In the wake of Lebanese anti-Syrian Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel’s assassination on Tuesday the debate is raging on who was behind the killing and why. Thursday saw hundreds of thousands of Lebanese from all sects on the streets turn out for his funeral. They were there in genuine sadness at the murder of an elected cabinet minister and to show their disgust at the continued way violent killings are being used to conduct politics in Lebanon. The protest also saw calls for pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud to resign and much anger directed against the also pro-Syrian Shi’ite group Hizbullah - whose supporters stayed away from the proceedings. Read more about Gemayel's assassination: What do Lebanon's Shi'ite think?
It was 4:30 PM when my students’ cell phones began receiving SMS messages. We had fifteen minutes left of class. They told me that Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel had been assassinated. One of my students fled the room in tears. I could hear students amassing outside in front of the AUB student union building just outside our window. The mood was tense. Students began with their theories of who was responsible: Mossad, Syria, the CIA. The usual suspects. The story was, of course, confirmed as I listened to the news reports in the office. Just a few hours before in front of AUB’s student union there was a display of national unity as people celebrated Lebanon’s Flag Day. Read more about Unity or Solidarity in Lebanon?
Only a few hours after my fiancee, a 24-year-old Dutch musician and I, a 29-year-old Israeli musician and writer, arrived to Israel for the summer vacation, the war in Lebanon broke out. At first, no one dared to call it by the W-word; the media described it as a swift military operation to retrieve the kidnapped soldiers while teaching Hezbollah a bitter lesson. Everyone agreed with an across-the-board solidarity that it was a noble and imperative cause. The Israeli flag was brandished on balconies, cars and T-shirts, left and right-wing politicians were sharing spoons to stir their afternoon teas, and graffitists sprayed the walls with jingoistic ‘Go Israel!’ or ‘Let the IDF win!’. Read more about Fighting for the Next Generation
Irish academics were thanked this week in an open letter, signed by over 100 academics and 1,000 students of Birzeit University near Ramallah, Palestine. The thanks were addressed to the 61 Irish academics who wrote a public letter in September calling for a moratorium on EU aid to Israeli universities, until Israel abides by international law and basic human rights norms. The letter, published in the Irish Times on September 16th, has caused a public stir in Israel; the education minister Yuli Tamir has travelled to England to ‘verify if they [the signatories] are lecturers who have influence’. Read more about Palestinians hail Irish academics' support of Palestine
His panic-stricken little face lights up when he receives the information that we’ll escort him home, sending him skipping merrily down the road on an errand to buy potatoes. This is the Palestinian Authority controlled area of Hebron, and as we cross through Tel Rumeida checkpoint to the other side in order to wait for the Palestinian boy’s return, we soon discover the source of his fear. We are confronted by around 100 ultra-orthodox Jews, who are gathered in Hebron to mark ‘Hebron day’, one of whom shouts “You know that Jesus is gay?”. None of us really react to this arbitrary taunt, however it does serve to focus the crowd’s attentions squarely on our small group of human rights workers. Read more about Streets of Hate
Long ago, Thomas Edison invented the electric light at a time when there was a need for light. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone at a time when there was a need for telecommunications. Now, the Palestinians in Gaza have invented a new weapon of nonviolent resistance at a time when they desperately need such a weapon to defend their homes from the ongoing Israeli airstrikes that destroy Palestinian homes on a nearly-daily basis. The new Palestinian weapon is very simple, all you need is to call on your neighbors, friends and beloved ones to gather around your home or on its balconies or on its rooftop… Read more about Necessity is the Mother of Inventive Nonviolent Resistance
Yousef AlhelouBeit Lahiya, Palestine20 November 2006
Palestinians have started to employ new tactics to prevent Israeli air attacks on their houses. Hundreds of protesters successfully forced the Israeli air force to halt air strikes on a house belonging to Muhammad Baroud in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday night. Israeli warplanes have already destroyed more than 60 houses belonging to activists from Palestinian factions across the Gaza Strip, using the same method of ordering the residents, through a telephone call at short notice, to evacuate their home prior to bombardment. Read more about Palestinian mass resistance blocks Israeli air strike
On the morning of 2 November 2006, Israeli military forces seized Palestinian airwaves to declare the Gazan village of Beit Hanoun a closed military zone and order all Palestinians residing in the area to remain indoors. Still recovering from the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s June offensive, “Operation Summer Rain,” residents braced themselves for what appeared to be another looming attack on Palestinian civil society. What they didn’t expect, however, was the week-long siege of brutal force and “reckless disregard” for human life that would eventually claim the lives of nearly 100 Palestinians and injure hundreds more - half of whom were women, children, and other unarmed bystanders. Read more about The state of public health in the occupied Palestinian territory
Today we are taking direct testimony from victims and witnesses of two separate killing incidents by Israeli Occupation Forces which have recently occurred here in Al Yamoun during the past 16 days. The first one was on 27 October 2006 and the second one was on 7 November 2006. We are in the home of the Hasan Abu Hasan family. On 27 October 2006, during the period of Eid Al Fitr, the celebratory period at the end of Ramadan, Mohammed, age 38, was up on the roof here at his home. He was with his brother, Ra-ef, age 19 hanging laundry to dry before sunrise at approximately 3:30 am. He and his brothers were preparing to go to the mosque for Al Fajr, which is the first Morning Prayer, and a very important occasion during the Eid. Read more about Slaughter in the Town of Al Yamoun
We should not stand idly by as the human development potential in Gaza and the West Bank is so tragically depleted. In spite of the best efforts of UNRWA and other humanitarian and development actors, this potential will continue to diminish unless political actors revive a meaningful peace process. Political actors must move quickly to help restore in both sides a genuine commitment to a peaceful resolution of this conflict and a recognition that there are partners among both parties. To those of us in the region it is as clear as day that the Palestinian issue is a quintessentially political issue. Its resolution simply will not be found on the battlefield. Read more about Solution to the conflict will not be found on the battlefield
