Once again Israel defies an impotent international community which offers nothing but timid calls for ceasefire on “both sides.” And once again Palestinian suffering and death tolls continue to break records. Perhaps it is easy to dismiss this suffering by blaming the victims and resorting to ready cliches. When examined closely, however, reality rules out crude explanations of “violence without reason” and “terrorism without context. Nimer Sultany comments for EI. Read more about Colonial realities
Dehumanizing the Palestinians has been necessary for Israel to justify its actions ever since, and even before, the state was declared on destroyed historic Palestine in 1948 and then in 1967 when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza. Taken together, they indicate the historic effort to destroy Palestinian national aspirations and this is what Israel is trying to do in Gaza, which Nobel prize winner and late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin once wished would be swallowed by the sea. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari comments from Gaza. Read more about Israel keeping true to its racist words
On Friday, 29 February 2008, Israel’s deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai threatened Palestinians in Gaza with a “holocaust.” This date will go down in history as the beginning of a new phase in the colonial conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, whereby a senior Israeli leader, a “leftist” for that matter, has publicly revealed the genocidal plans Israel is considering to implement against Palestinians under its military occupation, if they do not cease to resist its dictates. Omar Barghouti comments for EI. Read more about The time for worldwide boycott is now
Israeli officials began damage limitation efforts after the country’s deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai threatened Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip with a “holocaust.” The comments came a day after Israeli occupation forces killed 31 Palestinians, nine of them children, one a six-month-old baby, in a series of air raids across the Gaza Strip. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah comments. Read more about Israeli minister threatens "holocaust" as public demand ceasefire talks
So much for the new Australian government taking an even-handed position on Israel-Palestine. Before our politicians even warmed their seats in the new parliamentary sittings, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that he will lead a parliamentary motion to honor Israel on 12 March acknowledging Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. The opposition leader will second the motion. Then, celebrations will take place at a reception in the Mural Hall of Parliament House. EI contributor Sonja Karkar comments. Read more about Australian government continues its love affair with Israel
At Annapolis, just like on so many occasions before, it was proclaimed that a “window of opportunity” had opened. Since the meeting, Israel’s military attacks have killed nearly 150 Palestinians in the occupied territories and Israel has escalated the construction of new settlements, increased the number of roadblocks and tightened its siege of Gaza. But for Israeli leaders it is always the Palestinians who are to blame for missing any “opportunities.” EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah comments. Read more about Looking for a new Palestinian partner
Israeli Ambassador Alan Baker recently expressed his indignation over Canada’s listing of Israel as a state that engages in torture in a training manual for diplomats. The ambassador asserts that torture is not practiced by Israel and based on this it seems that the Canadian Foreign Ministry will reevaluate this manual and “correct” it. The problem, however, is not the manual but the fact that Israel continues to regularly practice torture. Louis Frankenthaler comments. Read more about Yes, Canada, there is torture in Israel
On 2 October 2000, as the Israeli army was beginning its ruthless crackdown on the second intifada in the occupied territories, 17-year-old Aseel Asleh joined tens of thousands of other Palestinian citizens across Israel in taking to the streets in protest and in a show of solidarity with their kin across the Green Line. Within hours Asleh would be killed. Last week, Asleh’s family and those of another 12 Palestinian demonstrators killed inside Israel at the start of the intifada heard that those responsible would almost certainly never stand trial. Jonathan Cook writes from Nazareth. Read more about Still no justice for October 2000 killings
Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence has produced a range of reactions among Israeli and Palestinian observers that reveal their anxieties about their respective situations. However, EI co-founder Ali Abunimah cautions, history should tell us that imposed partitions have only generated new conflict, injustice and ethnic cleansing and have reinforced nationalism and irredentism. Read more about Kosovo and the question of Palestine
Imad Moughniya’s death, like his life, will remain shrouded in mystery and secrecy, but what few things we can learn for certain about this person’s life we already have. Before Moughniya, Carlos “the Jackal” and Abu Nidal were featured stars in the sensational news-entertainment industry. As a result we do not have an accurate picture of Moughniya (which may not be possible anyway), but more importantly, we have been presented with a distorted reality of the decades-long, bloody struggle between Israel and Hizballah.. Raid Khoury comments for Electronic Lebanon. Read more about The killing of Imad Moughniya
