Mel Frykberg

RAMALLAH – Eight-months pregnant Shireen Abu Sbeh, 20, mother of a 2-year-old, lives with eight other people in a two-bedroom apartment that is on a list of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem to be demolished by the Israeli authorities. "I am struggling to sleep at night. I have nightmares that we are on the streets … Continue reading “Israeli Home Demolitions Threaten Peace Talks”

AT TUWANI, West Bank – “I couldn’t run. My pregnancy was too far advanced, and there was nowhere to hide,” said Amna Salman Rabaye, 31, as she recalled the terrifying incident several months ago. Rabaye from the Palestinian Bedouin village of At Tuwani in the southern West Bank was grazing her sheep when she was … Continue reading “Israeli Settlers Terrorize Palestinian Villagers”

RAMALLAH – Red-faced and unusually tongue-tied Israeli officials were forced to try and explain to U.S. Senator John Kerry during his visit to Israel last week why truckloads of pasta waiting to enter the besieged Gaza strip were not considered humanitarian aid while rice was. Kerry, chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, visited … Continue reading “In Gaza, Rice Is Aid, Pasta Not”

RAMALLAH – "They started smashing down doors at 2am last Wednesday before moving through homes and destroying property," says the mayor of Jayyus, Muhammed Taher Shamasni. "Residents were assaulted, money was stolen, computers confiscated, over 60 young men arrested and the village placed under curfew. The Israeli soldiers came into my home and threw the … Continue reading “Trapped Between the Wall and the Green Line”

RAMALLAH – Israel is toughening its negotiating stance with Hamas as the two try to hammer out a permanent cease-fire agreement. According to reports in the Arab media a permanent cease-fire between the Jewish state and the Islamic resistance organization would have gone into effect as early as Sunday had the Israeli government not suddenly … Continue reading “Hamas Pushed to the Wall Over Cease-Fire”

RAMALLAH – Despite intensive efforts by Israel, the international community and a number of Arab leaders to weaken and destroy Hamas through economic, punitive and military action, the Islamist organization continues to be a force to reckon with. Hamas won free and fair democratic elections in January 2006. The U.S. pushed for these elections, which … Continue reading “Hamas Is Not Going Away”

RAMALLAH – Humanitarian aid is being rushed into Gaza as Israel and Egypt open their borders temporarily to allow convoys of aid to pass through. While Israeli drones circle the skies above, Hamas security men are back on the streets attempting to restore some semblance of law and order. Policemen are directing traffic. Several looters … Continue reading “Gazans Do Not Blame Hamas”

RAMALLAH – A number of armed attacks have taken place on Israel’s borders with Palestinian territories in the last six days as Arab public anger over the death and destruction wrought on Gaza spills over from massive street demonstrations. Israeli security officials have voiced concern that the Gaza violence could affect Israel’s borders and that … Continue reading “Anger Begins to Knock at Israel’s Borders”

RAMALLAH – "There is no doubt that Israel is using phosphorous bombs over Gaza. Israel is flagrantly violating the Fourth Geneva Convention," says Raji Sourani, head of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza. "This is not the first time we have documented Israel using this kind of prohibited weapon against Gaza’s civilian … Continue reading “Israelis Rain ‘Phosphorous Bombs’ Over Gaza”

RAMALLAH – United Nations report that Israel ordered civilians into a building and then shelled it marks yet more evidence of widespread targeting of civilians in the Gaza assault. The UN report calls for a war crimes investigation into Israel’s shelling of a civilian building in Gaza city Jan. 4. It described the shelling as … Continue reading “Israel Also Fighting the UN”