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Knesset extends racist entry law for another year

22 March 2007


Today the Knesset extended for fifteen months the validity of the racist Nationality and Entry into Israel (Temporary Order) Law, which prevents family unification of residents of East Jerusalem and citizens of Israel married to Palestinians who are residents of the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. The extension follows the High Court of Justice’s rejection last year of the petition filed by Adalah and the Association for Civil Rights to invalidate the statute. In addition, the Knesset expanded the application of the law to include a category “dangerous countries,” containing Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran, whose citizens are denied family unification under the provisions of the statute. 

Right to family life denied

23 March 2007


Enaya Samara is a 56-year-old US national of Palestinian origin. For 31 years she lived in Ramallah with her husband, Adel Samara, who is a resident of the OPT, and their two children. For three decades she had to travel abroad every three months to renew her tourist visa. The family’s repeated attempts to obtain family unification and establish Enaya Samara’s right to reside in the OPT were unsuccessful. On 26 May 2006, after more than 120 trips, she was denied entry when she tried to return home to the OPT. 

Two-year-old killed in renewed factional violence

23 March 2007


Gaza - Ma’an News Agency - The death toll due to the renewed clashes between Fatah and Hamas supporters in the Gaza Strip, which began on Wednesday, March 21, rose to three after a two-year-old infant died on Thursday evening. Security sources reported that the infant, Hassan Abu al-Nada, died from wounds sustained after being shot by armed men while in his house near the home of a leader of the Fatah-affiliated al-Aqsa Brigades, Samih al-Madhoun. 

UN meeting on Israeli-Palestinian peace emphasizes nature and value of dialogue

22 March 2007


The nature and value of dialogue and the importance of mutual respect within, between and among cultures were the focus of this afternoon’s discussion among participants in the first of three scheduled plenary sessions at the United Nations International Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace, held at the Rome headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization. During the session — whose theme was “Peace in the Middle East: A key to the advancement of the dialogue between cultures and civilizations” — participants responded to the presentations of five expert panellists, who discussed three themes, including the urgency of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

One-third of Palestinians 'food insecure'

22 March 2007


RAMALLAH, 22 March 2007 (IRIN) - One-third of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are food insecure, according to a report by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). About 34 percent of Palestinians cannot afford a balanced meal and another 12 percent are at risk of reaching this state, the organisations found in a Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment published this month. Most affected is the Gaza Strip, where 51 percent of the population suffers from food insecurity. 

Parallel progress needed in Middle East, Ban Ki-moon tells UN meeting

22 March 2007


With a majority of both Israelis and Palestinians supporting a negotiated settlement to the Middle East conflict that would allow two States to live side by side in peace and security, it is vital that their leaders take concrete steps to achieve that goal, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a United Nations-sponsored meeting on the issue today. “It is clear that a parallel commitment by the parties is essential for advancing on key issues,” Mr. Ban said in a message at the start of the UN International Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace, held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, urging participants to play their part. 

Existence is Resistance

Anna Baltzer Nablus, Palestine 21 March 2007


My last day in Nablus I got to discover another one of the city’s gems: An-Najah University. I immediately took to the old architecture mixed with modern sculptures on the main campus, but what inspired me most was watching thousands of students return to the frantic bustle of daily university life so soon after soldiers had released the city from hostage. Resilience is a defining character of Palestinian identity in my experience, and I was more impressed than surprised to see Palestinians asserting their determination to get an education even in the most difficult circumstances. 

United But Still Isolated

Peter Hirschberg 21 March 2007


Palestinian leaders heaved a sigh of relief over the weekend when the formation of the long- awaited Hamas-Fatah national unity government finally became a reality. But the Palestinians could quickly discover that while the formation of a unity government, after months of tortuous negotiations, may have averted the threat that growing internal strife would balloon into all-out civil war, it could fail to achieve its second and no less important goal — the lifting of crippling international sanctions. 

Situation of Palestinian Refugees: "Worse than ever"

21 March 2007


The decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies at the heart of 21st century world affairs, with numerous nations, international organisations and NGOs involved on both sides. The United Nations has long played a role in the conflict, on both political and humanitarian levels. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established for the specific purpose of providing assistance to the Palestinian refugees the war created. 

Kick Apartheid Out of Football

21 March 2007


On Saturday 24th March England are playing Israel in a Euro 2008 qualifier match in Israel. The Boycott Israeli Goods campaign will hold a vigil in protest at the match and to call for a sporting boycott of apartheid Israel. The vigil will commemorate those Palestinian children killed while playing football. From September 2000 to December 2006, 869 Palestinian children have been killed, a quarter of those were under twelve. Every month an average of fourteen will die. Many have been killed just kicking a ball around.