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The killing of Imad Moughniya

Raid Khoury 21 February 2008


Imad Moughniya’s death, like his life, will remain shrouded in mystery and secrecy, but what few things we can learn for certain about this person’s life we already have. Before Moughniya, Carlos “the Jackal” and Abu Nidal were featured stars in the sensational news-entertainment industry. As a result we do not have an accurate picture of Moughniya (which may not be possible anyway), but more importantly, we have been presented with a distorted reality of the decades-long, bloody struggle between Israel and Hizballah.. Raid Khoury comments for Electronic Lebanon. 

Lebanon moves to regularize Iraqi asylum-seekers

21 February 2008


BEIRUT, 21 February (IRIN) - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) welcomed Lebanon’s steps this week to issue work and residency papers to the estimated 50,000 Iraqi would-be refugees in the country, hitherto considered illegal and subject to imprisonment and deportation. Starting this week Lebanon’s General Security intelligence body has given Iraqi asylum-seekers three months to regularize their status, which entails giving them residency and work permits that were previously denied. 

Toronto Palestine Film Festival seeking entries

20 February 2008


The Toronto Palestine Film Festival is now accepting entries for the first annual festival to be held in October 2008. Conceived by Palestine House, the festival is an important component of the year-long activities commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Nakba. Cinema represents a powerful means for visually interpreting the collective identity and historic struggle of the Palestinian people. 

A third way

Haidar Eid 20 February 2008


The “third way” that secular intellectuals defend, condemns terrorism and supports the fight against it. However, the criterion it follows is a universal one. That is, support comes only if the US is prepared to censure Israel for its illegal occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and all the crimes that come with it, and stops its support for imposed, corrupt dictators in the Arab world. Haider Eid comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

UN humanitarian chief says Gaza situation "grim"

20 February 2008


JERUSALEM, 19 February (IRIN) - John Holmes, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, has said he is shocked by the “grim and miserable” situation in the Gaza Strip, and he called for the opening of crossing points into the enclave and for Palestinian militants to stop rocket fire into Israel. Wrapping up a five-day trip on 18 February, he said he had come to visit Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) to see the situation on the ground and do what he could to increase movement into and out of Gaza. 

A state of war and peace

Hasan Abu Nimah 20 February 2008


The car bomb assassination in Damascus of Imad Mughniyeh has created a heightened state of tension in the region. Almost every commentator, no matter what perspective he/she comes from, expects the killing to spark a fresh round of deadly violence; as if the region had room for more. It is hard to speculate on the outcome of this serious development, but it is very unlikely that it will pass without dire consequences, for Lebanon and the region. Hasan Abu Nimah comments. 

House demolitions force Palestinians from village

19 February 2008


BEQAA, WEST BANK, 19 February (IRIN) - A small, overcrowded Palestinian village in the southern West Bank, under threat from Israeli-conducted house demolitions and land confiscations, is rapidly becoming poorer. “Every house here has one child at least who left because we can’t build new homes. Some went to Hebron, but others left for Amman [Jordan] and places abroad” said Ghassan, a young man from Beqaa village, who is a refugee registered with the UN. 

London School of Economics student union votes for divestment

19 February 2008


The London School of Economics Students’ Union (LSESU) on 14 February voted overwhelmingly to call on its university and the National Union of Students (NUS) to divest from companies that provide military and commercial support for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, condemning the decades of human rights abuses and systematic oppression that has occurred as a result.