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The whitewashing of Ariel Sharon

Saree Makdisi 8 January 2006


AS ARIEL SHARON’S career comes to an end, the whitewashing is already underway. Literally overnight he was being hailed as “a man of courage and peace” who had generated “hopes for a far-reaching accord” with an electoral campaign promising “to end conflict with the Palestinians.” But even if end-of-career assessments often stretch the truth, and even if far too many people fall for the old saw about the gruff old warrior miraculously turning into a man of peace, the reality is that miracles don’t happen, and only rarely have words and realities been separated by such a yawning abyss. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

4 January 2006


This week, Israeli forces killed five Palestinians. Two of the victims were assassinated. Israeli forces wounded 29 Palestinians, including 19 children. Israeli forces conducted 25 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Palestinian homes were raided and 30 Palestinians, including 9 children and a girl were arrested by Israeli armed forces. Israeli forces turned seven Palestinian homes into military outposts. Israeli forces shelled a civilian facility in Khan Yunis. Israeli forces continued to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel continues to construct the Separation Barrier in the West Bank and razed Palestinian land near settlements and uprooted 400 olive trees. 

Rights group urges US to cut Israel aid

27 December 2005


In a letter addressed to George Bush, the US president, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) requested that the US administration deduct direct aid to Israel the amount equal to what Israel spends on its the settlements and on the construction and maintenance of the separation wall inside the West Bank. The HRW letter cites figures from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics that in the first half of 2005, there was a 28% increase in settlement housing starts compared to the same period in 2004. According to the Israeli settlement watchdog group Peace Now, there are 121 official settlements in Israel and 101 unofficial outposts. The settlement areas occupy more than 40% of the West Bank. 

Gaza Power Cut Would Violate Laws of War

22 December 2005


reported proposal by Israeli government officials to cut the Gaza Strip’s electricity supply in retaliation for Palestinian militant groups’ rocket attacks on Israel would constitute unlawful collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population, Human Rights Watch said today. A report on Wednesday in the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz said top Israeli government officials discussed plans to cut electricity to the Gaza Strip if Palestinian militant groups continue to fire Qassam rockets into Israel. Human Rights Watch condemns the use of Qassam rockets. But, in turn, any measures that Israel takes to protect its citizens from these attacks must be consistent with its obligations under international humanitarian law. 

Photostory: Campaigning begins for Palestinian elections

5 January 2006


Palestinian parties launched their election campaign with banners, rallies and parades yesterday amid growing tensions between the Islamic militant group Hamas and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas over his suggestion to postpone the Jan. 25 parliamentary vote. Abbas said for the first time Monday the balloting could be put off if Israel bars Palestinians from voting in Jerusalem. Hamas, which is expected to make a strong showing in its first general election, insisted yesterday the vote take place on schedule. It is unlikely Abbas would postpone the election without Hamas’s consent. 

PA accused of obstructing Palestinian elections

5 January 2006


The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights is deeply concerned over the future of the electoral process in light of threats of resignation by members of the Central Elections Committee (CEC) as a result of continuous interference in their work by the Cabinet and Ministry of Interior. A number of CEC members asked President Mahmoud Abbas to relieve them of their duties. The move came in protest against the Palestinian Cabinet’s decision regarding voting procedures for members of Palestinian security forces. On Wednesday, 4 January 2006, the Palestinian Cabinet issued a decision allowing members of the Palestinian security forces to vote. 

Safe-play havens for Palestinian children living in conflict zones

Sabine Dolan 3 January 2006


Nestled in the golden hills surrounding Nablus in the West Bank, the little town of Till is home to 3,000 people. Like many population centres in this conflict-prone area, children’s access to safe-play and recreational facilities has been virtually non-existent…until recently. Just a few months ago, UNICEF helped create Till’s first-ever safe-play area for children. “For me, there’s a big difference between before the playground was built and after,” says nine-year-old Majdi Ramadan, a 4th grade student who lives in Till with his family. “I used to play in the streets, but we were always interrupted when people walked by. It was dangerous, too, with all the cars; one of my friends got hurt. Now I’m no longer afraid of the cars, I can just play.” 

Three wishes for the New Year

Hasan Abu Nimah 4 January 2006


New Year good wishes have taken on a customary character, which means it can be hard to attach real expectations to them. Yet the new year is a moment to wish and campaign for meaningful change in the way the world is. And despite the breathtaking enormity of human progress, there remains too much to wish for still in terms of ending violence, injustice and poverty. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah lays out his three wishes for peace in Palestine and Iraq, and the restoration of the authority of international law, so badly eroded by US unilateralism in the wake of the end of Cold War. 

Al Arabiya journalist barred in latest case of discrimination against Arab media

2 January 2006


Reporters Without Borders has said it shared the outrage of the pan-Arab satellite TV station Al Arabiya, which issued a statement on 27 December 2005 condemning an Israeli decision to ban one of its correspondents, British journalist Bassem El-Jamal, from entering the Palestinian Territories. The ban is the latest in a long series of press freedom violations by the Israeli army against the Arab media. “We call on the Israeli authorities to immediately lift the ban on Bassem El-Jamal, for which there are absolutely no grounds,” Reporters Without Borders said, adding that it was vital for journalists to be able to freely cover the run-up to the Palestinian legislative elections on 25 January 2006. 

Two Palestinians killed in Israeli air attack on Gaza

2 January 2006


On Monday evening, 2 January 2006, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) extra-judicially executed a member of the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, and a taxi driver. Another member of the al-Quds Brigades was critically injured. Three civilian bystanders were also injured. In the meantime, IOF have continued to shell areas in the Gaza Strip, especially in the north. On Friday, 31 December 2005, two Palestinian civilians were killed by the IOF shelling that targeted Beit Lahia. At approximately 21:15 on Monday, 2 January 2006, an IOF aircraft launched a missile at a taxi that was traveling on the Sea road near the Municipality of Jabalya. On Friday, IOF killed two Palestinian civilians and injured a third one seriously when they were sitting on a field in Beit Lahia.