How to Free Palestine

Neither Fatah nor Hamas will end the Zionist Occupation of Palestine. And neither current nor upcoming Palestinian faction (violent and nonviolent alike) can end the Israeli Occupation of Palestine. These facts are based on the following causes: 1 – Israel is in full control of the occupied territories from the Jordan river and border in [...]

Random Observations from the West Bank

I’m currently nearing the end of a short trip to the West Bank to visit family. While here, I’ve noticed some pretty disturbing and amusing things around me. These are all totally trivial but I thought I’d share nonetheless.

Un-Merry Christmas for me! What is going on?

Guest Post by Nahida Izzat, an exiled Palestinian Un-Merry Christmas for me! What is going on? “Hello is this the Christmas Help Line?” “Yes… good afternoon and merry Christmas Angela speaking How can I help you? Are you feeling lonely today?” “Absolutely, awfully lonely And I have a serious problem Grave one without a doubt [...]

No Way Through

No Way Through is a short film aiming to bring the daily reality of the West Bank to London. In particular, it focuses on the hurdles created by the occupation and presence of checkpoints to obtaining access to medical attention, often ending in fatal consequences. The film succeeds in shocking and gaining empathy. It becomes incomprehensible to the viewer that such a reality could ever subsist in our society; incomprehensible that people

“Removal” of Israeli Checkpoints: Just an Illusion

Over the past month, Israel has decided to ease some travel restrictions in the West Bank.

Israeli authorities have put steps in place around the cities of Ramallah, Nablus, Qalqilya and Jericho.

Today, for example, the IDF announced it would open foot traffic at the Hawara checkpoint near Nablus. In some cases, Israeli authorities have claimed to “remove” checkpoints or roadblocks altogether.

However, has that really been the case?

The Wild Wild West Bank

Although Abbasshole recently referred to life in the West Bank as ‘good’, it’s feeling more and more like living in the Wild West. Foreign settlers roam, heavily armed, burning the natives’ lands and killing their children, while an American general leads his army in raids against ‘outlaws’. That would be US General Keith Dayton, who [...]

Roger Waters Doesn’t Hold Back

Roger Waters, from the rock band Pink Floyd, made the news today after touring the wall at the Aida Refugee Camp and then visiting Jenin where he’s supporting the rebuilding of a cinema there (www.cinemajenin.org). What I found interesting was how the Jerusalem Post covered the story, starting with their headline: “Tear down the wall, [...]

The Art of Not Getting it: David Brooks on Israeli Public Culture

The natives found the cowboys’ rudeness understandable.For David Brooks, Israeli obnoxiousness is due to the fact that Israel is “a tough, scrappy country, perpetually fighting for survival.” That is the American Zionist’s impression to be sure, because Palestinians who see Israeli aggressiveness cannot treat it so cutely — it is violent and chauvinistic. Palestinians are [...]

My response to Allison Speiser

Haaretz published an article by a woman named Allison Speiser the other day in which she explains her reasons for moving into an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. Read her article here. This is my response: Ms Speiser,You paint a very moving picture of a woman – a wife, a mother – [...]

Israel as the Old West

Today’s gruesome attack in a settlement, in which a man wielding an ax killed a teenage Israeli and wounded a child, brought to mind the image of the old American west. The settlers who founded the United States expanded West and in the process faced hostile natives, the narrative goes. The colonists circled the wagons [...]