International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People Celebrated in Climate of Betrayal, Harrowing Violence

 Dec 3, 2021

Since the General Assembly adopted resolution 181 (II) to partition Palestine into two separate

Source: Al Mayadeen

Hana Saada

After 74 years of the unjust division of the Palestinian land, the UNGA and the UNSC continue to refrain from taking any solid actions in the interest of the Palestinian people and their cause, on that regard, the declaration of the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine appears to be a mere voice act that does not contribute to improving the situation of this people.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People was celebrated, on Monday, in a context marked by harrowing crimes committed by the Zionist regime, the intensification of the Zionist settlement operations in Palestine, and the persistent blockage of the peace process, exacerbated by the normalization of relations between the Zionist entity and some Arab countries, dubbed as a betrayal to the Palestinian cause.

Monday, 29 November 2021 marks the 44th observance of the United Nations (UN) International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. In 1977, the United Nations selected the date of November 29 for the celebration of the “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People”. This date, given its significance and importance to the Palestinian people, is based on the UN General Assembly’s call for the annual celebration of the resolution on the partition of Palestine.

Adopted on November 29, 1947, this resolution is intended to create Arab and Jewish states in this ‘disputed territory’. Since then, the Palestinian people continue to lose territory to the Zionists, while the living conditions of the Palestinians have deteriorated more and more amid poverty, denial of fundamental freedoms through the systemic discrimination and subjugation, forcible evictions, and demolition orders of Palestinian property in the neighborhoods of Sheik Jarrah and Silwan. This culminated, more recently, in spurring violence that claimed the lives of innocent women, children, and the elderly during the 11-day offensive on the Gaza Strip that began on May 10, amounting to war crimes. There was a deliberate intention by the Zionist occupation forces to inflict more casualties among the civilians to push the Palestinian people to accept the existence of the Zionist Entity.

A total of 243 Palestinians, including 66 children and 39 women, were killed during the Zionist attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip on May 10. Clashes erupted, on May 13, across the occupied territories because of the Zionists’ attacks and restrictions on Palestinians in the Eastern part of Al-Quds, Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as a Zionist court’s decision to evict 12 Palestinian families from their homes in favor of Zionist settlers.

The decision on the forced displacement is itself, a war crime and aggression against humanity, transforming the Zionist judiciary into a barbaric tool to pass racist Zionist expansion agendas to the detriment of the Palestinian civilians.

The tension moved to Gaza on May 10, leading to a military confrontation between the Zionist forces and the Palestinian resistance groups, where the Zionist warplanes have caused an unprecedented scale of destruction in the Palestinian homes and infrastructure.

Palestinians are also victims of repeated military attacks, claiming the lives of several innocent civilians (men, women, and children), especially in the Gaza strip, which has been under a strict blockade for 15 years.

The Zionists are committing violations against worshipers in Al-Quds “Jerusalem” by preventing them from accessing places of worship, at the top of which, Al-Aqsa Mosque, the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims, resorting to an excessive force against them in a way that threatens their lives and most likely leads to death. In the holy month of Ramadan, at least 305 people sustained varying injuries as the Zionists stormed the Esplanade of Mosques in East Jerusalem and attacked Palestinians who were on guard to prevent raids by Jewish settlers.

The Zionist Entity is committing crimes of apartheid and persecution against Arabs in the occupied territories, with a view to maintaining the domination by Jewish Zionists over Palestinians.

The Zionist regime has become the sole governing power alongside extremely-limited Palestinian self-rule, where the Zionists are methodically highly-privileged, while Palestinians have been dispossessed, confined, forcibly separated, and subjugated by virtue of their identity to varying degrees of intensity. In certain areas… these deprivations are so severe that they amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution.

Noting that the Apartheid system was a policy of racial segregation and discrimination enforced by the white minority government against the black majority in South Africa from 1948 until 1991.

The 1973 International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid defines apartheid as “inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group and systematically oppressing them”. The 1998 Rome Statute to the International Criminal Court (ICC) adopts a similar definition.

For its part, Human Rights Watch’s 213-page report, entitled: “A Threshold Crossed,” states that Palestinians are suffering from the Apartheid; 

“Denying millions of Palestinians their fundamental rights, without any legitimate security justification and solely because they are Palestinian and not Jewish is not simply a matter of an abusive occupation,” said Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director.

“These policies, which grant Jewish Israelis the same rights and privileges wherever they live and discriminate against Palestinians to varying degrees wherever they live, reflect a policy to privilege one people at the expense of another.”

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People marks the recognition of historic injustice suffered by the valiant Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle to recover their stolen rights. It has traditionally constituted an opportunity to recall the Palestinian cause that has not yet been resolved, as well as the sufferings of the Palestinian people who have not yet recovered their inalienable and immutable rights as defined by the General Assembly (GA), namely; the right to independence and national sovereignty, and the right of Palestinians to return to their homes and recover their properties.

This year, the Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People comes at a time when the Palestinian cause has experienced a dangerous slippage, marked by the signing, at the end of 2020, of “normalization agreements” between the Zionist entity and four Arab countries.

The Palestinian cause taken hostage:

In 2020, a watershed year for the Zionists’ diplomatic integration into the Arab world, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco have normalized their relations with the Zionist entity, within the framework of the “Abraham Accords”.

This is a political error, a betrayal of Al-Quds, al-Aqsa mosque and the Palestinian cause, and a stab in the back of the Palestinians. For the latter, such normalization with the Zionist Entity encourages the occupation forces to commit more violations against the Palestinian people, paving the way for more aggressive war and the expansion of Zionism, Judaization, and colonization of Palestinian land.

It is in this wake that a vast outpouring of international solidarity with the Palestinian people was launched, in particular, in countries that have normalized their relations with the Zionist entity through demonstrations, sit-ins, and protests against these agreements.

Morocco and Palestine

Morocco, whose king is the Chairman of the El-Quds Committee, normalized its relations with the Zionist Entity on December 10, 2020, in exchange for the recognition by former US President Donald Trump of the kingdom’s alleged “sovereignty” over Western Sahara.

This barter was condemned, in the strongest term, throughout the world and especially by Algeria and the Moroccan people who took to the streets for several days to express their rejection of this agreement, organizing demonstrations often repressed by the regime in place.

More recently, the Makhzen regime and the Zionist entity inked a framework agreement aimed at strengthening the security cooperation between the Moroccan and the Zionist intelligence services, nearly one year after the normalization of their relations, amidst broad popular disagreement. A move dubbed as shameful and disgraceful by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

Algeria and Palestine

President Tebboune urged, in a speech delivered on the sidelines of the celebration, in Algeria, of this International Day, the international community to assume its historic responsibilities towards the practices of Zionist occupation aimed at undermining the building of the sovereign Palestinian state, while reiterating Algeria’s unwavering and firm support for the struggle of Palestinian people to recover their stolen rights. He stressed, once again, with a well-articulated position, his rejection of all forms of normalization with the Zionist Entity, deploring the four Arab countries’ scrambling to normalize relations.

“We have noticed a kind of scramble (a mad rush) towards normalization. This is something we will never participate in, nor bless. Palestine’s cause is sacred, and we will not give it up,” the Algerian President said.

He repeatedly expressed the country’s preparedness to invite all Palestinian groups to a comprehensive meeting in Algeria. Tebboune’s words were applauded by Palestinians and Algerians alike, who have a long history of intertwined solidarity.

Palestinian factions praised President Tebboune for his government’s strong opposition to any bids aimed at establishing ties with the Zionist Entity, calling on Arab rulers to follow suit and reject all forms of normalization. 

There is no doubt that when Algerian President Tebboune called the Palestinian cause “sacred”, he was truly speaking on behalf of the Algerian people whose history is marked by resistance against colonial powers. Algerians remain stick to their pro-Palestine stance, considering the Palestinian cause the mother of all causes. Their beliefs about national sovereignty and the right for countries to determine their own destiny are central, firmly committed to the principles of a sovereigntist governing ideology, based on their national pride, far away from any quid pro quo deals, capable of exercising foreign pressure on their country. 

In 1988, noteworthy, when Palestine declared its independence, Algeria was the very first country worldwide to officially recognize its statehood. This decision further contributed to the deeply-rooted Algerian-Palestinian relations. Even when other Arab states, notably those which signed the “Abraham Accords” last year, dropped their pan-Arab commitments to the Palestinian struggle, Algeria has stood by the cause.

For its part, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas hailed Algeria’s principled positions, describing the signing, by the Moroccan regime, of several agreements, particularly in the security and military spheres, with the Zionist enemy as an unjustified act whatever the pretext or the objective.

For the Hamas movement, the normalization and signing of agreements between Rabat and the Zionist Entity “would lead the Zionists to commit more crimes against the Palestinian Arab people and to the violation of their legitimate rights to freedom, independence and return “.

Gantz in Rabat

The agreement was inked in a visit to Rabat by the Zionist Minister of Defense Benny Gantz, received by Morocco’s Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of the National Defense Administration Abdellatif Loudiyi. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding which launches officially the security cooperation in all its aspects (operational planning, procurement, research, and development) between Morocco and the Zionist entity, according to media close to the Moroccan military circles.

It should be noted that demonstrations against normalization were scheduled in Morocco on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The Moroccan Action Group for Palestine organized a popular sit-in, Sunday, in front of the parliament headquarters in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, in solidarity with the Palestinian defenseless people and confronting the agendas of Zionist penetration in the region.

The group said, in a statement, posted on Saturday, that the popular sit-in, organized under the slogan “With the resistance against normalization with the Zionists,” comes on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and within the framework of the continuous popular mobilization in support of the Palestinian struggle under the slogan “The Moroccan people: Palestine is a national issue.”

The sit-in, added the same source, “confirms the established historical positions in confronting the Zionist occupation and all its tools, and facing the Zionist intrusion agendas to sabotage the region.”

However, Moroccan security forces prevented the popular sit-in. The president of the Moroccan Observatory against Normalization with the Zionist Entity, Ahmed Ouihmane indicated, in a statement to the Algerian news agency, that the Moroccan security forces prevented, by force, this popular sit-in.

Different protests were organized in Morocco coinciding with the afore-mentioned visit of the Zionist war criminal to create official channels between the intelligence and security services for the two parties. Protesters assured their full adherence and attachment to the support of the Palestinian people and the overthrow of all forms of normalization.

The protests were subject to dispersal using force, under a heavy security siege, amid the participation of human rights defenders, supporters of the Palestinian cause, and the presence of the media. 

This year celebrations constitute a new opportunity for many free countries and brave peoples to express their unwavering and coherent support for the Palestinian people, calling on the international community to translate its words into actions in the face of the dangerous escalation in the Palestinian territories and the UN to honor its commitments.

Epilogue

To this end, the whole world is also called upon to exert real pressure on the Zionist Entity… the enemy of humanity with a view to putting an end to its systematic violation of human rights and enforcement of discrimination against the Palestinian people. Besides, the UN and its member states should take appropriate actions as 74 years since the General Assembly adopted resolution 181 (II) to partition Palestine into two separate states, no concrete actions have been taken so far. 

Instead, the hope of achieving sustainable political settlements is fading away with an entity blatantly showing disdain for international human rights law, including two key international human rights instruments, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Convention on Socioeconomic and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), both of which have as their first Article, the Right to Self-Determination, as well as a continuous disrespect of internationally adopted provisions and principles in this direction.

The UN should be held accountable for its evident lack of action in recent years. It lost its credibility for non-abide by the adopted resolutions and turning a blind eye to the Zionists who blatantly flout the relevant UN resolutions, laws of international legitimacy, and international terms of reference, and deny agreements in an attempt to impose the status quo policy, and hamper the building of the sovereign Palestinian state.

This organization is called to honor its commitments to defend international law and order, work to hold the Zionist occupation accountable for the overruns and violations committed, ensure international protection, and stave off attacks and violations against the Palestinian people and their sanctities.

The international community, on the other hand, should re-evaluate its relationship with the Zionist Entity, establish a commission of inquiry to investigate systematic discrimination and repression in Palestine, transcend rhetoric, deploy further efforts in defense of the Palestinians inalienable rights and bring Zionists into compliance with international law.

Palestinian leaders should put on the shelf their domestic rifts, creating a united front aimed at addressing the onus fallen on their shoulders. A favorable atmosphere should be created to address the catastrophic ordeal the Palestinians are passing through. Palestinian national unity stands to be the only basis for achieving the hopes and legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people in defeating and thwarting the Zionist schemes that hide behind the titles and slogans of normalization, as well as its perfidious policies aimed at displacing the Palestinian people through creeping Judaization and illegal settlement and forcefully altering the Palestinian religious and historical landmarks.

Finally, addressing ourselves, our collective conscience should react to concrete and permanent actions, not momentary reactions as events unfold!The opinions mentioned in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Al mayadeen, but rather express the opinion of its writer exclusively.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

المطلوب فلسطينياً في عام الانتظار

أكتوبر/ 7تشرين الأول 2021

 سعادة مصطفى أرشيد*

جرى الاتصال الأول بين الرئيس الفلسطيني والرئيس الأميركي بعد سنة تقريباً من انتخاب الأخير، وكان ذلك أثناء معركة سيف القدس بين المقاومة في غزة والاحتلال، وكما كان بسبب تداعياتها والخشية الأميركية – «الإسرائيلية» من امتدادها شعبياً للضفة الغربية وللداخل الفلسطيني المحتل، فالشعب الفلسطيني كان قد أبدى حتى حينه، مقداراً عالياً ولافتاً من التوحد في الدفاع عن القدس، وذلك في المقدمات التي سبقت المواجهة العسكرية (سيف القدس)، والتي رفعت راية القدس واتخذتها عنواناً، الأمر الذي تجلى في مواجهات باب العمود، ثم حي الشيخ جراح وتهجير سكانه من الفلسطينيين وإسكان مستوطنين غاصبين غرباء في بيوتهم، وفي الدفاع عن المسجد الأقصى في مواجهة الجمعيات التلمودية والاستيطانية المتطرفة والمدعومة من جهات سياسية عليا في تل أبيب، ونذكر كيف زحف الفلسطينيون من سائر الضفة الغربية ومن أعالي الجليل إلى النقب، وفي أجواء القيظ والحر وصيام رمضان، واجتازوا كلّ العراقيل التي وضعت في طريقهم للوصول بأعدادهم الغفيرة للرباط في باحات الحرم القدسي .

في تلك المهاتفة اليتيمة، أسمع الرئيس الأميركي الرئيس أبو مازن كلاماً طيباً، طربت له الأوساط الفلسطينية، إذ أكد التزامه والتزام بلاده بموقف قال إنه (ثابت)، وهو ما تسعى إليه الإدارة الأميركية، يؤمن بحل الدولتين، ويرفض السياسات الاستيطانية في الضفة الغربية، كما يرفض أي تغيير في الوضع القائم في الحرم القدسي، ثم على رفض تهجير المقدسيين من منازلهم في القدس الشرقية المحتلة (في إشارة إلى حي الشيخ جراح)، كما أكد أن سياسة بلاده ترفض الإجراءات الأحادية من قبل أي طرف .

تفاءلت أوساط رام الله بذلك وعقدت الآمال العريضة على تلك المكالمة، وبناء عليها تم العمل على عقد قمة بين الرئيسين، وكان الموعد المفترض أن يكون اللقاء على هامش افتتاح أعمال الدورة الأخيرة للجمعية العمومية، لكن اعتذار البيت الأبيض حال دون ذلك، وأذاع حالة من الإحباط، بخاصة عندما رددت الصحافة أقوالاً نسبت لموظفين أميركان كبار، تقول إن ليس للرئيس الأميركي في هذه المرحلة ما يبحثه مع الرئيس أبو مازن، الأمر الذي تجلى في عدم سفر الرئيس إلى نيويورك والاكتفاء بإرسال كلمة مسجلة عبر فيها عن إحباطه، كما عن تساؤله حول جدية ما قاله الرئيس بايدن له، وعن شكوكه في المسار السياسي الذي سار فيه والذي لم يأت بنتيجة، هكذا قال أبو مازن .

طرح الرئيس في خطابة المسجل ما يبدو وكأنه يمنح العالم و»إسرائيل» فرصة أخيرة، ومهلة مقدارها سنة واحدة، وذلك للعودة إلى مسار عملية التفاوض الذي يؤتي نتائج تحقق إقامة الدولة الفلسطينية على حدود الرابع من حزيران 1967، وإلا فإنّ القيادة الفلسطينية ستكون مضطرة للذهاب باتجاه خيارات أخرى ستكون على طاولة رام الله وأجندتها، ومنها العودة للمطالبة وتنفيذ قرار التقسيم (181)، الأمر الذي يطرح سؤالاً استفهامياً كبيراً، إذ طالما أن «الإسرائيلي» ومن ورائه العالم، غير مستعدّ للقبول بكلّ هذه التنازلات فهل سيقبل بالعودة إلى قرار كان قد صدر قبل خمس وسبعين سنة؟ وإذا كان ذلك ممكناً، فلماذا لا نطرحه من اليوم، لا بل لماذا لم نطرح هذا الخيار من قبل؟

يحار الفلسطيني أمام ما تقدّم، إذ إنّ ميزان القوى الحالي هش وضعيف ومائل في غير مصلحته، وأن تعديل هذا الميزان لصالح الكفة الفلسطينية ورفع منسوب القوة، أمر ليس بالسهل ولكنه أيضاً غير مستحيل إن توافرت الإرادة السياسية أولاً، ومن ثم العمل الجادّ والمثابر ثانياً، بعيداً من منطق شراء الوقت وانتظار المعجزة، ومحاولة كل طرف من طرفي الانقسام التنصل من واجباته وتحميل الآخر مسؤولية إفشال الاتفاق، أو وضع شروط تعجيزية، فالموضوع من الأهمية والجدية بمكان يحتاج للاستعداد لخسارة مكاسب شخصية لحساب مصالح عليا، وهو الأمر الذي يبقى موضع شك في ظل بعض من التركيبة الحالية، التي ترى تناقضاً بين مكاسبها وبين المصلحة العليا .

يحتاج الفلسطيني إلى إبداء قدر من الجدية والمسؤولية، وإلى إعادة تعريف المشروع الوطني، وذلك بالشروع في إعادة بناء النظام السياسي الجديد، من خلال انتخابات سياسية، والعمل على إنهاء الانقسام، وفي ظن كاتب المقال أن هناك ظروفاً دولية وإقليمية مواتية لعمل جاد ينتهي بالنجاح – مرة أخرى إن توافرت الإرادة السياسية -، إذ إن لحظه فراغ جزئي يعيشها العالم، تنشغل بها الإدارة الأميركية وتحالفها الإنكليزي – الأسترالي في التموضع في جوار الصين، وتخرج من تحالفها قوى أطلسية – غربية، لطالما كانت في صفها، وتطلب – تأمر – الإدارة الأميركية من حلفائها ومحسوبيها تهدئة الأوضاع وتخفيض التوتر على مستويات عدة، الأمر الملاحظ في زيارة قائد الجيش السوري للأردن، ثم المكالمة الهاتفية بين الرئيس السوري والملك عبدالله، وفي تحسّن العلاقات المصرية – السورية ولقاء وزيري خارجية البلدين على هامش الجمعية العمومية، وكذلك في الغزل السعودي – الإيراني، وفي المبادرة اللبنانية ووصول ناقلات النفط الإيرانية من دون أن يعترضها أحد، وفي عدم ذهاب «الإسرائيلي» إلى جولة تصعيد في غزة واستبدال ذلك برفع مستويات القتل والاغتيال بالضفة الغربية إرضاء لجمهورهم المتطرف .

استعاض بايدن عن لقائه بأبي مازن، بإيفاد المبعوث الأميركي للشرق الأوسط هادي عمرو إلى المنطقة، حيث اجتمع بالرئيس أبو مازن والقيادة الفلسطينية الاثنين الماضي في رام الله، ووفق ما أوردته وكالة الأنباء الفلسطينية الرسمية (وفا) أن الرئيس أعاد على مسامع ضيفة مضمون خطابة المسجل، وذكره بحديث بايدن الهاتفي، وأكد استعداد السلطة الفلسطينية للذهاب إلى عملية سياسية قائمة على قرارات الشرعية الدولية، وعلى عقد مؤتمر تحت رعاية الأمم المتحدة والرباعية، فيما لم تورد وكالة الأنباء شيئاً عما قاله المبعوث الأميركي، أما ما لم يقله أبو مازن، أنّ كلام ليل بايدن سريعاً ما يمحوه نهاره، وأنه في حين يقول للفلسطينيين كلاماً طيباً ولسبب ظرفي مؤقت، فإنه يقول ويفعل من أجل عكسه لصالح «الإسرائيلي» الذي يتمتع بدعمة اللا محدود، كل ذلك يؤكد أن الفلسطيني الرسمي لم يغادر المربع الذي تموضع به منذ عام 1993 .

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*سياسي فلسطيني مقيم في الكفير – جنين – فلسطين المحتلة

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Al-Quds International Institution: Al-Aqsa Mosque Enters a Critical Stage of Identity Obliteration

 September 30, 2021

Translated by Staff

Al-Quds International Institution asserted that the al-Aqsa Holy Mosque has entered a critical stage of identity obliteration as Jewish rituals are being imposing there.

The international institution considered that the responsibility of defending al-Aqsa implies urgent duties on the people of al-Quds and the occupied land as well as the Resistance and Arab and Muslim nations.

The institution pointed out that the al-Aqsa Holy Mosque has witnessed throughout the current Jewish holiday season an unprecedented assault since its annexation in 1967. That’s because extremist “temple” groups and the occupation regime are moving forward in implementing the agenda of the “morally founding the temple” by imposing Jewish rituals in al-Aqsa.

“Today, our duty is to transport our cry to the Arab and Muslim countries and their vital forces that al-Aqsa Mosque has entered a stage of identity obliteration, and the battle over al-Aqsa is a battle of existence, either we are in it or not. This requires us to direct the interest and energy towards defending al-Aqsa and to bear responsibilities towards it in such a practical way that surpasses statements and verbal stances”, the institution added.

The international institution appealed to the stationed people, al-Quds residents and the citizens of the 1948 occupied territory and the West Bank, saying that al-Aqsa has become vulnerable more than ever before. “But your will has proved with real evidence that it’s louder and sharper than any linebacker to be resorted to in defending al-Aqsa, for you are the owners of the five holy blessings that had always stopped the enemy from  going too far”, it added.

It further said, “It’s your persistence and defense of al-Quds and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood that called to action the other elements of strength and deterrence in the blessed Operation al-Quds Sword”.

The institution also urged them to “renew their determination and keep their pledge to al-Aqsa, for the nation and Allah Almighty are with them, and al-Aqsa was the trigger of conflict for the last three decades, and it seems it will remain this way until it becomes the trigger for the battle to freedom, God willing”.

It also called upon the resistance everywhere to set a political and military strategy that places the attack on Al-Aqsa in the heart of the escalation and appeasement equation within the available resources.

“The 19-day-period of the cease of incursions to al-Aqsa Holy Mosque, achieved by the Operation al-Quds Sword, was the longest period of incursion cessation since 21/8/2003. It made the occupation think twice about repeating incursions and the extent of attack, fearing the repercussions of the response”, it added.

It stressed that “the responsibility for al-Aqsa being a Muslim sanctity rests on the shoulders of the nation with all its peoples and generations. Its safety and liberation is our responsibility, as is maintaining Christian sanctities and the Arab identity of al-Quds.”

“The current attack against al-Aqsa makes it necessary to launch a popular movement to support and help the stationed people, to lobby governments to make them assume their responsibilities towards al-Aqsa and to undermine the normalization that adds legitimacy to the attack against al-Aqsa and forms a contract of selling it,” it said.

It added, “We call for the popular movements and groups to consider the safety of al-Aqsa and al-Quds as their priority and center of attention, and never allow to let such a blatant attack go unnoticed without a popular, effective movement against it.”

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Sheikh Jarrah’s Activists Muna, Muhammed El-Kurd Make TIME Top 100 List

September 16, 2021

Mohammed and Muna el-Kurd. (Photo: via Twitter)

Time magazine has named Palestinian twins and activists, Muna and Muhammed El-Kurd of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

The magazine said Muna and her twin brother Muhammed have become symbols of the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation’s attempts to evict Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah.

“Through online posts and media appearances, sibling activists Muhammed and Muna El-Kurd provided the world with a window into living under occupation in East Jerusalem this spring—helping to prompt an international shift in rhetoric in regard to Israel and Palestine,” the magazine wrote.

“Charismatic and bold, they became the most recognizable voices of those threatened with losing their homes in Sheikh Jarrah.”

A statement by Mohammed El-Kurd after he and his sister were designated by Time Magazine as being among the 100 most influential personalities in the world. https://t.co/c0jlTE7RBZ

— J. Shawa جاسم الشوا (@shawajason) September 15, 2021

In response to the announcement, Muhammed El-Kurd wrote: “My sister and I’s selection as part of the ‘100 most influential people in the world’ may be a positive indicator of the centralization of the Palestinian cause in the global public sphere. However, the creation of symbols – which reduces the struggle of a whole people to a single face – is not enough.”

“What we are demanding is a tangible, radical change in the media system (including the Times) to end its Zionist bias.”

“The untold story of Sheikh Jarrah, of Jerusalem – in fact, of all of Palestin,” Ramzy Baroud is at it again: Muna is Palestine, Yakub is Israel: The Untold Story of Sheikh Jarrah – https://t.co/JhsGfRkrM3 https://t.co/c5J8AH5wyp

— Nasser Rabbat (@nasserrabbat) May 15, 2021

The list also includes current US President Joe Biden, his predecessor Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who is of Palestinian origin, was also named.

(MEMO, PC, Social Media)

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

أبعد من نفق الحرية… معادلات جديدة

 8 سبتمبر/ أيلول 2021

ناصر قنديل

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عملية نفق الحرية التي نفذها القادة الأسرى الأبطال ليست بلا سياق كي نتوقف في قراءتها عند حدود البطولة والعزم والإرادة، كعناصر تختزنها العملية وتعبر عنها بقوة من جهة، فيما تعبر من جهة أخرى، عن حال الاهتراء والضعف والتراجع في حال كيان الاحتلال ومستوى جاهزية وتفوق إجراءاته الأمنية، وتطعن بفعالية مؤسساته العسكرية والاستخبارية والإدارية والقضائية في ردع المقاومين الفلسطينيين، وتقديم السجن المؤبد كنهاية حتمية لجيل المقاومين القادة، إعلاناً بإخراجهم نهائياً من حلبة الصراع، فالعملية التي نفذها قادة مقاومون أصحاب رؤية ودور فاعل في رسم سياق النضال الوطني الفلسطيني، تأتي في سياق فهمهم لتنامي هاتين المعادلتين، معادلة تعبّر عن القوس الصاعد بثبات لحضور الشعب الفلسطيني ومقاومته، ومعادلة تعبّر عن القوس الهابط بثبات أيضاً، لحضور وفعالية المؤسسة العسكرية والأمنية لكيان الاحتلال، بصفتها العصب الوجودي لهذا الكيان.

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تأتي العملية ضمن سياق متلاحق على إيقاع سريع لوجهة واحدة، هي وجهة هذا الصعود والتألق في حضور الفلسطينيين شعباً وناشطين ومقاومة مسلحة، لفرض معادلات بدأت مع انتفاضة شباب القدس وحي الشيخ جراح والحضور في المسجد الأقصى، لتتوّجها صواريخ المقاومة الرادعة لحماية المقدسات، والتي انتهت بمواجهة سيف القدس التي كسرت خلالها مهابة ردع جيش الاحتلال لتحل مكانه عبر الصواريخ التي أحيت ليل تل أبيب معادلة الردع الفلسطينية، وبالتوازي تزامنت المواجهة مع ظهور عامل خطير تمثل بنهوض ظاهرة شباب الأراضي المحتلة العام 48 وإسقاط لمعادلة توصيفهم بـ»عرب إسرائيل»، وإعادة إنتاج موقعهم الحاسم في النضال الوطني الفلسطيني، على قاعدة رفض الاحتلال والاستيطان، وبعد تثبيت معادلة سيف القدس تواصلت حركة فلسطينيي الداخل، بصفتها تعبيراً عن توازن جديد غير قابل للكسر، وظهر المستوطنون في حال تراجع مع عمليات الهجرة التي سجلتها المدن والبلدات المختلطة بالنسبة لعشرات العائلات اليهودية، بما أعاد إحياء الصورة الأصلية لهذه البلدات والمدن، كجزء من الجغرافيا الفلسطينية، كما وصف نواب الجماعات المتطرفة للمستوطنين في مداخلاتهم تحت قبة الكنيست ما جرى في مدينة اللد، وترافق هذا المشهد المزدوج بين غزة والأراضي المحتلة عام 48 بحركة نضالية متصاعدة وثابتة الحضور في بلدات جوار القدس بوجه المستوطنين وامتدت إلى الضفة الغربية بتعبيرات مختلفة كانت أبرزها مواجهة بالسلاح في جنين سقط فيها أربعة شهداء، أعقبتها الطلقة الفلسطينية من مسافة صفر التي قتلت القناص الإسرائيلي في فوهة جدار غزة، وما تركته من تداعيات على صورة الآلة العسكرية الإسرائيلية أمام النهوض الفلسطيني الجديد، وفي تحول ربما يكون الأهم على الصعيد السياسي جاء التراجع الكبير في صورة السلطة الفلسطينية شعبياً، مع تحركات تشكك بوطنيتها وشرعيتها، مسجلة تحولاً جديداً لا يقل أهمية عن التحولات الموازية، وهو سقوط الشرعية الشعبية عن التنسيق الأمني الذي يربط أجهزة الاحتلال مع أجهزة السلطة الفلسطينية، وكانت الذروة مع استشهاد المقاوم نزار بنات، والانتفاضة التي رافقت استشهاده، بوجه السلطة وأجهزتها، من بوابة عنوان عريض لا للتنسيق مع الاحتلال ، ما حدا بالعديد من مسؤولي الأمن والاستخبارات والمحللين والخبراء الأمنيين في كيان الاحتلال للتحذير من خطورة انهيار السلطة وأجهزتها، أمام عجزها عن تحمل تبعات التنسيق الأمني والأحمال التي يرتبها على السلطة، مسجلاً سقوطها الأخلاقي بعيون الفلسطينيين، في ظل الغياب الكامل لكل المشاريع السياسية التي كانت تشكل غطاء تبرير التنسيق وتشرعنه، وظهور وعي فلسطيني ينظر بعين الريبة لكل وعود جديدة تطرح على هذا الصعيد، سواء في ظل حكومة بنيامين نتنياهو أو حكومة نفتالي بينيت.

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الذي يمنح هذه التحولات قيمة استراتيجية واستثنائية، ويجعل عملية نفق الحرية تزخيماً لمسار يبشر بلحظة نوعية قادمة حكماً، هو أنها تجري في مناخ دولي وإقليمي مليء بالمتغيرات التي تسير بالاتجاه ذاته، اتجاه التراجع لكيان الاحتلال وحليفه وداعمه الأول الذي تمثله الهيمنة الأميركية على المنطقة والعالم، فتحت ظلال معادلة القدس تعادل حرباً إقليمية أنجز تكامل التنسيق بين قوى وحكومات محور المقاومة، وتحت عنوان سفن المقاومة لجلب المحروقات من إيران إلى لبنان أرض لبنانية فرضت معادلة الردع في البحار على الكيان، وتحت عنوان مشابه دعت المقاومة للبدء بالحفر والتنقيب عن الغاز والنفط تحت حماية صواريخها، وجاء الانهزام غير المسبوق للأميركي في أفغانستان وما رافقه من ذل، لم تنجح محاولات التمويه والتغطية بتحويله إلى انسحاب منسق يتم تسويقه بصفته علامة مهابة القوة العظمى، فجاء مقتل الجنود المغادرين وإصرار الإدارة الأميركية على مواصلة الانسحاب قطعاً لكل جدل حول الهزيمة المحققة التي تمثل طليعة خروج أميركي من آسيا، لم يعد ممكناً تفاديه، وترجمت العملية العسكرية السورية في منطقة درعا الواقعة تحت أنف قاعدة التنف وعلى حدود القواعد الأميركية في الأردن والعراق والحدود مع الجولان المحتل، أكبر اختبار للحقائق الجديدة وأهم إثبات طازج على المعادلات التي ترسمها، ولم يكن الكلام الأميركي الذي ترجم بخطوات عملية لفتح الطريق لرفع العقوبات التي يفرضها قانون قيصر على استجرار الكهرباء الأردنية والغاز المصري إلى لبنان عبر سورية، إلا تعبيراً عن محدودية هوامش المناورة المتاحة أمام الإدارة الأميركية في مواجهة تمدد مساحات معادلات الردع التي ينقلها محور المقاومة من مدى إلى مدى جديد، كما فعلت سفن المقاومة بنقل معادلة الردع إلى البحار، فوجد الأميركي اضطراراً أن القبول بتثبيت نتائجها في البر، رد للضرر الأعلى بالضرر الأدنى.

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عملية نفق الحرية تأتي لتتوج هذا السياق المتسارع، تأكيداً لثنائية، مناخ فلسطيني جديد يشمل الشعب وفصائل المقاومة والنشطاء والنخب وشباب وصبايا الجيل الرابع، يرتكز على الشعور بالقوة، مفعم بالحيوية، مليء بالمبادرات، غير قابل للاحتواء، غير آبه بالتضحيات، قادر على فرض المعادلات، يتحرك تحت عنوان كل فلسطين لنا، ويضع السلطة بين خيارات صعبة، وكيان الاحتلال بين خيارات أصعب، وبالمقابل كيان مترهل، يشعر بالضعف، يتشظى سياسياً ويتراجع أمنياً، لا يملك هامش الاختيار للمناورة بين حرب يخشاها، وتسوية لا يقدر على رفع فواتيرها بما يجعلها قابلة للتداول، فهو بين شاقوفي مقاومة شعبية وعسكرية متصاعدة واثقة من أن كل معركة تقربها شوطاً من تحقيق أهدافها، ومستوطنين يزدادون تطرفاً وتوحشاً وشكوكاً بصدقية حكوماتهم، وهو عالق في منتصف الطريق بين مواجهة هذه الروح الفلسطينية الجديدة، فلا يجرؤ على تحديها والمضي في التحدي حتى النهاية، وبين التعامل مع عدمية وعبثية التطرف الاستيطاني الذي يشكل البيئة الانتخابية لصاعة السياسة، لا يجرؤ على تخطيها والقفز فوقها لإطلاق مبادرات سياسية تتجاوز الكلام الإنشائي الفارغ.

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لحظة دراماتيكية لتلاقي هذا القوس الفلسطيني الصاعد وهذا القوس الإسرائيلي الهابط ستشعل المنازلة الشاملة، وتنشئ حقائق جديدة تشبه لحظة ولادة التحرير في غزة، لتشق الطريق نحو مسار تراكمي جديد، يضع الكيان بين خياري المضي في حرب شاملة قد تكون آخر حروبه، أو التساكن مع متغيرات تزيد هزاله وتعمق حال التراجع الاستراتيجي، وتمنح خيار المقاومة مساحات إضافية في توازن الردع والتحرير، على قاعدة معادلة «القدس أقرب»، والمعادلة التي سبقتها «إسرائيل أوهن من بيت العنكبوت» التي جاءت عملية نفق الحرية أبرز تجسيد حي لحضورها.

فيديوات متعلقة

مقالات متعلقة

• العدو يُفرغ غضبه في الأسرى: تحذيرات المقاومة بالمرصاد
• جلبوع ليس زمانك فارحل
• عملية نفق الحرية.. فشل إستخباراتي وصفعة مدوية
• «ولا شيء في الأرض، لا شيء فيها سواك»

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Video: Innumerable Ways Canada Supports Israeli Apartheid

By Michael Welch, Bianca Mugyenyi, and Yves Engler

Global Research, August 08, 2021

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the “Translate Website” drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). 

Visit and follow us on Instagram at @crg_globalresearch.

***

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Click to download the audio (MP3 format)

The violence between Israelis and Palestinians went up substantially in May of this year.

A dust-up which began with protests over the threat of the Supreme Court of Israel authorizing the eviction of six families from Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem led to Israeli forces storming the compound of the Al-Aqsa mosque. Before long, the conflict arose between Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad firing rockets, and Israel launching 1500 land, sea, and airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. When the dust settled after an 11 day rampage, 256 Palestinians, 66 of whom were children, perished. Israel by contrast lost 13 people including 2 children.

This episode of terror is most likely not going to end given the failures of past attempts to settle the dispute. As many episodes of Global Research have made clear, the United States have used so-called peace deals to harness more power to them, with Israel as their junior partner.

However, there is another player on the stage that similarly steered the course on the side of Israel against the Palestinians. As outspoken author Yves Engler has pointed out in his book Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid, both of the governing parties in our home and native land and even the Left are promoting Israel.

On this week’s program, we present a panel discussion produced by the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute entitled Innumerable Ways Canada Supports Israeli Apartheid – And What We Can Do About it.

The Canadian Foreign Policy Institute is a non-partisan organization which seeks to inform people living in Canada about the country’s diplomatic, aid, intelligence, trade and military policies abroad which are at odds with their self-portrait as a benevolent force around the world. Its director is Bianca Mugyenyi who will function as the moderator for the discussion.

Yves Engler is one of Canada’s foremost Canadian foreign policy critics and dissidents. He is the author of ten books on Canadian foreign policy including House of Cards: Justin Trudeau’s Foreign Policy (2020), and Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid (2010). His articles have appeared at rabble.ca, canadiandimension.com, and on his own site yvesengler.com.

Jonathan Kuttab is an international human rights lawyer and a co-founder of Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and of Nonviolence International.

Karen Rodman is a reverend and a founder of Just Peace Advocates.

Bianca Mugyenyi is an activist, a journalist and the director of the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Click to download the audio (MP3 format)

The Global Research News Hour airs every Friday at 1pm CT on CKUW 95.9FM out of the University of Winnipeg. The programme is also podcast at globalresearch.ca .

Other stations airing the show:

CIXX 106.9 FM, broadcasting from Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. It airs Sundays at 6am.

WZBC 90.3 FM in Newton Massachusetts is Boston College Radio and broadcasts to the greater Boston area. The Global Research News Hour airs during Truth and Justice Radio which starts Sunday at 6am.

Campus and community radio CFMH 107.3fm in  Saint John, N.B. airs the Global Research News Hour Fridays at 7pm.

CJMP 90.1 FM, Powell River Community Radio, airs the Global Research News Hour every Saturday at 8am. 

Caper Radio CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia airs the Global Research News Hour starting Wednesday afternoon from 3-4pm.

Cowichan Valley Community Radio CICV 98.7 FM serving the Cowichan Lake area of Vancouver Island, BC airs the program Thursdays at 9am pacific time.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Sheikh Jarrah: Israeli Court Wants Palestinian Homeowners to Pay ‘Rent’ to Jewish Settlers

 August 2, 2021

Palestinian and Israeli activists protest against house evictions in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. (Photo: via Activestills.org)

Israel’s Supreme Court today offered Palestinian residents of the occupied Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood ‘protected residence’ status, saying that if they pay rent to the settler organization which claims the land on which their homes are built, their properties will not be demolished.

The families have rejected the proposition, objecting to Nahalat Shimon’s claims of ownership and subsequent plans for their forcible eviction, Ir Amim reported.

The Israeli Supreme Court suggests to recognise the 4 Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah as “protected tenants” of their own homes in lieu of acknowledging the settlers’ ownership of their homes.
This unfair suggestion was totally rejected by the families.#savesheikhjarrah pic.twitter.com/PQ4fZ15Nej

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 2, 2021

The hearing took place before a panel of three judges – Yitzhak Amit, Noam Sohlberg and Daphne Barak-Erez, who were ruling on a leave to appeal request submitted by the El-Kurd, Jaouni, Abu Hasna, and Askafi families who are facing eviction from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah by the Nahalat Shimon settler company.

Both sides subsequently presented arguments, and the hearing concluded without the handing down of a court ruling. The justices are expected to issue a decision within the coming days concerning the continuation of proceedings.

According to one of the attorneys representing the families, an additional hearing on the matter will likely be scheduled. Originally slated for early May, the hearing was deferred until now to allow for the Attorney General to weigh his intervention in the case, which he ultimately declined.

#SheikhJarrah: #Palestinian Families Await Critical Israeli High Court Decision; #Settlers Attack Protesters https://t.co/jm8g80A0aZ via @PalestineChron #SaveSheikhJarrah pic.twitter.com/TEQzKMWbT6

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) August 2, 2021

The court’s decision, in this case, will likely impact the additional families from the Kerem Al-Jaouni section of Sheikh Jarrah facing eviction lawsuits filed by Nahalat Shimon, including the case of the Dajani, Daoudi, and Hammad families, likewise pending at the Supreme Court.

On July 28, the attorney representing the three aforementioned families submitted a request to postpone their eviction date set for yesterday.

In response, the Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction, provisionally freezing their eviction and asking the settler group to respond by 8 August. While the three families have likewise filed a leave to appeal request to the Supreme Court, neither a hearing has been scheduled, nor a decision rendered.

Israeli occupiiers abuse Palestinian children; tell the el-Kurds they’ll be arrested if they walk on the pavement #SaveSheikhJarrah #Apartheid pic.twitter.com/OSxklecaH5

— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) August 2, 2021

Currently, there are open eviction lawsuits against a total of approximately 50-60 families in Sheikh Jarrah (30 families – Kerem Al-Jaouni section and 20-30 families – Um Haroun section), which are at various stages of legal proceedings.

Many more families are at risk of receiving eviction demands due to land registration procedures the Israeli authorities underhandedly began in occupied East Jerusalem in 2020 for the first time since 1967.

(MEMO, PC, Social Media)

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!