Archive: palestine

7th July 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
   Don't stop, make it pop DJ, blow my speakers up Tonight, I'm a-fight 'Til we see the sunlight Tick tock on the clock But the party don't stop, no The extraordinary video has been doing the rounds on YouTube. It shows Israeli troops from the Nahal Brigade’s 50th Airborne Batallion patrolling… Read more
1st July 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
The UN secretary-general is due to issue one of his periodic reports on the implementation (or not) of Security Councilresolution 1701 which brought a ceasefire in the 2006 conflict with Israel. Hizbullah is clearly not in full compliance (it was supposed to be disarmed) but neither is Israel. In a… Read more
26th June 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
More news of the workshop on gay liberation in the Middle East which was due to be held in Detroit last Thursday. The hosting body – the US Social Forum (USSF) – cancelled it at the last minute following complaints about the workshop's organisers, a militant Zionist organisation called Stand With… Read more
17th June 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
The US Social Forum brings together organisations from across the United States with the aim of working for social justice. This year's forum, which opens next week in Detroit, includes a workshop on "LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East". According to the blurb: The purpose of this workshop is to… Read more
28th March 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
At the beginning of this month, the Hamas authorities in Gazaannounced a ban on male hairdressers attending to women's hair. Three weeks later, though, they show no sign of trying to enforce it. Five hairdressers are thought to be affected and have been seeking legal advice. A report in The… Read more
1st December 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
The Hamas-run government in Gaza is introducing a law that will allow execution of drug dealers, AFP reports. Attorney-general Mohammed Abed said the government is cancelling the existing (Israeli) drug law and replacing it with an Egyptian law from 1962. "The latter law is more comprehensive in… Read more
9th September 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
The Israeli human rights organisation, B’Tselem, today issues itsfindings on the number of Palestinians and Israelis killed during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The figures, which it says are the result of “months of meticulous investigation and cross-checks” sharply conflict with those published by… Read more
16th August 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
Two new (and differing) reports on the December/January conflict in Gaza. The Operation in Gaza – Factual and Legal Aspects, from the Israeli foreign ministry: Israel deeply regrets the civilian losses that occurred during the Gaza operation. But Israel has both the responsibility… Read more
6th August 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
The release of Hamas’s first feature film, produced in Gaza on a budget of only $200,000, is noted by the Guardian and theJerusalem Post. As might be expected in view of the filming location, it’s descibed as action-packed.  The film's producer, Fathi Hamad, is also the Gaza interior minister, so I… Read more
2nd August 2009
By: Brian Whitaker
Several recent reports from Gaza suggest a steady erosion of personal liberties as Palestinian society retreats into supposedly “traditional” values. Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights says there has been anoticeable increase in “honour” killings – the most recent case being that of a 27-year-old… Read more