More and more, comparisons are being made between the living conditions of Palestinian Bedouins and those in the townships and informal settlements of apartheid South Africa. Human rights advocates Adri Nieuwhof and Bangani Ngeleza visited unrecognised villages in the Nakab (Negev). They travelled from Haifa in the North to the villages in the South of Israel. Near Tulkarem they noted how the Wall looked quite friendly from the Israeli side. There is a slope of earth planted with shrubs and flowers from the roadside up to the Wall. It covers the ugly high concrete Wall from the eyes of travellers on the Israeli highway. Read more about "This is our land, we are not going to move"
ASARIELSHARON’S career comes to an end, the whitewashing is already underway. Literally overnight he was being hailed as “a man of courage and peace” who had generated “hopes for a far-reaching accord” with an electoral campaign promising “to end conflict with the Palestinians.” But even if end-of-career assessments often stretch the truth, and even if far too many people fall for the old saw about the gruff old warrior miraculously turning into a man of peace, the reality is that miracles don’t happen, and only rarely have words and realities been separated by such a yawning abyss. Read more about The whitewashing of Ariel Sharon
Palestinian parties launched their election campaign with banners, rallies and parades yesterday amid growing tensions between the Islamic militant group Hamas and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas over his suggestion to postpone the Jan. 25 parliamentary vote. Abbas said for the first time Monday the balloting could be put off if Israel bars Palestinians from voting in Jerusalem. Hamas, which is expected to make a strong showing in its first general election, insisted yesterday the vote take place on schedule. It is unlikely Abbas would postpone the election without Hamas’s consent. Read more about Photostory: Campaigning begins for Palestinian elections
New Year good wishes have taken on a customary character, which means it can be hard to attach real expectations to them. Yet the new year is a moment to wish and campaign for meaningful change in the way the world is. And despite the breathtaking enormity of human progress, there remains too much to wish for still in terms of ending violence, injustice and poverty. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah lays out his three wishes for peace in Palestine and Iraq, and the restoration of the authority of international law, so badly eroded by US unilateralism in the wake of the end of Cold War. Read more about Three wishes for the New Year
The word democracy originates from the Greek demokratia: the components of the word being aredemos (the people), kratein (to rule), and the suffix ia. The term means “rule by the people”. In other words, democracy in its ideal sense is the notion that “the people” — in this instance, the Palestinian people - should have control of the government ruling over them. Recent moves by the EU and the US to interfere with and influence the outcome of the upcoming Palestinian elections are counterproductive and an insult to large segments of Palestinian society. Moreover, statements made by the US and EU are inconsistent and tend to promote violations of basic human rights. Read more about EU and US disrupt Palestinian elections
Last month, Israel finished building the wall and new security terminal that cut links between Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Bethlehem. The new security terminal, however, seems to be scaring away tourists and damaging Bethlehem’s already battered economy. In 2002, when the tension was at its worst, the number of visitors to Bethlehem dropped to an estimated 15,000, according to the municipality’s figures. There’s been a steady climb since, though: 100,000 in 2004 and 252,000 so far this year. Authorities have been frustrated by the timing as well as by delays caused by security checks, which are longer than anyone expected. Foreign visitors are now required to get off their buses and submit to a series of searches that can take up to an hour. Read more about Photostory: Christmas in Palestine
Palestinians are barred from making the trip to Bethlehem unless they have special Israeli permits allowing them to leave the West Bank. A towering wall of gray concrete slabs, 30 feet high, cuts across what once was the main road into the town. Shops are shuttered or empty, and the streets are deserted. After more than five years of Israeli attacks, the Wall separating Bethlehem from Jerusalem has been completed and the Palestinian town revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus is preparing to celebrate Christmas behind a wall. “It is turning the city into a big prison for its citizens,” said Mayor Victor Batarseh. Read more about Photostory: Bethlehem prepares for Christmas
Eighty thousand Palestinian Bedouin Israelis live in unrecognised villages in the Negev desert in the south of Israel. The villages are deprived of basic services like housing, water, electricity, education and health care. With the adoption of the Israeli Planning and Construction Law in 1965, 45 villages in the Negev were not declared as existing. Recently, Bangani Ngeleza and Adri Nieuwhof visited the region. They write about the serious consequences this has had for villagers in these “unrecognised villages”. Bangani Ngeleza and Adri Nieuwhof say that pressure must be put on Israel to abandon its apartheid policies, including its refusal to recognize the existence of villages composed of its own citizens living within its national borders. Read more about Unrecognised villages in the Negev expose Israel's apartheid policies
The US corporate media has started to examine Hamas’ victories in Palestinian municipal elections last Thursday. However, if The New York Times’ coverage is any indication, an honest evaluation of Israel’s role in increasing Hamas’ popularity is unlikely. Revelations over the last year have forced the US corporate media, with the New York Times at the forefront, to re-evaluate their role in promoting the Iraq war and occupation. Sadly, no such re-evaluation is underway with respect to Israel/Palestine. Israeli occupation, expansionism and human rights abuses still generally pass without comment. Read more about US Corporate Media Erases Israeli Role in Rise of Hamas
It is estimated that Israel’s Annexation Wall will be completed in the early part of 2006. When it is finished it will annex 47% of the West Bank, and hand it over to the settler population. At least 15% of Palestinians will be left outside the wall1, completely isolated from the rest of society, and over 222,098 refugees for the second or third times will experience, “land confiscation, destruction of property, and denial of access to their lands thus directly affecting their means of livelihood”2. In the end, it is not an over exaggeration to say that the entire Palestinian society will directly suffer by its completion, in addition to the seemingly unstoppable illegal Israeli practices that continue unhindered. Read more about Breaking Down the Wall
