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Eight Gazans killed, 17 injured in ongoing Israeli attacks

3 January 2008


Israeli occupation forces (IOF) escalated their offensive against the Gaza Strip, killing eight Palestinians and injuring 17 others in various attacks throughout the Strip. The IOF carried out air strikes in different areas. It carried out an artillery attack on a house belonging to the Fayad family in Khan Younis, killing three brothers, their mother, and a fifth family member. Two civilian cars in northern and middle Gaza Strip were also bombarded, but no injuries were reported. 

Fatah-Hamas violence claims seven in Gaza

3 January 2008


Violence erupted after the government in Gaza banned celebrations to mark the 1 January anniversary of the establishment of the Fatah movement, in what appears to have been a response to the ban imposed by the government in Ramallah on Hamas marking the 14 December anniversary of the establishment of Hamas in the West Bank. In the lead up to the Fatah anniversary, police and Hamas gunmen in Gaza launched a campaign of arrests of Fatah activists and searched Fatah offices and the homes of people affiliated with Fatah. 

Two Palestinian villages ask Susan Sarandon to repudiate Leviev

Mohammed Khatib and Sharif Omar 6 January 2008


Dear Ms. Sarandon, We felt sorrow when we learned that you accepted Lev Leviev’s invitation to attend the opening night event for his new jewelry store in New York City on 13 November while our friends protested outside, because we respect you for your support for human rights, your courage in speaking since 2002 against the US war on Iraq, and for your many other honorable public positions. Lev Leviev is building Israeli settlements on Bil’in and Jayyous’ land. Mohammed Khatib and Sharif Omar write to the famed actress. 

Border politics leaves Palestinians stranded

Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani 1 January 2008


CAIRO, 2 January (IPS) - Hundreds of Palestinians still remain stranded on the Egyptian side of the border following last summer’s closure of the Rafah crossing between Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip. Their uncertain circumstances have come to reflect the complex politics between Cairo, Tel Aviv, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and Palestinian resistance faction Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

Rights org: Israeli soldiers escape indictment

2 January 2008


A report released by Yesh Din reveals Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) failure to investigate and indict its soldiers involved in criminal offenses against Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories. IDF statistics, provided to Yesh Din at the organization’s demand, on results of Military Police investigations of criminal offenses in which IDF soldiers harmed Palestinians and their property since the beginning of the second intifada in September 2000 until June 2007, show that some 90 percent of these investigation files were closed with no indictment. 

Aida camp residents say wall harming their livelihoods

1 January 2008


AIDA REFUGEE CAMP, BETHLEHEM, 31 December (IRIN) - Behind a luxurious five-star hotel and close to Bethlehem, yet unknown to most visitors who converged on nearby Manger Square for the recent Christmas mass, residents of Aida refugee camp — home to nearly 5,000 people — say their lives have been adversely affected by the Israeli restrictions on movement, in particular the barrier built around the city. 

Hajj pilgrims stranded in Egypt

Rami Almeghari Gaza City, Gaza Strip 1 January 2008


“We are in a prison. Our situation is so miserable in the arena the Egyptian authorities have placed us in. Yesterday a 45-year-old woman pilgrim died in front of us,” says Nayef al-Khaldi. The 55-year-old al-Khaldi is stuck at an arena turned into a shelter at the Egyptian border town at al-Arish along with more than 1,100 other Palestinians following the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari reports from Gaza. 

Pollution without borders

31 December 2007


BEER SHEBA/RAMALLAH, 30 December (IRIN) - In what should be a dry river bed at this time of year, grey water flows, revealing the extent to which the River Hebron, which runs from the West Bank into Israel, is polluted. The stench underlines the problem. “Most transboundary streams in the region are contaminated and characterized by widespread pollution from Palestinian sources [typically raw sewage], as well as a variety of … sources from within Israel.” 

When is it the Palestinians' turn?

Christopher Brown Shatila refugee camp, Lebanon 1 January 2008


The four of us sat in the tight confines of a shop nestled in the curving alleyways of Shatila, a Palestinian refugee camp established to house those whose families fled historical Palestine in 1948. Twenty-five years ago this then little-known camp — along with a nearby area called Sabra — was also the site of a bloody massacre that left more than 2,000 Palestinians dead at the hands of Phalangist militias backed by the Israeli army. EI contributor Christopher Brown writes from the Shatila refugee camp.