The Peace Cycle has arrived in Palestine on Tuesday, September 22, but have been blocked from passing through the Beit Eba checkpoint at the entrance to the West Bank city of Nablus. Arriving at the checkpoint at noon, the cyclists waited over two hours awaiting permission to pass. Although the cyclists have been carrying the message of Peace during their entire trip on bikes from London to Jerusalem, the Israeli army does not allow them to move freely within the West Bank. The Team has been rerouted at least 15 miles around Nablus to the village of Howwarah. The cyclists all traveled from Jordan into Palestine last Tuesday. Read more about Israel blocks entry to Nablus of the Peace Cycle Team
On Saturday September 18th more than 1,000 people took the streets of downtown Montreal under the banner of “Stateless and Deported” to illustrate the growing popular support for the struggle of Palestinian refugees fighting deportation in Canada, within the context of the Palestinian solidarity movement worldwide. The lively and spirited demonstration was also held to commemorate the thousands of Palestinian refugees who lost their lives in the September 1982 massacre of Sabra and Chatila during the Israeli invasion of Beirut. Read more about Canadian activists protest deportation of Palestinian refugees
With the resumption of construction of the separation wall a familiar pattern repeats itself. Negotiation is not even attempted, and Israeli policy is set unilaterally by the army and government without consideration for Palestinians. At the same time, every attempt at protest and nonviolent resistance is repressed violently. In the course of the last five days (September 19-23) the occupation forces returned to their attempt to literally cement their existence on Palestinian lands. Naturally the residents of the affected villages resisted this attempt and we are with them. Our method and our aim, which we have declared and consciously acted on for the last two years, are popular nonviolent struggle. Read more about Five days of struggle against Israel's West Bank Barrier
At 1:00am the Israeli Army attacked homes on Old Najav Street in Nablus, West of the old city. Five young men were killed and one eleven year-old girl. Medical examination evidence suggests the five men were executed. International Solidarity activists, who are presently accompanying UPMRC medical teams in the area, interviewed the Director of Rafidia Hospital, Dr. Samir Abu Srour, where the five men and the young girl were taken. According to Dr. Srour, four of the five men were shot in the head at close range. The bullets did not pass through their skulls and instead exploded the young men’s heads, indicating that they were shot at close range. Read more about Demand investigation into alleged execution of five Palestinians
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Prisoner Association, Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA), Adalah, B'Tselem, Mossawa Center, HaMoked and Public Committee Against Torture in Israel27 August 2004
Nine human rights organizations placed an advertisement in the Israeli daily newspaper Ha’aretz, stating that the rights of thousands of incarcerated Palestinians are being violated and that the Israel Prison Service must respect the basic and universal principals of prisoners’ human rights. Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent diginity of the human person.The groups include ACRI, The Prisoner Association, The Arab Association for Human Rights, Adalah, B’Tselem, Mossawa, Ha’moked, and the Public Committee Against Torture. Read more about Human Rights groups: "Prisoner Rights are Human Rights"
The Israeli Ministry of the Interior has decided that I may not speak to the media. This attempt to silence me is not new; deportation and imprisonment for political reasons are the highest form of censorship. In this particular case the attempt to cut off my voice is part of a long term Israeli state attack on three vital narratives. The first is composed of international activists who act against the occupation. The second is that of the peace movement and refusniks, who take direct action against the occupation by refusing to serve in it and the third is that of the Palestinian people and the daily terror that they face. Read more about British journalist banned from speaking with the media
Prisoners on hunger strike are denied vital salts, medical treatment and access to their lawyers. In a press conference today at the Alternative Information Center in Jerusalem, several Israeli Organizations provided an update on the prisoners, condition on the 12th day of the hunger strike and on the legal actions taken to stop the violation of their basic rights. Among the speakers were lawyers Abeer Baker and Lea Tsemel, Maher Talhami of Physicians for Human Rights, AIC’s Ahmad Jaradat and Hannah Friedman of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel. They call for an immediate change in policy towards the Palestinian political prisoners. Read more about Leading Israeli organizations call for an immediate change in policy towards the Palestinian political prisoners
The Internet information service Yahoo! has omitted information about Palestine’s athletes competing in the 2004 Olympics at Athens. Yahoo! has extensive Olympics coverage, one of the features of which is a search engine that allows users to look up any athlete by name or to look up all the athletes representing a country — except that the athletes from Palestine are mysteriously missing. EI’s Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry explain the problem and ask for action. Read more about Yahoo! Sports makes Palestine's Olympians disappear
As Palestinian prisoners enter the 11th day of a hunger strike to protest abysmal Israeli prison conditions, Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, professional groups from other Arab countries, and Israeli activists have joined with the strikers in solidarity. Israeli authorities reacted to the strike with disciplinary measures and suspended several of the prisoners’ privileges such as confiscating television sets and radios, suspending newspaper deliveries and stopping visits. Over 200 Palestinian prisoners have died while in Israeli custody, due to torture, ill-treatment, deprivation of medical treatment, and neglect. Read more about Local, regional solidarity with hunger strikers grows
Salim Shawamreh, the Palestinian coordinator of the camp has had his home demolished four times and has rebuilt it for the fifth time as Beit Arabiya, the House of Peace. It is named after his wife who was the head chef at the work camp and is dedicated to American activist Rachel Corrie and Palestinian Nuha Sweidan, two women who died during home demolitions in Gaza last year. In his eyes, it is not a home demolition, but a life demolition. “When they come to demolish our homes, they are planting the hatred inside our kids,” says Shawamreh. Read more about Building Peace: Demolished Home Rebuilt in Anata Village
