winter06/07 palestine NEWS palestine NEWS £.50 / e2.00 Winter 2006/07 INSIDE: Sarah Colborne: Gaza: a state of siege page 4 Mahmoud Hawari: The politics of archaeology page 7 Shareef Omar: Stealing the land page 9 Moshé Machover: Avigdor Lieberman page 11 Activism: pages 16 - 23 What hope for the future? Palestine Solidarity Campaign Box BM PSA London WC1N 3XX tel 020 7700 6192 email [email protected] web www.palestinecampaign.org 2 palestine NEWS winter06/07 Contents 3 Fuelling the flames Betty Hunter comments on the current strategy of ‘divide and rule’ 4 A state of siege Sarah Colborne reports on the relentless pressure on Gaza 6 Christmas in Bethlehem Nicholas Blincoe reports on a community in crisis 7 The politics of archaeology Mahmoud Hawari shows how excavations in Jerusalem are being used to justify annexation Cover photo by Maan Images ISSN 1477 - 5808 9 My land – and Israeli ‘laws’ Shareef Omar talks to PN about the methods Israel uses to expropriate Also in this issue... the land The Iron Wall page 8 11 The rise and rise of Avigdor Lieberman Moshé Machover predicts an intensification of ethnic cleansing under the new Deputy Prime Minister 2 News from the TUC, Parliament and the National Union of Students 3 In Brief 16 Activism around the UK 9 Progress on boycott Reports from around Europe Unmissable new film by Mohammed Alatar 20 Graffiti, art and resistance Salma Tuqan looks at the role of graffiti in the Occupied Territories PSC on the web 23 New Patrons for PSC 24 Book reviews: Victoria Brittain on Massad, Tamimi and Hroub Sue Plater on Christian Zionism Maha Rahwangi on education Hilary Wise on introductions to the issues Visit our website and keep up to date on issues surrounding palestine NEWS Palestine Solidarity Campaign Palestine. PSC’s website A Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) publication. provides details of all of the Campaigning against the oppression and PSC does not necessarily agree with all opinions latest campaigns and events. It dispossession suffered by the Palestinian people expressed in the magazine. also has daily news updates and E-mail [email protected] Supporting the rights of the Palestinian extensive searchable directories people and their struggle to achieve these of articles on Palestine. The The editorial team rights including the Right of Return in line with site’s resource section provides Editor: Hilary Wise UN resolution 194 many downloadable documents, Victoria Brittain, Sarah Colborne, Diane Langford, Mike Marqusee, Glen Rangwala, Ann Wright and including maps and pictures. Promoting Palestinian civil society in the John Yandell. There’s also a comprehensive interests of democratic rights and social justice list of media contacts, so each Design and layout time you hear biased reporting Lithoprint Ltd: [email protected] Opposing Israel’s occupation and its aggression against neighbouring states on Palestine, you can promptly If you would like to contribute or respond to one of the complain to the right people! articles in this issue please write to: Opposing anti-semitism and racism, including The Editor, Palestine News, Box BM PSA, the apartheid and Zionist nature of the Israeli www.palestinecampaign.org London WC1N 3XX state winter06/07 COMMENT AND ANALYSIS palestine NEWS 3 Fuelling the flames Betty Hunter asks if the Palestinians can circumvent considerable, but the exacerbation of internal strife could be utterly disastrous. the strategy of ‘divide and rule’ being applied by Israel Fortunately, there are clear indications that the Palestinian people themselves and by Western governments recognise that the internal situation is being dictated by external pressure. In he beginning of 2007 finds the Condoleezza Rice has declared that a recent opinion poll (see www.fafo.no), Palestinian people in the most she intends to ask Congress for tens confidence in the Hamas government perilous position of their entire of millions of dollars to “strengthen the having the capacity to solve the crisis history, at the mercy of an Israeli security forces” of President Abbas. alone was very low at 7%, yet this is Tregime able to act with absolute impunity. Our own Prime Minister’s recent, simply a recognition of the international As UN Special Rapporteur John predictably fruitless visit to the area refusal to talk to their elected Dugard wrote in his September 2006 epitomises everything that is wrong government. There is no doubt that the report: with Western policies vis-à-vis Israel/ majority of the Palestinian people favour “ It is pointless for the Special Palestine. He talked to Arab governments a National Unity Government. More Rapporteur to recommend to the who do not recognise Israel. He talked than half (54%) of those asked said that Government of Israel that it show respect to leaders who are dictators, ruling by they would prefer a new national unity for human rights and international repression, and he talked to the leaders coalition government over new elections. humanitarian law. More authoritative of the Israeli government, who routinely The suggestion of new elections bodies, notably the ICJ and the Security ignore international law, and who have received the support of one in five (21%) Council, have made similar appeals with refused to implement more than sixty UN of those asked. The poll data provides as little success as have had previous resolutions. He did not, however, talk to little grounds for believing that new reports of the Special Rapporteur. It the democratically elected government of elections would bring change. The same also seems pointless for the Special the Palestinian people. Instead he gave balance of support was found in the poll Rapporteur to appeal to the Quartet to his support to President Abbas’ decision for Fateh and Hamas as before the last strive for the restoration of human rights, to put aside the democratic choice of elections in January 2006. In addition, as neither respect for human rights the Palestinian people in order to hold almost a third of respondents indicated nor respect for the rule of law features early elections – in contravention of the that they would not vote in a new election prominently on the agenda of this body, Palestinian constitution. (28%). If new elections were held, and if as reflected in its public utterances. Hamas won again, would the pro-Israel In these circumstances, the Special “One way out of the impasse coalition of governments demand that Rapporteur can only appeal to the wider the Palestinians keep holding elections international community to concern itself would be to bring Hamas and until they make the ‘right’ choice, under with the plight of the Palestinian people.” threat of starvation? Governments who talk of upholding other parties into the PLO” One way out of the impasse would be democracy and human rights are to bring Hamas and other parties into the actually perpetrating collective Does President Abbas assume that PLO, as the only body which represents punishment on the Palestinian people. the overthrow of Hamas and the election Palestinians inside Israel, in the While the UN and NGOs called for $453 of a Fateh government acceptable to the Occupied Territories and in the diaspora. million of emergency humanitarian aid ‘international community’ will benefit the Palestinians need the opportunity for in November, in December the US and Palestinians in the long run? Arafat made dialogue and debate on how to achieve Canadian governments both reiterated concession after concession, and went their rights as laid down in international their refusal to send aid to the Hamas so far as to recognise Israel as a Jewish law. government. On 26 December Israel state, but the Israelis refused to negotiate President Abbas has said that he is sponsored the delivery of a huge with him. Abbas himself was backed still prepared to talk about a National consignment of arms (including 2000 by Israel in the Presidential elections, Unity Government. It is to be hoped that machine guns) to President Abbas’ only to find he too was not considered this has positive results. The Palestinian security forces in Gaza – a deliberate a ‘partner for peace’. Does he have any people will only gain their just and fuelling of the present tensions between reason to believe it will be different next lawful rights by working together and Fateh and Hamas and a provocation to time round? not succumbing to the divide and rule civil war. Similarly, Secretary of State The temptations facing Abbas are agenda of Israel. PSC PATRONS John Austin MP Tony Benn Victoria Brittain Barry Camfield Julie Christie Caryl Churchill Jeremy Corbyn MP Bob Crow William Dalrymple Lord Gilmour of Craigmillar Revd Garth Hewitt Dr Ghada Karmi Bruce Kent Karma Nabulsi Corin Redgrave Keith Sonnet Ahdaf Soueif Baroness Tonge of Kew John Williams Ruth Winters Dr Tony Zahlan Benjamin Zephaniah 4 palestine NEWS COMMENT AND ANALYSIS winter06/07 The absence of Israeli settlers in the Strip has, moreover, made shelling, bombing and harassment of the population by sonic booms a less risky A state of siege business for the IDF, and the economic blockade more straightforward. OCHA’s report has helped to expose Sarah Colborne reports on the relentless pressure the lie that Israel ended its occupation in 2005. It notes that, despite the intention on the Palestinians in Gaza of the AMA being “to facilitate the movement of goods and people within lthough poorly reported in the figure which is continuing to rise. The the Palestinian Territories”, to “put the Western media, information about Palestinian health care system is running Palestinians in control of the entry and life in Gaza is readily available out of medicine and on the verge of exit of people” and to “promote peaceful from numerous NGOs and collapse.