January 2004

Weekly report on human rights violations

27 January 2004


This week, Israeli forces killed 9 Palestinians, including 4 children. Eight were killed during an Israeli invasion on Gaza City. Israeli forces invaded a number of other areas in the occupied Palestinian territories. More agricultural land was razed and homes demolished. Israel continues to use Palestinian civilians as human shields. The construction of Israel’s Separation Barrier continued and more Palestinian land was confiscated for this purpose. Israel continued indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas. Israeli forces demolished a five-floor building in Nablus. 

Israeli forces target PCRS ambulance in Gaza

27 January 2004


At dawn, Israeli tanks and military vehicles coming from the colony of Netzarim penetrated the area of Zeitoun on the south-eastern outskirts of Gaza. Towards 7.30 a.m. an ambulance at the PRCS base in Gaza was called to the scene to provide aid for the wounded. The team of ambulance workers attempted to take care of two wounded people situated a dozen metres from armoured Israelis. But as they approached the victims, the ambulance was fired at by shots originating from the Israeli military vehicles. The shots pierced the middle of the ambulance’s windscreen. 

Humanitarian consequences of Israel's military operation in Rafah

28 January 2004


The Israeli Defence Forces have carried out a campaign of demolition and land leveling in Rafah, in the southern Gaza strip. During its three most recent incursions, between 16 and 22 January, a 31 year old Palestinian woman was killed and 8 other Palestinians were injured. Since the beginning of January, the IDF has totally or partially demolished 72 homes making 584 people homeless. The result of the house demolitions has been to create a buffer zone that stretches from Rafah passenger terminal in the east down to the Mediterranean coast. It is several kilometers in length and in places up to 200 metres deep. 

Israeli army in Hebron uses PRCS ambulance as shield

28 January 2004


A PRCS ambulance was used by Israeli soldiers as shield entering Aroub refugee camp. Israeli soldiers stopped the ambulance at the entrance of the refugee camp and initially denied it permission to continue. Israeli soldiers began searching the ambulance, and one of the soldiers threatened the crew that they would be shot if they did not follow orders. The soldier then ordered the ambulance driver to drive into the camp very slowly without turning on the siren. The driver was obliged to continue driving further into the camp when suddenly the soldiers began to fire at the direction of camp residents. 

Right of Return: Two-State solution again sells Palestinians short

George Bisharat 28 January 2004


SAN FRANCISCO - It is a tragic irony that, more than 55 years ago, one desperate people seeking sanctuary from murderous racism decimated another - and continue to oppress its scattered survivors to this day. In 1948, about 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homeland, their land and possessions taken by the new Jewish state of Israel. This included the Jerusalem home of my grandparents, Hanna and Mathilde Bisharat, which was expropriated through a process tantamount to state-sanctioned theft. George Bisharat comments. 

Israeli forces kill 8 Palestinians in Al-Zaytoun

28 January 2004


Today, Israeli forces conducted a major military incursion into Al Zaytoun, a residential district of Gaza city, killing 8 Palestinians and causing extensive damage to civilian property. Israeli forces entered from al-Shuhada junction, near Netzarim settlement, south of Gaza City, and moved approximately 1.5 km into al-Zaytoun neighborhood. Israeli forces took up position in the center of al-Zaytoun and fired live bullets and artillery shells at Palestinian civilians. 

Bush offers solution to leadership problem

28 January 2004


During secret talks between US President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, the US President offered both leaders a solution to the leadership problem. “I don’t like leaders who are not listening to me. Today, I offered them a solution. The Israelis and Palestinians have been fighting each other for too long. I presented both leaders with the tools to solve their issue.” 

Forbidden Families: Family Unification and Child Registration in East Jerusalem

27 January 2004


On 31 July 2003, the Knesset enacted the Nationality and Entry into Israel Law, 5763-2003. Today, B’Tselem and HaMoked released a report describing the implications for residents of East Jerusalem of this law, which demonstrates that Israel deliberately misstated the purpose of the law, claiming it was necessary for security reasons, in order to conceal the real basis for the legislation - demographic concerns. The law constitutes a form of discrimination with no legitimate basis. 

An open letter to the family and friends of Tom Hurndall

Miriyam Aouragh 28 January 2004


“The struggle for justice in Palestine would be stronger if Tom were still with us. Yet I believe that his selfless actions and the ultimate price he paid for believing in humanity sparked a desire to know, struggle, and act. He will live on by helping to bring about a revolution in perception and action concerning Palestine. Tom made a choice. It is people like him, Rachel, and many others who personify a new generation unwilling to blindly accept the world as it is, but who instead take risks and work together to forge new protest movements.” Activist Miriyam Aouragh remembers ISM member Tom Hurndall and his impact on a new generation of human rights activists. 

The hour before dawn

Nick Pretzlik East Jerusalem 28 January 2004


“A successful military career in Israel is a stepping-stone to success in the political arena and it is not unreasonable to suppose that ex-soldiers carry army-inspired prejudices with them when they enter the Knesset. Therein, perhaps, lies a partial explanation for the construction of the apartheid wall. Maybe the idea wouldn’t have taken root had those involved not been conditioned during their formative years in uniform, and maybe it also explains why the wider Israeli public fails to oppose the project in larger numbers.” Nick Pretzlik muses on the psychological roots of Israeli violations of Palestinian rights. 

Top Israeli historian analyzes Benny Morris's shocking interview

Baruch Kimmerling 27 January 2004


Dr. Baruch Kimmerling is George S. Wise Professor of Sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Writing for the History News Network, he says: “Benny Morris has abandoned his historian’s mantle and donned the armor of a Jewish chauvinist who wants the Land of Israel completely cleansed from Arabs. And in order to be completely lucid on this point he drew an analogy between Israel and North America: ‘Even the great American democracy could not have been created without the annihilation of the Indians. There are cases in which the overall, final good justifies harsh and cruel acts that are committed in the course of history.’ I do not know today any American historian or social scientist who agrees that the annihilation of the indigenous population of the continent was a necessary condition for the constitution of American democracy.” 

Diagnosing Benny Morris: the mind of a European settler

Gabriel Ash 27 January 2004


Israeli historian Benny Morris crossed a new line of shame when he put his academic credentials and respectability in the service of outlining the “moral” justification for a future genocide against Palestinians. How can one explain Morris’ knowledge that the ethnic Darwinism that was used to justify the murder of millions of non-whites, including Black African slaves, Native Americans, Arabs, and others, was also used to justify the attempt to exterminate Jews? Gabriel Ash takes a closer look at Morris’ thinking and the tradition to which it belongs. 

If it's against Jewish law, then why is Israel doing it?

Ali Abunimah 28 January 2004


The Israeli army has destroyed hundreds of thousands of Palestinian olive and citrus trees throughout the Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip in recent years. Yet in a startling admission, a staffer at the Jewish National Fund for Israel (JNF) has written that, “it is against Jewish halachic law to uproot fruit bearing trees.” EI’s Ali Abunimah explains how the JNF has been essential to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, and the destruction of its landscape. 

Supreme Court Holds Second Hearing on Petitions Against New Law Banning Family Unification

20 January 2004


On Sunday, 18 January 2004, an enlarged panel of 13 justices of the Supreme Court of Israel held a second hearing on petitions challenging the constitutionality of a new law that prohibits the granting of any residency or citizenship status to Palestinians from the Occupied Territories who are married to Israeli citizens. The new law affects thousands of families, comprised of tens of thousands of individuals. Seven petitions are currently pending before the Court against the “Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) – 2003,” enacted by theKnesset on 31 July 2003. 

Film Review: Like Twenty Impossibles (2003)

Tina Dybvik 27 January 2004


“Like Twenty Impossibles” is the work of Annemarie Jacir, co-written with Kamran Rastegar. Jacir is a Palestinian filmmaker, activist, and poet living between New York City and Palestine. The 17-minute short mockumentary tells the story of a journey in a country where checkpoints and a sinister patchwork of controlled areas make freedom of movement itself impossible, aptly portraying the complexities of oppression with a cast and crew that understand it. It is shot on location in Palestine, and the images of guns and power overwhelm the viewer as well as the waylaid film crew. 

Too late for two states?

Seumas Milne 24 January 2004


More than three years into the intifada, the Palestinian situation seems worse than ever: the weekly death toll, the poverty and now the wall. So has the uprising failed? Seumas Milne had exclusive access to leaders across the political spectrum - from president Yasser Arafat to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. He found an unprecedented willingness to compromise - but a growing belief that the wall will scupper the best ever hope for peace. 

Violent invasions, extrajudicial killings, and suicide bombings

Mika Minio-Paluello Nablus, Palestine 25 January 2004


The Israeli invasion and siege of Nablus city ended two weeks ago now (Wed Jan 7), with a return to the nightly machine gun fire from the mountains, daily mini-incursions, and deadly proddings by jeeps and the occasional tank. With the invasion competing with the horrific Iranian earthquake, aircrashes, Sharon’s speeches and the Christmas holiday, media coverage was minimal, in Israeli, international, Arab and even Palestinian media, adding to the Nablus perception of abandonment by the world. Mika Minio-Paluello writes from occupied Nablus. 

International Court authorizes participation of OIC to 'Wall-Case'

22 January 2004


The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, has authorized the Organization of the Islamic Conference, at its request, to participate in the proceedings in the case concerning Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. By a letter dated 14 January 2004, the General Secretariat of the Organization of the Islamic Conference requested that the Organization be authorized to furnish information on the question submitted to the Court. 

International Court authorizes Arab League participation in 'Wall-case'

15 January 2004


The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, has authorized the League of Arab States, at its request, to participate in the proceedings in the case concerning Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (request for advisory opinion). By a letter dated 29 December 2003, the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Mr. Amre Moussa, requested that the League be invited to furnish information, in writing and orally, on the question submitted to the Court. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

21 January 2004


This week Israeli forces killed a Palestinian woman. Seven civilians, including five children were injured during Israeli shelling in Rafah. Israeli forces invaded various areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces destroyed 60 homes in the Gaza Strip, including 51 in Rafah refugee camp. This week Israel razed more Palestinian agricultural land. Israel continues to use Palestinian civilians as human shields in military operations. Israel continued the construction of the Separation Wall and more land was confiscated and razed for this purpose. Israel continues to impose a total siege. 

The impact of the Separation Barrier on refugees in Jerusalem

23 January 2004


Israel’s construction of a separation barrier will severely impact the lives of Palestinians in the Jerusalem area in wide-ranging activities from education to health care to relief and social services, according to a report released today by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The report, the first in a series of regular updates, notes that 260 students out of a total 7,246 attending UNRWA schools, along with 86 out of 263 teachers, will be affected in their daily movements by the barrier, which will cut them off from places of learning. 

Moral decay and Benny Morris

Ali Abunimah 24 January 2004


When does the banishment of an entire people become morally justified? That such a question can even be posed in today’s Israel is dismal testament to the transformation of Zionism into what it claims to abhor. EI’s Ali Abunimah comments on two recent, extraordinary documents — an article in The Guardian and an interview with Ha’aretz — in which Israeli historian Benny Morris approves of Israeli “ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinians in 1948, calls it “necessary” and prepares the ground for Israel to justify any future atrocity including renewed expulsion of all the Palestinians from their homeland. 

Putting Israel's weapons above the law

Hasan Abu Nimah 22 January 2004


Apartheid South Africa, which Israel increasingly resembles in the eyes of the world, taught an important lesson: the nuclear weapons which the apartheid regime developed with Israeli assistance were no defence against a majority population struggling for its freedom. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah argues that none of the excuses for the world ignoring Israel’s weapons of mass destruction hold water, and Middle East disarmament should begin with the one state that possesses deployed nuclear weapons aimed at its neighbors. 

Living War: Palestinians Refugees in Lebanon

Stefan Christoff 21 January 2004


The youth who play football on the small streets and narrow alleys of Bourj El Barajneh represent an entire generation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon who live in a day-to-day low intensity war. This is a war waged against Palestinian refugees by the Lebanese government. It is not waged through military campaigns as in the Lebanese civil war, but through policies and laws which are slowly choking the life from Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps. Stefan Christoff reports from Beirout. 

A Legacy of Betrayal

Thomas Moorer 21 January 2004


While state department officials and historians assemble on Washington DC this week to discuss the 1967 war in the Middle East, Admiral Thomas Moorer, who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1970 to 1974, is compelled to speak out about one of U.S. history’s most shocking cover-ups. On June 8th, 1967, Israel attacked our proud naval ship — the USS Liberty — killing 34 American servicemen and wounding 172. Those men were then betrayed and left to die by our own government. Admiral Moorer believes the American people deserve to know the truth about this attack. 

Israel orders land seizures in Gaza

Laila El-Haddad 21 January 2004


Israeli occupation forces have issued land confiscation orders to 28 families in the town of Dair al-Balah. Located near the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom in the Central Gaza strip, the total area subject to confiscation and eventual “fencing in” is approximately 1000 dunums – the equivalent of one square kilometre - according to the Central Area Governorate. The move comes despite declarations by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon earlier in the week that he might withdraw from some of the more controversial and costly settlements in remote areas of the Gaza Strip. Laila El-Haddad reports from the Gaza Strip. 

Israeli forces demolish 25 homes in Rafah

20 January 2004


Early this morning, 400 Palestinian families were forced by the Israeli occupation forces to evacuate their homes in Rafah during an Israeli military incursion into the area. A total of 25 civilian homes located on the border area with Egypt were destroyed. Israeli forces with tanks and heavy military bulldozers invaded two neighborhoods, firing heavy machine gunfire. Residents were not allowed to remove their belongings from their homes before they were demolished. 

Running out of steam: Israel’s empty objections to the International Criminal Court

Jeff Handmaker 20 January 2004


The Ambassador of Israel in The Netherlands, Eitan Margalit spoke to an audience of mainly international lawyers on 20 November 2003 in The Hague, followed by an outpouring of criticism. Even a sympathetic observer present at the lecture would not fail to have noticed how thin the Israeli government’s arguments have become in objecting to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Jeff Handmaker, a Jewish human rights lawyer based in the Netherlands argues that the Israeli government’s insistence upon the “rule of law” yet refusal to submit to a supranational court is blatantly hypocritical. 

Journey into prison

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 20 January 2004


My family’s costs for the journey from Bethlehem to Amman and the return trip almost equalled a flight trip, per person about $200, including the costs of special taxis, border taxes, the entry authorization from Jordan, and a hotel in Amman. Not for poor people. “Back to the abnormal life,” Mary is used to saying upon entering Palestine. It was raining heavily. The taxi driver was nervous about soldiers checking the car, as he is not allowed to carry passengers without the relevant permits, and wanted to drop my family somewhere before ‘Azzariyyeh (Biblical Bethany). Toine van Teeffelen writes from Bethlehem. 

Five refuseniks sentenced to one year imprisonment

5 January 2004


The Israeli Military court in Jaffa pronounced the sentence of one year imprisonment against five Israeli conscientious objectors. Noam Bahat, Adam Maor, Haggai Matar, Shinri Tsameret and Matan Kaminer, who are among more than 300 high school seniors, who refuse to serve in military forces involved in the occupation of Palestinian Territories are considered as “selective conscientious objectors”, as they refuse to join an army of occupation. They have already been detained over a year for refusing to serve. 

The detention of the refuseniks is arbitrary says the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

19 January 2004


In its final opinion the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention stated that although at present time the rejection by a state of the right to conscientious objection cannot be considered incompatible with international law, the repeated penalties imposed on Matan Kaminer, Adam Maor, Noam Bahat and Jonathan Ben Artzi were arbitrary. The UN Working Group stated that the repeated penalties for the disobedience to serve in the military are not compatible with international law. 

Israeli rights group calls for investigation into killing of unarmed Palestinians in Khan Yunis

15 January 2004


The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel calls on Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon and Judge Advocate General Menachem Finkelstein to investigate the killing of five unarmed Palestinian civilians from Khan Yunis. On December 11, 2002, an Israeli Merkava tank fired a shell at five unarmed Palestinians, all members of the same family from Khan Yunis, killing them all. An Israeli spokesperson said that they had carried ladders but no arms were found. PCATI demands that the incident be immediately investigated. 

Campaign Against Collective Punishment

Al-Haq 20 January 2004


Al-Haq, the oldest Palestinian human rights organization and the West Bank affiliate of The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), recently launched a Campaign to Stop Collective Punishment. Collective punishment is simply penalising a group as a whole with no regard for individual responsibility. Such punishments and other measures of intimidation have been utilised by the Israeli authorities against Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for decades, including house demolitions, movement of restrictions, and the wall. 

LA activists rally in solidarity with the Palestinian People

Haithem El-Zabri 16 January 2004


Activists from several peace and justice groups gathered infront of the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles yesterday to protest against the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The protests were prompted by the four-week siege and attacks on the town of Nablus. During this time, at least 18 Palestinians had been killed and over 250 injured. The town had been under 24-hour curfew much of the time, and homes have been demolished in the Balata refugee camp, Beit Foreek, and the historic center of the city. The rally in LA was a signal of solidarity with the people of Nablus and other areas that are continuously under attack. 

Israel's apologists and the Martin Luther King Jr. hoax

Fadi Kiblawi and Will Youmans 18 January 2004


Many of Israel’s apologists, and even former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. declaring, “anti-Zionist is inherently anti-Semitic, and ever will be so.” There’s only one problem with this famous quote: King never said it, because its a hoax. EI contributors Fadi Kiblawi and Will Youmans investigate the use and abuse of Dr. King’s legacy to justify Israeli abuses, and silence criticism of Israel. 

After three Israeli invasions in Rafah: 75 Palestinians homeless

17 January 2004


Since Friday, Israeli forces have invaded various areas in Rafah. Israeli forces demolished a mosque and nine Palestinian homes, razed nine donoms of land, leaving 75 Palestinians, mostly children and women, homeless, adding to the thousands who have been left homeless by similar Israeli military raids in the occupied Palestinian territories. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed in Rafah since the beginning of the current uprising. Israel’s intention is to ethnically cleanse a large section of Palestinian land alongside the Egyptian border, to create a buffer zone and consolidate its military occupation. 

Unbound Spirit: Ayed Morar and Martin Luther King

Adam Shapiro 16 January 2004


Ayed Morar, or Abu Ahmed as he is known to all, sits in jail tonight and I wonder if he is thinking of Martin Luther King, Jr. Unlike Dr. King, Abu Ahmed will not be leaving jail anytime soon, and is he unable to protest his imprisonment by exemplifying the moral injustice done to him and his people, for the world’s powers have maintained a deaf ear to the plight of the Palestinian people. Like Dr. King, however, Abu Ahmed is in jail for organizing and participating in nonviolent direct action against unjust, discriminatory and violent policies targeting his people on the basis of their ethnicity. Adam Shapiro writes. 

PRCS medic beaten and detained by Israeli soldiers

12 January 2004


On 11 January 2004, a PRCS medic was beaten, detained and threatened with fatal harm by Israeli soldiers during a routine transfer of patients from Nablus to Ramallah. The ambulance was carrying a child with a cardiac condition and a disabled person suffering from leg injuries. According to the medics’ affidavit, the ambulance was allowed to cross the Howwara checkpoint. However, Israeli soldiers on Al-Sawia road stopped the ambulance. Israeli soldiers searched the ambulance and then refused to allow the ambulance to pass. Later, the ambulance was allowed to pass after coordination with the ICRC. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

15 January 2004


This week Israeli forces killed three Palestinians. One of the victims was killed in an extra-judicial execution. A British peace activist died from an injury he sustained by Israeli troops in Rafah nine months ago. Israeli forces invaded a number of areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinian homes were raided and a number of Palestinians were arrested. Israel continues to use Palestinian civilians as human shields in military operations. This week Israeli forces demolished nine homes in Rafah refugee camp. Israel continues to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. 

Israel reinvades Tulkarem camp, destroys homes

Flo Razowsky 14 January 2004


Around 11pm Wednesday, January 14, the Israeli army re-invaded the Tulkarem refugee camp, after a 30-hour invasion that ended Tuesday. A curfew was imposed throughout the entire camp at 4am on Thursday morning. Soldiers entered two homes, between the hours of 5 and 9am and ordered the families and nearby neighbors to leave immediately. One of the homes belonged to the family of a man who was killed by Israeli troops over one year ago in the Nur Shams refugee camp of Tulkarem. The second home belonged to a man who was arrested by the army during the invasion two days ago. Flo Razowsky reports from on the ground. 

Getting the hell into Gaza

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza Strip 15 January 2004


Following the suicide bombing at Erez Crossing that left four Israeli soldiers dead and several Palestinian workers injured, Erez (at the north of the Gaza Strip), and Maabar (the other way in and out of the Gaza Strip, on the border of Egypt), have been under tight closure, with crowds of people waiting for days to be let through. Here are excerpts from a letter home from one of the delegation as they were attempting to enter. They are an excellent description of the great extremes the Israeli is going to in order to keep out international eyes. Laura Gordon introduces the trials of one group trying to get into occupied Gaza. 

British Airways removes billboards from settlements, following international campaign

15 January 2004


This morning British Airways announced the removal of its advertising billboard placed at the entrance to the settlement of Ariel. These billboards had been at the focus of a short but intensive campaign. Gush Shalom (the Israeli Peace Bloc) had been alerted to the placing of the billboards by activists monitoring settlement activity. Thereupon, Gush Shalom sent a letter to the British Airways administration, asking for the billboards removal, and informing its network of international contacts of the addresses where they could add their voice. 

Tom Hurndall dies as family receive news of the indictment of his killer

14 January 2004


Tom Hurndall, the British Photographer shot in Gaza while shepherding young children out of the line of fire, died last night at 7.45pm. His death came nine months after an incident in which he was shot in the head by an IDF soldier which left him in a vegetative state. The traumatic nature of his injuries has meant that at any time Tom has been vulnerable to serious infection and his death came after his body was unsuccessful in overcoming an episode of Pneumonia. At a hearing on Monday, a soldier arrested last week in connection with the shooting of Tom Hurndall, has finally been indicted on six charges. 

Review: Poster art of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Maureen Clare Murphy 16 January 2004


Dan Walsh, creator of the online exhibition Antonym/Synonym: The Poster Art of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, thinks that taking a look at political posters can enable “a new democratic discussion.” His website, Liberation Graphics, which features over 100 posters, a mere fraction of his collection, can only be described as a labor of love. Each poster is catalogued with an essay that both analyzes the poster’s formal and conceptual qualities, and places the subject matter within a brief historical context. 

Shot British peace activist dies

14 January 2004


A British peace activist shot in the head while observing the Israeli army in Gaza last year has died in hospital. Tom Hurndall, 22, of north London, had been in a coma since being shot in a Palestinian refugee camp. An Israeli soldier has already been indicted on six charges, including one of aggravated assault. Mr Hurndall was with the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian-led group which campaigns against Israeli occupation using non-violence. Mr Hurndall’s family now want a murder charge to be brought. BBC News reports. 

Israel, the PA and the one-state "threat"

Hasan Abu Nimah 13 January 2004


For decades, Israel claimed that the creation of a Palestinian state would mean the “destruction of the Jewish state.” Now, Israel insists that not having a Palestinian state would mean annihilation. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah examines this apparent contradiction in the context of Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qureia’s recent “threat” that the Palestinians would abandon the two-state solution and call for a binational democracy in all of historic Palestine instead. 

Israel invades Tulkarem refugee camp

Flo Razowsky 13 January 2004


Starting shortly before 11am on Monday, January 12, all residents in a section of the Tulkarem refugee camp were rounded up at a centrally located day care center. The men were separated from the woman and children and taken away in military trucks. At the end of the first day, over 230 men had been handcuffed, blindfolded and taken out of the camp to an unknown location. The woman and children, after being separated from the men, were taken to the UNWRA building in the center of the camp. From the beginning, several women complained that their children were not present. Flo Razowsky reports from on the ground. 

Gush Shalom protests British Airways advertising at Ariel settlement

Adam Keller 13 January 2004


A few days ago, an Israeli peace activist monitoring the situation on the West Bank noticed two large billboards placed at the entrance to the West Bank settlement of Ariel, with a conspicuous British Airways logo. The ads bear mock London road signs with such place names as “Buckingham Palace”, “Hyde Park” etc. and underneath them an ad offering cheap flights to London. Gush Shalom’s Adam Keller wrote the following letter to the management of British Airways. 

Humanitarian consequences of Israel's military operation in Nablus

8 January 2004


On December 26, Israeli forces invaded Nablus, announcing a curfew. Israeli forces entered Balata refugee camp and the old city of Nablus. Several homes in Nablus, mainly in the old city were occupied. Israeli forces continued military operations, with house occupations and demolitions until they withdrew on January 6. Three Palestinians were killed on 3 January by direct live ammunition used by Israeli soldiers. A fourth Palestinian was killed during the funeral of these. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released an initial report. 

Nablus: Resistance Under Occupation

The Electronic Intifada Nablus 2 January 2004


In the midst of an already month-long invasion, the sheikhs announced over the mosques for everyone to yell from their windows and their roofs “Allahu akbar” (god is great) together for an hour. It began with the voices from the mosques, together, “Allahu akbar” again and again, the voices growing louder and prouder with each chant. Then, a chorus began from the old city, and then the mountains and the camps. Thousands of different voices, in different rhythms and tones, yelling and chanting together, their sound almost drowning out the noise of the tank fire around them. Kelly B. writes from Nablus. 

Jerusalem: The Wall at the End of the Cul-de-Sac

Michal Schwartz 12 January 2004


Until recently, when any of the hundred thousand people in Al Eizarya, Abu Dis or Sawahre wanted to reach Jerusalem, all they had to do was take Al Eizarya’s main road, which connects to the Jerusalem-Jericho road, and within minutes they could reach the Old City. Those days are gone. Today the Al Eizarya road comes to a sudden halt at a wall two meters high, topped by rolls of barbed wire. What was once a major artery has become a parking lot for service cabs. If you want to get to Jerusalem, the expedition goes on for an hour or more. Michal Schwartz writes in Challenge. 

And the world sleeps

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza Strip 10 January 2004


Oh goodness, I went to the souq (“market”) today with Mahmood’s mother. She woke me up at 8:30am instead of 6:00am while I lay in bed for two hours imagining the day to be later than it was, floating between nightmares and day dreams. So I got dressed and we walked out, Saturday morning 9:00am, sunshine painting the streets and the asbestos roofs and the mothers like sun-dried raisins elbowing their way to this or that stand to haggle over prices. She stopped me here at this jilbab or that jacket, announcing the prices so proud of a certain bargain you would think she herself was selling the goods this morning. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

8 January 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians, including four children. Two of the victims were killed in an extra-judicial execution. One of the victims was run over by an Israeli settler. Israeli forces invaded a number of areas in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces raided Palestinian homes and detained a number of citizens. Israeli forces demolished at least 28 homes in Rafah, Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah. Israeli forces razed more than 150 donums of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip. Israel continued indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas and Israel continued to impose a total siege on the occupied territories. 

The media, nuclear power, and failed peace: An interview with David Hirst

Maureen Clare Murphy 9 January 2004


David Hirst worked as The Guardian’s Middle East correspondent from 1967 to 2001, and authored the classic book The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East, which was published in its third edition in 2003 with a new 120 page foreword. From Beirut, Hirst spoke with EI on the bias of the American media towards Israel in its coverage of the conflict, the implications of Israel’s nuclear aresenal, and how Israel is more of a strategic liability than asset for the U.S. Listen to the interview or read the interview on EI. 

Masked men assault Arabiya correspondent in Gaza

8 January 2004


Seif al-Din Shahin, Gaza correspondent for the al-Arabiya satellite channel, was traveling in his car with ‘Emad ‘Eid, correspondent for al-Manar. They had just left the offices of Arabiya in the center of Gaza city. Five armed individuals, four of whom wore masks, intercepted the car, dragged Shahin from the vehicle and then proceeded to beat him. The group then escaped. Shahin was taken to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza city. He had sustained bruises throughout his body. He was threatened a few days ago about comments he made in his reports. 

Edward Said puts the Palestinian narrative of struggle in a global context in “Culture and Resistance”

Maureen Clare Murphy 9 January 2004


The interviews by David Barsamian with Edward Said in the new book Culture and Resistance: Conversations with Edward Said do not provide any in-depth analysis on a given topic. But they rather serve as meditations - if one can consider Osama bin Laden, malnutrition in Gaza, and misunderstandings between the U.S. and the Arab world topics for meditation. Not intended to provide precise, detailed historical analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the book rather functions to provide a unique perspective on some of the most important problems that plague the world by one of the world’s preeminent thinkers. Maureen Clare Murphy reviews the book for EI. 

Arab and Jew: Being young in a troubled land

Melissa Rafah, Gaza Strip 7 January 2004


“Khaled is 19 years old but he comes across as being much older. He is very tall and slim but his face exudes experience and wisdom. Despite his quiet demeanour, he displays confidence and independence that was learned from growing up in a difficult situation. Khaled is great at dealing with people; he can be soft and kind to children but at the same time strong against those trying to take advantage of him. I have met few with a better understanding of life than Khaled. He understands and accepts the bad as much as the good in life and really understands how the world works.” ISMer Melissa recounts conversations with Palestinians and Israelis. 

Sarra Checkpoint: A Week of Severe Abuse

4 January 2004


Today B’Tselem released a report describing a series of cases of severe abuse by Israeli soldiers over the past week at the Sarra checkpoint, near Nablus. B’Tselem took testimonies from ten Palestinians who were assaulted during the last week of December. The abuse included a mock execution, severe beatings and tying up the victims. The abuse occurred on a regular basis. The IDF’s siege policy, now in force for over three years, has resulted in severe human rights violations at checkpoints. 

Act immediately to lift the siege off Nablus, Balata and Beit Foreek

3 January 2004


Nablus has been under siege for the last 10 days while Balata refugee camp has been under siege for the last 18 consecutive days. We have just heard that every single entrance/exit to Balata has been sealed off completely. No food or medicine is allowed in. Medical relief teams are being obstructed and at times completely prevented from passing through. Activists from ISM (the International Solidarity Movement) were attacked while carrying out their missions to observe and bear witness on what the Israeli occupation authorities are brutalizing the Palestinian population. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

3 January 2004


This week, Israeli forces killed 8 Palestinian civilians. Five of the victims were killed during an extra-judicial assassination in Gaza city. Israeli forces invaded a number of areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and razed more agricultural land and demolished seven homes and a school in the Gaza Strip and three homes in Nablus. Israeli continued construction of the Separation Wall in the West Bank and continued indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian residential areas. In Hebron, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian civilians. 

Israeli forces kill 4 Palestinians, including two children in Nablus

3 January 2004


In the past 24 hours, Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians, including two children in Nablus. A number of civilians were injured when Israeli forces used excessive force against Palestinian demonstrators. Israeli forces have demolished a number of historical sites in the city’s ancient center. Israeli forces opened fire at a group of children. Israeli forces imposed a siege on the town since December 25. During a funeral procession an Israeli armored personnel carrier moved towards the direction of the mourners and opened fire. 

Relative Humanity: The Fundamental Obstacle to a One-State Solution in Historic Palestine (2/2)

Omar Barghouti 6 January 2004


Israeli politicians, intellectuals and media often passionately debate how best to face the country’s demographic “war” with the Palestinians. Few Israelis dissent from the belief that such a war exists or ought to exist. The popular call to subordinate democracy to demography, however, has entailed the adoption of reminiscent population control mechanisms to keep the number of Palestinians in check. Conclusion of the two part article by Omar Barghouti, examining more of the issues relating to Israel’s unwillingness and inability to consider full equality for Palestinians and Jews in historic Palestine. 

Relative Humanity: The Fundamental Obstacle to a One-State Solution in Historic Palestine (1/2)

Omar Barghouti 6 January 2004


From the scandalous Nusseibeh-Ayalon agreement to the irreparably flawed Geneva Accords, the last true Zionists — with the crucial help of acquiescent Palestinian officials — have tried their best to resuscitate the two-state solution with the declared intention of saving Zionism. But it is arguably too little, too late. The two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is really dead. Good riddance! In this article for EI, Omar Barghouti examines the largest obstacle to the success of the one-state solution.