Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani24 March 2008
In the wake of a series of deadly Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip early this month, Egypt has stepped up efforts aimed at brokering a ceasefire between Palestinian resistance groups and Tel Aviv. “Egypt is talking to representatives from [Palestinian resistance factions] Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Israel in order to arrive at a tacit easing of hostilities,” Mohamed Basyouni, head of the Shura (upper parliamentary) Council’s committee for Arab affairs, and former Egyptian ambassador to Israel, told IPS. Read more about Renewed Egyptian ceasfire attempts undermined by Israel
For the past few years student and academic groups in North America and Europe have been openly campaigning for the boycott of Israeli academia. Some actions produced results (even if not long lasting) and some were unsuccessful. It is important for us working towards the defense of Palestinians’ human rights to learn from these experiences so we may meet our goals in the future. Laith Marouf comments for EI. Read more about Towards a viable academic boycott campaign
In 2006, as Iraq descended into new depths of civil conflict, 350 Palestinian refugees were driven out of Baghdad by targeted violence. They arrived in the desert no man’s land between the Iraqi and Syrian border crossings at al-Tanf. The Syrian authorities denied the Palestinians access into Syria, while also preventing any more Palestinians arriving into the no man’s land. James Denselow reports for EI. Read more about Trapped in no man's land
According to Canadian foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier and the Harper government Israel does not practice torture. After it was exposed that Canada had Israel and the United States listed as offenders in a training manual for diplomats about torture, the two countries were promptly dropped on 19 January with Bernier’s expression of regret and embarrassment. EI contributor Jesse Rosenfeld reports. Read more about See no evil: Canadian government denies torture in Israel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s speech to the Israeli Knesset was lauded as historic, as she spoke of her country’s “shame” for the Holocaust. EI Contributor Raymond Deane subjects Merkel’s words and German reactions to them to a searing analysis. Deane argues that with her distortions, omissions and indifference to their plight, Merkel covers up the reality that it is the Palestinians who are paying the penance for Germany’s past crimes. Read more about Scapegoat upon scapegoat: Angela Merkel addresses the Knesset
As their plane touched down in Tel Aviv recently, Cindy and Craig Corrie marked five years since their daughter’s death. On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie, 23, was crushed to death beneath an armored Israeli bulldozer. The Corries are a short distance from Gaza, where Rachel was killed, and where in the past few weeks, an Israeli military incursion killed over 100 Palestinians. Tom Wright and Therese Saliba comment. Read more about Rachel Corrie's case for justice
GAZACITY, 19 March (IPS) - You would think the baby boy named Yousef has his life ahead of him. But who knows, with a child born to Palestinian parents from Gaza. What’s more, Yousef was born in an Israeli prison. He is the only one of Fatima al-Zeq’s nine children who is with her for that reason — she was arrested nine months ago. But these days the baby is not with her. Read more about In prison, who knows why?
If the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the world’s most intractable, much the same can be said of the parallel debate about whether its resolution can best be achieved by a single state embracing the two peoples living there or by a division of the land into two separate states, one for Jews and the other for Palestinians. EI contributor Jonathan Cook asks the question: if one state is impossible, why is Olmert so afraid of it? Read more about Two-state dreamers
TYRE, Lebanon, 12 March (IPS) - Soon after the US destroyer USS Cole was deployed off Lebanon’s shore 28 February to “preserve political stability”, a group of young men gathered around in the embattled agricultural town Qana in south Lebanon, and voiced their fears. “Everyone feels there is a war coming,” said Salman Ismael, a 22-year-old university student. “Especially after the killing of (Hizballah commander) Imad Mughniyeh and what is happening in Gaza.” Read more about Political crisis set to worsen
JERUSALEM/GAZA, 12 March 2008 (IRIN) - Egypt has allowed over 200 Palestinian patients from the Gaza Strip to make their way into Egypt via the Rafah border crossing, according to Palestinian health officials. After the large-scale Israeli incursion into Jabalya refugee camp at the end of February and beginning of March, which killed about 120 and caused many injuries, Egypt allowed some of the wounded to enter its territory through Rafah. Read more about Egypt quietly lets in 230 patients from Gaza
