Rafah, the southern city of the Gaza Strip, is populated with more than 250 thousand residents living in 64 sq. km. It is bound on the west by the Mediterranean, on the east by the 1949-armistice line, and on the south by the Egyptian-Palestinian borders.
For more than 100 days, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip emerged from the shadows of occupation and blockade. Thousands of Palestinians, women and men, old and young, partisans and independent, marched to the barbed-wire fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel and raised their voices. Despite living under blockade and witnessing brutal wars, a majority of the protestors maintained the peaceful and nonviolent nature of the March of Return.
Headed to the beach this summer? Long car trip or airplane ride? Print out these articles to learn more about the situation in Gaza.
Last week 70 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent an open letter to the US Secretary of State requesting immediate action to “alleviate the growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.”
The Independent ran a story a few days ago by their Middle East correspondent Bel Trew about a Palestinian girl in Gaza, 13 year old Fatima Abu Shedeg, who dreams of going to the Olympics in 2020.
On July 19th the Washington Post gave US Special Representative Jason Greenblatt, Jared Kushner, and Ambassador to Israel David Friedman room to write about Gaza. Their article is one of the clearest examples of why the US cannot lead peace negotiations between Palestinian and Israelis and how dishonesty is a hallmark of US Israel-Palestine policy under the Trump Administration.
Last week the Episcopal Church held its tri-annual General Convention in Austin, Texas. The Episcopal Church is a mainline Christian denomination with three million members in the United States and is the U.S.-based member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
A recent article from The Guardian highlights the creative ways in which Gazans create opportunities and engage youth in the face of blockade. Gaza Sky Geeks, a “tech hub and co-working space”, trains youth in coding and modern online business practices.
Children living under military occupation in the West Bank and Jerusalem are haunted by the specter of arrest, detention, and settler violence. Their daily lives, their experiences as individuals and an entire generation are shaped by that brutal reality.
Since at least 2007 Israel has imposed a military no-go zone along the boundary between Israel and Gaza which extends up to one and a half kilometers into Gaza. Anyone entering this no-go zone can be shot by the Israeli military.
