10 February 2011
“I still cannot believe my eyes as I see the machines of our new factory, scattered to all corners,” said Rabah al-Hatto as he surveyed the rubble of his recently-established plastic water tank factory in northeast Gaza, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes early yesterday. Read more about New Gaza factory, jobs destroyed in Israeli attack
10 February 2011
GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - Despite ongoing protests calling for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s immediate resignation, petrol is once again flowing through the tunnels from Egypt into Gaza after supplies were cut for a week due to the unrest, according to the Palestinian General Petroleum Corporation. Read more about Groups warn of humanitarian consequences of Gaza closure
9 February 2011
RAFAH, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - Mustapha Suleiman, 27, from J Block east of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, crosses through gaps in the iron fence on the border carrying bread, water, cans of meat and a handful of vegetables for Egyptian soldiers stationed on the other side. Read more about Palestinians in Gaza feed Egyptian troops
9 February 2011
CAIRO (IPS) - Over recent years, Egypt has witnessed mounting tension between its Muslim majority and its sizeable Coptic Christian minority. But in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the site of ongoing mass protests against the ruling regime, members of both faiths chant in unison “Muslim, Christian, doesn’t matter; We’re all in this boat together!” Read more about Muslim-Christian unity characterizes Egypt's uprising
11 February 2011
While all eyes are on the people’s revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, ongoing efforts to form a new government in Lebanon have garnered little media attention. But the collapse of the Hariri government in Lebanon was another major blow to US interests and the standing of its long-time Israeli and “moderate” Arab allies. Read more about Meet the Lebanese Press: the end of Hariri or of Harirism?
9 February 2011
Economic dependency and an oppressive security state is the recipe that many dictatorial, one-person, or one-party regimes apply across the region. This model was followed by the once American-supported, and then American-deposed Saddam Hussein, to Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, who was first a pariah in the West and then became its darling, to Tunisia’s Zine El Abedine Ben Ali who was overthrown by his people, among others. While the Egyptian people stand steadfast in an effort to overthrow their own Pharoah, a similar “pharoah regime” is steadily being built for Palestinians in the West Bank. Read more about The ascent of the Palestinian pharaoh
9 February 2011
With today’s technology, every person on the street with a cell phone can be a reporter and the entire world can bear witness almost in real time to what happens in the dark alleyways and secret corners of a police state. Yet even this has its risks. Read more about Egypt's revolution through a million eyes
9 February 2011
In the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah last weekend, security forces belonging to the Palestinian Authority attempted to pacify a protest of 2,000 persons. Read more about Despite PA repression, Palestinians rally for Egypt
8 February 2011
A leaked secret memorandum from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggests the government is seeking to ensure Israeli and other foreign officials who may be pursued for war crimes can visit the Netherlands without fear of arrest or legal accountability. Read more about Netherlands could be safe haven for war criminals: leaked memo
8 February 2011
OCCUPIED GAZA STRIP (IRIN) - More than a week of political unrest in Egypt has heightened the threat of a humanitarian crisis in neighboring Gaza. Egyptian soldiers fled their posts on the northern border on 30 January, forcing the Rafah crossing — a critical valve for the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza — to close. Read more about Palestinians detained, prices soar as Rafah stays closed