5 mar 2016
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Unlike the political elite and Zionist activists, the Western public had not known or cared much about the Zionist project in Palestine before the establishment of Israel.
Only after the birth of Israel, devout Christians and many Zionist Jews and secular intellectuals activated the call for sympathy, with the European Jews, to have a secured national home -- not in Europe where they had been ill-treated -- but in distant Palestine, and ignored the immorality and injustice of colonizing it. They knew that Palestine was populated by a community which had nothing to do with the Jews' suffering in Europe, but perpetuated the Zionists big lie of “land without people for people without land” to reshape world opinion |
in support of Israel. Instead of describing the establishment of Israel as European colonization of a country, and the ethnic cleansing of a nation, they focused on the “plight of Jews” in Europe.
The best-selling novel in America since “Gone with the Wind,” is Leon Uris’ 1958 blockbuster, “Exodus”. It was a story of two lovers, an American nurse and an Israeli ‘freedom fighter’ obsessed with rescuing European Jews who had survived the Holocaust. The novel was written by a Jewish American Zionist with a serious intent to reshape public opinion through Zionist propaganda about the birth of Israel. Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, described the novel: “As a literary work, it isn’t much. But, as a piece of propaganda, it is the greatest thing ever written about Israel.” It became a major motion picture; more than seven million copies of the book were sold in the US; it was translated into scores of languages read by millions in numerous other countries; and, for many months, it reached New York Times best seller list. The book was secretly translated by Jewish dissidents from the Soviet Union. Tens of thousands of copies were distributed, and, according to Zionist activist Leah Pliner, “the Samizdat version of Exodus became a source of inspiration among Russian Jews.”
“Exodus” was presented as a story of “heroism, sacrifice and redemption” that framed the story of Israel’s birth as a just and necessary accomplishment. The story of Israel resonates with the religious belief of devout Christians who constitute the Torah as part of their Christian scripture. In their minds, the distinction between Zionism and Judaism is rarely recognized. Supporters of Israel never cared to learn that Israel was born of the convictions of two men, Britain’s foreign minister Arthur J. Balfour, during World War I, and US President Harry S. Truman, when Nazi Germany surrendered in World War II. Balfour issued the Belfour Declaration in 1917, pledging the British government to foster “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” After the World War II, Truman deemed the plight of Jews in Europe a matter of the “highest humanitarian importance”, and pressured the British to implement the declaration and not limit European Jews' immigration to Palestine.
Historians Allis Radosh and Ronald Radosh wrote, in their 2009 book, A Safe Haven: Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel, that Truman had interest in Palestine due to his deep religious belief since his childhood: “He had read the Bible a dozen times before he was fifteen.” Even if he was not influenced by his religious belief, Truman was a politician, no different from today’s US politicians, and there were even more activist Jews in the US than in Great Britain. The racially motivated stereotypes of the Arab and Muslim worlds were invented by Western colonialists and, propagated by their media, served as implicit support for the Zionists' colonial ambitions in Palestine. And, at the same time, there were no impartial historians like Benny Morris and Ilan Pappѐ, or Arab intellectuals in the mould of Edward Said or Salman Abu- Sitta or Ramzy Baroud to tell the real story about colonizing Palestine.
As more archival material became available, the crimes and the expulsion of Palestinians, as a matter of historical fact, have been confirmed. An estimated 750,000 Palestinians had fled Palestine or been expelled from their homes by the Jewish military, and tens of massacres were committed. More than ninety percent of the inhabitants of Haifa, Tibrias, Beit She’an, Jafa, and Acre cities had vanished. “531 villages had been destroyed, 11 urban neighborhoods had been emptied of their inhabitants” and thousands of civilians were massacred, according to Ilan Pappѐ's "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine". Roughly 15 percent of Palestinians remained behind and became Israeli citizens, and all lost their property to expropriation. UN General Assembly Resolution 194 conferred the refugees’ right of return, but Ben-Gurion and all successive Israeli governments never had any intention of implementing it or, even, accepting the return of one single refugee to her/his home in Israel.
Israeli political leaders, the Zionist and the non-Zionist, the secular and the religious, the left-wing liberals and the right-wing conservatives all have one thing in common: They all have been indoctrinated with the notion that because a person is Jewish, a “special people with inherited noble blood!,” they are entitled to take Palestinian land. If there is difference, it is in how far each is willing to go to steal the land and abuse the natives. Some rabbis wrote that “it is no sin to kill the Palestinians.”
Even the so-called liberal political Israeli leaders, like Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, committed some of the worst acts of atrocities against civilian Palestinians, in the process of creating the State of Israel. Yitzhak Rabin, the future prime minister of Israel, the so called “most liberal’ Israeli politician and the recipient of the 1994 Nobel Peace prize, led the military unit that ethincally cleansed two prosperous and peaceful towns of their civilian Palestinians, inflicting great suffering upon the evicted men, women and children.
Rabin described his role in the 1948 expulsion of the Palestinians from the towns of Lod and Ramle, when he was the commander of the Harel Brigade. He wrote in his memoir: “While the fighting was still in progress, we had to grapple with a problem: the fate of the civilian population of Lod and Ramle, numbering some 50,000. [Yigal] Allon and I held a consultation. I agreed that it was essential to drive the inhabitants out. We took them on foot toward Bet Horon road. The population of Lod did not leave willingly. There was no way of avoiding force and warning shots in order to make the inhabitants march the fifteen miles to the point where they met up with the [Arab] Legion.”
The 1967 war that demolished pan-Arabism left Israel in full control of historical Palestine, including the West Bank and Gaza, and changed the image of the conflict, in the West, from one pitting the Arab world against tiny Israel to one pitting mighty Israel with its formidable military strength against the pitiful Palestinians. The Israel that used to accuse its enemies of denying the Jews a state, is now denying that same right to another people, the Palestinians.
A UN investigatory commission chaired by the Jewish jurist, Richard Goldstone, accused Israel of “crimes against humanity” during the three-week war on Gaza in 2009. Editor's note: See video. (WARNING -- Content is extremely graphic in nature.)And, many human rights organizations and activists accused Israel of crimes against the Palestinians in the 2012 and 2014 wars on the people of Gaza, and for occupying, colonizing and enforcing an apartheid regime in the West Bank. Things came full circle after more than seventy years of establishing the permanent international court and “crimes against humanity” category in 1945, for the Nuremberg trials of thirteen surviving Nazi defendants, for the mass murder of Jews and others. Leaders of Israel who like to describe their state as “the Jewish State” stood accused of “crimes against humanity” during their war against the Palestinian refugees. The Israeli State that was widely admired by the West, for its resolution to “never again” allow Jews to be targeted, is now being denounced for targeting the Palestinians.
Many international bodies, including some in Europe and the US, joined the denunciation of Israel. They joined the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement which calls for the economic and cultural isolation of Israel until it complies with international law on Palestinian rights. British teacher unions have called for the academic boycott of Israel; the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Pension and Health Benefits announced its decision to divest from five Israeli banks it said failed to meet its 2015 investment criteria based on human rights; Norwegian supermarkets boycotted Israeli goods that are produced in West Bank settlements; and, former US President, Jimmy Carter has published a book accusing Israel of practicing apartheid.
Seventy years after 1947-48 “Nakba”, the Palestinians have won a moral victory. Crimes against them are finally called “crimes” !
The best-selling novel in America since “Gone with the Wind,” is Leon Uris’ 1958 blockbuster, “Exodus”. It was a story of two lovers, an American nurse and an Israeli ‘freedom fighter’ obsessed with rescuing European Jews who had survived the Holocaust. The novel was written by a Jewish American Zionist with a serious intent to reshape public opinion through Zionist propaganda about the birth of Israel. Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, described the novel: “As a literary work, it isn’t much. But, as a piece of propaganda, it is the greatest thing ever written about Israel.” It became a major motion picture; more than seven million copies of the book were sold in the US; it was translated into scores of languages read by millions in numerous other countries; and, for many months, it reached New York Times best seller list. The book was secretly translated by Jewish dissidents from the Soviet Union. Tens of thousands of copies were distributed, and, according to Zionist activist Leah Pliner, “the Samizdat version of Exodus became a source of inspiration among Russian Jews.”
“Exodus” was presented as a story of “heroism, sacrifice and redemption” that framed the story of Israel’s birth as a just and necessary accomplishment. The story of Israel resonates with the religious belief of devout Christians who constitute the Torah as part of their Christian scripture. In their minds, the distinction between Zionism and Judaism is rarely recognized. Supporters of Israel never cared to learn that Israel was born of the convictions of two men, Britain’s foreign minister Arthur J. Balfour, during World War I, and US President Harry S. Truman, when Nazi Germany surrendered in World War II. Balfour issued the Belfour Declaration in 1917, pledging the British government to foster “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” After the World War II, Truman deemed the plight of Jews in Europe a matter of the “highest humanitarian importance”, and pressured the British to implement the declaration and not limit European Jews' immigration to Palestine.
Historians Allis Radosh and Ronald Radosh wrote, in their 2009 book, A Safe Haven: Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel, that Truman had interest in Palestine due to his deep religious belief since his childhood: “He had read the Bible a dozen times before he was fifteen.” Even if he was not influenced by his religious belief, Truman was a politician, no different from today’s US politicians, and there were even more activist Jews in the US than in Great Britain. The racially motivated stereotypes of the Arab and Muslim worlds were invented by Western colonialists and, propagated by their media, served as implicit support for the Zionists' colonial ambitions in Palestine. And, at the same time, there were no impartial historians like Benny Morris and Ilan Pappѐ, or Arab intellectuals in the mould of Edward Said or Salman Abu- Sitta or Ramzy Baroud to tell the real story about colonizing Palestine.
As more archival material became available, the crimes and the expulsion of Palestinians, as a matter of historical fact, have been confirmed. An estimated 750,000 Palestinians had fled Palestine or been expelled from their homes by the Jewish military, and tens of massacres were committed. More than ninety percent of the inhabitants of Haifa, Tibrias, Beit She’an, Jafa, and Acre cities had vanished. “531 villages had been destroyed, 11 urban neighborhoods had been emptied of their inhabitants” and thousands of civilians were massacred, according to Ilan Pappѐ's "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine". Roughly 15 percent of Palestinians remained behind and became Israeli citizens, and all lost their property to expropriation. UN General Assembly Resolution 194 conferred the refugees’ right of return, but Ben-Gurion and all successive Israeli governments never had any intention of implementing it or, even, accepting the return of one single refugee to her/his home in Israel.
Israeli political leaders, the Zionist and the non-Zionist, the secular and the religious, the left-wing liberals and the right-wing conservatives all have one thing in common: They all have been indoctrinated with the notion that because a person is Jewish, a “special people with inherited noble blood!,” they are entitled to take Palestinian land. If there is difference, it is in how far each is willing to go to steal the land and abuse the natives. Some rabbis wrote that “it is no sin to kill the Palestinians.”
Even the so-called liberal political Israeli leaders, like Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, committed some of the worst acts of atrocities against civilian Palestinians, in the process of creating the State of Israel. Yitzhak Rabin, the future prime minister of Israel, the so called “most liberal’ Israeli politician and the recipient of the 1994 Nobel Peace prize, led the military unit that ethincally cleansed two prosperous and peaceful towns of their civilian Palestinians, inflicting great suffering upon the evicted men, women and children.
Rabin described his role in the 1948 expulsion of the Palestinians from the towns of Lod and Ramle, when he was the commander of the Harel Brigade. He wrote in his memoir: “While the fighting was still in progress, we had to grapple with a problem: the fate of the civilian population of Lod and Ramle, numbering some 50,000. [Yigal] Allon and I held a consultation. I agreed that it was essential to drive the inhabitants out. We took them on foot toward Bet Horon road. The population of Lod did not leave willingly. There was no way of avoiding force and warning shots in order to make the inhabitants march the fifteen miles to the point where they met up with the [Arab] Legion.”
The 1967 war that demolished pan-Arabism left Israel in full control of historical Palestine, including the West Bank and Gaza, and changed the image of the conflict, in the West, from one pitting the Arab world against tiny Israel to one pitting mighty Israel with its formidable military strength against the pitiful Palestinians. The Israel that used to accuse its enemies of denying the Jews a state, is now denying that same right to another people, the Palestinians.
A UN investigatory commission chaired by the Jewish jurist, Richard Goldstone, accused Israel of “crimes against humanity” during the three-week war on Gaza in 2009. Editor's note: See video. (WARNING -- Content is extremely graphic in nature.)And, many human rights organizations and activists accused Israel of crimes against the Palestinians in the 2012 and 2014 wars on the people of Gaza, and for occupying, colonizing and enforcing an apartheid regime in the West Bank. Things came full circle after more than seventy years of establishing the permanent international court and “crimes against humanity” category in 1945, for the Nuremberg trials of thirteen surviving Nazi defendants, for the mass murder of Jews and others. Leaders of Israel who like to describe their state as “the Jewish State” stood accused of “crimes against humanity” during their war against the Palestinian refugees. The Israeli State that was widely admired by the West, for its resolution to “never again” allow Jews to be targeted, is now being denounced for targeting the Palestinians.
Many international bodies, including some in Europe and the US, joined the denunciation of Israel. They joined the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement which calls for the economic and cultural isolation of Israel until it complies with international law on Palestinian rights. British teacher unions have called for the academic boycott of Israel; the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Pension and Health Benefits announced its decision to divest from five Israeli banks it said failed to meet its 2015 investment criteria based on human rights; Norwegian supermarkets boycotted Israeli goods that are produced in West Bank settlements; and, former US President, Jimmy Carter has published a book accusing Israel of practicing apartheid.
Seventy years after 1947-48 “Nakba”, the Palestinians have won a moral victory. Crimes against them are finally called “crimes” !
4 mar 2016
Israeli authorities have denied a delegation of six Belgian MPs entry into the blockaded Gaza Strip to visit local NGOs, this week.
The delegation, which represents different political parties in Belgium, said in a statement, on Wednesday, that they had arranged the visit for the day before with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
They had hoped to meet with civil society organizations and take field tours across the beleaguered enclave at the request of the Belgian parliament.
After being denied, the MPs criticised the “illegal” Israel measure and said it contravened international conventions. They also suggested that Israel might be attempting “to hide something,” and said they had informed the Belgian government of “the unacceptable situation.”
“Israel has no right to act in such way which violates international conventions,” the MPs said in their statement.
Earlier this year, Belgium pledged €2.45 million ($2.6 million) to UNRWA “in support of the agency’s services for Palestine refugees in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
It adds, according to the PNN, to some $90 million Belgium has donated to the agency since 2007.
The delegation was lead by Gunel Grufenis of the Belgium Socialist party, and included Van Kwecenuorn, representative of the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats party, Jean Marc Noly, representative of the Belgian Green party, David Clarnival, representative of the Reform Movement party, Brydia Frogovils, representative of Christian Democratic and Flemish party and Beit Dobren, representative of the New Flemish Alliance party.
The Palestinian MP and head of the popular committee against the Gaza siege, Jamal Khudari strongly condemned the Israeli ban. He described Israel’s decision as part of its siege on the Strip that deepens the suffering of Gaza people.
Khudari also called on the international community and the European parliaments to exert more pressures on Israel to end Gaza siege.
The delegation, which represents different political parties in Belgium, said in a statement, on Wednesday, that they had arranged the visit for the day before with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
They had hoped to meet with civil society organizations and take field tours across the beleaguered enclave at the request of the Belgian parliament.
After being denied, the MPs criticised the “illegal” Israel measure and said it contravened international conventions. They also suggested that Israel might be attempting “to hide something,” and said they had informed the Belgian government of “the unacceptable situation.”
“Israel has no right to act in such way which violates international conventions,” the MPs said in their statement.
Earlier this year, Belgium pledged €2.45 million ($2.6 million) to UNRWA “in support of the agency’s services for Palestine refugees in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
It adds, according to the PNN, to some $90 million Belgium has donated to the agency since 2007.
The delegation was lead by Gunel Grufenis of the Belgium Socialist party, and included Van Kwecenuorn, representative of the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats party, Jean Marc Noly, representative of the Belgian Green party, David Clarnival, representative of the Reform Movement party, Brydia Frogovils, representative of Christian Democratic and Flemish party and Beit Dobren, representative of the New Flemish Alliance party.
The Palestinian MP and head of the popular committee against the Gaza siege, Jamal Khudari strongly condemned the Israeli ban. He described Israel’s decision as part of its siege on the Strip that deepens the suffering of Gaza people.
Khudari also called on the international community and the European parliaments to exert more pressures on Israel to end Gaza siege.
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New Irish Parliament Member Gino Kenny, from the Anti-Austerity Alliance, celebrated his election victory, this past Saturday, by waving a Palestinian flag.
Kenny, aged 42, is a local Irish activist that has been a People Before Profit Alliance councilor on South Dublin County Council since 2009. He also has been an active campaigner against the property tax and the water charges, and, if elected, says that solving Dublin Mid-West’s lack of social housing will be his number one priority. Gino was elected to South Dublin County Council in 2009 and subsequently re-elected in May of 2014. In the 2011 General Election Gino |
received 2500 first preference votes and hopes to turn that into a Dáil seat next time around. This time, he received 4629 votes, according to the PNN.
Another candidate who also won, Independent John Halligan, launched his candidacy in January in the presence of Palestinian Authority Ambassador Ahmad Abdelrazek.
“Delighted that Palestinian Ambassador Ahmad Abdelrazek will be attending my #GE16 launch on Friday in the Granville at 7:30pm,” he proudly placed on his Facebook page in January.
Both Kenny and Halligan supported position statements circulated by two Irish-Palestinian solidarity groups.
Sadaka, the Ireland Palestine Alliance, circulated a “pledge” among all 551 candidates, asking them to sign off on the following position points:
Another candidate who also won, Independent John Halligan, launched his candidacy in January in the presence of Palestinian Authority Ambassador Ahmad Abdelrazek.
“Delighted that Palestinian Ambassador Ahmad Abdelrazek will be attending my #GE16 launch on Friday in the Granville at 7:30pm,” he proudly placed on his Facebook page in January.
Both Kenny and Halligan supported position statements circulated by two Irish-Palestinian solidarity groups.
Sadaka, the Ireland Palestine Alliance, circulated a “pledge” among all 551 candidates, asking them to sign off on the following position points:
- Ireland should formally recognize a Palestinian state;
- Vigorously work to end the blockade of Gaza;
- Seek a EU ban on trade and investment with Israeli colonies/settlements;
- Suspend military export licenses to Israel and public procurements from Israeli arms companies.
- Another organization, the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, asked the Irish candidates to commit themselves to working to end bilateral Israel-Irish arms trade, and to suspend the EU-Israel
- Association Agreement.
3 mar 2016
Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) announced on Tuesday, March 1st, launching events for the Israeli Apartheid Week in Gaza Strip, which coincides the first of March of every year.
The events, organized in Palestine and 250 other countries around the world, emphasize the Palestinian right of resisting the occupation.
Boycott. Divestment. Sanctions. (BDS)
Abdulrahman Abu Nahel, Gaza coordinator of the Palestinian BDS National Committee, said, “We will focus on all aspects of BDS that aim to isolate the Israeli occupation academically, culturally, and militarily.”
Abu Nahel pointed out that Palestinian and foreign activists in Canada started the Israeli Apartheid Week in 2005 in response to the demands of the Palestinian civil society. Since then, the annual week has become the most noticeable stance of solidarity with the Palestinian people, highlighting the real image of Israel.
Abu Nahel mentioned that the events are now organized in more than 250 cities. The events, according to him, are staged in most parts of historical Palestine and they started in Europe a few days ago and are going to be launched in the coming few days in the Arab countries, the US, Africa, and Latin America.
He stated that the events include movies, seminars, group discussions, and innovative activities on the Palestinian cause. There will also be messages and speeches delivered by some prominent activists and political figures. There will be seminars organized with the participation of Rania Masri, from the Lebanese Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon.
In cooperation with the secretary general of the National Democratic Alliance, Awad Abdel Fattah, from Masarat Center, a seminar will be held on the role of the Palestinians in the territories of 1948 in the Palestinian struggle. The film of “The Wanted 18” will be the concluding event of the Week.
Popular support
Regarding the message of the boycotts and the marches that were launched a few days ago in Ramallah, Abu Nahel stressed that this underlines the Palestinian popular support for the BDS.
When asked about the objectives the BDS movement is looking for, Abu Nahel said, “We seek to empower our people to practice their right of self-determination, through ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands and dismantling the Apartheid Wall and settlements.” “We are hoping to put an end for the Israeli discrimination practiced on the Palestinians of the 1948, and to return the Palestinian refugees to their homes,” he added.
Isolating Israel
Abu Nahel pointed out that the BDS has become a strategic danger facing the Israeli occupation. He mentioned the financial damage, up to $14 billion, that Veolia Corporation has faced since the beginning of the BDS movement in 2005, as one of the biggest achievements of BDS.
The French telecoms Orange has also terminated its relationship with the Israeli company Partner Communications, he continued.
Abu Nahel also mentioned the US Methodist Church's recent decision to divest from five Israeli banks, and the increasing number of institutions and figures that support the BDS.
The events, organized in Palestine and 250 other countries around the world, emphasize the Palestinian right of resisting the occupation.
Boycott. Divestment. Sanctions. (BDS)
Abdulrahman Abu Nahel, Gaza coordinator of the Palestinian BDS National Committee, said, “We will focus on all aspects of BDS that aim to isolate the Israeli occupation academically, culturally, and militarily.”
Abu Nahel pointed out that Palestinian and foreign activists in Canada started the Israeli Apartheid Week in 2005 in response to the demands of the Palestinian civil society. Since then, the annual week has become the most noticeable stance of solidarity with the Palestinian people, highlighting the real image of Israel.
Abu Nahel mentioned that the events are now organized in more than 250 cities. The events, according to him, are staged in most parts of historical Palestine and they started in Europe a few days ago and are going to be launched in the coming few days in the Arab countries, the US, Africa, and Latin America.
He stated that the events include movies, seminars, group discussions, and innovative activities on the Palestinian cause. There will also be messages and speeches delivered by some prominent activists and political figures. There will be seminars organized with the participation of Rania Masri, from the Lebanese Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon.
In cooperation with the secretary general of the National Democratic Alliance, Awad Abdel Fattah, from Masarat Center, a seminar will be held on the role of the Palestinians in the territories of 1948 in the Palestinian struggle. The film of “The Wanted 18” will be the concluding event of the Week.
Popular support
Regarding the message of the boycotts and the marches that were launched a few days ago in Ramallah, Abu Nahel stressed that this underlines the Palestinian popular support for the BDS.
When asked about the objectives the BDS movement is looking for, Abu Nahel said, “We seek to empower our people to practice their right of self-determination, through ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands and dismantling the Apartheid Wall and settlements.” “We are hoping to put an end for the Israeli discrimination practiced on the Palestinians of the 1948, and to return the Palestinian refugees to their homes,” he added.
Isolating Israel
Abu Nahel pointed out that the BDS has become a strategic danger facing the Israeli occupation. He mentioned the financial damage, up to $14 billion, that Veolia Corporation has faced since the beginning of the BDS movement in 2005, as one of the biggest achievements of BDS.
The French telecoms Orange has also terminated its relationship with the Israeli company Partner Communications, he continued.
Abu Nahel also mentioned the US Methodist Church's recent decision to divest from five Israeli banks, and the increasing number of institutions and figures that support the BDS.
A young Palestinian man set himself on fire in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday night, before being saved by bystanders.
The 22-year-old reportedly poured flammable liquid over himself before setting it alight. Bystanders then rushed to put out the flames.
He was evacuated to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, where he was treated for minor burns, according to Ma'an.
Palestinian police in the beleaguered coastal enclave said they had opened an investigation into the incident.
It was reported last year that there were signs the Gaza Strip was seeing an increase in suicides and suicide attempts, as residents found themselves overcome by the unique pressures of life there.
While official figures are hard to come by, one source within the security services told AFP on condition of anonymity that the numbers were frightening, with cases on a near-daily basis.
The Gaza Strip of 1.8 million people faces an Israeli blockade and a closed border with Egypt, and rebuilding following the 2014 war has been extremely slow.
More than 60 percent of young people do not have work, while 39 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and 80 percent depend on various forms of aid. The United Nations has warned that Gaza could become uninhabitable for residents within five years.
The 22-year-old reportedly poured flammable liquid over himself before setting it alight. Bystanders then rushed to put out the flames.
He was evacuated to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, where he was treated for minor burns, according to Ma'an.
Palestinian police in the beleaguered coastal enclave said they had opened an investigation into the incident.
It was reported last year that there were signs the Gaza Strip was seeing an increase in suicides and suicide attempts, as residents found themselves overcome by the unique pressures of life there.
While official figures are hard to come by, one source within the security services told AFP on condition of anonymity that the numbers were frightening, with cases on a near-daily basis.
The Gaza Strip of 1.8 million people faces an Israeli blockade and a closed border with Egypt, and rebuilding following the 2014 war has been extremely slow.
More than 60 percent of young people do not have work, while 39 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and 80 percent depend on various forms of aid. The United Nations has warned that Gaza could become uninhabitable for residents within five years.
2 mar 2016
Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, said that Fatah refusal of Gaza port is an evidence that it is involved in the siege imposed on the Strip.
In a press statement by Hamas’s spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri on Tuesday, Hamas called for halting all such non-national practices and positions.
Fatah’s central committee member Azzam al-Ahmad undertook in a meeting with the official Palestine satellite channel “to foil any attempt to construct a sea port connecting Gaza Strip to Cyprus Turkish Island in order to maintain the unity of Cyprus”.
In a press statement by Hamas’s spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri on Tuesday, Hamas called for halting all such non-national practices and positions.
Fatah’s central committee member Azzam al-Ahmad undertook in a meeting with the official Palestine satellite channel “to foil any attempt to construct a sea port connecting Gaza Strip to Cyprus Turkish Island in order to maintain the unity of Cyprus”.
Establishing a seaport or a waterway in the blockaded Gaza Strip can alleviate the plight of the Israeli siege, chairman of the popular anti-siege committee, Jamal al-Khudari, said Tuesday.
According to Khudari, the bid has been there since 2008, following the arrival of the pro-Gaza flotillas to break the siege and allow humanitarian cases and stranded passengers’ access out of Gaza.
“I hope the seaport affair does not drag us into a new tide of national disagreements. The issue should be a reason to boost national unity and develop a joint Palestinian vision,” he said.
“The situation in Gaza is critical. It has seen an unprecedented exacerbation at a time when the Israeli siege is being toughened,” the activist added. “Over one million Gazans have been living on aid”.
In Khudari’s words, 80% of Gaza’s inhabitants are living below the poverty line and 80% of factories have been totally or partially shut down due to the ban imposed on industrial raw materials and difficulties in commercial exchange. “The current state of affairs in Gaza requires serious efforts by the international, popular, and institutional bodies to lift the siege on Gaza,” he further stated.
Khudari, meanwhile, hailed the move announced by the Freedom Flotilla coalition to sail a women's boat to Gaza sometime soon in order to break the siege.
According to Khudari, the bid has been there since 2008, following the arrival of the pro-Gaza flotillas to break the siege and allow humanitarian cases and stranded passengers’ access out of Gaza.
“I hope the seaport affair does not drag us into a new tide of national disagreements. The issue should be a reason to boost national unity and develop a joint Palestinian vision,” he said.
“The situation in Gaza is critical. It has seen an unprecedented exacerbation at a time when the Israeli siege is being toughened,” the activist added. “Over one million Gazans have been living on aid”.
In Khudari’s words, 80% of Gaza’s inhabitants are living below the poverty line and 80% of factories have been totally or partially shut down due to the ban imposed on industrial raw materials and difficulties in commercial exchange. “The current state of affairs in Gaza requires serious efforts by the international, popular, and institutional bodies to lift the siege on Gaza,” he further stated.
Khudari, meanwhile, hailed the move announced by the Freedom Flotilla coalition to sail a women's boat to Gaza sometime soon in order to break the siege.
1 mar 2016
Political bureau member of Hamas Mahmoud al-Zahar said Monday Palestinians have the right to establish a seaport in the blockaded Gaza Strip and that Hamas is seeking friendly bilateral ties with its neighbors.
Speaking during a televised interview with al-Aqsa TV Channel, Zahhar said Hamas longs for a real showdown with Egypt in all bilateral issues and beyond all rumors propagated by the mass media.
“We seek to establish a friendly fraternity bond with all countries so as to boost support for the Palestinian cause,” Zahhar said. He expressed Hamas’s intents to visit Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the Gulf countries, among other regions, to mobilize support for the Palestinian cause.
“Never have we meddled in any state’s internal security. We are trying to repair the bilateral relations damaged by some regimes,” he added.
Commenting on the anti-occupation intifada, which started in early October, Zahhar said: “The Intifada has been successful by all standards. It is not a simple popular uprising.
All Palestinians from all factions and life spectra have taken part in the intifada.” He slammed the Palestinian Authority (PA) for propping up security coordination and normalization with the Israeli occupation.
“Fatah movement has not only been involved in the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip; it has also been working against the establishment of a seaport, sealing power funds, and handing Palestinian anti-occupation activists to the Israeli occupation,” Zahhar further stated.
“The Palestine Liberation Organization does not represent the Palestinian people. All it does is mere political vandalism,” he charged. Zahhar further spoke out against the PA’s prosecution of MP Najat Abu Bakr, dubbing it a barefaced infringement of Palestinian laws and MPs’ right to parliamentary immunity.
“Abbas recognizes the legitimacy of the members of the Palestinian legislative Council only if they act like a toy in his hands,” he concluded.
Speaking during a televised interview with al-Aqsa TV Channel, Zahhar said Hamas longs for a real showdown with Egypt in all bilateral issues and beyond all rumors propagated by the mass media.
“We seek to establish a friendly fraternity bond with all countries so as to boost support for the Palestinian cause,” Zahhar said. He expressed Hamas’s intents to visit Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the Gulf countries, among other regions, to mobilize support for the Palestinian cause.
“Never have we meddled in any state’s internal security. We are trying to repair the bilateral relations damaged by some regimes,” he added.
Commenting on the anti-occupation intifada, which started in early October, Zahhar said: “The Intifada has been successful by all standards. It is not a simple popular uprising.
All Palestinians from all factions and life spectra have taken part in the intifada.” He slammed the Palestinian Authority (PA) for propping up security coordination and normalization with the Israeli occupation.
“Fatah movement has not only been involved in the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip; it has also been working against the establishment of a seaport, sealing power funds, and handing Palestinian anti-occupation activists to the Israeli occupation,” Zahhar further stated.
“The Palestine Liberation Organization does not represent the Palestinian people. All it does is mere political vandalism,” he charged. Zahhar further spoke out against the PA’s prosecution of MP Najat Abu Bakr, dubbing it a barefaced infringement of Palestinian laws and MPs’ right to parliamentary immunity.
“Abbas recognizes the legitimacy of the members of the Palestinian legislative Council only if they act like a toy in his hands,” he concluded.
