20 November, 2009
Bantustans And The Unilateral Declaration Of
Statehood
By Virginia TilleyThe Ramallah PA's suddenly serious initiative to declare an independent Palestinian state in non-sovereign territory must surely force fresh collective realization that this is a terribly pragmatic question. It's time to bring closer attention to what "Bantustan" actually means. The Palestinian national movement can only hope someone in its ranks undertakes that project as seriously as Israel has undertaken it before it's too late
19 November, 2009
One Year Later…And The Doors To The World’s
Largest Prison Are Still Sealed Shut
By Pam RasmussenIt’s time to show Israel that the world will no longer accept this wanton and cruel suffocation of human potential. Visit www.gazafreedommarch.org to find out how you can help, either actively on the ground in Gaza or here at home
17 November, 2009
The Latest Palestinian Strategy –
Clever Or Stupid Or Both?
By Alan HartThere is a case for saying that those leaders of the discredited PNA (Palestine National Authority) who are proposing to unilaterally declare an independent state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and seek to get UN Security Council backing for it are being clever
Arab Teens Need ‘Protecting From Israeli Justice’
By Jonathan CookAn Israeli judge made an historic ruling last week when he decided that an Arab teenager needed “protection” from the justice system and ordered that he not be convicted despite being found guilty of throwing stones at a police car during a protest against Israel’s attack last winter on Gaza
13 November, 2009
The Disastrous Presidency Of Mahmoud Abbas
By Rannie AmiriThough it appears doubtful the quisling Abbas will actually resign, its mere suggestion should still be cause for celebration among Palestinians. Even if it ultimately does not come to pass – at least for now – let them rejoice
Edward Said And Barak Obama
By Prof. Haidar EidAn Open letter from a Palestinian Resident of Gaza to the President of the United States of America, Mr. Barak Hussein Obama
11 November, 2009
Israeli Jews And The One-State Solution
By Ali AbunimahDoes solid Israeli Jewish opposition to a one-state solution mean that a peaceful one-state outcome is so unlikely that Palestinians should not pursue it, and should instead focus only on "pragmatic" solutions that would be less fiercely resisted by Israeli Jews?
10 November, 2009
How Israel Won The Settlement Battle Again
By Ramzy BaroudWhen British Foreign Secretary David Miliband uttered a few words regarding the illegality of the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, many wanted to believe that London was taking a sharp stance against Israel’s continued violations of international law. Alas, they were wrong
09 November, 2009
A Line In The Sand
By Uri AvneryMahmoud Abbdas is fed up. The day before yesterday he withdrew his candidacy for the coming presidential election in the Palestinian Authority. He feels betrayed. And the traitor is Barack Obama
07 November, 2009
U.N. Affirms Israeli-Hamas Goldstone Report
By Thalif DeenThe Goldstone report, which was favourably 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 favour and 18 against, with 44 abstentions
Goldstone And Gaza
By Jimmy CarterWithout ascribing blame to either of the disputing parties, it is imperative that the United States and the international community take steps to assure that the rebuilding of Gaza be commenced, and without delay. The cries of homeless and freezing people demand relief
Why I Am Not A Zionist
By Kevin CovalI am a Jewish person who stands with Palestinian people relegated to second-class citizenship and Israeli soldiers who refuse to enact racist militarism. I am not a nationalist; therefore I am not a Zionist. I am against the oppression of any person and people. I am not a builder of walls. I believe in equity and democratic practice, therefore I am not pro-Israel. I am an advocate for truth, justice and reconciliation. I believe in this. I believe in this now. I believe in the work ahead
04 November, 2009
Israel's Right To Exist?
By Alan HartThe truth of the time was that the Zionist state, which came into being mainly as a consequence of pre-planned ethnic cleansing, had no right to exist and, more to the point, could have no right to exist UNLESS … Unless it was recognised and legitimized by those who were dispossessed of their land and their rights during the creation of the Zionist state. In international law only the Palestinians could give Israel the legitimacy it craved
30 October, 2009
Harvesting In Death Zone, With A Song
By Eva BartlettHarvesting is a political act at the Gaza border with Israel
27 October, 2009
Israel Rations Palestinians To Trickle Of Water
By Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International has accused Israel of denying Palestinians the right to access adequate water by maintaining total control over the shared water resources and pursuing discriminatory policies
Palestinian Election: Weapon Against The People
By Dr. Elias AklehPalestinian election under the Israeli occupation is a big joke. It is meant to give the illusion of Palestinian freedom and autonomy, and to keep the people busy with something other than their legitimate resistance to the occupation. Palestinians can regain their country and assert their rights only by resisting the Israeli occupation and not by fake elections
25 October, 2009
What's At Stake In The Deal For Gilad Shalit
By Jonathan Ben EfratInstead of discussing the price of Shalit’s release, we should be discussing the price of a peace agreement. Whoever is willing to dismantle the settlements, to give back the occupied territories up to the Green Line (the pre-1967 border), to come up with a fair solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees and to enable, finally, the establishment of a viable Palestinian state will ensure that there'll be no more Gilad Shalits. But as long as Israel refuses to do what everyone knows it must, the next kidnapping is merely a question of time
21 October, 2009
Israeli Police Don Arab Disguise
By Jonathan CookCivil rights groups in Israel have expressed outrage at the announcement last week that a special undercover unit of the police has been infiltrating and collecting intelligence on Israel’s Arab minority by disguising its officers as Arabs
The First Step: Israel Into The Dock
By Dr. Alan SabroskyThe UN Human Rights Council (HRC) Resolution based on the Goldstone Report is a damning condemnation of Israel. The original meaning of being "caught red-handed" was literally being "caught bloody-handed," with the victim's blood on one's own hands. In Gaza, Israel has been caught red-handed in that literal sense, and for the first time in its history, is approaching the dock in the international court of opinion and, hopefully, of justice as well
19 October, 2009
Family Who Lost 29 Members In Gaza War
By Amira HassRichard Goldstone visited the Gaza City neighborhood of Zaytoun in late June to tour the compound of the extended Samouni family. Twenty-nine members of the family, all of them civilians, were killed in the Israel Defense Force's winter assault - 21 during the shelling of a house where IDF soldiers had gathered some 100 members of the family a day earlier
Challenging The Dahiya Doctrine
By Brenda HeardThe common denominator of the Haaretz article and the Goldstone Report and the UN Human Rights Council Report is the challenge to the Israeli military concept known as the “Dahiya doctrine.” The Goldstone Report states that “The Israeli military conception of what was necessary in a future war with Hamas seems to have been developed from at least the time of the 2006 conflict in southern Lebanon. It finds its origin in a military doctrine that views disproportionate destruction and creating maximum disruption in the lives of many people as a legitimate means to achieve military and political goals.”
16 October, 2009
Abbas And The Goldstone Report:
Our Shame Is Complete
By Ramzy BaroudPalestinians who are now calling for change following the UN episode, must consider the Oslo culture in its entirety, its ‘revolutionary’ millionaires, its elites and contractors. A practical alternative to those corrupt must be quickly devised. The Israeli wall is encroaching on Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank, and a new war might be awaiting besieged Gaza. Time is running out, and our collective shame is nearly complete
14 October, 2009
After The Bombing, Drug Addiction Strikes Gaza
By Donald MacintyreUnder siege and grappling with joblessness, factional violence and the aftermath of war, Gazans are turning to pills as they seek to escape reality
12 October, 2009
The Travails Of The Palestinian Authority
While Palestine Vanishes
By Sonja KarkarThe fallout from the Palestinian Authority’s refusal to endorse the Goldstone Report’s passage through the United Nations is not just painful for the Palestinians, but also for all those who support the Palestinian cause. This is yet another wound inflicted by the Authority on the Palestinian struggle for liberation from a long and brutal Israeli military occupation. And yet again, Israel gets a “get out of jail free” card as the Palestinians are forced to focus on their own inept and corrupt leadership
10 October, 2009
U.S. ‘Personality Assassination’ Of
A Palestinian Ally
By Nicola NasserPalestinian consensus on condemnation has created a volatile environment of insecurity for Abbas. An ongoing personality assassination process has put his personal safety in jeopardy. In the behind the scenes intrigues of the Middle East politics, he might pay with his life for rubber – stamping U.S. advice, to be the second potential victim after late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for “putting all their eggs in U.S. basket.”
08 October, 2009
After Goldstone, Hamas Faces Fateful Choice
By Ali AbunimahThe uproar over the Palestinian Authority's (PA) collaboration with Israel to bury the Goldstone report, calling for trials of Israeli leaders for war crimes in Gaza, is a political earthquake. The whole political order in place since the 1993 Oslo accords were signed is crumbling. As the initial tremors begin to fade, the same old political structures may appear still to be in place, but they are hollowed out. This unprecedented crisis threatens to topple the US-backed PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, but it also leaves Hamas, the main Palestinian resistance faction, struggling with fateful choices
A Poverty Of Leadership
By Osamah KhalilWhether or not the clumsy attempt to shelve the Goldstone report on last winter's Gaza attacks is the tipping point for Mahmoud Abbas's rule, the succession process has been underway for several years. However, it is being coordinated by the US and Israel and is no reflection of the wishes and desires of the Palestinian people. Abbas's likely successor is Salam Fayyad, who somehow manages to be an even more uninspiring and unpopular character
Israel Mulls Banning Islamic Movement
By Jonathan CookThe Israeli government announced yesterday it would consider banning Israel’s Islamic Movement at the next cabinet meeting, in a significant escalation of tensions that have fuelled a fortnight of bloody clashes in Jerusalem over access to the Haram al Sharif compound of mosques
07 October, 2009
Tensions Mount Again At Al-Aqsa
By Jonathan CookTension over control of the Haram al Sharif compound of mosques in Jerusalem’s Old City has reached a pitch unseen since clashes at the site sparked the second intifada nine years ago
How Israel Bought Off UN’s War Crimes Probe
By Jonathan CookGoldstone report's fate sealed by threats to Palestinian economy
The Gaza War's Effect On Women
By Stephen LendmanThe Palestinian Centre for Human Rights' (PCHR) new report, titled "Through Women's Eyes," highlights "the Gender-Specific Impact and Consequences of Operation Cast Lead" and the ongoing siege, including 12 case study examples "through the victims' words."
30 September, 2009
The Goldstone Report: Fierce But Toothless
By Yacov Ben EfratAs things look now, the Goldstone Report will go to the shelf, the Occupation will continue, and so will Palestinian suffering. To cope with the present reality is more complex than putting people on the stand for war crimes. The reality is that Israel is ruled by the Right, which is nowadays attracting part of the Left. On the Palestinian side, the reality is a war between two rival factions that care more for power than for their people
Israel's Ofra Settlement On
Unauthorized Palestinian Land
By Stephen LendmanUnder international and local laws, Ofra's settlement is illegal. No jurisdictional area was set for it. It doesn't have a valid outline plan, and at least 58% of its land is lawfully registered under Palestinian names in the Land Registry
23 September, 2009
Goldstone Commission Gaza Conflict Findings
And Reactions
By Stephen LendmanA UN September 15 press release stated that the Mission concluded that "there is evidence indicating serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law were committed by Israel during the Gaza conflict, and that Israel committed actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity."
18 September, 2009
Israel/America: A Rambling Poem
By Remi KanaziRemi Kanazi recently appeared on GRITtv with Laura Flanders to perform a spoken word poem entitled Israel/America: A Rambling Poem
17 September, 2009
Lebanon’s Palestinians 27 Years After
The Sabra Shatila Massacre
By Franklin LambPressure is building this hot summer and fall in Lebanon’s refugee camps with warnings coming from Palestinian, that 27 years after the Sabra Shatila massacre, explosive conditions exist in nearly all of Lebanon’s camps
10 September, 2009
Israel’s Arab Citizens Call General Strike
By Jonathan CookThe increasingly harsh political climate in Israel under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government has prompted the leadership of the country’s 1.3 million Arab citizens to call the first general strike in several years
Israel Blocks Money To Gaza’s Disabled
By Jonathan Cook
Injured workers denied benefit paymentsThe Tangled Course To Middle East
Peace Crisis And Not Conflict
By Dan LiebermanThe Tangled Course to Middle East Peace A 180 degree rotation of the elements in the present peace process combined with Israel no longer being favored and no longer allowed to frame the process provides a direction for solving the Middle East crisis
08 September, 2009
Palestinians 'Seriously Considering' One-state
By Jimmy CarterA more likely alternative to the present debacle is one state, which is obviously the goal of Israeli leaders who insist on colonizing the West Bank and East Jerusalem. A majority of the Palestinian leaders with whom we met are seriously considering acceptance of one state, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. By renouncing the dream of an independent Palestine, they would become fellow citizens with their Jewish neighbors and then demand equal rights within a democracy. In this nonviolent civil rights struggle, their examples would be Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela
04 September, 2009
Prof Yehuda Hiss: The Missing Link
In Palestinian Organ Theft?
By Jonathan CookThe hyperventilating by Israel’s leaders [1] over a story published in a Swedish newspaper last month [2] suggesting that the Israeli army assisted in organ theft from Palestinians has distracted attention from the disturbing allegations made by Palestinian families that were the basis of the article’s central claim
Fighting For The Right To Walk
By Ramzy BaroudSince the conclusion of Israel’s war last year, the Palestinian Ministry of Health declared that 344 Gaza patients have reportedly been added to the swelling number of casualties
The Beginning Of The End Of The Middle East Crisis:
Resolving The Displaced Persons Problem
By Dan LiebermanThe solution of the Middle East crisis starts with those who have suffered the most, continue to suffer and should be relieved of their suffering. The solution of the Middle East crisis starts with the Palestinian displaced persons
A Palestinian State Within Two Years?
By Yacov Ben EfratOn Tuesday, August 25, 2009, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad presented his plan to establish a Palestinian state within two years. He stressed the internal changes that must be made in order to build its legal, economic and social infrastructure
17 August, 2009
Fatah: A New Beginning Or An Imminent End?
By Ramzy BaroudThe long delayed Fatah Congress, held in Bethlehem on August 4 has underscored the obvious: the all-encompassing movement which was meant to exact and safeguard Palestinian national rights has grown into a liability that, if anything, will continue to derail the Palestinian national project. This comes at a time when the Palestinian people are in urgent need of a collective response that is strong enough to withstand Israeli military pressure and coercion at home
Israel Begins Sell-Off Of Refugees’ Land
By Jonathan CookPrivatisation to subvert Palestinian hopes of restitution
People, Not Politicians, Working To End
The Israeli Occupation
By Michael GalvinWhen the world looks at the future of Palestine these days, the principal question is unfortunately "What will Obama do?" How far will he go in putting pressure on the new right-wing Israeli government, and how will they react? Yet, our "messiah complex" which credits politicians with being able to solve everything single-handedly allows the world to forget about the action that is going on on the ground inside Israel/Palestine by both Israelis and Palestinians against the occupation, and the struggles they encounter
US Turns Blind Eye To Israel's
New Separation Policy
By Jonathan CookIsrael welcomes American Jewish settlers, bars Palestinian-Americans
10 August, 2009
Gaza 's Kite Runners
By Ramzy BaroudWhen seen from a distance, kites in Gaza may look quite ordinary. But while Gazan children, in many respects, are just children, their kites are hardly ordinary. Often adorned by the red, black, green and white of the Palestinian flag, Gazan children's kites are expressions of defiance, hope and the longing for freedom