A leaked secret memorandum from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggests the government is seeking to ensure Israeli and other foreign officials who may be pursued for war crimes can visit the Netherlands without fear of arrest or legal accountability. Read more about Netherlands could be safe haven for war criminals: leaked memo
OCCUPIEDGAZASTRIP (IRIN) - More than a week of political unrest in Egypt has heightened the threat of a humanitarian crisis in neighboring Gaza. Egyptian soldiers fled their posts on the northern border on 30 January, forcing the Rafah crossing — a critical valve for the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza — to close. Read more about Palestinians detained, prices soar as Rafah stays closed
I am not a big fan of Tunisia’s Prime Minister Mohammad Ghannouchi. Yet, I very much appreciated some of what Ghannouchi had to say last Friday, 4 February 2011, to journalist Piers Morgan on his new CNN show. Nouri Gana comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Revolution is an export Tunisia can be proud of
CAIRO (IPS) - Imam Mohammed al-Saba of the Eisa mosque here in the center of the rural town Kirdasa takes the pulpit to tell his congregation he can smell “the air of freedom for the first time in thirty years.” Read more about Smell of freedom is sweet in this small Egyptian town
High-powered Washington lobby firms have helped the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak secure enormous benefits in Washington. President Obama’s special envoy to Egypt, Frank Wisner, works for one such firm which has had many contracts with Egypt’s military and leading business families. Read more about Obama envoy Wisner works for Egypt military, business lobbyists
Israeli settlers shot and killed two Palestinian teenagers in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank, and then attacked the funeral procession for one of them. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued to shoot at Palestinian laborers in Gaza and arrest and beat civilians in other parts of the country, including children. Read more about Settlers kill 2 Palestinian teens, soldiers attack funeral
People keep talking of a new war. They tell you about their neighbors — they’re probably too shy to admit that its their family, not their neighbors — who already started stocking up on food items and candles in preparation for the upcoming war. Read more about The circles in the sky over Gaza
Lamya HussainBorj El Barajneh refugee camp8 February 2011
“Where would you like to go?” asks a taxi driver a little older than my father, his thick Lebanese accent I barely understand. I reply politely, “Off the airport road to Bourj al-Barajneh.” “The refugee camp? No, I don’t go there,” he replies. Read more about Refuge and return
Matthew Cassel, photojournalist and an editor with The Electronic Intifada, is currently in Cairo and has been documenting the unfolding of the Egyptian revolution. He spoke with Nora Barrows-Friedman today about the unflagging steadfastness of the protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Read more about Interview: protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square push back Mubarak thugs
On 7 January, five Israeli soldiers invaded Subhya Qawasme’s home. Her husband, Amr, was shot to death while he was sleeping in their bed as Subhya prayed beside him. Amr Qawasme was 66 years old. He was a former construction worker, a father of 12 and a grandfather of 37. Charlotte Silver reports for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Family of Amr Qawasme, murdered in his bed, seeks accountability