Ram, Palestine 15 January 2003
I have a headache today. I’m not the only one. The woman in the apartment building in Silwan, where I was this morning also has a headache. So does her children. She told me herself. Read more about Explosions, a headache from an unlikely source
Jenin, Palestine 15 January 2003
Photo by Musa Al-Shaer.
“As I was walking from the house at the top of the hill, occupied by Israeli forces from beginning to end of the sixteen-day invasion of Jenin Refugee Camp in October/November, schoolboys on the road asked me this question. It is a refrain that punctuates my comings and goings, and it is one that leaves me tongue-tied. The question is not, ‘Do you talk to them?’ because anybody can do that. What matters is if they respond with words rather than gunfire. The nature of the soldiers’ response is a source of curiosity for people who are always in danger of being shot rather than spoken to.” Annie Higgins writes from Jenin. Read more about Do they talk to you?
16 January 2003
The duty of reporters is to alert readers to the inadequacies of the information available, to emphasize that Israeli army reports, which
are often false and self-serving, are unverified, and avoid reporting
such claims as uncontested fact. Reporting an incident in Gaza on January 13th, several media organisations once again failed to
maintain clarity about the quality of their information source. Ali
Abunimah reports. Read more about Mystery surrounds killing of two Palestinians in Occupied Gaza
14 January 2003
Human Rights Watch released its World Report 2003, which states that Israel uses excessive lethal force in its reoccupation of West Bank towns. The report states that IDF soldiers have willfully and unlawfully killed Palestinian civilians, damaged property and looted homes. Read more about Human Rights Watch: "Israel uses excessive force"
13 January 2003
UK television regulators have cleared John Pilger of breaking broadcasting rules in his documentary, “Palestine is still the issue,” which attracted more than 100 complaints from viewers. The regulator ruled that the TV network, Carlton, had provided “persuasive evidence of the care and thoroughness with which it was researched.” Louise Jury reports in The Independent. Read more about UK TV documentary cleared of charges of anti-Israel bias
14 January 2003
Avatar Films’ latest release, the critically acclaimed Divine Intervention, opens on Friday January 17, 2003, at the Angelika Film Center in Manhattan. The film is the first Palestinian work to receive a full American release. In this article, Keith Icove, VP of Business Affairs at Avatar Films, offers information about the initial screening and subsequent showings in NY, NJ, DC, and CA. Read more about 'Divine Intervention' opens in NYC on January 17th
14 January 2003
“Like schoolboys in an unruly fifth form, the Palestinians have been told that they have to prove that they can be properly behaved before they can expect to get any privileges,” writes The Independent’s Adrian Hamilton. Casting a critical eye on the London conference on Palestinian reform, Hamilton argues that, “It is simply wrong to lead them to believe that the reason Washington doesn’t sympathise with their case and the Israelis reject it is because their leadership is poor or their administration corrupt, however true that may be.” Read more about This conference won't help the Palestinians
13 January 2003
In another illegal military action, two Israeli combat helicopters launched three missiles to assassinate two Palestinian activists. Instead, two Palestinian civilians, including a disabled child, who were in the area, were killed and a third civilian was wounded. Read more about Two Palestinians killed in failed Israeli assassination attempt
13 January 2003
“Yes, Palestinians are expected to reform, but no, we are not supposed to succeed at it. The truth is that Israel’s purported interest in reform is merely an attempt to divert the world’s attention from the crux of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Israel’s 35-year occupation of Palestinian territory and the denial of Palestinian freedom.” Yasser Abed Rabbo, the Palestinian Authority’s minister of culture and information, explains why Israel’s “catch-22” policies prevented him from attending an important conference in London. Read more about "Israel won't let us reform"
13 January 2003
When Elia Suleiman brought his film Divine Intervention to Ramallah he found the Israeli soldiers had got there first. The entrance to the cinema had been bombed, the cash till rifled, the Dolby stereo stolen. It was never going to be easy for a Palestinian to film in the West Bank. Elia Suleiman tells The Guardian’s Xan Brooks how he became a hit-and-run director . Read more about 'When we started shooting, so did they'