GAZA, (PIC)-- Hamas on Monday said that the Israeli decision to build an electronic wall along its borders with Egypt revealed that the construction of Egypt's steel wall along its borders with Gaza had nothing to do with Egyptian security.
Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said in a statement to the PIC that if the steel wall was really an Egyptian decision then it should have been built along its borders with Israel.
He said that the Israeli decision revealed that the steel wall was built in accordance with a scheme agreed upon with numerous parties.
Israel late on Sunday endorsed the establishment of that wall that would indirectly link up with the Egyptian steel wall in a step clearly aimed to tighten the siege on Gaza.
The Israeli wall, according to the Hebrew media, will cost around 270 million dollars and is to be completed within two years. It will stretch for 266 kilometers.
GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian medical sources have reported that 35 Palestinian citizens were wounded by Egyptian gunfire Wednesday evening when dozens of them rallied near Salahuddin terminal in Rafah area in protest at the Egyptian authorities’ attack on Viva Palestina convoy activists.
The sources told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that five citizens, who were transferred to Abu Yousuf Al-Najjar hospital, are in very critical conditions.
Eyewitness said the protesters responded to the source of fire by throwing stones at the Egyptian side and shouted slogans hostile to Egypt before Gaza policemen showed up and dispersed the crowds.
About 55 multinational activists, participating in the third Lifeline convoy organized by Britain-based Viva Palestina organization, sustained different injuries during clashes with Egyptian security forces in Al-Arish area.
In the same context, the Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza organized on Wednesday afternoon a massive sit-in near Salahuddin terminal in Rafah to denounce Egypt for preventing international activists and aid convoys from entering Gaza.
All factions strongly condemned the brutal attacks carried out by the Egyptian security forces against Viva Palestina activists who brought with them humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza people.
Hamas lawmaker Mushir Al-Masri stressed during the sit-in that the Gaza people would not care about all attempts to make them preoccupied with minor issues and divert their attention from the real threat to the Arab national security.
Masri also urged the Egyptian people to rise and force their government to stop the building of the steel wall and open the Rafah border crossing permanently.
For its part, the government committee to break the siege strongly denounced the Egyptian authorities for using excessive force against Viva Palestina activists.
In a statement, the committee said that the Egyptian security forces created a serious precedent in dealing with aid convoys sent to Gaza.
It added that dealing with activists, who traveled thousands of miles and were warmly welcomed by all countries they crossed, in such a savage way undermine Egypt’s stature in the Arab and Muslim worlds.
Hamas lawmaker Yahya Al-Abadsa also slammed in a press release the attack on the activists as a shameful act and a crime in every sense of the word against Palestine.
Abadsa underlined that such behavior made the Egyptian regime a servant of the American policy and a dirty hand used for repression.
In another press release, the Islamic Jihad Movement expressed its dismay and shock at the Egyptian authorities’ attitude towards the Viva Palestina aid convoy and its insistence on placing obstacles on its way and prevent it from helping the besieged Palestinian people in Gaza.
In a related development, deputy head of the international committee to end the siege Mohamed Sawalha told Wednesday Al-Quds satellite channel that a number of Turkish lawmakers are mediating between the organizers of Viva Palestina convoy and Egyptian officials.
Sawalha added that the mediation is aimed to overcome the problems raised by Egypt’s breach of a previous agreement it reached with Viva Palestina at the port of Aqaba in which it pledged to facilitate the entry of the convoy into Gaza through Al-Arish port.
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IOF troops kill a Jerusalem taxi driver
[ 22/09/2009 - 01:40 PM ]
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- A Palestinian taxi driver from Jerusalem was killed on Tuesday morning by IOF troops manning a roadblock to the south of the holy city.
Israeli Radio reported that the IOF troops fired at the Palestinian taxi driver when he approached the Mifo Bitar military roadblock which lies near the Jewish colony of Bitar Elit near the Palestinian village of Husan west of Bethlehem.
Israeli Radio quoted an Israeli army spokesman as saying that Israeli soldiers opened fire at a suspected car that drove near Bitar Elit settlement west of Bethlehem in the West Bank after the driver neglected the soldiers' orders to stop at a roadblock for security check.
Witnesses said that 25-year-old Rabea' al-Tawil, a resident of east Jerusalem was driving his car as he crossed an IOF roadblock, adding that IOF soldiers stationed there opened fire at the car and killed him.
Only cars bearing PA number plates are stopped at IOF roadblocks, but cars bearing Israeli number plates do not have to queue and are not usually stopped at such checkpoints, as they have a special lane that they go through after slowing down a little.
Soldiers who man such roadblocks are usually very young, trigger happy and enjoy tormenting Palestinians before allowing them to continue with their journey
Israeli warplanes blast tunnels along borders with Egypt
[ 21/09/2009 - 10:47 AM ]
RAFAH, (PIC)-- Israel's warplanes fired four missiles at the Palestinian-Egyptian borders south of Rafah in the Gaza Strip at dawn Monday claiming to target three tunnels used to smuggle weapons into the Strip.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that the Israeli F-16s launched three raids targeting those tunnels.
The tunnels are used to supply Gaza with its needs of various goods after all Gaza crossings were closed by the Israeli occupation authority that only open them partially allowing in trickles of badly needed commodities.
The bombardment inflicted vast destruction in the targeted area and in a number of nearby buildings but no casualties were reported.
Hamas: Israeli crime aimed to foil Eid joy
[ 21/09/2009 - 10:17 AM ]
GAZA, (PIC)-- Hamas has charged the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) with trying to foil the Gaza people's joy over the Eidul Fitr with the crime committed in northern Gaza on the first day of the Eid.
Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, told the PIC on Sunday that the "Zionist crime" of shelling and killing two Palestinians reflected the "Zionist terrorist mentality and the spirit of revenge against civilians".
The IOA is exploiting the Arab silence and the former PA chief Mahmoud Abbas's acquiescence to attend a tripartite meeting with American president Barack Obama and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu in New York on Tuesday to commit this crime, the spokesman elaborated.
He charged that the IOA is daily proving that it does not respect the sanctity of religious occasions, describing such an attitude as "state terrorism".
Another Hamas spokesman Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri urged the world community in a similar statement to the PIC on Sunday to assume its responsibility against such "Zionist crimes".
He also held the IOA fully responsible for consequences of such "barbaric crimes".
The Israeli occupation forces on Sunday morning shelled northern Gaza areas killing two resistance fighters and wounding four civilians.
For its part, the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, asserted that it would continue along the path of martyrs until liberation of the occupied Palestinian lands.
It added in a statement on the occasion of the Eid on Sunday that the martyrs would continue to "guide us" along the road of sacrifice.
The armed wing called for tolerance and for restoration of national unity.
Yahudi tuduh Obama hina Netanyahu: Gambar menunjukkan Presiden Amerika Syarikat, Barack Obama berbual dengan Perdana Menteri Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu (kanan) di pejabat Oval. Foto ini dianggap media Yahudi sebagai menghina pemimpin mereka kerana Obama seolah-olah menunjuk kasut ke arah Netanyahu, lapor CBS News, semalam. Media Israel juga menyamakannya dengan kejadian bekas Presiden Amerika, George W Bush yang dibaling kasut oleh wartawan Iraq di Baghdad, tahun lalu. CBS News menyifatkan anggapan media Israel itu menunjukkan pemimpin mereka berasa terperangkap selepas didesak untuk menghentikan pembinaan penempatan Yahudi oleh Obama. - Foto AFP
Perdana Menteri didesak ketepi tekanan AS
BAITULMAQDIS: Parti Likud meningkatkan tekanan terhadap pemimpinnya, Benjamin Netanyahu yang juga Perdana Menteri Israel supaya mengetepikan desakan Amerika Syarikat dengan tidak menyebut perkataan 'negara Palestin' apabila beliau memberi ucapan dasar, hujung minggu ini.
"Jangan guna perkataan negara Palestin," kata seorang Ahli Parlimen Likud, Miri Regev, mengulangi pandangan beberapa lagi anggota parti berkenaan.
Sehingga ini, Netanyahu tidak menyokong konsep negara Palestin dan menolak tekanan Amerika supaya membekukan kegiatan membina penempatan Yahudi di Tebing Barat yang kini didiami lebih 280,000 warga negara Israel.
Pada masa sama, Netanyahu berharap ucapannya di Universiti Bar Ilan di Tel Aviv akan sedikit sebanyak mengurangkan tekanan daripada Amerika yang juga sekutu utama Israel.
Cuma, beliau menghadapi masalah dalam blok kerajaan campuran pimpinannya kerana ada pihak menolak negara Palestin, tetapi ada yang menyokong, termasuk Menteri Pertahanan dan pemimpin Buruh, Ehud Barak.
Regev, bagaimanapun, menekankan bahawa Presiden Amerika, Barack Obama sekalipun tidak akan dapat memaksa Kerajaan Israel membuat keputusan dalam isu berkenaan.
"Tekanan Amerika hanyalah dari segi psikologi, jangan lupa Presiden Amerika hanya seorang, perlu ambil kira Kongres dan Senat yang menyokong Israel," katanya.
Turut mendesak Netanyahu supaya tidak membincangkan isu negara Palestin ialah Benny Begin, menteri tanpa portfolio dan anak lelaki bekas Perdana Menteri, Menahem Begin.
"Jika jalan keluar ialah dua negara bagi dua bangsa, penyelesaiannya tiada," kata Benny.
Malah, beliau menuduh pemimpin Palestin tidak mahu pembentukan dua negara sebaliknya mempunyai matlamat 'satu negara ditadbir Pertubuhan Pembebasan Palestin (PLO) dan Hamas.'
Rabu lalu, lapan Ahli Parlimen Likud menemui Netanyahu bagi meyakinkan beliau tidak menyebut perkataan 'dua negara' dalam ucapannya.
"Kami meminta kamu tidak membentuk negara Palestin dalam ucapan di Universiti Bar Ilan," kata Danny Danon yang dipetik media Israel. � AFP
HEBRON – Tentera Yahudi membunuh seorang pejuang Hamas yang dikehendaki kerana mendalangi beberapa serangan bom ke atas Israel dalam satu pertempuran di Tebing Barat semalam, kata beberapa pegawai.
Seorang jurucakap tentera rejim memberitahu, pejuang Hamas berusia 45 tahun, Abdel al-Majid Dudin ditembak mati ketika bertempur dengan beberapa askar dan polis Israel di perkampungan Deir al-Assel al-Tahta, dekat sini.
Pejuang berkenaan diburu pasukan keselamatan Yahudi sejak 1995 selepas dia mendalangi dua serangan berani mati dengan menggunakan bas di Israel yang meragut 10 nyawa dan mencederakan 140 orang. – AFP
WASHINGTON 28 Mei - Presiden Amerika Syarikat (AS), Barack Obama (gambar) mahu Israel membekukan pembinaan semua kawasan penempatan Yahudi tanpa sebarang pengecualian.
Setiausaha Negara AS, Hillary Rodham Clinton menyuarakan pendirian tegas Obama itu semalam sebelum Presiden dijadual menemui rakan sejawatannya dari Palestin, Mahmoud Abbas hari ini dalam usaha memulihkan rundingan damai.
Hillary berkata, Obama telah memaklumkan kepada Perdana Menteri Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu di sini pada minggu lalu bahawa beliau tidak mahu pembinaan kawasan penempatan Yahudi bagi menampung pertumbuhan semula jadi penduduk dikecualikan daripada seruan beliau supaya kawasan penempatan berkenaan dibekukan.
Kata dua Obama itu disifatkan oleh seorang bekas pegawai AS sebagai kenyataan paling tegas pernah disuarakan kepada Israel.
Ia juga menimbulkan satu lagi cabaran kepada Netanyahu yang sudah pun menyatakan keengganannya untuk menyokong penubuhan sebuah negara Palestin merdeka seperti yang dituntut oleh Obama.
Netanyahu memberitahu Kabinetnya pada Ahad lalu, beliau tidak berhasrat untuk membina kawasan penempatan baru tetapi "tidak masuk akal jika kita tidak memenuhi keperluan pertumbuhan semula jadi penduduk dan kita menghentikan semua pembinaan."
Hillary yang bercakap pada sidang media bersama dengan Menteri Luar Mesir, Ahmed Abul Gheit berkata, Presiden dengan jelas telah menyatakan pendiriannya berhubung kawasan penempatan Yahudi semasa pertemuan dengan Netanyahu di White House pada 18 Mei lalu.
"Beliau mahu pembinaan semua kawasan penempatan dihentikan. Bukan sesetengah kawasan penempatan, bukan kawasan penempatan terpencil, bukan kawasan penempatan bagi menampung pertumbuhan semula jadi penduduk," kata Hillary kepada wartawan.
Abul Gheit pula melahirkan rasa optimis dengan ketegasan dan keazaman pentadbiran Obama untuk mengusahakan perdamaian dan penubuhan negara Palestin.
Menteri Luar Mesir itu memberi amaran, rundingan diperlukan bagi mewujudkan sebuah "negara Palestin dengan secepat mungkin", jika tidak dunia akan menderita. - AFP
