Madison Rafah Journal

Agence France Presse, 27 Jul 2010

ANKARA – British Prime Minister David Cameron Tuesday urged Israel to lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip, slamming the current state of the Palestinian enclave as a "prison camp."

"Let me be clear that the situation in Gaza has to change… Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp," he said in a speech to a business association during a visit to Turkey.

Speaking later after talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Cameron defended his description, saying that "even though some progress has been made we're still in a situation where it's very difficult to get in, it's very difficult to get out…

"We've long supported lifting the blockade of Gaza," he said.

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Palestinian children at the Oxfam water project in Gaza. (Neil Ashour)

Sarah Irving, The Electronic Intifada, 7 July 2010

For the last year Mark Buttle has been the coordinator for the "WASH cluster," the group of aid organizations working on water, sanitation and hygiene in the Gaza Strip. A chartered water engineer, Buttle has worked for a development-oriented nongovernmental organization (NGO) for more than a decade, including in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and has been based in Gaza since May 2009. He spoke to The Electronic Intifada contributor Sarah Irving about the challenges faced by international agencies working in Gaza.

Sarah Irving: What are the typical activities your job entails?

Mark Buttle: It's all about getting people around the table. We have a coordination meeting every week or two and people are invited to attend so that everyone knows who's doing what, where, and they can exchange information. We've been prioritizing developing a contingency plan for the water sector, working out what the water sector needs to do in the event of a worst case scenario.

SI: What is the biggest problem the water sector faces?

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Request by a lawyer in Gaza for an exit permit to reach her studies in human rights and democracy in the West Bank is denied by the Israeli Supreme Court

Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, July 8, 2010

The Supreme Court yesterday rejected a petition submitted on behalf of Ms. Fatma Shatif, a human rights lawyer from Gaza, seeking to attend her Master’s studies in human rights and democracy in the West Bank. In a short verdict, the judges wrote that they had decided not to intervene in Israel's policy, thereby permitting the continuation of the sweeping ban imposed by Israel since 2000, on the passage of students from Gaza to the West Bank for the purposes of reaching academic studies. Earlier in the proceedings, in its response to the petition, the State informed the Court that even under its “new” Gaza policy, there would not be an easing of restrictions on the passage of people to and from Gaza and that Israel will continue to permit travel only in “humanitarian and exceptional” cases, mainly relating to medical needs.

"It is not clear what Israel gains by preventing a talented young lawyer, against whom it makes no security claim, from deepening her understanding of human rights and therefore contributing to the development of a robust Palestinian civil society", said Dr. Nomi Heger of Gisha, who argued the case. "I regret that the court declined to follow its own case law and evaluate Ms. Sharif's request in the framework which the court itself established in 2007, namely the need to consider exceptions to the general ban".

Ms. Sharif, who studied law in Gaza, currently works as a lawyer at the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza, a non-partisan organization whose goal is to promote human rights and democracy in the Gaza Strip. Ms. Sharif has worked for the last five years to defend human rights, including in a project to defend women against violence at the Center for Women’s Legal Research and Consulting. Since there is no relevant academic program in Gaza, Ms. Sharif enrolled in studies at Birzeit University, with the intention of returning to Gaza at the end of her studies, where she has a job waiting for her at Al Mezan. The Israeli authorities refused her request, on the grounds that she does not meet Israel’s criteria for exit from Gaza – “humanitarian and exceptional instances", only.

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Alan Bickley, The Capital Times, July 5, 2010

Dear Editor: The 62nd anniversary of the start of the Berlin airlift — June 25, 1948 — passed with little attention in the media. Nineteen publications, as remote from power as the Desert Valley Times (Mesquite, Nev.) and as imperial as the lordly Washington Post, noted the largely American effort to save 2 million residents of Germany’s largest city from starvation. Only two journalists, writing from divergent points on the political compass, reminded their readers of the moral dimension of consistency.

Robert Fisk reminded readers of the Independent of London “of a long-ago day when America and Britain went to the aid of a surrounded people, bringing food and fuel — our own servicemen dying as they did so — to help a starving population. That population had been surrounded by a fence erected by a brutal army which wished to starve the people into submission.”

Now look at Gaza today, wrote Fisk. “Which Western journalist — since we love historical parallels — has even mentioned 1948 Berlin in the context of Gaza?”

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Reuters, 5 Jul 2010

BERLIN – A delegation of European foreign ministers on Monday accepted Israel's invitation to visit the Gaza Strip and said it was an "important opportunity" to monitor the implementation of measures announced by Israel.

Israel has largely refused to let foreign diplomats pass through its checkpoints into Gaza since it tightened its blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas Islamists seized control in 2007.

In a joint letter, the foreign ministers of Italy, Great Britain, France, Spain and Germany thanked Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman for the invitation.

"In the joint written reply, we said we would gladly accept the invitation and hoped that the measures announced by the Israeli government regarding Gaza would soon be implemented," the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

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KARIN LAUB, Associated Press, 5 Jul 2010

KEREM SHALOM CROSSING, Israel – Israel is easing its blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza to allow in virtually all consumer goods, but the new rules are unlikely to restore the territory's devastated economy or allow rebuilding of all that was destroyed in last year's war.

The White House welcomed the changes that were announced Monday as Israeli Prime Minister Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Washington for a meeting with President Barack Obama. International Mideast envoy Tony Blair said Israel's measures "should have a dramatic influence on the daily lives of the people of Gaza and on the private sector."

The new blockade rules come in response to an outcry following a deadly Israeli raid on a blockade-busting flotilla at the end of May.

The changes will improve Gazans' access to goods from household cleaners to timber, but Israel will continue to ban most travel and exports from Gaza and restrict the import of desperately needed construction materials.

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The Madison-Rafah Sister City Project will participate in the second annual crafts sale at the Madison Children's Museum American Girls Benefit sale in Middleton. NEW THIS YEAR: Doll-size traditional Palestinian embroidered dresses, shawls and scarves made by Palestinian craftswomen from Rafah and refugee camps in Lebanon.

Tuesday, June 22, 6:30 pm
Wilmar Neighborhood Center, 953 Jenifer Street, Madison [Map]
Sponsored by Madison Area Peace Coalition |

Program:

(1) Presentation by Jennifer Loewenstein on the current situation in Gaza under the Israeli blockade, what is now known about the May 31st Israeli attack on and hijacking of the ships, and the campaign to compel Israel to agree to a UN investigation.

(2) Questions and comments by the audience directed either to Jennifer or to the meeting in general.

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