Palestinian refugees in Lebanon look to Syria’s recent withdrawal from Lebanon, and their future, with anxiety and uncertainty. A week after Syrian military and intelligence units withdrew from their stronghold in Baalbak in the heart of the Beqaa Valley, there was little to indicate that they once controlled the streets of this sleepy town. Besides a few worn posters of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, change has come swiftly. Military checkpoints, once painted with the recognisable red and black of the Syrian flag, have been replaced with Lebanese cedars. Even a prominent sitting statue of the late Hafez al-Assad has been torn down and hauled back to Damascus. Read more about Palestinians in Lebanon fear for the future
Hidden away in a squalid Palestinian refugee camp is a historical treasure trove that keeps the dreams of many alive. In a corner of the Palestinian refugee camp of Mashook in southern Lebanon, 68-year-old Muhammad Dakwar shows the way into a dusky two-room gallery that he guards with his life. Inside, ragged pieces of traditional Palestinian garments hang on thin metal racks; decades-old clay pottery and copper plates are neatly arranged on shelves amid a melange of traditional Palestinian household items. Rustically preserved samples of Palestinian earth - soil, rocks, and olive tree branches - are displayed on poster boards, crudely taped and labelled according to city or village of origin. Read more about Safeguarding Palestine's past
Palestinians have observed the blackest day in their history with warnings that there will be no Middle East peace until they get independence and the plight of their refugees is solved. Millions of Palestinians at home and in the diaspora on Sunday commemorated the 57th anniversary of the Nakba (catastrophe). The term denotes the loss of Palestine to Zionism, the creation of Israel and the expulsion of most of the Palestinian people from their historical homeland. Sirens were sounded throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Palestinians were asked to stand silent for a minute in memory of the anniversary. Marches and rallies were organised throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, with speakers reasserting commitment to the right of return. Read more about Palestinians mark day of catastrophe
In Palestine, Brazilian football superstar Ronaldo is a hero. But the visit of the Real Madrid striker to Ramallah as a good-will ambassador for the UN Development Programme is likely to bring only temporary cheer. The aim of Monday’s visit was to highlight poverty and to foster a positive atmosphere in an area ravaged by occupation and violence. Ronaldo made a number of appearances in Ramallah and its twin city, al-Bira, accompanied by Palestinian Authority Minister for Social Affairs Hasan Abu Libdeh. He inaugurated the Ronaldo Centre for disadvantaged children and school drop-outs below the age of 15. He briefly met Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei in the latter’s office where he autographed footballs. Read more about Ronaldo hears of occupation woes
In early March, the Electronic Intifada published a story about Ali Zbeidat and his family, Palestinian citizens of Israel whose home in the village of Sakhnin in the Galilee is threatened with demolition by a Jewish regional council called Misgav. For a decade Misgav has been seeking to prevent Ali, his Dutch wife Terese and their two teenage daughters, Dina and Awda, from living on land that has belonged to his family for decades. EI publishes for the first time some of the long-running correspondence between Misgav and Sakhnin which uncover a campaign of misinformation by Misgav to conceal from public view the apartheid land policies they enforce inside Israel. Read more about EI EXCLUSIVE: "Not prepared to concede one metre": Apartheid in the Galilee
“I was 17-year-old when I was arrested, I spent four years and a half in Israeli prisons, on the charge of fighting Israeli occupation. Through making keys, I feel as I am still fighting for my rights.” He said that his “biggest dream” is to return to his grandfather’s house. “I hope the UN resolution 194 will be implemented, to be able to return to our home and to be a warded compensation for tens of years living as a refugee.” Nasser Flaifel tells about his own way of commemorating the 57th anniversary of Nakba, his adherence to the right of return, and how he makes keys to remind us and the world that Palestinians will never forget their right to return. Read more about "Key of Return", a Marriage Gift in Gaza
What was planned as a demonstration became a direct action against the Israeli occupation: Hundreds of villagers and activists from Israel and abroad opened the main street from Nablus to Asira ash-Shamaliya, which has been blocked for many years. After the outbreak of the second Intifada the Israeli Occupation Forces blocked the main street leading from Nablus to the nearby village of Asira. This street connected more than 10’000 people from this town as well as villagers from Talluza, Far’a, Yasid etc. with Nablus. Besides that, this passage – also called “Saba’atash” (“17”) – is part of the route to the bigger towns in the north, Tubas and Jenin. Read more about Villagers Open Main Street Near Nablus
“[This] systematic analysis of the entire Israeli legal system as it relates to housing, land and property rights of Palestinians very clearly shows that there was every intent to dispossess Palestinians of their land over the past six decades. This was a systematic attempt, a very intentional outcome, and one that ultimately makes the proposed two-state solution a physical and practical impossibility.”Palestine Report Online interviews Scott Leckie, Executive Director of COHRE, the Geneva-based Center on Housing Rights and Evictions, about the human rights group’s conclusions, drawn from a new study entitled “Ruling Palestine: A History of the Legally Sanctioned Jewish/Israeli Seizure of Land and Housing in Palestine”, that a two-state solution is no longer viable. Read more about Ruling Palestine: An interview with COHRE's Scott Leckie
In a time of empty talk of peace and celebrating Ariel Sharon as a man of moderate politics, because of extremists’ protest against evacuation from Gaza, the situation on the ground in Palestine sees remarkably little change. Everyday life in the occupied territories is as always a continuous chaos of military interference. One of the most obvious and constantly present exponents is the Israeli grip on Palestinian freedom of movement, suffocating the fragile infrastructure. “I’m here to protect my country against terrorists,” the young man tells me shrugging as if he is not completely confident with his answer. Read more about Checkpoint of No Return
The Palestinian body politic is alive and united on a variety of central concerns, and has not been fragmented or destroyed in spite of more than 10 years of concerted attempts to do so. At this very moment Palestinians from all walks of life have been gathering together in large and small meetings to discuss the issues that concern them, in open debate. They choose the things they wish to speak about, and raise the issues that concern them. They discuss how to advance their rights - and there are certainly a multitude of them - legal, economic, civic, political, and social. Read more about Democracy and Rights are also for Palestinian Refugees
