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Religious tourism and freedom of movement denied in isolated Bethlehem

Maureen Clare Murphy Bethlehem, West Bank 23 December 2004


“It is quite simple. We have no business,” a shopkeeper in Bethlehem’s Old City tells me when I ask him how his business is faring after four years of Intifada and intensified Israeli military occupation. Camels and religious figures carved out of olive wood sit neatly and undisturbed on their shelves. His inventory is the same as it was four years ago. Since no one comes into his store to buy his souvenirs, he doesn’t replenish his stock. And because businessmen like him are not ordering more merchandise, the factories in Bethlehem are at a standstill. 

The mother of all disasters?

Hasan Abu Nimah and Ali Abunimah 22 December 2004


The Palestine Liberation Organisation has, over decades, committed many strategic blunders that continue to reverberate today, especially as its leadership seems poised to commit yet more, if granted the opportunity. The essence of the failed PLO strategy is that it put the priority of having a state under PLO leadership ahead of liberating the land from Israeli occupation. The PLO’s relentless emphasis on the establishment of a state has gradually marginalized all the central causes of the conflict. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah and co-founder Ali Abunimah look at the failure of PLO strategy in recent decades and warn that the Palestinians may yet face the mother of all disasters. 

From Nazareth to Bethlehem, anno 2004

Arjan El Fassed and Annet Meeuws 21 December 2004


This week, people around the world will sing “O little town of Bethlehem” and say “peace on earth, goodwill to all people.” However, in the land where Jesus was born, there is no peace and people suffer from daily violence. Imagine if, today, Joseph and Mary would leave from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Would they manage to arrive in time for their son’s birth? Would they be allowed to pass through various checkpoints and roadblocks? If Mary and Joseph were to arrive in Bethlehem, not only would they need permits to pass the roadblocks and checkpoints, but they would also have to make a detour to get into the town. Surrounded by Israel’s Wall on two sides, Bethlehem has become a prison. 

Israel’s war on the milieu

John Collins 20 December 2004


“Paul Virilio, the French social theorist and war historian, has a useful term for the sort of state violence that Israel is pursuing: “war on the milieu.” According to Virilio, the classical model of waging war is increasingly being replaced by a model of perpetual counterinsurgency, in which war happens not in a strategic arena, but on it. Within such a model, war is waged directly on civilians and on the natural and built environment that ensures their survival. ” Scholar and activist John Collins examines the political economy and symbolic resonance of olive trees in the Palestinian struggle against occupation. 

Somerville Divestment Failure is Bittersweet

Tom Wallace 20 December 2004


It is not difficult to find the silver lining in the very sad and infuriating conclusion (temporary) to the issue of divestment in Somerville, MA. After a long process and sometimes rancorous debate, the aldermen caved to pressure from powerful Jewish groups who blindly support Israel; as one woman said to me “no matter what, no matter what, “no matter what” with her eyes closed and shaking her head poetically. That the Somerville Divestment Project got as far as it did towards passing a divestment resolution is nothing less than spectacular. Tom Wallace reports for EI. 

Opportunity now exists to revitalize peace process, Security Council told

16 December 2004


Confirming to the Security Council today that there existed, once again, a window of opportunity to revitalize the Middle East peace process, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, urged the international community to encourage the parties to persevere as they moved along the narrow and difficult road to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace. Mr. Prendergast said in his regular monthly briefing on that situation that both parties seemed to have realized the potential for change inherent in the present situation. 

Israeli forces kill 10 Palestinians in Khan Yunis, many more wounded

17 December 2004


Since Friday morning, 17 December 2004, Israeli forces have launched a fierce offensive on Khan Yunis, in an act of retaliation against Palestinian civilians and property. During this offensive, Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians, including a child, and injured 40 others, including 18 children. Eight injured are in critical condition. The Israeli offensive has been focused on Khan Yunis refugee camp and al-Nimsawi neighborhood. Israeli forces destroyed at least 40 homes. Palestinian human rights group PCHR believes that the intensive presence of Israeli occupation forces poses a serious threat to the lives of Palestinian civilians. 

UN aid agency replaces Palestinian homes destroyed in Israeli raid on Jenin

16 December 2004


The main United Nations agency helping Palestinian refugees today handed over keys to new homes to most of the 435 families whose houses were destroyed during an Israeli incursion into the West Bank town of Jenin in 2002. “The relief effort geared towards the refugees in Jenin and the rebuilding of their homes has been the biggest humanitarian project undertaken in the occupied Palestinian territory since the outbreak of the conflict four years ago,” UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said, referring to the latest Palestinian intifada, or uprising. 

The Writing on the Wall: Terry Boullata

Toine van Teeffelen Jerusalem, Palestine 18 December 2004


The Writing on the Wall is a series of interviews with Palestinians who live close to the Wall. Van Teeffelen asked three questions: How is your daily life influenced by the Wall and the checkpoints? What does freedom mean to you? What are your sources of energy? Toine van Teeffelen speaks with Terry Boullata, head of a private school in Abu Dis and an advocacy worker. “My neighborhood was turned overnight from a residential base into a military zone. Men, women, children - everybody was jumping over the wall at the low point near our house. You could always find children jumping amidst teargas and sound bombs. On a daily basis.” 

WANTED: Middle East Mediator

Sam Bahour 17 December 2004


The steady flow of international dignitaries to Israel and Palestine following the confirmation of the new transitional Palestinian leadership has been rather impressive but it is far past time for the international community to stand up and take action. Enough of throwing money, food, consultants, death, despair and destruction at the Palestinians. The time is now for the community of nations to impose international law to end this global tragedy. Sam Bahour comments.