Sharon's Latest dilemma

Sharon's Latest dilemma
A Poem - Unknown sent to my email
October 2, 2004
Sharon 's latest dilemma: How to extricate himself  from Gaza  and still be called "Victory" ? Failing that impossible feat he would settle for "Honorable Retreat" ! If the first is an impossibility..then the latter alternative is a mockery.. Deep inside the psyche of IDF generals there is some myth called: "Bringing Palestinians to their knees..." No need to ask how it came to being? It is a fact that keeps surfacing... Given the formidable arsenal of the latest US weaponry in Israel that "illusion" becomes very tempting & urging to say the least ... Poor and starving Palestinians Have come to the conclusion  that no matter what the price will be.. Sharon & IDF will leave Gaza with their tail between their feet... No doubt this is taking heavy toll among Palestinian civilians.. Saying otherwise would be ignoring facts or putting one's head in the sand... For the Palestinians it is a historic moment to inflict defeat on Sharon & IDF... It may sound rather "suicidal" ..but military history is full of such heroic stands .. Given the "size" of the Israeli military contingent in Gaza ..not to forget the settlements...   it is always possible for Intifada brave highly motivated fighters to have a good strike...  that will defeat all attempts by Sharon at declaring the withdrawal as a "Victory".. Palestinians are now re-drafting all known military manuals.  Soon their achievements will be taught at military academies. The truth of the matter said in few words: Palestinians are fighting for their beloved fatherland Israelis are currently sending their financial assets out...

Good Ole Gaza

Good Ole Gaza
October 01, 2004 By MIFTAH
Yesterday the Gaza Strip witnessed one of the most vicious and intense Israeli military campaigns in months. For the first time in four years of Palestinian civil uprising, the Israeli army reached the heart of the over densely populated Jabalya refugee camp.
This latest Israeli incursion comes supposedly as a response or retaliation, to a Qassam rocket attack by Hamas, which killed 2 children and injured 10 in the southern Israeli town of Sderot and a scorched earth policy which is part of Israel's plan for Gaza `disengagement.' With Israel's `natural right to defend herself,' the Israeli army undertook one of its most concentrated and systematic campaigns of killing innocent Palestinian civilians while at the same time, demolishing many homes and general infrastructure in Gaza. According to news sources, since Wednesday's incursion, 42 Palestinians have been killed and 140 people injured, who are said to be in very critical condition, 57 homes have been completely demolished, and one power transmitter was destroyed in the centre of Jabalya camp as well as, the outer walls of a UN school. The primitive, homemade Qassam rockets have proven to be a great annoyance for the Israeli military, illegal Israeli settlements within Gaza, and neighboring Israeli towns and villages. Using these simple rocket attacks as a pretext, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered his Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to "Take every necessary step to stop the firing of Qassams". In immediate response, Mofaz consulted with his Chief of Staff General Moshe Ya'alon, and told the Israeli Public Radio that "the army is considering temporarily re-occupying the Palestinian territory and could mobilize reserve troops". Under this operation codenamed `days of penitence', Gaza could become the venue of a large scale campaign of killings and massacres similar to the tragedy that took place in the Jenin refugee camp two and a half years ago. Israeli troops have repeatedly entered northern Gaza in an attempt stop Qassam rockets from reaching Israeli settlements and nearby towns and villages, but have failed so far. It is unclear how this latest operation will seek to halt the Qassam rockets, and the Palestinian resistance at large. With Gaza becoming a virtual disaster zone, the Israeli Government can not seem to comprehend that its incursions in Gaza will only fuel the anger and tension among Gazans, while achieving no security goals whatsoever for Israelis. If security is not Israel's primal intention, the question arises, how Israel's miserable conduct can be justified, with respects to human rights and the complete disregard for human life. Quite simply, apart from Israel having sadistic obsessions with Gaza and its inhabitants, Israel's policies of continued and repeated war crimes in Gaza go hand in hand with PM Sharon's proposed Unilateral Disengagement Plan. This plan seeks to evacuate all settlers by 2005, while creating as much collateral damage as possible prior to handing over the territory back to Palestinians. Former Gaza Security Chief, Mohammed Dahlan, who is seen as a key player in running Gaza after an Israeli withdrawal, said in a statement that the Israeli operation "will result in a bloodbath on both sides because the Palestinian people cannot remain silent in the face of this aggression". How much more damage and killing does the Israeli army need to commit before the International community, through the mechanics of the United Nations Security Council, issues a Chapter 7 resolution which progressively pressures Israel into full compliance with legally binding resolutions, or face sanctions and eventually the threat of military action through a world alliance? The UK Foreign Minster Jack Straw described the Middle East conflict as the greatest challenge to international order and went on to say "As for Israel – the targeted killings have to end, the settlement building in the West Bank must stop as must the routing of the `security barrier' onto Palestinian land". UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also commented on the recent developments in Gaza by expressing grave concern at the escalation of violence and "especially mourns the death and injuries of children". According to Al Mezan, a Palestinian human rights organization, after four years of the Intifada, the excessive use of force by Israel has brought the death toll in Gaza to 1,621 Palestinians, 179 of whom were killed by extra-judicial assassinations. The Israeli military also targeted 5,897 homes, 221 public facilities, 67 schools, 30 places of worship and 18 NGO offices, in addition to 477 commercial businesses and 248 industrial facilities.

A UHWC APPEAL/ATTACKS IN GAZA

A UHWC APPEAL/ATTACKS IN GAZA
A letter from Mariam
Friends: The massive invasion of Gaza was undoubtedly authorized by the Bush administration since it was known well in advance and noted in the Israeli press.   It was no doubt not incidentally planned for the night of the debate, when, presumably, everyone will not be paying attention.  Please write the media tomorrow--26 Palestinians dead, tank fire into heavily populated areas.  This is a "withdrawal" for Gaza when not a stick has been removed from the settlements?--Miriam --- ***
Dear Friends, > > All of us at the Middle East Children's Alliance are again shocked and saddened by the news coming from our friends and colleagues in Gaza. We are alarmed to see the number of casualties, injuries, and homes demolished increase by the hour. > > We are sharing with you the latest appeal from the Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC), an organization that provides medical services to residents throughout the Gaza Strip. > > Here's what you can do: >  *  Make a donation for food and medical aid by clicking the link below. We will wire any money collected to the UHWC to help them continue their work. >  *  Call the Congressional switchboard (1-800-839-5276) and ask your representatives to take a stand against the invasions in Gaza and to stop US Aid to Israel. Remind them that though Israel is violating International Law and US military aid to Israel violates the US Arms Export Control Act, the US government continues to give Israel over $5 billion in aid each year. Tell them that as a tax payer, you do not approve of your money being used to violate US Law or International Law. >  *  Call the United Nations (212-963-1234) and ask them to intervene since these incursions are in violation of International Law and 80% of Gazans are refugees under the protection of UNRWA. > > Thank you, > Barbara Lubin > Founder and Executive Director > > > https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=1171&rkey=9977&rdata=1148429:-1:9454570

Four Years of the Intifada

Four Years of the Intifada
Susan Brannon The First Victim was a 47 year old disabled man. One Day after the 4 Year mark, there has been3,342 Palestinians killed since September 28, 2000.
Yesterday three Palestinians were killed in Nablus and one in Rafah and one in Khan Younis. Read the article below to see the violations of Human Rights Issues due to war. The beginning of five years of occupation. A total 4,342 Palestinians and Israelis killed. Of those 1,008 were Israeli and 3,334 Palestinian. 82% of Palestinians killed were civilians.
621 Children Killed under the age of 17 10,000 Chilren have been injured 424 Palestinians killed by assassinations 100 Women in Prison 377 Children in Prison $1 Billion dollars of damage in the infrastructure 50% of Agricultural losses 298 Schools shelled or broken, where 4 children killed No drinking water in Gaza Water consumption is 5 times more for Israelis Settler water consumption is 20 times more 703 movement restrictions 55 women forced to give birth at checkpoints with 20 loosing their children The Wall is twice as high and three times as long as the Berlin Wall 40,000 Palestinians are imprisoned inside the Wall at Qalqalia 22,000 homes have been destroyed in Rafah, Gaza For more details click here A day and the life in Palestine read below: The Palestinian Monitor reports: Israeli soldiers killed Saleh Ibrahim Balalo, a 47- year-old mentally disabled man, when he left his house during a curfew in the Jenin refugee camp. Due to his condition he was not aware that a curfew was in place. He was shot in the chest and killed instantly. This is the second day the Jenin camp has been subject to military operations in which Israelis are conducting a house-to-house search campaign. Yesterday Israeli forces invaded Jenin with 70 military vehicles, two Apache helicopters, and one surveillance aircraft. Yesterday three Palestinians were killed in Nablus. Sayel Jibara, a father of ten from the village of Salem, was driving people from Nablus to his village when he decided to bypass a checkpoint that had closed the road. Near the Alom Morei settlement, an Israeli settler in a car stopped them, ordered the driver and three passengers to exit the car, and shot the driver at close range, killing him. According to witnesses, there was no provocation or reason for the killing. Jibara is the breadwinner for his children, aged 2 to 16, three of whom have problems with their eyes, as well as his wife, father, and mother. He was killed while trying to make the money to feed his family. The two other Palestinians killed in Nablus were Ammar Abu Nafiseh, age 21, and Ahmed Nidal el-Tirawi, age 18, from the Balata refugee camp. Israeli forces invaded the camp yesterday and closed all the entrances except one southern entrance, where they stationed five Jeeps. Throughout the day, young people came to the area to throw stones at the Jeeps, and Israelis responded with live fire. Ammar was killed by one bullet to his chest and one to his leg. Ahmed was killed by one live bullet to his eye. Yesterday, a Palestinian named Masoud al-Shaher, 31 years old from Rafah, was killed when Israelis fired a missile at his car from an Apache helicopter in an attempt to assassinate Mohamad Suleyman Abu Nasireh in Abasan village in Khan Younis. Abu Nasireh survived and is in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds. In Khan Younis, Said al-Madhoun, 61 years old, was killed when Israelis from Navet Kalim settlement opened fire in a civilian area. Al-Madhoun was visiting a relative who works in an Elementary School for Boys run by the UN. According to an eye-witness, Said was shot by a live bullet to his stomach while he was standing in the yard of the school.

West Bank taxi driver by settler was unprovoked

West Bank taxi driver by settler was unprovoked
Ha'aretz, September 29, 2004 By Arnon Regular
Police sources said yesterday that the shooting of a Palestinian by a settler on Monday was an act of self-defense, but the findings of a Haaretz investigation cast serious doubt on this conclusion. Yehoshua Elitzur of Itamar killed taxi driver Sael Jabara, 46, on the access road to the settlement of Elon Moreh. Elitzur claimed that he shot in self-defense after Jabara tried to run him off the road, and police sources said yesterday that they believe him. This means that Elitzur is now suspected only of manslaughter rather than murder. But Haaretz's interviews with three of Jabara's passengers indicate that no argument or confrontation of any kind preceded the shooting. All three passengers have also been interviewed by the police.
According to the passengers, five people entered Jabara's taxi in the West Bank village of Salem at about 12:30 P.M. on Monday. The regular access road from Salem to the main road is blocked by the Beit Furik roadblock, so the taxi instead took a dirt road that funnels into the access road to Elon Moreh. According to the passengers, there are daily incidents between settlers and Palestinians on this road. Nael Mansour, 25, a clothes merchant from the Balata refugee camp near Nablus , described what happened next as follows: "We traveled a short distance to the main road, and at this stage we did not yet see anyone. We began to ascend the rise that leads to the road, and then to the left of our vehicle a few meters away from us, I saw the settler with a big rifle aimed at the window of Sael, the driver. I saw that he [the settler] was saying all kinds of things, but the windows were closed and I didn't understand what he was saying, even though I understand a little Hebrew. Sael began slowly turning right and intended to open the window, because we were afraid of him [the settler]. "Then the settler yelled `stop!' and shortly afterward he fired a single shot that hit Sael in the hand and chest. There was a lot of blood, and the car continued going right. I held onto Sael and then I hit the brakes with my foot and pulled the hand brake and the car stopped. The settler was still there, and I was afraid to leave the car. We were all afraid that he would kill us all, but Ahmed, who sat behind me, got out and began shouting at him: `What have you done? You've killed him! Call an ambulance!' "But the settler shouted something in Hebrew at him and turned toward his red car, which was parked on the other side of the road. A few seconds later, another car came toward Elon Moreh and we flagged it down to ask [the driver] to call an ambulance or evacuate Sael, but the first settler shouted various things and the driver continued driving and didn't stop. In the end, we moved Sael to the seat beside the driver and drove toward the Beit Furik roadblock. Rahma Shtayeh, a 33-year-old from Salem , described the incident as follows: "We drove on the dirt road, and had reached the main road when suddenly I heard a shot. When I looked out the window I saw the settler, and then [I saw] the blood. I started to scream like a mad woman, because I thought he was going to kill us all. The others also shouted, and then I saw the one who was sitting next to the driver hit the brakes so the car wouldn't roll. Then I saw another man in the middle seat open the door, get out and begin shouting at the settler, who turned around and left. Then the man who got out returned to the car and drove the car to the Beit Furik roadblock." Ahmed Shtayeh, 37, a shepherd from Salem, gave the following description: "The car had finished climbing the rise, and Jabara began turning left onto the road when we all saw a tall, bearded, brown-haired settler standing in the middle of the road, and behind him, a red Fiesta car. "Sael thought the settler needed help and slowed the car, and then he opened the window and was speaking to him in Hebrew when suddenly the settler aimed an M-16 rifle at him and two seconds later, he shot, while the window was still closed. The weapon had been loaded earlier, and the settler who was standing in the road fired a bullet at Sael that hit his left hand and tore it to pieces and afterward also entered the left side of his chest. He lost consciousness and we tried to treat him. I opened the door and shouted at the settler to come help and call an ambulance, but he said, in Hebrew, `God willing, he will die' and left. Another car, with another settler inside, arrived, but the first settler shouted at him to keep going and he didn't stop. In the end, we drove to the Beit Furik roadblock." Jabara's death is only the latest in a string of incidents over the last four years in which at least five Palestinian civilians have been either fatally shot or run over by settlers in this area, which includes the settlements of Elon Moreh, Itamar, Yitzhar and Har Bracha. Jabara's body has not yet been released from the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir.

Listen Up Rise Up

Listen Up Rise Up By Yahya Abdul Rahman - Sept 29, 2004 http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net/listenup.htm Yo , listen up............. Now we have a bunch of fat-cats Wanting to kill all the poor blacks Possessing weapons of mass destruction Lecturing the world with their pontifical instructions ******** Poverty rampant everywhere No one around seems to care ******** Give the people a voice Give the people a choice ******** War criminals getting a Noble prize Poor people trying to get nutrition on left over curly fries ******** We don't want your racist pity Let's get down to the nitty gritty ******** WE WANT JOBS! ******** We wanna feed our families Have a little bit of security ******** Breathe a little clean air Does anyone reading this even care? ******** They talk about the horrors of terrorism How about the horrors brought about by capitalism? ******** Unfair wealth distribution Meaningless pieces of paper called a constitution ******** Entire nations being ethnically cleansed Kabala reading divas seeing the world through a rose coloured lens ******** We're tired of the hypocrisy We want real grassroots democracy ******** Go ahead and plant you injustice seeds Go ahead and commit your dirty deeds ******** We'd rather die on our feet than live on our knees We want a good life and not collectively bleed ******** You might not like the colour of our face You might not like the content of our faith ******** Well tough We've had enough ******** Go ahead and fabricate history Go ahead and spread your misery ******** If you squeeze a cat you're gonna get scratched If you oppress us we're gonna fight back ******** We're not the ones with guns in our hands We're not the ones who drew artificial lines in the sand ******** A nation has nothing to do with geography A nation is all about identity ******** We know who we are, but do you know what you have become? Treating the rest of the world like a piece of scum ******** Just remember that you reap what you sow And we will rise up and won't take it anymor

When...

When...
by Yahya Abdul Rahman - Sept 27,2004 http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net/when.htm
When Hitler is praised and peace is defamed When villages are levelled and innocents maimed When the masses are used like pawns in some game When countless injustices are done in their names
When invoking some faith innocents die When lies become truth and truth becomes lies When history is distorted to justify killing When the cemeteries are continually filling When fact becomes fiction and fiction becomes fact The fruits of it all is the rape of Gujarat .