"THE NEWS"

• Ynet News: Report: UN to demand Israel pay Lebanon $1 billion, by Roee Nahmias (6 September 2008).
  Quote from article "UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will demand that Israel pay Lebanon $1 billion in compensation over damages caused during the Jewish state's 2006 war against Hizbullah... According to the report, the sum, based on World Bank appraisals, is aimed at covering the environmental and material damages caused by the Second Lebanon War, to neighboring countries as well. The fundamental part of the compensation demanded is for the damage caused to the Lebanese coast due to an oil spill following an Israeli bombing of a southern Beirut power plant, which the Lebanese said had caused 'an ecological disaster.'"

• Chicago Tribune UN peacekeeper killed in blast while clearing unexploded ordnance in south Lebanon,
  Washington Post UN peacekeeper killed by blast in south Lebanon,
  both article-versions from the Associated Press (3 September 2008) - he was participating in a mine-clearing operation.
• Boston Globe: UN mission in Lebanon brings inner peace: Troops use culture to combat trauma, by Borzou Daragahi (31 August 2008).
  To connect to the local populace, UNIFIL soldiers teach skills to deal with the trauma of war. For example, "Indian troops' yoga instruction, French troops have taught the many Francophone residents courses in poetry... Chinese troops demonstrate tai chi, and the South Koreans offer tae kwon do... the Spaniards teach Español... Italians have shown off their pizza-making skills. The UN peacekeepers also offer medical and dental clinics and computer classes, and they have plans to supply more artificial limbs for people wounded by old land mines and other ordnance".

• Chicago Tribune
  UN Security Council votes unanimously to keep peacekeepers in Lebanon for another year, by Michael Weissenstein, Associated Press (27 August 2008).
• Washington Post
  Sleepy valley is unlikely focus of Mideast tension, by Alistair Lyon, Reuters (26 August 2008) - story of the dispute over the Shebaa Farms, which pits Israel against Lebanon against Syria and against the locals.
• Washington Post
  U.N. troops calm Lebanon, but tensions remain, by Alistair Lyon, Reuters (25 August 2008) - this article describes the mission of UNIFIL.
• Washington Post
  Around the World: UNITED NATIONS - World Food Program Targets 16 Needy Spots, from News Services (13 August 2008) - the UN has included the Palestinian occupied territories amongst the most neediest spots for food assistance.
• Washington Post
  Israel likely to skip next UN racism conference, by Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press (6 August 2008).
• Washington Post
  IAEA approves deal for India's nuclear inspection, by Veronika Oleksyn, Associated Press (1 August 2008) - makes the connection to Israel's nuclear program that also is supported by US even though it is not under international safeguards thus making a mockery of the whole system.
• Haaretz Daily News: Arab bloc rescinds proposal to have UN vote against Israeli settlements, by Shlomo Shamir (24 July 2008).
  The Western members of the UN Security Council forced the Arab bloc to drop its proposed UN resolution condemning Israel's continued settlement expansion. The criticism said the proposal was too narrow and should include other factors such as the problems in Gaza such as border closings and the ongoing terrorism.

"ONLINE REPORTS"

• International Commission of Jurists - Palestine - Israel - 7th Session of the UN Human Rights Council: ICJ Intervention on the Human Rights Situation in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories - Administration of Justice - Independence of Judges & Lawyers (6 March 2008).
• Human Rights Watch - Human Rights Watch oral statement on Gaza to the UN Human Rights Council (24 January 2008).
• COHRE - On the Occassion of the Sixth Special Session of the Human Rights Council: Concerning Violations of the Fundamental Rights caused by the Blockade and Sanctions on Gaza - On the Matter of Human Rights Violations taking Place in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including Recent Actions in Gaza and Nablus (23 January 2008) - On 23 & 24 January 2008, the United Nations Human Rights Council held a Special Session on the oPt. At this session COHRE released the findings of its position paper Hostage to Politics and raised its concern about the impact that sanctions and the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip are having on the water and sanitation sectors and hindering the realization of a number of rights for residents of Gaza.
• Human Rights Watch - Human Rights Watch written statement on Gaza to the UN Human Rights Council. Human Rights Watch advocacy document for the sixth special session of the U.N. Human Rights Council addressing the human rights situation in Gaza and West Bank town of Nablus. (22 January 2008).
• United Nations Human Rights Council - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, John Dugard (21 January 2008).
• Badil - The 'Protection Gap' - The collapse of UNCCP protection, limited intervention by the UNHCR, non-implementation of recommendations of key UN human rights bodies, and inadequate protection by national authorities has resulted in severe gaps in international protection for Palestinian refugees and displaced persons. This is referred to as the ‘protection gap.’.
• Amnesty International - Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories 70th Session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), 19 February to 9 March 2007: Update to Comments by Amnesty International on Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), by (1 February 2007).
• Badil - BADIL Occasional Bulletin No. 11: The Meaning of UN General Assembly Resolution 194(III), 11 December 1948 (The Right of Return) (April 2002) - This Bulletin aims to provide a brief overview of issues related to Palestinian Refugee Rights

"OFFLINE REFERENCE MATERIALS"