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Israeli Apartheid Week stretching out across the globe in solidarity with Palestinians

The 7th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week 2011 March 2011 Israeli Apartheid Week organizers across the globe are gearing up for the 7th year of actions in support of Palestinian Civil Society's call for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). Last year’s IAW was incredibly successful with over 55 cities worldwide joining the week to end Israel’s apartheid. Due to the popularity of Israeli Apartheid Week we have extended the "week" to allow campuses, organizations and regions on different schedules to participate: March 7-20, Global March 21-26 United Kingdom To make getting involved even easier, we have made a list of regional representatives who will help you in this process. They will make sure you have the IAW organizing packet, answer any questions you may have, help you get your event posted on the

Killing of children in assassination of Hamas leader 'legitimate' says Israeli commission

The perverse logic of Israeli justice finds that the killing of thirteen civilians in 2002, including children, in order to kill one person they labeled a 'terrorist', although 'disproportionate' was still 'legitimate'. Gaza/Tel Aviv - A internal probe Monday into Israel's targeted killing of a Hamas leader in Gaza nine years ago found that the victim was a 'legitimate' target - but the results of the strike had been 'disproportionate.' An Israeli commission of inquiry submitted its findings to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the 2002 incident in which Israel dropped a one-ton bomb on the central Gaza City house of Sheikh Salah Shehadeh, a senior leader in the radical Islamist movement now ruling Gaza and the head of its operational branch. Shehadeh was killed, but so were his wife, his 15-year-old daughter and 13 other innocent civilians who were in neighbouring apartments when the bomb was dropped shortly before midnight on July 22, 2

Settler attacks on Palestinians around Nablus continue as another car is torched

For the second day in a raw, a group of fundamentalist settlers of the Yitzhar illegal settlement, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, invaded on Saturday at dawn Burin Palestinian village, and torched a vehicle that belongs to a local resident. Eyewitnesses reported that the settlers torched the vehicle of resident Bashir Al Zibin, and also torched his front yard. On Friday at dawn, the settlers invaded the village and torched a bulldozer that belongs resident Ibrahim Eshtayya. The two attacks are part of a series of attacks carried out by Jewish settlers against several villages in the Nablus district. more

Settlers want Israeli 'citizen' fired from bus driving job because he's an Arab

The Apartheid character of the Israeli state on show again. So-called Arab Israelis - Palestinians living inside Israel - are treated as second-class citizens in their own land. A Palestinian-Israeli bus driver holding Israeli citizenship has been threatened with firing after he was assigned to a route that serves the Israeli colonial settlement of Elazar. Jewish Israeli residents of the settlement have launched a campaign to have the bus driver fired, submitting a letter to the regional council to that effect. Although the settlers said that they were not motivated by racism, they had to consider the safety of their children, and could not accept the possibility of an Arab bus driver driving their children. At the same time, one of the letters calling for the firing of the driver was submitted by the right-wing organization Komemiyut, which said that “the enemy” should be deprived of their sources of livelihood. more

Artillery targets Rafah and one killed in air strike as Israel continues daily attacks

A Palestinian fighter was killed on Sunday in an Israeli air strike and today there has been artillery fire in the south, with one reported injury. At least one man was injured Monday, medics told Ma'an, in what witnesses near the Gaza International Airport said was a volley of artillery fire from an Israeli tank operating near the Rafah border area. Medics said teams were dispatched to the area to evacuate the wounded, while witnesses said ambulances were seen arriving at the airport, following the firing of several shells.

International conference in Geneva for Palestinian prisoners big step forward

Union for Palestine organization in France said the holding of the first international conference on the rights of Palestinian prisoners in the Swiss city of Geneva next month is a step forward in internationalizing the issue of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails. Siham Azzein, head of the organization, stressed the need to put the European public opinion in the picture of what happens inside Israel's prisons, especially in the presence of Israeli media misinformation working on concealing the truth and showing Israel as a democratic state. more

Air strikes target Islamic Jihad training ground and spread fear across Gaza

Thanks to the Palestinian Information Center GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli warplanes launched a series of air raids on different targets in the Gaza Strip at dawn Saturday, local sources said, adding that no casualties were reported. The sources told the PIC reporter that Israeli F-16s bombed a deserted land area west of Breij refugee camp, in central Gaza, causing a big hole. Israeli warplanes later launched another sortie targeting a training ground for the Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad movement southwest of Khan Younis, south of Gaza Strip, causing huge explosions but no casualties, locals said, noting that four missiles were fired at the area. PIC reporters in the Strip said that Israeli warplanes were covering the skies of Gaza, spreading fears among its population of more air strikes.

Israeli racists kill Palestinian on way home from work then authorities abuse mourning father

All Hussain Hassan Rwidy wanted was to bury his son. "They took me to see the investigator who worked on the case. He called me inside [his office], alone, and asked me, 'Are you strong?'" I said to him, 'I want my son,'" Rwidy told The Electronic Intifada. "He said directly to me, 'Your son died ...'" Rwidy paused, then continued. "'Your son died, and there are two people arrested.'" Twenty-four-year-old Hussam Rwidy was killed in the early morning hours of Friday, 11 February, on Hillel Street in West Jerusalem as he and a friend, Murad Khader Joulani, were walking to their car to drive home from work. According to the Rwidy family, who live in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Kufr Akab, everything began when a group of extremist Israeli Jews heard Hussam and Murad speaking Arabic to each other, and shouted "Death to the Arabs." more

Hundreds of protesters clash with occupation forces in Hebron

Protest over the closure by occupation forces of one of the cities main streets. HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces fired rubber-coated bullets at protesters in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday afternoon, where clashes left at least nine people injured, Palestinian medics and the Israeli army said. Four international activists and two Palestinians were detained, organizers said. The military said that only one person was arrested. more

Racist settlers attack Palestinian property and land near Nablus

More settler rampages near Nablus. Fundamentalist Israeli settlers conducted, on Friday at dawn, several attacks against property and lands that belong to several residents of a number of villages near Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank. Local sources reported that a number of armed settlers of the Yitzhar settlement, south of Nablus torched a bulldozer that belongs resident Ibrahim Eshtayya, from Burin village, south of Nablus. more

Israeli bulldozers destroy more Palestinian farm land on West Bank

This follows destruction of olives groves at Al-Jab’a village in the greater Bethlehem municipality yesterday . West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)-Israeli bulldozers started Thursday razing operations to 15 dunums planted with olive trees in the west of Dair Esta town near Salfit. Nazmi Salman, head of Dair Esta municipality, said “ occupation bulldozers guarded by the so-called civil administration officer attacked the lands of Dai Esta near Rafafa settlement and uprooted several olive trees as well as demolished stone walls, leaving great damage but no injuries.” more

One person killed as Rafah hit by Israeli air strikes

An Israeli airstrike targeted southern Gaza late Thursday, moderately injuring two Palestinians in an attack on a vehicle in the city of Rafah. Jerusalem Post reports one person killed in Rafah as IDF orders children in Israeli towns near Gaza to stay inside. The injured were taken by ambulance to the Abu Najjar hospital, said Adham Abu Salmiya, a spokesman for the Gaza medical services. more

Gaza students name 15 March as start of 'End the division' campaign

Gaza students aim to launch movement aimed at overcoming the divisions that have split the Palestinian national struggle. It all kicks off on #15march. The facebook page is here Their movement has no name and no leaders. Just a goal, and a tool. The goal is to force an end to the political divisions among Palestinians by stirring the youth of Gaza and the West Bank to emulate their brothers and sisters in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. Their tool – as elsewhere – is the internet, specifically Facebook. "End The Division", a page in both Arabic and English, calls for protests across the Palestinian territories and refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon on 15 March. It has already got thousands of supporters, and is growing by the day. The Gaza students behind the Facebook page refuse to give their real names for fear of arrest. They arrange meetings through trusted intermediaries on neutral ground and send emissaries to sound out public figures and politicians. "This will become

Olive groves destroyed near Bethlehem to make way for water pipline for settlers

Mondoweiss reports first-hand on the destruction of Palestinian olive groves to make way for a water pipeline for settlers. Yesterday, February 22 2011, a number of Palestinian news agencies, including the agency that I work for, published articles on the destruction of olive fields in the West Bank town of Jab’a, found in the greater Bethlehem district. The details were far from sparse, but cut to heart of the matter. The Israeli military had entered the olive grove of a Palestinian farmer and destroyed between 230 and 250 of his olive trees (reports vary). The military claimed that they were clearing state land, although the land is actually owned by the farmer and he has all legal documents to prove this... ...In the media we are quick to ignore the human side of this de-humanizing occupation. When reporting on destruction of property, on abduction, on injury and even on murder, we tell ourselves we must remain detached to keep a grip on our objectivity. How can you remain objectiv

One dead as air strikes hammer Gaza and three children injured in artillery shelling

Israel has been launching air strikes on Gaza in supposed retaliation for a Grad strike on Beersheba in which no one was injured. A Palestinian resistance fighter is thought to have been killed from the Al-Qassam brigades when they engaged an IDF incursion, with mortars being fired in response.The IDF has also been shelling and at least 10 people injured, three of them children. PFLP fighters were also in action. GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on multiple locations in the Gaza Strip overnight, injuring two near Gaza City in the first round of bombings shortly after 11 p.m. Injuries were reported in the first strike, which hit the Az-Zaytoun neighborhood east of Gaza city, while the Abu Jarad neighborhood to the south was pummeled with four strikes. Local officials called the series of strikes an "escalation," saying that Israeli forces have operated with increased aggression since a Wednesday morning attack on a patrol which entered Gaza territory

Egyptian revolutionaries make breaking Gaza siege a top priority

Young participants in the 25th January Egyptian revolution have told the Palestine Information Centre that Egypt has been freed from a tyrannical regime and breaking the siege of Gaza is high on their list of priorities. Ousting Hosni Mubarak was difficult, they said, but it was just the beginning of the revolution, not the end. In Tahrir Square, they added, all sections of Egyptian society were united, including Muslims and Christians; leftists and members of the Muslim Brotherhood. more

Grad rocket hits Israeli city of Beersheba

Grad rocket hits Beersheba, worrying Israeli security chiefs - launch air strikes in retaliation. Hamas has been trying to clampdown on rocket fire from the strip. BEERSHEBA, Israel (Reuters) - A rocket launched from the Gaza Strip landed in a residential street in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on Wednesday, causing serious damage to houses and cars but no casualties, the city's mayor said. "One rocket fell, there are no casualties and security forces are in control of the situation," Beersheba mayor Rubik Danilovich told Channel 1 television. Earlier reports said the rocket had struck a house. Residents said they sought shelter in secure rooms after air raid sirens sounded in the area. more

11 injured in Gaza City shelling while workers shot again on border

Israel shelling in Gaza City injures at least seven while two workers shot on northern border, according to the People's Daily. Al-Quds brigade say some of the injured from the shelling were its members. Israeli occupations are still operating inside on the eastern suburbs of the Gaza City. Palestine Telegraph puts the injured figure at 11. Seven Palestinians were wounded Wednesday by Israeli artillery shelling in Gaza City, witnesses and medical sources said. The wounded are members of Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, the brigades said in a statement. Also on Wednesday, the Israeli forces shot two Palestinian workers in northern Gaza Strip. more

Settlers go on the rampage in Nablus - storm houses, set fire to cars

Settlers have set fire to two cars and stormed houses in Nablus. Read more

Protests to greet Israel Orchestra US tour as cultural boycott movement grows

Performances of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) will be met with protests in six of seven cities where the IPO will play during its US tour this February and March. Human rights advocates plan to protest the IPO’s role in whitewashing Israel’s apartheid policies against the Palestinian people. The protests will be held at IPO performances in West Palm Beach, New York City, Newark, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The US protests respond to the call from Palestinian civil society to boycott institutions that work to normalize Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and whitewash the oppression of Palestinians in Israel, the occupied territories, and in exile. The growing international movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel has gained momentum in recent years with more supporters worldwide, and performers like Elvis Costello, Gil Scott-Heron, Roger Waters, Devendra Banhart, and the Pixies all refusing to play in Israel. more Thanks to Ne

Jerusalem threatened by Israeli encirclement with illegal Green Park initiative

The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, based in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, has published an article raising their concerns over an scheduled project to encircle East Jerusalem with parks to complete the annexation of the entire city and much of the surrounding area in the West Bank. The Center states that the Israeli ran Jerusalem Municipality has approved the project that will install nine new parks around the East side of the city over the next eight years, with an annual budget of NIS 60 million (over US$ 16.5 million). In the process, large amounts of Palestinian owned lands in Wadi Hilweh, Wadi Rababa, and al-Bustan neighborhoods of Silwan, Sawwanah, near the Mount of Olives and the Old City will have have to be razed, leading to mass displacement of Palestinian residents of Jerusalem. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem are considered protected persons, due to Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967 and, as such, the t

Egyptians organising mass peaceful march on Gaza border to force end to siege

Egypt is opening the Rafah crossing today - but only to allow a maximum of 300 travellers a day to pass through. This is totally unacceptable. Fortunately the Egyptian people themselves are taking the cause of Palestinian freedom into their own hands with a huge march on the Gaza border planned for 4th March.This move could herald the end of Egyptian collaboration with Israel and US's siege. THE OBJECTIVE March to Gaza - Friday 04th March / 2011 The Israeli/Egyptian blockade of Gaza has resulted in the people of Gaza being unable to have clean drinking water, proper sewage treatment, continuous electrical supply, basic medical supplies kept in stock, life saving medical care is often unobtainable, the lack of building materials means people remain homeless or live in windowless, unsafe homes, proper education is impossible, factories are virtually all shut, the unemployment rate is among the highest in the world, malnutrition, anaemia and other deficiencies are common, and on top

Imprisoned PFLP leader praises Arab revolutions, calls for Palestinian uprising

Sa'adat salutes Egyptian revolution and calls for Palestinians to overthrow occupation and division February 20, 2011 Ahmad Sa'adat, the imprisoned Palestinian national leader, Palestinian Legislative Council member and General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, released a message saluting the Egyptian revolution and its achievements, and the triumph of the Egyptian people over the corrupt Egyptian regime. Sa'adat issued the message through an attorney from the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, who visited him on February 20, 2011. Sa'adat is currently in isolation in Nafha prison and has little opportunity to communicate with the outside world, and is often denied access to books and media as well as access to other prisoners and family visits. He was eager to express his celebration of the Egyptian revolution, said the Prisoners Club. Sa'adat said that the Egyptian revolution is a triumph of the determination and will of the Egyptian pe

Boycott leader and author Omar Barghouti prevented from entering US

Effectively canceling a planned speaking tour, the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem has inexplicably delayed the granting of a visa for Omar Barghouti, founding member of the Palestinian Civil Society Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS) campaign, due to tour the United States this April for the release of his new book, Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights . Nobel Peace Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu called the book “lucid and morally compelling… perfectly timed to make a major contribution to this urgently needed global campaign for justice, freedom and peace.” Former President of the UN General Assembly, Father Miguel d’’Escoto Brockmann called it “timely and responsibly written by a man who understands that creative nonviolence is the only way out of the dire situation in Palestine.” Thanks to Muzzlewatch

Bil'in protest marks six years of non-violent resistance - IDF shoots teenager in back

Saturday 19 Feb marked the sixth anniversary of the non-violent protests at Bilin. Unfortunately the IDF, as usual, were not non-violent, shooting one teenage in the back and injuring many others. When protesters tried to cross the barrier towards the soldiers, the army fired sound bombs and bullets coated metal bullets as well as tear gas. Soldiers then began to fire live bullets (.22 caliber) in all directions. Hamza Suleiman Bernat (18 years old) was shot in the back and the leg. He was taken away from the protest and to a Ramallah hospital for treatment. Ahmed Abo Rahma (16 years old) was burned by tear gas canister. Fadi Mustafa Omar (30) and Abdullah Ahmed Yassin (19 years) where sprayed directly in the face with pepper spray by soldiers during the demonstration. Dozens of other demonstrations suffered from tear gas inhalation. more

Palestinian Authority torturers condemned by Human Rights Watch for death of Haitham Amer

From ISM Jerusalem, February 16, 2011 – Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas should order an independent investigation into the death of Haitham Amer, Human Rights Watch said today. Amer died 18 months ago, allegedly under torture by Palestinian security agents. A criminal inquiry and subsequent investigation failed to punish anyone for his death. In recent interviews with Human Rights Watch, three witnesses to Amer’s death independently provided graphic accounts of the events that led up to it. All three said they had provided the information in testimony at the inquiry and that they had identified intelligence agents who participated in torture, one of whom was never charged. Countries that provide direct support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security agencies, notably the UK and US, should suspend aid to these agencies until officials are held accountable for human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said. more

IDF shoots dead three youths collecting sea shells on northern Gaza border

The three dead youths were collecting sea shells according to their families. Who will pay for this crime? GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Three Palestinians were shot dead in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Israeli military officials informed Gaza authorities. The three were said to have been killed near the evacuated Doget settlement, north of Beit Lahiya. A Palestinian official in Gaza said he was informed that the men were shot allegedly sneaking into Israel. Medics were alerted and permitted by Israeli forces occupying the border region to enter the "no-go zone" to retrieve the bodies, spokesman of the higher committee of ambulance and emergency services Adham Abu Salmiya told Ma'an. more

9 out of 10 attacks by Israelis on Palestinians lead to no indictment or punishment

Some facts on the discriminatory and fundamentally racist nature of the police and judicial process in Israel and the occupied territories when it comes to dealings with Palestinians. Racist attacks are increasingly carried out with impunity. Yesh Din released today a data sheet on its monitoring of Police investigations of offenses against Palestinians. The data sheet includes findings based on 642 investigation files opened in recent years by the Judea and Samaria police, based on complaints filed by Palestinian citizens of the West Bank, that Yesh Din has been following. The findings show that only 9 percent out of 642 investigations which Yesh Din is monitoring, have resulted in indictments filed against defendants. The clear majority of investigations – more than 90 percent – are closed on grounds that suggest that the investigation has failed. more

Teenager working on family farm near Nablus shot by settlers - no arrests

Pic: International Solidarity Movement Yet another settler outrage goes unpunished. Settlers shot and wounded a boy of 18 whilst he was farming on his father’s land at 1400hrs today, in the village of Jaloud, south-west of Nablus. Wael Mahmoud Tobase Ayad was planting trees together with his brother. As they were finishing, three settlers from a nearby illegal settlement, armed with handguns and a rifle, appeared from amongst some trees between 50 – 100m away. One of the settlers shot and wounded him in his right side with a hand gun. more

Collaborator Mubarak is in Israeli city of Eilat

By their friends you shall know them... JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak is in a luxury hotel in the Israeli city of Eilat, the Israel-based news site Al-Arab reported Tuesday. more

Turkey sends report to UN on Mavi Marmara aid convoy massacre

Turkey is expecting the UN panel to find Israel guilty of a massacre at sea, as indeed it was. Following its submission of its final report to the U.N. panel probing Israel’s fatal May 31, 2010, raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, Turkey has said it expects the panel to call for Israel to accept the blame for the incident. “We expect the truth to be revealed and Israel to accept its wrongdoings and apologize,” Turkish Foreign Ministry diplomat Mithat Rende, the country’s contact point with the United Nations for the inquiries into the attack, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Monday. more

Gaza workers shot by IDF on northern border

Three workers shot on border. Palestinians are forced to collect rubble for building material due to the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt that bans reconstruction materials from entry. A total of two gravel workers have been killed this month alone. Gaza Strip, ( Pal Telegraph )-A Palestinian worker was shot Monday by Israeli gunfire while collecting gravels in the north of Gaza strip. Witnesses told that Israeli forces stationed along the northern borders opened heavy fire against dozens of gravel workers; leaving one palsetinian,18, injured. more

Egypt's generals refuse Rafah crossing opening despite calls from revolutionaries

Despite the revolution in Egypt, and in a sign of the need to continue the struggle against Mubarak's state, which is still largely intact, demonstrators in Gaza are calling for the immediate opening of the Rafah crossing. GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Two days after Egypt's leader Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign, a youth movement in Gaza gathered in the capital city's Square of the Unknown Soldier calling for Egypt to open its border with the coastal enclave. The General Union of Youth Organizations gathered more than 100 in the central square, saying that they stood in solidarity with the people of Egypt, and asked for the new leadership cancel its agreements with Israel and open the Rafah crossing. "Israel is the enemy," protesters yelled, urging Egypt to break out of the agreements it has with the country as it goes forward with its process of renewal. more

Omar Suleiman, torturer and collaborator, promised Israel he would stop Hamas

Suleiman the torturer and custodian of the US rendition programme in Egypt, promised the Israelis that he would take care of Hamas - he failed. This man will need to be put on trial by the Egyptian people for his crimes against the Egyptian people and his collaboration with the enemy. Egyptian VP said he will "take care of" Gaza, stop Hamas from gaining control, in meeting with Israeli official. Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman promised Israel in 2005 that he would prevent Hamas from gaining control over Gaza, according to a US diplomatic cable released on Friday. According to the cable, which was leaked to WikiLeaks and published by Norweigan newspaper Aftenposten, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau, secretly visited Suleiman, then the head of Egyptian intelligence, in September 2005. Gilad then reported on the visit to US diplomats in Tel Aviv. more

West Bank village sees more homes demolished after school destroyed last year

More demolitions on the West Bank. The homes of two families, together with a number of animal shelters, were demolished in Khirbet Tana – the fourth demolition that the village has experienced since 2005. In the previous demolition (December 2010), the village school was destroyed along with 10 homes. more

UN puts Gaza unemployment at 45% - economy on 'brink of collapse'

GAZA CITY ( Ma’an ) -- The unemployment rate in Gaza has continued to climb in 2011, reaching 45.4%, UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness told reporters in Gaza City on Wednesday. At a news conference for the UN Relief and Works Agency, Gunness warned that the increasing unemployment was a sign of a hugely fragile Gaza economy, which he described as on the "brink of collapse." Israel's continued siege on the coastal enclave, Gunness warned, would push the economy over the edge. Such high unemployment, the official said, meant "people have less money in their pockets and more despair," adding a caution, that despair in Gaza would give no boost to a peace process when it got back on track. more

Petrol supplies from Egypt into Gaza resumed

After a week without petrol, supplies through Egypt have been restarted. Despite ongoing protests calling for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s immediate resignation, petrol is once again flowing through the tunnels from Egypt into Gaza after supplies were cut for a week due to the unrest, according to the Palestinian General Petroleum Corporation. The corporation reports that almost one million tons of diesel has been pumped under the border into the Gaza Strip in the past two days. At least 210,000 litres of petrol has also come through and more is expected, alleviating immediate fears of a fuel shortage. more

Rafah tunnels closed as prices rise while 60 Gazans detained at Cairo airport

The Rafah crossing and the tunnels have been closed since the Egyptian revolution began. Prices are rising fast in Gaza as vital supplies become in even scarcer supply. Hopefully the revolution will see the full opening of the border and the end to Egypt's collaboration with Israel's siege. GAZA - More than a week of political unrest in Egypt has heightened the threat of a humanitarian crisis in neighbouring Gaza. Egyptian soldiers fled their posts on the northern border on 30 January, forcing the Rafah crossing - a critical valve for the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza - to close. Around 60 Palestinians, attempting to return home via Cairo when Gaza’s southern border closed, are still being held in the “deportation room” at Cairo airport. Among them are six children and several critically ill patients who are running out of medication. “The children don’t know what’s happening. Sometimes they’re crying. It’s very, very cold here; it’s crowded and there is nowhere for u

Freedom Flotilla 2 gears up for Gaza - report from organising conference in Spain

From the Alternative Information Center The Freedom Flotilla II will sail for Gaza during the last two weeks of May 2011, to commemorate the anniversary of the deadly attack on the first Freedom Flotilla on 31 May 2010, which left nine activists dead. The International Coalition of the Freedom Flotilla II met in Madrid, Spain from the 4-6th of February to discuss the upcoming journey. The meeting, organized by the host delegation Rumbo a Gaza, was attended by delegates from organizations in Algeria, Canada, Scotland, Spain, France, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. "We have at least 15 different groups right now at one or two boats each," said Huwaida Arraf, chairperson of the Free Gaza Movement, one of the leading nongovernmental organizations in the effort. "Every meeting we have, we get one or two new country-based networks or coalitions that want to join." The flotilla will be sailing to Gaza from

Air strikes on Gaza target medicine warehouse and injure at least eight people

Four rockets landed harmlessly in the Negev yesterday in retaliation for the seven Palestinians killed by Israel over the past two weeks. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Officials in Israel and Gaza say Israeli aircraft have carried out retaliatory airstrikes in the territory after militants launched rockets into Israel. Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya says the airstrikes overnight lightly wounded eight Palestinians. He says one strike set fire to a Health Ministry medicine warehouse in northern Gaza. more

Spanish and Canadan flotilla activists get ready to break Gaza siege in May

Spanish activists ready for second Gaza mission, after surviving Mavi Marmara attack. Canadian activists are also backing the latest attempt to break the siege of Gaza by sea. The ships are due in Gaza waters in May. International activists are planning to send an aid convoy to the blockaded Gaza Strip on the anniversary of Tel Aviv's deadly attack on a humanitarian mission. The mission has been organized by Spanish activists Manuel Tapial and Laura Arau and is expected to set off from the country to the Palestinain coastal sliver in the spring, Press TV correspondent Sonia Labboun reported on Monday from the Spanish capital, Madrid. The human rights campaigners survived Israel's deadly attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in May 31, which killed nine Turkish activists and injured around 50 others onboard the civilian fleet. more

Israel fires on fishing boats in continuing campaign infringing Gaza territorial waters

Gaza Strip, ( Pal Telegraph ) -Israeli gunboats stationed off Gaza city shore opened Monday heavy fire at Palestinian fishermen; no causalities were reported. Local sources said that the fishermen were enforced to leave the sea after being targeted by Israeli fire. more

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