CELEBRATING MOTHER’S DAY IN PALESTINE

Via

March 22, 2010 at 10:54 (Activism, Associate Post, Occupied West Bank, Palestine)

By Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD


Today was mother’s day in Palestine. It was not a good day for my mother. In the morning my sister took her to an eye doctor in Hebron as her sight is affected by her diabetes. On the way back, my sister was slapped by an Israeli policeman with a ticket of 500 NIS (roughly $120) for making what he considers an illegal turn. The stress made my mother forget a pot of syrup on the stove and it burned through with smoke all over the house as she was visiting with my brother in law who has cancer. I felt bad because instead of being with them most of the day, I was in two popular resistance events in Beit Jala and Beit Sahour. The demonstration in Beit Jala, birth place of St. Nicholas, got a delayed start as we negotiated with Palestinian security forces to let us through. It was a commemoration of the murder of Rachel Corrie and it was coincidental with Mother’s day. After several phone calls and conversations, the baton holding Palestinian security forces retreated and we were allowed to proceed down the hill towards where the Israeli soldiers were stationed. In this regards we felt fortunate. But we also noted a new Israeli procedure this week as opposed to last week here: a barbed wire was strung across the road to prevent people from trying to continue down the hill to their lands. The demonstration proceeded peacefully and several people spoke including Jewish Israelis. We left before the demonstration ended because we wanted to get to the even in Beit Sahour.

On the way we heard that Israeli forces shot dead two young Palestinians who were working in their own lands because as they claim they were carrying deadly tools with intend to harm (one was carrying a shovel and digging in his land). The two 19 year old farmers Muhammad Faysal Qawariq and Salah Muhammad Qawariq) were shot in their village of Awarta near Nablus. We also heard that the other 16 year old kid shot in the head yesterday died; the two 16 year olds are Mohammed and Useid Qadus from Iraq Burin village. This brings the casualty figure in 30 hours to 4 Palestinians murdered and over 100 injured. An ISM volunteer was among those injured see Many were arrested.


Huwaida Arraf of ISM was arrested and released 31 hours later but two Palestinian young men who were with her in detention in an illegal colonial settlement were abused worse and are likely to face further repercussions for demonstrating against the illegal colonial apartheid soldiers on their lands of Nabi Saleh. It appears that Israel is upping the pressure on popular protests. They also bombed Gaza injuring 12 Palestinians.


At Ush Ghrab, we had a small number of people (15) who volunteered to do some cleaning in the area photos at We could not proceed beyond superficial cleaning of a staging area and some of the land around it because land owners were not there for us to build stone hedges etc. I wondered if they are with their mothers and wives. But I kept thinking of those in Israeli jails (over 10,000 of them) and of their families. Here are excerpts from Fatma Abu Rahima whose husband is in jail: “I am grief-stricken since Adeeb’s imprisonment. However, I cannot allow myself to lament my husband’s loss as I have a family of nine to take care of. Since Adeeb has been away, I have to be both mother and father to my children. We shared the care over the children, this is now my sole responsibility. We miss him very much. Batuh, the youngest daughter, has caught on the topic of the conversation, stops playing, and stresses the tensity by softly, but firmly addressing her mother: “I want to go with you, to see ‘baba’!” We have only been allowed one visit since Adeeb’s arrest [four months ago]. Batuh was there to see her father, but she was afraid of the pale and sad figure that her lively father had turned into. She did not even recognize Adeeb and refused to talk to him. Since this visit, no one from the family has been allowed to visit. We are all considered to be “security threats”. It has been even harder on an emotional level. Two months ago, Alaah, my daughter of 17, was very sick and was even hospitalized twice. She could not walk or move, as if she was paralyzed. The doctors could not find anything wrong with her and decided it was psychosomatic…”


I thought about these mothers and wives of prisoners (and over 300 women prisoners) and the mothers of the many murdered Palestinians, thousands over the past 20 years alone, tens of thousands injured. How will they spend their mother’s day? When I talked to my mother this afternoon over a cup of mint tea, she wondered when the death and killing end will and she seemed very sad. I wondered what I can say that comforts her or any of the millions of Palestinian mothers worried sick about “the situation”. I wondered this and many other things silently. I wondered when we in Palestine will celebrate a mothers’ day in freedom. I wondered what happened to Cindy Sheehan, mother of American marine who was killed in Iraq and who was arrested yesterday in Washington in an anti-war demonstration. I wondered how much longer we will suffer of colonial occupation, ethnic cleansing, and oppression after 62 years. I wonder why people are so patient on injustice. I wondered why politicians can’t think of themselves as fellow human beings. I wondered who will visit the mothers of the dead Palestinians. Will the Palestinian President or the Israeli Prime Minister go visit some day and try to comfort the grieving mothers. I wondered for how long my US taxes will still go to fund all of this. I wondered when I will stop wondering about these and many things. I tell myself to take a deep breath and meditate to regain hope and energy.


There is much to be hopeful about. Yesterday there were many other popular resistance actions throughout the West Bank as more and more people take matters into their own hands. See for example these reports: Bethlehem district: al Ma’sara and al Walaja defend their lands and homes Ramallah district: anti-Wall protests spread to five villages.


(to remember Rachel Corrie) Video: Gaza the killing Zone watched by over 3.3 million viewers on youtube and 140,000 comments!


I end with a Greek song for Palestine (English subtitles)!

River to Sea
 Uprooted Palestinian

Al-Qassam Brigades: We support all resistance efforts in Palestine

Al-Qassam Brigades: We support all resistance efforts in Palestine

[ 22/03/2010 - 11:23 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, declared its support of all resistance efforts in Palestine, warning that the situation in the Gaza Strip can explode any moment in light of the ongoing Israeli violations in the occupied Palestinian lands.

In a statement posted on Al-Qassam website, spokesman for the Brigades Abu Obeida did not rule out that the situation in Gaza might tend to explode as a result of the Israeli escalation in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank, holding the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the consequences.

Hamas movement deplored, in a related context, some media outlets for misinterpreting the remarks made by senior Hamas official Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar about firing rockets in recent days.

The movement explained in a statement on Sunday that Dr. Zahhar meant some unruly elements who are affiliated with factions or operate according to orders they receive from unknown parties through the internet.

Al-Alam satellite channel had quoted Dr. Zahhar as saying that the claims made by Fatah members about firing rockets on Israel contradicted the action of their faction on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank.

He added that there are parties that want to give Israel a chance to divert attention of the media from what is happening in Jerusalem.

The Hamas official also said that some resistance factions fire rockets without a war head in order to gain some media advantage.

In a new development, the Palestinian resistance in Al-Khalil city carried out a surprise attack on a group of Israeli troops near the village of Beit Awa in retaliation to the killing of four Palestinian civilians in Iraq Burin village in Nablus two days ago.

Israeli news reports said that Palestinian resistance fighters boarding a car opened heavy fire at a force of Israeli troops south of Al-Khalil Mount on Sunday evening and then withdrew from the scene before the arrival of military reinforcements.

River to Sea
 Uprooted Palestinian

Iraq invasion - 7th Anniversary

21.3.10

Iraq Solidarity Campaign 

by Felicity Arbuthnot

Seven years ago, I wrote: "It feels as if I have a memory of every every building that falls, crushed and broken to the ground. My pain could never be the same as it is for those who are losing those they love, limbs, homes, history and all that is familiar to them in Mesopotamia, the 'land between two rivers' (the great, biblical Tigris and Euphrates) the 'cradle of civilization.' It is only a second-best pain, but it surely feels like the real thing." (1)

I had just returned from Iraq. In Iraq and across the globe, certainty was that another bombardment of enormity and invasion was inevitable and could be unleashed any hour. Over numerous visits to the country since the first onslaught in 1991 - as the US/UK driven embargo squeezed ever tighter, sucking life's normalities and life itself, from an entire nation - I wondered each time if I would be again welcomed. I always was, with warmth, generosity of spirit and spontaneity utterly humbling to someone living in a country responsible for vetoing everything from cancer treatments, Ventolin inhaler for asthma (as pollution overtook Mexico city, due to the vetoing of spare parts for cars) insulin, medical syringes, surgical instruments, even ping pong balls, paper and childrens' toys.

Mind-numbingly, a consignment of several tonnes of shroud cloth fell foul of the Sanctions Committee. Even in death, a being could not escape the embargo.In February 2003, I was welcomed again, unreservedly. Susan, who had the franchise for the little shop in the Palestine Hotel, along with everyone else, beamed, hugged and said: "Welcome home" and showered me with sweets. As a child, she was one of the eight survivors of the Ameriyah Shelter. Her parents, brothers and sisters were incinerated.

It was dark, street lights were off (vetoed spare parts) but the need to feel Baghdad again, the sounds, the smells , overwhelmed. Anyway money needed changing - and a visit to an old friend who ran a liquor store, to later indulge in a glass of inimitable Iraqi arak with friends. (Manufactured by the Iraqi Chemical Company, overindulge and the following day you knew you had finally discovered Iraq's most lethal chemical weapon.)Unhesitating,I sent off, navigating by the oil lamps, or generated light, from shops and homes, in familar Sa'adun Street. .

In the money exchange ("Welcome, Madam Felicity, welcome, welcome again in Baghdad ...") I changed $50 for Iraq's collapsed dinars, about 2,300ID to the dollar (1989 $3 to 1ID.) Great wads were piled up for each $5. Worthless anywhere else, but a fortune for most Iraqis. I walked back, carrying, not concealing, the tell tale black plastic bags the exchanges used - as did most people - with little concern. Now, one would be lucky to make it beyond the door. On the way I bought the arak - more beams, more welcomes - more sweets, with tiny glasses of minted tea. These gracious people are now: "camel jockeys", "rag heads", "sand niggers" - or worse.

Contrasting the safety of Iraq just before the invasion and now are different worlds.

Last year, on the sixth commemoration of the occupation, Dr Suad al Azzawi, an associate Professor at Baghdad University, who has lost her husband, twenty two relatives, fifty friends and suffered through fifteen abductions of "close relatives and people I know and love", to America and Britain's invaders or imported or generated criminality, wrote, of the "New Iraq":

- 72 months of destruction
- $607 Billions spent on the war
- 2 Million Barrels of oil being sold per day
- 2 Million Displaced Iraqis inside of Iraq
- 3 Million Iraqis forced to leave the country
- 2615 professors, scientists, and doctors killed in cold blood
- 338 dead journalists
- $13 Billion misplaced by the current Iraqi government
- $400 Billion required to rebuild the Iraqi infrastructure
- 3 hours average of electricity daily
- 24 car bombs per month
- 7 major mafias running the country
- 4260 Americans dead
- 10,000 cases of cholera per year
- At least 1.3 million Iraqis dead since 2003.

Dr Al Azzawi wrote of the deliberate targeting of civilians, and the uncounted additional casualties among children resultant from: " ... unexploded ordinance along military engagement routes." Further: " The direct killing and abuse of children during American troop raids on civilian areas like Fallujah, Haditha, Mahmodia, Telafer, Anbar, Mosul, and most of the other Iraqi cities. The Massacre of Haditha children in 2005 is a good example of "collateral damages" among civilians

This year, she writes of collective punishment, of whole cities being starved "by blocking the delivery of food, aid and sustenance" and then being raided, children especially tormented and deprived. Also of:

"Microbial pollution and lack of sanitation (plus) drinking water shortages for up to 70% of the population caused the death of 'one in eight Iraqi children' before their fifth birthday. (Iraq's child mortality) ".. has been attributed to water borne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, etc ."

Further: ".. exposing other heavily populated cities to chemically toxic and radioactive ammunitions, cluster bombs, napalm, white phosphorous, and depleted uranium (have drastically increased) cancers, deformations in children, multiple malignancies and child leukemia.

Contrasting the safety of Iraq then to "liberation's" hell, is to view another worldChildren in areas like Basrah, Baghdad, Nasriya, Samawa, Fallujah, Dewania and other cities have .. multi-fold increases of such diseases. Over 24% of all children born in Fallujah in October 2009 had birth defects.The Minister of Environment in Iraq called upon the international community to help Iraqi authorities in facing the huge increase of cancer cases in Iraq.

The deterioration of the health system and assassination of doctors have resulted in an increased (mortality) amongst children." In the death toll of up to over a million between 2003 and 2007 the collapse of the health system "is specified as one of the major causes."

"By 2004, it was estimated that two out of every three Iraqi children were dropping out of school ... Prior to the US invasion, UNESCO indicated that school attendance was nearly 100%. Assassination of educators and academics ... drove their colleagues to (emigrate.)" There is a "... cultural cleansing of Iraqi society and identity." (3)

In stark contrast, Professor Martin Yapp points out in: "The Near East since the First World War" (ISBN 0 582 256518 PPR) that after Iraq took the petrolium industry in to state control in 1972, "..the main emphasis was on social and economic development ... health, housing and especially education." UN statistics showed that " .. by 1990 eighty seven percent of Iraqis had clean water, ninety three percent had access to (free) health care ... by 1980 virtually one hundred percent of children attended elementary school ... adult literacy had risen from fifteen percent in 1958 to ninety percent in 1990. The education of women was particularly advanced .."

The revolution was "secular" and "social reforms should be based on what were regarded as universal principles of human development." In seven years, Iraq has been reversed to a failed state and what, were it not US driven, would be called a barbaric one.

Dr Gideon Polya, author of the meticulously researched: "Body Count, Global avoidable mortality since 1950", (4) calls Iraq's mortality between the imposition of the embargo in August 1990, the invasion and this woeful time of reflection: "an Iraqi Holocaust ... an Iraqi Genocide." He has written a letter to the media world wide:

"It is the 7th anniversary of the illegal and war criminal invasion of Iraq by US, UK and Australian forces on 20 March 2003. What has been the human cost? As of 20 March 2010 post-invasion violent deaths in Occupied Iraq total 1.4 million (according to the eminent US Just Foreign Policy).
Post-invasion under-5 infant deaths total 0.8 million and post-invasion non-violent excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) total 1.1 million (based on 2006 revision data from the UN Population Division), this being identical to an independent estimate from under-5 infant deaths.

Gulf War violent deaths totalled 0.2 million and excess deaths and under- 5 infant deaths under Sanctions (1990-2003) totalled 1.7 million and 1.2 million, respectively.

In the period 1990-2010 Iraqi violent deaths totalled 1.6 million, non-violent excess deaths from deprivation totalled 2.8 million, under-5 infant deaths (90% avoidable and due to US Alliance war crimes in gross violation of the Geneva Convention) totalled 2.0 million and refugees totalled 5-6 million.This is an Iraqi Holocaust and an Iraqi Genocide as per Article 2 of the UN Genocide Convention (cf WW2 Jewish Holocaust, 5-6 million killed, 1 in 6 dying from deprivation.)"(5.)

So seven years on, the world has been brought to statements such as this, by an academic with a five decade scientific career."Why do they hate us?" has been the US Administration's bleat, as they see a "terrorist" in every shadow, behind every computer screen and every arab sounding name.

In all the deprivations of the embargo years, talking to parents who had lost children as a result, burns victims with near-indescribable injuries from the routinely exploding lamps used for lighting (parts for reliable ones embargoed)to the widows, the orphans, I never experienced anything but warmth and hospitality, a gratitude that one had come in friendship and to listen, hear, learn. Except once.

On my last afternoon in Baghdad before the invasion, I walked again down Sa'adun Street. There was a small local barracks amongst the shops and apartments. On my late night walks over the years, I would practice floundering arabic with the young conscripts who sat outside on watch, in a country on a war footing for over thirty years. They would laugh, correct me, repeat for me patiently the soft pronounciation which comes from somewhere deep in the throat, that most westerners find so hard. We would laugh together as I failed in the intonation - and they would laugh again and clap as I finally got it right.

That afternoon, newly called up youths, teenagers, were milling outside, some squatting down in groups under the trees, on the sun-dappled pavement, talking. There was no way through. These were Iraq's future, from university graduates to market workers, their childhood lost to the embargo their future to fight yet another war, not of Iraq's making, against odds that were a no-brainer.

Normally, in a crowd, an innate courtesy extends and it parts, people smile, one passes, smiles returned. They fell silent, looked at this western woman, the embodiment of all they were going to endure - or not survive. After all the years, I finally saw cold hate in those young eyes. And I understood absolutely.Little after dawn the following morning, I went in search of coffee, before the up to twenty seven hour journey to Amman and a flight home (flights still ninety nine percent vetoed.) The musac in the restaurant was quietly playing: "I left my heart in San Francisco."

Ironically, along with a number of others who braved a few hazards over the years ( US and UK bombings being high on the list) I am one who has been warned by sound sources, that if I return to democratic, liberated, free Iraq, I will be killed. Risk taking has been a way of life. Suicide is not an option.

Inspite of an estimated thirty million people marching, world-wide against the invasion - five million more than Iraq's population at the time - the illegal carnage went ahead. But, as a correspondent wrote in response to my article cited at the top: "Those thirty million who marched for peace throughout the world need not feel it was worthless. Peace will come when all the world's people wake up and march for an end to conflict (and) unrestrained material aquisitiveness." On this grim, shameful, anniversary, all of the same mind should vow to double their efforts.

References
1 http://www.newint.org/features/baghdad/080403.htm
2 http://merryabla64.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/let-the-numbers-speak-by-dr-souad-al-azzawi/
3. http://www.brusselstribunal.org (See: March 2010 Newsletter.)
4. http://www.globalbodycount.blogspot.com
5. http://www.uruknet.de/index.php?p=m64324&hd=&size=1&l=e
See also: http://sites.google.com/site/iraqholocaustiraqigenocide/

Fiance of slain girl who became Iranian opposition's symbol visits Israel

Via

The visit to this big settlment of "brotherly love" human respect & dignity, is surely all that was needed to boost the fortunes of the 'opposition'... JPOst/ here

"... He had said his dream was to come to Israel. Now, that Makan landed here, he will have the honor of meeting President Shimon Peres.“I have come here out of the brotherhood of nations,” Makan told Channel 2..."

Posted by G, Z, or B at 9:57 AM

River to Sea
 Uprooted Palestinian

STOP THE WAR COALITION

STOP THE WAR COALITION
NEWSLETTER No. 1146  
22 March 2010
Email office@stopwar.org.uk  
Tel: 020 7801 2768  
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk  
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER  
1) AFGHANISTAN DAY OF PROTEST: 27 MARCH  
2) JOE GLENTON DEFENCE CAMPAIGN  
3) PALESTINE PROTEST AT MAYOR OF JERUSALEM VISIT  
4) DEFEND THE GAZA PROTESTORS
5) LONDON DEBATE ON AFGHANISTAN

*********************************  
1) AFGHANISTAN DAY OF PROTEST: 27 MARCH

NATO forces are gearing up for a massive offensive on Kandahar
in the next few months. Even in advance of that the death toll
is rising -- 30 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan  
since the start of the year.

As the general election approaches, Stop the War groups will  
be campaigning to force the issue of Afghanistan onto the  
political agenda.

On March 27 there will be a Troops Out of Afghanistan day of  
action. Local Stop the War groups will be organising protests
and petitioning local MPs. Many local groups are organising  
hustings debates and public meetings in the next few weeks.  
Contact the Stop the War office for details of events in your
area: Email: office@stopwar.org.uk.  Call 020 7801 2768.

As part of our campaigning, Stop the War is producing a "Costs
of War" leaflet, a questionnaire to put to all candidates  
standing in the election and a new pamphlet on Afghanistan.  
They will be available this week from the national office.

*********************************  
2) JOE GLENTON DEFENCE CAMPAIGN

Colchester Stop the War is organising a weekend of protest  
27/28 March in support of Joe Glenton, the British soldier who
has been jailed for refusing to fight in Afghanistan (DETAILS,
UPDATES & PETITION)

SATURDAY 27 MARCH  11.30AM-1PM
MASS LEAFLET AND PETITION FOR RELEASE OF JOE GLENTON  
ELD LANE, COLCHESTER  
ESSEX CO1 1LS

SUNDAY 28 MARCH 1.30PM
PROTEST OUTSIDE JOE'S PRISON  
MILITARY CORRECTIVE TRAINING CENTRE  
BERECHURCH HALL ROAD  
ESSEX CO2 9NU

For more details and to get involved, contact Kate, tel: 07834
218 711, email: stwcolchester@hotmail.co.uk

*********************************  
3) PALESTINE PROTEST AT MAYOR OF JERUSALEM VISIT

Despite international pressure, the Israeli government
continues its persecution of the Palestinians, making a  
mockery of any talk of a peace process. Not only did they  
announce a huge new settlement in East Jerusalem last week,  
but the Israeli police have been brutally attacking people  
protesting against plans for a new synagogue right next to the
Al Aqsa Mosque. In addition, four Palestinian youths have been
shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the last few days.

On Monday 22 march, Nir Barkat -- the Mayor of Jerusalem  
directly responsible for the new settlements -- is visiting  
London. We are urging all our supporters in London to join the
protest outside Chatham House, where he is speaking.

MONDAY 22 MARCH 5PM  
CHATHAM HOUSE
10 ST JAMES'S SQUARE  
LONDON SW1Y 4LE

*********************************  
4) DEFEND THE GAZA PROTESTORS

A defence campaign has been set up for the protestors who have
been charged with offences at the Gaza demonstrations in  
January 2009. (DETAILS, UPDATES, PETITION:  
http://bit.ly/d1FqIA )

More than 20 of the 78 people charged have been sent to prison
in an unprecedented campaign by the police. Almost all of  
those charged are Muslims. The campaign to defend the
protestors has resulted in some good press coverage, and one  
of the first defendants to plead not guilty was acquitted last
week.

Please sign the petition in defence of the protestors, which  
will be delivered to the Home Office at a protest on Tuesday  
30 March, 4.30pm.

SIGN THE PETITION ONLINE:  http://bit.ly/ccjdN8

DOWNLOAD THE PETITION FOR PRINTING: http://bit.ly/b1KAxH  
We are asking our supporters to download the petition for  
collecting signatures as widely as they can. Please send them
to the Stop the War office in time for the 30 March protest at
the Home Office.

*********************************  
5) LONDON DEBATE ON AFGHANISTAN

In the run up to the imminent general election, in which all  
the main parties will be supporting the war in Afghanistan,  
Stop the War is organising a series of debates around the  
country. Details for the debates will be posted on our website
as they become available.

The details of the London debate are:

WEDNESDAY 14 APRIL 7PM
DEBATE: Should the Troops be in Afghanistan?  
SPEAKERS: Mehdi Hasan from the New Statesman, Professor  
Christopher Coker from the London School of Economics, Martin
Cakebread from the National Defence Association, and Lindsey  
German Convenor of Stop the War  
VENUE: The Old Cinema lecture theatre, Westminster University,
309 Regent Street, W1B 2UW.

*********************************
--
To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank e-mail to stwc-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net

Either one state for all, or open-ended conflict

PIC

[ 22/03/2010 - 12:32 AM ]

By Khalid Amayreh

Some reluctant voices in Washington D.C. have finally admitted that the persistence of the Palestinian plight, namely the continued Israeli efforts to liquidate the Palestinian cause by way of building more Jewish settlements and narrowing the Palestinian horizons, is undermining American strategic interests in the Muslim world.

A few weeks ago, Gen. David Petraeus, head of the United States Central Command in Afghanistan and Iraq, voiced anxiety at the lack of progress in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He reported that there was a growing perception among Arab leaders that the U.S. was incapable of standing up to Israel, that Arabs were losing faith in American promises and that Israeli intransigence was jeopardizing U.S. standing in the region. Petraeus also criticized the George Mitchell mission, suggesting that the American diplomat was “too old, two slow and too late.”

Petraeus was not the only voice to sound his worries about the impact of continued American embrace of Israeli territorial expansion in the West Bank. According to the Israeli daily Yideot Ahronot, visiting US Vice President Joe Biden, a long time stalwart of Israel, engaged in a private and angry exchange with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu. “This is starting to get dangerous for us. What you are doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace.”According to the Israeli paper, Biden went on telling his Israeli hosts that “since many people in the Muslim world perceived a connection between Israel’s actions and US policy, any decision about construction that undermines Palestinian rights in East Jerusalem could have an impact on the personal safety of American troops fighting against Islamic ‘terrorism.’”

James Baker, US Secretary of State during the former George Bush administration, has made similar remarks, underscoring the dangers facing American interests if the US continues to give Israel a carte blanch to Judaize East Jerusalem, by building homes for Jews and demolishing Arab homes in the heart of the occupied city and by continuing to expand Jewish colonies in the West Bank.

It is too premature to see if these belated but somewhat encouraging voices will have a tangible impact on US policy toward Israel.
Nonetheless, given past experiences, it is more than safe to assume that any given US administration would rather budge to Israel rather than risk losing a public and embarrassing battle with her supporters in the United States. In fact, successive American administrations would rather behave and act like a submissive poodle vis-à-vis Israel than stand for America’s interests.

And Obama is no exception..

When President Obama gave his famous speech in Cairo on 2 June, 2009, many in the Middle East and beyond gave him the benefit of the doubt. However, ever since that speech, he has demonstrated a shocking inability to rein in Israeli criminality and hell-bent determination to kill every opportunity for peace.

In fact, during his first term in the White House, Israel carried out phenomenal expansion of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem, including intensifying construction in the heart of Arab neighborhoods such as the Silwan and Mukabber neighborhoods. In recent days, Israel inaugurated a huge synagogue outside the Aqsa Mosque esplanade. The land upon which the synagogue was built belonged to the al-Basheeti family of East Jerusalem.

Similarly, Israel announced plans to build thousands of for-Jews-only settler units in the occupied city, with the Obama administration contenting itself with the same idle statements about the damage the settlement expansion does to the “peace process.”

The announcement was made during Biden’s visit to occupied Palestine in March, which shows the extent to which Israel is willing to challenge and embarrass its guardian-ally, without whose support and fanatical backing, Israel would have vanished a long time ago.

There is no doubt that the latest “crisis” over the negative atmospherics accompanying Biden’s visit to the US would have no real impact on Israeli behavior, especially toward the Palestinians and the moribund peace process the US and its western partners are now trying desperately to revive.

Netanyahu has actually already said that his government will disregard all American objections and reservations about settlement expansion in East Jerusalem. Other Israeli officials have gone a step further by attacking President Obama’s “impetuousness,” with one Israeli official suggesting that “as far as we are concerned, Obama and Clinton can keep up barking for as long as they want, because we control Congress and have a lot of friends in America.” Even Netanyahu’s own brother-in-law accused Obama of being an “anti-Semite,” saying that Israel shouldn’t give the slightest regard because in a few years he would be forgotten.

Unfortunately, it seems that these arrogant utterances by fanatical Israeli officials have more credibility than ostensibly angry statements by U.S. officials such as Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

Congress, it is well known, is an Israeli-occupied territory. Members of Congress, thoroughly enslaved by Zionist-Jewish money, have since time immemorial transformed themselves into political whores for Israel and Israeli causes so much that some of them would be too willing to side with Israel against vital American interests.

This enduring congressional embrace of Israel, regardless of what it does or doesn’t do, has always undercut and aborted any serious American effort to bring about a balanced peace settlement in the Middle East. Indeed, what would prompt the Israelis to alter, even moderate their discourse, when virtually every American official or senator or congressman visiting Israel struggles to find new words that would communicate his profound enslavement and infatuation with a state that differs very little in substance from Nazi Germany?

And the situation is unlikely to be rectified in the foreseeable future unless there is a serious awakening in Washington, which is not expected to happen due to the immense power of pro-Israeli forces and the immense weakness and cowardice of those advocating a more honest American approach toward the enduring Palestinian plight, if only to preserve America’s own interests.

Of course, both camps, the Israel-firsters and advocates of a balanced approach, are well-aware that Israel doesn’t want peace, especially one that would oblige Israel to give up the spoils of the 1967 war. Obviously, a state that has been building settlements on occupied territory for close to 43 years and transferring hundreds of thousands of its citizens to live on land that belongs to another people doesn’t have peace on its priority list.

Hence, it is time the US exercise a modicum of honesty by admitting that the so-called peace process, which has been going on for over 18 years, is a huge failure, a gigantic fiasco, an open-ended illusion.
This fact, which no amount of public relations hucksterism will succeed in obliterating or even blurring, should also be clear to the Palestinians and Arab leaderships who, too, continue to naively and stupidly babble about the two-state solution as if there was still a real chance for the creation of a truly viable and territorially continuous Palestinian state.

Now the choice is as stark and clear as ever: It is either one state for all, or open-ended bloodshed.

River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian

The Latest Zionist Shit from Mollistine: "Qassam helping Israel"

Mahmoud al-Zahar: Qassams helping Israel. This Man is an Absolute, Fully Certified Idiot!

"Hamas strongman unsatisfied with renewed rocket fire, hinting it is aimed at undermining organization's rule in Gaza. 'We are aware of the fact that there are elements wishing to help the enemy divert the attention from what is happening in Jerusalem,' he says....."

Tony's COMMENT

(my comments in red)

His line is no different from that of the traitor Abbas. So, when Hamas stops the rockets, that is "resistance?"

"Ten months after the Zionist Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, the wounds are infected,still bleeding deep and wide open, Abed Rabbo has the nerve to suggest that Hamas is preventing "Palestinian military groups" from launching shells at Israeli targets bordering the Gaza Strip."

[And here is Abed Molly who forgot his calls and pulls on the third Intifada. Once it started, by Hamas Supporters, not by his secular Zionists, against the Occupation, not against Hamas as he hoped, he revealed his true color. The best way to divert attention from Intifada, and release the pressure on Israel and Ramalla traitors, is another war on Gaza.

My Ass: Show me where he said Qassam. he is talking about irresponsible element. Yes My ass, its resistance.

Arn't you the same asshole who told me "You ask, what can Hamas do? At a minimum hide, in the face of a superior force."???

Hamas dit it stood tall in the face of superior power, and the surprised angry arab wrote .

"I never expected much from Hamas in terms of military effectiveness, and I think that the Israeli-Egyptian-Saudi-Dahlan plan was based on a low estimation of Hamas' military effectiveness."
"But Hamas performed far better than the expectations of its enemies and even of its leadership in Syria and Lebanon. "
Angry Arab ]

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Hamas wants calm so that it has a chance to impose its social agenda on the Palestinian society in Gaza. Such as regulating the dress code and preventing men and women from being seen together or preventing men from working in women's hair salons!

[Yes Hamas wants calm so that it has the chance to get ready for the comming confrontation, to manage the battle of Jerusalem.]

Barf!
Now I see why Israel originally encouraged the emergence of Hamas when Gaza was controlled by Israel: Keep the Palestinian society backward and the people busy memorizing the Quran.

[NOW I SEE YOU ARE A REAL SON OF ZIONIST BITSH. TFFUUUUU]

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As usual Bilal was great, here is his replies

Bilal
What a distortion! Once again you fail to see past your own bias and prejudices. The group that fired the rocket were an Al-Qaeda type group that Gaza police have revealed were acting as a front for Fatah. Fatah have on numerous occasions disrupted ceasefires by firing rockets; do not act as if these people care about resistance, they care only about one thing - undermining Hamas. Therefore it is natural that Hamas would want to curb the actions of these groups, what you seem to advocate is a mad declaration of war. Hamas is a trustworthy patron of the resistance, I trust them and the Palestinian people trust them. You fail to mention that it was Hamas who called for the day of rage on Tuesday, that they have been advocating resistance as the STRATEGIC choice of the Palestinians since day one...

Today, 01:20:20 ص

– Flag – Like – Reply – Delete – Edit – Moderate

Bilal
...You seem to buy in to the lie that Hamas is imposing its agenda on the Palestinians in Gaza. This is part of the campaign of propaganda against Hamas and by extension the resistance. You wilfully play along with this campaign because of your hatred of Hamas. Without Islam, the people of Palestine would have sold out a long time and you should be thankful that they have such strong faith. Look at this recent BBC feature on women in Gaza http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8557251.stm What does this show? That Palestinians are a religious society by nature, not by force and guess what Tony? This isn't going to change soon, Palestinian Muslims will continue to read the Quran, to ponder the Quran and to memorise the Quran. Why do you have a problem with this? You need not be so bitter, secularism has failed, leftist politics have failed, the sooner you realise this, the better.

River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian

THE DAY PALESTINE WAS BURNT OFF THE MAP

Via DesertPeace

March 21, 2010 at 14:22

Nurit Peled spoke for thousands of Israeli Jews when she wrote that she will mourn on Nakba Day. Anyone with an ounce of human decency will mourn on that day as well. The Palestinians are not going to be alone on their day of mourning, neither will the Jews of conscience. It was the zionists that lit the flames, it is up to all Jews to extinguish them!

Palestine must once again take its rightful place among the family of nations, as a Free and Independent State!

I will mourn on Nakba Day By Nurit Peled-Elhanan

The “Nakba law” passed in a first reading last Tuesday. The law forbids mourning the Nakba on Israel’s Independence Day.

Breaking the law will result in high fines and withdrawal of governmental financing from municipal authorities.

I will mourn on Nakba Day

Nurit Peled-Elhanan, Sakharov Human Rights Prize laureate, member of Bereaved Families for Peace and a co-initiator of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine

I will mourn on Nakba Day. I will mourn for vanished Palestine most of which I never knew. I will mourn for the holy land that is losing its humanity, its landscape, its beauty and its children on the altar of racism and evil. I will mourn for the Jewish youngsters who invade and desecrate the homes of families in Sheikh Jarrah, throw the inhabitants into the street, and then sing and dance in memory of Baruch Goldstein, the infamous murderer of Palestinian children, while the owners of the desecrated houses with their children and old people are sleeping in the rain, on the street, opposite their own homes.

I will mourn for the soldiers and police who protect those wicked Jewish orthodox invaders without any pangs of conscience. I will mourn for the lands of Bil’in and Ni’lin and for the heroes of Bil’in and Ni’lin, many of whom are children aged 10 and 12, who fearlessly stand up for their right to live in dignity on the land of their fathers. I will mourn for the human rights that have been buried for a long time now in this country, for the blood that is dispensable with impunity, for the killings committed with blessings, for the mendacious Zionist myth on which I was educated and for the crushed Palestinian narrative that is forbidden to express itself but the truth of which has returned and the green shoots of which are poking out through the weeds and the racist laws.
I will mourn for the former Minister of Education, Livnat, who defended the law against mourning on Nakba day saying: “If they have nothing to mourn over they will have no reason to rebel,” Words worthy of the worst of our adversaries and the most wicked of colonialists.

I will mourn for all of us who do not know what to do in the face of a law that is pure ruthlessness, one of dozens of racist laws that are in the process of assuming places of honour – if not all the places – in the statute-books of the democratic Jewish State. I will mourn for the democracy in this country, half of whose subjects live in conditions that are forbidden even for beasts in other democratic countries.

I will mourn for the children. Those who have died. Those who will die tomorrow. Those who can no longer live here, and those who are living here like monstrous golems that have turned on their creators,whose identity is shaped by fear, evil, racism, the twisted love of a land that is not theirs, hatred for all that is not in their image and an insatiable appetite for killing.

I will mourn on Nakba Day. And also on the day that precedes it which we call Remembrance Day and which is nothing but a day dedicated to the cult of dead flesh, at the end of which everyone goes out and grills another kind of dead flesh on open flames, sings, dances, overeats and gets drunk. I will mourn for our Independence Day that is nothing but a celebration of the triumph of closure and subjugation.

All these things I will mourn on Nakba Day. I will join the millions of dispossessed, downtrodden and humiliated who have not given up on the future and who still believe there is a chance, who stand as witnesses and as firebrands of the true human spirit.

I will mourn on Nakba Day in order to be worthy of them, so that my children will know which side I am on, and so that they too can believe there is a chance for hope and a future in which justice will prevail.

Translated from Hebrew by George Malent.
Source via Uruknet

River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian

US Plots against Iran While Offering Dialogue

Sayyed Khamenei:

21/03/2010 Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei accused on Sunday the United States of "plotting" against the Islamic republic even as it offers talks.


"I once again announce that the governments who have an arrogant attitude and mentality and who want to talk to the Iranian nation and its officials should know that this is not acceptable and is condemned by the Iranian nation and officials," Sayyed Khamenei said, in a New Year address to the nation, in reference to the United States.


"You cannot talk about peace and friendship and at the same time plot and plan sedition and think that you can hurt the regime of the Islamic republic of Iran," his eminence said addressing the Americans.


Sayyed Khamenei said that the enemies of the Islamic republic had plans to start a "civil war" after last June elections.


Blaming the United States and Israel for much of the unrest after the presidential election, Sayyed Khamenei said that "the enemies wanted to divide the people... and to create a civil war, but the nation was alert."


"If they were able to do it, the US and Zionist regime would have sent troops to Tehran's streets, but they knew it would hurt them. Thus they spread propaganda and supported the rioters."


On Saturday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the government will in the new Iranian year continue the path of progress more speedily, using all national capacities.


Delivering his New Year televised address to the nation, Ahmadinejad said the presidential elections, featured by unprecedented and epic presence of a wise nation in the polls, challenged the world's unilateralist system, proving glory, majesty and righteousness of Iranian nation.


Pointing to the drawn out protests against the election results, Ahmadinejad said that "the enemies tried to prevent the luster of the Iranian nation …by throwing dust towards the sun, but in reality they threw dust on their own faces and the grandeur of the Iranian nation dazzled the eyes of the world."


"The enemies… must know that the Iranian nation today is much happier, kinder, more determined and stronger than the past year."

River to Sea
 Uprooted Palestinian

A progressive interpretation of women’s issues in Islam

Article Author :Dima al-Azem

Islam has evolved over the course of historic and cultural events spanning more than a millennia. It has proven to be a dynamic and progressive faith capable of adapting without conflicting with modernity. The concept of ‘Ijtihad,’ or reinterpretation, is central to this flexibility in Islam. It allows for the redefinition of religious laws and practices in contemporary terms. Now more than ever, the Muslim world needs a modern Islamic reinterpretation of women’s rights that is responsive to their contemporary challenges and aspirations.

Poorly devised and institutionalized laws directing the lives of women throughout the Muslim world are furthering their disadvantaged and dependent status. Dominant interpretations of Shari’ah are largely outdated and unreceptive to the needs and aspirations of modern women. The impact is not only emotional. Studies show economic, social, and cultural implications stemming from legal discrimination against women, some of them dire. That is to say nothing of the severe repercussions on family life, the most basic- and fundamental- unit in Islam.

Whether we are talking about divorce, child custody, or inheritance, women suffer a clear disadvantage from a legal stand-point. Destitute women, of whom there is no shortage across the Muslim world, are particularly vulnerable. Dependent on the men around them for a wide array of ba-sic necessities, impoverished and uneducated, they have little legal recourse but to plead for help.
In light of the untenable and unsustainable model espoused by a majority of Muslim countries, it is important for us to un-veil some deep-seated assumptions about the rights of women in Islam that contribute to the durability of their subjugation. While some Muslim countries are leading the emancipation of women through legal and institutional reforms, a contemporary perspective on women’s rights in Islam at large needs to be drawn up. Central to this is a revised legal system for civic, family, divorce, and inheritance laws.

Before looking at one specific issue which plagues Muslim women in some depth, I would like to share a few observations. Culture and tradition play an important role in shaping religion and ideology . Historically, political, religious, and legal authorities defined Islam based on their own interpretations, which were often highly charged with prejudice. We have inherited their legacies and are dealing with them today, thousands of years after they were written. Yet very often we give these interpretations a sacred mask that is off-limits, despite the fact that they are the product of human interpretation, not divine revelation.

I have always held that Islam could not be unfair towards women in the form it is practiced or portrayed. I wonder how many of us have actually thought about remedies for some of the unjust practices targeting women, such as the compulsory veil, segregation, inheritance, divorce and custody of children, domestic abuse, or polygamy.

Most of us rarely debate or even question the authenticity of inherited Islamic practices. We seldom challenge the lens through which we perceive Islamic Law (Shari’a). We fear the slightest deviation from traditional beliefs that make up our social fabric. For many of us, Ijtihad is not even on the horizon. This needs to change if we expect to reclaim our legitimate place among our male peers.
Allow me to shed some light on one issue- polygamy- which continues to penetrate the lives and honor of Muslim women. In pre-Islamic Arabia, polygamy was limitless. The Quran is believed to have restricted this practice to four wives, while allowing a woman not more than one husband at a time. (The reason behind the restriction for women was to keep the patriarchal family intact and avoid confusion over lineage). It is assumed that following a military bat-tle between Muslims and the ruling tribe of Mecca, where sixty five women became widows- six years after Khadijah’s death- the verse recommending taking up to four wives was revealed.

Surah: 4 verse: 3 states: «And if you fear that you will not deal fairly by the orphans, marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four; and if you fear that you cannot do justice (to so many) then one (only) or (the captives) that your right hands possess. Thus it is more likely that you will not do injustice» Another verse addressing men’s treatment of their wives and the challenge of dealing with them as equals is verse 129

in Surah 4: “You will not be able to deal equally between (your) wives, however much you wish (to do so). But turn not altogether away from (one), leaving her as in suspense. If you do good and keep from evil, lo! Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.» Muslim theorists and early scholars that have studied polygamy attributed to it several justifications. None of these, how-ever, are implicitly or explicitly mentioned in the Quran.

The Prophet’s monogamous marriage to Khadijah bint Khwailed lasted for twenty-four years. It was only after her death that Prophet Mohammad (Peace be Upon Him) became polygamous, when he married up to eight or nine times, all of whom, with the exception of Aisha bint Abi-Taleb, were widows.

Traditional justifications for polygamy vary. One sets polygamy as a solution to economic and social needs, where a financially-capable man sponsors and cares for more than one needy woman. The problem here is the assumption that women can not be independent or self-reliant. Another justification is when a man’s first wife becomes barren or sick. Yet another certifies that since a man’s biological factors bring about unconstrained sexual de-sire, he should be given license to marry several wives.

All these arguments have no authentic basis in Islam and should therefore not be ratified. In fact, the only verse allowing men to take up to four wives is the one cited above, which clearly indicates that polygamy was permitted to ensure the welfare of orphans. Looking at what some progressive thinkers have to offer in this respect, Amina Wadud of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) interprets the polygamy verse as being mainly concerned with justice. Wadud sees the origins of polygamy linked to the treatment of orphans and believes that men were given the responsibility of managing the welfare of orphaned children- if they were incapable of doing so in a just manner they could take them as wives to avoid any «unjust mismanagement.»

She argues that monogamy is preferred in light of both verses (4:3)and (4:129), and adds that polygamy could be self-defeating if the husband-father is split between families. Similarly, Geraldine Brooks, the Australian author and journalist, argues that verse (4:3)restricts the number of wives a man can take at one time, and that in any case polygamy is not favored in the Quran. She equates polygamy to slavery in that respect:: «As with polygamy, the wording of Koran permits, but discourages, slavery.» John L. Esposito of Georgetown University believes that polygamy may be restricted or even banned since men are incapable of being fair and equal polygamists.

Esposito sheds light on the historical and social contexts in which the verse on polygamy was revealed, with reference to the troubled circumstances that characterized the times, such as the widespread practice of limitless polygamy and the high number of widows resulting from the Battle of Uhud.

Moreover, Esposito highlights a tendency in the Quran that favors a gradual approach to eliminate social ills over absolute prohibition (except in some cases such as female infanticide). The limitation to four wives at one time could be perceived as the first step in a gradual process that would eventually lead to a ban on polygamy, similar to that on slavery. Religious scholars must move beyond the literal substance of the Quran to reach out to its deeper- and greater- intent.

According to Mohammad Shahrour, an Islamic researcher from Syria, the two preconditions for polygamy are that the second wife must be a widow with orphaned children and that the man is marrying her to prevent unfair treatment of her orphans. Shahrour defines “orphan” as a juvenile who has not reached puberty, has lost his or her father, and lives with his or her mother.

The verse says: «And if you fear that you will not deal fairly by the Orphans, marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four….» Shahrour refutes the interpretation of this verse suggesting the man should marry the orphans: he holds that “women» can not be orphans as they have reached puberty. While we should not expect unanimity among scholars of Islam on the issue of polygamy, or any other issue for that matter, exploring the flexibility of our heritage exposes the differences- sometimes irrec-oncilable- between a man and a woman’s vision of the rights and role of women in Islam. The inclusion of women in reinterpreting Islamic texts can go a long way in bringing about much needed social and legal reform. Eliminating gender discrimination rooted in outdated interpretations of Islam will not only help lift us from our dependence on males in our personal affairs. It can help reduce the rampant poverty across the Muslim world. Education, training, and job opportunities for women, for example, not only enhance her financial situation but also her health and that of her family. Studies by international development organizations suggest that a small investment in poor areas produces better results when entrusted to a woman. Islam has been used in many cases to introduce a fundamentalist ideology that is highly restrictive of women’s rights. The fact is that Islamic- particularly family- laws formulated by men centuries after the death of Prophet Mohammad (Peace be Upon Him) are still effective and strongly reflected in legislation today, placing women at a distinct disadvantage. Quranic interpretations are susceptible to social, historical, or gender biases. Shari’a was formulated by men between the l0th and the l2th centuries, long after the Prophet’s death, and presented to Muslims as authentic teachings. Since then, some of the original values of Islam have been altogether abandoned or manipulated. Ijtihad can help us retrieve those values and enhance our lot as women. We have been given a mechanism to lift our-selves out of the degraded, dependent and intolerable status we find ourselves in. Let’s use 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 this Blog!

Intifada engulfs Jerusalem

Al-Ahram Weekly

Palestinian youths clash with Israeli soldiers throughout the West Bank in defence of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Arab-Muslim identity, writes Khaled Amayreh in occupied Jerusalem Sporadic but violent clashes between stone-hurling Palestinian youths and fully armed Israeli soldiers continued to rage all over the occupied territories for the fourth consecutive day following the opening of a large synagogue near the Haram Al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) compound that is home to some of Islam’s holiest shrines. Palestinian medical sources said that more than 100 people were injured Tuesday and Wednesday in confrontations described as the most violent in several years. As many as 50 people were injured by rubber-coated bullets, including seven sustaining moderate to serious injuries in their eyes. One protester, Rami Othman Abu Gharbiya, reportedly lost an eye. Two people — a foreign journalist and a Palestinian — were shot and injured by live bullets. By mid-day Tuesday, the clashes had spread to the bulk of East Jerusalem’s neighbourhoods, including Shufat, Wadi Al-Joz, Isawiya, Sur Baher, Abu Dis and Silwan, as Israel deployed more than 4,000 paramilitary policemen to “maintain law and order” in the occupied Arab city. Several West Bank towns, such as Hebron and Ramallah, also saw local youths hurl stones on Israeli occupation troops who responded with rubber-coated bullets, live munitions, tear gas, and stun grenades. In the Gaza Strip, thousands of people marched in the streets in protest against Israeli measures in East Jerusalem. Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Gaza-based government run by Hamas, saluted the protesters, saying the Palestinians had to show their anger in the face of “these Israeli provocations”. Two weeks ago, Haniyeh called for a third Intifada — or uprising — in reaction to “the demographic war” he said Israel was waging against the Palestinians in Jerusalem. Some Fatah leaders, too, have been urging “a popular Palestinian response” to Israel’s efforts to “besiege Arab and Islamic presence in Jerusalem”. Hatem Abdel-Qader, a former Fatah minister and an East Jerusalem citizen, accused the Ramallah authorities of suppressing anti-Israeli protests on Israel’s behalf. Following his remarks, Abdel-Qader reportedly received a stern warning from the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership asking him not to criticise PA handling of the latest unrest. By time of Al-Ahram Weekly going to press, clashes were reported in Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah as tension remained high despite concerted efforts by the PA to restore calm, lest “things get out of our hands”. PA officials have accused Hamas of triggering the latest spate of unrest, arguing that a violent Intifada at this time would not be in the best interests of the Palestinian people. Yasser Abed Rabbo said Palestinian factions would meet this week to decide what options to pursue in response to “this unbearable Israeli insolence”. “We do support calculated, conscious and non-lethal protests, but we have to avoid bloodshed.” The PA is finding itself in a sensitive position in having to suppress protests, in implementation of security commitments and understandings with Israel. However, doing so portrays the Ramallah-based regime as being at Israel’s beck and call. Earlier, the Hamas leadership in Damascus called on Palestinians to observe a “day of anger” to protest against unrelenting Israeli efforts to Judaise East Jerusalem and erase its Arab-Muslim identity. The group’s leader, Khaled Meshaal, accused Israel of using the “false peace process” as a cover for “the policy of creeping Judaisation”. Meshaal and other Islamist leaders castigated the West-backed PA for suppressing Palestinian protests. The outbreak of protests came after an Israeli government-backed Jewish society opened a vast synagogue in close vicinity to the Dome of the Rock, also known as the Mosque of Omar. During the lavish ceremony marking the inauguration of the synagogue, which dates back no further than the British Mandate era, calls were made by Jewish extremists demanding that Israel take over Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to enable building the Second Temple they believe will foreshadow the second coming of Christ. Such calls are made routinely in Israel and the Israeli authorities generally refrain from arresting the fanatics for incitement to violence. In recent weeks and months, government-backed Jewish fanatics advocating the demolition of Al-Aqsa Mosque have been regularly storming the Haram Al-Sharif esplanade, aiming to “gain a foothold” and conduct “prayer rites”. The recurrent provocations have nearly always led to the storming of the compound by Israeli police forces once Palestinian protesters resist the attempts. Israel has also been provoking Palestinians by announcing plans to demolish thousands of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967, to build in the stead more apartments for Jewish settlers. Last week, the Israeli government announced plans to build 1,600 settler units in East Jerusalem, sparking a mini-crisis with Washington that demanded the cancellation of the plan. Much of the international community, including the European Union and the US, has repeatedly urged Israel to freeze settlement expansion in occupied Arab territories, including East Jerusalem, but to no avail. This week, visiting Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed dissatisfaction with Israel’s behaviour by refusing to lay a wreath at the grave of Theodor Herzl, largely viewed as the father of Zionism. The symbolic step angered Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Leiberman who boycotted Lula’s speech at the Knesset.

River to Sea
 Uprooted Palestinian