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One thousand days, more than 3000 people killed

26 June 2003

One thousand days of violence have killed just over 3,000 people (2,398 Palestinians and 704 Israelis) and left 28,000 injured (23,150 Palestinians and 4,849 Israelis) in Israel and the Palestinian Autonomous and Occupied Territories. This is the human toll since the second Intifada started on September 29, 2000, according to figures from the Palestine Red Crescent (PRCS) and Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s equivalent of a Red Cross or Red Crescent Society. 

Israel's June 25th incursion into Rafah's Hay Salaam district

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza Strip 26 June 2003


“It is no longer surprising to anyone here that American citizens get treated as Palestinians. It has been clear for ages that America does not take care of its own, much less those who come from such forgotten places as Rafah. As US passport holders, we have been advised by our embassy to leave the area. It is our own fault for being there if we are injured; our country has aligned itself nicely with Israel’s new policy of disclaiming any responsibility for human life in the Gaza Strip.” Laura Gordon writes from occupied Rafah. 

The road to peace needs no map

Hasan Abu Nimah 26 June 2003


“It is true, and it must be recognised, that without immense US pressure, the Sharon government would not have endorsed the roadmap. But it is also true that by endorsing the dozen or more reservations that Israel conditioned its acceptance upon, Washington has rendered the Israeli acceptance of the roadmap meaningless. What followed from that point on has been totally futile, obstructive, even dangerously counterproductive.” Hasan Abu Nimah comments. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 26 June 2003

This week, Israeli forces killed 5 Palestinians, including two women. Four of the victims were killed in extra-judicial executions. Israeli forces invaded Palestinian areas and demolished 12 homes and razed agricultural lands in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces continued to shell Palestinian residential areas and continued to use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Dozens of Palestinian civilians were arrested as the siege on Palestinian communities continued. 

Open letter concerning the use of ill-treatment and torture on Palestinian detainees

25 June 2003

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the world’s largest network of NGO’s fighting against torture, has written an open letter to Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon regarding its concerns about the use of ill-treatment and torture - including the use of various forms of torture that were outlawed by a 1999 Israeli High Court of Justice ruling - in Israel and the Occupied Territories. 

Dreaming of Palestine

James J. Zogby Washington D.C. 25 June 2003

“It was more than 30 years ago that I fell in love with Palestine. It was 1971 and I was in Lebanon doing research for my doctoral dissertation. Ghassan Kanafani, the brilliant Palestinian novelist, advised me that ‘to learn about us, you must go to the camps and immerse yourself in the people.’ The stories these refugees told were so achingly vivid in detail, so raw in the emotion they conveyed, and so right in the simple justice they demanded. It was this, I came to believe, that had kept Palestine alive.” James Zogby writes about hope and dreams of Palestine. 

The long journey from Nablus to Tel Aviv

Neta Golan Nablus, Palestine 25 June 2003


“My father passed away last week. I took Nawal, my two month old daughter, and attempted to go to Tel Aviv to attend the funeral and grieve with my family. Nablus, the city I live in, was besieged and completely sealed off. This has been the case for most of the last two years. Israeli soldiers threatened to shoot anyone approaching the checkpoint.” Neta Golan writes from Nablus.