The “green zone” called Jordan
18 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rMUWAQQAR, Jordan (IPS) – In the bleak and seemingly endless desert expanse that unfolds east of Jordan’s capital city, Amman, lies a crucial cog in the ambitious regional designs of the US and its allies in the Middle East. Commonly known by its acronym JIPTC, the Jordan International Police Training Centre is ground-zero for the transformation of US-allied security forces not only for the Kingdom of Jordan, but also for Iraq, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Olive oil and yoghurt, yoghurt and olive oil
18 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAn old expression goes that a man once asked his wife to prepare lunch. When the wife asked what he wanted, the husband answered “laban ou zeit,” which means yoghurt with olive oil. You mean “zeit ou laban”—olive oil with yoghurt?—the wife replied, reversing the order. No, the husband insisted, “laban ou zeit” not “zeit ou laban.” The story goes that the disagreement between the two escalated into a furious quarrel with dire consequences. For the villagers, this story came to stand for any disagreement where the positions being put forward were essentially indistinguishable—like the new “peace” plan being offered by Israel today. Hasan Abu Nimah comments.

Israeli judge rules Arabs need “protection” from justice system
17 Nov 2009
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rAn Israeli judge made an historic ruling last week when he decided that an Arab teenager needed “protection” from the justice system and ordered that he not be convicted despite being found guilty of throwing stones at a police car during a protest against Israel’s attack last winter on Gaza. Jonathan Cook reports.

Gaza braces for bitter winter
17 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rEZBT ABBED RABBO, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – Tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza living in tents and damaged homes face a wet, cold and miserable winter as Israel’s blockade of the coastal territory continues to prevent the importation of building and reconstruction material. During the last few weeks Gazans were given a brief reprieve from the oncoming winter as an unseasonal snap of warmish, sunny weather held off winter rain and plummeting temperatures.

Baseball team urged to cut ties with settler organization
17 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWASHINGTON (IPS) – A coalition of 11 US, Israeli and Palestinian groups are calling on the New York Mets baseball team to cancel a fundraiser by the “violent and racist” Israeli Hebron Fund which is scheduled to be held at the Mets’ stadium, Citi Field, on 21 November. The Hebron Fund participates in “the raising of capital for the improvement of daily life for the residents of Hebron, Israel,” but the Fund has been accused of encouraging violence towards Palestinians and participating in illegal settlement expansion.

Resisting through education
16 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAhmad’s first day of school was in 1991 during the first Palestinian intifada. Then six years old and living in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, Ahmad was a good student who enjoyed school. He worked hard and was always the first in his year. However, he was to have a different attitude towards education as frequent Israeli violence made completing his studies a struggle. Marryam Haleem writes from Beit Hanoun.

Right-wing groups creating climate of fear at Israeli universities
16 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rRight-wing groups in Israel want to create a climate of fear among left-wing scholars at Israeli universities by emulating the “witch-hunt” tactics of the US academic monitoring group Campus Watch, Israeli professors warn. The watchdog groups IsraCampus and Israel Academia Monitor are believed to be stepping up their campaigns after the recent publication in a US newspaper of an Israeli professor’s call to boycott Israel. Jonathan Cook reports.

Interview: “My film makes you part of Gaza’s reality”
15 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rDirected by Alberto Arce and Mohammed Rjuailah, To Shoot an Elephant is a documentary film that offers an eyewitness account from the Gaza Strip during Israel’s assault last winter. During the attacks, when the Israeli military banned foreign journalists from entering the Strip, Arce managed to stay inside Gaza and filmed how medical teams and hospitals were targeted by Israeli forces while performing their duties. The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof met with Arce and interviewed him about the motivation behind his film.

A glimmer of hope
12 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWhile the Obama Administration proved twice recently that it intends to continue to consider Israel above the law, there is a glimmer of hope that the people of Gaza will see justice. The massacre brought about sweeping change, across the world, in perceptions of Israel. Citizen-led mobilizations in the past few months have showed that where governments have failed, ordinary citizens can, perhaps, make a difference. Ziyaad Lunat and Max Ajl comment for The Electronic Intifada.

Report: The economic toll on Gaza after Israel’s attacks
12 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip last winter was the most violent and deadly offensive by Israel since the second intifada began. A new report by The Alternative Information Center looks at the economic costs of Israel’s attacks and ongoing siege on the Gaza population.

Palestinian students at Israeli universities support academic boycott
11 Nov 2009
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rWe are Arab students at the Israeli universities writing to you in support of the proposed academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions. We believe that the boycott is timely and hopefully will help in upholding moral values of fairness, justice and equality which have been sorely missed in our region.

Goldstone report met with muted enthusiasm in Gaza
11 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rTareq Abu Daya, owner of a popular souvenir shop in the heart of Gaza City, has recently offered his customers a new kuffiyeh, or traditional checkered scarf, on which the name of Judge Richard Goldstone is inscribed. “When the famous UN report of Judge Richard Goldstone was first made public, I thought of something that would be in honor of such a significant report that accuses Israel of war crimes against Gaza during the last war,” Abu Daya said. Rami Almeghari reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.

Palestinians symbolically dismantle sections of the wall
10 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rTwo decades after the fall of the Berlin wall, walls of separation still exist throughout the world. Israel’s wall in the West Bank is much bigger than the Berlin wall ever was, as it encloses more than two million Palestinians inside the occupied West Bank. This wall separates Palestinians from their families, land, natural resources and communities. However, in a symbolic action documented in video and photographs, Palestinians managed to symbolically dismantle part of the wall.

Activist confronts Netanyahu at Washington conference
10 Nov 2009
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rAt the Annual Conference of the United Jewish Federations in Washington, DC, during the plenary session by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, CODEPINK peace activist Midge Potts stood up with a banner that said “End the Siege of Gaza” and shouted “Stop the blockade of Gaza, Shame on you, Netanyahu.” She was dragged out of the meeting by security guards.

Israeli Jews and the one-state solution
10 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOne of the most commonly voiced objections to a one-state solution for Palestine/Israel stems from the accurate observation that the vast majority of Israeli Jews reject it, and fear being “swamped” by a Palestinian majority. Across the political spectrum, Israeli Jews insist on maintaining a separate Jewish-majority state. Does this mean that a peaceful one-state outcome is so unlikely that Palestinians should not pursue it, and should instead focus only “pragmatic” solutions that would be less fiercely resisted by Israelis? Ali Abunimah comments for The Electronic Intifada.

Bilin’s legal struggle continues
10 Nov 2009
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe villagers of Bilin are pushing forward in their nonviolent struggle against the Israeli occupation by appealing a Quebec Superior Court ruling in their case against two Canadian companies. The residents of Bilin are suing Green Park International and Green Mount International, two companies that, they argue, should be held legally accountable for illegally building residential homes and settlement infrastructure on the village’s land. Jillian Kestler-D’Amours reports for The Electronic Intifada.

Palestinians cling to their homes in Silwan
10 Nov 2009
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rOCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM (IPS) – “Make sure your father gets this,” the municipal inspector tells a ten-year-old boy at the gate of the concrete house in an alleyway in the al-Bustan quarter of Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood right under the shadow of the walled Old City. “This” is a court-approved demolition notice, “No. 59.” It’s for a house under imminent threat of being torn down by the Israeli authorities because it does not have the requisite building permit.

Portuguese water company’s immoral collaboration with Israel
9 Nov 2009
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe management of Portuguese water company EPAL recently informed its workers about its collaboration with the Israeli national water company Mekorot on “water security issues.” An EPAL intern who recently visited the occupied West Bank reacted to the news by informing colleagues about how Israel is depriving Palestinians from water. EPAL responded by sacking the intern within one hour. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada.

Vast majority of Gaza children suffer PTSD symptoms
9 Nov 2009
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rMore than 40 years of Israeli military occupation have had a devastating impact on Palestinians in Gaza. Air strikes, artillery shelling, ground invasions, jet flybys and other acts of violence have all led to an epidemic of suffering among Gaza’s most vulnerable inhabitants. The most recent studies indicate that the vast majority of Gaza’s children exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Israel targeting the boycott movement
9 Nov 2009
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rFor nearly six weeks now Mohammed Othman, a prominent Palestinian activist and an outspoken advocate of the nonviolent boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, has been held in an Israeli military prison without charges. On 22 September 2009 Othman, 34, was detained at the Allenby Crossing as he attempted to enter the occupied West Bank from Jordan. He was returning from a trip to Norway, where he met with Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen, amongst other officials. Mya Guarnieri reports for The Electronic Intifada.

Sussex University students vote to boycott Israeli goods
6 Nov 2009
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rStudents at the University of Sussex, England have voted to boycott Israeli goods. The decision follows the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, which calls upon the Israeli state to respect international law and end the occupation of Palestine. In a campus-wide referendum, 56 percent of students voted in favor of the boycott.

UN vote overwhelmingly supports Goldstone report
6 Nov 2009
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rUNITED NATIONS (IPS) – A 575-page blistering report by Justice Richard Goldstone detailing war crimes in Gaza last winter is refusing to die despite an aggressive Israeli smear campaign to kill it. The report, which was favorably voted by the 47-member Human Rights Council in Geneva last month, received overwhelming support Thursday in the 192-member General Assembly. The vote was 114 in favor and 18 against, with 44 abstentions.

Gaza students organize for justice
6 Nov 2009
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIn order to find sustainable alternatives to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict a new group calling itself the Justice Makers has been formed across the law departments in Palestinian universities. Two of the founders, Mohammed Eliwa and Yousef al-Nouri, are both fourth-year law students from al-Azhar University in Gaza. “The Justice Makers is about finding new ways within the international justice system to forward our case,” al-Nouri explained. Biana Zammit reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.

Israeli soldiers, settlers violate Palestinian women’s rights
6 Nov 2009
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rRAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) – Palestinian women continue to suffer abuse and denial of basic human rights at the hands of Israeli settlers and soldiers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This is in flagrant violation of Israel’s obligations as a signatory to the UN Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Interview: Living under constant fear of arrest
5 Nov 2009
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rMohammed Ahmed Issa Yassen, 20, lives in the occupied West Bank village of Bilin, where he works in his family’s car garage business as a mechanic. He is also a student at the al-Quds Open University, but since he has joined the Israeli intelligence’s “wanted” list from the village, studying has been difficult. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre interviewed Mohammed about living under the constant threat of arrest.