09 May, 2008
Common Sense Regarding
The Middle East Conflict
By Roger TuckerThe viral madness that is Zionism, the most virulent form of fascism in today's world, can only be defeated by the spiritual weapons of wisdom and compassion, wielded by people of good will around the world, and the considerable hard work required to cut through the fog of confusion
Ramzy Baroud's "The Second Palestinian Intifada"
By Stephen LendmanRamzy Baroud's "The Second Palestinian Intifada" is poignant and masterful. It blends his personal experience with a gripping narrative of his peoples' struggle for justice
06 May, 2008
Sixty Years Of Palestinian Displacement,
Occupation And Suffering
By Stephen LendmanOn May 14, Israelis will commemorate the 60th anniversary of their "War of Independence" and founding of the Jewish State. It also marks 60 years of Palestinian Nakba suffering
03 May, 2008
The Harsh Reality Of The Middle East Conflict
By Dan LiebermanA century old conflict between the state of Israel and stateless Palestinians, many of whom have been disposed from lands that created the Israel state, has precipitated a argument: Is it preferable to have two states living side by side or have one state from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River that includes Jews and Palestinians without prejudice and with equal rights for all?
02 May, 2008
No Mercy
By Najwa SheikhIn their simple house made of metal sheets, Myassar Abu Me'teq was sitting next to three of her children having breakfast and holding her one-year-old baby in her arms. She listened to their daily complaints and loving quarrels, trying to comfort them and keep them away from the sound of the Israeli shelling close to their home in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. This mother did not know that their clock would soon stop ticking, not by their creator but by their enemy
Blockade Puts Gaza On Brink Of Serious Food Crisis
By Donald MacintyreDestitution and food insecurity among Gaza's 1.5 million residents has reached an unprecedentedly critical level, according to unpublished UN findings that they now need "urgent assistance" to avert a "serious food crisis" in the occupied Palestinian territories
The Bomb Squads: How To Survive
A Gaza Refugee Camp
By Ramzy BaroudExcerpts from Baroud’s upcoming book, “101 Ways to Survive a Refugee Camp.”
01 May, 2008
Denying Palestinians Free Movement
In The West Bank
By Stephen LendmanThis article summarizes an August 2007 B'Tselem report now available in print. It's one of a series of studies it conducts on life in Occupied Palestine to reveal what major media accounts suppress. This one is titled: "Ground to a Halt - Denial of Palestinians' Freedom of Movement in the West Bank."
29 April, 2008
Mother,4 Children Amongst Victims Of
Israeli Gaza Strike
By Al MezanIsraeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed four children and their mother when they shelled their home in Ezbet Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip today. Another man was killed in the attack which occurred during an IOF incursion in different parts of the town of Beit Hanoun
28 April, 2008
Mixed Priorities: Why Palestinian Unity
Is Not An Option
By Ramzy BaroudWhile such noble efforts by the UN’s John Dugard, former US President Jimmy Carter and Bishop Desmond Tutu have brought much needed attention to the plight of Palestinians and Gazans in particular, PA officials are too busy attending donor’s conferences and issuing empty statements which few even bother to read. They act as if they are a neutral party caught in the middle of religious fanatics and Israel. Their fight no longer seems even remotely related to Palestine or its people
18 April, 2008
No Peace Without Hamas
By Mahmoud al-ZaharFormer US President Jimmy Carter's sensible plan to visit the Hamas leadership this week brings honesty and pragmatism to the Middle East while underscoring the fact that American policy has reached its dead end
17 April, 2008
Gaza: The Holocaust Continues
By One Democratic State GroupThe latest Israeli war crimes in the besieged Gaza Strip have resulted in the brutal killings of 21 Palestinians, including 6 children, within the last 12 hours. More than 40 have been injured. Fadel Shanaa, a Reuters cameraman, was amongst the dead. His visibly marked car was targeted by an Israeli missile in an attempt to cover up crimes committed in day light
No Child's Play In The Occupied
Palestinian Territories
By Kim Bullimore in the West BankToday I witnessed, for the first time, a Palestinian child being abducted by the Israeli Occupation Forces. This, of course, is not the first time that a Palestinian child has been abducted in such a manner. It happens every single day in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Shame On Arab Petrodollars
By Khalid AmayrehA day’s revenue of Arab oil and gas can solve all the Palestinian people’s financial problems. It can enable Palestinian authorities to pay for the salaries of all civil servants and help poor college students continue their education for an entire year. It can also serve to subsidize basic consumer products such as bread, sugar and cooking oil, especially for the most impoverished segments of society
Carter's Visit With Hamas' Meshal
By Hasan Abu NimahIt is unlikely that Carter would come out of a meeting with Meshal fully convinced of the Hamas program, but he may not adopt the notion that Hamas is merely a terrorist organization and an obstacle to peace that no one should ever talk to. Indeed, in an interview with Haaretz, he stressed that to make peace you have to talk to everyone. That possibility alone is frightening enough for an Israel that has no interest in genuine negotiations or an end to conflict that requires it to recognize the rights of the Palestinians
Israel Doesn't Want To Know Carter Any More
By Peter HirschbergThree decades after he brokered the first-ever peace treaty between Israel and an Arab country, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter has become persona non grata in the Jewish state. Both Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Ehud Barak refused to meet with him during his four-day visit here. So did former prime minister and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who accused Carter of holding "anti-Israel views in recent years."
07 April, 2008
Gaza Running On Near Empty
By Mohammed OmerGaza needs 850,000 litres of fuel every week, says Mahmoud al-Khozendar, vice-president of the Petrol Station Owners Association in Gaza. Israel allows in just 70,000 litres of it. He said Gaza also needs 2.5 million litres of coal gas a week. Only 800,000 litres per week comes in
There Are No Checkpoints In Heaven
By Ramzy Baroud"I am sick, son, I am sick," my father cried when I spoke to him two days before his death. He died alone on March 18, waiting to be reunited with my brothers in the West Bank. He died a refugee, but a proud man nonetheless. My father's struggle began 60 years ago, and it ended a few days ago. Thousands of people descended to his funeral from throughout Gaza, oppressed people that shared his plight, hopes and struggles, accompanying him to the graveyard where he was laid to rest. Even a resilient fighter deserves a moment of peace
02 April, 2008
This 'Bombshell' Took a Year Falling
By Adam Morrow & Khaled Moussa al-OmraniA recent article in Vanity Fair magazine "exposing" a U.S.-planned coup attempt against Palestinian resistance movement Hamas last year has ignited a storm of debate about Washington's Middle East policies. Yet for more than nine months, details of the plot were reported in the independent Arabic press -- and elsewhere -- leading some observers to ask: where was the mainstream media?
60 Years of Nakbah
By Adalah-NYSaturday’s Land Day protest at the Madison Avenue jewelry store of Israeli billionaire and settlement mogul Lev Leviev highlights the sixty-year Israeli campaign to displace Palestinians from their land, and Palestinian defiance and resistance – from the Nakbah, or Catastrophe, in 1948, when around 800,000 Palestinians were driven from their villages by Israeli forces to become refugees; to the original Land Day protests in 1976; to present day settlement construction by Israeli settlement builders like Lev Leviev in Bil’in, Jayyous, Jabal Abu Ghneim and Maale Adumim
30 March, 2008
Human Rights Violations In Israel And Palestine
By Stephen LendmanThe Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) publishes annual reports on the state of human rights in Israel and occupied Palestine. This article is based on its latest year end 2007 one. ACRI's evidence is disturbing and compelling, yet it's appalled by the Israeli public's indifference. It aims to change this by publicizing its findings so those in government, the media and general population know them and will react to reverse an ugly and damaging trend. Growing numbers of people worldwide know how Israel harms Palestinians. ACRI's report shows that Jews are also impacted
29 March, 2008
The Great Lake Of Gaza:
A New Crisis In The Making
By Suzanne BaroudIt is indisputable that the calamity of contaminated water in the Gaza Strip is a resolute policy of the Israeli government
West Bank Faces Toxic Waste Crisis
By Mel FrykbergThe West Bank has become a dumping site for hazardous waste -?which is making residents sick, say Israeli and Palestinian environmental groups. Several weeks ago, villagers from Jima'in in the Nablus district complained that Israeli trucks were again dumping waste on Palestinian land
27 March, 2008
Transforming Israel
By Miko PeledNow that Kosovo is the newest independent state to emerge out of the ruins of the former Yugoslavia parallels are being drawn between the Balkans and the Middle East. One response to this development came from Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni who said that as she does not mind if the Palestinians follow the Kosovars and declare statehood; what worries her is that Palestinians will demand equal rights with Israelis
Jonathan Cook's "Blood And Religion"
By Stephen LendmanCook's earlier book was published in 2006. It's titled "Blood and Religion: The Unmasking of the Jewish and Democratic State" and is the subject of this review. It's the rarely told story of the plight of Israel's 1.4 million Arab citizens, the discrimination against them, the reasons why, and the likely future consequences from it. Israel's "demographic problem" is the issue Cook addresses. It's the time when a faster-growing Palestinian population (excluding the diaspora) becomes a majority, and the very character of a "Jewish State" is threatened. Israel's response - state-sponsored repression and violent ethnic cleansing, in the Territories and inside Israel
21 March, 2008
Rachel Corrie's Case For Justice
By Tom Wright & Therese SalibaOn March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie, 23, was crushed to death beneath an armored Israeli bulldozer. The Corries are a short distance from Gaza, where Rachel was killed, and where in the past few weeks, an Israeli military incursion killed over 100 Palestinians, including many women and children
UN's Assessment Of Human Rights Violations
In Occupied Palestine
By Stephen LendmanCreating a Palestinian state won't heal 60 years of conflict that's gone all Israel's way and inflicted great harm and suffering on the Palestinian people. At some point, real peace is only possible if a supreme effort is made toward true reconciliation between the two sides. That entails addressing events, actions and past sufferings fully and honestly. Dugard suggests a South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Commission for an open airing by both sides. Unless it happens in good faith, tensions will remain and peace won't be possible. Up to now, it appears Israel wants it that way
Happy Birthday Israel: Company Is Coming
And They Are Carrying UN Flags!
By Eileen FlemingFrom May 14-16, the Palestinian Diaspora will be commemorating Israel's 60th birthday in the Holy Land by arriving with suitcases, tents and their house keys, carrying UN flags along with their UNRWA-issued ID cards
18 March, 2008
Big Bang or Chaos: What's Israel Up To?
By Ramzy BaroudWhy did Israel attack Gaza with such brutality? Did Israeli officials think, even for a fleeting moment, that their army's attacks could halt, as opposed to intensify, Palestinian rockets or retaliatory violence? Indeed, was Palestinian violence at all relevant to the Israeli action? Was the Israeli bloodletting in Gaza solely relevant to the Gaza/Hamas context, or is there a regional dimension that is largely being overlooked?
14 March, 2008
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A Letter From A Mother In Gaza
To A Mother In Sderot
By Najwa SheikhAfter all of this do you think that my children deserve their pain only because they are born to Palestinian parents? Do you think it is fair that they are treated in this way? Is it fair to be subjected to the sanctions that your government has imposed on us? I hope you can understand my pain too
A Recipe For Israel's Security
By Ghada AgeelPalestinians are entitled to dignity both in life and in death. Nowadays, due to Israel's blockade, Gaza is short of raw materials for manufacturing coffins. My grandmother is searching for a coffin for fear that the shortage will deny her a dignified burial in keeping with our religion and culture. All in all, this daily man-made humiliation must end. Palestinians must be recognized and respected as human beings
Travelling To The Sea
By Diana ButtuI believe, deeply believe, that Palestinians and Jews ought to be equals in this holy land. I believe more Americans would act on behalf of Palestinians if they were aware of discriminatory Israeli policies. I believe the inability of Majda's son to travel to the sea in his homeland smacks of Jim Crow and apartheid and that it is in everybody's interest to right this wrong without further delay. This, I believe
13 March, 2008
If One State Is Impossible,
Why Is Olmert So Afraid Of It?
By Jonathan CookWithout Zionism, the obstacle to creating either one or two states will finally be removed. And if that is the case, then why not also campaign for the solution that will best bring justice to both Israelis and Palestinians?
11 March, 2008
Israel's Ultimate Plan For Gaza
By Jonathan CookIsraeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai's much publicized remark last week about Gaza facing a "shoah" -- the Hebrew word for the Holocaust -- was widely assumed to be unpleasant hyperbole about the army's plans for an imminent full-scale invasion of the Strip.More significantly, however, his comment offers a disturbing indication of the Israeli army's longer-term strategy towards the Palestinians in the occupied territories
A Defeated Policy, Not A Defeated People
By Ali AbunimahIs it not time for the rest of the world to step in and force Israel at last to understand the same thing, so that the senseless bloodshed can finally stop and all the people of the country -- Israelis and Palestinians -- can begin to imagine a future other than an endless parade of funerals?
Gaza's 'Bigger Holocaust'
By Fida QishtaViolence and death bring more violence and death. Hope brings more hope. Despite everything, children in Rafah tell me they hope to play, have fun, travel, and meet Egyptian children. It is these children’s dreams that renew my spirit
The Seminary Students And The Israeli Bull-Dog
By Dr Marwan AsmarThe killings of eight religious students at the seminary in Jerusalem is to be expected in the light of what Israel has been doing in Gaza the previous week. Through its military bombardment of its towns and cities, where 138 people were killed in just four days and the 250-plus serious injuries meted out on Palestinians, mostly civilians, Israel could well expect to face more actions of this kind, seen as acts of desperation in the light the international apathy
Yes We can Bring Peace To Gaza
By Mike GhouseIsrael owes peace and security to her citizens and it is directly dependent on the security and peace needs of the Palestinians. You cannot live in peace, when your neighbor's aren't. Finding a balance is the most difficult thing to do and both the nations are trying and failing. No wonder the phrase "love thy neighbor" plays such a crucial role in every society
06 March, 2008
Israel’s Illegal Assault On The Gaza “Prison”
By Media LensSince last Wednesday (February 27), 112 Palestinians have died under Israeli air attacks and ‘incursions’ by Israeli troops. The dead include many women and children, such as four boys who had been out playing football and even babies killed in their homes. Last Saturday alone saw the deaths of 60 Palestinians under Israeli attacks. Three Israelis have died — one a civilian killed during a rocket attack by Hamas last Wednesday and, since then, two Israeli soldiers
Israel’s Right To Terrorism
By Ghali HassanA “holocaust” will not bring peace to Palestine. Peace will return to Palestine only if Israeli leaders end their genocidal policy and the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. Under the international Genocide Convention adopted in 1948 after the defeat Nazism, incitement to genocide is punishable war crime. Hence, Israeli leaders should abide by international laws and revoke terrorism and violence
Gaza’s Descent Into Darkness
By Chris GelkenSince when did the shooting death of a two-week old baby not make headline news? Imagine the absolute horror of seeing, of feeling your child die in your arms of an easily preventable disease. The necessary drugs are just a few kilometers away, but for all that, they might as well be on the moon
It's Still The OCCUPATION, Stupid!
By Eileen FlemingAfter failing to anticipate Hamas’s victory over Fatah in the 2006 Palestinian election, the White House cooked up yet another scandalously covert and self-defeating Middle East debacle: part Iran-contra, part Bay of Pigs. With confidential documents, corroborated by outraged former and current U.S. officials, David Rose reveals how President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy National-Security Adviser Elliott Abrams backed an armed force under Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan, touching off a bloody civil war in Gaza and leaving Hamas stronger than ever
04 March, 2008
Colonial Realities
By Nimer SultanyOnce again Israel defies an impotent international community which offers nothing but timid calls for ceasefire on "both sides." And once again Palestinian suffering and death tolls continue to break records in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967
Gaza’s Holocaust
By Dr. Elias AklehThe Zionist leaders’ justification for allowing the Jewish holocaust to continue was that “The European Jews must accede to suffering and death greater in measure than the other nations in order that the victorious allies agree to a Jewish state at the end of the war” (5). I wonder what is the Arab leaders’ justification for allowing the Palestinian holocaust to continue
Hamas 1988-2008: Between
Negotiation And Resistance
By Agustin Velloso2008 marks the 20th anniversary of Hamas as a political movement in Palestine, involving two decades of continuous struggle against Israeli occupation. Most importantly, Hamas has confronted not just the Middle East's most powerful army, equipped with state of the art weaponry and nuclear arms, but also the most powerful Western countries. These have supported Israel, completely contravening international law in relation to the Occupation. In addition, Hamas has been abandoned to its fate by neighbouring Arab regimes
03 March, 2008
Israeli Extra-Judicial Executions
By Stephen LendmanThe latest report from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) indicates the following: 101 documented deaths since February 27, including 49 unarmed civilians. They include 25 children and five women. In addition, more than 250 people have been injured, mostly unarmed civilians, and many injuries are serious. Further, there's been widespread destruction of homes, other buildings and property throughout Gaza
Holocaust Ok, Gaza!
By Marwan AsmarAt last Israelis are coming out of their military-chauvinistic closet and having no qualms about using such words as the Holocaust to describe what they are doing or want to do to the Palestinians
The Time For Worldwide Boycott Is Now
By Omar BarghoutiOn Friday, 29 February 2008, Israel's deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai threatened Palestinians in Gaza with a "holocaust," telling Israeli Army Radio: "The more Qassam fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, [the Palestinians] will bring upon themselves a bigger holocaust because we will use all our might to defend ourselves."
Israel Keeping True To Its Racist Words
By Rami AlmeghariFollowing Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai's Friday warning that the Gaza Strip faces "a holocaust" if homemade rocket fire continues, Vilnai's aides rushed to downplay the remarks, claiming the minister did not mean a holocaust exactly
Abbas Needs A Miracle
By Ramzy BaroudTime is running out for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Although both men are still committed to their risky venture of marginalising Hamas at any cost, the latter’s obduracy and recent events in Gaza point to the inescapable conclusion — the undertaking was doomed from the start
26 February, 2008
Still No Justice For October 2000 Killings
By Jonathan CookLate last month, after a seven-year battle for justice, Asleh's parents and those of another 12 Palestinian demonstrators killed inside Israel at the start of the intifada heard that the policemen responsible for the deaths would almost certainly never stand trial. Israel's attorney-general, Menachem Mazuz, told the families that the investigations were being wound up. In most cases there was a lack of evidence, he claimed, and in the cases where there was evidence the policeman had acted in the belief that their lives were in danger
Gaza: Where The Children Are Forbidden Happiness
By Eileen FlemingThe conditions in Gaza are grim and miserable and are not in accordance with the standards of human dignity…These victims here are innocent civilians. There is no time to lose in putting an end to this vicious circle of violence
20 February, 2008
Balfour’s Deceit
By A.G. NooraniInternational recognition of Israel as a state cannot wipe out the facts of history
12 February, 2008
US Contributes To Humanitarian Crisis In Gaza
By Chris GelkenPressTV discusses the human cost of Israel’s collective punishment
11 February, 2008
The Strangulation Of Gaza
By Saree MakdisiWorking together, Hamas and the people of Gaza have forced Egypt's hand and made much more visible than ever before the role it had been playing all along in the Israeli occupation and strangulation of Gaza; now that its role in assisting Israel has been revealed, it will be difficult for Egypt to go back to the status quo
08 February, 2008
Life In Occupied Gaza
By Stephen LendmanThe plight of Palestinians won't change as things continue lurching from one crisis to another the way they have for decades. It won't end until world leaders buckle to growing world sentiment that no longer will injustices this grave be tolerated. How much more suffering must be endured, how many more deaths are acceptable, when will justice finally be served? People of conscience want answers. It's about time they got them
The Illusion Of The ‘Palestinian State’
By Ghali HassanAs people stood in the way of Hitler’s colonial project, so are the Palestinian people. The day will come when Jabotinsky’s “Iron Wall” will fall and with it Palestinians dispossession and victimisation will end, and Palestinian liberation will be achieved
People’s Power In Gaza
By Ramzy BaroudPalestinian people have succeeded where politics and thousands of international appeals have failed. They took matters into their own hands and they prevailed. While this is hardly the end of Gaza’s suffering, it’s a reminder that people’s power to act is just too significant to be overlooked
28 January, 2008
Faeces Change The Face Of Gaza
By Mohammed OmerHundreds of thousands of Gazans, almost all of its able male adults among a population of 1.5 million, crossed over into Egypt last week to buy essential provisions – and a new lease of life. That has staved off starvation. But streets continue as sewers
Genocide In Gaza, Ethnic Cleansing
In The West Bank
By Ilan PappeNot long ago, I claimed that Israel is employing genocidal policies in the Gaza Strip. I hesitated before using this very charged term and yet decided to adopt it. The responses I received indicated unease in using such a term. I rethought the term for a while, but concluded with even stronger conviction: it is the only appropriate way to describe what the Israeli army is doing in the Gaza Strip
27 January, 2008
Worse Than A Crime
By Uri AvneryThe Gaza Strip is the largest prison on earth. The breaking of the Rafah wall was an act of liberation. It proves that an inhuman policy is always a stupid policy: no power can stand up against a mass of people that has crossed the border of despair
26 January, 2008
The Peace Maker
By Jonathan Ben EfratPalestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, cannot move a finger without permission from abroad. The international community pressures him to combat Hamas and to compromise. Those who manage to finish PeaceMaker discover that the Palestinian State is tied hand and foot to Israel's economy by free-trade agreements and joint projects. Israel supplies the capital and know-how, Palestinians supply cheap labor
24 January, 2008
Freedom At Last For Gaza:But How Long?
By Donald MacintyreThe steel-helmeted Egyptian border guards standing by their armoured personnel carriers seemed pleased enough to see the tens of thousands of Palestinian men, women and children who squeezed between the now flattened eight- metre concrete slabs of wall or scrambled across the furrows in the now uselessly prone and twisted corrugated iron barrier
Sword Dancing While Gaza Starves
By Osamah KhalilResponding to the crisis, the Arab states again demonstrated their impotence and callous disregard for Palestinian suffering. In the diplomatic equivalent of a sword dance, an emergency meeting of the Arab League was held in Cairo on Monday. The result was a request by the League that the UN investigate Israel's actions. However, it is unlikely that any such investigative body will be created
Camp Or Conspiracy?
By Soraya Sepahpour-UlrichPalestinians look for ways to escape from the camps; we cannot escape our conscience, if indeed, we have one
Israeli Oppression In Hebron -
A Case History Of Separation,
Forced Displacement And Terror
By Stephen LendmanHebron's City Center is a case study example. It was once a thriving commercial and residential area. Today it's a "Ghost Town" because Israel destroyed its fabric of life through a state-imposed policy of land seizures, extended curfews, harsh restrictions on free movement and unaddressed violence. Combined, they terrorize Palestinians and prohibit them from driving or even walking on the area's main streets. That, in turn, makes life impossible for them. The consequences have been devastating with peoples' lives uprooted
23 January, 2008
Gaza's Last Gasp
By Sonja KarkarThe Palestinians need candles desperately and they need your voice to speak for them. There are many ways that you can do this. Organize demonstrations or vigils, or take part in ones that are already being organized. Take the time and write to newspapers and politicians urging them to take action and bring an end to this humanitarian disaster. Also, a deluge of letters to the Israeli Embassy would allow the Israelis to see that the world does not support a siege on the people of Gaza
22 January, 2008
European Collusion In Israel's Slow Genocide
By Omar BarghoutiThe European Union, Israel's largest trade partner in the world, is watching by as Israel tightens its barbaric siege on Gaza, collectively punishing 1.5 million Palestinian civilians, condemning them to devastation, and visiting imminent death upon hundreds of kidney dialysis and heart patients, prematurely born babies, and all others dependent on electric power for their very survival
Gaza: No Rights, Little Mercy
By Mohammed OmerPlight of Palestine patients in Gaza worsens
21 January, 2008
Death And Darkness In Gaza,
People Are dying, Help Us!
By Free GazaA humanitarian crisis is underway as the Gaza Strip's only power plant began to shut down on Sunday, and the tiny coastal territory entered its third full day without shipments of vital food and fuel supplies due to Israel's punitive sanctions
So Many Tragedies In So Little Time
By Mohammed OmerWhere to start…, what to talk about…? The crippling electricity shortages, affecting hospitals as well as civilians? The air strikes & on-going, daily bombings by the Israeli army, their indiscriminate targeting of civilians and police stations…? Israel ’s non-accidental, enforced starvation of 1.5 million people by closing off ALL borders and not allowing in even UN aid, let alone basic medicinal, food, and construction needs…? With Some Chilling photos
Israel's War Crimes In The Gaza Strip
By Ida AudehGaza is plunged in darkness, its power plant shut down because Israel denies it fuel. Israel is systematically destroying the Gaza Strip and the lives of the 1.5 million Palestinians who live there, but never is Israel's collective ravaging of a civilian population denounced for what it is: a war crime
Economic Warfare In Gaza
By Yossi WolfsonIn both cases, Gaza and Lebanon, Israel has made indiscriminate war from the air on civilians while hesitating to commit ground forces. In both it has sought to destroy the economic infrastructure and reduce the civilian population to primitive conditions. By harming them, it was thought, you could get them to pressure their leaders and thus make political gains. This notion proved false in Lebanon, as in Gaza. The Israeli attacks amount to an expression of weakness, but the price will not be paid by those who launch them, rather by civilians on both sides
18 January, 2008
This Time Next Year?
By Daoud KuttabAn independent Palestinian state living alongside a secure state of Israel requires political will and an environment that will produce public support for peace. These elements are essential for negotiations in 2008 to succeed. Nothing would provide public support for peace talks more than an end to Israeli settlement activity and the release of Palestinian political prisoners. We can only hope that President Bush toured the West Bank with eyes open to the daily suffering of Palestinian life, and that he matches his commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state with the resolve necessary to hold Israel to its commitments
17 January, 2008
Israeli Forces Kill 17 Gazans
In Less Than Four Hours
By PCHROn Tuesday morning, 15 January 2008, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed 17 Palestinians, including five civilians, and wounded at least 30 others, five of whom are in a serious condition, during an incursion into the al-Shojaeya and al-Zaytoun neighborhoods of east Gaza City
Judeo-Christian Peace Processes
For The Killing Of Muslim Palestinians
By Agustin VellosoSixteen Palestinians died today, half a dozen yesterday, a similar amount in the previous days. 4,000 have died since September 2000 - many under age. More than 25,000 have been injured - many crippled for life. More than 11,000 are held prisoner - many uncharged and held without trial. More than 6,000 houses have been demolished in the Gaza Strip - another gross violation of Geneva Conventions
15 January, 2008
The Death Of The Stalinist Left In Palestine
By Randa Abu NaeemEmpty rhetoric has turned out to be the weapon not only of “Arab reactionary regimes;” it has been adopted by the Left itself. Stalin would have been happy to see his disciples at work in Palestine
12 January, 2008
The "O" Word And Jesus Christ!
By Eileen FlemingFor Bush to say the "O" word while in Israel was a major step into reality.Bush acknowledged the rights of 4.4 million Palestinian diaspora refugees to receive compensation, but he ignored Article 13-2, of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS which Israel agreed to uphold when it became a state and which affirms: Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country
11 January, 2008
"What Is The Lesson To Be Learned
From The Holocaust?"
By Silvia Cattori & Hedy EpsteinAn interview with Hedy Epstein, who advocates for a better understanding of the Palestinian conflict and shows great concern about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza strip
10 January, 2008
Hillary And Bush: 21st Century Democracy
And USA Tax Dollars At Work
By Eileen FlemingBy 2002 the costs to American Taxpayers because of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict was already $3 Trillion. The U.S. government's financial support to Israel for the construction of the wall is $1.5 million per mile. The Wall is three times as long and twice as high as the wall that fell in Berlin. See your tax dollars at work America in this short powerful video on The Wall: On November 15, 2005, Senator Clinton stood on the Jerusalem side of The Wall and was quoted in Ha'aretz, expressing support for The Wall because it "is against terrorists" and "not against the Palestinian people."
07 January, 2008
Babies Up Against The Occupation
By Eileen FlemingOn January 3, 2008, I received the following email from the Little Town of Bethlehem in Occupied Territory:I want to share with you some good news. On Dec. 31 at 3:00 pm Jerusalem time my wife gave birth to our second daughter…Both of them are doing good. Up to this very moment I am not able to see either of them because of the Israeli policies of preventing Palestinians from entering Jerusalem. It seems I am too dangerous and being with my wife represents a security threat to the state of Israel
28 December, 2007
A Peace-Killing Linkage, De-linkage
By Nicola NasserAll indications confirm the Israeli settlement expansion, siege and blockade are staying, the World Bank's warning is valid, Fayyad can promise his people only more of the same, and opposition to his government and the PLO will grow deeper and wider by the day to dispel whatever illusions of peace are left over from the Annapolis conference last month
Israel’s ‘True War’ In Gaza Played
To The Hamas-Fatah Equation
By Dr Marwan AsmarIsrael is fighting a “true war” in Gaza according to its Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Such a chilling term emphasizes the point Gaza has indeed become Israel’s military backyard to do what it will with this piece of Palestinian geography that is at the butt end of daily missiles and aerial bombardment
22 December, 2007
The End Of Israel?
By Hannah MermelsteinAs a Jewish-American, I know that while it might be scary to some, while it will require a lot of imagination, the end of Israel as a Jewish state could mean the beginning of democracy, human rights, and some semblance of justice in a land that has almost forgotten what that means
20 December, 2007
Politicising Gaza's Misery
By Ramzy BaroudIntense debate over Gaza is subsiding as the status quo is delineated -- predictably -- by those with the bigger guns. But to what extent can human suffering be politicised, turned into an intellectual polemic that fails to affect the simplest change in people's lives?
To Die With The Philistines?
By Uri AvneryAccording to the Biblical story, Samson took hold of the central pillars of the Philistine temple and brought down the whole building upon the Lords of the Philistines, the people of Gaza and himself. The teller of the story sums it all up: "So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life." A story of suffering, destruction and death. It may be about to repeat itself now, only with the roles reversed: the temple may be brought down by the Palestinians (who took their name from the Philistines), and among the dead will be the Lords of Israel
19 December, 2007
Who Speaks For The Palestinians?
By Dan LiebermanIt seems that the Palestinians have no voice, but the appearance is deceiving; the Palestinians have potent voices of international law and international reason. A major problem is they lack active support from an international community that has been negligent in providing the necessary means to implement United Nations (UN) resolutions and mandating accepted international laws
15 December, 2007
Prerequisites For Peace
By Mustafa BarghouthiAs one who for decades has supported a two-state solution and the nonviolent struggle for Palestinian rights, I view the recent conference in Annapolis with a great deal of skepticism - and a glimmer of hope
Israel's Palestinians Speak Out
By Nadim RouhanaPalestinians inside Israel have developed a history and identity after nearly sixty years of hard work and struggle. We are not simply pawns to be shuffled to the other side of the board. We expect no more and no less than the right to equality in the land of our ancestors
11 December, 2007
Israel And Top zionist Leaders Attack Intelligence
By James PetrasDuring and immediately after the Annapolis meetings to discuss peace, Israel abducted the student president of Beir Zeit University for dissent, launched over 50 attacks on Gaza killing and wounding over 50 Palestinian civilians, police and militia
10 December, 2007
True Aim Of Annapolis,And Why It Failed
By Ramzy BaroudAlthough both Bush and Abbas are willing collaborators in this undemocratic endeavour, Israelis must wake up to the fact that their country is knee-deep in Apartheid, and nothing is significant enough to salvage their racially-selective democracy, except true democracy
Summit's Goal: Perpetuate
Repression Of Palestinians
By Barb Olson & Amal OthmanBush instructed the Palestinians not to focus on the "borders" of a state. No wonder - Israel has already set the borders by constructing the annexation wall deep inside Palestinian territory, leaving the Palestinians imprisoned in a handful of poverty-stricken ghettos on a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of their original homeland. What's next, a virtual Palestinian state?
06 December, 2007
A Generous Offer To The Palestinian Refugees?
By Neta GolanUnder Israel and Bush’s "solution", Palestinian refugee families who had been expelled from what is now Israel would be consigned to return, not to their homes, but to small, non-contiguous parts of less than 22% of their original homeland. Jews from anywhere in the world, on the other hand, would be free to "return" to more than 78% of historic Palestine, frequently to live on land seized from those same Palestinian refugees
04 December, 2007
Will Peace Cost Me My Home?
By Ghada AgeelAny Mideast pact must give Palestinians the right to return home
Annapolis Conference:Another Palestinian Carrot
By Dr Elias AklehFour years later Bush, again, remembered the Palestinian carrot and has used it in Annapolis to convince the Arab leaders to accept the American plans for the “New Middle East” including accepting Israel and supporting the plans of his administration to secure Iraq and to attack Iran, reminding them that refusal will lead their countries into long wars with Iraqi devastation as an example
03 December, 2007
Annapolis Hypocrisy Hides
Occupied Palestine Reality
By Stephen LendmanAgainst the sham backdrop of Annapolis, life in occupied Palestine is a daily struggle to endure and survive what Edward Said once referred to as Israel's "refined viciousness." This article addresses one week of it no different than most others. It shows the road to peace isn't through Annapolis nor can it be achieved without a willing partner or with the legitimate Palestinian government excluded
02 December, 2007
Demoralisation And Absence
By Ramzy BaroudA once profound and widely read commentator recently claimed he no longer writes about the Palestine/Israel conflict because "Palestinians are killing each other". Feeling his words have ceased to carry weight he simply decided not "to take sides". What should be made of such a reaction? Granted, what has transpired in Palestine in recent years is disheartening, demoralising and confusing
30 November, 2007
The Palestine That We Are Struggling For
By Jamal Juma’The gulf between the Authority 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 Authority 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 normalisation with the occupiers will continue to grow. Resistance will continue as the Palestinian people assert their fundamental rights
Same Old, Same Old –Israel Wins Again
By Jim MilesAs I sit and read the announcements from today’s first discussions from Annapolis, all I can see is another dismal failure for peace and another year long “negotiation” process that like Oslo, Camp David, the ‘road map’ all lead to the same place. That place, as so clearly denoted by the late Tanya Rinehart, is nowhere
It’s The Land, Stupid. The Land
By David TruskoffThe Annapolis Agreement renews the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. Now, there is a new Idea. The new idea that has been rejected time and time again by Israel when the right of return is injected. The issue of " Greater Israel" hangs like a ghost over all the so-called "Peace conferences", but is never discussed
The Responsibility To Protect Self-Determination
By Cameron Hunt29 November 2007, marked sixty years since the decision by the UN General Assembly to partition historic Palestine into “Independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem”; yet the Palestinian nation continues to be denied its right to national self-determination. If ICISS has its way, and if the so-called ‘international community’ continues to do nothing to uphold the UN Charter, it could well be ‘the right to national self-determination’ that is massacred
29 November, 2007
Bush’s Magic Wand
By Dr Marwan AsmarOn face value, at Annapolis peace negotiations were restarted again. How far it will reach, that’s anybody’s guess, will it be even strangled in its cot since the first of such meetings begins on 12 December, we will have to wait and see
28 November, 2007
The Right To Our Land Must Be Restored
By Fareed TaamallahPalestinians hope to reach a peace agreement with Israel, and we are cautiously optimistic about the upcoming Annapolis, Maryland conference. But Palestinians are most concerned with getting back their stolen lands. Incorporating settlement blocs like Ariel into Israel is not a viable solution. Ordinary Palestinians will not be able to cope unless their rights are restored
Separate But Unequal In Palestine:
The Road To Apartheid
By Mohammed KhatibWe pray that our children will not spend their lives under Israeli military occupation. We hope that the Annapolis meeting will bring our dreams of freedom closer to fulfillment. But we are concerned that if Israel is allowed to keep most of its settlements and the roads that connect them, then the existing system of "separate but unequal" will be cemented in place in a Palestinian state
26 November, 2007
Tragedy And Travesty At Annapolis
By Stephen LendmanNovember 27 at Annapolis kicks off the latest Israeli-Palestinian Middle East peace process round that may be an historic first. It's the first time in memory the legitimate government of one side is excluded, and that alone dooms it. Like previous rounds, it's more pretense than peace
Apartheid In Israel Palestine! Viability In Annapolis?
By Eileen FlemingWill Annapolis end with more than handshakes and photo ops? Is a viable Palestinian state even possible?
23 November, 2007
Annapolis, As Seen From Gaza
By Laila El-HaddadIf history has taught the people of Gaza anything, it's that they never have much of a say in their destiny
Sub-planting Palestinian Memory
By Dr Elias AklehAfter the Jewish Holocaust the whole world cried “never again”. Yet the same victims of the Holocaust, and their descendent, are now perpetrating a similar Holocaust against the Palestinians
22 November, 2007
Meeting: Institutionalization Of Racism
By Haidar EidThe idea of defining the country as exclusively white and democratic at the same time was never accepted by the international community. It was considered blatant racism. Unlike Palestinians, Black Africans are considered human beings, and therefore, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights applies to them. That is precisely what the call for the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state means
Palestine: The First Imperative
By Roni Ben EfratA new path is needed in Palestine. The first imperative must be to the stronger: Israel must cease to exploit Palestinian weakness, as it has in the past, in order to wring concessions. That is a necessary condition for the process that then must follow: the building of a Palestinian economy and the renewal of independent Palestinian institutions
21 November, 2007
Gaza: The Final Solution In Slow Motion
By Agustin VellosoThe international community has refused to put a stop to this slow and painful genocide. On the contrary, they have chosen to make it possible in many ways for Israel to carry out its own Final Solution in Palestine: giving them weapons, money, political support and punishing the Palestinians in Gaza with a boycott that cries out to heaven with anguish for its cruelty and brutality
The Turbulent Winds Of The Annapolis Conference
By Dan LiebermanDiscussing the proposed Annapolis Conference, in face-to-face talks with the prime ministers, foreign ministers and non-government officials (NGOs) of Israel, Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, revealed how far we are from achieving peace in the Middle East and how far Annapolis is from the Earth that others walk upon
17 November, 2007
The One-State Reality
By Ben WhiteTo say that the "one-state solution" is impractical or equals the "destruction" of Israel is poorly concealed code for defending the indefensible and a recipe for continual conflict in a land it is impossible to partition. It is to maintain, against the odds, the Zionist fiction that Palestine was a land without a people for a people without a land. It is to entertain the fantasy that the occupied territories so comprehensively colonized by Israel can become a "Palestinian state" which isn’t apartheid in name only
14 November, 2007
Torturing Palestinian Detainees
By Stephen LendmanB'Tselem's May, 2007 report states that the Israeli Security Agency (ISA - formerly called the General Security Service or GSS) admits to using "exceptional" methods that include "physical pressure" of interrogation in "ticking bomb" cases that can be used as an excuse to abuse anyone. In addition, law enforcement officials openly admit harsh measures are approved retroactively so that Palestinian detainee rights can be freely violated without fear of recrimination
Articulating The Unprintable
By June Rugh & Ramzy BaroudRamzy Baroud discusses media response to His book
Child Prisoners Of The 'Holy' Land
By Eileen FlemingThese children are subjected to physical and psychological torture and interrogated without family or lawyers. The majority of confessions and sentences are related to throwing stones, such as at Caterpillar bulldozers that demolish Palestinian homes without compensation, in order to grab land for The Wall, that is NOT being built on the internationally recognized 1949 Green Line boundary between Israel and the West Bank, but on Palestinian owned land, and thus illegal under international law
13 November, 2007
How Can A Dying Man Pose A Security Threat?
By Roi MandelNa'al al-Kurdi, 21, from Gaza is dying of cancer; for the past four months Na'al has been waiting for a permit from the State of Israel to enter the country in order to receive medical care in one of its hospitals. This permit has not been granted so far due to "security concerns."
10 November, 2007
Peace And Democracy Must Go Hand In Hand
By Ramzy BaroudAfter years of marked absence, the Bush administration has finally decided to upgrade its involvement in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The announcement of a Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland has raised red flags for anyone who has learned from past experience how unbalanced and insincere peace efforts actually can lead to further violence. And it requires little cynicism to ponder how genuine these current efforts are
06 November, 2007
Punishing Gaza
By Stephen LendmanEven before the latest crisis, Gaza's industrial production had fallen 90% and its agricultural output was half its pre-2007 level. In addition, nearly all construction had stopped, unemployment is around 80%, and the level of poverty is shocking based on World Bank data showing over 80% of Gazans live on less than $2.40 a day
31 October, 2007
Israel Chokes Gaza Some More
By Peter HirschbergIsrael has begun limiting fuel supplies to Gaza as part of punitive measures it is implementing in an attempt to stem the firing of rockets by militants from the coastal strip into Israel. But Palestinian leaders and human rights groups are warning the move could spark a humanitarian crisis
30 October, 2007
Engaging Hamas And Hizballah
By Ali AbunimahNothing could be easier in the present atmosphere than to accuse anyone who calls for recognition of and dialogue with Hamas, Hizballah and other Islamist movements of being closet supporters of reactionary "extremism" or naive fellow travelers of "terrorists." This tactic is not surprising coming from neoconservatives and Zionists. What is novel is to see it expressed in supposedly progressive quarters
Uncertain Outcomes:The Israeli-Palestine Question
By Jim MilesNow with events in Iraq and Afghanistan becoming predominant within the newscasts, Israel-Palestine has not seemed to be central to the picture. Unfortunately it still is, as the Jewish lobby in America has the ear – and foremost its wallets – of many Americans in its thrall, and those same groups are now clamouring for an attack on Iran because of Iran’s alleged desire to completely destroy Israel and Israel’s self-willed fear of Iranian nuclear power. Regardless of that global centrality, even if it were not there, the question of what will happen in Israel-Palestine remains
26 October, 2007
Gaza: The Auschwitz Of Our Time
By Khalid AmayrehIsrael is now incarcerating nearly a million and a half helpless Palestinians in the Gaza Strip into a hell similar in nature to the Warsaw Ghetto. The Gaza concentration camp is not only fitted with a wall, but also with every conceivable tool of repression, such as electric fences and watch towers manned by Gestapo-like trigger-happy Jewish soldiers who shoot first and ask questions later
Shuttle Lunacy
By David TruskoffComics and cartoonists are having a field day with the woman who seems to believe that she is doing something important. The poor befuddled Secretary never appears to have a reference point. Even during her many Trips back and forth the Israelis mock her. Israel announced on October 2,2003 it would build 565 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Should that not have been her reference point?
22 October, 2007
Palestinians' Lives Invisible To Israelis
By Edward MastOn a visit to Tel Aviv last month, I asked some Israeli friends what people in Israel were saying about the Palestinian situation. Not much, they told me. Israelis are more concerned about the corruption charges against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, coming on the heels of corruption charges against previous governments. Palestinians and their issues, my friends told me, are becoming more and more invisible to the Israeli people
18 October, 2007
Formalizing Apartheid Packaged As Peace Initiative
By Neta Golan & Mohammed KhatibOlmert, Bush, Blair and their accomplices in the "Quartet" have vast, sophisticated and boundlessly resourced PR machinery that, through unlimited access to an uncritical media, can put a compelling "peace spin" on an apartheid process. During the November meeting they will assure the world of their commitment to a Palestinian state (with the appropriate Abbas/Olmert/Bush photo ops). They will promise to commit millions of dollars, funding Palestinian "institution building" and humanitarian aid and arming troops in order to "keep the peace" inside the Bantustans. Arab states will normalize relations with Israel, strengthening the "moderates" of the entire region, thus softening the Arab street as a prerequisite for an American-led strike on Iran
The Show Goes On ... And On
By Ali AbunimahUnlike a few hours of theatrical escapism the producers of the Middle East Peace Process hope that the audience will actually believe that what they are viewing on stage, whether performed in Madrid, Oslo, London, Washington or Sharm al-Sheikh is real-life and even has the potential to end the conflict caused by a century of western-supported Zionist colonization in Palestine
17 October, 2007
Hamas: Islamic Democracy And National Liberation
By Sukant ChandanPeople around the world are developing their own political identities from their own cultural and political roots. Morales, Chavez, Lebanese Hezbollah and Hamas are a few such examples. In the process of developing these indigenous movements, there is a move away from the uniform cultural and political forms of Western secular and Marxist models. However it must be stressed that there remain universal principles that these liberation ideologies and Western democratic and progressive ideas share, and there exists the possibility of developing mutual respect, solidarity and unity between the two. This dialogue and solidarity is jeopardized by the twin problems and challenges of Eurocentric prejudice and Western oppression of Third World peoples
16 October, 2007
Israel Has Turned The Gaza Strip Into A Zoo
By Amira HassSince 1991, Israel has been using the partial or total imprisonment of the Gazans in their cage, for longer or shorter periods, as a political strategy: Sometimes it is depicted as punishment, sometimes as a deterrent action and always as a preface to a political plan. Until not long ago, it seemed as though the terms of imprisonment could not be any worse. The past four months have proven that there is always "worse."
07 October, 2007
Haider Abdul-Shafi: Passing Undefeated
By Ramzy BaroudThe recent death of Haider Abdul-Shafi could not have come at a worse time. Bearing in mind the grim shortcomings of the Palestinian leadership and the lack of any serious attempt to rectify the situation, the loss of this unique and iconic leader feels all the more acute
29 September, 2007
Gaza: The Quality Of Mercy Revisited
By Sonja KarkarIn these days of warmongering, peace and justice are tossed about like hot potatoes with no end to the suffering in sight. But, where is the compassion for the children, women and men who are being subjected to the excesses of power in all its guises? Right now, some mercy for the Palestinians in Gaza is desperately needed before it is too late
The Forgotten Faithful
By Timothy SeidelOur convictions should compel us to listen to the voices of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, voices too often silenced. As we learn from Jesus' experience of "God-forsakenness" we should also learn from Palestinians who share their lives with us -- their despair and their hopes -- what it means to participate in God's reign of peace and justice
28 September, 2007
Hamas To Accept Anything Accepted
By Palestinians In A Pblebiscite
By Khalid Mish’al & Zafarul-Islam KhanInterview with Hamas supremo Khalid Mish’al
The Road To Pieces
By Dan LiebermanFailure to understand the driving forces in the Middle East violence will lead to disaster
27 September, 2007
Lift The Siege On Hamas
By Ahmed YousefPolicies whose aim is the isolation or marginalization of Hamas will not only fail but will also set the stage for the spread of extremist thinking in occupied Palestine. Allowing Hamas to participate in the Palestinian political process will encourage the growth and development of pragmatic ideas and instruments of political action. It will also allow tolerance and respect for pluralism and diversity to strike root in Palestinian political culture. The West should ask itself whether it wants the moderation and realism of Hamas or the dogmatism of radical groups that subscribe to the clash of civilizations theory
David And Goliath: Palestinian Artist Spreads Hope
By Ramzy Baroud"David and Goliath" reflects a symphony of emotions. Rana Ghassan masterfully brings together elements of accurate drawing, mood coloration, and phenomenal composition, capturing subtle emotions sometimes hidden within a live scene or photograph, and expresses the struggle of life under oppression in an inspiring light of courage and struggle
25 September, 2007
Dare To Compare - Israel
By Ghali HassanFew days ago, I had a long e-mail message from someone with the “Jews for Peace” group. The message starts: “I am very annoyed by your comparison of Israel with Nazi Germany … There is no Auschwitz in Palestine, and the Palestinians have not experienced a holocaust. Palestinians are free to leave any time they wish.” I do not know anything about the group, but a response is in order
23 September, 2007
The War On Gaza's Children
By Saree MakdisiIsrael's sanctions are leaving a generation of Palestinian children poorly educated and hungry
Israel’s Collective Punishment Of Gaza
By Chris MarsdenDeclaring the Gaza Strip as a “hostile entity” and limiting its supply of fuel and electricity is an act of collective punishment by Israel. The Kadima-led coalition government has also said it will further restrict the transfer of goods and people in and out of Gaza. The moves are part of an escalating offensive against Gaza’s one-and-a-half million residents that could culminate in an armed attack
22 September, 2007
Never Never Land
By Roni Ben EfratSoon Israel will celebrate its sixtieth year. These have been sixty years of short-sighted bullying. Its lack of willingness to reach a territorial compromise—to pay the price that Arab recognition requires—leads the region each time into deeper strife. The failure of Oslo brought Hamas to power. Now Hamas has become a significant factor. The political arena has become more complicated and more dangerous. The price remains what it has always been
19 September, 2007
Palestinian Propaganda Prize For Israel
By Nicola NasserThe inter-Palestinian war of words and the mutual violations of the freedom of press and expression by the Hamas - led government of Ismael Haniyyeh in the Gaza Strip and the Fatah – led government of Salam Fayyad in the West Bank have presented Israel with its biggest propaganda prize that is overshadowing the violations of human rights committed by the Israeli Occupation Forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
A Double Standard On Academic Freedom
In the Middle East
By George BisharatTwo hundred thousand Palestinian children began school in the Gaza Strip this month without a full complement of textbooks. Why? Because Israel, which maintains a stranglehold over this small strip of land along the Mediterranean even after withdrawing its settlers from there in 2005, considers paper, ink and binding materials not to be "fundamental humanitarian needs."
15 September, 2007
Palestinian Diaspora: With
or Against Collaboration?
By Laith MaroufIn the past few months, Palestinians in the Diaspora have watched with horror the latest developments in their homeland. There has been a flurry of articles about what to do, but overall there is a feeling that they are helpless to affect the situation on the ground. What has been missing is an understanding that Palestinians in the Diaspora must undertake a clear assessment of their own situation if they are to have any impact at all
13 September, 2007
The Greatest Story Never Told
By Stephen LendmanNo issue is more sensitive in the US than daring to criticize Israel. It's the metaphorical "third rail" in American politics, academia and the major media. Anyone daring to touch it pays dearly as the few who tried learned
12 September, 2007
Sustaining Palestinian Division,
Reviving A Partner
By Nicola NasserWhile all media attention is focused on Hamas in the tightly sealed off Gaza Strip, the real battle of the inter-Palestinian political strife is being fought in the West Bank, where Israeli and American efforts are trying to secure the survival of the Fatah – led Palestinian Authority (PA) and preempt the repetition of the scenario that left Hamas in control of the besieged Mediterranean coastal strip
11 September, 2007
"Unrecognized" Palestinians
By Stephen LendmanThe term is Orwellian in its worst sense. How can something real not officially exist? Around 150,000 or more (accurate numbers are hard to come by) Palestinian Arabs today live in over 100 so-called "unrecognized villages," mainly in the Galilee and the Negev desert. They're unrecognized because their inhabitants are considered internal refugees who were forced to flee their original homes during Israel's 1948 "War of Independence" and were prevented from returning when it ended
Israel Takes Aim At Palestinian Families
By Ida AudehIsrael's practice of denying family reunification permits and denying entry to foreign passport holders (many of whom are of Palestinian origin) is part of a campaign of ridding the occupied territories (including East Jerusalem) of Palestinians and controlling those it is obliged to retain. The practice takes aim at Palestinian families under occupation: it splits families apart, denies Palestinian communities access to foreign and expatriate talent, deprives the economically hard-hit territories of foreign currency, and further isolates the Palestinians under occupation
Abbas' Village League
By Arjan El FassedFor as long Palestinians have resisted violent Israeli policies against them, successive Israeli governments have tried to undermine Palestinian unity and foment divisions. A principal strategy has been to try to foster alternative leaders willing to abandon fundamental Palestinian demands for justice and focus on an agenda with which Israel is comfortable
07 September, 2007
The Olive Trees Of Palestine Weep
By Sonja KarkarUniversally regarded as the symbol of peace, the olive tree has become the object of violence. For more than forty years, Israel has uprooted over one million olive trees and hundreds of thousands of fruit trees in Palestine with terrible economic and ecological consequences for the Palestinian people
31 August, 2007
A Mother Of Seven Prisoners
By Hekmat BessisoLatifah Naji Abo Homeed, 61 years old, lives in Al Am’ary Refugee Camp in the city of Ramallah – Palestine . Of her 10 children, one killed during 1994 by Israeli military and seven have been imprisoned by Israel . She longs to see them but has only their photos for comfort. She has asked to be taken to prison herself so that she can live with them
28 August, 2007
What Do Palestinians Really Think?
By Ali AbunimahNevertheless, whatever doubts there are, this poll merely confirms that Palestinians under occupation remain united on the fundamentals of their cause. Despite the conspiracy they face to starve and brutalize them into giving up their rights, the Palestinian people are steadfast in defending them
The Language Of Force
By Uri AvneryIn order to accommodate President Bush's request, Olmert is now ready to cooperate with Abbas in writing something like a "framework agreement" that will lay down the principles of an agreement that may be achieved later on - but without details or a time-table. According to the leaks, the agreement will repeat more or less Ehud Barak's proposals at Camp David, including some of the bizarre ones, such as Israeli sovereignty "beneath" the Temple Mount. The Palestinian state will have "temporary" borders, with the "permanent" borders to be fixed some time in the future
26 August, 2007
Opportunism Trumps In Palestine
By Ramzy BaroudThe rash and self-defeatist behaviour emanating from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his close circle in the West Bank cannot possibly be intended for the benefit of the Palestinian people or for their internationally sanctioned struggle for human rights, freedom and equality. Abbas, and his self-serving Palestinian elites seem hell-bent on exploiting the unfolding Palestinian drama to further cement their status and position, even if such an attitude will lead to the total decimation of any little hope of recovering Palestinian rights
24 August, 2007
A Boycott Of Israel:Something Has Changed
By John PilgerThe courageous Israeli historian, Ilan Pappé, believes a single democratic state, to which the Palestinian refugees are given the right of return, is the only feasible and just solution, and that a sanctions and boycott campaign is critical in achieving this. Would the Israeli population be moved by a worldwide boycott?
21 August, 2007
Starving Gaza
By Chris HedgesGaza has become the Sarajevo of the Middle East. Israel, in an action similar to that of the Serbs in Bosnia, has surrounded and cut off nearly a million and a half Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the Islamic militant group Hamas took control in June. Electric fences and watch towers manned by Israeli soldiers keep the Palestinians trapped inside the strip
16 August, 2007
Boycott Movement Targets Israel
By George BisharatOur leaders, from the executive branch to Congress, have dithered, or cheered Israel on, as it devoured the land base for a Palestinian state. Their collective irresponsibility dooms both Palestinians and Israelis to a future of strife and insecurity, and undermines our global stature. If politicians cannot lead the way, then citizens must. That is why boycotting Israel has become both necessary and justified
15 August, 2007
Deconstructing The Jordan Option
By Osamah KhalilResurrecting the Jordan option, in which the West Bank and possibly Gaza would be united in a political and economic confederation with Jordan, demonstrates not just the poverty of ideas in Washington and Israel, but their desperation as well
13 August, 2007
A Palestinian Miracle At The UN?
By Ramzy BaroudThe miracle was of course no miracle at all; Palestinians had clearly utilised the same mechanism that Israel had used for years to block the mere possibility of bringing attention to the plight of Gaza. One hates to invoke the proverbial idea of Palestinians being their own worst enemy, but very few terms can describe the unfolding travesty, compounded by the fact that the Zionist lobby at the US Congress is now actively lobbying on behalf of Abbas
Oslo Revisited
By Uri AvneryFourteen years after the signing of the Oslo agreement, it is again the subject of debate: was it a historical mistake?
What Role For Palestinian Supporters Today?
By Agustin VellosoBefore asking Palestinians to close ranks, it would be much more useful if Western leftists made public whether they plan to continue offering Palestinians empty ethical principles – as their governments do - or whether they plan solid support for the resistance. If they take the wrong decision, all the Westerners will lose is their sense of shame. But the Palestinians may lose everything
12 August, 2007
Politics Unmercifully Trespass
Humanitarian Borders In Gaza
By Nicola NasserThe major political players who are involved in sealing off 1.5 million Palestinians into an open air prison in the world’s most densely populated 360-square-kilometre area of the Gaza Strip are unmercifully trespassing humanitarian borders there; they perceive in the collapsing economy of the Mediterranean coastal strip, which is rapidly developing into a humanitarian crisis, a political “window of opportunity.”
11 August, 2007
Mahmoud Abbas' War Against
The Palestinian People
By Ali AbunimahAbbas' policy of colluding with Israel to starve his own people is having its effect. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA issued a desperate appeal for the borders of the besieged strip to be reopened.All 600 garment factories in Gaza have shut down because they cannot import raw materials and 90 percent of factories involved in the construction industry have closed
10 August, 2007
European Hypocrisy
By Saifedean AmmousEurope's policy with regard to Palestine/Israel is so racist, short-sighted, counter-productive and hypocritical that it could almost pass for American policy
Between The Lines
By Jim MilesReview of "Between the Lines – Readings on Israel, The Palestinians, and the U.S. War on Terror” Edited by Tikva Honig-Parnass and Toufi Haddad
07 August, 2007
Charging Anti-Semitism To Silence Dissent
By Ida AudehCan Israel's supporters support a state in which Jews, Muslims, and Christians have equal rights as citizens? Surely the goal of equality among all Semites in Mandate Palestine is worth pursuing by those who claim to be appalled by anti-Semitism
Defending Human Rights In Palestine
By Sonia NettninThere are an estimated 100 unrecognized Arab villages inside Israel. In this context, unrecognized means the Israeli Government does not recognize these villages on any Israeli maps. Even if the people in these villages pay taxes, most of the villages do not have paved roads and/or access to electrical services and water
02 August, 2007
An Appeal To America's Jewish Leaders
By Thomas DalyYou hold the key to world peace in your hands and I urge you to act now to bring about the needed changes to accomplish this goal. Throughout the Middle East there is one, and only one prominent problem which affects the entire region. The resolution to this problem will bring peace to the region and greatly enhance worldwide peace efforts. The problem is the ongoing, unresolved Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
01 August, 2007
Reclaiming Palestine
By Osamah KhalilToday, Palestine and the Palestinians are divided as never before. The West Bank and Gaza are geographically and politically separated, and Israel's Apartheid Wall is carving the West Bank into isolated cantons. These divisions are exacerbated by the political rift between Fatah and Hamas and the specter of civil war
One Week In July
By Sonja KarkarIt is the ordinary people who are suffering nearly every human rights violation imaginable at the hands of Israel's army, the fanatical Jewish settlers and Israel's policy makers and spin doctors who have never seen the Palestinians as human beings
28 July, 2007
Bush's Real Agenda In Palestine
By Ramzy BaroudThe Hamas government crackdown on Mohamed Dahlan's corrupt security forces and affiliated gangs in the Gaza Strip in June appears to mark a turning point in the Bush administration's foreign policy regarding Palestine and Israel. The supposed shift, however, is nothing but a continuation of Washington's efforts to stifle Palestinian democracy, to widen the chasm separating Hamas and Fatah, and to ensure the success of the Israeli project, which is focussed on colonising and annexing what remains of Palestinian land
25 July, 2007
The Ivory Tower Behind The Apartheid Wall
By Margaret Aziza PappanoIn the last few weeks, university presidents across the US and Canada have rushed to issue statements about the proposed boycott of Israeli academic institutions by the British University and College Union
24 July, 2007
The Course Of History
By Dan LiebermanA return to the natural course of history might resolve the Middle East Crisis
22 July, 2007
Trying To Destroy Hamas Is Bad Policy
By Ira GluntsThe Israeli and US policy of supporting the newly formed Palestinian government of the weak Mahmoud Abbas and his divided Fatah party while attempting to isolate and paralyze the democratically elected Hamas government, could prove to be as great a blunder as the debathification of Iraq
19 July, 2007
Overcoming The Conspiracy Against Palestine
By Ali Abunimah"Be certain that Yasser Arafat's final days are numbered, but allow us to finish him off our way, not yours. And be sure as well that ... the promises I made in front of President Bush, I will give my life to keep." Those words were written by the Fatah warlord Mohammed Dahlan, whose US- and Israeli-backed forces were routed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip last month, in a 13 July 2003 letter to then Israeli defense minister Shaul Mofaz and published on Hamas' website on 4 July this year
18 July, 2007
Israeli Apartheid
By Bruce DixonThe apartheid state in question is, of course, Israel. Its first class citizens are Israeli Jews, the majority of them of European or sometimes American origin. The second class citizens are Israeli Arabs, who enjoy significant but limited rights under the law including token representation in the Knesset. The eleventh class citizens are not citizens at all. They are Palestinians
Is This Ben Gurion Or Hell?
By Remi KanaziAnyone who has traveled through Ben Gurion airport in Israel knows that it is a unique experience. For most Israeli Jews, the experience is comforting. For Palestinian-Americans and many activists working in occupied Palestine it is quite a different experience
16 July, 2007
Toward A Palestinian-Led Rebuilding
By Osamah KhalilThe only solution to the fragmentation of the Palestinian body politic is revitalization of Palestinian institutions