On 28 September 2001 the Palestinians commemorated the first anniversary of the second Intifada with more people killed and injured adding to the already hundreds of deaths and the thousands injured during this year.
The characteristic of this Intifada in contrast with previous Palestinian confrontations with the Israeli occupation is the extraordinarily high number of civilian casualties within both the Palestinian and Israeli societies. This was due to an excessive use of…
Several young Israeli men are refusing to participate in military service and a number continue to be imprisoned for their principled stance. As we went to press at least three were serving short sentences in military prisons.
In an extract from a letter written in prison, CO David Haham explained his motivation for refusing to bear arms: “I am imprisoned over my refusal to take part in repression of the Palestinian people, because I feel it is out of the question to be a Jew, son of…
Gabriel Wolf, serving his second consecutive prison term at the time of writing, was initially imprisoned on 1 April, for refusing to be recruited into the Israeli Defence Force, after being heard by the military Conscience Committee – the body that hears requests for exemption to military service.
However they concluded that “The Committee was not convinced that you [Gabby Wolf] are a pacifist”, to which Gabby replied “I never tried to convince anyone that I was one”.…
After a nonviolent action carried out by Israelis, Palestinians and internationals to dismantle an Israeli roadblock located outside two Palestinian villages, 16 people were arrested and a car containing two activists was riddled with automatic gunfire.
The car's occupants were mildly injured during the attack which it is alleged originated from the nearby Israeli settlement of Brukhim. The injured had been waiting in the car for the release of activists who had earlier been…
So, these most miserable elections ended as expected. What would have seemed an implausible nightmare but a few months ago is now a sober reality: Ariel Sharon has been elected Prime Minister of Israel.
Still, this result is not so much the victory of a notorious hard-liner as it is the defeat of the failing incumbent. Barak, the man who spoke peace but went to war, was not so much defeated by the opposition as by himself. As no leader of the right could possibly have done, it was…
Since 1993 the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been responsible for the provision of many services (health, education, social etc) to its population, but it has not had control of the most basic resources such as land and water, or access to international economic markets. Consequently the Palestinians have remained dependent on the state of Israel for economic co-operation (one figure suggests that 25% of Palestinian GDP comes from such co-operation).
Economic separation
The…
Once blood has been shed and tensions reach new heights, the opportunities for dialogue and resolution to conflict are reduced. However there have been numerous acts of solidarity and calls for a cease-fire from both Jewish and Palestinian groups and several joint demonstrations and vigils. These have included a permanent sit-in in Jerusalem; a Jewish/Arab reconciliation tent; demonstrations at the US embassy; open meetings; petitions; and Women in Black vigils. There have also been…
