Our taxi wove through the narrow streets of Gaza, our driver giving us a brief tour of the horrors. We saw the house of Sheikh Yassin and the point where he was executed. Demolished Mosques, homes and businesses point the direction to the Zaytoun neighbourhood in south central Gaza City. The past few nights have been sleepless. The Israeli forces have attacked from land, sea and air. My home, close to the sea, echoed and shook with the pounding of the shelling on the nearby Beach Camp. Further into the centre of Gaza the people of Zaytoun (which means ‘olive’) have been imprisoned in the scene of some of the most intense fighting since the Intifada began. Read more about Israel's revenge in Zaytoun, Gaza
The situation in Gaza is horrific beyond belief. Since Tuesday, May 11, thousands of people have been denied the simple right to return to their homes; this includes infants, children, students, employees, women, and men of all ages. There is no law in this life or world that should prevent someone from returning to his or her home. Yet in Palestine this is happening. And it is Israel, the storied democratic state, that is practicing this grave violation of very basic human rights. Ghada Ageel reports from Zahra, in Gaza Strip. Read more about Gaza: horror beyond belief
Ramallah is now usually quiet at night. This has not always been the case for this summer town located in the center of the West Bank. As a matter of fact, before the latest Israeli military aggression and subsequent re-occupation of the West Bank, Palestinians in Ramallah were known to walk the streets and socialize well into the night. However, tonight the deafening silence was broken, not by the frequent Israeli tanks and jeeps that now enter and exit the city at will, but rather by the music of the distinguished Daniel Barenboim, one of the great musicians of our time. Read more about A Guiding Light Falls on Ramallah
What might happen to those taxi drivers and travelers is at present a subject of much storytelling in Bethlehem. Mary heard from a cousin that her brother in law, a taxi driver, was beaten up by soldiers. Another of her cousins studies at Birzeit University and has to take the Wadi Nar road every now and then to visit family back in Bethlehem. A weekend ago she even didn’t dare to try to take that road. Apparently soldiers had erected a large tent next to it where those who were caught sneaking through the hills were brought together and sometimes beaten up. All were people who for their daily duties had to travel from one Palestinian town to another. Read more about Resilience
On my way back to the office at the Arab American University of Jenin in the West Bank, I ran into Amal, the cleaning lady. She is normally in a bubbly mood but today was despondent, which was ironic as her name means ‘hope’ in Arabic. I greeted her and then just listened as she tearfully recounted a litany of people killed or maimed by Israeli soldiers in the last few days - most recently the early morning assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. She seemed especially sad this morning, but not because she was a Hamas activist or Yassin supporter, but a mother with 7 daughters. Read more about It's Not About Yassin
Toine van TeeffelenBethlehem, Palestine2 February 2004
At the teacher workshop about diary writing the participants say that nowadays Palestinians here are less strict in observing customs like not holding, for a period of up to one year, a wedding party after somebody in the family has passed away. In the past it was unthinkable not to comply but the negative events are so frequent and overwhelming these days that it is simply too unpractical to let one’s social life be prescribed by them. As Mary says, one has to live. Toine van Teeffelen writes from occupied Bethlehem. Read more about The bittersweet lives of Palestine's children
Mika Minio-PaluelloNablus, Palestine25 January 2004
The Israeli invasion and siege of Nablus city ended two weeks ago now (Wed Jan 7), with a return to the nightly machine gun fire from the mountains, daily mini-incursions, and deadly proddings by jeeps and the occasional tank. With the invasion competing with the horrific Iranian earthquake, aircrashes, Sharon’s speeches and the Christmas holiday, media coverage was minimal, in Israeli, international, Arab and even Palestinian media, adding to the Nablus perception of abandonment by the world. Mika Minio-Paluello writes from occupied Nablus. Read more about Violent invasions, extrajudicial killings, and suicide bombings
Toine van TeeffelenBethlehem, Palestine20 January 2004
My family’s costs for the journey from Bethlehem to Amman and the return trip almost equalled a flight trip, per person about $200, including the costs of special taxis, border taxes, the entry authorization from Jordan, and a hotel in Amman. Not for poor people. “Back to the abnormal life,” Mary is used to saying upon entering Palestine. It was raining heavily. The taxi driver was nervous about soldiers checking the car, as he is not allowed to carry passengers without the relevant permits, and wanted to drop my family somewhere before ‘Azzariyyeh (Biblical Bethany). Toine van Teeffelen writes from Bethlehem. Read more about Journey into prison
Night has fallen, and I am staring at mounds of rubble. This used to be a neighbourhood in the Jenin Refugee Camp. For the Jenin survivors, their tragedy is known worldwide. Numerous foreigners like me come to gape at what Abdul calls “Our Ground Zero”. The U.N., NGOs and a few Arab states have pledged assistance to rebuild — a process that is slowly happening. What I find depressing is that almost daily throughout the occupied territories, Palestinian are being killed and their houses demolished in virtual obscurity. Scott Weinstein writes from Jenin. Read more about Sharon's pattern of provocation
I am shocked by what I am witnessing in Palestine. No, there wasn’t anyone shot, beaten or arrested in the region I visitied during the few days I have been here. I have not heard or seen a tank, helicopter, F-16, nor a raid. Most of the Israeli checkpoints were open. There have been no suicide bombers. It is actually so “uneventful” that journalists in my hotel are retuning home because “nothing interesting is happening”, only ordinary daily life. Scott Weinstein, a member of the Montreal based Jewish Alliance Against the Occupation, writes from Hebron. Read more about Hebron - Another dull day in fear
