19 May 2007
This week on Crossing The Line, the ongoing debate of two states vs. one state in Israel/Palestine is nothing new. However, the debate looms larger when we talk about the issue solely in the peace movement. Host Chris Brown presents part one of a two-part conversation with noted Israeli historian Ilan Pappe. Read more about Audio: Interview with Israeli historian Ilan Pappe (Pt 1)
16 May 2007
The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that the safety of dozens of journalists was endangered by heavy factional fighting today around two Gaza City buildings housing several news organizations. According to CPJ sources and international news reports, Fatah gunmen took over the roofs of the Shawa and Hosari Tower - which houses the Ramattan news agency, the BBC, and Al-Jazeera, among other media outlets - and Al-Johara Tower - which houses the Turkish Ihlas News Agency, the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, and other media outlets. Read more about CPJ alarmed by gunfire outside Gaza news buildings
Gaza City, Palestine 18 May 2007
17 May 2007 —We’re used to things going from bad to worse very quickly here. But we never expected the situation to get as bad as it has over the past few days.After a terrifying 24 hours, we awoke this morning to sporadic gunfire, and ghostly streets. It was a welcome change. Sleep-deprived and anxious, my colleague Saeed, on his first visit to Gaza, and myself headed to Rafah in the southern part of the Strip to continue shooting a series of documentaries we are working on. Read more about The ghostly streets, the ghostly skies
18 May 2007
Hundreds of Palestinian refugees stranded at al-Waleed makeshift camp in no-man’s land between the desert borders of Iraq and Syria are living in precarious conditions and people could die if they do not get medical treatment, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on 15 May.”We are particularly worried about the lack of medical facilities - many of the camp’s 942 residents need urgent medical attention, including a mother of seven who suffers from leukemia and a teenage diabetic boy,” UNHCR spokesperson, Jennifer Pagonis, said in a statement on Tuesday. Read more about UNHCR highlights Palestinian refugees' plight in desert camp
18 May 2007
Humanitarian aid agencies are expressing concern as renewed intense Palestinian infighting between the Fatah and Hamas factions enters its fifth day, during which nearly as many ceasefires have been broken, and over 40 Palestinians killed. Two Israeli air strikes on Thursday in central Gaza City have left at least three Palestinians dead, and injured 30 more, including civilians, as Israel steps up its retaliatory actions against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. Read more about Gaza violence hampering aid deliveries
14 May 2007
In the Christian Science Monitor, Ali Abunimah cites the successes of South Africa’s and Ireland’s unity governments as evidence that a single Israeli-Palestinian state could work: “In both places,” he observes, “it was only when the dominant group dropped its insistence on supremacy that a political settlement could be reached. What was once unimaginable happened.” Read more about Cross Country: Leaving Iraq, Engaging Iran
17 May 2007
During the reporting period six Palestinians were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip. Five of the victims were killed by IOF aerial attacks. Thirty-six Palestinians were wounded by IOF gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The IOF conducted 26 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and one incursion into the Gaza Strip. Forty-three Palestinian civilians, including seven children were arrested in the OPT. Read more about Weekly Report on Human Rights Violations
Jordan Valley 4 June 2007
15 May 2007 — A few weeks ago I attended an event commemorating Palestinian Prisoner’s Day at Al Far’a Refugee Camp in the Tubas area. To enter the theatrical and cultural spectacle we had to pass through a makeshift checkpoint with soldiers pointing their guns in our faces and screaming in Hebrew for us to get back. Although I knew these were Palestinian actors role-playing the harassment they experience daily, it was very frightening to have men with guns yell at me in a foreign language and stick killing machines in my face. Read more about The Jordan Valley and Israel's Invisible Wall
30 April 2007
Jordanian authorities should lift their ban on today’s edition of an independent paper, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Fahd al-Rimawi, editor of the weekly Al-Majd, told CPJ that security agents moved Sunday to prevent printing of the edition because of a front-page story about a “secret plan” to oust the Hamas-led Palestinian government. Al-Rimawi said security officials told him they would ban the April 30 edition if he did not remove the article, The Associated Press reported. Read more about Jordan blocks newspaper edition over story on 'secret' Abbas plan
17 May 2007
Violence escalated to the peak in the past two days, especially in Gaza City, as 32 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded. Thus, the number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of this latest wave of violence on Sunday, 13 May 2007, has mounted to 38, in addition to dozens of others who have been wounded. The casualties have included several civilians, including women and children. Armed clashes erupted between militants from both movements in various areas in Gaza City. Read more about 38 Killed in Week of Gaza Infighting