08/11/2008
Palestinian reconciliation talks due to be held in Cairo were called off on Saturday after Hamas announced a boycott in protest at the detention of hundreds of its members by president Mahmud Abbas's security forces.
"They've been cancelled," Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said. Another Egyptian official, who asked not to be named, said the talks "have been delayed to an undetermined date... at the request of Hamas."
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that "Hamas decided not to attend the dialogue talks in Egypt. We have informed the Egyptian authorities of our decision."
"Our decision was made because president Mahmud Abbas is continuing to weaken the Hamas movement and he has not released any Hamas detainees in the West Bank," he said.
Egyptian intelligence, which had been mediating talks between individual rival Palestinian groups, said in a statement that round-table talks set for Monday were cancelled after Hamas announced its withdrawal. "Hamas told us it would not participate in the dialogue and therefore Egypt delayed talks until an opportunity presents itself," the statement said.
A leading member of the Islamic Jihad delegation in Cairo for the talks, Mohamad al-Hindi, said his delegation was returning to Gaza. "The Islamic Jihad delegation in Cairo is leaving to Gaza because there is no meaning to dialogue without Hamas and Fatah," said al-Hindi. "We expended great efforts in the last moments... Egypt told us that it will continue efforts to remove obstacles and come up with a new date," he added.
Meanwhile, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina slammed Hamas's decision and blamed the rival movement for being responsible for the talks' failure. "Hamas carries the responsibility for the failure of the Cairo dialogue and the responsibility for losing the opportunity to regain Palestinian unity and stop the division between Palestinians," he said. Abu Rudeina also denied Abbas has arrested Hamas members.
Hamas had already expressed reservations about the plan, which calls for a politically independent transitional government to pave the way for new elections, saying Abbas would get an automatic extension of a term the Islamists insist ends in January.
Abbas insisted his law enforcement forces arrested people who posed a security risk, irrespective of political affiliation. "They are arrested and brought to justice," he said at a joint news conference on Friday with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Hamas Refused to Bow and Egypt May Cancel Palestinian Talks
07/11/2008
The Egyptians may postpone next week's "national reconciliation" conference for the Palestinian factions following threats by Hamas to boycott the gathering, Palestinian Authority officials said Thursday.
The PA officials told Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post that Hamas has informed the Egyptians that the movement has many reservations regarding the Egyptian initiative for solving the crisis between Hamas and Fatah.
They added that Hamas was afraid that the PA would use the conference as a means of pressure on the Islamic resistance movement to end its control over the Gaza Strip. At least six Arab foreign ministers have been invited to the parley, in addition to Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.
"Hamas is afraid that the conference would force it to accept the Egyptian initiative," said a PA official in Ramallah. "Hamas doesn't like the Egyptian proposals because they want to continue their rule over the Gaza Strip."
The official said that Hamas was also opposed to the idea of deploying an Arab peace-keeping force in the Gaza Strip and bringing forces loyal to PA President Mahmoud Abbas back to the Rafah border crossing.
Earlier this week, Hamas dispatched its top official, Mahmoud Zahar, to Cairo in a last-minute bid to persuade the Egyptians to change some of their proposals. Zahar met with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Gen. Omar Suleiman, who is personally supervising the mediation efforts, but failed to convince him to make the required changes.
During the visit, Zahar also made it clear that Hamas would boycott the planned conference unless Abbas's forces halted their crackdown on Hamas supporters and released all Hamas detainees in the occupied West Bank.
Zahar also demanded that there will be no reference to the truce with Israel during the conference, arguing that this was an Israeli-Palestinian issue and not an internal Palestinian case.
Zahar said Thursday that Hamas may eventually decide to go the conference despite the "many obstacles" that stand in the way of ending the crisis with Fatah.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum accused Abbas of lying when he announced that the PA was not holding any Hamas men in its prisons in the West Bank.
"The continued arrests [of Hamas members in the West Bank] jeopardize the Egyptian efforts to end the crisis," Barhoum said. "Abbas and his officials in Ramallah are committing a big crime by denying that Hamas members are not being held in their prison cells. This shows that they don't have good intentions."
Yussef Farhat, a top Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, said he was "very pessimistic" regarding the prospects of success of the Cairo conference.
"The Egyptian plan looks as if it were written by Fatah spokesmen," he said. "I would not be exaggerating if I said that the plan is an anti-Hamas initiative. Besides, the Egyptians are trying to impose the plan on all the Palestinian factions, ignoring our reservations and ideas."
Farhat said Hamas was also opposed to the plan because it allows Abbas to remain in power after his term in power expires in January 2009. "What's outrageous is that the Egyptians are treating their plan as if it were a holy book," he added. "They have made it clear to all parties that the plan is final and that they don't want to hear any reservations."
Bardawil: If political arrests continue, dialog won't succeed
[ 06/11/2008 - 09:45 AM ]
Contributed By Lucia
Palestinian local sources reported that the prisoner was subjected to excruciating torture, where PA officers poured a flammable liquid on his limbs especially his legs and then set fire to him, adding that he screamed in pain until he lost consciousness.
In a speech delivered during a massive march held in Khan Younis in protest at the political arrests in the West Bank, Dr. Bardawil strongly castigated the PA security apparatuses for persisting in hunting Palestinian resistance fighters and women, asserting that these acts proved that the PA and Fatah never wanted dialog because they still rely on the Zio-American support.
The angry masses carried banners and chanted slogans condemning PA chief Mahmoud Abbas's security apparatuses for hunting and arresting Palestinian citizens affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad in order to please the Israeli occupation, calling for creating an atmosphere appropriate for the success of the inter-Palestinian dialog to be held in Cairo.
In a serious development, the PA intelligence apparatus in the Junied prison in Nablus transferred prisoner Hasan Marshoud, one of the Islamic Jihad leaders, to the Rafidya hospital after suffering severe burns all over his body. Medical sources described his condition as serious.
Palestinian local sources reported that the prisoner was subjected to excruciating torture, where PA officers poured a flammable liquid on his limbs especially his legs and then set fire to him, adding that he screamed in pain until he lost consciousness.
Well Done Hamas: Let Abbas and Pharoah take the BLAME for the failure of dialog.
Yes, well done "Habilas"
Let Abbas and Pharoah take the BLAME for the failure of dialog.
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement stated that PA chief Mahmoud Abbas's denial of the presence of political prisoners in his jails in the West Bank is a clear declaration of his responsibility for the failure of dialog efforts and that he is not concerned with dialog in any way.
In a press release received by the PIC, Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, underlined that Abbas's denial during his meeting with US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice means that he is still adherent to the American dictates and keen on pleasing the US administration at the expense of the national reconciliation and the higher national interests.
Barhoum also said that these positions which are hindering dialog require an Egyptian declaration that Abbas is responsible for the failure of dialog efforts.
Taher Al-Nunu, the spokesman for the Palestinian caretaker government in Gaza, said that Abbas's disclaimer of having political prisoners in his jails and his insistence on implementing the security part of the roadmap plan represent a fatal blow to the Egyptian reconciliation efforts.
"If the PA in the West Bank could not release the political prisoners in its jails today, what would be the fate of dialog on rebuilding and restructuring the security apparatuses on national basis," Nunu rhetorically questioned.
For his part, Dr. Yahya Moussa, a member of the Hamas parliamentary bloc, strongly denounced the statements made by Abbas during his press conference with Rice in which he said that his aim of the national dialog was to achieve a government committed to the PLO program.
Dr. Moussa, in a statement to the PIC, also described Abbas as the spokesman for Israel and the US, adding that he (Abbas) is working according to the "traitorous" agreements which the PLO had signed and in accordance with the Zio-American demands for the recognition of the Israeli state.
The lawmaker opined that Abbas does not represent the Palestinian people anymore because he still does not believe in the inalienable Palestinian rights especially the right to return and Jerusalem, stressing that the Palestinian people has to end this tragedy in order to able to continue their liberation project.
For his part, Ziyad Al-Nakhala, the deputy secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad Movement, affirmed that all the prisoners in PA jails are political detainees and must be released in order to remove an obstacle in the way of holding the national dialog.
Resheq: There is no change in Abbas's positions regarding dialog
Izzat Al-Resheq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, stated that there is no sign of change in Abbas's positions which are in compliance with the Zio-American opposition to reconciliation
[ 08/11/2008 - 05:23 PM ]
DAMASCUS, (PIC)-- Egypt decided Saturday to postpone holding the inter-Palestinian dialog after four factions including Hamas officially informed Egypt this morning that they would not attend the dialog sessions unless their remarks on the Egyptian draft were taken into account.
Informed sources told the PIC that Hamas reservations concentrated on two basic principles, one is related to the release of all political prisoners in PA jails and the other about the administrative arrangements for dialog, where the four factions saw a clear Egyptian bias in favor of current PA chief Mahmoud Abbas at the expense of the resistance factions.
The sources said that the four Palestinian factions who sent their message to Egypt were Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the popular front for the liberation of Palestine-general command and Al-Sa'ika organization.
In a televised show broadcast today by Al-Aqsa satellite channel, Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil, the spokesman for the Hamas parliamentary bloc, announced that Hamas would not attend the national dialog in Cairo in light of the ongoing war waged by the PA security apparatuses on Hamas cadres and institutions as well as the Palestinian citizens in the West Bank including women, children and worshipers at mosques.
Dr. Bardawil strongly denounced Abbas for denying the presence of political prisoners in his jails, saying that Abbas lies as he breathes and is not qualified at all to be a president.
Regarding the Egyptian mediator, the spokesman stated that Egypt either adopts Abbas's story or is unable to pressure him.
In an exclusive statement to the PIC, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum on Saturday held Abbas fully responsible for the lives of 600 political detainees in his jails after he denied their existence, and for the failure of dialog efforts because of his refusal to release the political prisoners.
"We networked with Cairo to overcome all the obstacles in order to start a successful dialog, but Abbas did not respond to the demand for releasing detainees and stopping the ongoing liquidation and massacre against Hamas in the West Bank,"
In a press statement received by the PIC, Hamas issued a statement in the West Bank in which it underlined that its boycott of the national dialog was not a maneuver or a lack of seriousness, but it was a serious decision showing that Hamas considers the dialog as means to solve all crises that afflicted the Palestinian people and their cause.
Hamas added that the dialog would be meaningless as Abbas's security apparatuses are waging their most ferocious campaign against Hamas cadres and supporters and at the same time misleading the public opinion by alleging that they hunt thieves and law breakers.
For its part, the Salahuddin Brigades, the armed wing of the popular resistance committees, announced that it would not go for any dialog not attended by both Hamas and Fatah, holding Abbas responsible for the collapse of the national dialog because of his refusal to release the political prisoners in his jails.
Abu Abeer, the spokesman for the Brigades, told Al-Quds Press that Egypt understood Hamas decision not to go for dialog especially after the arrival of US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice in the region carrying threats to Abbas against his participation in the dialog.
Abu Abeer also pointed out that the PA security apparatuses are detaining political prisoners from Salahuddin, Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
In an exclusive statement to the PIC, Dr. Ghazi Hussein, a prominent leader of the movement of the popular liberation war-Al-Sa'ika forces, said that his Movement's decision to boycott the dialog was taken after it made sure that its remarks on the Egyptian draft would not be taken into consideration.
Hussein also strongly castigated the PA unconstitutional government in Ramallah, describing its security apparatuses' practices in the West Bank as those used by the IOF troops against the Palestinian resistance.
Al-Sa'ika leader also pointed to his Movement's rejection of the arrangements for the opening session of the national dialog, adding that the attendance of Abbas as a sponsor of the dialog session was unacceptable because he is the head of Fatah and the dialog was between Palestinian factions.
Palestinian local sources told the PIC that Abbas's security apparatuses kidnapped during the last 24 hours 26 Palestinian citizens thought to be affiliated with Hamas in different West Bank areas mostly in Al-Khalil.
Other local sources told the PIC that the PA security apparatuses kidnapped 15 Palestinians in the Beit Ummar town, north of Al-Khalil, including mayor Farhan Alkam, adding the campaign is still ongoing in the town until the moment of writing this news report.
Khalil Abu Shammala, the director of the Dhameer foundation for human rights, confirmed Saturday that human rights organizations in the West Bank have lists of all political prisoners in PA jails, denying Abbas's allegations that there are no prisoners in his jails.
Abu Shammala underscored that the human rights organizations in the West Bank do not follow up the violations against human rights committed by PA security apparatuses, pointing out that the security apparatuses in Gaza respond positively with the human rights organizations and ease their missions.
Update: By Lucia
Fatah official: Egypt in intensive contact with Palestinians to resume dialogue
Hamdan: We did not ask for postponement of the dialog Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, has pointed out that his Movement did not ask for postponement of the national dialog but opted not to attend it.
Comments
Lucia said
I'd expect the PFLP to be up to the circumstances but, regretfully, it has failed the people again. This time they have been a tiny little bit more principled, since they'd decided to attend as an independent party (as it must be) and refused to pitch the PLO against Hamas as Abbas-Fatah wanted.But, this was not enough.The PFLP has to engage in some soul searching and check out what they really -and I mean really- stand for.
Uprooted Palestinian Said
I agree, thanks to Syria for making PFLP "a little bit more principled", The four oraganizations who decided to boycott Cairo meeting are based in Syria. I am sure the boycott is co-ordinated with Syria. Still the PP anal-ysist shall hunt any thing to mock Syria and Hamas.
Ahmadinejhad's Letter to Obama
Mr. Barack Obama
President-elect of the United States of America
I congratulate you on having gained the majority of the votes of those who took part in the election. As you know, the chances that God gives to his subjects pass swiftly. They can be used for the perfection of humanity and to the benefit of nations or, God forbid, to the detriment of nations.
I hope you will choose to honor the real interests of people and justice and equity over the insatiable appetites of the selfish minority. Use this chance to serve to the extent you can. And leave a good name behind for yourself.
People expect an immediate and clear response to the pressure for fundamental change in the American government's policies, both foreign and domestic. This is the desire of all the world's nations and of the American nation as well, and it should be the objective and basis of all your future government's programs and actions.
On the one hand, the American nation, which has spiritual inclinations, expects your government to focus its energy and will on serving the people; dealing with the current economic crisis; restoring the country's standing, morale and hope; eradicating poverty and discrimination; and renewing respect for individuals, their safety and their rights. It also expects policies that will strengthen the foundations of the family -- part of the teachings of the holy prophets, who are also revered in America.
On the other hand, the nations of the world expect an end to policies based on warmongering, invasion, bullying, trickery, the humiliation of other countries by the imposition of biased and unfair requirements, and a diplomatic approach that has bred hatred for America's leaders and undermined respect for its people. They want to see actions based on justice, respect for the rights of human beings and nations, friendship and non-intervention in the affairs of others. They want the American government to keep its interventions within its own country's borders.
In the sensitive Middle East region, in particular, the expectation is that the unjust actions of the past 60 years will give way to a policy encouraging full rights for all nations, especially the oppressed nations of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The great civilization-building and justice-seeking nation of Iran would welcome major, fair and real changes, in policies and actions, especially in this region.
If steps are taken in the path of righteousness, toward the goal of carrying out the teachings of the holy prophets, it is hoped that almighty God will help and that the enormous damage done in the past will be somewhat diminished.
I ask the high God to grant all of humanity and all nations health and happiness, honor and prosperity, and to grant rulers and officials the ability to learn from the past and to use every chance to serve, to spread love and kindness, to eradicate oppression, to do justice and to follow the holy guidelines.
Mahmoud Ahmadiniejad
source
P.S. Dear Mahmoud, sorry, Jewish apartheid trumps every other issue. We're going to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran
at 11/08/2008
Jewish settlers beat up Palestinian boy
It really is time this obsenity of a country was wiped off the face of the map. These jews are vicious cowards.
Jewish settlers beat up Palestinian boy
HEBRON -- Jewish settlers on Saturday beat up a six-year-old Palestinian boy near the West Bank town of Hebron, and he was taken to hospital suffering from moderate head wounds, medics said.
Bilal Daana was attacked by a group of settlers near the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba near Hebron. They beat him up and threw stones at him, the Palestinian medics said.
The boy was taken by Israeli soldiers to a checkpoint at the entrance to Hebron from where he was transferred to the local Al-Ahli hospital.
The incident was the latest in a surge of settler attacks on Palestinians, peace activists and Israeli soldiers since the authorities dismantled a settlement outpost near Hebron last month.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has vowed that Israeli security forces will continue cracking down on illegal outposts and settler violence in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967.
Obama calls on Iran to dump their non-existant nuke weapons program
Not only unacceptable but even worse, non existant. It's easy to get rid of something which isn't acceptable but really hard for something which doesn't actually exist.
I wonder if Obama can find Iraq's WMD? It's just one more indication that nothing is going to change under Obama despite the election catch phrase.
Michael
You might need to ponder that one Obama
Iran’s nuke development ‘unacceptable’ – Obama
The New Boss Is Just Like The Old Boss, Change We Can Believe
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has said Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon is ‘unacceptable’. At his first news conference since Tuesday’s victory, Barack Obama also said Tehran must stop its “support of terrorist organisations”.
Speaking to some 400 members of the media who gathered at the Chicago Hilton, Obama said:
“Iran's development of a nuclear weapon I believe is unacceptable. And we have to mount an international effort to prevent that from happening. Iran's support of terrorist organisations I think is something that has to cease.”
On Thursday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent his congratulatory letter to Obama on his win over Republican John McCain. It’s the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that the head of the republic sent his wishes to an American leader. Obama said he would be reviewing the letter from President Ahmadinejad, and “we will respond appropriately”.
”It's only been three days since the election. Obviously, how we approach and deal with a country like Iran is not something that we should, you know, simply do in a knee-jerk fashion. I think we've got to think it through,” he added.
During his 20-minute conference, Obama underlined that he hasn’t yet been sworn in as the President of the U.S.
” I have to reiterate once again that we only have one president at a time. And I want to be very careful that we are sending the right signals to the world as a whole that I am not the president and I won't be until January 20th,” Obama said.
Not surprisingly, the financial crisis was the main topic the President-elect spoke about.
“Tens of millions of families are struggling to figure out how to pay the bills and stay in their homes. Their stories are an urgent reminder that we are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime, and we're going to have to act swiftly to resolve it.”
He promised that immediately after he becomes President, he’s going “to confront this economic crisis head on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity.”
He spoke briefly about key priorities his team will focus on in the coming weeks.
“I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead. We have taken some major action to date, and we will need further action during this transition and subsequent months. Some of the choices that we make are going to be difficult. And I have said before and I will repeat again: It is not going to be quick, and it is not going to be easy for us to dig ourselves out of the hole that we are in,” Obama said.
This highly anticipated media briefing, however, left journalists a little bit disappointed because of the lack of information that they got.
Obama kept quiet about many important issues such as his future foreign policy, didn’t give many details about how exactly he is going to tackle financial crisis, and didn’t make any new announcements about appointments to his administration
The New Boss Is Just Like The Old Boss, Change We Can Believe
Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:06:57 GMT
The US President-elect Barack Obama has accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons and lending support to terrorist organizations.
"Iran's development of a nuclear weapon I believe is unacceptable. We have to mount an international effort to prevent that from happening." Obama said at his first press conference since winning Tuesday's presidential election.
Obama also said, "Iran's support of terrorist organizations, I think, is something that has to cease."
He also pointed to a congratulatory message he received from President Ahmadinejad following his historic victory over Republican John McCain.
"I will be reviewing the letter from President Ahmadinejad and we will respond appropriately," he noted.
Source here.
Rahm Rahm Rahm, Rahm Rahm Iran
Posted by Lew Rockwell at November 7, 2008 07:26 AMYes, it's Change, as The One chooses his one, Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), to be his H.R. Haldeman. Emanuel is known for being smart and intense, mailing dead fish to people he hates, and freaking out at subordinates. Loving revenge, never forgiving a slight, and brooking no dissent, he's famous as an enforcer. Such figures are valued in the state (and the Mafia), if not in private society. Emanuel, with Pelosi's blessing, famously blocked antiwar Democrats from running for the House in 2006 (he controlled the money for new candidates). Emanuel is an advocate of endless war in the Middle East. No chickenhawk, during the Gulf War, he volunteered as a civilian worker for the Israeli army. His father Benjamin, a physician, was a guerilla fighter for the Irgun against the British occupation of Palestine. The Irgun, a secret insurgent group, is described by unfriendlies as a terrorist organization for such acts as bombing the King David Hotel and ethnically cleansing with extreme prejudice Arab villages. Rahm's mother, Martha, was a civil-rights activist and rock 'n roll nightclub owner in Chicago.
Friday, 7 November 2008
is there a Theologian on board ??
THE CENTURY OF THE HOLOCAUST
Please note the remarks on your article, especially adding the massacres that took place in Arab countries over and above what you mentioned.
We appreciate the efforts you put to document the massacres/holocausts committed by western colonialist powers, and raising the very important question: "Why are ONLY THE JEWISH PEOPLE memorialized and remembered so fondly in the West?" The answer is simple as I mentioned here below.
Sincerely
Adib S. Kawar
An uprooted Palestinian Arab
THE CENTURY OF THE HOLOCAUST
by Peter Kirsch, MD, February 15, 2006
http://www.lewisnews.com/article.asp?ID=122389
Dear Friends
Here is a very good article about the massacres (holocausts) against a number of peoples of the world, which were committed during the 20th century. The author, Peter Kirsch, MD, asks at the end of his article: THE CENTURY OF THE HOLOCAUST, a number of questions that I pasted here as follows:
What about the Cambodians?
The Ukrainians?
The Russians?
The many nations of Europe?
The Laotians?
The Chinese?
The Africans?
The Latin Americans?
The Armenians?
The one hundred and forty million or more dead human beings throughout the twentieth century?
Are the Jewish people really
so SPECIAL?
so REMARKABLE?
so IMPORTANT?
so SUPERIOR?
that they alone amongst all nations are worthy of Memorials, Remembrance Days, special school lessons about the Jewish Six Million?
And if they are, can someone please tell me WHY?
Because they claim to be the chosen people of g-d who promised them other people's land to be invaded and its indigenous people be displaced and replaced by imported non-Semitic converted Jews. Some people believed this myth, and others found it in their colonialist interest to create a rogue state that will act as their long colonialist arm in the heart of the Arab land. (A.S.K.)
But before trying to answer these questions I would like to point out that Peter Kirsch failed to mention the massacres committed against Arab nationals during the twentieth century, namely:
The Palestinian holocaust, which was initiated since the first Zionist colonialist invader sat foot on the Palestinian soil in 1880 and which is still going on uninterrupted. A great number of massacres and ethnic cleansing were committed against Palestinian and other Arab nationals, during the wars Zionist waged against all Arab in and around Palestine, which include besides Palestine:
Egypt:
The Zionist state invaded Egypt in 1954 (together with France and the UK). The second during 1967. During these two invasions thousands of Egyptian Arab martyrs were massacred, Prisoners of war were killed after their surrender.
Syria:
was invaded in 1967 and the Golan Heights are still occupied. Besides the big number of martyrs who were murdered there are now about 500,000 thousands refugees from this occupied Arab land in Syria. The number of Syrian Arabs who are still living in their occupied land is only 15,000 people. The Zionist state "annexed" the Golan Heights and considers it a part of it. About 21 colonies were built on the stolen land; so besides the massacres committed, ethnic cleansing was practiced against the Arab inhabitants of the Golan Heights. The Zionist government tried to impose "Israeli citizenship" on those 15,000 Syrian Arabs but they refused to accept it.
Syrian territory, now under Israeli occupation, of about 1,250 km².
The Golan Heights are situated to the east of the Jordan River. Today the population of the Golan Heights is principally Jewish Israeli, after large numbers of locals fled the area in 1973. More than 100,000 locals fled to Syria (80,000) and Lebanon (20,000). The number of Jews moving into the Golan Heights is around 75,000 settlers who live in more than 30 Jewish-only settlements, illegal by international law. Altogether, the number of inhabitants today must exceed 200,000.
Golan Heights has been annexed by Israel, and is under Israeli law, but this is not internationally recognized.
HISTORY
1948: The Golan Heights becomes strategically important, as it is used as a base for artillery attacks on Israel, mostly during wars.
Moshe Dayan wrote in his memoirs that Zionist colonialist in the Holeh insisted that the IOF bombard the Syrian Heights so as the Syrian army to retaliate, and if they did not the bombardment will continue till the Syrians do, and the IOF to occupy the heights.
1967: The Golan Heights are occupied by Israel early in the Six-Day War.
1973: For a couple of days during the Yom Kippur War, the Golan Heights are recaptured by Syria.
1975: Syria gets an area around the town of Qunaytirah, as a result of US-led talks after the Yom Kippur War.
1981: The Golan Heights is officially annexed by Menachim Begin's government. The area is placed under Israeli law, and settlements are established. The annexation is not recognized by the internationa
Lebanon:
Lebanon was invaded by Zionist forces twice in 1978 and 1982. South Lebanon was occupied from 1978 to 2000 when the Lebanese Resistance drove the Zionist occupation forces out of the occupied Lebanese territories with the exception of the Shibaa farms and other plots of land. Only during the 1982 invasion at least 20,000 Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian were murdered by IOF. These occupation forces caused tremendous destruction during the invasion, which included besides private homes all over the occupied area tremendous damage against the infra structure: Electricity plants, roads, bridges and public buildings. The occupation forces brought with them archeologist who dug out archeological treasures and stole them. Even after the IOF were driven out air, land and sea assaults are still being waged daily against Lebanon, people are kidnapped, and martyrs are falling......
The Lebanese resistance drove the Zionist forces out of the occupied Lebanese territories. Only during the 1982 invasion at least 20,000 Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian were murdered by IOF. These occupation forces caused tremendous destruction during the invasion, which reached up to the capital Beirut that was severely bombarded and destroyed. Destruction included besides private homes all over the occupied area by the modern Mongols, tremendous damage against the infra structure: Electricity plants, roads, bridges and public buildings. The occupation forces brought with them archeologist who dug out archeological treasures and stole them. Even after the IOF were driven out air, land and sea assaults are still being waged daily against Lebanon, people are kidnapped, and martyrs are falling......"
All Palestinian refugee camps between Beirut and the soutern border were practically demolished and thousands of Palestinians were murdered. The most famous massacre in Palestinian refugee camps was the Sabra and Shatila. The IOF ordered the Lebanese Fascist militias to do the dirty job as planed by Arial Sharon and under his personal supervision. He was the Zionist "defense minister" at the time.
Lybia:
26 of October coincides with the anniversary of what the Libyans call the Black Day’, on this day in 1911 the Italian fascist invaders shipped thousands of Libyan men, women and children to some small and remote Italian islands. No one knows anything about their fate! Up to this very day, the Italian authorities have refused to furnish the full list of these Libyan victims to the Government and People of Libya. Libya holds an annual Day of Mourning.
All occupation is abhorrent and the Italian one was not an exception: almost one million Libyans died during the Italian occupation from 1911 to 1944!
Like most of the peoples of the Third World, the Libyans have suffered, and are still suffering, great injustices from the Western powers. The history of the Libyan people is a history of blood, tears and broken bones. The people of Libya have been terrorised and victimised for many decades by the various European powers. With the tacit approval of the British and French governments, Italy declared war on Libya on September 12, 1911, under the excuse that the Ottoman Turks — who were then ruling Libya were subject to insults and maltreatment for which they were in danger! On September 17, 1911, the Italians invaded Tripoli and Benghazi. The Italians expected that their invasion of Libya would be easily accomplished. But, to their horror, their aggression was courageously and strongly resisted by the Libyan people. For 20 terrible years Arab Libyan resistance fighters and guerrillas fought against Italian fascists with sweat and blood. The courage of the Libyan martyrs was epitomised by a very old man Sheikh Omar al Mukhtar. A true hero.
Omar Mukhtar upon his capture in September 1931.
Omar Mukhtar, the 'fierce and frightening warrior on his way to the gallows'.
notice the chains and the escort- what does it remind you of?
The Italian aggression and terrorism against Libya was extremely brutal. Thousands of innocent men, women and children were killed. Their homes were burnt down, their crops destroyed, their wells filled with cement, and copies of their Koran stepped upon. Many women were raped. Thousands of other Libyans were detained in concentration camps in the hot desert. Their properties were confiscated. Others perished under the most repressive conditions. Furthermore, the Italians, had laid about 170,000 landmines all over the country. These landmines have killed and are continuing to kill and maim many Libyans. Italy has refused to furnish maps showing where these landmines were laid. When Benito Mussolini, the Italian fascist dictator, was carrying on his terrorism against the Libyan people, he was highly praised by British, French and American politicians, business leaders and the press.
*For instance, on a visit to Mussolini in 1927, Winston Churchill told journalists that Italian fascism “has rendered a service to the whole world.”
Algeria:
Algeria was colonized and considered as a part of France by the French for long decades Actually between 1830 and July 3rd 1962, that is for 132 years.
The first significant French colonial military foray into Africa occurred in Algeria in 1830. The French king at the time, Charles X, sent his army to occupy the town of Algiers in response to the dey of Algiers striking and calling the French consul names. The invasion eventually led to the announcement in 1848 that Algeria was part of the republic of France, making Algeria the first French colony. This led to the eventual creation of one of the largest and longest lasting colonial empires in history.
In the early morning hours of All Saints' Day, November 1, 1954, guerrillas of the National Liberation Front (Front de Libération Nationale -- FLN) launched attacks in various parts of Algeria against military installations, police posts, warehouses, communications facilities, and public utilities. From Cairo, the FLN broadcast a proclamation calling on Algerian Arabs to join in a national struggle for the "restoration of the Algerian state, sovereign, democratic, and social, within the framework of the principles of Islam." The French minister of interior, socialist François Mitterrand, responded sharply that "the only possible negotiation is war." It was the reaction of Premier Pierre Mendès-France that set the tone of French policy for the next five years. On November 12, he declared in the National Assembly: "One does not compromise when it comes to defending the internal peace of the nation, the unity and integrity of the Republic. The Algerian departments are part of the French Republic. They have been French for a long time, and they are irrevocably French... Between them and metropolitan France there can be no conceivable secession."
In the three years (1957-60) during which the regroupement program was followed, the war uprooted more than 2 million Algerians were uprooted, who were forced to relocate in French concentration camps or to flee to Morocco, Tunisia, and into the Algerian hinterland, where many thousands died of starvation, disease, and exposure. Additional pro-French colaborators were killed when the FLN settled accounts after independence.
The FLN estimated in 1962 that nearly eight years of revolution had cost 300,000 dead from war-related causes. Algerian sources later put the figure at approximately 1.5 million martyrs, while French officials estimated it at 350,000. The actual figure of war dead may be far higher than the original FLN and official French estimates, even if it does not reach the 1 million adopted by the Algerian government. Uncounted thousands of Algerian Arab civilians lost their lives in French army ratissages, bombing raids, and vigilante reprisals.
Of course we have to mention the massacres that took place over and above these Arab countries: Morocco, Tunis, Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, and the Arabian peninsula states: The Yemen and the Arabian Gulf states.
The Palestinian HOLOCAUST
As for Palestine, the whole land of Palestine is still stolen and what ever movables that were on it were stolen too. More than 500 Arab towns and villages were completely demolished. Now there are more Palestinian Arabs in the "shatat" diaspora than in historic Palestine. The numbers of Palestinian Arabs who were massacred by Zionists with the help of the British occupation forces before 1948 are beyond counting.
So in brief Zionists stole the land of Palestine, ethnic cleansed it, and stole all movable and non movable properties, and caused the death of tens of thousands martyrs.
I don't see a reason why the Palestinian holocaust was not mentioned by Dr. Peter Kirsch, even though his pointing out these massacres and crimes against humanity were brought out and condemned.
The Palestinian holocaust with the exception of few others is unique, because more than half of the Palestinian Arab population was ethnic cleansed and their land was confiscated/stolen.
We appreciate Dr. Peter Kirsch's efforts to bring out to the light all these massacres and crimes against humanity, but we don't see a reason why the Palestinian holocaust as well as all the above mentioned Arab holocausts were not, even though he condemned them and asked for the reason saying
so SPECIAL?
so REMARKABLE?
so IMPORTANT?
so SUPERIOR?
http://www.lewisnews.com/article.asp?ID=122389
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word ³holocaust as follows:
2) A complete or large-scale sacrifice;
3) A complete or wholesale destruction, esp. by fire; a great slaughter or massacre;
4) spec. The (period of the) mass murder of the Jews (or transf. of other groups) by the Nazis in the war of 1939 45.
On the basis of these definitions, the 20th century qualifies eminently as the century of the holocaust. Let us take a look at a few of the major events of that 100-year span.
1) The Anglo-Boer War (1899 1902) in South Africa (in which the British, at great cost to both sides, seized the gold and diamond fields from the Boers) was significant in that it led to the invention of the concentration camp designed especially for women and children an all-British idea which was subsequently developed by the National Socialists in Germany. In these concentration camps was an early holocaust of the century the death of thirty thousand women and children from starvation, typhoid and measles. In proportion to later holocausts, the numbers don¹t sound very impressive, but they constituted a significant proportion of the Boer population at the time.
2) Contemporaneous with the Anglo-Boer War was the Spanish-American War of 1898 1902 in which some three or four hundred American soldiers were killed and 270 000 Filipinos died of wounds, disease or starvation. What both these wars of aggression had in common was, of course, greed.
3) Between 1914 and 1918, the First World War killed thirteen million soldiers and seventeen million civilians indeed a holocaust which could have pleased only a Malthusian. During this period, to add to the slaughter, was the Turkish/Ottoman massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in about 1915 yet another holocaust to blot the pages of that century.
4) In the early years of the USSR under Lenin (1917 1923) it is estimated that about seven million people died during the civil war, either from starvation or military action. I should note here that numbers vary from five to ten million, depending on whose figures one accepts, so I have given an average. We can skip a few years to the late 1920s and early 1930s, when Josef Stalin collectivised the kulaks of the USSR, killing millions of them either by the sword or by disease and starvation throughout Russia and Siberia. In 1932-1933, Stalin also summarily appropriated all the grain in Ukraine and had this essential foodstuff transported to Russia or sold abroad for much-needed foreign goods. The result of this was mass starvation in Ukraine and the death of approximately five to seven million Ukrainians a period and a holocaust known in Ukraine as the Holodomor.
5) It was only about three years later that Stalin began the great purges of 1936 1938, the Yezhovshchina, in which it is believed that about eight million Soviet citizens died either by execution or by disease and inanition in Siberia.
6) World War Two. The numbers of deaths vary slightly, but a generally acceptable figure is fifty-six million military and civilian dead. This is doubtless the greatest holocaust in history. As a footnote to it, we can mention that amongst the casualties were three gratuitous massacres the devastation of Dresden by Sir Arthur (³Bomber²) Harris who killed between 40 and 70 000 civilians when the city posed no military threat to the Allies and refugees were streaming into it, fleeing from the advancing Russians; and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and then Nagasaki ordered by President Truman one month after Emperor Hirohito of Japan had made a personal appeal to him for peace negotiations. The combined death toll of these two bombs was between two and three hundred thousand (immediate and short-term).
7) In the Asian theatre, the Japanese were responsible for the death of approximately five million people in China, Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Burma, Malaya, Singapore and other East Asian countries.
THUS BY 1945, EVEN BEFORE MID-CENTURY, WE CAN REPORT A HOLOCAUST OF 120 MILLION PEOPLE.
Exact figures are difficult to obtain and vary widely from one authority to another, so generally I have averaged them out in an attempt to get a fairly balanced count.
8) In the late 1940s, in the Mao v. Chiang Chinese civil war, untold, unknown millions of Chinese were slaughtered. The estimates vary and an accurate count is probably impossible. In 1966, Mao, egged on by his lovely wife, initiated the Cultural Revolution in China, which led to a few more million dead exact numbers unknown. Meanwhile, there was the Korean ³Police Action² as Harry Truman nicely phrased it a vicious civil war between North and South Korea which were in fact puppets of the USSR and the USA. Another few million dead Koreans we don¹t know exactly how many, but do know exactly how many white folk (Americans, Brits etc) were killed. Hardly had that slaughter been calmed when the French were badly beaten in Vietnam at Dien Bien Phu and the US gladly took over from them in due course. The tragic irony of that unnecessary conflict is that it needn¹t have happened at all and would not have, had Secretary of State John Foster Dulles not walked out of peace negotiations. It also could have ended in 1968, but this is not the place to discuss the idiocy of Robert McNamara and his Pentagon cronies before and after the Tet offensive. The Vietnam war gave rise to a new term escalation which proved to be apt, as Kissinger, President Nixon¹s pro-consul to the world, extended the war into Laos and Cambodia, where, in the killing fields, an estimated two to three million people were massacred while back in Vietnam itself the US continued to devastate the country and kill off about three million Vietnamese.
9) Meanwhile, down in Indonesia, great danger presented itself to the United States there was a chance that a government hostile to the US might take power, so in 1965, the US sent troops and military materiel to ensure that Suharto, their blood-stained friend, would be the dictator of the country. There was a holocaust of about half a million civilians.
10) In 1975 1978, the number of dead under the Pol Pot regime was between 1.6 and 1.8 million about one-fifth of the population. This doesn¹t include those millions already killed by Kissinger.
11) During that same period, approximately 100 000 civilians were murdered in East Timor about 24% of the East Timorese population.
12) Probably the biggest killing field of the lot was the continent of Africa from Sudan to the borders of Zambia, and from Eritrea to West Africa. Countless millions were slaughtered or starved to death by sundry warlords and dictators the syphilitic Idi Amin, the megalomanic Mobutu Sese Seko (one of whose close business associates for some time was the Reverend Pat Robertson who recently recommended on two separate occasions - the assassination of President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela), the attack by Rwanda and Uganda on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.8 million dead), the ongoing disturbances in Darfur (400 000 dead) the civil war between the Hutus and the Tutsis, the madman Robert Mugabeٹ the list is long and tiresome. I think it is fruitless even to attempt to count the number of Africans slaughtered in the last fifty or so years. The numbers are probably in the tens of millions.
By comparison, the Balkan massacres of the 1990s were numerically minor, while the Bush/Clinton/BushII/Blair murder of over a million Iraqis between about 1991 and the present, is a significant testimony to Anglo-American blood-lust (or is it just lust for oil?). Saddam Hussein murdered approximately 300 000 of his citizens far fewer than the killers named above. And then we have estimates that over a million Iraqis and Iranians were killed in the long-drawn-out war between the two countries in the 1980s.
I have added up the numbers given above and present them with the caveat that they are not accurate but approximate and very conservative.
A BARE MINIMUM OF ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY MILLION HUMAN BEINGS WERE SLAUGHTERED DURING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
The death toll during the Chinese civil war and the cultural revolution, as well as the number of dead in various parts of sub-Saharan Africa are unreliable and are not included. There are also disputes about the death tolls in South Asia. I have no reliable figures on the number of dead in the India-Pakistan dispute and have omitted the relatively minor number of victims in the Balkans and Central America. All these figures probably add up to tens of millions, but WE ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH BLOOD DRIPPING FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
Now, in that century of holocausts in which at least one hundred and forty million human beings were killed, amongst that number were approximately six million Jewish people (the official number accepted by World Jewry with few exceptions such as Professor Norman Finkelstein whose parents were Nazi victims).
The term ³holocaust² as generally understood today was first used by Elie Wiesel in his imaginative autobiography first published in Yiddish (³Und Die Welt hot Geshvign², 1956) and then in French, (³La Nuit,² 1958). He used the term in the sense given under 3) in the Oxford Dictionary: mass immolation by fire, reporting that people were placed on the edge of flaming pits and then pushed into them. Interestingly enough, he does not once mention gas chambers in this book. Since the end of the second world war, the multiple holocausts of the last century have remained un-capitalised, with one exception the Jewish Holocaust.
Now some Western countries, led by the USA, have Jewish Holocaust Memorials, Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Days, Jewish Holocaust Laws (it¹s forbidden by law in some countries even to question the fact that six million Jews were Holocausted). The politicians in these same countries make pre-election pilgrimages to the Jewish State to garner the Jewish vote. The children in these countries have classes in school devoted to the Jewish Holocaust. I am told that in some American schools, the children sing the Israeli national anthem. Many universities have programs in what are called Holocaust Studies.
So I ask myself questions:
Why are ONLY THE JEWISH PEOPLE memorialised and remembered so fondly in the West?
What about the Cambodians?
The Ukrainians?
The Russians?
The many nations of Europe?
The Laotians?
The Chinese?
The Africans?
The Latin Americans?
The Armenians?
The one hundred and forty million or more dead human beings throughout the twentieth century?
Are the Jewish people really
so SPECIAL?
so REMARKABLE?
so IMPORTANT?
soٹ SUPERIOR?
that they alone amongst all nations are worthy of Memorials, Remembrance Days, special school lessons about the Jewish Six Million?
And if they are, can someone please tell meٹ
WHY?
Thursday, 6 November 2008
Obama appoints the son of a Jewish terrorist to be the White House Chief of Staff
Obama's pick for White House Chief of Staff is Rahm Israel Emanuel. His father was Benjamin Emanuel a pediatrician who helped smuggle weapons to the Irgun. The Irgun was of course a Jewish terrorist organisation that carried out at least 60 acts of terrorism between 1937 and 1939, not only against Palestinian Arabs but also the British.
This perhaps can be considered an early pointer to the fact that little is going to change in regards to American policy in the Middle East
Obama picks pro-Israel hardliner for top post
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada,5 November 2008
"During the United States election campaign, racists and pro-Israel hardliners tried to make an issue out of President-elect Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein. Such people might take comfort in another middle name, that of Obama's pick for White House Chief of Staff: Rahm Israel Emanuel......
Rahm Emanuel was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1959, the son of Benjamin Emanuel, a pediatrician who helped smuggle weapons to the Irgun, the Zionist militia of former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, in the 1940s. The Irgun carried out numerous terrorist attacks on Palestinian civilians including the bombing of Jerusalem's King David Hotel in 1946.
Emanuel continued his father's tradition of active support for Israel; during the 1991 Gulf War he volunteered to help maintain Israeli army vehicles near the Lebanon border when southern Lebanon was still occupied by Israeli forces......
One of the most influential politicians and fundraisers in his party, Emanuel accompanied Obama to a meeting of AIPAC's executive board just after the Illinois senator had addressed the pro-Israel lobby's conference last June.
In Congress, Emanuel has been a consistent and vocal pro-Israel hardliner, sometimes more so than President Bush. In June 2003, for example, he signed a letter criticizing Bush for being insufficiently supportive of Israel. "We were deeply dismayed to hear your criticism of Israel for fighting acts of terror," Emanuel, along with 33 other Democrats wrote to Bush. The letter said that Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian political leaders "was clearly justified as an application of Israel's right to self-defense" ("Pelosi supports Israel's attacks on Hamas group," San Francisco Chronicle, 14 June 2003).
In July 2006, Emanuel was one of several members who called for the cancellation of a speech to Congress by visiting Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki because al-Maliki had criticized Israel's bombing of Lebanon. Emanuel called the Lebanese and Palestinian governments "totalitarian entities with militias and terrorists acting as democracies" in a 19 July 2006 speech supporting a House resolution backing Israel's bombing of both countries that caused thousands of civilian victims......
Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, told Fox News that picking Emanuel is "just another indication that despite the attempts to imply that Obama would somehow appoint the wrong person or listen to the wrong people when it comes to the US-Israel relationship ... that was never true."
Over the course of the campaign, Obama publicly distanced himself from friends and advisers suspected or accused of having "pro-Palestinian" sympathies. There are no early indications of a more balanced course."
2 comments:
Almanar is repeating the Jlem Post's info, as per what the fatah-zio-asslickers told it. (Almanar tends to echo the settlers press too much and too frequently, in my view, and people may think it is info gathered by Almanar or agencies, which is not the case. In most occasions these pieces are nothing but zio-spin)
However, the PIC says other thing: Hamas denies reports about its intention to boycott dialog sessions
And today, according to the Fatah's mouthpiece Maan "Hanieyh expresses serious doubt over Cairo talks"
... but he does not say Hamas will not attend, and today is Nov. 7th. - I still hope they won't allow the gang corner them this way.
Egypt is acting in a despicable way. Yesterday they sent back to Gaza several hundred students, did not let them cross through Egypt, and several patients were banned too. One more boy died
5:56 AM, November 07, 2008
Lucia
I don't expect Hamas, to say Sharp Yes, or No to attending the meeting, therefore, I am not confused with the "Contradicting statements of Hamas Leaders.
Yesterday, I listened to Hamdan on Algezerah, and concluded, that Hamas hasn't decided to boycott the dialog session, but Hamas shall not attend if its conditions are met. Hamdan, for example, said that Hamas shall not accept Abbas as a Sponser for the dialaqg, because he is a part in the dispute. He said that the situation is not ripe, and Hamas would prefer to delay the Dialoge.
Most likely, the ball is in the Egptian side, they are either threatening to cancell the meeting, or they are putting more pressure on Hamas who asked to postpond the dialog.
As for Al-manar, though they in general avoid taking a side, and try to be objectve, but reading between the lines I feel they indirectly support boycotting the meeting.
BTW, Al-manar, even in Lebanese issues, when they want to delever a message, that can't be delivered directly they used to invite someone from the opposition to deliver the message.