Religious and cultural rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem is a new UN 19 pages report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. It provids shocking -but not surprising- information about the situation.

Excerpt:

Nablus, located 65 kilometres from Jerusalem, is the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank. Its population is predominantly Muslim, [...]

George Bisharat
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

On his first day as the presumptive Democratic candidate for president earlier this month, Barack Obama committed a serious foreign policy blunder. Reciting a litany of pro-Israeli positions at the annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), he avowed: “Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it [...]

On April 11 Mousa Abu Maria, a dedicated peace with justice activist and co-founder of the Palestine Solidarity Project, an organization committed to challenging the Occupation using non-violent direct action and promoting Palestinian self-sufficiency, was arrested by Israeli forces. Like nearly 1000 other Palestinians in Administrative Detention, Mousa is being held without charge or [...]

Here are two stories from two very bright young ladies from Gaza, Occupied Palestine.

The first one is a moving clip taken from an Arabic TV show where she tells her story.

Watching it made me and my family cry, so I decided to translate it and share it with you. (Hat tip: Rasheed)

Code for embedding this [...]

Two eight year old girls have been killed by the IOF in the Gaza Strip in less than a week.

Aya Hamdan Al-Najjar (right) was killed by a rocket fired from an Israeli helicopter.

On June 11, eight year old Hadeel Al-Sumairi was killed when her home in south eastern Gaza was shelled by the Israeli Occupation [...]

“We committed Nazi acts.”
Aharon Zisling, Israel’s first Agriculture Minister

“There is no doubt that many sexual atrocities were committed by the attacking Jews. Many young (Arab) girls were raped and later slaughtered. Old women were also molested.”
General Richard Catling, British Army Assistant Inspector after interrogating several female survivors (The Palestinian Catastrophe, Michael Palumbo, 1987)

As the evil [...]

Last week, the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem released video clips showing masked Jewish settlers ganging up on and severely beating elderly Palestinian peasants near the town of Yatta, southwest of Hebron. At least three Palestinians were wounded in the unprovoked assault, including a man and his wife, both in their early sixties.

The latest act [...]

On the 16th June, the European Union will be discussing the possible upgrading of relations with Israel. Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayad, already raised Palestinians concern about this issue in his letter to EU. Your support is needed.

Please send this letter (or write your own) to your various representatives and express your concern at this [...]

Warning: Parental Guidance Suggested!

June 13 2008 - A young man from Bilin was shot with live rounds during the weekly Bilin Protest. Ibrahim Burnat who was shot in his right thigh was taken directly to Sheik Zaid Hospital in Ramallah and was described by doctors as being in critical condition. Ibrahim posed no threat to [...]

The European Union is considering upgrading its relationship with Israel, including in the political and economic spheres, and the European Council will take a decision on these matter in its June 16th meeting.

Salam Fayad wrote the EU a letter of protest which is worth noting:

Palestinian National Authority

Prime Minister’s Office

27 May 2008

Re: Potential upgrade of EU-Israel [...]