On July 16th, a prisoner exchange took place between the governments of Israel and the Hezbollah- a military resistance movement that emerged in Lebanon in opposition to the Israeli occupation. Israel has returned 199 bodies of Hezbollah fighters, and five live soldiers to Lebanon in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers who were killed on Shebaa Farms, an occupied territory on the border between Israel and Lebanon.

The Israeli government was offered the same condition of exchange in June 2006, after the two Israeli soldiers were captured, but Israel refused to negotiate at all and launched an attack on Lebanon in which more then a thousand civilians were killed. The government of Lebanon has issued a statement saying: “This agreement marks a big failure, and a very big failure of Israel's policy which refused, before the July 2006 war, to seal a complete exchange deal…. and launched a war against Lebanon and its people with the excuse of demanding the prisoners, and then it returned and submitted in the end to the logic of negotiating through mediators, in order for the deal to succeed. This deal ... is a new and clear condemnation for Israel, its tactics and its policies."

At the center of the prisoner exchange is Samir Kuntar, who in 1979 at the age of 16 lead an attack in Israel in retaliation to the bombing and intervention in Lebanon by Israel and in solidarity with Palestinian resistance forces in Lebanon, most of them refugees. In the operation, one police officer, a civilian, and a four year old girl were killed. Kuntar was convicted of killing the three, although he has maintained that the girl was killed in cross fire. Upon his release, celebration broke out in Lebanon. Many Lebanese see Kuntar as the longest political prisoner held in Israel, and as symbol of resistance to the Israeli atrocities and terror in Lebanon.

Ehud Olmert, Israel's Prime Minister, has accused Lebanon of making a cold blooded killer into a national hero. But Mohamed al-Sayed Said from the Al-Ahram Centre for Strategic Studies in Cairo, responded on Al-Jazeera saying that Olmert "should not take the moral high ground" with respect to what he sees as the "destructive effect" of the 2006 war. "I don't think Olmert has any right to declare moral victory. While he may call Kuntar an animal, the war that he launched in 2006 resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 people.” Furthermore, some have found it puzzling that Israel, a country who elected Ariel Sharon to the highest position in the Israeli government, can condone anyone for making killers and war criminal’s national heroes.

Prisoners of War Exchange between Israel and Lebanon | Israel, Lebanon, and the "Peace Process" Noam Chomsky | The Israel-Hizballah prisoner deal | Lebanese officials hail swap deal as harbinger of unity | Israel’s Prior Peacekeeping in Lebanon Former cellmate says Samir Kuntar never meant to kill anyone

Demonstrations against the Apartheid Wall are a daily occurrence in Palestine. In Ni’lin, a Palestinian village in the West Bank, Palestinians, international activists, and Anarchists Against the Wall have been protesting the on going construction of the wall on Ni’lin farm lands. On July 1st, four Caterpillar bulldozers , used to demolish Palestinians houses and farm land, were sabotaged during a demonstration .

Three activists were injured, on July 4th, by Israeli forces in the weekly protest against the wall in Bil’in; west of Ramallah. Dozens of protesters were treated for tear gas inhalation. In Al-Maasara/Um Salamuna four activists were arrested.

On July 5th, the occupying Israeli forces surrounded the Ni'lin village and announced a curfew, to prevent further demonstrations. Shops were shut down, two elderly women who felt sick were prevented from exiting the village, and media reporters were threatened with arrests. The village population, however, defied the curfew and demonstrations against the wall and the occupying forces took place. The demonstrators marched towards the apartheid wall and blocked the settlers-only road that runs by the village. On the same day, another demonstration against the wall happened in Ma’sra, a village south of Bethlehem. Live bullets, sound grenades and tear gas were used by the occupying forces to disperse a popular march that started from the centre of al Ma’sra. Organizers vowed to continue resistance and announced more protests to mark the 4th anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision, which declared the Wall illegal, called for it to be dismantled and those affected to be compensated for the damages.

Indymedia Israel: Photos: 1 | 2 | Video | Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Friends of Freedom and Justice Bilin | Breaking Down the Wall | A crack in the wall | Israeli apartheid week, a solidarity protest for Palestine, at UC Berkeley.

On June 19, a senior advisor to UNICEF stated that UNICEF will not accept any financial support from Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev. Leviev, who is the chairman of Africa Israel Investments, is in charge of at least one company in which the Arab rights advocacy group Adalah-NY claims built Jewish settlements on West Bank land.

UNICEF’s rejection of Leviev’s support followed meetings with Adalah, letters from organizations and Palestinian communities advocating a boycott of Leviev’s companies, and a visit by UNICEF officials to Jayyous, one of the Palestinian communities where a Leviev company is building Israeli settlements. Leviev’s diamond-mining companies in Angola have also been accused of serious human rights abuses. Activist groups have met with other organizations and country representatives, demanding that Leviev's company be boycotted.

In a June 24 press release, Anti-Defamation League Director Abe Foxman criticized UNICEF’s decision to sever ties with Leviev, saying that it "smacks of selective political discrimination.” Commenting on the ADL demand, Daniel Lang/Levitsky of Jews Against the Occupation, a member group in the Adalah-NY coalition, explained, "International law and universal human rights are essential principles for international organizations like UNICEF. The construction of Israeli settlements unequivocally violates both of these principles. Therefore, the ADL's demand that UNICEF turn a blind eye to Lev Leviev’s violations of international law while disregarding basic rights for Palestinians is hypocritical and outrageous."

Statement by Jews Against the Occupation | DCI/PS welcomes UNICEF’s rejection of Leviev support | UNICEF Rejects Support From Israeli Billionaire Known for Constructing Settlements on Palestinian Lands

Related Stories: Joint Statement: Support Striking Namibian Workers at Lev Leviev Diamonds!| New Yorkers & Palestinians call on Dubai to boycott Leviev jewelry | NYC Dubai Protest | Mother’s Day boycott of Israeli settlement-builder Leviev | West Bank Settlement Financer in Dubai | Land Day Protest at Leviev New York | Leviev tells Ha'aretz anti-settlement protests funded by competitors | Leviev's Diamonds at the Oscars | Leviev asks Academy Award stars to wear diamonds tainted by human rights abuses | Democracy Now: Activists Call for Boycott of Diamond Giant Leviev | Demonstration in front of Leviev’s diamond store in London | Two Palestinian villages ask Susan Sarandon to repudiate Leviev | JVP: Letter to Susan Sarandon, don't support Leviev | Glitterati at NY Gala Stunned by Palestinian Rights Protest | New York activists crash settler funder’s Madison Avenue gala

Video cameras have become a crucial way for Palestinians to document the daily harassment inflicted on them by Israeli settlers. Reports by Palestinians of physical attacks and damage to property usually go unattended by the Israeli military and police.

In one recent example, a Palestinian family living on the southern hills of Al-Halil, was attacked by four settlers armed with baseball bats while farming their land. The video provided evidence against two settlers, who were arrested by the Israeli police. An Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said that the police are investigating whether the attack was instigated by Palestinian women for dressing inappropriately.

"Shooting Back" is a new project by B'tselem, a human right organization based in Israel. Through the projects, more then a hundred video cameras have been given to Palestinians who live in close proximity to settlements. The cameras help to document the daily harassments by settlers, sometimes under the protection of the Israeli Army.

According to Yesh Din (Hebrew for "there is law"), an organization dedicated to opposing the continuing violation of Palestinian human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, more then ninety percent of complaints filed by Palestinians against settlers are closed without indictments being processed.

Cameras Vs Settlers in West Bank | Palestinian woman films masked men attacking W. Bank farmers | Settlers "Brutalize" Palestinians | Israeli settler kills Palestinian civilian near Ramallah

May 2008 marked 60 years of the Nakba, the catastrophe. Sixty years ago 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes and 350 Palestinian villages were destroyed by the Israeli army and militias. Among the most infamous war crimes committed was the Deir Yasin massacre. To this day, Israel has refused the return of 6 million refugees. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel issued an appeal, signed by many Palestinian organizations, stating that "Sixty years ago, Zionist militias and gangs ransacked Palestinian properties and destroyed hundreds of Palestinian villages. How can people of conscience celebrate this catastrophe?"

In the Bay Area, the Nakba was commemorated by numerous events and demonstrations. On May 10th at the Civic Center, a peace and solidarity festival took place with bands such as The Coup and Dam (a hip hop group from Lid in occupied Palestine).

Jewish groups also organized solidarity actions. The International Jewish Solidarity Network has circulated a statement calling on people not to celebrate, and Jewish Voice for Peace called on Americans to remember the thousands of Palestinians who have suffered in the creation of Israel. The IJSN disrupted an event at San Francisco JCC called “Israel at Sixty.”

On June 1st, Palestinians and allies demonstrated against "Israel in the garden", a celebration of the birth of Israel . Protesters distrupted an Israeli film festival that was taking place at the Metreon. The streets nearby were also covered with graffiti denouncing the occupation.

Reflections on Israel in Gardens, by an anti-Zionist, former Israeli,Jew | Disruption of the Israeli film festival on June 1 | Anti-Zionist graffiti in San Francisco: 1 | 2 | Pro Palestine demo at "Israel in the Gardens" event

Ethnic Cleansing and the Birth of Israel | Electronic indifada: Nakba, the Palestinian catastrophe | Ten facts about the Nakba | Palestine Maps

Professor Norman Finkelstein, an American Jewish scholar known for his trenchant criticism of Israeli policy, was detained and interrogated by Israels security forces, Shin Bet, for 24 hours at Tel Avivs Ben Gurion airport on May 23, denied entry into Israel and deported back to Amsterdam where he had been lecturing. He has also been banned from entering Israel for 10 years, for so-called “security reasons.”

The Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz has published an editorial criticizing the Israeli government’s decision to ban American academic Norman Finkelstein from entering the country. Finkelstein is known one of the most prominent academic critics of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. The Ha’aretz editorial reads in part: “Considering his unusual and extremely critical views, one cannot avoid the suspicion that refusing to allow him to enter Israel was a punishment rather than a precaution….The right to enter Israel is not guaranteed to noncitizens, but the right of Israeli citizens to hear unusual views is one that should be fought for. It is not for the government to decide which views should be heard here and which ones should not. The decision to ban Finkelstein hurts us more than it hurts him.”

WSWS Report | Democracy Now Report

Previous Indybay Coverage: Audio of Norman Finkelstein's talk in Berkeley | Impeccable Scholarship Costs Norman Finkelstein Tenure at DePaul

After months of increasing political anxiety in Lebanon following the failure to elect a president, tensions rose last week, in what appears to have been a calculated challenge to Hezbollah on the part of the US and Lebanon's ruling coalition.

On May 8th, Hezbollah leader Nasrallah held a press conference in Beirut and condemned a decision by the Lebanese cabinet to outlaw Hezbollah's telecommunication network and dismiss the head of Airport security for his alleged ties to the party. Nasrallah said their private communication network was critical to their success during the July 2006 war with Israel. Hezbollah-led opposition forces quickly overpowered pro-government militias and took over large parts of the capital city of Beirut before handing over control to the Lebanese army. The fighting shifted to the north and east of the country over the weekend and fresh clashes were reported in Beirut on May 12th.

Between May 7th and May 11th, armed clashes between Hezbollah-led opposition groups and US-backed pro-government forces left at least 81 dead and many more wounded. "This is very much similar to what is happening in Sudan, in Palestine, in Iraq, in Afghanistan and Somalia, [where] the United States is basically instigating and funding civil wars," says professor As`ad Abu Khalil.

Monday May 12th Peace Vigil At U.C. Merced

Democracy Now! | Yet Another Foreign Policy Opportunity Screwed Up by the Bush Administration | Hezbollah makes show of strength against Siniora government | Clashes resume in north Lebanon | Day 5: Lebanese dare to hope worst is over | Hizballah, in opposition, takes charge | Lebanon in crisis: an interview with editor Samah Idriss | Lebanon army moves to end crisis | Both Sides Take Tough Line, Leave Room To Maneuver | Analysts say Lebanon's crisis in perilous new phase | Uncertainty in Beirut | Lebanon takes 2 Steps toward Civil War; Beirut in Chaos | Hizbullah Rejects Hariri Initiative | Is the Bush Administration Stirring the Pot? | Lebanon on brink of civil war | At least seven lives lost to clashes in Beirut, Bekaa, North | Hezbollah 'seizes west Beirut' | Violence in Lebanon escalates | Airport shut, at least 10 injured as mobs do battle in capital | Violence in Beirut | Beirut paralysed by labour strike

In the past week, Israel has mounted a massive offensive against the Gaza Strip. The attacks have claiming the lives of over 112 Palestinians, including many civilians. The clashes reached a peak on March 1st, when Israel sent in a regiment of ground troops killing 77 Palestinians in two days. According to Gaza health ministry statistics, 22 children were killed and more than 350 people were wounded.

Despite the large number of civilian casualties, Israel says the operation was aimed at rooting out the Palestinian fighters who have been firing homemade rockets at southern Israel. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal insists that Palestinian rocket attacks are a result of, not the cause of, ongoing Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people. "They [Israelis] do not want to end the occupation, stop attacks or lift the siege. What do people expect the Palestinians to do," Meshaal told a press conference in the Syrian capital Damascus.

On Monday March 4rd, Israel began to pull ground troops from Gaza, but Israeli aircraft continue to carry out bombing raids. The lull in fighting is perhaps due to a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Tuesday. Monday Rice called for "talks" but refuses to call for a cease-fire. A senior Israeli official told Reuters “This very limited (Gaza) operation was intended to show Hamas what could happen, what you may call a "prequel”. He went on to say “If they continue to fire the rockets, then there will be more operations like this one or worse.”

The Israeli assault has drawn worldwide protests for excessive use of force. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has formally suspended contacts with Israel. In Berlin, Germany's Foreign Minister insisted that Israel "must preserve the principle of proportionateness." United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also issued a condemnation of what he termed Israel's "excessive and disproportionate" response and called on Israel "to cease such attacks". Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the IDF attacks can have no humanitarian justification and added that Israel was rejecting a diplomatic solution to the dispute. Saudi Arabia called on the international community to stop the "mass killings" of Palestinians. In Egypt, thousands of students held protests at universities across the country calling on Arab leaders to stop Israeli aggression and support the Palestinians. In Lebanon, several hundred school children from 20 schools took part in a Hezbollah-organized demonstration outside UN headquarters in Beirut. In Syria, tens of thousands filled the central square of Damascus to protest ongoing Israeli attacks.

On March 3rd, Students for Justice in Palestine staged a die-in in Berkeley to protest Israel's actions.
Photos | Event Announcement

Israel mounts bloody offensive against Gaza | Over 112 Palestinians Killed in Five-Day Israeli Attack | US and Arab states clash at UN Security Council | Wounded Gazans Left to Die | UN Fails Gaza Children, Again | Killed in Cradle | Hamas claims Gaza 'victory' as troops pull back | PA suspends peace talks with Israel over Gaza violence | Gaza raids met by loud silence from the Arab world | Israel kills at least 31 Gazans today, including 8 children | All-out assault on Gaza looms as 54 die in Israeli incursion | End Aggressions, Rockets Stop: Meshaal | Israeli minister threatens "shoah" against Palestinians in Gaza | Third Intifada in sight | The Gaza Bombshell: Crisis Made in USA | Gaza a stain on world’s conscience | HRW: Gaza Strip/Israel: Civilians Bear Brunt of Attacks | Israel ignores peace

From Monday February 4th through Friday the 8th, Students for Justice in Palestine held a series of protests and teach-in as part of Israeli Apartheid Week at UC Berkeley.

On Monday, human rights activist Mark Turner spoke about the time he spent working in the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus. In 2003, Mark founded the Research Journalism Initiative (RJI), an interactive program that provides tools to teachers and students learning about the Occupation.

On Tuesday, there was a "Right to Education" teach-in. The event featured presentations by "FRESH!" (Freshly Redefining Education for Students through Hip-hop) and other local community education activists and a screening of the short film "Lucky Ahmed" on barriers students face in trying to complete their education under Occupation, prepared by student activists in the West Bank.

On Wednesday, there was a rally on Sproul Plaza with Barbara Lubin from Middle East Children's Alliance and other community leaders. Photos
Also on Wednesday was the opening of the photo exhibit "Jerusalem Dispossessed" at Mudrakers Cafe on Telegraph Ave. with Dr. Hatem Bazian. "Jerusalem Dispossessed" is a collection of photographs put together by the photo collective ActiveStills and the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolition.

On Thursday, Anna Baltzer, a volunteer with the International Women’s Peace Service, presented her experiences documenting human rights abuses in the West Bank and supporting Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent resistance to the Occupation.

On Friday, there was a "Apartheid and the Youth of Palestine" closing event. Ziad Abbas Co-Director of Ibdaa' Cultural Center (Dheisheh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem) and Journalist Nora Barrows-Friedman spoke at the Heller Multicultural Center.

Apartheid Week | UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine

The Israeli government’s tightening of a blockade against the Gaza Strip has deepened an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, plunging its 1.5 million people into cold and darkness and threatening to unleash both mass hunger and a serious health crisis. The Israeli cabinet voted last week to seal all border crossings into Gaza, cutting off food, medicine and fuel for the population and turning the entire territory into a vast prison. On Sunday January 20th, the cutoff of fuel forced the shutdown of the Gaza Strip’s only power plant.

US stymies Security Council action on Gaza | US-backed Israeli siege creates humanitarian disaster in Gaza | Israeli Victory over Asthmatics, Newborns in Gaza | Democracy Now: As Gaza Plunges Into Darkness, Israeli and Palestinian Fighters-Turned Peace Activists Speak Out | Gaza: No rights, little mercy | Siniora denounces Israel's blockade of Gaza | Israeli Atrocity on Gaza Civilians | Rights org: Gaza situation potentially disastrous | Israeli closure 'hits Gaza power' | Never against! European collusion in Israel's slow genocide | Israeli-Turkish relations tense

On January 22nd, dozens of Palestinian protesters stormed the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, demanding it be opened to ease the blockade. Egyptian police opened fire in the air and used batons and water canons, as protesters complained that Gaza was under siege from both Israel and neighbouring Arabs.

On January 23rd, masked militants destroyed around two-thirds of the metal wall separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt. Tens of thousands of Palestinians flooded across the border to buy food and supplies. Egypt's dictator Hosni Mubarak says he ordered his troops to allow Palestinians to cross into Egypt because they were starving. Hamas' leadership has said it will be willing to work to resolve the chaotic situation on the border only if its is placed under exclusive Palestinian and Egyptian control.

On January 25, Egyptian border guards with riot shields formed human chains along the Egypt-Gaza border, but were unable to stop hundreds of Palestinians from rushing into Egypt after a bulldozer wrecked another section of fence along the frontier.

Breaking out | Gaza scrambles for supplies as border forced open | Egypt rejects idea of Israel waiving responsibility for Gaza | The People in Gaza Challenge Sham Peace Process | Democracy Now: Tens of Thousands of Palestinians Seeking Basic Supplies Flood Egypt For Second Day | Mr. Olmert, Tear Down this Wall! | In face of Israeli repression, tens of thousands of Palestinians force their way into Egypt | Palestinians pour into Egypt after Rafah border wall destroyed

Emergency protests are being held around the world against the strangulation of Gaza, demanding an immediate end to the Israeli blockade and siege of Gaza. A San Francisco protest took place on Friday January 25th at the Israeli Consulate, 456 Montgomery Street.
Photos | US Indymedia Coverage | Event Announcement | ANSWER Announcement | JVP Announcement | Demand action to end the Gaza blockade! | Break the Silence on Gaza! | Updated listing of demonstrations to break the silence on Gaza! | Thousands protest in Amman against Gaza blockade | HAMAS-Iraq Launches 'Avenging Gaza' Campaign Against US Forces in Iraq

On November 27th, a "Middle East peace conference" was held in Annapolis,Maryland. Leaders of Fatah who rule only over parts of the West Bank attended but Hamas, which now rules over Gaza, did not. During the talks there was no mention of freezing Israeli settlement expansion, of halting construction of the separation/apartheid wall, of the question of Jerusalem, the Palestinian refugees and borders. There was some vague reference to "core issues", without specifying what these are. There was no reference to the embargo against Gaza or the ending the occupation of the territories Israel seized in 1967.

Angry start to Palestinian talks | Israel's Palestinians speak out | Backlash: Annapolis could mark the beginning of the end for Mahmoud Abbas | Blair's international donors' conference: Another conspiracy against the Palestinian people | Much European ado about nothing in Palestine | The next “generous offer”? | Getting to peace needs Palestinian security | Palestinian NGOs pull plug on Madrid forum | Why a Palestinian "State" is a Punitive Construct

Israel has revealed that money will be put aside to construct 740 new buildings on West Bank settlements next year. Palestinian officials in the West Bank say Israeli settlement growth plans will scuttle negotiations. Abbas has said talks over Jerusalem and refugees would not begin until settlement activity has stopped.

Israel snubs settlement criticism | Israeli military installations near Arab villages harmed civilians | Refusing to accept apartheid in Beit Jala | Immigration to Israel Lowest in 18 Years

Under seige, living conditions in Gaza continue to worsen. Israeli military incursions into Gaza and targeted assassinations of militants have become an almost daily occurrence since the Annapolis summit. Food imports into the Gaza Strip are only enough to meet 41 percent of demand, the World Food Program (WFP) has said, though critical UN humanitarian food supplies are being allowed in. The cost of many basic items, such as beef, wheat and some dairy products have increased significantly, while locally grown produce is fetching extremely low prices on the local market, as exports are banned, threatening the livelihood of farmers. Health officials in the Gaza Strip say they are also concerned about hundreds of patients unable to travel to Israel or other countries for vital treatment, and that local hospitals lack essential medical equipment, drugs and fuel.

Only 41 percent of Gaza’s food import needs being met | Building hope from rubble | Israel says strikes on Gaza will be ongoing | Israeli tanks push deep into Gaza | Israeli raids target Islamic Jihad | Gazans Mark `Eid in Zoo | Tearful `Eid at Rafah Crossing | “No fuel, no gasoline, no benzene” | Israeli ministers back Hamas truce | Gaza’s medical sector suffers Israeli sanctions, restrictions | Gaza: Building hope from rubble | PFLP seeks emergency Arab League Summit | Reuters Journalist Shot by Israel | Weekly Summary of Israeli War Crimes

George Cadman of Free Radio Santa Cruz 101.1 FM interviewed Dr. Paul Larudee, co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement, on December 4th about plans to set sail from Cyprus to Gaza in May of 2008.

The Free Gaza Movement's mission is to break the siege of Gaza. They want to raise international awareness about the prison-like closure of the Gaza Strip and pressure the international community to review its sanctions policy and end its support for continued Israeli occupation. They want to uphold Palestine's right to welcome internationals as visitors, human rights observers, humanitarian aid workers, journalists, or otherwise.

Dr. Paul Larudee is a former Ford Foundation supervisor in Lebanon, a Fulbright-Hays lecturer to Lebanon, and a former contracted US government advisor to Saudi Arabia. He participates in Palestinian nonviolent resistance with the International Solidarity Movement. Listen to the Interview

see also: Darkening Gaza - Another Step Of A Dark State (IMC Israel) || Arrest at Nottingham University over Palestine Protest (Notts IMC) || Adalah-NY Responds to Leviev, Plans Additional Protest (NYC IMC) || Activists Open 10 Year-Old Roadblock, Again (Boston IMC / Palestine Solidarity Project)

On Friday, June 15th, Hamas militants seized the Palestinian presidential compound in Gaza City and took full control of the Gaza Strip. The Occupied Territories have now been effectively split into two separate entities with Hamas in charge of Gaza and Fatah controlling the West Bank.

On Thursday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced the dismissal of the Hamas-led government and declared a state of emergency. Abbas said he would now rule by presidential decree until the conditions were right for early elections. However, Hamas leader and elected Prime Minister Ismail Haniya says his government will press on and impose law and order. "In practical terms [Abbas'] decisions are worthless. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh remains the head of the government even if it was dissolved by the president," Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. On Friday, Fatah fighters and activists stormed a Palestinian parliament building in Ramallah to protest the Hamas takeover of Gaza Abbas has announce he will appoint Salam Fayyad as Prime Minister and has asked hom to form a new cabinet. Haniyeh for his part has called for new negotiations with Abbas, urged calm from his own gunmen and granted amnesty to Fatah leaders. Haniyeh has also demanded the release of Alan Johnston, the BBC correspondent kidnapped in Gaza more than three months ago. Abbas adviser Yasser Abed Rabbo told a news conference on Saturday that the Abbas will not engage in any dialogue with Hamas.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave her backing to Mahmoud Abbas, saying he had exercised his “lawful authority.” It appears that the Bush administration will boost aid to Abbas while allowing Gaza to slip into further despair in order to weaken Hamas’ popular standing. Some analysts see the US intervention in the Palestinian affairs and categorization of Palestinian factions into moderates and extremists as partly to blame for the Gaza chaos, the intensifying power struggle between Fatah and Hamas and leaving plans for a unified Palestinian state up in the air.

Ha'aretz reports that Israel intends to release the Palestinian tax money it withheld since Hamas came to power, because the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has fired the elected government. Haaretz has also reported that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is planning to tell President Bush that that there is an urgent need to view the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as separate entities and prevent contact between them. The US isolation of Gaza, home to 1.5 million Palestinians, would have grave security and humanitarian consequences and backfire at the end of the day, American analysts, former and current US administration officials warned Saturday, June 16. "We could see Gaza be the font of a much more militant radicalism than we have seen in the Palestinian community so far," Jon Alterman told Reuters.

Arab states have thrown their support behind Abbas and urged a halt to infighting so that the unity of Palestinian lands can be preserved. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon held preliminary talks on the idea of sending an international force to Gaza, but Hamas rejected the move, saying it would treat foreign troops as occupation forces. "We are supporting President Abbas and we are supporting the elected legislative assembly," Amr Moussa, Arab League secretary-general, said on Friday.

Democracy Now: What Next for Palestinians? | Denied Legitimacy by Vote, Hamas Wins it by Force | Awaking to a different Gaza | Robert Fisk: Welcome to 'Palestine' | Oslo's baleful legacy | Hamas hints at talks as chaos reigns in divided Palestine | US Meddling Blamed for Gaza Crisis | Ex-Fatahist Blasts Abbas-backed Dahlan | Abbas set to unveil new government | NPR: What's in Store for the Middle East? | Gazans loot Erez crossing into Israel | Israel prisons separate Hamas inmates from Fatah ones | Haniyeh Defiant, Crisis Deepens | Growing fear of West Bank retribution | Palestinian president declares emergency | Hamas declares victory | A setback for the Bush doctrine in Gaza | 36 killed, 250 wounded in 24 hours of Gaza fighting | Hamas uncovers CIA plots in Occupied Palestine