It may not be unknown that Abbas and his Ramallah Authority can only function within specified parameters tailored for the convenience, indeed the security needs, of the occupying power and the pro-Israel policies of its foreign supporters. Hamas has no place within that tightly built scheme. Despite Hamas’ willingness to enter the political system and play by the rules, the idea has been to eliminate the resistance movement from the equation completely, permitting it no political role whatsoever. Hasan Abu Nimah comments. Read more about An impossible reconciliation
The sixth congress of the Fatah movement, held in Bethlehem earlier this month, gave us a front row seat to the closing act of an important period of Palestinian nationalism. The failure of the Palestinian Liberation Movement (Fatah) to achieve any of its declared goals was symbolized in its holding the conference under occupation. This reflects not only the demise of Fatah — the faction that dominated the Palestine Liberation Organization for decades — but the general demise of contemporary Palestinian nationalism. Haider Eid comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about The pitfalls of Palestinian national consciousness
The international condemnation over Israel’s winter invasion of Gaza and allegations of war crimes has made it increasingly uncomfortable, if not difficult, for members of the Israeli military to travel abroad. A recent incident in South Africa reveals the power and limitations of attempts to enforce international law and to hold war criminals accountable. Sayed Dhansay comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about S. Africa: War crime suspects must think twice
Upon finding out that I am Palestinian, many people I meet at college in the United States are eager to inform me of various activities that they have participated in that promote “coexistence” and “dialogue” between both sides of the “conflict,” no doubt expecting me to give a nod of approval. However, these efforts are harmful and undermine the Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israel — the only way of pressuring Israel to cease its violations of Palestinians’ rights. Faris Giacaman comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Can we talk? The Middle East "peace industry"
The purpose of nonviolent direct action and civil resistance is to take risks and put our selves in the way of injustice. We take these risks well aware of what the possible consequences may be. We do so because the consequences of doing nothing are so much worse. Any time we allow ourselves to be bullied, every time we pass by an evil and ignore it, we lower our standards and allow our world to be made that much harsher and unjust for us all. Ramzi Kysia comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Nonviolent direct action, solidarity and struggle
Maher Hanoun was ordered by Israeli courts to hand over the keys to his home on 19 July. Rather than comply with the court order, he held a press conference outside his house accompanied by several top officials, including Nils Eliasson of the Swedish Consulate representing the European Union, Robert Serry representing the UN, and Dr. Rafik Husseini of the Palestinian Authority. They all condemned the proposed eviction, calling it an affront to norms of international justice. In spite of US President Barack Obama’s call to freeze Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, no representative from the US was present. Marcey Gayer comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Jerusalem families waiting for US action
Without any sense of irony, lands of destroyed Palestinian villages have been expropriated by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and dedicated to revolutionary South American heroes of liberation. Despite its role in the ongoing dispossession of historic Palestine, JNF has offices in the capitals of Bolivia and Venezuela where they raise funds to further entrench a racist system and to erase the signs of Israel’s double crime: the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the demolition of the Arab Jewish communities all over the Arab world and the transfer of Jews of Arab origin to Palestine by means of deception and terror. Rahela Mizrahi comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about JNF presence in S. America perpetuates Palestine injustice
“Breaking the Silence” is a member of the Israeli human rights, peace and social justice community. The group’s only crime, so it seems, lies in its effort to offer an alternative ethical voice in a society that is arguably losing its way. Breaking the Silence provides a platform for soldiers to testify to acts of violence and other violations of Palestinian rights that they may have witnessed or taken part in during their service in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Louis Frankenthaler comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about "Breaking the Silence" or silencing the critics?
It has been an unnatural string of days here in Bethlehem. Gone is the usual quaintness. Palestinian police are working overtime and coffee shops are being lit up by men in suits with cigars in town for Fatah’s sixth general assembly. The secular Fatah movement was founded in the 1950s and has since been at the forefront of the Palestinian national movement. Sousan Hammad writes for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Smoke, mirrors and acrimony: The 2009 Fatah congress
“In Jaffa we were called the “Beirutis” [the ones from Beirut] and in Beirut we became known the Yafawi. Who am I?” Shafiq al-Hout, the Palestinian political figure and founding member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, passed away in Beirut this week at the age of 77. In a tribute to his tireless efforts towards the liberation of the Palestinian people, the Electronic Intifada presents his story in his own words, as told to The Electronic Intifada contributor Mayssoun Sukarieh in Beirut in 1999. Read more about "Beiruti in Jaffa, Yafawi in Beirut": Shafiq al-Hout's story in his own words
