MER Article

Of Reactivism and Relief

As with every crisis that befalls the Palestinians in Lebanon, the Lebanese army’s siege of the Nahr al-Barid refugee camp impelled hundreds of people to pitch in with the relief effort. After fighting broke out in late May, and over 30,000 Nahr al-Barid residents fled to the nearby Baddawi camp, vo

Mayssun Sukarieh • 3 min read

MER Article

The Road to Nahr al-Barid

How long will the state erect military checkpoints in residential areas, treating them as though they were camps sheltering wanted people and gunmen, while all the Palestinian camps, which shelter criminals and wanted people, enjoy freedom of movement, politically, militarily and in terms of securit

Diane Riskedahl, Muhammad Ali Khalidi • 14 min read

Current Analysis

The Collateral Damage of Lebanese Sovereignty

Residents of Lebanon might be forgiven for wanting to forget the last 12 months. The month-long Israeli onslaught in the summer of 2006, economic stasis, sectarian street violence, political deadlock and assassinations—most recently that of Future Movement deputy Walid ‘Idu, who perished along with

Jim Quilty • 16 min read

Current Analysis

Behind the Gaza Breakdown

The latest convoluted set of events within Palestine, and at its borders, form a depressing tableau that mirrors the conflict as a whole.

Chris Toensing • 3 min read

MER Article

Not All Black and White

In photography books, Palestine is a schizophrenic place. In certain books it is primarily funerals, masked militants with guns and crumbling buildings, while other

Michelle Woodward • 5 min read

Current Analysis

Paradise Now's Understated Power

Joining Ang Lee, director of the gay cowboy epic Brokeback Mountain, among the winners at the January 16 Golden Globes award ceremony was the director Hany Abu-Assad, a Palestinian born in Israel whose Paradise Now took home the prize for best foreign language film. While critics of all persuasions

Lori Allen • 10 min read

Current Analysis

Withdrawal from Gaza Won't End the Occupation

Gaza City—“I’ll go visit Auntie Lina in Ramallah after I obtain a tasreeh (an Israeli permit) and when Erez checkpoint is open, OK mama?” This is what my son, who is almost three years old, told me the other day after having a chat with his cousin Laila who lives in Ramallah, in the West Bank. The

Lama Hourani • 2 min read

Current Analysis

Après Nous, Nous

It was vintage Shimon Peres. On April 18 Israel’s deputy prime minister emerged from a tete-à-tete with French President Jacques Chirac proclaiming a shining vision of Israeli-Palestinian coexistence. “We could convert a settlement into a Club Med,” he suggested. “We must not wait for the political solution, but create

Thomas Hill, Peter Lagerquist • 14 min read

Current Analysis

The "Olive Branch" That Ought to Cross the Wall

The autumn olive harvest used to be a time of celebration in this West Bank village. Entire families would spend days together in the groves. Even Israelis would make special trips here at this time of year to buy our olive oil. But with new Israeli restrictions on access to the fields, Palestinian

Abdul-Latif Khaled • 3 min read

MER Article

On the Importance of Thugs

From late 2000 to 2004, the most common form of Palestinian resistance to occupation has simply been getting there -- refusing to allow Israeli checkpoints and sieges to shut down daily life. The unlikely symbols of that resistance are checkpoint workers -- van drivers and porters -- whose impromptu

Rema Hammami • 21 min read

Current Analysis

Uncertainty and Disquiet Mark Intifada's Third Anniversary

Standing on a platform in the central traffic circle of the West Bank city of Ramallah, a number of speakers urged a crowd of roughly 300 to continue the Palestinian intifada that completed its third year on September 28, 2003. The men pledged their support to President Yasser Arafat, confined

Lori Allen • 11 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