April 2004

Sharon’s violent policy, a point of no return for the European Union

Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker 28 April 2004


Two weeks ago, Sharon met George Bush to discuss his plan for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip. On the face of it, this could have been welcomed as a major first step towards peace, that is, if it was not linked with a further intention to retain most of the major settlements in the occupied territories on the West Bank. Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker argue that up until now, the European Union has failed to use the means it has at its disposal to enforce respect for international law and human rights. The EU must no longer take the middle ground, merely limiting its role to expressing support for the peace process. They cannot claim that the peace process needs time. In fact, there is no peace process and no time left: we are at the point of no return. 

Israel, a country that respects the rule of law?

Jeff Handmaker and Adri Nieuwhof 30 April 2004


As a privileged young Israeli, Mordechai Vanunu took a risk and exposed Israel for operating an illegal nuclear weapons programme. While the rest of the world sought to reduce its weapons of mass destruction, Israel was evidently busy stockpiling them. After being illegally abducted from Italy, Vanunu served a sentence of 18 years imprisonment, 12 years of which were in solitary confinement. Now freed by the Israeli government, he leaves behind concrete walls, but will be thrown into a bureaucratic “prison” that denies him basic freedoms. Is this the democratic country in the Middle East that according to its government respects rule of law? 

Support EI during May 2004 and win great prizes!

1 May 2004


Throughout the month of May, the Electronic Intifada will be automatically entering the names of all readers who donate to our work in a sweepstakes to win “Return 2,” an original acrylic on paper artwork by Palestinian artist Zahi Khamis. Twenty runners-up will receive EI T-shirts. The sweepstakes period is from 1 May to 31 May, 2004. The sweepstakes is open to people who live in the United States and other countries. This sweepstakes offer is void where prohibited by law. 

UN nuclear inspector El Baradei to visit Israel in July

International Atomic Energy Agency 29 April 2004


IAEA Director General ElBaradei will be visiting Israel sometime in the summer, though details have not been finalized. Israel, which has refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and is believed to have up to 200 nuclear weapons, is a Member State of the IAEA and it is six years since he was last there. He would intend to use such a trip to promote non-proliferation and a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Middle East, as well as to discuss bilateral cooperation in nuclear sciences and applications. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 29 April 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 18 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 5 children. Ten of the victims were killed in four extrajudicial assassinations. Israeli forces conducted a series of invasions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In Rafah, Israeli forces demolished 27 homes, more than 300 Palestinians have become homeless. Israeli forces raided homes and arrested dozens of Palestinians. Israel continues to impose the total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. 

Israel's High Court overturns government ban on press accreditation of Palestinian journalists

Committee to Protect Journalists 26 April 2004


Israel’s High court overturned a sweeping government ban on press accreditation for Palestinian journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The court ruled on Sunday, April 25, that Israel’s Government Press Office (GPO) could not impose a blanket restriction on accreditation for Palestinian journalists, and that Palestinian journalists should receive press credentials provided they are given security clearance. The court ruled in response to separate law suits brought by Reuters news agency and the Qatar-based Arabic news channel Al-Jazeera regarding the accreditation of their reporters. 

World Bank launches multi-donor trust fund to support reform program

World Bank 27 April 2004


With the aim of supporting the Palestinian Authority in sustaining public services in the face of a severe fiscal crisis, the World Bank announced today the Public Financial Management Reform Trust Fund. The Reform Fund builds on the successful budget support mechanisms implemented by the European Commission since September 2000 and seeks to mobilize additional donor resources to support the PA’s budget. Per capita income dropped by half since September 2000 and is now approaching $900, nearly half of the Palestinian population is currently living below the poverty line of $2 per day. 

Press conference: Rumsfeld announces new Iraqi leader

28 April 2004


Faced with increasing violence and chaos across Iraq as the June 30 deadline for handing over to an Iraqi government, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld today announced the new Iraqi leader to “help Iraqis make the transition to self-rule and democracy.” The shock move follows the decision last week by the head of the US occupation authority in Iraq, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, to lift the ban on former members of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath party holding government jobs. BNN Foreign Correspondent Avraham Avinunu reports. 

No Need To Embrace Israel

Iqbal Jassat 28 April 2004


As South Africa celebrates its 10th year of freedom from the repressive policies of apartheid, Israel has intensified its brutal repression of a just cause - now entering 56 years of dispossession and dismemberment. It is strange therefore that a disgruntled former Israeli diplomat in South Africa, has made a desperate effort to ridicule SA’s pro-Palestinian leanings. It is lamentable that Tova Herzl’s term as Israeli ambassador in Pretoria did not teach her any lessons about the stark differences which exist between her country and a post-1994 South Africa. MRN’s Iqbal Jassat comments. 

Can Sharon Win By Force?

Mitchell Plitnick 28 April 2004


For the past decade, political leaders — Israeli, Palestinian, American, European and Arab alike, have had one point of agreement with peace activists around the Israel-Palestine conflict. That was the axiom that “neither side would triumph by force.” But now, the dangerous duo of George Bush in the White House and Ariel Sharon in the Prime Minister’s office has embarked on their attempt to prove this false. Mitchell Plitnick from Jewish Voice for Peace argues that the potential for change remains where it has always been-in the hands of those who need only organize themselves and force their governments to change course, the hands of ordinary Israelis and Americans. 

Ariel Sharon, George W. Bush, "Unilateral Declarations" and International Law

Victor Kattan 28 April 2004


The endorsement of Ariel Sharon’s unilateral plan of disengagement from the Gaza Strip and from parts of the West Bank by US President George W. Bush has angered many Palestinians and inflamed tensions throughout the Arab world. It has also surprised policy makers, diplomats and politicians from the European Union - including Britain, America’s closest ally - who have sought to distance themselves from Bush’s remarks. It prompted a rebuttal from French President Jacques Chirac in Algiers, who described it as a “dangerous and troubling precedent”. Victor Kattan looks at Sharon’s plan in light of international law. 

Drawing Caterpillar Out Of Its Corporate Cocoon: Company Should Examine Its Role in Mideast Violence

Liat Weingart, Valerie Heinonen and Mary Ann McGivern 28 April 2004


On April 14, an American corporation was confronted with the choice of whether or not to examine their role in perpetuating the cycle of violence in the Mideast. An alliance of Catholic nuns and Jewish peace activists teamed up to introduce a shareholder resolution asking Caterpillar, Inc. to conduct an internal investigation to determine if the use of their bulldozers to violate human rights laws goes against corporate policies. In fact, it was the first time ever that a shareholder resolution relating to human rights violations in the occupied territories has been brought before a US corporation. Though the odds against the resolution were tremendous, it still garnered 4% of the vote, enough to be re-introduced next year. 

Rerouting Palestinian transit trade could cut costs, boost savings, says new UNCTAD study

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 22 April 2004


Even with the long seacoast of the Gaza Strip, the occupied Palestinian territory is effectively landlocked and almost completely dependent on Israeli transport facilities for participation in international trade. In addition, Israeli closure policy, security measures and control of the main borders and transport routes render Palestinian trade totally dependent on political and security developments. In a new study, UNCTAD shows that this situation will have to be overcome if the extremely high transport costs of Palestinian trade are to be brought down. 

UN representative says impact of Israel's Gaza plan depends on crucial decisions

United Nations News Service 23 April 2004


At a crucial and potentially seminal juncture for Middle East peace, Israel’s announced withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, if carried out in the right way, could usher in a new era of peacemaking in the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen told the Security Council this morning. At the same time, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of Kofi Annan continued, if such a withdrawal was implemented in the wrong way, it would lead to more violence, possibly bringing the situation to a new low in the dismal annals of the Palestinian-Israeli tragedy.  “This is the cross-roads we are at today.” 

Masked men attack and injure Palestinian photographer

Reporters Without Borders 22 April 2004


RSF has condemned a brutal 22 April 2004 attack on Palestinian photographer Jamal Aruri, who works for the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP). Aruri was attacked by masked men in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Aruri, aged 38, was beaten in the driveway of his home by two masked men armed with clubs. He received injuries to his elbow and suffered bruises to his face and body. He remained in hospital on 23 April and was expected to undergo an operation. “I don’t understand the reason for this attack,” he told AFP. “I don’t have problems here with anyone.” 

Israeli documentary filmmaker brutally assaulted by Israeli security guards

Reporters Without Borders 26 April 2004


Media watchdog RSF has expressed shock over a brutal attack on award-winning Israeli documentary filmmaker David Benchetrit in front of the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv. Benchetrit, who is currently working on a film about “refuzniks” - Israeli soldiers who, as conscientious objectors, refuse to serve in the Palestinian territories - was attacked on 21 April on his way to a meeting with Defence Ministry spokesperson Ruth Yaron. “In 30 years of covering wars, I have been injured several times, but I have never been as afraid as I was then, ironically, right by my own home,” Benchetrit told RSF. 

Israeli forces kill 9 Palestinians and wound 40 others in Gaza Strip

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 21 April 2004


On 20 April 2004, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians and injured about 40 others. This major Israeli military assault is focused on the Nada housing project, located between Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun in the nothern Gaza Strip. A large number of the victims were hit in the upper body. This indicates the intention of Israeli occupying forces to cause serious injury and fatalities among Palestinian civilians.  Reports are still coming into PCHR about further casualties; this is of particular concern as Israeli forces have reportedly fired on ambulances that attempted to reach wounded Palestinians. 

Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in another extrajudicial execution

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 22 April 2004


On Thursday morning, 22 April 2004, Israeli occupying forces killed 3 Palestinians from Tulkarm refugee camp. They claimed that the three were armed and exchanged fire with them, but investigations conducted by PCHR refute this claim.  The three victims were members of  the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the military wing of Fatah movement. PCHR’s fieldworker in Tulkarem saw blood between cars and the place where their bodies were found. Eyewitnesses reported sounds of shooting indicating that the gunfire was directed from one side. According to medical sources, the victims were shot from a very close distance. 

Israeli forces kill 7 Palestinians in two extrajudicial executions

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 24 April 2004


Less than 24 hours following the assassination of three Palestinians in Tulkarem, on Friday morning, 23 April 2004, Israeli occupying forces assassinated three Palestinians in Qalqilya and injured a fourth one. The four are members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the military wing of Fatah movement. Israeli forces claimed that the four Palestinians attempted to escape form arrest, however, investigations conducted by PCHR concluded that an undercover unit of Israeli occupying forces fired at the victims without any warning.  The victims were hit by live bullets from the front, which refutes the Israeli claim that they attempted to escape. 

Poem: On the Ending of the Siege at the Basilica of the Nativity, Bethlehem (10th May 2002)

Jeremy Frost 27 April 2004



Revd. Jeremy Frost, Precentor of Canterbury Cathedral, expresses through poetry his concerns regarding Bethlehem, a town steeped both in religious history and recent political violence. Frost has visited the Middle East on several occasions, and has researched the theological relationshp between Israel and the Church, countering Christian Zionism in the process. 

What kind of state deserves to exist?

Tanya Reinhart 23 April 2004


Amidst the political storm in Israel regarding the “Gaza disengagement” plan, only one really meaningful fact emerges: Sharon received Bush’s approval to proceed with his plan for the Wall in the West Bank. Along this route, Israel is uprooting tens of thousands of trees, dispossessing Palestinian farmers of their land, and pushing them into small enclaves between fences and Walls, until, at the final stage, the Wall will surround them on all sides, as in the Gaza Strip. Israeli academic Tanya Reinhart looks at the steadily increasing number of facts on the ground and the implications of Sharon’s plan. 

The Bush-Sharon Palestinian disenfranchisement pact

Michael F. Brown 19 April 2004


Of course, why should anybody expect anything else in a week such as this one? The American commander-in-chief repeatedly misrepresented the situation in Iraq and dodged questions during his news conference of April 13. Then, the next day, with Ariel Sharon at his side he undid decades of U.S. foreign policy and placed US policy in clear violation of international law. When asked on both April 12 and 14 about settlements being an obstacle to peace he avoided the question. This is a leader who habitually is unable to give a plain answer to a plain question. Michael Brown examines the Bush-Sharon letters. 

From Balfour to Bush

Badil 17 April 2004


In the past 87 years since Lord Balfour wrote to Lord Rothschild declaring that the United Kingdom favored the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine, the world has seen dispossession, depopulation, confiscation, and uprooting. Now with the 15 April 2004 declaration of George W. Bush, Israel’s seizure of large areas of the West Bank and Gaza and the removal of Palestinian inhabitants have been legitimized, ruling out the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state in the areas of Palestine that are populated by Arab Palestinians. 

Sharon's banana republics

Afif Safieh 19 April 2004


After the horror of 9/11, when the predictable retaliation was being discussed, the pro-Israel lobby emerged as the “maximalist school”, which wanted to expand the theatre of operations beyond Afghanistan to engulf Iraq, Syria and Libya. That lobby has grown accustomed to using one muscle too many and one pressure too far. The collusion between the US and Israeli agendas has put America on a collision course with the Arab World, which now perceives the US as Israel’s belligerent Sparta and the aim of American foreign policy to be docility, not democracy. 

Amnesty: No restrictions with Vanunu's release

Amnesty International 19 April 2004


Amnesty International urges the Israeli authorities not to impose any restrictions or conditions on former nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu upon his release on Wednesday after 18 years in jail. “Mordechai Vanunu should be allowed to exercise his rights to freedom of movement, association and expression in Israel and should be allowed to leave the country if he wishes,” said Amnesty International. “His release is long overdue and Israel must not continue to violate his fundamental human rights once he is released from prison.” Vanunu was sent to jail 18 years ago for exposing secrets relating to Israel’s nuclear capabilities. 

Annan condemns Israel's assassination of Hamas leader Abdelaziz Rantissi

United Nations News Service 18 April 2004


United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has condemned Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Abdelaziz Rantissi and called on the country to end the practice of extrajudicial killngs, which violate international law. “He is apprehensive that such an action would lead to further deterioration of an already distressing and fragile situation,” a spokesman for the Secretary-General said in a statement issued on Saturday evening in New York. The statement emphasized that the only way to halt an escalation in the violence is for Israelis and Palestinians to work towards a viable negotiating process. 

NYC D.A. calls political protest "a crime," urges jail for organizers

19 April 2004


New York, 16 April 2004 - In a move widely regarded as an anti-dissent crackdown on behalf of the imminent Republican National Convention, the NYC District Attorney has defined protest speech as “criminal”, urging jail time for activists who have a history of dissent. The DA’s office made the statement in a letter outlining sentencing recommendations for 16 activists recently convicted for non-violent civil disobedience. The activists are to be sentenced on Monday. 

UN meeting criticizes impact of Israel's construction of wall in the West Bank

United Nations News Service 16 April 2004


The United Nations International Meeting on the Impact of the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including In and Around East Jerusalem, concluded its two-day session this afternoon with participants expressing deep concern about the dangerous current and potential humanitarian consequences of the construction of the wall and urging active involvement of the international community to resolve this crisis. A final document said participants expressed deep concern over the dangerous current and potential humanitarian consequences of the construction of the wall. 

Israel assassinates Dr. Abdul 'Aziz al-Rantissi, leader of Hamas

18 April 2004


On Saturday evening, 17 April 2004, Israeli occupying forces assassinated Dr. ‘Abdul ‘Aziz al-Rantissi, 57, leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip. The attack also killed two of Dr. al-Rantissi’s bodyguards, and wounded four civilian bystanders. This illegal and belligerent act is implemented within the context of Israeli authorities’ threats to assassinate Hamas leaders, which have been articulated by Israeli political and military officials for the past two years. 

Arabs, Muslims are not behind European anti-Semitism

Ali Abunimah 16 April 2004


Pro-Israel groups in the US and Europe have campaigned to suggest the European Union is aflame with a “new anti-Semitism,” and to thereby stifle criticism of Israel. But recently they’ve suffered several setbacks. Contrary to the findings in a EUMC report produced in late 2003, the new EUMC report concluded there was no evidence that the increase could be attributed mainly to Muslims and pro-Palestinian groups. Ei’s Ali Abunimah investigates new and disturbing trends in Israeli lobbyists’ efforts to silence criticism of Israel. 

Why all the fuss about the Bush-Sharon meeting?

Ali Abunimah 14 April 2004


The 14 April meeting between President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Washington sent Palestinian leaders into a flying panic. But their response reeks of desperation and self-interest rather than any real concern for the fate of the Palestinian people and their land or because the results of the meeting represented any new setback for Palestinian rights. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah examines the results of the meeting and the Palestinian Authority response, and makes sense of it all. 

Bush Should Press Sharon on Rights Violations

Human Rights Watch 13 April 2004


U.S. President George W. Bush should raise Israeli human rights violations in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip when he hosts Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the White House on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said today. “President Bush has said that respect for human rights is central to his administration’s policy in the Middle East,” said Joe Stork, acting Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “But that policy won’t have any credibility unless he presses Sharon to address Israel’s routine violations of basic Palestinian rights.” 

Catch 22: The end of the two-state solution

Arjan El Fassed 21 June 2004


A majority of Israeli Jews - 63.7 percent - believes the Israeli government should encourage Palestinians to leave the country. These are the results of a poll recently released by the Haifa University. The poll comes at a time when Ariel Sharon, Israel’s Prime Minister is working on his unilateral “disengagement plan” and while various governments are trying to influence the process. However, the longer it takes them to realize the facts on the ground and the sense of urgency, the more Palestinians will lose their faith in a two-state solution. The longer it takes to Israel to discover the mess it has worked itself in, the sooner the day on which a Palestinian majority will start calling for “one-man-one-vote”. 

In Memoriam: Deir Yassin

Arjan El Fassed Utrecht, the Netherlands 9 April 2004


Fifty-six years ago, 11-year old Fahimi Zeidan lived with her family in the Palestinian village Deir Yasin. The village, which was home to more than 700 residents, was a prosperous, expanding village at relative peace with its Jewish neighbours with whom much business was done. However, on April 9, 1948, Zionist forces entered the home of Fahimi Zeidan, ordered her family to line up against the wall and started shooting. Fahimi, two sisters and brother were saved because they could hide behind their parents. But all the others against the wall were killed: her father, mother, grandfather and grandmother, uncles and aunts and some of their children. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 8 April 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 8 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children. One of the victims died from an injury sustained in a previous extrajudicial execution. In Rafah, Israeli forces destroyed 38 Palestinian homes. Israeli forces invaded a number areas in the occupied Palestinian territories, raided homes and arbitrarily detained dozens of Palestinians. Israeli forces continue to shell residential areas, injuring a number of Palestinians. Israel continues the construction of the Separation Wall for which more land is confiscated. Israeli settlers continue attacks on Palestinian civilians and properties. 

Palestinian Chargé d'affaires address situation in Palestine to UN bodies

United Nations News Service 7 April 2004


Somaia Barghouti, the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations sent identical letters to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council describing the situation on the ground in the occupied Palestinian territories. She wrote that the situation “continues to deteriorate”. This letter is one of 186 letters sent to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, since 28 September 2000. These letters constitute a basic record of human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law since September 2000. 

Identity Crisis: Israel and Its Arab Citizens

International Crisis Group 4 March 2004


Prospects for Israel’s long-term stability will remain uncertain unless the systemic inequities facing the country’s Arab citizens are addressed. “Identity Crisis: Israel and Its Arab Citizens,” the latest report from the International Crisis Group, analyses relations between Israel’s Jewish majority and its Palestinian minority, who make up roughly 20 per cent of the population. The report argues for immediate steps to redress discriminatory practices and lessen inter-communal tensions. 

Israelis and Palestinians visit destroyed villages, discuss rights of refugees

Badil 30 March 2004


“We saw what could not be seen in other visits to the Galilee,” said a Jewish Israeli after visiting six destroyed Palestinians villages in the Galilee area of Israel as part of an Israeli-Palestinian conference, March 26-28 in Haifa, which brought together 300 Israeli Jews, Palestinians, internally displaced Palestinians in Israel,  Palestinian and Israeli academics, and supporters of human and civil rights groups in Israel, Palestine and abroad to coordinate their efforts in advancing the rights of Palestinian refugees in general and those inside Israel in particular.  A number of invited guests were denied entry to Israel. 

Plans set for UN meeting on Israel's Separation Barrier

United Nations News Service 6 April 2004


A United Nations committee in New York today approved preliminary arrangements for a UN-backed meeting on the consequences of Israel’s construction of a barrier in and around the West Bank, set to open next week in Geneva. The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People adopted a provisional programme and accredited twelve NGO’s to participate in the two-day forum, which is scheduled to run from 15 to 16 April. According to the current plan, a representative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to be among those speaking at the opening meeting. 

Kerry Indicates He Would Continue Bush's Pro-Sharon Policy

Ira Glunts 6 April 2004


Lately, Senator John Kerry has been reassuring voters that he will be as pro-Israel as President Bush. He has expressed his support for Sharon’s policy of unilateral disengagement, building of the so-called security barrier and the political isolation of Yasser Arafat. The candidate’s present position toward Middle East peace contradicts his past support of the Oslo peace process and provides a surprising contrast to his views when he was a young anti-war leader in the early ’70s. Ira Glunts looks at the record of Kerry’s position. 

Be careful what you say on campus

Beshara Doumani 5 April 2004


House Resolution 3077 passed last fall. It included a provision to establish an advisory board to monitor campus international studies centers in order to ensure that they advance the national interest. While the law would apply to all federally funded institutes with an international focus, the target is clearly the nation’s 17 centers for Middle East studies. The driving force behind this provision is the same group of conservative ideologues who have long promoted the war on Iraq and who support the extreme right-wing politics of the Sharon government in Israel. Their aim is to defend the foreign policy of this administration by stifling critical and informed discussion on U.S. campuses. Professor Beshara Doumani reports. 

Palestinian Children's Day 2004

5 April 2004


Fourteen years have passed since the international community embraced the Convention on the Rights of the Child, providing the world with an unequivocal obligation on all State Parties to recognise, protect and promote the fundamental rights to which all children are entitled. But for Palestinians, these worthy sentiments are empty words in the face of sustained Israeli occupation. Today, the 5th of April - Palestinian Child Day - DCI/PS would like to draw your attention to the plight of Palestinian children who continue to suffer from the systematic and institutionalised violation of their rights. 

Child rights groups appeal against biased reporting on Palestinian children

Defence for Children International-Palestine Section and National Plan of Action for Palestinian Children 25 March 2004


The apprehension twice in 10 days of two Palestinian children allegedly carrying explosives at Hawara checkpoint near Nablus has sparked a media frenzy. However, the multitude of violations to Palestinian children�s rights that occur daily at the hands of Israeli forces in the illegally-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip are almost entirely ignored by journalists and the media. DCI/PS and NPA-Pal urge journalists and editors to adopt an impartial approach in informing the public of the truth. 

Court pressure halts construction of separation barrier

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel 17 March 2004


While deliberating on the petition’s submitted by ACRI today, the court ordered the temporary halt of construction work on the separation barrier on land belonging to the villages of Deir Qaddis, Ni’lin, both in the area of Modi’in. The state announced that the residents of the village of Deir Qaddis will be given the opportunity to present their objections to the land expropriation by next Sunday, and that work will be halted anyway until the petition’s second hearing in a week’s time. 

Coping with Conflict

Hler Gudjonsonn Tubas 2 April 2004


�I once saw a man killed at a roadblock, and I felt very bad afterwards,� 10-year-old Majdi says. �We all saw it from the windows of the bus, and everybody was very upset.� Majdi is one of 640 Palestinian schoolchildren in the West-Bank town of Tubas who are taking part in a CABAC (Children Affected By Armed Conflict) programme, implemented by the Palestinian Red Crescent with funding from the European Union�s humanitarian agency, and the Danish and Icelandic Red Cross Societies. 

Speakers urges binational peace

Arna Wilkinson 1 April 2004


Ali Abunimah, a commentator on Arab-American and Middle Eastern affairs, addressed the options of peace in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict before a receptive crowd of UI students and community members on Wednesday night. The mood was somber as the social-policy researcher dedicated his speech about the merits of a binational state to those who have died in skirmishes between the two groups, including several Iowans. “I feel a great sense of responsibility that what we say here tonight - everything we say is in seriousness - so much is at stake,” he said. 

As in Tiennamen Square

Tanya Reinhart 1 April 2004


An extensive discussion has already taken place in Israel regarding the cost-benefit ratio of Yassin’s assassination. But the question of justice has hardly been raised. International conventions are one of the means people have developed for self-preservation. Without them, there is a danger that the human race would annihilate itself - first the strong would wipe out the weak, and then each other. Palestinian farmers whose land is being robbed sit on the ground in front of the bulldozers, accompanied by the Israeli opponents of the wall - the veterans of the Mas’ha camp. What could be more nonviolent than this? But the Israeli army shoots at sitting demonstrators, like in Tiennamen Square. Israeli academic Tanya Reinhart comments. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 31 March 2004


This week Israeli forces killed three Palestinian civilians, including a 7-year-old child. One of the victims was killed in an extra-judicial assassination by Israeli forces. Israeli forces invaded a number of Palestinian areas and demolished 14 homes in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces raided Palestinian homes and arbitrarily detained Palestinians. Israel continued the construction of the Apartheid Wall and confiscated more Palestinian land. Israeli settlers continued their attacks on Palestinian civilians. Israeli forces continue to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. 

Media watchdog calls for investigation into killing of journalism student

Reporters Without Borders 1 April 2004


Reporters Without Borders has called on Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz to open an investigation into the death of journalism student Mohammad Abu Halimeh, who was killed on 22 March 2004 while covering clashes at the Balata refugee camp in Nablus. Palestinian hospital and security sources said a bullet had apparently fatally wounded Halimeh in the stomach. Eyewitnesses told RSF that the journalism student was standing about 50 metres from the soldier who opened fire on him. He was reportedly standing in front of one of the Balata camp’s main entrances and had a camera around his neck. 

UNRWA suspends emergency food aid in Gaza

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East 1 April 2004


The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees today stopped distributing emergency food aid to some 600,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip, or approximately half of the refugees receiving UNRWA food aid in the occupied Palestinian territory, following restrictions introduced by Israeli authorities at the sole commercial crossing through which UNRWA is able to bring in humanitarian assistance. Stocks of rice, flour, cooking oil and other essential foodstuffs that UNRWA provides to refugees reduced to poverty, or otherwise affected by a humanitarian crisis, have been fully depleted. 

Philips electronics corporation trading in violation of Dutch arms policy

Campaign Against Arms Trade 1 April 2004


Electronics multinational Philips likes to be known for its ethical and sustainable business behaviour. Research by the Campagne tegen Wapenhandel reveals though that Philips does not care about arms trade to Israel. At its website the company says that it sells parts of the F-16 fighter aircraft and Apache attack helicopter to NATO countries and Israel. The deliveries stem from Philips involvement in so-called offset agreements. Especially Apaches are frequently used by Israeli forces to commit extrajudicial executions of Palestinians. With its export policy the Netherlands severely violates European and Dutch guidelines for arms transfers.