Behind Beirut’s Sport City12 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rNajwa cleans the houses of the rich in Beirut. She lives with her son in the limbo spreading between the Stadium (Cite Sportive) and the Sabra Palestinian camp. Sociologists often refer to the Palestinian camps in Lebanon as a “space of exclusion”: the laws governing life in the camps are different from those governing life in the rest of Lebanon. Najwa’s neighborhood is an exclusion from the exclusion: no laws apply there. Rami Zurayk writes from Beirut.
Bush tour diminished by Hizballah show of force12 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWASHINGTON, 12 May (IPS) – While this week’s trip by US President George W. Bush to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt was never conceived as a triumphant “victory lap” around the region, the swift rout of US-backed forces by Lebanon’s Hizballah Friday has provided yet another vivid illustration of the rapid decline in Washington’s influence in the Middle East during his tenure.
Lebanon violence moves outside of Beirut12 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rBEIRUT, 12 May (IRIN) – Sporadic clashes between pro- and anti-government forces continued on 12 May in areas around the northern port city of Tripoli and the eastern Bekaa Valley as the Arab League announced mediators would arrive in Beirut on 14 May. A security official reported Shia Hizballah gunmen had clashed with supporters of the government around Masnaa, the main border crossing into Syria in the Bekaa valley.
Remembering 1948 and looking to the future12 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThis month Israel marks the 60th anniversary of its founding. But amidst the festivities including visits by international celebrities and politicians there is deep unease—Israel has skeletons in its closet that it has tried hard to hide, and anxieties about an uncertain future which make many Israelis question whether the state will celebrate an 80th birthday. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah comments.
Gaza residents queue overnight for cooking gas12 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rGaza’s 1.5 million residents need at least 300 to 350 tons of cooking gas on a daily basis, yet according to al-Khozendar, Israel is important less than half the necessary fuel. The shortage of gas has further restricted the movement of Palestinians in Gaza throughout the region, causing motorists to improvise their means of fuel and paralyzing the transportation sector. Late January of this year Israeli Prime Minister stated that “We will not let the residents of Gaza lead a comfortable and pleasant life” so long as rockets are fired from the Strip, EI correspondent Rami Almeghari writes from Gaza.
Washington rallies behind embattled Lebanese government11 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWASHINGTON, 12 May (IPS) – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged her administration’s support for the Lebanese government Friday in the aftermath of Hizballah’s takeover of West Beirut, accusing the Iranian-backed group of “killing innocent civilians” in a bid to “protect their state-within-a-state.” Three days of intense clashes between government and opposition supporters last week left at least 18 people dead and 38 wounded
Forget the two-state solution11 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThere is no longer a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Forget the endless arguments about who offered what and who spurned whom and whether the Oslo peace process died when Yasser Arafat walked away from the bargaining table or whether it was Ariel Sharon’s stroll through the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem that did it in. Saree Makdisi comments.
West Bank journalists detained by PA intelligence11 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the distention of three Palestinian journalists and a columnist by the Palestinian General Intelligence Service in Bethlehem and Qalqilya towns in the West Bank on Thursday, 8 May 2008. PCHR believes that such arrests constitute an attack on press freedoms and the right to freedom of expression, which are ensured by the Palestinian Basic Law and international human rights instruments.
Photostory: Total occupation, a journey around Hebron11 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWith 400 hard-line religious settlers packed tightly amidst more than 160,000 Palestinians in the center of Hebron’s Old City, violence is not a probability, it is a given. Add to that the nearly 2,000 Israeli troops assigned to “protect” the settlers and you can begin to understand how peace is a little more than a word in this part of the West Bank. Eddie Vassallo’s pictures tell a story of occupied Hebron.
The time zones of Lebanon10 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThis is what I have to say about the latest series of political speeches in Lebanon: Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah speaks as if there is no future, but March 14 government coalition leaders Walid Jumblat, Saad Hariri and Fouad Siniora speak as if there is no past. For Nasrallah, the past performance and actions of the Loyalists is the only reference point. Rami Zurayk writes from Beirut.
Report: Ethnic cleansing continues in Jaffa10 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rA new report from Arab Association for Human Rights documents the danger of eviction facing the Palestinian residents of the Ajami neighborhood in Jaffa and reveals the true motives behind this process. For these residents, ethnic cleansing did not end in 1948. It continues to this day, albeit by different means. The process being implemented in Jaffa (and in other locations in Israel) amounts to the “quiet transfer” of the Palestinian residents.
Hizballah, in opposition, takes charge10 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rBEIRUT, 10 May (IPS) – At least 11 people are dead and 30 injured during ferocious gun battles pitting opposition Shia Amal and Hizballah fighters against members of the Sunni Future Movement, which is part of the majority March 14 alliance in government. As the opposition’s militia men clamped down on government headquarters, the balance of power seems to have been shifted permanently in the Land of the Cedars.
Lebanon in crisis: an interview with editor Samah Idriss9 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rLebanon is currently facing a major political crisis, as armed battles have erupted in multiple districts of Beirut between pro-government and opposition forces forces led the Lebanese resistance movement Hizballah. Hizballah-led opposition forces took control of West Beirut, and handed certain areas over to the Lebanese army as the political standoff in the country continues. Stefan Christoff speaks with editor Samah Idriss in Beirut about the tense situation in Lebanon.
Uncertainty in Beirut8 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rBeirut is exploding all around me. After Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah made his speech this evening, during which he accused the governing coalition of declaring war on the resistance, opposition and March 14 supporters started fighting each other and making their armed presence felt all over West Beirut, including my neighborhood of Hamra. EI editor Maureen Clare Murphy writes from Beirut.
Battle for Beirut8 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rBEIRUT, 9 May (IRIN) – Everyone kept insisting it was not a civil war, but jumping for cover as a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into the apartment block beside us, and masked gunmen fired deafening salvos across the road dividing Sunni and Shia neighborhoods of Beirut, it certainly felt like it. “It is impossible for Shia to shoot on Sunnis,” insisted a military commander of Shia opposition group Amal, allied with Shia resistance group Hizballah.
Opposition forces take control of Beirut8 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rBEIRUT, 9 May (IPS) – Men clad in black have roamed the streets of Beirut since Wednesday, their faces covered with ski masks or dark kaffiyeh (checkered scarf), as they wreaked havoc in the large avenues leading to the airport or dividing Sunni and Shia areas. As darkness loomed over Lebanon, the winds of discord seem to set the Lebanese capital ablaze.
Israeli forces kill Gaza mother in front of her children7 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the killing of a mother in front of her children yesterday, during an Israeli incursion into New Abasan town, east of Khan Younes. PCHR investigations indicate that at approximately 14:30pm on Wednesday, 7 May, Israeli Occupation Forces troops raided the house of Majdi Abd al-Raziq al-Daghma during an incursion into New Abasan.
High prices, low wages feed violent political stand-off7 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rBEIRUT, 8 May (IRIN) – Ramzi Ali was nearly 13 when his parents took him out of school to work as a motorbike mechanic. “Conditions are hard, and political tensions are destroying the country,” said Ali, now 14, as he manned a barricade of burning tires in central Beirut on 7 May. “My parents just couldn’t afford to keep me at school any more.”
Israel vs. South Africa: Reflecting on cultural boycott7 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIsrael at 60 is a more sophisticated, evolved and brutal form of apartheid than its South African predecessor, according to authoritative statements by South African anti-apartheid leaders, like Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the country’s current government minister Ronnie Kasrils, who is Jewish. It therefore deserves from all people of conscience around the world, particularly those who opposed South African apartheid. Omar Barghouti comments for EI.
The ANZAC-Palestine connection6 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr r”ANZACS BACK AGAIN” was the front-page headline of Jerusalem’s Palestine Post on 13 February 1940. The ANZAC reputation for courage and daring was legendary after their victory at Beersheba in 1917. That was the Palestine Campaign that saw the celebrated charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade on the unsuspecting Turks. It was a battle that turned the tide of that campaign and led to the subsequent end of Ottoman rule in Palestine. EI contributor Sonja Karkar comments.
Houston Palestine Film Festival opens 9 May6 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rWe are pleased to present the second annual Houston Palestine Film Festival. This exciting festival, cosponsored by The Station Museum, Rice Cinema, Museum of Fine Arts – Houston, KPFT Houston and many others, will bring cutting edge new cinema from Palestine and about Palestine. The second annual Houston Palestine Film Festival brings an honest and independent view of Palestine, its diaspora, culture and political travails through the art of film.
Gaza improvises under siege6 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rJERUSALEM/GAZA, 6 May (IRIN) – Intense political divisions in the Gaza Strip have split people on most issues, except one: the situation has never been worse, nearly everyone agrees. “I never remember Gaza being this bad,” said one man in his early 40s. “Living here has become a game of survival.” With fuel supplies nearly dry, many people no longer have cooking gas in their homes, leading some to search for alternative methods to make a meal.
Sixty years ago in Battir (Part 2)6 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rFor a long time any discussion of the “Arab-Israeli conflict” has skipped one basic fact: Israel, whether one loves or hates it, was created at the expense of the Palestinians. An entire people and hundreds of communities that had lived for centuries in tranquility had to be ruthlessly and unjustly shattered to make room for the Zionist state. The story of my village, Battir, southwest of Jerusalem, is only one of hundreds. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah recalls his village’s story.
Too quiet in Gaza’s harbor5 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rGAZA CITY, 6 May (IPS) – It’s been strangely quiet for some time at the port in Gaza. No clanging of hooks, no sounds of creaking cranes or of thumping of nets upon decks. Boat engines, normally puttering and spewing exhaust, lie entombed under covers. Of the 40,000 fishermen and others who make a living from the catch, only about 700 are still busy, according to the Fishing Syndicate in Gaza. The boats need oil, and Israel will not let the fishermen have it.
War of the virtual Wiki-worlds5 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rWhat if they decided to pursue the Arab-Israeli conflict by other means? Inevitably, it would take place on the Internet. And inevitably Wikipedia would be involved. In what was probably not a very smart idea, Gilead Ini, a senior research analyst for CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, put out an e-mail call for 10 volunteers “to help us keep Israel-related entries on Wikipedia from becoming tainted by anti-Israel editors.”
Electronic Intifada