Last week, Israel barred a UNESCO fact-finding mission from entering the country, charging that the Palestinians had ‘politicized’ the mission before it had even arrived. The mission was tasked with looking into conditions of historical sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, something Israel apparently found to be very threatening.

Looking at the state of Jerusalem’s eastern sector today, it is understandable why Israel would not want UNESCO or anyone else walking around the Old City, especially the Palestinian-populated parts of it. Because anyone who does, will see the devastation that Israel and its settlers have wreaked on one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in the world.

Excavation works are being conducted in and around the Aqsa Mosque to make way for more Jewish construction at the place where Waqf authorities say Ottoman and Abbasid artifacts have long been tucked away. A Muslim graveyard is being dug up just outside the Old City’s Jaffa Gate, to build – ironically – a museum of tolerance. Today, two stores were forcefully taken over by Jewish settlers in Al Hakari, one of the neighborhoods in the Muslim quarter and every day, it seems that more and more homes are either being demolished by Israeli municipality authorities or being taken over by Jewish settlers.

The “Judiazation” of Jerusalem is a term many Palestinians and Arabs use for what Israel is doing in the city. In a nutshell, it is the long-term plan Israel is gradually carrying out to change the Arab Palestinian character of Jerusalem. This means demolishing old and historical structures, displacing Palestinians, handing over their homes to settlers and trying to erase the Palestinian or Arab history of the city.

The sad truth is that, on the surface, Israel has succeeded in this to a large extent. Pockets of Jewish settlers now live in the heart of Muslim quarters and aim to take over more and more. Sheikh Jarrah, one of the more affluent Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem, is now pierced with Jewish flags waving from homes that have been wrestled from their Palestinian owners, and Israel’s light rail train cuts right down through Palestinian neighborhoods outside of the city center. The train, of course, is not meant to service the Palestinian population but rather to connect Jewish neighborhoods and settlements in the city, but the area confiscated from Shufat and Beit Hanina for its construction simply fell into the plan.

What the UNESCO mission would not have seen even if they made it into the Old City is the overall humiliation that the Palestinian population of Jerusalem must endure on a daily basis because of Israel’s military occupation. Trips to the Israeli ministry of interior must be made just to prove that one lives in the city for fear that their residency rights may be revoked; young Palestinian men are stopped randomly by Israeli soldiers to check their ID cards or just to harass them, and settlers are always given the luxury of maximum security whenever they walk the streets. If settlers want to march through the city, the Palestinians are told to close their shops, are barred for hours from reaching their homes if they run along the path of the march and are always the ones blamed if any kind of confrontation between the two sides breaks out.

Jerusalem is being squeezed by these measures more and more each day. But there is always that glimmer of hope, that strength that shines through proving that all is not lost. On Shavuot, Israeli settlers and extremists poured into the Old City, singing loudly, banging on the shop doors and waving huge Israeli flags. The sight was disconcerting to say the least. However, the afternoon of that same day, at Damascus Gate, passersby were met with a completely different scene. Palestinian flags waved in determined Palestinian hands under the threatening eye of heavily armed Israeli police and soldiers. The youths were fearless, demanding freedom, with strong, unrelenting voices.

The sight of the Palestinian flag waving at the entrance to Damascus Gate was a breath of fresh air. All is not lost and never will be because hope is eternal and determination and strength come from a never-ending spring.

That day at Damascus Gate is what all Palestinians must keep in their minds’ eye in spite of the daily oppression of the occupation. No matter how many missions Israel bars from entering or how many houses it takes over, there will always be those brave souls who, despite the risks, will always raise Palestine’s flag.

Joharah Baker is a Writer for the Media and Information Department at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mid@miftah.org.

There is no point falling into the pit of countering the claims being made about the death of Mohammed Al Durra, the 12-year old boy from Gaza whose videotaped killing was seen around the world. The boy, crouching in fear behind is equally afraid father as bullets whizzed around them, was killed admittedly by the Israeli army. Later, the army recanted after investigating the tape, saying Durra was killed by Palestinian fire instead. Well now, Israel is changing its story altogether, saying he was not killed at all. In fact, he was probably not even wounded and the French channel that broadcast the footage and brought some pretty bad rap to Israel, had most likely filmed a charade.

The reason why I will not waste my time countering this claim is that even with the great lengths the Israeli government went to to prove that the boy was never killed, it could not provide any irrefutable proof that Mohammed Al Durra – who would be 25 now – is still alive. No pictures, no testimonies, no hospital or morgue officials giving statements to refute his death, have been provided. Only sketchy information about ‘poor quality footage’ and the fact that it seems as though the boy moved his arm after he had slumped over his father following the explosion.

My point is this: indeed, Mohammed Durra’s death was at least one of the catalysts that fueled the second Intifada, and thus, was an important event in the history of the Palestinians. However, more importantly – most importantly to me –is the fact that this is about a boy who died in sheer terror, with his distraught father futilely trying to shelter him from the barrage of bullets coming their way.

Mohammed Al Durra was a boy, with a life, a family and friends. He died a horrible death and now he is being made to die a second one. I did not know Mohammed or his family, but I can only imagine how awful it must be for them to read these claims now and feel the pain of losing their child all over again. If nothing else, this is disrespect for human life of the worst kind.

Some may postulate that the rehashing of the Durra case is a personal jab at the French cameraman who shot the footage, Charles Enderlin. Perhaps. But as a Palestinian who has seen the pain endured by numerous families who receive the horrible news that their sons or daughters have been killed by the Israeli army, my concern is for his family and for his memory. He should be left to rest in peace. If Israel has axes to grind with French journalists or with the international community for holding it accountable for its actions, then so be it. Israel is not lacking in the public relations department.

That being said, there is just one decent thing left to do. Leave Mohammed Al Durra and his memory alone.

Joharah Baker is a Writer for the Media and Information Department at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mid@miftah.org.

This week Palestinians will commemorate Al Nakba, the catastrophe that befell the Palestinian people when Israel was founded. Every year, Palestinians hang placards pointing to the right of return, they carry keys symbolizing the homes they were forced to leave and could not return to and remember the Palestine that was lost to them 65 years ago.

This year will be no different. Every May 15, Palestinian recall their catastrophe and demand justice. They demand that they are granted the right of return for those who were made refugees virtually overnight and were then relegate to a life they did not choose. But more than anything, they demand recognition of the tragedy that befell them rather than a denial that it ever happened, or worse, that it was of their own making.

It has been 65 years since Israel was established in 1948, which means those who were cast into exile are either very old or have long passed. Those who experienced the Nakba are now few and far between, clinging to those few precious memories of a small garden in front of their house in Jaffa or of the salty smell of the sea in their neighborhood in Haifa. The rest of us are either descendants of these refugees or ordinary Palestinians who feel their cause is our cause because we are one people.

But the Palestinians have made one thing clear. The refugee issue will not die with the last refugee. It is felt nationwide, the loss, the injustice and the fact that those who were forced from their homes have mostly passed, longing for their beloved homes.

We cannot turn back time. What was lost has been altered, destroyed, changed or taken over by Israel’s newcomers. What we can do is hold on to the right to be recognized, for the injustice to be rectified in word and deed and for Palestine to never be lost in our minds or hearts.

Joharah Baker is a Writer for the Media and Information Department at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mid@miftah.org.

As the International Court of Justice in The Hague begins its hearings today on the legality of the Separation Wall Israel is building in and around the West Bank territories, there will be one important feature missing – Israel.

Israel announced that it will not be sending representatives to the three-day hearing to defend what it calls a security barrier designed to prevent suicide bombers from entering Israel. It says the Wall is a political, not a legal, matter and is, therefore, an issue beyond The Hague’s jurisdiction. Instead, it has sent a 120-page brief along with other documents, unilaterally arguing that Israel is not bound by conventions concerning occupied territories, because the West Bank’s legal status is really disputed territory.

This blatant disregard for international law and human rights is a typical move by Israel, which has laughed in the face of legal rights and decency since it first entered Palestine in 1947. Israel ignored the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which states that “the occupying power cannot make demographic or territorial" changes to the territory it occupies by force. Israel refused to comply with United Nations Resolution 242, calling Israel to withdraw its military forces to the boundaries prior to the June 1967 Arab-Israeli War and thus, returning all Palestinian territories – West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem – it occupied by force. And it also continues to disregard U.N. Resolution 338, which calls on all parties involved in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to cease fighting and to implement U.N. resolution 242 in all of its parts.

Whether its illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories, refugees, extra-judicial killings, military incursions, checkpoint harassment, discrimination against Palestinians living inside Israel, home and farm demolitions and now the separation Wall, it is clear Israel follows its own definition of democratic and international “law.” So even if The Hague decides the Wall is illegal, without Israel’s recognition of a higher authority or rule, there is no guarantee, and little hope, that the Wall will come tumbling down anytime soon. Because the ruling is non-binding, Israel’s only fear is that a pro-Palestinian decision could initiate a lobby for sanctions against Israel, as well as being a public relations disaster.

It also seems hypocritical that a member of an organization, such as Israel’s involvement in the U.N., would bypass laws passed and, in essence, pick and choose which policies it will follow, according to what suits its interests. With the exception of isolating it from trade or financial aid, how can anyone really force Israel to move forward with any sort of peace negotiations or to obey international law? Israel’s approach to such issues raises serious questions about its commitment to promoting peace in the region. On the one hand it operates under such atrocious policies that many in the international community have described as terrorist acts themselves, but on the other, Israel makes strong public statements on its fight against terrorism and its commitment to peace in the region. Note the famous cliché, “Actions speak louder than words.”

As the world becomes smaller and nations enter into more economic, environmental, social and political relations with each other, they must also respect some bit of global governance. This does not suggest that states should jeopardize their sovereignty, but rather legitimize it more on a global scale through international guidelines. This has proved true for the issue of nuclear weapons, especially after The Hague ruled that they violated international humanitarian law in 1996. If Israel truly wants security, a 450-mile barrier of ditches, watch posts and concrete walls is not the solution. It must look to the source of frustration and end the illegal occupation of Palestine.

So many articles and analyses have been written about the suffering of Palestinians within the West Bank and Gaza, and rightly so, because it is, after all, the main concern in this decades-long conflict. In addition to the invasions and assaults on Palestinians, Israeli forces have left behind destroyed cities and land. But despite the relentless efforts by Israel to suppress and destroy the livelihood of these people, Palestinians are working hard to try and keep order in their stateless country.

After last week’s withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of Gaza, Palestinian workers organized their efforts to clear the streets and buildings of Intifada graffiti. The colorful, and sometimes artistic, graffiti thickly lines every street in Gaza, honoring the memory of Palestinian martyrs (victims of war) and calling for resistance to Israel’s illegal occupation. It has been a symbol of the uprising and one of Gaza’s most memorable sights. But under the resurgent peace process, Palestinians are removing the powerful words and phrases, in compliance with the U.S.-backed ‘roadmap’ to peace and with Israel’s demand for the halt of incitement. Palestinians hope their step will trigger Israel’s fulfillment of their part of the deal so both sides can move forward with the peace process and toward a normal and free life.

Palestinian workers began covering the slogans with white paint on Monday. One of the slogans painted over read: “The blood of the martyrs will not be wasted.” These words are typical, announcing motives and events of the resistance.

Traditionally, the streets of Gaza acted as newspapers for Palestinians blocked in by Israel soldiers and checkpoints. During the first Intifada, all the occupied territories were under complete Israeli control. Palestinian newspapers, radio and television stations were either controlled or relinquished. So the people turned to the streets to spread news of the resistance.

This long-delayed beautification project began after the June 29 announcement of a three-month cease-fire from some of the major Palestinian factions. Osama Al-Aloul, the Gaza city official overseeing the campaign, told Reuters that the Palestinians’ determined spirit for peace promotes the beautification project.

“The current climate allowed the municipality to carry out its project of ‘Clean and Beautiful Gaza,’” Al-Aloul said.

The project is a start to a desperately-needed restoration of Palestinian cities. Because of the illegal Israeli occupation and their constant attacks, cities are left in ruins and without basic services to repair them. There is no regular garbage pick-up, no guarantee for and a shortage of running water, no regular city maintenance, no traffic control and few law enforcement powers. Furthermore, homes have been demolished and olive and fruit trees (the livelihood of many Palestinians) have been uprooted. And these are just a few of the problems.

But the Palestinian people, along with international organizations, are coming together to try and clean up their shattered cities and lives, hoping that the situation will improve rather than fall back into the horrible, but familiar scene. Clearing the graffiti from Gaza streets is one such example.

In other beautification efforts across the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian youth are participating in voluntary summer work camps, sponsored by the International Palestinian Youth League, to do their part in restoring Palestine. There are different areas of work, including construction, renovation, gardening and agriculture. The program has been operating since 1997. This year youth will volunteer for six months—from July until January 2004—and cover areas from Jerusalem to Jericho.

And in Ramallah it seems as if there is a new campaign to clean up parts of the city. Men in green are seen sweeping the streets and sidewalks, clearing the accumulation of dust and trash and repairing torn roads. In another part of the city, one resident took matters into his own hands and voluntarily cleaned and landscaped the lot next to his downtown pharmacy. He does the upkeep himself, providing a clean place for a city park. He says if everyone cleans one area of the city, Ramallah could once again be a scenic place.

Over the years, internationally-supported programs have also contributed to the improvement of Palestinian lives. For example, the YMCA and YWCA of Palestine sponsor “The Olive Tree Campaign: Keep Hope Alive,” inviting people to donate money to plant new olive trees to replace uprooted ones. Since the beginning of the second Intifada, thousands of acres of farm land and hundreds of thousands of olive trees have been destroyed by the Israeli army. Through the YMCA and YWCA’s campaign, Palestinians are encouraged to “keep their sense of hope alive and to reaffirm their commitment to work constructively toward peace-building.”

Through beautification and support efforts like these, the Palestinians have survived and maintained the will to continue their life on the land they have lived on for centuries. The strength of the Palestinian people is seen through their resilience to go on with their lives and to try and make it as normal as possible, despite the injustice and harassment they face each day. Beautifying the land reflects this drive and symbolizes their human right to live and work in Palestine.

The recent resurgence of violence between Israelis and Palestinians has crushed any hopes of success from the Aqaba Peace Summit and with the ‘roadmap.’ But for those who know and understand the history of the situation, it is no surprise.

Throughout the decades American, European and U.N. leaders have produced numerous peace plans and solutions to the on-going Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and in reality, all have been failures. The reason for this is the lack of commitment, or rather a lack of interest, by the Israeli government to compromise and its political control over the only country—the United States—that could push it toward peace.

Through violence, like last week’s airstrikes on Gaza, the Israeli government has purposely sabotaged every peace deal it has reached with the Palestinians in order to justify its further attacks on Palestinians and its increase in “security measures.” (In reality, they are not security measures but daily harassment used to make Palestinian lives miserable and inconvenient. Their hope is that it will drive them out of the region, which has not really worked thus far.)

Looking to the Past

The last decade, above all, has seen a step up in efforts to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to finally establish peace in the Middle East. The world has gotten involved and tried to create an effective plan that would allow both Israelis and Palestinians to compromise and put an end to the conflict. But every major agreement has botched, particularly the historical Oslo Accords and the recent ‘roadmap.’ The failure of these deals only proves that the cycle of violence and tension that has lasted in the region for over a century continues.

The Middle East Peace Process formally began after the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991. It signified the beginning of direct talks between Israel and Arab countries, including Palestinian delegations. In 1993 the first peace agreement, known as the “Declaration of Principles” or the Oslo Accords, was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat. It outlined a five-year interim plan for Palestinian self-rule with such provisions as a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Occupied Territories and the transfer of authority of the Occupied Territories from Israel to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) within the five years.

Two years later, the Oslo II Accords marked the second stage of Palestinian independence. It further emphasized the withdrawal of Israeli presence in and control over the Occupied Territories and the establishment of Palestinian self-rule. The plan’s expiration date was 1999, and as clearly seen in 2003, Israel has not left the territories nor has it recognized the State of Palestine. Former Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu even reported in 1997 that he would only hand back less than 40% of the West Bank, causing an immediate crisis in the peace process. Israel blamed the failure of the peace plan on the Palestinians because they did not uphold the required “security measures.” But a main reason for this is Israel’s initial attacks on Palestinians. And as a result, retaliatory attacks naturally occurred, and the deal proved to be ultimately doomed.

Today, we see another major failure in the new Middle East peace initiative, known as the ‘roadmap.’ A few days after verbal promises to move forth with the plan to end Israeli military occupation and establish a sovereign Palestinian state (the basis of every solution to the conflict) at the June 4th Aqaba Summit in Jordan, Israel began massive airstrikes against Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, killing dozens and wounding over 100—mostly innocent civilians. It defended its actions by saying Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (known as Abu Mazen) did not maintain his end of the bargain by reigning in the groups, so the Israeli government had to “take matters into its own hands.” However, when did Abu Mazen have time to finish an agreement with these groups? The Israeli government’s actions led to retaliatory attacks by Hamas and other factions, which gave it the necessary justification for not complying with the provisions of the ‘roadmap.’

Looking to the United States

One of the major players in the recent Middle East peace process is the United States. It has served as instigator, mediator or monitor for all the region’s peace plans. However, no matter what its leaders say publicly about it safeguarding peace, the Zionist lobby and its monetary control over U.S. politicians produces a bias that contributes to the conflict’s continuation.

The U.S., along with Israel, has vetoed many of the major U.N. resolutions, such as Res. 270, that have called for the dismantling of settlements and the withdrawal of Israeli troops in the Occupied Territories. The U.S. also gives Israel the single most foreign aid amount of any country ($2.82 billion in 2000). This funding, from U.S. taxpayers, gives Israel the ability to build up its military and to build more settlements.

U.S. presidents and politicians that have stood up to Israel have suffered political failure or have retracted their statements. For instance, President George W. Bush’s recent criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Sharon for undermining peace efforts was quickly changed in support of its military actions against what they call “terrorists.” Once America decides it will act on its own beliefs of peace and stops financing illegal acts, then there is some hope for a positive turn in the peace process.

Looking into the Future

The root cause of Palestinian frustration, despair and resulting violence is the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Expecting and demanding that a population under siege and suffering a ruthless occupation stop resisting the occupier defies all notions of logic, justice and international law. Sharon’s intractable position that resistance to Israeli troops on Palestinian land must stop before he will proceed with any peace plan is an impossible demand clearly designed to give the Israeli government a pretext not to withdraw from the occupied territories and not to allow the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The Israeli government and its chorus of sympathizers claim that PNA President Arafat and Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas have the immediate power to control Palestinian factions and to stop suicide bombings. But they conveniently forget that a main reason Israel made a deal with Arafat over a decade ago—which allowed him to set up the PNA in the West Bank and Gaza—is Israel’s own inability to control the violence, despite its massive military might and sophisticated intelligence. And it is unreasonable to attack these groups and still expect negotiations with them to be productive.

And one must remember that suicide bombers are entering and detonating themselves inside Israel’s borders. Sharon insists that Palestinian leaders do what Israel’s own security forces are failing to prevent. If Israel truly wants a successful peace agreement, it should comply with U.N. resolutions and international law by dismantling the settlements—which are illegal and an obstacle to peace—and withdraw from the occupied territories without further delay. And it can not call the taking apart of uninhabited “dummy” settlements as compliance to peace agreements.

It is not useful to keep “pointing the finger” at the other side, because both have innocents’ blood on their hands. What is needed is bold action by the Israeli government. Sharon is on the wrong side of history. Israel cannot claim the moral high ground in the fight against “terrorism” and at the same time subjugate and brutalize an entire people yearning for freedom and independence. Israelis need to look only to their own history for proof.