At Palfest we have come as visitors, well wishers, writers come to a land that is undergoing great difficulty. I thought of the stumps of olive trees, a scarred field glimpsed out of the bus window one morning near Nablus. The Israeli soldiers had cut the trees because they were deemed to be a security risk. Whole families depended on the livelihood from the trees. 

 The Apartheid State of Israel is now one of worst apartheid regimes in the world, writes Ilan Pappe 

Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and inhuman to impose the Jews on the Arabs. What is going on in Palestine today cannot be justified by any moral code of conduct. Mahatma Gandhi Editorial, The Harijan, 26-11-1938

tere aaqa ne kiyaa ek filistin barbaad mere zakhmoN ne kiye kitne filistin aabaad Your master brought to ruin one Palestine But so many Palestines have been greened by my wounds

Faiz Ahmed Faiz

The Israeli regime has now agreed to lift partially the blockade of Gaza: potato chips, mattresses, washing machines, honey – all of which were banned earlier can now enter Gaza. Predictably, the US and EU Governments have welcomed this Israeli step, without questioning the military significance of the earlier banning potato chips. Nor have these leaders of the “civilized world”, continuously teaching the virtues of human rights and democracy to their more “backward brethren” in the global south, questioned what is the military significance of banning Gaza exports and preventing exit of students to study in the West Bank? How do Gaza’s exports affect Israel’s security? How do preventing Gaza students from studying in the West Bank increase its security?

When I wrote last, I was still in Cairo, beginning to lose hope. However, shortly after, a friend at the UN Relief & Works Agency (UNRWA) was miraculously able to get me into Gaza through Israel's Erez Crossing. In a shockingly quick two days, I was in! Among my first activities was this protest....

Israel is once again complaining that its "security" is being threatened by new eruptions of violence along the border with Gaza. About two dozen Qassam rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza in recent days. Although they fell in (and may have been deliberately targeted at) open areas, causing no damage or injuries, Israel took revenge with destructive air raids that did cause damage and killed several people, including a 15-year-old boy.

Last Thursday marked the end of a one-week film festival in Gaza City. The Palestinian Film Forum, an independent Palestinian community organization, sponsored the event with 33 films produced in six Arab Gulf states. Ranging from documentaries to educational and short films, this is the first film festival in Gaza since Israel placed the territory under a tight blockade more than 30 months ago. Held at Gaza City's al-Meshal Cultural Center, the films were attended by scores of Palestinians from across the tiny coastal territory.

The EU should commit itself to ending the blockade of the Gaza Strip and put its relations with Israel on hold pending tangible progress, 16 humanitarian and human rights organisations say today in a report marking the first anniversary of the war.

Recently, Israel announced that it would import palm fronds from the Gaza Strip for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The move came at the behest of Minister of Religious Services, Yakov Margi, who feared that a shortage of palm fronds and a local monopoly on the item would send prices skyrocketing for the Jewish holiday, which came in early October this year.

On 4 October, Ashraf Abu Suleiman, a 16-year-old from Gaza's Jabaliya refugee camp, went to the northwest coast town of Sudaniya to visit an ill school friend. The teen then went to the sea, where he rolled up the legs of his pants, waded into the water and enjoyed the late summer morning. He took some photos of the sea and of the area around him, intending to play with the photos later on Photoshop, a hobby he and his father share.