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UNRWA appeals for emergency funding

13 December 2006


Living conditions amongst Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have slumped to levels unseen since 1967. Every aspect of life has been affected. The crisis that began in September 2000 has deepened dramatically during 2006, as a result of the international isolation of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the conditions of siege imposed on Gaza and the ongoing fragmentation of the West Bank. The majority of Palestinians are now dependent on food and cash handouts. Violence, poverty and despair are overtaking hopes for recovery and prospects for development. 

Ruling: Israel cannot exempt itself from compensating Palestinians harmed by military

12 December 2006


Today, 12 December 2006, the Supreme Court of Israel, in a unanimous ruling delivered by nine justices, decided that the State of Israel cannot exempt itself from paying compensation to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who have been harmed by the Israeli military. The decision invalidates a provision of a recent amendment to the Civil Wrongs (Liability of the State) Law (popularly known as “the Intifada law”). This provision was intended to release the state from all liability for compensation for any damages caused to Palestinians by the Israeli military or other security forces in areas designated as “conflict zones” (nearly all of the West Bank and Gaza) by the Ministry of Defense. 

Noting progress in Lebanon, Security Council warns of threats and challenges

12 December 2006


Welcoming the progress so far in implementing and monitoring the cessation of hostilities in southern Lebanon, the Security Council today voiced concern at reports of illegal movements of arms into the country, Israeli violations of Lebanese air space and the continuing presence of “very high numbers of unexploded ordnance” in the affected area. In a presidential statement, the 15-member Council also reiterated its “full support for the legitimate and democratically-elected Government of Lebanon,” urged all parties to pay “full respect for the democratic institutions of the country in conformity with the constitution” and condemned any attempt to destabilize the State. 

NGO's concerned over the working of the UN Register of Damage caused by the Wall

12 December 2006


On December 11, a number of NGO’s sent a letter to Riyadh Mansour Head of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations. The letter includes a response to the Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to General Assembly resolution ES-10/15 on the establishment of the UN register of damage in connection with paragraphs 152 and 153 of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004. Palestinian civil society welcomes the UN register as a step towards the implementation of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion, but serious concerns remain over the working of the Register. 

On the 58th anniversary of Human Rights Day, Palestinian civilians suffer

12 December 2006


The 10th of December 2006 marks the 58th anniversary of International Human Rights Day, the date which was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first global enunciation of human rights. This anniversary is being commemorated while the Palestinian people continue to live under Israeli belligerent occupation, which has continued for almost 40 years. Under this occupation, the Palestinian people are subject to many forms of human rights violations that contradict the basic principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the rights to life, liberty and security of person, through willful killings, extra-judicial executions, torture, collective punishment, and cruel and degrading treatment. 

Support for Israel in Congress is Based on Fear

James Abourezk 12 December 2006


I can tell you from personal experience that the support Israel has in the Congress is based completely on political fear — fear of defeat by anyone who does not do what Israel wants done. I can also tell you that very few members of Congress — at least when I served there — have any affection for Israel or for its Lobby. What they have is contempt, but it is silenced by fear of being found out exactly how they feel. I’ve heard too many cloakroom conversations in which members of the Senate will voice their bitter feelings about how they’re pushed around by the Lobby to think otherwise. In private one hears the dislike of Israel and the tactics of the Lobby, but not one of them is willing to risk the Lobby’s animosity by making their feelings public. 

Cancer didn't kill my mother, the occupation did

Raed M. Sharif Syracuse 11 December 2006


By the time my mother made it to Egypt, it was unfortunately a bit late because the cancer was rapidly growing in her body and at that stage, doctors didn’t have much to do but to try the chemotherapy to see if it could help. Unfortunately, this didn’t help much and she peacefully passed away last night. My mother is not the only case; she is just one the cases that someone could talk about. In addition to the tens of people being killed by the Israelis every day through the use of traditional weapons, tens, if not hundreds, of others die every day because of lack of access to health services, because of movement restrictions imposed by the Israelis and the restrictions on delivering medicine and health equipment to Gaza and other Palestinian cities. 

The cradle of revolution

Samia A. Halaby Beirut 11 December 2006


Cradled in the beautiful southern mountains of Lebanon, a revolutionary impulse born of desparation created by Israeli terror and American oppression has turned into feverish nationalism. Here in Beirut yesterday, 10 December 2006, over a million people, perhaps two million, gathered in a historic first for Lebanon and possibly a historic percentage of any nation any one time any where. It was a crowd in motion, literally. I watched the rivers of people weaving through the masses and the islands of those who stood still. Their shifting patterns, a natural motion, is a rare experience. 

Lack of Israeli cooperation prevents UN fact-finding mission to Beit Hanoun

11 December 2006


Israel’s lack of cooperation has prevented a fact-finding mission from the United Nations Human Rights Council from visiting Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, where an Israeli attack last month killed 19 Palestinian civilians, the head of the team, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu, said today. “This is a time in our history that neither allows for indifference to the plight of those suffering, nor a refusal to search for a solution to the present crisis in the region,” Mr. Tutu told reporters in Geneva, describing Israel’s action as “very distressing.” 

Farmers seek government help to escape downward spiral of debt

11 December 2006


Desperate Lebanese farmers are urging their government to do more to help them recover from a war that the United Nations estimates has cost the vital agriculture industry some US $280 million and left them facing “a downward spiral of debt and poverty”. “I personally lost over 50 million Lebanese pounds [$35,000],” said Mohammed Mokahhal, a farmer from the eastern Bekaa Valley, describing his losses in the month-long summer war between Israel and militants from the Lebanese Hezbollah political party.