In a few months, the International Court will conclude its deliberations on the wall that Israeli constructs on Palestinian land. It has long been claimed that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a political problem and that the solution is a political solution. However, what the Palestinians have been witnessing since 1967 is land grab and settlements expansion done through “legal” means, when in fact the law was always abused to satisfy Israel’s expansionist whims. Azem Bishara, a legal expert, argues that an advisory opinion will reverse that process with an authoritative statement on basic legal issues that have been long disputed by Israel. Read more about The Wall and the Court: Replacing Politics with Law
In one of the most intense periods of destruction since the start of the intifada, the Israeli military has demolished, or damaged beyond repair, 131 residential buildings in the Gaza Strip in the last ten days. The demolitions have made 1,100 people newly homeless, according to figures released today by UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. The destruction in the first 10 days of May brings the total number of people to lose their homes in the Gaza Strip to 17,594. Read more about 1,100 Palestinians made homeless in Gaza in 10 days of destruction
As at time of publication, Israeli forces killed 5 Palestinians, including 2 children, and injured at least 80 others, including 17 children, in al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the south of Gaza City. Israeli troops invaded the neighborhood early this morning. PCHR is concerned that the number of casualties will increase as heavy fighting is ongoing and there are restrictions on access for ambulances and medical staff to the area. Throughout the current Intifada, Israeli forces have conducted a large number of incursions into densely populated Palestinian areas, resulting in deaths and injuries to civilians and destruction to civilian property and infrastructure. Read more about 5 Palestinians Killed and 80 Injured during Israeli incursion into Gaza City
At a time when the Western world worries about weapons of mass destruction in terrorist hands, a more basic device has emerged as the weapon of choice - a life itself. This use of life as a weapon - now exercised mainly by Islamic youths - is frequently presented as the manifestation of Islamic fanaticism. But studies by serious scholars and recent surveys show that the spate of suicide attacks in the Middle East is linked more to politics than to religion. Riaz Hassan, a professor of sociology at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia, examines recent studies on the subject. Read more about Suicide bombers driven more by politics than religious fundamentalism
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon claims that his pullout from Gaza will end Israel’s responsibility for the Palestinian population. However, Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies pointed out that under international law the besieging power has the same responsibilities for the population it is besieging as an occupying power has for a population living under occupation. Bennis spoke at the Palestine Center on Monday April 26th, having just returned from a fact-finding mission to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Read more about Sharon's Plan: A Shift from Occupation to Siege
This week, Israeli forces killed 15 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 5 children. Five of the victims were killed in two extra-judicial assassinations. In Khan Yunis refugee camp, Israeli forces destroyed 94 homes. Israeli forces razed large areas of agricultural land in Gaza. Israeli forces raided homes and arrested dozens of Palestinians. Israeli forces continued to shell Palestinian residential areas. Israel continued to impose a total siege on Palestinian communities. Read more about Weekly report on human rights violations
On Tuesday morning, 4 May 2004, Israeli occupying forces killed 2 Palestinians, including a child, and injured 24 others, counting 2 children, in Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. They also completely destroyed 34 houses and partially destroyed 8 others. These attacks took place during a wide-scale Israeli military incursion into the camp. Israeli occupying forces, reinforced by heavy military vehicles and 3 helicopters, moved into al-Sad al-Aali area in Khan Yunis refugee camp. Under the cover of intense shelling, they began demolishing Palestinian homes. As a result 48 Palestinian families have become homeless again. Read more about Israeli forces kill two Palestinians and demolish 40 homes
On Tuesday, 5 May at 2.30pm, for the fourth time in as many weeks, an Israeli Army jeep pulled up to the Western Gate entrance of Birzeit University. Provoked by their presence, a couple of students began to throw stones at the jeep and the soldiers immediately fired back with rubber bullets. At the sound of the shots more students started to gather and throw stones and the jeep fired back rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd of students assembled. Three cars parked at the gate were damaged in the process. The jeep descended to the Eastern Gate where it continued to fire shots and tear gas from a distance at university buildings. Read more about Soldiers Fire Tear Gas and Rubber Bullets at Birzeit University
In a breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, article 33 of which prohibits collective punishment, on Sunday night the 2nd May 2004, Israeli forces demolished 15 Palestinian houses. The houses were located to the south of the “Kissufim” settler road in the center of the Gaza Strip. They also forced the occupants of 11 other houses to leave their premises. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights anticipates that these houses will also be demolished. Read more about Israeli forces demolish 15 homes in the Gaza Strip
On Sunday evening, 2 May, 2004, Israeli occupying forces extra-judicially executed 4 Palestinians in Nablus. The victims were members of Fatah movement, who were wanted by Israeli forces. This assassination was the 5th in 10 days. Since September 2000, Israeli forces executed 177 assassinations. This has lead to the death of 373 Palestinians: 228 targeted persons and 145 civilian bystanders. In the past 10 days, Israeli assassinations killed 14 Palestinians. Read more about Israeli forces assassinate four Palestinians in Nablus
