In 2008 Britain expressed concern about how goods originating from Israeli settlements in the West Bank may be benefiting illegally from European Union trade preferences that theoretically only apply to businesses within Israel’s internationally-recognized borders. However, EU officials have not only failed to defend international law, they have accommodated Israel’s abuse of it. David Cronin analyzes for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Flouting its own laws, EU accommodates "Made in Israel"
Critics of the movement for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel — including Israeli concert producer Shuki Weiss — have claimed that calling on artists to cancel performances in Israel is a form of censorship. Is the cultural boycott a form of censorship or McCarthyism? Sami Hermez comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Boycott or censorship?
As US-brokered “indirect” peace talks are set to resume, a paper authored by PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat reveals a Palestinian leadership ready to re-enter negotiations with Israel having already conceded fundamental Palestinian rights and demands. EI’s Ali Abunimah analyzes a document he says provides insight into the thought processes of a leadership bereft of strategy and legitimacy. Read more about PLO paper reveals leadership bereft of strategy, legitimacy
Seven years after Rachel Corrie, a US peace activist, was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza, her family was to put the Israeli government in the dock today. A judge in the northern Israeli city of Haifa was due to be presented with evidence that 23-year-old Corrie was killed unlawfully as she stood in the path of the bulldozer, trying to prevent it from demolishing Palestinian homes in Rafah. Jonathan Cook reports. Read more about Rachel Corrie's family takes Israel to court
Phon van den Biesen and Adri Nieuwhof10 March 2010
On 25 February, the European Court of Justice ruled that imports manufactured in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank shouldn’t benefit from a trade agreement between Israel and the European Union. The ruling follows protests of Israel’s export of products from the illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) to the EU and Switzerland labeled as “Made in Israel.” Products labeled as such benefit from favorable import taxes under the EU-Israel Association Agreement of 2000. Phon van den Biesen and Adri Nieuwhof comment for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Truth in labeling: EU court challenges "Made in Israel"
BRUSSELS (IPS) - For the first time since September 2006, Mahmoud Abu Rahma, a leading figure in the Palestinian human rights group Al Mezan, has been granted permission to travel outside Gaza. More than 30 applications to leave the Strip had previously been turned down by the Israeli authorities and it was not until German diplomats made representations on his behalf that he was finally allowed to visit Europe. Read more about Interview with Gaza rights defender: "Siege began in 1967"
Nazareth-born filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad is best known internationally for his 2005 film Paradise Now about two young, attractive Palestinian men from Nablus in the occupied West Bank who are drawn into a suicide bombing mission in Tel Aviv. It was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The Electronic Intifada contributor Sabah Haider spoke with Hany Abu Assad about how his films are received, Palestinian cinema and the challenges of filmmaking. Read more about "Palestinian cinema is a cause": an interview with Hany Abu-Assad
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, with its ubiquitous closures, checkpoints, military raids and arrests, has decimated the Palestinian economy in the West Bank and Gaza. The World Bank warned over a year ago that unless Israel eased its restrictions on movement and access in the West Bank the Palestinian economy would further deteriorate. Read more about Palestinian women become breadwinners under occupation
GAZACITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - At 14, Nour plays the piano, and she knows the facts around her. That the average age for marriage is 18, likely to a man found by parents, her place would be within that home, and a woman has on average 6.5 children. She goes to a United Nations agency for Palestine refugees school in Gaza City, and loves journalism, inspired by her older sister, who works at a radio station. Read more about The sounds of piano in Gaza
Words always matter, and names always have a life of their own. But perhaps Palestine and Israel form a context in which words become positions more dramatically than in many others. The authors of the “Moment of Truth” Kairos document, which is the Christian Palestinians’ statement to the world about the occupation of Palestine and a call for support in opposing it, have repeatedly been asked about the use of the word “boycott.” What exactly does this mean? How far exactly does it go? And what exactly does it call for? Rifat Kassis comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Moment of truth: time to boycott Israel's entire range of injustice
