Following the suicide bombing at Erez Crossing that left four Israeli soldiers dead and several Palestinian workers injured, Erez (at the north of the Gaza Strip), and Maabar (the other way in and out of the Gaza Strip, on the border of Egypt), have been under tight closure, with crowds of people waiting for days to be let through. Here are excerpts from a letter home from one of the delegation as they were attempting to enter. They are an excellent description of the great extremes the Israeli is going to in order to keep out international eyes. Laura Gordon introduces the trials of one group trying to get into occupied Gaza. Read more about Getting the hell into Gaza
A British peace activist shot in the head while observing the Israeli army in Gaza last year has died in hospital. Tom Hurndall, 22, of north London, had been in a coma since being shot in a Palestinian refugee camp. An Israeli soldier has already been indicted on six charges, including one of aggravated assault. Mr Hurndall was with the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian-led group which campaigns against Israeli occupation using non-violence. Mr Hurndall’s family now want a murder charge to be brought. BBC News reports. Read more about Shot British peace activist dies
Starting shortly before 11am on Monday, January 12, all residents in a section of the Tulkarem refugee camp were rounded up at a centrally located day care center. The men were separated from the woman and children and taken away in military trucks. At the end of the first day, over 230 men had been handcuffed, blindfolded and taken out of the camp to an unknown location. The woman and children, after being separated from the men, were taken to the UNWRA building in the center of the camp. From the beginning, several women complained that their children were not present. Flo Razowsky reports from on the ground. Read more about Israel invades Tulkarem refugee camp
A few days ago, an Israeli peace activist monitoring the situation on the West Bank noticed two large billboards placed at the entrance to the West Bank settlement of Ariel, with a conspicuous British Airways logo. The ads bear mock London road signs with such place names as “Buckingham Palace”, “Hyde Park” etc. and underneath them an ad offering cheap flights to London. Gush Shalom’s Adam Keller wrote the following letter to the management of British Airways. Read more about Gush Shalom protests British Airways advertising at Ariel settlement
In the midst of an already month-long invasion, the sheikhs announced over the mosques for everyone to yell from their windows and their roofs “Allahu akbar” (god is great) together for an hour. It began with the voices from the mosques, together, “Allahu akbar” again and again, the voices growing louder and prouder with each chant. Then, a chorus began from the old city, and then the mountains and the camps. Thousands of different voices, in different rhythms and tones, yelling and chanting together, their sound almost drowning out the noise of the tank fire around them. Kelly B. writes from Nablus. Read more about Nablus: Resistance Under Occupation
Oh goodness, I went to the souq (“market”) today with Mahmood’s mother. She woke me up at 8:30am instead of 6:00am while I lay in bed for two hours imagining the day to be later than it was, floating between nightmares and day dreams. So I got dressed and we walked out, Saturday morning 9:00am, sunshine painting the streets and the asbestos roofs and the mothers like sun-dried raisins elbowing their way to this or that stand to haggle over prices. She stopped me here at this jilbab or that jacket, announcing the prices so proud of a certain bargain you would think she herself was selling the goods this morning. Read more about And the world sleeps
“Khaled is 19 years old but he comes across as being much older. He is very tall and slim but his face exudes experience and wisdom. Despite his quiet demeanour, he displays confidence and independence that was learned from growing up in a difficult situation. Khaled is great at dealing with people; he can be soft and kind to children but at the same time strong against those trying to take advantage of him. I have met few with a better understanding of life than Khaled. He understands and accepts the bad as much as the good in life and really understands how the world works.” ISMer Melissa recounts conversations with Palestinians and Israelis. Read more about Arab and Jew: Being young in a troubled land
“For all the revolutionary potential of Universal Jurisdiction in Belgium, very little changed for the better for the Sabra and Shatila plaintiffs. In fact, Belgium’s decision to annul its progressive anti-atrocity legislation rendered the massacre survivors victims a second time over. Their attempts to realize justice in a Belgian court revealed not only the implicit political dimensions of Universal Jurisdiction, but also highlighted the fact that abstract, universal principles do not exist a priori. EI’s Laurie King-Irani concludes her discussion of lessons learned during a difficult year for international law in the Middle East. (Part II of II) Read more about 2003: A year of Israeli and US defiance of International Law (2/2)
“Benefiting from a growing international focus on Iraq and the folly of the US global ‘war on terror,’ Israel enjoyed enhanced impunity for its violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and a raft of UN resolutions throughout 2003. Even the supposedly ‘positive’ developments of 2003 — the US-backed ‘Road Map’ to peace and the Geneva Accords — are based on a tacit premise that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and several UN resolutions can be ignored or suspended so as to legitimate and excuse Israeli violations of Palestinian rights, lives, lands, and resources.” EI’s Laurie King-Irani reviews the prevailing legal trends of 2003 in Occupied Palestine. (Part I of II) Read more about 2003: A year of US and Israeli defiance of International Law (1/2)
The year 2003 started and ended with Israeli forces invading Rafah refugee camp and demolishing refugee homes. This year, in Rafah alone, Israeli forces killed at least 60 Palestinians, an American peace activist and a British TV cameraman. In three years, Israeli forces have demolished 800 homes in Rafah alone. Rafah in 2003 is an example of occupied Palestine in 2003. Despite road maps and declarations, the residents of Rafah are in urgent need of protection. They want to stop counting the deaths. EI’s Arjan El Fassed reviews 2003. Read more about Rafah in 2003
