“Even if Mother Theresa were brought back to life and made president of the Palestinian people Israel would still refuse to recognise a Palestinian negotiating partner.” – Mustafa Barghouti
A greater Palestine?
Perhaps “Palestine” should be declared to include Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and Jordan, writes Sharif Elmusa*
A Palestinian state of the West Bank and Gaza is no longer on the cards, irrespective of the make-up of the coming Israeli government. Israel instead has created the strategic conditions, including a near Israeli public consensus, for the expulsion of the Palestinians from the West Bank. This is what the wall and the planned retention of Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and large settlement blocks foretell. Israel will likely let eviction happen by haemorrhage, rather than engineer a 1948-style ethnic cleansing. It may not feel impelled to act soon, waiting for the fall of the Hashemite monarchy, which Israel seems to anticipate and which could only be hastened by the continuous exit of Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan. Ariel Sharon’s wish for a Palestine state in Jordan thus would be fulfilled. Gaza could dissolve imperceptibly into populous Egypt. Such a momentous “checkmate”, however, is not destiny for the Palestinians. The leadership needs to think beyond the mental checkpoints around Ramallah and devise a new political vision and a commensurate strategy of action. [More]
(from my e-mail)
Dear friends,
This single graphic in the London Times, 5 May 2006, titled, Truth in Mapping, speaks volumes.
For a higher resolution version see:
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=208
Also, see the below note from a friend of mine in Ramallah. My 2 daughters are in the same school system.
Back to basics,
Sam
Behind The Wall
Dear friends all over the world,
I am proud to tell about you about my son Mohammad (age 15) and his classmates’ project. They are 10th graders at Friends Boys School in Ramallah. With the help of the same age group in an American school, they are working on a website dedicated to telling stories about the life of Palestinian teenagers, Life Behind the Wall.
Most people all over the world receive news from TV broadcasts and form certain stereotypes, but wouldn’t it be nice for a change if you read a real life version? To know what’s said and what’s kept hidden? Please visit their exciting website http://www.lifebehindthewall.com/.
Please spread the word and forward the address to as many people as possible.
Hadeel Qazzaz