On Thursday afternoon, Annet, Nadia and I drove up to the village of al-Khader. A demonstration was planned to remove an Israeli blockade made out of rocks and the remainder of an old-bus, blocking the main road leading south. Like hundreds of villages in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the village of al-Khader, located on the outskirts of Bethlehem on the way to Hebron, has been sealed off by the Israeli occupation forces. Read more about 'Foreigners' in their own land
When we stepped out of our appartment, we saw our neighbours and their children dressed in the new clothes that they could afford to buy to celebrate this year’s end of Ramadan. It’s the first day of Eid al-Fitr, the “feast of fast-breaking”, marking the end of the holy month, during which Muslims fast and reflect on self-discipline and compassion. Although the sun shines, the blue sky does not speak of the difficult times Palestinians have to endure. Read more about Interactive Holiday
The wheel chairs took place at the front line. Wheel chairs carrying previously butchered victims of the Israeli brutality in the long occupation years. Angry protestors strolled along trying to control their anger by shouting loudly and screaming revenge at the continuing Israeli aggressions against Palestinians. The victim this time is Nazih Darwazeh. A cameraman working with Palestine TV and freelancing for Associated Press. Read more about Attempting to murder the truth
“At about 5pm, we received a call from a Palestinian journalist friend of ours with information that bulldozers were working in the Tel Zorob area, the western-most refugee camp next to the Egyptian border. We were actually in the middle of a meeting, so within minutes all eleven of us were geared up and out the door. Five English, two Scottish, two Americans, and two Italians piled into a large taxi and headed to the scene.” Joseph Smith, a member of the International Solidarity Movement, based in Rafah, Gaza writes about the first major ISM action against bulldozers since his friend Rachel Corrie was killed on 16 March 2003. Read more about First major ISM anti-bulldozer action since Rachel Corrie killing
International Womens Peace ServiceMas'ha, Palestine7 April 2003
If you’ve ever sat in springtime in an olive grove, enjoying the shade of the trees and the scent of the fresh earth, perhaps you will understand what land can mean to people who depend on it. Go just once to Mas’ha, Bidya, Sanniria or one of the dozens of Palestinian villages that are losing most of their land to the Israeli Apartheid Wall and you will get an idea of what kind of pain Palestinians feel at this theft and destruction. Read more about What about the apartheid wall?
My friend’s shop is in the old city. Because there is curfew everyday, he has been unable to get there. Recently, his shop, along with nineteen others, was welded shut by the Israeli army. Read more about The Shopkeeper
“Early last evening I was on the phone to a friend in the US, when gunfire erupted nearby. It was loud enough that my friend on the other end of the line could hear it. A few seconds later another loud round went off. Moments later I could hear the sound of an ambulance approaching.” Rev. Sandra Olewine writes from Bethlehem. Read more about As war rages to the east of us, we continue to bury the dead here
At 3am the Israeli military invaded the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun with Apache helicopters and tanks. The bulldozers demolished 100s of trees, further desecrating the land. If one were not watching this happen, it might be easy to arrive here next year and truly believe that this was a land without a people. The Israeli military has destroyed thousands of dunams of orange and olive trees, shrubs, grass, and life. The US donated helicopters fired missiles into the Beit Hanoun Palestinian National Security building, killing two men who were at work. Kristen Ess writes from Gaza. Read more about Myriad forms of ethnic cleansing
Living under the Israeli occupation has led one Palestinian women to a life of fear and depression. As Israeli troops continue to make it impossible for her to live a normal life, she summons the courage to write a letter to her friends in Vermont. Reema Abu Hamdieh writes from Ramallah. Read more about 'I just want a moment of peace'
Kathleen and Bill ChristisonRamallah, Palestine23 March 2003
Hanan Ashrawi tells us bluntly that the principal aim of Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and his right-wing, Zionist fundamentalist government is to make sure that no Palestinian state ever exists as a viable entity. Their goal, she says, “is not just dismantling the infrastructure, the structures of Palestinian statehood, but dismantling an identity: not just preventing formation of a viable Palestinian state but eliminating a nation and a people.” The message that Ashrawi sees is clear wherever you go in the occupied West Bank. Bill and Kathleen Christison write from Ramallah. Read more about Palestinians: long-term hopefulness still dominates
