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Palestinians unite for freedom from occupation and the right of return

20 April 2007


Commemorations of the 59th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba in May, followed by the 40th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in June, and the ongoing struggle against the Apartheid Wall and Palestinian displacement from the occupied city of Jerusalem result in a surge of activity and events. Palestinian civil society networks and political organization and movements from the 1967 occupied Palestinian territories and Israel have agreed to combine forces for effective coordination and maximum impact. The establishment of a national coordination committee was announced in the Palestinian press on 19 April. 

Film Review: "It's Not a Gun"

Maureen Clare Murphy 20 April 2007


What role can music play in confronting the Israeli occupation? This is the question posed yet not definitively answered in Helena Cotinier and Pierre-Nicolas Durand’s documentary It’s Not a Gun, which follows Palestinian musician Ramzi Aburedwan as he realizes his dream of establishing a music education school in Palestine as part of his al-Kamandjati (meaning “the violinist”) project. Ramzi, who grew up in Ramallah’s Al-Amari refugee camp, says, “I spent my whole childhood during the first intifada throwing stones. And then, by chance, I had the [opportunity] to play music.” 

Bombing of American school: Gaza's latest nightmare

Rami Almeghari Gaza Strip, Palestine 21 April 2007


The building in which the American International School in Gaza is situated is no longer beautiful. The damage can be seen in many corners of the school — in the front door, in the director’s office, in the cafeteria or in the computer room. “We have become Iraq,” a dusty man said while bending down on the floor, trying to clear away the debris from an explosion that rocked the school early Saturday morning. The principal’s office only contains torn apart chairs and shelves, with black big spots on the walls; the cafeteria’s chairs are now black, while the computer room is no longer hi-tech. 

Building Economic Independence in Palestine

Sam Bahour 20 April 2007


The following is a speech given by Sam Bahour at the Second Annual Conference on Non-Violent Popular Resistance in the Palestinian village of Bil’in. “Israel is making sure land is not sufficient for daily life, let alone economic independence. The hand of occupation controls the lands we can cultivate and the destiny of the trees that we plant. We are forced to buy our water from the Israeli water company, paying more than Israelis buying from the same source but using less per capita.” 

Restrictions threaten Gaza fishermen's livelihoods

19 April 2007


While Palestinian fishermen have recently been allowed to resume some fishing activities in the Gaza Strip’s coastal waters following a near total ban since June 2006, restrictions on where they can fish continue to undermine the industry. More than 40,000 Gazans depend on the fishing industry as their primary source of income. However, they have become progressively impoverished in the last six years, requiring assistance. The World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and other humanitarian agencies now provide food and support job creation for the fishing families. 

Weekly Report on Human Rights Violations

19 April 2007


Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting period (12 - 18 April 2007): The IOF extra-judicially executed a Palestinian activist in Jenin after having arrested him. IOF destroyed a Palestinian house in Qalqilya in the context of collective punishment. Six Palestinian civilians (two women, three children and a mentally disabled man) were wounded by IOF gunfire. IOF conducted 33 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. 

Video: Ali Abunimah defends right of return at Doha Debates

19 April 2007


The Palestinian right of return was overwhelmingly supported at the latest Doha Debate on March 28. The debate was broadcast on BBC World on April 14 and 15. The issue is seen by many as the most intractable barrier to a Middle East peace settlement. The vote came as Arab League ministers discussed the topic at a meeting in Saudi Arabia. A final draft resolution called for a “just solution” to the problem but avoided any mention of the phrase “right of return.” 

Interview: Azmi Bishara

20 September 2006


Azmi Bashara was born in Nazareth to Christian parents. He is a Palestinian and a citizen of Israel. He represents Israel’s Palestinian minority in the Knesset. Bishara studies at Humboldt University in Germany, is head of the philosophy department at Bir Zeit University, and is senior researcher at the Van-Leer Institute in Jerusalem. He was one of the founders of the National Democratic Assembly, or Balad. He describes himself as a humanist, a democrat, a liberal, and a neo-nasserite. In this interview Bishara examines turning Israel into a state of all of its citizens, opposing the institutionalized inequality that exists now between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel. 

Mounting garbage and frustration in Gaza

Rami Almeghari Gaza Strip, Palestine 19 April 2007


Mountains of garbage, billowing smoke, have been concentrated across the streets of Gaza the past few days. However, the uncollected garbage heaps are not cannot be attributed to a lack of municipalities or labor force in the coastal region. One third of the 1.4 million-strong Gaza population is in the labor force that may be more aptly described as an “idle” labor force, and there are 25 municipalities tasked with sanitation. Also, there are high-tech electricity, water and telecommunications networks in the Gaza Strip, believed to be the most advanced in the region. 

The Perils of Pragmatism

Remi Kanazi 18 April 2007


The latest back and forth between Israel and the Palestinian unity government (and its regional interlocutors) will not bring peace to fruition. Many respected commentators in the Middle East have accused Israel of rejecting peace, primarily due to its refusal to fully embrace the Arab peace initiative. Yet this initiative, when entered into the international community’s trash compactor of “pragmatism,” will leave the Palestinian people with nothing more than an old, albeit neatly packaged, version of the Oslo Accords.