Mahmoud Ahmed Abu Sitta had left his two-storey house to harvest olives on his land.  By the time he had returned, an Israeli airstrike had turned his home into a crater nearly two storeys deep, full of the smashed remnants of his life. I met Mahmoud two weeks after the attack, which occurred during Pillar of Defence – the name given to the recent 8-day … Continue reading Homeless in Gaza: A Farmer’s House Destroyed by an Airstrike

In the ceasefire that ended the latest violence between Israel and Gaza the new parameters of peace are fragile and uncertain – not least along the border, in some of the few areas in Gaza in which the Israeli military and Palestinians directly encounter each other. For 12 years Israel had imposed a ‘buffer zone’ on Gazan land bordering Israel, much of which is farmland, … Continue reading An Uncertain Peace: Farming in Gaza’s Borderland

“I am proud to be part of this army of tweeps,” said activist Ola Anan as she addressed around 80 young Gazans in Shalehat resort, Gaza City. They had gathered to discuss their efforts in the social media war with Israel during Operation Pillar of Defense – the recent eight-day Israeli offensive on the Palestinian territory. As Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with F16 missiles, … Continue reading Gaza’s ‘Army of Tweeps’

Driving through the Sheikh Radwan area in Gaza City today we came across a road that had been taken over by Hamas marchers bristling with guns and flags.  They were about to parade through the streets in a rehearsal for a huge demonstration planned on the 8th December 2012 – the 25th anniversary of the first intifada.  It will be a double celebration as Hamas … Continue reading Hamas’s Dress Rehearsal