By Elias Sa'adah
In 2008, a few days after giving birth, Mrs. TM, a teacher since 2006 and living in the occupied West Bank, received a letter terminating her employment. It was signed by the Minister of Education in Salam Fayyad's Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, Lamis Al-Alami; this was certainly no letter of congratulations on the birth of her child; "due to orders from the concerned parties, you have been terminated."
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails
The number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons and detention centres has reached 4,750 people from every sector of Palestinian society. The majority (82.5 per cent) are residents of the West Bank, 9.6 per cent are from the Gaza Strip, and the rest are from Jerusalem and those living in the areas of Palestine occupied in 1948 now known as Israel. They are spread around 17 prisons and detention centres, the most well-known of which are Al-Naqab, Ofer, Nafha, Gilbo'a, Shata, Ramon, Askalan, Hadarim, Eshel, Ohalei Kedar, HaSharon, Ramla and Megiddo.
The Jordan Valley is part of the occupied West Bank and lies along the border between Palestine and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is at the centre of a silent Palestinian-Israel battle over fertile land, wells and underground water cisterns. The latter are crucial for Israel's fruit and vegetable production and export.
The Beit Hanoun Crossing, called "Erez" by the Israeli Occupation Forces, has become a trap to catch Palestinians requiring treatment in Israeli or Palestinian Hospitals in the West Bank and Jerusalem, as the crossing, which is only open for humanitarian cases, has become a means of catching and arresting Gazans.
The protests in Turkey have dominated international media coverage for several weeks now. Starting with a local protest over plans to bulldoze a park to make way for a shopping mall, overly harsh poli... Read more
King Abdullah has chosen to speak about two of the most important "domestic challenges" faced by Jordan today: the future of the political reform process and democratic transformation, and the disorde... Read more
There are many reasons why the Syrian regime is still in control after more than two years of revolution. At the forefront is its reliance on a minority to control the military and security agencies a... Read more
However well intentioned, the gathering of a number of Islamic scholars and preachers at a conference in Cairo which addressed the conflict in Syria between 13-15 June ended up as an exercise in irres... Read more
Reports that the Emir of Qatar, Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, will shortly hand-over power to his son and heir, Shaikh Tamim, are no surprise. Sources close to the family confirmed that this has ... Read more
