Israel/Palestine

Breaking Palestine's Peaceful Protest

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:16:11 -0500

by Neve Gordon

"Why," I have often been asked, "haven't the Palestinians established a peace movement like the Israeli Peace Now?"

The question itself is problematic, being based on many erroneous assumptions, such as the notion that there is symmetry between the two sides and that Peace Now has been a politically effective movement. Most important, though, is the false supposition that Palestinians have indeed failed to create a pro-peace popular movement.

Gaza March Puts Spotlight on Civilian Suffering

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:02:54 -0500

by Andrea Bordé

UNITED NATIONS - More than 50,000 people are expected to take to the streets of Gaza on Dec. 31 for a mass march designed to send a message to the United States, a key supporter of Israel's army, that the situation in Gaza violates international human rights laws.

The idea behind the "Gaza Freedom March" comes from CODEPINK, a women's peace group committed to drawing attention to the humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories, among other campaigns.

CIA Working with Palestinian Security Agents

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:57:54 -0500

by Ian Cobain in Ramallah

Palestinian security agents who have been detaining and allegedly torturing supporters of the Islamist organisation Hamas in the West Bank have been working closely with the CIA, the Guardian has learned.

Less than a year after Barack Obama signed an executive order that prohibited torture and provided for the lawful interrogation of detainees in US custody, evidence is emerging the CIA is co-operating with security agents whose continuing use of torture has been widely documented by human rights groups.

Israel Confirms UK Arrest Warrant Against Livni

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:53:59 -0500

by Barak Ravid

The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called for an end to the "absurd situation" in which arrest warrants were being issued to Israeli officials over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

"Only actions can put an end to this absurd situation, which would have seemed a comedy of errors were it not so serious," said the Foreign Ministry, a day after it emerged that opposition leader Tzipi Livni had canceled her trip to Britain after a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Wall on Gaza Violates International Law

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:02:19 -0500

by César Chelala

The collusion between Egypt and the U.S. to build a wall separating Egypt from Gaza not only threatens Gazans' health and quality of life, already severely deteriorated by the de facto Israeli blockade, it is a serious violation of international law.

Egyptians, with US Assistance, Building Wall Under Ground at Gaza

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:07:18 -0500

by Michael Jansen

Egyptian officials yesterday confirmed that Cairo is covertly constructing an underground steel barrier along the border with Gaza to cut smuggling into the Strip.

They contradicted a report in the Cairo daily Al-Shorouk quoting an unidentified source who said, "Egypt is dealing with smuggling seriously and is capable of stopping it without [a] wall."

When completed in 18 months' time, the impenetrable and indestructible wall will be 10-11km in length and will extend 18-30m below the surface along the 13km-long border.

UK Issues New Guidance on Labelling of Food from Illegal Israeli Settlements

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:24:10 -0500

by Ian Black, Middle East editor, and Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem

The British government has for the first time called on all supermarkets to inform customers clearly when they are buying food produced by Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The new guidance on food labelling significantly increases UK pressure on Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law, and increases the prospect of consumer boycotts. Israeli officials and settler leaders were tonight highly critical of the decision.

Making an American 'Impenetrable Underground Wall' the Laughing Stock of the World—Leave It to the People of Gaza

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:07:37 -0500

by Ann Wright

No doubt at the instigation of the Israeli government, the Obama administration has authorized the United States Army Corps of Engineers to design a vertical underground wall under the border between Egypt and Gaza.

Living by the Gate From Hell

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:24:51 -0500

by Ellen Cantarow

Much is heard of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the story of the determined, long-term nonviolent resistance of many Palestinian villagers to the loss of their lands, striking as it may be, is seldom told. Here’s my report from just one village on the West Bank.

Palestine Calls for Release of Intifada Leader in Prisoner Swap with Israel

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:36:00 -0500

by Rory McCarthy in Kobar

From the tree-ringed campus of Birzeit University, a narrow road leads deep inside the rocky valleys of the West Bank to the small, unexceptional Palestinian village of Kobar. It is home to a few thousand people, dotted with a handful of schools and mosques.