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European Commission provides EUR 1 million for victims of house demolitions

European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) 5 March 2004


The European Commission has adopted an emergency decision for €1 million for victims of house demolitions in the Gaza Strip. 13,000 people who have lost their homes in recent months will be provided with emergency shelter and relief items, and with means for securing alternative accommodation. The funds, channelled through the Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), are directed to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), one of the main organisations providing assistance to victims of the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian Territories. 

Palestinian court house, built with Japan's aid, opens in Nablus

United Nations Development Program 5 March 2004


The Palestinian Authority has open a new court building in Nablus in the West Bank, the first of its kind in the occupied Palestinian territory. It houses two courts: the magistrate court of the Nablus area and the primary court for the northern governorates of the West Bank. Japan contributed US$ 2.5 million for the construction through the UNDP Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People. Izuru Shimmura, head of the Office of the Japanese Representative to the Palestinian Authority, said that Japan aims to support a unified authority with the responsibility for upholding the rule of law. 

McDonald's Confirms 'No Arabic' policy at its restaurants in Israel

Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry 5 March 2004


McDonald’s Corporation today confirmed that it has a policy banning its employees from speaking Arabic in its restaurants in Israel, despite the fact that Palestinian citizens of Israel form 20% of its workforce, and Arabic is one of the two official languages of Israel. The Corporation denied, however, that Abeer Zinaty, a former “Excellent Worker 2003 — McDonald’s Israel,” was fired because she spoke Arabic on the job. 

McDonald's Israel reportedly fires employee for speaking Arabic

Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry 5 March 2004


McDonalds claims “McDonald’s has a long-standing and distinguished record for diversity — as an employer, franchiser, and purchaser of goods and services. We recognize not only a responsibility to provide opportunity, but also the advantages of having a workforce with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.” The Electronic Intifada urges its readers to contact McDonald’s Corporation to ask for a full investigation of allegations of institutionalized racism and discrimination against Arab employees by its subsidiary in Israel. At least one employee has reportedly been fired because she spoke Arabic to a co-worker. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 4 March 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 14 Palestinian civilians. In three extra-judicial executions Israeli forces killed 7 Palestinians. Israeli forces raided a number of Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In Beit Hanoun, Israeli forces demolished dozens of shops. Israeli forces raided homes and arbitrarily detained Palestinians. Despite worldwide criticism, Israel continues the construction of the Separation Wall and seized more Palestinian land for that purpose. Israeli forces demolished two Palestinian homes and have indiscriminately shelled Palestinian residential areas in which a number of Palestinians were wounded. 

Artist John Keane revisits Palestine’s obliterated past and present

Nina Malmsten 5 March 2004


Painter John Keane, who was has travelled to the occupied Palestinian territories, juxtaposes historical and current concerns through traditional and contemporary techniques in his work. Deeply impacted by what he saw, Keane’s paintings in his current exhibition The Inconvenience of History - Paintings from the West Bank and Palestine reflect the despair, humiliation, and the brutality Palestinians suffer under Israeli military occupation. His exhibition has been met with controversy, but will still travel Belfast and Ramallah after concluding in London. Nina Malmsten reports for EI. 

Israel's West Bank Barrier: Semantics on the Internet

Nigel Parry 4 March 2004


In a presentation on the Jewish Agency for Israel’s website, entitled “The Security Fence - Hopes and Fears: A Drama in Six Episodes”, the report’s author, Steven Klein, conducted a Google survey into the frequency of terminology used to describe Israel’s Wall, typing in different terms and logging the number of Google hits returned for each. Klein’s stated methodology for discovering “the most deserving term” for Israel’s Wall is which term “enjoys the most common use” as evidenced by Google. EI’s Nigel Parry explores Wall semantics on the Internet. 

Gaza Striptease

4 March 2004


When Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced his decision to withdraw unilaterally from the Gaza Strip and dismantle 17 settlements, there was reason, one might think, for celebration in certain quarters. Yet few rejoiced. There is the uneasy feeling that his words do not bode an end to the 37-year-old Occupation, rather further entanglement. Some call the would-be withdrawal an escape, some call it a threat against the Palestinians, and some call it a means to strengthen Israel’s hold on the West Bank. One thing it is not: a step toward resolving the conflict. An editorial from Challenge magazine explains why. 

Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in extra-judicial execution

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 3 March 2004


Today, Israeli forces launched an attack on a car traveling south of Gaza City. Israeli jets fired a missile that hit the car, killing three and wounding two civilians who were walking in the street near the car as the missile struck. All three traveling in the car were reportedly members of the military wing of Hamas. Today’s extra-judicial execution is the third in five days. Four Palestinians have been killed in these three attacks. These assassinations are a grave breach of international humanitarian law. Israel’s policy of assassinations is widely condemned and these assassinations are considered war crimes. 

Jewish and Israeli groups demand immediate resignation of Israeli officials

3 March 2004


SAN FRANCISCO, March 2, 2004 — A coalition of Jewish and Israeli groups- including Jewish Voice for Peace, The Tikkun Community and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions -has issued the following statement demanding the resignation of Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ze’ev Boim and Likud Knesset Member Yehiel Hazan in response to racist remarks made last week. As Jews conscious of the history of anti-Semitism and the ideas and rhetoric that have fueled it over the centuries, we deplore the recent racist public statements by Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ze’ev Boim and Likud Knesset Member Yehiel Hazan and call for their immediate resignations.