel (the interim period which was ostensibly intended to build confidence, not additional annexation facts on the ground), and the land which Israel claims is necessary for security, therefore slicing huge chunks of Arab Palestinian lands to add to Israel as a purely illegal unilateral measure. Hasan Abu-Nimah comments. 

Israel: Dart shells pose civilian threat

16 June 2001

Human Rights Watch today welcomed Israel’s announcement that it will investigate the June 9 tank shelling that killed three Palestinian Bedouin women. The women were killed and three other people injured when the shells sprayed razor-sharp darts, known as flechettes, in a populated area where they lived between Gaza City and the Israeli settlement of Netzarim. Human Rights Watch said that the findings of the investigation should be made public and those found responsible held accountable. 

On settlement trade, Europe doesn't stand tall

Peter Lagerquist 8 April 2003

Various EU members have taken differing positions on settlement trade, but the consensual mode of EU foreign policymaking has allowed the lowest common denominator position to prevail. Despite escalating controversy over the settlement trade dating back to 1998, and calls in 2002 by the European Parliament to suspend free trade with Israel outright, the EU’s executive tier has so far stymied any action. What is more, over the past five years, this inaction has gradually shaded into active intervention to forestall, and ultimately render near impossible, future remedies. 

No security without human rights

2 June 2002

One aspect of the conflict, which has perhaps received less public scrutiny than it deserves, are the weapon systems and military tactics being deployed by the IDF. And yet, the flow of weaponry into the area and the manner in which arms are used are key elements in helping to explain the appallingly high casualty rates - and how to prevent them. 

Restrictions on defense sales to Israel deal hard blow to UK exporters

29 July 2003


Defense industry exporters in the UK have reported significant losses due to a government policy to restrict the sale of military equipment to Israel. British defense exports to the Jewish state dropped from 22 million British pounds ($35.7 million) to GBP10 million over the past year, reported Guardian. Britain imposed a de facto arms embargo on Israel last year, applying to military equipment that could be used in Israel’s continuing operations in the Palestinian territories. Each application must be examined on a case-by-case basis. 

Member of faculty peace group calls Israel's settlement policy the main obstacle to peace, believes Israeli security depends on ending occupation

6 July 2003

Portland peace activist William Seaman has just returned from a family reunion in the Negev Desert of Southern Israel at Kibbutz Nir Oz. “I left never dreaming that it would be almost exactly twenty-five years before I’d return,” said Seaman. “And I certainly never thought I’d be traveling from the desperate poverty and desolation of occupied Gaza to a reunion on a kibbutz just a few kilometers on the other side of the border.” 

Road Map diplomacy conceals 'politicide' of the Palestinian people

Steve Niva 11 August 2003


With media coverage so tightly focused on the diplomatic maneuvering surrounding President Bush’s Road Map peace initiative, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that Israel continues to implement a devastating set of policies that are endangering the social and national existence of the Palestinian people. In fact, Israel’s grudging participation in the Road Map process is little more than an effort to buy time for these policies to achieve this outcome. Professor Steve Niva reports after returning from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories as part of a trip organized by Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

7 August 2003

This week Israeli forces killed three Palestinians, including a child. One Palestinian died from injuries he previously sustained by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians, wounding five, including a woman. Israeli forces continue to impose a siege on Palestinian communities and deny Palestinian farmers access to their lands. 

Addition and long division

Ian Mayes 9 August 2003


The Guardian’s coverage of the Middle East has been questioned this week. One is the name used for the structure being erected by the Israelis across Israeli and Palestinian territory and called by Israel the “security fence”. Finding terminology that favours neither one view nor the other is not easy. The fact is, it is a wall in some sections and a fence in others. The headline on a long discussion of the terminology by the pro-Palestinin ian website Electronic Intifada seems to state the reality fairly: “Is it a fence? Is it a wall? No, it’s a separation barrier.” 

Washington is being toothless on Israel

Ali Abunimah 9 August 2003


US President George W. Bush’s administration is considering economic measures to prevent Israel from building its separation wall in the occupied West Bank. The proposed punishment is to subtract from US loan guarantees for Israel $1 for every dollar Israel spends on building the barrier inside the West Bank. However, the administration appears to be split. Israel, meanwhile has announced plans for major new settlements in the occupied territories. EI’s Ali Abunimah examines the pre-election political scene in Washington, and assesses the chances of real US pressure on Israel to move forward on the road map. 

What gas is Israel using?

Jennifer Loewenstein and Angela Gaff 9 August 2003

“Here is a disturbing ordeal that has not yet been mentioned in any mainstream US papers or media. It exposes some shocking aspects of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian political prisoners, including the use of a gas that impacts the nervous and respiratory systems. It should be noted that Israel has denied using nerve gas against Palestinians, even though one account of its use has already been documented in James Longley’s searing film, ‘Gaza Strip’.” Jennifer Loewenstein and Angela Gaff report from London. 

A call to violence

Ali Abunimah 8 August 2003


“I’m an Israeli at heart,” U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay told the Israeli Knesset in a recent address. DeLay made his trip just as the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers were in Washington to meet with President Bush. DeLay took with him a message of total opposition to Bush’s road map and to a two-state solution. Calling on Israel to ignore the ceasefire that has brought calm to Israel’s streets for the first time in years, DeLay urged Israel to continue killing Palestinians. EI’s Ali Abunimah takes a look at DeLay’s visit, the Christian Zionist movement he represents, and how they work against peace for Israelis and Palestinians. 

UN agency calls for immediate action to address emergency needs of Palestinian communities affected by Israeli Separation Wall

7 August 2003

UNDP has issued a call to the international community for US$18 million in emergency assistance to addres the humanitarian needs of the communities most affected by the construction of Israel’s apartheid wall. 

Take Action against the Apartheid Wall

World Organisation Against Torture, The Palestinian Environment NGO Network (PENGON) and Habitat International Coalition 1 July 2003

PENGON, the Palestinian Environment NGO Network, a member of Habitat International Coalition - Housing & Land Rights Network and OMCT jointly call for immediate action against the wall’s construction. They ask you to take immediate action. 

Take action against the Apartheid Wall in Palestine

World Organisation Against Torture, The Palestinian Environment NGO Network (PENGON), Habitat International Coalition and Housing and Land Rights Network 6 August 2003

The Palestinian Environment NGO Network (PENGON), member of Habitat International Coalition - Housing & Land Rights Network and OMCT jointly appeal for an immediate stop to the wall’s construction. They ask you to take urgent action. 

"Devout" Israeli lawmakers reveal pig-ignorance about Judaism

Walla News 6 August 2003


Two Israeli Likud lawmakers who insist on going up to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif because of their ‘devout Judaism’ were revealed to be know-nothings when it came to Jewish history, when an Israeli TV presenter gave the two parliamentarians a surprise pop quiz. The Electronic Intifada has translated this story and transcript from the Israeli news website Walla News. 

Israeli government leaves Palestinian child detainees out of prisoner release

6 August 2003

Defence for Children International/Palestine Section believes that there are only 13 child prisonersnames on the list of 344 Palestinian political prisoners due for release by the Israeli government this week as part of the roadmap to peace process. Nine of these children were on the list of 183 sentenced prisoners to be released and another 4 children were on the list of 161 administrative detainees. 

The village of Yanoun: a microcosm of the destructiveness of Zionism

Mick Napier 6 August 2003


We had a great reception from the wonderful people of Yanoun, most of whose land has been confiscated for the nearby Jewish settlement of Itamar, and who endure frequent beatings and shootings from these same fanatical settlers who want to ‘redeem’ the rest of the land by driving out the remaining Palestinians. Yanoun shows the destructiveness of Zionism in a microcosm. Heavily-armed settlers march through the village regularly, usually on their Sabbath, intimidating and beating up villagers. Any villager who strays over invisible lines, perhaps to retrieve a stray sheep, risks a severe beating or worse. Mick Napier writes about his experiences during a visit to Yanoun on behalf of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign. 

Israeli hesitance on 'Road Map', building of separation wall among concerns raised in Palestinian Rights Committee

5 August 2003

Israel’s hesitance in implementing the Middle East “Road Map” and insistence on continuing with the building of the “separation wall” were among the concerns raised by the Permanent Observer for Palestine, as he briefed the Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People this morning. 

Addameer: Selection of Palestinian detainees to be released solely reflects Israeli criteria

5 August 2003

On the morning of 4 August 2003, the Israeli Prisons’ Services published on their website a list of names of Palestinian prisoners and detainees expected to be released on Wednesday 6 August 2003. Of the 342 Palestinian prisoners slated for release, 159 are administrative detainees and 183 have been sentenced. Palestinian prisoners’ rights organisation Addameer examines the details. 

Report criticises botched Israeli army investigations, lack of follow-up, in deaths of two journalists in Occupied Territories

30 July 2003

In a report issued today on the Israeli army’s enquiries into the fatal shootings of two journalists in the Occupied Territories in April and May, Reporters Without Borders accuses the military of acting with a flagrant lack of rigour and determination and calls for proper investigations that could lead to the prosecution and punishment of those responsible. 

Knesset passes racist law barring family unification of Palestinians married to Israeli citizens

31 July 2003


Today, by a vote of 53 in favor, 25 against, and one abstention, the Knesset passed a new law, introduced and supported by the government, which bars Palestinians from the Occupied Territories from obtaining citizenship or residency status in Israel by marriage to an Israeli citizen, thus prohibiting them from living in Israel with their spouses. 

Suffering in isolation - A report on life under occupation in the Mawasi areas in the Gaza Strip

5 August 2003


PCHR has issued a report, entitled “Suffering in Isolation: A report on life under occupation in the Mawasi areas in the Gaza Strip.” The report details the dire situation in the Mawasi areas in the southern Gaza Strip and includes an examination of the violations of international human rights and humanitarian law perpetrated by the Israeli belligerent occupation forces and Israeli settlers in the area from the beginning of Al Aqsa Intifada (September 2000) to the end of May 2003. 

Abbas to Bush: "Israel is Blocking the Implementation of Road Map"

Diana Buttu 4 August 2003


Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas came to his White House meeting with President George W. Bush carrying several messages, the most important being that the Palestinians have fulfilled the vast majority of their phase one road map obligation and that Israel was blocking further progress. Speaking at a 31 July 2003 Palestine Center briefing, Diana Buttu, a legal advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Negotiations Affairs Department, said Abbas emphasized to Bush three issues that were impeding progress on the road map: Israel’s construction of an apartheid wall, Israel’s continued settlement expansion, and the incarceration of several thousand Palestinian political prisoners. 

Saddam lookalikes photo threatens politicians, entertainers

4 August 2003


U.S. troops hunted Saddam Hussein on August 1, 2003 armed with new pictures of how he might look in disguise, as a fresh audiotape purportedly made by the fugitive dictator urged Iraqis to drive out foreign troops. ‘Only the actions of the faithful who struggled and fought can evict the invaders,’ said the taped message aired on Al Jazeera television. ‘God will grant us victory.’ Altered images of Saddam released by U.S. Central Command are seen in this composite photo. 

Imprisoned until further notice

31 July 2003

Three villages Deir al-Hatab, Azmut and Salem are located on the eastern outskirts of Nablus. Since the last quarter of 2002 two deep trenches were dug by the Israeli army around the three villages totally preventing access. A joint expedition of the WHO, UN agencies, and human rights organisations points to severe impact of closures on health, sanitary conditions and environment. 

Theater Review: Jamil Khoury's "Precious Stones"

Maureen Clare Murphy 1 August 2003


When a playwright tackles the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, sexual identity issues, class issues, Arab-American community issues, and Jewish-American community issues (among others), in a 90-minute play, not much room is left for anything else — like character development and breathing room. And that’s the main trouble with Jamil Khoury’s Precious Stones. Maureen Clare Murphy reviews the play for EI. 

Police raid Palestinian cultural summer camp after accusations of incitement

1 August 2003

Israeli police stormed a summer camp for Palestinian youth yesterday, and arrested fourteen of the organizers, after the camp had been accused of incitement against Israel in a TV report on Wednesday. The camp was organized by the Al Balad Cultural Association in the Arab village of Kabul in northern Israel, and was due to end this Sunday. At a court hearing today, the police could present no evidence of incitement. The presiding judge declared that four of the arrested should remain in court until Monday, to allow police to find evidence for the case. 

4,200 Palestinians on Hunger Strike

Kristen Ess and Nada Khair 1 August 2003

Over 4,000 Palestinian political prisoners have just begun a hunger strike in Israeli jails including Shutah, Askalan, Majido, Ofer, and Nefah. A man being held without charge called yesterday from Nefah saying, “The Israeli Administration is treating us very badly.” He details human rights abuses, and adds quietly, “And sometimes they aren’t letting us go to the bathroom.” Kristen Ess and Nada Khair report from the West Bank and Gaza.