- 1 jan 2012
PRC claims mortars fired into Israel
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees in the Gaza Strip said it fired two mortars into southern Israel on Sunday morning.
The Nasser Saladin Brigades said in a statement they launched the projectiles "in response to the crimes of the occupation."
The shells fell in southern Israel early Sunday, without causing injuries or damage.
Israeli bombardments on the beseiged coastal strip have killed two in the past week, as Gaza marked the third anniversary of the devastating war launched over Christmas 2008, and Israeli military officials vowed they were "ready" for another assault.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=449257
29 dec 2011
Israeli warplanes blast targets in northern, central Gaza
Israeli airstrike destroys Gaza training base
Israeli Forces Injure Palestinian in Beit Ummar
Israeli Navy Attack on Olivia Boat
Gantz: New war on Gaza inevitable
30 dec 2011
Palestinian Killed in Israeli Airstrike on Gaza
Israeli tanks shell eastern Gaza Strip
1 jan 2012
Palestinian man wounded in IOF shooting on last day of 2011
21 jan 2012, 18:10 , Respect -
Maria 3 jan 2012
Hamas: Peaceful resistance not applicable to Gaza
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar has cast doubt his party will take up peaceful resistance against Israel as advocated by former rivals Fatah.
Under a reconciliation deal between the factions signed in May, officials called for a unified "national strategy," and Fatah officials say that Hamas chief-in-exile Khalid Mashaal agreed to adopt non-violent popular action in favor of armed struggle.
But in comments to Ma'an late Monday, senior Hamas official in Gaza Zahhar stressed the situation in the Gaza Strip is different to the occupied West Bank.
"Against whom could we demonstrate in the Gaza Strip? When Gaza was occupied, that model was applicable," Zahhar said.
Israeli forces withdrew from the coastal strip in 2005, and imposed a crippling land and sea blockade after Hamas took power in 2007.
Zahhar said that no program of peaceful resistance had been agreed with Fatah. "We only discussed that as a slogan," he said, without elaborating.
The mass popular protests of the Arab Spring are not applicable to Palestinians' opposition to Israeli occupation, he added.
"We can't use the same means seen in Egypt, Syria, and Tunisia because they are inappropriate in the West Bank. Egypt got rid of the British occupation with arms, and since we are resisting occupation, we should use all means including armed resistance."
But Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad told Ma'an that Fatah chief President Mahmoud Abbas and Mashaal agreed at their Nov. 24 meeting to adopt peaceful resistance and to increase its scale both in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank.
Suggesting that agreement was still pending, Zahhar said: "The most important thing is to have a united political agenda. We should agree on whether we want all kinds of resistance, or just limit it to rallies and waving flags?"
The May deal aimed to end four years of division between the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas-led Gaza administration, which split after fighting between the factions exploded in 2007.
Hamas will be ready to step down in the Gaza Strip if another party wins elections, Zahhar said, "however, elections must be honorable."
Differences between the parties' strategy was again highlighted on Monday, when Hamas slammed Fatah officials' participation in talks with Israeli and Quartet envoys in Jordan this week, saying such meetings were "reproducing a failed policy."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=449619 21 jan 2012, 18:10 , Respect -
Maria 5 jan 2012
The gap between resistance and governance
Fighters from the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees are seen during a training session in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
By Mahmoud Abu Rahma
Once again, the media have begun to focus their attention on Palestinian reconciliation talks, which seem at last to be headed in a positive direction.
These talks will include the particularly difficult process of social reconciliation for the period between 2004 and 2007 when inter-communal violence led to the terrorizing, wounding, and killing of scores of people as well as the widespread destruction of property.
The process of social reconciliation is expected to secure reparation and redress, but should also allow the courts to establish criminal responsibility for the acts under investigation.
Both Gaza and the West Bank have experienced a slight easing in political tensions and this has helped reestablish the confidence necessary for the restoration of freedoms lost at the height of the conflict.
Victims of the unrest will have their interests legally represented and should expect fair compensation for any losses incurred.
One segment of Palestinian society victimized by the political violence, negligence, or legal violations that occurred during this time will nevertheless find themselves excluded from the process of recompense: these are the victims of the separate Palestinian governments or resistance groups under their supervision.
Palestinian resistance -- regardless of the methods used -- was born out of the resistance of the Palestinian Nakba. Resistance would never have seen sumud (steadfastness) displayed, and its many large and small victories, had the Palestinian people not shouldered its burden.
Over the decades, Palestinians refined and protected their methods of resistance and, above all, their inalienable right to resist occupation and injustice.
At the same time, resistance groups repeatedly declared that protecting the people and national aspirations, but also protecting Palestinian citizens, were their top priorities.
In 1994, Palestinian government, or what was supposed to be Palestinian government, was established for the first time, and provided at least a limited sense of personal security and welfare.
Self-government -- only to a certain extent, of course -- has achieved many things and Palestinians were expected to act responsibly and support and protect their government. This was the idealistic picture: people nurturing resistance to occupation and all its ills while in turn, the government respected and protected the people. Unfortunately, this is not quite the case.
Facts on the ground indicate clear examples where Palestinian citizens in Gaza and the West Bank find themselves clashing with the government and/or resistance. These cases are many; beyond what most of us think.
One can only wonder in such cases: who will protect citizens from the mighty resistance and the powerful government when one, or both, of them harm them?
Sadly, example after example has shown that the very notion of citizen protection simply disappears in such cases, and people fall into a situation of helplessness and misery. Resistance protects, but only from outsiders, "the enemy."
Government can protect us from private persons and gangs. Sadly, however, both the resistance and our government fail to protect us from our own-selves; from one another.
It is safe to assume that neither the government nor the resistance is willing to step in to protect people who dare to criticize them.
Every day we see detention and summoning of citizens by the dozens; not for unlawful acts they committed, but mostly for who they are and what they think, or for their mere political affiliation.
We witnessed, with much agony, the outrageous attack upon free expression and peaceful assembly since March 2011. There are reports of hundreds of cases of torture and abuse. Several people died in detention and under torture in Gaza and the West Bank.
No one was punished for these acts, and we know too little about whether their families were compensated according to a process of law.
On the contrary, we only see overwhelming efforts exerted to protect the violators of people's rights; be those torturers, teachers who abuse children, or doctors who act with utmost negligence.
The government stands by them firmly and no one can get the reports, evidence, or public records that prove their innocence or wrongdoing. Nor do we hear of serious investigations seeking the truth.
Many citizens also fell victim of the continuous negligence of the resistance groups who show little or no care for people's life and well being, or, worse, fail to take responsibility for shocking acts by their members.
Numerous people were injured from live fire coming from resistance groups training sites; including children and at least one man who lost his eye.
Those are victims of the irresponsible behavior that seems to continue despite the frequent injuries. There is a training site in the town of Beit Lahiya that threatens people every day, including a girl who was injured inside her school when an explosion occurred in this site on Sep. 20 2011.
Explosions also occur frequently in densely-populated areas around Gaza and have their victims; many of whom are children. Shootings occur by mistake inside homes from weapons owned by the resistance. Military training sites function and are located in places very close to neighborhoods and/or schools, from where acts of resistance; including firing rockets, also occur.
The population of these locations are inevitably vulnerable to Israeli attacks. Hundreds of people have been injured and killed and dozens of homes have been damaged from Israeli missile attacks. But little has been done to ease the pain of the loss of life or residence suffered by these people.
On Dec. 9 2011, an Israeli attack on a training site killed a man and his 11-year-old son in al-Nasser neighborhood in Gaza city. His wife and four children were injured; one of the children is at an Israeli hospital suffering critical wounds.
This man, whose house is near the training site, had complained to the resistance members many times. He explained the family’s fear for their life and house. But he was told the family could move out of the area, even if they had no resources to move. He died the way he feared most: tragically.
The state of carelessness from the part of resistance is also causing continued victims of the misfiring of home-made rockets that fall on houses inside Gaza. Many of the victims are children and all of them are civilians who happen to be in their homes.
There are more victims of shootings from, or explosions in, training sites. Many children are killed or maimed when explosive devices left in the streets or farms explode in their hands. And there is the young man who was shot in the legs for daring to publicly criticize a local resistance leader.
Worse than all this is the victimization of people in the tunnels area in Rafah, where the mechanisms of trade, interests and profit work in cynically sad ways.
Hundreds of people have been detained in inhumane conditions, and outside any legal process. Thousands found their interests or rights removed by the 'Tunnels Committee' which arbitrates in disputes among tunnel-owners, traders and workers in the tunnels area in Rafah.
The committee comprises tunnel-owners and traders, and is a personification of an unholy alliance between the owners, traders and the law enforcement establishment.
Well, one can say mistakes happen: it's the nature of life. And I cannot agree more. Nevertheless, the real test does not lie in whether the resistance or the government makes mistakes. It in fact lies in what they do when mistakes occur.
Do they conduct reviews and learn lessons to prevent similar mistakes? Do they punish those who commit mistakes due to negligence? And do they help the victims of these mistakes? Unfortunately, the answer to these questions is simply a big ‘no’, which explains the occurrence of more incidents and leaves training sites in neighborhoods.
This conclusion represents the core of the dilemma: who will protect the people from the wrongful acts of the resistance and the government?
It is clear the government is not willing to take the smallest act. It does not open investigations or even hold talks with the resistance groups to ensure that steps are taken to protect the vulnerable people. It is equally clear that the resistance continues to show the same carelessness towards violations committed by the government against the people.
Welcome to the naked truth: the relationship between the government, the resistance, and the people is moving in one way: the people support, nourish and protect their resistance and government. But the resistance and the government are not in the least bit interested to do the same for the people. This is an untenable situation and a dangerous reality.
It is not the intention of the author to dismiss entirely either Palestinian resistance groups or the governments; or to attempt in any way to undermine their best qualities. Neither is an example of pure evil.
People act and commit mistakes which can be forgiven; however, in order to forgive the mistakes of any kind of power or authority, there must be some indication that the power or authority wishes to make amends, to take responsibility for its past failings.
Power and authority with a poor moral foundation are doomed to fail. They will destroy themselves and lead their people to corruption and injustice.
The people of any nation have a responsibility to criticize those who lead them. We must look in the mirror before we can see ourselves clearly.
This is a call for both the Palestinian resistance groups and the government to make sincere efforts to repair their relationship with the people they claim to represent and hope to help.
Relationships go two ways. If the people do not enjoy respect and rule of law from the resistance groups and the government -- two political bodies that claim to stand for their rights -- they will all go down together. We will go down.
Mahmoud Abu Rahma is a human rights worker and has been a human and civil rights activist in Gaza for 15 years.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=449852 - 18 jan 2012
Al-Aqsa brigades claim responsibility for projectile
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility on Wednesday for a projectile fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip, a statement said.
Israeli news site Ynet reported earlier on Wednesday that a projectile had exploded south of Ashkelon, with no reported injuries.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=453525
4 jan 2012
Israeli gunboats 'fire at fishermen'
5 jan 2012
Israeli forces 'shot, injured' man at Bethlehem checkpoint
6 jan 2012
Teen 'seriously injured' after hit by Israeli army jeep
Gaza teen injured in explosion
10 jan 2012
Israel military vehicles enter Gaza
Child injured by abandoned explosive in Gaza
11 jan 2012
IOF Gaza incursion met with mortar fire
13 jan 2012
Medics: Israeli fire injures 2 in Gaza
Shells fired at northern Gaza
18 jan 2012
2 dead and seriously injuring at least two others in Israeli strike on Gaza
28 jan 2012, 09:55 , Respect -
Maria 25 jan 2012
PNN Reporter Investigates into the Issue of Legality of Palestinian Weapons
The Palestinian cause is neither economic nor social in the first place. It is first and foremost a political cause, and connected with the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, and what the Palestinian parties have taken up in resistance against these continuous blackmail and threats against Palestinians.
And so, tackling the issue of the legality of the Palestinian weapons in Gaza is a critical case. Along with the surreal scene of the charged atmosphere between the parties recently; because of the situation and the ideology and the political factors, it has become impossible for anyone to set moral standards against which the legality of the weapons could be measured.
Disarmament
Following in the footsteps of professionals in the field of the legality of the Palestinian weapons, Ihab Al-Ghsein, the spokesman of the Ministry of Interior Affairs in Gaza confirmed that, "the weapons in the Palestinian streets are the weapons of the security forces and are pointed towards the enemy. The resistance is a legal right. When used in any other way, the weapon would be confiscated and the case would go to court. And when these weapons are present at night and claimed to be used in resistance, there would be identification cards to facilitate their movement. This is an agreement between all parties.
"The difference between this weapon that the resistance weapon used against the occupation, which does not cause any disputes in the Palestinian arena, and the weapon pointed by Palestinians towards Palestinians, such as tribal weapons and so on, the time of which had been, long since, gone.
He continued, "We have plans in the next years. We're still on those social plans, and continuous campaigns to control and protect the resistance weapon since it is a legal right."
The definition of Resistance
On the subject of the legality of the resistance weapons, the spokesman of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Abu Tha'er says, "We use all weapons that are available to us; we use all that we have in Gaza, without going into details."
He added, "Certainly, nobody can take away the legality of the Palestinian resistance and its weapons. But what happened was the exact opposite. And so, our weapons were taken away as a resistance in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, but not confiscated in 2007.
Later on, these weapons were hidden by the ruling party in Gaza. Recently, it's clear that there's a lot of resilience in using these weapons under the name of resistance, as some may claim. Those weapons should be confiscated and not the resistance weapons. As Palestinians, we should act as one unit and have the right outlook upon things in order for the social unity that has been torn by the separation to come back to the families."
Strategic Plans
The spokesman of Al-Quds Brigades Abu Ahmad said, "The resistance is neither organized nor systematic when it comes to how we use the weapons, even if they were light; such as AK, local missiles, and personal weapons that we have. We hope in the next stage that the resistance could work according to strategic plans and advanced security reasons, and that the weapons could be used against the occupation. I'm speaking on behalf of Al-Quds Brigades and all resistance parties, the weapons should not be used to sort problems; like what happened before in the internal conflict."
"As Al-Quds Brigades, we have not been disarmed. In particular, at the time of the internal conflict, the resistance weapon got into the streets and we didn't have any other options. There were martyrs everywhere. We always work cautiously. I hope all resistance fighters in all parties could work on these beliefs and not use the weapons in the narrow areas in Gaza strip since there are no empty and spacious areas there anyway."
Fighting the Occupation
The Media spokesman of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Abu Jamal, said that the weapon of resistance is legal. For many years they tried to possess advanced technology weapons, and they had no problem taking risks just to have them, whether dangerous or not. The most important thing is to fight the occupation.
"Since the establishment of PFLP 43 years ago, we used the weapon of resistance in a right way. If we ever face a problem between families or an internal confrontation; we would just separate them without using the weapons, as weapons are only here to fight the enemy."
"We refuse to fight in the residential areas, as we aim to keep the citizens and fighters safe. We hold ourselves responsible for their safety."
"We condemn anyone who uses the weapons of resistance towards civilians. The resistance is a right for every citizen, not only fighters or specific parties. Despite the circumstances, there is no one who could force us to change our path."
Scenes and Scenarios
There are many scenarios but not as many theatres. The scene needs to be rearranged, and the internal Palestinian house needs to be reassessed; for the resistance operations to work. Eventually, the goal that we all seek is to free the land, guarantee the right to return on the 1967 borders, and resisting the occupation mainly, as obvious in the national rights. But the problem lies in the fact that new generations lack perspective."
On the other hand, Jamil Majdalawi, a member of the PFLP claimed that the legality of using the weapons, which are in the hands of the resistance parties, falls under the restrictions that preserve the sacredness of those weapons, and using them in an organized and systematic way.
He continues, "The resistance was not disarmed. What happened was narrowing down the armed operations, especially the resistance on the borders."
In the middle of the efforts to achieve a Palestinian reconciliation, Abu Tha'er continues to say, "If we continued this way, Israel would destroy us. This weapon is just pointed towards the Zionist enemies' chests in invasions, assassinations and bombing. In this case, it shows that the weapon of resistance is to protect our nation from danger."
"I agree with the PLO. It is important that the internal unity is to be applied on reality, under one government and within one legal, organized framework which is the Palestinian Liberation Organization. All the Palestinian parties should call for resistance against Israel. Then all the walls would fall, and only the weapon of resistance would remain in the front lines; facing the occupation. Palestine is the most valuable thing that Palestinians own: we must defend it and protect it from the Israeli aggression."
The political analyst Hani Habib said, "The resistance is a legal right. It is not that important to unite the Palestinian parties as much as uniting the political vision, so as to use the right to possess weapons in order to achieve a national, political policy that is agreed upon. Any breach in the internal balance would lead to the talk about the resistance as a right without any restrictions. Therefore, the nations have the right to determine their own future, including Palestinians; as they have the right to expel the Israeli occupation."
As long as Palestine is not free, it is evident that the resistance remains a cause for all Palestinian generations that should be followed up regardless of the party that the fighter belongs to.
http://fwd4.me/0kmb 2 feb 2012, 11:56 , Respect -
Maria 28 jan 2012
Israeli tank shells home in Gaza City
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- An Israeli army tank fired an artillery shell at a Palestinian home east of Gaza City on Saturday morning, causing damage but no injuries, locals said.
The shell caused severe damage to the kitchen of Abu Hajjaj home in Shujaiyya neighborhood, according to eyewitnesses. The family members were all at home, but no injuries have been reported.
Meanwhile, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said it had fired four mortar shells towards the Nahal Oz military crossing east of Gaza city late Friday.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said it was responding to Israeli military forces who crossed into the area.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said a projectile landed in the Negev on Friday, without causing injuries or damage. She was not familiar with the Israeli tank fire on Shujaiyya.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=455907
19 jan 2012
Israeli tanks fire at land in northern Gaza
Israel strikes south Gaza, no injuries
21 jan 2012
Israel strikes south Gaza, no injuries
22 jan 2012
Israeli Soldier Shoots Palestinian at Qalandia Checkpoint
Soldiers raid home of man shot at Qalandiya
23 jan 2012
Israel Shells Beit Hanoun
24 jan 2012
Five Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza
26 jan 2012
IOF to use white phosphorus bombs in any future Gaza war
28 jan 2012
Survival of Palestinian family from Israeli shelling east of Gaza