harriet sherwood – NOTES FROM A FRUITSTORE

Free Free Palestine [BIG] Hyde Park London 2003 [Ph. Guy Mannes-Abbott]

As leaked documents make concrete, the state of Israel is panicked about the Palestinian declaration of independence in September and its recognition at the UN. I think we all know what will happen and Germany’s desire to see ethnic cleansing and siege continue will be supported by the UK [and Tony Blair of course, still fighting his permanent war. At least Blair used the phrase Israel-Palestine -just like Bosnia-Herzogovina; site of Crimes Against Humanity- while promoting his paperbacked memoirs, while the BBC journo -Sarah Raven?- couldn’t bring herself to say Palestine] and usual Imperialista desperadoes…

In the context of where things are now, I think it’s important that the world starts to recognise the Palestinian right to exist, such that they support and recognise its independence in September Continue reading “on recognition of palestine, i do!” →

The Guardian’s Harriet Sherwood continues to report with clear-eyed vigour from Palestine. Her latest piece on Dashed Hopes, the collective updating of an earlier report by 21 International charities about the reality of life under siege in Gaza is profoundly shocking. It is mortifying. No, it’s revolting. Even so it might overstate the generosity of the state of Israel’s collective punishment, now in its fourth year.

HS writes that amongst other horrifying stats [“35% of Gaza’s farmland and 85% of maritime areas for fishing remains restricted by the Israeli ‘buffer zone’”], the only exports allowed by the Occupation are strawberries and carnations and those only to Europe. But perhaps not! The report, to which I urge you to link to [PRESS or for a pdf], states “except for the humanitarian activity of exporting a small amount of strawberries, not a single truck of exports has left Gaza since the ‘easing until now’.”

In any case, Gaza is populated almost entirely by refugees from the ethnic cleansing of the plains of Palestine in 1948. More than 60 years later, the offending party is able Continue reading “on the use of strawberries and [not even] carnations, gaza one” →