Politicized power cuts behind deadly riots?28 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rBEIRUT, 28 January (IRIN) – Deadly Shia riots in southern Beirut protesting over power and water cuts have occurred because these basic services have become part of the country’s increasingly tense political stand-off, said protesters and analysts. At least eight people were killed and 22 wounded as gunfire and grenades erupted after an official with Shia opposition group Amal was shot dead during a confrontation between angry demonstrators and the army on 27 January.
Medical supplies in Gaza running low28 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rJERUSALEM, 28 January (IRIN) – The Israeli-imposed restrictions on imports to the Gaza Strip are threatening the lives of vulnerable patients, the Oxfam aid agency has said. “Oxfam International is gravely concerned about the life and safety of the civilian population residing in the Gaza Strip,” Oxfam’s director said in a statement on 25 January. “In Shifa hospital in Gaza city, 135 cancer patients are currently unable to receive treatment due to the lack of basic medications,” Oxfam said.
Closure turns Gaza’s streets into sewers27 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rGAZA CITY, 28 January (IPS) – A stream of dark and putrid sludge snakes through Gaza’s streets. It is a noxious mix of human and animal waste. The stench is overwhelming. The occasional passer-by vomits. Over recent days this has been a more common sight than the sale of food on the streets of Gaza, choked by a relentless Israeli siege. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans, almost all of its able male adults among a population of 1.5 million, crossed over into Egypt last week to buy essential provisions—and a new lease of life. That has staved off starvation. But streets continue as sewers.
Alarm bells sound over “Jewish state”27 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rCAIRO, 28 January (IPS) – Within recent months, several Israeli and US officials have stressed Israel’s unique character as a “Jewish state.” But according to many Arab observers, the designation negates the right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel, and leaves the door open to expulsion of Israel’s Arab citizens. “The idea of a ‘state for Jews’ neutralizes the right of some five million Palestinian refugees to return to what is now Israel,” Abdel-Halim Kandil, former editor-in-chief of opposition weekly al-Karama told IPS. “It would also subject Arabs resident in Israel to the possibility of expulsion at any moment.”
Palestinians in Lebanon seek right of return25 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rTYRE, Lebanon, 25 January (TerraViva/IPS) – “We know when we start a campaign we work for an achievable goal,” declares Wafa Yassir, the energetic head of Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which runs programs for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. “And we know the right of return is not an easy goal. It may not happen in our lifetime. But we have to keep this right for the coming generation, and after that. And one day we will get it because it’s our historic right and we won’t give it up.”
Gaza scrambles for supplies as border forced open24 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThree kids, their mother and their aunt hurried towards the Salah al-Din gate in southern Gaza on Wednesday. The mother, in her early thirties, explained in a rush, “We are heading to al-Arish [the Egypt border town] to follow my mom and brother who entered today after the borders were reopened.” The family was not alone; thousands of other Palestinians thronged nearby, on their way to al-Arish, following the blasting through of the Israeli-built steel walls by Palestinian resistance fighters earlier that day. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari reports from the Egypt-Gaza border.
Down goes the wall24 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rLast night I received a text message from my dear friend Fida: “It’s coming down—it’s coming down!” she declared ecstatically. “Laila! The Palestinians destroyed [the] Rafah wall, all of it. All of it not part of it! Your sister, Fida.” More texts followed, as I received periodical updates on the situation in Rafah, where it was 3am. “Two hours ago people were praising God everywhere. The metal wall was cut and destroyed. So was the cement one. It is great, Laila, it is great,” she declared. Laila El-Haddad writes from the US
Ali Abunimah discusses US presidential candidates on Democracy Now!24 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rAs the news out of Gaza makes international headlines, Democracy Now! took a look at where the Republican and Democratic presidential contenders stand on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Democracy Now! spoke with Electronic Intifada co-founder Ali Abunimah on 24 January. Abunimah commented, “What we’ve seen from Gaza and what we’ve seen time and again in Lebanon is that resistance will continue, that people will not quietly accept the fate that has been designed for them in the boardrooms of the Pentagon and the White House and the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. People will resist.”
Italians awaken to Palestinian pain24 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rROME, 25 January (IPS) – Several Italian civil society groups will mark the World Social Forum’s global day of action Saturday by pledging support for Palestinians. “This decentralized World Social Forum (WSF) offers to Palestinian democratic movements the chance of asking Europe to intervene and stop what Nelson Mandela has defined ‘the new apartheid of our century,’” said Mustafa Barghouthi, a pro-democracy activist who was candidate for presidency of the Palestinian National Authority in 2005. He spoke from Ramallah during a WSF press conference in Rome Tuesday.
Top EU official backs Israel’s crimes in occupied Gaza23 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rA top European Union official has offered full backing for Israel as it continues its illegal blockade of fuel, food, medicine and other vital supplies to the occupied Gaza Strip that has led to a growing humanitarian crisis. At a conference in the Israeli town of Herzliya on 22 January, Franco Frattini, the vice president of the European Commission, stated that “the steps leading up to the Gaza blackout cannot be construed as a war crime,” according to a report on Ynetnews.com,
US stymies Security Council action on Gaza23 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rUNITED NATIONS, 23 January (IPS) – Despite intensifying calls for international pressure to address the fast deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip, observers and some diplomats say the UN Security Council has proved as ineffective as it has been for many years concerning issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On Tuesday, the Council called an emergency meeting during which a vast majority of delegates strongly condemned Israel’s blockade of the occupied Palestinian areas and charged that it was violating international humanitarian law.
Sword dancing while Gaza starves23 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rA staggering disparity in images has emanated from the Middle East over the past two weeks. While US President George W. Bush received a warm welcome during his tour of the Persian Gulf, Israel pounded Gaza killing over 40 Palestinians, nearly half of them civilians. Bush participated in sword dancing ceremonies, watched the prowess of hunting falcons, and in the United Arab Emirates he was finally greeted with the flowers that he once believed American troops would receive in Iraq. Osamah Khalil comments.
Sovereignty by stealth: Eyal Weizman’s “Hollow Land”23 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe architecture of occupation is thoroughly analyzed in the Israeli-born architect Eyal Weizman’s Hollow Land. The study takes us to the heart of a conflict which has always been about land, where “the mundane elements of planning and architecture have become tactical tools and the means of dispossession.” Behind the headlines, the reality on the ground (as well as above and beneath it) continues to be reshaped daily. Ben White reviews.
Palestinians force open parts of border with Egypt22 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rGAZA/JERUSALEM, 23 January (IRIN) – In the early morning of 23 January Palestinian militants blew up sections of the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, effectively allowing tens of thousands of Palestinians to freely leave or enter the enclave for the first time since last June 2007. “I’m going to al-Arish to see my married daughter. I have not seen her in four years,” said Um Muhammed, as she prepared to go through a two-meter-wide hole in the border wall. “I hope I can see her.”
Gaza’s last gasp22 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIsrael might find that giving the Palestinians their freedom and allowing them the dignity of self-determination in their own land might be far more effective in bringing about a peaceful solution than all this bloodshed and misery. Fifty years have passed since Israeli Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan said, “How can we complain about Gaza’s hatred towards us? For eight years, they have been sitting in refugee camps while right in front of them, we are turning the land and villages of their forefathers into our home.” Sonja Karkar comments.
Deminers find new cluster bomb sites without Israeli data22 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rZAWTAR WEST, 22 January (IRIN) – Deminers clearing Israeli-dropped cluster bombs in south Lebanon are turning up an average of 10 new sites per month, while Israel continues to ignore requests for data that would assist clearing the estimated one million unexploded bomblets, which continue to kill and maim civilians and decimate rural livelihoods. A single cluster bomb can disperse hundreds of bomblets.
Gaza siege intensified after collapse of natural gas deal22 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIsrael claims its recent moves are retaliation for continued rocket attacks originating in Gaza that despite their consistency cause scant damage and few actual casualties. But the reasons may include motivations with roots back in 2000, when the British firm British Gas Group (BG) discovered proven natural gas reserves of at least 1.3 trillion cubic meters beneath Gazan territorial waters worth nearly $4 billion. Mark Turner writes.
Life and wildlife in the Jordan Valley22 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe Palestine Wildlife Society has recently installed 64 nesting boxes for barn owls and kestrels in the Jordan Valley, in the area around Atuf village. Imad F. Atrash, director of the society, arranged for a public event on 2 January 2008, to celebrate the completion of this project at Atuf school. Accompanying the event was live fire by the Israeli army, who were conducting military exercises less than a mile away. As the volunteers rigged up the sound system and displays, an Israeli army jeep drove past, no doubt attracted by the gathering.
No rights, little mercy21 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rGAZA CITY, 21 January (IPS) – Seventy-six-year-old Mustapha al-Jamal goes door to door, looking for help in finding medicines for his son. At home, the 53-year-old son Yahya al-Jamal lies back, staring at the ceiling. By his side, an oxygen cylinder keeps him going for now. “My son’s condition continues to worsen,” Mustapha says. “We’ve been waiting two months for the medicines.” Last year Mustapaha’s 44-year-old daughter, a mother of six, died of breast cancer. She had been recovering, but the Israeli siege blocked supply of medicines, and no one could then save her.
Where does it end?20 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe New York Times, always to be counted on to provide the right euphemisms, reported that “Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, ordered a temporary halt on all imports into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip late last week. The measure, along with stepped-up military operations in Gaza, was meant to persuade Palestinian militants there to stop firing rockets at Israel.” Terms like “measures” and “persuasion” sound so gentle. But they cover up a brutal reality that Israeli leaders are keen to boast about. Ali Abunimah comments.
Never against! European collusion in Israel’s slow genocide20 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe European Union, Israel’s largest trade partner in the world, is watching by as Israel tightens its barbaric siege on Gaza, collectively punishing 1.5 million Palestinian civilians, condemning them to devastation, and visiting imminent death upon hundreds of kidney dialysis and heart patients, prematurely born babies, and all others dependent on electric power for their very survival. Israel’s crimes in Gaza can accurately be categorized as acts of genocide, albeit slow. EI contributor Omar Barghouthi comments.
Economic warfare in Gaza20 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rNo more lies or twisted tongues. Israel is saying at last what, in the past, it always refused to acknowledge: its war is against the Palestinian population. Until now, in discussions about the separation wall, closures, blockades, house demolition, and other sorts of collective punishment, the State Attorney’s Office lacked the gumption to admit in court that the aim of such measures is to harm civilians. It always came up with convoluted security claims in order to present some vital military necessity for the sake of the War against Terror. Harm to the population was described as a regrettable side effect. Yossi Wolfson analyzes.
Rights org: Gaza situation potentially disastrous20 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rAt approximately 8:00pm on Sunday, 20 January, the Gaza Strip power plant ran out of fuel and shut down, plunging the Gaza Strip into darkness. The closure of the Gaza power plant, in addition to Israel’s continued, tightened siege on the Gaza Strip, will have a catastrophic effect on the 1.5 million residents of Gaza, who are already suffering chronic shortages of fuel, medicine and some basic food stuffs. The director of Gaza’s main hospital, al-Shifa, describes the current situation as “potentially disastrous.”
What Bush left behind20 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rSince US President George W. Bush’s visit to this part of the world, at least 38 Gazans were killed and another 1,500 were injured as a result of Israeli military attacks. This escalation of violence came right after Bush’s trip to Israel and Ramallah, as Israel enjoyed an obvious green light from the US as the Arab world sat by and watched. For anyone who might believe that Bush’s visit would improve the lives of Palestinians in general and of Gazans in particular, let me assure you that the opposite has occurred. EI contributor Mohammed Ali writes from Gaza.
Photostory: As long as there is life, there is hope20 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe year 1948 is the worst year in Palestinian history. It is the year of the destruction of Palestinian society and the dispossession and expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs by Zionist forces. Today, there are about five million Palestinian refugees around the world, still waiting to exercise their right of return. Most refugees live in the surrounding Arab countries; however some of them live very close to their original homes. In my case, I live only three kilometers from my own village: Lifta. Anan Odeh’s images document the village where his parents were born and forced to flee in 1948.
Electronic Intifada