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Lebanese government's plan to rebuild Nahr al-Bared

13 February 2008


BEIRUT, 13 February 2008 (IRIN) - The government launched a preliminary master plan on 12 February to rebuild Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, destroyed in a battle last year between the army and militant Islamists. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said losses from the battle were great on all levels. “As we release the preliminary plan, we look to the Arab and international communities to meet us with the necessary assurances and funding to ensure its success.” 

A new struggle for life after war

Rebecca Murray Tyre, Lebanon 13 February 2008


Tyre enjoys a reputation as a laid back summer resort with a “liberal” lifestyle in the heart of south Lebanon — with its striking Roman ruins, ancient Christian fishing harbor, and bustling beachfront. But during the off-season — and compounded by the negative impact of the summer 2006 conflict with Israel, the ongoing political crises in Beirut and skyrocketing prices nationwide — the town’s family-owned retail shops and businesses, farmers and fishermen barely make a living. Rebecca Murray writes from the southern Lebanon city. 

Call for entries: Expressions of the Nakba

12 February 2008


The year 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the Nakba (the catastrophe): the expulsion and dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and land in 1948. The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is currently soliciting entries for a commemoration of the Nakba through personal expressions in the form of visual arts, essays, poetry, music, video and digital media for its “Expressions of al-Nakba” international competition. 

Lebanon's new proxy force

Matthew Cassel 12 February 2008


The US and Israel — the two states committing the only military occupations in the region — are having an adverse influence on Lebanese internal affairs. But the people wait, unsure of what the future holds for Lebanon. The question for many is no longer if, but when will the situation quickly deteriorate into an armed internal conflict reminiscent of Lebanon’s recent history. EI editor Matthew Cassel comments. 

UNRWA Gaza appeal making very slow progress

11 February 2008


JERUSALEM, 11 February (IRIN) - A UN special appeal for the Gaza Strip has managed to bring in only a small percentage of the US$9.8 million needed for urgent food aid and cash assistance for the enclave’s most vulnerable refugees. On 6 February, UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, began to distribute food aid in Gaza funded by a $100,000 donation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Red Crescent Society. The money came in response to the special appeal issued by UNWRA in late January. 

Jerusalem off the radar

Ben White 12 February 2008


Recently, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was reported to have suggested that the question of Jerusalem would be “left to last” in negotiations with the Palestinians. This was apparently on account of the issue being “too sensitive and complex,” as well as fears that talks on Jerusalem would cause the departure of religious right-wingers from Olmert’s ruling coalition. Domestic political considerations will certainly have played a part in the prime minister’s thinking, but there is another possible motivation for leaving this “final status issue” for further down the road. Ben White analyzes for EI. 

Israeli foreign ministry's token Arab

Yaman Salahi 11 February 2008


Ishmael Khaldi has been all the rage amongst Israel advocacy groups in the United States, especially in the liberal San Francisco Bay Area. An Arab Bedouin who embraces his Israeli citizenship and has worked for the Israeli police as well as Israel’s occupying army, he was a dream come true for the Israeli consulate, which decided to hire him as Deputy Consul to San Francisco in December 2006. Yaman Salahi reports on Khaldi’s private talk to a group of University of California, Berkeley students organizing “Israeli Apartheid Week.” 

New York and London protesters call for Valentine's boycott of Leviev

10 February 2008


Forty-five protesters called on Madison Avenue shoppers to boycott the jewelry store of Israeli billionaire and settlement magnate Lev Leviev this Saturday, the last major shopping day before Valentine’s Day. The protest was the seventh organized by the New York activist group Adalah-NY since Leviev’s store opened in mid-November. 

"Where are you from?"

Rima Merriman Jenin, West Bank 11 February 2008


For Palestinian expatriate nationals like me who have managed to find their way back to Palestine in order to contribute in some fashion, what’s on the horizon is far from clear. Our foothold is tenuous; we are here on sufferance by the Israelis who control the borders and the areas between towns and villages and let us in carefully or not at all. Rima Merriman writes from Jenin.