Taking Sharon Out
By Osama El-Sherif, Palestine Chronicle, August 8, 2002
It was a week of bitter harvest for Israelis. The intensity and nature of Palestinian reprisals to recent Israeli atrocities in Gaza and elsewhere have shaken the foundations of Ariel Sharon's government and his hard-line cabinet members. They have also bewildered the US President and his Middle East policy team. Palestinian response to Israeli attacks has invited conflicting reactions from Arab and world capitals. But mostly it has awakened all to the very simple truth that a military solution will never end the Palestinian-Israeli bloodbath.

Punishment by detail
By Edward Said, Al-Ahram Weekly
Aside from the obvious physical discomforts, being ill for a long period of time fills the spirit with a terrible feeling of helplessness, but also with periods of analytic lucidity, which, of course, must be treasured. For the past three months now I have been in and out of the hospital, with days marked by lengthy and painful treatments, blood transfusions, endless tests, hours and hours of unproductive time spent staring at the ceiling, draining fatigue and infection, inability to do normal work, and thinking, thinking, thinking. But there are also the intermittent passages of lucidity and reflection that sometimes give the mind a perspective on daily life that allows it to see things (without being able to do much about them) from a different perspective. Reading the news from Palestine and seeing the frightful images of death and destruction on television, it has been my experience to be utterly amazed and aghast at what I have deduced from those details about Israeli government policy, more particularly about what has been going on in the mind of Ariel Sharon.

Universal Jurisdiction: Still Trying to Try Sharon
By Laurie King-Irani, MERIP, July 30, 2002
No sooner had the dust settled in Gaza following Israel's July 23 assassination of Hamas leader Salah Shehada -- an operation that took the lives of 15 civilians, many of them children -- than Palestinian officials began declaring this act the first war crime committed since the inauguration of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on July 1, 2002. Calls to bring Israel to book before the new court multiplied, until legal experts weighed in with deflating news. The 1998 Rome Statute, which established the ICC, specifies that the court can only exercise jurisdiction over crimes occurring on the territory of a state party, or crimes involving an accused who is a national of a state party. Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute. Further, as Avril McDonald of Amsterdam's Asser Institute noted: "Palestine is not a country." Until a Palestinian state is recognized by the international community, and signs the relevant instruments of international law, Palestinians "cannot pursue justice independently."

The Long-Term Strategy of Israel and How it Effects the US
By Raff Ellis, Palestine Chronicle, August 7, 2002
WASHINGTON: Often times, while reading the headlines or watching the news, one has to ask, “What could the Israelis be thinking?” What could possibly be the point of the seemingly indiscriminate carnage and destruction? Rooting out the terrorists or revenge is often the official explanation. But tiny babies are not terrorists yet they are killed by the dozens. Olive trees are not terrorists yet they are uprooted by the hundreds. Homes are not terrorists but they are destroyed by the thousands. Buildings and factories are labeled bomb factories and are shelled into oblivion. One need only examine these actions to discern the overall strategy of the country that is behind them.

The Internet is Not Occupied Territories
By Ramzy Baroud, Palestine Chronicle, August 7, 2002
Israel's attack on the Palestinian Service Provide of Palestine, Palnet in Ramallah last July, the arrest of six staff workers who worked in Palnet' offices, and its intention to deport one of them is only a reflection of that frustration that the Israeli government must feel.
In the United States and Western Europe, the intellectual and political debate concerning the Middle East has been for decades dominated by pro-Israeli voices. Western media was almost a complete duplicate of Israeli media, and state officials in various countries adopted the exact same role of Israeli government spokesmen. Until today, this unfortunate state of affairs remains the same. But need I say, things are changing.

'Arafat Shot Us In the Head'
By Shahida Moosa, Palestine Chronicle, August 7, 2002 
There are such things as absolute values even in this immoral world that we live in. One of these is justice. I was recently invited to attend a conference on “Justice in Palestine” in Johannesburg, organized by the South African Council of Muslim Theologians and the Friends of Al Aqsa organization based in London.

Gameplanning: Team AIPAC's 2002 Season
by Anthony Gancarski, Counterpunch, August 8, 2002
A couple of interesting tidbits appear on the "new this week" section on the website of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee: "Take Action! Urge Bush to Approve $200 Million to Israel A $29 billion homeland security bill that recently passed in Congress with strong bi-partisan support includes $200 million in anti-terror aid for Israel. These funds would provide vital additional resources to help Israel fight its war on terror and protect its population from future conflicts in the region. Since Israel's allocation was added to the bill by congressional appropriators, President Bush must designate the $200 million for Israel as an "emergency" in order for Israel to receive the funding. Urge President Bush to approve the "emergency" designation of the money for Israel's war on terror."

No Massacre at Jenin: Says Who?
By Stephen Gowans, Media Monitors Network, August 6, 2002
Good luck finding the sentence "there was no massacre," in the UN report on the killing of Palestinians at the Jenin refugee camp by the Israeli army, though newspaper headlines, and Israel, would lead you to believe the report was very explicit on the matter. But you don't have to wade very far into the report before it becomes clear that the indiscriminate killing of a large number of human beings did occur.

Hebron Update: July 28 August 3, 2002
Sunday, July 28, 2002, Christian Peacekeeping Team in Hebron
The Israeli military placed the Old City under curfew at 8:30 a.m. in preparation for the funeral of Israeli soldier, Elazar Leibovitz, whom Palestinian snipers killed south of Hebron several days earlier. Jim Satterwhite and Greg Rollins went on patrol as soldiers were imposing the curfew. Rollins intervened when a soldier grabbed a Palestinian shopkeeper by the neck and ordered him to close shop.

Leadership and Authority: An Introductory Assessment of the Palestinian Condition
By Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, Palestine Chronicle, August 8, 2002 
"A disembodied voice on a distorting loudspeaker on a gigantic tank, APC or military jeep, is the source of "authority" and instruction defining the limits of your spatial and temporal dimensions."
Israeli Occupation Authority, the Palestinian Authority, and the Legal Status: The political, legal, and human condition of the Palestinian people is currently a composite of bizarre factors, bordering on the surrealistic, with very tragic consequences. A multi-tiered and varied complex of authority has evolved with various, often conflicting, influences on the lives of the Palestinians who are left reeling without proper guidance or genuine leadership.