The Beauty of Belladdi Under the Ugly Occupation

After a 20 year absence from my ancestral home, I am here in the heart of Ramallah, Palestine a few minutes walk from the Manara, the town center. Though I lived in America for 48 years, leaving Ramallah, Palestine at the age of 6, I  feel I am at home. Belladdi!  My land! Though I physically  left, my heart and mind stayed here in Ramallah where I grew up next to the old City Hall, the Baba coffee house and the old Dukan (store) Isheeni.

I returned (should I say visited?) to Palestine in 1995 as a member of the Palestinian American Congress Executive Committee delegation. We spent our 10 days in Palestine going to several meetings per day vising political, social, religious, educational and business leaders, so I  didn't have the opportunity to visit relatives or to get the flavor of Palestine in general and Ramallah in particular.  In retrospect,  I should have stayed longer.

I am here now and as I frequently and fervently write about the political aspects from abroad, I longed to feel for myself the richness of my culture in Palestine. While sitting in the Nile Restaurant on 87th Street in Bridgeview, Illinois one gets a very small sampling of our culture but one does not really taste or feel or see or touch or hear the beauty of the language or smells the falafel cooked every 20 feet by street vendors or smiles as one street vendor shouts "Kaaik (round shaped toasted bread with seseme seeds) for one shakel (Israeli currency)" or appreciates the succulent figs and the yellish-green plums that simply fills your tastebuds with our culture. That is what I want to see, feel, hear, touch and taste and smell.

I have been here in Ramallah for two days now. The falafel sandwich made for me by Mahmoud whose restaurant is just a few doors from the Manara Square evoked my tastebuds beyond any sensation I have ever experienced. Maybe it was the mental anticipation, maybe it was the atmospheric surroundings, maybe it was being among my people, maybe it was my eyes that ate before I took my first bite or maybe it was my heart that reveled in the moment that enhanced the flavors of the falafel sandwich. Whatever it  was, that sandwich was so good, I bought another and I devoured both.

Still I have not filled my stomach. There is so much more to see and taste. Palestine is  a rich country, not by wealth from oil fiends but by the beauty of its hills and valleys; by its traditions and its  culture; and by its people young and old. The olive groves are beauty to the eyes as the mind knows that our culture deeply appreciates the oil that comes from them. Yes the culture has been influenced by the political constraints imposed by the merciless Israeli occupation and indeed our music and our theatrical plays have that political element deeply embedded in them.

Rocks are also enmbedded in the landscape.  Rock fences are a pleny and rocks, the symbol of our strenght, are everywhere along the roads.  Roads are forever winding in Ramallah and its suburbs. Around every  curve is another breathtaking sight. One's eyes are filled by the beauty of the land and the people.

I am seeing  and describing a beautiful picture. I have yet to see, however,  the refugee camps, I  have yet to be stopped by a checkpoint.  I have not been confronted by an Israeli Occupation Force soldier and I have yet to see the Apartheid wall.

In Ramallah, one can lose sense of the occupation. Businesses are flurishing, construction abounds and people are generally happy. Israeli occupational forces are no where to be seen. Life seems to be normal.

I feel engulfed by the beauty around me yet I know deep  inside that that beauty is a camouflage as the human spirit is not free. The ugliness of the brutal Israeli occupation remains.

A cousin showed me his haweeya (ID pappers that every Palestian is required to carry) and then laamented that Israel allows him to go to Jerusalem only during holidays. The people, my people are in a prison.

Yet, the people are happy as they go about their daily lives. As I was walking around the Manara on Sunday, I  noticed a vibrant happy people, though I wondered whether the many young men standing around were working or not.

As the per capita of PHds among Palestinians is the highest in the world, I wonder whether the talents of these young men were being wasted under the ugly occupation.  How much more talent can Palestine give to the world under a free and democratic State of Palestine?

I wonder as I see and taste the beauty of Watanni (an Arabic word for nationalism not easily translatable)?

Demand Palestinian Reconciliation

I simply cannot understand the division within the Palestinian political makeup and I cannot understand why Palestinians are not speaking up against this division in our ranks.

Here we are a people struggling to free ourselves from the cruel and unjust chains of occupation and an apartheid system under the iron fists of a brutal Israeli army and we are more organized in our disunity rather organized against our oppressor.  One faction is being blackmailed by allowing the oppressor to collect the tax dollars that belong to the Palestinian people that it governs while the other faction is being retaliated against with US made weaponry with the goal of the oppressor to keep the two Palestinian factions from reconciling.  Both are playing into the hands of the collective oppressor.

Israel would like nothing better than to continue the division between Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.  By keeping these Palestinian factions split, Israel hopes to impose a three state solution (3SS) to the decades old conflict. Israel is working against a demographic time bomb that will unquestionably label the so called democratic Jewish (oxymoron) state an apartheid state, even if it does not agree with this label now.  Israelis will become a minority within the 1948 borders of Palestine by the year 2016; and as a minority it will collapse as a government as it cannot rule a Palestinian majority as did the apartheid regime of the minority White South Africa collapse as it tried to rule the Black African majority.  Keeping the Palestinian factions from reconciling through blackmail and military might, Israel hopes to overcome this demographic time bomb by imposing a 3SS. 

The division, ironically, started after democratic elections in 2006. Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislature and should have been allowed to govern. Israel and the US would not recognize the victor despite the fact that the world was told by President George W. Bush that the Iraqi invasion will lead to the democratization of the region. Instead of embracing democracy, blackmail and sanctions were imposed upon the Palestinians for having elected Hamas. The irony of the taunting democracies to not recognize a democratic election is beyond me.  What further irks me is that Fatah played right along with this devaluing of the democratic principles that the Palestinians are told they must have in order to establish a state.

The silence of Fatah during the 2008-2009 Israeli invasion and constant slaughter of Gaza was beyond belief.  Here was Israel bombarding innocent Palestinian women and children and Fatah leaders said nothing.  This was demoralizing to all of us diaspora Palestinians who demonstrated and organized against this massacre which was happening before our television screens for three weeks.  What we should have been demonstrating against was the silence of Palestinian Authority leaders.

Yet it was not enough that Israel was killing Palestinians, Palestinians died from bullets fired by Palestinians during 2008 and 2009 as the various clashes between Fatah and Hamas forces spilled Palestinian blood. While unfortunately we are all too familiar with seeing Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers, we are not accustomed to seeing Palestinians kill Palestinians. This is unbelievable the worst thing that Palestinians can do to each other.  Instead of having a unified front against the oppressor, the two factions started vilifying and attacking each other which lead to Fatah controlling the West Bank and Hamas governing Gaza.  Ultimately, this division is leading right into the Israeli plans to split, divide and impose its 3SS.

Reconciliation attempts have thus far been unsuccessful with the Doha Agreement signed by Fatah and Hamas in 2012 still far from being implemented. The agreement is described as “stalled” as no unity government is in sight. Legislative elections have been announced, delayed and rescheduled—this time for October, 2013, seven years after the last elections.  There are election law reforms which are in dispute. They were imposed by President Abbas because he states that he could rule by decree as long as the legislature is unable to convene.  From my readings, I am not sure whether Hamas will participate in the elections.

Both Fatah and Hamas need to go to the ballot box in October, 2013 and allow the Palestinian people to once again democratically vote their collective will. Whoever wins the election must be respected by both factions. If a unity government needs to be part of a ruling coalition, then the Palestinian people demand that such a ruling government be allowed to govern regardless what Israel, the US and Europe want, think, blackmail or impose.

If Hamas wins again, Fatah must stand up to the Israelis, the US and European leaders and state categorically that Hamas is the ruling party and that all Palestinians will stand unified behind Hamas.  The imposition that Hamas must first recognize Israel and denounce violence is nothing more than smoke and mirrors to keep the Palestinians from reconciling.  It is a diversion from getting to the crux of the conflict; it is another delay tactic by Israel to keep the status quo while it usurps more and more Palestinian land on the West Bank, land that Israel does not want to concede as it wants a 3SS. Israel wants to retain Area C and parts of Area B; wants the PA to establish a state on Area A and part of Area B that Israel is willing to give up; and it wants Gaza to be a separate state.  

This imposition upon Hamas is hypocritical as within Israel there are parties that want to either annihilate the Palestinians completely (as Hitler wanted to do to the Jews) or scatter them among the other Arab states.

Israel’s demand that Hamas recognize the State of Israel (not just as a state but a Jewish State) is absurd and will not result in any new round of talks.  “Hamas didn't come to power until 2006/07. Between 1993 & 2006 Israel had the more moderate, peaceful & pliant Palestinian authority (which recognizes Israel & renounces violence) to deal with as a partner for peace. What did Israel do? Did it make peace?” [see Michael Aydinian https://www.facebook.com/groups/321400271210048/permalink/622882407728498/)  

Israel cannot impose upon the Palestinians who can or cannot speak for them just as Palestinians cannot impose upon Israel who can be a part of their coalition government.  Since 1984 every Israeli coalition government included the Shas Party whose spiritual leader openly called for the annihilation of the Palestinian people without any repudiation by any Israeli leader, including Benjamin Netanyahu.  Could the Palestinians have said that they will not negotiate with Israel as long as this racist and Nazi-like party is part of the Israeli government?  Rightfully, Israelis would reject this precondition as should the Palestinians reject the imposition that Hamas cannot be part of any Palestinian government unless certain preconditions are met.

Before Palestinian elections are called, however, the Palestinian people, both in Palestine and in the diaspora, need to call upon both Fatah and Hamas to reconcile. We as a people need to impose upon our Palestinian leaders the wisdom of unity despite what the US and Israel want.  We can no longer be a house divided.  We can disagree with each other but when confronting the oppressor, we need to be united.

If the US and Israel want to impose economic and financial sanctions or want to withhold financial aid from the Palestinians, that should be the price of unity. The price of destabilization is what the Israelis and the US will have to consider for blackmailing the Palestinians.  Destabilizing economic conditions will lead to a third Intifada and Israel and the US will be to blame.   

I call upon all my Fatah and Hamas friends to speak up and communicate to Fatah and Hamas leaders that the time to stop this quibbling must end and now.  We need to demand that Fatah and Hamas reconcile now at all costs.

Israeli Elections: Hegemony Over Homogeny

I have been trying to find something positive to write about the recent Israeli elections. I just cannot. There is simply nothing good about it. It simply is just the continuation of the status quo and that is not good for Palestinians and really not good for Israelis as well.  For the Palestinians, the status quo means the continuation of the occupation and the deprivation of the human spirit to be free. For the Israelis, it means that the lack of a clear expressive desire for peace in the election outcome ignores the ever increasing demographic boiling point which is turning Israel into the old Apartheid regime of South Africa.

The basic result of the Israeli election is that the right wing and center-right parties are likely to end up with 61 of the legislative seats in the Israeli Knesset, thus continuing the status quo of the Benjamin Netanyahu Government.

The status quo of domination over the Palestinians is what Israel wants for the region but this only exasperates and heightens the inevitable inner Palestinian human spirit to evolve towards the will to be free. Israel prefers hegemony over--instead of homogeny with--the Palestinians; it would rather dominate the Palestinians rather than treat them with equality. This is the crust of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The result of the Israeli elections elevated this inherent perplexity to the forefront; yet, Israelis seem oblivious to the fact that this clash between Israeli dominance and the Palestinian spirit to be free will come crashing down when the current trends in the demographics will result in an anticipated Palestinian majority in 2016. 

I have written about the human spirit to be free and my article can be read at http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6942645014941809001#editor/target=post;postID=7408208507238483659. In essence, I argue that inevitably Israel cannot suppress the will of 4.29 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who desire to be free of occupation and a relentless siege.  By 2016, it is projected that the Palestinian population in Israel, West Bank and Gaza will outnumber the Israeli non-Arab population.

Suppressing the Palestinian desire to be free perpetuates the status quo. Keeping the status quo is rooted in the aspiration of maintaining a Jewish homeland as Jews around the world feel secure in having Israel be a safe haven given world history of atrocities toward Jews. Thus, The Israeli election also tells me that Israelis are horrified of losing the concept of a Jewish homeland and therefore are clinging onto the status quo. Given the history of the Jewish people, that fear is warranted; but this aspiration driven by historical fear comes at the expense of the Palestinian people.  Finding a solution that would alleviate that fear while acknowledging the inevitability of the Palestinian human spirit to be free is what is needed to resolve the conflict.

The Israeli election did not shift Israeli politics to the left or right but rather left it smack where it has been—standing still.  Peace talks are standing still because Palestinians feel that there is no use in endless talks that lead to nowhere.  The Occupation of Palestinian land is standing still—continuing in its fifth decade.  Yet the fermenting Israeli suppression of Palestinian aspirations is about to boil over.  The Israeli elections did not alleviate this tension.

Israelis have consistently expressed security concerns in the 20 plus years of attempts at trying to negotiate a final solution with the Palestinians.  I interpret this security concern to mean a safe haven for Jews all over the world.  This security may ultimately be elusive however, if it comes at the expense of the Palestinians, for the natural course of human development is to be free from the oppressor’s chains that bind the collective individual conscience. 

This has been demonstrated time and time again with the thirteen American colonies breaking away from the British King; with the French masses overthrowing the absolute monarchy; with Black South Africans breaking the White Minority Rule apartheid chains; with Gandhi leading his people to overthrow the mighty British Empire; with the eventual American realization that slavery cannot long endure; and with many countless other examples where peoples all over the globe repelled imperialist colonial hegemony.

The Palestinian human spirit is no different than the American colonists, the French masses, India’s masses and the Black South Africans.  The Israeli election did not negate the Palestinian spirit; in fact that spirit has regenerated and grows with each Palestinian generation. 

The social revolution which opens the world to all also opens the spirits of the Palestinian people. Palestinians are not oblivious to the freedoms enjoyed around the world and they desire that same freedom in their daily lives.  As Palestinians interact with the globe community on social network sites, their human spirit to be free grows. Social networks exponentially inspire the Palestinian youth to lift off the chain that suppresses their collective bondage that the Israeli occupation imposes upon them.

The Israeli election takes little note of this growing social internet revolution and shows that Israelis would rather continue to believe that the colonial aspirations of the past several centuries is still prevalent in today’s age. That belief is antiquated and it leaves Israel further isolated around the family of nations.

Recently, the Palestinian human spirit has gained from international recognition and international intervention.  The upgrade in Palestine’s status at the United Nations has inspired Palestinians in that it gave them faith in the world community, while the truce between Israel and Hamas,  brokered by the US and Egypt and international pressure against a ground assault, excited the Palestinian will to fight off Israeli aggression.

Again, the Israeli election results seemed oblivious to growing worldly sentiment that the Palestinian human spirit is on the road towards freedom. The question is will Israelis ride along with the Palestinians or will Israelis fate be that of the White Minority rulers of South Africa.

            Israeli’s fate is really in their hands—or more accurately in their right to vote.  Palestinian’s fate is in the natural evolution of their human spirit.

World Community Lesson Flies Over Netanyahu

The last month in the Israel/Palestinian conflict has taught us a valuable lesson.  The world community took two actions that were fair and balanced, signaling to the parties, including the extremists, that enough is enough; end the conflict by nudging the parties towards boundary lines based on UN Resolution 242, i.e. a Two State Solution.

At first the world community supported Israel for defending itself against rocket attacks from the Hamas controlled Gaza. Then the world community overwhelmingly supported an upgrade in Palestine’s status at the UN from an “entity” to a “state.”  What is the world community of nations trying to tell the Israelis and Palestinians? 

I hope that both the Palestinians and Israelis interpret the world community actions in the spirit that I believe they were taken.

After the cease-fire between between Gaza and Israel, Hamas leader  Khaled Meshaal quickly stated that Hamas is willing to accept a TSS with 1967 borders. This is a major accomplishment for the advancement of peace in the region.  No similar statement was heard from any of the major parties within Israel. 

In fact, after the UN voted to upgrade the status of Palestine to that of observer “State”, Israel responded by stating that they will go forward with objectionable plans to build settlements in Area E1 around Jerusalem, which effectively kills the TSS by dissecting a West Bank home for a Palestinian State. This too is a major accomplishment but not for the advancement of peace but for the prolongation of the status quo, i.e. occupation.  This is sad.

Britain, France Spain, the European Union, Denmark, Sweden, Australia and Egypt have all summoned its Ambassadors to Israel, a step short of “recalling” the Ambassador to protest the Israeli settlemtn announcement.  Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to meet formally with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sternly tell him to drop plans to build 3,000 new settler homes in a highly contentious strip of the occupied West Bank near Jerusalem.

Netanyahu responded by not fully appreciating what the World community was trying say to Israel and Palestine by telling the German press, "I appreciated the support of Chancellor Merkel and the German government during the operation in Gaza..At the same time, I would be disingenuous if I didn’t tell you that I was disappointed, as were many people in Israel, by the German vote in the UN.  

Netanyahu also stated that the UN vote also would unite the West Bank Fatah Party with the Gaza Hamas Party, as if that was taboo.  This just reinforces my argument that Israel is not looking for a TSS but a Three State Solution (TSS).  He also referred to Hamas as terrorist, overlooking the fact that in his own coalition includes the Shaas Party, whose  whose spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yousef calls for the annihilation of the Palestinians. 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abass has signaled, after the upgrade of the UN status for Palestine and in response to the Israeli action on new illegal settlement building, that he will seek International Criminal Court action “in the case of Israeli aggression.”  Netanyahu responded by withholding $100 million of taxes that Israel collects on behalf of Palestinians and must turnover to the Palestinian Authority.

            The world community lesson of the past month has flown over Netanyahu’s head as he wants 100% consent without objection.  Not every country can be as controlled by Israel as the United States.  Netanyahu doesn’t seem to understand that 95% of the world community wants a fair and balanced resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians.  His defiance is hindering any chance for a TSS  and only drives Israel into a One State Solution (OSS).

No Talking Endlessly

A Facebook member contacted me with the following message: hello---can you say something about achieving peace both for Israel/Palestinians and over all area -- or are you just anti-Israel? I see you are educated…. so you should be working for a solution

My reply:

I am not anti-Israel.  I was one of the first Palestinians to call for the recognition of Israel.  In1980 I championed the recognition of Israel at college campuses and within the Palestinian community in Chicago. I attended the White House Rose Garden peace signing ceremony on September 13, 1993 and witnessed the famous handshake between Rabin and Arafat. 

I have always been and continue to be an advocate for peace.  Yet, I like many peace-loving Palestinians have become disillusioned by Israel's constant talking but not really talking.  They want to talk but never conclude the "talks" and all the while they want to illegally confiscate more Palestinian land and build more illegal settlements and transfer more hard core machine gun taunting settlers into these settlements.  Their justification for this is that the Palestinians have given up Area C in the Oslo Agreement.  This is hogwash. 

They cut down our olive groves and then Israeli supporters justify this by saying that "terrorists" hide in the trees.  This is hogwash. 

When I ask Israeli's to explain the discrepancy between laws that differently effect Palestinians and Israelis and how they cannot call Israel an apartheid state, they have no explanations. They have no explanation for Jewish only roads; no explanation for colored license plates for Palestinians; no explanation for a wall that divides farmers from their farm land; no explanation for surrounding towns with barred wires and checkpoints out of those towns that allow residence ingress and egress at only certain times of the day.  In one such town, an elementary school is outside the wall and the guards at the 3pm crossing when children are released from their school purposefully choose to not open the gates leaving the children alone to wait until the evening crossing before they can return to their families and homes. This is a direct policy that builds frustration and hatred and ultimately aims to continue the status quo--occupation.

No one can explain to me that why Israel always asks the Palestinians to return to the "negotiating table" when Israeli soldiers carry out a direct and humiliating policy to destroy the human will of the Palestinians.  No one asks the Israelis why their leaders continue to frustrate and subjugate Palestinians into complacency.  No one asks Israel to stop its policy to dehumanize Palestinians and establish a policy to build an atmosphere of confidence in the future.

The future is in numbers. Peace will be established when Israel realizes that the will of the Palestinians people cannot be destroyed; that they cannot continue their apartheid practices especially when in 2016 it is expected that the population in Palestine and Israel will be such that Israelis are the minority.

The problem with a lack of peace is that the Israeli political system gives too much power to its minority parties.  In all the 64 year history of Israel, there has been only one Israeli government that had a majority in its Knesset.  All the other Israeli governments have been run by coalition governments that are beholden to right wing minority parties that do not want peace because these parties wield the ongoing threat to switch their allegiance in the Knesset in a no confidence vote thus bringing down the ruling party.  (See my article Soul Searching Leads to Peace http://fadizanayed.blogspot.com/2011/12/soul-searching-leads-to-peace.html  which explains how the Israeli political system is a hindrance to peace. ) 


The only way for peace to be achieved is through a One State Solution.  It is not an impossibility.  South Africa has proven that. Despite the decades of White Rule in South Africa the Black population, through the heroic efforts of Nelson Mandela, reconciliation between the people of South Africa, thought to be unattainable, was achieved successfully. Recompilation can be achieved in the Holy Land.  

I still have hope for peace. I will always have hope for peace.  I want to live with Jews, Muslims and Christians in prosperity in the Holy Land.  I want to work for a solution but I cannot and will not talk for the sake of talk if it will lead to a never ending talks.  


A One State Solution is the only thing to "talk" about. 

Why Can't We Live Together

I have not written about Middle East affairs for several months.  I have been tending to the needs of my brother Munther who has since succumbed to the cancer that invaded his body.  His death certificate came in today and the place of birth that was inscribed therein stated “Israel.”  I was offended as I am sure my brother would also have been.  Even in death, the Palestinian identity is being eliminated. I'm having the death certificate changed.

When asked by the Funeral Director where my brother was born, I informed her that Munther, known as Mike, was born in Jerusalem.  That information was translated to being Israel.  Jerusalem is not part of Israel under international law and is subject to final status negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis.  Negotiations have been unfruitful and the circumstances indicates that one day soon, all of the land now known as Israel and Palestinian Territories will be one state encompassing all Palestinians and Israelis.   Perception however has been painted in public opinion that Jerusalem is Israeli.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  Palestinians have not and will not give up its claim to Jerusalem. 

Israelis are doing everything they can to ethnically cleanse Jerusalem by not only excluding Palestinians from returning to the place of their birth but also by making it difficult for Palestinian residence in ethe Holy City to remain.   This brings me back to my brother Mike and his perceptive insight on this matter.

My brother Mike did not discuss politics much.  In fact he had a convoluted logic and unreasonable thinking when it came to the Middle East.  Mike was a jokester and when he offered a solution to the Middle East conflict which was unreasonable and contained convoluted logic, it at first made me laugh. However, when I thought about it while preparing his eulogy, I realized his point.  First let me tell explain his solution.

He stated, several months before his passing, that an Arab man and woman and a Jewish man and woman should be selected and placed on an island.  Then he said, America should “nuke” the entire Middle East.  After the nuclear dust settles, he stated, “ Take the Arab man and Jewish woman and have them mate; likewise for the Jewish man and the Arab woman. And then start all over!”

Unreasonable?  Yes.   Convoluted logic? Yes.  But if you really think about it, I think my brother Mike was trying to tell us that we should all just live together.

            By the year 2016, it is predicated that Palestinians will outnumber Israelis in Israel and the Palestinian territories, i.e. West Bank and Gaza.  Israel cannot continue to govern as a minority entity for regardless of the Israeli position that the Palestinian Authority governs Areas  A & B in the West Bank and Hamas governs Gaza, the fact is Israel controls all the territory west of the Jordan River.   The apartheid practices of Israel will catch up with reality.  And then we will be faced with the reality that my brother Mike was trying to convey: Why can’t we all live together.  

(© Copyright 2012, Fadi Zanayed.  Publication or distribution of this material is allowed provided its content is not altered and the source and its author are cited.) 

Apartheid Israeli Strife Over Outposts Growing

                The internal friction within Israeli society is immense.  This strife grows with each day. In the coming months the battle over the illegal outposts by apartheid Israeli settlers will intensify as Supreme Court deadlines to dismantle various outposts will become due.  Pitted against each other are the Chief Apartheid Benjamin Netanyahu, the apartheid settlers and various officials in the government and Knesset.  This battle is but one of many internal struggles that is destroying Israel and one in which I will express my thoughts.

                According to Wikepedia, an Israeli outpost is a Jewish community built in the West Bank (excluding Jerusalem) that was constructed between 1991 and 2004 without the authorization of the Apartheid Israeli government.  (Wikepedia did not use the term Apartheid to refer to Israel, I, however, use the term Apartheid Israel at every opportunity—because that is what Israel is—an Apartheid State.)  While Wikepedia excluded the outposts around Jerusalem, Palestinians, of course, include them as containing illegal outposts and settlements.  These outposts and settlements are built on privately owned Palestinian land.

                The difference between an outpost and a settlement is really insignificant to Palestinians.  While outposts are considered illegal by Israeli law as they are not authorized by Apartheid Israeli governments, settlements are authorized although also illegal under international law. Outposts are a prelude to settlements.  Outposts start off with a few families who live in caravans as they await infrastructure and financial support from Apartheid Israel and sympathetic individuals and communities both inside Israel and abroad, usually from the United States Jewish community.

                There are over 120 illegal outposts dotting the West Bank.  Palestinian land owners upon which these outposts have been built have, with the help of organization Peace Now, petitioned the Apartheid Israeli Supreme Court to enforce an order to dismantle the illegal outposts.  The Supreme Court has ordered the Apartheid Israeli government of Chief Apartheid Netanyahu to remove several outposts, some of whose deadlines are coming up in the next several months.

                The illegal outpost called Migron is set to be dismantled by March 31, 2012.  It is located southeast of Ramallah and northwest of Jerusalem.  Chief Apartheid Netanyahu has proposed a compromise to the apartheid Migron settlers in which he requested them to voluntarily evacuate the outpost and receive in return support to establish a community on nearby state land. Whether that “state land” is part of land Palestinians claim to be part of East Jerusalem upon which they want to establish the capital of Palestine is not clear.

                The apartheid settlers of Migron have rejected the proposal and demanded of the Chief Apartheid to authorize the outpost by legislation.  Of course, the authorization by the Apartheid Israeli Knesset would only make it legal within Israeli law but still illegal under international law.  Any evacuation of Migron, the apartheid settler’s claim, will cost the Chief Apartheid his job.

                Several Apartheid Israeli officials including the Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, want to legislate a solution with a compensation payment to the Palestinian land owners.  The problem with this “compromise” is that the land is not and has never been for sale.  Additionally, under International law, specifically the Fourth Geneva convention, Apartheid Israel has no legal jurisdiction to appropriate occupational land.   Israel is a signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention and therefore is bond by its mandate. Thus any action taken by the Apartheid Israeli Knesset is null and void as to any Palestinian land.  Israel argues that the Palestinian Territory is not encompassed within the said convention but this argument is so ludicrous that it makes a mockery of the convention itself.

                Other illegal outposts are scheduled to be dismantled in the coming months.  The following illegal outposts around Ramallah, Palestine are scheduled to be dismantled:

Dreinoff Quarter (direcltly northeast)     April, 2012

                Jabel Artis (northeast)                                   May, 2012 partially

Gival Assaf (just south)                                July 1, 2012

                Amona (further northeast)                         End of 2012

                While these outposts are under orders to be dismantled, there are over 100 other outposts whose fates are not determined.   In fact, there are many other illegal outposts that the Apartheid Israeli government is trying to make into settlements despite the fact that the entire world has stated that they are obstacles to peace.

                Apartheid Israeli governments purposefully delay action in pending outpost demolition cases in order to encourage more illegal construction.  That is the conclusion of a Yesh Din report which was released in November, 2011.  “The report, which looked at 16 court cases, charged that the state’s failure to raze unauthorized settler homes and its initial steps to retroactively legalize them encourages such illegal building activity.” [1]

                When it comes to demolishing of Palestinian homes and buildings, however, the Apartheid Israel Army is quick to bring in its US made Caterpillar D9 armed bulldozers to do its treacherous job. Such demolitions are used to collectively punish Palestinian families for actions that they did not personally commit and to steal Palestinian land for annexation to build the Apartheid Wall or expand illegal settlements.

                While Chief Apartheid Netanyahu is looking for a compromise with the illegal outpost residents, his current position to dismantle the outposts will have little meaning.  Nevertheless, Chief Apartheid Netanyahu will spin this gesture as a confidence building measure towards the Palestinians.  What will be lost in this gesture is the fact that at the same time the Chief Apartheid will be moving to turn other outposts into settlements.    The Chief Apartheid cannot appease the Palestinians and the settlers at the same time.

                The battle within Apartheid Israeli society on this issue will be played out throughout the coming months.  It will tear Israel apart.

(  © Copyright, Fadi Zanayed.  Publication or distribution of this material is allowed provided its content is not altered and the source and its author are cited.)

---

[1] “’Stat’s failure to act encourages illegal contruction,’” Tovah Lazaroff, October 11, 2011, Jerusalem Post http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=241251

الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي الفتنة أكثر من تنامي البؤر الاستيطانية

(قمت بترجمة هذه المقالة على Google. كما هو محدود لغتي العربية، لا أستطيع أن يشهدوا على دقة الترجمة.) الاحتكاك الداخلي في المجتمع الإسرائيلي ما زالت هائلة. هذا الصراع يزداد مع كل يوم. وخلال الأشهر المقبلة المعركة حول البؤر الاستيطانية غير القانونية من قبل المستوطنين الإسرائيليين الفصل العنصري وتكثيف والمواعيد النهائية المحكمة العليا لتفكيك البؤر الاستيطانية المختلفة تصبح مستحقة. تقف ضد بعضها البعض هي الفصل العنصري بنيامين نتنياهو رئيس والمستوطنين الفصل العنصري ومختلف المسؤولين في الحكومة والكنيست. هذه المعركة ليست سوى واحدة من العديد من الصراعات الداخلية التي تعمل على تدمير اسرائيل واحدة في التي سوف نعرب عن أفكاري.
                وفقا لWikepedia ، موقع استيطاني إسرائيلي هو الجالية اليهودية التي بنيت في الضفة الغربية (باستثناء القدس) الذي شيد بين عامي 1991 و 2004 من دون تصريح من الحكومة الاسرائيلية الفصل العنصري.(لم Wikepedia عدم استخدام الفصل العنصري المصطلح للإشارة إلى إسرائيل ، ومع ذلك ، فإنني استخدام مصطلح الفصل العنصري في إسرائيل كل فرصة ، لأن هذا هو ما إسرائيل ، دولة الفصل العنصري.) في حين استبعدت Wikepedia البؤر الاستيطانية حول القدس ، والفلسطينيين ، بطبيعة الحالوتشمل هذه البؤر الاستيطانية غير القانونية والتي تحتوي على والمستوطنات.بنيت هذه البؤر الاستيطانية والمستوطنات على الأراضي الفلسطينية المملوكة للقطاع الخاص.

                الفرق بين مخفر والتسوية غير ذات أهمية حقا للفلسطينيين. في حين تعتبر البؤر الاستيطانية غير القانونية بموجب القانون الاسرائيلي وغير مسموح من قبل الحكومات الإسرائيلية الفصل العنصري ، وعلى الرغم من أن المستوطنات غير قانونية أذن أيضا بموجب القانون الدولي. البؤر الاستيطانية والمستوطنات تمهيدا ل. البؤر تبدأ مع عدد قليل من العائلات الذين يعيشون في بيوت متنقلة لأنها تنتظر البنية التحتية والدعم المالي من إسرائيل بالفصل العنصري والأفراد والمجتمعات على حد سواء المتعاطفة داخل إسرائيل وخارجها ، وعادة من الولايات المتحدة للمجتمع اليهودي.

                هناك أكثر من 120 مواقع استيطانية غير قانونية تنتشر في الضفة الغربية. أصحاب الأراضي الفلسطينية التي تقوم عليها وقد بنيت هذه البؤر ، شريطة الحصول على مساعدة من منظمة السلام الآن ، التماسا إلى المحكمة العليا الإسرائيلية الفصل العنصري لفرض أمر لتفكيك المواقع الاستيطانية غير القانونية. وقد أمرت المحكمة العليا الحكومة الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي نتنياهو رئيس الفصل العنصري لإزالة البؤر الاستيطانية عدة ، وبعض الذين المواعيد النهائية القادمة في الأشهر القليلة المقبلة.

                تم تعيين البؤرة الاستيطانية ميغرون غير قانونية تسمى لتفكيكها بحلول 31 مارس اذار 2012. وتقع الى الجنوب الشرقي من مدينة رام الله وشمال غرب القدس. وقد اقترح رئيس الفصل العنصري نتنياهو حلا وسطا للمستوطنين ميغرون الفصل العنصري والذي طلب منهم اخلاء البؤرة الاستيطانية طوعا وتلقي الدعم في العودة إلى إقامة مجتمع على أرض دولة مجاورة. سواء كان ذلك "أراضي الدولة" هي جزء من أرض يطالب الفلسطينيون أن تكون جزءا من القدس الشرقية التي يريدون بناء لإقامة عاصمة لفلسطين ليس واضحا.

                ورفض المستوطنون الفصل العنصري في ميغرون الاقتراح وطالبت من الفصل العنصري رئيس أن يأذن للمخفر عن طريق التشريع.بطبيعة الحال ، فإن الحصول على إذن من الكنيست الإسرائيلي جعل الفصل العنصري القانوني إلا في إطار القانون الاسرائيلي ولكن لا تزال غير قانونية بموجب القانون الدولي. فإن أي اخلاء ميغرون ، مطالبة المستوطنين الفصل العنصري والفصل العنصري يكلف رئيس وظيفته.

                مسؤولون الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي عدة بما في ذلك روفين ريفلين رئيس الكنيست ، وتريد تشريع حل مع دفع تعويضات لأصحاب الأراضي الفلسطينية. المشكلة مع هذا "الحل الوسط" هو أن الأرض ليست ولم تكن أبدا للبيع. بالإضافة إلى ذلك ، بموجب القانون الدولي ، وتحديدا اتفاقية جنيف الرابعة والفصل العنصري اسرائيل ليس لديها الولاية القانونية للأراضي المهنية المناسبة. إسرائيل هي إحدى الدول الموقعة على اتفاقية جنيف الرابعة ولذا هي السندات في ولايتها. وبالتالي أي إجراء تتخذه الكنيست الإسرائيلي العنصري هو لاغ وباطل وعلى أي أرض فلسطينية. وتقول اسرائيل ان لا يشمل الأراضي الفلسطينية في إطار الاتفاقية المذكورة ولكن هذه الحجة سخيفة بحيث يسخر من الاتفاقية نفسها.

                ومن المقرر ان المواقع الاستيطانية غير القانونية الأخرى التي ينبغي تفكيكها في الأشهر المقبلة. ومن المقرر البؤر الاستيطانية غير القانونية التالية حول رام الله ، فلسطين لتكون فككت :
Dreinoff الربع (direcltly شمال شرق) نيسان ، 2012
                جبل أرتيس (شمال شرق) أيار ، 2012 جزئياGival عساف (جنوبي) 1 يوليو 2012
                عمونا (شمال شرق مزيد) نهاية عام 2012

                في حين أن هذه المواقع الاستيطانية بموجب أوامر لتفكيكها ، وهناك أكثر من 100 البؤر الاستيطانية الأخرى التي لم يتم تحديد المصائر. في الواقع ، هناك العديد من المواقع الاستيطانية غير القانونية الأخرى التي تتبعها حكومة الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي في محاولة لجعل المستوطنات على الرغم من حقيقة أن العالم بأسره قد ذكرت أنها تشكل عقبات في طريق السلام.

                الحكومات الإسرائيلية تأخير الفصل العنصري في انتظار عمل هادف حالات هدم البؤرة الاستيطانية من أجل تشجيع بناء مزيد من غير قانونية.هذا هو استنتاج تقرير يش دين الذي صدر في نوفمبر تشرين الثاني 2011."إن التقرير ، الذي بدا في القضايا المعروضة على المحاكم 16 ، اتهم فشل الدولة في لهدم منازل المستوطنين غير المرخص ، والخطوات الأولية لإضفاء الشرعية بأثر رجعي لهم يشجع مثل نشاط البناء غير القانوني". [1]

                عندما يتعلق الأمر إلى هدم المنازل الفلسطينية والمباني ، إلا أن الجيش الإسرائيلي هو الفصل العنصري لتحقيق سريع في الولايات المتحدة التي قدمت جرافات كاتربيلر D9 المسلحة للقيام بعملها الغادرة. وتستخدم عمليات الهدم هذه لمعاقبة جماعية للعائلات الفلسطينية الإجراءات التي لم يرتكبوها شخصيا وسرقة الأراضي الفلسطينية لضمها لبناء جدار الفصل العنصري أو توسيع المستوطنات غير الشرعية.

                في حين أن رئيس الفصل العنصري نتنياهو يبحث عن حل وسط مع سكان البؤرة الاستيطانية غير القانونية ، ومنصبه الحالي لتفكيك البؤر الاستيطانية يكون لها معنى يذكر. ومع ذلك ، فإن نتنياهو رئيس الفصل العنصري تدور هذه البادرة بمثابة بناء الثقة تجاه الفلسطينيين. ما سوف تضيع في هذه البادرة هو حقيقة أنه في الوقت نفسه رئيس الفصل العنصري سوف تتحرك لتحويل البؤر الاستيطانية الأخرى في المستوطنات. لا يمكن للرئيس الفصل العنصري لا استرضاء الفلسطينيين والمستوطنين في نفس الوقت.

                وستقام معركة الفصل العنصري داخل المجتمع الاسرائيلي حول هذه المسألة من خلال الأشهر المقبلة. وسوف المسيل للدموع إسرائيل إربا.
(Zanayed © ، فادي يسمح نشر أو توزيع هذه المواد شريطة أن لا تغييرمحتواها وأشار المصدر وصاحبه).[1] "" ستات الفشل في التصرف يشجع كونتراكتينج اند كونستركشن غير المشروعة ، "توفاه Lazaroff ، 11 أكتوبر 2011 ، جيروسالم بوست http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx؟id=241251

ييمكن للفلسطينيين تعليم اليهود الصفح

(قمت بترجمة هذه المقالة على Google. كما هو محدود لغتي العربية، لا أستطيع أن يشهدوا على دقة الترجمة.)

            مكبر الصوت في العديد من علق على WhenPalestineisFree # (عند فلسطين حرة). تويتد الأول ما يلي : "سأقوم WhenPalestineisFree # الدعوة الغفران. لن أكون مثل الصهاينة الذين يقتلون # # الفلسطينيين بعد تعرضهم للقتل في المحرقة #. "سعينا لتحرير فلسطين أن يكون العنصر البشري الذي يقول اننا لن نكون مثل الصهاينة الفصل العنصري. فإننا سوف يغفر ولكن تماما مثل يهود العالم ، ونحن لن ننسى لا.

            وتويت قرأت الفرح والسعادة وأعرب في الفكر لتحرير فلسطين. كتب hodanxo "لن يكون هناك يبتسم الاستعاضة عن الدموع ، والمحبة محل الكراهية والحرية في الماضي". SoumaiaHashad قال "أخشى أن أموت من السعادة". rolla_ramadan ببساطة ، "أنا لا أعتقد أنني يمكن أن تفسر كيفية سعيدة وأود أن يكون ".

            وأعرب مكبرات الصوت الآخر زوال إسرائيل والصهيونية. بينما أنا لا أعتقد أن هذا هو الشعور منتجة ، لا أستطيع فهم الإحباط. ترى أنا لا أريد أخوتي وأخواتي الفلسطينية للقيام الصهاينة على ما فعلت الصهاينة على الفلسطينيين.

            كان الهولوكوست حدثا مأساويا للغاية في تاريخ البشرية. يدرس البشرية التي ينبغي معارضة أي محاولة لارتكاب جريمة الإبادة الجماعية على أي شخص في جميع التكاليف. حتى الآن لم يتم غرس هذا الدرس في عقلية الصهاينة.في حين قالوا "أبدا" ، فإنه يعني فقط "مرة أخرى أبدا" فقط لإبادة اليهود لسنوات قليلة فقط بعد اكتشاف غرف الغاز في معسكر أوشفيتز ، وقادة المستقبل للدولة الفصل العنصري في إسرائيل الفظائع المرتكبة التي لا يمكن للمرء تصالح مع المحرقة التي ارتكبت ضد اليهود. كان النفاق في شكل الحقيقي لها.

            كما سيكون من النفاق بالنسبة للفلسطينيين لارتكاب أعمال عنف ضد اليهود عندما تقوم دولة فلسطينية تأتي إلى حيز الوجود ، وأنه سوف يأتي إلى حيز الوجود. نحن الفلسطينيين بحاجة إلى أن نتعلم من التاريخ والحاجة إلى إقامة عالم أكثر اللائق الذي نعيش فيه جميعا. نحن الفلسطينيين بحاجة إلى مساعدة جنسيات أخرى الذين يتوقون إلى أن يكون حرا. مثلما نحن الفلسطينيين يسعون إلى أن تكون خالية من التمييز العنصري إسرائيل ، ونحن بحاجة للحفاظ على حرية الدعوة للبشرية جمعاء.

            والعنصر البشري لابد أن يكون جزءا من النضال الفلسطيني ليكون خاليا من ممارسات الفصل العنصري الإسرائيلي. وإذا لم يكن هناك العنصر البشري من نضالنا لم يكن يستحق كل هذا الجهد. إذا كان لنا أن الفلسطينيين يريدون ارتكاب الفظائع ضد الاسرائيليين بعد قيام دولة فلسطينية تأتي إلى حيز الوجود ثم فإننا سوف يكون هناك أفضل من الصهاينة الفصل العنصري الذي يرتكبون الفظائع ضدنا الآن.

            يمكننا أن الفلسطينيين لا يمكن الفصل العنصري مثل المستوطنين الذين يستخدمون سياراتهم لدهس الأطفال الفلسطينيين. هذا أمر سخيف. تتم هذه الأعمال يائسة من قبل الصهاينة الذين يعرفون أنهم لا يمكن أن يستمر أخلاقيا لنظام الفصل العنصري في فلسطين. بحلول عام 2016 يتوقع أن السكان الفلسطينيين في اسرائيل والضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة سوف يفوق عدد اليهود. أخلاقيا ، أخلاقيا وسياسيا ، والفصل العنصري الإسرائيليين يعرفون أنهم لا يستطيعون الاستمرار في نظام الفصل العنصري في الضفة الغربية ، لا يمكن أن يستمر الحصار على قطاع غزة ولا تزال تميز ضد 20 ٪ (أو أكثر بحلول عام 2016) من السكان في إسرائيل الفصل العنصري.ومن المعروف على نطاق واسع هذا. التركيبة السكانية تتحدث عن نفسها. عندما كنا الفلسطينيين أحرار من القمع من الإسرائيليين الفصل العنصري ، ونحن ، الفلسطينيين المضطهدين ، لا يمكن أن يصبح الظالم.

            وأعتقد أنه من واجب الأغلبية لحماية الأقلية لأن الأغلبية يمكن أن تصبح أقلية بمرور الزمن. في الوقت المناسب ، والفصل العنصري الإسرائيليين تصبح أقلية في التوصل إلى حل دولة واحدة. انه أمر لا مفر منه! عند هذه النقطة ، يجب على الفلسطينيين ألا تصبح نظام الفصل العنصري أنهم يقاتلون الآن للتغيير.

            يمكن للفلسطينيين أن يظهروا للعالم أن مفهوم التسامح هو عنصر قوي فقدت حتى على الإسرائيليين الفصل العنصري.بينما حاول اليهود لتخليص فلسطين من الفلسطينيين بعد تعرضهم لannulation القريب من خلال المحرقة النازية ، لا يمكن للفلسطينيين أن يعلم اليهود الصفح هو العنصر البشري الذي هو الحلقة المفقودة التي كان يمكن أن تمنع الفظائع التي ارتكبت في العقود السبعة الماضية.
 ثم يمكن للفلسطينيين والإسرائيليين على حد قول RobaSalibi "العيش بسعادة وبعد :)"
(Zanayed © ، فادي يسمح نشر أو توزيع هذه المواد شريطة أن لا تغيير محتواها وأشار المصدر وصاحبه).