The Electronic Intifada

The prosecutor and the judge

Adam Keller 4 November 2003

It’s nearing the end - this routine of coming again and again to the Jaffa Military Court, to which we have grown accustomed in the past half year. The testimonies and cross-examinations are past. Today the prosecutor - Captain Yaron Kostelitz, will make his final summation, trying his utmost to make the most heavy case and use the most specious arguments against the five young guys in the dock. 

The Violence of Construction: Israel's Wall and International Law

Michael Kearney 4 November 2003

The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, initiated through aggressive military campaigns in 1948 and 1967, has been consolidated and standardised through a continuous and ongoing assault on the very environment of Palestine. The Israeli grip on the Palestinian Territories has been ensured through a paradoxical “violence of construction.” 

EU poll: "Israel poses biggest threat to world peace"

Arjan El Fassed 3 November 2003


Researchers have found that nearly 60 percent of European citizens believe Israel poses the biggest threat to world peace. Iran is considered the second biggest threat, North Korea the third and the United States the fourth. The European Commission survey asked the public in all 15 member states to look at a list of countries and say which they considered potential threats to peace. Israel was selected by a majority in almost all the EU member states. EI’s Arjan El Fassed takes a closer look. 

Building to destroy: The 'separation' wall and the future of Palestine

Anwar Darkazally 3 November 2003


The Road Map is in tatters, and not by accident. It is business as usual for the most right wing government in Israel’s history. Business is building, and building is booming.For many months now, before and after the launch of the Road Map, land has been confiscated and homes and agricultural land levelled for the construction of the “separation” wall along the north of the West Bank. People are being separated from their land and each other, greenhouses and crops have been destroyed and towns and villages are being encircled by the wall as it snakes through the West Bank annexing land to Israel. Anwar Darkazally contributed this piece to EI. 

Response to National Post editorial of 20 August 2003

Nigel Parry 2 September 2003

Regarding the editorial, “Another reason to build the fence: Separating Israel from the West Bank will help prevent attacks such as yesterday’s bus bombing” (20 Aug), The National Post has missed the point entirely. The Post argues that a description of Israel’s Wall on our website as “a colonial project that embodies within it the long-term policy of occupation, discrimination and expulsion” was “nonsensical” and that Israel is building the Wall “to protect its citizens from terrorists based in the West Bank”. EI’s Nigel Parry wrote this letter in response to an editorial in the National Post (Canada). 

Nusseibeh and Ayalon Face Strong Opposition in Seattle

Haithem El-Zabri 7 November 2003


Seattle’s Palestinian community, together with Arab and American supporters of the Palestinian cause, have expressed clear opposition to the Nusseibeh-Ayalon “peace proposal” which dismisses the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. Sari Nusseibeh and Ami Ayalon came to the University of Washington - Seattle on October 23rd, 2003, to present their plan, and were met with visible opposition from local community groups. Haithem El-Zabri reports for EI. 

The role of the international media in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

Siham Rashid 31 October 2003


The following text is from a seminar presentation, “An Overview of the Role of the International Media Regarding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict”, given by Siham Rashid, Director of the Public Relations Department, Palestinian Counseling Center (PCC) on 29 August 2003. Hosted by the Alternative Information Center (AIC), the seminar was titled “A Middle East Without Wars and Oppression is Possible: An International Seminar on the Palestinian Struggle and Globalization”. 

Geneva Accord: Why can't the PA learn from its mistakes?

Hasan Abu Nimah 30 October 2003


It is astonishing how little the Palestinian leadership learns from its past mistakes? asks regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah. The so-called “Geneva Accord” — an unofficial document agreed upon by former Israeli officials and Palestinians linked with the Palestinian Authority — is a new blunder that will do enormous harm to the Palestinian position, while doing nothing to extricate the Palestinian leadership from its sinking state. Abu Nimah looks at some the agreement in detail and looks at its provisions on key issues like land and refugees. 

A disastrous dead end: the Geneva Accord

Ali Abunimah 28 October 2003


Because of the Oslo process, the basis for a viable and minimally fair two-state solution has been completely destroyed. The Israeli “peace camp” and the Palestinian leadership ought to have learned from the calamities they helped bring about and changed their ways. The so-called “Geneva Accord,” an informal agreement prepared by Israelis, led by former Labor Justice Minister Yossi Beilin and other Oslo-era luminaries, and Palestinians close to Yasser Arafat, demonstrates a determination to repeat the tragic errors of the past. EI’s Ali Abunimah explains.