The current turmoil in the Palestinian Authority should prompt reforms, United Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today, spelling out measures that could serve to foster progress. “I really hope that as difficult and as complicated as the crisis is in Palestine that they will exploit this crisis positively and move ahead and really come out with some of the reform structures which are required, particularly in the security area,” he told reporters at a news conference in New York. Specifically, Mr. Annan called for consolidating the security structures, empowering the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior to “really take charge” and undertaking other reforms related to the Cabinet. Read more about Palestinian Authority should tackle crisis through reform, Annan says
An EU-funded study at the University of Oxford will assess how Palestinian refugee communities living in exile in the Middle East, Europe, and further afield can build civic structures to enable better communication with their political leadership and national representatives. The project, entitled Civitas, will run over the next 18 months, and will establish the precise types of mechanisms needed by Palestinian refugees outside the West Bank and Gaza in order that they might participate effectively, and contribute democractically, to the shaping of their future. Read more about Creating civic structures for Palestinian refugees in exile
The United Nations General Assembly today discussed measures to end Israel’s construction of a separation barrier in and around the West Bank after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared it to be illegal. The Assembly met in a resumption of its tenth emergency special session on illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory following a request of the Arab Group. Last week the ICJ issued an advisory opinion saying the separation barrier was illegal and that construction must stop immediately. The Court also said Israel should make reparations for any damage caused, and that the Assembly and the Security Council should consider what steps to take “to bring to an end the illegal situation” created by the situation. Read more about General Assembly debates measures after ICJ's ruling on the wall
Last Friday, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s wall through the West Bank is a violation of international law, I stood with other Palestinian women in the olive groves of the village of Az Zawiya, protesting the destruction of our land. Throughout the West Bank, thousands of Palestinian women are peacefully protesting against the wall that the Israeli government claims aims to protect its citizens against terrorism. Palestinian women are deeply rooted in their land, and work hard to support our families. Women suffer greatly when families lose their land, often the primary source of income. We raise olive trees as if they are our children. When we lose them, we grieve deeply. Fatima Khaldi writes from Az Zawiya in the Salfit region. Read more about Women Against the Wall
On 30 June 2004, the Government of Israel revised the route of the West Bank Barrier and published a map on its seam zone website. The previous map was released on 23 October 2003. In June 2002, the Government of Israel began construction of the Barrier following several suicide bombings and attacks by Palestinian militants on Israeli citizens. It maintains that the Barrier is a temporary structure to physically separate the West Bank from Israel to prevent such attacks on Israeli citizens. Once completed, the Barrier will be 622 km long. Approximately 185 km of the Barrier has already been constructed. This section consists of a combination of ditches, trenches, roads, razor wire, electronic fences and concrete walls. Read more about Humanitarian Implications of Latest Wall Projections
The Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People welcomes the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on 9 July 2004 which states that the construction of the wall being built by Israel, the occupying Power, in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem and its associated regime are contrary to international law. It found that the construction of the wall severely impeded the exercise by the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination. Read more about Bureau of Palestinian Rights Committee welcomes advisory opinion by International Court of Justice
If the proposed Israeli withdrawal from Gaza were implemented in the right way, it would open up an unprecedented opportunity for progress towards peace, Terje Roed-Larsen, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General, told the Security Council this morning. There had been no tangible progress related to the parties’ implementation of their commitments under the Road Map, he stated. There were only two options: “Either we act, all the time, patiently and tirelessly, trying to find a way out of this conflict. Or we sit and watch as more people bleed. The choice is for each of us to make.” Read more about UN Envoy: Palestinian Authority's paralysis has become abundantly clear
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Palestinian Authority today signed a land agreement that will allow the United Nations agencies to build replacement homes in Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
The agreement will see the PA donate 430 dunums of land in Rafah to a project to rebuild homes for some of the more than 15,000 people whose homes in Rafah have been demolished by the Israeli military since the start of the current intifada. Read more about UNRWA, UNDP and the Palestinian Authority sign land agreement to rebuild homes in Rafah
Oxfam International today welcomes the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling on Israel’s separation barrier as a key step towards improving the protection of civilians and enhancing prospects for peace. The ICJ ruling says that the separation barrier violates international humanitarian law. Oxfam recommends that the construction of the barrier should stop and that sections inside the West Bank be dismantled and removed. Oxfam director Jeremy Hobbs says: “Today’s ruling is a step in the right direction but the international community must take further action now. We are urgently calling for the protection of civilians. Read more about Aid agency welcomes ICJ ruling on Israel's separation barrier
As the International Court of Justice issued its ruling on Israel�s Separation Barrier, the Global IDP Project of the Norwegian Refugee Council warned in a report released today that the construction of the Barrier could lead to the additional displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians. �There are serious concerns that large numbers of Palestinians will be forced to leave their homes should the construction of the Barrier continue along the route originally envisaged by the Israeli government�, said Bjarte Vandvik, the acting Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Read more about Israel�s Separation Barrier could displace tens of thousands of Palestinians
