Amman, Jordan 7 January 2003
Betty Anderson, Assistant Professor of Middle East History at Boston University, recently spent four days in Jerusalem, Abu Dis, Bir Zeit, Ramallah, Qalqilya and Nablus. In this diary entry from Amman, Jordan, she reflects on the spirit she found among Palestinians during her visit. Read more about How powerful the Palestinians are
7 January 2003
Today, an 11-justice panel of the Supreme Court of Israel will hold hearings on an appeal against the decision of the Central Elections Committee (CEC) to disqualify the National Democratic Alliance from running in the Israeli elections. It will also hear concluding arguments submitted by Adalah challenging the CEC’s decision to ban MK Dr. Azmi Bishara, the head of the NDA list, from participating in the Knesset elections. Read more about Supreme Court hearings today on appeal against NDA disqualification
Jenin 6 January 2003
The mother of ‘Amid `Azmi Ratib Abu Hasan, killed in Jenin on 10 April 2002, writes to President George Bush asking for justice for her son, killed in cold blood by an Israeli combat helicopter in an area where there were no clashes. Read more about An open letter to President George Bush
6 January 2003
Early in the morning on Monday 6 January 2003, a unit of the Palestinian General Intelligence arrested the Gaza based correspondent for the Qatari TV news channel, al-Jazeera. Seif al-Din Shahin, 34, from Rafah was arrested as a result of a report that was broadcast last night on al-Jazeera. Read more about Palestinian Authority arrests Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza
4 January 2003
“Make January 17th a day to express solidarity with the women of Iraq, Palestine/Israel, Colombia, and other war-torn areas of the world, and call for a shift of national priorities away from war and militarism and toward a national agenda that affirms life. ” A new initiative is announced by members of the International Solidarity Movement. Read more about Women Rising for Peace and Justice announce campaign and activities
4 January 2003
Tomorrow, January 5, Adalah files an appeal to the Supreme Court of Israel against the CEC’s decision to disqualify the National Democratic Alliance. The CEC’s decision to disqualify MKs Azmi Bishara and Ahmad Tibi as individual candidates requires the Supreme Court’s approval in order to be implemented. Read more about Adalah files an appeal to the Supreme Court against the decision to disqualify Palestinian MK's
Jenin, Palestine 3 January 2003
The Israeli Army reported that two soldiers were injured as they attacked Palestinian members of the resistance in Gaza (BBC, 2 January 2003). The reality could be far more severe than they admit. Annie Higgins reports from Jenin. Read more about Six Soldiers
3 January 2003
This week, Israeli forces killed fifteen Palestinian civilians, including five children. Four Palestinians were killed in extra-judicial executions. Israeli forces conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas, accompanied by indiscriminate shelling. The Israeli retaliatory campaign against Palestinian families of wanted Palestinians and those who carried out armed attacks against Israeli targets continued. Israeli forces continued to use Palestinian civilians as human shields during military operations and a number of Palestinians were arrested. Read more about Weekly report on human rights violations
1 January 2003
For the first time since the previous intifada, more than 1000 Palestinians are being held in administrative detention, reports B’Tselem. Read more about IDF holds 1,007 Palestinians in administrative detention
1 January 2003
“I was searching for the humane side of people’s dreams, people’s hunger and people’s disappointments. I was not looking for numbers, who is right, or why this happened,” Bakri said. “For me, it’s a prayer to stop this hell we are living in.” Joshua Mitnick of the New Jersey Star Ledger reports on a censorship move that calls Israeli democracy into question. Read more about Israeli film board bans "Jenin, Jenin"