All Content

One week of war: Every decision is a gamble

Munira Khayyat Beirut 23 July 2006


I turned on the radio in the kitchen to listen to ‘Sawt al Shaab,’ the communist station that provides updates on the situation, interspersed with nationalist music. Fairuz came in over the static, singing about what a wonderful place Lebanon is. All of a sudden her voice cracks with static and morphs into the robotic voice of a man speaking Hebrew-accented Arabic. It is the same recording that my aunt heard on the phone at 4 am. I jiggle the antenna, trying to get away from his creepy pronouncements but there is no escape. I turn off the radio and leave the kitchen. 

Fighting for survival, not hatred of Jews

Fedwa Wazwaz 25 July 2006


To the world, Israel left Gaza. To the Palestinians, Israel still occupies Gaza but from outside, turning Gaza into an open-air prison. Israel claims it is seeking peace. Yet, behind that PR image, Israel is engaged in Arab home demolitions, torture, imprisonment of Arabs without charge or trial, land grabbing and illegal Jewish-only settlements connected to Israel with Jewish-only bypass roads slicing Arab land into Bantustans. We hear Israel condemning terrorism, but Palestinians see them openly revere, celebrate and reward Israeli terrorists. To see beyond the false image that Israel portrays on the world stage, please read the eyewitness accounts and articles on www.electronicintifada.net. 

Pity the living and the days to come

Hanady Salman Beirut 25 July 2006


Everything in Beirut was so calm I even went home for lunch. There were ongoing airstrikes on the south but no reports of causalities yet. Kinda wanted to come with me to the office when she saw that I was going back there. The minute we reached the street, we heard the sounds of four huge consecutive explosions. I don’t remember what I did - maybe I jumped - but when I looked at Kinda she was pale. It took her two seconds to get back down to earth and say the magic words “boom boom ha ha”. And she kept repeating that for five minutes, automatically. She was not smiling. She was asking, “Boom boom ha ha ?”. 

Photostory: LA drops banner against Israel's war on Lebanon and Gaza

25 July 2006


The past few days protests were held in Israel, across the Middle East and around the world condemning Israel’s US-backed war on Lebanon and Gaza. The the largest demonstrations, involving thousands of people, were held in the United States and in countries closely allied with Washington�s war aims in the region — Britain, Australia and Canada. In downtown Los Angeles, activists held a rally on Saturday, July 22, to protest Israel’s war on Lebanon and Gaza. They dropped a banner with raining bombs. The image was traced from a large image created by Brazilian cartoonist Latuff — although they spun it to demonstrate the role of the US in this conflict. 

Web preference: e-Intifada

25 July 2006


The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah (and Hamas) targets mainly innocent civilians in Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories. News about this conflict comes primarily from Israel or the West but on the web you can find alternative news sources. The English language news site The Electronic Intifada (EI) reports from a Palestinian perspective, albeit in an objective manner. Often EI is faster than established mainstream media. Last week, when no one knew, they reported that Westerners have been denied access to the Palestinian territories. The editors live in various places in the world and receive news from correspondents on the ground. 

Lebanon's Phoenix Rising

Marwan Khoueiry Beirut 25 July 2006


I am not writing this article to condemn the atrocious Israeli war on Lebanon that started on that abyssal day of July 12, 2006, nor to debate who is mainly responsible for it. I am writing to give hope - the hope that every Lebanese citizen needs right now. Hope for every family who has lost a child, a mother or a father. Hope for every family whose house was destroyed. Hope for every Lebanese student who thinks he has no future in his country anymore. Hope for every investor who withdrew his business from this country. In Majida el Roumi’s song to Beirut, she sings, “Beirut, lady of the world, get up from under the ruins like a pine flower in April.” 

Live from Lebanon: Rania Masri on Democracy Now!

17 July 2006


Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon has entered its sixth day and the Lebanese death toll has now topped 150: almost all of them civilians. Meanwhile, Hezbollah is continuing to fire rockets at northern Israel. On Sunday, a missile hit Haifa, Israel’s third largest city. The Israeli death toll since now stands at around 24. We go to Lebanon to get a report. First we go to Northern Lebanon to speak with Rania Masri, assistant professor in the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Balamand in Lebanon, assistant director of the Institute for Environmental Studies at that university. Welcome to Democracy Now!, Rania Masri. 

Terrorist Donkey Joins Family in Death

Sami Abu Salem Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip 25 July 2006


The paramedics and witnesses could not differentiate between the pieces of flesh of the eleven-year-old Nadi al-Attar, and those of his grandmother, 57-year-old Khairiyya, or the donkey’s, scattered on the branches of lemon and boxthorn trees on both sides of the dusty road in Beit Lahia, north Gaza. Yesterday, the old woman and her three grandsons Nadi, Shadi (14), and Ahmed (17) were riding a donkey cart, heading to their field to collect ripe figs that fetch a good price in Gaza’s markets when Israeli rocket hit their cart and blasted two of them into small pieces. 

In Lebanon, We Have No Bomb Shelters

Maya Mikdashi Beirut 21 July 2006


Today all of Lebanon is under attack, and the target is the country’s civilian population. The facts speak for themselves. Bridges, tunnels, highways, hospitals, national gas storages, and privately owned gas stations have all been bombed by Israeli planes, ships, and artillery. Churches, mosques, village roads, state electric and water plants, homes, grain silos, food factories, and trucks transporting gas and goods have been destroyed, and civilians ordered to evacuate their homes have been targeted while searching for refuge. 

Art therapy with kids in a Beirut shelter

Mayssoun Sukarieh Beirut 25 July 2006


Many organizations and volunteers have started to work with children who were displaced with their families from many parts of the country, and who are now filling the schools, parks and different establishments in Beirut. The goal of current efforts and programs is first to encourage the children to express their feelings and anxieties about the war, and second, to give some time to their parents to relax a bit during the days. In addition to drawing, many volunteers are reading with children, singing, playing, or even just sitting and talking.