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Gaza is still a prison

Patrick O'Connor 16 March 2006


The media reports that the Gaza Strip is no longer under Israeli control, but two weeks ago I was blocked from entering Gaza from Egypt by Israeli agents. The day before, two French citizens were prevented from entering for a sister city project in Gaza. Israeli authorities invoked “security reasons” and false claims of links to terrorism, a typical strategy used against foreign supporters of Palestinian rights. Despite the fanfare over Israel’s August “Gaza disengagement”, Gaza remains a prison, with no visitors allowed. My case provides one small example, thousands of which are repeated every day, of how the Israeli government has exploited the cover of real security concerns to continue to control Gaza, denying Palestinians freedom and trapping them in poverty. Opportunities for progress through Israel’s Gaza withdrawal were squandered, and American promises on the Middle East were again shown to be empty. 

Sa'adat kidnap boosts Olmert's election campaign

Rifat Odeh Kassis 17 March 2006


There are many reasons for the raid on Jericho prison. One of them is the Israeli election. Palestinians know from experience that before every election Israel becomes more brutal. Another reason is to send Hamas a message: They will not be accepted and the agreements between Israel and the previous PA are no longer valid. The arrival of Israeli tanks just twenty minutes after the withdrawal of the British and American guards from the prison shows that Israel is not the only one sending this message. The attack on Jericho and the kidnapping of Ahmed Sa’adat and others proves once again that Israel is, for all intents and purposes, a country above the law writes Rifat Odeh Kassis. 

Corrie v. Caterpillar: The Struggle for Justice Continues

Emily Schaeffer and Garrett Wright 16 March 2006


The killing of American activist Rachel Corrie on March 16, 2003, brought home the horrific realities of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Last March, Rachel’s parents filed civil suit against the Caterpillar corporation in a Washington federal district court, claiming that the corporation knowingly aided and abetted Israeli war crimes and human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Because this is a relatively new legal frontier, the plaintiffs may be facing an uphill battle. However, as the public’s demand for corporate accountability increases, there is hope that multinational corporations will take steps to ensure that their products do not fuel human rights abuses. 

Media watchdog calls for the release of three journalists kidnapped in Gaza City

14 March 2006


Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the kidnapping of two French journalists, Caroline Laurent of “Elle” and Alfred Yaghobzadeh of “Sipa”, and South Korean journalist Yong Tae-young of KBS on 14 March in Gaza City, hours after an Israeli army raid on a prison in the West Bank city of Jericho. “We call on the kidnappers to free their hostages, who were just doing their job as journalists and can in no way be held responsible for Israeli army operations in the West Bank, and we call on the Palestinian authorities to do everything possible to locate them and ensure they are returned safe and sound to their families,” the organisation said. 

Journalists, others kidnapped as prison siege sparks violence

14 March 2006


The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by reports that Palestinian gunmen abducted journalists and other foreigners in Gaza City today. A wave of violence erupted in Gaza and elsewhere in the West Bank, after Israeli forces laid siege to a Jericho prison to arrest militants believed responsible for the 2001 assassination of an Israeli minister. CPJ sources said as many as four South Korean and French journalists were abducted from Gaza’s Dira hotel. Armed kidnappers stormed the hotel this afternoon, according to news reports, which said one gunman was killed in a confrontation with Palestinian police. 

Israeli elections are opportunity to address human rights

14 March 2006


Candidates standing in Israel’s elections should take the opportunity to reassert the importance of human rights and pledge to a programme that, if implemented, would enhance peace and security in the region, Amnesty International said today. Making a direct appeal to all candidates contesting the elections, to be held on 28 March 2006, the organization called for an open debate to address longstanding human rights challenges in Israel and in the Occupied Territories. “Israel’s security will be enhanced, not jeopardised, by greater attention to human rights,” said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. 

2006 World Social Forum, European Social Forum, and beyond: New energy for the quest for justice and freedom in Palestine

15 March 2006


Awareness of the Palestinian Nakba of 1948 and the need to restore the rights of millions of Palestinian refugees, and a principled and rights-based global campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law, have come to represent the global social movements’ answer to the failure of international diplomacy in the Middle East. At the 6th World Social Forum (WSF) convened in January in Caracas, Venezuela, the Social Movements Assembly adopted the Palestinian Civil Society Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). The Caracas meeting, one of three World Social Forums taking place in 2006 and bringing together civil society organizations and movements from all across the globe, was attended by well over 100,000 participants. 

ICRC concerned following events in Jericho

14 March 2006


The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is concerned about the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories following the attack by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the prison in Jerichoand the abduction of civilians by Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip. The civilians abducted included humanitarian workers and an ICRC delegate, who was later released. While military operations were still under way in Jericho, the ICRC reminded the Israeli authorities of their obligations under international humanitarian law. Detainees who are not participating in hostilities are protected under this body of law and are not military targets. 

Palestinian human rights group condemns attacks on internationals

14 March 2006


The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights strongly condemns the series of attacks on international institutions and citizens in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), especially in the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, 14 March 2006. PCHR calls upon the Palestinian National Authority to take legal action against the perpetrators of these crimes, which reflect the state of security chaos, undermine the rule of law, and damage the Palestinian people’s interests and their just struggle for liberation and independence. Most of these attacks took place in the Gaza Strip. They included raids on, destruction and arsons of diplomatic representative offices, relief agencies and kidnappings of internationals, including journalists and humanitarian staff. 

Palestinian Filmmakers Question EU Audiovisual Grant

16 March 2006


Forty Palestinian filmmakers, including the 2006 Golden Globe winner Hani Abu Assad and 2002 Cannes Festival Jury Prize winner Elia Suleiman, signed a letter to the EU Euromed Audiovisual program questioning the shortlisting of an Israeli-led project. Despite serious indicators of mismanagement, and lack of legitimacy raised about the project, entitled Greenhouse, the Europe Aid office in Brussels decided to go ahead and grant it 1.5 million Euros, bringing into question the transparency and credibility of the criteria and decision-making employed by Europe Aid in the granting process.