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UN Special Coordinator urges continued support for Palestinian Authority

28 February 2006


The collapse or sacrifice of the Palestinian Authority could end all hopes of achieving a Palestinian State in a reasonable time frame, Alvaro de Soto, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, said in a briefing to the Security Council this morning. Describing a functioning Authority as an essential building block for a Palestinian State, he said it was not something that could be turned on and off like a light switch. It was through the Authority that basic social and economic services, as well as salaries, were provided. 

What aid cutoff to Hamas would mean

David R. Francis 27 February 2006


The US provides about one-third of the nearly $1.1 billion in aid to the Palestinians. The Palestinians are the most foreign-aid dependent society on earth. So the threat by the United States to cut off most aid to Palestine after its 3.6 million people last month elected the militant group Hamas into government, is foreboding. Should Palestinians obtain an independent nation, its economic viability remains an open question. But until then, under the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949, an occupying power is responsible for the welfare of those whose territory is being occupied. Providing no aid, “Israel is not in compliance,” says Mr. Abunimah. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

24 February 2006


This week Israeli forces killed five Palestinians, including two children, in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. At least 42 Palestinians, including 25 children, two women and an international solidarity activist, were wounded by Israeli troops in the West Bank. Israeli forces continued to shell Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip, an infant was seriously injured. Israel conducted 31 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and invaded Nablus and Balata refugee camp. Houses were raided and 79 Palestinian civilians, including 26 children, were arrested. Israeli forces turned six Palestinian homes into military posts. Israel continued to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories. 

Balata refugee camp under attack

Adri Nieuwhof and Walid Abdelhadi 25 February 2006


The weekly reports of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights tell the frightening story of the Israeli occupation In its latest report of the week from 16 till 22 February 2006 it is mentioned that Balata refugee camp was invaded. Israeli troops “willfully killed two Palestinian children in Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus.” Most of the over thirty incursions took pace in Nablus and the neighbouring Balata refugee camp, killing three Palestinians, wounding thirty six civilians and arresting at least thirteen people. A number of houses were transformed into military sites. Adri Nieuwhof and Walid Abdelhadi researched the story behind the figures of the weekly report on the ground. 

UN agency aiding Palestinians says Israeli forces left behind damage in schools

23 February 2006


The main United Nations agency helping Palestinian refugees reported today that Israeli forces left significant damage behind after occupying two schools in the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank town of Nablus earlier this week. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said it had compiled a list of damages, including broken doors and windows as well as waste materials left in the schools. Agency officials plan to discuss the issue with the Israeli Foreign Ministry. UNRWA reported on Monday that Israeli forces had occupied two schools it runs in the camps and blocked a health clinic, which prevented patients or staff from leaving the building. 

Photostory: Freedom Theatre in Jenin aims to plant seeds of dignity

Maureen Clare Murphy 24 February 2006


The spirit of resistance has not been beaten out of Jenin, was the message at the opening of the Freedom Theatre in Jenin refugee camp last weekend. Calls by speakers for the Palestinians to stand firm despite Israeli and American pressure resonated with the crowd, men on one side of the hall and women and children on the other. On one of the walls of the theatre hangs a series of photographs of the original theatre created by the late Arna Mer Khamis. Witnessing the devastating affects of the first intifada on children, Arna created a series of creative programmes to give beleaguered Palestinian children a means of expressing themselves. 

Palestinian death toll from Israeli assault rises in Balata refugee camp

23 February 2006


Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continued their military operations in Balata refugee camp and the eastern part of Nablus for the 5th consecutive day. On Thursday, February 23, Israeli forces killed five Palestinians, including three in an extra-judicial assassination. Israeli troops with thirty military vehicles resumed military operations in Balata refugee camp and the eastern part of Nablus. Helicopter gunships provided aerial support for Israeli ground forces. Israeli troops embarked on a house-to-house search in the area. Israeli troops shot at Palestinian youth and targeted medical personnel, fired at an ambulance. 

Gunmen storm the Rafah Governorate and the Khan Yunis Municipality

21 February 2006


A group of twenty gunmen from the “Al-Yasir Brigades”, affiliated with Fatah, stormed the Rafah Governorate building in protest to the appointment of Zuhdi El-Qedra as the new governor of Rafah. El-Qedra, who is from Khan Yunis, was appointed to succeed Majied El-Agha, who was elected as a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for the Khan Yunis district and represents Fatah. The gunmen requested Mahmoud Abbas to reconsider the appointment. Another armed group affiliated with Fatah stormed the Khan Yunis municipality building. This took place after the municipality had refused to provide the group with a bulldozer to level an area of land near the old Khan Yunis municipality butcher house, which the group intends to take over and turn into an outpost. 

As crises mount, EU's Solana sky high on travel perks

22 February 2006


EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana marked a breakthrough for his diplomatic efforts in the Middle East when he achieved Gold status in the British Airways Executive Club, a popular frequent flyer, program on Thursday, reports BNN Europe correspondent Agathe de Pauwer. As EU policy failures in the Middle East mount, Solana is racking up massive amounts of travel perks. A back-slapping chum of Israel’s leaders, Solana is also new member of the El Al frequent flyer program. “As Middle East tension mounts,” a giddy Solana said, “there is nothing to relieve the stress like a shiatswe massage and a facial scrub before a flight.” 

Punishing Hamas is punishing the Palestinian people

Hasan Abu Nimah 22 February 2006


Israel claims, as it did years ago with the PLO, that it will not negotiate with anyone who does not recognize its “right to exist”. But for the past five years, writes EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah, the Fatah-led PA, which recognizes Israel and opposes armed struggle has begged Israel for negotiations to no avail. The implementation of the two-state solution has not been blocked by Hamas or its violence, or its reluctance to recognize signed agreements. The main obstacle is Israel’s placement of 400,000 settlers throughout the West Bank in a manner calculated to preclude an Israeli withdrawal. It’s time for the international community to recognize this and change its hypocritical approach.