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Pinochet in Palestine

Joseph Massad 11 November 2006


Before the United States government subcontracted the Chilean military to overthrow the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende in 1973, it carried out a number of important missions in the country in preparation for the coup of 11 September. These included major strikes, especially by truck owners, which crippled the economy, massive demonstrations that included middle-class housewives and children carrying pots and pans demanding food, purging the Chilean military of officers who would oppose the suspension of democracy and the introduction of US-supported fascist rule, and a major media campaign against the regime with the CIA planting stories in newspapers like El Mercurio and others. 

R2P could prove solution for protection failure in Gaza

Arjan El Fassed 10 November 2006


The emergent doctrine of the “responsibility to protect” locates primary responsibility squarely with the government of the state in question. But it also stresses the collective responsibility of other states for protecting civilians of any state facing genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity. This response should be the exercise of first peaceful and then, if necessary, coercive (including forceful) steps to protect civilians. Considering the inability of the Israel to protect Palestinian civilians, the international community shares a collective responsibility to protect civilians by getting Israel - through persuasion or otherwise - to abide by the Geneva Conventions. 

Immersion Crash Course In Medical Arabic

Bill Dienst Az-Zawiya, Palestine 5 November 2006


I am now working with a different medical crew, this time in the Salfit district. This Mobile Health Unit is also sponsored by Medical Relief Society. We started at our base in the town of Salfit and had to drive around the huge settlement of Ariel, the second largest settlement, (after Ma’ale Addumin) in the West Bank. We passed through the major Israeli military checkpoint of Zatara, which controls and stifles the flow of traffic between Ramallah and Nablus. I am getting used to all this oppression which now has a strange sort of normalcy. Going out through this checkpoint was uneventful; coming back in to Salfit will be another story. 

Fenced in From All Around: The Story of Hani Amr and His Family

Bill Dienst Mas'ha 7 November 2006


Today the Mobile Clinic is working in Al Mas-ha, which is west of the Ariel settlement, and just north of the main Israeli highway from Ariel, before it dives down the hill toward Tel Aviv. West Bank Palestinians are only allowed to this point west, but no further. Again we set up in the village municipality, which happens to be located right next to the kindergarten. Today, we will a different strategy to utilize my skills and stay out of the way of Dr. Hasam, who must move along at lightening speed, in order to survive the day. I am sent with a nurse to the local kindergarten to screen about 50 children for dental disease, anemia, malnutrition, cardiac murmurs, and neuro-developmental delay. 

Chicago Palestine Film Festival seeks new Palestinian films

10 November 2006


The Chicago Palestine Film Festival committee is issuing a call for films by Palestinian filmmakers and for films about Palestine for our sixth annual 2007 festival as well as subsequent festivals. The committee accepts films and videos of all genres and of any duration. For films with non-English dialogue, English subtitles are required. Film selection criteria include artistry, technical skill and content. We are especially interested in work by Palestinian filmmakers, but nationality is not a selection criteria. The deadline for submission for the 2007 festival is January 15, 2007. 

Weekly Report of Human Rights Violations

10 November 2006


IOF have escalated attacks on Palestinian civilians and their property in the OPT. Israeli political and military officials have implemented their threats to launch a wide scale military campaign on the Gaza Strip. IOF invaded the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun and committed a series of crimes. During the reported period, IOF killed 86 Palestinians, 52 of whom including 16 children, 10 women and two paramedics , are civilians. This increase in the number of casualties has followed orders by Israeli political and military officials to expand military operations in the Gaza Strip. In the Gaza Strip, IOF killed 77 Palestinians, 48 of them, including 16 children, 10 women and two paramedics, are civilians. 

Gaza violence, mounting death toll, provoke grave concern in Security Council

10 November 2006


In a day-long meeting of the Security Council today, called jointly by the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement in light of intensifying Israeli military operations in Gaza, fuelled yesterday by the deaths of at least 18 civilians in Beit Hanoun, more than 40 speakers expressed grave concern at the mounting humanitarian toll, with many demanding an immediate ceasefire and deployment of United Nations observers. “The incident that occurred in Beit Hanoun on Wednesday is shocking,” Angela Kane, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said as she opened the meeting. “Men, women and children, who posed no threat, were killed as they slept in their home.” 

HRW: IDF probe no substitute for real investigation

10 November 2006


The Israel Defense Forces’ internal inquiry into its artillery shelling of Beit Hanoun, which killed 19 Palestinian civilians and left dozens injured in northern Gaza, failed to address the key questions of whether the attack was a violation of international law and who should be held accountable for the lethal fire, Human Rights Watch said today. The Israeli government should immediately conduct a comprehensive independent investigation to establish these issues. “The IDF’s internal probe suggests that the Beit Hanoun tragedy can be chalked up to an errant volley of shells,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of the Middle East and North Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. 

Qatari draft resolution calls for ceasefire and UN observer force

10 November 2006


The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Thursday at the request of Qatar - the lone Arab representation on the council - regarding the killing of 18 Palestinians on Wednesday by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). At dawn on Wednesday, the IDF fired between 12 and 15 shells at an apartment block in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, killing 18 people while they slept, mostly women and children. A further 55 people were injured. Council members held closed consultations on a draft resolution circulated by Qatar on Wednesday before holding an open meeting with 45 speakers that included a briefing by Angela Kane, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs. 

MEPs Call For An International Force To Stop The Killing In Gaza And For An End To The Occupation

9 November 2006


We, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament, recently returned from a fact finding mission to Israel and Palestine, are shocked and appalled by what we have seen and experienced in Gaza. Due to economic sanctions, almost all public institutions have shut down. The hospitals are overcrowded and receive neither money nor sufficient medicine. The public employees have not been paid for months. The doctors told us that some deadly injuries are not caused by traditional weapons but most likely by new experimental chemical weapons. More amputations than ever are necessary. They have not had the time to examine the dead bodies yet as they are busy dealing with the wounds of those who have survived.