Official says Fatah never approved Fayyad cabinet

Tawfiq Tirawi says the Fatah central committee was not consulted.

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — A senior Fatah official says his party was not properly consulted on the makeup of Salam Fayyad’s new government, which was admitted on Wednesday.

Tawfiq Tirawi said Thursday that when the central committee met after the weekend, it did not discuss the names of the new ministers. They were only told that there would be changes.

He said Fatah respects the ministers but “it the way it all happened was wrong,” concerning Fatah and its processes. It means the party did not approve Fayyad’s government, he said.

Fayyad lost his dual role as finance minister in the government reshuffle. He was replaced by Nabil Qassis, a former university president who like Fayyad is a political independent.

Also sworn into new roles were Ali Jarbawi as higher education minister, Jawad Naji for economy minister, Rula Maayeh as minister of tourism, Safa Nasser el-Din, telecommunications, Ali Abu Zuhri, transportation, Adnan Husseini for Jerusalem affairs, Ali Muhanna for justice, Mahmoud Abu Ramadan at planning, Hani Abdeen for health and Walid Assaf as agriculture minister.

(www.maannews.net / 17.05.2012)

The Basics of the Political System in Islam

Introduction

The West makes a natural mistake in their understanding of Islamic tradition, assuming that religion means the same for Muslims as it has meant for most other religious adherents ever since the industrial revolution, and for some societies, even before that; that is: a section of life reserved for certain matters, and separate from other sections of life.  This is not the Islamic world view.  It never has been in the past, and modern attempts of making it so are seen as an aberration.

Islam: A Total Way of Life

Islam is a “total way of life.”  It has provided guidance in every sphere of life, from individual cleanliness, rules of trade, to the structure and politics of the society. Islam can never be separated from social, political, or economic life, since religion provides moral guidance for every action that a person takes.  The primary act of faith is to strive to implement God’s will in both private and public life.  Muslims see that they, themselves, as well as the world around them, must be in total submission to God and his Will.  Moreover, they know that this concept of His rule must be established on earth in order to create a just society.  Like Jews and Christians before them, Muslims have been called into a covenant relationship with God, making them a community of believers who must serve as an example to other nations by creating a moral social order.  God tells the Muslim global nation:

“You are the best community raised for mankind, enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong…” (Quran 3:110)

Throughout history, being a Muslim has meant not only belonging to a religious community of fellow believers but also living under the Islamic Law.  For Islamic Law is believed to be an extension of God’s absolute sovereignty.

God is the Only Sovereign

God is the absolute sovereign in Islam, and is therefore the only Lord of heaven and earth.  Just as He is the Lord of the physical universe, to the true Muslim believers, God is the Lawgiver for every area of human life.  Just as He is the Master of the physical world, God is the Ruler of the affairs of men in Islamic doctrine.  Thus God is the supreme Lawgiver[1], the Absolute Judge, and the Legislator Who distinguishes right from wrong.  Just like the physical world inevitably submits to its Lord by following the ‘natural’ laws of the universe, human beings must submit to the moral and religious teaching of their Lord, the One Who sets right apart from wrong for them.  In other words, God alone has the authority to make laws, determine acts of worship, decide morals, and set standards of human interaction and behavior.  This is because,

“His is the Creation and Command.” (Quran 7:54)

The Separation of Institutional Religion & the State

As we have mentioned, in Islam God is acknowledged the sole sovereign of human affairs, so there has never been a distinction between religious and state authority.  In Christendom, the distinction between the two authorities are said to be based upon records in the New Testament of Jesus, asking his followers to render unto Caesar what was his and unto God what was His.  Therefore throughout Christian history until the present times, there have always been two authorities: ‘God and Caesar’, or ‘the church and state.’  Each had its own laws and jurisdictions, each its own structure and hierarchy.  In the pre-westernized Islamic world there were never two powers, and the question of separation never arose.  The distinction so deeply rooted in Christendom between church and state has never existed in Islam.

The Vision of an Islamic State

The vision of an Islamic state and the purpose of its political authority is to implement the divine law.  Thus, the ideal Islamic state is a community governed by the Law revealed by God.  This does not entail that such a state is necessarily a theocracy under direct rule of the learned men of religion, nor is it an autocracy that vests absolute power in the ruler.  The function of the Islamic state is to provide security and order so that Muslims can carry out both their religious and worldly duties.  The Caliph[2]  is the guardian of faith and the community.  His role is not so much checked by the ulama (religious scholars), but enhanced by them because they provide him religious and legal counsel.  He also appoints judges who resolve disputes in accordance with Islamic Law.  There is a certain level of flexibility in regards to the system of governance and its establishment in Islam, however, religion must be implemented fully into state and society.

---

Footnotes:

[1] God’s existence proven by the existence of a supreme Lawgiver is called the ‘ethical’ argument by Western theologians.

[2] The word Caliph is the English term for Khaleefah, or successor, for the Caliph succeeds Prophet Muhammad as political leader of the Muslims and implementation of Divine Law in society.

Islam and Democracy

In order to discuss productively the topic of democracy, one must first understand the origins and meanings of the concept itself.  But, for the sake of brevity, it can be said that, according to the “modern” and most rudimental understanding of the term, Islamic thought does conform to some of its aspects.  One such aspect is the fact that Muslims have a right to appoint their rulers, hold them accountable and, when need be, to remove them from office.  Islam does not, however, empower the system of government with the right to absolve or change the legislation of the religion in society, nor does it leave them the right of creation of novel legislations.  Rather, legislation is the right of God alone, and religion must be pivotal in deciding the validity of any new law. Bypassing this right of God amounts to the unforgivable sin of polytheism, for it from the basis of the belief in the Oneness of God that He and only He has the right of legislation.  What this means is that the people or their elected officials do not have a right to make permissible what God has forbidden, or to declare forbidden what God has made permissible.  Both in granting them such a right and then following their legislation is their elevation, making them lords like God, and this is what is meant by polytheism.  No-one has the right to change the Law of God, and His Law is superior to and supersedes all man-made laws.

Setting the boundaries of interaction between Islam and democracy, Muslims today are debating the relationship of Islam to democratic institutions in their societies.  While most Muslims wish for greater political participation, the rule of law, government accountability, freedoms, and human rights, there are many different ways to achieve these goals.  To some, Islam has its own mechanisms which preclude democratic institutions.  Still others contend that Islam is fully capable of accommodating and supporting democratic institutions.  Engaging in a process of reform, they argue the compatibility between Islam and certain types of ‘democracy’ by using traditional Islamic concepts like consultation (shura) between the ruler and the ruled, community consensus (ijma), public interest (maslaha), and scriptural based opinion (ijtihad).  These mechanisms can be used to support forms of government with systems of checks and balances among the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches.  However, rulers of authoritarian states tend to ignore, discourage, or suppress democratic institutions.

In general, one can see that Islam is a religion which not only governs the private religious life of an individual, but also mandates and regulates all aspects of public life.  As the notion of worship in Islam is not restricted to mere rituals but inclusive of all deeds of obedience and goodness, so too does the concept of religion extend to all avenues of life on Earth.  To a Muslim, the concepts of religion and state are inseparable.  In keeping this principle respectfully in mind, whatever the form of government a Muslim society chooses to implement, all its constituents must be in direct concordance to the precepts of religion.  By no means can the system of governance exclude, absolve, or interpolate any mandate of the religion, and this is yet only another example of the pure monotheistic nature of Islam, and that all rights due to God are rendered to Him alone, and none else.

(www.islamreligion.com / 17.05.2012)

Quakers Divest from Caterpillar!

 

Above: Click to learn about Caterpillar

Have you heard the wonderful news? After a roller coaster United Methodist divestment campaign ending in partial victory, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is so excited to announce that the Quaker Friends Fiduciary Corporation (FFC), which holds over $200 million in assets, hasdivested from Caterpillar! FFC divested $900,000 in sharesof Caterpillar, which continues to feel the pressure from all sides for its production and sale of weaponized bulldozers to Israel, used to violate Palestinian rights and destroy Palestinian homes, schools, hospitals, olive groves, and lives.

Ann Arbor Quakers asked FFC to divest and issued this warm statement of thanks:

“Ann Arbor Friends welcome the decision by Friends Fiduciary Corporation (FFC) to divest from Caterpillar Corp. This is a significant step since FFC handles investments for over 250 Quaker meetings, schools, organizations, trusts, and endowments around the US. In taking this action, FFC is truly upholding the core commitment of the Society of Friends to peace. We ask Friends and people of faith everywhere to join us in expressing thanks to FFC and asking them to continue divesting from all companies that are helping to sustain the Israeli occupation.”

Let’s heed their call. Click here to thank FFC for its decision to divest from Caterpillar!

FFC has a “zero tolerance for weapons and weapons components,” and said, “We are uncomfortable defending our position on this stock.”

FFC is not the first Quaker institution to avoid companies that support the Israeli occupation. In March 2008, the Board of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a US Campaign member group, approved an Israel/Palestine investment screen, stating:

“Investments should not be made in any company that provides products or services, including financial services, to Israeli governmental or military bodies… or to Israeli or Palestinian organizations or groups that are used to facilitate or undertake violent acts against civilians or violations of international law.”

The AFSC investment screen is based on a 29-company “no-buy” list – originally compiled by the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church — which includes Caterpillar, Motorola Solutions, Veolia, and Hewlett Packard. In June 2011, AFSC also joined the “We Divest Campaign,”which calls on financial giant TIAA-CREF to divest from the Israeli occupation.

Illinois Yearly Meeting and St Louis Monthly Meeting support the “We Divest Campaign.”

And that’s not all. Illinois Yearly Meeting and St. Louis Monthly Meeting of Friends also came out in support of the “We Divest Campaign,” Sandy Springs Monthly Meeting called on FFC to divest from all companies profiting from violence in Israel/Palestine, and the Ann Arbor Meeting agreed to a call from its Palestine-Israel Action Group (PIAG) — a member of the US Campaign — to boycott companies supporting the Israeli military and Israeli settlement products, building on a similar decision by Britain Yearly Meeting.

FFC’s decision is a new step forward for aligning Quaker values with investments. Please click here to thank FFC, whether or not you are a Quaker!

Photo by PIAG member of devastation wrought by Caterpillar.

We are hopeful that these actions will put wind in the sails of the exciting divestment campaign at Earlham College, another Quaker institution. The campaign, led by US Campaign member group BDS Earlham, aims for “Earlham to divest from Caterpillar, Motorola, and Hewlett Packard because they are profiting from Israeli violations of international law and principles of human rights.”

In less than two months, the Presbyterian Church (USA) will vote on divestment from those same companies. In addition tothanking FFC, please click here to sign a letter of support for Presbyterian divestment if you haven’t done so yet!

The snowball is gathering momentum. Let us continue our support for courageous churches and other institutions that are putting their money where their mouths are.

(www.endtheoccupation.org / 17.05.2012)

Afnemende steun voor lente-akkoord

De steun van kiezers voor het ‘lente-akkoord’ is afgenomen nu de inhoud van het akkoord bekend is. Drie weken geleden steunde 69 procent van alle kiezers het akkoord, nu is dat 54 procent. Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van EenVandaag onder 15.000 mensen. Opvallend is dat PvdA-kiezers het akkoord niet langer in meerderheid steunen.
Geen steun van PvdA-achterban
Drie weken geleden steunde twee derde (65 procent) van de PvdA-achterban het lente-akkoord, nu is dat nog maar 39 procent. De meeste PvdA-stemmers (57 procent) vinden het nu een juiste beslissing van Samsom om zich afzijdig te houden. Drie weken geleden was de helft (49%) van de achterban nog kritisch over die beslissing.

Steun van coalitie-stemmers
Kiezers van de ‘vijfpartijen-coalitie’ van VVD (83% voor) CDA (88% voor), D66 (88% voor), GroenLinks (77% voor) en de ChristenUnie (80% voor) geven nog steeds brede steun aan het akkoord. Kiezers van GroenLinks staan achter de beslissing van Sap om mee te onderhandelen: 80 procent is voor.

Steun voor maatregelen
De steun van kiezers voor maatregelen in het akkoord loopt ook iets terug, maar veel bezuinigingen en hervormingen kunnen op dit moment rekenen op een meerderheid: de verhoging van het hoge btw-tarief (53% voor), versnelde verhoging van de AOW-leeftijd (63% voor), afschaffen van de hypotheekrenteaftrek voor aflossingsvrije hypotheken (76% voor) en het instellen van de nullijn voor ambtenaren (70%). Ook het verhogen van de accijnzen op drank en rookwaren krijgt ruime steun.

Tegen verhoging eigen risico
Kiezers hebben wel moeite met maatregelen in de zorg en het belasten van woon-werkverkeer. Zo is 71 procent tegen het verhogen van het eigen risico naar 350 euro, 69 procent tegen een eigen bijdrage van 7,50 per ‘ligdag’ voor medische zorg en wil 59 procent van de deelnemers dat het afschaffen van de onbelaste reiskostenvergoeding voor woon-werkverkeer niet doorgaat.

Over het onderzoek
Aan het onderzoek deden 15.000 leden van het EenVandaag Opiniepanel mee. Het onderzoek vond plaats op 16 en 17 mei 2012. Het EenVandaag Opiniepanel bestaat uit ruim 40.000 mensen. De deelnemers beantwoorden vragenlijsten op basis van een online onderzoek. De uitslag van de peilingen onder het EenVandaag Opiniepanel zijn na weging representatief voor zes variabelen, namelijk leeftijd, geslacht, opleiding, burgerlijke staat, spreiding over het land en politieke voorkeur gemeten naar de Tweede Kamerverkiezingen van 2010. De volledige uitslag van het onderzoek staat op http://opinie.eenvandaag.nl

(www.eenvandaag.nl / 17.05.2012)

Syria: Deported Palestinian journalist speaks out about torture in custody

Journalist Salameh Kaileh suffered brutal torture while in custody in a Syrian prison and military hospital.

After being deported to Jordan, Kaileh spoke to Amnesty International about his ordeal

He sustained injuries from severe beatings overseen by Syrian security forces and doctors

“

Unfortunately, the hospital was much worse than what I was subjected to in prison. It was not a hospital, but a slaughterhouse

”

Salameh Kaileh, Palestinian-Jordanian journalist

Thu, 17/05/2012

A prominent journalist has told Amnesty International how Syrian government forces tortured and detained him in deplorable conditions before deporting him to Jordan on Monday.

Salameh Kaileh, a 57-year-old Jordanian national of Palestinian descent, has lived and worked in the Syrian capital Damascus since 1981.

On 24 April, plain clothes officials from Syria’s Air Force Intelligence arrested him during a raid on his flat in Barzah, a Damascus suburb. Amnesty International considered him to be a prisoner of conscience, held solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression.

“The main reason for my arrest, from what I understood, is a conversation I had on Facebook with a friend outside Syria about my position on the revolution and my opinion about the Muslim Brotherhood and so on,” Kaileh told Amnesty International.

Following his arrest, Kaileh was held at a Syrian Air Force Intelligence branch in Damascus, where he was insulted and beaten for days. Officers used the falaqa torture method on him, whipping the soles of his feet with a thin bamboo stick.

One unidentified official targeted the journalist’s background by shouting insults against Palestinians.

Throughout his interrogation Kaileh was repeatedly asked about his role in publishing a leftist political publication – he denies any such role, saying he collects the publication for his journalism work.

On 3 May, Kaileh was transferred to another Air Force Intelligence branch, where medical professionals referred him to a military hospital in al-Mezzeh after confirming he bore signs of having been tortured.

While at the military hospital, he faced even more torture than before.

Kaileh and the other patients were crammed in, two or three to a bed, their hands and feet bound and their faces covered with blankets. They were forced to defecate and urinate in the beds.

“Unfortunately, the hospital was much worse than what I was subjected to in prison. It was not a hospital, but a slaughterhouse,” Kaileh said.

“I stayed in this hellish condition for a week … I forced myself not to eat or drink so that I did not urinate in bed. I needed to take medication for a thyroid problem but was not given it.”

During his time in the hospital, Kaileh was subjected to frequent and severe beatings while blindfolded and tied to a bed.

The doctors joined the military officials in shouting insults at the patients, but he was unable to see if they also took part in the beatings.

While in detention, there were serious concerns for Kaileh’s health, as he is required to take daily medication since recovering from throat cancer in 2004.

On 10 May, Kaileh was taken from the hospital to a Department of Immigration branch. Officials there and at several other ministry offices interrogated him before deporting him by aeroplane to the Jordanian capital Amman on Monday.

Kaileh said he wants to return to Syria and plans to file a lawsuit against his deportation.

To Amnesty International’s knowledge, Kaileh did not take part in the ongoing popular protests in Syria and his detention and torture by the Syrian authorities were solely in relation to his political writing and journalism.

Kaileh was previously arrested in 1991 and sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment in Damascus for his alleged membership of the Party for Communist Action.

“Salameh Kaileh’s dreadful ordeal shows the extent to which the Syrian authorities will go to attempt to crush dissenting voices,” said Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Programme Director.

“His horrendous account mirrors the reports we’ve received about thousands of detainees being tortured and ill-treated in detention – often in extremely poor prison conditions – amid the Syrian government’s crackdown over the past 15 months.

“This is not the first time that we have documented the involvement of doctors in human rights violations. They should be doing their best to restore people to health rather than allowing patients to be held in appalling conditions and subjected to torture in hospitals.”

Amnesty International published a report in October 2011, Syria: Health crisis: Syrian government targets the wounded and health workers, which documented the abuse of perceived government opponents by medical staff, health personnel and security officials in several government-run or military hospitals.

Since the beginning of widespread, largely peaceful pro-reform protests in Syria in February 2011, a crackdown on dissent has led to thousands of suspected opponents being arrested. During that time, many, if not most, detainees have been tortured and at least 350 people have died in custody.

In the year since then, although peaceful demonstrations have continued, the unrest has turned increasingly violent, with armed opposition groups, many loosely under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) carrying out attacks mainly against Syrian security forces. The FSA and other armed individuals are also reported to have carried out abuses, although not on the same scale as those by government forces.

Amnesty International has obtained the names of more than 9,200 people reported to have died or been killed in connection with the unrest since mid-March 2011. Many of those were killed amid the protests or during army incursions into villages and towns, as a result of extrajudicial executions, a shoot-to-kill policy and indiscriminate shooting/shelling of residential areas.

Members of the security forces have also been killed, some by defecting soldiers who have taken up arms against the government.

Despite the presence of a small UN observer mission to monitor the situation, the violence has continued in recent weeks, with ongoing clashes reported between Syrian government forces and armed groups including the FSA.

Amnesty International has repeatedly called for the situation in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court, for an international arms embargo to be imposed on the country, and for President Bashar al-Assad and his close associates to have their assets frozen.

The organization is also calling for a more robust and adequately resourced UN observer mission with a clear human rights monitoring component.

(www.amnesty.org / 17.05.2012)

Humanitarian Development Convoys Arrived in Gaza Today

In cooperation with the International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza, the Jordan Lifeline to Gaza (Ansar 2) and Partners for Peace and Development (Miles of Smiles) humanitarian development convoys arrived in Gaza today (17th May).

Ansar 2, the Jordanian leg of the convoy consists of 91 Jordanians representing all sectors of Jordanian Society arrived in Al-Arish airport this morning where they transferred directly to Rafah.

They were be joined in Gaza today by Miles of Smiles International convoy which traveled directly from Cairo to Rafah. This leg of the convoy consisted of 21 participants from Lebanon, 3 from Malaysia, 3 from France and 7 from Egypt.
Wael Al Sakka, the Chairman of Jordan Lifeline stated that “Previous convoys have no doubt been a great benefit in focusing attention on the unjust siege imposed on the Gaza Strip as well as bringing emergency aid relief. However after evaluation of past convoys and in consultation with Gaza we have found it necessary to make significant change on the nature and content of the future convoys.”

Some areas the new models aims to achieve are:
Supporting development projects as requested and defined by Gaza.
Support the establishment of small businesses in order to alleviate high unemployment by granting loans to finance these projects.
Continuation of focusing attention on issues through the media and political supporters of the convoy, Ansar-2 for example is will be focusing on the prisoners issue.
Supply of specialised medicines and medical equipment requested by the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
This convoy will also be establishing a vocational training centre in the Engineers Association in Khan Younis to provide professional training in the field of reconstruction, as this sector suffers from a severe shortage of skilled trained workers.

(Facebook / 17.05.2012)

More than 30,000 Moroccan children are homeless, reveals study

Homeless children in Morocco are frequently subjected to abuse, especially sexual, a study reveals.

A recent study revealed that more than 30,000 Moroccan children are homeless in what is seen as a growing phenomenon which places a lot of pressure on both the government and society.

In a study entitled “The phenomenon of street children in Morocco,” sociologist Chakib Jasous said that more than 1,000 children are homeless in Casablanca alone, 5 percent of which are illegitimate children of immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

Those children, the study added, do not only suffer because of poverty and low standards of living, but are also frequently subjected to abuse, especially sexual.

Aisha, a 14-year-old girl who sells tissue packs in one of Casablanca’s main streets, said she became homeless after a teenage neighbor of hers had raped her.

“I preferred to run away than to face the situation and tell my father,” she told Al Arabiya. “My mom is dead and my stepmother is very cruel so there is no one to protect me.”

For Abdullah, a 12-year-old shoe-polisher, living in the street is much better than bearing witness to the daily squabbles between his mom and dad.
“I couldn’t take it anymore, especially that their fights are always concluded with beating me up and even kicking me out, so I ran away,” he told Al Arabiya.

Street jobs, the study explained, are the most popular among homeless children especially in the summer where they can sell small goods and offer services to cars and pedestrians. At that time of the year, Jasous said, they usually sleep in the street, while in winter they go to deserted buildings to escape the cold.

According to sociology researcher Karima Wadghiri, Jasous’ study is a positive step towards solving the problem of street children in Morocco, but he said that the lack of accurate statistics and sufficient information is the main obstacle.

“We do not know the exact number of street children and their living conditions are much worse than what is known to us,” she told Al Arabiya.
Wadghiri explained that family problems and lack of proper education are the two main factors that contribute to the remarkable rise in the number of street children.

“There is also no clear strategy to combat the roots of the phenomenon,” she added.

In addition to solving the causes of the problem, she explained, there should be initiatives that aim at providing a better life for children who have already been made homeless.

“They need to be integrated into the society through enrolling them in care centers that support illegitimate children and return victims of domestic violence to their families making them join rehabilitation programs and talking to their families.”

(english.alarabiya.net / 17.05.2012)

In pictures: portraits of al-Aqaba, a village surrounded by the Israeli army

Al-Aqaba is a small Palestinian village in the Jordan Valley of the occupied West Bank surrounded by Israeli military checkpoints and training grounds.

After the 1967 war the area around the agricultural community was declared a closed military training zone by the Israeli army. The use of live ammunition and explosives in the surrounding area of the village has led to the injury and even death of dozens of people from the village. Of those who have been injured is the current mayor, Hajj Sami Sadeq, who has used a wheelchair for the past forty years after being shot by Israeli soldiers at the age of 16.

The livelihoods of the village and its population are severely restricted in terms of movement and access to basic amenities such aswater, which is bought and then taken to the village in a tanker since there is no connection to the water network.

In September 2011 the road to the east of the village leading towards the eastern checkpoint was destroyed by the Israeli military. The army also demolished a house which had been home to twelve persons. Numerous homes have been demolished since the beginning of the occupation and further demolition orders have been issued. This has not stopped the community from building in an attempt to reverse the decrease in population from 700 residents since 1967 to 300 today.

The following photos are from my recent stay in al-Aqaba village.

 

Al-Aqaba is home to approximately 300 residents. The population has dwindled because of the particularly harmful impact the occupation has on the agricultural community.

 

Since 2003 a mosque with a double minaret forming a peace sign has towered over al-Aqaba. Israel has issued demolition orders against the mosque — along with a clinic and a kindergarden — because it was built without a permit (Israel permits buildings in areas under full military control only with great exception).

 

After an accidental visit to the Israeli army training camp to the south of the village, I was walking back to the village up the hill when I met two men carrying wood back to their home. We walked back together and once back at the village I was shown into his shed where he was keeping birds. I was then introduced to his father while we sat outside drinking coffee.

 

Close to the village lies an Israeli military checkpoint, which for the residents of al-Aqaba poses a huge barrier when trying to travel to the east of the village. Such attempts will often result in having to spend hours waiting before clearance or only to be rejected and turned away.

 

While walking in the fields which surround the village a shepherd hailed me from the side of a hill. I walked with him for a while, occasionally having to watch his herd as he sprinted off to fetch a stray sheep. He beckoned me towards a hole in the ground which lay camouflaged among the rough terrain,  hoisting up a bucket of water from which I took a drink before we headed our separate ways.

 

In September 2011 the road to the east of al-Aqaba leading towards the eastern checkpoint was destroyed by Israeli military.

 

During my stay in the West Bank it was exam time for al-Aqaba students.  I met this teacher acting as goalkeeper during a game of football with his students.

 

Al-Aqaba’s school has around eighty pupils and the kindergarten sees around 130 children.

 

As well as providing education for the children who currently reside in the village, Al Aqaba’s school and kindergarten welcome children from families who have left the village for nearby towns.

 

While visiting the school I met with the headmaster in the faculty office. Along with the English teacher we sat drinking cartons of chocolate milk which had been donated to the school by Australia.

 

In September 2011 the military demolished a house which had been home to twelve people. Numerous house demolitions have occurred since the beginning of the occupation and additional demolition orders have been issued.

 

Walking along the destroyed road to the west of the village I examined the remains of a house demolished by the army. From the direction of the village, a man approached on horseback. He belonged one of the families from a nearby house who farmed sheep. I visited his house later that evening with the mayor; we were given some of the cheese they had made along with some freshly made bread.

 

Within the village I met a man with his horse in one of the enclosures.  He called his son over to meet me before insisting that I take a picture of his rather timid son next to his horse. We all walked over to his house for tea where his son, who at this point had become anything but shy, began offering me sunflower seeds and along with his sisters showed me their English homework and what they had been learning at the school.

All photos by Calum Toogood.

Calum Toogood is a photojournalism student from Scotland currently studying a degree at Swansea Metropolitan University, Wales.

(electronicintifada.net / 17.05.2012)

IOC: geen speciaal eerbetoon voor Israël op Spelen

JERUZALEM – Het Internationaal Olympisch Comité heeft een verzoek van Israël afgewezen voor een eerbetoon voor de elf Israëlische atleten die tijdens de Olympische Spelen van 1972 in München door Palestijnse terroristen werden vermoord. Dat heeft IOC-voorzitter Jacques Rogge Israël meegedeeld.

Israël had het IOC verzocht een minuut stilte te betrachten tijdens de opening van de Spelen, die deze zomer in Londen worden gehouden. Dit jaar is het precies veertig jaar geleden dat de Israëlische atleten werden vermoord.

Rogge liet weten dat vertegenwoordigers van het IOC wel de traditionele herdenkingsceremonie van de Israëlische delegatie zullen bijwonen. De Israëlische onderminister van buitenlandse zaken Danny Ayalon liet weten de reactie van de IOC-voorzitter ‘onacceptabel’ te vinden.

(www.metronieuws.nl / 17.05.2012)

Amsterdam Nakba Speech

Amsterdam 64th Nakba commemoration Speech on May 12, 2012 By: Abbas Hamideh

Assalamualaikum. Hello everyone. It is quite an honor and joy to be here as a representative of Al-Awda, The Palestine Right To Return Coalition an organization fully dedicated to the Palestinian Refugees Right to Return to their ancestral homeland Palestine.

Special thanks to the energetic organizers for having me here at this 64th Amsterdam Nakba Commemoration Sadika Arab, Imane Mahi, Rachid Aznedan and of course my fellow Palestinian Doc Jazz and everyone else involved in putting this event together.

I would like to acknowledge and make mention of the Palestinian hunger strikers before going on any further who some have been on their 74 days of hunger strike in Israeli prisons. This would not be a Palestinian event otherwise if we didn’t pay our respects to them. It is important to acknowledge their courageous sacrifice at this event!

The Moroccan love of Palestine and enormous support is evident here at this gathering! There is a deep connection between the people of Morocco and the Palestinian people and be sure that the Palestinian people are taking notice of this phenomenal solidarity! And I know that many of you do not consider this work as simply a solidarity measure but consider it your cause and your duty! The Palestinians are grateful for this as we all know Palestine is part and parcel of the Arab World therefore in fact an Arab cause and that is clearly reflected on our national flag. Our Palestinian flag represents Arab Nationalism we take pride in that and the very reason it was adopted as our national symbol. Palestine was always Arab and will remain proudly Arab no matter what others call it in their delusional minds.

The Nakba:

The Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) was well orchestrated long before it occurred in 1948 which caused the dispossession and ethnic cleansing of many Palestinians from their beloved ancestral villages in order to make way for a so called Jewish homeland. The story often fantasized by zionists is that Palestine was a “land without a people for a people without a land.” The fantasy does not explain the theft, massacres, mass forced expulsion of the original inhabitants of the land (The Palestinians) who were unquestionably the indigenous people of the land.

One well known example that ignited the Nakba was the village of Deir Yassin in which I am a direct descendant of. My father and grandparents were survivors of the massacre at Deir Yassin that occurred on April 9, 1948.

My father, Fakhri Quasim Hamideh was a survivor of the massacre at Deir Yassin on April 9th 1948. Like most Palestinian refugees, his greatest wish since his forced expulsion in 1948 was to one day be able to return to his village in Palestine. Unfortunately 53 years later, on February 7, 2001, while driving himself to his regular doctor visit, he passed away at an Israeli check point in Ramallah. My Father was receiving kidney dialysis treatment on a regular basis at the Ramallah Hospital. Due to the delay at the Israeli check point that day he could not get through in time. He went into cardiac arrest and passed away inside his vehicle despite all efforts trying to get through the check point. There were witnesses who explained this to the family including the Palestinian ambulance medics and hospital officials in Ramallah. We flew to Palestine the next day for burial procedures and met with the hospital administration. My Dad was laid to rest in Ramallah away from his village of Deir Yassin. His dream to Return was now passed on to his children, the descendants of his beloved village of Deir Yassin!

Brief History of Deir Yassin before the massacre:

For centuries the village of Deir Yassin (3-miles West of Jerusalem) was a peaceful place in Palestine. The Arabic word Deir means monastery. In the early 18th century around 1742 a nomadic Arab Bedouin and his family settled in this village. His name was Al-Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yassin. The village was named after Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yassin and known ever since as Deir Yassin.

The Massacre at Deir Yassin, April 9, 1948:

In 1948, Zionist preparations for the massacre at Deir Yassin had begun. The Terrorist Zionist/Jewish Stern Gang put forward a proposal to massacre the residents of the village in order to show the Arabs what happens when the Irgun and Stern Gangs unite in their operations. One of the aims of the attack was to “break Arab morale” and create panic throughout Palestine. Deir Yassin overlooks Jerusalem from it’s high mountain point. Taking Deir Yassin was militarily strategic to Zionist plans to empty Palestine of its indigenous inhabitants.

In the early morning of April 9, 1948, the peaceful village of Deir Yassin was attacked and its inhabitants massacred by the Terrorist Zionist Irgun and Stern Gangs led by Manachem Begin and Benzion Cohen, respectively. The Irgun and Stern gangs butchered everyone in their way, men, women (and some were pregnant), and children, to empty the entire village. The massacre was designed to terrify Arabs beyond the village of Deir Yassin so that they would run away and thus be driven out of their homes. This explains why the Zionist/Jewish death squads did not bury the men, women and children they killed. They left the dead bodies to be seen and frighten other Palestinian Arabs. Those who were still alive were taken by the Zionist Terrorist gangs and loaded into trucks with their hands tied and eyes blindfolded. They were paraded through the streets of Jerusalem while other Zionist/Jews applauded and celebrated the dehumanization of Palestinian Arabs.

After our people’s humiliation through the streets of Jerusalem, they were taken back to Deir Yassin and lined-up against a wall and systematically sprayed with gunfire and killed. Fifty three orphaned children were literally dumped along the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem where they were found by Hind Husseini. She took them to her home, which is located behind the current American Colony Hotel, and they became the first class of “Dar-al-Tifl-al-Arabi” orphanage.

A few weeks later “Israel” declared itself a state and was recognized almost immediately as such by American President Harry Truman. With the exception of a few, the graves of the martyrs of Deir Yassin will not be known because they were bulldozed by the “State of Israel” apparently to make way for new Jewish settlers. The terrorist criminals who perpetrated the Deir Yassin massacre were never punished or brought to justice. Instead, they were rewarded and one former leader of the Irgun, Menachem Begin, became Prime Minister soon after. Later, the renowned war criminal Ariel Sharon continued to carry out the slow genocide set in motion by the European/US Zionist project against Arab countries that continues until this day. Morton A. Klein of the Zionist Organization of America published a report entitled Deir Yassin “History of a Lie” that claims that there was no massacre at Deir Yassin. To deny Deir Yassin, is like denying the Nazi Judeocide in Europe during World War II. The massacre at Deir Yassin is as true as the Nazi holocaust in Europe.

The village of Deir Yassin was only one of many massacres perpetrated by the Zionists and “Israelis” to terrorize the indigenous people of Palestine. Other Palestinian towns and villages where massacres occurred include Ein Karem, Kakoun, Tantura, Yaffa, Safad, Sufsaf (115 people massacred at the wall of Sufsaf Mosque), Haifa, Tiret Haifa, Jibsu and many more. The Sufsaf residents witnessed their second massacre in Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon 34 years later in 1982. The war criminal Ariel Sharon was directly responsible for that massacre.

Contrary to the Zionist myth that “the old will die and the young will forget,” 64 years later some of our elders may have died but the young still remember! The descendants of Deir Yassin, the Palestinian refugees and people on the ground at home and elsewhere continue to struggle for the time when we can claim our absolute, sacred, individual and collective Right to Return to our original homes and lands.

UN Resolution 194 affirmed the right of Palestinians to return to their homes and lands. This resolution was further clarified by UN General Assembly Resolution 3236 which reaffirmed in Subsection 2: “the inalienable right of Palestinians to return to their homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted, and calls for their return.” The Palestinian “right to return” is specifically to their original homes and lands and not simply what maybe designated as a Palestinian State in the future.

Working towards the Right of Return of Palestinian Refugees:

Palestinians around the world like us here today are not just commemorating the 64th Nakba of the Palestinian people but are also simultaneously celebrating 64 years of resistance and perseverance. Our mission is not to just commemorate and remember what happened to our people during the Palestinian catastrophe but to work towards rightfully returning home to Palestine. We remember but we still fight and endure towards our inalienable right to return.

Free from the River to the Sea Palestine will be Free!

Thank you!

(abbashamideh.wordpress.com / 17.05.2012)