May 15th marks the 65th anniversary of the Nakba - when 750,000 Palestinians were displaced from the territory that became Israel. In 1948, more than 50% of the entire Palestinian population was ethnically cleansed. In commemoration of the Nakba, and the displacement that continues today, Visualizing Palestine released 'An Ongoing Displacement'. The new visual quantitatively catalogues the multiple dimensions of Palestinian displacement and loss of land.
Since January 2013, Israeli authorities have held at least seven Palestinian youths, ages 16 to 17, in solitary confinement for periods ranging from 2 to 21 days, according to DCI-Palestine research.
On average, West Bank Palestinians have access to about 70 liters of water a day per person; inside the Green Line, communities use about 300 liters per person.
Omsiyat used to love drawing landscapes, but today she only draws scenes of death and destruction. “I can see no beauty around me and I am no good at drawing anything but warplanes, tanks, and funerals. I used to love drawing landscapes. All I drew in my paintings were flowers, butterflies, and trees. Now, when I intend to draw a flower, I automatically draw a tank, a tent, or a destroyed house.”
Eight-year-old Ahmed Abu Rimaileh was not the youngest of the children, schoolbags on their backs, that Israel Defense Forces soldiers took into custody early on Wednesday, last week: His friend, Abdel Rahim, who was arrested with him, is only 7, and in first grade.
Shatila is a refugee camp in Beirut which has been receiving hundreds upon hundreds of Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria. Kulsoom Rizvi writes of her recent visit there.
Cousins Maya, Marwa, and Maya are recent refugees from the war in Syria. They are Palestinian and grew up in a camp in Syria but have fled to another Palestinian camp, Shatila, in Beirut. Here they tell us how different life in the camps is and how Shatila lives up to its reputation of having 'horrible living conditions' according to the UN. They now live as 'double-refugees' in Lebanon. They are 11-13 years old.