Palestine – Features

The Iron Cage – Book Excerpt

Rashid Khalidi’s: The Iron Cage, 2006.

Introduction The following is an excerpt from Rashid Khalidi’s book, ‘The Iron Cage’, which discusses the April 2004 letter from US President George Bush to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Though written in 2006, this letter has taken on new significance of late because of US president Obama’s demand that Israel desists in further settlement expansions and the Israeli governments claim that this letter legitimizes continued expansion and provides the American government’s imprimatur for what Israel calls “natural growth” of the settlements. However, what Israel calls “natural growth”, is what looks to those who have studied the maps like the continued populating with Jewish settlers of large swaths of land mapped out  in the West Bank and called ”settlement blocks.” George Bush’s letter to Sharon was the result of limited discussion between the Israeli government and the Bush White House without any input from the Palestinians or their representatives and without any consideration of legal precedent, either from international law or from this history of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Bush’s right to give away land ends at the boundaries of his ranch in Crawford, Texas. This letter cannot be considered legitimate and should not constrain the Obama administration. William James Martin

Read More »The iron cage “ book excerpt

Read More »Appeal for palestinian patients

A press statement

Responding to reports that, following intensive security reinforcements for the police to prevent the campaign from entering Sinai

At the outset send congratulatory exclusive of our armed forces and our brave Egyptian occasion of great victories Tenth of Ramadan

As send condolences to the army and people of the death of Field Marshal Abu Ghazaleh war hero Ramadan
On this occasion we appeal to the Egyptian police commitment to the national and constitutional duty and be repulsed wall against criminals, drug traffickers and land, full of banks and public funds instead of being used to be repulsed against the wall of the honorable citizens of the claimants to recover their dignity and their will

We appeal to police officers and soldiers must display a spirit of the Tenth of Ramadan

We appeal to police officers and soldiers to join the people and the popular will not be helpful to the Zionists and their followers

The land of Sinai, Egypt will regain the army in Tenth of Ramadan for the exercise by the will of the Egyptian people will not Zionist entity

People want policies that do not reflect the will of the will of our enemies Zionists

People want the police to respond to the claim, protect and safeguard not to stand against oppression and
The Rafah crossing land of Egypt shall be applicable to Salloum crossing must be open to legal passage of natural persons and goods

Arba police force to be Egyptian government against its own people and advocated peaceful dignity and the will to Egypt

We will continue our efforts with all peaceful ways and means will not relent Arictna weaken our will or even deterred from government policies or verbal people with all its institutions to come again accurately reflect the will of the people free

The day believers will rejoice

People, police and army and all civil society institutions Egyptian and Arab

The dawn of a new tomorrow, God willing
And together, God Pod siege

D / Hamdi Hassan
Deputy People
The spokesman of the campaign

Read More »A press statement hamdi hassan

By Sayed Dhansay

(source:The Palestine Telegraph)

South Africa, October 10, 2009, (Pal Telegraph)- The term Shministim translates to twelfth-graders in Hebrew, and refers to a small but growing movement of conscientious objectors – young Israeli school leavers who refuse to join their country’s armed forces. I met with three such Shministim during their visit to South Africa, and was pleasantly surprised by their strong conviction and political maturity.

It is easy to mistake Omer Goldman (20), Yuval Ophir-Auron (20) and Sahar Vardi (19) for ordinary teenagers. But their youth belies the long and hard personal journeys these young objectors have travelled. For they have done the unspeakable in Israel – refused to serve in the army. In a country where military conscription exists, time served in the IDF is a rite of passage for all young Israelis, and is accepted as a normal part of growing up and being inducted into society.

Read More »Israeli conscientious objectors visit south Africa