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Political crisis hampering post-war reconstruction

11 April 2007


BINT JBEIL, 11 April 2007 (IRIN) - Abdullah Hassan Nasrallah proudly displays a cheque for US $11,000, compensation to repair his home in Bint Jbeil, a Shia town in southern Lebanon that was bombed by Israel during the 2006 war with the armed wing of Hezbollah. The money was given to Nasrallah not by the Lebanese government, nor by Jihad al Binaa, Hezbollah’s construction wing, nor even by Hezbollah’s strategic Shia ally Iran, but by Qatar, a Sunni Gulf state that maintains trade relations with Israel. 

Palestinian Right of Return: EI co-founder in Doha Debates on BBC

11 April 2007


The Palestinian right of return was overwhelmingly supported at the latest Doha Debate on March 28. The issue is seen by many as the most intractable barrier to a Middle East peace settlement. Yossi Beilin, a Knesset member and Chairman of the Meretz-Yachad party, and Bassem Eid, a long-time Palestinian human rights campaigner, argued for the motion. They were challenged by Israeli academic Ilan Pappe and Ali Abunimah co-founder of Electronic Intifada.net. Watch the latest Doha Debate: ‘This House believes the Palestinians should give up their full right of return’ on BBC World on April 14th and 15th. 

State of insecurity escalates; BBC's Johnston remains kidnapped

10 April 2007


The state of insecurity saw a serious escalation recently as the mysterious kidnapping of British journalist, Alan Johnston, continues despite the condemnations and pressure exerted by fellow journalists and civil society activists. Killings, kidnappings and other breaches of the law continued in Gaza. According to Al Mezan’s documentation in Gaza, 152 persons have been killed since the beginning of 2007; among them are ten children. Four have been killed during the first ten days of April. Additionally, 988 persons were wounded; among whom are 68 children. 

Oxfam Survey: Financial Boycott Pushes Palestinians into Poverty

13 April 2007


A survey commissioned by international development agency Oxfam International and released today, highlights how the suspension of Western aid and Israel’s refusal to transfer money owed to the Palestinian Authority (PA) has led to grave humanitarian consequences for Palestinians. The survey by the Palestinian Centre for Public Opinion (PCPO) found that more than four out of five of the 677 families interviewed have seen a drop in their income following the year long boycott of the Palestinian Authority. Half of all the families reported losing more than half their income. 

Israelis Torturing Palestinian Children

Nora Barrows-Friedman 10 April 2007


DHEISHEH REFUGEE CAMP, Occupied West Bank, Apr 10 (IPS) - Mohammed Mahsiri, a resident of Dheisheh refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, sits in a crowded cafe, a red kuffiyeh wrapped around his neck and an iconic portrait of Che Guevara emblazoned on his black t-shirt. About a year and a half ago, he tells IPS, he and his friend were walking down the street when Israeli military jeeps surrounded them, shouted at them in Hebrew to stop, and forced them inside a jeep. 

Violence or nonviolence? Two documentaries reviewed

Maureen Clare Murphy 9 April 2007


When she hijacked two planes over thirty years ago, refugee Leila Khaled helped put the Palestinian struggle on the international radar. A generation later, however, the realization of Palestinians’ rights is elusive as ever and the tactics of their resistance are increasingly scrutinized. The limits of resistance are examined in Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha’s documentary Encounter Point as well as Lina Makboul’s Leila Khaled, Hijacker. 

On that so-called "Shi'a Crescent"

Laurie King Washington 9 April 2007


News reports from Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon harp on and on about the emerging “Shi’a Crescent,” which now poses an allegedly mortal danger to the West (whatever that is!). In the last 60 years, we have seen the Red Scare, the Green Scare (politicized Sunni Islam), and of course, the Axis of Evil, which still gets a lot of air time. The political “flavour of the month” danger now is clearly Iran, which, after the events of the last two weeks, is increasingly in the cross-hairs of those who believe that traditions, societies, and histories can be collapsed into a catchy soundbyte or a caricature of the Evil Other. 

New fiction portrays Lebanon's shadows of civil war

Stefan Christoff 9 April 2007


Turning the pages of De Niro’s Game, one is transported to the war-torn streets of Beirut in the midst of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war, a tragic reality of flying bombs and bullets. De Niro’s Game is the debut literary work by Montreal author Rawi Hage, who conveys this era of Lebanon’s turbulent history through the experiences of a pair of youths from Beirut, childhood best friends growing to adulthood in the political quagmire of civil war. EI contributor Stefan Christoff reviews the new work of fiction and interviews its author. 

Whose responsibility?

Anna Baltzer 9 April 2007


More than a week ago, the walls of an overused cesspool in northern Gaza collapsed, flooding a nearby Bedouin village with up to two meters of raw sewage. At least five people drowned to death, with dozens more left sick, injured, or missing. Predictably, the international community’s fingers are pointed at the Palestinian Authority, which was warned of the danger of Beit Lahia treatment plant’s flooding but did not take the necessary steps to ensure the villagers’ safety. To many, it’s just another example of how the Palestinians are incapable of ruling over themselves. But the PA is only part of the problem. 

Invisible lives: Iraqis in Lebanon

Serene Assir 9 April 2007


Estimates for the number of Iraqis who have fled to Lebanon ever since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 vary. While the Beirut office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that approximately 40,000 Iraqis are currently in Lebanon, security officials the Lebanese Ministry of Internal Affairs say they believe the number is actually closer to 100,000. Lebanon not being a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, many Iraqis do not register with UNHCR and live in fear of detention and deportation back to Iraq.