Many of us tend to think that Palestine is a “Muslim issue”. But it is not. Do you know, for instance, that Bethlehem, the birth-place of Jesus Christ, lies in Palestinian territory? In any case, it shouldn’t matter what religion the Palestinians are.
It is a question of humanity and basic justice. A question of Occupation: 60 years since the Nakba.
If you want to know the real situation in Palestine, check out this documentary by award-winning journalist John Pilger - Palestine is still the issue (2002):
John Pilger returns to the Occupied Teritories of the West Bank and Gaza where he filmed a documentary with the same title, about the same issues, in 1974. He finds the basic problems unchanged: a desperate, destitute people whose homeland is illegally occupied by the world’s fourth biggest military power. He hears extraordinary stories from Palestinians, though most of his interviews are with Israelis whose voices are seldom heard, including the remarkable witness of a man who lost his daughter in a suicide bombing. This film was nominated for a BAFTA, a British Academy Award.
Meanwhile, amidst widespread indifference to the siege of the Gaza Strip, the UN has warned that its food aid to about 860,000 residents will have to be suspended within days if Israel’s blockade continues. Check out Glasgow-based John Hilley’s revealing write-up of Israel’s friendly network even as he demands to know why the major powers are “standing idly-by while a crisis siege in Gaza continues to inflict death and suffering on innocent people”.
While our attention was focused on Burma, a dramatic incident took place in the Middle East: Israel’s air-strike on a reputed Syrian nuclear facility on 6 September. The Israelis appear to have coordinated the raid with the White House, says Jonathan Cook. “The reasoning was simple: before an attack on Iran could be countenanced, Hizbullah in Lebanon had to be destroyed and Syria at the very least cowed. The plan was to isolate Tehran on these two other hostile fronts before going in for the kill.”
Well, we know that Bush and the neo-cons have been itching to take on Iran - and it could happen sooner than we think.
But the Wayne Madsen Report makes a stunning claim:
A major US attack on Iran using nuclear and conventional weapons was scheduled to coincide with Israel’s 6 Sept strike on the reputed Syrian facility in Dayr az-Zwar, near the the Turkish border. Israel’s attack, code named Operation Orchard, was to provide a reason for the US to strike Iran. But it was apparently foiled when the US Air Force and intelligence community allegedly refused to fly cruise missiles with nuclear war heads to the Middle East. But was there even more to this than met the eye?
Here’s a riveting account of what life is like in the West Bank. Making a guest appearance today is political scientist John Hilley, who has just returned to Scotland from a trip to Palestine with the Glasgow Palestine Human Rights Campaign. He describes his time there “between getting tear-gassed and shot at in Bil’in to being around our wonderful projects and friends in the West Bank refugee camps”.
I thought it was particularly courageous of John to engage with the IDF soldiers manning checkpoints and to point out their role in the crushing Occupation. In doing this, he puts into practice the powerful moral force of non-violent resistance.
This piece deserves a wider audience; so here it is, reproduced in full with kind permission from John. It’s a longish piece, but it’s worth the read to catch a glimpse of life beyond the checkpoints.
Checkpoints, tear gas and other daily oppressions:
10 days in the West Bank
With the Glasgow Palestine Human Rights Campaign
July-August 2007
by John Hilley
“What is the purpose of your visit?” I want to tell this young, abrasive soldier at the passport terminal on the Israeli side of the Jordanian border crossing that I’m here to witness her state’s illegal, apartheid treatment of the Palestinians. “Tourism.” Aware of the many people around being subject to intense interrogation, and likely refusal, it seems, for the moment, the more practical reply.Across the hall, a more lengthy queue of Palestinians waits to enter, their treatment, as I will witness these next days, part of the humiliating ritual of life under Israeli occupation. Boarding the bus for Al Quds/Jerusalem, one feels an immediate sense of imposing militarism.
In “my previous life”, I trained and worked as a chartered accountant in England before returning to Malaysia to be immersed in corporate life.
Well, you know what they say about accountants being boring! Before long, I found myself drawn to journalism and writing about human rights and socio-economic justice issues. I have always believed that we can build a more just and compassionate world.
These days I mostly write for Aliran Monthly, Inter Press Service, Asia Times, The Herald - and this blog! Inspiration isn’t always at hand, though - so grab yourself a cup of coffee and come share your thoughts with me.
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