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Journalists injured during Gaza demonstration in support of Johnston

17 April 2007


Reporters Without Borders condemned the use of violence by parliamentary security guards in Gaza to disperse a demonstration today by Palestinian journalists demanding the release of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, who has been held hostage since 12 March. Three journalists were injured in the course of scuffles. “We are outraged by this violence against journalists who had gone to express their fears and emotion about Johnston’s fate,” the press freedom organisation said. 

Mothers of prisoners call for their release and condemn Johnston kidnapping

17 April 2007


On the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, 17 April 2007, we, the mothers and families of Palestinian and Arab prisoners detained in Israeli jails, continue to miss our beloved ones and hope that they will be immediately released. It is we who each day miss our beloved ones, who have been cut off from their sons, daughters and relatives by Israeli Occupation Forces, and have been detained in jails that lack the minimum internationally acceptable detention standards. 

Living Stones: Easter 2007

Timothy Seidel Bethlehem, Palestine 16 April 2007


6 April 2007: Al-Masiih Qaam! Haqaan Qaam! (Christ Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!). This Arabic greeting has been commonly heard this week as Christians from across the world traveled to Jerusalem to experience Easter. It is truly an exciting experience. Yet at the same time, we witness with sadness the realities that our Palestinian sisters and brothers continue to face. The week before Easter had already been quite a full week, here in the “holy land.” The Sunday before Easter, Palm Sunday, was marked by a huge procession from the historical town of Bethphage, where Jesus began his donkey ride 2000 years ago, up and over the Mount of Olives, and then back down again up to the Old City of Jerusalem. 

Rachel's Words Silenced Again

Tom Wallace 16 April 2007


Once again the play My Name is Rachel Corrie has been cancelled, this time in South Florida. In New York and Toronto the play was cancelled due to pressure from the Jewish community or those that claim to speak for the Jewish Community. The play was successfully staged in NYC at the Minetta Lane theater. It is currently enjoying an extraordinary run at the Seattle Repertory Theater and many more are planned. Wherever it has been staged, there has been support from the Jewish community as well as criticism. The Jewish community is not monolithic and no one speaks for “it,” though many claim to. 

Abuse of Ambulance Drivers in Jenin Area

16 April 2007


During the first weeks of April 2007, Al-Haq documented three cases involving the humiliation, harassment and beating of Palestinian ambulance drivers at checkpoints in the Jenin area. The number of incidents, all of which involved disturbingly similar facts, indicates that, far from being isolated acts, the abuse of Palestinian medical personnel by Israeli soldiers has become a widespread practice. Accordingly, Al-Haq has contacted the Israeli Military Judge Advocate General requesting that investigation be opened into these incidents, the facts of which are summarised below. 

The Unrecognized

16 April 2007


‘The Unrecognized’ is a short documentary that highlights the plight of Palestinian Arab Bedouin citizens of Israel living in the Naqab (Negev) desert in the south of the country, many of whom were forced off their lands following the establishment of the state in 1948. The human rights of these citizens of Israel have been continuously violated by over half a century of discriminatory governmental policies and practices. ‘The Unrecognized’ is a snapshot of the situation as it stood in mid-2005. Interviews with Israeli Jewish and Arab academics, lawyers and human rights activists are presented alongside testimonies from Arab Bedouin community leaders and inhabitants. 

International delegations and visitors must not normalize with Israel

16 April 2007


At a time when the international movement to isolate Israel is gaining ground in response to the escalation of Israel’s colonial and racist policies, we respectfully urge conscientious academics, artists and intellectuals from around the world, including those who visit the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), to refrain from visiting Israel to participate in any event or encounter that is not explicitly dedicated to ending Israel’s illegal occupation and other forms of oppression. 

Evacuated sewage disaster victims need medicine and blankets

16 April 2007


UMM NASSER, 16 April 2007 (IRIN) - Hundreds of Bedouin families living in tents after their north Gaza village was flooded with sewage are in urgent need of medicine and blankets, the UN and local doctors have warned. Three hundred families are living in tents pitched on high ground near Umm Nasser, the village that was flooded after a filtration basin broke, sending thousands of cubic metres of sewage into the village on 27 March. Five residents were killed in the flood and 18 more were injured. 

What the persecution of Azmi Bishara means for Palestine

Ali Abunimah 16 April 2007


The Israeli state and the Zionist movement have begun their latest assault in their century-long struggle to rid Palestine of its indigenous people and transform their country into a Jewish supremacist enclave: the persecution of Azmi Bishara, one of the most important Palestinian national leaders and thinkers working today. This case has enormous significance for the Palestinian solidarity movement. Bishara is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, one of more than one million who live inside the Jewish state, who are survivors or their descendants of the Zionist ethnic cleansing that forced most Palestinians to leave in 1947-48. 

Deep concern about BBC correspondent after killing claim

15 April 2007


Reporters Without Borders said it was extremely concerned about the fate of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston after a hitherto unknown group calling itself the Monotheism and Jihad Brigades issued a statement today claiming it had executed him and condemning the British and Palestinian governments for ignoring its calls for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. “We are deeply disturbed by this news but we must nonetheless remain cautious as long as there is no evidence confirming that Johnston has been murdered,” the press freedom organisation said.