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A nasty hint of anti-Semitism is entering our public discourse

In this article the columnist argues that anti-Semitic views are becoming widespread among otherwise liberal, sane people and such views, or their precursors, are seeping into public discourse at a rate that cannot be ignored. In particular he draws attention to calls for Jews to declare their ethnicity if they are to commentate on the Israel/ Palestine situation, complaints on the supposed "jewish influence" on the Blair and Bush administrations. If similar comments were made against black people, we would quite rightly be drowning in condemnatory columns. He argues that while condemning the behaviour of Israel in the occupied territories, we must also condemn racial discrimination when it filters into our public discourse. (Johann Hari, The Independent, 8 August 2003)

http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=31

(Added: Mon May 01 2006   Hits: 49)

Bank Tightens the Squeeze

In yet another blow to the internationally-cornered, cash-strapped Hamas-led Palestinian government, a leading Israeli bank announced this week that it is severing ties with Palestinian banks in the wake of the Islamic movement's rise to power. The move, however, could also deal a blow to many small Israeli businesses and the widespread business-to-business cooperation between the two peoples. (Peter Hirschberg, IPS News, 20 May 2006)

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33304

(Added: Thu May 25 2006   Hits: 49)

Indiscriminate Fire: Palestinian Rocket Attacks on Israel and Israeli Artillery Shelling in the Gaza Strip

Both sides have shown disregard for civilian loss of life in violation of international humanitarian law (IHL): Palestinian armed groups have directed their rockets at Israeli towns; Israeli artillery shelling near populated areas has caused considerable civilian casualties for uncertain military gain as well as at least one serious incident of indiscriminate shelling. This report sets forth recommendations aimed at ending practices that have led to unnecessary civilian death and injury (Human Rights Watch, 1 July 2007).

http://hrw.org/reports/2007/iopt0707/iopt0707webwcover.pdf

(Added: Tue Sep 11 2007   Hits: 154)

Israel/Palestine/Lebanon: Climbing Out of the Abyss

A diplomatic and political approach is needed to defuse the twin crises in Lebanon and Palestine, including immediate ceasefires on both fronts and steps to restore stability and re-launch a comprehensive peace process, or matters could become far worse. Resolution of the Palestinian crisis should involve allowing the elected government to govern in exchange for a cessation of hostilities. Israel's pursuit of a knockout against Hizbollah is unrealistic and counterproductive, risking pushing Lebanon to breaking point. Cessation of hostilities should be followed by a prisoner exchange and, if agreed by all parties, dispatch of a UN-authorised international force charged with verifying ceasefire adherence. Sustainable peace requires continued EU and UN engagement with Hamas and Hizbollah and renewed U.S. engagement with Syria and Iran. The key to resolving both crises is reinvigorating the Israeli-Arab peace processes. (International Crisis Group, 25 July 2006)

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4282

(Added: Wed Jul 26 2006   Hits: 76)

Lebanon, Israel, and the "greater west Asian crisis"

The Lebanon war is one component of the crisis of a new geopolitical region - "greater west Asia" - whose dangers are comparable to those of Europe in 1914, according to this article. (Fred Halliday, Open Democracy, 18 August 2006)

http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization/westasia_crisis_3833.jsp

(Added: Mon Aug 21 2006   Hits: 41)

Palestinian blood - a crisis

Gaza's blood banks have been crumbling for years. The Israeli seige made it extremely hard to get new machine parts into this congested strip of land, where one and a half million people live trapped. Then the international boycott - after the democratic election of Hamas - dried up the dribble of international funds that used to make it through, making it hard for the Shifa Blood Bank to buy even simple blood bags and testing kits. Blood has long been a bleak symbol of Palestinian life, and now it is becoming another in its long list of crises. (Johann Hari, Independent, 13 December 2006)

http://johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1029

(Added: Fri Dec 15 2006   Hits: 88)

Palestinians, Israel and the Quartet: Pulling Back from the Brink

According to this report, the Israeli-Palestinian situation is heading towards catastrophic breakdown, and all players must urgently revise their policies. Palestinians are inching towards civil war, Israelis and Palestinians are perilously close to resuming all-out hostilities, and the international community is depriving the Palestinian Authority of vital assistance. Missing from strategies to dislodge Hamas is a realistic assessment of their longer-term consequences. Starved of resources, Hamas may well fail, but it would not go quietly, and the resulting chaos and violence would make it hard to chalk up its failure as anybody's success. Required is a more nuanced international approach with the following objectives: avoiding inter-Palestinian violence and the Palestinian Authority's collapse; encouraging Hamas to adopt more pragmatic policies, not merely threatening; achieving a sustained ceasefire; and preventing steps jeopardising a two-state solution. (International Crisis Group, 13 June 2006)

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4171

(Added: Wed Jun 14 2006   Hits: 37)

Stagnation or revival : Israeli disengagement and Palestinian economic prospects, Vol. 1 of 1

The World Bank ' s June 23 report, " Disengagement, the Palestinian Economy and the Settlements, " warns of the potential disintegration of the Palestinian economy under the sustained pressures of conflict and Israeli closure policies--a situation which is potentially ruinous for both Palestinians and Israelis. Currently there is hope that the Israeli and Palestinian governments are once again ready to discuss their shared future. At this juncture, it is vital that policy-makers focus on stabilizing and reviving the economy as part of any new political process. While money, and in particular donor money, has an important role to play, the underlying causes of economic decline need to be addressed. For a recovery to take place, the Government of Israel needs to roll back the system of restrictions on the movement of people and goods imposed since the beginning of the intifada - it is these various closure measures that are the proximate cause of four years of Palestinian economic distress. The Government of Israel has given encouraging signs of a willingness to reform the management of border gateways, to enable a much faster and more reliable throughput of cargo and people. For its part, the Palestinian Authority faces two sets of challenges if it is to play its part in bringing about revival. First is the need to demonstrate strong commitment to security reform, politically risky though this may be. The PA also needs to reinvigorate its program of governance reforms in order to create an internal environment more attractive to private investors. Chapter Six lays out an agenda of actions that the Bank believes would lay the basis for economic regeneration. It is further proposed that the donor community track progress by the parties in tackling these key preconditions for economic revival. If significant progress is made against a set of agreed indicators, a major new donor effort would then be justified - and a donor pledging conference should be called.

http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000160016_20050719120558

(Added: Wed Sep 21 2005   Hits: 184)

'How can people live, I wonder?'

Eight months ago, the Palestinians were celebrating the end of Israel's military occupation of Gaza. But the artillery shells keep falling, factions are fighting each other and the economy is on its knees as Israel blockades exports. Has anything changed for the better? (Chris McGreal, The Guardian, 25 May 2006)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1782415,00.html

(Added: Mon May 29 2006   Hits: 52)

A year of silence since Rachel Corrie died

Rachel Corrie's cousin, Elizabeth Corrie, raising some probing questions regarding Rachael's killing on March 16 2003 by a nine ton bulldozer while she protected a home from being demolished.

http://www.iht.com/articles/508588.html

(Added: Fri Mar 05 2004   Hits: 82)

Act to end Discrimination Against Palestinian Arab Children in Israel's Schools

Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel make up nearly one-quarter of Israel's schoolchildren. Yet Palestinian Arab children receive an education that is inferior in nearly every respect when compared to Jewish children. Write to the Israeli Minister of Education. Contact key members of the Israeli Knesset.

http://hrw.org/campaigns/israel/schools/index.htm

(Added: Tue Oct 03 2006   Hits: 319)

After Gaza

Hamas's takeover of Gaza and President Abbas's dismissal of the national unity government and appointment of one led by Salam Fayyad amount to a watershed in the Palestinian national movement's history. This report discusses Hamas and Fatah and the potential of peace between the two -as well as between Israelis and Palestinians- and gives suggestions on what needs to happen in order to obtain this peace (International Crisis Group, Middle East Report No 68, 2 August 2007).

http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/middle_east___north_africa/arab_israeli_conflict/68_after_gaza.pdf

(Added: Tue Aug 07 2007   Hits: 62)

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights is a Palestinian non-governmental non-partisan organization based in the refugee camp of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip. Al Mezan's mandate is "to promote, protect and prevent violations of human rights in general and economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights in particular, to provide effective aid to those victims of such violations, and to enhance the quality of life of the community in marginalized sectors of the Gaza Strip.

http://www.mezan.org/site_en/index.php

(Added: Tue May 24 2005   Hits: 72)

Anti-Semitism at the World Social Forum?

by Cecilie Surasky Published on Thursday, February 19, 2004 by CommonDreams.org "It is my first morning at the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India and I am at a workshop on Palestinian women and the occupation [...] I have come because my New Voices human rights fellowship has decided to send the fellows to the WSF. But I have an additional reason for being here. The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) has cited the WSF as one of the centers of what it and others refer to as the "new anti-Semitism", and these charges have been picked up by various journalists as evidence of a dangerous new trend on the left."

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0219-08.htm

(Added: Wed Feb 25 2004   Modified: Tue Dec 06 2005   Hits: 224)

Assessment of the future humanitarian risks in occupied Palestinian territory

This paper examines the humanitarian risks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the coming months. The analysis has been organised according to three scenarios. Scenario 1 reflects the current situation. A more critical forecast is related to the withdrawal of funding to the Palestinian Authority. In Scenario 2 Israeli-enforced movement restrictions and security measures continue and the Palestinian Authority's (PA) budget and services are only partially funded. In Scenario 3 Continued movement restrictions and security measures and the PA budget and services a re not funded at all. The paper warns of an extremely bleak humanitarian situation for the Palestinian people. (United Nations, 11 April 2006)

http://www.choike.org/documentos/hum_asses.pdf

(Added: Thu May 04 2006   Hits: 240)

Avoiding failure with Hamas

Can Hamas change? The Palestinian Authority's government has suggested respect for past agreements with the caveat that these must serve Palestinian interests; and officials hint that one day they would accept a two-state solution, only to contradict themselves the next. While there is genuine uncertainty over whether Hamas ultimately can come up with the right answer, this article argues that halting aid to the Palestinian Authority almost certainly will yield the wrong one. Starving the Palestinian Authority of such resources almost immediately after Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has taken office and before his government's policies can be assessed would be tantamount to ensuring the experiment in Islamist political integration is stillborn. Should Hamas conclude that failure is its only option, it will eventually revert to its proven methods of violence - and three out of every four Palestinians would fall beneath the poverty line. The author recommends donors should rather respond by prioritising what Hamas does, not what it says and allow a trial period for aid. Adopting such an approach has nothing to do with endorsing Hamas's ideology or previous conduct, and everything to do with devising a realistic policy to deal with a real problem. (Robert Malley, International Herald Tribune, 10 April 2006)

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4066

(Added: Tue Apr 18 2006   Hits: 272)

B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

Israeli human rights organization established in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists, and Knesset members. B'Tselem acts primarily to change Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories and ensure that the Israeli government, which rules the Occupied Territories, protects the human rights of residents there and complies with its obligations under international law. It endeavors to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel. B'Tselem is independent and is funded by contributions from foundations in Israel, Europe, and North America and by private individuals in Israel and abroad. - From their website

http://www.btselem.org/

(Added: Thu Sep 04 2003   Modified: Thu Dec 08 2005   Hits: 116)

B'Tselem year-end report on human rights in Israel/Palestine conflict

The 2007 report from the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories argues that there has been deterioration in many measures of human rights, particularly in the Gaza Strip, which has declined to an all time low, following Israel 's siege on the area. (B'Tselem, 31/12)

http://www.btselem.org/english/Press_Releases/20071231.asp

(Added: Thu Jan 03 2008   Hits: 70)

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights takes a rights-based approach to the Palestinian refugee issue through research, advocacy and support of community participation in the search for durable solutions.

http://www.badil.org

(Added: Tue May 24 2005   Modified: Mon Mar 19 2007   Hits: 179)

Bat Shalom

Bat Shalom is an Israeli national feminist grassroots organization of Jewish and Palestinian Israeli women working together for a genuine peace grounded in a just resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict, respect for human rights, and an equal voice for Jewish and Arab women within Israeli society.

http://www.batshalom.org

(Added: Tue Aug 24 2004   Modified: Thu Dec 08 2005   Hits: 84)

Bitterlemons.org

Bitterlemons.org is a website that presents Israeli and Palestinian viewpoints on prominent issues of concern. It focuses on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and peace process. It is produced, edited and partially written by Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian, and Yossi Alpher, an Israeli. Its goal is to contribute to mutual understanding through the open exchange of ideas. Bitterlemons.org aspires to impact the way Palestinians, Israelis and others worldwide think about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

http://www.bitterlemons.org/

(Added: Wed Jul 19 2006   Hits: 40)

Bush launches a new Middle East initiative

The latest Bush plan for a regional peace conference in the Middle East has been met with disdain. Underlying it, however, is a broader US ideological framing that sees the Middle East conflict as an existential struggle between 'moderates' and 'extremists'. Phyllis Bennis sets out a more subtle distinction between the various strands of Islamist strategy, and argues that the global peace movement should follow a boycott, divestment and sanctions strategy towards Israel. (Phyllis Bennis, Transnational Institute, 24 July 2007).

http://www.tni.org/detail_page.phtml?act_id=17147

(Added: Thu Jul 26 2007   Hits: 184)

Civilians in danger (pdf)

During the war between Israel and Hizbullah in the summer of 2006, a total of 1,191 Lebanese civilians were killed and over 4,400 were wounded. On the Israeli side, 44 Israeli civilians were killed and 4,262 were injured. On the basis of the investigation undertaken by the Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA), it emerges that temporary military installations from which missiles were fired into Lebanon during the 2006 war were positioned in very close proximity to the Arab locales that suffered the gravest attacks during the war. (Arab Association for Human Rights, December 2007)

http://www.dev-zone.org/downloads/LebanonWarReportFinalEng.pdf

(Added: Wed Jan 23 2008   Modified: Fri Jan 25 2008   Hits: 11)

CrisisWatch N°36, 1 August 2006

In 36 months of publishing CrisisWatch, the International Crisis Group has not recorded such severe deteriorations in so many conflict situations as in the past month. The Middle East erupted with full-scale conflict between Israel and Hizbollah in south Lebanon, and there was a major escalation in Israel's conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Insecurity and sectarian violence surged in Iraq, claiming over 100 civilian lives daily. Somalia sits on the brink of all-out civil war, which is drawing in the wider region: Ethiopian troops entered Somalia to support the transitional federal government, and Eritrea is arming the opposing Union of Islamic Courts. In Sudan, implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement was at a standstill, with rebels split, and fighting, over the agreement. The Mumbai bombings that killed over 200 had wider implications for the normalisation process between India and Pakistan. Tensions rose dramatically on the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang fired seven test missiles. The situation also deteriorated in Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire and Haiti. Four situations showed improvement in July 2006: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Timor-Leste, and Cyprus. (ICG, 1 August 2006)

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=4296

(Added: Wed Aug 02 2006   Hits: 109)

Crossing Borders

Crossing Borders is a non-governmental and not for profit organisation based at the International People's College in Elsinore, Denmark with branches in Palestine, Israel and Jordan. It applies the concept of cross-border dialogue with a focus on mutual learning and non-violent communication to Arab and Israeli youth in the Middle East, through various programmes, including a magazine written by and for aforementioned youth.

http://www.crossingborder.org

(Added: Mon Mar 19 2007   Hits: 220)

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