The Electronic Intifada

The mayor of Qalqilya explains the impact of Israel's apartheid wall

10 July 2003


On July 10, EI’s Arjan El Fassed visited Israel’s apartheid wall built on confiscated Palestinian land in Qalqilya. The mayor of Qalqilya, Marouf Zahran explains the impact of Israel’s apartheid on his town. The wall surrounds the town almost completely. The 8 meter high wall will be surrounded first by a trench of four meters wide and two meters deep, barbed wire and a military zone patrolled by Israeli occupying forces. Palestinian property within 35 meters of the wall has been or will be destroyed by the Israeli army. [3.45 mins, Quicktime file, 6.9MB] 

Writings on the walls in Gaza

10 July 2003


Driving through Gaza, any visitor observes the enormous amount of shi’arat (lit. “signs, slogans, watchwords”) or graffiti. Messages cover almost every conceivable surface. Walls, telephone poles, monuments, and stones are fair canvases. On July 10, EI’s Arjan El Fassed visited Gaza and filmed the writings on the walls of Gaza. [1.04 mins, Quicktime file, 3.6MB] 

Prominent Dutch women visit Israel and occupied Palestine

Arjan El Fassed 16 July 2003

EI’s Arjan El Fassed facilitated a mission of prominent Dutch women to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories which took place between the 7th and 12th of July. The mission was organized by United Civilians for Peace, a joint initiative of six Dutch peace and development organisations who have been working with their Palestinian and Israeli counterparts for many years in the field of development, peace building and human rights. 

Humiliating Arafat

Hasan Abu Nimah 16 July 2003


Mahmoud Abbas was chosen by the United States as an unelected, alternate Palestinian leader who could be bullied and bribed into doing what Yasir Arafat failed to do earlier. Abbas is now anxiously and willingly treading exactly the same path of surrender and obedience that Arafat trod before him. Except, in Abbas’ case, it will not take him as long to reach the same dead end in which Arafat finds himself. As Israel makes new threats against Arafat himself, regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah explains why. 

Destruction in Khan Yunis

9 July 2003


The footage shows the road from the edge of Khan Yunis to Al-Mawasi, a narrow strip of coastal land trapped between the sea and the Israeli settlement bloc of Gush Qatif. In the area between Khan Yunis and the settlement, Palestinian homes have been demolished and fired upon. 

Nablus-Qalqiliya road

8 July 2003


On the road from Nablus to Qalqilya the roads are practically completely closed for Palestinian traffic. Two ambulances wait for this checkpoint along with other transport vehicles. Despite the hodna (“ceasefire”) announced by Palestinian groups, Israel did not ease restrictions of movement in and around the city of Nablus. 

Follow-up to June 26th article to AP

Nigel Parry 3 July 2003

Following a 26 June 2003 Associated Press article “Israelis Exonerated in Activist’s Death”, which would have been more honestly titled “Israel exonerates itself in activist’s death,” EI’s Nigel Parry wrote to AP International Editor Sally Jacobsen to protest the writer’s unjustifiable linking of the International Solidarity Movement with terrorism. This letter is a follow-up to first. To date (10 July 2003), neither letter has received a response. 

The holy war Israel wants

Jonathan Cook 11 July 2003


The inhabitants of Nazareth, Israel’s only Arab city, often talk of the ‘invisible occupation’: although they rarely see police — let alone soldiers — on their streets, they are held in a vise-like grip of Israeli control just as much as their ethnic kin in neighbouring Palestinian cities like Jenin and Nablus are. Last week, more than 500 heavily armed police officers stormed Nazareth’s city centre at dawn, arresting a handful of Muslim clerics and demolishing the foundations of a mosque that has been making headlines since a “holy tent” was first erected in 1998 at the site of the grave of Shihab ad-Deen, the nephew of Salah ad-Deen.” Jonathan Cook files an exclusive analysis for EI from Nazareth.