News

Up against the Apartheid Wall

Daniel Jacob Quinn Jenin, Palestine 19 August 2003


Life here on the ground in occupied Palestine is rarely reported in the United States. The brutal impact of Israel’s military occupation is hidden behind the rhetoric of pundits and politicians, many of whom have never met a Palestinian. They have never, as I have, held a sick Palestinian child in their arms as her parents beg soldiers to let them pass a checkpoint. They have never babysat Palestinian children while their mother goes out to find out what happened to her husband during an armed invasion of their refugee camp. Daniel Jacob Quinn writes from occupied Jenin. 

Efforts to negate right of return have long, ignoble history

Issam Nashashibi 29 August 2003


Issam Nashashibi In this commentary for EI, Issam Nashashibi argues that the recent poll purporting to show that few Palestinian refugees want to exercise their right of return is only the latest of many efforts to manage Palestinians’ expectations and convince them to accept less than their fundamental rights. This effort, like others before it, will not succeed. 

At the end of a ceasefire that never was

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza Strip 18 August 2003

There is shooting along the border and shooting at weddings and for an untrained ear it’s hard to tell the difference except by location. A Kalashnikov is low and hollow and echoes. An M-16 is a bit shriller, a bit louder. Machine gun fire comes from the border only. Tank shells come from the border only. Laura Gordon reports from Rafah. 

Etzion

Toine van Teeffelen Bethlehem, Palestine 18 August 2003

“Don’t remind me,” says Mary. “I’ll go if I have the courage.” I asked her about visiting Etzion, the office near the Gush Etzion settlement between Bethlehem and Hebron where the Israeli ‘Civil Administration’ is located and where Bethlehemites have to ask for their tasreeyeh (“permit”). We are preparing ourselves for a holiday to Cyprus together with the kids and Imm Hannah and Janet, Mary’s mother and sister. Jara and Tamer have Dutch passports, Mary and her family however not and they therefore need a permit to enter Tel Aviv airport. 

Who undermines the right of return?

Salman Abu Sitta 18 August 2003

Salman Abu Sitta, president of the London-based Palestine Land Society examines a recently conducted poll among Palestinian refugees, questioning its methodology and refuting many of the claims that have been made from it. The continued dedication of Palestians to working for this right, refutes the assumption that the refugees only want shelter, food and legal papers and willingly accept settlement elsewhere. Dr. Abu Sitta contributed this article to EI. 

What gas is Israel using?

Jennifer Loewenstein and Angela Gaff 9 August 2003

“Here is a disturbing ordeal that has not yet been mentioned in any mainstream US papers or media. It exposes some shocking aspects of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian political prisoners, including the use of a gas that impacts the nervous and respiratory systems. It should be noted that Israel has denied using nerve gas against Palestinians, even though one account of its use has already been documented in James Longley’s searing film, ‘Gaza Strip’.” Jennifer Loewenstein and Angela Gaff report from London. 

"Devout" Israeli lawmakers reveal pig-ignorance about Judaism

Walla News 6 August 2003


Two Israeli Likud lawmakers who insist on going up to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif because of their ‘devout Judaism’ were revealed to be know-nothings when it came to Jewish history, when an Israeli TV presenter gave the two parliamentarians a surprise pop quiz. The Electronic Intifada has translated this story and transcript from the Israeli news website Walla News. 

The village of Yanoun: a microcosm of the destructiveness of Zionism

Mick Napier 6 August 2003


We had a great reception from the wonderful people of Yanoun, most of whose land has been confiscated for the nearby Jewish settlement of Itamar, and who endure frequent beatings and shootings from these same fanatical settlers who want to ‘redeem’ the rest of the land by driving out the remaining Palestinians. Yanoun shows the destructiveness of Zionism in a microcosm. Heavily-armed settlers march through the village regularly, usually on their Sabbath, intimidating and beating up villagers. Any villager who strays over invisible lines, perhaps to retrieve a stray sheep, risks a severe beating or worse. Mick Napier writes about his experiences during a visit to Yanoun on behalf of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign.