The Electronic Intifada

IKEA furnishing the occupation


Swedish Radio reported on 23 June that home furnishings retail giant IKEA in Israel discriminately ships to Israel’s illegal settlements but not Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank. The company’s shipping policies are coming into question following a report by Swedish Radio’s correspondent in Israel. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

To end the occupation, cripple Israeli banks


If international civil society is serious about urgently ending Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights, including ending the occupation, then suspension of SWIFT transactions to and from Israeli banks offers an instrument to help bring about a peaceful resolution of an intractable conflict. Terry Crawford-Browne comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

The deceptive rhetoric of "Invest for Peace"


The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement is gaining significant momentum cross the United States and Europe, including at US campuses. In response, opposition to the movement is devising new ways to divert attention from efforts to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law and flagrant abuses of Palestinian human rights. Charlotte Silver comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

Palestinians in Lebanon demonstrate for their rights


As cars plastered with the flags of Brazil, Germany, Argentina and other favorite World Cup teams drove across Beirut on Sunday, Palestinian refugees and their supporters carried Palestinian and Lebanese flags as they marched through the capital. They called for their human rights in Lebanon, where they have lived without them for more than six decades. Matthew Cassel reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

Israeli foreign minister's "peace plan": stripping Palestinians of citizenship


Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s far-right foreign minister, set out last week what he called a “blueprint for a resolution to the conflict” with the Palestinians that demands most of the country’s large Palestinian minority be stripped of citizenship and relocated outside Israel’s future borders. Jonathan Cook reports. 

Blockade "eased" as Gaza starves more slowly


As Israel last week declared the “easing” of the four-year blockade of Gaza, an official explained the new guiding principle: “Civilian goods for civilian people.” The severe and apparently arbitrary restrictions on foodstuffs entering the enclave — coriander bad, cinnamon good — will finally end, while a “security” blockade will remain. But in truth, Israel’s “security” blockade is, in both its old and new incarnations, every bit a “civilian” blockade. Jonathan Cook comments.