Drivers at Sofa crossing wait in hope24 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr r11:00am, Thursday, 19 June. The tahdiya (or “lull”) between Hamas and Israel started just hours ago at 6:00 this morning. At Sofa Crossing, in the south eastern Gaza Strip, it looks like business as usual for the Gazan drivers who are patiently waiting to collect their cargo so they can start distributing across the Gaza Strip.
Beit Sahour reclaims military base site24 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rUSH GHRAB, West Bank (IPS) – East of Beit Sahour in Ush Ghrab, the tree line stops and the bronze, rocky desert begins. In a flat clearing on this hilltop, a small, abandoned military post is being slowly transformed from an assorted collection of cement-grey barracks into a virtual oasis for the region’s children, families and tourists.
“Lost generation” of Iraqi refugee children in Lebanon23 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rBEIRUT (IRIN) – Of the 10 million refugees worldwide, half are children, estimates UK-based World Vision—children who will grow up as a “lost generation” unless more is done to address their needs. “To preserve the young generation growing up today, we need to shield children from violence, enhance humanitarian access and provide more resources targeted to children’s specific needs,” World Vision said in a report highlighting the plight of Iraqi refugee children in Jordan, released to coincide with 20 June, World Refugee Day.
UNRWA “not satisfied” with pace of reconstruction in Palestinian refugee camp23 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rBEIRUT (IRIN) – One year on since the fighting between Islamist militant group Fatah al-Islam and the Lebanese army destroyed most of the northern Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp and displaced up to 40,000 of its residents, the pace of reconstruction remains grindingly slow. The “old camp,” inside the official boundary, is mostly rubble and is the responsibility of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) to rebuild.
Gaza ceasefire between success and failure23 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rBased on the reactions of Palestinians across all levels of society to the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza, the possibility of sustaining the truce appears doubtful. On the streets of Gaza City, interviews with a number of residents revealed a mixture of pessimism and optimism. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari reports from occupied Gaza.
UN children’s agency rejects support from Israeli settlement financier23 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe following press release was issued on 19 June 2008 by Adalah-NY, an ad-hoc coalition for justice in the Middle East: A senior advisor to UNICEF’s Director said in a letter today that UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s fund) will reject all partnerships with, or financial support from, Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev. Leviev had previously provided UNICEF with support by sponsoring fundraising events in France. Leviev’s past support for UNICEF is featured in a number of places on his company’s website.
“Occupiers cannot also be liberal”: An interview with Ilan Pappe21 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rATHENS (IPS) – Support for an academic boycott of Israeli universities exposed Ilan Pappe to death threats last year, forced him to resign as senior lecturer of political science at the University of Haifa, and leave the country. In an interview with Inter Press Service correspondent Apostolis Fotiadis, Pappe discusses the situation in Palestine today, and the Arab-Israeli conflict 60 years after it began.
New ceasefire could ease the burden21 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rCAIRO (IPS) – An Egyptian proposal for a “calming” of hostilities, or tahdia, between Israel and Palestinian resistance faction Hamas officially came into effect Thursday. The deal follows several months of three-way talks between Israeli officials, Palestinian delegations and Egyptian mediators.
Rays of hope from the Gaza ceasefire20 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAfter the unremitting hell that Israel has inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza, one can only feel relief and even joy at the ceasefire agreed between Hamas and the Jewish state that took effect this week. Its significance extends well beyond Gaza and opens new possibilities as the disastrous Bush Doctrine begins to lose influence. Ali Abunimah comments.
Israeli forces terrorize Deheisheh refugee camp20 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIt started out as a normal Saturday morning. We were hanging out in Ibdaa Cultural Center in Deheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem. We were all sitting in the cafe at Ibdaa, which is on the fourth floor and has windows around three sides of the building. We were drinking coffee, chatting, watching television and all of a sudden there was a loud sound like a grenade or a bomb. Marcy Newman writes from Deheisheh.
A life trapped20 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIn 2000 the UN General Assembly declared 20 June “World Refugee Day,” a day during which the world can focus on the experience and plight of refugees. It is a day that not only recognizes Palestinian refugees but also other unfortunate people whose lives have been disrupted by war and injustice. Najwa Sheikh in Gaza comments on the particular experience of being a Palestinian refugee.
Anything for a bath, anything for fuel20 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rGAZA CITY (IPS) – The girl, about 16, is wandering about Jabaliya refugee camp, picking up anything she thinks can burn. She cannot find enough bits of wood, so she gathers plastic bags, old notebooks and even a pair of broken plastic sandals. “I want to heat some water,” she said. “I want a bath.”
Palestinians increasingly donor-dependent20 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rJERUSALEM (IRIN) – The European Commission (EC) on 16 June announced a 24 million euro donation to humanitarian programs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. About half of the money would go to the West Bank and half to the Gaza Strip, a senior EC official said, noting that even though only about a third of the population lives in the coastal enclave, the humanitarian situation there was more severe.
Politics mostly responsible for Palestinian food insecurity – UN20 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rJERUSALEM (IRIN) – Lower incomes and the increasing cost of food have contributed to higher food insecurity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, without a change in the political situation the only solution remains emergency humanitarian aid, a new UN report has said. Israel has said restrictions on movement and the wall are needed for security purposes and efforts are being made to make life easier for Palestinians.
Meet the Lebanese Press: All the prime minister’s men19 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rEfforts to form a Lebanese government come against the backdrop of a surprise visit by US Secretary of State Condolezza Rice and intermittent armed clashes between loyal and opposition groups in various parts of the country, mainly the central Bekaa region. Rice’s visit, stalling the implementation of the Doha Accords, as well as regional developments including announcement of a truce between Israel and Hamas and Turkish-mediated Syrian-Israeli “peace” talks could be seen as efforts to sideline Iran’s allies in the Arab world in preparation for a possible showdown between Washington and Tehran.
Palestinian prisoners in Israel isolated from outside world19 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOn 17 June 2008, Adalah filed a petition to the Israeli high court on behalf of eight family members of Palestinian political prisoners from the Gaza Strip, the Al Mezan and the Association for the Palestinian Prisoners demanding that residents of Gaza be permitted to visit their relatives being held in Israeli prisons on a regular basis. The case was filed by Adalah attorney Abeer Baker against the defense minister, the commander of the Israeli army for the southern district and the interior minister.
“We could not even bury our daughter”19 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOn 11 June, eight-year-old Hadeel al-Sumairi was killed when her home in southeastern Gaza was shelled by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). Less than a week earlier, eight-year-old Aya Hamdan al-Najjar was killed by a rocket fired from an IOF helicopter. These two young girls had been living just a few kilometers apart, both in villages in the southeastern Gaza Strip near the border with Israel. Their violent deaths highlight both the continual dangers facing families who live anywhere near the Israeli border.
Book review: Philosophical essays on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict19 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rCumbersome though it already is, the subtitle of the new book The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Philosophical Essays on Self-Determination, Terrorism, and the One-State Solution could have been expanded to include “The Right of Return,” the title of the second of its four long chapters, thus doing fuller justice to its impressive sweep. Raymond Deane reviews Raja Halwani and Tomis Kapitan’s new book for The Electronic Intifada.
Egypt bends on Israel gas deal19 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rCAIRO (IPS) – In the last two months, popular and parliamentary opposition to the sale of Egyptian natural gas to Israel has mounted. As a result, in a rare nod to public opinion, the government recently announced it was “revising” the terms of the sale agreement. “The government was finally embarrassed into partially addressing our concerns,” Mohammed Anwar al-Sadat, former MP and spokesman for the recently founded Popular Campaign against Gas Exports told IPS.
Israeli forces extrajudicially execute six in Gaza18 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) escalated their aggression against the Gaza Strip by launching several attacks yesterday, 17 June 2008, which killed six Palestinians in separate attacks in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah. According to data collected and compiled by Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, the number of Palestinians killed by IOF since the start of 2008 has reached 357. Since 1 June 2008 25 Palestinians have been killed by IOF.
Jazz musician Branford Marsalis urged to cancel Israel concert18 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe following is an open letter to jazz musician Branford Marsalis, sent by the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine: “We are writing to ask you to reconsider your decision to play in Israel. We are wondering how a musician with your sensitivity will be able to stand on a stage and play reflective, subtle jazz while less than an hour’s drive away, a million-and-a-half people in Gaza—two-thirds of them refugees—endure yet another night of hunger, darkness and fear because of the iron-clad siege the Israeli government has enforced against them for years.”
The urgency of 194818 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOne of the most repeated quotes among Palestinian refugees is: “The old will die and the young will forget,” words reputedly spoken by Israel’s founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion. However, the young have not forgotten. Everywhere I have traveled in the Arab world Palestinian children tell me the names of their original villages that they still hope to see someday. Even the youngest of children will say things like, “If I don’t return to my village, then my children or their children will.” Hanna Mermelstein writes.
Crossing the Line interviews professor Nasser Aruri about AIPAC conference18 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThis week on Crossing The Line: Lawmakers made their annual pilgrimage to the the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference to show their unyielding support of Israel. US presidential candidates McCain and Obama claim to both want a change, but how will this apply to foreign policy, and more specifically the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Noted author and professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, Naseer Aruri, speaks with host Naji Ali about the importance of AIPAC in the US presidential elections.
Israel has won the European cup: a special relationship18 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIsrael has now been granted the highest level of European Union relations available to a non-member state, despite the EU’s own finding that “little concrete progress” has been made on issues raised between Israel and the EU, namely Israel’s human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. EI co-founder Arjan El Fassed comments on the efforts towards a “more intense, more fruitful, more influential cooperation” between the EU and Israel.
Keep Israel out of elite economic club17 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIsrael’s ruling elite now has a major aspiration: to join the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as a member country. For the sake of the Israelis and of their neighbors, this aspiration should be thwarted by an international campaign of all supporters of peace; and, in fact, by supporters of the free market as well. EI contributor Ran HaCohen comments.
Electronic Intifada