Thursday, December 3, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
I am Israel (Documentary Film)
Do you know whom am I? I Am Israel...
This clip on youtube is well worth the 6 minutes for anyone that needs reminding of the dire situation of Palestinians. It is a very well produced 6 minute video. Please, watch and send to your friends, let them learn the truth.
This clip on youtube is well worth the 6 minutes for anyone that needs reminding of the dire situation of Palestinians. It is a very well produced 6 minute video. Please, watch and send to your friends, let them learn the truth.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Israeli Confessions (short video)
For those who are still not sure why and how this conflict started more than 60 years ago, confessions of Israeli leaders make it very clear. For those who already know, this video is a good tool to educate others.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Palestinians homeless again after eviction
The United Nations is calling on Israel to immediately stop demolishing Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem.
The UN says 60,000 Palestinians may be at risk of being forcibly evicted.
Israel says the houses are built without construction permits, which Palestinians say are almost impossible to obtain.
Our correspondent Jacky Rowland is in Sheikh Jarrah where Israeli police dismantled a tent set up by a Palestinian family already evicted by Israeli orders in August.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
HUMAN ORGANS TRADE -Harvesting Human Organs -تجارة الأعضاء البشرية
HUMAN ORGANS TRADE -Harvesting Human Organs -تجارة الأعضاء البشرية
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ماهو حجم تجارة الاعضاء البشرية الاسرائيلية؟
-----------
Sweeping federal probe nabs crooked politicians & alleged
black-market kidney peddler
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HUMAN ORGANS TRADE -Harvesting Human Organs -تجارة الأعضاء البشرية
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Key points of the Goldstone report
The United Nations fact-finding mission on Israel's 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip between December 2008 and January 2009 found evidence that Israeli forces committed serious war crimes and breaches of humanitarian law. It also condemned the indiscriminate firing of rockets from the Palestinian territory, which resulted in the deaths of Israeli civilians. "We came to the conclusion, on the basis of the facts we found, that there was strong evidence to establish that numerous serious violations of international law, both humanitarian law and human rights law, were committed by Israel during the military operations in Gaza," Justice Richard Goldstone, the head of the UN investigation, said. "The mission concluded that actions amounting to war crimes and possibly, in some respects, crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israel Defence Force (IDF)." "There's no question that the firing of rockets and mortars [by armed groups from Gaza] was deliberate and calculated to cause loss of life and injury to civilians and damage to civilian structures. The mission found that these actions also amount to serious war crimes and also possibly crimes against humanity," he said. 'Grave breaches' "The mission finds that the conduct of the Israeli armed forces constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention in respect of wilful killings and wilfully causing great suffering to protected persons and as such give rise to individual criminal responsibility," the executive summary of the 575-page report said. "It also finds that the direct targeting and arbitrary killing of Palestinian civilians is a violation of the right to life." It went on to criticise the "deliberate and systematic policy on the part of the Israeli armed forces to target industrial sites and water installations," and the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields. On the objectives and strategy of Israel's offensive, the investigation concluded that military planners deliberately followed a doctrine which involved "the application of disproportionate force and the causing of great damage and destruction to civilian property and infrastructure, and suffering to civilian populations". On the firing of mortars and rockets from Gaza, Goldstone's report concluded that they were indiscriminate and deliberate attacks against a civilian population and "would constitute war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity". It said that their apparent intention of spreading fear among Israeli civilians was a violation of international law. Investigations urged The report recommended that the Security Council should require Israel to take steps to launch appropriate independent investigations into the alleged crimes committed, in conformity with international standards, and report back on these investigations within six months. It further called on the Security Council to appoint a committee of experts to monitor the proceedings taken by the Israeli government. If these did not take place, or were not independent and in conformity with international standards, the report called for the Security Council to refer the situation in Gaza to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). It also called on the Security Council to require the committee of experts to perform a similar role with regard to the relevant Palestinian authorities. Goldstone said investigators examined 36 specific incidents that took place during the Israeli operation in Gaza, which he said did not relate to decisions taken in the heat of battle, but to deliberate policies that were adopted and decisions that were taken. As an example, he described one such incident: a mortar attack on a mosque in Gaza during a religious service, which killed 15 members of the congregation and injured many others. Justice Goldstone said that even if allegations that the mosque was used as sanctuary by Palestinian fighters and that weapons were stored there were true, there was still "no justification under international humanitarian law to mortar the mosque during a service". He said that the mosque could have been attacked during the night, when it was not being used by civilians. | ||
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Israeli settlers push further into Palestinian land - 8 Sept 09
Israeli settlers are pushing further into occupied Palestinian land, despite international pressure to halt settlement activity.
Hundreds of Israelis cheered as the first scoops of concrete were poured for a new settlement in an area called "E1" northeast of Jerusalem.
A Jewish settlement there will be the final link in a chain that cuts off Palestinians in East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.
Al Jazeeras Jacky Rowland reports from EI, where protesting peace activists say the settlers are sabotaging Israels chances for peace.
Hundreds of Israelis cheered as the first scoops of concrete were poured for a new settlement in an area called "E1" northeast of Jerusalem.
A Jewish settlement there will be the final link in a chain that cuts off Palestinians in East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.
Al Jazeeras Jacky Rowland reports from EI, where protesting peace activists say the settlers are sabotaging Israels chances for peace.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Home
I arrived at the Gaza exit point at Rafah on sunday am with Van. Calls through the British Embassy and to Egypt made it plain that the Van would not be allowed to leave because of the 'Galloway Agreement', so in the pm made the decision to store the van, travel to UK, where I need to get this exhibition thing moving, and 'wipe out' this Galloway Agreement that's been hanging over my exit, and which the Egyptians are so keen to enforce.
It's good to see that they can keep agreements, and set such store by them, but I hope that future convoys do not sell out the principle of getting the gates open IN PRINCIPLE, for the quick political gain of the media coverage of getting in now. FreeGaza boats, for instance, haven't said that in return for being allowed access to Gaza they will agree to sell out the rights of others to cross the border and travel by sea. They demand unreservedly open sea access, and I urge everyone who travels to Rafah, to also settle for nothing less.
I remember discussing with my convoy group in Libya, whether or not , and for how long, we would camp on the border. The answer was not universal, but generally we were committed to a long stay. My perception is that most people feel that, after a long build up on the journey, they were rushed in and out of Gaza, achieving little personally, and certainly the situation on the border hasn't changed in the slightest: for aid, all of which, despite assurances to the contrary, is still rotting in El Arish; for Palestinians, most of whom cannot pass, or can pass with difficulty - see below; and for exports, which are simply not allowed. Pity that the Egyptians only want to keep the parts of agreements that don't involve doing nice things to Palestinians.
Worse, the British Public believe that George Galloway HAS achieved something, so there is less need to think about Palestine. But this is a long long struggle, full of sellouts and political opportunism, and we must be ready to recognise it. We all want a saviour, a hero, but really they don't exist; there are plenty willing to wear the robes, though, for the celebrity. Lets make sure that when we have a smidgeon of power we don't cash it in by signing away everyone else's rights. The struggle is to Free Palestine, not enslave it.
So, I arrived again on foot on Monday Morning, was processed with a friendly cup of coffee, and put on the bus to Egypt. This bus only travels about 500 metres, but you must be on it, you cannot walk. The bus took 12 hours to cover this 500 metres the day before, during which time everyone got on and off several times, scrambling to get back on when it moved forward 100 meters, then getting off again to sit in exactly the same place as before, or walk back to the departure lounge to use the toilet.
On the Monday we got through to Egypt at an early 3pm, only 5 hours after arrival. The delay is caused by the Egyptians, who call through the buses when they want them.
On arrival we fill out visa applications, and our passports are taken away for processing. I am, as expected, interviewed by the police who explain that the Galloway agreement is that Convoy members will only be allowed to enter Egypt under police supervision, leave Egypt directly on departure, either through Libya if taking back their car, or through Cairo Airport. No other routes will be permitted. However, if I leave Egypt, having complied with this rule, that ends, and if I come again, it will be under the same rules as any ordinary person.
So I meet someone who entered Gaza by boat, and the Egyptians have no Galloway rule for them, so they are given their passport and told they are free to travel under their own steam, but I am sent to the transit point, which is the Departures lounge, now closed for the day, where my passport is retained and I am made to wait with an increasing number of Palestinians, more than 150 in the end. Departing members of the convoy will have had similar treatment on departure, except that, because of the larger numbers, I feel sure they will have had a pleasant ride in a reasonable time to a comfortable transit lounge in the airport. Because I am the last of the convoy, travelling alone, I will be transitted with the Palestinians.
They, many having been down this route before, tell me that we will be put on buses, taken under police escort to Cairo airport and deported - sorry, transitted to our country of destination. All, or nearly all, Palestinians seem to be treated this way. Most of my group are travelling to Saudi where they used to work, until the border was sealed. now after several attempts by most of them, they are being allowed to go back there, but the Egyptians have not, and seemingly will not, grant them visas for Egypt, so they have to travel by escorted transit, which is, to be fair, a not uncommon procedure, and is one that I have certainly experienced widely.
If you are carrying goods, or are just a citizen who the authorities are worried about, then you are escorted by police through to the next border. It happened to me in Cyprus when I was young, where I was released into the country, but had to report to the Authorities every day. In Syria, where lorry convoys are escorted from campsite to campsite by police to stop contraband, and elsewhere, including Europe, and of course, the extremely luxurious transit arrangements made for the convoy as it travelled without any customs papers through the countries of North Africa. The convoy paid little, but it is normal to charge the costs of the service, and reasonable to do so. Any passenger travelling through the UK, changing planes at say Heathrow, is held in a secure transit area from which they cannot access the UK, but can get to their flight gate. While waiting, they have a choice of coffee shops and other services, including airline desks and the internet, telephone and toilets that they can use.
I want to make it clear that Cairo does have a secure transit Lounge that is up to International Standards, and when I eventually saw it, had a wide range of internationals in it.
So I was not unduly concerned about being in the transit buses, although the enormous waits and makeshift conditions were less than perfect - but hey! we were moving. So my free friend went off in her Taxi to a destination that she had not yet decided, despite her 'illegal' entry to Gaza, whilst I moved to the transit lounge at about 7pm, after only three hours waiting! A further 5 hours or so lolling about there saw us being loaded up in to the buses which were not totally uncomfortable, and a further 4 hours on the parked bus, about 3 or 4 am found us begin slowly moving towards Cairo. Daylight found us stopping for half an hour at a cafe, the first opportunity to buy food other than sweets since entering the whole system, and the first opportunity to use the toilet in about 8 hours, and then onward to Cairo Airport where we arrived at 10 am or so. We were then processed through passport control twice, making a total of perhaps six times on the journey, and were led outside the terminal building to our Transit Lounge.
I think the Palestinians were not expecting me to be taken there with them, and when I arrived, I was warmly welcomed and given scraps of bread and cheese which people had saved from their journeys. People told me, partly with satisfaction that a Westerner was experiencing their plight, at last, and partly with a sense of concern for my delicate constitution, that NOW, I could understand the Palestinian condition!
The collection of rooms was a maximum of 13 metres by 27 metres, but this was divided into rooms in haphazard fashion, some of which were locked and a large one of which was a toilet and shower room, the only one. The only windows were the double entrance doors, at the end of a corridor leading into the complex. The ceiling was low, about 8 feet, although there did at least seem to be some ventilation. There was no facility for rubbish disposal, and internally, the rooms were entirely unsupervised, so that any intimidation or racketeering could not have been controlled.
Our buses deposited about 150 people into this space, but it was not empty when we arrived, there were people there who had spent days, and one man claimed a month, though I could not verify it. These long termers had staked out scraps of prayer mats as beds on the dirty stone flagged floor, and sat there guarding their spaces. I took a couple of photos, but was warned against it. But here they are.
The problem for the Saudi workers was that they had expired visas, and no-one has political representation in Gaza (except the UK!), so to get a new visa, Palestinians must travel to the embassy in Cairo!!!! They cannot get into Egypt to do this however, without convincing the Egyptian authorities that they will, indeed get one, so they have to get a pre-visa pass authorised by the Palestinian representation in Cairo and passed to the Egyptians, and then keep turning up at the Rafah crossing until, magically, one day their name is on a list. When they get to Cairo, they are kept in this dungeon until the Palestinian representative meets them gets some paperwork, takes it the Saudi Embassy, and then returns it to them, usually two days later. But even when you get the visa, or work permit, or if you already have it, you must still stay in the hole until it is time for your flight.
In my group there was one American citizen, and apart from me, two British subjects, but no-one took any notice of them! Why?, because they were joint Palestine nationals, and thus 'Palestinians' as far as the Egyptians are concerned. The Brits contacted the Embassy, and were actually allowed to sit outside the dungeon in the sun 'because they had a small child', although I noticed that other mothers with small children did not manage to achieve this, so maybe being British does have its use. They had already booked a flight - for Sunday, five days time, and they were to be detained until then. I asked why they booked so far ahead, and they answered that they had no idea how long their processing would be, and indeed, it had taken three days already, so taking a gamble on an earlier flight would have been foolhardy. They had rung the Embassy to try and get the flight re-arranged, but were not being allowed to go to the real transit lounge to do it by themselves. This means that they were under arrest, as far as I can see, by any meaningful definition.
I do not know by what rules a married couple with a child of 2 can be detained in a mixed sex prison for five days without beds, separate bathing, child facilities, rubbish disposal, daylight, privacy, or even food, unless they can afford the inflated prices charged by the runner who goes to the local cafe and brings food back. They are under arrest, not in any sense in transit, and their only crime, as usual, is that they are Palestinian -(even if they are British as well)
One of the things that you can do in Transit is buy a ticket. But you cannot do this in The Palestine Palace. There the guards say simply - when your flight is due we will tell you. Persistence identified that for London flights departed at 8am (and they simply would not entertain any other destination, not Manchester, not anywhere in Europe, although this, I think was due to the intellectual limitations of my Captor) . So I was detained until tomorrow, then!
I have a small support network outwith Egypt, and I decided to phone and check for flights. First, I needed to charge my phone, which had not seen a mains socket for about 30 hours, and had been roundly abused in that time. I identified three working electric sockets in the dungeon, and they were all occupied. It was clear that this was the sort of situation where gangsterism can grow, but I managed to get into a queue and get about 15 minutes before being levered away, and so I was able to discover that there was a flight at 1630.
This timing was similar to the Damascus flight for which there was a small band of takers, so we were all taken under the supervision of a single policeman, to the real transit lounge. Getting my ticket was an interesting experience, but the main point was that I had no freedom of action. Sit here, stand there, bags here, go there, that's the flight and price, take it or leave it and go back to prison.
I was very sorry to leave my acquaintances there:
Ali, the American citizen with an open ticket to Dallas, who had had to wait months for permission from the Egyptians to leave Gaza. The American Emabassy had efused to co-ordinate his exit throough Rafah, insisting that he go through Israel. He agreed and duly filled out an application for a crossing through Erez, he received an acknowledgement from the embassy that they were processing it, but in five months he had heard nothing else, so had made his own way to Rafah; Sahal, who had been working in Saudi for 30 years and who had not been able to make his annual visit to his parents and family in Gaza for two years before he gave up everything to go back nine months ago, for his daughter's wedding and because his father was 90. He realised that he risked never going back, and indeed his return was after a gap of nine months, and three attempts at the border; and Mahmoud, also a Saudi worker, also waiting for his renewed visa from the Saudia embassy, and the man in charge of the battered fragments of Bread and cheese that I was regaled with on arrival.
These men, sat disconsolately in a shallow side corridor, on their scraps of carpet, because they had staked out these quieter spots the day before. Along the end of the wall was a row of 'lifers', the long term residents who had been there for up to a month. One of these men had a family, the woman staying in a side room that had become women only, and joining him only when someone got some food. They had a girl of about 10 who carried things between them with a skip in her step.
These long termers had the deep recesses and the new arrivals congregated around the entrance, where there was light, and also police. It was there I met the man in the camel hair coat, going to Dubai, who said 'Fuck hamas, if it wasn't for them we wouldn't have to go through all this shit' which is both true and false at the same time, and for the people there a popular complaint. 'Abu Mazen pays our salaries and there was no problem when he was in charge' is simply false, of course, but those few interested in the English language debate seemed supportive. I tried to suggest to the man that the streets were safe in Gaza now, but then I realised that he didn't want to debate with me, he wanted to paint me as a Hamas apologist, and he was doing this in a loud voice. Why?
People saw me taking photographs and measuring the size of the room, and some at least rallied round and helped. All asked that I 'Tell the World About this", while many more were resigned and weary, but at least looked with a flutter of interest. He was trying to discredit me in front of these people.
Actually, it wasn't the first time that I had met him. He was at Rafah too, but each time near the soldiers, as he was here. Perhaps he was trying to ingratiate himself with the soldiers to get a cushy ride, perhaps he was an agent provocateur, but I told him that I couldn't talk to him anymore when he said 'Fuck Gaza, it's finished, I'm going to Dubai". Dangerous pressure cookers, prisons, especially if you have to live there for a month.
It's good to see that they can keep agreements, and set such store by them, but I hope that future convoys do not sell out the principle of getting the gates open IN PRINCIPLE, for the quick political gain of the media coverage of getting in now. FreeGaza boats, for instance, haven't said that in return for being allowed access to Gaza they will agree to sell out the rights of others to cross the border and travel by sea. They demand unreservedly open sea access, and I urge everyone who travels to Rafah, to also settle for nothing less.
I remember discussing with my convoy group in Libya, whether or not , and for how long, we would camp on the border. The answer was not universal, but generally we were committed to a long stay. My perception is that most people feel that, after a long build up on the journey, they were rushed in and out of Gaza, achieving little personally, and certainly the situation on the border hasn't changed in the slightest: for aid, all of which, despite assurances to the contrary, is still rotting in El Arish; for Palestinians, most of whom cannot pass, or can pass with difficulty - see below; and for exports, which are simply not allowed. Pity that the Egyptians only want to keep the parts of agreements that don't involve doing nice things to Palestinians.
Worse, the British Public believe that George Galloway HAS achieved something, so there is less need to think about Palestine. But this is a long long struggle, full of sellouts and political opportunism, and we must be ready to recognise it. We all want a saviour, a hero, but really they don't exist; there are plenty willing to wear the robes, though, for the celebrity. Lets make sure that when we have a smidgeon of power we don't cash it in by signing away everyone else's rights. The struggle is to Free Palestine, not enslave it.
So, I arrived again on foot on Monday Morning, was processed with a friendly cup of coffee, and put on the bus to Egypt. This bus only travels about 500 metres, but you must be on it, you cannot walk. The bus took 12 hours to cover this 500 metres the day before, during which time everyone got on and off several times, scrambling to get back on when it moved forward 100 meters, then getting off again to sit in exactly the same place as before, or walk back to the departure lounge to use the toilet.
On the Monday we got through to Egypt at an early 3pm, only 5 hours after arrival. The delay is caused by the Egyptians, who call through the buses when they want them.
On arrival we fill out visa applications, and our passports are taken away for processing. I am, as expected, interviewed by the police who explain that the Galloway agreement is that Convoy members will only be allowed to enter Egypt under police supervision, leave Egypt directly on departure, either through Libya if taking back their car, or through Cairo Airport. No other routes will be permitted. However, if I leave Egypt, having complied with this rule, that ends, and if I come again, it will be under the same rules as any ordinary person.
So I meet someone who entered Gaza by boat, and the Egyptians have no Galloway rule for them, so they are given their passport and told they are free to travel under their own steam, but I am sent to the transit point, which is the Departures lounge, now closed for the day, where my passport is retained and I am made to wait with an increasing number of Palestinians, more than 150 in the end. Departing members of the convoy will have had similar treatment on departure, except that, because of the larger numbers, I feel sure they will have had a pleasant ride in a reasonable time to a comfortable transit lounge in the airport. Because I am the last of the convoy, travelling alone, I will be transitted with the Palestinians.
They, many having been down this route before, tell me that we will be put on buses, taken under police escort to Cairo airport and deported - sorry, transitted to our country of destination. All, or nearly all, Palestinians seem to be treated this way. Most of my group are travelling to Saudi where they used to work, until the border was sealed. now after several attempts by most of them, they are being allowed to go back there, but the Egyptians have not, and seemingly will not, grant them visas for Egypt, so they have to travel by escorted transit, which is, to be fair, a not uncommon procedure, and is one that I have certainly experienced widely.
If you are carrying goods, or are just a citizen who the authorities are worried about, then you are escorted by police through to the next border. It happened to me in Cyprus when I was young, where I was released into the country, but had to report to the Authorities every day. In Syria, where lorry convoys are escorted from campsite to campsite by police to stop contraband, and elsewhere, including Europe, and of course, the extremely luxurious transit arrangements made for the convoy as it travelled without any customs papers through the countries of North Africa. The convoy paid little, but it is normal to charge the costs of the service, and reasonable to do so. Any passenger travelling through the UK, changing planes at say Heathrow, is held in a secure transit area from which they cannot access the UK, but can get to their flight gate. While waiting, they have a choice of coffee shops and other services, including airline desks and the internet, telephone and toilets that they can use.
I want to make it clear that Cairo does have a secure transit Lounge that is up to International Standards, and when I eventually saw it, had a wide range of internationals in it.
So I was not unduly concerned about being in the transit buses, although the enormous waits and makeshift conditions were less than perfect - but hey! we were moving. So my free friend went off in her Taxi to a destination that she had not yet decided, despite her 'illegal' entry to Gaza, whilst I moved to the transit lounge at about 7pm, after only three hours waiting! A further 5 hours or so lolling about there saw us being loaded up in to the buses which were not totally uncomfortable, and a further 4 hours on the parked bus, about 3 or 4 am found us begin slowly moving towards Cairo. Daylight found us stopping for half an hour at a cafe, the first opportunity to buy food other than sweets since entering the whole system, and the first opportunity to use the toilet in about 8 hours, and then onward to Cairo Airport where we arrived at 10 am or so. We were then processed through passport control twice, making a total of perhaps six times on the journey, and were led outside the terminal building to our Transit Lounge.
I think the Palestinians were not expecting me to be taken there with them, and when I arrived, I was warmly welcomed and given scraps of bread and cheese which people had saved from their journeys. People told me, partly with satisfaction that a Westerner was experiencing their plight, at last, and partly with a sense of concern for my delicate constitution, that NOW, I could understand the Palestinian condition!
The collection of rooms was a maximum of 13 metres by 27 metres, but this was divided into rooms in haphazard fashion, some of which were locked and a large one of which was a toilet and shower room, the only one. The only windows were the double entrance doors, at the end of a corridor leading into the complex. The ceiling was low, about 8 feet, although there did at least seem to be some ventilation. There was no facility for rubbish disposal, and internally, the rooms were entirely unsupervised, so that any intimidation or racketeering could not have been controlled.
Our buses deposited about 150 people into this space, but it was not empty when we arrived, there were people there who had spent days, and one man claimed a month, though I could not verify it. These long termers had staked out scraps of prayer mats as beds on the dirty stone flagged floor, and sat there guarding their spaces. I took a couple of photos, but was warned against it. But here they are.
The problem for the Saudi workers was that they had expired visas, and no-one has political representation in Gaza (except the UK!), so to get a new visa, Palestinians must travel to the embassy in Cairo!!!! They cannot get into Egypt to do this however, without convincing the Egyptian authorities that they will, indeed get one, so they have to get a pre-visa pass authorised by the Palestinian representation in Cairo and passed to the Egyptians, and then keep turning up at the Rafah crossing until, magically, one day their name is on a list. When they get to Cairo, they are kept in this dungeon until the Palestinian representative meets them gets some paperwork, takes it the Saudi Embassy, and then returns it to them, usually two days later. But even when you get the visa, or work permit, or if you already have it, you must still stay in the hole until it is time for your flight.
In my group there was one American citizen, and apart from me, two British subjects, but no-one took any notice of them! Why?, because they were joint Palestine nationals, and thus 'Palestinians' as far as the Egyptians are concerned. The Brits contacted the Embassy, and were actually allowed to sit outside the dungeon in the sun 'because they had a small child', although I noticed that other mothers with small children did not manage to achieve this, so maybe being British does have its use. They had already booked a flight - for Sunday, five days time, and they were to be detained until then. I asked why they booked so far ahead, and they answered that they had no idea how long their processing would be, and indeed, it had taken three days already, so taking a gamble on an earlier flight would have been foolhardy. They had rung the Embassy to try and get the flight re-arranged, but were not being allowed to go to the real transit lounge to do it by themselves. This means that they were under arrest, as far as I can see, by any meaningful definition.
I do not know by what rules a married couple with a child of 2 can be detained in a mixed sex prison for five days without beds, separate bathing, child facilities, rubbish disposal, daylight, privacy, or even food, unless they can afford the inflated prices charged by the runner who goes to the local cafe and brings food back. They are under arrest, not in any sense in transit, and their only crime, as usual, is that they are Palestinian -(even if they are British as well)
One of the things that you can do in Transit is buy a ticket. But you cannot do this in The Palestine Palace. There the guards say simply - when your flight is due we will tell you. Persistence identified that for London flights departed at 8am (and they simply would not entertain any other destination, not Manchester, not anywhere in Europe, although this, I think was due to the intellectual limitations of my Captor) . So I was detained until tomorrow, then!
I have a small support network outwith Egypt, and I decided to phone and check for flights. First, I needed to charge my phone, which had not seen a mains socket for about 30 hours, and had been roundly abused in that time. I identified three working electric sockets in the dungeon, and they were all occupied. It was clear that this was the sort of situation where gangsterism can grow, but I managed to get into a queue and get about 15 minutes before being levered away, and so I was able to discover that there was a flight at 1630.
This timing was similar to the Damascus flight for which there was a small band of takers, so we were all taken under the supervision of a single policeman, to the real transit lounge. Getting my ticket was an interesting experience, but the main point was that I had no freedom of action. Sit here, stand there, bags here, go there, that's the flight and price, take it or leave it and go back to prison.
I was very sorry to leave my acquaintances there:
Ali, the American citizen with an open ticket to Dallas, who had had to wait months for permission from the Egyptians to leave Gaza. The American Emabassy had efused to co-ordinate his exit throough Rafah, insisting that he go through Israel. He agreed and duly filled out an application for a crossing through Erez, he received an acknowledgement from the embassy that they were processing it, but in five months he had heard nothing else, so had made his own way to Rafah; Sahal, who had been working in Saudi for 30 years and who had not been able to make his annual visit to his parents and family in Gaza for two years before he gave up everything to go back nine months ago, for his daughter's wedding and because his father was 90. He realised that he risked never going back, and indeed his return was after a gap of nine months, and three attempts at the border; and Mahmoud, also a Saudi worker, also waiting for his renewed visa from the Saudia embassy, and the man in charge of the battered fragments of Bread and cheese that I was regaled with on arrival.
These men, sat disconsolately in a shallow side corridor, on their scraps of carpet, because they had staked out these quieter spots the day before. Along the end of the wall was a row of 'lifers', the long term residents who had been there for up to a month. One of these men had a family, the woman staying in a side room that had become women only, and joining him only when someone got some food. They had a girl of about 10 who carried things between them with a skip in her step.
These long termers had the deep recesses and the new arrivals congregated around the entrance, where there was light, and also police. It was there I met the man in the camel hair coat, going to Dubai, who said 'Fuck hamas, if it wasn't for them we wouldn't have to go through all this shit' which is both true and false at the same time, and for the people there a popular complaint. 'Abu Mazen pays our salaries and there was no problem when he was in charge' is simply false, of course, but those few interested in the English language debate seemed supportive. I tried to suggest to the man that the streets were safe in Gaza now, but then I realised that he didn't want to debate with me, he wanted to paint me as a Hamas apologist, and he was doing this in a loud voice. Why?
People saw me taking photographs and measuring the size of the room, and some at least rallied round and helped. All asked that I 'Tell the World About this", while many more were resigned and weary, but at least looked with a flutter of interest. He was trying to discredit me in front of these people.
Actually, it wasn't the first time that I had met him. He was at Rafah too, but each time near the soldiers, as he was here. Perhaps he was trying to ingratiate himself with the soldiers to get a cushy ride, perhaps he was an agent provocateur, but I told him that I couldn't talk to him anymore when he said 'Fuck Gaza, it's finished, I'm going to Dubai". Dangerous pressure cookers, prisons, especially if you have to live there for a month.
TELL THE WORLD ABOUT THIS. You know, I don't believe that at the time of the worst persecutions of Jews in Russia they were treated any worse than Palestinians are today. Perhaps we should have a declaration that to end the suffering of the Palestinians, we will give them a homeland in Palestine.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Amira’s Complaint Against Israel Registered at ICC
Amira Al Keram (15), from Tal Al-Hawa, Gaza, filed a war crime complaint against Israel yesterday at ICC, the Hague (Netherlands).During "Cast Lead" israeli operation this winter, she spend 60 hours wounded, alone, without food and medical treatment.Her father, brother and sister have been killed in front of her eyes.Read her story
Watch the video of her going among supporters to the ICC
http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/616ADC31-A547-4992-8AEA-40D3FF973155.htm
Amira is a brave young girl. Hope many others will go to the ICC and ask for justice.
However, will the ICC be FAIR and not afraid of zionist pressure this time?
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION Against Israeli Piracy & Kidnapping
Free Cynthia McKinney and all kidnapped human rights workers!
WEDNESDAY 4-6 PM
at the
ISRAELI MISSION
800 Second Avenue
(Second Avenue @ 43rd St.)
Last night, Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.
The seizure of humanitarian supplies and abduction of human rights workers is an act of piracy, a crime under international law. When the boat was attacked, it was not in Israeli waters and was on a human rights mission to Gaza. Israel's deliberate and premeditated attack on an unarmed boat in international waters is a clear violation of international law. Join us tomorrow from 4 to 6 pm at the Israeli Mission to demand an immediate and unconditional release of the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, all 21 human rights workers, and the humanitarian supplies.
According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are "trapped in despair." Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel's December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel's disruption of medical supplies.
Let the Humanitarian Aid through!Free Cynthia McKinney and all kidnapped human rights workers!Stop the blockade of Gaza!
BY ., Chantal Laurent
WEDNESDAY 4-6 PM
at the
ISRAELI MISSION
800 Second Avenue
(Second Avenue @ 43rd St.)
Last night, Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.
The seizure of humanitarian supplies and abduction of human rights workers is an act of piracy, a crime under international law. When the boat was attacked, it was not in Israeli waters and was on a human rights mission to Gaza. Israel's deliberate and premeditated attack on an unarmed boat in international waters is a clear violation of international law. Join us tomorrow from 4 to 6 pm at the Israeli Mission to demand an immediate and unconditional release of the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, all 21 human rights workers, and the humanitarian supplies.
According to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are "trapped in despair." Thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel's December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid, because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel's disruption of medical supplies.
Let the Humanitarian Aid through!Free Cynthia McKinney and all kidnapped human rights workers!Stop the blockade of Gaza!
BY ., Chantal Laurent
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Palestinian Cause in 2 Minutes
In the midst of the struggle, and the dust of battle, many people still don't realize what this is all about... It is not only about land and rights...
Friday, May 15, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Focus on Gaza - Care for collaboration
Israel's intensive strike on Gaza earlier this year, left many residents in need of urgent medical treatment - treatment that simply is not available in the Gaza Strip. Many attempt to leave, journeying to the Erez Crossing in the hope of making their way to Jerusalem for treatment. However, recent data collected by the group Physicians for Human Rights - Israel, alleges that Israeli security forces are denying Gazans urgent medical care unless they agree to become collaborators. Focus on Gaza reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyeVD24mHys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObOs4EJuItc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyeVD24mHys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObOs4EJuItc
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Israel 'targeted UN buildings' during Gaza war
The UN has accused Israel of failing to respect its property and assets during the Gaza war early this year.
In a damning report, a UN panel review of nine incidents blamed the Israeli army's direct and intentional strikes in seven of them, and recommended further investigations into alleged war crimes.
Al Jazeera's Nick Spicer takes a look at the incidents in question.
In a damning report, a UN panel review of nine incidents blamed the Israeli army's direct and intentional strikes in seven of them, and recommended further investigations into alleged war crimes.
Al Jazeera's Nick Spicer takes a look at the incidents in question.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Focus on Gaza - Gaza's economic crisis
The Israeli siege is strangling Gaza's economy, and many of the businesses that were managing to scrape by were destroyed by the recent war. A look into the economic consequeces of Israel's blockade and the war on Gaza.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Focus on Gaza - Factional violence
A revealing new report reveals increasing factional violence between Hamas and Fatah. Gazans speak out as reports that they are being used as Israeli informants come out. And with further Jewish settlement expansion in East jerusalem we speak to one family standing firm
Friday, April 17, 2009
Focus on Gaza - Al Durra special
In the wake of the recent war on Gaza and casualties we visit the Al Durra Family in Gaza to find out how they have coped over the years; and to understand how the pain of loss and bereavement continues, long after the guns cease firing.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Let's go to Rafah NOW!
Let's go to Rafah NOW! (arabic, english and français)
حتى الآن ، أكثر من 300 من المنظمات والأفراد من 26 بلدا أيدوا الدعوة إلى "الحركة الدولية لفتح معبر رفح الحدودي" ونشكركم . وكما تعلمون، هناك دائما أشخاص من جميع أنحاء العالم يحاولون الوصول إلى غزة من اجل إيصال المساعدات إلى الشعب الفلسطيني الذي يعيش في ظل وضع بائس. آلاف الأطنان من المواد الغذائية والطبية والمأوى والمساعدات الطارئة الطوارئ بما في ذلك البطاطين والفرشات ، والتي تبرعت بها دول عديدة من بينها الولايات المتحدة ومنظمات الإغاثة ، منعت من الدخول عبر المعابر من الحكومة الإسرائيلية ، ولكن أيضا من جانب الحكومة المصرية.
ذكرت الأمم المتحدة أن 900000 من سكان غزة يعتمدون الآن على المساعدات الغذائية في أعقاب الاعتداء الإسرائيلي على قطاع غزة والذي استمر لمدة 22 يوم. فقط 100 شاحنة من المساعدات يتم السماح لهم بدخول قطاع غزة كل يوم –اقل ب 30 شاحنة مما كان مسموح بإدخاله في العام الماضي ، وأقل بكثير مما كان قبل العملية الإسرائيلية 'الرصاص المصبوب' :الهجوم الذي خلف ورائه أكثر من 1500 شهيدا فلسطينيا ، غالبيتهم العظمى من المدنيين الذين ذبحوا في الشوارع والمنازل. مع أكثر من 5000 جريح و 100000 بلا مأوى ، وقبول المعونة أمر بالغ الأهمية في هذا الوقت.
هذا جزء بسيط من ما يقارب 500-600 شاحنة التي تعتبر ضرورية للحفاظ على حياة السكان في فى قطاع غزة وفقا للأمم المتحدة. ووفقا للأونروا ، فان شاحنات الغذاء توفر ما يكفي من الغذاء لإطعام 30000 شخص فقط في اليوم الواحد. يمنع المئات من المرضى والمصابين, من هذه الحرب والغزو الإسرائيلي السابق من مغادرة غزة لتلقي العلاج الطبي اللازم والضروري. أكثر من 268 شخص لقوا حتفهم من جراء أحوال صحية ممكن الوقاية منها ومعالجتها وجاء ذلك نتيجة لاستمرار الحصار المستمر منذ أربع سنوات مضت.
وفي شرم الشيخ، وعد زعماء العالم بمساعدات لقطاع غزة تقدر بالبلايين ، ولكن لماذا إذا الحدود لا تزال مغلقة ، و قوافل المساعدات لا تستطيع أن تدخل إلى غزة. لذا لا بد لنا من تحقيق إقامة دائمة بالاعتصام عند معبر رفح على الحدود حتى رفع هذا الحصار والذي يعتبر أصلا جريمة حرب. هدفنا الرئيسي هو ليس فقط السماح لشخصا واحدا أو مجموعة بالعبور إلى غزة ولكن هدفنا هو رفع الحصار وكذلك لمساعدة الفلسطينيين على التنقل بحرية من خلال المعبر، وتطبيق القانون الدولي واحترام الإعلان العالمي لحقوق الإنسان) كانون الأول / ديسمبر 10 عام 1948
وخلال الاعتصام ، فإننا سوف نقوم بتنظيم إجراءات منسقة على جانبي الحدود مع أصدقائنا في قطاع غزة.
لذا ، من أجل تنظيم هذا العمل ، نحن بحاجة إلى معرفة ما يلي : -- متى يمكنك الانضمام إلينا في رفح على الحدود؟
-- هل ستأتي بمفردك أو مع مجموعة؟ إذا كنت ستأتي مع مجموعة ، كم عددكم؟ -- إلى متى يمكنك البقاء هناك؟
-- هل تريد أن تساعدنا في تنسيق هذا العمل؟ كما تعلمون ، السلطات المصرية ستبذل ما بوسعها لمنعكم من الوصول إلى معبر رفح الحدودي ، لذلك سنقدم لكم كل المعلومات والاتصالات التي سوف تحتاجون إليها في مصر. إذا كنت لا تستطيع أن تأتي : قد يكون لك صديق ناشط ممكن أن تساعده على المجيء (من خلال جمع التبرعات) يمكنك أيضا التواصل مع وسائل الإعلام وجميع محيطك دعما لهذا العمل ، فإننا سوف نبدأ قريبا " حملة الاحتجاج البريدية " للسفارات (سفارة مصر في بلدكم ، والسفارة الخاصة بك في مصر) ، وإلى وزارة الخارجية. حتى إذا كنت تنوي المجيء قريبا أو في الأشهر المقبلة، أو إذا كنت تحتاج إلى مزيد من التفاصيل، يرجى الاتصال بنا على: http://us.mc1103.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=intmorb@googlemail.com
مع كل التضامن
مادة 13
1- للجميع حق التنقل والإقامة ضمن حدود المنطقة التي يسكن بها.
2- للجميع الحق بترك أي بلد من البلاد من ضمنها بلده, وله حق العودة إليها متى يشاء.
_______________________________________________________________________
Let's go to Rafah NOW!
Dear friends,
Till now, more than 300 organizations and individuals from 26 countries have endorsed the call “International Movement to Open the Rafah Border” and we thank you.
As you may know, there are always people from all over the world who are trying to get into Gaza in order to bring aid to the Palestinian people who are living in a desperate situation.
Thousands of tons of food, medical and emergency shelter aid including blankets and mattresses, donated by countries including the United States and aid organisations, are denied entry through crossings by the Israeli government but also by the Egyptian government.
The United Nations has stated that 900,000 Gazans are now dependent on food aid following Israel‘s 22-day assault on the tiny coastal territory.
Only 100 aid trucks are being allowed into Gaza each day - 30 less than were being brought in last year and substantially less than before Israel’s operation ‘Cast Lead’: an attack that has left over 1,500 Palestinians dead, the vast majority of them civilians massacred in their streets and homes. With over 5,000 injured and 100,000 homeless, admittance of aid is crucial at this time.
This is a fraction of the estimated 500-600 trucks deemed necessary to sustain the population of Gaza according to the United Nations. According to UNRWA, food trucks are delivering enough food to feed just 30,000 people per day.
Hundreds of medical patients, the injured from this war and Israel’s previous invasions, are being prohibited from leaving Gaza for indispensable medical treatment. Over 300 people have died of preventable and treatable conditions, due to the ongoing siege staged since 4 years ago.
In Sharm El Sheik, the world leaders promised billions of aid to Gaza, but how if the borders remain closed and aid trucks cannot enter into Gaza.
So we must establish a permanent sit-in at the Rafah border till the siege, which is a war crime, is lift.
Our main goal is not that one person or a group enter into Gaza but our goal is to lift the siege and also to help the Palestinians to move freely through the crossing, an application of international law and the respect for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (December, 10th 1948).*.
During our sit-in, we will organize coordinated actions on both sides of the border with our friends in Gaza.
So, in order to organize this action, we need to know:
- When can you join us at the Rafah border?
- Will you come alone or with a group? If you will come as a group, how many people are you?
- How long can you stay there?
- Would you want to help us in coordinating this action?
As you can guess it, the Egyptian authorities will do their best to prevent you from reaching the Rafah border, so we will give you all the information and contacts in Egypt you need.
If you cannot come:
May be you can help a friend, an activist to come (through fundraising)
You can also communicate with media and all your surroundings
In support of this action, we will launch soon a "mailing protest campaign" to embassies (Egypt Embassy in your country, and your own embassy in Egypt) and to your Foreign Office
So if you intend to come soon or in the coming months or if you need more details, please contact us at : http://us.mc1103.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=intmorb@googlemail.com
In solidarity
* Article 13. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
=========================================
Allons à Rafah, MAINTENANT !
Chers amis,
Jusqu'à présent, plus de 300 organisations et individus de 26 pays ont signé l'appel du « Mouvement International Pour Ouvrir la Frontière de Rafah » et nous vous en remercions.
Comme vous le savez peut-être, des gens du monde entier essaient en permanence d'entrer dans Gaza afin de venir en aide au peuple palestinien qui vit dans une situation désespérée.
Des milliers de tonnes de nourriture, de médicaments et d'aide d'urgence, comme des couvertures et des matelas, donnés par des de nombreux pays dont les États-Unis et des organisations d'aide, ne peuvent entrer à Gaza, en raison de la fermeture des passages frontaliers par le gouvernement israélien, mais aussi par le Gouvernement égyptien.
L'Organisation des Nations Unies a déclaré que 900.000 habitants de Gaza sont désormais dépendants de l'aide alimentaire après la guerre de 22 jours d'Israël contre le petit territoire côtier.
Seuls 100 camions d’aide sont autorisés quotidiennement à pénétrer dans la Bande de Gaza – soit 30 camions de moins que l’an dernier et nettement moins que le nombre autorisé à entrer par Israël avant l'opération 'Plomb Durci’ : une attaque qui a fait à Gaza plus de 1300 morts, dont la majorité étaient des civils qui ont été massacrés dans leurs rues et leurs maisons. Avec plus de 5000 blessés et 100.000 sans-abri, l'accès à l'aide est crucial en ce moment.
Cela ne représente qu’une petite partie des 500 à 600 camions jugés nécessaires pour subvenir aux besoins de la population de Gaza, selon l'Organisation des Nations Unies. Selon l'UNRWA, les camions de nourriture autorisés à entrer ne permettent d’alimenter que 30.000 personnes par jour.
Des centaines de malades, de blessés de cette guerre et des précédentes invasions israéliennes ont l’interdiction de quitter Gaza pour se faire soigner. Plus de 300 personnes sont mortes en raison du blocus qui dure depuis 4 ans maintenant, alors que leur état était curable et que leur mort était évitable.
A Charm El Cheik, les dirigeants mondiaux ont promis des milliards de dollars d'aide à Gaza, mais pourquoi si les frontières restent fermées et si même les camions d’aide ne peuvent entrer dans la bande de Gaza ?
Nous devons donc établir un sit-in à la frontière de Rafah jusqu'à ce que le siège, qui est un crime de guerre, soit levé.
Notre objectif principal n'est pas qu’une personne ou un groupe de personnes entre dans la bande de Gaza, mais de lever le siège et également d'aider les Palestiniens à se déplacer librement, une application du droit international et le respect de la Déclaration universelle des droits humains (10 décembre1948).*.
Au cours de notre sit-in, nous organiserons des actions coordonnées des deux côtés de la frontière avec nos amis de la Bande de Gaza.
Ainsi, afin d'organiser cette action, nous avons besoin de savoir :
- Quand pouvez-vous nous rejoindre à la frontière de Rafah ?
- Viendrez-vous seul ou en groupe ? Si vous êtes un groupe, combien de personnes êtes-vous ?
- Combien de temps pouvez-vous rester ?
- Voulez-vous nous aider dans la coordination de cette action ?
Comme vous pouvez l’imaginer, les autorités égyptiennes feront tout leur possible pour vous empêcher d'atteindre la frontière de Rafah. Aussi nous vous donnerons toutes les informations et les contacts en Egypte dont vous aurez besoin.
Si vous ne pouvez pas venir :
Vous pouvez peut-être aider un ami, un militant à venir (par le biais d’une collecte de fonds).
Vous pouvez également transmettre nos informations aux médias et aux organisations autour de vous.
Pour soutenir cette action, nous lancerons prochainement une "campagne d'envoi de lettres de protestation" aux ambassades (Ambassade d'Egypte dans votre pays, et à votre ambassade en Egypte) ainsi qu’à votre ministère des Affaires Etrangères.
Donc, si vous avez l'intention de venir très bientôt ou dans les mois à venir, ou si vous avez besoin de plus de détails sur notre action, veuillez nous contacter à: http://us.mc1103.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=intmorb@googlemail.com.
En solidarité
* Article 13 :
1. Toute personne a le droit de circuler librement et de choisir sa résidence à l'intérieur d'un Etat.
2. Toute personne a le droit de quitter tout pays, y compris le sien, et de revenir dans son pays.
-- In Solidarity from all International Movement to Open Rafah Border
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9986479902
حتى الآن ، أكثر من 300 من المنظمات والأفراد من 26 بلدا أيدوا الدعوة إلى "الحركة الدولية لفتح معبر رفح الحدودي" ونشكركم . وكما تعلمون، هناك دائما أشخاص من جميع أنحاء العالم يحاولون الوصول إلى غزة من اجل إيصال المساعدات إلى الشعب الفلسطيني الذي يعيش في ظل وضع بائس. آلاف الأطنان من المواد الغذائية والطبية والمأوى والمساعدات الطارئة الطوارئ بما في ذلك البطاطين والفرشات ، والتي تبرعت بها دول عديدة من بينها الولايات المتحدة ومنظمات الإغاثة ، منعت من الدخول عبر المعابر من الحكومة الإسرائيلية ، ولكن أيضا من جانب الحكومة المصرية.
ذكرت الأمم المتحدة أن 900000 من سكان غزة يعتمدون الآن على المساعدات الغذائية في أعقاب الاعتداء الإسرائيلي على قطاع غزة والذي استمر لمدة 22 يوم. فقط 100 شاحنة من المساعدات يتم السماح لهم بدخول قطاع غزة كل يوم –اقل ب 30 شاحنة مما كان مسموح بإدخاله في العام الماضي ، وأقل بكثير مما كان قبل العملية الإسرائيلية 'الرصاص المصبوب' :الهجوم الذي خلف ورائه أكثر من 1500 شهيدا فلسطينيا ، غالبيتهم العظمى من المدنيين الذين ذبحوا في الشوارع والمنازل. مع أكثر من 5000 جريح و 100000 بلا مأوى ، وقبول المعونة أمر بالغ الأهمية في هذا الوقت.
هذا جزء بسيط من ما يقارب 500-600 شاحنة التي تعتبر ضرورية للحفاظ على حياة السكان في فى قطاع غزة وفقا للأمم المتحدة. ووفقا للأونروا ، فان شاحنات الغذاء توفر ما يكفي من الغذاء لإطعام 30000 شخص فقط في اليوم الواحد. يمنع المئات من المرضى والمصابين, من هذه الحرب والغزو الإسرائيلي السابق من مغادرة غزة لتلقي العلاج الطبي اللازم والضروري. أكثر من 268 شخص لقوا حتفهم من جراء أحوال صحية ممكن الوقاية منها ومعالجتها وجاء ذلك نتيجة لاستمرار الحصار المستمر منذ أربع سنوات مضت.
وفي شرم الشيخ، وعد زعماء العالم بمساعدات لقطاع غزة تقدر بالبلايين ، ولكن لماذا إذا الحدود لا تزال مغلقة ، و قوافل المساعدات لا تستطيع أن تدخل إلى غزة. لذا لا بد لنا من تحقيق إقامة دائمة بالاعتصام عند معبر رفح على الحدود حتى رفع هذا الحصار والذي يعتبر أصلا جريمة حرب. هدفنا الرئيسي هو ليس فقط السماح لشخصا واحدا أو مجموعة بالعبور إلى غزة ولكن هدفنا هو رفع الحصار وكذلك لمساعدة الفلسطينيين على التنقل بحرية من خلال المعبر، وتطبيق القانون الدولي واحترام الإعلان العالمي لحقوق الإنسان) كانون الأول / ديسمبر 10 عام 1948
وخلال الاعتصام ، فإننا سوف نقوم بتنظيم إجراءات منسقة على جانبي الحدود مع أصدقائنا في قطاع غزة.
لذا ، من أجل تنظيم هذا العمل ، نحن بحاجة إلى معرفة ما يلي : -- متى يمكنك الانضمام إلينا في رفح على الحدود؟
-- هل ستأتي بمفردك أو مع مجموعة؟ إذا كنت ستأتي مع مجموعة ، كم عددكم؟ -- إلى متى يمكنك البقاء هناك؟
-- هل تريد أن تساعدنا في تنسيق هذا العمل؟ كما تعلمون ، السلطات المصرية ستبذل ما بوسعها لمنعكم من الوصول إلى معبر رفح الحدودي ، لذلك سنقدم لكم كل المعلومات والاتصالات التي سوف تحتاجون إليها في مصر. إذا كنت لا تستطيع أن تأتي : قد يكون لك صديق ناشط ممكن أن تساعده على المجيء (من خلال جمع التبرعات) يمكنك أيضا التواصل مع وسائل الإعلام وجميع محيطك دعما لهذا العمل ، فإننا سوف نبدأ قريبا " حملة الاحتجاج البريدية " للسفارات (سفارة مصر في بلدكم ، والسفارة الخاصة بك في مصر) ، وإلى وزارة الخارجية. حتى إذا كنت تنوي المجيء قريبا أو في الأشهر المقبلة، أو إذا كنت تحتاج إلى مزيد من التفاصيل، يرجى الاتصال بنا على: http://us.mc1103.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=intmorb@googlemail.com
مع كل التضامن
مادة 13
1- للجميع حق التنقل والإقامة ضمن حدود المنطقة التي يسكن بها.
2- للجميع الحق بترك أي بلد من البلاد من ضمنها بلده, وله حق العودة إليها متى يشاء.
_______________________________________________________________________
Let's go to Rafah NOW!
Dear friends,
Till now, more than 300 organizations and individuals from 26 countries have endorsed the call “International Movement to Open the Rafah Border” and we thank you.
As you may know, there are always people from all over the world who are trying to get into Gaza in order to bring aid to the Palestinian people who are living in a desperate situation.
Thousands of tons of food, medical and emergency shelter aid including blankets and mattresses, donated by countries including the United States and aid organisations, are denied entry through crossings by the Israeli government but also by the Egyptian government.
The United Nations has stated that 900,000 Gazans are now dependent on food aid following Israel‘s 22-day assault on the tiny coastal territory.
Only 100 aid trucks are being allowed into Gaza each day - 30 less than were being brought in last year and substantially less than before Israel’s operation ‘Cast Lead’: an attack that has left over 1,500 Palestinians dead, the vast majority of them civilians massacred in their streets and homes. With over 5,000 injured and 100,000 homeless, admittance of aid is crucial at this time.
This is a fraction of the estimated 500-600 trucks deemed necessary to sustain the population of Gaza according to the United Nations. According to UNRWA, food trucks are delivering enough food to feed just 30,000 people per day.
Hundreds of medical patients, the injured from this war and Israel’s previous invasions, are being prohibited from leaving Gaza for indispensable medical treatment. Over 300 people have died of preventable and treatable conditions, due to the ongoing siege staged since 4 years ago.
In Sharm El Sheik, the world leaders promised billions of aid to Gaza, but how if the borders remain closed and aid trucks cannot enter into Gaza.
So we must establish a permanent sit-in at the Rafah border till the siege, which is a war crime, is lift.
Our main goal is not that one person or a group enter into Gaza but our goal is to lift the siege and also to help the Palestinians to move freely through the crossing, an application of international law and the respect for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (December, 10th 1948).*.
During our sit-in, we will organize coordinated actions on both sides of the border with our friends in Gaza.
So, in order to organize this action, we need to know:
- When can you join us at the Rafah border?
- Will you come alone or with a group? If you will come as a group, how many people are you?
- How long can you stay there?
- Would you want to help us in coordinating this action?
As you can guess it, the Egyptian authorities will do their best to prevent you from reaching the Rafah border, so we will give you all the information and contacts in Egypt you need.
If you cannot come:
May be you can help a friend, an activist to come (through fundraising)
You can also communicate with media and all your surroundings
In support of this action, we will launch soon a "mailing protest campaign" to embassies (Egypt Embassy in your country, and your own embassy in Egypt) and to your Foreign Office
So if you intend to come soon or in the coming months or if you need more details, please contact us at : http://us.mc1103.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=intmorb@googlemail.com
In solidarity
* Article 13. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
=========================================
Allons à Rafah, MAINTENANT !
Chers amis,
Jusqu'à présent, plus de 300 organisations et individus de 26 pays ont signé l'appel du « Mouvement International Pour Ouvrir la Frontière de Rafah » et nous vous en remercions.
Comme vous le savez peut-être, des gens du monde entier essaient en permanence d'entrer dans Gaza afin de venir en aide au peuple palestinien qui vit dans une situation désespérée.
Des milliers de tonnes de nourriture, de médicaments et d'aide d'urgence, comme des couvertures et des matelas, donnés par des de nombreux pays dont les États-Unis et des organisations d'aide, ne peuvent entrer à Gaza, en raison de la fermeture des passages frontaliers par le gouvernement israélien, mais aussi par le Gouvernement égyptien.
L'Organisation des Nations Unies a déclaré que 900.000 habitants de Gaza sont désormais dépendants de l'aide alimentaire après la guerre de 22 jours d'Israël contre le petit territoire côtier.
Seuls 100 camions d’aide sont autorisés quotidiennement à pénétrer dans la Bande de Gaza – soit 30 camions de moins que l’an dernier et nettement moins que le nombre autorisé à entrer par Israël avant l'opération 'Plomb Durci’ : une attaque qui a fait à Gaza plus de 1300 morts, dont la majorité étaient des civils qui ont été massacrés dans leurs rues et leurs maisons. Avec plus de 5000 blessés et 100.000 sans-abri, l'accès à l'aide est crucial en ce moment.
Cela ne représente qu’une petite partie des 500 à 600 camions jugés nécessaires pour subvenir aux besoins de la population de Gaza, selon l'Organisation des Nations Unies. Selon l'UNRWA, les camions de nourriture autorisés à entrer ne permettent d’alimenter que 30.000 personnes par jour.
Des centaines de malades, de blessés de cette guerre et des précédentes invasions israéliennes ont l’interdiction de quitter Gaza pour se faire soigner. Plus de 300 personnes sont mortes en raison du blocus qui dure depuis 4 ans maintenant, alors que leur état était curable et que leur mort était évitable.
A Charm El Cheik, les dirigeants mondiaux ont promis des milliards de dollars d'aide à Gaza, mais pourquoi si les frontières restent fermées et si même les camions d’aide ne peuvent entrer dans la bande de Gaza ?
Nous devons donc établir un sit-in à la frontière de Rafah jusqu'à ce que le siège, qui est un crime de guerre, soit levé.
Notre objectif principal n'est pas qu’une personne ou un groupe de personnes entre dans la bande de Gaza, mais de lever le siège et également d'aider les Palestiniens à se déplacer librement, une application du droit international et le respect de la Déclaration universelle des droits humains (10 décembre1948).*.
Au cours de notre sit-in, nous organiserons des actions coordonnées des deux côtés de la frontière avec nos amis de la Bande de Gaza.
Ainsi, afin d'organiser cette action, nous avons besoin de savoir :
- Quand pouvez-vous nous rejoindre à la frontière de Rafah ?
- Viendrez-vous seul ou en groupe ? Si vous êtes un groupe, combien de personnes êtes-vous ?
- Combien de temps pouvez-vous rester ?
- Voulez-vous nous aider dans la coordination de cette action ?
Comme vous pouvez l’imaginer, les autorités égyptiennes feront tout leur possible pour vous empêcher d'atteindre la frontière de Rafah. Aussi nous vous donnerons toutes les informations et les contacts en Egypte dont vous aurez besoin.
Si vous ne pouvez pas venir :
Vous pouvez peut-être aider un ami, un militant à venir (par le biais d’une collecte de fonds).
Vous pouvez également transmettre nos informations aux médias et aux organisations autour de vous.
Pour soutenir cette action, nous lancerons prochainement une "campagne d'envoi de lettres de protestation" aux ambassades (Ambassade d'Egypte dans votre pays, et à votre ambassade en Egypte) ainsi qu’à votre ministère des Affaires Etrangères.
Donc, si vous avez l'intention de venir très bientôt ou dans les mois à venir, ou si vous avez besoin de plus de détails sur notre action, veuillez nous contacter à: http://us.mc1103.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=intmorb@googlemail.com.
En solidarité
* Article 13 :
1. Toute personne a le droit de circuler librement et de choisir sa résidence à l'intérieur d'un Etat.
2. Toute personne a le droit de quitter tout pays, y compris le sien, et de revenir dans son pays.
-- In Solidarity from all International Movement to Open Rafah Border
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9986479902
INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT TO OPEN RAFAH BORDER
Dont let Gaza die
Global Help Initiative For Palestine
After the massacre of the people of Gaza by the Israeli army thatstarted on December, 27th 2008, the world was moved at the plight ofPalestinians. But Gaza remains closed almost hermetically, humanitarianconvoys accumulate at the border and only a small part is allowed toenter. Similarly, citizens of various countries, including manyPalestinians are stranded in Egypt.We, citizens of the world, oppose this illegal and deadly blockade,tolerated, not to say encouraged by most governments of the world,especially those of USA, Israel, Europe and many of the Arab countries.Once again, it seems that only civil society is able to mobilize todemand the application of the basic rights of people that are echoed ininternational law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights(December, 10th 1948).*Therefore, we call any individual or group (association, organisation,party, etc.) to participate, within its means, to establish a permanentsit-in at the border in Rafah, to put pressure on the Egyptian, US,European and Israeli governments, and also on the internationalcommunity, until the definitive opening of the border between Gaza andEgypt, allowing the free movement of goods and people.TO FREE GAZA, TO BREAK THE SIEGE, FOR FREE MOVEMENTALL AT RAFAH , NOW !* Article 13.(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country
Enquires and endorsements please contact: IntMorb@Googlemail.com
Organisations :
ISM-France
PAz Ahora (Espagne)
Revista Rubra (Portugal)
MSRPP (France)
Forum Palestina (Italia)
AMFP (France)
Viva Palestina (UK)
Association des Palestiniens en France
Collectif des Musulmans de France
Comite St Ouen Solidarite Palestine, France
EMF (Etudiants Musulmans de France)-Nantes, France
Ittijah, France
Resistance Palestine, France
Jordan Society for Human Rights - Jordan
Jordanian Intellectuals For Gaza - Jordan
Global Help Initiative for Palestine (HI), Gaza, Palestine
ISM-Chicago, USA
Pink Code, USA
Convergence des Causes (France)
AssociazioneZaatar – Associazione Ghassan Kanafani (Lucca) - Circolo aziendaleferrovieri del PRC Spartaco Lavagnini di Firenze - Network of ArtistsAgainst War Italia – Associazione ALTRIMONDI, sezione Palestina -Comitato varesino per la Palestina - Sinistra Critica (Varese) –Comitato Provinciale ARCI di Varese.
Friends of Lebanon, United Kingdom
The Peace Cycle, United Kingdom
MPACuk, United Kingdom
Individuals: (16 nationalities)
Nada Kassas,Egypt, Journalist and activist
Iman Badawi, Egypt, Journalist and activist
Kamel Elbasha, Egypt, author and activist
Amal Wahdan, Palestinian Activist and journalist
Julio Rodriguez, (Spain)
Christian Chantegrel, SB (Siege Buster) France
Paki Wieland, Northampton Massachusetts, USA
Northampton Committee to End the War in Iraq
Western Mass Raging Grannies, Code Pink.
Nadine Rosa-Rosso, Belgium, creator of the call to remove Hamas from European terrorist organizations lists
Abdelaziz Chambi - Activist - France
Youssef Girard, Historians, France
Mireille Rumeau, Activist, France
Sandrine Mansour-Merien, France, historian Palestinian refugee
Abdel Salam Saleh - Novelist - Jordan
Saleh abu-Taweeleh - Activist - Jordan
Suleiman Sweiss - Human Rights Activist - Jordan
Laila Zo bi - Activist - Jordan
Mohammad Faraj - Activist – Jordan
Naser abu-Nassar - Activist – Jordan
Ayed Nab a - Director - Jordan
Kamal Khalil - Singer and Composer - Jordan
Mohammad Nasralla - Plastic Artist - Jordan
Kawthar Arar - Journalist - Jordan
Abdul Rahman el-Ja bari - Cartoonist – Jordan
Yahya abu-Safi - Researcher - Jordan
Majed Toubeh - Secretary of Jordanian Journalists Syndicate - Jordan
Mohammad Deebo - Poet and Activist - Syria
Akram Kreishan - Int l Expert in Human Rights - Jordan
Laila Faisal - Activist - Jordan/USA
Mohammad Shareef el-Jayyousi - Journalist – Jordan
Rabea Salhieh - Dental Surgeon - Jordan
Olfat Jaser - King Hussien Cancer Foundation - Jordan
Ra ed Abdel Haq - Tourist Guide – Jordan
Amina Abu-Hamdia - Activist -Jordan/USA
Sari Hanafi, Liban, Professor, Beirut American University
Asim Ghani, Pakistan, journalist
Saad Javed Khan, Pakistan
Khaled Amayreh, Palestine, Journalist
AfafDajani, Palestine, RASED president, Palestinian Ass. for HumanRights-jerusalem office and President of Ass. for women and children
Dr Haidar Eid, Gaza, Palestine
Asma Qwaider, Gaza, Palestine, Palestine Forum
Adnan el-Sabbah - Writer - Palestine
Amani Abu shaaban - Engineer - Gaza – Palestine
Laila Harbe – Engineer - Gaza – Palestine
Naila Gergawe – Engineer - Gaza – Palestine
Nebal Erhem – Engineer - Gaza – Palestine
Mohmmed Jabber – Artist - Gaza – Palestine
Ismail Hefene – Engineer - Gaza – Palestine
Mohammed Haj - Artist - Gaza – Palestine
Abdullah Roze - Artist - Gaza – Palestine
Amani Abu hamda - Artist - Gaza – Palestine
Nahel Mhana – Designer - Gaza – Palestine
Enas Jaber - Artist - Gaza – Palestine
Ola Sakallah – Engineer - Gaza – Palestine
Eman Aby shamlla - Teacher - Gaza – Palestine
Dalia Taha – Engineer - Gaza – Palestine
Saleh Sahuon – Accountant - Gaza – Palestine
Rania Shawa – Accountant - Gaza – Palestine
Zaher Akeila – Accountant - Gaza – Palestine
Hanaa Sahaw – Accountant - Gaza – Palestine
Ahamed Morad - Doctor - Gaza – Palestine
Maysaa Abu Shaaban – Doctor - Gaza – Palestine
Mohamed Abu Randan – Accountant - Gaza – Palestine
Khalel Khodare – Engineer - Gaza – Palestine
Majed Khodare – Accountant - Gaza – Palestine
Rame Mohana – Judge - Gaza – Palestine
Saad Mohana – Accountant - Gaza – Palestine
Ishaq Mohana – Judge - Gaza – Palestine
Mazen Sesalem – Judge - Gaza – Palestine
Tagred Khodare – Journalist - Gaza – Palestine
Jamal Lolo – Accountant - Gaza – Palestine
Khaled Lolo – Accountant - Gaza – Palestine
Batol Shorafa – Engineer - Gaza – Palestine
Mahmmod Moshtaha – Accountant - Gaza – Palestine
Deima Redece – Engineer - Gaza – Palestine
Mohammed Thalthene – Accountant - Gaza – Palestine
Asaad Yazje – Accountant - Gaza – Palestine
Somaia Qwaider - Coordinator - Gaza – Palestine
Raheane Dalol - Coordinator assistant - Gaza – Palestine
Heba Sharef - Designer - Gaza – Palestine
Mohammed Madhoon - Student - Gaza – Palestine
Anour Shekh - Student - Gaza – Palestine
Mohammed Yosef - Student - Gaza – Palestine
Abed allah Zaalan - Student - Gaza – Palestine
Saady Hamed - Student - Gaza – Palestine
Abed rahem Hamed - Student - Gaza – Palestine
Mahmod Madhoon - Student - Gaza – Palestine
Mohamed Esmaial - Student - Gaza – Palestine
Doaa Eaila - Student - Gaza – Palestine
Fatema Hasham - Student - Gaza – Palestine
Anor Qeshawie - Student - Gaza – Palestine
Maha Balata - Student - Gaza – Palestine
Abdalla el-Harkan - Financial Manager - Saudi Arabia
George Galloway, Member of Parliament (UK)
Yvonne Ridley, Journalist and Author, UK.
Andrew J Silvera, Action4Palestine, UKLynn Wilson, Global Help Initiative for Palestine, UK
Dr Mohamed Abassi, United Kingdom
Laura Abraham, Cofounder & Director The Peace Cycle, (UK
Members of Viva Palestina, drivers to Gaza, entitled to Palestinian Passport :
Mrs Nafisa Saeed, Y. Manvra, R. Raja,
Akram Janua, Nusarrat Janjua, Sofia Janjua, X Janjua, Shereen Bhorat, MouradAbib (Algerian Relief), David Joner, Kevin Ovenden, Tahir Gorji, KieranTurner, Safraz Patel, Ruhel Mial, Bisharet Ali, Asad Iqbal, HusseinSaleam, Shahed Miah (Solihull), Faruk Shaikh (Gloucester), Ahmed Nisar,Ahmed Riaz, Alaa Mousa, Samir Ali, Abdullam Khan, Zabar Khan, AbdurRahman Motara (Gloucester), Mansur Sadaq, Cheikh Zahir, Zarina Bhatia,Alan Morton, Mahmood Hussain, Mohamed Khan, Nasima Ali, Carole Swords,Arif Bagasi,
Mahjabeen Bhatti psychotherapist, Canada
Emanuele Vitali, Domenico De Filippis, Germano Monti (Italia)
Hedy Epstein (Deutschland))
Tinet Elmgren, Comic artist, Germany
Edith Lutz, Dr Phil. Germany
Lesley A. Esteves, Deputy Editor, Outlook Traveller Getaways, New Delhi, India
Prof.MassimoDe Santi (Presidente CIEP - Comitato Internazionale di Educazione perla Pace) - Patti Cirino - Federico Giusti (Pisa) - Enrica Palmieri(docente Accademia Nazionale di Danza (Roma) - Alessandra Festini -Alessandra Fava - Edvino Ugolini (Trieste) - Gabriella Macucci (Siena)- Maria Grazia Campari (Milano) - Lea Melandri - Claudio Ortale(capogruppo PRC Municipio 19 – Roma) - Francesco Bravetti (Roma) - Ettore Davoli (Roma) - Nello Acampora (Circolo PRC Campobasso) -Andrea Montella - Paola Baiocchi - Elena Montella - Elia De Pasquale
Enquires and endorsements please contact: IntMorb@Googlemail.com
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Focus on Gaza - White Phosphorous
In this week's show we hear how Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes for it's unlawful use of white phosphorous. Mike Kirsch a town in the US where white phosphorous is manufactured and shows locals the true human cost of the weapon.
Survivors of the war in Gaza take legal action and we meet a mother burnt by white phosphorous who tells her story.
Survivors of the war in Gaza take legal action and we meet a mother burnt by white phosphorous who tells her story.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem
Ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem
Dr. Marcy Newman writing from occupied East Jerusalem, Live from Palestine, 10 March 2009
Last week when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held a press conference in Ramallah with Mahmoud Abbas, whose term as Palestinian Authority president officially expired on 9 January, a Washington Post reporter questioned her about the 143 Palestinian homes in Jerusalem that Israel intends to demolish in the coming weeks. She responded: "clearly, this kind of activity is unhelpful and not in keeping with the obligations entered into under the roadmap." While some hailed this remark as a condemnation of Israel's ongoing ethnic cleansing project, it appeared to many on the ground as callous and flippant.
Since the press conference, the number of Palestinian homes Israeli occupation forces intend to level has increased from 143 to 179. It seems that the number of homes and families who will be forced from their homes, and many from their villages entirely, increases every day. Just this past week in the East Jerusalem area, 88 homes in al-Bustan, 55 homes in Shufat refugee camp, 35 Bedouin homes on the Jerusalem-Jericho Road, and 66 homes in al-Isawiyya were slated for destruction, affecting more than 2,000 Palestinians, most of whom have lived there for generations. Ras al-Amoud, al-Abasiyya, Sheikh Jarrah and Ras Khamis appear to be next on the list of targeted areas. The affected families see this method of adding new neighborhoods to the demolition list every day as a means of making it more difficult to challenge and protest these eviction orders.
I recently visited the al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan, one of the many slated for demolition any day now. The roads into the valley where al-Bustan lies were all closed to Palestinian cars with border police blocking off almost every street. Like many neighborhoods in Jerusalem, the homes reflect a mixture of architectural styles from the Ottoman era to the present, although the Israeli government contends that these homes have been built "illegally" because they have not been granted permission to be built in the first place, a permission that is next to impossible for Palestinians regardless of whether they have an Israeli residency ID or citizenship. Such is the logic of colonialism and ethnic cleansing in Palestine over the last 61 years. And accordingly, a number of Israeli colonists have been confiscating and taking over homes and buildings to pave the way for the wholesale seizure of Palestinian neighborhoods.
It is this history of ethnic cleansing, particularly that of the catastrophe of 1948 when three-quarters of the indigenous Palestinian population were forced from their land and property, an event termed the Nakba, that fuels the solidarity work among Palestinians in Jerusalem. Following the lead of Umm Kamel al-Kurd who put up a tent near her home in Sheikh Jarrah after she was forcibly removed from her home four months ago, other neighborhoods in Jerusalem facing a similar fate have set up such tents as spaces for organizing and encouraging others to stand in solidarity with each neighborhood. Such tents exist now on the Mount of Olives and in Ras Khamis. One of the organizers of the solidarity tent in al-Bustan, Ahmed Siam, told me "We will not let history repeat itself. We learned from history. We will not leave our land like we did in 1948. If they come and kill my son, I will not leave. This is our land. Even if they kill me and only my blood remains, it will remain on this land." The 7,000 residents of the area intend to fight for their right to stay on their land rather than see it turned into a new, illegal Israeli colony.
The Silwan community is resisting this widespread confiscation of their land -- for the purposes of a tourist destination called "the city of David" as well as Jewish-only colonies already surrounding it -- by remaining steadfast and staying on their land as member of the al-Bustan Neighborhood Committee Fakhre Abu Diab stated in a letter written to Clinton: "If the Israeli eviction and demolition orders are implanted it will be a catastrophe for our families, children and elders who will suffer the most. In the face of this destruction we are refusing the municipality's plans and we will not leave our lands and houses nor our community under any circumstances."
Already the elders and children, in particular, are bearing the brunt of the trauma from the news of this latest catastrophe or Nakba. In the heart of al-Bustan the winding, narrow alleyways with homes tightly packed inside remind one of Palestinian refugee camps. The al-Qadi family who has lived down one of these alleys for 25 years, and in this neighborhood for generations, includes seven children, none of whom have attended school since the orders for their home's demolition were issued by the Israeli occupation authorities. This is indicative of most families in al-Bustan. They explained to me that they are afraid to send their children to school because at any time they could be forcibly removed from our homes while the children are gone. Ironically, they told me, that two days ago the municipality opened a new school in their neighborhood, but they see this as part of the plan by the Israeli occupation authorities.
As the children suffer without their ability to go to school, so do the elderly. Like many families in al-Bustan, the Bedran family has lived here for centuries. Indeed, many of the houses lining the valley were built in the 1870s. Abed and Fatima Bedran built their home in 1980 on land their family has lived on for centuries; like most Palestinian families they built a new home to accommodate their expanding family. Abed, who is 82 years old, suffered from a stroke and is now bedridden after hearing the news of their eviction and house demolition orders for their neighborhood. They, too, refuse to flee their home.
These are just two of the families resisting the latest Nakba in Palestine, individuals who refuse to become Palestine's latest refugees. But the latest ethnic cleansing and colonization plans are not limited to Jerusalem. The number of homes scheduled for demolition in all of Palestine is growing every day. While the focus is on East Jerusalem in much of the international media, this week Palestinians in villages near Nablus and Hebron have also received orders to evacuate their homes. In al-Aqraba and Burin near Nablus, Palestinians are being forced to abandon 20 homes and barns by 26 March. As with the homes in East Jerusalem, some of these pre-date the 1967 colonization of the West Bank. Likewise, in al-Baqaa, near Hebron, eight homes are scheduled to be destroyed in a village whose lands have already been stolen for the purposes of illegal colonies and Jewish-only roads. Dozens of Palestinians will become homeless once their homes are confiscated. And in the village of Nilin near Ramallah, Israeli occupation authorities are in the process of expropriating 35.5 acres of land.
Although most of these families are separated by hundreds of checkpoints and established colonies, what the residents of these villages have in common is their steadfast determination to remain in their homes. From Nablus to Jerusalem to Hebron to Nilin they see their most potent means of resistance as remaining in their homes, refusing to live in a constant state of catastrophe, always on the brink of becoming the next refugees. Jawad Abu Ramoz, the son of a refugee from Hebron who fled to Silwan in 1948, is one of the thousands of Palestinians in al-Bustan who rejects a return to the fate of their parents and grandparents, literally and metaphorically.
All images by Marcy Newman.
Dr. Marcy Newman is Associate Professor of English at An Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine. Her writing may be found at bodyontheline.wordpress.com.
Dr. Marcy Newman writing from occupied East Jerusalem, Live from Palestine, 10 March 2009
 |
| An Israeli flag hangs from a Palestinian home in Silwan taken over by Israeli settlers. |
Last week when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held a press conference in Ramallah with Mahmoud Abbas, whose term as Palestinian Authority president officially expired on 9 January, a Washington Post reporter questioned her about the 143 Palestinian homes in Jerusalem that Israel intends to demolish in the coming weeks. She responded: "clearly, this kind of activity is unhelpful and not in keeping with the obligations entered into under the roadmap." While some hailed this remark as a condemnation of Israel's ongoing ethnic cleansing project, it appeared to many on the ground as callous and flippant.
Since the press conference, the number of Palestinian homes Israeli occupation forces intend to level has increased from 143 to 179. It seems that the number of homes and families who will be forced from their homes, and many from their villages entirely, increases every day. Just this past week in the East Jerusalem area, 88 homes in al-Bustan, 55 homes in Shufat refugee camp, 35 Bedouin homes on the Jerusalem-Jericho Road, and 66 homes in al-Isawiyya were slated for destruction, affecting more than 2,000 Palestinians, most of whom have lived there for generations. Ras al-Amoud, al-Abasiyya, Sheikh Jarrah and Ras Khamis appear to be next on the list of targeted areas. The affected families see this method of adding new neighborhoods to the demolition list every day as a means of making it more difficult to challenge and protest these eviction orders.
I recently visited the al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan, one of the many slated for demolition any day now. The roads into the valley where al-Bustan lies were all closed to Palestinian cars with border police blocking off almost every street. Like many neighborhoods in Jerusalem, the homes reflect a mixture of architectural styles from the Ottoman era to the present, although the Israeli government contends that these homes have been built "illegally" because they have not been granted permission to be built in the first place, a permission that is next to impossible for Palestinians regardless of whether they have an Israeli residency ID or citizenship. Such is the logic of colonialism and ethnic cleansing in Palestine over the last 61 years. And accordingly, a number of Israeli colonists have been confiscating and taking over homes and buildings to pave the way for the wholesale seizure of Palestinian neighborhoods.
It is this history of ethnic cleansing, particularly that of the catastrophe of 1948 when three-quarters of the indigenous Palestinian population were forced from their land and property, an event termed the Nakba, that fuels the solidarity work among Palestinians in Jerusalem. Following the lead of Umm Kamel al-Kurd who put up a tent near her home in Sheikh Jarrah after she was forcibly removed from her home four months ago, other neighborhoods in Jerusalem facing a similar fate have set up such tents as spaces for organizing and encouraging others to stand in solidarity with each neighborhood. Such tents exist now on the Mount of Olives and in Ras Khamis. One of the organizers of the solidarity tent in al-Bustan, Ahmed Siam, told me "We will not let history repeat itself. We learned from history. We will not leave our land like we did in 1948. If they come and kill my son, I will not leave. This is our land. Even if they kill me and only my blood remains, it will remain on this land." The 7,000 residents of the area intend to fight for their right to stay on their land rather than see it turned into a new, illegal Israeli colony.
The Silwan community is resisting this widespread confiscation of their land -- for the purposes of a tourist destination called "the city of David" as well as Jewish-only colonies already surrounding it -- by remaining steadfast and staying on their land as member of the al-Bustan Neighborhood Committee Fakhre Abu Diab stated in a letter written to Clinton: "If the Israeli eviction and demolition orders are implanted it will be a catastrophe for our families, children and elders who will suffer the most. In the face of this destruction we are refusing the municipality's plans and we will not leave our lands and houses nor our community under any circumstances."
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| The al-Qadi family outside their home in the al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan. |
Already the elders and children, in particular, are bearing the brunt of the trauma from the news of this latest catastrophe or Nakba. In the heart of al-Bustan the winding, narrow alleyways with homes tightly packed inside remind one of Palestinian refugee camps. The al-Qadi family who has lived down one of these alleys for 25 years, and in this neighborhood for generations, includes seven children, none of whom have attended school since the orders for their home's demolition were issued by the Israeli occupation authorities. This is indicative of most families in al-Bustan. They explained to me that they are afraid to send their children to school because at any time they could be forcibly removed from our homes while the children are gone. Ironically, they told me, that two days ago the municipality opened a new school in their neighborhood, but they see this as part of the plan by the Israeli occupation authorities.
As the children suffer without their ability to go to school, so do the elderly. Like many families in al-Bustan, the Bedran family has lived here for centuries. Indeed, many of the houses lining the valley were built in the 1870s. Abed and Fatima Bedran built their home in 1980 on land their family has lived on for centuries; like most Palestinian families they built a new home to accommodate their expanding family. Abed, who is 82 years old, suffered from a stroke and is now bedridden after hearing the news of their eviction and house demolition orders for their neighborhood. They, too, refuse to flee their home.
These are just two of the families resisting the latest Nakba in Palestine, individuals who refuse to become Palestine's latest refugees. But the latest ethnic cleansing and colonization plans are not limited to Jerusalem. The number of homes scheduled for demolition in all of Palestine is growing every day. While the focus is on East Jerusalem in much of the international media, this week Palestinians in villages near Nablus and Hebron have also received orders to evacuate their homes. In al-Aqraba and Burin near Nablus, Palestinians are being forced to abandon 20 homes and barns by 26 March. As with the homes in East Jerusalem, some of these pre-date the 1967 colonization of the West Bank. Likewise, in al-Baqaa, near Hebron, eight homes are scheduled to be destroyed in a village whose lands have already been stolen for the purposes of illegal colonies and Jewish-only roads. Dozens of Palestinians will become homeless once their homes are confiscated. And in the village of Nilin near Ramallah, Israeli occupation authorities are in the process of expropriating 35.5 acres of land.
Although most of these families are separated by hundreds of checkpoints and established colonies, what the residents of these villages have in common is their steadfast determination to remain in their homes. From Nablus to Jerusalem to Hebron to Nilin they see their most potent means of resistance as remaining in their homes, refusing to live in a constant state of catastrophe, always on the brink of becoming the next refugees. Jawad Abu Ramoz, the son of a refugee from Hebron who fled to Silwan in 1948, is one of the thousands of Palestinians in al-Bustan who rejects a return to the fate of their parents and grandparents, literally and metaphorically.
All images by Marcy Newman.
Dr. Marcy Newman is Associate Professor of English at An Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine. Her writing may be found at bodyontheline.wordpress.com.
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