September 2006

Waiting to return to where "the air is different"

Mayssoun Sukarieh Amman, Jordan 30 September 2006


The situation of Laura and Ibrahim is just one of many created by the latest Israeli policy to cleanse Palestine of Palestinians. As their lawyers told them, “The Israeli government wants the least number of Palestinians in the Palestinian territories.” In mid-August, they left Ramallah for Amman, thinking it would be for just a few days, in order to renew their three-month visas to stay legally in Israeli-occupied Ramallah. Their daughter was visiting them in Palestine from the US, and she stayed behind, waiting for them to come back so she could spend the last two weeks of her summer vacation with them. But when they arrived at Tel Aviv Airport, they were detained for a night. 

Probe into Israeli killing of UN monitors unable to determine why appeals were ignored

29 September 2006


A board of inquiry into an Israeli attack in Lebanon that killed four United Nations military observers in July had no access to the commanders involved and was therefore unable to determine why the attacks were not halted despite repeated appeals from UN personnel, Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s spokesman said today. The Board, appointed by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) as standard procedure in such circumstances, noted that the Israeli authorities accepted full responsibility for the attack on the UN post at Khiyam and apologized for what they say was an “operational level” mistake, the spokesman added in a statement. 

Intervention to Member States of the United Nations on the Sixth Anniversary of the Second Intifada

29 September 2006


On 29 September 2006, the sixth anniversary of the second intifada against the Israeli occupation, the international community appears to have forgotten the continuing Israeli disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, together constituting the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The Palestinian people looks to the UN General Assembly, the body that in 2004 requested the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on the construction of the Wall in the OPT, as a source of hope at a moment of extreme distress and disillusion. 

Six years of Israeli aggression and war crimes in the OPT

28 September 2006


This report coincides with the 6th anniversary of the eruption of the al-Aqsa Intifada, which broke out following the former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s provocative visit to al-Aqsa Mosque (the Holy Sanctuary) in occupied Jerusalem. Over the last six years, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have perpetrated grave breaches of international law, including war crimes, against Palestinian civilians in a manner unprecedented since 1967. The sixth year of the Intifada witnessed an increasing escalation in Israeli war crimes as the international community remained silent and the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 failed to meet their obligations to provide protection for Palestinian civilians. 

Bad faith and the destruction of Palestine

Jonathan Cook 29 September 2006


A mistake too often made by those examining Israel’s behaviour in the occupied territories — or when analysing its treatment of Arabs in general, or interpreting its view of Iran — is to assume that Israel is acting in good faith. Even its most trenchant critics can fall into this trap. Such a reluctance to attribute bad faith was demonstrated this week by Israel’s foremost human rights group, B’Tselem, when it published a report into the bombing by the Israeli air force of Gaza’s power plant in late June. Jonathan Cook comments. 

Dutch company involved in construction of the Wall

28 September 2006


Research undertaken by United Civilians for Peace, a Dutch NGO-platform dedicated to promoting justice and peace in Palestine and Israel, has revealed that Dutch company Lima Holding BV, inSpijkenisse, is involved in the construction of the illegal Wall that Israel is building in the occupied West Bank. Lima Holding, which operates in Israel under the Riwal brand name, provides mobile cranes for putting into place the up to 9-metres high concrete elements that make up the Wall. The exact scope and nature of the company’s involvement in the construction of the Wall is yet to be determined. 

Echoes of Ireland in Palestine: a review of Ken Loach's new film

Ali Abunimah 29 September 2006


Watching The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Ken Loach’s new feature film set mainly during the Irish Civil War in the early 1920’s, it is impossible not to make comparisons with contemporary events. Indeed Loach, whose film won the Palme D’Or at Cannes, has been quite explicit about his own view that the film is not merely an examination of the past, but a comment on the times we live in. Loach also recently announced his support for the call by Palestinian film-makers, artists and others to boycott state sponsored Israeli cultural institutions and acknowledged that “Palestinians are driven to call for this boycott after forty years of the occupation of their land, destruction of their homes and the kidnapping and murder of their civilians.” 

UNHCR links with social development centres to help Lebanese IDPs

Annette Rehrl 28 September 2006


World attention may have shifted away from Lebanon, but many people continue to suffer from the recent conflict - including hundreds of displaced people in Beirut’s crowded Hai Al Sullam area. Before the five-week war, the southern suburb’s 275,000 permanent residents - mostly Shia Muslims and poor - lived cheek by jowl with migrants and Iraqi refugees and asylum seekers. They have since been joined by hundreds of displaced Lebanese, whose houses in neighbouring districts were destroyed by Israeli fire or who fled from the south to stay with families in the capital until it is safe to return. Uncertainty among the internally displaced people (IDPs) is high. 

UN human rights chief to visit Occupied Palestinian territories, Israel

28 September 2006


United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour briefed the Human Rights Council today on the worldwide work of her Office, voicing concern at the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and announcing that she would soon visit Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Turning to the Palestinian Territories (OPT), she stressed that only a political solution “will bring an end to the loss of life, immense suffering and hardship.” Her forthcoming visit will allow her to conduct a first-hand assessment of the situation. 

Lebanon is recovering quickly from recent conflict between Israel and Hizbollah - UN

28 September 2006


Lebanon is making speedy progress towards recovery after the destructive conflict between Israel and Hizbollah this summer and humanitarian agencies are preparing to close down or transfer their activities to relevant Government authorities or development agencies, the United Nations officials reported today. As early as tomorrow the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) plans to hand over of the role of coordinating international activities in southern Lebanon to the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The official end of humanitarian operations is scheduled for 24 October, according to OCHA’s latest update. 

200,000 remain displaced

27 September 2006


Fourteen people have been killed and 90 injured from all types of unexploded ordnance in Lebanon from 14 August until 19 September. Of these totals, children (6 years to 18 years of age) accounted for two of the fatalities and 32 of the injuries, according to Lebanon’s National Demining Office. All the fatalities and most of the injuries resulted from cluster munitions. According to UNHCR, some 200,000 people remain displaced because of the level of destruction in their villages, and because of the UXOs and cluster sub-munitions which contaminate their houses and hometowns. 

Depression increasing due to conflict and poverty

28 September 2006


A survey by a West Bank research company has revealed that the level of “severe depression” in the population of the Palestinian territory had increased by 21 percent over the past year to 77 percent. The survey, conducted by Near East Consulting company, questioned residents of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem on their general state of being. Much higher levels of depression were found in respondents living in extreme poverty, where the figure stands at 83 percent. Only 13 percent of respondents in the oPt said they were “very content”, a decline of 12 percent from 2005. 

Bedouin families denied water rights in unrecognized villages

28 September 2006


On 13 September 2006, the Haifa District Court (sitting as a Water Tribunal) rejected an appeal filed by Adalah on behalf of 767 Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel living in unrecognized villages in the Naqab (Negev), demanding access to sources of clean drinking water. Adalah Attorney Marwan Dalal submitted the appeal against prior decisions of the Water Commissioner, who had also denied these requests. Adalah argued in the appeal, filed on 20 April 2005, that Arab Bedouin living in the unrecognized villages in the south possess the basic human right to water and health, which must be granted by the state in order to guarantee the constitutional right to dignity. 

Palestinian agricultural losses top US $1 billion

28 September 2006


An ongoing economic boycott and intermittent border closures have created humanitarian problems for Gaza’s residents, including a deteriorating agricultural sector, the United Nations and the Palestinian Authority (PA) said. The PA’s Minister of Agriculture, Mohammed al-Agha, told IRIN that “Israel’s security measures had cost Palestinian farmers thousands of acres of farmland and nearly US $1.2 billion since the start of the second intifada [Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation] in September 2000.” Israel says it was necessary to clear land to prevent cross-border terrorist attacks. 

UNRWA Commissioner General calls for action to ease plight of Palestine refugees

28 September 2006


Commissioner General of UNRWA Karen Koning AbuZayd has called for action to ease the plight of Palestine refugees. Speaking to delegates participating in UNRWA’s Advisory Commission meeting, which opened in Amman this morning, Ms. AbuZayd appealed to concerned actors to address the causes of conflict. “The political front is where we need your leadership”, the Commissioner General told the meeting. “I see my role as one of informing political leaders of the facts on the ground and of encouraging action that will ease the plight of the refugees”, said AbuZayd, expressing hope that a unity government in Palestine will become a reality, thus paving the way for revitalizing the peace process. 

Australian journalist's new book takes heat for posing "My Israel Question"

Amal Awad 27 September 2006


Sydney-based journalist and author Antony Loewenstein is used to controversy. On many occasions he has told of how his critical assessment of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a Jew has left him a pariah in family and social circles. This is unlikely to change anytime soon given that he spent the last couple of years penning the newly released My Israel Question, a self-critical consideration of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a particularly Australian context. Loewenstein comes from “a liberal Jewish family” with parents he describes as once having been “unthinking Zionists”, who he later realised were simply uninformed because of their reliance on Jewish and mainstream press for their understanding of the conflict. 

Act of Vengeance: Israel's Bombing of the Gaza Power Plant and its Effects

28 September 2006


Undoubtedly, the State of Israel has the right to protect the lives of its citizens from threat, including, the threat posed by Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. However, not all means of response and action are permissible. Aiming attacks at civilian objects is forbidden under International Humanitarian Law and is considered a war crime. The power plant bombed by Israel is a purely civilian object and bombing it did nothing to impede the ability of Palestinian organizations to fire rockets into Israeli territory. 

Israel could complete Lebanese withdrawal by Saturday - UN Force Commander

26 September 2006


The commander of United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon held talks with senior Lebanese and Israeli military officers today with a view to completing by Saturday Israel’s withdrawal from all the positions it occupied in its northern neighbour during last month’s fighting with Hizbollah. “We had a constructive meeting today,” UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Commander Major-General Alain Pellegrini said after the talks, which discussed both Israel’s withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the area. “It is my belief that with the necessary cooperation by both parties we should see the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) leave South Lebanon by the end of this month,” he added. 

Southerners live in fear of one million cluster bombs

25 September 2006


Unexploded ordnance in southern Lebanon continue to pose great risks to civilians returning to their villages, according to the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre (UNMACC). It estimates that there are at least one million unexploded cluster bomblets in the area. “The latest estimate includes the number of rocket and artillery cluster bomblets,” said Dalya Farran, UNMACC media and post-clearance officer, adding that cluster bombshells dropped from Israeli aircraft had yet to be counted. Cluster bombs or bomblets are one of the more common forms of unexploded ordnance, or UXOs. 

Water and hygiene aid helps Lebanese families cope in war's aftermath

Kitty Logan 25 September 2006


EL KHIAM - This southern Lebanese border town was severely damaged during the recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. No building was left untouched. More than 70 per cent of El Khiam’s houses and three of its five schools were destroyed. Only one of the town’s four health centres is functioning, and to make matters worse, water sources and water treatment plants were also damaged during the hostilities. It could be a long time before they are repaired, and in the meantime there is no running water. 

Washington out of touch with anger of Arab world, Syrian minister tells UN

26 September 2006


United States officials are interpreting the actions of the people of the Middle East in a distorted manner in a bid to justify their policies to the detriment of all concerned, the Foreign Minister of Syria told the General Assembly today. “Tragically, we all end up paying the price when the decision-makers in Washington believe that they know better, and are in a better position to understand and grasp the needs and circumstances of the Arabs,” said Walid Al-Moualem. “They diagnose the ambitions and aspirations of the Arab individual in a manner that is tailored to their own vision.” 

UN human rights expert reports on 'appalling' conditions for ordinary Palestinians

26 September 2006


Describing a ‘tragic’ human rights situation for ordinary Palestinians living in the occupied territory, an independent United Nations expert today presented his report to the newly established Human Rights Council, sparking criticism from the Israeli representative that the work was one-sided and imbalanced. John Dugard, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, said that he wished to speak only about Israeli actions against ordinary, non-militant, non-activist Palestinians who simply wanted to lead a good life, educate their children and enjoy the basic amenities of life. 

Seeing the forest for the trees

Rima Merriman 26 September 2006


The Quartet (along with the international community generally) has failed to enable the Palestinian president to act credibly towards the goal of making “progress towards a two-state solution through dialogue and parallel implementation of obligations.”Anyone following the news from the occupied Palestinian territory would think that it is the Hamas-led government that is preventing the Palestinian president from achieving “credible” progress towards a two-state solution. In the present charged political divisions among Palestinians, even a large percentage of the economically deprived and hounded population is being persuaded to clutch at this straw. 

Human Rights Watch still denying Lebanon the right to defend itself

Jonathan Cook 25 September 2006


In a recent article on this site criticising Human Rights Watch for singling out Hizbullah rather than Israel for harsher condemnation of its military actions during the Lebanon war, I made sure to quote the organisation fairly and accurately before seeking to refute its arguments. Unfortunately, in a response published on Counterpunch, HRW’s Middle East policy director, Sarah Leah Whitson, did not return the favour. Possibly realising that her case was weak, she decided to paraphrase my argument instead, misrepresenting it, and only then try to rebut it. 

Signs of life in Bint Jbeil

Samia A. Halaby Bint Jbeil 24 September 2006


On Thursday September 21, 2006, I returned to Bint Jbeil, guiding members of the Netherlands delegation from D4. We walked again through the streets and I searched for our friend from the scarves store. It was 3:30 and I remember her saying that she goes home at 3:00. I was sad to miss her. But I was glad to see more signs of life in the town on the main road and in parts of the old town. We walked through the old town and I searched more carefully with my eyes for the remains of family life in the neighborhood. I remembered the destruction in Jenin and I could see that here the destruction was more complete, more thorough. It was as though the neighborhood was put in its entirety into a monstrous machine which ground it to dust. We stepped in many inches of fine beige dust, dust as fine as talcum powder. 

Children play to tackle war trauma

24 September 2006


In southern Lebanon, one major component of the overall rehabilitation and recovery process is to ensure that children overcome the trauma of living through war as well as the distress of returning to heavily damaged villages. Agencies working to improve the psychological health of children believe there is no better way to begin the journey towards recovery than through that which children enjoy best - playing. “According to research, 95 percent of children are able to overcome stress and mild trauma by simply playing,” said Soha Boustani, Beirut communications officer for the United Nations Children’s Fund, Unicef. 

Lebanon's President calls for efforts to reinvigorate Middle East peace initiatives

21 September 2006


Addressing the General Assembly in New York today, the President of Lebanon decried the devastation wrought by Israel on his country but said there is now a new opportunity for peace that must be exploited. Emile Lahoud voiced regret that during Israel’s aggression against his country, the Security Council “looked powerless in its attempts to stop the slaughter of Lebanon’s children and protect the peace in Lebanon and the Middle East.” He noted that it took over a month to produce a cessation of hostilities that is yet to become a formal ceasefire. This raised serious questions about the UN’s ability to safeguard peace “when its resolutions are subjected to the vagaries of a very few world powers.” 

Israel: Government Committee Should Probe Lebanon Laws of War Violations

22 September 2006


The Israeli government committee that will investigate the government’s handling of the recent war in Lebanon should also examine the decisions and policies that led to the large number of Lebanese civilian casualties, Human Rights Watch said today. In a report issued on August 3, 2006, Human Rights Watch documented Israeli forces’ systematic failure to distinguish between combatants and civilians as required by international humanitarian law. Subsequent Human Rights Watch reporting demonstrated a similar pattern in Israel’s use of cluster munitions. 

Global Advocacy Initiative Towards a Comprehensive Settlement

22 September 2006


The International Crisis Group today launched a new global advocacy initiative designed to generate new political momentum for a comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Major funding support for the initiative — to cost around $400,000 in its first year — was announced at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York. “After the chaos of the last few months, there is a new sense of urgency about finding a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace”, said Crisis Group President Gareth Evans. “There is also broad international understanding of what is needed to ultimately resolve the conflict. But the spark has to be somehow lit, and a serious new process started”. 

How Israel's 'new anti-Semitism' is encouraging nuclear Holocaust

Jonathan Cook 23 September 2006


The trajectory of a long-running campaign that gave birth this month to the preposterous all-party British parliamentary report into anti-Semitism in the UK can be traced back to intensive lobbying by the Israeli government that began more than four years ago, in early 2002. At that time, as Ariel Sharon was shredding the tattered remains of the Oslo accords by reinvading West Bank towns handed over to the Palestinian Authority in his destructive rampage known as Operation Defensive Shield, he drafted the Israeli media into the fray. Local newspapers began endlessly highlighting concerns about the rise of a “new anti-Semitism”, a theme that was rapidly and enthusiastically taken up by the muscular Zionist lobby in the US. 

Photostory: Bint Jbeil to Beirut

Samia A. Halaby Beirut 22 September 2006


This was our second visit to Bint Jbeil and we saw more and more life coming back to the town. The rubble here is of old hand-hewn stones fallen from a very old house. We saw many children’s books all through the neighborhood. Inside the windows of the homes still standing was extensive damage. I had asked why the garage doors of the stores were bent in various ballooned shapes. The answer was that the bombs created pressure that blew out all windows and doors and bent the metal garage doors of the store fronts into various ballooning shapes. 

Middle East peace talks must resume without preconditions, Palestinian leader tells UN

21 September 2006


The spirit of international cooperation that last month ended the deadly conflict in Lebanon should now be applied to resolve the question of Palestine, “the root of all the conflicts and wars” in the Middle East for many decades, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the United Nations General Assembly. Addressing the Assembly’s annual debate, Mr. Abbas called for the unconditional resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and an end to the suffering of his people, warning of the devastating impact on the region if these issues are not resolved. 

A lasting legacy: The deadly impact of cluster bombs in Southern Lebanon

19 September 2006


The sheer amount of unexploded ordnance that remains in south Lebanon, one of the poorest areas of the country, has implications for the future social and economic livelihood of the region. The quick destruction of remaining unexploded ordnance, particularly cluster bomb sub-munitions, is critical to restoring normalcy to the region and, ultimately, to a secure and lasting peace. It is vital that a social safety net be quickly established and that agricultural livelihoods are restored to prevent people from south Lebanon slipping deeper into poverty. 

Gaza Still Occupied

21 September 2006


Calling to the international community to get mobilised and bring the Israeli occupation to an end, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights has launched an international campaign to demonstrate that the Gaza Strip remains under Israeli effective control despite its claims otherwise. The campaign comes one year after the completion of the Israeli Unilateral Disengagement from Gaza in September 2005. It aims to bring about more effective international public and government involvement in the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in an effort to repair the consequences of prolonged infringements of international law. 

In 9 hours in Gaza, IDF kills 5, including 3 children, and injures 7

21 September 2006


Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) has used excessive force in the north and south of the Gaza Strip during a 9-hour span today, Thursday, 21 September 2006, resulting in the death of 5 Palestinian civilians and the injury of 7 others, including a father and 2 of his children. Two of the victims including a woman were killed in cold blood in Rafah. They were left to bleed to death inside their houses. The other 3 victims were children from the town of Jabalia who were killed by a surface-to-surface rocket as they were herding sheep. 

Israeli government fears peace initiatives

Uri Avnery 20 September 2006


Guess whose words these are: “Starting this war was a scandal…It was possible to solve the problem of the missiles in South Lebanon by diplomatic means…The offensive of the last two days of the war, in which 33 soldiers were killed after the cease-fire resolution had already been accepted, was a spin of the Prime Minister The Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and the Chief-of-Staff must resign…” Right, it was Gush Shalom. But that’s not new. What is new is that yesterday, the former Chief-of-Staff, Moshe Ya’alon, repeated these statements, almost word for word. 

I went to Nablus

Sonja Karkar Nablus 20 September 2006


There were many places I wanted to see in Palestine this June and Nablus was certainly one of them. Many people were telling me not to go. It was not safe, and my plan to go on to Jenin afterwards was madness, they said. But I had things to see in Nablus, and memories to collect for friends who have never been able to go back home. From Jerusalem, Abu ‘Issa, his wife and I made our way, hoping that we would be able to drive through Huwarra checkpoint to Nablus. Abu ‘Issa had obtained a clearance from the Peres Centre in Jerusalem for passage in his car. The Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint had other ideas. “No car - walk!” 

Government eager to show self-reliance in relief coordination

20 September 2006


As Lebanon rapidly moves further away from its humanitarian emergency phase and closer to early recovery, the Lebanese government is keen to show that it is able to manage all the country’s relief and reconstruction needs. “We are self-reliant,” said Yehia Raad, secretary general of the Higher Relief Council (HRC), a government body. “We have received a lot of [external coordination] help, some of which was necessary during the war. Now, it is more than fair to say that we are fully capable of working independently, while meeting all of everyone’s needs in war-affected areas.” 

Beatings and abuse on the Ramin Plain, Summer 2006

20 September 2006


In recent months, B’Tselem has collected many testimonies from Palestinians in the West Bank about abuse by soldiers. A significant number of the testimonies dealt with events that took place in the area referred to as the Ramin Plain. The area has a dirt road that Palestinians use to avoid the checkpoint near the Einav settlement. Recently, the IDF imposed harsh restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the northwest part of the West Bank. In their testimonies to B’Tselem, the Palestinians described how the soldiers ambushed them on the dirt road along the Ramin Plain, beat and abused them for hours, and damaged their vehicles. 

B'Tselem's investigation leads to indictment of soldiers who abused Palestinians

20 September 2006


Today, the Judge Advocate General’s Office filed an indictment against two soldiers from the Haruv Battalion who had abused Palestinians in Nablus District last month. The soldiers were charged with assault in aggravated circumstances and unbecoming conduct. Recently, B’Tselem uncovered that, in August, a group of soldiers from the battalion had maltreated two Palestinians near a-Naqora, a village in Nablus District. The two filed complaints and turned to B’Tselem. B’Tselem wrote to the Judge Advocate General’s Office and demanded that the matter be investigated. 

Al-Mezan concerned about security situation in Gaza

20 September 2006


The escalating security unrest in the Gaza strip has resulted in the killing of two more citizens, and the injuring of nine others, as well as an attack on Rafah district’s electricity company. According to Al Mezan field sources, on 18 September at approximately 21:30, an armed family feud erupted in Al Shaja’ia neighborhood of Gaza city, resulting in the killing of Faiz Ahmed Al Ne’izi, 50, and Hamdi Ali Al Ne’izi, 55, and the injury of five others. On the same day at approximately 20:30, armed clashes broke out between two families in the area around Al Nada towers in northern Gaza. Six Palestinians were reported injured as a result. 

IOF Confiscate 6 Million Shekels in Raids on One Bank and 11 Money Exchanges in the West Bank

20 September 2006


In a new piracy crime perpetrated by a state army under orders from the highest levels of a state government, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided financial institutions in the cities of Ramallah, Nablus, Tulkarm, and Jenin. IOF raided the National Jordanian Bank in Nablus and 11 money exchanges in the four cities. The raiding forces confiscated the property of the raided sites, and detained 7 of their owners. In addition, IOF confiscated 6 million New Israeli Shekels (NIS) (approximately 1.336 million dollars) claiming that the confiscation was based on information that the money exchanges funnel cash to be used in operations against Israeli targets. 

PCHR Condemns the Attacks on Journalists and Wafa News Agency Office in Khan Yunis and Gaza

20 September 2006


PCHR is very concerned over the repeated attacks on journalists and media organizations by armed groups and others. The Centre views these attacks as a serious infringement on the freedom of expressions and the media in Palestinian National Authority (PNA) areas. PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 16:30 on Tuesday, 19 September 2006, a number of demonstrators in a march organized by Hamas attacked the photographer Khaled Jamal Bolbol (28) who works for Palestinian Television and the journalist Moafaq Turki Matar (52), who works for Al-Hayat Al-Jadida Newspaper. 

Solution to Middle East conflict requires new global strategy, French President tells UN

19 September 2006


Voicing dismay that the conflict in the Middle East has become “the epicentre of global instability,” French President Jacques Chirac told world leaders who gathered today for the General Assembly that it was time to “tread off the beaten track of habit” and devise a global strategy for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement. “The status quo has become unbearable. Because the conflict in the Middle East is a threat to global peace and security, the world has no option but to be the guarantor of peace,” Mr. Chirac said in a speech to the general debate of the Assembly’s 61st session. 

UN conference adopts action plan to support Palestinians

8 September 2006


A two-day United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People adopted a Plan of Action that commits civil society organizations to ending the Israeli occupation and to achieving the rights of self-determination and return of the Palestinian people. The plan includes marking the 40-year anniversary of the occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. The Plan also commits them to expanding the global campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions to ever broader sectors of countries and regions, including an urgent campaign to end the sanctions against the democratically-elected Palestinian Authority. 

Women's meeting at UN encourages negotiations

18 September 2006


A delegation of top Israeli, Palestinian and international women leaders arrive at the United Nations on September 20th to meet with President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen, at a time when Finland holds the Presidency of the European Union, in an effort to marshal high-level political pressure to restart negotiations in the region. Joining the President of Finland will be President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Africa’s first elected woman head of state, who traveled to the occupied Palestinian territory in 2001 to hear the stories of women living in conflict as part of the Independent Experts’ Assessment on the impact of war on women, commissioned by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). 

Gaza faces major food problems, warns UN agency assisting over 200,000 people there

15 September 2006


15 September 2006 - Palestinians face major difficulties in Gaza, including shortages of food and a crippled fishing industry because of the continued conflict with Israel, the United Nations food agency warned today, as it distributes aid to almost a quarter of a million of those most in need. “Gaza’s food security remains an issue of serious concern, the World Food Programme (WFP) says. Naval restrictions continue to block all boats from fishing off-shore, crippling the fishing industry,” UN spokesman Marie Okabe told reporters in New York. 

Seventy per cent of Palestinians in Gaza need international food aid to survive – UN

19 September 2006


With the new school year beginning in just a few days, 70 per cent of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip cannot feed themselves without assistance, a 30 per cent increase in the number in just over a year, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today. The Gaza economy is near total collapse and WFP, which this month increased the number of people to whom it is providing food by 25 per cent to 220,000 persons, will try to add more beneficiaries since the situation was deteriorating on a daily basis, spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume told a news briefing in Geneva. 

Getting the word out on NPR

Rima Merriman 19 September 2006


Getting the word out has always been difficult for Palestinians. The major reason for this is that Israel often succeeds in framing the issues from its point of view, and the mainstream media in the West goes along with it. A favorite gambit that Israel uses to cloak its outrageous policies towards the Palestinian population is to cry “security”, which then pretty much allows it to do anything. When “security” is too conspicuously untrue, it justifies itself by referring to its own policy. This can be questioned only through its own legal system, which is not exactly designed to safeguard Palestinian rights. It sets up the equation of “lawful” Israelis and “unlawful” or criminal Palestinians. 

"The power that made dust out of life"

Samia A. Halaby Dahiyeh 18 September 2006


Trucks loaded with rubble arrive at the rate of one each minute - 1350 per day as the taxi driver tells. As we climbed the mountain, we saw embedded in the rubble the torn bits of family life. Shoes, clothes, curtains, shards of furniture, bits of rugs, closet doors, children’s books, school books, shards of kitchen utensils, all torn to shreds, all smashed, all dusty, all mixed in an ugly salad of dust, shattered cement, broken glass, and bent steel. But the dust formed the largest percentage of the mix. I try to imagine the power that made dust out of life. 

National boycott action targets Irish stores selling Israeli goods

18 September 2006


Shops and supermarkets across Ireland were picketed on Saturday as the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) commemorated the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacres with a National Boycott Israel Day. IPSC members targetted retail outlets in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Sligo, to send a message to Irish retailers that continuing to trade with Israel while it obliterates Palestine is grossly unethical and gives both financial support, succour and legitimacy to Israel’s escalating and unchecked violations of Palestinian human rights. The National Boycott Day was also intended to educate consumers as to the extent of Israeli goods in their shops. 

Fear and Defiance in South Lebanon

Bilal El-Amine Tyre 18 September 2006


It is true that Israel’s military campaign flip-flopped often and its goals kept changing, but the assault on civilians, particularly of the south, was relentless. I arrived in Tyre on the tenth day of the war just as the remaining inhabitants of the south were beginning to realize that Israel would spare no one. They all tell us that this assault is different from what they’ve seen from Israel in previous attacks. (Israel has invaded Lebanon twice before in 1978 and 1982, occupied various portions of the country for over 25 years, and launched massive military assaults focusing on civilians and their infrastructure in 1992 and 1996.) People who’ve never left their village were now leaving. 

Flowers in Bint Jbeil

Samia A. Halaby Bint Jbeil 17 September 2006


In Bint Jbeil we saw almost total destruction and this destruction encompassed all parts of life. Yet in the middle of this damage there were a few amazing jewels of life bubbling open. In the south of Lebanon the landscape is covered with the dust of missiles and destruction. The trees, the weeds, and the cultivated plants are coated with a sickening yellow dust that immediately impresses a sensation of poison and death. Inside the villages, the dust and garbage spread through all parts of the town regardless of the damaged areas. Areas of massive destruction looked like strange cliffs and fields of broken cement chunks interspersed with bits of brightly colored cloth or plastic. 

An Israeli's short cut, a Palestinian's occupation

Ben Sharpton West Bank 18 September 2006


Today, on my way to Jordan and my flight home, I did something no Palestinian from the West Bank can do. I woke up in Ramallah (in the West Bank), went to Jerusalem (already impossible!), got on a bus and rode eastward and then northward THROUGH the West Bank’s Jordan river valley and into northern Israel without having to stop at any checkpoint or show my ID to anyone. How did I do this amazing thing? Answer: I was travelling as an “Israeli.” While Palestinians were suffering out of sight on backroads and at checkpoints, I enjoyed comfort, efficiency, and arguably, relative safety. 

Appeal to petition Israeli government to respect the right to education

18 September 2006


With the onset of the academic year and in light of the difficult political circumstances facing the Palestinian people (children and adults), the Gender Studies Project (GSP) at MADA Al-Carmel: Arab Center for Applied Social Research, Haifa, appeals to all those who believe in the importance of the right to education to support us in petitioning the Israeli government to respect this right. It is imperative that this basic human right can be exercised without infringement and that students can receive their education free from fear, danger and violence. 

Weekly report of human rights violations

14 September 2006


In the West Bank, IOF killed 4 Palestinians, including a child. Three of the victims, including two civilian bystanders, were extra-judicially executed by IOF in Qabatya village, southeast of Jenin. IOF killed two of these victims after having wounded and captured them. The fourth victim, who was child, was shot dead by IOF in Bethlehem on 12 September 2006. In addition, 22 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children and 5 women, were wounded by IOF gunfire. One of them was pronounced clinically dead. In the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian civilians was killed by IOF shelling in Rafah on 10 September 2006. 

UNESCO Mission reports on war damage to cultural heritage in Lebanon

18 September 2006


The most serious damage resulting from the conflict concerns the World Heritage site of Byblos, which was affected by the oil spill from the fuel tanks of the Jiyeh power plant, an ecological problem for a large area of the eastern Mediterranean, according to Mr Bouchenaki. He drew attention to the urgent need to clean, manually, the stones at the base of the port’s two Medieval towers and other sea-shore archaeological remains. He estimated that it would take 25 people eight to ten weeks to conduct the operation and said that they would undergo a one-week training period before starting. Mr Bouchenaki estimated the cost of the operation at some US$ 100,000. 

Dutch company involved in construction of the Separation Wall

Martin Siepermann 18 September 2006



Research undertaken by United Civilians for Peace, a Dutch NGO-platform dedicated to promoting justice and peace in Palestine and Israel, has revealed that Dutch company Lima Holding BV, in Spijkenisse, is involved in the construction of the illegal Wall that Israel is building in the occupied West Bank. Lima Holding, which operates in Israel under the Riwal brand name, provides mobile cranes for putting into place the up to 9-metres high concrete elements that make up the Wall. The exact scope and nature of the company’s involvement in the construction of the Wall is yet to be determined. 

Fishermen suffer naval restrictions

17 September 2006


As some Palestinian fishermen were heading towards the sea for their daily fishing trips, 25-year-old Shadi Bakr waited anxiously at the pier for a boat owner to hire him for the day. Bakr’s own boat was destroyed by the Israeli navy five weeks ago. “I used to have my own motorboat. Now, I work as a day fisherman after Israeli gunboats destroyed it recently,” Bakr said. “My boat was worth US $8,000, and I used to make $300 a week, but now I only make $3 or $4 a day, which is not enough even to buy bread and salt for my family,” he added. Bakr’s boat was a victim of Israeli restrictions on Palestinians fishing off the Gaza Strip coastline. 

War exacerbates Palestine refugee conditions

16 September 2006


While Lebanese southerners bore the brunt of casualties and destruction to infrastructure during the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah, the pre-existing vulnerability of Palestine refugees living in Lebanon has also been greatly exacerbated. “The main problems that the Palestinians have to cope with, particularly in the south, are socio-economic,” said Hoda Samra, spokesperson for the Beirut office of the UN agency for Palestine refugees. “Whatever affects the Lebanese affects the Palestinians, given that they are residing in this country. But the Palestinians also lack coping mechanisms. Any emergency affects them even more than other groups, as the Palestinians in Lebanon are vulnerable by definition,” she added. 

Intelligence general and bodyguards killed in Gaza internal violence

17 September 2006


PCHR’s preliminary investigation and eyewitness accounts indicate that at approximately 13:30 on Friday, 15 September 2006, General El-Tayeh and his four bodyguards were traveling in a grey Audi on Sea Street, near the house of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyya in Beach Camp. Gunmen traveling in a green Mitsubishi Magnum intercepted the General’s car and fired heavily at its occupants. Eyewitnesses indicate that the General’s driver lost control of the car, which then swerved to the right and hit the sidewalk. Three masked gunmen got out of the Mitsubishi Magnum and fired heavily at General El-Tayeh and his bodyguards from a distance of one meter, killing them all. 

PCHR Condemns Attacks on Palestinian Churches

17 September 2006


PCHR strongly condemns the series of attacks launched on a number of churches in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), following a statement by Pope Benedic XVI lately reported by the media. This statement has been met by criticism all over the Islamic World. PCHR believes that such attacks on churches is an extension of the state if security chaos in the OPT, which requires the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to intervene to stop them. According to investigations conducted by PCHR, six churches have been attacked by unknown persons in the past two days in Gaza City, Nablus, Tulkarm and Tubas. 

Gaza faces major food problems

15 September 2006


Palestinians face major difficulties in Gaza, including shortages of food and a crippled fishing industry because of the continued conflict with Israel, the United Nations food agency warned today, as it distributes aid to almost a quarter of a million of those most in need. “Gaza’s food security remains an issue of serious concern, the World Food Programme (WFP) says. Naval restrictions continue to block all boats from fishing off-shore, crippling the fishing industry,” UN spokesman Marie Okabe told reporters in New York. “Furthermore, Gaza’s agricultural markets continue to suffer from access restrictions. WFP is distributing food to 220,000 of the most vulnerable people. 

Irish academics call on EU to stop funding Israeli academic institutions

David Landy 16 September 2006


In a letter published in the Irish Times today, 61 Irish academics from a wide variety of disciplines called for a moratorium on EU support of Israeli academic institutions until Israel abides by UN resolutions and ends the occupation of Palestinian territories. While this letter does not call for a comprehensive boycott, it does demand that European academic institutions cease funding collaborative projects with Israeli institutions. It also calls for academics to refrain, where possible, from institutional collaboration with Israel. Such actions are to continue until Israel abides by international law, part of which is ending the occupation. 

Pro-Israeli editors seek to influence Al-Jazeera International English Satellite TV

Khalid Amayreh 15 September 2006


When the Qatar-based pan-Arab Al-Jazeera Satellite Television announced two years ago plans to launch Al-Jazeera International (AJI), many people around the world hoped the new satellite channel would provide a genuine alternative to the notoriously biased western media, which often operates under Zionist influence. The new channel, the launching of which has been postponed several times, will provide both regional and global perspective to a potential audience of hundreds of millions of English speakers. AJI has already attracted a number of luminaries in the world of TV broadcasting. 

Thousands in south lose income

14 September 2006


At the start of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Basma Restaurant in southern Lebanon was transformed into a place of refuge for those displaced by fighting, according to its owner Fadi Ali Basma. “We thought we were safe here, so we opened the restaurant doors to almost 100 people to take refuge while fighting and bombing raged further south,” Basma said. On 17 July, however, five days after fighting began, Israel carried out two air strikes on the restaurant, which lies between the southern port city of Tyre, 80km south of Beirut, and Bint Jbeil, a further 30km south-east of Tyre. One side of the building was destroyed. 

Hezbollah criticises Amnesty report accusing it of war crimes

14 September 2006


A Hezbollah member of parliament has criticised a report by Amnesty International that said the armed wing of the Lebanese political party committed a “serious violation of humanitarian law” in its recent conflict with Israel. Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah was quoted by the BBC as saying the London-based rights group should analyse the number of civilians killed on each side, before accusing Hezbollah of war crimes. The Amnesty report concluded that Hezbollah had violated the 1949 Geneva Convention by deliberately targeting civilians when it fired thousands of Katyusha rockets loaded with ball bearings at urban areas in northern Israel. 

Amnesty International: Hizbullah's deliberate attacks on Israeli civilians

13 September 2006


Hizbullah committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes, in its deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians during the recent conflict, according to a briefing published today by Amnesty International. Combined with the organisation’s earlier publication on Israel’s targeting of Lebanese civilian infrastructure, the latest findings make clear the urgent need for the UN to establish a full and impartial investigation into violations committed by both sides in the conflict. 

Human Rights Watch: Don't Fire on Gaza Medics

13 September 2006


Israeli security forces launched attacks that harmed Palestinian medical emergency personnel and damaged ambulances on at least six different occasions in the Gaza Strip between May 30 and July 20, Human Rights Watch said today. Five of the incidents occurred during Israel’s military operations in Gaza that began on June 28, and three of them during the IDF military operation around the Maghazi Refugee Camp that began on July 18. In all of the incidents, the emergency medical personnel said they were responding to Palestinian casualties caused by earlier military activity but had waited for IDF shooting or shelling to stop before attempting to recover casualties. 

Intensified Aid And Urgent Action Needed To Avert Palestinian Economic Collapse

12 September 2006


The economy of the occupied Palestinian territory is on the verge of collapse, a new UNCTAD report warns. Dwindling donor support has left the Palestinian Authority (PA) in a perilous financial position and UNCTAD projections indicate that per capita income for 2006 will be half pre-2000 levels, unemployment will affect half the Palestinian workforce by the end of the year, and two out of three Palestinian households will fall below the poverty level. The report cautions that even under a more positive scenario of increased aid, greater mobility, and the resumption of Israeli transfers of tax revenues to the PA, the Palestinian economy is unlikely to achieve sustained growth. 

"We don't want more Palestinians here!"

Nadia Hasan Amman, Jordan 14 September 2006


Yesterday I came to Aqaba, Jordan, and today I went to the border at 8 am. I was nervous, but at the same time I felt good, doing something that I had been anticipating for a long time. I crossed the Jordanian border without any problem, only 15 minutes later I picked up my bag again and started walking to the Palestinian side which is controlled by Israel. Two armed guys were waiting there and asked me for my passport. They look each other and asked me “Where are you from?” despite that one of them had my Chilean passport in his hand. After that I went to the questioning room, and two other officers were there and asked me the normal questions — well, normal by Israeli standards. 

Dissecting Israel's freeze on visas

Rima Merriman 13 September 2006


Israel is implementing an undeclared policy of denying foreign nationals entry/re-entry into the oPt in order to achieve the following political objectives: to isolate Palestinians, to continue its control over demographics in favor of the Jewish population, and to punish Palestinians personally and developmentally because of the January election results. Israel’s security claims regarding this policy are false. In many cases, this policy amounts to deportation. Many of those now being denied entry are, in fact, residents of the oPT (for family or work reasons). 

Lifting of blockade brings hope to Beirut

12 September 2006


For the past five days, since Israel lifted its nearly two-month-old naval and air blockade on Lebanon, Beirut’s residents have been anxious to see signs that the country’s deteriorating economy is recovering. However, given the plethora of problems the 34-day war in July and August brought, the mood in Lebanon’s capital is a mix of hope and indifference. “No doubt, the fact that the blockade has been lifted is a good thing,” said taxi driver Fadi Saab. “But I think it will take some time before things will actually improve, because the effects of the war were so overreaching.” 

Poverty drives children to work at checkpoints

12 September 2006


Six months of a crippling international embargo on the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) has brought its economy to a virtual standstill. As a result, children are being driven increasingly to find work to help support their families. “After my father became jobless, I joined my friends to work at the checkpoint in order to support my 11-member family,” said Subhi Abdullah 16, referring to his unofficial job at al-Hawawer Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron. While plans were announced on Monday for a Palestinian unity government that could meet conditions to have the embargo lifted, ordinary Palestinians continue to suffer. 

One year after disengagement, ghosts remain

Rami Almeghari Palestine 12 September 2006

Bloodshed, destruction and fear are the remnants of the Israeli occupation army across the Gaza Strip since the Israeli settlers were evacuated on September 12, 2005 army. A year has passed since the Israeli ‘disengagement’ from Gaza, and since then there remains only the Israeli occupation’s ghost, moving from one place to another throughout the Gaza Strip — home to 1.3 million Palestinians, one of the most crowded places on earth. In myths we learned that a ghost can never kill, but instead sabotages one’s life by haunting its victims - causing panic, leaving no room for peaceful sleep. 

The Israel Veolia "Connexxion"

Adri Nieuwhof 13 September 2006


Veolia’s partnership in an Israeli project for a tramline, to be constructed on occupied Palestinian territory in East Jerusalem has drawn the attention of advocacy groups around the world who have responded to the call by Palestinian civil society for campaigns of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Building on an earlier article about the tramline in East Jerusalem with Veolia Environment head office in France and a Dutch Bank that invests in the company, Adri Nieuwhof further explores the background of the transnational company Veolia Environment. 

British-Muslim delegation returns from Lebanon

11 September 2006


A British-Muslim delegation under the broad heading ‘United for Lebanon’ returned to London on Saturday, 26 August 2006, following a fact-finding visit to Lebanon. The group, which included Dr Phyllis Starkey MP and which was supported by a diverse group of Muslim organizations and charities, including the Muslim Council of Britain, Al-Khoei Foundation, the Muslim Association of Britain, Interpal, and the British Muslim Forum, looked at the extent of devastation and internal displacement following the recent ceasefire in the region. 

Palestinians in Iraq under attack, but unable to flee

10 September 2006


Amid widespread sectarian violence in Iraq, Palestinian refugees in Iraq face particularly grave security threats, including targeted killings by mostly Shi’a militant groups and harassment by the Iraqi government, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Countries in the region such as Jordan and Syria must open their borders to Iraqi Palestinians at risk, and the international community must urgently respond to their plight by providing financial assistance to the host countries and third-country resettlement opportunities on a humanitarian basis. 

Gaza shelves bare

11 September 2006


Gaza City’s shopping markets used to be the richest in the Palestinian territories, but six months into a crippling trade embargo, stocks are running low. “This is the tenth store I approach to buy a single box of powdered milk for my little baby. I do not know what to do. I am ready to pay double price for having only one package, but there is none”, said 32-year-old Tareq Omar after he failed to find any powdered milk for his one-year-old baby in Gaza’s Al-Zawiya market. An economic embargo by the United States, the European Union (EU) and Israel was imposed on the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) following the democratic election of a Hamas-led Palestinian government in February. 

The long road back to school for children in southern Lebanon

Kitty Logan 11 September 2006


Now that the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has ceased, the children of southern Lebanon are trying to return to normal life. But the challenges are enormous. In the village of Srifa, half the buildings have been damaged or destroyed. The local high school is unusable after a bomb hit the house next door. A massive crater has dented the ground just a few metres away. The explosion shattered every pane of glass in the building. Exterior walls were blown in and cracked walls lean precariously. The classrooms are full of debris. 

A Year After 'Disengagement': Gaza Still Occupied and Under Attack

11 September 2006


One year ago, on 12 September 2005, Israel completed its unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip under the ‘Disengagement Plan’. In the year that followed, the Gaza Strip endured military incursions, shelling, attacks on infrastructure, targeted assassinations, sonic booms, aerial surveillance, border closures, and fishing restrictions. Also Israel retains control of the civil population registry. The unilateral withdrawal aimed to establish that the Gaza Strip was no longer occupied, thereby relieving Israel of its duties as the Occupying Power. In reality, Israel has retained effective control of the Gaza Strip and consequently has never ceased its occupation. 

Report: Settlers continue to commit violence against Palestinians with impunity

11 September 2006


Since the 1980’s many reports have been published on law enforcement upon Israelis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. All of the reports - whether published by official government bodies or produced by human rights organizations - warned against the failure of the authorities to enforce the law effectively upon Israeli offenders, especially those who committed offenses against Palestinian civilians. The conclusion that arises from all the reports is serious: Israel is abusing its obligation to defend the Palestinian civilian population in the OPT against the criminality of Israeli civilians. 

Powerless in Gaza

10 September 2006


Mohammed Aqdeir drinks a glass of lukewarm water despite the summer heat. The room is sweltering - but above his head the rotor blades of the fan are motionless. “I am going crazy without electricity. There is even a shortage of candles now - I had to use the two my wife and I had received from our marriage. I worry about [starting a] fire,” said the 36-year-old from Beit Lahiya. For the past two months, Gaza residents like Aqdeir have lived without a regular supply of electricity after the Israeli military bombed Gaza’s only power station on 28 June. 

UN conference adopts action plan to help Palestinians living under occupation

8 September 2006


A two-day United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People concluded in Geneva today with the adoption of a Plan of Action aimed at addressing their plight. The Plan of Action commits civil society organizations to ending the Israeli occupation and to achieving the rights of self-determination and return of the Palestinian people. It acknowledges that the war against Lebanon and the continuing assault on Gaza have created new realities. The Plan notes that the conditions of Palestinians under occupation continue to deteriorate and Palestinian refugees continue to be denied their international rights. 

Deported from our own homeland

Ida Audeh Amman, Jordan 10 September 2006


On the night of Sunday, July 30, my husband and I became deportees. We had left the West Bank a few days earlier when our one-month visa was due to expire. Since arriving in Ramallah in January 2005, we had been leaving the occupied territories right before our visa expired and re-entering the country to get a new visa at the border. But since the Hamas victory in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections, we had been hearing about other US passport holders who were being denied re-entry when they left to renew their visas. We left nervously but still thinking we would be able to return, if only for a month. 

Weekly Report of Human Rights Violations

10 September 2006


As the international community has remained silent, IOF have continued to wage a full scale offensive on the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip. During the reported period, IOF have continued their attacks on Palestinian civilians and property. IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have imposed a tightened siege on the Gaza Strip and there have been shortages of foodstuffs and fuels; and IOF positioned at a various checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 4 Palestinians, including Head of the Presidential Guard in Ramallah. 11 Palestinians, including a child and a man and his son, were killed by IOF. 

Refugees displaced by military offensive

7 September 2006


Palestinian Rashida al-Malalha, 65, never imagined she would become displaced from her refugee camp. The mother-of-six was forced to flee her house in Shouka, a remote area in the south of the Gaza Strip, after Israeli troops took over the neighbouring Gaza Airport in late July to use it as a base from which to launch military operations in the rest of the Gaza Strip. “The Israeli army warned us that we must leave our houses as soon as possible because they were going to enter the area and reoccupy it together with Gaza Airport,” said al-Malalha. 

Lebanese struggle to repair far wider damage than destroyed houses

Reem Alsalem 9 September 2006


From a distance, the lack of obvious destruction lends a deceptive look of normality to towns like Marjayoun. Look closer and you discover that interiors of houses have been wrecked, services like electricity are non-existent, rotting rubbish lies uncollected and the fields cannot be entered because of unexploded munitions. “What we had here was a tsunami. That is the only way to explain it,” said the mayor of Marjayoun, Fouad Hamra. A convoy of 3,000 fleeing inhabitants came under air attack as they tried to leave on August 11. “The problem is that since there are few destroyed houses, people think that we have not been that much affected by the war.” 

Muhsin's voice is heard

7 September 2006


Muhsin Melhem will never forget the tragedy of 12 August. Just two days before a United Nations-brokered ceasefire brought hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah to an end, Israeli jets fired on Al-Haikha Bridge in Akkar, 40 km north-east of Beirut. Melhem’s son Ali, 18, was instantly killed in the air strike. His other two sons, Mohammad, 13, and Ghassan, 27, were severely wounded. “I don’t know how can we survive and overcome this tragedy,” said Melhem when IRIN first spoke to him on 17 August. Melhem is a poor farmer from the village of Akkar, around 40 km north-east of the capital. He depended on his working sons to support the family. 

"It's much worse": Anti-Apartheid Activist Farid Esack Speaks on Palestine and South Africa

9 September 2006


How is the current situation in Palestine/Israel similar to that of apartheid-era South Africa? How is it different? Is Zionism a form of racism? What can we learn from the South African experience to strengthen and empower the movement for justice and peace in Palestine/Israel? Leading South African Muslim theologian and anti-apartheid activist Farid Esack addressed these questions in a timely, engaging and moving lecture at Oak Park Public Library in Illinois on September 6, 2006, organized by the Committee for Justice and Peace in Israel and Palestine. Listen to the audio podcast of this important lecture brought to you by EI. 

Annan encourages Palestinian efforts to form National Unity Government

7 September 2006


UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for an end to killings in Gaza and deplored conditions facing Palestinians there while calling on both sides of the Middle East conflict to take steps that will foster lasting peace. In a message to the UN International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People, being held in Geneva, Mr. Annan said since the end of June, more than 200 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed. “This must stop immediately.” He underscored the toll of Israeli incursions, which have exacerbated already high levels of poverty and unemployment, destroying infrastructure and causing serious shortages. 

U.N. refugee official says Gaza's residents deserve protection

8 September 2006


The more than 800,000 vulnerable Palestinians of Gaza were trapped in a nightmare, owing to a combination of financial sanctions against Hamas, a ten-week siege of Gaza, daily targeted killings of suspected militants and Israeli incursions into densely populated neighbourhoods, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Karen AbuZayd, said today at a headquarters press conference. Strangulation of commerce and trade had ruined the economy, brought the institutions of Government to a near meltdown, and badly shaken the society, she said. 

Radio Tadamon! Echoes of War from Beirut to Montreal

Tadamon! 16 September 2006


This edition of Radio Tadamon! features sounds from Beirut recorded during the height of the Israeli assault on Lebanon & voices from the streets of Montreal recorded during multiple solidarity demonstrations with the Lebanese people. Featuring multiple voices & interviews from Beirut which provide a picture of the first days of the Israeli 2006 attack, the present-day impacts of the war on the people of Lebanon, voices of international solidarity from the streets of Montreal & interviews providing important historical context / political background to the 2006 Israeli assault on Lebanon. 

Call for an immediate end to Israel's discriminatory visa-freeze policy

8 September 2006


More than 70 journalists, activists, and members of the diplomatic corps met on September 6 at the Ambassador Hotel in Jerusalem for a press conference regarding the Campaign for the Right of Entry/Re-Entry to the occupied Palestinian territory. The event was organized in conjunction with the Israeli-Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI). The purpose of the press conference was to engage Israeli officials on the issue in the presence of foreign representatives. No Israeli government representatives, however, were present. A US consulate spokesperson emphasized that the consulate was aware of the visa freeze policy and that the issue was being raised at the highest levels. 

Court overturns Haifa University's discriminatory policy on student dorms

7 September 2006


After nearly a year of deliberations, Haifa District Court issued a ruling cancelling regulations at Haifa University that gave preferential treatment to Jewish students needing accommodation over Arab students. The university, roughly a fifth of whose students are Arabs, tried to conceal the discrimination by arguing that in allocating housing it was preferring students who had completed their army service. However, the court accepted the argument of the Adalah legal centre that because very few Arab citizens do military service this regulation was being used in effect to discriminate against Arab students. 

How Israel failed its Arab citizens before, during and after the Lebanon war

7 September 2006


During the five weeks of fighting between Israel and Hizbullah this summer, the north of Israel took a battering from some 4,000 rockets. According to the Foreign Ministry, the civilian fatalities from the rockets numbered 43, including 18 Arab citizens. Of course, rockets don’t discriminate between Jew and Arab, as public officials were quick to point out. But unfortunately, the Israeli government does. There were many reasons why a high number of Arabs died in the war, a fact that has surprised many observers, including apparently the Israeli government, as it was widely assumed that Hizbullah would not endanger the lives of fellow Arabs. 

Soldiers severely abuse young Palestinian and take a picture of themselves on his cell phone

6 September 2006


On 26 August 2006, soldiers detained Tha’ir Muhsen, 18, from a-Neqora, a village near Nablus , while he was on his way home after registering at a-Najah University , in Nablus. The soldiers sat him down next to another Palestinian who had been detained. The other fellow told Muhsen that the soldiers had beaten him. When one of the soldiers threw a stick to another soldier present, the other detainee fled. The soldiers chased him but returned empty- handed. They then began to abuse Muhsen. 

UNDP Estimates Gaza Infrastructure Damage to be US$46 million in the Past Two Months

6 September 2006


The United Nations Development Programme released the findings of an extensive damage assessment it conducted of the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip over the past two months. Covering the damage incurred since the beginning of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operation that began on 28 June to August 27, 2006, the assessment examined physical and material damage to six sectors: municipal infrastructure, housing, public buildings, agriculture, energy and industry. The assessment was divided across 5 distinct geographic areas in the Gaza strip, namely the officially established Governorates: Gaza, Rafah, Khan Younis, Middle and North. 

UN human rights experts head to Lebanon, Israel to probe violations

7 September 2006


The United Nations is sending four independent human rights experts to Lebanon and Israel to gather facts about abuses during the recent conflict there. “The independent human rights experts will gather first-hand information, establish facts and conduct an impartial legal analysis of the persistent allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law during the recent conflict in order to make specific recommendations to the concerned authorities,” the UN said in a news release. In Lebanon from 7 to 10 September and in Israel the following three days, the experts will meet with government officials. 

UN to convene international conference in support of Palestinian people

6 September 2006


A United Nations committee will convene the UN International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People tomorrow in Geneva in a bid to help alleviate their plight. The two-day Conference will focus on the current situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and related civil society action, according to a press release issued in connection with the event. Representatives of civil society organizations from all regions will discuss the situation on the ground, promote their current programmes, develop action-oriented proposals in support of the Palestinian people and coordinate their activities. 

How Human Rights Watch lost its way in Lebanon

Jonathan Cook 7 September 2006


The measure of a human rights organisation is to be found not just in the strides it takes to seek justice for the oppressed and victimised but also in the compromises it makes to keep itself out of trouble. Because of the business that human rights defenders are in, they must be held to a standard higher than we demand of others. To its credit, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has risked much opprobrium for taking Israel to task for systematically breaking international law during its assault on Lebanon. That has culminated in a predictable campaign of harassment by pro-Israel organisations in the US that have accused its researchers of libelling Israel and being anti-Semitic. But name-calling, however distasteful, cannot justify HRW distorting its findings to placate the Israel lobby. But that seems to be just what is happening. 

Israel's move to lift its blockade of Lebanon will speed up the Lebanese recovery: Annan

6 September 2006


Welcoming Israel’s decision to lift its blockade of Lebanon tomorrow, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the move will speed up Lebanese reconstruction efforts after the month of conflict and added he would continue to explore all avenues to ensure full implementation of the Security Council resolution that ended the fighting. “I am pleased that the Israeli Government has agreed to lift its blockade of Lebanon, effective 6pm Beirut local time tomorrow, Thursday, 7 September 2006,” Mr. Annan said in a statement issued in Spain, where he is on the last leg of his shuttle diplomacy aimed at shoring up support for the cessation of hostilities. 

Architects' Petition to the Organizers of the Venice Biennale

3 September 2006


We are writing to express our dismay and concern that the Venice Biennale has agreed to host the Israeli contribution to the exhibition on the Architecture of Commemoration. The whole contribution, funded by the Israeli Government, totally excludes the Palestinians who are the target and real victims of the seemingly unending series of wars being memorialised, and awards Israel the sole position of victim and victor. The contributor Dan Daor says that the message of memorial structures is that “there are no heroes - all there is, is the eternity of Israel, all of the country is on the front, and all of us are victims.” 

Letter to the Organizers of the 10th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale

3 September 2006


We the undersigned groups and organizations request that the Venice Biennale cancel the country exhibition of Israel entitled “LIFE SAVER - Typology of Commemoration in Israel - Architecture and Society” for the following reasons: The Israeli participation is supported by the Israeli state, a state that continues against all International laws and UN resolutions to occupy the West Bank and Gaza Strip; to deny the right of return for Palestinian refugees; and to wage a daily war against Palestinian children, men and women, their homes and livelihoods. 

The Right to Entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territory

6 September 2006


The Palestinian people have lived under Israeli military occupation for over 39 years. Their occupation is not only one of the longest standing in contemporary world history, but has also been distinguished by an incredible amount of repressive creativity. Israel has employed an everincreasing array of means and ways to oppress Palestinian’s basic human rights while maintaining a level of discrimination that, if applied anywhere else in the world, would shock the world into action. The most recent addition to Israel’s “Matrix of Controls” is to deny Palestinians and foreign nationals that do not hold an Israeliissued Palestinian I.D. entry into, or residence in, Palestine. 

Gaza: Four killed and 27 injured in two extra-judicial executions in two hours

6 September 2006


On Tuesday evening, 5 September 2006, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) committed two extra-judicial executions in Rafah in two hours, which killed four members of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and wounded 27 civilian bystanders, including five children. According to preliminary investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 21:20, an IOF droned fired a missile at a civilian car (a grey Mitsubishi) that was traveling near al-Istiqama Mosque in Saddam Street in the densely-populated al-Junaina neighborhood. 

'Quiet transfer' in East Jerusalem nears completion

Elodie Guego 6 September 2006


Israel is close to implementing a long-term plan to transform the demographic structure of annexed East Jerusalem. Policies to revoke the residency permits of Palestinian Jerusalemites and to Judaise the city have been described as ethnic cleansing. After victory in the 1967 Six Day war, Israel annexed East Jerusalem - that part of the city that had been under Jordanian rule since the end of the British Mandate in 1948 - together with an additional 64 square kilometres which had been part of the West Bank. Jerusalem thus became Israel’s largest city and was declared to be its ‘united and eternal capital’. 

My Palestinian husband and I cannot live together in the West Bank

Maria Pedevilla Vienna, Austria 6 September 2006


Two security people just took me and brought me to a car. I asked a couple of times what was going on, but still no one told me. After asking the fourth or fifth time, “Where are you bringing me?” their answer was, “Back to Jordan” I was denied entry into the country and I was deported back to Jordan. The Israelis did not give us a reason why we were denied entry but swiftly ushered my friend and me into a car that would take us back to the Jordanian border. Our passports were stamped with “entery [sic] denied” and therefore useless for any further travel. Furthermore, due to this event, my fiance and I were prevented from marrying as planned. 

Palestinians in Gaza largely cut off from outside world

6 September 2006


Israel’s continued closure of the Gaza Strip’s only international border crossing is isolating Gaza’s 1.4 million residents. As Gaza’s only international border crossing, Rafah is the only route for ordinary Palestinians to cross from Gaza to Egypt to go back to their jobs and universities across the world - and to get back in to see their families. All other crossings into Israel have been closed since the start of a second intifada in 2000. Many stuck in Gaza face losing their jobs if they cannot travel when they planned to. Palestinians unable to cross into Egypt risk losing money spent on airline tickets from Cairo to countries in the Gulf and elsewhere. 

Lebanon health facilities have suffered considerable damage

6 September 2006


A newly-published assessment of health facilities in Lebanon shows that a quarter of those examined are not functioning due to physical damage, lack of staff or lack of accessibility, and that water and fuel shortages remain a serious concern. At the same time, demands on the health system are growing given the numbers of people injured during the conflict, and people returning to their communities requiring health care. The assessment, by the Lebanon Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, looked at more than 400 health facilities in Lebanon in the areas most affected by the conflict. 

Middle East crisis expected to top Security Council agenda in September

5 September 2006


The crises and problems of the Middle East will be at the forefront of a busy Security Council programme this month, Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis of Greece, which holds the Council presidency for September, said today as he outlined the 15-member body’s schedule. The situation in Lebanon following the cessation of hostilities last month between the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Hizbollah, events in the occupied Palestinian territory, and the question of Iran’s nuclear ambitions are among the issues likely to be discussed. Secretary-General Kofi Annan may brief the Council on his current trip to the Middle East after he returns to UN Headquarters in New York. 

Six months without pay sparks teachers' strike in Gaza and West Bank

Rachel Bonham Carter 5 September 2006


Just days into the start of the new school term most schools in Gaza are closed due to a strike by government workers, including teachers, who haven’t been paid for six months. 750,000 pupils are affected. The strike is open-ended and currently most of the 1,726 public schools in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) are either partially or completely closed. At Azzoun Itmeh School for Girls in the Northern West Bank, only 7 out of 22 teachers turned up for work on Sunday. A similar story is being played out across the region with teachers struggling to get by. Around 70 per cent of all students in oPt are affected by the strikes. 

Unexploded bombs hamper rural recovery

5 September 2006


Now that war is over, farmers are returning to their land in southern Lebanon only to find their crops destroyed and their livelihoods ruined while unexploded bombs are hampering recovery. Wafi Al-Khishin fled his banana plantation in Ras Al-Ain, outside Tyre in southern Lebanon, when Isreali air-strikes began in July to stay with relatives some 80 km away in the capital Beirut. “When we came back, we found much of our land and crops burnt,” said Al-Khishin. “And what was not destroyed directly has died because of a lack of irrigation throughout the war.” 

Amid the rubble, a Lebanese family works to rebuild normal life

Astrid van Genderen Stort 5 September 2006


Adeeb Rahma is welcoming and her spirit undiminished despite the five-week war that destroyed most of her home town of Aita Ech Chaab and forced her family to move for now to another town. “My husband and our eight children were told by the Israelis through loudspeakers to leave Aita Ech Chaab and our homes immediately … my daughter was still barefoot when we raced off in our pick-up,” said Adeeb, who had lived her whole life in the town. “We stayed 15 days in Rmaich with 55 people in a house, then 15 days in Sidon,” she said. “When we came back to Aita the inside of our house had been [destroyed] …” 

Civil Servant Strike Continues in the OPT

5 September 2006


Civil servants working in all governmental institutions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including the education and health sectors, started an open general strike on Saturday, 2 September 2006. They are requesting the immediate payment of their salaries, which have not been paid for more than six months, and the regular payment of their salaries in the future. Most ministries and governmental institutions have stopped work, especially the education and health sectors. An estimated 60-90% of the work was halted in these institutions throughout the OPT. 

Power shortages could last months in south

3 September 2006


Thirty-four days of Israeli bombardment have left many residential areas in south Lebanon without power. Towns and villages, particularly those nearest the border with Israel, are strewn with damaged power lines along the roads. “This is what remains of our electricity lines,” said 12-year-old Ali, resident of Qantara village, pointing to lines a few feet away from him. “Nothing.” Qantara is about 70 km south of Beirut and just a few kilometres north of the Israeli border. South Lebanon bore the brunt of Israel’s military offensive against the armed wing of Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party. 

Despite war damage, hospitals meet patients' needs

4 September 2006


In spite of damage caused to Lebanon’s health sector by a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah, its primary health care sector is coping, according to aid agencies. “People now have access to primary health services in most affected areas,” said Dr Sarmad Suleiman, World Health Organisation (WHO) team leader in Tyre, 80 km south of the capital Beirut. With a United Nations-brokered ceasefire in place since 14 August, humanitarian assistance from the Lebanese government and international aid agencies has been reaching the majority of areas most affected by the conflict with vastly greater ease. 

Will Robert Fisk tell us the whole story?

Jonathan Cook 5 September 2006


More than a little uncomfortably, I find myself with a bone to pick with one of our finest champions of humanitarian values and opponents of war. During Israel’s attack on Lebanon this summer, the distinguished British journalist Robert Fisk did sterling work — as might have been expected — debunking some of the main myths that littered the battlefield almost as dangerously as the tens of thousands of US-made cluster bombs that Israel dropped in the last days of the fighting. But possibly in an attempt at even-handedness, Fisk has also muddied the picture in relation to the actions of Hizbullah and thereby contributed towards the very mythical narratives he seeks to undermine. 

"As long as you are alive, you can regain everything."

Saida 4 September 2006


Lens on Lebanon interviews Saida residents: I was affected financially and psychologically. I have no money at all. Psychologically, I have two sons. They don’t want to stay in the country anymore. They want to immigrate now after they realized there is no safe area in Lebanon. My little daughters have a phobia. When they hear any bombs, they just hold in the arms of their mother and can’t move. As for work, there is nothing. Everything has stopped after the Israelis bombed all bridges. I went one month without any job. Now some fishermen have started getting fish from Syria, so I started to clean the fish to survive. 

Lebanon in Context: An Interview with Bilal El-Amine

Bilal El-Amine and Sasha Wright 4 September 2006


On the Israeli/Lebanese front - even though Israel was forced to withdraw from Lebanon in May of 2000 - there were a number of issues that Israel deliberately left open that could have easily been resolved. Israel kept some Lebanese land called the Shebaa Farms. Israel would not provide maps for the mines that they had planted throughout South Lebanon that caused many injuries and deaths in the South. Israel continued its constant breaches of Lebanese airspace with almost daily incursions by Israeli warplanes over Lebanon. Israel also refused to release the Lebanese prisoners still in Israeli prisons - there were many of them at that time. 

The First Post-Zionist War

Roni Ben Efrat 4 September 2006


Three weeks after the cease-fire, the political situation in Israel may be described as one of imminent collapse. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and Army Chief of Staff Dan Halutz have fallen to the depths in public opinion. A full 63% of the people think Olmert ought to resign; 74% want Peretz’s head, 54% Halutz’s. Israelis live today with a sense of failure. They search for the source of the “lapse” (mekhdal) - a term much used to describe the disaster of October 1973 (the “Yom Kippur War”). A protest movement of reservists has arisen, divided between those who demand a State Commission of Inquiry and those who call for resignations. 

Killings in Ramallah

Eliza Ernshire Ramallah 4 September 2006


29 August, pre-dawn - It is only now that the gunfire saluting the killed young man has become sporadic and no longer constant, and that the verses of the Koran, chanted in farewell of him, have ceased. But the streets are full; and full too are the hearts of all who had to witness an attack that should only have been imaginable in the darkest back-alleys of some underworld city. By thugs wielding heavy M-16’s. At 9 pm undercover Israeli Special Forces walked down the main street of Ramallah. They wore civilian clothes and Palestinian police-caps. They carried M-16’s as all the police force does. No one looked at them twice. 

A Night in Ramallah

Sonja Karkar Ramallah 4 September 2006


When I began reading the account below of the shooting in Ramallah, I remembered that it was only nine weeks ago that I was walking the streets of Ramallah and I was eating ice-cream at the famour Rucarb ice-cream shop and I was being driven around al-Minara. It all came flooding back to me - those fifteen minutes in the early hours of the morning as my driver, Abu ‘Issa was taking me back to Jerusalem and we were caught in the cross-fire between Palestinian police in riot gear and armed youths. I’ll never forget the painfully hesitant drive up and down narrow streets as shadowy figures ran in and out of shop recesses with guns cocked while others smashed windows. 

Teachers strike keeps children at home

3 September 2006


Public sector teachers in the occupied Palestinian territories began a strike on Saturday to protest against unpaid wages. Timed to concur with the first day of the new academic year, the strike in Gaza and the West Bank has left hundreds of thousands of children without classes to go to. “The strike in government schools on the first day of the academic year succeeded by 80 percent,” said Jameel Shahadah, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Teacher’s Union. “By announcing a strike on the first day of the academic year, we wanted to shock the Palestinian government and the Arab and international community [to show them] that the Palestinian people’s right to education is now threatened due to the embargo.” 

Let My People In

Rima Merriman 4 September 2006


An undeclared Israeli policy is currently in effect. The policy denies entry at Israeli borders to nationals of foreign countries, even those seeking to enter for a short period of time, but especially if they live with their Palestinian spouses and families or are Palestinian expatriate nationals or are working in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt). Israel is arbitrarily turning away scores of such people on a daily basis at the Israeli unilaterally declared and controlled international border crossings to the oPt, separating families, causing unjustified hardships, and impeding development. 

Staple foods in short supply

4 September 2006


A United Nations aid agency has warned that Israel’s intermittent closure of crossings into Gaza is severely hampering its ability to bring in food. Every two months, UNRWA gives out food to Palestinian refugees living in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian-administered area bordering Israel and Egypt. Its latest food delivery has been delayed by a lack of access. “Food distribution will not start until we can get our products into Gaza. The 830,000 refugees we feed will not have any food from us,” said John Ging, UNRWA’s Director of Operations in Gaza. UNRWA usually brings food supplies through the Karni Crossing, a cargo terminal on the eastern end. 

Father and son killed and nine homes destroyed in Beit Hanoun

3 September 2006


The IOF killed a Palestinian civilian and his son in cold blood in the town of Beit Hanoun in the predawn hours of Saturday, 2 September 2006. In addition, two of the slain man’s daughters were seriously injured. The raid by IOF undercover units also resulted in the injury of six civilians, including two parents and their three children, and the destruction of nine homes. The casualties and damages were inflicted in an operation aiming to detain two “wanted” activists. PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 02:30 on Saturday, 2 September 2006, an IOF undercover unit moved 2 kilometers inside the Gaza Strip into the town of Beit Hanoun. 

A Brief Introduction to Palestinian Cinema at the Film Society of Lincoln Center

4 September 2006


A number of provocative and insightful Palestinian films made in the last two decades have sought to capture the complexity of Palestinian history, culture and identity, using a wide variety of styles and genres. To celebrate the publication of Dreams of a Nation: On Palestinian Cinema, the first English-language study of this movement, Columbia University Professor Hamid Dabashi, who edited this volume, will introduce the screening of Michel Khleifi’s Wedding in Galilee on Wednesday, September 27 (6 pm), providing a context for this and other groundbreaking works to be included in this brief series. 

Students face challenges as new school year begins in Gaza and the West Bank

Jane O'Brien 4 September 2006


Ongoing violence in the West Bank and Gaza is threatening to disrupt the new school term as more than 1.6 million children prepare to return to classes. The situation is compounded by poverty; teachers haven’t been paid for six months and are threatening to strike while many families can’t afford the cost of fees or uniforms. UNICEF, the Ministry of Education and other partners are launching a Back to School campaign with aid for those most vulnerable. UNICEF’s Dan Rohrmann, says school is a vital lifeline to these children who are living in daily fear and danger – 39 were killed in July alone. 

UN aid chief urges action to stem suffering in Occupied Palestinian Territories

1 September 2006


Painting a grim picture of the current social climate in the Middle East, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator today urged donors meeting in Stockholm to address the severe suffering of Palestinians living under occupation. Mr. Egeland, reflecting on more than two decades of travel to the region, said he had never felt such a sense of disillusionment, despair and hatred as on his last mission there in July. Calling the situation in Gaza severe, he said a cessation of hostilities and the release of the captured Israeli soldiers were needed. The humanitarian community also needed better access to Gaza, he added. 

Cinema Lebanon in Amsterdam

3 September 2006


With the media saturation of the recent war between Israel and Hizbullah still fresh, and the shaky promise of a brittle ceasefire, Lebanon once again risks to fall prey to stereotyping. In defiance of the war and in solidarity with the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, De Balie organises an evening of films, documentaries and videos by Lebanese makers, in collaboration with the Lebanese production house and film festivalNe a Beyrouth. The selection of films are testimony to the resistance of Lebanese artists to a historical and cultural amnesia, and show that being rooted in contemporary Lebanon means is as much a commemoration of an untold past, as it is a reflection on and of the present. 

Oxfam calls on world leaders to lift Palestinian aid freeze at Stockholm conference

31 August 2006


International agency Oxfam is calling on donor governments, meeting in Stockholm Friday, to resume international aid to the Palestinian Authority in order to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian Territories. Oxfam believes that the Palestinian Authority stands to lose more than $1 billion following the suspension of aid earlier this year and Israel withholding Palestinian tax revenue, according to UN and World Bank estimates. Oxfam says that Palestinians are being pushed into deep poverty as a result. Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without an income. Rubbish is piling in the streets, sewage is overflowing. 

Palestinian Health Ministry in financial crisis, World Health Organization warns

1 September 2006


The Palestinian Health Ministry is facing a growing financial crisis as well as a humanitarian crisis, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned ahead of the Stockholm donor conference on the humanitarian situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The health component of the revised UN humanitarian appeal for the territory is critically underfunded despite growing humanitarian needs, especially in Gaza. The situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been deteriorating due to a severe funding crisis and the recent escalation of violence, on top of five years of the Intifada. Israel’s actions have had an extremely negative impact on the health of the Palestinian people. 

UK Headquarters of Israeli Company Blockaded to Gain Ruling on Legality of Trading with Settlements

Mary Nazzal-Batayneh 3 September 2006


Activists arrived at the UK headquarters of Carmel-Agrexco before sunrise on Wednesday morning for a day of uncompromising protest. The purpose underlying the protest was clear: to expose an Israeli company that is engaging in continuous unlawful and brutal activity by importing fresh produce originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The method of protest chosen by the activists was to construct two large metal triangular cages at each entrance. Protestors secured their necks to the cages by using bicycle D-Locks for over 11 hours with several supporters close at hand. 

"The world just sat by": Interview with Dahr Jamail

Christopher Brown 2 September 2006


Dahr Jamail is an award-winning, independent journalist who reported live from Baghdad for eight months in 2003. He is considered one of the best sources on the war in Iraq. Recently, he returned to to the Middle East, traveling to Syria. While in Damascus, the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah began. Jamail left immediately for Beirut and sent daily dispatches from his Iraq-dispatches website. Christopher Brown received the chance to speak to Jamail about what he saw during this 34-day conflict in the Middle East. 

Rooftop protest against arms dealers

2 September 2006


23 August 2006 - Protesters are currently occupying the roof of an arms manufacturer who supply weapons to the Israeli army used in the bombing of Gaza and Lebanon. In the early hours of Wednesday morning (today) protesters climbed 40 feet onto the roof of EDO MBM on Home Farm Road, Brighton. Activists aim to draw attention to the production of weaponry used in war crimes. Sarah Johnson, press spokeswoman for Smash EDO, said “Over a thousand civilians have died as a result of Israel’s bombing of Lebanon. Israel continues to kill civilians in the West Bank and Gaza with weaponry armed with components made in Brighton.” 

Half-yearly report on house demolitions in Jerusalem

2 September 2006


During the first half of the year 2006, 47 structures were demolished in East Jerusalem by the Municipality of Jerusalem and/or the Ministry of Interior. There were 16 pirate gas stations included in that statistic, therefore a net total of 31 residential structures was demolished. Relative to preceding years, this represents a decline in the number of home demolitions in Jerusalem. Were this decline to continue proportionately for the remainder of the year, the annual number would be approx. 70 structures, i.e. 20 less than in 2005. 

The correct moral position for Lebanon

Sami Hermez and Noora Kassem 2 September 2006


The Lebanese people should not reject Hizballah, as their arms protect the country’s sovereignty, dignity, and rights. Hizballah is not the reason Israel has attempted to destroy Lebanon. Israel has attacked Lebanon, and has been an aggressor against many other Arab peoples, because this is the only way it can survive. It has used violence against Lebanon because it wants the people as a subjugated neighbor with no power and no ability to take any moral stand. Israel, along with the United States, would like the Lebanese people, and other Arabs alike, to be followers and consumers while Israel makes no retribution for the crimes it has committed against them or against the other 10 percent of the Lebanese population — the Palestinians who reside in camps. 

Lebanese army deploys in more areas of the south; UN helps clear deadly ordnance

31 August 2006


Lebanese troops today moved into more areas of the south of the country after Israeli forces withdrew, the United Nations said, as it continued to coordinate the deployment and stepped up its work to clear the masses of deadly unexploded ordnance that litter the countryside. “The Lebanese Army has started the deployment in the general area of Bastra and the area south of the Kafr Shuba and Shaba villages in the Eastern part of South Lebanon where the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) withdrew on 30 August,” the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a press release. 

Extended run of Dean Obeidallah's one-man comedy show in NYC!

2 September 2006


The New York Arab-American Comedy Festival is happy to announce that Dean Obeidallah’s comedic one man show “I Come in Peace” will be playing for one more week after its recent successful run in the New York International Fringe Festival. Before 9/11, comedian Dean Obeidallah was living the typical white guy life. He hung out with his white friends and did generic white people stuff. Then 9/11 happened. Dean’s life would never be the same. What is it like to be an Arab-American with a Muslim last name after 9/11? Why did 9/11 transform Dean from a typical white guy to Super Arab? Is the Bush administration listening to his phone calls? Find out the answers to these questions and more in Dean’s comedic one man show “I Come in Peace.” 

Objections to plans to confiscate Arab-cultivated land in northern Israel

2 September 2006


On 21 and 28 August 2006, Adalah submitted two objections on behalf of 19 Arab farmers from the north of Israel to Local Master Plans G13449 and HBG/1237 to the Haifa and Northern Planning and Building Committees. The plans demarcate an area of land cultivated by Arab farmers in and around the area of Wadi al-Malak to be confiscated, with the stated goal of creating a man-made forest in the area, called the “Kiryat Ata Forest” in the plans. Adalah demanded that the committees conduct a thorough examination of the facts on the ground in the area, and to withdraw the plans. 

ADC Welcomes State Department Inquiry into Israeli Use of Cluster Bombs

25 August 2006


The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) welcomes reports that the United States Department of State has opened an inquiry into whether, during its recent conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel violated secret agreements made with the United States concerning the use of American-made cluster bombs. The State Department investigation was reported today in the New York Times. According to the Times the inquiry is based upon, “reports that three types of American cluster munitions, anti-personnel weapons that spray bomblets over a wide area, have been found in many areas of southern Lebanon and were responsible for civilian casualties.” 

Genocide in Gaza

Ilan Pappe 2 September 2006


A genocide is taking place in Gaza. This morning, 2 September, another three citizens of Gaza were killed and a whole family wounded in Beit Hanoun. This is the morning reap, before the end of day many more will be massacred. An average of eight Palestinian die daily in the Israeli attacks on the Strip. Most of them are children. Hundreds are maimed, wounded and paralyzed. The inhuman living conditions in the most dense area in the world, and one of the poorest human spaces in the northern hemisphere, disables the people who live it to reconcile with the imprisonment Israel had imposed on them ever since 1967. There were relative better periods where movement to the West Bank and into Israel for work was allowed, but these better times are gone. 

For Israel's Security: Zainab Fawqi-Sleem and the Question of Lebanon

Ramzi Kysia Houla 1 September 2006


Yesterday, I shed my first tears for Lebanon. Yesterday, I visited Houla, a stone’s throw from the Israeli border. Yesterday, I was discovered by Zainab Fawqi-Sleem - a young, Lebanese woman who was killed in Houla, alongside her sister-in-law, Selma, on July 15th. Zainab is but one of over 1,300 innocents killed in this war, but she is the one who found me. On October 31st, 1948, in one of the few massacres of the Nakba to occur inside Lebanon, proto-Israeli militas seized the town of Houla, setting off bombs and burning down several houses. There’s a memorial to the massacre in the center of town, not far from homes smashed flat by this current war. 

OCHA: 35-50% of South Lebanon without electricity supply

1 September 2006


The Government of Lebanon (GoL) Higher Relief Council (HRC) reports the casualty figures at 1,187 killed and 4,092 injured. Between 35 to 50% of the South territory has no electricity supply which is having a significant impact upon the restoration of essential and municipal services and is limiting south Lebanon’s ability to restore economic activity. Many returnees will be discouraged from staying and may seek opportunities to re-establish their lives elsewhere. As of August 31, the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre (MACC) reports that 405 individual cluster bomb strike locations have been identified. 

Jews in NY, San Francisco, Philadelphia stage coordinated protest

Micah Bazant 1 September 2006


22 August 2006 - Yesterday, groups of Jewish activists across the U.S. protested continued Israeli military aggression in Lebanon and Palestine. Echoing a similar action that took place in Boston on August 1st, protesters staged die-ins, hung banners above freeways during morning and evening rush hours, and locked themselves down outside of zionist institutions. In New York, a group of more than 20 Jewish protestors staged a “Die-In” during morning rush hour outside Penn Station, unfurling large banners and lying down on the ground to demand a cessation of continuing Israeli military aggression in Lebanon and Palestine. 

The Lobby, the U.S. and the Israeli War on Hezbollah

Terry Walz 1 September 2006


The U.S. blanket support for the Israeli war on Hezbollah can be laid at the feet of the Israel Lobby, concluded Professor Stephen Walt and Prof. John Mearsheimer in an analysis they presented at the National Press Club in Washington on August 28. Their presentation, which was sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, was a widening of their critique of the lobby and focused on the role it played in the recent Israel-Hezbollah war. It showed once again how the lobby works against both Israel’s and the United States’ national interests. 

Hurtling toward the Next Intifada: An Interview with Jonathan Cook

Andrea Bistrich 1 September 2006


This is an edited version of an interview published in German in the newspaper Die Junge Welt on 1 July 2006 between Andrea Bistrich and the British journalist Jonathan Cook, based in Nazareth, Israel, about his new book “Blood and Religion: The Unmasking of the Jewish State” (Pluto Press) about Israel’s plans for the further dispossession of the Palestinians. The interview was conducted before Israel’s attack on Lebanon. Cook discusses his book, his views on Israel, Zionism, and Olmert’s “convergence” plans, and puts forward his views toward the future. 

Anything could happen

Robert Rosenberg 30 August 2006


Haaretz was reporting this morning that Israel and the Palestinians have reached agreement on the principle of a prisoner exchange quoting a Gazan source as saying that Israel is now holding up discussions of the details of the deal, including how it would take place, which of several hundred Palestinian prisoners would be released, and when it would take place. At night, Channel 10 reported on the first attempted military putsch in the history of the country, a group of colonels, brigadiers and at least one reserve major general was named as taking part among others, demanding Dan Halutz resign as chief of staff of the IDF. 

Peace Cyclists complete European ride

1 September 2006


The Peace Cycle has completed the European leg of its epic journey from London to Jerusalem. On August 30th the cyclists reached Rome, exhausted from a tough ride through northern Italy, but with their spirits high and looking forward to the next stage of the ride in the Middle East. The 25 men and women taking part, from varied backgrounds, faiths and nationalities, have showed remarkable strength and determination to overcome the physical challenges of cycling from London to Rome. Once over the Alps, they faced some of the highest and steepest hills Italy had to offer on the mountain roads from Bologne to Florence. 

The silent transfer: Israel says I've lived with my family long enough

Sam Bahour al-Bireh, West Bank 2 September 2006


The Occupying State of Israel has decided that I have been living with my family and two daughters long enough. After being given a one month tourist visa when I entered through the Israeli border to reach the Palestinian areas (which is the only way to enter), the Israelis have responded to my request for a three month extension by saying one more month would be more than enough. Not only that, but they were kind enough to relieve me from the humiliation and agony of requesting another extension to remain with my family by hand writing, in Arabic, Hebrew and English, LAST PERMIT, on the visa. 

Stop using Rafah Crossing to pressure Gaza civilians

30 August 2006


On 30 August 2006, B’Tselem wrote to the Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, and informed him there was reason to believe that the security establishment has been using the Rafah crossing to put pressure on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The organization demanded that the minister order the IDF to cease its illegal policy. B’Tselem’s action followed publication of the minutes of a meeting held in the Ministry of Defense relating to the Gaza crossings, as reported in Ha’aretz. According to the report, the IDF’s Planning Division argued that the crossing “should be opened on occasion only after the kidnapped soldier is released and the shooting from the Gaza Strip stops. (To use the crossing as a means of applying pressure).” 

Israel must disclose details of cluster bomb attacks and accept a full investigation

31 August 2006


Amnesty International today called on Israel to immediately provide maps of the areas of Lebanon into which it fired cluster bombs during the recent conflict to enable their clearance and prevent further civilian casualties. Publishing new accounts from the victims of unexploded cluster bombs, the organization also called on Israel to cooperate in a full and impartial investigation into their use of such munitions during the recent conflict. The calls followed a report from the United Nations that 90 percent of Israeli cluster bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict when a ceasefire was in sight. 

Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism

31 August 2006


August 22 - Christian Zionism is a modern theological and political movement that embraces the most extreme ideological positions of Zionism, thereby becoming detrimental to a just peace within Palestine and Israel. The Christian Zionist programme provides a worldview where the Gospel is identified with the ideology of empire, colonialism and militarism. In its extreme form, it places an emphasis on apocalyptic events leading to the end of history rather than living Christ’s love and justice today.