MetaFilter posts tagged with Gaza

Inside Gaza

smoke — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:04:48 -0800

"Every opportunity for peace in the Middle East has been led to slaughter" Lawrence Wright in The New Yorker writes about the Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip nearly eleven months ago, talking to Palestinians, Israelis and aid workers. Political context combined with incredibly saddening everyday civilian life.

The Bride Who Crawled Through a Tunnel

shetterly — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:19:25 -0800

"Gaza Love Story: The Bride Who Crawled Through a Tunnel" "He lived in the Gaza Strip, she in the West Bank. It seemed as though the Israeli blockade would prevent their marriage. Then May risked her life to crawl through a smugglers' tunnel into Gaza and join Mohammed. Now they face an uncertain future together."

"We Should Kill Everyone There"

homunculus — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:45:37 -0800

IDF in Gaza: Killing civilians, vandalism, and lax rules of engagement. "During Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces killed Palestinian civilians under permissive rules of engagement and intentionally destroyed their property, say soldiers who fought in the offensive." Can Israel dismiss its own troops' stories from Gaza? [Via]

Casualty of War

terranova — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:31:44 -0800

The Gaza Doctor. Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish is a Palestinian doctor, trained in Israel, educated at Harvard and King's College. He worked at Palestinian and Israeli hospitals, and gave commentary on Israeli TV about the medical crises facing Gazans. His life changed just days before withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza strip.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) concluded its investigations of the incident, admitted responsibility, and in part, ascribes blame to Hamas. The University of Toronto has offered Abu al-Aish a teaching position. He remains uncertain about his future .

Hampshire Divests from Israel?

lunit — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:12:16 -0800

Did Hampshire College Become the First to Divest from Israel? It is being reported that Hampshire has divested from 6 corporations that provide Israel with military equipment and services in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza. Students for Justice in Palestine claim success. But the University claims that the decision had "nothing to do with Israel." This move is being hailed as a landmark victory by the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign which calls on "people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era."

Fair and Balanced

Skeptic — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 03:55:44 -0800

The Disasters' Emergency Committee is an umbrella organisation of 13 major British humanitarian NGOs: ActionAid, the British Red Cross, CAFOD, Care International, Christian Aid, Concern, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tear Fund and World Vision. It was created to coordinate a rapid response to major disasters and to launch common appeals for donations to be broadcast in the British media. Since 1963, the DEC has previously successfully run appeals for the victims of a.o. the Asian Tsunami, the Darfur and Chad Crisis, the Congo Crisis, or the Burma and Bangladesh Cyclones. However, their latest appeal has been refused by the BBC. In the BBC's Editors' Blog, its Director General, Mark Thmpson, cites concerns about the perception of its impartiality and casts doubt on the charities' "ability to deliver on the ground the aid raised in the appeal". Many are outraged, me included.

Is [Israel + Palestine=Isratine] > [Israel / Palestine]?

Azaadistani — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 23:04:29 -0800

Israel + Palestine = Isratine? Or so it should be, Libyan leader Qaddafi argues, promoting the one-state solution. While he is not the first to raise the one-state solution, it is a bold proposal, particularly so soon after the widely-cond emned Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

Attack on Gaza creates rift with overseas Jews.

markkraft — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 01:44:21 -0800

The End of the Affair. Like many followers of Judaism around the world, Sir Gerald Kaufman, a British MP and friend of Golda Meir, has gone through an internal battle over their views regarding the State of Israel. Kaufman rejected the Sharon government and later made a remarkably prescient 2002 documentary (.ram) on Israel. Though he has been targeted by zionist webistes, and has repeatedly received death threats, hate mail, and has even been harassed during worship, Kaufman remains outspoken about Israel's attack on Gaza: "My grandmother was ill in bed when the Nazis came to her home town of Staszów. A German soldier shot her dead in her bed. Madam Deputy Speaker, My grandmother did not die to provide cover for Israeli soldiers murdering Palestinian grandmothers in Gaza . . . they're not simply war criminals, they're fools."

Sometimes it is; Sometimes it isn't.

adamvasco — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:32:54 -0800

Willy Pete - Now It’s a Chemical Weapon, Now It’s Not; was used by US forces in the siege of Fallujah. Now Haaretz has questioned if White Phosphoros is being used against Gaza. Here is apparent video proof. Willy Pete has a strange legality; but whether legal or not is certainly one of the nastiest chemicals used in warfare.

How To Make A Rocket.

gman — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:42:32 -0800

A Gaza journalist shows us how homemade rockets are made. More from Zouheir Alnajjar.

Land of my Fathers

adamvasco — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:38:03 -0800

I am a Palestinian refugee; my parents are refugees too, as well as my grandparents. I have been raised in a place called a refugee camp. With Israel still banning foreign Journalists from Gaza; read some of the Blogs from people inside or with friends and relatives inside the war zone. Then there is The electronic Intifada.

Israel + humanitarian relief + reporters + politicians = Made for Television!

markkraft — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:13:10 -0800

Dear Israel: you picked wrong boat to mess with. Israeli patrol boats have rammed into and nearly capsized a relief vesssel sailing in international waters, bearing humanitarian medical aid to Gaza. Accompanying the international doctors and aid workers who comprised the heart of the mssion were several politicians, including former US congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, as well as several international journalists, such as Karl Penhaul of CNN and Othman Abu Battiri of Al Jazeera, who have used mobile video reporting to refute Israel's claims that the damage was somehow caused by those leading the relief mission. Shades of the USS Liberty... or Whale Wars?

Israel vs. Hamas vs. the Internet

huskerdont — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 11:53:48 -0800

The current conflict between Israel & Hamas is all over the news. But the most interesting bits aren't on CNN or the Beeb. Israelis are Twittering rocket attacks. Amateur photographers are taking snapshots of pro-Hamas riots in Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers on the Gaza border and West Bank unrest.

Meanwhile, Israeli newspapers are publishing photos of rocket victims in the city of Ashdod, 40 kilometers away from Gaza and reporting that Gazans are storming the closed border with Egypt. What's next? Israeli reservists are being called up for a likely land invasion, as Israel sets off sonic booms over Lebanon.

Gaza: The Killing Zone

Surfin' Bird — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:45:40 -0800

A Dispatches documentary Gaza: The Killing Zone shows the shocking reality of seemingly ordinary Palestinians caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Israeli forces. Feels almost like a sci-fi movie about some fictional totalitarian regime. Hard to believe it's their everyday life. WARNING: contains scenes of graphic violence, which you may find disturbing.

Kidnapped

TrashyRambo — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:46:21 -0800

From Our Own Correspondent BBC journalist Alan Johnston gives his account of being kidnapped in Gaza for 114 days. Best in his own voice [mp3]. Previously. And also.

Alan Johnston freed

stammer — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 21:57:21 -0800

Goodnewsfilter: BBC journalist Alan Johnston has been freed. He was kidnapped in March. He credits his release to the election of Hamas: ""The kidnappers seemed very comfortable and very secure in their operation until... a few weeks ago, when Hamas took charge of the security operation here."

Three State Solution

humanfont — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:26:15 -0800

The Hamas-Fatah civil war seems to be winding down in Gaza. Meanwhile, Palestinian and Israeli bloggers discuss the idea that the West Bank will go into confederation with Jordan; leaving Gaza to the Egyptians.

Alan Johnston Video Surfaces

chuckdarwin — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 02:52:02 -0800

Kidnapped BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston said that his captors have been treating him well in a video released today. There was no way to tell when the video was recorded. Mr Johnston was kidnapped on March 12 by Palestinian gunmen in Gaza City, and before today, had not been seen or heard from since. [Previously]

Still Missing : Alan Johnston

burr1545 — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:19:54 -0800

Alan Johnston ,the only western journalist (BBC) in Gaza is still missing. Despite calls from var ious quar ters , local protests , a first ever meeting between the UK gov and Hamas, and unprecedentated 'global media' co-operation. He seems as far from his family as ever.

Grossman on the pullout

ori — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 11:32:45 -0800

Vergangenheitsbewältigung, Israeli style? Amidst overwhelming public approval for the Gaza pullout, noted author David Grossman writes about the need for all Israelis to mourn today, in this Ha-Aretz editorial.

Living in Glass Houses

three blind mice — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 02:56:06 -0800

A private foundation is investing $14m to purchase greenhouses in Gaza. Israeli settlers had originally planned to demolish their greenhouses instead of seeing them handed over to Palestinian farmers. Under a deal brokered by former World Bank President James Wolfensohn 80% of Gaza's greenhouses will be preserved and turned over to Palestinian management. It is, of course, a trap for the Palestinian Authority. The greenhouses are simply the most visible part of a supply chain that the Palestinians cannot possibly manage. Without agricultural knowledge, market expertise, water management skills, good roads, and all the other infrastructure of a modern state, the greenhouses will fail spectacularly. The Palestinian Authority will be exposed as incompetent and unable to run even a simple enterprise. This will cast doubt amongst Palestinians about the practicality of an independent Palestine.

Disengaging in game form

blahblahblah — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 21:25:30 -0800

Disengagement: The Game The debate in Israel over the withdrawal from Gaza has found its way into, of all things, dueling cartoony Flash games. The first, the Wild West Bank, by proponents of withdrawal, has you removing settlers from the West Bank before they can establish settlements. The second, the "Disengagement Game" (click the square yellow button beside the picture), has you take the role of Ariel Sharon, whose political nickname is the "Bulldozer," as he uses his namesake (plus a club and a gaggle of pigs) to remove children protesting his policies. According to the creators of each, the first is supposed to be enlightening, the second purely entertaining. [Instructions inside]

Israeli civil war?

Asparagirl — Tue, 06 Jul 2004 14:27:44 -0800

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday that Israel is on the verge of a civil war. The Israeli Knesset held an emergency session on Tuesday to discuss the growing threat of violence and anti-government assassinations--but this time, the anti-Sharon and anti-Likud threats are from the Israeli Right, not Left.

Angry settlers (who are about to become ex-settlers), egged on by a few extremist rabbis, oppose Israel's disengagement and pullout plan from Gaza (which is already underway) and the West Bank: "The General Security Service (GSS) believes that the next assassin of an Israeli Prime Minister is already here and is looking for an opportunity to strike. "This is not an academic possibility anymore. The danger is clear and present. A small core of settlers believes that Sharon is disengagement, and disengagement is Sharon, and they want to stop him," a GSS official told Channel 1 TV. "There are people who have already taken the decision that, come the day they are going to 'save Eretz Israel, that they are going to kill the PM or a minister, a defense official or a policeman." Ironically, the only people who oppose the pullout/disengagement plan even more than the settlers are Palestinians, who oppose it 65% to 34% in a new poll, down from a previous support of 73% in February. [more inside]

This - is - Radio Gaza.

Captain_Tenille — Thu, 03 Jun 2004 17:09:28 -0800

All We Hear is Radio Gaza. For the first time, Palestinians have taken to English language radio programs produced in the occupied territories. The show has its bias, of course, but all news does, of course.

Israeli army bulldozes, kills American protester.

insomnia_lj — Sun, 16 Mar 2003 18:44:50 -0800

Israeli army bulldozes, kills American protester. Rachel Corrie, 23, of Olympia, Washington was killed in the Gaza Strip on Sunday when an Israeli Army bulldozer ran her over while trying to destroy a house in the Palestinian settlement of Rafah. Rachel was one of eight Palestinian Solidarity volunteers from the US and Great Britain at the scene, who were gathered in front of the house of Dr. Samir Masri, which was slated for demolition. Rachel Corrie was a leading organizer of the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, and was a senior at Evergreen State College, majoring in International Studies. She was also a talented writer, documenting her experiences in Palestine and Gaza.