November 2003

War is our Common Enemy

29 November 2003


Launched in February 2003 to “offer a humanitarian perspective during the then-looming conflict” in Iraq, Electronic Iraq (eIraq) is the project of two groups who will be familiar to many PN readers - Voices in the Wilderness (US) and Electronic Intifada. Peace News caught up with Nigel Parry, co-founder of both projects, to discuss the ethos behind this online information project. Peace News is a progressive publication that has been publishing since 1936. 

Israel not complying with General Assembly demand to halt barrier - Annan

28 November 2003


The Secretary-General today released his report, requested by the General Assembly, on the Government of Israel’s compliance with the Assembly’s resolution of 21 October 2003, which demands that Israel stop and reverse construction of a barrier in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Secretary-General points out that Israel’s right to live in peace and security “should not be carried out in a way that is in contradiction to international law, that could damage the longer-term prospects for peace. 

'I punched an Arab in the face'

Gideon Levy Tel Aviv 28 November 2003


Liran Ron Furer, a sensitive and creative young man, says he became a sadist in the course of his military service at checkpoints. Four years later, he has written a confessional book about his experience, which he says transforms every soldier into a beast. Written in the blunt and coarse language of soldiers, he reconstructs scenes from the years in which he served in Gaza, between 1996 and 1999, years that, one must remember, were relatively quiet. Ha’aretz’s Gideon Levy looks at the content and issues surrounding the publication of Furer’s diary. 

Children under siege

27 November 2003


Every Palestinian living in the Occupied Territories has suffered under the severe movement restrictions imposed by the Israeli army in the past three years. The impact on children has, however, been particularly severe. 

No more ideas, we need implementation

Rifat Odeh Kassis 26 November 2003


One wonders why the Geneva Accord has not created any serious debate inside the Palestinian community. For the past three decades, tens if not hundreds of initiatives have been launched and each new one has claimed that it is better than the previous initiative. In almost every Arab summit since the early eighties, there has been a peace initiative that did not see the light of day for various and sundry reasons; the most prevalent reason has been the continuous Israeli rejection of Arab peace plans. Rifat Odeh Kassis calls for implementation, no more new ideas. 

Backs to the Wall

Lucy Mair and Robyn Long 24 November 2003


If a just peace is to prevail in the region, Israel must agree to dismantle the Wall, return confiscated land to its owners, and compensate Palestinians for damages and lost income, argue Lucy Mair and Robyn Long. Israeli occupation has made the Palestinian economy dependent upon Israel. The wall would exacerbate that dependence and vulnerability. 

New apartheid orders: 11,400 Palestinians need permits to live in their homes

21 November 2003

In early October 2003, the OC Central Command ordered the area between the separation barrier in the northern section of the West Bank and the Green Line a closed military area for an indefinite period of time. This area, known as the “seam area” includes twelve Palestinian villages, containing 11.400 residents. 

The Jerusalem Declaration

Sam Bahour and Michael Dahan 20 November 2003


Nothing in the horizon seems to hold the key to a lasting peace, despite unusually loud rhetoric surrounding the latest two peace initiatives, the Geneva Accord and the Nusseibeh-Ayalon Statement. Sam Bahour and Michael Dahan say that if their two peoples and official representatives cannot sign on to this 98-word declaration (only 31 words more than the Balfour Declaration of 1917), then it is irrelevant to hide behind volumes of peace initiatives and accords that no one will read but the majority will oppose. 

Follow the money: CEO salaries of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli advocacy groups and charities

Nigel Parry 19 November 2003


People in the Palestinian solidarity community regularly bemoan the fact that pro-Israeli advocacy groups are far more vocal, far more organised, and have far more political influence than their Palestinian counterparts. This is not happening as a result of some strange magic. The simple fact is that pro-Israeli advocacy groups receive far more in donations than do pro-Palestinian advocacy groups. EI’s Nigel Parry visited charitynavigator.org, a website offering financial and other information about charities, and compiled a list of CEO earnings. 

EU raises pressure on Israel

European Union 18 November 2003


After the fourth meeting of the Association Council, the European Union issued a statement, saying its wants Israel to halt the construction of its wall through the West Bank. This statement was issued by the European Union on the fourth meeting of the Association Council EU-Israel, held in Brussels, 17-18 November 2003. The EU is deeply concerned by the situation in the region and has noted that, despite support given by the international community to the quest for a just and lasting solution, insufficient effort has been made by the concerned parties. 

Vancouver International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

18 November 2003


The Canada Palestine Association and ISM Vancouver hosted an evening of solidarity with the Palestinian People on Saturday November 29 at the Maritime Labour Centre in Vancouver. Guest speakers included Cindy and Craig Corrie, parents of slain 23 year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie, and co-founder of Electronic Intifada EI’s Laurie King-Irani, and discussion and video showings by recently returned ISM activists from British Columbia. The evening also featured a LIVE phone report from Rafah in the Gaza Strip by Melissa, an ISM Vancouver volunteer. 

The Monotony of Chaos

Lora Gordon Rafah 17 November 2003


Even the incursions began to feel monotonous. The same stories. The same devastated families with nowhere to go. The same phrases to express anger and helplessness. Each story felt like a shadow of fatigue on the waves of an ocean. In the first months, my heart had broken daily and with every story, fresh catharsis bleeding onto paper, revelations in bright red. Now, eight months after my first step in Rafah, the pain is a gray weight on my stomach, always there. Laura Gordan writes from occupied Rafah. 

EU and Israel take seats in Association Council

Arjan El Fassed 17 November 2003


Today and tomorrow, members of the Association Council, the 15 members of the European Union and Israel will meet to discuss pending and new issues disrupting EU-Israel relations. This regular bilateral meeting will be used by the EU to express its concern over Israel’s boycott of Marc Otte, the EU envoy, who since his meeting with the Palestinian president could not talk to Israeli officials. According to various sources, the EU will press Israel over the construction of the wall. EI’s Arjan El Fassed reports. 

Living in the Shadow of the Wall (Jerusalem District)

Ida Audeh 16 November 2003


The 40-100 meter wide, 8-kilometer-long northern Jerusalem wall is designed to isolate the Palestinian community, not to encircle the city. About 800 dunums of land were confiscated from Palestinian owners to build that portion of the wall. Qalandia, north of Jerusalem, is a major checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem. The wall isolates 30,000 Palestinians in Kafr Aqab and Qalandiya who hold Jerusalem ID cards from the city as well as from family, workplaces, and social and public services. Ida Audeh interviews affected residents. 

Living in the Shadow of the Wall (Bethlehem District)

Ida Audeh 16 November 2003


The Bethlehem district is home to more than 170,000 Palestinians, concentrated mostly in the three towns Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahour. The wall surrounding the Bethlehem district is a 15-kilometer shackle that segregates 15,000 dunums of agricultural land, mainly olive trees. The wall around Bethlehem serves to isolate and annex the religious areas. Around Rachel’s Tomb and the Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque, hundreds will be isolated between two walls, further strengthening Israeli control of historic, religious, and deeply significant places and strangling the city economically. Ida Audeh interviews affected residents. 

Living in the Shadow of the Wall (Qalqiliya District)

Ida Audeh 16 November 2003


The wall separates Azzoun (population 7,000) from its agricultural land, which now lies west of the wall. No gate in the wall allows residents access to their lands. As a result they must travel long distances—-approximately 4 kilometers to a gate near Isla to the west, and 9 kilometers to another gate near Nabi Elias, where some land belonging to Azzoun is located. The main roads are often reserved for soldiers and settlers, and so Palestinians are forced to take even longer routes, often on foot, and cannot bring equipment to harvest their crops. This hamlet of 200-250 people, surrounded on three sides by the wall, now lies in the area between the wall and Israel proper; village lands are east of the wall. In the process of creating the wall, Israel destroyed 250 dunums of land, uprooted 2,000 trees, and isolated 5 cisterns beyond the wall; the quality of the drinking water is now questionable. Ida Audeh interviewed affected residents. 

Living in the Shadow of the Wall (Tulkarem District)

Ida Audeh 16 November 2003


With the northern portion of the wall complete, Nazlat Isa (population 2,300) now falls in the no-man’s-land between the wall and Israel proper. Since January 2003, more than 130 commercial buildings and 6 homes have been bulldozed. Residents fear that Israel’s attacks against the commercial sector are designed to force them to leave. Israel confiscated about 300 dunums and uprooted about 5,000 trees when it built the wall in Jarooshiya (population 800); another 100 dunums of land and 2 cisterns became inaccessible, and a 1-kilometer-long irrigation network was destroyed. Villagers now face great difficulty in getting access to health services. The agricultural community of Irtah (population 4,200) has severely limited access to farm lands. To create the wall, Israel destroyed 200 dunums of farmland and uprooted 100 trees. Ida Audeh interviewed affected residents. 

Living in the Shadow of the Wall (Jenin District)

Ida Audeh 16 November 2003


Zububa village (population about 2,000) is located in the northernmost tip of the Jenin district. At least 70 trees were uprooted to make room for the wall, and in some places the wall is no more than 40 or 50 meters away from the closest house. The village has experienced gradual land confiscation since 1948, and villagers now fear that the rest of their land will be confiscated through the wall. Unemployment is high. As a result of the construction of the wall, villagers face environmental and water contamination. in addition, about 950 trees were uprooted and 250 dunums belonging to al-Taybeh village (population about 2,100) were destroyed when the wall was built, and about 250 dunums became inaccessible, for a total of 10% of village lands that were lost to the wall. Villagers no longer have access to the public services they once received from neighboring towns. An additional 25-meter-wide barbed wire barrier built around Al-Taybey, referred to as a “depth barrier,” further impedes Palestinian movement. Ida Audeh interviewed affected residents from both villages. 

Living in the Shadow of the Wall (Introduction)

Ida Audeh 16 November 2003


During its spring 2002 offensive to reoccupy territories under Palestinian Authority (PA) control, and as most of the West Bank was under round-the-clock curfew, Israel confiscated thousands of dunums of Palestinian land to build a wall. One year later, a 145-km-long segment of a much longer wall extends from the northern village of Zububa in the Jenin district to ‘Azzun ‘Atma in the Qalqilya district. Ida Audeh went to the West Bank in August for three weeks to visit family and to learn more about the effect of the wall on the lives of ordinary people and conducted a series of interviews with those affected. 

Fourth Committee reaffirms role of Palestine refugee agency, calls for maximum possible support

14 November 2003


Concluding its work for the current session, the Fourth Committee took action this morning on ten draft resolutions — approving five texts relating to the work of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and five on Israeli practices in territories occupied since 1967. The Committee’s action today follows its in-depth consideration of the report of UNRWA’s Commissioner-General on the Agency’s operations. 

For the life of Fatemeh

Nick Pretzlik Beer Sheva, Israel 16 November 2003


“Khashem Zeneh is not difficult to find. Just head out of Beer Sheva on the Dimona road, opposite the exclusively Jewish community of Moshav Nevatim, then turn right at the sign which reads “CEMETARY.” It sounds easy, but on the map, Khashem Zeneh does not exist. In 1965, a quick stroke of a Knesset pen created the phenomenon of “Unrecognised Villages”. Along with many other Bedouin communities in the Negev, it was made invisible to governmental planners and thus illegal in the eyes of the authorities.” Nick Pretzlik reports from the Negev. 

Israeli High Court approves the transfer of second Palestinian to the Gaza Strip

12 November 2003

On Wednesday morning, 12 November 2003, the Israeli High Court approved an Israeli military order to transfer a Palestinian detainee, Taha Tamadan Rateb Dwaik, a resident of Hebron, to the Gaza Strip for 2 years.  Dwaik is married and a father of 4 children.  Dwaik is the second detainee to have been transferred to the Gaza Strip this week. 

Panelists at odds over role of international law in Palestinian-Israeli peace efforts

13 November 2003

Despite their longstanding efforts to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians, two experts clashed sharply over the role of international law in the peace process at an 11 November public forum entitled, “Peace and international law in Israel and Palestine: assessing the paths to peace.” The forum was part of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) International Affairs and Advocacy Week in New York. Law professor Richard Falk asserted the importance of International Humanitarian Law, while former Knesset Member Avraam Burg downplayed the role of such legal documents in settling a conflict he portrayed as more rooted in clashing ideas of governance and history. Both panelists, however, decried religious intolerance and the use of violence against civilians. 

Israel recruited Dutch UN officers for espionage

Arjan El Fassed 12 November 2003


Between 1956 and 2003, Israel has recruited Dutch UN officers to spy in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. This happened during the peaks of the Dutch-Israeli friendship. In its recruitment of Dutch officers for intelligence gathering, Israel regularly used blackmail. Arthur ten Cate, a researcher affiliated with the Dutch Institute for Military History in The Hague, recently published a book, in which he named two Israeli crimps and Dutch officers who were involved in intelligence gathering for Israel. EI’s Arjan El Fassed scanned the publication. 

Israel's Supreme Court lifts ban on "Jenin, Jenin"

Arjan El Fassed 11 November 2003


Today, Israel�s Supreme Court lifted a ban on Mohammed Bakri�s documentary �Jenin, Jenin�, ruling that Israel�s film board, also known as the film censorship board, had overstepped the red lines drawn by the freedom of expression. �Jenin, Jenin� was screened three times in Israel before it was banned. According to the court the board�s decision infringes on freedom of expression �above and beyond what is necessary.� Now that the ban on the film is lifted, the first screening has been set on December 8 at the Tel Aviv Cinemateque. 

Supreme Court of Israel orders State to respond to petitions challenging ban on family unification law

10 November 2003


At a hearing on 9 November 2003, the Supreme Court of Israel issued an order nisi compelling the state to explain why the new ban on family unification law, which prohibits the granting of any residency or citizenship status to Palestinians from the Occupied Territories who are married to Israeli citizens, should not be declared null and void. 

Israeli Court will decide in Azmi Bishara's political speeches case

11 November 2003


On Wednesday, 12 November 2003 at 12 p.m., the Nazareth Magistrate Court will deliver its decision on the preliminary arguments in Member of Knesset (MK) Azmi Bishara’s political speeches case. In this ruling, the Court will decide whether or not to dismiss the indictment currently pending against MK Bishara, the head of the National Democratic Assembly (NDA) political party. 

Aid is not enough to tackle humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

11 November 2003


Christian Aid is giving evidence today to a Parliamentary inquiry into the humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Middle East expert William Bell, an advocacy officer at Christian Aid, is due to face MPs on the International Development Committee who are investigating the effectiveness of UK government assistance to the Occupied Territories. Mr Bell will be questioned on a 14-page Christian Aid submission which has already been handed to the committee. 

Palestinian Rights Committee seeks end to Israeli settlement activities, reversal of building of separation wall

11 November 2003

The General Assembly would call on Israel to halt all settlement activities, and stress the urgent need for it to stop and reverse construction of the wall in the occupied Palestinian territory, according to one of four draft resolutions approved today by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. 

AFSC joins worldwide action against the separation wall

10 November 2003


The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an international humanitarian service organization, joins Palestine, Israel, and organizations and coalitions around the world for the International Week of Action Against the Wall, November 9-16. During the next week groups are mobilizing their communities for a series of educational activities and actions to bring down this Wall and other walls and barriers. The American Friends Service Committee is has worked for a just U.S. policy in the Middle East for decades. 

New wall projections: Severe humanitarian consequences for more than 680,000 Palestinians in the West Bank

11 November 2003

OCHA reports that approximately 680,000 - 30 percent of the Palestinian population in the West Bank - will be directly harmed by the Wall. The damage caused by the destruction of land and property for the Wall’s construction is irreversible and undermines Palestinians’ ability to ever recover even if the political situation allows conditions to improve. 

"Israel still destroying occupied territories", says Second Committee delegates

9 November 2003

Israel continued to destroy Palestinian territories through deforestation and the expropriation and erosion of agricultural lands, as well as by seizing lands, harvests and livestock in the occupied Syrian Golan, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) heard this afternoon as it concluded its debate on permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian and Syrian peoples over their natural resources in the occupied Arab territories. 

Photostory: Seattle activists bring down Wall

9 November 2003


In Seattle, street theatre was performed in protest of the wall. A wall puppet smashed homes, trampled olive trees and demolished ambulances, schools and hospitals. Hundreds chanted “bring the wall down”. Westlake Park was transformed into a Seam Zonewith a full scale model of the wall guarded by soldiers who issued everyone an Announcement of Closure, not unlike those issued in the areas between the Green Line and the Wall within the West Bank. A wall puppet smashed homes, trampled olive trees and demolished ambulances, schools and hospitals. 

An American surgeon in Nablus

Edward W. Gallagher Nablus 10 November 2003


“For the next two days I examined many horribly injured children who were shot by Israeli soldiers or were injured when their homes were bombed and destroyed by Israeli F�16 bombers. I later operated on several of the children to repair their disfigurement and deformity.” The following text is a personal account of a September 2003 humanitarian mission to Palestine sponsored by the Palestine Children Relief Fund (PCRF), where Dr. Edward W. Gallagher worked at Rafidia Hospital in Nablus. Note: images illustrating this article may be upsetting. 

New Yorkers erect a "Separation" Wall in Midtown Manhattan

10 November 2003


Approximately 150 New Yorkers converged at Bryant Park, Manhattan, carrying three sixty-yard mock “walls” depicting the 25-ft.-high wall enclosing the Palestinian peoples in the West Bank. The protesters marched down 42nd street to Grand Central Station where they carried the wall inside to display it for passer-bys, while chanting “Tear Down the Wall.” “We are sending a message to our governments to stop their support of this hideous act of ethnic cleansing veiled behind ‘security’ rhetoric,” said Omar Jamal of SUSTAIN-NYC. 

Photo of the Day

Khaled al-Kharrah 9 November 2003


Photo of the Day is a BNN feature which offers a photograph on a 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. Residents of the Palestinian town of Ramallah increasingly appear to have bad teeth. One of the few orthodontists, Dr. Hytham Shit, fears that it has something to do with his name. Dr. Shit told BNN that sometimes his patients would pay someone else to go for them or they would put lots of onions and garlic in their falafal. 

Correcting CNN's measurement of Israel's Apartheid Wall

Michael F. Brown 10 November 2003


For months, CNN has misrepresented the facts of where Israel’s apartheid barrier will run. Repeated interventions only brought marginal improvements, until November 5-6, when CNN changed the reported length and cost of the project after contacting the Israeli government to check: “According to Defense Ministry spokeswoman Rachel Niedak-Ashkenazi, the planned fence route, which has been approved by the government, will be 690 kilometers (429 miles) long. Cost is estimated at $1.5 billion.” Michael Brown reports for EI. 

B'Tselem: 875,000 Palestinians directly harmed by Israel's wall

5 November 2003

A newly published map by B’Tselem and an analysis of the ramifications of the current route and statistics on the magnitude of the violation of Palestinian human rights that will result from construction of the separation barrier. It shows that 875,000 Palestinians are directly harmed by the wall, 263,000 Palestinians imprisoned in enclaves, including 115,000 between the barrier and the Green Line. 

Hijacking the Palestinian narrative: Israel's friends in Congress

Ali Abunimah 8 November 2003


Israel’s hard-line supporters in the US Congress have fired the latest volley in their sustained campaign against the rights of Palestinian refugees and against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that provides for their basic needs. They have introduced a resolution accusing the UN agency that looks after refugees, and are trying to rewrite the history of the 1948 expulsion of the Palestinian people from its homeland. EI’s Ali Abunimah looks at the latest moves by pro-Israel organizations and their allies in the US Congress. 

Love and marriage in Israel

Suraya Dadoo 7 November 2003


In February last year, Gili and Sagi, a young Israeli couple, were “married” at sea - a marriage that was not legally recognised by the State of Israel. Although they are both Jewish, the couple objected to the only marriage option open to them in Israel: an Orthodox Jewish ceremony. Instead, they chose a marriage contract that they drew up themselves, together with a lawyer, thus rendering their union illegal. Israel’s marriage laws have been criticised by both Israelis and Palestinians alike for being discriminatory. Suraya Dadoo takes a look. 

Olympia conference remembers Rachel Corrie and Rafah

candio. 7 November 2003


The Second Annual Conference of the Peace and Justice Studies Association took place from October 9-12 in Olympia, Washington at The Evergreen State College. The title of the conference, ‘Fostering Alternatives to Violence,’ was deeply felt by the participants whose talk frequently turned to the post-September 11th world, the Bush administration and the conflicts in Iraq and the Occupied Territories. Educators, students, artists and activists joined to discuss progress and problems within the movement. candio. reports from Olympia. 

Time is on whose side?

Michael Shaik 7 November 2003


Recently, Palestinian farmers living in proximity to Israel’s Separation Wall received an order signed by Major General Moshe Kaplinski, commander of Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, declaring that their lands lying between the barrier and the border with Israel had been classified as “a closed military zone”. Henceforth, the order stated, only Israeli citizens and Jews from other countries would have unrestricted access to these lands. Palestinians who wished to enter or continue living in these areas would have to apply for special permits. Michael Shaik comments. 

The side I see: Thoughts during the olive harvest

Flo Razowsky West Bank 7 November 2003


I’ve come to this world as an outsider, as one actually born to the occupiers — to struggle, to learn and to carry the truth home. It has been over six months now since I set foot on this much disputed land for the second time in my life. This land that I, my allies, and those I have come to support, call Palestine. Flo Razowsky considers two gulfs — one between the two sides, another between life on the ground and the muddy picture of that life that reaches television sets in the US. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

5 November 2003

This week Israeli forces killed a Palestinian resident of Askar refugee camp in Nablus. Israeli forces conducted a number of raids on Palestinian homes and towns. Israeli construction of the internationally condemned separation wall in the West Bank. Indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas continued. Despite an announcement that it would ease the closure, Israel continued its tight siege on Palestinian towns, villages and refugee camps. Travel at the Rafah terminal was restricted, Israeli forces restricted the movement of ambulances and medical personnel in the West Bank. Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian civilians crossing military roadblocks. 

OCHA: Despite Israeli announcement, Israel's siege on Palestinian towns has not eased

6 November 2003

Information from OCHA Field Offices collected during the week indicates that despite some limited improvements in the Southern West Bank, the blockade of Palestinian towns has not eased since Israel’s announcement on November 2 and 5 that its blockade of Palestinian towns would be relaxed. 

Special Rapporteur on adequate housing urges the international community to protect Palestinians and remove Israeli impunity

6 November 2003

The Special Rapporteur on adequate housing of the Commission on Human Rights said today that the Israeli army has destoyed an estimated 4,000 homes over the past three years, leaving thousands of people homeless, many of whom are women, children and elderly persons. The Special Rapporteur urges the international community to act decisively to protect Palestinians by taking urgent steps to remove the impunity that Israel enjoys. 

Speakers condemn Israeli's human rights violation in Occupied territories, call for international disengagement force, as Fourth Committee continues debate

6 November 2003

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this morning to continue its discussion on Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories. 

UN Social Committee approves draft resolutions on Palestinian children

6 November 2003

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today approved a draft resolution on the situation of Palestinian children. The draft resolution was approved in a vote of 86 in favour to 4 against, with 58 abstentions. The text would have the General Assembly stress the urgent need for Palestinian children to live a normal life free from foreign occupation, destruction and fear in their own State, and demand that Israel respect relevant provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and relevant provisions of the Geneva Convention. 

Grave concern expressed over deteriorating situation in Occupied Palestinian territories, as Fourth Committee takes up report on Israeli practices

5 November 2003

Expressing grave concern over the deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Chairman of the Special Committee established to investigate Israeli practices in those territories presented his annual report to the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) this morning. 

Accreditation rules for journalists to be tightened

4 November 2003


The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, leading journalists and media executives in over 120 countries, is dismayed by the announcement that Israel’s accreditation rules for journalists are to be tightened. According to information provided to IPI, the director of the Government Press Office (GPO), Daniel Seaman, recently announced new regulations for foreign and Israeli journalists, to be introduced on 1 January 2004. Today it sent a letter to Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon 

Israel's secret service becomes press card authority

5 November 2003


RSF has expressed alarm over new rules for accrediting journalists that are expected to be introduced shortly in Israel. Under the new rules, journalists will have to be cleared by the Shin Bet state security service. RSF described the new rules as a serious threat to press freedom and a flagrant violation of journalists’ rights, and called for their cancellation. The new rules, which are to take effect on 1 January 2004, apply to all journalists working in Israel, including foreign, Palestinian and Israeli journalists. 

Shadow of home

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 5 November 2003

The Palestinian home also lacks something else typical of a normal home: basic safety. Lately Mary had a terrible dream. She dreamt about herself running in the oldest street of Bethlehem with Tamer on her arm away from an aircraft threatening to bomb her and the town. Like in a cover drawing of a war novel. 

The prosecutor and the judge

Adam Keller 4 November 2003

It’s nearing the end - this routine of coming again and again to the Jaffa Military Court, to which we have grown accustomed in the past half year. The testimonies and cross-examinations are past. Today the prosecutor - Captain Yaron Kostelitz, will make his final summation, trying his utmost to make the most heavy case and use the most specious arguments against the five young guys in the dock. 

The Violence of Construction: Israel's Wall and International Law

Michael Kearney 4 November 2003

The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, initiated through aggressive military campaigns in 1948 and 1967, has been consolidated and standardised through a continuous and ongoing assault on the very environment of Palestine. The Israeli grip on the Palestinian Territories has been ensured through a paradoxical “violence of construction.” 

The permit maze

4 November 2003

There is only one thing straightforward about the maze of permit regulations for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Despite the Oslo accords and other interim agreements, all applications for documents end up being approved or rejected by some Israeli authority. 

The Geneva Accord: Beyond Time and Space

3 November 2003


Representing no official body, Palestinians close to the PA and members of the Israeli left have signed a detailed plan for a peace agreement. Switzerland financed the exercise, whose result is known as the Geneva Accord. The chief figure on the Israeli side is Yossi Beilin, formerly a central leader in the Labor Party and an architect of the Oslo Accords. His Palestinian counterpart is Yasser Abed Rabo, the PA’s former Minister of Information. The new accord places before the two peoples, for the first time, an idea of the approximate price that each would have to pay in order to gain a peace agreement that the other might perhaps someday be persuaded to live with. As to the Accord itself, we shall focus on two questions. How far exactly are the signers willing to go? How relevant is the document?  The following editorial is reprinted from the current edition of Challenge magazine. 

EU poll: "Israel poses biggest threat to world peace"

Arjan El Fassed 3 November 2003


Researchers have found that nearly 60 percent of European citizens believe Israel poses the biggest threat to world peace. Iran is considered the second biggest threat, North Korea the third and the United States the fourth. The European Commission survey asked the public in all 15 member states to look at a list of countries and say which they considered potential threats to peace. Israel was selected by a majority in almost all the EU member states. EI’s Arjan El Fassed takes a closer look. 

Building to destroy: The 'separation' wall and the future of Palestine

Anwar Darkazally 3 November 2003


The Road Map is in tatters, and not by accident. It is business as usual for the most right wing government in Israel’s history. Business is building, and building is booming.For many months now, before and after the launch of the Road Map, land has been confiscated and homes and agricultural land levelled for the construction of the “separation” wall along the north of the West Bank. People are being separated from their land and each other, greenhouses and crops have been destroyed and towns and villages are being encircled by the wall as it snakes through the West Bank annexing land to Israel. Anwar Darkazally contributed this piece to EI. 

Tens of thousands to mobilize for Nov 9th International Day Against the Wall

3 November 2003


The day declared by the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign in Palestine is gathering major momentum as cities across Europe, Canada, the US, Latin America, and Australia are joining in solidarity with the popular Palestinian mobilization that is to take place on November 9, the date of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The International Day Against the Wall is expected to be noticeable and large scale and to be a spark that further strengthens the Palestinian call to stop the Wall and the momentum in Palestine and abroad. 

Response to National Post editorial of 20 August 2003

Nigel Parry 2 September 2003

Regarding the editorial, “Another reason to build the fence: Separating Israel from the West Bank will help prevent attacks such as yesterday’s bus bombing” (20 Aug), The National Post has missed the point entirely. The Post argues that a description of Israel’s Wall on our website as “a colonial project that embodies within it the long-term policy of occupation, discrimination and expulsion” was “nonsensical” and that Israel is building the Wall “to protect its citizens from terrorists based in the West Bank”. EI’s Nigel Parry wrote this letter in response to an editorial in the National Post (Canada). 

Prominent Palestinian labor rights activist, prohibited from traveling

3 November 2003


Hasan Barghouthi is a trade unionist and a known activist for peace, democracy and social justice in Palestine. On 15 October 2003, he was prohibited by the Israeli authorities from leaving the occupied territories, and on 28 October he was informed by the Israeli intelligence services that he was prohibited from traveling abroad. His work as Director of the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center in Palestine (DWRC) requires him to travel often, and the Israeli occupying power’s decision to deny him his right to freedom of movement in the future will seriously affect it. 

If this is justice, I'm a banana!

Nick Pretzlik East Jerusalem 2 November 2003

“The family last saw Asma Abd-elrazzaq Salih, a 25-year-old mother of two, at the beginning of February this year. It was 1:00 a.m. when the Israeli soldiers arrived at the house, and dawn was breaking as they took her away. She has not been charged with any crime, but is being held as a hostage by the Israeli Army and Government, which has now stooped so low as to kidnap young women.” Nick Pretzlik reports on a particularly disturbing Israeli violation of International Humanitarian Law from East Jerusalem.