11 September 2008
On 9 September 2008, Israel informed European diplomats that it rejected the applications for permission to exit Gaza submitted by three human rights defenders, including two winners of human rights awards. The activists had applied for permits to take part in human rights events relevant to their work on human rights in Europe. Read more about Israel bans travel of human rights defenders
11 September 2008
On a hot afternoon during the month of Ramadan, there are few better places to be than resting beneath the shade of an orchard of guava trees, with the scent of fresh ripening fruit wafting around you. Farmer Sa’id al-Agha sits quietly, his eyes resting on his fruit trees. “My father and my grandfather both grew up here, farming guavas, and I’ve lived here all my life” he says. “This land is in my blood.” Read more about Harvesting with hope in Gaza
10 September 2008
In the past year Israel has escalated its policy of separating the Palestinian populations of the Gaza Strip and West Bank from each other. The separation regime tears families apart, puts thousands at risk of expulsion to the Gaza Strip and turns Palestinians into “illegal aliens” in their own home. This policy is revealed in a position paper published today (Wednesday 10 September) by human rights organizations HaMoked and B’Tselem. Read more about Israel imposes more severe permit regime
9 September 2008
EAST JERUSALEM (IPS) - The Israeli government is attempting to Judaize Palestinian East Jerusalem, and maintain a Jewish majority against the demographic threat of a higher Palestinian birth rate. To that end, the Israeli government is enforcing a number of policies aimed at establishing facts on the ground in order to limit the number of Palestinian residents in the city. Read more about Israel Moves to Judaize East Jerusalem
8 September 2008
During the last two days of August, the Egyptian authorities permitted approximately 3,300 people to cross the Gaza border at Rafah into Egypt “for humanitarian reasons.” The sight of more than 50 busloads of travelers heading out of Gaza may have given the impression that movement restrictions are finally easing inside the Gaza Strip. But almost 900 Gazans aboard the buses were turned back at the border. Read more about Deadline looms for another student trapped inside Gaza
2 September 2008
RAMALLAH/GAZA (IRIN) - Strikes in state schools and the health sector are plaguing the Gaza Strip, causing turmoil and reminding all that the rival Fatah and Hamas factions in Gaza are still far from working out their differences. According to international observers, the strikes at hospitals in Gaza, which started on 30 August, led to a significant section of the medical workforce staying away. Read more about "Political strikes" affect Gaza's health, education sectors
2 September 2008
The window through which Salam Amira, 16, filmed the moment when an Israeli soldier shot from close range a handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian detainee has a large hole at its center with cracks running in every direction. “Since my video was shown, the soldiers shoot at our house all the time,” she said. The shattered and cracked windows at the front of the building confirm her story. Jonathan Cook reports from Nilin. Read more about Nilin village continues to resist Israeli siege
1 September 2008
HEBRON (IRIN) - Violence by settlers perpetrated against Palestinians has been on the rise in recent weeks in Hebron and the surrounding areas, residents and international observers said. “These areas are hot spots for violence and are priority areas for us,” said Matteo Benatti, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s delegation in the city. Read more about Settler violence against Palestinians on the rise
29 August 2008
Dozens of Palestinians have been arrested on political grounds by security services of the two Palestinian governments in Gaza and Ramallah. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) calls upon the two governments to stop political arrests which are prohibited under the Palestinian Basic Law and a Palestinian High Court of Justice ruling, and to release all detainees who have been arrested in this context. Read more about Rights org calls for an end to political arrests
29 August 2008
RAMALLAH (IRIN) - If the Israeli Ministry of Finance manages to push through some reforms as part of the proposed 2009 budget, there may soon be almost no Palestinian workers in Israel’s construction sector. “We are supporting a plan where the idea is to increase the number of Israelis in the workforce,” an official at the Ministry of Finance told IRIN on condition of anonymity. Read more about Israel's new "wet jobs" plan