One need not be psychic to have predicted this disaster. For years – from blundered peace processes to deliberate provocations – the Israeli government has tried to cause an inter-Palestinian conflict. The political intelligence, patience and lucidity of the Palestinian actors had helped them avoid the worst. The Palestinians knew they were divided on the ideological ground but they remained united in their resistance towards their oppressors. Holding authority, one without any power, has now become the proverbial carrot and has got the better of their political awareness and their wisdom.
I have said it more than once, at the beginning of the political repositioning, as well as before and after the elections: this was a trap and the springs would soon shut the lid on all the Palestinian people. The sad spectacle of these past few days is but a confirmation of a so foreseeable prediction. What a mess!
Here we are now with two authorities with no power, in conflict…seemingly capable only of spreading death, desolation and distress. Settlings of scores, assassinations based on “fatwa” or denunciations! It is intolerable…and the Israeli government, cynical spectator of these collapses, can continue to evaluate its gains and advantages. Sharon’s chief Cabinet had said it a long time ago : there is no question of peace process! It is question of gaining some time! And if the Palestinians fall into the trap and help to achieve that, how could the Israeli government not be happy?
No religious or State reason can justify this internal conflict and the slaughters it leads to. The Arab and the Muslim world should be at the forefront to intervene and help the parties to come back to reason and a seek a sensible way out. From where we are, we must say, repeat and make heard that we are not taken in by the political games and silences of the powerful, the collaborators and the cowards…but nothing can justify the Palestinians becoming the enemies of their own cause. It simply cannot be so! Our condemnations of the slaughters, the murders and summary executions (and of all the so called fatwas that would justify them) must be clear, strong and determined. All this must come to an end now! The Palestinians from within must champion this message while, from outside, we remind all the governments (from the Muslim majority countries as well as from the West) and the people of international community that the world would never be in peace if the Palestinians do not get their legitimate right to a State and to dignity. One can make them responsible for the past weeks’ disaster and pretend to forget the immense betrayal of decades’ long silence and hypocrisy resulting in the denial of their legitimate claims.
It is urgent as well to condemn and to put an end to the blockade imposed by the Israeli forces of occupation who try to asphyxiate the population in order to drive them to distraction. This strategy is insane, inhuman and intolerable.
What a bitter taste, what a feeling of intimate oppression…confronting the images of the oppressed Palestinians being so gravely mistaken as to identify their true enemies.
I must respectfully disagree with your assessement of the current Palestinian crisis. You urge Muslims not to be victims, to take responsibility for their place in the world. I think it would behoove the Palestinians to stop being victims and to stop blaming their self-destructive actions on the Israelis. As you’ve said many times, there is no power in being a victim, no ability to change the course of action. Why do we only look to Israel to reform itself? Palestine must look at itself first. This latest crisis amongst the Palestinians is a blaring sign that the Palestinians must assess and change themselves before anything will improve.
Jazakum Allahu khair’an Br. Tariq.
I pray that ALLAH(swa) Guide us all that we may see and understand how our actions displease ALLAH(swa), and may HE(swa) Bless us so that we may repent and correct our actions now! I especially ask for ALLAH(swa) extra Mercy on the people of Palestine. Ameen
Shaheeda
Angry young men, armed, trapped in a prison called Gaza, with no strong leadership, no hope and little humanity. Psychologically they needed to fight, to dissipate their anger, but all they have left to take their vengeance out on is their own brothers. A tragedy brought about by despair.
We must put pressure on our governments to help stop this intolerable situation NOW.
Muslims have been changing Phylisteans the most and i neither understand how that so many muslims feel smoothly compassionate with these and also much easier than considering the people of Araq. This observation raises many questions i hope to even more muslims can explain the answers of. I doubt. Otherwise, the crises in the Middle east would have been lesser. Confusion gives no explanation, persuasions do, but opposite to the expectations consequent. While men gather, women remain atomised especially if not having children. This wasn’t the purpose; women are expected to be wise and proud and not arrogant towards the differentiation among themselves or due to submissiveness expressed. Afterwards, to be respected and not because of being women!
More than seeming the sense expressed regards at Phylisteans and the mistreatments.
No one forced Hamas to assault Gaza, slaughtering civilians and Fatah officials alike. Israel has no option but to defend herself and until Hamas recognizes her right to exist, they cannot and will not be treated as anything but a threat.
Suicide bombings, kidnappings, sneak attacks on military bases and settlements… the palestinians have tried every single tactic in their plight for independence save one: laying down their arms and coming to the negotiating table in good faith.
Negotiations should be conducted with peace, not rearming, in mind.
The Israelis must be really clever: They turned Fatah into a corrupt bunch of cronies. They manipulated the Palestinians into voting for Hamas, instead of other, long-standing, Left-wing parties. And it must have been them that armed the militias Hamas has used to combat its own state’s security forces.
Seriously, we all share a part of the responsibility (the international community shouldn’t have stopped the aid when it was most needed), but we should start calling things by their name. What’s happening is disgraceful, and the ones most to blame are those putchist we-will-overcome-by-the-grace-of-God cranks.
You should warn that you filter the messages, people wouldn’t bother to write
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Israel to take measures to strengthen Abbas against Hamas
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[ 22/06/2007 – 02:11 PM ]
From Khalid Amayreh in Occupied East Jerusalem
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The Israeli apartheid regime will take a set of “far-reaching” measures to strengthen Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas against the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, the Israeli media reported Friday.
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Hamas-backed militiamen last week defeated American-armed and financed Fatah forces in the Gaza Strip, taking control of their security headquarters and confiscating large amounts of arms and military equipment.
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Israeli newspapers reported that Israel would transfer to Abbas’s office in Ramallah hundreds of millions of dollars of frozen Palestinian tax revenue returns withheld by Israel ever since Hamas’s election victory in 2006.
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The Haaretz newspaper reported that the measures would be announced during a four-way summit meeting to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh under the auspices of Egyptian President Husni Mubarak, with the participation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Abbas, King Abdullah of Jordan .
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Jordan King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Husni Mubarak Abbas are closely associated with the American policy in the Middle East .
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According to Ha’aretz, the proposed “Package of gestures” will include releasing frozen Palestinian money, removing some secondary checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank as well as the possible suspension of extra-judicial assassinations targeting Fatah fighters in the West Bank .
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Israel might also release some Fatah prisoners in order to increase Abbas’s popularity among Palestinians.
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This week, several Israeli officials, including two former cabinet ministers, publicly called for the release of imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan el-Barghouthi, now spending a five life-term sentence in an Israeli jail for resisting the Israeli oppression of Palestinians and occupation their homeland.
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However, the Shin Beth has voiced opposition to the idea of releasing Bartghouthi on the ground that his release might undermine the status of Dahlan within Fatah. Barghouthi advocates cooperation with Hamas and is firmly opposed to compromising Palestinian national constants, including full Israeli withdrawal from 100% of the occupied territories and resolving the refugee problem pursuant UN resolution 194.
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Other “concessions” to Abbas reportedly include encouraging investors, primarily from the Arab to build industrial plants in the West Bank and giving the American government a green light to supply Abbas with more advanced arms.
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Other Hebrew sources also indicated that Israel might be willing to pressure the Bush Administration to ask Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Arab countries such as Qatar , and the United Arab Emirates to increase their financial aid to the PA and stop financial assistance to the elected Hamas-led government.
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The Ha’aretz newspaper also quoted an unnamed “defense official” as saying on Thursday that the army “is leaning toward maintaining the current quality of arms in the West Bank ” which means allowing Abbas’s regime to replace decommissioned weapons only.
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The United States and Israel have openly embraced the “emergency government” of Salam Fayyad, a favorite of the West, formed earlier this week to replace the Gaza-based National Unity government headed by Ismael Haniya.
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The US, which imposed a draconian blockade on the West Bank and Gaza Strip following Hamas’s election victory last year, has been trying to undo the outcome of Palestinian elections by arming and giving large amounts of money to Muhammed Dahlan for the express purpose of undermining Hamas rule.
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On 8 February, Hamas and Fatah reached a power-sharing agreement in Mecca which paved the way for the formation of a national unity government.
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However, the Bush administration silently rejected the agreement on the ground that it left Hamas in a predominant position at the Palestinian political arena.
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Subsequently, [Elliot Abrams->http://www.conflictsforum.org/2007/elliot-abrams-uncivil-war/], the American Jewish official in charge of the “Palestinian file,” reportedly connived with Dahlan and his allies within Fatah to carry out a coup against Hamas in the Gaza Strip for the purpose of eliminating Hamas and the National Unity government once and for all.
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According to documents seized by Hamas at the Fatah intelligence headquarters at Tel el Hawa (henceforth Tel al Islam), Dahlan was to carry out the coup on 13 July.
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Abrams, who is reportedly answerable to AIPAC, the powerful American Jewish lobby, wanted to achieve two main goals, apart from undoing the Mecca Agreement and ending the unity government: These include, first, igniting a large-scale Palestinian civil war in both in Gaza and the West Bank in order to enable Israel to tell the world that “how can we make peace with Palestinians while they are killing each other?!!.”
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The civil war, especially an extended one, would also enable the Jewish state to build more Jewish-only settlements and complete the Judadization of Jerusalem, including the possible demolition of the Aqsa Mosque.
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And second, Elliot Abrams, probably in concert with right and far-right circles in Israel, hoped that by having a “moderate Palestinian leadership”, e.g. Dahlan, Abbas, et al, and by eliminating any opposition to Dahlan within Fatah, the US and Israel would be able to impose a “lasting solution” on the Palestinians.
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According to confidential information obtained from reliable sources within Fatah, such a solution would include the following components: First, the creation of a quasi-Palestinian state on 60 % of the West Bank made up of three enclaves or Bantustans in the northern, central and southern parts of the West Bank; Annexation to Israel of the vast bulk of Jewish settlements, including Ma’ali Adomim, Ariel and Gush Itzion; renting other settlements such as Kiryat Arba for 99 years; East Jerusalem would remain under the Israeli occupation; and no Palestinian refugees would be allowed to return to their homes and towns in what is now Israel.
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The outlines of the solution Israel and the US are contemplating also include giving the “moderate” Palestinian government, e.g. Abbas and Dahlan, billions of dollars for economic recovery, ostensibly to silence expected opposition to the sell-out.
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Fatah and PA officials have vehemently denied that they will ever accept such a deal.
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One officials who asked that his name not be mentioned said: “Yes, we receive money and arms from America , but that doesn’t mean that we are going to accept everything the Americans are demanding..”
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Source : [The Palestinian Information Center->http://www.palestine-info.com/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7i%2bCbh9ra1e4obBjzqtOvnZLmGSf1%2bnOzM8%2f4ARvWyt8fR%2fRlbiUyeXfRErGLBxnDvH7USXaWTFyTqhbCQ8HdipFbB9xrwSd9%2fp%2fEHZ5sLJg%3d]
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– [Elliot Abrams’ uncivil war->http://www.conflictsforum.org/2007/elliot-abrams-uncivil-war/]
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In her statement to the House yesterday, the new Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, said, “Terrorists are criminals who come from all religious backgrounds”, which, in the present context, is absurd. Obviously, all Muslims should not be branded as potential terrorists, but, for present purposes, all terrorists are likely to be Muslims. So the efforts of security services, police and courageous civilians cannot safeguard innocent life in Britain without the active co-operation of the Islamic community, not only because its members are in the best position to be aware of co-religionists behaving suspiciously, but also because it is they who will have to accept the infringements of liberty that follow from racial profiling and the targeting of likely terrorists, which are now necessary for public safety.