Al-Ahram Weekly | AL-AQSA INTIFADA SPECIAL

		26 Sept. - 2 October 2002 Issue No. 605 Special	Current issue Previous issue Site map
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Recommend this page

FOR TWO years the Al-Aqsa Intifada has continued against all odds. The cry of an all but extinct brand of heroism, it bears testimony to the dignity of resistance and the power of the powerless to assert their humanity. And while the Israeli authorities wreak brutal havoc on the civilian population of Palestine, Palestinians never fail to come up with ingenious strategies for survival, demonstrating the impact of civil disobedience. Thousands are breaking curfews in the West Bank and Gaza -- this week alone -- so as not to miss the chance to support an embattled and humiliated Arafat, imprisoned in a crumbling building in the midst of apocalypse, Israeli-style. As international protests against Sharon's criminal oppression of defenceless civilians -- his all but declared genocide of the Palestinian race -- gather momentum, Al-Ahram Weekly marks the entry of the Intifada into its third year. Interviews, reports from Palestine and commentaries illuminate this critical phase of the struggle, testifying to the cost of a just cause.

Of victory and defeat
It has been a year of Israeli victories and Palestinian defeats. There are few signs it will change. Graham Usher, in Jerusalem, looks at the Intifada two years on
The students, again and again
Palestinian solidarity has been re-born in the Egyptian collective psyche. But it is the students who have been the most vocal in expressing their resistance. Fatemah Farag investigates the dynamics that propel the young into action and interviews a founding member of the Egyptian Popular Committee for Solidarity with Palestine
Disengagement
Youssef Rakha reviews two years of Intifada-inspired culture
Bringing the Intifada to Egypt
Responding to mass anger at the situation in Palestine, a group of approximately 20 Non-Governmental Organisations and 20 individuals formed the Egyptian Popular Committee for Solidarity with Palestine. Two years on, Adel El-Mashad, a founding member of the committee, talked of the successes and the many challenges --read on--
Low point of powerlessness
As Sharon escalates his criminal war against defenceless Palestinians, Arafat has the courage and defiance to resist, says Edward Said And he has his people with him on that score
Those who give us hope
Mustafa Barghouti believes that the unflagging support Palestinians got from peace activists all over the world was one of the most significant factors in the two-year long Al-Aqsa Intifada
Tightening the noose
With Israel fighting an undeclared Israeli-Arab war in the occupied territories and the US upping its anti-Arab rhetoric, life for the Palestinians is not getting easier. How should the Arabs react, asks Gamil Mattar
Resistance, but with a vision of peace
Hassan Asfour, PA minister for NGOs, told Taghreed El-Khodari that suicide attacks harm the Palestinian cause
Making ends meet, barely, in Tulkarm
Residents of the Tulkarm refugee camp are simply looking for survival. Talal Jabarai visited the overcrowded camp and witnessed the misery
Replaying lost battles
After orchestrating the Sabra and Shatila massacres in 1982, Sharon is now trying to win the war he lost against the Palestinian leadership in Lebanon by other means. Michael Jansen writes
Unwelcome citizens of a racist state
As Al-Aqsa Intifada enters its third year, Palestinians living in Israel are stripped from their privileges and dubbed "fifth column", Jonathan Cook writes from Nazareth
Why the bombings?
Israel's racist oppression is the main reason behind increasing in suicide attacks during the second year of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, writes Khaled Amayreh
Rights groups count the wrongs
Since the Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out, Israeli war crimes against Palestinians have become a daily practice. Rasha Saad reports.
The rise and fall of the Intifada
On the second anniversary of the Intifada, its future appears more dependent on what happens to Saddam Hussein than to Yasser Arafat. Dina Ezzat reports
Heavy price for occupation and resistance
Israel's woes pale next to the catastrophe, both economic and humanitarian, in the Palestinian territories. Jonathan Cook looks into the effect of the Intifada on the Palestinian and Israeli economies

Leaders of Palestinian opposition groups, Islamists and secular alike, insist that the Intifada will continue as long as Israel refuses to end its occupation. Taghreed El-Khodary spoke to 82-year-old Haidar Abdel-Shafi, popularly dubbed as the "Godfather" of the Palestinian cause. Khaled Amayreh interviewed leaders of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the wife of jailed Fatah leader, Marwan Barghouti. Barghouti has been referred to as the mastermind of the Al-Aqsa Intifada and is now standing trial.

Beyond negotiations
Long-time activist Haidar Abdel-Shafi was at the negotiating table in the Spanish capital in 1991 when Yasser Arafat was conducting secret talks that ultimately lead to the Oslo deal of 1993 --read on--

Hamas: resistance is the option
Hamas spokesman Abdul-Aziz Al-Rantisi is considered one of Hamas' most uncompromising leaders. --read on--

Democratic reform and continued struggle
According to Jamil Majdalawi, spokesman of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in Gaza, his group is still playing an important role at the Palestinian arena, especially on the political level. --read on--

The Intifada man
On 28 March, Israeli undercover forces stormed the Ramallah hideout of Barghouti, the secretary-general of Fatah in the West Bank and member of the Palestinian legislative council, taking him to an undisclosed location.--read on--

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