"The evil being visited upon the Palestinian people is almost beyond comprehension. Almost. One can only pray that it so appalls the world that, at some point, it simply will not stand. The Crusades ended. The Holocaust ended. Apartheid ended. So too must the siege of Gaza."
Report From Gaza by Stephen DeGange, Aug 26, 2009
  • 'Israel's choice is settlements or peace' | Jordan Times
    Aug 24, 2010 - 09:40:11 PM
    RAMALLAH (AFP) - Israel must choose between "settlements or peace", Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Monday ahead of the September 2 restart of direct negotiations in Washington. "The choice of the Israeli government is settlement or peace, they cannot have both," he said at a news conference in Ramallah, the political capital of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
  • Israeli army's female recruits denounce treatment of Palestinians ...
    Aug 24, 2010 - 09:28:55 PM
    Two former Israeli army recruits have spoken out against the military action in the occupied territories, telling of their own experiences and denouncing the army's treatment of Palestinians. They join many other military veterans who have formed a group called Breaking the Silence to speak publicly against Israel's occupation.
  • Jordan Valley is a microcosm of Israel's colonisation
    Aug 21, 2010 - 08:14:00 PM
    The Jordan Valley, stretching all the way down the West Bank's eastern side, is a microcosm of Israel's discriminatory policies of colonisation and displacement. For 40 years, settlements have been established, military no-go areas declared, and Palestinians' freedom of movement restricted. There are now 27 colonies in the Jordan Valley - most of them had been established by the late 1970s under Labour governments.
  • Peace talks in the shadow of demolitions - Badil
    Aug 21, 2010 - 07:40:54 PM
    While President Barack Obama pressures Palestinians to re-engage in direct peace talks, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu loftily counsels President Mahmoud Abbas not to miss the opportunity, recent demolitions within the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel continue unabated and unaddressed.

    According to the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, July and August have marked the highest number of demolitions this year. As of the end of July, OCHA reported that Israeli forces destroyed over 230 structures effectively displacing and/or affecting over 1,100 Palestinians, including 400 children since the beginning of 2010. Over 50 percent of that destruction took place in July.
  • Jonathan Cook: The US Arms Bonanza in the Middle East
    Aug 16, 2010 - 06:40:26 AM
    Stephen Zunes, a US-based Middle East policy analyst, accused Washington of setting the stage for another “arms race” in the region.“This is a pattern we’ve seen before. The US offers Arab states expensive modern armaments, and then turns around to Israel and tells it it needs to have even better weapons to stay ahead in the race. Then the pressure again mounts on the Arab states. It’s a racket that has been a bonanza for US arms manufacturers,” he said.
  • Netanyahu rejects peace talks based on 1967 borders
    Aug 12, 2010 - 06:55:20 PM
    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a Palestinian demand that direct negotiations be based on a statement by the Quartet confirming its position that the future Palestinian state will be based on the 1967 borders.
  • Jews and Arabs march against East Jerusalem evictions
    Aug 09, 2010 - 08:47:42 PM
    JERUSALEM (AFP) – "Jews and Arabs marched shoulder-to-shoulder in occupied east Jerusalem and in towns across Israel on Friday in a joint protest against the eviction of Palestinians to make way for Jewish settlers.In the Sheikh Jarrah residential neighbourhood, close to the line between mainly Arab east Jerusalem and the Jewish west side, Israeli, Palestinian and foreign protesters rallied to mark one year since the clearances there began.Avner Inbar of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement told AFP that about 1,000 people took part and about the same number marched in Tel Aviv. Eyewitnesses and media put attendance at about 500..."
  • The West Bank - What About Fairness? - Video Library - The New York Times
    Jul 22, 2010 - 06:43:00 PM
    Nicholas Kristoff, Correspondent for the New York Times, has recorded an excellent video in the South Hebron hills of the West Bank showing the plight of Palestinian families forced to live in tents because the Israeli authorities won't allow them to build, while nearby modern Israeli settlements have plenty of water and conveniences. His conclusion: "It's wrong."
  • Israelis destroy yet another Palestinian village
    Jul 21, 2010 - 08:47:28 AM
    Israeli columnist Amira Hass describes the Israeli destruction of a Palestinian village near Nablus on July 19
  • Soldiers demolish Palestinian homes, shops
    Jul 21, 2010 - 08:37:32 AM
    Israeli authorities have demolished eight structures belonging to Palestinians in a residential area northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
  • 32 new settlement homes approved for Jerusalem
    Jul 13, 2010 - 03:52:53 PM
    Ma'an News: "The Israeli planning committee for occupied East Jerusalem gave the go-ahead on Monday for the construction of 32 new settlement housing units in the Pisgat Ze'ev settlement, Israeli media reported. According to the Israeli English online edition of Yedioth Ahronoth, committee members said work on the buildings - an initial project for a 220 unit expansion - could begin immediately, even as indirect talks for peace continue between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. One of the conditions for Palestinian negotiators before proximity talks move to direct discussions, was the halt of settlement construction in areas within the 1967 borders, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip."
  • Report from the Presbyterian General Assembly - Part I
    Jul 12, 2010 - 09:09:12 AM
    Mark Braverman, whose book Fatal Embrace* addresses relationships between Christians and Jews, has written an insightful article on the Presbyterian vote to accept the denomination's Middle East Study Committee report. Present at the debates that preceded the General Assembly's action, he is able to convey the dedication of those who considered the report and their commitment to addressing concerns of all parties. The result was a document praised by people who had been opposed to the report and by those who drafted it. Yet the report remains true to its goal of promoting a just peace. Braverman finds in this a sign of hope.
    *(www.fatal.embrace.org.)
  • Report: U.S. tax breaks aiding illegal outposts in West Bank
    Jul 06, 2010 - 05:27:39 AM
    U.S. Treasury tax breaks have helped West Bank settlers to receive $200 million in tax-free funding from American donors, according to a report published in the United States on Tuesday. Differences in U.S. and Israeli law means it is easier to fund illegal outposts through donations from New York than from Jerusalem, according to an investigation by the New York Times. Findings could embarrass Obama as he seeks to persuade Netanyahu to extend settlement building freeze.
  • Maan News Agency: Israel demolishes dozens of homes in Jordan Valley
    Jul 02, 2010 - 05:43:05 AM
    Jericho – Ma’an – Israeli forces demolished dozens of homes and structures in two villages in the Jordan Valley Thursday, reports said.Soldiers arrived with bulldozers in the Tubas municipality, and destroyed houses and sheep structures under the pretext the areas are closed military zones, village representative Abdallah Bisharat said.Bisharat affirmed that “these lands are registered under the names of the Palestinians and are owned by them. These are agricultural and pastoral lands that are the main livelihood of hundreds of families,” adding that the demolitions bring “total destruction” to locals.
  • Methodists launch boycott over West Bank
    Jun 30, 2010 - 03:15:42 PM
    "The Methodist Church today voted to boycott all products from Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories becoming the first major Christian denomination in Britain to officially adopt such a policy. The decision was made at the church’s Conference in Portsmouth, an annual gathering which decides Methodist policy. The official stance of the church, the fourth largest Christian denomination in Britain, will be to boycott any products made on Jewish settlements on the West Bank. Lay Methodists will also be encouraged to follow the church’s lead..."
  • Controversial Presbyterian Church Document Justified
    Jun 29, 2010 - 07:23:17 PM
    Baltimore Jewish Times - National News by Dr. Steven Feldman
    "Presbyterian missionaries on the ground who have met with both Israeli Jews and Muslim and Christian Palestinians have seen that Palestinians aren’t driven by hatred of Jews but by the mistreatment they have suffered at the hands of Israel."
  • Jerusalem master plan: Expansion of Jewish enclaves across the city ...
    Jun 29, 2010 - 12:09:41 PM
    The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee is set to approve an unprecedented master plan that calls for the expansion of Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, a move largely based on construction on privately owned Arab property.
  • US frustrated with Netanyahu over stalled proximity talks
    Jun 29, 2010 - 11:57:36 AM
    U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell is frustrated by the conduct of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the proximity talks with the Palestinians. Mitchell, who is due in Israel on Thursday for another round of talks in Jerusalem and Ramallah, has expressed to Netanyahu his wish to see more progress by Israel on core issues.
  • BBC News - ICRC says Israel's Gaza blockade breaks law
    Jun 24, 2010 - 04:12:05 PM
    Israel's blockade of Gaza is a clear violation of international humanitarian law, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said. In a statement, the ICRC describes the situation in Gaza as dire, saying the only sustainable solution is a lifting of the blockade. It says Israel is punishing the whole civilian population of Gaza.
  • BBC News - UN chief says East Jerusalem demolition plan 'illegal'
    Jun 24, 2010 - 04:06:29 PM
    UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said the plan to demolish Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem to make way for a tourist park is illegal and unhelpful. On Monday Jerusalem City Council approved the plan to demolish 22 Palestinian homes in Silwan - part of a major redevelopment of the area. The move has drawn criticism both at home and from the Obama administration. Mr Ban said the plan was "contrary to international law" and "unhelpful" to efforts to restart peace negotiations.
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