January 2005

Weekly report on human rights violations

28 January 2005


This week, Israeli forces killed 20 Palestinians, 14 of whom were civilians, including 5 children and one woman. Two of the children were killed on the first day of Eid al-Adha. One of the victims was extra-judicially killed by Israeli forces. Israeli forces conducted a series of invasions into Palestinian areas. Israeli forces demolished three homes in Khan Yunis and razed at least 120 donums of agricultural land throughout the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces raided homes and arrested dozens of Palestinian civilians. Israeli forces destroyed a home and an apartment building in the context of retaliatory measures against Palestinian civilians. Israeli forces used two Palestinian civilians as human shields during military operations in the Gaza Strip. 

Audio: Panel discussion with Ali Abunimah and Norman Finkelstein in Chicago

31 January 2005


EI co-founder Ali Abunimah and Norman Finkelstein, professor of Political Science at DePaul University in Chicago discuss and debate the latest developments in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. What is the significance of the election of Mahmoud Abbas and of Israel’s plan to “disengage” from Gaza? What are the latest developments on the ground in the occupied territories? Has the two-state solution failed and should we be seeking a single state as a way to fulfil the rights and aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians? The discussion, moderated by Martha Reese, was recorded at a forum held at Oak Park River Forest High School on 30 January 2005, an event organized by the Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine. 

Feast of the Tree

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 31 January 2005


It happens that Dutch books emit a political message that I do not wish to repeat to the kids. Many years ago a well-intentioned lady gave me a book about “Donald goes to Israel.” For her, Palestine was Israel, and she did not realize that Israel is not the name which Palestinians use for their country. But the book became one of Jara’s favorites after I changed the name of Israel into Palestine, the kibbutz into a Palestinian village, and Moshe into Musa. The book was about Donald and grandma Duck visiting the Israeli feast of trees [Tu Bishevat, in Hebrew]. The Ducks, of course, came to help the pioneers in planting trees so as to make the desert bloom. In fact, we do have a feast of the tree here too. 

Clarity Media Group pulls ad of Palestinian girl

Tom McGhee 29 January 2005


Denver financier Philip Anschutz’s Clarity Media Group has yanked an ad promoting its Washington, D.C., and San Francisco newspapers amid criticism the advertisement demonized Palestinian children. The advertisement in the Jan. 24 edition of the media trade publication MediaWeek showed a girl playing a violin on one side and a Palestinian girl carrying an assault rifle on the other. Superimposed over the two pictures were the words “PTA to PLO.” The Electronic Intifada asked its readers to contact Examiner vice president of advertising Mark Wurzer and San Francisco Examiner managing editor Jim Pimentel to request that they pull the ad. 

Israeli forces kill another Palestinian girl inside school

31 January 2005


Israeli forces opened fire at an UNRWA elementary school in Rafah, killing an 11-year-old schoolgirl and wounding a second girl when the two were in the school yard. The school in the Brazil neighborhood in Rafah is located 600 meters away from the border. Nouran Eyad Deeb was seriously wounded by a live bullet in the head and 8-year-old ‘Aaesha ‘Essam al-Khatib was wounded by live ammunition in her right hand. The two girls were about to enter their classrooms. They were evacuated to Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah. Nouran died a few minutes later. According to a schoolteacher, the area was completely quiet when Israeli forces opened fire. Children in the school were terrified. 

PA: Israel provoking Palestinians

Khalid Amayreh 30 January 2005


The Palestinian Authority has accused Israel of seeking to frustrate Palestinian efforts to achieve a ceasefire ahead of the possible resumption of the Middle East peace process. Seeking to appease his Likud hardliners opposed to the planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Sharon has apparently endorsed a new route for the wall that would take tens of thousands of acres of Palestinian land and convert a number of small Arab towns and villages in the Hebron region into virtual ghettos. The new route will reduce Palestinian towns such as Surif and Nahalin and several other surrounding villages into virtual detention camps. Khalid Amayreh reports. 

Israel on the day after disengagement, medical concerns

27 January 2005


Today Physicians for Human Rights-Israel released a new position paper which warns that a process of planning and coordinating of the provision of external medical services to residents of the Gaza Strip must begin soon, or dozens of patients may die immediately following disengagement. The paper entitled “The Day After” states that Israel will still be required to allow Palestinian patients to receive life-saving treatment in Israel and abroad, even after disengagement, and explains the legal reasons for this. Also, Israel must rehabilitate the Palestinian health care system over the next decade, and to raise the standards to at least those of Jordan. 

Gaza pullout could worsen health crisis

Laila El-Haddad 28 January 2005


A humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip is looming, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan might be the final nail in the coffin, an Israeli report has warned. Dozens of Palestinians may die if Israel does not act to ensure their medical care after a planned military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip later this year, according to the report by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. Israel’s current position is that it is not responsible for the fate of patients in Gaza, and is willing, at best, “to take into account humanitarian considerations” and “exceptional cases”, without explaining what these may constitute, says the medical rights group. Laila El-Haddad reports from Gaza. 

Gazans vote in municipal polls

Laila El-Haddad 27 January 2005


Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have cast their ballots in the first municipal elections in decades in this part of the Occupied Territories. Thousands of Palestinians on Thursday turned up at voting booths in 10 districts in the Gaza Strip, including the northern town of Bait Hanun, devastated by Israeli incursions. The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, which for the first time has candidates running in Gaza, is expected to sweep the elections. Ahmad al-Kurd, director of the Islamic Benevolence Society and Hamas candidate for the district of Dair al-Balah, said he is confident of his party’s success and that the elections will bring change. Laila El-Haddad reports from Gaza. 

Sanctions against the Israeli occupation - it's time

27 January 2005


You can’t have it both ways. You can’t complain about violence on the part of the Palestinians and yet reject effective non-violent measures against the Occupation that support their right to self-determination, such as economic sanctions. You can’t condemn the victims of Occupation for employing terrorism while, by opposing divestment, thereby sheltering the Occupying Power that employs State Terror. In principle ICAHD supports the use of sanctions against countries engaged in egregious violations of human rights and international law, including the use of moral and economic pressures to end Israel’s Occupation. 

Examiner pulls offensive ad, apologizes

Ali Abunimah 28 January 2005


The company that publishes The San Francisco Examiner and Washington Examiner newspapers has pulled an advertisement that demonized Palestinian children and has apologized for causing offense. The advertisement appeared in Media Week, a trade publication, as part of a campaign by The Examiner to sell advertising space in its newspapers. On 25 January, EI asked its readers to The Examiner, to politely request that the company withdraw the ad and apologize. EI welcomes The Examiner’s prompt and responsible action. 

One land two systems announces winners architecture competition

28 January 2005


On 6th February, 2005, One Land Two Systems is presenting the results of its international architecture competition for an alternative to the Israeli government masterplan devised for the ‘unrecognised’ Palestinian village of Ein Hud in Israel. The story of Ein Hud, south of Haifa, is a typical example of the complex reality of ideological planning in Israel – and how such planning contributes to the Israeli-Palestinian tragedy. The competititon has been a huge success, with over 100 entries arriving from more then 30 countries, each one outlining a sustainable and liveable alternative for the Palestininan village, in contrast to the Israeli government’s unworkable plan. 

Adalah critical of Attorney General's response to petition against Jewish-only land sales

26 January 2005


In response to a petition filed by Adalah to the Supreme Court of Israel, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz ruled yesterday, 26 January 2004, that the Israel Lands Administration cannot discriminate against Arab citizens of Israel in the marketing and allocation of the lands it manages, even lands belonging to the Jewish National Fund. The ILA has managed JNF-owned land since 1961. Until now, ILA bids for JNF-owned lands have been open to Jews only. “One the one hand, the decision is positive,” said Adalah’s Attorney Suhad Bishara. The Attorney General also decided whenever a non-Jewish citizen wins an ILA tender for a plot of JNF-owned land, the ILA will compensate the JNF with an equal amount of land. “This allows the JNF to maintain its current hold over 2.5 million dunams of land, or 13% of the total land in Israel,” said Bishara. 

Special Rapporteur: Israel will remain occupier after disengagement

27 January 2005


Israel will remain an occupying power, subject to the Fourth Geneva Convention, wrote UN Special Rapporteur John Dugard in his most recent report to the UN Human Rights Commission. In his report to the Commission, Dugard said that Israel does not plan to relinquish its grasp on the Gaza Strip. “It plans to retain ultimate control over Gaza by controlling its borders, territorial sea and airspace. Consequently, it will in law remain an Occupying Power still subject to obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Dugards report focused upon military incursions into the Gaza Strip, the demolition of homes, violations of human rights and humanitarian law arising from the construction of the Wall and the pervasiveness of restrictions of movement. 

Israeli High Court rejects petition against Israeli general

26 January 2005


The High Court of Justice today rejected a petition by Yesh Gvul, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, writers, poets, intellectuals and pilots to block Major General Dan Halutz’s recent appointment as Deputy Chief of Staff. The petitioners argued that Halutz was unfit for the post because of what they called his “brutal violation of the ethical code of war” and a “lack of remorse” over the deaths of Palestinians in extra-judicial executions. In July 2002, the Israeli air force carried out a strike against senior Hamas member Salah Shehadeh in Gaza. Shehadeh was killed, along with 14 others in his immediate vicinity. General Halutz, who was air force commander at the time, told the pilots involved in the mission that “they can sleep soundly, and that their performance was perfect.” 

Israeli human rights groups to Attorney General: "Cancel plans to demolish homes in Rafah"

26 January 2005


Eight human rights organizations today urged Attorney General Meni Mazuz to declare the IDF’s plans to demolish houses along the “Philadelphi” route illegal and order their cancellation. The media recently reported that the IDF requested Mazuz’s opinion on a plan to dig a channel and fill it with water as a way to cope with the tunnels being built to smuggle weapons. According to the reports, the IDF presented three alternative plans for digging the channel. The most extensive plan calls for the destruction of some 3,000 homes, another plan requires the destruction of about 700 homes, and 200 homes will be destroyed according to the “limited” plan. 

Palestinians at World Social Forum: "End the Israeli military occupation"

Arjan El Fassed 27 January 2005


Several Palestinian and Syrian NGO’s based in territories occupied by Israel will join thousands of civil society groups, organizations and people from around the world at the World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, calling for world leaders to commit to an end of the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. The WSF is a unique platform where social movements, networks, NGOs, and individuals come together to debate, analyse and formulate alternatives. They appeal to participants to undertake urgent action so that people living in the region can freely exercise their basic individual and collective rights. 

First meeting of experts on the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem

26 January 2005


UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura today opened the first meeting of a Committee of Experts on the Cultural Heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem, a site inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1981 by virtue of its outstanding cultural value. In his address, the Director-General welcomed the fact that it was now possible for the Organization to start working on the preparation of a “comprehensive proposal in a spirit of cooperation with all the concerned parties” for the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem, an issue that has been on the agenda of UNESCO’s governing bodies since 1967. The Committee of Experts numbers 12 internationally renowned architects, archeologists, curators, restorers, architectural historians and structural engineers with professional knowledge of the Old City of Jerusalem. 

"Zionism today is the real enemy of the Jews"

Victor Kattan 26 January 2005


On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, 355 people cast a majority vote in favour of a motion that “Zionism today is the real enemy of the Jews” at a debate that took place on Tuesday 25 January at the Royal Geographical Society in London. The debate was organized by intelligence2 (the London Forum for Live Debate) sponsored by the Evening Standard - a local London newspaper. It was chaired by Richard Lindley, a veteran television reporter for ITN and the BBC. 

Israel's increasing reliance on the "anti-Semitism" defense

Nigel Parry 26 January 2005


A year ago, on 22 January 2004, Israel’s Minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs, Natan Sharansky, announced that the Israeli Government had designated January 27 as a “National Day to Combat Anti-Semitism”. “Anti-Semitism threatens the Jewish people, the very existence of the State of Israel, and in fact the entire world,” said Sharansky. “We must raise awareness in Israel, strengthen the solidarity between Israel and world Jewry, and increase Israeli citizens’ sense of responsibility regarding events in the Diaspora.” EI’s Nigel Parry notes an increasingly disturbing pattern of linkage. 

Israel plans to raze more Gaza homes

Khalid Amayreh 26 January 2005


The Israeli army has renewed plans to demolish hundreds of Palestinian homes in Rafah at the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli media. Army sources say the purpose of the demolitions is to create an artificial canal to prevent Palestinians from digging underground tunnels which could be used to smuggle weapons into Gaza from Egypt. A report published in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Wednesday said Israeli officials were worried the demolitions would trigger widespread international indignation, especially in light of the gradual restoration of calm and the imminent ceasefire. 

Israeli troops kill Palestinian girl in the Gaza Strip

Khalid Amayreh 26 January 2005


Israeli occupation soldiers have shot and killed a three-year-old girl inside her home in central Gaza, eyewitnesses and medical sources said. Rahma Abu Shamas was reportedly inside her home in Dair al-Balah in central Gaza on Wednesday when a bullet struck her in the head, killing her instantly. Israeli soldiers manning an army watchtower at the nearby colony of Kfar Darom opened machinegun fire randomly on Palestinian homes around dawn on Wednesday. An Israeli army spokesman acknowledged the killings, saying the army was looking into the “incident”. The Israeli-state run radio, Kol Yisrael said no Palestinian fighters were present in the area when the shooting took place. 

Examiner ad demonizes Palestinian children

Ali Abunimah 25 January 2005


The Electronic Intifada calls on its readers to protest an advertisement for the San Francisco Examiner and Washington Examiner newspapers demonizing Palestinian children. The advertisment appeared in the 24 January 2005 of Media Week, a trade publication. The advertisement aims to attract advertisers to the Examiner newspapers. It includes a picture of a girl playing a violin on the left-hand side of the page, and another picture of a girl carrying an assault rifle on the right-hand side of the page. Superimposed over the two pictures is the legend “PTA to PLO,” with PTA over the girl with the violin and PLO over the girl with the rifle. 

Rachel Corrie Rebuilding Campaign in Gaza nominated in GlobalGiving.com competition

Donna Baranski-Walker 25 January 2005


Redwood City, CA — The Rachel Corrie Rebuilding Campaign in Gaza has been nominated for a GlobalGiving.com competition. Through January 27th, people throughout the world can vote online and rate the entries they deem best. The Gaza project is one of only two in the Human Rights category. 15 semifinalists chosen through open ratings will present their work at the Global Philanthropy Forum on Borderless Giving in March, where three winners will share $100,000 in project grants. 

Deconstructing the WJC campaign for a UN resolution on anti-Semitism

Laura Reanda 25 January 2005


The World Jewish Congress has launched a campaign for the adoption of a General Assembly resolution condemning anti-Semitism and is circulating a petition asking for support and financial donations. On the face of it, the proposal seems worthwhile and non-controversial: who could possibly object to a statement against anti-Semitism? On closer inspection, however, several questions arise. Former United Nations official Laura Reanda comments. 

Israel's fantasy stands in the way of peace

Saree Makdisi 27 January 2005


The recent election of Mahmoud Abbas as the new President of the Palestinian Authority has renewed speculation that 2005 will bring genuine peace between Palestinians and Israelis. Insofar as it depends on Israel’s own intentions, however, such hope is entirely misplaced. Israel has made it clear that the first thing it expects of the new Palestinian leader is for him to bring the Palestinian population under control, something it could not achieve with its gloves off during almost two decades of direct military occupation of Palestinian land. Professor Saree Makdisi comments for EI. 

The Writing on the Wall: Maha Abu Dayyeh

Toine van Teeffelen Jerusalem, Palestine 24 January 2005


The Writing on the Wall is a series of interviews with Palestinians who live close to the Wall. Van Teeffelen asked three questions: How is your daily life influenced by the Wall and the checkpoints? What does freedom mean to you? What are your sources of energy? Toine van Teeffelen speaks with Maha Abu Dayyeh, director of the Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC) in Jerusalem. her office is close to her home. When its completed the Wall will block the street she had to cross to her office. “As long as there is a society that resists there is hope. I see people resisting as a profound, courageous expression of choosing life. I see it all around me. It may not be tangible in the immediate, but when people choose life, there is hope.” 

In at the deep end for Abu Mazen

Ghazi Hamad 19 January 2005


Only hours after Mahmoud Abbas was sworn in as president of the Palestinian Authority, he found himself in the middle of a crisis. The Israeli government announced it would freeze all contacts with him, prompting negotiations affairs minister Saeb Erekat to accuse Israel of planning to do to Abu Mazen what it had done to the late President Yasser Arafat, who ended up besieged in his headquarters and almost completely frozen out of the diplomatic loop. Events had snowballed for the new president after a joint operation by three armed factions on the Mintar (Karni) Crossing on January 14 claimed the lives of six Israelis. 

Parents petition Israeli High Court over daughter killed by Israeli army

23 January 2005


The parents of 13-year-old Iman al-Hams, who was shot to death by Israeli forces in early October, petitioned the High Court of Justice on Sunday to order an investigation of the shooting. Iman was shot on her way to school, as she approached the Girit military outpost in the south Gaza area of Rafah. The lawyers maintain that there is evidence that the soldiers were given blatantly illegal orders stating that they must shoot to kill anyone, including civilians who do not endanger anyone’s life, without even resorting to the procedure regulating the arrest of suspects. They also demand that the supervision of the investigation be taken out of the hands of the Military Attorney’s office because of its involvement in the drafting of the open fire regulations. 

Rafah border closed for 39 consecutive days

19 January 2005


Rafah Terminal, located on the Egyptian/Gaza Strip border, has been closed by the Israel armed forces since 12 December 2004. The terminal is effectively the only access point for Gaza Strip residents to areas outside the Gaza Strip. It has now been closed for 39 consecutive days, by far the longest period of uninterrupted closure in the last four years of the Intifada. Between 18 July and 5 August 2004, Rafah Terminal was closed for 19 consecutive days. This closure attracted widespread international attention because of the deteriorating humanitarian situation faced by as many as 2,500 people stuck south of the border. 

Sharon coalition on borrowed time

Khalid Amayreh 21 January 2005


There are serious concerns in Israel that the new Likud-Labour coalition government may not survive intense pressure from the extreme right within Likud, Ariel Sharon’s own party. On Monday, 13 Likud lawmakers in the Knesset voted against the new coalition government, forcing the Israeli prime minister to rely on the centre-left Yahad and the Arab parties to bail him out from certain government collapse. According to an Israeli commentator, the split in Likud places the Sharon-Peres government in real jeopardy and might very well spell its end. 

No rest for Nablus during Eid celebrations

Ray Smith Nablus 21 January 2005


Optimism for a period of peace following the elections has been misguided. In Nablus, Israeli military aggression continues as usual. The army made a special effort for Eid celebrations. On 18 January at 9pm a large number of troops entered Nablus in unmarked vehicles and took up positions in the area. Soon after, a group of medics and internationals reached Old Najah Street near the Old City. More army also arrived, in about twenty military vehicles. If anyone approached the soldiers, the result was “access denied” at gunpoint. Israeli occupation forces blew up a house. Many neighbours had not been evacuated and found themselves amidst bursting windows. The explosion flattened the house completely, also causing severe damage to several of his neighbour’s homes. 

What "Peace" Really Means to Israelis

Avigail Abarbanel 20 January 2005


Two months ago I returned from a two-week family visit to Israel. Although I am an activist for Palestinian rights, I decided that this visit would be entirely private. Living for two weeks with my brother, his wife and their two little girls in their tiny apartment in a North Tel-Aviv suburb, gave me an opportunity to observe and see what daily life is like for Israelis at the moment. Israelis have always talked about peace, sung about it, made art and poetry about it as if it is something almost supernatural, some kind of a paradise that they yearn for but that has nothing to do with their everyday reality, and that they have no idea how to create. 

US must act to stop ethnic cleansing in Palestine

Priscilla Read 21 January 2005


The average American finds unfathomable the desperation that drives suicide bombers. Yet Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is a recipe for producing violence. It robs Palestinians of their livelihood, their dignity, and their faith in the future. U.S. acquiescence in Israeli policies that render Palestinians’ lives untenable in order to force them off their land makes a mockery of Washington’s pretense at being an honest broker in this conflict. Across the Arab and Muslim world, suffering in the Occupied Territories provokes bitter hostility. 

Daily disruption in Balata: A four day overview

Ray Smith Balata refugee camp, Nablus 19 January 2005


The time of relative quiet that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) initiated during the Palestinian Authority elections, in order to please international observers and media, is now definitely over. While before the army kept coming at night, the IOF now also causes trouble during the day. The main target of these daily IOF attacks on Nablus is, once more, the Balata Refugee Camp. With almost 30,000 inhabitants — the largest camp in the occupied West Bank — it is situated on the outskirts of the city. 

Behind Israel's official version of the news

Anna Weekes 20 January 2005


Two innocent Palestinians were killed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on 12 January 2005. Although they were the latest in a long line of Palestinian victims, and from a tiny village near Ramallah, they made headlines all over the world. They were the first Palestinians to be assassinated by the IOF since the election of Mahmoud Abbas, which had taken place just three days before. The so-called ‘period of restraint’ had come to an abrupt end with the killings. For this reason, the assassinations were portrayed by the commercial media as a necessary response to two violent militants who had opened fire at Israeli soldiers. However, eyewitnesses on the ground report an entirely different story. 

Israeli Judge Silences Jewish American Activist

16 January 2005


January 16, 2005 — An Israeli judge today refused to hear US Jewish lesbian activist Kate Raphael Bender’s appeal of her deportation. Judge Tal of the District Court, Tel Aviv, said he could not hear Raphael Bender’s case because her visa was no longer valid. Her visa expired yesterday, after five weeks in detention. Consulting an attorney friend present in the courtroom Raphael Bender accepted the judge’s deal to drop the appeal in exchange for the possibility to apply for her reentry into Israel to the Ministry of Interior. The Israeli law that prohibits reentry after deportation from five to ten years will not apply but this rule is very arbitrarily applied. 

Both Sides Now: Palestinians And Israelis Unite Against NPR

Jeffrey A. Dvorkin 10 January 2005


Although it has been relatively quiet of late, NPR’s reporting from the Middle East often results in protests from one side or the other — or from both at the same time. The accusation is always the same: that NPR’s journalistic processes are deficient at best and biased at worst. That use of the phrase in an introduction read by NPR’s Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition on Jan. 4 moved Ali Abunimah, a long-standing critic of NPR, to complain: “This intro highlighted the phrase “Zionist enemy,” and suggested that it was a deliberate appeal to Palestinian extremism. What Abbas actually said, at a campaign appearance was, ‘We came to you today, while we are praying for the souls of the martyrs who were killed today by the shells of the Zionist enemy in Beit Lahiya.’” 

Departing head of UN refugee agency decries conditions in Gaza as horrendous

Genevieve Cora Fraser 18 January 2005


Peter Hansen, the departing Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNWRA), spoke out about the conditions in Gaza at a recent conference sponsored by the Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace held in East Jerusalem. According to Hansen, the situation in Gaza is so horrendous that without the help of bulldozers you couldn’t get through the debris and sand barriers thrown up to block traffic. “If you wanted to go into Gaza today you wouldn’t be able to because there are tanks along all along the main road to Gaza. All along the road you will see houses that have been bulldozed. As you move down through Gaza the situation gets even worse,” Hansen stated. 

Mass hypnosis in the Middle East

Hasan Abu Nimah and Ali Abunimah 19 January 2005



What explains the widespread readiness of various groups to lapse into hypnosis and euphoria about a non-existent “window of opportunity” for peace, ask EI co-founder Ali Abunimah and regular contributor Hasan Abu Nimah? They examine the motives of various constituencies that have welcomed the charade of the Mahmoud Abbas election from an endless stream of EU envoys to the US government, and suggest that the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority may have more in common in their approach to the peace process than initially meets the eye. 

Palestinian Authority election excludes most Palestinians

Ali Abunimah 9 January 2005


EI’s Ali Abunimah responds to an editorial in Ha’aretz, and points out that the majority of Palestinians, those living in exile, were not permitted to participate in the Palestinian Authority election, and that “a Palestinian Authority leader preselected by the international community on the basis of his willingness to surrender to Israel’s insatiable demands, and not elected by the vast majority of Palestinians, has absolutely no mandate to negotiate away our rights and will never be able to do so.” 

Rafah crossing closure takes tragic toll

Laila El-Haddad and Khalid Amayreh 18 January 2005


At least seven Palestinian refugees stranded at the Egypt-Rafah border crossing closed by Israel for the past six weeks have succumbed to various illnesses. The dead men were part of 7000 people stranded somewhere between Cairo and the Rafah border crossing - the only crossing they can use to travel in and out of Gaza - since an explosion in a tunnel beneath the border killed six Israeli occupation soldiers on 12 December. Medical sources in Gaza and security sources in Egypt have spoken of families waiting to bury their dead in their hometown of Gaza, but forced to resort to the Egyptian border town of al-Arish after being turned back at the crossing. 

Back to 'normal' in Balata

Ray Smith Balata refugee camp, Nablus 17 January 2005


Nablus, 15 January 2005 — Lately the Israeli army has been showing up regularly at night, but after some quiet days following the elections, military activity is becoming “normal” again. This morning two jeeps destroyed a few market stands at the main entrance of Balata camp and provoked the kids in the street, who responded with stones. The jeeps kept driving into the camp for about two hours, but they finally left after the bigger jeep’s front window was hit by white and blue paint, leaving the driver unable to see anything through it. 

State Prosecutor Indicts Border Police Officer who Shot Palestinian in Kufr Qassem

14 January 2005


The Israeli State Prosecutor has filed an indictment to the Tel Aviv district court against a Border Police officer who shot Salah Amer, a Palestinian citizen of Israel from Kufr Qassem on September 11, 2003. The indictment followed a detailed letter of complaint sent by Adalah soon after the shooting to the director of Mahash, demanding that Mahash immediately open an investigation, and recommend the criminal prosecution of any officer found responsible. The indictment charged the Border Police officer with causing grievous harm. A sentence of up to seven years’ imprisonment can be imposed for this criminal offense. 

East Jerusalem's Chehade Brothers Nominated for Music Award

Amal Awad 18 January 2005


Among this year’s nominees for a BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music is Palestinian group the Chehade Brothers. Rami and Farid Chehade, in their 20s, are originally from East Jerusalem. They have recently enjoyed success with their improvised approach to tarab (a musical style fusing various cultural elements), which they term “light popular tarab”. The result is a modern, smooth and gentle approach to a popular style of music. The Chehade Brothers have been nominated in for the Award for World Music in the “Middle East & North Africa” category. The other nominees in this category are Khaled from Algeria, Mercan Dede from Turkey and Souad Massi from Algeria. 

Growing concerns about humanitarian consequences of Israeli closure of Gaza Strip

15 January 2005


The Palestinian Center for Human Rights is gravely concerned at the Israeli closure of al-Mentar (Karni) crossing, east of Gaza City, under which the flow of goods, medicines and other supplies out and into the Gaza Strip is totally prohibited. The crossing is the only commercial outlet for the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, Israel and the outside world. With this closure, Israel has completed the cycle of economic and social stranglehold of the Gaza Strip, as all border crossings, in particular, the Rafah and Erez crossing, have been closed for a long time, contrary to Israeli claims that these crossings were closed following an armed attack earlier this week. 

Security Council hears briefing on Middle East, congratulates Palestinians with recent elections

13 January 2005


The United Nations Security Council today welcomed the recent Palestinian Presidential election, and congratulated the Palestinian people “who demonstrated their commitment to democracy by participating in the election under challenging conditions”. Reading out a consensus statement following a briefing on the situation in the Middle East and the question of Palestine, Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Antonio Biélsa, whose country holds the Council’s presidency for the month, said members of the 15-nation body commended the credible and fair character of the 9 January vote, and paid tribute the Central Elections Commission, which had played a key role in ensuring the successful conclusion of the ballot. 

Election Irregularities: CEC unable to respond to Barghouthi campaign formal complaint

16 January 2005


Palestinian Central Election Commission unable to respond to Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi’s formal complaint of last-minute illegal changes in Palestinian presidential election regulations. On January 15 2005, forty-six Palestinian Election Commission staff members resigned in protest of pressures placed on the Commission to abruptly change voting procedures during the January 9th 2005 presidential poll. Such pressures were allegedly exerted upon the Commission by Mahmoud Abbas’s campaign and intelligence officials, forcing the Commission to change the regulations under duress. These changes led to a decrease in the percentage of votes for Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi and an increase for Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazin). 

Abbas sworn in as PA President

15 January 2005


RAMALLAH, January 15, 2005 (WAFA)- The PLO Executive Committee (EC) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, was sworn in on Saturday as President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) at a ceremony held by the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) at the Presidential Headquarters in Ramallah. In a speech after the swearing in ceremony, President Abass confirmed that “we will remain committed to the PLO’s strategic choice: the choice of achieving just peace and our national goals through negotiations”. 

Israeli forces kill 5 Palestinians in Gaza attack

15 January 2005


Since Saturday morning, Israeli forces have launched a wide scale offensive on Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza city. Israeli forces killed 5 Palestinians and injured five others. This latest attack has come following the closure of all border crossings of the Gaza Strip and decrease the time of opening al-Matahen and Abu Houli checkpoints on Salah al-Din Street, the main road between the north and south of the Gaza Strip, as an indicator of escalation by Israeli forces in the occupied Palestinian territories. PCHR warns that the presence of Israeli forces in al-Zaytoun neighborhood may cause more casualties among Palestinian civilians and more damage to civilian property. 

Election observer says ball's in Israel's court

Michael Zitz 14 January 2005


The ascension of Mahmoud Abbas puts Israel on the spot, says a University of Mary Washington professor who was an international observer to the Palestinian Authority presidential election. UMW’s Singh said Palestinians were generally “very enthusiastic about this election. They see this as an important step.” According to Electronic Intifada, a Palestinian activist Web site, the actual turnout was 46.7 percent when all eligible voters are factored into the equation. “This is far from the great success that the media and the international peace process industry have trumpeted,” Electronic Intifada said. 

Human Rights Watch World Report 2005: Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories

13 January 2005


The human rights situation in Israel and the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip remained grave throughout 2004, as armed clashes continued to exact a high price from civilians. While many see the period after Arafat’s death on November 11 as the beginning of a new era in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, few changes have occurred on the ground where the wall regime Israel is building inside the West Bank and the illegal Israeli settlements continue to expand. On December 3 a top Hamas leader said that the group would accept the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and a long-term truce with Israel. It remains to be seen whether Israel will make reciprocal declarations and whether words will be translated into action. 

Jerusalemites take to the polls, but not in scores

Joharah Baker 13 January 2005


On the rear windshield of an old Peugeot, a sticker with the faces of Abu Mazen and late President Yasser Arafat gleamed in the Jerusalem sun. “Vote … Abu Mazen for president” the sticker read. For a myriad of reasons, not nearly as many people as could heeded the call in East Jerusalem. According to official statistics provided by the Central Elections Commission on January 10, only 26,365 out of 120,000 eligible voters in the occupied eastern sector of Jerusalem cast their votes for the next president of the Palestinian Authority on January 9. 

The Art of War

Eóin Murray 13 January 2005


There is something about the art of war - not the methodology - but the art, that fascinates. People looking for a way of expressing the misery of warfare. It is, even if it deals directly with the topic of war, a way of escaping or, at the very least coping, with conflict. The real art of Gaza is on the streets, the art of resistance, the art of revolution and memory. Eóin Murray has fond memories of a trip to Derry for his Dads birthday in which they stood by Free Derry corner and were amazed by the amazing power of the house murals which surrounded them. There was a real sense that these murals expressed the fears and memories of the people and, in so doing, assisted them in their struggle for human and civil rights, for peace and for justice. 

Trapped Like Mice: Palestinians under the New Israeli "Disengagement Plan"

Jamal Juma' 12 January 2005


Palestine has been in the headlines of the Western mainstream media again. The preparations leading up to the elections on January 9 have given everyone enough news to cover — or rather: they have given the media enough news to cover up what is actually developing on the ground. But it is this current situation on the ground that will, if it is not stopped in time, more effectively shape the future for the Palestinian people than any electoral process ever could. Jamal Juma’, coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, comments. 

The Election Labyrinth of East Jerusalem

Molly Picon East Jerusalem 12 January 2005


January 9, 2005 — Many friends and family in the US have asked me whether or not I thought the Palestinian elections would be conducted in a free and fair manner. Today was an eye-opener with respect to the meaning of ‘free and fair’. Take a deep breath, dear reader, and I will take you through the many twists and turns taken by Palestinian residents of Jerusalem who were trying to vote in the Palestinian Authority elections. Of the 124,000 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem only six thousand were eligible to vote within East Jerusalem itself due to Israeli imposed restrictions. Molly Picon reports from Jerusalem. 

Palestinian Elections: Exercising Democracy under Occupation

12 January 2005


To the outside world and the 800 international observers, the 9 January 2005 Palestinian presidential elections seemed like a normal exercise in democracy. However, what many chose to ignore was the fact that the elections were conducted under “abnormal” conditions. Palestinians, explained Diana Buttu, special advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), speaking at a 10 January 2005 briefing at the DC-based Palestine Center, were exercising democracy under direct occupation. 

All Boxed In: Interview with Palestinian-American artist Rajie Cook

Maureen Clare Murphy 12 January 2005


Born in 1930, Palestinian-American artist Rajie Cook has had a very successful career in graphic design. The “Symbol Signs” that hang in airports internationally, communicating purely through icons rather than text, were designed by Cook and his design firm. He has been honored by President Reagan and the “Symbols Signs” project has been acquired into the Smithsonian’s collection. However, Cook is not done creating work that intends to communicate. Born in the United States to parents originally from Palestine, the violence and continued injustice that consume his homeland spurs him to make Joseph Cornell-inspired boxes that comment upon various aspects of the conflict. 

Photostory: Elections in Gaza

Arjan El Fassed 12 January 2005


EI’s Arjan El Fassed visited Gaza last week to observe the first Palestinian presidential elections since eight years as part of an election mission of UCP, officially accredited by the Palestinian Central Election Commission. El Fassed visited some 10 polling centers in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, including Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, Jabalya refugee camp and Gaza City. Mahmoud Abbas (“Abu Mazen”) won the elections with 483,039 votes. His main challenger, Mustafa Barghouti, received 153,516 votes. Observers noted Israeli obstructions and a number of irregularities caused by the Central Elections Commission during the elections. 

UN registry of damage to Palestinians from Israeli barrier moves step closer

11 January 2005


The establishment of a United Nations register of the damage Israel’s construction of a separation barrier is causing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank moved a step closer today when Secretary-General Kofi Annan forwarded a letter to the General Assembly setting out a framework and the next moves for its creation. The General Assembly called for the registry last summer after demanding that Israel comply with an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which called the barrier illegal and called for it to be torn down when it was built on West Bank land. 

"Democracy" under Occupation

Donna Mulhearn Nablus, Palestine 11 January 2005


Perhaps you saw images of flag-waving youth in Ramallah. Or maybe you heard the optimistic words of George W Bush and other world leaders about new opportunities for peace. Yet from where I was sitting in the West Bank city of Nablus, one thing was clear: voting for a president in a state that does not actually exist will not change much in the lives of the people here. It is clear how much the Palestinians want peace and good government, but after hearing the glowing, yet often patronising, cliches about ‘Arab democracy’ that have been bandied about in the media recently, the fact remains that Palestine can never experience true democracy while it remains under occupation. 

Preliminary Statement on Palestinian Elections

11 January 2005


The 9 January election for the president of the Palestinian Authority represented a genuine effort to conduct a regular electoral process. Despite the difficult and tense conditions, Palestinian electoral authorities made adequate and sufficient arrangements for voters and the strong turn out showed that the public was enthusiastic to exercise its democratic rights. However, the occupation and continuing violence as well as restrictions on freedom of movement meant that a truly free election was always going to be difficult to achieve. 

Preliminary Evaluation of Monitoring over the Palestinian Presidential Election

10 January 2005


On Sunday, 9 January 2005, the Palestinian electorate went to polling centers to vote in the first presidential election under the Palestinian National Authority since 1996.  Despite the negative environment created by the continuous Israeli belligerent occupation and attacks launched by Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians, which impacted on the electoral process over the past weeks, Palestinians insisted on participating in the election; demonstrating a spirit of determination to exercise their electoral right, despite the existence of occupation.  

Election Irregularities: Election Appeals Court rejects an appeal submitted by PCHR against allowing identity cards

10 January 2005


On Monday at noon, 10 January 2005, the Palestinian Election Appeals Court (EAC) rejected an appeal submitted by PCHR late on Sunday night, the 9th of January 2005, to issue a final injunction cancelling a decision taken by the Central Election Commission (CEC) to allow electors to vote using identity cards instead of relying on the electoral register.   A few hours before closing the polling, the CEC circulated instructions to officials of polling centers to allow citizens whose names are not registered in the electoral register to vote depending on checking their identity cards only and not relying on the electoral register.  

Democracy Now!: EI discusses Palestinian election results

Ali Abunimah 10 January 2005


EI’s Ali Abunimah was a guest on Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman on 10 January 2005 to discuss the results of the election for president of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied territories. Abunimah said “Many Palestinians fear this is another setup so when the inevitable failure brought about by Israeli intransigence occurs, this will be another opportunity to blame the Palestinians, and accuse them of missing an opportunity once again.” 

CEC: Statement on the 2005 Presidential Election (includes official results)

10 January 2005


The 2005 Palestinian presidential election was held in an orderly fashion, thanks in great part to the cooperation received from Palestinian citizens. However, with respect to the electoral process to this point, the CEC makes the following two qualifications: 1. Israeli forces which continue to occupy Palestine imposed huge obstacles to the participation of Jerusalemite citizens in the elections. 2. On Election Day, the CEC received thousands of telephone calls from individuals whose names appear on the civil register, but who were unable to locate their polling centers. It became clear that this problem had the potential to deprive many voters of their voting rights. 

Media grossly exaggerate Palestinian voter turnout

Ali Abunimah 10 January 2005


How many Palestinians in the occupied territories actually voted in the January 9 election for president of the Palestinian Authority? Many major media organizations are reporting a turnout close to 70 percent. In fact the turnout was well below 50 percent as EI’s Ali Abunimah explains. The distinction between registered and unregistered voters is crucial to understanding the actual turnout figure, but it is a distinction the media have failed to grasp. 

Where is the bride?

Laurie King 10 January 2005


Yesterday’s presidential poll, like a stilted, shotgun wedding, had a strange energy — drained, anemic, and hesitant. No one seemed genuinely enthusiastic. The bride was not there, after all, and big issues and concerns were also missing. Universal human rights and international humanitarian law were not honored guests at this celebration. Inviting them might have elicited passions. Had that happened, Abu Mazen might have lost his title of “moderate candidate.” Yesterday’s elections did not choose a president so much as they formalized a rite of passage in the upper ranks of Fatah, passing the mantle of leadership of the Palestinian Authority from the late Yasser Arafat to Mahmoud Abbas, a.k.a., Abu Mazen. 

Election Irregularities: Mustafa Barghouthi campaign alleges "serious" election violations

9 January 2005


Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Palestinian presidential candidate, held a press conference at 7:30 pm on the evening of January 9, 2005, the day of the Palestinian presidential elections. At around 5:00 pm, Dr. Barghouthi and his campaigners found out via the media and word of mouth that the election rules and procedures had been changed. Neither he nor his campaign were officially informed. The changes were: 1. The voting process was prolonged for two additional hours. 2. The rules and procedures were changed such that people who were not registered in the elections registry were suddenly allowed to vote, which opened up the possibility of double or multiple voting. 

CEC: End of Polling

9 January 2005


The CEC has completed the polling process for the 2005 Presidential Election, and is able to present some information about voter turnout for the poll. The Head of the Electoral Commission, Dr Hanna Nasir, released that information to the media this evening in Ramallah. “Approximately seventy per cent of registered voters voted today,” said Dr Nasir, “While approximately only ten per cent of unregistered voters turned out.” A total of around 700,000 registered voters were joined at the polls by around 70,000 unregistered voters, including 30,000 who registered on arrival at the polling centres on election day. 

CEC: Polling centers opening hours extended

9 January 2005


The CEC has extended opening hours for polling centers in all electoral districts by 2 hours. Polling centers will now remain open until 9PM. The CEC took this step after determining that limitations on the movement of Palestinians within and between Palestinian towns continue to be imposed by the Israeli Occupation Army. Obstacles such as checkpoints and military closures have remained in place despite previous Israeli statements that they would be lifted during the Palestinian Presidential Elections to allow for free, fair and transparent elections. 

CEC: Some Obstacles Facing the Polling Process

9 January 2005


CEC Media Section, 9 January 13.30h — Six hours after opening the opening of polls, Palestinian voters continue to pour into polling centers to cast their votes, despite the failure of the Israeli authorities to deliver on their promises to facilitate the movement of the voters to allow their participation in the electoral process. Some voters, particularly those on the civil registry, have not found their names on the register at the polling centres they have attended. Therefore, we urge voters to check the location of their designated polling centers, and go to vote there. 

Election Irregularities: Israeli restrictions delay Jerusalem votes until 12:30PM

9 January 2005


January 9, 2005 — At approximately, 12:30 PM today, five-and-a-half hours after the opening of polling stations, the first Palestinian voter succeeded in casting a ballot at the Jaffa Gate post office in the old city of East Jerusalem. Israeli-imposed obstacles to voting at the Jaffa Gate polling station typify the problems Palestinians are experiencing as they attempt to conduct democratic elections under Israeli occupation. The Israeli government is attempting to limit Palestinian voting in East Jerusalem in particular as part of an attempt to deny Palestinian rights and identity there. 

7 Palestinian children killed by Israeli tank shell in northern Gaza

4 January 2005


While Palestinians have continued their preparations for holding the Palestinian presidential elections on 9 January 2005, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed 7 Palestinian children, including 2 brothers, by a tank shell in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia on Tuesday morning, 4 January 2005. This report from the Palestinian Centre for Human rights provides details of this incident. 

Election Irregularities: PCHR Lodges Appeal with Election Court Against CEC Decision

9 January 2005


9 January 2005, 20:00 GMT — The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has, tonight, lodged an appeal with the Palestinian Election Appeals Court against the decision by the Central Election Commission to allow citizens to vote with their Palestinian identity cards, even if their names were not on the electoral register. In its appeal, which will be heard on Monday the 10th of December at 1000hrs (GMT), PCHR has asked the Court to issue a clear judgment canceling the decision by the CEC to allow citizens to vote with their identity cards and to annul all the legal consequences which arise from this.   

Yet another historic day

Ali Abunimah 9 January 2005


Once again, the media and the international peace process industry have declared that it is an “historic day” for the Palestinian people. The occasion this time is the election of Mahmoud Abbas as head of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied territories. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah reflects that in the ghost-written screenplay that the Palestinians are being forced to act out, the election is “good news.” This means that any information that interferes with this agreed narrative that we are at the cusp of a new era of peace, democracy and reform has to be carefully filtered out of public view. 

PCHR publishes an evaluation report on election campaign conduct

9 January 2005


Today, 9 January 2005, PCHR has published a report evaluating the election campaign for the Palestinian presidential election and related violations of the regulations prescribed by the electoral law concerning this campaign.  The report examines the commitment of candidates and related parties with the regulations prescribed by the electoral law during the official period of the election campaign, 25 December 2004 – 7 January 2005. The report is part of the effort to monitor all stages of Palestinian elections by PCHR in cooperation with 26 Palestinian civil society groups throughout the Gaza Strip. 

Election Irregularities: Palestinian civilians still being denied access to al-Mawasi in Gaza

8 January 2005


8 January 2005, 14:00 GMT — PCHR is gravely concerned that at least 180 residents of al-Mawasi area in the southern Gaza Strip have been prevented from traveling back to their homes in the area by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). This measure will further increase the suffering of these Palestinians, as it particularly deprives them of participation in the Palestinian presidential election on Sunday, 9 January 2005. 

Election Irregularities: Confusion and chaos after change of election rules

Arjan El Fassed 9 January 2005


At around 5 P.M., the Central Elections Commission allowed Palestinians to vote solely based on their identity cards, without any need to check them against the electoral register or census list. This caused many Palestinians who were not registered to vote to enter polling centers. EI’s Arjan El Fassed witnessed confused voters and chaotic scenes. Adding to the confusion, Palestinian police allowed anyone to enter polling stations. These could have lead to voter fraud, since voters would be able to vote twice without being checked against the population registry. 

Election Irregularities: 'Indelible' ink used to prevent double-voting washes off easily

9 January 2005


9 January 2005, 9:18 a.m. local time — Palestinian presidential candidate Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi has just found out from contacts in Gaza and three voting centers in the West Bank that the indelible ink with which all who have cast their ballots are marked in order to ensure that they only vote once, and to ensure no double voting, can in fact be wiped out with saliva or washing. 

Election day polls open in Gaza

Arjan El Fassed Gaza, Palestine 9 January 2005


“It looks like Eid,” someone tells me. Indeed, it is a sunny day in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. In the early morning at some of the polling centers Gazans slowly show up. Members of the Central Election Commission are ready for the day. Boxes are sealed in front of the very few international observers in this part of the Gaza Strip. Local observers, including volunteers from various human rights organizations and party affiliates, are waiting to see what is going to happen. 

Election Irregularities: Israeli Claims of Military Withdrawal from West Bank a Fabrication

8 January 2005


Despite claims by the Israeli military, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights report that Israeli occupation forces have continued positioning forces at stable military checkpoints erected at the entrances to the major towns, and have also erected a number of sudden military checkpoints at the main crossroads on the eve of the Palestinian presidential election. In Nablus, Israeli forces maintained their presence at Beit Eiba checkpoint, Hawara and Za’tara and Beit Furik. They also continued to close several roads. Israeli forces remained also in other areas of the West Bank. 

Gaza on the eve of the elections

Arjan El Fassed Khan Younis, Palestine 8 January 2005


Arjan El Fassed talks to Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip on the eve of the election for president of the Palestinian Authority. El Fassed is a co-founder of the Electronic Intifada and a member of UCP’s election mission, accredited as international election observers. 

Slave Sovereignty: Palestinian Presidential Elections Under Occupation

Omar Barghouti 7 January 2005


Many Palestinians are boasting that they will soon enjoy, again, the most free and democratic elections in the entire Arab World. The only problem is that electing a Palestinian president while still under the boot of the occupier is an oxymoron. Sovereignty and occupation are mutually exclusive. The world, including many well-informed readers, seem to think that the Palestinian people is actually practicing the ultimate form of sovereignty by freely choosing its own president. This is easily extrapolated in the heads of many to mean that Palestinians are in a way free. So what’s all this talk about occupation? 

Mahmoud Abbas campaigns in Nablus

Genevieve Cora Fraser Nablus, Palestine 7 January 2005


Three days before the general election in Palestine - the first since January 1996 when Yassir Arafat was elected president of the Palestinian National Authority - Abbu Mazen a.k.a. Abbas was to visit Nablus. He had waited until the end of the campaign possibly because his nearest rival, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi is well loved in this, his mother’s native city. But on this day, January 6, 2005, the Israeli soldiers stationed at the Hawarra checkpoint were unusually polite as people passed through without incident or excessive waiting as international television cameras recorded the historic moment. 

EU's pivotal role in Middle East peace

Victor Kattan 7 January 2005


On 22 April 1980, during the hostage crisis in the American Embassy in Tehran, the EU imposed sanctions against Iran for violating the laws of diplomatic immunity. The EU acted after the Soviet Union vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council that sought to impose sanctions on Iran. It justified its act by saying “the situation created a concern for the whole international community.” If the EU could then act without express authorisation from the Security Council, it could surely do so today. Victor Kattan reports. 

Election deflation

Rima Merriman 7 January 2005


With “election elation” in the air (as a Palestinian journalist put it), people ask me here in the United States how I feel about the potential for peace in the occupied Palestinian territories. Much as I long to feel elated, I must admit to a sinking heart. The reason for my pessimism is based on the rhetoric that continues to be put out by both sides and by the US and on Israel’s continuing project of “creating facts on the ground”. Neither side in the conflict is listening to what the other is saying. Certainly no one is listening to what the Palestinians have to say. 

Palestinian elections: A democratic exercise in futility

Maureen Clare Murphy 7 January 2005


It is fair to say that despite not having a presidential election since 1996, Palestinians are hardly euphoric over the upcoming vote. While President Bush stated December 20, “There will never be peace until a true democratic state emerges in the Palestinian territory,” Palestinians and anyone else who cares to examine the realities happening on the ground, know that peace depends on the cessation of the Israeli military occupation Palestinians have been enduring since 1967, the reaching of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, and the ability for both Israelis and Palestinians to exercise their self-determination. 

Barghouthi detained for over 2 hours in Jerusalem on last day of presidential campaign

7 January 2005


Palestinian Presidential Candidate Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi detained for over two hours in East Jerusalem on the last day of the presidential campaign. Barghouthi visited East Jerusalem on the last day of the presidential campaign. He met with President Jimmy Cater at the Seven Arches Hotel in East Jerusalem. He told President Carter that he was going to the Old City to attend Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa Mosque. President Carter indicated that if he got arrested he should let him know. He did not take this seriously, as he had a permit to enter Jerusalem up till 2 pm that afternoon. The permit, furthermore, does not specify places Dr. Barghouthi is not ‘allowed’ to visit. 

Israeli conduct in West Bank and Gaza did not change during election campaign

Arjan El Fassed 7 January 2005


Today, is the last day of the election campaign. Media reports say that the Israeli army will halt operations in the occupied Palestinian territories “to avoid interfering with Sunday’s elections”, however, Israel has already interfered with the elections since the start of the election campaign. Since November 25, Israeli forces have killed 68 Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories. Most of them in the Gaza Strip. Seven Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank. EI’s Arjan El Fassed cautions media from reporting the elections were “free”. 

Challenging NPR's cunningly worded "correction"

Nigel Parry 6 January 2005


On Morning Edition on 6 January 2005, NPR issued the following correction: “In a story about upcoming Palestinian elections, Presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as labeling Israel as the “Zionist enemy.” We could have given more context for his statement. We said it was in response to violence, but did not specify that the violence was an Israeli tank shell that killed seven Palestinians.” In a letter to Jeffrey Dvorkin, National Public Radio’s Ombudsman, Nigel Parry challenges NPR’s cunningly worded correction. 

Touch it and die

Mark Perry 6 January 2005


Writing about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is like writing about the “theater of the absurd”: it means penning reviews on tragicomedies that reflect the impermanence of values that question the validity of structured conventions and highlight the precariousness of human life. The shocking truth about such theater is that its dark and brooding mien serves as a thin cover for its laugh-out-loud quality. A review of the past year provides a number of skits from a particularly inspired performance. Mark Perry reflects for the Palestine Report. 

Free and Fair Palestinian Elections not Possible Under Military Occupation

5 January 2005


Today the Israeli military declared the closure of the Erez border crossing with the Gaza Strip for 48 hours, blocking the movement of all Palestinians into and out of the Gaza Strip. The closure also prevented Palestinian Presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouthi from leaving Gaza to campaign in the West Bank until late this evening. Yesterday, in the Gaza Strip seven Palestinian civilians, five of them children, were killed by an Israeli tank shell in Beit Lahia. Areas in Khan Yunis, Beit Lahia and Rafah remain under Israeli military siege, making it impossible to carry out a presidential election campaign there. Last week a 17 year-old boy, Riziq Musleh, was shot by an Israeli sniper in Rafah while attempting to hang a campaign poster. 

Palestinian Elections: Charting the Palestinian Future

Haithem El-Zabri 5 January 2005


Presidential elections in occupied Palestine are just 4 days away, and the two leading contenders � Mahmoud Abbas and Mustafa Barghouthi � are worlds apart in what they bring to the Palestinian cause.� Haithem El-Zabri offers a comparative overview of their backgrounds and positions on the issues, and how the international community is responding.� 

On the Narrow Shoulders of Abu Mazen

Roni Ben Efrat 5 January 2005


The Herzlia Conference has become, in the last few years, Ariel Sharon’s favorite forum for addressing the nation. One year ago (December 18, 2003), the Israeli PM used it to high dramatic effect: If the Palestinians do not take steps, he said, to quash terrorism within six months, as prescribed by the Road Map, Israel would disengage unilaterally from the Gaza Strip. The speech was curt and tense, without optimistic flourishes. This year (December 18, 2004), Sharon’s Herzlia speech was euphoric. The year 2005, he announced, would be “the year of opportunities.” Roni Ben Efrat comments. 

Flashpoints.net: Israel's killing of 7 children in Gaza and NPR's coverage

Dennis Bernstein 5 January 2005


Listen to an interview with EI cofounder Ali Abunimah on Flashpoints, 94.1FM, Berkeley, California. Senior producer Nora Barrows-Friedman interviewed Mohammed Omar in Rafah about Israel’s killing of seven Palestinian children in Gaza, and Dennis Bernstein interviewed EI’s Ali Abunimah about National Public Radio’s lack of reportage of the incident. The show was originally broadcast on Flashpoints on 4 January 2005. 

The election buzz

Arjan El Fassed Ramallah, Palestine 5 January 2005


We should have known that Gaza would be closed. However, someone told us that the border might be open and that we would be able to pass. Together with a colleague, who is also an accredited elections observer, we left the West Bank this morning to go to Gaza. Yesterday, Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians, most of the same family, when they fired a tank shell into an agricultural area in the area of Beit Lahia in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The tank shell killed three brothers, three cousins and their neighbour. EI’s Arjan El Fassed writes from Ramallah. 

NPR hides an atrocity but highlights the reaction

Ali Abunimah 4 January 2005


NPR’s Morning Edition featured a report about the upcoming election for Palestinian Authority president in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. The report highlighted that PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas described Israel as the “Zionist enemy,” but omitted any mention of the context — reaction to the killing that day of seven Palestinian children by Israeli occupation forces in the northern Gaza Strip. This continues a pattern of bias long-documented in NPR’s reporting. 

17 Palestinians killed by Israeli army since start of Palestinian election campaign

2 January 2005


Israeli forces have killed 17 Palestinians since the start of the election campaign on December 25. Palestinian rights group PCHR is gravely concerned at the escalation of attacks by Israeli occupation forces throughout the occupied Palestinian territories and the impact of this on the preparations for holding the Palestinian presidential election on 9 January 2005.  PCHR calls upon the international community to pressure Israel and its occupation forces to stop such attacks in order to create appropriate conditions to allow Palestinians to exercise their electoral right and freely choose a new president for the Palestinian National Authority. 

Israeli forces seriously wound Palestinian journalist in Gaza

3 January 2005


PCHR condemns shooting at a Palestinian journalist by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Sunday, 2 January 2004, when he was covering an Israeli military incursion into the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. The journalist was seriously wounded by a live bullet. PCHR is concerned at the escalation of attacks by IOF on journalists and media crews, which is further evidence of the use of excessive force by IOF against civilians in general and amounts to a  systematic targeting of journalists in an attempt to silence the press. The goal of which is to prevent journalists from reporting about attacks on Palestinian civilians. 

Israel arrests Palestinian candidates

Khalid Amayreh 1 January 2005


In an apparent effort to forestall gains by Hamas in Palestinian elections, the Israeli army has arrested a large number of potential candidates in the southern part of the West Bank. The arrests began shortly after midnight on Saturday in the town of Dura, nearly 50km south of Jerusalem, where the Israeli occupation army arrested an undisclosed number of Islamist leaders. Local sources in the Hebron area said the detainees included Shaikh Nayif Rajub, imam of the town’s Grand Mosque, and Shaikh Fathi Amr, a high-ranking official in Hebron’s Islamic endowments department. Rajub’s twin brother, Yasir, was also arrested.