March 2006

A just peace or no peace

Ismail Haniyeh 31 March 2006


Do policymakers in Washington and Europe ever feel ashamed of their scandalous double standards? Before and since the Palestinian elections in January, they have continually insisted that Hamas comply with certain demands. They want us to recognise Israel, call off our resistance, and commit ourselves to whatever deals Israel and the Palestinian leadership reached in the past. But we have not heard a single demand of the Israeli parties that took part in this week’s elections, though some advocate the complete removal of the Palestinians from their lands, writes Ismail Haniyeh, the new Palestinian prime minister. 

"Don't worry - it's just another Palestinian child's death"

Leigh Brady Yamun, Palestine 31 March 2006


On 18 March 2006, Leigh Brady visited a grieving family in Al Yamun, a town in the northern West Bank. Their 7-year old daughter had been murdered the night previously by Israeli Border Police, who had entered the town to arrest “wanted” Palestinian militants in a raid led by Israeli Defence Forces. Her name was Akaber Adbelrahman Zaid and she was on her way to a doctor’s clinic to have stitches removed from her chin. Instead she received a barrage of bullets to the head, when an undercover Border Police unit opened fire on the car in which she was travelling with her uncle. 

EI speaks about the Palestinian elections on KPFT

31 January 2006


The recent Palestinian elections and the victory of Hamas. What does that mean to the “peace process” and the Palestinian people, and how will that impact the Middle East and the relations with the US, European Union and other countries. KPFT speaks with EI’s Ali Abunimah about the significance of the Hamas upset. Palestinians went to the polls to elect 132 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Hamas with its list of Change and Reform obtained 74 seats, the Fatah Movement obtained 45 seats. 

Press For The Rest: Reshaping a loaded term for the media

Jesse Rosenfeld 2 February 2006


Possibly the best source for finding news and information on the daily effects of Israeli occupation, interpretation of major events happening in the Middle East, and establishment of context for the conflict is alternative media source Electronic Intifada (EI). The term “intifada” is Arabic for “popular uprising,” and the intent of EI is to provide a Palestinian voice of the experience under occupation. When I spoke with EI founder Ali Abunimah, he explained that the name EI came out of the 1990s when Palestinian people from around the world started to use the internet as a tool of self-expression and a response to the mainstream press’s distortion of the conflict. 

EI on CKUT's "Under the Olive Tree"

1 February 2006


EI’s Ali Abunimah spoke at McGill this week as part of Social Justice Days, a series of student-organized events that encourage activism. Abunimah is the co-founder of Electronic Intifada, a Web site devoted to covering the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The writer and commentator discussed media coverage and the future of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at a tea on Friday at 3 p.m. at First Peoples’ House, 3505 Peel. Under the Olive Tree is a weekly Palestinian affairs radio program on CKUT 90.3fm providing an alternative focus on events, issues, arts and current affairs in the Palestinian communities in Montreal, Canada and beyond. 

UPA: Direct humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people

30 March 2006


Palestine is reeling from high unemployment and a poverty rate of 48%, with half its people surviving on food aid. With an increasingly deteriorating situation on the ground, severe food shortages in Gaza, and talk of suspending aid to the Palestinian people, the Electronic Intifada asked Makboula Yasin, Executive Director of the United Palestinian Appeal, Inc., in Washington, D.C., what people can do in terms of getting direct humanitarian assistance to the people who need it most. 

Intransigence of Hamas Government will affect aid: Quartet

30 March 2006


The refusal of the Hamas-led Palestinian Government to commit to non-violence, recognition of Israel and other principles will inevitably have an effect on direct assistance to it, the Middle East diplomatic Quartet made up of the United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia said today. “The Quartet welcomed President Abbas’ call for the new Palestinian Government to commit to a platform of peace and, having carefully assessed the program of the new government approved on March 28, noted with grave concern that the new Government has not committed to the principles” spelled out by the Quartet in a pronouncement made soon after the January elections, the group said in a formal statement. 

Gaza Strip Situation Report

29 March 2006


Karni and Kerem Shalom crossings have been open for nearly one week (21 - 27 March), although not at full capacity, allowing much needed basic food supplies to enter the Gaza Strip. Karni closed on 28 March because of heightened Israeli security concerns over the Knesset elections. Over the course of the last week, over 1,650 truckloads of food and commercial supplies entered the Gaza Strip through Karni crossing from Israel. Exported goods from the Gaza Strip were permitted on 26 March for the first time since 12 March. On 28 March, two Israeli Bedouins were killed in the nearby village of Nahal Oz when they reportedly handled an unexploded qassam rocket previously fired by Palestinian militants. 

The New York Times Covers Up Discrimination against Palestinian Citizens of Israel

Patrick O'Connor 30 March 2006


March 28th’s Israeli elections saw the sudden rise of Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party to become the fourth largest Israeli party, advocating transferring some Palestinian towns in Israel to PA control, thus revoking the Israeli citizenship of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.  The results of a poll released last week showed that 68% of Israeli Jews would refuse to live in the same apartment building as a Palestinian citizen of Israel, and 40% of Israeli Jews believe the state needs to support the emigration of Palestinian citizens. However, because of the way Israel is portrayed in the mainstream US media, such blatant discrimination would likely surprise the US public. 

Asking Hamas for the moon: Severing ties illustrates flawed policy

Arjan El Fassed 31 March 2006


Canada and the US are the first governments that have severed all ties with the Palestinian Authority. The US administration and Canada accordingly want Hamas to denounce violence, recognize Israel and accept previous agreements, including the Road Map. EI’s Arjan El Fassed argues that this move shows how inconsistent foreign policy is towards Palestine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These governments have failed to denounce violence on the part of Israel, have not recognized Palestine themselves and have failed to ensure Israel’s for signed agreements. This latest move has formally exposed the bias of the Quartet. 

Update: The Implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access

24 March 2006


Rafah was open daily during the reporting period for the standard nine hours. On 14 March four truckloads of furniture and handicrafts were exported via Rafah to Egypt, using the back-to-back system under the supervision of the EU BAM. No other truck loads have crossed since. No security incident on the Palestinian side of the crossing was reported. However, on 14 March, the EU BAM closed Rafah 75 minutes earlier than scheduled. The decision was taken jointly with the Palestinian border officials in reaction to the tense situation in the Gaza Strip due to the events in Jericho. The passages did not open continuously. Karni was open for limited imports on four days only. Exports were allowed on two days. 

Section of separation barrier around Jerusalem ruled illegal - near Sheikh Sa'ed

23 March 2006


The Tel-Aviv Magistrate’s Court granted the appeal of residents of Sheikh sa’ed, in East Jerusalem , opposing the separation barrier, and cancelled the requisition orders that had been issued to build the barrier. The court’s appeals committee ruled that the planned route of the barrier would cause disproportionate harm to the daily lives of the residents, in part because it separates Sheik sa’ed from other neighborhoods of East Jerusalem . This is the first time that a court has voided a section of the separation barrier around Jerusalem . The appeal was filed by the Sheikh sa’ed Neighborhood Committee and five residents of the village, who were represented by attorney Ghiath Nasser. 

Wall mitigation: Implications for donors and implementing agencies operating in areas affected by the Separation Barrier

28 March 2006


Perspectives within the international donor community on how to approach wall mitigation and address the implications of the ICJ Opinion are far from consistent. Some donors are strongly in favour of wall mitigation on humanitarian grounds, while others express serious concern regarding undertaking any form of wall mitigation initiative on political or legal grounds. Many donors, meanwhile, have not formulated a clear position. A new paper outlines recommendations that deal with how to approach wall mitigation in an effective and consistent manner and which is legally consistent with the ICJ Opinion; and the need for donors to ensure compliance by Israel with international humanitarian law. 

The Israeli election and the prospects for peace

27 March 2006


Palestinians remain pessimistic that any newly elected government of Israel will increase prospects for peace. The Palestinians held their own election in January, and they voted in the Hamas party. Now observers are concerned that if Kadima, the party originally dreamed up by Ariel Sharon, is voted in, prospects for peace and a viable state will be set back, because of its policy of unilateral disengagement. Ali Abunimah is the co-founder of the Electronic Intifada, an online news site that tells the story from the Palestinian perspective. He gave his response to Kadima policy of unilateral disengagement in an interview with Erica Vowles of The Wire. 

Fatah Chapter Closed: Creating a Palestinian National Congress

Rifat Odeh Kassis 27 March 2006


The current calls to emphasise the role of the PLO coming from Fatah and the other political factions cannot be very convincing to the Palestinian people. Fatah bears the bulk of responsibility in destroying the PLO and marginalizing it. Whichever the motives, Fatah and all Palestinians must recognise that trying to revive the PLO as it stands is not the answer. The structure and methodology is outdated. There is no other way but to build up a different political body to represent the Palestinians everywhere, writes Rifat Odeh Kassis. 

Rachel's Words Live On

Remi Kanazi 27 March 2006


On March 22, a congregation of ardent supporters gathered to commemorate Rachel’s life and spread her words at the Riverside Church, the very church Martin Luther King first spoke out against the war in Vietnam. This event came out of controversy. The critically acclaimed play My Name is Rachel Corrie was canceled by the New York Theater Workshop. Just weeks after the cartoon controversy and the mass trumpeting of free speech worldwide, Rachel Corrie was being silenced. The New York Theater Workshop attempted to crush her memory but her words live on. 

Palestinian refugees at Iraq-Jordan border receiving assistance

26 March 2006


Palestinian refugees fleeing Iraq, who were refused entry into Jordan last week, are now receiving assistance from UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the Iraqi Red Crescent Society. On Sunday, Ehab Taym, one of 88 Palestinian refugees who recently fled Baghdad, speaking from the Iraqi side of the border, said that the IRCS and UNHCR-Amman had sent blankets, tents, food and water. After having been moved from the “No Man’s Land” border area to the Iraqi side of the frontier, Taym said they were now housed in 20 tents provided by the aid agencies. They now await their fate. About a week’s worth of humanitarian assistance in the form of food, mattresses and blankets was provided to the refugees on Thursday. 

Death threats cause panic in Baghdad's Palestinian refugee community

24 March 2006


Panic has overtaken the Palestinian refugee community in Baghdad after more than one hundred families in the city have received death threats from groups calling them traitors. Many of the Palestinians, who have been living for years in Baghdad, are in a state of shock and panic and are taking the intimidation very seriously, UNHCR told journalists in Geneva on Friday. There are an estimated 34,000 Palestinians in Iraq, of whom 23,000 have been registered by UNHCR in Baghdad. The Palestinian refugees came to Iraq in three main waves - in 1948, in 1967 and in 1991. Palestinians have in the past few years faced evictions, threats and harassment. 

UNHCR increasingly concerned for Palestinians in Baghdad

24 March 2006


UNHCR is increasingly concerned about the situation of Palestinians in Baghdad. On Thursday, we heard from the Palestinian community in Baghdad that reportedly over 100 families had received written death threats and that many are in a state of shock and panic. This panic may spread and lead to more Palestinians fleeing Baghdad. They are feeling increasingly trapped, and for security reasons many have stopped going to work and have taken their children out of school. While Iraqis are also affected by the general insecurity in Iraq, Palestinians feel especially vulnerable and targetted as they were perceived to have been treated favourably by the previous regime. 

UN food aid agency calls for permanent opening of crossing from Israel to Gaza

24 March 2006


With the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip deteriorating and food and other supplies running short due to Israeli closures, the United Nations World Food Programme warned today that it was crucial for this week’s 48-hour opening of the Karni crossing point to become permanent. WFP, which provides food aid to some 160,000 Palestinians in Gaza, was able to bring in 16 containers, containing 300 tons of food, mainly beans and vegetable oil, but this was a very limited amount, agency spokesperson Christiane Berthiaume told a news briefing in Geneva. A further problem was that the Israeli authorities were not allowing WFP to bring out the empty containers, and the agency needed to fill them again and bring them back in. 

Faith-based coalition explores Israeli-Palestinian issue

Kathrynne Skonicki 2 March 2006


The second keynote speaker, Ali Abunimah, compared the current status of Palestinians to the apartheid of South Africa. The writer and commentator on Middle East and Arab-American affairs called for action on the part of Americans. He said, “If you don’t want violence, it’s up to you to provide an alternative.” Abunimah called for boycotts of Israeli products and investments. He also urged those present to contact American legislators who are appropriating funds to the Israeli government. He concluded, “It’s not an option to stay neutral between the strong and the weak because then you are siding with the strong.” 

Rewriting H.R. 4681 so that it actually produces peace

Rima Merriman 24 March 2006


Palestinian newspapers are full of the faces of the new Palestinian government, smart men and one woman, who will come in to lead an already impossible task. There is not one terrorist among them, but that makes no difference to the US which has already started undermining the new government in the name, outrageously, of promoting “the development of democratic institutions in areas under the administrative control of the Palestinian Authority, and for other purposes”. This is the language of an anti-Palestinian bill (H.R. 4681) just introduced in the US House of Representatives. Rima Merriman suggests a rewrite. 

Blaming the lobby

Joseph Massad 24 March 2006


In the last 25 years, many Palestinians and other Arabs, in the United States and in the Arab world, have been so awed by the power of the US pro-Israel lobby that any study, book, or journalistic article that exposes the inner workings, the substantial influence, and the financial and political power of this lobby have been greeted with ecstatic sighs of relief that Americans finally can see the “truth” and the “error” of their ways. “But,” asks Jospeh Massad, “when and in what context has the United States government ever supported national liberation in the Third World?” 

Israeli Elections: A Vote for Separation

Jonathan Cook 23 March 2006


A few weeks after Ariel Sharon broke up his Likud party to form a new “centrist” faction, Kadima, his advisers conducted a poll to find out how potential voters would respond if its list of candidates included an Arab. The results were unequivocal: Kadima would lose votes equivalent to between five and seven seats in the 120-member Knesset from Israeli Jews worried that they might be helping to elect an Arab. Kadima appears to be on a winning streak. Separation of the crudest and most ruthless kind is now, as the polls all too clearly demonstrate, precisely what the Israeli consensus demands, writes Jonathan Cook. 

Poll: 68% of American Christians would refuse to live in same building as an American Jew

23 March 2006


From the BNN Department of Change One or Two Words in an Israeli Media Article and See How it Flies Then. Sixty-eight percent of Americans would refuse to live in the same apartment building as an American Jew, according to the results of an annual poll released Wednesday by the Center for the Struggle Against Racism. The “Index of Racism Towards American Jews,” conducted by Geocartographia, revealed only 26 percent of Americans would agree to live with Jewish neighbors in the same building. 

After Palestinian Vote, U.S. Democracy Campaign Questioned

Jefferson Morley 17 March 2006


The United States, declared President Bush in his 2005 inaugural address, seeks to “support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” Later this month the State Department will release it annual report on U.S. efforts to support human rights and democracy. U.S. demands for democratic behavior are inconsistent, according to two journalists of Palestinian descent who run the Electronic Intifada Web site. Ali Abunimah and Arjan El Fassed say democracy cannot take root under Israeli occupation. Palestinians continue to live “under full Israeli military dictatorship.” 

"Only a fully functioning Karni Crossing can avert looming humanitarian crisis"

22 March 2006


The Director of UNRWA operations in Gaza, Mr. John Ging, stated that he was “struggling to be optimistic” upon his return from a visit to the “reopened” Karni commercial crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning. He explained that “the situation on the streets of Gaza was worse than it had been the day before, as the half hour opening of Karni on Monday afternoon had absolutely no impact on the developing humanitarian crisis.” Ging said on Tuesday that he hoped that the opening of Karni is the beginning of a return to normality. “For Gazans, this is the first rationing of bread in living memory,” he said. 

The Humanitarian Impact of the Karni Crossing Closure: Bread running out in Gaza

18 March 2006


Following the closure of Karni, most bakeries in the Gaza Strip today are closed, because wheat flour stocks have finished. Bread is the staple food for 1.3 million Palestinians in Gaza. There are long lines of people outside the few bakeries that still have limited stocks of bread and the bakeries are rationing bread to those waiting. Gaza requires 450MT of wheat each day to maintain bread supplies.1 The usual 30-60 day wheat stock kept in Gaza is exhausted. Other basic food commodities are in extremely short supply including dairy products and fruit. Rice and sugar are selling at more than twice their normal price and are also very difficult to find in stores. 

With Gaza food crisis looming, UN official urges opening of crossing with Israel

20 March 2006


As the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip deteriorates with food and other supplies running short due to the Israeli closure, a senior official of the main United Nations agency helping Palestinian refugees said he sincerely hopes Israel’s opening today of the Karni crossing point is “the beginning of a return to normality.” “The situation on the streets of Gaza was worse today than it was yesterday as the half hour opening of Karni yesterday afternoon had absolutely no impact on the developing humanitarian crisis,” the Director of Gaza operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), John Ging, said. 

Rachel's Words Tonight in New York City

21 March 2006


“My Name is Rachel Corrie” is a powerful one-woman show based entirely on the diaries and emails of Rachel Corrie. The play was scheduled to open at the New York Theatre Workshop on March 22nd. It has been postponed indefinitely, sparking an escalating controversy. Rachel’s words will still be heard on that day. Rachel wrote about issues that concern us all. Come hear an array of academics, activists, performers and playwrights read selected writings of Rachel Corrie, honor her through poems and songs, and discuss the context in which her words were written and the pervasive climate of fear in which they have been suppressed. 

Israeli appeals court voids section of Wall in Jerusalem

21 March 2006


Sheikh Sa’ed is a neighborhood of the larger village of Sawahra. However, Sheikh Sa’ed is in West Bank, while the western part of Sawahra was annexed to East Jerusalem in 196. Israel planned to build the Separation Barrier between Sheikh Sa’ed and the rest of the village, which would cut off the neighborhood’s only access road to the outside world. The Tel-Aviv Magistrate’s Court voided this portion of the Separation Barrier, ruling that it would cause disproportionate harm to the daily lives of the neighborhood’s residents. The court rejected the state’s argument that the residents constituted a security threat. 

UNHCR concerned for Palestinians travelling to Iraqi-Jordanian border

20 March 2006


UNCHR spokesperson expressed the agency’s concerns about a group of Palestinian refugees, who decided to move to the Iraqi-Jordanian border. “We are very concerned about a group of 89 Palestinians, including 42 children, two elderly and three people with medical problems, who over the weekend decided to move to the Iraqi-Jordanian border from Baghdad where they had found their situation becoming increasingly difficult. The group was accompanied by two international staff members from an international NGO based in Iraq who facilitated their move to the border.” UNHCR reminded Palestinian representatives in Baghdad of Jordan’s refusal to open their borders to them. 

Jordan-Iraq border closed, Palestinian refugees refused entry

21 March 2006


The Jordan-Iraqi border at Karama closed on Monday and remains so after 89 Palestinian refugees from Iraq, including 42 children, tried to enter Jordan, according to the UNs refugee agency in Amman, UNHCR. Yara Sharif, a senior public information assistant at UNHCR said the group of refugees reached the Jordanian border on Sunday and tried to enter, but were denied permission by the government, which said they did not have proper documents.The Jordan-Iraqi border at Karama closed on Monday and remains so after 89 Palestinian refugees from Iraq, including 42 children, tried to enter Jordan, according to the UNs refugee agency in Amman, UNHCR. 

Open Letter to Actress Sharon Stone

21 March 2006


Dear Ms. Stone: In an interview with the Israeli paper Ha’aretz you stated that your visit to Israel did not imply taking sides. “I am not for or against one side,” you insisted, adding: “When my children fight, I don’t choose any side, either. I love them equally.” Your comments reveal a surprising level of naivete and a basic lack of understanding of the context. In a situation of undisputed colonial oppression, when you are not “for or against” either side, you are essentially on the side of the oppressor and a supporter, perhaps an unwitting one, of the status quo of colonial domination and oppression. 

WaSPR Delegation Diary 9: Two Traumatized Peoples Trapped by Violence and Fear

Bill Dienst 4 April 2006


There are now an estimated 2.5 million Palestinian residents in the West Bank and 1.3 million residents in Gaza. This fact obstructs the vision of a “Greater Israel” (Eretz Israel). But that has not stopped official government policies which have encouraged creeping annexation. Ghassan Andoni continued, “Both Labor and Likud have supported the settlements. There has been a squeezing of Palestinian society in both Israel and the OT’s which has gradually intensified during the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and now the 2000’s.” 

WaSPR Delegation Diary 8: Israelis Who Want Peace: Gush Shalom and Physicians for Human Rights

Bill Dienst Tel Aviv, Jaffa 21 March 2006


Adam Keller explains, “Once you have decided not to be intimidated, you are not.” He went on a hunger strike. He was finally discharged from the Army for psychiatric reasons. “If you become a trouble maker and are in prison multiple times, then they look for a reason to finally throw you out for psychiatric reasons.” He was advised by friends, “Look, if they send you to the psychiatrist, just try and play along and you will get a discharge. If you apply for Consensus Objector status, you will be in and out of prison for the rest of your life.” 

The power of saying no

Jeff Halper 21 March 2006


As the new Hamas government is sworn into power in the Palestinian Authority, we might ask: What would bring a people, the most secular of Arab populations with little history of religious fundamentalism, to vote Hamas? Mere protest at Fatah ineffectualness in negotiations and internal corruption doesn’t go far enough. While warning Hamas that their vote did not constitute a mandate for imposing an Iran-like theocracy on Palestine, the Palestinians took the only option left to a powerless people when all other avenues of redress have been closed to them: non-cooperation. 

WaSPR Delegation Diary 7: Visiting Those Who Want Peace: Arab and Jewish Dialogue

Bill Dienst Jerusalem, Kfar Saba 21 March 2006


The term “Israeli Arab” deserves some elaboration. These people are really Palestinian Arabs, and their descendants, who never left after Al-Nakba in 1948. They have relatives in the West Bank and Gaza, and also in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and throughout the Palestinian Diaspora. Israeli Arabs are citizens of Israel, and can vote in Israeli elections. They comprise about 20% of the current population of Israel. Although they generally have a better standard of living than their extended families in the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian Diaspora, they are still second class citizens, living as non-Jews in a Jewish State. 

UN warns food running out in blockaded Gaza Strip

20 March 2006


The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today that food was running out in the Gaza Strip and appealed to the Israeli authorities to allow food consignments to reach the tens of thousands of people in Gaza who depend on food aid to survive. At the same time, WFP called on the Palestinian Authority to take all necessary steps to ensure the security of WFP staff and other humanitarian aid workers inside the occupied Palestinian territory, to enable them to carry out their work unimpeded. WFP said the extended closures of the Karni commercial crossing between Israel and Gaza have had a devastating effect on food availability in the Palestinian enclave. 

Israel's starvation policy leads to humanitarian crisis

18 March 2006


The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights calls upon the international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, UN agencies and all international humanitarian organizations, to take effective measures to force to allow the immediate flow of food, especially flour and milk, into the Gaza Strip through al-Mentar (Karni) crossing. PCHR also warns the international community of the consequences of the policy of collective punishment practiced by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians, which has peaked with the prohibition of the flow of wheat, flour and other basic foodstuffs into the markets of the Gaza Strip. 

The Israeli attack Jericho: Elections not to be won by force

16 March 2006


The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights and Al-Haq, express their deepest concern regarding the attacks by the Israeli Army against the Jericho Prison on Tuesday the 14th March 2006. On Tuesday, the 14th March 2006 the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) stormed the Palestinian National Authority’s detention center in Jericho. The aim was to seize six detainees wanted by Israel, in particular Ahmed Sa’adat, claimed to be the mastermind behind the killing of the Israeli Minister of Tourism Rehavam Ze’evi, in 2001, together with Fuad Shubaki, wanted by Israel on charges of smuggling weapons in Palestine and four others. 

Gaza facing humanitarian crisis

Laila El-Haddad 19 March 2006


Gaza’s 1.5 million Palestinians are now facing an unprecedented food shortage due to systematic Israeli closures that have prevented the import of wheat, among other things, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinians Territories (OCHA) said today. “The situation is extremely serious. In the next day or so all bread supplies will dry up. There is very little else around in terms of rice, which is also short in supply. Bread is the staple diet for Palestinians. It is also the food the poorest people so if that’s not available people will start to go hungry,” David Shearer, OCHA’s head of operations, said. 

Open Letter to Pink Floyd's Roger Waters

18 March 2006


Mr. Waters: The Palestinian arts community received in disbelief the news of your upcoming performance in Tel Aviv in June, at a time when Israel continues unabated with its colonial and apartheid designs to further dispossess, oppress and ultimately ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their homeland. We strongly urge you to cancel your plans to perform in Israel until the time comes when it ends its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and respects the relevant precepts of international law concerning Palestinian rights to freedom, self-determination and equality. 

Photostory: Rachel Corrie remembered in Seattle

Edward Mast and Elliot Stoller 17 March 2006


In observation of the third anniversary of her death, Palestine Solidarity Committee/ISM-Seattle and the Theatersquad presented sidewalk readings of passages from Rachel Corrie’s writings in downtown Seattle at rush hour. Many members of the community read passages, while others wore tears-of-blood masks and held up door and window frames from demolished homes, along with enlarged photos of Rachel Corrie facing Israeli bulldozers.  The event was part of the national Rachel’s Words campaign in protest of the cancellation of “My Name Is Rachel Corrie” at New York Theater Workshop. 

Photostory: Made in Palestine Exhibit opens to packed crowds in New York

Nigel Parry 17 March 2006


Made in Palestine is the first museum quality exhibition devoted to the contemporary art of Palestine to be held in the United States. It is a survey of work spanning three generations of Palestinian artists who live in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, parts of Israel, Syria, Jordan, and the United States. The exhibition opened in New York on March 14th, and held its gala opening on March 16th. EI’s Nigel Parry, also working on publicity for the exhibit, contributed this photostory from the opening. 

Gaza is still a prison

Patrick O'Connor 16 March 2006


The media reports that the Gaza Strip is no longer under Israeli control, but two weeks ago I was blocked from entering Gaza from Egypt by Israeli agents. The day before, two French citizens were prevented from entering for a sister city project in Gaza. Israeli authorities invoked “security reasons” and false claims of links to terrorism, a typical strategy used against foreign supporters of Palestinian rights. Despite the fanfare over Israel’s August “Gaza disengagement”, Gaza remains a prison, with no visitors allowed. My case provides one small example, thousands of which are repeated every day, of how the Israeli government has exploited the cover of real security concerns to continue to control Gaza, denying Palestinians freedom and trapping them in poverty. Opportunities for progress through Israel’s Gaza withdrawal were squandered, and American promises on the Middle East were again shown to be empty. 

Sa'adat kidnap boosts Olmert's election campaign

Rifat Odeh Kassis 17 March 2006


There are many reasons for the raid on Jericho prison. One of them is the Israeli election. Palestinians know from experience that before every election Israel becomes more brutal. Another reason is to send Hamas a message: They will not be accepted and the agreements between Israel and the previous PA are no longer valid. The arrival of Israeli tanks just twenty minutes after the withdrawal of the British and American guards from the prison shows that Israel is not the only one sending this message. The attack on Jericho and the kidnapping of Ahmed Sa’adat and others proves once again that Israel is, for all intents and purposes, a country above the law writes Rifat Odeh Kassis. 

Corrie v. Caterpillar: The Struggle for Justice Continues

Emily Schaeffer and Garrett Wright 16 March 2006


The killing of American activist Rachel Corrie on March 16, 2003, brought home the horrific realities of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Last March, Rachel’s parents filed civil suit against the Caterpillar corporation in a Washington federal district court, claiming that the corporation knowingly aided and abetted Israeli war crimes and human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Because this is a relatively new legal frontier, the plaintiffs may be facing an uphill battle. However, as the public’s demand for corporate accountability increases, there is hope that multinational corporations will take steps to ensure that their products do not fuel human rights abuses. 

Media watchdog calls for the release of three journalists kidnapped in Gaza City

14 March 2006


Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the kidnapping of two French journalists, Caroline Laurent of “Elle” and Alfred Yaghobzadeh of “Sipa”, and South Korean journalist Yong Tae-young of KBS on 14 March in Gaza City, hours after an Israeli army raid on a prison in the West Bank city of Jericho. “We call on the kidnappers to free their hostages, who were just doing their job as journalists and can in no way be held responsible for Israeli army operations in the West Bank, and we call on the Palestinian authorities to do everything possible to locate them and ensure they are returned safe and sound to their families,” the organisation said. 

Journalists, others kidnapped as prison siege sparks violence

14 March 2006


The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by reports that Palestinian gunmen abducted journalists and other foreigners in Gaza City today. A wave of violence erupted in Gaza and elsewhere in the West Bank, after Israeli forces laid siege to a Jericho prison to arrest militants believed responsible for the 2001 assassination of an Israeli minister. CPJ sources said as many as four South Korean and French journalists were abducted from Gaza’s Dira hotel. Armed kidnappers stormed the hotel this afternoon, according to news reports, which said one gunman was killed in a confrontation with Palestinian police. 

Israeli elections are opportunity to address human rights

14 March 2006


Candidates standing in Israel’s elections should take the opportunity to reassert the importance of human rights and pledge to a programme that, if implemented, would enhance peace and security in the region, Amnesty International said today. Making a direct appeal to all candidates contesting the elections, to be held on 28 March 2006, the organization called for an open debate to address longstanding human rights challenges in Israel and in the Occupied Territories. “Israel’s security will be enhanced, not jeopardised, by greater attention to human rights,” said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. 

2006 World Social Forum, European Social Forum, and beyond: New energy for the quest for justice and freedom in Palestine

15 March 2006


Awareness of the Palestinian Nakba of 1948 and the need to restore the rights of millions of Palestinian refugees, and a principled and rights-based global campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law, have come to represent the global social movements’ answer to the failure of international diplomacy in the Middle East. At the 6th World Social Forum (WSF) convened in January in Caracas, Venezuela, the Social Movements Assembly adopted the Palestinian Civil Society Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). The Caracas meeting, one of three World Social Forums taking place in 2006 and bringing together civil society organizations and movements from all across the globe, was attended by well over 100,000 participants. 

ICRC concerned following events in Jericho

14 March 2006


The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is concerned about the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories following the attack by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the prison in Jerichoand the abduction of civilians by Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip. The civilians abducted included humanitarian workers and an ICRC delegate, who was later released. While military operations were still under way in Jericho, the ICRC reminded the Israeli authorities of their obligations under international humanitarian law. Detainees who are not participating in hostilities are protected under this body of law and are not military targets. 

Palestinian human rights group condemns attacks on internationals

14 March 2006


The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights strongly condemns the series of attacks on international institutions and citizens in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), especially in the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, 14 March 2006. PCHR calls upon the Palestinian National Authority to take legal action against the perpetrators of these crimes, which reflect the state of security chaos, undermine the rule of law, and damage the Palestinian people’s interests and their just struggle for liberation and independence. Most of these attacks took place in the Gaza Strip. They included raids on, destruction and arsons of diplomatic representative offices, relief agencies and kidnappings of internationals, including journalists and humanitarian staff. 

Palestinian Filmmakers Question EU Audiovisual Grant

16 March 2006


Forty Palestinian filmmakers, including the 2006 Golden Globe winner Hani Abu Assad and 2002 Cannes Festival Jury Prize winner Elia Suleiman, signed a letter to the EU Euromed Audiovisual program questioning the shortlisting of an Israeli-led project. Despite serious indicators of mismanagement, and lack of legitimacy raised about the project, entitled Greenhouse, the Europe Aid office in Brussels decided to go ahead and grant it 1.5 million Euros, bringing into question the transparency and credibility of the criteria and decision-making employed by Europe Aid in the granting process. 

Human Rights Watch urges Israeli parliament to reject new bill on arrest and detention of Gaza residents

15 March 2006


Human Rights Watch has sent a letter to the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee in which it expressed concerns over a bill introduced by the Israeli government, which sets forth rules for detaining “non-resident security suspects,” after the disengagement from Gaza and the consequent revocation of military orders pertaining to arrest and detention of Gaza residents. This bill creates a two-tiered system: one set of rules for Israeli citizen and resident security suspects and a considerably more stringent set of rules for non-residents (Palestinians from the Gaza Strip) suspected of the same types of crimes. 

Britain's Duplicity and the Siege of Jericho Jail

Jonathan Cook 15 March 2006


To Palestinians, the British broken promise, as well as the hasty exit from Jericho and apparent collusion with Israel, all smacked a little too painfully of other episodes of British foreign policy in the Middle East. There were echoes of 1956 and London’s pact during the Suez Crisis with Israel on the invasion of Egypt. And there were echoes too of 1948, when Britain hurriedly abandoned Palestine, though not before it had effectively fulfilled the Balfour Declaration’s promise of creating a Jewish homeland by allowing hundreds of thousands of Jews to immigrate. 

Israel's attack on Jericho: Palestinians remain without protection

Ali Abunimah and Arjan El Fassed 14 March 2006


The Israeli attack on Jericho and kidnap of a number of Palestinian prisoners, including the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) demonstrates once again the fiction that there is a functioning Palestinian “government” in the occupied territories. The ease and impunity with which the occupation forces attack Palestinians everywhere serves to remind us that these territories remain today, as they have been since 1967, under full Israeli military dictatorship. It is a mistake to keep referring to a “Palestinian government,” because this gives the false impression that Palestinians under occupation are in control of their destiny. Palestinian factions may be negotiating to form a “government,” but this does not mean that this “government” can exercise any control or protect Palestinians from the ravages of the occupying power write EI co-founders Ali Abunimah and Arjan El Fassed. 

Amnesty: "Ahmad Sa‘adat must be released and his safety ensured"

13 June 2002


Following the decision of the Palestinian High Court of Justice in Gaza ordering that Ahmad Sa‘adat be released immediately, Amnesty International is calling on the Palestinian Authority (PA) to respect this decision and free him from detention without further delay. Amnesty International is also calling on Israel to publicly guarantee that Ahmad Sa‘adat will not be subjected to any extrajudicial measures, including assassination. 

Amnesty: "Palestinian prisoners at risk of being killed by Israeli forces"

14 March 2006


Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the safety of Palestinian detainees in Jericho Prison. The prison is currently surrounded by Israeli forces who have threatened to kill detainees who refuse to surrender to them. The detainees most at risk are Ahmad Saadat, leader of the PFLP, and four other Palestinians who have been detained at Jericho Prison since 2002 despite a court decision ordering their release. While detained under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, Ahmad Saadat and his four co-detainees have been held under the supervision of guards provided by the UK and US in accordance with an agreement reached between these states and Israel and the PA. 

UNRWA warns against deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza

10 March 2006


Director of UNRWA Operations, Gaza, John Ging, has warned against the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza due to the shortage of basic food commodities, especially flour, as a result of the closure of Karni crossing by the Israeli Authorities. In a press conference held on 9 March at UNRWA’s Relief and Social Services Distribution Center in Khan Younis camp, south of Gaza, Mr. Ging underlined the economic situation in Gaza caused by a shortage of basic commodities. “The conditions of refugees in Khan Younis are extremely difficult. Humanitarian assistance is needed to provide a decent life for refugees.” He also stressed that the “UNRWA exists for a humanitarian purpose and will continue to provide assistance to Palestine refugees.” 

Israeli troops attack Jericho prison

14 March 2006


Israeli troops have stormed into the Palestinian jail in Jericho in a bid to arrest or assassinate Ahmed Sa’adat, secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and a number of other prisoners. After calling on guards to hand over prisoner Ahmed Saadat, the troops opened fire with small arms and stun grenades. There are reports that two Palestinians have been killed. Witnesses at the jail in Jericho say US and British monitors stationed there withdrew when Israeli troops arrived. 

UN Special Rapporteur: "Israeli settlers 'terrorize' Palestinians"

11 March 2006


In a report to the U.N. Human Rights Commission, Special Rapporteur John Dugard said Israel and the Palestinians had failed to adhere to the “road map” plan drawn up three years ago by the United States, Russia, the United Nations and European Union. He said the plan is hopelessly out of date and needs to be revamped. The report, to be discussed by the UN commission in Geneva next week, said “much more needs to be done by Israel” to meet its human rights obligations. 

Israeli and Palestinian voices on the US op-ed pages

Patrick O'Connor 13 March 2006


In the US media, Palestinians generally aren’t allowed to speak for themselves or to articulate their historical narrative. Israelis, however, are permitted to speak, to explain the Israeli experience and even to explain about Palestinians. As a result, the Israeli story is known in the US while Palestinians are dehumanized. This report exhaustively details the extent to which Palestinian voices have been silenced in the op-ed pages of major US newspapers for the past five years. This report compares the number of opinion pieces published by Israeli writers with those published by Palestinian writers between September 29, 2000, and December 31, 2005, in the op-ed pages of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post, the five US newspapers with the greatest circulation. 

Breaking Oslo's Unmagical Spell

Rami Bathish 11 March 2006


At a time in which the Palestinian people are desperately lost between the harsh reality of occupation and the uncertainty of a changing internal political landscape, a sober assessment and restructuring of the foundations of the so-called “peace process” may be our best attempt at reversing, or at least containing, the damage that has beset the Palestinian cause since the (evident) end of the first Palestinian Intifada (uprising) in 1993. Given the complete failure of the Oslo Agreement, and in light of the new dynamics governing the current regional and global political stages, what we desperately need is a fully restructured framework for negotiations. 

Building an edifice on blackmail

Saree Makdisi 10 March 2006


Richard Rogers, the noted British architect, was recently summoned to the offices of the Empire State Development Corp. to explain his connection to a group called Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine which has called for a boycott of Israel’s construction industry to protest the apartheid wall. Empire State is overseeing the redesign of New York’s $1.7-billion Javits Convention Center, and Rogers is the architect on the job. EI contributor Saree Makdisi explains how pro-Israel groups, enraged at Rogers’ association with the architects’ group used their political clout to force Rogers into obsequious professions of loyalty to Israel. 

Sane Britain disappears as Neocons set agenda

Jonathan Cook 10 March 2006


Until recently liberal Europeans were keen to distance themselves, at least officially, from the ideological excesses of the current American administration. They argued that the neo-conservative enthusiasm for the “war on terror” — and its underpinning ideology of “a clash of civilisations” — did not fit with Europe’s painful recent experiences of world wars and the dismantling of its colonial outposts around the globe, writes EI contributor Jonathan Cook. But there is every sign that the public dissociation is coming to a very rapid end. As criticism of Israel is increasingly not tolerated, it is becoming normal to see Muslims as a civilizational threat. 

Britain secretly gave Israel plutonium for atom bombs, BBC investigation reveals

9 March 2006


Britain secretly supplied Israel with plutonium during the 1960s, despite a warning from British intelligence that the material could help Israel get the atom bomb. Documents obtained by the BBC program Newsnight show the decision to sell plutonium to Israel in 1966 was blocked by officials in both the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office who said “It is [government] policy not to do anything which would assist Israel in the production of nuclear weapons”. But it was forced through by a civil servant in the Ministry of Technology, Michael Michaels, whose full name was Michael Israel Michaels. 

'Annan's Story: Freedom stolen at thirteen

Maureen Clare Murphy and Zachary Wales Ramallah, Palestine 9 March 2006


One day before Valentine’s Day, ‘Annan’s father went to his 13-year-old son’s school in Beitunia, Ramallah, and only found his oldest boy’s jacket and backpack on the school grounds. Along with four other boys ranging from the ages of 11 to 14, ‘Annan had been arrested by Israeli soldiers who gave him a beating that was evidenced in the bruises seen by his parents when they were finally able to see him only briefly during ‘Annan’s 15-minute court hearing two days later. He told them that the soldiers beat him with their fists and feet, as well as the butts of their guns. 

World Bank approves $42 million to Palestinian Authority to sustain public services for Palestinian people

8 March 2006


The World Bank approved a $42 million grant to assist the Palestinian Authority (PA) meet its immediate financing needs in the wake of a severe fiscal crisis to avoid suspension of vital basic services to the Palestinian population. The grant will be made through a multi-donor trust fund—the Public Financial Management Reform Trust Fund—launched in 2004, with support from international donors, to channel budgetary aid to the PA against progress in financial reforms. The EC, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the UK contributed to the current grant. The West Bank and Gaza continue to suffer from a debilitating economic recession brought on by restriction on movement of goods and people since September 2000. 

Photostory: Israeli extremists' attack on Nazareth's most famous Christian church goes virtually unreported

Jonathan Cook 8 March 2006


Thousands of Nazarenes rushed to the Basilica of the Annunciation in the early evening of Friday March 3, as rumours swept the city that their church was under attack. For several minutes the congregation huddled together in fear of their lives before a priest and several churchgoers managed to overpower a grey-bearded man in jeans, 44-year-old Haim Habibi, an Israeli Jew accompanied by his wife, Violet, and the couple’s 20-year-old daughter Odelia. Almost from the outset the Israeli media downplayed the significance of the attack, saying only “firecrackers” had been set off by Habibi, who was described - without evidence - as being mentally disturbed. As a result, most of the world’s media ignored the event entirely. 

Palestinian children killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza

7 March 2006


On Monday evening, 6 March 2006, Israeli Occupation Forces carried out another extra-judicial execution in Gaza City, leaving five Palestinians, including three children and two members of the al-Quds Brigades, dead. In addition, twelve civilian bystanders, including six children, were injured. This attack took place in a densely populated area of Gaza, reflecting the complete disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights calls upon the international community to meet its responsibilities and calls particularly upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Conventions to fulfil their obligations to ensure protection of Palestinian civilians living under military occupation. 

Photostory: Students on Palestinians' right to education

7 March 2006


In 2005, a group of student photographers from Birzeit University and Al-Najah University came together to work on the Right to Education Photography Project. Their aim was to document student life and the obstruction of Palestinian education under military occupation, through the artistic expression of their own ideas and experiences. Their photographs have now become an exhibition and a book, which were recently launched Birzeit University, and will tour Palestinian and international venues throughout 2006. 

UNICEF: "Sad day for children of Gaza"

7 March 2006


UNICEF said Monday was a sad day for the children of Gaza, after five were killed in conflict-related incidents. In the first incident, two brothers, aged 14 and 15, were killed instantly when they were exposed to an unexploded device in a pond in Bereij, south of Gaza City. Later in the day, two brothers, aged 11 and 15, and a 14-year-old boy were killed as bystanders during an air attack. Monday’s tragic incidents bring the year’s death toll of Palestinian children to conflict-related violence to 11. UNICEF said the events of Monday starkly illustrate the how children are impacted in many ways by the conflict. In line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child all efforts should be made to protect children from violence as well as their rights to education, health and play. 

"Gaza Blues: Different Stories" provides surrealist snapshot of conflict

Amal Awad 7 March 2006


A collection of darkly humorous short stories by popular Israeli writer Etgar Keret and a novella by Palestinian writer Samir El-Youssef, the idea behind Gaza Blues was born during a particularly violent period of the intifada in 2002. The result is a set of stories that are not explicitly about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but rather, the people living it and the complexity of their existences. The snapshot Gaza Blues suitably offers is one of violence and tension. However, it successfully attempts to draw back the curtains on the tragedies and rhetoric of the conflict, its layered subtext forcing the readers to review their understanding of the lives inhabiting the conflict. 

Accusations of anti-semitic chic are poisonous intellectual thuggery

David Clark 7 March 2006


In recent weeks, claims of widespread “anti-Semitism” in the left have become increasingly frequent. London Mayor Ken Livingstone, the Church of England and the Guardian (over articles comparing Israel and apartheid) are the most recent to find themselves in the firing line. Yet the truth, unbearable to those laying such charges is that the left that identifies with the Palestinians today is largely the same left that identified with Israel in the 50s and the 60s. Moreover, it does so for largely the same reason: instinctive sympathy for the underdog. David Clark, a former advisor to the British government, says that claims of anti-Semitism are being cynically used to shock Israel’s critics into silence. 

Over 200 Palestinian children arrested in two months

2 March 2006


Israeli occupation forces are arresting scores of Palestinian children each week, bringing the number of juveniles currently held in appalling conditions in Israeli detention centres and prisons to new record levels. Information gathered by the Defence for Children International shows that since the start of 2006 over 230 Palestinian children have been arrested, with the Israeli army appearing to target in particular youths from the Bethlehem Nablus and Jenin areas of the West Bank. The scale of arrests over the past two months brings the number of Palestinian children in Israeli custody to almost 400. This represents a significant increase on the already-inexcusably high numbers of recent years and marks a further indication of the scant regard Israeli pays to Palestinian children’s rights. 

Palestinians targeted in Iraq

5 March 2006


Thousands of Palestinian refugees living in Iraq have reportedly been attacked and discriminated against, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. “Over the past week, we’ve received reports that up to 10 Palestinians have been killed in Baghdad and several have been kidnapped,” UNHCR spokesman in Geneva, Ron Redmond, said. The Palestinian Muslims Association (PMA) in Baghdad says it has received more than 270 reports of attacks on Palestinians since September, including crimes such as rape and murder. “Families are being forced out of their homes and women are being raped in front of their husbands because they are Palestinians,” said PMA spokesman Ahmed Muffitlak. 

Supreme Court overturns Israeli government's 'racist' policy of National Priority Areas

4 March 2006


In a landmark judgment, a panel of seven justices on Israel’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled this week that the government’s decision to award 500 Jewish communities special “National Priority A” status, compared with only four Arab villages, was discriminatory and racist. The priority status has been used to award the communities substantial economic benefits since it was first established nearly a decade ago. Such a result, wrote Supreme Court chief Aharon Barak, “is contaminated by one of the most suspect distinctions, which is distinction based on race and nationality. This is a result that Israeli democracy cannot tolerate.” 

Arab MKs again face investigations and threats of disqualification in run-up to Israeli elections

4 March 2006


Israel’s Central Election Committee, a partisan body with the power to disqualify political parties from the forthcoming election, questioned this week the right of one of the three main Arab parties to contest the election. The committee is dominated by politicians from rightwing Zionist parties. The committee held a session on Tuesday February 28 in which it considered barring the joint list of the United Arab List and Taal, led by Sheikh Ibrahim Sarsur and Ahmed Tibi, from the standing. Several parties represented on the committee, including Likud and the National Religious Party, submitted a petition against the Arab party based on the claim that its platform denies Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state”. The ban was rejected by a wafer-thin majority of 18 votes to 16. 

Far-right settlers launch campaign of provocative armed visits to Arab communities

4 March 2006


Far-right leader Baruch Marzel this week staged his second visit, backed by armed settlers, to the Arab town of Sakhnin in less than a month. He was kept to the edge of the Galilean town by police but allowed to take up position on elevated points so that he and his followers could photograph the area. Marzel, a former head of the outlawed anti-Arab Kach party, is now a leader of the Jewish National Front, a group of far-right extremists. He was joined on the trip by Itamar Ben Gvir, a settler leader based in Hebron who is suspected of belonging to Jewish underground organisations. 

NYC: Free the P Hip-Hop & Slam Party

2 March 2006


NAAP-NY in conjunction with the N.O.M.A.D.S. & the Philistines present…Free the P Hip-Hop Slam & Party in New York City on 16 March 2006. Proceeds will benefit NAAP-NY community initiatives and Slingshot Hip-Hop, a documentary film that focuses on the daily life of Palestinian rappers living in Gaza, the West Bank and inside Israel. It aims to spotlight alternative voices of resistance within the Palestinian struggle and explore the role their music plays within their social, political and personal lives. 

Activism Call: Why are people afraid of Rachel Corrie's words?

Ann Petter and Jen Marlowe 2 March 2006


Rachel Corrie was 23 years old when she was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer on March 16, 2003. She was working with others trying to protect the home of a Palestinian pharmacist from demolition in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine. “My Name is Rachel Corrie” is a powerful one-woman show based entirely on the writings that Rachel left behind, telling her story from the time she was a small child, leading up to the days before her death. The play, edited by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner from Rachel’s diaries and emails, was produced by the Royal Court Theatre in London. Starring Megan Dodds, it played to sold out audiences and wide acclaim. “My Name is Rachel Corrie” was scheduled to open at the New York Theatre Workshop on March 22nd. It has been postponed indefinitely, sparking much debate. 

Brussels unveils 120 million aid package for Palestinians

27 February 2006


The European Commission today unveils a package worth more than 120 million Euro to meet the basic needs of the Palestinian population and to help stabilise the finances of the current caretaker government. E40 million will be earmarked to ensure the continued and uninterrupted supply of essential public services such as electricity and water. 64 million Euro will be allocated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. This emergency relief will help alleviate the hardships of the most vulnerable people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 

UN Special Coordinator urges continued support for Palestinian Authority

28 February 2006


The collapse or sacrifice of the Palestinian Authority could end all hopes of achieving a Palestinian State in a reasonable time frame, Alvaro de Soto, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, said in a briefing to the Security Council this morning. Describing a functioning Authority as an essential building block for a Palestinian State, he said it was not something that could be turned on and off like a light switch. It was through the Authority that basic social and economic services, as well as salaries, were provided.