September 2004

The "silent" plan for Jerusalem

Johara Baker 30 September 2004


According to a report published in the Israeli daily Ha’aretz on September 14, the plan proposed by West Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky, city engineer Uri Shitrit and head of the planning team Moshe Cohen, calls for “massive intervention” to prevent overcrowding in the Old City. The report said that government funds would be used to offer alternative housing outside the Old City walls to interested residents. Shufat Refugee Camp, the only refugee camp in East Jerusalem, which the municipality promised to rehabilitate, was proposed as an alternative residence. Johara Baker reports for the Palestine Report. 

A Palestinian Ronaldo's Stolen Dreams

30 September 2004


The IDF’s code name for the invasion of Southern Gaza was “Operation Rainbow.” According to Palestinian medical sources, 56 Palestinians were killed during the military operation, including 22 children. Eleven-year-old Hamad El-Neirab remembers “I was in the demonstration, we were clapping and chanting, suddenly the Israeli helicopters fired a missile into the demonstration. I fell to the ground. After the explosion, I stood to run away but a second rocket blew up near me, and I was wounded in both legs.” Today, the boy from a Gaza Strip refugee camp sat half a world away in a state-of-the-art Washington, DC examination room to be fitted for a new leg. 

Widescale Israeli military offensive on the Northern Gaza Strip

30 September 2004


Israeli occupying troops have continued their wide scale offensive on the northern Gaza Strip for the 3rd consecutive day. At the time of going to print, 15 Palestinians, including 3 children, have been killed and at least 120 others were injured, some of them are in a serious condition. Israeli troops have also destroyed a number of houses and civilian facilities. Israeli troops have used excessive force against unarmed Palestinian civilians. According to Palestinian medical sources, most of the injured were hit in the upper part of the body. PCHR expresses deep concern for this intense presence of Israeli troops in the area, especially in Jabalya refugee camp which is one of the most populated areas in the Gaza Strip. 

Urgent Appeal from UHWC Gaza

30 September 2004


For the last 48 hours, the Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC), medical facilities are in state of top emergency in the northern governorate of Gaza Strip. The medical teams are working continuously to cope with the increasing number of causalities, due to a massive incursion of Israeli forces to the northern governorate, especially Jabalia. Israeli tanks, helicopters, and other military forces are attacking the area through four main sectors. Israeli forces are demolishing houses, destroying infrastructure and bulldozing trees at the same time they snipe at every moving target, disregarding whether it is a child, women, old man or a youth. 

Who Governs the West Bank?

27 September 2004


The Palestinian political system is in disarray, and it will take sustained action by Palestinians, international assistance and — at a minimum — no obstruction by Israel to prevent its total collapse. “Who Governs the West Bank? Palestinian Administration under Israeli Occupation”, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines that system, which faces its most acute crisis since the Oslo process was launched in 1993. Although Israel’s occupation provides the context, the Palestinian Authority’s predicament is decidedly domestic. “The PA has been in virtually continuous crisis since the uprising began in September 2000, but it is now close to breaking point”, says Robert Malley, ICG’s Middle East Director. “It is paralysed and unable to make even basic decisions on Palestinian objectives”. 

Jewish Activists Disrupt Safety Awards at MINExpo to Protest Caterpillar's Sales to Israeli Army

28 September 2004


Jewish peace activists protested Caterpillar’s safety record in the Middle East when they disrupted the Caterpillar-sponsored Safety Awards earlier this morning at the MINExpo in Las Vegas, Nevada. They unrolled a banner with a photo of an armored D-9 bulldozer destroying homes that read “What do Cat dozers make possible? Death and destruction for Palestinians and Israelis.” The United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, in addition to many faith-based groups, have all condemned Caterpillar’s sale of bulldozers to Israel which endanger the safety of Palestinian and Israeli civilians. 

It's the occupation, stupid !

Am Johal Canada 29 September 2004


Four years ago on September 28, 2000, when Ariel Sharon made his operatic visit to the Temple Mount, no one could have predicted how dire the situation would become so quickly: close to 6,000 dead, many thousands more injured, the construction of the Separation Wall, mass movement restrictions, detention and torture and other forms of violence and racism. What is one of the worst things perhaps in this new reality, which is quite similar to the old reality, is the level of normalization this political climate has taken on in Palestinian and Israeli society. After four years, Am Johal takes stock. 

CNN producer kidnapped in Gaza City

26 September 2004


The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the kidnapping this evening of a CNN producer in Gaza City by unknown gunmen. CNN reported that Riyadh Ali, a veteran producer for the station, was seized at gunpoint from a car in which he was a passenger with CNN colleagues, including correspondent Ben Wedeman. In an interview on CNN, Wedeman said a gunman emerged from a white Peugeot, came toward the CNN team, and demanded to know which of them was Ali. After the CNN producer was identified, he was taken from the car by the gunman, Wedeman said. Several other armed men were with him. 

CNN producer released in Gaza City

28 September 2004


CNN producer Riad Ali was freed and in the custody of Palestinian police today, a day after being abducted by gunmen on a main street in Gaza City, CNN reported. CNN President Jim Walton said the station was “enormously relieved” that Ali had been released. “His ordeal serves to highlight the dangers faced by journalists around the world and we at CNN are grateful that this incident ended the way it did.” CNN said a tape surfaced shortly before Ali’s release in which the producer said he was being held by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade that earlier denied involvement in the kidnapping, and had joined other groups in condemning it. 

Four Years of Intifada: Statistical Overview

29 September 2004


Monday, September 27, 2004 — Dr Mustafa Barghouthi began today’s press conference with a summary of recent trends and statistics. The Second Intifada, now entering its 5th year, has seen the world distracted by events in Iraq, enabling Israel to continue violating Palestinians’ Human Rights with complete immunity. The international media remains more accessible to the Israeli side and thus allows Israel to push forward their preferred narrative. Furthermore, these past years have witnessed a significant deterioration in international support and involvement with the peace process, many becoming disheartened and reluctant having supported the now dead Oslo Peace Process. 

Free Tali Fahima

24 September 2004


On Tuesday, Sep. 28, Israel’s high court will hear Tali Fahima’s appeal against her administrative (read: without a trial) detention. She is now held in solitary confinement, with no access to books, newspapers, cigarettes, and basic amenities. The 28 years old independent solidarity activist from Kiryat-Gat has committed the worst crime an Israeli can, she crossed the barriers to work with Palestinians in Jenin refugee camp, and befriended a militant. The Israeli high court will hear Tali Fahima’s appeal against her administrative detention on Tuesday, Sep. 28, at 6 pm. Supporters are encouraged to attend the court session. 

One Year Later: Remembering Edward Said

Ilan Pappe 27 September 2004


Today (25 September 2004) is the first anniversary of Edward Said’s death. Time passes by so quickly and hence it seems as if only yesterday we were all reading those touching and insightful obituaries of the man and his philosophy. From brilliant long expositions to short but genuine eulogies, it seems that everything that could be said was candidly presented to those who knew him and the millions who have only heard of him. Such a litany of words should have enabled us to resign to his death, but his absence seems to me still incomprehensible. What would have happened if we still had Edward with us in this last year? Ilan Pappe ponders the question. 

The future of Palestine's children and society at risk

Genevieve Cora Fraser 26 September 2004


Israel portrays the children of Palestine as terrorists, faceless stone throwers, but due to Israeli policies, it’s highly complex matrix of control, the health, education and overall well-being of the 1.8 million children of Palestine are at severe risk, Adah Kay, Professor at City University, London stated at the UN Conference on Palestine held in New York City in mid-September. Kay co-authored the book Stolen Youth, with Catherine Cook and Adam Hanieh, former staff and volunteers with Defense for Children International. Published in 2004 and subtitled, “The Politics of Israel’s Detention of Palestinian Children,” Stolen Youth is the first book to explore Israel’s incarceration of Palestinian children based on first-hand information from international human rights groups and NGO workers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 

Israel blocks entry to Nablus of the Peace Cycle Team

23 September 2004


The Peace Cycle has arrived in Palestine on Tuesday, September 22, but have been blocked from passing through the Beit Eba checkpoint at the entrance to the West Bank city of Nablus. Arriving at the checkpoint at noon, the cyclists waited over two hours awaiting permission to pass. Although the cyclists have been carrying the message of Peace during their entire trip on bikes from London to Jerusalem, the Israeli army does not allow them to move freely within the West Bank. The Team has been rerouted at least 15 miles around Nablus to the village of Howwarah. The cyclists all traveled from Jordan into Palestine last Tuesday. 

Girl's life ended by Israeli bullets

Sami Abu Salem Khan Younis 25 September 2004


On September 7, Raghda al-Assar was at school in the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. After less than hour, she was receiving medical treatment in emergency room of Nasser Hospital after having been struck by Israeli bullets in her head while she was in her classroom listening to her English teacher. Raghda died Wednesday of the critical wounds she sustained two weeks ago. On September 7, Raghda was one of hundreds of Palestinian schoolgirls, dressed in crisp striped school uniforms, crowding the streets of Khan Yunis refugee camp on their way to school. Sami Abu Salem reports from Khan Younis. 

Child rights group notes sharp increase violations of children's rights

24 September 2004


Defense for Children International released a report on violations of children’s rights in the occupied Palestinian territories over the period of the first six months of 2004. The report shows that since the beginning of the Palestinian uprising against occupation in September 2000, the frequency and severity of violations of Palestinian children’s rights has progressively increased. This trend has continued in 2004, with a steady decline in the economic and social conditions in the occupied PAlestinian territories. Israeli forces have killed 81 Palestinian children during the first six months of 2004, bringing the death toll to 595 since 29 September 2000. Over 10,000 additional children have been wounded since the beginning of the Intifada. 

ACRI demands return of documents and letters confiscated from Vanunu

22 September 2004


The Association for Civil Rights in Israel submitted a petition this morning on behalf of Mordechai Vanunu against the prison warden of the Shikma Prison in Ashkelon and the Defense Ministry’s chief of security, to demand the return of documents and letters that were confiscated from Mordechai Vanunu, Israel’s nuclear whistle blower, before he was released from jail. The petition was submitted by ACRI’s chief legal counsel, Attorney Dan Yakir, referring to legal material and copies of letters from Vanunu wrote during his seventeen and a half years of imprisonment. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

23 September 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 6 Palestinian civilians, including a child and a girl. The child was shot at her desk in school and died later from her wounds. Three of the victims were extra-judicially executed in Gaza. Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces razed 77 donums of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces raided homes and arrested dozens of Palestinian civilians. Israel continued shelling of residential areas and civilian facilities, wounding a number of Palestinian civilians. Israel continued construction of the Wall in the West Bank and continued to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. 

Israeli forces kill one Palestinian and destroy 54 homes in Khan Yunis

25 September 2004


On Saturday morning, 25 September 2004, Israeli occupying troops launched a wide scale offensive on Khan Yunis refugee camp, using helicopter gunships, tanks and military bulldozers.  They destroyed 54 Palestinian houses, rendering 414 people (66 families) homeless.  They also killed one Palestinian civilian and injured 5 others. Since the beginning of the current Intifada in September 2000, Israeli troops have destroyed 502 Palestinian houses completely and 270 others partially in Khan Yunis.  This year, Israeli occupying troops have demolished 552 houses completely and 88 others partially.  The previous operation to this was on 1 September 2004, when Israeli troops destroyed 2 five-storey apartment buildings, each of which included 18 flats, in al-Nimsawi neighborhood. 

Prisoner Stories: Loai and Ubai Mohammad Odeh

Rima Merriman Ramallah, Palestine 25 September 2004


When Loai’s and Ubai’s mother was born in 1948, her father, Saleem Abu Khaled al Tamimi of Hebron, was in prison for his part in resisting the British plan to partition Palestine. The boys never got to know their grandfather, because he died of a stroke in Ramallah during an altercation with Israeli guards when their mother, a student at Birzeit University then (1969), was being tried because of her activities in the Palestine Liberation Front. She was sentenced to four years in prison and spent a good part of her sentence in Ramleh prison, where her son, Loai (26), is currently being held. Ubay (19) is in Jalboun prison in the north, one of the harshest in the Israeli system. 

Zogby Poll: Should AIPAC be asked to register as an agent of a foreign government and lose its tax-exempt status?

25 September 2004


Question: A tax-exempt organization that lobbies Congress on behalf of Israel, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (also known as AIPAC), has been under investigation by the FBI for allegedly receiving classified information from a Pentagon official and using this information on behalf of the government of Israel. In view of this investigation, do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree that AIPAC should be asked to register as an agent of a foreign government and lose its tax-exempt status? 

Canadian activists protest deportation of Palestinian refugees

25 September 2004


On Saturday September 18th more than 1,000 people took the streets of downtown Montreal under the banner of “Stateless and Deported” to illustrate the growing popular support for the struggle of Palestinian refugees fighting deportation in Canada, within the context of the Palestinian solidarity movement worldwide. The lively and spirited demonstration was also held to commemorate the thousands of Palestinian refugees who lost their lives in the September 1982 massacre of Sabra and Chatila during the Israeli invasion of Beirut. 

Israeli authorities impose more restrictions on UNRWA staff

24 September 2004


The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has today protested to the Israeli Government following new and constantly changing restrictions affecting the freedom of movement of United Nations staff crossing into and out of the Gaza Strip. International staff members holding valid United Nations laissez-passers are now being obliged to cross on foot through the Palestinian labourers’ terminal.  Only those holding a diplomatic visa can go through in their vehicles, and even they are prohibited from carrying other United Nations colleagues with them.  Passage on foot leaves the staff members exposed to considerable risk. 

Five days of struggle against Israel's West Bank Barrier

25 September 2004


With the resumption of construction of the separation wall a familiar pattern repeats itself. Negotiation is not even attempted, and Israeli policy is set unilaterally by the army and government without consideration for Palestinians. At the same time, every attempt at protest and nonviolent resistance is repressed violently. In the course of the last five days (September 19-23) the occupation forces returned to their attempt to literally cement their existence on Palestinian lands. Naturally the residents of the affected villages resisted this attempt and we are with them. Our method and our aim, which we have declared and consciously acted on for the last two years, are popular nonviolent struggle. 

Despite lack of progress, Quartet reaffirms support for Road Map

22 September 2004


The members of the diplomatic Quartet, meeting today at United Nations Headquarters in New York, pledged support for the Road Map outline peace plan despite the lack of “significant progress” achieved so far. In a statement released after their meeting, the representatives of the UN, European Union, Russian Federation and United States called on Israel and the Palestinians to do more to bring peace to the region, including living up to obligations outlined in the plan. “The situation on the ground for both Palestinians and Israelis remains extremely difficult and no significant progress has been achieved on the Road Map.” 

Western Massachusetts Palestinian Film Festival to be held October 1-3

23 September 2004


A three-day festival, “Aqoolu Lakum - Let Me Tell You: The Western Massachusetts Palestinian Film Festival,” will take place in the Pioneer Valley on October 1-3, 2004. The festival, organized by Valley residents from a range of backgrounds, will include twenty-six films and an exhibition of rare photographic material. The festival will show a mixture of documentaries and fiction films about Palestine made largely by Palestinians, with a selection by Israeli and other international filmmakers. 

Interview with Afif Safieh, Palestinian General-Delegate to the UK and the Holy See

Victor Kattan 23 September 2004


As new Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the Tories prepare for their party political conferences in Bournemouth and Brighton in the coming weeks, Palestinians from Balata to Beit Jibrin will be locked up in their homes and refugee camps for the fourth consecutive year. Against this background, occasional EI correspondent Victor Kattan interviewed Afif Safieh, the Palestinian General-Delegate to the UK and the Holy See - a sophisticated and suave chain-smoker - who invariably describes himself as a diplomat, a democrat, a political scientist and an observer of the British domestic political scene. 

The Lion Kings of Qalqilya

Ahmad Sub Laban 23 September 2004


“THE KINGS of peace” is how Saeed Daoud, director of the Qalqilya Zoo, describes the three lions, Jafer, Jaras and Naboko who have recently settled into their new home in the West Bank along with two zebras and a deer. On September 5, the animals were moved from the Ramat Gan Safari Park just outside Tel Aviv to Qalqilya after the Israeli safari park announced plans to help rebuild Qalqilya Zoo by providing it with a number of animals. The zoo has been ravaged by four years of Intifada, with several animals dying and a dramatic drop in the number visitors. The zoo, the only one of its kind in the West Bank, was built in 1986 and is currently home to almost 170 animals. 

"A state cannot indefinitely stand against the world": An interview with UN Special Rapporteur John Dugard

Victor Kattan 23 September 2004


“There is no possibility of sanctions being imposed against Israel; at least at present. South Africa alienated itself from all five of the veto powers and this allowed limited sanctions to be imposed. Israel will, it seems, for ever have the USA to veto any sanctions being imposed by the Security Council. I raised the issue simply to get it into the debate so that it is on the table. I have had no feedback whatsoever.” Occasional EI contributor Victor Kattan recently interviewed John Dugard, U.N. Special Rapportuer for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 

UN Conference on Palestine Sets Stage for UN General Assembly

Genevieve Cora Fraser 24 September 2004


Nearly 100 Heads of State and Government convened at United Nations Headquarters in New York today as the General Assembly opened its annual high-level debate on global issues. Decrying what he described as “shameless” disregard for the rule of law around the globe, Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged world leaders gathered at the General Assembly to do everything within their power to restore respect for the fundamental principles of law – in domestic affairs, as well as on the international arena. What has irked Kofi Annan is that the rule of law has been seriously eroded since September 11, and in the case of Israel, long before. Genevieve Cora Fraser reports. 

Fear of flying

22 September 2004


Two days after a flight carrying former pop star Cat Stevens was diverted from Washington, DC to Maine, where the 1970s pop idol, now known as Yusuf Islam, was removed from the plane and sent back to London, and one day after a flight in Wisconsin was forced to turn around after a passenger opened the inflight magazine and found scribbled words in an “Arabic style writing,” another US flight was interrupted after a passenger grew suspicious of a man sitting next to him. The flight was grounded for six hours as security teams searched the aircraft and questioned all passengers. BNN’s Loreh Al-Malakeh reports. 

UNCTAD stresses vital role of small-, medium-sized enterprises in rehabilitation of Palestinian economy

21 September 2004


Unless immediate action is taken to improve the supply capacity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the Palestinian economy will be effectively transformed into one of subsistence, warns a new UNCTAD study.  The study notes that the protracted conflict in the occupied Palestinian territory has generated profound structural distortions and changes in the functioning of these enterprises that are unlikely to be reversed once political stability is achieved. It examines the SMEs’ contribution to economic growth by shedding light on their life cycle and the factors influencing their establishment, survival, growth and decline before and after the ongoing crisis. 

Liberation Art of Palestine

Zachary Wales 21 September 2004


Samia Halaby was twelve-years-old when Israeli soldiers arrived in Jerusalem. Born in the midst of Palestine’s bloodiest uprising against British occupation, Halaby was no stranger to colonial oppression, but something was different this time. She sensed it in the indescribable arrogance a British soldier used when he searched her school bag: His expressions, his motions, were the presage of a storm. As a Palestinian artist, Halaby’s work is, intrinsically, cultural resistance. Compared to many of her contemporaries, her circumstances have been rather fortunate. Following several years of exile in Beirut, her family moved to the U.S., where Halaby studied Cubism, Soviet Constructivism, American Abstract Expressionism and the Mexican Mural Movement. 

Al Haq condemns assassinations in Nablus and Jenin

16 September 2004


Al-Haq strongly condemns the gross violations of international law displayed by Israeli authorities in the recent events involving extra-judicial killings and targeted assassinations of 12 Palestinian political activists within the past three days alone. According to eye-witness reports, Israeli forces had used deadly force from the start. In all three cases, the killings were carried out using live ammunition and the firing of missiles from tanks or helicopters. These constitute a blatant disregard for the fundamental right of everyone to the right to life and security of person, and demonstrate indiscriminate and excessive use of force by Israeli occupying forces. 

Israeli forces kill Palestinian and wound eight in another extra-judicial execution

19 September 2004


On Sunday Israeli aircrafts fired two missiles at a blue Volkswagen Golf, that was traveling at the crossroads of al-Jalaa’ Street and al-Lababidi Street in the center of Gaza City. The two missiles hit and burnt the car. The driver, Khaled Abu Silmiya from al-Shati refugee camp was instantly killed. He was a member of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigade, the military wing of Hamas. In addition, eight passing Palestinian civilians were injured by shrapnel from the missiles, and the injuries of two of them were described by medical sources as serious. Israeli authorities soon admitted responsibility for this attack and claimed that they were able to kill a wanted Palestinian in Gaza City. 

Beyond the Advisory Opinion: Possible Future Strategies

Jeff Handmaker 20 September 2004


The International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People concluded its work this week. According to an adopted plan of action, internationally coordinated action would be developed to escalate pressure to end the Israeli occupation and achieve the realization of Palestinian rights. Jeff Handmaker, an international human rights lawyer and regular contributer to EI, participated at the conference and presented a paper with Susan Akram on legal strategies. 

UNRWA Opens Nimreen Children's Music Centre in Yarmouk

16 September 2004


To the rhythms of classical Arab and Palestinian music, UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen today inaugurated the Nimreen Children’s Music Centre, which for the first time will provide professional music tuition on classical Arabic instruments to 40 gifted students from UNRWA elementary schools in Yarmouk. The children will be selected from a pool of more than 8,000 pupils in the age range 7-9 years, grades 3-5. The Centre, housed in a classroom in UNRWA’s Nimreen school revamped for its new purposes, is a small but well-furnished music studio, with sound and recording equipment, air conditioning and sound insulation. In Syria, UNRWA provides assistance to some 417,400 refugees. 

UN reports another 'bad month' in Middle East, calls for return to peace plan

17 September 2004


With a marked increase in the number of casualties on both sides of the conflict, a resumption of suicide bombings, and no good news to report on the implementation of the “Road Map”, it had been a bad month in the Middle East, Under-Secretary-General Kieran Prendergast told the Security Council this morning. As had too often been the case in recent months, there was little positive and much discouraging to note and report, he said. Especially troubling was the continuing void in terms of an active peace process. Absence of hope for a peaceful settlement led to despair, strengthened extremists and was a sure recipe for continuing violence and instability. 

Unburied

Laurie King 17 September 2004


“This week, as the survivors of the Sabra and Shatila massacre remember their dead, Ariel Sharon, the man deemed ‘personally responsible’ for the massacre by Israel’s 1983 Kahane Commission, is planning an official visit to Holland. When Ariel Sharon steps off the plane, he will be treading not only on Dutch soil, but also on the bodies of the dead of Sabra and Shatila. Legally, the massacre and its victims remain unburied. It is Holland’s shame to assume that rolling out a red carpet of welcome can cover the corpses of Mr. Sharon’s victims, whose number continues to climb with each passing day.” EI co-founder Laurie King-Irani remembers a massacre that many prefer to forget. 

Prisoner Stories: Sleiman Sari al Sa'di's sons

Rima Merriman Jenin 17 September 2004


Less than a month after being released from prison, Omar al Sa’di was arrested at the Huwara checkpoint . The reserve sentence associated with his previous sentence means that he is guaranteed four years in prison no matter what. Two informers who are currently themselves in Israeli prisons have accused him of being the leader of a group opposing Israel, they themselves confessing to being part of that group. He is also accused of trying to fire in the air near an Israeli settlement and of trying to attack Israeli collaborators. His parents have a document in Hebrew specifying these accusations, but because they can’t read the language, they know only roughly where the names are in the document of those accusing him. 

Prisoner Stories: Mohammad Hussnee Zeidan

Rima Merriman Jenin refugee camp, Palestine 16 September 2004


Ahmad Zeidan was only fifteen when his brother Mohammad (20) was arrested and imprisoned by Israeli forces in April of 2002. In his pocket, he keeps two passport-sized photos, one of his brother Mohammad and one of his cousin. Nicknamed Abu al-Baha’, Ahmad’s cousin (pictured right in one of Palestine’s ubiquitous martyr posters) was shot dead at the age of 22 in May this year in one of the frequent Israeli invasions of Jenin refugee camp that Israeli forces make to assassinate Palestinians accused of “terrorism” against Israel. In his billfold, Ahmad also keeps a letter written to the family by his brother from prison letting them know what had happened to him. It is penned carefully on a fragile silver-backed paper wrapper. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

16 September 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 24 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 6 children. Seven of the victims were killed in another extra-judicial execution. Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces demolished 43 homes and dozens of donums of agricultural land were razed in the northern Gaza Strip. In Rafah three homes were demolished and in Mughraqa Israeli forces demolished seven homes. In the West Bank Israeli forces demolished two homes. Israel continued the construction of the Apartheid Wall and imposed a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. 

In Gaza, the dead bury the dead

Yasser Abu Moailek Gaza City, Gaza Strip 16 September 2004


On September 10, after an Israeli incursion into the northern Gaza Strip that had left at least five dead and dozens wounded, I went to a Gaza City cemetery to look for a young gravedigger. I had met Mossab, a slim 18-year-old boy from Gaza City, a week earlier. He had long ago dropped out of school to pursue a profession that appeals to very few people, but which is catering to more and more youngsters in Gaza. In the city’s Sheikh Radwan cemetery, Mossab, along with several other boys, was employed to dig, guard and take care of the graves of the men, women and children that pack the graveyard. 

Civil society meeting at UN seeks to end Israeli occupation of Palestine

15 September 2004


A new draft plan in support of Palestinian rights adopted by a non-governmental conference committee meeting at the United Nations calls for escalating pressure on Israel to end its occupation and threatens to seek divestment, arms embargoes and other sanctions in the event of non-compliance. The “2004-2005 Plan for Action to support Palestinian rights through international law and the United Nations” was presented to the International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People on the last day of a two-day meeting at UN Headquarters in New York after being adopted by its Steering Committee. 

Conditions in Israeli prisons begin to normalize after strike

7 September 2004


In her first visit after suspension of the hunger strike, advocate Buthaina Duqmaq paid a visit to Nafha Prison on 7 September 2004. Ms. Duqmaq met the prisoners’ representative Tawfic Abu-Na’im along with Omar Barghouthi, Issa Shabanah and Tareq Zaydan. Abu-Na’im affirmed negotiations with the prison administration are still on. Conditions began to normalize as the administration returned the electrical equipment it had confiscated earlier, extended the exercise period to one and a half hour and returned TV reception but restricted Al-Jazeera, Palestine Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) and al-Manar networks. The administration brought several inmates from solitary confinement back to common holding cells. 

Stories from Gaza

Mona El-Farra Jabaliya refugee camp, Gaza Strip 15 September 2004


On the 8th of September, Israeli occupying forces made an incursion into the Jabaliya refugee camp - now home to 80,000 Palestinian refugees and their descendents for the past 56 years. The operation went on for three long days In the first few hours of the incursion 4 people were killed and tens of others were injured, many of them seriously. According to physicians who tended to the wounded the Israeli soldiers targeted the chest, abdomen and lower limbs, of boys who were throwing stones at the army tanks and bulldozers while they demolished homes and razed agricultural land. 30 houses were destroyed — 10 completely and 20 partially — which left at least 200 people homeless. The youngsters were protesting in their own way against the presence of the occupying forces in their town, some of them didn’t live to tell the tale. 

Open letter to Madonna

Angela Godfrey-Goldstein 15 September 2004


Madonna - Esther, shalom, salaam, welcome. On behalf of Israeli Jews, and Palestinian or Israeli Christians and Muslims seriously opposed to your highly controversial visit, we ask you, with compassion, to reconsider the consequences of coming to Israel/Palestine in this context. This visit takes you to the heart of Occupied Territory in Bethlehem: a closed-off prison, a ghetto, whose civilians now have no work, no freedom, no life. They’ve finished their savings, live now on food handouts from foreign donor agencies. They’ve had their land taken, they have no justice through the courts, this entire city of ordinary folk trying to live a decent life, is imprisoned, while Israel calls the shots. 

Demand investigation into alleged execution of five Palestinians

15 September 2004


At 1:00am the Israeli Army attacked homes on Old Najav Street in Nablus, West of the old city. Five young men were killed and one eleven year-old girl. Medical examination evidence suggests the five men were executed. International Solidarity activists, who are presently accompanying UPMRC medical teams in the area, interviewed the Director of Rafidia Hospital, Dr. Samir Abu Srour, where the five men and the young girl were taken. According to Dr. Srour, four of the five men were shot in the head at close range. The bullets did not pass through their skulls and instead exploded the young men’s heads, indicating that they were shot at close range. 

Civil Society Conference presented with action plan to support Palestinian rights through international law

14 September 2004


The International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People concluded its work today by hearing a presentation of the “2004-2005 Plan for Action to support Palestinian rights through international law and the United Nations”. According to the draft plan of action, adopted by the Conference Steering Committee, internationally coordinated action would be developed to escalate pressure to end the Israeli occupation and achieve the realization of Palestinian rights. To that end, NGO’s participating in the Conference would work together to educate people and to pressure Governments to move towards strict enforcement of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice. 

Jenin: Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in extra-judicial execution

14 September 2004


An Israeli attack helicopter fired a missile at a grey Mazda on a road near the municipality of Jenin. The missile struck the car and destroyed it completely. Medical aid arrived at the car and three bodies were pulled from the car. The bodies were transferred to Dr. Khalil Suleiman Hospital in Jenin where the bodies were identified as Mahmoud As’ad Abu Khalifa, Yamen Jamil Abu al-Haija and Amjad Husni Mahmoud al-Hajja. The three victims had survived an assassination attempt in August. Then a Palestinian child was injured when a missile hit her family home. PCHR strongly condemns this attack and remains concerned. 

Without peace settlement, both sides face continued violence, UN civil society conference told (2/2)

13 September 2004


Drawing on the success of similar events in 2002 and 2003, the United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People opened at the United Nations Headquarters this morning. Unless a peace settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians was reached — and that could only be achieved through official political negotiations resulting in an agreement between the parties — both sides would face the grim reality of a never-ending stalemate and continued violence, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today at the opening of a two-day United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People.Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People. 

Without peace settlement, both sides face continued violence, UN civil society conference told (1/2)

13 September 2004


Drawing on the success of similar events in 2002 and 2003, the United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People opened at the United Nations Headquarters this morning. Unless a peace settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians was reached — and that could only be achieved through official political negotiations resulting in an agreement between the parties — both sides would face the grim reality of a never-ending stalemate and continued violence, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today at the opening of a two-day United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People. 

World Bank supports water and sanitation project in Gaza

14 September 2004


The World Bank approved this week a grant of US$7.8 million to the Palestinian Authority to deal with the impending public health, safety, and environmental hazards stemming from the lack of proper treatment of wastewater in North Gaza. The North Gaza Emergency Sewage Treatment project is the fourth in a series of water and sanitation projects supported by the World Bank Trust Fund for Gaza and West Bank since 1993. Although 64 percent of the wastewater is collected in Gaza, most of it is not properly treated, contributing significantly to contamination of the coastal aquifer and seashore, including beaches. 

The Vanunu Epilogue

Am Johal 13 September 2004


If East Jerusalem had an unofficial mayor, it would be nuclear whistle blower Mordechai Vanunu. When the church bell rings at noon at the Anglican cathedral of St. George’s in East Jerusalem not far from Damascus Gate in the Old City, chances are it’s Mordechai Vanunu ringing the bell. From that vantage point, he looks down on the Jerusalem court house where he was originally sentenced to eighteen years in prison for divulging Israel’s nuclear secrets. Am Johal reports on Vanunu’s experience since prison. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

9 September 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 22 Palestinians, including three children. 14 of the victims were killed in an Israeli missile attack in Gaza City. One of the victims was killed in another extra-judicial execution. Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli troops moved into the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli forces demolished four homes and razed 32 donums of agricultural land in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli forces demolished two homes in the West Bank. Israeli continued the siege on the occupied Palestinian territories and continued construction of the wall. 

Israeli forces kill 4 Palestinians in Gaza

9 September 2004


For the second day, Israeli forces continued their offensive on large areas of the northern Gaza Strip, perpetrating what may amount to grave breaches of international humanitarian law. Israeli forces killed four Palestinians, including a 10-year-old child. Israeli gunfire and shelling wounded 50 others. Israeli forces used excessive lethal foce against unarmed civilians. PCHR’s investigations strongly indicate that Israeli troops used excessive lethal force against unarmed Palestinian civilians, without adhering to the principles of proportionality and distinction. PCHR is concerned that this offensive could be similar to that of an earlier offensive on Beit Hanoun. 

"Dismantlement 101: Introduction to removing an outpost"

Shirabe Yamada Dahiye al-Barid, Palestine 13 September 2004


The government says it is an extremeley difficult task. Those illegal hilltop outposts are just so impossible to remove. Each time IDF tries they are met with such violent resistance from settlers, as one may have seen it on evening news. Even if they are an obstacle to peace, required for the removal under the Road Map and other agreements, and even at the cost of international criticism, those outposts are left to grow, further unabling a viable peace. “If the government says can’t do it, why don’t I show it’s easy and possible?” Dror Etkes, Coordinator for the Settlement Watch Project at Peace Now thinks outloud, “I will pick up a trailer from an outpost and dump it in front of the Ministry of Defense, to make my point.” Shirabe Yamada reports. 

With friends like these...

Mark Perry 9 September 2004


The FBI investigation into the leaked information on Iran to the Israeli lobby group AIPAC has inadvertently revealed a subtle, but significant, divide among Israeli and American officials. While it is true that Israel and the United States coordinate their policies at the highest levels - Dick Cheney often holds talks with Israeli politician Natan Sharansky while former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is viewed as one of the most influential men in Washington - that cooperation does not extend much beyond the Oval Office. Mark Perry analyzes the situation for the Palestine Report. 

UN replaces Palestinian refugee homes demolished by Israel

8 September 2004


The main United Nations agency helping Palestinian refugees today handed over 103 new shelters in Rafah in the Gaza Strip for families whose homes have been demolished during the latest uprising against Israel, but the ceremony planned for the event had to be postponed due to ongoing Israeli military operations. The Israeli military has cut the Strip into three, cutting off access to Rafah, and operations in the north of Gaza prevented UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Peter Hansen from re-entering the area for the planned ceremony. 

Crisis in the PA: Events and the Challenge of Reform

7 September 2004


The occupied territories are witnessing a severe internal crises that effects all aspects of the life of Palestinians and threatens both their security and safety. It threatens the ongoing struggle for independence and for an the end to the belligerent Israeli occupation. While the roots of the crises may be traced back many years the crises reached a pinnacle in the middle of July 2004 in the shape of a series of attacks, kidnappings and other illegal activities perpetrated by individuals or militant groups. These actions reflect the total absence of the rule of law and the chaos which has resulted as a consequence of the proliferation of small arms and militarization of Palestinian society. 

Interview: What the IDF is doing in Nablus

Nablus 7 September 2004


Some of the claims herein are shocking. I honestly hope that the interview - originally conducted in Hebrew - will impel people to action and that the commanders responsible for such abuses will be held to account. It is worth remembering that the soldier’s unit was ‘exemplary’ in that it was considered to be one that had relatively good discipline compared to other fighting units in the IDF. The interview is thus testimony to the real nature of a military force that is often portrayed as ‘the most moral army in the world.’ After reading this interview, it is hard to understand how such a mythology can be sustained within the Israeli body-politic and in the mainstream of US public opinion. 

10-year old girl hit in UNRWA classroom by Israeli gunfire

7 September 2004


In the third such incident in 18 months, a child sitting in the classroom of a UN-flagged school has been struck in the head by gunfire from an Israeli position in the Gaza Strip. At 07:45 10-year old Raghda Adnan Al-Assar was struck in the head by Israeli fire while sitting at her desk in UNRWA’s Elementary C Girl’s School in Khan Younis camp. She is now in the European Gaza Hospital where she has undergone major surgery. On June 1 this year two ten-year old children in UNRWA’s Al-Umariye Elementary Boys’ School in Rafah were hit by a bullet and ricochets from a Israeli tank stationed on the sand dunes opposite the school. 

Israeli forces kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza

7 September 2004


This morning Israeli forces killed 14 Palestinians and wounded at least 12 others in Gaza. Israeli forces shelled a training center belonging to the Hamas movement in al-Tuffah neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. Israel claimed responsibility for this attack and claimed that it came in response to the suicide bombing in Ber al-Saba (Beersheva) last week. Medical sources in hospitals in Gaza City stated that the condition of a number of the injured are critical. PCHR is gravely concerned at this latest escalation and calls upon the international community to stop these attacks. 

World Bank: Gaza disengagement little impact on Palestinian economy

7 September 2004


The World Bank released a paper warning that were the disengagement accompanied by the sealing of Gaza’s borders to labor and trade or by terminating supplies of water and electricity to Gaza, it would create worse hardship than is seen today. “Under such circumstances, the Plan’s assertion that Israel is no longer responsible for the population of Gaza will not resonate,” the paper noted. “Nor would donors appreciate the implication that they must bear the humanitarian consequences of this style of disengagement.” The World Bank regarded the Israeli plan as having little impact on the Palestinian economy, as it will only ease internal movement restrictions. 

Hunger striking prisoners allowed to meet with their lawyers

2 September 2004


The Supreme Court issued a precedent-setting ruling yesterday (1/9/04) stating that the right of prisoners or detainees to meet with their attorneys must be ensured, also for those who are on a hunger strike. The Supreme Court also established that the refusal by the IPS to allow such meetings to take place, as the state legal counsel admitted, was illegal. The Supreme Court granted the status of a judicial ruling to the state undertaking to facilitate, from this point on, meetings between prisoners and detainees who are on a hunger strike and their attorneys. 

More than 1 million Palestinian children return to school

6 September 2004


Some 1.2 million children returned to school last week in the West Bank and Gaza Strip after a summer break. Students and teachers have begun the new school year with enthusiasm, but it will not be without challenges - classroom size, quality of teaching, and, amid school closures, checkpoints and day-long curfews. Almost 200,000 children lost school days last year due to curfews and closures. UNICEF is supporting the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Education by providing essential learning supplies, supporting teacher training, and advocating to ensure that students take final exams safely and on schedule. 

Israeli forces kill 4 Palestinians and injure 52 others in Deir al-Balah

3 September 2004


On Thursday, 2 September 2004, Israeli forces killed 4 Palestinians, including a child, and injured 52 others in the central Gaza Strip town of Deir al-Balah. They also destroyed one house, damaged 20 others and razed 12 donums of agricultural land. These attacks took place during a 25-hour Israeli military incursion into Deir al-Balah. Preliminary investigations conducted by PCHR strongly indicated that Israeli troops continuously used excessive force against Palestinian civilians during this incursion. PCHR believes that continued failure of the international community to take firm action against Israeli authorities encourages Israel to continue to act with impunity. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

2 September 2004


This week, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians, including one child, an old man and a woman. Israeli forces killed one Palestinian in a failed extra-judicial execution in Rafah. Israeli forces demolished 15 homes in Rafah and razed 360 donums of land in the Gaza Strip. In Khan Yunis, Israeli forces demolished two buildings with 36 apartments, in addition to 12 homes and a mosque. In Hebron, Israeli forces demolished two homes in an act of collective punishment. Israel continues the construction of the wall. Israeli forces wounded four Palestinians at Abu Houli and Matahen checkpoint. 

IPI criticises British journalist's treatment

2 September 2004


On 1 September, British freelance journalist Ewa Jasiewicz decided to return to the United Kingdom after discontinuing a legal action before the Israeli Supreme Court. Jasiewicz made the decision because, if the court had found against her, it would have created a binding legal precedent for other foreign journalists entering Israel. During the initial stages of the hearing, the court appeared in favour of allowing Jasiewicz to enter Israel but wanted to ban her from the occupied territories. The court then decided to hear evidence from the security forces ex parte, excluding both Jasiewicz and her legal team from the hearing and preventing them from understanding the true nature of the charges made against her. 

Prisoners adjourn hunger strike until Sunday

2 September 2004


In an interview with Mandela’s lawyer Buthaina Duqmaq at Ha Darim Prison on 2 September 2004, inmates Houssam Khader and Samir Qanttar affirmed negotiations with the Israeli Prison Authority have actually begun on day one of the hunger strike contrary to what Israeli media has been reporting. They asserted the popular and organized solidarity movement with the prisoners forced Israeli authorities into negotiations with the striking prisoners. Both inmates emphasized the prisoners’ high spirits to challenge the status quo and their coalescence with the committee leading the strike coerced the Israeli side into marathon-like negotiations to lessen the negative impact of the strike on Israeli image. 

The myth of Gandhi and Palestinian reality

Ali Abunimah 8 September 2004


The recent visit of Mohandas K. Gandhi’s grandson, Arun Gandhi, to Palestine has sparked new discussion about the role of nonviolence in the Palestinian struggle for freedom. In a speech before the Palestinian Legislative Council, Gandhi called upon 50,000 Palestinian refugees to march back home en masse from their exile in Jordan, forcing the Israelis to choose between relenting to a wave of people power, or gunning the marchers down in cold blood. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah sorts the genuine efforts to energize the struggle with non-violent tactics from the spurious ones designed to shift the blame from the occupier to the occupied. 

Prisoners at Nafha prison boycott clinic

31 August 2004


In an interview with advocate Buthaina Duqmaq, Abdul-Salam Shukry and Mohmoud Haskour, two Palestinian prisoners, affirmed inmates at Nafha Prison have high spirits and vow to continue the hunger strike until their humanitarian and just demands are realized. They asserted any deal between the prisoners and the Israeli prison authorities must be concluded only with prisoners’ leadership. Israeli military authorities have scattered prison leaders among several isolation sections to create a wedge among inmates. Advocate Duqmaq learned that several infirm cases were reported at Nafha Prison. “We are solely responsible  for our safety and wellbeing should we continue the hunger strike”. 

Report: "Operation Forward" in Beit Hanoun

20 August 2004


A preliminary assessment of the effects of the Israeli operation “Forward Shield,” in the northern Gaza Strip, particularly in Beit Hanoun, shows that Beit Hanoun and neighbouring areas suffered considerable damage. This report covers the period 29 June to 5 August 2004. Aside from the deaths and injuries, damage and destruction to property and infrastructure are primary humanitarian concerns resulting from the operation. Public and private property - homes, agricultural land, factories, educational facilities, roads, electricity, and water and sewerage networks - were damaged or destroyed in Beit Hanoun. 

Interview with Palestinian Justice Minister Nahed al-Rayyes

Samah Sabawi 2 September 2004

“The situation fell out of control and it became difficult for me to do my job. It became difficult for the Ministry of Justice to operate, especially after the Palestinian Cabinet passed a ministerial decision that further limited our ability to work within our legal channels to implement law and order. Basically, the wording of the new orders was vague and didn’t clearly establish boundaries for different departments within the government to operate. It became impossible to work.” Palestinian Justice Minister Nahed al-Rayyes, who recently submitted his resignation, granted Samah Sabawi in Amman, Jordan this exclusive interview by telephone from his home in Gaza on 27 August 2004. 

Prisoner Stories: Rami Rizik Fadayel

Rima Merriman Ramallah, Palestine 2 September 2004


Rami Fadayel’s parents, Rizik and Muna, and his aunt Samia attended Rami’s commencement exercises in 2002 at Birzeit University, where he received a degree in accounting. They wanted to hear his name being called out. Rami himself could not be at the commencement. He was wanted by the Israeli forces and did not risk passing through the check point at Surda to get to Birzeit. Rami, who is now 24 years old, was likewise absent from his own engagement party, which his family held for him on April 4, 2004, on the Day of the Palestinian Prisoner. Arrested on January 11, 2003, he was in Ofar prison in Ramallah serving a sentence of 42 months. 

Ali Abunimah on Flashpoints

Nora Barrows-Friedman 2 September 2004


Listen to an interview with EI cofounder Ali Abunimah on Flashpoints, 94.1FM, Berkeley, California. Senior producer Nora Barrows-Friedman interviews Ali about the Palestinian Prisoners’ Hunger Strike, Israel’s reaction to the mass protest against prison conditions, and other events on the ground. The show was originally broadcast on Flashpoints on 25 August 2004. MP3 format, 8MB, 17:23 minutes duration. 

CKUT Radio: Palestinian Prisoner Hunger Strike

Stefan Christoff 2 September 2004


Listen to an interview with Mahmoud Ziadi, spokes person of the Committee for the Families of Political Prisoners and Detainees in the West Bank. The interview focuses on the current hunger strike of more than 7,000 Palestinian political prisoners throughout Occupied Palestine, while also drawing the links between the current hunger strike and the ongoing Palestinian struggle for liberation from the deadly and illegal Israeli occupation. Interviewer: Stefan Christoff. Format: MP3, 12:15 minutes. 

Prisoner Stories: Mua'ath Mohammad Samarah

Rima Merriman Ramallah, Palestine 2 September 2004


In telling the story of his son’s imprisonment, Mohammad Samarah reflects on an irony that seems to him sad and inspirational at the same time. His youngest son, Mu’aath (27), is being held at an Israeli prison called Jalbou’. It’s a new prison north of Jenin in the Jalboun hills built to replace an older prison by the same name that was located in the Palestinian village of Shatta. The irony, Mohammad Samarah explains, lies in the fact that his family comes from a village in Jalboun called Noores. The Israelis have wiped out this Palestinian village, but overlooking its ruins, there is now an Israeli “settlement” tauntingly echoing what used to be by calling itself Nooret. 

Destroying History

Ahmad Sub Laban 6 September 2004


On August 9, Israeli bulldozers sank their jaws into three buildings in the old city of Hebron. The demolitions, to make way for a settler-only road to connect the Kiryat Arba settlement with the Ibrahimi Mosque, caused an outrage. Imad Hamdan, public relations director for the Hebron Reconstruction Committee, believes Israel is waging a war on the heritage of Hebron’s old city, pointing to the fact that there are tens of other houses slated for demolition, some of which date back to the Mamluk and Ottoman eras and others that were built during the British Mandate. It is a clear indication to Hamdan of an Israeli attempt to Judaize the old city and the area around the Ibrahimi Mosque. 

Israel bars UN refugee agency head from leaving Gaza

1 September 2004


The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has today protested to the Israeli Government at the ongoing closure of the Erez Crossing into the Gaza Strip. The closure, which began on Tuesday 31 August, seriously damages UNRWA’s ability to carry out its humanitarian mandate in the occupied Palestinian territory. In an unprecedented and serious development, the Israeli authorities have barred Peter Hansen, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General and an Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, from leaving Gaza to carry out his duties in the West Bank. It is unheard of for the executive head of a UN agency to have his freedom of movement flagrantly curtailed by a member state of the UN in this way. 

Striking prisoners boycott prison clinic

30 August 2004


Mandela’s lawyer Buthaina Duqmaq affirmed Israeli prison authorities effected a series of transfers between Galbou’ and Shatta prisons. Duqmaq was made to wait for two and a half hours at the prison gate until she could meet with Yasser Abu-Bakr for five minutes. The administration claimed they were in the middle of moving inmates between the two prisons. Abu-Bakr affirmed the administration transferred 50 infirm prisoners from Galbou’ to Shatta and 90 inmates, on hunger strike, from Shatta to Galbou’. He explained the administration carried out several transfers within the same prison to create a sense of instability among the prisoners. 

Supreme Court petitioned on Separation Barrier near Qalqilya

31 August 2004


The Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned the Supreme Court: The route of the barrier in this area entraps more than a thousand residents in an isolated enclave, has a disastrous impact on the residents’ lives, and is liable to empty the area of Palestinian residents. ACRI urged the Supreme Court to dismantle the section of the barrier that was constructed in the Alfei Menashe enclave to the south and east of Qalqilya, and completely surrounds the residents of five villages cutting them off from the rest of the West Bank.