[News] Palestine - Shajaiyah, resistance and ceasefire

[Anti-Imperialist News]

    Fawzi Barhoum on Shajaiyah, resistance and ceasefire

  * 12:54 - 21 July 2014
  * *http://alray.ps/en/index.php?act=post&id=5100#.U8678LHDV8E*


*by Julie Webb-Pullman*

Gaza is today reeling from the brutal massacre of scores of people in 
the Shajaiyah neighbourhood east of Gaza City. Israeli tanks 
relentlessly shelled the area overnight, cutting off electricity and 
water supplies. Families huddled together, unable to flee because of the 
danger.

As day broke 40,000 people fled, carrying whatever they could. Bodies 
began arriving at Shifa Hospital from dawn -- some 70 bodies were 
brought in but scores more dead and wounded still lay in the streets.The 
Israel military shelled Red Crescent ambulances as they attempted to 
retrieve the dead and injured.

Several hours later a two-hour cease-fire was announced to enable the 
injured and dead to be evacuated from the area. It was not observed -- a 
Gazan man trying to locate his family, accompanied by municipal workers 
and human rights defenders, was shot dead in front of their eyes during 
the so-called ceasefire.

"They shot him, and then continued to fire as he was on the ground. We 
had no choice but to retreat. We couldn't reach him due to the artillery 
fire, and then he stopped moving," said Joe Catron, a U.S. International 
Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist in Gaza.

Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum today condemned the massacre.

"This is a war crime, why is there such a deafening silence from the 
world, from Egypt, from Mr Abbas, from the Arab countries? This 
encourages the occupation to continue such massacres," he said in Gaza City.

"The occupation leaders historically have total impunity, they have 
never been punished for their crimes in the international court. This 
encouraged and enabled the occupation to kill the children and civilians 
today in Shajaiya."

He added that there is no option for Palestinians but to continue their 
resistance until the killing stops and they are respected as human beings.

Rejecting any ceasefire agreement that does not meet the resistance 
conditions, Barhoum said the Palestinian resistance in Gaza refused the 
Egyptian initiative because it called only for stopping resistance 
actions, but delayed any negotiations until after the ceasefire.

"In 2009 and 2012 the occupation breached all of the terms of the truce 
agreements and there is no assurance in the Egyptian proposal that would 
make the peace conditions stick," he said. "Yesterday Hamas produced new 
conditions that clearly serve Palestinian interests, for Qatar and 
Turkey and the Arab league and Abu Mazen to put into the ceasefire 
agreement."

Emphasising that the conditions are resistance conditions agreed on by 
all factions, not just those of Hamas, he said they will serve the 
interests of the resistance and the Palestinian people, not just those 
of the occupation.

Despite the heavy toll on civilians, or because of it, the mood in the 
Gazan street is overwhelmingly pro-resistance. Saying that the choice is 
between a slow death by the siege or a quick death from Israeli attacks, 
the people are determined that they will not give up now 
<http://gaza.scoop.ps/2014/07/dignity-or-death-we-cannot-give-up-now/> 
unless the siege is lifted.

International journalists seeking interviews with people who want a 
ceasefire have been left with no story, such as a French agency today.

As Fawzi Barhoum says, if you took a poll in Gaza now you would find 
that all Palestinians support the resistance.

"When the occupation failed to overcome the Al Qassam Brigades and the 
other resistance organisations in Gaza, and after they failed to enter 
Gaza with their land invasion, they began the mass killing of 
Palestinian civilians, and destruction of their houses," Barhoum said. 
"This has always been the mentality of the occupation -- when they fail 
to defeat the resistance they commit a massacre against the civilians, 
and because of this the civilians now all support Hamas, they all 
support the resistance."

Calling on their full right under international law to fight the illegal 
occupation, Barhoum said they will continue to resist, firstly because 
they are Palestinians under occupation and have the right to, but 
secondly because the occupation has forced them to resist by waging a 
war in Gaza.

"We must continue our resistance in order to defend the civilians, to 
defend the children and the people here in Gaza and to put an end to our 
tragedy, to impose a deal on the occupation to respect us as human 
beings. Our conditions now are to stop the war, and to put an end to the 
injustice of the siege in Gaza that we have been suffering for eight 
years," he said.

Many Gazans are also completely disillusioned with the temporary unity 
government, and even more with President Abbas (Abu Mazen) who they feel 
have abandoned Palestinian interests to collaborate with the Israeli 
occupation, and whose silence on the brutal assaults on Gaza invoke both 
anger and derision.

The unity government's Minister of Health was chased from Gaza last week 
by angry crowds of health workers when he failed to deliver anything 
more than a few bags of blood and some packets of pills -- but no 
salaries for workers who have not only worked for several months without 
pay, but are now working without break to provide care for the thousands 
injured in the Israeli attacks.

"Why until now have Abu Mazen and [Palestinian Prime Minister] Dr Rami 
Hamdallah stayed silent? Why do they only support the Israeli 
occupation's interests, with no support for our interests to live as 
human beings? Until now they have provided nothing, no medical teams, no 
medical aid. They are Palestinian, we are Palestinians, we cannot 
understand how they can behave in this way after the reconciliation," 
they complained.

Barhoum's take on it is that the government's silence encourages the 
occupation to commit massacres such as today's in Shajaiya -- and that 
there is a reason for this.

"The occupation has targeted Hamas because until now Hamas and Islamic 
Jihad and the Palestinian resistance have consistently supported 
Palestinian rights and interests, while Abu Mazen has been negotiating 
with the occupation. The occupation has focused on Hamas and Islamic 
Jihad to get rid of them, to leave the Palestinian Authority, Abu Mazen 
and Rami Hamdallah, to spread their wings in Palestine, and it depends 
on security collaboration with them to cut down Hamas."

In his view, the Israeli occupation is doing the dirty work, beating the 
Gaza population into submission and getting rid of Hamas, so Abu Mazen 
can regain control over Gaza and run it with his Israeli-friendly 
security apparatuses.

"Now the world is cracking down on Hamas and cracking down on Gaza, and 
the occupation now uses massive destruction to kill civilians to force 
Hamas to accept any deal imposed on it by the occupation, that favours 
the occupation while giving no support to Palestinian interests. The 
situation may continue, these massacres will continue, if the world and 
Abu Mazen keep silent, and the Egyptians do the same," he said.

"Abu Mazen has been playing at being a mediator, but he should be a 
partner with the Palestinian people against the occupation. If he fails 
to support Gaza and stays with the occupation it will encourage the 
occupation to destroy Gaza with more of these massacres."

Barhoum said the resistance will continue to defend Palestinians' right 
to live in dignity and peace.

"Gaza can refuse to recognise this fight, and the Palestinian resistance 
can refuse to recognise the security co-operation with the occupation, 
and refuse to acknowledge Israel in our land," he said.

"All of the people now support the resistance because there is no other 
option that will fight and defend them and protect them from the 
occupation. So the occupation is now punishing the civilians for 
supporting the resistance."

Despite the very cruel punishment being meted out to them for that 
support, the Gazan population remains steadfast. As increasing numbers 
have said over the past two weeks, they no longer have anything to lose.

"There is nowhere else for the Palestinians in Gaza to go now except to 
the resistance in all its shapes and forms. We must force the occupation 
to stop this mass killing, and respect the Palestinians rights and 
interests here in Gaza," concluded Barhoum.

All that remains is for the world -- and Abu Mazen -- to break their 
silence and broker a legitimate and enforceable agreement in accordance 
with the resistance conditions -- conditions that an Israeli commentator 
today described as both understandable and just 
<http://www.haaretz.com/mobile/.premium-1.606042?v=97DF39BC9CD0B755200C8151A9578759>.

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20140722/f9401f1b/attachment.htm>