5 may 2014
Khaled Mishaal, chairman of Hamas political bureau, received Russian President's Special Representative for the Middle East, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Sunday evening. The meeting covered the latest developments in the Palestinian political scene, most notably the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement, Israeli Judaization and settlement schemes, along with the refugees issue and the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip.
The discussion further tackled the latest developments in the Middle East.
Two political bureau members of Hamas attended the meeting along with the Deputy Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Department in the Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs and the Russian ambassador to Qatar.
The discussion further tackled the latest developments in the Middle East.
Two political bureau members of Hamas attended the meeting along with the Deputy Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Department in the Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs and the Russian ambassador to Qatar.
Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas discussed with political bureau chairman of Hamas Khaled Mishaal the reconciliation file during a meeting in Doha on Monday. Well informed sources said that the discussion tackled means of implementing the reconciliation and ending the internal division in the Palestinian political arena.
Hamas and Fatah recently signed an agreement by which they were committed to implement the reconciliation agreements signed in Cairo and Doha. They agreed that Abbas would start consultations on the formation of a new national unity government that would be declared within five weeks.
Hamas and Fatah recently signed an agreement by which they were committed to implement the reconciliation agreements signed in Cairo and Doha. They agreed that Abbas would start consultations on the formation of a new national unity government that would be declared within five weeks.
President Mahmoud Abbas was to hold talks with Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal in Doha on Monday for the first meeting since their rival movements signed a surprise unity deal.
"Abbas will meet Mashaal today (in Doha) but the timing is not clear," a senior Palestinian official in Ramallah told AFP.
The Palestinian leader flew to the Qatari capital on Sunday and was to meet with emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Monday morning before attending a family wedding.
He would then meet with the exiled Hamas leader who has been based in Doha for more than two years after leaving his previous base in Damascus due to the bloodshed gripping Syria.
The last time the two leaders met face-to-face was in Cairo in January 2013.
Hamas officials had said at the weekend that the two leaders were expected to meet in Qatar in the coming days.
"President Abu Mazen (Abbas) may meet with Khaled Mashaal on Monday to discuss the reconciliation agreement and how to implement it," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.
Abbas' Fatah movement, which dominates the PLO and rules parts of the occupied West Bank, has been locked in years of bitter rivalry with Mashaal's Hamas since the Islamist movement forcibly took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, ousting forces loyal to the president.
Earlier efforts to broker a political reconciliation have failed, but on April 23, the PLO and Hamas announced they had reached a deal under which they would work together to form a new government of political independents.
"Abbas will meet Mashaal today (in Doha) but the timing is not clear," a senior Palestinian official in Ramallah told AFP.
The Palestinian leader flew to the Qatari capital on Sunday and was to meet with emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Monday morning before attending a family wedding.
He would then meet with the exiled Hamas leader who has been based in Doha for more than two years after leaving his previous base in Damascus due to the bloodshed gripping Syria.
The last time the two leaders met face-to-face was in Cairo in January 2013.
Hamas officials had said at the weekend that the two leaders were expected to meet in Qatar in the coming days.
"President Abu Mazen (Abbas) may meet with Khaled Mashaal on Monday to discuss the reconciliation agreement and how to implement it," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.
Abbas' Fatah movement, which dominates the PLO and rules parts of the occupied West Bank, has been locked in years of bitter rivalry with Mashaal's Hamas since the Islamist movement forcibly took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, ousting forces loyal to the president.
Earlier efforts to broker a political reconciliation have failed, but on April 23, the PLO and Hamas announced they had reached a deal under which they would work together to form a new government of political independents.
Hamas will allow the redistribution of a West Bank based newspaper in the Gaza Strip on Monday, seven years after it was banned, a Hamas official said.
Gaza government spokesman Ihab al-Ghussein confirmed to Ma'an that the daily Al-Quds newspaper will be available again in the Gaza Strip.
The redistribution of factional media was demanded by the public freedoms committee, one of several subcommittees tasked with monitoring the implementation of a recent unity deal between Palestinian political factions.
Since 2007, the Hamas government has banned the distribution of the Al-Quds newspaper, the most widely read Palestinian daily broadsheet, Al-Ayyam, which is generally pro-Fatah, and Al-Hayat al-Jadida, which is an official paper of the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian Authority has banned the distribution of the Hamas-affiliated Gaza newspapers Al-Risalah, Palestine and al-Istiqlal.
Al-Ghussein added that Hamas would release a number of political detainees in the coming days.
On Sunday, Abd al-Salam Siyam, secretary-general of the Gaza government's cabinet, said in a statement that some 3,000 PA security officers would be sent to Gaza to begin implementing the Hamas-PLO unity deal reached on April 23.
The officers worked in Gaza before the PA left the coastal enclave in 2007.
The division between Fatah and Hamas began in 2006, when Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections.
In the following year, clashes erupted between Fatah and Hamas, leaving Hamas in control of the Strip and Fatah in control of parts of the occupied West Bank.
The groups have made failed attempts at national reconciliation for years, most recently in 2012, when they signed two agreements -- one in Cairo and a subsequent one in Doha -- which have as of yet been unimplemented.
Gaza government spokesman Ihab al-Ghussein confirmed to Ma'an that the daily Al-Quds newspaper will be available again in the Gaza Strip.
The redistribution of factional media was demanded by the public freedoms committee, one of several subcommittees tasked with monitoring the implementation of a recent unity deal between Palestinian political factions.
Since 2007, the Hamas government has banned the distribution of the Al-Quds newspaper, the most widely read Palestinian daily broadsheet, Al-Ayyam, which is generally pro-Fatah, and Al-Hayat al-Jadida, which is an official paper of the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian Authority has banned the distribution of the Hamas-affiliated Gaza newspapers Al-Risalah, Palestine and al-Istiqlal.
Al-Ghussein added that Hamas would release a number of political detainees in the coming days.
On Sunday, Abd al-Salam Siyam, secretary-general of the Gaza government's cabinet, said in a statement that some 3,000 PA security officers would be sent to Gaza to begin implementing the Hamas-PLO unity deal reached on April 23.
The officers worked in Gaza before the PA left the coastal enclave in 2007.
The division between Fatah and Hamas began in 2006, when Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections.
In the following year, clashes erupted between Fatah and Hamas, leaving Hamas in control of the Strip and Fatah in control of parts of the occupied West Bank.
The groups have made failed attempts at national reconciliation for years, most recently in 2012, when they signed two agreements -- one in Cairo and a subsequent one in Doha -- which have as of yet been unimplemented.
4 may 2014
Mousa Abu Marzouk delivers a speech during a press conference in Gaza City on May 3, 2014
Hamas will never recognize Israel and will not accept the conditions laid out by the Middle East peacemaking Quartet, according to the Islamist movement's deputy leader.
Speaking late on Saturday, Mussa Abu Marzouq said Hamas, which recently signed a reconciliation deal with the Western-backed leadership in the occupied West Bank, would never agree to recognize Israel.
"We will not recognize the Zionist entity," he said at a press conference in Gaza City.
Under terms of the deal, Gaza's Hamas rulers and the PLO of President Mahmoud Abbas are to work together to form a new unity government which will prepare for national elections.
But Israel reacted furiously, saying it would not negotiate with any government backed by Hamas, effectively putting the final nail in the coffin of the latest round of US-brokered peace talks.
Recognizing Israel is one of the key conditions laid out in the 2003 peacemaking roadmap of the Middle East Quartet, which brings together the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia.
The other two key demands are a renunciation of violence and acceptance of all prior agreements with Israel.
Abbas, who is to head the new government, to consist of political independents, has insisted it will abide by all three principles.
But Abu Marzouq said Hamas would never accept the Quartet's conditions.
"Hamas rejects the Quartet's conditions because it denies some of our people’s rights," he told reporters.
"We will always refuse any conditions that deny our Palestinian rights."
He also said the question of disarming Hamas's armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, was "never mentioned" in talks with the PLO since the unity deal was inked on April 23.
"No one asked to discuss this," he said.
Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior member of Fatah, which dominates the PLO, was to arrive in Gaza City on Sunday or Monday to begin consultations on forming the new government, he said.
"This will be a national consensus government that has nothing to do with politics and has specific tasks," he said of the preparations for long-overdue local, parliamentary and presidential elections.
Hamas would participate in both the municipal and legislative elections but has not yet decided whether it will run a presidential candidate.
Hamas won a landslide victory in the last parliamentary election, held in 2006, prompting a Western boycott of the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas will never recognize Israel and will not accept the conditions laid out by the Middle East peacemaking Quartet, according to the Islamist movement's deputy leader.
Speaking late on Saturday, Mussa Abu Marzouq said Hamas, which recently signed a reconciliation deal with the Western-backed leadership in the occupied West Bank, would never agree to recognize Israel.
"We will not recognize the Zionist entity," he said at a press conference in Gaza City.
Under terms of the deal, Gaza's Hamas rulers and the PLO of President Mahmoud Abbas are to work together to form a new unity government which will prepare for national elections.
But Israel reacted furiously, saying it would not negotiate with any government backed by Hamas, effectively putting the final nail in the coffin of the latest round of US-brokered peace talks.
Recognizing Israel is one of the key conditions laid out in the 2003 peacemaking roadmap of the Middle East Quartet, which brings together the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia.
The other two key demands are a renunciation of violence and acceptance of all prior agreements with Israel.
Abbas, who is to head the new government, to consist of political independents, has insisted it will abide by all three principles.
But Abu Marzouq said Hamas would never accept the Quartet's conditions.
"Hamas rejects the Quartet's conditions because it denies some of our people’s rights," he told reporters.
"We will always refuse any conditions that deny our Palestinian rights."
He also said the question of disarming Hamas's armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, was "never mentioned" in talks with the PLO since the unity deal was inked on April 23.
"No one asked to discuss this," he said.
Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior member of Fatah, which dominates the PLO, was to arrive in Gaza City on Sunday or Monday to begin consultations on forming the new government, he said.
"This will be a national consensus government that has nothing to do with politics and has specific tasks," he said of the preparations for long-overdue local, parliamentary and presidential elections.
Hamas would participate in both the municipal and legislative elections but has not yet decided whether it will run a presidential candidate.
Hamas won a landslide victory in the last parliamentary election, held in 2006, prompting a Western boycott of the Palestinian Authority.
PA forces pictured in Gaza in 2006
Arrangements are being made for some 3,000 Palestinian Authority policemen to join the Gaza government's security forces, a statement said Sunday.
Abd al-Salam Siyam, secretary-general of the Gaza government's cabinet, said in a statement that the officers would be sent to Gaza in order to begin implementing the Hamas-PLO unity deal reached on April 23.
The officers worked in Gaza before the PA left the coastal enclave in 2007.
Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad will visit the Strip to discuss the formation of the unity government, the statement said, without specifying when the visit would take place.
"Hamas and the Gaza government have made a strategic decision to move on with reconciliation and so they will do what is needed to implement the agreement," the statement added.
On April 23, the Fatah-led PLO and Hamas announced a national unity deal to end seven years of political division between the largest two Palestinian parties, with a national unity government to be set in place within five weeks.
The division between Fatah and Hamas began in 2006, when Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections.
In the following year, clashes erupted between Fatah and Hamas, leaving Hamas in control of the Strip and Fatah in control of parts of the occupied West Bank.
The groups have made failed attempts at national reconciliation for years, most recently in 2012, when they signed two agreements -- one in Cairo and a subsequent one in Doha -- which have as of yet been unimplemented.
Arrangements are being made for some 3,000 Palestinian Authority policemen to join the Gaza government's security forces, a statement said Sunday.
Abd al-Salam Siyam, secretary-general of the Gaza government's cabinet, said in a statement that the officers would be sent to Gaza in order to begin implementing the Hamas-PLO unity deal reached on April 23.
The officers worked in Gaza before the PA left the coastal enclave in 2007.
Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad will visit the Strip to discuss the formation of the unity government, the statement said, without specifying when the visit would take place.
"Hamas and the Gaza government have made a strategic decision to move on with reconciliation and so they will do what is needed to implement the agreement," the statement added.
On April 23, the Fatah-led PLO and Hamas announced a national unity deal to end seven years of political division between the largest two Palestinian parties, with a national unity government to be set in place within five weeks.
The division between Fatah and Hamas began in 2006, when Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections.
In the following year, clashes erupted between Fatah and Hamas, leaving Hamas in control of the Strip and Fatah in control of parts of the occupied West Bank.
The groups have made failed attempts at national reconciliation for years, most recently in 2012, when they signed two agreements -- one in Cairo and a subsequent one in Doha -- which have as of yet been unimplemented.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a visit to the Gaza Strip soon, Asharq Alawsat Newspaper said. The visit was delayed last year due to developments inside and outside Turkey, especially across the Middle East region.
The newspaper cited Turkish newspaper “Star” as saying that preparations have been started to schedule Erdogan’s visit. Erdogan has a great desire to pay this visit in the light of the positive developments regarding the Palestinian reconciliation.
The Turkish leader previously said his visit to Gaza would be aimed at pushing for an end to Israel's blockade on the tiny coastal enclave which has been in place since 2006.
The newspaper cited Turkish newspaper “Star” as saying that preparations have been started to schedule Erdogan’s visit. Erdogan has a great desire to pay this visit in the light of the positive developments regarding the Palestinian reconciliation.
The Turkish leader previously said his visit to Gaza would be aimed at pushing for an end to Israel's blockade on the tiny coastal enclave which has been in place since 2006.
Minister of Awkaf and religious affairs in Gaza Dr. Ismail Ridwan said that Qatar vowed to pay the sum of five million dollars as a donation to the Palestinian social conciliation fund that is to be established as part of the reconciliation agreement. He was quoted by the official Rai news agency as saying on Saturday night that the pledge was made during a telephone conversation between premier Ismail Haneyya and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad.
Ridwan appreciated the Qatari initiative and its constant support for the Palestine cause and national reconciliation, adding that Sheikh Tamim said he would exert efforts to secure financial support for the upcoming consensus government.
Ridwan appreciated the Qatari initiative and its constant support for the Palestine cause and national reconciliation, adding that Sheikh Tamim said he would exert efforts to secure financial support for the upcoming consensus government.
3 may 2014
From today, the State of Palestine is bound by international human rights standards, having brought into force five treaties, with two others coming into effect in July.
The treaties include the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Optional Protocol to this last convention will come into force in May.
Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, says that this is a significant step towards enhancing the promotion and protection of human rights in Palestine.
“Palestine is now bound, as of today, for five treaties and, by July 2nd, seven treaties covering many major issues. And they will therefore, like other states, now be very closely scrutinised in whether they implement those treaties. Those treaties are hard law and therefore it gives a lot of extra ammunition to civil society organizations, the media, the UN and many others to help Palestine ensure that the human rights of Palestinians in the occupied territories, in the West Bank, in Gaza, are upheld.” (34″)
In a region where countries have a high number of reservations to human rights treaties, Palestine’s accession to the treaties and protocol is unusual in that it came without a single reservation. UN Radio, Geneva.
الامم المتحدة تعلن انضمام فلسطين الى 5 اتفاقيات حول حقوق الانسان
انضمت فلسطين، اليوم الجمعة، الى 5 اتفاقيات للامم المتحدة حول حقوق الانسان من بينها اتفاقيات ضد التعذيب ولحقوق الطفل، على ما اعلن متحدث باسم الامم المتحدة
واعلن المتحدث باسم المفوضية العليا للامم المتحدة روبرت كولفيل في لقاء صحافي في جنيف، ان اتفاقيات الامم المتحدة هذه هي ضد التعذيب، والغاء التمييز العرقي، والغاء جميع انواع التمييز ضد المرأة، ولحماية حقوق المعوقين، وحقوق الطفل
من جهة اخرى، افاد المتحدث ان انضمام فلسطين الى البروتوكول الاختياري التابع لاتفاقية الامم المتحدة لحقوق الطفل بخصوص ضلوع الاطفال في النزاعات المسلحة سيسري في 7 ايار (مايو) الجاري، فيما يسري انضمامها الى معاهدتي الامم المتحدة للحقوق المدنية والسياسية وللحقوق الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والثقافية في 2 تموز (يوليو) المقبل
وصرح كولفيل ان “الانضمام الى 7 اتفاقيات اساسية في مجال حقوق الانسان وبروتوكول محوري خطوة مهمة الى الامام في تعزيز حماية حقوق الانسان في فلسطين”
وفتح حصول فلسطين على وضع “دولة مراقب” في تشرين الثاني (نوفمبر) 2012 المجال امام انضمامها الى مختلف الاتفاقيات والمعاهدات الدولية
وفي 10 نيسان (ابريل) الماضي، اعلنت الامم المتحدة انها اعتبرت ان طلبات الفلسطينيين للانضمام الى 13 اتفاقية او معاهدة دولية تابعة للامم المتحدة تتلاءم والاليات الدولية. ورفع ممثل فلسطين في الامم المتحدة رياض منصور هذه الطلبات الى الامانة العامة للامم المتحدة في 2 نيسان (ابريل) الماضي
The treaties include the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Optional Protocol to this last convention will come into force in May.
Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, says that this is a significant step towards enhancing the promotion and protection of human rights in Palestine.
“Palestine is now bound, as of today, for five treaties and, by July 2nd, seven treaties covering many major issues. And they will therefore, like other states, now be very closely scrutinised in whether they implement those treaties. Those treaties are hard law and therefore it gives a lot of extra ammunition to civil society organizations, the media, the UN and many others to help Palestine ensure that the human rights of Palestinians in the occupied territories, in the West Bank, in Gaza, are upheld.” (34″)
In a region where countries have a high number of reservations to human rights treaties, Palestine’s accession to the treaties and protocol is unusual in that it came without a single reservation. UN Radio, Geneva.
الامم المتحدة تعلن انضمام فلسطين الى 5 اتفاقيات حول حقوق الانسان
انضمت فلسطين، اليوم الجمعة، الى 5 اتفاقيات للامم المتحدة حول حقوق الانسان من بينها اتفاقيات ضد التعذيب ولحقوق الطفل، على ما اعلن متحدث باسم الامم المتحدة
واعلن المتحدث باسم المفوضية العليا للامم المتحدة روبرت كولفيل في لقاء صحافي في جنيف، ان اتفاقيات الامم المتحدة هذه هي ضد التعذيب، والغاء التمييز العرقي، والغاء جميع انواع التمييز ضد المرأة، ولحماية حقوق المعوقين، وحقوق الطفل
من جهة اخرى، افاد المتحدث ان انضمام فلسطين الى البروتوكول الاختياري التابع لاتفاقية الامم المتحدة لحقوق الطفل بخصوص ضلوع الاطفال في النزاعات المسلحة سيسري في 7 ايار (مايو) الجاري، فيما يسري انضمامها الى معاهدتي الامم المتحدة للحقوق المدنية والسياسية وللحقوق الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والثقافية في 2 تموز (يوليو) المقبل
وصرح كولفيل ان “الانضمام الى 7 اتفاقيات اساسية في مجال حقوق الانسان وبروتوكول محوري خطوة مهمة الى الامام في تعزيز حماية حقوق الانسان في فلسطين”
وفتح حصول فلسطين على وضع “دولة مراقب” في تشرين الثاني (نوفمبر) 2012 المجال امام انضمامها الى مختلف الاتفاقيات والمعاهدات الدولية
وفي 10 نيسان (ابريل) الماضي، اعلنت الامم المتحدة انها اعتبرت ان طلبات الفلسطينيين للانضمام الى 13 اتفاقية او معاهدة دولية تابعة للامم المتحدة تتلاءم والاليات الدولية. ورفع ممثل فلسطين في الامم المتحدة رياض منصور هذه الطلبات الى الامانة العامة للامم المتحدة في 2 نيسان (ابريل) الماضي
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, charged that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu's attempt to enact a basic law stating that Israel is 'a Jewish nation-state' proves the Israeli apartheid system. In a statement on Friday, Barghouthi said that the law threatens the Palestinian historical rights and paves the way for the Israeli confiscation policy.
“This law denies Israel's claim of being a democratic state and reinforces discrimination and racism in the twenty-first century”, he added.
Barghouthi called on the international community to support the Palestinian human rights, and to put an end to Israeli violations of international laws.
He championed intensifying boycott campaigns of Israel and imposing sanctions and more pressures on the Israeli occupation.
“This law denies Israel's claim of being a democratic state and reinforces discrimination and racism in the twenty-first century”, he added.
Barghouthi called on the international community to support the Palestinian human rights, and to put an end to Israeli violations of international laws.
He championed intensifying boycott campaigns of Israel and imposing sanctions and more pressures on the Israeli occupation.
Palestine has always been the underdog, a country slowly being wiped off the map, a society daily and methodically being dismantled by Israel. As a principally unarmed and oppressed indigenous population, Palestinians are perceived as powerless against the military supremacy of Israel's technological death industry, persistently outmanoeuvred by Israel's political cunning and endlessly bullied by a Western world that has made a game of diplomacy and intrigue from our miserable fate.
We've lost so much to Israel's boundless plunder. Over and over, we lose. Home, heritage, life, dignity, security, hope, culture, narrative, orchards and olives, history and artifacts, livelihoods, innocence, language and identity. They've excavated our souls, renamed our villages, poured concrete over our ancient cemeteries, made brothels of our churches and mosques, and claimed our hummus, falafel and maqlooba as the traditional food of Jewish foreigners who daily arrive to take our place.
But we're still here - fighting, dreaming, writing, dancing, painting, loving, having babies - because, as Mahmoud Darwish once said: Hope is not a topic. It's not a theory. It's a talent.
And now, nearly 70 years since our demise began, we are finally arriving on the street, the space where we are vastly more powerful than Israel. The global street is where Israel has no real defences against us. Here, Israel is virtually powerless, and they've done all they can to keep us off this global street. Israel's overriding strategy of conquest has always been to keep Palestinian resistance under their purview of power, which exists principally within two realms.
Physical power
The first is physical power. Israel is among the world's most innovative exporter of death technology - sophisticated hardware, software and terror services which they hone and test on Palestinian bodies and minds. We cannot beat them in military or guerrilla battles, because we have no physical power against such brutality. We tried and we failed on that front.
The second sphere of Israel's power exists among the powerful elite, the layer of humanity that is motivated and persuaded strictly by power, money and political expediency, such as some heads of state, media bosses, corporate officers, and others who feed off colonialism and vulture capitalism. This is where we've been since Oslo, wandering the halls of power, knocking on powerful doors, begging for justice, and in return patronised, blamed, demeaned and manipulated.
Until now, the Palestinian struggle has mostly been waged in these two realms, where we will always be overpowered by Israel’s colonialist malfeasance and pillage. Only once before did we manage to move the Palestinian struggle beyond Israel’s control. It happened during the first intifada. Although our brave young people, armed with rocks, posed no physical threat to the military might of a nuclear state, they managed to turn the tides and shift the power, because for the first time, our struggle reached the global street.
For the first time, ordinary people around the world could see the lie that Israel was fighting an existential war against a dangerous foe. The images and stories of Israeli policy of breaking the bones of rock-throwing children made their way into the living rooms of masses, where discussions of morality were injected into the conversation on Palestine. This was "the street", the global space of public participation where words like freedom, justice, liberation, resonate. For the first time, media around the world questioned and criticised Israel. The plight of Palestinians was becoming recognised as an indigenous people's fight for survival against Zionist expansionism and ethnoreligious supremacy.
Thus, the first intifada moved the Palestinian struggle away from Israel's spheres of power, and planted it firmly in this realm of morality and popular legitimacy. Israel's decision to then "negotiate" with the PLO was nothing more than a ploy to reposition Palestinian resistance back within their range of control. Until then, Israel had refused to recognise the PLO and did what it could to obliterate them. But then we moved our fight to the streets of the world, exposing the moral dimensions of our struggle.
Israel's only viable option then was to create a new diplomatic theatre (Oslo Accords) wherein to tuck us once again out of view and off the street, because Israel had no legitimate defence against a native people’s cry for freedom when that cry reached beyond their prison walls and beyond their friends in the elite layers of political and economic power.
Oslo and its ensuing insidious "Peace Process" achieved a great and protracted silence, both from Palestinians and from the world, allowing Israel to continue its original ethnic cleansing programme unimpeded.
The fight over morality
But now we have arrived at another moment of a popular street fight based on morality, legitimacy and justice. The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign has shifted the dynamics of power and moved the battle for Palestine once again into the realm of global awareness and public participation in a native people’s struggle for liberation.
Israel's response has been two fold. They're employing the tried and tested tactic of negotiations for "interim agreements". According to a Haaretz report, in addition to "advancing the peace process with the Palestinians [to] stave off a large portion of the boycott threats", other tactics include "a massive PR campaign against pro-boycott organisations", filing "legal suits in European and North American courts against organisations that are proponents of the BDS movement", lobbying for the creation of new laws under which more people can be prosecuted for boycotting Israel, and finally stepping up surveillance of BDS supporters, which would involve operations by the Mossad and Shin Bet.
All of these tactics are meant to silence debate, to intimidate people of conscience and to unravel unified calls for justice. Remarkably, not one of the suggested tactics attempts to put forth a compelling moral counter argument to BDS.
And the reason for that is simple. The spiritual poverty of a colonial state obsessed with creating and maintaining a particular demographic profile does not appeal to popular notions of morality. The assertion of a military state's security needs in order to justify ongoing destruction of the indigenous population is not convincing in this era of information, where people can see what it looks like to demolish a family's home whose principle offence is not being Jewish, and know that this happens nearly every day; to see what it looks like to arrest children with slight bodies and fresh urine stains from fear in their pants, and know that there are hundreds more just like them who languish in Israeli jails, tortured, without charge or trial and without access to their parents; to watch videos of terrifying night raids that burst through people's homes and drag the young and old from their beds, haul them off to a grim fate, and know that this is routine; to read report after report from human rights organisations detailing the terrible minutiae of daily cruelty and humiliation, and know that this is Israeli state policy that has been in effect for decades.
That's why Israel cannot win this battle, as long as we keep our struggle in this realm of morality. Richard Falk called it a "legitimacy war". It's also a global street fight, because justice, legitimacy and liberation do not emerge from negotiations, military occupation, oppression, corporations, or colonial courtrooms. Freedom is almost always borne from the theatre and agony of struggling in the streets.
For Palestinians, who have been fragmented and exiled all over the world, BDS gives us a way to unify and use our tragedy of dislocation to multiply the avenues available to us. It's an opportunity to welcome and reciprocate the solidarity of people of conscience. It's a realm to celebrate our native roots and to exercise our talent for hope.
This global street is where a defenceless oppressed indigenous people have a chance at justice. There is nothing for us in negotiations with the powerful elite.
Susan Abulhawa is a Palestinian writer and the author of the international bestselling novel, Mornings in Jenin (Bloomsbury 2010). She is also the founder of Playgrounds for Palestine, an NGO for children.
This article is originally published on Al Jazeera.com
We've lost so much to Israel's boundless plunder. Over and over, we lose. Home, heritage, life, dignity, security, hope, culture, narrative, orchards and olives, history and artifacts, livelihoods, innocence, language and identity. They've excavated our souls, renamed our villages, poured concrete over our ancient cemeteries, made brothels of our churches and mosques, and claimed our hummus, falafel and maqlooba as the traditional food of Jewish foreigners who daily arrive to take our place.
But we're still here - fighting, dreaming, writing, dancing, painting, loving, having babies - because, as Mahmoud Darwish once said: Hope is not a topic. It's not a theory. It's a talent.
And now, nearly 70 years since our demise began, we are finally arriving on the street, the space where we are vastly more powerful than Israel. The global street is where Israel has no real defences against us. Here, Israel is virtually powerless, and they've done all they can to keep us off this global street. Israel's overriding strategy of conquest has always been to keep Palestinian resistance under their purview of power, which exists principally within two realms.
Physical power
The first is physical power. Israel is among the world's most innovative exporter of death technology - sophisticated hardware, software and terror services which they hone and test on Palestinian bodies and minds. We cannot beat them in military or guerrilla battles, because we have no physical power against such brutality. We tried and we failed on that front.
The second sphere of Israel's power exists among the powerful elite, the layer of humanity that is motivated and persuaded strictly by power, money and political expediency, such as some heads of state, media bosses, corporate officers, and others who feed off colonialism and vulture capitalism. This is where we've been since Oslo, wandering the halls of power, knocking on powerful doors, begging for justice, and in return patronised, blamed, demeaned and manipulated.
Until now, the Palestinian struggle has mostly been waged in these two realms, where we will always be overpowered by Israel’s colonialist malfeasance and pillage. Only once before did we manage to move the Palestinian struggle beyond Israel’s control. It happened during the first intifada. Although our brave young people, armed with rocks, posed no physical threat to the military might of a nuclear state, they managed to turn the tides and shift the power, because for the first time, our struggle reached the global street.
For the first time, ordinary people around the world could see the lie that Israel was fighting an existential war against a dangerous foe. The images and stories of Israeli policy of breaking the bones of rock-throwing children made their way into the living rooms of masses, where discussions of morality were injected into the conversation on Palestine. This was "the street", the global space of public participation where words like freedom, justice, liberation, resonate. For the first time, media around the world questioned and criticised Israel. The plight of Palestinians was becoming recognised as an indigenous people's fight for survival against Zionist expansionism and ethnoreligious supremacy.
Thus, the first intifada moved the Palestinian struggle away from Israel's spheres of power, and planted it firmly in this realm of morality and popular legitimacy. Israel's decision to then "negotiate" with the PLO was nothing more than a ploy to reposition Palestinian resistance back within their range of control. Until then, Israel had refused to recognise the PLO and did what it could to obliterate them. But then we moved our fight to the streets of the world, exposing the moral dimensions of our struggle.
Israel's only viable option then was to create a new diplomatic theatre (Oslo Accords) wherein to tuck us once again out of view and off the street, because Israel had no legitimate defence against a native people’s cry for freedom when that cry reached beyond their prison walls and beyond their friends in the elite layers of political and economic power.
Oslo and its ensuing insidious "Peace Process" achieved a great and protracted silence, both from Palestinians and from the world, allowing Israel to continue its original ethnic cleansing programme unimpeded.
The fight over morality
But now we have arrived at another moment of a popular street fight based on morality, legitimacy and justice. The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign has shifted the dynamics of power and moved the battle for Palestine once again into the realm of global awareness and public participation in a native people’s struggle for liberation.
Israel's response has been two fold. They're employing the tried and tested tactic of negotiations for "interim agreements". According to a Haaretz report, in addition to "advancing the peace process with the Palestinians [to] stave off a large portion of the boycott threats", other tactics include "a massive PR campaign against pro-boycott organisations", filing "legal suits in European and North American courts against organisations that are proponents of the BDS movement", lobbying for the creation of new laws under which more people can be prosecuted for boycotting Israel, and finally stepping up surveillance of BDS supporters, which would involve operations by the Mossad and Shin Bet.
All of these tactics are meant to silence debate, to intimidate people of conscience and to unravel unified calls for justice. Remarkably, not one of the suggested tactics attempts to put forth a compelling moral counter argument to BDS.
And the reason for that is simple. The spiritual poverty of a colonial state obsessed with creating and maintaining a particular demographic profile does not appeal to popular notions of morality. The assertion of a military state's security needs in order to justify ongoing destruction of the indigenous population is not convincing in this era of information, where people can see what it looks like to demolish a family's home whose principle offence is not being Jewish, and know that this happens nearly every day; to see what it looks like to arrest children with slight bodies and fresh urine stains from fear in their pants, and know that there are hundreds more just like them who languish in Israeli jails, tortured, without charge or trial and without access to their parents; to watch videos of terrifying night raids that burst through people's homes and drag the young and old from their beds, haul them off to a grim fate, and know that this is routine; to read report after report from human rights organisations detailing the terrible minutiae of daily cruelty and humiliation, and know that this is Israeli state policy that has been in effect for decades.
That's why Israel cannot win this battle, as long as we keep our struggle in this realm of morality. Richard Falk called it a "legitimacy war". It's also a global street fight, because justice, legitimacy and liberation do not emerge from negotiations, military occupation, oppression, corporations, or colonial courtrooms. Freedom is almost always borne from the theatre and agony of struggling in the streets.
For Palestinians, who have been fragmented and exiled all over the world, BDS gives us a way to unify and use our tragedy of dislocation to multiply the avenues available to us. It's an opportunity to welcome and reciprocate the solidarity of people of conscience. It's a realm to celebrate our native roots and to exercise our talent for hope.
This global street is where a defenceless oppressed indigenous people have a chance at justice. There is nothing for us in negotiations with the powerful elite.
Susan Abulhawa is a Palestinian writer and the author of the international bestselling novel, Mornings in Jenin (Bloomsbury 2010). She is also the founder of Playgrounds for Palestine, an NGO for children.
This article is originally published on Al Jazeera.com
Gaza premier and deputy political bureau chairman of Hamas Ismail Haneyya has affirmed that his movement was keen on concluding national reconciliation while warning of attempts to foil it. Haneyya addressing the Friday congregation said that local, foreign and regional powers were trying to abort the reconciliation.
He pointed to American threats to sever financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority and to Israeli threats to impose a blockade on the West Bank and to tighten the siege on Gaza.
For his part, Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk, political bureau member of Hamas who is currently in Gaza Strip, said that the government of technocrats, which would serve as a transitional government at the start of the reconciliation agreement, would work on reuniting institutions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
He said during a meeting at the interior ministry in Gaza in which he was briefed on its accomplishment that security apparatuses in Gaza and the West Bank would remain unchanged until a new government was formed based on results of the general elections.
He pointed to American threats to sever financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority and to Israeli threats to impose a blockade on the West Bank and to tighten the siege on Gaza.
For his part, Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk, political bureau member of Hamas who is currently in Gaza Strip, said that the government of technocrats, which would serve as a transitional government at the start of the reconciliation agreement, would work on reuniting institutions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
He said during a meeting at the interior ministry in Gaza in which he was briefed on its accomplishment that security apparatuses in Gaza and the West Bank would remain unchanged until a new government was formed based on results of the general elections.
Palestinian ambassador to Tunisia Salman Hafri has handed Friday a letter from PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to Tunisia's president Mohamed Moncef Marzouki. Abbas briefed his Tunisian counterpart on the latest Palestinian developments mainly Israeli violations including settlement construction and Judaization policy.
The letter also touched on the Israeli-Palestinian negotiation file under US mediation and the obstacles placed by Israeli occupation in this regard.
Abbas also briefed Marzouki on Palestinian national reconciliation file.
The letter also touched on the Israeli-Palestinian negotiation file under US mediation and the obstacles placed by Israeli occupation in this regard.
Abbas also briefed Marzouki on Palestinian national reconciliation file.