Palestinians Lament Founding of Israel

[Torog]

Palestinians Lament Founding of Israel
May 15, 2005 6:41 PM EDT

RAMALLAH, West Bank - With sirens and rallies, Palestinians on Sunday mournfully commemorated the anniversary of what they call "Al Nakba," or "the catastrophe" - the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of their people with the 1948 creation of the state of Israel.

While Israelis held barbecues, concerts and launched fireworks to celebrate the 57th anniversary of their independence Thursday - according to the date on the Hebrew calendar - Palestinians see the day very differently.

"Our people will never forget and the generations will never forget," Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said in a speech aired on Palestine TV. "On that day, a crime was committed against a people, who were uprooted from their land and whose existence was destroyed and who were forced to flee to all areas of the world."

About 700,000 Palestinians lost their homes in the fighting that followed Israel's independence in 1948. Their demand to return to their homes with their descendants - a total of 4 million people by U.N. estimates - represents one of the toughest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel's Cabinet on Sunday eased restrictions that have prevented West Bank Palestinians from joining their relatives in Israel but stopped short of lifting the ban altogether, officials said.

Israel imposed the ban in May 2002, at the height of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, as a "temporary" security measure. The restrictions, which have been challenged in the Israeli Supreme Court, are believed to have kept hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Palestinians from uniting with spouses who are Arab citizens of Israel.

While Israeli officials have linked the measures to security concerns, the restrictions also cut at a deeper issue: fears that the country's Jewish majority could be threatened by granting Palestinians citizenship.

"I think the real issue here is what is called the demographic issue, the fear that the clear-cut majority of Jews in Israel would be reduced," said Moshe Negbi, an Israeli legal commentator.

Under the new rules, Palestinian women older than 25 and men older than 35 will be eligible to join family in Israel and eventually receive citizenship. Palestinian women tend to marry at a relatively young age, and keeping the limit at 25 would presumably deter many Palestinian women from seeking spouses inside Israel.

In violence late Sunday, Israeli soldiers shot and wounded two Palestinians near Ramallah. The military said they were throwing firebombs at an Israeli vehicle.

In Palestinian cities and towns, traffic stopped and people stood straight and silent as sirens of mourning sounded at noon Sunday. The sirens parallel similar sirens that sound throughout Israel on Holocaust Remembrance Day and Memorial Day, but the silence was broken Sunday by shots fired in the air by gunmen.

About 2,500 protesters marched through the streets of Gaza City waving Palestinian flags and carrying banners saying, "We will never give up struggling for our right of return." Some held posters showing elderly Palestinian refugees holding keys to their homes in what is today Israel.

"The Nakba is still a black day in the history of the Palestinian people and we've been suffering since that day," said 61-year-old Gaza resident Suleiman Arabeed. Like many of the protesters, Arabeed is a Paled stinian refugee.

Hamas, the largest Palestinian militant group, released a statement referring to Israel as a "cancer" and promising to continue fighting "until the liberation of the last inch of our land and the last refugee heads back to his home."

In southern Lebanon, about 7,000 women from Palestinian refugee camps marched in the sprawling Ein el-Hilweh camp near Sidon. The women, many in flowing black robes showing only their eyes and carrying assault rifles, swords and daggers, shouted slogans calling for the liberation of Palestine and the return of refugees, camp officials said.

In his speech, Abbas called on the host countries to ensure basic civil rights for the refugees, demanding they are granted the right to work and travel freely. Some 350,000 Palestinians live in 12 refugee camps in Lebanon and have no civil rights.

In Syria, they can work and join the army. In Jordan, most have Jordanian citizenship.

"The Nakba and the disaster forced upon our people a life in refugee camps without an identity, in the midst of oppression, despair, poverty, and disease," Abbas said. "The Palestinians have a homeland and it is called Palestine."

Also Sunday, a veteran Shin Bet operative who developed Israel's controversial practice of targeted killings of Palestinian militants took over as the new director of the security agency.

The new chief, Yuval Diskin, replaces outgoing director Avi Dichter, a hard-liner who often counseled Israeli leaders against easing restrictions on Palestinians, regardless of the possible political fallout. Commentators described Diskin, who is close to several Israeli leaders, as having more political savvy than Dichter.

The Shin Bet has played a key role in Israel's all-out campaign against Palestinian militants in more than four years of fighting, obtaining information from a network of Palestinian collaborators and by interrogating thousands of Palestinians rounded up in Israeli arrest sweeps.

Torog Reviewed by Torog on 05-16-2005. Palestinians Lament Founding of Israel Palestinians Lament Founding of Israel May 15, 2005 6:41 PM EDT RAMALLAH, West Bank - With sirens and rallies, Palestinians on Sunday mournfully commemorated the anniversary of what they call "Al Nakba," or "the catastrophe" - the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of their people with the 1948 creation of the state of Israel. While Israelis held barbecues, concerts and launched fireworks to celebrate the 57th anniversary of their independence Thursday - according to the date on the Rating: 5

[Torog]

Howdy Y'all,

I find this to be very telling: "In his speech, Abbas called on the host countries to ensure basic civil rights for the refugees, demanding they are granted the right to work and travel freely. Some 350,000 Palestinians live in 12 refugee camps in Lebanon and have no civil rights."

Why is it,if the pali's are such a vital cause to the arab world,that they still treat them like dogs in arab countries ? Why haven't they allowed them to leave the refugee camps and give them civil rights and homes ?

I think it's because the arab world,most of whom still refuse to acknowledge Israeli state-hood,are using the pali's as an excuse to inflame muslims in their quest to destroy Israel and drive all Jews into the sea.

Another of Islam's most strident and cherished goals,is to infiltrate their host countrie's political arena and gain power,in their quest to turn the whole world into Darfur,a pure Islamic state..Israel is wise to prevent such tactics.

I congratulate Israel,on their 57th anniversary of state-hood...Yay Israel !

Have a good one...

[bhallg2k]

Ok, say we took all the rednecks from Texas and replaced them with Indians and Mexicans, as it once was. Even if the reason was righteous, you'd still be pissed. And you'd probably be pissed for nearly 60 years afterwards.

[Torog]

Ok, say we took all the rednecks from Texas and replaced them with Indians and Mexicans, as it once was. Even if the reason was righteous, you'd still be pissed. And you'd probably be pissed for nearly 60 years afterwards.

Howdy bhall,

Israel,was given to the Jews,by God..Texans fought for their independence..and will do so again,if need be. Before Israel became a State,the whole area,was basically worthless..now it's a lush productive area..if the arabs take over again..the land will soon become worthless,again.

BTW-- Remember the Alamo !! Yeeeehhhaaaww !!!

Have a good one....

[easyg]

ruddy hell Torog...Israel given to the Jews by God!!

yr having a giraffe mate

[bhallg2k]

The only people that believe Israel was given to Jews by God are Jews and Christians. So, hopefully, you could understand (that's all I'm asking for is understanding) why Arabs, particularly Palestinians, are upset.

This is exactly why religion and politics, of any nature, don't mix. The realm of politics has to be big enough for everyone to have a voice. But not everyone believes the same thing religiously. It's hard to make a political compromise, which is absolutely necessary, especially in this case, when both sides think God is with them.

[makor01]

what a fucking tard.

[ihateapplesandsalt]

Why is it,if the pali's are such a vital cause to the arab world,that they still treat them like dogs in arab countries ? Why haven't they allowed them to leave the refugee camps and give them civil rights and homes ?

Of course arab ruling classes are not going to be genuinely concerned about "the palis". Hell, the PLO even harmed the first intifada.

I think it's because the arab world,most of whom still refuse to acknowledge Israeli state-hood,are using the pali's as an excuse to inflame muslims in their quest to destroy Israel and drive all Jews into the sea.

The arab world...what does that mean exactly in this context? Arab elites or real people? For now I'll just ignore that tired bullshit about "driving all jews into the sea", the racist undertones, the disregard for Palestinian suffering, etc., and put forward the hypothesis that if arab elites are insincerely involving themselves in the struggle against Israeli terrorism then it is more likely as a means of domestic control.

Another of Islam's most strident and cherished goals,is to infiltrate their host countrie's political arena and gain power,in their quest to turn the whole world into Darfur,a pure Islamic state..Israel is wise to prevent such tactics.

What in the hell are you talking about? Host country? Who are these people? Subjugated Palestinians are 'infiltrating' Israel to take it over? This is fucking ridiculous.

I congratulate Israel,on their 57th anniversary of state-hood...Yay Israel !

Zeig Heil!

[ihateapplesandsalt]

Ok, say we took all the rednecks from Texas and replaced them with Indians and Mexicans, as it once was. Even if the reason was righteous, you'd still be pissed. And you'd probably be pissed for nearly 60 years afterwards.

I understand what you're getting at, but it's not the best analogy. Zionism is basically a romantic nationalism, the same type of ideology used to justify anti-semitism, ironically. Far from 'righteous'. It's unbelievably vapid to think that setting things back to how they once were is in anyway synonymous with justice.

[Mojavpa]

Israel cant be a democracy and give only Jews first class citizenship. I'm against the idea of a Jewish country for the same reason I'm opposed to say, America becoming a Christian country, or Pakistan laws being based on the Quran. Oh, and might I add that Isreal doesnt have an official constitution, because it would explicitly say that jews will have more rights than arabs and christians.

Palestians children are dying at an astonishing rate, and many of them are children. As long as Isreal continues to humiliate the Palestinian people and occupy them, deny them employment, healthcare, and ensure they live in the worst imaginable conditions Isreal will continue to be the target of terrorist attacks. Someone who has nothing to live for because the Israeli army has killed off his entire family becomes the suicide bomber. I do not condone suicide attacks, but we have to realize why they happen.

According to international law, the occupation is illegal. But Israel doesnt care and wants to expand its settlements. Its pure and simple greed.