From Occupied Palestine

God's chosen people
JOSTEIN GAARDER
Aftenposten, 5 August 2006

[Translated from Norwegian by Sirocco]

There is no turning back. It is time to learn a new lesson: We do no longer recognize the state of Israel. We could not recognize the South African apartheid regime, nor did we recognize the Afghan Taliban regime. Then there were many who did not recognize Saddam Hussein's Iraq or the Serbs' ethnic cleansing. We must now get used to the idea: The state of Israel in its current form is history.

To Israel with love
The Economist, 5 August 2006

Why America gives Israel its unconditional support

Anybody who doubts the size of the transatlantic divide over Israel should try discussing the Middle East conflagration in Britain and then doing the same in America. Everybody watches much the same grisly footage. But, by and large, people draw very different conclusions. The emphasis in Britain is overwhelmingly on the disproportionate scale of the response. Americans are much more inclined to give Israel the benefit of the doubt

Freeing prisoners key goal in fight against Israel
CRAIG S. SMITH
New York Times, 4 August 2006, p. A1

JERUSALEM, Aug. 2

Apocalypse near
MERAV YUDILOVITCH
Ynetnews, 4 August 2006 [Yediot Aharonoth]

Last week, a group of renowned intellectuals published an open letter blaming Israel for escalating the conflict in the Middle East. The letter, which mainly referred to the alignment of forces between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, caused a lot of anger among Ynet and Ynetnews readers, particularly due to its claim that the Israeli policy's political aim is to eliminate the Palestinian nation.

Lebanon II: The first war run by Peace Now
BRADLEY BURSTON
Ha'aretz, 2 August 2006

It was opposition to a war in Lebanon that made Israelis first sit up and take notice of Peace Now.

Now, nearly a quarter of a century later, some of the founders of Peace Now find themselves again consumed by Lebanon - but this time, they are running their first war.

The call that tells you: run, you're about to lose your home and possessions
CONAL URQUHART
Guardian, 28 July 2006

Gaza City -- The voice sounded friendly enough. "Hi, my name is Danny. I'm an officer in Israeli military intelligence. In one hour we will blow up your house."

Mohammed Deeb took the telephone call seriously and told his family and neighbours to get out of the building. An hour later, an Israeli helicopter fired three missiles at the four-storey building in Gaza City, destroying the ground floor and damaging the upper storeys.

How much longer?
EDUARDO GALEANO
The Progressive, September 2006

One country bombed two countries. Such impunity might astound were it not business as usual. In response to the few timid protests from the international community, Israel said mistakes were made.

How much longer will horrors be called mistakes?

In Gaza, 23 Palestinians killed
ASHRAF KHALIL
Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2006

GAZA CITY

Israel kills seven Palestinians in Gaza: medics
NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI
Reuters, 25 July 2006

Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians, including a three-year-old child, and wounded 30 others in attacks across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, medics and witnesses said.

Israelis renounce membership in world journalist federation in protest at condemnation of Al-Manar strike
ASAF CARMEL
Ha'aretz, 21 July 2006

A group of Israeli journalists renounced their membership in the International Federation of Journalists yesterday, after the organization's general secretary refused to retract his condemnation of the Israel's bombing of Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station in Beirut.