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The Jerusalem Declaration

Sam Bahour and Michael Dahan 20 November 2003


Nothing in the horizon seems to hold the key to a lasting peace, despite unusually loud rhetoric surrounding the latest two peace initiatives, the Geneva Accord and the Nusseibeh-Ayalon Statement. Sam Bahour and Michael Dahan say that if their two peoples and official representatives cannot sign on to this 98-word declaration (only 31 words more than the Balfour Declaration of 1917), then it is irrelevant to hide behind volumes of peace initiatives and accords that no one will read but the majority will oppose. 

Follow the money: CEO salaries of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli advocacy groups and charities

Nigel Parry 19 November 2003


People in the Palestinian solidarity community regularly bemoan the fact that pro-Israeli advocacy groups are far more vocal, far more organised, and have far more political influence than their Palestinian counterparts. This is not happening as a result of some strange magic. The simple fact is that pro-Israeli advocacy groups receive far more in donations than do pro-Palestinian advocacy groups. EI’s Nigel Parry visited charitynavigator.org, a website offering financial and other information about charities, and compiled a list of CEO earnings. 

EU raises pressure on Israel

European Union 18 November 2003


After the fourth meeting of the Association Council, the European Union issued a statement, saying its wants Israel to halt the construction of its wall through the West Bank. This statement was issued by the European Union on the fourth meeting of the Association Council EU-Israel, held in Brussels, 17-18 November 2003. The EU is deeply concerned by the situation in the region and has noted that, despite support given by the international community to the quest for a just and lasting solution, insufficient effort has been made by the concerned parties. 

Vancouver International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

18 November 2003


The Canada Palestine Association and ISM Vancouver hosted an evening of solidarity with the Palestinian People on Saturday November 29 at the Maritime Labour Centre in Vancouver. Guest speakers included Cindy and Craig Corrie, parents of slain 23 year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie, and co-founder of Electronic Intifada EI’s Laurie King-Irani, and discussion and video showings by recently returned ISM activists from British Columbia. The evening also featured a LIVE phone report from Rafah in the Gaza Strip by Melissa, an ISM Vancouver volunteer. 

The Monotony of Chaos

Lora Gordon Rafah 17 November 2003


Even the incursions began to feel monotonous. The same stories. The same devastated families with nowhere to go. The same phrases to express anger and helplessness. Each story felt like a shadow of fatigue on the waves of an ocean. In the first months, my heart had broken daily and with every story, fresh catharsis bleeding onto paper, revelations in bright red. Now, eight months after my first step in Rafah, the pain is a gray weight on my stomach, always there. Laura Gordan writes from occupied Rafah. 

EU and Israel take seats in Association Council

Arjan El Fassed 17 November 2003


Today and tomorrow, members of the Association Council, the 15 members of the European Union and Israel will meet to discuss pending and new issues disrupting EU-Israel relations. This regular bilateral meeting will be used by the EU to express its concern over Israel’s boycott of Marc Otte, the EU envoy, who since his meeting with the Palestinian president could not talk to Israeli officials. According to various sources, the EU will press Israel over the construction of the wall. EI’s Arjan El Fassed reports. 

Living in the Shadow of the Wall (Jerusalem District)

Ida Audeh 16 November 2003


The 40-100 meter wide, 8-kilometer-long northern Jerusalem wall is designed to isolate the Palestinian community, not to encircle the city. About 800 dunums of land were confiscated from Palestinian owners to build that portion of the wall. Qalandia, north of Jerusalem, is a major checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem. The wall isolates 30,000 Palestinians in Kafr Aqab and Qalandiya who hold Jerusalem ID cards from the city as well as from family, workplaces, and social and public services. Ida Audeh interviews affected residents. 

Living in the Shadow of the Wall (Bethlehem District)

Ida Audeh 16 November 2003


The Bethlehem district is home to more than 170,000 Palestinians, concentrated mostly in the three towns Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahour. The wall surrounding the Bethlehem district is a 15-kilometer shackle that segregates 15,000 dunums of agricultural land, mainly olive trees. The wall around Bethlehem serves to isolate and annex the religious areas. Around Rachel’s Tomb and the Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque, hundreds will be isolated between two walls, further strengthening Israeli control of historic, religious, and deeply significant places and strangling the city economically. Ida Audeh interviews affected residents. 

Living in the Shadow of the Wall (Qalqiliya District)

Ida Audeh 16 November 2003


The wall separates Azzoun (population 7,000) from its agricultural land, which now lies west of the wall. No gate in the wall allows residents access to their lands. As a result they must travel long distances—-approximately 4 kilometers to a gate near Isla to the west, and 9 kilometers to another gate near Nabi Elias, where some land belonging to Azzoun is located. The main roads are often reserved for soldiers and settlers, and so Palestinians are forced to take even longer routes, often on foot, and cannot bring equipment to harvest their crops. This hamlet of 200-250 people, surrounded on three sides by the wall, now lies in the area between the wall and Israel proper; village lands are east of the wall. In the process of creating the wall, Israel destroyed 250 dunums of land, uprooted 2,000 trees, and isolated 5 cisterns beyond the wall; the quality of the drinking water is now questionable. Ida Audeh interviewed affected residents. 

Living in the Shadow of the Wall (Tulkarem District)

Ida Audeh 16 November 2003


With the northern portion of the wall complete, Nazlat Isa (population 2,300) now falls in the no-man’s-land between the wall and Israel proper. Since January 2003, more than 130 commercial buildings and 6 homes have been bulldozed. Residents fear that Israel’s attacks against the commercial sector are designed to force them to leave. Israel confiscated about 300 dunums and uprooted about 5,000 trees when it built the wall in Jarooshiya (population 800); another 100 dunums of land and 2 cisterns became inaccessible, and a 1-kilometer-long irrigation network was destroyed. Villagers now face great difficulty in getting access to health services. The agricultural community of Irtah (population 4,200) has severely limited access to farm lands. To create the wall, Israel destroyed 200 dunums of farmland and uprooted 100 trees. Ida Audeh interviewed affected residents.