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Israelis elect new Palestinian leader

23 November 2004


Millions of Israeli voters flocked to the polls today to vote for a new Palestinian leader. Israel has taken the unusual step of giving its voters a say in who will lead the Palestinians, after years of Israeli ministers trying to make the decision themselves. Israel’s Interior Minister, Tommy Lapid explained, “After the death of the terrorist leader Yasir Arafat, there is unique opportunity for Israel to pick a new, moderate Palestinian leadership.” He added, “since Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, our people are the only ones qualified to make this choice.” 

The Panic

Liat Weingart 22 November 2004


We’re in a time of transition. Yasser Arafat died right after Kerry lost the presidential election. The opposition to the Presbyterian Church’s decision to investigate selective divestment from companies doing business with Israel’s occupation is growing. And support of them is growing. Meanwhile, Mustafa Barghouti has called for sanctions against Israel, and the Somerville, Mass. Board of Aldermen is debating divestment. It’s a time that calls for clearheadedness. New things are happening, and we need to be prepared to create new strategies. We need honor our despair and anger — they are the outward manifestation of our moral compass. 

EU to send election observation mission to Palestine

22 November 2004


As one of the first acts of the European Commission, the Commissioner for External Relations and the European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner has decided to deploy an EU Election Observer Mission (EOM) to observe the Presidential Elections in the West Bank and Gaza scheduled for 9th January 2005. The decision is a concrete expression of the EU’s effort to support the development of democratic institutions and stability in the Palestinian Territories. The presence of the EOM and the reporting of its observers will help to increase transparency and build confidence in the election process. 

Photostory: Hebrew University to displace Palestinian families

Shirabe Yamada Jerusalem, Palestine 22 November 2004


On Sunday, November 21 at 7:15AM, bulldozers and armed security guards arrived at the home of Al-Helou family in Jerusalem to announce that their land will be confiscated for the expansion of the university dormitories. The Al-Helou family is among seven families whose houses are trapped among the university dormitory buildings. They have lived in this area, called Ard Al-Samar, since 1948 when they were forced out of the Jerusalem village of Lifta. The dormitory buildings have been closing in on the families, who are now confined in small pockets of land surrounded by the fences. Shirabe Yamada witnessed the destruction. 

Third Committee adopts resolution on Palestinian children

17 November 2004


Returning to its consideration of promotion and protection of the rights of the child, the Third Committee took up the draft on the Situation of and Assistance to Palestinian Children by which it would have the General Assembly express deep concern about the negative consequences, including psychological consequences, of the Israeli military actions for the present and future well-being of Palestinian children. The text has the Assembly demand that Israel respect relevant provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and comply fully with the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention.  It also calls upon the international community to provide urgently needed assistance. 

A few locust swarms could cross Gulf of Suez and Red Sea, FAO warns

19 November 2004


The UN Food and Agriculture Agency has alerted Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Saudi Arabia and Sudan of the possibility of a few desert locust swarms arriving from northern Egypt. “It is possible that a small number of locust swarms could arrive in these countries,” said Mahmoud Solh, Director, Plant Production and Protection Division. “Countries should not expect successive waves of swarms like in the Maghreb countries; there is definitely no reason to panic,” he said. FAO called upon countries to look out for any locust swarms and undertake control operations as early as possible. Swarms have now moved further east towards the Sinai, the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea. Locusts have already arrived on the Mediterranean coast of northern Sinai, 100 kilometres west of Gaza. 

Documentary film review: "Mur" (Wall)

Arjan El Fassed 21 November 2004


Winner at festivals in Marseille and Jerusalem, Simone Bitton’s Franco-Israeli “Mur” (Wall), is about Israel’s Apartheid Wall. EI’s Arjan El Fassed saw this documentary during the seventeenth international documentary filmfestival in Amsterdam (Netherlands) which opened on 18 November. Mur (“Wall”) is nominated for the Amnesty International-DOEN Award, one of the awards presented at the festival. After the screening the audience got to ask Bitton some questions. “The moment I heard about the barrier going up, June 2002, I had to make this film,” she said in Cinerama 2 in Amsterdam. 

UN refugee agency appeals for $186 million in emergency relief for Palestine

19 November 2004


The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) today launched a $185.8 million emergency appeal for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). The funding will allow the Agency to carry out crucial relief operations to the 1.6 million refugees in the West Bank and Gaza throughout 2005. This year has seen the worst levels of destruction of the four year intifada, as Israel has employed drastic measures against Palestinian militants firing rockets from Gaza and other security threats. The accelerating levels of demolitions, increasing deaths and injuries, and strict movement restrictions have contributed to ever-growing hardship for the refugee population. Over 2.2 million people in the oPt are now surviving on less than $2 per person per day. 

Acting on four draft resolutions, Palestinian Rights Committee urges action to end Israel's settlement activities

19 November 2004


Meeting formally this morning for the first time since President Yasser Arafat’s death, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People approved four draft resolutions, including one by which the General Assembly would demand the immediate cessation of all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory as well as Israel’s withdrawal from Palestinian territory occupied since 1967. The Committee also considered recent developments in the Middle East. 

Olive oil harvest continues to face challenges for Palestinian farmers

20 November 2004


What petroleum is to Saudi Arabia, olive oil is to Palestine. Olives are a staple crop to the rural Palestinian communities traditionally dependent on agriculture. Olive groves represent over 40% of the cultivated area in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and represent almost 80% of the cultivated fruit trees. Each day during the olive harvesting season here in Palestine the media is full of stories of olive oil farmers and olive pickers being harassed, detained, robbed, violently attacked, critically wounded and in some cases even being shot and killed while attempting to harvest their olives on their own land. In the last four years, Israeli forces have uprooted almost 400,000 olive trees with a value of over US$ 60 million.