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Financial boycott sends Palestinian poverty numbers soaring, finds UN report

24 November 2006


More than 1 million Palestinians, or one in four inhabitants of the occupied territories, are now mired in deep poverty as living standards deteriorate dramatically following the economic boycott of the Palestinian Authority this year, according to a United Nations report released today. The report from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) found that the number of people living in “deep poverty” - defined as an inability to meet basic human consumption needs - soared by 64 per cent during the first half of 2006. An average of 1,069,200 Palestinians now live in deep poverty, up from 650,800 in the second half of last year. 

Arab village of Kammaneh subjected to apartheid policies in Jewish town of Kamoun's master plan

24 November 2006


On 12 November 2006, Adalah submitted a response to a petition filed to the Supreme Court of Israel by residents of the Jewish community town of Kamoun, located in the Galilee in the north of Israel. Adalah filed the response on behalf of residents of the Arab village of Kammaneh (the Kammaneh Local Committee), one of the three named respondents. The residents of Kamoun requested in the petition the cancellation of the master plan for the neighboring village of Kammaneh, unless three demands are met. In its response to the petition, Adalah argued that these demands are racist, and reminiscent of the former apartheid regime in South Africa. 

Security Council, Annan condemn assassination of Lebanese Government minister

21 November 2006


Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council expressed shock and condemnation today at the assassination of Lebanon’s Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, calling for restraint from all sides and urging national unity. In a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr. Annan decried the murder of Mr. Gemayel, “who believed strongly in an independent, democratic and united Lebanon,” and offered his deepest sympathies to the late minister’s family and to the Lebanese Government. Mr. Gemayel died after being shot in his car while travelling through the capital, Beirut. 

Ali Abunimah on One State in Israel/Palestine

Philip Weiss 21 November 2006


I caught Ali Abunimah, the Palestinian/American activist and author of a new book calling for a single Arab and Jewish state in Palestine, at Columbia the other night. Myself, I’m sympathetic to Abunimah’s vision, but I don’t know enough to be sure. One thing I am sure about is his presence: he’s idealistic. He may be a naive and deluded dreamer, fine, but his vibe is, he’s a dreamer, and visionary. Embracing Zionism these days isn’t any fun. Of course it’s true that Zionism was a place of dreams in decades past, but it seems like a lot of the dream has collapsed into a colonialist blind alley. 

Civilians bear brunt of abuses, UN rights chief says

23 November 2006


Wrapping up a visit to the Middle East, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said today that Palestinian and Israeli civilians were the primary victims of the alarming deprivation of human rights in the region. Speaking at the end of a five-day visit to the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel, the High Commissioner said her talks with both civilians on both sides affected by the violence made apparent “their profound sense of frustration and abandonment, including a perception that the international community is not doing enough to protect them.” 

Chaos Appears On the Horizon

Jacques N. Couvas 22 November 2006


(IPS) - The assassination of Pierre Gemayel in Beirut on Tuesday has interrupted an 18-month relative safety for anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians and intellectuals, and signals the kick-off of a series of events aiming at totally destabilising the ailing national government and dividing the Christian community in the country — and possibly plunging the entire region into chaos.
The murder of the minister of industry, shot in his car while returning from a suburban church, is very much in line with the recent killings of 15 political leaders and journalists, which culminated with the death of former prime minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. 

Assassination Leaves Government Gasping

Hilmi Toros 23 November 2006


IPS - The assassination of Christian Maronite leader Pierre Gemayel does more than strike a blow to a fragile Lebanese government just trying to survive: it raises fears of sectarian violence with painful memories of a devastating 15-year civil war still fresh. And, on a regional scale, it does nothing to advance new thinking to involve Syria and Iran in search for an end to spiralling violence in Iraq. If normalcy can be restored in Lebanon after the shock, anger and unease in the aftermath of the slaying, it may be thanks to a sense of national identity. 

Artist Suzanne Klotz's Indispensable Guide to the Holy Land

Mulham Assir 24 November 2006


Suzanne Klotz is the creator of Thy Kingdom Come — Pocket Guide to the Holy Land, a vividly coloured book of captioned drawings that portray Israeli-occupied Palestine as she saw it between 1990 and 1995. To describe this work is in a sense to add a fourth lens to the view of the Israeli occupation and the associated war crimes being committed to perpetuate it, because the book is the artist’s vision of images seen through the naive eyes of an imaginary American tourist woman and her little daughter who arrive in the Holy Land excited to explore it. 

Gemayel's assassination: What do Lebanon's Shi'ite think?

Ramsay Short Beirut 24 November 2006


In the wake of Lebanese anti-Syrian Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel’s assassination on Tuesday the debate is raging on who was behind the killing and why. Thursday saw hundreds of thousands of Lebanese from all sects on the streets turn out for his funeral. They were there in genuine sadness at the murder of an elected cabinet minister and to show their disgust at the continued way violent killings are being used to conduct politics in Lebanon. The protest also saw calls for pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud to resign and much anger directed against the also pro-Syrian Shi’ite group Hizbullah - whose supporters stayed away from the proceedings. 

Plays on Palestine sought for new Nibras theater project

23 November 2006


IBRAS Arab American Theater Collective is preparing for an event at the New York Theatre Workshop featuring plays and playwrights focusing on Palestine, and is seeking plays and playwrights to contribute to this event. Founded in June 2001, Nibras is an Arab-American theater collective built upon a shared passion and united by a common heritage. Our mission is to create a network for Arab-American theater artists to share their talent, experience and passion by staging imaginative and articulate productions that increase the positive visibility and creative expression of Arabs and Arab-Americans.