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Woman kidnapped and killed in Gaza

15 March 2007


The state of insecurity witnessed serious escalation across the Gaza Strip where killings of women augmented under mysterious conditions and armed clashes renewed. According to Al Mezan’s field investigations, at approximately 6pm on 14 March 2007 a woman was found dead in north Gaza beach. She was identified as a resident of Gaza City who was kidnapped and killed on the same day. The identity of the perpetrators remains unknown. On 12 March 2007, another woman was found on Beit Lahia beach after being shot in her legs. Three women had faced the same fate during March, raising to five the number women who were killed in 2007. 

Israeli university's age restrictions discriminates against Arab students

15 March 2007


On 12 March 2007, Adalah wrote to the President of Tel Aviv University and the Dean of the School of Medicine, demanding that new conditions which limit the entry of students into the school to those over twenty years of age be cancelled. As Adalah stressed, this restriction does not apply to students who wish to study before performing military service. This is a new requirement announced in a bulletin regarding registration at the university for the 2007-2008 academic year. 

Israel's right to be racist

Joseph Massad 15 March 2007


Israel’s struggle for peace is a sincere one. In fact, Israel desires to live at peace not only with its neighbours, but also and especially with its own Palestinian population, and with Palestinians whose lands its military occupies by force. Israel’s desire for peace is not only rhetorical but also substantive and deeply psychological. The only thing Israel has asked for, and continues to ask for in order to end the state of war with the Palestinians and its Arab neighbours, is that all recognise its right to be a racist state that discriminates by law against Palestinians and other Arabs and grants differential legal rights and privileges to its own Jewish citizens and to all other Jews anywhere. 

War and Irony in Hebron Hilltops

Anna Baltzer Hebron, Palestine 15 March 2007


The small Palestinian Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron is home to some of the most violent ideological settlers in the West Bank, who have moved into local homes by force and parade the streets with guns, terrorizing local residents including children on their way to and from school. Unlike most settlers in the West Bank who move to the Occupied Territories because the Israeli government encourages them to do so with financial subsidies and other programs, the settlers in Hebron are here because they believe the city of 150,000 plus Palestinians belongs exclusively to the Jewish people. 

The Religious Right's New Bugbear

Bill Berkowitz 15 March 2007


OAKLAND, CA, United States, Mar 14 (IPS) - Last Sunday, Pastor John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel, received a rousing reception at the opening dinner plenary of the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference.Hagee warned the crowd that “Iran poses a nuclear threat to the state of Israel that promises nothing less than a nuclear Holocaust.” Hagee claimed that the situation is like 1938, only “Iran is Germany and [President Mahmoud] Ahmedinejad is the new Hitler.” 

Lebanon Support Portal

14 March 2007


The Lebanon-Support portal was launched during the Israeli attack on Lebanon, and its services were launched fully by the time of the cease-fire and the beginning of the recovery phase. The portal was conceptualized after several discussions between the partners on the best manner to support coordination efforts where all actors can interact and share information. The portal had been designed to take into consideration the fluid situation regarding relief coordination in Lebanon. 

UNESCO: Israel must stop work near Al-Aqsa Mosque pending agreed plan

14 March 2007


Although Israeli archaeological work for an access pathway in Jerusalem’s Old City does not threaten the Al-Aqsa Mosque and complies with professional standards, Israel should at once stop excavations and consult on a final plan with Muslim religious authorities and other parties, according to a United Nations experts’ report. The report, drafted by a technical mission sent by UNESCO amid international concerns over the excavations, said Israel “should be asked to stop immediately” since work already undertaken was deemed sufficient to assess structural conditions for the pathway to the Mughrabi Gate after a partial collapse in 2004 due to heavy rain and snow. 

Legal action in France against Veolia and Alstom

Adri Nieuwhof and Maria Lherm 14 March 2007


Last week the Association France Palestine Solidarite (AFPS) has taken legal action in France against Veolia and Alstom because both companies are involved in the Israeli light rail or tramway project that will run on occupied East Jerusalem. The National Collective for Peace [1] gives full support to the legal steps taken by AFPS. Veolia and Alstom have closed their ears to widely voiced criticism that the Israeli tramway project is in violation with international law. Just like Israel the companies act as if they stand above the law. The aim of the action is the annulment of the contracts and to stop the construction activities. 

"New Territories" curator not transparent regarding Israeli government sponsorship

Alexandra Handal 21 March 2007


The week before the opening of the ‘New Territories’ exhibition in which she was to participate, artist Alexandra Handal writes, “I went to Brugges to install my work, and there I met the artists who were able to attend. … I was walking with two artists in the city and as we approached a big poster in front of the DeHallen Belfort, where the show was to take place, we noticed that there was an Israeli government seal on it. We were in complete disbelief. What was the Israeli government seal doing on the poster?” 

Nablus Invasion Diary I: Occupied Homes and Minds

Anna Baltzer Nablus, Palestine 14 March 2007


6 March 2007: We arrived on Sunday to help volunteers from the UPMRC (Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees) deliver food and medical services. Dozens of jeeps and hundreds of soldiers had surrounded the Old City and declared curfew on all of Nablus. Their stated mission was to capture or assassinate eight fighters from Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the armed wing of the Fatah movement. Meanwhile, the 40,000 residents of Nablus Old City were trapped in their homes, inside a war zone, unable to go to work or school, or even to buy food for their families.