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Member of faculty peace group calls Israel's settlement policy the main obstacle to peace, believes Israeli security depends on ending occupation

6 July 2003

Portland peace activist William Seaman has just returned from a family reunion in the Negev Desert of Southern Israel at Kibbutz Nir Oz. “I left never dreaming that it would be almost exactly twenty-five years before I’d return,” said Seaman. “And I certainly never thought I’d be traveling from the desperate poverty and desolation of occupied Gaza to a reunion on a kibbutz just a few kilometers on the other side of the border.” 

Road Map diplomacy conceals 'politicide' of the Palestinian people

Steve Niva 11 August 2003


With media coverage so tightly focused on the diplomatic maneuvering surrounding President Bush’s Road Map peace initiative, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that Israel continues to implement a devastating set of policies that are endangering the social and national existence of the Palestinian people. In fact, Israel’s grudging participation in the Road Map process is little more than an effort to buy time for these policies to achieve this outcome. Professor Steve Niva reports after returning from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories as part of a trip organized by Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

7 August 2003

This week Israeli forces killed three Palestinians, including a child. One Palestinian died from injuries he previously sustained by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians, wounding five, including a woman. Israeli forces continue to impose a siege on Palestinian communities and deny Palestinian farmers access to their lands. 

Addition and long division

Ian Mayes 9 August 2003


The Guardian’s coverage of the Middle East has been questioned this week. One is the name used for the structure being erected by the Israelis across Israeli and Palestinian territory and called by Israel the “security fence”. Finding terminology that favours neither one view nor the other is not easy. The fact is, it is a wall in some sections and a fence in others. The headline on a long discussion of the terminology by the pro-Palestinin ian website Electronic Intifada seems to state the reality fairly: “Is it a fence? Is it a wall? No, it’s a separation barrier.” 

Washington is being toothless on Israel

Ali Abunimah 9 August 2003


US President George W. Bush’s administration is considering economic measures to prevent Israel from building its separation wall in the occupied West Bank. The proposed punishment is to subtract from US loan guarantees for Israel $1 for every dollar Israel spends on building the barrier inside the West Bank. However, the administration appears to be split. Israel, meanwhile has announced plans for major new settlements in the occupied territories. EI’s Ali Abunimah examines the pre-election political scene in Washington, and assesses the chances of real US pressure on Israel to move forward on the road map. 

What gas is Israel using?

Jennifer Loewenstein and Angela Gaff 9 August 2003

“Here is a disturbing ordeal that has not yet been mentioned in any mainstream US papers or media. It exposes some shocking aspects of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian political prisoners, including the use of a gas that impacts the nervous and respiratory systems. It should be noted that Israel has denied using nerve gas against Palestinians, even though one account of its use has already been documented in James Longley’s searing film, ‘Gaza Strip’.” Jennifer Loewenstein and Angela Gaff report from London.