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The Anatomy of a Beautiful Soul

Raymond Deane 9 November 2006



The highlight of the Rabin Memorial ceremony in Tel Aviv on 4 November last was, by common consent, David Grossman’s speech directed rhetorically to Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert. This text has already done the rounds of the world’s liberal media, and there is general agreement that it represents Israeli pacifist humanism at its very best. Of Israeli literature’s “three wise men”, Grossman is the one who universally gleans most respect. Amoz Oz’s reputation survives outside Israel primarily because the repentant Germans dutifully worship at his shrine. A. B. Yehoshua put his foot in it once too often when in a Ha’aretz interview he prescribed the use of “full force against the entire population” of Gaza. 

Al-Haq to UN General Assembly: Problems with the Proposed Register of Damage

8 November 2006



Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights organisation in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the UN, would like to draw the attention of the UN General Assembly to severe shortcomings in the Register of Damage, as proposed in a report of the UN Secretary-General of 17 October 2006, for the Wall that is being illegally constructed by Israel inside the occupied West Bank. Attached you will find a copy of a brief on this issue. Al-Haq believes that the proposed framework for the Register of Damage has not fully taken into account the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on the Wall, and has grave concerns. 

Al-Haq: Call for Action by the European Union Presidency

8 November 2006



As a Palestinian organisation dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights, Al-Haq wishes to express its appreciation of Finland’s recent expression of concern about the worsening humanitarian, economic financial and situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). While grateful for such statements and support, Al-Haq urges Finland to take more concrete steps to bring about an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories and ensure that Israel respect its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law. 

Stand up and Stop the Massacres in Palestine!

8 November 2006



Palestine mourns yet another 23 martyrs killed during the night. Massacres in Palestine far from over while the world continues to maintain silence. Last night, Occupation Forces attacked the people of Beit Hanoun in their sleep, shelling indiscriminately at houses, killing 18 Palestinians and leaving many more injured, most of them women and children. It comes just 24 hours after Occupation Forces had ended another invasion which led to the killings of over 50 people in the Gaza strip and almost 200 injured.
In Beit Hanoun, two doctors were killed as ambulances were sent to treat those injured during the invasion. People were left bleeding to death as Palestinians were prevented from reaching hospitals. 

UN officials voice 'shock and dismay' at deadly Israeli shelling of Gaza civilians

8 November 2006



United Nations officials voiced shock and dismay at Israel’s shelling of a residential area in the occupied Gaza Strip in which 18 Palestinian civilians were killed, including eight children and seven women, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan calling on the Israeli Government to cease its military operations there forthwith. In a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr. Annan took note of the reported announcement by Israel of a full investigation and said he looked forward to its early results. He also called on the Palestinians to halt attacks against Israeli targets. The Security Council President for November, Ambassador Jorge Voto-Bernales of Peru, summoned the 15-member body for urgent consultations on the situation, including today’s shelling of the residential area in Beit Hanoun. 

Secretary-General calls on Israeli government to cease its military operations in Gaza

8 November 2006



The Secretary-General was shocked to learn about the Israeli military operation carried out early today in a residential area in Beit Hanoun, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 18 Palestinians, including eight children and seven women. He extends his condolences to the bereaved families of the victims. Only last Friday, the Secretary-General expressed his deep concern about the rising death toll caused by the Israeli military operation in northern Gaza, given that such operations inevitably cause civilian casualties. The Secretary-General reminds both sides of their obligations under international humanitarian law regarding the protection of civilians in armed conflict. 

Academic Boycott: "We do not want to continue business as usual"

Birgit Althaler 8 November 2006



“We are willing to talk to any Israeli academic at any time about the boycott and the Israeli policies that have generated it. What we are not willing to do is to continue with ‘business as usual’. They need to see that not only complicity but also silence have their consequences.” Jonathan Rosenhead has been a member of the British Committee for Universities of Palestine for the past two years. He has been a member of staff at the London School of Economics since 1967 and Professor of Operational Research from 1987. Birgit Althaler speaks with him about recent developments in the academic boycott. 

No evidence of radioactive residue in Lebanon: post-conflict assessment

7 November 2006



The fieldwork of the post conflict environmental assessment of Lebanon has been completed by a team from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which carried out its work in Lebanon from 30 September to 21 October 2006. The experts covered the following disciplines; Asbestos; Contaminated land; Coastal and marine issues; Solid and hazardous waste management; Surface and ground water; Weapons and munitions. From these respective disciplines a wide range of samples were transported to three independent and recognized laboratories in Europe for tests. 

Massacre in Beit Hanoun

Yousef Alhelou Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip 8 November 2006



One day after the Israel army declared that it had pulled out and completed Operation Autumn Clouds in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, 24 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and the West Bank, 19 people were killed and at least 45 were injured as a large number of shells were fired at the town. Another five Palestinians were killed in Jenin, northern West Bank by Israeli army fire. The series of incidents began at 6 a.m., when eyewitness said that dozens of tank shells and missiles landed simultaneously in a small and limited area in Beit Hanoun. Ambulances found it difficult to evacuate the wounded. 

UNRWA strongly condemns Israeli military operations in Beit Hanoun

8 November 2006



UNRWA’s Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd expressed shock and dismay at the killing of yet more Palestine refugees, many of them women and children, in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun this morning. A barrage of tank shells hit civilian homes in Beit Hanoun early Wednesday morning, causing 19 fatalities and leaving more than 60 people injured. The Al-Athamneh family lost 17 members including four women, five children and two infants, one of them two years old, the other 9 months old. The Al-Athamneh family are Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate. “This morning’s tragedy is yet more evidence, if any were needed, that this futile cycle of inhuman violence must end,” Karen AbuZayd said.