http://www.myantiwar.org/Channel/id/9 The Electronic Intifada project is an online educational gateway to information about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, produced by a small network of activists. keyvan@myantiwar.org http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11149.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rEffectively canceling a planned speaking tour, the US consulate in the Netherlands has put an extended hold on the visa application of award-winning Palestinian journalist and photographer Mohammed Omer, scheduled to speak on conditions in Palestine, on 5 April in Chicago. 2010-03-19 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11142.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThere is a growing recognition that the Israeli settlement enterprise in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is, in practical terms, irreversible. The two-state solution, which for decades has been characterized as the preferred solution of an amorphous “international consensus” has generally been understood to involve a return to the pre-1967 occupation boundaries (referred to as the green line) with minor territorial adjustments by the parties. By now, even optimists refer to this solution as “unlikely” and “virtually impossible,” while realists recognize that the concept has outlived its usefulness as a political aspiration. Martha Reese comments for The Electronic Intifada. 2010-03-19 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11148.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rGabi Baramki’s Peaceful Resistance: Building a Palestinian University under Occupation (Pluto Press, 2009) is a memoir of Palestine’s flagship university, Birzeit, by its former acting president. The memoir is an indispensable tool for teaching Westerners about the ways in which Palestinian education exists and flourishes under a constant state of siege and the barriers to academic freedom that Palestinians experience on a daily basis. Marcy Newman reviews for The Electronic Intifada. 2010-03-19 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11147.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rEarly yesterday morning, the University of California Berkeley Student Senate (ASUC) passed a bill to divest from companies that provide military support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Debate began the night before at 9:00pm and ended and six hours later when the vote was held at 3:00am. 2010-03-19 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11146.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rOne would think that the British government—considering its history in the Middle East of colonizing and partitioning the land and overthrowing governments, and its current support of undemocratic and dictatorial regimes while occupying two nations in the greater region—would be wary of sending its representatives to offer advice to Arab nations on how best to achieve their right to self-determination. Matthew Cassel comments. 2010-03-18 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11145.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rQALANDIA, occupied West Bank (IPS) – On Tuesday tens of hundreds of Palestinians of all political persuasions took to the streets, alleys and sidewalks as widespread rioting and protests spread across occupied East Jerusalem, the rest of the West Bank, Gaza and into Israel proper. 2010-03-18 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11144.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rSince Israel announced yet another new settlement in occupied East Jerusalem during the visit of US Vice President Joe Biden last week, Israel has been subjected to a storm of criticism from friend and foe alike. Biden was in Jerusalem to show US support for Israel and to launch “proximity talks” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority of Ramallah. Instead the Israeli announcement caused him and the US administration deep embarrassment, prompting several officials to term it an “insult” and an “affront” and to stir talk of the worst crisis in US-Israeli relations in decades. Hasan Abu Nimah comments. 2010-03-18 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11143.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rSaleh Zeidan, Gaza-based leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), spoke to The Electronic Intifada correspondent Rami Almeghari about chances for peace in the region following the latest failures and setbacks in United States peace initiatives. This is part of an occasional series of interviews with various political figures and factions in Palestine. 2010-03-18 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11141.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rGAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) – Nahla (not her real name), aged 30, from Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, said she was physically and mentally abused for more than ten years by her husband before being granted a divorce three months ago. Fear and cultural factors prevented her from seeking help from women’s organizations. 2010-03-17 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11140.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rSilwan, Occupied East Jerusalem (IPS) – Three thousand heavily armed Israeli security service forces locked down large parts of the Old City of Jerusalem on Tuesday, as battalions of police fired rounds of tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian protesters in the occupied eastern part of the city. Nearly 40 Palestinians were wounded and treated at nearby hospitals, as 25 were arrested during intense clashes. 2010-03-17 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11138.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rOn 28 January 2010 the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) issued a statement to the Qatari government calling for a boycott of Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (WEDO) and condemning the Qatari Ministry of Culture for hosting the orchestra in Doha. The statement goes so far as to accuse Daniel Barenboim of being an ardent Zionist. Mariam Said comments for The Electronic Intifada. 2010-03-17 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11137.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rNahr al-Bared refugee camp has still not recovered from the devastating war in 2007 during which it was destroyed. The Lebanese army has been keeping a tight grip on the camp and the 20,000 displaced Palestinians who have returned so far. This 30-minute film documents various consequences of the siege on Nahr al-Bared. Merchants and artisans explain their specific problems and a UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) project manager, a project coordinator of the Palestinian-Arab Women League, the president of Nahr al-Bared’s Merchants’ Committee and a researcher provide their views and thoughts on the issue. 2010-03-16 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11136.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rJERSUSALEM (IPS) – Israeli riot police and soldiers have, since Friday, sealed off the al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine, restricting entry to women and Palestinian men over 50. Outside the walled Old City, where the al-Aqsa mosque is situated, and in several West Bank villages, clashes were reported. 2010-03-16 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11135.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe first session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RTP) was heard in Barcelona, Spain earlier this month. The RTP is a peoples’ legal initiative designed to systematically try key actors responsible for the perpetuation of human rights violations in Palestine. In the frame this time was the European Union (EU). Two days and 21 expert witness testimonies later, the RTP found individual states and the EU as a whole guilty of persistent violations and misconduct with regards to international and internal EU law. Ewa Jasiewicz and Frank Barat comment for The Electronic Intifada. 2010-03-15 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11134.shtml rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rWith unfettered access to Norman Finkelstein during the most dramatic stage of his career, American Radical directors David Ridgen and Nicolas Rossier provide a compelling look at one of the most roundly vilified academics in recent American history. Max Blumenthal reviews the new documentary for The Electronic Intifada. 2010-03-15