mercoledì 14 novembre 2007
Wire cage installed at Huwwara checkpoint
Saed Bannoura saed at imemc dot org - IMEMC, 13.11.07. Israeli forces have installed wire caging material at the notorious Huwwara checkpoint, located near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, creating a ‘checkpoint within a checkpoint’ that has doubled the waiting time for Palestinians trying to pass through. A report published by the nonviolent anti-occupation group, the International Solidarity Movement, claims that the fencing was installed over the weekend and that 300-350 Palestinians civilians were on Saturday made to wait for some three hours or more to pass through the checkpoint. The Huwwara checkpoint controlling exit from Nablus is notorious for long lines and hours-long delays, particularly on holidays. This roofed and turnstiled checkpoint, in place since the start of the current Intifada, governs traffic flowing to Ramallah, as well as to the many nearby villages outside Nablus. University students, workers, and people seeking medical treatment or coming for shopping must cross Huwwara, many on a daily basis. The passage through the checkpoint normally takes at least an hour, but with the installation of the new wire passing has been slowed to a snail's pace.
Soldiers attempt to search Christian Peacemaker Team premises
Donna Hicks, Christian Peacemaker Team. On Sunday 11 November 2007 around 4:30pm Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members Lorne Friesen, Jessica Frederick, Eileen Hanson and Donna Hicks followed a patrol of six Israeli soldiers entering Hebron's Old City. The soldiers turned into the street on which the CPT premises are located, checking doorways along the way. When the soldiers unlatched the CPT street door, Hanson asked them what they were doing, clearly stating they were entering the CPT home and that CPT had not invited them in. When the soldiers and CPTers reached the patio outside the home, the soldiers demanded that the family and guests in the neighboring apartment leave so the soldiers could search the apartment for weapons. Friesen stated that CPT had no weapons. Hanson demanded to see a search warrant and stated again that the homeowners had not invited the soldiers in. While the leader of the patrol communicated with an officer on the radio, CPT's neighbor translated what her small niece was saying: that she was not happy because soldiers sometimes enter her home, that she remembered the night Israeli soldiers told all the men to come outside and they were "rounded up". After further conversations on the radio, the soldiers departed around 5:00pm without searching the premises.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical initiative to support violence reduction efforts around the world. To learn more about CPT's peacemaking work, visit our website www.cpt.org Photos of our projects are at www.cpt.org/
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical initiative to support violence reduction efforts around the world. To learn more about CPT's peacemaking work, visit our website www.cpt.org Photos of our projects are at www.cpt.org/
Like on the first Land Day. For some Gazans, Hamas is now object of hatred
Amira Hass, Haaretz, 14.11.07. "Armed Hamas policemen who were stationed in the streets and watching the masses of people marching toward the square, gazed down at the ground. Out of shame. They saw themselves the way the marchers to the memorial rally for Yasser Arafat saw them - like Israeli policemen on the first Land Day in Israel. It was women whose votes had led to the defeat of Fatah in 2006, so it was significant now that many women came to the rally. I saw one woman go up to an armed policeman and dare him: Kill me, you Shi'ite." This was related by a devout Muslim, a Hamas adherent who left the movement because of disagreements over matters of principle. The killing on Monday of six participants in the Gaza City rally by gunfire from Hamas police immediately raised questions concerning the strength and weakness of the Gaza Strip government and its rival - the Fatah movement in Gaza. The extent to which this is not a matter of absolutes can be learned from the viewpoints of two devout Muslims.
"The masses who came to the rally did not come for Abu Amar [Arafat] or for Mohammad Dahlan, or because they were promised NIS 200 or a phone card. They came out of hatred for Hamas," says the former movement activist. A friend of his, who has remained a Hamas activist, agrees: "There has been a consolidation among some of the Fatah activists, because of anger and hatred for Hamas, after mistakes of ours that are impossible to ignore." He himself approached policemen and asked them to conduct themselves with restraint and not to react to insults. He is convinced that what happened was caused by a loss of control by inexperienced young policemen - not part of a policy. He swears that the leadership's intention is to reduce repressive ruling measures by the government. And he is convinced that Ramallah told Fatah supporters to initiate provocations and that the Hamas police indeed fell into the trap.
It is all lies, says the former activist, like the claims that the first to have opened fire were Fatah supporters who had prepared for a confrontation. He supports his claim, inter alia, on the basis of a scrupulous examination of the direction in which the shots were fired. The Hamas police, he says, received a clear order to act with full force in response to any Fatah demonstration of strength.
The number of participants in the rally came as no surprise to Hamas, says the movement activist, nor is it worried by this: "We knew that there was a large public in the Gaza Strip that supports Fatah, which hasn't disappeared. But this is a public without a leadership. The leaders have fled. Hamas, as compared to Fatah, is a movement with a strong leadership that, contrary to the Israeli intelligence spokesmen, is not divided: It is more a question of style of speech than of disagreements between Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud al-Zahar. Both are interested in repairing the break between Gaza and the West Bank, both of them realize that it is necessary to return to dialogue with Fatah."
He is convinced that, taking the cruel conditions of siege into consideration, the Hamas government is functioning well and maintaining stability. The movement, he says, has young activists who see the siege as an opportunity for the Palestinian people to liberate themselves from an unfair dependence on Israel and the West.
The former Hamas activist thinks otherwise: "Hamas remains strong among the public. What happened on Monday does not testify to the strength or the weakness of the movement. It testifies to a lack of leadership." For quite some time he has been saying how dangerous it is that Hamas clings to rule over the Gaza enclave, while it is unable to satisfy basic social and economic needs (let alone its promises of independence). An Islamic leadership has redoubled responsibility if it wants to rule, he says. It must be committed not only to the people, but also to Islam. Therefore, in his assessment, the international Muslim Brotherhood movement will reconsider its position regarding the Hamas regime in Gaza. It will not allow that regime to sully so badly the reputation of either its mother movement, or worse, of Islam itself.
"The masses who came to the rally did not come for Abu Amar [Arafat] or for Mohammad Dahlan, or because they were promised NIS 200 or a phone card. They came out of hatred for Hamas," says the former movement activist. A friend of his, who has remained a Hamas activist, agrees: "There has been a consolidation among some of the Fatah activists, because of anger and hatred for Hamas, after mistakes of ours that are impossible to ignore." He himself approached policemen and asked them to conduct themselves with restraint and not to react to insults. He is convinced that what happened was caused by a loss of control by inexperienced young policemen - not part of a policy. He swears that the leadership's intention is to reduce repressive ruling measures by the government. And he is convinced that Ramallah told Fatah supporters to initiate provocations and that the Hamas police indeed fell into the trap.
It is all lies, says the former activist, like the claims that the first to have opened fire were Fatah supporters who had prepared for a confrontation. He supports his claim, inter alia, on the basis of a scrupulous examination of the direction in which the shots were fired. The Hamas police, he says, received a clear order to act with full force in response to any Fatah demonstration of strength.
The number of participants in the rally came as no surprise to Hamas, says the movement activist, nor is it worried by this: "We knew that there was a large public in the Gaza Strip that supports Fatah, which hasn't disappeared. But this is a public without a leadership. The leaders have fled. Hamas, as compared to Fatah, is a movement with a strong leadership that, contrary to the Israeli intelligence spokesmen, is not divided: It is more a question of style of speech than of disagreements between Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud al-Zahar. Both are interested in repairing the break between Gaza and the West Bank, both of them realize that it is necessary to return to dialogue with Fatah."
He is convinced that, taking the cruel conditions of siege into consideration, the Hamas government is functioning well and maintaining stability. The movement, he says, has young activists who see the siege as an opportunity for the Palestinian people to liberate themselves from an unfair dependence on Israel and the West.
The former Hamas activist thinks otherwise: "Hamas remains strong among the public. What happened on Monday does not testify to the strength or the weakness of the movement. It testifies to a lack of leadership." For quite some time he has been saying how dangerous it is that Hamas clings to rule over the Gaza enclave, while it is unable to satisfy basic social and economic needs (let alone its promises of independence). An Islamic leadership has redoubled responsibility if it wants to rule, he says. It must be committed not only to the people, but also to Islam. Therefore, in his assessment, the international Muslim Brotherhood movement will reconsider its position regarding the Hamas regime in Gaza. It will not allow that regime to sully so badly the reputation of either its mother movement, or worse, of Islam itself.
Un an après le discours de Grossman, rien n’a changé. Le mémorial Rabin propose pop stars et clichés
Gideon Levi, Haaretz, 4.11.07. Salut l’ami, salut la paix, à l’année prochaine, avec le même laïus creux, le même Gaza emprisonné et affamé, et les mêmes chanteurs, avec en outre ceux qui auront décroché eux aussi, l’an prochain, des disques d’or et qui se joindront à la chorale. L’an passé, l’écrivain David Grossman, qui venait de perdre son fils [lors de la guerre au Liban - ndt] était venu à la tribune et avait tonné contre nos dirigeants creux et, un court instant, les cœurs avaient été en émoi ; hier soir, place Rabin, il n’y a pas eu le moindre orateur, pas d’écrivain ni d’intellectuel, pour dire quelque chose de significatif dans le vide de ce rassemblement à la mémoire d’Yitzhak Rabin qui ressemblait par dessus tout à un concert-rassemblement. Le public ? Toujours le même : ashkenaze, laïc, de gauche et pour la paix – tel qu’il se voit lui-même. Qu’il est doux et agréable d’être là une fois par an, sur la place Rabin, et de sentir que l’on fait partie de cette famille chaleureuse. ous se sont réveillés hier soir, revenant un instant à la vie après un an de léthargie : la Paix Maintenant, le parti Travailliste, le Meretz, « Hashomer Hatzaïr » et « HaNoar Haoved vehaLomed » (la jeunesse laborieuse et studieuse - ndt) dont les chemises bleues ont reparu un moment, hier soir. Aharon Barnea a de nouveau revêtu l’habit du prophète de la colère qu’il endosse une fois l’an, début novembre : « Nous n’oublierons pas et nous ne pardonnerons pas », a-t-il tonné en notre nom à tous, en un slogan qui accompagnait autrefois les rassemblements de commémoration du génocide. « Soyez tranquilles, il y aura la paix », a promis le présentateur de la principale édition du journal télévisé, et s’il le promet, c’est sûr qu’il y aura la paix. Hier soir, les clichés ont inondé la place Rabin : « l’espoir », « l’héritage », « la victoire » et « la paix », nul ne sait ce que ces mots signifient au juste. La place était couverte aussi de ballons blancs. Le blanc, c’est la paix. De temps en temps, un ballon éclatait ; de temps en temps, un ballon s’échappait et s’élevait dans le ciel noir de Tel Aviv. Un hélicoptère aussi et un ballon de surveillance survolaient les lieux, exactement comme ils le font en permanence dans le ciel de Gaza, qui n’avait jamais été aussi éloigné qu’hier soir de ces rassemblements pour la paix. Lorsqu’Ehoud Barak a dit que « l’héritage d’Yitzhak Rabin vit et s’agite en nous », songeait-il au black-out de Gaza et à l’affamement qu’il a lui-même orchestrés ? Personne n’a parlé de cela, hier. Les seuls applaudissements soutenus ont été gagnés par le Ministre de la Défense [Ehoud Barak] lorsqu’il a promis, on ne sait trop par quelle autorité, que « sa peine [ de Yigal Amir, l'assassin de Rabin] ne sera pas raccourcie, il ne sera pas amnistié et les portes de la prison resteront fermées sur lui jusqu’à son dernier jour ». Comme il est facile de s’unir contre Yigal Amir, le plus petit dénominateur commun du camp de la Gauche.
Un an a passé depuis le discours de Grossman sur les dirigeants creux, et rien n’a changé. Les dirigeants sont les mêmes, aussi creux qu’ils l’étaient et que l’est tout ce battage, ce verbiage sur « l’héritage de Rabin » et sur la paix. La jeunesse aux bougies qui était venue gémir amèrement sur cette même place [il y a 12 ans - ndt], est devenue adulte et a disparu, emportée par le vent et la haute technologie. A sa place, sont apparus de nouveaux jeunes gens en chemises bleues, qui n’étaient que de petits enfants le soir de l’assassinat. Shimon Peres leur a raconté qu’Yitzhak avait pensé à eux, seulement à eux, et eux aussi bien sûr pensent maintenant que la seule chose terrible qui soit jamais arrivée ici, c’est cet assassinat odieux.
Salut l’ami, salut la paix, à l’année prochaine, avec le même laïus creux, le même Gaza emprisonné et affamé, et les mêmes chanteurs, avec en outre ceux qui auront décroché eux aussi, l’an prochain, des disques d’or et qui se joindront à la chorale.
(Traduction de l'hébreu : Michel Ghys)
Source traduction : Palestine Solidarité
Palestina, a 60 anni dalla Nakba
In occasione della
Giornata delle Nazioni Unite per la Palestina
Giovedì 29 novembre
organizzano la Conferenza
Camera del Lavoro Sala Di Vittorio
Partecipano
padre Atallah Hannah, Archimandrita della Chiesa cristiana ortodossa di Palestina
don Nandino Capovilla, Pax Christi
avv. Dario Rossi, Giuristi Democratici
on. Fernando Rossi, Senato della Repubblica
arch. Mohammad Hannoun, Abspp-onlus
rappresentante del Palestinian Return Centre – Al-Awda – di Londra
Susanne Scheidt, Al-Awda-Italia
Andrea Del Grosso, associazione Hawiyya
Alfredo Tradardi, ISM – Italia
rappresentante di Action for Peace
Modera: Angela Lano, direttrice Agenzia Stampa Infopal.it
Saluto della Comunità palestinese della Lombardia e dell’on. Fernando Rossi
padre Atallah Hannah
don Nandino Capovilla
arch. Mohammad Hannoun
rappresentante Al-Awda - Londra
Break e proiezione video “La Palestina com’era”
Ore 19,20
“La Storia negata. Comunicare la tragedia di un popolo”
avv. Dario Rossi
rappresentante di Action for Peace
Alfredo Tradardi
Andrea del Grosso
Susanne Scheidt
Dibattito
Rinfresco palestinese
martedì 13 novembre 2007
Si rivolga ai palestinesi, signor Olmert
David Grossman, 9.11.07. L0 scrittore israeliano alla consegna di un premio si è rifiutato di stringere la mano al premier Olmert ed al presidente della Corte suprema di Israele. Pubblichiamo il discorso dello scrittore in onore di Rabin. Da più di un secolo ormai viviamo in uno stato di conflitto. Noi, cittadini di questo conflitto, siamo nati nella guerra, siamo stati educati nella guerra e, in un certo senso, siamo stati programmati per la guerra. Forse per questo pensiamo talvolta che questa follia in cui viviamo ormai da cento anni sia l´unica, vera realtà. L´unica vita destinata a noi e che non abbiamo la possibilità, o forse neppure il diritto, di aspirare a una vita diversa: vivremo e moriremo con la spada e combatteremo per l´eternità.
Forse per questo siamo così indifferenti al totale ristagno del processo di pace. Forse per questo la maggior parte di noi ha accettato con indifferenza il rozzo calcio sferrato alla democrazia dalla nomina di Avigdor Lieberman a ministro, un potenziale piromane posto a capo dei servizi statali responsabili di spegnere gli incendi. Questi sono anche, in parte, i motivi per cui, in tempi brevissimi, Israele è precipitato nell´insensibilità, nella crudeltà, nell´indifferenza verso i deboli, verso i poveri, verso chi soffre, verso chi ha fame, verso i vecchi, i malati, gli invalidi, il commercio di donne, lo sfruttamento e le condizioni di schiavitù in cui vivono i lavoratori stranieri e verso il razzismo radicato, istituzionale, nei confronti della minoranza araba. Quando tutto questo accade con totale naturalezza, senza suscitare scandali né proteste, io comincio a pensare che anche se la pace giungerà domani, anche se un giorno torneremo a una situazione di normalità, abbiamo forse già perso l´opportunità di guarire.
Per una volta tanto guardi i palestinesi, signor Olmert, non attraverso il mirino di un fucile o da dietro le sbarre chiuse di un check point. Vedrà un popolo martoriato non meno di noi. Un popolo conquistato, oppresso e senza speranza. È ovvio che anche i palestinesi sono colpevoli del vicolo cieco in cui ci troviamo. È ovvio che anche loro sono ampiamente responsabili del fallimento del processo di pace. Ma li guardi un momento con occhi diversi. Non solo gli estremisti fra loro. Non solo chi ha stretto un patto di interesse con i nostri estremisti. Guardi la maggior parte di questo povero popolo il cui destino è legato al nostro, che lo si voglia o no.
Si rivolga ai palestinesi, signor Olmert, non continui a cercare ragioni per non dialogare con loro. Ha rinunciato all´idea di un nuovo ritiro unilaterale, e ha fatto bene. Ma non lasci un vuoto che verrebbe immediatamente colmato dalla violenza e dalla distruzione. Intavoli un dialogo. Avanzi una proposta che i moderati (e fra loro sono più di quanto i media ci mostrino) non possano rifiutare. Lo faccia, in modo che i palestinesi possano decidere se accettarla o se rimanere ostaggi dell´Islam fanatico. Presenti loro il piano più coraggioso e serio che Israele è in grado di proporre. La proposta che agli occhi di ogni israeliano e palestinese sensato contenga il massimo delle concessioni, nostre e loro. Non stia a discutere di bazzecole. Non c´è tempo. Se tentennerà, fra poco avremo nostalgia del dilettantismo del terrorismo palestinese. Ci batteremo il capo urlando: come abbiamo potuto non fare ricorso a tutta la nostra elasticità di pensiero, a tutta la creatività israeliana, per strappare i nostri nemici dalla trappola in cui si sono lasciati cadere?
Proprio come ci sono guerre combattute per mancanza di scelta, c´è anche una pace che si rincorre per "mancanza di scelta". Non abbiamo scelta, né noi né loro. E dobbiamo aspirare a questa pace forzosa con la stessa determinazione e creatività con cui partiamo per una guerra forzosa. Perché non c´è scelta e chi ritiene che ci sia, che il tempo giochi a nostro favore, non capisce i processi pericolosi in cui già ci troviamo.
E più in generale, signor Primo Ministro, forse dovremmo rammentarle che se un qualsiasi leader arabo invia segnali di pace – anche impercettibili e titubanti – lei ha il dovere morale di rispondere. Ha il dovere di verificare immediatamente l´onestà e la serietà di quel leader. Deve farlo per coloro ai quali chiede di sacrificare la vita nel caso scoppi una nuova guerra. E quindi, se il presidente Assad dice che la Siria vuole la pace – per quanto lei non gli creda e tutti noi nutriamo sospetti nei suoi confronti – deve offrirgli di incontrarlo subito. Senza aspettare nemmeno un giorno. In fondo, non ha aspettato nemmeno un´ora a dare inizio all´ultima guerra. Si è lanciato nell´offensiva con tutte le sue forze. Con tutte le armi a disposizione e tutta la loro potenza distruttiva. Allora perché quando c´è un segnale di pace lei si affretta a respingerlo, a lasciarlo svanire? Cos´ha da perdere? Nutre forse dei sospetti nei confronti del presidente siriano? Allora gli presenti delle condizioni tali da rivelare la sua macchinazione. Gli proponga un processo di pace che duri qualche anno e alla fine del quale, se tutte le condizioni e le restrizioni verranno rispettate, gli verranno restituite le alture del Golan. Lo costringa al dialogo. Agisca in modo che nella coscienza del popolo siriano si delinei anche questa possibilità. Dia una mano ai moderati, che sicuramente esistono anche lassù. Cerchi di plasmare la realtà, non di esserne solo un collaborazionista. È stato eletto per questo. Esattamente per questo.
E in conclusione. È ovvio che non tutto dipende da noi e ci sono forze grandi e potenti che agiscono in questa regione e nel mondo e alcune di loro – come l´Iran e come l´Islam radicale – non hanno buone intenzioni nei nostri confronti. Eppure molto dipende da come agiremo noi, da ciò che saremo. Attualmente non esiste grande disparità tra la sinistra e la destra. La stragrande maggioranza degli israeliani capisce ormai – per quanto alcuni senza troppo entusiasmo – quale sarà a grandi linee la soluzione del conflitto: questa terra verrà divisa, sorgerà uno stato palestinese. Perché, quindi, continuare a sfibrarci in una querelle intestina che dura da quasi quarant´anni?! Perché la dirigenza politica continua a rispecchiare le posizioni dei radicali e non quelle della maggior parte degli elettori? Dopo tutto la nostra situazione sarebbe migliore se raggiungessimo un´intesa nazionale prima che le circostanze – pressioni esterne, una nuova Intifada o una nuova guerra – ci costringano a farlo. Se lo faremo risparmieremo anni di versamenti di sangue e di spreco di vite umane. Anni di terribili errori.
Mi appello a tutti, ai reduci dalla guerra che sanno che dovranno pagare il prezzo del prossimo scontro armato, ai sostenitori della destra, della sinistra, ai religiosi e ai laici: fermatevi un momento, guardate l´orlo del baratro, pensate a quanto siamo vicini a perdere quello che abbiamo creato. Domandatevi se non sia arrivata l´ora di riscuoterci dalla paralisi, di fare una distinzione tra ciò che è possibile ottenere e ciò che non lo è, di esigere da noi stessi, finalmente, la vita che meritiamo di vivere."
* Discorso di David Grossman in ricordo di Yitzhak Rabin
Forse per questo siamo così indifferenti al totale ristagno del processo di pace. Forse per questo la maggior parte di noi ha accettato con indifferenza il rozzo calcio sferrato alla democrazia dalla nomina di Avigdor Lieberman a ministro, un potenziale piromane posto a capo dei servizi statali responsabili di spegnere gli incendi. Questi sono anche, in parte, i motivi per cui, in tempi brevissimi, Israele è precipitato nell´insensibilità, nella crudeltà, nell´indifferenza verso i deboli, verso i poveri, verso chi soffre, verso chi ha fame, verso i vecchi, i malati, gli invalidi, il commercio di donne, lo sfruttamento e le condizioni di schiavitù in cui vivono i lavoratori stranieri e verso il razzismo radicato, istituzionale, nei confronti della minoranza araba. Quando tutto questo accade con totale naturalezza, senza suscitare scandali né proteste, io comincio a pensare che anche se la pace giungerà domani, anche se un giorno torneremo a una situazione di normalità, abbiamo forse già perso l´opportunità di guarire.
Per una volta tanto guardi i palestinesi, signor Olmert, non attraverso il mirino di un fucile o da dietro le sbarre chiuse di un check point. Vedrà un popolo martoriato non meno di noi. Un popolo conquistato, oppresso e senza speranza. È ovvio che anche i palestinesi sono colpevoli del vicolo cieco in cui ci troviamo. È ovvio che anche loro sono ampiamente responsabili del fallimento del processo di pace. Ma li guardi un momento con occhi diversi. Non solo gli estremisti fra loro. Non solo chi ha stretto un patto di interesse con i nostri estremisti. Guardi la maggior parte di questo povero popolo il cui destino è legato al nostro, che lo si voglia o no.
Si rivolga ai palestinesi, signor Olmert, non continui a cercare ragioni per non dialogare con loro. Ha rinunciato all´idea di un nuovo ritiro unilaterale, e ha fatto bene. Ma non lasci un vuoto che verrebbe immediatamente colmato dalla violenza e dalla distruzione. Intavoli un dialogo. Avanzi una proposta che i moderati (e fra loro sono più di quanto i media ci mostrino) non possano rifiutare. Lo faccia, in modo che i palestinesi possano decidere se accettarla o se rimanere ostaggi dell´Islam fanatico. Presenti loro il piano più coraggioso e serio che Israele è in grado di proporre. La proposta che agli occhi di ogni israeliano e palestinese sensato contenga il massimo delle concessioni, nostre e loro. Non stia a discutere di bazzecole. Non c´è tempo. Se tentennerà, fra poco avremo nostalgia del dilettantismo del terrorismo palestinese. Ci batteremo il capo urlando: come abbiamo potuto non fare ricorso a tutta la nostra elasticità di pensiero, a tutta la creatività israeliana, per strappare i nostri nemici dalla trappola in cui si sono lasciati cadere?
Proprio come ci sono guerre combattute per mancanza di scelta, c´è anche una pace che si rincorre per "mancanza di scelta". Non abbiamo scelta, né noi né loro. E dobbiamo aspirare a questa pace forzosa con la stessa determinazione e creatività con cui partiamo per una guerra forzosa. Perché non c´è scelta e chi ritiene che ci sia, che il tempo giochi a nostro favore, non capisce i processi pericolosi in cui già ci troviamo.
E più in generale, signor Primo Ministro, forse dovremmo rammentarle che se un qualsiasi leader arabo invia segnali di pace – anche impercettibili e titubanti – lei ha il dovere morale di rispondere. Ha il dovere di verificare immediatamente l´onestà e la serietà di quel leader. Deve farlo per coloro ai quali chiede di sacrificare la vita nel caso scoppi una nuova guerra. E quindi, se il presidente Assad dice che la Siria vuole la pace – per quanto lei non gli creda e tutti noi nutriamo sospetti nei suoi confronti – deve offrirgli di incontrarlo subito. Senza aspettare nemmeno un giorno. In fondo, non ha aspettato nemmeno un´ora a dare inizio all´ultima guerra. Si è lanciato nell´offensiva con tutte le sue forze. Con tutte le armi a disposizione e tutta la loro potenza distruttiva. Allora perché quando c´è un segnale di pace lei si affretta a respingerlo, a lasciarlo svanire? Cos´ha da perdere? Nutre forse dei sospetti nei confronti del presidente siriano? Allora gli presenti delle condizioni tali da rivelare la sua macchinazione. Gli proponga un processo di pace che duri qualche anno e alla fine del quale, se tutte le condizioni e le restrizioni verranno rispettate, gli verranno restituite le alture del Golan. Lo costringa al dialogo. Agisca in modo che nella coscienza del popolo siriano si delinei anche questa possibilità. Dia una mano ai moderati, che sicuramente esistono anche lassù. Cerchi di plasmare la realtà, non di esserne solo un collaborazionista. È stato eletto per questo. Esattamente per questo.
E in conclusione. È ovvio che non tutto dipende da noi e ci sono forze grandi e potenti che agiscono in questa regione e nel mondo e alcune di loro – come l´Iran e come l´Islam radicale – non hanno buone intenzioni nei nostri confronti. Eppure molto dipende da come agiremo noi, da ciò che saremo. Attualmente non esiste grande disparità tra la sinistra e la destra. La stragrande maggioranza degli israeliani capisce ormai – per quanto alcuni senza troppo entusiasmo – quale sarà a grandi linee la soluzione del conflitto: questa terra verrà divisa, sorgerà uno stato palestinese. Perché, quindi, continuare a sfibrarci in una querelle intestina che dura da quasi quarant´anni?! Perché la dirigenza politica continua a rispecchiare le posizioni dei radicali e non quelle della maggior parte degli elettori? Dopo tutto la nostra situazione sarebbe migliore se raggiungessimo un´intesa nazionale prima che le circostanze – pressioni esterne, una nuova Intifada o una nuova guerra – ci costringano a farlo. Se lo faremo risparmieremo anni di versamenti di sangue e di spreco di vite umane. Anni di terribili errori.
Mi appello a tutti, ai reduci dalla guerra che sanno che dovranno pagare il prezzo del prossimo scontro armato, ai sostenitori della destra, della sinistra, ai religiosi e ai laici: fermatevi un momento, guardate l´orlo del baratro, pensate a quanto siamo vicini a perdere quello che abbiamo creato. Domandatevi se non sia arrivata l´ora di riscuoterci dalla paralisi, di fare una distinzione tra ciò che è possibile ottenere e ciò che non lo è, di esigere da noi stessi, finalmente, la vita che meritiamo di vivere."
* Discorso di David Grossman in ricordo di Yitzhak Rabin
FATAH DENUNCIA, HAMAS HA ARRESTATO 400 NOSTRI MILITANTI
(AGI/AFP) - Gaza, 13 nov. - Fatah ha denunciato l'arresto di piu' di 400 suoi militanti nella striscia di Gaza, all'indomani dei disordini scoppiati durante una manifestazione per commemorare Yasser Arafat. Hazem Abu Shanab, portavoce della fazione fedele al presidente Abu Mazen nella striscia di Gaza, ha affermato che nella notte la polizia del movimento islamico ha fatto irruzione in alcuni uffici e nelle abitazioni dei militanti per arrestare attivisti di Fatah, compresi alcuni dirigenti. Tra loro ci sono gli organizzatori del corteo per il terzo anniversario dalla scomparsa dell'ex leader palestinese, sfociato nei disordini costati la vita a sette persone.
L'Anp ha proclamato tre giornate di lutto in Cisgiordania e a Gaza per i morti di ieri e lo sciopero generale proclamato per oggi nella striscia di Gaza ha portato alla chiusura della maggior parte delle scuole e dei negozi. Si sono svolte anche decine di manifestazioni di protesta contro le uccisioni, definite "un crimine abominevole" da Abu Mazen. "Gli arresti e la morte dei membri di Al Fatah non cambieranno l'atteggiamento del movimento nel difendere le sue posizioni", ha avvertito il portavoce di Fatah. "L'elevatissimo numero di persone che hanno partecipato alla manifestazione e allo sciopero di oggi sono un segnale di grande appoggio", ha osservato.
L'Anp ha proclamato tre giornate di lutto in Cisgiordania e a Gaza per i morti di ieri e lo sciopero generale proclamato per oggi nella striscia di Gaza ha portato alla chiusura della maggior parte delle scuole e dei negozi. Si sono svolte anche decine di manifestazioni di protesta contro le uccisioni, definite "un crimine abominevole" da Abu Mazen. "Gli arresti e la morte dei membri di Al Fatah non cambieranno l'atteggiamento del movimento nel difendere le sue posizioni", ha avvertito il portavoce di Fatah. "L'elevatissimo numero di persone che hanno partecipato alla manifestazione e allo sciopero di oggi sono un segnale di grande appoggio", ha osservato.
PCHR Condemns Excessive and Lethal Use of Force against Civilians in Gaza
13.11.07. PCHR strongly condemns the excessive use of force by the Palestinian police to disperse the participants in the Fatah rally in
After the end of the rally, violence broke out between rally participants and the police. The demonstrators threw rocks at the police who responded by indiscriminate gunfire and raiding the rally grounds. Pictures showed members of the police deployed around Qatiba grounds firing indiscriminately at the rally participants.
The firing resulted in the death of 5 people and injury of 80 others in the area around the Qatiba Grounds. Three of the injuries are serious. There are 9 children and 2 women among the injured.
The police also chased rally participants and beat them with batons and sticks. In the meantime, several journalists were attacked, including:
- Khaled Jamal Bolbol, a photographer for Zoom Press. He was beaten and his camera was broken and confiscated.
- Mohammad Sawalha, a photographer for Abu Dhabi Satellite Station. He was detained and his camera tape was confiscated.
- Mowafaq Matar, a journalist for Al-Hayat Newspaper. He was detained and pictures were erased from his camera.
In a development of the events, the police fired at demonstrators in the funeral procession of Yehia Abu Samra near the Deir El-Balah police station. The firing came after youth shouted insults at the police. Seven people were injured, including three suffering shrapnel wounds.
In the evening, the police carried out a large-scale arrests operation against tens of Fatah activists throughout the Gaza Strip. Others received summoning orders to police stations today and tomorrow. PCHR’s fieldworkers indicated that the operation continued throughout the night and into the early morning hours.
PCHR strongly condemns these attacks, and points to the following observations:
1- Our staff documented the deployment of police roadblocks on the main roads in and around
2- Our staff documented the heavy deployment of uniformed police armed with guns and batons and civilian-clothes security personnel and gunmen in the streets leading to the rally grounds and around it. This deployment laid the groundwork for violence friction and for the actions that transpired.
3- Security authorities have the right to take security precautions to preserve the civilian lives and property; however it is not permissible to push hundreds of gunmen and security personnel in a confrontation with civilians.
4- The acts of violence that accompanied the large rally over a large area, including throwing rocks at the police and security personnel, does not justify the excessive and disproportionate use of force by the police.
5- Our staff did not register or find any member of the police or security who was injured by gunfire, which contradicts the statements by the police and Hamas.
6- The duty of the police and security personnel is to protect participants. And in the case of coming under gunfire, as claimed by governmental sources in
7- The government in
8- The Centre renews the call to the dismissed government in
9- The Centre calls upon the dismissed government in
10- The Centre calls for the immediate release of all persons detained for political reasons, noting that political detention is illegal in Palestinian law.
Public Document
**************************************
For more information please call PCHR office in
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
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Al Mezan Calls for Investigation into Killing of Six Citizens and Injuring of over Eighty in Gaza
Six Palestinian citizens were killed and over eighty injured in
· Law enforcement personnel have an obligation to respect and abide by firm instructions that regulate the use of force.
Les journalistes palestiniens entre deux feux
Benjamin Barthe, Le Monde, 10.11.07. Publier ou ne pas publier : telle est la question qui se pose chaque jour aux journalistes palestiniens à Gaza, coincés entre les injonctions du gouvernement pro-Fatah de Ramallah et les menaces de l'ex-cabinet Hamas. Hisham Saqalah, rédacteur en chef du site d'information Al-Rassed Al-Alami, avait choisi, lui, de publier. Son article portait sur la prise de contrôle d'un stade par des miliciens islamistes. Représailles immédiates : mardi 6 novembre, des hommes armés ont confisqué son ordinateur, ses archives, son téléphone portable et des dizaines de CD. Cet incident est le dernier en date d'une longue liste. Depuis la prise de contrôle de la bande de Gaza par le Hamas, Reporters sans frontières (RSF) a recensé neuf agressions de journalistes par la Force exécutive, la police des islamistes, et plus d'une vingtaine d'interpellations. "Personne n'a oublié comment les journalistes qui couvraient les manifestations anti-Hamas de cet été ont été molestés, dit Saud Abou Ramadan, correspondant de plusieurs médias internationaux. Nous ignorons toute une série d'informations pour éviter les menaces téléphoniques au milieu de la nuit." Pour accroître son contrôle des médias, le Hamas exige désormais de leurs membres qu'ils obtiennent une carte de presse délivrée par "son" ministère de l'information. Sans ce document, pas moyen d'accéder aux conférences de presse patronnées par les nouveaux maîtres de Gaza. "C'est un véritable casse-tête, dit Shadi Al-Kashef, cameraman de l'agence Ramattan, car, de l'autre côté, le gouvernement de Ramallah menace de fermer nos bureaux en Cisjordanie si nous nous conformons aux exigences du Hamas."Article paru dans l'édition du 10.11.07.
En Cisjordanie, la situation est à peine plus enviable. Lundi, à Hébron, deux employés de la chaîne Al-Aqsa, la vitrine télévisée du Hamas, ont été arrêtés par les forces de sécurité et emprisonnés. "Les journalistes figurent parmi les premières victimes de l'affrontement entre les deux factions", déplore RSF.
Benjamin Barthe
Gaza yesterday, Applying law not clashes
Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, 13.11.07. At least five persons were killed when new clashes broke out on Monday between the Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip and Fatah supporters in Arafat's commemoration, medics said.
In a conference to the Spokesman of the Interior Ministry in Gaza, Ehab Al-Ghusain, said that the Fatah militants and Fatah movement are responsible for the accident after not adhering to an agreement reached with the police and Fatah leaders days before the commemoration.
The Spokesman added that the Palestinian police give Fatah movement a legal permission to do the commemoration and more than that, the Palestinian police helped Fatah by organizing the traffic to make the reaching to the commemoration very easy.
Also in the conference, Al-Ghusain said that the Interior Ministry decided to catch the charged persons whomever they are and to apply the law in the Palestinian street to end chaos and to achieve calmness in the Gaza Strip, "No one above the law" Al-Ghusain said.
Gaza doesn't need aid: it has a £2bn gas field
Tim Butcher, Telegraph.co.uk., 7.11.07. Instead of checking into their smart Parisian hotels, donors would do better to come to Gaza to help free a Palestinian economic asset so large that it would do away with the need to bleed the international community of millions in aid every year. Twenty miles from the beaches of Gaza, too far for the eye to see but still very much in Palestinian waters, lies a fortune in untapped, off-shore gas. Prospecting vessels sent down two probes seven years ago and what they found got the juices of executives from multinational fuel companies flowing. In one field alone, experts estimated a reserve of £2 billion worth of natural gas. And there is plenty of potential for other fields. So complete is Israel's control of the vestigial Palestinian state that, for years, the Jewish state was able to block development of the field. Back then, the plan was for the Gaza gas to be sold to Egypt, but this was during the second intifada, when the prime minister, Ariel Sharon, said there was no way he would allow a project to grow that would earn money for Yasser Arafat.
Instead of Egypt buying Gaza's gas in the future, it suddenly began to make sense for Israel to become the purchaser: Israel's indigenous gas fields - north of the Gaza Marine field - could run out within a few years and the only other long-term source will be a pipeline from neighbouring Egypt. At first sight, this appears a win-win situation. The Palestinians would have a guaranteed purchaser for their gas, one that would generate £50 million a year for 15 years in tax revenues, and provide the foundation for sustainable economic growth. And the Israelis would have a secure source of affordable gas to underwrite their economy's growth. It would also neatly show how two historic enemies could come to rely on each other for economic prosperity. A negotiating team, led by Nigel Shaw from British Gas, the company that bought the rights to develop Gaza Marine, duly moved into an office block in a smart Israeli coastal town and prepared to draw up the various legal documents and guarantees that are standard in the international gas and oil industry. But in spite of public statements from Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, that he supports the project, and even the intervention of Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, who identified the deal as key to the development of the Palestinian economy, negotiations have not budged. Approaches made by The Daily Telegraph to key Israeli government stakeholders - the National Infrastructure ministry and Prime Minister's Office - have resulted in similar statements about "negotiations progressing" and "final agreements being imminent", but industry insiders have revealed that, in reality, no agreement is in sight. There were some Israeli concerns that the gas money might end up in the hands of Hamas, but they were dealt with last year, when a trust fund was set up that ensured international cash goes only to the Palestinian government appointed by Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian national authority and leader of Fatah.
If Mr Blair is serious about his mission to help develop a sustainable Palestinian economy, he could put his weight behind getting the Gaza gas project off the ground. So far, he has set his sights a bit lower, talking publicly only about redeveloping a sewage plant in Gaza and cautiously dodging attempts to involve him with Gaza Marine. Unless he shows a bit more courage, one fears next month's donor conference for the Palestinians will not be the last.
lunedì 12 novembre 2007
Whose road map?
Jeff Alper, The Jerusalem Post, 7.11.07. IN THE end, the Palestinians may get 80-90% of the West Bank, but they do not get a viable state. They will have sterile swatches of territory whereas Israel retains control of the borders, movement of people and goods both within the Palestinian state and between it and the countries around, much of the country's arable land, almost all its water, the Palestinians' airspace and even control of their communications. The Palestinian state is deprived of a viable economy. Given that 60% of Palestinians are under the age of 18 and that mini-state must absorb hundreds of thousands of refugees, its prospects for being a viable, stable and truly independent state are nil given the unspoken parameters outlined in the Bush letter. There will be a Palestinian state. Israel has an urgent demographic need to get the almost four million Palestinians of the occupied territories off its hands. It might even attempt to "swap" a couple hundred thousand Israeli Arab citizens of the Galilee Triangle under the pretense of giving the Palestinians more land. The crucial question is: will it be a viable state? If it's true that Olmert intends that Israel permanently retain the settlement blocs, an Israeli "greater" Jerusalem and effective control of the entire country to the Jordan River, then we will merely be substituting a sophisticated form of apartheid for occupation. The devil is in the details.
The crucial document that subverts any viable two-state solution, a factor in Israel's strategic considerations mentioned by Olmert as an aside only a few days ago, is Bush's letter of April, 2004, to then-prime minister Ariel Sharon. This little-noticed document fundamentally changed the parameters of what is to be discussed in any "peace process" and what Israel's obligations are under the road map. It is considered by the Israeli government as perhaps the most crucial element in its effort to retain the major settlement blocs and in that way foreclosing the possibility of a viable Palestinian state.
The crucial document that subverts any viable two-state solution, a factor in Israel's strategic considerations mentioned by Olmert as an aside only a few days ago, is Bush's letter of April, 2004, to then-prime minister Ariel Sharon. This little-noticed document fundamentally changed the parameters of what is to be discussed in any "peace process" and what Israel's obligations are under the road map. It is considered by the Israeli government as perhaps the most crucial element in its effort to retain the major settlement blocs and in that way foreclosing the possibility of a viable Palestinian state.
The essence of the Bush letter, which was subsequently ratified by the House of Representatives by a vote of 407-9 and by the Senate by 95-1, is the following passage: "In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli populations centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949."
In one seemingly innocuous sentence, President Bush fatally but knowingly undermined UN Resolution 242, the very basis of the two-state solution since 1967 and of his own road map initiative, by nullifying the requirement that Israel return to the Green Line (with agreed-upon adjustments) so that a viable Palestinian state might emerge.
Israel takes the American position - rejected by the other three members of the road map Quartet, the UN, Europe and Russia, but so what? - as agreement to its retaining its major settlement blocs. They are six or seven in number: the Jordan Valley, the Ariel bloc, the Modi'in bloc, the three blocs that make up "Greater Jerusalem" (Givat Ze'ev, Ma'aleh Adumim and the Etzion Bloc/Efrat), and perhaps a salient into Hebron.
When, then, Olmert speaks of "conforming to the road map," he speaks of withdrawal from all the occupied territory outside those settlement blocs, since the Bush letter de facto annexes them to Israel. The massive building of settlements and highways within these settlement blocs does not, therefore, constitute a breach in Israel's responsibility to end settlement construction in the first phase of the road map, since they are no longer parts of the occupied territory.
The area of the settlement blocs that Israel wishes to retain may not seem like much; between 10-20% of the West Bank, including "Greater Jerusalem." But they are crucial for a viable Palestinian state - and "viability" is a term of reference in the road map.
The settlement blocs of an Israeli "Greater Jerusalem" remove from the Palestinians the economic heart of their future state, since up to 40% of the Palestinian economy, according to the World Bank, revolves around tourism in Jerusalem. The other blocs carve the West Bank into three "cantons" (Sharon's term, since Olmert's Convergence Plan, which he never abandoned, is based on Sharon's Cantonization Plan). The Jordan Valley bloc ensures Israeli control of the border and of the Jordan River's water.
Indeed, while accepting the road map, Olmert has in mind a very different document than that of the UN, the Europeans, the Russians and the Palestinians themselves. Integral to Israel's version of the document are the "14 reservations" it appended, which effectively nullify the road map as a genuine path to peace.
Reservation # 5, for example, states that "The provisional state will have provisional borders and certain aspects of sovereignty, be fully demilitarized…, be without the authority to undertake defense alliances or military cooperation, and Israeli control over the entry and exit of all persons and cargo, as well as of its air space and electromagnetic spectrum."
IN THE end, the Palestinians may get 80-90% of the West Bank, but they do not get a viable state. They will have sterile swatches of territory whereas Israel retains control of the borders, movement of people and goods both within the Palestinian state and between it and the countries around, much of the country's arable land, almost all its water, the Palestinians' airspace and even control of their communications. The Palestinian state is deprived of a viable economy. Given that 60% of Palestinians are under the age of 18 and that mini-state must absorb hundreds of thousands of refugees, its prospects for being a viable, stable and truly independent state are nil given the unspoken parameters outlined in the Bush letter.
There will be a Palestinian state. Israel has an urgent demographic need to get the almost four million Palestinians of the occupied territories off its hands. It might even attempt to "swap" a couple hundred thousand Israeli Arab citizens of the Galilee Triangle under the pretense of giving the Palestinians more land. The crucial question is: will it be a viable state? If it's true that Olmert intends that Israel permanently retain the settlement blocs, an Israeli "greater" Jerusalem and effective control of the entire country to the Jordan River, then we will merely be substituting a sophisticated form of apartheid for occupation. The devil is in the details.
The writer is the coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380752506&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Copyright 1995- 2007 The Jerusalem Post - http://www.jpost.com/
Al Mezan Condemns Increased Killings in Gaza; Calls for Investigations in the Murder of Two People
Al Mezan Center for HUman Rights, 7.11.07. The Gaza Strip has witnessed increasing number of victims of criminal acts that caused losses of life and property. Two Palestinians; including a policeman, have been killed and eleven others injured in recent clashes, while explosives targeted a restaurant and a café. Armed men broke into a journalist's house and seized his laptop and mobile phone. Masked armed man also seized a jeep owned by a director of the Ministry of Local Government while political arrests continued to occur. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights expresses its deep concern by the increased number of the victims of internal violence in © 2004 Al Mezan Center fot Human Rights, Palestine - Gaza Strip, Contact us
Jabalia office Tel: 972-(0)8-2453555, Fax: 972-(0)8-2453554 / Gaza office Telefax: 972-(0)8-2820447/ Rafah office Telefax: 972-(0)8-2137120
Occupation forces arrested Hamas deputies, Mariam Saleh and Khaled Tafesh
Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades, 12.11.07. Zionist occupation forces arrested at dawn on Monday, two of Hamas deputies in the Legislative Council Dr. Mariam Saleh from the town of Al-Bireh in Ramallah and Sheikh Khaled Tafesh from Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Abdullah Misleh, son of Dr. Mariam, said that the occupation forces raided the home, which located in Al Ersal Street in the City of Ramallah at one o'clock after midnight and arrested his mother Dr. Mariam Saleh after they seized her computer.
Abdullah added "The Zionist forces asked my mother to bring her stuffs because there is a decision to arrest her". It should be mentioned that Dr. Mariam is married to Nazmi Abdullah Misleh, a retired school teacher and has seven children.
The family of Dr. Saleh said that the occupation soldiers tried to assault on her disable son Ahmed, 33 years, when they broke into his room.
In the city of Bethlehem, Aisha Thwaib is the wife of Hamas deputy Khaled Tafesh, 43 years, said that the Zionist forces raided the house and asked Sheik Tafesh to get out of his house and arrested him. The forces arrested Sheik Tafesh without giving reasons.
The occupation authorities have released Sheik Tafesh few months ago after he spent several years in the Zionist jails. Sheik Tafesh was elected as a member in the Legislative Council during his detention in the Zionist prisons.
In the same context, the family of the prisoner Nada Al Jayousi said that a large forces of the occupation army raided the family house in Al Ain camp in Ramallah city. The forces arrested Al Jayousi's husband, Majed Hassan, who is working in the Commerce room in Ramallah. He has nine children.
It is noteworthy that the Zionist occupation authorities arrested more than 44 members of the Legislative Council including the head of the council Dr. Aziz Dwaik and the council Secretary, Mahmoud Al Ramahi, within the campaign which began in late June 2006 and still continues.
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