June 2004

Embarrassing America

Hasan Abu Nimah and Ali Abunimah 30 June 2004


This week, Senator Kerry sent Florida Congressman Robert Wexler to Israel on his behalf. Wexler, a member of the House International Relations Committee and a close ally of the pro-Israel lobby, has been asked by Kerry to formulate the Middle East policy for the Democratic Party platform. During his visit, Wexler is due to meet with Israeli officials, including prime minister Sharon, Benjamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres, and, bizarrely, the Turkish Ambassador to Israel, but with not a single Palestinian. A June 25 press release from Kerry’s envoy expresses “unequivocal support” for Sharon’s policies. 

World Bank paper urges major easing of Israeli closure measures and stepped-up Palestinian reform efforts

World Bank 24 June 2004


At the request of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the Government of Israel (GOI) and the international community, the World Bank has released a paper - Disengagement, the Palestinian Economy and the Settlements - which looks at the potential impact of Israel’s Disengagement Plan on the Palestinian economy. Of itself, Israel’s Disengagement Plan of June 6 will have very little impact on the Palestinian economy, since it proposes only a limited easing of closure. “Disengagement alone,” says James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, “will not alter this dangerous, unsustainable situation. If disengagement is implemented with wisdom and foresight, however, it could make a real difference.” 

The Spiderman-Palestine Connection!

Maureen Clare Murphy 7 July 2004


As soon as he’s done saving New York, perhaps Spiderman can take his act to Palestine, where his uncanny ability to scale high walls will be welcomed by those imprisoned by the concrete barrier walls that enclose Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. After all, Spiderman’s connection to the Middle East is pretty close, considering that Palestinian-born cult-animator Ralph Bakshi, was executive producer of the animated Spiderman series in the late ’60s. Bakshi’s other claims to fame include animating America’s first X-rated animated film Fritz the Cat, directing The Rolling Stone’s video “The Harlem Shuffle,” and inspiring the Comic Book Guy character on the Simpsons. 

UN launches major immunization campaign

28 June 2004


Ramallah/Gaza City, 28 June 2004 - UNICEF launched a major measles immunization campaign in the West Bank and Gaza Strip today, aimed at providing more than 540,000 children aged 9-59 months with a safe injection of measles vaccine and a doses of Vitamin A. The three-week long campaign is led by the Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Palestinian Authority, UNICEF and UNRWA - with financial support from the Japanese Government, USAID and a contribution from the Micronutrient Initiative. 

PCHR gets Temporary Injunction Stopping Seizure of Land in al-Qarara

29 June 2004


On Monday evening, 28 June 2004, the Israeli High Court issued a temporary injunction stopping seizure of large areas of Palestinian land near a settler road in al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis, leading to Kissufim crossing on the eastern border of the Gaza Strip. According to preliminary PCHR’s investigations, on 16 and 17 June 2004, a number of Palestinians living on the northern and southern sides of the aforementioned road received notices that their lands would be seized for military purposes according to a military order issued by the Israeli military commander in the Gaza Strip. These notices gave these Palestinians 7 days to appeal against the order. 

PCHR Condemns Israeli Aerial Attack on a Press Office in Gaza

29 June 2004


PCHR strongly condemns an Israeli aerial attack on a press office in the center of Gaza City on Tuesday morning. This latest attack comes in the context of a series of systematic attacks launched by Israeli occupying forces against journalists and media institutions in an attempt to silence the press and prevent it from reporting on violations of human rights perpetrated by these forces against Palestinian civilians and their properties in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) 

Report of the June 26 Al-Ram demo against the Wall

Adam Keller 27 June 2004


It had been planned meticulously. The initiative came from the Al-Ram municipality — a huge demonstration including as many Israelis as could be convinced to come on the weekend before the Supreme Court’s decision over the fate of Al-Ram. But, from how it went it seems that somebody up there decided that it was not in their interest to have today an orderly demonstration of Palestinians together with Israelis. That, so short before the Supreme Court was to give its decision, it was much better to transform it into something in which “anything could happen.” 

Weekly report on human rights violations

24 June 2004


17-23 June 2004. This week 4 Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli troops, one of the victims was killed in an extra-judicial assassination. Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. At least 400 donums[1] of agricultural land were razed and 3 houses were destroyed in the Gaza Strip. Two houses were destroyed in Khan Yunis by Israeli troops in the context of retaliatory measures against families of Palestinian activists. Israeli troops used a child as a human shield during a military operation in the OPTs. Israeli forces continued to shell Palestinian residential areas injuring a number of Palestinian civilians. Construction of the “Annexation wall” in the West Bank has continued and more areas of Palestinian land were seized. Israeli occupying forces have continued to impose a total siege on the OPTs. 

PCHR Calls Upon International Governments and Organizations to Provide Aid for Homeless Civilians in Rafah

21 June 2004


PCHR remains gravely concerned about the living conditions of Palestinian civilians, who have been made homeless, following the destruction of their homes by Israeli occupying forces.  These civilians have resorted to temporary refugee centers, living under extremely difficult conditions.  Rafah is suffering from a humanitarian crisis following the destruction of hundreds of houses and the civilian infrastructure of the town by Israeli occupying forces.  PCHR calls upon the international community to provide immediate assistance to ensure that homeless civilians find shelter and live in stability and security.  

PCHR Receives UN Special Rapporteur for the OPTs

22 June 2004


On Monday, 22 June 2004, PCHR received Professor John Dugard, UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). In his visit to PCHR, Mr. Dugard was accompanied by his aide Ms Darka Tubali, and Dr. Othman Hassan, Director of the Office of the UN Commissioner for Human Rights to the Palestinain Authority. Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR, and other members of the Board of Administration met with the visitors. This visit comes in the context of a mission by Mr. Dugard to investigate Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPTs, especially following the latest Israeli offensive on Rafah. 

PCHR calls for Amendments to the Electoral Law of Local Councils

26 June 2004


PCHR has submitted a letter to the Speaker and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), calling for amendments to the Electoral Law of Local Councils (5) of 1996.  In this letter, PCHR expressed its appreciation for the efforts made by the PLC in the past years to promote local government, including the approval of the Electoral Law of Local Councils (5) of 1996 and the Law of Local Councils (1) of 1996, and the efforts made to hold local elections.  However, PCHR pointed out that these efforts have not been completed, as councils appointed by the executive have continued to manage local councils in the Palestinian communities since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority 10 years ago.  

6 Palestinians Extrajudicially Executed in Nablus

27 June 2004


PCHR is gravely concerned at the deaths of a number of Palestinians in Nablus. According to preliminary investigations carried out by PCHR an IOF incursion began on Thursday the 24th of June. A military siege was imposed on the city. All access to the old city was cut off through the use of temporary roadblocks built with sand, concrete rubble and barbed wire. Israeli troops threw handheld explosive devices in the direction of a small room inside a house. The explosion killed six people who were in a tunnel under the room. They six were identified as being members of the Fatah movement, Islamic Jihad and Hamas. 

3 Palestinians Killed and a Number of Houses and Civilian Facilities Destroyed

28 June 2004


Israeli occupying forces escalated attacks on the Gaza Strip in the last 12 hours., This follows from an attack carried out by Palestinian militants on an Israeli military post north of Khan Yunis.  IOF killed 3 Palestinians, including an 11-year-old child, and wounded 7 others, including another child, in Khan Yunis.  Israeli helicopter gunships also attacked and destroyed 2 civilian facilities in Gaza City.  In the meantime, Israeli troops are destroying houses and razing areas of agricultural land near the Israeli military post that had been attacked.  PCHR is deeply concerned at this continued policy of collective punishment by Israeli troops against Palestinian civilians and their properties. 

Why Israel is still afraid of Mordechai Vanunu

Jonathan Cook 28 June 2004


He was the last breakfast companion I was expecting. Separated from me by a rack of toast and a handful of marmalade sachets was Mordechai Vanunu, the man who 18 years ago revealed that Israel had amassed a secret stockpile of nuclear weapons. Breakfast at the St George’s pilgrim guest house in East Jerusalem is usually a sedate affair, but on this occasion both he and I were skating unintentionally but dangerously close to arrest by Israel’s security services. Occasional EI contributor Jonathan Cook explains why Israel — and the US and UK — remains afraid of Vanunu. 

Deep-rooted corruption in Palestine

Hasan Abu Nimah and Ali Abunimah 23 June 2004


In February, press reports that cement imported from Egypt through Palestinian companies and ready-made concrete manufactured in the Palestinian village of Abu Dis were being used to build Israeli settlements and the apartheid wall provoked outrage among Palestinians. A commission of inquiry has now reported finding “compelling evidence and documents adequate for indicting those involved.” But Hasan Abu Nimah and Ali Abunimah say that corruption within the Palestinian Authority has deep roots. 

New Book: Bad News from Israel

22 June 2004


The study suggests that television news on the Israel/Palestinian conflict confuses viewers and substantially features Israeli government views. Israelis are quoted and speak in interviews over twice as much as Palestinians and there are major differences in the language used to describe the two sides. This operates in favours of the Israelis and influences how viewers understand the conflict. The study focused on BBC One and ITV News from the start of the current Palestinian intifada, the Glasgow researchers examined around 200 news programmes and interviewed and questioned over 800 people. The study is unique in that for the first time it brought senior broadcasters together with ordinary viewers to work in research groups, analysing how the news informs people and how it could be improved. 

RSF condemns violent attacks on Palestinian journalists

21 June 2004


In a 21 June 2004 letter to Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz, RSF protested a string of violent attacks by the Israeli Army against Palestinian journalists in the Nablus region of the West Bank between 10 and 15 June. “The methods the Israeli Army uses to hamper the international media from covering its clashes with Palestinians over the construction of its security fence are unacceptable. It is evident that during its operations, the Israeli Army systematically obstructs the work of Palestinian journalists”, RSF said. 

View on the Sea

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 21 June 2004


Mary is called by a student from Gaza who since three years is unable to complete his final year at Bethlehem University due to the impossibility to travel out of Gaza. Her heart beat leaps after hearing the familiar voice of the student she knew so well. He tells her: “But we are better off than you, at least we have the sea here!” In Bethlehem the American actor Richard Gere watches some performances from Suzy’s students who had made some good drama plays based on their recently published Intifada diaries. Gere also visits a group of young children making drawings of the sea. The teacher tells Gere that the sand and the shells stuck on the drawings are really from the sea at Tel Aviv, a sea which the children cannot visit. 

Review: "Death in Gaza"

Victor Kattan 1 July 2004


The 77-minute HBO/Channel 4 production Death in Gaza is a story about the last moments of the life of award-winning British cameraman James Miller, 1968-2003. Miller travelled to the occupied Palestinian territories to make a film on children and was fatally shot by an Israeli soldier when filming in Rafah. The film’s commentator, Saira Shah, is an award-winning journalist of Afghan-Scottish decent. Miller and Shah had collaborated on other award-winning documentaries such as Beneath the Veil and Unholy War (Channel 4 / CNN), both filmed in Afghanistan. 

Palestinian-American stand-up comedians Maysoon Zayid and Dean Obeidallah to perform at refugee benefit in Beirut

23 June 2004


Lebanese Families in Solidarity with Palestinian Families with the cooperation of the Palestinian Cultural Club at AUB invites you to a night of stand up comedy featuring Maysoon Zayid and Dean Obeidallah. The two Arab-American stand up comedians will be performing for the first time in Beirut in support of the “family to family program” which supports 130 Palestinian families under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza. Proceeds from this event will go to benefit the displaced families in Rafah, whose homes have been destroyed. 

Palestinian refugees in Iraq still waiting to be moved

21 June 2004


They may be the world’s longest-suffering refugees, but the Palestinian families sitting in the sweltering heat of the dusty football field at Haifa Sports Club in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday had no idea that it was World Refugee Day. “I hope this occasion of World Refugee Day can serve as a bridge for us to help us go home,” Huda Naif Sahaa, 43, told IRIN. “I’ve never heard of this World Refugee Day, but I want to know more about it if it helps us.” Some 35 families are still living in tents at the sports club. Already, 140 families have been relocated, according to the office of UNHCR. The refugee agency is assisting 450 Palestinian families in Baghdad by subsidising rents, providing medical care and other relief items. 

The story TV news won't tell

Tim Llewellyn 20 June 2004


Since the Palestinians began their armed uprising against Israel’s military occupation three years and eight months ago, British television and radio’s reporting of it has been, in the main, dishonest - in concept, approach and execution. In my judgment as a journalist and Middle East specialist, the broadcasters’ language favours the occupying soldiers over the occupied Arabs, depicting the latter, essentially, as alien tribes threatening the survival of Israel, rather than vice versa. The struggle between Israel and the Palestinians is shown, most especially on mainstream bulletins, as a battle between two ‘forces’, possessed equally of right and wrong and responsibility. It is the tyranny of spurious equivalence. That 37 years of military occupation, the violation of the Palestinians’ human, political and civil rights and the continuing theft of their land might have triggered this crisis is a concept either lost or underplayed. 

Interview: "Writers on the Borders" director Samir Abdallah

Maureen Clare Murphy 21 June 2004


“People who have been [to the West Bank and Gaza Strip] always say it’s very difficult … to speak about it” to others who haven’t been there, says French director Samir Abdallah, creator of the film Writers on the Borders: A Journey to Palestine(s). Abdallah adds that his film “brings some proposal to this question of how to speak about it and show what’s happening in Palestine and … [informs how to] not only be a storyteller but an actor, in an active position” in striving for justice for the Palestinians. EI’s Maureen Clare Murphy caught up with Abdallah who was in Chicago for the North American premier of Writers on the Borders. 

Sharon shows no respect for democratic principles

Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker 21 June 2004


Israeli public pressure on Sharon’s militarised regime to withdraw from Gaza and the occupied territories is growing. This comes not only from civilians and organisations active in the peace movement, but — to the great alarm of an Israeli government with deep military links — also from the country’s military and security forces. Reservists and soldiers are not prepared to die for the settlers in Gaza. Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker say Sharon would be foolish not to heed the similar experiences of other leaders who faced growing resentment from their army and police commanders as their militarised policies failed. 

"Concrete Action" urged at International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East

17 June 2004


Concrete action on the situation in the Middle East was urged here today by participants at the two-day International Media Seminar on peace in the region, organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) — the twelfth of its kind since 1991, in response to General Assembly resolution 58/57. While everything was said to be “on the table” — Security Council resolutions, the Road Map, the Geneva Initiative — what was said by many speakers to be needed now was “action on the ground”. “Let’s do it in the Middle East; let’s do it, and let’s do it now”, became the theme during a wide-ranging debate on the conflict. 

British lawmaker alleges Israeli soldiers fired at group during visit to Gaza

20 June 2004


A member of Britain’s House of Lords said Saturday that Israeli soldiers shot at her and two other lawmakers during a fact-finding visit to Gaza the day before. Baroness Northover, the Liberal Democrat party’s spokeswoman on international development issues, said the group was traveling under U.N. supervision near the Rafah refugee camp Friday when soldiers in an Israeli observation post fired machine guns over their heads. A large number of children were nearby, she said. The group then moved closer to marked U.N. vehicles and another shot hit a building next to them, chipping off pieces of masonry near Northover, she said in a statement. 

Jerusalem, Al Quds, Yerushalaym

Bisan Abou Gharbiyeh Heerlen 18 June 2004


After years of observing the media, one might conclude that the West Bank and Gaza Strip are Palestinian areas and the rest, including Jerusalem, is Israeli. For the untrained eye there seems to be nothing wrong with such image constructions. It is no wonder that viewers internationally do not know any better. However a more in-depth look tells us otherwise. Bisan Abou Gharbiyeh explains that a virtual reality is being created which is completely contradictory to the actual reality on the ground, in particular when it comes to Jerusalem and the status of its inhabitants. 

Review: Elias Chacour: Prophet in His Own Country

Maureen Clare Murphy 19 June 2004


Rolling hills unmarred by the hands of man, the water of the Jordan river trickling along its way, olive trees rustling in the breeze — this is the land of the Galilee that Melkite priest Elias Chacour so loves, and this is the imagery he says Jesus enjoyed when he was living in what is now referred to as the Holy Land. To understand Chacour’s background is to understand his connection, and his family’s ties, to the land of the Galilee, and so it is appropriate that filmmaker Claude Roshem-Smith opens with beautiful scenes of Galilean pastoral greenery in his biographical film Elias Chacour: Prophet in His Own Country. 

Palestine: Perception and Reality

Nigel Parry 18 June 2004


“We have to make the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a mainstream concern and the only way we can do that is by effectively communicating the realities at ground zero for Joe and Jane Palestinian to the American public. Nobody would sign off on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if they knew what happened at ground zero, nobody. Only the most ardent and entrenched supporters of Israel.” This article is an edited version of a speech EI’s Nigel Parry gave at the “Palestine: Perception and Reality” panel at the 21st National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington DC, on Sunday 13 June 2004. 

New York Arab-American Comedy Festival seeking submissions

27 June 2004


The New York Arab-American Comedy Festival is seeking submissions from Arab-American artists for its 2nd annual Festival, which will take place in New York City from October 10 -13, 2004. The Festival will be divided into three parts: comedic theater, stand up comedy and comedic films. Last year was an overwhelming success, with the entire Festival playing to standing room only crowds. The Festival showcased a diverse group of Arab-American comedic plays, stand up comics and short comedic films, with the participation of over 40 Arab-American artists. 

Documentary film review: "Keys"

Maureen Clare Murphy 17 June 2004


“Mafateeh,” or “keys,” is a word that holds symbolic meaning for Palestinians, and refugees in Rafah, Amman, and Jenin alike can show you the keys to their houses that they temporarily fled or were expelled from during the time leading up to and during the 1948 war. And like Ali Nimer Harami does in the film Keys, these refugees can show you well-preserved pieces of paper that prove their legal claim over land that is currently inhabited by Jewish Israelis in what is now Israel. Maureen Clare Murphy reviews the beautifully shot film for EI. 

Video: Suheir Hammad reading 'Beyond Words' at ADC 2004

12 June 2004


At the 21st National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Washington DC, from June 10th-13th, EI’s Nigel Parry shot video footage of Palestinian-American poet and political activist Suheir Hammad reading her poem Beyond Words. Recipient of the Audre Lourde Writing Award from Hunter College, the Morris Center for Healing Poetry Award, and a New York Mills Artist Residency in Minnesota, Suheir has recently been touring with the Tony Award-winning Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam. Video in MPEG-4 format. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

17 June 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 8 Palestinians, including a child. Four Palestinians were killed in two extra-judicial assassinations. Israeli forces invaded Palestinian areas, razed agricultural lands and demolished twelve homes in the Gaza Strip. In Bethlehem Israeli forces demolished two homes. Israeli forces continue to shell Palestinian residential areas. This week a number of Palestinians were injured in such shelling. Israel continues to construct its Apartheid Wall on occupied Palestinian territory and continues to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. 

B'Tselem: "Permit System to Cross Separation Barrier is Racist"

16 June 2004


Since October 2003, Israel has implemented a new permit system in the enclaves it created between the separation barrier and the Green Line. As a result, Palestinians without a permit are denied the right to work their lands to the west of the barrier. A new report published by B’Tselem reveals that only Palestinians require permits. According to Civil Administration directives, Jews can freely enter the Seam Area, even if they are not residents of Israel. Palestinians wanting to obtain a permit face a bureaucratic nightmare. 

Video: Palestinian comedians Maysoon Zayid and Dean Obeidallah at ADC 2004

11 June 2004


At the 21st National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Washington DC, from June 10th-13th, EI’s Nigel Parry shot video footage of two performances by Palestinian comedians — Maysoon Zayid and Dean Obeidallah, who are definitely rising stars in the American comedy circuit and host their own New York-based FM radio show, Fen Majnoon (“Crazy Art”) with Dean and Maysoon. Video is available in MPEG-4 format, which can be viewed using QuickTime. 

Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in another extrajudicial execution

15 June 2004


Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in yet another extra-judicial execution, when an Israeli helicopter launched a misile on a taxi near Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus. Mohammed Zuhdi ‘Araishi was traveling back to the camp in a taxi driven by ‘Awad Hassan Ahmed Abu Zaid from Askar refugee camp. When they arrived at the northern entrance to the camp, an Israeli helicopter gunship launched a missile at the vehicle. The passenger and the driver were instantly killed. Two bystanders, Bahaa’ Rebhi Mustafa Mawqedi and Mohammed Safwat al-‘Aassi were injured. 

Review: "A Stone's Throw Away" and "The Children of Ibda'a"

Maureen Clare Murphy 15 June 2004


Both of the films A Stone’s Throw Away and The Children of Ibdaa investigate the thoughts and lives of a handful of children from the Deheisheh refugee camp, an impoverished refugee town on the outskirts of Bethlehem. Together, they illustrate that what drives Palestinians to commit violence, and how children need something to make their lives meaningful given the humiliation and lack of opportunity that come with living under Israeli military occupation. 

P10K Founder on Hunger Strike in Israeli Jail for attempting to enter Gaza

15 June 2004


Irish American political activist Ken O’Keefe is on hunger strike in an Israeli jail whilst fighting deportation after being arrested for attempting to enter Gaza on Thursday. Last year, the former US Marine and Gulf War veteran returned to Iraq with more than 500 Human Shields. After entering Gaza via a settlement, he was detained by 10 Israeli soldiers whilst walking along the beach into the Palestinian area. O’Keefe wished to strengthen his contact with Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas, and personally discuss with leaders in Gaza his P10K plan to bring 10,000 western citizens to act as international observers in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. 

Scottish parliament asked to support global Concert for Palestine

15 June 2004


A motion now before the Scottish parliament calls on the chamber to support a recently launched appeal for a global concert in defence of Palestinian human rights. Presented by Labour Party parliamentarian Pauline McNeill, the motion states that “a large international music concert would help bring the humanitarian crisis to the attention of young people throughout the world, building on the successes of the Concert for Bangladesh in 1972, Live Aid in 1985, Mandela Freedom Concert in 1988 and the Freedom for Tibet Concert in 1997.” 

Review: "Route 181: Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel"

Maureen Clare Murphy 13 June 2004


Capturing the fragments of a land shattered by politics, history, and colonialism, Route 181: Fragments of a Journey in Israel-Palestine, clocks in at about four and a half hours. The film’s length is epic-worthy, but it allows the filmmakers to present oral history from a wide variety of people who live along the 1947 partition line, while at the same time allow for minutes-long footage of the monotonous grey concrete wall that quietly runs along one of the region’s main roads. By portraying both the divide of the physical landscape and that of the humans that inhabit it, viewers receive a fuller understanding of this conflicted part of the world. 

Israel does not comply with demands of UN Security Council, writes Palestine's observer to the UN

10 June 2004


“It has been more than three weeks since the Security Council adopted resolution 1544 (2004), in which the Council, inter alia, called on Israel to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law, and insisted, in particular, on its obligation not to undertake demolition of homes contrary to that law. Yet Israel has not complied with the resolution, responding instead with blatant contempt and disregard for the international community and for the rule of international law”, writes Nasser al-Kidwa, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations in identical letters addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council. 

Special Rapporteur on violence against women to visit Palestine

12 June 2004


Yakin Ertürk, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, its causes and consequences, will visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories from 13 to 18 June 2004. Mrs. Ertürk aims to gather first-hand information on the question of violence against women during times of conflict. The Special Rapporteur is scheduled to visit Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza strip. During the visit she will meet with representatives of the Israeli Government, the Palestinian Authority, non-governmental organizations, women’s organizations and individuals engaged in human rights work, as well as with United Nations officials. 

Cement and Corruption

Arjan El Fassed 10 June 2004


Seven years ago, a Palestinian parliamentary panel conducted an investigation of the PA corruption. The panel exposed many official misgivings and abuses. It recommended that Civil Affairs Minister Jamil al-Tarifi, Planning and International Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath and Transport Minister Ali Kawasmeh be brought to trial. They were never dismissed. Shaath and Tarifi are still cabinet members. Now, Tarifi is once more subject to parliamentary investigation for corruption. PA Minister of Economy Maher Masri was accused of negligence and fraude. Tarifi is accused of selling Egyptian cement, meant for rebuilding Palestinian homes, to Israeli companies. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

10 June 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 4 Palestinians, including two handicapped civilians and one child. Israeli forces wounded at least 20 Palestinians, including women and children. Israeli forces invaded a number of areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces demolished two Palestinian homes and razed 10 donums of agricultural land in Gaza. Israeli forces continue to shell Palestinian residential areas and injured a number of Palestinian civilians. Israel continues the construction of the Separation Barrier on confiscated Palestinian land. Israeli forces have continued to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. 

UN to co-host media seminar on peace in the Middle East

9 June 2004


The role of civil society in promoting a just and lasting peace in the Middle East will be the subject of an international media seminar organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information, in cooperation with the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing, on 16 and 17 June. The two-day meeting will bring together present and former policy makers from Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, civil society representatives, senior United Nations officials, international experts and representatives of the media. This seminar, the twelfth in a series, will provide a forum for seminar participants to discuss ways and means of promoting a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. 

Situation on the ground "very bleak", Palestinian rights committee told

9 June 2004


The situation on the ground in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem was very bleak, and the overall political situation was very volatile, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People was told today, as it met to consider recent developments, including in the political arena. The Committee approved the provisional programme of the United Nations African Meeting in Support of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, to be held in Cape Town, South Africa on 29 and 30 June. 

Interview: Jihad! filmmakers Muhammed Rum and Nara Garber

Maureen Clare Murphy 10 June 2004


“It’s a personal jihad for me, to have made it, to have gone through the process of making it,” says Muhammed Rum of his directorial debut Jihad!, the name of which comes from the Islamic spiritual concept of struggle of the will — the film’s central theme. Cinematographer Nara Garber, who took on many of the production roles because of the film’s limited budget, also considers the film to have been a personal journey, because it helped her more fully realize the hurdles Arab-Americans and Palestinians face in their respective situations. 

The address for protest is Labor's headquarters

Tanya Reinhart 15 June 2004


How can we explain the conjurer’s trick by which Sharon has turned into the darling of the Israeli peace camp? In the last Israeli elections, many voters who were fed up with Sharon voted for Labor candidate Amram Mitznah. But now their elected representatives are keeping Sharon afloat. On Monday, June 7, there were two non-confidence votes in the Israeli Parliament, one submitted jointly by the Beilin’s Yahad party and the Arab parties. The Labor party abstained, thus giving Sharon the majority he needed to survive. Tanya Reinhart comments. 

Major shortage of funds for humanitarian assistance in occupied Palestine

8 June 2004


The number of Palestinians dependent on humanitarian assistance is growing. Almost 40% of the population - or about 1.4 million people - are facing particular hardship and are food insecure. They rely on assistance, mostly food, to supplement their incomes. Of these, around 600,000 people are depending almost entirely on outside aid. The delivery of assistance is currently being affected by funding shortages. The average level of funding requirements met is 26.4% for the 2004 CAP mid-year review. UNRWA, with 27.9% of funding requirements met, is particularly exposed to this under-funding situation, given the importance of its role and contribution to the delivery of humanitarian assistance in the occupied Palestinian territories. 

Interview with George Galloway, British Member of Parliament

Victor Kattan 9 June 2004


On June 8, Arab Media Watch correspondent Victor Kattan interviewed British Member of Parliament George Galloway, who is running for a seat in the European Parliamentary elections for Respect-The Unity Coalition on Thursday June 10. Galloway: “…contrary to all the assurances given to Parliament by Mr. Blair, and contrary to assurances given to him by Ariel Sharon, British weapons were being used in the occupied territories… The so-called ethical foreign policy of Mr. Blair doesn’t seem to draw any lines around General Sharon.” 

Delegation of prominent religious leaders deliver urgent appeal for peace to Powell

9 June 2004


On June 1, 2004, in Washington, D.C., a delegation of prominent national Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders, members of an unprecedented united, interreligious effort for peace between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab states, met with Secretary of State Powell to present an urgent appeal for immediate U.S. action to pursue the Road Map to Peace. Recalling President Bush’s recent declaration that, “the United States remains committed to the two state solution for peace in the Middle East … and to the Road Map as the best path to realize this vision,” the religious leaders express their urgent concern that “the Road Map has effectively been put on hold until after the elections.” 

UN and individual countries pledge to never abandon the Palestinian refugees

8 June 2004


The United Nations and the international community will not abandon the estimated four million Palestinian refugees scattered across the Middle East - that was the vow today from participants at the conclusion of a two-day conference in Geneva about tackling the Palestinians’ humanitarian needs. During the meeting of countries and international organizations, delegates pledged to donate $10.5 million to help the Palestinians, with several other countries or regional groups also promising to give financial aid in the future. They also agreed that special attention should be given to the needs and concerns of Palestinian children. 

P10K: 10,000 international observers needed in Palestine

8 June 2004


Ex-US Marine/Gulf War Veteran & Founder of the Human Shield Action to Iraq Ken O’Keefe announces P10K FORCE’ plan to Mobilize 10,000 International Observers from Western Nations to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) — Launching September 11, 2004. Press conference details — When: Wednesday June 9th, 1300 1300-1330, Questions 1330-End. Where: American Colony Hotel - East Jerusalem. Who: Ken O’Keefe, Ian Hodgson (P10K Coordinator), Rihab Aisawi (who has lost three loved ones to the occupation). 

UNICEF witnesses cumulative effects of the conflict on health of Palestinian children

6 June 2004


Today, UNICEF briefed donors on the deteriorating effects of the conflict on Palestinian children, in particular during and after the Rafah invasions. UNICEF witnessed the beginning of cumulative effects on health, nutrition and education. With about half of the population being food iinsecure, the nutrition patterns have been disrupted, with important effects on children’s well-being. During the Rafah invasion, more than 45 new babies were born in houses, far from minimal obstetric and newborn care facilities. 

Questions with no answers

Ali Abunimah 8 June 2004


Does UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan think that Palestinians have a right to defend themselves against the kinds of violent attacks and destruction Israel is carrying out in Rafah refugee camp? EI’s Ali Abunimah spoke to Annan’s representative, but found its not so easy to get a straighforward answer to a straightforward question. Abunimah says that Annan could use his position to have a profound effect on the Palestine-Israel conflict, but instead chooses to play word games, dressing the persistent failure of the US-led “Quartet” as a restless search for peace. 

Israeli Civil Rights Group Petitions to Cancel Restrictions on Vanunu

6 June 2004


Mordechai Vanunu has asked Israel’s top court to lift a ban on him leaving the country, saying he poses no security threat after serving an 18-year prison term for treason. The petition was filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel to demand the cancellation of the severe restrictions that were imposed on Vanunu after his release from jail. ACRI is also asking the court to issue a ruling that the 1945 Defense Regulations (State of Emergency), and the 1948 State of Emergency Regulations, which enable the state to prohibit civilians from leaving the country, be cancelled. 

Conference on humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees opens in Geneva

7 June 2004


A two-day conference hosted by the Swiss Government and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East opened this morning in Geneva to address the humanitarian needs of 4 million Palestinian refugees and to come up with the best practical solutions to attend to these needs. In his opening remarks, Peter Hansen, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said that the gathering was a testimony of the international community to the growing needs of the Palestinian refugees and was being held at an historic moment.  The conference was an opportunity for participants to work together on addressing key humanitarian aspects of the Palestinian refugees. 

New Order Forcing Israeli Citizens Visiting Gaza Strip to Remain There for Three Months

2 June 2004


Adalah and the Hamoked filed a petition to the Supreme Court on 31 May 2004, to cancel a new order which conditions the issuance and extension of entry permits to the Gaza Strip for citizens and residents of Israel upon their commitment to remain in the Gaza Strip for three consecutive months. The petition was filed on behalf of four families who have been affected by the new order, against IDF Major General, Southern Command. The new order was recently issued with the intent of limiting the use of the Erez checkpoint. 

UN Bodies Concerned about Safe Access for 60,000 Palestinian school students to Exam Sites

6 June 2004


Ten United Nations institutions call on the Israeli authorities to ease restrictions on movement in the occupied territory to enable 60,000 Palestinian students to sit for their Tawjihi matriculation final exams beginning today 7th of June. Almost 60,000 Palestinian children out of the 1.2 million children of school age will sit for Tawjihi high school matriculation exams starting today. In Rafah alone, more than 3,000 school children will take these important and future defining exams. 

Film review: "Planet of the Arabs" and "Arabs A Go-Go"

Maureen Clare Murphy 6 June 2004


Based off of Jack Shaheen’s excellent anthology Reel Bad Arabs, which categorically catalogues depictions of Arabs in American film, Planet of the Arabs, while not without humor, reminds us that racist depictions of Arabs in American entertainment is a huge problem. And Arabs A Go-Go is Jacqueline Salloum’s modest attempt to contradict the racist tripe that Hollywood presents as Arab culture. Maureen Clare Murphy reviews the two short films, featured in the Chicago Palestine Film Fest, for EI. 

Time to put the US media on trial for complicity in genocide?

Nigel Parry 4 June 2004


Following pressure from the Israeli public, international condemnations and a UN resolution, and a flurry of rare coverage of Rafah from American cable news networks, Israel’s “Operation Rainbow” was ‘concluded’ in Rafah on 24 May 2004. According to Israel at least. Since then, in a one week period in Rafah (27 May-2 June 2004), Israel destroyed another 39 Palestinian homes, leaving at least another 485 Palestinian civilians homeless, and razed another 24 dunums of Palestinian land. Google News continuously crawls more than 4,500 news sources from around the world, yet a search for the keyword “Rafah” shows that, beyond the Israeli press, supplementary news websites such as the Electronic Intifada, and a handful of US newspapers, coverage of the latest demolitions has been minimal, particularly in the United States. EI’s Nigel Parry comments. 

World Bank approves US$20 million grant as budget support to the Palestinian Authority

2 June 2004


The World Bank has approved an emergency structural adjustment grant of US$20 million to be used as part of the Bank’s response to the immediate needs of the Palestinian Authority for budgetary assistance. After more than three years of crisis, the PA is facing severe economic and fiscal challenges with a financing gap estimated at US$650 million for 2004. “The provision of budgetary support is widely regarded as vital in maintaining a functioning PA,” says Nigel Roberts. 

67 countries and 34 international organisations gather for largest ever conference on Palestine refugees

4 June 2004


A total of 67 countries and 34 international organisations will gather at the Geneva International Conference Centre on 7-8 June 2004 for the largest conference on the Palestine refugee issue in 56 years. Around 300 delegates will discuss the future of humanitarian assistance to millions of refugees scattered across the Middle East. Today, one third of all Palestinian refugees live in camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. 

CNN goes where few have dared to go, adopting Israel's "disputed" territories terminology

Nigel Parry and Michael F. Brown 24 July 2001

We must again note that CNN’s reporting of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not all bad. But, once again, here is a report that employs terminology to describe land — the central issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — that comes straight from the Israeli lexicon. The language of this report suggests that the status of West Bank land is unclear, that it is “disputed”. The status of this land is anything but unclear and is defined by international law as occupied territory, regardless of the views of Israel or CNN. 

The unique, pervasive, and one-sided nature of CNN's convoluted linguistic formulations about the Israeli military occupation compel any reasonable observer to conclude political bias

Nigel Parry, Laurie King and Ali Abunimah 20 July 2001

We first must note that CNN’s reporting of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not all bad. On several critical points, however, the network has adopted a unique, bizarre, and indefensible position on what is otherwise universally understood to be Israel’s status in the Occupied Territories as well as the legal status of Jewish settlements in these areas. 

Nakba widely misrepresented as an anti-Israeli protest instead of a Palestinian commemoration

Nigel Parry 15 May 2001

“As they mourn today’s anniversary of the birth of Israel, Palestinians find themselves living through a new disaster, a mismatched struggle with the Jewish state that threatens what they have accomplished in the past eight years.” — from “A Bitter Sense of Deja Vu for Palestinians,” by MARY CURTIUS, Los Angeles Times. Of course Palestinians are not mourning the birth of Israel, but the uprooting of 800,000 Palestinans from their land in the Nakba. 

CNN refers to the West Bank and Gaza Strip as part of Israel

Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry 2 May 2001

Following our April 12th Action Item #11, CNN yet again portrayed the Israeli occupation as a Palestinian point of view, in a April 26th report titled, “Israel celebrates independence, Palestinians mourn deaths”: “But the Palestinians blame Israel for the violence, saying they employ heavy-handed methods to control Palestinian protesters — and that the presence of Israeli troops in the West Bank and Gaza amounts to an occupation of Palestinian territory.” 

CNN's Jerrold Kessel decides that the existence of the Israeli military occupation is merely 'a point of view'

Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry 12 April 2001

Any suggestion that the 34-year-old Israeli military occupation is a Palestinian “opinion”, rather than an internationally established fact, represents the extreme end of irresponsible and inexact international media reporting. CNN’s Jerrol Kessel goes there. 

The New Yorker’s Israel: Where Objectivity Fails

Zachary Wales 5 June 2004


Where objectivity fails, investigative and feature-oriented journalism plays a potent role. On May 31, the New Yorker published Jeffrey Goldberg’s 21-page “Among the Settlers.” Unfortunately, his essay is not more than an attempt to legitimize Zionism, an ethnically exclusive colonial project, as a liberal idea. Moreover, by eliminating the legitimate and empirical arguments against Zionism, Goldberg leaves his readers with few moral conclusions. The direction he intends those conclusions to take is partly revealed in his omission of the most convincing anti-Zionist argument: the right of return. 

"These are my guests, and this is my house", Priest stands up to the Wall

Larry Fata Jerusalem 3 June 2004


“No! These are my guests, and this is my house!” The admonition is delivered to Israeli soldiers attempting to stop a group of Palestinian women crossing the grounds of a monastery. The messenger is Father Claudio Ghilardi, a Passionist priest from Italy. His message is clear: at least as far as the monastery grounds are concerned, he will not permit the harassment of Palestinians by soldiers. The soldiers desist as long as Father Claudio is present. The Palestinians continue on their way, attempting to cross the monastery and reach Jerusalem on the other side. At least they were able to get this far, thanks to Father Claudio’s intervention. 

Federation of Journalists urges Israel to respect rights of journalists

28 May 2004


Delegates at the International Federation of Journalists Congress meeting in Athens today welcomed the decision by Israel to release from custody Peter Hounam who broke the story of Israel’s nuclear weapons capacity in an interview with Mordechai Vanunu 20 years ago. “His detention under rules which prohibit journalists from speaking to Mordechai Vanunu was unacceptable,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. The IFJ had earlier said that the detention of Hounam, a close associate of Vanunu, was evidence of “continuing hostility” within the Israeli security and political establishment against journalists trying to report on the Vanunu story. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

3 June 2004


This week Israeli forces killed six Palestinian civilians. Three of them were killed during an extrajudicial execution. Israeli forces invaded a number of areas in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli forces destroyed 39 Palestinian homes in Rafah, leaving at least 485 Palestinian civilians homeless. Israeli forces razed agricultural land and additionally destroyed four homes in the West Bank and 16 homes in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces continue to shell residential areas, wounding a number of Palestinian civilians. Israel continues the construction of the Apartheid Wall and continues to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. 

Crippled Justice: Limping Towards the Wall

Andreas Mueller 2 June 2004


With the construction of the ‘Separation Wall’ in the West Bank being brought before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, for the very first time an aspect of the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been transferred from the usual forums of international debate (the UN Security Council, General Assembly, and subsidiary bodies) to an international judicial body. This novelty raised considerable optimism on some sides. Andreas Mueller, argues however that these expectations have to be closely examined in view of the legal and political limits of the ‘World Court.’ 

Film review: Remembering Palestine and Writers on the Borders

Maureen Clare Murphy 3 June 2004


Like every other aspect of Palestinian life, art and culture, though not destroyed, have been crushed under the heavy weight of the Israeli occupation’s tanks and curfews. The documentary films Writers on the Borders and Remembering Palestine feature international writers and artists who visit Palestine and find a shocking landscape of destruction. But, as the narrator Dominique Dubosc explains in Remembering, the question is not so much one of succeeding to restart art schools in the West Bank and Gaza, as being there to bear witness. 

Rafah counts cost of Israeli onslaught

Laila El-Haddad 3 June 2004


Muhammad Juma was still trying to make sense of what had just happened. Incensed as he was, he sat sipping a cup of mint tea next to a caged, limping coyote and a bouncy kangaroo. Spread out in the field in front of him was an array of rotting carcasses, with the imposing stench that only death imparts. Two gazelles lay facing each other, the look of fear frozen on their faces. Besides the carcasses, the only indication that a zoo once occupied this empty field was a rusty welcome sign that had fallen to the ground. Everything else had been brutally ploughed over with military tanks and bulldozers. 

UN agency condemns Israeli tank fire on Palestinian school in Gaza Strip

2 June 2004


Calling it a “violation of the sanctity” of schools, the main United Nations relief agency helping Palestinian refugees today condemned “in the strongest possible terms” Israeli tank fire that hit a school in Rafah in the Gaza Strip, wounding two 10-year-old boys. “This is the second time in a little over a year that a child in a UN classroom has been struck by Israeli fire,” UN Relief and Works Agency Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said. The incident was the latest in a month of extreme violence. 

Report: Israel fails to stop racism, xenophobia, incitement and violence

1 June 2004


Rights group Mossawa accuses Israeli authorities of turning a blind eye to racial incitement by politicians against Palestinian citizens of Israel. The 120- page report the Haifa-based Mossawa Center released Tuesday, combined overall observations with specific examples that occurred in the past four years. Mossawa said thousands of them “suffer from xenophobia, incitement, racial discrimination, racial violence, and hate speech.” The report is modeled on the recent report on anti-Semitism released by European organizations. 

Unemployment, poverty grips Palestinian workers

1 June 2004


High unemployment continues to grip Palestinian communities in the Occupied Arab Territories, reaching an average of 35 per cent, the International Labour Office (ILO) says in a new report. A recent high-level mission to the area also found that “severe restrictions” on the movement of persons, goods and services were causing “severe losses in production, employment and income”. “The reality of life in the territories is one of strangulation of the economy.” ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said in the report. 

Palestinian human rights groups ask Supreme Court to define scope of "military necessity"

29 May 2004


On Thursday, 27 May 2004, Adalah, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights � Gaza and Al-Haq filed a petition and a motion for injunction to the Supreme Court of Israel against Israeli army officers, the Chief of Staff, the Minister of Defense and the Prime Minister. The petitioners ask the Supreme Court to define, for the first time, the scope of the legal term �military necessity� in accordance with international humanitarian law. Many home demolition cases have already been brought against the Israeli army before the Supreme Court. In the vast majority of these cases, the Supreme Court has dismissed the legal challenges brought against home demolitions, effectively accepting the army�s arguments, and legitimizing the demolitions. 

Film review: Jihad!

Maureen Clare Murphy 2 June 2004


Boldly using one of the most misused words in the U.S. press as its title, a word that strikes at the greatest anxiety of Americans towards Islam, the new feature film Jihad! informs its viewers that what the word is really about is zeal and struggle. Following Ed, a young Palestinian New Yorker who struggles between his homeland’s tradition and the American lifestyle, the film stresses that the most important jihad is the struggle within oneself. Read the review of Palestinian-American Muhammed Rum’s film, to be premiered at the Chicago Palestine Film Festival this week. 

"In our hearts and in our work": The continuing influence of Rachel Corrie in Olympia

candio. 1 June 2004


One year after the murder of activist Rachel Corrie by the Israelis in Gaza, her local community has not forgotten her. Ms. Corrie continues to inspire and lead in Olympia, it may even be possible that she has become more powerful in death than in life. There is some solace in this ability to affect change postmortem, to have truly achieved martyr status, but it is an aching solace tinged with loss. At the same time, there is this harsh and parallel realization that Olympia has lost but one life to the Occupation. It is sobering and hard to truly imagine the sorrow of the Palestinians who have lost so many and so much. candio. reports from Olympia. 

Taking a call for justice in the Middle East to Kerry's doorstep

Tom Wallace 1 June 2004


In the aftermath of the horror that has been visited upon Rafah over the past two weeks in particular but the past three years in general, Americans across the country are asking their congress people to stop military aid to Israel. On Friday 21 May 2004, there were sit-ins and other similar actions at congressional offices in San Francisco, Louisville, New Orleans, Albuquerque, Olympia, New York, and more. Following a week of calling representatives, Senators and the White House, Bostonians marched to the campaign office of John Kerry. Tom Wallace reports for EI. 

UNICEF's Carol Bellamy to visit Gaza City and Israel

28 May 2004


In her first visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Israel, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy will spend most of her time interacting with children who have been impacted by the long-running conflict. Ms. Bellamy, the head of the world’s largest children’s right organization will have the chance to listen, to observe, and to express solidarity with children for whom living in conflict has become part of their daily lives. The children in Gaza City and those living in Israel have all lost relatives. The two-and-a-half day visit – which starts 29 May 2004, Saturday - will also be a chance to boost UNICEF’s advocacy efforts on both Palestinian and Israeli sides. 

UNRWA launches $15.8 million crisis appeal for Rafah

30 May 2004


The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) today launched an appeal to the international community for $15.84 million to meet the immediate needs of the people of Rafah. The appeal follows weeks of the most intense destruction in Gaza since the start of the intifada. UNRWA needs the funds to provide emergency cash, food and housing assistance to the hundreds of families who have lost their homes, had a breadwinner killed or wounded, or who are in need of medical care.