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Book Review: "Reporting from Ramallah" (2003)

Tina Dybvik 11 December 2003


In the foreword to Reporting from Ramallah: An Israeli Journalist in an Occupied Land (2003), filmmaker and activist Rachel Leah Jones describes Amira Hass’ body of work as the complete story on the confiscation of land, paving of bypass roads, and expansion of Israeli settlements. These 37 selected writings form a shorter chronological account aimed primarily at a target audience of Israeli Jews. Hass is an Israeli journalist and recipient of the UNESCO Guillermo Camo World Press Freedom Prize for 2003. From 1993 to 1997, she reported exclusively from Gaza. Tina Dybvik reviews Hass’ new book. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

11 December 2003


This week, Israeli forces killed two Palestinian children. A Palestinian prisoner died from torture and medical negligence in an Israeli detention centre. Israeli forces invaded Ramallah on the West Bank and several other areas in the occupied Palestinian territories. During invasions in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces demolished eight homes in Rafah and Khan Younis and razed agricultural lands. Israeli forces raided Palestinian homes and imposed a tight siege. 

Rafah: Israeli forces kill 5 Palestinians and demolish 9 homes

11 December 2003


On Thursday morning, 11 December 2003, Israeli occupying forces killed 5 Palestinians, injured 13, and destroyed 9 houses during a military incursion into the al-Salam neighborhood in Rafah. Israeli occupying forces stated that the aim of the operation was to arrest a Palestinian wanted for involvement in attacks against Israeli targets. Willful killing of civilians, and extensive destruction of civilian property carried out wantonly without military necessity, are war crimes. 

Academics, activists and writers oppose "Geneva Accord"

11 December 2003


More than 500 academics, civil society leaders, activists, and journalists signed a public statement “The Reality of the ‘Geneva Accord’ ” expressing their opposition to the document. The undersigned, consider the “Geneva Accord” as “inconsistent with the prerequisites of a just and durable peace”. The petition will be presented to, among others, all US members of Congress, the European Union, the Arab League, and various international organizations and figures. 

Redemption in Gaza

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza Strip 10 December 2003


I’ve become enthralled with births and weddings — the creation of family — redemption from the ache of a war that systematically removes the most beloved burdens of a person’s full hands. A house, a brother, a mother. I count the marriages and the births like a high school student crosses off the squares of a calendar, measuring the distance between the dredgery of institutionalized education and the open arms of vacation. Every marriage is a triumph of construction in the face of this violent waste. Every birth is red ‘X’ on the calandar of the Occupation. 

Electronic Intifada version 3.0 launched!

The Electronic Intifada 10 December 2003


Since we launched The Electronic Intifada in February 2001, millions of people all over the world have used our site as a resource for the latest news and in-depth analysis about Palestine and the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. We are thrilled today, on International Human Rights Day, to launch Version 3.0 of the The Electronic Intifada, a major upgrade of The Electronic Intifada website. The changes you will see on the site take nothing away from all you have come to know and trust about EI, but add some fantastic new features to address the needs of the site as it has grown. 

Activists commemorate Intifada anniversary in four European cities

9 December 2003


Pro-Palestinian activists made a checkpoint in the midst of exit S104 and S105 of the A10 ring road around Amsterdam. Motorists were checked. At the end of the checkpoint the motorists were handed a flyer in which explanation was given about the checkpoint and the occupation in the daily lives of ordinary Palestinians. During this action four activists were taken into custody. The action took place in commemoration of the start of the Intifada, the Palestinian popular uprising in 1987. 

The right of return and the right of choice

Rifat Odeh Kassis 10 December 2003


Fifty-five years have past since the United Nations set forth the specific framework for resolving the Palestinian refugee case. On December 11, 1948, the UN adopted resolution 194, affirming their right to return to their homes of origin, property restitution and compensation for losses and damages. Palestinian refugees should be free to seek their right to repatriation, regardless of what negotiators acquiesces to. Rifat Odeh Kassis comments. 

World Bank grant to sustain education, health and social services

5 December 2003


The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved this week a US$15 million trust fund grant to the West Bank and Gaza which aims to sustain the delivery of education, health and social welfare services under today’s emergency conditions. This grant is the third in a series of ESSP operations, now totaling US$60 million from the Trust Fund for Gaza and the West Bank. The ESSP operations form a major part of the Bank’s response to the economic crisis associated with the Palestinian intifada. 

UNGA requests International Court of Justice to issue opinion on Separation Wall

8 December 2003


The tenth emergency special session of the 191-member United Nations General Assembly this morning adopted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s construction of a separation barrier in the West Bank. The text was adopted by a recorded vote of 90 in favour, to 8 against, with 74 abstentions. The Hague-based ICJ, established in 1946, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.