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Speakers at Caracas meeting explore situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory

13 December 2005


Coordinator, Israeli Committee against House Demolitions, Jerusalem, Jeff Halper, told participants this afternoon at the United Nations Latin American and Caribbean Meeting on the Question of Palestine, that given the facts on the ground, a two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was no longer viable. Israel’s unilateral moves created an illusion of a Palestinian State that would leave Israel in control. This afternoon’s session, part of a two-day meeting sponsored by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, heard presentations by experts on the question of Palestine. 

Paradise Now nominated for Golden Globes

Arjan El Fassed 14 December 2005


Yesterday at the Beverly Hilton, the motion picture ‘Paradise Now’ was nominated in the best foreign language film category for the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards. The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place Monday, January 16, 2006, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel with a live telecast airing on NBC. Last week, Philip Berk, President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced that sixty foreign language films have been qualified for the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards. Earlier this week, it was announced that the film is a finalist for the Broadcast Film Critics Association award and has won the National Board of Review award. 

Olive harvest once again marred by settler violence

7 December 2005


During this year’s olive harvest, B’Tselem has once again documented attacks by settlers against Palestinian farmers and their property. In light of past experience, the Israeli security forces should have taken action in advance to protect the Palestinian harvesters. Instead, in many cases, IDF and police personnel have stood by and left the farmers to the mercy of their attackers, who sometimes even received assistance from security personnel. For example, on 9 November 2005, several female settlers arrived at an olive grove in the area of Ramallah and attempted to steal two bags of olives that had been harvested the same day. 

Letter: EU's Solana pushes cover-up of Jerusalem report

Ali Abunimah 13 December 2005


EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana successfully lobbied EU foreign ministers to suppress a report documenting the devastating effects of Israel’s separation wall and colonies in Occupied East Jerusalem. Solana argued that publishing the report would hurt Israeli sensitivities and would cause the EU to lose influence. Electronic Intifada co-founder, in a letter to Solana, argues that EU indulgence of Israel is like the action of “a person who provides an alcoholic with money for booze and a car to drive while drunk while saying that to do otherwise would offend the sensitivities of someone who is a great danger to himself and others.” 

Emergency Appeal targets $215 million for poorest Palestinians

8 December 2005


UN agencies and non-governmental organisations today are appealing for $215 million in emergency assistance for people in the occupied Palestinian territory. The reason for yet another Appeal in the occupied Palestinian territory - this is the fourth consecutive year - is because the humanitarian situation is largely unchanged. Poverty rates have increased in 2005 compared to 2004. Gaza, the northern and southern areas of the West Bank are the areas of most acute need. The Appeal is part of a global appeal of $4.7 billion launched by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, for 18 countries and regions facing humanitarian crises. 

Human Rights Day: Rule of law includes the right of return

10 December 2005


The right of refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes, lands and properties is a universal human right. The 2005 United Nations Principles of Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons reaffirm this right. The willingness of states to promote and facilitate the return of refugees and displaced persons is a key indicator of their respect for the rule of law. When Palestinian refugees and internally displaced talk about the right of return they are not asking for a special privilege. The Palestinian demand for the right of return is a demand for equal rights and application of the rule of law. Yet today, there is no law in Israel which constitutionally protects the right of equality for all. 

UNRWA inaugurates Saudi-funded Rafah Re-housing Project

11 December 2005


The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) today laid the cornerstone for the “Saudi Project to Rehouse Homeless Refugee Families”, funded through a generous contribution of $20 million from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This grant, administered by the Saudi Fund for Development through UNRWA, will cover the construction of new shelters for over 800 homeless refugee families, three schools, a health centre, a mosque, a community centre, a market area and all related infrastructure works. The project will help alleviate some of the hardship being felt in the Gaza Strip by providing several hundred thousand days of temporary employment. 

Commission contributes €14 million to the Euro-Palestinian Credit Guarantee Fund

13 December 2005


Today the Commission is signing its €14 million contribution to the newly established European-Palestinian Credit Guarantee Fund. The Guarantee Fund, led by the German Development Bank (KfW), will support Palestinian small and medium size enterprises’ financing from local banks in the form of soft loans and grants. This €29 million Fund will be made up of contributions from the Commission (€14 million), KfW (€5 million), and the European Investment Bank (EIB) (€10 million). In addition to the Fund’s capital, the financing partners are providing technical assistance to the European-Palestinian Credit Guarantee Fund and partner banks with a view to strengthening the financial sector in the Palestinian Territories. 

A Palestinian-Israeli Joint Declaration unveiled at World Bank conference on Economic Growth

13 December 2005


A group of Palestinian and Israeli private sector representatives presented today a joint Declaration at a Conference on “Promoting Economic Growth in the West Bank and Gaza through the Private Sector” in London. The conference was co-hosted by the World Bank and the United Kingdom Treasury. The Declaration identified priority areas, such as security, movement of goods, protection of investors, legal and regulatory reform and private sector participation in revitalizing the economy. The Working Group met for the first time last week in Jerusalem to discuss issues of common interest and develop a joint position on matters of economic development. 

Twenty countries pledge $73 million for UNRWA

6 December 2005


Twenty countries pledged approximately $73.5 million for the 2006 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), during a meeting this morning of the General Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary Contributions. As he opened the meeting, General Assembly President Jan Eliasson ( Sweden) said the international community had spent 56 years seeking a lasting solution to the Palestine refugee situation and remained morally obliged to sustain that commitment. Indeed, the refugee population doubled every 20 years and had increased 500 per cent since UNWRA had begun its work.