Aljazeera Wednesday, June 16 2010

Photo: Stefan Christoff Campaign posters for civil rights for Palestinians in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s parliament has tabled a proposal to offer basic rights to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees.

The proposed legislation – the subject of a heated debate on Tuesday – would allow Palestinian refugees to work and own property in Lebanon. Nabih Berri, the parliament speaker, referred the bill to a committee for a one-month review.

Palestinian refugees have long been a controversial subject in Lebanon, and the debate cut across Lebanon’s usual political alliances.

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Al Jazeera by As’ad AbuKhalil May 2010

Photo: Palestinian solidarity rally in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Every year, Arabs around the world commemorate al-Nakba or “the catastrophe” on May 15 – the day following Israel’s declaration of statehood in 1948.

But poems and speeches are now too embarrassing to recite and Arab governments barely seem interested in remembering – so busy are they trying to win Israel’s approval for direct or indirect negotiations.

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Ewa Jasiewicz, Electronic Intifada, February 2010

Photo: Israeli missile strike on Beirut, Lebanon.

The Polish army’s announcement that it will buy seven Aerostar Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from Israel’s Aeronautics earlier this month was heralded as a step forward for Poland’s “stabilization” mission in Afghanistan. The UAV, or drone, has long been a key tool in the military arsenals of both the United States and Israel. The US leads the export market, followed by Israel, which as of last year was the planet’s third-biggest arms exporter, arming regimes around the world to the tune of $6.75 billion in 2009.

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Bilal Elamine Red Pepper Magazine

Photo: Zoriah (c). Hezbollah logo painted on bullet pocked wall in Beirut, Lebanon.

Responding to the discussion on political Islam begun in the previous issue of Red Pepper, Bilal El-Amine considers the experience of Hizbullah in Lebanon

It is no doubt commendable that Red Pepper has tried to tackle the thorny issue of political Islam and in particular the Iranian experience, a subject that is greatly misunderstood in the west, even in left circles. But unfortunately the discussion created more spark than substance. This can be attributed to both Alastair Crooke’s rather abstract philosophical approach that often clashes with the reality of events on the ground and Azar Majedi’s shrill response, which reduces the legacy of the Islamic revolution in Iran to ‘30 years of bloodshed, oppression, misogyny, gender apartheid, stoning and mutilation’. One wonders how it is that women in Iran make up 65 per cent of university students under such conditions.

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Inter Press Service by Ray Smith.

Photo: Raed El Rafei Bullet holes marking walls in Nahr el-Bared.

NAHR AL-BARED (North Lebanon) – The hip-hop beats ringing through the muddy, unlit streets of this burnt-out Palestinian refugee camp seem incongruous. But the rhymes are camp-grown – and courageous.

“I’m carrying worries / From inside a destroyed camp / I’m preparing an attack / Words that keep turning in my head / Nahr al-Bared is fenced-in with iron bars / In the newspapers they speak about suffering / Every word makes sense”.

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by Ray Smith Inter Press Service November 25 2009

Photo: Mary Ellen Davis Sky over destroyed street in Nahr al-Bared.

Nahr al-Bared, Lebanon – More than two years after their refugee camp was destroyed in a war between the Lebanese army and the Islamist militant group Fatah al-Islam, Nahr al-Bared refugees Wednesday witnessed the start of the camp’s reconstruction. Their relief is mixed with scepticism, however.

Established in 1949, the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in north Lebanon’s Akkar region has become home to more than 30,000 residents. In the summer of 2007, the camp was totally destroyed as the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) fought a group of well-equipped, mostly non-Palestinian militants who had taken over the camp.

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Gamal Nkrumah Al-Ahram 10 – 16 December 2009.

Photo Skyline from the sea coast in Alexandria, Egypt.

Mustafa Tolba, president of the International Centre for Environment and Development and a key participant at the Copenhagen Climate Conference, warned that even though the Arab world produces a mere five per cent of global carbon emissions, several Arab countries are in disproportionate danger from the negative impacts of global warming.

At the Copenhagen Environmental Summit the overriding concern seems to be who is responsible for global warming instead of what to do about the negative impact of climate change.

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a year-end solidarity gathering | musical performances celebrating Sheikh Imam

SATURDAY DECEMBER 12th 20h
entrance: $5-10
Kaza Maza, 4629 Avenue du Parc
north from Mont-Royal street
Montréal Québec

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photo essay by Farah Kobaissy in Lebanon

Photo: Farah Kobaissy. Palestinian youth plays football in Nahr el Bared

Nahr al-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, center to a major military conflict between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam in 2007, remains destroyed in 2009.

Palestinian civilians in Nahr al-Bared faced massive displacement during the armed conflict in 2007, as the civilian infrastructure in the camp was bombarded by the Lebanese military and dozens of Palestinian civilians killed. Until today the overwhelming majority of the 30,000 Palestinian refugees from Nahr al-Bared remain displaced, living within other Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

Years after the military conflict in Nahr al-Bared, the refugee camp remains largely rubble, while millions in international aid dollars for reconstruction have equaled little concrete reconstruction on the ground in Nahr al-Bared. Lebanese activist and photographer Farah Kobaissy visited the camp in October 2009 and took these photos.

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Daily Star by Dalila Mahdawi, Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Photo: Stefan Christoff Wires over the street in Ein El Hilweh

BEIRUT: Most Palestinian refugees in southern Lebanon believe greater interaction with their Lebanese neighbors would help dismantle the prejudices and misconceptions that abound between the two communities, a recent report said.

The report, entitled “Community Perspectives on Protection: A Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Analysis of Palestinian Communities in Southern Lebanon,” also found Palestinians endured high levels of familial and community violence because residents of formal camps and informal gatherings lack the necessary space and institutions where they can otherwise release their frustration.

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