Food crisis in Gaza

Interview with Noam Chomsky Peace cycle on its way 100,000 Demonstrate in London West Bank suffers in the shadows Israeli War Crimes For Free Distribution Aqsa N E W S Quarterly Issue 30 September 2006 transport infrastructure vital for food and other humanitarian relief, was deliberate and an integral part of a military strategy.” Amnesty’s report, titled ‘Deliberate or ‘collateral destruction damage’? Israeli attacks against civilian infrastructure’; was based on first-hand information gathered by recent Amnesty International research missions to Lebanon and Israel. Dozens of interviews were conducted with victims; officials from the UN; individuals from the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and Lebanese government. The report also considered official statements and press reports. Amnesty International drew its conclusions from facts such as massive destruction by Israeli forces of whole civilian neighborhoods and villages; attacks on bridges in areas of no apparent strategic importance; attacks on water pumping stations, water treatment plants and supermarkets despite the prohibition against targeting objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population; and statements by Israeli military officials indicating that the destruction of civilian infrastructure was indeed a goal of Israel’s military campaign designed to press the Lebanese government and the civilian population to turn against Hezbollah. Lebanon - the aftermath of Israeli bombardment Following the war between Israel and Lebanon during July/August 2006, Amnesty International published a report detailing Israeli War Crimes during the conflict which resulted in the deaths of thousands of Lebanese civilians. Israel adopted a military strategy in Lebanon which deliberately targeted thousands of homes; numerous bridges and roads as well as water and fuel storage plants. Damage to this infrastructure was not simply “collateral damage” resulting from the lawful targeting of military objectives, making it illegal under the Geneva Convention laws of war. The Israeli government attempted to justify their targets by arguing these were Hezbollah positions and support facilities. Further to this, they claimed that other damage to civilian infrastructure was a result of Hezbollah’s use of the civilian population as a “human shield”. Amnesty International’s Executive Deputy Secretary, Kate Gilmore, said: “Israel’s assertion that the attacks on the infrastructure were lawful is manifestly wrong. Many of the violations identified in our report are war crimes, including indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks. The evidence strongly suggests that the extensive destruction of power and water plants, as well as the Israel’s military activity in Gaza began in June 2006, and has led to a deep food crisis for the population. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) was providing food aid to 160,000 Palestinians before the new offensive. This was increased to 220,000 following Israel’s military activities, leading to a crisis warning from the WFP. At present, 70 percent of Gaza’s population is lacking food. Arnold Vercken, Gaza’s local director for Food crisis in Gaza the WFP said: “Industries which were once the backbone of Gaza’s economy and food system, such as the agriculture and fishing industries, are suffocated by the current situation and risk losing all viability.” The conflict between Israel and Lebanon further deepened the crisis as it led to Gaza being overlooked by the international community. In a statement, the WFP said: “In contrast to Lebanon, where humanitarian food aid needs have been essentially met, the growing number of poor in Gaza are living on the bare minimum and face a daily struggle to cover their daily food needs”. Farmers and fishermen are suffering the most, due to the lack of access to water and electricity for crops and the total closure of the Gaza coastline since June 25. the situation is leading to a breakdown in law and order in an already desperate part of the Palestinian territories. There has been a rise in criminality by people desperate to survive, which is deterring much needed investment in the area. 2 IN BRIEF Israel provided with nuclear-capable subs Israel has bought two German-built Dolphin-class submarines, said to have nuclear capability, with Germany covering a third of the $1.27 billion price tag. A German defence ministry spokesman confirmed a report in the Jerusalem Post that Israel had signed a contract with the submarines’ manufacturers, Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW) and the German government on 6 July 2006. West Bank Palestinians suffer in the shadows Jewish human The rights group B’Tselem is deeply involved with uncovering human rights abuses perpetrated against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. During the IDF’s recent Gaza offensive, B’Tselem reported that Palestinians civilians were used as human shields by the occupation forces. During a military incursion into Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip, on 17 July 2006, soldiers were reported to have taken over two buildings in the town, and used six residents as human shields over a period of 12 hours. During this time, there were intensive exchanges of gunfire at the site. Among the buildings’ occupants there were two 25% of Palestinian parliamentarians imprisoned by Israel A recent survey by “If Americans Knew”, a U.S. non-profit organization specializing in media analysis, found that the Western media’s coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is marred by bias, omission and disparity. Some 165 Israelis and 549 Palestinians were killed between September 2000 and September 2001. But the organization found that major media outlets in the West inflated the Israeli death toll at a ratio of three to four times greater than Palestinians deaths. Moreover, Israeli deaths were often followed by a follow-up report, whereas Palestinian deaths were rarely reported. Israel spying on America US based Fox News has been investigating Israeli espionage upon America, which has been continuing for decades despite America being its closest ally. Fox News reported: “It has been more than 16 years since a civilian working for the Navy was charged with passing secrets to Israel. Jonathan Pollard pled guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage and is serving a life sentence. At first, Israeli leaders claimed Pollard was part of a rogue operation, but later took responsibility for his work. Now Fox News has learned some U.S. investigators believe that there are Israelis again very much engaged in spying in and on the U.S., who may have known things they didn’t tell us before Sept. 11.” Details appeared on the Fox News website, but were removed a few days later. to remain in a site of fighting, in order to protect the soldiers from gunfire During this siege, B’Tselem from armed Palestinians. found that the soldiers Among other things, the endangered the lives of the soldiers forced a female civilians by forcing them occupant of one apartment minors whose lives were put at risk. he stated: “From the first moment that the Hamas government took over, the US Administration that claims to support democracy took action to spearhead the Israeli campaign against the Palestinian government, parliament and people. Israel has imposed a political and media siege on the Palestinian people and government. But even today, after the PLC and the government continued to work, and a potential for real national unity, Israel has adopted a new policy of detention in the hope of creating to walk in front of them while they searched the apartments, and handcuffed occupants and forced them to remain in a stairwell exposed to gunfire. confusion and division in the Palestinian arena.” Haniyeh’s speech came during the sit-in organised by PLC members in the PLC headquarters in Gaza city, to demand the release of the speaker of the PLC, Dr. Abdul Aziz Adwaik, PLC members, ministers and all other Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Palestinian government ministers, political personalities, political leaders and the Egyptian Ambassador to the PA, Ashraf Aql, also participated in the event. Palestinian Prime Minister accuses US and Israel of dividing Palestinians Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has spoken out against the US and Israeli role in creating confusion and division within Palestinian society. He stated that the two allies had failed to orchestrate the over throw of the democratically elected Palestinian government by economic means, and were now escalating their aggression against civilians to achieve their goal. Ismail Haniyeh identified one of the most important features of the new policy as being the arrest of government ministers and Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) members, as well as the general escalation in violence and aggression against ordinary Palestinians. In a speech, US rejects Gaza UN resolution Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, called Operation Summer Rains, was condemned worldwide due to the IDF’s disproportionate use of force against a civilian population. Due to the increasing death toll, a draft resolution was put forward to the Security Council demanding that Israel withdraw its forces. Ten of the 15 Security Council nations voted in favour and four, Britain, Denmark, Slovakia and Peru, abstained. The US was the only state to vote against the resolution thus blocking it. Palestinians used as human shields in Gaza The Jewish human rights group B’Tselem is deeply involved with uncovering human rights abuses perpetrated against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. During the IDF’s recent Gaza offensive, B’Tselem reported that Palestinians civilians were used as human shields by the exchanges of gunfire at the site. Among the buildings’ During a military incursion occupants there were two into Beit Hanun in the minors whose lives were northern Gaza Strip, on 17 put at risk. July 2006, soldiers were reported to have taken over During this siege, B’Tselem two buildings in the town, found that the soldiers and used six residents as endangered the lives of the human shields over a period civilians by forcing them to of 12 hours. During this remain in a site of fighting, time, there were intensive in order to protect the occupation forces. soldiers from gunfire from armed Palestinians. Among other things, the soldiers forced a female occupant of one apartment to walk in front of them while they searched the apartments, and handcuffed occupants and forced them to remain in a stairwell exposed to gunfire. Israeli forces kill 178 Palestinians in July Israeli forces were responsible for the deaths of 163 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during July 2006. 36 of these were children and 20 were women. In the West Bank, 15 Palestinians were killed. The number of Palestinians killed was the highest recorded for any month since April 2002. 3 100,000 demonstrate in London Ismail Patel of Friends of Al Aqsa stated that Bush and Blair have challenged the world to either be with them or with the ‘terrorists’. He said: “If being a terrorist is to be against murder and wars then all of us at this demonstration are terrorists and most of this country are terrorists.” Former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, said he was “deeply ashamed of the country I used to serve.” He said, “When Lebanon bleeds, we bleed too. We will not allow our Government to continue to send bombs to Israel. Tony Blair is causing the deaths of thousands of innocent women and of the nationwide anger children.” at Israel’s barbaric destruction of Lebanon Former Cabinet Minister, and Gaza. All those Tony Benn, said the war present were united in the was not a religious war demand for an immediate “but a war for oil and unconditional ceasefire on power, war for American both of these fronts. Dawn supremacy.” He said that Butler, MP, also called for there would be no peace an immediate ceasefire and in the Middle East, until said “there should not be “every Israeli has been another day of killing, of expelled from Lebanon and Palestinian lands.” murder.” IN BRIEF Occupation forces kidnap PLC Secretary On August 20th, the Israeli occupation forces arrested the secretary of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Dr Mahmoud Ar-Ramahi from his home in Al-Bireh city in eastern Ramallah. Israeli troops, backed up by several military vehicles invaded the Jinan neighbourhood and kidnapped Dr Ar-Ramahi in less than 5 minutes. The soldiers then headed toward the Israeli settlement of Beit Eil. MPs call for release of Palestinian parliamentarians 27 British MPs have called for the immediate release of the elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council detained by Israel, in a letter to the Guardian on Wednesday 13 September. The letter stated that Israel has abducted and imprisoned 33 democratically elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council including the Speaker, and five ministers, including the Deputy Prime Minister. “We consider the imprisonment of democratically elected representatives of the Palestinian Authority by Israel as an attack on the fundamental principles of democracy. The Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006 were declared as fair by international observers including former US president Jimmy Carter. Following the elections, Jimmy Carter commented: ‘Among the 62 elections that have been monitored by us at the Carter Center, these are among the best in portraying the will of the people’. We support the demand by the Inter Parliamentary Union, the international organisation of parliaments of sovereign states, that the Palestinian parliamentarians should be ‘released immediately’.” The Stop the War demonstration on Saturday 5 August brought more than 100,000 protestors onto London’s streets. From every corner of Britain, an unprecedented number of protestors turned out for a protest called with only one week’s notice. Hundreds of national and The protest was a show local organisations were represented; from the trade unions, from Muslim associations and mosques, Lebanese community groups; the CND; dozens of local peace groups; the Green Party, Respect, Labour against the War and many other political organisations. Everyclick.com Everyclick.com is a new search engine that gives 50% of its turnover to charities. One of the leading charities on the site is the Durham Palestine Educational Trust (Charity 1085097 http://www.dpet.org.uk). Since 1984 DPET has been aiding Palestinian economic and social development through Masters scholarships for young Palestinians at Durham University. The University waives the tuition fees for two students (worth £20,000 a year) and the charity needs to raise £20,000 for the students’ other expenses. Please register at http://www.everyclick.com and choose Durham Palestine Educational Trust as your preferred charity. At no cost to themselves, our supporters have raised £700 just by using everyclick. We will be most grateful for your registration and support. At no cost to themselves, our supporters have raised £700 just by using everyclick. We will be most grateful for your registration and support. Advertise in Aqsa NEWS This newspaper is distributed to every major mosque in England, reaching over 60,000 people. It is also circulated in other centres around the country. To advertise in Aqsa News, contact info@aqsa.org.uk for details. Join Friends of Al-Aqsa Be a part of Friends of Al-Aqsa Join our Mailing List just by internet surfing Help Palestinians To receive updates and information about our events log in your email on our website: w w w. a q s a . o r g . u k 4 The birds outside the cage: terror and freedom on the West Bank By Eliza Ernshire The Israeli army arrived on our street at 2 am yesterday morning. For the past two weeks they have been in Ramallah every night and we knew it was only a matter of time before we would directly experience their invasion tactics. Every morning we had discussed where they had been the night before and how much damage they had inflicted. We had discussed whom they had arrested and who had managed to escape. We had listened with utmost sympathy to the stories of those caught in the apartment blocks that were being searched: to the women who had no time to cover themselves decently, to their husbands taken in nightdress and without shoes. We had listened to the explosions from neighbouring areas of Ramallah and had wondered not if but when our street would be targeted. It was on August 14 at 2 am. The only warning we received was a phone-call 10 seconds before the army arrived, telling us that the Israelis were at the Legislative Council, 5 minutes away. We were still up as my flat-mate was travelling at 5:30 am and we were packing and talking about visa issues and what to do if her visa was denied. square, “in the centre. Here” and he pointed to one packet at the edge of the square “is Hezbollah. What is behind Hezbollah? Nothing. They are fighting Israel and America face to face and behind them is open fields, and Syria and other As I stood perplexed at the window Arab States. But here is Palestine. I suddenly realized that the sound Surrounded on all sides. They are was a bird singing; welcoming the not fighting only in front of them, but first light of the day. It was sitting in on every side, the enemy is behind They said “come out!” so we did. We the tree outside the window, hoping them and even among them. This went back down the stairs and told from branch to branch, and singing. feeling of imprisonment and lack of support has ground away at the the jeep stationed outside that we Actually singing! were being called by the soldiers in I wondered then at how I was resistance movement here until it has the next street. They started to shout becoming conditioned to the become nothing more than isolated at us that the soldiers were not telling inhuman situation here, I was cells of militants who are not even us to come out but we assured them actually mistaking the singing of supported by their own families. that it must be us they were shouting a bird for some strange weapon of at, because if any person had been Israel’s. And I realized how much I Have you seen the wanted men, hiding in the empty field he would missed the simple joy of listening our freedom fighters, who are long since have been murdered. to the Australian “morning chorus” homeless? Even their families are afraid to associate with them. We went in and sat on the veranda overlooking the paddock in the spotlight of three other jeeps while soldiers raked the field with bullets. They were shouting at the empty field in the vain and arrogant belief that some wanted man would suddenly appear and they would receive the promotion for his capture. We were shouting back. An hour passed. In a half sleep I heard a sound outside the window and rushed to see what was there. It was a strange sound and I couldn’t work out what sort of devise Israel was using to produce such a singular noise. Have you seen them when they are alone, and the full weight of their situation hits them? I have seen them, crying like a child. This is how Israel has been winning the war against Palestine. Dividing the people and terrorizing them so much that they can not even trust their cousins; half the population of Palestine are collaborators; they are collaborators because they have been broken by Israeli forces. The soldiers were furious at our interruption and for this we were The phone call and then the horrible glad. When we knew that we had sound of 10 jeeps and 2 tanks and pushed them as far as we could in an arrest-van. And instant spotlights the circumstances and realized that and shooting and explosions. Then our knees were shaking so much rocks hurled at our door (aren’t that they were about to give way Palestinian youths imprisoned for beneath us, we went back inside years for throwing rocks?), and four to collapse on the lounge in tears, Israeli soldiers at the door with their wondering if there was actually faces painted and all pointing M-16’s some man bleeding to death in at our heads. They were shouting at the field that we could not reach. us in Hebrew, ordering us outside. For another hour the jeeps and We decided that we would distract tanks circled round and round them if we could to give any our block. Shooting barrages of poor hunted man as much time as machine-gun fire and throwing possible to escape. We also gave the explosives into every shrub and neighbours some relief by giving bush. And then they departed. voice to their anger; a privilege for They had not caught anyone and which they would have been shot. for that we were also glad. The next hour passed in deathly quiet. The soldiers of the two jeeps at It was strange to sit in the dark our doorstep got sick of dealing and know that everyone else in with us after 10 minutes and as the street was doing exactly the flares exploded over our heads same as us. Sitting up, sleepless and heavy gun-fire filled the open and silent, afraid, waiting for the paddock next to our house, they daylight to bring some normalcy began to shout at us to get inside. back into a night-marish situation. as we call it; the great cacophony of sound that no one can sleep through, that you curse every morning but love none-the-less. The sound of the freest creatures on earth celebrating that freedom. So while there were celebrations in Al-Minara on the day of the cease-fire there was also a very clear awareness that Hezbollah’s victory will not serve the Palestinian struggle in any way except to assure them again that There is no freedom in Ramallah. without the backing of Arab States The West Bank and Gaza are prisons, this struggle is doomed to continue in and this is the reason many people the insidious and bloody way that it have given for the inability of the has been continuing for many years.” Palestinian resistance movement to achieve even the sort of uncertain So a certain sadness envelopes the cease-fire that Hezbollah has city of Ramallah. A city that has been managed to achieve in Lebanon. caught on the edge of a crisis which has been in the international spotlight, People here are talking about this while experiencing nightly crisis’ on and are asking how Hezbollah has a smaller scale that fail to register on been able to enforce this cessation of any international screen. The people hostilities when Palestine has been of the West Bank are still prisoners, unable to do it for half a century. Last as they have been for a long time. night I talked with two Palestinian friends about this and they described The only thing the Palestinians have to me in geographical terms the main to counter the nightly invasions and difference between the Hezbollah terror tactics of the Israeli forces is resistance and that of Palestine. their song of freedom. Still to be “Here” one said “is Palestine” and heard if you remember to listen for he placed on the table two cigarette it. packets and two lighters forming a BOOK REVIEW Politicide – Ariel Sharon’s War against the Palestinians. By Baruch Kimmerling Verso 2003, ISBN 1 – 85984 – 517 – 7, 234 hb, £15. Henry Kissinger once recalled that Ariel Sharon was the most dangerous man he had met in the Middle East. Baruch Kimmerling’s title of Politicide reflects that opinion by his detailed account of how Sharon as a soldier, general, politician and as Prime Minister created the dissolution in the hearts and minds of every Palestinian by his political and military onslaught for over fifty years. Kimmerling wrote his book in 2003; well before his disengagement plan from Gaza; the internal political upheaval in Israeli which resulted in the creation of the Kadima Party and the subsequent incapacitation of Sharon due to his stroke. Nevertheless this book deals with Ariel Sharon through the lens of academic critique which questions the creation of policies which Kimmerling refers to as Politicide. The term Politicide is constantly used to describe a wide range of social, political and military activities as the means to destroy the existence of a community and any possibility of self determination. He refers to methods which have been incorporated by the military elite of Israel who under the banner of democracy have used their position to justify and control their means by the argument that there is a Palestinian menace which is an obstruction to Israeli society, which has to be suppressed. He refers to the Israeli interference in Lebanon as a military exercise by Sharon who as the Defence Secretary shielded all military action from his fellow cabinet members and acted reputedly against any checks and balances. Throughout the book it is highlighted that Kimmerling is a patriot committed to the well being of his people, and that this book is a painful thesis to wake up the Israeli population against the barbaric measures of the Likud government and in particular Ariel Sharon. Kimmerling on some occasions does not hide his Zionist credentials, in particular his admires the assassinated leader Yitzhak Rabin; his chapter on the Oslo accords is very sympathetic towards Rabin and Peres. He ignores the weak leadership of Arafat and how Israel negated the Right of Return, no commitment to dismantling all illegal settlements, no clarified position towards the final status of Jerusalem and that how Oslo had created a fragmented Palestinian society by the constant Israeli infringement upon Palestinian life. Kimmerling rather naively believes that Israel gave more than it should and fails to realise that the PLO had at the expense of the Palestinian people sold out many of their principles. Kimmerling however should be commended on his explanation on the policies of politicide by Sharon have instigated the heightening rise of suicide bombers. He also indulges in explaining that much of the motivation of suicide bombers is not based on religious doctrine but secular and political factors. He publicly berates Israeli society for not understanding Palestinian desperation as a precursor for suicide bombings due to the constant humiliation and politicide policies by the Israeli military especially during the reign of Sharon. Politicide is a book in which the reader will understand that Kimmerling who as a left wing Zionist is attacking the Likudites under the stewardship of Sharon. He advocates that Sharon has created a partial ethnic cleansing programme through systematic policies which is slowly eroding the already fragmented Palestinian society. Politicide draws the argument that Sharon and his allies are more belligerent towards creating facts on the ground while at the same time generating a step towards an Eretz Israel as the only solution for the survival of the Jewish state. Politicide is a book in which it is argued that through the policies of Politicide the real victim in the long run is the Zionist society of Israel. Kimmerling offers an opinion of someone on the Israeli left who believes that iron and the rule by force can no longer be applied on any people, as sooner or later the oppressor himself will become the victim of their own misfortune. Sharon is blamed for being the architect of this foiled plan of Politicide, as no matter what can happen, there will always be a Palestinian people and that their defiance will be the downfall of the of the Jewish state. 6 The arrogance of power Corporal Gilad Shalit, on 25 June. That action elicited a huge show of outrage in the West, and support for Israel’s sharp escalation of its attacks in Gaza. One day before, on 24 June, Israeli forces kidnapped two civilians in Gaza, a doctor and his brother, and sent them off somewhere in Israel’s prison system. The event was scarcely reported, and elicited little if any comment within the mainstream. The timing alone reveals with vivid clarity that the show of outrage over the capture of Israeli soldiers is cynical fraud, and undermines any shreds of moral legitimacy for the ensuing actions. So for Israel, any pretext could justify daily massacres in Lebanon and Gaza? With a vivid imagination, one can conjure up all sorts of pretexts. In the real world, there are none. And we may add the forgotten West Bank, where the US and Israel are proceeding with their plans to drive the last nails into the coffin of Palestinian national rights by their programmes of annexation, canonisation and imprisonment (by takeover of the Jordan Valley). These plans are carried out within the framework of another cynical fraud: “convergence” (in Hebrew, hitkansut), portrayed in the US as “withdrawal”, in a remarkable public relations triumph. Also long forgotten is the occupied Golan Heights, virtually annexed by Israel in violation of unanimous Security Council orders (but with tacit US support). As an Iraqi, I understand that the ongoing war against Lebanon and Gaza is an essential part of the Bush scheme of reshaping the region: to redraw the borders mapped by SykesPicot... I doubt that most of them have even heard of Sykes-Picot. They have their own plans for the region. Primary among them is the traditional commitment to control the world’s major energy resources. Those who do not fall in line can expect to be targets of subversion or aggression. That should not be surprising, at least to those familiar with the history of the past century, in fact well before. Do you think that Iran and Syria were behind this war, as Bush inferred? It is generally assumed that they at least gave Hezbollah authorisation for the 12 July attack on Israeli military forces at the border. However, many of the most serious analysts of Hezbollah, and of Iran, have concluded that Hezbollah’s actions are taken on its own initiative. How can we explain the role of the Security Council in destroying Lebanon and Gaza now, and Iraq before? The Security Council acts within constraints set by the great powers, primarily the United States. In turn, the United States can generally rely on Britain, particularly Blair’s Britain, which is described sardonically in Britain’s leading journal of international affairs as “the spearcarrier of the pax Americana.” In the early post-war years, for obvious reasons, the UN was generally under US domination, and was very popular among US elites. By the mid- 1960s, that was becoming less true, with decolonisation and the recovery of industrial societies from wartime devastation. Since that time, the US has been far in the lead in vetoing Security Council resolutions on a wide range of issues, with Britain second, and none of the others even close. Correspondingly, elite support for the UN sharply declined in the US, though, interestingly, popular support for the UN remains remarkably high, one of the many illustrations of an enormous gap between public opinion and public policy in the US. Over and above that crucial constraint, US power allows it to shape those resolutions and actions that it is willing to accept. Other powers have their own cynical reasons for what they do, but their influence is naturally less, again, the maxim of Thucydides. Popular forces could make a substantial difference, and sometimes do, but until the prevailing “democratic deficit” is reduced, that effect will be limited. I am unable to understand this Israeli arrogance. Are you? The maxim of Thucydides again. But it is worth bearing in mind that Israel can go just as far as its protector in Washington permits and supports. This interview first appeared in the Egyptian newspaper, Al Ahram Weekly, 18 August 2006 Noam Chomsky interviewed by Nermeen Al-Mufti Noam Chomsky takes stock of the month-long US-Israeli onslaught on Lebanon and reflects on the fallout. Why is Israel given the right to self-defence while Arab countries are denied it? Thucydides gave an answer to that a long time ago: “The strong do as they can, and the weak suffer as they must.” It is one of the leading principles of international affairs. Many Arab states declared that they would not sever relations with Israel, saying that this was Hezbollah’s war, the consequences Hezbollah’s fault. Do you think there was and perhaps remains - American pressure behind these statements? At an emergency Arab League meeting, most Arab states, apart from Algeria, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, condemned Hezbollah. In doing so, they were willing to “openly defy public opinion”, as The New York Times reported. They later had to back down, including Washington’s oldest and most important ally in the region, Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah said that, “if the peace option is rejected due to Israeli arrogance, then only the war option remains, and that no one knows the repercussions on the region, including wars and conflict that will spare no one, including those whose military power is now tempting them to play with fire.” Most analysts assume, plausibly I thin;, that their primary concern is the growing influence of Iran, and the embarrassment caused by the fact that alone in the Arab world, Hezbollah has offered support for Palestinians under brutal attack in the occupied territories. Was there any legal or moral justification for this war, as Bush, Rice and Western news media insisted? We can ignore Bush and Rice, who are participants in the USIsraeli invasion of Lebanon. We know very well that by Western standards there is no moral or legal justification for the war. Sufficient proof is the fact that for many years Israel regularly kidnapped Lebanese people, sending them to prisons in Israel, including secret prisons like the notorious Camp 1391, which was exposed by accident and quickly forgotten (and in the US, never even reported within the mainstream). No one suggested that Lebanon, or anyone else, had the right to invade and destroy much of Israel in retaliation. As this long and ugly record makes clear, kidnapping of civilians, a far worse crime than the capture of soldiers, is considered insignificant by the US, UK, and other Western states, and by articulate opinion within them quite generally, when it is done by “our side”. That fact was revealed very dramatically once again at the outset of the current upsurge of violence after Hamas captured an Israeli soldier, 7 U P C O M I N G E V E N T S 23rd September 2006, Manchester: National Demonstration at Labour Party Conference. 1 pm outside the Labour Party Conference. 27th September 2006, London: Poetry for Lebanon Benefit. Foyer Bar, RADA, Malet Street, London WC1E 7JN. 7.30 – 10.30pm. In collaboration with MAP (Medical Aid for Palestine), Loose Muse & Angel Poetry presents ‘Poetry for Lebanon’. All profites to go to humanitarian relief efforts in Lebanon. 25 of London’s best performing poets. COMPETITION 13 Years Old or Under?? Complete the following Word search and send us your entry to win a £10 voucher for WH Smith and a Friends of Al-Aqsa goody bag! M U H A M M A D U Q L I E E S A E S P L U S J B R V S D L P A Q U A D R G A U A I B R A H I M A A Q L M S E T S H X H Z U A F U S I O U P I F D I I A D T N I D A M P U M O Y A M I A L U S M E S A H U R A I U E R I N U A D F Z N G W S E S K Y A Q U B S A D O M A Y I R A K A Z W X N E W W Find the names of 10 prophets who either lived in or visited Jerusalem. The names can be found either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally; and spelt either forwards or backwards. 14-18 Years Old?? Write 20 words describing the role of the following prophets/ righteous people in Jerusalem, and send us your entry to win a £10 voucher for WH Smith and a Friends of AlAqsa goody bag! Deadline for both competitions: 31st November 2006 Send your answers with your name, age and address to: Friends of Al-Aqsa, PO Box 5127, Leicester, LE2 0WU. Or, email us on info@aqsa.org.uk 1. Musa (as) (as) 2. Sulaiman 3. Eesa (as) 4. Maryam (as) Winners of last edition’s competition: Under 13’s - Leena Begum, Bradford, Gloucester 14-18’s - Zakiyya, Walsall 8 The Peace Cycle is on its way On Sunday 6th August, a group of cyclists started a once in a life-time journey from Hyde Park in London, heading for Jerusalem in Occupied Palestine. ‘The Peace Cycle’ will take the riders through numerous European cities during their 6 week journey, with an aim of highlighting the human rights abuses being committed under the occupation and calling for a just peace in the region. Among the cyclists was an 18 year old teenage girl, who travelled from Australia to take part. A man aged 70 who was involved in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa also joined to protest against the injustice occurring in Palestine. Most remarkably, a 23 year old Palestinian graduate came to London to take part; having left the occupied West Bank for the first time in his life to take part in the cycle ride across 10 countries, back to his home in Palestine. The Start Rally drew in a large crowd with speeches from Betty Hunter (PSC Secretary), Jeremy Corbyn MP, Rajab Shamallakh (Chairman APC), Mike Cushman (Jews for Justice for Palestinians), Hugo Charlton (Former Chairman Green Party, Human Rights Lawyer) and His Excellency Dr Manuel Hassassian, Palestinian Delegate to the UK, who cut the ribbon and allowed the mass of cyclists out into the London traffic. Over 100 cyclists turned up to accompany the riders on the first section of their journey to Greenwich, creating a carnival like atmosphere along the route.