And just as Israel has gradually increased restrictions of where we can go, the boundaries of what is permissible to do as a Palestinian have narrowed markedly. We have reached a point where peaceful protest is unacceptable to the Israeli state and military legislation has been constructed to criminalize and throw in jail anyone who dares to publicly voice dissent. Mohammed Khatib comments. Read more about Why Israel imprisoned my best friend
The BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights recently published Rights in Principle — Rights in Practice, which examines a rights-based approach to crafting durable solutions for Palestinian refugees. The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof interviews BADIL director Ingrid Jaradat Gassner on the organization’s work and the new book. Read more about "Solidarity with the entire Palestinian people"
There are few villages in historic Palestine which invoke the memories of the Nakba (the 1948 dispossession of the Palestinian people) as does Lifta. However, Lifta’s architectural legacy is under threat as Israel moves to Judaize the formerly pluralistic Palestinian village. Read more about Lifta's legacy under threat
Israel began constructing the wall in June 2002 following its invasion of cities in the West Bank, which it dubbed “Operation Defensive Shield.” The immense scale of the 2002 invasion — characterized by the destruction of Palestinian civilian infrastructure, mass arrests, assassinations and massacres — ensured that the construction of the wall would commence with as little resistance as possible. Jamal Juma’ comments. Read more about What the wall has done
London-based journalist and photographer William Parry’s Against the Wall serves as both a political and aesthetic document, perhaps exemplifying the German philosopher Walter Benjamin’s famous thesis that “[t]here is no document of culture that is not at the same time a document of barbarism.” Read more about Art as resistance: "Against the Wall" reviewed
“My human dignity, basic human rights and constitutional rights are suffering from basic violations. I still have no permit to meet my lawyers without being recorded.” The Electronic Intifada publishes an edited excerpt from a 7 August 2010 letter written by Ameer Makhoul from Israeli prison. Read more about "Solidarity tastes different inside prison"
Last week, nearly forty families who were displaced during Israel’s winter 2008-09 attacks on the Gaza Strip took over an abadoned, partially-built building in the Jabaliya refugee camp. Rami Almeghari reports for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about No reconstruction despite siege "easing"
When Israel’s construction of the wall began in their village May 2008, the people of Nilin embarked on a campaign of unarmed grassroots resistance against the theft of their land. They have followed a philosophy of direct action, cutting through the electronic fence and razor wire on an almost weekly basis. Jody McIntyre interviewed Mohammed Amireh, a leader of the Nilin Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about "Once winter's over, the sun will shine"
A Rift in Time takes readers back to the life of author Raja Shehadeh’s great-uncle Najib Nassar, who edited the Haifa-based newspaper al-Karmil in the last years of the Ottoman Empire. Sarah Irving interviews Shehadeh for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Seeing the land as one: Raja Shehadeh interviewed
As US officials arrived in Jerusalem last week to meet with Palestinian Authority and Israeli government officials, The Electronic Intifada interviewed Ramallah-based lawyer and former PLO advisor Diana Buttu about this week’s US-brokered direct talks between the two parties. Read more about Diana Buttu: direct talks bound to fail
