Gaza’s sea a “no-go zone” for fishermen2 Jul 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rGAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – “They told us ‘go west or we will shoot you,’” says Ashraf Sadallah. “Initially, we refused, so they began shooting very close all around our boat.” At 6am on 16 June, Sadallah and his brother Abdel Hadi Sadallah, in their early twenties, went roughly 400 meters out to sea off the coast of Sudaniya in Gaza’s northwest. “We wanted to bring in nets we had left out the night before,” says Sadallah.
Why Obama should fire General Dayton2 Jul 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe US-sponsored “security coordination” program headed by Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, which was launched by the Bush Administration in 2005 to allegedly help the Palestinians reform their security services, has done more harm than good. US President Barack Obama would do well to fire Dayton and put an end to US intrusion into internal Palestinian affairs. Mohammed J. Herzallah comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Gaza aid boat crew detained, threatened with deportation2 Jul 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rRAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) – Twenty-one international peace activists were seized by Israeli naval frigates in international waters Tuesday as their boat The Spirit of Humanity tried to carry humanitarian aid to Gaza. The activists, including former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Irish Nobel Peace laureate Mairead Maguire, and nationals from 11 other countries were part of the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) efforts to break Israel’s naval and border blockade of Gaza.
Newsroom politics dramatized in “Oh Well Never Mind Bye”2 Jul 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe play Oh Well Never Mind Bye is set in the busy newsroom of an unnamed London-based newspaper—probably a right-wing tabloid—in the days before and after London police shot dead a Brazilian immigrant on an underground train. But in a genuinely brave piece of playwriting, Steven Lally has drawn on wider themes, including the “churnalism” that has turned much of the journalistic profession into a regurgitation of celebrity press releases, the way in which Palestine and related issues are reported in the mainstream media and the influence of the Zionist lobby on news coverage. Sarah Irving reviews for The Electronic Intifada.
Month in pictures: June 20091 Jul 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe below photographs are a selection of images from the month of June 2009. “The month in pictures” is an ongoing feature by The Electronic Intifada. If you have images documenting Palestine, Palestinian life, politics and culture, or of solidarity with Palestine, please email images and captions to photos A T electronicintifada D O T net.
Drug addiction on the rise in besieged Gaza1 Jul 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rGAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – They are little white, yellow or green pills and are available almost anywhere. At the pharmacies or in the market, they are accessible, addictive and cheap. “I take them because it makes me forget, at least for a little while, that I’m in Gaza,” says Abu Alaa, a resident of the strip and father of four. “There is no alternative.” Looking to escape years of war, searing poverty and an unrelenting economic blockade, medical officials in the Gaza Strip say residents have developed a serious addiction to the narcotic painkiller Tramadol.
Salam Fayyad’s false optimism1 Jul 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rA Palestinian state could become “a firm reality” by the “end of next year or within two years at the most,” Salam Fayyad, the prime minister appointed by Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas, was quoted as saying on 22 June in a speech at Al-Quds University in Abu Dis, a village outside Jerusalem. Such expectations have been frequently voiced before by former Palestinian prime minister and negotiator Ahmad Qureia, or the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. But what is more evident are the facts on the ground that do not provide much support for these expectations. Rami Almeghari comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Israeli gunboats seize Gaza aid ship30 Jun 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rToday Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the Spirit of Humanity, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (see below for a complete list of passengers). The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.
“Embers and Ashes:” An intellectual’s exile, struggle and success30 Jun 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIn his autobiography, Embers and Ashes: Memoirs of an Arab Intellectual, the late Hisham Sharabi transports the reader seamlessly from his early life in Palestine, where he was born in 1927, to his studies at the American University of Beirut, and finally his own American experience and life as a university professor at Georgetown. While it occasionally lacks cohesion, the book is unmistakably personal and insightful. Atef Alshaer reviews for The Electronic Intifada.
Israeli doctors colluding in torture of Palestinian detainees30 Jun 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIsrael’s watchdog body on medical ethics has failed to investigate evidence that doctors working in detention facilities are turning a blind eye to cases of torture, according to Israeli human rights groups. The Israeli Medical Association (IMA) has ignored repeated requests to examine such evidence, the rights groups say, even though it has been presented with examples of Israeli doctors who have broken their legal and ethical duty towards Palestinians in their care. Jonathan Cook reports.
Casualties rising in Gaza’s “buffer zone”30 Jun 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThis is not an unusual situation in Gaza, where Israel has repeatedly used the dart bombs. Due to their design, flechettes dig deeply into their target—flesh, cement and metal alike—with their “tails” frequently breaking off, leaving multiple injuries and rendering them nearly impossible to extract without inflicting more injury in the surgical search. In most cases, doctors opt against surgery, leaving the darts inside the victim’s body. Eva Bartlett reports from the Gaza Strip.
Egypt close to brokering Hamas-Fatah agreement29 Jun 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rJERUSALEM (IPS) – Under a complex twin-pronged initiative from the US and Egypt, Israel’s hard-line government is moving towards backtracking on two major planks of its policy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories—resisting demands for a blanket freeze on all settlement building in the West Bank, and acquiescing in the end of its tight siege of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
The elephant in the room: Israel’s nuclear weapons29 Jun 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAt a White House press conference on 18 May 2009, US President Barack Obama expressed “deepening concern” about “the potential pursuit of a nuclear weapon by Iran.” He continued: “Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon would not only be a threat to Israel and a threat to the United States, but would be profoundly destabilizing in the international community as a whole and could set off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.” By his side was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the room with them, there was an elephant, a large and formidably destructive elephant, which they and the assembled press pretended not to see. David Morrison comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Melbourne dumps Connex following boycott campaign28 Jun 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rConnex has been dumped by the Victorian State Government as Melbourne’s train system operator. Moammar Mashni of Australians for Palestine said that after four months of campaigning and some 100,000 pamphlets distributed, Palestine advocacy groups can take heart. “This is the first step in what we hope will become a strong boycotts, divestments and sanctions movement in Australia against Israel’s apartheid policies,” Mashni said.
Israeli banks accused of Holocaust profiteering27 Jun 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIsrael’s second-largest bank will be forced to defend itself in court in the coming weeks over claims it is withholding tens of millions of dollars in “lost” accounts belonging to Jews who died in the Nazi death camps. Bank Leumi has denied it holds any such funds despite a parliamentary committee revealing in 2004 that the bank owes at least $75 million to the families of several thousand Holocaust victims. Jonathan Cook reports.
Australia’s pro-Israel policies, pro-Palestine public26 Jun 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe little Sydney-based pro-Palestine lobby group which I chair called Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine decided we would commission a high class, well-known, opinion poll company to test whether Australia’s Labor machine or politicians knew something we didn’t—for example, that their one-sidedness reflected “the will of the people.” Peter Manning comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Report finds Israel still torturing Palestinians26 Jun 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rRAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) – The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel has accused the Israeli security forces of deliberately shackling Palestinian prisoners in a painful and dangerous manner, amounting to a form of torture. The report, “Shackling as a Form of Torture and Abuse,” based on the evidence of over 500 prisoners, was released in advance of the UN International Day in Support of Torture Victims Friday, 26 June.
Video: Nahr al-Bared “Two Years Under Siege”25 Jun 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rTwo years after it was destroyed in the wake of fighting between the Lebanese army and a militant group, the fate of the Palestinian refugee camp, Nahr al-Bared remains unclear. This 10-minute film, the co-owner of an ice cream factory, the president of the local traders committee and the imam of the al-Quds Mosque, all Palestinian refugees, speak about the siege and its economic consequences.
Hamas’ political immaturity25 Jun 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rInstead of coming up with an alternative program to that of the Palestinian Authority, and all the organizations belonging to it, and instead of building on the unprecedented, growing solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza, the leadership of Hamas, in statements made by its leaders and—more importantly—letters sent to the US president, have begun a process of deterioration like that of their predecessors who sold out Palestinian rights at Oslo. Haidar Eid comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Political arrests may derail unity talks24 Jun 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rRAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) – Egyptian mediators have set 7 July as deadline for final Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo. The Egyptians say time is running out, and if there is no progress in July, they will no longer be prepared to arbitrate. Continued political detention and abuse of Palestinian prisoners by Hamas in Gaza and by the Fatah-affiliated Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank could, however, derail the talks before they even begin.
Audio: A reporter tries to buy new equipment in Gaza24 Jun 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIn late 2008, I needed to replace my old recording equipment that had poor sound quality and purchase a new audio recorder. Unfortunately, with the ongoing Israeli siege, this simple task of obtaining a new recorder was nearly impossible. The following audio diary tells the story of my efforts to receive a new audio recorder from the US so that I could continue documenting the many untold stories of the people of Gaza. Rami Almeghari writes from the Gaza Strip.
Argentina case threatens to criminalize criticism of Israel24 Jun 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIn what Nobel Peace laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel has termed “a witch hunt and an attack on democratic freedoms,” nine pro-Palestinian protesters in Argentina have been detained following a demonstration at a an event celebrating Israel’s 61st anniversary. The activists have been vilified as violent anti-Semites by politicians and the television and print media, and now face up to 12 years in prison for “ideological arrogance,” under revived Juan Peron-era anti-terrorism legislation of dubious constitutionality. Hugh Harkin reports for The Electronic Intifada.
New short films showcase breadth of Palestinian cinema24 Jun 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rOf the 27 films featured in the 2009 Chicago Palestine Film Festival held last April, two exceptional shorts demonstrate the breadth of recent Palestinian cinema. Approaching the Israeli occupation from contrasting vantage points, Be Quiet(2006) and The View (2008) press viewers to imagine life under a system that dictates virtually every minute of one’s being. Maymanah Farhat reviews for The Electronic Intifada.
US activists de-shelve Israeli products from national grocer23 Jun 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rOn Saturday, 20 June, activists gathered at Trader Joe’s in Oakland and San Francisco, US to demand that the company stop carrying Israeli goods. Protesters removed Israeli products from the shelves in order to show customers which products they should not buy. They also met with the store managers and asked them to notify their headquarters that they no longer wanted to carry Israeli herbs, couscous and cheese. Similar actions were held throughout the US.
The Western media and Iran23 Jun 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOne would think that the role of the media is to cover issues like conflict or rights abuses as they happen around the world. Although, it seems this isn’t the case. Most Western media appear to follow their government’s lead when focusing on different issues and then cover them in a way fitting with the government’s position, hence the complete domination of events in Iran in nearly every single Western media outlet and the overwhelmingly positive portrayal of the protestors and the opposition as just. Matthew Cassel comments for The Electronic Intifada.
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