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"Bombshell" shakes Fateh: Barghouti's candidacy blows race wide open

Atef Saad 8 December 2004


One thing all agree on is that Marwan Barghouti’s decision to run has blown the presidential race wide open. Opinion polls have him and Mahmoud Abbas more or less neck and neck, and among the other eight candidates at least two, acting speaker of the Legislative Council Hasan Khreisheh and Mustapha Barghouti both have relatively high public profiles, making the field very competitive. However, some observers fear that the competition and the electoral system will simply lead to the loss of thousands of votes, and weaken the mandate of any elected PA president in the international arena. Atef Saad assesses Barghouti’s candidacy for the Palestine Report. 

Stop the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees from Canada

8 December 2004


For nearly a year, Khalil Ayoub, 67, Nabih Ayoub, 69 and Th�r�se Boulos Haddad, 62, have been living in the basement of Montreal’s Notre-Dame-de-Gr�ce church, facing arrest and deportation if they leave their place of sanctuary. Under imminent threat of deportation by immigration authorities, many Palestinian refugees in Canada have been forced to live underground or take sanctuary. We are asking you to give a few moments today to contact Canadian officials who have the power to stop these deportations and end this human crisis. 

On Palestine's Dead: Israel's Chilling Concept of "Good News"

Nigel Parry 8 December 2004


Today’s Israeli Ha’aretz newspaper brought good news to those disturbed by the relentless death toll resulting from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; a headline that stated “IDF: 29 Palestinian civilians killed in W. Bank in 2004”. “The Israel Defense Forces released figures Wednesday showing that since the beginning of the year,” wrote Ha’aretz correspondent Amos Harel, “148 Palestinians have been killed by IDF fire in the West Bank, at least 29 of them, by army count, innocent bystanders, Israel Radio reported Wednesday.” EI’s Nigel Parry gags and begs to differ. 

Israeli soldiers 'shoot boy for fun'

Khalid Amayreh 8 December 2004


A group of Israeli soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip have reportedly admitted killing a 15-year-old Palestinian in Khan Yunus for sport. According to the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronoth, the incident took place in March when a group of newly graduated soldiers were on a hike near the town of Khan Yunus. According to the report, an undisclosed number of Givati brigade soldiers shot and killed Khalid Sulaiman Mahdi while he was working with his father on their farm. The boy’s father, Sulaiman Mahdi, told the paper the killing was “just for the sake of it”. 

Israel censured over Palestinian elections

Khalid Amayreh 8 December 2004


Palestinian presidential candidate Mustafa al-Barghuthi has accused Israel of disrupting the upcoming Palestinian election due on 9 January. Mustafa al-Barghuthi, a prominent independent candidate, at a press conference on Wednesday in Ramallah said Israel was not allowing candidates freedom of movement within the West Bank and between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. “The Israeli occupation authorities have been barring me from travelling to the Gaza Strip. How can we conduct an effective and orderly election campaign if one is unable to meet one’s supporters?” he said. Al-Jazeera’s Khalid Amayreh reports from the occupied West Bank. 

Advance U.S. -- not Israel's -- interests

George Bisharat 8 December 2004


Democrats, searching for ways to regain ground lost to Republicans in November, should take guidance from an unusual source: a just-reported Defense Department study of attitudes toward the United States in the Arab and Muslim worlds. That study confirms that we are resented worldwide not for our freedoms but for our policies. In particular, it is our support for Israel, and more recently our occupation of Iraq, that most offend 1.2 billion Arabs and Muslims. Friendly relations with this big slice of humanity are key to our economic and strategic well-being. 

Ain el Hilweh in the heart of Montreal

Ali Abunimah Montreal, Canada 8 December 2004


EI co-founder Ali Abunimah writes about a visit to a family of elderly Palestinians refugees who have been given sanctuary in a Montreal church for nearly a year, after the Canadian government ordered them deported: “What was so shocking and moving about the situation Ayoubs find themselves in, in their church basement room in Montreal, is how reminiscent it is of the conditions they fled in Ain el Hilweh refugee camp.” 

Rights group calls for appropriate mechanism to ensure impartiality counting Palestinian votes

7 December 2004


On 1 December 2004, President of the Palestinian Authority Rawhi Fattouh ratified amendments made to the process of preparing the final record of voters.  According to the amendments, article 15(1) of the law prescribes that “the record of voters being prepared in accordance with the law and the record of civil registration are the accredited records for the purpose of preparing the final electoral record to decide who has the right of voting and candidature to the Palestinian general elections and the elections of local councils..”  This step has been strongly criticized by a number of civil society organizations and active political parties. 

European Commission provides €7 million in humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable Palestinians

7 December 2004


The European Commission has allocated a further €7 million in humanitarian aid for people made vulnerable by the Middle East crisis. The aid will provide access to food, clean water and sanitation for the poorest Palestinians living on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. There is also a major funding component to help rehabilitate the shelters of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The aid will be channelled through ECHO, the Commission’s humanitarian aid department. It brings the Commission’s humanitarian assistance to victims of the Middle East crisis to €37 million for 2004. 

Is Marwan Barghouti right to run?

Hasan Abu Nimah and Ali Abunimah 8 December 2004


Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian resistance leader imprisoned by Israel, has caused an uproar by reversing his earlier decision not to run for president of the Palestinian Authority. His candidacy has provoked some very negative reactions that cast serious doubt on the sincerity of those who have long been calling on the Palestinians to speed up democratization and reform as a way to advance the peace process. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah and co-founder Ali Abunimah look at the dispute and examine why there is so much hostility from peace process professionals to Barghouti taking part in a free election.