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Israeli army continues to breach Supreme Court injunction prohibiting use of Palestinian civilians as human shields

Adalah 25 December 2002

Seven Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations made a further submission to the Supreme Court in connection with their 5 May 2002 petition seeking to prohibit the Israeli army from using Palestinian civilians as human shields. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 26 December 2002

Israeli occupying forces have perpetrated more war crimes and human rights violations against Palestinian civilians, including willful and extra-judicial killings, shelling of and incursions into Palestinian areas, house demolitions, and agricultural land leveling.  This week, nine Palestinians – all civilians including a member of the Palestinian Security Forces, three children and a woman, were killed by Israeli forces. 

Jenin: the day after Christmas

Annie Higgins Jenin, Palestine 26 December 2002

“The day after Christmas, the Israeli Army has killed six men, one of them from the next village over, Qabatiya. He is Hamza Abu Rubb who was active in Islamic Jihad. The Army’s obvious presence, comprised of tanks and armored personnel carriers, have been less in evidence. However, they are very much here, using Special Forces soldiers disguised as Arabs to track down and arrest or kill men.” Annie Higgins writes from Jenin. 

Christmas in Bethlehem

Kristen Ess Bethlehem 26 December 2002

At the last minute, at the end of the day before Christmas Eve, the Israeli government announced it would lift its curfew of Bethlehem. This was another move in the endless game of Israeli propaganda, and one that was expected. Thousands of eyes were on Bethlehem, the West Bank city that has been under curfew and reinvasion for the past month. Kristen Ess reports. 

Unilateral U.S. Undermines U.N.'s Credibility

Thalif Deen 23 December 2002

Last week, [Nelson] Mandela said he was disappointed that not a single world leader had publicly condemned the recent U.S. decision to grab the 12,000-page Iraqi arms dossier and spirit it to the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) before the other 14 members of the U.N. Security Council could even peek at it. The following report from the Interpress Service cites EI’s Ali Abunimah. 

Bethlehem, the "capital of Christmas," is dying

Chris McGreal Bethlehem 24 December 2002

“Rather than celebrating birth, Father Sabbara plans to reflect on death — particularly the sickening reality that, just as in Jesus’s time, children are being killed by forces indifferent to their age or innocence. The latest victim is an 11-year-old girl leaning out of a window to watch the funeral procession of another child.” The Guardian’s Chris MacGreal files a somber report from occupied Bethlehem. 

In Rafah, the children have grown so used to the sound of gunfire they can't sleep without it

Justin Huggler Rafah, Gaza Strip 23 December 2002

“WE WERE sitting in the Asfuls’ front room. Suddenly the two tanks at the end of the street opened up their machine-guns. The bullets were flying so close to the house we could see the tracer fire slapping straight past the windows. To leave without crossing the line of fire would be impossible. All we could do was sit and hope the bullets did not come through the window.” Justin Huggler writes in The Independent. 

No Longer Invisible: Arab and Muslim Exclusion After September 11

Louise Cainkar 23 December 2002

Unlike other ascribed and self-described “people of color” in the United States, Arabs are often hidden under the Caucasian label, if not forgotten altogether. But eleven months after September 11, 2001, the Arab-American is no longer invisible. Whether traveling, driving, working, walking through a neighborhood or sitting in their homes, Arabs in America — citizens and non-citizens — are now subject to special scrutiny in American society. The violence, discrimination, defamation and intolerance now faced by Arabs in American society has reached a level unparalleled in their over 100-year history in the US. For those engaged in activism within the United States, this article, by Louise Cainkar in the Fall 2002 edition of Middle East Report, provides essential context for their work. It is also an excellent resource for educators.