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Gaza disengagement update

12 September 2005


The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) completed their withdrawal from Gaza at 7 am this morning. Operation Last Watch ended with a brief ceremony at Qissufim road crossing when the national flag was re-raised by Gaza Division troops on the Israeli side of the crossing. Palestinian National Security Forces progressively moved into the former settlements throughout Sunday night and into the early hours of this morning. In spite of their presence, synagogues were set ablaze in Netzarim, Kfar Darom and Morag by groups of Palestinians who followed behind the security forces. 

Anyone Responsible for Perverting the Court of Justice Must also Face Prosecution

13 September 2005


One day after Doron Almog escaped arrest by British Anti-Terrorist Police, details have emerged about an apparent leak which allowed him to return to Israel without facing the allegations brought against him. The clients of PCHR and Hickman & Rose, who are the victims of Doron Almog’s alleged war crimes, believe that anyone responsible for facilitating the escape of this war crimes suspect must also be brought to justice. This action is essential to protect the integrity of the British criminal justice system. 

Disengaging from Zionism

Issa Mikel 13 September 2005


“As the so-called ‘disengagement’ from Gaza has come to an end and the Israeli government turns its hawkish eye towards consolidation in the West Bank, the lines of debate over the motives and value of the pull-out have been drawn. But whatever the future may hold, the redeployment has contributed to a pernicious vein of thinking about the colonial settlers and their relation both to the Israeli state and to Zionism itself.” Issa Mikel is a Palestinian-American lawyer currently freelance writing and engaging in non-profit work in Palestine. 

One Palestinian killed an another injured as Israeli forces 'disengage'

11 September 2005


Today as Israeli forces completed their redployment to the border areas of the Gaza Strip on Monday the 12th of September, 2005 one Palestinian youth was killed and another was injured while they were standing beside their home in the al Salam quarter of south-east of Rafah town, adjacent to the border with Egypt. PCHR calls for an immediate investigation into the killing and injury of two Palestinian civilians on the border between the Gaza strip and Egypt. 

Palestinian Refugees Donate to Survivors of Hurricane Katrina

13 September 2005


Palestinian refugees, moved by the plight of survivors of Hurricane Katrina will present US Consul-General, Jake Wallace, with a $10,000 donation to the American Red Cross. The donation will be given today at 12 noon at the President’s Office in Ramallah. Rafiq Husseini will offer the donation on behalf of the President and Palestinian refugees. The donation will be earmarked to those survivors most affected by the Hurricane – the displaced poor, elderly and disabled. Money was recently collected by Palestinian refugees in the refugee camps of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 

"A Prayer Band": Palestinian poet Suheir Hammad on Hurricane Katrina

Suheir Hammad 13 September 2005


A Palestinian-American from Brooklyn, Suheir Hammad has appeared on the HBO show “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry,” hosted by Mos Def. Her poems have been featured in numerous publications, on the BBC World Service, and National Public Radio. Hammad recently wrote two poems about Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. The first reprinted here, “A Prayer Band”, was performed at an event organised by Hammad called “Refugees for Refugees” in New York City on September 9th, which raised $5,000 for hurricane relief. Suheir Hammad arrived in Jackson, Mississippi yesterday, to deliver the money personally and help with direct relief efforts. 

Children of Gaza happy for "Bigger Prison"

Sami Abu Salem Gaza Strip 12 September 2005


Despite the hot weather in Gaza, thousands of Palestinian citizens poured Monday into the evacuated colonies at the northern tip of the Gaza Strip. Elderly, youth, children, fishermen, farmers and family members were keen to have a historical look at the three settlements of Duggit, Eli Sinai and Nissanit. Fishermen pushed their boats into the sea, while hobbyists installed their fishhooks at the shore. Parents toured among the rubble of Duggit while teenagers were planting Palestinian and other different colored flags on the telegraph poles of the destroyed electric network. Sami Abu Salem writes from Gaza. 

Gaza withdrawal: momentous but unlikely to lead to peace

Katharine von Schubert 12 September 2005


The recent withdrawal of Jewish settlers from Gaza was a momentous event in history. For the first time, an Israeli government insisted that Jews evacuate territory which it encouraged them to populate in the first place. So why has Sharon just risked alienating one of the strongest, most well-organised elements in Israeli society? Katharine von Schubert finds herein the paradox. The dream of settlement and expansion, which in many ways defined Zionist Israel, could not be sustained there. Israel could not have hung on to Gaza for ever. It could not afford to either militarily, financially or strategically. Yet, the moral reasons for getting out, which have not featured large in Sharon’s reasoning, speak the loudest to her and many other observers. 

Israeli war crimes suspect evades British justice after UK court issues warrant

9 September 2005


An Israeli war crimes suspect today turned tail to avoid arrest by British police officers under an arrest warrant issued by Bow Street Magistrates’ Court. Major General (retired) Doron Almog today spent some time ‘airside’ at Heathrow airport before taking a return flight to Israel. He had learned that he was facing arrest by British police after a decision on 10th September 2005 by Chief London Magistrate Timothy Workman to issue a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of committing a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949. The alleged offence was committed as part of Israel’s belligerent occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 

UN agency sees opportunity after Gaza withdrawal

8 September 2005


Following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, the head of the main United Nations agency helping Palestinian refugees said today that her main focus was on creating jobs, micro-financing and housing reconstruction so that the inhabitants themselves would benefit from the pullback. In that effort, Karen Koning AbuZayd, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said the Agency will work within the framework of James Wolfensohn, the envoy of the Middle East Quartet for coordinating Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the economic and social transition there.