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Rerouting Palestinian transit trade could cut costs, boost savings, says new UNCTAD study

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 22 April 2004


Even with the long seacoast of the Gaza Strip, the occupied Palestinian territory is effectively landlocked and almost completely dependent on Israeli transport facilities for participation in international trade. In addition, Israeli closure policy, security measures and control of the main borders and transport routes render Palestinian trade totally dependent on political and security developments. In a new study, UNCTAD shows that this situation will have to be overcome if the extremely high transport costs of Palestinian trade are to be brought down. 

UN representative says impact of Israel's Gaza plan depends on crucial decisions

United Nations News Service 23 April 2004


At a crucial and potentially seminal juncture for Middle East peace, Israel’s announced withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, if carried out in the right way, could usher in a new era of peacemaking in the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen told the Security Council this morning. At the same time, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of Kofi Annan continued, if such a withdrawal was implemented in the wrong way, it would lead to more violence, possibly bringing the situation to a new low in the dismal annals of the Palestinian-Israeli tragedy.  “This is the cross-roads we are at today.” 

Masked men attack and injure Palestinian photographer

Reporters Without Borders 22 April 2004


RSF has condemned a brutal 22 April 2004 attack on Palestinian photographer Jamal Aruri, who works for the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP). Aruri was attacked by masked men in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Aruri, aged 38, was beaten in the driveway of his home by two masked men armed with clubs. He received injuries to his elbow and suffered bruises to his face and body. He remained in hospital on 23 April and was expected to undergo an operation. “I don’t understand the reason for this attack,” he told AFP. “I don’t have problems here with anyone.” 

Israeli documentary filmmaker brutally assaulted by Israeli security guards

Reporters Without Borders 26 April 2004


Media watchdog RSF has expressed shock over a brutal attack on award-winning Israeli documentary filmmaker David Benchetrit in front of the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv. Benchetrit, who is currently working on a film about “refuzniks” - Israeli soldiers who, as conscientious objectors, refuse to serve in the Palestinian territories - was attacked on 21 April on his way to a meeting with Defence Ministry spokesperson Ruth Yaron. “In 30 years of covering wars, I have been injured several times, but I have never been as afraid as I was then, ironically, right by my own home,” Benchetrit told RSF. 

Israeli forces kill 9 Palestinians and wound 40 others in Gaza Strip

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 21 April 2004


On 20 April 2004, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians and injured about 40 others. This major Israeli military assault is focused on the Nada housing project, located between Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun in the nothern Gaza Strip. A large number of the victims were hit in the upper body. This indicates the intention of Israeli occupying forces to cause serious injury and fatalities among Palestinian civilians.  Reports are still coming into PCHR about further casualties; this is of particular concern as Israeli forces have reportedly fired on ambulances that attempted to reach wounded Palestinians. 

Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in another extrajudicial execution

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 22 April 2004


On Thursday morning, 22 April 2004, Israeli occupying forces killed 3 Palestinians from Tulkarm refugee camp. They claimed that the three were armed and exchanged fire with them, but investigations conducted by PCHR refute this claim.  The three victims were members of  the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the military wing of Fatah movement. PCHR’s fieldworker in Tulkarem saw blood between cars and the place where their bodies were found. Eyewitnesses reported sounds of shooting indicating that the gunfire was directed from one side. According to medical sources, the victims were shot from a very close distance. 

Israeli forces kill 7 Palestinians in two extrajudicial executions

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 24 April 2004


Less than 24 hours following the assassination of three Palestinians in Tulkarem, on Friday morning, 23 April 2004, Israeli occupying forces assassinated three Palestinians in Qalqilya and injured a fourth one. The four are members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the military wing of Fatah movement. Israeli forces claimed that the four Palestinians attempted to escape form arrest, however, investigations conducted by PCHR concluded that an undercover unit of Israeli occupying forces fired at the victims without any warning.  The victims were hit by live bullets from the front, which refutes the Israeli claim that they attempted to escape. 

Poem: On the Ending of the Siege at the Basilica of the Nativity, Bethlehem (10th May 2002)

Jeremy Frost 27 April 2004



Revd. Jeremy Frost, Precentor of Canterbury Cathedral, expresses through poetry his concerns regarding Bethlehem, a town steeped both in religious history and recent political violence. Frost has visited the Middle East on several occasions, and has researched the theological relationshp between Israel and the Church, countering Christian Zionism in the process. 

What kind of state deserves to exist?

Tanya Reinhart 23 April 2004


Amidst the political storm in Israel regarding the “Gaza disengagement” plan, only one really meaningful fact emerges: Sharon received Bush’s approval to proceed with his plan for the Wall in the West Bank. Along this route, Israel is uprooting tens of thousands of trees, dispossessing Palestinian farmers of their land, and pushing them into small enclaves between fences and Walls, until, at the final stage, the Wall will surround them on all sides, as in the Gaza Strip. Israeli academic Tanya Reinhart looks at the steadily increasing number of facts on the ground and the implications of Sharon’s plan. 

The Bush-Sharon Palestinian disenfranchisement pact

Michael F. Brown 19 April 2004


Of course, why should anybody expect anything else in a week such as this one? The American commander-in-chief repeatedly misrepresented the situation in Iraq and dodged questions during his news conference of April 13. Then, the next day, with Ariel Sharon at his side he undid decades of U.S. foreign policy and placed US policy in clear violation of international law. When asked on both April 12 and 14 about settlements being an obstacle to peace he avoided the question. This is a leader who habitually is unable to give a plain answer to a plain question. Michael Brown examines the Bush-Sharon letters.