21 mar 2013
Jerusalemite rejection of the American position supporting the occupation
The Jerusalemite national and Islamic forces called on Tuesday to end the Palestinian division, to confront Israeli violations in Jerusalem, and to reject the U.S. position in support of the occupation on the eve of the U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to the region.
The call came during a press conference in the Old City in occupied Jerusalem, with the participation of a number of Jerusalemite national and Islamic forces and students at Al-Aqsa mosque who daily confront the Israeli desecration of the mosque.
The participants congratulated the liberated prisoner Ayman Sharawna for his release, calling for more support to the prisoners' issue.
The hunger striker Samer Issawi's mother, Layla Issawi, called on the U.S president Obama to pressure on the Israeli occupation for the release of her son.
I am a Palestinian mother who suffers like thousands of Palestinian mothers. I am Fadi's mother who was assassinated by the occupation in 1994 at a young age, I am Medhat's mother who is jailed in Israeli prisons, I am Rafat's mother who is displaced with his family after demolishing his house by the IOF, I'm Shirin and Firas and Shadi's mother who were arrested and tortured severely by the occupation. We are a family who is deprived of water by the occupation who wishes to deprive us even of food and medicine, Issawi's mother said during the press conference.
For his part, the activist Dr. Mohammed Jadallah stated that the Palestinian people refuse Obama's visit for different causes, most notably his supportive position to the Israeli enemy and his rejection of the Palestinian right to get rid of the occupier.
The occupation forces violate all international legitimacy resolutions, do not respect human rights laws, and violate the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians and indigenous people that deprive their forcible deportation, the demolition or confiscation of their homes or their land and properties, Jadallah said.
The call came during a press conference in the Old City in occupied Jerusalem, with the participation of a number of Jerusalemite national and Islamic forces and students at Al-Aqsa mosque who daily confront the Israeli desecration of the mosque.
The participants congratulated the liberated prisoner Ayman Sharawna for his release, calling for more support to the prisoners' issue.
The hunger striker Samer Issawi's mother, Layla Issawi, called on the U.S president Obama to pressure on the Israeli occupation for the release of her son.
I am a Palestinian mother who suffers like thousands of Palestinian mothers. I am Fadi's mother who was assassinated by the occupation in 1994 at a young age, I am Medhat's mother who is jailed in Israeli prisons, I am Rafat's mother who is displaced with his family after demolishing his house by the IOF, I'm Shirin and Firas and Shadi's mother who were arrested and tortured severely by the occupation. We are a family who is deprived of water by the occupation who wishes to deprive us even of food and medicine, Issawi's mother said during the press conference.
For his part, the activist Dr. Mohammed Jadallah stated that the Palestinian people refuse Obama's visit for different causes, most notably his supportive position to the Israeli enemy and his rejection of the Palestinian right to get rid of the occupier.
The occupation forces violate all international legitimacy resolutions, do not respect human rights laws, and violate the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians and indigenous people that deprive their forcible deportation, the demolition or confiscation of their homes or their land and properties, Jadallah said.
Issawi refuses to take vitamins in coincidence with Obama's visit
Ofer Military Court will hold today a hearing to look into the issue of Samer Issawi who went on a hunger strike since August 1st, 2012, PPS' lawyer Jawad Boulos declared.
The lawyer pointed out that the doctors in Kaplan hospital informed the Court that the hunger striker Samer Isawi could not attend the court due to his serious health condition.
Today's court session will only be a reviewing session to agree on how to manage his trial in the coming weeks, the lawyer added.
Samer Issawi has stopped taking vitamins since few days ago as an escalatory step to shed light on the prisoners' suffering in coincidence with the U.S. President Obama's visit to the region, calling on the Palestinian people to pray for him especially in light of his serious health deterioration, PPS lawyer added.
Concerning his health situation, Boulos emphasized that Issawi was placed under medical surveillance, using breathing apparatus, stressing his determination to continue the strike.
The lawyer pointed out that the doctors in Kaplan hospital informed the Court that the hunger striker Samer Isawi could not attend the court due to his serious health condition.
Today's court session will only be a reviewing session to agree on how to manage his trial in the coming weeks, the lawyer added.
Samer Issawi has stopped taking vitamins since few days ago as an escalatory step to shed light on the prisoners' suffering in coincidence with the U.S. President Obama's visit to the region, calling on the Palestinian people to pray for him especially in light of his serious health deterioration, PPS lawyer added.
Concerning his health situation, Boulos emphasized that Issawi was placed under medical surveillance, using breathing apparatus, stressing his determination to continue the strike.
It’s Up to Obama
By MUSTAFA BARGHOUTHI
AROUND 20 years ago, a young civil rights attorney was mobilizing the African-American community in Chicago at the beginning of his political career. This week Barack Obama will visit Palestine as president of the United States.
Around 20 years ago, I was involved in the process of negotiations that followed the Madrid conference, an early attempt to start a peace process, in an effort to secure independence for Palestine and the rights of its people. Next week I will still be here, alongside our steadfast people, fighting for our rights.
For two decades Palestine has engaged in discussions with successive Israeli governments, which have talked the talk of a negotiated settlement while deliberately turning a military occupation into something far more sinister — an ugly system of racial segregation.
President Obama has the power to change this reality and break the political deadlock. It will require some tough decisions and strong political will, but the United States is known for its ability to make strong foreign policy decisions when necessary.
Let us review the goal. The United States, along with the rest of the international community, endorses a two-state solution based on the 1967 border, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine and a resolution of the refugee issue in accordance with United Nations Resolution 194, so that Palestine and Israel can live side by side in peace and security.
The Palestinian and American visions are therefore in line with each other. Successive Israeli governments, unfortunately, have not shared this vision, a fact which is made abundantly clear by Israel’s actions on the ground: The cranes building settlements speak far louder than any words at a negotiating table.
American officials talk a great deal about the resumption of negotiations. The Palestinian leadership has always pushed for a negotiated settlement on all final-status issues. However, we also need to be very clear that any further negotiations must have clear terms of reference and prior obligations must be fulfilled in order to show that both parties have good-faith intentions of working toward a defined end goal. Otherwise we will be stuck in an empty process, one which unfortunately acts as a smokescreen for continued unilateral Israeli policies.
The first concrete step that Obama could take would be to demand that Israel fulfill its prior obligations. This includes a full freeze on settlement construction, the release of prisoners, the opening of closed institutions in Jerusalem and other commitments made during previous negotiations.
There must be real consequences for Israel if it fails to comply with U.S. requests and international law. Israel’s lack of accountability remains the single most damaging aspect of U.S. involvement in the conflict.
Obama could also use this visit to ask Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu whether his intention is two states based on the 1967 border. If Netanyahu answers yes, then the president should ask to see Netanyahu’s map of what this might look like.
The Palestine Liberation Organization has presented its negotiating positions clearly and repeatedly while fulfilling its commitments; there is no point going back to the negotiating table without an indication from this new Israeli government that it shares the same vision for a solution as the rest of the world.
Thirdly, if the United States does see itself as an honest broker, then the balance of power must be redressed. Two parties cannot reasonably negotiate when one is weaker and the mediator is allied to the stronger party. We understand that America will always be Israel’s close friend. But a good friend needs to be willing to tell his friend when he is going astray.
Obama needs to make it clear that the reality of occupation and segregation contradicts the strongly held values of the American people, is in no one’s interests, and cannot last indefinitely. If Obama feels that given the American relationship with Israel he is not able to mediate, then it would be better to admit this and step back, allowing others to take the lead.
We, as Palestinians, are doing what we can to break the deadlock and work toward peace. Last year, we took the diplomatic initiative to enhance our status at the United Nations to that of an observer state, in part to salvage the internationally endorsed two-state solution and to create positive pressure to restart a political process. It is a shame that the United States and Israel did not support our bid, which ultimately would have been in all parties’ interests.
The P.L.O. is ready as ever to negotiate — as long as there are clear terms of reference and the fulfillment of prior obligations, including a complete settlement freeze. Unfortunately, both of these elements have been missing — along with an honest broker.
The importance of Obama’s visit will depend on his actions. Above all, Palestinians want to be granted their right to freedom, self-determination and equality. The United States has the power to reinstate the elements required to help us achieve our rights and advance toward a lasting peace. The question is whether the U.S. has the will.
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, a physician and member of the Palestinian Parliament, is secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, a political party.
Link to the Op Ed:
AROUND 20 years ago, a young civil rights attorney was mobilizing the African-American community in Chicago at the beginning of his political career. This week Barack Obama will visit Palestine as president of the United States.
Around 20 years ago, I was involved in the process of negotiations that followed the Madrid conference, an early attempt to start a peace process, in an effort to secure independence for Palestine and the rights of its people. Next week I will still be here, alongside our steadfast people, fighting for our rights.
For two decades Palestine has engaged in discussions with successive Israeli governments, which have talked the talk of a negotiated settlement while deliberately turning a military occupation into something far more sinister — an ugly system of racial segregation.
President Obama has the power to change this reality and break the political deadlock. It will require some tough decisions and strong political will, but the United States is known for its ability to make strong foreign policy decisions when necessary.
Let us review the goal. The United States, along with the rest of the international community, endorses a two-state solution based on the 1967 border, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine and a resolution of the refugee issue in accordance with United Nations Resolution 194, so that Palestine and Israel can live side by side in peace and security.
The Palestinian and American visions are therefore in line with each other. Successive Israeli governments, unfortunately, have not shared this vision, a fact which is made abundantly clear by Israel’s actions on the ground: The cranes building settlements speak far louder than any words at a negotiating table.
American officials talk a great deal about the resumption of negotiations. The Palestinian leadership has always pushed for a negotiated settlement on all final-status issues. However, we also need to be very clear that any further negotiations must have clear terms of reference and prior obligations must be fulfilled in order to show that both parties have good-faith intentions of working toward a defined end goal. Otherwise we will be stuck in an empty process, one which unfortunately acts as a smokescreen for continued unilateral Israeli policies.
The first concrete step that Obama could take would be to demand that Israel fulfill its prior obligations. This includes a full freeze on settlement construction, the release of prisoners, the opening of closed institutions in Jerusalem and other commitments made during previous negotiations.
There must be real consequences for Israel if it fails to comply with U.S. requests and international law. Israel’s lack of accountability remains the single most damaging aspect of U.S. involvement in the conflict.
Obama could also use this visit to ask Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu whether his intention is two states based on the 1967 border. If Netanyahu answers yes, then the president should ask to see Netanyahu’s map of what this might look like.
The Palestine Liberation Organization has presented its negotiating positions clearly and repeatedly while fulfilling its commitments; there is no point going back to the negotiating table without an indication from this new Israeli government that it shares the same vision for a solution as the rest of the world.
Thirdly, if the United States does see itself as an honest broker, then the balance of power must be redressed. Two parties cannot reasonably negotiate when one is weaker and the mediator is allied to the stronger party. We understand that America will always be Israel’s close friend. But a good friend needs to be willing to tell his friend when he is going astray.
Obama needs to make it clear that the reality of occupation and segregation contradicts the strongly held values of the American people, is in no one’s interests, and cannot last indefinitely. If Obama feels that given the American relationship with Israel he is not able to mediate, then it would be better to admit this and step back, allowing others to take the lead.
We, as Palestinians, are doing what we can to break the deadlock and work toward peace. Last year, we took the diplomatic initiative to enhance our status at the United Nations to that of an observer state, in part to salvage the internationally endorsed two-state solution and to create positive pressure to restart a political process. It is a shame that the United States and Israel did not support our bid, which ultimately would have been in all parties’ interests.
The P.L.O. is ready as ever to negotiate — as long as there are clear terms of reference and the fulfillment of prior obligations, including a complete settlement freeze. Unfortunately, both of these elements have been missing — along with an honest broker.
The importance of Obama’s visit will depend on his actions. Above all, Palestinians want to be granted their right to freedom, self-determination and equality. The United States has the power to reinstate the elements required to help us achieve our rights and advance toward a lasting peace. The question is whether the U.S. has the will.
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, a physician and member of the Palestinian Parliament, is secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, a political party.
Link to the Op Ed:
Demanding an international investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack
Syria's government and rebels on Wednesday both demanded an international investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack, as the country's feared arsenal became the latest propaganda tool in the 2-year-old civil war. President Barack Obama said the United States is investigating whether chemical weapons have been deployed in Syria, but noted that he is "deeply skeptical" of claims by President Bashar Assad's regime that rebel forces were behind such an attack.
"Once we establish the facts, I have made clear that the use of chemical weapons is a game changer," Obama said in a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
The use of chemical weapons by either side is a nightmare scenario. Along with its warnings about Assad, the West is just as concerned that rebel forces, including some linked to al-Qaida, could get their hands on Syria's chemical weapons supplies.
Despite the importance, any clear confirmation of the nature of the attack that took place Tuesday in the northern village of Khan al-Assal, killing at least 31 people, is unlikely. Syria's government seals off areas it controls to journalists and outside observers.
The two sides blamed each other for a chemical attack without offering clear proof or documentation, as has frequently been the case in the Syrian civil war.
If confirmed, it would be the first time a chemical weapon has been used in Syria's war that has already killed an estimated 70,000 people.
Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari told reporters at the United Nations Wednesday that he had asked U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to form "a specialized, independent and neutral technical mission to investigate the use by the terrorist groups operating in Syria of chemical weapons" in Khan al-Assal.
Jaafari called the attack "very serious and alarming and unacceptable and unethical."
U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said he would have something to say "once we receive any formal request, which we have so far not received." He said the secretary-general remains convinced that the use of chemical weapons by any party under any circumstances would constitute "an outrageous crime."
Syria's main opposition group also demanded an international investigation.
"All evidence now indicates that the Assad regime is using these weapons against its own people," the main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, said.
"The Coalition demands a full international investigation, and asks for a delegation to be sent to inquire and visit the site," the group said in a statement.
Obama has declared the use, deployment or transfer of the weapons to be his "red line" for possible military intervention in the Arab country.
"When you start seeing weapons that can cause potential devastation and mass casualties and you let that genie out of the bottle, then you are looking at potentially even more horrific scenes than we've already seen in Syria," Obama said in Jerusalem, "and the international community has to act on that information."
Russia and Iran, Assad's main allies, backed his regime's charges.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast blamed "armed opposition groups," calling use of chemical weapons "an inhuman act."
"Undoubtedly, the responsibilities of a repetition of such crimes would fall on those committing it and the countries that support them," he was quoted by state TV as saying, apparently referring to Gulf states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia
"There's definitely a propaganda war between the regime and opposition," said Ayham Kamel, a Middle East analyst at the Eurasia Group in London.
"Because we cannot verify either claims, we are going to be stuck in the same cycle of accusations, unless some international mission is actually sent there to verify what happened," he said.
Jordan's king warned Wednesday that an extremist Islamic state could form on his border.
King Abdullah II told The Associated Press in an interview that in his view, Assad was beyond rehabilitation, and it was only a matter of time before his authoritarian regime collapses.
"The most worrying factors in the Syrian conflict are the issues of chemical weapons, the steady flow or sudden surge in refugees and a jihadist state emerging out of the conflict," the king said.
The opposition's disunity was on display again Wednesday.
About a dozen members of the Syrian National Coalition suspended their membership a day after it elected the first rebel prime minister.
Among them were senior members including Suheir Atassi, Kamal Labwani, and spokesman Waleed al-Bunni.
Atassi said explained why she suspended her membership. "I refuse to be a follower and I refuse to be simply a woman who decorates their gatherings and conferences while they make all the decisions," she wrote on her Facebook page.
Coalition members have complained of the dominance of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood in the SNC, and Hitto was one of the top Brotherhood candidates.
In fighting Wednesday, activists reported intense clashes in the Quneitra region on the cease-fire line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels seized control of parts of villages a few kilometers (miles) from the cease-fire line after fierce fighting with regime forces.
It said seven people, including three children, were killed by government shelling villages.
Activists on Facebook pages affiliated with rebels in Quneitra announced the start of the operation to "break the siege on Quneitra and Damascus' western suburbs."
The fall of Quneitra in rebel hands would be significant because it is close to the Israeli frontier.
Israel has said its policy is not to get involved in the Syrian civil war, but it has retaliated to sporadic Syrian fire that has spilled over into Israeli communities in the Golan Heights.
Also Wednesday, Assad made a rare public appearance, visiting a fine arts school in Damascus and meeting the parents of students who were killed in the civil war, state TV reported.
Photos run by the Syrian state media showed Assad shaking hands and listening closely to people who were said to be parents of war victims. It was his first appearance outside his palace since January, when he delivered a speech.
"All of Syria is wounded, and there is no one who hasn't lost a relative, a brother, a father or a mother," Assad said, according to the official news agency SANA.
"However, all that is happening cannot make us weak, and the battle is a battle of will and steadfastness," he added.
"Once we establish the facts, I have made clear that the use of chemical weapons is a game changer," Obama said in a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
The use of chemical weapons by either side is a nightmare scenario. Along with its warnings about Assad, the West is just as concerned that rebel forces, including some linked to al-Qaida, could get their hands on Syria's chemical weapons supplies.
Despite the importance, any clear confirmation of the nature of the attack that took place Tuesday in the northern village of Khan al-Assal, killing at least 31 people, is unlikely. Syria's government seals off areas it controls to journalists and outside observers.
The two sides blamed each other for a chemical attack without offering clear proof or documentation, as has frequently been the case in the Syrian civil war.
If confirmed, it would be the first time a chemical weapon has been used in Syria's war that has already killed an estimated 70,000 people.
Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari told reporters at the United Nations Wednesday that he had asked U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to form "a specialized, independent and neutral technical mission to investigate the use by the terrorist groups operating in Syria of chemical weapons" in Khan al-Assal.
Jaafari called the attack "very serious and alarming and unacceptable and unethical."
U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said he would have something to say "once we receive any formal request, which we have so far not received." He said the secretary-general remains convinced that the use of chemical weapons by any party under any circumstances would constitute "an outrageous crime."
Syria's main opposition group also demanded an international investigation.
"All evidence now indicates that the Assad regime is using these weapons against its own people," the main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, said.
"The Coalition demands a full international investigation, and asks for a delegation to be sent to inquire and visit the site," the group said in a statement.
Obama has declared the use, deployment or transfer of the weapons to be his "red line" for possible military intervention in the Arab country.
"When you start seeing weapons that can cause potential devastation and mass casualties and you let that genie out of the bottle, then you are looking at potentially even more horrific scenes than we've already seen in Syria," Obama said in Jerusalem, "and the international community has to act on that information."
Russia and Iran, Assad's main allies, backed his regime's charges.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast blamed "armed opposition groups," calling use of chemical weapons "an inhuman act."
"Undoubtedly, the responsibilities of a repetition of such crimes would fall on those committing it and the countries that support them," he was quoted by state TV as saying, apparently referring to Gulf states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia
"There's definitely a propaganda war between the regime and opposition," said Ayham Kamel, a Middle East analyst at the Eurasia Group in London.
"Because we cannot verify either claims, we are going to be stuck in the same cycle of accusations, unless some international mission is actually sent there to verify what happened," he said.
Jordan's king warned Wednesday that an extremist Islamic state could form on his border.
King Abdullah II told The Associated Press in an interview that in his view, Assad was beyond rehabilitation, and it was only a matter of time before his authoritarian regime collapses.
"The most worrying factors in the Syrian conflict are the issues of chemical weapons, the steady flow or sudden surge in refugees and a jihadist state emerging out of the conflict," the king said.
The opposition's disunity was on display again Wednesday.
About a dozen members of the Syrian National Coalition suspended their membership a day after it elected the first rebel prime minister.
Among them were senior members including Suheir Atassi, Kamal Labwani, and spokesman Waleed al-Bunni.
Atassi said explained why she suspended her membership. "I refuse to be a follower and I refuse to be simply a woman who decorates their gatherings and conferences while they make all the decisions," she wrote on her Facebook page.
Coalition members have complained of the dominance of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood in the SNC, and Hitto was one of the top Brotherhood candidates.
In fighting Wednesday, activists reported intense clashes in the Quneitra region on the cease-fire line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels seized control of parts of villages a few kilometers (miles) from the cease-fire line after fierce fighting with regime forces.
It said seven people, including three children, were killed by government shelling villages.
Activists on Facebook pages affiliated with rebels in Quneitra announced the start of the operation to "break the siege on Quneitra and Damascus' western suburbs."
The fall of Quneitra in rebel hands would be significant because it is close to the Israeli frontier.
Israel has said its policy is not to get involved in the Syrian civil war, but it has retaliated to sporadic Syrian fire that has spilled over into Israeli communities in the Golan Heights.
Also Wednesday, Assad made a rare public appearance, visiting a fine arts school in Damascus and meeting the parents of students who were killed in the civil war, state TV reported.
Photos run by the Syrian state media showed Assad shaking hands and listening closely to people who were said to be parents of war victims. It was his first appearance outside his palace since January, when he delivered a speech.
"All of Syria is wounded, and there is no one who hasn't lost a relative, a brother, a father or a mother," Assad said, according to the official news agency SANA.
"However, all that is happening cannot make us weak, and the battle is a battle of will and steadfastness," he added.
Abu Zuhri: Obama statement proves anew US bias in favor of Israel
US president Barack Obama displayed his country’s unlimited military, economic, and political support for Israel in his press conference on Wednesday, Dr. Sami Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said.
Abu Zuhri told the PIC on Wednesday night that Obama’s renewed commitment to Israel’s security while ignoring the Palestinian sufferings topped by that of prisoners and the Israeli Judaization and settlement policies and the siege on Gaza affirmed his country’s blind support for Israel.
He underlined that such stands show the fault of those still betting on an American positive role in the region.
The best response to such “hostile American stands” is to achieve Palestinian unity and to stop security coordination between the PA in Ramallah and the Israeli occupation, which was hailed by Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, Abu Zuhri said.
He also championed a tougher official Arab stance in face of the American contempt toward regional regimes and peoples.
For his part, Dr. Yousef Rezka, the political advisor to the Palestinian premier in Gaza, told Quds Press that Obama’s statement on arrival was a forgery of history.
Obama said on arrival that the land of Palestine is the historic land for Jews, adding that he was committed to the protection of Israel.
Rezka described the statement as a serious forgery of history, adding that Palestine is the heart of the Arab Nation and is an Islamic land with its Aqsa mosque and holy Jerusalem.
The advisor charged that such falsification of history point to the degree of American bias in addition to the Israeli influence in the US and on its presidents.
Rezka advised the PA in Ramallah to take lessons from such American bias and not to remain silent vis-à-vis such historical forgery.
Abu Zuhri told the PIC on Wednesday night that Obama’s renewed commitment to Israel’s security while ignoring the Palestinian sufferings topped by that of prisoners and the Israeli Judaization and settlement policies and the siege on Gaza affirmed his country’s blind support for Israel.
He underlined that such stands show the fault of those still betting on an American positive role in the region.
The best response to such “hostile American stands” is to achieve Palestinian unity and to stop security coordination between the PA in Ramallah and the Israeli occupation, which was hailed by Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, Abu Zuhri said.
He also championed a tougher official Arab stance in face of the American contempt toward regional regimes and peoples.
For his part, Dr. Yousef Rezka, the political advisor to the Palestinian premier in Gaza, told Quds Press that Obama’s statement on arrival was a forgery of history.
Obama said on arrival that the land of Palestine is the historic land for Jews, adding that he was committed to the protection of Israel.
Rezka described the statement as a serious forgery of history, adding that Palestine is the heart of the Arab Nation and is an Islamic land with its Aqsa mosque and holy Jerusalem.
The advisor charged that such falsification of history point to the degree of American bias in addition to the Israeli influence in the US and on its presidents.
Rezka advised the PA in Ramallah to take lessons from such American bias and not to remain silent vis-à-vis such historical forgery.
Resheq slams Obama's position toward occupied Palestine
Member of Hamas's political bureau Ezzat Al-Resheq strongly denounced US president Barack Obama for describing occupied Palestine as the historical land of Jews, saying that this position was a flagrant bias in favor of the Israeli regime. "We strongly condemn the remarks made by US president Barack Obama today in his speech after his arrival in the Zionist entity and his description of the Palestinian land as the historical land of Jews," Resheq stated on Wednesday.
"These remarks and positions that were expressed by the US president cannot and will not change the facts and the historical truth a bit, and they emphasize that any wager on the US administration or others to restore our people's rights is frivolous and that our people will take these rights forcibly through their steadfastness an resistance," he said.
For his part, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that Obama's remarks in his news conference confirmed his administration's political, military and financial support for the Israeli occupation.
In a statement to the Palestinian information center, Abu Zuhri added that Obama's renewed vows to protect the Zionist entity's security and his disregard for the Palestinians' suffering as well as the ongoing Judaization and settlement activities and the blockade on Gaza reaffirm the American bias in favor of the occupation.
He stressed that these US positions vindicate further that it is extremely wrong to persist in wagering on its role in the region in light of its alliance with the occupation at the expense of the Arab and Islamic rights in Palestine.
"These remarks and positions that were expressed by the US president cannot and will not change the facts and the historical truth a bit, and they emphasize that any wager on the US administration or others to restore our people's rights is frivolous and that our people will take these rights forcibly through their steadfastness an resistance," he said.
For his part, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that Obama's remarks in his news conference confirmed his administration's political, military and financial support for the Israeli occupation.
In a statement to the Palestinian information center, Abu Zuhri added that Obama's renewed vows to protect the Zionist entity's security and his disregard for the Palestinians' suffering as well as the ongoing Judaization and settlement activities and the blockade on Gaza reaffirm the American bias in favor of the occupation.
He stressed that these US positions vindicate further that it is extremely wrong to persist in wagering on its role in the region in light of its alliance with the occupation at the expense of the Arab and Islamic rights in Palestine.
20 mar 2013
Hamas rejects Obama visit to Aqsa
Hamas movement declared its absolute rejection of the slated visit by US president Barack Obama to the Aqsa mosque under Israeli protection. A statement for the movement on Wednesday warned that the visit would be in violation of the international law for endorsing legitimacy of occupation and its hegemony on the Aqsa mosque.
Hamas warned of serious consequences of such a visit and asked the American administration to revise the visit itinerary, and urged the Palestinian masses to declare their rejection of that visit.
Hamas asked the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to act and demand cancellation of the visit to the Aqsa.
For his part, Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil, a Hamas leader, said that Obama’s visit would not bring any good to the Palestinian people or cause.
He said that the agenda of Obama’s talks would prioritize the Iranian and Syrian issues and would not touch on the Palestinian issue.
Bardawil told Quds Press that the visit would pressure the Palestinians not the Israelis, and warned of the possible Obama visit to the Aqsa mosque. He said that such a visit would be more dangerous than that of former Israeli premier Ariel Sharon back in 2000 that ignited the Aqsa intifada. He explained that the visit would give international legitimacy to occupation.
Hamas warned of serious consequences of such a visit and asked the American administration to revise the visit itinerary, and urged the Palestinian masses to declare their rejection of that visit.
Hamas asked the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to act and demand cancellation of the visit to the Aqsa.
For his part, Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil, a Hamas leader, said that Obama’s visit would not bring any good to the Palestinian people or cause.
He said that the agenda of Obama’s talks would prioritize the Iranian and Syrian issues and would not touch on the Palestinian issue.
Bardawil told Quds Press that the visit would pressure the Palestinians not the Israelis, and warned of the possible Obama visit to the Aqsa mosque. He said that such a visit would be more dangerous than that of former Israeli premier Ariel Sharon back in 2000 that ignited the Aqsa intifada. He explained that the visit would give international legitimacy to occupation.
Palestinian popular rejection of Obama's visit
A number of Palestinian activists and politicians expressed their rejection of the visit by U.S. President Barack Obama to the Palestinian territories on Thursday. Several popular marches were launched in a number of Palestinian towns and villages to denounce the visit, while popular groups stated that they do not believe the visit serves the interests the Palestinian people and their just cause.
In the city of Ramallah; the Palestinian Authority security apparatus set up three human barriers on Tuesday evening to prevent a mass rally, rejecting Obama's visit, from reaching the al-Muqata'a headquarters.
Hundreds of demonstrators marched from Menara roundabout and roamed the city streets, before heading toward the Muqata'a headquarters, where they were stopped and attacked by security elements.
The demonstrators chanted slogans against U.S. President Obama and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and expressed condemnation of the policy of security coordination with the occupation.
PA security had earlier announced the closure of all the streets of the city of Al-Bireh.
More than 500 U.S. security elements are expected to arrive to the Palestinian territories to secure Obama's visit.
Member of the Popular Resistance, Issam Bakr, confirmed that the United States have proven to be a partner in the aggression against the Palestinian people and cannot be an honest broker for the resumption of any negotiations.
For its part; Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) in Palestine announced on Tuesday its rejection to the visit and to the American interference in Muslim issues in general and in the Palestinian issue in particular.
The Party announced the launch of a campaign of activities and public events to express Palestinians' rejection of the visit of "the head of the world's first terrorist state," as it pointed.
Meanwhile; phrases like "We do not trust America”... "Not welcome ... ally of Israel, enemy of Palestine" were posted on different websites in expression of popular discontent toward the United States and its president
The PA security arrested during in the past two days, groups of boys and young men in the city of Ramallah on the backdrop of tearing posters of the American President and organizing events against his visit.
In the city of Ramallah; the Palestinian Authority security apparatus set up three human barriers on Tuesday evening to prevent a mass rally, rejecting Obama's visit, from reaching the al-Muqata'a headquarters.
Hundreds of demonstrators marched from Menara roundabout and roamed the city streets, before heading toward the Muqata'a headquarters, where they were stopped and attacked by security elements.
The demonstrators chanted slogans against U.S. President Obama and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and expressed condemnation of the policy of security coordination with the occupation.
PA security had earlier announced the closure of all the streets of the city of Al-Bireh.
More than 500 U.S. security elements are expected to arrive to the Palestinian territories to secure Obama's visit.
Member of the Popular Resistance, Issam Bakr, confirmed that the United States have proven to be a partner in the aggression against the Palestinian people and cannot be an honest broker for the resumption of any negotiations.
For its part; Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) in Palestine announced on Tuesday its rejection to the visit and to the American interference in Muslim issues in general and in the Palestinian issue in particular.
The Party announced the launch of a campaign of activities and public events to express Palestinians' rejection of the visit of "the head of the world's first terrorist state," as it pointed.
Meanwhile; phrases like "We do not trust America”... "Not welcome ... ally of Israel, enemy of Palestine" were posted on different websites in expression of popular discontent toward the United States and its president
The PA security arrested during in the past two days, groups of boys and young men in the city of Ramallah on the backdrop of tearing posters of the American President and organizing events against his visit.
IOF soldiers quell anti-Obama demo in Al-Khalil, bulldoze land in Jenin
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) quelled a Palestinian demonstration in Al-Khalil city on Wednesday protesting US president Barack Obama’s visit. Eyewitnesses told the PIC that Jewish settlers joined the soldiers in quelling and dispersing the demonstrators in Shuhada street.
They said that the soldiers arrested three Palestinians and beat up participants in the march.
Meanwhile, IOF soldiers bulldozed cultivated land near a military roadblock to the south of Jenin.
Local sources said that the bulldozed land is near to the entrance of Mevo Dotan settlement, adding that the soldiers wanted to expand the army barrier at the expense of Palestinian land that is owned by Abu Bakir family and is planted with olives and almonds.
They said that the soldiers arrested three Palestinians and beat up participants in the march.
Meanwhile, IOF soldiers bulldozed cultivated land near a military roadblock to the south of Jenin.
Local sources said that the bulldozed land is near to the entrance of Mevo Dotan settlement, adding that the soldiers wanted to expand the army barrier at the expense of Palestinian land that is owned by Abu Bakir family and is planted with olives and almonds.
Palestinians install protest village to greet US President Barack Obama
Protester dressed as ML King abducted in Hebron
As US President Barack Obama arrived for a two day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories, hundreds of Palestinian non-violent activists set up a tent village at Bab al Shams (Door to the Sun) to challenge Israeli settlement policy and the US government’s tacit support for settlement expansion.
They say that the US government is complicit in Israeli expansion of settlements, which have taken over much of the Palestinian land in the West Bank in the last twenty years.
They told reporters, “An administration [Obama’s administration] that used the veto 43 times out of 79 between 1979 to 2011 in support of Israel and against Palestinian rights, an administration that grants military aid to Israel of over three billion dollars annually cannot have any positive contribution to achieve justice and rights of the Palestinian people.”
The new protest tent village is named ‘Ahfad Younis’, after the main character in the ‘Bab al Shams’ book by Lebanese author Elias Khoury. The book focuses on the plight of the Palestinian refugees, many of whom are still living in refugee camps in neighboring Arab countries including Lebanon for the third generation since their expulsion from what is now Israel in 1948.
Protesters constructed the tent village Wednesday morning near the site of the original Bab al Shams protest village outside Ramallah, which was installed and then demolished by Israeli forces two months ago. During that action, two hundred peaceful Palestinian demonstrators engaged in a sit-in, and were carried off one by one to prison by Israeli soldiers.
This marked a new stage in the Palestinian non-violent resistance movement, which previously focused mainly on non-violent marches at construction sites of the Israeli Wall. Organizers say they get their inspiration from the non-violent anti-colonial struggle in India led by Mahatma Gandhi, and by the civil rights movement in the US.
In a statement, the protesters marked four main aims of their demonstration:
1. To claim our right as Palestinians to return to our lands and villages
2. To claim our sovereignty over our lands without permission from anyone
3. To protect our land from continued confiscation and threat of settlement and colonization
4. To expand popular resistance as one form of resistance, out of many, that our people are engaged in everywhere.
Other protests in parts of the West Bank took place Wednesday as well, including in Hebron where protesters dressed in Martin Luther King masks and sang songs from the US civil rights movement. They said that they hoped to remind President Obama of the history of overcoming racism in the US, and to urge him to take action against similar racist policies enacted by Israel against the Palestinian people.
As US President Barack Obama arrived for a two day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories, hundreds of Palestinian non-violent activists set up a tent village at Bab al Shams (Door to the Sun) to challenge Israeli settlement policy and the US government’s tacit support for settlement expansion.
They say that the US government is complicit in Israeli expansion of settlements, which have taken over much of the Palestinian land in the West Bank in the last twenty years.
They told reporters, “An administration [Obama’s administration] that used the veto 43 times out of 79 between 1979 to 2011 in support of Israel and against Palestinian rights, an administration that grants military aid to Israel of over three billion dollars annually cannot have any positive contribution to achieve justice and rights of the Palestinian people.”
The new protest tent village is named ‘Ahfad Younis’, after the main character in the ‘Bab al Shams’ book by Lebanese author Elias Khoury. The book focuses on the plight of the Palestinian refugees, many of whom are still living in refugee camps in neighboring Arab countries including Lebanon for the third generation since their expulsion from what is now Israel in 1948.
Protesters constructed the tent village Wednesday morning near the site of the original Bab al Shams protest village outside Ramallah, which was installed and then demolished by Israeli forces two months ago. During that action, two hundred peaceful Palestinian demonstrators engaged in a sit-in, and were carried off one by one to prison by Israeli soldiers.
This marked a new stage in the Palestinian non-violent resistance movement, which previously focused mainly on non-violent marches at construction sites of the Israeli Wall. Organizers say they get their inspiration from the non-violent anti-colonial struggle in India led by Mahatma Gandhi, and by the civil rights movement in the US.
In a statement, the protesters marked four main aims of their demonstration:
1. To claim our right as Palestinians to return to our lands and villages
2. To claim our sovereignty over our lands without permission from anyone
3. To protect our land from continued confiscation and threat of settlement and colonization
4. To expand popular resistance as one form of resistance, out of many, that our people are engaged in everywhere.
Other protests in parts of the West Bank took place Wednesday as well, including in Hebron where protesters dressed in Martin Luther King masks and sang songs from the US civil rights movement. They said that they hoped to remind President Obama of the history of overcoming racism in the US, and to urge him to take action against similar racist policies enacted by Israel against the Palestinian people.
Obama Starts Visit to Israel, Palestine
United States President Barack Obama started Wednesday a three-day visit to Israel and Palestine. Obama’s plane landed at Tel Aviv airport shortly after midday local time where the US president received an official welcome by Israeli leaders.
Obama’s first day of the trip and part of the second day include meetings with Israeli officials before he travels on Thursday to Ramallah for meetings and working lunch with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
His visit to Ramallah includes a meeting with young Palestinians at al-Bireh Youth Center.
On Friday, Obama will visit the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem before he concludes his first trip as president to Israel and Palestine and leaves to Amman, Jordan.
Obama’s first day of the trip and part of the second day include meetings with Israeli officials before he travels on Thursday to Ramallah for meetings and working lunch with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
His visit to Ramallah includes a meeting with young Palestinians at al-Bireh Youth Center.
On Friday, Obama will visit the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem before he concludes his first trip as president to Israel and Palestine and leaves to Amman, Jordan.
14 mar 2013
100 Palestinian civil organizations consider Obama's visit futile
One hundred Palestinian NGO have signed a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to pressure Israeli authorities during his upcoming visit to the region to end settlements on Palestinian land. The organizations stated that Obama has to work first for the immediate release of all detainees, the removal of all Israeli barriers, more than 600 barriers, in the West Bank and the end of the Gaza siege in order to achieve peace in the region.
There must be a timeframe for the application of the international law in order to ensure the Palestinian right of return, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, Mohsen Abu Ramadan Chairman of the Board of Palestinian NGOs Network stated during a press conference on Thursday.
Abu Ramadan pointed out that the U.S. President's visit came in light of the Arab popular changes for freedom, democracy and social justice, stressing that these changes would not be completed without ending the occupation and achieving the Palestinian right to freedom and dignity like the other peoples of the earth.
He stressed that the Palestinian people do not need new initiatives to regenerate the unconditional negotiations without halting settlements or releasing a part of the Palestinian detainees.
He called to stabilize the region only through applying the international law, adding that negotiations did not achieve any concrete results but it was used as a cover to the Israeli settlements and to put an end to the two-state solution adopted by Obama.
There must be a timeframe for the application of the international law in order to ensure the Palestinian right of return, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, Mohsen Abu Ramadan Chairman of the Board of Palestinian NGOs Network stated during a press conference on Thursday.
Abu Ramadan pointed out that the U.S. President's visit came in light of the Arab popular changes for freedom, democracy and social justice, stressing that these changes would not be completed without ending the occupation and achieving the Palestinian right to freedom and dignity like the other peoples of the earth.
He stressed that the Palestinian people do not need new initiatives to regenerate the unconditional negotiations without halting settlements or releasing a part of the Palestinian detainees.
He called to stabilize the region only through applying the international law, adding that negotiations did not achieve any concrete results but it was used as a cover to the Israeli settlements and to put an end to the two-state solution adopted by Obama.
11 mar 2013
A Call to Reject Obama's Visit, Demonstrate Against Any Return to Negotiations
Palestinian youth groups of "Palestinians For Dignity" call to reject US President Obama's visit to the occupied Palestinian territory expected between 20-22 March, and to demonstrate against the possible return to negotiations.
Palestinians For Dignity said in a press release that President Obama's visit to the occupied Palestinian territory comes at a time when the Palestinian prisoners are waging a hunger strike battle in the face of Israeli government obstinacy, and in the face of US silence towards the slow murder these heroes are being subjected to.
Most recently Palestinian prisoner Arafat Jaradat died during interrogation inside the Israeli prison of Megiddo. Moreover, the visit comes in light of the continued international isolation of Israel and the ever-increasing boycott campaigns against it.
On one hand, it is simply naive to presume that U.S. policy toward Israel has changed since Obama took office. A March 2012 report by the U.S. Congress discusses a $3.1 billion in military aid for the year 2013 only, including financing the Iron Dome system, and increasing US bilateral support to Israel to $115 billion since 1949. In addition, the US is committed to maintain Israel's security at the expense of the lives, land and livelihood of Palestinians; whether by justifying the massacres against Palestinians in Gaza, or through its silence concerning settlement expansion, destructions of homes, forcible transfer and other Israeli policies.
On the other hand, it is hypocritical and disingenuous that the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) disregards the role of the Obama administration in blocking its membership request in 2011 at the Security Council, and its vote against the resolution at the General Assembly in 2012. Furthermore, the US congress has imposed financial sanctions on international institutions recognizing "Palestine". And to add insult to injury, while the PLO/PA assure Palestinians they consider Jerusalem the Palestinian capital, yet they receive the US President in the Ramallah enclave.
Despite the attempts of the Palestinian "leadership" to ease the atmosphere, with statements about Obama pressuring the Israeli government on the issue of Palestinian political prisoners, or promises of petty US aid, however, the ultimate objectives of the visit are clear.
The visit aims to achieve three goals; first, to relieve the pressure off the Israeli government, which is suffering increased international isolation (albeit with words more than actions). Second, to restrain the frustration of the Palestinian street simmering in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and finally, to prolong the expected lifetime of the PA, which after 20 years is becoming more and more disconnected from its people.
The Palestinian people will not accept to play a role in achieving these interests, and will not succumb to these pressures. What is required of us as Palestinians is to persue a complete boycott of our occupier on all fronts: security, economical, political, cultural and academic, and to rebuild a representative entity for Palestinians everywhere. Not aid in relieving the pressure on the Israeli government by engaging in a futile process, and allowing it to complete its expansionary policies and annexation through uprooting Palestinians from their land and homes.
Accordingly, Palestinians For Dignity call on the masses of the Palestinian people to change this path and demonstrate against receiving he who considers Israel "the closest ally in the region", and to refuse the return to futile negotiations. Palestinians For Dignity call for entrenching the sacrifices of the martyrs and prisoners by refusing to surrender and to work with Palestinians everywhere to establish a strategic program of resistance, where political, economic, military, popular and various other forms of resistance and duties are shared each according to their ability.
Palestinians For Dignity invite you to take to the street on the expected day of the visit between the 20-23 of March, close to the day of Al-Karamah (dignity) battle commemoration, to restore part of our dignity and reject Western hegemony, and Zionist colonialism and internal consent.
Palestinians For Dignity said in a press release that President Obama's visit to the occupied Palestinian territory comes at a time when the Palestinian prisoners are waging a hunger strike battle in the face of Israeli government obstinacy, and in the face of US silence towards the slow murder these heroes are being subjected to.
Most recently Palestinian prisoner Arafat Jaradat died during interrogation inside the Israeli prison of Megiddo. Moreover, the visit comes in light of the continued international isolation of Israel and the ever-increasing boycott campaigns against it.
On one hand, it is simply naive to presume that U.S. policy toward Israel has changed since Obama took office. A March 2012 report by the U.S. Congress discusses a $3.1 billion in military aid for the year 2013 only, including financing the Iron Dome system, and increasing US bilateral support to Israel to $115 billion since 1949. In addition, the US is committed to maintain Israel's security at the expense of the lives, land and livelihood of Palestinians; whether by justifying the massacres against Palestinians in Gaza, or through its silence concerning settlement expansion, destructions of homes, forcible transfer and other Israeli policies.
On the other hand, it is hypocritical and disingenuous that the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) disregards the role of the Obama administration in blocking its membership request in 2011 at the Security Council, and its vote against the resolution at the General Assembly in 2012. Furthermore, the US congress has imposed financial sanctions on international institutions recognizing "Palestine". And to add insult to injury, while the PLO/PA assure Palestinians they consider Jerusalem the Palestinian capital, yet they receive the US President in the Ramallah enclave.
Despite the attempts of the Palestinian "leadership" to ease the atmosphere, with statements about Obama pressuring the Israeli government on the issue of Palestinian political prisoners, or promises of petty US aid, however, the ultimate objectives of the visit are clear.
The visit aims to achieve three goals; first, to relieve the pressure off the Israeli government, which is suffering increased international isolation (albeit with words more than actions). Second, to restrain the frustration of the Palestinian street simmering in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and finally, to prolong the expected lifetime of the PA, which after 20 years is becoming more and more disconnected from its people.
The Palestinian people will not accept to play a role in achieving these interests, and will not succumb to these pressures. What is required of us as Palestinians is to persue a complete boycott of our occupier on all fronts: security, economical, political, cultural and academic, and to rebuild a representative entity for Palestinians everywhere. Not aid in relieving the pressure on the Israeli government by engaging in a futile process, and allowing it to complete its expansionary policies and annexation through uprooting Palestinians from their land and homes.
Accordingly, Palestinians For Dignity call on the masses of the Palestinian people to change this path and demonstrate against receiving he who considers Israel "the closest ally in the region", and to refuse the return to futile negotiations. Palestinians For Dignity call for entrenching the sacrifices of the martyrs and prisoners by refusing to surrender and to work with Palestinians everywhere to establish a strategic program of resistance, where political, economic, military, popular and various other forms of resistance and duties are shared each according to their ability.
Palestinians For Dignity invite you to take to the street on the expected day of the visit between the 20-23 of March, close to the day of Al-Karamah (dignity) battle commemoration, to restore part of our dignity and reject Western hegemony, and Zionist colonialism and internal consent.
9 mar 2013
Samira Ibrahim denied State Department award for "anti-Semitic" tweets
The Obama administration is postponing the International Women of Courage Award for Egyptian activist Samira Ibrahim because of tweets discovered on her Twitter account.
The U.S State Department announced earlier this week that Samira Ibrahim would be among 10 recipients of the International Women of Courage Award presented by Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S First Lady Michelle Obama.
The State Department decided on Friday to hold off on awarding the Egyptian human rights activist because of tweets published on her Twitter account over the past months and described as "anti-U.S." and "support violence against Jews".
An American weekly newspaper had earlier published a report entitled "Michelle Obama and John Kerry to Honor Anti-Semite", after tweet on Ibrahim's Twitter account had welcomed the news about a bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israelis last July.
In other posts, Samira Ibrahim disseminated Hitler's quote saying that "I have discovered with the passage of days, that no act contrary to morality, no crime against society takes place, except with the Jews having a hand in it."
Ibrahim is one of the real leaders in her country in trying to address gender-based violence and other human rights abuses.
The U.S State Department announced earlier this week that Samira Ibrahim would be among 10 recipients of the International Women of Courage Award presented by Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S First Lady Michelle Obama.
The State Department decided on Friday to hold off on awarding the Egyptian human rights activist because of tweets published on her Twitter account over the past months and described as "anti-U.S." and "support violence against Jews".
An American weekly newspaper had earlier published a report entitled "Michelle Obama and John Kerry to Honor Anti-Semite", after tweet on Ibrahim's Twitter account had welcomed the news about a bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israelis last July.
In other posts, Samira Ibrahim disseminated Hitler's quote saying that "I have discovered with the passage of days, that no act contrary to morality, no crime against society takes place, except with the Jews having a hand in it."
Ibrahim is one of the real leaders in her country in trying to address gender-based violence and other human rights abuses.
5 mar 2013
48-Palestinians demonstrate outside U.S. Embassy
The Islamic movement in the Palestinian 1948 occupied territories organized on Monday a demonstration outside the US Embassy in the occupied city of Tel Rabi protesting against the U.S. President Barack Obama's intended visit to al-Aqsa mosque during his upcoming visit to the region the next few days.
The demonstrators raised the green flags and pictures of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and chanted slogans calling for supporting al-Aqsa and demanding the U.S. administration to stop its biased policy towards the Israeli entity.
The head of the Islamic Movement inside the Green Line, Sheikh Raed Salah, said that this demonstration is a response to the leaked news concerning the U.S. President Barack Obama's intended visit to Jerusalem and al-Aqsa mosque.
The intended visit provides a false legitimacy to the occupation in al-Aqsa mosque and declares war against the Palestinian people and against the Arab and Islamic nation because Jerusalem and al-Aqsa mosque's issue is not only a Palestinian issue but it is an Arab and Islamic issue, Sheikh Salah explained.
Meanwhile, UFree network to defend Palestinian prisoners' rights stated that the number prisoners from 1948-occupied territories ranges between 90 to 100, 14 of them spent more than 20 years in Israeli jails.
Palestinian political prisoner, Maher Younis, a resident of the 1948 occupied territories who has been in Israeli jails for more than 30 years, has started a hunger strike in quest of his basic human rights, UFree pointed out in a press statement.
"He spent and continues most of his sentence in cells which lack basics of living conditions in addition to being subjected to solitary confinement. All this period, he was deprived of meeting his mother face to face but through a glass barrier. Meanwhile, since his arrest in 1983, he was not granted any of the basic rights of prisoners granted to other Israeli prisoners," the network added.
UFree Network has also pointed out to Maher Younis's cousin, Karim Younis, who spent 31 years in Israeli jails, in addition to Lina Jarbouni who is the longest serving Palestinian woman political prisoner, where she was arrested since 11 years ago.
The demonstrators raised the green flags and pictures of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and chanted slogans calling for supporting al-Aqsa and demanding the U.S. administration to stop its biased policy towards the Israeli entity.
The head of the Islamic Movement inside the Green Line, Sheikh Raed Salah, said that this demonstration is a response to the leaked news concerning the U.S. President Barack Obama's intended visit to Jerusalem and al-Aqsa mosque.
The intended visit provides a false legitimacy to the occupation in al-Aqsa mosque and declares war against the Palestinian people and against the Arab and Islamic nation because Jerusalem and al-Aqsa mosque's issue is not only a Palestinian issue but it is an Arab and Islamic issue, Sheikh Salah explained.
Meanwhile, UFree network to defend Palestinian prisoners' rights stated that the number prisoners from 1948-occupied territories ranges between 90 to 100, 14 of them spent more than 20 years in Israeli jails.
Palestinian political prisoner, Maher Younis, a resident of the 1948 occupied territories who has been in Israeli jails for more than 30 years, has started a hunger strike in quest of his basic human rights, UFree pointed out in a press statement.
"He spent and continues most of his sentence in cells which lack basics of living conditions in addition to being subjected to solitary confinement. All this period, he was deprived of meeting his mother face to face but through a glass barrier. Meanwhile, since his arrest in 1983, he was not granted any of the basic rights of prisoners granted to other Israeli prisoners," the network added.
UFree Network has also pointed out to Maher Younis's cousin, Karim Younis, who spent 31 years in Israeli jails, in addition to Lina Jarbouni who is the longest serving Palestinian woman political prisoner, where she was arrested since 11 years ago.
Obama and Israel's self-victimization extravaganza
When President Barack Obama visits Israel later this month he will be treated to Jerusalem's full-dress victim show, a modern Via Dolorosa. Can't we offer our closest ally more than war memorials, nuclear nightmares and the Holocaust?
Seven years ago an obscure young United States senator visited the Holy Land. Over the course of five intensive days he covered nearly every inch of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He took tours, heard explanations, held meetings and asked questions. He always carried a pen and a large notebook. His hosts were impressed by his energy, his likability and his insistence on arriving at his own conclusions.
Among other activities, the studious senator took the opportunity to hover over the state’s narrow waistline in an air force helicopter, to tour the northern border, to view a bombarded building in Kiryat Shmona and the computers in the community center of the Christian-Arab village of Fassuta, to meet the foreign minister, take in a variety of sites in Jerusalem, including in the Old City, to confer in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and to speak with Palestinian university students.
At Ben-Gurion International Airport, while waiting for his return flight, the senator even recorded his regular weekly radio broadcast to constituents. His conclusion: "This is an extraordinarily complicated place."
This month the visitor will return, not as a senator but as the president of the United States who recently began his second term. Judging by the itinerary planned for him by his hosts, when it comes to organized tours, it seems the conditions have worsened: Instead of an extraordinarily complicated land, this time he will see a flat, one-dimensional place.
In addition to his official meetings with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, what we have is a type of modern via dolorosa: President Barack Obama will lay a wreath at Mount Herzl, view the Dead Sea Scrolls, see a model of Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple, visit an Iron Dome anti-missile battery and breakfast with Netanyahu.
On the table, according to official sources: "Iran, Syria and Jonathan Pollard." Bon Appetit. (Fortunately, the Americans insisted that Obama will also discuss the peace process with Netanyahu and give an address to 1,000 Israelis).
Ah, we nearly forgot the most important thing: Our man will of course not miss the visit to Yad Vashem, our eternal flame. So what if Senator Obama, on his previous visit, paid a searching, two-hour visit to the Holocaust museum and memorial.
In fact, perhaps an additional space should be found in the schedule of the leader of the free world, to meet with so-called second- and third-generation Holocaust survivors who, as part of an insane new trend, are having the numbers the Nazis tattooed on the arms of their parents and grandparents in Auschwitz inked onto their own arms.
After all, there is no more perfect metaphor for the theme of the entire itinerary being planned: Looking back to the past, mainly as victims. And if we do occasionally foray into the present, it should be to emphasize Israel as passive, vulnerable victim (Iran, Iron Dome, Pollard).
The Jewish past clearly plays a key role in understanding the complexity of Israel's existence, but is this the whole story? How can this be how a regional power, supposedly a historic, global model for independence and renewal, welcomes its ally for a long-hoped-for visit? Do we really have nothing to show Obama apart from the Dead Sea Scrolls, a Temple that was destroyed, Holocaust memorials and military graves?
Never mind the past, which can also be presented in a far more complex and varied way – what about the present and the future? What has happened to our vaunted pride, power and initiative?
Common sense says the U.S. president’s brief time here could be used much more effectively. We could show him, and remind ourselves in the process, that there is more on Israel's horizon than ruin, Holocaust, nuclear nightmares and Iron Dome.
But in the prolonged Netanyahu Era, Israel is ill indeed. The red carpet rolled out by the eternal victim is always stained with blood; eternity is only ashes and dust, in the words of Yehuda Poliker.
Seven years ago an obscure young United States senator visited the Holy Land. Over the course of five intensive days he covered nearly every inch of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He took tours, heard explanations, held meetings and asked questions. He always carried a pen and a large notebook. His hosts were impressed by his energy, his likability and his insistence on arriving at his own conclusions.
Among other activities, the studious senator took the opportunity to hover over the state’s narrow waistline in an air force helicopter, to tour the northern border, to view a bombarded building in Kiryat Shmona and the computers in the community center of the Christian-Arab village of Fassuta, to meet the foreign minister, take in a variety of sites in Jerusalem, including in the Old City, to confer in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and to speak with Palestinian university students.
At Ben-Gurion International Airport, while waiting for his return flight, the senator even recorded his regular weekly radio broadcast to constituents. His conclusion: "This is an extraordinarily complicated place."
This month the visitor will return, not as a senator but as the president of the United States who recently began his second term. Judging by the itinerary planned for him by his hosts, when it comes to organized tours, it seems the conditions have worsened: Instead of an extraordinarily complicated land, this time he will see a flat, one-dimensional place.
In addition to his official meetings with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, what we have is a type of modern via dolorosa: President Barack Obama will lay a wreath at Mount Herzl, view the Dead Sea Scrolls, see a model of Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple, visit an Iron Dome anti-missile battery and breakfast with Netanyahu.
On the table, according to official sources: "Iran, Syria and Jonathan Pollard." Bon Appetit. (Fortunately, the Americans insisted that Obama will also discuss the peace process with Netanyahu and give an address to 1,000 Israelis).
Ah, we nearly forgot the most important thing: Our man will of course not miss the visit to Yad Vashem, our eternal flame. So what if Senator Obama, on his previous visit, paid a searching, two-hour visit to the Holocaust museum and memorial.
In fact, perhaps an additional space should be found in the schedule of the leader of the free world, to meet with so-called second- and third-generation Holocaust survivors who, as part of an insane new trend, are having the numbers the Nazis tattooed on the arms of their parents and grandparents in Auschwitz inked onto their own arms.
After all, there is no more perfect metaphor for the theme of the entire itinerary being planned: Looking back to the past, mainly as victims. And if we do occasionally foray into the present, it should be to emphasize Israel as passive, vulnerable victim (Iran, Iron Dome, Pollard).
The Jewish past clearly plays a key role in understanding the complexity of Israel's existence, but is this the whole story? How can this be how a regional power, supposedly a historic, global model for independence and renewal, welcomes its ally for a long-hoped-for visit? Do we really have nothing to show Obama apart from the Dead Sea Scrolls, a Temple that was destroyed, Holocaust memorials and military graves?
Never mind the past, which can also be presented in a far more complex and varied way – what about the present and the future? What has happened to our vaunted pride, power and initiative?
Common sense says the U.S. president’s brief time here could be used much more effectively. We could show him, and remind ourselves in the process, that there is more on Israel's horizon than ruin, Holocaust, nuclear nightmares and Iron Dome.
But in the prolonged Netanyahu Era, Israel is ill indeed. The red carpet rolled out by the eternal victim is always stained with blood; eternity is only ashes and dust, in the words of Yehuda Poliker.
4 mar 2013
Obama Demands a Timetable For Israeli Withdrawal
American President, Barack Obama, demanded Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to present a timetable for the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied West Bank, the World Tribune has reported.
According to the report, an Israeli source stated that Obama clearly informed Netanyahu that his visit to the region is not meant for media consumption, but is focused on Iran and the establishment of a Palestinian State.
The source added that it appears that Obama will be acting on his own should Tel Aviv fail to present any feasible plan for withdrawal.
Obama is asking Netanyahu to present a detailed West Bank withdrawal plan as part of an American initiative for a peace agreement that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian State in 2014, according to Israeli sources.
Furthermore, the World Tribune reported that Netanyahu’s office is worried about the American demand, especially since the Israeli Prime Minister has not been able to form a new government due to extended coalition talks that has not led yet to forming a new government.
Addressing the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, stated that a comprehensive peace agreement with the Palestinians is not possible under the current circumstances.
Barak added that Israel wants an agreement “that guarantees its security”, and stated that Tel Aviv will have to take what he called “unilateral steps to avoid becoming a bi-national state”.
He also stated that the bilateral steps that Israel should take include ensuring that all of its settlement blocs, built in the occupied West Bank, will be part of Israel, and ensuring a Jewish majority in the country.
Barak also said that Israel must also maintain its security and military presence in the occupied Jordan Valley.
Israel’s ongoing invasions, attacks, the demolition and takeover of Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem, are part of various main issues that led to the collapse of direct peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.
Israel’s settlement construction and expansion activities in the occupied West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are among the main causes for the collapse of these talks.
Tel Aviv is also refusing to recognize the internationally guaranteed Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees, and is refusing to hold talks over borders and national resources.
According to the report, an Israeli source stated that Obama clearly informed Netanyahu that his visit to the region is not meant for media consumption, but is focused on Iran and the establishment of a Palestinian State.
The source added that it appears that Obama will be acting on his own should Tel Aviv fail to present any feasible plan for withdrawal.
Obama is asking Netanyahu to present a detailed West Bank withdrawal plan as part of an American initiative for a peace agreement that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian State in 2014, according to Israeli sources.
Furthermore, the World Tribune reported that Netanyahu’s office is worried about the American demand, especially since the Israeli Prime Minister has not been able to form a new government due to extended coalition talks that has not led yet to forming a new government.
Addressing the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, stated that a comprehensive peace agreement with the Palestinians is not possible under the current circumstances.
Barak added that Israel wants an agreement “that guarantees its security”, and stated that Tel Aviv will have to take what he called “unilateral steps to avoid becoming a bi-national state”.
He also stated that the bilateral steps that Israel should take include ensuring that all of its settlement blocs, built in the occupied West Bank, will be part of Israel, and ensuring a Jewish majority in the country.
Barak also said that Israel must also maintain its security and military presence in the occupied Jordan Valley.
Israel’s ongoing invasions, attacks, the demolition and takeover of Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem, are part of various main issues that led to the collapse of direct peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.
Israel’s settlement construction and expansion activities in the occupied West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are among the main causes for the collapse of these talks.
Tel Aviv is also refusing to recognize the internationally guaranteed Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees, and is refusing to hold talks over borders and national resources.
