issue no 78

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Issue No : 78 20th January, 2014

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Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia

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46 Palestinian refugees died of hungerin Yarmouk camp

FEATURED STORY

ARTICLE

Hamas: Kerry›s options represent con-spiracy against the right of return

Recent Israeli settlement bids coordinated with America, Says Israeli Minister

More of the same as Israel bites the hand that feeds it

Palestinian Youths sentenced to 20 years in prison for throwing stones

Four Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike against detention, medical neglect

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Hamas continues its efforts to end the siege on Yarmouk

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CONTENTS

News of Palestine

46 Palestinian refugees died of hunger in Yarmouk camp 4

PNGO: refugees in the Yarmouk camp are exposed to genocide 5Hamas: Kerry›s options represent conspiracy against the right of return 6

Recent Israeli settlement bids coordinated with America, Says Israeli Minister 6

Al-Sisi›s Gaza threats aim to attract US, Says Senior Israeli analyst 7

Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque and climb Dome of the Rock 8Palestinian Youths sentenced to 20 years in prison for throwing stones 9

Articles & Analyses

More of the same as Israel bites the hand that feeds it 10

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News of Palestine

18/1/2014

Quds Press agency reported on Tuesday that 46 Pales-tinian refugees died of hun-ger and lack of food in the besieged Yarmouk refugee camp, south of the Syrian capital Damascus. Yarmouk camp lacks foods, medicines and baby milk. It has been besieged due to the ongoing battles in Syria be-tween the regular forces and the opposition, which caused a famine that is threatening the lives of thousands of its inhabitants, especially the children and the elderly.Working group for the Pales-tinians in Syria registered the death of 1,922 Palestinians in the Syrian camps since the beginning of events there, about three years ago.

Hamas efforts

Member of Hamas political bureau Ezzat Resheq stressed that his movement is making every possible effort to find a solution to end the siege im-posed on the Yarmouk camp.Resheq, in a statement to PIC on Friday, strongly rejected remarks made by Ahmad Ma-jdalani, representative of the Palestine Liberation Organi-zation in Syria, in which he held Hamas responsible for the blockade on the Yarmouk camp.

The Hamas official reiterated that his movement has repeatedly stated that it does not have any military presence in the Syrian territory, and that like all the Pal-estinians it is not party to the con-flict there, and added: «Hamas is working with the concerned par-ties to find a way to end the siege and save the lives of the residents of the camp.»The Palestinian leader described Majdalani›s statements as «con-trary to the reality», and said «this would further complicate the issue of the camp.»Majdalani claimed at a news conference, held on Thursday afternoon at the headquarters of the Government Information Of-fice in Ramallah, that there are three military groups affiliated with Hamas inside the Yarmouk camp.

Palestinian rallies in support of Yarmouk

Meanwhile, hundreds of Pales-tinian citizens in Gaza and West Bank took part in mass rallies on Friday, staged in support of the Palestinian besieged refu-gees in the Yarmouk camp in Syria.For his part, Hamas spokes-man Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, in a speech he delivered at the end of the rally, denounced the in-ternational silence vis-à-vis the crime committed against the Yarmouk camp.He called on the armed groups holed up in the camp to leave it immediately, and asked the Syrian regime forces to lift the blockade and allow entry of aid to the camp.

Source: Agencies

46 Palestinian refugees died of hungerin Yarmouk camp

Hamas continues its efforts to end the siege on Yarmouk

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PNGO: refugees in the Yarmouk camp are exposed to genocide

16/10/2014

Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO) said that the siege imposed on the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria and the prevention of the entry of aid convoys have caused the death of big numbers of refugees.The Network said in a state-ment on Thursday that hun-dreds of victims died in the Yarmouk camp, due to the continued shelling and the systematic blockade that caused starvation and the

spread of diseases.It stressed that exposing the Pal-estinian refugees to shelling and siege, by the forces of the Syrian army or other armed groups, is a crime against humanity.The PNGO also stressed that the international refugee law has provided comprehensive protec-tion for refugees, and urged the UN Relief and Works Agency «UNRWA» to shoulder its re-sponsibilities and protect the Palestinian refugees.It also called on the international

community to immediately in-tervene to lift the siege on the Yarmouk camp, and address the humanitarian crisis inside it by providing humanitarian and medical services for the besieged people.The Yarmouk camp has been exposed to a genocide and con-tinuous blockade since July 2013. Dozens of refugees died of hunger, while thousands have been displaced as a result of the ongoing shelling.

Source: PIC

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Recent Israeli settlement bids coordinated with America, Says Israeli Minister

Hamas: Kerry›s options represent conspiracy against the right of return

16/1/2014

Israel›s Housing Minister said on Monday that America had agreed on the bidding process for new settlement units an-nounced recently. It all coordinated with US Secretary of State John Kerry, claimed Uri Ariel.Speaking to Radio Reshet Bet, Ariel said that Kerry had agreed on this measure. «However, even if the US refused the bidding, we would still go ahead,» he insisted. The US, added Ariel, is Israel›s biggest ally, despite objections to some of the things done by American officials.Palestinians oppose Israeli settlements in the occupied ter-

16/1/2014

Ezzat Resheq, member of Hamas’s political bu-reau, warned the Palestinian negotiator against responding to the options proposed by US sec-retary of state John Kerry concerning resolving the issue of refugees, which cancel the right of return.Resheq said in a press statement on Wednes-day that Kerry’s options represent a conspiracy against one of the Palestinian constants that is the right of return, and stressed that the Pales-tinians at home and abroad will not accept any option except the return to their homeland.He emphasized that the right of return of Pales-tinian refugees to their towns and villages from which they have been forcibly displaced is a sacred inalienable right, and that any partial or interim solution that does not include recogniz-ing the right of return of all refugees is unac-ceptable.Resheq also called on all the Palestinian fac-tions and forces to adopt a unified position against Kerry’s plan that aims to liquidate the Palestinian cause.Meanwhile, a number of Palestinian institu-

tions in Europe that are active in the field of the right of return denounced the statements made by Mah-moud Abbas, in which he considered the right of re-turn an individual right and alluded to the possibility of compensating the refugees in exchange for ceding their right to return to their homeland.These institutions said in a statement that Abbas’s remarks would pave the way for new concessions re-garding the Palestinian rights, and stressed that the right of return is legally guaranteed as an inalienable, individual and collective right.They also confirmed that no one has the right to dis-pose of the right of return, and called on the Palestin-ian leadership to adopt a national strategy that will end the suffering of the Palestinian refugees. Source: PIC

ritories. Like most of the rest of the world, they consider them to breach international laws and conventions. Many countries have tense relations with Israel due to its illegal settlement programme. Source: MEMO

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17/1/2014

Senior Israeli analyst, Ravin Berko, has suggested that Egypt’s Defence Minister Gen-eral Abdul Fattah Al Sisi’s re-peated threats against Hamas in the Gaza Strip are intended to attract US attention. Berko, who served in Israel’s military intelligence, said that General Al Sisi is trying to attract the US attention through these threats and their support for his rule as an active element in fighting “terrorist” organisa-tions.Israel’s Today news report-ed, in its Hebrew edition on Wednesday, that Berko had pointed out that there are ele-ments within Egypt’s military backed government who be-lieve that without clamping down on Hamas in Gaza Strip the Muslim Brotherhood will not be eliminated. Berko sug-gested that Egypt could at-tack the Gaza Strip while the Egyptian intelligence could strengthen the ongoing block-ade on Gaza and encourage mass protests against Hamas. He added “It is difficult to imagine the Egyptian army en-tering the Gaza Strip without coordinating with Israel to en-sure the Palestinian Authority’s return. Berko further noted that “if such a scheme succeeded, it would not necessarily lead to improving Israel’s security sit-

uation since Hamas will continue to retain its full strength, which means its ability to continue car-rying out operations against Is-rael.”Meanwhile, Israel’s State Radio reported on Thursday that one of the main reasons prompting the US Senate’s agreement to provide $ 1.5 billion in aid to Egypt is their concern over the Camp Da-vid peace accords between Israel and Egypt. According to the ra-dio “both the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Ron Demer and head of Israel’s National Security Council Yossi Cohen have played a central role in persuading US Congress leaders to resume US support for Egypt.” The radio said that both Demer and Cohen have frequently met with members of the Senate who were initially re-luctant to resume the aid which breaches American law that pro-hibits aid to an authority that has ousted a democratically elected government.Israel’s Maariv newspaper re-vealed in July 2013 that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netan-yahu had asked the Israeli am-bassadors around the world to explain that Israel was demand-ing support for Egypt’s military backed government.For its part, Hamas movement expressed absolute dismay at the statements attributed to Egyptian

security and diplomatic figures that Cairo would work on liq-uidating Hamas movement.Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, described in a press release on Wednes-day such statements as “dan-gerous”.He added that the statements represented the first official Egyptian admission of involve-ment in the Palestinian internal affairs and in destroying resis-tance forces in Gaza.Abu Zuhri said that destroying resistance was a mere “illu-sion” and the Arab parties in-volved in such a scheme should rather mobilize their potentials against the Israeli occupation.Four Egyptian security offi-cials and two prominent dip-lomats said that Cairo would cooperate with Fatah faction to destroy Hamas movement in Gaza Strip and would back any chaos in the Gaza Strip.

Source: Agencies

Al-Sisi›s Gaza threats aim to attract US, Says Senior Israeli analyst

Hamas described the threats as “dangerous”

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Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque and climb Dome of the Rock

17/1/2014

Israeli settlers have stormed repeatedly Al-Aqsa Mosque compound over the last two days, and on Thursday even climbed the Dome of the Rock Mosque. The settlers were led by the radical Rab-bi Yehuda Glick, who is the former head of the Temple Institute. He was accom-panied by a journalist on Thursday who carried a camera to document the at-tack, while settlers reportedly engaged in verbal altercations with angry Mus-lim worshipers defending the mosque. Witnesses reported that Rabbi Glick returned to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque twice on Friday, joined by groups of Jewish settlers whom he lectured to about the alleged Temple.The settlers have now become accus-tomed to storming the mosque regularly, usually touring around the yards start-ing from the Mughrabi Gate and then going to Al-Marwani Mosque, Rahma Gate, Al-Asbat Gate and King Faisal Gate until the Alqtanin Gate, exiting from Al-Selselah Gate. However, this is the first incident where the settlers have climbed the Dome of the Rock Mosque.Meanwhile, Western media outlets have warned against proposals and plans prepared by Israeli politicians in the Knesset to divide Al-Aqsa Mosque. The escalation of incursions by settlers and Jewish groups into the mosque, where Jewish extremists have performed re-ligious rituals, is also condemned as it could spark wide Muslim, Arab and Palestinian reactions.A statement from Al-Aqsa Foundation for Religious Endowment and Heritage pointed out a number of reports and ar-

ticles published in international newspapers, including the Washington Post, the Guardian and the Times.The foundation noted that a recent report on Israel’s Channel 10 gave details of the preparations, dynamics and detailed plans for building a temple “on the rubble of Al-Aqsa”. It is believed widely that Jewish extremists plan to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in order to build a temple on the ruins. That is why such extremists desecrate the Noble Sanctuary with in-creasing frequency, said the foundation. A backlash from the world’s Muslims, for whom Al-Aqsa is the third holi-est site, cannot be ruled out, the report warns.Support for dividing the mosque physically and in terms of access times between Muslims and Jews is also being considered as a serious option, even among mainstream Jewish groups and the Israeli government, said Asso-ciated Press. “Jewish visits to the politically-sensitive compound are on the rise, and key Israeli lawmakers are lobbying to end a ban on Jewish prayer there,” added the AP report quoted by Al-Aqsa Foundation. Around 8,000 Israelis took part in incursions of the mosque in 2013, said AP, compared with 5,700 in 2009.Politicians Miri Regev, who heads Israel’s Interior Af-fairs Committee, and Moshe Feiglin, Deputy Speaker at the Knesset, were named by the Guardian, which high-lighted the two lawmakers’ plans for Jewish prayers to be held in the sacred mosque of Al-Aqsa. The Guardian also pointed to the statements made by Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel, who advocates the building of the temple.

Source: Agencies

Western media warns against division of Al-Aqsa

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Palestinian Youths sentenced to 20 years in prison for throwing stones

16/1/2014

An Israeli military court has issued Sunday tough sen-tences against two brothers from Halhoul, north of al-Khalil, for allegedly stone-throwing.Ofer military court sentenced the two brothers Iyad and Hassan Bajes Albou for 12 and 20 years on charges of throwing stones at a settler’s car.Iyad Albou, a father of 4 children, was detained on Octo-ber 2011, while Hassan, 32, was arrested a few days after his brother’s arrest.Their family said that they did not expect the court’s harsh sentence, calling on international human rights or-ganizations to appeal against the oppressive judgment of the court.Media spokesman for Palestinian Prisoners Center, the researcher Riad alAshqar condemned the court verdict and consider it as an retaliatory and deterrent action.In a related context, Three administrative detainees and a patient prisoner have gone on hunger strike protest-ing their detention without trial or charge and medical neglect.

Four Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike against detention, medical neglect

The lawyer of the ministry of prison-ers in Ramallah, Ihab Al-Ghalith, said on Saturday that Akram Fasisi, Mua-mer Banat, and Wahid Abu Mariya, all from Al-Khalil, have been isolated in Ofer jail in very bad incarnation con-ditions because of their strike.He said that the three prisoners have boycotted the prison’s clinic, and ap-pealed for helping them.Meanwhile, another lawyer for the ministry, Karim Ajwa, said that pa-tient prisoner Yousef Nawaja, also from Al-Khalil, had been on hunger strike for 12 days protesting medical neglect. He said that Nawaja was suf-fering from paralysis, amnesia, and epilepsy and was not accorded proper treatment, adding that his diseases were worsening as his kidneys were not functioning properly and he start-ed to suffer from dizziness.

Source: ALRAY + PIC

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Articles & Analyses

More of the same as Israel bites the hand that feeds it

By: Dr. Daud Abdullah

Has the Israeli government crossed a red line in its deal-ings with the US? It is a rea-sonable assumption after Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s recent derisory com-ments about Secretary of State John Kerry. The public insult was not an errant expression of ingratitude by a lone wolf, but part of a pattern that is symbolic of Israel’s attitude towards its “closest ally” and, it must be said, biggest sup-porter. Because there is some-thing called national pride and honour, many Americans must rightly feel aggrieved, despite Ya’alon’s subsequent apology.More than most, White House officials have not forgotten the disastrous press conference between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after their summit on 20 May 2011. The president told journalists candidly, “Obviously there are some differences between us in the precise formulations and language, and that’s going to happen between friends.”Then, in front of the world’s cameras, Netanyahu repri-manded the president thus: “Remember,” he declared, “that, before 1967, Israel was all of nine miles wide. It was half the width of the Washing-ton Beltway. And these were

not the boundaries of peace; they were the boundaries of repeated wars, because the attack on Israel was so attractive. So we can’t go back to those indefensible lines, and we’re going to have a long-term military presence along the Jordan.”White House officials recall that in private Obama was so offend-ed that Chief of Staff William Daley was moved to convey this to Netanyahu’s aides. When the Israeli leader sought a second meeting with the president to patch things up, his request was refused.The continuation of this out-landish impropriety is becoming intolerable and causing Ameri-cans to re-think the relation-ship. While the administration may be dragging its feet, civil society institutions have started to take meaningful steps. The growing calls for a boycott of Is-

rael in American academia and among different church con-gregations demonstrate this trend. This no-nonsense ap-proach to Israeli indiscretion, which was long seen as pecu-liar to Europe, is now gaining ground across the Atlantic.In his newly-released mem-oirs, former Defence Secretary Robert Gates recalled how he was so annoyed by Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrogance and garish ambition that he sug-gested to National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft that he be barred from entering the White House. Underlying this disaffection is what Gates de-scribes as Netanyahu’s ingrati-tude for all that America has done (and continues to do) for Israel.Taken altogether, this latest scandal must leave no doubt in Secretary of State Kerry’s

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mind that although the attack may seem personal it does reflect an entrenched tendency on the part of Israel to bite the hand that feeds it.Ya’alon’s offensive remarks as quoted in the Israeli daily news-paper Yedioth Ahronoth were clearly not the type a client should make about his benefac-tor, at least not in public: “Sec-retary of State John Kerry - who comes here determined, who operates from an incomprehen-sible obsession and a sense of messianism - can’t teach me any-thing about the conflict with the Palestinians.”Although the exact motive is open to debate, the remark was enough to draw a response from State Department Spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki, who described Ya’alon’s remarks as “offensive and inappropriate, especially given all that the US is doing to support Israel’s security needs”.During the past year Secretary Kerry has made ten visits to the region, criss-crossing capitals trying to drum up the support of Arab leaders to pressure the Pal-estine Liberation Organisation/Palestinian Authority to recog-nise Israel as a “Jewish state”. Several media reports suggest that he is succeeding in this re-gard.Castigating the secretary of state for being “obsessive” is under-standable, but the accusation of “messianism” is a different mat-ter. The fact is that although the “restoration” of Israel in Zion is fundamental to messianic thought, this goal is “not for the sake of the Jews”, as Barbara Tuchman points out. Indeed the

return or restoration envisioned by messianism is only in terms of a Jewish nation converted to Christianity. Hence, many Jews view messianism at best with suspicion and, at worst, as abhor-rent.So far there is no evidence to prove that John Kerry embraces messianic thought personally. However, there is no doubt that it is spreading in America. Last year George W Bush signed up for a fundraising event for the Messianic Jewish Bible Insti-tute, an organisation which aims to promote the second coming of Jesus by converting Jews to Christianity.

In October 2013, the Pew Foun-dation found that twice as many white evangelical Protestants as Jews say that Israel was given to the Jewish people by God (82 per cent vs. 40 per cent). The study went on to assert that such Prot-estants are more likely than Jews to favour stronger US support for Israel.

In diplomatic terms Moshe Ya’alon’s remark was “no less than an atomic bomb dropped on the sensitive zone of Israeli-US relations”. Its impact will cast a shadow beyond Tel Aviv and Washington to include all the other capitals involved in the phoney peace process. When the dust settles, no one must be un-der or encourage any false illu-sions. For if Israeli officials can treat their “closest ally” in such a scornful manner, what will the future be like for the Palestin-ians?

Secretary of State John Kerry - who comes here deter-mined, who oper-ates from an in-comprehensible obsession and a sense of messian-ism - can’t teach me anything about the conflict with the Palestinians

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Moshe Ya›alon

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issue no 78

Documents

palestinian leader

besieged yarmouk refugee

yarmouk camp lacks foods

israeli ministermore

hamas ofcial

hamas responsible

senior israeli analyst

palestinian refugees