June 2009

Israeli gunboats seize Gaza aid ship


Today Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the Spirit of Humanity, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (see below for a complete list of passengers). The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel. 

Salam Fayyad's false optimism


A Palestinian state could become “a firm reality” by the “end of next year or within two years at the most,” Salam Fayyad, the prime minister appointed by Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas, was quoted as saying on 22 June in a speech at Al-Quds University in Abu Dis, a village outside Jerusalem. Such expectations have been frequently voiced before by former Palestinian prime minister and negotiator Ahmad Qureia, or the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. But what is more evident are the facts on the ground that do not provide much support for these expectations. Rami Almeghari comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

Israeli doctors colluding in torture of Palestinian detainees


Israel’s watchdog body on medical ethics has failed to investigate evidence that doctors working in detention facilities are turning a blind eye to cases of torture, according to Israeli human rights groups. The Israeli Medical Association (IMA) has ignored repeated requests to examine such evidence, the rights groups say, even though it has been presented with examples of Israeli doctors who have broken their legal and ethical duty towards Palestinians in their care. Jonathan Cook reports. 

Casualties rising in Gaza's "buffer zone"


This is not an unusual situation in Gaza, where Israel has repeatedly used the dart bombs. Due to their design, flechettes dig deeply into their target — flesh, cement and metal alike — with their “tails” frequently breaking off, leaving multiple injuries and rendering them nearly impossible to extract without inflicting more injury in the surgical search. In most cases, doctors opt against surgery, leaving the darts inside the victim’s body. Eva Bartlett reports from the Gaza Strip. 

"Embers and Ashes:" An intellectual's exile, struggle and success


In his autobiography, Embers and Ashes: Memoirs of an Arab Intellectual, the late Hisham Sharabi transports the reader seamlessly from his early life in Palestine, where he was born in 1927, to his studies at the American University of Beirut, and finally his own American experience and life as a university professor at Georgetown. While it occasionally lacks cohesion, the book is unmistakably personal and insightful. Atef Alshaer reviews for The Electronic Intifada. 

Egypt close to brokering Hamas-Fatah agreement


JERUSALEM (IPS) - Under a complex twin-pronged initiative from the US and Egypt, Israel’s hard-line government is moving towards backtracking on two major planks of its policy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories — resisting demands for a blanket freeze on all settlement building in the West Bank, and acquiescing in the end of its tight siege of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. 

Melbourne dumps Connex following boycott campaign


Connex has been dumped by the Victorian State Government as Melbourne’s train system operator. Moammar Mashni of Australians for Palestine said that after four months of campaigning and some 100,000 pamphlets distributed, Palestine advocacy groups can take heart. “This is the first step in what we hope will become a strong boycotts, divestments and sanctions movement in Australia against Israel’s apartheid policies,” Mashni said. 

Israeli banks accused of Holocaust profiteering


Israel’s second-largest bank will be forced to defend itself in court in the coming weeks over claims it is withholding tens of millions of dollars in “lost” accounts belonging to Jews who died in the Nazi death camps. Bank Leumi has denied it holds any such funds despite a parliamentary committee revealing in 2004 that the bank owes at least $75 million to the families of several thousand Holocaust victims. Jonathan Cook reports. 

Report finds Israel still torturing Palestinians


RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel has accused the Israeli security forces of deliberately shackling Palestinian prisoners in a painful and dangerous manner, amounting to a form of torture. The report, “Shackling as a Form of Torture and Abuse,” based on the evidence of over 500 prisoners, was released in advance of the UN International Day in Support of Torture Victims Friday, 26 June. 

Australia's pro-Israel policies, pro-Palestine public


The little Sydney-based pro-Palestine lobby group which I chair called Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine decided we would commission a high class, well-known, opinion poll company to test whether Australia’s Labor machine or politicians knew something we didn’t — for example, that their one-sidedness reflected “the will of the people.” Peter Manning comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

Video: Nahr al-Bared "Two Years Under Siege"


Two years after it was destroyed in the wake of fighting between the Lebanese army and a militant group, the fate of the Palestinian refugee camp, Nahr al-Bared remains unclear. This 10-minute film, the co-owner of an ice cream factory, the president of the local traders committee and the imam of the al-Quds Mosque, all Palestinian refugees, speak about the siege and its economic consequences. 

Political arrests may derail unity talks


RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Egyptian mediators have set 7 July as deadline for final Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo. The Egyptians say time is running out, and if there is no progress in July, they will no longer be prepared to arbitrate. Continued political detention and abuse of Palestinian prisoners by Hamas in Gaza and by the Fatah-affiliated Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank could, however, derail the talks before they even begin. 

The elephant in the room: Israel's nuclear weapons


At a White House press conference on 18 May 2009, US President Barack Obama expressed “deepening concern” about “the potential pursuit of a nuclear weapon by Iran.” He continued: “Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon would not only be a threat to Israel and a threat to the United States, but would be profoundly destabilizing in the international community as a whole and could set off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.” By his side was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the room with them, there was an elephant, a large and formidably destructive elephant, which they and the assembled press pretended not to see. David Morrison comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

Hamas' political immaturity


Instead of coming up with an alternative program to that of the Palestinian Authority, and all the organizations belonging to it, and instead of building on the unprecedented, growing solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza, the leadership of Hamas, in statements made by its leaders and — more importantly — letters sent to the US president, have begun a process of deterioration like that of their predecessors who sold out Palestinian rights at Oslo. Haidar Eid comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

Audio: A reporter tries to buy new equipment in Gaza


In late 2008, I needed to replace my old recording equipment that had poor sound quality and purchase a new audio recorder. Unfortunately, with the ongoing Israeli siege, this simple task of obtaining a new recorder was nearly impossible. The following audio diary tells the story of my efforts to receive a new audio recorder from the US so that I could continue documenting the many untold stories of the people of Gaza. Rami Almeghari writes from the Gaza Strip. 

US activists de-shelve Israeli products from national grocer


On Saturday, 20 June, activists gathered at Trader Joe’s in Oakland and San Francisco, US to demand that the company stop carrying Israeli goods. Protesters removed Israeli products from the shelves in order to show customers which products they should not buy. They also met with the store managers and asked them to notify their headquarters that they no longer wanted to carry Israeli herbs, couscous and cheese. Similar actions were held throughout the US

New short films showcase breadth of Palestinian cinema


Of the 27 films featured in the 2009 Chicago Palestine Film Festival held last April, two exceptional shorts demonstrate the breadth of recent Palestinian cinema. Approaching the Israeli occupation from contrasting vantage points, Be Quiet(2006) and The View (2008) press viewers to imagine life under a system that dictates virtually every minute of one’s being. Maymanah Farhat reviews for The Electronic Intifada. 

Argentina case threatens to criminalize criticism of Israel


In what Nobel Peace laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel has termed “a witch hunt and an attack on democratic freedoms,” nine pro-Palestinian protesters in Argentina have been detained following a demonstration at an event celebrating Israel’s 61st anniversary. The activists have been vilified as violent anti-Semites by politicians and the television and print media, and now face up to 12 years in prison for “ideological arrogance,” under revived Juan Peron-era anti-terrorism legislation of dubious constitutionality. Hugh Harkin reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

The necessity of cultural boycott


It is bewildering that the shift of public opinion in the UK regarding the Israeli occupation has had no impact so far on policy; but again we are reminded of the tortuous way the campaign against apartheid had to go before it became a policy. It is also worth remembering that two brave women in Dublin, toiling on the cashiers in a local supermarket, were the ones who began a huge movement of change by refusing to sell South African goods. Ilan Pappe comments. 

Aid agencies slam Gaza blockade


RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Forty international aid agencies and non-governmental organizations have released a joint statement condemning Israel’s blockade of Gaza, to mark the second anniversary of the coastal territory being hermetically sealed off from the outside world. “We, United Nations and non-governmental humanitarian organizations, express deepening concern over Israel’s continued blockade of the Gaza Strip which has now been in force for two years.” 

Africa-Israel under scrutiny for settlement construction


Africa-Israel is the latest target of a boycott campaign by Palestine solidarity activists because of the company’s involvement in the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. American and European financial institutions hold a substantial stake in Africa-Israel Investment, investigations reveal. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

Attack on water brings sanitation crisis


GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - “Biddun mey, fish heyya,” they say in Arabic for a universal truth: “Without water, there is no life.” While diminishing water resources are a global concern, in Palestine the struggle for water is not against global warming or multinational corporations, but for access to water, and against contamination of what precious resources there are. 

Canadian diplomat honored on confiscated Palestinian land


Canada’s chief diplomat in Israel has been honored at an Israeli public park — built on occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law — as one of the donors who helped establish the park on the ruins of three Palestinian villages. Jon Allen, Canada’s ambassador to Israel, is among several hundred Canadian Jews who have been commemorated at a dedication site. Jonathan Cook comments. 

Nahr al-Bared's future remains unclear as army holds on to neighborhoods


The three-month-long war between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam militants in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon ended on 2 September 2007. While the Lebanese army has allowed displaced residents to return to some parts of the camp, the fate of other parts of the camp still under the army’s control remains unclear. Ray Smith reports for Electronic Lebanon. 

Nonviolent resistance in the south Hebron hills


A couple of months ago I had the great pleasure of watching Palestinians successfully graze their sheep near Avigail settlement, on land where they are regularly attacked and harassed. The joy I felt in watching my friends and partners grazing their sheep on their ancestral lands was overwhelming. Sitting on the hill and eating lunch together felt like having a party. Joy Ellison writes from Hebron. 

Netanyahu's "brilliant" peace plan


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed a peace plan so ingenious it is a wonder that for six decades of bloodshed no one thought of it. Some people might have missed the true brilliance of his ideas presented in a speech at Bar Ilan University on 14 June, so we are pleased to offer this analysis. Hasan Abu Nimah and Ali Abunimah comment. 

Report: Palestinian children systematically abused in Israeli detention


The following press release was issued on 11 June 2009: Today, DCI-Palestine is releasing a report which documents the widespread ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children at the hands of the Israeli army and police force — “Palestinian Child Prisoners: The systematic and institutionalized ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities.” 

Israel's efforts to suppress Palestinian activities in Jerusalem


Israel is currently using provisions in the lengthy documents of the Oslo accords as the legal basis for intensifying efforts to suppress activities in Jerusalem that the state says are linked to the Palestinian Authority. The latest examples of this crackdown were closure orders delivered last month at the opening and closing sessions of this year’s annual Palestine Festival of Literature. Marian Houk reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

Video: Nahr al-Bared, "A Sip of Coffee"


This 26-minute film follows a father and his son in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp as they attempt to deal with their unemployment. The two have been living in temporary metal shelters for more than a year, waiting to return to their camp. By documenting issues of reconstruction, temporary housing, economy, unemployment and despair, the film touches on the daily experience of life in Nahr al-Bared refugee camp. 

Gaza frozen in time


Gaza’s landscape is dotted with piles of rubble of bombed out buildings, the twisted iron and aluminum of destroyed factories, once green fields reduced to sand and dirt by Israeli tanks, apartments with two-meter holes in the walls and toppled minarets of mosques turned to ruins. “But as devastating as bearing witness to the destruction was, it was the absurdities of the total blockade of Gaza imposed by Israel and Egypt that really affected me,” writes Stephanie Westbrook upon returning from Gaza. 

I'll fly away


A friend recently told me that the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish once said that every night before he fell asleep he would walk the streets of his stolen city of al-Birwa in his mind. More than one Palestinian here has told me that they have a similar nighttime routine, except when they close their eyes they float up from their beds, through their windows, beyond the lights of the patrolling Israeli ships and armored trucks, and out into the night sky, free to roam the world. Emily Ratner writes from the Gaza Strip. 

Belgian campaign forces financial group to cancel settlement loans


The Belgian-French financial group Dexia has announced it will no longer finance Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories through its Israeli branch, Dexia Israel. This is the result of a months-long campaign in Belgium, supported by non-governmental organizations, political parties, local authorities, trade unions and other organizations. 

Veolia reportedly drops light rail project, but campaign goes on


On 8 June the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz announced that French transport giant Veolia might abandon the light rail project that will connect Jerusalem with several illegal Israeli settlements built on Palestinian land. Reports also indicate that Veolia wants to pull out of the 30-year contract to operate the train. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

Some unclean drops to drink


FAQUA, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Faqua village has found itself unfortunately named. Faqua in Arabic means spring water bubbles; the village was named after the abundant natural underground springs that were once found all around it. Faqua’s problems started in 1948 with the establishment of Israel, when 24,000 of Faqua’s 36,000 dunams of land (a dunam is the equivalent of 1,000 square meters) and most of the underground springs were appropriated by the new Jewish state. 

Humane modernist: Ibrahim Nasrallah's "Rain Inside"


There is a haunting, nightmarish strand running through the selection of poems by Palestinian author Ibrahim Nasrallah featured in the new volume Rain Inside. This is particularly evident in poems evoking an enigmatic “he,” oscillating undecidably between alter ego and a threatening Other, who may even be the poet’s “killer.” Raymond Deane reviews for The Electronic Intifada. 

Palestinian in Israeli parliament: "We resist politically"


“We don’t live in the territories, we cannot throw stones and we cannot participate in the legitimate resistance against occupation,” Haneen Zoabi, a Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) told Stu Harrison of Green Left Weekly. “We participate in the struggle so our own position as citizens. Our unique role is a political resistance and not, for example, an armed resistance.” 

"Security threat": An attempt to visit family in Ramallah


Taking the first bus of the day, my wife and I arrived on the Israeli side of the King Hussein bridge crossing into the West Bank from Jordan. We explained that we were heading to Ramallah to visit my wife’s mother and brothers for three weeks. We performed the exact same procedure last year without incident. However, this year I was told to wait. Asa Winstanley writes from the UK

No work in Nahr al-Bared camp


Mohammad and Mahmoud sat on an idle field on the edge of the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon. While Mahmoud sang to the songs being played on his mobile phone, Mohammad used his for gaming. Mohammad looked up and explained, “We spend our days doing nothing. We get up and sit at the cafe for a few hours. Then we go home and pray. We gather again and return to the cafe. There we sit until the evening. Every day passes like this.” Ray Smith reports on the dire economic conditions in Nahr al-Bared. 

Health risks on Gaza's coast


GAZA CITY (IRIN) - The World Health Organization (WHO) in the Gaza Strip, in conjunction with the Gaza health ministry, began a public awareness campaign this week to warn swimmers and fishermen of raw sewage discharges, and the potential dangers. Signs were placed in seven areas along Gaza’s 42-km-long coastline where untreated sewage is being dumped directly in the sea, according to WHO officer Mahmoud Daher in Gaza. 

Village sues Canada companies cashing in on occupation


The small Palestinian village of Bilin will face-off this month against two Canadian corporations accused of aiding and abetting the colonization of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Bilin has charged Green Park International and Green Mount International with illegally constructing residential buildings and other settlement infrastructure on village territory, and marketing such structures to the civilian population of the State of Israel. Deborah Guterman reports. 

Young Palestinians in Gaza find their voice through hip-hop


The Maqusi Towers in Gaza City look a bit like US housing projects. The neighborhood consists of several tall apartment buildings grouped together in the northern part of town. It is also ground zero for Gaza’s growing Hip-Hop community. On a recent evening in one small but well-decorated apartment, a dozen rappers and their friends and families relaxed, danced, smoked flavored tobacco, and rapped the lyrics to some of their songs. Jordan Flaherty write for The Electronic Intifada. 

Palestinians in Israel protest indictments over attacker's death


The decision to prosecute 12 Israeli Arabs over what the local media have described as the “lynching” of an Israeli soldier on a bus shortly after he shot dead the driver and three passengers has been greeted with outrage from the country’s Arab minority. The inhabitants of Shefa’amr, one of the largest Arab towns in the Galilee region and the location of the attack, are expected to stage a one-day strike today in protest against the indictments. Jonathan Cook reports from Nazareth. 

Month in pictures: May 2009


The below photographs are a selection of images from the month of May 2009. “The month in pictures” is an ongoing feature by The Electronic Intifada. If you have images documenting Palestine, Palestinian life, politics and culture, or of solidarity with Palestine, please email images and captions to photos A T electronicintifada D O T net. 

Universal jurisdiction once again under threat


Currently, the fate of one of the only remaining venues that offers a redress mechanism for Palestinians is at stake. It is one that can bring accountability of Israeli officials and decision-makers who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Sharon Weill and Valentina Azarov comment on the recent moves to amend Spain’s universal jurisdiction legislation. 

Obama talks democracy, endorses dictatorship


CAIRO (IPS) - Egyptian officials are lining up to praise US President Barack Obama’s address to the Islamic world delivered in Cairo last Thursday. But local campaigners for political reform say the speech was disappointingly light on the issues of democracy and human rights. “Obama spoke very briefly and in very general terms on these two subjects,” opposition journalist and reform campaigner Abdel-Halim Kandil told IPS. “Despite the hype, Obama’s speech was little more than an exercise in public relations.” 

Women battle for citizenship rights


BEIRUT (IPS) - One can be born in Lebanon and live here all one’s life, and still not be a Lebanese citizen. Lebanon is one of few remaining countries in the Middle East where a mother is unable to pass citizenship to her children. Campaigners have succeeded in securing that right in countries such as Egypt, which amended the law in 2004 to allow women to pass citizenship to their children, and in Algeria, which granted women full citizenship rights in 2005. In Lebanon the struggle continues. 

Hamas leader to Obama: Policy, not rhetoric


DAMASCUS (IPS) - The head of Hamas’s political bureau, Khaled Meshal, gave a qualified welcome here Thursday to the big speech that US President Barack Obama addressed to the Muslim world in Cairo. “The speech was cleverly written in the way it addressed the Muslim world … and in the way it showed respect to the Muslim heritage,” Meshal told IPS in an exclusive interview. “But I think it’s not enough. What’s needed are deeds, actions on the ground, and a change of policies.” 

Rights group decries political arrests in Gaza, West Bank


The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights expresses is concern regarding the arrest campaign waged by security services acting on behalf of the governments in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. These campaigns target members of the political opposition: Hamas activists have been arrested in the West Bank, while Fatah activists have been arrested in the Gaza Strip. 

The Darfur diversion: "Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics and the War on Terror"


Mass slaughter perpetrated by the big powers, from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, is normalized through labels such as “counterinsurgency,” “pacification” and “war on terror,” while similar acts carried out by states out of favor result in the severest of charges. It is this politics of naming that is the subject of Mahmood Mamdani’s explosive new book, Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics and the War on Terror. Muhammad Idrees Ahmad reviews for The Electronic Intifada. 

Gaza farmers brave Israeli bullets


For more than six decades, the al-Buhairi has family lived on and farmed their land near the boundary with Israel, to the east of Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Last week Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets warning individuals not to set foot in a 300-meter-wide (1,000 foot) strip of land on the Gaza side of the border. The Electronic Intifada correspondent Rami Almeghari reports from the occupied Gaza Strip. 

South African study: Israel practicing apartheid and colonialism


The Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa (HSRC) has released a report confirming that Israel is practicing both colonialism and apartheid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The HSRC commissioned an international team of scholars and practitioners of international public law from South Africa, the United Kingdom, Israel and the West Bank to conduct this study. 

Gaza building project experiments with clay and rubble


GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - In the face of the ongoing Israeli ban on imports of building materials Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are looking at new building methods, and one project is using clay and rubble. Local Palestinian non-governmental organization Mercy Association for Children began building a school for handicapped children in Gaza City on 24 May to test a recently developed method using clay blocks, salt and rubble. 

Obama in Cairo: A Bush in sheep's clothing?


Once you strip away the mujamalat — the courtesies exchanged between guest and host — the substance of President Obama’s speech in Cairo indicates there is likely to be little real change in US policy. It is not necessary to divine Obama’s intentions — he may be utterly sincere and I believe he is. It is his analysis and prescriptions that in most regards maintain flawed American policies intact. EI’s Ali Abunimah comments. 

Media agencies annex 200,000 settlers


Given their influence on world opinion and the vital importance of the settlement issue in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, can readers depend on the news agencies to provide fair coverage? The answer, sadly, is: no. Even on the most basic fact about the settlers — the number living on occupied Palestinian territory — the agencies regularly get it wrong. Jonathan Cook analyzes. 

Obama should visit Gaza


The Obama administration has said almost nothing about the devastating Israeli invasion of Gaza that left more than 1,400 dead, including some 400 children. To many in the Middle East, this is an unfortunate continuation of past policies that condemn the loss of innocent Israeli lives, but refuse to speak out against the disproportionately greater loss of Palestinian lives at the hands of the Israeli military. Medea Benjamin comments for EI

Gaza aid still in Egypt


AL-ARISH (IRIN) - The lack of proper warehousing facilities in the northeastern Egyptian cities of al-Arish and Rafah is partly to blame for bottlenecks and inefficiencies in delivering food and other aid to the Gaza Strip, a former senior Egyptian aid official has said. The only working warehouse in al-Arish had been part-rented to the World Food Programme with only some of its space allocated to the Egyptian Red Crescent Society. 

Gaza's emerging trash crisis


GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - Suliman Khodari begins his shift at 5am on one of Gaza City’s busiest streets. With his horse-drawn cart, Suliman spends seven hours every morning hauling away the rubbish left by residents and shop owners of the neighborhood. But he is not a scavenger. Suliman is one of 150 animal cart owners currently collecting garbage for the Gaza City municipality. 

Despite Israel's efforts, Palestinian festival celebrates literature


For many Palestinians, the month of May is associated with the commemoration of the Nakba. But with the increasing popularity of the arts in Palestine, the second annual Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest) harmoniously unfolded to the final days of spring, a time also for lavender and lilies. The Electronic Intifada contributor Sousan Hammad reports on PalFest, and how it was shut down by Israeli authorities in Jerusalem. 

Auschwitz survivor: "I can identify with Palestinian youth"


Hajo Meyer, author of the book The End of Judaism, was born in Bielefeld, in Germany, in 1924. In 1939, he fled on his own at age 14 to the Netherlands to escape the Nazi regime, and was unable to attend school. Meyer was captured by the Gestapo in March 1944 and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp a week later. He is one of the last survivors of Auschwitz. Meyer spoke about his book and Palestine with The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof. 

Six killed in Palestinian Authority house raid


On Saturday evening, 30 May 2009, armed clashes occurred between members of the Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) and Palestinian security services. The incident took place in the northern West Bank town of Qalqiliya. The clashes continued until the early morning of Sunday, 31 May 2009, and resulted in six deaths (two members of the Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades, the owner of a house in which the two members harbored and three security officers). A number of other persons were also wounded. 

In Gaza, women filmmakers find strength behind the camera


“My career has always been a challenge for me — simply ‘to be or not to be’ — especially under such very difficult circumstances,” says Etimad Wshah. Wshah lives in the Jabaliya refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, and is one of a small number of women filmmakers in Gaza. Since 1994 she has trained other women filmmakers at the Palestinian Women’s Affairs Center in Gaza City. Rami Almeghari reports for The Electronic Intifada.