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Gaza flower producers watch their industry die

26 February 2008


When Hassan Sheikh Hijazi first opened his flower farm in 1991, it flourished. “We had a very good family business,” he says. “We exported hundreds of thousands of flowers to Holland and from there our flowers were sold across Europe. The traders knew our flowers were good quality — and Gaza was open for business.” With its mild coastal weather and well-drained soil, the Gaza Strip is an ideal location for commercial flower farming. There are more than a hundred small flowers farms across the Gaza Strip, and they employ some 7,000 farm workers between them. 

Palestine and the Kosovo analogy

Benton Williams 26 February 2008


Dear Ali Abunimah: I have long been and continue to be an ardent admirer of your work, particularly your forceful, unflinching regard for truth and justice, no matter who agrees or disagrees. Based on that virtue of yours, I trust you will take my concern over your characterization of the Serbia/Kosovo question with proportionate seriousness. You respond to the Haaretz columns about whether Kosovo is Palestine or Israel by engaging in their debate which is, literally, nonsense. That is, Kosovo is Kosovo and Serbia is Serbia. 

Yes, Canada, there is torture in Israel

Louis Frankenthaler 26 February 2008


Israeli Ambassador Alan Baker recently expressed his indignation over Canada’s listing of Israel as a state that engages in torture in a training manual for diplomats. The ambassador asserts that torture is not practiced by Israel and based on this it seems that the Canadian Foreign Ministry will reevaluate this manual and “correct” it. The problem, however, is not the manual but the fact that Israel continues to regularly practice torture. Louis Frankenthaler comments. 

EU considers strengthening "security" research with Israel

David Cronin 26 February 2008


BRUSSELS, 22 February (IPS) - The European Union is considering new steps to deepen its cooperation on scientific research with Israel, despite admitting that previous funds earmarked for that purpose have gone to firms operating illegally in the Palestinian territories. Between now and 2013, the Israeli government is to contribute 440 million euros (652 million dollars) per year so that it can participate in the EU’s so-called framework program for research. 

Death of PA detainee raises suspicions of torture

26 February 2008


On 22 February 2008, the death of 44-year-old Majd Abdul-Aziz al-Barghouti was announced. He was a resident of Kobar village, located near the town of Ramallah, West Bank. Al-Barghouti was arrested on 14 February 2008, at the hands of the Palestinian General Intelligence in the West Bank. According to the information retrieved by Al Mezan, al-Barghouti was arrested for political reasons and without observance of the legal process. 

For some, jobs but no salaries

Rami Almeghari Gaza Strip 25 February 2008


“The powdered milk, provided by [the UN agency for Palestine refugees] UNRWA every three months, is not enough. The lack of my salary for the past two months has affected my living conditions,” said Mohammad al-Saftwai, a resident of northern Gaza. EI correspondent in Gaza Rami Almeghari reports on the Ramallah appointed government’s suspending of the salaries of some civil servants in Gaza. 

Activists to Bono: Don't honor Israel!

25 February 2008


The following is an open letter from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel to musician and activist Bono, issued on 22 February: PACBI has learned that you have been invited by Israeli President Shimon Peres to take part in a conference designed to mark Israel’s contributions to medicine, science and conservation. We urge you, as a prominent activist on issues of global inequality and a campaigner for basic human rights, to say no to Israel, especially since the invitation coincides with celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state. 

Still no justice for October 2000 killings

Jonathan Cook 25 February 2008


On 2 October 2000, as the Israeli army was beginning its ruthless crackdown on the second intifada in the occupied territories, 17-year-old Aseel Asleh joined tens of thousands of other Palestinian citizens across Israel in taking to the streets in protest and in a show of solidarity with their kin across the Green Line. Within hours Asleh would be killed. Last week, Asleh’s family and those of another 12 Palestinian demonstrators killed inside Israel at the start of the intifada heard that those responsible would almost certainly never stand trial. Jonathan Cook writes from Nazareth.