Human rights organization B’Tselem published a report reviewing harm to civilians in Operation Pillar of Defense. The report provides statistics on the numbers of Palestinians and Israelis killed over the course of the operation, which lasted from November 14 to 21, 2012. The report challenges the common perception in the Israeli public and media that the operation was 'surgical' and caused practically no fatalities among uninvolved Palestinian civilians. Furthermore, the report finds that there was a significant difference between the first and the final days of the operation: of the uninvolved Palestinian fatalities, 80 percent were killed in the last…

In Boston, the bombings brought out the most generous community spirit among strangers torn apart by violence. In Bethlehem, Israel restricted who could participate in the marathon. But as Gisha's Sari Bashi writes, dozens of Israeli runners expressed support for letting Gazans participate, emphasizing the hope and purity embodied in the marathon and speaking of their identification with people who challenge their human abilities by doing that amazing thing called 'running.' The first marathon was held in Bethlehem on Sunday, as my colleagues have reported (and photographed, beautifully). The marathon is moment of great personal achievement, but marathons also sometimes become a…

Although the racism and hatred between Israel and its neighbors seems as entrenched as ever, many Mizrahi artists are connecting to their Arab roots. Does this trend portend a brighter future for the Middle East? By Mati Shemoelof and Ophir Toubul / Café Gibraltar In an interview with Al Arabiya several years ago, popular Israeli singer Zehava Ben stated that she was interested in performing throughout the Arab world, and especially in Beirut and Gaza. Israel's security system forbade her entrance into the Strip, due to the fact that Hamas rules the territory. In a later interview, she said that her…

Using cold logic to explain the killings of civilians is an attempt to deaden our emotions and detach us from inexplicable tragedy. By Jake Meth When I was younger, I always hoped that my older self would have a great explanation for why innocent civilians kept getting killed in violent conflicts. But as Israel began another air campaign against the Gaza Strip last week, I suddenly realized that this explanation for which I had waited so long was nowhere to be found. I was 15 when the U.S. invaded Iraq, when it seemed as if every other headline in the…

For the last five days, Gaza has come up in just about every conversation, Facebook status and thought I have encountered. Today, as the fourth daily siren rang out in Tel Aviv, the response of locals seemed much more fluid and far less fear-ridden than that of Thursday's unexpected alarm. Neighbors ushered each other towards  basements and shelters, wondering aloud about how long it would be before the tell tale "boom" would sound. As a novice to situations such as these, I am filled with a wash of contradictory emotions. I feel frightened, not so much by the actual physical…

I spent Thursday in Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malachi, Ashkelon and Sderot--the Israeli cities under Hamas fire. I spoke to dozens of Israelis; support for Operation Pillar of Defense was unanimous, though no one thought it would bring lasting peace. Most felt it would bring temporary quiet; many believe that Israel needs to reoccupy the Gaza Strip.  At a commercial center in Kiryat Malachi, a short walk from the apartment building where three Israelis were killed Thursday morning by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, an elderly man selects tomatoes at a small produce stand. The 74-year-old man, who immigrated…

Wednesday, November 14: Israeli forces have just killed a four-year-old and a seven-year-old in Gaza. Two children. Jeffrey Goldberg tweets*, correctly, that the fighting won’t solve anything. But his phrasing embodies everything that’s wrong with the mainstream media. It also points at the Israeli attitude towards both the Palestinians and the region: Prediction: Assassination of Hamas terror commander will not even partially solve Israel's Gaza problem. Israel’s Gaza problem? The fatalities suggest it’s the other way around. According to B’Tselem, 6500 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces from the start of the Second Intifada in September 2000 until to September…

The last few days of violence on the Gaza-Israel border are eerily reminiscent of the days leading up to Operation Cast Lead. A recent look at Israeli media points to a possible war.   By Sol Salbe The escalation of fighting in the Gaza strip and southern Israel since Saturday is the top news item in the Israeli media. Over 100 rockets fired from the Strip have wounded three Israelis, and Israeli military strikes have killed at least five Palestinians and wounded dozens more. Haaretz analysts Amos Harel and Avi Issacharof foresee the next step: Gaza flare-up could lead to another…

Text and photos by Anne Paq Five Palestinian civilians, including three children, have been killed by Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip in the latest escalation of violence. Fifty-two others, including six women and 12 children, have been wounded, some of them very seriously. Four of these deaths and 38 of the injuries resulted from an Israeli attack in al-Shoja’iya neighborhood east of Gaza City, which the Israeli army said came in response to an attack on a military vehicle. An investigation by PCHR concluded that the first strike hit Palestinian children playing football. As people rushed to help them,…

After a three and a half year legal battle, Israeli NGO Gisha has obtained the state's 'Red Lines' documents, which detail Israel's severe restrictions on the amount of food that could enter the Gaza Strip between 2007 and 2010, including calculations of Palestinians' caloric needs.  The "Red Lines" document was based on research compiled by the security establishment and the Israeli Ministry of Health, and aimed to "identify the point of intervention for prevention of malnutrition in the Gaza Strip." According to Gisha, the document "includes tables calculating the food consumption needs of people in Gaza according to age and…

An Israeli judge ruled Tuesday morning that the State of Israel is not to blame for the death of Rachel Corrie, an American who was killed on March 16, 2003 in the Gaza Strip when she she stood in front of an IDF bulldozer that crushed her.  The judge called her death a "regrettable accident." Rachel Corrie was in Rafah as an activist with the International Solidarity Movement, acting as a human shield to protest the demolition of Palestinian homes. She was 23 years old at the time of her death. She had arrived in Israel in January 2003 and spent two…

Israeli army's Facebook status chides journalists for not choosing sides and becoming active participants in conflict. By Mati Milstein "Pictured is Zehava Weiss, who was injured earlier this year when Palestinians threw bricks at her windshield. Reporters on the scene were positioned to film the ambush and did nothing to stop it." The status update above, on the Israeli military's Facebook page last week, exposed its dangerous misunderstanding – and outright perversion – of the role of journalists in conflict situations. This potentially endangers both the lives of journalists and their ability to freely expose situations of conflict to the…

Despite sharing a national identity, the Palestinian people are parceled into differential categories along geographical, socioeconomic, humanitarian, political and civilian lines determined by Israel: Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship, residents of East Jerusalem, those living in the West Bank, those in the Gaza Strip, and the refugees.  In this seventh illustration in a series of infographics on Palestinian civilian life under occupation, see the divisions that dictate Palestinian existence. By Michal Vexler   Sources: Palestinians living within 1948 borders of Israel Demography of the West Bank UNRWA statistics on refugees B'Tselem: Fishing restrictions in Gaza Strip Michal Vexler is a designer and…