The Palestinian Legislative Council has begun making changes in the electoral system. One should expect that those members of the Legislative Council would have learned from mistakes made during the 1996 elections. Again, party politics has driven politicians change the rules to benefit the ruling party. Reviewing the 1996 electoral system, one must expect that people learn from their mistakes. Between 1996 and 1998 EI’s Arjan El Fassed was doing research on institutional design and the choices made by Palestinian officials. Today he looks back at the 1996 elections to draw conclusions for the coming elections. Read more about On the Palestinian Road to Elections: The System 

“I suddenly remember that some twenty years ago, in the 1980s, the Israelis forbade the Palestinians to even color the Palestinian flag, let alone to hoist it in the streets. The flag was considered a danger to public order. During the first Intifada Israeli soldiers forced Palestinian citizens to paint over Palestinian flags that covered the walls of the streets. Mary still remembers those days very well. Painters sometimes circumvented the prohibition by showing a Palestinian salad containing the colors of the flag: black and green in the olives, red in the tomatoes, and white in the cheese. Or women’s embroidery containing those colors.” Toine van Teeffelen reports from Bethlehem. Read more about Flags in Palestine 

CPTers have grown accustomed to just breezing through the Beit Romano Checkpoint in the Old City where we live. We pass through it regularly and usually without question. Some Palestinians who live in the area also have this privilege once the soldiers recognize them, however they are sometimes subject to detention and harassment. When the solider took my passport and ordered me to sit on the curb, I thought of the dozens of Palestinians I see detained here daily, and I sat down without argument. Read more about From Hebron to Tel Aviv 

In the past few days I have been asked about my feelings towards the death of Arafat by a number of students at university. Just as every other Palestinian, my feelings cannot be boxed one way or the other. As this event marks the passing of a unique Palestinian. One whom powerfully resisted in the struggle for my people, at the same token, was neglectful and corrupt. Peace will not be easily achieved with his passing, as there are no plans to remove the wall, the olive orchards are still gone, the illegal settlements are still polluting ‘67 Palestine, and the exiled refugees worldwide will not suddenly be allowed to return home. Read more about Reflections on Arafat from Australia 

Following my departure from the bridge, I chatted with my aunt in the taxi and she told me personal news, then started talking generally about the situation in Palestine. The route we were taking to Arrabeh was actually, I found out, forbidden to me since I hold a foreign passport, and not the correct permission. There was a checkpoint on the way and my aunt began saying prayers left right and centre and I thought I was about to implode. Thankfully we were not made to stop; the worst that would happen in any case would be that we would have to turn back and take another route, losing another couple of hours travelling. Yet this was a significant event because it is indicative of the Palestinians’ lifestyle. So much is about where you can or can’t go. Read more about Living their lives as best they can 

“After the death of Yasser Arafat, it was impossible not to note the grief and sadness of Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories and in the Diaspora, an emotion echoed by leaders of other liberation struggles, including Nelson Mandela. Most of the Jewish voices inside Israel were conveyed a different perspective, one that ignored the fact that Israel is also the home of many Palestinians. A free election to choose a new leader must ensure the participation of all Palestinians, including prisoners and refugees.” Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker comment from The Netherlands. Read more about World must take firm stand on free elections in Palestine 

Tension and apprehension filled the air in the Boston suburb of Somerville, Massachusetts on the night of Monday November 8, 2004.  The Somerville Board of Aldermen held a public meeting to consider a non-binding resolution to divest from Israel bonds and from companies who profit from the human rights abuses carried out by Israel against Palestinian people. If it passes, it will be the first such resolution in the world to be passed by a city. The Presbyterian Church and the National Lawyers Guild have already voted to divest and The Anglican Church is considering it. Tom Wallace reports for EI. Read more about Sell-by date of war crimes about to expire in Somerville, MA? 

I am thirsty, sitting here in the wrong corner of the ‘service’ (pronounced ‘serveece’) taxi. It is hot. The seat belt is tight, scratching my neck. I am sweating. The sun is beating down on me. I am hungry. My mind meanders, searching various avenues of escape. Could I walk through the checkpoint, leaving my fellow Palestinians behind? Would I find a car on the other side? Could I pay a sum to a private car waiting in line on the other side of the dead, closed closure point? Could I persuade someone to leave the line and turn around and take me to my destination? Read more about Valley of Fire 

We piled into four shiny, new Mercedes, and headed into a foggy night in Tunisia, speeding up and down hills until we came to an office in a suburb. Armed young guards lounged at the front door. They were smiling broadly and looked like they wanted to high-five us rather than do any security checks. Our delegation filed into the main room. A burgundy sofa-set curved around half of the room, in the middle of which was an office chair on wheels. In it sat Yasser Arafat, devoid of his trademark kaffiyeh. He was in high spirits, despite the late hour, and welcomed those he’d met before with kisses and hugs, and then shook hands with the rest of us. He looked at me and asked, out of the blue: “Are you Irish?” EI co-founder Laurie King-Irani reflects on Arafat’s legacy and failings. Read more about After Arafat: refracted reflections