Posted on August 24th, 2010 by Marian Houk
Two Israeli human rights organizations — the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and Ir Amim — have issued a new study reporting that, “due to bias”, there is a “severe deficicit” of classrooms for Palestinian children in East Jerusalem — a state of affairs for which, the two groups said, Israeli authorities [the [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, Israel, Palestine & Palestinians
Posted on August 23rd, 2010 by Marian Houk
Have we reached the summit of cynicism? [Can we get any more cynical?] Haaretz correspondent Avi Issacharov wrote on his Haaretz blog Sunday that “Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to resume direct negotiations with Israel on September 2 in Washington without any of his preconditions being met. Israel has not promised to end construction in [...]
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Filed under: Israel, Middle East Peace Process, Negotiators and negotiations, Palestine & Palestinians
Posted on August 21st, 2010 by Marian Houk
Here’s George Mitchell in Washington on Thursday, answering a question about Hamas (“the green elephant in the room”), after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced invitations to Israel and the Palestinian leadership to come to dinner on 1 September, and hold direct talks on 2 September. In his answer, Mitchell is pretending that [...]
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Filed under: Middle East Peace Process, Negotiators and negotiations, Palestine & Palestinians, USA
Posted on August 20th, 2010 by Marian Houk
A new crop of billboards has gone up at strategic locations around Ramallah — that is, at the entrances to the city, where diplomats from donor countries is most likely to see them. The second target seems to be the cadres of the Palestinian Authority’s various Ramallah-based ministries. The billboards, sponsored by USAID, show headshots [...]
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Filed under: Donors, Middle East Peace Process, Palestine & Palestinians, USA
Posted on August 17th, 2010 by Marian Houk
There is so much more to say, or to write, and so little time … These are just a few drops in the bucket: On Monday, A Jerusalem court held the state responsible in a civil suit backed by Yesh Din for shooting, with a rubber bullet — and killing — a 10-year-old Palestinian girl [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Human Rights, Israel, Palestine & Palestinians
Posted on August 17th, 2010 by Marian Houk
Al-Araqib [or Al-Arakib] — an “unrecognized” village in Israel [meaning it has no regular electricity, water, sewage and other nice infrastructure] inhabited by Beduins with Israeli nationality — was destroyed by the IDF — for a fourth time — today. Apparently, the demolition orders have been given because the land is slated to become a [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Human Rights, Israel
Posted on August 16th, 2010 by Marian Houk
There’s only one convincing way to respond to attacks on oneself and/or one’s leadership: to smile and give genuine assurances that you are going to give full consideration to the arguments of opponents, or the opposition, and in any case you will sure try to do better. UNSG BAN Ki-Moon has just chosen a poor [...]
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Filed under: BAN Ki-Moon, UN Administration
Posted on August 15th, 2010 by Marian Houk
An Associated Press report this morning indicates that the Israeli Defense Forces have launched a new information offensive against Hizballah. The IDF has taken journalists to the the northern “border” [though there is no agreed border as yet] between Israel and Lebanon, and shown what the IDF claims is evidence that “Hezbollah is moving fighters [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Israel, Journalism and Journalists, Lebanon, UN Peacekeeping
Posted on August 14th, 2010 by Marian Houk
Since The Wall became a massive presence in the Palestinian West Bank a few years ago, and since Qalandia Checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah (and the rest of the central and northern West Bank) grew to large proportions, it has become a major center of human activity on Fridays during the month of Ramadan, when [...]
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Filed under: Boundaries & Borders, Human Rights, Israel, Palestine & Palestinians
Posted on August 13th, 2010 by Marian Houk
After noting that he usually tries “not to get worked up about reports of imminent war in the Middle East”, Iranian-born Israeli analyst Meir Javendanvar has just written, on the Real Clear World website, that “this time I really can’t shake the feeling that something ominous is about to happen, involving Hezbollah. It will either [...]
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Filed under: Hariri Commission of Inquiry, Israel, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria
