:icon_sadangel2: Palestine Peace a dream?

[Shades]

Shooting The Messenger
27.01.10 - 00:50
With a new year comes new tactics from Israel’s security forces. 2009 began with a determined effort to destroy their enemies in Gaza, claiming the lives of 500 children in the process.

ImageIt must have been an irritation to the military that they could not so easily wipe out the journalists, activists and relief workers who made their atrocities public. As a new year dawns, it is these voices of conscience who are becoming an endangered species.

There is growing evidence to suggest a co-ordinated campaign to lessen international presence in the Palestinian territories. This week the Ministry of Interior announced there would be no new work permits for NGO employees, forcing them to rely on tourist visas that prohibit employment.

The impact on the work of aid organisations like Handicap and Save the Children International is likely to be severe. A Handicap spokesman claimed the ruling will "strongly affect the implementation of projects-as most of the project managers are expatriates. The process will be slower and field work will suffer".

Of around 150 NGOs at work in the Palestinian territories, only the 12 established before 1967 will not face the disruption of losing their staff. The ruling will also affect the ability of local NGOs to recieive funding from foreign donors, whose representatives will be prevented from making on site assessments of costs. Dr. Ali Ahmed of Save the Children in Gaza predicts "expensive work with the physically disabled will now be harder to facilitate." Although Save the Children is apolitical, Ahmed believes the decision is based on "higher level issues, it is another case of collective punishment for Palestinians."

Last July saw the creation of ’Oz’ (Hebrew for courage), an elite task force charged solely with identifying and expelling immigrants from Israel’s borders. Given a target of 100,000 expulsions by 2013, the force’s zeal for their work is renowned. Oz’s practises within Israel proper, including violent arrests and the detention of minors, have courted controversy. But in several cases this year Oz, working with the Israeli police, have used their powers to arrest western activists in the West Bank.

"It means we are back to direct occupation", says Omar Shatz, a defence lawyer who has represented victims of this new policy. "It means Israel are recognising the West Bank as Israel," he continued, "the police have no authority in Ramallah but still we are seeing an increase in these cases." One of his clients, Eva Novakova, was media co-ordinator for the International Solidarity Campaign. The 28 year old was pulled out of bed at around 3am on the 11th of January and promptly deported to her native Czech Republic the same day. Shatz believes that had the case gone to court the illegal manner of her arrest would have invalidated the expulsion, but "tired and intimidated", Novakova chose to accept it. "The immigration unit’s entrance into Ramallah violates the Palestinian Authority’s sovereignty on its territory and the Oslo Accords," said lawyer Yiftach Cohen, who also represented Novakova.

Another activist, Ryan Olander, was held for over a month in Tel Aviv for participating in a Sheikh Jarrah demonstration. Along with two other foreign nationals, was seized by Israeli police before being turned over to Oz. "We were basically kidnapped from court by immigration", Olander explained, "they took me and cancelled my visa (which was valid) and said I was here illegally. The collusion between police and immigration was quite clear." Olander was later cleared on appeal. "The judge ruled that my arrest was illegal and was very critical of the police".

Last week saw the most high profile case of its type. Hagai Elad, head of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, was one of 17 Israelis arrested at a protest in Sheikh Jarrah last Friday. All were released without charge within 36 hours. Many believe Elad’s fame was the reason for his arrest, making a statement that such activism will not be tolerated, regardless of nationality or stature.

The pattern of arresting Palestinian protestors is well established. 32 residents of Bi’lin, a hub of ’stop the wall’ protests, have been arrested in the past six months. But the focus on international participants is a new development, a sign that Israel’s security forces are going to ever greater lengths to suppress dissent. Dr Mustapha Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, believes "the ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation against activists" indicates that "Israel clearly aims to dismantle any resistance".

The press have also become a target. In the annual Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Sans Frontieres, Israel falls from 47th to 93rd in the world. For the first time it is no longer the top middle eastern nation, which RSF attributes to "five arrests of journalists, some of them completely illegal, and three cases of imprisonment. The military censorship applied to all the media is also posing a threat to journalists." The index does not include Israel’s ’extra-territorial’ actions, most notably Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, that saw three journalists killed and 20 injured during the conflict.

This week Jared Malsin, an American editor at Ma’an News Agency, was deported after a week’s detention at Ben Gurion airport. While the Ministry of Interior have claimed this was unrelated to Malsin’s reporting, which often criticised Israeli policy, it has emerged that his interrogators were fully aware of his position. While in custody Malsin was forced to sign a paper waiving his right of appeal, giving the lie to official reports that he left voluntarily. "I had no clue I was waiving anything", he said from New York, "I wish I hadn’t signed it. The guards were extremely manipulative and misleading in the way they dealt with me. There is no such thing as a voluntary deportation."

Although individual organisations face disruption through loss of staff and expertise, the Palestinian population as a whole may suffer more through loss of witnesses. Whatever the plans of Israel’s security forces, it seems they are determined the world know as little about them as possible. So much for transparency in the middle-east’s flagship democracy.

Source: Palestine Monitor

[Shades]

Shooting The Messenger
27.01.10 - 00:50
With a new year comes new tactics from Israel’s security forces. 2009 began with a determined effort to destroy their enemies in Gaza, claiming the lives of 500 children in the process.

ImageIt must have been an irritation to the military that they could not so easily wipe out the journalists, activists and relief workers who made their atrocities public. As a new year dawns, it is these voices of conscience who are becoming an endangered species.

There is growing evidence to suggest a co-ordinated campaign to lessen international presence in the Palestinian territories. This week the Ministry of Interior announced there would be no new work permits for NGO employees, forcing them to rely on tourist visas that prohibit employment.

The impact on the work of aid organisations like Handicap and Save the Children International is likely to be severe. A Handicap spokesman claimed the ruling will "strongly affect the implementation of projects-as most of the project managers are expatriates. The process will be slower and field work will suffer".

Of around 150 NGOs at work in the Palestinian territories, only the 12 established before 1967 will not face the disruption of losing their staff. The ruling will also affect the ability of local NGOs to recieive funding from foreign donors, whose representatives will be prevented from making on site assessments of costs. Dr. Ali Ahmed of Save the Children in Gaza predicts "expensive work with the physically disabled will now be harder to facilitate." Although Save the Children is apolitical, Ahmed believes the decision is based on "higher level issues, it is another case of collective punishment for Palestinians."

Last July saw the creation of ’Oz’ (Hebrew for courage), an elite task force charged solely with identifying and expelling immigrants from Israel’s borders. Given a target of 100,000 expulsions by 2013, the force’s zeal for their work is renowned. Oz’s practises within Israel proper, including violent arrests and the detention of minors, have courted controversy. But in several cases this year Oz, working with the Israeli police, have used their powers to arrest western activists in the West Bank.

"It means we are back to direct occupation", says Omar Shatz, a defence lawyer who has represented victims of this new policy. "It means Israel are recognising the West Bank as Israel," he continued, "the police have no authority in Ramallah but still we are seeing an increase in these cases." One of his clients, Eva Novakova, was media co-ordinator for the International Solidarity Campaign. The 28 year old was pulled out of bed at around 3am on the 11th of January and promptly deported to her native Czech Republic the same day. Shatz believes that had the case gone to court the illegal manner of her arrest would have invalidated the expulsion, but "tired and intimidated", Novakova chose to accept it. "The immigration unit’s entrance into Ramallah violates the Palestinian Authority’s sovereignty on its territory and the Oslo Accords," said lawyer Yiftach Cohen, who also represented Novakova.

Another activist, Ryan Olander, was held for over a month in Tel Aviv for participating in a Sheikh Jarrah demonstration. Along with two other foreign nationals, was seized by Israeli police before being turned over to Oz. "We were basically kidnapped from court by immigration", Olander explained, "they took me and cancelled my visa (which was valid) and said I was here illegally. The collusion between police and immigration was quite clear." Olander was later cleared on appeal. "The judge ruled that my arrest was illegal and was very critical of the police".

Last week saw the most high profile case of its type. Hagai Elad, head of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, was one of 17 Israelis arrested at a protest in Sheikh Jarrah last Friday. All were released without charge within 36 hours. Many believe Elad’s fame was the reason for his arrest, making a statement that such activism will not be tolerated, regardless of nationality or stature.

The pattern of arresting Palestinian protestors is well established. 32 residents of Bi’lin, a hub of ’stop the wall’ protests, have been arrested in the past six months. But the focus on international participants is a new development, a sign that Israel’s security forces are going to ever greater lengths to suppress dissent. Dr Mustapha Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, believes "the ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation against activists" indicates that "Israel clearly aims to dismantle any resistance".

The press have also become a target. In the annual Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Sans Frontieres, Israel falls from 47th to 93rd in the world. For the first time it is no longer the top middle eastern nation, which RSF attributes to "five arrests of journalists, some of them completely illegal, and three cases of imprisonment. The military censorship applied to all the media is also posing a threat to journalists." The index does not include Israel’s ’extra-territorial’ actions, most notably Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, that saw three journalists killed and 20 injured during the conflict.

This week Jared Malsin, an American editor at Ma’an News Agency, was deported after a week’s detention at Ben Gurion airport. While the Ministry of Interior have claimed this was unrelated to Malsin’s reporting, which often criticised Israeli policy, it has emerged that his interrogators were fully aware of his position. While in custody Malsin was forced to sign a paper waiving his right of appeal, giving the lie to official reports that he left voluntarily. "I had no clue I was waiving anything", he said from New York, "I wish I hadn’t signed it. The guards were extremely manipulative and misleading in the way they dealt with me. There is no such thing as a voluntary deportation."

Although individual organisations face disruption through loss of staff and expertise, the Palestinian population as a whole may suffer more through loss of witnesses. Whatever the plans of Israel’s security forces, it seems they are determined the world know as little about them as possible. So much for transparency in the middle-east’s flagship democracy.

Source: Palestine Monitor

[Shades]

Europeans say Jews exploit past to extort money
Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:52:54 GMT

Israeli rabbis
Nearly half of western Europeans believe jews exploit their 'past persecution' in order to extort money, a new Israeli report says.

The report, which the Jewish Agency conducted jointly with Israel's Information and Diaspora Ministry, found that 42 percent of those polled by the University of Bielefeld in Germany agreed that "jews exploit the past to extort money," Haaretz reported on Monday.

The countries in which the highest percentage of the population agreed with that statement were Poland and Spain.

There were more anti-Israeli incidents in 2009 than in any year since World War II, according to the annual Jewish Agency report released January 24.

During the first three months of 2009, immediately following Israel's three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip, there were as many “anti-Semitic” incidents recorded as there had been for the entire year of 2008.

"With the start of the operation, a wave of acts of anti-Semitism started across the world," the report said, referring to last winter's Operation Cast Lead, during which over 1,400 Palestinians were killed.

At the press conference in which the report was released, officials also referred to a film that accuses Israel of stealing human organs at the field hospital set up by the Israel Defense Forces in Haiti.

The Jewish Agency is in charge of immigration and the absorption of jews coming into Israel.

MGH/JG/DT

[Shades]

Mubarak condones Gaza starvation, Hamas suggests
Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:25:43 GMT

Lebanese leftist activists carry an Israeli flag with a defaced image of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak (Reuters photo).
Egypt's defense of the sealing its border with Gaza amounts to condoning of the Palestinian suffering, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas suggests.

Hamas Spokesman Mushir al-Masri on Monday offered the group's reaction to the argument of the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak calling the borderline fortification a matter of 'sovereignty,' the Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported.

Mubarak said Sunday that "fortifications along our eastern border are a work of Egyptian sovereignty, and we refuse to enter into a debate with anyone [about them]."

Al-Masri said the Egyptian leader's statements "contradict his earlier remarks that he would not allow the starvation of the Palestinian people in Gaza."

He added that "Mubarak's remarks defending the steel wall are an address on the blockade of 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip."

The densely-populated coastal sliver continues to suffer from an all-out Israeli-imposed blockade which has deprived the territory of basic necessities for over two years.

Cairo has also kept shut the Rafah border crossing - the Gaza Strip's only border that bypasses Israel - claiming that the border post is an Egyptian-Israeli crossing and should not be used without Tel Aviv's permission.

The Egyptian government is additionally building a steel wall along the Gaza border to prevent the trafficking of any goods to the strip.

"Egypt's steel wall does not serve the interests of any Arab party...The Israeli occupation benefits from it, because it has killed the last lifeline keeping the Gaza Strip alive after two and a half years of siege," al-Masri added.

The Human Rights Watch once again criticized Cairo on Sunday for its role in “collectively punishing” Gazans by keeping the Rafah border closed.

The organization primarily pointed its finger at Israel for refusing Gazans their basic living requirements, while arguing that Egypt's role in the deadly siege "cannot be denied."

"If Cairo wanted to, it could end the siege of Gaza tomorrow," said Sarah Leah Whitson, the director of the group's Middle East and North Africa division.

HN/MB

[Shades]

Correct me if I am wrong
25.01.10 - 23:42

George Mitchell, US envoy to the Middle East, talked with Mahmoud Abbas asking him to return to the talks with Israel. Mitchell told Abbas that Washington could only help create a Palestinian state if the Palestinians engage in direct talks with Israel.


Interestingly enough, this meeting took place shortly after Mitchell concluded talks with the Israeli officials who stressed that Israel is willing to return to the talks with no pre conditions regarding settlements and East Jerusalem. The Palestinians want Israel to halt all settlement expansion before peace talks materialize.


Time magazine quoted President Obama as saying that his administration had “overestimated” its ability to bring both sides to the table.


Abbas however, is expected to head to Europe in hopes of gaining European support for backing his demands that Israel halts all settlement construction in the West Bank including Jerusalem.

Let us suppose that Abbas is successful in getting the European support for his demands. As a matter of fact, let us hypothesize that he is successful is getting the whole world to support his demands. However, if he cannot pressure the US to curve its policy in the Middle East, he, the European leaders and the whole world will not be able to change the status quo currently existing in the Middle East.


It is obvious by now that US politicians bend under Israeli pressure and consciously or unconsciously seem to always advocate on behalf of Israel. Regardless of the reason or the reasons that lie behind this political behaviour, without The United States willingness to stop backing Israel financially, militarily and diplomatically, there can never be any change to the current situation.
So, what are the Palestinians people to do?


Long before the Leaders of Palestine travel the world seeking a solution for their dilemma, they must unify their leadership, have one objective and uphold the national interest of the Palestinian people. In so far, those three prerequisites are absent from any current political agenda.


I cannot stress how critical and urgent the situation in Palestine is. On the one hand, the Palestinians have a divided leadership that seems to be or actually is moving in circles and not get anywhere. On the other hand, Israel seems to be or actually is showing total disregard and respect towards a United Nations that seems to be and actually is helpless in forcing its resolutions against Israel.
So, I ask again, what are the Palestinian to do?


At a time when the Palestinian people took up armed resistance against the fatal, unjust and devastating Israeli occupation, Western democracies were quick to label them as terrorists and yet, those same Western democracies managed to overlook the enormous crimes committed against the Palestinian people by Israel and its Western allies.


As the Palestinians changed their course of action and decided to diplomatically achieve their just cause, the Israeli leadership and the US administration were quick to call the Palestinian leader at the time, Mr. Yassir Arafat, irrelevant and not a partner in peace.
In the midst of all this, Israel continues with its occupation of Palestine, illegally confiscating Palestinian land, enhancing old settlements and building new ones and continues building its separation wall, therefore creating the largest concentration camp in history.


In conclusion, I have to ask the one dreadful question that every one seems to avoid asking. Is Palestine beyond redemption?



By MitriI. Musleh

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Blockade threatens students' future in Gaza
Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:17:28 GMT

Many students in the Gaza Strip aspire to a higher education abroad but the Israeli-Egyptian blockade deprives them of setting out on their journey.

Hundreds of Gaza graduates receive scholarship to attend universities abroad, but they are trapped in the impoverished coastal enclave. They are going to lose their scholarships according to a report by Press TV correspondent

Ayman Quader is one of these students. He has finished his bachelor's degree and was awarded a scholarship yet he cannot leave Gaza. The first term of his scholarship begins in February.

Quader told our correspondent that he is being prevented from going out by the complete siege of the Gaza Strip. Quader calls on all those who are concerned with humanitarian conditions in Gaza to support him and his peers who seek a brighter future in schools abroad.

Israel has imposed crippling restrictions on the Gaza Strip since 2007, preventing the shipment of food, fuel and other essentials into the populated region, pushing its impoverished population to the verge of starvation.

The condition has been further worsened by Egypt's refusal to open the Rafah crossing — the only alternative which is a border terminal not controlled by Israel —.

Along with the other residents of the Gaza Strip, students must wait until the next opening of the Rafah crossing. But there are no scheduled openings of the only gate for the 1.5 million Palestinians in the blockaded region.

Academicians in Gaza argue that traveling abroad is one of the fundamental rights of students which must not be violated by political disputes.

"I'm disappointed and frustrated as a teacher because my students are losing golden opportunities to pursue their studies abroad," said a Gaza University teacher, Akreem Habeeb.

Habeeb expressed regret that many of his students with scholarships from European and American universities lost their chance because they have not been allowed to leave the Gaza Strip.

"These students are living in a great fear of losing their seats and universities," Gaza Education Minister Ahmad al-Najjar told Press TV, warning "their future is in a great danger."

Students in the Gaza Strip have held several protests against the enclosure of their homeland, calling upon Egyptian authorities to facilitate their traveling abroad, requests that appear to fall on deaf ears in Cairo.

MRS/JG/DT

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Israel accuses Turkish PM of anti Semitism
Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:51:23 GMT

Israel has accused Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of inciting "anti-Semitism" by making remarks on the war crimes committed against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

A new report prepared by the foreign ministry in Tel Aviv charges that although Erdogan has stresses that anti-Semitism is "a crime against humanity," he "indirectly incites and encourages" it in Turkey, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

"In our estimate, ever since his party took power, Erdogan has conducted an ongoing process of ... fashioning a negative view of Israel in Turkish public opinion," through endless talks of Palestinian suffering, repeatedly accusing Israel of war crimes and even "anti-Semitic expressions and incitement," read the report.

The seven-page report written by the Center for Political Research has already been distributed to Israeli embassies and consulates abroad.

"For Erdogan and some of those around him," the report claimed, "there is no distinction between 'Israeli' and 'Jewish,' and therefore, [their] anti-Israel fervor and criticism become anti-Jewish."

"Turkey today, under the leadership of the AKP [Erdogan's Justice and Development Party], is different from the Turkey with which Israel forged a strategic relationship in the early 1990s," the report concluded.

Relations between Israel and Turkey began to deteriorate after Erdogan publicly slammed Israel over its late 2008 incursion into Gaza and charged the regime with committing "barbarian" acts against the Palestinian civilians.

SB/MB

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Preserving Palestine’s Roots of Resistance Print E-mail
23.01.10 - 21:57

Anyone who has reveled in Middle Eastern or Mediterranean cuisine knows the important role olives play in giving their taste buds cause to cheer. Whether eaten whole or through their oil, olives complete nearly any meal. Yet, here in Palestine in particular, zaytoun (olives) provide flavor to our lives beyond simply satisfying our palates. They are a vital part of the Palestinian economy, and are the nation’s largest commercial crop. According to UN figures, olive trees account for more than 45 percent of all farmland and 80 percent of all orchards in Palestine. They also happen to be a consistent target for Israeli settler and military attacks.

In November, a group of settlers from the Yitzhar settlement, south of Nablus, cut down nearly 100 olive trees in the village of Burin the day before it was about to celebrate the harvest; a celebration which comes after two years of tending. In the village of Beit Ummar in Hebron, Israeli troops banned farmers from planting over 1,500 olive trees by claiming it was a “closed military area,” despite an Israeli court allowing the farmers to do so. And according to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture “a productive olive tree is uprooted [by the Israeli military and settlers] every minute in the occupied Palestinian territories.” Such incidents have become increasingly frequent. Like termites, they gnaw away at Palestine’s geographical, cultural, and economic landscapes, particularly affecting the 65 percent of Palestinian families living in rural areas that are dependent on the agricultural sector.

In an attempt to rebuild the livelihoods of these families, crop-planting projects have begun to sprout up across the West Bank. This past Saturday, January 16, I trekked out to such an event with some friends. We woke up early to weave our way through Palestine’s notorious hills to a village in northwest Nablus called Deir Sharaf. Upon stepping out our service taxi, we were greeted by community members and volunteers who held out hoes and rakes for us to take, telling us with broad, knowing smiles that we should get busy planting.

The event was the first for the village, “but not the last”; part of the “10,000 Trees for Nablus Campaign.” Organized by Al-Hayat Center for Civil Society Development and supported by two UK-based organizations, the Friends of Nablus & Surrounding Areas Association (FONSA) and the Dundee Nablus Twinning Association (DNTA), the initiative seeks to provide a sustainable source of income for the community’s families.

Yet, as is often the case when it comes to Palestinian rights to their land and Israeli counter claims, this endeavor did not come without struggle and stipulations. Council members of Al-Hayat Center explained that the Israeli army prevented them from planting the trees in their original location, as it was “too close to the [separation] wall.” Subsequently, residents of Deir Sharaf were warned that if they dared to go near it, they would be shot. Their neighbors in the settlement of Shave Shomron did not receive this same warning, and often cross over to torment Deir Sharaf villagers by throwing trash onto their land or instigating clashes. Recently, settlers released pigs in Deir Sharaf which not only destroyed crops, but also brutally attacked a farmer, leaving him in the ICU for three months.

Such acts are, of course, another way to prevent the smooth passage of “sustainability” from entering into Palestinian life. In addition to such attacks, Israel’s land confiscations, uprooting and burning of trees, and the curfews and checkpoints which deny farmers access to both local and international markets, have systematically and significantly deteriorated the Palestinian economy.

It’s another flagrant sign of where Israel stands in desiring a viable peace. After all, the strong link between a sustainable economy and sustainable peace is no secret. Continued Israeli aggression against Palestinian farmers, make Netanyahu's claim that his government would be a “partner for peace, for security and for rapid economic development of the Palestinian economy” laughable. By destroying fields of olive trees to build more illegal settlements, separation fences and walls Israel has, quite literally, burned down the universal symbol for peace.

For Palestinians, olive trees stand as more than the archaic symbol of harmony. Their roots are grounded in resistance by those who struggle to protect them. Maha, a young woman volunteering in Deir Sharaf who claimed her English was “no good,” best explained the significance of olive trees to Palestinian life: “They are our grandfather. They are our beauty. They are our air.” We can only hope that one day Israel, as well as the international community, will recognize Palestine’s right to breathe.

Hajr Al-Ali is a Writer for the Media and Information Department at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mid@miftah.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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US lawmakers press Obama on Gaza siege
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:48:43 GMT

Israeli border police stand guard during a protest by activists calling for an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza Strip, at Zikim beach just outside northern Gaza.
A number of US congressmen have written to President Barack Obama, urging him to pressure Israel to ease the blockade of the Gaza Strip over humanitarian concerns.

"We ask you to press for immediate relief for the citizens of Gaza as an urgent component of your broader Middle East peace efforts," said a letter signed by 54 lawmakers.

The impoverished coastal sliver has been under an Israeli blockade since June 2007. The siege has hampered the ability of relief agencies to distribute much needed aid amongst some 1.5 million people.

The congressmen sympathized with Israel over what they described as threats from Palestinian activists in Gaza but said the blockade has resulted in "the de facto collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip."

The letter written by Democrat Representatives Jim McDermott from Washington and Keith Ellison from Minnesota was also signed by several leftist organizations, including Americans for Peace Now and J Street.

They called for facilitation of movement into and out of Gaza, while urging Israel to allow the import of building materials for the reconstruction of homes and infrastructure devastated during Israel's January 2008 offensive, which killed far more than 1,400 Palestinians.

The letter prompted a response by the Israeli Embassy in Washington. It said the blockade would stand "as long as Hamas continues to attack Israel with missiles and other means."

"Israel will not allow a neighbor that calls for its destruction to enjoy the benefits of an open border," it stressed.

Tel Aviv is irked by missiles and rockets fired into southern Israel from Gaza. The projectiles normally land in deserted areas and hardly cause any casualties or damage to properties.

The missiles are, Palestinians say, a response to Israeli airstrikes, murder and abduction of Gazans, and the ongoing siege of the coastal strip.

MRS/MD

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Auschwitz survivor sees Nazi acts in Israel
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:17:07 GMT

Hajo Meyer, 86, survived 10 months in Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
A Nazi death camp survivor slams Israel over its occupation of Palestine, drawing an analogy between the Israeli army's indignations and the conduct of Nazi forces during World War II.

"The Israelis tried to dehumanize the Palestinians, just like the Nazis tried to dehumanize me," said Dr Hajo Meyer, 86, who survived 10 months in Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp in Poland.

"Nobody should dehumanize any other and those who try to dehumanize another are not human," he said at the beginning of his lecture in Scotland.

The octogenarian Holocaust survivor, who embarked on a 10-day tour of the UK and Ireland, called Israel "the world champion in pretending to be civilized and cultured."

The comments by Meyer have provoked a fresh outcry of "anti-Semitism" by hardline Jewish lobby groups.

However, Meyer, the Dutch-based author of three books on Judaism, the Holocaust and Zionism, dismissed "anti-Semite" labels hurled against him.

“Formerly an anti-Semite was somebody who hated Jews because they were Jews and had a Jewish soul. But nowadays an anti-Semite is somebody who is hated by Jews,” he stated.

A spokesman for the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, of which Dr. Meyer is a member of, backed the remarks.

“Hajo knows that Israel has a long history of abusing the tragic history of the Holocaust in order to suppress legitimate criticism of its own crimes," said the spokesman.

MRS/MD