As a Palestinian political prisoner who has spent the past 20 years in Israeli jails I would like to highlight some of the general characteristics of the prisoners’ movement’s struggle to build a system of self and collective education as a central part of developing a patriotic and revolutionary culture that can be a pillar of the liberation movement. Khaled al-Azraq writes from Nafha prison. Read more about Israeli prisons as revolutionary universities
The end of November marked the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, a time to see family and friends and for people to eat together. But for many Palestinians, the Eid was not so festive. Rajaa Abu Rahmah, aged 19, only has one wish this holiday — to see her father Adeeb Abu Rahmah freed from prison. Jody McIntyre spoke to Rajaa to see how the family were coping during Eid al-Adha. Read more about Bilin teenager: "They arrested my father to discourage the struggle"
After years of land appropriation and harassing Palestinian villagers, Efrat settlers have decided that they want to acquire more of Um Salomona’s farmland separated from the village by the main road for a cemetery. Raed, a Palestinian resident of the village, owns the land targeted by the settlers. He knows all too well that without strong action (and quite possibly, even with strong action) it is likely that his land — like thousands of other acres of Palestinian land in the West Bank — will be seized by the settlement. Jo Ehrlich writes for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Any given Friday
Earlier this year, Khamis Fathi Abu Rahmah, 27, was shot in the head with a high-velocity tear gas canister while participating in a nonviolent demonstration against Israel’s wall in the occupied West Bank near the village of Bilin. Israeli soldiers used the same weapon a few months later and killed his cousin, Bassem Abu Rahme. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre spoke to Khamis Fathi Abu Rahmah about his life in Bilin. Read more about Interview: Bilin activist continues to struggle despite injury
Daoud Suleiman Ahmad, 48, an unemployed construction worker, has been unable to find work for almost three years due to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Life for Ahmad and his family in the al-Maghazi refugee camp has been desperately difficult, something that is particularly on his mind during the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday. Rami Almeghari reports from the occupied Gaza Strip. Read more about Eid al-Adha highlights a Gaza family's struggle to survive
Sarah Lazare and Clare BayardHebron, West Bank23 November 2009
The word “revenge” is scrawled in Hebrew on a Palestinian school in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The windows are covered with screens and the play yard obstructed with more screens tipped with barbed wire, to obstruct the stones regularly pelted down by Jewish settlers. Sarah Lazare and Clare Bayard write from Hebron, occupied West Bank. Read more about Hebron's architecture of occupation
Marryam HaleemBeit Hanoun, Gaza Strip16 November 2009
Ahmad’s first day of school was in 1991 during the first Palestinian intifada. Then six years old and living in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, Ahmad was a good student who enjoyed school. He worked hard and was always the first in his year. However, he was to have a different attitude towards education as frequent Israeli violence made completing his studies a struggle. Marryam Haleem writes from Beit Hanoun. Read more about Resisting through education
Tareq Abu Daya, owner of a popular souvenir shop in the heart of Gaza City, has recently offered his customers a new kuffiyeh, or traditional checkered scarf, on which the name of Judge Richard Goldstone is inscribed. “When the famous UN report of Judge Richard Goldstone was first made public, I thought of something that would be in honor of such a significant report that accuses Israel of war crimes against Gaza during the last war,” Abu Daya said. Rami Almeghari reports from the occupied Gaza Strip. Read more about Goldstone report met with muted enthusiasm in Gaza
Mohammed Ahmed Issa Yassen, 20, lives in the occupied West Bank village of Bilin, where he works in his family’s car garage business as a mechanic. He is also a student at the al-Quds Open University, but since he has joined the Israeli intelligence’s “wanted” list from the village, studying has been difficult. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre interviewed Mohammed about living under the constant threat of arrest. Read more about Interview: Living under constant fear of arrest
Azzam Salim used to be one of the leading construction contractors in the central Gaza Strip. Today, however, he spends most of his days idly chatting with other unemployed friends near a bank that he helped build several years ago. “As a human first and foremost, I need to live normally like before.” Rami Almeghari reports from the occupied Gaza Strip. Read more about Gazans not allowed to rebuild their lives
