Fact Sheets

Rached Ghannouchi: briefing paper on summonses since March 2022

Middle East Monitor — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 12:01:45 +0000

Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi in the capital Tunis, Tunisia on September 21, 2022
[Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu Agency]

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The President of Ennahda Party and Speaker of Tunisia's Parliament, Rached Ghannouchi, has been summoned to appear before the investigating judge at the anti-terrorism unit of the Tunis court on Tuesday, 21 February. The timing of the case, a few days after the arrest of a number of other political figures across the political spectrum, as well as journalists and union activists, raises fears that Ghannouchi may also be arrested. This wave of arrests comes in the wake of the failure of President Kais Saied to mobilise people to participate in the election he organised at the end of January. Just 11 per cent of voters took part following opposition calls for a boycott. With these arrests, Saied wants to […]

What's in Tunisia's proposed constitution?

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 13:32:41 +0000

People stage a protest against the referendum in Tunis, Tunisia on 22 July 2022 [Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu Agency]

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Tunisians will vote on a proposed new constitution significantly enhancing President Kais Saied's powers, hardening critics' fears he will entrench one-man rule and undo democratic gains from the 2011 revolution. The proposed charter weakens the parliament empowered by the 2014 constitution, remaking a system that critics say led to years of political paralysis, squabbling and ineffective government. Details of the main features of the proposed constitution are listed below: President shapes the government – Article 101 says the president appoints the prime minister, as well as other cabinet members, based on a proposal from the prime minister – a big departure from the current system that gives parliament precedence in picking governments. – Article 112 says the government is responsible […]

The importance of Turkiye's oversight of warship movements as possible Russia, Ukraine war heats up

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 10:50:13 +0000

Ukraine asks Turkey to block Russian vessel travelling from Black Sea

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Ukraine has asked Turkiye to close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to Russian ships, Ukraine's ambassador to Ankara said today, after Russia launched air and ground assaults on its neighbour. Under the international Montreux Convention, NATO member Turkiye has control over passage of vessels between the Mediterranean and Black Sea, making it a potentially key player in any military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Earlier this month, six Russian warships and a submarine transited Turkiye's Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits to the Black Sea for what Moscow called naval drills near Ukraine waters. Erdogan: 'Turkey cannot abandon ties with Russia or Ukraine' Here are details of the pact and supervisory powers it grants to Turkiye, which neighbours Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria […]

Fact check: Has Ennahda governed Tunisia alone for the past 10 years?

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 08:24:54 +0000

Tunisian forces take security measures around parliament during a protest against suspending parliament, in Tunis, Tunisia on 26 July 2021 [YASSINE MAHJOUB/AFP/Getty Images]

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For months, analysts on television programmes have been promoting the idea that the Islamist Ennahda movement has been running Tunisia from the January 2011 revolution until 25 July this year, when President Kais Saied announced his exceptional measures, dismissed the prime minister and suspended the parliament. In order to fact check this claim, Anadolu Agency has monitored the extent to which Ennahda participated in government since the October 2011 election, during which the movement secured a clear majority. This has been maintained until today through affiliated prime ministers, ministers, secretaries of state, governors and delegates. 24 December, 2011 to 13 March, 2013: Hamadi Jebali's government On 24 December 2011, the government of Hamadi Jebali (Ennahda's secretary general at the time, […]

Suez Canal: A vital global waterway

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 16:20:35 +0000

Traffic in the Suez Canal [Suez Canal Media Center]

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The Suez Canal, blocked by a giant container ship that ran aground on Tuesday, is the quickest sea route between Asia and Europe and about 15 per ent of global shipping traffic moves through it. The 193 kilometre waterway, run by the state-owned Suez Canal Authority, is a vital source of foreign currency for Egypt. The alternative to the route is to sail around Africa, which can add two weeks and additional fuel costs to a voyage. Oil transfers Of the 39.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil imported by seaborne methods in 2020, 1.74 million bpd went through the Suez Canal, according to data intelligence firm Kpler. Crude oil and refined fuels flow in both directions. More […]

Israel's brutal military occupation continues to crush West Bank Palestinians

Sat, 18 May 2019 09:57:20 +0000

Palestinian worshippers, wait in a queue from early hours to move for passing through the Qalandiya checkpoint from Ramallah into Jerusalem after Israeli authorities let the Palestinians, to cross into Jerusalem to attend the third Friday prayer of Muslim holy month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in Jerusalem on June 16, 2017 [Issam Rimawi / Anadolu Agency]

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During the 1967 Six Day War, the West Bank and East Jerusalem were occupied by Israel. Fifty-two years later this brutal military occupation remains in place, with the West Bank's almost three million Palestinian residents subjected to a maze of military checkpoints, attacks by illegal Israeli settlers and a lack of access to resources. So what is life like for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem? Here are 12 things you should know. This article is part of our series on Eurovision 2019. See more here. Palestinians live in the shadow of the Separation Wall Israel decided to build the Separation Wall in 2002, during the Second Intifada. Israeli NGO B'Tselem notes that, to date, "The route […]

Discrimination, division and demolitions: Life as a Palestinian citizen of Israel

Sat, 18 May 2019 09:49:54 +0000

Hassan Othman, Palestinian citizen of Israel, was forced to demolish his home by Israeli forces [Arab48]

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Palestinian citizens of Israel – who number around 1.8 million people and amount to just over 20 per cent of Israel's population – are often ignored by the broader Palestinian narrative. Although unlike their compatriots in the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip, Palestinian citizens of Israel do not live under a formal military occupation, their lives are not without struggle. The community is discriminated against on a daily basis, denied equal access to resources, opportunities, political rights and housing. So what does daily life look like for Palestinian citizens of Israel? Here are nine things you should know. This article is part of our series on Eurovision 2019. See more here. Palestinian history is repressed, their ancestral homes […]

7 myths about Israel's 'Separation Wall'

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 10:03:20 +0000

A picture shows a side of the Israeli separation wall around Jerusalem on 9 July 2013 [Saeed Qaq/Apaimages]

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In 2002, Israel decided to build the so-called Separation Wall. By 2003, it had already constructed 143 kilometres of the colossal structure, most of which cut deep into the West Bank, the Palestinian territory that Israel has occupied since the Six Day War of 1967. Its route through occupied West Bank territory means that the Wall infringes directly on the rights and lives of 210,000 Palestinians residing in 67 villages, towns and cities. In the 16 years since construction began, the lives of almost three million Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem have been transformed almost beyond recognition. Military checkpoints are now a part of people's daily routine. The Wall cuts Palestinians off from their land; Jerusalemites […]

11 things you should know about Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip

Fri, 10 Aug 2018 12:56:38 +0000

For 11 years, Israel has imposed an unforgiving siege on the Gaza Strip. With severely restricted access in and out of the enclave — via land, air and, notoriously, sea — Gaza has effectively been sealed off from the world. The Strip is only 360 square kilometres in size, about the same as Las Vegas in the US or one-quarter the size of London. It is now home to almost two million Palestinians, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the world and leading some to dub Gaza "the world's largest open-air prison." According to UNRWA, the UN body responsible for Palestinian refugees, 1.3 million of Gaza's 1.9 million inhabitants are refugees. Most were expelled from […]

100 days since Trump's recognition of Jerusalem, the facts

Fri, 16 Mar 2018 11:21:31 +0000

Pro-Palestine protesters demonstrate against Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel [PalesAbroadE/Twitter]

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On the 6 December, US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, causing widespread controversy and anger across the world. Whilst the announcement was nearly unanimously rejected by the international community, it has had severe implications for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the US' relationship with the region as a whole. 100 days after the announcement, Trump's decision continues to dominate headlines as the fate of the Palestinian people hangs in the balance. History Since the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, the heads of both political parties in the US have signed a waiver every six months to prevent the American embassy being moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Under international law, Jerusalem's sovereignty is in abeyance, meaning in a […]

Palestinian security cooperation with Israel

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 12:57:08 +0000

Set up under the 1993 Oslo Accords, security coordination involves the sharing of intelligence between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The PA was also established under Oslo. Before the official signing of the agreement, the two sides had agreed on a "Declaration of Principles", which included a pledge from PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat to uphold UN Security Council Resolution 242. That created a framework allowing for Palestinian statehood in exchange for Israeli security. Whilst the security partnership was meant to bring stability to both sides, the elements of the agreement were very much focused on creating a structure which would primarily ensure the security of Israel. Security cooperation remained strong until the second Intifada (2000-2005) when it broke down, but […]

Notorious massacres of Palestinians between 1937 & 1948

Sun, 11 May 2014 13:11:40 +0000

FACT SHEET According to hundreds of Palestinian, Arab, Israeli, and Western sources, both written and oral, Zionist forces committed dozens of massacres against Palestinians during what was called the 1948 "war". Some of these are well-known and have been published while others are not. Below are some of the details of the most notorious massacres committed at the hands of Haganah and its armed wing, the Palmach, as well as the Stern Gang, the Irgun and other Zionist mobs. Download Full Fact Sheet

Why are Palestinians voting with their feet in the Israeli elections?

Sun, 11 May 2014 13:10:36 +0000

FACT SHEET Although the Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel have the right to vote in the Israeli elections, many have chosen not to, due to the fact that Israeli politics have been overrun by anti-democratic parties that are preventing the voices of the Arab minority from being heard. Since 1949, when the first Israeli elections were held, the most prominent political parties within Israel have neither promoted peace with the Palestinians, nor have they promoted equal rights for the Palestinians living in Israel. Instead, they support a "Jewish democratic state" that gives rights and privileges to Jewish citizens, ignoring those of the Arab minority. Moreover, Palestinian Arab members of the Knesset (MKs) are being harassed and discredited, as well as […]

Israel's Race Riots

Sun, 11 May 2014 13:07:50 +0000

– Israel's anti-African protests, which have turned into full-fledged race-riots, started about a year ago. – In January 2011, the daughters of Nigerian migrant workers were attacked by a group of Israeli youth. The boys shouted racial slurs at the teenage girls and attacked them with a knife that resulted in injuries.1 – That same night in 2011, a flaming tire was thrown into an apartment shared by Sudanese refugees.2 – Last month, in May, there were a series of fire bombings of apartments and a nursery school in an area in which African migrants live. Shops run by or serving migrants were smashed up and looted in violent demonstrations in which several Africans were attacked.3 – On […]

Israeli attacks on Muslim-and Christian-owned buildings and religious sites in Palestine

Sun, 11 May 2014 13:05:59 +0000

FACT SHEET The recent escalation of Israeli attacks on Muslim and Christian religious sites in Palestine, including Jerusalem, other cities in the occupied West Bank and the area occupied in 1948, can be viewed as part of Israel's assault on all things Palestinian since 1967. It is a war declared by Israel and waged by the occupation authority's military and security forces as well as the illegal Jewish settlers. The latter form the spearhead of attacks against mosques with the cooperation and support of military personnel. Although the Israeli occupation authority describes such attacks as "criminal activity", in reality they are attacks of a religious and socio-political nature. Several Palestinian organisations have documented attacks against Muslim and Christian religious […]

Why Palestinian prisoners are on hunger strike

Sun, 11 May 2014 13:04:29 +0000

FACT SHEET 1.1 – The issue of Palestinian prisoners is one of the worst consequences of the Israeli occupation. Since 1967, over 700,000 Palestinians, 20% of the population of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip have been detained. This number represents approximately 40% of the total male Palestinian population in the occupied territories. 1.2 – Today, there are about 6,000 prisoners in 17 Israeli jails and detention centres. They include six women and more than 200 minors. 1.3 – 330 Palestinians are being held in administrative detention with no formal charges having been brought against them in a court of law. 28 elected members of the parliament, and three former ministers fall within this category. 1.4 – Israel […]

Sheikh Raed Salah - A summary of the tribunal hearings

Middle East Monitor — Sun, 11 May 2014 13:00:17 +0000

Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement in Israel outside of a prison in Haifa on 16 August 2020 [Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency]

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FACT SHEET Sheikh Raed Salah came to Britain at the invitation of the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) last June for a 10 day speaking tour. He was invited to address parliamentarians, journalists and the public to talk about Jerusalem, the Arab Spring, Palestine and Palestinian citizens of Israel. Three days into his visit he was arrested by officials from the UK Border Agency. The UKBA claimed that Sheikh Raed had entered the UK despite a banning order issued by Home Secretary Theresa May. Such an order had not been issued to Sheikh Raed; neither the Sheikh, nor his hosts nor representatives were made aware of it. In response, Sheikh Raed began legal proceedings to clear his name. On 5 April […]

The environmental impact of Israeli settlements on the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Sun, 11 May 2014 12:58:53 +0000

Human beings are endowed with essential basic rights. These include the right to freedom, equality and prosperous natural living conditions. As such, every individual has a public duty to safeguard and improve the environment for the benefit of present and future generations. The Draft International Treaty on Third-Generation Rights, which deals with environmental, cultural and developmental rights, devotes two of its articles to the environment: 1. Article 14 confirms that all persons have the right to a clean environment suitable for their economic, social, cultural and legal growth. 2. Article 15 demands that Member States commit themselves not to negatively alter normal living conditions in a way which may damage the health of individuals and future generations. Since its inception, […]

Reviewing the Middle East peace process: Two decades of empty negotiations [1992-2012]

Sun, 11 May 2014 12:49:43 +0000

FACT SHEET Over the past two decades, Palestinians have sat around the "negotiating table" on numerous occasions with successive Israeli governments and with a stated view of achieving a negotiated resolution to the intractable Palestine-Israel conflict. For years, Israel has claimed that the persistent failure of this so-called peace process was the result of Palestinian intransigence and of Israel having no reliable "partner for peace". However, an independently authenticated cache of confidential documents, records, contemporaneous notes and transcripts of private meetings between the two sides leaked in 2011, revealed a very different picture. Known as the Palestine Papers, the documents provide an extraordinary and unprecedented insight into a decade of peace negotiations, exposing them as a process of gradual […]

Detention of Palestinian political prisoners

Sun, 11 May 2014 12:47:07 +0000

FACT SHEET As candidates prepared for elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in 2006, the Israeli authorities began a campaign of detention and imprisonment to thwart the growing move towards democracy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Israeli authorities began to arrest members of Hamas: 450 were detained in 2005 to prevent their participation in the election the following year; many were held in administrative detention, without trial or charge. Despite this the elections took place and a number of the candidates in prison were elected to the PLC. The 2006 Palestinian elections were overseen by international observers, who declared them to be free and fair (more open, it has been said, than the 2004 re-election of George […]

Child Prisoners

Sun, 11 May 2014 12:45:43 +0000

The imprisonment of Palestinian children is a common feature of Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Defence for Children International (DCI) estimates that since 2000 around 7,500 Palestinian children have been prosecuted by Israeli military courts. Many expected the 164 children (aged 12-17) being held by Israel to be among the 1,000+ Palestinians released in exchange for Gilad Shalit; they weren't. Most (62%) have been detained for "stone throwing". The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: "In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration." Article 37(b) of the convention adds: "The arrest, detention […]

Ahlam al-Tamimi: among the freed women

Middle East Monitor — Sun, 11 May 2014 12:44:08 +0000

37-year old Palestinian prisoner, Ahlam Al-Tamimi, is on FBI’s ‘most wanted’ list

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Her upbringing and education Ahlam al-Tamimi was born on 20/10/1980 in the Jordanian city of al-Zarqa to a Palestinian family with roots in the Palestinian village of al-Nabi Saleh near Ramallah. Ahlam completed her elementary, junior and secondary education in al-Zarqa before returning to Palestine and enrolling in the Department of Media and Journalism at Bir Zeit University. With only a term left until her graduation, the 2001 al-Aqsa Intifada [The Second Palestinian Uprising] broke out across the Occupied Palestinian Territories bringing with it unprecedented levels of violence and repression at the hands of the Israeli authorities. This was exemplified by the horrific assassination policy implemented by the successive governments led by the war criminals, Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon. […]

Exchange deals between Israelis and Arabs

Sun, 11 May 2014 12:42:49 +0000

Freedom for Samir Al-Qantar in a 2008 exchange deal between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel was one of the last of such deals between Israel and an Arab entity prior to the recently announced agreement with Hamas for the release of Gilad Shalit. The ongoing conflict between Israel and its neighbours includes a surprising number of prisoner exchanges, including the following: Post-1948 and Israel's founding, the Zionist state agreed exchanges with Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, in which hundreds of Arab soldiers were handed over in exchange for hundreds of their Israeli counterparts. In two separate military operations conducted around the Suez Canal and the Golan Heights in 1954, Egypt and Syria captured 15 Israeli soldiers. Egypt returned 10 […]

Jerusalem's Parliamentarians - Fact Sheet

Sun, 11 May 2014 12:40:21 +0000

Palestinian Parliament members Detained at the Red Cross in Jerusalem On July 1st 2010 four democratically elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council sought refuge in the compound of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Jerusalem. Muhammed Abu Teir, Ahmad Attoun, Muhammed Totah and Khaled Abu Arafeh (former Palestinian Authority Minister of Jerusalem Affairs) were elected in 2006, but like many others elected officials were subsequently imprisoned. The Members were elected under the Change and Reform list representing constituencies in East Jerusalem. In June 2010 the four PLC members were served with expulsion orders for disloyalty to the Israeli state and had their East Jerusalem residency permits revoked. Though their homes and constituencies are in East […]

Egyptian - Israeli relations 1948 - 2011

Sun, 11 May 2014 12:37:42 +0000

FACT SHEET For almost half of its existence as a state, of all its neighbours Israel has enjoyed its most cordial relations with Egypt, particularly under the presidency of Hosni Mubarak. Egypt occupies a strategic position in the Middle East, with control of the Suez Canal, the main maritime thoroughfare for trade between East and West. Throughout its recent history Egypt has been at the political and cultural forefront of pan-Arabism and the Non-Aligned Movement. With the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, Egypt took a lead role in the struggle for Palestinian rights in the land occupied by the new state. From 1948 to 1973 Egypt was a key participant in the wars that broke out between […]

Discriminatory laws against Palestinians living in Israel

Sun, 11 May 2014 12:35:41 +0000

Ever since the founding of the Zionist state of Israel in Palestine in 1948, Israeli governments have been trying to make life as uncomfortable as possible for the indigenous Palestinian population. The aim has been to create the circumstances whereby Palestinians will leave their homeland, willingly or unwillingly, in what Israeli historian Ilan Pappe calls "the ethnic cleansing of Palestine". That illegal and immoral process has been ongoing for more than sixty years. Such "transfer" of the Palestinians has, in fact, been going on since before the state of Israel came into being. More than three-quarters of a million Palestinians were driven from their homes before and after 15th May 1948 by Zionist forces, who went on to wipe more […]

Settler violence September-October

Sun, 11 May 2014 12:33:40 +0000

Illegal settlements continue to be built across the West Bank and bring with them even more problems, including increasing incidents of settler violence. The illegal settlers colonising the West Bank attack Palestinian people, land, schools, mosques and agriculture. A problem that has existed for some time is worsening, and the Israeli military generally turns a blind eye. Background 1967: Israel wins the Six-Day War and occupies the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Settlements begin to be built in defiance of international law. It is illegal to build settlements on occupied land or for the occupier to allow its own population to live on occupied land. Since 1967 illegal settlements have been built and expanded with the authority of the Israeli […]

Israel's Judaisation of Jerusalem

Sun, 11 May 2014 12:32:18 +0000

In the framework of Israel's policy of Judaising Jerusalem and making the Holy City its eternal capital, Israel has pursued a number of measures following its occupation and illegal annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967: 1 – The confiscation of land "in the public interest", using a British law of 1943 and building 15 illegal settlements, covering an area of 24 sq km, or the equivalent of 35% of the area of East Jerusalem's total of 72 sq km. 2 – The use of the Planning and Building Law, which has been applied to Jerusalem since 1976, which has turned around 40% of East Jerusalem a designated "green" zone to prevent Palestinian Arabs from building on it, but which has […]

Sheikh Raed Salah - Profile

Middle East Monitor — Sun, 11 May 2014 12:30:28 +0000

Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement in Israel speaks to the crowd as he arrives in a prison in Haifa, 17 August 2020 [Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency]

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FACT SHEET Raed Salah was born in 1958 in the Palestinian town of Umm al-Fahm where he received his early education. He was a founder of the Islamic movement in Israel in the 1970s and has travelled widely throughout historic Palestine, playing a major role in preserving the Islamic heritage of Jerusalem. Sheikh Raed has attended numerous gatherings of the Palestinian Diaspora in European countries and solidarity conferences with the Palestinian people. Enjoying unprecedented popularity among the Palestinian people, not least because he has faced several threats from Israeli officials and intelligence agencies, Sheikh Raed remains one of the most daring Palestinian figures in his struggle against the occupation which has led to his imprisonment on many occasions. In addition to his […]

Continuing campaign of arrests against civilians in the West Bank

Sun, 11 May 2014 12:23:13 +0000

Introduction The Middle East Monitor (MEMO) has obtained primary evidence of how Israeli forces and Palestinian security services have embarked on a campaign of arrests against Hamas supporters in the occupied West Bank. A list containing details of the political detainees arrested in the months of January and February 2010 is attached. It can be seen how, increasingly, arbitrary political arrests are being conducted in Nablus and Hebron, where there is a high level of Hamas support, as well as other governorates across the West Bank. The detainees include university students, professionals, journalists and political activists. Israeli campaign of detentionThe beginning of 2010 has seen an intensification of arrests conducted by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in towns, villages and […]

The predicament of Palestinian workers in Israel

Sun, 11 May 2014 11:59:55 +0000

IntroductionThe Palestinian economy is in a state of total collapse with a 31% rate of unemployment in the West Bank. As a result, despite the difficult circumstances they face, the number of Palestinians seeking work inside Israel is increasing. Of the approximately one million Palestinian workers living in the West Bank, only a small number are allowed to legally work inside Israel. In 2009, no more than 23,000 Palestinians were given Israeli work permits. Nevertheless, around 40,000 Palestinians continue to work inside Israel, almost half of them do so illegally. As a result, most of these workers are exploited by employers who are aware of their illegal status and sometimes they are not paid at all – if they complain, […]

Health conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails

Sun, 11 May 2014 11:57:28 +0000

Introduction Since the beginning of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967 the number of Palestinians detained is in excess of 700,000 men, women and children, representing 20% of the Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories. The current number of prisoners and detainees is estimated at between 8,000 – 10,000 spread around 30 prisons and detention centres. This includes prisons in the desert, where prisoners are held in tents in the searing heat of the summer and bitter cold of winter. Around 400 women have been jailed since the first Intifada started in 1987; a few dozen are still held in detention, some having given birth in prison and since separated from their children. The […]

The Middle East Peace Process, 2003 - Present

Sun, 11 May 2014 11:49:50 +0000

Background 'The Peace Process' is the term that has come to be used to describe Middle Eastern diplomacy and peace negotiations following the 1967 War in which Israel on one side attacked its neighbours, Egypt, Jordan and Syria on the other. It has taken shape over many years and refers to the gradualist US- led approach to resolving the resultant conflicts which emphasises the 'process' of reaching peace rather than its substance. Following the war of 1948 when the state of Israel was established in historic Palestine, three quarters of a million Palestinians were driven out of the territory and forced to become refugees in exile. They were left with only a fraction of the territory that had once been […]

Israel's countdown to another war on Gaza

Sun, 11 May 2014 11:46:49 +0000

As the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) highlights the human cost of Operation Cast Lead (War Diaries), Israel has during the last two weeks intensified its air strikes at civilian targets in the Gaza Strip, once again killing a number of Palestinians and causing extensive damage to properties. Media and military analysts in the region have discerned a clear pattern of activities that suggest the Occupying Power, Israel, is preparing the ground for another major onslaught into the Gaza Strip. As was the case in the previous attack one year ago, the Occupier is again interpreting regional or international silence as a 'green light' for its next operation. What is happening? The current attacks on the Gaza Strip are all […]

The olive tree: a symbol of Palestinian steadfastness, subject to systematic destruction

Sun, 11 May 2014 11:44:34 +0000

A Palestinian man pours newly-made olive oil into a plastic container at an olive press in Gaza City October 6, 2016. [Ashraf Amra/ APA Images]

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The supreme judge in Palestine, Tayseer Al-Tamimi, has denounced what he calls the "repeated crimes of the Israeli occupation authorities against all things Palestinian, be they human beings, stones or trees". The judge was speaking after dozens of olive trees in the town of Burin, south of Nablus, were destroyed by the Israelis; the trees date back to the Roman period of history. Al-Tamimi has urged the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) to "protect the agricultural land of Palestine which is being seized and destroyed in order to build illegal settlements". He called upon the organisation to protect the olive trees, which he describes as the historic source of livelihood for tens of thousands of Palestinian families. Season […]

Media Fact Sheet on Viva Palestina

Sun, 11 May 2014 11:42:23 +0000

URGENT MEDIA FACT SHEET BREAKING NEWS ON VIVA PALESTINA Friday, 8th January 2010 The Viva Palestina Convoy left London on 6th December 2009 to deliver humanitarian to Gaza ; travelling through Europe, Turkey , Syria , Jordan and Egypt. The Middle East Monitor (MEMO) sent two officials to cover the journey. This third Viva Palestina convoy was a joint undertaking between the Viva Palestina and the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (UK). After five days of delay in the Jordanian port of Aqaba and a forced detour to the Syrian port of Lazikiya . While the specially rented ferries took the aid vehicles to the port the 500 internationals volunteers flew in from Syria as requested by the Egyptians authorities. The convoy […]

FACTS CONCERNING THE BALFOUR DECLARATION

Monday 2nd of November 2009 marked the 92nd anniversary since Britain's Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued the Declaration to establish a national home for the Jews in Palestine. The Balfour Declaration forms the cornerstone of the Zionist design. They have relied on it as if it were a document of title to Palestine. It is often regarded as Britain's greatest concession to political Zionism. Although the document in its draft stage was amended and endorsed in Washington by supreme judge Louis Brandais and President Woodrow Wilson it took its name from the British foreign secretary who finally signed it. The Document Foreign Office November 2nd, 1917 Dear Lord Rothschild, I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His […]

Israeli Settler Violence against Palestinian Civilians

Sun, 11 May 2014 11:36:46 +0000

Israeli Settler Violence against Palestinian Civilians in the Occupied West Bank and Jerusalem "The holy martyr, Baruch Goldstein, is from now on our intercessor in heaven. Goldstein did not act as an individual; he heard the cry of the land of Israel, which is being stolen from us day after day by the Muslims. He acted to relieve that cry of the land… The Jews will inherit the land not by any peace agreement but only by shedding blood!" Rabbi Israel Ariel Eulogizing Baruch Goldstein. Quoted in Shahak, Israel and Mezvinsky, Norton, Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, 1999, Pluto Press, p. 10 Background Israel invaded the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967 and has occupied it since. The occupation is […]