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Occupied peoples have the right to resist

Tom Wallace and Radhika Sainath 29 July 2003


“We are unwavering in our commitment to nonviolence. Due to these beliefs, we oppose the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. As a result we have come under heavy fire in the Occupied Territories and in the media. Israeli officials and several right-wing Israeli and American pundits have embarked on a campaign to discredit ISM, by attempting to equate ISM’s principled and active support for Palestinian rights with terrorism.” Tom Wallace and Rakhika Sainath recently wrote this op/ed in The Jerusalem Post. 

Khalil Shikaki defends his refugee poll

Khalil Shikaki 29 July 2003

“The views expressed below by Ali Abunimah (“Who said Palestinians gave up the right of return?”, 23 July 2003) reflect the concerns and fears of many Palestinians in the absence of a serious engagement by Palestinian leaders who refuse to be open and frank with their public.” Khalil Shikaki, director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) responds to a recent EI article that criticised a recent poll by the center. 

What a settlement freeze means and why it matters

25 July 2003


ICG’s work in Israel, the occupied territories and Israel’s Arab neighbours is focused on new and more comprehensive political and diplomatic strategies to address the sources of conflict, and deal with the main factors within Israel and Arab societies hindering the achievement of sustainable peace. In its latest report, ICG addressed the question: “What a settlement freeze means and why it matters?” 

The humanitarian crisis and prospects for the roadmap to peace

28 July 2003

Since the publication of Losing Ground, Christian Aid’s investigation into the extent and causes of Palestinian poverty, in January 2003, the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories has deteriorated sharply. Poverty levels and unemployment are now reaching crisis proportions creating a humanitarian crisis, the levels of which Christian Aid has not seen in fifty years of work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 

UN-backed meeting to prepare for Arab forum on Palestine rehabilitation

28 July 2003


United Nations agencies have teamed up to organize a preparatory meeting for an international forum next year that would aim to keep the social and economic issues and needs in the occupied Palestinian territories on the agenda of the international community, in spite of the lack of stability in the region. The two-day consultative meeting, which begins tomorrow in Beirut, will serve to provide input to the Arab-International Forum on “Palestine Rehabilitation and Development” next year. 

Former Dutch Prime Minister regrets his defense of Israel

Arjan El Fassed 28 July 2003

Former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt expressed regret of his defense of the Israeli army in front of the Dutch parliament after the massacre of Palestinian civilians in Sabra and Shatila. “At that time I couldn’t believe that under the eyes of the Israeli army such atrocities could have taken place as later was revealed,” Van Agt told a Dutch daily newspaper on Saturday.