_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

January 2004 -- PM CST
_______________________________


Opinion/Editorial

JUDGING THE INTIFADA

Hasan Abu Nimah & Ali Abunimah
The Electronic Intifada, 6 October 2004

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3166.shtml

The fourth anniversary of Israel's violent crackdown on
the Palestinian uprising, which coincided with its latest
massacre of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, occasioned a
number of analyses, many concluding - wishfully - that the
Intifada has been "counterproductive" for the
Palestinians, or even a "failure."

Ha'aretz analyst Bradley Burston wrote an article
headlined, "The war that Palestine couldn't lose - and
did." US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, asked on
Al-Jazeera, "What has [the Intifada] accomplished for the
Palestinian people? Has it produced progress toward a
Palestinian state? Has it defeated Israel on the
battlefield?" Concluding it had not, he declared, "it is
time to end this process. It is time to end the Intifada."

The standard that Mr. Powell set for assessing Palestinian
success or failure is disengenuous and absurd. No one
expected that Palestinians could defeat Israel's
astronomically superior, US-backed armed forces. But as
the ongoing resistance, both nonviolent and armed,
demonstrates every day, the Palestinians are not close to
defeat, nor are the Israelis close to victory. Despite all
of Israel's killing and cruelty for decades, the
Palestinians are unbroken; they have neither abandoned
their rights, nor resigned themselves to living
permanently under Israeli dictatorship.

Palestinians have indeed paid a heartbreaking price during
the past four years in death and destruction inflicted by
Israel. But that is not the only way they measure the
Intifada. Mr. Powell failed to ask how much the
Palestinians had gained from more than a decade of the
American-sponsored "peace process" and the "roadmap." He
knows the answer: throughout the period, Israel continued,
with American connivance, to steal and colonize the little
left of their land at an accelerating pace, extinguishing
the prospects for a truly independent Palestinian state
even as the US claimed to be supporting it. The Intifada
did not interrupt and "derail" the peace process as
revisionists argue; it came long after the peace process
failed, and as a direct result of this failure. As long as
Palestinians see that no outside powers will fairly uphold
their rights, or international law, some will always
conclude that their only course is to impose as a high
cost as possible on Israel, no matter the cost to
themselves. This is what fuels support for counterattacks
on Israeli civilians, and indeed the willingness to die
carrying them out. In a context where Israel has left them
nothing to lose, some Palestinians feel such attacks are
the only means they have to even the killing field.

Powell also did not ask Israel how much its unrelenting
brutality and colonization has allowed Israelis to relax
and enjoy the fruits of dispossessing the Palestinians and
depriving them of their basic rights. In addition to
losing more than one thousand people, Israel is wracked
with corruption, unemployment, poverty and mass emigration
as a direct result of its war to keep the Palestinians
under occupation.

It is nevertheless fashionable to point to the precipitous
drop in Palestinian living standards as further evidence
of the failure of the Intifada, as New York Times reporter
Steven Erlanger did in an October 3 column. This economic
collapse, as numerous UN, EU and other bodies have
reported over many years, is the direct result of Israel's
collective punishment of the population. But rather than
condemning the illegal measures of the occupier, some seek
to blame the victims for bringing it on themselves.
Erlanger quoted a recent report by the International
Crisis Group (ICG) that "although the occupation and the
confrontation with Israel that is entering its fifth year
provide the context, today's Palestinian predicament is
decidedly domestic." The ICG, which seems to exist solely
to lend false credibility to the most shallow,
power-serving clichés, has once again issued a report in
which the hypothetical ideal is offered as the alternative
to grim reality, but without a single plausible suggestion
for how to get there, and with virtually all
responsibility for action lying at the door of the weakest
party.

Such transparent apologia for Israel is nothing new. From
the first days of what began as a peaceful uprising, to
which Israel responded with one million bullets in the
first month of protests, Israeli and American analysts
have been declaring that the efforts to stop all
resistance would soon succeed. A few more assassinations,
a few more missiles, a few thousand more arrests, a bit
more torture, a few hundred more demolitions, a little
more hunger and darkness - and the Palestinians will get
the message and realize that their best option is
servitude under occupation.

By any standard, in a war between a colonial occupier and
an indigenous people, the Palestinians are in a comparable
state to those who have trodden this path before them. In
Southeast Asia, the United States killed approximately
fifty Vietnamese, Laotians and Cambodians for every
American who died in that war, and still the Americans
suffered a total strategic defeat. In Algeria, the French
killed on a similar scale and were defeated. In South
Africa, the apartheid regime killed hundreds of black
South Africans for every white person killed, and that
regime no longer exists. Nor did massacres and atrocities
in Iraq in the 1920s, or India in the 1940s, save British
rule there. In colonial wars, the colonized always pay a
much higher price than their foreign rulers. The Americans
and British are learning afresh in the "New" Iraq that
massive military dominance is not the same thing as
victory.

Israel, though, stubbornly refuses to learn any lessons
and thus spare Jewish and Arab lives. As its situation has
deteriorated, it has used ever more brutality against the
Palestinians, with increasingly meagre results from its
perspective. Strategically, Israel remains at an absolute
dead end. Despite all the talk of "disengagement," Israel
has thrust deeper into Gaza. It can neither afford to stay
there, nor can it afford to leave. Sharon's only reason
for ever speaking of a withdrawal from Gaza was to reduce
the cost of the occupation to Israel and to consolidate
Israel's conquests in the West Bank. But the tenacity of
the resistance in Gaza and the West Bank shows that as
long as Israel is determined to colonize any inch of the
occupied territories, it is necessarily committed to
staying in all of them. The logic of Israeli policy
demands ever deeper penetration and ever more savage
measures.

South African law professor John Dugard, the UN special
rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian
territories, wrote in a report to the General Assembly
last August that Israel has created, "an apartheid regime"
in the occupied territories "worse than the one that
existed in South Africa." Dugard is in a good position to
know, since he was a member his country's post-apartheid
Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Contrasting with Dugard's forthrightness is the utter
cowardice of those who talk loudest about international
law and human rights in the abstract. The United States'
pro-Israel position is the most extreme and biased, but
has lost the power to shock or disappoint. Yet the
European Union, which has for years posed as an
even-handed force in the conflict, has long since
abandoned all serious efforts. European states now make
empty statements about adhering to the "roadmap" and
calling for Palestinian "reform," not because they believe
genuinely that such things are in any remote way related
to a solution, but because they realize that exposing the
real problem - Israel's intransigence - will lead to
embarassing calls for sanctions against an outlaw regime
that recognizes no boundaries for its conduct.

Recently, UK prime minister Tony Blair, the champion of
democracy, human rights and freedom in Iraq, made a
personal committment to do everything possible to resolve
the Palestine-Israel conflict. Before the Iraq invasion,
he made the same promise on the BBC Arabic Service,
responding to doubts about the West's past performance by
saying that a skeptical Arab public should just wait, and
judge him by his actions. More than a year has passed and
Blair has done absolutely nothing except vigorously oppose
Palestinian efforts to win their rights through the
peaceful forum of the International Court of Justice at
The Hague.

The result of all this is that Israel is ever emboldened,
confident that it can do as it pleases. Other than bleats
of displeasure from Arab and international officials, no
one will act against it. Never has Ben-Gurion's infamous
maxim been more apt: "What matters is not what the
Gentiles will say, but what the Jews will do."

Those who wish to mark the anniversary of the Intifada
with a hard look at reality, rather than self-delusion,
might make the following predictions: there will be no
Palestinian state alongside Israel, because such a thing
is impossible in the reality Israel has, with the world's
acquiescence, created. But in another four years it will
become clear that Israel can no longer exist as a "Jewish
state," superimposed on a Palestinian majority that
refuses to accept the inferior status Israel has assigned
it, and which Palestinians will continue to resist with
whatever resources they have.

In the meantime, we can expect ever more horrifying
violence that will not be abated by ritual condemnations.
And, as Israel gets further into its corner, the chances
increase dramatically that it will seek to resolve its
existential problem not just at the expense of the
Palestinians, but by spreading the conflict to its
neighbors.

---
Ambassador Hasan Abu Nimah is former permanent
representative of Jordan at the United Nations. Ali
Abunimah is co-founder of the websites The Electronic
Intifada and Electronic Iraq.


________________

     ALSO ON EI
________________

BY TOPIC: KEY EVENTS
Israeli raid on northern Gaza (28 September 2004-)
http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/300.shtml

AND MANY MORE UPDATES
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/

--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
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SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

29 September 2004 -- 1:15PM CST
_______________________________


Human Rights
FOUR YEARS OF INTIFADA: STATISTICAL OVERVIEW
Press Release, HDIP, 29 September 2004

Monday, September 27, 2004 -- Dr Mustafa Barghouthi began
today's press conference with a summary of recent trends
and statistics. The Second Intifada, now entering its 5th
year, has seen the world distracted by events in Iraq,
enabling Israel to continue violating Palestinians' Human
Rights with complete immunity. The international media
remains more accessible to the Israeli side and thus
allows Israel to push forward their preferred narrative.
Furthermore, these past years have witnessed a significant
deterioration in international support and involvement
with the peace process, many becoming disheartened and
reluctant having supported the now dead Oslo Peace
Process.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3131.shtml


Opinion/Editorial
ONE YEAR LATER: REMEMBERING EDWARD SAID
Ilan Pappe, The Electronic Intifada, 27 September 2004

Today (25 September 2004) is the first anniversary of
Edward Said's death. Time passes by so quickly and hence
it seems as if only yesterday we were all reading those
touching and insightful obituaries of the man and his
philosophy. From brilliant long expositions to short but
genuine eulogies, it seems that everything that could be
said was candidly presented to those who knew him and the
millions who have only heard of him. Such a litany of
words should have enabled us to resign to his death, but
his absence seems to me still incomprehensible. What would
have happened if we still had Edward with us in this last
year? Ilan Pappe ponders the question.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3129.shtml



----------------------
EI SHOP RELAUNCHED
----------------------

EI has relaunched its Cafe Press shop with new designs
and new products.

Support EI and spread the word by
purchasing EI merchandise at:

http://www.cafepress.com/ei101/



----------------------
RECENT ADDITIONS
----------------------

Human Rights
ISRAELI FORCES KILL ONE PALESTINIAN
AND DESTROY 54 HOMES IN KHAN YUNIS
Report, PCHR, 25 September 2004
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3122.shtml


Journalists in Danger
CNN PRODUCER KIDNAPPED IN GAZA CITY
Report, CPJ, 27 September 2004
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3133.shtml


Journalists in Danger
CNN PRODUCER RELEASED IN GAZA CITY
Report, CPJ, 28 September 2004
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3132.shtml


Opinion/Editorial
THE FUTURE OF PALESTINE'S CHILDREN AND SOCIETY AT RISK
Genevieve Cora Fraser, 27 September 2004
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3128.shtml


Diaries
PRISONER STORIES: LOAI AND UBAI MOHAMMAD ODEH
Rima Merriman, Live from Palestine, 25 September 2004
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3121.shtml


Israel Lobby Watch
ZOGBY POLL: SHOULD AIPAC BE ASKED TO REGISTER AS AN AGENT
OF A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT AND LOSE ITS TAX-EXEMPT STATUS?
Press Release, Zogby International, 25 September 2004
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3120.shtml


Activism News
CANADIAN ACTIVISTS PROTEST DEPORTATION
OF PALESTINIAN REFUGEES
Report, Coalition Against the Deportation of
Palestinian Refugees, 25 September 2004
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3119.shtml


Activism News
FIVE DAYS OF STRUGGLE AGAINST ISRAEL'S WEST BANK BARRIER
Report, Anarchists Against the Wall, 25 September 2004
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3117.shtml


--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

8 September 2004 -- 8PM CST
_______________________________


Diaries
INTERVIEW: WHAT THE IDF IS DOING IN NABLUS
Kole, Live from Palestine, 7 September 2004

   Some of the claims herein are shocking. I honestly hope
   that the interview - originally conducted in Hebrew -
   will impel people to action and that the commanders
   responsible for such abuses will be held to account. It
   is worth remembering that the soldier's unit was
   'exemplary' in that it was considered to be one that had
   relatively good discipline compared to other fighting
   units in the IDF. The interview is thus testimony to the
   real nature of a military force that is often portrayed
   as 'the most moral army in the world.' After reading this
   interview, it is hard to understand how such a mythology
   can be sustained within the Israeli body-politic and in
   the mainstream of US public opinion.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3078.shtml



Opinion/Editorial
THE MYTH OF GANDHI AND PALESTINIAN REALITY
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 8 September 2004

The recent visit of Mohandas K. Gandhi's grandson, Arun
Gandhi, to Palestine has sparked new discussion about the
role of nonviolence in the Palestinian struggle for
freedom. In a speech before the Palestinian Legislative
Council, Gandhi called upon 50,000 Palestinian refugees to
march back home en masse from their exile in Jordan,
forcing the Israelis to choose between relenting to a wave
of people power, or gunning the marchers down in cold
blood. EI co-founder Ali Abunimah sorts the genuine
efforts to energize the struggle with non-violent tactics
from the spurious ones designed to shift the blame from
the occupier to the occupied.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3066.shtml



Human Rights
ISRAELI FORCES KILL 14 PALESTINIANS IN GAZA
Report, PCHR, 7 September 2004

This morning Israeli forces killed 14 Palestinians and
wounded at least 12 others in Gaza. Israeli forces shelled
a training center belonging to the Hamas movement in
al-Tuffah neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. Israel
claimed responsibility for this attack and claimed that it
came in response to the suicide bombing in Ber al-Saba
(Beersheva) last week. Medical sources in hospitals in
Gaza City stated that the condition of a number of the
injured are critical. PCHR is gravely concerned at this
latest escalation and calls upon the international
community to stop these attacks.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3076.shtml



Development
CRISIS IN THE PA: EVENTS AND THE
CHALLENGE OF REFORM
Report, PCHR, 8 September 2004

The occupied territories are witnessing a severe internal
crises that effects all aspects of the life of
Palestinians and threatens both their security and safety.
It threatens the ongoing struggle for independence and for
an the end to the belligerent Israeli occupation. While
the roots of the crises may be traced back many years the
crises reached a pinnacle in the middle of July 2004 in
the shape of a series of attacks, kidnappings and other
illegal activities perpetrated by individuals or militant
groups. These actions reflect the total absence of the
rule of law and the chaos which has resulted as a
consequence of the proliferation of small arms and
militarization of Palestinian society.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3079.shtml



Human Rights
10-YEAR OLD GIRL HIT IN UNRWA
CLASSROOM BY ISRAELI GUNFIRE
Report, UNRWA, 7 September 2004

   In the third such incident in 18 months, a child sitting
   in the classroom of a UN-flagged school has been struck
   in the head by gunfire from an Israeli position in the
   Gaza Strip. At 07:45 10-year old Raghda Adnan Al-Assar
   was struck in the head by Israeli fire while sitting at
   her desk in UNRWA's Elementary C Girl's School in Khan
   Younis camp. She is now in the European Gaza Hospital
   where she has undergone major surgery. On June 1 this
   year two ten-year old children in UNRWA's Al-Umariye
   Elementary Boys' School in Rafah were hit by a bullet and
   ricochets from a Israeli tank stationed on the sand dunes
   opposite the school.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3077.shtml



Business & Economy
WORLD BANK: GAZA DISENGAGEMENT LITTLE
IMPACT ON PALESTINIAN ECONOMY
Report, World Bank, 7 September 2004

   The World Bank released a paper warning that were the
   disengagement accompanied by the sealing of Gaza's
   borders to labor and trade or by terminating supplies of
   water and electricity to Gaza, it would create worse
   hardship than is seen today. "Under such circumstances,
   the Plan's assertion that Israel is no longer responsible
   for the population of Gaza will not resonate," the paper
   noted. "Nor would donors appreciate the implication that
   they must bear the humanitarian consequences of this
   style of disengagement." The World Bank regarded the
   Israeli plan as having little impact on the Palestinian
   economy, as it will only ease internal movement
   restrictions.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3075.shtml



Art, Music & Culture
DESTROYING HISTORY
Ahmad Sub Laban, Palestine Report, 6 September 2004

   On August 9, Israeli bulldozers sank their jaws into
   three buildings in the old city of Hebron. The
   demolitions, to make way for a settler-only road to
   connect the Kiryat Arba settlement with the Ibrahimi
   Mosque, caused an outrage. Imad Hamdan, public relations
   director for the Hebron Reconstruction Committee,
   believes Israel is waging a war on the heritage of
   Hebron's old city, pointing to the fact that there are
   tens of other houses slated for demolition, some of which
   date back to the Mamluk and Ottoman eras and others that
   were built during the British Mandate. It is a clear
   indication to Hamdan of an Israeli attempt to Judaize the
   old city and the area around the Ibrahimi Mosque.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3058.shtml


--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

26 August 2004 -- 8PM CST
_______________________________


-------------------
HUNGER STRIKE
-------------------

Activism News
LOCAL, REGIONAL SOLIDARITY WITH HUNGER
STRIKERS GROWS
Report, The Electronic Intifada, 26 August 2004

As Palestinian prisoners enter the 11th day of a hunger
strike to protest abysmal Israeli prison conditions,
Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, professional
groups from other Arab countries, and Israeli activists
have joined with the strikers in solidarity. Israeli
authorities reacted to the strike with disciplinary
measures and suspended several of the prisoners'
privileges such as confiscating television sets and
radios, suspending newspaper deliveries and stopping
visits. Over 200 Palestinian prisoners have died while in
Israeli custody, due to torture, ill-treatment,
deprivation of medical treatment, and neglect.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3038.shtml



Human Rights
PALESTINIAN PRISONER HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES,
DESPITE ISRAELI REPRESSION
Arjan El Fassed, The Electronic Intifada, 26 August 2004

Over 2,000 Palestinian political prisoners are currently
participating in a hunger strike to protest their
detention conditions and treatment by Israeli prison
authorities. These include demands for public phones, the
removal of partitions that separate inmates from visiting
family members, and a halt to strip searches. They are
also demanding the right to be able to hold their children
during visits. Israeli prison authorities have resorted to
new measures to end the open hunger strike that entered
its 11th day today. EI's Arjan El Fassed reports.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3037.shtml



Human Rights
UN COMMITTEE EXPRESSES GRAVE CONCERN AT
CONDITIONS PALESTINIAN PRISONERS
Report, DPR, 26 August 2004

At its meeting on 24 August 2004, the Bureau of the
Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People expressed grave concern at the
systematic violation of the rights of Palestinian
prisoners in Israeli prisons, detention and interrogation
centres, and is alarmed at the growing number of prisoners
who are on an open-ended hunger strike. Over 3,000
Palestinian prisoners, including hundreds of ailing
prisoners, are now on the hunger strike, which is in its
tenth day.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3036.shtml



------------------
HUMAN RIGHTS
------------------

Human Rights
WEEKLY REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Report, PCHR, 26 August 2004

This week Israeli forces killed 6 Palestinian civilians,
including a child and an elderly man. Israeli forces razed
60 donums of agricultural land in Wadi al-Salka and 45
donums in al-Moraq. Israeli forces demolished 17 homes in
the Gaza Strip. Israel continues to impose a total siege
on the occupied Palestinian territories and construction
of Israel's apartheid wall continues despite international
consensus against the wall. Palestinian and Arab prisoners
initiated a hunger strike in Israeli prisons with a call
to improve conditions of their confinement, seeking
respect for minimum standards for the treatment of
prisoners.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3042.shtml



Development
ISRAEL USES UNRWA GIRLS' SCHOOL AS DETENTION CENTER
Report, UNRWA, 25 August 2004

In the morning of 24 August, Israeli military forces broke
into UNRWA's girls' school in Askar Refugee camp in the
West Bank and proceeded to use the school as a detention
and interrogation center for hundreds of male residents of
the camp between the ages of 16 and 40. The Agency
strongly protests this flagrant violation of the United
Nations Privileges and Immunities. The occupation of Askar
girl s' school is not the first such abuse of UNRWA's
humanitarian installations in the West Bank or in the Gaza
Strip. No less than 10 schools were occupied during
Defensive Shield operation. In all these cases, UNRWA has
also protested to the Israeli authorities, but without
result.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3041.shtml


---------------
ARTS
---------------

Art, Music & Culture
REALITY CHECK FOR "PALESTINIAN IDOL"
Charmaine Seitz, Palestine Report, 26 August 2004

While reality programming was the source of much
Palestinian parlor discussion when the genre first hit
Arab satellite television, critics didn't get into the
pulpit until Palestinian crooner Ammar Hassan made his way
into the final rounds of Superstar, which allows viewers
to register their preference for the Arab singer of the
year. When Hassan became one of the 12 finalists, a
Ramallah sheikh listed the distraction of satellite
television among the ills plaguing the Palestinian cause.
Hamas officials were more blunt, saying in a statement,
"Our people are in need of heroes, resistance fighters and
contributors to building the country and are not in need
of singers, corruption mongers and advocates of
immorality."

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3039.shtml



---------------
ACTION
---------------

Action Items
YAHOO! SPORTS MAKES PALESTINE'S OLYMPIANS DISAPPEAR
Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry, The Electronic Intifada, 26 August 2004

The Internet information service Yahoo! has omitted
information about Palestine's athletes competing in the
2004 Olympics at Athens. Yahoo! has extensive Olympics
coverage, one of the features of which is a search engine
that allows users to look up any athlete by name or to
look up all the athletes representing a country - except
that the athletes from Palestine are mysteriously missing.
EI's Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry explain the problem and
ask for action.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3040.shtml



--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

26 August 2004 -- 6:15PM CST
_______________________________


YAHOO! SPORTS MAKES PALESTINE'S OLYMPIANS DISAPPEAR
Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry
The Electronic Intifada, 26 August 2004

The Internet information service Yahoo! has omitted information about
Palestine's athletes competing in the 2004 Olympics at Athens.

Yahoo! has extensive Olympics coverage, one of the features of which
is a search engine that allows users to look up any athlete by name
or to look up all the athletes representing a country - except that
the athletes from Palestine are mysteriously missing.

Although "Palestine" is listed in the menu of competing countries,
selecting it to search for the names of its athletes produces "No
Results." Picking any other country returns a list of athletes from
that country. Searching for the Palestinian athletes by last name
also yields "No Results."

According to the official website of the Athens 2004 Olympics, there
are four athletes representing Palestine at the games, and Palestine
is listed along with all the other National Olympic Committees. They
are, Sanna Abubkheet (Athletics), the flag-bearer for Palestine in
the opening ceremony, who lives in Gaza and competed in the women's
800 metre race; Abdalsalam Aldabaji (Athletics); Sofia Sakorafa,
originally of Greece (Athletics); and Ra'ad Aweisat of Jerusalem
(Swimming).

List of Palestinian athletes:
<http://www.athens2004.com/en/ParticipantsAthletes/newParticipants?discipline=&n\
oc=PLE&name=>
Palestinian Olympic Committee information:
<http://www.athens2004.com/en/ParticipantsCommittees/newParticipants?pid=PLE>

Aweisat, who was the first swimmer to represent Palestine in the
Olympics, did not do as well as he wanted to, but he told Australian
Broadcasting Corporation radio after his race, "I swam for myself and
for my country, not just for myself. Maybe in Beijing I can do
something if I have got facility [sic] and very good coach and
everybody, everybody help me." Aweisat also described the
considerable challenges he faces training with poor facilities under
foreign military occupation.

Yet on the Yahoo! results page for the 19 August 100 metre mens
butterfly in which he competed, Aweisat is the only athlete listed
with no country next to his name:
http://sports.yahoo.com/oly/swimming/results?day=19

Unlike keyword-based search engines such as Google, Internet search
directories such as Yahoo! bear special responsibility for accuracy
as they seek to guide users to information via a proprietary indexing
system. For several years, until the intervention of then-Birzeit
University Public Relations Office employee Nigel Parry in the 1990s,
there was no Yahoo! regional category for Palestine, and Palestinian
sites were listed under "Israel". Yahoo!'s compromise at the time was
to create a "Palestinian Authority" regional category, clearly still
problematic as this avoided associating any actual geographic area
with the Palestinian national identity.

The Yahoo! Sports exclusion of Palestine is either a simple oversight
or a more sinister commentary on the 'appropriateness' of Palestinian
Olympic inclusion by Yahoo!'s editors. Either way it is unacceptable.

EI invites visitors to contact Yahoo! Sports at
http://add.yahoo.com/fast/help/sports/cgi_feedback

citing the lack of information about Palestine's Olympic Team on
Yahoo! Sports and noting that the Official Olympic website offers
this information at
http://www.athens2004.com/en/ParticipantsCommittees/newParticipants?pid=PLE.

Please keep your letters polite and brief.

[ends]
--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

26 August 2004 -- 6PM CST
_______________________________

------------
FEATURES
------------

Opinion/Editorial
THE WRITING ON THE WALL
Mitchell Plitnick, The Electronic Intifada, 23 August 2004

The bright red letters stand out starkly against the ugly
grey cement. The wall that is slicing through East
Jerusalem is some thirty feet high, but casts its shadow
for miles. There is little the Palestinians hemmed in on
both sides of the wall can do to oppose it. So, the wall
is dotted with marks where rocks have been thrown at it in
anger, and covered with graffiti. Some graffiti writers
ask if the builder of this wall can be a "man of peace".
Some ask how a people whose history is full of ghettos can
now be building one. And someone decided to remind us all,
in those blood-red letters, that it was "Paid by USA".

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3019.shtml



Diaries
INTERROGATED AT THE ISRAEL-EGYPT BORDER
Anjali Kamat, Live from Palestine, 24 August 2004

We were held for over 11 hours at the border and
interrogated about every single item in our possession and
repeatedly asked if we belonged to any "peace or leftist
or even UN organization." It was an incredibly harrowing
experience -- long periods of mind numbing boredom,
staring out into the beautiful red sea, watching hordes of
Israelis return from a roasting vacation in the Sinai and
endless British Bible tour groups and American backpackers
pass through security unharassed. An unpleasant boredom
punctuated by short bursts of nerve-racking questioning
about the most personal details of our lives (as culled
from "offensive" sources in our bags like journals,
letters, photographs, stationery, and even slogans on
T-shirts), our plans for tourism in Israel, how we know
each other, why we study Arabic, and do we know any Arabs.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3030.shtml



-------------------------------------
SETTLEMENTS AND HOME DEMOLITIONS
-------------------------------------

Israel Lobby Watch
NEW HOUSING UNITS SANCTIONED BY ISRAEL SHOW
HOW DEAD THE ROAD MAP IS
Council for the National Interest, 20 August 2004

August 19th, 2004 -- Both the New York Times and the
Washington Post carried stories yesterday about the
announcement in Tel Aviv that Israel's Housing and
Construction Ministry would build up to 1,000 new housing
units in settlements in the West Bank. According to these
sources as well as Ha'aretz, the Israeli daily, 604 units
will be built in Betar Elite and 141 in Maaleh Adumim,
which lie in the area of East Jerusalem, and 204 housing
units will be built in Ariel and 42 in Karnei Shomron,
lying in the West Bank itself. So why does the U.S.
administration still pretend that the Road Map still
exists?

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3018.shtml



Development
ANNAN CALLS ON ISRAEL TO CEASE WEST BANK SETTLEMENT EXPANSION
Report, UN News, 24 August 2004

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called
on Israel to cease its recently reported expansion of West
Bank settlements, calling the practice a clear
contradiction of the country's obligations under the Road
Map peace plan that provides for the establishment of two
states - Israel and Palestine - by 2005. "The
Secretary-General expresses strong concern over reports of
Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, through the
Government of Israel's recent publication of tenders for
construction of new housing units," a statement issued by
his spokesman said.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3034.shtml



Activism News
BUILDING PEACE: DEMOLISHED HOME REBUILT IN ANATA VILLAGE
Am Johal, The Electronic Intifada, 25 August 2004

Salim Shawamreh, the Palestinian coordinator of the camp
has had his home demolished four times and has rebuilt it
for the fifth time as Beit Arabiya, the House of Peace. It
is named after his wife who was the head chef at the work
camp and is dedicated to American activist Rachel Corrie
and Palestinian Nuha Sweidan, two women who died during
home demolitions in Gaza last year. In his eyes, it is not
a home demolition, but a life demolition. "When they come
to demolish our homes, they are planting the hatred inside
our kids," says Shawamreh.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3035.shtml



Israel Lobby Watch
NON ALIGNMENT MOVEMENT TO IMPOSE SANCTIONS ON ISRAEL
Report, NAM, 20 August 2004


The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) called on its member states
to bar all products and goods emanating from Israeli
settlements at the end of the fourteenth Ministerial
Conference of the Non-Alignment Movement (Mid-Term Review)
in Durban, South Africa. The call for measures was issued
by the Committee on Palestine of the Non-Alignment
Movement. The NAM declaration called for its members to
"decline entry to Israeli settlers and to impose sanctions
against companies and entities involved in the
construction of the wall." "With regard to member states,
the ministers called upon them to undertake measures,
including by means of legislation, collectively,
regionally and individually, to prevent any products of
the illegal Israeli settlements from entering their
markets," said the declaration.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3025.shtml



----------------------------------
PRISONERS AND HUNGER STRIKE
----------------------------------

Human Rights
"LET THEM STARVE TO DEATH"
Press Release, Arab Association for Human Rights, 23 August 2004


On Sunday, August 15, 2004, the Palestinian prisoners kept
inside the Green Line started a hunger strike in protest
of the living conditions inside Israeli jails. They were
joined by the 120 political prisoners who are citizens of
Israel. Testimonies of prisoners and reports from lawyers
and human-rights groups reveal shocking accounts of
physical and psychological torture, which appear to be
part of a systematic policy rather than exceptions due to
individual misconduct. The prisoners' daily routine is
dominated by medical negligence, unsanitary conditions,
beatings, position torture, sleep deprivation, strip
searches and the denial of contact with family members and
friends. The inhumane conditions of Israel's prisons are
reflected in the demands the Palestinian detainees put
forward as a condition to end their hunger strike.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3028.shtml


Human Rights
CHILD RIGHTS GROUP: "ISRAEL SHOULD RESPECT
RIGHTS OF CHILD DETAINEES"
Report, DCI, 24 August 2004

Today, Palestinian political prisoners detained inside
Israeli prisons are marking the tenth day of an open ended
hunger strike in protest of the inhumane conditions in
which they are incarcerated. The prisoners are demanding
that the prison authorities respect internationally
recognised rules governing detention. They insist that the
prison administrators move immediately to improve general
conditions on all levels inside the detention facilities
and that the prisoners' basic rights be unconditionally
respected. Embarking on a hunger strike is a measure of
last resort. The decision to strike follows repeated
requests by inmates for an improvement in conditions.
These have been met with silence from prison
administrations.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3033.shtml


Human Rights
HARSH TREATMENT OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN PRISONERS
Report, WOFPP, 23 August 2004

There are now altogether approximately 100 Palestinian
women political prisoners. On 13 June one group, about
half of the women, was transferred back to Neve Tirza from
Hasharon Prison. The rooms are dirty and infected with
mice and cockroaches. The heat is unbearable, The windows
are closed and covered so that hardly any air or daylight
can enter. The food is insufficient, of inferior quality
or even spoilt, it is dirty, often containing insects and
worms. Mothers with babies are living in the same cells
with other prisoners. Contrary to what is an accepted
custom in the section of the criminal prisoners, the doors
of the political prisoners' cells where small children
live are not permitted to remain open during daytime.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3026.shtml



---------
GAZA
---------

Multimedia
INTERVIEW: "OPERATION RAINBOW" FOLLOW-UP WITH CREATOR
OF 'RAFAH TODAY' WEBSITE, DIRECT FROM RAFAH
Interviewer: Stefan Christoff, CKUT, 20 August 2004

Listen to an interview with Mohamed Omar, an independent
Palestinian journalist from Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza
Strip. Mohamed is the creator of the independent news
website Rafah Today, which documents life and death in the
Gaza Strip. Mohamed, who's home was recently demolished by
the Israeli military, speaks about the importance of an
independent media movement in Palestine to document and
uncover the often hidden realities of the Israeli
occupation. The interview outlines the current situation
in Rafah, focusing on the constant Israeli Occupation
Forces incursions into Rafah refugee camp, while also
exploring the aftermath of the massive Israeli military
incursion dubbed "Operation Rainbow" in late May 2004.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3022.shtml



Human Rights
GAZA DISENGAGEMENT: PALESTINIAN CONCERNS IGNORED
Linh Truong, The Electronic Intifada, 24 August 2004

Right-wing Israelis and many Palestinians have at least
one thing in common: Both fear the disastrous
ramifications of Sharon's Disengagement Plan. Of course,
one viewpoint is an expansionist one that seeks to drive
Palestinians from their land, while the other one comes
from the very real fear that Sharon will show flexibility
on Gaza only in order to entrench the occupation in the
West Bank. To date, the Bush administration has failed to
grapple meaningfully with the Gaza Disengagement Plan in
the context of its being a first step within the scenario
of a full withdrawal from the Occupied Territories.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3032.shtml



--------------
OBITUARIES
--------------

Diaries
REMEMBERING NICK PRETZLIK
Annie C Higgins, Live from Palestine, 24 August 2004

There was a face I knew! It was the coffee seller that my
friend ordered from, and introduced with respect: "This
gentleman is an accountant, but when times got bad and he
couldn't find appropriate work, he began to sell coffee."
The man was humble and welcoming, smiling inside an
enormous purple parka, and adding, out of excess
generosity, enough cardamom pods to make the little glass
of coffee nearly atomic. Here in one of Jenin's several
internet cafes, the coffee man was smiling from the screen
of a website, alongside a brief but potent article by one
Nick Pretzlik. Annie Higgins remembers an activist for the
Palestinian people.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3031.shtml


--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

19 August 2004 -- 6:30PM CST
_______________________________

-------------------
HUNGER STRIKE
-------------------

Opinion/Editorial
IMPRISONED DECENCY
Arjan El Fassed, The Electronic Intifada, 18 August 2004

Palestinian prisoners in four different Israeli prisons
started an open-ended hunger strike on Sunday to press for
better living conditions of the nearly 8,000 Palestinian
prisoners. Israeli authorities reacted to the strike with
disciplinary measures and suspended several of the
prisoners' privileges such as confiscating television sets
and radios, suspending newspaper deliveries and stopping
visits. Since 1967 to date, Israel has arbitrarily
detained over 630,000 Palestinians. In 1989 alone, Israel
detained 50,000 Palestinians, representing 16% of the
entire male population of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
between the ages of 14 and 55.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3008.shtml



Human Rights
HUNGER STRIKE "FINAL AVENUE" FOR PRISONERS
Omar Karmi, Palestine Report, 19 August 2004

Israeli prison authorities have declared they are ready to
weigh prisoners every day, and force-feed them if
necessary. On August 17, it was reported that prison
guards would use "psychological warfare" to break the
strike, including holding large barbeques in jailhouses.
While Jarrar is not concerned about the BBQs, she's more
worried by the threat of force-feeding prisoners."In
1980," she recalls, "two prisoners [Ali Ja'fari and Rasem
Halawi] in Nafha prison were force-fed after a lengthy
hunger strike. When they put the tubes down, they put them
in the wrong place, and they ended in their lungs."
Ja'fari and Halawi both died.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3017.shtml


------------
FEATURES
------------

Israel Lobby Watch
ISRAEL'S RACE TO END PALESTINIAN RESISTANCE
BEFORE THE US ELECTION
Hasan Abu Nimah, The Electronic Intifada, 19 August 2004

While the world's attention is almost completely absorbed
by events in Iraq, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's
onslaught on the Palestinians continues with extreme
brutality. He hopes to put an end to the Intifada before a
new American administration is in place, writes EI
contributor Hasan Abu Nimah, but while the Palestinian
resistance may be exhausted for now, Israel is nowhere
near victory and is, strategically, in its worst position
against the Palestinians ever. Israel has missed a
historic opportunity for peace on highly favorable terms,
and the time is coming where it will be lucky to settle
for much less than it has now.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3011.shtml



Human Rights
ISRAEL KILLS FIVE PALESTINIANS IN ATTEMPT
TO ASSASSINATE HAMAS LEADER
Report, PCHR, 18 August 2004

A senior Hamas leader, Sheikh Ja'abari has survived an
Israeli assassination attempt in the Gaza Strip, but at
least five other Palestinians, including Ja'abari's son,
his brother, nephew, and his son-in-law were killed in the
explosion that tore through his home. Ja'abari sustained
moderate injuries as did three other Palestinians,
including a child and a second brother of Ja'abari.
Israeli military sources claimed responsibility for the
attack in a statement to the Israeli media. Some said that
a military aircraft attacked the home.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3012.shtml


Diaries
TORTURE OF PALESTINIANS IN THE
HEART OF ROMANTIC LANDSCAPE
Sami Abu Salem, Live from Palestine, 17 August 2004

Just after leaving the city of Deir al-Balah, south of
Gaza City, our eyes were caught by the beautiful
neighbourhood of Abu Holi. Palm trees, olive and citrus
orchards and green houses flank the road. A shepherd
stands with some sheep between the trees, where a low,
rusty metal fence surrounds a calf and a cow chewing
leaves. In the heart of such a romantic view, thousands of
Palestinian civilians face daily torture at the two sides
of Abu Holi checkpoint, which divides the Gaza Strip into
two parts. Sami Abu Salem writes from Gaza.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3001.shtml



-----------------------
Art, Music & Culture
-----------------------

THE INTELLECTUAL, THE MAESTRO, AND THE "PIECE PROCESS"
Ismail Khalidi, The Electronic Intifada, 17 August 2004

The recent Geneva performance by the West-Eastern Divan
Orchestra, created by the late Edward Said and the
world-famous musician Daniel Barenboim, was cultural
diplomacy at its best, and at the same time represented
the kind of politics that, quite simply, defies the very
conventions of politics. Peace making made fun (and
beautiful), but not watered down, the performance was a
sophisticated, classic display of the pen's superiority
over the sword, the violin over the rifle. Ismail Khalidi
reflects upon the orchedstra's talent and significance for
EI.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3007.shtml


BOOK REVIEW: BETHLEHEM BESIEGED
Arjan El Fassed, The Electronic Intifada, 19 August 2004

Palestinians should have the permission to narrate their
own lives, their own hopes, their own history. Putting
tragedies, events and experiences into words help ease
turmoil and defuse the terror. Writing provides a sense of
control and a sense of understanding. For some, writing is
a struggle, a matter of survival. As eyewitnesses of
tomorrow's news, we cannot hope to understand what is
going on without access to alternative information
resources. The compelling stories of Mitri Raheb, a
Palestinian Christian pastor of the Evangelical Christmas
Church where he ministers to his people in Bethlehem,
gives us a window not only into what it is like to have
grown up under occupation but also into his soul.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3016.shtml


---------------
Development
---------------

MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND UK KICK-START
UNDP PARTICIPATORY PLANNING PROJECT
Report, UNDP, 19 August 2004

Dr. Nabil Qassis, Minister of Planning, and Mr. Piers
Cazalet, Acting Consul General of the UK to the
Palestinian Authority, and Mr. Andrea Tamagnini, Special
Representative a.i, UNDP, will approve a generous grant of
#950,000 in support of the Ministry of Planning's
commitment to mainstreaming the issue of poverty reduction
in its humanitarian and developmental planning
instruments. The grant will kick-start the Palestinian
Pro-poor Participatory Planning project to be implemented
by the Ministry of Planning in joint partnership with the
United Nations Development Programme/Programme of
Assistance to the Palestinian People.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article3014.shtml


--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

29 July 2004 -- 9PM CST
_______________________________


Opinion/Editorial
"IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL"
Laurie King-Irani, The Electronic Intifada, 29 July 2004

"Because it represents a failure to be just, fair,
forward-looking and charitable, US treatment of
the Palestinian people represents a failure to be
American. Palestine is not a sideshow in the
current frightening uproar of political events in
the world. It is the main event for Americans and
for America. Palestine can and should be the
proving grounds for all the values and principles
-- freedom, dignity, prosperity, justice, and
fairness -- that set the United States apart from
other countries for decades." EI co-founder Laurie
King-Irani ponders the connections between America
and Palestine by remembering the summer of 1964.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2968.shtml



Israel Lobby Watch
COLIN POWELL AND MY GRANDMOTHER
Sam Bahour, The Electronic Intifada, 29 July 2004

Where Israel is concerned, U.S. foreign policy
never ceases to amaze. When Palestinian
in-fighting took place in Gaza last week,
Secretary of State Colin Powell had the following
to say about the United States' position: "Just
have to watch it unfold." If U.S. interests in the
Middle East continue to be hijacked and
jeopardized by a rapacious Israeli state, then
maybe not only the West Bank, East Jerusalem and
Gaza are occupied territories. Maybe we need a
peacekeeping force immediately sent to Capital
Hill. In the meantime, Palestinians' eyes will be
fixed on Washington and we will "just have to
watch it unfold." Palestinian American businessman
Sam Bahour comments from occupied
Al-Bireh/Ramallah.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2971.shtml



Multimedia
INTERVIEW: ISM'S RADHIKA SAINATH,
EDITOR OF "PEACE UNDER FIRE"
Stefan Christoff, CKUT Radio Montreal, 29 July 2004

"Peace Under Fire" is a recently published
collection of written accounts, drawn from the
web-logs and diaries of International Solidarity
Movement (ISM) activists, news articles, press
releases and reflections of ISM members engaged in
confronting the Israeli occupation on the ground
in Palestine. During the past 2 years ago the ISM
has brought hundreds of international activists to
work in the occupied territories in campaigns of
non-violent direct action targeting the daily
workings of the Israeli occupation. Listen to an
interview with Radhika Sainath ISM organizer and
an editor of the recently published book.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2972.shtml



Opinion/Editorial
THE THREAT OF DISENGAGEMENT: CAN ISRAEL
SEPARATE FROM THE PALESTINIANS?
Editorial, Al Majdal, 28 July 2004

What will happen if Israel carries out its plan to
'disengage' from the Gaza Strip and parts of the
West Bank? Will the disengagement plan advance a
politically-negotiated solution to the conflict?
Can Israel really separate from the Palestinians?
These questions are posed in Al Majdal's most
recent editorial. While the Sharon government
claims that Israel will no longer be responsible
or be seen as occupying Gaza after disengagement,
a review of the plan leads to the opposite
conclusion. The occupation will continue. The
prospect of a Palestinian state appears even more
distant.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2967.shtml



Human Rights
WEEKLY REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Report, PCHR, 29 July 2004

This week, Israeli forces killed 13 Palestinians,
mostly civilians, including four children and one
woman. Eight of the victims, including two
children, were killed in two extra-judicial
killings. Israel continues its assault on Beit
Hanoun. Israeli forces conducted a series of
incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces demolished 14
homes. One house was destroyed in the context of
retaliatory measures against families of
Palestinian activists. Israeli warplanes destroyed
a house and a workshop in the Gaza Strip. Israel
continues to impose a total siege on the occupied
territories.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2970.shtml



Development
EU DEVELOPMENT AID TO PALESTINE
Report, EC, 29 July 2004

This year, assistance to the Palestinians from the
European Community Budget is set to amount to
around ¤250 million. This includes a package for
the West Bank and Gaza just approved by the
European Commission for ¤124.25 million. Today's
announcement will be followed by the immediate
release of a first contribution of ¤26m to the new
Public Financial Management Reform Trust Fund
established by the World Bank. The West Bank and
Gaza Strip continue to suffer from a severe
economic recession. Income levels have dropped
severely and the level of suffering is
unprecedented.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2969.shtml



--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

26 July 2004 -- 7PM CST
_______________________________



Coverage Trends
HA'ARETZ CLAIMS "SIX ARMED PALESTINIANS
KILLED IN TULKAREM"
Team Members, ISM-Tulkarem, 26 July 2004

According to Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz website Sunday
evening: "Six armed Palestinians were killed by Border
Police undercover troops in the West Bank town of Tul Karm
on Sunday." This Ha'aretz description bears little
resemblance to what happened on the ground. Six
Palestinians were assassinated 100 meters from the ISM
apartment where three ISM volunteers were staying at the
time. Only two of the six Palestinians assassinated were
members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. According to
reliable sources in Tulkarem, the other four were simply
bystanders. Members of ISM-Tulkarem correct the record.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2962.shtml



Human Rights
TULKAREM: ISRAELI FORCES KILL 6 PALESTINIANS
IN EXTRA-JUDICIAL EXECUTION
Report, PCHR, 26 July 2004

In violation of international human rights law and
international humanitarian law, on Sunday evening, 25 July
2004, Israeli occupying forces committed another
extra-judicial execution, which left 6 Palestinians dead.
This attack targeted two wanted Palestinians. The other
four of the victims, including two children, were civilian
bystanders.  Israeli occupying forces claimed that these
Palestinians were killed when they exchanged fire with
Israeli troops, which completely contradicts with
statements by eyewitnesses.  This latest attack further
proves Israel's disregard for the lives of Palestinian
civilians.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2963.shtml



Diaries
PALESTINE'S PEOPLE NEVER SAY GOODBYE
Suheir Hammad, Live from Palestine, 26 July 2004

Maysoon notices an odd formation of soldiers. In a row.
Guns drawn. Rafael is walking towards them. There are no
street lights on. He thinks he's walking towards an empty
van. She pulls him closer to her, and shots are fired.
Yes. The soldiers shot into the crowd. No warning fire. No
megaphone. Live bullets into a crowd of hundreds. It is so
dark, my friends see the sparks fly out of the guns. They
keep walking, slowly. Surely. Maysoon figures they won't
shoot in the direction of other soldiers, and she is
right. They breeze through the checkpoint. No questions
asked by either side. Once through, an Israeli soldier
asks her where she's from, in English. "Can you believe he
wanted to have a normal conversation with me?"

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2961.shtml



Diaries
THE STORY OF THE SEVEN GATES
Dr. Mona El-Farra, Live from Palestine, 26 July 2004

Returning home to Gaza, I had to fly first to Cairo, then
cross the Sinai desert by coach to reach the Rafah border
crossing - a journey that takes 6 hours at least, as
Palestinians are not allowed to use Ben Gurion airport
which is merely an hour's drive from Gaza). The Gaza Strip
is served by a modern international airport - built during
the Oslo years - but this has remained closed since late
2000, and now sports a bulldozed runway, courtesy of the
Israeli army. Dr. Mona El-Farra writes about her long
journey from Cairo to Gaza.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2960.shtml



Internet & Technology
COMMEDIENNE MAYSOON ZAYID LAUNCHES MAYSOON.COM
Feature, The Electronic Intifada, 26 July 2004

Palestinian-American Maysoon Zayid is an actress and
professional stand-up comedian, who received her BFA in
acting from Arizona State University. She has appeared on
As The World Turns, MTV, 20/20, and WashingtonPost.com.
Maysoon has performed comedy in top New York clubs,
including Caroline's, Gotham, and Stand Up NY, and has
toured her stand-up act extensively in both the USA and
abroad. In July, Maysoon launched Maysoon.com, a news and
information portal on her comedy and activist work.

Visit http://maysoon.com/



Internet & Technology
"TRIP TO PALESTINE" WEBSITE DOCUMENTS LIFE ON THE GROUND
Press Release, TripToPalestine.com, 26 July 2004

"An Easter trip to Palestine in 2004 inspired this East
Coast couple to launch a new website exploring travel and
pilgrimage to this tortured land. Trip to Palestine
records their own personal experiences in vivid detail,
complimented by a novel photocumentary encompassing nearly
a thousand photographs they shot on the trip. This
narrative photo and diary site illustrates daily life in
Palestine in vivid detail, including such widely varied
subjects as travel to and within Palestine, life under
occupation, a tour of Holy places, glimpses of the
Apartheid wall, as well as accounts of Tel Aviv and
Haifa."

Visit http://triptopalestine.com/



--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
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SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

24 July 2004 -- 11:45 PM CST
_______________________________

Opinion/Editorial
REMEMBERING MICHAEL PRIOR
Nigel Parry, The Electronic Intifada, 23 July 2004

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2950.shtml


	 "Way out on the rim of the galaxy
	 The gifts of the Lord lie torn
	 Into whose charge the gifts were given
	 Have made it a curse for so many to be born

	 This is my trouble -
	 These were my fathers
	 So how am I supposed to feel
	 Way out on the rim of the broken wheel?"

	 - Lyrics from Broken Wheel, Bruce Cockburn

Christian Zionism is the term given to a movement in the
Christian Church that means - in today's terms - Christian
support for the State of Israel. A particularly, although
not exclusively American phenomenon that blossomed in the
wake of Hal Lindsay's apocalyptic bestseller, The Late
Great Planet Earth, the theology of Christian Zionism is
based on a number of key Old Testament passages enjoining
believers to "Bless [the biblical people of] Israel".

Christian Zionists represent one of the most largest
political forces in the United States, a political Amen
Chorus for Israel, right or wrong:

	 On the platform, an Israeli student is telling
	 thousands of supporters how the horrors of the
	 year have only reinforced his people's
	 determination. "Despite the terror attacks,
	 they'll never drive us away out of our God-given
	 land," he says. This is greeted with whoops and
	 hollers and waving of Israeli flags and the
	 blowing of the shofar, the Jewish ceremonial ram's
	 horn. Then comes the mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud
	 Olmert, who is received even more rapturously...
	 The placards round the hall insist that every inch
	 of the Holy Land should belong to Israel and that
	 there should never be a Palestinian state. These
	 assertions are backed up by biblical quotations.
	 It could be a rally in Jerusalem for those
	 Israelis who think Ariel Sharon is a dangerous
	 softie. But something very strange is going on
	 here. There are thousands of people cheering for
	 Israel in the huge Washington Convention Centre.
	 But not one of them appears to be Jewish, at least
	 not in the conventional sense. For this is the
	 annual gathering of a very non-Jewish organization
	 indeed: the Christian Coalition of America.

	 - Matthew Engel, The Guardian, 28 October 2002.

The fundamental contradiction of Christian Zionism is that
it requires adherents to accept that a handful of Old
Testament verses have more theological weight than the
person and character of Jesus himself, whom the New
Testament describes as "the image of the invisible God",
essentially a person that serves as a picture of the
nature of God.

Christian Zionists are investing their time, energy and
money - three elements that comprise a fair, modern
definition of 'worship' - in a secular national-political
entity at the expense of the direct commands of the Christ
they follow, who unambiguously stated that "Whatever you
do to the least of them [people], you do to me." In the
texts of Christian Zionism, this last verse may as well be
footnoted: * Offer does not apply to Palestinians.

As Israel brutally represses those Palestinian people who
dare to protest the bulldozers that raze their lands and
fields and leave them homeless, imprisoning entire cities
within prison walls, Christian Zionists are found praising
God for giving the Jews a home at last.

It is hard to imagine a more obvious heresy against the
Gospel of Love, unless of course you are the kind of
Christian who can imagine Jesus jumping into the pilot
seat of an AH-1 Apache combat helicopter and flying off to
indiscriminately bomb a nearby refugee camp in
"retaliation". Who Would Jesus Bomb? indeed.

Father Michael Prior worked tirelessly for over 20 years
of his life to expose the racism, false favoritism,
deception, and blatantly 'unJesuslike' core assumptions of
the theology of Christian Zionism. As a Christian
theologian and philosopher he felt responsible for
confronting the contradictions of the philosophy by
weaving tapestries of understanding from the more
mainstream pages of the Bible that Christian Zionists have
torn out and discarded.

In a series of books, papers, conference appearances, and
through the solid and enduring work of the UK-based Living
Stones organisation he cofounded, Fr. Prior drew
Christian's attention to the fact that their pilgrimages
to see the 'dead stones' of the Holy Land rarely
incorporated any exposure to the many thousands of
Palestinian Christians, the "living stones" of the land.

Michael spared no time getting to the point. In a March
2003 interview with The Witness, he explained one of his
key contentions with the theology:

	 "The God they portray looks to me to be a
	 militaristic and xenophobic genocidist who would
	 not be even sufficiently moral to conform to the
	 Fourth Geneva Convention. How, I constantly ask
	 myself, are such people so unconcerned about
	 others being kicked out of their homes, children
	 being shot, people struggling for survival against
	 very oppressive forces of occupation? Instead of
	 trying to give food to the hungry and sight to the
	 blind, as Jesus exhorted, these people support
	 institutions that make seeing people blind, put
	 free people in prison, and make the poor poorer.
	 But it is extremely difficult to make progress in
	 the face of worldviews which are held tenaciously,
	 and considered to be in conformity with the will
	 of God as revealed in the Scriptures. I go back to
	 the fundamental question: Is God moral? Is God
	 just? Is God a God of love, compassion, tenderness
	 and justice? Or, rather, is God the great ethnic
	 cleanser? Those are fundamental questions that I
	 would like the evangelical Zionist constituency to
	 consider."

As Coordinator of Living Stones from 1993-1994, I spent
much time working and socialising with Michael and other
members of the board. Although Michael was a Catholic
priest helping to run an organisation with both
Protestants and Catholics, church members and church
officials, from a variety of denominations, there was none
of the tension or status fixation common in many Christian
organisations. His cheery, cheeky demeanor and his
unassuming view of his widely respected religious titles
made him one of the most approachable religious leaders I
have met. Michael will be missed by many. His
contributions to the understanding of the Christian Church
and refusal to allow Palestinian Christians to be the
invisible children of a lesser God will be remembered. The
world is a little bit darker with his passing.

Naim Ateek, Director of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation
Theology Center, a prominent Palestinian Christian and
close friend of Michael Prior, wrote today: "Although, he
has left us and we mourn his loss, he is 'still speaking'
through his books, lectures, and various publications. His
voice will continue to be heard in many places throughout
the world. His strong prophetic message will reverberate
until justice for the Palestinians is done and peace and
reconciliation are achieved in the Holy Land for all of
its people."



Nigel Parry is a cofounder of the Electronic Intifada.


--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

21 July 2004 -- 3:45PM CST
_______________________________


---------------------------
   ICJ WALL AFTERMATH
---------------------------


Opinion/Editorial
AN ALLIANCE OF FAILURES IN ISRAEL
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 20 July 2004

The positive spin on the negotiations to form a
Likud-Labor-led coalition in Israel is that it will create
a majority government capable of implementing a historic
withdrawal of Israeli forces and settlers from the Gaza
Strip, and that this will somehow "jump start" the peace
process. But EI co-founder Ali Abunimah says that a
coalition headed by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
and Labor leader Shimon Peres seems more a dying gasp for
Israel's existing political order which will not save
Israel from its fundamental predicament.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2932.shtml



Opinion/Editorial
HANGING THE BELL ON ISRAEL'S NECK
Hasan Abu Nimah, The Electronic Intifada, 21 July 2004

Israel never fails to surprise the world with its open
contempt for international law and the norms of
international relations. After rejecting the historic
International Court of Justice verdict earlier this month,
Israel is embroiled in a serious dispute with New Zealand,
sparked by two Israeli agents' attempt to obtain New
Zealand passports through fraud and deception. EI
contributor Hasan Abu Nimah explains why New Zealand has
reacted with unprecedented vigour to Israel's crimes and
the disputes's significance beyond the two countries.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2937.shtml



Human Rights
THE WORLD IS KNOCKING ON ISRAEL'S DOOR
Sam Bahour, The Electronic Intifada, 20 July 2004

When The Hague speaks, the world listens, especially when
a threat to international peace is involved. At least this
was the case until the International Court of Justice took
aim at Israel. At issue was the Israeli government's
building of a separation wall on occupied Palestinian
lands in the West Bank, which, in essence, has caged
Palestinian communities into ghettos reminiscent of the
Jewish ghettos in Europe during World War II.
Palestinian-American businessman Sam Bahour writes from
beseiged Al-Bireh.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2930.shtml



Human Rights
UN ASSEMBLY VOTES OVERWHELMINGLY TO DEMAND
ISRAEL COMPLY WITH ICJ RULING
Report, UN News, 21 July 2004

The United Nations General Assembly today voted
overwhelmingly to demand that Israel comply with an
advisory opinion issued earlier this month by the World
Court, which declared the construction of a separation
barrier in and around the West Bank to be illegal. In
adopting a resolution by a vote of 150 to 6, with 10
abstentions, the Assembly also called on all UN Member
States to comply with its obligations as contained in the
finding by ICJ, which include a duty "not to recognize the
illegal situation" and not to render aid or assistance in
maintaining the situation created by such construction.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2935.shtml



------------------------
EI T-Shirts & Posters
------------------------

We do have 'em:
http://cafeshops.com/ei101/

New designs coming later
this summer! Yabba yay!



-----------------------
      Also on EI
-----------------------


Diaries
A STRANGER IN MY OWN LAND
Dr. Saber Zaitoun, Live from Palestine, 20 July 2004

This week, EI publishes daily installments of a six-part
diary from March/April 2004, by Dr. Saber Zaitoun, the
pseudonym of a Palestinian-American in his thirties. Dr.
Zaitoun grew up under Israeli occupation and first came to
the USA during the first Intifada to finish his education.
He is married, and currently teaches at a University on
the East Coast. Parts 1-3 follow:

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2918.shtml
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2919.shtml
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2920.shtml



Activism News
ISRAELI CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS
RECEIVE REDUCED SENTENCES
Report, FIDH/OMCT, 20 July 2004

FIDH and OMCT, welcome the decision by the Military Parole
Committee on July 14, 2004 to reduce the sentences of
Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Shimri Zameret, Adam Naor and
Noam Bahat, conscientious objectors to the occupation of
the Palestinian territories. Initially scheduled to be
released in January 2005, they will now be released
September 15, 2004. On March 11, 2003 Ben Artzi was the
first Israeli conscientious objector to be court
martialled since the 1970's. Matar, Kaminer, Zameret, Naor
and Bahat were court martialled in April for refusing to
enlist in the army due to their selective conscientious
objection to the occupation of the Palestinian territories.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2934.shtml



--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

16 July 2004 -- 4:20PM CST
_______________________________



ICJ SPECIAL FOLLOW-UP REPORT:
FOUR VOICES FROM THE PATH OF THE WALL

One week after the landmark ruling on Israel's West Bank
Barrier by the International Court of Justice, EI
publishes four voices calling  for international intervention
from the path of the Wall. From a 15-year-old student
to a 60-year-old farmer, the testimonies are remarkable
for their calmness and clarity, and for their power in
conveying the struggle against incredible odds that normal
Palestinians are undertaking in an attempt to hold on to their
land and live their lives in the face of Israeli aggression.

Please forward this e-mail widely.



Human Rights
THE PEACEFUL FALL OF ISRAEL'S WALL
Ayed Morrar, The Electronic Intifada, 15 July 2004

In Budrus, our strategies in our struggle against the
Apartheid Wall are peaceful. We only confront the
bulldozers that are uprooting the trees planted by our
ancestors - trees that help us to feed our children.
Although olive trees won't make us rich, we won't go
hungry as long as we have them. The Palestinian people
have tried large-scale peaceful civil resistance against
the Israeli occupation at various times since 1967. Each
time, non-violence was crushed by Israeli
government-sponsored violence. When non-violence failed to
bring freedom and independence, some people turned to
violent struggle. Budrus resident Ayed Morrar explains
where it's all at.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2921.shtml



Diaries
BEFORE AND AFTER THE WALL IN JAYYOUS
Sharif Omar, The Electronic Intifada, 16 July 2004

I am a farmer in Jayyous, a small village near the
Palestinian city of Qalqilya and three miles from the 1967
border with Israel. For generations, Jayyous farmers have
worked our fields on the outskirts of town each day, and
returned to our homes each night. Before the Wall, we
could pay Palestinian workers to help work our land. Now
non-land owners cannot pass through the gate, so we cannot
get the help we need and many farm workers have lost their
jobs. A lot of good land is now left uncultivated and many
farmers have had to abandon their land altogether.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2922.shtml



Activism News
PEACEFULLY CONFRONTING THE WALL IN BUDRUS
Iltezam Morrar, The Electronic Intifada, 16 July 2004

The Wall will affect my family as it affects many
Palestinians. I live in Budrus, a village of 1,200 people,
west of Ramallah. The Wall will completely surround Budrus
and eight other villages, separating us from the rest of
the West Bank, with just one gate connecting us to
Ramallah. On Nov 23rd, 2003, Wall construction started in
Budrus, and we immediately began holding peaceful
demonstrations opposing it. Though our demonstrations were
peaceful, the Israeli soldiers wounded 102 persons. They
used sound bombs, teargas, and rubber-coated steel
bullets, and beat men and women with clubs. In Biddu and
Beitunia, villages near Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers killed
six people during protests against the Wall. 15-year-old
Iltezam Morrar reports for EI.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2924.shtml



Development
WOMEN AGAINST THE WALL
Fatima Khaldi, The Electronic Intifada, 16 July 2004

Last Friday, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
ruled that Israel's wall through the West Bank is a
violation of international law, I stood with other
Palestinian women in the olive groves of the village of Az
Zawiya, protesting the destruction of our land. Throughout
the West Bank, thousands of Palestinian women are
peacefully protesting against the wall that the Israeli
government claims aims to protect its citizens against
terrorism. Palestinian women are deeply rooted in their
land, and work hard to support our families. Women suffer
greatly when families lose their land, often the primary
source of income. We raise olive trees as if they are our
children. When we lose them, we grieve deeply. Fatima
Khaldi writes from Az Zawiya in the Salfit region.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2923.shtml


--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
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SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

15 July 2004 -- 6:15PM CST
_______________________________


Opinion/Editorial
FROM THE HAGUE TO MAS'HA
Tanya Reinhart, The Electronic Intifada, 15 July 2004

The International Court of Justice has determined that the
present route of Israel's West Bank Barrier is a serious
and egregious violation of international law. In an
interview given last weekend, Israeli Chief of Staff Moshe
(Bogie) Ya'alon contested the applicability of
international law. Such a system was appropriate for the
conditions of World War II, he declared, but not for the
present war on terror. Apparently, as Ya'alon envisions
it, in this war the armed forces are bound only by their
own law. Indeed, a battle is being waged in the world
today over the status of international law. Tanya Reinhart
comments.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2915.shtml



Human Rights
THE ISRAELI HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
AND THE APARTHEID WALL
John Sigler, The Electronic Intifada, 15 July 2004

With the recent International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Advisory Opinion regarding the consequences of the
Apartheid Wall, the legality of this enterprise has been
much discussed in almost all circles related to the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict. On the Zionist side, aside
from the usual canard about the "anti-Semitism" of the
United Nations and the like, many commentaries have
pointed to the recent Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ)
ruling about the wall and declared, in so many words, that
this is the only legal ruling that matters. John Sigler
notes that if one actually reads the HCJ decision, it in
fact makes a very strong case against the Wall in general
though its ruling only regarded only one small 40 km
stretch of the Wall.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2916.shtml



Activism News
FIGHTING ISRAEL'S WALL
Ann Petter, The Electronic Intifada, 15 July 2004

The International Court of Justice has ruled Israel's
"Separation Wall" illegal and has called on Israel to
dismantle the wall. Nineteen days ago I came to Israel to
protest that wall and to bear witness to its devastating
effects on the Palestinian population. Instead I was
detained by Israel police upon arrival at Tel Aviv's Ben
Gurion airport and have since been held in immigration
detention awaiting deportation. I have been labeled a
threat to "security," and the judge has called my camera a
weapon. It seems to me the only threat I pose to Israel is
a public relations one.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2917.shtml



Human Rights
ISRAELI HIGH COURT REJECTS APPEAL
AGAINST LAND THEFT
Report, PCHR, 13 July 2004

In a session held on 13 July 2004, the Israeli High Court
rejected an appeal submitted by PCHR on behalf of a number
of Palestinian civilians to stop the seizure of their
agricultural land in al-Qarar village, northeast of Khan
Yunis, near the "Kissufim" settler road. PCHR had
submitted an appeal to the Israeli High Court on 28 June
2004, after a number of Palestinian civilians received
military orders on 16 and 17 June 2004, ordering the
seizure of their land near the aforementioned road. The
area of the affected land is estimated at hundreds of
donums, which belong to several families, including
al-Sumairi, Abu Haddaf, Abu Hajjaj, Abu 'Aamer and others.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2913.shtml



Human Rights
WEEKLY REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Report, PCHR, 15 July 2004

This week Israeli forces killed 13 Palestinians, mostly
civilians, including a child and a woman. One of the
victims was killed in an extra-judicial execution. Israel
continued its assault on Beit Hanoun. Israeli forces
invaded a number of areas and demolished 75 homes and
razed agricultural lands. As a collective punishment
against families of Palestinian fighters, Israeli forces
demolished six homes. Despite the ruling of the
International Court of Justice, Israel continued
construction on its annexation wall. Israel also continues
to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian
territories.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2914.shtml



Human Rights
ISRAELI FORCES OPEN FIRE ON UN CONVOY
Report, UNRWA, 14 July 2004

After visiting UNRWA food distribution in Beit Hanoun,
Peter Hansen, UNRWA's Commissioner-General, and UNRWA's
operations personnel visited some of the demolished areas
on the outskirts of the town in a five-vehicle convoy
clearly marked with UN flags and symbols. Shortly after
passing an Israeli armoured personnel carrier, the convoy
stopped, 500m from the APC, to survey a citrus orchard
that had been bulldozed by the Israeli military. At that
point rapid firing appreared to come from the APC in the
direction of the convoy. Hansen and the UNRWA personnel
were forced to take cover in a nearby family home.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2909.shtml



--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

9 July 2004 -- 7:15PM CST
_______________________________


Since the ICJ ruling today, a leaked version of the text
of which EI published yesterday, EI has updated its
section on Israel's West Bank Barrier with a variety of
links to court documents and video, and reactions from
the Israeli and US governments.

BY TOPIC: Israel's Apartheid Wall
http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/apartheidwall.shtml

BY TOPIC: Case before the International Court of Justice
http://electronicIntifada.net/bytopic/215.shtml

A number of articles about the ICJ and the Wall have
been added to the main EI site at:
http://electronicIntifada.net


--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

8 July 2004 --9:00PM CST
_______________________________

Human Rights Exclusive

EI PUBLISHES TOMORROW'S ICJ ADVISORY RULING JUDGEMENT
ON ISRAEL'S WEST BANK BARRIER TODAY

Breaking News, The Electronic Intifada, 8 July 2004

US CST, 9PM, 8 JULY 2004 -- On 8 December 2003, the
General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a
resolution (A/RES/ES-10/14) in which it requested the
International Court of Justice to "urgently render an
advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from
the construction of the wall being built by Israel, in the
occupied Palestinian territories, including in and around
East Jerusalem, considering the rules and principles of
international law."

EI has today (8 July 2004) obtained a copy of the ruling
of the International Court of Justice, the contents of
which were to be officially released tomorrow. While the
source of the document remains unconfirmed at this stage,
the contents and format of the document appear to be
genuine and the ruling is a shocking blow to Israel.

The Advisory Opinion of the ICJ in the 9th July 2004
document titled "LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF
A WALL IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY", can briefly
be summarised by saying that the court almost unanimously
found Israel's West Bank Barrier (termed "Israel's
Apartheid Wall" by Palestinians and the "Terror Prevention
Fence" by Israel) to be illegal under international law.

The decisions of the judges, to the UNGA decision to
request the International Court of Justice, pursuant to
Article 65 of the Statute of the Court, to urgently render
an advisory opinion on the following question: What are
the legal consequences arising from the construction of
the wall being built by Israel, the occupying Power, in
the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and
around East Jerusalem, as described in the report of the
Secretary-General, considering the rules and principles of
international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention
of 1949, and relevant Security Council and General
Assembly resolutions?


* EI EXCLUSIVE: Download the ICJ ruling here:

<http://electronicIntifada.net/downloads/pdf/icj20040709.pdf>

[PDF format, 500K]



--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

28 June 2004 -- 2:15 PM CST
_______________________________


As always, EI needs your support. Read our most recent
appeal at the ADC conference earlier in June:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2827.shtml


Opinion/Editorial
WHY ISRAEL IS STILL AFRAID OF MORDECHAI VANUNU
Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 28 June 2004

He was the last breakfast companion I was expecting.
Separated from me by a rack of toast and a handful of
marmalade sachets was Mordechai Vanunu, the man who 18
years ago revealed that Israel had amassed a secret
stockpile of nuclear weapons. Breakfast at the St George's
pilgrim guest house in East Jerusalem is usually a sedate
affair, but on this occasion both he and I were skating
unintentionally but dangerously close to arrest by
Israel's security services. Occasional EI contributor
Jonathan Cook explains why Israel -- and the US and UK --
remains afraid of Vanunu.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2844.shtml



Opinion/Editorial
DEEP-ROOTED CORRUPTION IN PALESTINE
Hasan Abu Nimah & Ali Abunimah
The Electronic Intifada, 23 June 2004

In February, press reports that cement imported from Egypt
through Palestinian companies and ready-made concrete
manufactured in the Palestinian village of Abu Dis were
being used to build Israeli settlements and the apartheid
wall provoked outrage among Palestinians. A commission of
inquiry has now reported finding "compelling evidence and
documents adequate for indicting those involved." But
Hasan Abu Nimah and Ali Abunimah say that corruption
within the Palestinian Authority has deep roots.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2843.shtml



Activism News
REPORT OF THE JUNE 26 AL-RAM DEMO AGAINST THE WALL
Adam Keller, The Electronic Intifada, 27 June 2004

It had been planned meticulously. The initiative came from
the Al-Ram municipality -- a huge demonstration including
as many Israelis as could be convinced to come on the
weekend before the Supreme Court's decision over the fate
of Al-Ram. But, from how it went it seems that somebody up
there decided that it was not in their interest to have
today an orderly demonstration of Palestinians together
with Israelis. That, so short before the Supreme Court was
to give its decision, it was much better to transform it
into something in which "anything could happen."

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2851.shtml



Role of the Media
NEW BOOK: BAD NEWS FROM ISRAEL
Book Synopsis, Greg Philo and Mike Berry, 22 June 2004

The study suggests that television news on the
Israel/Palestinian conflict confuses viewers and
substantially features Israeli government views. Israelis
are quoted and speak in interviews over twice as much as
Palestinians and there are major differences in the
language used to describe the two sides. This operates in
favours of the Israelis and influences how viewers
understand the conflict. The study focused on BBC One and
ITV News from the start of the current Palestinian
intifada, the Glasgow researchers examined around 200 news
programmes and interviewed and questioned over 800 people.
The study is unique in that for the first time it brought
senior broadcasters together with ordinary viewers to work
in research groups, analysing how the news informs people
and how it could be improved.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2842.shtml



Human Rights
3 PALESTINIANS KILLED AND A NUMBER OF HOUSES
AND CIVILIAN FACILITIES DESTROYED
Press Release, PCHR, 28 June 2004

Israeli occupying forces escalated attacks on the Gaza
Strip in the last 12 hours., This follows from an attack
carried out by Palestinian militants on an Israeli
military post north of Khan Yunis.  IOF killed 3
Palestinians, including an 11-year-old child, and wounded
7 others, including another child, in Khan Yunis.  Israeli
helicopter gunships also attacked and destroyed 2 civilian
facilities in Gaza City.  In the meantime, Israeli troops
are destroying houses and razing areas of agricultural
land near the Israeli military post that had been
attacked.  PCHR is deeply concerned at this continued
policy of collective punishment by Israeli troops against
Palestinian civilians and their properties.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2845.shtml



Human Rights
WEEKLY REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Report, PCHR, 24 June 2004

17-23 June 2004. This week 4 Palestinian civilians were
killed by Israeli troops, one of the victims was killed in
an extra-judicial assassination. Israeli forces conducted
a series of incursions into Palestinian areas in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip. At least 400 donums[1] of
agricultural land were razed and 3 houses were destroyed
in the Gaza Strip. Two houses were destroyed in Khan Yunis
by Israeli troops in the context of retaliatory measures
against families of Palestinian activists. Israeli troops
used a child as a human shield during a military operation
in the OPTs. Israeli forces continued to shell Palestinian
residential areas injuring a number of Palestinian
civilians. Construction of the "Annexation wall" in the
West Bank has continued and more areas of Palestinian land
were seized. Israeli occupying forces have continued to
impose a total siege on the OPTs.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2850.shtml



Human Rights
6 PALESTINIANS EXTRAJUDICIALLY EXECUTED IN NABLUS
Press Release, PCHR, 27 June 2004

PCHR is gravely concerned at the deaths of a number of
Palestinians in Nablus. According to preliminary
investigations carried out by PCHR an IOF incursion began
on Thursday the 24th of June. A military siege was imposed
on the city. All access to the old city was cut off
through the use of temporary roadblocks built with sand,
concrete rubble and barbed wire. Israeli troops threw
handheld explosive devices in the direction of a small
room inside a house. The explosion killed six people who
were in a tunnel under the room. They six were identified
as being members of the Fatah movement, Islamic Jihad and
Hamas.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2846.shtml


Development
PCHR CALLS FOR AMENDMENTS TO THE
ELECTORAL LAW OF LOCAL COUNCILS
Press Release, PCHR, 26 June 2004

PCHR has submitted a letter to the Speaker and members of
the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), calling for
amendments to the Electoral Law of Local Councils (5) of
1996.  In this letter, PCHR expressed its appreciation for
the efforts made by the PLC in the past years to promote
local government, including the approval of the Electoral
Law of Local Councils (5) of 1996 and the Law of Local
Councils (1) of 1996, and the efforts made to hold local
elections.  However, PCHR pointed out that these efforts
have not been completed, as councils appointed by the
executive have continued to manage local councils in the
Palestinian communities since the establishment of the
Palestinian Authority 10 years ago.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2847.shtml



Art, Music & Culture
NEW YORK ARAB-AMERICAN COMEDY
FESTIVAL SEEKING SUBMISSIONS
New York Arab-American Comedy Festival, 27 June 2004

The New York Arab-American Comedy Festival is seeking
submissions from Arab-American artists for its 2nd annual
Festival, which will take place in New York City from
October 10-13, 2004. The Festival will be divided into
three parts: comedic theater, stand up comedy and comedic
films. Last year was an overwhelming success, with the
entire Festival playing to standing room only crowds. The
Festival showcased a diverse group of Arab-American
comedic plays, stand up comics and short comedic films,
with the participation of over 40 Arab-American artists.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2826.shtml



--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

18 June 2004 -- 1PM CST
_______________________________


Opinion/Editorial
PALESTINE: PERCEPTION AND REALITY
Nigel Parry, The Electronic Intifada, 18 June 2004

"We have to make the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a
mainstream concern and the only way we can do that is by
effectively communicating the realities at ground zero for
Joe and Jane Palestinian to the American public. Nobody
would sign off on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if they
knew what happened at ground zero, nobody. Only the most
ardent and entrenched supporters of Israel." This article
is an edited version of a speech EI's Nigel Parry gave at
the "Palestine: Perception and Reality" panel at the 21st
National Convention of the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington DC, on Sunday
13 June 2004.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2827.shtml



Multimedia
VIDEO: SUHEIR HAMMAD READING 'BEYOND WORDS' AT ADC 2004
Poetry/Video, The Electronic Intifada, 12 June 2004

At the 21st National Convention of the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Washington DC, from
June 10th-13th, EI's Nigel Parry shot video footage of
Palestinian-American poet and political activist Suheir
Hammad reading her poem Beyond Words. Recipient of the
Audre Lourde Writing Award from Hunter College, the Morris
Center for Healing Poetry Award, and a New York Mills
Artist Residency in Minnesota, Suheir has recently been
touring with the Tony Award-winning Russell Simmons
Presents Def Poetry Jam. Video in MPEG-4 format.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2824.shtml



Multimedia
VIDEO: PALESTINIAN COMEDIANS MAYSOON ZAYID AND
DEAN OBEIDALLAH AT ADC 2004
Multimedia, The Electronic Intifada, 11 June 2004

At the 21st National Convention of the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Washington DC, from
June 10th-13th, EI's Nigel Parry shot video footage of two
performances by Palestinian comedians -- Maysoon Zayid and
Dean Obeidallah, who are definitely rising stars in the
American comedy circuit and host their own New York-based
FM radio show, Fen Majnoon ("Crazy Art") with Dean and
Maysoon. Video is available in MPEG-4 format, which can be
viewed using QuickTime.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2821.shtml



------------------------------------------------
REVIEWS FROM THE CHICAGO PALESTINE FILM FESTIVAL
------------------------------------------------

EI's Arts, Music & Culture Editor, Maureen Clare Murphy,
is at the Chicago Palestinian Film Festival with popcorn
and a pen to review films and interview directors.



DOCUMENTARY FILM REVIEW: "KEYS"
Maureen Clare Murphy, The Electronic Intifada, 17 June 2004

"Mafateeh," or "keys," is a word that holds symbolic
meaning for Palestinians, and refugees in Rafah, Amman,
and Jenin alike can show you the keys to their houses that
they temporarily fled or were expelled from during the
time leading up to and during the 1948 war. And like Ali
Nimer Harami does in the film Keys, these refugees can
show you well-preserved pieces of paper that prove their
legal claim over land that is currently inhabited by
Jewish Israelis in what is now Israel. Maureen Clare
Murphy reviews the beautifully shot film for EI.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2825.shtml



REVIEW: "A STONE'S THROW AWAY" AND "THE CHILDREN OF IBDA'A"
Maureen Clare Murphy, The Electronic Intifada, 15 June 2004

Both of the films A Stone's Throw Away and The Children of
Ibdaa investigate the thoughts and lives of a handful of
children from the Deheisheh refugee camp, an impoverished
refugee town on the outskirts of Bethlehem. Together, they
illustrate that what drives Palestinians to commit
violence, and how children need something to make their
lives meaningful given the humiliation and lack of
opportunity that come with living under Israeli military
occupation.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2819.shtml



REVIEW: "ROUTE 181: FRAGMENTS OF A JOURNEY IN PALESTINE-ISRAEL"
Maureen Clare Murphy, The Electronic Intifada, 13 June 2004

Capturing the fragments of a land shattered by politics,
history, and colonialism, Route 181: Fragments of a
Journey in Israel-Palestine, clocks in at about four and a
half hours. The film's length is epic-worthy, but it
allows the filmmakers to present oral history from a wide
variety of people who live along the 1947 partition line,
while at the same time allow for minutes-long footage of
the monotonous grey concrete wall that quietly runs along
one of the region's main roads. By portraying both the
divide of the physical landscape and that of the humans
that inhabit it, viewers receive a fuller understanding of
this conflicted part of the world.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2816.shtml


FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM THE FILM FESTIVAL, SEE:
http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/272.shtml


--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

8 June 2004 -- 7:45PM CST
_______________________________


-------------------------------
HURRAH, IT'S PALIWOOD!*
-------------------------------
EI's Arts, Music & Culture Editor, Maureen Clare Murphy,
is armed with popcorn and a pen at the Third Annual
Chicago Palestine Film Festival to review films and
interview directors. The festival continues until 27 June
2004. Check out the films recently reviewed below or
bookmark EI's special section:

BY TOPIC: Arts, Music & Culture
FESTIVALS & SPECIAL EVENTS COVERAGE
http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/272.shtml


-------------------------------------
FILMS FROM THE 2004 FESTIVAL
REVIEWED FOR THE FIRST TIME
-------------------------------------

FILM REVIEW: FORD TRANSIT
Maureen Clare Murphy, The Electronic Intifada, 30 May 2004

"Staying in one place is killing me," says Rajai, the
charismatic West Bank refugee who serves as the center of
the Palestinian feature film Ford Transit. Although this
comment was made while explaining his unorthodox career
choice of being a taxi driver, Rajai's attitude can be
applied on a larger level to describe the feeling of a
generation of refugees who live under the thumb of Israeli
occupation. Read the rest of the review of this excellent
new film by acclaimed Palestinian director Hany Abu Asad.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2767.shtml



FILM REVIEW: JIHAD!
Maureen Clare Murphy, The Electronic Intifada, 2 June 2004

Boldly using one of the most misused words in the U.S.
press as its title, a word that strikes at the greatest
anxiety of Americans towards Islam, the new feature film
Jihad! informs its viewers that what the word is really
about is zeal and struggle. Following Ed, a young
Palestinian New Yorker who struggles between his
homeland's tradition and the American lifestyle, the film
stresses that the most important jihad is the struggle
within oneself. Read the review of Palestinian-American
Muhammed Rum's film, to be premiered at the Chicago
Palestine Film Festival this week.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2774.shtml



FILM REVIEW: REMEMBERING PALESTINE AND
WRITERS ON THE BORDERS
Maureen Clare Murphy, The Electronic Intifada, 3 June 2004

Like every other aspect of Palestinian life, art and
culture, though not destroyed, have been crushed under the
heavy weight of the Israeli occupation's tanks and
curfews. The documentary films Writers on the Borders and
Remembering Palestine feature international writers and
artists who visit Palestine and find a shocking landscape
of destruction. But, as the narrator Dominique Dubosc
explains in Remembering, the question is not so much one
of succeeding to restart art schools in the West Bank and
Gaza, as being there to bear witness.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2780.shtml



FILM REVIEW: "PLANET OF THE ARABS" AND "ARABS A GO-GO"
Maureen Clare Murphy, The Electronic Intifada, 6 June 2004

Based off of Jack Shaheen's excellent anthology Reel Bad
Arabs, which categorically catalogues depictions of Arabs
in American film, Planet of the Arabs, while not without
humor, reminds us that racist depictions of Arabs in
American entertainment is a huge problem. And Arabs A
Go-Go is Jacqueline Salloum's modest attempt to contradict
the racist tripe that Hollywood presents as Arab culture.
Maureen Clare Murphy reviews the two short films, featured
in the Chicago Palestine Film Fest, for EI.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2794.shtml



-------------------------------------
FILMS FROM THE 2004 FESTIVAL
REVIEWED PREVIOUSLY ON EI
-------------------------------------


REVIEW: ARNA'S CHILDREN
Arjan El Fassed, The Electronic Intifada, (11 December 2003)

Speechless. Silent. I could not move. I just sat there,
watching the screen, the scrolling text of dedication and
the names of Arna's children: Youssef, Nidal, Ashraf, and
Ala. Arna's children form a small theatre group of
Palestinian children in Jenin. Arna's son Juliano,
director of this film, was directing the theatre group.
All those years, from 1989 to 1996, Juliano filmed the
rehearsals and performances of the plays. He films Ala
sitting on the ruins of his home blown up by Israeli
soldiers, growing up to become a fighter in Jenin. EI's
Arjan El Fassed saw the film and comments.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2255.shtml



FILM REVIEW: LIKE TWENTY IMPOSSIBLES (2003)
Tina Dybvik, The Electronic Intifada, (27 January 2004)

"Like Twenty Impossibles" is the work of Annemarie Jacir,
co-written with Kamran Rastegar. Jacir is a Palestinian
filmmaker, activist, and poet living between New York City
and Palestine. The 17-minute short mockumentary tells the
story of a journey in a country where checkpoints and a
sinister patchwork of controlled areas make freedom of
movement itself impossible, aptly portraying the
complexities of oppression with a cast and crew that
understand it. It is shot on location in Palestine, and
the images of guns and power overwhelm the viewer as well
as the waylaid film crew.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2376.shtml




*Sorry, it was a long day. -- The Headline Editors

--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

8 June 2004 -- 5:50PM CST
_______________________________



Opinion/Editorial
QUESTIONS WITH NO ANSWERS
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 8 June 2004

Does UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan think that
Palestinians have a right to defend themselves against the
kinds of violent attacks and destruction Israel is
carrying out in Rafah refugee camp? EI's Ali Abunimah
spoke to Annan's representative, but found its not so easy
to get a straighforward answer to a straightforward
question. Abunimah says that Annan could use his position
to have a profound effect on the Palestine-Israel
conflict, but instead chooses to play word games, dressing
the persistent failure of the US-led "Quartet" as a
restless search for peace.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2799.shtml



Role of the Media
THE NEW YORKER'S ISRAEL: WHERE OBJECTIVITY FAILS
Zachary Wales, The Electronic Intifada, 5 June 2004

Where objectivity fails, investigative and
feature-oriented journalism plays a potent role. On May
31, the New Yorker published Jeffrey Goldberg's 21-page
"Among the Settlers." Unfortunately, his essay is not more
than an attempt to legitimize Zionism, an ethnically
exclusive colonial project, as a liberal idea. Moreover,
by eliminating the legitimate and empirical arguments
against Zionism, Goldberg leaves his readers with few
moral conclusions. The direction he intends those
conclusions to take is partly revealed in his omission of
the most convincing anti-Zionist argument: the right of
return.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2785.shtml



Development
UN BODIES CONCERNED ABOUT SAFE ACCESS FOR 60,000
PALESTINIAN SCHOOL STUDENTS TO EXAM SITES
Report, UN, 7 June 2004

Ten United Nations institutions call on the Israeli
authorities to ease restrictions on movement in the
occupied territory to enable 60,000 Palestinian students
to sit for their Tawjihi matriculation final exams
beginning today 7th of June. Almost 60,000 Palestinian
children out of the 1.2 million children of school age
will sit for Tawjihi high school matriculation exams
starting today. In Rafah alone, more than 3,000 school
children will take these important and future defining
exams.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2795.shtml



Development
CONFERENCE ON HUMANITARIAN NEEDS OF
PALESTINIAN REFUGEES OPENS IN GENEVA
Report, UN/DPI, 7 June 2004

A two-day conference hosted by the Swiss Government and
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East opened this morning in Geneva to
address the humanitarian needs of 4 million Palestinian
refugees and to come up with the best practical solutions
to attend to these needs. In his opening remarks, Peter
Hansen, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said that the
gathering was a testimony of the international community
to the growing needs of the Palestinian refugees and was
being held at an historic moment.  The conference was an
opportunity for participants to work together on
addressing key humanitarian aspects of the Palestinian
refugees.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2797.shtml



Development
UNICEF WITNESSES CUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF THE
CONFLICT ON HEALTH OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN
Report, UNICEF, 7 June 2004

Today, UNICEF briefed donors on the deteriorating effects
of the conflict on Palestinian children, in particular
during and after the Rafah invasions. UNICEF witnessed the
beginning of cumulative effects on health, nutrition and
education. With about half of the population being food
iinsecure, the nutrition patterns have been disrupted,
with important effects on children's well-being. During
the Rafah invasion, more than 45 new babies were born in
houses, far from minimal obstetric and newborn care
facilities.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2800.shtml



Human Rights
ISRAELI CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP PETITIONS TO
CANCEL RESTRICTIONS ON VANUNU
Report, ACRI, 6 June 2004

Mordechai Vanunu has asked Israel's top court to lift a
ban on him leaving the country, saying he poses no
security threat after serving an 18-year prison term for
treason. The petition was filed by the Association for
Civil Rights in Israel to demand the cancellation of the
severe restrictions that were imposed on Vanunu after his
release from jail. ACRI is also asking the court to issue
a ruling that the 1945 Defense Regulations (State of
Emergency), and the 1948 State of Emergency Regulations,
which enable the state to prohibit civilians from leaving
the country, be cancelled.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2798.shtml



Activism News
P10K: 10,000 INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS NEEDED IN PALESTINE
Press Release, www.P10K.net, 8 June 2004

Ex-US Marine/Gulf War Veteran & Founder of the Human
Shield Action to Iraq Ken O'Keefe announces P10K FORCE'
plan to Mobilize 10,000 International Observers from
Western Nations to the Occupied Palestinian Territories
(OPT) -- Launching September 11, 2004. Press conference
details -- When: Wednesday June 9th, 1300 1300-1330,
Questions 1330-End. Where: American Colony Hotel - East
Jerusalem. Who: Ken O'Keefe, Ian Hodgson (P10K
Coordinator), Rihab Aisawi (who has lost three loved ones
to the occupation).

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2801.shtml

--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
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_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

4 June 2004 -- 7PM CST
_______________________________


Coverage Trends
TIME TO PUT THE US MEDIA ON TRIAL
FOR COMPLICITY IN GENOCIDE?
Nigel Parry, The Electronic Intifada, 4 June 2004

Following pressure from the Israeli public, international
condemnations and a UN resolution, and a flurry of rare
coverage of Rafah from American cable news networks,
Israel's "Operation Rainbow" was 'concluded' in Rafah on
24 May 2004. According to Israel at least. During the last
week in Rafah (27 May-2 June 2004), Israel destroyed
another 39 Palestinian homes, leaving at least another 485
Palestinian civilians homeless, and razed another 24
dunums of Palestinian land. Google News continuously
crawls more than 4,500 news sources from around the world,
yet a search for the keyword "Rafah" shows that, beyond
the Israeli press, alternative news websites such as the
Electronic Intifada, and a handful of US newspapers,
coverage of the latest demolitions has been minimal,
particularly in the United States. EI's Nigel Parry
comments.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2793.shtml



Development
67 COUNTRIES AND 34 INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS GATHER
FOR LARGEST EVER CONFERENCE ON PALESTINE REFUGEES
Report, UNRWA, 4 June 2004

A total of 67 countries and 34 international organisations
will gather at the Geneva International Conference Centre
on 7-8 June 2004 for the largest conference on the
Palestine refugee issue in 56 years. Around 300 delegates
will discuss the future of humanitarian assistance to
millions of refugees scattered across the Middle East.
Today, one third of all Palestinian refugees live in camps
in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2791.shtml



Business & Economy
WORLD BANK APPROVES US$20 MILLION GRANT AS BUDGET
SUPPORT TO THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
Report, Worldbank, 3 June 2004


The World Bank has approved an emergency structural
adjustment grant of US$20 million to be used as part of
the Bank's response to the immediate needs of the
Palestinian Authority for budgetary assistance. After more
than three years of crisis, the PA is facing severe
economic and fiscal challenges with a financing gap
estimated at US$650 million for 2004. "The provision of
budgetary support is widely regarded as vital in
maintaining a functioning PA," says Nigel Roberts.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2792.shtml

--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
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donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

4 June 2004 -- 6:35PM CST
_______________________________


Human Rights
WEEKLY REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Report, PCHR, 3 June 2004

This week Israeli forces killed six Palestinian civilians.
Three of them were killed during an extrajudicial
execution. Israeli forces invaded a number of areas in the
occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli forces destroyed
39 Palestinian homes in Rafah, leaving at least 485
Palestinian civilians homeless. Israeli forces razed
agricultural land and additionally destroyed four homes in
the West Bank and 16 homes in the Gaza Strip. Israeli
forces continue to shell residential areas, wounding a
number of Palestinian civilians. Israel continues the
construction of the Apartheid Wall and continues to impose
a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2782.shtml



Development
UN AGENCY CONDEMNS ISRAELI TANK FIRE ON
PALESTINIAN SCHOOL IN GAZA STRIP
Report, UN News, 2 June 2004

Calling it a "violation of the sanctity" of schools, the
main United Nations relief agency helping Palestinian
refugees today condemned "in the strongest possible terms"
Israeli tank fire that hit a school in Rafah in the Gaza
Strip, wounding two 10-year-old boys. "This is the second
time in a little over a year that a child in a UN
classroom has been struck by Israeli fire," UN Relief and
Works Agency Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said. The
incident was the latest in a month of extreme violence.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2778.shtml



Human Rights
RAFAH COUNTS COST OF ISRAELI ONSLAUGHT
Laila El-Haddad, Al-Jazeera, 3 June 2004

Muhammad Juma was still trying to make sense of what had
just happened. Incensed as he was, he sat sipping a cup of
mint tea next to a caged, limping coyote and a bouncy
kangaroo. Spread out in the field in front of him was an
array of rotting carcasses, with the imposing stench that
only death imparts. Two gazelles lay facing each other,
the look of fear frozen on their faces. Besides the
carcasses, the only indication that a zoo once occupied
this empty field was a rusty welcome sign that had fallen
to the ground. Everything else had been brutally ploughed
over with military tanks and bulldozers.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2779.shtml



Diaries
"THESE ARE MY GUESTS, AND THIS IS MY HOUSE",
PRIEST STANDS UP TO THE WALL
Larry Fata, Live from Palestine, 3 June 2004

"No! These are my guests, and this is my house!" The
admonition is delivered to Israeli soldiers attempting to
stop a group of Palestinian women crossing the grounds of
a monastery. The messenger is Father Claudio Ghilardi, a
Passionist priest from Italy. His message is clear: at
least as far as the monastery grounds are concerned, he
will not permit the harassment of Palestinians by
soldiers. The soldiers desist as long as Father Claudio is
present. The Palestinians continue on their way,
attempting to cross the monastery and reach Jerusalem on
the other side. At least they were able to get this far,
thanks to Father Claudio's intervention.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2784.shtml



Art, Music & Culture
FILM REVIEW: REMEMBERING PALESTINE AND WRITERS
ON THE BORDERS
Maureen Clare Murphy, The Electronic Intifada, 3 June 2004

Like every other aspect of Palestinian life, art and
culture, though not destroyed, have been crushed under the
heavy weight of the Israeli occupation's tanks and
curfews. The documentary films Writers on the Borders and
Remembering Palestine feature international writers and
artists who visit Palestine and find a shocking landscape
of destruction. But, as the narrator Dominique Dubosc
explains in Remembering, the question is not so much one
of succeeding to restart art schools in the West Bank and
Gaza, as being there to bear witness.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2780.shtml



Human Rights
CRIPPLED JUSTICE: LIMPING TOWARDS THE WALL
Andreas Mueller, The Electronic Intifada, 3 June 2004

With the construction of the 'Separation Wall' in the West
Bank being brought before the International Court of
Justice in The Hague, for the very first time an aspect of
the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been
transferred from the usual forums of international debate
(the UN Security Council, General Assembly, and subsidiary
bodies) to an international judicial body. This novelty
raised considerable optimism on some sides. Andreas
Mueller, argues however that these expectations have to be
closely examined in view of the legal and political limits
of the 'World Court.'

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2781.shtml



Art, Music & Culture
FILM REVIEW: JIHAD!
Maureen Clare Murphy, The Electronic Intifada, 2 June 2004

Boldly using one of the most misused words in the U.S.
press as its title, a word that strikes at the greatest
anxiety of Americans towards Islam, the new feature film
Jihad! informs its viewers that what the word is really
about is zeal and struggle. Following Ed, a young
Palestinian New Yorker who struggles between his
homeland's tradition and the American lifestyle, the film
stresses that the most important jihad is the struggle
within oneself. Read the review of Palestinian-American
Mohammed Rum's film, to be premiered at the Chicago
Palestine Film Festival this week.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2774.shtml



Human Rights
REPORT: ISRAEL FAILS TO STOP RACISM, XENOPHOBIA,
INCITEMENT AND VIOLENCE
Report, Mossawa, 1 June 2004

Rights group Mossawa accuses Israeli authorities of
turning a blind eye to racial incitement by politicians
against Palestinian citizens of Israel. The 120- page
report the Haifa-based Mossawa Center released Tuesday,
combined overall observations with specific examples that
occurred in the past four years. Mossawa said thousands of
them "suffer from xenophobia, incitement, racial
discrimination, racial violence, and hate speech." The
report is modeled on the recent report on anti-Semitism
released by European organizations.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2777.shtml



Business & Economy
UNEMPLOYMENT, POVERTY GRIPS PALESTINIAN WORKERS
Report, ILO, 1 June 2004

High unemployment continues to grip Palestinian
communities in the Occupied Arab Territories, reaching an
average of 35 per cent, the International Labour Office
(ILO) says in a new report. A recent high-level mission to
the area also found that "severe restrictions" on the
movement of persons, goods and services were causing
"severe losses in production, employment and income". "The
reality of life in the territories is one of strangulation
of the economy." ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said in
the report.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2776.shtml

--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

1 June 2004 -- 8:15PM CST
_______________________________


--------------------------------
IT'S NEVER OVER IN RAFAH
--------------------------------

Human Rights
UN RIGHTS EXPERTS APPEAL TO ISRAEL
ON HOUSE DEMOLITIONS
Report, UN News, 28 May 2004

The Special Rapporteurs on adequate housing, Miloon
Kothari, and on the right to food, Jean Ziegler today
appealed to the Government of Israel to respect UN
Security Council resolution 1544 and bring a permanent
halt to the massive military operation by Israeli
occupying forces, including the systematic demolition of
Palestinian homes, the destruction of water sources and
livelihoods in the Rafah refugee camp of the Gaza Strip.
The United Nations estimates that between 18 May and 24
May 2004, 167 buildings in Rafah were destroyed or
rendered uninhabitable, leaving 2,066 Palestinian homeless
in just one week.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2766.shtml



Human Rights
ISRAELI FORCES DEMOLISH 25 HOMES IN RAFAH
Report, PCHR, 30 May 2004

Last night, Israeli occupying forces (IOF) demolished 25
houses in Rafah refugee camp, leaving more than 350
homeless and injuring two Palestinians. Israeli military
vehicles, backed by attack helicopters, moved 300 meters
into Block J in Rafah refugee camp. Under cover of intense
shelling, Israeli forces began to demolish a number of
Palestinian homes, without allowing residents to retrieve
their properties. By 5.00am on Sunday, Israeli forces had
demolished 23 homes completely and two partially. As a
result 352 Palestinians, or 60 families, have been
rendered homeless. A 60 year old woman and a doctor were
injured during this Israeli assault.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2769.shtml



Development
UNRWA LAUNCHES $15.8 MILLION CRISIS APPEAL FOR RAFAH
Report, UNRWA, 31 May 2004

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees (UNRWA) today launched an appeal to the
international community for $15.84 million to meet the
immediate needs of the people of Rafah. The appeal follows
weeks of the most intense destruction in Gaza since the
start of the intifada. UNRWA needs the funds to provide
emergency cash, food and housing assistance to the
hundreds of families who have lost their homes, had a
breadwinner killed or wounded, or who are in need of
medical care.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2770.shtml



Human Rights
PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS ASK SUPREME COURT
TO DEFINE SCOPE OF "MILITARY NECESSITY"
Report, Palestinian HROs, 29 May 2004

On Thursday, 27 May 2004, Adalah, the Palestinian Center
for Human Rights - Gaza and Al-Haq filed a petition and a
motion for injunction to the Supreme Court of Israel
against Israeli army officers, the Chief of Staff, the
Minister of Defense and the Prime Minister. The
petitioners ask the Supreme Court to define, for the first
time, the scope of the legal term "military necessity" in
accordance with international humanitarian law. Many home
demolition cases have already been brought against the
Israeli army before the Supreme Court. In the vast
majority of these cases, the Supreme Court has dismissed
the legal challenges brought against home demolitions,
effectively accepting the army's arguments, and
legitimizing the demolitions.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2775.shtml



Multimedia
PHOTOSTORY: SUFFERING AND DESOLATION
IN RAFAH, 23 MAY 2004
Photographer: Mahfouz Abu Turk
The Electronic Intifada, 27 May 2004

Mahfouz Abu Turk is a Palestinian photojournalist based in
Jerusalem. Abu Turk has taken photos for Agency France
Press, Associated Press, the Washington Report, has seen
his work exhibited around the world, and currently works
with Reuters. Abu Turk was the first journalist to enter
the camp of Jenin following the invasion in May 2003. On
24 May 2004, he went to Rafah and brought back these
images from the aftermath of Israel's "Operation Rainbow".

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2764.shtml



Human Rights
WEEKLY REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Report, PCHR, 27 May 2004

This week, Israeli forces killed 19 Palestinians,
including 5 children. One of the victims was killed in
another extrajudicial execution in Qalqilya. In Rafah,
Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians, including 2
children. Israel demolished 255 homes, leaving hundreds of
Palestinians homeless. Israel razed at least 700 donums of
land. Israeli forces invaded a number of areas in the
occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli forces raided
homes and arrested Palestinians. Israel continued the
construction of the Separation Barrier as more Palestinian
land was confiscated and razed. Israel continue to impose
a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2761.shtml



Activism News
"IN OUR HEARTS AND IN OUR WORK": THE CONTINUING
INFLUENCE OF RACHEL CORRIE IN OLYMPIA
candio., The Electronic Intifada, 1 June 2004

One year after the murder of activist Rachel Corrie by the
Israelis in Gaza, her local community has not forgotten
her. Ms. Corrie continues to inspire and lead in Olympia,
it may even be possible that she has become more powerful
in death than in life. There is some solace in this
ability to affect change postmortem, to have truly
achieved martyr status, but it is an aching solace tinged
with loss. At the same time, there is this harsh and
parallel realization that Olympia has lost but one life to
the Occupation. It is sobering and hard to truly imagine
the sorrow of the Palestinians who have lost so many and
so much. candio. reports from Olympia.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2773.shtml



--------------------------------
OTHER ARTICLES
--------------------------------

Activism News
TAKING A CALL FOR JUSTICE IN THE
MIDDLE EAST TO KERRY'S DOORSTEP
Tom Wallace, The Electronic Intifada, 1 June 2004

In the aftermath of the horror that has been visited upon
Rafah over the past two weeks in particular but the past
three years in general, Americans across the country are
asking their congress people to stop military aid to
Israel. On Friday 21 May 2004, there were sit-ins and
other similar actions at congressional offices in San
Francisco, Louisville, New Orleans, Albuquerque, Olympia,
New York, and more. Following a week of calling
representatives, Senators and the White House, Bostonians
marched to the campaign office of John Kerry. Tom Wallace
reports for EI.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2772.shtml



Human Rights
THE WALL AND THE COURT: REPLACING POLITICS WITH LAW
Azem Bishara, The Electronic Intifada, 1 June 2004

In a few months, the International Court will conclude its
deliberations on the wall that Israeli constructs on
Palestinian land. It has long been claimed that the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a political problem and
that the solution is a political solution. However, what
the Palestinians have been witnessing since 1967 is land
grab and settlements expansion done through "legal" means,
when in fact the law was always abused to satisfy Israel's
expansionist whims. Azem Bishara, a legal expert, argues
that an advisory opinion will reverse that process with an
authoritative statement on basic legal issues that have
been long disputed by Israel.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2650.shtml



Human Rights
ASSUME THE POSITION: A PLAY ABOUT PRISON
IS FOLLOWED BY ARRESTS
Amahl Bishara and Nidal al-Azraq
The Electronic Intifada, 29 May 2004

"Nidal played the hero of the play who did not confess
anything to the interrogators. He said that the play
taught them about what to expect if they were ever
arrested, and how to avoid giving up information even when
manipulated. 'Now,' he said, 'three of the actors are
living the play in real life.' Muhammad, who played an
interrogator in the play, is lonely these days, having
lost many in his circle of friends. With a forlorn air
that almost suggested he only spoke to journalists because
there was no one else to talk to, Muhammad said, 'Before
the arrests, there was movement in Aida, I could find
people to chat with. Now, there is no one'." Amahl Bishara
and Nidal al-Azraq report on life imitating art in one
West Bank refugee camp.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2723.shtml



Journalists in Danger
Vanunu journalist, Peter Hounam arrested
Report, RSF, 27 May 2004

Reporters Without Borders protested at the arrest from his
hotel room of British journalist Peter Hounam of the
Sunday Times, who in 1986, wrote an article on Israeli
nuclear secrets, based on revelations by atomic technician
Mordechai Vanunu. RSF demanded an explanation from the
Israeli authorities for this surprising arrest,
complaining of official silence on the reasons for it and
on where the journalist was being held. "We are perturbed
by this arrest which seems to have a direct link with
Peter Hounam's work on Mordechai Vanunu. The Israeli
authorities seem prepared to go to any lengths to stifle
news on the nuclear issue in Israel. This arrest and the
blackout that followed it are serious violations of press
freedom. We await your explanations," it said.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2762.shtml



Art, Music & Culture
FILM REVIEW: FORD TRANSIT
Maureen Clare Murphy, The Electronic Intifada, 30 May 2004

"Staying in one place is killing me," says Rajai, the
charismatic West Bank refugee who serves as the center of
the Palestinian feature film Ford Transit. Although this
comment was made while explaining his unorthodox career
choice of being a taxi driver, Rajai's attitude can be
applied on a larger level to describe the feeling of a
generation of refugees who live under the thumb of Israeli
occupation. Read the rest of the review of this excellent
new film by acclaimed Palestinian director Hany Abu Asad.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2767.shtml


--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

27 May 2004 -- 1:15AM CST
_______________________________


Diaries
THE CRIMES OF WAR: BETWEEN
AL-ZEITOUN (GAZA) AND RAFAH
Tamar Gozansky, The Electronic Intifada, 26 May 2004

Tamar Gozansky is an former member of the Israeli Knesset
and a member of the political bureau of the Israeli
Communist Party. She visited Gaza on 19 May 2004:
"Attention is now drawn to the Israeli war crimes
committed by the IDF in Rafah on May 19; especially to the
numerous victims of the shelling by Israeli tanks of a
civilian demonstration, mostly youth and children, at high
noon. I watched the horrific live TV images of wounded
children, youth running for shelter and smoke rising from
the shelled location, in the company of the head of the
Palestinian Internal Security in Gaza City, Rashid Abu
Shbak, alias Abu Khatem."

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2756.shtml



Human Rights
ISRAELI TROOPS FIRE ON FUNERAL AS
RAFAH TRIES TO BURY ITS DEAD
Update, Palestine Monitor, 24 May 2004

Several Palestinians were injured, some seriously, when
Israeli troops opened fire on a Palestinian funeral in
Rafah today. 23 year-old Ziad Alwan was shot in the eye,
and is now in hospital in a serious condition. Several
other mourners also required medical attention. An
estimated 50,000 Palestinians had attended the funeral for
17 citizens of Rafah killed in the Tel al-Sultan
neighborhood during the Israeli invasion of the area. Some
of those being buried had been killed at the beginning of
the invasion a week ago and preserved in fridges used for
storing vegetables because the hospital and morgue had no
room for the bodies.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2760.shtml



Human Rights
AMNESTY: "KILLING OF CHILDREN MUST BE INVESTIGATED"
Report, Amnesty International, 25 May 2004

Amnesty International is calling on the Israeli
authorities to ensure that a thorough, independent and
impartial investigation is promptly carried out into the
killing of two Palestinian children by members of the
Israeli army in recent days in the Gaza Strip.
Sixteen-year-old Asma al-Mughayr and her 13-year-old
brother Ahmad were shot dead within minutes of each other
on the roof-terrace of their home in the southern Gaza
Strip town of Rafah on the morning of 18 May 2004. Each
was killed by a single bullet in the head, Asma while
taking clothes off the drying line and her brother Ahmad
while feeding the pigeons.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2754.shtml



Activism News
FREEDOM SUMMER PALESTINE 2004
Press Release, International Solidarity Movement, 26 May 2004

Freedom Summer Palestine 2004 is conceived to be 56-day
campaign (one day for every year of displacement and
dispossession) against occupation, whereby Palestinians
mobilizing with the participation and support of their
international supporters, will draw the attention of the
world to the true nature of the situation on the ground in
the Occupied Palestinian Territories and leave no doubt in
anyone's mind that the Palestinian struggle is a just
struggle for dignity, human rights and freedom. This press
release from the International Solidarity Movement offers
information about the campaign.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2757.shtml



Development
UNRWA DEMANDS APOLOGY AND RETRACTION FOR "BASELESS
CHARGES" AGAINST UNRWA AMBULANCE DRIVERS
Report, UNRWA, 25 May 2004

Peter Hansen, Commissioner-General of the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has
today demanded an apology and retraction from the Israeli
Government and Military for the damaging and baseless
allegations they have made against UNRWA's ambulance
drivers in the Gaza Strip. In letters to the Israeli
Minister of Defence and to General Mishlev, Mr Hansen
states that despite repeated requests from UNRWA, no
evidence of UNRWA ambulance drivers transporting the body
parts of Israeli soldiers has been presented by the
Government of Israel. Accordingly, he has no reason to
believe that there is any truth at all to the extremely
unfortunate accusation being made against UNRWA.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2758.shtml



Development
OXFAM CALLS FOR PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS
Report, Oxfam International, 26 May 2004

A new report by Oxfam International calls for the
protection of civilians to be put at the top of the
international agenda. The report calls for the Quartet,
Israel and the Palestinian Authority to act urgently to
reduce the impact of conflict on civilians. "The
international community has a legal obligation to ensure
respect for international humanitarian law," the aid
agency said. It also calls for end to the culture of
impunity - with those who commit inhuman and criminal acts
being brought to justice. "The international community is
a like a rabbit caught in the headlights, paralysed by
events as they unfold. It can and must do more to protect
people on both sides - and start to ease the suffering."

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2753.shtml



Art, Music & Culture
MADONNA PUSHES HER FEARS OVER THE BORDERLINE,
CANCELS ISRAELI CONCERTS
Victor Kattan, The Electronic Intifada, 26 May 2004

Citing security concerns, the Queen of Pop last week
abruptly canceled an eagerly awaited series of concerts
set for this September in Tel Aviv, Israel's largest city,
which would have included a televised concert on September
11. It is reported that Madonna's "Re-Invented Tour" will
include video footage of a Palestinian boy and an Israeli
boy walking arm in arm. The last time Madonna played in
Israel was on 4 October 1993 at Tel Aviv's Hayarkon Park.
Read Victor Kattan's commentary on the irrationality of
Madonna's fears, and why more celebrities should perform
in the Palestinian territories.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2755.shtml




Art, Music & Culture
ARCHITECTURE EVENT: ONE LAND, TWO SYSTEMS - BEYOND
THE DIVISION LINES IN ISRAELI SPATIAL PLANNING
Announcement, One Land, Two Systems, 25 May 2004

On Sunday, June 6, 2004 at 4.00 p.m., at De Balie
Amsterdam, an architecture design competition for an
alternative plan for one of the so-called 'unrecognized'
Arab villages in Israel will be kicked-off. The
competition is part of One Land, Two Systems, a project
that renders visible how spatial planning is used as a
political instrument in Israel. The project One Land, Two
Systems brings together architects, planners,
photographers, lawyers, writers, human rights activists to
design and show alternatives and to bring these into the
publice debate.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2750.shtml



--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
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____________________________

UPDATE FROM
THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA!

http://electronicIntifada.net

26 May 2004 -- NOON CST
_______________________________

THE EI MAY FUNDRAISER HAS JUST A WEEK TO GO! PLEASE GIVE YOUR
SUPPORT NOW

The Electronic Intifada, 26 May 2004

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2611.shtml

Throughout the month of May, when you make a donation to support
the work of The Electronic Intifada, you will automatically be
entered in a sweepstakes to win one of more than 40 prizes.

The grand prize is "Return 2," an original acrylic on paper
artwork by Zahi Khamis. Twenty runners-up will receive EI
T-shirts, and twenty more will receive great Palestine solidarity
pin packs donated by Sambar for Pins and Flags!

With their hunched backs and heavy bags, the wispy figures that
inhabit the paintings of Zahi Khamis are world-weary, yet not
broken. The figures in this unique piece are symbolic of the
resilience of the Palestinian people -- alive despite numerous
setbacks, but still longing to return home.

Khamis, born in a small village outside Nazareth, currently works
and resides in Baltimore, Maryland, producing many works touching
Palestinian themes -- displacement, memory, struggle, and
optimism.

WHY GIVE TO SUPPORT EI's WORK?

We work hard to maintain the quality, frequency, and reach of the
Electronic Intifada. In 2002 our budget was just $39,000. In 2003,
we spent about $50,000, and in 2004 we estimate our needs will
reach $60,000.

Maintaining EI is a year-round 24 hour job. But at times of extreme
crisis in Palestine all our resources are tested to the limit.
Without the support of people like you, EI would not be here.

While our needs are growing, our entire budget could not pay the
salary and expenses of a single foreign correspondent from a major
news organization! We are able to function on such a small budget
because most of the labor that goes in to EI is donated.
Nevertheless, our costs are real: each month we have to pay for
the servers that host EI, research services, internet and
communications costs, equipment and software. EI thrives because
of the generous support of people all over the world.

The EI Project is a program service of the Middle East Cultural
and Charitable Society, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. U.S.
taxpayers can make tax deductible donations to support our work.
While EI accepts donations from around the world, we only have
non-profit status in the United States.

This solicitation and offer is void where prohibited. No purchase
or donation necessary. Please visit our Sweepstakes page to read
the full rules and disclosures, to take a peek at the prizes and
to donate by check or credit card:
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Thank You and Good Luck! The EI Team

--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a not-for-profit,
independent publication committed to comprehensive public
education on the question of Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, and the economic, political, legal, and human dimensions
of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a needed
supplement to mainstream commercial media representations of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. More information about our work can
be found at http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or unsubscribe from EI
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More information can be found at:
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_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

25 May 2004 -- 8:45PM CST
_______________________________


Activism News
WHY I BURNED MY ISRAELI MILITARY PAPERS
Josh Ruebner, The Electronic Intifada, 24 May 2004

Although I am a Jewish American, born and raised in the
United States, I am also a citizen of Israel by virtue of
my father's birth in that country. Israel's laws
automatically confer citizenship on the children of
citizens regardless of their place of birth. Like all
other Jewish citizens of Israel, I am required to serve in
the Israeli army. On Thursday I set fire to my Israeli
military deferral papers across the street from the
Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. This act of civil
disobedience took place during a protest organized by a
Jewish American peace organization against the atrocities
that Israel is committing in the occupied Gaza Strip. Josh
Ruebner explains why.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2746.shtml


Development
UNRWA PROTESTS ISRAELI INCURSION INTO JENIN CAMP
Report, UNRWA, 23 May 2004

In the early morning hours of 20 May, Israeli military
forces broke into and occupied UNRWA's Jenin Camp
Reconstruction Project Office near Jenin camp in the West
Bank. A shot was fired in the direction of UNRWA's senior
project manager, Mr. Paul Wolstenholme, as he attempted to
gain access to the office, but fortunately he remained
unharmed. Mr. Wolstenholme, who attempted to convince the
soldiers to leave the UNRWA installation, was not only
detained for over three hours and threatened with physical
violence, but was handcuffed and blindfolded as well.
Wolstenholme's predecessor, Iain Hook was shot and killed
by an Israeli soldier in November 2002.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2745.shtml


------------
EI needs your support to continue its important work.
For more information about how to donate to our work,
see http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml
------------


Human Rights
RAFAH DAILY UPDATE, 3.00PM
Report, MEZAN, 23 May 2004

Today, Israeli forces continued military operations in
Rafah. Israeli tanks are still blocking the streets
leading to Tel Al Sultan and are present in Brazil
neighborhood, as well as on the main road between Rafah
and Khan Yunis. Israeli officials said that Israeli forces
will continue their operations. Israeli forces killed at
least 44 Palestinians and wounded more than 120
Palestinians. The humanitarian situation deteriorates.
Water networks and other infrastructure has been
destroyed. There are reports about health risks due to
mixed sewage and water in Tel Al Sultan. Israeli forces
continue demolishing Palestinian homes.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2741.shtml



Development
UNRWA PROVIDES NEW SHELTERS FOR GAZA HOMELESS
Report, UNRWA, 24 May 2004

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees (UNRWA) today handed over 86 new homes to refugee
families from Rafah and Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip
whose shelters have been destroyed by Israeli forces. The
new shelters, which will house 93 families, or 475
refugees, are the concrete expression of UNRWA's pledge to
re-house all those refugees whose homes have been
destroyed in the strife and who have no alternative
accommodation. According to the Agency's figures, by 10
May 2004 a total of 2,018 buildings, home to over 18,300
refugee and non-refugee Palestinians, had been destroyed
or damaged beyond repair in the Gaza Strip since the start
of the conflict in 2000.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2749.shtml


---------------

BY TOPIC

Check out EI's updated reference page:

Israel's "Operation Rainbow" in Rafah, Gaza
http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/268.shtml

Features include chronology of "Operation Rainbow",
features, activism news, and background
information about Rafah.

---------------


Human Rights
UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS ECHO CONCERNS ABOUT EVENTS
IN RAFAH AND GAZA STRIP
Report, UN News, 24 May 2004

The Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, the
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary
Executions, and the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of
Opinion and Expression, echo the concerns expressed by the
Security Council of the United Nations in its resolution
1544 and by the Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights
about violence and loss of life during the peaceful
demonstration in the Rafah refugee camp of the Gaza Strip
on 19 May 2004. The experts said they received credible
information that demonstrators were engaged in peaceful
activities in exercise their right to protest.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2747.shtml



Art, Music & Culture
ARCHITECTURE EVENT: ONE LAND, TWO SYSTEMS - BEYOND
THE DIVISION LINES IN ISRAELI SPATIAL PLANNING
Announcement, One Land, Two Systems, 25 May 2004

On Sunday, June 6, 2004 at 4.00 p.m., at De Balie
Amsterdam, an architecture design competition for an
alternative plan for one of the so-called 'unrecognized'
Arab villages in Israel will be kicked-off. The
competition is part of One Land, Two Systems, a project
that renders visible how spatial planning is used as a
political instrument in Israel. The project One Land, Two
Systems brings together architects, planners,
photographers, lawyers, writers, human rights activists to
design and show alternatives and to bring these into the
publice debate.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2750.shtml


------------
Please tell people about EI. Send articles from EI to
interested contacts. Every article level page on EI has a
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that brings up a pop-up form that enables you to send a
message along with the article, even if you are not at
your home computer.
------------



--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

23 May 2004 -- 3PM CST
_______________________________


Opinion/Editorial
AFTER RAFAH,  EUROPE, ARABS
HAVE NO EXCUSE FOR INACTION
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 22 May 2004

Things must be bad in Palestine when the United States
allows a resolution to pass in the UN Security Council, as
it did late on 19 May condemning Israeli actions. The
resolution is a moral victory for Palestinians, but there
is no reason to take comfort from it as Israel intensified
its attack on the Gaza refugee camp. Unless the other
members of the Security Council and the wider
international community act immediately to halt Israel's
assault, we can conclude that the UN Resolution was
designed only to absolve them from any further action. EI
co-founder Ali Abunimah names some specific actions the
international community must take.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2734.shtml



Multimedia
PHOTOSTORY: ISRAEL'S DESTRUCTION IN
BRAZIL REFUGEE CAMP
Photographer: Johannes Abeling
The Electronic Intifada, 22 May 2004

Johannes Abeling, graduate of the Royal Art Academy in the
Hague and a freelance Dutch photojournalist, is back in
Palestine shooting photos. On 19th May, Johannes found
himself in Rafah in the middle of the peaceful protest
march by local residents that ended when Israeli combat
helicopters and tanks opened fire on the demonstrators,
killing at least 8 people and wounding about 50, including
many children. This series of photographs is from the
Brazil neighborhood in Rafah, which has seen many homes
demolished during Israel's ongoing "Operation Rainbow".

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2737.shtml


------------
EI needs your support to continue its important work.
For more information about how to donate to our work,
see http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml
------------


Human Rights
RAFAH DAILY UPDATE, 3.00PM
Report, MEZAN, 22 May 2004

Israeli forces entered the western outskirts of Rafah at
around 11:30 yesterday. Loudspeakers ordered all men over
the age of 16 to leave their homes and gather in one place
in the Abu Halweh neighborhood. Israeli forces are still
in the area carrying out house-to-house searches. Today,
operation "Rainbow" entered its fifth day. Israeli tanks
are still blocking the streets leading to Tel Al Sultan
and Brazil as well as the main road between Rafah and Khan
Yunis. Israeli officials confirmed that military activity
will continue and expansion is expected. At least 43
Palestinians have been killed in Rafah since the beginning
of the military assault on Rafah. At least 112 people have
been wounded.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2735.shtml



Human Rights
HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS: "NO STATE IS ABOVE THE LAW"
Joint Statement, Palestinian HROs, 22 May 2004

As the situation in Rafah and elsewhere in the Gaza Strip
further deteriorates, local and international human rights
organisations deplore the inaction of the international
community. The last two weeks have seen the devastation of
residential areas in southern Gaza, as Israeli occupying
forces have demolished hundreds of homes, cut water and
electricity lines, and left over 2,000 Palestinian
refugees homeless.  In a chilling development, Israeli
forces have demolished houses in which the residents who
have not been given warning were still inside.  Scores of
Palestinians have been killed during the last two weeks,
including the killing of 8 Palestinians and injuring of 41
others during a peaceful demonstration on 19 May 2004.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2738.shtml



Development
UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL
ON DEATH AND DESTRUCTION IN RAFAH
Report, UN News, 21 May 2004

Briefing the Security Council this morning on the
situation in the Middle East, Under-Secretary-General for
Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast said he regretted to
have had to deliver such a melancholy briefing, full of
death and destruction and human misery, adding that surely
the people of Israel and Palestine deserved better news.
The statistics were grim, he reported, noting that over
the last month, 128 Palestinians and 19 Israelis had been
killed and hundreds more injured. The Israeli army had
demolished hundreds of Palestinian homes, in breach of its
international obligations. Economic conditions continued
to worsen still further, bringing yet more suffering and
deepening the prevailing despair.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2733.shtml



Human Rights
RAFAH DAILY UPDATE, 11.00PM
Report, MEZAN, 21 May 2004

Today, Israeli forces redeployed in the town of Rafah,
leaving most of the populated areas. Israeli tanks are
still seen around these areas, however, blocking the
streets leading to them. Israeli spokespersons, as well as
Israeli officials said the operation in Rafah was still
underway. As of 11pm Friday, at least 42 Palestinians have
been killed in Rafah. At least 112 Palestinians have been
wounded. Israeli sources announced that operation
"Rainbow" would continue and that Israeli forces would
invade other sections of Rafah shortly. Meanwhile, the
humanitarian situation in Tel Sultan area and other areas
continues to deteriorate.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2736.shtml


------------
Please tell people about EI. Send articles from EI to interested
contacts. Every article level page on EI has a printable version
(text only) and an E-mail This Page link that brings up a pop-up
form that enables you to send a message along with the article,
even if you are not at your home computer.
------------


Development
UN RIGHTS CHIEF DEEPLY DISTURBED BY RECENT
ISRAELI ACTIONS IN GAZA
Report, UN News, 21 May 2004

The Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bertrand
Ramcharan, today called on Israel to respect international
law and end its use of disproportionate force in the Gaza
Strip, saying that even under security-related matters
there was no "license to kill." Mr. Ramcharan "is deeply
disturbed about the consequences of Israel's recent
military operation in the Gaza strip, in particular in
Rafah, and its disproportionate use of force in densely
populated areas," José Luis Díaz, spokesman for the High
Commissioner's Office, said in a statement issued in
Geneva.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2739.shtml


--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

21 May 2004 -- 6:50PM CST
_______________________________


Please note. EI is produced on a budget of around
$50,000 a year, less than the salary of a single
foreign correspondent! Help us level the playing field
this May 2004 and have a chance to win original art,
EI T-shirts, and solidarity pins. More information at:
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2611.shtml


---------------------
Rafah: Multimedia
---------------------

PHOTOSTORY: ISRAEL'S RAFAH OPERATION AND ITS MAY 19TH
ATTACK ON A PEACEFUL MARCH (GRAPHIC CONTENT)
Photographer: Johannes Abeling, EI, 21 May 2004

Johannes Abeling, graduate of the Royal Art Academy in the
Hague and a freelance Dutch photojournalist, is back in
Palestine shooting photos. Just a few days after he
arrived, Johannes found himself in Rafah in the middle of
a peaceful protest march by local residents calling for
the Israeli army to cease "Operation Rainbow", a military
operation to destroy hundreds of Palestinian homes along
the Gaza-Egyptian border. Israeli combat helicopters and
tanks opened fire on the demonstrators, killing at least 8
people and wounding about 50. Abeling's series of photos
are chilling and graphic, and EI publishes them here to
give readers a rare but necessary opportunity to see life
during wartime in Rafah. WARNING: SOME OF THE IMAGES ARE
EXTREMELY DISTURBING.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2730.shtml

A second photostory from Johannes Abeling will be
published shortly -- EI



PHOTOSTORY: "TRAPPED IN SOMEONE ELSE'S DREAM"
Photographer: Asim Rafiqui, Zone Zero, 21 May 2004

"Trapped In Someone Else's Dream" is a 2003 photostory
about Rafah by Asim Rafiqui. "Rafah," writes Rafiqui, "is
perhaps one of the first Palestinian ghettos. A town of
about 100,000 it is surrounded by steel walls, electric
fences, checkpoints and gun towers. Pilotless drones
patrol the skies at night and curfews control the movement
of people. It is from such a hell that the Palestinians
are expected to extend a 'hand towards peace', and to
'give up their violent ways'. Meanwhile, the occupation
continues, and so does the theft of land."

http://zonezero.com/exposiciones/fotografos/rafiqui/index.html



INTERVIEW: CREATOR OF 'RAFAH TODAY' WEBSITE,
DIRECT FROM RAFAH
Interviewer: Stefan Christoff, CKUT Radio Montreal, 18 May 2004

Listen to an interview with Mohamed, an independent
journalist from Rafah Palestine, who posts daily reports
and photos about Rafah at the website - rafahtoday.org.
This interview is a powerful and direct testimony, as to
the acts of collective punishment, which have been
unleashed on the Palestinian population of Rafah refugee
camp. The interview was recorded on Tuesday May 28th, as
Israeli troops continued to raid homes in Rafah,
confining its 90,000 residents without electricity, water
or phones. Just after halfway through the interview, Mohammed
interviews women who have lost relatives outside a hospital,
in a particularly moving segment.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2722.shtml



-------------------------------
Rafah: Art, Music & Culture
-------------------------------

PICTURES OF WAR: CONFLICTS AND DATES MAY CHANGE,
BUT THE IMAGERY AND INHUMANITY STAY THE SAME
Maureen Clare Murphy, The Electronic Intifada, 20 May 2004

When I saw the images of Iraqi prisoners being humiliated
by U.S. troops in Abu Ghraib, I felt as though I had
already visually experienced it in the visceral work of
American artist Leon Golub. Similar to what I sensed when
first seeing the now infamous Abu Ghraib photographs, the
even more recent images of house demolitions and death in
Rafah incited an all too familiar feeling of dread -- the
feeling that we have seen this all before, and how
horrible are we for letting it happen again.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2712.shtml



"OH RAFAH, ACHING RAFAH" - A POEM FROM
THE JOURNAL OF RACHEL CORRIE
Rachel Corrie, The Electronic Intifada, 20 May 2004

"oh rafah. aching rafah. aching of refugees aching of
tumbled houses bicycles severed from tank-warped tires and
aching of bullet riddled homes all homes worm-eaten by
bullets and then impregnated through bullet holes by
birds." Read the journal entry of peace activist Rachel
Corrie, who was living in Rafah when she was crushed to
death by an Israeli-operated bulldozer while defending one
of the many homes that have been destroyed by the Israeli
military in Rafah.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2720.shtml



-------------------------------------------
Rafah: Action Items & Activism News
-------------------------------------------

BLACK IS FOR MOURNING, TO SAY "WE'RE NOT CONFORMING,"
TO WAR CRIMES IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Laurie King-Irani, Electronic Intifada, 19 May 2004

"The deadly operation launched by Ariel Sharon this week
in Rafah, the southernmost city of the crowded and
occupied Gaza Strip, is picturesquely code-named
'Operation Rainbow.' Dressing up a murderous assault on
unarmed civilians with an ancient symbol of glittering
hope is obscene. One hue never present in any rainbow is
black. But that's the shade I'd like to focus on in this
essay and call for action." EI co-founder Laurie
King-Irani suggests a simple symbolic protest to encourage
thought, inspire discussion, and nurture solidarity in the
face of escalating carnage in Gaza and Iraq.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2698.shtml



A BLACK DAY: JERUSALEM-RAFAH-TEL-AVIV
Naama Nagar, ICAHD, 20 May 2004

Fifty Israelis demonstrated for the second day at the
entrance to Gaza Strip. Following the killing of innocents
in Rafah, 500 Israeli protesters blocked major streets in
Tel-Aviv. Eight were arrested and three wounded by police
violence. It is 00:30 in Jerusalem, and I'm back from a
long day, that unexpectedly has seen this day's most
crucial land marks, at least from the Israeli side. Please
excuse me if this report is somehwat confused, but I
insisted on sending it ASAP to all of you in America, and
many of you whom I know are still awake here.
Demonstrations at Sufa checkpoints will resume tomorrow
morning. On Friday a large demonstration is planned there.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2716.shtml



--------------------------------
Rafah: Business & Economy
--------------------------------

WHO REALLY SMUGGLED WEAPONS TO RAFAH?
Arjan El Fassed, The Electronic Intifada, 20 May 2004

Israel's ongoing assault on human lives and property in
Rafah is, according to Israeli spokespersons, "aimed at
preventing a huge shipment of arms being smuggled." The
past four days, Israeli forces have killed 39
Palestinians. Its military assault on Palestinians in
Rafah includes extensive house demolitions and other human
rights abuses. The question should be asked, who supplies
Israel's military occupation of the Gaza Strip. Both the
U.S. and EU are the main suppliers of arms with which
Israel has forced Palestinians to live under military
occupation for decades.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2721.shtml



-----------------
Rafah: Diaries
-----------------

LETTER FROM AND TO AMERICA
Nigel Parry, Live from Palestine, 20 May 2004

Observing Israel's propaganda campaign to deflect the
current international spotlight away from its brutal
military operation in Rafah, I am struck by the sheer
scale of the lie and the blatantly premeditated campaign
to cloud the issue instead of dealing transparently with
the obvious and undeniable abuses. Even the hapless United
States administration -- whose contentedly
culturally-ignorant and amoral soldiers were violating the
human rights of Joe and Jane Iraqi long before the abuse
in Abu Ghraib came to light -- has enough of a clue when
finally caught red-handed to understand that the only way
out of the mess was to begin a process of prosecuting
those responsible.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2717.shtml


--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

20 May 2004 -- 6:30PM CST
_______________________________


A mailing with EI features on Rafah
will follow this e-mail -- EI


--- 19 May 2004 ---

RAFAH DAILY UPDATE, 11.00PM
Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2728.shtml


RAFAH DAILY UPDATE, 3.00PM
Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2729.shtml


TODAY'S EVENTS IN RAFAH
B'Tselem
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2710.shtml


ISRAELI ATTACK ON CIVILIANS AT PROTEST IN RAFAH
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2708.shtml


SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS ON ISRAEL TO
STOP DEMOLITION OF PALESTINIAN HOMES
UN News
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2709.shtml



--- 20 May 2004 ---

RAFAH DAILY UPDATE, 11:00AM
Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2726.shtml


RAFAH DAILY UPDATE, 3:00PM
Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2727.shtml


RAFAH: ISRAELI FORCES KILL 39 PALESTINIANS IN FOUR DAYS
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2714.shtml


WEEKLY REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2719.shtml


END UNLAWFUL USE OF FORCE AGAINST CIVILIANS IN GAZA
Human Rights Watch
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2713.shtml


UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERT VOICES 'HORROR'
AT ISRAELI ACTION IN GAZA
UN News
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2715.shtml


ISRAELI HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS SUBMIT HUMANITARIAN
ACCESS DEMAND TO SUPREME COURT
Association for Civil-Rights in Israel
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2724.shtml



--- 21 May 2004 ---

AMNESTY: CALL FOR INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION
INTO RAFAH KILLINGS
Amnesty International
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2725.shtml



Support EI in May 2004 and win original art
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2611.shtml

--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
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donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
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_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

19 May 2004 -- 6:05PM CST
_______________________________


Video
ASSOCIATED PRESS VIDEO FROM DEMONSTRATION IN RAFAH
<http://play.rbn.com/?url=ap/dcwap/g2demand/0519rafah_SS.rm>



Coverage Trends
KEY ISRAELI DISTORTIONS ABOUT
"OPERATION RAINBOW" IN RAFAH
Nigel Parry, The Electronic Intifada, 19 May 2004

Since the beginning of May 2004, Israel has dramatically
increased its program of structural and ethnic cleansing
of Rafah. While Israel claims that its military operations
in Rafah are motivated by "security reasons", numerous
reports from human rights organisations paint a picture of
arbitrary shootings of residents, including children, and
nightly firing at border homes from Israeli watchtowers.
EI co-founder Nigel Parry examines the various claims
Israel has made about the ongoing "Operation Rainbow" and
attempts to uncover some of the realities behind Israel's
distortions of what is happening in Rafah.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2704.shtml



Opinion/Editorial
GENOCIDE BY PUBLIC POLICY
Sam Bahour and Michael Dahan
News from Within, 19 May 2004

Many words are taboo if used to describe Israel's actions
against Palestinians. One word in particular -- genocide
-- sparks emotions that echo across Israel, Europe, and
North America. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines
genocide as "the deliberate and systematic destruction of
a racial, political, or cultural group." What is happening
in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip today
is dangerously close to genocide, close enough that
photographs of terrified Palestinians in Rafah loading
their meager belongings onto carts and fleeing their homes
are all too reminiscent of another time, another place
another people. These images should be setting off alarm
bells in the hearts and minds of Israelis.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2703.shtml



Diaries
A PHONE CALL FROM UNDER SIEGE IN RAFAH
B. Samed, Live from Palestine, 19 May 2004

It was just before midnight (Tuesday, May 18th.), when I
tried to contact my friend Mohammad from the worst hit
neighborhoods in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Earlier on, during the day, I made several attempts to
contact my friend, but with no success. News from Rafah
started to become extremely worrying about the high number
of killed Palestinians at the Tel Al-Sultan area of Rafah.
The Israeli army killed fourteen people in the morning of
Tuesday alone. Journalist inside the area talked over the
phone about injured people in the streets bleeding to
death and calling for immediate help. But, Israeli snipers
prevented ambulances and private cars from reaching the
dead or injured by shooting at any one who came near those
lying in the middle of the street.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2706.shtml



Activism News
ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS
GROUPS URGE ACTION
Report, PHR, 19 May 2004

Five Palestinian and four Israeli human rights groups have
published identical advisertisements, today in the Israeli
daily newspaper Ha'aretz and tomorrow in the Palestinian
daily Al-Quds, stating: "Revenge cannot be policy,
violence will not bring peace". Referring to the
state-sanctioned house demolitions it also states: "The
government proposes, the Knesset supports, the public is
silent - and the High Court approves". Among the groups
are the Palestinian Center for Human Rights and Physicians
for Human Rights in Israel.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2702.shtml



Activism News
OUTRAGE IN OLYMPIA AS SISTER CITY IS ATTACKED
candio., The Electronic Intifada, 19 May 2004

Since Rachel Corrie died in Rafah over a year ago, Rafah
has held a special place in the hearts of Olympia
residents who have been attempting to forge a sister city
relationship with the besieged city. On May 18, the
Olympia Rafah Sister City Project [ORSCP] sponsored a
demonstration in support of the people in Rafah. About 35
people gathered at rush hour on Percival Landing to
protest the latest destruction and show solidarity with
the Palestinian people. The current deadly incursion in
Rafah has hit many people here hard.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2705.shtml



Development
MEDICAL TEAMS IN RAFAH PREVENTED FROM ACCESS
TO DEAD AND INJURED PALESTINIANS
Report, PMRS, 18 May 2004

Israeli forces are preventing medical teams from accessing
the dead and injured in Rafah. The hospital is overflowing
with casualties that ambulances were able to reach, but
those they could not lie dying in homes and streets. Said
Lemghayer from the Tel El Sultan neighborhood in Rafah,
died instantly when Israeli snipers shot him whilst he was
standing outside his house. His family tried to transfer
him to a hospital but Israeli forces prevented the
ambulance from reaching him.

http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/article2699.shtml



SUPPORT EI THIS MAY
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2611.shtml


--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml

_______________________________

UPDATE FROM THE
ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net

19 May 2004 -- 11:15AM CST
_______________________________


EI CALL FOR IMAGES, STORIES FROM RAFAH

As Israeli continues its violent military operation in Gaza,
the Electronic Intifada calls on residents and visitors currently
in Gaza to submit accounts of what is happening on the
ground and  images for publication at electronicIntifada.net

While names can be withheld on request, EI asks for
contributors to clearly label all submissions with the
author and a brief bio and, in the case of images, give
captions that include location and date (batch captions
are acceptable for images from the same location/time).

Submissions can be sent to info@...

EI continues to cover developments in Rafah, as they
happen, at http://electronicIntifada.net

Nigel Parry
for EI

--

ABOUT US: The Electronic Intifada (EI) is a
not-for-profit, independent publication committed to
comprehensive public education on the question of
Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the
economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of
Israel's 37-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

EI, found at http://electronicIntifada.net provides a
needed supplement to mainstream commercial media
representations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  More
information about our work can be found at
http://electronicIntifada.net/v2/aboutEI.shtml

MAILING LIST INSTRUCTIONS: To subscribe or
unsubscribe from EI mailing lists, please visit:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2164.shtml

SUPPORT OUR PROJECT: Our work needs funding. We accept
donations via credit card and cheque. U.S. donations are
tax deductible. More information can be found at:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article2162.shtml