Ramallah sees in the new year with candles for Gaza

Ramallah sees in the new year with candles for Gaza

Candle-lit demonstration in solidarity with Gaza – Ramallah, New Year 2009

Around 2000 people gathered in Al-Manara to see in the new year in solidarity with the besieged Palestinians under Israeli attack in Gaza.

Over 400 people in Gaza have now been killed in the Israeli massacre, one fifth of whom are women and children. Over 2000 have been injured with the rest of the 1.5 million people imprisoned in the Strip as Israel bombards them from the air and sea.

New Years Eve in Ramallah was a quiet … Continue reading

Il Manifesto: The angel factories

By Vittorio Arrigoni

Translated from Il Manifesto

To view original article, published by Il Manifesto on the 30th December 2008, click here

Jabilia, Bet Hanun, Rafah, Gaza City are the legs of the journey in my personal map of hell. Whatever the press releases from the summit of the Israeli military may say, recited parrot-style all over Europe and the US via the disinformation experts, in the last few days I’ve been an eye witness to the bombing of mosques, schools, universities, hospitals, markets and many, many civilian buildings.

The medical director at Al Shifa hospital has confirmed he received calls from members … Continue reading

Journal: Riding with ambulances from tonight

Journal: Riding with ambulances from tonight

By Sharon in Gaza

To view Sharon’s blog please click here

Last night E and I accompanied Dr Halid on the dark walk from Al Shifa hospital (his day shift) to Al Quds hospital (his night shift); he didn’t expect to find a taxi to take us, as our destination had a lot of government buildings which had recieved many strikes.

His route attempted to avoid the main targets. “Let’s go this way to avoid the Jawizat,” Dr H said. “Where exactly was that?” E asked. “Oh well, let’s go past it so you can … Continue reading

Israeli soldiers abduct four Palestinians from Madama village, steal jewellery and money

Israeli soldiers abduct four Palestinians from Madama village, steal jewellery and money

On the second day of the Israeli massacres of Gaza, Dec. 29, several homes were invaded by the Israeli Army in the town of Madama, east of Nablus. Four men were arrested and homes were damaged in an invasion unusual in the number of arrestees taken from the town. None of the men has since been released, and none have been officially charged with a crime.

The town of Madama is located approximately 4 kilometers south of Nablus, and is subjected to almost nightly invasions – however the arrest of four men at once … Continue reading

Human Rights Activists to accompany medical teams in Gaza

Since an air raid by the Israeli Air Force led to the injury of one and death of another Palestinian doctor on December 30th, International Solidarity Movement and Free Gaza Movement volunteers will be accompanying medical teams throughout the Gaza Strip.

A press conference was held today to announce the new task the international volunteers will take on, starting January 1, 2009.

In an effort to document the war crimes being committed by the Israeli military operation in Gaza, the internationals will be joining Gazan medical teams in shifts, both governmental and NGO hospitals. Volunteers expressed their concerns about the violation of … Continue reading

Journal: Day 6 – Deaths and strikes

Journal: Day 6 – Deaths and strikes

By Eva Bartlett – In Gaza

To view Eva’s blog please click here

3:45

From a news building’s height, I can see the black clouds from recent strikes. To the north, in Jabaliya, a Hamas leader’s house has been hit, taking down 4 story’s and the occupants inside. In addition to the Hamas leader, Nazar Iyam, estimates of at least 10 family members, including children.

To the east, 2 different plumes, the most recent resulting in what TV images soon show to be a burned child’s corpse, the first of the dead shown.

“They’re going crazy,” the newsmen say, stating it’s beyond … Continue reading

Ynet: British telecom firm severs ties with Israeli counterparts

UK’s FreedomCall informs Israeli company of decision via email, blames Gaza operation

By Meir Orbach

To view original article, published by Ynet on the 31st December 2008, click here

British telecommunications firm FreedomCall has terminated its cooperation with Israel’s MobileMax due to the IDF operation in Gaza.

“We received an email from the British company informing us that it is severing all ties with us and any other Israeli company following Israel’s strike in Gaza,” said CEO Raanan Cohen.

“We weren’t expecting this from them and there was no prior warning. I don’t intend to appeal to them or answer the letter.”

The email from … Continue reading

In Gaza: Updates

By Eva Bartlett

To view Eva’s blog please click here

8:33 am Wednesday:

6 more blasts from the Israeli naval ships, in 2 sets.

No power, nor internet last night, no way to keep updating. I didn’t go to Jabaliya, to my terrified friends, because it was too late, impossible to travel there without being a target. They live on the eastern side of Jabaliya, and the roads which lead to their home are within an even more targeted area than other parts of Jabaliya, especially Salah al Din street, a main north-south road.

At 7 am, the blasts renewed, 8 blasts … Continue reading

Vittorio Arrigoni writes from Gaza

By Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza

Translated from Il Manifesto

To view original article, published by Il Manifesto on the 29th December, click here

6:05 PM, Marna house, Gaza city

An acrid smell of sulphur fills the air while the sky is shaken by earth-shattering rumbles. My ears are now deaf to the explosions while my eyes are all out of tears from all the corpses. I stand in front of Al Shifa hospital, Gaza’s main hospital, and we’ve just received Israel’s terrible threat that they intend to bomb its under construction wing. This would be nothing new, as Wea’m hospital was bombed just … Continue reading

Al Arabiya: Hollywood stars shun pro-Israeli diamond store

To view original article, published by Al Arabiya News Channel on the 1st January, click here (Arabic version here)

Hollywood stars have called for their pictures to be removed from the website of a diamond company that is associated with settlement expansion in Israel and human rights violations in Africa.

The diamond stores owned by Jewish-American billionaire Lev Leviev had to remove pictures of several actresses after they complained of being linked to a company that funds settlements in the Palestinian occupied territories, a statement issued by the pro-Palestinian human rights group Adalah- New York said.

The actresses include Salma Hayek, … Continue reading