October 2004

'Disengagement' will not end Gaza occupation

29 October 2004


The Gaza “Disengagement Plan”, the Israeli government’s plan to remove troops and Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip would not end Israel’s occupation of the territory, Human Rights Watch said today. As an occupying power, Israel will retain responsibility for the welfare of Gaza’s civilian population. Under the “disengagement” plan endorsed Tuesday by the Knesset, Israeli forces will keep control over Gaza’s borders, coastline and airspace, and will reserve the right to launch incursions at will. Israel will continue to wield overwhelming power over the territory’s economy and its access to trade. 

Thinking beyond Arafat

Ali Abunimah 31 October 2004


The grave illness of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has given rise to frenzied speculation about what will happen after he is no longer on the scene. Much of this speculation is based on the false premise that the presence or absence of a single individual is a decisive factor in settling a complex, century-old conflict. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah argues that the “Arafat issue” is a major distraction, and examines who has a vested interest in the veteran Palestinian leader’s survival. 

The International Court and the Wall: An Alternative Road Map

30 October 2004


The ICJ advisory opinion, one of the most important legal opinions on the question of Palestine and international peace and security in the region since the United Nations assumed responsibility for the future of the country in 1947, presents a clear alternative to the status quo � i.e., the Oslo process, the international Road Map, the Sharon disengagement plan, and, the April 2004 US letter of assurance to Israel. International law provides the foundation for this alternative. The legal opinion rendered by the ICJ lays out the �driving rules� or universal standards for resolving the conflict. 

Photostory: Khiam Detention Camp

Arjan El Fassed 30 October 2004


In October 2004, EI’s Arjan El Fassed traveled to Jordan and Lebanon. He visited a number of refugee camps and offices of the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Lebanon and Syria. In Lebanon he also traveled along Lebanon’s southern border where he visited what is left of Khiam Detention Camp, a prison and interrogation camp, used by Israel and the South Lebanese Army from 1985 until the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000. The detention camp is now empty. The prisoners’ testimonies and the cells bear witness to what went on inside. Prisoners were crammed into tiny, filthy spaces where they ate and slept. 

The Rachel Corrie Rebuilding Campaign in Gaza

29 October 2004


You’ve heard us say for months that The Rebuilding Alliance is working to build the home that Rachel Corrie stood to safeguard. In the spirit of Ramadan and its call to empathy, we want to let you inside our strategy to build the Nasrallah family home and help end home demolitions in Gaza. We’re encouraging Americans to take in the personal stories of Palestinian families, to invest in their future by helping them rebuild homes and schools, and to defend their rights in court. And when bulldozers are coming, we know we can save those homes and schools when citizens call Congress to intervene. By building this home in Rachel’s name, and then the next, we are building momentum to prevent what Human Rights Watch called “the planned destruction of hundreds more homes” in Gaza. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

28 October 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 26 Palestinians, 11 of whom were civilians, including 2 children and a woman. Seventeen of the victims were killed during an Israeli offensive on Khan Yunis. Two of the victims were extra-judicially killed by Israeli troops. Israeli troops invaded Khan Yunis; they destroyed 34 houses and some civilian facilities. Israeli troops conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces destroyed eight homes and at least 190 donums of agricultural land were razed in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces raided homes and dozens of Palestinian civilians were arrested. Israel continued shelling of residential areas and the construction of the Apartheid Wall. 

EI on FOX News

29 October 2004


EI’s Ali Abunimah was invited on to FOX News’ “Your World with Neil Cavuto” on 28 October 2004 to speak about the fallout in the event of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat not being able to continue to serve in his office. “Anyone who thinks that it makes a jot of difference whether Sharon is removed or Arafat is removed I think will be very disappointed when they see that the conflict grinds on and the only thing that will resolve the conflict is dealing with its root causes: military occupation, settlements and Israel’s determination to hold on to as much Palestinian territory as possible.” 

Photostory: Palestinian refugees, Wavel

Arjan El Fassed 28 October 2004


In October 2004, EI’s Arjan El Fassed traveled to Jordan and Lebanon. He visited a number of refugee camps and offices of the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Lebanon and Syria. In Lebanon he visited Rashidieh, Ein al-Hilwa, and Wavel camp. Wavel camp is located in the Beqaa Valley, near Baalbek. Originally a French army barracks, the camp hosts more than 8,000 refugees. French authorities provided shelter to the refugees in 1948 in the original twelve buildings. Although the camp has suffered less destruction than other camps during the war in Lebanon, living conditions are particularly severe. 

Prisoner Stories: Majdi Hasan Mousa

Rima Merriman Bethlehem 1 November 2004


Aysheh’s youngest son, Majdi, the only one among her children to graduate from college, is in Israeli prison. In April of this year, he graduated from Bethlehem University with a degree in physical therapy. When he was arrested, he was looking for steady work while taking odd jobs as a masseur for $10 a sitting. For four years, he has been engaged to a young woman from Aida Refugee Camp. Being unmarried, he was the main support for his aged parents. Israeli soldiers broke into the back of the family compound to pick Majdi up in the early hours of the morning a few months ago. 

Photostory: Palestinian refugees, Ein Hilweh

Arjan El Fassed 28 October 2004


In October 2004, EI’s Arjan El Fassed traveled to Jordan and Lebanon. He visited a number of refugee camps and offices of the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Lebanon and Syria. In Lebanon he visited Rashidieh, Ein al-Hilwa, and Wavel camp. Ein Hilweh refugee camp lies 45 km south of Beirut near Saida. It is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, both in area size and population. Ein el-Hilweh has been frequently assaulted, particularly between 1982 and 1991, resulting in a high number of casualties and near total destruction of the camp. 

How could it have been different?

Ahmad Sub Laban Palestine 29 October 2004


On October 21, Israel assassinated Adnan Ghoul, the number two man on its hit list in the Palestinian territories, after three previous assassination attempts on his life over the past four years had failed. Sixty-eight years ago, however, claimed an Israeli newspaper article two days later, Ghoul’s grandfather had saved a neighboring Jewish village from any harm during the Palestinian revolt of 1936. The fates of the two Ghouls is an interesting illustration of the understandings of the two peoples about their histories. Ahmad Sub Laban traces their respective histories for the Palestine Report. 

Photostory: Palestinian refugees, Rashidieh

Arjan El Fassed 28 October 2004


In October 2004, EI’s Arjan El Fassed traveled to Jordan and Lebanon. He visited a number of refugee camps and offices of the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Lebanon and Syria. In Lebanon he visited Rashidieh, Ein al-Hilwa, and Wavel camp. Rashidieh camp lies on the Lebanese seashore, 10 km from the northern part of Palestine and 5 km from the southern port of Tyre or Sour. Rashidieh camp was heavily affected by the war in Lebanon and the Israeli invasion of 1982. The camp’s inhabitants are only able to find work in seasonal agriculture and construction. There is no sewerage network and sewage flows into open ditches along roads and pathways. 

Photostory: Palestinian refugees, Wihdat

Arjan El Fassed 28 October 2004


In October 2004, EI’s Arjan El Fassed traveled to Jordan and Lebanon. He visited a number of refugee camps and offices of the Palestine Red Crescent Society in Lebanon and Syria. In Jordan, he visited Wihdat, or Amman New Camp, south east of the Jordanian capital. Wihdat, Jordan’s second largest Palestinian refugee camp is one of the four refugee camps established after 1948 in Jordan. The camp was set up in 1955 to host some 5,000 refugees on an area of 488,000 square meters. Currently, more than 50,000 registered refugees are living in Wihdat. Jordan has the largest concentration of Palestinian refugees, with nearly two million in 13 camps. 

Secretary-General notes Israel's withdrawal of rocket allegation against UNRWA

27 October 2004


The Secretary-General has reviewed the report by the Investigation Team from the Secretariat which has inquired into the Israeli allegations against UNRWA personnel. The Secretary-General takes note of the Team’s conclusion that the allegation that a rocket was loaded into an UNRWA ambulance was unjustified as the object, in fact, was a folding stretcher of the type carried as normal equipment in UNRWA ambulances. He also takes note that, following the Team’s visit, the Government of Israel has admitted that it wrongly identified the stretcher as a Qassam Rocket and has publicly withdrawn the allegations. 

Iman: Executing another child in Rafah

Omar Barghouti 29 October 2004


Iman al-Hams was a 13-year old refugee schoolgirl who was executed — after being wounded — by an Israeli platoon commander on the sad sands of Rafah. In a flash, Israel proved to the world — yet again — that it is not only intransigent in its patent and consistent violation of international law, but also incapable of adhering to the most fundamental principles of moral behavior. Omar Barghouti comments. 

Chicago film crew explores Palestine through the lens of soccer

27 October 2004


Futbol Palestina 2006 (working name) is a documentary about a soccer team and the unique challenge of representing a nation under occupation: Palestine. The story is told through five of the players, Palestinians from around the world, including those from the territories occupied by Israel and others from as far as Latin America. The team’s stated purpose has been to claim a spot in the World Cup, the most important single sporting event in the world. The film crew is currently in the Middle East collecting material ahead of Palestine’s last World Cup qualifying match against Iraq in Amman, Jordan, in November. 

Peace with Jordan: Another opportunity missed by Israel

Hasan Abu Nimah 27 October 2004


Regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah was a member of the joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation at the Washington peace talks in the early 1990s, and he was present when the Jordan-Israel peace treaty was signed ten years ago. He argues that Israel views this treaty, like other agreements, as a tool to strengthen itself at the expense of its neighbours, and has squandered the chance for genuine peace. On the sombre 10th anniversary of the treaty, Israelis should ask their leaders why they never missed an opportunity to miss all the opportunities for peace that their neighbours have repeatedly offered them. 

ExpoTech Palestine in Gaza from December 4th-6th

26 October 2004


ExpoTech Palestine Exhibition will be held at the Rashad Al Shawa Cultural Center, Gaza from December 4th—6th 2004. Claim your exhibition space at the technology crossroads of Palestine Gaza City. Meet your market, launch, preview and demo products. Sell your proven technology solutions. Your competition will be here. Anybody who’s anybody in developing, manufacturing or marketing information and communications technology products, services and solutions will participates at ExpoTech Palestine. Shouldn’t you be here, too? NOTE: THIS EVENT WAS CANCELLED ON NOVEMBER 11TH. Organisers took the decision due to the political circumstances and the limited space sold for the Exhibition. 

Hills of God

Joe Carr Hebron, Ramallah 26 October 2004


Many of the Muslims in Ramallah are secular; combine this with a load of young western liberals, and you get the Las Vegas of Palestine. Birzeit University is located just north of the city, and it is quite the college atmosphere. Bir Zeit in Arabic means “Wells of Olive Oil”, but in German it means “Beer Time”, and this is a more fitting description. Restaurants and bars line the streets, and young internationals and Palestinians wander around raising hell. It is here where the idea of throwing paint bombs at Israeli soldiers arose. Now one can frequently see Israeli jeeps driving by covered in bright pink paint, and no guard tower has escaped colorization by mischievous shebab (youth). 

Prisoner Stories: Zafer Abdel Jawad al-Rimawi

Rima Merriman Abu Dis, Palestine 26 October 2004


Zafer’s first interrogation period at the Moskoubieh (Russian Compound in Jerusalem) lasted for 65 days, during which time he was tortured and kept naked in a one meter by one meter holding cell. His father learned through Zafer’s lawyer that Zafer had to be taken to a recovery room, where he stayed for three weeks due to the severity of the torture. A year and a half ago, Israeli intelligence officers, Riyad and Iyas, came looking for his brother Muneef. They ransacked the house and now periodically show up to look for him. Muneef remains on the run. 

UN Security Council briefing: More vigorous international engagement crucial to ending Middle East violence

22 October 2004


Calling for a more vigorous international engagement in the Middle East as an indispensable ingredient in ending the violence and bringing fresh hope for peace, Kieran Prendergast, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told the Security Council this morning that he had painfully little that was positive to report on the situation and much that was negative. Briefing the Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, he said it had been heard from many quarters that the time had come for a renewed peace effort, but that the parties to the conflict could not succeed if left to themselves. 

Israeli offensive on the Northern Gaza Strip kills 12 Palestinians

25 October 2004


In the context of reprisals against Palestinian civilians and their property, since Sunday evening, 24 October 2004, 12 Palestinians, 6 of whom were civilians, including a child, have been killed, and 63 others, including 20 children, have been injured by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). In addition, IOF destroyed a house belonging to the family of a wanted Palestinians and 2 neighboring houses. They also destroyed some civilian property and areas of agricultural land. These attacks have taken place during an ongoing Israeli military incursion into al-Nimsawi neighborhood and Baten al-Samin area in the south of Khan Yunis. 

Electronic Intifada featured in book declaring dissent patriotic

24 October 2004


Electronic Intifada co-founder Laurie King-Irani is one of nearly forty authors featured in a new book, Patriotism, Democracy and Common Sense: Restoring America’s Promise at Home and Abroad, published by the Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation of Washington, DC. The book aims to educate Americans about alternatives to current US foreign, economic, Middle East, domestic, media, campaign finance, and voting rights policies. King-Irani’s chapter, “Awakening the American Political Debate on Palestine and Israel,” examines the role of the internet in building networks of citizen-activists to confront one of the most pressing issues of US foreign policy: the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. 

UNRWA Gaza field assessment of IDF Operation Days of Penitence

22 October 2004


Late on 28 September 2004 large numbers of Israeli Defence Force (IDF) tanks, bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers moved into Northern Gaza from permanent bases in Nissanit settlement, Erez Industrial Zone and the Eastern Border, tearing up roads and flattening homes and crops as they pushed forward. Israeli Army units established strategic positions on high ground overlooking the Jabalia, Izbet Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia areas; troops also deployed along the main road between Jabalia camp and Beit Hanoun and on the northern and eastern sides of Jabalia camp. 

"A failure by the Western media"

21 October 2004


“The book is based on a very long research study centered on public knowledge (from Europe and the US). We found that everybody in our sample had watched news on the conflict; they had memories of it, they could describe events they had seen. However, what we found was that, overwhelmingly, very few people understood the origins, the causes of the conflict.” Greg Philo, author of Bad News From Israel, explains in an interview with the Palestine Report his troubling research findings regarding media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the U.S. and the U.K.
 

Weekly report on human rights violations

21 October 2004


IOF have perpetrated more violations of human rights against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). This week, 10 Palestinians, 5 of whom were civilians, including 2 elderly people, were killed, and at least 20 civilians were wounded by Israeli troops. Human rights violations perpetrated by IOF included willful killings, incursions into Palestinian areas, indiscriminate shelling, land leveling and total closure imposed on Palestinian communities. Also this week, settlers, who were fully supported by Israeli troops, attacked Palestinian farmers, who have started to cultivate their olives, and prevented many of these farmers from reaching their agricultural land. 

Palestine takes centre stage at the European Social Forum

Victor Kattan 21 October 2004


“End the oppression, end the occupation” was the rallying cry at the European Social Forum in London last weekend, where thousands of delegates from all walks of life descended on Alexandra Palace united in the belief that “another world is possible.” Dennis Brutus, a poet, professor and former political prisoner who spent time on Robin Island with Nelson Mandela “breaking stones”, said it was “encouraging to see the crowds that have attended on each occasion to discuss the issue of the Palestinian people and their struggle for social justice.” He urged the audience to build a “global movement in support of the Palestinian people” just like was done in South Africa. “We can do this by boycotts, divestments, embargoes and sanctions” he said. 

Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes

Derek Summerfield 20 October 2004


Does the death of an Arab weigh the same as that of a US or Israeli citizen? The Israeli army, with utter impunity, has killed more unarmed Palestinian civilians since September 2000 than the number of people who died on September 11, 2001. In conducting 238 extrajudicial executions the army has also killed 186 bystanders (including 26 women and 39 children). Two thirds of the 621 children (two thirds under 15 years) killed at checkpoints, in the street, on the way to school, in their homes, died from small arms fire, directed in over half of cases to the head, neck and chest—the sniper’s wound. Clearly, soldiers are routinely authorised to shoot to kill children in situations of minimal or no threat. These statistics attract far less publicity than suicide bombings, atrocious though these are too. Derek Summerfield comments. 

Guava in Jabalia: First Bite, Last Breath

Sami Abu Salem Jabalya refugee camp 20 October 2004


The seeds of guava were still between 13-year-old Saber Assaliya’s lips when an Israeli tank shot him in the waist. The boy was playing in a nearby orchard at the southern tip of the Jabalia Refugee Camp, in the north of Gaza. Saber’s father Ibrahim recalls, “After eight years [of attempting to have children], Saber’s first scream filled the hospital. I was extremely happy; I distributed sweets for all medical staff and patients in the hospital and the to those in the neighbourhood. I followed all the details of raising Saber. And in just seconds, the Israeli tanks turned him into a memory.” 

IPI Intifada Report Says Press Freedom Deteriorating: Heavy Media Casualties, Perpetrators Go Unpunished

20 October 2004


The International Press Institute (IPI) today published the IPI Intifada Report, a chronicle and statistical analysis of 562 press freedom violations during the first four years of the Palestinian Uprising. At least 478 press freedom violations were carried out by the Israeli state, including the government, the judiciary, and even the legislators. Sixteen violations were committed by Israeli settlers and civilians. Three were perpetrated jointly by Israeli soldiers and settlers. As a result, at least 497 abuses, or 88.4 per cent of all violations, were perpetrated by Israelis. Another 29 violations were carried out by the Palestinian authorities, 15 by Palestinian militants, 7 by Palestinian civilians, and one jointly by Palestinian authorities and civilians. 

UNICEF starts distribution of 40,000 school bags in Gaza Strip

19 October 2004


UNICEF today began distribution of more than 40,000 school bags to children in the Gaza Strip, starting with schools damaged by the recent military incursions into the North. “The school bags are a token of support that give a sense of normalcy in the lives of children, a sense of no matter the circumstance, education must continue” said Dan Rohrmann, the UNICEF Special Representative for the occupied Palestinian territory. “Children’s right to education must be upheld.” The distribution of the bright blue school bags is timed to coincide with the resumption of classes at the end of a 2 week disruption - and with the cessation of military activity in the Northern Gaza Strip. 

Razing Rafah: Mass home demolitions in the Gaza Strip

18 October 2004


Over the past four years, the Israeli military has demolished over 2,500 Palestinian houses in the occupied Gaza Strip. Nearly two-thirds of these homes were in Rafah, a densely populated refugee camp and city at the southern end of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt. Sixteen thousand people - more than ten percent of Rafah’s population - have lost their homes, most of them refugees, many of whom were dispossessed for a second or third time. It is difficult to reconcile the IDF’s stated rationales with the widespread destruction that has taken place, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch. 

The "Days of Penitence": Gaza Sinks in a Sea of Blood

Mohammed Omer Gaza Strip 18 October 2004


It smells unbelievably bad here. To walk down any street, if you dare to, you skirt, or sometimes unavoidably walk through, pools of blood. There are shreds of human flesh, some of them unrecognizable as human remains — all over, on rooftops, plastered to broken windows, on the street. The stench of rotting blood mixes with the more acrid odor of flesh burnt to black char by the rockets fired by the Israeli Army’s American-made Apache helicopters. Volunteer crews are gathering these human fragments and bringing them to Jabalya’s two hospitals but the ambulances cannot possibly keep up with the flood of newly dead and injured. 

The First Day of Ramadan

Samia A. Halaby Jerusalem, Palestine 18 October 2004


Today (October 15) I planned to go photograph a new discovery of the visual art of Al Quds (Jerusalem). The Coptic Church in the old city is filled with two rows of murals on all of its walls, executed in 1961 by a Palestinian artist who had experienced the Nakbe. A friend stopped me, saying go run now or else I’d would be stuck in the crush of people going to pray the noon prayer at Al Aqsa. Not only is it Friday, but it’s also the first day of Ramadan. And oh, she added, the place will also be full of Israeli soldiers and police — they will seem to number as many as the worshipers, she said. 

Gaza Daily Update, 7.00 PM

14 October 2004


Since the wide-scale Israeli military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, 133 Palestinians have been killed, including 31 children and 24 Palestinians in other parts of Gaza. At least 432 Palestinians, including 139 children were injured. Numerous homes and private property have also been destroyed as IOF utilize air force and heavy tanks in this military operation. In addition, as the incursion continues, the civilian population of the area suffer shortage in food and water supply. In the areas which IOF occupy civilians lack the most basic needs. Al Mezan is still receiving plights from people who have been in urgent need for medicine and water. 

Here's hoping: Primal Scream for Palestine

Bobby Gillespie 15 October 2004


“Tomorrow our band Primal Scream, together with Spiritualized and some other special guests, are playing in London for the children of Palestine. As far as I know, it’s the first time that a benefit gig has been staged on this scale in Britain for the Palestinian people. It is often said that the Palestinian issue is so difficult and sensitive that it’s better not to get involved. But the truth is, it’s not. It’s easy. There is no shortage of musicians ready to show their support for the Palestinians at this time in their struggle.” Bobby Gillespie spreads some hope in the pages of The Guardian. 

Three hours at Kalandia checkpoint

Neta Golan Qalandiya checkpoint, Palestine 15 October 2004


Today I was dreading having to witness the humiliation of people. I was dreading the frightened children, the crying babies, the old and infirm forced to wait while being bossed around by armed men the age of their sons or their grandchildren. “Stand, wait, walk…” I was dreading having to witness people being threatened or beaten by the Israeli soldiers. I was dreading not being able to intervene physically because my baby daughter Shaden was coming with me. I was dreading the helplessness and the rage that comes with crossing Kalandia checkpoint. But, It was the first training of the olive harvest campaign and I wanted to be there. So I took my daughter Shaden and a very deep breath, and called a cab… 

The New York Times' coverage of Operation "Days of Penitence" in Gaza

Zachary Wales 15 October 2004


One need not look further than the present, Gaza’s “Red October”. To date, Israeli forces have killed over 140 Palestinians, while some ten-times that number are homeless and starving. For the most part, the Times has its snake oils out again. A few exceptions stand out, like the vaguely balanced and grimly titled feature by Steven Erlanger, “Intifada’s Legacy at Year 4: A Morass of Faded Hopes”; or the October 4 op-ed by Michael Tarazi, which, unlike other Times op-eds, was pulled from the Web site the following day. Zachary Wales reports. 

Letter from Tuwani

Joe Carr Tuwani, West Bank 15 October 2004


Tuwani is a Palestinian village of 150 people in the southern Hebron hills of the West Bank. There are a dozen or so other villages in the area, even smaller than Tuwani. These villages have been on this land for over five hundred years, and have largly maintained their ancient way of life. They build their homes out of stones, with domed stone roofs, or they live in caves. In the 1980s, Israel began building settlments (or colonies) in these hills. They have systematically expanded them, confiscating more and more of these villages’ farm and grazing land. Some of the smaller villages have been destroyed entirely by the Israeli military or rampaging settlers. This simple and loving village of Tuwani has demolition orders on every house and building, including the recently built school and a partially built clinic. Joe Carr reports. 

Gaza Daily Update, 7.00

13 October 2004


Since the wide-scale Israeli military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, 129 Palestinians have been killed, including 31 children and 23 Palestinians in other parts of Gaza. At least 421 Palestinians, including 138 children were injured. Numerous homes and private property have also been destroyed as IOF utilize air force and heavy tanks in this military operation. In addition, as the incursion continues, the civilian population of the area suffer shortage in food and water supply. In the areas which IOF occupy civilians lack the most basic needs. Al Mezan is still receiving plights from people who have been in urgent need for medicine and water. 

UN agency faces $120 million shortfall for emergency aid to Palestinians

14 October 2004


The United Nations relief agency assisting Palestinians faces a $120 million shortfall for its emergency operations this year in Gaza and the West Bank, donor countries were told today. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said only $89.4 million has been pledged for its $209.4 million Emergency Appeal for Gaza and the West Bank. The Agency’s regular budget will also face a $7.3 million deficit by the end of 2004. The directors of UNRWA’s main programmes – which provide education, health, relief and social services, micro-credit and camp development to the refugees – also presented to the two-day meeting of 26 major donor countries plans for upgrading the Agency’s services over the next three to five years. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

13 October 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 33 Palestinians, including seven children and a mentally disabled man. The majority was killed during the Israeli offensive on the northern Gaza Strip. One of the victims was a schoolchild who was killed while sitting on her desk and another child who was willfully shot dead. Israeli troops conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces destroyed 23 homes and razed 156 donums of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces raided homes and arrested dozens of Palestinian civilians. Israeli forces continued shelling of residential areas and civilian facilities. Israel continued the construction of the Apartheid Wall in the West Bank. 

Documentary film review: "Checkpoint"

Maureen Clare Murphy 15 October 2004


“When the Palestinians come we put on our show,” says a youthful Israeli soldier manning a checkpoint at Nablus’ Jericho road. This “show,” as it is richly documented in the new Israeli film Checkpoint, serves a seemingly dual purpose. First and foremost, it is intended to remind Palestinians just who is in power; and secondly, it serves as a form of entertainment to the young Israelis whose compulsory military service finds them wasting their time and talents at these roadblocks in the occupied Palestinian territories. 

Making sense of our times: Excerpts from "Is There an Islamic Problem?"

M. Shahid Alam 14 October 2004


September 11 brings into the open, forcing into the daylight of consciousness, the legacies of history - of racial hubris, of disequilibria imposed by wars, of messianism, of reincarnated fossils, of tribalism sanctified by religion, of racial hubris, of social science in the service of power, of naked greed disguised in the rhetoric of the civilizing mission, of citizens fed on lies and sedated by amusements, of cruelty cultivated as a racial virtue, of injustices that cannot be allowed to stand. September 11 establishes beyond reasonable doubt that the United States is deeply, irrevocably connected to the Arab world, the Islamicate world, in ways it cannot ignore or deny. 

Danger: Olive harvest, settlers on the prowl

Atef Saad 14 October 2004


The olive harvest season is usually a happy occasion for farmers, but Fares Hanani looks ahead to this year’s harvest with trepidation. At the age of 70, he has seen plenty of harvests come and go on the mountainous terrain near Beit Fourik he and his brothers inherited from their father and grandfather, but the last couple of years have been especially difficult. Two years ago, the Israeli government financed the construction of “security zones” around Nablus area settlements, some as wide as 400 meters and all complete with electrified fences and security cameras. 

Gaza Daily Update, 7.00 PM

12 October 2004


Since the wide-scale Israeli military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, 123 Palestinians have been killed, including 31 children and 20 Palestinians in other parts of Gaza. At least 407 Palestinians, including 135 children were injured. Numerous homes and private property have also been destroyed as IOF utilize air force and heavy tanks in this military operation. In addition, as the incursion continues, the civilian population of the area suffer shortage in food and water supply. In the areas which IOF occupy civilians lack the most basic needs. Al Mezan is still receiving plights from people who have been in urgent need for medicine and water. 

Jabalia: "Hamdulillah Assalamah"

Sami Abu Salem Jabalia refugee camp, Palestine 13 October 2004


WAFA — “Hamdulillah Assalama” (“Praise God for your safety”), the residents of Jabalia Refugee Camp repeat whenever they meet each other in the dusty roads and lanes of the camp. Groups of people are paying condolence visits at dozens of condolence tents scattered in the camp. The scene is eerily similar to theway that people here celebrate and congratulate each other on major religious holidays, such as Eid al-Fitr. Sand mixes with the ash of tyres scattered along the roads of the camp. Every night, the residents burn the tyres in order to create a shield of smoke thick enough to jam the signals of the Israeli drones crisscrossing the sky. Sami Abu Salem reports from northern Gaza. 

Medical impact of Israel's military assault on northern Gaza

12 October 2004


The Israeli army entered northern Gaza with a large force on 28 September 2004. Large numbers of Palestinians have been killed and injured, many of them civilians. As of 13 October, the UN reported a total of 94 killed, 417 injured in north Gaza, more than 25% persons 18 years or younger. Five Israelis have died, including two children. Two small hospitals in the north, Kamal Adwan and Al Awda, have cared for most of the casualties, before transferring the more serious cases to Shifa and Al Quds hospitals in Gaza City. Many of the dead bodies were in pieces, and the majority of casualties have suffered potentially disabling injuries, due to the frequent Israeli use of heavy weapons such as missiles. 

Israel withdraws charge that driver loaded rocket into UN ambulance

13 October 2004


The Israeli Government has withdrawn its charge that video footage showed a United Nations ambulance driver handling a rocket, acknowledging that the object was a stretcher as the world body had asserted. Responding to the reversal, a spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a statement calling for correct handling of any further issues which might arise. “The Secretary-General expects the Government of Israel to share with the United Nations, through normal diplomatic channels, any information it might have so that the matter may be properly investigated.” 

EU launches new initiative as deportation of Palestinians is extended

Arjan El Fassed 3 November 2004


The European Union is on the verge of introducing a major new policy designed to bring member states closer to their neighbors. Launching a new initiative towards Israel and the Palestinian Authority and concluding negotiations on a new bilateral agreement with Israel, the EU this week also adopted a common position to extend the permits of Palestinians deported from Bethlehem in May 2002 for a further period of twelve months. EI co-founder Arjan El Fassed argues that the EU has never taken concrete steps to enforce international law in Occupied Palestine. A serious EU step towards enforcing international law should start with respecting the law itself. 

Of settler crimes and media silence

13 October 2004


If Americans appreciated the scale of human rights abuses committed by Israeli colonists in the occupied territories, they would condemn the journalists who keep them in the dark, a US peace activist says. Kim Lamberty, a member of the Christian Peacemakers Teams (CPT), has told Aljazeera.net on Tuesday that a cruel and criminal practice is largely going unreported: settlers are routinely attacking children on their way to school. And Lamberty should know. Unable to walk since a vicious attack on 29 September by Jewish colonists, she says physical assaults on schoolchildren and the volunteers who escort them have all increased in the past two weeks. 

PCBS releases 2004 "Computer, Internet and Mobile Phone" survey

13 October 2004


The Computer, Internet and Mobile Phone Survey is a random sample survey implemented by the Paestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in the period 20 July–24 August 2004. The sample size is 7,557 households, 4,992 households in the West Bank and 2,565 households in Gaza Strip. This year’s survey revealed that 35.7% persons aged 10 years and over use a computer, 33.3% have access to the Internet, and 30.0% own a mobile phone. In the Arab World, Palestine thus tops the list of countries whose Internet usage has reached the largest percentage of the population, with the UAE at 33.2% Internet access. 

CKUT Radio: War Crimes in Jabaliya Refugee Camp

Stefan Christoff 13 October 2004


Listen to an interview with Al-Jazeera’s English Gaza correspondent Laila El-Haddad, who has been reporting from Jabaliya refugee camp throughout the recent Israeli incursions. The interview provides a first hand account on the current crisis in Jabaliya, while also focusing on the growing movement throughout the world to introduce an economic boycott toward Israel. Interviewer: Stefan Christoff. Format: MP3, 16:27 minutes. 

Strangulation

Samia A. Halaby Jerusalem, Palestine 12 October 2004


“The news from Palestine is so bad and the process of strangulation applied by Israel is so constant and murderous that one expects the worst. But I always find silent resistance, the natural tenacity of life, and the stubbornness of the Palestinians erasing my mental pictures of doom. Still yet, the disastrous applications of the Israelis take my breath away.” Samia Halaby, who was forced to leave Palestine in 1948. Her family emigrated to the United States where she became an artist and taught at American Universities, including the Yale School of Art. These days she is back in Palestine and writing about her experiences. 

Gaza Daily Update, 7.00 PM

11 October 2004


Since the wide-scale Israeli military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, 115 Palestinians have been killed, including 29 children and 17 Palestinians in other parts of Gaza. At least 381 Palestinians, including 127 children were injured. Numerous homes and private property have also been destroyed as IOF utilize air force and heavy tanks in this military operation. In addition, as the incursion continues, the civilian population of the area suffer shortage in food and water supply. In the areas which IOF occupy civilians lack the most basic needs. Al Mezan is still receiving plights from people who have been in urgent need for medicine and water. 

Gaza Daily Update, 7.00 PM

12 October 2004


Since the wide-scale Israeli military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, 116 Palestinians have been killed, including 29 children and 18 Palestinians in other parts of Gaza. At least 381 Palestinians, including 128 children were injured. Numerous homes and private property have also been destroyed as IOF utilize air force and heavy tanks in this military operation. In addition, as the incursion continues, the civilian population of the area suffer shortage in food and water supply. In the areas which IOF occupy civilians lack the most basic needs. Al Mezan is still receiving plights from people who have been in urgent need for medicine and water. 

Palestinian development forum initiates aid projects for Gaza

12 October 2004


A new $3 million project to help rehabilitate Palestinian farmlands was announced today in conjunction with a United Nations-backed international forum meeting in Beirut to address the damaging effects of the Israeli occupation. The Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Mervat Tallawy, said the new initiative will be carried out by the Iitilaf Al-Kheir association. Her comments came during a press conference where the Islamic Development Bank, working in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, also announced a new Gaza Initiative - with a starting fund of $26 million - aimed at providing direct assistance to the Palestinian people. 

Double standards that kill

Hasan Abu Nimah 13 October 2004


As usual, there has been a disproportionate and unbalanced reaction to recent and ongoing violence in our region. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah looks at the media, official and UN reactions to Israel’s massacres in Gaza and US attacks in Iraq on the one hand, and the Taba bombings and attacks on westerners in Iraq on the other. More and more we see a world in which those who possess high-tech weaponry and uniforms are entitled to kill people far from their shores with absolute impunity and call it “self-defence” while those who challenge them in their own streets and villages in any way are labelled “terrorists”. 

US can't ignore Palestine-Israel conflict forever

Ali Abunimah 13 October 2004


President Bush and Senator John Kerry have avoided mentioning the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in their campaigns. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah writes that while this is politically understandable, the next president will not be able to ignore it for long. US actions, combined with recent statements by a top Israeli official have only reinforced the worst suspicions of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims that the United States is in cahoots with Israel to allow Israel to complete the colonization of the West Bank. Is there a way forward? 

Girl shot in UNRWA school dies

13 October 2004


At 9.15 this morning, Ghadeer Jaber Mokheimer, a grade five pupil at UNRWA’s Co-Ed Elementary D School in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip died of her injuries from a gunshot wound received while sitting at her desk in an UNRWA school. She had been hit in the stomach by a shot from an Israeli military position on the outskirts of Khan Younis camp. Ghadeer would have been ten years old on December 9. The nine year old is the second young child in recent weeks to die after being shot while sitting at her desk in an UNRWA school. 

Annan laments ongoing violence in Gaza as another girl is hit by Israeli gunfire

12 October 2004


In a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr. Annan said he deplored the “high toll of death and injuries among the civilian population” and grieved “for the many children who have been killed or wounded” during the Israeli military operations in the north of the Gaza Strip. The Secretary-General said he was disturbed by the destruction of civilian property, infrastructure and agricultural land during the operations and called on the Israeli Government to do its utmost to avoid harming Palestinian civilians. Reminding both sides of their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians, he urged them to cease all forms of violence and search for a peaceful settlement. 

Experts urge Arab-international partnership to help Palestinians

10 October 2004


With Palestinians’ living conditions deteriorating drastically, hundreds of experts gathered at the United Nations headquarters in Beirut today to kick off a four-day meeting aimed at generating long-term solutions to their plight. Officially called “The Arab International Forum on Rehabilitation and Development in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Towards an Independent State,” the unprecedented event aimed at helping to build a secure, sustainable and sovereign Palestine. Organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the Arab League and the PA, the meeting drew more than 700 participants, including senior officials from across the region. 

Israeli gunfire hits 11-year old girl sitting at her desk in an UNRWA school

12 October 2004


A child sitting in the classroom of an UN-flagged school has been struck in the stomach by gunfire from an Israeli position in the Gaza Strip. This is the fourth such incident in under two years, last month an 11-year old girl died after being hit at her desk in Khan Younis. At 10:45hrs this morning, two shots were heard from the direction of an Israeli army position on the border of the Gush Katif settlement block and overlooking Khan Younis refugee camp. One of the shots hit Ghadeer Jaber Mokheimer, a grade five pupil at UNRWA’s Co-Ed Elementary D School. Ghadeer was immediately taken to hospital and into emergency surgery. Her condition is currently reported as stable. 

Amin Salem 1969 - 2004: UHWC staff member killed during Israeli operation

Mona El-Farra Gaza Strip 12 October 2004


Yesterday I arrived at work to the most shocking news. A colleague of mine, Amin Salem from the human resources department, was killed when an Israeli army tank shelled his home in Beit Lahia. Amin’s uncle also died in the shelling and three family members were seriously injured. Everyone at the office is in a state of disbelief. I still cannot come to terms with our loss. Only a few hours before he was killed, Amin walked into my office with some paper work, smiling as usual despite the unbearable situation caused by the occupation army. 

Gaza families live in the shadow of death

Laila El-Haddad Gaza 11 October 2004


The last thing that young Suha Ayub Ibayd remembers before a barrage of tank fire ripped through her home is huddling together with her parents and eight brothers and sisters. They had taken cover in the middle of their living-room floor hoping to find shelter from the mass of military machines that had rumbled into their neighbourhood minutes earlier on October 6. Now she lies listlessly in her hospital bed, trying to absorb as well as any nine-year-old could the events of that morning. She survived with relatively light wounds. The same cannot be said, however, about her younger sister, fighting for her life in the hospital’s intensive care unit, or about many of her neighbours. 

Israeli assault on Gaza leaves scores dead and many homeless

6 October 2004


The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has drastically deteriorated in the past few days during one of the biggest Israeli assaults on the Occupied Palestinian Territories for years. Israeli troops mounted Operation Days of Penitence on 1 October, three days after two Israeli children were killed in the Israeli settlement town of Sderot from a rocket fired from the Palestinian Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza. About 2,000 Israeli troops, with 200 tanks and armoured vehicles, have been deployed in the area. Hundreds of Palestinian homes have been demolished and acres of agricultural land destroyed, according to British media reports. 

Gaza Daily Update, 7.00 PM

10 October 2004


Since the wide-scale Israeli military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, 111 Palestinians have been killed, including 29 children and 16 Palestinians in other parts of Gaza. At least 360 Palestinians, including 124 children were injured. Numerous homes and private property have also been destroyed as IOF utilize air force and heavy tanks in this military operation. In addition, as the incursion continues, the civilian population of the area suffer shortage in food and water supply. In the areas which IOF occupy civilians lack the most basic needs. Al Mezan is still receiving plights from people who have been in urgent need for medicine and water. 

Journey for Justice diaries: Bethlehem and Anata

Nathan Wright Bethlehem 14 October 2004


Four days ago, it was one month since I arrived in Palestine and it will be one year in total when it comes time to leave. Inshallah means, roughly, “God Willing.” Always I say inshallah when I say one year. Inshallah because one year is a long time. Inshallah because the longest visa I can get is three months. Inshallah because you never know in this land. I’m an international, an American, and I arrived one month and four days ago. That was one month and four days, though, and that’s not what this is about. Journey for Justice started yesterday, and it’s going to go for eight days. 

Killing in Jabaliya, "As Usual"

Sami Abu Salem Jabaliya refugee camp 10 October 2004


This morning I was at the kitchen making breakfast for my mother and myself at my apartment near al-Kholafa’ Mosque in Jabaliya Refugee Camp (population 106,000), north of Gaza. The provocative buzz of Israeli drones have not ceased since more than ten days hovering over the camp. I was carrying the teapot when an unprecedented explosion shook our quarter. The glass of the windows smashed, my mum shouted at me but I did not reply as I was frozen and carefully listening to the cries of the neighborhood children. 

NGOs urge governments, UN to tackle lack of protection for Palestinian refugees

8 October 2004


Governments usually guarantee protection for their citizens: basic human rights and physical security but Palestinians have no state or international body to provide for their protection. A group of non-governmental organizations, in a statement to the UNHCR Executive Committee meeting in Geneva 4-8 October, drew attention to the “continuing plight of millions of forcibly displaced Palestinians. Their situation is unique amongst forcibly displaced persons, as millions of them fall into a protection gap.” 

Médecins Sans Frontières asks for access to its patients in Gaza

9 October 2004


Since the beginning of this operation, Médecins Sans Frontières has received numerous calls asking for help to secure food, water and medicines for people blocked in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and Jabalia. In these zones, which remain isolated from the rest of Gaza, all movements have been impossible since September, 28. For the past eight days, MSF teams, who have both the capacity to treat and to provide food supplies for the families they are supporting, are unable to do so, for lack of authorization by the Israeli Defense Forces. Once again, MSF asks for access to its patients in the Gaza Strip. 

Gaza Daily Update, 7.00 PM

9 October 2004


Since the wide-scale Israeli military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, 107 Palestinians have been killed, including 29 children and 16 Palestinians in other parts of Gaza. At least 340 Palestinians, including 120 children were injured. Numerous homes and private property have also been destroyed as IOF utilize air force and heavy tanks in this military operation. In addition, as the incursion continues, the civilian population of the area suffer shortage in food and water supply. In the areas which IOF occupy civilians lack the most basic needs. Al Mezan is still receiving plights from people who have been in urgent need for medicine and water. 

Assassination in Khan Yunis, death toll Israeli raid northern Gaza rises to 83

9 October 2004


Israeli occupying troops committed an extra-judicial execution in Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, killing two Palestinians. This latest attack, which was the fourth of its kind in the Gaza Strip in one week, came in the context of an unprecedented level of escalation of attacks by Israeli occupying troops against Palestinian civilians and their property, especially in the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli occupying troops have continued their wide scale offensive on the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli forces have killed so far at least 83 Palestinians, including 25 children, and wounding at least 300 others, including nearly 110 children. 

The ICG report on Hamas: a shallow approach to a complex issue

Hasan Abu Nimah 10 February 2004


The prestigious International Crisis Group (ICG) has published a report entitled “Dealing with Hamas.” EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah reviewed it hoping to find an original and independent approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Instead, he finds little more than repetition of clichés and shallow recommendations based on an analysis that does not scratch the surface of misguided conventional widsom. One of its flaws is evident in its title - its authors seem to accept and endorse the widely-held view that had it not been for Hamas and suicide bombings, the region would be much closer to peace and security. This assumption has the attraction of being simple, and politically uncontroversial in the west, but it is also wrong. 

Palestinian UN observer sends letter to Kofi Annan and Security Council

6 October 2004


Nasser Al Kidwa, the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations addressed identical letters to Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the Security Council. In his letter he referred to the Israeli raid of northern Gaza. “The bloodletting in the Occupied Palestinian Territory persists as Israel, the occupying Power, continues to commit war crimes, State terrorism and systematic human rights violations against the Palestinian people. In absolute disregard for the international outcry and in grave breach of international law, the occupying Power continues to order its forces to launch violent military attacks against the Palestinian population in the Northern Gaza Strip area.” 

Gaza Daily Update, 7.00 PM

8 October 2004


Since the wide-scale Israeli military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, 101 Palestinians have been killed, including 32 children and 12 Palestinians in other parts of Gaza. At least 322 Palestinians, including 111 children were injured. Numerous homes and private property have also been destroyed as IOF utilize air force and heavy tanks in this military operation. In addition, as the incursion continues, the civilian population of the area suffer shortage in food and water supply. In the areas which IOF occupy civilians lack the most basic needs. Al Mezan is still receiving plights from people who have been in urgent need for medicine and water. 

Aid agency calls for effective international intervention in Gaza

8 October 2004


In a situation of ongoing violence and the sharply deteriorating humanitarian situation, civilians are now paying the highest price in growing numbers because of the escalating violence in Gaza, according to aid agency Oxfam International. Oxfam believes that civilians caught up in armed conflict have every right to be protected, as enshrined in the Geneva Conventions. Oxfam’s Regional Manager for the Middle East, Adam Leach, says: “Protecting civilians should not be a by-product of a political process but intrinsic to it. Their protection could strengthen the political process, safeguard civil society and reverse the decline in the security situation.” 

Breaking the impasse

Am Johal Canada 8 October 2004


The left is dead in Israel. And if you hold to the observation that social change related to human rights in Israel will be initiated by the left, this is a worrisome trend. In the land of home demolitions, military assassinations, movement restrictions, settlement construction, religious and secular strife, collective punishment, military incursions and legal and socio-economic discrimination, and all the psychological and physical damage associated with the Occupation there is a growing chorus of those who believe that the situation will deteriorate before it gets better. Am Johal shows the failure of leadership at every level in this conflict. 

Culture and dissent: Khalil Sakakini Center looks towards creative resistance

Am Johal 12 October 2004


Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center Director Adila Laidi explains that the role of culture evolves over time and raises to the public questions like the normalcy of the Israeli Occupation. If Edward Said and Noam Chomsky argue that the role of the intellectual is to speak truth to power and Bill Moyers says the same of journalism, then what Laidi is arguing is much the same for art and culture in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Laidi says that since the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000, there has been no normal life. And that as the role of art and culture develop as a means of expression in the context of the Occupation and the current intifada, the Sakakini Cultural Center has a duty to reach beyond the middle, educated classes. 

Gaza under Attack: Is this disengagement?

4 October 2004


At the beginning of 2004, Israeli forces were making Palestinian refugees homeless in southern Gaza on the border with Egypt. Now they’re doing the same in Jabalia refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government has a plan for “disengaging” from Gaza but has in fact brought additional troops and equipment into Gaza in the past week. Some 60 Palestinians have been killed, most of them civilians including children, more than 200 have been injured, homes have been destroyed and businesses and farms have been damaged in the past week in and around Jabalia. 

The Israeli "Disengagement" Plan: Gaza Still Occupied

PLO Negotiations Affairs Department 7 October 2004


“Under the ‘Disengagement’ Plan, Gazans will still be subjected to the effective control of the Israeli military. Although Israel will supposedly remove its permanent military presence, Israeli forces will retain the ability and right to enter the Gaza Strip at will. Further, Israel will retain control over Gaza’s airspace, sea shore, and borders.” A memo from the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department establishes that the Gaza Strip will still legally be Israeli-occupied territory even if the Plan is implemented and outlines Israel’s strategy behind the Plan. 

UNRWA convoy delivers first humanitarian relief to northern Gaza

7 October 2004


The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) today delivered food and water to half of the 600 families trapped in their homes east of Jabalyia camp by the Israeli incursion in the North of the Gaza Strip. The 600 families, approximately 3,300 persons, have been completely unable to leave their homes since the beginning of the Israeli military operation on 29 September. Most have exhausted their food supplies and many have seen their water and electricity connections to their homes cut by bulldozing operations. The delivery was facilitated by a practical dialogue between UNRWA and Israeli military liaison officers. 

Gaza Daily Update, 7.00 PM

7 October 2004


Since the wide-scale Israeli military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, 96 Palestinians have been killed, including 29 children and three Palestinians in the south of Gaza. At least 319 Palestinians, including 111 children were injured. Numerous homes and private property have also been destroyed as IOF utilize air force and heavy tanks in this military operation. In addition, as the incursion continues, the civilian population of the area suffer shortage in food and water supply. In the areas which IOF occupy civilians lack the most basic needs. Al Mezan is still receiving plights from people who have been in urgent need for medicine and water. 

Safety net for Palestinian fishermen

6 October 2004


Many Gazans have traditionally depended on the sea for their livelihood. Of the estimated 1.3 million people living on the Strip, some 40,000 live off fishing. But Israeli restrictions on the movement of Palestinian fishermen over the past three years have left many destitute, including Sad. Since 2002, Gaza fishermen have been banned from going beyond six nautical miles from the shoreline. There have been long periods when that distance was cut in half and in southern areas of Gaza , like the cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, fishing has frequently been totally banned. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

7 October 2004


This week, Israeli forces killed 76 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 24 children. In northern Gaza, two brothers, a man and his son, an elderly man and a deaf young man were among the victims. At least 70 percent of the victims in northern Gaza were killed in or near Jabalia refugee camp. At least 65 homes were destroyed and 372 donums of land was razed in the Gaza Strip. A tightened siege on the area and access to humanitarian services has been denied. Four Palestinians were extra-judicially executed. Israeli forces continue to shell residential areas. Israel continues construction of the Separation Barrier. 

Sheffield calling: Palestine activists take a page from concert against apartheid

Dave Campbell 7 October 2004


For many of us, the Nelson Mandela Freedom concert at London’s Wembley stadium in June 1988 was the “beginning of the end” for apartheid in South Africa. Sixteen years later, could music help to overcome an even greater challenge - to end the Israeli military occupation of Palestine and allow its people to live, at last, in peace and freedom? This month, the Sheffield branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign hosted a “global” Concert for Palestine - webcast live over the internet - to call for an end to more than 37 years of Israeli military occupation. 

Gaza Daily Update, 7.00 PM

6 October 2004


Since the wide-scale Israeli military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, 92 Palestinians have been killed, including 26 children and three Palestinians in the south of Gaza. At least 313 Palestinians, including 110 children were injured. Numerous homes and private property have also been destroyed as IOF utilize air force and heavy tanks in this military operation. In addition, as the incursion continues, the civilian population of the area suffer shortage in food and water supply. In the areas which IOF occupy civilians lack the most basic needs. 

UN Committee repeats call for negotiated solution to end Israeli occupation

6 October 2004


The continuing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory remained the core of the conflict and a negotiated solution was urgently needed to end the occupation, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People states in a draft report to the General Assembly approved by the Committee this morning. The Chairman of the Committee, Paul Badji (Senegal) opened the meeting and said the situation on the ground in occupied Palestinian territory remained very volatile. 

"A flimsy story": UNRWA Gaza director Rene Aquarone responds to Israel's Qassam allegations

6 October 2004


“There are all sorts of theories, which you can imagine colleagues are musing about as to why [Israel is trying to discredit UNRWA] … now or why at all. And also, why on the basis of such a flimsy story? It is not just us, even people from outside who have seen the film had absolutely no doubt the minute they saw the film that this was not a rocket. It didn’t look at all like a rocket and nobody would throw a rocket into a car in that manner, I don’t think.” This week Palestine Report Online interviews director of the UNRWA executive office in Gaza, Rene Aquarone, on Israel’s recent claims that a UN ambulance was used to transport Qassam rockets. 

Youth in Gaza bear the brunt of Israeli war crimes, 20 children killed in current invasion

5 October 2004


For seven consecutive days, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have carried out brutal raids on the northern part of the Gaza Strip in the largest attack in this area since the current intifada began. The siege and invasion of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya town and refugee camp has seen the IOF targeting civilians and their properties. A total of 75 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s so-called “Days of Penitence” military campaign, among them 20 children in the north of Gaza. In addition, one child was killed in the south and two children in the central area of the strip. More than 285 Palestinians have been injured in the raids, among them over 100 children. 

UN team arrives to probe Israeli accusations against UNRWA

5 October 2004


A United Nations team has arrived in Jerusalem to look into allegations by Israel that a UN ambulance driver was filmed loading a Kassam rocket into his vehicle, a UN spokesman said today. The team will meet with officials over the next few days and will be asking the Israeli Government and UNRWA to cooperate with them, Fred Eckhard said. Early this week UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said an investigation and analysis of the footage captured by an Israeli drone established that the object in question was a patient stretcher. The group, which was headed to the region on a previously scheduled visit to review UN operations there, will report back to Mr. Annan after its return to New York, Mr. Eckhard said. 

Israel backs off accusations against UN refugee agency

5 October 2004


Matthias Burchard, chief of the liaison office of UNRWA told journalists that an Israeli spokesperson for the Israeli army had retracted allegations in the past few days that UNRWA’s ambulances in Gaza might have been misused by Hamas and calls by Israel’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York for the resignation of Peter Hansen, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA. UNRWA had maintained since the weekend that what was seen in the footage was a stretcher and not a rocket as alleged. UNRWA had been able to establish this in a matter of 24 hours, and it was very astonished that the IDF with its superior technology had not been able to do so. 

Israel's 'malicious propaganda' endangers UN staff

4 October 2004


Peter Hansen, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has written a strongly-worded protest to Silvan Shalom, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, demanding an apology for allegations made against UNRWA’s ambulance drivers in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s military and its ambassador to the United Nations have alleged that it has footage of a Palestinian rocket being transported in an UNRWA ambulance. An investigation by UNRWA and analysis of the footage has established that the object in question was a patient stretcher. 

Humanitarian Situation Update: Northern Gaza

5 October 2004


Heavy fighting has taken place in the last six days. The Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) has recorded 82 Palestinian deaths of which 24 were children. Three hundred and sixteen Palestinians have been injured of which over 110 were children. Five Israelis have died including two children who were killed by a home made rocket fired by Palestinian militants from northern Gaza into Sderot on 29 September. The Israeli incursion has particularly focused Jabalia refugee camp. Israeli forces have isolated Beit Hanoun from the rest of the Gaza Strip with no movement for the local population in and out of the area. 

Gaza Daily Update, 7.00 PM

5 October 2004


Since the wide-scale Israeli military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip, 84 Palestinians have been killed, including 25 children and three Palestinians in the south of Gaza. At least 268 Palestinians, including 91 children were injured. Numerous homes and private property have also been destroyed as IOF utilize air force and heavy tanks in this military operation. In addition, as the incursion continues, the civilian population of the area suffer shortage in food and water supply. In the areas which IOF occupy civilians lack the most basic needs. Al Mezan is still receiving plights from people who have been in urgent need for medicine and water. 

International community must act to stop killing Palestinian children

4 October 2004


Al Mezan Center for Human Rights requests your urgent intervention. The Center calls upon the international community to take effective action to put an end to Israeli violations of human rights and the rights of children in the occupied Palestinian territories, in particular in the north of the Gaza Strip. The Center also calls human rights organizations and child rights NGOs, coalitions and individuals to take whatever steps within their power to mobilize a more effective intervention to prevent violations of international humanitarian law and human rights standards. 

Survey: 70 percent of Palestinian households need assistance

1 October 2004


The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics conducted another round of the survey on the impact of Israeli measures on the economic conditions of Palestinian households. Data collection was conducted in the second quarter of 2004. The survey found that 226,000 Palestinian households lost more than 50 percent of their usual income and about 22.6 percent of Palestinian households in the Gaza Strip suffered from highly critical living conditions. The survey indicates that 59.7 percent of Palestinian households decreased their income during the Intifada of which 62.5 percent lost more than half of their usual income. 

Amnesty concerned about excessive use of force in Gaza

5 October 2004


Amnesty International is concerned about the deterioration of the human rights and humanitarian situation as a result of the Israeli army incursion in the Jabaliya refugee camp and surrounding areas in the northern Gaza Strip, including sectors in the nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya. In the past week more than 70 Palestinians have been killed, more than a third of whom were unarmed and including some 20 children. Hundreds of others have been injured. The Israeli army has repeatedly used excessive force, including heavy shelling from tanks and helicopter gunships. Experience has shown that the use of such weapons in densely populated residential areas, invariably results in a high rate of death and injury of bystanders and people who are not involved in armed confrontation. 

United States vetoes Security Council text demanding Israel withdraw from Gaza

5 October 2004


The United Nations Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution that would have demanded Israel halt all military operations in northern Gaza and withdraw from the area. The United States vetoed the draft, which received 11 votes in favour, with Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom abstaining. Speaking prior to the Council’s vote, Ambassador John C. Danforth of the United States called the proposed text “lopsided and unbalanced” for containing many “material omissions” and said it deserved a no vote. The Permanent Observer of Palestine, Nasser Al-Kidwa, called today another “sad day” for the Security Council for its failure again to fulfil its responsibility in maintaining international peace and security. 

Gaza Daily Update, 7.00 PM

4 October 2004


Israeli forces continued their large scale military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip. According to initial documentation, Israeli forces destroyed 168 homes, at least 38 of which completely. Since its military assault on 28 September, Israeli forces killed 77 Palestinians, including three who were killed in southern Gaza during the same period and 24 children. At least 248 were wounded, including 81 children. Israeli forces continue shelling and air attacks with missiles. The civilian population suffers from lack of food, water and medicines. In the south of Gaza, four years old Lu’ay An Najjar was killed by Israeli forces. He was shot in the head near his home. 

Security Council considers resolution on Israeli military actions (2/2)

4 October 2004


While some in the international community were trying to breathe life into what seemed to be a dying peace process in the Middle East, Israel had unleashed its military, sowing death and destruction in Gaza, the Security Council heard today as it met in the wake of escalating deadly violence in the Gaza Strip. The emergency meeting was in response to a week-long Israeli military incursion into the Gaza Strip that has left 83 Palestinian dead and many more wounded, following rocket attacks against Israeli targets by Palestinian militants, which killed two Israeli children. Most of the 29 speakers today warned that the recent violence had imperilled the hope for peace, with many urging both sides to give up the violence and return to their obligations under the Road Map. 

Security Council considers resolution on Israeli military actions (1/2)

4 October 2004


While some in the international community were trying to breathe life into what seemed to be a dying peace process in the Middle East, Israel had unleashed its military, sowing death and destruction in Gaza, the Security Council heard today as it met in the wake of escalating deadly violence in the Gaza Strip. The emergency meeting was in response to a week-long Israeli military incursion into the Gaza Strip that has left 83 Palestinian dead and many more wounded, following rocket attacks against Israeli targets by Palestinian militants, which killed two Israeli children. Most of the 29 speakers today warned that the recent violence had imperilled the hope for peace, with many urging both sides to give up the violence and return to their obligations under the Road Map. 

Current violence pushing Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, UN agencies warn

5 October 2004


The ongoing violence in Gaza, on top of the sharply deteriorating humanitarian situation this year, is pushing the Palestinian population into a deep crisis, a dozen United Nations aid agencies working in the region warned today. They called on the Israeli Government to guarantee humanitarian agencies unrestricted and secure access into Gaza for both personnel and relief supplies, ensure the free movement of humanitarian goods and personnel within the territory, and respect its obligations under international humanitarian law by ensuring the safety of the Palestinian civilian population. 

Judging the Intifada

Hasan Abu Nimah and Ali Abunimah 6 October 2004


The fourth anniversary of Israel’s violent crackdown on the Palestinian uprising, which coincided with its latest massacre of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, occasioned a number of analyses, many concluding — wishfully — that the Intifada has been “counterproductive” for the Palestinians, or even a “failure.” But EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah and co-founder Ali Abunimah argue that Israel remains at a strategic dead end, while Palestinians on the ground are unbroken and Israel is far from victory. The is a danger that Israel, unable to escape from this predicament, may seek to spread the conflict to its neighbors. 

The 1992 El Al Bijlmer crash: a cover-up of a chemical inferno?

Lizzy Bloem 4 October 2004


“Twelve years ago, an El Al Boeing airplane carrying military cargo crashed into an apartment building in the Bijlmer neighbourhood of Amsterdam. Forty-three people directly lost their lives. More people have died since then, and many are still suffering from unidentified diseases. The Dutch government denies any connection between health ailments and the disaster, though hundreds of people inhaled poisonous smoke from the burning airplane and the apartment building. Some of the El Al plane’s cargo is still unknown, but three of the four components of sarin nerve gas were present at the crash site.” Lizzy Bloem reports for Electronic Intifada from Amsterdam 

The myths and reality of Palestinian refugees in Syria: An interview with Lex Takkenberg

Victor Kattan 5 October 2004


Syria is a country that few people in the West know much about, or care to visit. After all, this is one of the countries that George W. Bush declared part of the “Axis of Evil.” But when I travelled to Syria for the first time, I could not find anything “evil” about it. Indeed, I did not find anything “evil” in the way Syria treats Palestinians who were forced to flee their homeland in 1948; and after my interview with Lex Takkenburg, Deputy Director-General of the U.N. refugee agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Syria, I concluded that “compassionate” would be a more accurate description of Syria than “evil.” 

Israel and Palestine, Finally: A chapter from CENSORED 2005

Alison Weir 5 October 2004


“Three and a half years ago, when the current Palestinian uprising began, I started to look into Israel and Palestine. I had never paid much attention to this issue before and so - unlike many people - I knew I was completely uninformed about it. I had no idea that I was pulling a loose piece of thread that would steadily unravel, until nothing would ever be quite as it had been before.” If Americans Knew Executive Director Alison Weir looks at an old subject in a knew way - the cover-up of the truth of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the progressive press as well as the mainstream media. 

New book breaks censorship on Palestinian issue

5 October 2004


In a groundbreaking departure, a recently released book by a major progressive institution dedicated to exposing “censorship” in the American media reveals that the organization itself also omitted information on the Israeli-Palestinian issue over its 20-plus years of operations. The book, CENSORED 2005, is the most recent in a series produced by “ProjectCensored,” a highly respected media research organization whose mission is “To Tell The News That Didn’t Make the News.” The strongly worded chapter, by If Americans Knew founder Alison Weir, describes the history of Israel, its continuing violations of human rights, and the cover-up on this issue in the American press. 

Humanitarian Situation Update: Jabalia Camp

1 October 2004


Israeli forces entered northern Gaza at 22.30 on Tuesday, 28 September establishing positions on high ground overlooking Izbet Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and Jabalia. The IDF committed reinforcements to northern Gaza in the early hours of this morning with estimates of up to 100 tanks entering the area. Defence Minister Mofaz announced on Thursday evening a “large scale and prolonged operation” aimed at pushing Palestinian missiles out of range of Sderot with plans to create a buffer zone. The focus of the operation so far has been on the Jabalia camp to the north of Gaza city. 

Israel expands its offensive on the northern Gaza Strip

4 October 2004


Israeli occupying troops have continued their wide scale offensive on the northern Gaza Strip. In the last two days, 15 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops. Thus, the number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of this latest offensive has mounted to 60, including 27 civilians, 18 of whom are children. In addition, at least 280 others, mostly civilians, including a number of children, have been injured, and a number of them have been rendered permanently handicapped. Israeli troops have also continued to destroy homes, agricultural land, and residential areas. Israeli forces obstruct medical aid. 

Palestinian children at risk in Gaza

3 October 2004


UNICEF is focusing on three flashpoints in the Gaza Strip: Rafah, Khan Younis and most recently the Northern Gaza region due to a major military offensive launched on 28 September. Causes of the crisis in these flashpoints relate to military incursions, house demolitions, land leveling and severe restriction of movements due to internal closures. In addition three other areas – Al Mawasi, Siafa and Al Ma’Ani – are areas of key concern due to total closure and very limited access to health services and school facilities. any Palestinian families, including those who were self-reliant before the Intifada, have now exhausted the means that enabled them to cope during the past four years. 

Four Years On: Cases of Brutality by the Israeli Police against Palestinian Arab Citizens

4 October 2004


The cover of the latest HRA report shows a photograph of Saleh Suleiman Amer, aged 50, lying on the road next to a Border Police jeep, a bleeding wound to his leg and his arm out-stretched as though pleading to the photographer for help. His 27-year-old son Shadi lies still on the ground, his shirt removed, his hands cuffed, and his body showing signs of a severe beating. This is just one of the shocking images that illustrates the HRA’s report “Four Years On”, a study of continuing police brutality directed at the country’s Palestinian Arab minority four years after the security forces shot dead 12 unarmed Palestinian Arab citizens and one labourer from Gaza during protests at the outset of the intifada 

Write to comment on New York Times opinion piece

4 October 2004


In a New York Times column today, PLO legal adviser Michael Tarazi lays out the case for solving the deadlocked Palestinian-Israeli conflict through “a one-state solution in which citizens of all faiths and ethnicities live together as equals.” That the New York Times printed this article represents a major breakthrough of this idea into the mainstream. Tarazi’s article is sure to draw a sharp negative reaction from those who wish to stifle a free debate. If you support equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis, and want to see this discussion expand, the New York Times needs to hear from you. 

UN refugee agency demands apology from Israel

3 October 2004


On 1 October in the evening the Israel Defense Forces provided video footage to the international press purporting to show “a UN vehicle transporting a Qassam rocket”. Given the gravity of the allegation, I immediately ordered my staff to obtain a copy of the footage in question and initiated an investigation into the alleged facts. UNRWA states that Israel propagates falsehoods against UNRWA. UNRWA carried out a thorough investigation that leads to the conclusion that there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that the claims have any basis in fact. 

Four Years of Intifada: Highlights of systematic violations

28 September 2004


On 29 September 2004, the fourth anniversary of the Palestinian Intifada, Al-Haq reminds members of the international community that Israeli authorities are continuing their flagrant disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Although a common feature of the 37 year long Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Al-Haqs documentation indicates that since the beginning of the Intifada, the perpetration of these human rights violations by Israeli authorities has increased in both scale and intensity. 

South Africans protest visit Ehud Olmert to South Africa

2 October 2004


The South African Palestine Solidarity Committee called upon the South African government to cancel the proposed invitation to Deputy Prime Minister of Apartheid Israel, Ehud Olmert, to visit South Africa. Olmert is scheduled to have talks with state officials, supporters of Apartheid Israel and business people in two weeks time. Olmert’s proposed visit comes in the wake of meetings between ten senior Likud Party representatives and South African officials and Cabinet Ministers. According to an official statement the South African government views Olmert’s trip as part of ‘mediatory’ efforts to bring about peace in the Middle East. 

Gaza Daily Update, 4.00 PM

3 October 2004


Israeli forces continue their military assault on the northern part of the Gaza Strip. So far, Israeli forces killed 65 Palestinians, including 19 children since the start of the operation on 28 September. More than 244 Palestinians, including 81 children, have been wounded. Residents suffer from a lack of food, water and medicines. Israeli tanks twice fired a shell near an UNRWA school, killing 29-year old Mahir Zaqout. In Jabalia refugee camp there is severe shortage of drinking water. Israeli forces continue demolishing homes and commercial stores, razing farm lands and shelling residential areas. Israeli forces restrict access to humanitarian and medical aid. 

Four Years of Intifada: Palestinians paying the price

29 September 2004


Over the past four years, Israeli occupying forces have perpetrated grave breaches of international humanitarian law against Palestinian civilians in a manner unprecedented since 1967. International silence has served to encourage the Israeli government and its occupying troops to escalate the number of attacks against Palestinian civilians, while acting with impunity. Over the past twelve months, Israeli forces have stepped up illegal operations in the occupied Palestinian territories, employing highly developed heavy weaponry such as F16s, Apache helicopters, tanks and armored personnel carriers against civilians. 

UNCTAD report on Palestinian economy calls for intensified donor commitment to development

29 September 2004


Action on Palestinian development policy may be postponed by the weight of events on the ground. At the same time, however, even if greater stability is achieved, it does not necessarily mean that structural imbalances and distortions will simply recede, warns UNCTAD in its annual report on assistance to the Palestinian people. The report, which will be reviewed at the forthcoming meeting of UNCTAD’s governing body, the Trade and Development Board, Geneva, 4-15 October, notes that the 4.5% estimated growth in real GDP that occurred in 2003 is not sufficient to signal genuine recovery. Its sustainability is uncertain, subject to the implementation of the two-state solution. 

Gaza Daily Update, 9.30 PM

30 September 2004


Israeli forces invaded northern Gaza, one of the most populated areas of the Gaza Strip. Israeli spokespersons announced that they carried out the invasion to stop Palestinian militants firing Qassam rockets on Israeli towns. The invasion is ongoing and open-ended. Israeli forces have killed at least 27 Palestinians. Israeli forces are in control of the main streets in northern Gaza and are inside Jabalia refugee camp, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia. Israel shelled civilians in Jabalia, killing 9 Palestinians and wounding dozens more. Only one of the dead could be identified because the bodies were completely disfigured. 

Israel pushes on with assault on Gaza

2 October 2004


Israeli occupying troops have continued their attacks on Palestinian civilians in the northern Gaza Strip for the 5th consecutive day in disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians. They have caused dozens of casualties among Palestinian civilians and have largely destroyed civilian facilities. On Saturday morning, 2 October 2004, Israeli occupying troops expanded their military operations in the Gaza Strip, especially in Beit Hanoun. Since the beginning of this latest offensive on the northern Gaza Strip, 45 Palestinians, including 21 civilians, 15 of whom are children, have been killed by Israeli troops. In addition, at least 250 Palestinians have been injured. Israeli troops have demolished dozens of homes and large areas of agricultural land. 

Gaza Daily Update, 10.00 PM

1 October 2004


Israeli forces killed more Palestinians in northern Gaza. Residents of Jabalia refugee camp took to the street protesting Israel’s killings and destruction during the past few days. Israeli forces continued shelling residential areas. Israeli forces demolished dozens of homes in Beit Lahia. Israeli forces confiscated a number of homes and turned them into military posts. Israeli tanks fire shells at homes and various places are cut off from food, water and medicines. Israeli forces prevent ambulances from access the sick and wounded. Israeli forces continue their assault on Gaza’s largest refugee camp. 

Gaza Daily Update, 10.00 PM

2 October 2004


Israeli forces carry out a wide-scaled invasion of northern Gaza. Forty-four Palestinians have been killed so far. Israeli forces destroyed numerous homes and private property. Ambulances are not allowed access. Residents in all besieged communities suffer from lack of food, water and medicines. The humanitarian situation deteriorates. Israeli forces destroyed homes in Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun. An Israeli airplane fired a missile at a crowd in Tel Az Zatar, killing three civilians. Israeli tanks invaded Salah ad Din Street, isolating the Izba neighborhood in Beit Hanoun. Israeli forces fired at an ambulance in Jabalia. 

Israel escalates offensive on Gaza as death toll reaches 39

1 October 2004


The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops since the beginning of this latest offensive on the northern Gaza Strip has increased to 39, including 19 civilians, 14 of whom are children. In addition, at least 210 Palestinians have been injured. This high number of casualties is attributed to the excessive and disproportionate use of force by Israeli troops against the Palestinian civilian population in the northern Gaza Strip. On the other hand, Israeli troops have destroyed at least 25 Palestinian houses and fences of a number of UNRWA schools. Dozens of houses have been also severely damaged by Israeli troops. In addition, large areas in the northern Gaza Strip have been isolated, while Israeli troops have seized a number of buildings, transforming their roofs into military sites. 

Amnesty: "Israeli army must respect human rights"

1 October 2004


Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of the Palestinian population in the Jabaliya refugee camp and elsewhere in the northern Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army is carrying out a large-scale offensive. In the past two days the Israeli army has killed more than 35 Palestinians, including several children and other unarmed residents who were not participating in armed confrontations with Israeli soldiers. Most of those killed and injured were hit by Israeli army tank fire and at least two were killed by a missile fired by a helicopter gunship. Amnesty International is concerned that the Israeli army’s use of excessive force in this latest incursion in the Gaza Strip will result in further loss of lives and wanton destruction of Palestinian homes and property. 

Jewish American group calls for international intervention to stop Israel's massive military invasion of Gaza Strip

1 October 2004


Jewish Voice for Peace, a national Jewish-American organization with 10,000 supporters, called for an immediate halt to the massive Israeli invasion of Gaza Strip. The group called for the United States and the international community to intervene to stop the Israeli military operation and prevent the rocket attacks by Hamas that have provided the pretext for it. “Israeli actions have already cost dozens of Palestinian lives, severely injured many more innocent civilians, and has seen the destruction of more Palestinian homes,” said Mitchell Plitnick, JVP’s Co-Director. “The planned invasion is sure to multiply these numbers greatly.” 

UNRWA calls on Israel to lift restrictions and ensure safety of staff in the Gaza Strip

30 September 2004


The latest large-scale military operations initiated by the Israeli Army have once again severely disrupted the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The Agency has reminded the Government of Israel of its obligations under international law, including bilateral agreements it has entered into with UNRWA and calls on it once again to restore the freedom of movement of Agency staff and guarantee their safety at all times. The military operations undertaken by the Israeli Army have in effect tri-sected the Gaza Strip.