The Palestinian nongovernmental organization Addameer was founded in 1992 to promote and protect the rights of political prisoners. The Electronic Intifada interviewed Sahar Francis, a human rights lawyer and the director of Addameer, about the recent repression wave targeting Palestinian human rights activists protesting Israel’s wall in the occupied West Bank. Read more about Imprisonment as political pressure: Addameer's Sahar Francis interviewed
Fathiya Abu Jbara lost her husband and two sons in an Israeli air strike on the family home during Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip last winter. The Electronic Intifada correspondent Rami Almeghari reported on the strike a few days after the attack and one year later, visits the family again to see how they are coping. Read more about A year after losing a father and sons, a Gaza family copes
Approximately one year ago, Israel unleashed its assault on the Gaza Strip — amidst its ongoing siege and occupation — killing more than 1,400 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis were killed during the attacks, most of them soldiers. The attacks sparked mass demonstrations around the world in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The following images are from around the one year anniversary, when many groups around the world again led demonstrations to show their continued solidarity with Palestine. Read more about Photostory: Commemorating the assault on Gaza
Though I have lived most of my life in and around Chicago, it has never been my complete home. My sisters and I were born as first-generation Palestinian-Americans coming from Kuwait and for this reason our lives in Chicago always felt temporary — we were only supposed to stay until the Gulf War was over, we finished school, the occupation ended, the siege was broken, etc. The only accepted rhetoric about our presence in America was and continues to be, “This is not our home, we are from Gaza.” Dana Elborno writes from Cairo. Read more about Unbreakable in Cairo
Fatima Mohammed Yassin, 49, is a farmer from the Palestinian village of Bilin in the occupied West Bank. In spite of Israel’s occupation and construction of its wall in the West Bank, including on Bilin’s farm land, Yassin and her husband continue to work their land on a daily basis. Jody McIntyre spoke to her for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about "I hope that I die on my land"
While it was deeply disappointing for the nearly 1,400 delegates with the Gaza Freedom March who came from 43 countries that they could not physically be in Gaza today, this was a momentous and historic gathering of justice-loving people from every corner of the globe, united by their common desire to see Gaza free. On the eve of a new year, the crowd vowed to do everything in their power to make 2010 the year that the siege of Gaza is finally and forever broken. Sayed Dhansay reports from Cairo. Read more about Gaza Freedom March activists target Egypt's complicity
GAZACITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - For many survivors of the last Israeli war on Gaza, time has not healed their wounds, physical or emotional. Halil Amal Samouni, 10, still suffers vision problems in her right eye. The shrapnel remaining in her head causes her constant pain and she is unable to concentrate at school. Read more about New year in Gaza reopens wounds of old
With and the Egyptian government’s new underground wall and the closure of the Rafah crossing — Gaza’s sole exit to the outside world — Egypt’s complicity shines more than ever. The following are exclusive images of Egyptian authorities building the new underground wall on the border with Gaza. Read more about Photostory: Egypt further encaging Gaza
Jody McIntyre and Sema OnbusTulkarem refugee camp29 December 2009
My name is Sema Onbus. I am 37 years old, from Tulkarem refugee camp. My story starts when my brother was killed, on 6 September 2001, when an Apache [attack helicopter] dropped a bomb on him and his friends. It was the same day that my sister was due to get married, and he was on his way from Ramallah to visit the wedding when he was murdered. Read more about "I live today, but I am afraid of tomorrow"
On 31 December 2009, one year after Israel’s devastating attacks on the Gaza Strip, activists plan to converge for the Gaza Freedom March. An unprecedented effort, the march draws inspiration from South Africa’s struggle for liberation from apartheid and from Gandhi’s tactics during the campaign for India’s independence. The Electronic Intifada contributor Bianca Zammit recently interviewed the Gaza Freedom March Steering Committee member Dr. Haidar Eid about the effort. Read more about No justice, no peace: interview with activist Haidar Eid