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Jabaliya buries its dead

4 March 2008


Sixteen-year-old Jacqueline Abu Shbak and her fourteen year old brother, Iyad, both lived on Jabaliya’s Abed Rabbo Street with their mother and three other young brothers and sisters. The children’s uncle, Hatem Hosni Abu Shbak, who lives next door, found the bodies of Jacqueline and Iyad in the early hours of Saturday 1 March, when he rushed upstairs after hearing intense shooting and then screaming. 

Medical negligence suspected in prisoner's death

4 March 2008


The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights is deeply concerned over the death of Fadel ‘Ouda ‘Atiya Shaheen, 47, from al-Jalaa’ neighborhood in Gaza City, who had been detained by Israeli Occupation Forces in Be’r al-Saba’ Prison, as there are indications that his health condition deteriorated and the administration of the prison failed to offer him appropriate medical treatment. 

The mega prison of Palestine

Ilan Pappe 4 March 2008


In several articles published by The Electronic Intifada, I claimed that Israel is pursuing a genocidal policy against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The argument was that since Israel does not know how to deal with the Gaza Strip, they opted for a knee-jerk reaction in the form of massive killings whenever the Palestinians in the Strip dared to protest their strangulation and imprisonment. The end result so far is the escalation of the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians — unfortunately validating the adjective “genocidal” I and others attached to these policies. Ilan Pappe comments for EI. 

Academic freedom? Not for Arabs in Israel

Jonathan Cook 4 March 2008


In the strange world of Israeli academia, an Arab college lecturer is being dismissed from his job because he refused to declare his “respect for the uniform of the Israeli army.” The bizarre demand was made of Nizar Hassan, director of several award-winning films, after he criticized a Jewish student who arrived in his film studies class at Sapir College in the Negev for wearing his uniform and carrying a gun. Jonathan Cook writes from Nazareth. 

Trade union building targeted in Gaza

Mohammed Omer 4 March 2008


GAZA CITY, 4 March (IPS) - Two F-16 missiles were all it took to bring down the five-story headquarters of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions. The Union, established in 1965, is one of the forerunners of the movement calling for an international boycott of Israel, and imposition of sanctions on it until Israel meets its obligations over UN resolutions, borders, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland. 

Eight new Gaza victims

3 March 2008


Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continued their military operations in the Gaza Strip. Over the past 24 hours, IOF carried out several air raids against civilian targets and resistance fighters. As a result, eight Palestinians were killed. Two of the victims were unarmed civilians, one of them a child. With yesterday’s victims the tally since Wednesday, 27 February, till time of publication, soared to 108 victims killed, including 54 unarmed civilians. 

Colonial realities

Nimer Sultany 3 March 2008


Once again Israel defies an impotent international community which offers nothing but timid calls for ceasefire on “both sides.” And once again Palestinian suffering and death tolls continue to break records. Perhaps it is easy to dismiss this suffering by blaming the victims and resorting to ready cliches. When examined closely, however, reality rules out crude explanations of “violence without reason” and “terrorism without context. Nimer Sultany comments for EI. 

Torture coalition demands investigation into death of PA detainee

3 March 2008


Majd al-Barghouti died on 22 February, while he was being illegally detained by the General Intelligence Service (GIS) of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. There is evidence “ncluding photographs” indicating that prior to his death, al-Barghouti, 44 years old, arrested on political grounds, was subjected to torture and ill-treatment.