The document summarizes protests in London against Israel's war in Gaza in late 2008-early 2009. It describes how 119 young Muslims were arrested months later for their involvement in the protests, despite many being first-time offenders. 78 were charged with violent disorder and convinced to plead guilty to lesser offenses, but were still given disproportionately long prison sentences ranging from 8 months to 2.5 years. The arrests have been criticized as disproportionate and unnecessary.

1. Aqsa News FOR FREE DISTRIBUTIONQUARTERLY | ISSUE 43 | APRIL 2010
Gaza Protestors Given
Disproportionate Jail
Sentences
During Israel’s war
on Gaza in December
2008 and January 2009,
hundreds of thousands
of protestors took to the
streets to demonstrate
against Israel’s brutal
and disproportionate
war. While peaceful in
the main, pockets of
violence were seen and
the police responded us-
ing brute force against
demonstrators.
During the clash-
es, there was dam-
age to some proper-
ties around the Israeli
embassy in London,
and some demonstra-
tors threw objects such
as placards and bottles
towards the embassy
and in some cases,
towards the police.
In a series of arrests
taking place months
after the demonstra-
tions, 119 young peo-
ple were taken into
custody, all but two
of whom were young
Muslims mainly be-
tween the ages of 18-22.
A number of the arrests
took place during dawn
raids on the defend-
ants’ family homes,
where members of their
families were hand-
cuffed by police. Com-
mentators have lik-
ened these arrests to
terror arrests, being to-
tally disproportionate
to the crime that the
suspects were being
accused of and com-
pletely unnecessary.
Of those arrested,
78 were charged with
violent disorder of-
fences and convinced
by duty solicitors to
plead guilty to lesser
offences in order to get
a reduced sentence, as
would be the case in the
normal course of jus-
tice. However, de-
spite many of them
being at college or
university, and be-
ing first time offend-
ers, the presiding judge
passed prison sentences
ranging from eight
months to two
and a half years in
duration.
Continued on Page 4
18 Months in Prison for
Throwing a Bottle
Following the mur-
der of Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Al Mabhouh
in Dubai by what was
widely believed to be a
Mossad hit squad, the
British government took
the unprecedented step
of expelling an Israeli
Diplomat from the UK.
This move came as ten-
sions between Israel and
its other ally the USA
were also spiralling out
of control towards the
end of March.
I n v e s t i g a t i o n s
launched in Britain by
the Serious Organised
Crime Agency (SOCA)
discovered that 12
British passports were
cloned by Israeli agents
in order to undertake the
murder plot. Reports
suggest that the Israeli
Diplomat who was ex-
pelled was the Chief of
security in the UK, him-
self a Mosad agent. Is-
rael also stands accused
of cloning passports
belonging to citizens of
Australia, France, Ger-
many and Ireland, and
the responses of these
governments are still
forthcoming.
This was not the first
time Israel has come
into conflict with the
British government over
the cloning of passports.
In 1987, a diplomatic
wrangle over illegal
cloning of a passport
led to an apology from
Israel and an undertak-
ing that it would not be
repeated. This promise
was reneged on.
In his statement
to Parliament, David
Miliband stated that
the “misuse of British
passports is intolerable”
adding: “It presents a
hazard for the safety of
British nationals in the
region. It also represents
a profound disregard for
the sovereignty of the
United Kingdom.”
British travellers
to Israel are now be-
ing warned by the For-
eign Office that their
passports could be at
risk. New travel guide-
lines state: “UK pass-
port holders should be
aware of a recent Seri-
ous Organised Crime
Agency investigation
into the misuse of UK
passports in the murder
of Mahmud al-Mabhuh
in Dubai on 19 Janu-
ary 2010. The SOCA
investigation found cir-
cumstantial evidence
of Israeli involvement
in the fraudulent use of
British passports. This
has raised the possibili-
ty that your passport de-
tails could be captured
for improper uses while
your passport is out of
your control. The risk
applies in particular to
passports without bio-
metric security features.
We recommend that you
only hand your passport
over to third parties in-
cluding Israeli officials
when absolutely neces-
sary.”
Many commenta-
tors have suggested that
Israel’s arrogance is to
blame for the current
rift between Israel and
its staunch allies, the
UK and the USA. Some
supporters of Israel on
the other hand have
taken the feeble line that
the UK is immaterial to
Israel and therefore the
expulsion will have no
impact.
Britain Expels Israeli Diplomat
Friends of Al-Aqsa
Update
Comments from
Jonathan Cook and
Arwa Aburawa
Page 2 > Page 7 > Page 8 > Page 12 >
Inside...
Cracks in Al-Aqsa
Masjid
Page 2
Israeli Hit Squad in
Dubai Murder
Page 4
European Parliament
Endorses Goldstone
Report
Page 5
Book Reviews
Page 11
Friends of Al-Aqsa
hosts ‘Crisis in
Jerusalem’ Meeting at
House of Commons
Following rising tensions
in Jerusalem attributed to
Israel’s continued settlement
building and compromising
of Christian and Muslim holy
sites, Friends of Al-Aqsa, in
conjunction with Martin Lin-
ton MP and Labour Friends
of Palestine hosted a meeting
at the House of Commons to
discuss the issue of the crisis
in Jerusalem.
Full Story on Page 8
Special Feature:
The Gaza Strip -
An Israeli Experiment in Human Despair
Justice Still Illusive for Victims of
Operation Cast Lead

2. International human
rights organisation Human
Rights Watch have report-
ed that Israel has failed to
confirm that it will conduct
fair and impartial investi-
gations over allegations of
war crimes during the Gaza
offensive early last year.
Whilst the Israeli Mili-
tary is currently carrying out
its own investigations over
the actions of soldiers, it has
failed to provide evidence
that such investigations will
be conducted with imparti-
ality. The meeting between
military lawyers from the
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF)
and Human Rights Watch
on 4 February 2010 also
made clear that the broader
issue of the policy decisions
themselves which often lead
to huge numbers of civilian
deaths was not specifically
referred to as the subject of
investigations.
“Israel claims it is
conducting credible and
impartial investigations, but it
has so far failed to make that
case,” said Joe Stork, Deputy
Middle East Director for Hu-
man Rights Watch. “An in-
dependent investigation is
crucial to understand why so
many civilians died and to
bring justice for the victims
of unlawful attacks.”
Investigations of the
Israeli Military have
already been found to have
‘overlooked’certain pieces of
evidence. One such instance
is the bombing of the al-Badr
flour mill outside Jabalya.
Israel denied targeting the
mill by air; however, the
apparent remains of an
Israeli MK-82 500-pound
aerial bomb were found at
the location. Human Rights
Watch have obtained video
footage showing this.
The death and destruc-
tion inflicted during the
December-January offen-
sive of Operation Cast Lead
left over 1,400 dead and
nearly 3,500 homes and 280
factories destroyed. After
investigations, Human Rights
Watch identified 53 civilian
deaths in 19 circumstances
in which Israel appears to
have violated international
law. This includes the use of
white phosphorus munitions,
civilian attacks by drone-
launched missiles in addition
to soldier’s shooting civilians
carrying white flags.
The Israeli military have
argued that they are investi-
gating the cases put forward
by Human Rights Watch.
However, up until now,
just one soldier has been
convicted of wartime abuse
during the offensive. The
crime – theft of a credit card.
“The Israeli investiga-
tions so far have looked
mostly at soldiers who
disobeyed orders or the rules
of engagement, but failed to
ask the crucial question about
whether those orders and
rules of engagement them-
selves violated the laws of
war. For those decisions and
policies, senior military and
political decision-makers
should be held responsible,”
Stork added.
Israeli Prime Minis-
ter Benjamin Netanyahu
announced plans in Febru-
ary to include the Tomb of
the Patriarchs in Hebron
(also known as Masjid-e-
Khalil) and Rachel’s Tomb in
Bethlehem on a list of Israeli
‘national heritage’ sites.
The decision came despite
warning from the Palestinian
Authority that such a move
would “wreck” peace efforts.
Both of these sites are
located in the West Bank and
therefore constitute part of
the Occupied Palestinian Ter-
ritories. By claiming them
as Israeli national heritage
sites, their Palestinian herit-
age is being threatened which
has led to unrest across the
Territories.
There have been
strikes and protests in both
Bethlehem and Hebron to
which Israeli forces respond-
ed with stun grenades and
tear gas. In Bethlehem, there
was a call for a three day walk
out for businesses, schools
and universities. Palestinian
leader Ismail Haniyyah said
the move “aims to erase our
identity, alter our Islamic
monuments and steal our
history.”
The Israeli decision
came on the sixteen year
anniversary of the attack
on Masjid-e-Khalil by US-
born Israeli settler Baruch
Goldstein in 1994. Goldstein
opened machine-gun fire on
the congregation praying the
early morning Fajr prayers,
killing 29 people.
On the international
front, the US State Depart-
ment has sharply criticised
the move and spokesper-
son Mark Toner said the
administration saw it as
“provocative” and unhelp-
ful. The UN also expressed
disapproval suggesting that
this may now threaten the
resumption of peace talks.
Robert Serry, the Unit-
ed Nations Envoy to the
Middle East explained that
the two sites “are in Palestin-
ian territory” which precludes
them from being Israeli
national heritage sites.
Palestinians fear that the
decision will result in limited
access to the sites in what is
already a tightly controlled
area. Israeli officials have
denied this; however,
Palestinians say that past
experience shows that these
promises are likely to be
meaningless. The Israeli
move is suspected as be-
ing part of the overall agen-
da to further consolidate a
stranglehold on Palestinian
territories.
Israel Claims Masjid-e-Khalil as
National Heritage Site
Justice Still Illusive for Victims of
Operation Cast Lead
AQSA NEWS
02 Inside Palestine
Journalists covering a
major military operation in
the Shu’fat Refugee Camp
in East Jerusalem on 8 and 9
February this year were tar-
geted by Israeli soldiers. The
soldiers opened fire with tear
gas, stun grenades and rub-
ber bullets causing injuries to
a number of the journalists.
Photographer Diala
Jweihan was taken to the
hospital unconscious after
being hit in the stomach by a
stun grenade. It was reported
that the Israeli soldiers ap-
peared to have “deliberately
fired on the journalists” and
Reporters Without Borders
further urged the Israeli
Military to “investigate and
punish those responsible”.
A newly formed activ-
ist group in Lebanon, ‘The
Campaign to Stop the Wall
of Shame’ has disclosed the
involvement of Arab Con-
tractors in the building of
an underground steel wall
between Gaza and Egypt.
The decision for the con-
struction came following a
rise in smuggling through
tunnels between the Gaza
Strip and Egypt. These
tunnels have been described
by many Gazans as a life line
since the closure of the Gaza
Strip in 2006, bringing in
desperately needed supplies
of food and medicine. Is-
rael accuses Hamas of using
them to smuggle in weapons.
The construction of
the ‘wall of shame’ will
weaken and block off the
tunnels, thereby cutting
off this lifeline for Gazans.
Cracks as long as seven
metres in length have been
discovered along the walls of
buildings within the Al Aqsa
Masjid, following ongoing
Israeli excavations in the
area. The Al-Aqsa Founda-
tion for Waqf and Heritage
found that excavations under
the Al Omaria School, which
is within the boundaries of
the Al Aqsa Masjid, have in-
creased and large quantities
of earth are being removed
by occupation forces.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Cracks in Al-Aqsa MasjidJournalists under Fire Arab Contractors Complicit In Egyptian
‘Wall of Shame’

3. Dozens of Palestin-
ians were injured when
clashes erupted at theAlAqsa
compound in early March.
With tensions rising
following the announcement
of Israeli settlement plans
and the opening of the Hurva
Synagogue, Israeli forces
entered the mosque after
Friday prayers firing rubber
coated bullets, tear gas and
stun grenades. 60 worship-
pers were injured, among
them a woman shot in the eye
with a rubber bullet.
Forces were seen beat-
ing protestors with batons,
thereby injuring a great
number of people including
some elderly worshippers.
Red Crescent medics were
then prevented from reach-
ing the injured. Israeli news
reports claimed that 15
Israeli police were also
injured by stones thrown by
Palestinians.
Earlier clashes were
witnessed following an
announcement from extrem-
ist settlers to gather at the
Wailing Wall and then
to march on the Al Aqsa
Compound. In response,
Palestinians defending the
Al-Aqsa spent the night
in the mosque in order to
prevent the extremist set-
tlers from entering. National
and religious leaders in both
Jerusalem and Israel also
urged Palestinians to prevent
such a takeover by gathering
at the mosque.
Palestinians continue
to be weary of the poten-
tial threats posed to the
sacred Al-Aqsa compound by
Israel, especially in light of
the extremist voices from
Israeli society calling for the
demolition of the mosque.
Despite Israeli reports
laying the blame for the
clashes upon Palestinians,
the Palestinian Centre for
Human Rights (PCHR) has
verified eyewitness accounts
and local news coverage that
shows hundreds of Israeli
settlers accompanied by
Israeli forces enter the
mosque thereby sparking a
response from Palestinians.
PCHR criticised Israel’s “use
of excessive force” against
Palestinian civilians who
gathered inside the mosque
in order to prevent “the
provocative entry of
settlers”.
Israeli Forces Storm Masjid
Al-Aqsa
Israel Plans to Outlaw Nakba
Commemoration
An Israeli Parliamentary
Law Committee unveiled
plans to impose economic
sanctions on anyone who
organises Nakba commemo-
ration events. The proposal
for the Parliamentary Bill
was approved in March.
This move is viewed as an
effort to make Arab/Pal-
estinian citizens of Israel
identify with ‘Zionist
values that negate their
Palestinian national identity’.
The ‘Nakba’ or
Catastrophe is the term
used by Palestinians when
referring to the events of
1948 when approximately
750,000 Palestinians were
expelled from their homes
or fled in order to escape the
violence of Zionist militias.
These militias committed
massacres against civilians
causing widespread panic.
531 villages were completely
cleansed of their Arab popu-
lations. Nakba commemora-
tions are of huge importance
to all Palestinians, and these
laws would impact on the
Arab/Palestinian-Israelis
who remained within the
borders of Israel in 1948,
of whom 350,000 continue
to live as internally dis-
placed people within Israel.
If the bill is allowed to
pass, the Israeli govern-
ment will be forbidden from
supporting organisations that
spend money on organising
events commemorating the
Nakba.
The Israeli Human Rights
group Badil have said: “In
effect, the bill requires
that Palestinian citizens of
Israel deny their history and
identity… It requires that
Palestinians sanction their
own historical disposses-
sion and accept their current
status as second-class
citizens in the ‘Jewish state’
and their detachment from
the Palestinian people.”
On Thursday after-
noon, 4 March, in the Old
City of Hebron, Amir
al-Mohtaseb, a ten-year-old
boy with freckles and long
eyelashes described in painful
detail his arrest and detention
-andthejailingofhis12-year-
old brother Hasan by Israeli
occupation soldiers on
Sunday, 28 February 2010.
Hours after our interview,
at 2am, Israeli soldiers would
break into the house, snatch
Amir from his bed, threaten
his parents with death by
gunfire if they tried to protect
him, and take him downstairs
under the stairwell. They
would beat him so badly that
he would bleed internally into
his abdomen, necessitating
overnight hospitalization. In
complete shock and distress,
Amir would not open his
mouth to speak for another
day and a half.
In our interview that
afternoon before the brutal
assault, Amir said that on
the 28th, he was playing in
the street near the Ibrahimi
Mosque, on his way with
Hasan to see their aunt.
“Two of the soldiers
stopped us and handcuffed
us,” Amir said. “They
brought us to two separate
jeeps. They took me to the
settlement and put me in a
corner. I still had handcuffs
on. They put a dog next to
me. I said that I wanted to go
home. They said no, and told
me I would stay here forever.
They refused to let me use
the bathroom. They wouldn’t
let me call my mother. They
blindfolded me and I stayed
there like that until my father
was able to come and get me
late at night.” Amir’s deten-
tion inside the settlement
lasted nearly ten hours.
Amir and Hasan’s mother,
Mukarrem, told me that Amir
immediately displayed signs
of trauma when he returned
home. Amir revealed that
he hadn’t been able to sleep
in the nights following his
detention, worried sick
about his brother in jail and
extremely afraid that the
soldiers would come back
(which, eventually, they
did). Today, approximately
350 children are languishing
inside Israeli prisons and
detention camps, enduring
interrogation, torture and
indefinite sentences, some-
times without charge.
Israel designates 18 as the
age of adulthood for its own
citizens, but through a mili-
tary order, and against inter-
national law, Israel mandates
16 as the age of adulthood for
Palestinians. Additionally, Is-
rael has special Military Or-
ders (No.1644 and No.132)
to be able to arrest and judge
Palestinian children - termed
“juvenile delinquents” - as
young as 12 years old.
“This way, they have a
‘legal’ cover for what they
are doing, even though this
is against international laws,”
said Abed Jamal, a researcher
at Defence for Children Inter-
national-Palestine Section’s
(DCI-PS) Hebron office.
I asked Amir and Hasan’s
father, Fadel, to describe
how one is able to parent ef-
fectively under this kind of
constant siege. “It’s not safe
for the children to go outside
because we’ve faced constant
attacks by the settlers and the
soldiers,” he explained. “This
by itself is unimaginable for
us.And now, we have one son
in jail and another trauma-
tized ... they’re so young.”
Consumed by their sons’
situations, Mukarrem and
Fadel say they are trying to do
the best for their family under
attack. “What can we do?”
asked Fadel. “We lock the
doors. We lock the windows.
We have nothing with which
to protect our family and our
neighbours from the soldiers
or the settlers. If a Palestin-
ian kidnapped and beat and
jailed an Israeli child, the
whole world would be up in
arms about it. It would be all
over the media. But the Israe-
lis, they come into our com-
munities with jeeps and tanks
and bulldozers, they take our
children and throw them into
prison, and no one cares.”
Amir slowly began speak-
ing again 36 hours after the
beating by Israeli soldiers.
Zahira Meshaal, a Bethle-
hem-based social worker
specializing in the effects of
trauma in children, said that
Amir’s “elective mutism,”
a symptom of extreme psy-
chological shock caused by
his beating and detention, is
a common response, but that
it is a good sign that he began
talking again. “This is a reac-
tion of fear on many levels.
Amir’s house and his family
are his only source of secu-
rity,” said Meshaal. “This
was taken away from him the
moment the soldiers invaded
his home. It’s easy to attend
to the immediate trauma, but
the long-term effects will
undoubtedly be difficult to
address. He’ll need a lot of
mental health services from
now on.”
By Nora Barrows-Friedman
Electronic Intifada
Amir, Ten Years Old,
Abducted by Israeli
Soldiers from his Bed
AQSA NEWS
03
Israeli occupation forces
opened fire on two Palestin-
ians, including one child on
Saturday 20th March, killing
both. The incident took place
south of Nablus where the
civilians Mohammed Ibrahim
Abdul Qader Qadous, 16, and
Usaid Abdul Naser Qadous,
20, were shot at close range.
Qader was shot in the heart
and was pronounce dead on
arrival at Nablus Specialized
Hospital. Naser, a student at
An-Najah University, was
shot in the head and under-
went prolonged surgery on
arrival at the hospital. How-
ever, he died the following
day.
Israeli warplanes hit
Gaza’s disused International
Airport in the southern part
of the Gaza Strip twice in
February. Several buildings
were destroyed and runways
shattered.
The airport, near the
border city of Rafah opened
to business in 1998 but had to
be shut down following the
Second Intifada in late 2000,
after damage arising from re-
peated Israeli shelling and air
strikes.
Israel Bombs Gaza AirportPalestinian Child and Student Killed

4. Following the assassina-
tion of senior Hamas official
Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in
Dubai on 19 January by ap-
parent suffocation, fresh evi-
dence from the Dubai Police
surfaced in mid-February,
linking the assassination to
the Israeli Secret Service,
Mossad.
Israeli complicity in the
killing became widely sus-
pected though Israel persist-
ed to adopt a policy of “am-
biguity”, saying “Israel never
responds, never confirms and
never denies,” a comment
made by foreign minister Av-
igdor Lieberman.
Members of the hit squad
were seen entering a hotel lift
with Mabhouh, waiting for
his departure from his room,
after which they broke in, and
then awaited his arrival later
in the evening. Mabhouh re-
turned at 8.24pm. Police re-
port that he was killed a short
while later.
Deeper controversy arose
and diplomatic tensions
flared after it was found that
the operation had made use
of forged passports of citi-
zens from the UK, Ireland,
France, Australia and Ger-
many. The use of forged
passports was met with glo-
bal condemnation and British
foreign secretary David Mili-
band described their usage as
an “outrage”. Miliband called
for the Israeli Ambassador
to explain the use of British
forged passports. However,
the response was less that
helpful as he said that he was
“unable to add information”,
a similar response to that
given by the ambassador to
Ireland.
Israel tried to deflect
some of the blame by impli-
cating other countries in the
controversy. Claims that the
UK was aware of possible
complications in the illicit
use of British passports have
been denied by the British
government.
Miliband met with Lie-
berman in Brussels where he
demanded full co-operation
with an ongoing investiga-
tion conducted by The Seri-
ous and Organized Crime
Agency (SOCA) as to how
British passports came to be
used. The MI6 are conduct-
ing a parallel investigation
examining alleged Israeli in-
volvement.
The Ministry of Justice
announced in early March
that proposals to amend the
British law allowing Univer-
sal Jurisdiction for the prose-
cution of certain crimes, were
to be postponed until after the
General Elections. The pro-
visions of the law have been
used by citizens in the UK to
obtain arrest warrants for Is-
raeli politicians and military
personnel accused of War
Crimes.
Britain was put under
pressure by Israel to amend
the laws following the issuing
of an arrest warrant against
former Israeli Foreign Minis-
ter Tzipi Livni in December
2009.
Justice secretary Jack
Straw explained that the
Government recognised the
controversy surrounding the
subject since it involves the
right to private prosecution.
He said in a written statement
to MP’s that “rather than leg-
islating now, we are going to
seek views on the proposals
we are minded to make.”
The decision has sparked
criticism from the Israeli
Government particularly fol-
lowing comments from Livni
demonstrating that she would
be prepared to travel to the
UK “within weeks” in order
to pressurise the British Gov-
ernment to quicken the law
changes.
Livni, who was the Is-
raeli Foreign Minister at the
time of the Gaza offensive in
2008-2009 which resulted in
the death of over 1,400 Pales-
tinians, stated that she aimed
to take the step in order to
protect the freedom of move-
ment of every Israeli citizen.
Ironically, this is one of many
rights that Israel unwarrant-
edly denies Palestinians. The
arrest warrant was issued
in relation to her role in the
war and allegations of War
Crimes.
The initial move to amend
the law of Universal Juris-
diction, a principle in which
states can prosecute grave
human rights violations com-
mitted anywhere in the world
(Amnesty International),
came after Livni had sched-
uled a trip to the UK last
December. Following the is-
suing of an arrest warrant on
charges of war crimes, Livni
cancelled her trip for fear of
the ramifications of her en-
trance into the UK.
Embarrassed at such ac-
tion and for fear of creating
diplomatic tensions between
Britain and Israel, the Brit-
ish Government promised
“urgent action” in order to re-
solve the awkward situation.
However, due to great oppo-
sition and much debate, the
law change has not yet been
enacted.
Israeli lawyer based in
the UK and co-founder of
Lawyers for Palestinian Hu-
man Rights Daniel Machover
stated, “If there were no case
for Tzipi Livni to answer to
then we could say that the le-
gal system was being abused.
But nobody, including Tzipi
Livni, is addressing the ques-
tion of whether or not there is
a war crimes case for her to
answer to.”
Israeli deputy foreign
minister and member of the
far-right Yisrael Beitenu
party, Danny Ayalon, was
faced with a crowd of pro-
Palestinian protestors as he
arrived to deliver a lecture at
the Oxford Students’ Union
on 8 February.
The protestors, made up
of members of the Oxford
Students’ Palestine Soci-
ety, as well as other student
groups and members of the
public, felt it inconceivable
that a person belonging to
what they believe is a racist
party advocating apartheid
policies, be welcomed to de-
liver a lecture. Whilst a dem-
onstration continued outside
the lecture theatre, numerous
individuals inside interrupted
Ayalon’s speech and chal-
lenged the assertions made.
One student stood and read
an entire page of the Gold-
stone report whilst another
listed Israeli war crimes.
However, the most shock-
ing event of the day was the
behaviour of Ayalon’s se-
curity staff. As one protes-
tor photographed the car
in which he was travelling,
Ayalon’s security staff drove
straight into him causing
bad bruising. No serious in-
juries were reported. Whilst
this sort of behaviour may
be common for Israel in the
Occupied Territories, such
actions in the UK seemed un-
thinkable. The incident is be-
ing investigated by Thames
Valley Police.
Despite the violence, the
protests were seen as a great
success. The Oxford Univer-
sity’s Palestine Society stated
in a report released after the
event that “..until Israel ends
its illegal occupation and the
Palestinians receive the jus-
tice they have been denied for
the last six decades, Israel’s
representatives and propa-
gandists will not be welcome
at Oxford University.”
AQSA NEWS
04 Global News
Israeli Hit Squad in
Dubai Murder
Change in British Law
on Universal
Jurisdiction Postponed
Oxford Students Protest at Ayalon
Lecture
Three Palestinian farm-
ers were denied access to the
UK after being invited by
UK-based social enterprise
Zaytoun to attend the
Fairtrade Fortnight. The trio
were set to take part in a
packed schedule of events up
and down the UK marking
the annual event.
Thedecisionwasreceived
angrily by supporters of
Fairtrade, exactly one year
after the farmers became
the first to hold recognised
Fairtrade status. The three
farmers, Lina Mahmoud,
Belal Eid and Nahed
Besharieh, were special
guests of Zaytoun and were
to meet thousands of school
children, ethical shoppers
and fair-trade supporters
across the UK. However,
the UK Borders Agency
refused the visa applications
requesting permission for the
farmers to take part in
“radio interviews, schools
talks, shop samplings, faith
gatherings and official
receptions” on the grounds of
insufficient proof of income
andfamilyties.Thesegrounds
were deemed to be baseless as
the original visa applications
clearly stated that expenses
and other arrangements were
to be covered by the host
company Zaytoun and their
NGO partner.
Director of Zaytoun,
Cathi Pawson expressed her
bewilderment at the situa-
tion, saying “We find it very
strange that a Palestinian
olive farmer, participat-
ing in a multi- million EC
funded food security project,
invited by a UK company,
accompanied by a leading
British NGO, and hosted by
groups across the country,
cannot get a visa for Fairtrade
Fortnight - especially when
Gordon Brown announced
he was ‘delighted’ about
the Fairtrade certification of
Palestinian olive oil, and
Tony Blair was ‘inspired’ by
his recent visit to a Fairtrade
olive processing factory in
Jenin.”
After a campaign, the
visas were eventually grant-
edbut it was too late for the
farmers to make the trip
Palestinian Farmers Denied Visas
to Enter UK for Fair Trade Event
(From page 1)
In the case of 18 year
old Yahia Tebani who threw
an empty Orangina bottle at
the embassy gates, despite
being commended by the
judge for his good character,
he was given a shameful 18
month prison sentence. 22
of those charged have been
sentenced so far, with the
remainder to be sentenced
in the coming months. What
is apparent is that the future
for these young people will
look very bleak as a prison
sentence will hinder any
prospects they may have.
The judge called the
sentences a deterrence
measure. The disproportion-
ate nature of the sentenc-
ing has created great anger
and apprehension within the
Muslim community, as it is
seen as a move intended to
delegitimize and discour-
age Muslim participation in
public protests, the vast
majority of which have
always been peaceful.
Further to this, the small
pockets of violence at the
Gaza demonstrations did not
compare to other protests
such as the G8, and in those
instances protestors were
merely given warnings if
they were arrested at all.
In response to the severe
sentencing, a group of MPs
came together in early March
to bring the matter to the
public’s attention and harsh-
ly criticised the sentencing.
Jeremy Corbyn MP intended
totableamotioninParliament
in opposition to the handling
of the protestors. A campaign
against the sentences has now
been launched by the families
of the young people, in order
to have then over turned. In
addition, on 24 March, one of
the protestors, who refused to
plead guilty, had all charges
dropped at his court hearing
when the prosecution failed to
provide any evidence for the
charges. This suggests that
those who were convinced
to plead guilty may not have
had a case against them at all.
This lead to renewed calls for
all charges to be dropped and
sentences over turned.
Joanne Gilmore, an asso-
ciate lecturer at Manchester
University School of Law,
has been extremely criti-
cal of the sentences, stating:
“When thousands of people
took to the streets between
December 2008 and Janu-
ary 2009 in opposition to
Israel’s brutal assault on the
people of Gaza, the police
responded with violence and
brutality on a scale that had
not been seen in the UK for
years. However, despite the
severity of injuries suffered
by protesters, not one police
officer has faced charges, or
even disciplinary action, as
a result of their behaviour
at these demonstrations. In
contrast, scores of young
Muslims have been subjected
to dawn raids, gruelling court
processes and lengthy prison
sentences their part in the
demonstrations.”
Joanna is urging people
to sign a petition which
supports the Gaza Protester
Defence Campaign.

5. The family of peace activ-
ist Rachel Corries have taken
the Israeli Defence Force
(IDF) to court over the killing
of their daughter. 23-year old
Rachel Corrie was crushed
by a bulldozer in 2003 after
trying to prevent the demoli-
tion of a Palestinian home.
Israeli prime minister at
the time Ariel Sharon prom-
ised that a “through, credible
and transparent investiga-
tion” would be carried out,
looking at the circumstances
surrounding her death. How-
ever, despite all the evidence,
the investigation that was
carried out acquitted both the
bulldozer driver as well as the
commanders who oversaw
the operation. They chose
instead to blame Rachel Cor-
ries for putting herself in a
‘dangerous’ situation.
Three British and one
American activist from the
International Solidarity
Movement (ISM) who were
present at the time of Rachel’s
death gave evidence at the
trial. Richard Purssell, one of
the British activists described
to the court how he watched
in horror as the bulldozer
dragged Corrie the distance
of approximately four me-
tres at a “fast walking pace.”
He added that despite shouts
and gestures to the bulldozer
driver to stop, the bulldozer
drove over Corrie’s body
before reversing in the same
line whilst Corrie was be-
neath. First aid trained activ-
ists rushed to her aid at which
point she was still breathing.
However, she died a short
while later due to the extent
of her internal injuries.
Parents Craig and Cindy
Corrie arrived in Israel on 7
March marking an incredibly
long journey in seeking jus-
tice for their daughter. Moth-
er Cindy said, “My family
and I are still searching for
justice. The brutal death of
my daughter should never
have happened. We believe
the Israeli army must be held
accountable for her unlawful
killing.”
Whilst the four ISM ac-
tivists were able to give evi-
dence at the trial, Ahmed Abu
Nakira, the doctor who treat-
ed Corrie in Gaza was not
granted permission to leave
Gaza, nor was he questioned
via video link.
Following the presenta-
tion of all the evidence by
the Corrie family, the state of
Israel will respond at the next
trial in September 2010.
The Russell Tribunal on
Palestine (RTP), a tribunal of
conscience that endeavours
to hold the international com-
munity to account over Israe-
li violations of international
law, was launched at the be-
ginning of March, meeting
for its first of four sessions in
Barcelona. The initial session
aimed to determine whether
the EU has upheld its obli-
gations under international
law in recognition of the fact
that without the support of
international sponsors, Israel
would not have been permit-
ted to perpetrate the gross vi-
olations it has done over the
last 62 years.
The tribunal, which was
attended by judges, profes-
sors, lawyers and former
heads of states from around
the world, concluded that the
EU has defied international
law due to its complicity in
Israeli violations.
Three sessions are to
follow over the coming two
years focussing on the fol-
lowing areas:
- Scrutinising the complicity
of corporations in Israeli vio-
lations of international law in
addition to labour rights in
Palestine /Israel in the Lon-
don session, to be held at the
end of 2010
- Examining the applicability
of the charge of apartheid be-
haviour on the part of Israel,
symbolically to be held in
South Africa in mid-2011
- Investigating the role of the
US within the UN in deci-
sion-making processes to be
held in the US in late-2011
The tribunal is to fol-
low the same tradition as the
previous Russell Tribunal
for war crimes in Vietnam.
Bertrand Russell the Brit-
ish Philosopher responsible
for the creation of the body
based the idea on the follow-
ing principle:
“If certain acts and viola-
tions of treaties are crimes,
they are crimes whether the
United States does them or
whether Germany does them.
We are not prepared to lay
down a rule of criminal con-
duct against others which we
would not be willing to have
invoked against us.” Justice
Robert H. Jackson, Chief
Prosecutor, Nuremberg War
Crimes Tribunals
To date, Israel has vio-
lated over 60 UN resolutions,
with minimal criticism from
the international community
of signatory states. This Tri-
bunal provides a platform for
non-political opinion.
Joe Biden, US Vice-
president condemned plans
approved by the Israeli
Interior Ministry for the
building of 1,400 homes in
occupied East Jerusalem.
The revelation infuriated the
US as it came just hours after
Biden pledged support for
the Israeli government.
In a statement issued at
a dinner with Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netan-
yahu to which he arrived one
and a half hours late, Biden
said in an unusually strong
statement:
“I condemn the deci-
sion by the government of
Israel to advance planning
for new housing units.” He
further explained that such
a decision “undermines the
trust we need right now and
runs counter to the construc-
tive discussions I’ve had in
Israel.”
Unsurprisingly, the Pales-
tinians pulled out of indirect
peace talks stating that such
‘proximity’ talks could not
begin until Israel halted set-
tlement expansion. The chief
Palestinian negotiator Saeb
Erekat clarified that the an-
nouncement were detrimental
and was “destroying” Pales-
tinian efforts towards peace.
Biden who later ‘fixed’
his earlier criticisms of Israel
in stating that the US had “no
better friend”, urged both the
Palestinians and the Israeli’s
to restart peace talks, citing
it to be “..the only path to
finally resolving the perma-
nent status issues, including
borders, security, refugees
and Jerusalem.”
Despite the collapse in
this latest round of peace
talks due to further proposed
illegal Israeli settlement
expansion, Israel’s latest rev-
elation on 11 March disclosed
that Israeli authorities are
considering plans for at least
another 8,000 new homes
(including the previously
revealed 1,400 homes) in
illegal East Jerusalem
settlements.
The European Parlia-
ment passed a vote endors-
ing the Goldstone Report
on 10 March in Strasbourg.
The 335-287 majority vote
in favour of endorsement
came despite a heavy wave
of lobbying from pro-Israel
groups.
MEP’s called for EU for-
eign policy chief Catherine
Ashton to “publicly demand
the implementation of [the
report’s] recommendations
and accountability for all
violations of international
law, including alleged war
crimes.” Ashton visited Gaza
despite some resistance to the
visit from Israel’s Foreign
Ministry.
The assembly, which is
the second international body
after the UN to support the re-
port, called for its 27-member
states to monitor the situation
and ensure that both parties
conduct fair and credible in-
vestigations, in addition to
urging Israel to open border
crossings to alleviate the hu-
manitarian crisis in Gaza.
Israel has criticised the
decision calling it “counter-
productive” to peace efforts.
This is a worrying develop-
ment for Israel as the report
accuses Israel of war crimes,
a position which has now
been endorsed by the EU par-
liament – the most important
international endorsement
yet.
AQSA NEWS
05
Civil Suit Filed over Rachel
Corrie’s Death
Russell Tribunal on Palestine
Commences
US-Israel Ties Strained
An appeal by an inde-
pendent Palestinian non-
governmental human rights
organisation to take the UK
to court over its inaction in
upholding by human rights
obligations has been dis-
missed. Al-Haq, based in the
West Bank, stated that Brit-
ain had the power to prevent
much of the illegal activities
perpetrated by Israel such as
extensive settlement building
and targeting of civilians in
operations such as those in
Gaza.
Al-Haq calls for the sus-
pending of arms-related ex-
ports and the EU preferential
trading agreements, as well as
the handing over of evidence
of war crimes to the British
police. Al-Haq argued that if
the UK were to stand by their
international obligations, the
result would be a great im-
provement to the humanitar-
ian situation in Gaza.
The appeal came approx-
imately six months after the
original application for a ju-
dicial review to hear the case
was rejected late in 2009. The
West Bank based group were
represented by Public Interest
Lawyers (PIL) who included
in their case evidence from
the UN sponsored Goldstone
Report which highlighted
a great number of human
right violations, particularly
breaches of the Geneva Con-
ventions and the perpetration
of War Crimes.
One of the individuals
present at the hearing was a
representative from Friends
of Al-Aqsa who commented:
“The appeal was well re-
ceived by the Judge in the
Court of Appeal but was
dismissed on the basis that
the Court does not have the
power to say whether Israel
committed a breach in Inter-
national Law nor does it have
an influence on the Foreign
Office’s response on these
matters.”
Action Against UK Government
Dismissed
European Parliament Endorses
Goldstone Report

6. AQSA NEWS
06 Campaigns Update
Leicester De Montfort
University Twins with
An-Najah University
Ally Ackbarally is a stu-
dent completing his MSc in
Advanced Health Studies at
De Montfort University in
Leicester. He recently pro-
posed a motion to the Stu-
dents Union to twin the union
with the Student Council of
An-Najah University in Na-
blus. The motion was passed.
In this short interview, we
find out how Ally went about
starting the twinning initia-
tive.
How did you approach the
project?
I began by contacting oth-
er universities who already
have twinning initiatives in
place and asked for advice.
Then I submitted a proposal
to the Students Union, and
was asked to deliver a presen-
tation to the assembly and an-
swer any questions they had.
The vote was passed over to
the Annual General Meet-
ing (AGM), which includes
student representatives from
across the university, and the
motion was passed!
Did you face any
obstacles?
There were a few difficult
questions when I delivered
the proposal to the Students
Union, but other than that,
no.
What kind of response have
you received from people?
I’ve had a lot of help
from friends. We had a cam-
paign alongside submitting
the proposal where we spoke
to people about the twinning,
sent around emails, messages
on Facebook and that sort of
thing. Really, it was so that
we could explain what we
were hoping to do and allevi-
ate any worries.
How do you think this
twinning will help the
Palestinians?
I feel it’s a concrete way
to offer our support. An-Na-
jah University is almost on
the frontline of the occupa-
tion. Around 9,000 students
have to pass checkpoints to
get to the university. Hope-
fully, having the twinning in
place will offer them some
sort of protection and contact
with the outside world. Eve-
ryone has the right to educa-
tion, wherever they live.
How will the project
benefit students at De
Montfort University?
We hope to organise
exchanges between the
universities and we have
an international conference
planned for this October
when we’ll be inviting stu-
dents from An-Najah to the
UK, God-willing. In terms of
academics, we’re also hoping
to start joint projects which
will be a huge asset.
Do you have any
advice for anyone in a
similar position, or who
would like to set up
twinning schemes at their
own university?
Yes, definitely set off
on the right foot. Follow
the rules of the university
in terms of the procedure
they use to enact these sorts
of things. Most universities
allow all students to propose
a motion if they wish, so
make use of the rights you
have! Work together with
the Students Union, they can
give you a lot of support.
Just a few days after this
interview was conducted,
reports emerged that Israeli
soldiers killed a student from
An-Najah University. Stu-
dents involved in the twin-
ning issued a statement of
condemnation following the
killing.
A legal case against the
group responsible for the de-
commissioning of Brighton-
based arms manufacturer
EDO have made encourag-
ing advances in their case.
The prosecution put forward
the argument that the decom-
missioning of EDO prop-
erty which resulted in over
a quarter million pounds in
damage could do nothing
to prevent crimes or protect
life and property of Palestin-
ians in the occupied territo-
ries. However, when asked
to provide evidence for this,
the prosecution were able to
bring none.
Judge Kemp ruled in fa-
vour of the defendants and
further denied permission
to appeal to the prosecutors,
though prosecutors are seek-
ing to overturn the judge-
ment. It is foreseen that the
prosecution will go to the
Court of Appeal.
EDO is a trading unit of
ITT Corporation, a US-based
arms multinational, and
makes weapon parts which
are used by the Israeli army
to conduct their military af-
fairs, often resulting in large
numbers of civilian deaths
and casualties.
Legal Victory for
Protestors
In an effort to project a
more ‘peaceful’ global image
of Israel a new government
campaign has been launched
calling for every Israeli citi-
zen travelling abroad to be-
come an ambassador. Partici-
pating citizens, hailed as the
‘Israel Explanatory Force’
by Information Minister Yuli
Edelstein require no training.
Instead, they are to distribute
leaflets and direct individuals
towards a government site
which explains the positive
contributions Israel has made
to the world – such as devel-
oping the cherry tomato.
However, former Knes-
set member and head of the
Israeli peace activism group
Gush Shalom Uri Avery may
have come up with a far better
plan. “The only thing that can
change the image of Israel is
to make peace and stop assas-
sinating people abroad.”
Israeli Citizens Drive
Global PR Campaign
Bradford Students
Union Twin with
Gaza University
The University of Brad-
ford Students’ Union voted
in January to twin the Union
with the Islamic University
of Gaza (IUG), which was
bombed during the Gaza of-
fensive last year. The motion
was passed by a majority of
council members and marks
the first twinning initiative
between the Students’ Union
and a university in occupied
Palestine. The twinning was
celebrated through a video
link up between Union mem-
bers and officials and stu-
dents from the IUG, live from
Gaza.
UN Hears Petition against ‘Museum of Tolerance’
on Muslim Cemetery
Israeli plans to build a
‘Museum of Tolerance’ over
a 7th Century Muslim Cem-
etery in Jerusalem have been
challenged by Palestinian
descendants of those buried
there. A petition against the
plans was taken to the Unit-
ed Nations in Geneva on 10
February 2010.
The Mamilla Cemetery
(Arabic Ma’man Allah) is
an ancient burial ground in
which numerous Muslim
scholars, officials and right-
eous predecessors are thought
to be buried. The cemetery
was declared a historical
site in 1927 by The Muslim
Supreme Council, however,
came under Israeli control
after the 1948 war. The land
was then ruled as no longer
being sacrosanct and desig-
nated as public space after
which a parking lot was built
over part of the cemetery.
The building of the
“Center for Human Dignity–
Museum of Tolerance” is a
joint initiative between the
Israeli Government and the
Simon Wiesenthal Center
(SWC) in Los Angeles. It is
intended to be built over a
section of the cemetery. The
initial construction work re-
sulted in hundreds of graves
being unearthed. The plans to
build the museum will mean
that the building will rest
upon thousands more graves.
Palestinian descendants
were represented by The
Center for Constitutional
Rights in New York and the
petition includes 60 signato-
ries from 15 of the oldest Je-
rusalem families. The action
was in response to a ruling
by the Israeli Supreme Court
who stated that they would
allow the construction to go
ahead despite calls against it.
This is the first time Pal-
estinians have taken collec-
tive action against Israel to
bring the issue before a UN
forum in Geneva. Confer-
ences were also held simul-
taneously in Jerusalem and
Los Angeles, home of the
Simon Wiesenthal Center.
At the Jerusalem news con-
ference, Jamal Nusseibeh, a
local resident commented on
the situation: “We have been
fighting for years to preserve
these graves. It’s a chain that
goes back to 1432 when my
ancestor was buried there and
it is part of the rich fabric of
Jerusalem that is a symbol of
tolerance, so why destroy this
to build a museum of toler-
ance?”
A response from the UN
would carry moral weight but
would not be legally binding
upon Israel, and at the time
of printing was still being
awaited.

7. AQSA NEWS
Comments 07
Reclaiming Palestinian Heritage
Arwa Aburawa, March 2010
Arab Family Denied Right to Rent Home
Jonathan Cook, March 2010
The Zakai and Tarabin
families should be a picture
of happy coexistence across
the ethnic divide, a model for
others to emulate in Israel.
But Natalie and Weisman
Zakai say the past three years
– since the Jewish couple
offered to rent their home to
Bedouin friends, Ahmed and
Khalas Tarabin – have been a
living hell.
“I have always loved
Israel,” said Mrs Zakai, 43.
“But to see the depth of the
racism of our neighbours has
made me question why we
live in this country.”
Three of the couple’s six
dogs have been mysteriously
poisoned; Mrs Zakai’s car has
been sprayed with the words
‘Arab lover’and the windows
smashed; her three children in
school are regularly taunted
and bullied by other pupils;
and a collection of vintage
cars in the family’s yard has
been set on fire in what police
say was an arson attack.
To add to these indigni-
ties, the Zakais have spent
three years and thousands
of dollars battling through
the courts against the
elected officials of their
community of Nevatim,
in Israel’s southern Negev
desert, who have said they
are determined to keep the
Tarabins from moving in.
Last week the Zakais’
legal struggle looked like
it had run out of steam. The
Supreme Court told the
two families the Tarabins
should submit to a vetting
committee of local officials
to assess their suitability – a
requirement that has never
been made before by the
Negev community in the case
of a family seeking to rent a
home.
“The decision of the
committee is a foregone
conclusion,” Mr Tarabin
said. Chances for Jews and
Arabs to live together, out-
side of a handful of cities, are
all but impossible because
Israel’s rural communities
are strictly segregated, said
Alaa Mahajneh, a lawyer
representing the Zakais.
Israel has nationalised
93 per cent of the country’s
territory, confining most of
its 1.3 million Arab citizens,
one-fifth of the population,
to 120 or so communities
that existed at the time of
the state’s creation in 1948.
Meanwhile, more than 700
rural communities, includ-
ing Nevatim, have remained
exclusively Jewish by
requiring that anyone who
wants to buy a home applies
to local vetting committees,
which have been used to
weed out Arab applicants.
But Mr Mahajneh, from
the Adalah legal centre for
the Arab minority, noted
that legal sanction for such
segregation was supposed
to have ended a decade ago,
when the Supreme Court
backed an Arab couple, the
Kaadans, who had been
barred by a committee from
the community of Katzir in
northern Israel. Although
the Kaadans were eventually
allowed to move into Katzir,
the case has had little wider
effect.
In fact, Mr Mahajneh
said, the decision in the
Zakais’ case suggests
“we’re going backwards”.
The Kaadans won the right
to buy a home in a Jewish
community, whereas the
Tarabin family were seeking
only a short-term rental of the
Zakais’ home.
The Zakais said they
had been told by the
officials of Nevatim, a
community of 650 Jews a
few kilometres from the city
of Beersheva, that it would
not be a problem to rent
out their home. Mrs Zakai
brought the Tarabins’ ID
cards to the community’s
offices for routine paperwork.
“When I handed in the IDs,
the staff looked at the card
and said, ‘But they’re
Muslims’.” Later, accord-
ing to Mrs Zakai, the council
head, Avraham Orr, rang to
say the Arabs would be
accepted in Nevatim “over
my dead body”.
Several weeks later, Mrs
Zakai said, two threaten-
ing men came to their door
and warned them off renting
to Arabs. Soon afterwards
36 cars belonging to Mr
Zakai, who has a used car
business, were set on fire.
Then behind the Zakais’
back, Nevatim went to a local
magistrate’s court to get
an order preventing them
from renting their home.
The couple have been
battling the decision ever
since.
Mr Mahajneh said the
Tarabins had accommodated
a series of “extraordinary
conditions” imposed by
Nevatim on the rental agree-
ment, but still Nevatim
officials were dissatisfied,
insisting in addition that the
Tarabins submit to question-
ing by a vetting committee
to assess their suitability.
Although 40 other homes in
Nevatim are rented, Mr
Mahajneh said testimonies
from past members of the
vetting committee showed
that this was the first time
such a demand had been
made.
In 2008, a district court
judge in Beersheva overruled
Nevatim’s new condition,
arguing that the vetting
requirement would be
“unreasonable and not
objective”. The Supreme
Court judges, however,
sided with Nevatim in their
concluding statements on
March 10.
Mrs Zakai said they had
offered to rent their home
to the Tarabins after the
Bedouin couple’s home burnt
down in their village in early
2007, killing one of their 10
children. The Tarabins have
been living with relatives
ever since, unable to afford a
new home and were keen to
move away from the site of
the tragedy.
The close friendship
forged between the Za-
kais and Tarabins is rare in
Israel. The privileged status
of Jews legally and economi-
cally, communal segregation
and the hostility provoked
by a larger national conflict
between Israel and the
Palestinians ensure that
Jewish and Arab citizens usu-
ally remain at arm’s length.
But Mr Zakai, 53, whose
parents emigrated from
Iraq and who speaks fluent
Arabic, befriended Mr
Tarabin in the late 1960s
when they were teenagers in
Beersheva. Later they served
together in the Israeli army as
mechanical engineers.
Mrs Zakai said: “If Jews
were being denied the right
to live somewhere, it would
be a scandal, but because
our friends are Arabs no one
cares.”
Jonathan Cook is a journalist
based in Nazareth, Israel.
In February, Israel
provoked anger and
indignation when it listed two
important Palestinian sites,
the Tomb of the Patriarch’s
(Ibrahimi Mosque) in Hebron
and Rachel’s tomb (known
as Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque)
in Bethlehem, as “Israeli
archaeological sites.” Not
only are both of these holy
sites within the Palestinian
territories of the West Bank
but they are also of signifi-
cant religious and historic
importance to both Muslims
and Christians.
Many commentators
remarked that this deci-
sion was simply a means to
dispossess Palestinians of
their religious heritage whilst
elevating Israeli claims to
the sites. Netanyahu, Israel’s
Prime Minister is reported as
saying: “Our existence here
doesn’t just depend on the
might of the military or our
economic and technological
strength. It is anchored first
and foremost in our national
and emotional legacy.”
Fourth Most Venerated Site
in Islam
The Ibrahimi Mosque
in Hebron is built on top of
a cave believed to hold the
tombs of Prophet Ibrahim
and his family. In 635-7
AD, a mosque was built on
the site making it one of the
oldest mosques built in
Palestine and the entire
Levant area. In fact, the
Ibrahimi mosque is widely
held to be the fourth most
sacred site in Islam after
Mekkah, Medina and al-Har-
am al-Sharif in Jerusalem.
The cave is so sacred
that it has not been entered
by Muslims and the mosque
contains six cenotaphs- or
empty tombs- dedicated to
the Prophet Ibrahim and
others. Before it was captured
by the Crusaders in 1099 and
turned into a church, several
improvements were made
to the Ibrahimi mosque by
the Muslim Ummayad rulers
including the construction of
steps to enter and leave and a
defined entrance.
Once Salaahaddin al-
Ayyub recaptured the city in
1187, it was reconverted into
a mosque although Christians
retained the right to worship
in the site for some years.
Salaahaddin al-Ayyub
contributed a minaret to
each corner of the mosque,
although only two remain
intact, as well as a beauti-
ful Mimbar which originally
graced the main mosque of
Ascalon until 1191.
A Site of Beauty,
Knowledge and Generosity
Under the Mamluk
Muslim dynasty the
upper part of the walls of the
mosque were crenellated,
two additional entrances
were built as well as the six
cenotaphs that stand to
this day. The cenotaphs are
dedicated to Ibrahim, Ya’qub,
Ishaq (pbut) and their wives
and are covered with green
rich tapestries which carry
Qur’anic inscriptions. The
city became a center for
learning under the Ayyubids
and Mamluks, and was even
home to several active Sufi
orders.
Settlers, Clashes and
Catastrophes
Hebron (or Al-Khalil) is
the largest city in the West
Bank with a high Palestin-
ian population but with ap-
proximately 400-500 fanati-
cal Israeli settlers living in
the city’s Old Quarter. The
1970’s and 1980’s saw an
increasing number of Jewish
settlers move into the city and
in 1997 the city was divided
to create an Israeli security
zone around the Old City
for the settlers. The settlers
are guarded by around 4,000
Israeli soldiers and various
checkpoints where Palestin-
ians are routinely harassed
and repressed while settlers
roam free and cause havoc.
In 1994 during the month
of Ramadan, an American
Jewish Settler named Baruch
Goldstein burst into the
Ibrahimi mosque and opened
fire on Palestinians as they
were praying. Twenty nine
were killed, 200 were wound-
ed and another 12 Palestin-
ians were killed by Israeli
forces in the subsequent pro-
tests and demonstrations.
Today, the mosque is
partitioned with one part
converted into a synagogue
for Jews to pray in. As the
mosque is within the Old
City which is an Israeli
security zone, it is cut
off from the Palestinian
population by checkpoints
and the intimidation of the
settlers. The entire area is
stifled by these tensions,
Palestinians have closed their
shops down, moved out and
the place has the unshakeable
air of conflict.
Bethlehem and
Encroaching Israeli
Control
The Bilal Ibn Rabah
Mosque or ‘Rachel’s Tomb’,
is located on the northern
borders of Bethlehem in the
Palestinian West Bank. As
well as the site of a mosque
commemorating Islam’s first
Muedhdin, it is believed to
be the site where Rachel
died in childbirth en route to
Hebron. A pyramid-shaped
mausoleum was present on
the site until the Islamic pe-
riod and the current building
originates from the Ottoman
period.
In 1841, Anglo-Jewish
philanthropist Sir Moses
Montefiore financed the
renovation of the dome as a
gesture to the Muslims who
were uneasy about the dis-
ruptive Jewish pilgrims. The
site remained accessible to
all Muslims, Christians and
Jews until 1977 when it was
under the administration of
the Department of Islamic
Affairs (Waqf). In 1995 an Is-
raeli camp was setup and the
Apartheid wall and a watch-
tower were built to cut off
the site from Bethlehem. The
dome and entrance hall were
later demolished by Israeli
forces and the mosque is now
completely inaccessible to
Palestinians. Today, tourists
and foreigners are allowed
to enter the site but only un-
der the permission of Israeli
forces. Palestinians are usu-
ally denied access.
Israeli actions to under-
mine Muslim and Christian
Palestinian sites of religious
and historical significance are
nothing new. Since the war of
1967, Israel has been accused
of deliberately attempting to
erase all Palestinian heritage
in Israel and the Occupied
Territories in contravention
of numerous international
laws.
Arwa Aburawa is a freelance
journalist based in the U.K.

8. AQSA NEWS
London
The London branch of
Friends of Al Aqsa has
been working hard in
building links with Members
of Parliament and the House
of Lords. Several meetings
have taken place with MPs
and peers, focussing on high-
lighting the Palestinian issue
and human rights abuses that
have been committed within
the Occupied Territories.
Other activities have
included speaking at an event
at Redbridge Islamic Cen-
tre where branch members
were joined by individuals
from the last Viva Palestina
convoy, to highlight the
dreadful situation in Gaza.
Further meetings included
a Kings College Action Pal-
estine meeting with students
from various universities
around London where a plan
of action was formulated for
fortnightly protests outside
Ahava in Covent Garden. In
order to highlight the origins
of their products from an il-
legal settlement in the West
Bank.
The protest is to be held on
alternate Saturdays from
12pm to 2pm beginning on
Saturday 13th March.
Shamiul Joarder, Head of
Public Relations and the
London Branch, appeared on
Islam Channel’s Ummah Talk
discussing the Policing at the
Gaza Demonstrations, fol-
lowing which over 100 peo-
ple were arrested. He said that
policing methods had to be
challenged and that the com-
munity must come forward
and make official complaints
if there were any grievances.
The complaint can be taken
through organisations such
as the Muslim Safety Forum.
The London Branch has been
involved in voicing concerns
against the sentences imposed
on the Gaza protestors.
Upcoming events for the
branch include expanding
the understanding of the
importance of Masjid Al
Aqsa to Muslims. This will be
covered by a series of talks,
the first of which was at
Upton Lane Mosque on 28th
March. Further talks will take
place in Ealing, Tooting and
North London.
Anyone interested in joining
the branch can email:
arif@aqsa.org.uk
Friends of Al Aqsa - London
Dewsbury and Batley
The Dewsbury and
Batley branch are focussing
on education, especially
with the Ulema on the
Islamic significance of
Masjid Al-Aqsa. In a
recent event, many local
Ulema attended a workshop
designed to encourage further
exploration of the Islamic
link to Jerusalem and Mas-
jid Al-Aqsa. This knowledge
would then be passed down
to the people in the localities.
A set of ‘roadshow’ type
events are also being
planned in order to galvanise
locals into joining the branch
and taking positive actions
such as becoming active in
boycotting Israeli goods,
lobbying etc.
A group of volunteers from
the Liverpool branch of
Friends of Al-Aqsa under-
took the tough challenge of
completing a half Marathon
in order to raise funds. The
Liverpool Half Marathon
2010 attracted over 5,500
runners in total and the 13
mile race lead amateurs and
professionals alike through
many of the scenic spots
around the city.
Two volunteers from the
Preston branch also joined
the efforts, all with the target
fundraising sum of £7,500.
Last year, £5,320 was raised.
Above: The runners, after
finishing 13.1 miles, right to
left: Umar Ahmed, Anwar
Ali, Abdul Rahman Bapu,
Abbas Khalil & Amjad
Yoosuf (rear)
Walsall
The 2ndAnnualAlAqsa Cup / Goals for Peace Tournament
During March, we saw
escalated tensions in Jeru-
salem. A number of Israeli
moves seen as undermining
peace efforts were witnessed
including an announcement
that 1,600 new homes would
be built in occupied East Je-
rusalem, free movement was
restricted for Palestinians in
the West Bank and East Jeru-
salem and men under the age
of 50 were prevented from
entering the holy al-Aqsa
sanctuary, and demonstra-
tions on the towns of Billi’in
and Nilli’in were met with
brute force from the Israeli
military.
These occurrences may
seem like nothing new in the
besieged Palestinian territo-
ries, but they drew a strong
response from the interna-
tional community, essentially
because it reflected unwill-
ingness on Israel’s part to en-
ter peace negotiations.
At a time when we as a
country are heading towards
a General Election, it is es-
sential to ensure that any in-
coming government takes a
fair and balances approach to
the conflict. Israel has shown
itself to be unwilling to rec-
ognise the legitimate rights
of the Palestinian people for
over six decades. It has used
‘security’asaguisetoconduct
the worst offensives against
a largely unarmed popula-
tion and as the international
community becomes more
and more critical of Israel, it
is revealing its true colours
as a state that cares little for
its allies. By humiliating the
USA and Joe Biden in a re-
cent visit, Israel revealed that
its musings about peace were
little more than rhetoric.
The British government
has been speaking about
changing British laws in or-
der to allow Israeli Ministers
and military personnel free-
dom to visit without fearing
arrest warrants. While La-
bour delayed this and then
announced no measures
would be taken until after the
elections, the Conservatives
have gone out of their way
to promise a change in the
law. Shadow Attorney Gen-
eral Edward Garnier said at a
recent meeting with Friends
of Al-Aqsa that Universal Ju-
risdiction was being used as
a political tool against Israel
and therefore he supported a
change in the law. But the fact
is that the underlying reason
why the arrest warrants have
been issued is because of the
question of War Crimes.
Regardless of who is be-
ing accused, if the evidences
are there, then the law of Uni-
versal Jurisdiction should be
allowed to take its course. In
the case of Tzipi Livni, ac-
cusations of War Crimes are
so prevalent that the political
questions should be overrid-
den in pursuit of justice for
Palestinian victims who can
never hope for justice in Is-
rael or the Palestinian terri-
tories.
The situation in Jerusa-
lem is reaching crisis point,
with extreme right wing ele-
ments of Israeli society open-
ly calling for the destruction
of Masjid al-Aqsa. On the
other hand, there is a change
emanating globally, with Is-
rael being reprimanded for its
crimes by even its own allies.
This pressure must continue
if we are to achieve peace for
all the people in the region.
Ismail Patel
Update from
Friends of Al-Aqsa Branches
08 Message from Friends of Al-Aqsa
Friends of Al-Aqsa and LFPME Host ‘Crisis in Jerusalem’ Meeting at
House of Commons
On Tuesday March 23rd,
Friends of Al-Aqsa and La-
bour Friends of Palestine and
the Middle Ease (LFPME)
hosted a meeting at the House
of Commons discussing the
ongoing crisis in Jerusalem.
The meeting was attended by
over 70 MPs, organisations
and members of the public.
“The meeting was intend-
ed to ensure that Jerusalem
was not forgotten, and to call
on our government in Britain
to work towards imposing
a just settlement to the con-
flict,” stated Ismail Patel in
his opening remarks.
Speakers at the meeting
included co-host Martin Lin-
ton MP (leader of LFPME),
Karen Abu Zayd Koning
(Former Commissioner-Gen-
eral of UNRWA), Sir Gerald
Kaufman MP, Tony Benn,
Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari
(MCB), Brian Iddon MP, and
Andy Slaughter MP, amongst
others.
The clear message that
was sent out by most speak-
ers reflected enragement at
Israel’s massive acts of ag-
gression against the Pales-
tinian people. The issue of
Jerusalem was considered to
be the crux of the problem,
and this meeting focussed on
the escalation of settlement
building and the disposses-
sion of the indigenous Pales-
tinians. The vision that most
people shared was for an end
to the occupation and for a
shared Jerusalem for all of its
people – Muslim, Christian,
Jewish and others.
“Verily this Qur’an does guide to that which is
most right, and give the Glad Tidings to the
Believers who work deeds of righteousness,
that they shall have a magnificent reward.”
Liverpool
Following the tremendous
success of last year’s Al-
Aqsa Cup, Friends ofAlAqsa
Walsall branch is in the midst
of organising the event for the
second year running. 5-a-side
teams from all over the coun-
try are invited to take part
in the tournament to be held
on Sunday 6th June at Goals
Football Centre in Darlaston
/ Willenhall West Midlands.
The aim of the tournament
is to combine football with
awareness raising, in order
to reach a wider and more
varied audience. The Inaugu-
ral tournament held in 2009
attracted 20 teams from all
over the country including
Manchester and London. The
tournament was eventually
won by a team from Hackney
in London. This year, the aim
is to have 32 teams involved,
which will enable a Cham-
pions league format (with a
group stage consisting of 4
teams each and then a knock
out stage from the last 16
stage onwards.)
Teams interested in entering
the tournament which will
kick off at 11am on the 6th of
June should contact Javid on
07876 742251 or email
Walsall@aqsa.org.uk.

9. AQSA NEWS
09
MERCHANDISE
Name:....................................................................................................................................
Address:.................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................Postcode:..................................
Tel:.........................................................Email:......................................................................
(Please add 10% of the total cost to cover postage expenses) I enclose a cheque for £...............
(make all cheques payable to ‘Friends of Al-Aqsa’)
Friends of Al-Aqsa, P.O Box 5127, Leicester, LE2 0WU
0116 212 5441 | www.aqsa.org.uk | info@aqsa.org.uk
Leaflets
A set of 20 information leaflets including the following:
Books
Free Qty:.......
Complete set of information leaflets on Palestine Issues
Forty Ahadith
Concerning Masjid Al-Aqsa Free Qty:.......
Dome of the Rock Free Qty:.......
Palestine Beginner’s Guide £9.95 Qty:.......
Madina to Jerusalem £5.95 Qty:.......
A History of Palestinian Resistance £5.95 Qty:.......
Virtues of Jerusalem £5.95 Qty:.......
OFFER: All 4 books for £20.00 Qty:.......
FLAG LAPEL BADGE
£1.50 Qty:....... £1.00 Qty:.......
RIBBON FLAG
£3.00 Qty:....... £5.00 Qty:.......
FREE Qty:.......
FOOTBALL SHIRT
£10.00 Qty:.......
XL (46 X 31) .......
L (42 X 30) .......
M (40 X 29) .......
S (38 X 28) .......
XS (34 X 25) .......
XXS (31 x 21). .......
£5.00 Qty:.......
XL (44 X 30) ........
L (42 X 29) ........
M (40 X 28) ........
S (38 X 27) ........
SCARF (SILK)
T-SHIRT
AL-AQSA KEYRING
SCARF (SQUARE) SCARF (WOOL)
£5.00 Qty:.......
Large £99.00 Qty:......
Size: 300*210*150 mm
Gross Weight: 7.8KG
Medium £39.00 Qty:......
Size: 165*120*82mm
Gross Weight: 1.6 KG
Small £19.00 Qty:......
Size: 120*85*60 mm
Gross Weight: 800 g
Large £99.00 Qty:......
Size: 240*240*162 mm
Gross Weight: 7.2 KG
Medium £39.00 Qty:......
Size: 140*140*90 mm
Gross Weight: 1.7 KG
Small £19.00 Qty:......
Size: 95*95*62 mm
Gross Weight: 660 g
3D Glass Models
MASJID AL-AQSA DOME OF THE ROCK
FOOTBALL
£5.00 Qty:.......
Carrier Bags (For Businesses)
OFFER: 1,000 bags £15.00 Qty:.......
Children’s Books
Colouring Book £2.00 Qty:.......
Activity Book £3.00 Qty:.......
History of Masjid Al-Aqsa (for children) £4.99 Qty:.......
History of Masjid Al-Aqsa
Abu Huzayfa
for children
NEW

10. AQSA NEWS
Wordsearch
12 years old or under?
Find the following words in the word search below!
There are 10 words to find, based on topics in this
edition of the newspaper and the story of Jonah (as)
above. Can you find them all? Send us your answers
for a chance to win.
JERUSALEM
GAZA
WEST BANK
MUSEUM
GOLDSTONE
NEWSPAPER
JUSTICE
JONAH
MESSAGE
HOPE
We have returned to the land and now we
only grow crops like wheat and spinach.
The land is damaged and dry.
The Israeli army is always patrolling the
border and watch from their towers,
threatening to destroy our crops again.
During harvest time we all work together, so that we can quickly collect our crops before
we are attacked. The Israeli army tries to keep us away, but this land belongs to us and
we will stay strong and keep coming back to farm and keep our family from poverty.
Farming in Gaza.
My family has a piece of farmland near
the border between Gaza and Israel. We
used to grow olive trees there.
But the Israeli army destroyed everything.
They bulldozed the trees, the farmhouse
and the water supply.
By Ghazala Caratella
10 Fun & Games
COMPETITION
WIN!£20ARGOSVOUCHER!
Friends of Al-Aqsa Competition 2010 Design Write Produce
Key Stage 2
Aged 7-11
Design a Poster
Prize: £150 for the entrant and £300 for their school
Key Stage 3
Aged 11-14
Write an Article
Prize: £200 for the entrant and £300 for their school
Key Stage 4
Aged 14-16
Produce a Leaflet
Prize: £250 for the entrant and £300 for their school
Get Creative
Deadline: 30 April
For more info on the
competition:
www.aqsa.org.uk
The Story of Jonah
A long, long time ago, God sent the Prophet Jonah (as), to a group of people in a
place called Ninevah. The people did lots of bad things, even though Jonah (as)
tried to tell them about the beautiful message that God had given him to share.
After a while, Jonah became very upset. He decided to leave the people and so
he set sail on a ship.
One night, while he was on the ship, the sea become very rough and rocky and
the Prophet Jonah (as) was thrown overboard into the raging dark blue seas!
God wasn’t very happy because He wanted Jonah to be more patient with the
people, so He commanded a great big whale to swallow Jonah! The whale did so
and Jonah (as) thought he had died. When he realised that he was still alive and
inside the belly of the whale, he began to pray to God to ask for forgiveness. The
other animals in the sea heard him praying and so they began to praise God too,
each in their own way and in their own language.
God answered the prayers of Jonah (as) and commanded the whale to cast him
out onto a shore. Jonah was sick for a while, but God made him better and he
went back to the people, who welcomed him happily.
Anagram
13 to 18 years old?
Unscramble the letters to make a word. All of the words have something to do with the story of
Jonah (as). Send us your answers for your chance to win!
hewal _______________________________
tapience _______________________________
hojna _______________________________
haneniv _______________________________
erapyr _______________________________
eas _______________________________
shif _______________________________
esairp _______________________________
llaha _______________________________
runret _______________________________
Send your answers with your name, age and address to: Friends of Al-Aqsa, PO Box 5127, Leicester, LE2 0WU.
You can also email us your answers on info@aqsa.org.uk but please put ‘competition’ as the subject heading.
Deadline for both competitions is 31st of May 2010. Good luck inshallah!
Storytime

11. AQSA NEWS
Book Reviews 11
Women and War in the
Middle East:
Transnational Perspectives
By Nadja Al-Ali and Nicola
Pratt (eds),
London & New York,
Zed Books, 2009,
ISBN 978 1848131866,
pp 224, £17.99
The editors of this new
and useful addition to the lit-
erature on “women and war”
in the Middle East have ap-
proached their topic from the
perspective of transnational
feminism which, as they ob-
serve, “suggests a conscious
crossing of national bounda-
ries and implies a shift from
the nationally oriented sec-
ond-wave feminisms and the
clashes between ‘Western’
and ‘Third World feminists’”.
The book’s objective, say the
authors, is “to explore the
significance of gender in un-
derstanding processes related
to conflict, reconstruction and
peace-building”, although the
case studies selected to high-
light their concerns, Iraq and
the Occupied Palestinian Ter-
ritory, cannot realistically be
considered in terms of “post-
conflict” or “reconstruction”.
Nonetheless, the con-
tributors to this volume have
succeeded, within their rela-
tively restricted terms of ref-
erence, in starting to move
beyond, on the one hand, the
notion of the nation-state as
the primary focus of attention
in understanding women’s
complex and multi-layered
experiences of conflict; and,
on the other hand, the fre-
quent linkage of women with
peace, passivity and victimi-
zation, which tends to essen-
tialize constructions of femi-
ninity and masculinity in the
Middle East.
The book is divided into
three sections: “Gender-
ing the Neoliberal Imperial
Project”, “Revisiting Tran-
snational Women’s Activism
in the Conflict, Post-conflict
Reconstruction and Peace-
building” and “Gender, Citi-
zenship and Post-conflict re-
construction”. It devotes four
chapters to Iraq, including
Shahrzad Mojab’s interest-
ing contribution on Kurdish
women’s NGOs.
The editors provide a
helpful introduction and con-
clusion on “transnational per-
spectives”. Although there
are similarities between the
experiences of Iraq and the
Palestinian Territories, there
are also important differences
and these are well explored
in the various chapters. In
her analysis of “gendering
informal economies in Iraq”,
Peterson considers informal
economic activities within
a framework of neoliberal
globalization. She identifies
the existence of three types
of economy in the context of
war: firstly, of survival needs
or what she terms “coping
economies”; secondly, mili-
tary objectives or “combat
economies”; and, thirdly in
the absence of regulatory
mechanisms, the emergence
of “criminal economies”. All
three are explored from the
perspective of post-invasion
Iraq.
I was impressed by the
depth and scholarship of the
various contributions. There
is evidence of careful and
sympathetic ethnographic
research. Clearly, the topic
of “women and war” in the
Middle East raises many
questions and many compet-
ing claims. The decision to
situate the debate within a
transnational feminist frame-
work, while keen not to dis-
regard the experiences of “or-
dinary” Iraqi and Palestinian
women, must inevitably ex-
clude some dissenting voices
or tendencies.
Reviewed by Dr Maria Holt
University of Westminster
Gaza Beneath the Bombs
By Sharyn Lock with
Sarah Irving,
PlutoPress (2010).
ISBN 978 0745330242,
pp240, £9.99
Sharyn Lock’s book is a
priceless contribution to the
library of literature detail-
ing Israeli aggression dur-
ing the attack on Gaza from
December 2008-January
2009, known as Operation
Cast Lead. The writer goes
into great depths describ-
ing events leading up to the
attack as well as events fol-
lowing this, from an eyewit-
ness perspective. The reader
is taken on a journey through
the eyes of Lock herself as
well as countless other Pal-
estinians whom she interacts
with as they struggle through
a besieged and attacked land.
Though both terrifying and
heartbreaking in parts, the
book still offers hope to the
reader through the unbreak-
able will and determination
of the people in the face of
intense violence.
The book is divided into
seven chronological chapters,
beginning with a discussion
on the breaking of the siege
and escalation of violence
before discussing the attacks
in the following two chap-
ters. The last three chapters
describe life for Gazan’s af-
ter the attacks. Disturbingly,
daily injuries and deaths
continue and are described as
being “grindingly everyday”.
However, Lock manages to
remain upbeat, injecting her
personality into the book and
peppering the entire writing
with personal anecdotes, hu-
mour and sarcasm. Her daily
interaction with fellow Inter-
national Solidarity activists
such as Caiomhe Butterly, as
well Palestinians, is a source
of inspiration to anyone who
would like to pick up the book
and transport themselves for a
few short moments to live the
life of a Palestinian, devoid
of great political complexi-
ties. The structure of the text
is similar to a series of di-
ary entries with the inclusion
of specific dates and times
in places. The text itself is
preceded by an introduction
by Sarah Irving who com-
ments on the content of the
book.
Lock uses language that
is very easy to understand
and has infused her writing
with a great deal of everyday
language, which some may
find off putting. However,
her contribution is inspira-
tional and her book is an in-
valuable tool for the average
person who seeks a better
understanding of the impact
of the attacks, upon the civil-
ian population of Gaza. She
sparks a desire in the heart
of the reader to take an active
role in the search for justice
and rejects any excuse for
complacency. The book itself
is described as “a moving
and understated account” by
Richard Faulk, UN Special
Rapporteur for the Occupied
Territories who writes the af-
terword.
Reviewed by Shabaana Kidy,
Leicester
ASH-SHIFA
LOCAL AND ONLINE ISLAMIC STORE
www.ashshifa.co.uk | 0116 2104146
(HALF PRICE OFFERS NOW ONLINE)
FREE DELIVERY ANYWHERE IN U.K
GO ONLINE NOW OR VISIT THE STORE:
263 ST SAVIOURS ROAD, LEICESTER

12. The Occupation
In 1967, following The
Six Day war, Israel occupied
the Gaza Strip (as well as the
West Bank and land belong-
ing to Egypt, Syria and Leba-
non). Gaza was immediately
declared a closed military
zone and control of land and
water resources were seized
and later, illegal settlements
began to be built.
The tiny strip moved from
an economy that previously
was able to sustain itself, to
one that was closed off from
the outside world and wholly
reliant upon Israel. Thus,
once Israel closed its borders,
the Gaza Strip became de-
pendant upon foreign aid.
Confiscation of land,
house demolitions, extra-
judicial killings and deporta-
tions all became indicators of
Israeli occupation. Up until
2005, Jewish settlers in Gaza
numbered 8,000 in compari-
son to 1.5 million Gazans;
yet they occupied 25% of the
strip and 40% of arable land
and natural resources.
Rising Up Against
Occupation
As time went on, popu-
lar opposition to the occu-
pation began to grow which
culminated in an Uprising
or ‘Intifada’. The Intifada
gained momentum rapidly
and spread. Civil disobedi-
ence, refusal to pay taxes,
strikes, demonstrations and
unarmed confrontations were
all utilised as methods to op-
pose the occupation. Israel’s
response was ruthless.
Soldiers were com-
manded to respond with
brute force, resulting in the
killing of 1,100 Palestinians
of whom 159 were children
below the age of 16. Curfews
were imposed, schools and
universities closed down,
water supplies re-directed
towards Israel, agricultural
crops destroyed and homes
demolished in the process. In
1993, the Oslo Accords were
signed marking the end of the
Intifada.
In the eyes of the inter-
national community, Oslo
marked the beginning of Isra-
el’s supposed retreat from the
occupied territories. Howev-
er, the reality was somewhat
different. While troops did
withdraw from the centre of
Gaza city and refugee camps,
soldiers remained in large ar-
eas of the Gaza Strip – a clear
indicator of occupier pres-
ence. Settlement building
increased, further land was
confiscated, and freedom of
movement was increasingly
restricted. The Second Inti-
fada ensued, and again, Is-
rael responded to the uprising
with brutality.
After years of turmoil and
shattered peace agreements,
2005 seemed to be a year of
hope for Gazans. In February,
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon, announced plans for
a ‘Unilateral Disengagement’
plan through which all illegal
settlements in the Gaza Strip
were to be dismantled. People
on the streets of Gaza cele-
brated, ecstatic at the thought
of finally being in control of
their own land, without threat
of extremist settlers. How-
ever, little did many realise
that although the disengage-
ment signalled the end of one
chapter of Israeli aggression,
another chapter, even more
pitiless was about to begin.
Israel erected a metal ‘se-
curity’ barrier and blockaded
the Gaza Strip, by land, air
and sea effectively turning
this small piece of land into
an open-air prison. Accord-
ing to international law, Is-
rael is still in occupation of
the Gaza Strip despite having
‘disengaged’as it controls the
Strip overall.
At the time of disengage-
ment, Palestinian activist Raji
Sourani envisaged the poten-
tial negative impacts, saying:
Siege on Gaza
This suffocating grip on
the Gaza Strip only tightened
after the elections of 2006 in
which Hamas won a 76-43
seat majority. The response
from Israel, the US and the
EU was to impose sanctions
on the entire Palestinian
population for electing a
Hamas led government.
Israel began withholding
tax and customs revenues
amounting to $50 million
per month, and following
suit, the US cut its $400
million per year in aid (in-
stead directing some funds
through UN aid agencies),
and the EU failed to give its
500 million Euros per year.
Inevitably, such sanctions
have had a profound and
miserable impact on Palestin-
ians.
Whilst withdrawing
financial support and show-
ing clear opposition to
Hamas, Israel and the US
began funding the Fatah
opposition in an attempt to
sow seeds of discord
between the two parties.
Devastatingly, the attempt
was successful.
Despite a Unity Gov-
ernment being formed in
March 2007 through which
Hamas, Fatah and other
factions were working
together, the coalition col-
lapsed just three months
later following increasing
tensions and pressure on
Fatah from the US to cease
participation. Chaos erupted
14 months after Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip, many
would expect that rebuilding of the ruined infrastructure
would be well under way. As Secretary General Ban Ki Moon
discovered on his visit to Gaza in March 2010, this is far from
the case. Expressing his shock at the situation, he stated that
Israel was imposing ‘unacceptable hardships’ on civilians.
He further reinforced a global opinion by stating that “I am
confident the blockade can be lifted while addressing Israel’s
legitimate security concerns.”
History
Gaza has been a long fought over Strip of Land, bordering
the Mediterranean Sea on the West and Egypt to the South.
With idyllic weather conditions, the area should be a haven,
but since Israeli occupation began in 1967, its population has
lived through a nightmare.
Going back in history, British forces occupied Gaza in 1917
and placed it under British Mandate, although Gaza’s tale of
capture, occupation and recapture is a long one that predates
this. The period, which lasted thirty years, was a period of rela-
tive peace. However, the scene was in the meantime being set
for the commencing of a nightmarish situation which would
last for at least 6 decades. In 1948, immigrant Jews began an
armed conflict against the native Palestinian population which
culminated in the depopulation of 530 Palestinian villages and
the establishment of the state of Israel on 78% of Palestinian
land. The Gaza Strip was separated from the remaining Pales-
tinian territories and Egyptian rule prevailed.
“
“
The people you see on television celebrating on
the streets of Gaza will also come to realise that
Israel remains in control of the land borders
(including the only access point from Gaza to the
outside world), the sea (preventing fishing,
pleasure boating or travel for work or holidays)
and the air (ensuring that the airport runway
remains bombed-out and inoperable).
AQSA NEWS
The Gaza Strip – An Israeli Experiment in Human Despair
12 Special Feature

13. and violence escalated in
the Gaza Strip, leaving
Hamas with little choice but
to take control. The Unity
Government was dissolved
and an ‘emergency cabinet’
continues to rule over the
West Bank whilst Hamas
rules over Gaza. Historical-
ly, the relationship between
Hamas and Fatah had been
one based on mutual respect.
Gaza Treated as a
Hostile Entity
Since the Gaza take-over
by Hamas, Israel labelled the
entire territory as a ‘hostile
entity’ and now deals with it
as such. The suffocation of
Gaza continued to intensify
by land and sea and by the
end of December 2007, Is-
rael had cut all vital supplies
to Gaza including essential
medicines.
The systematic closure
of Gaza and restricted ac-
cess to border crossings has
meant that the strip is entirely
closed off from the world.
Palestinians desperate for
basic supplies demonstrated
at the Rafah crossing into
Egypt, expecting the Egyp-
tians to defy US instructions
instigated by Israel. However,
the Egyptian authorities paid
no heed and on 23 January
2008, indicating nothing but
sheer desperation, the border
between Gaza and Egypt was
torn down by Palestinians and
hundreds of thousands of Pal-
estinians poured into Egypt
to obtain necessities denied
to them by the blockade.
11 days later, the border
was resealed, thereby push-
ing Gazan’s back into their
cage.
Frequent electricity cuts and the limited power
available to run hospital generators are of
particular concern, as they disrupt the
functioning of intensive care units,
operating theatres, and emergency rooms.
[The World Health Organisation]
“ “
Health Conditions in Gaza
Health conditions in Gaza
are bleak. Children who are
suffering from cancer are un-
able to receive treatment as
chemotherapy is not avail-
able in Gaza, and they are
rarely granted permission to
cross the border into Israel
or Egypt in order to seek the
desperately needed treat-
ment.
The mortality rate for
cancer in Gaza is much
higher than elsewhere. You
have to get a permit if you
want to cross into Gaza
and most of them are not
granted. A lot of kids are
dying as a result of the
decisions being made
by the people in charge,
whether Hamas, the
Egyptian government, the
Israeli government.
Steve Sosebee, president of
the Palestinian Children’s
Relief Fund
Those who have been
granted the paperwork allow-
ing them to cross, are often
no better off. Eight year-old
Wissam who suffers from
Leukemia has been granted
permission to travel to Egypt
for treatment. However, he
has been waiting for weeks
for the border crossings to be
opened. “Every day the child
stays here is a danger to his
life,” said his father, a wor-
ryingly common cry of des-
peration among Palestinian
parents.
“
“
The restrictions in trade
and travel have meant that
the requirements of the popu-
lation of Gaza are not being
met.
The economy has suf-
fered immeasurably. Lev-
els of unemployment have
reached 60% and poverty
is now as high as 80%. In a
serious attempt to seek a so-
lution towards fulfilling their
basic humanitarian needs,
Gazan’s have resorted to uti-
lising underground tunnels in
order to access much need-
ed essentials such as baby
milk, medicines and home
appliances. In some cases,
even livestock have been
shuttled in using the tunnels.
Following his recent visit
to Gaza, UN Secretary Gen-
eral Ban Ki moon noted that
the activities in the tunnels
are being fuelled by Israel’s
blockade, yet despite this,
Egypt, at the behest of Israel,
has declared that it is build-
ing an underground steel
wall and a network of water
pipelines to flood the tunnels.
Gaza is being squeezed from
every angle, creating human
misery and despair in untold
magnitude.
Gaza Timeline
1917 British forces occupy – British Mandate of Palestine
1948 Israel established on 78% of Palestinian land
1967 Six Day War – Israel occupies the remaining 22%
1987 Attack on Refugee Camp marks start of Intifada
1993 Oslo Accords marks end of Intifada
2000 Second (Al Aqsa) Intifada
2005 Disengagement Plan carried out
Jan 2006 Election victory for Hamas
March 2007 Unity Government formed
June 2007 Unity Government dissolved, Hamas takes control
Dec 2008 - Jan2009 Attack on Gaza
2010 Egypt begins construction of underground wall
The Israeli attack on Gaza during
December 2008 - January 2009 understood in this
context now appears infinitely more ruthless. The mere
notion that a state could besiege another people to this
extent and then launch a colossal and indiscriminate
military attack on what is essentially a civilian
population is deplorable.
Supply v Need
(Above) Explosions seen in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis as members of Hamas’security forces work with United Nations explosives experts on detecting and neurtralising
unexploded ordnance left behind after Israel’s 2008-2009 military offensive.
AQSA NEWS
13

14. Martin Linton is MP
for Battersea, Balham and
Wandsworth and was elected
in 1997. Being a native to
the area, having lived there
for over 30 years, Martin has
dedicated much of him time
to local issues.
In 2008, Martin took the
extraordinary initiative of
setting up Labour Friends of
Palestine and the Middle East
(LPF) following a trip to the
region. While the Friends of
Israel groups within both the
Labour Party and Conserva-
tive Party have been thriving
for decades, this was the first
initiative intended to focus
solely on being a voice for
Labour members and sup-
porters who want to see the
establishment of a viable and
independent state of Palestine
alongside Israel.
In an interview with
Martin Linton, Aqsa News
uncovered the background
to LFP and what it hopes to
achieve.
Q: Why was LFP set up?
I’ve always thought there
was a need for a Labour
Friends of Palestine and when
my wife and I visited Pales-
tine in 2008, it came home to
us how bad the situation had
become. We were particu-
larly shocked by the extent
of Israeli settlements. We
thought we shouldn’t wait for
things to happen. We should
take the initiative. Sir Gerald
Kaufman put us in touch with
two barristers, Mark McDon-
ald and Michelle Harris, who
were thinking along similar
lines. This coincided with
a move by two other MPs,
Richard Burden and Phyllis
Starkey, with the full support
of the Labour party, to set up
a Labour Middle East Group,
mainly to campaign on the
Palestine issue. The result
was Labour Friends of Pales-
tine & the Middle East.
Q: What made you decide to
take charge of such a signifi-
cant initiative?
I have always thought
that the Palestinians were
suffering a terrible injustice,
ever since I visited Israel as a
student, and since I have been
an MP I have always fol-
lowed the issue, asking ques-
tions and signing motions,
but it was only after our visit
to the West Bank and Gaza in
2008 that I realised that the
situation was deteriorating so
rapidly and the chances for an
independent Palestinian state
were disappearing so rapidly
that we had to set it up now
before it was too late.
Q: Since being founded,
what do you think LFP’s
main achievements have
been?
LFP has had meetings
with the Prime Minister, the
Foreign Secretary and For-
eign Office Ministers, as well
as securing many debates and
asking many questions in the
Commons. As many as 98
Labour MP have signed up
as supporters of LFP and we
are becoming a popular force
within the Labour Party at-
tracting an increasing number
of members and supporters.
Phyllis Starkey MP,
Vice Chair of LFP, secured
an important step forward
when, following a debate
on labelling of goods from
the Occupied Territories,
the Government put in place
stricter labelling guidelines –
specifying whether they have
originated from a settlement
or not.
We also have a number
of Party Ministers who have
pledged their support for LFP
and the Prime Minister has
welcomed its establishment
and indeed attended our first
reception at the Labour Party
Conference. We hope to fur-
ther strengthen this relation-
ship.
Q: Do you think something
similar will be set up by the
Conservative Party?
The Conservatives have a
small band of ‘Arabists’ who
belong to the Conservative
Middle East Council. CMEC
is the nearest that the Con-
servative Party are going to
get though.
Q: What is the vision for
LFP for the next 5 years?
We want to be a big
enough organisation to run
a website, publish regular
newsletters and organise fre-
quent delegations to Pales-
tine.
We want to ensure that all
Labour MPs and candidates
are lobbied strongly to sup-
port an independent Pales-
tine. We want to demonstrate
that there is more support for
LFP then there ever has been
for Labour Friends of Israel.
‘www.labourfriendsofpalestine.co.uk’
By Shafik Firoz
For Israelis, this has been
an uneasy month; criticism
from the United States over
the timing of an announce-
ment on settlement expan-
sions and the deportation of
its most senior Mossad officer
from London over the pass-
port cloning fiasco. For the
optimist these events maybe a
turning point, in which West-
ern powers finally lose their
patience with an uncontrolla-
ble Israel. For some Zionists
this was, like all criticism of
Israel, evidence of the spread
of anti-Semitism. But realists
will see the former at least for
what it is; a lovers’ tiff.
The source of American
rage during Vice President
Biden’s trip to the region was
not the content of Israel’s an-
nouncement but rather the
perceived insult of its tim-
ing - whilst Biden was still
in Israel. Biden was due to
meet Mahmoud Abbas im-
mediately after he met Israeli
officials. By announcing set-
tlement expansions whilst he
was in the region the Biden
delegation was left with the
embarrassing task of con-
vincing Palestinians that his
efforts for peace were genu-
ine.
Earlier Biden delivered
Israel its hardest truths- which
only a friend could do- and
one of these was the neces-
sity of cessation of settlement
growth. Israel’s immediate
announcement that it will not
stop settlement growth was a
clear message as to where the
Americans could stick their
hard truths. The Israeli’s in
one move had told the world
who the big dog was in this
friendship.
American anger was sof-
tened with the reality that
there was nothing they could
really do to reign in Israel’s
activities. The most they
could do was make a show
of condemnation to appease
Arab regimes, whose own
stability hinges on the Pales-
tinian issue.
Many in the media have
noted that this was the most
severe deterioration in Amer-
ican-Israeli relations since
1967. However, despite Is-
rael apologising for only the
timing of the announcement
business seems to have re-
turned to normal. A week af-
ter Biden’s trip to the region,
Netanyahu visited the US and
was preceded in addressing
AIPAC by Hillary Clinton.
Here we heard a more famil-
iar track from a senior Ameri-
can official; more rhetoric on
Iran’s nuclear programme
and a plea to Israel that set-
tlement building undermines
the US’s role in the region-
no demands on the cessation
of settlement expansion. If
this was American-Israeli
relations on a bad day, Pales-
tinians must fear the day both
read from the same page.
The Obama administra-
tion has made a priority of
a resolution to the Palestin-
ian conflict and some sort of
agreement would be a major
coup for the President who
marketed his Presidency on
the basis of change. Change
however, is as far a descrip-
tion as one could apply to
American policy on the con-
flict. Compromise is expected
from both sides but only the
Palestinians are condemned
for not playing ball.
The fact that the Ameri-
can response to Israel build-
ing on occupied land is being
lauded as such a big shift in
its stance on the issue is dis-
turbing to say the least. Set-
tlement expansion forms just
one of many Israeli viola-
tions against the sovereignty
of Palestinians, the most ob-
vious being the existence of
settlements in the first place.
If the Americans cannot even
prevent Israel from expand-
ing settlements to kick start
negotiations, what hope is
there of ever reaching mean-
ingful compromises in talks?
Until the balance of power
changes to address uncondi-
tional support of Israel within
America there is no hope
for a functioning Palestinian
state.
A British journalist by
the name of Paul Martin
who was arrested by Hamas
security forces in mid-Feb-
ruary, after being accused of
endangering state security,
has been released. The free-
lance journalist was arrested
at a Gaza courthouse, where
he was to testify in the de-
fence of a militant accused of
collaboration with Israel.
Ehab Ghussein, Hamas
interior ministry spokesman
said: “We have confessions
that the British journalist
committed offences against
Palestinian law, and that
harms the security of the
country.”
Martin was found to be in
violation of Palestinian law
and security, and was handed
over to the British Consulate
to allow UK officials to con-
duct a comprehensive inves-
tigation into his activities.
The first of six H&M
stores to be launched in Is-
rael opened on 11 March in
the Malcha Shopping Centre
in Jerusalem. Rolf Eriksen,
CEO at H&M has said, “We
believe that our business
idea will work well in Israel.
Through our franchise part-
ner we will have access to
many years of experience and
networks in Israel.”
Many organizations have
demanded that H&M post-
pone their business advances
until Israel complies with
international law and ceases
to violate human rights. As
a result of H&M’s move to
open the stores regardless, a
boycott movement is being
initiated.
H&M Launches
in Israel
British Journalist Accused of
Collaboration in Gaza
AQSA NEWS
14
Labour Friends of Palestine Israel and the US,
Enduring Ties

15. info@youelect.org.uk
AQSA NEWS
15