Edward Said - 9/11, Siege of Ramallah, Gaza (2001)

As the controversy over Israel's refusal to allow Arafat to make his annual pilgrimage to Bethlehem continues to simmer, the Palestinian leader can look to some sympathy from home, but not much. Just this weekend, Palestinian unity came close to dissolving this weekend as clashes between Yasir Arafat's police and Palestinian civilians left six dead and dozens injured. The violence was sparked by Arafat's attempt to satisfy Israeli and US demands that he clamp down on organizations that advocate terrorism. It was the worst case of Palestinian-on-Palestinian violence since 1994, and it sparked fears of civil war. Audio ends pre-emptively - this is not in our control.  As always, edited by Ian Anderson (@starsalwayslost), with special thanks / credit to Sina Rahmani + The East is a Podcast. Robin Brickner is our social media coordinator. Our Twitter presence is @AntiImpArchive, and if you would like to reach out directly we have an email address at: [email protected] We have AIA business cards with QR codes - please email or DM us to have one mailed to you