Thousands of road signs are the latest front in Israel’s battle to erase Arab heritage from much of the Holy Land. Israel Katz, the transport minister, announced this week that signs on all major roads in Israel, East Jerusalem and possibly parts of the West Bank would be “standardized,” converting English and Arabic place names into straight transliterations of the Hebrew name. Jonathan Cook reports. Read more about Israel's plan to wipe Arabic names off the map
GAZACITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - With unemployment rates at 50 percent in Gaza, and 80 percent of Gazan Palestinians dependent on food aid hand-outs, it’s no wonder that al-Jerjowi’s business isn’t booming. After the three weeks of the Israeli air, land and sea bombardment which killed over 1,400 people, Gaza’s agricultural sector is devastated, and that includes the beef farmers. Read more about Imposing malnutrition on Gaza
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) has been denied access to clients detained by the Internal Security Service (ISS) of the Government in Gaza. PCHR affirm that such measures violate Palestinian law and relevant international standards, including the detainees’ right to have access to legal counsel. PCHR is further concerned that access restrictions may be motivated by the desire to hide illegal practices against detainees, including torture and other forms of cruel treatment. Read more about Rights group demands access to Palestinian prisoners in Gaza
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - The Israeli Foreign Ministry’s concern over an “unusually harsh statement” by the European Commission over Israel’s settlement policy indicates a growing unease between Israel and the EU. The European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the EU, said that Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank was strangling the Palestinian economy and forcing Palestinians there to become more dependent on foreign aid. Read more about Israel and EU clash over settlements
HeidelbergCement, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of building materials, is reportedly trying to sell its Israeli investments as it has become the target of legal action because of its activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Adri Nieuwhof reports for EI that the move comes amid growing pressure by the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement on transnational companies profiting from Israeli occupation. Read more about HeidelbergCement tries to sell West Bank mines as legal, boycott pressures grow
Fawzieh al-Kurd, 57, clad in black, spends her days on a promontory overlooking Tomb of Simon the Righteous in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Enduring the cold of winter and the summer’s blazing sun, she relates her family’s tragic story to visitors from around the world with dignity and resolve. Marcey Gayer writes from occupied East Jerusalem. Read more about Sheikh Jarrah residents refuse to be displaced
Mahmoud Abu al-Anzain and his wife, Umm Naim, and their three children used to live in a two-room, cement-roofed house. It wasn’t a palace, but it was a home. The house was completely destroyed by Israeli army fire during last January’s assault on the Gaza Strip. Six months later, the family is among those still living in tents. Rami Almeghari reports for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Six months later, no reconstruction in Gaza
Israel’s housing minister called for strict segregation between the country’s Jewish and Arab populations last week as he unveiled plans to move large numbers of fundamentalist religious Jews to Israel’s north to prevent what he described as an “Arab takeover” of the region. Jonathan Cook reports. Read more about Minister calls for Jewish takeover of Palestinian areas in Israel
Fadi looked up and pointed at the rain. “This is like our life. We hate the rain. But we can’t change it so we will stay under it.” This rain appeared all the more invasive when picking lemons in winter. It is a cold, wet and miserable task, for the equivalent of $7 a day. A task only perceived to be fit for Palestinians in Lebanon. Despite Fadi’s postgraduate qualification in accounting and fluency in English, he rightly pointed out that “I can’t be a lawyer, I can’t be a doctor … Seventy-two jobs I can’t do.” Mary Pole writes from the al-Buss refugee camp. Read more about The dream of returning home
“At 5:30 PM an Israeli shell landed on my brother’s house,” the father told visitors who had come to offer condolences for his daughter at the family’s home on Friday. The shell injured a nephew and Salim Abu Ayish rushed to render aid. The Electronic Intifada correspondent Rami Almeghari reports from the occupied Gaza Strip. Read more about Hiyam, a Gaza teenager killed as she offered aid
