Issue no 2

Issue No: 2 31st Oct, 2011

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Issue No: 2

Article of the Week:

� The Israeli attitude towards the Arab Uprisings

News Tour:

� Israel launches fresh air strike in Gaza

� Sabri warns: Demolishing

� Resheq: Quartet trying to breathe life into the “dead” settlement process

PCOM’s News

� PCOM celebrates the release of Palestinian prisoners

Caricature

� In light of the latest Israeli

Palestinian Weekly Report is a periodical insight into the latest developments of the

Palestinian Issue. It’s issued by The Palestinian Cultural Organization

focuses on the most important news and analysis about the happenings of the

Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation in the Holy Lands of Palestine. The

views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect PCOM's editorial polic

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Contents

The Israeli attitude towards the Arab Uprisings…………………………………...

Israel launches fresh air strike in Gaza……………………….................................

Sabri warns: Demolishing Maghareba prelude to destroying the Aqsa

Resheq: Quartet trying to breathe life into the “dead” settlement process

PCOM celebrates the release of Palestinian prisoners ………..…………………...12

In light of the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza….…...……………………………….


It’s issued by The Palestinian Cultural Organization



views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect PCOM's editorial polic

31st Oct, 2011

…………………………………... 3

....................... 7

prelude to destroying the Aqsa………….... 10

Resheq: Quartet trying to breathe life into the “dead” settlement process………... 11

…………………...12

…...………………………………...13


It’s issued by The Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia and it



views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect PCOM's editorial policy.


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Article of the Week

The Israeli attitude towards the Arab Uprisings

By: Dr. Mohsen Mohammed Saleh

The Core of the Zionist Equation

The Zionist project is based on the belief that its survival depends to a large extent on the weakness of the surrounding region. In other words, it fears that the rise of a hostile Muslim, Arab power could lead to the end of the Zionist project.

Hence, Israel was keen about keeping the surrounding region weak, fragmented and divided, and underdeveloped especially in the technological and military levels. This would also serve the Israeli western alliance of keeping the region under foreign domination serving as a source for raw materials and a market for the western products.

Indeed, for more than 60 years the region surrounding Israel has been suffering from deterioration, division and weakness. For this reason, should the changes in the region continue in the right direction, they might constitute a breakthrough in the conflict formula that might develop to end the Israeli supremacy.

Originally, Israel was established on the basis of enormous disparity in its balance of power with the Palestinians and the Arab regimes. In addition, the Israeli and American arrogant commitment to military power imposed a situation of calm on the Arab fronts where the Arab regimes diverted towards the path of peaceful settlement.


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This was not the result of the belief of the peoples of the region—who were governed by corrupt, dictatorial regimes—in the feasibility of peace settlement. Thus, the removal of inefficient, undemocratic regimes and the establishment of new regimes that represent the nation’s dignity, freedom and pride would lead to a different conflict management with Israel. This management would not be based on regional selfishness, or traditional subordination to the Israeli and American conditions, or the complex of inferiority, but rather on an awakening that rejects humiliation and refuses anything short of liberation of land and man and the restoration of all usurped rights.

Strategic Dangers Facing Israel

Israeli experts and strategists talk about three strategic dangers facing Israel:

1. The increase of “radical” Islamic trends and forces in Palestine. This may lead to the growth of resistance forces, their assumption of Palestinian leadership, the disruption of the peace process and Israel’s inability to impose its conditions on the Palestinians.

2. The weakness and corruption of the Arab regimes in the region together with the increase of “radical” forces and trends, which might replace these regimes in a way that creates a hostile environment surrounding Israel.

3. The growing numbers of Palestinian population in Palestine, with the drying up of Jewish immigration, where the Palestinians will outnumber the Jews in historic Palestine within few years (around 2015).

We are still amidst the wave of Arab uprisings and in the midst of a storm which did not take its full shape yet. If the changes crystallized positively and new political regimes that reflect peoples’ wills were born, the strategic danger which the Israelis have warned against would be possible. However, if the changes were absorbed and redirected to reproduce corrupt and undemocratic regimes, Israel would survive the repercussions of this wave maybe to wait for another wave that would learn from its predecessor how to impose the will of the peoples.

The Implications of the Arab Scene

The positive development of the Arab scene, especially in the region surrounding the Occupied Palestine, would pave the way for the following changes which are related to Israel, both directly and indirectly:

1. The formation of an official and public environment more supportive of the Palestinian resistance and more hostile towards Israel.

2. More activation of the Arab and Muslim dimensions of the Palestinian issue.

3. Opening the door for an Arab Muslim revival, that might reverse the conflict equation and the balance of power with Israel in the medium and long run.


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4. Weakening the American and western hegemony on the regimes of the region. Hence, these regimes would assume their role in the decision making process according to their interests and priorities without external dictations.

5. The making of a new “man” in the region who has strength, freedom and dignity. A man who breaks the wall of fear and does not only lead the political, economic, social and military development process, but refuses the fact that his land or the holy places remain under occupation. 6. A revision and reassessment of the feeble peace process that took place since 1993 with the Arab regimes and the possibility of freezing (or even abolition) of Camp David and Wadi ‘Araba Accords between Egypt and Jordan, respectively, and Israel. In addition to the deterioration of normalization between the Arab regimes and Israel.

7. An optimal utilization of the nation’s resources and capabilities in a way that enhances its position facing Israel.

The Israeli Scene

The Israeli scene shows much confusion and concern as reflected in the political circles. Israel, established on the logic of a weak and fragmented surrounding, deems the transformation of the region into a unified and strong entity as a real nightmare.

The Israelis have so far failed to present a peace settlement plan which can be accepted by the Arabs even in their weakest position. Furthermore, the Israelis have deliberately pursued a strategy of managing the conflict rather than resolving it. The Arab weakness tempted them into exercising more oppression, confiscation of lands, Judaization and establishing facts on the ground. However, the recent developments might show that the Israelis have lost their “golden opportunity” after the peace process lost its meaning and its “customers.”

In fact, the situation will be more complicated for the Israelis because their society is showing more inclination towards extreme rightist and religious trends, while the Israelis do not have a unified vision for resolving the conflict with the Palestinians and Arabs. On top of that, the over-confident commitment for military power still contributes to increasing the current and future political miscalculations in Israel.

The Expected Conduct of Israel

1. The Israeli conduct will likely incline towards further isolation and alienation. Though a nuclear power, Israel is living the complex of fear for its survival and the fear of future. In addition, it also lives the state of illegitimacy and rejection in the environment surrounding it. The transformations in the region will perhaps exacerbate these fears in a way that leads Israel to cling to one of its old-new characteristics namely the “ghetto mentality.”

2. It does not seem that the current changes would cause the Israelis to make real concessions related to the peace process; such as accepting the Arab Peace Initiative, even if it were possible to talk about some offers which are known beforehand to be unacceptable to the Palestinians and Arabs. It will also


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try to take advantage of the current situation to express its evasive commitment to “peace” at a time when Arabs are demonstrating more “extremism.”

3. Israel would try to rely more on military power and to prepare itself for confrontation with the countries surrounding it, especially Egypt. With the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, the Israeli government has increased its security military budget by around $700 million. On 8/3/2011, the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that Israel might request an additional military aid from the US amounting to $20 billion.

4. Israel would seek to restore its role in relation to the US and the western world as a strategic, stable, reliable ally in the Middle East. This is what Barak has said in the mentioned above interview with The Wall Street Journal, where he asserted that “a strong, responsible Israel can become a stabilizer in such a turbulent region.”

5. Israel would seek to maintain its international relations which is eroding over time, even in its relation with the US and Europe. In addition, it would try to find new allies (to replace Turkey) such as Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Ukraine, besides activating its relations with China and India.

6. Israel and its allies would try to exploit the situation of instability and unrest triggered in the region by the Arab uprisings and the clashes between the people and their regimes. There, also, would be attempts to take advantage of the difference and imbalances resulting from the multiple elements of the uprisings, in order to derail change from its real destination. Perhaps, the most dangerous aspect remains the attempts to trigger sectarian and ethnic strife in such a way that leads to more fragmentation and division in the Arab world. Apparently, the Israeli analyst Aluf Benn built on Lewis’s plan and wrote in Haaretz on 25/3/2011 that the Arab uprisings will lead to the redrawing of regional maps where the situation heralds the last days of Sykes-Picot agreement which in effect divided the region of the Middle East into separate states. He added that the coming years would witness the birth of new or renewed independent states such as South Sudan; Kurdistan, and the Western Sahara. Benn also predicted the separation of the Gulf States from the United Arab Emirates in addition to a split in the KSA. He confirmed that “the more states there are in the region in the future, the easier it will be for Israel to maneuver among them.”

In the light of the above, pioneers of change, especially the young generation and all those concerned with the process of change and reform have to be alert and wary of any ethnic, sectarian or tribal calls and to abort the efforts of those trying to sow more sedition. They also have to restrict the short-sighted and the reckless people (regardless of their enthusiasm and dedication) who are likely to be dragged to methods which inflame sectarian and ethnic sentiments that would tear the fabric of the society.

On the whole, Israel would not watch idly while the region undergoes major strategic changes. It would not give up on the attempt to stay a major power in the region and have the upper hand while remaining immune from any potential risks. However, Israel knows that it is defying history and there is no sign that its power would last forever or that the Arab weakness would not come to an end. Ultimately, Israel also knows that there is always an end to injustice and occupation.


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News Tour

Israel launches fresh air strike in Gaza At least two people reportedly killed in latest attack, raising Palestinian death toll to 11 and straining truce.

“Israel” has launched a fresh air strike on Gaza east of Rafah in which two people have been reportedly killed and another civilian injured, raising the Palestinian death toll to 11. Sunday's raid came hours after the Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza said it had accepted a ceasefire agreement.

"The Islamic Jihad has responded [positively] to the truce effort, while it reserves its right to react to any aggression [by “Israel”]," Abu Ahmad, the spokesman for the movement's armed wing, Al-Quds Brigades, said in a statement on Sunday.

The spike in violence came as funerals were being held for two Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes overnight. Egypt had been mediating truce efforts over the weekend and late on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has blamed Hamas, which governs Gaza, for the violence. "The Hamas rules Gaza, he is responsible for Gaza, he is responsible for preventing the firing from Gaza, and for keeping the calm in Gaza, even if the attackers are the Islamic Jihad," he said. An Israeli military official said on Sunday that three rockets were fired at its territory after the ceasefire deadline had passed. Two of the rockets were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system and another slammed into southern “Israel” causing no casualties or damage, the official said. The Israeli military said more than a dozen mortars and rockets had been fired from Gaza since midnight.

Doubt over truce

Al Jazeera’s Cal Perry, reporting from Al Shojaya in eastern Gaza said that after the latest barrage of fire between Gaza and Israelis, there was an attempt at a ceasefire.

"We heard Islamic Jihad spokesperson saying that they were going to give 48 hours both to the Egyptians and the Israelis to work out some kind of an agreement, but as late as Sunday

11 Palestinians were killed in the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza


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afternoon, there has been further air strike bringing into question if anyone is going to be able to stop the recent spate of violence."

Gaza residents reported hearing explosions as Al Jazeera's sources said “Israel” had embarked on a new round of attacks on Islamic Jihad targets. Sunday's violence continued after the airstrikes a day earlier that killed nine Palestinian fighters in Gaza, and Palestinian rocket fire that killed one person in “Israel”.

A leader of a Palestinian group, who asked to remain anonymous, told the AFP news agency: "The efforts and intensive contacts led by senior Egyptian intelligence service officials led to a national consensus to restore calm [with “Israel”]." But the AP news agency reported earlier that mediation efforts had failed, citing an anonymous Egyptian official.

Gaza fighters 'killed'

Adham Abu Selmiya, a spokesman for Gaza's emergency services, said on Saturday that five members of the Al-Quds Brigades were killed and three wounded in a first Israeli attack on a training camp near Rafah. The dead included a commander named as Ahmed al-Sheikh Khalil, the group said.

Israeli aircraft later struck more targets in Gaza, witnesses and Palestinian officials said, killing four more Palestinian fighters and wounding two more people. At least two of those were killed as they tried to fire a Grad rocket into “Israel”, an Al-Quds spokesman said.

An Israeli strike east of Gaza City and two in the area of Khan Yunis, in the south, caused no casualties, witnesses said. As rockets and mortar shells were fired into “Israel”, police raised the level of national alert to its second-highest status. The Israeli military said the Rafah raid had "targeted a terrorist squad in the southern Gaza strip responsible for the firing of military-use projectiles towards the Israeli home front".

Rocket fire

Within hours of the attack, at least 20 Palestinian rockets and mortar bombs hit different sites in southern “Israel”, wounding three civilians, Israeli police said. One rocket slammed into a community centre and another into a block of flats, setting parked cars and gas canisters alight. Rockets hit the city of Ashdod, the nearby town of Gan Yavneh and the city of Ashkelon, to the south, police said.

The Al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for the rocket fire and posted a video on its website which it said showed the launching of five of the rockets. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine also claimed responsibility for the attacks. And a spokesman for Hamas' Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades blamed “Israel” for the escalation. "The occupation is completely responsible for the crime in Rafah and all of the resistance factions cannot leave


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the shedding of our martyrs' blood unanswered," Abu Obeida, Hamas spokesman, said. "We shall discuss the answer to this crime."

The air raid and earlier rocket attack were the first violent incidents since October 18 when Hamas repatriated Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier it seized in 2006, in exchange for the release of more than 1,000 jailed Palestinians .

Source: Aljazeera


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Sabri warns: Demolishing Maghareba prelude to destroying the Aqsa

Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, the chairman of the higher Islamic authority in occupied Jerusalem, has

charged that the Israeli occupation authority’s decision to raze the bridge leading to the

Maghareba gate in the Aqsa mosque was illegal.

He warned in a press release on Saturday that the act was an infringement on the Islamic

Waqf in the holy city and a prelude to destroying the Aqsa mosque itself.

The Sheikh said that everything was expected of the IOA, which does not care less about

sanctity or law, citing its displacement of Palestinian citizens, confiscation of land,

establishment of settlements on occupied territory, ban on worshippers in the Aqsa, and

robbery of history and antiquities.

Sabri held the IOA responsible for the cracks in the mount on which the bridge is built,

explaining that the mount was there 15 centuries ago and only started to crack when the IOA

allowed intensive underground work under it.

Source: Palestinian Information Center

Maghareba Gate - Jerusalem


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Resheq: Quartet trying to breathe life into the “dead” settlement process

Political bureau member of Hamas Ezzet Al-Resheq has lashed out at the international

quartet committee for trying to re-launch the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian

Authority.

He said on his Facebook page on Saturday that the quartet was trying to breathe life into the

“dead” peace process, adding that the quartet was not bringing anything good to the

Palestinian people.

Shifting to another issue, Resheq affirmed that the Palestinian people would never accept an

alternative homeland. The Hamas leader was responding to news leaks that Israeli premier

Benjamin Netanyahu was advocating Jordan as the homeland for the Palestinian people.

Source: Palestinian Information Center

Ezzat Al- Resheq, Member of Hamas political bureau


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PCOM’s News

PCOM celebrates the release of Palestinian prisoners with the Palestinian community in Malaysia

"It was a great celebration". This is what many of our guests confirmed after attending "Wafa'

al-Ahrar Ceremony" in PCOM headquarter this Sunday. The celebration, which was attended

by representatives of the Palestinian Community in Malaysia as well as Malaysian NGOs and

media outlets, came as an expression of our happiness for the release some 500 Palestinian

prisoners as a part of the prisoner swap deal between HAMAS and the Zionist government.

The program started with a recitation from the holy Quran followed by a welcoming speech

by the executive director of PCOM. The program then proceeded with several phone calls

with newly-released prisoners that were broadcast to the audience. A phone call with Osama

Hamdan, Head of HAMAS International Relations Department, was also aired live to the

audience. Hamdan stressed on the significance of this deal which should be viewed as a

national achievement for the Palestinian people. The program ended with a Dabka

performance by the Palestinian Cultural Dance Group and distribution of Sweets and

refreshments.

The attendees expressed their happiness for the success of the prisoners swap deal


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Caricature

In light of the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza

Source: Omayya Joha

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