maandag 23 april 2007

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury: dissident in Bangladesh

Een aangrijpend relaas van een dissidente Moslim in Bangladesh die strijdt voor verzoening tussen Moslims, Christenen en Joden, en erkenning van Israël door de Arabische en islamitische wereld.

Voor een Engelse vertaling zie: http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2007/04/other-muslim-uddin-shoaib-choudhury.html
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Der andere Moslem
http://www.berlinonline.de/berliner-zeitung/spezial/dossiers/wie_soll_ich_leben/75561/index.php
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury streitet für Glaubensfreiheit und Frieden mit Israel - das bringt in Bangladesch Folter ein Bernhard Bartsch

DHAKA. "Als wir kleine Kinder waren, hatten wir Angst vor Gespenstern. Nachts waren sie immer da, unterm Bett, im Schrank, vor dem Fenster. Aber irgendwann haben wir uns daran gewöhnt. Wer lange genug mit Gespenstern lebt, verliert die Furcht." Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury zieht kräftig an seiner dünnen Mentholzigarette. "Im Gefängnis ist es wie mit den Gespenstern. Wenn sie mich wieder einsperren, weiß ich genau, in welche Zelle sie mich stecken und womit sie mich foltern werden. Es gibt nichts, was sie mir nicht schon einmal angetan hätten. Deswegen können sie mir keine Angst einjagen." Er lacht und wirkt so unerschütterlich, dass man ihm fast glauben könnte.

Choudhury glaubt, dass Moslems, Juden und Christen Freunde sein können. Dass es auf der Welt nur dann Frieden geben werde, wenn jeder Mensch seinen eigenen Glauben frei lebe und zugleich die Religion anderer akzeptiere. Dass die islamischen Staaten deshalb gut daran täten, Israels Existenzrecht anzuerkennen. Und dass er, ein moderner Moslem aus einem traditionell moderat muslimischen Land, dabei helfen könne, die drei verwandten Religionen zu versöhnen. "Menschen, die ein gutes Herz haben, sind sich nah, egal zu welchem Gott sie beten", sagt Choudhury. Die Mehrheit der Menschheit sei seiner Meinung, glaubt er. Von der Minderheit dürfe man sich nicht einschüchtern lassen.

Folter und Gefängnis

Doch in Bangladesch gewinnen radikale Islamisten an Einfluss, und seitdem sie sogar der letzten Regierung angehörten, lebt der Mann gefährlich. Weil er sich mit seiner Zeitung Weekly Blitz für Israel engagiert und in zahlreichen Investigativreportagen die Ausbreitung von Terroristencamps, Al Kaida-Lagern und Ausbildungsstätten für Selbstmordattentäter in Bangladesch dokumentierte, steht er nun wegen Volksverhetzung, Hochverrat und Blasphemie vor Gericht. Ihm drohen bis zu 30 Jahre Gefängnis oder sogar die Todesstrafe. "Aber sie kriegen mich nicht unter", sagt Choudhury. "Ich bin ein Kämpfer."

Tatsächlich hat Choudhury mit seinen etwas mehr als 30 Lebensjahren etwas von einem Boxer, der sich gerade von seinem jüngsten Knockout erholt. Dabei ist es schon ein halbes Jahr her, dass zum letzten Mal die Schläger in sein Büro kamen. Ein prominenter Politiker habe sie begleitet, sagt er, so prominent, dass die Polizei sich hinterher weigerte, eine Anzeige aufzunehmen. Choudhury humpelt ein wenig. Sein Gesicht ist dauerhaft geschwollen. Wenn er spricht, klingt es, als habe er etwas im Mund. Auch in schwach beleuchteten Räumen trägt er eine dunkle Sonnenbrille, um sein vom grünen Star erblindetes rechtes Auge zu verbergen. Eine Operation hätte es leicht retten können, doch während seines Gefängnisaufenthalts wurde ihm die Behandlung versagt. Trotzdem ist er bereit, sich für seine Überzeugungen wieder einsperren zu lassen, in Einzelhaft, bei 40 Grad. "Der Ventilator wurde in meiner Zelle immer abgestellt," sagt er.

Choudhury ist kein Verzweiflungstäter. In Bangladesch, einem der ärmsten Länder der Welt, gehört er zu den wenigen Privilegierten, die ein Leben in Wohlstand führen. Sein Vater war ein wohlhabender Unternehmer, der seinen Sohn zum Wirtschaftsstudium nach England schickte. "Vor meinem Abflug musste ich ihm versprechen, dort nicht mit anderen Bangladeschis zusammenzuleben, obwohl es in London viele gibt", erzählt Choudhury. "Deshalb wohnte ich am anderen Ende der Stadt und fand Freunde aus aller Welt."

Als er 1989 heimkehrte, arbeitete er zunächst als Korrespondent für die russische Nachrichtenagentur Itar-Tass und baute 1995 den ersten privaten Fernsehsender des Landes auf, "A-21 TV". 1999 sendete er erstmals regierungskritische Berichte - ein beträchtliches Risiko, doch der Drang, der staatlichen Propaganda eine zweite Wahrheit entgegenzusetzen, war übermächtig. Innerhalb weniger Tage wurde A-21 TV von der Regierung geschlossen und Choudhury wegen "Volksverhetzung" zu einem halben Jahr Haft verurteilt. "Damals wurde ich zum ersten Mal gefoltert", berichtet er. "Sie wollten meinen Willen brechen. Aber sie haben ihn nur gestärkt."

Wenige Monate nach den Anschlägen vom 11. September gründete er Weekly Blitz, als Reaktion auf die erstarkenden Extremisten. "Ich bin ein lebender Widerspruch: Ein Zionist, aber auch ein frommer Moslem", sagt er: "Wir glauben doch alle an den gleichen Gott. Aber die Extremisten verfälschen die Lehre und treiben einen Keil zwischen Moslems, Juden und Christen." Neben gleichgesinnten bengalischen Journalisten schrieben bald auch jüdische Autoren aus Israel und den USA für Weekly Blitz. Die Assoziation des Namens zum auch im Englischen gebräuchlichen Wort "Blitzkrieg" ist Absicht. "Wir sind ein Kampfblatt für den Frieden", sagt Choudhury, "und die Redaktion ist unsere Armee."

Provokation ist Choudhurys Programm. Dabei ging er so weit, 2003 eines der Pornobilder, die in Saddam Husseins Palästen gefunden wurden, auf sein Cover zu heben. Ein winziger Balken über der Brustwarze betonte die Nacktheit mehr, als er sie verhüllte. "Viele Muslime halten Saddam Hussein für einen Helden, und ich wollte zeigen, was für ein Mann er tatsächlich war", erzählt er. Die Ausgabe wurde umgehend verboten.

Flucht kommt nicht in Frage

Nur etwa fünf Millionen von Bangladeschs 183 Millionen Einwohnern sympathisieren mit den Radikalen, schätzt Choudhury. Trotzdem erfährt er im eigenen Land wenig Zustimmung. Kaum jemand wagt, offen für ihn Partei zu ergreifen. Selbst Verwandte und Freunde wandten sich von ihm ab. "Viele von ihnen wurden bedroht", sagt Choudhury. Sein Haus, eine kleine Villa in einem der besseren Viertel von Dhaka, wird nachts von Wachleuten mit großen Gewehren beschützt. Seine beiden Kinder bringt morgens ein Fahrer in die Schule und holt sie hinterher wieder ab. Zu Freunden gehen sie nur selten. "Aber die Situation schweißt uns als Familie zusammen", erklärt Choudhury. "Meine Frau und meine Kinder sagen mir immer wieder, wie stolz sie auf mich sind."

Ob Choudhury es merken würde, wenn in dieser Anerkennung dennoch die Bitte mitschwänge, seinen Kampf aufzugeben und die Familie aus ihrem Belagerungszustand zu befreien? Genügend Geld, um im Ausland ein ruhiges Leben zu führen, hätte die Familie, und wahrscheinlich fände sich auch eine Möglichkeit, Bangladesch trotz des laufenden Verfahrens zu verlassen. Doch für Choudhury ist sein Kampf längst sein Leben geworden. "Wer das Schlachtfeld verlässt, hat verloren", sagt er. "Aber wer für die richtige Sache kämpft, gewinnt immer."

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Im Kern der Auseinandersetzung: Israel und der Holocaust

Der Unternehmer und Journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury gründete 2002 in seiner Heimat Bangladesch die Wochenzeitung Weekly Blitz. Wie kaum ein anderes in einem muslimischen Land erscheinendes Medium fordert sie die Versöhnung von Moslems, Juden und Christen sowie die Anerkennung Israels. "Viele Muslime glauben immer noch, der Holocaust sei ein Komplott von Nazis und Juden gewesen, um den Anspruch der Zionisten auf Israel zu rechtfertigen", sagt Choudhury. Weekly Blitz hat 32 Mitarbeiter und eine Auflage von 6 000 Exemplaren sowie eine Internetausgabe (www.weeklyblitz.net).

Reisen nach Israel sind Staatsbürgern Bangladeschs verboten. Im November 2003 wurde Choudhury am Flughafen in Dhaka verhaftet, weil er zu einer Friedenskonferenz in Tel Aviv fliegen wollte. 17 Monate wurde er ohne Anklage eingesperrt und nach eigenen Angaben massiv gefoltert. 2005 kam er auf Druck des amerikanischen Außenministeriums frei.

Wegen Volksverhetzung, Hochverrats und Blasphemie steht er derzeit vor Gericht. Ihm droht die Todesstrafe. Dem Richter Shamsul Alam werden enge Kontakte zu den Islamisten nachgesagt.

EU-Parlament und US-Repräsentantenhaus fordern die Einstellung des Verfahrens. Der amerikanische PEN-Club ehrte 2005 Choudhurys Engagement mit dem Preis "Freedom to Write" und das Amerikanische Jüdische Komitee 2006 mit der "Auszeichnung für moralischen Mut".

Berliner Zeitung, 2.4.2007

Hamas infitreert Palestijnse politie en nationale veiligheidsdienst

Nadat Israël pogingen van Hamas om - naar het voorbeeld van de Gazastrook - een eigen militia op te bouwen verijdelde, probeert Hamas de officiële veiligheidsdiensten en organisaties over te nemen. Dit zet de huidige samenwerking van deze diensten met Israël uiteraard onder druk, zeker gezien het feit dat Hamas op alle niveaus betrokken is bij de planning en uitvoering van aanslagen tegen Israël.
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Hamas aims to control West Bank security
Yaakov Katz, THE JERUSALEM POST Apr. 20, 2007
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1176152838917&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Having failed to establish a military force in the West Bank parallel to the one it has in the Gaza Strip, Hamas is instead working to infiltrate its operatives into the official Palestinian Authority security branches, a high-ranking officer in the IDF Central Command warned on Thursday.

Two months ago the IDF thwarted plans by Hamas to create a force in the West Bank similar to the one it has created in Gaza, where Ahmed Ja'abri - the commander of the Hamas military wing - has built up an army consisting of close to 10,000 well-trained troops.

According to the officer, Hamas tried uniting all of its factions in the West Bank into a single force, but failed due to IDF preemptive action.

Believing that additional such efforts would also fail, Hamas has been infiltrating its men into the ranks of the Palestinian Police and the National Security Force.

"If this continues they will eventually take over the security forces," warned a senior Israeli defense official, adding that once this happens Israel will find itself facing a "two-faced" PA security establishment.

The officer said that the creation of the PA national unity government following the signing of the Mecca agreement some two months ago had essentially "dissolved" any differences between Hamas and Fatah.

A Hamas takeover of the security services would eventually lead the IDF to reconsider its policy of talking and coordinating with PA security chiefs in the West Bank, he said.

According to policy set by the cabinet, the IDF has refrained from dealing directly with Hamas, instead taking great pains to find non-Hamas PA officials to coordinate civil and military issues, the officer said.

He said Hamas was involved in terrorism "at all of its levels" and that its infiltration of a car bomb into Tel Aviv on Seder night with the intention of carrying out an attack was supported by Damascus-based Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal as well as its local West Bank and Gaza terror chiefs.

The officer said that after the car-bomb attack attempt, the IDF rebuilt roadblocks that it had removed in the Kalkilya area as part of a gesture by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in December.

While the IDF was succeeding in curbing the expansion of terrorism in the West Bank, it was possible that without diplomatic progress between Israel and the PA, the Palestinians would increase their involvement in terrorism, and even escalate the situation to a third intifada, the defense official said.

The officer added that Hamas terror chiefs in the West Bank had learned the lessons of their predecessors who were captured by Israeli forces, and were now extremely difficult to apprehend.

"There is no such thing as a vacuum in the territories," he said. "The situation as it is now can lead to either a diplomatic process or to renewed violence."

Saudi Rumor: 'Israeli melons have AIDS'

Zulke geruchten doen geregeld de ronde in de Arabische wereld: Israël zou Palestijnen met AIDS injecteren, bestralen bij de checkpoints, vergiftigde snoepjes aanbieden, het zou een bom ontwikkeld hebben die alleen Arabieren treft en Joden ongemoeid laat, het zou verarmd uranium in Libanon hebben gebruikt, er zouden concentratiekampen zijn op de Westelijke Jordaanoever, enz. enz. Arabieren hebben een rijke fantasie en dichten de Joden bijzondere machten toe.
 
The rumor, despite being denied several times, has gained so much steam in the Arab world that it made it to the front page of one of the most important Arabic language newspapers.
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'Israeli melons have AIDS'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3387545,00.html

Text message spreading through Saudi Arabia claiming melons entering the kingdom from Israel are infected with AIDS causes frenzy. Officials deny rumors

Roee Nahmias Published:  04.13.07, 16:14 / Israel News


"Beware of Israeli melons infected with AIDS arriving in Saudi Arabia!" is the latest rumor being spread throughout Saudi Arabia like a wildfire.

An SMS message being sent around the country this week said, "The Saudi Interior Ministry warns its citizens of a truck loaded with AIDS infected melons that Israel brought into the country via a 'ground corridor.'"

The Interior Minister's spokesman General Mansour al Turki responded to news of the message and made it clear to a-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that the Ministry "did not issue any such announcement. This is just a rumor."

This is not the first rumor to spread through the country recently. Just last month another rumor had it that sweets containing carcinogenic flour were being sold in many stores.

Al Turki urged the public to ignore such passing rumors, and said that the authorities were doing everything in their power to ensure the citizens' wellbeing.

Head of the center for chemicals and toxins in Mecca, Dr Ahmad Elias also stressed that there was no truth to these rumors.

"The center is the first official body that would receive such information, if it were true, in order to investigate and inform the relevant bodies to take the necessary steps," said Elias.

"The HIV virus cannot survive in any temperature other than that of the human body, which cannot be reached in fruits," he explained.

The rumor, despite being denied several times, has gained so much steam in the Arab world that it made it to the front page of one of the most important Arabic language newspapers.

Many received an SMS supposedly from the Saudi Interior Ministry saying, "Please forward quickly."

Malfunction prevents major terror attack

Het is puur geluk dat de passagiers van een bus in Israël twee maanden geleden een wrede dood bespaard is gebleven. De terrorist kon Israël binnenkomen door een opening in de afscheidingsbarriere.
 
In his investigation, the terrorist said that a "long" bus arrived at the stop, packed with passengers on their way to Rishon Lezion. He paid the driver and took a seat at the center of the bus in order to kill as many passengers as possible.

The would-be bomber told his investigators that he began citing Koran verses in his mind, and then pressed the switch and moved it to an ON mode, but the bag did not explode. The terrorist did not give up and pressed the switch four more times.
 
De dader was bij eerdere pogingen tot aanslagen betrokken geweest.
 
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Malfunction prevents major terror attack
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3390139,00.html

Islamic Jihad terrorist captured near Tel Aviv two months ago, after ditching explosive device in Rishon Lezion dumpster. Indictment filed against him this week reveals he attempted to activate device on Israeli bus, but failed to do so apparently due to faulty batteries

Hanan Greenberg Published:  04.20.07, 00:40 / Israel News


Two months ago, security forces arrested an Islamic Jihad terrorist in the city of Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, after he ditched his explosive device in a Rishon Lezion dumpster.

An indictment filed against him this week revealed that the would-be bomber attempted to activate the device, which weighed 15 kilograms, while traveling on a bus from Jaffa to Rishon Lezion, but failed to do so due to a malfunction, apparently because the batteries were faulty.

The Samaria military court ruled that 25-year-old Omar Ahmed Abu al-Rob of Jilabun would remain in custody until the conclusions of the criminal proceedings against him.

The investigation material revealed that it was sheer luck which prevented the death and injury of dozens of Israelis.

The terrorist made his way from Jenin to Tel Aviv via Jerusalem, taking advantage of breaches in the separation fence. The preparations for the attack were carried out comprehensively.

 Islamic Jihad members in the Jenin refugee camp filmed al-Rob carrying an M-16 rifle and reading his will. While he was being filmed, there was a sound of an aircraft, and the group moved to the local hospital. There, in one of the rooms, the filming was completed.

A day before the bombing was scheduled to take place, the terrorist received a bag containing a device with an ON-OFF switch and batteries. He received orders that moving the switch to the ON mode would cause the device to explode.

The terrorist took a taxi from the Jenin area to Ramallah, and then traveled by taxi to the Qalandiya area. He continued to an area where the separation fence was breached and entered Israel. He took an Israeli bus to Jerusalem, and then traveled by taxis to Tel Aviv.

The entire time, he was carrying the explosive bag on his back, but the batteries were not connected.

The investigation revealed that when he arrived in Tel Aviv, he got off the taxi and connected the batteries to the explosive device. The batteries were apparently inserted incorrectly, preventing the device from exploding.

The would-be bomber took the switch out of his back and got into a taxi, looking for the right place to carry out the attack. He asked the driver to drive him to Jaffa. During the drive, he spotted a bus stop and asked the taxi driver to stop the car.


Citing Koran verses

In his investigation, the terrorist said that a "long" bus arrived at the stop, packed with passengers on their way to Rishon Lezion. He paid the driver and took a seat at the center of the bus in order to kill as many passengers as possible.

The would-be bomber told his investigators that he began citing Koran verses in his mind, and then pressed the switch and moved it to an ON mode, but the bag did not explode. The terrorist did not give up and pressed the switch four more times.

After understanding that a technical malfunction prevented the bombing, he continued to Rishon Lezion, where he got off the bus. He ditched the explosive device in a dumpster at a city park and called a friend living in Bat Yam, informing him that he was on his way to his house.

At the same time, security forces received intelligence information and closed the entire Rishon Lezion and Bat Yam area.

The terrorist arrived at his friend's house and the latter attempted to convince him to try and carry out the attack again by entering a restaurant with the explosive bag. However, it was too late, as security forces raided the house and arrested him.

The investigation revealed that Abu al-Rob had been involved in a number of attempts to target IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens.

'Freed Palestinian terrorists would pose immediate threat'

Van de 1400 gevangenen die Hamas eist in ruil voor de Israëlische soldaat, zitten er 450 vast voor het doden van Israëli's. Aangezien de meeste Palestijnen er in Israëlische gevangenissen niet vredelievender op worden, is het niet zo vreemd dat een hogere legerfunctionaris nu waarschuwt voor de risico's van de vrijlating van deze lieden.

"The Palestinians in prison have the terror know-how and the influence over the terror groups," the defense official said. "If they are released they will be taking those qualities with them and we will need to be prepared."

Het is te hopen dat Olmert deze waarschuwingen serieuzer neemt dan de pleidooien van de familie van Shalit dat een gevangenendeal, iedere gevangenendeal, niet alleen hun geliefde of zoon terugbrengt maar ook goed is voor vrede. 

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'Freed Palestinian terrorists would pose immediate threat'
Yaakov Katz, THE JERUSALEM POST Apr. 22, 2007
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1176152848449&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

If hundreds of terrorists are released in exchange for abducted IDF Cpl. Gilad Schalit they will pose an immediate threat to Israeli cities and settlements, a high-ranking defense official told The Jerusalem Post.

Some 1,400 Palestinian security prisoners are on the list of those whose release is demanded by the captors of Schalit, who has been held in the Gaza Strip since June 25.

Should the government accede to the demand, the official said, the IDF would need to modify the way it operates in the West Bank, where the changes would mostly be felt in the Central Command.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has expressed "disappointment and reservations" over the list of prisoners, which is said to include as many as 450 murderers.

A team made up of representatives from the Shin Bet, the Prime Minister's Office and the Justice Ministry is reviewing the criteria for releasing security prisoners in any potential exchange for Schalit. Issues being considered include the terrorist act committed and the amount of time the prisoner has served in jail.

"The Palestinians in prison have the terror know-how and the influence over the terror groups," the defense official said. "If they are released they will be taking those qualities with them and we will need to be prepared."

According to the official, the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) would need to closely follow the Palestinians once they are released from prison. While it would be a government-level decision to release the prisoners, he said, the defense establishment would not hesitate to arrest any of the released prisoners if they resumed their terror activity.

"If they are suddenly good people then we will leave them alone," the official said. "But if they return to dealing in terrorism then we will arrest them."

The remarks came a day after the Post reported that Hamas had recently begun trying to establish a military force in the West Bank similar to the 10,000-strong army it has set up in the Gaza Strip..

Palestijnse regering verheerlijkt geweld

Niet alleen Hamas en door haar gecontroleerde media, maar ook die onder Abbas directe controle roepen op tot geweld tegen Israëlische burgers en verheerlijken 'martelaren die sterven in acties tegen de Zionistische vijand'. Om in Israël serieus genomen te worden als partner voor vrede, zou Abbas er goed aan doen de door hem gecontroleerde media te gebruiken voor een boodschap van verzoening, en aandacht te vragen voor het eigen aandeel van de Palestijnen in het conflict. Het wordt tijd voor een Palestijnse Haaretz. 

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http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2007/04/palestinian-government-again-praises.html

PALESTINIAN REGIME  RESUMES  PRAISING  TERROR  AND ABDUCTION AGAINST ISRAELIS
BY MICHAEL WIDLANSKI - Sunday, 22 April, 2007

    Official Palestinian broadcast media have sharply increased anti-Israeli propaganda in recent days, including explicit and implicit calls for suicide attacks on Israeli civilians and kidnappings of Israeli soldiers.

    "Oh, Lord, martyrdom is [being done] for you," crooned a singer, while pictures of prominent   Palestinian women suicide bombers, clad in white, floated beatifically  across the screen.

   It was part of  a music video aired  today (April 22, 2006) on the PBC television network  under the direct control of Mahmoud Abbas, the PLO Chairman and Palestinian Authority leader. The same video had appeared in the past, but had disappeared after protests from Israel and the United States, but it has now returned, and it is not alone.

   Voice of Palestine radio, also controlled by Dr. Abbas and his Fatah movement, have resumed regular airing of the song "Felastin  Arabiyyeh"-Palestine is Arab-which includes specific praise for "martyrs" acting against "the cowardly enemy."

   And the broadcasts of PBC television and VOP radio have for the last month left no doubt who that enemy is. It is Israel, which is increasingly called "al-'udu al-sihiyouni" (The Zionist Enemy) or "al-kayaan al-sihyouni" (The Zionist Entity) or simply "al-'udu"-The Enemy.

  "The only language the enemy understands is force," declared several different members of Abbas's Palestinian Authority cabinet in broadcasts dedicated to "The Day of the Prisoner" in the last three days.

   While PLO Chairman Abbas has told Israeli officials and American officials that he is working for the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Palestinian officials appearing before Palestinian audiences say that the Palestinians are entitled to use the "Zionist soldier" [Arabic-al-jundi al-sihyouni] to extricate thousands of convicted Arab terrorists from Israeli jails.

   Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli towns in the Negev, such as today and yesterday, are ignored in the Palestinian media, while Israeli strikes at the rocket launchers or terrorists trying to infiltrate bombs into Israeli cities are regularly condemned as "aggression," and the terrorists are lauded as "martyrs" and noble citizens.

   "Nine more martyrs reached the heavens in the last 48 hours," observed Voice of Palestinian radio, referring, in part, to a rocket crew that had attacked the Israeli town of Sderot, destroying a house.

   "These are crimes against humanity," declared Dr. Mustapha Barghouthi, the PA Information Minister, in a statement to the foreign press, referring to the Israeli "assassination" of members of the rocket crew in Gaza and armed terrorists in the West Bank towns of  Nablus and Jenin.

   There are also indications that mosque speeches broadcast by the PA media are turning back to the anti-Semitic themes which regularly appeared during the leadership of Yasser Arafat and the early leadership of Abbas, and it seems there is scant difference between the messages of  Abbas's Fatah movement and the Hamas movement.

   In a mosque speech on March 30, Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan explicitly called for killing Jews, during a Friday prayer address at the Sheikh Zayad Bin-Sultan mosque in Gaza, citing a Hadith-or oral tradition-attributed to Muhammad, Islam's founder:

   "The Day of Judgment will not arrive until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, until the Jew hides behind the stones and the trees; and each stone or tree will say: Oh Muslim, Oh servant of God, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him; except for the gharqad, which is the tree of the Jews.".

[This Hadith is in the introduction to the Hamas charter - ed.]


   The upsurge in official Palestinian hate messages against Israelis dovetails with a sharp rise in rocket attacks and attempted suicide bomb attacks against Israeli targets.

   Israeli Army intelligence reported that during the second half of March there was an increase in the number of rockets fired at Israeli settlements in the western Negev (22 confirmed rocket strikes), following a relative reduction in attacks of the first two weeks of March (12 confirmed rocket impact points).


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Dr. Michael Widlanski is a specialist in Arab politics, terror and communication who has served as a special advisor to Israeli delegations to peace talks in 1991-1992 and as Strategic Affairs Advisor to the Ministry of Public Security, editing secret PLO Archives captured in Jerusalem.

Masked gunmen blow up part of American school in Gaza

Aanvallen op buitenlandse doelen, journalisten en hulpmedewerkers zijn de beste manier om Gaza in nog meer ellende te storten. Deze mensen zitten daar immers om de Gazanen te helpen of over hun situatie te berichten.
 
Salem [directeur van de school] said growing violence in Gaza has prompted most foreign educators to leave the strip for their own safety.
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Last update - 13:49 21/04/2007  

Masked gunmen blow up part of American school in Gaza
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/851022.html
By The Associated Press


Armed assailants set off explosives at an international school in northern Gaza early Saturday, damaging the building but causing no casualties, Palestinian security sources said.

The security sources and school officials said the militants detonated three explosive devices in two of the buildings of the school in the northern Gaza Strip. The blast occurred before the start of the school day and no one was injured in the attack.

The sources added that the assailants had stormed the school, handcuffed its guards and set off explosive devices after moving the nightwatchmen several metres away from the building.

The explosions, which took place at 4 am, caused a fire that burnt most of the furniture at Gaza's only international school.

"A large number of masked gunmen attacked the school at dawn. They poured petrol all around and blew up several explosive devices and destroyed some of the premises," said Rebhi Salem, the school's director.

The gunmen identified themselves as an al Qaeda organization operating in Gaza, Salem said. There have been a rash of attacks in Gaza in recent months attributed to Islamist groups that claim to be followers of al Qaeda.

The school is a private institution that is part of an association of "American Schools" in the Middle East. The
curriculum stresses English as well as Arabic studies. None of the teachers are American.

A U.S. embassy official said the school has no connection to the U.S. government.

The school, located near the former Jewish settlement of Dugit, has been a target before. Two teachers were
kidnapped from the school by gunmen in 2006 and the school was repeatedly hit by Israeli fire during the past few years of Israeli-Palestinian fighting.

Salem said growing violence in Gaza has prompted most foreign educators to leave the strip for their own safety.

Israel puts in $65 million military equipment sale request to U.S.

Dit is de eerste aanvraag voor de aankoop van wapens sinds de Libanon oorlog afgelopen zomer. Turkije, Saoedi-Arabië en Egypte kopen ook geregeld wapens tegen gunstige voorwaarden bij de VS:
 
In a separate notice to Congress on Friday, the Pentagon disclosed a proposed sale to Turkey of MK-54 torpedoes and related equipment valued at up to $105 million.
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Last update - 08:45 21/04/2007  

Israel puts in $65 million military equipment sale request to U.S.

By Reuters
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/851020.html

The Bush administration announced on Friday the first officially disclosed sale of U.S. military equipment to Israel since the end of the Second Lebanon War this past summer.

In a notice to Congress, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Israel had requested as many as 3,500 MK-84 "general purpose" bombs, spares and repair parts plus U.S. government technical assistance in a deal worth up to $65 million if all options are exercised.

General Dynamics Corp. would be the prime contractor. Such congressional notices are required by law for sales that meet certain thresholds, and do not mean a sale has been concluded.

"Israel's strategic position makes it vital to the United States' interests throughout the Middle East," the notice said.

It said U.S. policy has been to promote peace in the Middle East, support the Israeli commitment to peace with its Arab neighbors, enhance regional stability and promote Israeli readiness and self-sufficiency.

"It is vital to the U.S. national interest to assist Israel in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defense capability," the Pentagon added.

The last notification of a proposed sale to Israel meeting public disclosure requirements occurred July 14, two days after the start of the 2006 Lebanon war, and involved a sale of JP-8 aviation jet fuel worth up to $210 million.

On Jan. 29, the State Department said Israel "likely" violated an agreement with Washington in its use of U.S.-made cluster bombs during its war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

A U.S. investigation began after reports that three types of U.S.-origin cluster munitions were found in southern Lebanon and were responsible for civilian deaths. Israel has said it deployed such arms in accordance with international law.

In a separate notice to Congress on Friday, the Pentagon disclosed a proposed sale to Turkey of MK-54 torpedoes and related equipment valued at up to $105 million.

Hamas official: won't recognize Israel - goal is all of Palestine and more

Hoevaak en hoe duidelijk moet Hamas het nog zeggen, voordat duidelijk is dat men Israel niet wil erkennen, en geen vrede wil, en het ' recht op verzet' niet ophoudt bij de pre-1967 grenzen?

If Hamas wanted to recognize "Israel" , we will say it frankly. Hamas does not have the intention to recognize "Israel" at all because we will contradict the Quran with that in the Israa' verse "7" and will contradict ourselves that the occupation should  be eliminated.
(...)
So the views [between Fatah and Hamas] are completely different. They consider that the Palestinian state is 22% from the Palestinian land but we see that we are part of the Islamic and Arabic people. So big difference.

Ook wat betreft de Oslo Akkoorden is Al Zahar zeer duidelijk.

-----------------------------
Zahar: We did not Abandon our rights
19 April 2007 Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas) Websites
www.alqassam.ps/english/?action=showdetail&fid=445


Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahar , the deputy in the Palestinian legislative Council and the former Palestinian Foreign Minister, confirmed that Hamas keeps to the basics, after Mecca agreement,  denying any disputes in Hamas movement.

What happened in Mecca

Dr, Zahhar said that "what happened in Mecca agreement were four issues; firstly , the agreements and laws that are related with the Palestinian issue which was signed by Arab countries and the PLO, but we didn't mean (Oslo agreements), because it is known here that we did not recognize the Oslo Agreement and we will not recognize it at all. Also, the international agreements is  the Geneva agreement which related to the  international law. The  humanitarian law which are war, prisoners of war and others. In addition, there are Arab cooperation agreements in security, economic and others.

Respect is not a law word

" regarding the word " respect" or " accept" .. if I respect your views , it doesn't mean that I accept your views. So , the saying that we are accepting the Oslo agreement is not true"

Q: You mention the word " respect" which evoked the debate recently that it is an introduction to recognize " Israel" ?

What does commitment mean in Law ?? does respect mean commitment ?? If respect means commitment , then why the two words are different in Language ..they are surely different". If Hamas wanted to recognize "Israel" , we will say it frankly. Hamas does not have the intention to recognize "Israel" at all because we will contradict the Quran with that in the Israa' verse "7" and will contradict ourselves that the occupation should  be eliminated.

Q: Some said that "Accepting Hamas of Palestinian State on 67 borders is considered a retreat of the Hamas project " Palestine From Sea to River"?

Zahar : If you read Hamas Charter , we were ready to establish a state on any "Span". That mean : we are ready to establish that state on less than 67 borders or more than that but that doesn't mean that we will leave the whole land. this is a clear point. The interpretations are Zionist interpretations and some other Palestinian factions , who leave the Palestinian issue at all, took these interpretations.

What is the distinction between the political program of Hamas and the political program to the unity government, Which led by one of Hamas leaders Ismail Haniya?

The unity government duration of time is three years but Hamas program is not linked to time. Hamas even after the liberation of Palestine, is looking to the Arab and Islamic world as an Islamic state, forming the Arab-Islamic forces unity. Many of the countries which have national contradictions did that like  the European Union, African Union. Also, Latin America and even the United States of America, which contains of fifty district ruled by the one capital.

 Thus,  Hamas program is forever and the unity government program is three years. Hamas program conditioned by the constants and basics I talked about but the government's program is conditioned with the National agreement document. So the unity government program may be considered a  part of Hamas program.

Q: What are the main differences between the Hamas situations and Fatah situations of the last Palestinian  solutions?

The main difference is that "negotiation" is considered a strategy and a last purpose for them but negotiations are considered a mean for us. They consider that the 67 borders and Al-Quds as a capital is the last solution to the Palestinian issue. Also, they recognize "Israel" to be on 78% of the Palestinian land.

Thirdly, the right of return to the Palestinian refugees is to 48  borders and not to 67  borders. We see that the Palestinian refugees should return to their homes in which they were out of since 1948. So the views are completely different. They consider that the Palestinian state is 22% from the Palestinian land but we see that we are part of the Islamic and Arabic people. So big difference.

Hamas roept op tot geweld tegen Israel

"Barhoum called on Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to stop all the meetings with Israeli leaders and to remain on the Palestinians' side, with the resistance."


Dit spreekt de veelgehoorde opvatting tegen dat Abbas met goedkeuring van Hamas met Israël onderhandelt, en Hamas ook de uitkomst van dergelijke onderhandelingen zou accepteren. Hamas zal er integendeel alles aan doen zulke onderhandelingen te doen mislukken:

"The factions must use all means to retaliate to the Israeli massacres in a way that satisfies the Palestinians, especially the families of martyrs, prisoners and the Mujahideen [fighters]."


Waarschijnlijk kunnen progressieve politici en journalisten perfect uitleggen waarom dit geenszins betekent dat met de Hamas niet te praten valt, en ze 'eigenlijk' best wel pragmatisch zijn geworden.
_____________________________________________________

Hamas urges Palestinians to be ready to confront Israeli forces
Date: 22 / 04 / 2007 Time: 12:19
www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=21398

Gaza - Ma'an - The Hamas movement called for Palestinians to be ready for another round of confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces.

In a press release the spokesman of the Hamas movement, Fawzi Barhoum, said "the blood of our people is not cheap, that is why we urge the Al Qassam Brigades and other resistance factions to act in a united way and abandon their differences. The factions must use all means to retaliate to the Israeli massacres in a way that satisfies the Palestinians, especially the families of martyrs, prisoners and the Mujahideen [fighters]."

Barhoum called on Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to stop all the meetings with Israeli leaders and to remain on the Palestinians' side, with the resistance.

Resistance

He also called for the government and the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and other Palestinian establishments to strengthen the Palestinian people's steadfastness, to strengthen the internal front and support resistance in all available ways.

Barhoum called on the Arab and Islamic world on both official and personal levels to "ensure the necessary financial, political and moral support, and not to be deceived by Israeli lies." He said. "This enemy knows nothing except the language of force and resistance".

Barhoum also said "the occupation with the support of the American administration is trying to make Palestinians concede and abandon their rights in Palestine, Jerusalem, the Al Aqsa Mosque and the right to return."

Palestina: de langste bezetting ter wereld

Aanstaande dinsdag viert Israël conform de Joodse kalender haar onafhankelijkheid, die werd uitgeroepen op 14 mei 1948. De Palestijnen herdenken op 15 mei (de Gregoriaanse kalender volgend) de Nakba, ofwel catastrofe, waarmee die stichting voor hun gepaard ging. Voor hun eigen aandeel daarin is helaas zelden ruimte, en de dag is vooral aanleiding om Israëls bestaansrecht ter discussie te stellen of te ontkennen. In toenemende mate gaan ook Westerlingen mee in dat narratief, en stellen Zionisme gelijk aan expansionisme, agressie, apartheid en onderdrukking. Het positiefste dat men over Zionisme weet te zeggen is meestal dat het een beweging was die de arme Joden na de Holocaust een veilig onderdak verschafte. Het Zionisme had voor de Joden echter een veel diepere betekenis:

Zionism was founded as the national movement of the Jews. The word "Zionism" was coined by Nathan Birnbaum, before the first Zionist congress, but the idea of Jewish return to Israel was as old as the Diaspora, and proto-Zionists began settling the land and talking and writing about return long before Birnbaum coined the term. Zionism arose because Jews understood that they could not exist long as a people in a modern world of nation states without their own land.


Naar aanleiding van Onafhankelijkheidsdag een verfrissend artikel van Ami Isseroff dat laat zien dat de historische band van de Joden met Palestina lange tijd door veel Christenen en ook Moslims werd erkend. De realisatie van de staat Israel heeft dit veranderd, en anti-Zionisme is momenteel een van de grootste bedreigingen voor Israël.

Palestine: The longest occupation in the world

22.04. 2007
http://www.zionism-israel.com/log/archives/00000376.html
Original content copyright by the author
Zionism & Israel Center http://zionism-israel.com

Supporters of the Palestinian cause claim that the occupation of Palestine is the longest occupation in the world. Surely, they are right. Palestine was occupied for nearly 2,000 years. The only people who ever established a sovereign nation in this part of the world, and a unique civilization, were cast out into the deserts of Arabia and the Ghettos of Europe, degraded and persecuted. There, our ancestors lived as second class citizens, or died at the hands of their persecutors, for almost a hundred generations.

For most of this period, the historic connection of the Jews to our land was almost universally recognized and understood by Christian and Muslim alike, though Christian replacement theology insisted that the inheritance of the land had been taken from the Jews as punishment.

Since the publication of the Protestant Vulgate
Bible in the 16th century, the historic right of the Jews to their homeland became evident to most Christians, in accordance with their own beliefs. The restoration of the Jews was a beloved project of nineteenth century American and British statesmen, theologians and dreamers. Numerous American presidents including Abraham Lincoln spoke out in favor of the rights of the Jews in Palestine.

Muslims and Arabs also understood the rights of the Jews in Palestine. The Emir Feisal, son of Sherif Hussain and later King of Iraq, indicated the willingness of Arabs to welcome Jews to Palestine, and implicitly recognized that the land of Israel is the historic homeland of the Jews. He wrote to
Justice Frankfurter at the Paris peace conference in 1919:

I want to take this opportunity of my first contact with American Zionists to tell you what I have often been able to say to Dr. Weizmann in Arabia and Europe.

We feel that the Arabs and Jews are cousins in having suffered similar oppressions at the hands of powers stronger than themselves, and by a happy coincidence have been able to take the first step towards the attainment of their national ideals together.

We Arabs, especially the educated among us look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement. Our deputation here in Paris is fully acquainted with the proposals submitted yesterday by the Zionist Organisation to Peace Conference, and we regard them as moderate proper. We will do our best, in so far as we are concerned, to help them through: we will wish the Jews a most hearty welcome home. (emphasis added)

With the chiefs of your movement, especially with Dr. Weizmann, we have had and continue to have the closest relations. He has been a great helper of our cause, and I hope the Arabs may soon be in a position to make the Jews some return for their kindness. We are working together for a reformed and revived Near East, and our two movements complete one another. The Jewish movement is national and not imperialist. Our movement is national and not imperialist, and there is room in Syria for us both. Indeed I think that neither can be a real success without the other.

There are still not a few Muslims who support the cause of the Jews in our own land.

The establishment of Israel in 1948 was the fulfilment of an historic desire, an age-old dream of many Christians as well as Jews. The longest occupation in the world had ended.

The Jews unfortunately had recited "Next Year in Jerusalem" for so long, and with so little result, that some among us no longer believed the words they were saying. Others were reluctant to accept our good fortune as reality, after so many bitter disappointments and setbacks. But the flame of national feeling had not died in the hearts of most of the Jewish people.

How sad it is, that after the achievement of this dream of one hundred generations, the world is suddenly being made to forget what it once believed, and to deny what it took for granted not so long ago! The Arabs, far from wishing the Jews a hearty welcome home, gave us many twenty one gun salutes, with loaded guns. The kindness of Weizmann to the Arabs was returned by rioters incited by the
Grand Mufti, Hajj Amin Al Husseini. Failing to destroy Israel with guns, the Arabs enlisted anti-Zionists and the USSR to claim that Zionism is racism, Zionism is a colonialist movement, and more recently, to conduct a concerted campaign to erase the historic right of the Jews to Israel (or "Palestine") from the collective memory of the world.

This campaign is being conducted on many fronts and in many ways. The first and most subtle challenge to Jewish rights was the thesis that Israel was created only as a shelter for persecuted Jews or that it was created as the result of the Holocaust. It is evident for example, in this misleading and inaccurate definition of Zionism, which seems harmless at first:

A Jewish movement that arose in the late 19th century in response to growing anti-Semitism and sought to reestablish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Modern Zionism is concerned with the support and development of the state of Israel.

This is a definition that most people would accept, but it is not entirely correct. Zionism was founded as the national movement of the Jews. The word "Zionism" was coined by Nathan Birnbaum, before the first Zionist congress, but the idea of Jewish return to Israel was as old as the Diaspora, and proto-Zionists began settling the land and talking and writing about return long before Birnbaum coined the term. Zionism arose because Jews understood that they could not exist long as a people in a modern world of nation states without their own land.

From the argument that Israel was founded as a refuge for Jews from anti-Semitic persecution, it is a short jump to a pernicious claim. The word "reestablish" in the above definition is changed to "establish" and the historic tie of the Jews with Israel and with Jerusalem is erased. This becomes the basis for the argument that the Arabs and Muslims should not have to "pay for the sins of Europe," and to the argument that "Nakba," as they call it, of the Palestinian Arabs, was another "Holocaust" created by attempts to redress the wrongs done to the Jews. Consequently, Israel Independence day is turned from a day of celebration to a day of mourning. The Arabs of Palestine created their own Nakba when they, along with the Arab states, tried to destroy the Jewish state, rather than accepting it alongside their own state. The Arab refugees of 1948 were no more victims than the Germans of the Sudetensland who tried to destroy Czechoslovakia.

That is one sort of attack on the legitimacy of the Jewish state. The "Apartheid Israel" campaign popularized by
Jimmy Carter's Apartheid book is a second approach. Along with the idea that Israel was created as a refuge for the Jews, and a special favor granted by the Christian world out of their magnanimity, Carter ignores Zionism almost entirely and portrays Israel primarily as the "homeland" of Jesus and Christianity, but he doesn't deny the rights of Jews to a homeland in our own country. However, the apartheid campaign itself was created explicitly with the intent of promoting the idea that Zionism is an evil ideology, equivalent to the white supremacism of South Africa.

At the same time, there is a constantly growing din of voices in the Jewish community, led by anti-Zionists, who use "legitimate criticism of Israel" as a slogan to cover their real intent. Their ideological position and their agitation has nothing to do with the occupation and did not arise because of it. The people who are running this campaign are not going to stop at Hebron or Ariel or even East Jerusalem. They want "Palestine" from the river to the sea, and they do not hide their intentions.

In masking themselves as "peace" groups or groups that advocate democracy, anti-Zionists have set up dangerous traps both for those Zionists who oppose the occupation and for advocates of Greater Israel. Those who oppose the occupation are tempted to form alliances with anti-Zionists with the best intentions. They may join the bandwagon in order to demonstrate their loyalty to "progressive" causes. They become dupes aiding in their own destruction. The Greater Israel advocates can fall into the trap by vociferously insisting on unrealistic goals and military solutions, providing the "proof" that the anti-Zionists use to show that "Zionism" is identical with "Greater Israel" and with "colonialism," and is opposed to peace.

This is a campaign to erase the historic tie of the Jewish people to our land and to break the foundations of the recognized right of the Jewish people to a state in Israel. It is potentially the ultimate threat to Israel and to the existence of our people as a nation. If it succeeds, it will destroy Israel with much more certainty, and more completely and permanently, than the genocidal terrorists of the Hezbollah and the
Hamas, or even the nuclear threats of the Iranians. If Israel is destroyed or becomes a "secular democratic state," then in the best case, the Jews will return to being a religious sect or ethnic group, living as guests at the mercy of all the nations of the world, including the Arab masters of "Palestine." It is doubtful, however, that a dispersed group of this type could long survive as a group, especially after the blow dealt to Judaism by the Holocaust. A remnant might survive in isolated communities that maintain the medieval traditions that are no longer relevant to modern life. Nothing would be left of the Jews but groups such as the Neturei Karteh. Remember, Zionism arose because Jews understood that they could not exist long as a people in a world of modern nation states without their own land. Anti-Zionism can destroy the Jewish people if it succeeds.

As we celebrate the anniversary of the end of the longest occupation in the world, we must remember: Fighting the delegitimization of Israel and the denial of the right to self determination to the Jewish people is the most important task of every Zionist organization, regardless of political differences about the occupation, peace negotiations, or any other consideration.

Happy Yom Haatzmaut!

Ami Isseroff



Original content is Copyright by the author 2007. Posted at ZioNation-Zionism and Israel Web Log, http://www.zionism-israel.com/log/archives/00000376.html where your intelligent and constructive comments are welcome. Disributed by ZNN list. Subscribe by sending a message to ZNN-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Please forward by e-mail with this notice, cite this article and link to it. Other uses by permission only.