This 112-page report by human rights NGO Amnesty International examines the main patterns and trends affecting Palestinians access to water in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, highlighting the extent to which Israels discriminatory policies affect their rights in this area. Parts of the report not reproduced here include detailed chapters on the water resources available in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT), the water crisis in Gaza, water-related expulsions of Palestinians, the effects of military attacks on water resources, and Palestinian mismanagement of water resources.
The following report, covering the period from September 2008 to August 2009 and submitted to the UN General Assembly, provides an overview of key aspects of the humanitarian and human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel, such as the Israeli blockade on Gaza, the firing of rockets against Israeli civilian areas, restrictions on freedom of movement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and house demolitions and forced displacement in area C and East Jerusalem.
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
New York, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, and United Nations
The United States and other Western powers have for some time been pushing Saudi Arabia to make more gestures toward Israel. More recently, the crown prince of Bahrain urged greater communication with Israel and joint steps from Arab states to revive the peace process.
Political Geography:
United States, New York, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain
Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland. I stand here today as the prime minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people.
In 2000, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the state was not allowed to continue holding Lebanese nationals in administrative detention as "bargaining chips" for the return of Israeli prisoners of war and bodies, as they do not pose a threat. Among the detainees held were Mustafa Dirani andShaykh 'Abd al-Karim Obeid. To enable the state to continue holding them, the Knesset enacted, in 2002, the Internment of Un-lawful Combatants Law (hereafter in this chapter: the Law).
An attitude questionnaire was completed by 568 college and university students studying at different institutions in Israel. Most of the Arab, Ethiopian-descent, and ultra-Orthodox students who completed the questionnaire expressed an identical feeling: In Israel 2009, there is no equal opportunity.
I will also continue to seek a just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine, and the Arab world. We will continue to work on that issue. Yesterday, I had a constructive meeting with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and President [Mahmud] Abbas. We have made some progress. Palestinians have strengthened their efforts on security. Israelis have facilitated greater freedom of movement for the Palestinians. As a result of these efforts on both sides, the economy in the West Bank has begun to grow. But more progress is needed. We continue to call on Palestinians to end incitement against Israel, and we continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.
This section is part of a chronology begun in JPS 13, no. 3 (Spring 1984). Chronology dates reflect Eastern Standard Time (EST). For a more comprehensive overview of events related to the al-Aqsa intifada and of regional and international developments related to the peace process, see the Quarterly Update on Conflict and Diplomacy in this issue.
This section lists articles and reviews of books relevant to Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Entries are classified under the following headings: Reference and General; History (through 1948) and Geography; Palestinian Politics and Society; Jerusalem; Israeli Politics, Society, and Zionism; Arab and Middle Eastern Politics; International Relations; Law; Military; Economy, Society, and Education; Literature, Arts, and Culture; Book Reviews; and Reports Received.
François Mitterrand, the longest-serving French president in history, never ceased to be a passionate advocate of Israel, in contrast to his Gaullist predecessors. But he was also the most committed to Palestinian statehood, and among the earliest to insist on the PLO's full engagement in the peace process, often at considerable cost to his ties with Israel. By the time Mitterrand left office in 1995, France's Middle Eastern role had greatly declined, with the United States having assumed full control of the peace process; during the 1980s, however, its contributions had been significant. This article examines Mitterrand's fourteen-year presidency and the paradoxes of his Middle East policy.