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May 7, 2012
Daily Summary 05/01/2012
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PRESIDENT ABBAS DECALRES FROM TUNISIA HIS INTENTION TO TURN TO THE UN ON THE PRISONERS CAUSE
President Mahmoud Abbas announced during a speech last Monday before the Tunisian Constituent Assembly the intention of the Palestinian leadership to raise the prisoners` affair at the UN.
Also, Abbas reiterated his call on the Israeli side to halt settlement activities, recognize a solution and implement signed agreements pertinent to releasing all prisoners. Abbas stressed he is ready to engage in negotiations while concurrently turning to the UN because there is no contradiction between the two actions, citing that negotiations are necessary to discuss the details of the seven common affairs between the Israelis and the Palestinians. “these affairs cannot be solved at the UN; the UN could give us a state membership or a non-state membership but not more than this and thus our disputed affairs could be resolved in negotiations as soon as the Israeli side wishes to move forward with negotiations”, Abbas said.
Abbas emphasized “if Israel would accept to halt settlement actions, recognize the two-state solution and release prisoners according to the agreements, we would head to negotiations, but we will also remain steadfast in our homeland if it would not accept that”. He added: “there is another step ahead of us as we may turn again to the UN General Assembly to apply for statehood to Palestine. This will happen by God`s will in the next stage depending on the course of things between us and the Israelis”.
With regard to the national reconciliation, Abbas stressed the necessity of implementing the Palestinian national reconciliation pact and the formation of an interim government consisting of technocrats who will be in charge of rebuilding the Gaza strip and supervising the election.
(http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/351795)


ABBAS COMMISSIONS FAYYAD TO FORM A NEW GOVERNMENT AND FATAH CENTRAL COMMITTEE WILL NOT DISCUSS THE NAMES OF MINISTERS
“al-Quds al-Arabi” has learned from well-informed Palestinian sources that the current premier Salam Fayyad has already started working on the formation of a new government that will be sworn in before the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas considering that the PLC is totally suspended.
The sources said that the meeting that was held between Abbas and Fayyad last week resulted in a concession from the side of the latter, who sought partial government reshuffle, after he has accepted to conduct a total government reshuffle which Fayyad insisted on. The sources added that the change will not necessary include all current ministers as they may remain in their posts in addition to six or seven new ministers.
“Al-Quds al-Arabi” has also learned that there is a “very big” dispute between Abbas and Fayyad over the minister foreign affairs Riad al-Maleki; while the latter insists not to join him in the upcoming government composition Abbas clings to him and rejects to replace him. As for the interior minister Said Ali, he will remain in his post whereas the former president of Birzeit University Nabil Qassis will assume the finance portfolio. Also, the total government reshuffle will include the ministries of justice, labor, national economy, public work and housing, agriculture, communication and telecommunications, education and culture and women`s affairs. A number of the current ministers will continue assuming their posts including Sa`di al-Krunz as minister of transpirations, Issa Qaraqei` as minister of prisoners and ex-prisoners affairs and Mahmoud al-Habbash as minister of Waqfs.
The sources also cited that the new government composition will not be displayed at the Fatah Central Committee for discussion of the names of ministers but it will rather be only notified with the final names according to Abbas`s promise to Fayyad. (http://www.alquds.co.uk/scripts/print.asp?fname=data\2012\04\04-30\30qpt955.htm)


THE ISLAMIC JIHAD: INTENSIVE CONTACTS WITH EGYPT TO RESCUE THE LIFE OF HALAHLEH AND DHIAB; DEATH OF ANY OF THE HUNGER STRIKERS WILL END THE CALM
The Islamic Jihad movement said that its leadership, on top of it secretary general Ramadan Shallah, is exerting enormous effort to rescues the life of prisoners who have been on hunger strike, particularly Bilal Dhiab and Thaer Halahleh, who have been on hunger strike for 65 days. Spokesperson of the movement said that Shallah and other movement`s leaders continue these effort during their ongoing visit in Egypt. (Al-Quds)
Islamic Jihad`s leader Khader Habib said that “the martyrdom of Bilal Dhiab or Thaer Halahleh or any other prisoner will put an end to the calm and the occupation will be held responsible for the consequences”. Habib`s statement was articulated during an urgent press conference that was held yesterday in wake of news about transferring prisoners Dhiab and Halahleh to “Asaf Harofeh” hospital after a very grave deterioration in their medical condition. (http://www.maanews.net/arb/Print.aspx?ID=481268)


HEAD OF ISRAELI PRISON SERVICE MEETS WITH THE PRIOSNERS` LEADERSHIP AND SAADAT CONFIRMS CONTINUING HIS STRIKE
Secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Ahmad Saadat confirmed that he will continue being on hunger strike until the fulfillment of all fair and humane demands of the prisoners` movement. He called during a visit yesterday by the attorney of “Addameer” human rights group Mahmoud Hassan in Ramleh prison hospital “on all our people, the Arab nation, the friendly forces and the free people all over the world to support their struggle that is integral to our national struggle against the occupation”. Saadat also called on president Abbas and the Palestinian leadership to support the prisoners` struggle at all fronts in order to lay the foundations for a new era in which the Palestinian prisoners will be treated as war prisoners.
Hassan said that Saadat`s medical condition is in constant deterioration and that he only drinks water as the prison service refuses to give him salt, in a blatant violation to the international law.
“Yedeot Ahronot” website reported last Monday that head of the Israeli prison service Aharon Franco met at “Hadarim” prison with prisoners` leadership, including Marwan al-Barghouthi, and informed them that the committee in charge of studying their demands has concluded its work and will present its recommendations within ten days. However, the prisoners stressed that the strike will be broaden to include the entire prisoners if their demands will not be met by next Wednesday.
(http://www.arabs48.com/?mod=articles&ID=91128)


ISRAEL ALLOCATES 25 MILLION NIS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IN “MIGRON”, DECIDES TO EXPAND THE SETTLMENTS OF “ADAM”, “TAL MAKHMAR” AND “NABI SALEH”, AND THE CONFISCATION OF 15 DUNAMS IN “YANBOU`” AREA TO BUILD A SETTLEMENT
The Israeli humans rights group “B`Tslem” disclosed a plan that was approved by the so-called Civil Administration in the beginning of last week according to decisions by the Israeli government to expand the two settlements of “Adam” and “Tal Makhmar” by threefold which would entail broad confiscation of Palestinian lands.
Also, the Israeli government decided to consecrate the illegal settlement outpost in Nabi Saleh area, and allocated 5 million NIS to build there eleven housing units and more 22 housing units in a later stage after the completion of the infrastructure.
B`Tslem pointed out that the residents of “Migron” should have been transferred to Adam settlement four years ago but now they will have new housing units on a nearby location according to most recent solution by the government.
Meanwhile, a group of Palestinian activists reported that settlers have commenced with building a new settlement outpost on “Yanbou`” area, that belongs to Nabi Saleh village, north of Ramallah city. (Al-Quds)  

A-ZAHHAR: I OBTAINED AN EGYPTIAN CITIZENSHIP AFTER THE REVOLUTION AND WILL VOTE FOR AN ISLAMIST CANDIDATE
Hamas leader Mahmoud a-Zahhar unveiled that he has recently obtained Egyptian citizenship after the activation of a law that allows Palestinians whose mothers hold Egyptian nationality to get Egyptian citizenship.
A-Zahhar said in a special interview to the “BBC” which will be broadcasted on Tuesday that he has the right to vote for the Egyptian presidential election and “I will certainly vote for an Islamist candidate”.
With regard to the Palestinian affair, a-Zahhar affirmed that the Palestinian reconciliation is on hold and that Hamas movement has conditions that the Palestinian president should implement in order to form a Palestinian government and prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections. He added that president Abbas “should guarantee to Hamas supporters freedom of activity in the West Bank where they face harassments and ban of their political activities; Abbas should also ensure holding the election in Jerusalem city”. (http://www.alquds.co.uk/scripts/print.asp?fname=data\2012\04\04-30\30z497.htm)


QATARI FUEL SHIP ENTERS SUEZ CANAL ON ROUTE TO GAZA
The deposed government in the Gaza strip has been in contact with the Egyptian authorities to arrange the entry of fuel that is boarded on a Qatari ship into the Gaza strip via Rafah crossing instead of Abu Salem crossing that Israel insists on.  
Head of information department in the Energy Authority Ahmad Abu al-O`mrein said that “the Qatari ship arrived at Suez seaport and has been unloaded, and talks are underway on the mechanism to enter the fuel into Gaza via Karm Abu Salem crossing”.
The Qatari ship was loaded with 25 tons of fuel that could operate the power plant in the Gaza strip for two months. (http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/351760)


FOLLOWING PRESSURE ON GAZA-BASED HAMAS, AHMAD YOUSEF DISCLOSES A NEW AGREEMENT TO ADVANCE THE RECONCILIATION
Hamas leader Ahmad Yousef said that an agreement will be announced within days on activating the issue of reconciliation, expecting this agreement to include permitting the Central Election Committee to work in the Gaza strip. Yousef said: “I expect the issue of reconciliation to be finalized within days, mainly in light of moves by Hamas leaders in Cairo with the Egyptian intelligence and political leadership”.   (http://www.samanews.com/index.php?act=Show&id=125684)

Israel will establish a hotel in a settlement neighborhood in East Jerusalem
The planning and building committee in the Jerusalem Municipality has prepared maps to build a hotel in the “Givaat Hamatos” settlement neighborhood, south of occupied Jerusalem. “Haaretz” newspaper reported today that the hotel which will consist of 1,100 rooms will be established on a hill nearby Beit Safafa on Palestinian territories occupied in 1967.
A district planning and building committee has already approved the building of 2,610 housing units in the area as a first stage and will soon ratify another 1,400 housing units as a second stage. The hotel will be constructed as part of a fourth stage of the plan.
(http://www.wafa.ps/arabic/index.php?action=detail&id=129799)

Abbas welcomes the decision of Estonia to upgrade the Palestinian diplomatic legation
President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed yesterday a decision by the Republic of Estonia to upgrade the Palestinian diplomatic legation to a diplomatic mission. He also applauded the bilateral ties between the two countries and highly appreciated Estonia`s supportive stances towards the Palestinian national rights. (Al-Ayyam)

On International Labor Day: two-thirds of Palestinian prisoners are hardworking laborers
A recent report prepared by researcher of prisoners` affairs Abdel Nasser Farawaneh shows that “over half of arrests since 1967 have targeted the sector of Palestinian laborers`”, saying these arrests were not limited to those involved in direct resistance against the occupation and its forces and establishments, but also targeted laborers while on their way to work under the pretext of lack of work permits in Israeli-controlled areas. Farawaneh said that almost two-thirds of the prisoners who are currently inside the Israeli jails are hardworking laborers, adding that the occupation authorities frequently arrest laborers to apply pressure on them and bargain over their access to work places in exchange with their collaboration with the occupation.
Farawaneh also highlights in his report that the sector of Palestinian laborers in the Gaza Strip is the most damaged as it is living under the most inhumane and deteriorated conditions due to the strangulating siege for several years, the lack of employment projects and job opportunities in addition to the destruction of hundreds of factories, high unemployment rates and the disunity of social texture due to the ongoing division. (http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/351856)


Capitals of countries removed from London Olympics` website after Israel protested naming Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine
The names of capitals of countries have been removed from the official website of London Olympics after the Israeli Olympic committee protested naming Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
The London Olympics website published a list of the countries that will participate in the next Olympic Games that will be held in London on July 27 and will last for 88 days. In the profile information about Palestine, the website indicated that the population of Palestine stands at 3,101,000 million and its area extends on 6,020 kilometers. It also said that US dollar is the official currency there and that “Fidae`i” is the national anthem composed by Ali Ismail and written by Said al-Muzayyen. (http://www.alquds.co.uk/scripts/print.asp?fname=latest\data\2012-04-30-16-39-06.htm)


Israeli expert banned from delivering a speech in the UK
The UK “National Health Services” (NHS) banned an Israeli attorney by the name of Moti Kristal, an expert in conflict resolution and crisis management, from delivering a speech next week in Manchester city in front of senior directors in the UK health sector.
“Haaretz” reported that the expert was informed about the cancelation of his lecture last Friday following enormous pressure applied by the UK “UNISON”, which emphasized that this decision is in compliance with the general policy of the union and the official stance of the “TUC” that advocates the Palestinian people. (http://www.maannews.net/arb/Print.aspx?ID=481192)

Headlines

* Al-Ahmad: the president has pursued consultations on the government reshuffle.  (Al Quds)
* Launch of the activities of the celebrations from Jerusalem, the laborers of Palestine join the world in marking the World Labor Day. (Al Quds)
* Majdalani: servants` salary will be disbursed on due date. (Al Quds)
* Withdrawal of four leaders from the Forum of Independent personalities in Gaza. (Al Quds)
* The Islamic Cooperation: $65 million to support the medical sector in Gaza strip. (Al-Quds)
* PCBS: unemployment rate rises in the Palestinian territories. (Al-Quds)
* Arrestment of five Egyptians and one Palestinian who carried machine guns in al-Abbasiyyeh. (Al-Quds)
* Bloody blasts in Syria amidst broadened observer mission. (Al-Quds)
* An Israeli human rights group warns: the two prisoners on hunger strike Halahleh and Dhiab enter life-threatening situation. (Al Ayyam)
* The occupation opens part of Ramallah-al-Beireh-Nablus old route.  Ayyam)
* Netanyahu tends towards early Knesset election to benefit from his popularity. (Al-Ayyam)
* Israel starts building separation wall at the borders with Lebanon. (Al-Ayyam)
* Decision on charges of corruption against Lieberman within weeks. (Al-Ayyam)
(Al-Ayyam)
* Ashkenazi and Dagan: Assad`s fall is good to Israel and a Sunni regime should be established in Syria. (Al-Ayyam)
* A US president burns Quran texts to urge Iran to release a Christian cleric. (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)

Front Page Photos

Al-Quds: 1) Jenin Camp- freed prisoner Khader Adnan, a symbol of hunger striker prisoners who forced the Israeli government after being on hunger strike for 65 days to surrender to his demands and release him, during an interview to Reuters.  
Al-Ayyam:  1) The president speaking in front of the Tunisian Constituent Assembly yesterday; 2) Hebron- a female citizens taking part in a solidarity sit-in with the prisoners in front of the ICRC headquarter yesterday; 3) Israeli soldiers protecting a bulldozer during the start of building a separation wall at the border with Lebanon near al-Mtelleh yesterday.
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida:  1) A child between signs during a solidarity sit in with the prisoners in Ramallah; 2) the president while delivering a speech at the Tunisian Constituent Assembly; 3) UNIFIL forces watching the Lebanese side while the Israeli army is leveling land to build a wall.

Voice of Palestine Interviews

**Shaher Saad, Secretary general of labor unions, on Labor Day and the death of a Palestinian labor inside the Green Line
Q: The death of this laborer raises the question of the rights of laborers inside Israel. Are they guaranteed?

First let me salute all of our martyrs among the laborers who died trying to make a living. I salute all of our laborers on Labor Day. Back to the subject, of course there are many violations against our laborers inside the Green Line. For example, the worker who died: we are trying to find ways of obtaining his rights and compensation from this work accident. We were shocked to find out that his boss denied that he ever worked for him, saying he came to the workplace only so that he could sleep under the workers’ awning or hide at night, where he died. this is a real tragedy for Palestinian laborers inside the Green Line and who do not have any official permits to enter Israel.

Q: Do you have details about circumstances surrounding his death?
He fell off a building during work. There is proof that he works for this boss. But because he is working “illegally” the boss knows there will be a problem with the Israeli employment office. So there are so many violations against these workers. The salaries are low and the work hours are humiliating. They have to go around checkpoints to get in. This worker entered Israel on a commercial permit. Others are smuggled through.

Q: Is there no coordination between you and Israeli unionists from the Histadrut on this subject?
To be quite frank, the Israelis do not recognize any worker who is “illegal’ because they cannot defend their rights; the standards are not applied to them. This is a very thorny issue. Even the courts refuse to look into cases for these unofficial workers.

Q: Is there any way to follow this case up legally?
I call on the workers who worked with him not to compromise with the boss and try to get his rights. He has a child and one on the way, so his family needs this. So, if his fellow workers vouch for him the boss will want to settle by giving the family a certain amount of compensation money. We will follow this up as much as possible.

Q: What about the rights of workers in PA territories. We expected that by May 1 there would be a set minimum wage. This hasn’t happened. Why?
No matter what everyone is saying, we are insistent on one thing – the minimum wage must acceptable in regards to the living conditions, rising costs, to prices, etc. We have heard promises that there would be a minimum wage set by Labor Day to end the exploitation of workers. But the private sector has called for the postponement of this so they could ‘further study it’. Unfortunately, the government was biased towards the private sector and backtracked on declaring the minimum wage. In the end the cabinet is the party that decides at the end. Not specifying minimum wage is collective punishment for all workers, especially female workers. Some female workers are still getting 65 Jordanian Dinars a month. This is wrong.

**Abla Saadat, wife of PFLP Secretary General Ahmad Saadat, currently on hunger strike and in the Ramleh Prison Hospital
Q: What news do you have about Ahmad Saadat and his health condition?

I would like to salute all of our prisoners in Israeli prisons and say that your unity is our unity. We are depending on you to encourage our people to go out into the streets to support the prisoner movement. As for Ahmad, his lawyer has reassured us of his health condition; it is stable but he has been on hunger strike for the past 15 days and is continuing with it. on Thursday, he was taken to hospital. This is Ahmad’s second hunger strike within the course of six months, which no doubt would affect the health of anyone of his age. We are worried about him and about his insistence to continue his strike until all the prisoners’ demands are met.

Q: What is Saadat’s and the other prisoners’ opinion on who international organizations are dealing with their situation?
The international organizations and the Palestinian street are unfortunately still not rising to the occasion – at the official and popular levels. If we do not all move together, our prisoner will lose this battle. Yesterday, Ahmad sent a message to our people to mobilize around the prisoner strike in activities. The prisoners feel this lack of involvement.  They watch Palestine TV. They see the empty solidarity tents and the small marches. It is always the same people who participate in these marches. I am calling on all the people to consider this their personal cause. These men and women are not in prison for their own purposes and reasons. They are there for Palestine. We all need to move so we can make this battle shorter and not have to watch any of them die.

**Karim Ajwa, Prisoner Affairs Ministry attorney, on the prisoner strike
Q: Do you have the number of prisoners who will join the hunger strike today?

There are now over 2,000 prisoners on strike. Every day, we hear from attorneys who visit the prisons about more prisoners joining. Today, we heard there will be many more joining.

Q: Will today see the strike taken to a new level?
The prisoners have escalated their strike ever since they began on April 17. If Israel’s prison services do not respond positively to their demands, the prisoners plan to take it up a notch at a time where all of the prisoners will join the open hunger strike. They are not demanding impossible things – just rights.

Q: If their demands are not met, are the prisoners thinking to take the strike all the way like the Irish?
The prisoners have said repeatedly that they will not halt their strike until their demands are met. So, if they get a negative response from Israel, it is only natural that they will escalate the strike. Yesterday, we visited Ahmad Saadat in the Ramleh Hospital. Even in hospital, he was put in an isolated room.

**Omar Nasser, public relations and media officer in the ministry of health on the Islamic cooperation organization conference on Gaza
Q: Do you find such conferences fruitful in terms of solving the health crisis in the Gaza Strip

We hope so. It was held on the 29th in Cairo and the participants discussed the health situation in Gaza. I think the conference was successful because it promised to meet the needs of the Strip with over $60 million. We hope these promises will be fulfilled.

Q: The PA says it spent $7 billion on the Gaza Strip to meet the medical and health needs of its people so far. Where is the problem in terms of lack of medicines then?
This was mentioned in the conference and the PA’s transfer of this amount over the past five years in addition to what the health ministry does in Gaza including paying salaries of health employees. But the problem has escalated recently due to the financial crisis from which the PA is suffering and how this has reflected on the health ministry and the people there. There is also a medicine crisis in the West Bank – there is a shortage of 200 types of medicines.

Q: You said there was a need to build a new pharmaceutical warehouse in Gaza because the old one is not sufficient anymore. Why is that?
We talked about three points: the first is regularly supplying Gaza with medicines; the second is the need to employ a representative for Prince Nayef oncology center in Gaza. The Saudis said they were planning to get this up and running by July; the third was to build a warehouse. The existing ones were built in 1998; they are well equipped but are no longer big enough to meet the needs.

Q: Did Hamas participate in this conference and are there any obstacles that may get in the way of everything you mentioned before?
We consider our people in Gaza as hostages to Hamas’ coup; Still the PA has a responsibility to provide medicine, electricity and water to Gaza. We know that on the ground, Hamas runs affairs but in the end we are concerned with protecting ill patients in Gaza above all. There were Hamas representatives at the conference who were there in a technical capacity.

**Mustapha Bargthouti Secretary General of Palestinian National Initiative
Q: In Cairo, you met with Egyptian intelligence officials. Are there are any efforts to resume reconciliation talks?

Definitely there are rumblings. No one can possibly accept the stalemate that reconciliation efforts have reached and the lack of implementation of the agreement. There are efforts to get out of this crisis namely the effort to start voter registration in Gaza to begin the election process in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem. We also are trying to get the ball rolling to form a unity government. Additionally, there is the question of guaranteeing public liberties and implementing the decisions of the liberties committee. I met with Egyptian intelligence chief Murad Muwafi and also with Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal in Cairo. We are all trying to get out of this problem. The people cannot tolerate this split anymore. I hope this works because to be honest, the Arab world has its own problems and the world is fine with the current stagnation and turns a blind eye to Israel’s violations.  We are the only ones who can solve our own problem.

Q: What was your impression after your meeting with Khaled Meshaal? Is there a sea of difference between Hamas and Fatah?
I think there are a lot of people who want to get out of this crisis. This is what I felt during this meeting. There is also a desire to overcome the hardships and obstacles. There are enough forces on both sides who want to end this and are sincere about it. But there are also those who are trying to impede any progress. Our focus should be to unite all of the positive forces. We should ask ourselves this question: How does our generation of officials and leaders want to be described in Palestinian history in 20 or 30 years? This is a very big responsibility.

Q: We agree that there are those who are benefiting from the split. Has it reached the point where there is a complete separation between these interests and the actual split?
No doubt, there are parties who are benefiting from the split. If we deny this we will be denying the reality. But the majority of the people know that the split works against their interests.

Arab Press

Palestinian reconciliation or the conflict of interests?
By Mohammed Saleh Al Musfir


(1)I have not addressed the Palestinian question for over a year in spite of the temptation to do so. Still, I have not stopped following up on the events and developments in this arena. The Palestinian case is not exclusive to Fatah and Hamas, for their followers and supporters to analyze and dissect as they wish. The Palestinian cause is an Arab cause and it is the right of any Arab to address it and criticizes or guide the performance of its resistance factions. The sound resistance is the one that seeks to achieve the Palestinian people’s demands of return and compensation for the land that has been abused for over 60 years by European Jews who were exported to Palestine. We must know that all of the instability in the Arab world is due to what happened and is still happening in Palestine and to its people since 1948. In some Arab countries, military coups took place with its main slogan being the liberation of Palestine. King Faisal was assassinated because he insisted that the Palestinian people must return to its holy land, Palestine. Even the Arab Spring revolutions came in order to rectify the conditions in these countries in order to liberate Palestine. Even the Shah of Iran was ousted from his throne by a popular revolution which, among other priorities as to liberate Palestine. What is happening in Syria today is, at the core, for the sake of Palestine in addition to the concerns and demands of the Syrian people. the government of Bashaar Al Assad is fighting the Syrian people with weapons that were promised for the liberation of Palestine and its pledges to fight the enemies and the collaborators with Israel.  The revolutionary side is fighting the regime, its army and armed gangs for, among other things, to also liberate Palestine and the Golan Heights.
(2) Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and the return of some PLO cadres to Gaza, the Palestinian resistance was in retreat until after the Aqsa Intifada and the rising role of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in armed resistance. Fatah’s armed role retreated while it adopted the approach of negotiations. After Mahmoud Abbas became president, it has taken on the role of distributing charity to its followers and isolating its military and political members who call for an active armed resistance against the enemy, which only understands force. Thus, the members of the movement who are affiliated with Abbas’ leadership and believe in negotiating approach have become caretakers of Israel; they have prevented the resistance from carrying out its role in the West Bank. What’s worse, Fatah leaders aligned with Abbas have begun to pursue Islamic Jihad and Hamas members in the West Bank to make it easier for the Israelis to arrest them.
(3) Since 2005 and after the Gaza events in which most Fatah cadres aligned with Mohammed Dahlan left the Strip and Hamas took over, security finally prevailed and resistance took flight again. Unfortunately, a siege was imposed on it which the PA helped to impose, which is still in place to this day.
In this period, there was a successive process called ‘reconciliation” that took place between Hamas and Fatah. Meetings were held in Cairo, to Mecca, Sanaa’ to Dakar, the most recent being in Doha. All of these efforts ended in failure for one main reason, which is the agenda of both parties. Hamas’ agenda is based on reinstating the resistance in all of its forms; the Islamic Jihad and others support this position. Fatah’s agenda, meanwhile, is to reject the resistance and to suffice with peaceful negotiations.  Hence, the two agendas can never meet. But if we look at the results of negotiations since 1993 until today, we will find that they did not reap any achievements for the Palestinians; instead, Israel expanded its settlements, continued to Judaize Jerusalem, isolate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, besiege the Strip, assassinate Yasser Arafat, weaken the PLO factions and divide Fatah among itself.
Some may ask what Hamas and Jihad’s resistance achieved? We say the right circumstances have not been given to the resistance to throw Israel’s internal front into confusion mainly because of the siege on the Strip, the only outlet for the resistance given their constant pursuit in the West Bank.
Finally, Fatah and the PA must realize that their peaceful efforts have failed and that putting their own interests above national interests is as crime. Hamas must also realize that dividing authority at the expense of the homeland does not sit well with the people. (http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=today\30qpt697.htm&arc=data\2012\04\04-30\30qpt697.htm)

Israel is no safe place for Christians

by Kamel S. Abu Jaber

It has been a long time since I have written anything about Israel or the Arab-Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I told myself I should distance myself a little and think in a cool, dispassionate manner about our Semitic cousins who obviously have made up their mind to play down there, perhaps in their mind, racial relationship with us Arabs.

I thought that I should take a step or two back and watch to see whether they could ever somehow extricate themselves from the mental straights, the garrison mentality and the myth of the “chosen people”, and slowly emerge into modern times, the 21st century and beyond — the future.

But the call of the myth and its exclusivist, irredentist ideology seems to be so strong that our cousins appear to be inextricably in its grip.

The cocoon existence protected by the rampart walls keeps alive a Zionist ideology whose roots stretch all the way back to the mythical pastoral wanderings of the tribes in the wilderness of Arabia.

I felt sad, and at the same time amazed, actually stunned, when I read an article by Dr Michael Oren, the American-born Israeli ambassador to the United States, titled “Israel is the only safe state for Mideast Christians”.

In his op-ed article published by the Wall Street Journal, he went on to clarify his views on the matter saying: “In contrast to elsewhere in the Middle East… Israel remains committed to… complete equality of all its citizens irrespective of religion…”

Had the ambassador defended Israel differently, the matter would have been understood. But to blatantly make such a statement in the face of Israel’s record of racism and intolerance since its creation, astonished me.

The fact that the Israelis have no regard for the Arabs is evidenced by their total lack of concern or respect for them. In the article “The Arabs Portrayed”, published many years ago, Edward Said had this to say: “If the Arabs have any value to the Israelis, it is a negative value; they see them as a disruption of Israel’s continuing existence; inconsequential nomads; a shadow that dogs the Jew; surmountable objects…”

It is sad that this attitude prevails to this day.

I was more amazed when I watched “60 minutes”, where reporter Bob Simon called the Palestinians an “invisible people”. The report showed the Palestinians boxed in on all sides by the wall the Israelis built in the West Bank to protect themselves in their cocoon, which makes the life of the average Palestinian a living hell.

Somehow, the ambassador “knew” beforehand that CBS news was about to air the report and called its news chief to prevent it from happening.

Now, how he “knew” is another matter that speaks for itself. But how he dared to interfere in the American freedom of the press is another story. When later interviewed with Bob Simon, he called the story “outrageous”.

“Outrageous” because it told the truth about the real situation of the Arabs, Muslims, and especially Christians, in the supposed “only democracy” in the Middle East: that the Palestinians, forcibly and inhumanely expelled by Israel since l948, have dwindled to less than 1.5 per cent of the population from 20 per cent at Israel’s creation.

Last year, I spent almost an entire week in the Old City of Jerusalem and every day, along with my wife, visited the Al Aqsa Mosque and, next door, the holiest of Christendom’s churches, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

We sat, along with many old Muslim families from the upper Galilee, in a vigil to protect the mosque from settlers’ frequent raids of desecration. Rarely did we find any Arab Christians in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There were continuous streams of tourists from all over Europe and the Americas, but very few Arabs.

There are no Christians left in the land of Palestine, the land of Christ, even to light a candle in its churches.

I felt sad then, as I do now for the terrible conditions of the Palestinians, the racial discrimination, the manufacture of hatred, the Christianophobia and the Islamophobia that desecrates the holy land.

I always believed that peace is in the mind and cannot be achieved by occupation or by the frightening and discrimination of the “other”.

The wall, the Reagan and the Bush doctrines with their Iron Dome, produce terrible, terrorist, truces that can and do frighten, but will bring no peace.

The Israeli ambassador, who is obviously not a Semite, but of the Jewish faith, and who probably did not suffer the Nazi and fascist atrocities in his American family, should heed the biblical injunction that those who live by the sword will die by it. This is not a threat but a plea for sanity and to remind that we Arabs, Muslims and Christians did not commit the atrocities, and that the Yad Vashem is a monument to Western barbarity of which the Arabs are innocent.

Peace is only peace when concluded with one’s neighbours.

Hopefully, one day the whole Western world, including the Israelis, will emerge from their cave and stop believing the myth they created. (http://jordantimes.com/israel-is-no-safe-place-for-christians)


The writer is director of the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies and former foreign minister of Jordan. He contributed this article to The Jordan Times.

Opinions

Imprisonment in Israel…three prisons in one
By Hamdi Farraj

Imprisonment in Israel is a strange thing even when compared to countries in clear denial and violation of human rights. Even this phrase “prisoners” is rejected by Israel. They call them detainees or jailbirds in the best of cases and terrorists at worst. When the prisoners are from inside the Green Line, Israel calls them collaborators or spies because they carry Israeli citizenship.

Imprisonment in Israel is not just about being thrown into their prisons for years and decades and sometimes several life terms. Inside prison, they are thrust into another prison, something called solitary confinement. A prisoner in isolation can reach the point of talking to an ant whenever it passes in front of him. When the ant doesn’t respond, the prisoner starts signing. But this is prohibited because, according to the prison wardens, “This is not an Arab building”. This leaves nothing to the prisoner except to sing quietly, or basically talk to himself. But even this could be possible for a day, a week or even a month. But for this to last for 10 years? This cannot be tolerated neither by human or beast.

Imagine that to this first and second prison, a third is added, which is being banned from family visits. Here we are not talking about friends, colleagues, neighbors or distant relatives; we are talking about a prisoner’s mother, father, wife and children. This is what Israel calls immediate relatives. Some think this is only applicable to prisoners from the Gaza Strip whose families cannot enter Israel. From an Israeli perspective, this would mean that the prisoner is not being punished but that the overall circumstances do not allow the visit. However, from the prisoner’s perspective, this is a third prison which has lasted for six years. If it continues to last, the only possibility for their families to see them is when Israel hands them over at the Erez Crossing in a body bag.

But this third prison is not only for Gaza prisoners. There are hundreds of prisoners from the West Bank also in their category under the pretext of a “security ban”. Israel claims here that the prisoner is not the person being punished by the visitor. Sometimes both the father and mother are banned for security reasons so the younger brothers and sisters must visit instead even if this means skipping school for the day. But what about prisoners who do not have little brothers and sisters?

My niece, 16-year old Lamees wrote on her Facebook page: ‘I am ashamed of my freedom when every morning, I see my brother’s room quiet and abandoned. I hate myself even more when I eat or drink knowing he is on hunger strike and lives off water and salt alone inside the occupation’s prison.”

Lamis, along with her 13-year old sister Ruba, are the ones who go to visit their brother because their parents are banned for ‘security reasons.’ Now, even the girls cannot visit their brother because he is being punished for his hunger strike and is banned from visitation rights for a month. (http://www.amin.org/articles.php?t=opinion&id=17878)

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