The image of the five men attending peace talks at the White House can easily be dissected as the following: a dictator, a monarch, a puppet and two heads of state responsible for the region’s only military occupations — not the best ingredients for making world peace. Matthew Cassel comments. Read more about Washington peace talks: democracy need not apply  

Due to the endemic poverty in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied West Bank, hundreds of Palestinian children are forced on to the streets by parents who are living below the poverty level in a desperate bid to eke out a few extra dollars to help their families survive. Read more about Israeli discrimination drives kids from school 

Israel aggressively courts research partnerships with American universities by hosting academic delegations. These academic delegations are political-educational junkets, which subliminally promote a Zionist ideology along with coordinating potential partnerships with Israeli universities. Diane Shammas comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Academic research collaboration emboldens Israeli apartheid 

“Everyone here works without a permit,” said Shatila refugee camp resident Mohammed Khalife. “Being legal and having a work permit is the strange thing, not the other way around.” Read more about Two steps back for Palestinians in Lebanon 

Three Palestinian farmers were killed by Israeli tank shelling late at night 12 September in the northernmost occupied Gaza Strip, along the no-go “buffer zone” enforced by the Israeli military. Read more about Gaza subjected to air strikes, water crisis 

ZEITOUN, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - “We haven’t had a single visit yet through Ramadan, what kind of zoo doesn’t get visitors during holidays?” asks Mahmoud Barghoud, 22, co-creator of the Marha zoo. The Marha Land zoo and children’s park lies halfway between Gaza and Deir al-Balah on the main north-south highway running Gaza’s length, waiting for customers to visit. Read more about No animals, no visitors at Gaza's lone zoo  

Located just north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the entrance to the Palestinian village of Beit Ommar is also the site of an Israeli military post. A large yellow gate is opened and closed at the will of the Israeli army, which can cut off the inhabitants of the town from the rest of the West Bank at any time. Jody McIntyre interviews Beit Ommar resident Amal al-Montallab for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about "They don't want our boys educated" 

Following a sharp increase in divestment efforts across North American college campuses last spring, this academic year promises an even greater number of initiatives, as well as resistance from university administrations to embrace the social justice movement. Mohammad Talaat comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Divestment: from the campus to the streets 

GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - The Muslim festival approaches, but not the end to power cuts that have darkened the month-long Ramadan fasting leading up to the festival. Or to the agony of Gazans, made worse by the reminder that it’s approaching festive time. Read more about Siege casts shadow over Ramadan