Alhelsi, Baroud, Qumsiyeh, Amayreh, Halaka, Quader, Suleiman on PTT

[mary <humdrum2 at libero.it>]

Many important and fascinating new posts on PTT today!

We begin with Reham Alhelsi's account in commemoration of Palestinian 
Prisoners' Day.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/04/18/reham-alhelsi-palestinian-prisoners-imprisoned-for-their-love-of-freedom/

Although they have modern deadly weapons, are top recipients of 
military assistance, have their war crimes justified by a biased 
western media, and their interests protected by Zionist lobbies all 
over the world, the Zionists still fear us because they know we are 
the rightful owners of the land and that alone by existing we are 
defying them and their power and countering the myths and lies on 
which their state is built. Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor 
Lieberman said on the release of Palestinian prisoners: "It would be 
better to drown these prisoners, in the Dead Sea if possible, since 
that's the lowest point in the world." They not only deny us our 
rights and our freedom, they want to kill our spirit and see us dead. 
What they haven't understood by now is that the more they humiliate 
us, harass us, imprison us, take away our freedom from us, the more 
we value that freedom and the stronger becomes our belief in our just 
cause and our will to be free.

Ramzy Baroud writes about Non-Violent Resistance
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/04/18/non-violence-in-palestine-timing-and-intentions/

When one speaks of or advocates non-violence, does he promote such an 
idea because he believes that historically it has been a more 
effective means of liberation, or is it purely because he thinks that 
it is a more self-respecting means of struggle?

Mazin Qumsiyeh writes on Palestinian Unity
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/04/18/what-would-palestine-want-us-to-do/
Even without complying with International law and allowing the 
Palestinian refugees to return, there are 20-25% of the population in 
Israel who are not Jewish and are already targeted (Israel's foreign 
minister who came from abroad and has no connection to the land wants 
to get rid of the natives).  If there is a definition of Chutzpah 
then this notion of recognizing a racist "Jewish state" as 
precondition even for talks is it. Unfortunately, this is only made 
possible by the lack of a Palestinian coherent strategy to face the 
regional and International challenges including outright attempts to 
liquidate the Palestinian cause.  Instead, the struggle between Hamas 
and Fateh have now become a defacto struggle between leadership of 
two prisoner factions for leadership of prison blocks (Gaza and the 
five cantons in the West Bank) and the struggle for freedom has 
receded to lower priority if not outright ignored.

Khalid Amayreh writes about the only Nuclear power in the Middle East
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/04/18/the-arab-world-and-israels-nuclear-arsenal/

Again we must pay more attention to what Israel does, not what Israel 
says. And what Israel does and has been doing shows that the 
criminal-minded state poses a real existential threat to every Arab 
and Muslim country in the Middle East and beyond.
In 2006, Israel rained death on Lebanon by dropping 2-3 million 
cluster-bombs that killed and maimed (and will continue to kill and 
maim) Lebanese civilians, shepherds, farmers and peasants and 
families picnicking in the vicinity of their homes for many many years to come.
And in Gaza recently, Israel rained death on an essentially prisoner 
population that, contrary to Israel's wishes, forgot to die quietly, 
and had to be incinerated and exterminated with White Phosphorus from 
high altitudes.
The pornographic slaughter was being watched around the world and no 
Arab or Muslim country moved or even contemplated moving to rescue 
the helpless Palestinians who were paying the price of Muslim weakness.
This begs the ultimate question, namely how Muslims ought to relate 
to this madness, this arrogance of power, this existential menace by 
a satanic state that thinks it has the right to inflict death and 
destruction on other peoples and other countries?

John Halaka's film about Rana Bishara, extraordinary Palestinian artist
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/04/18/wounds-of-the-heart-an-artist-and-her-nation/

As a Palestinian citizen of Israel, Rana deeply understands how 
feelings of belonging and claims of ownership, irrevocably separate, 
yet permanently connect Arabs and Jews in their struggle for a land 
that is called Palestine by one group and Israel by the other. Each 
of the two cultures wants to hold on to every inch of land claimed by 
the other. The Palestinians strongly feel that they belong to the 
land, while the Israelis insist that the land belongs to them.
See the trailer on http://palestinethinktank.com/ptt-tv/

Ayman Quader writes about the Ideal Israeli Soldier
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/04/17/ayman-quader-the-ideal-israeli-solider-killer-and-thief/

"The Israelis came and pointed their guns at us. They told us to get 
into the back room, where the shots had been fired, and to stay 
there, and they went on to the roof. They told us that if we moved, 
they would shoot us. They went upstairs, they stole my money, soiled 
the beds, left condoms everywhere. They fired holes in the bed - for 
what? While people were dying they were making love with each other 
in our bed, and then they destroyed it. All our money was in the 
mattress, everything for the whole family, and they took it all. Then 
after 3 days, they left. Just left."

Lina Suleiman writes about the World Water Forum, presenting much 
useful information, but sadly,  showing how the voices of 
Palestinians had been marginalised in that setting.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/04/10/lina-suleiman-the-5th-world-water-forum-%e2%80%9cbridging-or-maintaining-divides%e2%80%9d/

Despite of the remarkable presence of Palestinian water 
professionals, Palestinian speakers found themselves constrained and 
not able to say much about the water situation crisis and the Israeli 
mass destruction of water infrastructure, the thievery of water and 
the denial of their water rights from both surface and the ground 
water sources. The constrains can either because their messages has 
to be in harmony with what the Palestinian Authority (PA) want them 
to say or that they must follow instructions of the session's chair 
persons or possibly because they are self-constrained. For them, it 
is a simple fact that if they were to convey a clear message about 
the crime polices on water, they would not be permitted by the 
Israelis, later on, to leave their occupied territories and attend 
the next water meeting event. Such decisions on the control of 
people's movement are claimed to be for security reasons, and are not 
questioned or challenged. Also noteworthy are the two Palestinian 
children from Gaza who were supposed to participate in the children 
forum but were not allowed to leave Gaza. No justifications for their 
actions were given by the Israelis.

plus much more on www.palestinethinktank.com