31 May 2011
Palestine solidarity activists in Thessaloniki, Greece, engaged in a creative action in support of the Palestinian-led call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israeli policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing on 28 May when they entered an Estee Lauder cosmetics store with tree saplings in tow. Read more about Greek BDS activists plant trees in Estee Lauder store
London 31 May 2011
The British prime minister has stepped down from his position as honorary patron of the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The move comes as pressure on the JNF steps up in Britain, and is being hailed by activists as a big victory in the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign. Read more about British prime minister steps down as JNF patron
31 May 2011
Gidi Grinstein, the founder and president of Israel’s Reut Institute argues that US President Barack Obama should support the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral efforts to seek recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN in September. The reasons he gives, however, have nothing to do with supporting Palestinian rights, but precisely with negating them Read more about Why does anti-Palestinian Reut Institute support UN recognition of Palestinian "state"?
31 May 2011
Much attention has been paid to the marches of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Syria to the borders with occupied Palestine, as well as the courageous protests at the Qalandiya checkpoint in the occupied West Bank and in Gaza. But Palestinians inside what is known as the green line marched on 15 May as well. Read more about Returning to Safed in shackles
31 May 2011
A committee meeting of the Knesset – the Israeli parliament – looking into the Iran dealings of Israeli firm Ofer Brothers Group, was suddenly shut down today after just fifteen minutes. Read more about What are they hiding? Knesset meeting on Israeli firm dealings with Iran suddenly shut down
31 May 2011
In the early morning hours of 31 May 2010, Israeli forces carried out a violent, unprovoked assault on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla as it sailed in international waters in the eastern Mediterranean. A look back at what happened and how it was covered. Read more about Israel's attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla: Looking back a year later
30 May 2011
Omar Yashruti, a photographer based in Lebanon, photographed these stirring images from the Nakba march in south Lebanon on 15 May. The images include demonstrators carrying away land mines, civil defense workers loading the injured into ambulances, and the Lebanese army chasing the marchers back up the hill, away from the border fence. Read more about Photostory: Nakba march in south Lebanon
Ramallah 30 May 2011
The leader of Israel’s most right-wing government since the establishment of the state 63 years ago, has returned to Israel with his popularity surging since talks with US President Barack Obama in Washington. Read more about Israeli settlers emboldened by Netanyahu’s US reception
30 May 2011
Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority rights in Israel, and Nadi al-Aseer, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, filed a pre-petition on 11 May demanding an end to detention in prison facilities run by Israel’s secret service agency. Read more about Rights groups challenge Israeli secret service impunity
Tel Aviv 28 May 2011
Last week, behind the fence of my childhood, Palestinian refugees gathered to demand return. They protesters looked and sounded exactly like the revolutionaries of Cairo’s Tahrir square. Read more about Time to tear down the fences
28 May 2011
Weeks after a Palestinian “reconciliation” accord was signed in Cairo with much fanfare, little appears to have happened. What is going on? Read more about What happened to Palestinian "reconciliation"?
27 May 2011
Activists in Toronto and New York City are fighting and winning against attempts to shut them out of community events. Read more about A queer confrontation with the Israel lobby
27 May 2011
Published by Whole World Press and edited by Osie Gabriel Adelfang, Shifting Sands is a collection of essays, prose and one poem by Jewish activists and writers. Asa Winstanley reviews for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about "Shifting Sands" anthology a hit and miss
Gaza Strip 26 May 2011
Last week, Palestinian officials at the Rafah crossing terminal in southern Gaza suspended work unilaterally for one day in protest of the Egyptian-imposed travel restrictions. Officials told The Electronic Intifada that dozens of travelers have been turned away by Egyptian officials on a daily basis for the last three months. Read more about Egypt's "state security" still blocks Rafah exit from Gaza
26 May 2011
Israeli army spokesperson Brigadier General Ruth Yaron testified this week in what was expected to be the final hearing of the Rachel Corrie trial, now in its fifteenth month of oral testimonies. Read more about Corrie lawyers expose army smear campaign against ISM
Gaza Strip 26 May 2011
Despite its many severely negative results, Israel’s siege of Gaza has offered Palestinian youth a service none had offered before. It offered new paths for us in our struggle for freedom, deepened our patriotic sentiment and finally created an environment that fosters a collective sense of selflessness and cooperation. It has created a young generation that truly cares. Read more about Israel's siege freed Gaza's youth
Gilboa Prison 25 May 2011
A year of imprisonment has passed. To spend one year in prison is a high price to pay for Israel’s unjust rule. My share has been more modest compared to other prisoners who are about to enter their fourth decade in Israeli prisons. Ameer Makhoul writes from Gilboa prison. Read more about A year of steadfastness in Israeli prison
25 May 2011
The progressive magazine In These Times blogs today on last night’s event featuring The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah and celebrated Palestinian spoken-word artist Remi Kanazi at DePaul University — which student activist Sami Kishawi described as “ground zero of the growing campus boycott movement in Chicago” in an op-ed for The Electronic Intifad Read more about EI in the Press: AIPAC speechifying vs. Sabra boycott referendum
Chicago 25 May 2011
Over the course of the last few months, DePaul University has become ground zero of the growing campus boycott movement in Chicago. It began after DePaul’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) discovered that the sale of Sabra brand hummus served to profit a corporation found to have direct financial ties to two Israeli army brigades notorious for countless human rights violations. Read more about DePaul vote on Sabra hummus a victory for human rights
25 May 2011
A campaign of vilification against the flotilla that will soon try to break Israel’s siege of Gaza appears to be gathering momentum in Europe. Read more about Campaign to vilify Gaza flotilla underway in Europe
25 May 2011
Students at UC Irvine and UC Riverside who nonviolently disrupted a speech in February 2010 by Michael Oren, Israeli ambassador to the US, recently won an important victory in their case as another arraignment date is set for tomorrow. Read more about Important victory, court date in case of the "Irvine 11"
24 May 2011
The Center for Constitutional Rights launched a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit today seeking documents regarding the US government’s knowledge and role in the deadly Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla this time last year. Read more about Lawsuit filed to seek information on US role in deadly flotilla attack
24 May 2011
As I stood in the line waiting to check in at the Bradley International Airport in the US state of Connecticut, I wondered how overweight my luggage would be. I did not expect the questions that would come next. Read more about The perks of traveling while Palestinian
24 May 2011
EI’s Ali Abunimah appeared on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio’s Worldview and Al Jazeera’s The Listening Post to talk about recent developments related to Palestine. Watch and listen. Read more about EI's Ali Abunimah on Worldview & Al Jazeera's The Listening Post
24 May 2011
One may not expect to see construction in a village where approximately 80 percent of the homes are currently pending demolition. But in Izbat al-Tabib, a small village in the occupied West Bank, that is just what one will find. Read more about Izbat al-Tabib village resists land confiscation, demolition orders
24 May 2011
Rae Abileah a CODEPINK activist who disrupted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech in the United States Congress this morning was physically attacked, hospitalized and then arrested from hospital according to reports. Read more about Protestor who disrupted Netanyahu in Congress attacked, hospitalized, arrested
24 May 2011
The Academy Award-nominated Incendies, by Quebecois filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, unforgettably portrays the Lebanese civil war as an operatic Greek tragedy. Read more about Lebanese civil war explodes on screen in "Incendies"
24 May 2011
In an interview with The Electronic Intifada moments ago, Sasha Gelzin, 23, an activist with CODEPINK described what happened when she and four others disrupted the keynote speech of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington on Monday evening. Read more about Why Sasha Gelzin disrupted Netanyahu at AIPAC - interview
23 May 2011
A relentless struggle against the ethnic cleansing of Palestine will continue outside the realm of the western corridors of power. That is only confirmed by Obama’s recent speeches at the State Department and the annual AIPAC policy conference. Read more about Throw a shoe at Obama's betrayal
23 May 2011
The roster of speakers at AIPAC’s annual policy conference — from Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu to Christian Right paragon Ralph Reed, President Barack Obama and several members of Congress — is clear evidence that the relationship between and interests shared by AIPAC, the religious right and the US government continue unabashed and unchallenged. Read more about Challenging AIPAC and confronting "US interests"
22 May 2011
Following his speech on Thursday night, and his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, US President Barack Obama spoke to the 2011 Policy Conference of AIPAC, the influential Israel lobby today. Read more about Obama's speech to AIPAC affirms commitment to Israel and US policies that doom it
21 May 2011
This week on CounterSpin, the audio program of media watchdog FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah discussed US media coverage of Palestinian rights after the 15 May Nakba day protests and marches. The same episode also features noted Salon writer Glenn Greenwald talking about the media. Read more about EI's Ali Abunimah discusses Nakba media coverage on FAIR's CounterSpin
21 May 2011
Al Haq has produced a new documentary video on Settlement Activity in the Old City of Hebron. It features testimony from a Palestinian family who live near Israeli settlers. They describe the frequent attacks they suffer from settlers who throw stones and even buckets of urine on them as they go about their daily life. The Israeli soldiers do not protect the Palestinian civilians even when faced with video evidence of settler attacks. Read more about New Al-Haq video documents Palestinian life in occupied Hebron
20 May 2011
As Palestinians across the world commemorated the 63rd anniversary of the Nakba — the forced expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland in 1947-48 — activists in North America and the UK launched another season of local film festivals that illustrate and emphasize the Palestinian experience. Read more about Around the world, film festivals put focus on Palestine
20 May 2011
Students at DePaul University in Chicago voted by a large margin in a referendum asking if they support ending sales of Sabra brand hummus on their campus. Due to a technicality, however, the result will not be binding. A note received by The Electronic Intifada from campus activists with Students for Justice in Palestine at the university announced today the results of voting that took place earlier this week: Read more about DePaul students vote by large margin to ban Sabra hummus
20 May 2011
NPR executive Andy Carvin has become prominent for his activities on Twitter during the recent revolts in the Middle East and North Africa. But what is his role? Is he a journalist or a participant? Read more about NPR's Andy Carvin, reporter or participant in Libya's war?
20 May 2011
Just six weeks after French-Belgian bank Dexia gave notice that it was looking for a buyer for its Israeli subsidiary company, the Israeli business news website Globes reported on 15 May that the bank will sell off its 65 percent stake in Dexia-Israel (established in 2001) “by the end of the summer,” even as the parent company faces a loss with its sale. Read more about BDS victories: Dexia bank to sell Israeli subsidiary; Veolia loses another contract
19 May 2011
NPR’s managing editor for digital news Mark Stencel has responded to criticisms made by this blog of the network’s facilitation of a White House instigated event to talk about Obama’s Middle East policy speech that featured just one panelist: Obama’s speechwriter. Read more about NPR responds to EI's criticism of White House "publicity stunt"
19 May 2011
“The old will die and the young will forget” — this was the prediction of Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion. Sixty-three years later, I still wonder what made him think so. Read more about The young will never forget, and will one day return
19 May 2011
President Barack Obama laid out in a little bit more detail a US “vision” of what “peace” would look like in his much anticipated speech on US policy in the Middle East and North Africa, there was precious little new. Moreover, the speech affirmed that the United States will not take any effective action to advance its vision of a two-state solution. Read more about Did Obama's big speech offer any hope for Palestine?
19 May 2011
Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, a well-known professor and human rights activist based in Bethlehem, took part in Nakba day protests last weekend as Palestinians across Palestine and the global diaspora marched to demand their right of return, 63 years after the start of Israel’s project of ethnic cleansing and forced exile. Dr. Qumsiyeh participated in a march in al-Walaja, a village west of Bethlehem which has been facing aggressive land confiscation since 1948. Read more about Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh describes his attack and arrest on Nakba day
19 May 2011
More video footage has emerged showing scenes of Israeli violence against Palestinian refugees crossing from Syria into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sunday, 15 May. On Nakba day, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and live ammunition at a mass march of Palestinian refugees who managed to walk across the militarized area. Read more about Two brand-new videos from Palestinian march of return at Majdal Shams
18 May 2011
Our boat to Gaza — the American boat — is named “The Audacity of Hope.” It will be carrying approximately sixty students, nurses, artists, journalists and filmmakers, lawyers, academics and ordinary civilians of many beliefs from around the country. Read more about US boat will sail to Gaza, despite Israeli threats
18 May 2011
On Monday 16 May, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) held a fundraiser at the Lincoln Center in New York City featuring the Broadway play “Scottsboro Boys.” Since the JNF plant trees and forests over ethnically-cleansed Palestinian villages to try and erase traces of their existence we (Existence is Resistance, Artists Against Apartheid, StoptheJNF.org and Max Blumenthal among others) decided to bring trees to give away. Each sapling was labeled with the name of a village that was cleansed in Palestine along with the date (some of which were before 15 May 1948) to “Plant for Palestine.” Read more about Video: Crashing The JNF Fundraiser to "Plant a Tree for Palestine"
18 May 2011
Activists in the Twin Cities today announced at a press conference that they were releasing a recently-found document that was left behind by federal agents when they raided Mick Kelly and Linden Gawboy’s Minneapolis home on 24 September 2010. Read more about BREAKING: FBI plans, interview questions discovered in raided activist's home
18 May 2011
To great fanfare, NPR, Foreign Policy and The White House simultaneously announced this morning a joint event to be held tomorrow immediately following President Obama’s much-anticipated speech on US policy in the Arab world. Read more about NPR at White House's service in name of social media "conversation" on Obama speech
18 May 2011
Exciting news today from the BDS Movement website: The University of London Union (ULU) has voted 10-1 to institute and campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) in support of Palestine. The motion called for “thorough research into ULU investments and contracts” with companies guilty of “violating Palestinian human rights” as set out by the Palestinian Boycott National Committee (BNC). Read more about Largest student union in Europe joins Palestinian-led boycott call
18 May 2011
A new 19-minute video from Sunday’s Nakba march in Lebanon shows emotional scenes from the day. Read more about Moving extended footage of Sunday's Nakba march in Lebanon
18 May 2011
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign of South Africa (PSC) has confirmed that prominent scholar Na’eem Jeenah is expected back in Johannesburg Thursday morning after he was detained by Israeli authorities, interrogated and held incommunicado on arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport on 17 May, before being deported to Istanbul without his passport or belongings. Read more about Israel actions "surpass barbarism of apartheid South Africa," group says after Na'eem Jeenah deportation
18 May 2011
The Electronic Intifada has received the following update sent by the wife of prominent South African scholar, activist and public intellectual Na’eem Jeenah, Director of the Afro Middle East Centre, who was arrested by Israeli authorities, interrogated and held incommunicado on arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport on 17 May, before being Read more about South Africa intervening to bring home Na'eem Jeenah after Israel deports him to Turkey without passport
18 May 2011
After being detained incommunicado on arrival at Ben Gurion Airport on May 17, Na’eem Jeenah, director of The Afro Middle East Centre (AMEC), has been deported. AMEC has just issued the following statement from Johannesburg: Read more about South African scholar Na'eem Jeenah trapped at Istanbul airport after Israeli interrogation, confiscation of passport
18 May 2011
Just as Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have been disenfranchised from the political process after Oslo, they have been disenfranchised in the media. Read more about Palestinian refugees in Lebanon invisible to international media
17 May 2011
Palestinian youth are asking how the popular democratic uprisings in Arab countries can inform their national struggle. They launched the first intifada in 1987 and fueled the second intifada in 2000, and they believe they have a role to play in the Arab youth uprisings calling for democratic changes. Palestinian political and civil society organizations are also seeking answers to this question. The answers cannot be found abroad; they can only be found in an understanding of the Palestinian condition, which differs significantly to that of Arab states. Read more about Toward a "Palestinian Spring"
17 May 2011
Documentation obtained by The Electronic Intifada confirm that HeidelbergCement and Cemex, two building materials industries from Germany and Mexico, respectively, are involved in the operation of quarries in the occupied West Bank. Read more about Multinational companies mining occupied Palestinian land
17 May 2011
A prominent South African scholar was detained today on arrival Ben-Gurion airport after flying into Israel, held incommunicado without access to South African diplomats and his whereabouts are currently unknown. A press release from the Afro-Middle East Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, of which Na’eem Jeenah is director states: Read more about Prominent South African scholar detained incommunicado by Israel
17 May 2011
Exclusive: Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas plans to allow Israel to annex settlements in the West Bank even if UN agrees to recognize a Palestinian state “on the 1967 borders” in September. Read more about Exclusive: Abbas to let Israel keep settlements even if UN recognizes "state"
Beirut 17 May 2011
Moe Ali Nayel was among the thousands who marched to the boundary between Lebanon and Israel yesterday. He recounts the day’s victories and tragedies for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Thousands at the border
17 May 2011
Yesterday I wrote about this photo of an Israeli undercover agent disguised as a Palestinian woman civilian who was involved in the arrest of demonstrators at Qalandiya checkpoint during Sunday’s Nakba protests. Read more about Close-up video of Israeli soldiers dressed as Palestinians arresting demonstrators
16 May 2011
Multiple publications in Egypt have reported that more than 350 persons were injured by Egyptian forces during a protest outside of the Israeli consulate in the Cairo suburb of Giza last night, citing health ministry figures. Peaceful protests outside of the Israeli embassy were ongoing on Sunday, the day that marks the Palestinin Nakba — the forced dispossession of the Palestinian homeland with the establishment of the State of Israel. But the scene turned violent towards the end of the night. Read more about More than 350 injured, 130 arrested in Egypt Nakba protests
16 May 2011
This video clip on Youtube shows an interview on Israeli television with Hassan Hijazi, a resident of Syria who entered Israel through the occupied Golan Heights during the 15 May Nakba Day march. The interview is in Arabic with Hebrew subtitles and appears to have been edited by Israeli television. The translation here is by The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Video: Interview with Hassan Hijazi who returned to Jaffa from Syria
Ramallah 16 May 2011
In the occupied West Bank, dissident voices questioning the Palestinian Authority’s increasingly authoritarian rule have become rare. But a young musician in Ramallah refuses to hold his tongue. Read more about Music as resistance inside the Ramallah bubble
16 May 2011
A dramatic video documents protesters marching on Qalandiya checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank. Read more about Video: scenes from yesterdays clashes at Qalandiya checkpoint
16 May 2011
As leaders of the Hamas and Fatah factions meet in Cairo to discuss a Palestinian Authority (PA) “national unity government,” the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, a leading independent organization, has condemned the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas for violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-o Read more about Palestinian Authority violently dispersed Nakba Day march in Hebron
Qalandiya checkpoint 16 May 2011
Israeli confidence that Nakba day, marked on 15 May in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel and neighboring Arab countries, would remain under control, has backfired badly. Read more about Nakba marchers met with Israeli fire
16 May 2011
A video posted on Youtube shows an Israeli police officer slapping a woman. The Arabic title of the video says: “Aggression of an Israeli officer against the lawyer Maysa Irshaid, 15 May.” Separately, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) issued a press statement received by The Electronic Intifada by email that appears to describe the incident depicted in the video. The slap is clearly visible toward the end of the brief, 43 second video. Read more about Video: Israeli police officer slaps Palestinian woman lawyer on Nakba day
16 May 2011
The Palestinian Authority (PA) will continue to cooperate with the Israeli occupation army even after a Hamas-backed “national unity government” is formed, Saeb Erekat, Palestinian chief negotiator has told The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Hamas-backed "unity government" to cooperate with Israel army, Erekat says
16 May 2011
After DePaul University initially agreed to remove Sabra hummus from the school’s cafe, outside pressure from the usual suspects caused the university to reverse its decision. However, Students for Justice in Palestine activists didn’t take no for an answer and they are now posing the question of whether the school should boycott Sabra through a student government referendum. Read more about Sabra boycott referendum up for student vote at DePaul University
16 May 2011
New video published by the website jawlany.com shows Israeli forces in the occupied Golan Heights attempting to prevent hundreds of marchers crossing across the border fence from the Syrian-controllled side on 15 May 2011. Hundreds of residents of the occupied Golan Heights watch and cheer the marchers on, and some chant “Filastin Arabiyeh wal Jawlan Suriyeh” (“Palestine is Arab and the Golan is Syrian”). Read more about New video shows Israeli soldiers firing as mass marchers enter Golan
16 May 2011
A photo published by The New York Times depicts an undercover Israeli agent, dressed as a Palestinian civilian, being loaded into an Israeli police vehicle after “helping detain a Palestinian protester” during today’s Nakba anniversary protest at Qalandiya checkpoint between Ramallah and Bethlehem. Read more about Photo: Gun-toting Israeli soldier disguised as Palestinian woman
15 May 2011
The Electronic Intifada speaks with Jon Elmer (www.jonelmer.ca), a Canadian independent journalist based in Bethlehem who documented protests in the occupied West Bank today. Read more about Interview: Undercover Israeli soldiers arrest West Bank demonstrators
16 May 2011
Read more about Video: Israeli soldiers arrest Mazin Qumsiyeh during Nakba march
16 May 2011
Read more about Matthew Cassel describes casualties at Lebanon border protest
15 May 2011
A dramatic video published by the website baladee.net shows the moment when hundreds of Palestinian refugees and Syrians break through the border fence from Syria into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (part of Syria occupied by Israel in 1967 and illegally annexed in 1981). Read more about Dramatic video shows Palestinians, Syrians entering Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
15 May 2011
The Electronic Intifada has produced this interactive map that allows you to see information about any of the more than 400 Palestinian cities, towns and villages depopulated and destroyed during the Nakba – the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Zionist and later Israeli forces from late 1947 into 1948. Read more about Interactive map of Palestine villages destroyed in Nakba
14 May 2011
New York Times bureau chief Ethan Bronner promotes Israeli propaganda that Palestinian refugees were forced from their homes only after Arab armies intervened on 15 May 1948, ignoring the reality that hundreds of thousands had been forced out since December 1947. Read more about Ethan Bronner's Nakba denial in The New York Times
14 May 2011
In an article on Al Jazeera English and in The Guardian today, Ziyad Clot, a former legal advisor to Palestinian negotiators has revealed that he was one of the key sources for thousands of pages documents called the Palestine Papers, published in January by Al Jazeera which detail 10 years of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and US and European intervention, including minutes of conversations with top Israeli, Palestinian, American and other officials. Read more about Palestine Papers whistleblower revealed and Saeb Erekat responds
18 May 2011
In The Political Economy of Aid in Palestine, Sahar Taghdisi-Rad illustrates how aid earmarked for the oppressed often ends up in the oppressor’s pockets. David Cronin reviews. Read more about New book shows how aid to PA ended up in Israel's pockets
13 May 2011
When I Return is an online participatory campaign that features simple notes by Palestinians, Arabs and allies describing what they hope to do when Palestine is free and/or they return to Palestine. It seeks to unleash the internal life of our longing for home, and highlight the imaginative expanse of our dreams. Read more about What will you do when Palestine is free?
Rafah 13 May 2011
A shack made of aluminum sheets and wood, and a few cows and chickens are all that Suleiman al-Urjani, 45, owns in this world. It is the kind of dwelling that al-Urjani, his father Auda and their families have lived in since 1948 when the family was first displaced by Zionist forces from their original home in what is now Israel. Read more about A bedouin refugee in Gaza yearns for home in Bir al-Saba
13 May 2011
A new website was launched today that lets Palestinian refugees who fled (or whose parents and grandparents fled) Israel’s ethnic cleansing project that began in 1948, talk about their experiences in time for the 63rd annual commemoration of the Nakba. NakbaSurvivor.com, a multi-media initiative of the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), features short, personal testimonials of refugees and their direct descendants. Read more about Nakba Survivor: new website highlights testimonies of the Nakba
13 May 2011
As nationalist parties and festivals were held throughout Israel to mark the country’s Independence Day on 10 May, several thousand Palestinians and their supporters held a commemoration of their own in the Galilee, demanding the right to return to their ancestral villages and homes. Read more about Thousands of Palestinians in Israel march to return
13 May 2011
Hip Hop is Bigger than the Occupation documents a crew of artists who traveled throughout the occupied West Bank for ten days. The group stayed at Balata refugee camp near Nablus, getting a taste of life under Israeli occupation: Read more about World premiere of film "Hip Hop is Bigger than the Occupation" May 30 in NYC
13 May 2011
The fifth annual Houston Palestine Film Festival opens tomorrow night with a screening of Jaffa, The Orange’s Clockwork with guest appearance by filmmaker Eyal Sivan. The screening will be accompanied by a photo exhibition by Khalil AbuSharekh. Read more about Annual Houston Palestine Film Festival opens tomorrow night!
Ramallah 12 May 2011
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IRIN) - The delivery of humanitarian aid to the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip has been hampered by severe restrictions on staff movements, hurting the quality, scope and sustainability of operations, say the UN and international nongovernmental organizations. Read more about Israel hindering delivery of aid
12 May 2011
An interview with Omar Barghouti, a founder of the boycott, divestment sanctions movement, speaks about his new book which was recently reviewed by The Electronic Intifada: BDS: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights. Read more about Watch: Omar Barghouti speaks about his new book on BDS
12 May 2011
A brilliant new documentary film is being produced in Palestine, focusing on a story that took place during the first intifada in the late 1980s in Beit Sahour near Bethlehem. As Palestinians rebelled against lethal Israeli policies across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Israeli military attempted to quash popular uprisings through unmitigated violence, repression and long-term curfews. Read more about WATCH: Long trailer for "The Wanted 18: A True Story of Bovine Resistance"
12 May 2011
Read more about Will Lifta be saved from Israeli plans to turn it into luxury condos?
12 May 2011
If a Palestinian “state” ever comes into existence, what kind of “state” will it be? Here’s a clue: it will be a state, governed by, of and for rich and powerful businessmen. Read more about The PA and the privatization of Palestine
11 May 2011
An Israeli legal advisor has admitted that the state stripped residency rights from more than 140,000 Palestinians between 1967-1994, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported today. Read more about Policy that cleansed 140,000 Palestinians from W. Bank still imposed on Jerusalemites
Cairo 11 May 2011
Following the February ouster of Egypt’s longstanding President Hosni Mubarak, calls have been circulating in Egypt and throughout the region for a “Third Intifada” to begin 15 May. Read more about Activists preparing for "third intifada"
11 May 2011
Asa Winstanley reviews Mazin Qumsiyeh’s new book on the long history of Palestinian popular struggle, Popular Resistance in Palestine: a History of Hope and Empowerment. Read more about Book review: Popular resistance, popular history
11 May 2011
The Stolen Beauty campaign focusing on a boycott of Ahava cosmetics, which are illegally manufactured in the occupied West Bank using Palestinian natural resources, has launched a culture jamming initiative currently underway on Twitter: Read more about AHAVA promotional campaign on Twitter jammed with BDS messaging
11 May 2011
Students in Chicago campaigning to boycott Sabra brand hummus have put out a short and sweet video with a strong boycott message. Here’s the statement accompanying the video: Read more about Video: Chicago students say "Why we refuse to buy Sabra hummus"
10 May 2011
As plans to demolish a Palestinian Bedouin village to make way for a new, Jewish-only town move forward in the Negev desert, the Bedouin residents have submitted a motion for the right to appeal to the Israeli high court. Read more about Unrecognized village residents fight demolition plans
10 May 2011
Read more about James Longley's brilliant documentary "Gaza Strip" now free online
Ramallah 10 May 2011
Hamas supporters took the streets of Ramallah last week for the first time in four years to celebrate the recently-signed national reconciliation agreement. Not everyone is unreservedly euphoric over the pact, however. Read more about In West Bank, tentative steps toward unity
10 May 2011
Yesterday, The Electronic Intifada reported that the US government has frozen the bank accounts of Hatem Abudayyeh, a Palestinian community leader in Chicago, and his wife, Naima: Read more about Update on the freezing of the Abudayyeh family's accounts
10 May 2011
In a substantial victory for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, a major German rail transportation company — Deutsche Bahn, or DB — has pulled out of the $550 million illegal A1 train project, which is designed to connect Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Read more about BDS VICTORY: German company pulls out of illegal Israeli railway project
Ramallah 10 May 2011
Despite the euphoria surrounding the recent signing in Cairo of the groundbreaking unity accord between Palestinian rivals Fatah and Hamas, ending their four-year feud, numerous obstacles remain which could impinge on the implementation of a unity government. Read more about Uncertain road ahead for Fatah-Hamas pact
9 May 2011
Organizers of a national gathering to coincide with AIPAC’s annual policy meeting in Washington, DC are urging people to register soon: Read more about Move Over AIPAC conference 21-24 May in Washington, DC
9 May 2011
The US government has frozen the bank accounts belonging to Hatem Abudayyeh, a Palestinian community organizer and director of a social service organization serving the Arab community in Chicago, and his wife, Naima. Read more about US freezes Chicago Palestinian leader's bank accounts
9 May 2011
In an oped for Al Jazeera English today, The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah takes a deeper look at the “reconciliation” deal signed by Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah in Cairo last week and argues that contrary to the hopes of many Palestinians it may be a dead end: Read more about EI's Ali Abunimah on "reconciliation" deal in Al Jazeera English
9 May 2011
The Time That Remains: Chronicle of a Present Absentee is a must-see by writer-director-co-star Elia Suleiman. Read more about Elia Suleiman's sublime "The Time That Remains"
8 May 2011
Amnesty International released an urgent action alert on Friday following Israel’s imposition on an administrative detention order on Palestinian writer and activist Ahmad Qatamesh. Amnesty writes: Palestinian academic and writer Ahmad Qatamesh is being held as an administrative detainee, which allows the Israeli authorities to detain him indefinitely without charge and denies him any real opportunity to challenge the detention order. Read more about Amnesty International: Ahmad Qatamesh a prisoner of conscience
6 May 2011
Killing Osama Bin Laden might have been sweet revenge and given a boost to President Obama’s re-election chances. But the US’ disregard for the consequences its actions have recalls the Palestinian example to mind. Read more about Bin Laden and the Palestinians
6 May 2011
A year ago today, Palestinian civil society leader Ameer Makhoul, an Israeli citizen, was arrested from his Haifa home after it was raided by Israeli forces. Makhoul, the coordinator of Ittijah, the Union of Arab Community Associations and an advocate of boycott, divestment and sanctions, warned The Electronic Intifada in January of 2010 that Israel was increasingly persecuting the Palestinian community in Israel, attempting to cut the community off from the rest of the Palestinian national movement. “Israel uses its legal system and its laws on citizenship and loyalty to the Jewish state to achieve this,” Makhoul said. Read more about Palestinian civil society leader Ameer Makhoul arrested one year ago today
Gaza City 6 May 2011
Palestinians in Gaza poured into the streets of Gaza City on Wednesday to celebrate the signing of a national reconciliation agreement in Cairo that same day. But amidst the high hope was trepidation that unity aspirations would not be realized on the ground. Read more about In Gaza, hope that words of unity will become real
6 May 2011
I just downloaded a brand new free iPhone app called iGaza. I was pleasantly surprised by how good this is. It brings a stream of news about Palestine, more specifically Gaza and activism to break the blockade of Gaza right to your phone. Read more about Nicely done "iGaza" iPhone app just released
5 May 2011
Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo on Wednesday, paving the way for the formation of a Palestinian national unity government. The move, say local analysts, reflects the changing political equation in the Middle East amid the ongoing wave of Arab popular uprisings. Read more about Egypt breaks from US, Israel by brokering unity deal
5 May 2011
The Electronic Intifada co-founder Ali Abunimah participated in last week’s Annual International Al-Awda Convention in Anneheim, California. Anayat Durrani reports for the Egyptian publication Al-Ahram Weekly, “A major focus of the convention was the Arab people’s mass uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa and their relevance to the Palestinian struggle.” Ali Abunimah told the conference: Read more about EI's Ali Abunimah on Arab uprisings at Al-Awda convention
5 May 2011
A new Israeli parliamentary (Knesset) bill that would give direct control of national parks to private organizations is causing alarm amidst Jerusalem-area activists. Read more about Israeli bill to give settler group authority in Silwan
5 May 2011
The first ever Palestinian trade union conference for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel was held in Ramallah last week on 30 April. A historic formation was made at the conference with the establishment of the Palestinian Trade Union Coalition for BDS (PTUC-BDS) — the largest coalition of the Palestinian trade union movement. Read more about Palestinian trade union movement forms historic BDS coalition
5 May 2011
A coalition of organizations are part of a May 15 Rally to Return to Palestine in New York City. In the comments section, please share any other Nakba commemoration/right of return events happening around this anniversary. Rally to Return to Palestine announcement follows, in English then Arabic: Read more about May 15 in NYC: Rally to Return to Palestine
5 May 2011
Despite the Hamas-Fatah “unity” deal, Israeli army officers say they expect that Palestinian Authority security forces will continue their open collaboration with Israel, not just against Hamas, but also against Palestinian popular protests and marches on May 15. Read more about Despite "unity" Israel army sees PA forces continuing collaboration against Hamas
4 May 2011
The Electronic Intifada contributor Sarah Irving interviews Randa Abdel-Fattah, the author of five novels for young adults and children, about her writing and activism. Read more about Breaking down stereotypes: Randa Abdel-Fattah interviewed
4 May 2011
Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel has submitted a petition to the Israeli High Court demanding that the government overturn its recent decision to criminalize commemoration of the Nakba — the ethnic cleansing and expulsion of 800,000 Palestinians before, during and after Israel declared itself a state in 1948. Read more about Palestinian rights group submits petition to Israeli High Court to reverse "Nakba Law"
4 May 2011
The Palestinian human rights group Addameer issued an urgent appeal today (full text below), one day after Israeli military authorities issued an administrative detention order against Ahmad Qatamesh, the Palestinian writer and political activist. Read more about As feared, Israel issues administrative detention order against Qatamesh
4 May 2011
The US Palestinian Community Network has announced a new initiative today: “an online viral participatory campaign featuring simple notes by Palestinians, Arabs and allies describing what they hope to do when they return to Palestine.” Read more about "When I return to Palestine, I will ..."
3 May 2011
Palestine Monitor, the website affiliated with the Al Mubadara movement of Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, has published what it says is the “Text Of The Agreement Between Fatah And Hamas” to be officially signed in Cairo this week. Read more about "Text" of Hamas-Fatah deal emerges and it doesn't look good
3 May 2011
Israel has lashed out at the recent ground-breaking deal in Cairo, which will see unification of the two main Palestinian political factions after four years of bitter infighting, by threatening economic sanctions against the Palestinians. Read more about Israel threatens Palestinian unity with economic sanctions
4 May 2011
The induced euphoria that characterizes discussions within the mainstream media around the upcoming declaration of an independent Palestinian state in September, ignores the stark realities on the ground and the warnings of critical commentators. Read more about An independent homeland or bantustan in disguise?
3 May 2011
The five-story building housing the now abandoned Hamdanco sewing factory is filled with machines gathering dust; it used to be the place of employment of 130 workers, including sewers and administrative staff. Read more about Siege brings Gaza's garment industry to a halt
3 May 2011
AIPAC pretends to speak for all Jews, but it certainly does not speak for me or other members of the Jewish community in this country who are committed to equal rights for all and are aware that American interventionism is likely to bring further disaster and chaos to the Middle East. Read more about AIPAC does not speak for me
3 May 2011
Today the US Palestinian Community Network issued a statement on the occasion of International Workers’ Day, giving a summary of the sacrifices Palestinian workers have made for the national liberation struggle, and describing the violations of Palestinian workers’ rights by Israel. Here’s an excerpt: Read more about USPCN: protest Bashar Masri's appearance at America-Israel Chamber of Commerce
Ramallah 2 May 2011
Last week, on 21 April, Israeli soldiers invaded my home in Ramallah, held hostage all those present, and forced me at gunpoint to call my father, a writer and human rights advocate, in order to demand his surrender. This is common operating procedure for Israeli occupation forces. Read more about When Israeli soldiers came to arrest my father
2 May 2011
We at Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association hope the world will join us in our call to end impunity and to free all political prisoners, as without this there can be no just peace. Read more about No peace without release of political prisoners
2 May 2011
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights issued the following press release on Saturday, 30 April following the Israel high court’s rejection of an appeal to extend the two-year statute of limitations imposed on filing compensation cases. According to PCHR, this ruling “epresents a serious setback for the victims, and their legitimate quest for accountability and redress.” Israel’s High Court of Justice Dismisses Petition Filed on Behalf of More Than 1,000 Victims of Operation Cast Lead Read more about Israeli high court decision a serious setback for Gaza war crimes victims
2 May 2011
Yesterday marked International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day and Labor Day. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has issued two statements related to this annual commemoration. The first outlines Israel’s violations of Palestinians’ right to work, and the other condemns the Interior Ministry in Gaza’s banning of an assembly of workers to mark International Workers’ Day. On Israel’s labor rights violations: Read more about Long struggle ahead for Palestinian workers