Statement of support from Palestinian prisoners to the Irish Hunger Strikers in 1981

 

During the Irish Hunger Strike in 1981 that was led by Bobby Sands, a statement was smuggled out of Nafha Prison from the Palestinian prisoners and sent to the families of the 10 men who died.

That support has never been forgotten, and while Khader Adnan and Hana Shalabi were on Hunger Strike, several families of the 10 men who died, and former Hunger Strikers sent several messages of support to them and their families. They have also sent messages to the current Palestinian prisoners who are on Hunger Strike, and to their families.

Below is a copy of the message smuggled out of Nafha prison in 1981:

“To the families of the martyrs oppressed by the British ruling class. To the families of Bobby Sands and his martyred comrades.

We, revolutionaries of the Palestinian people who are under the terrorist rule of Zionism, write you this letter from the desert prison of Nafha.

We extend our salutes and solidarity with you in the confrontation against the oppressive terrorist rule enforced upon the Irish people by the British ruling elite.

We salute the heroic struggle of Bobby Sands and his comrades, for they have sacrificed the most valuable possession of any human being. They gave their lives for freedom.

From here in Nafha prison, where savage snakes and desert sands penetrate our cells, from here under the yoke of Zionist occupation, we stand alongside you. From behind our cell bars, we support you, your people and your revolutionaries who have chosen to confront death.

Since the Zionist occupation, our people have been living under the worst conditions. Our militants who have chosen the road of liberty and chosen to defend our land, people and dignity, have been suffering for many years.

In the prisons, we are confronting Zionist oppression and their systematic application of torture. Sunlight does not enter our cell. Basic necessities are not provided. Yet we confront the Zionist hangmen, the enemies of life.

Many of our militant comrades have been martyred under torture by the fascists allowing them to bleed to death. Others have been martyred because Israeli prison administrators do not provide needed medical care.

The noble and just hunger strike is not in vain. In our struggle against the occupation of our homeland, for freedom from the new Nazis, it stands as a clear symbol of the historical challenge against the terrorists.

Our people in Palestine and in the Zionist prisons are struggling as your people are struggling against the British monopolies and we will both continue until victory.

On behalf of the prisoners of Nafha, we support your struggle and cause of freedom against English domination, against Zionism and against fascism in the world.”

 

Palestinians show support for the Irish Hunger Strikers in 1981

Recently painted Mural on the Falls Road, Belfast

(gazatvnews.com / 08.05.2012)

Palestinian president says death of hunger strikers could trigger backlash

The fate of the hunger strikers has touched a raw nerve in the Palestinian territories with daily demonstrations in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned on Tuesday that the death of any one of4 the hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israel would be a ‘disaster’ and could trigger a backlash that might slip out of control.

‘It is very dangerous,’ Abbas told Reuters on a day when the Red Cross urged Israel to transfer to hospital six detainees who it said were close to death after not eating for two months.

‘If anybody dies today or tomorrow or after a week it would be a disaster and no one could control the situation,’ Abbas said in an interview at his office in Ramallah. ‘I told the Israelis and the Americans if they do not find a solution for this hunger strike immediately, they will be committing a crime.’

Joining some who began fasting earlier, an estimated 1,600 Palestinian prisoners out of 4,800 launched a mass hunger strike on April 17 to protest against conditions in Israeli jails and to demand an end to solitary confinement and more family visits.

The prisoners include Islamists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad as well as members of Abbas’s secular Fatah movement.

The fate of the hunger strikers has touched a raw nerve in the Palestinian territories with daily demonstrations in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip to support the protest.

The International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva called on Israel on Tuesday to transfer six prisoners who have forsworn food for around two months to hospital.

All six are in prison under Israel’s long-standing policy of detaining people without charge whom it suspects of security offences, including plotting attacks against Israeli targets. The six have been refusing food for between 47 and 71 days.

In a statement, the ICRC said that the six were in ‘imminent danger of dying’, although it upheld their right to choose whether or not they wanted to receive treatment.

‘We urge the detaining authorities to transfer all six detainees without delay to a suitable hospital so that their condition can be continuously monitored and so that they can receive specialized medical and nursing care,’ said Juan Pedro Schaerer, head of the ICRC delegation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

‘Their main demands are for a resumption of family visits from Gaza and for an end to solitary confinement in Israeli places of detention,’ the ICRC said.

In a statement, the European Union delegations in Jerusalem and Ramallah also said they were worried about the failing health of several prisoners, two of whom were on their 70th day without food, passing what medics say is the point of no return in terms of recovery.

‘The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah are concerned about the deteriorating health condition of the Palestinians held in administrative detention in Israel who have been on hunger strike for more than two months,’ it said.

‘The EU requests the government of Israel to make available all necessary medical assistance and to allow family visits as a matter of urgency,’ it added.

‘Tragic’

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad described the plight of prisoners as a ‘personal story for the Palestinians’.

‘The most tragic thing is if you look at the list of demands they have presented Israel … they are generally related to the basic rights of prisoners,’ Fayyad told Reuters in a separate interview in Ramallah.

‘There is a clear violation of the Geneva conventions.’

The ICRC’s Shaerer stressed that the prisoners’ right to fast is protected by international conventions which discourage force-feeding: ‘While we are in favor of any medical treatment that could benefit the detainees, we would like to point out that, under resolutions adopted by the World Medical Association, the detainees are entitled to freely choose whether to consent to be fed or to receive medical treatment,’ he said.

‘It is essential that their choice be respected and their human dignity preserved,’ he said.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said Israel was providing medical treatment for the prisoners and they were free to choose their own doctors if they wish: ‘But ultimately, this is not about medical facilities,’ he said. ‘This is about hard-core activists, from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who through this protest are trying to instigate violence.’

On Monday, Israel’s Supreme Court turned down an appeal by two of the Palestinian detainees.

But in its decision the court said Israeli authorities should consider freeing them on medical grounds.

The scope of the hunger strike has posed a new challenge to Israel, which has come under international criticism over detentions without trial and could face a violent Palestinian backlash if any of the protesters die.

The office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay also voiced concern for the strikers’ fate.

‘International law is clear: administrative detention should only be used in exceptional cases and only for imperative reasons of security. Administrative detainees have the right to challenge the lawfulness of the detention,’ spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a news briefing.

Independent U.N. investigators and U.N. rights bodies have raised concerns about Israel’s frequent and extensive use of detention without trial, including of children, infringing on detainees right to a fair trial, Shamdasani said.

 (english.alarabiya.net / 08.05.2012)

Israeli Soldiers Shoot Teargas Amidst Demonstrations in Beit Ommar

On May 8th, 2012, there were multiple demonstrations in Hebron, Beit Ommar and surrounding villages in solidarity with theprisoners on hunger strike.

In Hebron, students from the Hebron district came together and marched in the center of town. Close to one thousand people were present with posters and flags, and youth from all the surrounding areas were present in the march.

In Beit Ommar, Israeli soldiers entered the town in the afternoon and occupied several people’s homes, firing teargas and rubber-coated bullets at the children in the street. In the evening, members of the Islamic Jihad movement organized a march in the town supporting Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla. Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla are both members of Islamic Jihad, and they are on the 71st day of their hunger strike. Their condition is critical, and the Supreme Court has recently denied their petition. Islamic Jihad has said that if any of the hunger strikers die, they will consider it as a political assassination and the truce between them and Israel will be broken.

Additionally, another 2000 or so prisoners are on their 21st day of hunger strike. The prisoners are protesting the torture and ill treatment they receive in prison, and demanding their legal rights (such as the right to a lawyer during interrogations) and an end to administrative detention. Under administrative detention, under which both Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla are being held, prisoners are kept without any charges against them and without trial, for a period of up to six months which can be renewed indefinitely. 320 people are now being held under administrative detention.

(palestinesolidarityproject.org / 08.05.2012)

One State vs. Two States in Historic Palestine

The most popular settlement options for the Palestine/Israel impasse are the Two State and the One State solutions. Many misconceptions are associated with these options, but in order for the public to understand those misunderstandings, a comparison between the two solutions is warranted.

Two States:

The Two State solution is often touted by its proponents as the most practical and viable option because it is easier to achieve, but it assumes Israeli willingness to withdraw to the 1967 borders and disregards facts on the ground already created illegally by Israel in its ceaseless encroachment upon Palestinian land and identity. The features of the Two State are:

1. 1.                  The Two State solution would legalize the Zionist claim to exclusivity with possession and absolute authority over 78% of Palestine for and by Jews only. In order to establish and maintain a Jewish-majority state, specific laws were enacted that prefer Jews and discriminate against Palestinians such as the  Law of Return granting every Jew anywhere in the world the right to immigrate to Israel and the Nationality Law which automatically grants citizenship to all Jews who immigrate to Israel. Such a state means that non-Jews must either be eliminated or their presence or influence marginalized. Israel has already accomplished part of this Zionist objective by systematic discrimination against the Palestinians through such practices as forced transfer, segregation, ghettoization, and the denial of citizenship and basic human rights and freedoms, creating a situation that is alarmingly consistent with Apartheid. Meanwhile, the actions of Israeli leaders intended to secure the ethnic, religious and demographic “purity” of Israel increasingly hark back to the fascist regimes of Europe’s past and smack of what one recent commentator has referred to asArabrein.                                                            
2. 2.                  The Two State solution would create a Palestinian statelet on 22% of Palestine consisting of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. However, Israel’s Apartheid Wall has already appropriated about 10% more of the West Bank, dividing villages, orchards, and farms, and leaving the presumptive statelet with less than 20% of Palestine. The sovereignty of this state over its land, space, sea, and resources would always remain in doubt, particularly because that 20% would not even be contiguous since the West Bank would be physically separated from Gaza by Israel.
3. 3.                  The Two State solution would create a Palestine that would be disjointed and unviable, allowing continued Israeli, Egyptian, and Jordanian control over and access to Palestinian land, airspace, sea, and natural resources, leaving its economy and the movement of its people dependent upon the policies of these countries, either separately or collectively. The recent siege of Gaza and Mubarak’s Egyptian collaboration with and acquiescence to Israeli brutal practices both point to this. Coupled with Jordan’s collusion with Israel to suppress Palestinian aspirations for a viable independence leaves one to conclude that such a future Palestinian statelet would most likely remain at the mercy of its neighbors as it would be unable to control or develop its natural resources; be allowed to defend or protect itself; nor serve as a home for the Palestinian diaspora.
4. 4.                  A Two State solution would neither implement nor address the right of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to return to their properties either in Israel, the Palestinian statelet, or both. Israel’s refusal to comply with international and humanitarian law violates the protections they provide civilians, especially through the construction of Jewish-only settlements that expropriate Palestinian land and resources and which progressively confine Palestinians to enclaves similar to South African Bantustans. With respect to Jerusalem, Israel’s measures to build and consolidate demographic domination both of greater Jerusalem and Jerusalem proper have progressively eradicated the historically Arab character of the city, depriving Palestinians of their historic capital, severing Jerusalem’s vital social and economic connections to the rest of Palestinian society, and restricting access by Muslim and Christian Palestinian communities to holy sites where they have worshipped since antiquity. Israel’s actions and policies point inescapably to the calculated intent of permanently annexing most of the West Bank and all of East Jerusalem, contravening all accepted international principles regarding occupation. The inevitable conclusion is that Israel is pursuing a policy that amounts to nothing less than settler colonialism, and as in Apartheid South Africa, Israel has severely suppressed ongoing demands for democratic reform and equal treatment and protection between Israeli-Jews and Palestinians, including the Palestinian right to return to their homes from which they were expelled.
5. 5.                  The Two State solution would not deal with the rights and plight of those Palestinians in Israel who have been subjected to increasingly blatant Israeli discrimination and violent treatment. Israel deliberately targets its Palestinian citizens for exclusion and ethnic cleansing forcing them to accept the Jewish character of the state which by itself deprives them of their own national identity and aspirations. They are repeatedly told that they are an alien enemy population in their own ancestral homeland and that it is only a matter of time before they are transferred out. They are denied equal protection of the law; have their properties confiscated for use by Israeli-Jews only and the portion not utilized by Israeli-Jews is denied to them; have their natural resources expropriated without compensation and exploited mainly to benefit Israeli-Jews; and have their culture, history, legacy, and connection to the land falsified and maligned. All efforts by Palestinians inside Israel and their Jewish supporters to peacefully transform the state into an inclusive democracy with equal protection for all have been ignored and rejected
6. 6.                  The Two State solution would not address Israel’s Zionist settler colonial character and its militaristic nature with its arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. An exclusive Jewish state would be adamant in maintaining its military superiority over Arab countries–individually or collectively. Such regional hegemony would allow Israel to maintain its stockpile of weapons of mass destruction: biological, chemical, and nuclear. Though Israel is ranked as the fourth military power in the world and among the exclusive members of the nuclear club, it keeps justifying its brutal and illegal occupation on security grounds. All indications lead one to conclude that Israel would not agree with the proposed plan to create a Middle East free of such weapons. Israeli insistence on such weapons would push other countries to acquire them.
7. 7.                  The Two State solution would perpetuate the notion that Palestinians and Israelis cannot share and live together peacefully in historic Palestine. The division of the people and territory of Mandate Palestine by the antiquated notion claiming an exclusive birthright to the land for the entirety of one ethnic group alone is inadmissible and violates the human and political rights of the Palestinian people as well as norms expressed in United Nations Covenants on human, social, cultural and political rights. Partition of Palestine into two states only perpetuates conflict, based as it is on sustaining beliefs and practices that foster conflict, especially ethnic domination and discrimination, forced separation, ghettoization, and land confiscation that reproduce practices of colonialism and Apartheid and which offend the conscience of humankind. The claim that Jews, Palestinians, and all the people of territorial Palestine cannot live together peacefully in one country is just as false and fundamentally racist as were similar arguments promoted by the Apartheid regime in South Africa.

In sum, the Two State solution would insist on maintaining its Zionist character of Israel with a Jewish-majority, with laws that clearly discriminate against non-Jewish citizens, and policies that favor Jews. The most potent weapon that Israel has at its disposal is unique laws that hold Palestinian confiscated land in a trust for Jews only, that grant every Jew anywhere in the world the right to immigrate to Israel, and automatic citizenship to those who do. Yet Palestinians who have been expelled by Israel from their homes and properties are not allowed to return or be united with their families in Israel.

   One State:                   

The One State solution is the less popular option at present, but it appeals is gaining momentum because it is universal in nature and scope and aims at creating a democratic infrastructure for a unified country in Palestine with equal protection and treatment for all its citizens.  The vision of the One State solution is eloquently stated in the Declaration of the Movement for One Democratic State in Palestine and consists of four basic principles:

• ·         Only a united and genuinely democratic state in Palestine, without distinction of race, religion, ethnicity or national origin, can provide liberty and security for all.
• ·         The entire land of Palestine between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River is to be established as one country that belongs to all of its citizens. The other occupied territories are to be restored to their rightful countries of origin.
• ·         This country must be constituted as one independent and democratic State in which all citizens enjoy equal rights and can live in freedom and security.
• ·         The citizens of this State shall include all those who live there and all those who were expelled over the past century and their descendants.

The future state will be established as follows:

1. 1.                  Reunified Palestine would be constituted as a democracy in which all of its adult citizens enjoy equal rights to vote, stand for office and contribute to the country’s governance, it being understood that all pre-existing political structures and laws that discriminate against anyone would be abrogated.
2. 2.                  The State would not establish or accord special privilege to any religion and would provide for the free practice of all religions.
3. 3.                  The public land of the State would belong to the nation as a whole and all of its citizens would have equal access to its use. Private property expropriated from Palestinian refugees, Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza would be restored or reparations made with the consent of the original owners or their descendants.
4. 4.                  The State would provide the conditions for free cultural expression by all of its citizens.
5. 5.                  Citizens would have equal access to employment at all levels and in all sectors of the society.
6. 6.                  The State would uphold international law and at all times seek the peaceful resolution of conflict through negotiation and collective security in accordance with the United Nations Charter. The State would further seek and contribute to the establishment of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East that will also be free of all weapons of mass destruction. All of Israel’s present weapons of mass destruction (including but not limited to its arsenal of nuclear weapons) inherited by the State would be dismantled or destroyed under the auspices of the United Nations within one year of the creation of the new state.

The questions to ask, therefore, are:

• ·         Would the Two State Solution mandate drastic changes to the character and practices of Israel or allow Israel to continue with business as usual?
• ·         Would Israel be willing to reverse its colonial policies to allow for the establishment of a viable Palestinian State?
• ·         Is Israel ready to transform itself into a democracy, eliminate discrimination, and guarantee equal protection of the law to all of its citizens?
• ·         Would a race for weapons of mass destruction achieve security and peace?

Comparison between the two options reveals distinct and drastic differences between them. Though the Two State solution is being marketed as viable and the easiest option to accomplish, this option would nevertheless prove to be the hardest to achieve. It would establish two competing entities, leave major issues unresolved, and maintain the Zionist colonial settler character of Israel intact with all of its discriminatory manifestations. The One State solution, though seen as utopian and difficult to set up, is still the most practical and promising option because it calls for a unified democratic state for both Palestinians and Israeli-Jews,  provides for equal protection and treatment for both, and eliminates racism, preferential treatment, colonialism, militarism, and bloodshed.  Its universal values would lead to a durable system of justice and lasting peace.

Having discussed the basic tenets of both options, we call upon all people of good well to choose the solution that offers universal values and equal protection and treatment for all. We believe, and we hope that you agree, that the One State solution which is rooted in universal principles has the promise of being the most viable and durable of the two options.  We appeal to those who cherish freedom, justice, equality and democracy and those who reject racism and segregation to join in support of this option, articulating its ideals, and diligently working to achieve it. There is no other viable solution!

(www.onedemocraticstate.org / 08.05.2012)

Court orders Palestinians out of Jerusalem home

Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered two Palestinians to leave their properties in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, ruling that the properties were owned by Jews, their lawyer told AFP.

Lawyer Mohammad Dahleh said the court had rejected his clients’ appeals, and ruled that Ghazi Zalum’s house and Ismail Wazwaz’s shop had been owned by Jews in the period before the establishment of Israel in 1948, with the properties later falling into Jordan’s hands.

“It went through the Magistrates Court, the District Court and now the Supreme Court,” Dahleh said, adding that the court had also ordered the Palestinians to pay all the legal costs.

Both properties are in the Al-Qarameh neighborhood between the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Al Aqsa Mosque compound.

There was no immediate Israeli confirmation of the ruling, and it was not clear who would take over the properties.

Zalum told AFP there had been a systematic takeover by settlers of properties in the area.

“With my evacuation, Israel has evacuated half of the Al-Qarameh neighborhood and Aqbat al-Khaldiyya as part of an organized policy of emptying the Old City,” he charged.

“It is more of a political issue than an Arab or Jewish property issue. This move comes with the announcement of the elections and is a message to Israelis saying: we are liberating Jerusalem from the Arabs,” he said, referring to a decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call early elections this September.

The identity of the Jewish owners who won the court battle were not immediately clear.

Israel captured mostly Arab East Jerusalem, including the Old City, in 1967, later annexing the Eastern sector in a move not recognized by the international community.

But the Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state, and furiously denounce any move by Israel to buy or build property there.

The international community considers all Israeli settlement on occupied land to be illegal under international law.

About 300,000 Israelis now live in East Jerusalem, including around 2,000 hardcore settlers who have moved into the heart of densely populated Palestinian areas.

(www.nowlebanon.com / 08.05.2012)

Action alert: STW office raided by Israeli military

At 1.30am this morning ten armoured jeeps of the Israeli occupation forces and intelligence surrounded and raided the offices of Stop the Wall in Ramallah. Israeli military stole 2 laptops, 3 hard drives and 10 memory cards containing files and photos as well as archive material relating to the work that the organisation does in opposition to Israel’s apartheid wall and the attack on Palestinian human rights that the wall and the settlement represent. This is a renewed attack upon Palestinian civil society and their struggle against the physical and psychological oppression, land confiscation and ethnic cleansing policies of the Israel.

It is no coincidence that the Israeli authorities have chosen this moment to escalate their repression against the Stop the Wall grassroots network of civil resistance against the Wall and the settlements, choosing to act on the same day that the Israeli High Court rejected the appeals of Palestinian hunger strikers Bilal Diab and Tha’’ir Halahleh, imprisoned without charge and without trial, effectively condemning them to death. Israel is fearing popular resistance and at the same time prepares for confrontation and more repression, clearly showing that it is not ready to relinquish any of the international sanctioned rights the Palestinian people are struggling for.

This is a stark reminder of the 2010 office raid and the 2009/10 wave of  arrests of Stop the Wall staff and grassroots leaders. At that time we could count on the solidarity of all our supporters across the globe. Thanks to the steadfastness of Stop the Wall activists and your support internationally, we have been able to staff off the attack and emerge stronger than before.

We once again call upon you to support us by:

• Spreading the news and publicly express your support to Stop the Wall and our work in the media available to you (and please let us know you did so!)
• Encouraging your representatives and governments to condemn and report this further repression of civil resistance and human rights defenders organizations.
• Let Israel know that their walls cannot isolate anybody!

For photos see:http://www.flickr.com/photos/stopthewall/sets/72157629631856082/

Background:

Stop the Wall is one of the most vibrant organizations of human rights defenders in Palestine, and has been promoting, for almost ten years, civil resistance and advocacy campaigns against the Wall and in defense of Palestinian rights to self determination. Human Rights Defenders are internationally recognized as an essential element in political processes and their repression further underlines Israeli unwillingness to achieve a just peace.

This raid on the Stop the Wall offices is a clear message that the Israeli authorities are fearing widespread nonviolent action will challenge their policies effectively.

The courageous steadfastness of the more than 2000 hunger strikers in Israeli jails is underlining once more the power of civil resistance as part of the Palestinian struggle. Almost daily people are out in the streets to protest in solidarity with the Palestinian political prisoners, and the discontent with the fruitless and completely stalled diplomatic processes is growing stronger. At the same time, the Israeli authorities announced in 2011 to UN agencies that throughout 2012 year they will systematically displace the Palestinian population in area C. While the displacement drive is underway in the Jordan Valley, home demolitions are rising and the settlement construction is accelerated, the people across the West Bank are always more constraint behind the cantons of the wall. Israel is preparing for confrontation and more repression, clearly showing that it is not ready to relinquish any of the international sanctioned rights the Palestinian people are struggling for.

This is not the first time Stop the Wall has been the target of Israeli repression. In September 2009 Stop the Wall youth coordinator was arrested and the Stop the Wall coordinator, Jamal Juma’, was arrested a few months later, in December 2009. The Israeli authorities were not able to formulate any accusations against either of them and after a sustained international campaign, that saw the active involvement of the diplomatic missions in Palestine and European foreign ministries as well as countless human rights organizations around the world, both had to be freed in January 2010. This attack was followed only a few months later by an extensive office raid by the Israeli military on February 8 2010 and mass arrests of grassroots human rights defenders in the villages most actively protesting against the Wall.

(www.stopthewall.org / 08.05.2012)

Kadima joins Netanyahu’s Likud in Israeli government

Shaul Mofaz

Plans for early elections to Israel’s Knesset have been cancelled after the Prime Minister announced that his Likud Party had formed a coalition with its main opposition party.

It was revealed early on Tuesday morning that Likud would bring the Kadima Party into government.

The centrist party is now led by former Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz, who recently defeated Tzipi Livni to take charge of Kadima.

In 2009 Ms Livni refused to go into government with Benjamin Netanyahu because of differences in their approaches to the peace process.

Kadima’s presence in the coalition will give the government 94 of the Knesset’s 120 seats.

Mr Netanyahu said: “Unity restores stability.

“A broad national unity government is good for security, good for the economy and good for the people of Israel.”

The move was criticised by Israel’s left-wing Labour Party, who labelled it “ridiculous”.

(www.thejc.com / 08.05.2012)

Moroccan commercials accused of undermining family values, mocking mothers-in-law

Several private radio stations, TV channels, and websites have been broadcasting commercials perceived by many as violating Moroccan social norms.

Several Moroccan commercials have lately come on fire for undermining social and family relations by inciting wives against their husbands and ridiculing the mothers-in-law.

Several private radio stations, TV channels, and websites have been broadcasting commercials perceived by many as violating social norms in order to promote the advertised product.

Some commercial advice women to be harsh with their husbands while others portray the mother-in-law as an intruder who needs to be gotten rid of for the sake of the family’s peace of mind.

This has prompted many activists to launch pages on social networking website Facebook to express their anger at commercials that “insult men” by telling women to mistreat them if they want to “live in peace.”

The campaign against the commercials aims to call upon the relevant authorities to be firm with companies that produce them and the media outlets that communicate them to the public due to their negative effect on Moroccan society, especially the uneducated people, said Monsef Farouhi, the admin of one of the Facebook pages.

“Those commercials usually address uneducated women who follow the advice without thinking. This affects their behavior and their relationship with their husbands,” he told Al Arabiya.

An official at the Higher Authority of Audiovisual Communication, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the authority, which is in charge of monitoring the performance of audio and visual media, will not hesitate to take firm action against any media outlet that violates the principles of Moroccan society.

“However, we have not yet made a decision about the commercials that have caused this controversy,” he told Al Arabiya.

The reason for the prevalence of such commercials, the source explained, is that some channels or websites take advantage of the amount of freedom available to the media in Morocco to broadcast material that contradict the socially established laws of the conservative Moroccan society.

“These bodies only care about financial gains and do not pay attention to the negative social or ethical impact.”

The controversial content, he added, is not necessarily presented in an indirect way.

“Some commercials undermine social values in a subtle way in order to promote the product or service they are offering.”

(english.alarabiya.net / 08.05.2012)

Syrian Elections Seen as Step towards Reform, Stability, Security

TEHRAN (FNA)- Polling stations opened across Syria on Monday for the country’s first multi-party parliamentary elections in half a century, a move considered by analysts as a step towards victory by President Bashar Assad’s reform plan and reinvigoration of stability and security in the country.

The elections follow a referendum on a new constitution in February which allowed all political parties to run for seats in the 250-strong parliament. The Syrian authorities have vowed that the elections, touted as a milestone in the country’s history, will be “free, transparent and fair”. Nine parties were created ahead of the vote and seven have candidates running for parliamentary seats. Pro-government parties, led by the Baath Party, form a coalition called the National Progressive Front, which largely won the previous elections. A total of 7,195 candidates, including 710 women, are taking part in the polls. More than 14.7 million people are eligible to cast ballots. In March, Assad issued a decree to hold a parliamentary election on May 7. The current parliament’s term expired in March 2011, but has been extended in accordance with the country’s new constitution. Meantime, recent reports coming from Syria suggested that various enemy plots are underway to spoil the peace mission of the UN-Arab League Envoy, Kofi Annan, in Syria to bring the Muslim country back into turmoil and pave the way for an overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s government. According to reports, while Syria has strived hard to pave the ground for holding healthy parliamentary elections with a fair race among candidates, enemies of the Syrian people are exercising different plots to prevent the peaceful trend of democratic changes in the country. These enemy states lead and back up various terrorist operations, including acts of sabotage and kidnapping, and use soft war tactics, including psychological operations and threats, through the Syrian dissident expatriates and armed groups within the country to deepen turmoil in Syria and bring Annan’s peace plan into failure as they want to see an overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s government. Meantime, the US has spread rumors about impending blitzkriegs on Syria in a bid to affect the government forces and make Damascus consent to a Saudi and Qatari offer for the establishment of a buffer zone. Despite a ceasefire that took effect in Syria on April 12 and the presence of UN observers, the country has been the scene of terrorist bomb attacks in recent days. The first group of UN observers arrived in Damascus on April 15. The observers were approved for the mission according to the UN Security Council Resolution 2042 passed on April 14. Last Monday, more than 20 people were killed in blasts targeting security buildings in the city of Idlib, Northwestern Syria, as the Syrian Central Bank came under rocket propelled grenade attack overnight. Syrian State television reported that an armed terrorist group staged an RPG attack on the Central Bank of Syria on Sabaa Bahrat Square in Damascus. The television said the assault was a clear breach of the more than two-week-old ceasefire brokered by Annan. The developments came a few days after Annan called for the faster deployment of UN peace observers in the Middle-Eastern country as he sees the situation on the ground still “unacceptable” due to the continued violation of his ceasefire plan by the Syrian rebel groups. Annan has offered a six-point peace initiative which has been endorsed and implemented by the Damascus government and nation, but armed rebels supported by certain Arab rulers have repeatedly violated the terms of Annan’s plan. Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country. Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes. The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad. In October, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of stirring unrests in Syria once again. Few West-backed hardline Arab states, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, advocate arming Syrian rebels and calling for Assad’s departure, while the rest of the Arab and Muslim world want to see a political solution. (english.farsnews.com / 08.05.2012)

Key UN resolutions (about Palestine)

Palestinian Refugees have the right to return to their homes in Israel.

Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.

General Assembly Resolution 194, Dec. 11, 1948

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Israel’s occupation of Palestine is Illegal.

Calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from territories occupied in the war that year and “the acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force.

Security Council Resolution 242, Nov. 22, 1967

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Israel’s settlements in Palestine are Illegal.

Determines that the policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

Security Council Resolution 446, March 22, 1979

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Palestinian have the right to Self-Determination.

Affirms “the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in Palestine…to self-determination without external interference” and “to national independence and sovereignty.”

General Assembly Resolution 3236, November 22, 1974

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Reaffirmation of a Palestinian State

Affirms “a vision of a region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders.”

Security Council Resolution 1397, March 12, 2002

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Acknowledgement of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of the Wall

Responding to the ICJ advisory opinion 9 July 2004, the UN “demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply with its legal obligations as mentioned in the advisory opinion” and “calls upon all States Members of the United Nations to comply with their legal obligations as mentioned in the advisory opinion”.

General Assembly Resolution ES-10/14 , August 2, 2004

(www.palestinecampaign.org / 08.05.2012)