Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next.
The iconic spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, pledged today to free four Palestinian political prisoners who were recaptured by Israel days after their daring escape.
“There will be no new (prisoner) exchange deal without the four heroic prisoners that were rearrested by the (Israeli) occupation,” Abu Obeida said in a recorded speech early Saturday.
Israel has announced that it has recaptured the four Palestinian freedom fighters. One of the recaptured political prisoners, Zakarya Zubeidi, appeared with a disfigured face, signs of Isreali violence that accompanied his arrest.
Abu Obeida reassured Palestinians that the rearrest of the political prisoners is not enough to hide what he describes as “the great shame that has befallen the enemy and its institutions”.
Abu Obeida described the daring escape as another example of the “fragility of the security of the enemy”.
Beirut – A “miserable failure”, that’s how the former commander of Gilboa prison described the covert operation led by the 6 Palestinian prisoners who escaped the high security prison north of occupied Palestine.
Gilboa prison is considered one of the most important and highly ranked security prisons in occupied Palestine. It was built in 2004 and designed with the help of Irish specialists and only includes prominent Palestinian prisoners.
“Israeli” media quoted the former commander saying that the escape of the 6 Palestinian detainees was shameful and the most dangerous accident that could happen. On the morning of the escape, prison guards and members of the investigation team were in a state of shock.
Severe responses from senior officers and politicians in the “Israeli” regime to the operation lead to serious questions from “Israeli” media outlets on the ability and the coherence of the regime’s security institutions, in the light of the most recent event.
The “Israeli” entity’s KAN broadcaster announced that the authorities will investigate with the prison service members who took unusual decisions, in addition to huge suspicions regarding cooperation with the prisons.
Another “Israeli” news outlet, The times of “Israel” described the jail break as one of the worst escapes in the “Israeli” entity’s history.
To make things worse for the security institutions, the “Israeli” daily Haaretz said the prison blueprint was previously published online, making it available to the public. It further added that during this time it wasn’t clear if this highly dangerous threat helped the prisoners in their plan.
Moreover, the “Israeli” daily stated that the security failure regarding the prison service administration is well known and clear for a long time. To rub salt into the wound, no precautions had been taken to prevent any possible threat or act done by the Palestinian prisoners.
And with another shocking news, Haaretz declared that the prison warden on shift during the prison break, fell asleep.
On the political level, “Israeli” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that the incident might affect the front lines on “all our borders”, and not only on internally.
After the accident, the “Israeli” army spokesman announced that army forces will be increased to three battalions and seven armored companies to widen the search operations.
Commenting on the breakout, commander of Hermon Prison Commissioner Yariv Cohen, in an interview with the “Israeli” Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, classified the Islamic Jihad movement – to which five of the six prisoners belong to – as “a very sophisticated group”, adding that “there is no doubt that we need to understand why we did not pick up on this intelligence-wise”.
Based on the above-mentioned, an immense intelligence failure occurred in the “Israeli” regime’s different security sectors, and it’s one of its kind that the great escape by the Palestinian prisoners was considered a historic operation and one of the smartest, although it is not the first.
All in all, the Palestinian detainees’ historic breakout with all the surrounding factors, including the time taken to dig the ten-meter-long tunnel and the tools used to do it, in addition to the security level at the Gilboa Prison, proved that no matter how heavily equipped the “Israeli” regime gets and with more advanced human resources, it will remain weaker than a spider web.
Hezbollah’s initiative to bring ships of Iranian fuel to Lebanon has prompted Washington and its allies to kick start actions to sabotage the step or to lessen its positive effects on Lebanon and the Lebanese.
The US administration is heavily involved in the Lebanese affairs and following up attentively daily politics in the country, yet all this to no avail.
The US Congress delegation to Lebanon last week expressed dismay over the Iranian fuel supplies saying that Lebanon is not in need for Iranian petroleum and provoking Saudi Arabia to play a role in blocking Tehran’s help and replacing it by a Saudi one.
In another position, the delegation described Hezbollah as a cancer that should be eradicated. This reflects Washington rage and frustration from the resistance group…
The ship that will change the face of Lebanon
Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s decision to import petroleum from Iran has prompted a series of reactions that positively impacted the critical situation in Lebanon.
In an effort to break the US blockade and sanctions against Lebanon and alleviate the suffering of the Lebanese people came the party’s initiative, yet it is to be considered a step in the course of events that will follow later.
The decision is not an isolated step, nor it is an emotional reaction to the miserable situation; it rather reflects a sober policy, a deeply pondered decision to change the course of events and begin to break this chain of US sanctions.
Lebanon has been suffering for centuries from the continuous aggressions of Washington allies and tools, namely the ‘Israeli’ enemy occupation and recently the takfiri groups; to this effect Hezbollah has dearly sacrificed thousands of his leaders and fighters protecting Lebanon and liberating its territories. Thus, logically speaking, it would be easier for a party that sacrificed blood and lives which are the most precious to spend things of less importance and value to help people.
When our resistance against the ‘Israeli’ occupation started back in 1982, few people believed in it, fewer believed it can make real achievements against one of the mightiest armies in the world; but nowadays, after all the military achievements and victories against the ‘Israeli’ occupation, whether they like it or not, many admit the balance equation that the resistance has been able to build.
The Axis of Resistance is a real strong force that has its say in determining the course of events in the region. A real trustworthy force that our enemy has to make consideration before it dares to attack or carry on with its malicious plans and conspiracies.
Now the resistance in Lebanon kick-starts a new bold initiative which will definitely face skepticism and doubts about its effectiveness. The party has been prudent from the beginning as not to boast, but in reality this is a course of events that will bring lots of positive developments where by the Lebanese depend on themselves and start to build a real productive economy that can endure and stand the sanctions and siege and surmount their negative impact.
One of the most important things that the ship has brought to Lebanon was the newly formed government yesterday and not the petroleum oil.
The ship, upon its arrival, has sent a strong alarm to the American and their Western allies that they better handle the situation as the game they have started is backfiring on them and taking a course of action beneficial to Hezbollah. The party has successfully been able to reverse the tide, to contain its consequences and to start a counter initiative that made the US plea to devoid of its content. Again and again, to Washington’s dismal, Hezbollah changes the threat into an opportunity.
There will pass not a long time before Washington realizes again how mistaken it was to impose siege and sanctions against Lebanon, as this is going to usher in a new era of changes that will bring Lebanon closer to its economic independence, to a new equation where Lebanon is of more control and Washington of less influence.
A new promising hope is looming, thanks to the US arrogance and shortsightedness.
Mr Robert Bridge is mostly right when he says the American impulse to dominate other countries is quite old. Mostly right, for he fails to mention that ‘America’ is not a monolithic entity that speaks with a single voice. There are, in fact, several regional cultures and subcultures with their own folkways that often clash with one another. Relationships with foreign countries is just one of many flash points that have risen between them over the years.
American exceptionalism, as he rightly sees, has its origins with the settlers of New England, who believed they were sent by God to build New Jerusalem in North America. But the Pilgrims were not the only cultural group that settled in the land area that now belongs to the United States. The Southern people, whose history begins at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, had quite a different temperament and beliefs than the Yankees of New England. Their views of foreign policy were, accordingly, also quite different.
The well-known Farewell Address (1796) of President George Washington (a Southerner from Virginia), is a good place to begin. In it he recommends the following to those in the States:
‘Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it? . . . The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible.’
Pres Thomas Jefferson, also of Virginia, echoes these sentiments:
‘Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto’ (letter of 1799).
‘The presumption of dictating to an independent nation the form of its government is so arrogant, so atrocious, that indignation as well as moral sentiment enlists all our partialities and prayers in favor of one [independent nations] and our equal execrations against the other [dictating to other nations]’ (letter of 1823).1
Another important Southern voice is John Randolph of Roanoke: ‘His political creed was that of a latter-day Antifederalist. “Love of peace, hatred of offensive war, jealousy of the state governments toward the general government; a dread of standing armies; a loathing of public debt, taxes, and excises; tenderness for the liberty of the citizen; jealousy, Argus-eyed jealousy, of the patronage of the President.”’
The critical moment for the United States was the so-called Civil War of 1861-1865 (more properly called the War of Northern Aggression or the War to Prevent Southern Independence, for the South was not fighting to take over Washington, D. C.; she wanted to peacefully separate form it and the Northern States and chart her own course). Here Confederate President Jefferson Davis’s statement is key: ‘The lust of empire impelled them [Yankees] to wage against their weaker neighbors [the South] a war of subjugation.’2
The dramatic change that was wrought in the Union through this horrible War – from a voluntary confederation of States to an involuntarily unified nation dominated by the Yankee ruling elite in Washington City – was admitted even by Yankees themselves. A professor at Harvard, George Ticknor, after the War was over, said, ‘It does not seem to me as if I were living in the country in which I was born.’3
From that point onward, the restraint in foreign policy advocated by many Southerners was rejected by and large for the imperial expansion desired by Northerners from Alexander Hamilton to Pres Lincoln. The prediction of General Robert E. Lee in 1866, that the US government would become ‘aggressive abroad and despotic at home’, after the old principles of decentralization and a voluntary compact of independent States were destroyed by Lincoln’s War,4 has come true.
However, with more and more voices predicting a breakup of the current American Union, due to various cultural divisions, failures abroad, and so on, it is possible that the South and the other cultural regions (Great Plains, Old Midwest, etc.) will be able to free themselves after decades of Yankee domination. Smaller confederations conducting foreign policy along the lines laid down by the Old Southern statesmen would spare the countries of the world any further violence from the current Yankee Empire.
Professor William Riker once speculated about how the 20th century would have looked if the unitary American Empire had not arisen; if, instead, North America looked more like South America, with several smaller ‘disconnected republics’ populating it:
‘“I know for certain,” writes Riker, “that the relatively smaller and weaker American nations would not have been able to participate in European wars.” An America-less First World War—or Great War, as we’d be calling it—would have ended in a German triumph, according to Riker. “There would, of course, have been no occasion for Hitler and the Second World War,” and in carving up European Russia the Germans would have unwittingly prevented the rise of Soviet communism.
‘No Constitution means no Hitler, no Stalin . . . and no American Civil War, for that matter.’5
What would the 21st century look like if the American Empire were broken up into its more natural cultural-ethnic components? What terrors could be avoided – war with China, Iran, and Russia? What good could be fostered – more restrictions on the power of Big Tech?
New England does not make up the totality of culture in the United States. There are other cultures, other voices; but they have unfortunately been silenced by the Yankees for the time being. The future of geopolitics hinges in part on whether the peoples of the South, the Midwest, the Spanish Southwest, etc., rediscover and strengthen their cultural identities, withdraw from the arrogant, heretical Yankee American Empire, and pursue a modest and peaceful foreign policy that is in keeping with their unique historical, ethnic qualities.
Notes
1 James and Walter Kennedy, Yankee Empire: Aggressive Abroad and Despotic at Home, Shotwell Publishing, Columbia, SC, 2018, p. 140.
2 Ibid., p. 342.
3 Ibid., p. 142.
4 Ibid., p. ix.
5 Bill Kauffman, Forgotten Founder, Drunken Prophet: The Life of Luther Martin, ISI Books, Wilmington, Del., 2008, p. 34.
علّق رئيس حركة “مجتمع السلم” في الجزائر، عبد الرزاق مقري، أمس، على نتائج الانتخابات التشريعيات المغربية والتي تذيّل فيها حزب “العدالة والتنمية” الترتيب، بالقول إنّ “لعنة فلسطين أصابة العثماني وحزبه”.
وجاء في منشور لرئيس حركة مجتمع السلم عبر حسابه على “فيسبوك” أنّ “لعنة فلسطين تصيب سعد الدين العثماني والعدالة والتنمية في المغرب عبرة لمن يريد أن يعتبر”.
كما اعتبر مقري أنّ “الخسارة بالتزوير الانتخابي أفضل من الخسارة المهينة في حضن الفساد والعمالة”، قائلاً إنهم “يحاربون الإسلاميين من أجل مبادئهم، فإن دجنوهم وتركوا مبادئهم، ينهونهم بشكل أو بآخر”.
فيما دعا عبد الإله بنكيران، الأمين العام السابق لحزب “العدالة والتنمية” المغربي (قائد الائتلاف الحكومي المنتهية ولايته)، أمس، إلى استقالة أمينه العام الحالي سعد الدين العثماني، إثر “هزيمة مؤلمة” للحزب في انتخابات برلمانية أُجريت أول أمس.
وللمرة الأولى في تاريخ المملكة، ترأس “العدالة والتنمية” (مرجعية إسلامية) الحكومة منذ 2011، إثر فوزه في انتخابات ذلك العام، وما تلتها في 2016.
لكن بعد فرز 96 في المئة من أصوات انتخابات الأربعاء، حلّ الحزب في المرتبة الثامنة بحصوله على 12 مقعداً فقط (من أصل 395)، مقارنة بـ125 حصدها في انتخابات 2016 بحيث خسر 113 مقعداً.
وبلغت نسبة المشاركة في انتخابات برلمانية وبلدية متزامنة، أول أمس، 50.18 في المئة، وفق وزارة الداخلية.
يغادر حزب العدالة والتنمية الحُكم مجلَّلاً بعار التطبيع مع “إسرائيل”، بعد أن قدَّم فقهَ المصالح على فقه المبادئ.
سجَّلت نتائج الانتخابات البرلمانية المغربية سقوطاً مدوّياً، وهزيمة سياسية مؤلمة لحزب العدالة والتنمية المغربي، وأظهرت احتفاظه بــ (12) مقعداً فقط من أصل (125) مقعداً فاز فيها في آخر انتخابات جرت عام 2016. في المقابل، اكتسح حزب التجمع الوطني للأحرار، محقّقاً (97) مقعداً، يليه حزب الأصالة والمعاصرة في المرتبة الثانية، وحصل على (82) مقعداً، تلاهما حزب الاستقلال في المرتبة الثالثة، حاصداً (78) مقعداً.
لم يتوقَّع أحد أن تكون الهزيمة وَفْقَ هذه الصورة، وخصوصاً أن كلَّ التوقعات كانت تشير إلى أن العدالة والتنمية سيتراجع إلى حدّ ما، وقد لا يتمكّن من الاستمرار في تشكيل الحكومة. لكن، مع هذه النتائج، بات حزب العدالة والتنمية خارج المشهد السياسي في المغرب، بعد سنوات طويلة من سيطرته على البرلمان والحكومة، حتى إن أمينه العام لم يتمكّن من الاحتفاظ بمقعده البرلماني على الأقل.
علينا أن نتوقَّف أمام المشهد المغربي وقراءته بعمق أكثر، وتفسير النتائج التي أفرزتها الانتخابات المغربية، والعوامل التي أوصلت العدالة والتنمية إلى هذه الانتكاسة. ووفق إجماع كثيرين، فإن السبب الحقيقي في هذه النتائج لم يكن وليدّ اللحظة، بل جاء نتيجة صيغة تراكمية، بدءاً بالتقصير في ملفات داخلية ذات أهمية للمواطن المغربي، تتعلّق بالصحة والتعليم والاقتصاد، وانتهاءً بالقشّة التي قصمت ظَهر البعير، أي “خطيئة التطبيع”، والتي رعاها حزب العدالة والتنمية، أو بشكل أدق جريمة التطبيع التي ورَّطَ فيها الدولةَ العميقة في المغرب، ومباركة سعد الدين العثماني للتطبيع، ورضوخه لتوجيهات الملك المغربي محمد السادس بشأن توقيع الاتفاقية المشؤومة.
شكَّلت هذه الخطوة السياسية (أي توقيع اتفاقية التطبيع) الضربة الموجعة للعدالة والتنمية المغربي، بعد أن اتَّضحت حالة التناقض الكبيرة بين تصريحات قادته والمواقف العملية، والتي أظهرت أزمة هوية حقيقية داخل الحزب الذي ارتضى لنفسه أن يكون أداة في يد الملك، ورفع شعار التطبيع من أجل فلسطين، حتى أصبح، في نظر المغاربة، حزب “عرّاب التطبيع” الذي تنازل عن قيم قاعدته الشعبية ومكانة فلسطين في قلوب المغاربة، فاستوجب العقاب من النواة الصلبة للحزب أولاً، ثم كان خيار المغاربة خيارَ التصويت العقابي، وصولاً إلى الخسارة الفادحة.
شهد حزب العدالة والتنمية المغربي مؤخَّراً هزّات داخلية كبيرة، دفعته إلى إطلاق حوار من أجل إيجاد إجابات بشأن القرارات الأخيرة التي اتُّخِذت. وزاد توقيع رئيس الحكومة المغربية والأمين العام للحزب، سعد الدين العثماني، على اتفاق تطبيع العلاقات مع “إسرائيل”، في حدّتها على الصعيد الداخلي.
ثمة وقفات ودلالات كثيرة تُسجَّل أمام مشهد نتائج الانتخابات البرلمانية المغربية المتوقَّعة. ولا شكّ في أن الهزيمة الثقيلة، والتي لحقت بحزب العدالة والتنمية المغربي، هي انعكاس طبيعي للأسباب والدوافع الداخلية والخارجية الكثيرة. فمثل هذه الواقعة يستوجب الدراسة الواعية والمراجَعة لما بات يُعرَف بالثنائيات المتناقضة.
الأسباب كثيرة وراء انتكاسة العدالة والتنمية. وانطلاقاً من العوامل والدوافع، يسجِّل المشهد علامات كثيرة، أبرزها اتخاذ المواطن المغربي سلوكَ التصويت العقابي لأداء الحكومة على مدى عشر سنوات، وحالة الانتقادات الكبيرة للأداء الاقتصادي الحكومي داخل المغرب، واتخاذ منطلقات وقرارات أحادية داخل الحكومة لا تتَّسق مع التوجهات الأساسية للحزب، الذي يحظى بشعبية على أساسها، كالموافقة على تشريع القنّب الهندي للأغراض الطبية والصناعية، والذي ترتّبت عليه أزمة داخل الحزب، أدّت إلى استقالة رئيس الوزراء المغربي السابق عبد الإله بن كيران، وتجميد عضويته في الحزب.
يُضاف إلى ذلك أن التعديلات التي جرت مؤخَّراً على قانون الانتخابات لم تكن في مصلحة الحزب، وكذلك الرضا بسياسة الاستعمال من جانب الديوان الملكي، والرضا بسياسة التماهي بديلاً عن سياسة المبادئ والثوابت، وانتهاج سياسة التبرير للقرارات المتخَذة، وغياب الخطط والبرامج، وتقديم سياسة الاستحواذ بديلاً عن سياسة الشراكة والمشاركة مع الأطراف الأخرى. والأسباب كثيرة لا مجال لحصرها. فكل ذلك جعل المشهد الداخلي للحزب، والمشهد الشعبي المغربي، يشكّلان صورة نمطية تعكس حالة عدم رضا، ووجود توجّهات جديدة في المشهد المغربي.
وجود أي حزب سياسي داخل السلطة أصبح اليوم مرتبطاً بثلاث قضايا أساسية، أُوْلاها المحافظة على المبادئ والثوابت، ثم القدرة على الاستجابة للمطالب الاجتماعية والاقتصادية، ثم الاقتناع الشعبي بشرعية الإنجاز من عدمها. وقتها، تحسم صناديق الاقتراع إلى أي جهة ستذهب الأصوات.
غرَّرت الإدارة الأميركية السابقة، بزعامة دونالد ترامب، بحزب العدالة الحاكم في المغرب، بشأن الاعتراف بالسيادة على الصحراء المغربية، وبعض من الامتيازات، في مقابل رشوة التطبيع. والحقيقة اليوم أن ما قبل نتائج الانتخابات البرلمانية المغربية ليس كما بعدها، فلقد سقط ترامب، وسقط العدالة والتنمية، وبقيت الصحراء الغربية منطقة متنازَعاً عليها.
يغادر حزب العدالة والتنمية الحُكم مجلَّلاً بعار التطبيع مع “إسرائيل”، بعد أن قدَّم فقهَ المصالح على فقه المبادئ. وهذه هي الحقيقة الواضحة والأبرز في المشهد المغربي، على الرغم من التفاصيل الأخرى التي يجب أن يقرّ بها كل أعضاء الحزب المغربي، بعيداً عن نظرية المؤامرة، والتي يحاول البعض استحضارها لتبرير الفشل، فالسُّنن لا تحابي ولا تجامل من ارتضى أن يتنازل عن قدسية القضية الفلسطينية من أجل وعود أميركية قطعها ترامب آنذاك، كما لا يمكن تبرير جريمة كجريمة التطبيع، تحت أيّ ظرف وزمان.
سقط اليوم حزب العدالة في الانتخابات البرلمانية بعد سقوطه في وَحْل التطبيع. فهذه الخسارة حتمية لكل مَن تسوّل له نفسه أن يبيع القضية الفلسطينية، أو أن يبيع أمانة الشعوب التي ائتُمِنَ عليها، ويطبّع مع “إسرائيل”. فالشعوب لا تنسى ولا تغفر لأي قوة سياسية، مهما كان لونها، أن تبيع فلسطين ومبادئ أمتها وشعوبها. فثبات العمل يكون في القيم والمبادئ والمنطلقات، حتى تبلغ الأهداف.
يتوجب على حزب العدالة والتنمية المغربي الاعتراف بالهزيمة، واستخلاص العِبَر من النتائج، وإعادة قراءة المشهد بطريقة مغايرة. فهذه النتيجة تضع حزب العدالة والتنمية أمام مفترق طرق حقيقي: إمّا الاندثار، وإمّا الإقرار بالأخطاء السابقة، بهدف تصويب المسار، سواء على الصعيد الداخلي، أو حتى الخارجي، تجاه القضايا الثابتة. فتجربة المغرب تقول، بوضوح، إن الشعوب العربية حيّة، ولديها انتماء كبير إلى قضيتها الكبرى فلسطين، وإنها تحاسب مَن تسوّل له نفسه المَسّ بها. ففلسطين الرافعة الخافضة، ومن يلعب بالثوابت فهو المتغيّر، لا محالة.
أمّا تداعيات المشهد الجديد في المغرب، وصعود التجمع الوطني للأحرار، أو، كما يقال، الحزب الأكثر قرباً إلى ملك المغرب، بالإضافة إلى الأحزاب الأخرى التي حصدت مقاعد، كحزب الاستقلال، فستُعيد تشكيل المشهد على وجه مُغاير لما كانت عليه السنوات العشر الماضية داخلياً. ولا يجب المبالغة كثيراً أمام تحديات داخلية يعيشها المغرب بفعل أزمات اقتصادية وأزمة “كورونا” وغيرها. أمّا السياسة الخارجية للمغرب فستبقى في يد الملك، ولن تتغير كثيراً تجاه القضايا الجوهرية في المنطقة، ولاسيما تجاه قضية التطبيع مع “إسرائيل”، أو التراجع عنها، أو حتى تجاه القضية الفلسطينية بصورة أساسية.
Speech by President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Prime Minister Modi, President Xi Jinping, President Ramaphosa, President Bolsonaro,
Ladies and gentlemen,
First, I would like to join my colleagues who spoke before and thank Prime Minister Modi and all our Indian friends for the active work conducted by India as the BRICS chair this year.
Despite the special conditions related to the coronavirus pandemic, India as the chair has done everything it could to ensure the progressive development of strategic partnership of the BRICS countries without any setbacks.
I agree with my colleagues who expressed this opinion that the authority of our association is growing. Its role in international affairs is on the rise and it is substantial. This is a logical result of the BRICS ability to develop effective cooperation in the entire range of topical global and regional issues during 15 years of our joint activities.
Such close partnership of the BRICS countries is greatly in demand, considering that the global situation still remains very turbulent. The risks of the coronavirus pandemic are obvious to all of us, and my colleagues have just spoken about this. This threat has affected practically all aspects of our life, impeding the development of the global economy and exacerbating many social problems.
In addition to this, what is happening around the world remains very tense. Global security is subjected to serious trials and the system of strategic stability has noticeably deteriorated. Far from being settled, long-standing regional conflicts are flaring up with renewed force.
The withdrawal of the US and their allies from Afghanistan has led to a new crisis situation, and it remains unclear how it will affect regional and global security, so it is absolutely right that our countries pay special attention to this issue.
Understandably, just like its BRICS partners, Russia has consistently advocated the establishment of long-awaited peace and stability in Afghanistan, where the people have been fighting for many decades and have earned the right to independently determine what their state will be like.
At the same time, we are not interested in Afghanistan remaining a threat to neighbouring countries or having terrorism and illegal drug trafficking coming from the Afghan territory threaten us. We are interested in stopping the migration flow and we want the Afghans to be able to live a peaceful and dignified life in their own country.
I have mentioned many times that the current round of the crisis in Afghanistan is a direct consequence of irresponsible extraneous attempts to impose someone else’s values on the country and to build “democratic structures” using socio-political engineering techniques, ignoring the historical and national specifics of other nations and the traditions by which they live.
All of that leads to nothing but destabilisation and, ultimately, chaos, after which the masterminds behind these experiments hastily retreat leaving their charges behind. The entire international community then has to face the consequences.
I am convinced that peaceful progress in international relations can be guaranteed only through ensuring the existence of states with different political and social systems, their own national interests and spiritual and moral values, but with mandatory observance of the fundamental principles of international law enshrined in the UN Charter, including non-interference in internal affairs and respect for sovereignty.
It is likewise important to maintain and promote mutually respectful, constructive and meaningful interaction at the global level, to strengthen the emerging multipolar system which comprises independent centres of economic growth and political influence, of which BRICS is, of course, a part.
In this context, we consider very relevant the topic of our meeting and the topic of the entire year in BRICS that was chosen by our Indian partners and the Indian chairmanship which is promoting cooperation on the basis of continuity, consolidation and consensus. In fact, the entire international community is facing this challenge, and five BRICS countries are playing a significant and noticeable role in addressing it.
I hope our work today will be substantive and productive. I would like to emphasise once again that Russia stands ready to continue close interaction with the BRICS countries in all areas.
A large number of Palestinians gathered on Friday at the contact points in the occupied Al-Quds and West Bank as well as Gaza border to protest against the Israeli enemy’s punitive measures against the Palestinian prisoners at the Zionist jails in light of Gilboa escape operation.
Within the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Palestinian worshippers rallied in support of the Palestinian prisoners, before the Zionist occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa Shrine and dispersed the protesting worshippers.
Al-Manar reporter clarified that the Palestinian protests set off across all the occupied territories as clashes with the Zionist enemy troops wounded two Israeli soldiers and left a large number of Palestinian injuries.
Later on, the Palestinian doctor, Hazem Al-Joulani, succumbed to his wounds inflicted by the Zionist fire in Al-Quds Old City as the enemy claimed he was carrying out a stab attack.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authorities continued taking strict measures against the Palestinian prisoners who also confronted the enemy’s punitive moves by protesting and incinerating dungeons.
Zionist circles warned against an all-out military confrontation with the Palestinians in Gaza, 1948-occupied territories, and West Bank if ‘Israel’ kills the six Palestinian prisoners who escaped from Gilboa prison.
Six Palestinian prisoners managed early Monday to escape from the Israeli Gilboa prison, located in Beissan Valley, through a tunnel, they had dug, and moved into an unknown destination.
Opportunities for Palestinians to celebrate as a nation are few and far between, so when news broke of the escape of six high-profile Palestinian prisoners from one of Israel’s most notorious prisons, people took to the streets in triumph.
GILBOA PRISON, PALESTINE — It is said that Palestinians are the most incarcerated people in the world. Rarely does one find a Palestinian who has not been a victim of the Israeli prison system and when one does find one such person, he or she will have a sibling, parent or another close relative who serves or has served time in an Israeli prison. Opportunities for Palestinians to celebrate as a nation are few and far between. When the news broke of the escape of six high-profile Palestinian prisoners from one of Israel’s most secure prisons, it was a reason to celebrate. This was a reason not only for Palestinians to celebrate but indeed for all people who believe in justice and freedom.
This escape, which Reuters described as a “Hollywood-style escape,” was a daring and courageous operation. It had Palestinians celebrating in the streets and provides the Palestinian Authority and the countries that surround Palestine an opportunity to demonstrate to whom they are loyal. The world will see whether they will support the efforts of the oppressor to catch the freed political prisoners or support the cause of freedom and help these six brave men find safety.
A guard stands at northern Israel’s notorious Gilboa prison, Sept. 6, 2021. Sebastian Scheiner | A{P
The prison
Gilboa Prison is located in northeastern Palestine in what used to be known as the Baisan District. It is a beautiful and very fertile region and home to some of Israel’s most prosperous settlements, many of them established prior to 1948.
According to Addameer, the Palestinian prisoner support and human rights association, Gilboa Prison was established in 2004 next to Shatta Prison in the Baisan area. It is a high-security prison described as “the most intensely secured of its kind where occupation authorities incarcerate Palestinian prisoners.”
According to a report by Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, at Gilboa Prison every group of six “security prisoners” is housed in cells that are 22 square meters (c. 230 square feet) in size, including a shared toilet and bathroom. The cells contain three bunk beds and the inmates are unable to maintain social distancing. The beds are situated less than 1.5 meters from each other and the top bunks are positioned just 80 centimeters (c. 30 inches) above the bottom bunks.
The Israeli security apparatus fails
The ineptitude of the Israeli security apparatus is well known, although it is not often publicized. Now the entire Israeli security system is desperately trying to come to grips with this breach of security and enormously embarrassing failure. The circumstances of the escape seep slowly to the press and show an enormous hole, no pun intended, in the system. The few details that have emerged through the Israeli press reveal human error, carelessness, and perhaps even the help of officers within the prison, which all led to the success of the prison break.
A hole in a floor is seen after six Palestinian prisoners escaped from the Gilboa prison in north Israel, Sept. 6, 2021. Photo | Israeli Prisons Service via AP
Initially, it was reported that the tunnel through which the prisoners escaped was structural, or part of the prison. Later, it was reported that it had apparently been dug over a five-month period, and then the reports claimed it took an entire year of planning. Then, the guard who was supposed to look over the area where the tunnel entrance was located was asleep while on duty and the prison guards at the command center, where several computer screens show images of every inch of the prison, were just not paying attention.
To add to that, prison authorities were not aware that the prisoners had escaped until several hours after the escape. It began when a civilian called the police and reported seeing “suspicious” looking men crossing a field. It took a couple of hours before the prison was notified and then apparently some time elapsed before the prison authorities realized that the six men were gone. In other words, the prisoners had a head start of several hours before authorities began searching for them, which means they could be anywhere in, or even out of, the country.
As these words are being written, several days have passed since the prisoners escaped and all that the Israeli authorities have been able to accomplish is to ignite riots within the various prisons that hold Palestinians and intense riots throughout Palestine. Jenin, which is the home of all six men, is particularly celebratory and the Jenin Refugee Camp is sealed off by armed Palestinian resistance fighters, keeping the Israeli military and others who might collaborate with the Israeli authorities out.
It has also been reported in the Israel press that four of the six had tried to escape before and were categorized as “high risk of escape.” Still, they were placed together in the same cell.
The Six
Zakaria Zubeidi is the one Palestinian prisoner who is well known both locally and internationally. He is featured in the film Arna’s Children. The movie was directed by Juliano Mer-Khamis, who documented a number of promising child actors in a theatre group he founded with his mother, Arna, at the Jenin refugee camp during the First Intifada. Juliano returned to Jenin Refugee Camp in April 2002 in the aftermath of an Israeli massacre in the camp to see what happened to the children he knew and loved. He found that all but one were killed; the lone survivor was Zakaria Zubeidi, who is featured in the film as a child and then as a commander of Palestinian resistance in the camp.
Zubeidi has been in and out of the Israeli prisons and has survived several assassination attempts. I recall seeing him speak after a showing of the film in Jenin during the Jenin Film Festival several years ago. He was arrested in 2019 and has not yet been sentenced.
Zakaria Zubeidi is carried by supporters during a presidential elections campaign rally in support of Mahmoud Abbas in 2004. Nasser Nasser | AP
Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah, 46, from Jenin, was the leader of the Gilboa Prison escape operation, according to a piece in Middle East Eye that quotes the Palestinian armed group al-Quds Brigades. Ardah was arrested in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison on charges of being a member of the al-Quds Brigades and for his involvement in the killing of Israeli soldiers. He reportedly tried to escape in 2014 from Shatta prison by digging a tunnel, but his plan was unsuccessful.
Mohamed Qassem Ardah, 39, is from Jenin and was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to life in prison. He too was charged with belonging to al-Quds Brigades and being involved in the killing of Israeli soldiers.
Yaqoub Mahmoud Qadri — 49, from Bir al-Basha, Jenin — was arrested in 2003 and sentenced to life in prison on charges of belonging to al-Quds Brigades and killing an Israeli settler. In 2014, he and a number of other prisoners, including Mahmoud Abdullah Ardah, tried to escape from Shatta prison through a tunnel, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
Ayham Nayef Kamanji, 35, is from Kafr Dan. He was arrested in 2006 and sentenced to life in prison on charges of killing an Israeli settler and participating in other armed activities against Israeli targets.
Munadil Yaqoub Nfeiat, 26, is from Ya’bad, southwest of Jenin. He has been jailed without charge since 2019.
The international community must come out in defense of these six men and demand that they be safe from the Israeli authorities. Furthermore, guarantees must be given for the safety of their relatives and the communities these men are from, which will undoubtedly be the victims of more Israeli violence.
Voltaire, actualité internationale, n°109
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