24 March 2009
The Swedish national pension fund AP7 is the latest institution to follow the socially responsible investment example of Dutch ASN Bank by excluding the French transportation giant Alstom from its portfolio. Alstom was excluded because of the company’s involvement in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Divestment campaign gains momentum in Europe
23 March 2009
WASHINGTON (IPS) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak weathered the recent war in neighboring Gaza much more successfully than many observers had expected, and after the war ended on 18 January he emerged as the sole mediator in negotiations over stabilizing the ceasefire and other key related issues. Read more about Pressure mounts on Egypt to deliver results
23 March 2009
The EU has always strived to appear impartial and even-handed in its dealings with Israel and the Palestinians. Certainly, it does not openly favor one party over the other and it has proved more willing than the US to grant the Palestinians a degree of sympathy. However, a closer inspection of where the donated euros really go reveals that European policy has only contributed to the ongoing politicide of the Palestinians. Pepijn van Houwelingen comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Euros do not buy the Palestinians political rights
20 March 2009
GAZA CITY (IRIN) - The main kitchenware supplier in Gaza, al-Dahshan Company, last received a shipment from Israel over two years ago through the Karni crossing. Karni, the only commercial crossing with the facilities to allow large numbers of trucks to enter Gaza, has been closed since June 2007 except for the conveyor belt that operates for grain deliveries. Read more about From Guangzhou to Gaza -- underground
22 March 2009
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - The critical wounding of a US activist has highlighted the excessive use of force by Israeli forces. The activist, Tristan Anderson, 38, was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers during a protest against Israel’s separation barrier in the occupied Palestinian West Bank last week. He remains in intensive care in Tel Hashomer Hospital in Tel Aviv. Read more about Israel using excessive force against protesters
20 March 2009
JERUSALEM (IPS) - Based on testimony from Israeli soldiers who took part in the recent war in Gaza, Israel is being confronted directly with the serious charge that permissive rules of engagement allowed for the killing of Palestinian civilians and widespread destruction of Palestinian property. Read more about Israeli soldiers expose atrocities in Gaza
19 March 2009
CAIRO (IPS) - Reconciliation talks between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah in Cairo this week yielded an agreement to hold national elections early next year. The two sides, however, remain deadlocked over the proposed terms of a national unity government. “Talks are at a standstill on the issue of the government,” a member of the Palestinian delegation was quoted as saying Sunday on 15 March. Read more about Palestinian unity talks failing
19 March 2009
Despite international media attention and considerable diplomatic pressure from the Netherlands, Israel did not allow the general director of the Palestinian organization Al-Haq, Shawan Jabarin, to travel to the Netherlands to receive the prestigious Dutch Geuzenpenning award for human rights defenders on 13 March 2009. Israel’s travel ban on Jabarin and other human rights defenders on the basis of secret evidence violates principles for a fair trial and the basic human right of free movement, resembling the behavior of the apartheid regime in South Africa. Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker comment for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Travel bans violate freedom of movement
18 March 2009
Little Ashimah Abu Sbieh’s life hangs by a thread — or more specifically, an electricity cable that runs from a noisy diesel-powered generator in the family’s backyard. Should the generator’s engine fail, she could die within minutes. Ashimah suffers from a rare genetic condition that means her brain fails to tell her lungs to work. Without the assistance of an electric inhalator, she would simply stop breathing. Jonathan Cook reports. Read more about Bedouin baby's power struggle with Israel
18 March 2009
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - As environmental experts, non-governmental organizations and government officials gather in Istanbul this week to attend the Fifth World Water Forum, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has drawn attention to the critical water situation in Gaza. “ICRC teams are repairing water and sewage systems in Gaza that were badly damaged during the three-week Israeli military operation in January,” the ICRC says in a media release. Read more about Gazans struggle for clean drinking water