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Assistant Secretary-General highlights impact of Israeli Prime Minister illness, Hamas victory in Palestinian elections

31 January 2006


Dramatic developments had taken place in both Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory over the past month, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s serious illness and the recent victory by Hamas in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections, Angela Kane, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said in a briefing to the Security Council this morning. Last night in London, she said, the Secretary-General had met with his Quartet colleagues to discuss the political situation in the aftermath of the election, to address the urgent Palestinian fiscal crisis, and to consider the way forward. The Quartet had heard briefings by James Wolfensohn, its Special Envoy, and Keith Drayton, United States Security Coordinator. 

Palestine gets its first Oscar nomination with Paradise Now

Arjan El Fassed 31 January 2006


Paradise Now has been nominated “best foreign language film” for the 78th Annual Academy Awards — better known as the Oscars. The film was directed by Palestinian Hany Abu-Assad from a screenplay he cowrote with Bero Beyer, the film’s Dutch producer. Three years ago, it was the first time a Palestinian film entered the Oscars race for best foreign film. Elia Suleiman’s Divine Intervention, acclaimed at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the international critics’ prize, could have been a contender for the Oscars. At first Hollywood’s Academy of Motion Pictures refused to accept the film as a candidate for the best foreign-language film because the Academy believed that Palestine was not recognized as a nation. 

European Jews say current silencing of criticism of the occupation is "totally unacceptable"

30 January 2006


The current campaign being waged in Germany and Austria by Jewish and other groups against people, whether of Jewish or other backgrounds, who have stated their legitimate criticism of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, is totally unacceptable. Israel is no more immune to criticism than any other country which violates human rights. Individuals and peace groups based in Israel itself recognize this as do many others around the world. If intellectuals of the countries who were most closely associated with crimes of genocide are forced into silence by pressure being put on them, or those inviting them to speak out, we fear that future generations will rightly accuse ours of compliance with this pressure because of silence about the war crimes in Palestine. 

The ongoing betrayal of Palestinian children (2/2)

Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker 29 January 2006


There is a risk that Palestinian children who grow up under violence will perceive their parents and adults as being unable to protect them. This psychological reaction is a direct threat to the relationship between a child and their parents. The impact of violence caused by the occupation on children can be life long. It can distort their outlook on life, which will not only influence their lives, but also those of future generations. For how long will the international community continue protecting Israel? What will it take before it finally shifts its attention to protecting Palestinian children? For those not intimately connected with the events in Palestine, it is almost impossible to imagine how the world has been able to turn a blind eye for so long to their pain and suffering. 

The ongoing betrayal of Palestinian children (1/2)

Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker 29 January 2006


The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, dispossession of Palestinian land and properties and discriminatory policies in Israel have hit Palestinian children hard. Recent research of the Palestinian Counselling Centre (PCC) has conclusively established that the wall has had a profound negative impact on the mental health of Palestinian children1 and created a major obstacle to them obtaining an education.2 In this article, Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker examine certain violations of children’s rights caused by the formation of the State of Israel and following Israel’s occupation since 1967 and further explore their social and psychological impacts on children. 

Agrexco Blockaders Acquitted in UK Trial

28 January 2006


In a remarkable judgement, Thursday 26th Jan 2006, after a half time application by the defence team in the Uxbridge 7 trial, a District judge ruled that seven anti-apartheid protesters who had blockaded the Israeli agricultural export company, Agrexco UK, had no case to answer and the case was dismissed. The charges of Aggravated Trespass and Failure to Leave Land were dismissed after District Judge Barnes sitting in Uxbridge Magistrates Court, found that the evidence against the defendants was too tenuous� to justify continuing with a trial. The trial had been listed for seven days but ended on the morning of the fourth day with the dramatic acquittals. 

Palestine’s New Paradigm

Sam Bahour 31 January 2006


Policies have repercussions, sometimes bitter ones. The historic election landslide victory of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, in Palestine on January 25 was merely a confirmation of this basic fact. Palestinians simply voted in a manner that reflects their reality. Secular Palestinians, such as myself, are not thrilled to see an Islamist movement come to the forefront of the historically secular Palestinian struggle to end the occupation and continue with the state-building process. However, those of us willing to look beyond the daily headlines, which emerge out of professionally spun mainstream media, are fully aware that Hamas’ victory does not emerge from a vacuum. 

Graphic of the Day: Variety Cover

Najeeb Al-Anbarri 28 January 2006


BNN offers a “Graphic of the Day” inspired by the short comedic piece, Browntown, written by Sam Younis. Graphic of the Day is a BNN feature which offers a graphic on a day, and calls it “Graphic of the Day”. It is very similar to our “Photo of the Day” feature. This is not to imply that this is a regular feature, nor that this graphic is truly the mother of all graphics for the day in question. Usual disclaimers apply. 

The Palestinian Call for Academic Boycott Revised: Adjusting the Parameters of the Debate

28 January 2006


The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) has decided to omit from its 2004 Call for Boycott (enclosed below) an exclusion clause which has been justifiably misunderstood by supporters and misrepresented by critics as inconsistent with the institutional boycott advocated by PACBI. With this revision, PACBI sincerely hopes that, rather than being sidetracked by discussions on a formal and unintentional discrepancy in the drafting of our Call, the debate will once again focus on the very real grounds for this boycott Call, namely Israel’s military occupation and colonization, its denial of refugee rights and its system of racial discrimination against its own Palestinian citizens. 

The Hamas Victory: Green Dawn, Red Dusk?

Toufic Haddad 31 January 2006


Less than 24 hours after the sweeping Hamas victory in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections, it is clear that the consequences of this event are likely to be so profound that they are capable of bringing about a political tsunami once the wave finally reaches shore. Although the final implications of the elections are yet to be seen regarding how Hamas will form its governing coalition, what this means for the “peace process”, and how this will affect Palestinian-Israeli and Palestinian-World politics, certain things can already be deduced from the structure of prevailing power relations.