Pope takes armor-plated route into Nazareth17 May 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rPope Benedict XVI urged the Christian and Muslim communities of Nazareth, the largest Palestinian city in Israel, to “reject the destructive power of hatred and prejudice” as he addressed 40,000 followers on 14 May at his final public Mass in the Holy Land. His message of peace and reconciliation for Nazareth, renowned as the town where Jesus grew up, was delivered amid a heavy Israeli security operation that angered many residents.
In Jerusalem, a “beautification” stranglehold17 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rJERUSALEM (IPS) – Even as Pope Benedict XVI tried his best during his recent Holy Land visit to pay reverence to the attachment of all three monotheistic faiths to Jerusalem, on the ground a less lofty imprint is already furthering Israeli control over the Holy City in a way that could threaten the claims of all but Jews to Jerusalem.
Hamas under scrutiny while Lieberman embraced14 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rGAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – A founding member of Hamas says he hates all weapons and insists that his organization is not anti-Jewish. In an interview with IPS, Sayed Abu Musameh described frequent claims in the European and US press that Hamas’s charter is based on enmity towards Jews as a “big lie.” Speaking in the remains of the Palestinian Legislative Council headquarters in Gaza City, Husameh drew a distinction between followers of Judaism and the Zionist ideology to which most politicians in Israel’s main political parties subscribe.
Pope’s visit overlooks Palestinians14 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rPope Benedict XVI upset the schedule on his first day in Israel by leaving an interfaith meeting in Jerusalem early on Monday night after a leading Muslim cleric called on him to condemn the “slaughter” of women and children in the recent assault on Gaza. The pontiff walked out, a spokesman noted, because Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi’s speech was a “direct negation” of dialogue and damaged the Pope’s efforts at “promoting peace.”
Israeli orgs call on Norway to divest from occupation14 May 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIn an unprecedented way, a wide array of Israeli civil society and grassroots organizations has sent a letter to the Norwegian Pension Fund, addressed to its Council on Ethics, urging it to support their efforts for a just peace and equality in Israel/Palestine by divesting from all companies involved in the Israeli occupation.
EU obligated to prosecute war crime suspects14 May 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rFair criminal trials in EU member states, especially if they result in convictions, could provide genuine deterrence and begin to provide justice for Palestinian victims of Israeli actions. The EU has a massive role in that regard. Instead of paying lip service to injustices inflicted upon the Palestinian people by issuing statements “deploring the loss of life” and promises to “follow closely investigations into alleged violations of international humanitarian law,” EU countries would achieve much more by applying the rule of law to Israel, starting with making their laws match their obligations under the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Daniel Machover and Adri Nieuwhof comment for The Electronic Intifada.
Gaza families down to a meal a day13 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rGAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – Umm Abdullah cannot remember the last time she was able to feed meat to her eight children. She does know that for the past week the single meal she cooked for them each day consisted only of lentils. And that on one day, she had received aid coupons from the United Nations, which she subsequently sold to buy tomatoes and eggplant at the local market.
Covering up Israel’s Gaza crimes with UN help13 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIn my last article, I considered how UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon might handle the inquiry into Israeli attacks on UN facilities in the occupied Gaza Strip last winter. I hoped for the best but feared the worst given press reports that Ban had been told by the United States not to publish the report in full lest that harm the “peace process.” Unfortunately, the worst fears were fully justified as Ban published and sent to the Security Council only a 27-page summary of the 184-page document submitted to him by a board of inquiry led by a former head of Amnesty International.
Obama administration renews Bush-era sanctions on Syria12 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWASHINGTON (IPS) – US President Barack Obama issued a statement on 8 May calling for the renewal of sanctions on Syria, which were set to expire on Monday. The declaration came at the end of a busy week in which both high-level US officials and the Iranian president visited the Syrian capital, Damascus. Though Syria has recently sought engagement with the US and Israel, the executive order extending sanctions is only the latest in a series of significant stumbling blocks to peeling off one of Iran’s closest regional allies.
Palestinian Authority popularity at all-time low12 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rRAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) – Yet another sign of the growing unpopularity of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) was evident on the streets of Ramallah last weekend. Demonstrators ripped apart hundreds of posters of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, whose term officially expired in January, that were plastered on walls and buildings along the street leading to the heavily fortified compound known as the Muqata, the PA government headquarters.
Hizballah today, Hamas tomorrow12 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rLike most Western governments, the Canadian government rejected the Hamas leadership from the moment of its sweeping victory in 2006 in the democratic Palestinian elections. But the attitude of pouting in the face of ideological and political opposition from elected groups is an outdated policy that has proved largely ineffective. Shourideh Molavi comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Israel’s psychological siege11 May 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rGAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – Palestinians in Gaza have a colloquial term to describe the buzzing of Israeli warplanes that is an ever-present feature of their lives: zanana. The gallows humor of likening instruments of death to honey bees might suggest that the people of this crowded sliver of land on the Mediterranean have found a way of coping with the occupation that has lasted more than four decades. Yet the planes also remind Palestinians of what they fear most: that they could come under fresh attack at any time.
In Ireland or Palestine, strength in unity11 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAlthough the peace process in Ireland still has a long road ahead in achieving its core political objectives from a Nationalist and Republican perspective, it is moving forward in the right direction. In contrast, the so-called Israeli-Palestinian “peace process” based on the Oslo accords of the mid-’90s and the more recent attempt to resuscitate it at the 2007 Annapolis conference has been an unmitigated disaster for Palestinians. Ken Foley comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Envisioning a better future: Activist Mazin Qumsiyeh interviewed11 May 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rMazin Qumsiyeh is a tireless activist for Palestinian human rights who returned to his hometown of Beit Sahour in the Israeli-occupied West Bank last year and now teaches at Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities. Qumsiyeh is both a human rights activist and a scientist who has a lengthy list of publications on genetics to his credit. He was interviewed for The Electronic Intifada by contributor Ida Audeh.
An injury to one …10 May 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rMy dear Palestinian brothers and sisters, I have come to your land and I have recognized shades of my own. My land was once one where some people imagined that they could build their security on the insecurity of others. They claimed that their lighter skin and European origins gave them the right to dispossess those of a darker skin who lived in the land for thousands of years. Farid Esack writes a letter to the Palestinian people spray-painted on Israel’s wall in the West Bank.
Palestinians rebuild with mud8 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rRAFAH, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – Jihad al-Shaar is pleased with his mud-brick house in the Moraj district of Gaza. The 80-square meter home is a basic one-story, two-bedroom design, with a small kitchen, bathroom and sitting room, made mostly with mud and straw. “My wife and our four daughters and I were living with family, but it was overcrowded, impossible. We knew we had to build a home of our own,” Shaar said.
UN chief defends “watered down” Gaza report7 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rUNITED NATIONS (IPS) – A detailed 184-page report critical of Israeli attacks on UN personnel and buildings during the Gaza conflict last December-January has been meticulously stripped down to a 27-page document—mostly due to political sensitivities and on security grounds. Responding to charges he had released only a “watered down” version of the report by a four-member UN Board of Inquiry (BoI), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon vehemently denied the accusation.
Rights orgs: Donor aid shouldn’t underwrite Israeli crimes7 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOn 2 March 2009, major international donors convened in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt to collectively respond to the destruction caused by Israel’s 23 day military offensive on the Gaza Strip. During the conference, a total of $4.5 billion was pledged in reconstruction funds for Gaza. In light of the extensive destruction across the Gaza Strip, especially the destruction of civilian homes and infrastructure, reconstruction is urgent.
Villages call on Norway to divest from Africa-Israel6 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe West Bank Palestinian villages of Bilin and Jayyous and 11 national and international networks from Europe, Palestine, Israel and the US have sent letters calling on Norway to comply with its ethical guidelines and divest from its pension fund holdings in the company Africa-Israel, owned by the controversial diamond magnate Lev Leviev.
“Life is blind now”6 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rMahmoud Mattar spent his 15th birthday in February this year, lying in the intensive care unit of Egypt’s Sheikh Zayid hospital. He is one of the 1,606 children who were injured during Israel’s military offensive on Gaza, some of who sustained horrific disabilities, head and spinal injuries, facial disfigurement, burns and amputation.
Ban Ki-moon’s moral failure6 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rFor the UN secretary-general, Israeli bombing is good—although he would like perhaps to see a little bit less. But, in tune with his political masters, he considers Palestinians to have no right to any form of self-defense against the Israeli occupation, constant aggression and the Israeli, internationally-supported, deadly siege, with whatever means they have at their disposal. Hasan Abu Nimah comments.
Month in pictures: April 20095 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe below photographs are a selection of images from the month of April 2009. “The month in pictures” is an ongoing feature by The Electronic Intifada. If you have images documenting Palestine, Palestinian life, politics and culture, or of solidarity with Palestine, please email images and captions to photos A T electronicintifada D O T net.
Israel’s war on dissent5 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAbout six months after Israel’s attorney general publicly announced an effort to criminalize dissent, state authorities have upped the ante in their “war”—as the Israeli daily Haaretz called it last September—against Israel’s youth; against the broad, grassroots movement slandered by officials as “draft shirkers.” Rela Mazali comments for The Electronic Intifada.
AIPAC conference comes amid turmoil5 May 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWASHINGTON (IPS) – The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Washington’s powerful and hawkish pro-Israel lobby, kicked off its annual policy conference this weekend during a period of unusual turbulence both for the organization and for the US-Israel relationship. AIPAC won a notable victory on Friday, when prosecutors moved to dismiss charges against two former AIPAC staffers who had been accused of committing espionage violations by passing classified information to the Israeli government and to reporters.
Gaza laborers injured in Israel left to dry5 May 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rMore than 700 Palestinian workers in Gaza who suffered on-the-job accidents inside Israel used to receive monthly disability payments from Israeli employers. But in January 2009, workers stopped receiving these payments as the Israeli courts decided that Israeli insurance companies are no longer liable towards Palestinians living in what the state has declared a “hostile entity.” Rami Almeghari reports for The Electronic Intifada.
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