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By Nour Odeh in Middle East on October 9th, 2009
Photo by Getty Images

Palestinian youth clash with Israeli soldiers at the Qalandia checkpoint, one of several hundred roadblocks that have come to symbolize the humiliation and restrictions of Palestinian daily life under Israeli occupation. This checkpoint is one of the gateways to occupied East Jerusalem. Palestinians bearing West Bank ID cards are barred from passing through it unless they have a special permit.

The young men are protesting Israel’s siege of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, where up to 200 worshipers have been holed up for a week. These protestors believe rightwing Israelis plan to storm it. Their fears are fueled by statements from Israeli officials and parliamentarians, who have advocated changing the sensitive status quo and allowing Israeli worshipers into the Al-Aqsa compound, Islam’s third holiest site.

By Ayman Mohyeldin in Middle East on August 23rd, 2009

For the nearly half a million schoolchildren in Gaza, it’s back to school time. This is the third academic year the students will be returning to class under an Israeli imposed siege.

But this year, going back to school carries added challenges. Gaza is still reeling from Israel’s 23-day war on the territory that damaged so much of the infrastructure, not to mention destroyed the lives of thousands of families. Gaza’s education system – including teachers and students - were not spared in this onslaught and now continues to worsen.

By Ayman Mohyeldin in Middle East on July 24th, 2009

03072009211-225x300.jpgIt often begins with a sense of anxiety… and then the first question comes to mind… how long will I have to wait at the Allenby Crossing between Jordan’s official border and the Occupied West Bank. Now you might think, you are crossing an international border, but technically you are not. You’re really crossing a very cumbersome and arduous checkpoint on one side controlled by Jordanians and the other by the Israeli military, even though you are not technically entering Israel proper (or Israel pre-1967 borders).

By Barbara Serra in Middle East on May 13th, 2009

Photo by AFPI must have done dozens, even hundreds, of interviews about Israel and the Palestinian territories: the separation wall, the check points, the difficulties faced when moving around (or trying to) and the frustration they bring. But still, I only fully understood the situation when I had to travel from Israel to the West Bank for the pope's visit to Bethlehem.

A very sleepy press entourage gathered at the hotel lobby at 0445. Early starts are not unusual on these trips, but Bethlehem is only around 10 km from Jerusalem and we did not need to be at the welcoming ceremony until 0900. But when we got to the border we realised why we set off so early.

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