Posted on February 28th, 2009 by Marian Houk
According to a report published yesterday (Friday) by Ma’an News Agency, John Dugard — the former Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory (who has since been replaced by Richard Falk) — is in Gaza as part of a human rights fact-finding mission sponsored [...]
No Comments »
Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Egypt, Gaza, Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, Israel, Palestine & Palestinians
Posted on February 28th, 2009 by Marian Houk
The U.S. has announced that it will not participate in further preparations for a follow-up conference against racism — UNLESS there are changes in the document being prepared for the conference.
You can bet that there will now be more feverish activity around the world to try to change the document in a way that the [...]
No Comments »
Filed under: Human Rights, Israel, USA, United Nations
Posted on February 26th, 2009 by Marian Houk
After the first day of full meetings in Cairo today on national reconciliation, the main Palestinian factions — including hitherto bitter rivals Hamas and Fatah — said they had reached agreement in principle on a new government.
There is not yet agreement on what kind of new government it should be.
No Comments »
Filed under: Egypt, Gaza, Palestine & Palestinians
Posted on February 24th, 2009 by Marian Houk
The view from Cairo, a bit surprisingly, is that Israelis and Palestinians are both to blame.
Mostly, in Cairo, they say they mean Hamas — but what they say is “Palestinians”.
No Comments »
Filed under: Egypt, Gaza, Israel, Palestine & Palestinians
Posted on February 23rd, 2009 by Marian Houk
Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian-born refugee with British residency, was released from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo, Cuba — and put on a chartered plane heading to a British military base in the early morning today.
He is being accompanied on the flight “by officers from the Metropolitan Police Counter-terrorism Command, a uniformed police [...]
No Comments »
Filed under: Cuba, Guantanamo, Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, International Law, Pakistan, Torture, USA
Posted on February 22nd, 2009 by Marian Houk
In a report embargoed until 12:01 am on 23 February, Amnesty International said there should be no more business as usual, after the three-week Israeli Operation Cast Lead attack on Gaza — and years of rocket, mortar and missile attacks from Gaza upon neighboring areas of Israel.
“We urge the UN Security Council to impose an [...]
No Comments »
Filed under: Gaza, Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, International Law, Israel, Palestine & Palestinians
Posted on February 20th, 2009 by Marian Houk
This article appeared in Haaretz about the pleasures of baladi [or, authentic home grown from the countryside] vegetables from a Palestinian West Bank village near Bethlehem.
Of note: the vegetables have to be smuggled past checkpoints to get to Jerusalem.
Sometimes, they are confiscated.
Without further comment, here is an excerpt from the Haaretz story:
“Since the village [...]
No Comments »
Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Environment, Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, International Law, Israel, Palestine & Palestinians
Posted on February 19th, 2009 by Marian Houk
It is not really clear — at least not to me — what Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is up to.
Yesterday, at a meeting he convened of Israel’s “security cabinet”, he got agreement to put at the top of the Israeli government’s priorities the release of Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was seized in a [...]
No Comments »
Filed under: Egypt, Gaza, Israel, Palestine & Palestinians
Posted on February 18th, 2009 by Marian Houk
The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Robert Serry, told the UN Security Council today that “the inconclusive results of last year’s Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and unmet Road Map obligations, especially regarding settlements” are realities that must be faced — and “squarely addressed”.
Of course, the Serry statement was balanced. Carefully balanced.
But there [...]
1 Comment »
Filed under: Gaza, Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, International Court of Justice - ICJ, International Humanitarian Law, International Law, Israel, Middle East Peace Process, Palestine & Palestinians, Quartet, Register of damages due to The Wall, Sanctions, UN Security Council
Posted on February 17th, 2009 by Marian Houk
Don’t say you didn’t know.
This information has been published elsewhere, and I’m going to post it here.
You know.
In the West Bank, over the last 24 hours or so, nearly 80 Palestinians have been detained, and whisked off to God-knows-where for interrogation. They were detained in raids, frightening — terrifying — military raids. Their [...]
No Comments »
Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Gaza, Human Rights, International Law, Israel, Middle East Peace Process, Palestine & Palestinians
