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The trap of recognising Israel

Jonathan Cook 14 December 2006


The problem facing the Palestinian leadership, as they strive to bring the millions living in the occupied territories some small relief from their collective suffering, reduces to a matter of a few words. Like a naughty child who has only to say “sorry” to be released from his room, the Hamas government need only say “We recognise Israel” and supposedly aid and international goodwill will wash over the West Bank and Gaza. That, at least, was the gist of Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert’s recent speech during a visit to the Negev, when he suggested that his country’s hand was stretched out across the sands towards the starving masses of Gaza — if only Hamas would repent. “Recognise us and we are ready to talk about peace” was the implication. 

PCHR plans to respond to Israeli Supreme Court's ruling on the Civil Wrongs Law with cases and actions

14 December 2006


Today, 12 December 2006, the Israeli Supreme Court issued a decision invalidating amended article 5c of the Civil Wrongs (Liability of the State) Law that releases the State of Israel from all liability for compensation for any damages caused to Palestinians by Israeli Occupation Forces in areas designated as “conflict zones” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The decision came in response to a petition submitted in September 2005 by nine human rights organizations in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. However, the Supreme Court also decided not to strike down another provision (5b) of the law, which provides that Israel does not have to pay compensation for damages caused in military operations since September 2000, for “a citizen of an Enemy State” and “an activist or member of a Terrorist Organization.” 

Where do you go when the news makes you want to throw up your hands?

14 December 2006


Stand here on these streets and you will know this is a civil war.” So said CNN’s Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware to the network’s viewers on November 27. To illustrate his point, he read from a diary published on Electronic Iraq. Our award-winning websites, The Electronic Intifada, Electronic Iraq, and Electronic Lebanon bring the voices of those living through the most frightening and brutal events to a worldwide audience. We illuminate the cultural and social creativity and resistance through which people proclaim their dignity and pursue peace with justice. 

Where do you go when the news makes you want to throw up your hands?

14 December 2006


“Stand here on these streets and you will know this is a civil war.” So said CNN’s Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware to the network’s viewers on November 27. To illustrate his point, he read from a diary published on Electronic Iraq. Our award-winning websites, The Electronic Intifada, Electronic Iraq, and Electronic Lebanon bring the voices of those living through the most frightening and brutal events to a worldwide audience. We illuminate the cultural and social creativity and resistance through which people proclaim their dignity and pursue peace with justice. 

With the Palestine Medical Relief Society in Jenin

Bill Dienst Jenin 14 December 2006


I am here in the local Jenin district office of Palestine Medical Relief Society (PMRS) with Dr. Jameel Hamad, the district manager. The City of Jenin has a total population of about 50,000, of which 13,000 live in the Jenin refugee camp. The entire district of Jenin has 300,000 inhabitants. In terms of health care, the main provider of health services until recently has been the Ministry of Health under direction of the Palestinian Authority. It runs the main hospital in Jenin, as well as many primary health care centers in the city. Unfortunately, because of the Israeli/American/EU sanctions, which were the West’s reaction to a democratically elected Hamas majority in the Legislative Counsel, the PA’s health systems are falling apart. Many health care workers have been on strike, because they are not being paid. 

Bethlehem Welcomes Church Leaders' Visit

12 December 2006


The Catholic and Anglican bishops of Jerusalem have welcomed the announcement by UK church leaders of their pilgrimage to Bethlehem. The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Moderator of the Free Churches the Revd David Coffey, and the Primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian are to undertake a four-day visit to the Holy Land from the 20th-23rd December. The focal point of their visit will be a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The visit has also been welcomed by Open Bethlehem, which campaigns to keep the city open to the world at a time when the Israeli wall and land annexations are causing hardship for its inhabitants. 

Human Rights Updates on Security Chaos and Proliferation of Small Arms

Palestinian Center for Human Rights 13 December 2006


PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 7:40 on Wednesday, 13 December 2006, gunmen in two vehicles shot and killed Bassam Abdel Malek Abdel Salam El-Farra, a 32-year old resident of Khan Yunis. The victim worked as the Director of Family Counseling in Sharia Courts in the southern Gaza Strip. And he was a commander in Izzedeen El-Qassam Battalions, the armed wing of Hamas. The incident took place near the Bani Suhaila Sharia Court to the east of Khan Yunis. El-Farra was killed by several bullets to the head and chest. In another incident at approximately 19:00 on Tuesday, 12 December 2006, gunmen intercepted the vehicle of Ibrahim Jamil Mohammad Asabna (43-year old resident of Fahma village southeast of Jenin), who is a Hamas activist. 

Protest Israel's visa denial policy

5 December 2006


In March 2006, the Israeli government initiated a policy of visa denial to individuals of Palestinian descent having foreign passports, many of whom Israel has arbitrarily denied residency rights to in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Many of these persons have lived in the OPT for years without succeeding to obtain residency rights even though they made Palestine their primary residence and place of employment/business, married local Palestinians, and had children who were born in Palestine. These people have managed to stay in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by means of tourist visas issued by the Israeli government. 

Court overturns Israel's intifada law

13 December 2006


Israel’s Supreme Court has overturned a controversial Israeli law banning Palestinians from claiming compensation for harm suffered at the hands of soldiers. Citizens of “enemy states and members of terrorist organisations”, however, would not be permitted to file for compensation, according to the court’s ruling. Palestinians will also have to prove that the Israeli military operations in question did not take place as part of a clearly defined ‘war’. Hassan Jabareen, the general director of Adalah, a body championing Arab rights in Israel, said he expected more legal wrangling over what is and what is not a combat situation. “We foresee in the future another legal battle on the question of what is the scope of combat operations,” he said. 

UNICEF speaks to memory of boys killed in Gaza

Sabine Dolan 13 December 2006


The killing of three young brothers in Gaza City yesterday has shocked the Palestinian community across the political divide and exposed, once again, the plight of children living in the volatile region. “I am shocked by the tragic event,” stated UNICEF’s Special Representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Dan Rohrmann. “This is another event highlighting the serious deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory - and with tragic consequences for civilians, including children.” Masked gunmen shot at a car carrying the three boys, between the ages of four and nine, on their way to school. No one has claimed responsibility for the killings.