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ICRC ends large-scale relief for Palestinians


The ICRC’s large-scale distributions of relief aid to several hundred thousand Palestinians living in the towns and villages of the West Bank came to an end in mid-November 2003. Since June 2002, the ICRC had provided urgently needed aid to 300,000 people struggling to make ends meet. However, humanitarian aid is no longer the best way to help them. It is essential that the West Bank Palestinians’ basic rights under international humanitarian law are respected. In the long term, humanitarian aid cannot be a viable solution to the crisis. 

Can It Ever Really End?


Fifty-five years of historical injustice does not subside with the signing of a peace treaty, official or unofficial, whatever the extent of public relations invested in the effort. Prospects for peace must start to be measured by how well justice is served, and not by how much fanfare is generated. To put the Palestinians and Israelis on the track toward historic reconciliation, Sam Bahour argues that Israel must stop holding the region hostage. It must begin by unilaterally ending the illegal occupation of Palestinians and working to establish a Palestinian state based on internationally accepted borders and international legitimacy. 

UNHCR seeks solutions for Palestinians on Iraq-Jordan border


The UN refugee agency has urged governments in the Iraq region to find solutions for hundreds of refugees facing harsh winter conditions near the border between Iraq and Jordan. UNHCR estimates that 1,800 people are living in refugee camps in eastern Jordan. UNHCR estimates that 1,800 people are living in refugee camps in eastern Jordan. More than half of them have been stuck in the no man’s land between Iraq and Jordan since April, unwilling to return to Iraq yet unable to enter Jordan. 

Live from Palestine: The Diaries Project


In 2003, South End Press published a book entitled Live From Palestine: International and Palestinian Direct Action Against the Israeli Occupation, edited by Nancy Stohlman and Laurieann Aladin, with introductions by Noam Chomsky and Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, co-founder of Grassroots International Protection for the Palestinian People. The book contains contributions from two EI co-founders, Arjan El Fassed and Ali Abunimah, and reprinted several diary entries from The Electronic Intifada. The following article by Arjan El Fassed from the book introduces The Electronic Intifada’s diary project, Live From Palestine, after which the book was titled. Reprinted with permission. 

Montreal-based solidarity activist and journalist barred from Israel


Montreal-based solidarity activist and alternative journalist was barred from entering Israel this past Saturday. Stefan Christoff, who is a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and a media activist, attempted to cross into Israel from Jordan. Border officials held Stefan for several hours, where he was interrogated and thoroughly searched before finally being barred entry by Israeli border guards. Stefan was unilaterally deemed a “security threat” to Israel; no proof or explanation was provided. Border guards threatened to remove Stefan by force if he did not return to Jordan. 

Tension and depression


The plot of Abu Jameel’s life unfolds like a tragic drama. His street, Abu Jameel Street, named after his grandfather, once the richest man in the area whose grandson used to scorn farmers, walk through the street as one known by face only, the untouchable man in the suit. Abu Jameel inherited the riches of his family and built a row of forty stores and several apartments with his two cousins and married a beautiful Egyptian woman who bore him a son and a daughter. These days fade to memories in black and white. Laura Gordon writes from Rafah. 

Normal life in Rafah


Most of the time life in Rafah seems normal. A bustling city — taxis honking and speeding through the crowded streets, schoolchildren in their uniforms on their way to and from school, merchants of all types with their colourful wares lining the streets — fruits, clothes, household items — the perfume of life filling the air. Everywhere things seem normal, then all of a sudden something will happen and the facade of normalcy will disappear, and the ugliness of the reality will show through. Melissa writes from Rafah. 

War is our Common Enemy


Launched in February 2003 to “offer a humanitarian perspective during the then-looming conflict” in Iraq, Electronic Iraq (eIraq) is the project of two groups who will be familiar to many PN readers - Voices in the Wilderness (US) and Electronic Intifada. Peace News caught up with Nigel Parry, co-founder of both projects, to discuss the ethos behind this online information project. Peace News is a progressive publication that has been publishing since 1936. 

Israel not complying with General Assembly demand to halt barrier - Annan


The Secretary-General today released his report, requested by the General Assembly, on the Government of Israel’s compliance with the Assembly’s resolution of 21 October 2003, which demands that Israel stop and reverse construction of a barrier in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Secretary-General points out that Israel’s right to live in peace and security “should not be carried out in a way that is in contradiction to international law, that could damage the longer-term prospects for peace. 

'I punched an Arab in the face'


Liran Ron Furer, a sensitive and creative young man, says he became a sadist in the course of his military service at checkpoints. Four years later, he has written a confessional book about his experience, which he says transforms every soldier into a beast. Written in the blunt and coarse language of soldiers, he reconstructs scenes from the years in which he served in Gaza, between 1996 and 1999, years that, one must remember, were relatively quiet. Ha’aretz’s Gideon Levy looks at the content and issues surrounding the publication of Furer’s diary.