Sunday, January 11, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
What is happening to the world??Where are all the good guys???
Karen Girl, 7, Raped and Killed: KWO
By LAWI WENG Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Karen Women’s Organization (KWO), which is based in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese border, reported on Monday that a seven-year-old Karen girl was raped and murdered by a Burmese soldier in Pegu Division on December 27.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, KWO Assistant Secretary Blooming Night Zan said that the girl was playing outside her house in Ma Oo Bin village in Nyaunglebin Township at 5 pm. At around the same time, a Burmese soldier from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 350 was seen entering the village. Villagers said they heard a girl scream for help a short time later, followed by gunfire.
“The victim’s uncle ran to the scene and found the girl’s body. She had been shot three times in the chest and she had been raped,” said Blooming Night Zan.
The family of the victims and the village headman urged the battalion commander to investigate the crime. However, the commander didn’t take any action, she said.
The incident follows a report on January 6 by a Mon human rights group that in November a 17-year-old Mon girl was gang-raped in Yephu Township, northern Tenasserim Division, by seven Burmese soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 107.
Aue Mon, a member of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), said the victim was raped while working alone at her family’s betel nut plantation on November 13.
The HURFOM reported the victim’s mother as saying: “Both the captain and his solders raped my daughter. She nearly died. My daughter was crying when she told the story. Those soldiers are not human. They are like animals.”
According to HURFOM, the victim’s family was afraid of the army and has since left the village.
Both organizations have previously accused the Burmese military of using systematic rape as a weapon to terrorize ethnic people living along the borders.
In 2004, KWO published a report titled “Shattering Silences” which claimed that Burmese troops systematically raped Karen women. The report documented 125 cases of sexual violence committed between 1988 and 2004. The report said that half of the rapes were committed by military officers, 40 percent were gang-rapes, and in 28% of the cases the women were killed after being raped.
“Women are not safe in the Karen conflict zone. We want the UN to put pressure on the Burmese military to stop using rape as a weapon of war,” said the assistant secretary of KWO.
Women’s organizations in other ethnic areas have reported similar incidents. In 2002, the Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN) released a report titled “Licence to Rape,” which detailed testimonies from 173 ethnic Shan women who had been raped or encountered sexual violence at the hands of Burmese soldiers.
By LAWI WENG Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Karen Women’s Organization (KWO), which is based in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese border, reported on Monday that a seven-year-old Karen girl was raped and murdered by a Burmese soldier in Pegu Division on December 27.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, KWO Assistant Secretary Blooming Night Zan said that the girl was playing outside her house in Ma Oo Bin village in Nyaunglebin Township at 5 pm. At around the same time, a Burmese soldier from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 350 was seen entering the village. Villagers said they heard a girl scream for help a short time later, followed by gunfire.
“The victim’s uncle ran to the scene and found the girl’s body. She had been shot three times in the chest and she had been raped,” said Blooming Night Zan.
The family of the victims and the village headman urged the battalion commander to investigate the crime. However, the commander didn’t take any action, she said.
The incident follows a report on January 6 by a Mon human rights group that in November a 17-year-old Mon girl was gang-raped in Yephu Township, northern Tenasserim Division, by seven Burmese soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 107.
Aue Mon, a member of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), said the victim was raped while working alone at her family’s betel nut plantation on November 13.
The HURFOM reported the victim’s mother as saying: “Both the captain and his solders raped my daughter. She nearly died. My daughter was crying when she told the story. Those soldiers are not human. They are like animals.”
According to HURFOM, the victim’s family was afraid of the army and has since left the village.
Both organizations have previously accused the Burmese military of using systematic rape as a weapon to terrorize ethnic people living along the borders.
In 2004, KWO published a report titled “Shattering Silences” which claimed that Burmese troops systematically raped Karen women. The report documented 125 cases of sexual violence committed between 1988 and 2004. The report said that half of the rapes were committed by military officers, 40 percent were gang-rapes, and in 28% of the cases the women were killed after being raped.
“Women are not safe in the Karen conflict zone. We want the UN to put pressure on the Burmese military to stop using rape as a weapon of war,” said the assistant secretary of KWO.
Women’s organizations in other ethnic areas have reported similar incidents. In 2002, the Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN) released a report titled “Licence to Rape,” which detailed testimonies from 173 ethnic Shan women who had been raped or encountered sexual violence at the hands of Burmese soldiers.
Myths and Facts About Gaza By Abdelrahman Rashdan
Face-covering scarf, gun, stone, fence, rocket … these may construct the typical perception in the minds of many when it comes to Gaza; yet, what exactly is myth and what are the realities about the humanitarian and militant turbulence in the Gaza Strip.
Are Gazans no more than a militant group shooting rockets at civilians in Israel? How did it all start, and where is the situation now heading?
1. Is Hamas a terrorist organization?
2. Was Hamas' takeover of Gaza justified?
3. Does Hamas have a complete control over Gaza?
4. Are Gazans held hostage in the hands of Hamas?
5. Are all Gazans Hamas members?
6. Is Hamas accepting no peace deals with Israel?
7. Why isn't there an agreement between Hamas and Fateh?
8. Who represents the Palestinian people now?
9. How human are Gazans?
10. What is the humanitarian situation in Gaza?
11. Does Israel have the right to attack Gazans to protect itself?
12. Is the current siege effective in halting the missile attacks over Israelis?
1. Is Hamas a terrorist organization?
Until today, there is no agreed upon definition for terrorism that groups and actions can be measured upon. Thus, the label "terrorist" can easily be abused for political gains and interests.
The famous quotes: "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" can apply here perfectly. While 62% of Palestinians hold a favorable view of Hamas, as the Pew Global Attitude Survey found in 2007, and given that Hamas was democratically elected for parliament in 2006, it has been listed by Canada, Israel, Japan, and the US as a "terrorist" organization.
In an interview with the Der Spiegel, Khaled Meshaal, Hamas' political leader, affirmed, "we are a national resistance movement, not a terrorist organization. We have the right to resist the occupation."
Mahmoud Al-Zahar, prominent Hamas leader, wrote in the Washington Post, "our movement fights on because we cannot allow the foundational crime at the core of the Jewish state — the violent expulsion from our lands and villages that made us refugees — to slip out of world consciousness, forgotten or negotiated away." (Washington Post)
2. Was Hamas' takeover of Gaza justified?
To the surprise of Fateh and international observers, Hamas was able to secure the majority of votes in the first elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) since 1996. Accordingly, Hamas was legally asked to form the majority government and rule over Gaza and the West Bank. However, since its victory in January 2006 till mid-2007, the internal scene was not stable with confrontations between Hams and the Fateh movement. In addition, international pressure played on the side of Fateh to alienate the democratically elected members of Hamas, which is considered as a terrorist organization by the US, Israel, Japan, and Canada.
Among the main reasons that helped in the failure of the anticipated unity government was the international attitude.Sanctions were imposed and foreign aid was held away from the Palestinians, who depend mainly on it, by the main donors — the US, EU, and several Western states.
In February 2007 the Saudi government spent significant efforts to unite the Palestinian factions under one government in order to end the sectarian division. Ministerial positions were distributed among the different factions and a Palestinian national unity government was was on its way to succeed. However, among the main reasons that helped in the failure of the anticipated unity government was the international attitude. The US announced its boycotting of the Hamas members in such government, Israel did not recognize it, and the EU hanged its position on the new government's actions. (Aljazeera)
Clashes erupted once again and Hamas took over control of Gaza. Legally, the government in Gaza in not considered a legal one, nor the one in the West Bank — emergency government — formed by Fateh, is, according to Dr. Ahmed Mubarak Al-Khaldi, the former Minister of Justice of the Palestinian National Authority.
3. Does Hamas have a complete control over Gaza?
A recent report (March 2008) by the International Crisis Group found that the Hamas has almost a complete monopoly over the use of force and political activity in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has also been able to refashion the legal and legislative systems and now "enjoys freer rein to shape society through management of the health, education and religious sectors," the report stated.
Within little time after seizing control over Gaza in June 2007, Hamas was able to fill in the gaps left behind as a result of the absence of Fateh in the Strip; its mission was to defend Gaza from internal and external threats.
4. Are Gazans held hostage in the hands of Hamas?
Hamas supporters take part in a protest calling on Egypt to reopen the Rafah border crossing, near the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip, Apr. 25, 2008. (Reuters Photo)Analyzing the current situation, it is very clear that the 1.5 million Gazans along with Hamas are held hostage by external forces through the complete control of the borders mainly by Egypt and Israel. The 365-square-kilometer Gaza strip is bounded by the Mediterranean sea from the north, state of Israel from the east, and Egypt from the west. Such geographical characteristics of the Gaza strip make it more or less the "world's largest open-air prison" with multi-party prisoners.
Every now and then, Egyptian-Israeli negotiations — or unilateral action — allow some injured victims to pass out of Gaza, yet other vital humanitarian needs are held in many times from getting inside the strip.
Hamas, rather, tried early in 2008 to pierce in a hole in the boarders for Gazans. The Gaza-Egypt borders were breached by Gazans with the help of the Hamas forces in January and hundreds of thousands of Gazans poured into Sinai, Egypt to buy consumer goods; 10 days later, the borders were sealed with less hopes for an agreement that would release Gazans out of their prison.
5. Are all Gazans Hamas members?
In April 2008, some Israeli reports estimated the number of the Hamas forces in Gaza to be up to 20,000 armed men, nearly half of them from in Hamas' military arm, Izz-Eddin Al-Kassam group; such claims were refuted by Sami Abou-Zuhri, the spokesman of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Besides the estimates of the Hamas armed members, the number of civilian sympathizers is way far from estimation. It is important to mention that Hamas is originally a social/political movement and not a militia; along with several branches and arms, Hamas has its military wing Izz-Eddin Al-Kassam.
In 2004, 300,000 Palestinians marched in the funeral of Abdel-Aziz Al-Rantisi — who was Hamas' leader in Gaza.
As mentioned above, 62% of Palestinians hold a favorable view of Hamas, according to a 2007Survey by the Pew Global Attitude Project.
In addition, a recent study by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research noted the increase in Hamas' popularity as the siege went tighter. "Findings show continued decrease in the level of satisfaction with the performance of [ President Mahmoud] Abbas and a greater positive evaluation for the performance of Haniyeh’s government over the performance of Fayyad's government," the study said.
Hence, it would be fallacious to include the number of the Palestinian civilians that sympathize with Hamas in the members' count. Out of the 1.5 million Palestinian in Gaza, very minute percentage are actual members in Hamas.
6. Is Hamas accepting no peace deals with Israel?
"A 'peace process' with Palestinians cannot take even its first tiny step until Israel first withdraws to the borders of 1967; dismantles all settlements; removes all soldiers from Gaza and the West Bank; repudiates its illegal annexation of Jerusalem; releases all prisoners; and ends its blockade of our international borders, our coastline and our airspace permanently," Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a prominent Hamas leader, made it clear in his Washington Post opinion piece.
In a live chat session with IslamOnline.net's readers, Dr. Ahmed Bahr — the current head of the legislative council in Gaza — said in response to a question about Hamas' willingness to negotiate with Israel, "there are the five Nos that they announce and consider as strategies; No for the establishment of the Palestinian state on the 1967 boarders, No for Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, No for the return of refugees, No for the stop of the wall and the settlements, No for the release of prisoners ... So what shall we negotiate about with the Israelis?"
After the recent efforts exerted by the former US President Jimmy Carter, Carter said that Hamas told him that "they would accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders if approved by Palestinians ... even though Hamas might disagree with some terms of the agreement."
7. Why isn't there an agreement between Hamas and Fateh?
Currently, Fateh controls the West Bank and is led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas is controlling the Gaza Strip and so far no efforts have been successful in reuniting them.Several failing attempts have been conducted to bring along a unity government that would solve the Gaza-West Bank division. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and other parties were faced with the conditions that the two parties, Hamas and Fateh, place ahead of negotiations.
Fateh, currently controlling the West Bank and led by President Mahmoud Abbas, condition negotiations with Hamas on the return of Gaza under the former's rule, while Hamas desires negotiations with Fateh while keeping the status-quo as is.
In the midst of the mediation efforts, tensions rose on both sides as a result of the several provocative announcements by leaders and media stations. Imprisonment of the other's group members also contributed much to entangling the agreements' efforts.
8. Who represents the Palestinian people now?
With 1.5 million in Gaza and 2.5 million in the West Bank, Hamas was chosen democratically to represent Palestinians in the 2006 Parliamentary elections. Hamas was able to secure for itself more than the minimum required 50% of seats in a 78%-turn-out-election that was described as fair and clean by observers. (Guardian)
However, that does not give Hamas the full legitimacy to speak for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, especially after the recent division of powers between the two territories.
Currently, President Mahmoud Abbas (leading Fateh figure) holds on to that role; he did it in Annapolis despite Hamas' firm rejection of him representing the will of all Palestinians. After all, his party did not win a majority in the 2006 elections.
One main resolution that former President Jimmy Carter was able to achieve in his recent (April 2008) visit to the Middle East was that Hamas agreed to pass over the representation of Palestinians to President Abbas to be able to negotiate a peace agreement with Israel; Hamas' decision was conditioned on the approval of the majority of Palestinians to negotiate a 1967 Palestinian state through a mass referendum.
9. How human are Gazans?
Bodies of four children and their mother arrive at Al-Awda mosque after Israeli fire hit their house in the northern Gaza Strip, Apr. 28, 2008. (Reuters Photo)Hitler dehumanized Jews to be able to genocide them, and now Palestinians, especially Gazans, are being more and more deprived of their basic human rights, which is pushing them into a bigger "shoah" or Holocaust, as described by Israel's deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai on Army Radio on Friday, February 29, 2008.
Besides the mounting death toll of the direct Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza, 136 Palestinian patients died for not being allowed by the Israeli forces to leave Gaza to get treatment outside. "The right to health appears to be optional for Palestinians," Ambrogio Manenti, the head of the WHO's West Bank and Gaza office, told a press conference in April 2008.
In the period between February 28 and March 2, 2008, 104 Palestinians were murdered and 215 injured by the Israeli forces in comparison to only 3 Israelis deaths and 27 injuries for the same period of time, according to an April 18 UN Report.
Children are among the victims of the bigger "shoah." Ra'd Abu Saif narrates the last moments of his 12-year-old daughter Safa after she was shot by an Israeli sniper: "I put my hand on her chest to stop the streaming blood. She told me that she could not breathe, her body trembled and she closed her eyes." (Electronic Intifada)
Safa was shot in the left side of her chest while she was inside her home in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. An ambulance tried to reach her but Israeli soldiers opened fire at it, wounding a paramedic and causing the tires to lose air, and so she bled to death three hours after she was wounded.
"Dad, I cannot breathe, all of you leave me please, let me breathe, enough, enough," were Safa's last words.
Speaking numbers, Hamas in the Gaza strip also carries on regular missile attacks on southern Israel, yet throughout the last four years, the less advanced rockets killed 13 Israeli civilians.
Watch more about the "Palestinian Holocaust" here
10. What is the humanitarian situation in Gaza?
More than 1.1 million people, about 80% of Gaza's residents, are now dependent on food aid, as opposed to 63% in 2006. Unemployment is close to 40% and almost 70% of the 110,000 workers employed in the private sector have lost their jobs, according to a report — entitled: "The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion" — released in early March 2008 by a coalition of Human Rights organizations, Haaretz reported.
The current situation in the Gaza Strip "is worse now than it has ever been since the start of the Israeli military occupation in 1967. The current situation in Gaza is man-made, completely avoidable and, with the necessary political will, can also be reversed," the report stated.
According to the latest updates, educational services in Gaza have gone down in capacity by 50% because of the lack of the means to transport students to their schools and colleges. Because of cutting fuel of the Gaza strip, the Israeli government has caused 20% of the ambulances to go off service and 60% to be expected to park by the end of the week, forcing patients and doctors to reach hospitals on foot (Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights report).
For more about the humanitarian situation in Gaza check IOL's special coverage: Gaza: The World's Largest Open Air-Prison
11. Does Israel have the right to attack Gazans to protect itself?
As mentioned before, by no means are all Gazans Hamas members; those involved in rocket launching belong mainly to the military wing of Hamas that is at most 10,000 men, according to some Israeli sources.
Israeli raids in Gaza, claimed to be directed at rocket launchers, leave children, women, and elders dead with almost no noticeable affect on the frequency of rockets launching on Israel.
Collective punishment, including siege and raids, that does not differentiate between civilians and militants are clearly against international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Israel's early raids in Gaza were described by the UN as war crimes. "It violates one of the basic principles of international humanitarian law that military action must distinguish between military and civilian targets," John Dugard, UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied territories, said.
12. Is the current siege effective in halting the missile attacks over Israelis?
Before using siege as a strategy to halt the rocket firing on the Israeli areas near the Gaza boarders, Israel was implementing direct air strikes on the areas where rocket-launchers were believed to be hiding. The older policy proved its failure and Israel was forced to find some new effective tactics to "protect" itself.
Of the main indications of Israel's failure in the old tactics was the fact that strikes were increasingly killing civilians, which led to the rising sympathy with Hamas and resistance in general among Palestinians. Currently, under the siege strategy, figures still show increasing popularity for Hamas; plus, rockets are still being launched towards Israel. In fact, Hamas has been able to develop more advanced operations that drove the confrontation inside Israel.
On April 19 2008, Hamas underwent an operation near the southern end of Gaza injuring 13 Israeli soldiers. "This is a far more complex attack than the incident in which Cpl. Gilad Shalit was captured," said an Israeli spokesman, referring to a soldier captured in June 2006 by Palestinian fighters in a cross-border raid to use him as a bargaining chip to free Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
It seems that the only way out is for Israel to start talking to Hamas.
Yossi Sarid wrote in Haaretz, "The losses on the Palestinian side, mostly innocent civilians, will only increase solidarity and the willingness to sacrifice. Hamas rule will not be weakened; it certainly will not fall ... There is no choice but to talk to Hamas, indirectly or directly, and without preconditions. On the agenda: a cessation of hostilities and a total, long-term halt."
According to a survey published in Haaretz newspaper on Wednesday, February 27, most Israelis think their government should hold direct talks with Hamas to reach a ceasefire.
In conclusion to his recent visit to the Middle East, Carter, the architect of the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, said, excluding Hamas "is just not working."
Source: islamonline.net
Are Gazans no more than a militant group shooting rockets at civilians in Israel? How did it all start, and where is the situation now heading?
1. Is Hamas a terrorist organization?
2. Was Hamas' takeover of Gaza justified?
3. Does Hamas have a complete control over Gaza?
4. Are Gazans held hostage in the hands of Hamas?
5. Are all Gazans Hamas members?
6. Is Hamas accepting no peace deals with Israel?
7. Why isn't there an agreement between Hamas and Fateh?
8. Who represents the Palestinian people now?
9. How human are Gazans?
10. What is the humanitarian situation in Gaza?
11. Does Israel have the right to attack Gazans to protect itself?
12. Is the current siege effective in halting the missile attacks over Israelis?
1. Is Hamas a terrorist organization?
Until today, there is no agreed upon definition for terrorism that groups and actions can be measured upon. Thus, the label "terrorist" can easily be abused for political gains and interests.
The famous quotes: "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" can apply here perfectly. While 62% of Palestinians hold a favorable view of Hamas, as the Pew Global Attitude Survey found in 2007, and given that Hamas was democratically elected for parliament in 2006, it has been listed by Canada, Israel, Japan, and the US as a "terrorist" organization.
In an interview with the Der Spiegel, Khaled Meshaal, Hamas' political leader, affirmed, "we are a national resistance movement, not a terrorist organization. We have the right to resist the occupation."
Mahmoud Al-Zahar, prominent Hamas leader, wrote in the Washington Post, "our movement fights on because we cannot allow the foundational crime at the core of the Jewish state — the violent expulsion from our lands and villages that made us refugees — to slip out of world consciousness, forgotten or negotiated away." (Washington Post)
2. Was Hamas' takeover of Gaza justified?
To the surprise of Fateh and international observers, Hamas was able to secure the majority of votes in the first elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) since 1996. Accordingly, Hamas was legally asked to form the majority government and rule over Gaza and the West Bank. However, since its victory in January 2006 till mid-2007, the internal scene was not stable with confrontations between Hams and the Fateh movement. In addition, international pressure played on the side of Fateh to alienate the democratically elected members of Hamas, which is considered as a terrorist organization by the US, Israel, Japan, and Canada.
Among the main reasons that helped in the failure of the anticipated unity government was the international attitude.Sanctions were imposed and foreign aid was held away from the Palestinians, who depend mainly on it, by the main donors — the US, EU, and several Western states.
In February 2007 the Saudi government spent significant efforts to unite the Palestinian factions under one government in order to end the sectarian division. Ministerial positions were distributed among the different factions and a Palestinian national unity government was was on its way to succeed. However, among the main reasons that helped in the failure of the anticipated unity government was the international attitude. The US announced its boycotting of the Hamas members in such government, Israel did not recognize it, and the EU hanged its position on the new government's actions. (Aljazeera)
Clashes erupted once again and Hamas took over control of Gaza. Legally, the government in Gaza in not considered a legal one, nor the one in the West Bank — emergency government — formed by Fateh, is, according to Dr. Ahmed Mubarak Al-Khaldi, the former Minister of Justice of the Palestinian National Authority.
3. Does Hamas have a complete control over Gaza?
A recent report (March 2008) by the International Crisis Group found that the Hamas has almost a complete monopoly over the use of force and political activity in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has also been able to refashion the legal and legislative systems and now "enjoys freer rein to shape society through management of the health, education and religious sectors," the report stated.
Within little time after seizing control over Gaza in June 2007, Hamas was able to fill in the gaps left behind as a result of the absence of Fateh in the Strip; its mission was to defend Gaza from internal and external threats.
4. Are Gazans held hostage in the hands of Hamas?
Hamas supporters take part in a protest calling on Egypt to reopen the Rafah border crossing, near the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip, Apr. 25, 2008. (Reuters Photo)Analyzing the current situation, it is very clear that the 1.5 million Gazans along with Hamas are held hostage by external forces through the complete control of the borders mainly by Egypt and Israel. The 365-square-kilometer Gaza strip is bounded by the Mediterranean sea from the north, state of Israel from the east, and Egypt from the west. Such geographical characteristics of the Gaza strip make it more or less the "world's largest open-air prison" with multi-party prisoners.
Every now and then, Egyptian-Israeli negotiations — or unilateral action — allow some injured victims to pass out of Gaza, yet other vital humanitarian needs are held in many times from getting inside the strip.
Hamas, rather, tried early in 2008 to pierce in a hole in the boarders for Gazans. The Gaza-Egypt borders were breached by Gazans with the help of the Hamas forces in January and hundreds of thousands of Gazans poured into Sinai, Egypt to buy consumer goods; 10 days later, the borders were sealed with less hopes for an agreement that would release Gazans out of their prison.
5. Are all Gazans Hamas members?
In April 2008, some Israeli reports estimated the number of the Hamas forces in Gaza to be up to 20,000 armed men, nearly half of them from in Hamas' military arm, Izz-Eddin Al-Kassam group; such claims were refuted by Sami Abou-Zuhri, the spokesman of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Besides the estimates of the Hamas armed members, the number of civilian sympathizers is way far from estimation. It is important to mention that Hamas is originally a social/political movement and not a militia; along with several branches and arms, Hamas has its military wing Izz-Eddin Al-Kassam.
In 2004, 300,000 Palestinians marched in the funeral of Abdel-Aziz Al-Rantisi — who was Hamas' leader in Gaza.
As mentioned above, 62% of Palestinians hold a favorable view of Hamas, according to a 2007Survey by the Pew Global Attitude Project.
In addition, a recent study by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research noted the increase in Hamas' popularity as the siege went tighter. "Findings show continued decrease in the level of satisfaction with the performance of [ President Mahmoud] Abbas and a greater positive evaluation for the performance of Haniyeh’s government over the performance of Fayyad's government," the study said.
Hence, it would be fallacious to include the number of the Palestinian civilians that sympathize with Hamas in the members' count. Out of the 1.5 million Palestinian in Gaza, very minute percentage are actual members in Hamas.
6. Is Hamas accepting no peace deals with Israel?
"A 'peace process' with Palestinians cannot take even its first tiny step until Israel first withdraws to the borders of 1967; dismantles all settlements; removes all soldiers from Gaza and the West Bank; repudiates its illegal annexation of Jerusalem; releases all prisoners; and ends its blockade of our international borders, our coastline and our airspace permanently," Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a prominent Hamas leader, made it clear in his Washington Post opinion piece.
In a live chat session with IslamOnline.net's readers, Dr. Ahmed Bahr — the current head of the legislative council in Gaza — said in response to a question about Hamas' willingness to negotiate with Israel, "there are the five Nos that they announce and consider as strategies; No for the establishment of the Palestinian state on the 1967 boarders, No for Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, No for the return of refugees, No for the stop of the wall and the settlements, No for the release of prisoners ... So what shall we negotiate about with the Israelis?"
After the recent efforts exerted by the former US President Jimmy Carter, Carter said that Hamas told him that "they would accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders if approved by Palestinians ... even though Hamas might disagree with some terms of the agreement."
7. Why isn't there an agreement between Hamas and Fateh?
Currently, Fateh controls the West Bank and is led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas is controlling the Gaza Strip and so far no efforts have been successful in reuniting them.Several failing attempts have been conducted to bring along a unity government that would solve the Gaza-West Bank division. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and other parties were faced with the conditions that the two parties, Hamas and Fateh, place ahead of negotiations.
Fateh, currently controlling the West Bank and led by President Mahmoud Abbas, condition negotiations with Hamas on the return of Gaza under the former's rule, while Hamas desires negotiations with Fateh while keeping the status-quo as is.
In the midst of the mediation efforts, tensions rose on both sides as a result of the several provocative announcements by leaders and media stations. Imprisonment of the other's group members also contributed much to entangling the agreements' efforts.
8. Who represents the Palestinian people now?
With 1.5 million in Gaza and 2.5 million in the West Bank, Hamas was chosen democratically to represent Palestinians in the 2006 Parliamentary elections. Hamas was able to secure for itself more than the minimum required 50% of seats in a 78%-turn-out-election that was described as fair and clean by observers. (Guardian)
However, that does not give Hamas the full legitimacy to speak for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, especially after the recent division of powers between the two territories.
Currently, President Mahmoud Abbas (leading Fateh figure) holds on to that role; he did it in Annapolis despite Hamas' firm rejection of him representing the will of all Palestinians. After all, his party did not win a majority in the 2006 elections.
One main resolution that former President Jimmy Carter was able to achieve in his recent (April 2008) visit to the Middle East was that Hamas agreed to pass over the representation of Palestinians to President Abbas to be able to negotiate a peace agreement with Israel; Hamas' decision was conditioned on the approval of the majority of Palestinians to negotiate a 1967 Palestinian state through a mass referendum.
9. How human are Gazans?
Bodies of four children and their mother arrive at Al-Awda mosque after Israeli fire hit their house in the northern Gaza Strip, Apr. 28, 2008. (Reuters Photo)Hitler dehumanized Jews to be able to genocide them, and now Palestinians, especially Gazans, are being more and more deprived of their basic human rights, which is pushing them into a bigger "shoah" or Holocaust, as described by Israel's deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai on Army Radio on Friday, February 29, 2008.
Besides the mounting death toll of the direct Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza, 136 Palestinian patients died for not being allowed by the Israeli forces to leave Gaza to get treatment outside. "The right to health appears to be optional for Palestinians," Ambrogio Manenti, the head of the WHO's West Bank and Gaza office, told a press conference in April 2008.
In the period between February 28 and March 2, 2008, 104 Palestinians were murdered and 215 injured by the Israeli forces in comparison to only 3 Israelis deaths and 27 injuries for the same period of time, according to an April 18 UN Report.
Children are among the victims of the bigger "shoah." Ra'd Abu Saif narrates the last moments of his 12-year-old daughter Safa after she was shot by an Israeli sniper: "I put my hand on her chest to stop the streaming blood. She told me that she could not breathe, her body trembled and she closed her eyes." (Electronic Intifada)
Safa was shot in the left side of her chest while she was inside her home in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. An ambulance tried to reach her but Israeli soldiers opened fire at it, wounding a paramedic and causing the tires to lose air, and so she bled to death three hours after she was wounded.
"Dad, I cannot breathe, all of you leave me please, let me breathe, enough, enough," were Safa's last words.
Speaking numbers, Hamas in the Gaza strip also carries on regular missile attacks on southern Israel, yet throughout the last four years, the less advanced rockets killed 13 Israeli civilians.
Watch more about the "Palestinian Holocaust" here
10. What is the humanitarian situation in Gaza?
More than 1.1 million people, about 80% of Gaza's residents, are now dependent on food aid, as opposed to 63% in 2006. Unemployment is close to 40% and almost 70% of the 110,000 workers employed in the private sector have lost their jobs, according to a report — entitled: "The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion" — released in early March 2008 by a coalition of Human Rights organizations, Haaretz reported.
The current situation in the Gaza Strip "is worse now than it has ever been since the start of the Israeli military occupation in 1967. The current situation in Gaza is man-made, completely avoidable and, with the necessary political will, can also be reversed," the report stated.
According to the latest updates, educational services in Gaza have gone down in capacity by 50% because of the lack of the means to transport students to their schools and colleges. Because of cutting fuel of the Gaza strip, the Israeli government has caused 20% of the ambulances to go off service and 60% to be expected to park by the end of the week, forcing patients and doctors to reach hospitals on foot (Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights report).
For more about the humanitarian situation in Gaza check IOL's special coverage: Gaza: The World's Largest Open Air-Prison
11. Does Israel have the right to attack Gazans to protect itself?
As mentioned before, by no means are all Gazans Hamas members; those involved in rocket launching belong mainly to the military wing of Hamas that is at most 10,000 men, according to some Israeli sources.
Israeli raids in Gaza, claimed to be directed at rocket launchers, leave children, women, and elders dead with almost no noticeable affect on the frequency of rockets launching on Israel.
Collective punishment, including siege and raids, that does not differentiate between civilians and militants are clearly against international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Israel's early raids in Gaza were described by the UN as war crimes. "It violates one of the basic principles of international humanitarian law that military action must distinguish between military and civilian targets," John Dugard, UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied territories, said.
12. Is the current siege effective in halting the missile attacks over Israelis?
Before using siege as a strategy to halt the rocket firing on the Israeli areas near the Gaza boarders, Israel was implementing direct air strikes on the areas where rocket-launchers were believed to be hiding. The older policy proved its failure and Israel was forced to find some new effective tactics to "protect" itself.
Of the main indications of Israel's failure in the old tactics was the fact that strikes were increasingly killing civilians, which led to the rising sympathy with Hamas and resistance in general among Palestinians. Currently, under the siege strategy, figures still show increasing popularity for Hamas; plus, rockets are still being launched towards Israel. In fact, Hamas has been able to develop more advanced operations that drove the confrontation inside Israel.
On April 19 2008, Hamas underwent an operation near the southern end of Gaza injuring 13 Israeli soldiers. "This is a far more complex attack than the incident in which Cpl. Gilad Shalit was captured," said an Israeli spokesman, referring to a soldier captured in June 2006 by Palestinian fighters in a cross-border raid to use him as a bargaining chip to free Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
It seems that the only way out is for Israel to start talking to Hamas.
Yossi Sarid wrote in Haaretz, "The losses on the Palestinian side, mostly innocent civilians, will only increase solidarity and the willingness to sacrifice. Hamas rule will not be weakened; it certainly will not fall ... There is no choice but to talk to Hamas, indirectly or directly, and without preconditions. On the agenda: a cessation of hostilities and a total, long-term halt."
According to a survey published in Haaretz newspaper on Wednesday, February 27, most Israelis think their government should hold direct talks with Hamas to reach a ceasefire.
In conclusion to his recent visit to the Middle East, Carter, the architect of the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, said, excluding Hamas "is just not working."
Source: islamonline.net
Blaming the resistance or the occupation?
This explains the whole conflict really well. Short,concise and straight to the point. The crux of who is to be blamed. And no surprise there as to who's the blameworthy one!
"Really, it is saddening to see some people confuse and mix the facts. According to all laws, divine and man-made, it is the right, and even the duty, of people to defend and protect lives, land, and honor against aggression and oppression. In Gaza, it is the occupation forces and those who assist it who bear the responsibility for the ongoing massacre that Israel is committing there.
In his response to your question, Sheikh Mohamed El-Moctar El-Shinqiti, Director of the Islamic Center of South Plains, Lubbock, Texas , states:
The oppression of the Palestinian people did not start today; it started six decades ago. If we suppose that the resistance stops now, the oppression will still continue in the form of an ugly occupation and a siege that starves innocent people.
What the world does not know, because of Zionist propaganda, is that 70% of the Gazan people are refugees from other parts of Palestine that were swallowed up by the Zionist state. These people have been living in desperate circumstances for decades. Moreover, the indigenous Gazans themselves have been under occupation since 1967.
Therefore, what is needed today is to stop the oppression, not to stop the resistance.
Moreover, Sheikh `Abdul-Majeed Subh, a prominent Azharite scholar, adds:
The Islamic resistance in Gaza is doing their sacred duty in defending their land against the oppressive occupation.
According to all laws, divine or man-made, people have the right to defend their land against occupation.
Given the above, the Islamic residence in Gaza is carrying out their duty in defending their land and their honor. Those who criticize and condemn them should support the truth and fear Almighty Allah. The responsibility for what is happening in Gaza falls on the oppressive occupation, not on those who defend their land."
From islamonline.net
Friday, January 2, 2009
Stories With Sad Endings: Wilsky The Otter By Ju
This short story was written by my crazy little sister Junior. I found it so funny that I felt I simply had to share it here on Cloud 9!Hahha. Enjoy!
Wilsky was an otter. But an unusual one, he had a shiny butt. The other animals in the jungle liked his shiny butt because when it's dark, Wilsky's shiny butt shines. Wilsky lived alone in a little otter cave. He had many otter friends. An otter girl fell in love with him one day... well, maybe not with him but with his butt.
One day, Wilsky realized that his friends were really not his friends but his butt's friends. Wilsky's butt shines more than ever whenever it gets attention. Whenever Wilsky talks with his friends, they look at his butt... not him. Wilsky was lying down in his little cave and then he fell asleep feeling sad.
Wilsky heard a little voice. It was his butt. It said "SEPARATE, SEPARATE". Soon, Wilsky realized that his butt was separating from him. It hopped out of the cave saying, "I'm too good for you. I don't deserve to be connected to you". Wilsky didn't have his butt anymore. He was surpised and at the same time a little happy. People can now appreciate him for himself, not his butt.
When Wilsky went out of his otter cave, he saw his butt in a jacuzzi with its girlfriend. It was shining like the sun. His friends were all sucking-up to him. Wilsky went to talk to his friends but none of them payed attention to him. Wilsky felt sad. He was just an ordinary no-good otter without his butt, he thought.
Then suddenly, he woke up. He was dreaming. Wilsky looked at his butt which was shining more than ever. "Still here and not alive!" said Wilsky to himself. When he went out of his otter cave, he saw his friends. He asked them, "Hey guys! I wanted to ask you guys something. Are you guys my friends because of my butt?". "Of course not! You're our friend, not your butt. Okay, fine. Maybe sometimes we pay more attention to your butt but that doesn't mean you're not our friend. And besides, we don't like you because of your butt, we like you for you, your personality" said one of his otter friends. "Oh shucks! Really?" asked Wilsky. "No, of course not!" said the otter, laughing with his friends "We just like you for your butt! Hahahaha!" .
Wilsky commited suicide the next day.
For more wacky stories please log on to: iStory
THE GAZA MASSACRE IN PERSPECTIVE
A very enlightening and accurate report by renowned social politics expert Chandra Muzaffar
Honest, accurate media presentation of the context surrounding a conflict is vital for an in-depth understanding of the conflict. In the case of the on-going Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, the context has been distorted by much of the media. The impression given is that Israel had no choice but to retaliate against a constant barrage of rocket attacks launched by Hamas after the latter decided to end the Hamas-Israel truce on 19 December 2008.
While rocket attacks targeting civilians in the southern part of Israel are wrong from the point of view of international law, the media has failed to tell the public the whole truth about why Hamas ended the truce and how Israel is largely responsible for the underlying conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and other Arabs. There are at least five dimensions to the larger context shaping the conflict that have not been highlighted in the media.
One, even after the so-called Israeli “withdrawal” from Gaza in August 2005, the Israeli army has conducted numerous raids and air strikes in Gaza in the name of fighting “terrorism” which have killed hundreds of civilians including women and children. These assaults intensified after Hamas captured the Palestinian Legislative Council in a free and fair election in January 2006. When Hamas ousted its rival Fatah from Gaza in June 2007, Israel went all out to destroy Hamas through military and non-military means.
Two, in spite of Israeli attacks, Hamas, a few violations notwithstanding, observed its June 2008 truce with Israel. Not a single Israeli was killed by Hamas rocket fire during the six month period of the truce. The Hamas leadership even proposed a 10 year truce to Israel in April 2008. There was no response from Israel. It was because of continuous Israeli military strikes, the closure of border crossings and a suffocating blockade of Gaza imposed by Israel, that Hamas was forced to end the truce on 19 December.
Three, in juxtaposing Hamas rockets with the Israeli arsenal, the media seldom mentions the tremendous asymmetry in military power between the two sides. What are Hamas’s homemade rockets compared to the wide range of sophisticated lethal weaponry at the command of the world’s fourth most powerful army? The death toll from the present assault tells the whole story: 375 Palestinians to 5 Israelis as of 30 December after 4 days of air bombardment.
Four, to grasp the significance of this asymmetry one has to place it in the context of the Israeli blockade of Gaza that we have alluded to that began soon after Hamas won the 2006 election. By punishing the people of Gaza for voting Hamas through the imposition of a blockade that has increased poverty and destitution and denies life-saving drugs to the critically ill, Israel has made the victims of its cruel and callous siege even angrier and more desperate. The media has made no attempt to link Hamas rocket attacks to the siege.
Five, neither has the media explained to the people that at the root of this longstanding conflict that goes back to the beginning of the twentieth century is the occupation, annexation and oppression of the Palestinians Within a year of the unjust partition of the land in 1948, 78 percent of Palestine was in the hands of the Zionists. Gaza is part of the 22 percent that was annexed in 1967. Since 1948, Israel, argues Israeli historian Illan Pappe, has embarked upon a policy of “ethnic cleansing” that seeks to eliminate the indigenous Palestinians from their land. None of these facts and opinions is given any ventilation in the mainstream international media.
It is not difficult to understand why this is so. Zionist influence over the US-Europe controlled international media is enormous. In the US, control over the media is part of what the American sociologist, James Petras describes as the “ Zionist Power Configuration” (ZPC) which extends to the principal arteries of the economy, political institutions and the intellectual and cultural life of the nation.
This is perhaps a propitious moment to challenge the ZPC. The US economy is facing its severest crisis ever which must impact adversely upon Zionist power both directly and indirectly. With its inevitable economic decline, US global hegemony which has been a critical factor in sustaining and perpetuating Israel’s military dominance of the Middle East is also coming to an end. New patterns of global power are in the offing.
At a time like this, it is important that Americans themselves realize that blind, uncritical US support and protection for Israel is damaging to US interests. It is significant that no less a statesman than George Washington had warned the American nation in his farewell address that “passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. … facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest… betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter … It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others…” In the last few years, some Americans from the Establishment have begun to see this. Jimmy Carter would be a case in point. Academics such as John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt have also criticized the incestuous relationship between Zionist lobbies and the State in the US. More individuals and groups should be encouraged to oppose the subordination of the US to Israeli interests in the Middle East.
The Palestinians and other Arabs who have to contend with Zionist power should also develop more effective strategies to pursue their struggle for justice. At this juncture many of them oscillate between violence and rhetoric. What is needed is strategic thinking and planning which will produce new forms of challenge and resistance to Zionist dominance. For instance, those who try to break Israel’s Gaza blockade by transporting food and medicines through ships are not only providing much needed assistance but are also raising public consciousness about the inhumanity of the Israeli regime. Two women have been at the forefront of such initiatives: the Nobel laureate, Mairead Maguire and former US congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney.
Such initiatives it is hoped will accelerate the demise of Zionist power and US hegemony and create the conditions for the liberation of the Palestinians and other oppressed peoples.
Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is Professor of Global Studies at Universiti Sains Malaysia and President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST). In 2002, he was a member of the Internet World Court on Israel’s War of Extermination Against Palestine.
Honest, accurate media presentation of the context surrounding a conflict is vital for an in-depth understanding of the conflict. In the case of the on-going Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, the context has been distorted by much of the media. The impression given is that Israel had no choice but to retaliate against a constant barrage of rocket attacks launched by Hamas after the latter decided to end the Hamas-Israel truce on 19 December 2008.
While rocket attacks targeting civilians in the southern part of Israel are wrong from the point of view of international law, the media has failed to tell the public the whole truth about why Hamas ended the truce and how Israel is largely responsible for the underlying conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and other Arabs. There are at least five dimensions to the larger context shaping the conflict that have not been highlighted in the media.
One, even after the so-called Israeli “withdrawal” from Gaza in August 2005, the Israeli army has conducted numerous raids and air strikes in Gaza in the name of fighting “terrorism” which have killed hundreds of civilians including women and children. These assaults intensified after Hamas captured the Palestinian Legislative Council in a free and fair election in January 2006. When Hamas ousted its rival Fatah from Gaza in June 2007, Israel went all out to destroy Hamas through military and non-military means.
Two, in spite of Israeli attacks, Hamas, a few violations notwithstanding, observed its June 2008 truce with Israel. Not a single Israeli was killed by Hamas rocket fire during the six month period of the truce. The Hamas leadership even proposed a 10 year truce to Israel in April 2008. There was no response from Israel. It was because of continuous Israeli military strikes, the closure of border crossings and a suffocating blockade of Gaza imposed by Israel, that Hamas was forced to end the truce on 19 December.
Three, in juxtaposing Hamas rockets with the Israeli arsenal, the media seldom mentions the tremendous asymmetry in military power between the two sides. What are Hamas’s homemade rockets compared to the wide range of sophisticated lethal weaponry at the command of the world’s fourth most powerful army? The death toll from the present assault tells the whole story: 375 Palestinians to 5 Israelis as of 30 December after 4 days of air bombardment.
Four, to grasp the significance of this asymmetry one has to place it in the context of the Israeli blockade of Gaza that we have alluded to that began soon after Hamas won the 2006 election. By punishing the people of Gaza for voting Hamas through the imposition of a blockade that has increased poverty and destitution and denies life-saving drugs to the critically ill, Israel has made the victims of its cruel and callous siege even angrier and more desperate. The media has made no attempt to link Hamas rocket attacks to the siege.
Five, neither has the media explained to the people that at the root of this longstanding conflict that goes back to the beginning of the twentieth century is the occupation, annexation and oppression of the Palestinians Within a year of the unjust partition of the land in 1948, 78 percent of Palestine was in the hands of the Zionists. Gaza is part of the 22 percent that was annexed in 1967. Since 1948, Israel, argues Israeli historian Illan Pappe, has embarked upon a policy of “ethnic cleansing” that seeks to eliminate the indigenous Palestinians from their land. None of these facts and opinions is given any ventilation in the mainstream international media.
It is not difficult to understand why this is so. Zionist influence over the US-Europe controlled international media is enormous. In the US, control over the media is part of what the American sociologist, James Petras describes as the “ Zionist Power Configuration” (ZPC) which extends to the principal arteries of the economy, political institutions and the intellectual and cultural life of the nation.
This is perhaps a propitious moment to challenge the ZPC. The US economy is facing its severest crisis ever which must impact adversely upon Zionist power both directly and indirectly. With its inevitable economic decline, US global hegemony which has been a critical factor in sustaining and perpetuating Israel’s military dominance of the Middle East is also coming to an end. New patterns of global power are in the offing.
At a time like this, it is important that Americans themselves realize that blind, uncritical US support and protection for Israel is damaging to US interests. It is significant that no less a statesman than George Washington had warned the American nation in his farewell address that “passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. … facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest… betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter … It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others…” In the last few years, some Americans from the Establishment have begun to see this. Jimmy Carter would be a case in point. Academics such as John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt have also criticized the incestuous relationship between Zionist lobbies and the State in the US. More individuals and groups should be encouraged to oppose the subordination of the US to Israeli interests in the Middle East.
The Palestinians and other Arabs who have to contend with Zionist power should also develop more effective strategies to pursue their struggle for justice. At this juncture many of them oscillate between violence and rhetoric. What is needed is strategic thinking and planning which will produce new forms of challenge and resistance to Zionist dominance. For instance, those who try to break Israel’s Gaza blockade by transporting food and medicines through ships are not only providing much needed assistance but are also raising public consciousness about the inhumanity of the Israeli regime. Two women have been at the forefront of such initiatives: the Nobel laureate, Mairead Maguire and former US congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney.
Such initiatives it is hoped will accelerate the demise of Zionist power and US hegemony and create the conditions for the liberation of the Palestinians and other oppressed peoples.
Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is Professor of Global Studies at Universiti Sains Malaysia and President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST). In 2002, he was a member of the Internet World Court on Israel’s War of Extermination Against Palestine.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
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