“[This] systematic analysis of the entire Israeli legal system as it relates to housing, land and property rights of Palestinians very clearly shows that there was every intent to dispossess Palestinians of their land over the past six decades. This was a systematic attempt, a very intentional outcome, and one that ultimately makes the proposed two-state solution a physical and practical impossibility.”Palestine Report Online interviews Scott Leckie, Executive Director of COHRE, the Geneva-based Center on Housing Rights and Evictions, about the human rights group’s conclusions, drawn from a new study entitled “Ruling Palestine: A History of the Legally Sanctioned Jewish/Israeli Seizure of Land and Housing in Palestine”, that a two-state solution is no longer viable. Read more about Ruling Palestine: An interview with COHRE's Scott Leckie 

In a time of empty talk of peace and celebrating Ariel Sharon as a man of moderate politics, because of extremists’ protest against evacuation from Gaza, the situation on the ground in Palestine sees remarkably little change. Everyday life in the occupied territories is as always a continuous chaos of military interference. One of the most obvious and constantly present exponents is the Israeli grip on Palestinian freedom of movement, suffocating the fragile infrastructure. “I’m here to protect my country against terrorists,” the young man tells me shrugging as if he is not completely confident with his answer. Read more about Checkpoint of No Return 

The Palestinian body politic is alive and united on a variety of central concerns, and has not been fragmented or destroyed in spite of more than 10 years of concerted attempts to do so. At this very moment Palestinians from all walks of life have been gathering together in large and small meetings to discuss the issues that concern them, in open debate. They choose the things they wish to speak about, and raise the issues that concern them. They discuss how to advance their rights - and there are certainly a multitude of them - legal, economic, civic, political, and social. Read more about Democracy and Rights are also for Palestinian Refugees 

The outcome of Thursday’s local elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has underscored the competition between Fatah, the quasi-secular and ruling party of the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas, the Islamic resistance group. According to initial unofficial results, Fatah did well in many villages in the West Bank, wining as many as 50 of the 84 contested councils. However, Hamas emerged the winner in large towns such as Rafah, Qalqilya, and Bethlehem, and seems to have won as many as 32 local councils in the West Bank. Hamas leaders have argued, justifiably, that while Fatah won significantly more council seats than Hamas, the Islamist movement actually surpassed Fatah in terms of the number of votes it received. Read more about Palestinian poll shows Hamas strength 

It’s been a long time coming but two weeks ago several ads created by Imagine Life began airing in Boston. Many Boston area groups coordinated raising the money and arranging the airing. As in other markets — 80 cities around the country — it was very exciting to see honest portrayals on American television of the grotesque and oppressive circumstances under which Palestinian people live. These ads ran on CNN and MSNBC. Bostonians were jubilant. There was hope. Read more about Success for Imagine Life ads in Boston 

In the heart of Jabalia Refugee Camp, there was no more room in the two-room 50 square meters house of Mahmoud Al-Dhabous 42. He is an unemployed father of 7 children, lost his work because he refused to “betray his people.” The washbasin in the kitchen is broken. The door of the bathroom is full of holes while the two rooms packed with sleeping children, clothes and books. Al-Dhabous is a sample of thousands of Palestinian workers the Israeli intelligence have been trying to recruit them as traitors for a permission of work inside Israel. For nine consecutive years, Al-Dhabous has worked for a factor of greenhouses in the industrial zone of “Eretz”. He has been jobless for more than a year. The Israeli intelligence prevented him from working as he refused to “collaborate”. Read more about Palestinian workers under "moral terror" 

The mountains of Palestine form a sharp edge that plunges into the Jordan Valley as if cut by a knife. Almost to the rim of this drastic landscape lies the village of Al Aqaba, located in the farthest Palestinian lands of the Jenin region. It is almost a no-man’s land, nestled in the soft rolling foothills of the towering mountains, stirred by the strong breeze cooling the hot spring day. We went to Al Aqaba to speak with Haj Sammy, the mayor. The military uses the land around Al Aqaba for their training practices, having killed 8 and wounded 50 since 1971. Haj Sammy’s wound is one such example. He has been paralyzed since. Read more about Al Aqaba: Another village under threat 

Today, the Great Saturday celebration for Christian Orthodox people ahead of Easter Sunday tomorrow, was ruined in Jerusalem by the Israeli police and the Greek Patriarch. The Christian Quarter of the Old City was blocked off in four places by heavily armed Israeli police, which meant that Christian Orthodox Palestinians as well as members of the church who had flown in from Greece, could not enter their church for the service. Read more about On Orthodox Great Saturday, Israel closes Jerusalem's Christian Quarter 

The West Bank city of Nablus has historically boasted itself as the commercial and business center of Palestine. The West Bank’s largest city, it dates back some 4,500 years. However, Nablus’ economy, cultural heritage, and population have come under attack during the past four years of Israeli violence. Its Old City walls have acquired a new layer of history in the political graffiti and martyr posters honoring the scores of mostly young men from Nablus who have committed suicide bombings or, far more frequently, were killed by Israeli violence. Read more about Photostory: Nablus' Old City