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Step Forward, Tony Blair

Ali Abunimah 14 May 2003


It took just a few hours for US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s mission to implement the road map to founder on the rocks of Israeli intransigence. Ariel Sharon’s “gestures” to humor his American guest lasted barely longer than the visit itself. EI’s Ali Abunimah argues that the Americans need an ally who is unconstrained by domestic political considerations when it comes to Palestine-Israel. The perfect candidate is Tony Blair, who claimed before the Iraq war that could lead, not just follow the United States. If so, Palestine is the perfect opportunity for him to do so and here is precisely what he should do. 

The mountain roared: Powell's Road Map fiasco

Hasan Abu Nimah 14 May 2003


Once more the mountain roared and produced nothing. The much acclaimed visit of the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, to Israel and Palestine to implement the road map ended in total failure. Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon thinks he has won a victory by defeating the latest peace effort, but regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah argues that Palestinians, Israelis and the United States all emerge as losers. 

In wake of Jayson Blair scandal, NYT assures that creative writing on Middle East will continue

Najeeb Al-Anbarri 13 May 2003


The New York Times is reeling from a humiliating scandal in which it was found that reporter Jayson Blair had been fabricating breaking news scoops during the Washington sniper saga, quoting people he had never spoken to, regularly plagerising copy from other reporters’ work, and claiming to travel to cities and towns across the United States that phone records and a lack of travel expenses did not support. Times executive editor, Howell Raines, spoke to concerned parties at a recent press conference in New York, NY. BNN’s Najeeb Al-Anbarri was present at the conference but has lost his ticket stub so therefore requests that you take his word for it. 

Straw under fire for ignoring Israeli attacks on UK nationals

Chris McGreal 7 May 2003

[Anthony Hurndall,] the father of a British peace activist left in a coma by an Israeli army bullet has accused the Foreign Office of showing more concern at the killings of Israeli citizens than investigating Israeli responsibility for the shootings of Britons… “I have expressed to the embassy strongly my unease at the fact that immediately following the bombing at the bar in Tel Aviv and the killing of three Israelis, the British government jumped to give a statement of support for Israelis and to freeze funds and make arrests. “In contrast, the almost passive reaction of the British government at the shooting of three of its nationals in Israel is very disturbing,” he said. 

UK envoys held at gunpoint by Israelis

Chris McGreal 6 May 2003

Israeli forces opened fire above a British embassy convoy and held it at gunpoint in Gaza while it was carrying diplomats and the family of an English peace activist left in a coma by an Israeli bullet. Two armoured Range Rovers with diplomatic plates were forced to halt as they drove through the Abu Houli crossing on Sunday, even though British officials had notified Israeli forces of their arrival 10 minutes earlier. “There’s a complete lack of control. They fire without warning,” said Tom Hurndall’s father, Anthony, who was in one car with his wife and 12-year-old son. “As we passed the first pillbox a shot was fired over the cars. We weren’t clear why, or what was happening. Nobody came out, we couldn’t tell if we were supposed to get out or go on. Chris McGreal reports in The Guardian. 

Why friends of Israel should see Gaza

David Aaronovitch 13 May 2003

“The result is that, while Israel claims to be hitting at the “terrorist infrastructure”, the consequence last week was a two-mile funeral procession through Gaza City, in which mourners chanted “no to Abu Mazen”, the new pro-roadmap Palestinian prime minister. In Gaza, as in the other Palestinian territories, the space for moderation gets smaller with every minor humiliation and every death. You don’t have to be a peace activist to understand that this is a kind of madness. If ordinary Israelis and their friends in other countries were to spend even a few hours in Gaza, or talking to people on the West Bank, then it is difficult to imagine them supporting the policies of the present Israeli government.” 

Human Rights Watch to Appeal Deportation of Researcher

Human Rights Watch 8 May 2003

Israel’s arrest of Human Rights Watch’s researcher for Israel and the Occupied Territories sends the wrong signal on the eve of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s visit to the country, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch protested the arrest and called for the researcher’s immediate release [Sissons was released at approximately midnight local time today].