UK Solidarity Event: Gaza one year on
A year after the brutal Israeli invasion of Gaza an impressive array of speakers gathered in London this week to draw attention to the fact that the end of the invasion did not see an end to the suffering of the Palestinians. “Gaza One Year On – End the Siege of Gaza and Bring Israeli War Criminals to Justice” was organised by an equally impressive list of organisations and individuals representing a cross-section of society: the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and British Muslim Initiative were joined by Members of Parliament, Trade Unionists, academics and other experts on the Palestine issue.

The speeches were short yet impassioned. One year after Israeli forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip leaving a string of atrocities in its wake, the destruction remains, with the immoral siege preventing any building materials from being imported. The Israeli-led siege is as unjust and brutal as ever and it was this outrage that was the main focus of the night.

Yesterday, 7th December 2009, the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) hosted a groundbreaking event which brought together people from a wide variety of backgrounds and professions including academics, lawyers, peace activists, an MP and many others, all of whom were united by a common interest, to see justice served on behalf of the Palestinian people. The seminar, entitled “Universal Jurisdiction Against Israeli War Criminals” was fortunate enough to be supported by an impressive panel of speakers each of whom brought their own expertise to the table. The event was chaired by Sarah McSherry, Partner at Christian Khan Solicitors and member of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights.

John Duggard – Keynote address

The keynote address was read out by Dr Daud Abdullah, the Director of MEMO, on behalf of John Duggard, Chair of the Independent Fact-Finding Committee on Gaza and former UN Special Rapporteur to the UN Commission on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The essence of his address was to highlight the importance of implementing universal jurisdiction against Israeli war criminals.

Successful Book Launch of "Palestine in Pieces" by Former CIA Analysts.
The Middle East Monitor (MEMO) and The Cordoba Foundation yesterday co-hosted the first, of what we hope will be many, successful joint ventures. Last night in the Kensington Close Hotel in Central London, the two organisations joined forces to hold a book launch in honour of Bill and Kathleen Christison, two ex-CIA analysts and extremely brave authors, whose most recent attempt to draw attention to the Israeli abuse of the Palestinian people is their frank, honest and moving book Palestine in Pieces: Graphic Perspectives on the Israeli Occupation.

Al Zaytouna Centre concludes "Israel and the International Law" Conference

On the 4th and 5th of November, the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) was present at a conference in Beirut, convened by the Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations under the theme "Israel and the International Law". The conference was attended by a large and distinguished gathering of scholars, experts, lawyers and researchers, including John Dugard (former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories), Curtis Doebbler (Professor of international law at An-Najah National University in Nablus), Mahmod Mobarak (Professor of International Law at King Faisal University in KSA) and Paul de Waart (Professor of international law at the VU University Amsterdam).

Al-Zaytouna Conference, Beirut