6 September 2002
On 6 September 2002, EI’s Arjan El Fassed filmed the “Muqata”, the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. Arafat’s compound sustained more damage from Israeli bulldozers after a second round of destruction. The siege on Arafat’s headquarters had been severed the past few weeks. Read more about Ramallah: Arafat's Compound (2)
14 September 2003
A Partners for Peace letter was published in the New York Times Magazine of September 14, 2003. The letter appeared after weeks of effort to have the Magazine acknowledge that the illegal settlement of Har Homa (Jabal Abu Ghneim) is not part of Israel. Michael Brown reports. Read more about Persistent Partners for Peace squeezes a correction out of the New York Times Magazine
12 September 2003
The crisis represented by the Abbas resignation may actually signal the end of the era in which hopes for peace were predicated on the division of the land between an Israeli and a Palestinian state. If this is the case, argues EI’s Ali Abunimah, we will have to embrace a “South African solution”—bringing Palestinians and Israelis together in one political entity where they enjoy equal rights and freedom. We should be under no illusion that embracing the one-state solution is an easy choice for Palestinians, let alone Israelis. On the contrary, it entails a political movement of immense complexity and against powerful opposition. Yet this struggle may soon, if it has not already, become unavoidable. Read more about 10 years after Oslo, question of single state unavoidable
11 September 2003
Immediately after the 11 September 2001 attacks, American news channels repeatedly aired footage of a tiny group of Palestinians celebrating. Israel’s supporters tried to spin these images as proof that the Palestinians were a barbaric people and as much enemies of the US as of Israel. For Palestinians — who naturally shared the horror of the rest of the world — it was a particularly anxious moment, and many feared that after the thousands killed in the attacks, they would be the “second victims” of September 11. Two years on, EI’s Ali Abunimah asks whether the worst fears were realized and if the attacks made any fundamental difference to the dynamics of the Palestine conflict. Read more about The Palestinians after September 11
10 September 2003
The resignation of the first Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, should surprise no one. The whole scheme was no more than an artificial arrangement intended to serve far more hidden, dangerous purposes than those sanctimoniously declared. Regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah analyzes why Abbas failed, and considers the chances for a successor to do any better. Read more about The quick rise and fall of Mahmoud Abbas
8 September 2003
The Electronic Intifada has been busy behind the scenes for the last month, working on a third major redesign of our site. EI co-founder Nigel Parry and former MSNBC.com multimedia specialist and EI team member Ken Harper are currently working together with the rest of the EI team to implement EI 3.0 for a September/October 2003 relaunch. For visitors who have grown used to our site, do not fear — the coming EI 3.0 will not see the removal of any features you currently enjoy, nor will it radically change our basic look. Read more about EI v3.0 Coming Soon
2 September 2003
Palestinian suicide bombings are vicious and grave abuses, clearly war crimes under international law for intentionally killing civilians. They have also been a strategic disaster for Palestinian national aspirations, souring the Israeli public on peace and damaging the Palestinian cause in the court of world opinion. Nevertheless, it is nearly impossible to avoid concluding that the current Israeli government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has either deliberately provoked a number of them or at least undertaken actions that would clearly risk them. Either way, it is complicit in the deaths of scores of Israeli citizens. Steve Niva comments. Read more about Israel's Assassination Policy Triggers Latest Suicide Bombings
30 August 2003
In the rare event of articles critical of Israel breaking into the mainstream US media, a flood of denunciations from letter writers and Zionist lobby groups usually follows. Editors insist that their coverage is not affected by such tactics. But the truth is that these well-financed groups believe it is worth investing huge amounts of time, energy, and money in organising these campaigns. On 27 May 2003, a commentary piece by British journalist Jonathan Cook, entitled “A cage for Palestinians: A 1,000-kilometer fence preempts the road map”, was published in the International Herald Tribune. EI’s Nigel Parry looks at one instance of the lobby in action. Read more about CAMERA's half-baked attack on Cook
29 August 2003
The two devastating bomb attacks in Baghdad and Jerusalem last week have further confirmed the fragile nature of measures taken so far to deal with the two complex issues of Palestine and Iraq. It was particularly shocking, and deeply agonising to realise that even the United Nations’ Baghdad headquarters would not be spared the evil of those whose main interest, it seems, is only to spread death, destruction and total chaos. The United Nations, and the many noble people who fell victim in the senseless, horrendous attack had no reason to be there other than to help the Iraqis overcome the suffering of the war, and provide them with much needed assistance to rebuild their shattered country and battered society. Yet, argues regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah, the lesson of these atrocities is once again that occupation breeds chaos, violence and endless resistance. Read more about Violence will end when occupation ends
30 August 2003
The Arab states are in desperate need of reform. Their hundreds of millions of people — the vast majority of them under age 30 — lack the basic freedoms and opportunities that they crave. EI’s Ali Abunimah considers the vexing problem of what can be an agent for much needed change. Some believe that an external “shock,” like the US invasion of Iraq can shake things up for the better. Abunimah believes its urgent that we search for a more positive and constructive path to democracy. Read more about Regional Focus: The problem of Arab reform