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Palestinian expectations tempered by reality

Khalid Amayreh 4 December 2004


For many following developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat gave rise to new hopes for peace in the Middle East. However, for many Palestinians, their feeling of optimism regarding the future is largely psychological since there is no practical justification for it. Most are convinced that Israel will seek to find any pretext to avoid a meaningful peace process that would lead to the termination of 37 years of military occupation. The vital question remains whether Israel is willing to pay the price for peace and withdraw. 

A schoolbag named desire

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 5 December 2004


With thumb held high and a broad smile, the school bus driver welcomes Tamer who proudly carries his little schoolbag on his back. He takes the seat right behind the driver so as to be able to peep over his shoulder towards the road. Watching this is one of those little rituals every day which keep Mary and me in a better mood than the situation otherwise would allow. Wearing her chequered school uniform, Jara too takes the school bus but unlike Tamer she is not always in her best mood. Her bag is stuffed with books and she curves her back to carry the burden. 

Denounce the deportation of Ahmad Nafaa, demand his return to Canada!

3 December 2004


December 1. 2004 — Tuesday morning, Ahmad Nafaa was deported from Canada to the United States. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) turned Ahmad over to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS), who immediately locked him up in the Clinton County Jail in Northern New York. All of this occurred despite the week-long efforts of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees and allies, who had been working, since Ahmad was detained on November 23, to prevent his deportation. 

Israel teaches Dheisheh's children a lesson they will not forget

Ziad Abbas Dheisheh refugee camp, Palestine 3 December 2004


1 December 2004 — At a quarter to four this morning the Hamash family building was demolished with explosives by the Israeli Army. At least 12 Israeli military jeeps invaded Dheisheh refugee camp and surrounded the families’ homes, as well as Ibdaa Cultural Center’s kindergarten, which shares the same building. The Army ordered Musa Hamash, Aziz Hamash, Ahmed Hamash, and their families outside into the damp and chilly morning air. They were given 30 minutes to remove as many of their belongings as possible before the bombing. 

AIPAC Investigation Resumes After Hiatus

3 December 2004


The FBI resumed its investigation of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobby in Washington, on December 1st when agents searched its offices for the second time in three months and served subpoenas on four senior AIPAC staff. Those subpeonaed are required to appear at a grand jury regarding the alleged acts of espionage involving a Pentagon employee and AIPAC. The man at the center of the investigation is Larry Franklin, an Iran analyst who works in the office of William Luti, who in turn is in charge of the Iran desk in Douglas Feith’s office. 

Four Birzeit University Students Illegally Deported to Gaza

Birzeit University 2 December 2004


The four deported students are among the last Gaza students still studying in the West Bank.� In 2000, there were over 300 Gaza students studying at Birzeit University, in 2004 there are only 39.� Since October 2000, the Israeli Authorities have made it virtually impossible for Palestinians to gain or renew the permits required by Israel, the occupying power, to move between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.� Gaza students enrolled in universities in the West Bank have been forced to either overstay their original permits, facing all the ramifications that this entails, or to drop out of university entirely. ï¿½ 

World Bank: Little chance of economic revival without lifting closures

2 December 2004


A disengagement plan that is accompanied by a rolling back of Israel’s closure policy and a stronger Palestinian commitment to reform will bring the Palestinian economy out of its present stagnation, according to a World Bank report released today. Titled Stagnation or Revival? Israeli Disengagement and Palestinian Economic Prospects, the report further asserts that only significant new efforts by both parties can justify a major increase in donor aid beyond existing levels. The report states for an economic recovery to be possible, Israel will need to roll back the security-related system of restrictions on the movement of people and goods imposed since the beginning of the intifada. 

Glasgow University students propose Vanunu for Rector

Muhammad Idrees Ahmad 2 December 2004


Mordechai Vanunu may have been forgotten by the rest of the world; Israel may have used the death of Yasir Arafat as a diversion to arrest Vanunu again, but the students of the University of Glasgow are intent on bringing him back to the limelight. Mordechai Vanunu, the man who risked it all to draw the world’s attention towards the nuclear ambitions of Israel and was thrown into prison for an extended period, has been nominated to run for Rector at this institute which is one of the four oldest in Britain, and one of its most prestigious. 

Lives torn apart in Ramallah

Charles Stratford Ramallah, Palestine 2 December 2004


“My son was shot by them on a day like today,” says Georgette, “the bullet passed straight through his chest but he’s alright now, thank God.” She leans frailly on the fence that separates our gardens in Ramallah. “Best you not go out just yet, if you need anything just ask.” The Israeli Defence Force are in town again. They’ve been here all night arresting men suspected of involvement with armed resistance groups. They bang on doors and pull young Palestinians into the back of waiting jeeps. They come and go as they please. 

General Assembly concludes debate on Palestine

1 December 2004


Convinced that achieving a final and peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine — the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict –- would serve as the cornerstone of stability in the Middle East, the General Assembly today adopted resolutions concerning Palestine, Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan, among others. the world body stressed the need for Israel’s withdrawal from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 and the realization of the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights, primarily the right to self-determination and to an independent state. Additionally, the Assembly called on both sides, the diplomatic Quartet and other interested parties to work to halt the situation’s further deterioration.