All Content

Israel's 'We have the right to kill you' visa for Gaza

Nigel Parry and Ali Abunimah 10 May 2003


On 8 May 2003, the Electronic Intifada obtained and published the text of a document distributed by the Israeli military to foreign diplomatic representatives, entitled “Form to be filled out and submitted to IDF authorities prior to entry to the Gaza Strip”. EI’s Nigel Parry and Ali Abunimah look at the document, at Israel’s recent actions in Rafah, and wonder at the new entry conditions which require internationals to affirm they won’t hold Israel responsible for harming them: “I am aware of the risks involved and accept that the Government of the State of Israel and its organs cannot be held responsible for death, injury and/or damage/loss of property which may be incurred as a result of military activity.” 

ISM Update: Detention of Two British Activists at Erez Border Crossing

International Solidarity Movement 9 May 2003

“It has been twenty eight hours since, at 8:30 PM on Thursday evening, May 8, 2003, two British internationals were detained at Erez border crossing at the entrance to the Gaza Strip… Nick was interrogated for many hours by the Shin Bet (Israeli Security Services)…. They are being told that they are being deported. ” Read this ISM advisory and take action. British citizens additionally advised to protest to their governmental representatives. 

Our humanity hangs in the balance

Carel Moiseiwitsch, Gordon Murray and Drew Penland 9 May 2003

“We recently returned from the Occupied Territories of the West Bank and Gaza where we volunteered with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). Upon returning to Vancouver, we were shocked by the disconnection between our experience of Palestine and its portrayal in the Canadian media. The media must support the search for shared truths and not merely reiterate the formulas of fundamentalist ideologues — on either side of the Mideast conflict — that serve a single interest. All of us are responsible for helping find a humane solution. To be silent is to be complicit in the ongoing oppression.” Three recent Canadian ISM members share their thoughts and concerns in the Winnipeg Free Press. 

Gaza visitors must sign waiver in case army shoots them

Chris McGreal 9 May 2003

The Israeli military yesterday began obliging foreigners entering the Gaza Strip to sign waivers absolving the army from responsibility if it shoots them. Visitors must also declare that
they are not peace activists. The move came hours before an autopsy on James Miller - the British cameraman killed in a Gaza refugee camp - confirmed that he was almost certainly killed by an Israeli soldier, despite the army’s assertions to the contrary. Yesterday, the British government demanded an Israeli military police criminal investigation into Miller’s death and the shooting of another Briton by the army in Gaza, Tom Hurndall, a peace activist. Chris McGreal reports for The Guardian. 

Israel raids offices of International Solidarity Movement

9 May 2003


Israeli forces raided the ISM office this morning, confiscating equipment and material and snatching three women. Dozens of soldiers, border police and civilian police officers raided the ISM office, confiscating all computers, not only in the ISM office but in the nearby office of the Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement. Files, CDs, and photos were all pillaged, while soldiers broke equipment and damaged office space. Israeli forces kidnapped Palestinian volunteer, Fida, American volunteer, Flo, and a worker with Human Rights Watch visiting the office. 

Roadmap fails rights test

Human Rights Watch 9 May 2003

The “roadmap” for ending Israeli-Palestinian violence will fail unless it includes basic human rights safeguards, Human Rights Watch warned today, on the eve of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s visit to Israel and the Occupied Territories. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 7 May 2003

This week, Israeli forces killed 19 Palestinians, including 5 children. Most of them, including three brothers and a toddler, were killed during the Israeli raid on the Shojaeya neighborhood in Gaza. One of the victims was run down by Israeli forces in Tulkarm. In Rafah, Israeli forces shot and killed a British journalist. Israeli forces conducted raids on Palestinian areas, accompanied by indiscriminate shelling, and demolished 18 homes in Rafah. In Khan Younis large areas of Palestinian agricultural land were razed. This week, more Palestinians were arbitrarily detained and Israeli forces continue to use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Israel continued its tight siege on Palestinian communities.