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Bethlehem bloggers online

Arjan El Fassed 21 March 2005


“A window for you to look in; to see past the walls, barbed wire fences, and the media distortions; to hear from the people in Bethlehem themselves.” Palestinians and internationals living in the Bethlehem region have started a weblog. They want to tell the world what it is like to be living in occupied territory, under an economic siege, encircled by a wall and military checkpoints. For them the new site, Bethlehem bloggers, found at www.bethlehemghetto.blogspot.com, is a portal to communicate to the outside world and tell the stories of their lives in Bethlehem and what it is like to live in a “Palestinian Ghetto.” 

Jordanian diplomacy falters on Palestine, Syria and Iraq

Hasan Abu Nimah 23 March 2005


In recent weeks, Jordan has been embroiled in crises with its neighbors Iraq and Syria and has been subjected to harsh regional criticism for apparently proposing that Arab states normalize relations with Israel without Israel withdrawing from any occupied territories. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah, who spent four decades as a Jordanian diplomat writes, “In order to understand how we got here, and see how we can restore the good relations and reputation that Jordan should enjoy, we need to make an objective assessment of recent events and actions, including missteps by Jordan’s diplomats.” 

Palestinian groups reject Jordan plan

Khalid Amayreh 19 March 2005


Palestinian leaders have rejected a Jordanian proposal calling for normalisation of relations between Arab states and Israel. Leaders from across the political and ideological spectrum said they opposed the suggestion, which calls for normalisation before ending the Israeli occupation. The proposal is due to be presented to the Arab League summit in Algeria on Monday. “This would be a very grave concession,” Sakhr Habash, a member of the Fatah central committee, said. He described the Jordanian proposal as “amounting to a submission to Sharon’s designs and American dictates”. 

PA: Palestinian refugees' right of return paramount

Khalid Amayreh 15 March 2005


The Palestinian Authority has denied Israeli press reports citing concessions from President Mahmud Abbas on the issue of Palestinian refugees’ right of return. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Monday quoted unnamed Palestinian sources as saying that Abbas would present Palestinian leaders, who are due to meet in Cairo on Tuesday, with a new position on the “right of return”.  The new position would seek to convince faction leaders to recognise that the refugees’ right of return could not be implemented in full given current political and demographic realities, Haaretz said. The PA called the report a “fabrication”. 

What future for Israel's Palestinian citizens?

Jonathan Cook 19 March 2005


Neither Abbas nor Sharon paused at Sharm el-Sheikh, or have done so since, to consider how their agreements will affect the only community for which both are responsible by virtue of their office. One and a quarter million Palestinians live as citizens of Israel, comprising a fifth of the country’s population. Sharon is their representative as head of the Israeli government, while Abbas is charged with their welfare, as he is with that of the whole Palestinian people, in his role as chairman of the PLO. Since the official talks that came to be known as the Oslo peace process began 12 years ago, the two leaderships have severely taxed this large Palestinian community’s reservoir of goodwill. 

Jerusalem and Bethlehem divided by Separation Barrier

17 March 2005


The Israeli government has revealed its plans for the route of the separation barrier it is building around Jerusalem. It will cut East Jerusalem and the largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank off from the rest of the West Bank, and will divide Bethlehem. Christian Aid’s Palestinian and Israeli partners say the route will jeopardise peace talks and argue that the decision amounts to a unilateral attempt to prejudge the borders of a final solution to the conflict and whereas. The Israeli government says the barrier is for security reasons. Israel has an absolute right to defend its citizens from attack. But the route of the barrier — snaking deep into the West Bank will mean lands claimed by Palestinians for their future state will lie on the Israeli side of the barrier. 

European Anti-Fraud Office closes investigation into aid to Palestinian Authority

17 March 2005


The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has closed its investigation into the European Commission’s Direct Assistance to the Palestinian Authority’s budget. On the basis of the information currently available to OLAF, the investigation has found no conclusive evidence of support of armed attacks or unlawful activities financed by the European Commission’s contributions to the budget. However, the possibility of misuse of the Palestinian Authority’s budget and other resources, cannot be excluded, due to the fact that the internal and external audit capacity in the Palestinian Authority is still underdeveloped. 

Victims of violence

Ahmad Sub Laban 16 March 2005


S. spent all of her childhood years and some of her adolescence with nine siblings: four brothers and five sisters. All of them lived in fear of their father, whose violence excluded none of them. Her father, rendered unemployed by Israeli closures on the Gaza Strip, only communicated with his children through physical and verbal abuse. S.’s story is one that is becoming increasingly common in Palestinian society. Statistics show that instances of domestic abuse have trebled in the years of the Intifada, and most experts agree that this is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Stop The Wall activists protest to Kofi Annan about UN Wall Report

13 March 2005


Last month the UN offices in Palestine issued its report regarding the effects of the Wall in the light of the latest publication of the Israeli Occupation Government’s “modifications”. The UN’s latest report revealed various positions that compromise, and even directly contradict, international law and the principles for self-determination and human rights as laid out in its Charter. 

Open Letter to Kofi Annan

15 March 2005


“Your visit takes place at a particularly sensitive time, when every action has most serious long-term ramifications. Precisely because of the importance of your visit here, the choice to include certain sites on your itinerary and exclude others is crucial…In particular, we wish to stress continuing construction of the so-called “Separation Wall.” All across the West Bank, entire communities are being cordoned off, many losing their land. Palestinian towns, especially around Jerusalem are being cut down the middle or surrounded and made into isolated enclaves, with a massive dislocation of trade, education, health services, access to religious sites and every facet of normal daily life.”