Samen schrijven we geschiedenis

Herkent u deze woorden? Misschien wel, want het is de slogan van de Europees Kampioenschappen voetballen in Polen en Oekraïne. Heeft u de woorden al gehoord? Ik wel, vanavond, op de avond van de eerste wedstrijd van Nederland, uitgerekend  tegen Denemarken. En we hebben geschiedenis geschreven vandaag, nou, nou.

Maar de woorden van het EK schrijf ik hier niet voor het voetballen van Nederland. Toegegeven, ik heb de wedstrijd ook gekeken en me opgewonden, maar de geschiedenis wordt ergens anders geschreven, nl. in de gevangenissen van Israël. Daar waar de Palestijnen worden gemarteld, ondervraagd en voor ‘niets’ worden vastgehouden. Dat is geschiedenis, wereldgeschiedenis en wat lezen we in de Nederlandse media … niets, geen woord. Heeft u ondertussen mijn vorige column al gelezen: “Nederland steunt bezetter” ? Ik denk het niet, want Nederland schrijft niet over de pijn van Palestina, neen, we stoppen het gewoon weg. Niet over praten, zodat we er ook geen gevoel bij krijgen, niet over praten, dan bestaat het ook niet.

Maar laat ik dan de luis in uw pels zijn, Palestina bestaat, er worden dagelijks mensen vermoord, land wordt gestolen door de bezettende macht Israël, olijfbomen worden vernietigd omdat ze mogelijk een bom kunnen worden. Er zitten mensen gevangen, omdat ze … ja waarom eigenlijk ?
Kent u het verhaal van Mahmoud al-Sarsak? De jongeman vol van dromen om in het nationaal team van Palestine te mogen voetballen en hij kon voetballen, tot dat moment in 2009. Hij woonde in Rafah in het zuiden van Gaza en was onderweg naar een wedstrijd in de Westbank.  Echter daar is hij nooit aangekomen, hij werd opgepakt door de militairen van de bezettende macht en in de gevangenis gegooid, en de reden? Vertelt u het mij maar.

Mahmoud al-Sarsak is 83 dagen geleden in hongerstaking gegaan en is er echt slecht aan toe. In hongerstaking omdat de bezetters zijn vaderland bezet houden, huizen vernietigen, land stelen, mensen vermoorden en olijfbomen molesteren. Hoogstwaarschijnlijk zal Mahmoud nooit meer kunnen voetballen, want hij weegt nu nog maar een fractie van toen hij nog trainde en hij heeft momenten van flauwvallen.

Weet u, als ik dan Nederland zie spelen op tv, zie worstelen met het kleine Denemarken, dan denk ik aan die Palestijnse jongeman, die op het hoogste niveau wilde vechten voor zijn vaderland, net als Snijder, Vlaar, Willems, Stekelenburg. Maar onze jongens kunnen verder met hun leven en het voetbal, woensdag wacht de grote buur uit het oosten, Duitsland. Maar Mahmoud die teert weg en wordt door de Nederlandse media letterlijk en figuurlijk doodgezwegen. We doen net alsof we niet weten waar Palestina ligt, we praten niet over de ontzettende gebeurtenissen die sinds jaren door de bezettende macht wordt uitgevoerd. Neen, beter stilzwijgen, de andere kant uitkijken en een vet gascontract afsluiten. Ondertussen kijken we de andere kant uit, als de elektriciteit in Gaza weer vijf of zes uur de lucht gaat. We willen niet praten over de problemen die er zijn in de gezondheidszorg, een tekort aan alles in de ziekenhuizen is onbekend bij ons … neen wij hier in Nederland moeten kleinere porties medicijnen krijgen, want dan hoeven we minder weg te gooien. Weggooien zegt u? Ja, weggooien, terwijl in Palestina mensen zitten te wachten op medicijnen.

Samen schrijven we geschiedenis. Dat klopt, maar er is er momenteel één die Geschiedenis schrijft, geschiedenis met een hoofdletter en dat is Mahmoud al-Sarsak, die de wedstrijd speelt van zijn leven. Om te kunnen overleven.
Als u straks u weer volgooit met bier, chips, shoarma en pizza, denk dan ook eens aan Mahmoud. Misschien kan het helpen. In ieder geval zullen de activisten van Palestina en de supporters en de vrienden van Mahmoud al-Sarsak en Akram al-Rekhawi en Samer al-Barq en al die anderen die in de gevangenissen van de bezetters zitten, u er aan blijven herinneren. U kunt het nieuws blijven volgen op www.khamakarpress.com

Gaza medicine shortages ‘worst since siege began’

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A spokesman for the ministry of health in the Gaza Strip said Saturday the enclave was facing the worst shortage of medications since the enclave was first placed under blockade.

Ashraf al-Qudra told Ma’an of “a real problem” in Nasr Children’s Hospital due to the lack of special injections for patients with immune disorders, and in all medical centers for children and adults.

Al-Qudra pointed out that authorities lack 253 kinds of medicine and 211 medical supplies, and he condemned the Arab world’s “silence toward Israeli violations against the Palestinian people.”

Even when the borders are open for patients, it does not always resolve their plight because al-Makassed hospital in Jerusalem is itself facing shortages. “We have transferred a case to Makassed … to get the drug against the lack of immunity, but we can’t find it there, either,” he said.

The hospital is facing a major budget shortfall as the Palestinian Authority failed to pay for cases, and it has had to borrow tens of millions of dollars, Mukassed officials told Israel’s Media Line news service in May.

Al-Qudra called on the World Health Organization and Red Crescent to intervene on behalf of the health sector. He added that the 12-hour blackouts were not helping matters.

The Hamas-run health ministry is frequently at odds with its counterpart in the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, which pays for the import of medications into Gaza.

The ministry has accused the PA in the past of deliberately delaying shipments. The PA says it spends more than half of its annual budget on Gaza, including in the medical sector.

(www.maannews.net / 09.06.2012)

Arab Spring benefited only Israel – Lebanese Interior Minister

The Arab Spring has borne no fruit for any of the affected countries, so the ongoing process should rather be called the Israeli Spring, since no country now poses a threat to Israel, Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told RT.

External forces seek to divide and weaken all the countries surrounding Israel in order to ensure that state’s security, he said to RT in an exclusive interview.

RT: Lebanon is affected by internal tensions and regional conflicts. All decisions related to security issues are made outside Lebanon, by other countries. So how can you talk about security in Lebanon then?

Marwan Charbel: Lebanon’s security doesn’t depend on Lebanon alone. Politically – and in terms of security – Lebanon depends on external factors as well. The people of Lebanon have close religious and family ties with neighboring states.

RT: Is there an alternative to external influence?

MC: There has to be an alternative. Even smaller countries than Lebanon resist external influence.

RT: What do you think about the conflict between the Shia and Sunnis in Lebanon?

MC: In 1974-1975, we had a conflict between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon. This conflict was resolved. We adopted a new Constitution and achieved harmony. It is possible that, at some point, Lebanon will face the threat of being broken up into pieces, and of course it concerns me. Look at Iraq, for example.

The US occupied the country, then they withdrew their troops, and what do we have now? Iraq is divided. There is a danger that something like that will happen in Syria too, if the current situation persists. If Syria is divided, this will directly affect Lebanon.

RT: Do you think the current Syrian regime can protect Lebanon?

MC: The question is not whether this regime stays in Syria or is replaced by another one. The problem is that the insurgence in Syria affects the situation in Lebanon.

RT: Who do you think is behind the Syrian conflict?

MC: We have some global and Arab interests clashing here, and we all understand that. What we don’t understand is where this clash will take us in the end. But we can say one thing with certainty: if the Syrian conflict is resolved one way or another, this will affect the situation in Lebanon.

RT: The recent events in Lebanon – the murder of two sheikhs, the situation in Akkar, the detention of Shadi Mawlawi, who was later released in Tripoli – all these events indicate that certain forces are not only trying to flare up a conflict; they want to start a wave of violence in the country. We all understand it, but the big question is – who stands to benefit from this?

MC: It is being done so that Palestinians can become citizens of Lebanon. If Lebanon is divided, Palestinians will eventually be able to become Lebanese citizens.

RT: Who is trying to divide Lebanon?

MC: I can ask you the same question. External forces seek to control Lebanon. They seek to divide and weaken all the countries surrounding Israel in order to ensure Israel’s security.

RT: Based on the current situation in the region and the information we have, can we point the finger at somebody and say that they are interested in this scenario more than anybody else?

MC: I can put it this way: We have all heard this expression the Arab Spring, but who has seen the fruit of this spring? No one. Has Egypt elected its president? Or has the spring ended? Almost the same thing is happening in Tunisia and in Yemen. There’s no fruit, there’s just this expression, the Arab Spring.

I really think what we see today is an Israeli Spring. Who will pose a threat to Israel now? Palestinians die every day, and no one protests. Before, even if one Palestinian was killed, there was an outrage. Today, three Palestinians get killed, or ten, or twenty – and nobody says anything. There is not even talk about differences within the Palestinian movement.

RT: On the abduction of 11 Lebanese citizens. No doubt, you follow the situation closely and you discussed it with Turkish colleagues during yours and the prime minister’s visit to Turkey. What is the current situation with these people? Who kidnapped them? When will they return home to their families?

MC: I can only give you a very general answer, because we made an agreement with Turkey not to disclose the details to the media. The kidnapped people are on Syrian territory, two kilometers away from the Turkish border. We are working together with the Turkish Foreign Ministry to liberate these people.

RT: Was the Syrian opposition involved? Can we say that they are the kidnappers?

MC: Yes, these people were kidnapped by the Syrian opposition, but we don’t know which group within the Syrian opposition is responsible. The Turkish authorities are looking into this.

RT: Is it true that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is the only person who can bring these people home?

MC: I don’t think so. But the Secretary General of Hezbollah did say that, if his personal involvement is necessary to resolve this problem, he would be willing to resolve it.

RT: But none of the kidnapped individuals are Hezbollah commanders?

MC: No.

RT: Do you know how soon the kidnapped individuals may be freed?

MC: Quite soon. It will happen this month.

RT: Lebanon says that it will only rely on itself in defining its policies and will not take into consideration Syria’s internal conflict. But some say that this is impossible as the geopolitical ties between the two countries are very strong. What do you think about that?

MC: Let me ask you a question. What will happen if Lebanon pursues a policy that is based purely on its own interests? Where will such a policy get us?

We have a problem in Lebanon: part of the people support the current regime in Syria, and another part support the opposition. But we as a state pursue our own policy. We recognize the Syrian government. So, as the minister of internal affairs, whom should I support? If a million people in Lebanon are against the regime, the minister too should be against the regime.

Whom do we as the Lebanese Republic cooperate with in Syria? We cooperate with the Syrian government. The UN recognizes the Syrian ambassador. He represents Syria in the United Nations. What I’m saying is that we cooperate with the government of the country. If there is a regime change in Syria, we will cooperate with the new government. Lebanon recognizes Syria as a nation, as does the UN.

RT: Can clashes between the Sunni and the Alawi in northern Lebanon lead to a civil war in Lebanon?

MC: It’s not true that the clashes were only between the Sunni and the Alawi. Perhaps something like that did happen, but not on a large scale. Back in those days when the Syrian Army was in Lebanon, including Tripoli, there were certain conflicts but we never had clashes between the Sunni and the Alawi. Syrians did not support the Alawi against the Sunni. You always have people standing up for their interests.

RT: The Syrian Ambassador to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, has appealed to international organizations, among other things, offering evidence that there were terrorists on Lebanese territory.The Lebanese president, the prime minister and yourself – you all deny these allegations. You say that while the ideas of Al Qaeda may be present in Lebanon, there are no grounds for terrorism or terrorists. Yet your defense minister says that terrorists, including Al Qaeda cells, may be present in Lebanon. Could you please explain these differences on such an important issue?

MC: I have personally met with the defense minister, and we have cleared up this situation. There was some misunderstanding regarding terminology. What the president said on the issue is correct. We meant that there are no Al Qaeda cells in Lebanon, but it is possible that individual members of this international organization are present in our country. But we don’t have Al Qaeda camps or Al Qaeda cells in Lebanon.

RT: Mr. Minister, why don’t you make an official statement in the UN and refute the facts presented in Bashar Jaafari’s letter? Why don’t you announce officially that there is no terrorism in Lebanon and that nobody supports terrorists?

MC: There is no terrorism in Lebanon. No one can say for sure that it is Al Qaeda who is behind the terrorist attacks. Terrorism is a very wide concept. No one can say that there are no terrorists in this or that country. Terrorists may be anywhere – in the US, in an Arab country.

Recently, there was a terrorist attack in France. A man from Tunisia or Algeria killed three or four children. Wasn’t that a terrorist attack?

Terrorist attacks happen all over the world. The best way to address this problem is to consolidate the people of Lebanon.

RT: Perhaps the repercussions of the Syrian crisis may be avoided by demarcating the border between Lebanon and Syria?

MC: The demarcation of the border will not stop terrorists from crossing over into another country.

RT: But the situation will be more transparent.

MC: That’s true, the situation will be more transparent. We should have had a proper border a long time ago.

(www.rt.com / 09.06.2012)

Six Palestinian prisoners spent 20 years or more in Israeli prisons

NABLUS,(PIC)– Tadamun Foundation for Human Rights stated that six Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons complete 20 or more years in Israeli prisons during the current month. Ahmed El-Betawi, a researcher at Tadamun Foundation, confirmed that Mohammed Jamil Shehadeh, from the Gaza Strip, who was arrested in 1989 and sentenced to 45 years, has entered his 24th year in Israeli jails, and the detainee Rizq Salah, from Bethlehem who was arrested in 1993 and sentenced to life has entered his 20th years in jails. Betawi pointed out that the two detainees Bilal Ibrahim Mustafa Damra and Mustafa Osman Omar Hajj, from Bruqin village, in Salfit governorate of the occupied West Bank who had been arrested in 1989 and sentenced to life, are going to enter their 24th year behind bars in the coming few days. The Israeli authorities had demolished the detainee Hajj’s house after arresting him under the pretext of being affiliate with Fatah movement and carrying attacks against Israeli targets. Meanwhile, detainees Mustafa Amer Mohammed Ghanimat and his cousin Ziad Mahmoud Mohamed Ghanimat, from Al-Khalil, will start their 28th year in Israeli jails soon. They were arrested in 1985 and sentenced to life imprisonment for being affiliated with Fatah and resisting occupation. Betawi has pointed out that all these six detainees were arrested before Oslo accords where the Israeli authorities refused to release them in any exchange deal over the past decades. The old Palestinian prisoners have threatened during the recent days to go on an open hunger strike to activate their issue and their release. (www.palestine-info.co.uk / 09.06.2012)

PA: Prisoners to launch solidarity hunger strike

A woman stands in front of a poster depicting Palestinian footballer Mahmoud al-Sarsak during a rally calling for the release of Palestinianprisoners from Israeli jails, in Gaza City June 4, 2012.

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Palestinian prisoners are planning a one day hunger strike on Monday in solidarity with three prisoners who are still refusing food in protest against Israeli policies, a PA official said Saturday.

Prisoners affairs minister Issa Qaraqe said that all prisoners would return their meals in a gesture of solidarity with Mahmoud al-Sarsak, Akram al-Rekhawi and Samer al-Barq.

Prisoners announced the action in a statement, Qaraqe said, and Israeli prison authorities have also been also notified.

Mahmoud al-Sarsak, 25, from Rafah in southern Gaza, has been on hunger strike for 83 days. A soccer player on Palestine’s national team, he has been detained by Israel for nearly three years without charge and is demanding his release.

Al-Rekhawi, 38, has been held at Ramle prison clinic since his arrest in 2004 and suffers chronic illnesses including diabetes and asthma. He has refused food for 59 days.

Samer al-Barq, 38, joined the mass hunger strike on April 17, but ended the strike on May 14 along with around 2,000 other prisoners when Israel agreed to “facilitate” the detainees’ demand to end its policy of detention without charge or trial.

He relaunched his hunger strike after Israel renewed his administrative detention order on May 21.

On Friday, UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk said Israel must present evidence to support charges against al-Sarsak or release him.

Israel will be responsible for any permanent harm caused to prisoners on long-term hunger strike, he added.

Around 2,000 prisoners joined a mass hunger strike launched on April 17 to demand fair prison conditions, according to prisoners groups’ estimates.

Another group of prisoners held in administrative detention launched an earlier strike in protest at their detention without charge.

Prisoners’ representatives signed an agreement with Israeli authorities on May 14 for prisoners to halt hunger strikes and “security activity” inside Israeli jails in exchange for Israeli “facilitation” on policies toward solitary confinement, family visits and living conditions.

(www.maannews.net / 09.06.2012)

Gaza Facts!

Profile: Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip is a narrow piece of land along the Mediterranean coast between Israel and Egypt.

Just 40km (25 miles) long and 10km wide, it is home to more than 1.5 million Palestinians.

The shape of the territory was defined by the Armistice Line following the creation of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent war between the Israeli and Arab armies.

Egypt administered the Strip for the next 19 years, but Israel captured it during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and Gaza has been under Israeli control since then.

In 2005, Israel pulled out the troops occupying Gaza, along with thousands of Jews who had settled in the territory. As far as Israel was concerned that was the end of the occupation.

However, that has not been accepted internationally as Israel still exercises control over most of Gaza’s land borders, as well as its territorial waters and airspace. Egypt controls Gaza’s southern border.

In June 2007, the Islamist militant group Hamas took over the strip, ousting the forces of Fatah, the faction led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and effectively splitting Gaza from the West Bank in terms of its administration. Hamas had won legislative elections in January 2006.

POPULATION CENTRES

Gaza City is the Strip’s biggest population centre and has about 400,000 inhabitants.

As in other towns in Gaza, there are high levels of poverty, deprivation and unemployment in Gaza City.

It was the scene of frequent deadly clashes between gunmen from the rival Hamas and Fatah factions. Under Hamas rule, law and order in the strip improved, though Hamas security forces have been accused of abuses.

Over the years, Israeli air strikes targeting militants in the densely populated areas have often killed bystanders as well.

Gaza’s other two main population centres are Khan Younis (population 200,000) in central Gaza and Rafah (population 150,000) in the south.

REFUGEE CAMPS

The majority of Gaza’s residents are from refugee families which fled or were expelled from the land that became Israel in 1948. Most Gazans live in eight refugee camps to which the United Nations delivers health, education and other humanitarian services.

Some of the camps have merged with nearby towns, while others such as Nuseirat and Bureij are self-contained.

The influx of refugees into the narrow strip of land means it now has one of the highest population densities on earth. About 20% of refugee dwellings are not connected to the sewage system and waste water flows in open channels along roads.

The camp population in Gaza, according to the UN, are: Jabaliya (106,691), Rafah (95,187), Shati (78,768), Nuseirat (57,120), Khan Younis (63,219), Bureij (28,770), Maghazi (22,266), Deir al-Balah (19,534).

BLOCKADE

Israel has for many years restricted entry to and exit from Gaza, but it intensified its blockade of Gaza in June 2007, when Hamas took over. The aim has been to isolate Hamas and to pressure it to stop militant rocket fire.

Since, the strip’s population have been relying on less than a quarter of the volume of imported supplies they received in December 2005. At times, significantly less than that has gone into the strip, causing severe shortages.

Only basic humanitarian items have been allowed in, and virtually no exports permitted, paralysing the economy.

In the wake of the Hamas takeover, Israel said it would allow only basic humanitarian supplies into the strip. No specific list of what is and is not classed as humanitarian exists, although aid agencies say permitted items generally fall into four categories – human food, animal food, groceries (cleaning products, nappies etc) and medicines.

In September 2007, the Israeli government declared the Strip a “hostile entity” in response to continued rocket attacks on southern Israel, and said it would start cutting fuel imports.

Fuel shortages and a lack of spare parts have had a heavy knock-on impact on sewage treatment, waste collection, water supply and medical facilities.

Israel maintains the blockade has at no point caused a humanitarian crisis – but in early 2008, a group of aid agencies described the situation as exactly that, and the worst situation in the strip since Israel occupied it in 1967. The blockade has been criticised as collective punishment by, among other, the United Nations.

BORDERS AND CROSSINGS

An Israeli-built metal fence separates Israel and the Gaza Strip. Along the border are several heavily fortified border crossings for people and goods. They are heavily guarded by Israeli forces and have been targets of Palestinian militant attacks.

After the 2005 pullout, Israel wanted to keep control of Gaza’s border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Route, to control traffic and prevent smuggling.

However, it was obliged by international pressure to abandon the plan and it handed over responsibility for the border to Egypt.

Since Hamas took over the strip by force in June 2007, Egypt has kept largely its border with Gaza closed. It is opened occasionally for humanitarian reasons and to allow pilgrims to pass through.

Tunnels have been built under the border which are used to bring in all kinds of goods, and weapons.

Officially goods can enter from Egypt by the Kerem Shalom crossing and from Israel via the Sufa and Karni crossings, both of which are controlled by the Israeli army.

These crossings have been closed much of the time since Hamas took over Gaza.

The main passenger crossing point into Israel, Erez in the north, has been closed to Palestinians for long periods, preventing labourers from working in Israel, though internationals and emergency medical cases are allowed to cross.

In the late 1990s, the Palestinians were allowed to open their own airport in the Gaza Strip, but this has been put out of use by Israeli attacks since the 2000 intifada.

Israel agreed in principle to the opening of a seaport for Gaza and to allow bus connections with the West Bank in a US-brokered deal in November 2005. But both moves are yet to be implemented.

MILITANT ACTIVITY

Gaza is the stronghold of the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas, which won parliamentary elections in January 2006. Hamas effectively governs the territory.

Other groups such as Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committee have a strong presence in the Strip. In June 2007, Fatah was routed in Gaza along with the Fatah affiliated al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

Despite Gaza’s isolation, militants have continued to attack Israeli interests from the Strip since the 2005 pull-out.

The main vehicle of resistance, as the militants describe it, is the firing of short-range homemade rockets which can reach nearby Israeli population centres, such as Sderot, less than a kilometre from Gaza’s north-east corner.

Palestinian militant groups have started firing more sophisticated rockets, some reaching 40km (25 miles) in to Israel.

These have caused a handful of deaths, injuries and severe disruption for Israelis living within range.

Israeli shelling and missile attacks, meanwhile, which Israel says are meant to stop the rocket fire, have killed large numbers of Gazans, including many civilians.

(www.ohmygaza.com / 09.06.2012)

Negev prison administration refuses to treat hunger striker

JENIN, (PIC)– The Negev prison administration has refused to extend necessary medical treatment for Palestinian prisoner Aysar Al-Atrash, who has been suffering pain for several days due to his hunger strike. Atrash told his lawyer that the prison administration was only giving him sedatives without any medical check-ups to know reason for his chest pain and treat it. He said that the jailors, in a bid to blackmail and pressure him, used to bring three meals every day to his cell while keeping 24-hour camera monitoring on him. Atrash said that the jailors took him in a stretcher to the prison’s clinic and threw him on the floor on arrival there. (www.palestine-info.co.uk / 09.06.2012)

We Palestinians are reclaiming our destiny | Ismail Haniyeh

Palestinian protesters hold up their national flag as they protest close to the border between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip during Land Day demonstrations.

As a new spirit of unity sweeps the Arab world, Palestine must also speak with one voice

Some people think that the truth can be hidden with a little cover-up and decoration. But as time goes by, what is true is revealed, and what is fake fades away. This is what is happening in the Middle East today. Political reality returns, and all that is contingent – all that is not rooted in the history of the region’s people whose civilisation dates back thousands of years – falls away.

As Palestinian Arabs inhabiting these ancient lands, our destiny dictated that we should become like a fruit overhanging a garden fence: each passer-by would try to pluck us, while we struggled to cling to the vine. But our right to our land and our nation is not a matter of discussion or debate: it is an inalienable right guaranteed by all norms and laws. The “Palestinian problem” has many dimensions, but at its root is Israel’s occupation, which denies this inalienable right, and attempts to look for so-called “solutions” within its framework. Unfortunately, some of the major world powers provide it with political cover.

We as a people want to live in our homeland, the land of our ancestors, in freedom, dignity and democracy, and with a just peace that restores our rights. We do not want to attack anyone and do not accept anyone attacking us. As we have said on more than one occasion, the key to security is the end of occupation. As a people we have been historically wronged and subjected to dozens of massacres; tens of thousands of us have lost our children for no other reason than that we demand our rights as clearly stipulated under international laws.

I would like to reiterate on behalf of my people our sincere desire to live in security and stability, without wars and bloodshed; we hope that the world will help us in this venture. We extend our hand to all those who seek a just peace to work seriously to end the occupation and help us establish our state, which the world has already recognised.

We recognise that this requires a Palestinian unity that we seek to achieve. But external pressure has stood in the way, obstructing the path to political equality and national reconciliation. We believe that the absence of international recognition of the Palestinian democratic election of 2006, won by Hamas, has contributed to the current state of division, and to the creation of a weak Palestinian side that has fallen prey to accepting concessions on the rights of its people.

But today we stand again as a Palestinian people. Although under siege in the Gaza Strip, we have endured war and aggression, and withstood attempts to wipe us out without fading away. We are working hard in order to be able to address the world with one voice that represents the will of all our people, with an emphasis on the desire to live a free, decent and secure life.

We hope that this time we will be able to pass through the neck of the bottle and move on towards a genuine national reconciliation based on the formation of a coalition government that could prepare for free and transparent elections. And then the world must recognise the results of Palestinian democracy – particularly now, when the countries of the Arab spring are experiencing democratic transition, and a return to a lost authenticity that will not tear the region apart, but bring it together.

We do not want more blood. We want help in achieving justice for our people who lost their land and freedom decades ago, and in providing security for a region that has long endured oppression and suffering. This is a responsibility no one should evade.

(the guardian on facebook / 09.06.2012)