There are many aspects of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in urgent need of legal scrutiny as part of a much-needed critical dialogue. One such issue is Israel's claim towards Hamas to acknowledge that it has a 'right to exist'. This claim has not only been uncritically taken on board by the Quartet. more >>

Rachel Corrie was a 23-year-old peace activist killed by a bulldozer driven by an Israeli army soldier. The time, day and place of her death are known, but, the question of whether she was murdered or whether her death was an accident continues to be as controversial today as it was when it happened March 16, 2003. With her death Corrie became an international symbol in the struggle against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. Today, the anniversary of her death, she is being remembered with vigils and readings of her writings in many cities. more >>

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Last night an Israeli film director named Shai Carmeli-Pollak, along with residents of Bilin village, visited the Alternative Information Center in Beit Sahour for a screening of his film 'Bilin Habibti'. This non-fictional film documents the struggle of one community in Palestine and their non-violent resistance to the Israeli Occupation. This community reflects thousands of others facing the same effects of state terrorism. more >>

We in Canada have our own ‘Aipacs’, devoted Zionists in bed with our government, and the Christian Right. However, we also have many Palestine solidarity and Arab organizations, as well as grass roots civil groups that have flowered here over the years, and take a dynamic, public position on the occupation, the right of return, the human rights abuses that Palestinians are subjected to, and have wholly embraced the BDS movement. We consider it our mandate to educate the Canadian public on these issues and as well, on our government's untenable and right wing policies towards the Middle East. more >>

There may have been a period when all roads led to Rome, but for the Palestinian people, all roads lead to checkpoints. The latest checkpoint Palestinians find themselves at is not manned by Israel but rather the ostensible mediator of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the Quartet (which is comprised of the US, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations). more >>

When in the course of human events, repeated outrages are inflicted on a particular segment of humanity, it behooves those witnessing such conduct to denounce it straightforwardly and, should the witnesses be those in whose name the outrage is being committed, to dissociate themselves from the perpetrators categorically and unconditionally. more >>

In recent days the unremitting, murderous brutality of the Israeli occupation has been eclipsed by the carnage in Gaza as dozens of Palestinians have been killed in what is commonly referred to as "interfactional fighting" between forces loyal to Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah faction on the one hand, and the Hamas-led government on the other. more >>

I am concerned that public discussion of my book \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Palestine Peace Not Apartheid\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" has been diverted from the book\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s basic proposals: that peace talks be resumed after six years of delay and that the tragic persecution of Palestinians be ended. Although most critics have not seriously disputed or even mentioned the facts and suggestions about these two issues, an apparently concerted campaign has been focused on the book\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s title, combined with allegations that I am anti-Israel. This is not good for any of us who are committed to Israel\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s status as a peaceful nation living in harmony with its neighbors. more >>

Palestinian factions are currently engaged in talks for the formation of a National Unity Government . This is, on the surface, a good thing, since unity is power and strength. But at the same time, on the ground, there are several activities going on which put into jeopardy the whole Palestinian struggle and aspiration for national liberation. more >>

For years the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been mired by a series of failed peace negotiation, enmeshing Israeli Jews and Palestinians in a seemingly intractable struggle. Even 59 years after the creation of the state of Israel the quest for Jewish security has not been realized, while Palestinians—those dispossessed in 1948, 1967, and the 3.8 million living under Israeli occupation—have not seen a just resolution to a conflict that has marred their history and shaped their identity. The international community, including many Israeli and Palestinians, still subscribe to the notion that the two-state solution is the only way to settle the conflict. more >>

A relationship that comes at the cost of Palestinian refugees: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, 14 January 2007. more >>