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Without peace settlement, both sides face continued violence, UN civil society conference told (1/2)

13 September 2004


Drawing on the success of similar events in 2002 and 2003, the United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People opened at the United Nations Headquarters this morning. Unless a peace settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians was reached — and that could only be achieved through official political negotiations resulting in an agreement between the parties — both sides would face the grim reality of a never-ending stalemate and continued violence, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today at the opening of a two-day United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People. 

World Bank supports water and sanitation project in Gaza

14 September 2004


The World Bank approved this week a grant of US$7.8 million to the Palestinian Authority to deal with the impending public health, safety, and environmental hazards stemming from the lack of proper treatment of wastewater in North Gaza. The North Gaza Emergency Sewage Treatment project is the fourth in a series of water and sanitation projects supported by the World Bank Trust Fund for Gaza and West Bank since 1993. Although 64 percent of the wastewater is collected in Gaza, most of it is not properly treated, contributing significantly to contamination of the coastal aquifer and seashore, including beaches. 

The Vanunu Epilogue

Am Johal 13 September 2004


If East Jerusalem had an unofficial mayor, it would be nuclear whistle blower Mordechai Vanunu. When the church bell rings at noon at the Anglican cathedral of St. George’s in East Jerusalem not far from Damascus Gate in the Old City, chances are it’s Mordechai Vanunu ringing the bell. From that vantage point, he looks down on the Jerusalem court house where he was originally sentenced to eighteen years in prison for divulging Israel’s nuclear secrets. Am Johal reports on Vanunu’s experience since prison. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

9 September 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 22 Palestinians, including three children. 14 of the victims were killed in an Israeli missile attack in Gaza City. One of the victims was killed in another extra-judicial execution. Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli troops moved into the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli forces demolished four homes and razed 32 donums of agricultural land in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli forces demolished two homes in the West Bank. Israeli continued the siege on the occupied Palestinian territories and continued construction of the wall. 

Israeli forces kill 4 Palestinians in Gaza

9 September 2004


For the second day, Israeli forces continued their offensive on large areas of the northern Gaza Strip, perpetrating what may amount to grave breaches of international humanitarian law. Israeli forces killed four Palestinians, including a 10-year-old child. Israeli gunfire and shelling wounded 50 others. Israeli forces used excessive lethal foce against unarmed civilians. PCHR’s investigations strongly indicate that Israeli troops used excessive lethal force against unarmed Palestinian civilians, without adhering to the principles of proportionality and distinction. PCHR is concerned that this offensive could be similar to that of an earlier offensive on Beit Hanoun. 

"Dismantlement 101: Introduction to removing an outpost"

Shirabe Yamada Dahiye al-Barid, Palestine 13 September 2004


The government says it is an extremeley difficult task. Those illegal hilltop outposts are just so impossible to remove. Each time IDF tries they are met with such violent resistance from settlers, as one may have seen it on evening news. Even if they are an obstacle to peace, required for the removal under the Road Map and other agreements, and even at the cost of international criticism, those outposts are left to grow, further unabling a viable peace. “If the government says can’t do it, why don’t I show it’s easy and possible?” Dror Etkes, Coordinator for the Settlement Watch Project at Peace Now thinks outloud, “I will pick up a trailer from an outpost and dump it in front of the Ministry of Defense, to make my point.” Shirabe Yamada reports. 

With friends like these...

Mark Perry 9 September 2004


The FBI investigation into the leaked information on Iran to the Israeli lobby group AIPAC has inadvertently revealed a subtle, but significant, divide among Israeli and American officials. While it is true that Israel and the United States coordinate their policies at the highest levels - Dick Cheney often holds talks with Israeli politician Natan Sharansky while former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is viewed as one of the most influential men in Washington - that cooperation does not extend much beyond the Oval Office. Mark Perry analyzes the situation for the Palestine Report. 

UN replaces Palestinian refugee homes demolished by Israel

8 September 2004


The main United Nations agency helping Palestinian refugees today handed over 103 new shelters in Rafah in the Gaza Strip for families whose homes have been demolished during the latest uprising against Israel, but the ceremony planned for the event had to be postponed due to ongoing Israeli military operations. The Israeli military has cut the Strip into three, cutting off access to Rafah, and operations in the north of Gaza prevented UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Peter Hansen from re-entering the area for the planned ceremony. 

Crisis in the PA: Events and the Challenge of Reform

7 September 2004


The occupied territories are witnessing a severe internal crises that effects all aspects of the life of Palestinians and threatens both their security and safety. It threatens the ongoing struggle for independence and for an the end to the belligerent Israeli occupation. While the roots of the crises may be traced back many years the crises reached a pinnacle in the middle of July 2004 in the shape of a series of attacks, kidnappings and other illegal activities perpetrated by individuals or militant groups. These actions reflect the total absence of the rule of law and the chaos which has resulted as a consequence of the proliferation of small arms and militarization of Palestinian society. 

Interview: What the IDF is doing in Nablus

Nablus 7 September 2004


Some of the claims herein are shocking. I honestly hope that the interview - originally conducted in Hebrew - will impel people to action and that the commanders responsible for such abuses will be held to account. It is worth remembering that the soldier’s unit was ‘exemplary’ in that it was considered to be one that had relatively good discipline compared to other fighting units in the IDF. The interview is thus testimony to the real nature of a military force that is often portrayed as ‘the most moral army in the world.’ After reading this interview, it is hard to understand how such a mythology can be sustained within the Israeli body-politic and in the mainstream of US public opinion.