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A Message of Concern to the Palestinian People

7 February 2007


As Leaders of the Christian Churches in Jerusalem concerned at the present situation in the Palestinian Territories we feel we must voice our anxiety for all our people - Christian and Moslem alike - at the deteriorating relations between Fatah and Hamas leaders and the armed forces. It would appear that all kinds of mediation and attempts at reconciliation have so far failed resulting in a dead lock in the situation. The latest allegations and threats which have been aired through the local and international media have resulted in some large scale fighting which soon will be very difficult to stop. 

One killed, three injured by unknown gunman

7 February 2007


Yesterday evening, unknown gunmen fired at 4 members of the Izzedeen El-Qassam Battalions, the armed wing of Hamas, in Gaza City. One of the targeted individuals, Mohammad Deeb Salim Abu Karsh (24) from Gaza City, was killed and three were injured. One of the injuries is serious. PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 21:30 on Tuesday, 6 February 2007, unknown gunmen fired at four members of Izzedeen El-Qassam Battalions, the armed wing of Hamas, in Lod-Ramla Street in Gaza City. The shooting resulted in the killing of Mohammad Abu Karsh by bullets to the chest, abdomen, and extremities. 

Al-Haq response to recent Israeli government COGAT briefing

7 February 2007


As a non-governmental organisation committed to the promotion and protection of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Al-Haq would like to respond to the recent briefing issued by the Government of Israel’s Office for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (CoGAT). The briefing, entitled “Key Measures for Easing the Daily Lives of the Palestinian Population,” purports to provide a general overview of recent Israeli measures aimed at improving the Palestinian population’s “fabric of life” within the OPT. 

Infighting escalates, exceeding red lines

4 February 2007


The number of Palestinian victims of the last wave of infighting has reached 160. 30 have been killed and 130 injured since Thursday 1 February 2007. All efforts to end the armed clashes have so far been unsuccessful; however both sides have announced a ceasefire under Egyptian mediation. According to the field information collected by Al Mezan, fighting resumed after members of Hamas and the Executive Force of the Ministry of Interior attacked a convoy of trucks lifting caravans and equipment for the Presidential Guards in the Middle Gaza area. Hamas claimed that the trucks carried arms and military equipment. 

UNRWA opens tented school for stranded Palestinians

7 February 2007


Some 90 Palestinian refugee children whose families have been stranded over the last nine months at al-Tanf border crossing point between Iraq and Syria, living in a makeshift refugee camp, started attending an UNRWA tented school on 3 February. At this school, UNRWA will provide general education for refugee children at elementary and preparatory levels as prescribed by the Syrian Ministry of Education. Managed by the UNRWA education programme, with eight teachers from the refugee community in al-Tanf serving as staff, the school will help cater for the refugees’ educational needs. 

Doha seminar on assistance to Palestinian people concludes

6 February 2007


The United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People explored during its third plenary session the theme “Looking ahead: Creating conditions for Palestinian economic recovery”. The Former Minister of Public Works and Housing, Palestinian Authority and President, Palestinian Economic Centre for Development and Reconstruction, Mohammed Shtayyeh, said there was no lack of initiatives but a lack of implementation of existing agreements. Another interim agreement would be a failing enterprise. Israelis and Palestinians must go to final negotiations for a permanent solution. 

Middle East experts review international response to needs of Palestinian people

6 February 2007


Although Israel had called for international sanctions against the Palestinians following the election of Hamas in 2006, it found itself scrambling to restore aid to avoid a human catastrophe when it appeared that those sanctions were working too well, Jerusalem-based Alternative Information Center Researcher Shir Hever told the United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian people this morning. The Israeli Government was now beginning to understand its responsibility for the humanitarian situation on the ground. 

Picture Balata coming to the U.S. in April 2007

6 February 2007


Picture Balata, a photography workshop based in the West Bank Balata refugee camp, is currently in the process or organizing a touring exhibition of the work of its young photographers in April 2007. During the exhibition, four of the photographers will travel to the US to speak about their work and about their experience growing up in a West Bank refugee camp. The exhibition will be important for a number of reasons. Not only will it give people in the US a chance to see these kids’ amazing work and hear from them in person, but it’s also important for the photographers to see that there are people in the US who do want to hear what these young people who have always lived under occupation have to say about their experiences. 

The Road to Hell is Paved with Personal Commitments

Timothy Seidel 6 February 2007


In her recent travels through the Middle East, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice brought with her, many have speculated, little more than another round of optimism. This familiar optimism was also found following the statements Secretary Rice delivered in her keynote address at the American Task Force on Palestine Inaugural Gala in Washington, DC in October of last year in which she declared her “personal commitment” to the goal of a “Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel.” Whatever sense of optimism one might draw from such statements, it is predictably shattered when confronted with the worsening situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 

Refugee parents despair as Gaza streets turn into battlegrounds

Adnan Abu Hasna and Maysa Gayyussi 6 February 2007


“Now life in Gaza is complete” says Um-Salim, a painful sarcasm tinging her words. Um-Saleem speaks as she run s towards the hospital after hearing that camp children were injured during recent factional infighting. “It is not enough that we have to live in deep poverty and sadness. Now death comes, without warning, to kill our children, our dreams and our hope.” Umm-Salim has four children and lives in Shati refugee camp on the western edge of Gaza City. “I told my children not to go into the streets because the situation is really dangerous. There is shooting everywhere and bullets have no mercy”.