Issue no 66

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Issue No : 66 21th October, 2013

Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia | 1


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Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia

Palestinian Cultural

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Read In This Report

P9

Maariv: Border issue bringsthe negotiations to a dead

end

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P 8

P 11

Tension running highin Israeli jail

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Death in the Mediterranean must give new life to the Palestinian refugee issue

By:

Dr. Daud Abdullah

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Mashaal and Hanyyeh call for a third Intifada

Tens of Palestinianrefugees drown

in the Mediterranean

Hamas greatly concerned over suffering of Syria›s Palestinian refugees

Poll reveals that Israelis support Netanyahuand are frustrated by Lapid

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CONTENTS

News of Palestine

Articles & Analyses

Death in the Mediterranean must give new life to the Palestinian

refugee issue 12

Mashaal and Hanyyeh call for a third Intifada 4

Israeli settlers invade Al-Aqsa Mosque 5

Maariv: Border issue brings the negotiations to a dead end 6

Big rise in Jewish settlement building 7

Tens of Palestinian refugees drown in the Mediterranean 8

Tension running high in Israeli jail 9

Gaza: 10 thousand workers join the ranks of unemployed 10

Poll reveals that Israelis support Netanyahu and are frustrated by Lapid 11

Israel Insider

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News of Palestine

20/10/2013Head of Hamas›s political bureau Khaled Mashaal said that the West Bank is getting prepared for another round of confrontation against the Is-raeli occupation and the har-bingers of a new intifada are looming.Mashaal made his remarks during a festival for Jerusa-lem organized in the Qatari capital Doha by the Pales-tinian groups Hawiyya and youth for Jerusalem.«The oppressors, the ene-mies and the rivals suppress our people in the West Bank, but today it is growing rest-less and getting prepared for a new round. It will not be long until you see what pleases you, God willing,» Mashaal stated. The Hamas leader stressed that the next battle against the Israeli oc-cupation would be for the Aqsa Mosque and urged the Palestinian people and the

Arab and Muslim nations not to forget Jerusalem and its holy Mosque.On the other hand, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya said “The Palestinian prisoners’ file will remain open and will not close until all of the prisoners are released”, calling on the Islamic peoples «from Tangiers to Ja-karta to participate in the Great Aqsa Intifada.”In a speech on Saturday marking the two-year anniversary of Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange deal, Haneyya vowed to liberate all the prisoners from Israeli pris-ons, saying that their release is on the top of his government›s priorities.Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, made a great victory by accomplishing the exchange deal especially by keeping Shalit for five years and freeing more than one thousand prisoners, he said. The Palestin-ian Prime Minister in Gaza Strip

Mashaal and Hanyyehcall for a third Intifada

affirmed that thousands of re-sistance elements above the ground and under the ground are preparing for the liberation battle of Palestine.The prime minister warned of the Israeli schemes to divide al-Aqsa mosque spatially and temporally by allowing Israeli settlers and soldiers to break into al-Aqsa Mosque as a pre-lude to demolish it.Haneyya called for intensify-ing the Palestinian presence in al-Aqsa mosque, praising the Palestinian popular and armed resistance in the West Bank. He strongly condemned all forms of security coordination and the persecution of resistance elements in West Bank, prais-ing the latest resistance activi-ties in West Bank. “There will be no security or stability in the region as long as Al-Aqsa mosque is in danger,» he af-firmed.

Source: Agencies

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14/10/2013After being driven out by Muslim worshippers, Israeli settlers were physically pre-vented from re-entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday when Israeli occupation forces closed one of the gates on them.Witnesses said that a group of Israeli settlers broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the early morning. According to the witnesses, the settlers then performed prayers and Talmudic rituals, and raised the Israeli flag inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque.The Palestinian Muslim worshippers responded by driving the settlers out of the Mosque through the Al-Magharbeh Gate while chanting Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest). Israeli security forces intervened to protect the settlers, but then closed the door to stop them from re-entering the Mosque.It is worth mentioning that thousands of Israeli settlers have been heading to Occupied Jerusalem in recent days with the intention of entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque after the death of the extremist Rabbi Obadiah Yousif last week.However hundreds of Palestinians, including Sharia Schools› students, have remained inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque to undermine their plans to invade and perform mass ritu-als.

Source: MEMO

Israeli settlers invade Al-Aqsa Mosque

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Maariv: Border issue bringsthe negotiations to a dead end

17/10/2013Maariv newspaper said the ne-gotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have already entered a dead end fol-lowing the disagreements be-tween the two sides concerning the border issue.

The paper pointed out that «Is-rael has proposed renting the Jordan Valley area for decades but the Palestinian Authority refused that.» It quoted Pales-tinian sources as saying that Israel insists on imposing its control over the eastern border with Jordan.

Maariv said: «member of the Central Committee of the Fatah movement Hanan Ashrawi con-firmed the news in a statement to the newspaper.»

Palestinian Authority has resumed direct negotiations with Israel un-der American auspices, since last August, without preconditions from both sides.

On the other hand, Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett, who heads the right-wing Jewish Home party, on Monday called the creation of a Palestinian state a delusional act.

«The creation of Palestinian state within the State of Israel is a delusional act because it supports replacing coexistence with autonomy,» he said ac-cording to Israel Radio.

Bennett said that while his party would not stop Justice Minister Tzipi Livni from negotiating with the Palestinian Author-ity, when the Knesset opens its winter session Monday, it would pass the bill requiring a referendum on any peace deal that would relinquish «sover-eign Israeli territory.»

Source: Agencies

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17/10/2013There has been a big rise in Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank, according to a report by the Israeli group Peace Now.

The anti-settlement watchdog says construction was up to 70 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2012.

“The fact that we see on the ground ongoing construction is like a slap in the face of the Palestinians” said Hagit Ofran, Peace Now’s Settlement Watch Director. “It is like two sides negotiating how to divide a pizza and one side continues to eat it.”

Israel’s settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are considered illegal by most coun-tries. Palestinian leaders often cite settlement expansion on land they seek for a state as the main obstacle to a Middle East peace agreement.

Source: Euronews

Big rise in Jewish settlement building

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Tens of Palestinian refugees drownin the Mediterranean

16/10/2013Palestinian official sources af-firmed that 212 Palestinians and Syrians survived drown-ing after the ship they were aboard sank off the Maltese and Italian coasts a few days ago. The ship was carrying some 400 migrants, mainly Syrians and Palestinian refu-gees fleeing from Syria

The sources added that 146 survivors were taken in by Malta and the 66 others were allowed to stay in Italy, noting that the bodies of 32 refugees were pulled out of the sea after the sinking incident.

For its part, the Hamas Move-ment expressed its grave concern over the tragic hu-manitarian situation which the Palestinian refugees are living in either in their camps in Syr-ia or areas of refuge.

In a press release on Sunday, Hamas stated that large scores of Palestinian refugees were massacred recently in the refugee camps of Yarmouk, Dera›a, Husseiniya and Di-yabiya and many others died drowning in the Mediterra-nean after escaping the horrors of the Syrian war.

Hamas warned of the gravity of the continued unendurable suf-fering of the Palestinian refugees escaping or still living in Syria, especially that most of them are women, children and elders.

On the other hand, Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya called on the Palestinian refugees flee-ing Syria and Egypt by sea to come to the Gaza Strip instead of risking their lives.

«On this day of the holy Eid Al-Adha, I›d like to say to the Pal-estinian refugees who are flee-ing from Syria to the Egyptian territories or anywhere, to those who may die today over the sea

that we are your brothers, kins-folk and friends, so stop risk-ing yourselves and the lives of your children. If you found no land to take you in, Gaza, despite the siege, is always big enough for you,» premier Haneyya stated following the Eid prayers on Tuesday in Gaza city.

The premier also expressed his hope and optimism that the Palestinian people would triumph against the occupa-tion and would be back to their homes and land sooner or later.

Source: Agencies

Hamas greatly concerned over suffering of Syria›s Palestinian refugees

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Tension running high in Israeli jail

20/10/2013Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli Raymond jail said that tension was prevailing in the prison due to threats by its di-rector to storm its wards.They said that the prisoners refused the threat and said that they would confront the storming of their rooms. They said that the prison adminis-tration isolated prisoner Mo-hammed Abu Khatla from Gaza Strip for one week and deprived him of family visits for two months.Meanwhile, the Israeli prison service (IPS) transferred hun-ger striker Akram Al-Fasisi from Ofer jail to Ramle prison infirmary.

Lawyer Jawad Bulous, the di-rector of the legal affairs depart-ment at the Palestinian prisoner’s society, said in a statement on Sunday that the IPS transferred the Palestinian prisoner after his health condition deteriorated. Fasisi has been on hunger strike since 29/9/2013.In a related context, the Hamas Movement said that the issue of the Palestinian prisoners is one of its top priorities and pledged to keep using all means possible to liberate them from Israeli jails.This came in a press release is-sued on Friday on the second anniversary of the prisoner swap deal, which led to the release of more than one thousand Pales-

tinian prisoners in exchange for an Israeli soldier.«When the Zionist occupation thinks it is able to extinguish the flame of the Palestinian resistance through its crimes, terrorism and blockade, the men of resistance creatively launch operations curbing and breaking its arrogance and its myth of the so-called invinci-ble army,» Hamas stated.Hamas highlighted that the resistance in all its forms, es-pecially the armed resistance, is the only strategic choice capable of deterring the occu-pation, restoring the usurped rights and liberating the land.

Source: Agencies

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Gaza: 10 thousand workers join the ranks of unemployed

Palestinian Cultural

Organization Malaysia

14/10/2013The Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip declared that 10 thousand workers join the ranks of unemployed after preventing the entry of construction materi-als through the underground tun-nels along the Egyptian border.

The Director of Public Rela-tions Nabil al-Mabhouh said that 10 thousand workers in the construction sector and 80% of fishermen have become unem-ployed, in addition to 80% re-duction in transportation sector due to the fuel crisis.

He pointed out that the block-ade imposed on the Gaza Strip and the demolition of tunnels af-fected negatively all sectors and increased unemployment rates in the strip.

Al-Mabhouh stressed the need to break the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, to establish a free trade zone with Egypt, and to fa-cilitate trade movement.

For his part, Nabil Abu Meilq, chairman of the Palestinian Con-tractors Union, considered the

Israeli decision to stop the entry of construction materials into the Gaza Strip as an «economic disas-ter», rejecting the Israeli preten-sions for it.The Israeli occupation has al-lowed on 22 September the entry of the construction materials into the Gaza Strip after seven years of being banned, he said, noting that only 70 truckloads of construction materials were allowed in.The Gaza Strip suffers difficult

conditions especially after the Egyptian measures to tighten the siege by demolishing the tunnels along the Egyptian border.

This is an economic disaster that tightens the siege, he said com-menting on the Israeli decision.

The lack of stability in the region significantly harms the private sector; suppliers, businessmen, importers, and farmers, he added.

Source: PIC

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Israel Insider

18/10/2013A Haaretz poll published on Friday reveals that 63 per cent of the Israeli public favours Benjamin Ne-tanyahu as prime minister, while frustration with Minister of Finance Yair Lapid has escalated to 75 per cent, constituting a major setback for his Yesh Atid Party, which won 19 seats in the last elections.The poll reveals an increase in Netanyahu›s popularity in comparison to the newspaper›s last poll in July when only 56 per cent supported him.When asked if Netanyahu is meeting the public›s expectations, 19 per cent of the respondents be-lieved he did compared to only 6 per cent in July, constituting a sizable leap in the public›s satisfac-tion with the performance of the Likud-Beiteinu coalition.Meanwhile, satisfaction with Israel›s Minister of Finance has tumbled from 51 per cent in July to only 4 per cent in the current poll. The remaining political blocks did not witness any fundamental change from the previous poll.When asked whom they would vote for if the elections were held today, the Likud-Beiteinu coalition came on the top of the list with an improvement of one seat from the last poll to win 32 seats. Lapid›s There is a Future Party dropped from 19 to just 10 seats.The poll shows stable support for the Jewish home Party led by Naftali Bennett and the Labour Party led by Shelly Yachimovich, with Bennett›s Party receiving 15 seats compared to 12 during the last election, and the Labour Party winning 17 seats compared to 15. According to the poll, support for the Arab political parties also parallels the last elections results, when they won 11 seats combined.When asked if respondents support the current negotiations with the Palestinians, 38 per cent sup-ported halting the negotiations compared to 49 per cent who want them to continue. 58 per cent of the respondents believe Netanyahu has succeeded in dealing with the Iranian file, while 32 per cent of them consider him to have failed.Source: MEMO

Poll reveals that Israelis support Netanyahu and are frustrated by Lapid

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By: Dr. Daud Abdullah

Rampant political instabil-ity and deadly civil wars in the Middle East have turned the Mediterranean Sea into a graveyard. More than 500 refu-gees have been drowned while trying to cross into Europe in the first half of October alone. The exact number of fatalities may never be known because many undertake the perilous journey in secret. A growing number of Palestinians, mainly refugees from Syria, are among the victims of this risky exo-dus. Their situation is excep-tionally tragic given that they are third and fourth generation refugees, descendants of those ethnically-cleansed from Pal-estine in 1948 by the nascent state of Israel and denied their legal right of return ever since.

Whether the ill-fated ships were seaworthy or not is a moot point, as is whether or not the last to be sunk, in which some 200 Palestinians drowned, was attacked by armed Libyans. These are mere consequential facts, not causes.

Like the rest of the Syrian pop-ulation, the Palestine refugees have been affected critically by the conflict. Almost all of the refugee camps have witnessed mayhem and widespread de-

ger be allowed to cross its bor-ders.

Under its new military rulers, meanwhile, Egypt has given in to Israeli demands to tighten the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Those refugees who fled the Syrian inferno in the hope that they could return to the sliver of their homeland free of a per-manent Israeli presence have now been denied access by their «Brothers» in Cairo.

In Lebanon, the picture is equally disheartening. There, Palestinian refugees face a raft of bureaucratic obstacles. Treated as if they are tourists instead of refugees fleeing a civil war, they are called upon to produce entry visas and doc-umentation to prove that they have relatives in the country. Many view this as a sinister ex-cuse to keep them out. Even if they do manage to enter Leba-non, they find that Palestinians are barred by another «broth-

Articles & Analyses

Death in the Mediterranean must give new life to the Palestinian refugee issue

struction. Today the United Na-tions Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) estimates that 235,000 of the 529,000 registered Pales-tine refugees in Syria have been displaced internally. Ninety per cent of the refugee population, the agency confirms, are in need of urgent assistance. Meanwhile, some 70,000 more have fled to neighbouring countries, mainly Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Libya and the Gaza Strip.

Significantly, a quick glance at the UNRWA website shows that there is not a single Arab coun-try among its top ten donors (the agency is funded entirely by voluntary donations from UN member states). Not only have the League of Arab States failed to protect refugees and provide humanitarian assistance, despite its much-publicised pledges, but some of its individual member states have also adopted policies that are blatantly anti-Palestinian. They seriously limit Palestinian options, forcing hundreds to at-tempt the hazardous Mediterra-nean crossing in search of secu-rity and a dignified life.

As the civil war takes its shock-ing toll in Syria, neighbouring countries have tightened border controls to stop the flow of refu-gees. In Jordan, for example, the authorities have announced that Palestinian refugees will no lon-

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erly» Arab government from working in around 70 profes-sions in the country.

If ever it was needed, last week›s tragedy in the Mediter-ranean is compelling proof of the vulnerability of Palestinian refugees, their diminishing op-tions and growing desperation. The recent disasters bring into focus their exceptional plight as they continue to require pro-tection in the absence of a just solution to their exile which is now in its seventh decade.

According to UNRWA›s Commissioner-General, Filippo Grandi, «These dreadful developments un-derline the importance of ending hostilities [in Syr-ia] to avoid tragic loss of life… This very complex crisis has a Palestinian di-mension which must be addressed.»

Closer to home, the trag-edies throw the spotlight directly upon the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), which prides itself on being the sole legiti-mate representative of the Palestinian people. At the very least, the PLO must seize the opportunity to advance the cause of the refugees so that they can exercise their right of return.

Both the circumstances and manner in which the refugees died in the Mediterranean must serve as a turning point so that some good comes out of the tragedy. Henceforth, nothing should be done, at the negotiat-ing table or elsewhere, to under-mine or jeopardise Palestinian

repatriation and restitution of stolen land and property.

Surely the entity which caused the problem in the first place, the state of Israel, must be held to account. It would be a travesty to the memory of the victims if the Palestinian leadership was to capitulate to Israel›s current demands to abandon the right of return and recognise Israel as a Jewish state. It must never be forgotten that these men, women and children died on the high seas not only because

their land is occupied, but more importantly because they are barred from exer-cising their legal right to return and are persecuted in the places in which they have sought refuge.

Without a resolution of the Palestinian refugee prob-lem on the basis of inter-national law, Europe will, regrettably, witness many more of these appalling tragedies, with bodies washing up on its south-ern shores. Even with such unfavourable risks, many refugees appear to have decided already that it is better to take the chance to

try for a secure life in Europe rather than die in their wretch-ed camps.

Inevitably, many more will per-ish while attempting to cross the Mediterranean in unseaworthy boats. If the mounting losses are not to be in vain, death in the Mediterranean must give new life to the push for a just solution to the Palestinian refu-gee issue.

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Even with such unfa-vourable risks, many refugees appear to have decided already that it is better to take the chance to try for a secure life in Europe rather than die in their wretched camps.

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Issue no 66

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