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Rafah Revisited

Bill Dienst Rafah, Gaza Strip 22 December 2006


Yesterday, here in Gaza, I met Scott Kennedy, a former mayor of Santa Cruz, California. He has been traveling in the Middle East and touring the West Bank and Israel. Today Mr. Kennedy is being escorted to visit Rafah, from El Deira Hotel here in Gaza City, by a Palestinian Authority convoy, and I have decided to go along with him. We will also drive through Khan Younis, and through ruins of the former Israeli coastal settlements of Gush Katif, which used take up over a third of the beachfront in the Gaza Strip. We won’t have time to get out of the convoy at these places, however. 

Israel blocks another UN fact-finding mission

Michael F. Brown 22 December 2006


Israel has shut down another internationally mandated investigation of its military actions. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and his high-level fact-finding mission, authorized by the UN’s Human Rights Council, have been refused entry by Israel for so long that they have been forced to call off the visit. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mark Regev disingenuously claimed that Israel had not denied entry, but simply not yet reached a decision. The families of the 19 Palestinian civilians slain at Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on 8 November 2006 will apparently not see even an approximation of justice at this time. 

Lebanon at a tripwire

21 December 2006


Lebanon has badly lost its balance and is at risk of new collapse, moving ever closer to explosive Sunni-Shiite polarisation with a divided, debilitated Christian community in between. The fragile political and sectarian equilibrium established since the end of its bloody civil war in 1990 was never a panacea and came at heavy cost. It depended on Western and Israeli acquiescence in Syria’s tutelage and a domestic system that hindered urgently needed internal reforms, and change was long overdue. But the upsetting of the old equilibrium, due in no small part to a tug-of-war by outsiders over its future, has been chaotic and deeply divisive, pitting one half of the country against the other. 

Supreme Court compels finance ministry to explain exclusion of Arab villages

22 December 2006


On 7 December 2006, the Supreme Court of Israel held a hearing on a petition filed by Adalah, which challenges the state’s compensation scheme for war damages incurred during the second Lebanon war. In the petition, Adalah challenged three designations and compensation formulas regulated by the Minister of Finance in July 2006 as they apply to: ‘border towns’; ‘restricted towns’; and ‘non-governmental organizations (NGOs)’. At the hearing, the Court specifically addressed the issue of the exclusion of four Arab villages (Arab al-Aramshe, Fasuta, Ma’alia and Jesh) from the list of ‘border towns’. 

Adalah: Rescind order declaring Ansar al-Sajeen illegal

22 December 2006


On 13 November 2006, Adalah submitted a pre-petition to the Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, demanding the cancellation of his order declaring Ansar Al-Sajeen (The Prisoners’ Friends Association) to be an illegal organization. Adalah Attorney Abeer Baker filed the pre-petition on behalf of Ansar Al-Sajeen. On 13 November 2006, Adalah submitted a pre-petition to the Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, demanding the cancellation of his order declaring Ansar Al-Sajeen (The Prisoners’ Friends Association) to be an illegal organization. Adalah Attorney Abeer Baker filed the pre-petition on behalf of Ansar Al-Sajeen. 

Blair's Mideast Message Echoes Past Failure

Trita Parsi 22 December 2006


British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been touring the Middle East with one clear message — to make peace in the Middle East, Iran must be isolated. There is little new about Blair’s strategy. Though it contradicts his initial support for the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group to open talks with Syria and Iran — a position he quickly withdrew from after having been corrected by U.S. President George W. Bush — it fits well with the approach of his predecessors when it comes to creating momentum for peacemaking between Israelis and Palestinians. 

High Court approves cutting off a-Ram from East Jerusalem

22 December 2006


On 13 December 2006, the High Court of Justice rejected the petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and the human rights organization Bimkom against the section of the separation barrier that severs the Palestinian community a-Ram from East Jerusalem. According to the head of the local council, the community has about 58,000 residents, half of whom hold Israeli identity cards.
This section of the barrier will surround a-Ram on three sides. The barrier’s route will separate a-Ram from its last land reserves, and leaves this area on the Israeli side of the barrier. 

Weekly Report of Human Rights Violations

22 December 2006


During the reported period, IOF killed 9 Palestinians, including a child, in the West Bank. On 14 December 2006, IOF shot dead a Palestinian civilian in Kufor al-Dik village, southwest of Nablus, when they chasing a number of children who threw stones at their military vehicles. On 16 December 2006, IOF killed a member of the Palestinian resistance in the old town of Nablus during an exchange of fire. On 19 December 2006, IOF shot dead 13-year-old child near the Annexation Wall in Far’oun village, southwest of Tulkarm. On 20 December 2006, IOF shot dead two members of the al-Quds Brigades (the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad) in Seilat al-Harthiya village, west of Jenin. 

More Palestinians arrive at Iraq-Syria border after fleeing Baghdad

22 December 2006


More Palestinians have arrived at the Iraq-Syria border after fleeing Baghdad to escape increasing violence, harassment and targeted killings. The latest group, 41 in all, has been stranded on the Iraqi side of the border with Syria since last Saturday. Iraqi border authorities initially refused to allow them to leave Iraq, citing a lack of proper documentation. Some members of the group do not have any travel documents, while others are holding expired ones – all as a result of suspension until further notice by the Iraqi authorities of renewals or issuance of residence permits. 

Fearing Civil Wars, Cairo Counsels Restraint

Adam Morrow 22 December 2006


While the situation in U.S.-occupied Iraq has slid further into chaos and sectarian strife, Egypt has watched anxiously as two areas closer to home — the occupied Palestinian territories and Lebanon — have also been roiled by the specter of civil war. Although tense political standoffs in both the Gaza Strip and Beirut have prompted a flurry of diplomatic activity by Cairo, there has been little by way of progress in either case. In nearby Gaza, attempts to forge a national unity government between leading opposition party Fatah and the Hamas-led government ended in failure, with the two sides unable to agree on terms for power sharing.