CAIRO (IPS) - Hosni Mubarak’s speech Thursday night in which he refused to quit only provoked anger and sparked further unrest. Massive demonstrations, and pitched battles between pro-democracy protesters and the regime’s security forces, have already been intensifying in every corner of the country. Read more about Egyptian labor joins the uprising
Criticism has mounted in recent months around the Israeli civic service program, a volunteering program aimed at individuals otherwise exempt from military service, which individuals say conditions their inalienable rights, such as equal access to education and the job market. Read more about Israel's discriminatory civil service program challenged
“I still cannot believe my eyes as I see the machines of our new factory, scattered to all corners,” said Rabah al-Hatto as he surveyed the rubble of his recently-established plastic water tank factory in northeast Gaza, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes early yesterday. Read more about New Gaza factory, jobs destroyed in Israeli attack
GAZACITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - Despite ongoing protests calling for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s immediate resignation, petrol is once again flowing through the tunnels from Egypt into Gaza after supplies were cut for a week due to the unrest, according to the Palestinian General Petroleum Corporation. Read more about Groups warn of humanitarian consequences of Gaza closure
RAFAH, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - Mustapha Suleiman, 27, from J Block east of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, crosses through gaps in the iron fence on the border carrying bread, water, cans of meat and a handful of vegetables for Egyptian soldiers stationed on the other side. Read more about Palestinians in Gaza feed Egyptian troops
Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani9 February 2011
CAIRO (IPS) - Over recent years, Egypt has witnessed mounting tension between its Muslim majority and its sizeable Coptic Christian minority. But in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the site of ongoing mass protests against the ruling regime, members of both faiths chant in unison “Muslim, Christian, doesn’t matter; We’re all in this boat together!” Read more about Muslim-Christian unity characterizes Egypt's uprising
OCCUPIEDGAZASTRIP (IRIN) - More than a week of political unrest in Egypt has heightened the threat of a humanitarian crisis in neighboring Gaza. Egyptian soldiers fled their posts on the northern border on 30 January, forcing the Rafah crossing — a critical valve for the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza — to close. Read more about Palestinians detained, prices soar as Rafah stays closed
CAIRO (IPS) - Imam Mohammed al-Saba of the Eisa mosque here in the center of the rural town Kirdasa takes the pulpit to tell his congregation he can smell “the air of freedom for the first time in thirty years.” Read more about Smell of freedom is sweet in this small Egyptian town
Israeli settlers shot and killed two Palestinian teenagers in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank, and then attacked the funeral procession for one of them. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued to shoot at Palestinian laborers in Gaza and arrest and beat civilians in other parts of the country, including children. Read more about Settlers kill 2 Palestinian teens, soldiers attack funeral