Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations

Selections

Selections Gaza's biggest hospital caught in political, economic crossfire

By Liam Stack... Dr. Ehab al-Ramlawy fanned beads of sweat off his face with the shiny black X-ray slide in the sweltering, dimly lit emergency room of Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital.Sleeves rolled up over sweaty forearms, he leaned over one patient's paperwork while he listened to a list of symptoms from the next. Behind them milled a restless...

Selections || Study A Third Lebanon War

There is growing concern of renewed war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant Islamist group. Since the last major Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon in the summer of 2006, Hezbollah has steadily rearmed and its arsenal is now more potent in quality and quantity. Israel could assess that the threat to its national security has...

Analysis Paper LEVANTINE RESET:Toward a More Viable U.S. Strategy for Lebanon

By: Bilal Saab... The United States should adopt a new approach toward Lebanon if it wishes to secure its interests in that country and in the broader e East . The 1983 attack against the U .S . Marines in Lebanon was the beginning of the end of the United States’ involvement in Lebanon . Since then, with the exception of a brief period during the...

Selections || Report Eight months into the settlement freeze

By Hagit Ofran. At a press conference held in Tel Aviv (2/8/10), Peace Now has launched a new campaign calling on the government not to renew construction in the settlements at the end of the 10 month freeze that was declared in November 2009. In addition, Peace Now also released an eight month assessment of the implementation of the freeze. The...

UNISPAL || Report International covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The Human Rights Committee considered the third periodic report of Israel (CCPR/C/ISR/3) at its 2717th, 2718th and 2719th meetings, held on 13 and 14 July 2010 (CCPR/C/SR.2717, 2718 and 2719). At its 2740th meeting, held on 29 July 2010 (CCPR/C/SR.2740), it adopted the following concluding observations. The Committee notes the submission of the...

Haaretz || Interview Erekat to Haaretz: New proposal more generous than deal we offered Olmert

By Avi Issacharoff and Yanir Yagna... The Palestinian Authority has submitted a far-reaching peace proposal to the Obama administration that is more generous to Israel than the demands presented by Mahmoud Abbas to former prime minister Ehud Olmert, the chief PA negotiator told Haaretz on Saturday. Saeb Erekat also said the PA's detailed offer...

Selections || Address in Canada (July 2010) Mustafa Barghouti: The Rising Non-Violent Movement in Palestine

Dr Mustafa Barghouti: I think it’s my duty to present to you the reality of the situation in Palestine, because I believe you have the right to know the truth. It is especially important to do that, given the fact that, unfortunately, most of the media outlets do not present to you the reality as they should, and in many cases, as I found in my...

Selections || Article India and its relations with Israel, Arab nations

By: Ramananda Sengupta ...‘‘We do have a defence relationship with India, which is no secret. On the other hand, what is a secret is what is the defence relationship. And with all due respect, the secret part of it will remain secret.’ – Mark Sofer, Israel’s ambassador to India, in a recent interview given to OutlookIndia.com. India and Israel...

Selections || ORG StudyMilitary Action Against Iran: Impact and Effects

This study by Prof. Paul Rogers from Oxford Research Group, argues that an Israeli military strike on Iran will only lead to a protracted war and will not solve what the west identifies currently as the Iranian nuclear crisis.

Selections || Article Lebanon's Multiple Crises Risk Escalation

By: Paul Salem...Despite overall calm and a record tourist season this summer, Lebanon’s political system has been struggling to manage a number of major issues. These include skirmishes with United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the south, escalating rhetoric with Israel over oil and gas exploration, the renewal of debate over...

Article || JCS“Peace process” cannot be salvaged

By Lamis Andoni ... Barack Obama, the US president, is pushing for direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. A resumption of direct talks would be his first “peace-making achievement” in the Middle East since he took office more than a-year-and-half ago. But, barring a surprise halt to Israeli settlement building in occupied East...

Report || UN OCHA & WHOThe Impact of the Wall on the Health of the Palestinians in the West Bank

This report is a joint publication by the WHO and UN OCHA, released six years after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion regarding the illegality of the wall. It addresses the imapct of the wall on the health of the Palestinians in the West Bank.

Selections || John MearsheimerIsrael's Nuclear Arms and the US National Interests

This text is the transcript of John J. Mearsheimer's remarks at the IRmep conference at the International Spy Museum "Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal: Espionage, Opacity and Future" Washington, DC, 7/7/2010.

Article || Azmi BisharaThe Arabs and Turkey

There is something in the Arab public space that hampers an objective discussion of Turkey's increasing political involvement in the region, its remarkable stances in favour of Arab causes, and an overall performance record that merits more than just praise. The source of the difficulty is that for more than a year Turkey has increasingly become...

Selections || MEMO Christian-Muslim Relations in Palestine

By Silvia Nicolaou-Garcia... The estimated number of Palestinian Christians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem is 51,710, making the percentage of the Palestinian Christians in the Occupied Territories two percent of the Palestinian population.i There is, in contrast, a higher percentage of Christians in Israel. The percentage of the...

Selections || Article What drives Israel?

By: Ilan Pappe... Probably the most bewildering aspect of the Gaza flotilla affair has been the righteous indignation expressed by the Israeli government and people. The nature of this response is not being fully reported in the UK press, but it includes official parades celebrating the heroism of the commandos who stormed the ship and...

SelectionsPalestinian Centre for Human Rights 2009 Annual Report

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has issued its Annual Report for 2009 that covers the period of 1 January – 31 December 2009. The 250-pages report contains information on the overall human rights situation in the OPT and a summary of the Centre’s activities and a financial statement.

SelectionsA History of Impunity

By Yousef Munayyer... Last week the government of Israel announced the launch of an investigation into the events surrounding the deadly Memorial Day flotilla raid which left nine activists dead. Many international bodies including the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU), as well as human rights groups like Amnesty International, are...

Book ReviewVictor Kattan: Legal history of the colonization of Palestine

Reviewed by Mazen Masri ... Zionism, it was proclaimed in the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897, "aims at the creation of a home for the Jewish people in Palestine to be secured by public law." The choice of the words "public law" was a compromise between the delegates representing different streams of political Zionism....

Selections Top Ten Myths about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Myth #1 – Jews and Arabs have always been in conflict in the region. Although Arabs were a majority in Palestine prior to the creation of the state of Israel, there had always been a Jewish population, as well. For the most part, Jewish Palestinians got along with their Arab neighbors. This began to change with the onset of the Zionist...

Selections Non-violence: A tactic or a principle?

On 11/6/2010, Mathew Taylor posted an article entitled: "Gaza flotilla lesson: nonviolent discipline is the best moral and strategic choice". Two days later, Max Ajl replied with another article, entitled: "Non-violence is not a principle, it is a tactic".As their discussion heated many debates, the two articles are included below. Gaza...

SelectionsHeadshot: Propaganda, State Religion, and the Attack on the Gaza Peace Flotilla

The most potent propaganda relies on language loaded with hidden implications. In a recent speech, journalist Robert Fisk noted: “When we westerners find that ‘our’ enemies — al-Qaeda, for example, or the Taliban — have set off more bombs and staged more attacks than usual, we call it...

UNDP || ReportGaza One Year After: Early Recovery and Reconstruction Needs Assessment

More than a year after Israel ceased its military operations against the Gaza Strip, and despite intensive efforts to initiate recovery, three quarters of the damage inflicted on buildings and infrastructure remains unrepaired and unreconstructed. Around USD 527 million are required to just return the Gaza Strip to the state it was in on December...

Selections MEMO Annual Report (June 2009 - May 2010)

This report summarizes the activities of the London-based Middle East Monitor (MEMO) during the period June 2009-May 2010, in the field of raising awareness about the Palestinian issue.

Selections The United States and the Muslim World: Has Obama reneged on his Cairo promise?

By Khaled Hroub ... Responding to a student's question in his landmark visit to Istanbul in April 2009, Barack Obama said, "States are like big tankers, they're not like speedboats. You can't whip them around and go in another direction ... you turn them slowly, and eventually you end up in a very different place."[1] Obama has begun to...

Selections Lexicon of Misleading Terms in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

By Amira Hass ... The Israeli media is rife with false terms and statements that distort the public's perception of reality. (1) "Humanitarian crisis": "There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza," say official Israeli spokesmen such as Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Ministry director general Yossi Gal say repeatedly....

Selections || ArticlesInternational Law in Israel's Gaza Flotilla Attack

By Anthony DiMaggio ... There has been much intense discussion of Israel’s recent attack against a flotilla of aid ships that was travelling to Gaza, intent on violating the blockade imposed by Israel against the government of Hamas and the Palestinian people. Much of the debate, unfortunately, has taken place under limited, propagandistic...

Article || Robert FiskWestern Leaders or Activists?

In this article, Robert Fisk argues that it is a fact "ordinary people, activists, call them what you will," are who now take decisions to change events; and asks whether Western leaders are "too cowardly to help save lives?".

Selections || Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International Annual Report (2010): Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

The year opened with Israeli military jets pounding Gaza, as part of a 22-day conflict that killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians, and closed with mounting repression in Iran, as thousands of demonstrators again took to the streets to protest over the disputed outcome of the presidential election and the ruthless clampdown on dissent that...

Haaretz || Special ReportHaaretz Special Reports on the Ma'manullah/Mamilla cemetry & the Museum of 'Tolerance'

For the first time, Haaretz reveals through an investigative report-series evidence of a highly dubious, five-month rescue excavation that took place secretly on the site, plus other previously unknown details.

Report || Human Rights WatchIsrael's Unlawful Destruction of Property during Operation Cast Lead

This 116-page report documents 12 separate cases during Operation Cast Lead in which Israeli forces extensively destroyed civilian property, including homes, factories, farms, and greenhouses, in areas under their control, without any lawful military purpose. Human Rights Watch's investigations, which relied upon physical evidence, satellite...

SelectionsBook Review: Beware of Small States: Lebanon, Battleground of the Middle East by David Hirst

Reviewed by Fawaz A Gerges ... Beware of Small States is a history of the Arab-Israeli conflict as seen through the prism of its impact on the internal development of neighbouring Arab states, particularly tiny, fragile Lebanon, the sectarian state par excellence and historic battleground for other peoples' conflicts. As a long- term Middle East...

Article || Dina JadallahNakba and the Two State Solution: Unrealistic 'Realism'

On the surface and viewed from the perspective of dominating powers, their designated minions, and entrenched cohorts, it may appear that the Nakba is diminishing. Several facts corroborate that view: the passage of time, the very dispossession and dislocation of millions, the tendency of official Palestinian “leadership” to accept whatever...

Report || UNDPThe Palestinian Human Development Report 2009/10: Investing in Human Security for a Future State

The Palestinian Human Development Report 2009/10, 173-pages written by an independent team and sponsored by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), explores different facets of human security - economy, food, health, environment, political, personal, community - from the perspective of establishing freedom from want, freedom from fear and freedom to...

Interview || Rashid Khalidi"Inform People"

This interview with Professor Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, discusses US-Israel relations, The Obama Administration’s Middle East policies, and effective strategy and tactics for those fighting for justice for the Palestinians.

J. Mearsheimer || Address at Palestine Centre in WashingtonThe Future of Palestine

Edited Transcript of Remarks by Professor John J. Mearsheimer at The Palestine Center in Washington D.C. on 29/4/2010 ... My topic is the future of Palestine, and by that I mean the future of the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, or what was long ago called Mandatory Palestine. As you all know, that land is now broken into...

Al-Haq OrganisationLegal Analysis of Israeli Military Orders 1649 & 1650: Deportation and Forcible Transfer as International Crimes

On 13 April 2010, military orders 1649 "Order regarding Security provisions" and 1650 "Order regarding Prevention of Infiltration", issued by the General Officer Commander of the Israeli Occupation Force"s Central Command, entered into force.[1] These military orders dramatically broaden the existing definition of...

Interview || CNNTranscript of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Interview on Turkey and the Middle East

On April 13, 2010, the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was interviewed on CNN about various issues, mainly related to the Middle East. Below is the initial transcript of this interview, as provided by CNN, in addition to two news pieces about this interview, one by CNN and one by Yedioth (Ynet).

Salman Abu Sitta Hasbara or Za'bara

To maintain a facade of moral code, you do not kill a friend, you kill an enemy. You do not rob another man’s house, you recover your long-forgotten property. These are the principles adopted in all wars and conflicts. That is why it was always the mission of the aggressor to depict the target of killing, i.e. the enemy, as an evil, bad person...

Article || Daoud KuttabBegin was Right, Deportation is a Nazi Policy

There is a reason for the fact, that in modern times laws are written by representatives of the people to whom they are applied: Governments and parliaments come and go, but laws often outlive them. Except in dictatorships, laws are not written by the executives who enforce them or the judges who interpret them. Even some totalitarian rulers...

Article || Rashid KhalidiBad Faith in the Holy City: Israel's Jerusalem Policy

The expansion of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem was a provocation aimed at the United States -- and only made the path toward long-term peace more difficult. If the Obama administration hopes to preserve its role as a broker of future Mideast peace talks, it must hold firm in applying international resolutions on the issue.

SelectionsWhat Kind of Palestinian State in 2011?

By Rafeef Ziadah... In December 2007, the Palestinian National Authority (PA), in close consultation with donor states and institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, proposed the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan (PRDP), a program based on “rebuilding the Palestinian national institutions” and “developing the...

Article || Richard FalkThe Palestinians are Winning the Legitimacy War: Will it Matter?

Ever since the Balfour Declaration in 1917 gave the formal approval of the British government to the establishment of “a Jewish homeland”, profound issues of legitimacy were present in the conflict recently known as the Israel-Palestine conflict. This original colonialist endorsement of the Zionist project has produced a steady erosion of the...

Article || Tammy ObeidallahAl-Nakba Denial: Concealing Catastrophe

On May 15, 1948, one day after the British mandate over Palestine ended, the Jewish state of Israel was officially created. That date marked the beginning of a 62-year exile for 750,000 Palestinians, who along with their descendants now comprise the world’s largest refugee population at nearly five million people. Palestinians and people of...

Selections || ArticleThe Arab Summit and the Middle East

By Dr. Salim Nazzal... The vast majority of the Arab editorials which covered the Arab 22th summit held in Sirt, Libya stressed the wide distance between the Arab leaders and the Arab masses. This view is well expressed by Muamar Al Qaddafi of Libya who stated that the Arab masses no longer trust their leaders.

QII || Strategic AssessmentJerusalem 2010: The Judaization Project at its Peak

A Strategic Assessment by Al-Quds International Institution... Many factors are behind the increasing significance of Jerusalem among the Occupation's priorities. Some of them are political factors such as the lack of future vision and competition between different parties. Other factors are related to the nature of the state and how it is...

ARIJ || ReportThe Environmental Impact of Israeli Military Activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Whilst there have been many studies and reports on the economic, social and political repercussions of the continued Israeli occupation, there has been scant attention paid to the detrimental effects on the environment from Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) activities and the military infrastructure which supports them. This is in no small part...

PLO || FactsheetIsraeli Misappropriation Disguised as Heritage Preservation: The Cases of Hebron and Bethlehem

Since Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967, hundreds of Palestinian archaeological sites and cultural properties have been systematically confiscated, looted, excavated and destroyed by Israel, endangering Palestinian cultural heritage and denying Palestinians their cultural patrimony, as well as the right to

Ilan Pappe || Le Monde DiplomatiqueHaifa: Planned Death of a City

The editors of David Ben Gurion’s diaries expressed their bewilderment at his lack of interest in the military campaigns in April 1948. Israel’s first prime minister was preoccupied with internal political matters, such as the new state’s relationship with Zionist bodies abroad, as if the fate of the state depended on them. His diaries do not even...

Saree Makdissi || Pan African Voices for freedom and justiceA Racism Outside of Language: Israel's Apartheid

While South Africa's apartheid may represent the closest historical precedent to Israel–Palestine, writes Saree Makdisi, the Israeli state's treatment of Palestinian people in many respects eclipses the suffering imposed by the South African apartheid government on 'non-white' people. Though its supporters worldwide refuse to countenance that any...

Selections U.S. and Military Aid to Israel

In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama pledged to "go through the budget line by line to eliminate programs that we can't afford and don't work." One week later, he sent his FY2011 budget request to Congress, which included a record-breaking $3 billion in military aid to Israel.

Article || Ben WhiteBranding "Israel": Israel's recent propaganda efforts

"The Delegitimization Challenge" report from the influential Israeli think tank the Reut Institute has put the spotlight on efforts by Israel and the Zionist lobby to counter the growing movement for justice in Palestine, and specifically, the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign. The work done by Reut has rightly attracted...

Selections || ArticleA Reading into the Conditions of Arab Women in Israel

Since the declaration of the state of Israel in 1948, Israel has exercised racist policies against minorities living within its borders. This naturally contravenes the democratic principles it claims to pursue and uphold as a way of life. Nevertheless, it continues to consider itself the only democratic state in the Middle East. This self-portrait...

Reuters || Factbox A Brief History of Israeli Espionage Scandals

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday there was no proof that the Mossad spy agency assassinated a Hamas commander in Dubai, despite the suspected hit squad's use of the identities of foreign-born Israelis. Few Israeli commentators, however, appeared to doubt the Mossad had a role in the January 20 death of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh,...

Article || Hasan AbuNimahThe false sacredness of the 1967 border

When the United States abandoned its demand that Israel freeze settlement construction as a prelude to restarting stalled Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, the Obama administration urged both sides to move straight into discussions about a future Palestinian state "based on the 1967 borders". Setting the border first, it was hoped,...

Analysis || Camille Mansour How Sovereign a State?

Since the 1980s the Palestine Liberation Organization has aimed for a sovereign state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital, but this analysis reveals how unlikely it is that a truly sovereign Palestinian state can come about as a result of negotiations in the present circumstances.

Reports || HRWStateless Again: Palestinian-Origin Jordanians Deprived of their Nationality

More than half of the 6.3 million population of Jordan is of Palestinian origin—that is, from areas west of the River Jordan, including the West Bank, today’s Israel, and Gaza. With the exception of persons from Gaza, the vast majority of those persons of Palestinian origin have Jordanian citizenship. However, since 1988, and especially over the...

ArticleFalse hopes for Palestine

Reports of optimistic developments in the Palestinian Territories are premature – they are still crushed by Israel's control regime. Article By Ben White. Over the last six months, there have been numerous reports on the apparent signs of hope in West Bank cities such as Ramallah, Nablus, and Jenin. The Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad,...

ReportRestricting Space: Report on the Strict Israeli Occupation Measures towards the Palestinian Construction in Area C of the West Bank

This OCHA Special Focus of December 2009 covers the planning and zoning regime applied by the Israeli Occupation in Area C of the West Bank. Under this regime, Palestinian construction is effectively prohibited in some 70 percent of Area C, while in the remaining 30 percent, a range of restrictions virtually eliminate the...

ReportOccupation, Colonialism, Apartheid?... A re-assessment of Israel’s practices in the occupied Palestinian territories under international law

The Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa commissioned this study to test the hypothesis posed by Professor John Dugard in the report he presented to the UN Human Rights Council in January 2007, in his capacity as UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel (namely, the West...

Article The Iron Wall

About 1400 activists from all over the world gathered there on their way to the Gaza Strip. On the anniversary of the “Cast Lead” War, they intended to participate in a non-violent demonstration against the ongoing blockade, which makes the life of 1.5 million inhabitants of the Strip intolerable. At the same time, protest demonstrations were...

Report The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion

The situation for 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is worse now than it has ever been since the start of the Israeli military occupation in 1967. The current situation in Gaza is man-made, completely avoidable and, with the necessary political will, can also be reversed. Gaza has suffered from a long-term pattern of economic stagnation...

Haaretz || InterviewUNWRA chief: Peace talks must deal with Palestinian refugees

Early in the second intifada, Karen Koning AbuZayd, then the newly appointed deputy commissioner general of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) traveled to Rafah, in Gaza, to observe firsthand the situation of Palestinian refugees whose houses had been razed by bulldozers of the Israel Defense...

IEEE Spectrum || Cover StoryPower-less in Gaza Strip

By Sharon Weinberger. In November of 2008, the backup batteries unexpectedly failed at a power plant in the Gaza Strip. Almost anywhere else, the incident would have been a blip, forgotten a week later. But this is Gaza, blockaded by Israel and Egypt and cut off from the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank. It's a place where more than...

Report || Palestine Land SocietyIsrael Seizure, Confiscation and Sale of Palestinian Property

There has been nothing like it in the pages of history books. A foreign minority, descending upon a national majority of a country, fortified by colonial political, military and financial support and a hostile ideology, emptying the country of its people, seizing all their land and property, obliterating their landscape, history and memory,...

Selections || British Channel 4The Pro-Israeli Lobby in Britain

Every year, in a central London hotel, a very grand lunch is thrown by the Conservative Friends of Israel. It is often addressed by the Conservative leader of the day. Many members of the shadow cabinet make it their business to be there along with a very large number of Tory peers and prospective candidates, while the Conservative MPs present...

Amnesty International || ReportReport on the Israelis denying the Palestinians their right / basic need of water

Amnesty International (AI) has released a new report, highlighting the Israeli practices in denieng the Palestinians their right to water. Entitled "Troubled Waters: Palestinians denied fair access to water", and released on 27/10/2009, the report according to AI "revealed the extent to which Israel’s discriminatory water policies...

Witness Association || Executive SummaryThe Health Conditions of the Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon (October 2009)

This is the executive sumamry of a study conducted by the Witness Association for Human Rights (Shahed) on the health conditions of the Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon; released on 21st October, 2009.The study was funded by the North Land Organization in Sweden.Executive Summary Ever since the early seventies, the...

UN || Report UN Report of the Gaza Fact Finding Mission

On 3 April 2009, the President of the Human Rights Council established the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict with the mandate “to investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that might have been committed at any time in the context of the military operations that were...

al-Quds International Institution || Report Eye on al-Aqsa: Report on the Continuous Suffering and Violations inside and around al-Aqsa Mosque

This is the third report in this series, and it documents assaults occurred during the period of August 21, 2008 through August 20, 2009. The report attempts to address in a compressive approach the Judaization of al-Aqsa Mosque and discusses it from three perspectives in three respective parts. The first part of this summary discusses the advent...

Palestinian Child Prisoners: The Systematic and Institutionalised Ill-Treatment and Torture of Palestinian Children by Israeli Authorities

DCI || ReportPalestinian Child Prisoners: The Systematic and Institutionalised Ill-Treatment and Torture of Palestinian Children by Israeli Authorities

The Israeli military court system in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has operated for over 42 years almost devoid of international scrutiny. Each year an average of 9,000 Palestinians are prosecuted in two Israeli military courts operating in the West Bank, including 700 children. From the moment of arrest, Palestinian children encounter...

Alison Weir || ArticleIsraeli Organ Harvesting: The New "Blood Libel"?

Last week Sweden’s largest daily newspaper published an article containing shocking material: testimony and circumstantial evidence indicating that Israelis may have been harvesting internal organs from Palestinian prisoners without consent for many years. Worse yet, some of the information reported in the article suggests that in some instances...

OCHA || Report Locked in: The Humanitarian Impact of Two Years of Blockade on the Gaza Strip

Issued by the OCHA, this report documents the humanitarian impact of the blockade imposed by Israel since June 2007 on the 1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip. It focuses on the effects of the Israeli Occupation import and export restrictions and the travel ban to and from Gaza on...

Newspaper Aftonbladet || ReportSwedish Newspaper Article on Israeli selling of Palestinian prisoner organs (parts I and II)

The articles below are the translation of the two newspaper articles published in Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet (17 and 23/8/2009), about the Israeli selling of Palestinian prisoner organs. Written by Donald Bostrum who was consequently banned from entry into Gaza by Israeli occupation authorities, these articles opened the surface for ever-ending...

Nathan Brown || Article Palestine: The Schism Deepens

Most international attention to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict tends to focus on major diplomatic initiatives and dramatic events. Concrete developments on the ground, slow trends, and grinding practical realities can fade into the background. To its credit, the Obama administration has sought to address one problematic trend on the ground—the...

al-Jazeera || Timeline PLO: History of a Revolution

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) began with the aim of securing a national home for the Palestinians. More than four decades on, that struggle continues. The following is a chronology of key events and developments related to the PLO.

Palestine Chronicle || ArticleExpired and Expiring Ideas in Palestine-Israel Conflict

Now more than ever, it is necessary to state caveats when using words. In some cases, the caveats have expanded so greatly, that there is little space left for the original meaning. Politically, this means that while some words and ideas refuse to die, they have become denuded of meaning and merely serve as tools of statecraft. Others are dead and...

Toufic Haddad || ArticleWither Fateh?

The most significant political development currently taking place in the Palestinian political arena is not between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, or between Fateh and Hamas. It is the struggle within Fateh over the movement's identity, history and political program. August 4, 2009 will mark the first time Fateh holds a party...

Briefing Paper || SOAS Palestine SocietyTel Aviv University – A Leading Israeli Military Research Centre

BackgrounderAs part of Tel Aviv's centenary celebration, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London hosted a Tel Aviv University Special Lecture Series from January to March 2009. Taking place in the midst of Israel's war on Gaza -- which had already mobilized SOAS students to organize a number of activities in solidarity with...

Occupation, Colonialism, Apartheid? A re-assessment of Israel’s practices in the occupied Palestinian territories under international law

HSRC || Study Occupation, Colonialism, Apartheid? A re-assessment of Israel’s practices in the occupied Palestinian territories under international law

The scope of this study was determined by the question it poses: whether Israel's practises in the OPT amount to colonialism or apartheid under international law. Hence Israel's practices inside the Green Line (1949 Armistice Line) are not examined, except where they illuminate Israeli policies in the OPT. The history of the conflict before...

ACDN || ReportReport on the use of radioactive weapons in the Gaza Strip during "Operation Cast Lead" (27 December 2008 - 18 January 2009)

In the night of 28-29 January (Sunday-Monday), at 1.18 a.m., the Jerusalem Post published on its website an article in English which was then updated at 9.15 a.m.. It was headed: "The Israeli Air Force is using a new intelligent bomb provided by the USA": Its author, Yaakov Katz, wrote: "The Israeli Air Force (IAF), in its strikes...

Study || Israel Law Resource CenterIsraeli Apartheid: A Basic Legal Perspective

The European Zionist organizations which started the State of Israel had hoped that the new country they had started would be a special refuge for the Jewish people after suffering years of anti-Semitism, and then finally the unimaginable horrors of the holocaust. They also hoped that their new country would be an example for the world of...

Report || IEPNHistorical, Political and Economic Impact of Jewish Settlments in the Occupied Territories

According to this report, the Israeli government has spent 22.3% more on settlments' municipal budgets than other municipal budgets within the Green Line. The report, released by the Israeli European Policy Network in July 2009, presents many statistics and indicators on the Israeli settlment construction. We at al-Zaytouna Centre however...

Report || UNDPArab Human Development Report 2009: Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries

The United Nations Development Program has released its annual Arab Human Development Report for the year 2009, subtitled: "Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries" >> Click Here to Download the Report ( 3.63 MB, 288 pages) Report Table of Contents Foreword, team and table of contents Executive summary Chapter...

Report || Al-Zaytouna SelectionsConcerns about British and EU Roles in Palestinian Authority Human Rights Abuses in the Occupied West Bank

Throughout the past decade the European Union and Britain have invested hundreds of millions of Euros and pounds respectively to support the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Much of these funds have been used to rebuild the PA security apparatus. Recent campaigns of arrests, detentions, torture and...

Speech at Soref Symposium (May 2009)Lt. Gen. K Dayton on the Security Coordination in the Middle East and Palestine-Israel

The following is a transcript of a keynote address delivered by Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton to The Washington Institute's 2009 Soref Symposium on May 7, 2009. General Dayton currently serves as U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a post he has held since 2005. He recently...

Statistical ReportPreliminary Estimates of the Humanitarian and Economic Losses of the War on Gaza

This is the preliminary report released by the Palestinian Ministry of Planning, estimating the humanitarian and economic losses of the Israeli war in Gaza between 27/12/2008 and 17/1/2009.Click Here to Download the Report ( 19 pages, file size 1.1 MB)

Selection of ReportsSelected UN Reports on the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Strip: Dec 08-Jan 09

Below are few selected reports that were released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009. Situation Report from the Humanitarian Coordinator, 7 January 2009, 1700 hours (4 pages, 131...

Selection of ReportsSelected UN Reports on the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Strip: Dec 07-Jan 08

Below are few selected reports that were released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip in December 2007 and January 2008.Gaza Strip Humanitarian Fact Sheet, December 2007The Closure of the Gaza Strip: The...

StudyThe Role of Think Tanks in U.S. Foreign Policy

This is a study issue by U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda. It examines the unique role played by public policy research and analysis organizations, or "think tanks," in the formulation of U.S. foreign policy. A leading State Department official outlines the principal benefits that think tanks offer to U.S. policy-makers. Two experts...

ReportA Socio-economic Profile of the Nahr El-Bared and Beddawi Refugee Camps of Lebanon

Based on 2006 Labour Force Survey among Palestinian Refugees in LebanonAs a consequence of the armed struggle between the Islamist group Fatah al-Islam and the Lebanese Army in and around the Nahr El-Bared Palestinian refugee camp north of Tripoli, the vast majority of its population has fled their homes and is now dispersed to the nearby...

StudyWest Bank & Gaza: Economic Developments in 2006 - A First Assessment

Among its selections, Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations presents this study, by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and entitled: "West Bank and Gaza, Economic Developments in 2006 - A First Assessment" and released in late March 2007. Click Here to Download the Study (10 pages, 46 KB)

ConferenceResolution of the Conference on War, Imperialism and Resistance in West Asia - New Delhi, 12th-14th March

The conference on War, Imperialism and Resistance in West Asia, was held in New Delhi this week, from 12 to 14 March. Participants were around 300 and varied between specialists, academics, politicians, and journalists, from India, Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Britain, in addition to representatives of the Indian...

ArticleOur Unity Can Now Pave the Way for Peace and Justice, by Khaled Mish'al

A historic new phase in the Palestinian struggle for freedom and independence has begun. Last week's Mecca agreement between Hamas and Fatah will pave the way for the first ever truly Palestinian national unity government. Hamas and Fatah, joined by all the other Palestinian factions, will now seek to rebuild Palestinian society following the...

The Changing Paradigm of Israeli-Palestinian Relations in the Shadow of Iran and the War against Hizballah

Article from 7th Annual Herzliya ConferenceThe Changing Paradigm of Israeli-Palestinian Relations in the Shadow of Iran and the War against Hizballah

Featuring Moshe Yaalon - Seventh Annual Herzliya Conference On January 22, 2007, former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Lt. Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon addressed the Seventh Annual Herzliya Conference on the balance of Israel's national security. General Yaalon was a Washington Institute visiting fellow in 2006...