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Getting the hell into Gaza

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza Strip 15 January 2004


Following the suicide bombing at Erez Crossing that left four Israeli soldiers dead and several Palestinian workers injured, Erez (at the north of the Gaza Strip), and Maabar (the other way in and out of the Gaza Strip, on the border of Egypt), have been under tight closure, with crowds of people waiting for days to be let through. Here are excerpts from a letter home from one of the delegation as they were attempting to enter. They are an excellent description of the great extremes the Israeli is going to in order to keep out international eyes. Laura Gordon introduces the trials of one group trying to get into occupied Gaza. 

British Airways removes billboards from settlements, following international campaign

15 January 2004


This morning British Airways announced the removal of its advertising billboard placed at the entrance to the settlement of Ariel. These billboards had been at the focus of a short but intensive campaign. Gush Shalom (the Israeli Peace Bloc) had been alerted to the placing of the billboards by activists monitoring settlement activity. Thereupon, Gush Shalom sent a letter to the British Airways administration, asking for the billboards removal, and informing its network of international contacts of the addresses where they could add their voice. 

Tom Hurndall dies as family receive news of the indictment of his killer

14 January 2004


Tom Hurndall, the British Photographer shot in Gaza while shepherding young children out of the line of fire, died last night at 7.45pm. His death came nine months after an incident in which he was shot in the head by an IDF soldier which left him in a vegetative state. The traumatic nature of his injuries has meant that at any time Tom has been vulnerable to serious infection and his death came after his body was unsuccessful in overcoming an episode of Pneumonia. At a hearing on Monday, a soldier arrested last week in connection with the shooting of Tom Hurndall, has finally been indicted on six charges. 

Review: Poster art of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Maureen Clare Murphy 16 January 2004


Dan Walsh, creator of the online exhibition Antonym/Synonym: The Poster Art of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, thinks that taking a look at political posters can enable “a new democratic discussion.” His website, Liberation Graphics, which features over 100 posters, a mere fraction of his collection, can only be described as a labor of love. Each poster is catalogued with an essay that both analyzes the poster’s formal and conceptual qualities, and places the subject matter within a brief historical context. 

Shot British peace activist dies

14 January 2004


A British peace activist shot in the head while observing the Israeli army in Gaza last year has died in hospital. Tom Hurndall, 22, of north London, had been in a coma since being shot in a Palestinian refugee camp. An Israeli soldier has already been indicted on six charges, including one of aggravated assault. Mr Hurndall was with the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian-led group which campaigns against Israeli occupation using non-violence. Mr Hurndall’s family now want a murder charge to be brought. BBC News reports. 

Israel, the PA and the one-state "threat"

Hasan Abu Nimah 13 January 2004


For decades, Israel claimed that the creation of a Palestinian state would mean the “destruction of the Jewish state.” Now, Israel insists that not having a Palestinian state would mean annihilation. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah examines this apparent contradiction in the context of Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qureia’s recent “threat” that the Palestinians would abandon the two-state solution and call for a binational democracy in all of historic Palestine instead. 

Israel invades Tulkarem refugee camp

Flo Razowsky 13 January 2004


Starting shortly before 11am on Monday, January 12, all residents in a section of the Tulkarem refugee camp were rounded up at a centrally located day care center. The men were separated from the woman and children and taken away in military trucks. At the end of the first day, over 230 men had been handcuffed, blindfolded and taken out of the camp to an unknown location. The woman and children, after being separated from the men, were taken to the UNWRA building in the center of the camp. From the beginning, several women complained that their children were not present. Flo Razowsky reports from on the ground. 

Gush Shalom protests British Airways advertising at Ariel settlement

Adam Keller 13 January 2004


A few days ago, an Israeli peace activist monitoring the situation on the West Bank noticed two large billboards placed at the entrance to the West Bank settlement of Ariel, with a conspicuous British Airways logo. The ads bear mock London road signs with such place names as “Buckingham Palace”, “Hyde Park” etc. and underneath them an ad offering cheap flights to London. Gush Shalom’s Adam Keller wrote the following letter to the management of British Airways. 

Humanitarian consequences of Israel's military operation in Nablus

8 January 2004


On December 26, Israeli forces invaded Nablus, announcing a curfew. Israeli forces entered Balata refugee camp and the old city of Nablus. Several homes in Nablus, mainly in the old city were occupied. Israeli forces continued military operations, with house occupations and demolitions until they withdrew on January 6. Three Palestinians were killed on 3 January by direct live ammunition used by Israeli soldiers. A fourth Palestinian was killed during the funeral of these. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released an initial report. 

Nablus: Resistance Under Occupation

The Electronic Intifada Nablus 2 January 2004


In the midst of an already month-long invasion, the sheikhs announced over the mosques for everyone to yell from their windows and their roofs “Allahu akbar” (god is great) together for an hour. It began with the voices from the mosques, together, “Allahu akbar” again and again, the voices growing louder and prouder with each chant. Then, a chorus began from the old city, and then the mountains and the camps. Thousands of different voices, in different rhythms and tones, yelling and chanting together, their sound almost drowning out the noise of the tank fire around them. Kelly B. writes from Nablus.