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Dubai begins to comply with calls to boycott settlement financier

30 April 2008


In a sudden reversal, just 16 days after Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev publicly announced plans to open two new jewelry stores in Dubai this year, a high-level Dubai government official said that Leviev had no trade license to open a store in the Emirate. The report in the 30 April edition of Dubai’s Gulf News followed a flurry of media coverage of the 18 April call by Palestinians and New York activists for Dubai to boycott Leviev’s businesses over his companies’ settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. 

Video: Who burned Nahr al-Bared?

Ray Smith 5 May 2008


Since 10 October 2007, residents of the destroyed Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon have been gradually allowed by the Lebanese army to return to the ruins of their homes. However, the core of the camp, the so-called “old camp,” as well as parts of the “new camp,” which doesn’t fall under the mandate of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, remain sealed off and are still under the exclusive control of the Lebanese army. Ray Smith reports from Nahr al-Bared. 

Meet the Lebanese Press: From dialogue to declarations

Hicham Safieddine 30 April 2008


The merry-go-round of dialogue sessions between the government loyalist and the opposition camps just got a fresh push when persistent parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri called for yet another set of roundtable negotiations after several months’ hiatus. The press is abuzz with weighing the pros and cons, as well as gauging the chances of success or failure, of such talks. 

UN facing increased delays at Israeli checkpoints

30 April 2008


JERUSALEM, 30 April (IRIN) - Increased Israeli restrictions on the checkpoints around East Jerusalem have caused more delays and more lost man hours for UN staff in March 2008 than in all of 2007, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported. In the Humanitarian Monitor for March, released on 24 April, OCHA said “operations were significantly affected” and almost daily UN vehicles were delayed and even turned back by Israeli soldiers at checkpoints south of Jerusalem. 

Sixty years ago in Battir

Hasan Abu Nimah Amman, Jordan 30 April 2008


One afternoon in May 1948, my village Battir fell under heavy fire from the opposite slopes, across the railway line to the west, which had fallen to the Jewish fighters. We carried whatever belongings we could and headed east a few miles where there were vineyards and a small spring. We thought it would be a short escape, but we camped in that vineyard with many other people from the village all summer, our hopes dimming as the heat rose. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah recalls his village in the first part of a two-part series. 

Report: Movement restrictions hinder aid impact

29 April 2008


JERUSALEM, 28 April (IRIN) - The World Bank has said that the Palestinian economy will not improve over the next year due to the Israeli restrictions on movement in the West Bank and the blockade on the Gaza Strip, despite efforts by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and international donors to boost the local economy. This predicament will exacerbate the humanitarian situation in the enclave, analysts said. 

Gaza food distribution halted, cooking gas running out

29 April 2008


JERUSALEM/GAZA, 28 April (IRIN) - The UN has stopped distributing food in the Gaza Strip as its main agencies have run out of fuel for vehicles. To make matters worse, many bakeries in the enclave were closed on 28 April as they had run out of gas. The World Food Program and the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA confirmed they had not delivered food aid since 26 April. 

Support the Canadian Union of Postal Workers' campaign against Israeli apartheid

29 April 2008


We the undersigned organizations congratulate the Canadian Union of Postal workers (CUPW) for joining the international boycott of Israeli apartheid. We call on workers and labor unions worldwide to join CUPW in creating a strong and effective labor movement in solidarity with struggles against Israeli apartheid and violence. 

Mother, four children amongst victims of Israeli Gaza strike

28 April 2008


Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed four children and their mother when they shelled their home in Ezbet Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip today. Another man was killed in the attack which occurred during an IOF incursion in different parts of the town of Beit Hanoun. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights’ monitoring finds that the IOF stepped up their aggression on Gaza. 

Book review: "Not Everyone Can Throw Stones"

Adri Nieuwhof 28 April 2008


In his Dutch-language book launched in the Netherlands last week, The Electronic Intifada co-founder Arjan El Fassed demonstrates how his life is deeply entwined with Palestine. Not Everyone Can Throw Stones tells the history of El Fassed’s life in the Palestinian Diaspora in a personal, moving and tense style. Contributor Adri Nieuwhof reviews for The Electronic Intifada.