Justice denied in Gaza
8 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rRAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) – Gazans hoping for a modicum of justice following Israel’s indiscriminate military assault on the coastal territory during December 2008 and January 2009—which left 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, dead—could be waiting in vain. The Israeli government has taken the offensive in the propaganda battle and attacked United Nations-appointed Justice Richard Goldstone’s report into war crimes committed during the war.

Israel slaps six-month travel ban on Palestinian map expert
5 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rCiting “security reasons”—the ubiquitous and unanswerable catch-all phrase against which it is almost impossible to mount any defense—Israel’s Ministry of the Interior has just issued a six-month travel ban on map expert Khalil Tafakji. Tafakji, like almost all other Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem, is a “permanent resident,” but not a citizen of Israel. Marian Houk reports.

Pressure continues on Veolia and Alstom to halt light rail project
5 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rFrench transport giants Veolia and Alstom are involved in the construction and running of a light rail line which connects West Jerusalem to several illegal settlements in or surrounding occupied Palestinian East Jerusalem. The light rail project is part of the “Jerusalem Transportation Master Plan” sponsored by the Israeli government and the Jerusalem municipality. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada.

Naseer Shamma and the music of resistance
4 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rCelebrated Iraqi musician Naseer Shamma plays emotive compositions in beautiful tones on the oud to major audiences across the Middle East, stirring musical reflections on human realities in US-occupied Iraq. Although Iraqi current affairs are clearly interwoven into Shamma’s sound, it is also unique musical talent that has earned Shamma a reputation as one of the world’s preeminent oud players. Stefan Christoff profiles Shamma for The Electronic Intifada.

Report: Israel stole $2 billion from Palestinian workers
4 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOver the past four decades Israel has defrauded Palestinians working inside Israel of more than $2 billion by deducting from their salaries contributions for welfare benefits to which they were never entitled, Israeli economists have revealed. A new report, “State Robbery,” to be published later this month, says the “theft” continued even after the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994. Jonathan Cook reports.

Raze illegal buildings—unless they are Jewish
4 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rSILWAN, occupied East Jerusalem (IPS) – Backed by armed security men, the municipal inspectors race their jeeps through the narrow alleyways and up a hillside crowded with buildings. One block of flats stands out for its unusual seven-story height in an area of the city where two or three storied buildings are the norm. And then there is the giant, blue-and-white Israeli national flag draped demonstratively over the front of the building, from the roof down to the ground.

Nightmares continue to plague Gaza children
3 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOCCUPIED GAZA STRIP (IRIN) – Mona al-Samouni, 12, is depressed and has nightmares about the day—just more than a year ago—when she witnessed her parents and a number of relatives being shot by Israeli soldiers in their home in Zeitoun, southeast of Gaza City. Like a number of other children who witnessed horrific events during last year’s 23-day Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, Mona has become increasingly withdrawn and silent—common ways of coping with tragedies, doctors say.

Pro-Israel lobbies target Europe
3 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rBRUSSELS (IPS) – Defenders of Israel’s aggressive stance have for many years been recognized as a powerful force shaping United States foreign policy. A less well-known fact is that the pro-Israel lobby has been making a concerted effort to strengthen its presence in Europe. The lobby’s determination to make an impression on European Union (EU) policy-makers was exemplified by a new booklet published on 28 January.

Canadian organization attacking Palestinian rights groups
3 Feb 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Board of Directors of Rights & Democracy, a not-for-profit organization created by Canada’s parliament in 1988 to encourage and support human rights around the world, recently voted, with substantial objection, to repudiate grants given to Al-Haq and Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights, two well-known Palestinian human rights organizations located respectively in the West Bank and in Gaza.

Interview: “We need a new, united strategy as one people”
3 Feb 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA), based in Nazareth, is one of the first human rights organizations in Israel, founded during the first Palestinian intifada by lawyers and community activists to monitor human rights violations. The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof recently interviewed Mohammad Zeidan, the general director of HRA.

Palestinian politicians face tide of persecution in Israel
2 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rLeaders of the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel warned this week that they were facing an unprecedented campaign of persecution designed to stop their political activities. The warning came after Said Nafaa, a Druze member of the Israeli parliament was stripped of his immunity last week, clearing the way for him to be tried for a visit to Syria three years ago. Jonathan Cook reports.

Palestinians unfairly stripped of citizenship in Jordan
2 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWASHINGTON, (IPS) – The Jordanian government should halt the arbitrary revocation of nationality from its citizens of Palestinian origin, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Monday. The report, “Stateless Again: Palestinian-Origin Jordanians Deprived of their Nationality,” details the Jordanian government’s efforts to strip more than 2,700 Jordanians of their citizenship between 2004 and 2008.

“A different kind of occupation”: an interview with Elia Suleiman
1 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rNazareth-born filmmaker Elia Suleiman is one of the darlings of Cannes and stands out from the pack of contemporary Palestinian filmmakers for his unique style of filmmaking based on sewing together a series vignettes, silence—an emphasis on visual storytelling versus dialogue, and deadpan comedy found in often grim humor in the lives of everyday people living under the tyranny of what he calls a “pathetic occupation.” Sabah Haider recently interviewed Suleiman for The Electronic Intifada.

Carleton University students launch campus divestment campaign
1 Feb 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rFor the past several months, Students Against Israeli Apartheid – Carleton (SAIA), a student group at Carleton University in Ottawa that is committed to supporting the Palestinian struggle for freedom, has been conducting research on Carleton’s investments in Israeli apartheid. In light of its findings, SAIA has launched a campaign calling on Carleton to immediately divest from the offending corporations, as well as to adopt a socially responsible investment policy for all of its investments.

Hamas parliamentarian: “We accept existence of Israel within 1967 borders”
1 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rRAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) – Palestinian politics are at an impasse. The four-year term of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) ended on 25 January with no new elections planned. Presidential elections, meant to be held last year, were also postponed indefinitely. IPS spoke with Dr. Mahmoud Ramahi, a neurosurgeon and secretary-general of the PLC, on the political deadlock.

Fighting for an education in Gaza
1 Feb 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rAyman Talal Quader is a blogger from the Nuseirat refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip. On his blog titled “Voice From Gaza,” Aywan chronicled eyewitness accounts of the war and the continuing siege of the territory as well as his own attempts to leave Gaza in order to further his education in Spain. Although classes start on 8 February, he has yet to receive approval from the Egyptian government to travel to Cairo for his flight to Spain. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre recently spoke with Ayman in Gaza.

“Redeeming” the land: from kibbutzniks to Hilltop Youth
1 Feb 2010
rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAfter the 1967 war the value of the kibbutz—instrumental in defining territory for the Jewish State of Israel—as a frontline force had become obsolete. The then burgeoning settler movement soon came to replace the kibbutz as a central colonizing body. Occupying Palestinian land and cultivating it to be inhabited by exclusively Jewish communities, the strategies of settlers are not much different than early kibbutzniks. Carmelle Wolfson writes.

Floods bring more misery for tented communities in Gaza
29 Jan 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rOCCUPIED GAZA STRIP (IRIN) – Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza made homeless by Israel’s 23-day military assault on the Gaza Strip which ended just over a year ago, are still in tents and damaged buildings; cold weather and recent flash floods have exacerbated their plight, say aid workers and the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA.

“Together we can end this occupation”
29 Jan 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Israeli military recently dropped hundreds of leaflets warning Palestinian residents from the village of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip not to travel within 300 meters of the border—the distance of Israel’s so-called “buffer zone.” In response, local activists marched to and nonviolently demonstrated inside the “buffer zone” against the illegal action. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre recently spoke with demonstration organizer Saber Zanin.

“Our community is at risk”: An interview with Ittijah’s Ameer Makhoul
29 Jan 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIttijah, the Union of Arab Community Based Associations, was founded in 1995 in response to a widely felt need for increased cooperation and exchange between Palestinian Arab organizations in Israel. The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof recently interviewed Ameer Makhoul, the general director of Ittijah.

Goldstone member to EI: Gaza ambulance shelled “point blank”
28 Jan 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rDesmond Travers, member of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict led by Judge Richard Goldstone, responds to the description of an attack on an ambulance by means of a “dart bomb” to The Electronic Intifada.

Bilin grassroots leader Mohammed Khatib arrested in late-night raid
28 Jan 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rBILIN, occupied West Bank – At 1:45am today, Mohammed Khatib, his wife Lamia and their four young children were woken up by Israeli soldiers storming their home, which was surrounded by a large military force. Once inside the house, the soldiers arrested Khatib, conducted a quick search and left the house.

Israel fast-tracking Indian immigrants to subvert settlement freeze
28 Jan 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Israeli government is reported to have quietly approved the fast-track immigration of 7,000 members of a supposedly “lost Jewish” tribe, known as the Bnei Menashe, currently living in a remote area of India. Jonathan Cook reports.

Palestinian Authority: Pray our way or else
28 Jan 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rRAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) – The Palestinian Authority (PA) is using West Bank mosques as a new battleground in its political offensive against its opponents within Hamas as well as critics from its own Fatah party. Earlier this month, PA security forces raided several mosques in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron before assaulting and arresting a number of Friday worshippers.

Arab parliamentarian in Israel visits Auschwitz
27 Jan 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rAn Arab member of the Israeli parliament has sparked controversy among Jews and Arabs in Israel over his decision to join an official Israeli delegation commemorating International Holocaust Day today at a Nazi death camp in Poland. Mohammed Barakeh will be the only Arab in a contingent of Israeli parliamentarians and government ministers at Auschwitz to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the camp’s liberation. Jonathan Cook reports.