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Death of PA detainee raises suspicions of torture

26 February 2008


On 22 February 2008, the death of 44-year-old Majd Abdul-Aziz al-Barghouti was announced. He was a resident of Kobar village, located near the town of Ramallah, West Bank. Al-Barghouti was arrested on 14 February 2008, at the hands of the Palestinian General Intelligence in the West Bank. According to the information retrieved by Al Mezan, al-Barghouti was arrested for political reasons and without observance of the legal process. 

For some, jobs but no salaries

Rami Almeghari Gaza Strip 25 February 2008


“The powdered milk, provided by [the UN agency for Palestine refugees] UNRWA every three months, is not enough. The lack of my salary for the past two months has affected my living conditions,” said Mohammad al-Saftwai, a resident of northern Gaza. EI correspondent in Gaza Rami Almeghari reports on the Ramallah appointed government’s suspending of the salaries of some civil servants in Gaza. 

Activists to Bono: Don't honor Israel!

25 February 2008


The following is an open letter from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel to musician and activist Bono, issued on 22 February: PACBI has learned that you have been invited by Israeli President Shimon Peres to take part in a conference designed to mark Israel’s contributions to medicine, science and conservation. We urge you, as a prominent activist on issues of global inequality and a campaigner for basic human rights, to say no to Israel, especially since the invitation coincides with celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state. 

Still no justice for October 2000 killings

Jonathan Cook 25 February 2008


On 2 October 2000, as the Israeli army was beginning its ruthless crackdown on the second intifada in the occupied territories, 17-year-old Aseel Asleh joined tens of thousands of other Palestinian citizens across Israel in taking to the streets in protest and in a show of solidarity with their kin across the Green Line. Within hours Asleh would be killed. Last week, Asleh’s family and those of another 12 Palestinian demonstrators killed inside Israel at the start of the intifada heard that those responsible would almost certainly never stand trial. Jonathan Cook writes from Nazareth. 

Kosovo and the question of Palestine

Ali Abunimah 24 February 2008


Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence has produced a range of reactions among Israeli and Palestinian observers that reveal their anxieties about their respective situations. However, EI co-founder Ali Abunimah cautions, history should tell us that imposed partitions have only generated new conflict, injustice and ethnic cleansing and have reinforced nationalism and irredentism. 

Three Gaza picnickers killed by Israeli missile

24 February 2008


Early Saturday evening, Israeli forces fired a surface-to-surface missile from one of its bases along the Gaza Strip border, targeting three friends in a bamboo hut in a field east of Beit Hanoun. The targeted area was approximately 1.2 kilometers away from the border with Israel. The rocket landed in the middle of the three civilians who were preparing food during their picnic in the field; they were instantly killed and dismembered. 

The killing of Imad Moughniya

Raid Khoury 21 February 2008


Imad Moughniya’s death, like his life, will remain shrouded in mystery and secrecy, but what few things we can learn for certain about this person’s life we already have. Before Moughniya, Carlos “the Jackal” and Abu Nidal were featured stars in the sensational news-entertainment industry. As a result we do not have an accurate picture of Moughniya (which may not be possible anyway), but more importantly, we have been presented with a distorted reality of the decades-long, bloody struggle between Israel and Hizballah.. Raid Khoury comments for Electronic Lebanon. 

Lebanon moves to regularize Iraqi asylum-seekers

21 February 2008


BEIRUT, 21 February (IRIN) - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) welcomed Lebanon’s steps this week to issue work and residency papers to the estimated 50,000 Iraqi would-be refugees in the country, hitherto considered illegal and subject to imprisonment and deportation. Starting this week Lebanon’s General Security intelligence body has given Iraqi asylum-seekers three months to regularize their status, which entails giving them residency and work permits that were previously denied. 

Toronto Palestine Film Festival seeking entries

20 February 2008


The Toronto Palestine Film Festival is now accepting entries for the first annual festival to be held in October 2008. Conceived by Palestine House, the festival is an important component of the year-long activities commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Nakba. Cinema represents a powerful means for visually interpreting the collective identity and historic struggle of the Palestinian people.