Gaza

Vittorio Arrigoni: The man I knew

There is a packet of pipe tobacco sitting in my Gaza City apartment.

It's Victor's. He left it behind the last time I saw him, about one month ago.

Anyone who knew Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni knew that he was usually puffing away on a pipe. Like a wise sea captain.

I had hoped to give his tobacco back to him this weekend, to catch up before he left Gaza and returned to Italy.

He was heading home to see his father, who has been very ill. Also to have a break from Gaza and return refreshed on a new flotilla aiming to set sail to Gaza at the end of May and break the siege.

I last heard from him on Wednesday. It was a short text message asking me if I'd just heard the loud booms. These were sonic booms from low flying Israeli war planes. No, I replied, I hadn't.

The following day he was kidnapped and shortly afterwards killed.

Live blog Feb 8 - Egypt protests

From our headquarters in Doha, we keep you updated on all things Egypt, with reporting from Al Jazeera staff in Cairo and Alexandria.  Live Blog: Jan28 - Jan29 - Jan30 - Jan31 - Feb1 - Feb2 - Feb3 - Feb4 - Feb5 - Feb6 - Feb7

The Battle for Egypt - AJE Live Stream - Timeline - Photo Gallery - AJE Tweets - AJE Audio Blogs

(All times are local in Egypt, GMT+2)

11:55pm  As unrest enters its third week, protesters forge close bonds and explore new ways of making their voices heard. A bakery nearby Tahrir displays cupcakes with the Egyptian flag. Pro-democracy protesters have been urging people to display the flags everywhere as a sign of unity.

11:34pm Mass protests continue across Egypt, a crowd is massing around parliament close to Tahrir [Liberation] Square. Al Jazeera speaks to Alaa Abdel Fattah, an activist and a blogger.



11:15pm Al Jazeeras online producer in cairo that can not be named due to security reasons reports on how central Cairo's Tahrir Square remains the heartbeat of the pro-democracy movement.

In the two weeks that have passed since Egyptians began street protests aimed at overturning president Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, central Cairo's Tahrir Square has become the movement’s beating heart and most effective symbol.

Tahrir Square remains the heartbeat of the revolution, a young couple ties the knot there.

[AFP]

Al Jazeera correspondent in Cairo reports on life in Tahrir Square


11:13pm Al Jazeera continuous to cover the events in Egypt under the strict and sometimes dangerous circumstances. Al Jazeera's online producer Gregg Carlstrom recalls the many perils he faced while reporting from the country in upheaval.

"I asked several protesters why they were so angry, and they accused our coverage of bias against the government, of "hyping" the protests. (Al Jazeera has, of course, given ample airtime to the Mubarak government, the ruling National Democratic Party, and its supporters.)

10:00pm More than half of US citizens have heard 'a little or nothing' about the uprising and violence in Egypt, a survey by Pew Research has revealed. The article can be seen here.

9:50pm As the protests in Egypt continue, its neighbour Israel is keeping a close eye on developments.
It is worried about its old ally, President Hosni Mubarak - but could be eyeing up a new friend in his deputy, Omar Suleiman.



9:42pm Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian Vice president, has been criticized by the White House for making remarks about Egypt was 'not ready for democracy'.



9:22pm Al Jazeera's correspondent in Cairo reported: "There are a lot of first time demonstrators today, Tahrir [Liberation] Square has been packed throughout the day. Parliament building is 500 meters away from Tahrir Square, around 1000 protesters have gathered there, and they say that they will try to stay there as long as possible .

They [Pro-democracy] protesters are camped there because they want to make sure that Parliament is cancelled because they don't think it is legitimate due to the vote rigging that took place in the last elections.


[AFP]

Another Gaza war?

On Thursday, as I hurried into Gaza, that was the question everyone was asking – from news editors in Doha, to the guy who carries luggage through the Erez terminal, to the Hamas official who took my passport details. 

 If the donkeys in Gaza could talk this is what they would be asking: Is there going to be another war? 

Maybe because I was there during the last assault people see me as a bad omen in Gaza ...

Justice, Israeli style

"Does anyone know the Hebrew word for 'occupation'?" A question from the state assigned Hebrew translator to the packed out courtroom.

And that kicked off the trial into the killing of US activist Rachel Corrie, which took her family seven years to secure.

Today, several months later, we were back at Haifa District Court to hear from the Israeli soldier who was driving the bulldozer that killed Rachel whilst she was peacefully protesting against Palestinian home demolitions in Gaza in 2003.

And hear is all we could do - thanks to an unusual request filed by the state, and accepted by the judge, the driver and other soldiers testifying in this case have done so behind a dark screen to protect their identity (for "security" reasons).

I can't tell you the driver's name (there is a gag order) but I can say that he is a Russian immigrant to Israel that, ironically, shares the same birthday as Rachel. 

It was a long and painful testimony,