July is the time of the annual Palestine International Festival - notably the largest and most prestigious event of its kind on the cultural scene, showcasing both local and international artists. This year is special in that the festival is an integral part of the Al-Quds, Capital of Arab Culture programme of activities that celebrates the concept, "Jerusalem unites us and should not divide us." 

The Maqusi Towers in Gaza City look a bit like US housing projects. The neighborhood consists of several tall apartment buildings grouped together in the northern part of town. It is also ground zero for Gaza's growing Hip-Hop community. On a recent evening in one small but well-decorated apartment, a dozen rappers and their friends and families relaxed, danced, smoked flavored tobacco, and rapped the lyrics to some of their songs. 

For many Palestinians, the month of May is associated with the commemoration of the Nakba. But with the increasing popularity of the arts in Palestine, the second annual Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest) harmoniously unfolded to the final days of spring, a time also for lavender and lilies. 

As the 61st anniversary of the Nakba, or "the Catastrophe," approaches, the IMEU presents a look at some of the untold stories behind one of the most important - and tragic - dates in Palestinian history. Several Palestinian refugees share their stories of loss, separation, and exile that illuminate the pain behind the day that changed the lives of so many Palestinians. 

The International Fairtrade Association aims to provide farmers in the developing world with a fair share of the profits. For a Palestinian olive oil company which markets its product through the association, exports have soared after Israel's war on Gaza. Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh reports from the West Bank, where Israeli restrictions have barred Palestinian farmers from accessing thousands of acres of olive orchards. 

Walk down the unpaved lanes of the Jenin refugee camp, past the many posters of martyrs, and you'll find The Freedom Theatre - a drama school in its third year and a budding acting company that just staged its debut show: a production of George Orwell's Animal Farm. 

As the child of Palestinian refugees who moved to Brooklyn, New York at the age of five, award-winning poet and author Suheir Hammad's early life was infused with the city's bustling hip-hop scene and the angst of Arab dispossession, much of which reveals itself in the depths of her poetry and writing. Although she was born in Amman, Jordan, her childhood was constantly filled with her parents' stories about their ancestral home in Palestine. 

While Palestinian leaders have been slowly edging towards reconciliation, its people are still dealing with the aftermath of Israel's latest offensive on Gaza. A group of actors in the West Bank have staged a play which focuses on the injustices of the war. Nour Odeh reports on how Israel's war on Gaza is likely to live long in the minds of Palestinians.