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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”. 

Doha meeting explores socio-economic, humanitarian crisis in Palestinian territory

6 February 2007


The unrelenting Israeli imperatives to accommodate its territorial design gave rise to a noticeable shift in the way the international community framed Israeli-Palestinian relations, Sara Roy of the Harvard Center for Middle East Studies said this afternoon at the first plenary session of the United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People in Doha, Qatar. The international community now emphasized humanitarian issues over political issues, she said. It was not surprising that Israel transferred revenues with conditions that the money be only used for humanitarian purposes. 

UN SG calls for revival of "peace process"

5 February 2007


United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on Israel to lift all restrictions on moving goods and people in the occupied Palestinian territory and on Palestinians to take firm measures to cease rocket fire and other indiscriminate attacks against Israeli civilians as necessary steps to revive the peace process. “Without bold steps to guarantee security of the Palestinian and Israeli civilian populations, and without tangible measures that will enable the Palestinians to lead a normal economic and social life, the political process will not succeed,” he said in a message delivered by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Angela Kane. 

Immigration Court Terminates "L.A. 8" Case

31 January 2007


Today, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) called on the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to drop the 20-year old “L.A. 8” case following yet another defeat on the part of the Government in court. This comes as a result of a ruling made public on January 30, by Judge Einhorn, of the Los Angeles Immigration Court, executing an order to terminate the deportation proceedings against Khader Hamide and Michel Shehadeh. ADC is requesting that the DOJ and DHS no longer pursue this 20-year attempt that has repeatedly proven a failure when challenged in court. 

Silencing critics not way to Middle East peace

Joel Beinin 5 February 2007


Last Sunday in San Francisco, the Anti-Defamation League sponsored “Finding Our Voice,” a conference designed to help Jews recognize and confront the “new anti-Semitism.” For me, it was ironic. Ten days before, my own voice was silenced by fellow Jews. I was to give a talk about our Middle East policy to high school students at the Harker School in San Jose. With one day to go, my contact there called to say my appearance had been canceled. He was apologetic and upset. He expected the talk would be intellectually stimulating and intriguing for students. But, he said, “a certain community of parents” complained to the headmaster. He added, without divulging details, that the Jewish Community Relations Council of Silicon Valley had played a role.