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Photostory: Bethlehem prepares for Christmas

21 December 2005


Palestinians are barred from making the trip to Bethlehem unless they have special Israeli permits allowing them to leave the West Bank. A towering wall of gray concrete slabs, 30 feet high, cuts across what once was the main road into the town. Shops are shuttered or empty, and the streets are deserted. After more than five years of Israeli attacks, the Wall separating Bethlehem from Jerusalem has been completed and the Palestinian town revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus is preparing to celebrate Christmas behind a wall. “It is turning the city into a big prison for its citizens,” said Mayor Victor Batarseh. 

"Road map" will miss deadline, UN envoy

20 December 2005


With only 10 days left before the expiration of the original deadline of the Middle East Diplomatic Quartet’s so-called Road Map peace plan for a final and settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a top United Nations official stressed today that the plan is still the agreed framework for reaching a lasting peace in the Middle East. “This is surely an occasion for all parties to reflect on what more they can do to ensure that Road Map obligations are met,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari told the Security Council, in his regular monthly briefing, regarding the plan sponsored by the Quartet consisting of the UN, European Union, United States and Russia. 

Unrecognised villages in the Negev expose Israel's apartheid policies

Bangani Ngeleza and Adri Nieuwhof 20 December 2005


Eighty thousand Palestinian Bedouin Israelis live in unrecognised villages in the Negev desert in the south of Israel. The villages are deprived of basic services like housing, water, electricity, education and health care. With the adoption of the Israeli Planning and Construction Law in 1965, 45 villages in the Negev were not declared as existing. Recently, Bangani Ngeleza and Adri Nieuwhof visited the region. They write about the serious consequences this has had for villagers in these “unrecognised villages”. Bangani Ngeleza and Adri Nieuwhof say that pressure must be put on Israel to abandon its apartheid policies, including its refusal to recognize the existence of villages composed of its own citizens living within its national borders. 

European NGOs defy EU secrecy on Jerusalem

20 December 2005


European organisations today defied the refusal of EU Ministers to publish a report compiled by their own diplomats regarding Israeli violations of international law with regard to East Jerusalem. Over 30 Jewish, Palestinian, peace and anti-poverty groups from around Europe will publish the suppressed Report on their websites. The report, which states that “Israel’s activities in Jerusalem are in violation of both its Roadmap obligations and international law” was shelved by EU foreign ministers at their 12 December Foreign Affairs (GAERC) meeting in Brussels, for fear of alienating Israel and reducing the EU’s influence. 

US Corporate Media Erases Israeli Role in Rise of Hamas

Patrick O'Connor 19 December 2005


The US corporate media has started to examine Hamas’ victories in Palestinian municipal elections last Thursday. However, if The New York Times’ coverage is any indication, an honest evaluation of Israel’s role in increasing Hamas’ popularity is unlikely. Revelations over the last year have forced the US corporate media, with the New York Times at the forefront, to re-evaluate their role in promoting the Iraq war and occupation. Sadly, no such re-evaluation is underway with respect to Israel/Palestine. Israeli occupation, expansionism and human rights abuses still generally pass without comment. 

Breaking Down the Wall

Noura Khouri 19 December 2005


It is estimated that Israel’s Annexation Wall will be completed in the early part of 2006. When it is finished it will annex 47% of the West Bank, and hand it over to the settler population. At least 15% of Palestinians will be left outside the wall1, completely isolated from the rest of society, and over 222,098 refugees for the second or third times will experience, “land confiscation, destruction of property, and denial of access to their lands thus directly affecting their means of livelihood”2. In the end, it is not an over exaggeration to say that the entire Palestinian society will directly suffer by its completion, in addition to the seemingly unstoppable illegal Israeli practices that continue unhindered. 

Help EI Make Intelligent Noise

Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry 19 December 2005


For four years, The Electronic Intifada has, with your support, worked to bring light to this darkness through award-winning original investigative reporting, sound analysis and features. At a time when the mainstream media’s attention is increasingly dominated by repetition of cliches and conventional wisdom, EI remains committed to making intelligent noise. In 2005, the Electronic Intifada saw over two million visitor sessions and the original material we produce continues to be picked up and used by journalists, activists and educators all over the world. 

Israeli warplanes strike on northern Gaza Strip

19 December 2005


Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have continued air strikes on the Gaza Strip, especially on its north. They have attacked a number of civilian facilities and agricultural areas. This escalation has come in the context of a plan made by the Israeli Ministry of Defense to respond to launching locally made rockets at Israeli towns located to the east of the Gaza Strip. PCHR is concerned that such attacks may endanger the lives of Palestinian civilians and destroy their property. On Sunday morning, 18 December 2005, IOF war planes launched 6 mock air raids on the same areas. They also attacked agricultural areas to the east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis. 

Latin American and Caribbean meeting on Palestine concludes with Caracas Declaration

13 December 2005


The Caracas Declaration, issued at the conclusion of the two-day United Nations Latin and Caribbean Meeting on the Question of Palestine in Caracas this afternoon, strongly condemned the continuing construction of the wall and the expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The Declaration, which summarized the work of the Meeting, also condemned the recent resumption by Israel, the occupying Power, of military incursions and extrajudicial killings that threatened to unravel the fragile truce agreed to by Palestinian groups, provoked feelings of hatred and despair and undid what progress had already been achieved. 

Palestinian local elections: marked improvement, challenges remain

16 December 2005


“We have seen an impressive improvement in the organisation of the voting process during the fourth phase of local elections in the Palestinian Territories, compared to previous phases’, said Christopher Newbury, Head of the Council of Europe Congress Election Observation Mission, following the elections. “We are pleased that the Palestinian authorities have acted upon our recommendations”, he said, pointing out that two voter lists - based on the voter registration list and on the civil register - were replaced by only one electoral list, and that the question of overcrowding of polling stations has been efficiently addressed by breaking up large polling centres into smaller units.