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Secretary-General discusses shattered Palestinian economy

2 March 2005


United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has discussed with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas the importance of freedom of movement in occupied Palestinian lands in improving the economy, an essential pillar in securing peace with Israel. In a speech to the session Mr. Annan cited economic development as “the third pillar of the progress we hope to see,” side by side with governance and security, noting that without real and discernible change such as more jobs and the removal of Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks, the Palestinian economy will continue to struggle, sowing prolonged, pervasive despair among the Palestinian populace. 

Ethnic Cleansing 101: The Case of Lifta Village

Jacob Pace 2 March 2005


On the morning of Friday, February 25, 2005 a group of approximately 300 Israelis, Palestinian refugees and international activists gathered near the highway leading out of Jerusalem towards Tel Aviv. In the valley below lay the ruins of the ancient Palestinian village of Lifta. The event was part tour, part protest, and part homecoming. It had different meanings for each of the groups involved. The organization responsible for planning the event, Zochrot (Hebrew for “Remembering”) takes Israelis on tours of depopulated and partially destroyed Palestinian villages. They bring Palestinian refugees to tell the stories of their village and plant signs in Arabic and Hebrew that explain what happened there. This event, however, was also a protest aimed at stopping the impending demolition of what remains of Lifta. 

Speaking to the Presbyterians About Selective Divestment

Liat Weingart 2 March 2005


On 8 February 2005, Jewish Voice for Peace Co-director Liat Weingart and Israeli human rights attorney Shamai Leibovitz spoke to an audience of members of the Presbyterian Church in Chicago. JVP was the first Jewish group to publicly support the Presbyterian Church’s decision to investigate selective divestment. “There is a silent majority of Jews in the US,” said Weingart, “who feel completely alienated from mainline Jewish groups because those groups are no longer in line with their central beliefs of justice and equality.” Read the transcript. 

Citing ‘promise and potential,’ Annan pledges support for Middle East peace moves

1 March 2005


Citing a moment of “promise and potential” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for global support for an independent, democratic Palestinian state and pledged the world body’s readiness to help in the three main areas of governance, security and economic development. “The sense of expectation is palpable. There is a real feeling that, after long years of suffering, bitterness and despair, better days may lie ahead,” he told an international meeting in London in support of the Palestinian Authority. “At long last, we can all sense a new wave of movement. I urge everyone to engage, do the hard work and turn today’s opening into a real end to the conflict.” 

EI EXCLUSIVE: Palestinian population exceeds Jewish population says U.S. government

Michael F. Brown, Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry 1 March 2005


The population of Palestinians living in Israel, the Occupied Gaza Strip, Occupied East Jerusalem and rest of the Occupied West Bank combined now exceeds the number of Israeli Jews, a U.S. government report has revealed. The Palestinian population stands at more than 5.3 million while the Jewish population stands at 5.2 million. The figures come from the U.S. State Department’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004. The report provided population figures for each of these territorial units separately but failed to connect all the dots to arrive at the explosive new demographic reality. 

Ayoub family's appeal against deportation from Canada accepted

1 March 2005


Montreal, Monday, February 27th, 2005 — After taking sanctuary at the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce church in Montreal more than one-year ago, the Ayoub family - Khalil Ayoub, 67, Nabih Ayoub, 69 and Thérèse Boulos Haddad, 62 - have won their battle to remain in Canada. In the context of this concrete victory, the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees stresses the importance of continuing to build public support and solidarity with ongoing struggle of more-than 100 Palestinian refugees, who continue to face deportation from Canada. The Ayoub family’s victory brings a sense of hope and inspiration to the ongoing struggle. 

UNRWA presents $1.1 billion plan to donors

28 February 2005


The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees today presented a blueprint to a better future for four million Palestine refugees to the international donor community in Geneva. The Agency is requesting an additional US$1.1 billion over the next five years to allow it to improve the life chances of the refugees and enhance the ir ability to support themselves. UNRWA’s Medium Term Plan (MTP) is the product of many months of dialogue between the Agency and the donor community and has been influenced by the recommendations of a major conference held in Geneva in June 2004 to examine the future of humanitarian assistance to the Palestine refugees. 

Brian Avery's day in Israel's Supreme Court

Lisa Nessan 28 February 2005


On 5 April 2003, in the West Bank city of Jenin, Israeli troops fired at Brian and another ISM volunteer from an armored personnel carrier (APC). They were standing still, wearing bright red medic vests with their hands over their heads, when soldiers opened fire without any warning shots. Brian suffered serious damage to the entire left side of his face, jaw, mouth, teeth, nose, and eyes. He has undergone more than six reconstructive surgeries totaling over $1,000,000 in medical expenses. Two years later, Brian has returned to Israel to demand a criminal investigation be opened into the shooting, after an internal military inquiry found that the incident in which Brian was shot, never occurred. 

The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (and War)

Bob Feldman 1 March 2005


Most people in the U.S. now realize that Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) board member James Woolsey’s pre-war talk about the Iraqi government’s alleged hidden “nuclear weapons equipment” and “biological weapons laboratories” was inaccurate.  Yet the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs role as a pro-war pressure group with an annual budget of $2.5 million, is rarely mentioned by the U.S. media. Since 1982, at least twelve trips to Israel have been sponsored  by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs for retired Pentagon admirals and generals who are connected to the American security establishment.  

Weekly report on human rights violations

24 February 2005


A Palestinian civilian died from a previous injury he had sustained by IOF; Continued shelling of residential areas in the Gaza Strip; 3 Palestinian civilians, including a child, were seriously injured; Construction of the “annexation wall” in the West Bank has continued and more areas of Palestinian land were confiscated for this purpose; IOF conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas; Houses were raided and a number of Palestinian civilians were arrested; Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the West Bank; IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF have continued to close a number of roads since the beginning of the current Intifada, IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions at Rafah International Crossing Point, and IOF positioned at checkpoints arrested a number of Palestinian civilians.