Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Jessica Purkiss
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Israel’s arms sales have a questionable past, present and future
There are many examples of Israel committing war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The UN has said that the building of settlements in the territories contravenes international law and could amount to war crimes. A UN report on Israel’s most recent war against Gaza also said that it...
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Responses to Paris attack are playing into the terrorists’ hands
In revenge for last week’s terrorist attack in Paris, the French air force dropped 20 bombs in one night on the Syrian city of Raqqa. It may well be the headquarters of Daesh, but Raqqa is also home to 500,000 civilians; the French bombing destroyed a command centre, training...
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The latest attack on NGO freedoms in Israel
Human rights groups and non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) have expressed concern over a new bill that imposes several requirements and restrictions on Israeli NGOs that receive international funding. Proposed on Sunday by Israel’s right-wing Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked, the “Transparency Bill” includes a requirement that representatives of these NGOs...
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Palestinian security cooperation with Israel
Set up under the 1993 Oslo Accords, security coordination involves the sharing of intelligence between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The PA was also established under Oslo. Before the official signing of the agreement, the two sides had agreed on a “Declaration of Principles”, which included a pledge from...
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What constitutes a ‘security threat’ in the OPT
The video above captured the moment that six Israeli soldiers stormed an East Jerusalem grocery store and arrested a Palestinian boy. Shortly after the boy walked into the store, a soldier enters, grabs him and violently tackles him to the ground. Five other soldiers follow suit. At one stage,...
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All Palestinians suffer under Israel’s occupation
Things are continuing to hot up at one of the most explosive holy sites in the world. Israeli claims to the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa, in the heart of Jerusalem’s occupied Old City, have turned it into a flashpoint of clashes which have intensified over recent months. Palestinian President...
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More symbolism at the UN, but is it enough for Palestine?
On Wednesday, 30 September, the Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the United Nations headquarters in New York after the General Assembly voted overwhelming in favour of the move earlier in the month. “This is a day of pride for Palestinians around the world,” said UN Secretary-General...
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The dangers facing journalists in Palestine
Last Sunday, the Israeli army announced the suspension of the officer who was in charge during an incident in the occupied West Bank, when soldiers assaulted two Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists and took their equipment before destroying it. Italian video journalist Andrea Bernardi and Palestinian photographer Abbas Momani were...
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The British charities struggling against a tide of suspicion
Since the civil war erupted in 2011, millions of Syrians have left their homes in search of safety; some have journeyed to the overcrowded refugee camps of neighbouring countries, such as Jordan or Lebanon, while others boarded unsafe boats to cross the Mediterranean in the hope of finding refuge...
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Will Russia turn its back on Assad?
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, travelled to Russia to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Zhukovsky near Moscow last Tuesday. Putin was also hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi. While the official reason for the visits is the...
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Cremisan community battles construction of wall, yet again
In the Cremisan Valley, on the outskirts of Bethlehem, three Roman Catholic priests prayed as Israeli diggers set to work pulling out centuries old olive trees. The diggers had arrived on Tuesday to resume the construction of the separation wall in the Valley, despite a court ruling against further...
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The reasons behind Danon’s appointment as Israel’s UN ambassador
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to appoint Science, Technology and Space Minister Danny Danon as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations. Danon is expected to arrive in New York in late September for an orientation period before commencing his new role. His appointment to the position has sparked...
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PA not without blame for Duma attack
In the aftermath of the arson attack which took the lives of 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsha and his father in a village in Duma, West Bank, Palestinian residents are volunteering to start unarmed night patrols. The patrols are a response to an increasing number of settler attacks, combined with...
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Have you heard of Achrat Mohamed?
Most people have heard of Cecil the Lion. Shot by Walter Palmer, an American recreational big-game hunter, the lion’s death sparked an international outcry. But have they heard the name Houmed Moussa? Or Achrat Mohamad? Probably not. They are two of the 12 people who have died trying to...
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Strong condemnations from Israeli government fall short in Duma fire
In the early hours of Friday morning, two Palestinian houses were set alight in the West Bank village of Duma in a suspected arson attack by Jewish extremists. Eighteen-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsheh was killed in the blaze, while his father and mother, Saad and Reham Dawabsheh, and another son,...
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Houses, hotel and shops approved on land of Islamic cemetery
Israeli officials have approved the construction of a massive complex which will include 200 houses, shops and a 480 room hotel in Jerusalem. The problem is this; the land that the complex will be built upon is already part of an Islamic cemetery. Although the land cited for the...
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UN drugs deal with Iran is sending people to the gallows
Jannat Mir was in the 9th grade when he left Afghanistan for Iran. Like many who journey across the border, he was probably looking for more opportunity in the comparatively more stable neighbouring country. But instead, on the 18th April 2014, 15- year- old Jannat was hanged in Dastgerd...
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One incident, two narratives
It was early Friday morning on the 3rd July and senior Israeli military officer Colonel Israel Shomer was driving in the West Bank city of al-Ram, next to Qalandia checkpoint when his vehicle was hit by a stone thrown by Palestinian youths and the windscreen was shattered. Shomer exited...
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Sanctions are not the key to Iran deal; most cases show that they are brutal and futile
The seven nations involved in the Iran nuclear talks are desperately trying to meet a deadline for an agreement which would curtail Iran’s nuclear capability, however, Washington’s refusal to budge on Tehran’s demands for relief on economic sanctions is stalling the process. The interlocking matrix of sanctions holding Iran hostage...
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Italian cyber security firm helping 'repressive governments' spy on their citizens
Italian cyber security firm Hacking Team, which sells intrusion and surveillance tools to governments and law enforcement agencies, effectively helping them to “spy” on certain targets, has itself become the victim of a hacking attack. Anonymous hackers attacked the company over the weekend, releasing what is alleged to be more...
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Unequal Justice
Just over a year ago, 16 year old Palestinian boy Mohammed Abu Khdeir went missing. Police brought in Mohammed’s family for questioning, planting a rumour that he had been murdered by the family in an honour killing. However, it was three Israel settlers that had taken Mohammed from the...
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The myth that bombs make peace
In the wake of the Tunisia attack, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon have called for MPs to consider sending British warplanes to target Isis in Syria. Cameron is not expected to call a vote in parliament on the issue quite yet. He wants to be...
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The curious position of Israel towards the armed groups on its border
Last month, the Syrian town of Hadar fell to opposition rebels; it was the last of the Druze towns along the Golan Heights ceasefire line still in government hands. Fears have grown for the safety of Hadar’s residents, predominantly pro-regime, as the fighters who besieged the town reportedly include...
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The child soldiers of Yemen's conflict
The Old City of Sana’a, inhabited for more than 2,500 years, is one of the oldest cities in the world. On Friday, airstrikes reduced its historic houses to rubble. The airstrikes are part of a Saudi-led bombing campaign aimed at curtailing the power of the Houthi’s, a rebel movement...