Tag: Rafah Crossing

“. . . What sacred verses can explain Sniper fire . . .” (Samah Sabawi)

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Soldiers
Israeli snipers seen on the border with Gaza during the Great March of Return, March 30, 2018. (IDF Spokesperson)

SELECTED   NEWS   OF   THE   DAY. . .

|  UNRWA  DEPLORES  PALESTINE  REFUGEE  FATALITIES  AND  THE  DETERIORATING  HUMANITARIAN  CRISIS  IN  GAZA
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) deplored in a statement on Sunday the rise in fatalities among refugee students killed in the Israeli army crackdown on March of Return . . .  and the deteriorating humanitarian crisis.        [. . . .] This latest death brings to 13 the total number of UNRWA students who have been killed since 30 March . . .   Between 31 March and 30 September, UNRWA’s 22 health centers across the Gaza Strip have provided 4,104 consultations for injuries . . .  more than 770 of which related to children. The majority of these (86 per cent) have been gunshot injuries. . . for casualties of such violence and all involved in their care, the effects are lasting; rehabilitation is often long, costly and uncertain, said the UNRWA statement.   More . . .
. . . .Related:   PCHR:  “Two  Fishermen  Arrested  and  One  of  Them  Wounded”
. . . .Related:  Egypt  opens  Rafah  crossing  after  3  days  of  closure 
. . . .Related:  Palestinians  protest  high  unemployment  in  Gaza
|  WB:  IOF  ARREST  19  PALESTINIANS,  CONTINUE  COLLECTIVE  PUNISHMENT  POLICY
Israeli occupation forces have launched a large-scale campaign of arrests, taking at least 19 Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, including raids on dozens of Palestinian homes.     ___The arrests were concentrated in Tulkarm, Nablus and Qalqiliya, where the Israeli occupation forces launched raids and searches and closed roads as a form of collective punishment, in response to the operation in Barkan settlement on Sunday, in which two Israeli settlers were killed.    More . . .
. . . . Related  Settlers  destroy  40  olive  trees  in  village  near  Ramallah
. . . .Related:  Settlers  say  they  plan  to  take  over  Palestinian  land  to  open  a  road  for  themselves
. . . .Related: Israeli  army  prevents  farmers  from  harvesting  their  olive  crops  in  Tulkarm  area

COMMENTARY    AND    OPINION. . . .

|  ISRAELI  PM  SHOULD  KNOW,  ‘IT  TAKES  TWO,  NOT  THREE,  TO  TANGO!’
By Mahmoud el-Yousseph, Retired US Air Force Veteran
They say it takes two to tango, but if one of them is Benjamin Netanyahu, then you need three. . .  the Israeli Prime Minister saw fit few days ago to plead with the UN Secretary General to urge the international community to put pressure on Hamas in order to release the remains of two IOF soldiers killed in Gaza during the 2014 assault . . .  [. . . . ] Israel is currently holding the remains of 261 Palestinians. Those were people who were killed during the fighting, killed during midnight raids or at checkpoints.   More . . .

NOTICES  FROM  ORGANIZATIONS. . . .

The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development  presents “THE  HISTORICAL  ROOTS  OF  CHRISTIAN  ZIONISM,  ITS  THEOLOGICAL  BASIS  AND  POLITICAL  AGENDA.”
October 24, 2018 12:00 PM.  Reverend Dr. Stephen Sizer is the founder and director of Peacemaker Trust, a charitable organization dedicated to peacemaking . . .   The Palestine Center, 2425 Virginia Avenue, NW; Washington, DC 20037 USA   Information . . .

POEM  FOR  THE  DAY. . . .

“GOD  FORSAKEN,”  By  SAMAH  SABAWI

  • In the aftermath of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, codenamed Cast Lead in 2009, in which 1400 Palestinians were killed, some IDF soldiers wore t-shirts depicting a pregnant Palestinian woman with her belly in the crosshairs of a rife with the caption, “1 SHOT TWO KILLS.”

What is a life worth?
A grain of earth
A drop of oil
A flag on a hill of holy soil
A cross…a star…a crescent moon…
Is it worth ending a life too soon?

What sacred verses can explain
Sniper fire. . .
And white phosphorus rain?
What Holy Scripture gave the command
“Thou shall wipe out they villages
And scorch their land”

And after the massacre
Did they lament?
Did they seek forgiveness?
Did they repent?
Did they try to sanctify their burdened souls
While besieging a people behind their walls
Or did they wear with pride their murderous skills:
A pregnant woman with a caption “1 SHOT 2 KILLS”

No rest for the less sacred, no safety, no light
No benediction no prayer no end in sight
No bread, no medicine no shelter no salvation
No angels can survive this holy Occupation

TELL ME THIS:
What is the life of a Palestinian worth,
In your God forsaken earth?

—From Palestine Chronicle.

“. . . with their dyed hair and Italian shoes, they play prophet on golf courses . . .” (Mourid Barghouti)

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❶ Abbas spokesman: We will not accept changes to 1967 East Jerusalem borders
. . . . . ❶ ― (ᴀ) Ashrawi to foreign diplomats: The situation needs real action from int’l community

  • Background: “Narratives of Jerusalem and Its Sacred Compound.” Israel Studies.

❷ Israeli Forces Kill 4 in Palestine During Clashes
. . . . . ❷ ― (ᴀ) Israeli security forces raid East Jerusalem neighborhood, detain young Palestinians
. . . . . ❷ ― (ᴃ) Night clashes erupt in Qalqilia town
❸ Rafah crossing [Gaza] with Egypt reopens for four days, students urged to travel to their colleges
. . . . . ❸ ― (ᴀ) UN says half a million Gaza Palestinians at risk of displacement due to flooding
❹ Opinion/Analysis: Israel Has No Right to Establish Its Capital in an Occupied City
❺ POETRY by Mourid Barghouti
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
❶ ABBAS  SPOKESMAN:  WE  WILL  NOT  ACCEPT  CHANGES  TO  1967  EAST  JERUSALEM  BORDERS  
Ma’an News Agency
Dec. 16, 2017 – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rudeinah, released a statement [on Saturday] saying that Palestinians “will not accept any changes to the 1967 border of East Jerusalem,” as tensions surrounding the Israel-occupied Palestinian territory continue to rise in the aftermath of US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
___Abu Rudeinah’s speech . . . . was allegedly in response to statements attributed to a White House official saying that the US considers the Wailing or Western Wall – which Muslims refer to as Al-Buraq Wall — as part of Israel.
___“This American position proves once again that the current US administration is completely out of the peace process,” he said.   MORE . . .
.  .  .  .  .  ❶  ―  (ᴀ)  ASHRAWI  TO  FOREIGN  DIPLOMATS:  THE  SITUATION  NEEDS  REAL  ACTION  FROM  INT’L  COMMUNITY 
Palestine News Network – PNN
Dec. 16, 2017 ― PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi told foreign diplomats that the current situation  in Palestine needs real action from the international community.
___Ashrawi said US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel unilaterally undermined peace opportunities and efforts . . . .
___“Trump’s announcement has led to a change in all conditions,” Ashrawi said, stressing that the United States is no longer suitable to be a mediator in the political process as the American decision led to the impossibility of returning to the bast stage she said.
___“US President Donald Trump move leads us to a new stage and Palestinians can not go back to past stages. Everything that is said about peace deals is now frozen, and all options is open after the American announcement.”   MORE . . .

Reiter, Yitzhak. “NARRATIVES  OF  JERUSALEM  AND  ITS  SACRED  COMPOUND.”
ISRAEL  STUDIES, vol. 18, no. 2, Summer2013, pp. 115-132.
[. . . .] The Temple Mount/al-Aqsa compound. . . .  is a central symbol of national and religious identity for both sides, and therefore the element of greatest conflict. The battle over the myths and narratives surrounding this compound . . . serve as a vehicle to support the meta-narrative of both Israelis and Palestinians . . .  the right to the Holy Land, to Palestine/Eretz Israel. Within the struggle over public awareness of Jerusalem’s importance, one particular site is at the eye of the storm—the Temple Mount and its Western Wall—the Jewish Kotel—or, in Muslim terminology, the al-Aqsa compound (alternatively: al-Haram al-Sharif) including the al-Buraq Wall. From both the Jewish and the Muslim points of view, the Foundation Stone, the Rock adorned with the golden dome, is the “Rock of our existence”—a symbol of religious-national identity . . .
___The site’s status as a sacred space makes it the natural focal point of the power struggle, including claims to sovereignty, efforts to exclude the opposing group and to claim recognition and inclusion. This situation is all the more true when the site in question lies at the center of a national conflict between two peoples who also represent, to a great extent, two essentially different religions and cultures. “Al-Aqsa” for the Palestinian-Arab-Muslim side is not merely a mosque mentioned in the Qur’an within the context of the Prophet Muhammad’s miraculous Night Journey to al-Aqsa which, according to tradition, concluded with his ascension to heaven (and prayer with all of the prophets and the Jewish and Christian religious figures who preceded him); rather, it also constitutes a unique symbol of identity, one around which various political objectives may be formulated, plans of action drawn up and masses mobilized for their realization.
[. . . . ] The current Jewish and Muslim historical narratives of Jerusalem are mirror images of each other. In pre-modern time they were developed independently, reflecting the religious and collective identity and outlook of each of the two peoples. Since the nineteenth century they have crystallized to respond to national challenges. The historical debate was intensified after 1967, when the eastern part of Jerusalem, including the holy shrines, was conquered by Israel.   SOURCE . . . 

❷ ISRAELI  FORCES  KILL  4  IN  PALESTINE  DURING  CLASHES 
Palestine News Network – PNN
Dec. 16, 2017 ― Israeli Occupation Forces Kill four Palestine During Clashes in the West Bank and Gaza strip in additions of hundreds wounded on Friday.
___According local reports the clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces left four dead and hundreds wounded Friday by live ammunition and rubber coated steel bullets.
___Thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem are continuing mobilizations against U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
___Six more have been killed during clashes this week, bringing the total death toll to 10.  MORE . . . 
.  .  .  .  .  ❷  ―  (ᴀ)  ISRAELI  SECURITY  FORCES  RAID  EAST  JERUSALEM  NEIGHBORHOOD,  DETAIN  YOUNG  PALESTINIANS
Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA 
Dec. 16, 2017 ― Israeli security forces raided early Saturday the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiyeh and detained at least seven of its young residents, according to Wadi Hilweh Information Center based in Silwan, another East Jerusalem neighborhood.
___It said, according to attorney Mohammad Mahmoud, that the seven Palestinians ranging in age between 17 and 21 years, were taken to the Russian compound interrogation center in West Jerusalem.     MORE . . . 
.  .  .  .  .  ❷  ―  (ᴃ)  NIGHT  CLASHES  ERUPT  IN  QALQILIA  TOWN
The Palestinian Information Center 
Dec. 16, 2017 ― Violent clashes broke out Friday evening in Azzun town, east of Qalqilia, when Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed the town amid heavy firing of teargas bombs.
___Local sources told the PIC reporter that angry protesters attacked Israeli patrols with Molotov cocktails while storming the town.     Several youths suffered breathing problems after inhaling teargas fired by IOF.     MORE . . . 
❸ RAFAH  CROSSING  WITH  EGYPT  REOPENS  FOR  FOUR  DAYS,  STUDENTS  URGED  TO  TRAVEL  TO  THEIR  COLLEGES
Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA
Dec. 16, 2017 ― Egypt reopened on Saturday its border crossing with the Gaza Strip at Rafah, in southern Gaza, as the Ministry of Education urged Gaza students enrolled in colleges abroad to take advantage of the opening and travel to their colleges.
___The Palestinian border authority said Rafah terminal will be open in both directions for four days, starting Saturday.
___Nathmi Muhanna, director of the border authority, said Egypt informed them that the crossing will be open for four days to allow humanitarian cases to leave Gaza or return to it.   MORE . . . 
.  .  .  .  .  ❸  ―  (ᴀ)  UN  SAYS  HALF  A  MILLION  GAZA  PALESTINIANS  AT  RISK  OF  DISPLACEMENT  DUE  TO  FLOODING
Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA
Dec. 16, 2017 ― The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to the occupied Palestinian territories said on Friday that over 560,000 Palestinians in Gaza residing in areas prone to flooding are at risk of temporary displacement due to the precarious state of infrastructure.
___It said in its Monthly Humanitarian Bulletin for November that poor infrastructure and lack of funding put over 560,000 people at risk of flooding in the Gaza Strip.  MORE . . .
❹ OPINION/ANALYSIS:  ISRAEL  HAS  NO  RIGHT  TO  ESTABLISH  ITS  CAPITAL  IN  AN  OCCUPIED  CITY
Palestine Chronicle
Richard Falk
Dec. 13, 2017 ―
(Richard Falk  is Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University. He was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights.)
Those who speak on behalf of Israel like to defend Donald Trump’s provocative decision of December 6th to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel with this contention: “Israel is the only state in the world that is not allowed to locate its capital in a national city of its choice.”
[. . . .] a more thoughtful formulation of the issue would be: “Israel is the only state in the world whose government dares to locate its capital in a city located beyond its sovereign borders and subject to superior competing claims.” Granted, Israel has declined to date to define its borders for purposes of international law, presumably to leave room for its own further territorial expansion [. . . .]   MORE . . . 

EXCERPT FROM “MIDNIGHT” [2005], BY MOURID BARGHOUTI
[. . . .] You, whose mother gave birth to you
in the homestead of the Orient,
surrounded by miracles and ballads
and hillsides wet with dew;
the sound of flutes,
the bustard’s feathers
and across a copper-colored sky
flashes the appetite of the hawk,
you’ll keep seeing in the sand
the footprints of bare-foot prophets
chasing the devils of metaphor
and you will see the devils of your own times
as, with their dyed hair and Italian shoes,
they play prophet
on golf courses, and in the corridors of banks
and on CDs.

You’ll hear promises tailored to be neglected,
like a wedding dress, the day after.

You’ll hear the discourse of your long-gone ancestors
pedants whose graves
have long since been engulfed by desert mounds,
announcing the weather forecast for tomorrow
and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow [. . . .]

From: Barghouti, Mourid. MIDNIGHT  AND  OTHER  POEMS. Trans. Radwa Ashour. Todmorden, UK: Arc Publications, 2008. Available from Barnes and Noble.  A biographical essay about Mourid Barghouti.

 

“. . . Hello, good morning, we’re fine . . .” (Mourid Barghouti)

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❶ After PLO halts ties with US, Arab League steps in to salvage peace process

  • Background: “Edward Said and the Future of Palestine.” Raritan.

. . . . . ❶ ― (ᴀ) Palestinian national council says closure of PLO office in US reward to Israel
. . . . . ❶ ― (ᴃ) Abbas will send Majid Faraj to resolve the crisis with the US
❷ Hundreds cross Rafah as Egypt continues to open crossing for 3rd day
❸ Israeli Occupation prepares to demolish six buildings in Kafr Aqab
❹ POETRY by Mourid Barghouti
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
❶ AFTER  PLO  HALTS  TIES  WITH  US,  ARAB  LEAGUE  STEPS  IN  TO  SALVAGE  PEACE  PROCESS 
Ma’an News Agency 
Nov. 20, 2017 ― The Arab League has reportedly approached the United States government regarding its recent decision to punitively shut down the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Washington D.C, over the Palestinian leadership’s efforts to bring Israel before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
___Official Palestinian Authority (PA)-owned Wafa news agency reported on Sunday, shortly after the US State Department announced its decision, that the Arab League — a regional organization of 22 Arab countries — announced that its Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit approached the US President Donald Trump’s administration over the closure.
___The league is reportedly attempting to do damage control and resume US-led peace negotiations following the PLO’s reaction to the closure, in which the group’s secretary general, Saeb Erekat, threatened to “put on hold all our communications with this American administration” if the US did in fact close the PLO Washington office.   MORE . . .

FALK, RICHARD. “EDWARD  SAID  AND  THE  FUTURE  OF  PALESTINE.”
RARITAN,  vol. 34, no. 3, Winter2015, pp. 1-21.
[. . . .] . . . developments in and after 1967 permanently changed the strategic framework of the entire region and infused the Palestine national movement with a sobering epiphany along these lines: if liberation for the Palestinian people was to be achieved, it could only result from what might be called liberation-from-within, that is, on the basis of a Palestinian resistance movement rather than through reliance on warfare waged by neighboring Arab states. The Palestinian leadership for the first time fully realized that Palestinians must themselves become agents of their own liberation.
[. . . .] Said’s distress with the secular Palestinian leadership reached its climax after the Oslo Framework of Principles was made public in 1993 . . .  seen as a breakthrough at the time in most liberal circles as it acknowledged the Palestinian Liberation Organization as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people with a status enabling direct negotiations for a peaceful solution to the conflict with Israel within an anticipated time horizon of five years. In retrospect, the Oslo approach was deeply flawed in a number of respects . . .  ENTRUSTING THE UNITED STATES WITH THE ROLE OF “HONEST BROKER” ENSURED THE BIASING OF THE PROCESS; and there was no obligation for Israel to end the expansion of its unlawful settlements. Said prophetically interpreted the Oslo agreement as a humbling defeat for Palestinian diplomacy, a bigger setback than the 1967 War, and the fulfillment of his worst fears as to where the Palestinian movement was headed. . . . What particularly disturbed Said about the Oslo text was its complete failure to reference Palestinian rights, especially the inalienable right of Palestinian self-determination. Beyond this there was no explicit mention of Palestinian statehood. There was also no insistence that Israel suspend any further expansion of the flagrantly unlawful settlements and commit to their eventual dismantling. . .  Said renounced his advocacy of the 1988 conception of a just peace. Instead, he now proposed a single binational state as the correct principled solution for both peoples.    SOURCE . . .

. . . . ❶  ―  (ᴀ)  PALESTINIAN   NATIONAL   COUNCIL   SAYS   CLOSURE   OF   PLO  OFFICE   IN   US   REWARD   TO   ISRAEL  
Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA
Nov. 20, 2017 ― The Palestinian National Council (PNC), the parliament in exile, strongly rejected on Monday the US decision not to renew the permit for the operation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington, saying this decision rewards Israel for its continued illegal settlement activities.
___PNC president, Salim Zanoon, said in a statement that the US decision is an attempt to pressure and blackmail the Palestinians against pursing Israel for its crimes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip at the International Criminal Court.
___He said this move conflicts with the US role as mediator and sponsor of efforts to revive the deadlocked Palestinian-Israeli peace process.   SOURCE . . .
. . . . . ❶  ―  (ᴃ)  ABBAS  WILL  SEND  MAJID  FARAJ  TO  RESOLVE  THE  CRISIS  WITH  THE  US    
Palestine News Network – PNN
Nov. 20, 2017 ― President Mahmoud Abbas will send the head of the General Intelligence Service, General Manger, Majid Faraj to the United States to resolve the escalating crisis with the US State Department following their decision to close the office of the Representative office of Palestine in Washington within 90 days, according to a senior diplomatic source.    MORE . . .
❷ HUNDREDS  CROSS  RAFAH  AS  EGYPT  CONTINUES  TO  OPEN  CROSSING  FOR  3RD  DAY 
Ma’an News Agency 
Nov. 20, 2017 ― Egyptian authorities continued to open the Rafah crossing between the besieged Gaza Strip and Egypt on Monday for the third and final day, allowing humanitarian cases, students, and holders of Egyptian residency to pass through.
___Hundreds of Palestinians passed through the crossing over the past two days, as thousands more waited for a chance to travel via the crossing, which had been closed for more than 100 days before it was opened over the weekend.
___The crossing was reopened on Saturday for three days, under the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) control for the first time in 10 years.    MORE . . .
❸ ISRAELI  OCCUPATION  PREPARES  TO  DEMOLISH  SIX  BUILDINGS  IN  KAFR  AQAB
Palestine News Network – PNN
Nov. 20, 2017 ―  Israeli occupation forces with a group of engineers stormed Al-Matar Neighborhood in Kafr Aqab, north of occupied Jerusalem, and took measurements of six buildings in preparation for their demolition.
___Local sources said that the explosive engineers accompanied by Israeli police, surrounded six buildings threatened with demolition, took their measurements, and carried out a reconnaissance in the area before leaving the place.
___The residents were given eviction orders in September and then 10 days ago a decision by the Israeli High Court authorized the Israeli municipality to demolish the buildings within a month starting from mid-November to next month.    MORE . . .

“HOW ARE YOU?” BY MOURID BARGHOUTI
Waiting for the school bus,
watching his breath turn into mist near his nose
in the icy morning,
the schoolboy’s fingers are frozen,
too stiff to make a fist.

On the pillow of regret,
the defeated soldier
lazily tries to get up,
raising his broken toothbrush
to his teeth.

Early or late,
The stranger awakens in his exile, his homeland.
Their clothes, their car number pates, their trees,
their quarrels, their love, their land, their sea
belong to them.
His memories are like rats gathering on his doormat,
new and warm
in front of his closed door.

On a lonely pillow,
the mother throws a quick glance
at the bed of her elder son,
made for the final time
and empty, forever.

A voice from the neighbouring window is heard:
“Hello, good morning, how are you?”
“Hello, good morning, we’re fine,
we’re fine!”

From: Barghouti, Mourid. Midnight and other Poems. Trans. By Radwa Ashour. Todmorden, Lancashire, UK: Arc Books, 2008. Available from B&N.
Mourid Barghouti

“. . . What shall expose the murderer, but our innocent bleeding.” (Mu’in Bseiso)

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349251C-001
Palestinians gather in front of the Rafah crossing between the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, Jan. 16, 2015. (AFP/Said Khatib, File)

❶ Hundreds of Palestinians return to Gaza through Egypt’s Rafah crossing
. . . . . ❶ ― (ᴀ) Israeli forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats, level lands in Gaza
❷ Hamas launches its new Political Document
❸ Christians Speak to Archbishop of Canterbury about Life in Gaza
❹ Opinion/Analysis:  What the West gets wrong on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
“. . . The Palestinians are not struggling for peace; they are struggling for freedom . . .”
❺ POETRY by Mu’in Bseiso (b. Gaza, 1930)
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
❶ HUNDREDS  OF  PALESTINIANS  RETURN  TO  GAZA  THROUGH  EGYPT’S  RAFAH  CROSSING
Ma’an News Agency   
May 7, 2017
GAZA (Ma’an) — Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah border crossing in one direction for the second consecutive day on Sunday, to allow Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side to return to the besieged Gaza Strip.
___Head of the media office at the Rafah crossing Wael Abu Omar said that 832 Palestinians were able to arrive to the Palestinian hall of the terminal during the first day of opening that lasted from 10 a.m. Saturday until 3 a.m. Sunday.
___Abu Omar said that among the passengers was the body of a dead Palestinian that was allowed to return to Gaza to be buried.
___He added that Egyptian authorities also permitted the entry of trucks loaded with cement, paint, and cheese.      MORE . . .

. . . . . ❶ ― (ᴀ) ISRAELI  FORCES  OPEN  FIRE  ON  PALESTINIAN  FISHING  BOATS,  LEVEL  LANDS  IN  GAZA
Ma’an News Agency
May 7, 2017 
Israeli military vehicles staged a limited incursion into Palestinian lands east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday morning, while Israeli naval forces also opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of northern Gaza, causing no injuries.
___Eyewitnesses told Ma’an that five Israeli military bulldozers set off from Israel’s Kissufim military base and passed tens of meters beyond the border area, and proceeded to level lands.
___Separately, Israeli naval forces opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coat of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip.       MORE . . .

❷ HAMAS  LAUNCHES  ITS  NEW  POLITICAL  DOCUMENT
Gaza.Scoop.ps – Real Time News From Gaza    
May 2, 2017      PRESS RELEASE – HAMAS
The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, launched its Political Document “General Principles and Policies” on Monday at a press conference in the Qatari capital of Doha.      ___The document was announced at a press conference held by Hamas politburo chief, Khaled Mashaal, with a number of leaders of the movement, in the presence of elite writers, media outlets and researchers.
___The 42 article document carries the essence of the Movement’s thought and political legacy for 30 years now.
___Hamas said in its document that it is an Islamic Palestinian national liberation movement aimed at liberating Palestine and confronting the Zionist project, indicating that Islam is a reference in its principles, objectives and means.     MORE . . .

❸ CHRISTIANS  SPEAK  TO  ARCHBISHOP  OF  CANTERBURY  ABOUT  LIFE  IN  GAZA     
International Middle East Media Center – IMEMC    
May 6, 2017
Christian residents of the Gaza Strip recently spoke about their daily life to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, during a surprise visit to the coastal enclave.
___During his visit to the Gaza Strip, the Archbishop sat with leaders of the Christian community in Gaza, and listened to their life experience under the rule of the Islamic Palestinian movement Hamas.
___Philip Tarazi, one of the Gaza Christians who were selected to meet with the Archbishop Justin Welby, described the life in Gaza as “smooth.”     MORE . . .  

ImageGen.ashx
Archbishop Justin Welby and Bishop Suheil Dawani with members of Gaza’s Christian community at Ahli Arab Hospital, Gaza City

❹ Opinion/Analysis: WHAT  THE  WEST  GETS  WRONG  ON  THE  ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN  CONFLICT
+972 Blog  
Mitchell Plitnick
“. . . The Palestinians are not struggling for peace; they are struggling for freedom . . .”
May 5, 2017
On April 21, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Palestinians must prove that they want peace. “I think the first test of peace is to say to them, ‘Hey, you want peace? Prove it,” Netanyahu told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
___This is very typical of Netanyahu’s statements on peace over the years. But perhaps it’s time to consider the issue too rarely discussed by those of us who work for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The government’s actions aside, most Israelis do very much want peace. But on the Palestinian side, again setting aside the statements of Palestinian Authority leaders, peace is not at the top of the agenda.
___This is one of the biggest, most fundamental disconnects in the Western approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. THE PALESTINIANS ARE NOT STRUGGLING FOR PEACE; THEY ARE STRUGGLING FOR FREEDOM. That struggle may be against second-class citizenship for Palestinian citizens of Israel, the expansion of settlements and land confiscation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, or the strangling siege in Gaza. But in all cases, it comes down to a struggle for freedom and a future where today’s Palestinians and future generations can forge their own future outside the yoke of Israel.     MORE . . .

“FOOTSTEPS,”  BY  MU’IN BSEISO

Brother! If they should sharpen the sword on my neck,
I would not kneel, even if their whips lashed
my bloodied mouth
If dawn is so close to coming
I shall not retreat.
I will rise from the land that feeds our furious storm!

Brother! If the executioner should drag me to the slaughterhouse
before your eyes to make you kneel,
so you might beg him to relent,
I’d call again, Brother! Raise your proud head
and watch as they murder me!
Witness my executioner, sword dripping with my blood!
What shall expose the murderer, but our innocent bleeding?

At night their guns kidnapped him from his trench.
The hero was flung into the cells’ darkness
where, like a banner fluttering above chains, he stayed.
The chains became flaming torches,
burning the ashes which coat our shining future.
Now the hero lives, his footsteps ringing triumphantly
within the closed walls of every prison.
–– Translated by May Jayyusi and Naomi Shihab Nye

  • From: Jayyusi, Salma Khadra, Ed. ANTHOLOGY OF MODERN PALESTINIAN LITERATURE. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992.
    Available from Barnes and Noble.

“. . . But this bullet had no innocence, did not wish anyone well . . .” (Naomi Shihab Nye)

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lisa_gay_hamilton_2010
LisaGay Hamilton, 2005 Peabody Award. (Photo: Wikipedia) “I’m here because I’m concerned about the effects of war and blockade on the women [of Gaza].”
❶ Gaza power station to shut down due to lack of fuel supplies
. . . ❶― (ᴀ) Egypt opens Rafah crossing one last day for return of Gaza Hajj pilgrims
. . . ❶― (ᴃ) Messina, Italy welcomes the Women’s Boat to Gaza (WBG)
❷ Opinion/Analysis:  LisaGay Hamilton

  • Background from: International Journal Of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies

❸ POETRY by Naomi Shihab Nye
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
❶ GAZA  POWER  STATION  TO  SHUT  DOWN  DUE  TO  LACK  OF  FUEL  SUPPLIES
Ma’an News Agency    
Sept. 22, 2016
The energy authority in the Gaza Strip has announced that the besieged coastal enclave’s sole power plant would stop running until next Tuesday due to fuel shortages, as Israel’s Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing remained closed to fuel imports for the second consecutive day.
___In a statement issued on Thursday, the authority said that since the crossing was closed after it was breached by burglars early Wednesday morning, the power station would be out of service due to lack of fuel deliveries.       MORE . . .    
. . . ❶― (ᴀ) EGYPT  OPENS  RAFAH  CROSSING  ONE  LAST  DAY  FOR  RETURN  OF  GAZA  HAJJ  PILGRIMS
Ma’an News Agency
Sept. 23, 2016
The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the besieged Gaza Strip opened on Friday for the last of four days on Friday to allow Palestinian worshipers returning from the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj to return to Gaza.
___Two groups of pilgrims were reportedly allowed to cross through on Thursday, with one group in at dawn and another in the evening.
___Egypt opened the crossing on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday to allow the retun of the pilgrims.          MORE . . .     
. . . ❶― (ᴃ) MESSINA,  ITALY  WELCOMES  THE  WOMEN’S  BOAT  TO  GAZA  (WBG)
Gaza.Scoop.ps – Real Time News From Gaza
Sept. 22, 2016
This morning the community of Messina, Italy welcomed the participants on board Zaytouna-Oliva as they arrived following their voyage from Ajaccio, France. The sailing boat will soon leave Messina for its final destination, the shores of Gaza.
___Lucio Intruglio, the local organizer in Messina noted, “We have been waiting eagerly for our sisters to arrive and have a variety of activities to celebrate their mission.”       MORE . . .  

❷ OPINION/ANALYSIS:   WHY  I  AM  ON  THE  WOMEN’S  BOAT  TO  GAZA
CounterPunch
Lisagay Hamilton
Sept. 23, 2016
Sunday night, September 18, 2016. As my “industry” colleagues attend Emmy parties and dress for the red carpet, I stand on the chilly docks of Ajaccio, Corsica, in the wee hours of the morning awaiting the arrival of a small sailboat called the Zaytouna-Oliva.
[. . . .]  I’m here because I’m concerned about the effects of war and blockade on the women [of Gaza], as schools, hospitals, and homes have been periodically destroyed and sources of power and water compromised. I’m here because some 1.8 million Gazans are trapped in what is often described as a giant open-air prison.
[. . . .]   I’m afraid for myself and especially for the courageous women who will try to break through the blockade. But I’m more afraid of what might happen if we all stayed home, silent and complacent and posing for the paparazzi. Breaking the siege is not the same as freedom for Gaza, but it is a start.    MORE . . .  

  • Shehadeh, Said. “The 2014 War On Gaza: Engineering Trauma And Mass Torture To Break Palestinian Resilience.” International Journal Of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies 12.3 (2015): 278-294.   SOURCE. 

[. . . .]    Most of the post-war assessments focus predominantly on the enormous civilian death toll and injured persons, especially children, as well as the massive destruction to homes, factories, public (governmental) buildings and infrastructure. Indeed, the numbers speak for themselves: 1.8 million people, trapped in a small costal enclave of 365 square kilometers, mercilessly bombarded from the air, land and sea by the sixth strongest military in the world with no means of escape.
[. . . .]  These post-war statistics regarding the human and financial costs of the war on Gaza do not fully capture the scope and depth of human suffering inflicted.
[. . . .]   How then, can we explain the Israeli policy behind all these oppressive acts of physical and psychological aggression against the Palestinians in Gaza? The answer, I contend, is that it was a deliberate policy of torture executed on a massive scale against the entire population of Gaza, during the 50-day war. Torture, as defined by the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) is:
any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions. 
[. . . .] 

PALESTINIAN-GAZA-ISRAEL-CONFLICT
Flames engulf the Gaza Strip power plant after it was hit by Israeli shelling, on July 29, 2014. (Photo: MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images)

“FOR  MOHAMMED  ZEID  OF  GAZA,  AGE  15,”  BY  NAOMI  SHIHAB  NYE
There is no stray bullet, sirs.
No bullet like a worried cat
crouching under a bush,
no half-hairless puppy bullet
dodging midnight streets.
The bullet could not be a pecan
plunking the tin roof,
not hardly, no fluff of pollen
on October’s breath,
no humble pebble at our feet.

So don’t gentle it, please.

We live among stray thoughts,
tasks abandoned midstream.
Our fickle hearts are fat
with stray devotions, we feel at home
among bits and pieces,
all the wandering ways of words.

But this bullet had no innocence, did not
wish anyone well, you can’t tell us otherwise
by naming it mildly, this bullet was never the friend
of life, should not be granted immunity
by soft saying—friendly fire, straying death-eye,
why have we given the wrong weight to what we do?

Mohammed, Mohammed, deserves the truth.
This bullet had no secret happy hopes,
it was not singing to itself with eyes closed
under the bridge.

Naomi Shihab Nye
From YOU  AND  YOURS,  by Naomi Shihab Nye (CBOA Editions, 2005).  Available from Barnes and Noble. 

“. . . the concordance between aggressive development and external reality. . .” (Samir Qouta)

Harold KnightLeave a comment
Muhammad abu Khdeir
Muhammad Abu Khdeir, Palestinian teenager who was burned alive by Israeli settlers in 2014; his cousins are charged stone throwing (Photo: Times of Israel, July 31, 2016)

❶ Relatives of Muhammad Abu Khdeir detained for throwing stones, Molotov cocktails

  • Background from Aggressive Behavior

❷ My daughter sends joy to Gaza
❸ House of Lords debate on Palestinian children 21 July 2016
❹ Irish public figures’ statement in support of Israel boycott
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
❶ RELATIVES  OF  MUHAMMAD  ABU  KHDEIR  DETAINED  FOR  THROWING  STONES,  MOLOTOV  COCKTAILS
Ma’an News Agency
July 31, 2016
Two young Palestinians related to Muhammad Abu Khdeir, a Palestinian teenager who was burned alive by Israeli settlers in 2014, have been indicted by a Jerusalem court over a number of charges in the wake of their cousin’s brutal murder, Israeli police said on Sunday.
___Israeli police spokeswoman Luba al-Samri said in a statement that Nasser Abu Khdeir, 19, and Muhammad Abu Khdeir, 21 — who shares a name with his slain cousin — had been detained on June 26.
___The two youths have been accused of breaking the law following Abu Khdeir’s death, with al-Samri noting that they stood accused of throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli security forces . . .
___A 16-year-old from Shufat in occupied East Jerusalem, Muhammad Abu Khdeir was kidnapped and murdered by three Israeli extremists on July 2, 2014.       MORE . . .

From Aggressive Behavior
War and military violence signify a shattering and nightmarish reality for children: life threat, loss of home, killing and detention of family members, and witnessing humiliation of trusted and admired adults. According to psychoanalytical view, human beings have two possibilities to deal with pain and bewilderment that overwhelms their cognitive-emotional processing capacity: to turn them inside and suffer subsequently from depression and anxiety or target them outside in the form of aggression and acting out. Contemporary conceptualization of children’s psychiatric distress as internalizing and externalizing symptoms concurs with these alternatives given for humans when facing devastating events.
[. . . .]
Society at war sends double messages to children who until early adolescence face difficulties in interpreting them: the aggression, defiance and revenge are encouraged toward the enemy, but discouraged or even punished when directed toward own family and peers.  Similarly, research on children’s war attitudes and moral development point out dilemmas and conflicts: children learn that war is generally bad and immoral, but our own war is heroic, legitimate and moral and our fighters are pure and honorable, whereas enemy soldiers are cruel and coward-like.

  • Qouta, Samir, et al. “Does War Beget Child Aggression? Military Violence, Gender, Age And Aggressive Behavior In Two Palestinian Samples.” Aggressive Behavior 34.3 (2008): 231-244.       SOURCE  

❷ MY  DAUGHTER  SENDS  JOY  TO  GAZA
The Electronic Intifada
Rami Almeghari
July 25, 2016
It has been a long time since my family has had reason to celebrate.
___For nine years my wife Faten and I have been intermittently separated from our school-age children as we traveled back and forth between our home in Gaza and Cairo as Faten needed brain surgery and radiotherapy treatment unavailable here.
[. . . ]  my wife and I returned to Gaza in mid-February of this year. By then, Aseel had already been in school for five months without us present. The pressure on her mounted as summer neared and the time to sit for exams grew closer. Whether or not she would succeed became a matter of concern for our extended family.
___After she finished her exams in mid-June, we waited anxiously for the results. Is this a good result, Dad?” Aseel asked, her eyes tearing up. She had scored 86 percent.
___“Of course it is, my dear daughter. It is even great,” I replied, to Aseel’s relief.  MORE . . . 

granddaughter-001
The granddaughter of Um Hani, killed May 5, 2016, as she worked in a field in Gaza, displays a photo of her grandmother (Photo: Shadi Alqarra)

❸ HOUSE OF LORDS DEBATE ON PALESTINIAN CHILDREN 21 JULY 2016
Caabu
On 21 July, a two-and-a-half-hour long debate was held in the House of Lords on the situation of Palestinian children in the Occupied Territories and the impact of the occupation on their mental health. This was the second debate on the issue this year following a Commons debate on 6 January.
The Lords debate was put forward by Lord Norman Warner. Lord Warner was part of a Caabu and Medical Aid for Palestinians delegation to the West Bank in April 2016 and  to Gaza in 2010.
___WATCH Lord Warner’s speech in his debate in the House of Lords on the situation of Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza.

❹ IRISH  PUBLIC  FIGURES’  STATEMENT  IN  SUPPORT  OF  ISRAEL  BOYCOTT
The Palestinian Information Center
July 27, 2016
In an open letter published recently in the Irish Times and Irish Independent, thirteen of Ireland’s best-known musicians, writers, artists and sports stars have called on the Irish government to join them in supporting the growing worldwide boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. The statement has been welcomed by Palestinian and Irish human rights campaigners.
[. . . .]
The letter welcomes Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan’s support for BDS as a legitimate political standpoint, but also outlines their disappointment that the Irish government does not go further and support the BDS movement. . .      MORE . . .  

“. . . their dignity sets them free . . .” (Samah Sabawi)

Harold KnightLeave a comment
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Israeli street blockade, Hebron, November 17, 2012. (Photo: marthiemombergblog)

❶ Israeli forces raid Yatta [Hebron] after more than 40 days of blockade
. . . ❶ ― (ᴀ) Israeli army bulldozers, jeeps, drones enter southern Gaza
❷ Netanyahu [inspecting new wall in Hebron]: Barrier in South Hebron Hills important for Israel’s security

  • background From Postcolonial Studies

❸ Opinion/Analysis:  WHAT  REALLY  DELAYED  UNESCO  VOTE  ON  JERUSALEM?
❹ POETRY by Samah Sabawi
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
❶ ISRAELI  FORCES  RAID  YATTA  AFTER  MORE  THAN  40  DAYS  OF  BLOCKADE
Ma’an News Agency
July 21, 2016
Israeli forces raided several homes in the southern occupied West Bank town of Yatta early Thursday, as the army maintained its weeks-long blockade of municipalities in the Hebron district.
___A coordinator of a popular committee in the southern West Bank, Rateb al-Jbour, said that Israeli forces raided central Yatta and searched the houses of two Palestinian security officer, identified as Majdi Moussa al-Shreiqi and Ahmad Moussa al-Shreiqi, the latter reportedly a former prisoner detained by Israel.     MORE . . .
. . . ❶ ― (ᴀ) ISRAELI  ARMY  BULLDOZERS,  JEEPS,  DRONES  ENTER  SOUTHERN  GAZA
Ma’an News Agency
July 21, 2016
Several Israeli army bulldozers entered the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, locals said.
___Witnesses told Ma’an that four Israeli bulldozers coming from the al-Matbaq Gate entered 50 meters into eastern Rafah City, escorted by four military jeeps as drones flew overhead [. . . .]
___Israeli military incursions inside the besieged Gaza Strip and near the “buffer zone” which lies on both land and sea sides of Gaza, have long been a near-daily occurrence. MORE . . .

❷ NETANYAHU  [inspecting  new  wall  in  Hebron]:  BARRIER  IN  SOUTH  HEBRON  HILLS  IMPORTANT  FOR  ISRAEL’S  SECURITY
The Jerusalem Post
Herb Keinon
July 20, 2016
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inspected the construction work being done on a new security barrier in the South Hebron Hills area on Wednesday, saying completing it was important for the country’s security.
___“We said that we will close the breaches,” he said. “We will prevent illegal residents and attackers from reaching Israel’s cities.”     MORE . . .
RELATED . . .   NETANYAHU  VISITS  CONSTRUCTION  SITE  OF  NEW  SEPARATION  BARRIER  IN  HEBRON.  Ma’an News Agency  

From Postcolonial Studies
The security barrier was a unilateral Israeli decision. The policy decision to build the barrier nonetheless entailed considerable internal negotiations involving competing political parties and leaders. The resulting compromise gained broad popular and institutional support. Palestinian and international opposition to the barrier has been firm, based in large part on Israel’s placement of sections of the barrier within the Green Line so as to protect Jewish Israel has stated repeatedly that the barrier does not represent a final political border, but it does suggest an initial bid. This was one reason that the Israeli government responded negatively to American president Barack Obama’s declaration of pre-1967 borders as an initial point of negotiation.
___While the international legitimacy of the barrier has not been recognized, its effectiveness has. Thus, it is unlikely that Israel will dismantle the barrier or place it wholly on its side of the Green Line. Legal challenges within Israel have led to a process of internal negotiation among the civil society, the judiciary, and the executive on the exact placement of the barrier — but not on its continued existence. It is unlikely that final status negotiations will include complete Israeli withdrawal from all the West Bank territory won in the 1967 War. The clause of Resolution 242 emphasizing Israel’s right to ‘‘live in peace within secure and recognized borders’’ strongly suggests that Israel will seek to incorporate the security barrier formula into any final status agreements.

  • Lee, Christopher J. “Beyond Analogy: Bare Life In The West Bank.” Postcolonial Studies 16.4 (2013): 374-387.
netanyahu
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flies plane over West Bank. (Photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)

❸ Opinion/Analysis: WHAT  REALLY  DELAYED  UNESCO  VOTE  ON  JERUSALEM?
Mondoweiss
Daoud Kuttab
July 20, 2016
Despite the Israelis’ initial claims that their efforts have partially succeeded in shelving a pro-Palestinian vote at UNESCO, the story that is emerging now is quite different. Palestinian and Arab officials say the delay in the vote that had been planned for July 20 in Istanbul was postponed due to the failed coup attempt in Turkey.
___Omar Awadallah, the director of UN activities at the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Al-Monitor that UNESCO had postponed voting on all resolutions, not just the one on extending the declaration that Jerusalem’s Old City meets UNESCO’s criteria for being endangered. “Due to the security uncertainty connected to the failed coup in Turkey, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee decided to postpone all decisions until it meets again in Paris in October,” said Awadallah.      MORE . . .   

“DEFYING THE UNIVERSE,” BY SAMAH SABAWI

Are your loved ones trapped behind the wall
Do they need the army’s permission
For their prayers to reach the sky
For their love to cross the ocean
And touch your thirsty heart
Are your loved ones trapped

Do you yearn to be in your family home
And when you call, do they always say
“we are fine, alhamdollelah”
Does it surprise you that they are whole
While you… are broken|
Must they always worry about you
Urge you to have faith in your exile
Must they always pity you
For not breathing the air
Of your ancestors’ land
Must they always comfort you
Even when the bombs are falling
Do you ever wonder who is walled in
Is it you…or is it them
And when it finally dawns upon you
That their dignity sets them free
Do you feel ashamed of your liberty

About Samah Sabawi  
From: Valentine, Douglas. “Poetry, Palestine and the Language of Resistance.” Counterpunch. September 20, 2013.

“. . . But I, a human, a refugee, Oh land of my homeland . . .” (Salem Jubran)

Harold KnightLeave a comment
A boy holding his belongings in the besieged Yarmouk camp, south of Damascus. Thousands have reportedly fled the camp, after Isis invaded it. (Rame Alsayed/Reuters)
A boy holding his belongings in the besieged Yarmouk camp, south of Damascus. Thousands have reportedly fled the camp, after Isis invaded it. (Rame Alsayed/Reuters)

❶ Opinion/Analysis: Israel tries to reap cheap PR from Syrian refugee tragedy
❷ Heads of Churches in Jerusalem denounce Israeli attacks on mosques
❸ Rafah farmers watch in horror as Egypt floods Gaza tunnels
❹ Israeli police holding 4 Palestinian youths over driver’s death
❺ Opinion/Analysis: Is Bibi using J’lem violence as an excuse to target all Arabs?
❻ Poetry by Salem Jubran

(Please read “Purpose” above. Thank you.)

◊  ◊  ◊  ◊  ◊  ◊

❶ Opinion/Analysis
THE PALESTINIAN INFORMATION CENTER
ISRAEL  TRIES  TO  REAP  CHEAP  PR FROM  SYRIAN  REFUGEE  TRAGEDY
Khalid Amayreh in Occupied Palestine
Sept. 11, 2015
Israel is striving to reap cheap public relations from the heart-rending crisis surrounding Syrian refugees fleeing death and destruction in their country.
____Israeli officials and media have been claiming that the erection by Hungary of a barbed wire fence on part of its borders to prevent refugees from entering that country is a vindication of Israel’s policy of building “the separation wall” in the West Bank.
More . . .

❷ PALESTINE NEWS NETWORK
HEADS  OF  CHURCHES  IN  JERUSALEM  DENOUNCE  ISRAELI  ATTACKS  ON  MOSQUES
Sept. 22, 2015
The Heads of Churches in Jerusalem on Monday have released statement expressing serious concerns regarding recent violent development on Haram al Sharif.

“We condemn all threats of change to historical (Status Quo) situation in the Al-Aqsa Mosque (Haram Asharif) and its courtyard, all buildings, and in the city of Jerusalem. Any threat to its continuity and integrity could easily lead to unpredictable consequences which would be most unwelcome in the present delicate political climate.” statement said.

More . . .

❸ AL-MONITOR (PALESTINE PULSE)
RAFAH  FARMERS  WATCH  IN  HORROR  AS  EGYPT  FLOODS  GAZA  TUNNELS
Mohammed Othman
Sept. 25, 2015
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The Egyptian army has been pumping large volumes of Mediterranean Sea waters since Sept. 17 into the buffer zone that it began building two years ago, along 14 kilometers of the Palestinian-Egyptian border. The move is the latest attempt to destroy the tunnels dug by Palestinians under the city of Rafah over the years of the Israeli blockade.
____The operation is causing concern for the Rafah border area inhabitants, who say that it will affect their lives there. Farmer Nayef Abu Shallouf, who owns three acres of land less than 300 meters from the Egyptian border, said all the salt water will leave his land briny and destroy his crops. He told Al-Monitor, “In addition to damaging the soil, sinkholes will appear wherever tunnels were dug, with collapses occurring sooner or later.”
More . . .

❹ MA’AN NEWS AGENCY
ISRAELI  POLICE  HOLDING  4  PALESTINIAN  YOUTHS  OVER  DRIVER’S  DEATH
Sept. 26, 2015
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli police said Saturday that they were holding four Palestinians aged 16-19 who they accuse of causing an Israeli driver’s death by throwing stones at his car earlier this month.
____Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said the four Palestinians, from the East Jerusalem village of Sur Baher, were detained on suspicion of “carrying out the attack over the Jewish new year.”
____Rosenfeld said: “They admitted carrying out the attack. They planned it ahead of time.” [. . . . .]
____Israeli police have said they believe the Israeli driver, 64-year-old Alexander Levlovich, lost control of his car after a stone was thrown at it on Sept. 13, during the Jewish new year holiday.
____They have so far released no evidence, and shortly after the accident took place the Jerusalem’s Magistrate Court issued a gag order on details of the incident.
More . . .

❺ Opinion/Analysis
+972 MAGAZINE
IS  BIBI  USING  J’LEM  VIOLENCE  AS  AN  EXCUSE  TO  TARGET  ALL  ARABS?
John Brown and Michal Rotem
Sept. 27, 2015
Netanyahu is trying to expand the open-fire regulations so that they target Arabs inside Israel. The outcome? Only more bloodshed. . . .
____Government representatives compete with one another over who will offer up the firmest way to deal with these youth in order to “do away with this phenomenon.” Of course none of them offers dealing with neglected East Jerusalem, the discrimination, the home demolitions. . . or the fact that there is no framework to take care of children and teenagers after school is over. It is strange that not a single politician has offered to shoot settlers when they throw stones following the demolition of their illegal structures in the West Bank. The opposite is true: they are granted hundreds of new housing units.
More . . .

“A  REFUGEE,”  BY  SALEM  JUBRAN
The sun crosses the frontier
the soldiers bullets it does not fear
and the nightingale sings
at midday in Tulkarm
and east supper in peace
with Jewish birds in the kibbutz
. . . a stray donkey feeds on the line
without a bullet in the spine
But I; a human, refugee
Oh land of my Homeland
my eyes and yours
are ever separate by a wall.

From: Aruri, Naseer and Edmund Ghareeb, eds. ENEMY  OF  THE  SUN:  POETRY  OF  THE  PALESTINIAN  RESISTANCE. Washington, DC: Drum and Spear Press, 1970.
Available from Amazon. 
About Salem Jubran

A Palestinian is carried after being wounded in clashes with Border Police officers in the Old City of Jerusalem, September 13, 2015. (photo: Faiz Abu-Rmeleh/Activestills.org)
A Palestinian is carried after being wounded in clashes with Border Police officers in the Old City of Jerusalem, September 13, 2015. (photo: Faiz Abu-Rmeleh/Activestills.org)

“. . . ‘No!’ for those who sold and bought Gaza’s silver anklet. . .” (Mueen Bessissou)

Harold KnightLeave a comment
Nada Mumer waits to travel to Egypt to meet her husband. The sleeping boy is her ill son. (Photo, Isra Saleh El-Namy)
Nada Mumer waits to travel to Egypt to meet her husband. The sleeping boy is her ill son. (Photo, Isra Saleh El-Namy)

❶ From: MA’AN NEWS AGENCY
ABBAS  RESIGNS  AS  HEAD  OF  PLO  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE
Aug. 22, 2015
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas resigned as head of the PLO Executive Committee Saturday and several others are set to step down, according to local sources.
____Tayseer Qubaa, deputy Palestinian parliament speaker, said that the the Executive Committee will hold a meeting Saturday night in order to set a date for the Palestinian National Council (PNC) to discuss plans for filling the upcoming political vacuum.
____Qubaa said: “As of now, there are six resigning members: President Mahmoud Abbas, Hanan Ashrawi, Ahmad Majdalani, Saeb Erekat, Ghassan al-Shakaa, and Mahmoud Ismae.”
____Palestinian official Wassel Abu Yussef later said that more than half of the 18-member committee had also stepped down.
____”The resignation of the president of the executive committee Mahmud Abbas and more than half of its members has created a legal vacuum, and therefore the Palestine National Council has been asked to meet in one month to elect a new executive committee,” Yussef told AFP.
More. . .

❷ From: MONDOWEISS
PALESTINIANS  STRUGGLE  TO  LEAVE  GAZA  AS  EGYPT  OPENS  RAFAH  CROSSING  FOR  FOUR  DAYS
Isra Saleh El-Namy
August 21, 2015
Fatigue and stress was apparent on the face of Nada Mumer. Nine months pregnant, Mumer waited for the officer to call the names of people who will be allowed to ride a bus to the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing in Gaza.
[. . . .]
The departure gallery at the Rafah crossing was full of people with their suitcases, waiting for their turn to leave as Egypt announced a four-day window the crossing will be open. . .
____Palestinian officials were relieved by the Egyptian decision to open the Rafah crossing, which had been closed for more than two months, aggravating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
____During this time, many people, including patients seeking advanced medical treatment abroad and students who want to complete their education in universities outside Gaza, found themselves trapped inside what is known as the “world’s biggest open air prison.”
More. . .

❸ From: INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT (ISM)
EXTREME  RIGHT-WING  ZIONISTS  WITH  THE KAHANE  GROUP  ATTACK  PALESTINIANS  AND  INTERNATIONAL ACTIVISTS  IN  HEBRON
ISM al-Khalil Team, Hebron
August 20, 2015
A group of twenty-five extreme Jewish Zionists from France attacked three international activists in front of the shops near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, H2 area this afternoon.
____When the activists encountered the group of extremists, the extremist started to clap their hands and sing songs while they approached the activists. The activists pulled out their cameras to record what was happening and the extremists responded by threatening the activists in Hebrew, attacking the cameras, pushing and spitting on the activists. . . The military occupation forces did not much to prevent the violence. Instead of holding the extremists accountable for their actions, the army encouraged them to walk away and formed a line to prevent the activists from walking the direction they had intended to and were directed to go another way.
More. . .

Hebron extremists proudly held the infamous yellow flag of Kahane group. ISM Photo.
Hebron extremists proudly held the infamous yellow flag of Kahane group. ISM Photo.

❹ From: INTERNATIONAL MIDDLE EAST MEDIA CENTER (IMEMC)
CHRISTIAN  PRIESTS,  PALESTINIANS,  HOLD  PRAYERS  ON  BULLDOZED  LANDS
August 23, 2015
Dozens of Palestinians, headed by several Christians priests, conducted prayers on Palestinian lands that have been destroyed and uprooted by Israeli soldiers, in Beit Jala city, in the West Bank district of Bethlehem.
____Head of the Beit Jala City Council Nicola Khamis said the priests, the locals and various international human rights and Palestine solidarity activists gathered on the lands, carrying Palestinian flags, and signs condemning the ongoing and escalating Israeli violations and land theft.
More . . .

❺ Opinion
From: MIDDLE EAST MONITOR
THE  ILLUSION  OF  A  RIFT  IN  THE  OBAMA – NETANYAHU  RELATIONSHIP
Dr Fayez Rasheed
August 21, 2015
Some of our Palestinian and Arab politicians and writers are counting on a desert mirage. They think it is water, but when they approach it, they find that it is something else.
____This mirage is the rift in the relationship between Netanyahu and Obama. Their evidence of this is weak, i.e. Netanyahu’s statements against Obama, especially after the signing of the Iranian nuclear agreement and what seemed to be Obama’s anger with Netanyahu after his speech in Congress, etc.
[. . . .]
____ The point is that the relationship between America’s presidents and any of Israel’s prime ministers is governed by the following rule: the US officials must comply with Israel’s interests, even if Israel’s leaders attack the leaders of their top strategic ally. In order to please their consciences, the American presidents will say some words about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict after their presidential term is up or is on the verge of finishing.
More. . .

“NO!”  BY  MUEEN  BESSISSOU  (Mu’in  Bseiso)
His wounds said: “No!”
His chains said: “No!”
And the turtledove which shielded his sound with her feather
Said: “No!”
Gaza’s silver anklet.
They sold the bullets and bought a goose.

Quaking goose!
Stop for a moment.
And listen to him
Saying: “No!”
Pity him; he did not die under neon lights,
Between the candlestick and the moon.
Pity him; there was no formal announcement
. . . or a dumb funeral.
No moaning poem or song.
Stones!
Let me compose, if only one line of verse
That I may recite it to all the men with long and false beards.

Stop quaking for a moment
And listen to him saying: “No!”
Like the solid fence of a house in Gaza.
Every day, he gets killed one thousand times,
Quaking goose!

From: A LOVER FROM PALESTINE AND OTHER POEMS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF PALESTINIAN POETRY. Ed. Abdul Wahab Al-Messiri. Washington, DC: Free Palestine Press, 1970.
Available from Amazon.

Mu’in Tawfiq Bseiso (1926 –1984) was a Palestinian poet who lived in Egypt. . . He finished his primary and secondary education in Gaza in 1948. He started publishing his work in the Jaffa-based magazine Al-Hurriya where he published his first poems in 1946. . . he enrolled in the American University in Cairo and subsequently graduated in 1952. . . Imprisoned in Egyptian jails twice: 1955 to 1957 and 1959 to 1963. He died due to heart failure in London in 1984.
More. . .

ABBAS RESIGNS
ABBAS RESIGNS

“. . . what terror drove them out of their homes? . . . (Lahab Assef Al-Jundi)

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Palestinian Nozha neighborhood in Jaffa.
Palestinian Nozha neighborhood in Jaffa.

❶ From THE PALESTINIAN INFORMATION CENTER
DISPLACEMENT SCHEMES TARGETING PALESTINIANS IN JAFFA (REPORT)
June 20, 2015
The Israeli Judaization and displacement schemes have escalated especially in Jaffa city, north of Occupied Palestine, as the Israeli Authorities approved new settlement schemes targeting the city which was occupied in 1948.
____The so-called Israel Lands Administration (ILA) . . . endorsed a huge . . . scheme which will be established on the ruins of the Palestinian homes and lands in Nozha neighborhood in Jaffa. . .
____ILA claims that the Palestinian residents who live in this area will be expelled under pretext that these lands are “state owned” and that the Palestinians are illegally living in them and they will be compensated if they agree to leave.
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❷ From THE PALESTINIAN INFORMATION CENTER
REPORT: PALESTINIAN REFUGEES TOPPED 36,000 IN EUROPE
June 19, 2015
LONDON, (PIC)– 36,450 Palestinian refugees fleeing war-torn Syria reached Europe between 2011 and June 2015, Action Group for Palestinian refugees in Syria said in a report issued Friday.
. . . .
____The 36,450 refugees arrived to Europe via the so-called “boats of death” risking their lives after being forced to flee their homes in Syria and to live again uncertain lives as refugees, the report said.
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❸ From MA’AN NEWS AGENCY
RAFAH CROSSING CLOSES AFTER WEEK OPEN
June 19, 2015
GAZA (Ma’an) — The Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah crossing into and out of Gaza Friday after a week of being opened.
____The head of the department of crossings and borders in Gaza, Maher Abu Sabha, said that he is hopeful the crossing will be reopened again next week, adding that there remain 12,000 Palestinians registered to travel.
____On Friday, 450 people departed Gaza through the crossing and 88 others entered, while 10 were denied entry with no reasons specified.
. . . .
____In recent years, the Egyptian authorities have only rarely opened the Rafah crossing — Gaza’s only connection to the outside world.
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One of the larger refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, Dheisheh is home to some 15,000 people squeezed into one square kilometer.
One of the larger refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, Dheisheh is home to some 15,000 people squeezed into one square kilometer.

❹ From THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA
ROOFTOP GARDENS GIVE REFUGEES ROOM TO BREATHE
June 9, 2015
In the narrow alleys of Dheisheh refugee camp in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, Muaath Atef points to a rooftop. “There, that’s a nice bit of plastic,” he laughs. Behind that bit of plastic lies a garden set up by Karama, a volunteer community organization in the camp.
____Atef works with Karama, which runs after school activities and summer camps for local children. Three years ago, the group began setting up “micro-farms” on the rooftops of some 20 families in the camp.
____“There was a need and we tried to address it,” Yasser Al-Haj, Karama’s director, explains, adding that projects are chosen and implemented according to the demands of the community and not according to the whims of foreign funders.
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❺ From MA’AN NEWS AGENCY
REPORT: HAMAS MILITARY WING CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR FRIDAY SHOOTING
June 20, 2015
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – Hamas military wing Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades reportedly claimed responsibility for Friday’s West Bank shooting that left an Israeli man dead and another lightly injured.
____“One of the fighters ambushed a settler vehicle and shot at them from point-blank range after having observed the area continuously” . . . .
____The statement identified the “Marwan Qawasmeh and Amir Abu Eisha Brigade” as the affiliated group directly behind Friday’s shooting, adding that “the operation was carried out days before the first anniversary of the martyrs Marwan Qawasmeh and Amir Abu Eisha.”
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“ANY REFUGEES IN THE WORLD,” BY LAHAB ASSEF AL-JUNDI

what is the first thing that comes to mind
when you hear of refugees?
what terror drove them out of their homes?
are they getting help?
what is being done for their safe return?

are Palestinians any different from any other refugees?
is not their simple right
to return to the land they were driven from?

why are they being asked to settle
for money?
who designated the Palestinians as the chosen people
to carry the cross for a guilt-ridden West?
why do politicinas tell them
too much time has passed
when their grievance
is with people who went back after 2000 years?

between continued warfare and annihilation
coexistence beckons
as the only
honorable
demographic.

time for peace
now.

Lahab Assef Al-Jundi was born of Palestinian refugee parents and grew up in Damascus, Syria. He graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Not long after graduation, he discovered his passion for writing. He published his first poetry collection, A Long Way, in 1985. His poetry has appeared in numerous literary publications, and many anthologies including Inclined to Speak, An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Poetry, edited by Hayan Charara, and Between Heaven and Texas, edited by Naomi Shihab Nye.

From BEFORE THERE IS NOWHERE TO STAND: PALESTINE ISREL POETS RESPOND TO THE STRUGGLE. Ed. By Joan Dobbie and Grace Beeler. Sandpoint ID: Lost Horse Press, 2012. Available from Barnes & Noble.

C A L E N D A R

• Nakba Museum Project of Memory and Hope, June 13-27
• Upcoming group delegations to Palestine/Israel
. . . o Interfaith Peace Builders Delegation
. . . o 2015 Sabeel Witness Visit

Palestinians raise Hamas flags at what remains of the house of Hussam Qawasmeh, accused by Israel of being part of the plot to kidnap three hitchhikers. (AFP/Hazem Bader, File)Palestinians raise Hamas flags at what remains of the house of Hussam Qawasmeh, accused by Israel of being part of the plot to kidnap three hitchhikers. (AFP/Hazem Bader, File)