Ramadan al-Hour’s four children have not seen their father for the past year. Ranging in age from five years to four months old, Amal, Aya, Sulaf and Walid live with their mother in the town of Kufr Qassem inside Israel. Israeli authorities have prevented al-Hour’s wife and children from entering Gaza. Rami Almeghari reports from Gaza. Read more about No Eid with the siege 

On jagged roads, unpaved and covered in mounds of dust, enclosed by a monstrous, towering wall slithering like the venomous snake that it is, I await the bus that will take me to the place I’ve waited to see for far too long. Dina Elmuti writes from occupied Palestine. Read more about My occupied Utopia 

WASHINGTON, (IPS) - A new report from several international aid organizations blasts the Quartet, an international group assembled to facilitate the Middle East peace process, for failing to meet their goals in advancing a lasting peace between Israel and Palestinians. Read more about International orgs. give Quartet failing grade 

BEIRUT (IPS) - The Lebanese unity government has finally came to terms with its ministerial declaration after weeks of political haggling. What promises and threats does the incoherent declaration hold for Lebanon in a polarized local and regional context? “The ministerial declaration is an impossible document that carries many contradictions,” says Oussama Safa, director of the Lebanese Center for Political Studies, a local Lebanese think tank. Read more about "Incoherent" agreement spells the way forward 

I continue to believe that we can achieve a lasting peace, with the Israeli and Palestinian peoples living as neighbors in two independent states. But if we do not succeed, and succeed soon, the parameters of the debate are apt to shift dramatically. Israel’s continued settlement expansion and land confiscation in the West Bank makes physical separation of our two peoples increasingly impossible. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas comments. Read more about Israel and Palestine can still achieve peace 

RAMALLAH, West Bank (IPS) - Palestinian children continue to be victims of disproportionate and indiscriminate violence from the both the Israeli occupation and internal Palestinian infighting in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Read more about UN office: Palestinian children's rights being violated 

This week marks the 26th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, one of the bloodiest events of the second half of the twentieth century. A Google search for recent news reports on this year’s commemoration of the atrocity, however, brought up very little. The Electronic Intifada co-founder Laurie King comments that the failure to hold massacre perpetrators accountable has let the atrocities continue. Read more about And so it continues: 26 years after the massacre 

GAZA CITY (IPS) - A strike call has trapped thousands of teachers between Fatah unions and a Hamas government. The strike in Gaza called by the Palestine Teachers’ Union — a non-elected body supported by the government of Palestine Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank — continues into its third week. Of the Palestinian territories, Gaza strip is ruled by the Hamas government and the West Bank by the Fatah Party led by Abbas. Read more about Gaza teachers trapped between Fatah and Hamas 

Israel’s enduring use of Palestinian collaborators to entrench the occupation and destroy Palestinian resistance was once the great unmentionable of the Middle East conflict. When the subject was dealt with by the international and local media, it was solely in the context of the failings of the Palestinian legal system, which allowed the summary execution of collaborators by lynch mobs and kangaroo courts. Jonathan Cook comments. Read more about Israel's dark arts of ensnaring collaborators 

It was a very sudden moment when I realized that I was no longer a child. Occupation, intifada, Israel, enemy, Zionists, curfew, revolution, all these words were repeatedly spoken everywhere and I was very confused trying to understand what they all meant. Ahmed Abed reflects on what it means for children to grow up under occupation in the Gaza Strip. Read more about Growing up occupied in Gaza 

As the bus of 199 prisoners (a number oddly short of 200) pulled into Ramallah recently, many will have seen the images of crying mothers and waving Palestinian flags as yet another indication of Israel’s willingness to take risks for peace. Newspapers were filled with op-eds praising Israel for its bravery and courage while the usual international voices hailed it as a step in the right direction. Akram Salhab argues for The Electronic Intifada that this was just another Israeli ruse and does not reflect a change in policy. Read more about Prisoner release yet another propaganda tactic 

Is the Palestinian national movement about to abandon the two-state solution and demand instead a single democratic or bi-national state throughout Palestine-Israel? That is the intriguing possibility raised by a new paper published by an ad hoc group called the Palestine Strategy Study Group. Ali Abunimah comments for EI. Read more about A new Palestinian strategy or the same failed one? 

I made a mental checklist that Saturday morning of all the things that would guide me and prepared to embark on my journey back in time: a silver Chevy Cavalier, with yellow Israeli plates, and a full tank of gas on the gravel road outside ready to start the journey; my American passport tucked into my bag, ready to wave at the pre-pubescent soldier waving me to pull over; camera in hand, I was ready to document history with one click and a flash. Dina Elmuti writes from occupied Palestine. Read more about Where time stands still 

Palestinians have been historically outmaneuvered, politically neutralized, and made totally dependent on international handouts. Or have they? A newly released Palestinian strategy document which outlines strategic political options gives witness to a renewed breath of fresh air in the Palestinians’ struggle for freedom and independence. Sam Bahour comments. Read more about Coexistence with occupation not an option  

The closer we are to the end of the Bush administration the clearer it becomes that there will be no fulfillment of the repeated promises of a Palestinian state. This stark reality is becoming the uncontested conclusion of many of those who confidently wagered on the American “commitment.” Yet many are still unwilling to come to terms with reality and change their approach. They still look for a fig leaf to cover their exposure. Hasan Abu Nimah comments for EI. Read more about Another fig leaf for deception 

For decades, United Methodists have worked with other churches, human rights groups and the broader international community to uphold UN resolutions, human rights conventions and international law as the basis for just and lasting peace for all. Given this human rights-based approach, ending Israel’s military occupation constitutes a necessary first step for establishing equality and mutual security for Palestinians and Israel is alike. David Wildman writes about the growing church movement to divest from companies profiting from the Israeli occupation. Read more about US churches seeking justice in Palestine-Israel (Part 1) 

HEBRON (IRIN) - Violence by settlers perpetrated against Palestinians has been on the rise in recent weeks in Hebron and the surrounding areas, residents and international observers said. “These areas are hot spots for violence and are priority areas for us,” said Matteo Benatti, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s delegation in the city. Read more about Settler violence against Palestinians on the rise