From: Revealing Gaza, in the eyes of the beholder

I recently was invited to a workshop discussing the Palestinian dialogue and what destiny is waiting for it, I found it very useful for non-political people like me and I thought it would be helpful and eye-opening if I share it with you.  The invitation was from Mr. Omar Shabaan, the president of Pal-Think organization http://www.palthink.org/, and the workshop was held at the organization's headquarters in Gaza.

PAL Think for Strategic Studies is an independent non-profit, non-political, non-governmental and non-sectarian think and do tank that aims to stimulate and inspire rational public discussions and consensus for the well-being of the Palestinians and the Region. PAL Think was established in 2007 in Gaza-Palestine by group of Palestinian researchers and community activists who have intimate relations and diverse knowledge of the Middle East, its current problems, potentials and possibilities. (http:www.//palthink.org.)

Mr. Omar Shabaan is a leading Palestinian figure who is well-known in the world of economics and entrepreneurship and was one of the first Palestinians to shine in those fields. He didn’t stop there but decided to start an organizaton to give back to his community and help this community grow, understand and be aware.

Omar Shabaan is a senior economic advisor, with over 15 years of experience in management consultancy and private sector development. He participated in various international conferences on economic issues. He has developed manuals and published more than 100 articles in local newspapers and on international websites. During the past few years and on a regular basis, he has been invited by local and international NGOs to speak on various economic, social and developmental topics such as; the Israeli disengagement plan, PA national budget, SMEs development, free trade agreement and industrial zones. He has been interviewed by many well-known international newspapers such as Lemonade, New York Times, the TIMES, Al-Ahram weekly, Washington Times, Christian Science Monitor. Also he has given interviews to many TV and radio stations such as Al-Jazeera, BBC, ABC, NBC, Monte Carlo and Nile News, etc.
The workshop was given by two of Mr. Shabaan's friends and main hosts:

1- Mr. Ashraf Jomaa (representing FATAH)

2- Dr. Ismail Radwan (representing HAMAS)

The guests and attendees were leading Palestinian personalities in the world of media, community activists, owners of organizations and people with militant experience.

Mr. Omar Shabaan started the workshop with some strong words of welcoming and a summary about Pal Think Organization:

" We welcome you all, as many local; international, national, and worldwide initiatives are pressuring and supporting the dialogue of reconciliation.

Pal-Think is honored to be one of the leading active organizatons to achieve and support the reconciliation between (FATAH and HAMAS) and played a role in exchanging messages between both parties.

We found real moves and good intentions of both parties to help achieve reconciliation and help the dialogue succeed so we are conducting that workshop because we believe the Palestinian Civil community has the right to know where the is dialogue now, what happened in Egypt, what is the reason behind postponing it and what destiny is waiting for it." The main hosts both agreed on good intentions and on doing the utmost to help this dialogue succeed and that the Palestinian benefit and utility is the main goal of both parties.

Then a debate started between both hosts, each trying to illustrate and express his party's beliefs, goals, points of disagreement, needs, tasks, worries and visions.

The main issues discussed in this workshop were the points of disagreement and here is a glimpse of this debate:

Mr. Ashraf Jomaa: Main issue of disagreement is the elections and everything around it. We want this election to be a listing – percentage elections (you elect a list of people that represent either a certain party or a list of independents or represent a certain political program), this will help everyone join these elections But HAMAS is against this method and demands a mixed election (where many parties could join a list and the percentage of rebate exceeds 2%) which will put us in the same zone of conflict since not everybody will join independently and only HAMAS and FATAH will be the main lists.

Mr. Ismail Radwan: Mixed elections will help all parties more and at the same time help protect HAMAS representives and elected personalities since HAMAS is the number one party that Israel and zionists want to kill and imprison. We entered the listing elections and won it but where are most of the elected people of HAMAS now? They are imprisoned by Israel. It’s our right to protect our people.

Mr. Ashraf Jomaa: Security is also one of the issues we disagree on. We have agreed on hiring only qualified people overlooking their political belonging and start re-constructing all security sections. The disagreement came when we wanted to start with the security sections in Gaza then the West Bank when HAMAS disagreed and demanded the start to be across Palestinians at the same time.

Mr. Ismail Radwan: I think since we will start fixing all security sections why don’t we start fixing all sections whether it’s here or in the West Bank. Why start with here first? FATAH is acting as if the security sections in the West Bank are forbidden to touch or fix and that’s not acceptable.

Mr. Ashraf Jomaa: Assembling the government is something we disagree about, we agree with HAMAS that the government should have the nature of classes and parties (since HAMAS won the elections of 2006) but we disagree on HAMAS demanding the Prime Minister to be from their party so we suggested to have the President as the prime minister.

Mr. Ismail Radwan: We won the elections, so I think we have the right of taking the position of the Prime Minister and anyway this issue will be discussed more with the upcoming dialogue sessions. We also want to discuss the political program that has the political phrase of (respect and commitment). We won’t accept this because we won’t acknowledge Israel or commit with it since they don’t want to respect or acknowldge us.

Also if we unite and assemble a strong government then we will force the whole world to talk to us, cooperate with us and respect us.

At the end of the long debate that I summarized, both hosts agreed on looking forward to the upcoming dialogue sessions and that the postponing comes from the need for more time to work on the points of disagreement and solve them.

Also both agreed on a point that the dialogue came so far and achieved a big advancement that the old sessions lacked.

They were optimistic and believed in announcing the success of the dialogue soon and that good intentions along with good deeds will result to a near reconciliation. They both won’t compromise with any principles but will work on the points of disagreement.

I will end this article with a question I wanted to ask both sides but couldn’t because of the lack of time, this question now is open for everyone to answer:

"I represent a huge class of Palestinian people whom are non-political when I ask, DON’T THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE WHO SUFFERED ALOT IN BOTH CONFLICTS (PALESTINIAN – ISRAELI CONFLICT AND PALESTINIAN – PALESTINIAN CONFLICT) DESERVE FROM BOTH PARTIES TO COMPROMISE AND HELP THE DIALOGUE OF RECONCILIATION SUCCEED NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES SO THEY CAN BREATHE, LIVE AND FEEL SAFE?"

Omar Ghraieb ( Journalist – Translator)

Palestine – Gaza

Source: http://gazatimes.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-recently-was-invited-to-workshop.html

Mary Rizzo: Could you briefly tell us about the work you do? 

Khalid Amayreh: I am a journalist who since time immemorial has found himself, first as a human being, and second as a journalist, right in the middle of the fray of the enduring Palestinian plight. For example, I remember I knew all the details of Israeli commando operations and massacres when I was merely 7 years old. 

When I went to the US in 1976, I wanted to study Computer Science, then Business Administration. However, as I saw Zionist circles on campus at the University of Oklahoma try somewhat successfully to change the black into white and the big lie into a virtual truth, I decided to study journalism. 

Which I did.  Now, I am fully-engaged in my work, writing nearly daily columns for a host of media outlets on three continents. Eventually, the internet became my ultimate domain because what I do say, and I always have much to say, is not particularly liked by the politically-correct media. Hence, I can say that in a certain sense, the internet has substantially freed us from the traditional media colonialism. 

I am quite satisfied with what I have been doing. My articles are published and posted around the world in several languages, including Arabic, English, French, Spanish and other European languages. Many of my articles are posted on my website. It is www.xpis.ps.   

MR: You have in the past several years faced some difficult situations. Two of these that we are aware of are your denial of a visa to leave the West Bank for conferences in Europe and the other was your arrest and brief detention. Both of these were the doing of the Palestinian Authority. Why do you believe they have put these restrictions on you? 

KA: Yes, my success as a journalist, especially my ability to communicate the Palestinian narrative to Western audiences drew negative reactions from the Israeli security authorities. You know the Shin Beth, Israel’s chief domestic security agency, controls nearly every aspect of our life despite the existence of the Palestinian Authority. Hence, the Shin Beth constantly sought to persecute and harass me in the hope that I would tone down my outspoken criticism of the Israeli occupation and its often barbaric treatment of our people. In this context, they refused to grant me a press card, they refused to allow me access to Jerusalem. And finally, they imposed a harsh travel ban on me. In fact, I am still barred from leaving the West Bank. This is the behaviour of a country that claims to be a democracy.

As to the PA, it is very much slave of Israel. This is why I am also constantly harassed by the PA security apparatus. The PA doesn’t like my writings, and seeing that neither carrot nor stick would stop me, they often incarcerate me for a short period until a media outcry ensued in which case they would release me, hoping that next time I would exercise self-restraint, or more correctly self-censorship.  

MR: You live in one of the areas where settlers have made any kind of co-existence in the same territory as the indigenous population impossible. In your view is the Hebron experience a typical one that would be reproduced whenever there would be closer contact between Jews and Palestinians, or is it in some way different? 

KA: The settlers are mostly genocidal fanatics who would go to any extent, including cold-blooded murder, to reach their goals. And their goals can be summarized in one phrase, and that is the annihilation of the Palestinian people. 

I’ve met numerous settlers, and from my conversations with them, I can say that most of these people represent the Nazis of our time. What else can one say of a people who tell you that you either agree to be enslaved by them or you will be deported and expelled from your own country? And if you said ‘NO’, then you would have to be physically exterminated.  These people are really depraved and sick. They would quote strange quotations from a host of religious books to justify their genocidal ideology. The brutal ugliness of their mentality has no limits.

What is more dangerous is that they don’t stop at the theoretical and ideological levels. They often translate their venomous and virulent views into cold-blooded murder of innocent Palestinians.  And in most cases, the pro-settler Israeli justice system turns a blind eye to their murderous behaviour and lets them get away with impunity.

MR: You often refer to the actions of today’s Israelis as being similar to those of the Nazis, and you present in detail many of these crimes and abuses against especially unarmed civilians that indeed are strikingly similar. Do you believe there is a danger or risk in the use of this analogy?

KA: Well, this is a very good question. First of all, we have to remember that the holocaust didn’t start with Auschwitz or Bergen Belsen and other concentration camps. It started much earlier with comparatively innocuous things like the enactment of anti-Jewish laws in the early 1930s. Earlier, there was Hitler’s infamous book, Mein Kampf. Eventually there was the Kristalnacht, and we know the rest of the story.

Today, any serious observer scrutinizing the collective psychology and behaviour of the Israeli Jewish society would most certainly find many serious similarities between the Jewish state and the Third Reich. In Germany, they had the master race mantra, here in Israel they have the chosen people mantra.

In Germany they had the expansionistic concept known as Lebensraum; and here in Israel they have the settlement scheme. In Germany, they had the racist classification of people into Übermenschen and Untermenschen, while here in Israel almost everything is defined through the prism of being  either Jewish or Goy. The list goes on and on.  Do you know that there are rabbis in Israel who openly teach that non-Jews are animals and whom the Almighty created in a human shape only in deference to Jews. I am not speaking about marginal or obscure figures. I am speaking about rabbis with thousands of followers who are backed by powerful political parties represented in the government and the Knesset.

Ask any average settler how he or she views Palestinians or non-Jews in general, and they will tell you that they are animals and that their lives have absolutely no sanctity.

In short, the Zionist-Nazi analogy is more than legitimate. It is an objective reality.

MR:  Is it possible that there is the danger of a new Palestinian genocide comparable to that of ’48 with the discussions of “population transfer” of the Palestinians who live in Israel that are heard by several political movements that are in power in Israel, or is this population somehow protected and facing more danger are those in the Occupied Palestinian Territories?

KA: The answer is definitely yes. I am saying so because Palestinians have always relied for their very survival on the good will of the international community and world public opinion. Hence, should the world community go into a brief slumber, I have no doubt that Israel would seize the opportunity and embark on the unthinkable.

More to the point, we must view the criminal Israeli onslaught on the people of Gaza nine months ago as a precedent that could be repeated again and again.

Finally, it is crystal clear that the Israeli Jewish society is drifting menacingly toward fascism. For example, today the very survival of the Benyamin Netanyahu’s government depends to a very large extent on the support of three manifestly racist political parties representing the extreme religious right. These are “Habayt ha’Yahudi,” “Echud Leumi,” and Shas, a formerly moderate Charidi party which has been moving steadily toward religious jingoism.

I am speaking about religious parties that see nothing wrong with the mass murder of innocent people. They always can quote from ancient books to justify their morbid ideology. Also, imagine how the world will look like when these racist groups reach power in Israel and seize control of Israel’s huge nuclear arsenal.

And this is not a matter of “if” but rather a matter of “when” it will happen, because it is only a matter of time before the fanatics of Gush Emunim and other Judeo-Nazi elements reach power in Israel. 

MR: Palestinians in Israel comprise twenty percent of the official population. Why is it that, after Azmi Bishara, whose fate is now in exile, and a very few others, this large sector of population is under-represented in their parliament? Would it not be helpful to have more representation? 

KA: The Arab community in Israel is under-represented because of a host of factors. But the main factor is that the Israeli system is designed to keep the Arab community marginalized. Today, Israeli leaders from “right” and “left” are increasingly brazenly advocating ultimate ethnic cleansing of Israel’s Arab citizen. Tzipi Livni, the leader of Kadima, said on numerous occasions that Israeli Arabs would have to seek national fulfilment in the future Palestinian state. Her remarks are nothing short of a euphemism for expulsion and ethnic cleansing.

If this is the view of a respected  “liberal,” and “centrist” politician, imagine the kind of attitudes the right with its religious and secular camps would have toward Israel’s Arab citizens.

MR: You have documented many of the acts against the Palestinian people. If you could put things in an order of those that should be resolved before the others, out of this selection, what would your suggestion be and why: the ending of the siege of Gaza, the dismantlement of the checkpoints, the dismantlement of the Wall, international recognition of Hamas as the legitimately elected representatives of the Palestinians and in the 2006 Legislative elections, release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, release of Palestinian prisoners from Palestinian jails, a freeze on settler expansion in the West Bank and Jerusalem?

KA: I think all aspects of the Palestinian plight are inextricably entwined. For example, the internal Palestinian problems stem mainly from the Israeli occupation. It was Israel after all which took draconian measures against our people following the 2006 elections when Hamas won the polls. This eventually led to the contention between Fatah and Hamas which culminated in the ousting by Hamas of Fatah militias from Gaza following a failed coup attempt against the elected government by Fatah forces backed and armed by the United States.

But, it is true, we just can’t solve and resolve all the problems facing our people in one fell swoop.  The situation in Gaza remains very harsh and the survival of our people there is imputed first and foremost to their tenacity, resilience and steadfastness, not Israeli magnanimity.

The Palestinian prisoner issue is also a nagging nightmare that is constantly haunting our people. We are talking about nearly 10,000 prisoners many of whom are held without charge or trial because of their non-violent opposition to the Israeli occupation. Their continued detention is undoubtedly a repulsive reflection of the brutal ugliness of the Zionist mentality.

MR: Do you believe that the Palestinians should aim at establishing a new popular uprising, or should they wait and see if the Palestinian Authority can find a unity government or bring an end to Israeli occupation by themselves.

KA: Normally, uprisings, especially in the Palestinian context, are not planned. They just happen when the powder keg reaches the boiling point. But I tend to accept the hypothesis that another Intifada is only a matter of time, given the unmitigated occupation and repression as well as the scandalous failure of the peace process.

As to forming a new unity government, it is really difficult to accord this subject a lot of importance. After all, what is the point of forming a government that has no sovereignty and is subject to the draconian restrictions of the Israeli occupation?

MR: Do you hold out hope that the Obama Administration can bring about at least a bit of improvement for Palestinians, or is it equally subject to the Israel Lobby? 

KA: No, not any longer. Until recently, I thought, probably naively, that Obama might prove himself to be a man of his word. However, his utter failure to stand up to the arrogant Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has exposed the American president as just another functionary of the establishment.

Moreover, what many in the West doesn’t realize is that for Israel to give up the spoils of the 1967 war, the Jewish state would have to be forced, even physically, to do so.

However, in light of Obama’s obsequious discourse vis-à-vis Netanyahu, especially with regard to the settlement issue, it is increasingly obvious that the US leader is not mentally or politically capable of doing what it takes to force Israel to end the 42-year-old occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

The task of forcing Israel to end the hateful occupation would require a radical transformation, even a revolution, in American political thinking. And I just don’t see this happening in the foreseeable future.

MR: Why, in your view, have the Palestinian Islamist parties, especially Hamas, not had the strong support of the Ikhwan in other Arab nations, especially following the rejectionist stance of the so-called International Community following the democratic elections? Is it because the project of Hamas has a stronger nationalist nature to it, or might there be other reasons that you have reflected upon?

KA: I think they do as evidenced in the huge demonstrations organized by Islamic organizations throughout the Muslim world during the Israeli blitz against the Gaza Strip. However, we have to keep in mind that most Islamic parties and organizations are based in despotic and authoritarian states. Hence, the often tight restrictions imposed on Islamist activism do have a detrimental impact on the extent to which Islamists can render tangible material support to Hamas.

But the Islamists are giving extremely viable financial support to Palestinian Islamists without which Hamas would have had a much harder time facing international sanctions.

We also have to remember that Hamas is mainly an asset, not a liability, for Islamic activism around the world, which means that support for Hamas by Islamic groups in the Arab-Muslim world is not exactly altruistic in nature but is also motivated by a certain degree of expediency. 

MR: The division of the Palestinian people along many lines, while an internal problem, does prevent more firm opposition to the military occupation of Palestine. Do you think there is a way to overcome the divisions, or are they destined to increase with the introduction of measures such as Dayton’s “Security” forces in the West Bank, for example?

KA: Well, in the final analysis, Palestinian divisions are a symptom of the Israeli occupation. They are not a home-grown malady but rather a foreign-induced phenomenon sustained through political and economic manipulation of certain objective Palestinian needs. After all, we are very much a prisoner population who have been relentlessly used by the Israelis as a field of experiment for over 40 years.

I believe that the ultimate raison d’être of the “Dayton forces” is to crush public opposition to any prospective “peace” deal that would be imposed on the Palestinian people.  Needless to say, such a deal would be tantamount to a real liquidation of the Palestinian cause. However, I really doubt whether these forces would succeed in their mission in the long run.

The Palestinian cause is simply so deeply rooted in the collective conscience and psyche of our people, so much that it is inconceivable that these kids would succeed in morphing our people into submission. That would be anti-historical antithetical to the nature of things in Palestine.

MR: Recently, the first group of Palestinian refugees from the Al-Tanaf, Al-Waleed and Al-Hol refugee camps in Iraq have been “settled” in the USA. What do you think of this kind of programme?

KA: Naturally, we are very suspicious about any resettlement of Palestinian refugees anywhere in the world. But I am certain about one thing, namely that the refugee plight and the right of return will continue to define the Palestinian question.

I am saying so because the refugee problem is the Palestinian problem.

MR: What kind of personal experiences does the average Palestinian living in the West Bank have with the Israelis?

KA: Well, it is safe to say that the mental landscape of every Palestinian man, woman and child is overwhelmed with the Israeli nightmare. Ours is a landscape shaped by home demolitions, land seizure, evil roadblocks and checkpoints manned by trigger-happy soldiers, humiliating inhuman treatment, cruelty, terror and unrelenting criminality. Ours is a real holocaust minus the gas chambers.  We are after all the longest suffering people on earth, and we continue to suffer on a daily basis.

Today in every junior high school in America, students read Anne Frank, while in every high school Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night’ is requisite reading. This is the man who says rather brazenly that he readily identifies with Israeli crimes and that he couldn’t bring himself to say bad things about Israel. 

The victims of the first Kristalnacht enjoy the world’s approbation and sympathy, while at the same time having succeeded in demonizing an entire people for whom Kristalnacht still remains a night without end.  

MR:  It seems that access to information about the reality of Palestine, especially of the hardships brought on by the war, the checkpoints and the blockade of Gaza, should enlighten the public that there is a humanitarian emergency. What, in your view, is preventing the international community and the Arab nations from expressing moral outrage and demanding their leaders to hold Israel accountable for these situations? 

KA: I think the Arab masses would want to help the Palestinians, and they are actually helping. However, for most Arabs helping the Palestinians, especially Hamas, involves a certain risk as most regimes view identification with Hamas as connoting opposition to the regimes itself. This is true in American-allied states such as Egypt and Jordan.

As to people around the world, I think the overall outlook is positive. I think a growing number of people are now willing to take to the streets to voice their solidarity with our people. But what we need to do is to keep up the good work and try as hard as possible to isolate the evil entity.

MR: Do you believe that there is a great deal of fear in the Palestinian people which prevents them from voicing denouncements of the corruptions of the PA and the PLO before it? Or could some of this be because the allocation of funds is filtered through these organs and people need to make a living?

KA: Of course there is. The Palestinian Authority is effectively a police state without a state, and the corrupt people and their supporters, friends and cronies occupy powerful positions in the PA hierarchy. Take for example the millions of dollars arrogated by Yasser Arafat’s widow, Suha. It is widely believed that the former “First Lady”! received millions of dollars from the PLO as part of a financial settlement which very few Palestinians know about. As to the justice system, it is very much subservient to the political level and the security apparatus. This is how the donor countries, e.g. the US, are shaping Palestinian “democracy.” 

MR: What can the exiled or Diaspora Palestinian community do for their brothers and sisters in Palestine?

KA: Palestinians in the Diaspora have a grave responsibility to carry out. They should constantly communicate our plight to the world, they should always be eloquent spokespersons for their people and their cause. But in order to be successful and effective they have to organize themselves and try to enlist local support for Palestinian grievances in their respective places of residence. My ultimate advice to Palestinian expatriates is: make as many friends as possible for our just cause. And don’t allow yourselves to be diverted from the central goal, and that is to create and effect pressure on the Zionist regime.

And don’t get yourselves involved in any activities that might be misconstrued as “anti-Semitic.”  Judaism is not our enemy.  

MR: What can “internationals” do to help?

KA: “Internationals” and other solidarity activists have a hugely important job to do. They are witnesses to what Satanic Zionism has been doing to the Palestinians. Israel would want to gang up on us while the eyes of the world are shut. It is very much like the way a murderer or a thief behaves. They don’t want to be seen committing their crimes.

In fact, I can safely claim that had it not been for these courageous men and women, the level of Israeli terror against the Palestinians could have been much worse.

Therefore, I would like to salute each and every one of these heroes who have been sacrificing their time, energy and careers in protecting an unprotected people. You are the good Samaritans of our time.  So come here, bring your friends, and don’t forget your cameras. May God bless you all.

MR: You are often considered to be especially sensitive to and close to the positions of the Islamist parties, and very often, there are more than a few false representations of them, including for example that Hamas had help from Israel in its foundation, with some even saying Mossad was involved, that they won the elections only because they represented a “protest” vote, and more crucially, that their operations are not resistance, but are rather terrorist acts. Evidence points away from all of these positions, yet they are part of an interpretation trend as much in “the left” as for “moderates” and “neo-cons”. Why do you think that despite evidence, for instance, Hamas always maintained their unilateral truces, while Israel engaged in targeted assassinations of high-ranking leaders of Hamas, people across the board are so quick to accept these false representations as legitimate?

KA: I am not affiliated with any political group. This is because I had long realized that affiliation with an ideological or political party would interfere with and be detrimental to my work as a journalist. Besides, the little philosopher inside me always tells me to be constantly free-minded.

I remember that poet who described fanatical adherence to a political party. He said: I always voted at my party’s call, and never thought for myself at all.

Having said that, I also realize that it is imperative that people must support just causes and speak up the truth even in the presence of power. This is why it is paramount for my mental and psychological health that I must stand against such vices as oppression, arrogance, immorality, mendacity, selfishness, hypocrisy, rapacity and racism. I know it is not easy to swim against the current. However, it is also true that silence or indifference or inaction in the face of evil is morally disastrous in the long run. We mortals live a few decades in this life. It is essential therefore that we lead a dignified life shaped by our concerns for freedom and justice and sublime human spirit.

As to Hamas being helped by Israel, I think this is a form of disinformation by the anti-Islamist camp aimed first and foremost at besmirching Hamas.

The way Hamas has been behaving and acting since its foundation more than 20 years ago should be a clarion refutation of all these lies and insinuations.

This is not to say though that Israel has not tried and is not trying to pit Palestinians against each other. But this is not the same as saying that Hamas was created by Israel or that its growth was facilitated by the Israelis.

After all, Islamic fundamentalist groups are a global phenomenon and by no means confined to occupied Palestine.

MR: What do you think the final status might be in terms of statehood and what do you foresee as a timetable for this?

KA: It is very difficult to figure out how and when this conflict will end. What is clear though is that it won’t come to an end in the foreseeable future. I am convinced that the increasingly-religious conflict will continue for several more decades. However, in order for the conflict to reach an exhaustive conclusion, Zionism would have to disappear.

A final point, I strongly believe that time is not working in Israel’s favour as Israel is going to find it increasingly difficult to live normally in a hostile environment. Fifty years from now, Israel will be surrounded by more than 700 million Arabs and Muslims. And Jews themselves would be a small and dwindling minority in mandatory Palestine.

And like Albert Camus said “in world where everything can be denied, there are forces undeniable, and on earth where nothing is sure, we have our certainty.” And I think the dismantlement of Zionism is a historical certainty.

The key to peace in the Middle East is restoration of international law and the recognition of the right of both Palestinians and Israeli Jews to live in peace and security side by side. As President Obama says, there is no peace process today. Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, continues to extend illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and maintain a near-complete blockade of Gaza. Palestinians fire ineffectual rockets into Israel. Israel regularly attacks Palestinian territories with modern weapons.

No major conflict can be resolved without each side talking to the other. That was the case in South Africa, Ireland and countless other situations where people said they would never talk to their opponents. I was vilified in the Eighties for saying that, to resolve the Irish conflict, you had to talk to Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.

In the Middle East, peace can only be achieved through discussion between the elected representatives of both the Israelis and the Palestinians – and that means Hamas, which won a big majority in the last Palestinian parliamentary election, as well as Fatah. This does not mean that I agree with the views of Hamas, Fatah or the government of Israel. Far from it: I do not. For example, I think a number of passages in the original Hamas charter are unacceptable and should be repudiated. Many observers believe that this is also the view of some in Hamas.

Yet, for too many people, Hamas as an organisation remains opaque. What they know about it is derived from a hostile media; it has no face. Most would probably think its leader is some disturbed Osama Bin Laden figure. In fact, al-Qaeda's supporters in Gaza are so hostile to Hamas that they have declared war on it.

For these reasons, I thought it important to interview the de facto leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshal, who lives in exile in Syria. Not every issue is clear. But at the beginning of any peace process, what matters most is engagement. Dialogue is necessary to get to clarity and mutual understanding. Sinn Fein did not answer every question at the beginning and neither does Binyamin Netanyahu today. The answers from Meshal come at a time of heightened tensions and renewed death threats against him, adding to the permanent danger of assassination bids not only by the Israelis, but also al-Qaeda supporters in the region.

I hope this interview will help to make the case for the dialogue that is needed, which I believe is inevitable. It is simply a question of how much suffering there will be, on both sides, before we get there.

Ken Livingstone: Could you explain a little about your childhood and the experiences that shaped your development into the person you are today?

Khaled Meshal: I was born in the West Bank village of Silwad near Ramallah in 1956. In my early age, I learned from my father how he was part of the Palestinian revolution against the British mandate in Palestine in the Thirties and how he fought, alongside other Palestinians using primitive weapons, against the well-equipped and trained Zionist gangs attacking Palestinian villages in 1948.

I lived in Silwad for 11 years until the 1967 war, when I was forced with my family, like hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, to leave home and settle in Jordan. That was a shocking experience I will never forget.

KL: What happened to you after the war?

KM: Soon afterwards, I left Jordan for Kuwait, where my father had already been working and living since before 1967. After completing my primary education in 1970, I joined the prestigious Abdullah al-Salim Secondary School. In the early Seventies, it was a hub of intense political and ideological activity.

During my second year at al-Salim school, I joined the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun). Upon finishing my fourth year successfully I secured admission to Kuwait University, where I studied for a BSc degree in physics.

Kuwait University had an active branch of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS), which had been under the absolute control of the Fatah movement. I and my fellow Islamists decided, in 1977, to join GUPS, which we had previously shunned, and contest its leadership election. However, working from within GUPS proved impossible; we felt constantly impeded and realised we Islamists would never be given a chance. By 1980, two years after I graduated, my juniors decided to leave GUPS and form their own Palestinian association on campus.

Many of the students had become disillusioned with the Palestinian leadership, who seemed intent on settling for much less than what they had grown up dreaming of, namely the complete liberation of Palestine and the return of all the refugees to their homes.

KL: What is the situation in Gaza today?

KM: Gaza today is under siege. Crossings are closed most of the time and for months victims of the Israeli war on Gaza have been denied ­access to construction materials to rebuild their destroyed homes. Schools, hospitals and homes in many parts of the Gaza Strip are in need of rebuilding. Tens of thousands of people remain homeless. As winter approaches, the conditions of these victims will only get worse in the cold and rain. One and a half million people are held hostage in one of the biggest prisons in the history of humanity. They are unable to travel freely out of the Strip, whether for medical treatment, for education or for other needs. What we have in Gaza is a disaster and a crime against humanity perpetrated by the Israelis. The world community, through its silence and indifference, colludes in this crime.

KL: Why do you think Israel is still imposing the siege on Gaza?

KM: The Israelis claim that the siege is for security reasons. The real intention is to pressure Hamas by punishing the entire population. The sanctions were put in place soon after Hamas won the Palestinian elections in January 2006. While security is one of their concerns, it is not the main motivation. The primary objective is to provoke a coup against the results of the democratic elections that brought Hamas to power. The Israelis and their allies seek to impose failure on Hamas by persecuting the people. This is a hideous and immoral endeavour. Today, the siege continues despite the fact that we have, for the past six months, observed a ceasefire. Last year, a truce was observed from June to December 2008. Yet the siege was never lifted, and the sanctions remained in place. Undermining Hamas is the main objective of the siege. The Israelis hope to turn the people of Gaza against Hamas by increasing the suffering of the entire population of the Strip.

KL: How many supporters of Hamas and elected representatives of Hamas are there in prison in Israel? Have they all been charged and convicted of crimes?

KM: Out of a total of 12,000 Palestinian captives in Israeli detention, around 4,000 are Hamas members. These include scores of ministers and parliamentarians (Palestinian Legislative Council members). Around ten have recently been released, but about 40 PLC members remain in detention. Some have been given sentences, but many are held in what the Israelis call administrative detention. The only crime these people are accused of is their association with Hamas's parliamentary group. Exercising one's democratic right is considered a crime by Israel. All these Palestinians are brought before an Israeli system of justice that has nothing to do with justice. The Israeli judiciary is an instrument of the occupation. In Israel, there are two systems of justice: one applies to Israelis and another applies to the Palestinians. This is an apartheid regime.

KL: What part, if any, do other states and insti­tutions, such as the US, the EU, Britain, Egypt, or the Palestinian Authority, play in the blockade of Gaza?

KM: The blockade of Gaza would never have succeeded had it not been for the collusion of regional and international powers.

KL: How do you think the blockade can be lifted?

KM: In order for the blockade to be lifted, the rule of international law must be respected. The basic human rights of the Palestinians and their right to live in dignity and free from persecution would have to be acknowledged. There has to be an international will to serve justice and uphold the basic principles of international human rights law. The international community would have to free itself from the shackles of Israeli pressure, speak the truth and act accordingly.

KL: Israel says that the bombing and invasion of Gaza last year was in response to repeated breaking of the ceasefire by Hamas and the firing of rockets into southern Israel. Is this the case?

KM: The Israelis are not telling the truth. We ­entered into a truce deal with Israel from 19 June to 19 December 2008. Yet the blockade was not lifted. The deal entailed a bilateral ceasefire, lifting the blockade and opening the crossings. We fully abided by the ceasefire while Israel only partially observed it, and towards the end of the term it resumed hostilities. Throughout that ­period, Israel maintained the siege and only intermittently opened some of the crossings, ­allowing no more than 10 per cent of the basic needs of the Gazan population to get through. Israel killed the potential for renewing the truce because it deliberately and repeatedly violated it.

I have always informed my western visitors, including the former US president Jimmy Carter, that the moment Hamas is offered a truce that includes lifting the blockade and opening the crossings, Hamas will adopt a positive stance. So far, no one has made us any such offer. As far as we are concerned, the blockade amounts to a declaration of war that warrants self-defence.

KL: What are the ideology and goals of Hamas?

KM: Our people have been the victims of a colonial project called Israel. For years, we have suffered various forms of repression. Half of our people have been dispossessed and are denied the right to return to their homes, and half live under an occupation regime that violates their basic human rights. Hamas struggles for an end to occupation and for the restoration of our people's rights, including their right to return home.

KL: What is your view of the cause of the conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinians?

KM: The conflict is the outcome of aggression and occupation. Our struggle against the Israelis is not because they are Jewish, but because they invaded our homeland and dispossessed us. We do not accept that because the Jews were once persecuted in Europe they have the right to take our land and throw us out. The injustices suffered by the Jews in Europe were horrible and criminal, but were not perpetrated by the Palestinians or the Arabs or the Muslims. So, why should we be punished for the sins of others or be made to pay for their crimes?

KL: Do you believe that Israel intends to continue to expand its borders?

KM: Israel does not, officially, have stated borders. When Israel was created in our homeland 62 years ago, its founders dreamed of a "Greater Israel" that extended from the Nile to the Euphrates. Expansionism manifested itself on different occasions: in 1956, in 1967 and later on in the occupation of parts of Lebanon in the Eighties. Arab weakness, Israeli military superiority, the support given to Israel by the western powers, and the massacres it was prepared to commit against unarmed civilians in Palestine, Egypt and Lebanon, enabled it to expand from time to time. Although expansionism still lurks in the minds of many Israelis, it would seem that this is no longer a practical option. Lebanese and Palestinian resistance has forced Israel to withdraw unilaterally from lands it had previously occupied through war and aggression. While in the past Israel was able to defeat several Arab armies, today it faces formidable resistance that will not only check its expansionism but also, in time, force it to relinquish more of the land that it illegally occupies.

KL: What are your principal goals? Is Hamas primarily a political or a religious organisation?

KM: Hamas is a national liberation movement. We do not see a contradiction between our Islamic identity and our political mission. While we engage the occupiers through resistance and struggle to achieve our people's rights, we are proud of our religious identity that derives from Islam. Unlike the experience of the Europeans with Christianity, Islam does not provide for, demand or recognise an ecclesiastical authority. It simply provides a set of broad guidelines whose detailed interpretations are subject to and the product of human endeavour (ijtihad).

KL: Are you committed to the destruction of Israel?

KM: What is really happening is the destruction of the Palestinian people by Israel; it is the one that occupies our land and exiles us, kills us, incarcerates us and persecutes our people. We are the victims, Israel is the oppressor, and not vice versa.

KL: Why does Hamas support military force in this conflict?

KM: Military force is an option that our people resort to because nothing else works. Israel's conduct and the collusion of the international community, whether through silence or indifference or actual embroilment, vindicate armed resistance. We would love to see this conflict resolved peacefully. If occupation were to come to an end and our people enabled to exercise self-determination in their homeland, there would then be no need for any use of force. The reality is that nearly 20 years of peaceful negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis have not restored any of our rights. On the contrary, we have incurred more suffering and more losses as a result of the one-sided compromises made by the Palestinian negotiating party.

Since the PLO entered into the Oslo peace deal with Israel in 1993, more Palestinian land in the West Bank has been expropriated by the Israelis to build more illegal Jewish settlements, expand existing ones or construct highways for the exclusive use of Israelis living in these settlements. The apartheid wall that the Israelis erected along the West Bank has consumed large areas of the land that was supposed to be returned to the Palestinians according to the peace deal.

The apartheid wall and hundreds of checkpoints turned the West Bank into isolated enclaves like cells in a large prison, which makes life intolerable.

Jerusalem is constantly tampered with in order to alter its landscape and identity, and hundreds of Palestinian homes have been destroyed inside the city and around it, making thousands of Palestinians homeless in their own homeland. Instead of releasing Palestinian prisoners, the Israelis have arrested an additional 5,000 Palestinians since the Annapolis peace conference in 2007 – actions that testify to the fact they simply aren't interested in peace at all.

KL: Does Hamas engage in military activity outside Palestine?

KM: No; since its establishment 22 years ago, Hamas has confined its field of military operation to occupied Palestine.

KL: Do you wish to establish an Islamic state in Palestine in which all other religions are subordinate?

KM: Our priority as a national liberation movement is to end the Israeli occupation of our homeland. Once our people are free in their land and enjoy the right to self-determination, they alone have the final say on what system of governance they wish to live under. It is our firm belief that Islam cannot be imposed on the people. We shall campaign, in a fully democratic process, for an Islamic agenda. If that is what the people opt for, then that is their choice. We believe that Islam is the best source of guidance and the best guarantor for the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

KL: Does Hamas impose Islamic dress in Gaza? For example, is it compulsory in Gaza for women to wear the hijab, niqab or burqa?

KM: No. Intellectually, Hamas derives its vision from the people's culture and religion. Islam is our religion and is the basic constituent of our culture. We do not deny other Palestinians the right to have different visions. We do not impose on the people any aspects of religion or social conduct. Features of religion in Gaza society are genuine and spontaneous; they have not been imposed by any authority other than the faith and conviction of the observant.

KL: It is suggested that the division in the Palestinian people between the West Bank and Gaza and between Fatah and Hamas, which obviously weakens their position, came about because Hamas seized power by force in Gaza. Is this true and how do you explain this division?

KM: Undoubtedly, division does weaken the Palestinians and harms their cause. However, the division is caused not by Hamas, but by the insistence of certain international and regional parties on reversing the results of Palestinian democracy. It dismayed them that Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people.

The division is compounded by the existence of a Palestinian party that seeks empowerment from those same regional and international parties, including the US and Israel, that wish to see Hamas out of the arena. Soon after its victory in the election of January 2006, every effort was exerted to undermine the ability of Hamas to govern.

When these efforts failed, General Keith Dayton, of the United States army, who currently serves as US security co-ordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, was despatched to Gaza to plot a coup against the Hamas-led national unity government that came out of the Mecca agreement of 2007. The plot prompted Hamas in Gaza to act in self-defence in the events of June 2007. The claim that Hamas carried out a coup is baseless because Hamas was leading the democratically elected government. All it did was act against those who were plotting a coup against it under the command and guidance of General Dayton.

KL: Do those of other political or religious views such as Fatah enjoy democratic freedoms in Gaza? What is the situation of Hamas members in the West Bank territories controlled by Fatah?

KM: Some Palestinian factions have been inspired by Arab nationalism, others by Marxism or Leninism, and others by liberalism. While we strongly believe that these ideas are alien to our people and have failed to meet their aspirations, we insist that the people are the final arbiter on whom they wish to lead them and by which system they desire to be governed. Thus, democracy is our best option for settling our internal Palestinian differences. Whatever the people choose will have to be respected.

We endeavour to the best of our ability to protect the human rights and civil liberties of the affiliates of Fatah and all the other factions within the Gaza Strip. In contrast, the Palestinians in the West Bank under Israeli occupation and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah continue to be denied their basic rights. General Dayton is in the West Bank supervising the ­severe and brutal crackdown on Hamas and other Palestinian groups. More than 1,000 political prisoners, including students, university professors and professionals in all fields are hunted down, detained and tortured, sometimes to death, by the US-, British- and EU-trained and -sponsored Palestinian Authority's security force.

KL: Do you believe it is possible to reunite the Palestinian people? If so, how do you think this could be done and within what kind of timescale?

KM: It is possible to reunite the Palestinians. In order for this to happen two things are needed. First, foreign interventions and demands must stop. The Palestinian people should be left to deal with their own differences without external pressure. Second, all Palestinian parties must respect the rules of the democratic game and submit to the results of its process.

KL: Hamas's refusal to recognise Israel is frequently cited as an insuperable obstacle to negotiations and a peace settlement.

KM: This issue is only used as a pretext. Israel does not recognise the rights of the Palestinian people, yet this is not raised as an obstacle to Israel being internationally recognised nor to it being allowed to take part in talks. The reality is that Israel is the one that occupies the land and possesses superior power. Rather than ask the Palestinians, who are the victims, it is Israel, who is the oppressor, who should be asked to recognise the rights of the Palestinians.

In the past, Yasser Arafat recognised Israel but failed to achieve much. Today, Mahmoud Abbas recognises Israel, but we have yet to see any of the promised dividends of the peace process.

Israel concedes only under pressure. In the absence of any tangible pressure on Israel by the Arabs or by the international community, no settlement will succeed.

KL: Do you have a "road map" of interim steps which could realistically lead to a peaceful settlement of the conflict? Do you think Jews, Muslims and Christians can one day live together in peace in the Holy Land?

KM: We do, in Hamas, believe that a realistic peaceful settlement to the conflict will have to begin with a ceasefire agreement between the two sides based on a full withdrawal of Israel from all the territories occupied in 1967. Israeli intransigence and the lack of will to act on the part of the international community are what ­impede this settlement. We believe that only once our people are free and back in their land will they be able to determine the future of the conflict.

It should be reiterated here that we do not resist the Israelis because they are Jews. As a matter of principle, we do not have problems with the Jews or the Christians, but do have a problem with those who attack us and oppress us. For many centuries, Christians, Jews and Muslims coexisted peacefully in this part of the world. Our society never witnessed the sort of racism and genocide that Europe saw until recently against "the other". These issues started in Eur­ope. Colonialism was imposed on this region by Europe, and Israel was the product of the oppression of the Jews in Europe and not of any such problem that existed in the Muslim land.

KL: What role do you think that other countries and organisations, in particular the US, EU and Britain, are currently playing in the Israel/ Palestine conflict and the divisions between the Palestinians?

KM: The role played by all these has thus far been negative. The attitude towards Israeli crimes against our people has been either silence or collusion. The policies and positions adopted by these parties have contributed to the Palestinian division or augmented it. On the one hand, conditions are stipulated that have the effect of torpedoing unity talks and reconciliation efforts. On the other hand, some of these international parties are directly embroiled in suppressing our people in the West Bank. The US and the EU provide funding, training and guidance to build a Palestinian security apparatus specialised in the persecution of critics of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.

We have particularly been concerned about reports that the British government, directly as well as indirectly by means of security firms and the services of retired army, police and in­telligence officers, is fully involved in the programme led by General Dayton against Hamas in the West Bank.

KL: What should countries such as the US and Britain do to assist a peaceful settlement?

KM: They should simply uphold international law – the occupation is illegal, the annexation of East Jerusalem is illegal, the settlements are illegal, the apartheid wall is illegal, and the siege of Gaza is illegal. Yet nothing is done.

KL: What relations does Hamas wish to have with the rest of the world, and, for example, with Britain?

KM: Hamas defends a just cause. For this purpose, it desires to open up to the world. The movement seeks to establish good relations and to conduct constructive dialogue with all those concerned with Palestine.

Source: http://www.newstatesman.com/middle-east/2009/09/israel-palestinian-hamas

Press TV's weekly programme Remember the Children of Palestine allows one of those rare opportunities to see brief reports about the daily life of Palestinians from a human framework. Each week, it features films and guests who talk about issues such as education, health, the family and holidays, as well as featuring music videos and guest speakers who address issues such as activism and relief work.

This week I had the honour to be invited to add a contribution about the language that activists are dealing with when they are struggling to get the message through. It's a very complicated topic, and one that PTT dedicates a lot of energy to addressing (the intervention is at 26'00"). But enjoy the entire show, there is a lot of interesting material!

Thanks to Iqbal, Nada, Lauren and the other ladies and gentlemen who made it a positive experience.

see www.presstv.ir

NOT certain the embedding is quite right, you can see it also on Press TV's site (until I work out the technical problems!)
http://www.presstv.ir/programs/detail.aspx?sectionid=3510533&id=105084#

Videos produced by Iqbal Tamimi and Morris Herman of Palestinian Mothers Network.

When I was a high school student in Ramallah, one of the better known "people-to-people" initiatives, Seeds of Peace, often visited my school, asking students to join their program. Almost every year, they would send a few of my classmates to a summer camp in the US with a similar group of Israeli students. According to the Seeds of Peace website, at the camp they are taught "to develop empathy, respect, and confidence as well as leadership, communication and negotiation skills — all critical components that will facilitate peaceful coexistence for the next generation." They paint quite a rosy picture, and most people in college are very surprised to hear that I think such activities are misguided at best, and immoral, at worst. Why on earth would I be against "coexistence," they invariably ask?

During the last few years, there have been growing calls to bring to an end Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people through an international movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). One of the commonly-held objections to the boycott is that it is counter-productive, and that "dialogue" and "fostering coexistence" is much more constructive than boycotts.

With the beginning of the Oslo accords in 1993, there has been an entire industry that works toward bringing Israelis and Palestinians together in these "dialogue" groups. The stated purpose of such groups is the creating of understanding between "both sides of the conflict," in order to "build bridges" and "overcome barriers." However, the assumption that such activities will help facilitate peace is not only incorrect, but is actually morally lacking.

The presumption that dialogue is needed in order to achieve peace completely ignores the historical context of the situation in Palestine. It assumes that both sides have committed, more or less, an equal amount of atrocities against one another, and are equally culpable for the wrongs that have been done. It is assumed that not one side is either completely right or completely wrong, but that both sides have legitimate claims that should be addressed, and certain blind spots that must be overcome. Therefore, both sides must listen to the "other" point of view, in order to foster understanding and communication, which would presumably lead to "coexistence" or "reconciliation."

Such an approach is deemed "balanced" or "moderate," as if that is a good thing. However, the reality on the ground is vastly different than the "moderate" view of this so-called "conflict." Even the word "conflict" is misleading, because it implies a dispute between two symmetric parties. The reality is not so; it is not a case of simple misunderstanding or mutual hatred which stands in the way of peace. The context of the situation in Israel/Palestine is that of colonialism, apartheid and racism, a situation in which there is an oppressor and an oppressed, a colonizer and a colonized.

In cases of colonialism and apartheid, history shows that colonial regimes do not relinquish power without popular struggle and resistance, or direct international pressure. It is a particularly naive view to assume that persuasion and "talking" will convince an oppressive system to give up its power.

The apartheid regime in South Africa, for instance, was ended after years of struggle with the vital aid of an international campaign of sanctions, divestments and boycotts. If one had suggested to the oppressed South Africans living in bantustans to try and understand the other point of view (i.e. the point of view of South African white supremacists), people would have laughed at such a ridiculous notion. Similarly, during the Indian struggle for emancipation from British colonial rule, Mahatma Gandhi would not have been venerated as a fighter for justice had he renounced satyagraha — "holding firmly to the truth," his term for his nonviolent resistance movement — and instead advocated for dialogue with the occupying British colonialists in order to understand their side of the story.

Now, it is true that some white South Africans stood in solidarity with the oppressed black South Africans, and participated in the struggle against apartheid. And there were, to be sure, some British dissenters to their government's colonial policies. But those supporters explicitly stood alongside the oppressed with the clear objective of ending oppression, of fighting the injustices perpetrated by their governments and representatives. Any joint gathering of both parties, therefore, can only be morally sound when the citizens of the oppressive state stand in solidarity with the members of the oppressed group, not under the banner of "dialogue" for the purpose of "understanding the other side of the story." Dialogue is only acceptable when done for the purpose of further understanding the plight of the oppressed, not under the framework of having "both sides heard."

It has been argued, however, by the Palestinian proponents of these dialogue groups, that such activities may be used as a tool — not to promote so-called "understanding," — but to actually win over Israelis to the Palestinian struggle for justice, by persuading them or "having them recognize our humanity."

However, this assumption is also naive. Unfortunately, most Israelis have fallen victim to the propaganda that the Zionist establishment and its many outlets feed them from a young age. Moreover, it will require a huge, concerted effort to counter this propaganda through persuasion. For example, most Israelis will not be convinced that their government has reached a level of criminality that warrants a call for boycott. Even if they are logically convinced of the brutalities of Israeli oppression, it will most likely not be enough to rouse them into any form of action against it. This has been proven to be true time and again, evident in the abject failure of such dialogue groups to form any comprehensive anti-occupation movement ever since their inception with the Oslo process. In reality, nothing short of sustained pressure — not persuasion — will make Israelis realize that Palestinian rights have to be rectified. That is the logic of the BDS movement, which is entirely opposed to the false logic of dialogue.

Based on an unpublished 2002 report by the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information, the San Francisco Chronicle reported last October that "between 1993 and 2000 [alone], Western governments and foundations spent between $20 million and $25 million on the dialogue groups." A subsequent wide-scale survey of Palestinians who participated in the dialogue groups revealed that this great expenditure failed to produce "a single peace activist on either side." This affirms the belief among Palestinians that the entire enterprise is a waste of time and money.

The survey also revealed that the Palestinian participants were not fully representative of their society. Many participants tended to be "children or friends of high-ranking Palestinian officials or economic elites. Only seven percent of participants were refugee camp residents, even though they make up 16 percent of the Palestinian population." The survey also found that 91 percent of Palestinian participants no longer maintained ties with Israelis they met. In addition, 93 percent were not approached with follow-up camp activity, and only five percent agreed the whole ordeal helped "promote peace culture and dialogue between participants."

Despite the resounding failure of these dialogue projects, money continues to be invested in them. As Omar Barghouti, one of the founding members of the BDS movement in Palestine, explained in The Electronic Intifada, "there have been so many attempts at dialogue since 1993 … it became an industry — we call it the peace industry."

This may be partly attributed to two factors. The dominant factor is the useful role such projects play in public relations. For example, the Seeds of Peace website boosts its legitimacy by featuring an impressive array of endorsements by popular politicians and authorities, such as Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, George Mitchell, Shimon Peres, George Bush, Colin Powell and Tony Blair, amongst others. The second factor is the need of certain Israeli "leftists" and "liberals" to feel as if they are doing something admirable to "question themselves," while in reality they take no substantive stand against the crimes that their government commits in their name. The politicians and Western governments continue to fund such projects, thereby bolstering their images as supporters of "coexistence," and the "liberal" Israeli participants can exonerate themselves of any guilt by participating in the noble act of "fostering peace." A symbiotic relationship, of sorts.
SOURCE: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10722.shtml

The lack of results from such initiatives is not surprising, as the stated objectives of dialogue and "coexistence" groups do not include convincing Israelis to help Palestinians gain the respect of their inalienable rights. The minimum requirement of recognizing Israel's inherently oppressive nature is absent in these dialogue groups. Rather, these organizations operate under the dubious assumption that the "conflict" is very complex and multifaceted, where there are "two sides to every story," and each narrative has certain valid claims as well as biases.

As the authoritative call by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel makes plain, any joint Palestinian-Israeli activities — whether they be film screenings or summer camps — can only be acceptable when their stated objective is to end, protest, and/or raise awareness of the oppression of the Palestinians.

Any Israeli seeking to interact with Palestinians, with the clear objective of solidarity and helping them to end oppression, will be welcomed with open arms. Caution must be raised, however, when invitations are made to participate in a dialogue between "both sides" of the so-called "conflict." Any call for a "balanced" discourse on this issue — where the motto "there are two sides to every story" is revered almost religiously — is intellectually and morally dishonest, and ignores the fact that, when it comes to cases of colonialism, apartheid, and oppression, there is no such thing as "balance." The oppressor society, by and large, will not give up its privileges without pressure. This is why the BDS campaign is such an important instrument of change.

Faris Giacaman is a Palestinian student from the West Bank, attending his second year of college in the United States.

Source: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10722.shtml

Palestine Think Tank asked him a few questions, and this is what he had to say: 

What is the focus of your website?

Atheo News is oriented toward social justice and media disinformation issues such as those that make up the "label" categories:

• Civil Liberties 
• Economics 
• Ethnic Cleansing 
• False Flag Terror 
• Gangsterism 
• Hope and "Change" 
• Illegal Occupation 
• Islamophobia 
• Media Theatrics 
• Militarism 
• Phony Scarcity 
• Piracy 
• Separatism 
• Solidarity 
• Subjugation 
• Supremacism 
• War Crimes 
• Warmongering 
• Wars for Israel

Oh Bummer has a more limited focus on disappointments with the Obama regime and is somewhat more oriented to domestic US issues rather than international ones.

What kind of readership do you have in mind when assembling the material? Include information about the frequency of updating, about the sources you use, about the editorial or contributor staff if any.

I try to keep Atheo News interesting for the international audience though that is not strictly adhered to.Oh Bummer contains more content that would only interest North Americans though its readership has turned out to be almost as international as that of Atheo News. With Oh Bummer's exposure of the fallacy of "hope and change" it appeals mostly to the 1% of the electorate that voted for third party candidates, which is a very small target audience. International readers are not invested in having voted for Obama, so perhaps they are quicker to accept the reality of continuity from Bush era policies. 

What are the aspects of your site that are the most representative as well as the strong points of your site?

Oh Bummer is, sad to say, fairly unique as a site dedicated to critique of the Obama regime from a left perspective.Atheo News provides non-ideological dissent, which includes Palestine solidarity news as well as other anti-colonialism struggles. 

Do you encourage discussion on your site in the form of comments and if so, what can you say about the commenting on your site?

Please comment! While my sites do have regular readerships, they are fairly passive and mostly post comments as "anonymous" which unfortunately fails to achieve a sense of community or familiarity among themselves.I have a policy of deleting comments that encourage violence or illegal actions. 

What are some of the posts that are the most important/memorable to you?

A few of my posts have been circulating by email and republishing and have generated practically continuous reading. I compiled them into a category: Timeless or Most Popular  

If you could describe your site in one or two sentences, how would you do that?

Atheo News and Oh Bummer are basically aggregations of both news articles and selected blog posts by other bloggers, however over the past few months I have been writing unique content on issues I run across that I simply can't find good coverage on. A compilation of these articles is available under the label: Atheo News

Has your site ever had difficulties or been involved in any controversies that you would care to mention?

About two months into operation Atheo News became suppressed by Google. Referrals from Google internet searches suddenly dropped by 90%, Atheo News posts were placed at the bottom by whatever ranking system they use. The Blogger search function within the blog itself stopped working as well, results being haphazard and no longer chronological. 

Is there anything you might like to add to the readers of Palestine Think Tank?

Please visit! Atheo News and Oh Bummer should be of interest to PTT readers, the sites are quite complimentary.

And, the site is so big, I never investigated it all, no matter how many times I have put that item on my "to do" list. How can someone not be intrigued by sections with names like: From Freedom to Fascism, Economy in Deep Doo Doo, Fake Terror, Jesus' Family?

Palestine Think Tank asked the editor a few questions, and learned a few surprising things!

What is the focus of your website?

What kind of readership do you have in mind when assembling the

What are the aspects of your site that are the most representative as well as the strong points of your site?

Do you encourage discussion on your site in the form of comments and if so, what can you say about the commenting on your site?

What are some of the posts that are the most important/memorable to you?

If you could describe your site in one or two sentences, how would you do that?

Has your site ever had difficulties or been involved in any controversies that you would care to mention?

Is there anything you might like to add to the readers of Palestine Think Tank?

Let’s start with the PFLP opinion about the Obama administration and the new Israeli government. Do you think that the new US administration will bring any change to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

We do not think individuals can do a lot for the policy of a country. I believe that Obama will not bring any substantial change, at least with regard to the American foreign policy. We are talking about institutional policies, not those of individuals. Of course, each President, each party has a different approach on how to implement foreign policy, and there will be no crazy policies anymore like Bush did, but Obama cannot change the system, and the contradictions are within the system itself: the capitalist economic system, the imperialist view that led to the military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Toward the Middle East and especially the Palestinian cause, they are still talking about the “peace process,” that does not mean anything for us, it is not a real peace process. And I think the priority for the US now will be the financial crisis and the economic problems inside the capitalistic system itself. Therefore, we are not optimistic, Obama will not alter the system and consequently for the Palestinians, the situation will not change a lot.

What about the Israeli government? It seems they will not even be engaged to the two-state solution…

The Israeli government!? The elections show the Israeli government is going more and more to the far right-wing. The new thing is that Lieberman succeeded to gain more consensus and a seat in the government as Foreign Minister. He himself clearly represents, now at official level, the racism, the ethnic cleansing policies of the Israeli government towards the Palestinians. They are increasing the number of settlements, the house demolitions in Jerusalem; so, talk or not to talk with them? I belong to a party that has been saying from the beginning that this peace process will not lead to any peace or justice for the Palestinians. We have been asking to stop any kind of negotiation with the Israeli governments, especially with this one. We do not believe in a peace process based on personal individual talks, without really implementing the international resolutions related to the Palestinian cause and recognizing the fundamental rights of the Palestinians. I am not just talking about the right to create a fully independent Palestinian State, but also the right to self-determination and the right of return for the Palestinian refugees. There is no need to discuss or compromise on such fundamental inalienable rights; they should be just implemented through an international conference according to the international law and the relevant UN Resolutions.

Cairo talks: do you think any kind of reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah will be realistic?

I am pessimistic about the possibility of a reunification. I do not think there are real talks between the two parties on national reunification, but individual talks. Each party will use its power to create mechanisms to gain more power and rule the area it already controls. We think there should be an overall discussion without any external preconditions and interferences on how should be formed the new government. As Palestinian political parties, we share the situation of being under occupation: for that we should respect each other and use only democratic instruments to solve out problems, instead of controlling things through the use of force. We need to hold elections, change the electoral law in order to give all the political parties the opportunity to participate. We should stop this terrible mechanism where Hamas-Fatah feud, also thanks to external interferences, controls everything.

An increasing number of critics and dissidents of the PA leadership is becoming a target for the PA's security apparatus in the West Bank. Do you think the PA are becoming increasingly authoritarian and the security forces militarized? What about the coordination between them and the Israelis?

This aspect is part of the Road Map agreement. We totally refuse the coordination between the Palestinian security forces and the Israelis and we think it should be immediately stopped. Any security forces should help the Palestinians in their struggle and implement their citizens’ rights, instead of collaborate with the occupier. This is one of the issues now on the table of the dialogue. We are against any kind of security forces related to political parties, as it is now in the West Bank and Gaza. I am really concerned about the violation of the human rights of the Palestinians: both in West Bank and Gaza there are political prisoners, assassinations, closure of institutions of the rival party. In Gaza Hamas does not allow Fatah to hold normal political activities, and vice versa in the Fatah-controlled West Bank. The first victims of these policies are the human rights of the Palestinians themselves.

The Palestinian Authority still believes that the peace negotiations are the best way to achieve peace and justice for the Palestinians. Do you think the PNA represents the interest of the Palestinians people?

I am member of a party that has opposed the so-called peace process from the beginning. We do not agree on the track of individual and continuous negotiations and we call on the PA to end this policy that leads nowhere. We see that Israel uses the peace negotiations as a tool and a cover for their actions on the ground, their constant aggression and attacks against Palestinians and their land.

Is there the need for another form of representation for the Palestinians? Is not even the PLO behind the times?

We do not need to create another institution. We see the PLO as a political representation of the Palestinians both inside and outside Palestine and a symbol of their struggle. PNA does not represent all the Palestinians, the majority of whom are the refugees outside, it should just be an institution to help the Palestinians surviving under occupation. So, we need a political representation: I think we should save the PLO by reforming it. First of all a political review is needed: we have to learn the lesson from the past and stop the political approach of the futile peace negotiations and agreements. Second, there should be a democratic reform inside the PLO itself. Elections for a Palestinian Nation Conference should be held in order to give all the Palestinian people the opportunity to be adequately represented. From this election a Central Committee and an Executive Committee will be created.
You see, another aspect of the conflict between Hamas and Fatah is the issue of representation: Fatah does not want Hamas to enter the PLO in order to maintain the hegemony over it. On the contrary, Hamas wants to have an alternative form of representation because they won the elections. We see that PLO is the home of all the Palestinians and an instrument for their representation in the struggle for the self determination.

Let’s turn the discussion on the Palestinian Left. Can a divided Left represent a realistic third way between Hamas and Fatah?

The criticism on the fragmentation of the leftist parties is right, that is a great weakness. We think the Left should be unified. I am not talking about a new party or an immediate unification, but a coalition of all the leftist and progressive groups, grassroots organizations and individuals around a minimum political platform. This could be the first step toward a process that might lead towards a unified Left. Otherwise this situation in which Hamas and Fatah control everything will guide us for a long time. Only if the Palestinian democratic and leftist parties, along with individuals, unify in one coalition, the Left can represent a third way. We are working hard on that. In some student councils they have already held election together; the leftist women movements are discussing a paper to form a coalition…

Which are the concrete obstacles against the unification of the Left?

The main obstacles are political. For examples we have different views on the peace process: some parties agree with the Oslo agreements, the Road Map, etc. Others not. However, as I said before, this should not prevent us from agreeing on a minimum political agenda.

It seems to me that the leftist groups in general, and the PFLP, are facing a crisis of consensus in the Palestinian society: Why? Where has the Left gone? What are you doing to be more present and visible in Palestinian civil society (NGOs, grassroots organizations, popular movements)?

This is the challenge: no leftist political party can do a lot by itself. Now the leftists are facing a difficult situation: we have no power, no money, no international support. Even in the Arab world, the Islamic groups are now getting the lion′s share. We are facing internal problems, like the economic one. We are poor parties, and if you want to raise social programs, you need money to do it. How can we compete against Hamas that has a lot of infrastructure and funds? People do not want just talks, but actions on a social level. We also need to rely on voluntarism. Here comes the question: how to encourage voluntarism when you have to face so many geographical obstacles? At the international level, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, we lost support, coverage, and any kind of protection. We feel vulnerable: if you say you are a member of the PFLP, you end up in prison the same day. But your criticism is right; we should review our policy, come back in the grassroots movements, be more present…

…like in the nonviolent popular resistance against the Wall…

We already share the activities in Bil’in, Ni’lin, al-Ma’sara, we are in these popular committees.

Have you got relations with the Israeli and international anti-occupation movement?

We think that our national struggle needs the active support of the international solidarity movement. With regard to the Israeli movements, we ask them for the full recognition of the Palestinian rights…

Do not you think the time has come for the PFLP to put more efforts on the grassroots and popular struggle, and attach less importance on the military confrontation?

PFLP believes in all kinds of resistance, and of course the main resistance is the popular one (the boycott of goods, the cultural and academic boycott, the peaceful demonstrations against Wall and the settlements). No party is supporting only the military resistance. The armed struggle can be shared just by individuals, and it changes according to the situation, but the popular struggle is the great part and can be joined by a lot of people. I do not criticize in principle the armed resistance, because we are not facing a nice occupation at all, this is a military one. I agree we should increase our popular resistance against Wall, the settlements, etc. There is a linkage between the two kinds of resistance.

Maybe it is not the right time for a third Intifada, also seeing that the reaction in the West Bank during the Israeli attack on Gaza was not so strong as one could have expected…

The reaction was not strong because of the role played by the Palestinian security forces and because, and this is the main reason, we are divided at the national level. Listen, an Intifada needs leaders, but we do not have leaders. And it needs us to be united, but there is no unity at all. I think the moment for a third Intifada will come, the people will not wait for the situation to worsen forever, but now the priority is to be united as Palestinians.

The PFLP is a secular and Marxist party, but you have political positions much closer to a religious party like Hamas than to other secular parties. How do you explain that contradiction?

I do not think politically we are so close to Hamas. For example, we criticize its political approach and its belief on a long-term ceasefire as a way to put an end to the occupation. There are similarities, of course: we are both against the Oslo agreements, the Road Map, the trap of the peace negotiations. And like other revolutionary movements, for instances in Latin America, there can be in certain historical moments some kinds of relations between Marxism and religion. We should define the stage in which we find ourselves, in order to set priorities: as Palestinians, we are facing a national and democratic struggle. You should look at the political agenda related to the occupation: now our national united struggle must be the priority, other times the social and democratic issues will be at the top of the political agenda. First of all, I think we should work to create a united national front among all the parties to immediately end the occupation.

Enrico Bartolomei, for the Alternative Information Center

source: http://letteredallapalestina.myblog.it/

Will Obama succeed in achieving what every other American administration failed to achieve? (Reuters file photo)

President Obama’s speech to the Muslim world in Cairo on June 4th and his declared commitment to achieve a "balanced" solution to the enduring Palestinian plight revived hopes for ending decades of cruel Israeli occupation of occupied Palestinian territories. 

Moreover, Obama’s consistent demands that Israel freezes its constantly rabid settlement expansion in the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) made many Arabs and Muslims, as well as people of good will around the globe, think that the United States may finally have decided to introduce some evenhandedness and fairness to its erstwhile brazenly pro-Israeli policy.

However, there are those who are not willing to give Obama the benefit of the doubt, not only because they keep hearing nearly daily statements from Washington asserting America’s "iron-clad" commitment to Israeli security, but also because Israel is effectively flying in the face of Obama and telling him "do what you may, we are not going to heed your calls."

Indeed, the systematic savaging by Israel of the Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip, as well as the unmitigated theft of Arab land in the West Bank, should be a clarion proof, if a proof was needed, that peace and Israel are an eternal oxymoron.

This perception is corroborated by a torrent of personal attacks on Obama by Zionist pundits who have called the American president all sorts of names, including "anti-Semite," "Jew-hater," and "Hamas lover."

But the question remains, is Obama capable of doing the job? Namely, getting Israel to terminate its decades-old occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and al-Quds and to repatriate Palestinian refugees who were brutally uprooted from their ancestral homeland when the Zionist state was created more than sixty years ago.

Will he succeed in achieving what every other American administration failed to achieve?

And what would be the repercussions and ramifications in case Obama’s entire strategy in the Middle East failed to materialize, mainly as a result of Israeli intransigence and arrogance of power, and also because of America’s perceived unwillingness to exert pressure on Israel to give up the spoils of the 1967 war?

These and other questions were put to three Palestinian intellectuals who have extensive knowledge of the American foreign policy in the Middle East.

"I don’t see any genuine difference between Obama and former US President  Bush…" Qassem believes.

"Carbon-copy of Bush"

Abdul Sattar Qassem is a professor of political science at al-Najah National University in Nablus in the Northern West Bank. He is also a prolific writer and political activist who has been imprisoned by Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) a number of times due to his outspoken criticisms of the “peace process” with Israel.

He told Islamonline that he had no doubt that the entire Obama strategy would fail.

Professor Abdul Sattar Qassim in the West Bank.

“I don’t see any genuine difference between Obama and (former US President George) Bush. I wouldn’t exaggerate if I said that Obama’s policies are essentially a mere carbon-copy of Bush’s policy. I think his promises and proclamations will eventually turn to be a mere illusion."

Asked what he thought would be the ramifications of the failure of the "Obama vision," Qassem said the Palestinian and other official Arab regimes were “too powerless, too corrupt and too bankrupt to make any difference.”

"They (Arab regimes) will do nothing because they lack the will to act and are not capable of doing anything that would upset Israel.  They will just wait for the next American administration, just as they have been doing for decades. This is the reason Israel and the West in general do not take the Arab world seriously."

Nonetheless, Qassem does argue that despair accompanying the failure of the Obama strategy will generate "a lot of indignation and exasperation" in the Arab world, especially in occupied Palestine and countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan.

Qassem's views are generally shared by Haider Eid, an English Lecturer at al-Aqsa University in Gaza.

He argues that it is naïve to pin any hope for achieving a just and durable peace on Obama.

"I believe that Obama’s efforts will meet a clarion failure, not only because of the Israeli refusal to end the occupation, and the mounting Nazi-like trends in the Israeli Jewish society, but also because of the conspicuous absence of the political will on the part of  official Arab regime."

However, unlike Qassem, Eid believes the failure of the Obama strategy in the Middle East will have "profound polarizing effects" on the Palestinians as well as through the region.

"There will be a sharp polarization between two camps: The camp of resistance,  defiance, and steadfastness on the one hand, and the camp of subservience to American hegemony, on the other." 

Dr. Haider Eid, al-Aqsa University in Gaza.

Eid ridiculed those Arabs and Muslims who have looked to Obama as a paragon of justice and true peace.

"We have to remember that Obama has not asked Israel to dismantle the colonies, or bring down the Wall, or allow the refugees to return home. So, what sort of peace are we talking about?"

Eid said he saw no tangible Arab strategy which would serve as an alternative in case Obama’s efforts reached a dead end.

"I think we need a genuine alternative in the form of demanding the creation of a unitary democratic state in the whole of mandatory Palestine from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River whereby Jews and Arabs, irrespective of religion and race, would live equally as citizens."

We have nothing to lose by cooperating with the Obama administration.

Let’s Give Him a Chance

Abdullah Abdullah is a veteran Palestinian politician affiliated with the Fatah organization. He dismisses "the perpetual nay-sayers" as "political novices."

"I sharply disagree with those who think that the survival of the Palestinian cause depends on the success of the Obama’s efforts. We were once allied with the Soviet Union. The Soviet had disappeared but the Palestinian cause remained as relevant as ever," argues Abdullah, who is also prominent member of the Palestinian Legislative Cuncil.                                                                                 

However, unlike Eid and Qassem, Abdullah acknowledges that Obama is  sincere in his efforts to resolve the enduring conflict in Palestine "for altruistic reasons." 

"Strategic planners in the United States have reached the conclusion that leaving the Arab-Israeli conflict unresolved would have harmful consequences on American national interests."

Abdullah says Obama is not just another Bush.

"This president is very different from Bush. He has carefully studied the problems facing the United States and reached the conclusion resolving the Palestinian problem is an important prerequisite for checking the ongoing deterioration in the global US standing."

Nonetheless, Abdullah recognizes that the possibility of failure cannot be ruled out.

"We have nothing to lose by cooperating with the Obama administration. If we start saying 'No,' we will be sending a golden propaganda present to Israel which will then claim that it is the Palestinians, not Israel, who don’t want peace."

Qassem argues that while people might differ on the expediency of certain tactics, intellectuals ought to pay more attention to strategic goals.

"I don’t think that we ought to keep exhausting our national efforts playing public relations games with Israel. Instead, we ought to find a real salvation strategy that would eventually lead to the liberation of Palestine, land and people. And, as I see things on the ground, I just cannot pretend that Obama’s efforts will allow us to achieve our goals.

"I am saying so because our tasks are more than just freezing the construction of a building here or there, our task is to effect Arab-Islamic renaissance. This is what would make Israel reconsider its insolence and arrogance of power." 

——————————————————————————–

 Source-Islamonline http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1248187573012&pagename=Zone-English-Muslim_Affairs%2FMAELayout

Iranian experts believe that the development of political reform and the emerging wave of social awareness which is encompassing the different classes and layers of Iranian society is not a direct result of efforts made by the politicians but a spontaneous consequence of Iranian people's exposure to the political transformations on the international level, their expansion of contacts with the outside world and the impacts being generated by the youths and universities.

"During the tenure of former President Khatami, some felL into the false believe that the social developments and the students' demand for political reforms are provoked and enticed by the reformist newspapers and thus, a multilateral raid on the independent newspapers and journalists was launched," says Nasrin Pourhamrang, Iranian journalist and a lecturer of sociology at the Scientific and Applicative University of Rasht, "however the recent election which transpired to be most vibrant and dynamic election in the contemporary history of Iran was a witness to the prominent presence of reformist media, and only two or three reformist newspapers have been available to the people."

"This shows that reformism is the result of growing awareness among the educated, middle urban class of the Iranian society which is calling for the rationalization of laws, transformations of authorities' stance and betterment of social circumstances. Reform in Iran is not the consequence of Mr. Khatami's government or the recent presidential election," she added.

"The reformists have proven that they will run away when are given the chance to fight for the people and against the looters of our nation." Dr. Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, a US-based Iranian environmentalist and political activist was quoted in Middle East Online saying, "The striking bus drivers of 2005, the striking oil workers of 1978, have far more legitimacy to feed and educate the nation, to speak for the nation's true needs, than any reformist character which was approved for running for political office by an unelected council of tyrants."

"To save ourselves from the US and Israeli wars and embargoes, we need the strength of a home-grown democratic state in Iran. We need a state that fears, respects, and answers to the millions of Iranians who refuse to be robbed again," added Savabieasfahani.

However and despite the fact that the road to social reforms in Iran will be obstructed by various barriers and impediments in the future, people should not give up monitoring their politicians and leaders justly and cautiously.

"I wish all people, and not only Iranians, would feel entitled to make demands for their own lives and their own future," Mary Rizzo, an Italian journalist and editor at the Tlaxcala Network for Linguistic Diversity said in an article published in Middle East Online, "I have no recipe to give, only that people should always monitor those who govern them, being able to stand in support when necessary, and also able to confront their leaders when there are issues that do not bring anything to the people."

"I have great faith in the Iranian people to pursue what is in their own best interests, and I only hope that their demands are not manipulated by others," added Rizzo. "National interests should always be inspired by what suits the people and what can render their lives better as individuals and as a society. The two need not be in contrast."

However, a certain amount of apprehension regarding the spontaneity of Iran's reform movement and protecting it's originality from the foreign intervention can be pinpointed as a common concern in the statements and remarks of experts quoted by Middle East Online.

Jeremy R. Hammond, American journalist and the chief editor of Foreign Policy Journal believes that the Iranian nation is the only eligible, competent and relevant entity who should decide for its destiny in the long-run: "I think it's up to the Iranian people to decide how they should pursue their collective goals, but they can't wait for their leaders to offer up change. Change comes through massive political pressure from the bottom up."

Hammond is also concerned about the fate of Iran's political progression in the face of US hindrances and interferences: "The US simply cannot allow Iran to be independent and operate outside of the Western power structure. Countries are supposed to take their marching orders from Washington. Iran is defying Washington, and therefore must be demonized."

Kourosh Ziabari a freelance journalist and reporter in Iran, works regularly with Tlaxcala and Foreign Policy Journal.

source: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/opinion/?id=33421

Forty-four testimonies of uprooted Palestinians, summarize the crime of raping a homeland and expose the truth with clarity and sincerity that many tried to efface or hide, sometimes due to ignorance or avoiding it, and mostly with design and dubiousness.

Emigrants… displaced… uprooted?  This is the ordinary and simple question that may not stop us and possibly may make ourselves ask some questions about it, on the pretence that the result is one: An occupied homeland and a dislodged people. But there is a great difference between uprooting and emigration, and there is a purpose or purposes to establish and engrave this understanding in people’s minds.

This could be the importance of this book, which lays light not only on the Palestinian memory, but opens the file of the Nakbah, details, documented events and keeps asking the question, "who is responsible for the loss of Palestine? The British mandate, the Belfour declaration, the Sykes Picot agreement, Zionist gangs and their savage terrorism and massacres, or the weak unstable Arab regimes… or is all these together?"

Questions that put us back at square one, in relation to happenings and  events, placing us in an open confrontation with our memories, sentiments, givens and culture about Palestine that the book, “Testimonies of Uprooted Palestinians” published by Baheth Center for Studies, in which its writer the political striver and researcher, Adib S Kawar, wants to  focus on various different personalities with different characteristics, standards of education, professions who came from most occupied Palestinian cities and villages. The book speaks with sincerity and righteousness about their roots that go deep in Palestinian soil that were not eradicated along with their uprooting from it; so its veins remained flooded and boiling with Palestinian Arab blood. And the image of which remained alive in their memory with great yearning for return. Facts were recreated as if they are being lived, documented, alive with details, developments and witnesses to uncover the falsity of Zionist claims and defy them fully. The war of annihilation that Zionism practiced even before the Palestinian Nakbah is still an imprint and testimonial that the book refers to is in many patterns and examples, which unmask the enemy’s racism as expressed by many Zionist researchers and historians such as Benny Morris, the Beer Shiva University (Ben Gurion University) professor and "new historian" who uncovered in his interview in Haaretz daily http://www.google.com.lb/url?  “Survival of the Fittest” the massacres that Zionist invaders committed against the indigenous Arab population with the purpose of uprooting what he called “The Barbarians”, claiming that there is no moral problem in slaughtering Palestinians, and thus he blames Ben Gurion for his incompletion of the uprooting process, and he looks forward for the opportunity for Zionists to complete the long awaited aim to do so.

Kawar refers in his book to the role of the Zionized American press in adopting Zionist claims and refers to the “Source”, a novel by James Michener that connects the Palestinian “emigration” with secret orders by Arab field officers, which aims at the evacuation of Palestinian Arab civilians, and orders them to create the most possible chaos, confusion and infringement of public civil services as mentioned in page 961 of this Zionist novel, “Assure them that Arab Armies shall take control of all Palestine and tell them 'you shall be able to return to it and take possession of Jewish properties'." Kawar also referred to the operations of Judification of Palestine, and building of Zionist only colonies (settlements), which are, were and sill active to change the geographical, cultural and constructional features of Palestine to prove the great Zionist lie that “Palestine is a land without a people for a people without a land” and evidencing the legend of the historical and divine promise…

Forty-four testimonies of uprooted men and women from all over Palestine that bear indications, occurrences and information that uncovered many secrets and facts that some people were not aware of or Zionism tried to hide from the public’s attention which also have no longer been discussed in the political scene today. Common factors among strivers, thinkers and ordinary citizens who were brought together by a common cause and one cause of worry, also could be the common dream of returning to the Palestinian homeland where their roots still remain and which is their source of identity: George Habash, Shafik Al-Hout, Ahmad Al-Yamani “Abu Maher”, Salah Salah, Abdul Latif Kanafani, Ibrahim Quombarji, Khalil Al-Wazir “Abu Jihad” and many others who put light on live memories that never tires from embracing the homeland and moving around with it, whether in schools, homes, work along with the youthful friendships and their playgrounds. Some of those passed away have left behind documents and testimony in more than one sort or document or another. Some are still alive, breathing the homeland as a dream that should one day materialize as a living fact. All suffered from exile, but were never fatigued with waiting for their first step on the long road on the way of return to their dear and beloved stolen homeland.

A documented book in more than four hundred pages, the introduction of which was written by thinker, striver Dr. Anis Sayegh with a testimony of his own that sighs with the pulse of Palestine’s lover breathing with a long deep and rich experience. What could be the most outstanding in Dr. Sayegh’s introduction is the Biblical concept of the “Exodus” that spread throughout more than thirty centuries coupling this expression of Jewish history from one side and Biblical myths on the other, considering this so-called fallacious “Exodus” in its foundations, sources, meaning stands ashamed in front another factual, actual and felt exodus in millions of proofs, which is the exodus of three quarters of a million Palestinian Arabs forcefully and savagely uprooted by the force of arms and Zionist terror. Dr. Sayegh reflects the sufferings of their writers, artists men of letters with what was called then the literature of uprooting. He didn’t forget while throwing light on the importance of these testimonies to write his own distinctive testimony in which he related his family’s life in Tiberius (Tabariya) and a lot about life in his beloved town and his birthplace to lay light with his pen that glows with yearning for a childhood, the arteries of which roar with the love of Palestine.

Along with the introduction we have a prologue by the author, the forty-four testimonies that chronicle for the most outstanding personalities of the period and information… What did Adib Kawar want to say in his book, and why now, after over sixty years from the uprooting?

The writer, critic and striver Adib Kawar said: “Palestinian’s memory should always be alert, alive, ardent and continue to live and take roots in their children and grandchildren’s memory and never tire from remembering the stolen homeland.”

But who is Adib Kawar? He also briefly replies that he is a Palestinian from Nazareth, but he lived since 1938 in Lebanon where he studied public administration and political science in the American University of Beirut and graduated in 1954, and among his classmates were the present Lebanese minister of foreign affairs, Fawzi Saloukh and Ambassador Khalil Makawi. Kawar said he was among the first generation of the founders of the Arab Nationalist Movement in the early fifties of the twentieth century.

How was his starting with nationalist striving? He replied: "The start was while studying in the American University of Beirut, which was at the time the center of political and national activism, and it was the birthplace of the Arab Nationalist Movement with Dr. George Habash, Dr. Wadie Haddad, both from Palestine, Dr. Ahamad Al-Khatib from Kuwait where he became a parliament member and headed the biggest block deputies in it, Saleh Shibel and many others from various Arab countries: Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and others." Kawar’s start was in Al-3oroba Organization in the preparatory Section of the International Collage which joined forces with the Arab Nationalist Movement pioneers in the university, then the movement had a widespread development in the Arab homeland from the Gulf to the Atlantic Ocean. Kawar said the movement stirred the Arab street and lead to an Arab awakening. Among it activities were leading big demonstrations against the Baghdad pact organized by the colonialist powers, the Palestinian cause and anti-imperialism in Algeria, Morocco etc. Student demonstrations in Lebanon were joined by activists from certain organizations and university and school students in Lebanon. This demonstration and others organized in various Arab nationalist occasions lead by the movement were confronted by police during which a martyr fell in addition to some injured demonstrators by police fire. He was arrested along with other demonstrators and some students were expelled from the university who were later admitted to Egyptian universities by order of the late President Gamal Abdul Nasser, but Kawar was lucky enough to be allowed to finish his graduation year.

In the American University the Al-Orwah Al-Wothqa Society established more than two decades earlier as a cultural and literary society to develop into an Arab Nationalist center of activities through which student and other forces were activated to stir the Arab street. Its membership covered besides members the movement members of other parties active at the time such as the Communist Party and the Syrian Nationalist Social Party, but it was always controlled by the A. N. M. A year later the university’s administration closed Al-Orwah forever in an attempt to cripple political and nationalist activism. During his membership in this society he organized the first and second Arab book fair.

The activities of Al-Orwah were continued by the Arab Cultural Club as a center of political and Arab national activism outside the university’s campus. The club continued organizing the book fair, the 53rd exhibition of which shall be organized during the current year, which became one of  the largest of its sort in the Arab homeland. Kawar was editor in chief of the club's quarterly magazine “Arab Culture.”

Kawar is the author of a number of books:

1-  “Jewish Women in Occupied Palestine” 1968 published by The Palestine Research Center (Arabic)

2-  “Zionist Propaganda in American Fiction” Published by Baheth Center for Research (Arabic) in two editions 2004 and 2005 and in English available on CD.

3-  “Testimonies of Uprooted Palestinians” 2007 Published by Baheth Center for Research (Arabic)

4-  “Palestinian Education under the Two Occupations” (Arabic) Ready for printing

  At last why are these testimonies, and at this time in particular? Kawar says in principle they are to refute the idea, the Zionist movement and its state, “Israel” to try to convince the world that Palestinians deserted their homes and homeland voluntarily, or by orders from their leaderships or both.

In fact they were uprooted though ethnic cleansing operations, terrorist massacres/annihilation and raping and murdering Palestinian girls by members of Zionist gangs. We believe that the best proof for such war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Palestinian Arabs is the writings of the  racist Zionist new historian, Benny Morris, who blamed Ben Gurion for not completing once and for all his ethnic cleansing crimes, refer to Morris’ interview with Haaretz ARI SHAVIT – SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST? AN INTERVIEW WITH BENNY ….ere are also documented testimonies and proofs that the Jewish Legion in the British Army counting about sixty two thousand men and women well trained and some had actual combat experience during WW II in North Africa and Europe, most of who were sent to Europe to fight the Fascists and the Nazis took the advantage of their presence in Europe to collect European Jews, train them wherever they were and send to Palestine instead of fighting the Axis forces. On the other hand Arab forces that took part in defending Palestinian Arabs against the Zionist invasion forces in Palestine did not exceed twenty two thousand fighters. Including Arab Armies, Al-Inqaz army and Palestinian resistance men-  http://www.tlaxcala.es/pp.asp?lg=en&reference=24197

It is very important to note that the Governments of Egypt, Jordan and Iraq were tied by treaties with Great Britain that gave the latter the “right” to control the political and military decision of these three countries. It is also important to note that Great Britain’s aim during its mandate on Palestine was the application of the Balfour Declaration, and to facilitate the establishment of a Zionist state in Palestine, that is why it insisted on during is negotiation with France on the Sykes Picot agreement to have Palestine as its share while dividing their spoils of the Arab territories of the old Ottoman Empire. This is why it was encouraging military training and arming Jews while Arabs were denied this right. This went to the extent if any Palestinian Arab was caught even with an empty bullet was sentenced to life imprisonment if not hanging, actually tens of them were hanged. Many Palestinian Arab leaders were exiled to remote British colonies such as the seychelle islands in the Indian Ocean.

    As to how in Adib Kawar’s opinion the liberation of Palestine shall be fulfilled sixty one years after the Nakbah, he confirms that today it shall be achieved earlier than yesterday, but now it shall now not be by Arab Armies, it shall be by popular resistance. The example of the withdrawal of Zionist occupation forces from Gaza unilaterally was the result of years of armed resistance and struggle and not willingly by the Zionist entity, also the failure of the Zionist forces to crush Palestinian resistance during the 23 days long Zionist war on Gaza is also a good example. And the example of Lebanese resistance forces obliging the Zionist occupation of South Lebanon to unilaterally withdraw from occupied South Lebanon in the year 2000 as well as the failure of the Zionist assault on Lebanon July/August 2006 to crush the Lebanese resistance is a big proof of that. He said it is the first time in the history in the Arab Zionist struggle an Arab victory against the Zionist entity achieved.

Adib Kawar is now dedicating all his time and efforts after retiring in research, writing and translating and coordinating with hundreds of Arab and foreign activist for the Palestinian cause mainly through internet and other means of communication, he assures people that resistance is not terrorism, and that the Zionist entity is the biggest terrorist organization in the world and throughout history, which could only be defeated with popular resistance. He says that he shall continue his struggle by use of the pen to uncover the truth about our Arab causes, and confirm Palestinian Arab rights in their homeland.

:
“فلسطين لن تُحرَّر إلا بالمقاومة”

بيروت – سلوى التميمي:
أربع وأربعون شهادة، تختزل جريمة اغتصاب وطن وتطرح بصدق جارح حقيقة يحاول الكثيرون طمسها أو الهروب منها . أحياناً بجهل، وغالباً بتعمد غير بريء ومشبوه .

مهاجرون . . نازحون أم مقتلعون؟ هذا السؤال العادي والبسيط قد لا يستوقفنا وقد لا نطرحه على أنفسنا باعتبار أن النتيجة واحدة: وطن محتل وشعب مشرد . لكن ثمة فرق شاسع ما بين الاقتلاع والهجرة، وثمة هدف أو أهداف لتكريس هذا المفهوم وزرعه في الأذهان .

من هنا ربما تأتي أهمية هذا الكتاب الذي لا يضيء فقط على الذاكرة الفلسطينية بقدر ما يفتح ملف النكبة، تفاصيل وأحداثاً موثقة ويعيد طرح السؤال من جديد: من المسؤول عن ضياع فلسطين؟ الانتداب البريطاني ووعد بلفور أم العصابات الصهيونية وإرهابها الوحشي ومجازرها أم هو واقع الأنظمة العربية المفكك والهزيل أم هو كل هذا معاً؟

أسئلة تعيد خلط الأوراق والوقائع والأحداث وتضعنا في مواجهة عارية ومكشوفة مع مخزون ذاكرتنا ووجداننا وثقافتنا حول فلسطين قضية وشعباً يطرحها كتاب “شهادات لمقتلعين فلسطينيين” الصادر عن باحث للدراسات والذي تعمّد معدّه المناضل السياسي والكاتب د . أديب قعوار أن يسلّط الضوء على وجوه متعددة وشخصيات متباينة تغطي مساحة فلسطين المحتلة مدناً وقرى . وتتحدث بحميمية وصدق عن جذورها الضاربة في عمق تراب الوطن والتي لم تُستأصل باستئصالها منه . فبقي الدم في عروقها فلسطينياً حتى النخاع وبقيت الصورة في ذاكرتها حيّة حتى اللهفة . فجاءت الحقائق كأنها وليدة اللحظة موثقة ونابضة بالتفاصيل والوقائع والشهود لتكشف عن زيف ادعاءات العدو وتنسفها من جذورها . ولعلّ حرب الابادة التي انتهجها منذ ما قبل النكبة ولا يزال هي من السمات والشواهد التي يؤشر إليها الكتاب حيث يورد الكثير من النماذج التي تفضح عنصرية العدو وعلى لسان عدد من الباحثين الصهاينة من أمثال المؤرخ بني موريس الأستاذ في جامعة “بئر السبع” المعروفة بجامعة بن غوريون، والذي كشف في مقابلة معه له مع جريدة “هآرتس” معنونة "البقاء للأفضل" المجازر التي ارتكبت بحق الفلسطينيين من أجل استئصال من أسماهم البرابرة، مفصحاً عن ان لا مشكلة اخلاقية في ذبح الفلسطينيين وبالتالي فهو يعتب على بن غوريون لأنه لم يكمآنذاك عملية الاستئصال هذه ويأمل ان تحين الفرصة للصهاينة ليتسلموا المهمة يوماً!

ويتطرق قعوار في كتابه الى دور الاعلام الأمريكي المتصهين في تبني وتكريس الادعاءات الصهيونية مشيراً الى رواية “الينبوع” للكاتب الأمريكي جيمس ميشيز التي تربط هجرة الفلسطينيين بأوامر سرية الى ضباط الميدان العربي تقضي بإجلاء جميع المدنيين كما تأمرهم بخلق أقصى حدّ من التشويش والارباك والاخلال بالخدمات العامة كما جاء في صفحة 961 من الرواية “أكدوا لهم أن الجيوش العربية ستستولي على كل فلسطين وسيكون بإمكانهم العودة اليهاوحتى الاستيلاء على أملاك اليهود ” . كذلك يتطرق قعوار الى عمليات التهويد وبناء المستوطنات التي كانت ولا تزال تنشط في تغيير معالم الوطن تحقيقاً للكذبة الكبيرة بأن فلسطين أرض بلا شعب لشعب بلا أرض أو إثباتاً لأسطورة الحق التاريخي والوعد الإلهي .

أربع وأربعون شهادة لمقتلعين من مختلف أرجاء فلسطين حملت دلالات ومعطيات ووقائع كشفت الكثير من الأسرار والحقائق التي غابت أو غُيّبت ولم تعد تتصدر المشهد السياسي اليوم . قواسم مشتركة لمناضلين ومفكرين ومواطنين عاديين جمعتهم قضية واحدة وهمّ واحد، وربما هو حلم واحد العودة الى أرض الوطن حيث المنبت والجذور والهوية . جورج حبش، شفيق الحوت، أحمد اليماني “أبو ماهر”، صلاح صلاح، عبد اللطيف كنفاني، ابراهيم قمبرجي، خليل الوزير “أبو جهاد” وغيرهم أضاؤوا على ذاكرة لم تتعب من احتضانها للوطن والترحال به ومعه عبر البيت والمدرسة وأصدقاء الطفولة ومرتع الصبا والشباب . بعضهم رحل تاركاً شهادته موثقة في أكثر من مطبوعة . والبعض لا يزال يتنفس الوطن حلماً لا بد أن يصبح حقيقة . وآخرون أتعبتهم المنافي ولم يتعبهم انتظارهم الطويل للعودة الى الوطن .

كتاب موثّق في أكثر من أربعمائة صفحة قدم له المفكر والمناضل د . أنيس صايغ في شهادة موقّعة بنبض العاشق لفلسطين وبصدق الباحث وعمق تجربته . ولعل أبرز ما تطرقت اليه مقدمته مفهوم “الخروج” التوراتي والذي شاع على امتداد أكثر من ثلاثين قرناً وتوأمة هذا التعبير للتاريخ اليهودي من جهة ولأساطير التوراة من جهة أخرى، معتبراً ان هذا الخروج الوهمي في أساساته وأصوله ومدلولاته ومزاعمه يقف ذليلاً أمام خروج آخر حقيقي وواقعي وملموس في ملايين الأدلة والتجسيدات وهو خروج ثلاثة أرباع المليون فلسطيني من ديارهم خروجاً قسرياً ووحشياً وارهابياً . ويعكس د . صايغ معاناة هذا الشعب في ابداعات كتّابه وفنانيه وأدبائه وما سمي آنذاك أدب الاقتلاع . ولا ينسى وهو يضيء على أهمية هذه الشهادات ان تكون له شهادته الخاصة والمتميزة والتي استحضر من خلالها اسرته في طبريا والكثير من ملامح الحياة في مدينته الحبيبة ومسقط رأسه طبريا ليضيء قلمه ويتوهج حنيناً لطفولة تضج عروقها بعشق فلسطين .

مؤسس في حركة القوميين العرب

ومن المقدمة الى الشهادات الى مجموعة من الوثائق التي تؤرخ لأبرز أصوات تلك المرحلة ومعطياتها . . ماذا أراد أديب قعوار أن يقول في هذا الكتاب ولماذا اليوم وبعد ستين سنة على الاقتلاع؟

يقول الكاتب والناقد والمناضل أديب قعوار “لا بدّ للفلسطيني أن تبقى ذاكرته حيّة حاضرة ومتقدة وأن تعيش وتترسخ في ذاكرة أبنائه وأحفاده وألا يتعب من استحضار الوطن” .

ولكن من هو أديب قعوار؟ أيضاً يجيب وباختصار أنه فلسطيني من الناصرة لكنه عاش منذ سنة 1938 في لبنان حيث درس العلوم السياسية والادارة العامة في الجامعة الأمريكية سنة 1954 ويذكر من زملاء الدراسة د . فوزي صلوخ والسفير خليل مكاوي . وقعوار كما يقول من مؤسسي أو من الرعيل الأول لحركة القوميين العرب ومنذ أوائل الخمسينات .

كيف كانت بدايته مع النضال؟ يقول: الانطلاقة كانت من الجامعة الأمريكية في بيروت حيث كانت آنذاك تشكل مركزاً قومياً سياسياً ومنها انطلقت حركة القوميين العرب مع د . جورج حبش ووديع حداد ود . أحمد الخطيب الذي أصبح رئيس كتلة نيابية في مجلس النواب الكويتي وأيضاً صالح شبل وجميعهم من طلبة الجامعة وقد شكلوا بداية “منظمة العروبة” والتي اصبحت لاحقاً حركة القوميين العرب وقد انتشرت في العالم العربي من المحيط الى الخليج . ويضيء قعوار على بعض أنشطة الحركة في 1954 حيث حرّكت الشارع العربي وشاركت في أضخم التظاهرات ضد حلف بغداد . وقد تعرضت تظاهرة الطلبة في لبنان الى القمع واطلاق النار فسقط فيها شهيد كما تمّ اعتقاله وسجنه لليلة واحدة الى جانب اعتقال وسجن العديدين وطرد بعضهم خارج لبنان

. مؤلفات الكاتب: شكل الدولة العربية لعتيدة – 1955 / المرأة اليهودية في فلسطين المحتلة 1968 /

الدععاية الصهيونية في الرواية الأمريكية (عربي وانجليزي) طبعتين 2004 و 2005 /

شهادات لمقتلعين فلسطينيين 2007 / التعليم الفلسطيني تحت الاحتلالين (جاهز للطبع)

وفي الجامعة الأمريكية في بيروت أيضاً تأسست “جمعية العروة الوثقى” باعتبارها جمعية ثقافية لتتطور لاحقاً الى مركز نشاط قومي عربي كانت الحركة تدير من خلالها أنشطتها كالانتخابات النقابية والطلابية وتحريك الشارع وكانت تضم أبرز الأحزاب آنذاك كالشيوعيين والحزب القومي السوري لكن حركة القوميين العرب كانت تشكل مركز الثقل فيها . وبعد تظاهرة سنة 1954 تم طرد عدد من الطلبة ولأنه كان في سنة التخرج فقد اكتفي بتوجيه انذار له .

يقول قعوار “انتميت الى النادي الثقافي العربي والذي انبثق من جمعية العروة الوثقى باعتبارها جمعية ثقافية لتتحول لاحقاً الى مركز لنشاط القوميين العرب وبعد توقيفها أخذ مكانها “النادي الثقافي العربي” والذي يستمر نشاطه حتى اليوم وكنت آنذاك رئيس تحرير مجلة النادي واسمها مجلة “الثقافة العربية” والتي كانت تصدر أعداداً فصلية متخصصة بمواضيع فكرية عربية تتناول في كل عدد منها دولة عربية كفلسطين أو الجزائر وقد أقمنا أول معرض للكتاب العربي أثناء دراستنا الجامعية وفي مركز العروة الوثقى ليتابع النادي الثقافي هذا النشاط لاحقاً ويستمر فيه” .

ويتطرق قعوار الى مرحلة النضال العربي والى ما تعرضت له حركة القوميين العرب من انشقاقات نجم عنها ولادة الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين . وليتابع نضاله لاحقاً عبر الكتابة والأبحاث وفي مجلات وصحف متعددة كمجلات "الثقافة العربية:، المقاصد"، "الآداب"، "تاريخ العرب والعالم" وغيرها وفي بعض الصحف العربية .

ماذا عن مؤلفاته الأخرى؟ ربما من أهمها وكما يقول كتابه عن المرأة اليهودية في فلسطين المحتلة والذي صدر سنة 1968 . وفي سنة 2004 أعدّ لمركز باحث للدراسات ثلاثة كتب منها الدعاية الصهيونية في الرواية الأمريكية وباللغة الانجليزية الذي ترجمه لاحقاً للعربية كذلك "شهادات لمقتلعين فلسطينيين" وهناك دراسة عن "شكل الدولة العربية العتيدة" أصدره سنة 1955 مؤتمر الخريجين العرب في القدس وهو بصدد الانتهاء من كتاب “التعليم الفلسطيني تحت الاحتلالي”.

وأخيراً لماذا هذه الشهادات وفي هذا التوقيت بالذات؟ يقول قعوار انها في الأساس لدحض الفكرة الأساسية التي روجتها الحكومة الصهيونية وحاولت من خلالها اقناع العالم بأن الفلسطينيين تركوا أرضهم اختيارياً أو بأوامر من القيادات العربية .

فالحقيقة انهم اقتلعوا اقتلاعاً وعبر عمليات تصفية عنصرية ومجازر ارهابية واغتصاب للفتيات وليس أدلّ على هذه الجرائم وعمليات الإبادة من شهادة بني موريس الذي يلوم بن غوريون فيها لأنه لم يكمل عملية تصفية الشعب الفلسطيني . كما ان ثمة شهادات موثقة تؤكد ان الفيلق اليهودي الذي كان ملحقاً بالجيش البريطاني وعدده 62 ألف امرأة ورجل مدربين تدريباً عسكرياً للقتال في فلسطين وليس للمشاركة في الحرب العالمية الثانية وكانت مهمتهم الأساسية جمع اليهود وتدريبهم على القتال حيثما وجدوا وليس القتال ضد الجيش الألماني . وفي المقابل لم يكن عدد عناصر الجيوش العربية وجيش الانقاذ والمقاومة ليتجاوز 22 ألف نسمة آنذاك الى جانب أن حكومات مصر والأردن والعراق كانت مرتبطة مع بريطانيا بمعاهدات تخوّلها السيطرة على القرار العربي والعسكري علماً بأن همّ بريطانيا خلال الانتداب كان تطبيق وعد بلفور وتسهيل اقامة الكيان الصهيوني على أرض فلسطين، لهذا كان اصرارها خلال تطبيق معاهدة سايكس بيكو أن تكون فلسطين ضمن حصتها ولهذا كانت تشجع على تسليح وتدريب اليهود في الوقت الذي تحظر على عرب فلسطين حمل السلاح ومن كانت تجد معه “فشكه فارغة” كان يعدم أو يسجن مؤبداً وقد شُنق العشرات في فلسطين، أو سجنوا وعُذّبوا ونفي قادتهم إلى أماكن نائية مثل جزر سيشل في لمحيط الهندي .

أما كيف يرى أديب قعوار تحرير فلسطين بعد ستين عاماً على النكبة؟ فيؤكد أنها اليوم أقرب من الأمس وأن تحريرها لن يكون عبر الجيوش العربية وانما عبر المقاومة الشعبية ويعطي غزة كمثال اذ خرج منها الصهاينة مندحرين تحت ضربات المقاومة لا طوعاً، كذلك الحزام الحدودي في لبنان . ويرى أنها المرة الأولى في تاريخ القضية الفلسطينية التي نحصد فيها انتصارات .

يبقى أن المناضل أديب قعوار والذي يشغل وقته اليوم بعد تقاعده بالعمل في الأبحاث والتأليف والترجمة والتواصل عبر الانترنت مع مؤيدي القضية الفلسطينية يصر على أن المقاومة ليست ارهاباً وأن الدولة الصهيونية هي أكبر ارهاب عرفه التاريخ وأنه سيواصل العمل النضالي وإن كان عبر القلم لكشف الحقيقة وتكريس حق شعب فلسطين في وطنه وأرضه .

دعواتكم .. .. …

Adri Nieuwhof:What would you like to say to introduce yourself to EI's readers?

Hajo Meyer: I had to quit grammar school in Bielefeld after the Kristallnacht [the two-day pogrom against Jews in Nazi Germany], in November 1938. It was a terrible experience for an inquisitive boy and his parents. Therefore, I can fully identify with the Palestinian youth that are hampered in their education. And I can in no way identify with the criminals who make it impossible for Palestinian youth to be educated.

AN: What motivated you to write your book, The End of Judaism?

HM: In the past, the European media have written extensively about extreme right-wing politicians like Joerg Haider in Austria and Jean-Marie Le Pen in France. But when Ariel Sharon was elected [prime minister] in Israel in 2001, the media remained silent. But in the 1980s I understood the deeply fascist thinking of these politicians. With the book I wanted to distance myself from this. I was raised in Judaism with the equality of relationships among human beings as a core value. I only learned about nationalist Judaism when I heard settlers defend their harassment of Palestinians in interviews. When a publisher asked me to write about my past, I decided to write this book, in a way, to deal with my past. People of one group who dehumanize people who belong to another group can do this, because they either have learned to do so from their parents, or they have been brainwashed by their political leaders. This has happened for decades in Israel in that they manipulate the Holocaust for their political aims. In the long-run the country is destructing itself this way by inducing their Jewish citizens to become paranoid. In 2005 [then Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon illustrated this by saying in the Knesset [the Israeli parliament], we know we cannot trust anyone, we only can trust ourselves. This is the shortest possible definition of somebody who suffers from clinical paranoia. One of the major annoyances in my life is that Israel by means of trickery calls itself a Jewish state, while in fact it is Zionist. It wants the maximum territory with a minimum number of Palestinians. I have four Jewish grandparents. I am an atheist. I share the Jewish socio-cultural inheritance and I have learned about Jewish ethics. I don't wish to be represented by a Zionist state. They have no idea about the Holocaust. They use the Holocaust to implant paranoia in their children.

AN: In your book you write about the lessons you have learned from your past. Can you explain how your past influenced your perception of Israel and Palestine?

HM: I have never been a Zionist. After the war, Zionist Jews spoke about the miracle of having "our own country." As a confirmed atheist I thought, if this is a miracle by God, I wished that he had performed the smallest miracle imaginable by creating the state 15 years earlier. Then my parents would not have been dead.

I can write up an endless list of similarities between Nazi Germany and Israel. The capturing of land and property, denying people access to educational opportunities and restricting access to earn a living to destroy their hope, all with the aim to chase people away from their land. And what I personally find more appalling then dirtying one's hands by killing people, is creating circumstances where people start to kill each other. Then the distinction between victims and perpetrators becomes faint. By sowing discord in a situation where there is no unity, by enlarging the gap between people — like Israel is doing in Gaza.

AN: In your book you write about the role of Jews in the peace movement in and outside Israel, and Israeli army refuseniks. How do you value their contribution?

HM: Of course it is positive that parts of the Jewish population of Israel try to see Palestinians as human beings and as their equals. However, it disturbs me how paper-thin the number is that protests and is truly anti-Zionist. We get worked up by what happened in Hitler's Germany. If you expressed only the slightest hint of criticism at that time, you ended up in the Dachau concentration camp. If you expressed criticism, you were dead. Jews in Israel have democratic rights. They can protest in the streets, but they don't.

AN: Can you comment on the news that Israeli ministers approved a draft law banning commemoration of the Nakba, or the dispossession of historic Palestine? The law proposes punishment of up to three years in prison.

HM: It is so racist, so dreadful. I am at a loss for words. It is an expression of what we already know. [The Israeli Nakba commemoration organization] Zochrot was founded to counteract Israeli efforts to wipe out the marks that are a reminder of Palestinian life. To forbid Palestinians to publicly commemorate the Nakba. … they cannot act in a more Nazi-like, fascist way. Maybe it will help to awaken the world.

AN: What are your plans for the future?

HM: [Laughs] Do you know how old I am? I am almost 85 years old. I always say cynically and with self-mockery that I have a choice: either I am always tired because I want to do so much, or I am going to sit still waiting for the time to go by. Well, I plan to be tired, because I have still so much to say.

Adri Nieuwhof is consultant and human rights advocate based in Switzerland.

سنضع حداً لانتهاكات إسرائيل بوقف جميع الاتفاقات التقنية والعلمية معها
وعلينا تطوير سياسة خاصة بنا كاتحاد دول أوروبية منفصلة عن سياسات أمريكا فيما يتعلق بإسرائيل وفلسطين

تشلتنهام – إقبال التميمي

قال غرانهام واتسون رئيس حزب الديمقراطيين والليبراليين في الاتحاد الأوروبي يوم أمس أن مجموعته في البرلمان الأوروبي نجحت بالمطالبة بضرورة وقف أي اتفاقات علمية أو بحثية أو تقنية مشتركة بين الدول الأعضاء وإسرائيل بسبب تجاهل إسرائيل لمطالبات المجتمع الدولي المتعلقة بحقوق الإنسان في فلسطين، وبرر هذا المطلب بالقول " نحن نمثل 500 مليون شخص، ونحن أكبر شريك اقتصادي لإسرائيل وبنفس الوقت علينا إصلاح ما تفسده وتدمره في الأراضي الفلسطينية مما نبنيه من أموال دافع الضرائب الأوروبي، ومن مصلحتنا إيقاف إسرائيل عند حدها".

وهنا نصّ كلمته:

لا يوجد هناك صراع بين الحضارات، فالمتحضرون لا يتصارعون وإنما يتناقشون. لكن يحصل الصراع عندما لا يريد أو لا يستطيع المتحضرون السيطرة على بعض الأشخاص الأقل تحضراً في مجتمعاتهم كما يحصل في الشرق الأوسط، ولهذا السبب يبقى الشرق الأوسط المهدد الأول للسلام العالمي، وهذا الخطر لا يشكله فقط العرب المتطرفون الذين يحاولون إثارة حرب ضد من يعتبرونهم سبباً في اضطهادهم، بل كذلك هناك خطر آخر حذر منه الرئيس الأمريكي باتصاله بإسرائيل خلال الأربعة والعشرين ساعة الماضية عندما حذرهم من مغبة شن هجمة على إيران على أمل بأن يفلتوا بدون حساب. لذلك منطقة الشرق الأوسط فيها إشكالات يجب حلها للضرورة.

الاتحاد الأوروبي لا يشكل 31 % من الاقتصاد العالمي فحسب، بل هو أكبر شريك اقتصادي لإسرائيل وهو أكبر مجموعة مانحة للمساعدات للشعب الفلسطيني. وإسرائيل تهدم البنية التحتية الفلسطينية التي تتبرع ببناءها الدول الأوروبية من أموال دافع الضرائب الأوروبي.

باختصار لأن الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية كانت القوة العظمى الأكبر على امتداد القرن الماضي، وكان الاتحاد الأوروبي بمثابة تابع لها. كما أن الاتحاد الأوروبي لم يتسلح بالقوة القانونية الخاصة به لتشكيل سياسة قانونية وأمنية موحدة. هذه القوانين موجودة في اتفاقية لزبون وقعت عليها 27 دولة لكن لم تصادق عليها 4 دول. مثلاً مرت جمهورية التشيك بكل الإجراءات اللازمة إلا أن رئيسها لم يوقع عليها، كذلك الأمر ايرلندا ما زالت تنتظر رد المحكمة حيث هناك تعديل سيجري في أكتوبر. لكن من المتوقع أنه في نهاية هذا العام سيتسلح الاتحاد الأوروبي بالسلطات القانونية التي تسنح له باتخاذ سياسات خارجية مشتركة. الأمر ليس سيئاً كما يبدو، فرغم ان الاتحاد الأوروبي لا يمتلك بعد سياسة خارجية مشتركة إلا أنه استطاع تحقيق الكثير في الشهور الستة الأخيرة من العام الماضي إذ استطعنا وقف الدبابات الروسية من دخول تبليسي في أغسطس وسبتمبر، كما استطعنا التوصل إلى صيغة شبه مشتركة بين 27 دولة تتعلق بسياسات التغيرات المناخية. لكن علينا أن نصبح قادرين على فعل شيء في مناطق أخرى وأثناء أحداث علينا أخذ موقف فيها مثل ما حصل في غزة وفلسطين.

جاء في وعد بلفور الذي منح الحق بإقامة الدولة الإسرائيلية أنه يجب أن تكون العملية مرهونة بعدم تهديد الحقوق المدنية والدينية للسكان هناك، لكن للأسف الشديد الكثير من تهديد الحقوق حصل هناك. ونحن حالياً في موقف حذّر منه مارتن لوثر كينغ حين قال أن تهديد العدالة في أي مكان في العالم هو تهديد للعدالة في كل مكان. وأنا أستطيع شخصياً أن أسرد العديد من قصص انعدام العدالة هناك فلقد زرت المنطقة عدة مرات، أول زيارة لي كانت عام 1979 حيث زرت المنطقة أنا ومجموعة من شباب الحزب الليبرالي وذهبنا إلى لبنان ومخيم الراشدية للاجئين الفلسطينيين، وكنت هناك عندما قصفت المنطقة من قبل جيش الجنوب اللبناني الذي هو الآن جزء من قوة الدفاع الإسرائيلي. وكنت هناك مرة أخرى عام 1981 قبل فترة قصيرة من المذابح الشنيعة التي حصلت في مخيمات اللاجئين الفلسطينيين في صبرا وشاتيلا، كما كنت هناك ضمن مجموعة من أعضاء مجلس العموم عام 1985 عندما كان رئيسي ديفيد ستيل. بعدها زرت المنطقة مرات عديدة، ومما رأيته وعلمته ولاحظته بأننا نبتعد أكثر وأكثر عن حل إقامة دولتين. الوضع الان أصبح أصعب وهو باتجاه إقامة دولة لإسرائيل واثنتين للفلسطينيين أحدها تحت سيطرة حماس في غزة والأخرى تحت سيطرة منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية في الضفة الغربية. هناك في غزة ما يزيد عن 1.4 مليون شخص يعيشون ظروفاً هي أسوأ من الجحيم المقيم، حيث يتعرضون للإذلال بشكل يومي. لا يكفي أن المتطرفون يسيطرون على غزة بل يتعرض اهالي غزة للاضطهاد من قبل المتطرفين الآخرين من الجانب الإسرائيلي. إنني لا أبرر ولا أتغاضى عن الهجمات الصاروخية التي تطلقها حماس على الجانب الإسرائيلي، كما لا أبرر ولا أتغاضى عن الاستخدام غير المتكافيء من الأسلحة من الجانب الإسرائيلي في هجماته على غزة قبيل نهاية العام عندما استخدمت إسرائيل الأسلحة بشكل مثير للسخرية مستغلة فترة الفجوة الواقعة في فترة الأيام الأخيرة لحكم إدارة الرئيس الأمريكي السابق جورج دبليو بوش متسببة في قتل أعداد كبيرة وغير ضرورية من المدنيين الذين أطلق النار عليهم وقتلوا بكل بساطة بنيران الجيش الإسرائيلي، وكثيرون أصبحوا معاقين نتيجة إصابتهم بالمتفجرات عالية الكثافة التي أطلقتها إسرائيل عليهم، إضافة إلى من احترقوا بالفسفور الأبيض. هذا عدا عن هدم المنازل وتحطيم البنية التحتية لقطاع غزة. لكنني أشعر بالفخر أنني والمجموعة التي أقودها من الليبراليين في الاتحاد الأوروبي إذ رفضنا التوقيع على منح إسرائيل الموافقة على اتفاقية التعاون في المجال التقني والعلمي لأننا نرى أنهم لا يستحقون ذلك في ظلال ما يقومون به من اعتداءات. جميع المحاولات لوقف التعاون مع إسرائيل في الماضي كانت قد فشلت لصعوبة الأمر إذ حتى لو نجحنا في ذلك في الاتحاد الأوروبي كجانب بريطاني، هناك 27 دولة أخرى يجب الحصول على موافقة مجلس وزراءها. لكننا في وضع صعب لأننا نقوم بحرب بالوكالة بسبب أمريكا، لماذا ؟ لأن إسرائيل تشن حروبها مستخدمة الدعم المالي والأسلحة المقدمة لها من الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية لتقوم إسرائيل بدورها بهدم البنية التحتية الفلسطينية التي تم تمويل بناءها من أموال دافع الضرائب في الاتحاد الأوروبي. في أي مكان من العالم يمكن تسمية هذه الحرب بحرب بالوكالة.

الحل يأتي بالتحاور مع الحكومة الإسرائيلية حتى لو كنا على خلاف معها، كما علينا أن نتحاور مع حماس لأن علينا أن نعي أن حماس مثل الحكومة الإسرائيلية تم انتخابها بشكل ديمقراطي وتحت رقابة دول الاتحاد الأوروبي. علينا ان لا نقع في فخ القول بأننا لن نتحدث مع حماس لأنهم منظمة إرهابية، إننا لم نحقق تقدماً في السلام في ايرلندا الشمالية إلا بعدما فتحنا النقاش مع جميع الأطراف بما فيها التي كنا نسميها إرهابية. والنقطة الثانية هي بمراجعة جميع سياساتنا، أنا لست من المحبذين لفرض عقوبات شاملة على إسرائيل، لقد جربنا هذه السياسات في الماضي مع دول أخرى مثل روديسيا وجنوب أفريقيا وفشلنا، لكنني أظن ان حظر بيع الأسلحة لإسرائيل سيكون أكثر جدوى، ولا أؤمن بأنه علينا أن نقطع علاقاتنا الدبلوماسية مع إسرائيل إذ ما زال لدينا علاقات دبلوماسية مع دول مثل بورما رغم اختلافنا مع حكومتها لأننا نظن ان العلاقات الدبلوماسية تيسّر تمرير بعض الرسائل. من ضمن السياسات التي أؤمن بها هي الضغط على الأمم المتحدة للقيام بتحقيق في جرائم الحرب التي قامت بها إسرائيل أثناء هجومها على غزة ، كما علينا محاولة العمل والتعاون مع أمريكا إن أمكن الأمر لكننا لا نعلم بعد حقيقة موقف إدارة أوباما وأسلوب معالجته لهذه القضايا بعد. لكننا نعلم تماماً بأن إسرائيل احتلت مكاناً مهماً في أذهان السياسيين الأمريكان الذين عملوا ضمن الحكومات الأمريكية السابقة. وبقدر ما نسعى للعمل بشكل مشترك مع إدارة أوباما إلا أن علينا تطوير سياسة خاصة بنا كاتحاد دول أوروبية فيما يتعلق بإسرائيل وفلسطين لأن ذلك يهمنا وفي مصلحتنا أكثر مما يهم أمريكا من ناحية المصالح الاقتصادية وبسبب القرب الجغرافي النسبي من الشرق الأوسط.

حقوق الصور محفوظة – إقبال التميمي

WRITTEN BY M.Hasan UNCULAR / TIMETURK

Last Friday a man kissed Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on his forehead in his visit to Poland. Timeturk spoke with this man who lives in Poland with his two children and Polish wife. 

El Ali starts his words as, "My name is KHALED EL-ALI, 42 YEARS old, I have two children, Sara 11 years (the girl with PM Erdogan in the rose jacket), and Walid 9 years old. I’m a Palestinian refugee born in the camps of south Lebanon. I came to Poland in 1986 to study.  The conditions of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are very hard and bad so I preferred to stay in Poland after taking a master in computer science. Now I have a Polish wife Joanna. I have got a Polish passport. I have a small computer company. I am nearly “the second imam “ in the Gdansk Mosque. During the Israeli invasion of Gaza I was on the Polish TV and radio, defending our people in Gaza. During the war in Gaza we were watching the TV, crying, praying to Allah to save the children, to save the wounded people, to give them food to eat, water to drink, and to make the Jewish murderers blind not to see our brave Palestinian “boys” who were fighting the Israeli invasion. 

As Arab leaders were sleeping Erdogan gave Palestinians hope 

We were waiting for the Arab leaders to say something, to do something, but they were sleeping. Then came Erdogan and gave us the HOPE in Davos. Turkey gave us encouragement not to give up. When we saw the millions every day in the streets of Turkey we knew that we have got a victory. When You see that somebody there in Turkey is praying to Allah for you, is staying all the night, in very cold weather,  near the Israeli embassy for You, then You see the victory ! Yes Brother that helped our brave men in Palestine to survive against the Israeli army. That helped us (the Palestinians) in Europe to see the hope. That helped all the Muslims in the world to see how Islam is great, how Turkey is great, how Erdogan is great. 

How do you find Erdogan's Davos stance? 

I have watched this several times ! I couldn’t sleep that night. Every hour I was watching Aljazeera TV to see and to hear more comments. I was very proud of him. Every Palestinian, every Turk, every Muslim, every free human was proud of PM Erdogan.  

In Europe nobody says “no” to the Israelis, but along came Erdogan “the Real Turk” and said no to the liars, to the child killers and murderers. From that day he is the number one in Muslim world.  Turkey is the number one in the Muslim world. From that day I was praying to Allah to let me meet him, to let me kiss him, to kiss the ground under his foot. I wanted to say to him thank You. I wanted to say go and we are after You. When he came to Gdańsk we were in the seventh heaven! 

What can you say about Turkey- Palestine historical bonds? 

Turkey for us is like water for the tree. I feel that I belong to Turkey. Sultan Abdulhamid was our Sultan. My grandfather died shahid with the Turkish army. We know that one day Turkey will help us to get back Palestine. We are one nation, one blood. 

What is your message to the Turkish people and Tayyip Erdogan? 

I say to the Turkish people and PM Tayyip Erdogan that we love You, You are good people. No one helped Palestine like You! Thank YOU.  You are for us brothers and sisters. When I was in Istanbul in 2006 in Ramadan (only for six hours) I was very happy. I felt  that I was in my country!  Please remember that Palestine always needs Your help. Gaza is still crying and asks You to end the embargo. 

http://en.timeturk.com/palestine-always-needs-your-help-20036-haberi.html (thank you very much Hasan!)

Fatima a 40 year old mother from the Gaza Strip was deprived of her right to see any of her children since the day she was arrested two years ago by the Israeli authorities. She and her niece Rawda Habeeb were arrested at the Eretz crossing in Bait Hanoun when they were on their way to a hospital in Israel for a medical operation needed for Rawda.  Her husband Mohammed is suffering and struggling day in day out  since then with 8 children who keep requesting to see their mother and their baby brother who was born a prisoner too.

‘My wife Fatima was detained in the Telmond � Hasharon prison two years ago, she used to work as a social worrker helping women’ Mohammad said. ‘She was accused of the intent to carry out a suicide attack against the Israeli occupation forces, this accusation shocked us all and she is still detained with our 15 months old baby Joseph’ he explained. Mohammad never saw his baby son because the Israeli authorities denied him this right too.

Fatima who used to work in the Women's office in the Gaza Strip have been imprisoned on charges of trying to implement a martyrdom operation, besides being charged of belonging to the Islamic Jihad movement through her work in the department.

Fatima’s nine children suffered her abscence badly. Mahmoud, Sumayyah, Sara, Bilal, Ali, Zakaria, Othman , and Suleiman demand to see their mother and their baby brother Joseph. Mahoud her eldest was a student in the university when his mother was detained, he spoke of his pain when his brother Suliman kept asking ‘where is Mama’?’ Isn’t she in prison’ Suliman used to ask. ‘I see her every night in my dream, I see that I visit her in a prison and that I reach out to touch her hand but I can’t touch her’ says Suliman.

Sara is in class 9. ‘I remember the last day I saw my mother; she made my sandwiches for school and put them in my school bag’ says Sara.’ My mother was my best friend; I used to tell her everything’ Sarah sighs.’ I keep praying to God to release her and bring her home’ Sara says in pain. Sara had to bear all the responsibility of running the house chores since she is the only sister in a home full of boys, her eldest sister is married and she pops in every now and then to the house that no more feels like home without her mother.

Zakaria says he used to earn full marks at school because his mother used to supervise his study, ‘I no longer take full marks, and I got 18 of 20 ‘says Zakaria. Suliman interrupts to say ‘ the prison is not a nice place, it is dark and it has locked doors and keys’.

Her husband said that neither he nor any of his children were allowed any visits to see Fatima or baby Joseph. ‘Unfortunately we could not see Joseph since his birth, we know him only through photos taken by lawyers visiting the prisoners’ the tormented father said. When he was asked if he was allowed to phone her he said he was only allowed to call her three times since she was detained, and that means one phone call every seven months. In general all prisoners from Gaza are denied family visits by the Israeli authorities including young children. ‘ I was worried about her safety when she was so desperate that she decided a hunger strike while she was still pregnant, she used to turn food down but request to keep the salt only because she had low blood pressure’ he said. She was desperate to get support from any human rights organization, but it seems no one cared enough about Palestinian women prisoners.

Most affected by Fatima’s detention is her six year old son Suleiman who needs his mother’s care and tenderness. He was only four when his mother was imprisoned. ‘We are now trying to manage on our own after they arrested my wife but I can’t keep pretending that I am managing on my own, it has been an extremely difficult situation’ Mohammad said, ‘Fatima left a vacuum in our lives, she was working inside the home and outside  before she was arrested’ he explained.’ I have been playing both roles the mother and the father since her detention, taking care of the eight children and working at the same time to provide for them’ he said.

Fatima pleaded to meet her eight children to a lawyer during his visit to the prison, she suffers like all prisoners from the Gaza Strip, and she is disappointed of the lack of interested human rights organizations in Palestinian prisoners’ suffering.  She said that the prisoners lack many basic needs, and that the Israeli prison administration refuse to provide them with the essentials, besides preventing them from gaining access to such needs sent to them by their families, besides being denied visits, she herself has not seen any member of her family for more than 20 months.  Fatima was distressed because the prison administration confiscates the prisoner’s letters as well which are considered the only means of communication with their families considering the fact that the family visits are banned.

Fatima managed to send  only one letter to her family when she was first detained: “the first cell they put me in is more like a grave under the ground, the sewage are overflowing, attracting lots of insects and the smell stinks.  I developed skin infections and pimples all over my head, the place are a health hazard’ wrote Fatima.

Regarding the treatment she was receiving by the Israeli female prison wardens she wrote ‘the female soldiers used to ask me …since when I became a practicing Muslim, I told them since a long time when I was a little girl because I was raised in a practicing family…they used to shout in my face and call me a terrorist’ she wrote. ‘They tried to force me to miscarriage by offering me different medicines I refused to take, I told them babies are a blessing from God’ she explained in her letter.

Fatima and other Palestinian women prisoners have sent dozens of letters through the Red Cross to their families but none was delivered to their families they said, and they did not receive any letters sent to them by their families either, such procedures left the Palestinian women isolated totally suffering emotional distress. Such isolation was described by the prisoners as a tragedy. But Fatima’s tragedy is greater than any of the other women because her baby “Joseph” suffers the lack of many essentials that she could not provide him with in such state of total isolation, besides the fact that he was deprived of a normal life or enjoy seeing his father or any of his brothers being brought up in the most unusual way a child can be brought up in.

Ra'fat Hamduna Director of the Centre for Studies of prisoners called upon the authorities of the prisons and the legal system to facilitate a meeting between Fatima and her children, and is pressuring the occupation authorities to free her and her baby "Joseph", and ensure the essential needs of the prisoners must be met, especially providing them with the clothing needed, but until the writing of this article no accomplishments were made in this respect, and baby Joseph is still in prison with no contact of other children. I am worried, what kind of vocabulary he will pick up in prison. He never heard a bird, or giggles of other children, he is only used to hearing the doors of the cells slammed close.