Hope for a new dawn at Rafah in Gaza Strip

By Richard Lightbown

2 May 2011

Following the recent announcements of Egypt’s intention to open the Rafah Crossing with Gaza, Richard Lightbown describes some of the hypocrisies behind Israel’s objections and speculates on what might follow.

Egypt announced last week that it intends to open the Rafah Crossing to the Gaza Strip on a permanent basis. Commenting on Israel’s Army Radio on 30 April the chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces, General Sami Anan, was reported to have said that this is not a matter of Israel’s concern. Officially, perhaps he is incorrect since the 2005 Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing make it plain that the opening of the crossing is very much dependent on the cooperation of the government of Israel. However, since Israel has never seen fit to abide by the Agreement on Movement and Access (hereinafter called “the Agreement”) of which these Principles are a part, one might conclude that General Anan has a valid point.

The 2005 crossings agreement

The Agreement was intended to facilitate movement within the Palestinian territories, open Rafah as an international crossing point to enable the passage of people and “promote peaceful economic development and improve the humanitarian situation on the ground”.

It is worthwhile reiterating here the main points agreed by Israel and Palestine following negotiations facilitated by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, European Union representative Javier Solana and Quartet Special Envoy John Wolfensohn.

• Crossings into Gaza were to operate continuously. Of the five crossings from Israel, the main crossing at Karni would process 150 trucks of exports per day in December 2005, which would rise to 400 by the end of 2006.
• Israel would permit the export of all agricultural products for the 2005 season and ensure the continued opportunity thereafter of Gazan producers to export.
• Israel also undertook to make the West Bank passages fully operational as soon as possible. Bus convoys were to be established on the link between Gaza and the West Bank by the end of 2005 and truck convoys were to begin in January 2006.
• Construction of the seaport for Gaza could start once Israel gave assurances that it would not interfere with its operation.
• Discussions were to continue on the rehabilitation and operation of Gaza’s airport.
• Rafah Crossing would be restricted to Palestinian ID card holders and others in agreed categories by prior notification to Israel with approval of senior Palestinian Authority leaders. The crossing would be operated by Egypt and the Palestinian Authority monitored by EU officials.
• Rafah was also to handle exports from Gaza while imports into Gaza from Egypt would pass via the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.

What happened in reality

One year after the agreement, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that “the ability of Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip to access either the West Bank or the outside world remains extremely limited and the flow of commercial trade is negligible”. For people in Gaza the situation never got any better.

The main crossing from Israel at Karni was opened in December 2005 but during 2006 it was closed for more than 50 per cent of its scheduled operating days by the Israeli authorities citing security reasons. On average, only 12 truckloads of goods per day were exported from Gaza (three per cent of the target figure for the end of 2006).

Despite emphasis in the Agreement on permitting the export of agricultural produce for the 2005 harvest season, only 465 tonnes were exported of nearly 14,000 tonnes produced (i.e. slightly more than three per cent) while a further 25 per cent was sold locally or through Israeli wholesalers. The remainder of the crops were given away or destroyed.

Sufa Crossing was used primarily for the import of construction materials. During the first year of the Agreement it was open for only 60 per cent of scheduled days. Erez Crossing was not used for commercial goods and Kerem Shalom Crossing was boycotted by the Palestinian Authority and was open for humanitarian cargos only.

Since the introduction of the Israeli closure regime on Gaza in 2007 all crossings other than the small inconvenient crossing at Kerem Shalom were gradually closed to goods traffic. This remaining crossing has not been open continuously, and was closed between 5 and 13 April this year on the grounds of continuing rocket fire and security threats against Israeli soldiers. The reopening on 13 April allowed the resumption of imports and one truckload of export produce. During the week of closure approximately three-quarters of a million cut flowers designated for export from Gaza were lost through spoilage (incurring estimated losses of 110,000 US dollars).

Truck and bus convoys between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were never introduced.

Plans to upgrade the port of Gaza following the Oslo Accords began after finance was provided by Dutch, French and European investments. Starting in 1994 the work was constantly hampered by Israeli obstruction of materials and workers. Finally, one year into the project, Israeli forces bombed the port and completely destroyed it. The revival of the scheme under the 2005 Agreement was stillborn because of Israel’s refusal to provide the required assurances. (The US-led committee to oversee these arrangements as required under the Agreement was never established.)

Nothing came of the intentions to reopen Gaza’s international airport, which has been closed following bombing by Israeli forces in December 2001.

In five months following the capture of Gilad Shalit on 25 June 2006 the Rafah Crossing was open for only 14 per cent of the time and since that time has never been open continuously. Although deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak must shoulder much of the blame for this and the Palestinian authorities are not without responsibility, the government of Israel was largely to blame for this situation by its manipulation and use of the terms of the Agreement for the opening.

What might the future bring?

Egypt’s declared intention to open the crossing into Gaza reflects a radical change from the policy of Mubarak and promises to provide a lifeline to the moribund Gazan economy that has been deliberately targeted by Israeli policies which are illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention. In February, Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) reported that the World Bank believed that using Rafah as a trade corridor to the Suez Canal container terminal or Cairo International Airport could be done at a cost equivalent to or less than using Israel’s port or airports. Continuous opening will allow producers to effectively plan their transport arrangements free of the whim of a malignant border control. It will also allow students with overseas placements to take up their studies, and provide an opportunity for the rebuilding of Gaza, including the refurbishment and replenishment of its dire medical system. (For as the surgeon Dr Mustafa Yassin told the Turkel Committee on 13 October 2010, “I haven’t seen anything like Gaza in my life, and I hope that I won’t ever see it again.”)

The question remains whether Egypt will be allowed to carry out this policy or whether it will be prevailed upon to reverse its plans. Israel’s quisling administration in the US has already provided more the 116 million US dollars to Egypt in order to finance border security and combat tunnel trafficking. This included provision for a mobile ground surveillance radar and support system and a border tunnel activity and detection system. Will the US sit idly by as Egypt’s new regime renders this expenditure irrelevant and worthless? Or will it dare to defy the winds of change in the Arab world by racking up the pressure on its erstwhile ally to bring it into line against Gazan resistance?

Meanwhile, in nearby corners of the Mediterranean Sea, Mossad and the organizers of the next flotilla are playing out a sophisticated game of hide and seek. If the flotilla avoids the saboteurs and successfully takes to the sea, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be forced against his natural inclination to make a major political decision. Does he unleash the dogs of war and try to face down world opprobrium, or does he sit meekly by and allow the fleet to pass on victorious to Gaza? Either way he stands to be hoist on the petard of his own intransigence. Perhaps the Egyptian government will make the decision for him by rendering the blockade obsolete.

At the same time a successful entry into Gaza by sea will demonstrate many things. It will show the possibilities for trade by sea to complement the land crossing. It will refute the liars that deny that Gaza has a port and the doubters at UN Human Rights Council and elsewhere that it is a place where one can unload cargoes even now. It will also demonstrate the need for the world to insist that Israel allows the Gaza port to be refurbished. Above all it will demonstrate that people of courage and determination can accomplish what weak, collaborative governments fear to do.

Dare we hope this time that righteousness will prevail?

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Egypt frees Hezbollah members to Gaza ...

FLC

GAZA, May 1 (UPI) --" Two Palestinian members of a Hezbollah cell arrived in Gaza this weekend following their release by the Egyptian authorities.Mohammed Ramadan, 17, and Nidal Fathi Juda, 23, were arrested three years ago along with other cell members for terror activities..."

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 10:23 AM

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Israel Slams Bombing of Gas Pipeline and Palestinian Reconciliation and Egypt strongly Responds

April 30, 2011 posted by Dr. Ashraf Ezzat

“What Mr. Netanyahu is unaware of is the fact that the Arabs currently in revolt, as much as they reject both the Israeli-Egyptian natural gas deal and the Israeli inhuman blockade on Gaza, feel the same way about the Israeli-Palestinian so called peace talks”

“Egypt to officially announce its border with Gaza open in the coming few days”

Bombing of Egypt's natural gas pipeline to Isarel at Alarish terminal.

Dr. Ashraf Ezzat

With the first light of the dawn of Wednesday 27, Egypt witnessed yet another unusually turbulent day of post-Mubarak open display of anti-Israeli sentiments. Those sentiments have been long entrenched in the Egyptian psyche, though not primarily directed at the Israelis but fueled by the Israeli aggressive policy towards its Arab neighbors and above all by its ongoing criminal plan of the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian population out of their Arabic homeland.

The pro-democracy uprisings ripping through the heart of the Arab world, besides toppling dictators and corrupt regimes, and aside from being a blatant display of western hypocritical Mideast policy, have been rare historical moments for people on the Arabic street to freely speak their minds and openly express their unrestrained opinions. After all, that what democracy is all about.

Once they have managed to fully implement the famous slogan of the Egyptian uprising “the people want the regime down”, Egyptians insisted the head of the regime along with his inner circle of corrupt aides and officials put on trial and held accountable for all the crimes they committed against the Egyptian people- an unprecedented claim in all of Egypt’s long history.

The list of charges against Mubarak’s regime is a long one that included harming national interests, profiteering, selling government assets and public enterprises, squandering and wasting public money and shooting peaceful protesters. But the deal of exporting Egypt natural gas to Israel that Mubarak himself endorsed back in 2005 stands at the top of the list.

Pro-Zionist Mubarak.

The end of a deal.

According to the crooked deal, Egypt is to sell its natural gas with a fixed price of $1.25 per million British thermal units (Btu) – while Global gas prices in the meantime jumped to $4 per million Btu- for 15 years.
Economists estimated that Egypt wasted at least $714 million in potential revenue from the deal to date, while independent analysts opposed to the deal put the number of losses much higher, up to $8 million per day.
The fervent Egyptian protests never lost its momentum by overthrowing Mubarak. Thousands of angry protesters kept coming back to Tahrir square Friday after Friday venting out their dissatisfaction over continuing to keep Mubarak and his gang of former politicians on the loose.
Finally and to appease the enraged people specifically in regard to the gas deal, two previous oil ministers were arrested and faced legal prosecution and Mubarak himself was indicted over the suspicious deal and held under detention.
Truth of the matter is, that deal with Israel made every Egyptian feel personally affronted. Not only because of the much needed millions of dollars that went right into the pocket of Mubarak and his Zionist friends, but to the audacity of selling Egypt’s national assets and pride to a formidable foe at such a cheap price.



Mr. Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Israeli minister of national
infrastructure and Mr. Sameh Fahmy, Egypt petroleum
minister at the signing ceremony of the natural gas deal.



In was hurting the Egyptian sensibility as it dishonored the memory of thousands of fine Egyptian soldiers who willingly gave their lives in the long military conflict with Israel defending their land.

When January 25 revolution attacked the natural gas deal with Israel a spot light was thrown at Egypt’s most controversial issues; post-Mubarak Egypt’s political fabric, corruption and Israel.

Egypt has been a key player in the Arab-Israeli conflict since day one of its inauguration. It has engaged in 4 wars with Israel since 1948 till 1973 trying to hold back the Zionist military piracy, and signed a controversial peace treaty with Tel Aviv on 1979.

Mubarak and due to his 3 decades of dancing to the tunes of his Zionist allies in Israel, has transferred Egypt from the leader of the Arab camp to the pro-Zionist circus of puppets and drove the Egyptians into one of their ugliest tunnels of political inertia they have ever been through.
With Mubarak gone, and As Egypt was stripping itself of a long and shameful Zionist kippah, the country felt like coming out of this dark tunnel to the light for the first time. Egypt’s potentials for engaging in the Middle East conflict, with whole new palette of all shades of political colors, have reemerged and come back to life again.
Once the ruling autocratic party in Egypt was dissolved, the country’s political arena began to accommodate parties and groups of all political strata; socialists, leftists, liberals and of course the right wing represented by the Muslim brotherhood.

All Egyptian political blocks regardless of their background ideology agreed on one principle; the Egyptian-Israeli political relations should be conducted from an Arabic perspective that would serve both the Egyptian national security and interests while adhering to an Arabic agenda aimed at resolving the Israeli- Palestinian thorny file.

But while nationalists, leftists and liberal forces believed in conducting the Egyptian-Israeli tangled issues through open political dynamics, other parties, and due to their long history of covert operations and sort of underground organization were inclined to tackle this in a way that only the Zionist machine in Israel are familiar with.

Scenario of the hot Wednesday

At dawn break, near the northern Sinai city of Arish, some 50 kilometers away from the Israeli border with Egypt, a group of 5 masked men drove away in a 4×4 car after they bombed the terminal of the pipeline that supplied Israel with 40% of its total requirement of natural gas utilized to generate 80% of its electricity.

Leaving the place after remotely detonating the bombs, the whole terminal went up in soaring flames, frightening the nearby residents and forcing the station’s safety department to completely shut down the feed of gas to Israel

Though there have been a couple of sabotage incidents aimed at the same pipeline station in the last two months, but compared to this seemingly professional and carefully carried out operation, they were nothing more than amateurish trial to leak out gas.



Rafah, Egypt crossing point with Gaza

Later in the morning, and for the first time, scores of Palestinian syndicate professionals – doctors, pharmacists, accountants and free traders- protested at the Gaza side of Rafah crossing point- the border checkpoint with Egypt- and while raising the entwined flags of Egypt and Palestine called for putting an end to the siege long imposed on Gaza from the Egyptian side.

Before noon, hundreds of college students from Cairo University belonging to The Palestinian Revolution Supporters Group, The Islamic Work Party, Democratic Students and Egyptians against Zionists broke out of the gates of the university and headed in a big march to the Israeli embassy. They burned the Israeli flag and called for the immediate halt of gas supply to Israel, chanting “ wake up Egypt, supplying Israel with our gas is a shame for all Egyptians”

After few hours, Israeli Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau said that “though gas is one of the most important economic components of the peace treaty between the two countries signed in 1979, nevertheless, our government has to face up to the fact that Israel has to do without Egypt gas from now on”

Following the sequence of events that consequently happened throughout this hot Wednesday, From the blast at the early hours of the morning to the protests in Cairo and Gaza reaching to the solemn statements of Mr. Landau in Tel Aviv, one can’t guess twice that certain elements from Hamas in Gaza- who now regard Sinai as an accessible operational field- in close cooperation with their Egyptian right wing counterparts of the Muslim brotherhood were responsible for this bombing of the gas line terminal in Arish and the protests on both sides.
But then, this would remain purely speculative, with all the legal irregularities involved, as long as nobody claimed responsibility for it.

The new middle east

Post-Mubarak Egyptian foreign policy is bound to show some major changes of strategy. And with a figure like Dr. Nabil el-Araby, Egypt’s new foreign minister, who doesn’t distance himself from his previous calls for Arab states to sue Israel for its atrocities committed against the Palestinians, Netanyahu unreluctantly expressed his concerns over Egypt’s newly evolving and apparently anti-Israeli politics.
As the night was falling on this hot Wednesday, the last hours were yet to reveal the biggest events of that day. And as the morning started with a blast so did the evening.

“Fatah- the Palestinian political organization- has reached an agreement with its rival Hamas on forming an interim government and fixing a date for a general election” Egyptian intelligence announced on Wednesday evening. And Cairo is to invite both parties, who agreed on all discussed points, to a signing ceremony to mark this historical Palestinian reconciliation.

Benjamin Netanyahu

This Egyptian–brokered deal, which came few month away from the expected UN vote on the recognition of Palestine as an independently sovereign state- infuriated the Israeli government and considered it crossing the red line for Israel, as Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister announced.

But as Mr.Landau, said earlier that Israel would have to do without Egypt’s natural gas so did Mr. Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, who declared on response to this reconciliation that Israel would have to find herself another partner to carry on with in the Mideast peace talks.
On April 30th, And in quick response to Netanyahu’s provocative statement, Hussein Tantawi, Egyptian Field Marshal, head of the supreme military council and the Egyptian interim government announced ..

“the latest Israeli threats to the Palestinian coalition government have enraged the Arab peoples and they are totally unacceptable. And he added that the Egyptian military council is to officially open Rafah border crossing point with Gaza on permanent basis in the coming few days to alleviate the suffering of the besieged Palestinians living in Gaza”

Hussein Tantawi, Field Marshal and
head of the Egyptian supreme military council

What Mr. Netanyahu is unaware of is the fact that the revolting Arabs, as much as they reject both the Israeli-Egyptian natural gas deal and the Israeli inhuman blockade on Gaza, feel the same way about the Israeli-Palestinian so called peace talks.

The so called peace process has been nothing more than a disgusting and theatrically staged waste of time brokered by the United States to peacefully allow more Israeli settlements to be built and more of Palestinian land quietly annexed.

Israel will have to do without a whole much more than just Egypt’s natural gas in the future. The Arabs will certainly be crossing a lot of red lines in the coming days as they resketch the long advocated for- new Middle East.

A new middle East is emerging, alright, the Arabic version, that is.

For more articles by Dr. A shraf Ezzat visit his website.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Memorial held for Arrigoni turns into demonstration of support for Palestine

[ 29/04/2011 - 09:48 PM ]

MANCHESTER, (PIC)-- A memorial held in the city of Manchester in north England to honour Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni, who was murdered in Gaza, turned into a demonstration of support for the Palestinian cause with ISM activist chanting for the freedom of Palestine, the end of the siege and the continuation with humanitarian convoys to the Gaza Strip.

Participants stressed the need for continuing with sending convoys to the Gaza Strip to break the siege and condemned the crime of murdering Vittorio “the Palestinian people’s friend.”

Speakers stressed that solidarity with the Palestinian people will not stop “despite the crime of killing Vittorio.”

The Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) had organised the event which was attended by representatives of pro-Palestinian organisations and in which a video depicting the life and work of activist Vittorio Arrigoni and the role he played in informing the world of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip especially after the Israeli aggression on Gaza at the end of 2008.

Dr. Tareq Tahboub, representing the PFB said that Vittorio recognised the fact that the problem of Palestinians was freedom and not food despite the siege and that during his years in the Gaza Strip he showed great courage in expressing solidarity with the people of Gaza and defending their rights despite being detained and injured by the Israelis.

Dr. Tahboub accused the Israeli occupation of being behind the murder of Vittorio stressing that the occupation is the only party that benefits from such a crime.

For his part British activist Ibrahim al-Majrisi said that dying while fighting for a worthwhile cause is better than living without a cause or a value, adding that he participated in ships to break the siege on Gaza and called for the continuation of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

While activist and close friend of Vittorio, Ken O’Keefe, said that Palestinians had no interest in the death of Arrigoni and that he suspected people connected with Israel behind the gruesome murder.

Norma Turner from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), who visited the Gaza Strip and saw for herself the suffering of the people because of the siege, agreed with O’Keefe and said that solidarity with the Palestinian people will increase and that new activists are preparing themselves to actively participating in breaking the siege on Gaza.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Arabi pledges to lift Gaza siege in ten days, Rizka welcomes the news

[ 29/04/2011 - 02:58 PM ]

CAIRO, (PIC)-- Nabil Al-Arabi, the Egyptian foreign minister, said on Thursday that Egypt would take a decisive decision rescinding the unjust siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, adding that the decision would be taken within ten days.

"The humanitarian condition in Gaza is very miserable, inhuman, and I believe that the political decision to seal the Rafah crossing point was unethical and inhuman," Arabi said in statements he made in the capital Cairo Thursday.

He added that a political decision regarding lifting the siege on Gaza and opening the Rafah crossing point permanently will be taken by the new Egyptian leadership, underlining that matters in the Gaza strip will drastically change to the better.

Arabi’s statements were received well in Gaza and stirred an atmosphere of jubilance in the coastal Strip that had been under repressive Israeli blockade for the past five years that former Egyptian government of deposed president Husni Mubarak supported.

For his part, Dr. Yousef Rezqa, the political advisor of Palestinian premier Ismael Haneyya welcomed Arabi's statements, describing them as "good news".

"We fully back the new Egyptian steps in this regard, and we are filled with hope that those statements will be translated on the ground in order to give chance to the besieged Palestinian people to get rid of the five-year old blockade," Rezqa said in reaction to Arabi's statements.

He added that the signing of the Palestinian reconciliation on Wednesday in Cairo would help Egypt and the rest of Arab countries to rescind the unjust siege on Gaza.

"If Egypt indeed decided to break the siege then we can say that the blockade would end 100% because we pay great attention to our brothers in Egypt in this regard as we consider Egypt the center of the Arab backing that we had demanded in the past stage," Rezqa underscored.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Egypt to Permanently Open Rafah Crossing, “Israel” Concerned

Local Editor

"Israeli" concerns escalated as Egypt said it will permanently open the Rafah border crossing as part of its plans to ease the blockade on Gaza.

According to Maan news agency, Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Al Arabi said his country would take "important steps to help ease the blockade on Gaza in the few days to come".

He said Egypt would no longer accept that the Rafah border - Gaza's only crossing that bypasses "Israel" -- remain blocked, describing his country's decision to seal it off as "shameful."

Egypt has largely kept Rafah closed, opening it exceptionally for humanitarian cases from the besieged Gaza Strip.

In Tel Aviv, a senior "Israeli" official said the Zionist entity is "very concerned" about the implications of the Rafah crossing being thrown open.

Speaking anonymously, the "Israeli" official said Gaza's Hamas rulers had already build up a "dangerous military machine" in northern Sinai which could be further strengthened by opening the border. "We are very concerned about the situation in northern Sinai where Hamas has succeeded in building a dangerous military machine, despite Egyptian efforts to prevent that," he told AFP, without giving further details. "What power could they amass if Egypt was no longer acting to prevent that build up?"

This step comes also on the backdrop of a Hamas-Fatah Palestinian reconciliation that alarmed the "Israeli" enemy too.

Soon after the Hamas-Fatah meeting on reconciliation, "Israeli" Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud Party, denounced the draft agreement of Palestinian unity, and added that "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas chose peace with Hamas instead of peace with Israel".

Netanyahu said that peace with "Israel" and reconciliation with the Hamas movement cannot go hand in hand, "Israeli" daily, according to Haaretz.

Meanwhile, "Israeli" Foreign Minister Avigdor on Thursday Lieberman on his part expressed fears that Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip would eventually take over the Palestinian Authority-ruled West Bank as well, using, among other things, freed Hamas activists.

The two Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas -with Egypt as their medium- agreed Wednesday to reconcile and form an interim government ahead of elections, after a four-year period of conflicts, in what both sides hailed as a chance to start a fresh page in their national history.

'Rafah crossing to be permanently open!'

"Egypt's foreign minister said in an interview with Al-Jazeera on Thursday that preparations were underway to open the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on a permanent basis.Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi told Al-Jazeera that within seven to 10 days, steps will be taken in order to alleviate the "blockade and suffering of the Palestinian nation."

The announcement indicates a significant change in the policy on Gaza, which before Egypt's uprising, was operated in conjunction with Israel. The opening of Rafah will allow the flow of people and goods in and out of Gaza without Israeli permission or supervision, which has not been the case up until now. Israel's blockade on Gaza has been a policy used in conjunction with Egyptian police to weaken Hamas, which has ruled over the strip since 2007. The policy also aims to reduce Hamas' popularity among Gazans by creating economic hardship in the Strip. Rafah's opening would be a violation of an agreement reached in 2005 between the United States, Israel, Egypt, and the European Union, which gives EU monitors access to the crossing...."

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 4:57 PM

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Sit-in at Rafah border demanding urgent opening

[ 28/04/2011 - 10:09 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The Palestinian trade union association has organized a sit-in Wednesday in front of the Rafah border crossing southern Gaza Strip.

Protesters are demanding full opening of the crossing to allow the flow of humanitarian aid, commodities and needed medical supplies into the Gaza Strip.

During a press conference held outside the crossing gates, Marwan al-Hams, speaking on behalf of the association, called on the Egyptian government to open the crossing.

The Gaza Strip currently suffers a critical shortage in medicines, building materials and other necessary commodities due to the Israeli siege on the tiny enclave.

Scores of doctors, pharmacists, academics, tradesman shouted demands to immediately open the Rafah crossing holding banners demanding an end to the siege.

On Wednesday night, the Palestinian Ahrar movement released a statement calling on the Egyptian government to supply the Gaza Strip with electricity and open the Rafah crossing for natural flow of commodities and people.

”Our people's suffering worsens day after day because of the siege,” the statement says.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Turkish FM warns Israel against repeating flotilla attack

[ 26/04/2011 - 04:08 PM ]

ISTANBUL, (PIC)-- Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned Israel against repeating the same mistake with the Gaza-bound flotilla scheduled to set sail next month, the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot has reported.

 In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Davutoglu added that it is Israel's responsibility not to implement the Gaza blockade. He added that a UN fact-finding mission has declared that the blockade is illegal.

The Turkish foreign minister further said: “'In the flotilla last year, people were killed 72 miles from the coast, so this was in international waters. The Mediterranean does not belong to any nation.”

Bulent Yildirim, who chairs the Turkish humanitarian relief fund (IHH) has confirmed that the Mavi Marmara, which was attacked in the first flotilla, will return to Gaza with a sequel international aid flotilla running under the same name set to sail late this May.

The move has caused Israel to ask the US and EU states to thwart the flotilla by discouraging their respective people from participation. Israel has also asked Turkey to stop it before some of the flotilla's ships leave its ports.

The Turkish FM said in the interview: ”Turkey will not stop the ships from setting sail from its ports, but it would continue to warn activists on board of the dangers they face.”

The Freedom Flotilla 2 coalition has announced the opening of registration to the siege-busting Gaza flotilla for Brits who desire to take part. The coalition said registration actually began two days ago on the group's website.

The Palestinian Forum in Britain has also added a feature on its website designed to inform about special arrangements made for the flotilla. The site also includes details how to sign up.

Preparations for the convoy are in full swing in participating ports in Europe, North America, North Africa, Asia, South America and Australia. About 15 ships loaded with humanitarian aid are expected to set sail simulateously by the end of May.

The convoy will carry more than a thousand passengers including reporters, human rights workers, technicians and activists.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Nuno: Our relationship with Egypt strategic

[ 22/04/2011 - 03:20 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Tahir Al-Nuno, the spokesman of the Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip, has stressed Thursday that his government was and still is keen on building strong and healthy relationship with Egypt, describing the Palestinian-Egyptian ties as strategic.

"We understand the priorities of the Egyptian government at this point of time as it focuses on arranging the Egyptian internal home after the great developments that had occurred, and we believe that Egypt carries very important files as far as the Palestinian issue is concerned," Nuno said as he met with Baha'a Al- Dusoki, the chairman of Palestine department in the Egyptian foreign affairs ministry, in Cairo where they discussed a number of issues, including the Rafah crossing point.

In this regard, Nuno expressed the confidence of the Palestinian government in Egypt's ability in dealing with the Palestinian reconciliation file, stressing his government's keenness on achieving that reconciliation.

"The Palestinian people and government totally support Egypt till it reaches the state of complete stability," Nuno said, stressing the urgency of taking a number of measures to facilitate travel across the Rafah crossing point being the only gateway that links the Gaza Strip with the rest of the world.

For his part, Dusoki stressed Egypt's keenness on achieving the Palestinian reconciliation and to restore Palestinian unity and that won't relax till such things are realized.

On the issue of the Rafah crossing, Dusoki explained that Egypt was mulling a number of measures that could facilitate the movement of the Palestinian people through it without giving Israel any chance to benefit from it, saying that such measures won't take long time although they were linked with certain factors that Egypt is trying to achieve.

Palestinian gov't urges Cairo to enhance travel through Rafah crossing
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

Freedom Coalition: No request from Fatah to participate in Flotilla

[ 22/04/2011 - 02:13 PM ]

LONDON, (PIC)-- The Freedom Coalition has denied Thursday it received any request from Fatah faction to participate in the Freedom Flotilla 2 that it plans to send to Gaza next month.

A spokesman of the Coalition said to the Quds Press that his group didn’t receive any request from Fatah faction in this regard, opining that the fact Fatah was willing to partake in the Flotilla indicates that the movement started to correct its position regarding the Flotilla.

In the past Fatah Movement undermined and described the Freedom Flotilla 1 that sailed to Gaza last year but blocked by the Israeli occupation as "ridiculous game".

Fatah leader Nabil Sha'ath expressed his Movement's willingness to participate in the Flotilla, and that his Movement was supporting any popular or international action that aims to lift the siege on Gaza.

For his part, Rami Abdo, member of the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza, which is part of the Freedom Coalition organizing the Flotilla, said that there was an internal decision in the coalition to remain at equal distance from all Palestinian factions in order not to give the Israeli occupation any room to give the Flotilla any political color.

"We just couldn’t open the door for any Palestinian faction to join the Flotilla because we don’t want the Flotilla to be used by any one of them as we have humanitarian objectives and we are very glad that our efforts now gain the blessing of all Palestinian factions," Abdo added in an interview with the Quds Press Thursday.

Around 1000 participants from all over the world motivated by their support to the Palestinian people were expected to join the Flotilla, Abdo pointed out.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

European activists launch boat to monitor Israeli violations in Gaza waters

[ 21/04/2011 - 07:52 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- European activists from Civil Peace Service Gaza (CPSGAZA) launched Wednesday a boat named Oliva designed to monitor Israeli human rights violations on Palestinian waters off the Gaza Strip.

The move also comes to commemorate the life of slain Italian peace activist Vittorio Arrigoni, one of the dozens of parties that supported the boat.

The mission was launched after Israel reduced the fishing space in the sea from twenty nautical miles, as agreed upon in the Oslo Accords, to just three. Gaza fishermen have therefore become threatened by frequent Israeli fire and boat confiscation. Many of them have been arrested and suffered poverty because of the reduction of fishing space.

The launch of the monitoring boat was announced at the opening of the sixth Bil'in conference in Ramallah by its organizers during a video conference.

It includes activists from Spain, the US, Italy, and Belgium as well as Gaza fisherman. Their mission is to document human rights violations by gathering information and taking video footage to be handed over to the media.

Arrigoni, who was recently slain by a deviant religious group in the Gaza Strip, was one of the parties that supported the project. He also helped choose the name Oliva, expressing his desire not to name it after one of the Gaza martyrs. The name is Italian for ”olive”.

According to statistics from the Red Cross, 90 per cent of Gaza's 4,000 fishermen are poor with an average monthly income of $100-190 or live below the poverty line, earning less than $100 a month. The average was at 50 per cent in 2008 but rose dramatically in the last three years.

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BBC governing body hails “pretentious propaganda” documentary on Gaza aid ship massacre

Via Redress
By Richard Lightbown

21 April 2011
Richard Lightbown is surprised to learn from the BBC Trust - the governing body of Britain’s state broadcaster – that it considered Panorama’s “Death in the Med” documentary to have “performed a valuable public service”.

”Nothing of value will ever be served by distorting reality and no credit will come to the BBC for promoting or excusing such a travesty of the truth.” (Richard Lightbown)

The BBC Panorama programme, “Death in the Med” took as its subject the Israeli commando raid on the Mavi Marmara. Broadcast on 16 August 2010, the programme received both accolades and brickbats.

Pro-Zionist blogs expressed delight that the BBC had finally produced a “balanced” documentary, while Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs downloaded the whole programme onto its website. (The Goldstone Report was denied the same distinction.)

On the other hand, of the more than 2,000 respondents to the programme who expressed an opinion, 72 per cent were negatively inclined. The BBC considered about one quarter of these were more or less identical with the wording recommended by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. It is possible then that the programme generated about 1,000 original complaints.

Selective background

Because the programme length was limited to 29 minutes the subject had been confined to the raid on the Mavi Marmara. The report tells us on page 88 that the “story of the film was the organized resistance to Israeli commandos and the shocking consequences of the decisions taken by each side”. Interestingly, the programme itself had not made this claim, but had stated that it would “piece together the real story – for the first time” – of the raid on the Turkish ship.

As part of the background to these events, the firing of rockets from Gaza and the allegation of racist abuse over the marine radio band had been mentioned. Yet years of violent occupation, military attacks on the Gazan population, often with illegal weapons, and the condemnation of the blockade by the United Nations were all considered irrelevant to the story by first the programme makers and now the BBC Trust.

Complainants were first dealt with by the programme’s deputy editor, Daniel Pearl, and then passed on to the Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU) if they remained dissatisfied (or had the stamina to continue). The ECU rejected all of the complaints. The final stage of the process was handled by a committee of the BBC Trust, which met to consider the 19 remaining complaints in a consolidated appeal on 17 March. Its findings were published on 19 April, nine months after the programme was broadcast. This in part upheld three of the 51 points of complaint. Lest anyone should think this to be some kind of rebuke, the committee was at pains to commend the BBC for tackling this “most controversial of issues” and declared that the programme was “an original, illuminating and well-researched piece of journalism”. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will no doubt appreciate this extra copy.

Breaches of BBC guidelines on accuracy and impartiality

The points of complaint upheld were:

1. Material from the Turkish preliminary autopsy reports would have given some indication of the level of force employed by the commandos. (Viewers were given no indication that the nine dead had been shot 30 times in total. This included the fatal injury to Cevdet Kiliclar who was shot once in the centre of the forehead; the ECU had told one respondent: “No one except those directly involved is in a position to state as a fact that the victims were deliberately killed.” Instead viewers heard a commando tell the reporter that he had aimed at the legs.) This was considered to have breached Editorial Guidelines on accuracy, but not those on impartiality.

2. By mentioning that the Israelis evacuated the badly wounded to hospital without mentioning widespread allegations of mistreatment of some of the casualties, the programme makers were considered by the committee to have breached the guidelines on impartiality. Despite omitting all mention of claims that wounded passengers had died following denial of medical attention, the committee considered that there had been no breach of guidelines on accuracy.

3. The programme was also considered to have breached the guidelines on accuracy by mentioning (in a deprecating fashion) only a small part of the aid cargoes carried by the flotilla. However, the committee agreed with the programme that the purpose of the flotilla was not really about taking aid to Gaza.

(This curious opinion was also shared by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees mission. The flotilla had been carrying 10,000 tons of aid, the majority of which was construction materials and other items not allowed into Gaza. Just how much aid do private citizens have to organize for the beleaguered population in defiance of their indolent governments before the BBC and other spectators deign to take them seriously?)

The BBC’s perverse reasoning

Among the points of complaint that were rejected were:

The programme did not mention that the blockade and siege are widely considered to be illegal.

Despite being condemned as collective punishment (and therefore illegal) by the UN, the BBC committee decided the information was not essential to understanding the story. Yet perversely the committee had endorsed the programme’s claim that the attempt to breach the blockade was political, i.e. it was defying the illegal imprisonment of a whole population.

2. The legality of the boarding and takeover did not need to be explored because the committee considered (without justification) the viewers’ perception of the issue was not altered by its exclusion.

3. Israeli attacks on Gaza were never referred to because they were not essential to understanding the situation whereas the rockets from Gaza were considered central to the circumstances of the conflict.

4. The reporter’s statement “Here in Gaza the problem’s not so much a lack of food or medicine” was described as correct even though it contradicted the statement by Dr Ahmed Yousef that “Many people have died because [of] the lack of medical supplies, or because there is no chance for having surgery here.”

5. Having observed that allegations of links to terrorism by the Turkish charity IHH needed to be well sourced and based on sound evidence, the BBC committee accepted that links to Hamas, which runs the government in Gaza constituted links with terrorism, along with totally unsubstantiated assertions from Judge Bruguiere made in 2010.

6. The allegations of the use of live fire by activists were not sufficiently tested for veracity.

The committee had noted that proving a negative – that the activists did not use live fire and did not possess live weapons – was not a reasonable expectation. However, it did not consider that proving a positive – that Israel had made allegations that it has never produced evidence to substantiate – is a very reasonable expectation that the programme and the BBC Trust should both have insisted on.

7. That live fire had commenced from the helicopters, before the commandos boarded.

The BBC committee ignored the fact that Israeli aerial infrared film of the raid has been withheld for the crucial period when this allegation is most likely to have occurred. They also ignored the fact that laser sights from a helicopter was shown scanning the deck in the Cultures of Resistance film thus disproving the assertion of the Israeli Turkel Commission, which the committee used here in assessing the evidence, that this equipment was not carried in the helicopters. And they have overlooked the fact that at least one of the activists who was shot from above was on the navigation deck at which location only a helicopter can fire from above. It is fair to say therefore that the BBC committee exhibited wilful ignorance on this point.

8. The commandos repeated use of the word terrorist was never countered.

The BBC committee apparently failed to understand that terrorism involves attacks on civilian targets, and that in describing the defence of a ship against armed military aggression this is not an accurate word to use. The committee should also not have naively regurgitated Israeli propaganda that 50 individuals on the ship had connections with “global jihad-affiliated terrorist organizations”. This is nothing less than a McCarthy-type slur intended for the gullible. The committee might also have recognized that the definition of a terrorist that they quote from the Turkel Commission – “…terrorists are an armed group dressed for battle - protective vests, masks and facial covers” – most accurately (and appropriately) describes the Israeli commandos.

9. The programme had not mentioned the abuse and humiliation of passengers when detained on the ship. While accepting that there were detailed allegations of ill-treatment, the BBC committee decided that the exclusion of this information was a legitimate editorial decision. Thus, having allowed the Israelis to call the passengers terrorists the programme then excluded any mention of the Israeli behaviour that the UNHRC has described as tantamount to torture. We are then told by the committee that this version of events is impartial.

It is unsurprising then that in its final paragraph the BBC committee should conclude: “…’Death in the Med’ was an original, illuminating and well researched piece of journalism. It had achieved exceptional access to key players from both the Israeli and the activists’ side. Voices were heard that had not previously spoken and in presenting their story Panorama performed a valuable public service.”

In truth the only public that was well served by this pretentious propaganda were the Israeli bigots who lined the hill overlooking Ashdod in order to jeer at the activists illegally abducted into the port. Nothing of value will ever be served by distorting reality and no credit will come to the BBC for promoting or excusing such a travesty of the truth.

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IHH slams Israel's attempts to bar Freedom Flotilla 2 from heading to Gaza

[ 19/04/2011 - 10:54 AM ]

ISTANBUL, (PIC)-- The Turkish relief foundation IHH condemned Israel's attempts to prevent Freedom Flotilla 2 to sail for the besieged Gaza Strip next month to deliver humanitarian aid.

IHH in a press release said Israel does not want any international humanitarian efforts to break its land, sea and air blockade on Gaza, so it wants to thwart the launch of the second flotilla after it attacked the first one last year killing and wounding dozens of passengers.

It affirmed that Israel is working nowadays on influencing the international community and institutions in order to prevent Freedom Flotilla from heading to Gaza.

The Turkish foundation considered the assassination of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni an indicator for Israel's intention to use all means to obstruct the mission of the next international aid convoy.

For its part, the national consensus committee called on the international solidarity movement to intensify and continue its efforts to break the Israeli blockade imposed on the people of Gaza.

"The doors of our homes, cities, villages and refugee camps are open to embrace and defend them (anti-siege activists) with all precious things," the committee highlighted in a statement on Monday.

The committee strongly denounced the killing of Arrigoni by a suspicious deviant group and called for naming one of Gaza streets after the slain Italian activist.

MP Mansour: World should follow footsteps of foreign solidarity activists

Miles for Smiles 3 convoy geared to bring aid to Gaza

[ 19/04/2011 - 05:12 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Several international human rights organizations coordinating with health and humanitarian institutions in the Palestinian territories are ”working togething to give Gaza children life”, as preparations are underway for the third Miles for Smiles convoy.

”After the first and second miles for smiles missions culminated in success and were able to breach the siege wrapped around the necks of Gaza's children, and despite the suffering and obstacles faced by the convoys and participants, we are happy once again to put smiles on the faces of the children of Gaza and give them some of the warmth and tenderness they've been denied,” the groups said in a fresh statement released Tuesday.

The convoy is running under the auspices of former Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Al-Hoss, who also heads the international campaign to end the siege on Gaza, with organization by Partners for Peace and Development for Palestinians in Europe in cooperation with other rights groups, including the UN Relief Works Agency and the Red Cross.

It is expected to depart for the Gaza Strip between April 20-26, 2011, according to the responsible parties and specifically targets the medical needs of Gaza children, as that has been severely affected by the Israel siege on the tiny enclave for the past four years.

Organizers have been in close contact with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry to arrange for the convoy's entry and avoid procedural obstacles.

They have also coordinated with the Gaza Ministry of Health to identify the specific needs of the Strip's residents.

Miles for Smiles 2, which included 45 activists from Europe, managed to enter the Strip in August 2010 and remained there for an entire year to survey the reality in Gaza. The first convoy carried out its mission in 2009.
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Arabi fully prepared to allow aid into Gaza

[ 18/04/2011 - 01:54 PM ]

CAIRO, (PIC)-- Egyptian FM Nabil al-Arabi has confirmed during a visit by the Egyptian-international coalition to end the Gaza siege that Egypt is fully prepared to help bring humanitarian aid and construction supplies into the Gaza Strip, said Manha Bakhoum spokeswoman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

The FM had made an apparent political agreement to get the goods in through the Rafah border crossing after the issue is brought to the President of the Egyptian government in order to take necessary and appropriate measures.

Separately, Egyptian diplomats have denied reports that arrangements were being made to ensure a visit by Foreign Minister Arabi to the Gaza Strip soon.

They said there are no arrangements for such a visit at the present time.

The statements came after rumors spread in both Palestinian and Egyptian media that Arabi was geared to go to Gaza to support Palestinian reconciliation efforts undertaken by Cairo and to give Gaza support against potential Israeli aggression.

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Staying human: The legacy of Vittorio Arrigoni

By Ramzy Baroud

"Dear Mary," wrote Italian justice activist Vittorio Arrigoni to a friend. "Do you [know who] will be on the boats?... I'm still in Gaza, waiting for you. I will be at the boat to greet you. Stay human. Vik."

"Mary" is Mary Hughes Thompson, a dedicated activist who braved the high seas to break the Israeli siege on Gaza in 2008.

Vittorio Arrigoni, or Vik, was reportedly murdered by a fundamentalist group in Gaza a few hours after he was kidnapped on Thursday, April 14. The killing was supposedly in retaliation for Hamas' crackdown on this group's members. All who knew Vik will attest to the fact that he was an extraordinary person, a model of compassion, solidarity and humanity.

Arrigoni's body was discovered in an abandoned house hours after he was kidnapped. His murderers didn't honor their own deadline of 30 hours. The group, known as the Tawhid and Jihad, is one of the fringe groups known in Gaza as the Salafis. They resurface under different names and manifestations, for specific - and often bloody - purposes.

"The killing prompted grief in Gaza, but also despair," read an op-ed in the UK Independent on April 16. "Not only was Arrigoni well known and well liked there, but it escaped no one that this kidnapping was the first since that of the BBC journalist Alan Johnson in 2007."

However, Johnson's kidnappers, the so-called Army of Islam (a small group of fanatics affiliated with a large Gaza clan) held their hostage for 114 days. There was plenty of time to organize and pressure the criminals to release him. In Arrigoni's case, merely a few hours stood between the release of a horrifying video showing a blindfolded and bruised activist and the finding of his motionless body. The forensic report said that he was strangled. His friends said that he was tortured.

Vittorio Arrigoni's murder was an opportunity for Israel's supporters. Daniel Pipes wrote, in a brief entry in the National Review Online: "Note the pattern of Palestinians who murder the groupies and apologists who join them to aid in their dream of eliminating Israel." Pipes named three individuals, including the Palestinian-Israeli filmmaker, Juliano Mer-Khamis, and Arrigoni himself, and then proceeded to invite readers to "send in further examples that I may have missed".

Pipes' list, however, will have no space for such names as Rachel Corrie, Tom Hurndall and James Miller, for these individuals were all murdered by Israeli forces. Pipes will also fail to mention the nine Turkish activists murdered aboard the Mavi Marmara ship on its way to break the siege on Gaza in May 2010, and the nine activists abroad Irene (the Jewish Boat to Gaza) who were intercepted, kidnapped and humiliated by Israeli troops before being deported outside the country in September 2010. The 82-year-old Reuben Moscowitz, a Holocaust survivor, was one of the activists aboard the Irene, as was Lillian Rosengarten, an American "who fled the Nazis as a child in Frankfurt," according to a New York Times blog.

The people Pipes failed to mention truly represent a rainbow of humanity. Men and women of all ages, races and nationalities have stood and will continue to stand on the side of the Palestinians. But this story has selectively ignored pseudo-intellectuals intent on dismissing humanity to uphold Israel. They refuse to see the patterns in front of them, as they are too busy concocting their own.

Writing in the UK Guardian from Rome, on April 15, John Hooper said, "Arrigoni's life was anything but safe. In September 2008 he was injured (by Israeli troops) accompanying Palestinian fishermen at sea. Two years ago he received a death threat from a US far-right website that provided any would-be killers with a photo and details of distinguishing physical traits, such as a tattoo on his shoulder."

The group that murdered Arrigoni, like others of its kind, existed for one specific, violent episode before disappearing altogether. The mission in this case was to kill an International Solidarity Mission (ISM) activist who dedicated years of his life to Palestine. Shortly before he was kidnapped, he wrote in this website of the "criminal" Israeli siege on Gaza. He also mourned the four impoverished Palestinians who died in a tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt boarder while hauling food and other goods.

Before his murder, Arrigoni was anticipating the arrival of another flotilla - carrying activists from 25 countries boarding 15 ships - that is scheduled to sail to Gaza in May. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adamantly called on European Union countries to prevent their nationals from jointing the boats. "I think it's in your and our common interest… that this flotilla must be stopped," he told European representatives in Jerusalem, according to an AFP report on April 11.

Israeli officials are angry at the internationals who are "de-legitimizing" the state of Israel by standing in solidarity with the Palestinians. Arrigoni has done so much to harm the carefully fabricated image of Israel as an island of democracy and progress. Along with other activists, he has shattered this myth through simple means of communication.

Vik signed his messages with "Stay human". His book, detailing his experiences in Gaza, was entitled Restiamo Umani (Let Us Remain Human). Mary Hughes Thompson shared with me some the emails Arrigoni sent her. "I can hardly bear to read them again," she wrote. This is an extract from one of them:

"No matter how (we) will finish the mission… it will be a victory. For human rights, for freedom. If the siege will not (be) physically broken, it will break the siege of the indifference, the abandonment. And you know very well what this gesture is important for the people of Gaza. That said, obviously we are waiting at the port! With hundreds of Palestinians and ISM comrades we will come to meet you sailing, as was the first time, remember? All available boats will sail to Gaza to greet you. Sorry for my bad English… big hug… Stay Human. Yours, Vik"

Vik's killers failed to see his humanity. But many of us will always remember, and we will continue trying to "stay human".

Ramzy Baroud (www.ramzybaroud.net) is an internationally-syndicated columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story (Pluto Press, London), available on Amazon.com.

(Copyright Ramzy Baroud, 2011)

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