Saturday 31 December 2011

What is normalisation?: Normalising the Abnormal

in the last couple of weeks, there has been a debate (once again) on a number of Palestinian and Israeli sites, as well as twitter and Facebook about the issue of "normalisation" and what it means in relation to the Palestinian struggle. This latest discussion came about as a result of Palestinians activists taking a stand against a range of pro-normalisation conference in Occupied East Jerusalem. It has come to light in the last few days that the organisers of at least one of these conferences also organised a pro-normalisation conferences held in the illegal Israel colony of Ariel.

As most Palestinians will tell you, opposition to the "normalisation" of Zionist-settler colonial occupation and apartheid has long been a central component of Palestinian national movement. One of the first major anti-normalisation campaigns staged by Palestinians occurred in 1936 when Palestinian engaged in a six month boycott against Zionism and British imperialism.

Having spent an extensive amount of time in Palestine, it has been my experience that the majority of Palestinians both in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and outside the territories oppose normalisation with Israel as long as Israel continues to oppress, occupy and carry out apartheid against the Palestinian people.

In October this year, the Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott campaign against Israel issued a statement explaining in detail what "normalisation" is and isn't. In my opionion, the definition adopted by both PACBI and by the Palestinian BDS campaign in 2007 is simply a formalisation of what Palestinian society has widely understood to be "normalisation". I have included it below.

In solidarity,
Kim


Israel’s Exceptionalism: Normalizing the Abnormal

In the Palestinian and Arab struggle against Israeli colonization, occupation and apartheid, the “normalization” of Israel is a concept that has generated controversy because it is often misunderstood or because there are disagreements on its parameters. This is despite the near consensus among Palestinians and people in the Arab region on rejecting the treatment of Israel as a “normal” state with which business as usual can be conducted. Here, we discuss the definition of normalization that the great majority of Palestinian civil society, as represented in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, has adopted since November 2007, and elaborate on the nuances that it takes on in different contexts.
It is helpful to think of normalization as a “colonization of the mind,” whereby the oppressed subject comes to believe that the oppressor’s reality is the only “normal” reality that must be subscribed to, and that the oppression is a fact of life that must be coped with. Those who engage in normalization either ignore this oppression, or accept it as the status quo that can be lived with. In an attempt to whitewash its violations of international law and human rights, Israel attempts to re-brand [1] itself, or present itself as normal -- even “enlightened” -- through an intricate array of relations and activities encompassing hi-tech, cultural, legal, LGBT and other realms.

A key principle that underlines the term normalization is that it is entirely based on political, rather than racial, considerations and is therefore in perfect harmony with the BDS movement’s rejection of all forms of racism and racial discrimination. Countering normalization is a means to resist oppression, its mechanisms and structures. As such, it is categorically unrelated to or conditioned upon the identity of the oppressor.
We break down normalization into three categories that correspond to differences pertaining to the varied contexts of Israel’s colonial oppression and apartheid. It is important to consider these minimum definitions as the basis for solidarity and action.

1) Normalization in the context of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the Arab world
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) has defined normalization specifically in a Palestinian and Arab context “as the participation in any project, initiative or activity, in Palestine or internationally, that aims (implicitly or explicitly) to bring together Palestinians (and/or Arabs) and Israelis (people or institutions) without placing as its goal resistance to and exposure of the Israeli occupation and all forms of discrimination and oppression against the Palestinian people.” [2] This is the definition endorsed by the BDS National Committee (BNC).
For Palestinians in the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza, any project with Israelis that is not based on a resistance framework serves to normalize relations. We define this resistance framework as one that is based on recognition of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people and on the commitment to resist, in diverse ways, all forms of oppression against Palestinians, including but not limited to, ending the occupation, establishing full and equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and promoting and advocating for the right of return for Palestinian refugees – this may aptly be called a posture of “co-resistance” [3]. Doing otherwise allows for everyday, ordinary relations to exist alongside and independent of the continuous crimes being committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. This feeds complacency and gives the false and harmful impression of normalcy in a patently abnormal situation of colonial oppression. 
Projects, initiatives and activities that do not begin from a position of shared principles to resist Israel’s oppression invariably allow for an approach to dealing with Israel as if its violations can be deferred, and as if coexistence (as opposed to “co-resistance”) can precede, or lead to, the end of oppression. In the process, Palestinians, regardless of intentions, end up serving as a fig-leaf [4] for Israelis who are able to benefit from a “business-as-usual” environment, perhaps even allowing Israelis to feel their conscience is cleared for having engaged Palestinians they are usually accused of oppressing and discriminating against.
The peoples of the Arab world, with their diverse national, religious and cultural backgrounds and identities, whose future is more tangibly tied to the future of Palestinians than the larger international community, not least because of continued Israeli political, economic and military threats on their countries, and the still-prevalent and strong kinship with the Palestinians, face similar issues with regards to normalization. So long as Israel’s oppression continues, any engagement with Israelis (individuals or institutions) that is not within the resistance framework outlined above, serves to underline the normality of Israeli occupation, colonialism and apartheid in the lives of people in the Arab world. It is, therefore, imperative that people in the Arab world shun all relations with Israelis, unless based on co-resistance. This is not a call to refrain from understanding Israelis, their society and polity. It is a call to condition any such knowledge and any such contact on the principles of resistance until the time when comprehensive Palestinian and other Arab rights are met.
BDS activists may always go above and beyond our basic minimum requirements if they identify subcategories within those we have identified. In Lebanon or Egypt, for instance, boycott campaigners may go beyond the PACBI/BNC definition of normalization given their position in the Arab world, whereas those in Jordan, say, may have different considerations.

2) Normalization in the context of the Palestinian citizens of Israel
Palestinian citizens of Israel – those Palestinians who remained steadfast on their land after the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 despite repeated efforts to expel them and subject them to military law, institutionalized discrimination, or apartheid [4] – face an entirely different set of considerations. They may be confronted with two forms of normalization. The first, which we may call coercive everyday relations, are those relations that a colonized people, and those living under apartheid, are forced to take part in if they are to survive, conduct their everyday lives and make a living within the established oppressive structures. For the Palestinian citizens of Israel, as taxpayers, such coercive everyday relations include daily employment in Israeli places of work and the use of public services and institutions such as schools, universities and hospitals. Such coercive relations are not unique to Israel and were present in other colonial and apartheid contexts such as India and South Africa, respectively. Palestinian citizens of Israel cannot be rationally asked to cut such ties, at least not yet.
The second form of normalization is that in which Palestinian citizens of Israel do not have to engage as a requirement of survival. Such normalization might include participation in international forums as representatives of Israel (such as in the Eurovision song competition) or in Israeli events directed at an international audience. The key to understanding this form of normalization is to consider that when Palestinians engage in such activities without placing them within the same resistance framework mentioned above, they contribute, even if inadvertently, to a deceptive appearance of tolerance, democracy, and normal life in Israel for an international audience who may not know better. Israelis, and the Israeli establishment, may in turn use this against international BDS proponents and those struggling against Israeli injustices by accusing them of being “holier” than Palestinians. In these instances, Palestinians promote relations with mainstream Israeli institutions beyond what constitutes the mere need for survival. The absence of vigilance in this matter has the effect of telling the Palestinian public that they can live with and accept apartheid, should engage Israelis on their own terms, and forgo any act of resistance. This is the type of normalization that many Palestinian citizens of Israel, along with PACBI, are increasingly coming to identify and confront.

3) Normalization in the International Context
In the international arena, normalization does not operate all that differently and follows the same logic. While the BDS movement targets complicit Israeli institutions, in the case of normalization there are other nuances to consider. Generally, international supporters of BDS are asked to refrain from participating in any event that morally or politically equates the oppressor and oppressed, and presents the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis as symmetrical [5]. Such an event should be boycotted because it normalizes Israel’s colonial domination over Palestinians and ignores the power structures and relations embedded in the oppression.

Dialogue
In all these contexts, “dialogue” and engagement are often presented as alternatives to boycott. Dialogue, if it occurs outside the resistance framework that we have outlined, becomes dialogue for the sake of dialogue, which is a form of normalization that hinders the struggle to end injustice. Dialogue, “healing,” and “reconciliation” processes that do not aim to end oppression, regardless of the intentions behind them, serve to privilege oppressive co-existence at the cost of co-resistance, for they presume the possibility of coexistence before the realization of justice. The example of South Africa elucidates this point perfectly, where reconciliation, dialogue and forgiveness came after the end of apartheid, not before, regardless of the legitimate questions raised regarding the still existing conditions of what some have called “economic apartheid.”

Two Examples of Normalization Efforts: OneVoice and IPCRI
While many, if not most, normalization projects are sponsored and funded by international organizations and governments, many of these projects are operated by Palestinian and Israeli partners, often with generous international funding. The political, often Israel-centered, framing of the “partnership” is one of the most problematic aspects of these joint projects and institutions. PACBI’s analysis of OneVoice [6], a joint Palestinian-Israeli youth-oriented organization with chapters in North America and extensions in Europe, exposed OneVoice as one more project that brings Palestinians and Israelis together, not to jointly struggle against Israel’s colonial and apartheid policies, but rather to provide a limited program of action under the slogan of an end to the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state, while cementing Israeli apartheid and ignoring the rights of Palestinian refugees, who compose the majority of the Palestinian people. PACBI concluded that, in essence, OneVoice and similar programs serve to normalize oppression and injustice. The fact that OneVoice treats the “nationalisms” and “patriotisms” of the two “sides” as if on par with one another and equally valid is a telling indicator. It is worth noting that virtually the entire political spectrum of Palestinian youth and student organizations and unions in the occupied Palestinian territory have unambiguously condemned normalization projects, such as OneVoice. [7]
A similar organization, though with a different target audience, is the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI), which describes itself as “the only joint Israeli-Palestinian public policy think-tank in the world dedicated to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of 'two states for two peoples’. IPCRI “recognizes the rights of the Jewish people and the Palestinian people to fulfill their national interests within the framework of achieving national self-determination within their own states and by establishing peaceful relations between two democratic states living side-by-side.” [8] It thus advocates an apartheid state in Israel that disenfranchises the indigenous Palestinian citizens and ignores the UN-sanctioned right of return of the Palestinian refugees.
Like OneVoice, IPCRI adopts the ubiquitous “conflict paradigm” while ignoring the domination and oppression that characterize the relationship of the Israeli state with the Palestinian people. IPCRI conveniently neglects a discussion of the roots of this “conflict,” what it is about, and which “side” is paying the price. Like OneVoice, it glosses over the historic record and the establishment of a settler-colonial regime in Palestine following the expulsion of most of the indigenous people of the land. The defining moment in the history of “the conflict” is therefore not acknowledged. The history of continued Israeli colonial expansion and the dispossession and forcible displacement of Palestinians is conveniently ignored, as well. Through IPCRI’s omissions, the organization denies the resistance framework we have outlined above and brings Palestinians and Israelis into a relation privileging co-existence over co-resistance. Palestinians are asked to adopt an Israeli vision of a peaceful resolution and not one that recognizes their comprehensive rights, as defined by the UN. 
Another disturbing, but again entirely predictable, aspect of the work of IPCRI is the active involvement in its projects of Israeli personalities and personnel implicated in Israeli violations of the Palestinian people’s rights and grave breaches of international law. IPCRI’s Strategic Thinking and Analysis Team (STAT), includes, in addition to Palestinian officials, former Israeli diplomats, former Israeli army brigadier generals, Mossad personnel and senior staff of the Israeli National Security Council, many of them reasonably suspected of committing war crimes. [9]
It is no surprise, therefore, that the desire to end the “conflict,” and the desire to realize “a lasting peace,” both of which are slogans of these and similar normalization efforts, has nothing to do with obtaining justice for Palestinians. In fact, the term “justice” has no place on the agenda of most of these organizations; neither can one find clear reference to international law as the ultimate arbiter, leaving Palestinians at the mercy of the far more powerful Israeli state.
An Israeli writer’s description of the so-called Peres Center for Peace, a leading normalization and colonial institution, may also well describe the underlying agenda of IPCRI and almost all normalization organizations:
In the activity of the Peres Center for Peace there is no evident effort being made to change the political and socioeconomic status quo in the occupied territories, but just the opposite: Efforts are being made to train the Palestinian population to accept its inferiority and prepare it to survive under the arbitrary constraints imposed by Israel, to guarantee the ethnic superiority of the Jews. With patronizing colonialism, the center presents an olive grower who is discovering the advantages of cooperative marketing; a pediatrician who is receiving professional training in Israeli hospitals; and a Palestinian importer who is learning the secrets of transporting merchandise via Israeli ports, which are famous for their efficiency; and of course soccer competitions and joint orchestras of Israelis and Palestinians, which paint a false picture of coexistence. [10]
The normalization of Israel – normalizing the abnormal – is a malicious and subversive process that works to cover up injustice and colonize the most intimate parts of the oppressed: their mind. To engage in or with organizations that serve this purpose is, therefore, one of the prime targets of boycott, and an act that BDS supporters must confront together.
PACBI
--------------
[2] Translated from Arabic: http://www.pacbi.org/atemplate.php?id=100
[10] Meron Benvenisti, A monument to a lost time and lost hopes, Haaretz, 30 October 2008. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/a-monument-to-a-lost-time-and-lost-hopes-1.256342
Posted on 31-10-2011

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Israel v. Palestine in 2012

by Stephen Lendman
Palestinians have endured decades of ruthless occupation. World leaders decline support. They’re left largely on their own despite growing millions globally supporting them.
Life in occupied Palestine is harsh and repressive. On December 26, Jerusalem’s mayor, Nir Barakat, delivered another blow. The Municipality will classify 70,000 Israeli Arab citizens non-residents and involuntarily transfer them to West Bank locations.

At issue is entirely Judaizing Jerusalem through forced ethnic cleansing to facilitate escalated settlement construction. It’s also part of creating a greater Jerusalem and preventing a two-state solution.
Two new Haaretz reports are also significant heading into 2012, one by writer Barak Ravid.
After refusing peace negotiations with Israel unless illegal settlement construction stops, he said:
“The Palestinian leadership submitted a proposal to renew peace talks with Israel that drops their longstanding demand that Israel ceases all West Bank settlement construction, a top Israeli official said on Wednesday.”
In mid-December, PA officials told Quartet members peace talks could resume if Israel releases 100 long held Palestinian prisoners in good faith.
Abbas faced heavy pressure for months, no matter decades of past peace process futility because Israel won’t tolerate it. It needs enemies to justify confrontation and violence.
Nonetheless, EU and other Quartet members told Abbas he’ll share responsibility if talks don’t resume by late January.

“There’s real concern in the Quartet that after that date, Abbas will return to UN initiatives,” an unnamed Israeli official said. At the same time, Netanyahu vowed no talks if Fatah/Hamas unity government plans proceed, saying:
Fatah will have to “choose between peace with Israel or peace with Hamas.” Reconciliation shows “weakness. There cannot be peace” if both sides unite. “What happened….in Cairo is a tremendous blow to peace and a great victory for terrorism.”
Israel wants Hamas marginalized, isolated, and bogusly accused of terrorism. In fact, it’s Palestine’s legitimately elected government.

Baseless accusations are Israel’s stock in trade. Hamas wants peace, equity and justice for all Palestinians. Numerous times its present and past leaders expressed willingness to recognize Israel in return for self-determination in peace inside pre-1967 borders – 22% of historic Palestine. Moreover, they agreed to unilateral ceasefires in spite of repeated Israeli violations.

Nonetheless, defensive responses follow continued Israeli provocations. Washington and Israel call it “terrorism.” Under international law, it’s legitimate self-defense.

Despite Abbas’ offer, Israel rejected it out of hand, claiming one precondition replaces another and his proposal is too vague. Will full or preparatory talks follow? Will new conditions be demanded?
In fact, Israel negotiates one way. Its long suit never included equity, justice and fairness. Negotiations at any level will prove futile like earlier. Both sides know it, but the charade continues whether or not talks resume.

According to Palestine’s chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, no preconditions were set, saying:
“A freeze of settlement construction, holding negotiation on the 1967 lines, and the release of prisoners are not preconditions but Israeli obligations, without which we can see no renewal of negotiations with Israel.”

Netanyahu countered, saying Israel rejects talks if Palestinian unity proceeds, and “(t)he peace process can only advance while maintaining security arrangements, which is becoming more difficult in light of the current situation in the region.”

At the same time, Haaretz writers Yanir Yagna and Gili Cohen headlined, “IDF confirms preparations for extensive future Gaza military action,” saying:

Following on and off air strikes and ground assaults since summer, the IDF’s “Gaza Division is preparing for a possible large-scale incursion into the Gaza Strip….”

According to Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade General Tal Hermoni:
“We are preparing and, in fact, are ready for another campaign, which will be varied and different, to renew our deterrence.”

Stopping short of saying war, he left little doubt what he means. So does IDF chief General Benny Gantz. Commenting on Cast Lead’s third anniversary, he called it “an excellent operation that achieved deterrence for Israel vis-a-vis Hamas.”

However, warning about new emerging cracks, he said expect more conflict. Israel will initiate “swift and painful” punishment. “I do not advise Hamas to test our mettle.” The next Gaza campaign will be shorter than Cast Lead with much greater firepower, he stressed.

Gantz and Hermoni left no doubt. Israel plans war. Perhaps its timing will coincide with expected Washington belligerence against Syria and Iran. At risk is inflaming the entire region.
General war may follow. Nuclear weapons may be used. Humanity will be threatened.

Washington, key NATO partners, and Israel plan world dominance, even if destroying it happens in the process.

A Final Comment

Hamas is Palestine’s legitimate government. At Israel’s behest, Washington spuriously calls it a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Al-Zatouna Center contributer Dr. Mohen Moh’d Saleh discussed its eight distinct features. His narrative diverges greatly from hostile Western discourse. Notably, Hamas is characterized by:

(1) “moderate Islamic discourse.”
(2) “high dynamism” that lets it function “under difficult circumstances and regain its strength and vitality after harsh strikes.”
(3) “Shura-based” consultation that keeps it cohesive and strong regardless of Israel’s response.
(4) emphasis on polity, social needs, charity, jihad for liberation, and education.
(5) effective resistance.
(6) popularity at home and abroad.
(7) remaining corruption free.
(8) legitimacy to gain moral and financial support.

It also wants Palestinian unity through elections. However, participation entails perils under occupation. Washington and Israel won’t permit a legitimate process unless assured Fatah, not Hamas, will win and maintain Israeli imposed harshness.

Moreover, authority and resistance conflict. In part, getting along entails going along to assure needed financial and other aid continues.

Yet liberation depends on resistance. It also requires Palestinian consensus and replacing farcical peace talks with real ones.

Palestinians deserve leaders able to deliver what they’ve long been denied – to live free on their own land, in their own country securely in peace.

If equitable unity government is possible, perhaps it’s how to get it, but not without considerable more struggle ahead.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Raja´s review of 2011

Raja´s review of 2011


The " Eunuch on the Nile "was replaced by 13 Pimps-in-uniforms,
(who receive 1,5 Billion Dollars yearly ,
from the USA.)

The "Tyrant of Tunis"
found his refuge at the Servant of Mecca

The man who, in 1968 ,has liberated Libya
was lynched to death
by those who shall soon claim to teach us
the rule-of-law.
(Jesus had one Judas and Cesar had one Brutus
but Qaddafi has had 10 of each )

The Queen of Qatar
has bought for herself the FIFA
and now ,her husband wants spread democracy in Syria
(instead of teaching us how to corrupt-footballism.)


Turkey is coming to Syria
to finish the slaughtering the Armenians
who took refuge from Turkey , there.
(France decided to consider genocide as a crime,
except when it is done in Algeria)



The International Crime Court , on Hariri´s case,
wanted to judge the accused
before punishing the false-witnesses
(in spite the fact that, the accused was pointed out
by
those same false-witnesses)


The Euro Currency
has failed in uniting,
Greece with Denmark.


The Arab-League of States
wanted to teach Damascus
how to become Democratic
(but they could not find any example
of any democracy
among themselves.)


The Zionist-State
has built more new illegal houses

than it could fill them
with any illegal new settlers.
(probably, Americans who lost their homes ,
may come soon to inhabit them,
after all they paid for it )



The US-soldiers left Ayyrak
with an US-Embassy bigger than
all Iraqi-government-buildings, all together .
(as for the uncountable WMD ,
they might come back ,for it, some other time)


The only Atomic-bomb Iran shall soon have,
might be coming from the USA
(on behalf of Israel, of course and as usual ).


Berlusconi has ran out of Viagra
therefore, he has had to resign,
(but his government, at least, shall remain to teach
to the new Lybia how to avoid corruption)


The Kingdom of Saudi Oilrabia
has bought more war-planes
than it has pilots.


The World´s main-Media reported
daily, frequently and uconstantly on Syria
without ever having any reporters,there.
(they must have used a Cristal-Ball
put at their disposal by Tel-Aviv and Pentagon)


The King of Bahrain has used Saudi-Tanks
to copy a Tinamin-square-scenario.
(but there are practically less Bahrainees,
than there are Chinese)


Cartoon: South Sudan. A new nation (medium) by jeander tagged al,bashir,sudan,south,salva,kiir,nation,conflict,al bashir,sudan,öl,al,bashir
Sudan has lost its own South
to the Giants of the Oil Industries

while
Darfour has had its day in the Media,
only and until , South-Sudan was born ,
delivered by a colonial-mid-wife.
(since then, both are forgotten, now )


Mahmoud Abbas asked from the United Nations
to allow him a statehood,
65 years after that this same UN has
allowed to the Zionist to steal Abbas´ same statehood.
(it is like asking a butcher to spare the life of a cow
after it is slaughtered)


The Moroccan King has brought
democratic reforms,
by allowing to his Parliament to choose
the next Prime-Minister.
(it is like a democracy........but in drips)


The financial wealth of Libya
entered into a labyrinth,
longer than that underground-river
which Qaddafi has built
although Qaddafi´s river , has had a beginning and an end
this labyrinth does have only a beginning..


North Korea and the Czech Republic
although being so extremely different and so far apart
both have lost their presidents on the same day
and yet both peoples did cry ??
It seems that any people may love
a democratic-leader as much as may love a dictator.
( I have attended President Havel´s funerals , only)



Finally ;

The UN has been taken-over by the NATO
and
The Arab League has been taken-over by the GCC

and
the USA has been taken over by the AIPAC
and
Al Jazeera has been taken over by its own dishonesty
and
my "Fans" are now less in numbers
but have gained in quality.

Next Year , in Jerusalem.......Inchallah !!




I wish you a,
H A P P Y
healthy, humane, interesting and a dynamic
2 0 1 2


رَجا شْمَيِّل
Raja Ibrahim Khalil el Chemayel
2011
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Israeli Hasbara's Satire (must watch)

DateSaturday, December 31, 2011 at 12:36AM AuthorGilad Atzmon
This is how it looks when the Jews Only State's Satire Unit attempts to communicate with Goyim's fear.


I am obliged to mention here that the Hebrew word for Jesus- Yeshu (ישו in Hebrew) is actually an acronym for the formula (ימח שמו וזכרו ) meaning "may his name and memory be obliterated". This acronym is reserved to Jews' most hated people such as Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein. I guess that someone should remind the Israeli 'comedians' that they are stepping here into a very dangerous territory.

Gilad Atzmon's New Book: The Wandering Who? A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian
 
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

A Glimpse Into Israeli Barbarism

DateSaturday, December 31, 2011 at 12:30AM AuthorGilad Atzmon


Gilad Atzmon's New Book: The Wandering Who? A Study Of Israeli collective madness Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Haniyeh in Egypt: Hamas Presence with Brotherhood Threatens Israel

 Comment:
Haniyeh described Hamas as the
"jihadi movement of the Brotherhood with a Palestinian face."
I don't think heniya did well in describing Hamas as the "jihadi movement of the Brotherhood with a Palestinian face." because its a known fact and will neither confuse or frieghten Israel.

Haniya statement may have pleased his guide but shall backfire and and will hurt the image of Hamas, who staved all the time to pose as an independent Palestinian resisrance movement with an Isalmic face, not as a MB's tool. It will justify and give credibilety to Mubarak's accusations and actions, that Hamas is not threatening Egypt's security, and not interfering in Egypt's matters.
In a speech marking the first anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, Ismail Haniyyeh turned to "the air force hero" (Mubarak was the commander of the Egyptian Air Force during the Yom Kippur War) and told him, "We are not threatening Egypt's security, we are not interfering in Egypt's matters, and we were forced to use the tunnels as an exceptional default option due to the situation we were pushed into."  
Moreover, if i am in Mr. Haniya's shoes,
  • I should have remmebered that, on ground and during the hard time, the real supporters of Hamas were Iranian brothers and Syrian SECULAR brothers.
  • I should consider, MB are not Egypt, and if MB's support is Guranteed, what's the wisdom in losing the support of MB's rivals, Copts, lefts, nationalist, and librals?
  • I should consider that such statement, though its true, shall cast real doubts on Hamas claining that Palestinian reconciliation is a stratigic aim.
  • I should have considered, the impact of such statement on Hamas relations with Syria, unless Hamas is so sure that their Syrian brothers are comming, and that their brothers in Egypt, Tunis and Libya shall stay in power until judgement day.
  • I should consider its impact on people supporting Hamas as an armed resintance movement devoted for liberation of all palestine.
Haniyeh in Egypt: Hamas Presence with Brotherhood Threatens Israel

Head of Hamas in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh discussed Mideast politics with the Leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which is emerging as the biggest winner in the first parliamentary elections after Mubarak’s ouster.

Haniyeh is on a first trip to Egypt outside the blockaded strip since Hamas came to power in 2007.

“The Brotherhood centre has always embraced issues of liberation, foremost the Palestinian issue,” Mohammed Badie, brotherhood leader, said on Monday after meeting the Hamas leader at the group's newly inaugurated headquarters in a Cairo suburb, according to Egypt's state news agency MENA.

He added that Hamas has served as a role model to the Brotherhood in its reconciliation with the Fatah movement and in closing the recent prisoner swap deal with the Israeli enemy.

Hamas presence with brotherhood threatens Israel

Haniyeh described Hamas as the "jihadi movement of the Brotherhood with a Palestinian face." He said his visit to the Brotherhood center would confuse and frighten ‘Israel’.

Haniyeh said during his visit to the Arab League that reconciliation with Fatah is a "strategic" matter that should not be hindered by American and Israeli objections. Israel has said the closer Fatah gets to Hamas, the further it moves from a so-called failed “peace deal”.

Mashaal: The internal division is a burden on all Palestinian factions

[ 27/12/2011 - 11:07 AM ]

DOHA, (PIC)-- Head of Hamas's political bureau Khaled Mashaal said the inter-Palestinian division has become a heavy burden on everyone and there is real need for the national reconciliation.

In a political TV show on Al-Jazeera channel on Monday, Mashaal stated that some regional circumstances like the persistent US bias in favor of Israel and the preoccupation of Arabs with their uprisings and political changes prompted the Palestinian parties to necessarily rearrange their internal situation and move to end the national rift.

He noted that a kind of harmony and understanding started to emerge between him and de facto president Mahmoud Abbas when they met currently and last month and discussed many issues related to the national reconciliation.

Stating his opinion on the Arab spring, Mashaal said the great Arab awakening is certainly a gain for All Arab nations especially the Palestinians.

With regard to the popular resistance, Mashaal stated that this kind of resistance was approved unanimously by all Hamas leaders, but he said his Movement keeps all options open.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

"It's a Trick, We Always Use It." (calling people "anti-Semitic")

DateSaturday, December 31, 2011 at 12:16AM AuthorGilad Atzmon
An old video of an old trick...



Gilad Atzmon's New Book: The Wandering Who? A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics and other Zionist 'tricks' Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

1948 IDF veteran soldier tells the truth about the Nakba (must watch)

DateFriday, December 30, 2011 at 11:35PM AuthorGilad Atzmon
Ethnic cleansing, battle, massacre and more..




Gilad Atzmon's New Book: The Wandering Who? A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics and Zionist Barbarism Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Via FLC

"The American people hear from government officials and presidential candidates nearly every day about military action against Iran. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently said that the United States and Israel would not allow Iran to get a bomb. Are these words standard fare for an election year? A strategy to restrain Israel from unilateral action? Or do these threats signify that war is in the “minds of men”?
Conservative ideologues taste the possibility that a leader whom they might influence may return to the White House. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich has already pledged to appoint John Bolton, a neoconservative superstar, as his secretary of state. Is it surprising that Gingrich, who has said he would rather plan a joint operation with Israel against Iran than force the Israelis to go it alone, is the candidate with the strongest commitment to military action?
Have we forgotten what Iraq and the United States have been through since 2002? Were it not for that ill-begotten war, thousands of Americans (and Iraqis) might still be living. America would be a trillion dollars richer and still be the proud, respected and economically healthy nation the world had known. ..."

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

"Neither the Arab League nor Western governments care about the Syrian people..."

"Via FLC

"... It called – nay pleaded – for Arab League intervention while ruling out Western intervention (under the title of UN or “international community” and various other code words that are used to disguise – in theory – the US/Israeli role). The SNC then changed its tune again and started calling for a no-fly zone (as if the war on Iraq and on Libya did not start with “no-fly zone” rhetoric). The council then accepted international intervention but only “to protect civilians.” The folks of the Syrian National Council assumed that we forgot the NATO bombing campaign in Libya (which included the deployment of ground troops and special forces) was undertaken under the UN pretext of “protecting civilians.” So NATO killed Libyan civilians (as the New York Times revealed in an extensive report) in order to protect Libyan civilians. Such are the rules of the US-dominated UN.
Sheikh Adnan al-Arur (the fanatical cleric based in Saudi Arabia who holds sway among at least some of the protesters and whose name is often chanted in some protests went further. He threatened this week to cut off the tongues of any member of the SNC who does not call for international intervention in Syria. No one from the SNC protested the words of Arur. The alliance between Ikhwan and their liberal lackeys is too delicate to bother with reactions to the likes of Arur.
But the goal of calling for international intervention is now clear: on the very first day of the Arab League Monitor’s mission, the SNC declared its failure to undertake its mission. Western media (which now are reduced to publishing the pronouncements and claims of the pro-Saudi Syrian Monitor for Human Rights) quickly echoed the opinion of the council.
The criticisms of the SNC are correct but come very late in the game. They should have been raised earlier and those criticisms apply to (potential) Western intervention in Syria. Neither the Arab League nor Western governments care about the Syrian people. The notion that the league of Arab tyrants are in a position to monitor human rights violations in a sister country is ridiculous. To make the exercise of the Arab League mission more absurd, Qatar selected an intelligence commander from the tyrannical regime of Omar al-Bashir of Sudan to head the Arab League monitoring mission. ... Qatar is implementing a plan on behalf of the US/Israel, but the public has not been informed of the exact features of the plan..... Clearly, Saudi/Turkish/US/Qatari/Jordanian/Israeli/Hariri intervention in Syrian affairs is only increasing the suffering of the Syrian people but the primary responsibility of the suffering should be blamed on the Syrian regime, which is obligated to protect its population....
The mission of the Arab League is not serious. It has so far failed to stop the killing and will not stop the killing. It is merely a phase to camouflage another more dangerous phase that Western governments and their clients in the region have in store for Syria."

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Did US give South American leaders cancer?

Remember the good-old Jewish scientist Dr. Phlip Zack who was behind the Anthrax conspiracy to demonize Muslims. Yesterday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that he suspects US has developed a cancer producing deadly virus. Addressing a rally Yesterday, he said that odds were too high to believe that four of Latin American Presidents to be striken with cancer in same span of time – to be a natural phenomenon. Chavez came to that conclusion after Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez joined the list of presidents diagnosed with the disease.

It would not be strange if they had developed the technology to induce cancer and nobody knew about it until now … I don’t know. I’m just reflecting,” he said in a televised speech to troops at a military base. Watch a video below.
Hugo Chavez underwent surgery in June to remove a tumor from his pelvis. The other Latin Presidents who are diagnosed with cancer include Fernandez, Paraguay’s Fernando Lugo, Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff – plus former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have all been diagnosed recently with cancer. They’re all anti-American imperialism and friendly toward Islamic Iran and Palestinians.
Chavez said he was warned by Fidel Castro of such US deadly virus. “Fidel always told me, Chavez take care. These people have developed technology. You are very careless. Take care what you eat, what they give you to eat – a little needle and they inject you with I don’t know what,” he said.
We must take good care of Evo Morales (President of Bolivia) and Rafael Correa (Ecuador),” he added
Chavez also slammed Washington and its western poodles for calling the recent Russian elections ‘Fraud’.
Barack Obama in a recent interview with Venezuelan paper El Universal showed his anger at Venezuela’s friendly relations with Islamic Iran and Cuba.
The United States does not pretend to dictate its foreign affairs. I would argue, however, that the Venezuelan government’s ties to Iran and Cuba have not served the interests of Venezuela or the Venezuelan people. With regard to Iran, the international community’s concerns are well known. Ultimately, it is up to the Venezuelan people to determine what they gain from a relationship with a country that violates universal human rights and is isolated from much of the world. The Iranian government has consistently supported international terrorism that has killed innocent men, women and children around the world – including in the Americas. It has brutally suppressed the Iranian people simply for demanding their universal rights. And Tehran continues to pursue a nuclear program that threatens the security of the Middle East. Here in the Americas, we take Iranian activities, including in Venezuela, very seriously and we will continue to monitor them closely,” said Obama.
Yep, Obongo, it was Iran which invaded Libya with the help of CIA-Mossad sponsored Al-Qaeda and now is using it against Bashar al-Assad in Syria!

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!