July 2008

The Nakbah Project: A nightmare of shattered lives

Jane Frere 31 July 2008


My journey began, unexpectedly, in a Nazi concentration camp, Majdenek, outside what was once a Jewish town called Lublin. During my last visit, I was moved by a group of visitors who had probably lost relatives there. They planted small Israeli flags on the ground outside. I was confused by this image, pondering how that blue and white flag has become so blood-drenched since its creation. I began to wonder about the next stage in the tragic history of that period — the creation of Israel and its consequences. Jane Frere writes about the motivation behind her exhibition Return of the Soul. 

Palestine student society and striking workers picket Starbucks

LSE Students Union Palestine Society 31 July 2008


Students and striking local government workers united to picket a London School of Economics (LSE) event in Starbucks on Kingsway, Holborn last week, in opposition to their support for the state of Israel’s occupation of Palestine. The LSE Annual Fund and Alumni Relations departments had teamed up with Starbucks to offer an “afternoon of free coffee and cake tasting for Postgraduates,” in a clear attempt by the global coffee chain to undermine the role of the LSE Students’ Union as the primary supplier of refreshments on LSE’s campus. 

Transcript: Israeli military kills 10-year-old in Nilin

30 July 2008


Israeli forces shot and killed a 10-year-old Palestinian boy yesterday evening in the West Bank village of Nilin. Ahmed Mousa was shot in the head by live ammunition, according to eyewitnesses, as he was leaving an area that was being targeted with rubber-coated steel bullets by the Israeli military during a demonstration against the annexation wall built on the village land. 

My crime was to tell the truth

Mohammad Bakri 31 July 2008


I did not do it because I was a hero, but only because I was compelled. This is how I made my three documentaries. I say compelled because I am an actor, not a director. Nevertheless I loved my three films as a father loves his children. Mohammad Bakri comments on his persecution in the Israeli court system. 

Palestinians stranded on border offered protection by Iraq authorities

30 July 2008


BAGHDAD (IRIN) - Palestinian refugees stranded in two makeshift camps on the Syrian-Iraqi border may be able to go back to their homes in Iraq and offered protection by the Iraqi authorities, a senior Palestinian diplomat said on 28 July. The refugees had earlier turned down an offer to go to Sudan, citing security concerns. 

Months after Qatar talks, fighting continues in northern Lebanon

30 July 2008


TRIPOLI, LEBANON (IRIN) - A few hours after evacuating their bullet-riddled three bedroom flat on the street which divides Sunnis from Shia Allawis in Tripoli’s poorest neighborhood, Khaled Mansour and his new wife were woken by the sound of their front room exploding. “The rocket came through the window at dawn,” said the 23-year-old accountant with scraggly black beard and traditional white tunic, who had moved his veiled wife and mother into his uncle’s flat next door. 

Report: Torture rampant in Palestinian prisons

28 July 2008


Al-Haq’s new report, “Torturing Each Other: The Widespread Practices of Arbitrary Detention and Torture in the Palestinian Territory,” documents and analyzes arbitrary arrests, acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment against individuals in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by various Palestinian security or military agencies and personnel. 

Breaking the Gaza siege, by boat

Bill Dienst 28 July 2008


This summer, a group of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals will sail directly from international waters into Gaza. We say: Enough already! I will be aboard as the ship’s doctor. The Free Gaza Movement vessels will challenge Israel’s policy of imprisoning over 1.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, while saying they are free. Dr. Bill Dienst comments. 

Palestinian family denied even half a house

Jonathan Cook 28 July 2008


It must be the smallest Israeli settlement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories: just half a house. But Palestinian officials and Israeli human rights groups are concerned that it represents the first stage of a plan to eradicate the historical neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, cutting off one of the main routes by which Palestinians reach the Old City and its holy sites. Jonathan Cook reports. 

Palestinian "Che" blindfolded and shot

Mel Frykberg 27 July 2008


BIL’IN, West Bank (IPS) - A YouTube video showing a blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian being fired on at close range by an Israeli soldier in the presence of a Lieutenant-Colonel, has made international and regional headlines. Ashraf Abu-Rahma was arrested, beaten up, forced to sit blindfolded and handcuffed and then deliberately shot on his foot from less than a meter away. 

Obama campaigns in Israel

Peter Hirschberg 27 July 2008


JERUSALEM (IPS) - Lighting a remembrance flame at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. Speaking against the backdrop of a pile of empty rocket casings in the southern town of Sderot. Standing solemnly, face close to the stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. These are the images that Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama produced during a whirlwind 36-hour visit to Israel this week, and which he hopes will help dispel doubts about his candidacy amongst skeptical US Jewish voters. 

Testimony: Israeli police severely beat Palestinian student in Tel Aviv

25 July 2008


My friend and I decided to go to Tel Aviv at night to visit a friend of ours who works at a hotel there, and hang out on the beach together. Just before we reached the hotel, I noticed a car behind us. The driver of the other car blinked his lights, and I saw it was a police car, a GMC with a siren. I pulled over to the curb and stopped. The car stopped next to me, and one of the people in it asked, “Where are you from?” 

EI study refutes CAMERA media bias accusation

Shervan Sardar 18 August 2008


The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) is a media monitoring organization with a large database of supporters known for its staunch support for Israeli policies and its ability to influence media coverage. While CAMERA claims to be objective and interested in holding the media accountable to its own “self-professed standards,” a study published by The Electronic Intifada demonstrates terminology and views of the organization are largely consistent with those of the Israeli government itself. 

Really living here

Raja Shehadeh Ramallah, West Bank 24 July 2008


Aware of the dangers now facing hikers like me, I have, of late, been careful to restrict my walks to tracks which avoid any contact with the settlements. Two recent incidents I have experienced personally I believe illustrate what routine life is now like for us Palestinians in the occupied territories. Raja Shehadeh recounts for The Electronic Intifada. 

What Obama missed in the Middle East

Ali Abunimah 23 July 2008


Every aspect of Barack Obama’s visit to Palestine-Israel this week has seemed designed to further appease pro-Israel groups. Typically for an American aspirant to high office, he visited the Israeli Holocaust memorial and the Western Wall. He met the full spectrum of Israeli Jewish (though not Israeli Arab) political leaders. He traveled to the Israeli Jewish town of Sderot, which until last month’s ceasefire, frequently experienced rockets from the Gaza Strip. However, Ali Abunimah comments, Palestinians received very little of the Senator’s attention. 

Boycott group: Israeli-British academic project politically motivated

22 July 2008


The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel deplores the unabashed pro-Israel bias of UK officialdom displayed during Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s visit to occupied Jerusalem. Brown’s pro-forma criticism of Israeli colonizing activities notwithstanding, the visit became an occasion to underline the UK government’s prejudice in favor of Israeli policies of apartheid, dispossession and colonial expansionism. 

The Nakba, Intel, and Kiryat Gat

Henry Norr 23 July 2008


Israel established a “development town” on the site of the destroyed villages of al-Faluja and ‘Iraq al-Manshiya in 1955. It was called Kiryat Gat (Gat City) in the mistaken belief that it was the site of the ancient Philistine town of Gath. Initially, Kiryat Gat’s major industries were agriculture and textiles. But in the mid-1990s Intel chose Kiryat Gat as the site for a huge new plant it called Fab 18. Henry Norr comments for EI about the Intel corporation’s complicity in the ongoing Nakba in Palestine. 

Seeing the Dome of the Rock

Najwa Sheikh East Jerusalem 21 July 2008


Some might think that I am overreacting about the short trip out of Gaza to a place only two hours away. But I would say to them that for me and so many other Palestinians in Gaza, it is not just a short trip, but rather a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The trip was a window that opened suddenly to allow in the fresh air and joy of life, and one that I may never experience again. Najwa Sheikh writes from occupied Jerusalem. 

Celebrated Latin diva urged to cancel Tel Aviv concert

21 July 2008


The following is an open letter to Latin musician Mercedes Sosa sent on 21 July 2008 by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel: How can Mercedes Sosa, the quintessentially progressive diva of freedom songs in Latin America, sing in Israel, a colonial and apartheid state whose war crimes have reached new lows, systematically and deliberately destroying Palestinian society and engendering a process of slow ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people of Palestine? 

The Palestinian Bar Mitzvah

Bassam Aramin East Jerusalem 21 July 2008


My son Arab is 14, just past the age that his Jewish Israeli peers are celebrating their Bar Mitzvahs. This ceremony in Jewish culture is a rite of passage that marks a boy’s entrance into the realities and responsibilities of adulthood. And last week, my son experienced something akin to the Palestinian Bar Mitzvah. Bassam Aramin writes from occupied Jerusalem. 

Taking you home: "Palestinian Walks"

Lora Gordon 21 July 2008


Accounts by Western travelers coming to the “Holy Land,” later used by Zionists to justify their colonization, also compelled Raja Shehadeh to provide a counter-narrative, in Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape. “The accounts I have read do not describe a land familiar to me,” Shehadeh writes, “but rather a land of these travelers’ imaginations. Palestine has been constantly reinvented, with devastating consequences to its original inhabitants.” Lora Gordon reviews for The Electronic Intifada. 

"Subjective Atlas of Palestine" wins prestigious Dutch award

Adri Nieuwhof 16 July 2008


Dutch designer Annelys de Vet of the the International Academy of Arts in Palestine and the Dutch Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation, joined forces with a group of Palestinian artists to realize a moving, beautiful, poetic and at times heart-breaking book. The resulting Subjective Atlas of Palestine offers a picture of Palestine that differs from the images the public generally receives through the mass media. On 26 June 2008 it was awarded the best designed book of 2007, beating out 465 others. Adri Niewuhof reports for EI. 

The Israel-Hizballah prisoner deal

Amal Saad-Ghorayeb 16 July 2008


The Israeli cabinet’s decision to strike a prisoner-exchange deal with the Hizballah movement in Lebanon — on the eve of the anniversary of the war between the two sides of 12 July-14 August 2006 — will not be remembered as one of Israel’s most glorious moments. Amal Saad-Ghorayeb looks at the short-term and long-term implications of the deal. 

No Mediterranean Union shortcut around Arab-Israeli conflict

Hasan Abu Nimah 16 July 2008


Escaping into ambitious political fantasy like that behind the Mediterranean Union is not the right approach to urgent political questions. It is no more than a waste of time. If Europe is truly concerned, there is a due need for a principled, bold, decisive and compatible with international law policy towards the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah comments. 

Meet the Lebanese Press: Free at last!

Hicham Safieddine 16 July 2008


The petty politics of forming a national “unity” government in Lebanon will be overshadowed this week by a development with local and regional implications. All Lebanese political prisoners still held in Israeli jails will return home. Five in total, including Samir Kuntar, the dean of Arab detainees, who has spent close to three decades of his life in captivity. With the return of prisoners, another chapter of Hizballah’s struggle against Israel has closed. 

Celebrities urged to cut ties to settlement financier

Omid Memarian 15 July 2008


UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - Having successfully lobbied the UN Children’s Agency UNICEF to stop accepting donations from Israeli billionaire Lev Avnerovich Leviev, activists are urging celebrities who have made public appearances with Leviev to cut all ties with him. Leviev is the chairman of Africa Israel Investments, a global conglomerate that has been criticized by a variety of non-governmental organizations for its involvement in building settlements in the occupied West Bank. 

Israel targets Hamas orphanages

Peter Hirschberg 15 July 2008


JERUSALEM (IPS) - Shopping malls. Schools. Medical centers. Charities, orphanages. Soup kitchens. These are the latest targets in the campaign the Israeli military is waging against Hamas in the West Bank. Israeli military officials have identified Hamas’s civilian infrastructure in the West Bank as a major source of the Islamic group’s popularity, and have begun raiding and shutting down these institutions in cities like Hebron, Nablus and Qalqiliya. 

Hamas-Israel prisoner swap remains elusive

Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani 15 July 2008


CAIRO, (IPS) - Despite intensive mediation efforts by Egyptian officials, a delegation from Palestinian resistance faction Hamas departed Cairo Saturday without securing a prisoner exchange deal with Israel. According to local analysts, fresh swap proposals — featuring the release of long-time Israeli captive Gilad Shalit — continue to run up against Israeli obduracy. 

A family under siege

Philip Rizk Gaza Strip 16 July 2008


At the end of my visit they started asking me to take pictures for their brothers, uncles, sons and fathers detained in Israeli prisons for over four months — a picture of a newborn not yet seen by the imprisoned father, one father’s favorite girl and a picture of the detainees’ pictures hanging on the wall to let the prisoners know they are missed, they are celebrated. Philip Rizk writes from the occupied Gaza Strip. 

Photostory: A culture of survival amidst a ravaged geography

Umayyah Cable 18 July 2008


For most Americans, Palestine does not exist. Yet it is present enough to be seen as a faceless enemy. A dangerous and unwelcoming land, a breeding ground for fundamentalist Islam, teeming with angry anti-American Jihadists, Palestine is, in the American imagination, a ravaged landscape devoid of culture and joy. Umayyah Cable’s photographs tell a different story of Palestine. 

US billionaire owns corporations sued by Palestinian villagers

10 July 2008


Evidence gathered by Adalah-NY indicates that Brooklyn-based billionaire Shaya Boymelgreen owns the two little-known Canadian companies sued Wednesday for war crimes in Canada by the West Bank Palestinian village of Bil’in. Three Hebrew language Israeli media reports from 2005-2006 report that Boymelgreen owns the Green Park companies that are now being sued for $2 million in Quebec Superior Court. 

"I do not struggle alone"

Dina Awad and Hazem Jamjoum Ramallah, West Bank 15 July 2008


Ibrahim Bornat, 25, from the village of Bil’in in the occupied West Bank, was shot three times in the right thigh with dum-dum bullets by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on 13 June 2008. Like he does every week, Ibrahim was protesting against the construction of the separation wall in his village, which will effectively result in the annexation of 58 percent of the lands by Israel. Dina Awad and Hazem Jamjoum write from occupied Ramallah. 

Tel Aviv conference organizes around the right of return

Nora Barrows-Friedman 14 July 2008


Late last month a conference on the Implementation of the Palestinian right of return was organized by the Israeli human rights organization Zochrot (Hebrew for “The Remembering”). Zochrot is an anti-Zionist, pro-justice group that works diligently to raise awareness within Israeli Jewish society about the Palestinian Nakba, “ground zero of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.” Nora Barrows-Friedman reports from Tel Aviv. 

Crossing the Line interviews Dr. Sami al-Arian's daughter

12 July 2008


This week on Crossing The Line: Supporters of Dr. Sami al-Arian, a Palestinian political prisoner being held in the US, are outraged at a new indictment after al-Arian refused to appear before a grand jury probing an Islamic charity in northern Virginia. Host Naji Ali gets an update from Dr. al-Arian’s daughter, Laila, regarding this latest indictment. 

No section of the wall nullified by Israeli court dismantled

9 July 2008


The separation barrier has not been moved in any of the sections that were built and later nullified by the Israeli high court. The human rights organization B’Tselem published this finding today, 9 July 2008, marking the fourth anniversary of the advisory opinion given by the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, which held that building the barrier in the West Bank breached international law. 

Israeli soldiers torture 10-year-old in his home

10 July 2008


A 10-year-old boy was subjected to physical abuse amounting to torture for 2.5 hours by Israeli soldiers who stormed his family’s shop on 11 June, seeking information on the location of a handgun. The boy was repeatedly beaten, slapped and punched in the head and stomach, forced to hold a stress position for half and hour, and threatened. He was deeply shocked and lost two molar teeth as a result of the assault. 

West Bank village sues corporations over settlement construction

10 July 2008


In a continuation of their struggle for justice in the face of unlawful appropriation of their land, the people of Bil’in village yesterday commenced legal proceedings before the Superior Court of Quebec against Green Park International Inc. and Green Mount International Inc. The defendants are Canadian corporations involved in constructing, marketing and selling residential units in the illegal settlements built on the land of Bil’in. 

Birzeit University student held in administrative detention

9 July 2008


In the middle of the night of 27 March 2008, at around 3am, Hanna Qassis was woken up by a loud thump at the door. When he went into the living room he saw seven soldiers standing in his house. His mom had opened the door. A soldier who appeared to be the commander and spoke in broken Arabic, asked who else lives in the house. Hanna, the eldest in the family after his father passed away, said his brother also lives there. He was told to go and wake him up. 

Boycott committee launches comprehensive website

9 July 2008


On 9 July 2008, the Palestinian BDS National Committee launched a major new online resource for the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. BDSmovement.net will bring together news, campaign materials and resources from Palestinian and global activists in a single site to support, coordinate, and provide information, updates and analysis about the international BDS movement. 

Hip-hop for Palestine represents in New Orleans

Mai Bader 7 July 2008


On 14 June 2008, a wide coalition of grassroots organizations held a historic event called “Liberation Hip-Hop,” which commemorated the 60th year of the Nakba, the dispossession of the Palestinian people. Speakers and audience members from around the US and across the world got together to link the Palestine and New Orleans struggles and build an alliance against the injustice they all face. Mai Bader reports. 

Do no harm: A torture victim remembers

Naji Ali San Francisco, United States 9 July 2008


I wasn’t really surprised by the watchdog group Physicians for Human Rights-Israel’s (PHR-I) latest intervention to Israel’s health ministry, in which they accused Israeli doctors of complicity in the torture of Palestinian detainees in Israeli interrogation centers. Indeed, it sounded all too familiar to what I experienced during 550 days of incarceration in a South African prison from 1990 through 1992. Naji Ali writes for EI. 

Gaza locked in despite truce

Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani 7 July 2008


CAIRO (IPS) - Despite a torrent of mutual recriminations, the fragile truce between Israel and Palestinian resistance faction Hamas survived into its third week. Israel, however, has been slow to fulfill its pledge — as laid down in an Egypt-brokered ceasefire agreement — to allow desperately-needed humanitarian supplies into the outdoor prison that is the Gaza Strip. “Repeated closures of the border crossings [by Israel] … are indicative of Israel’s lack of seriousness regarding the Egyptian ceasefire agreement,” Ismail Haniyeh told reporters Friday on 4 July. 

Unite to negotiate a real truce

Eyad al-Sarraj 3 July 2008


Five days into the long awaited Gaza ceasefire, Israel allowed the entry of tissues and sanitary napkins into Gaza as a form of “good will.” Simultaneously, it carried out an early morning raid against a student hostel in Nablus, killing two Palestinians in their beds. Dr. Eyad al-Sarraj comments on what it will take for a permanent lifting of the siege and resisting of Israeli colonial designs. 

Photostory: Breaking the Silence's tour disrupted

Anne Paq Hebron, West Bank 13 July 2008


On 27 June, I took part in one of the regular tours of the West Bank city of Hebron and its settlements organized by the organization Breaking the Silence. Breaking the Silence is a group of Israeli army soldiers and veterans who work to expose the injustice of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Once more, the tour was disrupted because of the settlers. Anne Paq reports from Hebron. 

Critics see vendetta in al-Arian's legal limbo

Ali Gharib 3 July 2008


WASHINGTON (IPS) - Palestinian activist and former university professor Sami al-Arian was arraigned Monday in US federal court on two counts of criminal contempt for his refusal to testify in a grand jury investigation of a Northern Virginia Muslim think-tank. The indictment is the latest episode of a long, Kafka-esque process that has violated nearly every tenet of al-Arian’s plea agreement following the end of his first trial in 2005, and kept al-Arian in prison for over five years. 

Putting a name to Gaza's injured

Eva Bartlett Cairo, Egypt 8 July 2008


Bedridden but painfully conscious, nearly paralyzed with no feeling from the waist down, 16-year-old Abdul Rahman is one of the hundreds who were injured by intense Israeli shelling and firing on Gaza between 27 February - 3 March 2008, during an operation dubbed “Hot Winter” by the Israeli army. Eva Bartlett reports on this aspect of Israel’s siege on Gaza. 

When you shoot the messenger

Mel Frykberg 3 July 2008


GAZA CITY (IPS) - The assault of IPS Gaza correspondent Mohammed Omer has left Israeli security personnel with a lot of explaining to do. And they are not doing a very good job of it. Omer was abused and assaulted by Israeli security personnel at the Allenby border crossing into Israel from Jordan as he tried to return to his home last week in the Gaza Strip. Omer was returning from Europe where he had addressed European parliamentarians on the situation on the ground in Gaza. 

Poll backs greater UN role in Mideast peace

Khody Akhavi and Ali Gharib 2 July 2008


WASHINGTON (IPS) - A majority of global publics say their governments should “not take either side” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, instead supporting a call for the United Nations to play a greater role in regional peace, according to a new international poll of 18 countries released here Tuesday. World publics gave low marks to Israeli, Palestinian, US and Arab leaders when asked how well the international actors were doing to resolve the 60-year old conflict, according to the poll conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org. 

Wall slices off al-Khader's famous vineyards

Adri Nieuwhof al-Khader, West Bank 3 July 2008


Since early January the Palestinian village of al-Khader located near Bethlehem in the West Bank has protested against Israel’s construction of the Apartheid Wall and Jewish-only settlements built on village land every week. Al-Khader is known in the region for its vineyards which produce excellent-quality grapes. Adri Nieuwhof writes from al-Khader. 

A constant Nakba for Palestine's Bedouin (Part 1)

Ida Audeh Beit Iksa, West Bank 7 July 2008


“We [Bedouin] are the [Native Americans] of Palestine,” is how 60-year-old Mohammad Ahmad Abu Dahook introduced the author and a colleague to Beit Iksa, located on land targeted by Israel for expanding Ma’ale Adumim settlement. Abu Dahook is one of the approximately 50,000 Bedouin whose traditions and lifestyle have been nearly destroyed by Israeli colonization. Ida Audeh reports from Beit Iksa. 

A constant Nakba for Palestine's Bedouin (Part 2)

Ida Audeh Beit Iksa, West Bank 7 July 2008


“We [Bedouin] are the [Native Americans] of Palestine,” is how 60-year-old Mohammad Ahmad Abu Dahook introduced the author and a colleague to Beit Iksa, located on land targeted by Israel for expanding Ma’ale Adumim settlement. Abu Dahook is one of the approximately 50,000 Bedouin whose traditions and lifestyle have been nearly destroyed by Israeli colonization. Ida Audeh reports from Beit Iksa. 

Crossing the Line focuses on a possible Israeli strike on Iran

2 July 2008


This week on Crossing The Line: The Israeli Air Force recently conducted long-range exercises over the Mediterranean Sea, a move that US intelligence officials say might be a prelude to a strike on Iran. Is Israel being used as a proxy by the US to attack Iran? Or is Israel, which has struck sites it alleged to be nuclear in Iraq and Syria in the past, planning to strike Iran on its own? Bill Christison, a former CIA intelligence officer, will join host Naji Ali to discuss a possible Israeli strike on Iran. 

My new birthday

Areej Ja'fari Dheisheh refugee camp, West Bank 5 July 2008


I am a third generation of the Palestinian Nakba, the forced expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland by Zionist forces. I now feel that I am a very lucky person. I never felt lucky before my new birthday: the day I visited my destroyed original village of Deir Rafat, where my grandfather and his family lived before they were forced out in 1948. Areej Ja’fari writes from Deheisheh refugee camp. 

Israel's discriminatory water policies leave West Bank dry

1 July 2008


The chronic water shortage in the West Bank, resulting from an unfair distribution of water resources shared by the Palestinians and Israel, will be much graver this summer because of this year’s drought. In the northern West Bank, water consumption has fallen to one-third of the minimal amount needed. The 2008 drought, the most serious drought in the area in the past decade, aggravates the built-in, constant shortage of water in the West Bank. 

US hawks belie Iran's "existential threat" to Israel

Gareth Porter 1 July 2008


WASHINGTON (IPS) - New arguments by analysts close to Israeli thinking in favor of US strikes against Iran cite evidence of Iranian military weakness in relation to the US and Israel and even raise doubts that Iran is rushing to obtain such weapons at all. The new arguments contradict Israel’s official argument that it faces an “existential threat” from an Islamic extremist Iranian regime determined to get nuclear weapons. 

Not only Palestinians suffer

Rami Almeghari Gaza Strip 30 June 2008


There are roughly 5,000 Russian women in Gaza. Many, like Jamila, have been living in Gaza for many years. For Jamila, having two children and running a married life has proven difficult with the situation in Gaza, where conditions are totally different from those of her own homeland or maybe any other country in the world. “Prior to the outbreak of the intifada, I used to feel more comfortable. But since 2000 and particularly the last year, things have become much worse. There is no gas, there is no fuel, there is nothing,” she explained. Rami Almeghari writes from Gaza.