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Faith of Ibrahim Redeemed: Texas Family Released from Hutto Prison

Greg Moses 3 February 2007


For three painful months while his brother’s family was imprisoned by USA immigration authorities, Ahmad Ibrahim, a United States citizen of Palestinian heritage, kept his faith that “the people of America are good people.” But Ahmad did not know that the one good American who would finally orchestrate the dramatic release of the family had himself been exiled by USA immigration authorities to China. So Ahmad’s faith in America had to hold strong from the beginning of November through the sacred Eid al-Adha season of early January, until the exiled American could return. 

The American proxy war in Gaza

Ali Abunimah 3 February 2007


What lies behind the bloody battles between Hamas and Fatah loyalists which have claimed dozens of Palestinian lives in Gaza in recent days and increased fears of a Palestinian civil war? EI co-founder Ali Abunimah argues that in the minds of Bush administration ideologues, Palestine has become another front in what they conceive as a new Cold War against “Islamofascism.” Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Gaza warlord Muhammad Dahlan have become the willing proxies for an American war spreading across the region. And as Palestinians kill each other, Israel watches — and lets the weapons come in — with glee. 

The Muhammad Salah Bottomline

Ahmed Rehab 1 February 2007


For many years now, Mr. Muhammad Salah lived life in the infamy of being labeled as the only designated US terrorist. He suffered the repercussions of this judgment, long before he could face an open and fair trial in a US Court of law. His assets were frozen, and his life shattered. His family carried the burden of this label to their schools, workplaces, and to the local supermarket. Today at the completion of an emotionally tolling trial on Mr. Salah and his family, the final verdict is out. Though he was found guilty of obstructing justice, he was found not guilty of racketeering — the major charge. 

U.S. Backing for Fatah Stirs New Conflict

Jon Elmer and Nora Barrows-Friedman 2 February 2007


GAZA CITY, Feb 2 (IPS) - Explosions, fierce gunfights and ambulance sirens ripped through the Gaza Strip again Thursday, only two days after a ceasefire ended a bloody week of factional fighting that left more than 30 Palestinians dead. As night fell on Gaza, the death toll was at six, with more than 60 wounded. Fighters loyal to the elected Hamas government — the Interior Ministry’s Executive Force and the Islamist Movement’s militia, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades — battled the Fatah security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. 

Ban Ki-moon looks for more than words from Friday's high-level Middle East meeting

1 February 2007


United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for more than mere words from tomorrow’s high-level diplomatic meeting in Washington of key partners seeking a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two-state solution. Mr. Ban will be participating in his first meeting of the so-called diplomatic Quartet with top officials of the other three partners - United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov; and European Union (EU) High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. 

Bloody fighting between Hamas and Fatah continues in Gaza

2 February 2007


The clashes between the rival Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, continued in the Gaza Strip on Thursday night and into Friday. In these clashes, Palestinian sources said that at least 22 Palestinians were killed and approximately 220 injured. Palestinian sources said that the clashes were fiercest in Gaza City and the shooting spread to Beit Lahiya and Jabalia in the north of the Strip. In addition, sources reported that the presidential security forces and other members of the national security forces, “in addition to other security forces”, broke into the Islamic University in Gaza City on Thursday night. 

Massive Attack Announce Shows in Support of Palestinian refugees

2 February 2007


Massive Attack will play three benefit gigs in February 2007 in aid of the Hoping Foundation. Hoping stands for Hope and Optimism for Palestinians in the Next Generation. Established in January 2003, the charity is supported exclusively by private donors and public fundraising events, such as concerts and auctions. The charity was launched in order to offer support and encouragement to Palestinian children living in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East. 

UK Parliamentary Report slams Western boycott against Palestine

31 January 2007


The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is worse now than it was in 2004, politically, economically and socially, despite their receiving more humanitarian assistance per capita than any other country in the world, says today’s report from the International Development Committee on Development Assistance and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The report questions whether the withholding of funds from a democratically-elected government in the conflict-affected Territories is the most effective response to Hamas’s refusal to accept the Quartet principles. The boycott of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority has led it increasingly to look elsewhere for funding which means it is being drawn closer to governments such as that of Iran. 

OCHA: Gaza Situation Report

31 January 2007


The ceasefire between Palestinian factions announced by Palestinian Foreign Minister, Mohammed al Zahar in the early hours of this morning is holding. The ceasefire follows the heaviest loss of life from inter- factional fighting recorded by OCHA with at least 34 deaths and 133 injuries vbetween the evening of 25 January and the evening of 29 January. Three Palestinians, including a 17 year-old boy, were killed and 15 injured by the IDF in January. The majority of casualties occurred in the northern Gaza Strip. Overall, Palestinian access in and out of the Gaza Strip remains severally restricted. The extent of the power outages during the 2006- 2007 winter period is unprecedented. 

Blowback in Lebanon

Mohamad Bazzi 31 January 2007


Arab regimes and the United States are rushing to shore up Siniora’s government. On January 25, the same day of the bloody protests and curfew in Beirut, Siniora attended a donors conference in Paris, where he received pledges of $7.6 billion in aid and loan guarantees. Some of the funding will go toward reconstruction after last summer’s war, but much of it will be used to make interest payments and refinance Lebanon’s crushing $41 billion public debt. The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio is now about 180 percent—the second-highest in the world (after Malawi). A large proportion of the pledges received at the Paris III conference are tied to unpopular economic reforms that Siniora has vowed to undertake, including raising taxes and privatizing state assets. Most of these measures—such as raising gasoline surcharges and the value-added tax—will most heavily affect Lebanon’s poor and working classes, who are disproportionately Shiite.