Stories about Palestine from March, 2009
Palestine: The Importance of Plastic
In Gaza, Eva Bartlett describes how plastic sheeting is playing an important role: “The siege is still on and cement is still unavailable. Major reconstructions and repairs won’t happen for a long time, just as the thousands of houses needing to be re-built won’t be so until Egypt and Israel...
Palestine: First Palestinian Search Engine Goes Live
Click on Tech reports on the launch of ZAAD, the first Palestinian search engine, which is available in Arabic and English.
Bahrain: Poem to all Mothers
Bahraini Jinan [Ar] dedicates a poem to all the mothers in Palestine, Iraq, Bahrain and the world on the occasion of Mother's Day.
Egypt: Petition for Gaza
Egyptian Chronicles urges her readers to sign an online international petition to the UN General Assembly to set up a special international penal court to try Israeli war crimes, notably in the Gaza Strip.
Tunisia: Gaza's Closed Zone
Tunisian blogger Sami ben Gharbia [Ar] reviews Israeli-made Closed Zone, a 90 second new animated film on the closure of Gaza.
Israel: “No Such Thing as Peace Now”
“There is no such thing as ‘peace now’,” reflects JC of Israel Stories. “Immediate peace would involve hurried diplomacy, painful Israeli concessions, total withdrawal from land, and the transfer of thousands of Israeli citizens. Hang on a second. Now I may have a short memory, but didn't Israel do that?”
Palestine: Author Alice Walker Visits Gaza
Author Alice Walker visited Gaza with a delegation of activists last week to witness the devastation caused by the recent war with Israel. Walker says she hopes to speak with President Barack Obama upon her return to the United States.
Syria: Struggle Against Injustice
Syrian blogger Razan Ghazzawi draws the line and defines who her ‘friends’ are in the struggle against injustice.
Palestine: The Occupation and Women
Al Falasteenyia, from Palestine, discusses the impact of occupation on women in her country.
Palestine: West Bank Obstacles
Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah posts an article on the obstacles which control the movement of Palestinians from the West Bank and notes: “There is only one place on earth where you can find all the types of barriers and closure systems, forcibly imposed by the Israeli occupation forces. This place...
Israel: Tweets on Rocket Fire into Southern Israel
James Buck rounds up Tweets from Twitter on the recent round of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel in this post on Breaking Tweets.
Palestine: Question for Galloway
Gull from the Gaza Beach has a question about British MP George Galloway, who was part of a recent convoy to Gaza: “Galloway said we are giving to the Hamas 100 vehicles and all of their contents, I ASK WHY? Are all residents of the Gaza Strip Hamas?”
Middle East: Women Looking for a Cause to Celebrate
Female bloggers from across the Middle East joined hands in marking the International Women's Day with posts reflecting on the occasion and celebrating the lives and achievements of women who have touched them. In Saudi Arabia, American Bedu admits that while many women in the kingdom may not even be...
Palestine: Giving Direct Help to Gaza
Canadian activist Eva Bartlett, who is in Gaza, has posted a list of people who need help to whom she will pass on donations.
Palestine: Book Based on Gazan Blog
Posts from the group blog Moments of Gaza are part of a new book: “Maximilien Le Roy [Fr] from France, showed his kind support to Gaza and its victims through art. He recently made a book [Fr] that includes quotes from this blog and drawings inspired by the events on...
Palestine: Documentaries of Gazan Lives
Gazan blogger Lina Hesham, writing at 360 km2 of Chaos, praises a series of documentaries by Al Jazeera English about life in the Gaza Strip.
Palestine: Gazan Blogger to visit UK
Gazan blogger and photojournalist Sameh Habeeb is on his way to London to start a speaking tour: “I'll be speaking at the parliament, touring at colleges and universities to bring more awareness about Palestine and the last war launched against Gaza.”
Palestine: Life in Shuafat Refugee Camp
Ruba Anabtawi writes about life in the Palestinian refugee camp of Shuafat – which is within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem [Ar].
Palestine: Visiting Gaza's Bath-house
Louisa Waugh, writing at the New Internationalist's Gaza Blog, describes a visit to Gaza's only Turkish bath-house.
Palestine: Welcome to Hebron
Mo-ha-med introduces a documentary about Hebron: “While I found absolutely repulsive the horror the Palestinians live in, what shocked me the most was the normalcy of it all.”
MENA: Clinton Does the Middle East
Hillary Clinton wrapped up her first visit to the Middle East as US Secretary of State, with stopovers in Sharm El Sheikh, Israel, the West Bank and Turkey. Bloggers from the region discuss Clinton's visit in this post.