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Last chance for two states

Manuel Hassassian 19 April 2006


Monday’s suicide bombing in Tel Aviv rightly drew international condemnation, yet criticism of Israel’s relentless shelling of civilian population centres in the occupied Gaza Strip has been blocked by the US at the UN Security Council. This month alone, Israeli forces have killed more than 30 Palestinians, including at least six children, and injured 130 others, while about 200 shells have been fired into the Gaza Strip every day. As Israel’s illegal settlement and wall construction on occupied Palestinian land continues, the possibility of establishing a viable, territorially contiguous Palestinian state is being destroyed. “Permanent borders cannot be drawn by one party alone,” writes Manuel Hassassian. 

DCI/PS call to action on Palestinian Prisoners' Day

19 April 2006


17 April 2006 — It is a sad irony that Palestinian Prisoners’ Day comes this year as massive numbers of Palestinian children are being arrested and detained by Israeli forces. In the first quarter of 2006 alone, some 350 children were arrested — compared to around 700 child arrests in the whole of 2005. The vast increase in arrests is in turn leading to overcrowding in prisons as record numbers of juveniles are being held in unsuitable and unhygienic conditions. 

Palestinian refugees remain stranded on Jordan border

19 April 2006


About 150 Palestinians refugees fleeing from Iraq, including some 50 children, remain stranded near the Jordan-Iraq border, say aid officials. “The children are suffering due to a lack of protection and food,” said Ahmed Barak, a volunteer for the Iraqi Aid Association. “Medical provision in the area is very poor.” The refugees, many of whom fled their homes in Iraq in the wake of a recent spate of anti-Palestinian violence, have been waiting for Amman’s permission to enter the kingdom since 4 April. According to Barak, the International Committee for the Red Cross and the Iraq Red Crescent Society have been providing refugees with food, blankets and tents. Barak added, however, that their situation could worsen if no action is taken by the Jordanian or Iraqi governments. 

Dire situation for hospital, says director of Augusta Victoria in Jerusalem

18 April 2006


The international community’s financial boycott of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority will likely lead to a humanitarian crisis, said Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, CEO of Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem. Speaking in a presentation in early April to staff of Lutheran World Relief, a U.S.-based member of the global alliance of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, Nasser said, “The Palestinian Authority operates many activities for the people – it’s very different from other governments in that it’s actually a deliverer of services. So refusing to pay money to the Palestinian Authority is creating a major humanitarian disaster, removing the biggest provider of healthcare to the Palestinian people.” Nearly 70 percent of Palestinians are insured by the government’s health insurance program, Nasser said. 

Compensation package for farmers urgently needed

12 April 2006


John Ging, Director of UNRWA’s Gaza Field Office, highlighted that “a compensation package is urgently needed for the hundreds of families whose livelihoods have been wiped out by bird flu.” Mr. Ging visited Juhr El-Deik Municipality, at the invitation of the Mayor, to meet with refugee farmers whose chickens have been culled due to recent outbreaks of avian influenza within the Gaza Strip. The culls were ordered and carried out by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. 

Security Council speakers, alarmed by escalating violence, urge Israeli, Palestinian restraint, return to peace process (2/2)

16 April 2006


With tensions escalating in the Middle East, Israeli and Palestinian diplomats both deplored the killing of innocents while trading accusations on the causes of the violence during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, which heard from over 30 participants but did not pronounce itself on the issue. Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer for Palestine, said the Security Council has a “clear responsibility” concerning the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and praised the convening of the debate, given the deteriorating situation on the ground. “It is unfortunate that the Security Council has failed to shoulder its responsibility over this very grave situation,” he said. 

Security Council speakers, alarmed by escalating violence, urge Israeli, Palestinian restraint, return to peace process (1/2)

16 April 2006


With tensions escalating in the Middle East, Israeli and Palestinian diplomats both deplored the killing of innocents while trading accusations on the causes of the violence during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, which heard from over 30 participants but did not pronounce itself on the issue. Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer for Palestine, said the Security Council has a “clear responsibility” concerning the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and praised the convening of the debate, given the deteriorating situation on the ground. “It is unfortunate that the Security Council has failed to shoulder its responsibility over this very grave situation,” he said. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

12 April 2006


This week, Israeli forces killed 19 Palestinians, including three children. Ten of them, including a man, his child and two brothers were killed in an extrajudicial execution. At least 94 Palestinians, including 32 children were wounded by Israeli gunfire. Israel continued to shell Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip, particularly the northern area. Israeli forces conducted 27 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, concentrated mainly in Nablus. At least 70 Palestinians, including five children and a girl, were arrested by Israel, while seven Palestinian homes were turned into military posts. Israeli forces busted into al-Ahli hospital in Hebron and arrested injured Palestinians. Israel continued to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. 

The New York Times Whitewashes the Israeli Takeover of East Jerusalem

Patrick O'Connor 17 April 2006


Despite a practiced guise of objectivity, the US corporate media’s reporting on Israel/Palestine is dominated by the Israeli narrative. An April 16, 2006 feature article by Steven Erlanger, The New York Times’ Jerusalem Bureau Chief, “Jerusalem, Now” in the Times’ Sunday Travel section exemplifies how seemingly professional journalistic standards can mask insidious biases and misinform readers. Erlanger, guided around Jerusalem by Israelis, omits Israeli violence, stereotypes Palestinians, whitewashes Israeli settlements and covers up Israeli efforts to take over East Jerusalem. 

Young Boston Jews hold Passover seder outside AIPAC, JCRC offices

Hannah Mermelstein 17 April 2006


On Tuesday, April 11, at 5:00 pm, 20 young Jewish people gathered for a seder (traditional celebration of Passover) outside 126 High Street in Boston, the building that houses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Boston’s Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC). The group expressed their support for Palestinian human rights and opposition to AIPAC’s and JCRC’s unquestioning support for Israel and its governmental policies. With a banner that read “Passover means liberation for all. Justice for Palestine,” they conveyed the message to the organizations inside and to the media that AIPAC and JCRC do not speak for all Jews.