Pillar of Cloud

Palestinians walk through the Shujayea neighborhood of Gaza City, nearly three months since a cease fire ended Operation Protective Edge, November 16, 2014. (Photo by Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

Gaza quiet shows Hamas’ pragmatism

Despite violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank, for the past three months Hamas has maintained calm on the Gaza border — curbing rocket-fire against Israel. By Aaron Magid Opponents of Hamas often accuse the Islamist organization of acting irrationally. In a National Review article titled, “Hamas’ Suicidal Tendencies,” the author writes, “[w]hy is Hamas…

By +972 Magazine November 26, 2014

The deputy manager of al-Aqsa TV, Mohamed Abu Oun, inspects the car that two al-Aqsa cameraman were riding in when an Israeli missile struck them in Gaza City on November 20, 2012. (photo: Fred Abrahams/Human Rights Watch)

Why did the IDF assassinate two Palestinian journalists?

The Israeli army still refuses to comment on several incidents in which journalists affiliated with Hamas, but with no connection to military activities, were targeted. In response to an inquiry by an Israeli journalist, an IDF Spokesperson representative wondered why he cares about a couple of Palestinians that died ‘a million years ago.’ On November…

By Noam Sheizaf August 29, 2013

IDF White Phosphorus bomb over Gaza during operation Cast Lead, December 2008 (Image from Al Jazeera broadcast)

Israel gives up white phosphorus, because ‘it doesn’t photograph well’

By Idan Landau A certain air of nostalgia dominated Maariv’s headline last Thursday: “Due to criticism in the world, IDF parts ways with white phosphorus”: just like the old Galil assault rifle and the old two-way radios that generations of soldiers grew familiar with. A couple of years ago we learned the IDF was giving…

By +972 Magazine April 28, 2013

Latest

WATCH: Soldier uses live ammunition on unarmed protesters, injuring teen

This footage was taken by B’Tselem during a protest against Israel’s Pillar of Defense operation against Gaza (November 19, 2012). The protesters – Palestinian high-school boys from Tuqu’, in the West Bank – are seen chanting and occasionally throwing stones at soldiers near Route 356. Neither the soldiers nor any passing car seemed to have been under threat. At 1:53,…

By Noam Sheizaf January 7, 2013

House in Kiryat Malachi that suffered a direct hit from a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. Three people were killed in the attack (photo: Government Press Office)

Human Rights Watch condemns targeting of Israeli civilians during Pillar of Defense

Previous report from the human rights organization examined the Israeli airstrike that took the lives of 12 Palestinian civilians, ten of them from the same family. Human Rigths Watch has condemned the targeting of the Israeli civilian population by Palestinian militants during the week-long “Pillar of Defense” military operation, which took place last month. A…

By Noam Sheizaf December 25, 2012

Polls show Israelis rational about policy, misguided on elections

It’s easy to disagree with Israelis about many things. But two new polls show that on key current issues, the public is at least thinking rationally and seeing clearly: *On Gaza, the majority know that Israel is no better off after the war in Gaza, and that the ceasefire won’t hold. *On the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,…

By Dahlia Scheindlin December 10, 2012

Confrontation between Palestinian and IDF soldier in Gush Etzion, 2007 (Activestills)

What Palestinians really want (A Western-Israeli obsession)

If you follow Israeli and American mainstream logic, all it takes for the occupation to end are a few nice words from Palestinian leaders. We have been asking the wrong questions: A popular debate in the days following the military escalation between Israel and Hamas had to do with the prospect of negotiations with…

By Noam Sheizaf November 25, 2012

Palestinian women collpase from grief after theya found out that one of their close relative, Fares Sbaita, died from his injuries following an Israeil military airstirke, Al Shifa hospital, November 21, 2012. (Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

A week in photos: Gaza escalation, ahead of ceasefire

Palestinians in Gaza celebrated the ceasefire yesterday evening, but the destruction and grief left in the wake of Israeli airstrikes are enormous. Activestills documented the Israeli operation from beginning to end, capturing its effects in Israel, the West Bank and, most acutely, the Gaza Strip. …

By Activestills November 22, 2012

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing the cease fire between Israel and Hamas (photo: Koby Gidon/ Government Press Office)

Netanyahu answers Facebook comments criticizing ceasefire with Hamas

Prime Minister’s Netanyahu’s announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was also posted on his official Facebook page, received this evening an uncharacteristic number of angry comments by citizens demanding the government continue the assault on Gaza, among them: “Puppet for the U.S.”; “You have surrendered to terrorism, shame!”; and so on. The…

By Noam Sheizaf November 21, 2012

Rushdi Tamimi's funeral Tuesday, Nov 20, 2012 (Activestills0

Israel suppresses Gaza protests in West Bank; two Palestinians killed

Rushdi Tamimi, 31, was shot by Israeli soldiers during a protest in Nabi Saleh on Saturday; he died today in a Ramallah hospital. 22-year-old Hamdi Falah died today after being shot four times by soldiers at a Hebron protest. In the past several days, Israeli forces have violently repressed demonstrations in East Jerusalem and the West…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat November 19, 2012

Khader Haidar al-Zahhar, 20-year-old, at the Intensive care unit in Al Shifa hospital after he sustains serious wounds and his right leg was amputated after the Israeli military bombarded an office of al-Quds Satellite Channel on the 11th floor of Shawa building which hosts different media channels, Gaza city, November 18; 2012. Another building with media, the Hussari tower, was also targeted and in total 7 journalists were wounded.

Photos: Deadliest day yet in Gaza

Each days brings new horrors. Sunday was the deadliest day since the beginning of this escalation, and the deadliest day since Operation Cast Lead. The level of destruction all over the Gaza Strip is appalling. Bulldozers were working in different places to dig under the rubble to find bodies. The Al-Dalou family was almost entirely…

By Activestills November 19, 2012

Palestinian women mourning the death of Mahmoud Raed Saddllah, a 4-year-old child, killed in an explosion in Jabaliya, Gaza strip, November 16, 2012. (photo: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

Teaching the Palestinians a lesson

The Israeli government’s insistence on maintaining the political and diplomatic status quo in Gaza and the West Bank guarantees many more years of violence and suffering – especially for the Palestinians. Three days into the Israeli attack on Gaza, it seems that a political window for a ceasefire could have emerged. Israeli casualties are still limited, and unlike in…

By Noam Sheizaf November 17, 2012

Photo of a warning message sent by the IDF to mobile phones in Gaza

IDF sends text message to Gaza mobile phones: ‘The next phase is on the way’

The Israeli army is sending text messages to mobile phones in Gaza with a warning in Arabic: “The next phase is on the way. Stay away from Hamas elements.” Using Instagram, Twitter user @RanaGaza tweeted a photo of the message on her father’s mobile phone. During the 2008-9 Israeli military assault on Gaza, the army…

By Lisa Goldman November 16, 2012