WAFA — Thousands of Palestinian students, merchants, patients and drivers were forced to take cover behind trucks, vehicles and carts on the blocked Gaza coastal road when Israeli soldiers stationed at the watchtowers of Nitzarim colony opened fired on them as they were passing. I took cover behind a truck along with two university students. “Hey, hey, you are behind a fuel truck, leave now!” a cameraman shouted at us. We were shocked and fled from our spot behind the truck. The cameraman was warned by a hawker to hide his camera, as Israeli soldiers in the watchtowers target journalists. Taking his camera, he hid behind a truck carrying panels of wood. Read more about Life stops at coastal road block 

“I think Marwan wanted to make a point about democracy in Fateh, that it’s not only Abu Mazen, that the door should be open to more people to run in Fateh. I think he feels that inside Fateh we should hold a conference and at this conference people should nominate themselves, in a kind of primary, before we agree on one [candidate]. He was making the point that such a process did not happen, and he wanted to send the message that Fateh needs to reform after Arafat, because this is not a simple time. Only institutions, democracy and elections can replace Arafat.” Palestine Report interviews Fateh Member of the Legislative Council from Jerusalem Hatem Abdel Qadar. Read more about "Message received": Hatem Abdel Qader on Barghouti's presidential election withdrawal 

The Huwwara checkpoint is closed to internationals. The entire Nablus region is completely off-limits. Our destination is the Balata refugee camp on the outskirts of the city, where Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation is said to be the strongest in the West Bank. One British journalist told me that Israeli military strategy is to keep foreigners from entering, flood the area with troops, then “turn the lights out”. We are met by a van and driver who takes us around the checkpoint then leaves us at the side of a nearby mountain road. He tells us to hurry up the trail, then drives off quickly in order to avoid being seen by Israeli forces. Read more about With the ISM in Balata refugee camp 

The Israeli army issued a statement yesterday (Tuesday 14th December 2004) that a decision would be made in the next 48 hrs concerning four Birzeit University students who were illegally ‘deported’ back to Gaza last month. An international letter writing campaign involving hundreds of academics from around the world has been launched demanding they are returned to the university to complete their degrees. All were due to graduate this year. Bashar Abu Salim is one of the four. Charles Stratford tells the story about what happened on the night of his arrest. Read more about "It Was Like Abu Ghraib": Israeli Abuse of Birzeit University's Gazan Students 

The above leaflet was dropped on Gaza this morning from Israeli military helicopters. The translation says: TO THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. Your life is being harmed by irresponsible elements who exploit you by firing missiles from in between your houses at the Israeli settlements. These missiles backfire on you causing only destruction and loss of your source of living without leaving you any road to hope. Be aware !!! that firing missiles from your area will compel the Israeli Defense Forces to act in your area and to hit missile-launching elements in any place they act from. Get rid of terror which leads you to the bottom. Follow the road of hope. Do not allow the terrorists to come close to your area.” EI’s Nigel Parry reports. Read more about Leaflets of fear 

The South African people fought for decades to free themselves of apartheid. The ANC departed from its non-violent policies in the early 1960s, becoming actively involved in the armed liberation struggle. The violence used by the ANC was directed at government institutions, economic targets and the forces involved in oppression. Nelson Mandela was arrested and imprisoned for almost 30 years. International solidarity movements supported the ANC by organising massive campaigns for sanctions and public boycotts against South Africa. A Dutch anti-apartheid activist and a South African ANC supporter whose father was imprisoned for ten years on Robben island for in his involvement in the resistance look back on activism during the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Read more about Sanctions against apartheid South Africa should inspire the Palestinian people 

The Writing on the Wall is a series of interviews with Palestinians who live close to the Wall. Van Teeffelen asked three questions: How is your daily life influenced by the Wall and the checkpoints? What does freedom mean to you? What are your sources of energy? Toine van Teeffelen speaks with Jizelle Salman from Beit Jala, an English language teacher and youth coordinator at the Arab Educational Institute in Bethlehem. “I need to take a detour to get to my house. I used to take a road which has now become an Israeli checkpoint and military camp. We’ve heard last year that the land on the hill above my house, which we cultivated for many years, will be expropriated in order to build the Wall and next to it a military road. This was of course most difficult news for us.” Read more about The Writing on the Wall: Jizelle Salman 

“To understand human rights, human rights violations, and human rights enforcement, one must begin at the ground level, with the social and cultural setting of the abuse situation. This is not simply a legal requirement, but even more so a moral and political imperative. Whoever endeavors to protect human rights takes on the commitment to be fully human: to think, critique, imagine, argue, envision, cooperate, and take risks in concrete social contexts fraught with political consequences. Foremost among the risks of taking human rights seriously is reaching out to communicate. EI co-founder Laurie King-Irani offers some reflections on International Human Rights Day. Read more about International Human Rights: One day out of 365 is not enough