"GAZA, (PIC)-- The PA leadership's negotiation with Israel in Annapolis on the basis of accepting a "Jewish state" in return for a Palestinian state would constitute a serious plot to liquidate the Palestine cause, a senior Hamas leader said on Wednesday.
Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil, spokesman of Hamas's parliamentary bloc, asserted that the Israeli president's talk about a "Jewish state" was "very serious" because it would practically mean that such a state was entitled to expel one and half million Palestinians living in the 1948 occupied lands.
It also means that none of the six million Palestinian refugees living in the diaspora are entitled to return to their homeland and that Jerusalem would be prohibited before all Palestinians.
Israeli president Shimon Peres had said during an address at the Turkish parliament on Tuesday that negotiations at the Annapolis conference would be based on Palestinian recognition of a "Jewish state" in return for recognizing a Palestinian state.
Bardawil affirmed that Hamas would never allow such a step to materialize, warning the PA leadership that accepting such a condition would be "political suicide"."
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The Lobby
Why No American President Will Stand Up to Israel
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
CounterPunch
"Experts in the West and ordinary people in Arab lands have understood for many years that the United States does not have an independent policy toward the Middle East. President Jimmy Carter, a man of good will, tried to use American influence to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the source of dangerous instability in the Middle East. However, Israel was able to block Carter's attempt, while blaming Yasser Arafat. Carter's plan would have given rise to a Palestinian state. Israel did not want any such state, because obvious military aggression is necessary in order to steal the territory of an official state with defined borders. It is much easier to steal land from a non-state......
In America today academics and intellectuals who fail to toe the Lobby's line are unlikely to receive support from conservative or liberal foundations. Even Mearsheimer and Walt's article, "The Israel Lobby," commissioned by the Atlantic Monthly and from which their book evolved, had to be published overseas in The London Review of Books when the Atlantic Monthly's editors' courage failed them.
American patriots who glorify in their country's status as the "sole superpower" have much to learn about the subservience of their country's foreign policy to a tiny state of five million people. There is no better place to begin than with Mearsheimer and Walt's The Israel Lobby."
Venezuela Between Ballots and Bullets
Venezuelan Democracy, the Presidency of Hugo Chavez and the Great Majority of Popular Classes Face a Mortal Threat
By JAMES PETRAS
CounterPunch
"Venezuela's democratically elected Present Chavez faces the most serious threat since the April 11, 2002 military coup.
Violent street demonstrations by privileged middle and upper middle class university students have led to major street battles in and around the center of Caracas. More seriously, the former Minister of Defense, General Raul Isaias Baduel, who resigned in July, has made explicit calls for a military coup in a November 5 press conference which he convoked exclusively for the right and far-right mass media and political parties, while striking a posture as an 'individual' dissident.......
President Chavez is correctly 'evaluating the high command' and states that he 'has full confidence in the national armed forces and their components.' Yet the best guarantee is to strike hard and fast, precisely against Baduel's followers and cohorts. Rounding up a few dozen or hundred military plotters is a cheap price to pay for saving the lives of thousands of workers and activists who would be massacred in any bloody seizure of power.
History has repeatedly taught that when you put social democracy, egalitarianism and popular power at the top of the political agenda, as Chavez has done, and as the vast majority of the populace enthusiastically responds, the Right, the reactionary military, the 'Centrist' political defectors and ideologues, the White House, the hysterical middle classes and the Church cardinals will sacrifice any and all democratic freedoms to defend their property, privileges and power by whatever means and at whatever cost necessary. In the current all-pervasive confrontation between the popular classes of Venezuela and their oligarchic and military enemies, only by morally, politically and organizationally arming the people can the continuity of the democratic process of social transformation be guaranteed.
Change will come, the question is whether it will be through the ballot or the bullet."
By JAMES PETRAS
CounterPunch
"Venezuela's democratically elected Present Chavez faces the most serious threat since the April 11, 2002 military coup.
Violent street demonstrations by privileged middle and upper middle class university students have led to major street battles in and around the center of Caracas. More seriously, the former Minister of Defense, General Raul Isaias Baduel, who resigned in July, has made explicit calls for a military coup in a November 5 press conference which he convoked exclusively for the right and far-right mass media and political parties, while striking a posture as an 'individual' dissident.......
President Chavez is correctly 'evaluating the high command' and states that he 'has full confidence in the national armed forces and their components.' Yet the best guarantee is to strike hard and fast, precisely against Baduel's followers and cohorts. Rounding up a few dozen or hundred military plotters is a cheap price to pay for saving the lives of thousands of workers and activists who would be massacred in any bloody seizure of power.
History has repeatedly taught that when you put social democracy, egalitarianism and popular power at the top of the political agenda, as Chavez has done, and as the vast majority of the populace enthusiastically responds, the Right, the reactionary military, the 'Centrist' political defectors and ideologues, the White House, the hysterical middle classes and the Church cardinals will sacrifice any and all democratic freedoms to defend their property, privileges and power by whatever means and at whatever cost necessary. In the current all-pervasive confrontation between the popular classes of Venezuela and their oligarchic and military enemies, only by morally, politically and organizationally arming the people can the continuity of the democratic process of social transformation be guaranteed.
Change will come, the question is whether it will be through the ballot or the bullet."
حرب الاحتلال والسلطة على حماس في الضفة
ياسر الزعاترة
".....معالم حرب الاستئصال في الضفة
في هذا السياق المتعلق بمعالم حرب الاستئصال يبدو من الصعب التوقف كثيرا عند الحوادث الخاصة، اللهم إلا في سياق ضرب الأمثلة، إذ إننا إزاء حرب تجاوزت كل الحدود والأعراف والأخلاق، ولا قيمة هنا للمقارنة مع قطاع غزة الذي لا يعرف إلى الآن الاعتقال السياسي، حيث يتجول قادة فتح فيه بحرية، ويتحدثون إلى وسائل الإعلام من دون رقيب ولا حسيب.
أما التذكير بما جرى أيام الاقتتال فلا قيمة له، لأن حزب دحلان هو السبب وليس حماس التي احتفلت بحكومة الوحدة الوطنية ولم ترد أكثر منها رغم ما انطوت عليه صيغتها من تنازلات.
بحسب إحصاءات حماس، وفي شهر رمضان وحده اختطف 140 عنصرا من عناصرها، ودوهم 21 مسجدا، في حين اقتحمت 26 مؤسسة لأصحابها صلة ما بالحركة، ومعظمها صلات شخصية، مع العلم أن عدد الاعتداءات التي أحصيت على الأفراد والمؤسسات منذ الحسم العسكري في قطاع غزة وحتى بداية رمضان قد بلغ 1324 اعتداء، أما الأهم فهو أن وتيرة الاعتداءات بعد عيد الفطر المبارك قد تصاعدت على نحو ملفت، وإن لم تتوفر لنا إحصاءات حتى كتابة هذه السطور.
المعلم الأول من معالم العدوان على حركة حماس في الضفة الغربية يتعلق باعتقال عناصرها، الأمر الذي تجاوز سائر الخطوط الحمراء، إذ لم يجر الإبقاء على أي قيادي أو رمز شعبي، بما في ذلك الأسرى المحررون وعلماء الدين والخطباء، فضلا عن الطلبة والطالبات.
عندما يداهم بيت الشيخ سعيد بلال، أحد أهم أعيان نابلس ويعتقل ابنه البكر (بكر) الخارج لتوه من المعتقل الصهيوني بعد قضاء خمس سنوات، والذي يقضي إخوته القساميون الثلاثة أحكاما رهيبة بالسجن (معاذ 27 مؤبدا، وعثمان الضرير، نعم الضرير 11 عاما، والثالث مؤبدان) نجد أنفسنا أمام اعتداء يستفز مشاعر الناس، مع العلم أن بكر قضى أسبوعين رهن الاعتقال ولم يفرج عنه إلا بعد وساطات كثيرة.
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وسائل الإعلام والتعتيم
هذه الحرب التي تشنها السلطة على أكبر حركة في الشعب الفلسطيني لا تجد صداها في وسائل الإعلام، والسبب هو خوف أصحابها من بطش السلطة، فضلا عن انحياز بعضها الطبيعي ضد حماس.
مع العلم أن الإعلام يعمل بحرية في قطاع غزة، بما في ذلك صحف السلطة التي توزع في القطاع رغم تفننها في هجاء الحركة، بينما تمنع صحيفتي الرسالة وفلسطين التابعتين لحماس من الطباعة والتوزيع في الضفة، بل يطارد أي متعاون أو حتى متحدث في بعض الأحيان إلى فضائية الأقصى التابعة للحركة.
.....
....."
Hamas Sniper Wounds Israeli Soldier at Gaza Border
Al-Manar
"14/11/2007 A Hamas resistance sniper shot and wounded an Israeli occupation soldier on Wednesday near the border with the Gaza Strip, sources on both sides said. The shooting took place near the main Erez crossing point between the occupied territories and the Gaza Strip, an Israeli spokesman said, without specifying on which side of the border the soldier was hit.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic resistance Hamas movement claimed responsibility for the attack.
Israel has been launching frequent raids and air strikes across the Gaza Strip in a bid to halt rocket fire launched by Palestinian resistance fighters on the occupied territories."
Torturing Palestinian Detainees
by Stephen Lendman
Global Research, November 14, 2007
"B'Tselem is the conservative Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories with a well-deserved reputation for accuracy. A group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists and Knesset members founded the organization in 1989 to "document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel" to convince government officials to respect human rights and comply with international law.
Its work covers a wide range of human rights issues that include detentions and torture. In May, 2007, it prepared a detailed 100 page report titled "Absolute Prohibition: The Torture and Ill-treatment of Palestinian Detainees" that's now available in print for those who request it. This article summarizes its findings that represent a joint effort by B'Tselem and HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual that was founded in 1988 to support Palestinian rights during the first intifada in the late 1980s........"
Global Research, November 14, 2007
"B'Tselem is the conservative Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories with a well-deserved reputation for accuracy. A group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists and Knesset members founded the organization in 1989 to "document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel" to convince government officials to respect human rights and comply with international law.
Its work covers a wide range of human rights issues that include detentions and torture. In May, 2007, it prepared a detailed 100 page report titled "Absolute Prohibition: The Torture and Ill-treatment of Palestinian Detainees" that's now available in print for those who request it. This article summarizes its findings that represent a joint effort by B'Tselem and HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual that was founded in 1988 to support Palestinian rights during the first intifada in the late 1980s........"
Benazir vs. Musharraf is Punch vs. Judy
By Tony Karon
"Shlent was the marvelous onomatopoeic term we used in my student activist days, as verb or noun, to describe the stage managing of an event or process in a manner that allowed its appearance to camouflage a power play. (The sound shlent to me always evoked heavy pieces falling smoothly into place.) And I can think of no better term to describe the bogus “showdown” we’re being sold involving Pakistan’s General Pervez Musharraf and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. In fact, appearances aside (although they camouflage very little), it’s plain that Bhutto and Musharraf are still involved in an elaborate U.S.-brokered negotiation process to divide the spoils of power in what might be called Pakistan’s Team America. Musharraf’s police may periodically prevent her from leaving her house, but they’re largely doing her the favor of providing her an excuse for refraining from leading her supporters in confrontation with the regime......
.......It’s probably no coincidence that Pakistan’s most sustained period of civilian rule came during the 1990s, when the Cold War was over and the U.S. simply had no need for Pakistan or interest in its domestic affairs. The fact that the civilian leadership in this period, both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, was not only incompetent, but also incorrigibly kleptocratic is not a result of U.S. agendas. It may simply be a by-product of decades of authoritarian rule — and Pakistan’s military, itself, is said to own about a third of the economy. Musharraf’s overthrow of Nawaz Sharif was greeted with a shrug in Washington. It was only after 9/11 that Pakistan came back in fashion, and with it the idea of Musharraf as an “indispensable” ally. Yes, it may be true that the extremists that threaten the U.S. also threaten Musharraf. But not in the same way. And nor is that likely to make Musharraf follow the U.S. agenda, for the simple reason that he’s well aware that most Pakistanis take a dim view of Washington’s “war on terror.”......"
Pakistan, Bush and the bomb
By Jonathan Schell
Asia Times
"......If the Bush doctrine laid claim to the values of democracy, its man Musharraf now has the distinction, rare even among dictators, of mounting a second military coup to maintain the results of his first one. In a crowning irony, his present crackdown is on democracy activists, not the Taliban, armed Islamic extremists, or al-Qaeda supporters who have established positions in the Swat Valley only a few hundred kilometers from Islamabad.
Most important, the collapsed doctrine has stoked the nuclear fires it was meant to quench. The dangers of nuclear terrorism, of proliferation and even of nuclear war (with India, which is dismayed by developments in Pakistan as well as the weak Bush administration response to them) are all on the rise.
The imperial solution to these perils has failed. Something new is needed, not just for Pakistan or Iraq, but for the world. Perhaps now someone should try to invent a solution based on imperialism's opposite, democracy, which is to say respect for other countries and the wills of the people who live in them."
Asia Times
"......If the Bush doctrine laid claim to the values of democracy, its man Musharraf now has the distinction, rare even among dictators, of mounting a second military coup to maintain the results of his first one. In a crowning irony, his present crackdown is on democracy activists, not the Taliban, armed Islamic extremists, or al-Qaeda supporters who have established positions in the Swat Valley only a few hundred kilometers from Islamabad.
Most important, the collapsed doctrine has stoked the nuclear fires it was meant to quench. The dangers of nuclear terrorism, of proliferation and even of nuclear war (with India, which is dismayed by developments in Pakistan as well as the weak Bush administration response to them) are all on the rise.
The imperial solution to these perils has failed. Something new is needed, not just for Pakistan or Iraq, but for the world. Perhaps now someone should try to invent a solution based on imperialism's opposite, democracy, which is to say respect for other countries and the wills of the people who live in them."
US eyes Pakistan's nuclear arsenal
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
Asia Times
"......Contacts close to the power circles in Pakistan told Asia Times Online that there is a feeling that the US is prepared to take "hurricane" measures to ensure the safety of the country's nuclear arsenal. The thinking goes that by changing horses and supporting Bhutto, the US could exploit the current unrest by dictating new terms to Pakistan in the "war on terror" and coerce it into allowing the US to safeguard its nuclear stockpile.
US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte is due to travel to Pakistan this week to meet with senior officials and call for free and fair elections, echoing Bhutto's stance......
Indeed, the US belief that it could in some way get its hands on Pakistan's "red" nuclear buttons, by exploiting unrest for which it is partly responsible, sends alarm bells ringing in Islamabad.
Enter, therefore, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, whom Musharraf is expected to meet "soon" in Riyadh for what the official Pakistani media describe as "important discussions".....
He elaborated that Muslim ruling elites are as a result becoming marginalized from their people and thus the masses could not be controlled. He clearly warned the pope to advise Western leaders that their policies would create an explosive situation in Palestine in the very near future and nobody, not even he (Abdullah), would be able to control it......."
Asia Times
"......Contacts close to the power circles in Pakistan told Asia Times Online that there is a feeling that the US is prepared to take "hurricane" measures to ensure the safety of the country's nuclear arsenal. The thinking goes that by changing horses and supporting Bhutto, the US could exploit the current unrest by dictating new terms to Pakistan in the "war on terror" and coerce it into allowing the US to safeguard its nuclear stockpile.
US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte is due to travel to Pakistan this week to meet with senior officials and call for free and fair elections, echoing Bhutto's stance......
Indeed, the US belief that it could in some way get its hands on Pakistan's "red" nuclear buttons, by exploiting unrest for which it is partly responsible, sends alarm bells ringing in Islamabad.
Enter, therefore, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, whom Musharraf is expected to meet "soon" in Riyadh for what the official Pakistani media describe as "important discussions".....
He elaborated that Muslim ruling elites are as a result becoming marginalized from their people and thus the masses could not be controlled. He clearly warned the pope to advise Western leaders that their policies would create an explosive situation in Palestine in the very near future and nobody, not even he (Abdullah), would be able to control it......."
Canada, Hizballah and terrorism: An interview with Tariq Ali
Stefan Christoff, Electronic Lebanon, 14 November 2007
"In 2002 Canada unveiled an official list of "terrorist" organizations, strikingly similar to that of the the US government. Today the Lebanese political movement Hizballah -- both the military and political wing -- is officially considered a "terrorist" organization by the government of Canada, a policy endorsed by only two additional countries internationally -- the US and Israel......
In an interview conducted in Montreal, novelist, historian and political campaigner Tariq Ali discusses the history of Hizballah as a political force in Lebanon and the Middle East, as well as Canada's designation of the movement as "terrorist" in the post-9/11 political environment.......
ALI: The goals [of] this categorization are to totally isolate the resistance organization and try to show the population that it's not acting in their interests. However, Israel failed miserably to do this in the case of Lebanon. Hizballah won enormous respect from all layers of Lebanese society as a result of what it did to resist Israel........"
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Hamas Debates the Future - Palestine’s Islamic Resistance Movement Attempts to Reconcile Ideological Purity and Political Realism
A Conflicts Forum Monograph, by Khalid Amayreh
"Palestine’s Islamic Resistance Movement — Hamas — won a surprising electoral victory in the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections. Almost immediately, Hamas leaders, movement activists, and Islamist academics began to debate the future course of the movement. Under what conditions would Hamas recognize Israel? What was its place as a movement in the Middle East? How should it approach the question of governance of the Palestinian territories? And finally, and most importantly, how would it balance its need to remain an Islamist party while adopting more pragmatic political programs?....."
Abbas bamboozled again
A Great Piece
By Khalid Amayreh in Occupied East Jerusalem
"While Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is acting tough toward Hamas, probably in order to impress Israel and her guardian-ally, the United States , the way he has been running the “peace show” with the Zionist occupiers is characterized by utter flaccidity, striking naivety and excessive stupidity.
Indeed, after months of high-pitched and seemingly cordial meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a man known more for his deceitfulness and criminality than for his proneness to peace, Abbas has apparently decided to revert to the dormant “roadmap,” the American-sponsored plan for “peace” between the Zionist state and the Palestinians.
A few weeks ago, Palestinian officials in Ramallah, from Abbas to his un-elected Prime Minister Salam Fayadh to the numerous other spokespersons and hangers-on, issued a plethora of statements warning that the PA wouldn’t attend the Annapolis conference, slated to take place in Maryland later this month, unless Israel agreed to a detailed timetable for the creation of a Palestinian state. Now, surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, the PA leadership has forgotten all of these conditions and warnings and seems to have settled for the implementation of the deformed hodgepodge known as the roadmap.
For those who have forgotten or don’t know, the roadmap speaks of the creation of a viable Palestinian state but makes no mention of a full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories. The plan, which some pundits claim was originally envisaged by Israel and her American Jewish operatives in Washington, called for the creation of a temporary state, with temporary borders, with no right of return and with major Jewish colonies in the West Bank, especially in E. Jerusalem, eventually annexed to Israel . In other words, the roadmap is a corrupted carbon copy of the originally corrupt and vague Oslo Accords. And as was the case with the Oslo agreement, the roadmap is suffering from the same monumental vagueness which is usually manipulated in favor of the powerful party, e.g. Israel .
In fact, a fleeting examination of the roadmap reveals that there are two roadmaps, not one: The one adopted and interpreted by the PA, which is seen as a scheme that would lead to ending the Israeli occupation and creation of a viable and genuine Palestinian state on 100% of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. And then there is the Israeli roadmap, which would perpetuate Israeli occupation, control and apartheid while giving the appearance of a mutually-accepted peace. So, one would wonder which roadmap whose implementation PA officials have agreed would be the basis of future peace talks with Israel? I have struggled to obtain a credible answer from the Ramallah-based officials, but to no avail.
So, what is that supposed to suggest? Are these people in Ramallah inebriated, or under the influence of something? Forget what they say in their bombastic speeches and fiery statements to the largely pliant Palestinian media, since they say quite the opposite to the Israeli and western media. These people simply can’t be trusted.
As we all know, Israel has been insisting that the pledges George Bush made to Ariel Sharon in 2004, that Israel would have the right to annex major settlements in the West Bank in the context of a final-status solution, are part and parcel of the roadmap. And how about the 14 reservations Israel appended to its formal acceptance of the roadmap in 2003? Are they also part of it?
So, we ask our Palestinian leaders and negotiators: Are these infamous pledges part of the roadmap? If yes, then you are no better than cheap stupid quislings working, knowingly or unknowingly, for the enemy, which qualify you for a treatment and a fate befitting traitors. And if not, then why are you embracing a plan you don’t know what it is and what it means and implies?
Finally, Abbas has been telling Arab and western media that he would be willing to trade large parts of East Jerusalem, covered by Jewish colonies such as Ma’ali Adomim, Har Homa, Pisgat Ze’ev, etc, for land of the same area and quality? Well, this is stupidity bordering on treason. Who in his right mind would trade the vicinity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque for a real estate elsewhere? Are Abbas and his followers out of their minds? Are they adopting the old adage “feed me today, and slaughter me tomorrow”?"
دايتون يعبث بالدم الفلسطيني
بقلم : د. عبد الستار قاسم
".....
....هذا الشخص هو الذي يعبث بالدم الفلسطيني الآن في الضفة الغربية، وهو الذي يتدخل مباشرة بالنشاطات الأمنية، وهو الذي يقدر كيفية دعم الأجهزة الأمنية الفلسطينية وكيفية توجيهها نحو الأعمال التي ترضي إسرائيل وأمريكا أمنيا. إنه يجلس في مكتبه يخطط، ويقوم بزيارات ميدانية ليطلع مباشرة على أداء الأجهزة الأمنية الفلسطينية. إنه هو صاحب الكلمة المسموعة في واشنطون حول السلاح الذي يجب تقديمه للسلطة الفلسطينية، ونوعيته، وحول الأموال المطلوبة لدعم النشاطات الأمنية الفلسطينية، وهو يتدخل أيضا في توصيات تعيين مسؤولين أمنيين فلسطينيين. يشكل مع جيكوب واليس، القنصل الأمريكي، في القدس أقوى بؤرة تأثير الآن في الضفة الغربية من نواحي اجتمعاية وسياسية وأمنية واقتصادية ومالية. إنهما يتحملان مسؤولية كبيرة في إدارة شؤون الفلسطينيين.
ماذا يريد دايتون؟ دايتون يريد التأكيد على أمن إسرائيل لكي يتم إحراز أي تقدم في العملية التفاوضية. أمن إسرائيل أولا، وأمنها آخرا، وبدون ذلك لا يمكن أن تأذن إسرائيل بتقدم تفاوضي، ولا يمكن أن تناقش حقوقا وطنية بجدية. إنه يؤكد على البنود الأمنية الواردة في اتفاق أوسلو وما بني عليه من اتفاقات مثل اتفاقية طابا، وعلى ما ورد في خريطة الطريق. تقضي خريطة الطريق بضرورة قيام السلطة الفلسطينية بمهام أمنية مثل تجريد المقاومة الفلسطينية من السلاح وملاحقة المقاومين، وتدمير البنى التحتية للإرهاب. وعلى ذلك، يجب دعم السلطة الفلسطينية ماليا وتسليحا وتجهيزا لكي تتمكن من القيام بالمهام المطلوبة منها.
هذا أمر ليس غريبا حيث قامت السلطة الفلسطينية منذ عدة سنوات باعتقال فلسطينيين وزجتهم بالسجون، وأفشلت عمليات عسكرية لفصائل فلسطينية، واستولت على مواقع قالت إنها مخصصة لصناعة المتفجرات أو تستعمل نزليا (لوجستيا) من قبل مقاومين فلسطينيين. مطلوب من السلطة الآن تجديد النشاط ولكن بصورة أكثر قوة وعنفا.
ولد هذا السلوك من قبل السلطة الكثير من الكراهية والبغضاء في المجتمع الفلسطيني وصنع الأحقاد التي يتم التعبير عنها بوسائل وأساليب مختلفة. ووصل الحد إلى درجة الاقتتال الفلسطيني، وقتل مئات الفلسطينيين. لقد دفع الشعب الفلسطيني ثمنا باهظا جدا في محاولة السلطة تطبيق الشق الأمني من الاتفاقيات المبرمة، وقد فاق الضرر أي فائدة يمكن جنيها من هذا التطبيق. مات الفلسطينيون ولم تتولد في القضية الفلسطينية حياة. تذبل فلسطين مع كل خصام فلسطيني داخلي.
المفروض أن يشكل الماضي عبرا للجميع لكي يُستفاد منها. أثبت الزمن أن المقاومة الفلسطينية تأخذ أشكالا مختلفة وفق ظروف المرحلة، وأن كل محاولات القضاء على المقاومة سواء من قبل إسرائيل أو الأنظمة العربية أو السلطة الفلسطينية قد فشلت. الشعب الفلسطيني مشرد وواقع تحت الاحتلال، والمنطق التاريخي يؤكد أن أعمال العنف ضد القوة المحتلة ستستمر مهما كانت عظمة وجبروت الجهات المقابلة. ليس من المتوقع إطلاقا أن تنتهي المقاومة الفلسطينية تحت وطأة الضربات، وكل من يظن غير ذلك لن يحصد غير الخيبة.
لا ألمح هنا بأن المقاومة الفلسطينية مستعرة وقوية، لكنني أقول إن فكرة المقاومة ستبقى قائمة، وإن محاولة القضاء على المقاومة مهما كانت ضعيفة لن تنجح. جربت دول كثيرة مارست الاستعمار والاحتلال هذا، ولم تنجح.
فشلت السلطة الفلسطينية في جولتها السابقة ضد المقاومة، ولا يوجد الآن أي سبب يدفعنا إلى الظن بأنها ستنجح. وضعت السلطة الفلسطينية نفسها في السابق موضع الشك، وهي الآن تضع نفسها في ذات الخانة. إنها تحاول تغطية رغبات دايتون الآن بمحاربة الفلتان الأمني الذي صنعته هي، ولكي تكسب ود الناس. لكن ماذا بعد القضاء على الفلتان؟ نحن نستطيع القضاء على الفلتان بدون "عبقرية" دايتون، والمسألة تحتاج فقط إلى جهود بسيطة من قبل السلطة وبعض التحرك الشعبي المنظم الذي يمكن أن ترعاه السلطة. أما استعمال الحرب على الفلتان من أجل تبرير جمع السلاح من أيدي حماس والجهاد والمقاومين من شهداء الأقصى فلن يجدي السلطة نفعا، وسيرتد عليها.
كان من الأولى للسلطة الفلسطينية أن تتعلم من تجربة غزة، وأنا أقول لمن يحملون لواءها الآن بأن استمرار الجري وراء دايتون سينتهي بهم مشردين خارج البلاد، ولن يلتفت إليهم عندئذ دايتون ولن يقدم الإسعاف. الحل الأمثل هو أن نعود إلى أنفسنا لنفكر معا بمعزل عن أمريكا وإسرائيل، وأنا واثق بأننا قادرون على إيجاد المعادلات التي تمكننا من التغلب على الأزمة.
سبق أن تم نصحكم مرارا وتكرارا منذ مؤتمر الجزائر عام 1988 مرورا بمدريد وأوسلو، ولم تستمعوا لنصيحة. ورطتم أنفسكم ومعكم الشعب الفلسطيني، وأدخلتم زناة عملاء ساقطين يخدمون أعداءنا إلى مخادعنا. نرجو أن تدركوا أن نصيحة الفلسطيني تبقى أهلية مهما كانت ساذجة، أما مواعظ دايتون وأشكاله وزبائنهم من الفلسطينيين والعرب لن تكون إلا وبالا على رؤوس الجميع. "
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....هذا الشخص هو الذي يعبث بالدم الفلسطيني الآن في الضفة الغربية، وهو الذي يتدخل مباشرة بالنشاطات الأمنية، وهو الذي يقدر كيفية دعم الأجهزة الأمنية الفلسطينية وكيفية توجيهها نحو الأعمال التي ترضي إسرائيل وأمريكا أمنيا. إنه يجلس في مكتبه يخطط، ويقوم بزيارات ميدانية ليطلع مباشرة على أداء الأجهزة الأمنية الفلسطينية. إنه هو صاحب الكلمة المسموعة في واشنطون حول السلاح الذي يجب تقديمه للسلطة الفلسطينية، ونوعيته، وحول الأموال المطلوبة لدعم النشاطات الأمنية الفلسطينية، وهو يتدخل أيضا في توصيات تعيين مسؤولين أمنيين فلسطينيين. يشكل مع جيكوب واليس، القنصل الأمريكي، في القدس أقوى بؤرة تأثير الآن في الضفة الغربية من نواحي اجتمعاية وسياسية وأمنية واقتصادية ومالية. إنهما يتحملان مسؤولية كبيرة في إدارة شؤون الفلسطينيين.
ماذا يريد دايتون؟ دايتون يريد التأكيد على أمن إسرائيل لكي يتم إحراز أي تقدم في العملية التفاوضية. أمن إسرائيل أولا، وأمنها آخرا، وبدون ذلك لا يمكن أن تأذن إسرائيل بتقدم تفاوضي، ولا يمكن أن تناقش حقوقا وطنية بجدية. إنه يؤكد على البنود الأمنية الواردة في اتفاق أوسلو وما بني عليه من اتفاقات مثل اتفاقية طابا، وعلى ما ورد في خريطة الطريق. تقضي خريطة الطريق بضرورة قيام السلطة الفلسطينية بمهام أمنية مثل تجريد المقاومة الفلسطينية من السلاح وملاحقة المقاومين، وتدمير البنى التحتية للإرهاب. وعلى ذلك، يجب دعم السلطة الفلسطينية ماليا وتسليحا وتجهيزا لكي تتمكن من القيام بالمهام المطلوبة منها.
هذا أمر ليس غريبا حيث قامت السلطة الفلسطينية منذ عدة سنوات باعتقال فلسطينيين وزجتهم بالسجون، وأفشلت عمليات عسكرية لفصائل فلسطينية، واستولت على مواقع قالت إنها مخصصة لصناعة المتفجرات أو تستعمل نزليا (لوجستيا) من قبل مقاومين فلسطينيين. مطلوب من السلطة الآن تجديد النشاط ولكن بصورة أكثر قوة وعنفا.
ولد هذا السلوك من قبل السلطة الكثير من الكراهية والبغضاء في المجتمع الفلسطيني وصنع الأحقاد التي يتم التعبير عنها بوسائل وأساليب مختلفة. ووصل الحد إلى درجة الاقتتال الفلسطيني، وقتل مئات الفلسطينيين. لقد دفع الشعب الفلسطيني ثمنا باهظا جدا في محاولة السلطة تطبيق الشق الأمني من الاتفاقيات المبرمة، وقد فاق الضرر أي فائدة يمكن جنيها من هذا التطبيق. مات الفلسطينيون ولم تتولد في القضية الفلسطينية حياة. تذبل فلسطين مع كل خصام فلسطيني داخلي.
المفروض أن يشكل الماضي عبرا للجميع لكي يُستفاد منها. أثبت الزمن أن المقاومة الفلسطينية تأخذ أشكالا مختلفة وفق ظروف المرحلة، وأن كل محاولات القضاء على المقاومة سواء من قبل إسرائيل أو الأنظمة العربية أو السلطة الفلسطينية قد فشلت. الشعب الفلسطيني مشرد وواقع تحت الاحتلال، والمنطق التاريخي يؤكد أن أعمال العنف ضد القوة المحتلة ستستمر مهما كانت عظمة وجبروت الجهات المقابلة. ليس من المتوقع إطلاقا أن تنتهي المقاومة الفلسطينية تحت وطأة الضربات، وكل من يظن غير ذلك لن يحصد غير الخيبة.
لا ألمح هنا بأن المقاومة الفلسطينية مستعرة وقوية، لكنني أقول إن فكرة المقاومة ستبقى قائمة، وإن محاولة القضاء على المقاومة مهما كانت ضعيفة لن تنجح. جربت دول كثيرة مارست الاستعمار والاحتلال هذا، ولم تنجح.
فشلت السلطة الفلسطينية في جولتها السابقة ضد المقاومة، ولا يوجد الآن أي سبب يدفعنا إلى الظن بأنها ستنجح. وضعت السلطة الفلسطينية نفسها في السابق موضع الشك، وهي الآن تضع نفسها في ذات الخانة. إنها تحاول تغطية رغبات دايتون الآن بمحاربة الفلتان الأمني الذي صنعته هي، ولكي تكسب ود الناس. لكن ماذا بعد القضاء على الفلتان؟ نحن نستطيع القضاء على الفلتان بدون "عبقرية" دايتون، والمسألة تحتاج فقط إلى جهود بسيطة من قبل السلطة وبعض التحرك الشعبي المنظم الذي يمكن أن ترعاه السلطة. أما استعمال الحرب على الفلتان من أجل تبرير جمع السلاح من أيدي حماس والجهاد والمقاومين من شهداء الأقصى فلن يجدي السلطة نفعا، وسيرتد عليها.
كان من الأولى للسلطة الفلسطينية أن تتعلم من تجربة غزة، وأنا أقول لمن يحملون لواءها الآن بأن استمرار الجري وراء دايتون سينتهي بهم مشردين خارج البلاد، ولن يلتفت إليهم عندئذ دايتون ولن يقدم الإسعاف. الحل الأمثل هو أن نعود إلى أنفسنا لنفكر معا بمعزل عن أمريكا وإسرائيل، وأنا واثق بأننا قادرون على إيجاد المعادلات التي تمكننا من التغلب على الأزمة.
سبق أن تم نصحكم مرارا وتكرارا منذ مؤتمر الجزائر عام 1988 مرورا بمدريد وأوسلو، ولم تستمعوا لنصيحة. ورطتم أنفسكم ومعكم الشعب الفلسطيني، وأدخلتم زناة عملاء ساقطين يخدمون أعداءنا إلى مخادعنا. نرجو أن تدركوا أن نصيحة الفلسطيني تبقى أهلية مهما كانت ساذجة، أما مواعظ دايتون وأشكاله وزبائنهم من الفلسطينيين والعرب لن تكون إلا وبالا على رؤوس الجميع. "
Pakistani Lawyers vs. American Lawyers
Where are the Demonstrations?
By RALPH NADER
CounterPunch
"One of the most noticed photographs in the newspapers last week was that of a well-dressed Pakistani lawyer on the streets hurling back a tear gas canister toward the soldiers who were suppressing a demonstration by lawyers protesting the martial law (called "emergency rule") of Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Can anyone remember anywhere in all of modern history, large numbers of lawyers leading the resistance as they did on the streets of Pakistani cities way ahead of the workers, peasants and even the university students?
Pakistani police and troops rounded up the mass protests of lawyers and pushed hundreds of them into trucks on the way to the prison. Lawyers were willing to go to prison and endure beatings, while demanding the re-establishment of the rule of law and the independence of judges right up to the Supreme Court, a rare display of professional courage and duty.
What about lawyers in the United States standing up to the Bush regime's regular violation of our Constitution, the imprisonment of thousands of people without charges and without attorneys, the assault on due process, probable cause, habeas corpus, the spying on Americans without court approval and the defiant, illegal use of torture?
No demonstrations yet. No resolutions by bar associations saying that Bush and Cheney should resign or be impeached......"
The Pakistan Fuel Connection
Logistical Vulnerabilities and the Afghanistan War
By ROBERT BRYCE
(managing editor of Energy Tribune)
CounterPunch
"When it comes to America's relationship with Pakistan, remember one thing: it's all about the fuel.
The Bush Administration's muted reaction to the new dictatorial rule of Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf can be traced to the American military's logistics problems in Afghanistan. Without the cooperation of Musharraf's government, the 24,000 U.S. troops who are stationed in Afghanistan would likely run out of fuel within a matter of days......
Greg Wilcox, a retired Army officer who has written extensively on military tactics and operations, says that if the fuel from Pakistan gets cut off, the U.S. would have to try flying fuel into its bases in Afghanistan and that, he believes, would be "mission impossible." Wilcox told me that when it comes to the Pakistan, "We don't have any choice. We got kicked out of Uzbekistan so we don't have any bases there. We can't survive in that region without Musharraf. We are tied to him whether we like it or not."....."
By ROBERT BRYCE
(managing editor of Energy Tribune)
CounterPunch
"When it comes to America's relationship with Pakistan, remember one thing: it's all about the fuel.
The Bush Administration's muted reaction to the new dictatorial rule of Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf can be traced to the American military's logistics problems in Afghanistan. Without the cooperation of Musharraf's government, the 24,000 U.S. troops who are stationed in Afghanistan would likely run out of fuel within a matter of days......
Greg Wilcox, a retired Army officer who has written extensively on military tactics and operations, says that if the fuel from Pakistan gets cut off, the U.S. would have to try flying fuel into its bases in Afghanistan and that, he believes, would be "mission impossible." Wilcox told me that when it comes to the Pakistan, "We don't have any choice. We got kicked out of Uzbekistan so we don't have any bases there. We can't survive in that region without Musharraf. We are tied to him whether we like it or not."....."
Video: Gazans: Palestinians detained by IDF return naked
"Palestinians residing near the Kissufim crossing in the central Gaza Strip say Israel Defense Forces troops have been conducting raids in the area, during which residents are taken away for lengthy questioning and returned without their cloths.
Dozens of such testimonies from the residents of nearby villages indicate young Palestinians return naked from questioning that lasts 24 hours or more....."
Dozens of such testimonies from the residents of nearby villages indicate young Palestinians return naked from questioning that lasts 24 hours or more....."
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