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Amnesty: "Israeli army must respect human rights"

1 October 2004


Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of the Palestinian population in the Jabaliya refugee camp and elsewhere in the northern Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army is carrying out a large-scale offensive. In the past two days the Israeli army has killed more than 35 Palestinians, including several children and other unarmed residents who were not participating in armed confrontations with Israeli soldiers. Most of those killed and injured were hit by Israeli army tank fire and at least two were killed by a missile fired by a helicopter gunship. Amnesty International is concerned that the Israeli army’s use of excessive force in this latest incursion in the Gaza Strip will result in further loss of lives and wanton destruction of Palestinian homes and property. 

Jewish American group calls for international intervention to stop Israel's massive military invasion of Gaza Strip

1 October 2004


Jewish Voice for Peace, a national Jewish-American organization with 10,000 supporters, called for an immediate halt to the massive Israeli invasion of Gaza Strip. The group called for the United States and the international community to intervene to stop the Israeli military operation and prevent the rocket attacks by Hamas that have provided the pretext for it. “Israeli actions have already cost dozens of Palestinian lives, severely injured many more innocent civilians, and has seen the destruction of more Palestinian homes,” said Mitchell Plitnick, JVP’s Co-Director. “The planned invasion is sure to multiply these numbers greatly.” 

UNRWA calls on Israel to lift restrictions and ensure safety of staff in the Gaza Strip

30 September 2004


The latest large-scale military operations initiated by the Israeli Army have once again severely disrupted the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The Agency has reminded the Government of Israel of its obligations under international law, including bilateral agreements it has entered into with UNRWA and calls on it once again to restore the freedom of movement of Agency staff and guarantee their safety at all times. The military operations undertaken by the Israeli Army have in effect tri-sected the Gaza Strip. 

The "silent" plan for Jerusalem

Johara Baker 30 September 2004


According to a report published in the Israeli daily Ha’aretz on September 14, the plan proposed by West Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky, city engineer Uri Shitrit and head of the planning team Moshe Cohen, calls for “massive intervention” to prevent overcrowding in the Old City. The report said that government funds would be used to offer alternative housing outside the Old City walls to interested residents. Shufat Refugee Camp, the only refugee camp in East Jerusalem, which the municipality promised to rehabilitate, was proposed as an alternative residence. Johara Baker reports for the Palestine Report. 

A Palestinian Ronaldo's Stolen Dreams

30 September 2004


The IDF’s code name for the invasion of Southern Gaza was “Operation Rainbow.” According to Palestinian medical sources, 56 Palestinians were killed during the military operation, including 22 children. Eleven-year-old Hamad El-Neirab remembers “I was in the demonstration, we were clapping and chanting, suddenly the Israeli helicopters fired a missile into the demonstration. I fell to the ground. After the explosion, I stood to run away but a second rocket blew up near me, and I was wounded in both legs.” Today, the boy from a Gaza Strip refugee camp sat half a world away in a state-of-the-art Washington, DC examination room to be fitted for a new leg. 

Widescale Israeli military offensive on the Northern Gaza Strip

30 September 2004


Israeli occupying troops have continued their wide scale offensive on the northern Gaza Strip for the 3rd consecutive day. At the time of going to print, 15 Palestinians, including 3 children, have been killed and at least 120 others were injured, some of them are in a serious condition. Israeli troops have also destroyed a number of houses and civilian facilities. Israeli troops have used excessive force against unarmed Palestinian civilians. According to Palestinian medical sources, most of the injured were hit in the upper part of the body. PCHR expresses deep concern for this intense presence of Israeli troops in the area, especially in Jabalya refugee camp which is one of the most populated areas in the Gaza Strip. 

Urgent Appeal from UHWC Gaza

30 September 2004


For the last 48 hours, the Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC), medical facilities are in state of top emergency in the northern governorate of Gaza Strip. The medical teams are working continuously to cope with the increasing number of causalities, due to a massive incursion of Israeli forces to the northern governorate, especially Jabalia. Israeli tanks, helicopters, and other military forces are attacking the area through four main sectors. Israeli forces are demolishing houses, destroying infrastructure and bulldozing trees at the same time they snipe at every moving target, disregarding whether it is a child, women, old man or a youth. 

Who Governs the West Bank?

27 September 2004


The Palestinian political system is in disarray, and it will take sustained action by Palestinians, international assistance and — at a minimum — no obstruction by Israel to prevent its total collapse. “Who Governs the West Bank? Palestinian Administration under Israeli Occupation”, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines that system, which faces its most acute crisis since the Oslo process was launched in 1993. Although Israel’s occupation provides the context, the Palestinian Authority’s predicament is decidedly domestic. “The PA has been in virtually continuous crisis since the uprising began in September 2000, but it is now close to breaking point”, says Robert Malley, ICG’s Middle East Director. “It is paralysed and unable to make even basic decisions on Palestinian objectives”. 

Jewish Activists Disrupt Safety Awards at MINExpo to Protest Caterpillar's Sales to Israeli Army

28 September 2004


Jewish peace activists protested Caterpillar’s safety record in the Middle East when they disrupted the Caterpillar-sponsored Safety Awards earlier this morning at the MINExpo in Las Vegas, Nevada. They unrolled a banner with a photo of an armored D-9 bulldozer destroying homes that read “What do Cat dozers make possible? Death and destruction for Palestinians and Israelis.” The United Nations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, in addition to many faith-based groups, have all condemned Caterpillar’s sale of bulldozers to Israel which endanger the safety of Palestinian and Israeli civilians. 

It's the occupation, stupid !

Am Johal Canada 29 September 2004


Four years ago on September 28, 2000, when Ariel Sharon made his operatic visit to the Temple Mount, no one could have predicted how dire the situation would become so quickly: close to 6,000 dead, many thousands more injured, the construction of the Separation Wall, mass movement restrictions, detention and torture and other forms of violence and racism. What is one of the worst things perhaps in this new reality, which is quite similar to the old reality, is the level of normalization this political climate has taken on in Palestinian and Israeli society. After four years, Am Johal takes stock.