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From Hamra to Dahye

Samia A. Halaby Beirut, Lebanon 4 December 2006


Tonight I caught a tiny glimpse of the anger that the masses might express here in Lebanon. Tonight’s confluence of national forces in the main squares of downtown Beirut were complemented by spontaneous action in the neighborhoods. Gift in hand, a great dinner invitation from a host and hostess who live in Dahye, and looking foreward to a wonderful home cooked meal, I found myself in a taxi with a driver patiently, and kindly doing his utmost to maneuver the side streets of various neighborhoods to avoid a huge demonstration on one of the main highways between Dahye and downtown. Suddenly he pulled a political photo from under a pile of papers on the dash board and placed it on top, face-up, as we passed small cliques of men and teenagers, some holding wooden sticks as weapons. 

Children of the Second Intifada

Yassmin A. Moor Fairfax 3 December 2006


An article was recently published reporting the shooting of two children inside a United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) school in one of Gaza’s refugee camps. Ahmed, a seven-year-old, was seated at his desk when a bullet penetrated his head just as the school day began. Despite my best efforts, I have been unable to determine if he survived. I became afraid for my little cousin, Sharif, a first grader at one of UNRWA’s schools in Rafah. While reading about Ahmed, my mind immediately reeled to Sharif, whom I had just spoken to on the phone a day earlier. He is always a highlight of my day. 

Ali Abunimah speaks about 'One Country' on CounterSpin

1 December 2006


This week on CounterSpin: Politicians and pundits tend to agree that solving the Israel-Palestine conflict would go a long way towards achieving peace in the broader Middle East. But that’s more or less where the agreement ends. A new book by activist and frequent CounterSpin guest Ali Abunimah suggests a new path, one that is almost never discussed in the mainstream media. He will join us to talk about his new book One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. 

When prime ministers sound like Borat and the press lets it pass

Michael F. Brown 1 December 2006


At least twice in the past three weeks American journalists have neglected to ask hard questions of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Softball questions failed to pin down the prime minister on credible allegations of war crimes and human rights violations carried out in recent months by Israeli military forces. The Washington Post of Sunday, Nov. 12 published a Lally Weymouth interview with Olmert. Weymouth is infamous for never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity when it comes to tough questioning of an Israeli leader. This time proved no different. 

Nonviolent Resistance is not Illegal: Human Rights Watch Should Retract Statement

1 December 2006


On Sunday, Nov. 19, hundreds of Palestinian civilians crowded into the building where the family of Mohammed Baroud and a number of other families live in Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Israeli military forces had warned that the building would be attacked. The planned Israeli attack was deterred by this action. Two hours later, the scene was replicated at the family home of Mohammed Nawajeh, with the same results. The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) applauds the people of Jabalya for their courageous and effective use of nonviolent resistance, and we express our full solidarity with their actions, which are positive initiatives in the struggle to defend Palestinian rights. 

Film Review: "Visit Palestine" and gain an insider's view

Maymanah Farhat 1 December 2006


Katie Barlow’s documentary Visit Palestine was one of the most riveting films to be featured in this year’s Chicago Palestine Film Festival. In the film Barlow follows Irish human rights activist Caoimhe (pronounced Cueeva) Butterly during her stay in Jenin refugee camp in 2002. Among her extensive involvement in the Jenin community, Butterly worked with local volunteers shortly after the 2002 massacre, unearthing the bodies of over sixty civilians who had been killed in the incursion. Butterly’s willingness to risk her own safety to intervene in and witness the ongoing assault on Palestinian civilian life gained her the respect and trust of Jenin residents, as she was welcomed into the homes of several families. 

Call upon Hillary Clinton to cancel meeting with Lieberman

Howard Horowitz and Andrew Courtney 1 December 2006


We your constituents respectfully and forcefully request that you cancel your upcoming meeting with Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s newly appointed Minister of Strategic Threats. Please cancel the meeting publicly as a matter of principle that is in the best interests and ideals of the United States of America. As a champion of democracy and human rights, you cannot possibly know about the policies and positions of Mr. Lieberman and his Yisroel Beitenu political party, and still be intending to meet with him. In a recent editorial about his appointment, Haaretz, Israel’s newspaper of record wrote, “…the choice of the most unrestrained and irresponsible man around for this job constitutes a strategic threat in its own right …” 

Weekly report of human rights violations

1 December 2006


During the reported period, IOF killed 14 Palestinians, 7 of whom are civilians, including a woman and a child. An eighth civilians died from a previous wound. In addition, IOF wounded 49 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 19 children, a woman and an old man. In the Gaza Strip, IOF killed 7 Palestinians, including 4 civilians (one of them is a child), during military operations in the northern Gaza Strip. On 23 November 2006, IOF extra-judicially executed 3 Palestinian resistance activists in the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya. On the same day, a Palestinian civilians died from a previous wound he had sustained in the northern Gaza Strip. 

On International Day of Solidarity, PLO leader Farouk Qaddumi addresses General Assembly

30 November 2006


It was time to hold an international conference on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and to implement practical measures to end the occupation in a process that had, so far, been stalled because no real pressure had been exerted on Israel to implement its side of the agreements, the Head of the Political Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization said today, as debate began in the General Assembly on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East. The 2003 Road Map remained the internationally recognized path to peace on the question, Farouk Kaddoumi said, but it had been flawed from the start by the 14 reservations insisted upon by Israel, followed by the five guarantees given to Israel by the United States in 2004. 

Lawsuit against Israel considered by foreign nationals denied entry

28 November 2006


Hundreds of foreign nationals packed into the Al-Bireh Municipality Hall to listen to legal experts explain the options available to them in light of Israel’s refusal to permit foreign nationals access to the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). The audience was full of families with children, fearful that they will be forced to separate within days. Hundreds of foreign nationals packed into the Al-Bireh Municipality Hall to listen to legal experts explain the options available to them in light of Israel’s refusal to permit foreign nationals access to the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). The audience was full of families with children, fearful that they will be forced to separate within days.