October 2005

Land confiscations and exploitation natural resources main causes of crisis in OPT

27 October 2005


Israel’s continued confiscation of lands, destruction of homes, and exploitation of natural resources had remained the leading causes of the socio-economic crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories, a senior United Nations official told the Second Committee today, as it discussed permanent sovereignty of occupied Arab peoples over their natural resources. Introducing the report on that subject, Mervat Tallawy, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), stressed that agricultural losses in the occupied territories, especially the uprooting of more than a million olive trees, the demolition of homes and restrictions on the movement of goods and persons had deepened unemployment and poverty. 

Secretary-General deeply concerned by escalating Middle East violence

28 October 2005


United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the other principles of the Diplomatic Quartet today consulted on the latest violence in the Middle East, condemning Wednesday’s terrorist attack in Israel claimed by the Damascus-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad and calling on Syria to take immediate action against the group. In a separate statement, Secretary-General Kofi Annan voiced deep concern at the further escalation of violence in the past 24 hours in the Middle East, deploring action taken in Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza on Wednesday. 

Wide participation in the Olive Harvest Festival

31 October 2005


Every year at the beginning of October, the annual olive harvest begins in Palestine. The survival of tens of thousands of Palestinian families is more dependant than ever on their ability to harvest their olives and market the oil they yield. This is not something that can be assumed as the Israeli settlement, closures and the construction of the separation wall cut off people from their land thereby destroying their livelihoods. Volunteers joined Palestinian farmers with the annual olive harvest in the Bethlehem area. 

Israeli army kills seven Palestinians in missile strike

28 October 2005


At least 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been living in an atmosphere of war in the past 24 hours imposed by an escalation of attacks by Israeli Occupation Forces. In the context of this escalation, IOF committed another extra-judicial assassination in the northern Gaza Strip, which left dead 7 Palestinians (two members of the Islamic Jihad and 5 civilian bystanders, including 3 children). In addition, 19 civilians were injured. This latest attack came in the context of another wave of escalation by IOF, which has included also launching air attacks and mock air raids using F-16 fighter jets. This attack follows a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that he gave the Israeli military a green line to launch a wide scale military operation against Palestinians. 

UN Special Committee: "UN should be more innovative in its approaches to the question of Palestine"

28 October 2005


The three-member Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories recommended that the General Assembly “think of innovative ways to fulfil its responsibility with respect to all aspects of the question of Palestine until this question is resolved in conformity with relevant United Nations resolutions and norms of international law, and until the inalienable rights of the Palestinians are fully realized.” The UN General Assembly should be more innovative in its approaches to the question of Palestine, Israel should distinguish between military objectives and civilians and the PA should control Palestinian armed groups so as to stop violence against civilians, a Special Committee says in a new report. 

MapQuest sidesteps requests to correct blatantly inaccurate map of Israel

Ira Glunts 25 October 2005


Changing the map of the Middle East is difficult even in a literal sense. Last month the Electronic Intifada informed its readers of the blatantly inaccurate map of Israel which currently appears on MapQuest.com. As a result of our call to action, MapQuest received hundreds of e-mail messages from concerned readers. Initially responding with a boiler plate letter promising undefined future action, MapQuest ultimately refered writers to the Dutch vendor that provides their maps. Correspondence with the Dutch company has not resulted in any clear response commiting to update the maps, two weeks after they received our letter. 

Setting up Abbas

Jeff Halper 25 October 2005


From Sharon’s point of view it’s a done deal. Israel has won its century-old conflict with the Palestinians. Surveying the landscape - physical and political alike - the Israeli Prime Minister has finally fulfilled the task with which he was charged 38 years ago by Menachem Begin: ensure permanent Israel control over the entire Land of Israel while foreclosing the emergence of a viable Palestinian state. Still, Israel needs a Palestinian state. Although the annexation of the settlement blocs gives Israel complete control over the entire country between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, it needs to “get rid of” the almost four million Palestinian residents to which it can neither give citizenship nor keep in a state of permanent bondage. 

Israel assassinates two Palestinians in Tulkarem

24 October 2005


Israeli forces committed another extra-judicial execution. Israeli forces invaded Tulkarem and two refugee camps east of the city. After they imposed a curfew on residents, Israeli soldiers tooks positions in the Marba’at Hannoun area. They stopped a car and forced the driver out, opened fire and killed him instantly. Israeli forces saw an armed Palestinian from an alley and opened fire, hitting him with two bullets in his leg and hand. He fired a few bullets at the soldiers and took refuge in a nearby house. Israeli forces fired a rocket at the building. A man was climbing the stairs. Israeli forces shot at him from close range. He was killed instantly. The two Palestinians were identified as Majed al-Ashqar and Lo’ay El-Sa’di. 

The Wall and the psychological impact on children

Adri Nieuwhof 24 October 2005


On 26 September 2005, the Palestinian Counseling Centre (the PCC) announced the results of a survey on the psychological implications of the construction of the wall on people from five villages in the Qalqilya district. In 2003, the PCC conducted a pilot study, which was followed by the survey from early 2004 to August 2005. The study showed a proportional relationship between exposure to the wall and the occurrence of nightmares and aggressive behaviour in adolescents and children. The PCC’s study makes it clear that the wall has an impact on the mental health of adults and children. According to the PCC, the wall can be seen as a construction meant to confine and isolate people, which are the key characteristics of a prison. 

An affordable translation service from the Arabic language press

Najla Said 23 October 2005


Until recently, there has been no affordable and timely translation source for non-Arabic-speaking diaspora Arabs or Westerners to read the Arabic press. Mideastwire.com was launched on June 15th, 2005. The service (currently free to subscribers) provides a daily email newsletter with the days headlines (translated and summarized) from all the top Arabic and Persian newspapers. Since the service is operated and dispatched from Beirut, Lebanon, the correspondents (who are scattered worldwide)� and editors have the entire workday to get the newletter finished and into the inboxes of American subscribers by midday/late morning in the United States. 

Nationalism and its Discontents

Am Johal 23 October 2005


There is a dangerous political vacuum emerging that could fuel further extremism within both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. The Palestinians want movement on their demands and the Israelis do not want to make any further concessions. Sharon, in one of the ironies of the age, is barely fighting off the right wing. In a conflicted state, there is something called the ‘politics of time’ that is always present. There is nothing more dangerous than being static. 

Withdrawal from Reality?

Eugene Bird 23 October 2005


President Bush rolled out the red carpet for his Palestinian protege, Mahmoud Abbas. The meeting in the Rose Garden, in terms of staging, equaled anything that President Clinton had done with his friend, Yasser Arafat, in the heyday of the Oslo agreements. Pessimists, on the one hand, believe that nothing will happen until after the Israeli elections, probably set for November 2006. And that means continued rolling violence between now and then. 

The invisibility of Palestinian Nonviolent Resistance in the New York Times

Patrick O'Connor 23 October 2005


The fact that thousands of Palestinians and hundreds of Israelis are together employing nonviolent tactics similar to those of the U.S. civil rights movement and the South African anti-Apartheid movement would come as surprising and welcome news to most Americans. Americans are largely unaware of the struggling but vibrant grassroots nonviolent movement in Palestine, because the U.S. corporate media prefers a simple, flawed story of Palestinian terrorist attacks and Israeli retaliation. 

More Academy Resistance to Films From or About Palestine?

23 October 2005


Despite international acclaim and recognition, the California-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has disqualified the Italian submission for the 2005 Oscars due to complications that challenge the Academy’s foreign language regulations. The film, Private, was written and directed by Italian Saverio Costanzo, and produced by an Italian crew, in association with Italian-based Rai Cinema, Instituto de Luce, Offside and Cydonia. The drama, which has been hailed as a courageous and optimistic look at the Middle East situation and features a groundbreaking cooperative Palestinian and Israeli cast, was shot primarily in Arabic and Hebrew. 

Human rights lawyers: "The Gaza Strip Is Still Occupied"

21 October 2005


On 5-8 October the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network sent a delegation to visit the Gaza Strip to document the human rights situation in relation to the Israeli “Disengagement Plan”. The mission team concluded that following evacuation of the illegal Israeli settlements Gazans are now able to move within the Gaza Strip and have access the 40 percent land previously occupied by Israel. However the mission team also concludes that: the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip remains, and Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement is under Israeli control. The restrictions on freedom of movement hamper Palestinians’ possibilities to work for an improvement of the economy. The work of civil society is made more difficult as organisations and individuals cannot move freely to do their work. 

After Arab League criticism, Annan voices full confidence in Middle East envoy

19 October 2005


Voicing surprise at Arab League criticism of his Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today reaffirmed his full confidence in the official, Alvaro de Soto, and said he expected all parties to work with him in the common search for peace. Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa issued a statement yesterday criticizing Mr. de Soto for his briefing to the Security Council on 23 September. “There was nothing in that briefing that could be construed as supporting the construction by Israel of the barrier on occupied Palestinian land,” Mr. Annan said in a statement issued by his spokesman. “The position taken by Mr. de Soto was entirely consistent with decisions taken in the General Assembly and the Security Council on this issue,” the statement added. 

UN envoy stresses need for coordination to translate Gaza disengagement into peace

19 October 2005


Energetic coordination, cooperation and engagement by Israelis, Palestinians and the international community were needed to translate the disengagement from Gaza into a sustained and negotiated peace, Ibrahim Gambari, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told the Security Council this morning. “An upsurge in violence has undermined the positive political developments and dulled the sense of optimism that had resulted from last month’s Gaza disengagement”, he said during the monthly briefing to the Council on the situation in the Middle East. “The political track has to be resilient to the inevitable ups and downs of this unstable post-engagement period”, he added. 

Israeli cabinet proposes new bill for harsher procedure laws against Palestinians

19 October 2005


On 14 October 2005, Adalah sent an urgent letter to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, and the Attorney General (AG) demanding the cancellation of a bill which proposes new and harsher criminal procedure laws to be applied to individuals suspected of security offenses based solely on their nationality. The bill, entitled the “Criminal Law Procedures Bill (Powers of Implementation – Special Directives for Investigating Security Violations Perpetrated by Non-Citizens),” was approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs on 9 October 2005. Recommended by the General Security Services (GSS), the bill would create a two-track criminal procedure law governing investigation, interrogation and detention – one for Israelis and one for Palestinians. 

Human rights group concerned about security in Gaza Strip

19 October 2005


The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights strongly condemns the murder of two Palestinian civilians in two incidents during the night of 13 October 2005 in the southern Gaza Strip. These incidents highlight the continuation of chaos resulting from the spread of weapons and misusing them in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The first incident occurred in Rafah, and resulted in the death of a Palestinian activist at the hands of comrades on the backdrop of an inter-factional dispute. A clan dispute in Khan Yunis resulted in the second incident, and led to the death of one man. PCHR is concerned about the escalation of incidents of misusing arms and other forms of security chaos. 

Abbas' backward agenda: all constants and no variables

Hasan Abu Nimah 22 October 2005


Leaders tend to stay at home in moments of crises. If caught out of their countries when trouble develops, they rush back. Nothing enhances the confidence of people in their leaders more than when they see them amongst them in hard times. This does not seem to be the case with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. He embarked on an Arab and world tour just when at home he is most needed: his government is facing a possible no-confidence vote in the Palestinian assembly, and violence broke out between Israelis and Palestinians. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah explains this backward logic. 

NGO Monitor should not be taken seriously

Yacoub Kahlen and Robert E. Foxsohn 18 October 2005


NGO Monitor, founded by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, has for some time now been deliberately spreading false and misleading information about NGOs in an attempt to discredit them. Their targets include some of the most established and respected human rights organizations. While their efforts to stifle a critical dialogue have proved unsuccessful, their efforts are relentless and it is important that they be exposed as part of an extremist, right-wing institution, closely linked with the Israeli government and military commanders, who do not have specific interest in human rights. Therefore, NGO Monitor should not be taken seriously by anyone interested in peace and human rights. 

Extra-Judicial Execution in Jenin

17 October 2005


Israeli occupation forces committed another extra-judicial execution crime yesterday evening. The victim was Nehad Khaled Abu Ghanem, 33 years old from the village of Barqeen, west of Jenin. He died after sustaining several gunshot wounds in the upper body. IOF troops chased him and fired at him from close range, killing him instantly. Initial investigations indicate that Nehad Abu Ghanem was on his way from Qabatya to his home in Barqeen. When he reached an intersection off the Jenin-Nablus road, he noticed a number of Israeli military vehicles. Israeli soldiers noticed him and chased him. Accidentally, Abu Ghanem’s car hit the wall of a house. Soldiers got out of their jeeps, surrounded Abu Ghanem and opened fire at close range while he was in his car. He died instantly. 

Olive harvest begins under the shadow of restrictions on movement

13 October 2005


This year’s olive harvest season in the West Bank has begun. The harvest comes in the wake of extensive damage to the groves during the construction of the Separation Barrier, and strict restrictions on movement imposed on Palestinian farmers trying to access their land west of the Barrier. Many farmers received a permit for the harvest season, but were not allowed to reach their land during the course of the year. Since they were unable to work their fields during the year, they will now find their fields in poor condition. As a result, the harvest will be more difficult and yield a smaller crop. The restrictions on movement due to the barrier are in addition to those the IDF has imposed for a number of years on Palestinians whose agricultural lands lie near settlements and outposts. 

Forty percent Palestinians in OPT food insecure

13 October 2005


Better information on the number and the state of poor people without access to adequate food in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will help reduce the number of food insecure people there, FAO said today. A new FAO project aims to provide the Palestinian Authority with updated information on poor households and groups and the causes of their food insecurity. This analysis will enable decision-makers to better target vulnerable groups and improve the design and implementation of emergency interventions and sustainable development programmes. Food insecurity is a reality for 40 percent of the 3.6 million people living in the West Bankand Gaza Strip and a near constant threat for an additional 30 percent of the population, according to a 2003 FAO assessment. 

FREE THE P! Palestine Takes NYC's East Village by Storm

Remi Kanazi 17 October 2005


As I walk down the darkened staircase into a muggy basement in this lower eastside dive bar, a scruffily bearded supporter smiles and waves a four-foot wide Palestinian flag. The chatter begins as the room fills with anxious people awaiting the show. The young crowd came out to support Free the P, the new CD compilation of “hip-hop and spoken word, dedicated to the youth of Palestine.” The proceeds will go to Slingshot Hip-hop, “a documentary film that focuses on the daily life of Palestinian rappers living in Gaza, the West Bank and inside Israel.” Within moments, our hostess, Arab-American comedienne Maysoon Zayid, takes the ground level, makeshift stage and gets the crowd going with her dry, political humor. 

Haifa University spreads the message of fear towards Palestinians

Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker 13 October 2005


The University of Haifa has warned foreign students of the dangers of visiting Palestinians. This warning, which comes in the form of “Special Security Instructions for Students”, follows a decision by the University to establish a special education programme for soldiers who serve in the Israeli army. Such actions are patently discriminatory, offering fresh reasons for the University of Haifa to again be included in a list of Israeli universities being (re)considered for an academic boycott. This fall, the Department of Overseas Studies at the University of Haifa circulated these instructions for students. The students are advised “not to travel in the West Bank or the Gaza strip. Avoid Arab population centres within Israel as far as possible. 

Gaza: Kidnapped journalists released

12 October 2005


Yesterday, two foreign journalists were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip. Although both were released a few hours later, the crime reflects the recurrence of kidnapping cases, in the absence of effective measures by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) against kidnappings and other forms of security chaos. On Wednesday, six gunmen stopped a car with five passengers, including two foreign journalists, Dion Nissenbaum and Adam Pletts. The gunmen took the journalists with them until their release later. This latest incident comes as part of a pattern of kidnappings that has recently escalated in the Gaza Strip. 

Oct 14-Nov 15: ISM USA Speaking Tour on the Palestinian/Israeli Nonviolent Movement

International Solidarity Movement 12 October 2005


From October 14 � November 15, 2005, Palestinian Ayed Morrar and Israeli Jonathan Pollak will be touring the United States speaking about Nonviolent Resistance in Palestine. The tour will visit New York, North Carolina, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Olympia Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, Florida and Philadelphia. Ayed and Jonathan are friends and among the major figures in the Palestinian-led nonviolent struggle against Israel�s military occupation. 

UN expert: Israel puts human rights defenders at "grave risk"

11 October 2005


A top UN official accused Israel of depriving Palestinians of their basic human rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Hina Jilani, special representative of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Human Rights Defenders, said that Israel was blocking lawyers, journalists and rights activists from monitoring potential rights abuses. “‘Security imperatives’ have been allowed to deprive a vast population of their very basic rights and these measures need deeper scrutiny by all concerned if any respect for norms of international human rights and humanitarian law is to be preserved,” Jilani told reporters in Jerusalem. Hina Jilani concluded her visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. 

Selling colonialism

Anthony Loewstedt 13 October 2005


Kingdom of Heaven, directed by Sir Ridley Scott and starring Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Irons, Eva Green, Liam Neeson, has now been released on DVD (20th Century Fox). Watching this Hollywood extravaganza is like seeing the current Iraq war through the eyes of an American soldier, or a portrait of apartheid from the point of view of a rich white South African farmer, or a depiction of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank from the perspective of a Jewish settler. It is also like the foreign news in the quality U.S. and British news media today: no direct or conscious lies, but extremely one-sided. In end effect, it has all the historicity of an early cowboys-and-Indians-movie or Birth of a Nation, the infamous 1916 film that sympathizes with the Ku Klux Klan. 

The case for cultural boycott

12 October 2005


In 2004 the 20th Haifa International film festival established a section for “New Palestinian Cinema” in cooperation with Masharaf magazine in Haifa. Several Palestinian film makers were invited to present their films at this festival. A number of us at Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) contacted some of these filmmakers to urge them not to participate in that festival. There were two main reasons for that: the first was that the film festival was sponsored by the Israeli government and held under the patronage of Limor Livnat a minister in Sharon’s government and a member of the Likud party, well-known for her racist and Zionist positions and actions. 

ADC Remembers Alex Odeh

11 October 2005


The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) today marks the 20th year since the murder of Alex Odeh. Odeh, ADC’s Southern California Regional Director, was killed on October 11, 1985, when a powerful pipe bomb exploded as he unlocked and opened the door of the ADC office in Santa Ana, California. In addition to killing Odeh, the bomb injured several other victims. According to press reports, the FBI has identified members of the Jewish Defense League (JDL) as suspects in this act of domestic terrorism. 

Theatre Review: My Name Is Rachel Corrie

Cindy Corrie and Craig Corrie 11 October 2005


When our daughter Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip on March 16 2003, an immediate impulse was to get her words out to the world. We realised that her words were having a similar effect on others whose lives were being changed. Earlier this year, when a play created entirely from Rachel’s emails and journals first opened in London, we saw in a very immediate way the impact that Rachel’s words can have on others. It is disturbing to see our daughter played on stage, but it drives home the impact she has had since her killing in Gaza. 

Hamas and the PA at loggerheads

Yasser Abu Moailek 11 October 2005


For a long time, relations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Islamist movement Hamas have been tense. On September 30 these tensions finally boiled over. After a series of mysterious and still-disputed events, members of Hamas clashed with Palestinian police officers throughout Gaza City. Three Palestinians were reported killed, including a major in the Palestinian police, while more than 50 others, among them children, were injured. 

The Skies are Weeping to premiere in London

Philip Munger 11 October 2005


Eighteen months ago I wrote a press release for what I thought would be the upcoming performance of a memorial cantata about a dedicated American college student, to be performed by other dedicated American college students. It was not to be. Some of the premises I had accepted in creating the work were seriously flawed. The first of many flawed premises was that in the environment of the ongoing Iraq War, one could expect an even table when presenting an antiwar argument - especially in a work of fine art. I was wrong. 

Gaza Last? The British Government's U-turn on Palestine

Nick Dearden 11 October 2005


“I’m not looking for Sharon to do anything other than… to act in the measured way I spoke of”. And when the “measured way” includes air raids, mass arrests of Palestinians and serious violation of international law, British Minister for the Middle East, Kim Howells, is unlikely to be disappointed. At the very time Palestine takes on the characteristics of the anti-apartheid movement - with sanctions and boycott calls, an extensive twinning network, and Churches disinvesting from companies complicit in the Occupation -the British Government appears to tread ever more delicately around Israel. 

Gazan poets gather for reading on eve of Ramadan

Sami Abu Salem 11 October 2005


Lanterns and old-fashioned lamps dangled from the wood ceiling over hundreds of citizens gathered on the eve of Ramadan (the month of fasting for Muslims) to attend night of poetry recitation by young poets. The four young poets were in a semi-competition to win the most applause from the officials and ordinary citizens who were enthusiastic to spend this unique time far from politics. The night of poetry recitation, “There is a Room for Happiness”, was organized by the Rahala Association. 

Israeli High Court bans use of human shields

7 October 2005


Amnesty International welcomes the banning, by Israel’s High Court, of the use of Palestinians as “human shields” by the Israeli army. The long-awaited High Court ruling of 6 October 2005 came in response to a petition filed in May 2002 by several Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations seeking a ban of the practice, which endangered the lives of the Palestinians who were used as “human shields” and violated international law, notably Article 51 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. In recent years, Amnesty International investigated tens of cases where the Israeli army used Palestinians, children as well as adults, as “human shields” during military operations in towns and refugee camps throughout the Occupied Territories. 

Outgunned: The PA's Security Challenges in Gaza

Peter Muller 9 October 2005


“At least give us enough bullets to protect people and protect our stations,” exclaimed a Palestinian police officer after he stormed the parliament building in Gaza City on the afternoon of October 3rd. He was one of approximately 40 officers from the Shati refugee camp who raided the in-session parliament to protest the Palestinian Authority’s reaction to fierce clashes between PA forces and Hamas militants in Gaza City on the night of October 2nd. One policeman and two bystanders were killed and 43 others were wounding in six hours of intense street fighting throughout the city. 

Hurricane Gaza

Yacov Ben Efrat 9 October 2005


As a unilateral act, Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip raises basic questions for both sides in the conflict. For Israel, there is the question of how to define its deed: “Should we declare that the occupation of Gaza is over?” No less important are the questions Palestinians are asking: “Is this a victory? If so, who should get credit?” When Sharon prefers to speak of an end to Israeli “responsibility” rather than “occupation”, he means, above all, economic responsibility. He will discover, however, that Gaza, for its part, cannot disengage. Gazans cannot survive without access to jobs and export markets in Israel. 

UN Special Representative on human rights defenders to visit Israel and OPT

4 October 2005


The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders, Hina Jilani, will undertake a fact-finding mission to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory from 5 to 12 October 2005 at the invitation of the Government of Israel. The Special Representative will assess the situation of human rights defenders, and examine in particular both the legal framework as well as any possible limitations on the right to defend human rights in the country. During the visit, she will meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations and individuals engaged in human rights work in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as United Nations officials. 

EU to double aid to Palestinian Authority

6 October 2005


The European Commission has adopted a Communication to the Council and the European Parliament “EU-Palestinian cooperation beyond disengagement - towards a two-state solution”. The aim is to put in place a comprehensive, medium-term strategy for the EU’s support to the Palestinians. The strategy focuses on the actions required to create a Palestinian state viable both politically and economically. This is a reponse following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, and to the needs assessment currently being carried out by the Quartet Special Envoy, James Wolfensohn. 

"Palestinian armed groups must stop endangering civilians"

4 October 2005


Factional fighting by Palestinian armed groups has reached an unprecedented level and is recklessly endangering the lives of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. In recent days, shoot outs between armed groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Authority security forces have resulted in civilian bystanders being killed and injured due to high-powered weapons being used in densely populated civilian areas. On Sunday 2 October two Palestinian bystanders were killed and several were injured as a result of armed clashes between Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces and members and supporters of the Palestinian armed group Hamas in Gaza City and in an attack by another armed group reportedly calling itself the “Popular Army” in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis. 

Rap group DAM to hold first US show October 5!

3 October 2005


On 5 October 2005, history will be made when ‘48 Palestine rap group DAM (Da Arabic MC’s) perform their first concert in the U.S. Celebrate the Palestinian hip hop movement with DAM, with additional performances by Chosan, Invincible, Akil Dasan, La Bruja, Anthony Morales and special guests. The trailer for the new film Slingshot Hip Hop: The Palestinian Lyrical Front by Jackie Salloum will be screened as well. The concert will be held at Climax, 14 Avenue B (between 1st and 2nd) at 9:30, and is presented by: World Up, Nomadic Wax, The Hip Hop Association, and the International Hip Hop Exchange 

EI co-founder responds to defamation by CMU Hillel head

Ali Abunimah 9 February 2005


EI co-founder Ali Abunimah responds to defamatory charges made in The Pitt News that he had advocated the “use of terrorism,” when he spoke at Carnegie Mellon University in February 2005. Abunimah writes, “I am happy to repeat here, as I have many times both in print, on our Web site and in speeches, that I am unequivocally opposed to all violence targeting civilians, regardless of the motive or the identity of the perpetrator or victim.” 

EI co-founder responds to censorship campaign at Carnegie Mellon

Ali Abunimah 3 October 2005


Ever since EI Co-founder Ali Abunimah and DePaul University professor Norman Finkelstein lectured separately at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University in the Spring of 2005, pro-Israel groups, who had attempted to block the appearances, have been conducting a campaign to silence free discussion of the Palestine-Israel conflict on campus. Abunimah responds to the latest salvos in the campaign, detailing some of the pro-Israel activist’s disruptive and defamatory tactics, and offering to appear before a university committee to answer any alleged concerns about the views he expressed in his lecture. 

Violent Clashes in Gaza

3 October 2005


In the bloodiest internal clashes since the Israeli redeployment in the Gaza Strip last month, 3 Palestinians, including a police officer, were killed and 43 others, mostly children, were injured when armed members of Hamas exchanged fire with the Palestinian police in Gaza City on Sunday, 2 October 2005. Five of the injured are in a serious condition. Earlier, a taxi driver was killed and another one was injured in Khan Yunis, and an armed group broke into Jabalya police station and opened fire. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights expresses grave concern regarding the series of incidents that took place in Khan Yunis, Jabalya and Gaza City, which left four Palestinians dead and injured dozens of others. 

Five years of child rights abuses in Palestine

29 September 2005


Five years ago today, massive protests against the ongoing Israeli occupation erupted throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Since that day in September 2000, the systematic and daily violations of the rights of Palestinians in general and of Palestinian children in particular, have intensified profoundly. Children too young to walk or speak have been shot dead, thousands have been injured, still more have looked on horrified as friends and family members have been killed, maimed, arrested, humiliated. Schools and homes have been demolished, hospitals destroyed. A vast array of discriminatory and illegal movement restrictions including closures, curfews, checkpoints and roadblocks have been imposed on the Palestinian residents of the OPT, plunging the Palestinian economy further and further into crisis. 

Israel's 'Sound' Terrorism

Yasser Abu Moailek 2 October 2005


It all started with an explosion on September 23, at a military rally for the militant Palestinian movement Hamas - its last before declaring an end to all weapon displays in the streets of Gaza. Hamas leaders blamed Israel for the explosion, arguing that it was a bombing by unmanned spy drones targeting leaders in the movement. However, PA officials said that the explosion had actually resulted from a malfunctioning makeshift ‘Qassam’ rocket. On the same night, HAMAS sent 30 rockets into the Israeli town of Sderot. Five Israelis were reported injured in the heaviest rocket attack in more than six months. The Israeli response was fierce. 

Sleeping in Gaza under roaring Israeli jets

Rami Almeghari Maghazi refugee camp, Gaza, Palestine 2 October 2005


Israeli jetfighters, mainly F-16s, continue to air-strike many areas in the ‘recently-evacuated’ Gaza Strip, in which several Palestinians have been killed, dozens others wounded, severe damages inflicted to buildings and a great deal of panic caused to men, women and children. “Suddenly, at 2:30am, in the early hours of Saturday 24, 2005, I woke up suddenly from my sleep, finding my three little kids, Ghadir (9), Rewan (6) and Fadi (4) , crying fearfully in my room, calling “Dad, Dad”. 

Governing Gaza: The role of Lebanon's armed Palestinians

Peter Muller 2 October 2005


Bethlehem — While average Palestinians celebrate Israel’s withdrawal in the streets of the Gaza Strip, the minds of ranking Palestinian leaders are distracted by the implications of this development. Understanding that the post-withdrawal situation in Gaza will greatly affect the future of negotiations, PA leaders have outlined curious plans to ensure success. Facing Hamas, an adversary that reputable security analysts predict could defeat PA security forces in a military confrontation, PA officials have posited the idea of transferring thousands of armed Palestinian refugees from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip. 

B'Nai Brith Attacks the Canada Palestine Film Festival...Again!

Paul Burrows 2 October 2005


In a press release dated September 28th, 2005, B’Nai Brith Canada claimed that the 2nd Annual Canada Palestine Film Festival, which opens today at Winnipeg’s prestigious Cinematheque theatre, is “about propaganda not art.” The implication, of course, is that defending the State of Israel — regardless of its behaviour — can be “objective” and “artistic,” whereas criticizing Israel’s actual human rights record, or portraying Palestinians as human beings with legitimate claims to self-determination, is by definition “propaganda,” or worse: anti-Semitism. 

Churches speak out on economic pressure as a tool for peace

Adri Nieuwhof 1 October 2005


During the first week of January 2004, Israeli minister of Justice Yosef Lapid warned his country about an international boycott. He told Israeli radio: “There is a very serious risk the World Court (International Court of Justice in the Hague) will rule against us …. and this is liable to prompt the General Assembly into imposing all sorts of sanctions against us”. Despite this, Israel has continued its occupation, including the construction of the Wall and expansion of the settlements in Occupied Palestinian territories. Lapid was right, the voice for economic pressure on Israel is becoming louder, especially from the churches. 

Israeli aircraft drop threatening leaflets on Gaza

1 October 2005


Gaza, Al-Watan, September 27, 2005 — Israeli warplanes last night dropped thousands of leaflets directed at residents of the Gaza Strip. This is the the text of the Israeli army statement:”To the residents of the northern Gaza Strip: The terrorist actions originating from your areas are forcing the Israel Defense Forces to respond harshly to those who are subjecting the citizens of the State of Israel to danger….We warn you of the danger of remaining in the areas which are being used to launch terrorist actions and we advise you to leave your homes. We are not responsible for the consequences if you ignore our warning.” 

Palestine's first Octoberfest in Taybeh

Maureen Clare Murphy 1 October 2005


There’s a first time for everything, and this weekend it was Palestine’s first Octoberfest-styled beer festival, held in Taybeh village. Excited local boy scouts and townspeople mixed with foreigners who had made the pilgrimage to the Biblical city of Ephraim, and the entertainment was geared towards all parties - children’s performances, live music, and, of course, Taybeh beer. Taybeh’s second claim to fame, apart from its visit by Jesus before he traveled to Jerusalem, is its brewery - the only one in Palestine, and one of only a handful in the Arab Middle East.