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Refugee Poll Confusion

Casey Patrick Reilly 25 July 2003

Palestinian Academic Khalil Shikaki, in consultation with the Palestinian Authority (PA), set out to gauge Palestinian refugees’ reactions to the solutions to the refugee problem offered at the Taba talks in 2001. The idea, most likely, was to give the PA a sense of their bargaining position. Unfortunately, many people have taken the results of this poll out of context, and deemed it the final judgement on what Palestinian refugees want. It is no such thing and was never meant to be. 

Divine Intervention now available on VHS/DVD for universites and organisations

25 July 2003


Avatar Films is continuing its release of Divine Intervention, the first Palestinian-made film ever to be widely distributed in the United States. Divine Intervention is available for screenings at universities, organizations and institutions, and is available on 35mm film, DVD, Digital Betacam, and VHS. Divine Intervention will be not released on home video and DVD until well into 2004. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

24 July 2003

This week, Israeli forces wounded five Palestinians while shelling indiscriminately Palestinian residential areas. Israeli forces annexed large areas of Palestinian land to the Israeli colony “Morag”, southeast of Khan Yunis. Israeli forces continued invading Palestinian areas and demolished a home in Rafah and seized another home in Deir al-Balah. Israeli forces demolished two homes in Beit Reema, near Ramallah. Israeli forces continued the siege on Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 

Imprisoned behind barbed wire: "Without European decisiveness no perspective on peace in the Middle East"

24 July 2003

While Israeli and Palestinian negotiators discuss the road map to peace and while Palestinian groups maintain a ceasefire, a delegation of nine prominent Dutch women visited Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories (July 6 - 12, 2003). The delegation was shocked to observe that while presently attempts are made to have the road map implemented, Israel is bringing about an opposite reality on the ground. 

Pipes vote fails to draw quorum

Jennifer Salan 23 July 2003


Today after a contentious executive session of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on the nomination of Daniel Pipes to the board of the U.S. Institute for Peace, the Committee lost a working quorum. Based on an AAI initiative, organizations present agreed that they would send a joint letter to the White House asking that the President withdraw this nominee from consideration. During the Committee’s discussion of the Pipes nomination, it became clear that many of the Senators had questions and concerns regarding whether or not Pipes should serve on the Board of the United States Institute of Peace. The ranking Democratic member, Senator Edward Kennedy, noted his dismay regarding Pipes offensive and alarmist quotes about “brown-skinned” immigrants. Arab American Intitute Communications Director Jennifer Salan reports. 

Who said Palestinians gave up the right of return?

Ali Abunimah 23 July 2003

Khalil Shikaki of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research was attacked by an angry mob when he recently held a press conference announcing the results of a poll conducted among 4,500 Palestinian refugees on the right of return. In his study, Shikaki reported that only 10 percent of Palestinian refugees would insist on returning to Israel and becoming citizens there. Supporters of Israel and others who want to disregard refugee rights in any solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict embraced the findings. How could it be that for decades everyone — not least the refugees themselves — mistakenly believed that granting rights to millions of Palestinian refugees was the key to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? How is it that
now a single, dubious poll threatens to make the entire problem disappear into a puff of smoke? EI’s Ali Abunimah takes a closer look to help clear the fog. 

Silencing the press: October 2002 - March 2003

19 July 2003

Journalists have been subjected to various kinds of attacks in what appear to be attempts by Israel to prevent media coverage of human rights violation perpetrated by the Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. PCHR published its 9th report in a series of reports “Silencing the Press,” which document attacks against local and international journalists and media institutions in the OPT during the current Intifada. 

Tell them, "why"

Shannon Dow Montreal, Canada 22 July 2003

I had the privilege of teaching Shaker two years ago in Bourj El-Barajneh Palestinian Refugee Camp in Lebanon. He has been visiting Canada now for the past three weeks, along with seven other Palestinian refugee youth. His English language skills are excellent, as he stands before audiences filled with hundreds of people, telling us about how he exists in Lebanon - deprived of civil liberties, victim of countless Human Rights abuses, caged within the open prison of a refugee camp. His voice is being heard. Are we listening? 

Alarm in Nablus

Mohammad Daraghmeh 22 July 2003


The number and type of people taking part in a meeting held in the Chamber of Commerce building in Nablus two days ago, to discuss the phenomenon of armed chaos and breach of law by armed groups, was alone indicative of the level of danger felt by the inhabitants of the city. Mohammad Daraghmeh writes in Palestinian daily newspaper Al-Ayyam.