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Bush peace confab a swan dive or belly flop?

Khody Akhavi 24 September 2007


WASHINGTON, 21 September (IPS) - This past summer, President George W. Bush extended a hand where he never has before, calling for a Middle East conference to find a solution to the long-moribund Palestinian-Israeli peace process. This time, says US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, her boss expects results. Yet as with most of Washington’s diplomatic overtures to the region over the last seven years, Bush’s recent demands for a “viable Palestinian state” — which critics argue simply aim to spit-shine an already tarnished presidential legacy — may crumble under the weight of stark realities on the ground. 

Israel declares Gaza "enemy entity"

23 September 2007


Al-Haq is deeply concerned by the Israeli security cabinet’s unanimous decision on Wednesday, 19 September to declare the Gaza Strip an “enemy entity,” ostensibly paving the way for the imposition of collective penalties on the 1.5 million Palestinian civilians living in the Gaza Strip. These include intensifying the already severe border closures, limiting the provision of essential supplies, and dramatically reducing the supply of electricity, all of which will exacerbate the existing dire humanitarian crisis. 

The tide is turning

Angela Godfrey-Goldstein 23 September 2007


For the sake of both Israel and the Palestinians, we must save Israel from itself. Living in South Africa under apartheid, I saw boycott efforts encourage public awareness, apply pressure and state disapproval for the government’s racist policies. Israeli historian Ilan Pappe has said boycotts “will not change positions in a day, but they will send a clear message to the Israeli public that these positions are racist and unacceptable … They would have to choose.” Angela Goldfrey-Goldstein comments. 

Lift the siege on Hamas

Ahmed Yousef 23 September 2007


While largely unnoticed in American discourse on the topic, much has been said and written to debunk the sanctions regime imposed on Hamas government administrations since its resounding victory in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections of January 2006. These calls and reports show that the sanctions regime is wrong and misguided and that it is a reaction to the excessively intense pressure that the US administration has exercised over other nations. Political advisor to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, Dr. Ahmed Yousef comments. 

All to lose and much to gain in divisive presidential election

20 September 2007


BEIRUT, 20 September (IRIN) - Hajj Mustafa Zaatari, a baker from the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon, has little patience for his country’s beleaguered politicians as they struggle to overcome deep divisions ahead of electing a new president. “Why would I want to talk politics?” he asks. “It’s the holy month of Ramadan, and politics in this country is blasphemy, pure blasphemy.” 

Dehumanizing the Palestinians

Ali Abunimah 21 September 2007


The Israeli cabinet has voted to declare the occupied Gaza Strip a “hostile entity,” thus in its own eyes permitting itself to cut off the already meagre supplies of food, water, electricity and fuel that it allows the Strip’s inmates to receive. The decision was quickly given backing by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Israel is the occupying power in the Gaza Strip, despite having removed its settlers in 2005 and transforming the area, home to 1.5 million mostly refugee Palestinians, into the world’s largest open-air prison which it besieges and fires into from the perimeter. Ali Abunimah comments. 

Hamas supporters tortured by West Bank security forces

19 September 2007


The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights is deeply concerned by the continuation of detentions by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank against Hamas activists and supporters, and interrogating them on their relationship with Hamas and the Interior Ministry Executive Force. In addition, they are coerced into signing commitments to cut off their ties with Hamas. The Centre is also concerned by the continuation of torture and abuse against the detainees and their families, as well as the physical and psychological pressure exerted on them to maintain silence. 

Audio: Crossing the Line interviews Huwaida Arraf

19 September 2007


This week on Crossing The Line: Host Christopher Brown speaks with attorney and activist Huwaida Arraf. Arraf, cofounder of the International Solidarity Movement, speaks about the victory for the residents of Bil’in village. The Israeli high court on 4 September ruled that the apartheid wall must be rerouted near the town. Every Friday for the past two years residents of Bil’in, as well as Israeli and international peace activists, have staged nonviolent protests against the wall. 

Montreal activists call on Mulroney to denounce Israeli Apartheid

19 September 2007


MONTREAL, CANADA, 18 September — The Montreal network of the Coalition against Israeli Apartheid welcomed former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney during a launch of his autobiography at Indigo bookstore by unfurling a banner denouncing the apartheid situation under which Palestinians are living. Marcel Sevigny, a member of the network, wanted to call on Mulroney to speak out against the apartheid system now being used against the Palestinian people, given the role Mulroney is said to have played in bringing down the apartheid system in South Africa. However, Sevigny was removed by security before he could do so. 

A victory for the joint, popular struggle

Basel Mansour 19 September 2007


In a 7 September speech delivered to Israelis who participated in the demonstration in the village of Bil’in after the decision by the Israeli High Court to alter the route of the wall in the village, representative of the Popular Committee of Bil’in, Basel Mansour stated: “Lovers of peace, friends of freedom and justice … our partners in the struggle and in the creation of this partial victory — I bless you in the name of our Palestinian people, in the name of the residents of Bil’in, who you came to know, and who came to know you, and whose sides you stood by ever since they began their opposition to the fence and the settlement that squats on a large part of their land.”