For a while now, we’ve been talking about it. For a while now, I’ve been talking about it. Yes, there will be another war. I have said so during radio interviews, during dinner conversations, during phone calls with my family in the US. Yes, there will be another war of Israeli aggression on Lebanon. It is just a question of time, this summer or next summer, this year or next year, but, yes, there will be another war. Rania Masri writes from Beirut. Read more about Living with the certainty of war
Hannah MermelsteinRamallah, West Bank19 February 2008
I left Lebanon more than a week ago and am only now starting to find words. I have never before been in a place that has seen so much war. Occupation, yes. Injustice, yes. Death and destruction and uncertainty, perhaps. But something felt different about Lebanon. I have not wrapped my mind around it enough to feel confident that what I write will accurately represent my own thoughts, let alone the actual situation. But I do want to tell you about Nahr al-Bared. Hannah Mermelstein writes. Read more about Nahr al-Bared and the right of return
GAZACITY, 16 February (IPS) - Human remains mix with debris following the latest Israeli assault Friday on Bureij camp in Gaza Strip. Early reports listed nine dead and more than 50 injured. A targeted leader was killed, but many others were killed too. “It’s very hard for us to rescue, or even locate bodies beneath the building,” said a medical relief worker from the local Bureij hospital. Israel has not confirmed responsibility for the missile attack by F-16 aircraft. Read more about Gaza civilians die along with assassinated leader
“On behalf of the landowners, the Shahadeh family, and the residents of the village of al-Mashhad, I want to send a message to people everywhere — the Jewish National Fund, to the Nazareth Illit Municipality, to the Members of Knesset and the government, and to the residents of Israel. We don’t want the [Land Day] events of 1976 to repeat themselves, but I have to say that not one meter of land will be taken from us unless we die on our lands.” Read more about "I feel as if I were living in South Africa"
Tyre enjoys a reputation as a laid back summer resort with a “liberal” lifestyle in the heart of south Lebanon — with its striking Roman ruins, ancient Christian fishing harbor, and bustling beachfront. But during the off-season — and compounded by the negative impact of the summer 2006 conflict with Israel, the ongoing political crises in Beirut and skyrocketing prices nationwide — the town’s family-owned retail shops and businesses, farmers and fishermen barely make a living. Rebecca Murray writes from the southern Lebanon city. Read more about A new struggle for life after war
JERUSALEM, 11 February (IRIN) - A UN special appeal for the Gaza Strip has managed to bring in only a small percentage of the US$9.8 million needed for urgent food aid and cash assistance for the enclave’s most vulnerable refugees. On 6 February, UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, began to distribute food aid in Gaza funded by a $100,000 donation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Red Crescent Society. The money came in response to the special appeal issued by UNWRA in late January. Read more about UNRWA Gaza appeal making very slow progress
For Palestinian expatriate nationals like me who have managed to find their way back to Palestine in order to contribute in some fashion, what’s on the horizon is far from clear. Our foothold is tenuous; we are here on sufferance by the Israelis who control the borders and the areas between towns and villages and let us in carefully or not at all. Rima Merriman writes from Jenin. Read more about "Where are you from?"
As Israel tightened its siege on the Gaza Strip, Palestinians and solidarity activists demonstrated their support for the people of Gaza. The above images were sent to The Electronic Intifada from around the world and document various actions, demonstrations and vigils in solidarity with Gazans under siege. Read more about Photostory: Solidarity with Gaza
After Fathi’s son had been attending a child daycare center for several days, the daycare worker telephoned him and said: “We have a problem with your son … and after the other parents found out, some of them have removed their children from the center.” Read more about Toddlers not immune from discrimination in Israel
Rami AlmeghariGaza City, Gaza Strip5 February 2008
At the bus stop at Palestine Square, in the bustling heart of Gaza City, 25-year-old Said Ramadan cried to passersby, “Fuel, fuel, fuel! Come and buy!” Last week Ramadan took advantage of the blasting through of the border wall between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and the brief respite from months of siege to travel to the nearby Egyptian town of al-Arish and stock up on gallons of fuel. Rami Almeghari reports from Gaza. Read more about Fueling disaster
