Electronic Intifada : Palestine

Palestinian students at Israeli universities support academic boycott

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:25:06 PST

We are Arab students at the Israeli universities writing to you in support of the proposed academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions. We believe that the boycott is timely and hopefully will help in upholding moral values of fairness, justice and equality which have been sorely missed in our region.

Goldstone report met with muted enthusiasm in Gaza

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:17:35 PST

Tareq Abu Daya, owner of a popular souvenir shop in the heart of Gaza City, has recently offered his customers a new kuffiyeh, or traditional checkered scarf, on which the name of Judge Richard Goldstone is inscribed. "When the famous UN report of Judge Richard Goldstone was first made public, I thought of something that would be in honor of such a significant report that accuses Israel of war crimes against Gaza during the last war," Abu Daya said. Rami Almeghari reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.

Palestinians symbolically dismantle sections of the wall

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:50:38 PST

Two decades after the fall of the Berlin wall, walls of separation still exist throughout the world. Israel's wall in the West Bank is much bigger than the Berlin wall ever was, as it encloses more than two million Palestinians inside the occupied West Bank. This wall separates Palestinians from their families, land, natural resources and communities. However, in a symbolic action documented in video and photographs, Palestinians managed to symbolically dismantle part of the wall.

Activist confronts Netanyahu at Washington conference

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:14:04 PST

At the Annual Conference of the United Jewish Federations in Washington, DC, during the plenary session by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, CODEPINK peace activist Midge Potts stood up with a banner that said "End the Siege of Gaza" and shouted "Stop the blockade of Gaza, Shame on you, Netanyahu." She was dragged out of the meeting by security guards.

Israeli Jews and the one-state solution

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:40:19 PST

One of the most commonly voiced objections to a one-state solution for Palestine/Israel stems from the accurate observation that the vast majority of Israeli Jews reject it, and fear being "swamped" by a Palestinian majority. Across the political spectrum, Israeli Jews insist on maintaining a separate Jewish-majority state. Does this mean that a peaceful one-state outcome is so unlikely that Palestinians should not pursue it, and should instead focus only "pragmatic" solutions that would be less fiercely resisted by Israelis? Ali Abunimah comments for The Electronic Intifada.

Bilin's legal struggle continues

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:28:24 PST

The villagers of Bilin are pushing forward in their nonviolent struggle against the Israeli occupation by appealing a Quebec Superior Court ruling in their case against two Canadian companies. The residents of Bilin are suing Green Park International and Green Mount International, two companies that, they argue, should be held legally accountable for illegally building residential homes and settlement infrastructure on the village's land. Jillian Kestler-D'Amours reports for The Electronic Intifada.

Palestinians cling to their homes in Silwan

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:14:13 PST

OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM (IPS) - "Make sure your father gets this," the municipal inspector tells a ten-year-old boy at the gate of the concrete house in an alleyway in the al-Bustan quarter of Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood right under the shadow of the walled Old City. "This" is a court-approved demolition notice, "No. 59." It's for a house under imminent threat of being torn down by the Israeli authorities because it does not have the requisite building permit.

Portuguese water company's immoral collaboration with Israel

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:55:53 PST

The management of Portuguese water company EPAL recently informed its workers about its collaboration with the Israeli national water company Mekorot on "water security issues." An EPAL intern who recently visited the occupied West Bank reacted to the news by informing colleagues about how Israel is depriving Palestinians from water. EPAL responded by sacking the intern within one hour. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada.

Vast majority of Gaza children suffer PTSD symptoms

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:35:15 PST

More than 40 years of Israeli military occupation have had a devastating impact on Palestinians in Gaza. Air strikes, artillery shelling, ground invasions, jet flybys and other acts of violence have all led to an epidemic of suffering among Gaza's most vulnerable inhabitants. The most recent studies indicate that the vast majority of Gaza's children exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Israel targeting the boycott movement

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:20:40 PST

For nearly six weeks now Mohammed Othman, a prominent Palestinian activist and an outspoken advocate of the nonviolent boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, has been held in an Israeli military prison without charges. On 22 September 2009 Othman, 34, was detained at the Allenby Crossing as he attempted to enter the occupied West Bank from Jordan. He was returning from a trip to Norway, where he met with Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen, amongst other officials. Mya Guarnieri reports for The Electronic Intifada.

Sussex University students vote to boycott Israeli goods

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:42:56 PST

Students at the University of Sussex, England have voted to boycott Israeli goods. The decision follows the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, which calls upon the Israeli state to respect international law and end the occupation of Palestine. In a campus-wide referendum, 56 percent of students voted in favor of the boycott.

UN vote overwhelmingly supports Goldstone report

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:22:33 PST

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - A 575-page blistering report by Justice Richard Goldstone detailing war crimes in Gaza last winter is refusing to die despite an aggressive Israeli smear campaign to kill it. The report, which was favorably voted by the 47-member Human Rights Council in Geneva last month, received overwhelming support Thursday in the 192-member General Assembly. The vote was 114 in favor and 18 against, with 44 abstentions.

Gaza students organize for justice

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:04:51 PST

In order to find sustainable alternatives to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict a new group calling itself the Justice Makers has been formed across the law departments in Palestinian universities. Two of the founders, Mohammed Eliwa and Yousef al-Nouri, are both fourth-year law students from al-Azhar University in Gaza. "The Justice Makers is about finding new ways within the international justice system to forward our case," al-Nouri explained. Biana Zammit reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.

Israeli soldiers, settlers violate Palestinian women's rights

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:38:10 PST

RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Palestinian women continue to suffer abuse and denial of basic human rights at the hands of Israeli settlers and soldiers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This is in flagrant violation of Israel's obligations as a signatory to the UN Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Interview: Living under constant fear of arrest

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:59:52 PST

Mohammed Ahmed Issa Yassen, 20, lives in the occupied West Bank village of Bilin, where he works in his family's car garage business as a mechanic. He is also a student at the al-Quds Open University, but since he has joined the Israeli intelligence's "wanted" list from the village, studying has been difficult. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre interviewed Mohammed about living under the constant threat of arrest.

Why I am not a Zionist

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:15:08 PST

I have come to realize it is actually simple and clear. I am a Jewish-American man in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Justice and resistance to imperialism is a global, human concern for all people. For Jews, yes, but not Jews alone. For Palestinians, yes, but not Palestinians alone. It will take us all to push and demand governments and corporate interests to create fair, equitable living conditions. It will take all peoples to hold history accountable for the atrocities that occur. Kevin Coval comments for The Electronic Intifada.

J Street conference only step one

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:02:49 PST

Was the recently held J Street conference the herald of an incipient peace treaty in Israel-Palestine? The supporters of the new lobby group hope so. Its name is a riff on K Street, the real Washington, DC address of many powerful lobbying firms. With a staff of 30 and a budget of millions, it has set itself up as the liberal alternative to AIPAC. Max Ajl comments for The Electronic Intifada.

New York Mets called on to cancel settlement fundraiser

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:42:10 PST

Eleven organizations from the US, Palestine and Israel have called on baseball's New York Mets to cancel a 21 November dinner at the Caesars Club at Citi Field for the Brooklyn-based Hebron Fund. The dinner is a fundraiser for Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank City of Hebron.

Book review: "A World I Loved"

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:24:49 PST

"This is my story, the story of an Arab woman," Wadad Makdisi Cortas states in the opening line of her memoir A World I Loved. Born Wadad Makdisi in Beirut in 1909, which at that time was considered a part of Syria, she discovered Arab nationalism at a young age and lived a life true to the idea in every sense. Cortas believed passionately that Arabs, in order to protect their culture and values, should liberate themselves from Western colonialism which sought to impose its ways and divide the people. Matthew Cassel reviews for The Electronic Intifada.

Gazans not allowed to rebuild their lives

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:09:24 PST

Azzam Salim used to be one of the leading construction contractors in the central Gaza Strip. Today, however, he spends most of his days idly chatting with other unemployed friends near a bank that he helped build several years ago. "As a human first and foremost, I need to live normally like before." Rami Almeghari reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.