Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Mohammed Asad
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Egypt opens Rafah crossing for Gaza’s pilgrims
The first batch of pilgrims from the Gaza Strip have left Gaza via the Rafah crossing and headed to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj. Hisham Adwan, Palestinian director of the crossing, said that Egypt opened the crossing to allow the pilgrims to reach Cairo International Airport and fly...
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Gazans raise their voices and keep their traditions alive
Palestinians from around the Gaza Strip, from the cities to the refugee camps, come together to sing and perform at the Palestinian Culture Palace. Using a mixture of theatre productions and music intertwined with folklore tales, participants work together to modernise and adapt old tales to tell the tales...
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Indignation in Palestine at Israel’s closure of Al Jazeera
The Palestinian Ministry of Information stood in solidarity with Al Jazeera media network this morning against the decision of Israeli authorities to shut its offices in occupied Jerusalem and to withdraw the work permits of their correspondents inside Israel. Officials of the Ministry of Information and staff at Al...
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Gaza teen draws with her feet after being born with no hands
Seventeen-year-old Palestinian Aya Masoud is unique; her skill is not only the artwork she produces, but the method she uses to make it. Born with no hands, Aya learnt to write and draw using her feet. She hopes that her drawings will be showcased in a gallery in the...
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Palestinian students raise the bar in 2017
Palestinian high school students performed better in their exams this year than previous students did last year, the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Sabri Sidem, announced today. At a press conference held at the ministry’s headquarters in the occupied city of Ramallah, Sidem said 67.24 per cent of...
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Protests against PA’s policies in Gaza
Gazans demonstrated outside the Abdul Aziz Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital yesterday to protest against the Palestinian Authority’s decision not to send medicines to the besieged Strip. Protesters condemned President Mahmoud Abbas’ actions which are harming the enclave, especially the issue of stopping medical transfers of patients who are in a...
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Gaza theatre gets lucky
Artists from the Gaza Strip have named their new play after the 17 governments that have been formed since the signing of the Oslo agreement 24 years ago. Mahthoth 17 or “Lucky 17” describes the life of Mahthoth, a shop owner who falls in love with his neighbour and...
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Gaza builds ‘Wall of Blessings’ for Eid
Palestinians in Gaza have been setting up clothes lines along the streets to hang items for those in need to take ahead of the Muslim celebration of Eid. Both old and new items of clothing have been placed on display along the “Wall of Blessings” to encourage the most...
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Egypt allows diesel into Gaza
Egypt has today allowed diesel to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing. According to the information office at the border, 11 trucks entered Gaza loaded with one million litres of diesel which are destined for the enclave’s power plant. More trucks are expected to arrive later today,...
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Gazans knead Afghan bread this Ramadan
Bakers in Gaza have taught themselves to make tamees, a type of bread which originates in Afghanistan, and introduced it to the market during Ramadan. The severe restrictions imposed by the decade-long siege on the enclave meant bakers could not be taught the skills required from their Afghan counterparts....
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Ramadan fun in Gaza
Several youth groups in Gaza have organised festivals and trips for the families of prisoners during the holy month of Ramadan. Ahmad Al-Afifi, a member of these youth groups, said: “We volunteer during this holy month in order to show people that this is the month of tolerance, brotherhood...
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164 Palestinians wounded by Israeli forces in West Bank, Gaza Strip
The Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) reported yesterday that Israeli forces wounded 164 Palestinians as they cracked down on protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in solidarity with hunger strikers. In a statement, the PRC said that one of the Palestinians from Nablus suffered moderate injuries after he...
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Third ‘Red Carpet’ human rights film festival begins in Palestine
The third annual Red Carpet human rights film festival has now gotten underway in Palestine, and will be held in the Gaza Strip to showcase films about the lost rights of the Palestinian people. The festival will last for six days between 12-17 May. The opening ceremony held last...
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Gaza: Siege will blow up in Israel’s face
Gaza’s Energy Authority went on strike between the hours of 19:00 and 23:00 yesterday in protest of the unjust measures taken against Palestinians in the besieged Strip. This comes at a time of popular protests against salary cuts by the PA and when civilians and all institutions have been...
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Gaza fishermen catch large haul of stingrays
On their first day of sailing following a halt in fishing activity, Gazan fishermen have caught dozens of large stingrays off the coast of the Gaza Strip. Today was their first day to sail after a decision by the Palestinian interior ministry to halt fishing activity and venturing out...
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Protests as PA cuts salaries in Gaza
Palestinian Authority employees in the besieged Gaza Strip reacted with anger yesterday when they discovered that their March salaries had been slashed by at least 30 per cent. Protests erupted in the coastal enclave today as a result of the deductions with some employees saying their pay had...
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Jerusalem comes to Gaza
The media production city in southern Gaza has taken on the characteristics and features of Jerusalem and its streets spread across 3,000 square metres. The city was established by Al-Aqsa satellite television and it was made to produce the series “Gate of Heaven”, a drama portraying the lives of...
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Palestinian journalists protest against PA crackdown
Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip and West Bank demonstrated on Monday afternoon in protest at the Palestinian Authority crackdown on their colleagues in Ramallah. The protests were called by several organisations, including the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Palestinian Journalists’ Club, after PA security forces used force to...
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The sands of time: Highlighting Palestine’s history
It took Osama Sbeata and his team two days to complete a sand sculpture which marked every major development in Palestinian history. Along the beach, and 75 metres long and four metres wide, sand was brought together to spell out “1948, Nakbha”, “1967, Naksa” only to go to mark the...
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Gaza marks International Women’s Day
Marking Women’s Day, Gaza heard the stories of women who had broken the gender stereotypes as part of the “Listen to Your Voice” campaign. Organised by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor the event saw Salwa Srour explain how she became the first female bus driver in 2005. “I challenged...
