Showing posts with label Ken O'Keefe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ken O'Keefe. Show all posts

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Slander vs. Sanity

The weblog of Ken O'Keefe

The last week and a half has been increasingly entertaining, albeit in a seriously dangerous way.  First I had the head of an Irish charity send me a message threatening to expose me as a fraudster and extortionist.  My plan, apparently, involved producing a video of a poor and suffering child in Gaza (Areej) and soliciting funds to be given not to me, but to the Irish charity.  Then I would extort the money from the family by use of a Palestinian collaborator (a Facebook “friend”), but of course, only after the charity gave them the money I had raised with the video.  They never really explained why I had the money sent to their charity in the first place.

I responded to the threat by posting her accusations on Facebook and soliciting facts about how much money was sent to the charity.  I then visited the family to hear their side of the story.
Revisiting Areej & family in order to get to the bottom of what I am being accused of.
A few days later I received the following email through a close friend and Chief Legal Advisor to Aloha Palestine CIC, the non-profit social enterprise I set up in 2008 to conduct trade with Palestine.

Greetings, 
I am wondering of you are still acting for Ken O’Keefe – you are still on his Aloha (Palestine) Website. I wish to sue him from here to eternity and want to be sure where to send the letters.
Kind regards, 
Felicity Arbuthnot.


I responded on April 26th with the following.
Aloha Felicity,
First off let me thank you and all the others who are a continuous source of motivation, I simply could not have done all that I am doing without you. 
FYI; Daniel Machover is a dear friend and has been invaluable for Aloha Palestine’s mission, but he will be of no use to you with regard to any legal matters directed at me.  He is not my personal legal counsel.   
I have been living in Gaza for 5 months now and I can receive mail at our Samouni Project address;
Samouni Project 
Al-xxxxxx Street
Gaza City
Gaza Strip
Palestinian Authorities
DHL is just about the only way for delivery, I should have the papers in less than a week if you can get them in the mail right away.  Wish that there were a quicker way, but I will just have to wait unless you would be so kind as to send me an email copy as well.  That would be lovely, can’t wait to hear from you, please do keep up the good work. 
TJP, 
Ken O’Keefe   

I am awaiting Felicitiy’s response.

Now Felicity is one of the many figures in and around the Human Shield Action to Iraq that I created in late 2002.  She is also one of the “seasoned activist” nut cases whose mission in life is to convince the world that the devil incarnate is alive, and his name is Ken O’Keefe.
Joining the circus yesterday was another Facebook “friend”, one who had supposedly put me in her will as the beneficiary of her land in Texas.  In a shocking turnaround, over the course of less than 24 hours, she realised that my upcoming trade mission to Gaza was merely a ploy to exploit the suffering of the Palestinians in order for me to make “millions”.  She provided no evidence of this, but also decided to name my wife several times and stated that I was committing adultery here in Gaza; all this just 4 days after my wife gave birth in London… without me.

In the case of accusing me of having sex with women in Gaza, this accusation puts me, and the woman I know here at serious risk.  The accusation of a married, non-Muslim man, committing adultery with Palestinian women is reckless endangerment at best, a willful intent to do harm at worst.
Should I be compelled to dignify these charges with a response?  I think not.  But for the sake of everyone’s safety, I categorically condemn such charges as criminal and 100% false.

UPDATE – I have just been given messages sent to two other Facebook friends in which the following was said;
OMG!!!!! I had that go through my mind to!! Because, ken has taken money from everyone! In the thousands! Wonder how much he got from Vik (Vittorio Arrigoni)!!! There is this other guy that is going with ken and I know he is going to die while he is there. He put $45,000 dollars into ken just a few days ago. And he will be along side Ken. I think it will be easier for Ken to kill him than be obligated to him for the money or even pay him back some of the money. Ken is suppose to make millions on the gig and the guy who put in $45,000 is promised that he will get a little something back. But, I don’t this this (sic) guy will make it back alive. – Jo Ann Wescott
Jo Ann Wescott’s profile picture complete with my TJP logo.

Two of these cases involve Facebook hero worshippers becoming highly injurious to my interests, with the latter case becoming as hateful as a jilted lover… despite me never having never met her personally.
So what does all this mean?  Well I guess from the point of view of those who are not me, and thus do not know the truth as only God and myself can know it, questions will arise, doubts will form.  And that’s really the point now isn’t it?

The other point of slander is to divert attention from more useful matters, such as setting up the Samouni family classroom and community centre, or from challenging the Israeli blockade of Gaza on every level.
It goes without saying that the real winners in a slander campaign like this is the enemies of Palestine.  When you say and do the things I do, there is simply no way to secure the favour of everyone, to the contrary, the Zionist and American imperialists and their minions will come after you.

I accept this, I really do, I have never been one for popularity contests and I have always chosen quality over quantity.  Idiot allies are liabilities more than friends; I count myself lucky to shed them.  I also realize that my path is inherently dangerous, with the ever-present possibility of torture, kidnapping, imprisonment and death by murder.  So slander is, quite frankly, a rather mild and amusing tactic of my enemies.  But there can be no ignoring the fact that the frequency of these attacks, and I am sure moving forward, the intensity of the attacks, will run parallel to my increasing ability to get good and meaningful things done for the cause of justice.

In my chosen path success is inherently proportionate to risk, so over the coming weeks I volunteer myself as a sort of human bait, my mission, to lure the nut cases, to expose the nature of subversion through slander.  Together we shall take a course in how it works and who is behind it.

Lesson number one, the actual agents who direct slander campaigns, those working for MI6, CIA, Mossad and other so-called “intelligence” agencies, they and their tactics are rendered useless without the presence of the most important element for successful subversion, and that would be… the idiots.

Make no mistake, the idiot is the key to subversion, and we as a movement have a ready supply.  Indeed they are pervasive throughout our so-called “movement”. Without the idiots, or as I choose to refer to them, the clowns who comprise the circus, the agents of tyranny would easily be exposed and their tactics rendered utterly useless.  This being one massive step in the right direction.

Thankfully, more and more of us are capable of using our brain and thus we aware of the tried and true tactics of divide and rule; in other words, more and more of us are not idiots.  This is promising, gives me increased confidence that we as a people are about to behold a great irony, that we are indeed our own gatekeepers, holding the keys to the prison to which we have constructed for ourselves, haplessly awaiting liberation at the behest of some illusory saviour.

It has been said, “Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.”  Ain’t that the truth.  You gotta laugh really, if you fail to maintain a sense of humour, end up taking all this madness to seriously, you will indeed become a participant in the collective state of insanity that defines human kind for many millennia.  We are indeed nuts; clowns in our own mad circus.

As amusing as it all is, and it is amusing, I am wanting for something more, something sane, something just, something human.  And then I look to the younger ones and I smile.  I look to them and I see those who are leading the Arab revolutions.  I look to them and see the coming Global revolution.  Whereas I was part of Generation X, I see them as Generation TJP.  The next generation is bringing Truth Justice & Peace and I can see it all too clearly.  They are the younger ones, and they just aren’t buying the bullshit.

I do not intend to be one of the old farts feeling nostalgic about yesterday’s world; yesterday’s world is bullshit.  The “War on Terror”, “austerity measures”, presidential and prime ministerial puppets, economic slavery and the prostitution of journalism, all of it, bullshit.

Instead I intend to collaborate with the younger ones, the ones of wisdom and integrity, people who are breaking free of the chains of indoctrination and ignorance, who can see the forest through the trees and who know a brother when they see one.

As long as I am on Facebook I accept that the nutters and the false allies will stalk me, but as long as I continue to enjoy the benefits of working with people of conscience in the creation of a better world, it is worth it.

Through me, let us look at the clowns as entertainment, and try not to get to distracted.
Stay tuned for the executive summary of my “millionaire” making trade convoy, to be announced in the next 24 hours.
TJP
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Friday, April 22, 2011

‘Israel acting like mad dog cornered’

Posted: April 22, 2011 by crescentandcross
No mercy on the civilian population of Gaza where entire families have been annihilated by Israeli bombardments on civilian homes.
As Israel tries to cripple the Goldstone report in an attempt to avoid war crime accountability, air attacks on the Gaza Strip have increased dramatically.
Ken O’Keefe, a human rights activist in Gaza, talks with Press TV about the possibility of Palestine receiving assistance from its Arab and Muslim neighbors. Ken also weighs in on the US and Israeli agenda to have the Goldstone Report ‘disappear’ and expresses his views regarding the humanity of the Palestinian people while living under occupation.

Press TV: We know that military attacks by Israel against Gazans have been on the increase and Hamas has said that it is now waiting to see what the Arab regimes are going to do in reaction to the situation that is taking place, as more and more attacks take place on the innocent Palestinian people. How likely is that to happen? We saw in the Israeli onslaught on Gaza (2009) that the Arab regimes basically met the situation with silence. Do you think it’s going to be different this time around?

Ken O’Keefe: It’s a dangerous tactic to take. I have not put a lot of stock in Egypt coming to the rescue; they’ve got their own battles going on internally. And there are still $1.3 billion in bribes being given to the Egyptian military.

We cannot ignore the root of the problem. Whatever Hamas is doing right now — whoever is firing the rockets — this is not the problem; that is a result of the problem. The problem is that we are 40 year plus into this blockade collective punishment policy of which Egypt was collaborating and which still hasn’t completely ended it.

Effectively, when you do that to people, they are going to bite back in the only way they can and in this case it’s the rockets.

I don’t agree with anyone who thinks that the Arab governments at this stage are going to come to the rescue of the Palestinians. I would say, to the contrary, that they are going to be sorely disappointed if they’re waiting for them right now.

Press TV: There would be some that would say basically it’s what came first, the chicken or the egg – who’s attacking whom – How would you answer that?

Ken O’Keefe: To me, there has been a tremendous amount of effort trying to confuse people on this issue; but it’s really quite simple. The beginning of the problem was the dispossession of the land from its people. And from then, it has spiraled and escalated in which the Palestinians have affectively been dealing with an occupier and invader who did not come with goodwill or neighborly respect; who has come and violated the Palestinian people from previous to 1948.

If you do that to any people….If the situation were changed, and it was an invading occupying entity that invaded Sweden, the Swedish people would fight back. If it was done to the American people, there would be blood spilling in the streets — Americans killing Americans in the most brutal ways if those Americans were collaborating with the invader and occupier. So it is obvious to those of us who have paid any attention.

It’s not as if no wrongs have been done on the Palestinian side – there are. However, the victim is not to be blamed for the circumstances to which he is resisting. If I was born and raised in Palestine — if I witnessed family members being murdered on a regular basis — I have no doubt whatsoever that I would be involved in resisting. Only because I’ve come from America am I not engaged in violent resistance. Ultimately though, resistance for the sake of resistance is not the answer – resistance must be for the sake of justice.

Press TV: Today, Susan Rice, US envoy to the UN, said that she wanted a war crimes report in the 2008-2009 Gaza offensive to disappear. In light of everything that’s taking place right now in Gaza, how do you find these comments in general?

Ken O’Keefe: I’ve long since reached the point where any US official of any stature is just not even worth listening to. If anyone takes these people seriously as if they have any agenda other than to serve tyranny then they are living in la la land.

This Susan Rice is a traitor as far as I’m concerned. They all are – Barack Obama and all of the top level Senators. To even deny that a massive war crime was committed in Zeitoon where friends of mine, the Sulooni family lives, is beyond debate – a massive war crime was committed there. We could talk about the Araja family that had a white phosphorus bomb explode into their home; six family members killed – one of them, a baby, was burnt to a crisp instantly. That is a massive war crime.

To even entertain the idea, that because Goldstone is threatened or bribed or simply doesn’t have the backbone to stand by his words – to entertain the idea that Susan Rice has any legitimacy — is ridiculous. She has none, absolutely none.

Ultimately, I don’t blame governments anymore; I blame us as people that we allow this type of thing to continue. We are allowing the Susan Rices and the Barak Obamas and the Tony Blairs and the David Camerons and all of these jokers to actually say this stuff as if there’s any truth to it. It’s really quite disgusting and it says a lot about us that we even tolerate it.

You’re saying that the people are allowing it, but for example, the family that you talked about saying that their baby was burnt to a crisp – the average American person when they turn on their TV are not seeing these images. Can you understand that a lot of them really don’t have any idea of what is actually taking place in Gaza?

Yes I know this very well because I was a brainwashed indoctrinated American, as well, and I used to say the pledge of allegiance, which ends with ‘liberty and justice for all’. You say that sort of stuff every day and it becomes true even though it has nothing to do with reality.

So I do understand and appreciate the fact that American people are generally good people; however, if you were taken to court for an alleged crime and you said in court that you didn’t know it was a crime, that would be no defense.

And from the American people not knowing that their government is using their tax dollars to commit mass murder — to commit crimes against humanity, to use depleted uranium, cluster bombs and other things — to kill people in extrajudicial assassination and then to claim well I didn’t know, is no defense.

You are guilty. You are paying for the mass murder whether you like it or not and it doesn’t matter whether you didn’t vote for that person or this person; it doesn’t matter.

Before I forget, there is a no fly zone over Libya. Why don’t we have a no fly zone over Palestine? Why not? Because our world is inherently corrupt ad because those that are in charge have no respect, at all, for human life on any level. There must be a no fly zone over Palestine now. All the jets and helicopter gunships flying over Palestine right now should be shot out of the sky. That is where the world should go and I’m sure we can make it so if we really decide to do something.

Press TV: How likely is it that Israel will once again invade Gaza in a full-fledged war? At the start of these Middle East revolutions and uprisings, political experts were warning to keep your eyes on what Israel is doing because as the international community’s attention is looking at these other ME countries, that it is likely that events will take place in Israel.

Ken O’Keefe: We have known about the ‘Samson’ option for some time now. For those not familiar – Israel has made it clear on more than one occasion that it is willing to use the Samson option i.e. to use its nuclear weapons; to target places in Europe and other parts of the world – this has always been a potential threat from Israel.

That must be our motivation to confront Israel because no nation — whether it is Israel or the US or any other nation — can be allowed to try and intimidate the rest of us by fear of them using their weapons.

Israel is like a mad dog being driven into a corner because it is losing. The Zionist project has peaked just like the American empire and it is heading down fast; there is no question of it. All the lies that it was getting away with for decades — incredible lies, perpetuating the notion that it was the victim and the Palestinians were the criminal…That day is now over.

All of these lies that they have lived off for decades are now coming tumbling down and the world is seeing the truth and realizing that they have been duped and that in fact the Palestinian people are the most remarkable people because despite having been through hell for decades and having been abandoned by everyone, including their Arab and Muslim brothers and sisters, they have not lost their humanity; they remain one of the most hospitable and beautiful people that you would ever want to meet. And they will not become the monster that is attacking them.

What is Israel going to do? It is impossible to predict, they could do anything. I do know that they have an incentive to try and create a conflict right now because we have the next freedom flotilla coming and they’re scared to death of that, and there are other things happening also, which aren’t good for Israel such as the possibility for real representative democracy in the Arab world.

This is a nightmare for Israel, so like a mad dog driven into a corner, it’s impossible to predict exactly what it’s going to do; but it will fight back in some way. Options might include exacting war on Gaza again or the Samson option of nuclear detonation in Europe or another part of the world. It’s time to deal with this mad dog and deal with it right now.
Interview with Ken O’Keefe, Human Rights Activist, Gaza. 
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

NO FLY ZONE OVER PALESTINE

The weblog of Ken O'Keefe

On Thursday April 21st we shall make a human chain with the children of Gaza to spell out NO FLY ZONE OVER PALESTINE so as to tell the world that Israel’s bombings of Gaza must stop.


We intend to remind the world how the children of Palestine are terrorized and murdered by Israeli air power on a regular basis.  We intend to tell the story of how the people of Gaza suffer the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder from the horrific bombardment of Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.  We demand that the good people of the world acknowledge that Israeli planes simply flying over Palestine is an intentional source of panic and fear, of state sponsored terrorism, for countless people in Gaza, especially the children.
There are kids in Gaza that wet themselves at night for fear of being bombed again when they hear Israeli aircraft overhead.  And this is a nearly daily occurrence.  There are children here that have seen loved ones crushed, bleeding, burned and dying, some hit with White Phosphorus, as a result of Israeli bombings.  Some of these children were seriously wounded themselves.  One 11-year-old girl I know personally (from the Samouni family) still has pieces of an Israeli rocket in her head from a bombing during Operation Cast Lead.  To this day this injury causes her to bleed from her nose and she has other neurological issues as yet undiagnosed and unresolved.  This is but one story but it makes the point that not only memories are embedded in these children forever, each time a jet, a drone or helicopter gunship flies overhead, the ongoing nightmare of what may come is re-visited.
I ask every parent out there to imagine your child continuously traumatized and terrified in the name of “fighting terrorism”.  Ask yourself how you would feel about being continuously bombarded by the fourth largest military in the world and having no way at all to protect your child from fear or harm?  How would you feel?

Now think about how you play a direct role in the terrorizing of children in Palestine if you are a UK or American citizen.  Your governments continue to supply the very same weapons used to carry out these missions.  Maybe you in particular should do something to stop this homegrown madness, and if you are already doing something then maybe you should do more?



Make no mistake; the flying of Israeli aircraft over Palestine is in itself a form of terrorism.  Bombing with “high precision” weapons that continue to hit innocent people is a war crime and terrorism; and this is happening regularly.  So what the hell are we doing about it?

Some may say; “what difference will a picture make?”  Well I believe the picture we seek to take will make a difference.  We will gather around 200 schoolchildren of Gaza on Thursday April 21, 2011 and these children will form a human chain that will spell out the words ‘NO FLY ZONE OVER GAZA’.
As we do this let us face another shameful fact, the NO FLY ZONE OVER LIBYA is pure, unadulterated oil stealing hypocrisy posing as “humanitarian intervention”.  If there were ever anything genuinely humane about Western intervention a NO FLY ZONE OVER PALESTINE would have been implemented decades ago.  But the Palestinians have no oil, and they certainly have no air defenses, and so the innocent people of Gaza continue to be bombed with impunity.

How bloody stupid, powerless and hypocritical must we the people have become to allow unhindered bombings of Palestine for decades while doing nothing effective to stop it, meanwhile sitting back to watch a NO FLY ZONE OVER LIBYA be put into place in little more than a week or two?

Face it people, we in the West remain staggeringly complacent and falsely inhumane when we allow such hypocrisies to be flaunted right in front of our faces.  And so it is that those of us who are still human are compelled to do something.

Symbols have power and the extent of that power is derived from the meaning and intensity people affix to the symbols.  We intend to create a powerful global symbol made of a message sent directly from the children of Gaza, to the people of the world. Now whether the world listens and responds to these children is yet to be seen, but at the very least we shall send this message.  We hope that our photograph captures the message to such an extent that people are motivated to do more.  Ultimately seek to have this message heeded to such a point that Israeli aircraft will no longer be able to terrorize the people/children of Gaza/Palestine.  And if not, every single time another Israeli bomb drops on the innocents of Palestine, this picture shall be put forward as the demand of a truly sane and humane international community.

The true cost of bringing 200 children to the spot to form the human chain is roughly $300 but the minimum amount to request with Indiegogo is $500, thus if we receive $500 or more we will look to bring more children as we must supply travel by bus and a minimum of refreshments for the kids.  If the amount we recieve is more than needed to do what we intend to do then the remainder will be given to the Samouni Project.

NO FLY ZONE OVER PALESTINE!

http://www.indiegogo.com/NO-FLY-ZONE-OVER-PALESTINE
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Hero of Gaza: Vittorio Arrigoni, Kidnapped and Murdered

Tim King and Bonnie King Salem-News.com
"I have seen my brother Vik's body and his death certificate, but Vik is not dead." -Ken O'Keefe

All photos of Vittorio Arrigoni provided by Ken O'Keefe


(SALEM / GAZA) - Italian Journalist Vittorio Arrigoni's body has reportedly been found in Gaza. He was killed by a small faction of religious radicals according to reports.


Gaza Youth Breaks Out (GYBO) wrote: "While Hamas forces were intensely searching Doghmosh area to find them, abductors tried to leave, when two of them were caught by Hamas. A third, who was with Vittorio, was given a signal to kill him. We lost a brother."
Al Jazeera reports that Hamas police stormed an apartment in Gaza City belonging to a member of the group that released a video of the activist. A police officer said four people were arrested in another location, in connection with the abduction.

Those on the ground in this embattled region of Palestine had held out hope along with the rest of us, that he would be returned alive.

The Hamas government had earlier made statements that led supporters to believe that Vik Arrigoni would be returned alive.

People in Gaza have a voice because of hard working dedicated peace activists like Vik Arrigoni. Beyond the overly religious fanatical Salafist radicals, the only detractors this man had were Israeli Zionists who wished for his death for years.
This a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior and National Security with the Palestinian National Authority:
Explanatory statement issued by the Ministry of Interior on the circumstances of the "kidnapping and killing of Italian Solidarity Activist"
(Roughly translated from Arabic)
The Ministry of Interior said that since the arrival of the news of the abduction of Italian Solidarity Activist Vittorio, the security agency Balastnfar launched a full search and investigation.

This resulted in contact with one member of the group who disclosed the location where Vittorio was being held. She led the security services toward the place where he was being held where they found that the victim, Vittorio, had "been killed hours ago in an ugly way" (according to the forensic report).

Faced with this situation, we affirmed the following:
First: the Palestinian government condemns the heinous crime that does not reflect our values, our religion and our customs and traditions, and confirms that it will hunt down the rest of the members of the group and will implement the law against them.
Secondly: We emphasize that this crime does not reflect the true state of the atmosphere of security and order in the Gaza Strip, does not imply a retreat, and will remain the Government is keen to promote stability, security and safety as this incident is the first of its kind in years.
Third: The initial data indicate the intention of the kidnappers was Murder. As he was murdered shortly after he was kidnapped.
Four: The motives behind this crime, though it seems intellectually certain, but it demonstrates the hands are still plotting against the Palestinian people in Gaza, and want to undermine the security and steadfastness, and achieve a state of terror for the movement of people of the world's solidarity with the Gaza Strip, especially the enemy Zionist looking at ways to prevent the fleet of freedom that was after the second campaign of international solidarity and the impact of a role in loosening the embargo imposed five years ago.
Fifth: The Ministry emphasizes the brothers in the media must pay attention to any rumor or news that is not accurate with respect to this crime, and to rely on official information from the Ministry.

Ken O'Keefe and Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza
You will note in the video below that Ken O'Keefe, our writer and diehard activist friend in Gaza, does not believe or at least did not, that any Palestinian could be responsible for Vik's death.

Indeed, it is hard to imagine anyone doing this to a man who was so well loved and respected. It is exceedingly clear that everything is out of sync.

Juliano Mer-Khamis
The perpetrators of this crime Ken suggests, were Zionist agents of Israel. This is the obvious relentless enemy of the Palestinian people, with frequent strikes on civilian targets in Gaza from U.S. made fighter jets and drones.


Just a few days ago, on 4 April 2011, Filmmaker Juliano Mer-Khamis was Murdered in Jenin, the scene of severe fighting during the Second Intifada.
Juilano's mother Arna had famously provided a haven for the Palestinian youth in Jenin. She was Jewish, her husband, Juliano's father, was a Palestinian Christian.
Juliano was murdered in front of his wife by masked men who were immediately assumed to be Palestinian.
In the bigger picture, nothing was gained for Palestinians in any way by either man's death.

Legacy for Palestine

VIDEO BY KEN O'KEEFE, IN RESPONSE:

His life's work is his legacy. It surpassed all boundaries. Vittorio Arrigoni has helped an endless list of Palestinian people over the years and his work has led to a great deal of exposure of the treatment of Palestinians under the Israeli occupation.
As the world moves toward a real understanding of the reality of Gaza; Israeli snipers, constant fear and attacks on civilians from the Israeli military, Vittorio Arrigoni was a bright light. He was close to our friend and fellow writer Ken O'Keefe, and loved by thousands, perhaps millions. The idea that he was taken by a radical faction and killed in Gaza, if this is true, is simply horrifying. Never has a more grave mistake been made.

He was there when the first Freedom Flotilla boat reached Gaza. He has been an ally and key friend of the most successful humanitarian activists and his beliefs and words in action inspired many to become involved with the International Solidarity Movement which he started.

According to the Free Gaza Movement,

"He was aboard the siege-breaking voyage in 2008 with the Free Gaza Movement and was incarcerated in Israeli prisons several times. He was in Gaza throughout Israel’s brutal assault (Operation Cast Lead), assisting medics and reporting to the world what Israel was doing to the Palestinian people. He has been arrested numerous times by Israeli forces for his participation in Palestinian non-violent resistance in the West Bank and Gaza. His last arrest and deportation from the area was a result of the Israeli confiscation of Palestinian fishing vessels in Gazan territorial waters."


An earlier report from al-Arabiya stated that Vittorio's body was found in the al-Saftwai area.
Around 4:30 p.m. west coast time, it was tweeted that Vittorio in the al-Dughmoush family block in Gaza, and the Hamas police were surrounding the area. Several members of the al-Dughmoush family are said to be associated with Salafist.

This is a group that reportedly looks down on Hamas for not being sufficiently religious and they are known for a rejection of western influence. What they have done if this is true, is robbed the life of one of the greatest people dedicating his life to seeing Gaza become free.

I was in contact with a person who worked closely with Vittorio today and she told me the only word is 'anguish'. The only hope now is that people become all the more familiar with this great man who did so much for so many.

The world lost a great spokesman and activist today, but his message is not lost.
Vittorio Arrigoni - Humanitarian - Palestinian - Hero - Martyr - 1975-2011 RIP

Produced by Ken O'Keefe 14/4/11

Articles by Vittorio on Salem-News.com:

Mar-23-2011: Israel's Attack on Civilians: Two Children Killed - Vittorio Arrigoni Special to Salem-News.com
Mar-18-2011: Gaza's Youth: Hopes Broken at 15 March End Of Division Demonstration - By Vittorio Arrigoni for Salem-News.com
Mar-04-2011: 15 March Palestine: End of Division - Vittorio Arrigoni for Salem-News.com
Nov-10-2010: The First Targeted US Killing in Gaza - Vittorio Arrigoni for Salem-News.com

Also:

Nov-30-2010: Israeli Soldiers Fire at Road to Hope Convoy Members - Tim King Salem-News.com

_________________________________

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines. Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com


_________________________________
Publisher Bonnie King has been with Salem-News.com since August '04. Bonnie has a wide ranging media background and in her career she has served in a number of positions in the broadcast industry; TV Production Manager at KVWB (Las Vegas WB) and Producer/Director for the TV series "Hot Wheels in Las Vegas", TV Promotion Director for KYMA (NBC), and KFBT (Ind.), Asst. Marketing Director (SUPERSHOPPER MAGAZINE), Director/Co-Host (Coast Entertainment Show), Radio Promotion Director (KBCH/KCRF), and NIE/Circulation Sales Manager (STATESMAN JOURNAL NEWSPAPER). Bonnie has a depth of understanding that reaches further than just behind the scenes, and that thoroughness is demonstrated in the perseverance to correctly present each story with the wit and wisdom necessary to compel and captivate viewers. View articles written by Bonnie King

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River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

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Editor, Redress Information and Analysis

13 May 2007

The abduction of the BBC’s correspondent, Alan Johnston, and other criminal activities in the occupied Palestinian territories threaten to destroy the Palestinian cause from within. Palestinians must assert their national will and put an end to lawlessness now.

Palestinian patriots and supporters of the Palestinian cause throughout the world cannot but be alarmed at recent developments in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967, in particular the Gaza Strip. We are talking about seditious activities perpetrated under the cover of Islam.

In a previous article, we voiced our revulsion at the kidnapping of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s Gaza correspondent, Alan Johnston, a man who, for three years, had done a heroic job in bringing the misery of the people of Gaza to the eyes and ears of the world. At the time, we did not know the identity of his kidnappers but concluded that, given the predictable damage his abduction had done to the Palestinian cause, whoever kidnapped him was effectively an agent or a collaborator of Israel.

We now have a credible indication of the identity of Alan Johnston’s kidnappers. On 9 May, a group calling itself the “Army of Islam” (Jaish al-Islam) released a tape showing Mr Johnston’s BBC identity card and containing a demand for the release of Muslim suspects being held in British jails. The tape, delivered to the Gaza office of Al-Jazeera TV channel and posted on a website often used by Al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups, specifically demands the release of Abu-Qatada, an Islamic cleric who is accused of having links to Al-Qaeda and is awaiting deportation to Jordan from Britain.The tape cited the support accorded to Israel by successive British governments and said that this justified the killing of all Britons, including Mr Johnston. Thus, according to the logic of the so-called “Army of Islam”, all citizens of states that back Israel are guilty, even those that support the Palestinian cause and other Muslim causes.

Little is known about the “Army of Islam” but what we do know about it points to a criminal, mercenary outfit, rather than to a political group, be it Islamist or jihadist.

According to some sources, the “Army of Islam” is led by one Mumtaz Daghmash – also known as Abu-Muhammad – the chief of the Daghmash clan in Gaza. These sources say that the group was responsible for the kidnap of two Fox News workers in Gaza in August 2006, and that the captives were freed in exchange for 2 million US dollars. Other media sources claim that Daghmash is a key player in organized crime.

Despite the appearance of its message on a website linked to Al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups, all the signs are that the so-called “Army of Islam” is nothing but a mafia-type gang that is using the name and language of Islam as cover for its criminality. As the Palestinian national security director, Major-General Rashid Abu-Shibak, told Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper on 10 May, the so-called “Army of Islam” is not an organization as such but a group of individuals who ... are operating for their private interests".

Observers of the Palestinian struggle will know that criminality within the Palestinian community and the Israeli occupation go hand in hand, for criminals not only undermine the fabric of Palestinian society but also often act as collaborators of Israel – one of the principal tools of the Israeli occupation. As such, we cannot rule out that the so-called “Army of Islam” has been hired – or else infiltrated – by Israel to do its dirty work in the occupied territories for, as we stated before, only Israel, only the Zionists, only the occupation benefit from its activities, including the abduction of Alan Johnston.

Those who claim to be the so-called “Army of Islam” are men who have no honour or dignity. They are the scum of the earth, filth that is beneath contempt and must be lanced from Palestinian society before it infects it terminally. The fact that these criminals call themselves the “Army of Islam” (they should be called the Army of Lucifer, or Jaish Iblees) and speak the language of the Koran only adds insult to injury. But, as true Muslims will know, the Koran warned of such charlatans when it said: “Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of humans, the King of humans, the God of humans, from the evil of the whispering slinker who whispers into the hearts of beings, from among the jinn and the humans." (114: Humans)

The actions of criminals masquerading as Islamic radicals is not the only form of seditious activity that has afflicted the occupied Palestinian territories lately. On 8 May, a United Nations-run school in Gaza was attacked by gunmen belonging to an Islamist Salafi group, resulting in the death of one man and the wounding of several others. The group said that it had carried out the attack because it objected to the idea of boys and girls mixing together and popular music being played.

We can cite many other activities of a similar ilk, including attacks on internet cafes, music shops and Christian bookshops, some executed by common criminals hiding under the cover of Islam, others carried out by Islamists such as the Salafi group mentioned above. None has anything to do with the Palestinian cause and all have just one beneficiary: Israel. As with the kidnappers of Alan Johnston, the perpetrators of all these attacks are, in effect if not in actual fact, traitors to the Palestinian cause and enemies of the Palestinian people. They must be treated as such by the Palestinian National Authority – both Hamas and Fatah – and by Palestinian society.

However, the chances of a reassertion of law and order – the reassertion of the national will of the Palestinian people – in the occupied territories are almost nil as long as the shameful, fratricidal war among Palestinians continues. It is against the background of this war, which is being fought between armed factions belonging to a Fatah party that is unable to come to terms with not being in power, and Hamas, against which the global forces of Zionism have ranged, that the general lawlessness in the Palestinian territories exists.

This brings us to the role of the hypocrites of the United States and the European Union, including Britain, in bringing about this state of affairs.

Ever since the Palestinian people voted in free and fair elections for Hamas to be their government, the EU and the USA, together with Israel, have done their utmost to undermine the ability of Hamas to govern.


In both Iraq and the Palestinian territories, a weak central government and general lawlessness are strategic aims of Israel – in Iraq because it ensures Israel’s long-term strategic domination of the Middle East and in the Palestinian territories because it lends credibility to Israel’s claim that the Palestinians are incapable of governing themselves. While in Iraq the situation has now well and truly slipped out of the control of the US occupiers, in the Palestinian territories Israel has found willing accomplices in the EU and the US to starve the Palestinians into submission. The outcome is clear for all to see: general lawlessness and criminality of which the abduction of Alan Johnston and the attack on the UN-run school are but two examples.


The Palestinian cause has survived against overwhelming odds, thanks to the unparalleled steadfastness and resilience of the Palestinian people. However, the lawlessness and criminality now prevalent in Gaza and, to a lesser extent, the West Bank now threaten to do what the Zionists and their European and American stooges have failed to achieve in over a century of conflict, that is, to destroy the Palestinian cause from within and wipe out support for the Palestinian people the world over.


It is time for Palestinian society, from the grassroots to the Palestinian National Authority, to assert the national will of the people throughout Palestine, to unite behind the democratically-elected Hamas government and flush out the criminals and charlatans in their midst.
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Comment:

Mr. Nureddin Sabir forgot to mention that egypt blaimed al-Qaeda linked Islamic Army for Alexandria church attack In case you missed it: Who bombed  Alexandria church
 
Moreover, Sabir forget to mention how hamas delt with "Jund Ansar Allah "

Members of a group called Jund Ansar Allah surround their leader
Abdel-Latif Moussa (2nd-R) as he speaks during Friday prayers in Rafah
in the southern Gaza Strip August 14, 2009. Islamist radicals from the
Palestinian group called Jund Ansar Allah defied the Hamas rulers of
Gaza on Friday by declaring an "Islamic emirate" in the territory and
staging a defiant display of arms.
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