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Weekly Report on Human Rights Violations

16 March 2007


During the reporting period a Palestinian boy was killed by IOF when he attempted to infiltrate into Israel to search for a job. The Israeli police beat a Palestinian to death in occupied East Jerusalem. 15 Palestinian civilians, including three children, and an Israeli solidarity activist were wounded by IOF gunfire. The IOF conducted 40 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. And land confiscation in Qalqilya continues as the IOF confiscated another 17 donums of agricultural land. 

Palestinian refugee killed in Iraq raid

16 March 2007


In the latest of a long series of expressions of alarm over the fate of Palestinian refugees in Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein, the United Nations refugee agency today voiced deep concern over a raid by Iraqi security forces this week in Baghdad, which left at least one Palestinian dead and nine others reportedly still in detention. “The violence reportedly broke out when the Palestinians tried to resist the raid,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Ron Redmond told a news briefing in Geneva. 

Bush's Book List Gets More Islamophobic

Jim Lobe 16 March 2007


WASHINGTON, Mar 16 (IPS) - Accounts of a Feb. 28 “literary luncheon” at the White House suggest that President George W. Bush’s reading tastes — until now a remarkably good predictor of his policy views — are moving ever rightward, even apocalyptic, despite his administration’s recent suggestions that it is more disposed to engage Washington’s foes, even in the Middle East. The luncheon, attended as well by Vice President Dick Cheney and a dozen hard-line neo-conservatives, was held in honour of visiting British historian Andrew Roberts whose latest work, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900, Bush reportedly read late last year and subsequently sent to Prime Minister Tony Blair. 

Rachel Corrie's Voice

Bessy Reyna 16 March 2007


Rachel Corrie was a 23-year-old peace activist killed by a bulldozer driven by an Israeli army soldier. The time, day and place of her death are known, but, the question of whether she was murdered or whether her death was an accident continues to be as controversial today as it was when it happened March 16, 2003. With her death Corrie became an international symbol in the struggle against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. Today, the anniversary of her death, she is being remembered with vigils and readings of her writings in many cities. 

Gaza children commemorate fourth anniversary of Rachel Corrie's death

Mohammad Al-Jamal 16 March 2007


Children from the Mini Palestinian Parliament commemorated the fourth anniversary of the loss of the American solidarity activist Rachel Corrie by enacting a permanent exhibit for her that includes pictures and personal belongings at the parliament site in the center of Rafah governorate. The exhibit, which was attended by a large number of children and others concerned, included pictures of Rachel and statements and other documents released upon her loss, as well as some personal belongings and a symbolic coffin covered by the Palestinian flag. 

UN Secretary-General welcomes news of Palestinian unity government

15 March 2007


Welcoming reports that negotiations for a Palestinian national unity government have been completed, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he hoped the new administration would respect existing agreements and reflect widely held principles on the conflict in the Middle East. United Nations spokesperson Michele Montas told journalists at the daily briefing, in response to questions on the intra-Palestinian talks, that Mr. Ban is now looking forward to the formation of both the Government and its programme. She said he hoped that the Palestinian Government would respect all existing agreements and reflect principles outlined by the diplomatic Quartet. 

Audio Interview: Ali Abunimah on the problem of partition

15 March 2007


EI contributor and producer of the weekly podcast Crossing the Line Christopher Brown interviews EI co-founder Ali Abunimah on his new book One Country and the problem of partition as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abunimah explains, “From the very beginning partition was inextricably linked with what we would today call ethnic cleansing, and of course that’s what happened in 1948 in order for the State of Israel to be born.” 

Woman kidnapped and killed in Gaza

15 March 2007


The state of insecurity witnessed serious escalation across the Gaza Strip where killings of women augmented under mysterious conditions and armed clashes renewed. According to Al Mezan’s field investigations, at approximately 6pm on 14 March 2007 a woman was found dead in north Gaza beach. She was identified as a resident of Gaza City who was kidnapped and killed on the same day. The identity of the perpetrators remains unknown. On 12 March 2007, another woman was found on Beit Lahia beach after being shot in her legs. Three women had faced the same fate during March, raising to five the number women who were killed in 2007. 

Israeli university's age restrictions discriminates against Arab students

15 March 2007


On 12 March 2007, Adalah wrote to the President of Tel Aviv University and the Dean of the School of Medicine, demanding that new conditions which limit the entry of students into the school to those over twenty years of age be cancelled. As Adalah stressed, this restriction does not apply to students who wish to study before performing military service. This is a new requirement announced in a bulletin regarding registration at the university for the 2007-2008 academic year. 

Israel's right to be racist

Joseph Massad 15 March 2007


Israel’s struggle for peace is a sincere one. In fact, Israel desires to live at peace not only with its neighbours, but also and especially with its own Palestinian population, and with Palestinians whose lands its military occupies by force. Israel’s desire for peace is not only rhetorical but also substantive and deeply psychological. The only thing Israel has asked for, and continues to ask for in order to end the state of war with the Palestinians and its Arab neighbours, is that all recognise its right to be a racist state that discriminates by law against Palestinians and other Arabs and grants differential legal rights and privileges to its own Jewish citizens and to all other Jews anywhere.