Against all odds, The Palestine Chronicle amplifies Palestinian voices and reports the truth about Gaza. But we can't do it without you. Your support sustains our powerful, independent model of journalism.
Month: April 2014

Officials Discuss Civil Liberties in First Step toward Unity Govt
Palestinian officials from the West Bank and Gaza took a first step towards implementing the reconciliation agreement signed by Hamas and the Fatah-led PLO a week ago, a committee member said Wednesday. Khalil Assaf told […]

Israel Returns Remains of Hamas Fighters Killed in 1998
More than 1,000 people gathered in Ramallah on Wednesday for the funerals of two Hamas fighters Israel killed in 1998, whose remains had just been returned. Israel transferred the remains of Imad Awadallah, 48, and […]

Palestinian Unity: Hope and Gloom in the Beach Refugee Camp
By Ramzy Baroud For years, Palestinian factions have strived for unity, and for years unity has evaded them. But is it possible that following several failed attempts, Fatah and Hamas have finally found that elusive […]

‘Obama Capitulated Very Early to Pressures from the Israeli lobby’
Interviewed by Frank Barat Frank Barat: Hi Josh, It is great to have you on Le Mur a Des Oreilles, We are obviously going to talk about Israel and Palestine, about your book “Shattered Hopes” […]

Activist Boat ‘Gaza’s Ark’ Severely Damaged by Explosion
An improvised cargo ship built by fishermen and international activists was hit by an explosion in Gaza City early Tuesday, the Gaza’s Ark initiative said in a statement. At 3:45 a.m., a guard on board […]

Pushing Buttons on Passover
By Tamar Fleishman It was the Second Holiday (the seventh day of Passover). Another two day of closure. Not many Palestinian come to the checkpoint when on days of closures. A sleepy soldier, probably bitter […]

What ‘Destruction of Israel’?
By John V. Whitbeck When, in response to the threat of potential Palestinian reconciliation and unity, the Israeli government suspended “negotiations” with the Palestine Liberation Organization on April 24 (five days before they were due […]

Kerry Says Israel Risks Becoming ‘Apartheid’ State
US Secretary of State John Kerry told a group of senior international officials that Israel risks becoming an “apartheid” state if it does not make peace soon, a US news website reported. Kerry made the […]

Israel PM Dismisses Abbas Holocaust Remarks
The prime minister of Israel on Sunday dismissed President Mahmoud Abbas’ remarks mourning victims of the Holocaust as a public relations stunt aimed at placating the international community. Benjamin Netanyahu also told his cabinet that […]

Haniyeh Adviser: Hamas ‘Cannot’ Recognize Israel
A media adviser to Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday denied reports that Hamas was considering recognizing Israel, pointing out that the movement “cannot” recognize Israel. On Saturday the Washington Post quoted Tahir al-Nunu […]

The Dangerous VIP Palestinian Class
By Jamal Kanj The Palestinian Authority (PA) must stop demeaning its people. One can understand being fooled once or even twice, but being fooled over and again every three to four years for the last […]

Assad Plays Arab, Western Worlds against Each Other
By Ahmed Meiloud Syrian President Bashar al-Assad tells the West that his regime is essential to their survival, while telling the Arab world that he’s the victim of a Western conspiracy It is clear why […]

Obama Says Abbas Unity Push with Hamas ‘Unhelpful’
US President Barack Obama said Friday that a decision by Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas to seek unity with Hamas was “unhelpful” for the peace process. In his first public comments on the issue since Israel […]

PLO Condemns Israeli Decision to End Talks, UN Envoy Supports Unity
The Palestine Liberation Organization on Thursday condemned Israel’s decision to withdraw from peace negotiations earlier in the day as “blatantly disingenuous,” saying that the decision shows a “lack of commitment” toward peace. The statement comes […]

PLO, Hamas Unity Deal Faces Reality Check
This week’s reconciliation deal between the PLO and Hamas faces a swift reality check, with president Mahmud Abbas the focus of both Israeli fury and US concern and Hamas seeking to salvage relations with Egypt. […]

Annexation Starts with Words: Not Just Israeli Semantics
By Uri Avnery Imagine a war breaking out between Israel and Jordan. Within two or three days the Israeli army occupies the entire territory of the Hashemite Kingdom. What will be the first act of […]

Defending the Defensible: Jewish and Palestinian Boycotts
By Vacy Vlazna ‘The Boycott is a Moral Substitute for War’ – Bertha V Corets Oh dear, poor Israel. Poor Israel – the world’s 4th largest nuclear military power. Poor Israel – the serial war […]

Challenges Await Palestine Unity Government
By Julie Webb-Pullman – Gaza A national unity government. Elections. A new-look PLO. Community reconciliation. There are big hopes, and even bigger expectations in Palestine after representatives of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Hamas […]

Colombia Professor Victorious in His Quest for Academic Freedom – Video
After Iymen Chehade’s class at Columbia College Chicago was canceled, he realized that his academic freedom had been violated and skillfully protested until his class was reinstated. In this exclusive KAKE interview, Chehade discusses the […]

Hamas, Fatah Agree to Form Palestinian Unity Government
Rival Palestinian leaders from the West Bank and Gaza Strip agreed Wednesday to form a unity government within five weeks. It is not the first time that the rival sides have announced a deal to […]

UN Report on Palestine: Military Occupation, Apartheid, and Torture
By Ludwig Watzal The outgoing Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Richard A. Falk, submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution 5/1 his last […]

Palestinians Renew Unity Bid as Israel Talks Stall
The Palestinians have relaunched efforts to reconcile their rival leaderships in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as US-brokered peace talks with Israel teeter on the edge of collapse. A week before a nine-month target […]

Survival Is the Saudi Key Word
By Nicola Nasser Survival is the key word to understand the Saudi dynasty’s latest external and internal policies. These are designed to pre-empt change but paradoxically they are creating more enemies in a changing world […]

The Signing of the Palestinian Spring
By Vacy Vlazna At the low point of the farcical ‘peace’ process stalemate, President Mahmoud Abbas signed, on Tuesday 1st April 2014, letters of accession to 15 multilateral treaties and conventions, (a right gained following […]

Boston and Baghdad
By Ralph Nader Greater Boston and its citizens are the focus of media attention in recognition of the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings that took three innocent lives and injured over 264 people, […]

The Idea of Israel – Book Review
Reviewed by Jim Miles (The Idea of Israel – A History of Power and Knowledge. Ilan Pappe. Verso/New Left Books, London, 2014.) This is a powerfully written unsettling work that relates the story of Israel […]

US Pursues ‘Peace’ on Israel’s Terms
By Ramzy Baroud To understand how thoughtless the latest US “peace process” drive has become, one only needs to consider some of the characters involved in this political theatre. One in particular who stands out […]

Why Israeli Officials are Chuckling: The ‘Stable’ West Bank Dilemma
By Ramzy Baroud Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Ze’ev Elkin, is a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his predominantly rightwing cabinet. In a recent interview with The Economist, Elkin used the familiar tone of […]

What Other Torturous Measures Will They Inflict on the Tortured?
By Tamar Fleishman The thousands of people who arrive at Qalandiya checkpoint and its surroundings each day didn’t hold their breaths when they heard Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that “unilateral actions by the […]

Israeli Forces Shoot, Injure Palestinian Youth in Northern Gaza
Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian youth in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, witnesses told Ma’an. Soldiers positioned at Erez crossing opened fire at a group of Palestinian men collecting stones from nearby […]