How real is the threat of population transfer in Palestine-Israel today, asks Terry Rempel, the research coordinator at BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights in this contribution to EI? The fact is that population transfer is ongoing, with or without a US-led war against Iraq, through the revocation of residency rights, destruction of thousands of Palestinian homes over the past two years among other measures. As pro-transfer rhetoric heats up in Israel and the US heads towards war what are the prospects for outright ethnic cleansing? Read more about Of war and population transfer 

The world is being deceived into believing that political reforms can happen in the Israeli-occupied territories of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. As the Bush Administration continues to call for regime change in the Palestinian Authority, Israel is silently pursuing a violent strategy of establishing internment camps that imprison Palestinians from all walks of life. Sam Bahour writes from Ramallah/Al-Bireh. Read more about Reform by Imprisonment 

Writing for EI, Hasan Abu Nimah says that the fact that an Arab country is targeted for destruction by the US, and that Jerusalem is granted to Israel as its capital is directly and closely linked to the sad reality of incompetence, loss of willpower, paralysis and defeatism that prevails in the Arab world. Read more about The Jerusalem blow -- another reminder of need for urgent change 

As the world looks on, Israel continues its violent campaign against the Palestinians with a bloody new attack in Gaza which killed thirteen people, four of them children. EI’s Ali Abunimah argues that as long as the UN and the international community react to Israel’s crimes only with words, they are in no position to make any demands of the Palestinian people. Read more about Please, spare us your lectures 

EI’s Arjan El Fassed is leaving Palestine but still has something to get off his chest. His column was published today in The Jerusalem Post. Read more about Leaving with mixed feelings 

Israel is cheering on a US attack on Iraq. What does Israel have to gain from a war that is opposed by the whole world, and do sinister blueprints from Washington’s ultraconservative think tanks herald a frightening future for the Middle East? EI’s Ali Abunimah investigates. Read more about Yearning for World War IV: The Israel-Iraq connection 

As Israel jumps from one self-made crisis to the next, the State of Israel itself is in an alarming condition. Sam Bahour reports from under siege in Ramallah/Al-Bireh. Read more about Wake up and smell the occupation 

The Palestinian people are stuck between a brutal and lethal Israeli occupation, and leaders who have served them poorly. Hasan Abu-Nimah writing for EI, argues that root and branch reform is needed, but not the kind advocated by Israel and the United States. Read more about The role of leadership in a democracy 

The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding Israel ends its siege on Yasser Arafat’s Ramallah compound. EI’s Ali Abunimah argues that while the international community scrambles to respond to such artificial crises, the real issues are being ignored, and greater danger is to come. Read more about Artificial Crisis, Artificial Response