Soldiers assault and arrest B’Tselem worker in Hebron19 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rSoldiers assaulted and arrested Issa ‘Amro, a B’Tselem fieldworker, in Hebron yesterday. ‘Amro was arrested while filming a disturbance by settlers in the Wadi Hsein neighborhood in East Hebron. Yesterday evening (19 January), a group of settlers began throwing stones at a Palestinian home and trying to forcefully enter it. Although a large force of soldiers and police were present, they did nothing to protect the Palestinians and remove the settlers.
Israel kills nine Gazans, injures 57 in three days18 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIsraeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have intensified their war crimes in the Gaza Strip with total disregard for civilian lives. During the last three days, nine Palestinians, including four civilians, have been killed by the IOF. Three of the civilian victims were women. In addition, 57 other people were inured, the majority of whom were also civilians. On 18 January shrapnel from a bomb fired from an Israeli fighter jet onto a governmental building hit a nearby wedding celebration, killing one woman and injuring dozens of others.
Gaza power cuts leave people cold physically, metaphorically16 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rJERUSALEM/GAZA, 17 January (IRIN) – The Israeli government decided earlier this month to permit the Gaza Strip to import industrial diesel—in similar quantities to those permitted prior to the fuel import restrictions imposed in October 2007—but the impoverished enclave continues to suffer from power cuts. The cuts are affecting daily life, particularly now as the region has been experiencing an uncommonly cold winter.
Nablus, wounded in the war on history16 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAlthough it is a small stretch of land, Palestine has many faces, from tiny country villages to bustling cities. Perhaps one of the most impressive places is the city of Nablus. Coming from Ramallah, passage into the city is through the huge, overcrowded Huwwara checkpoint. Having crossed this reversed city gate, set up by the Israeli military in October 2000, the first impression is that of a vivid Arab city, albeit with a sense of tension in the air. In a recent visit, Toon Lambrechts traces Nablus’ five millennia of history.
Mr. Bush’s trip to Ramallah16 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rSo US President George W. Bush came to Ramallah, and of course the city was turned upside down. The Palestinian Authority (PA) wanted to show that they were up to the task of handling the security. I managed to get a press pass and I was cynical but curious to see how the big show would go down. All the photographers and journalists were told to come at 6am at a certain location so that they could be taken all together to the Muqata’a, the PA’s headquarters. Anne Paq reports from Ramallah.
Israeli forces kill Gaza civilians in botched execution attempt15 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rOn Wednesday at noon, 16 January 2008, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) launched an air strike against a civilian vehicle in Gaza City. Three Palestinian civilians (a man, his son and his brother) were killed in the strike. According to preliminary investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, at approximately 12:30pm on Wednesday, an IOF aircraft fired a missile at a civilian vehicle, in which three members of the al-Yazji family, including a child, were traveling, in al-Nafaq Street in the al-Daraj neighborhood of east Gaza City.
Citizenship, Zionism and separation of religion from the state15 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIt is customary to say that the Israeli daily Haaretz is a progressive newspaper. However, its progressive character is generally nowhere to be seen when Israel initiates a war against one of its neighbors—its opposition to the previous two wars came only after the newspaper provided support to the policies of the government and the military—or abuses against the Palestinian people. However, when dealing with matters of religion, and particularly hatred of the religious, the progressiveness of Haaretz, its editors and community of readers, is endless. Michael Warschawski comments.
“It felt like a kind of resistance to celebrate”14 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rAhmed and Liliane Hassan, who are 25 and 17, were supposed to marry in August, but instead were driven from their homes in Nahr al-Bared camp, along with up to 40,000 other people, by 106 days of fighting between the Lebanese army and militant group Fatah al-Islam. They were among several thousand Palestinians allowed to return from 10 October, and soon after tied the knot. Ahmed explained: “When we celebrated our engagement during the 2006 July War, the Israelis bombed Abdeh, on the edge of Nahr al-Bared and we ended up in the shelters. Then the fighting delayed our wedding.”
Israeli forces kill 17 Gazans in less than four hours14 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rOn Tuesday morning, 15 January 2008, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed 17 Palestinians, including five civilians, and wounded at least 30 others, five of whom are in a serious condition, during an incursion into the al-Shojaeya and al-Zaytoun neighborhoods of east Gaza City. The incursion continued until noon. Preliminary investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights indicate that most of the victims were killed by tank shells, and that IOF troops used excessive lethal force without regard for the lives of Palestinian civilians living in the affected areas.
Gaza’s fate left to the whim of an Israeli court14 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIt’s almost midnight. I rushed to my laptop when I saw the glow of the lamp after almost 12 hours darkness following one of the electricity cuts that hundreds of thousands of Gazans like myself have been subjected to over the past week or so. As a journalist in Gaza, I was keen to file to my editors a story on the electricity cuts. I did the job, I talked with the people, I collected the material but when I went to my office and sat down in front of my PC, there was no electricity. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari reports from Gaza.
Meet the Lebanese Press: The Arabs to the rescue?14 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rArab League Secretary General Amr Moussa has been spending more time in Lebanon recently than any other Arab country outside his home base of Egypt. But the time he spends seems to be inversely proportional to number of issues he resolves. His latest trip this week was expected to bring the Lebanese factions to implement the latest Arab initiative launched in Cairo. Lip-service endorsements were all he got.
Photostory: Volvo equipment used in house demolitions13 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe photographers of the group Activestills have documented Volvo equipment being used for the illegal construction of the wall and the settlements, and the demolition of Palestinian houses in Israel and occupied Palestine. Activestills gave special permission to publish some of the images on The Electronic Intifada to inform a wider audience about the systematic use of Volvo equipment in house demolitions in East Jerusalem.
US seen in policy retreat13 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rCAIRO, 10 January (IPS) – Recent months have witnessed several notable political reorientations in the Middle East, involving Iran, the Gulf states, Egypt and Lebanon. Several experts say the changes reflect a shift in Washington’s regional strategy following recent US policy setbacks. “US policies in the region are either in retreat or undergoing re-examination,” Ayman Abelaziz Salaama, international law professor at Cairo University told IPS. “Washington’s project for a new Middle East—launched in 2001 with the aim of redrawing the region to suit US interests—has failed.”
Witnessing the siege13 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIt is supposed that one can build factual perception by reading the statistics and getting all the hard evidence, but I recently realized that a complete cognitive process relies first and foremost on visuals—seeing the picture for oneself. I joined a camera crew and producer shooting footage for a first-person interview on the Israeli siege on Gaza. The interviewee was Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj, head of the Palestinian International Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza, a coalition of organizations and individuals set out to do just that. Safa Joudeh writes from Gaza.
The Grand Jury and the persecution of Dr. Abdelhaleem Ashqar13 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rEver since his sentencing on 21 November, I have been ruminating on the extreme injustice perpetrated on Dr. Abdelhaleem Ashqar by the US government and the federal court in Chicago culminating in a draconian sentence of 135 months for nonviolent acts of civil disobedience. Michael E. Deutsch, who was one of the counsel for Dr. Ashqar’s co-defendant Mohammad Salah, comments on the punishing of a man motivated by love for his people and their right to resist an illegal occupation of their land.
PA uses force to disperse peaceful Bush protest in Ramallah12 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Palestinian Centre for Human Rights condemns the use of excessive force by Palestinian security forces in order to disperse a peaceful demonstration held in Ramallah on 10 January 2008. The Centre calls on the government in Ramallah to investigate the attack on peaceful demonstrators, during which the crowd was attacked by tens of Palestinian policemen and security forces, who beat them with batons and threw tear gas grenades.
In exclusion, Hamas counts10 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rGAZA CITY, 10 January (IPS) – As US President George W. Bush began talks Thursday with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas supporters in Gaza were determined to make their absence count. Leaders from the Palestinian party Hamas that won the elections in Gaza two years back have inevitably not been invited to meet Bush. The US considers Hamas a terrorist organization. Hamas took control of Gaza by force from the Fatah party headed by Abbas in June last year, about a year and a half after it swept the polls in January 2006.
Double standard on divestment10 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rToday, two movements for the promotion of human rights in Sudan and Palestine seek to emulate the successful role played by boycotts, divestment and sanctions in achieving democracy and equality in South Africa. The two movements, however, have received radically different receptions on Capitol Hill. This double standard testifies to official Washington’s selectivity when it comes to promoting human rights around the globe and its tendency to overlook the faults of its allies while using human rights as a pretext to punish its adversaries. Josh Reubner comments.
Ali Abunimah and Jonathan Cook discuss Israel’s “generous offers” on Flashpoints9 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rEI co-founder Ali Abunimah and EI contributor and author Jonathan Cook were interviewed on Flashpoints radio out of Berkeley, California on Monday, 7 December 2007. The two were invited on just days before US President George W. Bush’s first ever presedential visit to the Middle East and discussed past Israeli “generous offers” including Camp David in 2000, and Ehud Olmert’s continued policy of ethnic cleansing.
International Women’s Peace Service seeking volunteers9 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS) is a team of international women based in Haris, a village in the Salfit governorate of the West Bank, which provides accompaniment to Palestinian civilians, documents and nonviolently intervenes in human rights abuses, supports acts of nonviolent resistance to end the military occupation of the Palestinian territories—particularly Palestinian women’s resistance—and opposes the wall. IWPS is seeking new volunteers.
Gaza suffering severe fuel shortages9 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Gaza Strip continues to witness a dramatic decline in the fuel and power supplies since 16 October 2007. The Israeli high court upheld the decision of Israeli authorities to reduce the amount of fuel, including industrial fuel that is used for electricity generation, into the Strip on 13 November 2007. Under this decision, the Israeli Occupation Forces reduced the amount of fuel necessary for operating the power station to 250,000 liters per day.
Entries sought for 2008 Boston Palestine Film Festival9 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Boston Palestine Film Festival (BPFF) is now accepting entries for its second annual festival to be held in October 2008. BPFF seeks to present the extraordinary narrative of a dispossessed people living in exile or under Israeli occupation. Palestinian cinema represents a powerful means for visually interpreting the collective identity, historic struggle and emotional expression of Palestinians today.
Bush’s “vision” is Palestine’s nightmare9 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rMuch more important issues than the siege on Gaza were on Bush’s agenda. The need to realize and work on a “vision” for the future was in the forefront of Bush’s mind. “The parties” should now sit down and “negotiate a vision”—the parties being Israel, the fourth strongest military might in the world and a forty-year-long occupier, and the Palestinians, a stateless people who have been dispossessed by Israel for sixty years and under brutal military occupation by their colonizers for over four decades. Sam Bahour comments from al-Bireh/Ramallah.
George W. Bush: You are not welcome9 Jan 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWhile I was driving in the car the other day, there was a radio report that the Israeli high court has approved to cut off the electricity from Gaza and leave Gaza in darkness to intensify the collective punishment on Gaza. When the Israeli high court previously agreed to ban the transfer to Gaza of fuel to supply the main power plant, there were power cuts for at least eight hours a day. Power and fuel cuts mean that hospitals, factories and other essential services suffer as a result. Mohammed Ali writes from Gaza.
Only pressure will lift Gaza medical siege8 Jan 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rA delegation of four Israeli members of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-Israel), including three doctors and PHR-Israel’s Clinic Manager, entered Gaza this morning. At the same time, an emergency dispatch of medical supplies at a value of approximately US $40,000 was delivered by PHR-Israel into Gaza, for the purpose of distribution to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City and the European Hospital in Khan Younis, both of which are suffering from severe shortages.
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