palestinefreevoice

Why Does America Hate Us?Palestinian Reflections on American Political Ideology

2009-12-07T17:03:00.005+02:00

What is always pushed to the back of any serious argument with main-stream American ideologues is that the foundation of contemporary liberal capitalist societies has literally been achieved through the exploitation of millions of workers, the deaths of millions of indigenous peoples, and the brutal murder of some other millions in two world wars. So why insist on the right of return of six million Palestinian refugees? Why lament the death of more than 1,500 civilians, including 434 children, during the Gaza massacre? Obama never offered a single word of sympathy for those children."

05/12/2009 19:10

By Haidar Eid

The Palestinians have realized, thanks to Hillary Clinton, that the US is biased toward Israel.

According to the American secretary of state, negotiations between "the two parties" should resume without preconditions. The Americans have even praised Netanyahu's "unprecedented concessions."

Gone is the sweet talk of the American president Barak Obama. Gone is the euphoria following his "groundbreaking" speech at Cairo University.

We are back to square one.

The question that begs for answers is why does America hate us Palestinians? Do the American people really believe that we have no rights even though those rights are enshrined in international law? Does President Obama truly believe that we are only a nuisance?

American hegemonic political philosophy judges a belief by its effects, not its causes. The emphasis is on the connection between the truth of statements and their practical applicability by one measure only: how will they work for America? This is American pragmatism. That is, liberal American politicians, including President Obama, are interested in the function of ideas and statements and their effects rather than the sources and conditions of their production.

“Workability” and “practicability” are the basis of the justification of positions taken by the American establishment. However that does not take into account the circumstances under which these positions are ‘workable,’ neither historically nor socially. Whatever “we,” white liberal Americans, want is justifiable and thus legitimate since it is 'workable' and 'practical' regardless of the means through which it is achieved. Thus Apartheid, Nazism, Zionism, American occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan can be easily justified and sold to CNNized citizens.

Mr. Obama's policy, and that of his secretary of state, is a remodeling of the ideas of old American pragmatism re-theorized to suit the requirements and outlooks of the liberal middle-class politicians of the late-capitalist American society—albeit in a black mask this time.

Undoubtedly, this American pragmatism is grounded in a Eurocentric understanding of liberal democracy, which exploits the consideration that Western democracies themselves are full of people who can be persuaded to vote in ways quite opposed to their own real long-term interests, if they can be deceived by liberal rhetoric to opt for short-term goals. Put differently, people can easily be manipulated into ‘choosing freely’ what is clearly contrary to their own real interests.

Otherwise, Hitler would never have established the Third Reich. The Israelis would not have voted Netanyahu and Lieberman into power. Thus bourgeois liberalism and neo-liberalism in their pragmatic forms homogenize and hegemonize the society with patchwork expedients while evading the more profound radical critique required for genuine social, and hence political, change.

Socio-historical analyses of such societies reveal that the rich are powerful, and have invented ways of legitimizing what they own, and how they legally hire and abuse the labor of the working class and poorer countries. They legitimize such unjust gains by means of laws protected by institutions, laws that ostensibly appeal to the common good, laws that persuade a big sector of the society to vote against their own interests. Bush was elected twice in spite of the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by his administration in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As some critical thinkers argue, votes in contemporary liberal society are not conferred on each person, as they are supposed to be, but on each dollar, which guarantees an undemocratic outcome. To take the matter further, voting in elections does not guarantee one's freedom to choose one's representative in terms of one's interests. Rather, it is a fundamental part of a system whose rules have been determined by the powerful bourgeois class in its attempts to assimilate its antagonistic class, i.e. the working class.

Colonized peoples were never guaranteed the “human right” to choose freely their representatives under the “liberal” colonial system. Many white South Africans participated “freely” in choosing an oppressive racist regime legitimated by the participation of “Liberals” in the parliament. The same applies to apartheid Israel.

An important question arises: how could each individual have such rights when all social primary goods -- including income and wealth -- are distributed unequally? Liberal bourgeois freedom based on ‘peace’, ‘wealth’, and ‘freedom’ -- exploitation is never mentioned -- is the answer America has for us, an answer that precludes historical awareness; or rather, an answer that requires historical and political amnesia. It is an answer that incorporates two ideologies: capitalism and liberal democracy.

Can we, however, ignore the historical fact that the basis of the contemporary liberal society was a bloody revolution, i.e. the French Revolution? What about the American revolutions itself? Is there real ‘free press’ and ‘enlightened public opinion’ to which we Palestinians can appeal to recognize the horror and suffering that have been inflicted on us? Put differently, did not US mainstream media mislead public opinion around issues like apartheid in South Africa, Nicaragua, Chile, the assassination of Lumumba and Allende, the support given to Mobutu and other reactionary regimes in Africa and the Middle East? And now the Palestinian cause?

“Persuasion,” from a pragmatic point of view, then, plays a fundamental role in the creation of the liberal society. Technically, persuasion is the means through which one gets to pluralism in which there is no exclusion of ideas whatsoever. However, from this perspective, any opposing or radical points of view should work from within the bourgeois liberal system as the only existing legitimate one. Rejecting the system and its ideological basis by revealing and opposing its exploitative features leads to illegitimacy and exclusion. If one, in other words, is not “persuaded” by the logic of the American intervention in the Arab World and Afghanistan, one still has to accept it; otherwise, one is considered “undemocratic” even if hundreds of thousands of civilians are being killed by such intervention.

Liberal persuasion, then, is nothing but a distorted communication – as Jurgen Habermas would call it – and implies the acceptance of the views of those who have the power to hegemonize and “persuade” in the realm of knowledge/power. This argument is not a rejection of democracy as such, but rather a rejection of the exploitative basis of liberalism and pragmatism which insist on reducing any other radical opinion to ‘one of us’ within the realm of 'pluralism.'

What is always pushed to the back of any serious argument with main-stream American ideologues is that the foundation of contemporary liberal capitalist societies has literally been achieved through the exploitation of millions of workers, the deaths of millions of indigenous peoples, and the brutal murder of some other millions in two world wars. So why insist on the right of return of six million Palestinian refugees? Why lament the death of more than 1,500 civilians, including 434 children, during the Gaza massacre? Obama never offered a single word of sympathy for those children.

By contrasting what he calls ‘situational consciousness’ of ‘First and Third Worlds’ in terms of Hegel’s master/slave dialectic, the American intellectual Fredric Jameson argues that "the slave knows what reality and the resistance of matter really are whereas [the] master is condemned to idealism." Drawing on this Hegelian analysis, Jameson concludes:

It strikes me that we Americans, we masters of the world, are in something of that very same position. The view from the top is epistemologically crippling, and reduces its subjects to the illusions of a host of fragmented subjectivities, to the poverty of the individual experience of isolated nomads ... This placeless individuality, this structural idealism which affords us the luxury of the Sartrean blink, offers a welcome escape from the 'nightmare of history,' but at the same time it condemns our culture to psychologism and the 'projections' of private subjectivity. All of this is denied to third world culture, which must be situational and materialist ...

This is exactly what American policy is all about – a policy of domination and interests. That is, it is a reflection of an ideology of a particular class with particular interests represented in specific perspectives, i.e. white, neo-liberal pragmatism.

American "strong political discourse," to use Bourdieu's words, coincides with neo-liberalism. Their strength is due to the fact that they have on their side all of the forces of a world of relations of power, a world that they contribute to making what it is. The Palestinians, like native Americans, are a "surplus population," like Black South Africans, "powerless and useless savages." Give them a Bantustan, surrounded by walls (The Wall), where "our allies (us)" do not have to see them; a Bantustan they will be allowed to call an independent, viable state. After all, which American citizen knows the difference between Palestine and Pakistan?

No need, then, to wonder why Mr Obama, and his secretary of state, hate us. We are no match for the macho, powerful, white Ashkenazis. During the 1967 war, Edward Said noted that Americans kept asking "how are we doing?" We, Arabs and Palestinians, are not part of that we. We are the "them," the “Other.” We occupy a part of what Fredric Jameson would call American "political unconscious." Our death is never counted; the death of half a million Iraqi children from sanctions, like the death of 434 Palestinian children during the Gaza massacre, is "collateral damage," whereas the 9/11 victims are individuals with families, names, and "powerful narratives."

The writer is an independent political commentator in Gaza.

Israeli Occupation IOF Abducted a Son of Hamas Official in Jenin

2009-12-06T00:46:00.004+02:00

On Wednesday at dawn Israeli occupation forces (IOF) abducted the son of a senior Hamas official, a political prisoner in Israeli jails, Jamal Abul Haija during an incursion into the town of Beit Qad east of Jenin.

Sajida, the daughter of Abul Haija, said that Israelis in military uniforms kidnapped her 20-year-old brother during his presence inside a greenhouse in the town, noting that he was previously imprisoned in Israeli jails.

She added that all members of her family were and still are exposed to detention and attacks by the Israeli occupant.

The father Abul Haija is serving nine life sentences in Israeli jails on accusations of participation in resistance activities during the Israelis incursion in to Jenin refugee camp in 2002. Abul Aaija had several injuries and lost his left hand during these events that killed and wounded many Palestinian citizens.

During the Aqsa Intifada, Israeli apache helicopters bombed three missiles at his home, which was set on fire several times.

His eldest son Abdel Salam was detained eight years in Israeli jails and released about one year ago. Also Salams son Asim spent two years in administrative detention.His daughter Bana'n and wife Um Al-Abed also spent some time in Israeli jails.

In another context, local sources told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that Iarmed and uniformed Israelis abducted on Wednesday three young Palestinian men whom they physically assaulted and two others in Al-Khalil, Tulkarem and Nablus..

In a separate incident, Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, declared on Wednesday morning the death of one of its cadres, called Yasser Radi during a Jihad mission in central Gaza.

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

STRIKE THE WALL IN GAZA

2009-12-05T11:52:00.017+02:00

Photo Fady Adwan PalestineFreeVoice Images

اضربوا الجدارStrike the Wall

المؤلف : هيامby Hiyam Noir

اهدموا الجدار
Strike the wall
ادعموا الشجعان
support the bravest

اضربوا الجدار بقسوه
strike the wall hard
وسوف تتفتح البوابات
and the gates will open
اضربوا الجدار و سووه بالارض
strike the wall earthward
سوف يترنح و يسقط
and it will sway and fall

ادعموا المكافحون الشجعان
support our courageous fighters
اضربوا جدار الفصل العنصري
strike the apartheid wall
اطردوا الصهاينه
expel the Zionists
يا رجال الكرامه و الشجاعه
the men of dignity the men of brave
ستنتصرون على المحتل
will over reach the occupant

الصهيوني المتعبد
the worshipping Zionist
ينتزع العيون و القلوب
extract eyes and hearts
من شعبنا
from our people
يمزقون الاحشاء
tear the intestines
من شعبنا
from our children to
نتحول من رصاص الى ذهب
change lead to gold

أغضب الصهاينه السماء و الارض
the Zionists have enraged heaven and earth
خطوط المقاومه الفلسطينيه
strong lines of Palestine Resistance
لن تسقط و تترابط الطرق السريه
will not fall apart will connect in thin ways
و تمد الاجيال بالحياة
lives and lives become generations made

فورا ملايين المناضلين الفلسطينيين الشجعان
soon millions of bravest Palestine fighters
تسلحوا بالغضب والمعنويات المقدسه
armed and fueled with wrath and holy spirit
سينطلقوا من بين السماء القتمه و ينظفون
will storm out of dark skies and sweep
وطنهم من بنذكرى الاحتلال المسمومه
their homeland clean of the poison plaque
البنادق والسيوف الحادهالبنادق والسيوف الحاده سوف تنق
rifles and sharpened swords will break up on the backs
على ظهور جنودنا الشجعان والقبضات الحقه
of our brave soldiers and righteous fists
عن الوطن فلسطين مدافعه
defender of glorious Palestine homeland
نار الرصاص والصواريخ سوف لا تقتل الاجساد الطاهره
bullets rocket fire will not perpetrate sacred bodies

اخلاق جماهير العالم الخونه تنسى
the world audience of traitors low moral and neglect
ستصرخ و تفكر عاليا كذلك سيموتون
will cry out aloud thinking they will also die
و عيون تنظر فجاة , سيقفون بلا مساعده
eyes will pop out they will stand unaided
سوف لا يحركون اي عضله
not one muscle will they move

تركض باتجاههم امرأة مرتدية درعها
a women dressed in armor run towards them
بكلمات شديده و سيف حاد
with strong words and sharpen sword
تطعن جلودهم بالحال و سريعه ضربتها
their skin pierced at ones her blows are swift
لكنها ليست مؤذيه اكثر من نسمه
yet not more harmful than a gentle breeze

لم تهدر قطرة دم
not one drop of blood is shed
بالنهايه استخدمت البندقيه المخفيه
finally she use the shotgun hidden
قرب جسمها الغض ادارت الاسطوا نه
near her soft skin she spin the cylinder
و اطلقت النار على جدار الكراهيه
and fired upon the wall of hate

ستطلق النار مره ثانيه و ثانيه
she will fire again and again
وصل قربها طفل بحجر بقبضته الصغيره
boy with stone in tiny hand reach towards her
وبلطف وضعت البندقيه بيديه
with much tenderness she placed the shot gun in his hands
والآن افرغ الرصاص تحت اقدامهم
as now he fires the bullets roll under their feet

فجأة , ساد الصمت لا صوت ولا صرخه
suddenly a silence no sound no cry
نور السماء المفتوحه العظيمه نزل الارض
open heaven glorious light came down to earth
سقط المحتل و اجسادهم
the occupant was toppled and their bodies
كما تسقط الاشجار للخلف
as fallen trees were backwards stapled

ستعود فلسطين و سيولد اطفالها
Palestine will be returned sons will be born again
ستنمو الجذور سيأتي الربيع سيبقون
roots will root again spring comes they will remain
سيولدون ثانية سوف لا يوقفنا الجدارولن يمزقنا
reborn again no wall can stop us tear us apart
سف نضرب الجدار ثانية و بقسوه
we will strike the wall again so hard

ادعموا المقاتلين الفلسطينيين الشجعان
support our courageous Palestinian fighters
اضربوا جدار الفصل العنصري,اطردوا الصهاينه
strike the apartheid wall expell the Zionists
رجال الكرامه و رجال الشجاعهt
the men of dignity the men of brave
سينتصرون على المحتل
will over reach the occupant

سيأتي مطر السماء
Heavenly showers will ones more
ستنمو بذور وطن فلسطين
seed sacred Palestinian homeland
ستنتشر الاخبار السارهt
the good news will be spread
بعيدا في كل العالم
worldwide and far away

Hiyamcopyright2003
Translation M

The Wall Will Fall Again

GAZA FREEDOM MARCH - WORLDWIDE INTIFADA JANUARY 1- 2010

2009-12-05T10:54:00.010+02:00

International call \day of Gaza \1\January 2010

This uprising"Intifada"is the dawn of freedom everywhere around the globe against Anti- Humanity/Anti-Justice/Repression/Opression/Occupation/war/ Globalization/Hegemony.

We ask all to take part in the worldwide protest and actions in the days of Gaza of Palestinian intifada and we must make a sign in unity so we want to have actions around the world in the same time,the same way and with all power we have.

We must motivate and bring on the way all our brothers and sisters, friends and people we know and we have to go to the main important places, what means Embassies, consulates especially from US And Israeli will start after salatul juma3 on Friday 1 January 2010

Please be aware of the information's and announcements of local groups in your town and area and country and help to organize people take part everywhere.

Between 12 h and 4 h pm in all cities and in mass demonstrations around the globe.

WE WANT TO ANNOUNCE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF Gaza and all groups,parties and communities should force their governments to do so officially.

The head of the global movement against globalization and American hegemony and Zionism Mujahid brother Fadi Madi,invited all members and cadres and organizations and bodies of the global movement to actively participate in the march and serious larger freedom to Gaza, which start from around the world heading to Gaza at the end of the month of December, and gather in Cairo on 27 and enter the Gaza, the Rafah crossing and the sea and all the crossings, which divided the land of beloved Palestine on January 1, 2010

And be the beginning of 2010 was the public outcry to conquer the world of injustice, aggression and occupation, which will be announced from Gaza Hashem and to withstand the beginning of a new era in the uprising of the dawn of freedom and the participation of a large crowd for the first time in human history,personalities and parties,organizations and individuals from the continents of the world at large ',which is the most important step since the founding of the global campaign to break the siege of Gaza, which led to many successes in spite of all repressive measures and the threat and the policy of injustice and abuse of kinship with many of the Arab political policy conferences and forums that are responsive to the demands of security and intelligence agencies without any serious action and active in support of our people

Stand up Arab peoples of the world participated in Srechtha against imperialism and international Zionism and went to Gaza in any way appropriate form with the peoples of the world free of human shields to protect children and women in Gaza

Those who could not participate in the march, the result of any complexity or border security Vliqm any activity of a solidarity sit-ins and demonstrations, articles, associations and voluntary contributions, raised Palestinian flags and posters and to mobilize the whole nation in the days of Gaza, calling on the media all the way to allocate these days to explain the suffering of Gaza survive and shed light on the issue occupation and resistance and support the steadfastness of the Palestinian and Iraqi peoples

People Cry of Freedom and the global humanitarian universal uprising against oppression and injustice and aggression

You are all invited and all the political spectrum, social, cultural, religious, professional and trade union and civil society all men and women, children and old people to participate meaningfully and effectively in the day of wrath and defiance and resilience January 1, 2010 on the will and resistance, loyalty, and redemption

We now have the greatest and biggest event of struggle since the catastrophe of 48 of the Gaza holocaust after 2009 has not, there is room to linger and think and wait for the outcome of a summit or a meeting or forum and the conference and what happened in Gaza cannot be forgotten.

The roots of the Popular Resistance now come together with this global initiative and the success of this initiative is the biggest defeat of the Zionist movement and therefore should include the largest number of civil society organizations in the world

We call this cry and we are not concerned with any internal political conflict and not on the Palestinian arena. Or any other Arab arena as we are concerned first and foremost and the last is to provide elements of steadfastness to our people, our people and continue the course of our teachers and our faithful martyrs first and immortals flags of justice Humanitarian

__________

An end to the military occupation that began in 1948 is a major condition for establishing a just and lasting peace. For over six decades, the Palestinian people have been denied freedom and rights to self-determination and equality. The hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were forced out of their homes during Israel’s creation in 1947-48 are still denied the rights granted them by UN Resolution 1947.

Sources of Inspiration

The Gaza Freedom March is inspired by decades of nonviolent Palestinian resistance from the mass popular uprising of the first Intifada to the West Bank villagers currently resisting the land grab of Israel's annexationist wall.

It draws inspiration from the Gazans themselves, who formed a human chain from Rafah to beit hanoun, tore down the border barrier separating Gaza from Egypt, and marched to the six checkpoints separating the occupied Gaza Strip from Israel.

The Freedom March also draws inspiration from the international volunteers who have stood by Palestinian farmers harvesting their crops, from the crews on the vessels who have challenged the Gaza blockade by sea, and from the drivers of the convoys who have delivered humanitarian aid to Gaza.

If Israel devalues Palestinian life then internationals must both interpose their bodies to shield Palestinians from Israeli brutality and bear personal witness to the inhumanity that Palestinians daily confront.

If Israel defies international law then people of conscience must send non-violent marshals from around the world to enforce the law of the international community in Gaza
The March is yet another link in the chain of non-violent resistance to Israel's flagrant disregard of international law.

Citizens of the world are called upon to join ranks with Palestinians in the January 1st March to lift the inhumane siege of Gaza.

Israel’s blockade of Gaza is a flagrant violation of international law that has led to mass suffering.The U.S.the European Union,and the rest of the international community are complicit.

The law is clear. The conscience of humankind is shocked. Yet, the siege of Gaza continues. It is time for us to take action! On January 1, 2010, we will mark the New Year by marching alongside the Palestinian people of Gaza in a non-violent demonstration that breaches the illegal blockade.

Our purpose in this March is lifting the siege on Gaza. We demand that Israel end the blockade. We also call upon Egypt to open Gaza’s Rafah border. Palestinians must have freedom to travel for study, work, and much-needed medical treatment and to receive visitors from abroad.

As an international movment we are not in a position to advocate a specific political solution to this conflict. Yet our faith in our common humanity leads us to call on all parties to respect and uphold international law and fundamental human rights to bring an end to the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territories since 1948 and pursue a just and lasting peace.

The march can only succeed if it arouses the conscience of humanity.

Please join us.

:TEL:0049-711-7354796

MOBILE:0049-172-8774071

FAX:0049-711-7354754
gazafreedommarch@yahoo.com

A Strategy Revolution: A Game Theory Approach to Palestinian Resistance

2009-12-03T20:30:00.004+02:00

By Mary Rizzo • Dec 3rd, 2009 at 17:03 •

Anyone who has witnessed the events in Palestine/Israel has been able to notice a cycle that repeats itself continually between the two groups of people. It can be summed up in two words: action/reaction. Sometimes the action is carried out to elicit a reaction (which we can define then as a provocation). A provocation has as its goal to incite or irritate another, sometimes it can be the prelude to the “true action” and sometimes it is there just to demonstrate something.

We all have in our memories the famous sparks that set off the first and second Intifada. The first was Ariel Sharon “strolling” on the most important site for Palestinians, al-Haram al-Sharif as if he owned the place, and the second was provoked by Israeli soldiers running over two Palestinian workers at a checkpoint. In and of themselves, the events were bad enough, but they had a common aspect that certainly would have surprised Israelis and the West, and one that perhaps surprised even the Palestinians themselves.

The fact that those relatively minor events could have such an impact: that a “stroll” and an “accident” could be the sparks that set off the most effective and widespread popular uprising in the history of the Palestinian struggle for liberation. The events that were “the breaking point” were far less damaging than a raid or bombardment, things that we seem to be convinced are the events that have the capacity of waking up the world to the situation, but actually don’t.

This is certainly something to think about, and something that perhaps presents a new strategic approach that Palestinians should take into consideration. The unpredictability of the reaction to the provocation was something that actually worked in the favour of the Palestinian people. No, their living conditions certainly did not improve, and as a matter of fact, in a lot of cases they precipitated in a more rapid downward spiral.

But, two very important things did indeed happen: Palestinians took an active role in staving off Israeli domination and the world took notice once and for all that Palestinians were ready to take to the streets and fight to shake off the oppressor’s clutches. An important effect was that they were going to refuse to collaborate on many levels, which had caused some severe economic cracks in the Israeli economy, dependent as it was on “Cheap Arab Labour”. It effectively put “the Palestinian Question” on the map and made it into an issue that could no longer be ignored. In a way, it further internationalised it, making it one that must be faced in practical terms by international diplomacy.

A job I recently had was making the transcription of a conference that a writer/professor/hedge fund specialist, Nassim Taleb, gave in Milan. I am not in any way knowledgeable about the economy or the market aside from general knowledge obtained from the mass media. Obviously, the issue has been in the news and even in analysis in the alternative media for many months, since the collapse of the investment banks and the USA bailout, so the discussion even for someone profane in the issue like me, was quite informative and relevant to daily life.

Taleb is basically a specialist in statistics and prediction of risks, so his talk could apply not only to the economy, but to any aspect of life where there is risk and where “unexpected events” can happen. Since what goes on in Palestine has a course of action like other events, I thought, why not apply his ideas to this and see how that could be practically applied in favour of the Palestinians? What is a situation that remains within the reach of Palestinians? Popular resistance.

Whether the first Intifada was completely unexpected is a question that can be debated for years, because I have read and heard varying views on it. But what I believe we all can agree on was that the spark that set it off was a provocation in which the perpetrators never expected to get a result of that magnitude, indeed, they may have factored in a totally contrasting result. If they had been aware of the response to it, they would have set up preventive measures, and the mass media would have been prepared for an immediate censorship of the reaction. Years ago, I tried to discover just how much the Israelis (the people and the government) were surprised by the Intifada.

I learned that for the most part, it was like lightning in a clear sky, it was something they did not contemplate, and this is entirely understandable. If you are able to carry out repression of every protest, and if you are able to control the movement and the lives of those you are reigning over, or even feel superior to, you believe that you can break down every resistance, should it happen to occur. You preventively label all reactions as terrorism and even make sure the world believes that these are not reactions at all, but instigating events requiring “Israeli retaliation”.

You probably prepare for reactions to major provocations you carry out, such as air raids that assassinate political and religious leaders, but you may not be ready with contingency plans for people striking, for people making makeshift roadblocks after intimidation or a killing of a civilian that in many ways is just ordinary daily bread for the Palestinians.

This fact of being unprepared for unexpected events bringing about the decline of a system that seemed unbeatable came to mind while listening to Taleb. In fact, I believe that by applying some of his theory (which includes aspects of game theory) to the Palestinian resistance strategy, there may be a means of achieving not only a Third Intifada (which vast segments of the Palestinians are calling for) but also an awareness that a climate of increasing instability of Israel is the way forward to forcing them into not only ceasing with provocation, but into radically altering their abusive policies.

Taleb spoke about a rule of expectations in market regulation. He gave an interesting example about how “fuzzy rules” actually can bring about more “virtuous behaviour”: if there are two parties, and one is taking advantage of the other, or in more serious cases, one is exploiting the other, the wise thing for the party being exploited to do is to never fully reveal precisely the level in which an over-reaction takes place, as it eventually must do, to allow the survival or functioning of that party.

If their exploiter is aware that the level that can be reached before the expected (over)reaction is located at “ten”, then the party exploiting or taking advantage of them will always, on every occasion go so far as “nine”, and feel entitled to do so as well, keeping the level of abuse, control or condition of using the other extremely high, pushing the limit, but not exceeding it. If the exploited party does not state where the limit to the (over)reaction is located, at times they will allow the exploiter to go to “fifteen” before there is a reaction, at times they will only let him go to “five”, and this will influence the exploiting party into modifying or changing tactics.

An immediate result is that the average level of pressure is going to be on the whole lower for repeated incidences, and more and more often, the exploiting party, unaware of the precise level at which something is objectively too much for the other party, will on their own start to reduce the levels, to avoid the risk of the reaction which would then hinder the very ends of the exploitation itself. In effect, given the unpredictability, a self-enforcement of virtuous behaviour becomes the strategy of the exploiting party, so that their “survival” in this role can continue.

If this model were transferred to the strategy of the Palestinian resistance, that (for instance) the killing of a child is always going to cause a reaction, but the blocking of a checkpoint on some occasions may not, and on others the set up of a temporary roadblock will set off a reaction, then the Israelis will lose the perception of what their limits are, since they are already arbitrary. They will not know when and how far they can push, and thus, will (theoretically) push less than before, while the Palestinians gain more consciousness that they can be the ones establishing the limits. This strategy could be adopted at very many levels, even in an organised way.

It could be determined (by way of consensus if possible) that certain actions or provocations will always elicit a mass demonstration of resistance, even organised, and that others will provoke “wildcat” reactions, making it nearly impossible for the Israelis to predict what actions stimulate a response. There would be a process of transforming all provocatory or abusive actions into targets of reaction, not limiting them to a conditioned response that has been played out time and time again with very little progression in the situation of lifting some of the oppression off of the Palestinians.

It would be essential for local leaders and charismatic figures to discuss a strategy of what actions shall have the “bar raised” and what actions can at some level be tolerated so as not to bring down an iron fist they cannot effectively handle or have no means to confront, so that a state of confusion and unpredictability can enter into the Israelis and as a consequence, they will be forced into reducing the oppression overall. This awareness of a variable popular reaction to being oppressed should then become a logical and understandable principle for the Palestinians to integrate into their mentality of resistance. A comparable study should be made to plot out typical Israeli reactions and establish a pattern that can add to a more effective strategic application of the principles of a game theory approach to the resistance.

Should it be tolerated that prisoners are transferred into different Israeli prisons? Should it be tolerated that schools are closed and that utilities are cut off? Should it be permitted that a soldier can occupy the home of a family, that orders are issued to demolish a home, that an important site for Palestinian people has a Hebrew sign stuck on it? Should trash being dumped on women walking the streets of Hebron be accepted, a wall being built, a tree being cut down?

There are a million actions that bring oppression, humiliation and suffering to Palestinians, not only the most dramatic ones of war. The same can be said for the Palestinians living in refugee camps, or for Palestinians who live in Israel. They can identify hundreds and hundreds of offences, of acts done that offend and destroy the Palestinians individually and as a people. Any of these actions could serve as a spark that the Israelis are unable to manage to their own advantage.

A major mistake in my view is that the “movement” outside of Palestine focuses only on the macroscopic. And it indeed has been a shock to come to the conclusion that if the world did not wake up after the onslaught of Lebanon and Gaza that can only be described as bringing the maximum pain possible to civilians, well, maybe they will not wake up at all. We can bring it up all the time, but it’s pointless.

Never mind BDS and solidarity dinners bringing any awareness, if the Palestinians are counting on righteous indignation at atrocities that happen to them on behalf of ordinary people to bring about a paradigm shift, they are screwed. That means, the destiny of the Palestinians resides ONLY in their own hands. They have to feel not only able, but empowered and entitled to react, to resist, to respond, to all provocations and actions that they believe offend them in any way. They don’t need to seek approval for their actions, because people just don’t care. What matters is what they do, what Palestinians do.

The world might wake up once the Palestinians stop seeing that there is a possibility of in some way living with oppression, assimilating to it, or worse, collaborating with the oppressors, and we have to support their resistance and encourage it, be an eyewitness to it and spokesperson for it, because we know it is right, we know it can work. We have to remember that Rosa Parks refused to give her seat on the bus to a White man who demanded it as his “right”, and this sparked the more effective phase of the civil rights movement, even in the eyes of those who lived far away from Montgomery and were convinced it was “just how things are down there”.

People tend to think “war between the Jews and the Arabs is just how thing are down there,” but maybe popular resistance that is totally out of the scheme of how we see things might bring them to ask themselves why a Jew has a right to deny a Palestinian clean water, freedom of movement, education and food, why a Jew from New York can move into a home in Jerusalem that a Palestinian has been evicted from because… he is not a Jew. They might force their leaders into addressing this situation and adapting their policies to it. That may be a dream, but people were still sleeping off their New Year’s hangover while Gazans were dying in the streets and in their homes. They apparently haven’t slept it off yet.

Some say that the solution is just to let the “demographic bomb” that Israelis fear run its course, that it is just a matter of time and the Israeli Jews will be a minority. This passive way of seeing the resistance does nothing concrete to change lives or bring any Palestinian his or her rights. It is indeed an inevitability, but what will the short-term consequences of it be? That Israel cuts off more territory but still commands over it as they do in Gaza and engulfs as much as it can now of the West Bank.

If that happens during the stages of “final status” discussions, which many believe are not that far out of sight, it doesn’t seem to be a solution at all, and time is indeed running out for hope of Palestinians not only to return, but to have something to return to. An exiled Jerusalemite I am close to even told me, “at any moment, they can drop bombs on us and kill us off, so counting on our numbers is playing their game, they have the means and backing to change the numbers any time they feel like it, and they will go unpunished.”

In addition, thinking that the growth rate is the key and telling people in Palestine and those in exile to just be patient does nothing to enhance feelings of unity with the Palestinians of Israeli citizenship, as they will continue to live in a regime of discrimination, further isolated from their brothers and sisters and living in a Jewish State that does not recognise them as a people. Establishing feelings of being in the same boat will make any resistance move in the occupied territories far more effective, and will empower the Palestinians of Israel as well. All of Palestine is occupied, but in some places, the bleeding is not only internal, it is there for all of us to see.

The Palestinians have to organise themselves on each and every level, the strategic one, and yes, the emotional one, to feel united and willing to resist and not surrender, since freedom is a cause worth fighting for. People know that living in their current conditions, even some that are relatively better than those many of their brothers and sisters are living in, is simply intolerable. They are not free, and to accept being a slave, being occupied and not being able to shape one’s own future is intolerable. They have to reach an internal consensus that the Jewish Israelis must be made to feel insecure. Assuring them “security” is the way of the “international community”.

This should not and must not be a Palestinian priority, because the Israelis do not have Palestinian security as a priority. If this is the case, and it is, the Israelis should be made to feel completely unstable, because they do not allow others to establish stability. This means that Palestinians need to raise the bar at every level, even among those who are collaborating. There should be an effort made at correcting those who might be thinking the only solution is that Palestinians must settle for less than others would, and by collaborating, get the “best that they can get out of a bad situation”. This defeatist attitude has never brought anything good to Palestinians. It is time to wake up. Together.

Israel Revokes Residency of 4,577 Arabs in East Jerusalem

2009-12-03T17:22:00.005+02:00

The Judaization of Al Quds - East Jerusalem

Harinder Mishra

Jerusalem, Dec 2 2009 (PTI) - Israel stripped a record 4,577 Arabs of their residency rights in East Jerusalem in 2008, equalling almost 35 per cent of all such cases since the Jewish state took control of the area in 1967.

Israel's Interior Ministry revoked the residency of these East Jerusalem Arabs last year, 'Ha'aretz' daily reported.

Among the 4,577 Arabs deprived of their residency were 99 minors under the age of 18.

In the first 40 years of Israeli rule over East Jerusalem, the ministry deprived 8,558 Arabs of their residency rights, which is less than double the number of those who lost their permits in 2008 alone, the report said.

The ministry said the sharp increase in the numbers stem from the its decision to probe legal status of thousands of East Jerusalem residents in March and April, 2008.

THOMAS FRIEDMAN's Gallimaufry of Lies

2009-12-03T14:33:00.005+02:00

December 3 2009

By Khalid Amayreh in Occupied East Jerusalem

In a recent article in the New York Times, the American Jewish journalist Thomas Friedman blamed the so-called Arab-Islamic “Narrative” for all the troubles surrounding US-Muslim relations-from the 9-11 terrorist events in 2001 to the recent killing of 13 American soldiers in Texas by American-born and American-bred Nidal Malik Hasan.

Friedman suggested that Muslims all over the world ought to show gratitude to the US for helping them in places like Kosovo, Bosnia , Darfur , Somalia , Lebanon , Kurdistan, post-earthquake Pakistan , post-Tsunami Indonesia , Iraq and Afghanistan . True to his style, he carefully ignored the killing of hundreds of thousands of mostly innocent people in the context of American intervention in these countries.

Friedman also suggested that the American military crusades against the Muslim Middle East were meant as a message of deterrence and primarily to destroy two tyrannical regimes-The Taliban and the Bathists.

Well, I don’t always take Friedman seriously. He is a fanatical Jewish supremacist who seems to think deeply in his heart that non-Jews are lesser human beings.

And when it comes to the Judeo-Nazi entity known as Israel, which is the central source of instability and agitation in the Middle East and beyond, Friedman loses all pretension of objectivity and fair discourse.

In fact, the reason I am responding to his screed is not because I think he has something worthwhile to say. In the final analysis, Friedman is just another shipyard dog of American Zionism who for many years shamelessly utilized his journalistic skills to support and defend Israeli terrorism, territorial expansion and wanton theft of Arab land.

I’ve decided to write a brief response because an American internet friend has asked me to do so. In addition, the American people, in whose name all this criminal war and oppression are carried out, needs to be reminded from time to time of the real facts. I am saying this because it is really sad and lamentable that dishonest, or pathologically dishonest, journalists like Friedman are allowed to poison the American discourse unchallenged.

First of all, Friedman ignores the legitimate reasons and root-causes of Arab and Muslim dislike for the United States. Let me remind him of the following cardinal facts.

For decades, the US has been the main backer and enabler of Israeli terrorism, aggression and criminality against the peoples of the Arab-Muslim Middle East.

Successive America administrations since Truman, probably with the sole exception of the Eisenhower administration, effectively acted at Israel’s beck and call. They gave Israel the wherewithal to behave like a neighborhood bully-from state-of-art technology of death to doggedly and overzealously shielding Israel from international condemnation at the UN Security Council.

This fanatical embrace of a regime whose very existence constitutes a gigantic crime against humanity didn’t encourage Israel to walk in the path of peace. On the contrary, it emboldened the Zionist regime to commit every conceivable crime under the sun- from massacring Palestinian refugees en mass at Sabra and Satilla near Beirut in 1982 (in concert with allied Lebanese Christian militias) to raining white phosphorus on civilians in Gaza in 2008-9.

Indeed, thanks to unlimited and unrestricted American support of the criminal entity, some Israeli leaders were prompted to declare that “we control America and the Americans know it.”

Needless to say, the scandalously huge magnitude of America’s embrace of Israeli Nazism earned America the title of Israel’s guardian ally.

The Israeli-American alliance has never been a force for good, justice or democracy in the Middle East. The exact opposite is true. Thanks to this unethical and unholy alliance, Israel has been able to have a free season on the helpless Palestinians, destroy their homes and farms, enslave them economically, narrow their horizons, and expel the bulk of these tormented people to the four corners of the globe.

In the final analysis, it was America’s pornographic disregard for justice and international law that enabled Israel to kill any real hopes for peace in the Middle East as Bob Simon, another American Jewish journalist, asserted in a recent documentary.

I don’t know why journalists like Friedman don’t tell their readers truth, namely that a country that builds, by way of coercion and bullying, hundreds of Jewish-only settlements on occupied territory, doesn’t really want peace with its neighbors.

Similarly, I don’t know why these dishonest shapers of American public opinion don’t write and say through their respective media outlets, such as the NY Times, that the Israeli military occupation is nothing short of an act of rape since it robs the victims of their most fundamental human and natural rights.

This is a question that Mr. Friedman ought to answer honestly and straightforwardly without indulging in verbal juggling and selective citation of facts.

In addition to its central role in tormenting and savaging the Palestinian people for decades, successive US administrations have been supporting tyrannical Arab despots who never stopped humiliating and oppressing their own people in order to preserve their autocratic but impotent Sheikhdoms, princedoms, fiefdoms, and kingdoms as well as their "royal republics" as in Egypt and Tunisia.

It is mainly due to enduring American support of these tyrannies, that the vast bulk of the peoples of the Middle East are denied the right to freely choose their own governments and rulers.

America is not ignorant or unaware of what is happening in the Arab Middle East. It is well aware of the extent to which basic human and political rights are denied. It is well aware of the feudal nature of governance in many of the so-called allied Arab countries. America watches the brazen shamelessness of dictatorship in the capitals of the Middle East but remains silent as if the Arab and Muslim masses were children of a lesser God.

Nonetheless, even this whoring hypocrisy toward Muslims doesn’t prevent American officials and spokespersons from lecturing Muslims on the virtues of democracy!

A few years ago, the Bush Administration cajoled the Palestinian Authority leadership in Ramallah to organize elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, when Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic liberation movement unexpectedly won these elections, the man in the White House lost his composure and expeditiously ordered a whole set of draconian measures to be imposed against the people of Gaza to punish them for electing a political party that Israel and the US didn’t like.

After all of this, I wonder how people like Friedman still have the temerity and audacity to claim that the American invasion, occupation and destruction of two sovereign Muslim countries, which killed or caused the death of over a million innocent human beings, were merely meant to foster democracy in these two unfortunate countries.

In fact, a manifestly intellectually bankrupt Friedman shamelessly indulges in fornication with language when he claims that for every stupid and bad act America committed-such as the scandal at Abu Ghraib, “our soldiers and diplomats perpetrated a million acts of kindness aimed at giving Arabs and Muslims a better chance to succeed with modernity and to elect their own leaders.”!!!

Well, this is another obscene and pornographic lie that really goes beyond the pale of human decency. Where are those Arab countries which, thanks to American “altruism and kindness,” have been made able to democratically elect their leaders and succeed with modernity? Egypt? Saudi Arabia? Jordan? Kuwait? The Gulf Sheikhdoms? Tunisia? Morocco?

Friedman and ilk might want to cite Iraq as an example to corroborate their conspicuous mendacity. But everyone knows that the so-called Iraqi democracy is a tight ly controlled democracy and that the US would move swiftly to scuttle it in one fell swoop if there was the slightest chance that it would produce an anti-American or even anti-Israeli leadership.

It is true that the US has done what might be thought to be positive deeds, such as building some schools in some Arab countries. But these acts pale in comparison to Americas cardinal sins in the Muslim world. Indeed, in many cases, these "acts of kindness" are only meant to divert attention from America’s evil policies in the region, especially the policy of embracing Israeli Nazism and sustaining tyranny and dictatorship throughout the Arab world.

Well, perhaps I am being too hard on Friedman. After all, he is a product of a culture that killed millions of Native Americans and then had the audacity to call the genocide “manifest destiny.” This is the same country that allows and encourages Israel to liquidate the just Palestinian cause, by building settlements, carrying out ethnic cleansing and stealing more Palestinian land, while calling the slow-moton liquidation a “peace process.”

(end)

Families of Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Jails: “Our Sons are not terrorists, the Real Terrorists are the Zionist Child-Killers”

2009-11-30T20:14:00.004+02:00

PalestineFreeVoice Images
Photo Fady Adwan

From Khalid Amayreh in Al-Khalil

Abu Yasser is an elderly Palestinian farmer living in the southern part of the West Bank. He keeps his eyes glued to Al-Jazeera Television channel these days to follow up the latest news regarding the German-mediated talks between Israel and Hamas over a possible prisoner-exchange deal.

He hopes that his son, Ahmed, will be amongst hundreds of Palestinian political and resistance activists Israel will set free if a deal is concluded.

The looming deal would see the release of an Israeli soldier, captured by Islamic freedom fighters in Gaza more than three years ago in exchange for the release from Israeli jails and detention camps of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them spending heavy lengthy sentences for resisting the Israeli occupation.

This week, the talks reached a decisive phase as officials from both sides admitted that a tangible progress was being made and that an accord was closer than ever.

These statements raised hopes that some of the Palestinian prisoners who have spent the prime of their lives in Israeli dungeons and detention camps would finally see the light of the day.

“I hope that this time it will be for real,” says Abu Yasser, in a tone combining both hope and doubt. “I want to see my son before I die.”“We were repeatedly told that a deal was imminent only to face another disappointment when the talks broke down. But I do hope that this time it is going to be different.”

Abu Yasser and his wife, Um Yasser, dismiss Israeli reluctance to free their son and hundreds of other Palestinians imprisoned for their political or military resistance of the Israeli military occupation.

“My son didn’t attack civilians like Israeli pilots who rained death on civilians in Gaza. Calling him ‘terrorist’ and similar names is a scandalous abuse of language,” says Um Yasser, which means
‘mother of Yasser.’“Besides,” she adds, all the laws of God and man allow people languishing under a foreign military occupation to resist their tormentors.

“So I want to ask these morally bankrupt politicians and so-called leaders. Would you or wouldn’t you resist if your country was invaded and your people repressed and robbed of their rights, honor and dignity by a foreign occupation army?”

Abu Yasser unhesitatingly concurs. However, he argues that the Israelis know deep in their hearts that they are criminals and the Palestinians are victims.

“But you know, Israel is a lawless state, it behaves like a bully.”

Snags

While the German mediator Emst Urlau, who is accredited for the reported recent progress, seems determined to conclude a swap deal as soon as possible, Israel is still reluctant to agree to release a few “veteran prisoners” it calls “big heads.”

These include resistance leaders such as Ibrahim Hamed and Abdullah al Barghouthi and others involved in carrying out retaliatory attacks against Israel during the Aqsa intifada.

Then the level of Israeli state terror against Palestinian civilians reached scandalous proportions, forcing Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups to carry out counter attacks in order to deter Israel from continuing to murder Palestinian civilians, including children and women.

The Israeli army and Shin Beth, Israel’s domestic security agency, made strenuous intelligence efforts to locate the whereabouts of the captured soldier, Shalit, in order to carry out a rescue operation that would liberate him from Hamas’s custody.

Indeed, the entire Israeli intelligence apparatus in the Gaza Strip, which includes a large number of informers, was mobilized to a maximal level in the hope of obtaining any piece of information that would have led to finding out the place where Shalit is detained.

In this context, millions of dollars were offered as bounty to anyone providing information that would lead to Shalit’s liberation. But all these feats proved futile and unsuccessful.

Eventually, the Israeli government of Ehud Olmert reached the conclusion that even if Shalit’s whereabouts were discovered, there was a 99%-probability that any rescue operation would end up having Shalit killed.

The failure to locate the whereabouts of Shalit, let alone rescue him, did make the Israeli bargaining position difficult, especially in the face of mounting pressure from his family to get him back home at any price.

Israel had and still has a standing policy of retrieving soldiers who are captured by the enemy.

However, the protracted imprisonment of Shalit, coupled with Hamas’s stubborn refusal to concede on this issue despite the unprecedented ferocity and criminality of Israel’s onslaught against Gaza last year seems to have convinced much of the Israeli public, as well as the military establishment, that a deal with Hamas, however bitter and uncomfortable to the Israelis, would be inevitable.

More to the point, Hamas’s management of the Shalit issue proved highly successful. Hamas refused from the very inception to act under pressure and paid little attention to the psychological campaign waged by the Israeli media, and also by the Ramallah leadership.

Quite the contrary, Hamas played the psychological pressure card effectively when it released a short video clip showing Shalit in good health. However, the movement utterly refused to allow International Red Cross delegates to visit Shalit, fearing that Israel might take advantage of such a visit in order to implant certain electronic gadgets that would enable the Israeli intelligence to locate Shalit’s whereabouts.

One Fatah leader in the Hebron region lauded Hamas’s management of the Shalit affair. He argued that “if Shalit had been detained by Fatah, Israel would have known about his whereabouts from day-1.”

Winner

There is no doubt that the Islamic liberation group, Hamas, would be the main winner in any prospective prisoner-swap accord with Israel. There are as many as 10,000 Palestinian political and resistance activists languishing in Israeli detention camps. Moreover, efforts to get Israel to release them have been largely unsuccessful, mainly because Israel wants to use these prisoners as a bargaining chip in order to extricate political concessions from the Palestinian Authority.

srael and Fatah would be the losers. Israel would lose some of its power of deterrence vis-à-vis the Palestinians. Indeed, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli custody would encourage Palestinians to take Israeli prisoners and use them as bargaining chips to force Israel to release more Palestinian detainees.

Moreover, a successful swap-deal from the Palestinian view point would assure the Palestinian public opinion that the fate of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli prisons doesn’t have to depend on Israeli magnanimity.

As to Fatah, the group is worried that the release of that many Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons will significantly boost Hamas’s public standing.

This explains the venomous propaganda war Fatah has been waging on Hamas in recent days, such as repeating the manifestly false claim that Hamas has been conducting secret talks with Israel in Geneva.

Indeed, one of the main reasons the former Olmert government refused to reach an accord with Hamas on the Shalit affair stemmed from concerns that the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Zionist custody would weaken the western-backed PA leader Mahmoud Abbas.

According to some news reports from Washington, the Obama administration has already asked Israel to release a thousand Fatah prisoners in order to neutralize any prospective popularity gains by Hamas as a result of a possible prisoner exchange deal with Israel.

The Obama administration is trying to woo Abbas to resume the stalled talks with Israel despite the latter’s refusal to freeze Jewish settlement expansion especially in East Jerusalem.

Hence, the American gambit should be viewed, at least in part, as a sort of gimmick or even a bribe to encourage Abbas to return to the failed peace process. (end)

Source: MiddleEastMonior: http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/307-families-of-palestinian-prisoners-in-israeli-jails

Abbas Visit to Brazil Comes With A Price

2009-11-30T16:33:00.009+02:00



Written by Iqbal Tamimi Do you remember the ill-fated Palestinian refugees who were living in the desert at Al Rowaished Camp on the Jordanian – Iraqi borders? Those are the same people the Brazilian government promised in 2007 to offer them refuge and save their lives. Guess what? They arrived in Brazil and found out that all the promises evaporated in thin air, including the UN's who promised them a dignified life, education for their children, and medical care. None of those promises were met. Since then the refugees who were pulled from a hole and placed in a crater are protesting because no one wants to hear their agony. The UN told them if they do not like where they are they can go back to the Tanf Camp in the desert or to Iraq. Those same Palestinian refugees who God only knows how many times they became refugees since the Zionist state drove them away out of their homeland said that living in the desert is more merciful than staying in Brazil with no help or protection. Some were attacked, faced robberies and crimes, but no one offered to help them or their children. In short their rescue operation was one of those propaganda stunts, more like media salt added on a corpse hoping it might taste better. The good news came earlier than Santa Claus. The Palestinian refugees rejoiced that Mahmoud Abbas, their country's President, is visiting Brazil, and that he will meet the Palestinians Sunday the 22d of November 2009. BUT the Palestinian federal in Brazil, headed by Oliyan Tahir, requested a fee. For those poor refugees to meet Abbas, they have to pay the fine to meet their own President. Each Palestinian refugee was requested to pay an amount equals $27 to meet Abbas. If any of those refugees who were shuttling between different counties of hell could not afford to pay the price for meeting their own leader on a visit to the Diaspora, then tough luck guys, seeing the leaders cost money, our President's show is not free of charge. And since poor, homeless refugees have no money, this means that they cannot complain, or meet any one who just might ease their pain. We demand an answer: when is the corruption is going to stop? When will someone intervene and stop the fat cats from doing what they do? Those refugees who were requested to pay $27 to meet their President who is already paid to do his job are the poorest amongst all Palestinians. They can't afford to eat, they can't afford to pay the rent, they can't afford to send their children to school. Hhow on earth are they expected to pay $27 to meet Abbas to tell him about their misery? How on earth are they going to pay for seeing their own President's new shiny squeaky shoes?. They were told that that $27 is the fee for the dinner that they might eat with Abbas. For God's sake, have some mercy; $27 will feed all the members of their family if they can afford it. They do not want to eat, they only want to complain and go home. The Palestinian writer Safa JadAllah, who has lived in Brazil for 20 years, said that the Palestinians who want to meet Abbas are supposed to pay for the price of a meal, and not only that, but the Palestinians in Brazil are supposed to cover as well the expenses of the accommodation of their President and all the people who came with him. When has anyone ever heard such absurdity? When has any one ever heard about a poor nation of refugees living in the Diaspora having to support their President financially, or fund his political trips? Why can't Abbas be funded by his own son, the millionaire, if he can't afford the cost of the hotels? Why can't he stay home and do the job by the telephone, at least he will spare the people the financial burden. I wonder if this visit had anything to do with the Palestinian refugees in the first place. Ahmad Qteesh is one of those Palestinian homeless refugees who were kicked from their accommodation because he could not afford the rent. Is it even comprehensible that he should pay for the accommodation of the Palestinian delegation while his children sleep in the street and can't afford to house his own children or feed them? Why can't Abbas support this family for a change? Perez was in Brazil, and now Abbas is in Brazil and Brazil want to play the intermediary role, but no one care about the refugees. I was told that Abbas met the Brazilian President, and guess what, the talk was about how Abbas admires Brazil, especially after Brazil hosted the Olympic games. I never cursed before ever in my life, but now I have this urge to vomit first and then curse and swear as much as the angels can stand me. Mr President and the rest of the gang, have some mercy on those refugees and their families. It is not fair that you should sleep in a warm bed in a plush hotel with your accompanied lot while the poor homeless refugees have to pay the bill for your comfort. Do not use the Palestinian refugees in the Diaspora as a cover for your luxurious trips. http://palestinian.ning.com/profiles/blogs/dear-mr-president-allow-me-to Iqbal Tamimi is an exiled Palestinian journalist, living in the UK. She has worked in news TV production, broadcasting and print journalism for almost 17 years. Palestine Refugees Complain of Persecution and Seek to Leave Remember Palestinian Refugees Hardship

Historical Injustice and Madness of the Highest Orders - the Illegal Incarseration of the Palestinian People

2009-11-27T20:59:00.005+02:00

"Historical Injustice and Madness of the Highest Orders
the Illegal Incarceration of the Palestinian People (Naji Mujahid)

Hiyam Noir

November 27 2009

On Monday morning Israeli border guards denied the American citizens Dhoruba Bin Wahad and Naji Mujahid entry into Palestine. The two Americans were travelling from Amman in Jordan via the Allenby Bridge located at the border between Jordan and the Palestinian West Bank.The trip to Jordan and the West Bank is "normally" quite a long and tiresome undertaking so even much worse for radical Palestinian Human Rights Activists, meanwhile mainstream media and liberal politicians are boasting over their "bravery"daring a visit to the "dangerous" occupied Palestinian territories, without problem are passing ahead foreign more radical Palestinian activists and the long lines of Palestinian workers and students, some waiting in lines days and nights at Israeli checkpoints.

Invited to participate in a conference in Jericho on the topic of Palestinian political prisoners illegally incarcerated in Israeli jails, the two Americans,Dhoruba Bin Wahad, a leader of the Black Panter Party and Naji Mujahid a law student and civil rights activist based in Washington , was ill treated by Israeli border guards.Then interrogated, strip searched,had their belongings rummaged then confiscated and ordered to return back to Jordan. Humiliated and frustrated after the denial of entry to Palestine, the two US citizens and human rights activist walked up to the consular facility of the Palestinian Authorities in Amman.

Not knowing about that the consular and juridical adviser at the Palestinian Authority office in Amman has no diplomatic status or formal authority to enforce laws in Jordan, they were told they can not expect from the PA office in Amman, any help to enter the West Bank.The security of Jordanian border control is actually a matter between Mukhabarat el-Aama, Jordans General Intelligence Directorate, GID,s head quarter in Amman and CIA.(Gid has surpassed the Israelis Mossad as America's most effective allied counter-terrorism agency in the Middle East. Jordan's intelligence partnership with the U.S. is so close, in fact, that the CIA has had technical personnel "virtually embedded" at GID headquarters in Amman).

"The Israelis did not deny entry into the West Bank on grounds of security reasons, Bin Wahad stated in a video cast yesterday - " ultimately we were barred because of ideological reasons".Bin Wahad was him self a political prisoner incarcerated in a US jail, the judgement against him was overturned after 19 years in prison, for a crime he never committed. In their statement the Americans said that the treatment of them is a mirror of - " The Israelis policy of forcing the Palestinians out of their homeland, through illegal land confiscation and settlement-building,the checkpoints, the Judaization of Jerusalem, and the enactment of discriminatory laws against Palestinians, in the 1948 occupied area of Palestine. It also reflect the Israelis continued denial of the right to return for over seven million Palestinian refugees in exile."

The Israelis actions prevented important meetings between former American and Palestinian political prisoners, as well as disrupting media coverage that both Dhoruba and Naji had arranged to provide for the African American community news outlets about the conference, focused on Palestinian political prisoners and the Palestinian struggle for liberation.

_______________

Dear Dhoruba Bin Wahad and Naji Mujahid I am so sad to know about your predicament,you did not make it to Jericho, but you will earn the media coverage, your presence in Jericho was important and highly anticipated.

You statement of yesterday expressed analytical sharpness.

"There is a criminalisation of the truth and the legalisation of lies in this decennial"
"The Palestinians are vilified of their right to struggle"
and "The criminal state of Israel is its own worse enemy"

At last .. there roared a hurricane of passion and fury, brought a fresh wind of progress and intelligence into Palestinian political arena and Palestinian activism - the latter hijacked by a local and international mediocre qualmy petit bourgeois. The result: tens of thousands Palestinian political prisoners are suffering mighty in Israeli jails, thousands of Palestinian freedom fighters tortured by their own people in dark and cold dungeons on the West Bank, loss of precious Palestinian lives, loss of land and possessions.

Related information;
http://www.ocnus.net/artman/publish/article_28834.shtml
http://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33546.pdf
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/132248.pdf
http://rebelyouth-magazine.blogspot.com/2009/09/free-mohammad-n

Gaza Water Unfit for Human Consumption

2009-11-26T22:08:00.006+02:00

UN warns Gaza water supplies are "in danger of collapse"



	Palestinians fill bottles & containers at UNRWA

GAZA CITY (AFP)

Water in the Gaza Strip is so salty that it is unfit for human consumption, a Palestinian official in charge of water supplies inside the besieged coastal territory said on Saturday.

"The water is no longer fit for human consumption, with analysis and international studies showing that just 10 percent of water in the Gaza Strip is usable... threatening the lives of Palestinians," Munzir Shiblak warned.

	The water is no longer fit for human consumption, with analysis and international studies showing that just 10 percent of water in the Gaza Strip is usable... threatening the lives of Palestinians
Munzir Shiblak, Palestinian official

He called in a statement for "the necessary measures to be taken to end the problem of salinity in Gaza water supplies, a problem that is getting worse."

Shiblak called the water situation "critical."

He said the amount taken from underground aquifers last year to supply 1.5 million people with drinking water and for agriculture was 160 million cubic meters, but that natural replenishment was 80-90 million cubic meters.

"The ground water deficit rose to more than 80 million cubic meters last year, and if this situation continues reserves could collapse in the next few years," Shiblak said.

	Unless the trend is reversed now, damage could take centuries to reverse. Since the aquifer is a continuum with Israel and Egypt, such action must be coordinated with these countries
UNEP

In danger of collapse

In September the United Nations Environment Program also said Gaza's underground water supplies are "in danger of collapse" following years of overuse and the devastating war Israel waged in the territory at the turn of the year.

"Unless the trend is reversed now, damage could take centuries to reverse. Since the aquifer is a continuum with Israel and Egypt, such action must be coordinated with these countries," UNEP said in a report.

Israel and Egypt have sealed off the impoverished enclave to all but basic goods since the Islamist Hamas movement seized control in June 2007, severely hampering the upkeep of basic infrastructure.

The sewage system has been particularly hard-hit, as Israel does not allow the import of virtually any pipes or other metal equipment that it fears could be used by Palestinian militants to make improvised rockets.

UNEP estimated that restoring the aquifer beneath Gaza could require $1.5 billion over 20 years, including the construction of desalination plants to ease the pressure on underground sources.

Alarabiya.net

RUSSEL TRIBUNAL ON PALESTINE

2009-11-26T19:15:00.003+02:00

Welcome to Restore the Law in Brussel December 16 2009

FOR THANKSGIVING:Native Blood:The Myth of Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T03:06:00.004+02:00

November 15, 2009

Puritan settlers massacre Pequot people.

By Mike Ely

It is a deep thing that people still celebrate the survival of the early colonists at Plymouth — by giving thanks to the Christian God who supposedly protected and championed the European invasion. The real meaning of all that, then and now, needs to be continually excavated. The myths and lies that surround the past are constantly draped over the horrors and tortures of our present.

Every schoolchild in the U.S. has been taught that the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony invited the local Indians to a major harvest feast after surviving their first bitter year in New England. But the real history of Thanksgiving is a story of the murder of indigenous people and the theft of their land by European colonialists–and of the ruthless ways of capitalism.

* * * * *

In mid-winter 1620 the English ship Mayflower landed on the North American coast, delivering 102 exiles. The original Native people of this stretch of shoreline had already been killed off. In 1614 a British expedition had landed there. When they left they took 24 Indians as slaves and left smallpox behind. Three years of plague wiped out between 90 and 96 percent of the inhabitants of the coast, destroying most villages completely.

The Europeans landed and built their colony called “the Plymouth Plantation” near the deserted ruins of the Indian village of Pawtuxet. They ate from abandoned cornfields grown wild. Only one Pawtuxet named Squanto had survived–he had spent the last years as a slave to the English and Spanish in Europe. Squanto spoke the colonists’ language and taught them how to plant corn and how to catch fish until the first harvest. Squanto also helped the colonists negotiate a peace treaty with the nearby Wampanoag tribe, led by the chief Massasoit.

These were very lucky breaks for the colonists. The first Virginia settlement had been wiped out before they could establish themselves. Thanks to the good will of the Wampanoag, the settlers not only survived their first year but had an alliance with the Wampanoags that would give them almost two decades of peace.

John Winthrop, a founder of the Massahusetts Bay colony considered this wave of illness and death to be a divine miracle. He wrote to a friend in England, “But for the natives in these parts, God hath so pursued them, as for 300 miles space the greatest part of them are swept away by smallpox which still continues among them. So as God hath thereby cleared our title to this place, those who remain in these parts, being in all not 50, have put themselves under our protection.”

The deadly impact of European diseases and the good will of the Wampanoag allowed the settlers to survive their first year.

In celebration of their good fortune, the colony’s governor, William Bradford, declared a three-day feast of thanksgiving after that first harvest of 1621.

How the Puritans Stole the Land

But the peace that produced the Thanksgiving Feast of 1621 meant that the Puritans would have 15 years to establish a firm foothold on the coast. Until 1629 there were no more than 300 settlers in New England, scattered in small and isolated settlements. But their survival inspired a wave of Puritan invasion that soon established growing Massachusetts towns north of Plymouth: Boston and Salem. For 10 years, boatloads of new settlers came.

And as the number of Europeans increased, they proved not nearly so generous as the Wampanoags.

On arrival, the Puritans and other religious sects discussed “who legally owns all this land.” They had to decide this, not just because of Anglo-Saxon traditions, but because their particular way of farming was based on individual–not communal or tribal–ownership. This debate over land ownership reveals that bourgeois “rule of law” does not mean “protect the rights of the masses of people.”

Some settlers argued that the land belonged to the Indians. These forces were excommunicated and expelled. Massachusetts Governor Winthrop declared the Indians had not “subdued” the land, and therefore all uncultivated lands should, according to English Common Law, be considered “public domain.” This meant they belonged to the king. In short, the colonists decided they did not need to consult the Indians when they seized new lands, they only had to consult the representative of the crown (meaning the local governor).

The colonists embraced a line from Psalms 2:8. “Ask of me, and I shall give thee, the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” Since then, European settler states have similarly declared god their real estate agent: from the Boers seizing South Africa to the Zionists seizing Palestine.

The European immigrants took land and enslaved Indians to help them farm it. By 1637 there were about 2,000 British settlers. They pushed out from the coast and decided to remove the inhabitants.

The Shining City on the Hill

Where did the Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies of Puritan and “separatist” pilgrims come from and what were they really all about?

Governor Winthrop, a founder of the Massachusetts colony, said, “We shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.” The Mayflower Puritans had been driven out of England as subversives. The Puritans saw this religious colony as a model of a social and political order that they believed all of Europe should adopt.

The Puritan movement was part of a sweeping revolt within English society against the ruling feudal order of wealthy lords. Only a few decades after the establishment of Plymouth, the Puritan Revolution came to power in England. They killed the king, won a civil war, set up a short-lived republic, and brutally conquered the neighboring people of Ireland to create a larger national market.

The famous Puritan intolerance was part of a determined attempt to challenge the decadence and wastefulness of the rich aristocratic landlords of England. The Puritans wanted to use the power of state punishment to uproot old and still dominant ways of thinking and behaving.

The new ideas of the Puritans served the needs of merchant capitalist accumulation. The extreme discipline, thrift and modesty the Puritans demanded of each other corresponded to a new and emerging form of ownership and production. Their so-called “Protestant Ethic” was an early form of the capitalist ethic. From the beginning, the Puritan colonies intended to grow through capitalist trade–trading fish and fur with England while they traded pots, knives, axes, alcohol and other English goods with the Indians.

The New England were ruled by a government in which only the male heads of families had a voice. Women, Indians, slaves, servants, youth were neither heard nor represented. In the Puritan schoolbooks, the old law “honor thy father and thy mother” was interpreted to mean honoring “All our Superiors, whether in Family, School, Church, and Commonwealth.” And, the real truth was that the colonies were fundamentally controlled by the most powerful merchants.

The Puritan fathers believed they were the Chosen People of an infinite god and that this justified anything they did. They were Calvinists who believed that the vast majority of humanity was predestined to damnation. This meant that while they were firm in fighting for their own capitalist right to accumulate and prosper, they were quick to oppress the masses of people in Ireland, Scotland and North America, once they seized the power to set up their new bourgeois order. Those who rejected the narrow religious rules of the colonies were often simply expelled “out into the wilderness.”

The Massachusetts colony (north of Plymouth) was founded when Puritan stockholders had gotten control of an English trading company. The king had given this company the right to govern its own internal affairs, and in 1629 the stockholders simply voted to transfer the company to North American shores–making this colony literally a self-governing company of stockholders!

In U.S. schools, students are taught that the Mayflower compact of Plymouth contained the seeds of “modern democracy” and “rule of law.” But by looking at the actual history of the Puritans, we can see that this so-called “modern democracy” was (and still is) a capitalist democracy based on all kinds of oppression and serving the class interests of the ruling capitalists.

In short, the Puritan movement developed as an early revolutionary challenge to the old feudal order in England. They were the soul of primitive capitalist accumulation. And transferred to the shores of North America, they immediately revealed how heartless and oppressive that capitalist soul is.

The Birth of “The American Way of War”

In the Connecticut Valley, the powerful Pequot tribe had not entered an alliance with the British (as had the Narragansett, the Wampanoag, and the Massachusetts peoples). At first they were far from the centers of colonization. Then, in 1633, the British stole the land where the city of Hartford now sits–land which the Pequot had recently conquered from another tribe. That same year two British slave raiders were killed. The colonists demanded that the Indians who killed the slavers be turned over. The Pequot refused.

The Puritan preachers said, from Romans 13:2, “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” The colonial governments gathered an armed force of 240 under the command of John Mason. They were joined by a thousand Narragansett warriors. The historian Francis Jennings writes: “Mason proposed to avoid attacking Pequot warriors which would have overtaxed his unseasoned, unreliable troops. Battle, as such, was not his purpose. Battle is only one of the ways to destroy an enemy’s will to fight. Massacre can accomplish the same end with less risk, and Mason had determined that massacre would be his objective.”

The colonist army surrounded a fortified Pequot village on the Mystic River. At sunrise, as the inhabitants slept, the Puritan soldiers set the village on fire.

William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth, wrote: “Those that escaped the fire were slain with the sword; some hewed to pieces, others run through with their rapiers, so that they were quickly dispatched and very few escaped. It was conceived they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire…horrible was the stink and scent thereof, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the prayers thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them.”

Mason himself wrote: “It may be demanded…Should not Christians have more mercy and compassion? But…sometimes the Scripture declareth women and children must perish with their parents…. We had sufficient light from the word of God for our proceedings.”

Three hundred and fifty years later the Puritan phrase “a shining city on the hill” became a favorite quote of conservative speechwriters.

Discovering the Profits of Slavery

This so-called “Pequot war” was a one-sided murder and slaving expedition. Over 180 captives were taken. After consulting the bible again, in Leviticus 24:44, the colonial authorities found justification to kill most of the Pequot men and enslave the captured women and their children. Only 500 Pequot remained alive and free. In 1975 the official number of Pequot living in Connecticut was 21.

Some of the war captives were given to the Narragansett and Massachusetts allies of the British. Even before the arrival of Europeans, Native peoples of North America had widely practiced taking war captives from other tribes as hostages and slaves.

The remaining captives were sold to British plantation colonies in the West Indies to be worked to death in a new form of slavery that served the emerging capitalist world market. And with that, the merchants of Boston made a historic discovery: the profits they made from the sale of human beings virtually paid for the cost of seizing them.

One account says that enslaving Indians quickly became a “mania with speculators.” These early merchant capitalists of Massachusetts started to make genocide pay for itself. The slave trade, first in captured Indians and soon in kidnapped Africans, quickly became a backbone of New England merchant capitalism.

Thanksgiving in the Manhattan Colony

In 1641 the Dutch governor Kieft of Manhattan offered the first “scalp bounty”–his government paid money for the scalp of each Indian brought to them. A couple years later, Kieft ordered the massacre of the Wappingers, a friendly tribe. Eighty were killed and their severed heads were kicked like soccer balls down the streets of Manhattan. One captive was castrated, skinned alive and forced to eat his own flesh while the Dutch governor watched and laughed. Then Kieft hired the notorious Underhill who had commanded in the Pequot war to carry out a similar massacre near Stamford, Connecticut. The village was set fire, and 500 Indian residents were put to the sword.

A day of thanksgiving was proclaimed in the churches of Manhattan. As we will see, the European colonists declared Thanksgiving Days to celebrate mass murder more often than they did for harvest and friendship.

The Conquest of New England

By the 1670s there were about 30,000 to 40,000 white inhabitants in the United New England Colonies–6,000 to 8,000 able to bear arms. With the Pequot destroyed, the Massachusetts and Plymouth colonists turned on the Wampanoag, the tribe that had saved them in 1620 and probably joined them for the original Thanksgiving Day.

In 1675 a Christian Wampanoag was killed while spying for the Puritans. The Plymouth authorities arrested and executed three Wampanoag without consulting the tribal chief, King Philip.

As Mao Tsetung says: “Where there is oppression there is resistance.” The Wampanoag went to war.

The Indians applied some military lessons they had learned: they waged a guerrilla war which overran isolated European settlements and were often able to inflict casualties on the Puritan soldiers. The colonists again attacked and massacred the main Indian populations.

When this war ended, 600 European men, one-eleventh of the adult men of the New England Colonies, had been killed in battle. Hundreds of homes and 13 settlements had been wiped out. But the colonists won.

In their victory, the settlers launched an all-out genocide against the remaining Native people. The Massachusetts government offered 20 shillings bounty for every Indian scalp, and 40 shillings for every prisoner who could be sold into slavery. Soldiers were allowed to enslave any Indian woman or child under 14 they could capture. The “Praying Indians” who had converted to Christianity and fought on the side of the European troops were accused of shooting into the treetops during battles with “hostiles.” They were enslaved or killed. Other “peaceful” Indians of Dartmouth and Dover were invited to negotiate or seek refuge at trading posts–and were sold onto slave ships.

It is not known how many Indians were sold into slavery, but in this campaign, 500 enslaved Indians were shipped from Plymouth alone. Of the 12,000 Indians in the surrounding tribes, probably about half died from battle, massacre and starvation.

After King Philip’s War, there were almost no Indians left free in the northern British colonies. A colonist wrote from Manhattan’s New York colony: “There is now but few Indians upon the island and those few no ways hurtful. It is to be admired how strangely they have decreased by the hand of God, since the English first settled in these parts.”

In Massachusetts, the colonists declared a “day of public thanksgiving” in 1676, saying, “there now scarce remains a name or family of them [the Indians] but are either slain, captivated or fled.”

Fifty-five years after the original Thanksgiving Day, the Puritans had destroyed the generous Wampanoag and all other neighboring tribes. The Wampanoag chief King Philip was beheaded. His head was stuck on a pole in Plymouth, where the skull still hung on display 24 years later.

The descendants of these Native peoples are found wherever the Puritan merchant capitalists found markets for slaves: the West Indies, the Azures, Algiers, Spain and England. The grandson of Massasoit, the Pilgrim’s original protector, was sold into slavery in Bermuda.
Runaways and Rebels

But even the destruction of Indian tribal life and the enslavement of survivors brought no peace. Indians continued to resist in every available way. Their oppressors lived in terror of a revolt. And they searched for ways to end the resistance. The historian MacLeod writes: “The first `reservations’ were designed for the `wild’ Irish of Ulster in 1609. And the first Indian reservation agent in America, Gookin of Massachusetts, like many other American immigrants had seen service in Ireland under Cromwell.”

The enslaved Indians refused to work and ran away. The Massachusetts government tried to control runaways by marking enslaved Indians: brands were burnt into their skin, and symbols were tattooed into their foreheads and cheeks.

A Massachusetts law of 1695 gave colonists permission to kill Indians at will, declaring it was “lawful for any person, whether English or Indian, that shall find any Indians traveling or skulking in any of the towns or roads (within specified limits), to command them under their guard and examination, or to kill them as they may or can.”

The northern colonists enacted more and more laws for controlling the people. A law in Albany forbade any African or Indian slave from driving a cart within the city. Curfews were set up; Africans and Indians were forbidden to have evening get-togethers. On Block Island, Indians were given 10 lashes for being out after nine o’clock. In 1692 Massachusetts made it a serious crime for any white person to marry an African, an Indian or a mulatto. In 1706 they tried to stop the importation of Indian slaves from other colonies, fearing a slave revolt.

Celebrate?

Looking at this history raises a question: Why should anyone celebrate the survival of the earliest Puritans with a Thanksgiving Day? Certainly the Native peoples of those times had no reason to celebrate.

The ruling powers of the United States organized people to celebrate Thanksgiving Day because it is in their interest. That’s why they created it. The first national celebration of Thanksgiving was called for by George Washington. And the celebration was made a regular legal holiday later by Abraham Lincoln during the civil war (right as he sent troops to suppress the Sioux of Minnesota).

Washington and Lincoln were two presidents deeply involved in trying to forge a unified bourgeois nation-state out of the European settlers in the United States. And the Thanksgiving story was a useful myth in their efforts at U.S. nation-building. It celebrates the “bounty of the American way of life,” while covering up the brutal nature of this society.

Source of this article

Israel Holds Over 370 Palestinian Children Captive

2009-11-24T18:22:00.002+02:00

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:03:07 GMT

The media liaison at the Palestinian ministry in charge of prisoners' affairs says that Israel is currently holding captive more than 370 child detainees; all under the age of 18.

"Child detainees are sent to courts that prosecute cases of adult detainees. This is a flagrant violation of International Law. Dozens of detained Palestinian children undergo a series of harsh trials under a legal system that treats them the same as apprehended adults," Riyadh al-Ashqar told the official Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV network on Monday.

Al-Ashqar went on to note that the child detainees are not immune to 'egregious abuses', adding mistreatment and torture in Israeli detention facilities are not uncommon.

He also called on the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and humanitarian organizations across the globe to intervene, to stop Israeli brutalities against underage Palestinian prisoners.

Many of the Palestinian children in Israeli jails are arrested for nothing more than throwing rocks at heavily-armed Israeli troops and armored personnel carriers, the Palestinian Center for Defending Prisoners reported in early April.

The prison authorities place eight to ten children in a four meter square room, and routinely vilify them, put them under psychological pressure at every turn and even molest some of the children, the report added.

Source: PressTV

Things Could Get Ugly Fast

2009-11-21T19:05:00.001+02:00

By Mike Whitney

November 19, 2009

Things could get ugly fast. With the Democrats backing-off on a second round of stimulus, the Fed signaling an end to quantitative easing, and Obama moaning about rising deficits; there's a good chance that the stumbling recovery could turn into another sharp plunge. Bank lending is shrinking, consumers spending is off, housing prices are falling, unemployment is soaring and the wholesale credit markets are in a shambles. This isn't the time to slash government support in the name of "fiscal responsibility". Obama needs to ignore the gloomsters and alarmists and pay attention to the Nobel laureates like Joe Stiglitz and Paul Krugman. They're the guys who know how to steer the ship to safe water.

But there are troubling signs that Obama has joined the ranks of the deficit hawks and is planning a policy-reversal that will pitch the economy into a nosedive. Here's what he said on his tour through Asia:

"I think it is important to recognize if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession."

So it's true. Obama has aligned himself with the faux-prophets and dollar demagogues who think that the end is nigh. But trimming the deficits now (when they should be expanding) will lead to a viscous cycle of debt deflation that will push-down asset prices, increase defaults, force more layoffs, slow consumer spending, lower earnings and send the economy into a downward spiral. The president is paving the way to a double-dip recession, a slump that could be worse than the first.

Has Obama perused the jobless figures lately? Has he noticed the Fed shoving more than a $1 trillion under the collapsing housing market with no sign of improvement? Has anyone told our blinkered accountant-in-chief that the entire financial system is propped-up with $11.4 trillion of dodgy scaffolding that could buckle in the first big gust?

Obama has either taken leave of his senses or he's spending too much time listening to the cheerless Jeremiahs on the Internet. He needs break their spell and seek the counsel of the experts who get paid to crunch the numbers---real economists. Cutting government spending and raising taxes--the two ways that deficits are paid off--is the fast-track to disaster. Don't go there.

If Obama needs more proof that the economy is still flatlining, he should thumb through Fed chair Ben Bernanke's speech to the Economic Club of New York which was delivered on Tuesday. The presentation was a sobering snapshot of lingering depression with precious few glimmers of light. Here's an excerpt:

"The flow of credit remains constrained, economic activity weak, and unemployment much too high. Future setbacks are possible....How the economy will evolve in 2010 and beyond is less certain....

Access to credit remains strained for borrowers who are particularly dependent on banks, such as households and small businesses. Bank lending has contracted sharply this year, and the Federal Reserve's Senior Loan Officers Opinion Survey shows that banks continue to tighten the terms on which they extend credit for most kinds of loans...

Household debt has declined in recent quarters for the first time since 1951. For their part, many small businesses have seen their bank credit lines reduced or eliminated, or they have been able to obtain credit only on significantly more restrictive terms. The fraction of small businesses reporting difficulty in obtaining credit is near a record high, and many of these businesses expect credit conditions to tighten further.

The demand for credit also has fallen significantly....Because of weakened balance sheets, fewer potential borrowers are creditworthy, even if they are willing to take on more debt. Also, write-downs of bad debt show up on bank balance sheets as reductions in credit outstanding. Nevertheless, it appears that, since the outbreak of the financial crisis, banks have tightened lending standards by more than would have been predicted by the decline in economic activity alone.

Many securitization markets remain impaired, reducing an important source of funding for bank loans. In addition, changes to accounting rules at the beginning of next year will require banks to move a large volume of securitized assets back onto their balance sheets. Unfortunately, reduced bank lending may well slow the recovery by damping consumer spending, especially on durable goods, and by restricting the ability of some firms to finance their operations.

The best thing we can say about the labor market right now is that it may be getting worse more slowly. (Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Speech Before Economic Club of New York)

Is this really Bernanke speaking, or is the Fed chief channeling Roubini?

Okay, so credit is tight. Consumers aren't borrowing and banks aren't lending. Unemployment is rising and deflation is pushing down asset prices while the burden of personal debt is rising in real terms. Bleak, bleak, bleak. The only sign of improvement is that "things are getting worse more slowly". Now that's encouraging.

What the economy needs is a hefty dose of stimulus aimed at job creation and strengthening demand. Only the government can provide sufficient resources to rev up economic activity and put people back to work. Unfortunately, the TARP bailout soured the public on deficit spending due to the shabby (and possibly criminal) way it was handled. That will make it harder to do what is necessary. The political support for more stimulus on Capital Hill has vanished. But, without it, another hard landing is certain.

Despite rumors in the media, stimulus works. It speeds up recovery, minimizes unemployment and stops asset prices from overshooting on the downside. Here's an excerpt from "The effectiveness of fiscal and monetary stimulus in depressions" a scholarly analysis of stimulus by economist-authors Miguel Almunia, Agustin S. Benetrix, Barry eichengreen, Kevin O' Rourke, and Gisela Rua:

"Where tried, fiscal policy was effective in the 1930s....The details of the results differ, but the overall conclusions do not. They show that where fiscal policy was tried, it was effective.

Our estimates of its short-run effects are at the upper end of those estimated recently with modern data....This is, in fact, what one should expect if one believes that the effectiveness of fiscal policy is greatest when interest rates are at the zero bound, leading to little crowding out of private spending. It is what one should expect when households are credit constrained by a dysfunctional banking system. Given similar circumstances in 2008, this underscores the advantages of using 1930s data as a source of evidence on the effects of current policy." (The effectiveness of fiscal and monetary stimulus in depressions" by Miguel Almunia, Agustin S. Benetrix, Barry eEchengreen, Kevin O' Rourke, and Gisela Rua, 18 November 2009 vox)

Stimulus works in multiple ways. It also helps increase inflation expectations which is necessary to get people spending again. In a deflationary environment, consumers shut-down and stop spending. The Fed tries to spur economic activity by convincing people that the dollars they hold will be worth less tomorrow. That's why Bernanke keeps pointing out that the Fed will keep rates at zero indefinitely. Regrettably, only the goldbugs take him seriously, which is why gold prices have zoomed to the stratosphere. Personal savings rates are still rising. There's been a sharp drop-off in consumption. Bernanke's psychological experiment has flopped. The masses still believe we're in recession. Without a gigantic fiscal expansion to jolt the economy out of its lethargy, the severe contraction could drag on for a decade or more. We're becoming Japan.

Obama's deficit cutting plan is madness. It offers no hope at all. It draws from the half-baked theories of amateur economists on the Net who think that massive liquidation and years of bitter retrenchment and high-unemployment are the path to recovery. They're wrong.

URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=16177

APPLAUD AN ISRAELI JUDGE DECISION:

2009-11-21T17:37:00.008+02:00

Rafah Crossing June 1 2008
"Throwing stones at Zionist occupant".
Photo Propa/PalestineFreeVoice Images

Hiyam Noir

November 21 2009

An Israeli judge made an historic ruling last week when he proved to have the strength of mind enabling a civil courage order in his ruling that an Arab teenager needed "protection" from the Zionist justice system.

The judge ruled that the teenager should not be convicted despite of that he actually was found guilty of throwing stones, in this case, a petty felony ( throwing a stone at the Zionist occupants police- car when participating in a protest against Israeli war on Gaza during the turn of the year) .

The prosecutors in the case demanded a sentence of the 17- year- old from Nazareth, to be convicted of endangering a vehicle on a village road, such a crime might carry a punishment of up to 20 years of jail time.

The judge, Yuval Shadmi stated in his writing that: "the discrimination in the Israeli Judaical system's treatment of Jewish and Arab minors, particularly in cases of what he called "ideologically motivated" offenses, was "common knowledge."

So he penned down in his verdict: "I will say that the state is not authorized to caress with one hand the Jewish 'ideological' felons, and flog with its other hand the Arab 'ideological' felons."

This judge made a judicial decision that can be used to appeal against convictions in similar future cases.

Zionist Propaganda Body Seeks Volunteers to Distort Wikipedia Input on ME

2009-11-21T14:27:00.004+02:00

Zionist Web

Occupied Jerusalem: 21 November, 2009

by Khalid Amayreh

A Zionist hasbara (propaganda) body based in North America is trying to recruit “volunteers” whose main job is to distort the input of the internet’s most visited websites in Israel’s favor.

Propaganda efforts are reportedly focused on popular sites such as Wikipedia, the huge on-line encyclopedia which can be edited by anyone

CAMERA, which calls itself a “committee for accuracy in Middle East reporting in America,” already has a team of dozens of paid Jewish propagandists who regularly and often scandalously distort basic data pertaining to such themes as Israeli apartheid, Zionism and its ideological similarity to Nazism, Israeli state terror and ill-treatment of Palestinians as well as other issues related to the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

Recently CAMERA sent a circular to potential Zionist propagandists, asking them to help ensure a pro-Israeli bias in the internet.

“The idea behind Wikipedia is that if thousands of well-meaning and informed volunteers collaborate on an online encyclopedia, the result would be more accurate, up-to-date and inclusive than any print encyclopedia could possibly be.”

The circular went on: “CAMERA seeks 10 volunteers to help us keep Israel-related entries on Wikipedia from becoming tainted by anti-Israel editors. All it takes to be an effective volunteer is a basic comfort level with computers. Call or email me, and I will train you on how to become a volunteer Wikipedia editor.”

Reputed for its notoriously mendacious and inaccurate input, CAMERA has consistently sought to exonerate the Israeli occupation forces of war crimes committed against innocent civilians especially in the Gaza Strip.

Acting as a propaganda mouthpiece for the Israeli occupation army, the group, relying on questionable and often concocted statements by Israeli army spokespersons, argued on many occasions that the widespread killing of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli army occurred by mistake and that measures were often taken to minimize civilian casualties.

Earlier this year, the Israeli army carried out a virtually genocidal onslaught against the nearly totally unprotected Gaza Strip, killing and maiming thousands of innocent civilians, including hundreds of children.

Moreover, a sustained aerial bombing by the Israeli air force destroyed more than six thousand Palestinian homes and hundreds of public buildings including more than a hundred mosques.

CAMERA, whose staff includes former Israeli Shine Beth’ officials, attacked the recently-published Goldstone report, accusing the former South African Judge, who is Jewish, of reporting “inaccurate information.”

The Goldstone report, based on meticulously authenticated data obtained first-hand testimonies from victims, accused the Israeli forces of knowingly and deliberately committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 21-day onslaught.

The data contained in the Goldstone report were corroborated by testimonies made by Israeli soldiers who took part in the winter onslaught.Israel, apparently fearing international condemnation, had refused to cooperate with the Goldstone commission.

PA Police Arrest Journalist

2009-11-20T23:18:00.009+02:00

ABBAS MILITIA ( thugs) IN ACTION

19 November, 2009

Palestinian Authority (PA) police have arrested Walid Suleiman, a Hebron-based journalist on suspicion of “inciting against the PA” and “undermining vital Palestinian interests.”

His family said the Preventive Security Force (PSF) summoned Suleiman for what was to be a “brief interrogation” on his activities, including public lectures on Islam and current affairs.

However, upon his arrival at the PSF headquarters in downtown Hebron, Suleiman was arrested until “a further notice.”

Suleiman had been arrested twice by the PA security apparatus on concocted charges pertaining to his outspoken criticisms of PA conduct.

A few years ago, the PA closed down the offices of the bimonthly paper, the Hebron Times, which Suleiman owned and edited.

The tabloid, now published in electronic form, can be accessed through the following link: http://hebrontimes.com/index.php

The draconian measure was part of the PA clampdown on free press as demanded by the Bush administration.

The PA security apparatus lately resumed a campaign against the non-conformist press, arresting three journalists working for the Gaza-based al-Aqsa Television.

Suleiman, 46, had been a globe-trotter who toured more than 100 countries on foot.

Suleiman’s brother, Palestinian journalist Khalid Amayreh, described the arrest as “a stupid measure aimed at muzzling freedom of speech and expression.”

“I think the PA is still living in the 1950s and 1960s. It seems they haven’t heard of the internet and the global village.”

Amayreh himself had been detained and ill-treated by the PA for criticizing the PA.

(end)

ABBAS WESTBANK MILITIA ESCALATE TORTURE OF HAMAS PRISONERS

2009-11-19T01:59:00.005+02:00

Gaza City December 15 2007
The 20Th Commemoration of Hamas Movement
Hamas won landslide victory over Fatah in democratic Palestinian elections
monitored by EU and other representatives of the International Community.
Photo Fady Adwan PalestineFreeVoice Images

Hiyam Noir

November 18 2009 - 10:16 PM

In Mahmoud Abbas jails and dark dungeons the abuse and torture of political prisoners continues. Hamas movement said in a press release on Wednesday, that in the past two weeks, an escalation of abductions of Hamas affiliated has been observed.

Many freedoms fighters, including high officers of Hamas cadres and Hamas supporters are suffering in Abbas jails from serious health conditions and pain from infected gunshot wounds and beatings,intimidated and mortified after the severe physical and mental torture inflicted on them.

Mahmoud Abbas and his militia are responsible for uncountable tragedies in the West Bank,the names of these torturers involved in the abuse of prisoners are well known and their crimes are documented,an account of the events on the West Bank will be presented to International human rights organizations.

Hamas media office said that what happened in the cities of Al Khalil, Salfit,Juneid and in Beitunia, the past two weeks gives an indication about the fate of many of Hamas members in particular those whom are suffering from fatal diseases.

The abductions of Palestinians advocating dissenting political views has become a part of real daily life for a large number of citizens in the West Bank. During the last two days Mahmoud Abbas militias allegedly abducted five Palestinian citizens in the Governate of Nablus, Ramallah, Tulkarem and Jenin, including a man suffering from an autoimmune disease - diabetes.

On Monday evening in the town of Bidya, Kanaan Shater 32, was apprehended by a group of Abbas hoodlums. Kanaan was severely beaten.The family of Kanaan has confirmed that after their son was taken to nearby Salfit, one of Abbas torture centre on the West Bank,a group of about 10 uniformed men continued the physical assault, resulting in a fracture of Kanaan's skull.

Today ( Wednesday November 18 2009) this report will be directed via email to Amnesty International and its representative for the Palestine Territories, to take immediate appropriate action and bring about the release of Hamas members and supporters, whom for their political affiliation and social - religious beliefs, are arbitrarily and ceaselessly abducted and tortured by Mahmoud Abbas and his fascist West Bank militia.

Under Palestinian Law and Constitution such violence as conducted on the West Bank by Mahmoud Abbas and his militia,is illegal and a gross violation of Human Rights guaranteed by International Law.

Note; Amnesty International was earlier this year, informed by a number of observers whom had gathered evidence against Mahmoud Abbas and his militia's activities on the West Bank, conducted simultaneously in the shadow during the Israelis war-crimes on Gaza - however these worrying reports to Amnesty International has until this day, almost one year later - passed unnoticed.END

11/20/2009

Dear Hiyam

Thank you for sending the information concerning the detention of Kanaan Shater. I am passing this to my colleague ............ copied on this message, who is replacing me, as I am on sabbatical for a year.

With best wishes

Donatella
--------------------------------------------
Donatella Rivera (Amnesty International)

Netanyahu: The Obscene Liar

2009-11-19T00:23:00.001+02:00

18/11/2009 - 06:58 PM

By Khalid Amayreh

Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu is a manifestly fascist-minded demagogue who thinks that everything Jewish must override everything non-Jewish, regardless of all considerations.

He is also a first-class liar who believes that lying to the world, including Jews, is the first line of defense against growing opposition to genocidal Israeli criminality.

Indeed, like Nazi Germany, which waged war on Europe and killed or caused the death of millions in the name of self-defense, Israel is doing the same thing by threatening and attacking its neighbors, especially the helpless Palestinians who have been trying for decades to rid themselves of the Nazi-like Israeli occupation of their country.

There is no doubt that Netanyahu is a true pathological liar. Falsifying reality is simply an inherent and conspicuous character of the notorious bigot.

Netanyahu claimed this week that nuclear-armed Israel is the world’s most threatened county.

He was quoted by the Ha’aretz newspaper as saying that “ Israel is facing enemies who don’t conceal their intentions, who first attack us physically and then attack our right to self-defense.”

But Is Israel really a threatened country?

Obviously, the claim is a big lie because Israel is actually a threatening, not a threatened country. Israel, which possesses a huge stockpile of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, has been attacking other countries from day-1 of its hateful existence.

Indeed, Israel has been trying relentlessly to annihilate the national existence of another people, the Palestinians, by arrogating their land, demolishing their homes and towns, and expelling them from their ancestral homeland.

Harsh ethnic cleansing, which takes a variety of aspects, has always been and continues to be Israel ’s modus operandi in treating the Palestinians. Israel is probably the only country in this world that thrives on murder, theft and lies, a country that murders children on their way to school and then cries out “self-defense! Holocaust! terror.!

In his monologue of lies, Netanyahu also claimed that Palestinian “rocket attacks” on Israeli settlements were not experienced by any other country since German attacks on Britain during WWII.

Well, if the term “pornographic lies” has any meaning, it is people like Netanyahu and his colleagues who give it meaning.

After all, no honest person under the sun can compare the extremely primitive projectiles fired by desperate Palestinians resistance fighters on Israeli settlements, with the German raids and rocket attacks against London and other British cities.

Indeed, while the German missile and other attacks on British cities killed thousands of Britons, eight years of Palestinian rocket firing on Israel killed less than ten Israeli settlers. In other words, more people would die in a single traffic accident in Israel than they would in eight years of Palestinian “rocket attacks”.

More to the point, a single attack by Israeli fighter-bombers, e.g. F-16s and F-15s, would cause more death and devastation than all Palestinian rockets would in many years.

This is exactly what happened during the past ten years. Israeli aerial and artillery attacks on Palestinian population centers killed thousands of innocent Palestinians. Thousands others were maimed and badly injured. In fact, it is amply safe to state that for every Israeli settler killed by Palestinian “rockets,” a thousand Palestinians, mostly children, women and other innocent civilians, were killed by the Jewish Wehrmacht, deceptively known as “Israeli Defense Forces.”

This massive Israeli criminality culminated in the virtual genocide in Gaza last winter, when hundreds of Israeli war planes, the state-of-the-art of the American technology of death, rained bombs, depleted uranium and white phosphorus, on unprotected Palestinian towns.

The pornographic killings in Gaza proved to be far more satanic and diabolic than many of the crimes committed by the Nazis. The Nazis attacked a super-power at least by that era’s standards and bombed well-protected towns, Whereas the Nazis of our time, the Israelis, rained death on totally unprotected refugees who had absolutely no means of defense or protection against the virtual genocide.

Actually, what Israel did to Gaza and Gazans in December and January can be compared to the extermination of Germany’s real or perceived enemies during the War.

In both cases, innocent and helpless people were mercilessly murdered en mass for political or ideological reasons. Hence, the appropriateness of the term “Nazis of our time.”

Like Netanyahu is doing today, many Nazi leaders and ideologues tried to rationalize and justify their evil acts by claiming that Germany, the motherland, was facing mortal threats and the German nation was faced with either of two choices, destroying the enemies using a no-holds-barred approach, or be destroyed itself.

But Israel is using the same Nazi arguments very lightly, not to repulse any real threats, but rather to justify real crimes against humanity being committed against the captive Palestinians.

Otherwise, how can people of any semblance of rectitude buy the big lie that a country that possesses more 300 nuclear heads, and has one of the strongest armies in the world, and above that controls the government of the world’s only superpower, is threatened more than any other state in the world?

It is, of course, unlikely that Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders think in their hearts that they are not lying. They do know they are lying. This is quite natural for a state that is based on lies and myths such as the claims that Palestine didn’t exist and the Palestinians were not a distinctive nation and that Israel didn’t expel the native Palestinians to the four corners of the globe.

In light, it is very important that the peoples of the world, men and women who value honesty and justice, be constantly on the alert to confront and refute Zionist hasbara lies with the same aggressiveness and resolve with which they confront Zionist crimes.

In short, Israel must not be allowed to translate its pornographic lies into a license to commit a holocaust against the Palestinian people and other peoples of the Middle East.

The Zionists are capable of doing the unthinkable. They behave as the way the Nazis behaved because they possess the same mindset. The only difference lies in name, place and circumstances.

Intellectual Rights Retained

Israeli Government Approve 900 Settlement Units in East Jerusalem

2009-11-18T14:25:00.000+02:00

18/11/2009 - 11:09 AM

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Different Hebrew media sources reported Wednesday that the Israeli government approved the building of 900 settlement units in the eastern part of occupied Jerusalem.

They said that the committee for planning and construction of the Israeli interior ministry sanctioned the building of these units in Gilo settlement.

According to the Israeli Haaretz newspaper, these units are the first phase of a broader and comprehensive plan aimed at expanding the settlement, there are still more than 4,000 settlement units in Gilo pending the final approval.

In another context, a large number of Israeli troops stormed at dawn Wednesday Palestinian homes in the town of Idna and Al-Aroub refugee camp in Al-Khalil in the West Bank, and assaulted a young man at Al-Hawwar checkpoint, north of the city.

Palestinian eyewitnesses told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that Israeli troops invaded Idna and imposed a curfew in the vicinity of the house of a citizen called Tayseer Abu Juhaisha and damaged its furniture, adding that they stayed several hours inside the house before withdrawing.

Other Israeli troops broke into and ransacked the house of a Palestinian citizen from the family of Abu Khairan in Al-Aroub camp for the third consecutive time in less than a week, and detained the family members inside a room.

It was also reported that a 24-year-old young man called Abdelrahman Al-Abd was moderately wounded when he was attacked by Israeli troops at Al-Hawwar checkpoint.

Medical sources said that the young man sustained different bruises in his body and was transferred to Al-Khalil hospital.

In another incident, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian citizens on the Shalala street in the old city in Al-Khalil for the second time in a week without any reported injuries.

For its part, the Hebrew radio alleged that a Palestinian homemade rocket landed Wednesday morning in Sha’ar Hanegev area in western Negev without inflicting casualties.

No Palestinian party claimed responsibility for the attack.

Intellectual Rights Retained

How Israel Builds its Fifth Column Palestinian Collaborators..

2009-11-17T17:49:00.002+02:00

By Catherine Taylor
Special to The Christian Science Monitor

JERUSALEM - Hani knew it was wrong,but the young Palestinian says he couldn't resist the woman who seduced him in a field near his house two years ago. And he never suspected what was to come.

In the middle of the tryst, the couple was ambushed by Israeli security agents who told Hani (not his real name) that his wife would be informed of the infidelity unless he cooperated. He says he now suspects he was set up, but he admits he was an easy target – wanted for a raft of petty crimes and a wallet full of fake identity cards. Within days he had agreed to trade his freedom for life as a collaborator.

Across the West Bank and Gaza Strip many thousands of Palestinians like Hani have been successfully coopted as informers. Precise numbers of those on Israel's payroll are unknown but figures of up to 15,000 have been suggested by human rights groups.

Israel's use of informants has prevented numerous suicide bombings. Yet in addition to enhancing Israeli security, collaboration has also developed a culture of suspicion such that anyone who runs a successful business or has access to hard-to-get permits is often suspected.

In Hani's case, the motivation was fear, not greed. "I agreed to work with them in return for clemency," he says. "I agreed to help them solve cases involving theft and drug dealing."

Last year Hani says his Israeli supervisor contacted him and asked that he watch two men from his West Bank village – one a member of Hamas, and the other from Fatah. "I didn't want to do it but he said that he merely wanted to know their movements," Hani says. "I gave away extensive information about them. But fear came over me that they planned to do more than just monitor them. I saw on television how Israel was assassinating people and how they went after them methodically. I came to the conclusion I was helping this to happen and I ran away."

Hani's odd behavior was noted by Palestinian police, who arrested him. He says it was a relief to escape "this deep hole I had gotten myself into. I confessed everything. I spoke faster than my interrogator could write."

A crucial role

Since the 1993 Oslo Accords, that transferred chunks of the Occupied Territories to Palestinian Authority control, the recruitment of collaborators has become a crucial plank of Israel's security apparatus. The role begins simply – passing details of a neighbor's car number plate or place of work. As collaborators are drawn more deeply into the system they may be asked to infiltrate the highest levels of militant and political groups or set up targets for arrest and assassination. Israel has stepped up its policy of targeted assassination during this intifada, typically using collaborators to arrange the hit, as they did with Hani.

"Where would Israel be without collaborators?" asks Moshe Kuperburg, a former agent with Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, who recruited and ran a network of informers in the West Bank before retiring in 1999. "It's simple. We'd be up [a] creek."

Incursion as recruitment drive

Saleh Abdul Jawwad, head of the political science department at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah, believes collaborator recruitment was one aim of Israel's recent offensive in the West Bank. Hundreds of Palestinian men were rounded up. The declared goal was to root out the militants among them, but Mr. Jawwad says during interrogation many were offered opportunities to collaborate.

"In most countries you are detained or imprisoned because you do something wrong, or plan to," he says. "Here almost the entire adult male population has been through this experience. I see it as a kind of refinery for producing collaborators."

Hani's story is backed up by research from human rights organizations including Israeli human rights group B'tselem and Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG).

Both have recorded testimonies from those with criminal records detailing how they were offered freedom in exchange for information. Others were shown photographs of female relatives undressing in fashion store changing rooms, and told the images would be circulated unless they agreed to collaborate. "There are many taboos in Palestinian society that create opportunities to pressure people into collaboration," says Jawwad.

'Sophisticated methods'

Mr. Kuperburg, a wiry, energetic man with a wide smile and ready charm, says his methods were more sophisticated, centered on disillusioning young militants against the organizations they joined by pointing out inconsistencies in the extremist rhetoric, or the failure of the groups to achieve the Palestinian state they claimed to be fighting for.

Others were convinced by Kuperburg they could better help their people by working for Israel because of access to credentials that allowed freedom of movement through the occupied territories.

"[Successful recruitment] is about confidence building," Kuperburg says. "The collaborator must understand why they are working with us. We are professional and they collaborate because we tell them the truth. If I want an 18-year-old to collaborate, he must believe we have common understanding. I will tell him that I also want to prevent bloodshed. With time, he will see that I am honest."

If all fails, there is always money: "I make sure they know we are generous," he says.

Kuperburg, a secular Jew who speaks fluent Arabic and was trained to impersonate a Palestinian using the undercover name "Musa," often targeted junior members of militant organizations. "Someone who is a good student, a moderate, we will leave him alone," he says. "But if he is radical, we can tell him he is living in a dream. Sometimes even if he does not become a collaborator the conversation can prevent a future attack."

Collaboration 101

The process can take as little as an hour, or many months of work. Kuperburg – who says he counts Palestinians among his friends and endorses a two-state solution to the conflict – teaches the new recruit how to avoid detection.

Tell no one, he cautions, not even your mother, and spend the money you receive frugally to avoid suspicion. Kuperburg also promises protection inside Israel if the collaborator is discovered.

Kuperburg says Shin Bet runs entire neighborhoods of former collaborators who have been assigned new identities. "We also send some overseas," he adds. But this protection is typically reserved for high-ranking informers. Disgruntled collaborators who worked on the lower rung of the system claim Israel should do more to protect them. Some are preparing a legal case against the Jewish state.

The Palestinian Authority has been strongly criticized for the way it deals with the issue. Human rights groups are concerned that those labeled collaborators are denied fair trials. Military courts are convened quickly, and justice dispensed just as fast.

"There are many questions concerning the degree to which the State Security Courts respect the right to a fair trial, and it is doubtful that justice will truly prevail," the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza (PHRMG) says in its latest report on the subject, published in February. "Suspected collaborators should be held accountable for their actions," says Raji Sourani, director of the PHRMG. "But they should receive fair trials, not state security trials. I am against any form of military court."

Revenge, swift and imprecise

But the problem is not limited to sham trials. During the first intifada, which began in 1987, about 1,000 Palestinians died in fighting with Israeli soldiers and settlers. Research by PHRMG suggests a similar number were killed by their own people under suspicion of collaboration but just 45 percent of those killed were rightfully accused.

Many suspected collaborators are simply gunned down in the street by vigilante groups. The PA turns a blind eye. The label is sometimes used as an excuse for extra-judicial killing designed to settle old scores.

The tactics contravene agreements signed by the PA. Oslo II, for example, states, "Palestinians who have maintained contact with the Israeli authorities will not be subjected to acts of harassment, violence, retribution, or prosecution."

Yet it goes on. Last month, three men were shot in the center of Ramallah by masked attackers. The families of those killed this way are afraid to speak out. "The families of suspected or alleged collaborators suffer from social ostracism sometimes with serious economic consequences," says the PHRMG report. "Neighbors and relatives no longer come to visit. Children are isolated at school and their trauma affects their school performance. Young men and women cannot marry since no family wants to be related to a collaborator's family."

Hani, now in jail, may have escaped alive from his life as a collaborator, but he says his deeds have ruined his future. "I can't look at my wife in the eye," he says. "If I ever get out of jail I will leave immediately without seeing anyone. My life here has come to an end."

The Issue of Collaborators in Palestine (Passia publications)
The Fate of Palestinian Moderates Arafat's thugs don't murder only Jews.
Fatah, Israels newfound friend in Palestine
Blood for Bread /Sattar Kassem

Intellectual Rights Retained

PALESTINE : The New State Solution

2009-11-17T03:31:00.005+02:00

Wounded Gaza Looking for Love and Peace

Photo Fady Adwan PalestineFreeVoice Images

By Chris Hedges
Truthdig
Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:50 EST
© AP / Hatem Moussa

The collapse of the Palestinian Authority, the result of Israel's 42-year refusal to implement a two-state solution, leaves the Palestinians no option but to unilaterally declare an independent state. Israel acted unilaterally when it announced independence in 1948. It is the Palestinians' turn. It worked in Kosovo. It worked in Georgia. And it will work in Palestine.

There are 192 member states in the United Nations and as many as 150 would recognize the state of Palestine, creating a diplomatic nightmare for Israel and its lonely ally the United States. Israel will face worldwide censure if it attempts to crush the independent state by force and very likely be subjected to the kind of divestment campaigns and boycotts that brought down the apartheid government of South Africa.

The two-state solution, long held up as the way out of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, flickered and died with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. No Israeli leader since, including Ehud Barack, has shown any interest in its implementation. Israeli governments have instead cynically used the promise of negotiations as a cover to steadily expand settlements, evict Palestinians from their homes, carry out egregious acts of violence and repression against Palestinians and steal huge swathes of the West Bank, including most of the aquifers.

The death of the two-state solution is not news to those of us who have spent years in the Middle East. What is news is the public acknowledgement by the Palestinian leadership. Mahmoud Abbas, the compliant and discredited president of the Palestinian Authority, who has announced he will not run for another term, has uncharacteristically blasted Israel for deceiving the Palestinians. The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, who says that the effort to negotiate a solution to the conflict with Israel is dead, has called on Palestinians to declare statehood.

The disarray within the Palestinian Authority has led to the cancellation of the Palestinian elections in January, although the elections were already in jeopardy. The militant group Hamas, which took over Gaza in 2007 after thwarting a coup attempt led by Abbas' Fatah party, said it would not allow the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza to vote.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is counting on the Obama administration to thwart a declaration of Palestinian independence, will have difficulty finding a Palestinian stooge as complaint as Abbas. Abbas' time in office has been marked by repeated and humiliating concessions to Israel, including deferring, at Israel's request, the vote at the United Nations on the Goldstone report, which documented human rights abuses during Israel's offensive in Gaza last December and January.

Israel has shown its appreciation by ignoring Abbas' protests for a halt on settlements and dismissing his calls for negotiations. It is hard to imagine any Palestinian leader, at least one with a shred of credibility, agreeing to take Abbas' place. The only alternative left to most Palestinians, unless an independent state is declared, will be endless war and an embrace of Islamic extremism.

A declaration of independence, based on the 1967 demarcation lines between Israel and Palestinian territory, should cover East Jerusalem among other areas and the several hundred thousand Jewish settlers living in settlements in the West Bank. These Israeli settlers would instantly become citizens in the new country, replicating the experience of many Palestinians who suddenly found themselves counted as Israelis in 1948.

"When he declares independence, Abbas should call upon the Jews living in the state of Palestine to preserve the peace and to do their part in building up the new country as full and equal citizens, enjoying fair representation in all of its institutions," Yossi Sarid, who supports the independence movement, wrote in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. "David Ben-Gurion would not have been upset by such a pretty act of plagiarism from his Declaration of Independence."

The Israelis have orchestrated acute misery and poverty in the Palestinian territories over the past two decades in an effort to subdue and ethnically cleanse the captive population. They have reduced Palestinians, many of whom now live on less than $2 a day, to a subsistence level. They have created squalid, lawless and impoverished ghettos in the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli soldiers, who ring these ghettos, have the ability to instantly shut off food, medicine and goods to perpetuate the misery.

Israel, when the Palestinians grow restive, drops 1,000-pound iron fragmentation bombs and artillery shells - as they did a year ago in Gaza - on the concrete hovels that pack neighbor hoods. The Israeli objective is to turn the Palestinian territories into a hell on earth. This policy has, however, swollen the ranks of radical Islamists in the occupied territories and throughout the Middle East.

The refusal by the Obama administration and nearly every member of the U.S. Congress to defend the rule of law and basic human rights for the Palestinians exposes our hypocrisy. It also perpetuates the absurd pretence that it is Israel, not the Palestinians, whose security and dignity are being threatened. The F-16 jet fighters, the Apache attack helicopters, the 250-pound "smart" GBU-39 bombs used on Palestinian civilians are part of the annual $2.4 billion in military aid the United States gives to Israel.

Palestinians are slaughtered with American-made weapons provided to Israel with taxpayer dollars. Israel, an international pariah, would be unable to carry out these atrocities without our financial and moral support. Mix this toxic brew with the illegal wars we wage in Iraq and Afghanistan and the United States becomes a satanic force in the eyes of many Muslims.

Abbas, in a speech delivered a few days ago on the fifth anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death, announced that the Palestinians would not return to negotiations with Israel without a full halt to settlement building, "including the natural growth" - a term Israel uses to justify construction on the basis of natural population growth in settlements.

"They are putting obstacles in its way," he said of promised negotiation. "They are trying to remove this concept. What do they want?"

The anniversary of Arafat's death is a bitter reminder to many Palestinians that Israel can never be trusted. It is widely believed among Palestinians, as well as Israeli peace activists such as Uri Avnery, that Arafat was poisoned by the Israelis, something Israeli officials deny. Arafat became gravely ill in 2004 as Israeli forces besieged his Ramallah headquarters. He was eventually flown to France for treatment and died at Percy military hospital outside of Paris on Nov. 11, 2004. The French, abiding by an agreement with the Israelis, did not release Arafat's medical records.

"Each expert we consulted explained that even a simple poison produced by an average scientist would be difficult to identify by the most experienced scientists," said Arafat's nephew Nasser al-Kidwa. "I can't tell for sure that he was murdered by the Israelis. I can't refute that hypothesis because doctors couldn't refute it."

The suspicions around the death of Arafat replicate the feelings of most Palestinians around the death of the two-state solution. Each, in the eyes of Palestinians, was deliberately murdered. The Israelis have ensured that from now on the Palestinians will fall or rise on their own.

http:/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/palestinian-push-for-an-independent-state-causes-israeli-alarm-1821261.html /

Intellectual Rights Retained

Fort Hood Massacre

2009-11-15T14:54:00.005+02:00

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:20:36 PST

As is the usual manner of the mainstream US media and its policy attachments, much will be said/made about this horrific incident in the moments, days, and months to follow.

The massacre comes at a time when President Obama looks more like his predecessor and the US wars in IraqAfghanistan are far from deescalating.

That said it should also be expected that much will be made about the alleged shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan (39), who is said to be an American born Muslim of Palestinian/Jordanian descent.

Major Hasan is suspected of taking 13 lives and wounding 30 others, as of this writing.

Though the story is still unfolding the Guardian reports that Major Hasan, a military psychiatrist, has in recent months grown increasingly "unhappy" in his career and has even been seeking to be honorably discharged.

The report says in part:

Unusually for a soldier, Hasan appeared to have little taste for violence, at least up until yesterday. His cousin, Nader Hasan, said: "He was someone who did not enjoy going to the firing range." That may have been a consequence of the stories he had heard in the hospital wards from the returning soldiers.

Hasan became an unhappy soldier as his career progressed, according to his family and colleagues.

Nader said his cousin, though born in America, had suffered harassment from fellow soldiers who questioned his loyalty to the US and commented on his Middle East ethnicity. As a Muslim, he was upset at the killing of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Nader confirmed that he had been resisting deployment in either war zone.

He had been scheduled for deployment to Iraq at the end of the year and had told colleagues repeatedly he did not want to go. He felt trapped, looking at ways to buy his way out, even going to the extent of hiring a lawyer to see if he could leave military service honourably.

I expect that as Major Hasan, who is still alive according to a news report, is put on trial his co-accused will be all Muslims, particularly those living inside the US.

Racist questions about the compatibility of Islam inside American democracy and culture will resurface.

And from inside Muslim communities there will be persistent voices who will seek to demonstrate their loyalty to America over their misgivings about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I dare add that even as more Muslims were killed in American drone attacks in Pakistan US as the victim of Islam and its terrorists.

In addition to the horror that this massacre represents it is necessary to see the US inside of the absolute violence that it has perpetrated in the Middle East.

I have said it here before, Islam is not at war with the US, rather it is the US that is at war with Muslims (Islam).

And that war is not about ideology or even religion. It is about resources. Oil!

I left the US in 2005 after 23 years, most of my life. A big part of my decision was the fact that I could not live inside of, and pay taxes to, a state that was at war with innocent people who looked like me and mine.

I absolutely refused to adopt an apologetic silence/posture while the noise about Islam and terrorism was all about me.

Don't get me twisted though. I am not even trying to defend what happened today at Fort Hood. Nor am I trying to agitate that all Muslims have no option but to leave the US.

It should be said that there are many Americans of every persuasion who abhor and resist what the US government is doing in the Middle East and elsewhere.

I am, however, pressing the (my) reality that I could not continue to live with conscience, and pay taxes, to an ever expanding and warmongering empire.

At one early stage in my life I was drawn to the idea of America. But as I looked closer I saw that the idea never really passed being more than just an ideal.

As Satre said, America is a brute and brutal.

There is a lot more of a fallout to come and innocent lives will continue to be spent.

And so the brutality of America/US continues ... one undoing dialectic at a time.

You simply can't run from your history .

Source
Indigenist Intelligence Revue

______

"In the wake of the massacre there will be a tendency to say one man snapped. The truth is anyone could have snapped -- and we need to de-stigmatize PTSD and mental health before someone else does."Christine Pelosi"

Palestine - What's next?

2009-11-14T19:21:00.002+02:00

Whatever lies ahead after Abbas's notification of not seeking the Palestinian presidency again, the status quo ante is over for good, writes Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah.
______________________________________________________

The recent decision by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas not to seek a second term in office has already thrown into question the continued survival of the Oslo peace process as well as the future of the PA itself.

Most Palestinians have interpreted Abbas's decision as a frank -- though belated -- admission of the failure of the peace process with Israel.

In his speech on Thursday, 5 November, Abbas didn't mourn that process much. But he did suggest that it was pointless to walk any further along the current path given Israel's adamant refusal to stop settlement expansion and the Obama administration's refusal to force Israel to give up the spoils of the 1967 war.

Abbas did ask the Palestinian people to continue to believe in the eventuality of peace. However, he also gave the impression that true and just peace with Israel was a distant dream if not unrealistic.

It is still uncertain if Abbas will reconsider his decision under the influence of incessant calls to that effect by his supporters, especially within the Fatah organisation.

However, most Palestinian pundits seem to unanimously agree that the Palestinian leader won't do so unless he receives real "concessions" from Israel with regards to the settlements issue. Otherwise, Abbas would lose face and give Israel and the US an additional reason not to take him seriously the next time he triggers a crisis over the peace process.

Abbas's decision has raised many questions as to how the PA will survive his absence and the virtual death of the peace process. After all, that process, which provided a certain promise that the Palestinians would eventually rid themselves of Israel's military occupation, has always been the main raison d'être of the PA. Hence, the PA would be effectively reduced to a mere subcontractor of the Israeli occupation if that promise vanished as most Palestinians seem to believe it has.

But the problem goes beyond the ostensible failure and imminent collapse of the peace process. Abbas is probably the most moderate Palestinian leader from the Israeli and Western viewpoint. It is inconceivable, at least at this juncture, that any other Fatah substitute who would replace Abbas would be willing to accommodate Israeli whims, especially on matters related to Jerusalem and the settlements.

Hence one Fatah leader in Ramallah questioned the "wisdom" of appointing a successor to Abbas under the current political conditions. "What would any potential successor to Abbas be able to do? Abbas has given the Americans and Israelis all they want. He went to the greatest extent possible in order to demonstrate Palestinian desire for peace. But look how they have treated him."

The source added, on condition of anonymity: "They [America and Israel] wanted Abbas to be a full-fledged collaborator working against the interests of his own people. They were not willing to accept a dignified Palestinian partner. They didn't want partners, they only wanted to see collaborators, such as the current rulers of Afghanistan and Iraq."

So far, the Obama administration has been reticent about these latest developments in the occupied West Bank. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whom Abbas specifically blamed for convincing President Obama not to pressure Israel on the settlements issue, said she would continue to work with the Palestinian leader in whatever new capacity he might choose. The allusion here is to the possibility that Abbas might retain his more important post as head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which is uncertain to say the least.

Spokespersons at the State Department and White House called on Abbas to reconsider and to give the peace process another chance.

It is uncertain what steps the Obama administration would take if Abbas made good on his undertaking not to run in the Palestinian general elections, scheduled for 24 January. Indeed, the elections themselves have been thrown into question by Abbas's speech. After all, many Palestinians, including many Fatah leaders, question the rationality of holding elections when all political horizons have been completely closed and no successor to Abbas is known.

Some pundits suggest that the Obama administration might seek "another" Palestinian Karzai -- a strongman like Mohamed Dahlan. However, it is near certain that any meddling from Washington would cause Fatah to implode from within with such a new leader being viewed by the majority of Palestinians as an American agent. Another possibility is that the US would further boost the status of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, enabling him to function as de facto Palestinian leader in lieu of Abbas. But this prospect, too, is fraught with uncertainty because Fayyad is bereft of a popular base despite attempts to build one.

Earlier this week, Fayyad and his ministers threatened to collectively resign their posts if Abbas left the Palestinian political scene. It is not clear though if this was a stunt, or a real threat. The resignation of the Fayyad government, coupled with Abbas's resignation, would deal a serious blow to the PA and might bring about its complete collapse.

Such a collapse would force Israel to re-assume all the tasks and responsibilities of an occupying power. In this case, Israel would be faced with two undesirable scenarios: the likely resumption of violence and resistance by all Palestinian factions, including Fatah; or rising Palestinian demands for a one-state solution whereby Israel would have to grant Palestinians equal rights as citizens in a unitary and democratic state extending from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean.

This last option is anathema to Israel and many Jews since it would herald the end of classical Zionism and auger the ultimate prospect of Israel losing its Jewish majority.

There have been reports that the Obama administration might opt to overcome the present crisis by declaring its recognition of a prospective Palestinian state based on 1967 borders. Israel is already jittery about this prospect and has been seeking "clarifications" from Washington in this regard.

However, while such an acknowledgment on Washington's part would be a remarkable event for increasingly frustrated Palestinians, it would do little to change reality on the ground, as Israel has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to overrule and disregard American decisions, especially if these decisions are not coordinated with Israel beforehand.