News

Children shot in Askar Refugee Camp

Anne Gwynne Nablus, Palestine 11 January 2003

Oshan Abdul Aziz Shanier was shot by a single bullet to the heart and died instantly. He was 22 years old, born in a refugee camp in his own land, died in a refugee camp in his own land, killed by a soldier who is illegally in his country contravening all the relevant International Laws and Conventions. No warnings here, no mercy. No normal human decency. Shoot to kill. Anne Gwynn writes from Nablus. 

IDF's murder of Palestinian grandmother tests Israeli justice system

Nicole Gaouette 10 January 2003

“In Nablus, where the Abu Hijleh house echoes with a new emptiness, the family is determined that Shaden not become another nameless statistic. For some of her children, this means resisting the Palestinian glorification of martyrdom. For her family and friends, it means pursuing some measure of justice. That mission began minutes after the bullets flew.” The Christian Science Monitor’s Nicole Gaouette reports on one family’s attempts to challenge Israeli impunity in the international media—and at the International Criminal Court. 

Supreme Court of Israel ruled to reject ban on Palestinian political parties

Adalah 8 January 2003


This morning, the Supreme Court of Israel ruled to reject three disqualification decisions issued by the Central Elections Committee (CEC). The Court approved the participation of the National Democratic Assembly (NDA), and reinstated the candidacies of MKs Azmi Bishara and Ahmad Tibi, for the upcoming Israeli elections. 

Israeli security forces kidnap Jaggi Singh

Nigel Parry 8 January 2003

Canadian activist Jaggi Singh traveled to Palestine on December 14th to write about the realities of the Israeli occupation and participate in the activities of the International Solidarity Movement. On his arrival he was banned by an Israeli court from entering the occupied territories, an edict he defied on the grounds that it “normalized Israel’s occupation” of these lands. On January 8th, while arriving for a pre-arranged meeting with a friend in West Jerusalem, Singh was bundled into a car by three Israelis in plain clothes. Nigel Parry reports. 

Gretta Duisenberg: Ramallah lunch

Radio Netherlands 8 January 2003


Gretta Duisenberg, wife of the President of the European Central Bank, undertakes a week-long trip to the West Bank and Gaza Strip as chairwoman of “Stop the Occupation”. In May last year, the ECB chief’s wife excited controversy when she hung a Palestinian flag from the balcony of their Amsterdam home. Radio Netherlands reports. 

In the home of Mohammed Ramadan

Jaggi Singh Nablus, Palestine 7 January 2003

Nablus is a city under siege. The West Bank’s largest town is the primary target for the Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) increased campaign against so-called militants and terrorists. It’s a campaign that, in effect, collectively punishes all Palestinians for being Palestinian. Jaggi Singh reports. 

We Are Here; They Are There

Darren Ell Montreal, Canada 7 January 2003


Above: Cover of The New Intifada. Buy this book on Amazon.com Since returning from my November 2002 trip to Palestine, I’ve been reading an illuminating new book on the Israel/Palestine conflict: The New Intifada: Resisting Israel’s Apartheid. Its essays reveal just how seriously the mainstream media has misrepresented the conflict. I recall that in 2000 we heard how former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was the Palestinians’ best chance for peace and how Arafat ruined it all by turning down Israel’s magnanimous concessions at Camp David. Quite a different story arises in Sara Roy’s essay. Darren Ell writes from Montreal, Canada.