The house of Munthir Mahmoud Hamad stood alone. Almost perfectly square in shape and made up of gray cement stone - it stood on a tiny hilltop among rubble - what was likely to have been a previously destroyed home. A makeshift water tank sat on the roof and wires led from the rooftop to a generator nearby. From his house you could see the Jewish settlement of Gilo. All settlements in Israel and the Occupied Territories are easy to point out - houses are obtrusively white in color, perfectly aligned next to one another, and built on a hilltop - like a perfect suburbia and another world. Read more about The Village of Al-Wallaja vs. the State of Israel 

I am here in the local Jenin district office of Palestine Medical Relief Society (PMRS) with Dr. Jameel Hamad, the district manager. The City of Jenin has a total population of about 50,000, of which 13,000 live in the Jenin refugee camp. The entire district of Jenin has 300,000 inhabitants. In terms of health care, the main provider of health services until recently has been the Ministry of Health under direction of the Palestinian Authority. It runs the main hospital in Jenin, as well as many primary health care centers in the city. Unfortunately, because of the Israeli/American/EU sanctions, which were the West’s reaction to a democratically elected Hamas majority in the Legislative Counsel, the PA’s health systems are falling apart. Many health care workers have been on strike, because they are not being paid. Read more about With the Palestine Medical Relief Society in Jenin 

The killing of three young brothers in Gaza City yesterday has shocked the Palestinian community across the political divide and exposed, once again, the plight of children living in the volatile region. “I am shocked by the tragic event,” stated UNICEF’s Special Representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Dan Rohrmann. “This is another event highlighting the serious deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory - and with tragic consequences for civilians, including children.” Masked gunmen shot at a car carrying the three boys, between the ages of four and nine, on their way to school. No one has claimed responsibility for the killings. Read more about UNICEF speaks to memory of boys killed in Gaza 

By the time my mother made it to Egypt, it was unfortunately a bit late because the cancer was rapidly growing in her body and at that stage, doctors didn’t have much to do but to try the chemotherapy to see if it could help. Unfortunately, this didn’t help much and she peacefully passed away last night. My mother is not the only case; she is just one the cases that someone could talk about. In addition to the tens of people being killed by the Israelis every day through the use of traditional weapons, tens, if not hundreds, of others die every day because of lack of access to health services, because of movement restrictions imposed by the Israelis and the restrictions on delivering medicine and health equipment to Gaza and other Palestinian cities. Read more about Cancer didn't kill my mother, the occupation did 

Cradled in the beautiful southern mountains of Lebanon, a revolutionary impulse born of desparation created by Israeli terror and American oppression has turned into feverish nationalism. Here in Beirut yesterday, 10 December 2006, over a million people, perhaps two million, gathered in a historic first for Lebanon and possibly a historic percentage of any nation any one time any where. It was a crowd in motion, literally. I watched the rivers of people weaving through the masses and the islands of those who stood still. Their shifting patterns, a natural motion, is a rare experience. Read more about The cradle of revolution 

A strange phenomenon has been taking place over the past few years. Israel has been carrying out a systematic plan to try and separate Gaza from the West Bank. Little attention has been given to this effort separating people — and a country — using administrative measures. This phenomenon began in the late 1980s with the launch of the Palestinian intifada, was accelerated in the beginning of the second intifada in 2000, and has been accelerated even more since the unilateral Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, causing a critical human and economic crisis. Read more about Divide and conquer 

The Institut Veolia Environnement is founded and funded by Veolia, the company that is involved in the development of an illegal Israeli tramline in occupied East Jerusalem. A number of international experts that contribute to the institute have shown respect for international law and human rights in the past. It is likely that they are not aware of the Veolia’s role in the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. This appeal is written to inform the international experts and to call on them to distance themselves from the illegal practice of Veolia and end their collaboration with the institute. Read more about International experts urged to withdraw from Veolia Institute 

The atmosphere of the Lebanese opposition demonstrations, which began last Friday and were planned in large part by Hizballah, Amal, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and their allies, has been very calm and festive, betraying the underlying tensions and outbursts of political violence in the country. In many ways, they exude a similar spirit to last year’s months of demonstrating by the March 14 coalition, in which there was constant music interlaced with speeches, and people waving Lebanese flags and behaving as if they had just won a football game or were at a concert. Read more about Sowing the seeds of tomorrow's violence 

Is it looking at my own students at Birzeit University that reminds me of my old English teacher John S.? Every Tuesday and Thursday at 3:10 pm, and ten minutes before the end of class, they are all restless in their chairs, eager to continue their day without me. I do not take it personally. I feel their energy. But I do remember John fondly. I recall his ability to last throughout the lesson and to end it with a virtual cliffhanger. Not all, but some of us would just be sitting there, nailed to our chairs, as the bell rang and other students began chatting, doors opening, noise everywhere. And, in the midst of clatter and laughter, John’s last sentence would linger in the air. His cliffhanger. Read more about The Banality of Suffering