By Isabel Kershner, New York Times, 15 December 2008

JERUSALEM — Israeli authorities on Monday expelled Richard Falk, a United Nations investigator of human rights in the Palestinian territories, saying he was unwelcome because of what the government has regarded as his hostile position toward Israel.

Mr. Falk, an American, arrived in Israel on Sunday. He was held at the airport and placed on the first available flight back to Geneva, his point of departure. A spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Mr. Falk had been informed in advance that his entry would be barred. Mr. Falk was not immediately available for comment.

Mr. Falk, a professor of international law at Princeton, has the title of United Nations Human Rights Council special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories. He has long been criticized in Israel for what many Israelis say are unfair and unpalatable views.

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By Amira Hass, Ha’aretz, 12 December 2008

The first thing that captures your eyes, after two years away, is a visual quiet. Gone are the flags of every color (including green) that once flew everywhere; the billboards commemorating shaheeds with their weapons, new ones popping up nearly every day; the large banners emblazoned with slogans. Yes, here and there you still come across a tattered flag or faded sign, old graffiti on the walls, or a smiling Arafat beaming down from a giant poster that no one took the trouble to remove, the colors dulled by time. But the loud, aggressive, competitive profusion that was frequently replenished is all gone. Pictures of government officials in Gaza don’t impose upon you, they don’t hang on every corner. Instead, one notices bougainvillea, tree-lined avenues, wrought-iron gates, colorful head coverings. The Hamas government doesn’t need external symbols to prove its strength and announce its presence. The conclusion is obvious as it is.

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Related:
Haaretz journalist Amira Hass arrested for illegal stay in Gaza

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by Grant F. Smith, Antiwar.com, 16 December 2008

The incoming Obama administration is scrambling to distance itself from the scandal emanating from the president-elect’s home state. It is still too early to tell how much Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s alleged attempt to sell the president-elect’s Senate seat in exchange for $1 million may taint Obama advisers. But we may soon discover the answer to a larger question. Is pay-to-play going to be the modus operandi for Obama’s Middle East policy appointments?

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Chronicles of a Refugee by Adam Shapiro, Perla Issa, Aseel Mansour
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