MER Article Does International Justice Have a Local Address? The principle of universal jurisdiction, if realized in practice, can play a crucial role in the international campaign against impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Encoded in the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the 1984 Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Laurie King-Irani • 14 min read
Current Analysis Palestinian Cabinet's Success Lies with Israel For the second time in seven months, Palestinians have a new government. On November 12, the Palestinian Legislative Council approved Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qureia’s cabinet. While the US and Israel have stressed that progress on the US-backed road map initiative depends on the new Palesti Catherine Cook • 3 min read
Current Analysis Final Status in the Shape of a Wall In Jayyous, a village of 3,000 in the northern West Bank, Najah Shamasneh cradles her granddaughter in her lap and listens to her husband Yusuf tell of the loss of their agricultural land. The Shamasneh family's 25 dunams (about 6.25 acres), their sole source of income, now lies on the western side Catherine Cook • 11 min read
Current Analysis Declining to Intervene In its annual report issued in July 2003, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) painted a familiar yet surprising picture of Israeli army maltreatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. A wide range of army practices—from house-to-house searches in villages to "targeted killings" Jonathan Cook • 11 min read
Current Analysis A Road Map to the Oslo Cul-de-Sac The "road map" to resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the subject of Secretary of State Colin Powell's recent diplomacy in the Middle East, may never reach the conclusion of its first phase. To date, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has yet to accept the initiative developed Adam Hanieh • 12 min read
Current Analysis Bedouin in the Negev Face New "Transfer" The White House's hoped-for restructuring of the Middle East has begun: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been ousted from power by US and British troops who now patrol the streets of Baghdad, while a few hundred miles away Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has been shunted aside in favor Jonathan Cook • 10 min read
Current Analysis On Settlement Trade, Europe Doesn't Stand Tall The transatlantic rift over the war in Iraq, and now post-war reconstruction, builds on growing European disenchantment with muscular US unilateralism. French and German opposition to the war—echoing the sentiments of a majority of the European Union's member states—highlighted seemingly growing dif Peter Lagerquist • 10 min read
Current Analysis Pro-Israel Hawks and the Second Gulf War On the eve of the Second Gulf War, Rep. James Moran (D-VA) told a meeting of his constituents that "if it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this." Leaders of the organized Jewish community Joel Beinin • 10 min read
Current Analysis Israel, the US and "Targeted Killings" Six Hamas militants killed in a car explosion on February 16 were assassinated by Israel, Hamas claims. While Israel denies involvement in the deaths, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on February 17 that Israel will assassinate other members of the military wing of Hamas as part of its planned len Ian Urbina, Chris Toensing • 12 min read
Current Analysis Israel's Clampdown Masks System of Control Citing "many intelligence reports" of possible attacks on civilians inside Israel, on February 10 Israel imposed "complete closure" upon Palestinian towns and villages in the Occupied Territories for the duration of the Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha, which ends on February 14. This measure, last taken on Adam Hanieh • 8 min read
Current Analysis The Israeli Election Campaign Avoids the Issues In the early stages of the campaign for the Israeli Knesset elections due to be held on January 28, there were no armed attacks by Palestinians on Israelis. During the same six weeks, Israeli forces shot dead some 75 Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This is what passes for a period Joel Beinin • 8 min read
MER Article Reading Palestine-Israel WORKS REVIEWED Gershon Shafir and Yoav Peled, Being Israeli: The Dynamics of Multiple Citizenship (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002). Rhoda Ann Kanaaneh, Birthing the Nation: Strategies of Palestinian Women in Israel (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002). Nadia Abu El-Haj, F Kaylin Goldstein • 8 min read
