The Electronic Intifada

On violence and the Intifada

Ali Abunimah 22 January 2003


For decades, the unbearable cost of the occupation was borne almost exclusively by the Palestinians. Today it is falling a little more evenly. This is the grim political calculus that ensures there is enough support to keep suicide attacks going, while Israel’s collective punishment of the entire population, and assassinations of political leaders, ensure there is always a sufficient supply of hopeless volunteers ready to fulfill any mission in revenge. EI’s Ali Abunimah argues that attacks on Israeli civilians must stop, but that it is a mistake to believe that these attacks are what stand in the way of peace. 

'Divine Intervention' features at Rotterdam International Film Festival

Arjan El Fassed 20 January 2003


The award-winning Palestinian film Divine Intervention, directed by Elia Suleiman, will feature during the Hubert Bals Fund Harvest at the showcase for contemporary world cinema, the Rotterdam International Film Festival in the Netherlands. Moreover, ‘Divine Intervention’ is nominated for the Amnesty International -DOEN Award, a prize for films about human rights. 

For a nuclear-free Middle East

Karen Asfour 20 January 2003


The wheels of war roll on and it appears the world is getting closer to some type of armed conflict in the Middle East. In this environment, Israel’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons present a real but often overlooked threat to the region. In this contribution to EI, Karen Asfour assesses Israel’s weapons of mass destruction programs and argues that Israel’s refusal to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty is a key obstacle fuelling instability in the region, and preventing movement towards a nuclear-free Middle East. 

Mystery surrounds killing of two Palestinians in Occupied Gaza

Ali Abunimah 16 January 2003


The duty of reporters is to alert readers to the inadequacies of the information available, to emphasize that Israeli army reports, which
are often false and self-serving, are unverified, and avoid reporting
such claims as uncontested fact. Reporting an incident in Gaza on January 13th, several media organisations once again failed to
maintain clarity about the quality of their information source. Ali
Abunimah reports. 

Israel's academic freedom defended, while Palestine's is destroyed

Ali Abunimah 10 January 2003

Following the January 5 suicide attacks, which killed over twenty people in Tel Aviv, Ariel Sharon’s spokesman, Raanan Gissin announced that Israel would shut down three Palestinian universities. Meanwhile, a mere statement by the administrative council of the prestigious University of Paris-VI has caused an uproar in Europe over alleged “boycotts” of Israeli academics. EI’s Ali Abunimah examines the controversy. 

Israeli security forces kidnap Jaggi Singh

Nigel Parry 8 January 2003

Canadian activist Jaggi Singh traveled to Palestine on December 14th to write about the realities of the Israeli occupation and participate in the activities of the International Solidarity Movement. On his arrival he was banned by an Israeli court from entering the occupied territories, an edict he defied on the grounds that it “normalized Israel’s occupation” of these lands. On January 8th, while arriving for a pre-arranged meeting with a friend in West Jerusalem, Singh was bundled into a car by three Israelis in plain clothes. Nigel Parry reports.