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The real meaning of deporting Hamas members of parliament

Jonathan Cook 21 April 2006


The policy of “hitnatkut”, or unilateral disengagement, developed by Ariel Sharon needed a swift facelift following the withdrawal of settlers from Gaza last year. And Israel’s prime minister-designate, Ehud Olmert, has found it in the related concept of “hitkansut”, variously translated as “convergence”, “consolidation” and “ingathering”. So convergence is usefully, and misleadingly, supplanting disengagement. Olmert’s consolidation, it is becoming clear, will embrace Palestinians too. 

Empty Pockets, Growling Stomachs in Gaza

Rami Almeghari 21 April 2006


Food for everybody in the world is a means to survive, to stay alive and maintain a normal, healthy life. But in Palestine, food has become increasingly hard to buy, as groceries and supermarkets have been unable to sustain the debts owed by their local customers. Because of a forced delay of more than 140,000 government employees’ salaries in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the customers have been unable to pay their supermarket tabs. Both grocers and customers have begun to complain about an increasing financial crisis due to such a delay. 

Terror and Occupation in Nablus

Linda Spence Nablus, Palestine 21 April 2006


17 April 2006 — This is just one personal account of a shocking situation I witnessed in in Nablus. In the week I have been here, Nablus and Balata refugee camp have been under regular daily and nightly attack from the IDF. All of the incursions have involved live ammunition, demonstrating little care for the hundreds of civilians in these highly populated areas. We recieved a call at 10 AM to say that a house in the center of Nablus has been occupied by the army, with the family held prisoner inside. 

The Little Mermaid on Highway Six: Rooting for ordinary Israelis to wake up

Deb Reich Palestine 21 April 2006


These are the thoughts that give me no rest, so that when a holiday comes around, as Passover did recently, I am unable to celebrate lightheartedly in the ordinary way. Occasionally, as I did this time, I go through the motions, but it seems obscene, somehow. I haven’t had a normal sort of holiday feeling in years. Lately, I finally figured out why. Going about your business as usual, insofar as possible, is an act of defiance when you’re being oppressed; but when you’re the oppressor, it’s an act of indifference. 

The West's strategy in Palestine will weaken civil society

Iain Guest 20 April 2006


The Palestinian group Hamas lost no time in approving Monday’s terrible suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, thus confirming the worst suspicions of the international community. But Western governments have still taken a huge gamble in withholding aid from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian National Authority. If past experience is any guide, the decision will fuel extremism, create a humanitarian crisis and also undermine Palestinian civil society, which has long been a voice for the rule of law in the Middle East. 

Punishing the Victim: Donors cutting aid to the PA

20 April 2006


Canada and the US, followed by the EU and Japan, have suspended their financial aid to the Palestinian Authority. This came in the wake of the Palestinian legislative council elections that were held last January, the resulting victory of Hamas that secured the movement a parliamentary majority, and the subsequent formation of the Palestinian government. These parties, in an attempt to compensate for their decision to cut aid to the PA, have decided to continue to provide humanitarian assistance through the United Nations and through NGO’s. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights outlines its position. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

20 April 2006


This week, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian child in Beit Lahia. A Palestinian activist died from previous wounds. At least 40 Palestinians, including 19 children were wounded by Israeli gunfire. Israel continued to shell Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces conducted 35 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, particularly in Nablus. In these military raids, Israeli forces arrested 74 Palestinians, including 11 children. Israeli forces arrested wives and mothers of allegedly wanted Palestinians. Israeli forces turned ten Palestinian homes into military posts. Israel continues to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. Settlers continue to attack Palestinian civilians and property. 

UN warns of humanitarian crisis in Palestine

20 April 2006


The current humanitarian emergency followed the outbreak of violence in September 2000 and is a result of restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement, military operations, land confiscation and levelling and the construction of the Barrier. A serious intensification of this situation is now possible following the victory of the Hamas party in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections held in January 2006. has stopped handing over to the PA VAT and customs taxes that it collects on Palestinian goods on its behalf. Recently however, the GoI has announced that it would use a proportion of this money to pay for electricity, water and fuel costs owed to Israeli companies. At the same time, Western donors signalled their intention to review their funding support to the PA. 

In the footsteps of his father

Rami Almeghari Gaza, Palestine 20 April 2006


8 April 2006—Last Saturday, crowds estimated at tens of thousands marched in the funeral procession of Eyad Abulineen, a Palestinian resistance fighter of Rafah, his 7-year old son Belal and four other people, who were all killed by Israeli missiles on Friday. Prior to heading to the Rafah cemetery east of the city, the crowd said a last farewell to their martyrs in a local mosque. Chanting angry slogans, with resistance fighters firing into the air, the crowd marched toward the cemetery, where the martyrs were laid to rest. 

Roger Waters Refuses to be Another Brick in Israel's Wall

19 April 2006


Ramallah — Reiterating his opposition to the Israeli occupation and expressing his support for the Palestinian people in “their struggle to be free,” the internationally renowned rock star Roger Waters has announced that he is relocating his Israel performance in recognition of the problematic nature of the previously planned Tel Aviv venue, particularly at a time when Israel is escalating its repression and apartheid designs to further dispossess, ghettoize and ultimately ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their homeland.