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Illegal construction approved in the Modi'in Illit settlement

28 February 2007


In early January, the Civil Administration’s Supreme Planning Council approved the amended outline plan for the new neighborhood in the Modi’in Illit settlement, which is located west of Ramallah. The plan for the neighborhood, called Matityahu East, took effect on 23 February and retroactively “rendered fit” forty-two buildings, containing hundreds of new housing units, that were built in violation of the relevant planning and housing laws. 

Adalah proposes draft democratic constitution for a multicultural state of Israel

28 February 2007


On the tenth anniversary of its founding, Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel issues “The Democratic Constitution,” as a constitutional proposal for the state of Israel based on the concept of a democratic, bilingual, multicultural state. This proposed constitution draws on universal principles and international conventions on human rights, the experiences of nations and the constitutions of various democratic states. 

IOF Extra-Judicially Execute Three Palestinians in Jenin

28 February 2007


PCHR strongly condemns the ongoing escalation of attacks by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in the West Bank, which has peaked with the extra-judicial execution of three members of the Islamic Jihad in Jenin on Wednesday morning. This latest crime has coincided with an ongoing IOF military operation in Nablus, which has been the second of its kind this week. PCHR holds IOF responsible for such escalation, which aims at increasing tension in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). 

Lebanon Bloggers Roundup: Academia, Agriculture and Construction

Moussa Bashir Lebanon 27 February 2007


Let us begin this week’s roundup of the Lebanese blogosphere with non-political posts. Let us start from a post about two Lebanese salads that are used as appetizers during meals. Skylark shows us (Fr) how to prepare Fattush and Tabboule, which are two delicious Lebanese salads that are usually found whenever Lebanese spread the table for a guest. Now that we have satisfied our taste buds, let us move to publishing and academia. Lazarus wrote at the Lebanese Blogger Forum about A Lost Summer: Postcards from Lebanon which is a book that compiles quotations, written during the summer war in Lebanon. 

Coming Home: Palestinian Cinema

Annemarie Jacir 27 February 2007


In the late 1960s, a group of young Arab women and men devoted to the struggle for Palestinian freedom chose to contribute to the resistance through filmmaking — recording their lives, hopes, and their fight for justice. Working in both fiction and documentary, they strived to tell the stories of Palestine and to create a new kind of cinema. Most were refugees, exiled from their homes in Palestine. And additionally there were fellow Arabs who stood in solidarity with them, devoting their work to a just cause. Their films screened across the Arab world and internationally but never in Palestine. 

UN Rapporteur compares Israel to Apartheid South Africa

27 February 2007


The UN’s Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, John Dugard, has issued a harshly critical report on Israel’s human rights record in regards to its treatment of the Palestinians in occupied Palestine. “The international community, speaking through the United Nations, has identified three regimes as inimical to human rights - foreign occupation, apartheid and colonialism,” Dugard says. In a report posted on the UN Human Rights Council’s website, due to be tabled this week, the South African law professor accuses Israeli regime of all three. 

Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination considers Israel

23 February 2007


Last week, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered the tenth to thirteenth periodic reports of Israel on its implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. In preliminary concluding observations, Morten Kjaerum, the Committee Expert who served as country Rapporteur for the report of Israel, welcomed the information provided by the Israeli delegation on affirmative action plans. However, relying on jurisprudence of the Supreme Court according to which the principle of equality was derived from the Basic Law on dignity was not sufficient. 

Traditional Egyptian Influence Begins to Decline

Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani 27 February 2007


CAIRO, Feb 27 (IPS) - The Mecca Agreement was hailed throughout the Arab world earlier this month for putting an end to Palestinian infighting, which had claimed scores of lives. But some local analysts see the deal — which was sponsored by Egypt’s diplomatic rival Saudi Arabia — as an indication of Cairo’s waning influence as the principal mediator in inter-Palestinian disputes. “Egypt’s diplomatic role has declined and has turned into that of a spectator,” Abdel-Halim Kandil, editor-in-chief of opposition weekly al-Karama told IPS. 

UN official urges world community to match 'courage' of Palestinian unity government

27 February 2007


The agreement to form a new Palestinian Unity Government challenges the international community to “match the courage and compromises” shown by the rival parties with “bold steps of its own,” a senior United Nations official said today. “The inter-factional fighting that raged across parts of Gaza posed a genuine threat to the existence of the Palestinian polity,” UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Karen Koning AbuZayd told a meeting of the agency’s Advisory Commission in Amman, Jordan. 

Settlers assault family as soldiers look on: Three testimonies

27 February 2007


Shopkeeper Dahud Jabber testifies to B’Tselem: “We heard stones hit the door of the grocery store. They [the settlers] threw stones for about an hour. They swore and shouted, “We want to slaughter Arabs.” A neighbor of mine, Tareq, said that they also threw stones at his house. They did all this with Israeli soldiers next to them. We did not file a complaint with anyone. Who could we complain to? We had already complained and never got any results. Another neighbor, Sufyan, told me that settlers broke into his house the same night and assaulted his family.”