Issue No: 28
Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia (PCOM)
13th Jan, 2013
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13th Jan, 2013
Issue No: 28
Read in this report:
Mishaal & Abbas meet in Cairo (P.4)
Ofer prison stormed by Israeli Special Forces (P.6)
Scheme to sponsor Palestinian children (P.9)
Hammami: Al-Aqsa is in serious danger (P.5)
USA approves $480m aid for Israel (P.6)
Al-Issawi: Indomitable in the face of death (P.10)
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Issue No: 28
Contents
NEWS OF PALESTINE
Mishaal and Abbas meet in Cairo .............................................................................................. 4 Palestinian activists set-up protest tents in E1 area ................................................................... 4 Sheikh Hammami: The Aqsa Mosque is in serious danger ....................................................... 5 USA approves $480m military aid for Israel ............................................................................. 6 Ofer prison stormed by Israeli Special Forces ........................................................................... 6
ISRAEL INSIDER
On the eve of elections, Israel's politicians remain united in 'defense of ethnic purity' ............ 7
MALAYSIA & PALESTINIAN CAUSE
Scheme to sponsor Palestinian children ..................................................................................... 9
ARTICLES & ANALYSIS
Samer Al-Issawi: indomitable in the face of death .................................................................. 10
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NEWS OF PALESTINE
Mishaal and Abbas meet in Cairo The two sides have also agreed on forming the election committee in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, to complete the electoral register and deal with the National Council file, and on starting consultations to form a government headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. After the completion of the files, the two sides will set the date for holding the elections of the National Council, the Legislative Council and the presidency. 11/01/2013 Informed sources confirmed that the meetings between Fatah and Hamas in the Egyptian capital Cairo resulted in an agreement on six key issues. The sources told PIC's reporter that the Hamas delegation, headed by the chief of the Movement’s Political Bureau Khaled Meshaal, and Fatah delegation, headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, mainly agreed on achieving the reconciliation as a one-package deal.
The leaders of Palestinian factions will be called for a meeting on the first of the next month to pass the national council law, in addition to a meeting next week to arrange meeting dates and present them to the factions. It’s worth mentioning that the ties have slowly begun to improve between the two factions, with Hamas recently allowing Fatah to start holding rallies in Gaza, and PA allowing Hamas supporters to do the same in the West Bank, which they control. Source: PIC + Aljazeera
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Palestinian activists set-up protest tents in E1 area 11/01/2013 Hundreds of Palestinian activists set up protest tents on Friday in the controversial E1 corridor area near Jerusalem as part of the non-violent resistance movement against Israel's occupation, a local group said. Said Abdullah Abu Rahma, the coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Bilin said that Palestinian activists had set up the village of Bab al-
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Issue No: 28 Shams, or 'Gate of the Sun', in protest against Israeli settlements. "We will not be silent while settlements and the colonization of our land continues, and confirm that the village will endure until the rightful owners of the land are installed," Abu Rahma said. "Israel has imposed facts on the ground for decades amid the silence of the international community, and the time has come to change the rules of the game, we are owners of this land and we will impose the reality on the ground," Abu Rahma added.
In December, Israel announced plans to build some 3,000 settler homes in the E1 corridor near Jerusalem, drawing widespread international condemnation. Construction in E1 would divide the West Bank would cut off the West Bank's northern part from the occupied territory's southern part. The colony, which is slated to include more than 3000 settler units, along with infrastructure, roads and other facilities, would also separate Arab East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.
Source: Agencies _______________________________________________________________
Sheikh Hammami: The Aqsa Mosque is in serious danger Jerusalem came in the framework of Israeli election campaigning. Hammami affirmed in exclusive statements to PIC on Saturday that the taxes imposed on Jerusalemites, the demolition of their houses and the confiscation of their lands represent part of this Israeli policy which comes within the framework of the elections, to be held on the 22nd of this month.
06/01/2013 Sheikh Jamil Hamami, member of the Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem and Islamic studies professor at al-Quds University, said that the Israeli violations in
He also described the events taking place in the Aqsa Mosque and the attacks by the Israeli government and settlers, at this stage, as very serious and alarming. Sheikh Hammami said that the dangers engulfing the Aqsa make it imperative on the Islamic and Arab nations, the leaders and the peoples, to take serious moves to save the Aqsa Mosque from the occupation plans. He warned of the occupation plans aimed to divide the Aqsa Mosque and to establish outposts around it, adding that the aim of these outposts is to protect the settlers around the Mosque.
Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia (PCOM)
Source: PIC
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Issue No: 28
USA approves $480m military aid for Israel According to Hebrew website News One, the aid includes anti-missile defence systems, including Iron Dome and Arrow; $211 million has been allocated to support the Iron Dome missile defence system already in place. The balance will be allocated to the Arrow system to upgrade it into "Arrow 3" for intercepting missiles in the upper layers of the atmosphere. The website notes that during 2012 American assistance to Israel's missile systems, excluding Iron Dome, amounted to $235 million. It also noted that the US has allocated a total of $9.8 billion for missiles and missile protection, including the establishment of three military bases in the east of America.
08/01/2013
President Barack Obama has agreed a new package of military aid for Israel worth $480 million during the current year. The aid will Source: MEMO come out of the budget of the US Defence Department. _______________________________________________________________
Ofer prison stormed by Israeli Special Forces various Palestinian factions. Reports allege that a number of prisoners were beaten up by the Israelis with no prior warning and for no apparent reason. Eyewitnesses claim that the prisoners were kept outside in extremely cold weather and pouring rain before being beaten. Prisoners said that the Israeli prison authorities have transferred a number of Palestinians to Hadarim Prison inside Israel, in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
11/01/2013 Section 15 of Ofer Prison has been stormed by Israeli Special Forces trained to isolate and assault prisoners. The prison is in the occupied West Bank; section 15 holds prisoners from
On the other hand, Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli Ramle jail have threatened to go on hunger strike in view of deterioration of their incarceration conditions.
Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia (PCOM)
Source: PIC
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Issue No: 28
ISRAEL INSIDER
On the eve of elections, Israel's politicians remain united in 'defense of ethnic purity'
By: Ben white With Israeli elections just around the corner, Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to retain his position at the head of a coalition government. Tzipi Livni, former foreign minister and now head of her own party, has been one of the most vocal critics of Netanyahu during the campaign, even if that hasn't translated into success in the polls. One of Livni's main accusations against Netanyahu's government is that the lack of progress in negotiations with the Palestinian Authority is endangering the very existence of a Jewish state. Answering readers' questions in Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, Livni expressed her view that "two nation-states are a primary Israeli interest and without them Israel will not be the Jewish nation-state but an Arab or binational state". Later, Livni explained that while she still believes in "the Jewish people's right to the Great Land of Israel" - i.e. including the West Bank - she thinks that for "the preservation of a Jewish and democratic Israel", Israel "must divide the land" so as to prevent "a state between the sea and the Jordan river which will ultimately be an Arab state". Naturally, Livni sees Israel's "Jewish and democratic" identity as "values [that] do not contradict each other".
Meanwhile, hundreds of letters were delivered to Netanyahu's office in a joint initiative of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America, J Street, and Americans for Peace Now, expressing concern over settlement expansion. The letter stated that "the ultimate safety and security of Israel as a Jewish state will depend on reaching a peace agreement that also allows Palestinians to live safely and securely in their own state". A final example - a recent op-ed in Ha'aretz by US businessman S. Daniel Abraham put it bluntly: “Israel needs the Palestinian state to come into existence even more than the Palestinians do. Without it, Israel cannot continue as both a Jewish and a democratic state. If Israel doesn't reach a two-state settlement with the Palestinians very soon, then one day likely sooner rather than later - the Jewish state as we know it will cease to exist.� In other words, the alternative to LikudYisrael Beiteinu is a 'centrist' coalition that believes the best way to secure Jewish privilege in the majority of historic Palestine is to physically separate Jews from Palestinians as much as possible, permitting the latter to 'self-rule' in reservations. The right (or farright - a colonial political spectrum can get confusing) believes it is possible to hold on to
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“I must admit that though I understood the argument intellectually, it struck me as a harsh defense of the ethnic purity of the Israeli state when Tzipi said it. It was one of those conversations that shocked my sensibilities as an American. After all, the very concept of 'American' rejects ethnic or religious definitions of citizenship. Moreover, there were Arab citizens of Israel. Where did they fit in?�
more territory, ruling over disenfranchised Palestinians - or, in some cases, expelling them outright. It is a disagreement about what version of settler colonialism is most sustainable. Despite their apparent deep disagreement, Netanyahu and Livni - and the constituencies they represent - share one thing in common: a commitment to ensuring no justice or restitution for the ethnic cleansing of 1948 and the maintenance of an ethnocratic regime of privilege (its borders are disputed). I am reminded of an excerpt from Condoleeza Rice's memoirs, where she recounts Livni explaining to her in 2004 that a return of the Palestinian refugees would "change the nature of the State of Israel, which had been founded as a state for the Jews". Rice reflects:
Rice silences her own questions "despite the dissonance". But it is this 'defense of ethnic purity' that unites Netanyahu, Lieberman and Livni, and means no rights, equality or decolonisation for the Palestinian people: refugees, occupied, and second-class citizens alike.
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Issue No: 28
MALAYSIA & PALESTINIAN CAUSE
Scheme to sponsor Palestinian children So, we decided that the best way to spend the donations we received would be through a continuous, long-term sponsorship programme rather than a one-off payment. We estimate about RM500 is needed by each child per month, and we even hope to one day be able to fly the children to Malaysia for a visit so they could meet with their sponsors."
10/01/2013 Putera 1Malaysia Club (KP1M) is set to kickstart a long-distance sponsorship programme which will allow Malaysians to become benefactors to young Palestinians to help support their education and welfare. Its president, Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, said the club had already identified 313 young Palestinians aged between 6 and 17 who were in desperate need of financial support. "These underprivileged children, who face daily challenges due to the ongoing conflict, need funds to buy clothes and food, as well as to pay for their studies.
Azeez said besides the long-distance sponsorship programme, the club hoped to organise medical courses for doctors in Palestine to improve the quality of the healthcare system there, especially in Gaza. "So far, 23 local doctors have expressed their interest in going to Palestine to teach doctors there�. "We plan to have a rotation of doctors under this programme where one group will run the course for three months before being replaced by another group. The Red Crescent Society in Palestine has already given its approval and allocated a building for us to run the course. So, we are currently looking into acquiring the equipment we will need." Azeez added.
Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia (PCOM)
Source: New Straits Times
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Issue No: 28
ARTICLES & ANALYSIS
Samer Al-Issawi: indomitable in the face of death member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). He was imprisoned several times by the British Mandate authorities and later sentenced to death, escaping just hours before the time set for his execution. As for Samer, his political initiation started with the first Intifada in 1987. He recalls how he and his four brothers - Midhat, Rafat, Firas, and Fadi were detained during that period and served with prison sentences ranging from one to seven years.
By: Dr. Daud Abdullah At the end of 2012, there were 4,656 Palestinian political prisoners being held in Israeli prisons and detention centres. That figure includes 178 administrative detainees, 11 women and 177 children. In recent weeks, it is two hunger-strikers at least, Samer AlIssawi and Ayman Esharawna, whose plight has grabbed global attention. The personal background and circumstances of the former is exceptionally distressing. A resident of Al-Issawiya village in south Jerusalem, Samer comes from a family with a long history of resistance against British and Israeli rule. When the Israeli occupation destroyed the home of his brother recently, cut the water supply to the home of his mother and debarred his sister Shereen, a lawyer, from practicing her profession for six months, it seemed like a case of dĂŠjĂ vu. Samer's grandfather, Ahmad Al-Issawi, was a leader of the 1936 uprising and a founding
That was the stone-throwing generation; they had no rockets or any other means of resistance. Still in their early teens, they were struck with the full force of what passes for law in the occupied Palestinian territories. Indeed, within months of his release, Fadi, aged 16, was killed by the Israeli occupation forces for protesting against the massacre of Palestinian worshippers by a settler in Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque. With the onset of the second Intifada, Samer was detained and released several times. He was finally handed a 30-year jail sentence for attacks on Israelis in 2002. While Samer Al-Issawi sees himself as a prisoner of war, the Israeli establishment regard him as a "terrorist". Although he and his siblings were all incarcerated for extended periods, Samer was the one who appeared to be absent permanently from home. For ten years he never met any of his brothers; the Israelis made sure that they were always kept in separate prisons. By 2010, all four siblings, including Shereen, were imprisoned. Born in December 1979, Samer is nowbattling for his life. Long years of imprisonment, deprivation and torment have taken their toll. Still, he continues to resist with the only weapons left available to him; an undaunted
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Issue No: 28 spirit and an empty stomach. His resolve is never to succumb to what he regards as Israel's racist policies. When the news reached him of the demolition of his brother's house and the other arbitrary measures against his family, Samer had no doubt that this was all part of a calculated campaign of victimisation of his family to force him to break his hunger strike. From his "hospital" bed in Ramleh Prison, he assured his lawyer that this will never happen: "As long as my heart beats and God infuses my body with the spirit of a believer, there will be no turning back until freedom or martyrdom." Shortly after his release in October 2011 as part of the exchange for the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shailt, Samer was rearrested; this time the pretext was that he broke the condition of his release by visiting the West Bank. He faces another twenty years behind bars to complete the original sentence. Now perilously close to death, it would be something of a miracle if he lasts another ten months.
Try as they may, the Israeli authorities are yet to advance a cogent and compelling explanation in court for their persecution of Samer Al-Issawi and his family. There are thousands of illegal Jewish houses in the occupied territories; unlike the Issawi family's, they are served with electricity and water. Shereen Al-Issawi is convinced that the campaign of terror against her family and the Palestinian residents of Al-Issawiya village is to intimidate and ultimately force them out of Jerusalem. She recalls that "during interrogation they used to threaten to seize our identity cards and expel us to the West Bank." Whether he survives or not, Samer Al-Issawi has placed before the free world its moral, legal and political duties toward the Palestinians in Israeli jails. They may be "disappeared", but they're not forgotten. With indomitable people like him, the struggle for freedom and dignity will continue.
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Issue No: 28
Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia (PCOM)
13th Jan, 2013
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