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The First Post-Zionist War

Roni Ben Efrat 4 September 2006


Three weeks after the cease-fire, the political situation in Israel may be described as one of imminent collapse. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and Army Chief of Staff Dan Halutz have fallen to the depths in public opinion. A full 63% of the people think Olmert ought to resign; 74% want Peretz’s head, 54% Halutz’s. Israelis live today with a sense of failure. They search for the source of the “lapse” (mekhdal) - a term much used to describe the disaster of October 1973 (the “Yom Kippur War”). A protest movement of reservists has arisen, divided between those who demand a State Commission of Inquiry and those who call for resignations. 

Killings in Ramallah

Eliza Ernshire Ramallah 4 September 2006


29 August, pre-dawn - It is only now that the gunfire saluting the killed young man has become sporadic and no longer constant, and that the verses of the Koran, chanted in farewell of him, have ceased. But the streets are full; and full too are the hearts of all who had to witness an attack that should only have been imaginable in the darkest back-alleys of some underworld city. By thugs wielding heavy M-16’s. At 9 pm undercover Israeli Special Forces walked down the main street of Ramallah. They wore civilian clothes and Palestinian police-caps. They carried M-16’s as all the police force does. No one looked at them twice. 

A Night in Ramallah

Sonja Karkar Ramallah 4 September 2006


When I began reading the account below of the shooting in Ramallah, I remembered that it was only nine weeks ago that I was walking the streets of Ramallah and I was eating ice-cream at the famour Rucarb ice-cream shop and I was being driven around al-Minara. It all came flooding back to me - those fifteen minutes in the early hours of the morning as my driver, Abu ‘Issa was taking me back to Jerusalem and we were caught in the cross-fire between Palestinian police in riot gear and armed youths. I’ll never forget the painfully hesitant drive up and down narrow streets as shadowy figures ran in and out of shop recesses with guns cocked while others smashed windows. 

Teachers strike keeps children at home

3 September 2006


Public sector teachers in the occupied Palestinian territories began a strike on Saturday to protest against unpaid wages. Timed to concur with the first day of the new academic year, the strike in Gaza and the West Bank has left hundreds of thousands of children without classes to go to. “The strike in government schools on the first day of the academic year succeeded by 80 percent,” said Jameel Shahadah, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Teacher’s Union. “By announcing a strike on the first day of the academic year, we wanted to shock the Palestinian government and the Arab and international community [to show them] that the Palestinian people’s right to education is now threatened due to the embargo.” 

Let My People In

Rima Merriman 4 September 2006


An undeclared Israeli policy is currently in effect. The policy denies entry at Israeli borders to nationals of foreign countries, even those seeking to enter for a short period of time, but especially if they live with their Palestinian spouses and families or are Palestinian expatriate nationals or are working in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt). Israel is arbitrarily turning away scores of such people on a daily basis at the Israeli unilaterally declared and controlled international border crossings to the oPt, separating families, causing unjustified hardships, and impeding development. 

Staple foods in short supply

4 September 2006


A United Nations aid agency has warned that Israel’s intermittent closure of crossings into Gaza is severely hampering its ability to bring in food. Every two months, UNRWA gives out food to Palestinian refugees living in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian-administered area bordering Israel and Egypt. Its latest food delivery has been delayed by a lack of access. “Food distribution will not start until we can get our products into Gaza. The 830,000 refugees we feed will not have any food from us,” said John Ging, UNRWA’s Director of Operations in Gaza. UNRWA usually brings food supplies through the Karni Crossing, a cargo terminal on the eastern end. 

Father and son killed and nine homes destroyed in Beit Hanoun

3 September 2006


The IOF killed a Palestinian civilian and his son in cold blood in the town of Beit Hanoun in the predawn hours of Saturday, 2 September 2006. In addition, two of the slain man’s daughters were seriously injured. The raid by IOF undercover units also resulted in the injury of six civilians, including two parents and their three children, and the destruction of nine homes. The casualties and damages were inflicted in an operation aiming to detain two “wanted” activists. PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 02:30 on Saturday, 2 September 2006, an IOF undercover unit moved 2 kilometers inside the Gaza Strip into the town of Beit Hanoun. 

A Brief Introduction to Palestinian Cinema at the Film Society of Lincoln Center

4 September 2006


A number of provocative and insightful Palestinian films made in the last two decades have sought to capture the complexity of Palestinian history, culture and identity, using a wide variety of styles and genres. To celebrate the publication of Dreams of a Nation: On Palestinian Cinema, the first English-language study of this movement, Columbia University Professor Hamid Dabashi, who edited this volume, will introduce the screening of Michel Khleifi’s Wedding in Galilee on Wednesday, September 27 (6 pm), providing a context for this and other groundbreaking works to be included in this brief series. 

Students face challenges as new school year begins in Gaza and the West Bank

Jane O'Brien 4 September 2006


Ongoing violence in the West Bank and Gaza is threatening to disrupt the new school term as more than 1.6 million children prepare to return to classes. The situation is compounded by poverty; teachers haven’t been paid for six months and are threatening to strike while many families can’t afford the cost of fees or uniforms. UNICEF, the Ministry of Education and other partners are launching a Back to School campaign with aid for those most vulnerable. UNICEF’s Dan Rohrmann, says school is a vital lifeline to these children who are living in daily fear and danger – 39 were killed in July alone. 

UN aid chief urges action to stem suffering in Occupied Palestinian Territories

1 September 2006


Painting a grim picture of the current social climate in the Middle East, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator today urged donors meeting in Stockholm to address the severe suffering of Palestinians living under occupation. Mr. Egeland, reflecting on more than two decades of travel to the region, said he had never felt such a sense of disillusionment, despair and hatred as on his last mission there in July. Calling the situation in Gaza severe, he said a cessation of hostilities and the release of the captured Israeli soldiers were needed. The humanitarian community also needed better access to Gaza, he added.