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Failing the Palestinian state, punishing its people

The impact of the economic strangulation on human rights within the Occupied Palestinian Territory. A mission of the International Federation for Human Rights was in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) between 25 June and 2 July 2006. The mission was set up in order to examine the situation of economic and social rights in Gaza and the West Bank, almost one year after Israel 'disengaged' from the Gaza strip and three months after Israel and the international community decided to suspend all contacts with the government of the Palestinian Authority and to interrupt all aid channelled to and via that government, following the taking into office a government led by the Hamas on 29 March 2006 after elections were held on 25 January 2006. (International Federation for Human Rights, October 2006)

http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/tporapport1910.pdf

(Added: Wed Nov 29 2006   Hits: 34)

Prolonged Crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Recent Socio-Economic Impacts

According to this report, more than 1 million Palestinians, or one in four inhabitants of the occupied territories, are now mired in deep poverty as living standards deteriorate dramatically following the economic boycott of the Palestinian Authority this year. (UNRWA, November 2006)

http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/SocioEconomicImpacts_Nov06.pdf

(Added: Tue Nov 28 2006   Hits: 82)

The Arab-Israeli Conflict: To Reach a Lasting Peace

Now is the time for a serious international push to launch an Arab-Israeli peace initiative. Catastrophic as the recent series of developments in the Middle East have been, they can give new impetus to the search for a comprehensive settlement. This report is a realistic analysis of all the obstacles to peace in the current climate. But it also charts a way forward that could succeed. (International Crisis Group, 5 October 2006)

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4427&l=1

(Added: Fri Oct 06 2006   Hits: 29)

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: 335)

Local Business, Local Peace: the Peacebuilding Potential of the Domestic Private Sector

This publication highlights the domestic private sector's often overlooked peacebuilding potential. Developed and researched with partner organisations and business people from conflict-affected countries around the world, it presents more than 20 case studies where private sector actors have taken proactive steps to address violent conflict: Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Colombia, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Guatemala, Israel and Palestine, Kosovo, Nepal, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Caucasus and Sri Lanka. In addition, the publication highlights businesses' efforts to support formal peace processes; to address issues in the economic sphere; to build bridges between divided communities and groups; to alleviate security concerns; as well as the special role of women entrepreneurs. (International Alert, July 2006)

http://www.international-alert.org/our_work/themes/LBLP.php

(Added: Mon Sep 11 2006   Hits: 218)

Hanan Ashrawi Interview

Hanan Ashrawi is a Palestinian legislator, academic, and intellectual who was reelected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in January's national elections as part of the Third Way, a newly created political faction. In this interview she talks about the meaning and consequences of Hamas's victory in the January elections. (Jon Elmer, Progressive, April 2006)

http://progressive.org/mag_intv0406

(Added: Fri Sep 01 2006   Hits: 41)

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)

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: 113)

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)

Noam Chomsky: U.S.-Backed Israeli Policies Pursuing "End of Palestine"; Hezbollah Capture of Israeli Soldiers "Very Irresponsible Act" That Could Lead

to "Extreme Disaster". A transcript of Amy Goodman's interview with Noam Chomsky and Mouin Rabbani, which took place soon after Israel began bombing Lebanon. (Democracy Now, 14 July 2006)

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/14/146258

(Added: Fri Jul 21 2006   Hits: 82)

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)

Profiting from the Occupation: Corporate complicity in Israel's crimes

This 16-page report examines corporate involvement in the military occupation of Palestine, focusing in particular on the three sectors of construction, retail and transport. As well as providing information on the activities of these companies, the report calls on all readers to take action to bring them to account. (War on Want, July 2006)

http://www.waronwant.org/download.php?id=443

(Added: Thu Jul 13 2006   Hits: 46)

How to Curb the Tension in Gaza

Ever since the Israeli corporal Gilad Shalit was abducted by Palestinian militants a little over a week ago, all actors in the current drama in Gaza have been performing according to script. Not knowing what to do, they are doing what they know. For Hamas - the elected Palestinian government - that means violence; for Israel, collective punishment; and for the international community - well, not much really. None of this will lead anywhere, certainly nowhere good. This article argues that there is a desperate need for all parties to reassess pragmatically their positions. (Gareth Evans and Robert Malley, Financial Times, 5 July 2006)

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4202

(Added: Tue Jul 11 2006   Hits: 33)

Elie Wiesel: The moral dimension

In this interview, Holocaust survivor, philosopher and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel discuss the current state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the demise of Ariel Sharon, the rise of Hamas and hopes for an agreed settlement despite recent setbacks, as well as the "crazy man" Ahmadinejad in Iran. Wiesel says his mission is to "sensitize the desensitized," particularly world leaders in places where threats to humanity dominate daily life. (Newsweek, 2 July 2006)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13531834/site/newsweek/

(Added: Wed Jun 28 2006   Hits: 48)

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)

Promoting Impunity: The Israeli Military's Failure to Investigate Wrongdoing

In recent months several high-profile killings have drawn Israeli and international attention to the army's failure to conduct thorough and impartial investigations where there is credible evidence of unlawful use of force against civilians-none more so than the October 5, 2004, incident in which Givati Brigade soldiers shot a thirteen-year-old Gaza schoolgirl. An internal IDF debriefing immediately after the incident found that the company commander had "not acted unethically." This report calls on Israeli authorities can do to improve the accountability of their armed forces for arbitrary killings and other serious human rights abuses against civilians. (Human Rights Watch, June 2005)

http://hrw.org/reports/2005/iopt0605/

(Added: Wed Jun 14 2006   Hits: 30)

The Last Taboo

In this article the author speaks with Rami Elhanan, an Israeli graphic designer, the mother of a child killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber a decade ago. Once a soldier in the Israeli army, he and his wife Nurit are among the founders of the Parents' Circle, or Bereaved Families for Peace, which brings together Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost loved ones. They include the families of suicide bombers. They jointly organise educational campaigns and lobby politicians to begin serious negotiations. Sometimes, solutions to apparently intractable political problems seem closer at hand when there is a Rami Elhanan engrossed in them, saying the unsayable. (John Pilger, Information Clearing House, 7 June 2006)

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13529.htm

(Added: Thu Jun 08 2006   Hits: 101)

Iraq: The face of the enemy

Robert Fisk penetrates the world of the Palestinian 'martyrs' flooding over the border to fuel the Iraqi insurgency. (06/06/06, The Independent)

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13521.htm

(Added: Wed Jun 07 2006   Hits: 33)

Israel must reach out

Jonathan Freedland argues that Israel should come to terms with Hamas and try to resolve the Palestinian crisis for a very good reason: self-interest. (Guardian, May 2006)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianweekly/story/0,,1786861,00.html

(Added: Thu Jun 01 2006   Hits: 39)

Palestinian opinions on peace and conflict, internal affairs and parliament elections 2006 results from Fafo polls in September and November-December

These polls surveyed opinions on the political situation, peace and conflict, and governance. The first poll focused on the Israeli pullout of Gaza while the second poll measured the pullout's effect on people's lives in addition to people's views on the upcoming Palestinian parliament elections. This 42 page report presents the results. The analysis is divided into three parts. The first part deals with Palestinian opinions on questions related to peace and conflict. This section includes effects of the Israeli pullout, attitudes regarding Palestinian violence targeting Israel, and opinions on the peace process. The second part discusses internal Palestinian affairs and peoples' view on different actors' performance. Included are also issues such as satisfaction with local services, institutional charity, and important political aspects to be addressed by the Palestinian Authority. The third part looks at people's opinions regarding the parliamentary elections. To conclude, the election results that led to the Hamas victory are analysed in view of the poll data. (Institute for Applied Social Science, Norway, 2006)

http://www.fafo.no/pub/rapp/797/797.pdf

(Added: Tue May 30 2006   Hits: 39)

'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)

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)

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

This guide uses information from the World Guide to provide a background to the Israel-Palestine conflict, and has a list of useful web resources.

http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/1450.html

(Added: Tue May 23 2006   Modified: Thu Jun 01 2006   Hits: 41)

Telling it like it isn't

In this article, a veteran journalist criticises the sanitized language the media uses when covering the Israel/Palestine conflict, ending with this plea: "Let's call a colony a colony, let's call occupation what it is, let's call a wall a wall. And maybe express the reality of war by showing that it represents not, primarily, victory or defeat, but the total failure of the human spirit." (Robert Fisk, Los Angeles Times, 27 December 2005)

http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/3797.html

(Added: Tue May 23 2006   Hits: 59)

Israel should face sanctions

Western leaders are frustrating democratic elections in Palestine by withholding aid, and using collective punishment, an economic siege and starvation as political weapons in their efforts to get the Hamas government to accept their terms of business with Israel. According to this article, the Palestine crisis is now more dramatic even than apartheid, but it is the victims who are punished. (Ronnie Kasrils and Victoria Brittain, The Guardian, 19 May 2006)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/comment/0,,1778714,00.html

(Added: Mon May 22 2006   Hits: 45)

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