31 March 2011
Since 24 March, Israeli forces have sealed the southern occupied West Bank village of Beit Ommar for an indefinite amount of time as soldiers continue to arrest young Palestinian residents and hold them in Israeli detention centers. Read more about Israel lays Gaza-like siege on West Bank village
31 March 2011
CAIRO, Egypt (IPS) - Egyptian authorities have opened dozens of criminal investigations into hundreds of millions of dollars worth of public land contracts that were awarded illegally to real estate developers associated with former president Hosni Mubarak without proper procedures at below market rates. Read more about Corruption investigations begin in post-Mubarak Egypt
31 March 2011
A year ago, the Ramallah-based Stop the Wall campaign and itisapartheid.org began to collaborate on the first International Israeli Apartheid Short Film Contest. This contest encouraged the local Palestinian and larger international community to submit short films on the theme of Israeli apartheid. Read more about Winning entries of first annual Israeli apartheid film contest
30 March 2011
Phantasms from the 1990s are upon us: no-fly zones; the rhetoric of humanitarian war in Washington, Europe and the UN; guarantees that no US ground troops will be deployed; an air war which alone cannot decisively affect earthbound events. Tarak Barkawi comments. Read more about The language of liberal war
30 March 2011
The Hour of Sunlight chronicles the life of Sami Al Jundi, former supervisor of the Seeds of Peace Center in Jerusalem. But the book doesn’t deliver on its promise to show readers “the path to a resolution” of the conflict. Read more about Book review: Waiting for redemption in "The Hour of Sunlight"
29 March 2011
Some playing cards and other small items were all that Mahmoud Jalal al-Hilu, 10, left behind when he was killed by an Israeli tank shell on 22 March as he played near his home in the Shujaiya neighborhood east of Gaza City. Read more about Gaza family mourns boy killed by Israeli shell
29 March 2011
Kiss front-man Gene Simmons, who was born Chaim Witz near Haifa, recently opened that mouth to call artists boycotting Israel “fools.” Alexander Billet comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about The foolish side of the cultural boycott line
29 March 2011
A bill was passed by the Israeli Knesset (parliament) last week which calls on the government to deny funding to any organization, institution or municipality that commemorates the founding of the Israeli state as a day of mourning. Read more about Israel criminalizes commemoration of the Nakba
29 March 2011
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IRIN) - Israel’s restrictions on commercial crossings to Gaza and its checkpoint regime cost nongovernmental organizations millions each year. Read more about Israel hampers aid agencies at Gaza crossings
28 March 2011
In the last month Palestinians in Jerusalem continued to face ongoing violence and settler takeovers of their homes. The Electronic Intifada reports on the latest developments in occupied Jerusalem. Read more about Court orders Jerusalem family to share home with settlers
28 March 2011
Malkit Shoshan’s The Atlas of the Conflict — Israel-Palestine is the result of years of painstaking research to understand the full scale of the creation of one nation and the disappearance of another. Read more about Interview: Mapping the disappearance of a nation
28 March 2011
A remarkable and damning January 2009 diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks paints an ugly picture of crude pragmatism in Israeli-Azerbaijani relations. Jimmy Johnson comments. Read more about Palestinian rights don't factor into Israel-Azerbaijan relations
25 March 2011
A coalition including Palestinian refugees from Lifta are appealing to the Jerusalem municipality to stop plans to build Jewish-only condominiums atop the remains of the depopulated village. Read more about Suspended in time, Lifta under threat
24 March 2011
The 15 March mass mobilizations in the West Bank and Gaza came and went. But did they achieve what they set out to do? Safa Joudeh comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about March 15 and the roots of our struggle
24 March 2011
Israel admitted this week that it was behind the abduction of a Palestinian engineer from Gaza who went missing more than a month ago while traveling on a train in the Ukraine. Read more about Israel admits role in disappearance of Gaza engineer
24 March 2011
Richard Falk, an investigator with the UN Human Rights Council, warned this week that Israel is carrying out a form of ethnic cleansing against Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem. Read more about Legal expert warns of "ethnic cleansing" in Jerusalem
23 March 2011
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Israeli settlers observed their own “Day of Rage” last Thursday, launching reprisal attacks on Palestinians for the recent murder of a settler family in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, and the demolition of a settlement structure by the Israeli authorities. Read more about Settlers attack Palestinians on "day of rage"
23 March 2011
Radical change in Egypt should mean radical change in Palestine as well: a pro-Palestine Egypt should mean the end of the siege. But when will we see that? Haidar Eid comments for The Electronic Intifada on the future of Egyptian-Palestinian relationship. Read more about Palestine and the Egyptian revolution: a view from Gaza
22 March 2011
Young leaders of Egypt’s revolution declined an invitation to meet with the US secretary of state, citing Washington’s tepid support for anti-government protesters over the course of the 18-day rebellion. Read more about Revolutionary Egyptian youth refuse Clinton meeting
22 March 2011
Today on World Water Day, we call on those concerned with water rights to support the boycott, divestment and sanctions call to hold Israel responsible for its violations of international law. Read more about On World Water Day, support the academic boycott call
22 March 2011
Rula Jebreal on the struggle to make and show the film based on her book Miral and the tumultuous real-life experiences behind the story. Read more about Interview: Rula Jebreal on the struggle to make "Miral" a film
22 March 2011
Discourses of “aid,” “development” and “reconstruction” shield Israel’s ongoing occupation and colonial project. Samer Abdelnour analyzes. Read more about Aid industry doing no harm in Palestine?
25 March 2011
Robin Myers and Shadi Rohana speak with professor Sharif Kanaana in his office about Palestinian identity and the local and global significance of folklore itself. Read more about Interview: Sharif Kanaana on Palestinian folklore and identity
21 March 2011
GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - Palestinians are calling for boycotts against Israeli products and companies. But in the Gaza Strip — at the heart of the Israeli occupation — it is often impossible for residents to follow their own call to action. Read more about Palestinians urged to "Buy Gaza"
19 March 2011
Youth protests in Gaza continue to unfold after a call to rally was put out by Palestinian youth calling for an end to political division and for national unity. Read more about Gaza rally draws a diverse crowd calling for unity
18 March 2011
A trade mission of the US government in partnership with a settlement-based aerospace and consulting firm raises questions about why Washington is promoting the Israeli arms trade and why it is doing so with a firm based in an illegal colony which explicitly contradicts official US policy as well as international law. Read more about US promoting arms trade mission organized by settlement firm
18 March 2011
Under pressure over its involvement with the Israeli occupation, Danish-British security firm G4S recently stated its intention to withdraw from some of its contracts with Israeli companies in the West Bank. Read more about Security firm G4S partly withdraws from W. Bank
18 March 2011
Several Canadian universities launched campus divestment initiatives, a Danish-owned Israeli security company is forced to pull out of contracts in the occupied West Bank due to public pressure, and legendary musicians Pete Seeger and Roger Waters come out in support of the BDS movement. Read more about Boycott roundup: Canada campuses mobilize to divest
17 March 2011
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Tens of thousands of Palestinians from across the political spectrum took to the streets throughout the West Bank and Gaza on Tuesday to mark 15 March, “the day of rage” to protest the political division between Hamas and Fatah. Read more about Unity calls stifled in West Bank and Gaza
17 March 2011
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IRIN) - The Israeli blockade has restricted a generation of youth in Gaza from educational and employment opportunities, say UN and other sources. Read more about Blockade denying Gaza youth education, employment
16 March 2011
AWARTA, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Food supplies are running low, ambulances have been detained for hours at checkpoints and hundreds of young men have been held, interrogated and beaten up, some requiring hospitalization, in the Palestinian village of Awarta in the northern West Bank. The village has been under continuous curfew for four days. Read more about Palestinian village under siege following settler killings
al-Araqib 17 March 2011
As Israel continues to deepen its claims on land in the occupied West Bank, the state is aggressively pursuing a similar project within the green line boundary. Read more about Palestinian Bedouins in al-Araqib: "We won't leave"
Jabalia refugee camp 16 March 2011
Gaza power plant official Derar Abu Sisi went missing in Ukraine earlier this year and is now believed to be held in an Israeli prison. Rami Almeghari reports for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Family of engineer believed kidnapped by Israel speak out
17 March 2011
Last month witnessed the launch of the first Polish-Israeli governmental forum held in occupied Jerusalem. The biannual dialogue accelerates an existing partnership between the two countries which includes trade agreements, joint military training exercises and arms deals under an ongoing “Polonization of Israeli Technology” drive. Ewa Jasiewicz comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Bad romance: Poland and Israel's "love story"
15 March 2011
After hearing that the New York City LGBT Center was planning to host Israeli Apartheid Week’s final celebratory fundraiser, “Party to End Apartheid,” gay porn director Michael Lucas made some phone calls, sent some emails and spent upwards of $1,000 to pressure the center to close their “open doors policy” and cancel the event. Anna Lekas Miller comments for The Electronic Intifada Read more about Palestine is a queer issue
14 March 2011
As Israeli Apartheid Week events continue to take place across the globe, The Electronic Intifada brings you this roundup of recent activism news. Read more about Activism roundup: Palestinians shut down settler road
14 March 2011
We are a group of Palestinian youths who have called on Palestinians across the nation to unite under one slogan: “The people want to end the division!” Rawan Abu-Shahla, a member of Gaza Youth Break Out, comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Why Palestinians will protest on 15 March
11 March 2011
The 7th annual Israeli Apartheid Week launched this week, with more than 75 cities across six continents participating in educational events and direct actions in support of the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. Read more about Global actions, backlash during Israeli Apartheid Week
11 March 2011
On 2 March Israel announced the complete closure of Karni, the principal commercial crossing into the Gaza Strip, prompting protests by Palestinian traders who rely on the crossing to bring goods into the territory. Read more about Gaza truckers protest Israel's closure of commercial crossing
11 March 2011
VIENNA (IPS) - Female Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel are often denied legal representation and medical care while being housed in squalid conditions that can include sharing cells with rodents. Read more about Interview: Palestinian women prisoners shackled during childbirth
10 March 2011
Academic cooperation between Europe and Israel has been encouraged by governments on both sides. But who benefits and who loses? David Cronin comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Who benefits from EU-Israel academic cooperation?
10 March 2011
Dutch opposition parties boycotted a parliamentary delegation to the Middle East in February after parties supporting the right-wing government insisted on going ahead with the visit despite an Israeli government ban on allowing the lawmakers to visit the besieged Gaza Strip. Read more about Dutch opposition boycotts parliamentary delegation to Israel
9 March 2011
Benjamin Netanyahu’s advisers conceded last week that the Israeli prime minister is more downcast than they have ever seen him. The reason for his gloominess is to be found in Israel’s diplomatic and strategic standing, which some analysts suggest is at its lowest ebb in living memory. Jonathan Cook reports. Read more about Global unpopularity wearing down Israeli government
9 March 2011
CAIRO, Egypt (IPS/Al Jazeera) - This week has been a very disappointing one for women and women’s rights activists across Egypt — when just one woman was included into the newly sworn-in cabinet. Read more about Women fight for rights in post-Mubarak Egypt
9 March 2011
CAIRO (IPS) - The much-feared secret police and intelligence service that protected the regime of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak by arresting, torturing, and even killing opponents has started a wave of burning documents and evidence that could incriminate them, as calls escalate for abolishing the force altogether and bringing its officers to justice. Read more about Egyptian activists move to shut down infamous secret police
7 March 2011
BAGHDAD, Iraq (IPS/AJ) - Hundreds of people have converged on Baghdad’s Tahrir, or Liberation, Square on 4 March for an anti-government demonstration despite a vehicle ban that forced many to walk for hours to the heart of the Iraqi capital. Read more about Anti-government protests erupt across Iraq
7 March 2011
SOHAR, Oman (IPS/AJ) - Fresh protests have taken place in the Gulf sultanate of Oman, following a wave of pro-democracy demonstrations across the Arab world. The unrest in Sohar has been a rare outbreak of discontent in the normally calm sultanate of Oman. Read more about Pro-democracy protests spread to Oman
Gilboa Prison 4 March 2011
Al-Araqib was the last village I visited before my arrest. Al-Araqib is not just a village, but the very heart of a nation and a people. On 5 May 2010, I was there under the tent of Sheikh Sayah, a local leader. There was a big crowd after the destruction and the reconstruction of the village. We met there until late at night, taking advantage of the desert darkness. Ameer Makhoul comments. Read more about The struggle for al-Araqib is the struggle for Palestine
4 March 2011
Palestinian civil society groups are preparing for a day of mass sit-ins on 15 March, to protest the widening split between Palestinian political and resistance factions as Israel’s illegal occupation grinds on. Read more about Palestinians at home, abroad protest division, leadership
3 March 2011
BENGHAZI, Libya (IPS) - The walls outside the al-Jalah Hospital in downtown Bengazi are covered with posters of missing persons, mostly teenagers and young men who disappeared after the protests began. Inside, hundreds of gunshot victims recover from the street battle between Muammar Gaddafi’s forces and Benghazi’s citizens. Read more about Casualties mount as battle for Libya continues
3 March 2011
CAIRO (IPS) - Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak portrayed himself as a paradigm of stability in a country he once described as a “powder keg” of sectarian unrest. Yet far from promoting stability, his regime may have actually been the source of much of the religious strife it claimed to suppress. Read more about Mubarak regime source of sectarian unrest
3 March 2011
As international stars face widespread criticism for having earned huge fees entertaining Libya’s Gaddafi family, Nada Elia and Laurie King ask why artists who entertain apartheid Israel should not be held to exactly the same standard. Read more about Is entertaining dictators worse than normalizing apartheid?
3 March 2011
The recent murder of Hussam Rwidy, a Palestinian, by Jewish youths allegedly shouting “Death to Arabs” has highlighted the link between racist incitement and violence. The underlying ideology that fuels this hatred is Jewish nationalism, as Max Blumenthal and Joseph Dana argue. Read more about Facing up to Jewish nationalism and racist violence
2 March 2011
In the 1990s, one could only whisper Hosni Mubarak’s name. Political talk or jokes were avoided in phone calls. This year, millions of Egyptians fought for 18 days against their aging tyrant, braving the police troops firing teargas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. People in Egypt have lost their fear, but it did not happen overnight. Hossam el-Hamalawy comments. Read more about How Palestine's uprising inspired Egypt's
2 March 2011
Eleven University of California students face criminal charges and possible jail terms for protesting and disrupting a speech by an Israeli official as the Orange County district attorney’s office engages in what one of the students’ attorneys calls “selective and discriminatory prosecution” Read more about US students face jail time for disrupting Israeli official's speech
2 March 2011
BENGHAZI, Libya (IPS) - As the defectors from the Libyan army organize the weapons they have recovered from Muammar Gaddafi’s strongholds in the region, thousands of Libyan men are volunteering to join the soldiers in a possible attack on Tripoli to oust Gaddafi from power. Read more about Libyan opposition prepares for offensive against Gaddafi
2 March 2011
The Electronic Intifada contributor Stefan Christoff spoke with Palestinian civil society activist Ahmad Jaradat outside the Palestine people’s assembly tent at the World Social Forum global anti-capitalist gathering. Read more about World Social Forum puts Palestine solidarity into action
1 March 2011
Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal claims to oppose decisions taken by governments without balanced, negotiated political processes. But if this were really true, he would understand the need to bring Israeli officials and military officers responsible for such crimes to the International Criminal Court in The Hague instead of defending Israel’s actions in The Jerusalem Post. Read more about In whose name does Dutch FM Rosenthal speak?