Israel: GSS inflict physical punishment on Ms Fahima during interrogation No evidence has been produced by the police authorities in Israel to justify the continued incarceration of Tali Fahima. In spite of this she is still brutally treated.
Urgent: Tali Fahima in GSS interrogation again - Court Hearing in Tel-Aviv cancelled We have just received this latest update on the situation Tali Fahima is facing in an Israeli jail. It confirms what we said back in September. It shows how the Israeli state deals with anyone – even if they are Jewish – who dares to take up the plight of the Palestinians in the refugee camps in a serious manner.
Iraq and the relations between the United Nations and the Bush administration Some American Republicans are calling for the resignation of Kofi Annan as UN general secretary. The alleged reasons are accusations of corruption. As always the real reason lies elsewhere. It is part of the onging conflict between the major powers over the war in Iraq.
“They will be home by Christmas” – haven’t we heard this before? On October 21 Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed that the British government had agreed to a US request to redeploy the approximately 850 troops and support staff of the Black Watch regiment from their base in southern Iraq to positions near Baghdad.
November 29, 1947: A day that marked the victory of the counter-revolution in Palestine Yesterday marked a grim anniversary for the Palestinian people. On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a Partition Plan calling for the creation of two States, one Jewish and the other Arab. Since then there has not been peace between the two people. Yossi Schwartz in Jerusalem comments.
Iraq: Black Watch The Black Watch regiment was clearly moved to Baghdad for political reasons. Blair wanted to help Bush in the US elections and also prove that British troops are needed in Iraq. Once again he has lied to the British public and he has shown that he is prepared to risk the lives of ordinary soldiers to achieve his own political objectives. Not by Christmas! The troops should be pulled out now.
After Arafat's death: Will the Palestinian Authority take the carrot? Following the announcement regarding the selection of the new leader of the Palestinian Authority, Abu Mazen, the government of Israel signalled a possible shift in policy toward the Authority. The new PA leadership seems keen to collaborate with Sharon. The only thing this proves is that those who in the past promised to liberate Palestine through the tactics of guerrilla war, which turned into terrorism, are ready to sell out.
The onslaught in Fallujah: Shooting at a fly that has landed on a horse's head On the face of it, the siege of Fallujah seems to be going relatively well for the US troops. Most of the city has been captured and according to the mass media “Operation Phantom Fury” will be finished in a couple of days. However, things are not so simple. The war in Iraq was also supposed to be over, whereas it clearly is not. The same applies to Fallujah, where an official victory may well turn out to be a Pyrrhic one.
On the Death of Yasser Arafat After a week in hospital, lying in a coma and suffering from a brain haemorrhage, President of the Palestinian National Authority Yasser Arafat has finally died. Yossi Schwartz, writing from Jerusalem, comments on his career.
Iraq: Building a new society? Only a few weeks ago the bourgeois newspapers bombed us with their great expectations in Iraq, presumably on its way to “freedom and democracy”. Yossi Schwartz comments on these predictions.
Fallujah, the sequel: Preparing for Butchery The war drums are being beaten once again in Fallujah. After the siege in April this year, the city will again be the scene of an onslaught, probably bigger than last time. During the last weeks, the US forces stepped up their daily air raids while at the same time applying heavy psychological warfare tactics. Threatening to crush the resistance, US imperialism is now actually heading steadily for an all-out assault on Fallujah.
Arafat's departure will open up power struggle Arafat is seriously ill. His days are clearly numbered now. Yossi Schwartz in Jerusalem explains how this will affect the balance of forces within the Fatah movement and how this will open up more room for Hamas. It also marks the beginning of a new period in which Hamas will be called on to stabilise the situation, thus exposing itself before the Palestinian masses.
Sharon has failed in Gaza - The time is ripe to fight for the perspective of a workers' government The Sharon government’s days are clearly numbered. His brutal two week campaign in Gaza has achieved the opposite of what he was expecting. The question is who and what can replace him? The alternative must clearly come from within the labour movement.
The farce of the Iraqi “handover” At 10.45 this morning Baghdad local time, in a hasty ceremony held behind locked doors, the American proconsul Paul Bremer handed over power to an interim government composed of Iraqis. Until this moment, June 30th had long been put forward as the unchangeable and non-negotiable date when the future of Iraq would be decided. Now the whole thing was rushed through with indecent haste, two days early.
The Saga of the Weapons of Mass Destruction – “Wait until Charlie gets back with the final report,” George Bush said confidently in June in reply to reporters fishing after a confession of the president that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Well, now Charlie is back and the report is nothing less than a devastating blow to Bush and Blair.
