By Mazin Qumsiyeh A day of celebration in the occupied Palestinian territories Nearly 86,000 Palestinian students sat this year for the final high school unified matriculation exam (called Tawjihi) in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.  Today the results of the exams were released and they were phenomenal.  It is a noisy day of celebration [...]

BY MAZIN QUMSIYEH “Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses” – Alphonse Karr It took over 10 hours to cross from Amman, Jordan to the Ghetto of Bethlehem, a distance of 60 miles. From the first moment on the bridge from Jordan, we begin to be [...]

We live in an era of psychological warfare and mass hysteria generated by mass communication that already led us to the catastrophic first and second world wars.  And after the US dropped nuclear bombs on civilian cities in Japan, all gloves were off instead of people being horrified enough to forsake war all together.  Over [...]

It was strangely uplifting to spend two nights and three days in the Galilee, North Palestine. We visited good friends, made new friends, saw 3000 year old olive trees, walked in the ruins depopulated villages, and shopped and ate in Palestinian towns which survived 62 years of colonial apartheid.  We crossed from Bethlehem to occupied [...]

They finally released our 10 friends yesterday from Israeli jails on bail pending “trial”.  Those kidnapped from the peaceful march in Bethlehem area on Palm Sunday attended a press conference in Ramallah and passed by Beit Sahour late last night.   Each is to appear in front of a military judge later this month.  Yet, the [...]

We now have three videos up on youtube for  the historic march that breached the apartheid walls on Palm Sunday insisting on right of freedom of movement for Palestinians.  Ten people of the original 16 are still held by the occupation forces (as were the donkey and horse used in the event! ) Since then, [...]

Wow, what a day: over 100 native Palestinian Christians and Muslims and internationals including Israelis, breached the tight security separating the Palestinian cities of Bethlehem from the occupied city of Jerusalem. Donkeys and people arrested! We were initially some 150 strong and started from the Church of Nativity at 11:45 AM carrying palm leaves an [...]