Bush belongs in Guantanamo

The Bush administration appears to have pressured the Iraqi judicial system to ensure that Saddam Hussein sentence is issued prior to the US congressional elections with the hope of Republicans winning some votes. Despite that, the republicans have suffered a major blow in a clear statement from the American public that they are not happy with the Government's foreign policy in Iraq.

The first face saving action that Bush took was to sack his man of war: Donald Rumsfeld. Now there is talk of investigating and possibly sueing Rumsfeld for torture and other possible war crimes. That is indeed excellent and provides hope that George Bush will also be trialled for war crimes when he ceases to be in power. And trialed he should be, and in Guantanamo he belongs. It would be great to see Bush sitting side by side with the people he put in Guantanamo. At least, he will get a trial and access to legal representation.

Modesty, truth and Leadership

Last week, I attended a media training course run by a recognized university in Melbourne. Two experienced academics were running the course and both had extensive hands-on experience in the media. One of them insisted that we should always treat Journalists as “raptors” and that we should never trust them. She said “We (journalists) don’t treat our own friends as friends” if they stand in the way of a story and that the moto of many journalists is never to let the truth ruin a good story. While this is not news to me, it was an eye opener to come from someone within the industry.

“O People who Believe! If any miscreant (afasiq) brings you some tidings (some news), verify it, lest you unknowingly cause suffering to some people, and then remain repenting for what you did.”[Hujurat 49:6]. And a miscreant indeed is Richard Kerbaj who published the article about Sh Hilali and just two weeks ago published an article titled "Prophet not perfect, says Islamic scholar".

I now compare this to the official response made by the Islamic Council of Victoria as well as radio and press responses from members of the ICV and also members of the Islamic Women's Welfare Council of Victoria (IWWCV). The ICV were quick to attack Sh Hilali and requested his immediate resignation. IWWCV were quoted on the Age saying "The average Muslim realises that these are not comments that represents Islam, and certainly don't represent Muslim Australia,". How quick were we to accept the opinion of Richard Kerbaj and attack one of the most knowledgeable Muslim scholars in this country. If Sh Hilali’s comments do not represent Islam, then what does????

The ICV’s response to Sh Hilali’s comments was ill considered and sought a short term exit from an immediate attack with no consideration for the future. I now wonder, how will the ICV respond when Hijab is banned in public schools!

John Howard says that it is the responsibility of men to control their sexual urges and not the responsibility of women. It is indeed the responsibility of men to control their urges and Islam advocates that. But this is not the full story. Islam asks men and women to lower their gaze. Islam asks men and women not look or listen at things that they are not entitled to see or hear. Islam also prescribes a heavy punishment for rape and adultery. In other words, Islam advocates for you to drive carefully but also to put your seat belt on.

Islam has a principal of demonizing sin. It is a principle of building communities with high morals and values. How do you ensure that all men can control their urges? There will always be the odd few who, for some reason, can not; possibly for a mental disability or the like. It is a matter of closing all gaps. It is fasting the seat belt as well as driving carefully. The Werribee incident is an example of that and I would like to note here that the perpetrators were not Muslims (when some media hoped it was).

Sh Hilali was simply demonising a sinful act to the Muslim community and encouraging modesty within this same community. He did not enforce it on anyone else. While, the delivery was questionable and probably irresponsible, the intent of the message is on good moral grounds and is worthy of support from anyone who opposes promiscuity within our society.

Mufti Hilali comments about dress code and assault

The Australian has reported on October 26th that Sh Hilali has made comments during a Friday sermon in the month of Ramadan that indicated that he “blamed immodestly dressed women who don't wear Islamic headdress for being preyed on by men and likened them to abandoned "meat" that attracts voracious animals.”

I can’t confirm or deny the accuracy of the translated version of his speech. However, I would like to make the following comments:

1- Islam encourages and prescribes modesty in dress (including Hijab). At the same time, Islam views rape as the most heinous of crimes and prescribes a severe punishment for rapists.

2-I have no doubt in my mind that Sh Taj never meant to rationalize the act of rape nor to suggest that rapists should not be exposed to the full force of the law. However, he should have been careful about how he presented his view so not to risk the slightest chance of being misunderstood by youth that he is rationalizing rape. He made a grave mistake by making such irresponsible comments.

3- I think that some of the words of the Sheik have been intentionally mistranslated like the use of the word "meat" instead of "flesh" to make the comment sound even more degrading than it already is. "Exposed flesh" is a word used commonly by Australians.

4- This view (suggestive dress encourages assault) is still used in courts of law by defence lawyers of raping offenders. It is also a view held by some church groups.

5- If you asked me: Does Hijab / conservative dress reduce the risk of being sexually assaulted? I would say: Probably yes, although it does not prevent it. Rapists are sick people anyway and may not only be sexually motivated for example elderly women are also raped in Australia. However, I would advocate (as Islam does) maximising of personal safety.

6- I am surprised that the comments were published more than 2 weeks after being made and their release was timed with the Werribee incident in Victoria. It is suspicious because the author of the article is Richard Kerbaj, the same guy who claimed that Dr Amir Ali said that the prophet had "character flaws" last week (see previous posting).

UPDATE: ICV and other Islamic organizations have asked for Sh Hilali's immediate resignation. We will see what happens.

References:
The Australian article.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/muslims-pan-muftis-speech/2006/10/26/1161749253946.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1773857.htm

Lecturers asked to spy on Muslim Students

The Guardian has reported on October 16th that the British Department of Education has produced an 18 page proposal asking Lecturers and University Staff across Britain to spy on “Asian Looking” and Muslim students. The document, reportedly, talks about students of "Asian appearance" being suspected extremists. The document, reportedly, urges monitoring of the activities of Islamic societies on campuses including monitoring guest speakers. It claims that Islamic societies at universities have become increasingly political in recent years and discusses monitoring their leaflets and events.

Offcourse, the Australian media has picked up on this within less than 48 hours and the debate is now open in Australia on this same topic.

ABC News Online reported on an interview with Professor Gerard Sutton, who is the president of the Australian Vice Chancellors Committee (AVCC). The article quotes Professor Gerard saying "I think if the Government asked us to monitor particular groups of students then there would be outrage from academics about that,". He was also quoted saying: "We are about centres of learning, not about monitoring private activities of individual students." The same ABC article also suggests that Lecturers’ groups in the UK are worried about being lured into an "anti-Islamic McCarthyism".

While the stance of Professor Sutton is admirable and worthy of respect and support, I am not sure how long it will stand in the face of pressure from John Howard's and Pro-Zionist lobby groups' efforts of inciting hatred against Muslims.

There is history behind this. This issue has been brewing for a while within Pro-Zionists lobby groups (UK and Australia). There is evidence to indicate that Pro-Zionists lobby groups in the UK and Australia have a hand in this saga, possibly, in response to Muslim students being vocal in their criticism of Israel over the war on Lebanon and occupation of Palestine. Also in response to Muslim students collaborating with left wing groups over the same issue.

The Guardian describe the document saying “…Islamic societies at universities have become increasingly political in recent years”. I always thought that making Muslim students politically active is one good way of ensuring the integration of Muslims students, a good way of fighting terrorism (as students find a legitimate way of self expression) and an integral part of democracy and human rights. But then….I may be naïve. Does political activism for Muslims now constitute extremism??

For John Howard, this claim of “extremism on campuses” will came as favourable material to defend the “war on terror” and the War on Iraq.

Such a proposal to ask Academic staff to spy on Muslim students will come as a severe attack in the civil liberties of all citizens and the freedom of Muslim students who are already threatened enough as it is. Such a proposal will further alienate Muslim youth rather than help to build bridges.

My view is that there is no evidence of extremism in Australian University campuses and people who advocate for university staff to spy on people with “Asian appearance” and Muslims MUST first provide evidence of extremism.

40 US Soldiers killed in Iraq since start of October

Al-Jazeera has reported that 40 US soldiers of occupation have died in Iraq since the start of October. Also, acts of aggression against Iraqi civilians are steadily increasing, leading to mounting numbers of civilian deaths.

When is George Bush going to wake up to the fact that his misguided foreign policy has led to this human tragedy? When is he going to look outside his self-centred arrogant way of thinking?

The US and its allies are directly and indirectly responsible to the state that Iraq is in and the death of Iraqi Civilians.

US intelligence organizations have released a study stating that the war on Iraq has not decreased the threat of terrorism in the world and that the opposite has happened. A statement that many balanced people around the world have been saying for the last three years.

Today....most Iraqis now wish for the Saddam days to be back....

North Korea has done it

North Korea has allegedly carried out its nuclear test yesterday. I now fear a spiralling increase in global armament. The US administration has only itself to blame.

I view this event as another milestone in the weakening of the US dominance over the world and its coming down from the "super power" status. More and more countries are standing up to the bullying tactics and going ahead with their own policies against the will of the US administration.

However, this comes at a cost of an increased amount of nuclear capability around the globe putting all humanity at risk. I say: No to Nuclear weapons for all (including US and Israel).

George Gallway says to Tony Blair: Time to go!

ozmuslim

Dr Amir Ali's statement about Prophet Mohammad

 
On October 4th, 2006, The Australian published an article titled "Prophet not perfect, says Islamic scholar". In my view, the article is a venomous attack on the Prophet (pbuh) and an intentional mis quotation by the journalist.

I have to say that the minute I read the article, I had a strong suspicion that Dr Amir Ali was misquoted for the following reasons:

1) The author described Dr Ali as an Islamic Scholar which he certainly is not, nor did he claim so.

2) This answer to this question appeared to me as an answer to a different question. "Asked if the prophet had character flaws, he said: "Of course - you must look at him as a human being also.""

3) The journalist "Richard Kerbaj" is known for his anti-Islamic view.

Later, Dr Ali has issued a statement dated 6th October titled "MISREPRESENTED BY JOURNALISTS", where he argued that his statement was taken out of context.

While I fully understand what Dr Ali has experienced, I think that a person in his position should be more savvy as how to handle hostile journalists like Richard Kerbaj. He should have recorded his interview. I think he is negligent (at least).

The prophet has made very few minor mistakes in his life (without which he would have been more an angel than a human). These few tiny mistakes where corrected by the Quran to set the standard. An example of that was when he did not give sufficient attention to answer the enquiry of a blind man.

Oh my beloved prophet Mohammad...may the peace and blessings of Allah be on you.

North Korea tests Nuclear Capability

North Korea is now threatening to carry out a nuclear weapon test. North Korea argues that this is its only way of defending itself against the threat of the US administration to attack North Korea.

In fact, an increase in armament is now a global trend. The misguided US foreign policy is a main reason for this trend. The US administration has set the standard of "might is right" and that less armed states have no say.

The proliferation of nuclear weapons in the world can end humanity as we know it. The more they spread, the more is the chance of an error like Chernobyl. But surely a balance of power must still be safer than a single super power.

North Korea, Iran and Venezuala have decided that they will not respond to the bullying tactics. Now the only country that has used the nuclear weapon against civilians is giving North Korea the choice between its own future and carrying out the nuclear test.

George Galloway speaking at the 'Hands off Lebanon' demonstration 22/07/06

What an awesome speech. I admire the courage that this man has. What this man says, very very few people in the west (or even in the Islamic world) have the courage to say.

Comments that can kill

Recently, John Howard and Peter Costello have made comments about the need for Muslims to learn the English Language and to learn the Australian culture. While Howard and Costello were making the comments and reaffirming them, many people, including muslim leaders, where warning about the risk of attacks against the muslim community.

A few days later, we hear about a targeted vandalism of the cars of the ICV ex-president and his wife [ref]. The ICV indicated that they have received the highest number of hate mail since the Sydney riots incident.

The issue here is not about learning English at all. Also, no body in their right mind would suggest that someone should live in a country oblivious to what is going on around him/her. The arguement that Muslims have about the comments made by John Howard are:

1- John Howard is singling out muslims for a not-so-clear agenda. I would like you to go to Springvale or Footscray in Melbourne and see if people speak english...No they speak all sorts of other Asian languages. Jews give their sermons in Hebrew etc Why single out Muslims??? The issue of english education is a national educational issue.

2- What drives the comments?? They seem to come out of the blue every now and then when it is politically convenient to do so.

3- Muslims fear that such comments only serve to fuel more cases of violence against Muslims. They happen daily and they don't get reported on main stream media. No body cares about violence to 1.5% of the population. John Howard surely does not either, given his comments.

4- Muslims who don't speak English fall in the same catagory as Chinese, Vietnamese, Africans etc etc who don't. Let us focus on solutions rather than problems. I expect a prime minister to come out with solutions in the form of policy. For example, if the Government decided to make it a condition of PR or citizen status to pass an English exam, no one would say a boo. We would support it.

Stay tuned for more consequnces of the Howard comments...

Galloway: Hizbullah's victory has transformed the Middle East

The defeat of the regional superpower could yet open the way to a wider settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict


by George Galloway in Beirut
The Guardian ½ 31 August 2006

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1861527,00.html


As the smoke clears from the battlefield of the 34-day war in Lebanon, it would be a mistake to count the cost only in fallen masonry and fresh graves. All is changed, changed utterly, by the defeat that the whole of Israel is now debating, from the cabinet through the lively press to the embittered reservists at the falafel stall. Practically the only person in the world who claims Israel won the war is George Bush - and we all know his definition of the words "mission accomplished".

Reports that the Hizbullah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, expressed regret this week at having underestimated Israel's reponse to the capture of two of its soldiers were misleading. In fact, Nasrallah thanked God that the attack came when the resistance movement was prepared, as he was convinced Israel would have otherwise invaded later in the year at a time of its choosing.

If the fierce thicket of the Iraqi resistance stopped the Bush war spreading to Syria then the extraordinary Hizbullah victory has surely made the world think again about an attack on Iran. But the main - and maybe the most welcome - shift in the 40-year-old paradigm of the Israeli-Arab conflict is the puncturing of the belief in a permanent and unchallengeable Israeli military superiority over its neighbours and the hubris this has induced in Israeli leaders - from the sleek Shimon Peres through the roughhouse of Binyamin Netanyahu to the stumbling Mr Magoo premiership of Ehud Olmert.

The myth of invincibility is a souffle that cannot rise twice. Over the past week I have picked my way through the rubble of Dahia in downtown Beirut, now resembling London's East End at the height of the blitz, and across the south of Lebanon in towns such as Bint Jbeil whose centres look as if they have been hit by an earthquake. Here the litter of banned weapons lies like a legal time bomb - evidence of war crimes alleged by the UN and Amnesty International that in a genuine system of international justice would put Israel in the dock at The Hague. This, together with the beating Israel has received in international public opinion, is the collateral damage suffered alongside military humiliation.

Israel announced the capture of Bint Jbeil several times, but in truth it never held the town - or anywhere else for that matter - throughout the war. Despite raining down thousands of tons of high explosive on homes, schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, ambulances, UN posts, oil storage depots, electricity plants and virtually every petrol station south of Beirut (the bombers seemed to have a crazed thirst for petrol stations, while telling the world that they were kindly inviting the residents of south Lebanon to get into their cars and leave their homes for a little while), the Israelis were given a severe mauling by Hizbullah fighters when it came to boots on the ground.

Paradoxically, some believe that all this has blown open a window in which it is possible to glimpse the possibility of a comprehensive settlement of the near-century-old conflicts which lie behind the recent war. Now that the status quo ante has been swept away, we may even see an FW de Klerk moment emerge in Israel (and among its indispensable international backers).

The leader of the white tribes of apartheid South Africa waited until the critical mass of opposition threatened to overwhelm the position of the previously invincible minority, and sold the transfer of power on the basis that a settlement later, under more severe duress, would be less favourable. Israel's trajectory is now heading towards such a moment.

A comprehensive settlement now would of course look much like it has for decades: Israeli withdrawal from land occupied in 1967; respect for the legal rights of Palestinian refugees to return; the emergence of a real Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital - a contiguous state with an Arab border, with no Zionist settlements and military roads, and with internationally guaranteed Palestinian control over its land, air, sea and water. In exchange there would be Arab recognition, normalisation and, in time, acceptance of Israel into the Middle East as something other than a settler garrison of the imperial west.

Just as you can't be a little bit pregnant, a settlement can't be a little bit comprehensive. Attempts - like the one more than a decade ago in Oslo - to obfuscate, shave and sculpt such a package to the point of unrecognisability will founder on the new reality.

The Arab world is waking up to its potential power. It has seen the Iraqis confound Anglo-American efforts to recolonise their country, the unbreakability, whatever the cost, of the Palestinian resistance, and now the success of Hizbullah. If there is no settlement there can only be war, war and more war, until one day it is Tel Aviv which is on fire and the Israeli leaders' intransigence brings the whole state down on their heads. Nor is it only Israel that will pay the price for continued conflict: the enduring injustice of Palestinian dispossession has already poisoned western-Muslim relations and helped spill violence and hatred on to our own streets. There is still time to choose peace. But make no mistake, with the victory of Hizbullah, a terrible beauty is born.



George Galloway is the Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow www.georgegalloway.com

The newly made international hero

Prior to the recent Israeli attacks on Lebanon, few people in the world knew who Hassan Nasrallah was. Hassan Nasrallah belongs to the Shiat sect of Islam which represent only 10% of all muslims worldwide. Of those who knew him, including middle easterns, many thought of him as a leader of a terrorist organization and some did not like his struggle for dominance in Lebanon with an Iranian backing.

Today, Hassan Nasrallah is a hero in the middle east. BBC News have described him as "... Lebanon's most powerful citizen today". Rallies all over the world and particularly in the Arab and Muslim worlds hail him as a hero and "their only hope against Israel". This is also the case in Sunni dominated countries like Egypt and Jordan etc. Public opinion amongst Arabs, Muslims, anti-imperliasm movements, Peace activists and many free-thinkers has been galvanized behind him. For the Muslims and Arabs (Muslims and non-Muslims), he represents the long lost honour. His name is mentioned all over the middle east always preceded by the word "Seyed" which means "Sir", a level of respect not given to the rulers of middle eastern countries.

It is becoming more apparent that the ruling regimes in the Arab world are becoming less and less relevant while movements like Hezbollah and Hamas are becoming more main stream. This is despite these organizations being labelled as terrorist organizations in the Western World including Australia. Indeed, the Saudi regime, after having initially blamed Hezbollah, are now slowly and tacticfully changing their position under the enormous pressure from the street. The ruling regimes in the middle east are now under a series threat of being irrelevant due to being unrepresentative of the majority view in the middle east.

It will become even more interesting if Hezbollah "wins" the war. Really, all Hezbollah needs to do is not to "loose" the war. This can simply be achieved by demonstrating loses to the Israeli army as well as getting Israel to accept an exchange of prisoners. If this happens, this will make most middle eastern regimes completly irrelevant and they will be under a series threat of being over turned. To me, this is probably the main reason why some middle eastern regimes have, shamefully, given the "green light" for Israel to finish Hezbollah and, in doing so, ending the lives of many innocent civilians.

Unknowingly, Israel has made an International hero out of an unknown person.

Melbourne Protests the Israeli aggression

On sunday 30th July, 2006, about 3000 Melbournians rallied on the streets of Melbourne CBD against the Israeli aggression on Palestinians and Lebanese.

People came from all sorts of backgrounds, we even had a number of people from the Jewish faith protesting against Zionism. All media was present. However, most media chose to say that the "Lebanese community" or "Islamic community" rallied. While there was a good muslim presence in the rally, they still were not more than 50%. So the media representation was off the mark.

What was interesting was that one of the speakers (member of the Jewish faith) had the backbone to clearly say that Hizbollah and Hamas are not terrorist organizations but rather resistance forces. That was an eye opener for me.

The Age chose to show a picture of a group of muslims in what looked like an aggressive pause. Selective publishing of images can sometimes do the job for the media. The intent is clearly to show that this rally was only attended by a group of violent aggressive muslims who are against poor Israel.

Every TV channel reported the rally and none of them failed to follow it with a report of a Jewish Public meeting in Melbourne that condemned Hizbollah.

Disturbing Images on SBS world News

Watching the SBS news last night (Tuesday 25th July) at 6:30pm, I was very distrubed to see the images of the bombed red cross and ambulance vehicles and the image of the mother on the boat who was seperated from one of her children.

From the images, it appeared that the evacuation officer took a mother and two of her children leaving one child on the port platform. The mother (in Hijab) was screaming and pleading to the officer on the boat to return to pick up the child but to no avail. In what looked like an uncontrolled reaction, she started kissing his hand and touching his face in a very heart-wrenching way of saying "I beg you". The boat left the child.

I don't know what I would have done in her situation. Leave one child behind to save the lives of the other two on the boat. Jump off the boat to go the other child and leave the two others on board to go to Cyprus or whereever the destination was? A difficult question.

Mr Annan has indicated that Israel has intentionally targeted the UN location, which killed four UN staff. Pictures of the red cross vehicle appeared on TV with a gaping hole right in the centre of its roof and many other smaller bullet holes on the roof.

To me, Israel is a symbol for agression, occupation, in-humanity and all bad things that a human can do to another human.

Hezbollah's Adventure

There is no question in my mind that the Israeli response to the capture of the Israeli soldiers was not only disproportionate but viscous and is typical of the Zionist entity. However, has Hezbollah's action been irresponsible?

Hezbollah's leader claimed on an Aljazeera interview that he has indicated earlier this year to some members of the Lebanese government that he would have to capture Israeli soldiers in order to be able to get back the captured Lebanese and that these members did not argue with him. However, Hezbollah has essentially acted without the approval of the Lebanese government and has engaged the whole country in a war without their choice. Would Hezbollah have had any other options though to get it's captured members back? I suspect not. However, it remains responsible for engaging Lebanon in this war and for this it must be answerable to the people of Lebanon after the war is over. For now, the Lebanese people are trying to act in unity in response to the Israeli aggression and to the human crisis at hand.

Dr Rice has been negotiating for a NATO peace keeping force to be deployed in south Lebanon for a period of two to three months. After which, the Lebanese forces be trained by the NATO forces to take control of south Lebanon. To me, this spells civil war in Lebanon. May be this is something that the Israeli and USA governments want anyway.

I believe that the Occupation of Palestine and issues with Palestinians can't be disengaged from the Lebanese issues. The US and Israeli governments are trying to split the issues in order to present Hezbollah's action as unprovoked, whereas in actual fact, it is seen by many as a response to the events in Gaza. Contrary to their argument, the root of the problem is not Hezbollah or Hamas. The root problem is the occupation that the Israeli government is exercising on Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian Land. A problem which started in 1948.

The occupation has been the trigger for the formation of many resistance movements in the middle east. This single issue has acted as the glue that strengthened these organizations on a single goal and that is to stop oppression and occupation. Hezbollah has made a gamble. If Israel wins the war and destroys or disarms Hezbollah, and that is unlikely, then that could be fatal for Hezbollah. On the other hand, if Israel fails to accomplish its mission, then there may be a significant power shift in the middle east where Hezbollah, Iran and Syria become key players in the region.

Israeli Agression - Rally speech - Melbourne

Melbourne 15th July

Peace be with you all.

Ladies and Gentlemen, brothers and sisters: As we speak today, one of the world’s most powerful military machines is pounding civilian areas in Palestine.

As we speak now, people including little children are dying in Gaza.

As we speak, international laws are being broken and collective punishment is exercised against the Palestinian people.

We gather here today to demand our government to seek to stop the Israeli military assault on the Palestinian civilians. It is a shame to see the double standards when comparing the response to the North Korean missile launch with the devastating Israeli assault on Palestinians. The silence of our government on the Palestinian issue is deafening.

We gather here today to demand an end to the economic blockade of the Palestinian people. The Israeli and the US governments are punishing the Palestinian people for their democratic choice.

We gather here today to demand respect of the democratic choice of the Palestinian people and to free the detained elected representatives.

We gather here today to make a stance of courage and justice and to say enough is enough to the injustices against the Palestinian people and the occupation of Palestine.

People talk about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. I say there is no Palestinian/Israeli conflict …. but…. an Israeli occupation of Palestine.

I will not forget the picture of the little girl Huda running in a heart wrenching anguish between the bodies of her father, mother and five siblings who were lying on the beach of Gaza. Unwittingly, Huda became a symbol of Palestinian pain and suffering. I will not forget her shrieking screams as she calls her father to wake-up……. I ask myself: what has Huda done for her young life to be scared in such a way? What is sadder is that there are thousands more like her.

I remind you that this event as well as a series of other assassinations of civilians occurred before the capture of the Israeli soldier and not after. None of them attracted anywhere as much media attention. Indeed our media has been playing with words and calling the capture of the Israeli soldier kidnapping and calling the kidnapping of the Palestinian MP’s arrest to appease the Zionist lobby.

The ongoing assault of the Israeli military on Palestinians has been going on despite a 12 months fire seize by Palestinian factions including Hamas. Nobody is asking what was that soldier doing in the supposedly Palestinian autonomous area anyway?

Approximately 20% of the Palestinian population have been in Israeli detention at one or more times. Many are held without trial in what is known as “administrative detention” and are not even given access to the Israeli justice system, let alone held under conditions which would satisfy international law. According to Israeli NGO Btselem, in January of 2006 over 8200 Palestinians were held in Israeli custody. According to Defence of Children International (DCI): As of last month (June 2006) there were 388 Palestinian children in Israeli detention. Over 3000 children have been through Israeli jails since September 2000, the majority held only for allegedly throwing stones. In the past weeks (May 2006) DCI has reported a West Bank child as young as five years old snatched from his father’s arms and held in detention for six and half hours – allegedly for throwing stones. 5 year old detained for throwing stones.

The people of Palestine now have no electricity, no hospitals, no schools, no food, isolated from international aid, isolated from the world and if this is not enough, they are being bombed by F16’s. All of this is happening under the watchful eye of the world.

The soldier, who is a prisoner of war and not a kidnapped citizen, was used as a pretext / an excuse to cripple the elected Palestinian government. If Israel’s real intention was to free the soldier they would have accepted the prisoner exchange offer made by the Palestinians, but instead they elected to use military power.

What the Israeli government is doing is illegal and is state terrorism….Israel is a state with an agenda of war and mischief.

The issue of the occupation of Palestine has gone beyond being a Palestinian issue only, it has gone beyond being a middle eastern issue only. It is also not just an Islamic issue as Palestinians are both Muslims and Christians. Both are at the receiving end of the Zionist military machine. The occupation of Palestine is now an issue for the conscience of humankind. It is a sore spot in the conscience of humanity.

It is time for us to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Palestinian people and say enough is enough to the Israeli aggression.