More than 600 Palestinians killed in extrajudicial killings since 200012 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rBetween the eruption of the second Palestinian intifada on 28 September 2000 and June 2006, Israeli forces attempted 252 extrajudicial killing operations. According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, Israeli forces killed 603 Palestinians during these crimes. Statistically, the victims of this policy constitute 20 percent of the entire intifada’s Palestinian fatalities. Of these, 212 were bystanders killed during such operations.
Photostory: A pervasive occupation12 Dec 2007rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOccupation has a way of making its presence experienced beyond its immediate manifestations—war machines and walls and checkpoints—and wounding everything it comes in contact with. The Israeli occupation has left scars on nearly all aspects of Palestinian society—both literal, physical tears in the earth and edifice. Where a million olive trees used to be rooted or tens of thousands of homes that used to be places to live and now are little more than a painful memory. However, in the midst of occupation is the energy to resist, a veiled hope for peace and justice, even at impossible odds. Photographer Adam Beach documented life in occupied Palestine.
Report: Israeli military installations near Arab villages harmed civilians12 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rA new report from the Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA) focuses on one claim—one that was also raised during the war, particularly by Arab public figures in Israel, but which has not been the subject of detailed attention. This claim is that military installations were positioned by the Israeli army in proximity to Arab civilian locales. The report is based on the testimonies of 80 Arab residents interviewed by the HRA, documenting 20 Arab communities that were hit by an estimated total of some 660 rockets, killing 14 civilians directly.
Israel’s Palestinians speak out11 Dec 2007rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe Annapolis peace talks regard me as an interloper in my own land. Israel’s deputy prime minister, Avigdor Lieberman, argues that I should “take [my] bundles and get lost.” Henry Kissinger thinks I ought to be summarily swapped from inside Israel to the would-be Palestinian state. I am a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship—one of 1.4 million. We are Palestinian Arabs—Christian, Muslim and Druze—not Jewish. More than twenty Israeli laws explicitly privilege Jews over non-Jews. Nadim Rouhana comments.
The first intifada 20 years later9 Dec 2007rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe first Palestinian intifada (uprising or shaking off) erupted dramatically on 9 December 1987 after twenty long years of brutal Israeli military occupation. The Palestinians had had enough. Not only had they been dispossessed of their homeland and expelled from their homes in 1948 to make way for the boatloads of European Jewish immigrants flooding into Palestine on a promise of a Jewish state, they had been made to suffer the indignities of a people despised and rejected by the whole world. Sonja Karkar comments for EI on the anniversary of the beginning of the first intifada.
Towards first-rate university instruction9 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research produced a report in August 2002 with financial and technical assistance provided by the World Bank. The paper has two objectives. The first is to provide an analytic rationale for donors wishing to finance higher education in Palestine, and the other, thornier one, is to “build stakeholders consensus on the rationale and mechanism for financing reform.” Given the nature of the document, it is taken for granted that the answer to the challenges higher education faces in Palestine is “a compelling financial strategy” and that’s what the document provides. Rima Merriman comments.
Funds dry up for hospital in Ain al-Hilweh camp9 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rAIN AL-HILWEH, 9 December (IRIN) – A desperately needed hospital in Lebanon’s largest and most violent Palestinian refugee camp has been unable to open on time because funds to buy beds and other basic medical equipment have dried up. The US$5m al-Quds hospital in Ain al-Hilweh, just outside the southern port city of Sidon, is the single largest investment in the camp’s 60-year history and aims to treat a range of chronic diseases, heart problems, cancers and nervous disorders suffered by Ain al-Hilweh residents. It also aims to have a children’s wing and an intensive care unit.
Dershowitz jewelry purchase booed by Leviev protesters9 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rWealthy Madison Avenue holiday shoppers were greeted the afternoon of 8 December 2007 by boisterous music and dancing, as 60 New Yorkers protested in a growing campaign to boycott Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev over his settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Participants performed a joyous dabke, a traditional Palestinian dance, and chanted to music from the eight-piece Rude Mechanical Orchestra. During the protest, Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz entered LEVIEV New York and emerged to jeers as he displayed a LEVIEV shopping bag to the crowd.
Only 41 percent of Gaza’s food import needs being met6 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rJERUSALEM, 6 December (IRIN) – Food imports into the Gaza Strip are only enough to meet 41 percent of demand, the World Food Program (WFP) has said, though critical UN humanitarian food supplies are being allowed in. The cost of many basic items, such as beef, wheat and some dairy products have increased significantly, while locally grown produce is fetching extremely low prices on the local market, as exports are banned, threatening the livelihood of farmers. Since the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June, the commercial crossing points with Israel have been all but shut, except for the import of basic humanitarian goods.
Testimony: Israel delays treatment of two Gaza toddlers6 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rI was born in Jordan to a father from the Gaza Strip. In 1994, I came to Gaza on a visitor’s permit that my uncle obtained for me. In 1995, my fiancee also entered Gaza on a visitor’s permit and we got married. At the time, we thought we would be able to obtain Palestinian identity cards. I worked in the office of the Palestinian Naval Police. In 1996, our first child was born, a daughter, whom we named Ghaida’, and in 1998, our daughter Maysa’ was born. In 2000, our first son, Muhammad, was born. Ten days after he was born, we noticed that his skin was yellow, so we took him to al-Shifa’a Hospital, in Gaza, for an examination.
Largest Dutch trade union will increase pressure on Israel6 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rSince 1994 Palestine has been part of the largest Dutch trade union, FNV ABVAKABO’s international solidarity policy. In a letter to Palestinian unions it refers to a resolution of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions which was adopted in December 2004. The ICFTU has 241 affiliated organizations in 156 countries with a membership of 155 million. The resolution calls for the immediate ending of the occupation of 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza, including the existence of the wall and Jewish settlements.
The next “generous offer”?6 Dec 2007rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe refugee solution Olmert suggests is “an international effort, in which we [Israel] will participate, to assist these Palestinians in finding a proper framework for their future, in the Palestinian state that will be established in the territories agreed upon between us.” The suggestion that the refugees do not have the choice to return to the lands from which they were expelled is contrary to international humanitarian law, and to UN Resolution 194 that “Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date.” Neta Golan comments for EI.
“No fuel, no gasoline, no benzene”6 Dec 2007rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWith the majority of gas stations closed in Gaza due to the escalating fuel crisis, a group of local Gaza taxi drivers shared the fuel in their cars’ tanks, for the sake of going back home, rather than earning a living under already dire economic conditions. Majed Abu Sam’an, a driver of a Hyundai taxi minibus, was parked along with other drivers in mid-day Tuesday, 4 December 2007, siphoning gasoline from his car’s tank into that of another. “We are helping him so he can go back home, as he has been stuck here in Gaza City since the early hours of morning. We went to all the gas stations but they were closed, no fuel to buy,” says Abu Sama’an. Rami Almeghari reports for EI.
Will peace cost me my home?5 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rSixty years ago, my grandparents lived in the beautiful village of Beit Daras, a few kilometers north of Gaza. They were farmers and owned hundreds of acres of land. But in 1948, in the first Arab-Israeli war, many people lost their lives defending our village from the Zionist militias. In the end, with their crops and homes burning, the villagers fled. My family eventually made its way to what became the refugee camp of Khan Younis in Gaza. Some people may tire of hearing such stories from the past. “Don’t cry over spilled milk” is one of the first sayings I learned in English. But for me, the line between past and present is not so easily broken. Ghada Ageel comments.
Audio: Crossing the Line interviews Norman Finkelstein5 Dec 2007rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThis week on Crossing The Line: The international conference in Annapolis, Maryland recently came to an end. During the talks US President George W. Bush stated that the time is right for peace in the Middle East, but what does that mean in terms of a solution to the decades-long conflict? Host Christopher Brown speaks with Dr. Norman G. Finkelstein, a noted scholar on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the author of several books including his latest, Beyond Chutzpah: On The Misuse of Anti-Semitism and The Abuse of History, about Annapolis’ chances for success.
Gaza’s medical sector suffers Israeli sanctions, restrictions5 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rJERUSALEM/GAZA, 5 December (IRIN) – Health officials in the Gaza Strip say they are concerned about hundreds of patients unable to travel to Israel or other countries for vital treatment, and that local hospitals lack essential medical equipment, drugs and fuel. Only about one in seven patients who used to travel through the Rafah terminal to Egypt for treatment are now able to access medical care in Israel, according to World Health Organization statistics.
Prisoner release clouded by thousands still in custody4 Dec 2007rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThousands gathered at the presidential compound in Ramallah on 3 December 2007 to welcome 429 Palestinian prisoners just released from Israeli jails as part of what Israel has called a “goodwill” gesture. Nonetheless, behind the cheering and flag waving, the feeling was bittersweet as the families of the released were overjoyed to have their loved ones returned, while there remained an atmosphere of cynicism towards Israel’s “gesture.” Israel’s release was intended to demonstrate a commitment to the process put forward at the meeting in Annapolis, Maryland last week. Jesse Rosenfeld reports from Ramallah.
Solidarity in Tubas4 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr r”The clinic is modern, light, open and clean. Coming from a dark, dirty hospital with MRSA [the superbug] stalking the wards I almost felt we should send our managers to learn from the people here,” reflected Lucy Collins, a midwife from the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton. She had spent two days in the Red Crescent primary health care center in Tubas. Such positive reflections on the grinding reality of life under occupation in the West Bank are rare. But there are many stories of a resilient people who still have the energy to welcome visitors and reassure them when things become particularly heavy. Alice Cutler reports.
Palestine: Moving beyond collective denial3 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIt was shocking to see Mahmoud Abbas, the designated head of the US-sponsored Palestinian Authority, warmly applaud the acknowledgement of Israel as a “Jewish state” and “homeland for the Jewish people” in Bush’s inaugural speech at Annapolis. With his clapping hands, Abbas supported the denial of his people’s history, in particular the 1948 mass expulsion that included the destruction of 531 villages and has been followed by the forced removal of Palestinians ever since. EI co-founder Arjan El Fassed comments on the need to object to this denial of Palestinian history.
Red Cross training Gaza fighters in international humanitarian law3 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza has recently begun training Palestinian resistance fighters to respect international humanitarian law. For the past several years various Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza have fired crude homemade rockets at nearby Israeli towns, killing about a dozen Israeli civilians and recently injuring 69 soldiers in one such attack. The rockets usually land in open spaces but cause panic amongst Israeli civilians. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari reports on the training designed to minimize civilian casualties on both sides of the conflict.
Meet the Lebanese Press: In the shadow of Annapolis3 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIt seemingly took a stillborn conference like Annapolis to break the deadlock in the Lebanese presidential crisis. In a surprise move this past week, the March 14 camp nominated Lebanese army chief Michel Suleiman for the presidency. Suleiman had been considered a preferred candidate for the opposition camp. His long-standing support of the resistance against Israel and his amicable relations with Damascus made him agreeable to the opposition camp. But the army’s recent assault on Nahr al-Bared refugee camp endeared him to the Americans as well. Now, he is emerging as the man of consensus.
Audio: Crossing the Line interviews Ramallah activist Sam Bahour2 Dec 2007rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThis week on Crossing The Line: Over recent years it has been increasingly difficult for foreign passport-holding Palestinians and internationals visiting Palestine to obtain visas and renew them from the governing Israeli occupation. Palestinian-American activist Sam Bahour joins us from Ramallah to discuss Israel’s control of people who wish to visit Palestine.
Palestinian shepherds’ livelihoods in jeopardy2 Dec 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rDHAHARIYA, WEST BANK, 2 December (IRIN) – Palestinian herders in the southern part of the West Bank are facing increased poverty due to rising costs of fodder and water, as well as limitations on their access to grazing land, the herders and UN officials said. “Due to global droughts and the rising demand internationally for corn and barley bio-fuels, the prices of corn and barley fodder products have risen dramatically,” said Santiago Ripoll, a food security analyst with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization working in the Hebron area in the southern West Bank.
The Palestine that we struggle for1 Dec 2007rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe gulf between the PA and the Palestinian people is becoming increasingly obvious. Indeed the whole range of Palestinian political and social forces joined in condemning the repression on Tuesday. The choice for the PA is clear: either to go along with the dictates of the US and the occupation; or to radically alter their course, to return to the people and remember that they are leaders of the Palestinian national struggle. The grassroots movement against normalization with the occupiers will continue to grow. Resistance will continue as the Palestinian people assert their fundamental rights. Jamal Juma’ comments.
Shades of grey: Nusseibeh’s “Once Upon A Country”29 Nov 2007rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIn his new historical autobiography Once Upon A Country, Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, who many accuse of selling out due to his comments regarding the right of return, highlights the shades of grey in a conflict that most people prefer to see in black and white. Miko Peled reviews Nusseibeh’s new book and finds that it shows that neither Rabin, or Barak or any other Israeli prime minister had ever intended to make peace with the Palestinians. Their intention was, and still is, to turn the Palestinian people into “hewers of wood and drawers of water” for the Jewish state that was established on the ashes of a country that, as the book title suggests, once upon a time existed.
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