janeiro 11, 2009
janeiro 10, 2009
‘Os mísseis do Hamas são de chocolate‘ por Inês Pedrosa in Expresso, 10 de Janeiro de 2009
O Hamas tomou a iniciativa de bombardear Israel, a 19 de Dezembro, ninguém disse nada. Ou melhor: as vozes do costume começaram a vituperar Israel como origem de todos os males. A cultura judaica faz mal, mediaticamente falando, em esconder os seus feridos e mortos. O dever da coragem e a recusa da vitimização tem sido a chave da sobrevivência histórica do povo judeu, que vive, desde há muitos séculos consecutivos, em perseguição e diáspora. Mas no mundo de hoje, feito da injustiça do instantâneo global, a exibição do sofrimento é rainha absoluta. Toda a gente sabe que, para o fundamentalismo islâmico, a vida humana é desprezível - em particular a das mulheres e a das crianças. Toda a gente sabe porque os fundamentalistas não o escondem; consideram, aliás, que o martírio é a grande redenção e promoção da espécie humana. Assim sendo, as sedes do Hamas são difíceis de detectar e estão, estarão sempre, cheias de civis inocentes prontos (voluntária ou involuntariamente, como é o caso das crianças) a marchar em glória para um céu, de facto menos infernal do que a vida terrena tal como eles a permitem. E não têm qualquer pudor em exibir corpos esfacelados, crianças aterrorizadas ou mortas - usam-nos como cartaz. Funciona - como não havia de funcionar? Como não nos comoveremos com essa inominável dor?
Dos estragos causados em Israel pelos bombistas suicidas ou, agora de novo, pelos mísseis do Hamas, não temos imagens. E a comunidade internacional comporta-se como se os mísseis do Hamas fossem, de facto, de chocolate - inocentes, inócuos. Israel esconde a morte, para que a população não desmoralize. Israel é, desde a sua nascença, em 1948, um país debaixo de ataque - e essa é a grande questão. Na resposta à guerra que, desde o primeiro dia, lhe foi movida pelo conjunto dos países árabes, Israel cometeu erros calamitosos. Mas hoje, agora, em 2009, não é por causa de Israel que a paz se afigura impossível. O Hamas, que controla a faixa de Gaza, não reconhece o direito à existência de Israel. E por isso ataca. Ataca porque sabe que Israel terá de responder a esses ataques - e que, ao responder, será automaticamente criticado por todo o mundo, porque o poderio militar e económico de Israel é infinitamente superior ao do governo (e governo eleito, note-se) do Hamas. Um monstro rico atacando um menino pobre, pronto. Que seja sempre o menino pobre a atirar a matar, não interessa nada - a violência justifica-se com a pobreza. Mas esta justificação também já está, há demasiado tempo, sem pés para andar: porque será que tantos povos que vivem na miséria (designadamente em África) não recorrem à violência, e porque serão alguns países tão ricos (veja-se a Arábia Saudita, por exemplo) tão violentos para com metade da sua própria população (a que tem o azar de nascer do sexo errado, ou de gostar do sexo errado)?
O escritor israelita Amos Oz escreveu uma crónica intitulada "Israel deve defender os seus cidadãos" ("Público", 31/12/2008) cuja primeira linha dizia isto: "O bombardeamento sistemático dos cidadãos das povoações israelitas é um crime de guerra e um crime contra a humanidade". Amos Oz é insuspeito de sionismo ou de ser um "falcão" belicista. Mas também não é, como ele próprio já escreveu (em "Contra o Fanatismo", edição Ediouro, Brasil) "um pacifista no sentido sentimental da palavra", e explica porquê: "No meu vocabulário, a guerra é terrível, mas o mal supremo não é a guerra, e sim a agressão. Se em 1939 o mundo todo, excepto a Alemanha, defendesse que a guerra era o fenómeno mais terrível do mundo, Hitler seria, então, senhor do universo, agora."
O problema é precisamente este: o mundo de hoje divide-se entre pacifistas sentimentais e senhores da guerra. As democracias são canjas de gente pacífica que, fundamentalmente, não toma partido - bradam pela "paz" e deixam passar os massacres, debaixo do seu nariz. Os exércitos de "manutenção de paz" da ONU são, na melhor das hipóteses, uma espécie de guarda de honra das organizações de socorro humanitário.
Israel está a tentar (escrevo na terça-feira) desmembrar o Hamas - a incursão terrestre serve para isso, para minimizar as vítimas civis. Mas, perante um Hamas que proclama "Nós acreditamos na morte", haverá sempre muitas vítimas civis. Se o Governo de Israel não contra-atacasse, em defesa dos seus cidadãos, a extrema-direita israelita cresceria, e muito, nas próximas eleições - o que seria óptimo para a estratégia do Hamas, que é a de criar ódio contra a própria existência de Israel. Por outro lado, contra-atacando, como está a fazer, faz crescer o anti-semitismo internacional - sim, é sempre disso que se trata. Tzipi Livni, a ministra dos Negócios Estrangeiros israelita, repete incessantemente que estão apenas a agir em legítima defesa, apenas e só até que acabem os ataques do Hamas. Mas a dor de Israel nunca se vê. "Israel é um país; o Hamas é um gangue", escreve Amos Oz. Antes de percebermos isto não perceberemos nem resolveremos nada.
http://clix.expresso.pt/os_misseis_do_hamas_sao_de_chocolate=f490458
JPTF 2009/01/10
janeiro 09, 2009
janeiro 08, 2009
janeiro 06, 2009
Erro (in)voluntário?: ‘Televisão francesa cai na armadilha da propaganda palestiniana‘ in Le Figaro, 6 de Janeiro de 2009
La chaîne admet une «erreur» après la diffusion des images d'une explosion accidentelle datant de 2005 pour illustrer les conséquences de l'offensive israélienne dans le territoire palestinien.
France 2 reconnait son erreur. La chaîne de télévision avait diffusé lundi dans son journal de 13 heures une vidéo censée illustrer les ravages causés par l'offensive israélienne en cours à Gaza. Accompagnant les images, ce commentaire en voix off : «Pour montrer la violence des combats, les télévisions arabes et Internet diffusent ces images filmées par un téléphone. Il s'agirait d'une frappe de missiles le 1er janvier. Les militaires portent les brassards du Hamas. Sur le sol, des combattants mais aussi beaucoup de cadavres de civils.»
Or la chaîne de télévision semble avoir fait erreur sur la véritable nature des images qu'elle a diffusées. Celles-ci ne dateraient pas du 1er janvier 2009 mais du 23 septembre 2005, comme l'a signalé au Post, qui a révélé l'information, un des contributeurs du site. Il ne s'agirait pas non plus d'images consécutives à une frappe israélienne sur Gaza mais des conséquences de l'explosion accidentelle d'un camion transportant des roquettes, à Jabaliya, dans un camp de réfugiés palestinien.
La supercherie, émanant vraisemblablement de militants pro-palestiniens, a déjà été détectée par plusieurs blogs et sites Internet. Photos à l'appui, ces derniers ont remarqué l'étrange ressemblance entre la scène de carnage dont témoigne cette vidéo et les photos de l'explosion accidentelle de 2005, telle qu'elle avait été relatée à l'époque dans plusieurs médias. Autre élément troublant, sur le site de partage de vidéos LiveLeak, il est bien précisé que la vidéo a été enregistrée le 23 septembre 2005. Depuis que celle-ci circule de plus belle sur Internet, comme une preuve supposée des ravages de l'offensive de l'État hébreu, le site a publié une note qui précise le contexte du tournage de la vidéo incriminée.
Interrogé par Le Post, Etienne Leenhardt, directeur-adjoint de l'information de France 2, a reconnu «une erreur», due à «un dysfonctionnement interne de vérification de l'info». «C'est une erreur de notre part d'avoir diffusé ces images, qui datent en effet de 2005», reconnait-il. «La séquence que nous avons diffusée était censée illustrer la guerre des images sur Internet. Les personnes qui ont préparé le sujet sont allées trop vite», poursuit Leenhardt pour qui «c'est une bonne piqûre de rappel. Cela nous rappelle que nous devons être très attentifs sur la vérification des sources». Mardi, la présentatrice du journal de 13 heures a présenté les excuses de la rédaction évoquant une «confusion regrettable».
http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/2009/01/06/04002-20090106ARTFIG00380-gaza-france-piegee-par-des-images-de-propagande-.php
JPTF 2009/01/06
janeiro 04, 2009
‘A Falsa Equidistância e a Irrelevância da Política Europeia no Médio Oriente‘ por Pacheco Pereira in Público, 3 de Janeiro de 2009
O Público publicou (2/1/2009) uma dessas periódicas missivas de senadores internacionais sobre o conflito do Médio Oriente, neste caso com o título ameaçador de “a humanidade está em jogo em Gaza”. Assinam esse texto um conjunto de personalidades heteróclitas, como de costume ecleticamente representando “civilizações” distintas, para dar um ar de universalidade. Bastava esta composição dos abaixo-assinados para nos fazer desconfiar de tanto politicamente correcto: o checo Vaclav Havel, o príncipe Hassan bin Tala, tio do actual rei jordano, o teólogo progressista Hans Küng, o neo-zelandês Mike Moore, antigo director da Organização Mundial do Comércio, Yohei Sasakawa um filantropo japonês , Desmond Tutu, Prémio Nobel da Paz , e um nobre Karel Schwarzenberg, actual ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros da República Checa. Esta última assinatura, de um ministro que está neste momento em exercício na Presidência da UE, dá ao documento o ar oficioso de uma declaração da célebre (e na verdade inexistente) “política externa europeia”.
Temos pois, como deve ser, dois europeus do Leste, um plebeu e um nobre, um alemão, um principe árabe, um bispo anglicano africano, um japonês, um representante dos antípodas, ou visto de outra maneira, um bispo, um benemérito, um escritor, um árabe moderado, e um político no activo, ou visto de outro modo, um branco, um árabe, um negro, um amarelo, ou visto ainda de outro modo, um cristão católico, um cristão anglicano, um muçulmano, um xintoista, um agnóstico, etc, etc. O mundo como os multiculturalistas pensam que ele é.
O texto permite entender as razões pelas quais a política europeia para o Médio Oriente é o fracasso conhecido, e comporta um visão que, pretendendo-se equidistante, legitima a violência palestiniana radical, e acaba por ser mais condenatório de Israel do que da beligerância do Hamas, cujo objectivo de destruir o estado de Israel nunca entra em conta nestas equidistâncias. Nada que não seja habitual neste tipo de “equidistância”, muito comum na Europa “comunitária”, e uma das razões pelas quais a União Europeia, sendo o principal apoiante humanitário da Autoridade Palestiniana, não tem qualquer papel de relevo no conflito palestiniano e que não é reconhecida por nenhuma das partes como protagonista sério em qualquer esforço de negociação. Pelo contrário, os pouco equidistantes EUA e, do outro lado, o Irão, são peças fundamentais de qualquer entendimento e o que dizem e fazem é tido em total conta pelos países e grupos em conflito. Se houver tréguas, paz, estado palestiniano, é com eles e por eles também. A Europa, que por razões de todo o tipo, históricas, políticas e geopolíticas, devia ser uma chave para a resolução do conflito, é um inexistência real e limita-se a proferir declarações de boas intenções como a carta a que nos referimos.
A nova “linguagem de pau” dos tempos modernos passa por cartas como esta em que, ou por omissão da verdade, sugestão de falsidade ou por pura falsidade, se toma posição jurando estar-se acima das partes. Veja-se esta frase que Orwell instantaneamente reconheria como doublespeak:
"O impasse ao nível da segurança que existe entre Israel e a liderança palestiniana em Gaza também conduziu aos bloqueios de ajuda alimentar por Israel, que obrigaram os 1,5 milhões de habitantes de Gaza a enfrentar uma situação de fome real. Israel, ao que parece, continua a enfatizar a primazia da segurança "dura" nas suas negociações com os palestinianos de Gaza, mas essa ênfase serve apenas para bloquear oportunidades para soluções criativas e não-violentas da disputa entre Israel e a Palestina."
A “liderança palestiniana em Gaza”, que os signatários recusam nomear, é o Hamas que se separou do governo e do presidente palestiniano Abbas, para ilegalmente tornar o território numa ditadura civil e militar fundamentalista, patrocinada pelo Irão, que usa a população civil como escudo para as suas actividades de agressão a Israel, mas também para atacar todos os sectores palestinianos mais moderados. O seu objectivo é explicito: impedir qualquer acordo de paz com Israel e, em consequência, militarizou todo o território, usando todas as oportunidades de abertura de fronteira para se rearmar e receber apoios externos, sacrificando o bem estar de milhares de palestinianos civis aos seus objectivos de guerra. No interior do território controla todas as ajudas humanitárias para, em primeiro lugar, privilegiar os quadros do Hamas e as suas famílias e, depois, para o enquadramento e doutrinação fundamentalista.
Tudo isto está mais que documentado. Não tenho a mais pequena dúvida que os signatários da carta sabem que é assim. Sabem até mais do que isso: sabem que o Hamas usa as ambulâncias para mover homens e armas, utiliza escudos humanos, armazena armas em mesquitas, escolas e hospitais. Sabem que o Hamas prepara crianças e jovens adolescentes nas suas escolas numa ideologia fundamentalista do martírio, organizando atentados indiscriminados contra a população civil. Os signatários da carta sabem muito bem que Israel não toma a população civil como alvo militar e que o Hamas não distingue entre um militar e um civil judeus, assassinando todos os que pode. Sabem ainda mais: que o Hamas viola todo o tipo de direitos humanos, fuzila opositores suspeitos de simpatizarem com a Fatah de Abbas e presumiveis ou reais informadores israelitas, impede qualquer liberdade de expressão, prende indiscriminadamente e tortura, introduziu a sharia, e outras práticas religiosas fundamentalistas.
Neste contexto, que segurança pode ter Israel que não seja “dura”? Alguns destes senadores conhecem alguma política “mole” que possa merecer o nome de segurança? Que política de segurança “mole” seria possível com grupos como o Hamas no contexto do Médio Oriente? E que solução de “protectorado” internacional funcionaria no Médio Oriente que pudesse garantir a segurança de Israel, sem tropas que estivessem prontas para desarmar o Hamas, e os grupos radicais palestinianos, para bloquear a inflitração iraniana para o Hamas e para o Hezbollah, para impedir os esquadrões da morte? Com que exército europeu?
Basta olhar para o Líbano onde as tropas internacionais continuam passivas face ao Hezbollah, violando o mandato internacional que receberam no âmbito de mais uma das “soluções criativas e não-violentas da disputa entre Israel e a Palestina” que tanto agradam aos signatários do documento. Se estes fossem israelitas aceitariam diminuir a sua própria segurança face a este tipo de intervenção “equidistante” que depois cede às relações de força no terreno e que permite que a Síria e o Irão continuem a controlar parte do território libanês e a transformá-lo numa base de guerra civil no Libano e internacional contra Israel?
As conclusões desta carta são de uma enorme hipocrisia. Sim, é verdade que “em Gaza, está em jogo o sentido básico de decência da humanidade”, só que para se ser completamente verdadeiro dever-se-ia ter ido mais longe: exigir da comunidade internacional a reposição da legalidade no território, desarmando o Hamas, entregando o controlo de Gaza ao governo legítimo da Autoridade Palestiniana, apoiando os esforços dos moderados palestinianos para um entendimento com Israel, mas sendo intransigente com a situação de segurança de Israel. Só neste quadro é que existe autoridade para criticar os excessos israelitas, se os houver. Isso é que permitiria “a coragem moral e a visão política para que a Palestina dê um salto quântico.” Embora esta do “salto quântico” se não for erro de tradução, é um lapso freudiano dos autores da carta, porque tal “salto” só se dá num espaço infinitamente pequeno.
http://abrupto.blogspot.com/2009/01/falsa-equidistncia-e-irrelevncia-da.html
JPTF 2009/01/04
Guerra Israel-Hamas: ‘Divisões e confusão marcam a resposta europeia‘ in Times, 4 de Janeiro de 2009
Divisions in European capitals over Israel’s incursion into Gaza were laid bare today as the EU failed to co-ordinate a united response and rival peace missions headed to the region.
France has led calls for a ceasefire as President Nicolas Sarkozy of France prepared to travel to Jerusalem tomorrow at the start of a four-day freelance mission taking in four countries.
Meanwhile the Czechs, leading the official EU diplomatic visit, caused confusion by calling Israel’s move “defensive” on Saturday, but insisting today that this was a misunderstanding and joining the general call for a ceasefire.
Carl Bildt, the outspoken Swedish foreign minister and a member of the official EU mission, further added to the splintered response by strongly criticising Israel for having chosen to “dramatically escalate” the situation.
The failure to present a united front could not come at a worse time for the EU because of its opportunity to lead the global response during the leadership vacuum at the end of George W Bush’s presidency in the US.
The blame will be shared by the Czechs, who have just taken over the EU rotating presidency from France, but also Mr Sarkozy, who believes that he has a personal duty to see through peace mediation which he began while holding the EU presidency.
Mr Sarkozy plans to join some of the official EU meetings this week with Palestinian leaders but will also plough his own furrow while his foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, sticks with the EU team made up of France, Czech Republic and Sweden -the past, present and future EU presidencies.
But the confusion does not end there. The Dutch weighed in today with Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende showing sympathy for Israel’s moves and arguing that the offensive could not be condemned as long as Hamas was firing rockets.
“Condemning Israel is pointless because both parties have to be addressed,” he said in an interview with Dutch television.
“As long as the rocket attacks continue, Israel will always say: 'We cannot accept this', and I understand that.”
He added: “It is always regrettable when there are civilian casualties. But at the same time, I see Hamas continuously firing rockets on Israel.”
Gordon Brown called for an immediate ceasefire on both sides, although he called Israel’s ground offensive “a very dangerous moment”.
“I can see the Gaza issues for the Palestinians – that they need humanitarian aid – but the Israelis must have some assurance that there are no rocket attacks coming into Israel,” he told the BBC.
“So first we need an immediate ceasefire, and that includes a stopping of the rockets into Israel.”
The Czechs have shown more sympathy for the Israeli situation than their counterparts in the EU mission. A spokesman said yesterday that Israel’s land assault was “more defensive than offensive” but Karel Schwarzenberg, the foreign minister who will lead the peace effort, later said this was a misunderstanding.
He said that the only valid EU presidency position was a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry late on Saturday which called for a ceasefire and the facilitation of humanitarian aid.
Mr Schwarzenberg is known for his pro-US and pro-Israeli stance and was quoted defending the Israeli ground invasion as it began, stating: “If they [Hamas] started again shooting then they should not be astonished that they are attacked, of course.”
But Mr Bildt’s remarks showed the tensions in the EU delegation. The Israeli ground offensive was “basically an admission that [Tel Aviv’s] air attacks over the past week have failed to achieve what they had hoped for,” Mr Bildt said.
“Instead of seeking a possible political solution after this failure they have now chosen to dramatically escalate the conflict with a ground offensive. It is obvious that this will make it harder to find a solution to this serious conflict.”
The EU mission was due to start tonight in Cairo, followed by meetings tomorrow in Jerusalem with Israeli President Shimon Peres and the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. From there they will go to the West Bank town of Ramallah to meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. Mr Sarkozy will also attend the meetings with Mr Abbas and his Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5444697.ece
JPTF 2009/01/04
janeiro 02, 2009
‘Hamas: vinguem o sangue dos mártires do nosso povo‘ in CNN, 2 de Janeiro de 2009
The Israeli air force bombed the homes Thursday of two top Hamas military figures, killing at least one of them.
The Israel Defense Forces also struck a mosque that it said was a hub for Hamas fighters and used to store missiles, rockets and other weapons, it said Thursday.
The attacks came on the sixth day of Israeli air strikes against Gaza, which is tucked between Israel and Egypt and has been used as a staging ground for sporadic rocket attacks by Hamas into Israel.
Palestinian medical sources said at least 400 people have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli raids began Saturday, and 2,000 have been wounded.
Officials in Israel said four people, three of them civilians, have died from Palestinian rocket fire. Another 56 have been wounded, emergency medical services reported.
The Hamas television station Al-Aqsa showed the body of Nizar Rayan, one of the main founders of Hamas and a commander in northern Gaza, being pulled from the rubble of his house in Jabaliya, north of Gaza City. Watch aftermath of rocket attack on Rayan's house »
The Islamist University lecturer "ranked among Hamas' top five decision-makers as the liaison between the group's military and political wing," the paper said. Learn who's who in Gaza »
The newspaper also described him as an "outspoken advocate of renewing suicide bombings against Israel."
Nine other people also died in the attack, Hamas and Palestinian medical sources said, some believed to be members of Rayan's family. Watch how civilians are caught in the crossfire »
Rayan had urged Gazans not to abandon their homes during the Israeli air attacks, even if they received threats to evacuate, Arab media reported.
"We call on our people and the resistance groups -- along with al-Qassam Brigades -- to revenge for the blood of the imam, leader and martyr Nizar Rayan, as well the blood of our people's martyrs," Hamas leader Ismail Redwan said in a eulogy broadcast on Al-Aqsa.
The al-Qassam Brigades are the military arm of Hamas.
Video showed crowds of men outside the remains of Rayan's house, shouting as they climbed mounds of debris, pulling bodies from the rubble and searching for other victims. Nearby buildings were heavily damaged.
Elsewhere in Jabaliya, Israeli aircraft also hit a mosque described as a "terror hub" used as a center of operations for Hamas, "a meeting place for its operatives and a staging ground for terror attacks."
The IDF said weapons stored in the mosque triggered a large fire and secondary explosions.
"The IDF will continue to attack any target used for terrorist activity, and will not hesitate to strike those involved in terrorism against the citizens of the State of Israel, even if they deliberately choose to operate from locations of religious or cultural significance," a statement said. Watch people run in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike »
An airstrike also hit the Gaza City home of senior Hamas military operative Nabil Amrin, causing weaponry stored inside to explode, the IDF said.
There was no word on possible casualties, and the IDF said they didn't know whether Amrin was home at the time.
The attacks were among dozens Thursday in northern Gaza in what Israel says is a response to ongoing Hamas rocket fire into southern Israel. The IDF said in a statement that more than 40 rockets fell in Israel, and it carried out over 50 airstrikes on Gaza.
The military has said it is targeting only Hamas militants, and Hamas has vowed to defend Gaza in the face of what it calls continued Israeli aggression. Watch CNN's Rick Sanchez talk to a Palestinian man about the conflict »
In Paris, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose truce proposal was turned down Wednesday by Israel. It would have stopped the fighting temporarily so more humanitarian aid could reach Gaza.
The six days of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have "achieved changes," Livni said.
"We want to weaken Gaza," Livni said. "At the end of the day, Hamas is a problem, not only to Israel but to the entire Palestinian people," Livni said.
Palestinian militants continued to fire rockets into southern Israel. The Israeli military said four struck Beer Sheva on Wednesday, and at least two medium-range rockets struck the community Thursday. Beer Sheva is about 19 miles outside Gaza. Watch how emergency responders have dealt with the crisis »
Israel targeted the Palestinian parliament building in Gaza City overnight, gutting the structure. The ministries of justice and education and civil defense headquarters, to the city's west, also were bombed.
Also Thursday, Israel announced that it had closed its borders with the West Bank until midnight Saturday. The closures to the Palestinian territory coincides with the Muslim holy day Friday and the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday.
Earlier, Hamas had called for demonstrations Friday at mosques in the West Bank and at the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/01/israel.gaza/index.html
JPTF 2009/01/02
janeiro 01, 2009
dezembro 31, 2008
dezembro 30, 2008
‘A estratégia de escalada do conflito do Hamas‘ in Der Spiegel, 29 de Dezembro de 2008
The Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip entered its third day on Monday with over 300 Palestinians now dead. The Arab world is up in arms, and with Palestinians as fragmented as ever, the dream of an independent country seems no closer today than it did decades ago.
The anger quickly came to a boil on Saturday. Thousands of Israelis, both Jews and Arabs, were in Jaffa for an annual street festival. "The Arab peddlers were so busy that it took awhile for the news from Gaza to spread," Sami Abu Shadeh, a member of the center-left, Arab-Israeli Balad party, recalled on Sunday. It was noon before he found a television. "By then," he says, "there were already 120 dead."
In the ensuing hours, Shadeh said, everything seemed to move in fast-forward. Quickly, a meeting was called bringing together representatives from Jaffa's 20,000-strong Arab minority. Shutting down the street festival was the first priority. "The further the news from Gaza spread, the more the tension could be felt in the air," Shadeh said. "We were afraid that there would be violence between our youth and the Jewish festival-goers."
In the end, the community leaders managed to channel the growing rage into an orderly protest. For two hours, Koran verses streamed out of the loudspeakers of the minarets in Jaffa, a largely Arab-Israeli quarter of Tel Aviv, as 2,000 people silently commemorated the dead.
The anger, though, remains. Across the Middle East -- in Beirut, Damascus, Cairo, the West Bank and within Israel itself where 20 percent of the population is made up of Palestinians -- people have taken to the streets in rage and grief. Anti-Israeli marches have likewise been held as far away as Karachi and Jakarta. A group of Iranian clerics is signing up volunteers to fight in the Gaza Strip.
'Ready to Die'
An Indonesian militant group told Reuters on Monday that it planned to recruit up to 1,000 volunteers to fight in the Gaza Strip. "Fighters should be in good physical condition, have a strong faith and be ready to die," said Ahmad Soebri Lubis, head of the Islamic Defenders' Front.
Israeli fighter planes continued dropping bombs at targets within the Gaza Strip on Monday, with the Interior Ministry being hit early in the morning. Over 300 Palestinians have been killed in the three-day-old offensive and more than 600 wounded. The attack began not long after Hamas, the radical Palestinian group which holds power in Gaza, allowed a cease-fire to lapse and resumed firing rockets into Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that a ground invasion has not been ruled out.
The air raids have already been among the most intense since the Six-Day War in 1967 -- and Abu Shadeh fears that harmony between Israel's Arabs and the rest of the country could soon be a thing of the past. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal has even gone so far as to call for a third Intifada -- an uprising of all Palestinians against Israel.
But as bloody as the Israeli offensive has been, it comes largely as the result of a deeply cynical calculation on the part of Hamas. The Islamist group must have known that Israel would not tolerate the incessant cross-border rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip indefinitely. Since the six-month cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended on Dec. 19, dozens of rockets once again began landing well inside Israel, killing one civilian last week and another, an Arab-Israeli, on Monday.
For weeks, the threats voiced by Israel had been clear and unmistakeable. Only last Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued a stark warning to the Palestinians in an interview with an Arab TV channel: "Stop it" -- or Israel would respond with violence to the rocket launchers and their backers, was his message.
Hamas' Need for Violence
That, though, is exactly what Hamas seems to have been banking on. For Hamas, the gruesome television pictures that were beamed around the world following the Israeli air raids appear to have been part of the plan. They appear to have deliberately factored in the suffering of innocent victims when they refused to prolong their cease-fire with Israel. Ultimately, Hamas hopes the current escalation of violence will make the West take it seriously as a negotiating partner.
Otherwise it wouldn't have provoked Israel and its mighty army. The Hamas leadership accepted the possibility that Palestinian civilians would be hurt in the Israeli counter-attack. The Hamas infrastructure is deliberately located in city districts where civilians live.
It seems unlikely that Hamas will ultimately be successful. The Palestinians are simply too divided to provide a unified response to Israel -- too split for a third Intifada. On a political level, that became abundantly clear on Sunday. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah Party has the upper hand in the West Bank, condemned the attacks, but seemed to partially blame Hamas for the ongoing bloodbath in the Gaza Strip.
"We talked to them (Hamas) and we told them 'please, we ask you, do not end the truce. Let the truce continue and not stop' so that we could have avoided what happened," Abbas said on Sunday in Cairo, where he had traveled for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
'We Don't Do Politics'
Even among the moderate Palestinians living in Israel, the comment did not play well. "Imagine: hundreds of his fellow Palestinians have been killed and he uses the opportunity to blame the opposing party," Abu Shadeh said in Jaffa. "I really don't know what to expect anymore."
Shadeh's confusion is understandable. The entire Arab world is united in its condemnation of Israel. Many in Europe have likewise criticized the Israelis for overreacting and using disproportionate violence. But among the Palestinians themselves, the situation could hardly be more complicated. They are scattered across the Middle East -- from Beirut to Cairo -- and their politics fall across the political spectrum. Some are ready to fight and die to achieve their goal of a Middle East free of Israelis. Others seek to make peace with their Jewish neighbors. And the two dominant Palestinian parties, Hamas and Fatah, are united only in their hate for one another.
Israel, in its regional dominance, has made it even more difficult for the Palestinians to work together, meaning the dream of an independent country seems no closer today than it did decades ago. The Palestinians quite simply have little political leverage because they have no political unity.
In Jaffa on Sunday, Arab-Israelis seemed intent on keeping a low profile. A restaurant owner there was one of many who was unwilling to comment on the ongoing violence. He ran his finger across his mouth, as if closing a zipper. "We make kebabs here," he said. "We don't do politics."
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,598656,00.html
JPTF 2008/12/30
dezembro 29, 2008
Leituras: ‘O Evangelho Politicamente Correcto‘ de Peter Mullen
If the original gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written today, they would never get published. They are far too politically incorrect. Modern Britain would never tolerate such primitive descriptions as the blind, deaf and lunatic. And Jesus Christ was surely outrageously judgemental - promising to set the wicked on his left hand and send them to everlasting punishment. Frankly Jesus Christ was just too discriminatory. Christ's outmoded notions of sin are far too downbeat for our liberated modern times. And fancy saying that charitable works should be done secretly, when nowadays we all know to make a great song and dance about any good we do. Here then is The Politically-Correct Gospel - the only gospel that could possibly find a publisher in this, our enlightened age. And a great improvement on the stuffy, disapproving originals it is, too. Here we find accessible and inclusive language, through the beautiful phraseology of the Authorised Version. The blind have been replaced by the visually-challenged, the deaf by the hearing-impaired and the lunatics have bipolar disorder. All of the Bible's negative and repressive language on sexual morality has, thankfully, been dropped. The Politically Correct Gospel is an inclusive gospel that that truly speaks to modern People, strives to dispense with all the nonsense about guilt and sin, and seeks greatly to encourage our sense of self-esteem. (Apresentação do livro feita na contracapa).
JPTF 2008/12/29
dezembro 23, 2008
dezembro 18, 2008
dezembro 15, 2008
Referendo ao Tratado de Lisboa: insistam, insistam até que os irlandeses digam ‘sim‘
A former senior MEP claimed last night that a rerun of the Lisbon Treaty vote was "a done deal" between Ireland and European Union leaders.
Danish veteran Jens Peter Bonde added that the deal means a new vote will contain declarations with lots of "nice words" that wouldn't actually change "one single paragraph" in the Lisbon Treaty text.
Mr Bonde, a noted Eurosceptic and an opponent of the Maastricht and Lisbon treaties, added: "I know that the French president has told European group leaders in the European Parliament, in confidentiality, that there is a deal now with the Irish government and the French presidency on the . . . rerun."
Mr Bonde's claims were rejected by Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin, who insisted the Taoiseach was travelling to Brussels today to discuss "elements of a solution".
"No deal has been done," he said. "If a deal is done, it has to be arrived at by the 27 member states at the Council on Thursday and Friday. I can assure you that no deal has been arrived at."
With any future solution heavily reliant on Ireland being able to retain its permanent European Commissioner, Mr Martin said some states still preferred the proposed new system that allowed for a rotation of commissioners.
Conspiracy
But the minister said he was encouraged by President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso's remark that he was "convinced" Irish voters' concerns could be met.
Meanwhile, an alliance of 'No' campaigners yesterday said the Government was "conspiring" behind voters' backs to rerun the treaty on the wider agenda of the economic crisis.
Pledging an "intensified effort" if there is a second referendum, Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party claimed there would be an attempt by the Government to "panic" people into voting 'Yes' to save their jobs and homes.
Patricia McKenna of the People's Movement said the Government was trying to make a link between EU membership, Lisbon and tackling the economic crisis. "The public aren't stupid and I don't believe they're going to buy into this argument," she added.
"There is now an attempt to go behind the backs of the people and to find another way to force this through, whether it be through a referendum or through some other procedure."
Sinn Fein's Aengus O Snodaigh claimed the Government was intent on getting people to "keep voting until you get the correct answer", while Roger Cole of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA) claimed a constitutional challenge was possible against the holding of a second referendum.
OBS: O texto transcrito foi publicado pelo jornal irlandês Independent (URL) sob o título 'Deal is already done' on Lisbon rerun, http://www.independent.ie/national-news/deal-is-already-done-on-lisbon-rerun-1570567.html
JPTF 15/12/2008
dezembro 14, 2008
‘Paquistão ligado a 75% dos planos terroristas no Reino Unido‘ afirma Gordon Brown in Times, 14 de Dezembro de 2008
Winding up a two-day tour of Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, the Prime Minister urged Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's President, to "break the chain of terror" linking Islamist militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan to attempted terrorist attacks in Britain.
British military officials believe there are a "handful" of British militants fighting alongside the Taleban in Afghanistan, often entering the country through northern Pakistan, where al Qaeda and Taleban leaders are thought to be sheltering.
Officials also believe that there are currently around 30 major terrorist plots in the United Kingdom with 2,000 suspects being watched by police and the intelligence services.
"Three quarters of the most serious plots investigated by the British authorities have links to al-Qaeda in Pakistan," said Mr Brown in a press conference alongside Mr Zardari in the presidential palace in Islamabad. "The time has come for action, not words."
Speaking just a few hours after meeting Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister, in Delhi, Mr Brown also formally declared for the first time that Britain backs India's assertion that Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani militant group with links to Pakistan's military-run spy agency, carried out the Mumbai attack.
His remarks were clearly designed to heap pressure on Pakistan's civilian government to do more to crack down on militant groups in the wake of the Mumbai strike, which killed at least 170 people, including three British citizens.
The whirlwind trip was part of an international diplomatic effort, led by the United States, to prevent the Mumbai attacks from sparking a fourth war between India and Pakistan, which both have nuclear weapons.
Tensions between the two countries escalated briefly but dramatically on Saturday night when Pakistan accused Indian fighter jets of violating its airspace, causing delays on Mr Brown's flight from Kabul to Delhi. India denied any transgression.
At their meeting in Delhi this morning, Mr Singh presented Mr Brown with a private list of "confidence building measures" that India wants Pakistan to agree to in order to stabilise relations.
Mr Brown also secured permission for British police to interview the only surviving militant from the Mumbai attack to investigate whether he has British connections.
Mr Singh gave the go-ahead for police and intelligence officials to speak to Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab, who has been undergoing "sustained interrogation" in a Mumbai jail since being captured on the first day of the attack.
The Prime Minister's meeting with his Indian counterpart was "sober" and dominated by the aftermath of the attacks, according to officials.
Afterwards, Mr Brown offered his sympathies to the Indian people. "I wanted to come to India to give my condolences and the whole Indian people at the terrible terrorist outrage in Mumbai that has shocked the world," he said.
Landing in Islamabad, Mr Brown made it clear he was in no doubt that LeT was responsible for the attacks, adding "they have a great deal to answer for".
Officials said he had been assured by British intelligence that LeT was responsible, despite denials from the group and claims by Pakistan authorities that they have been no evidence to that effect.
Western intelligence services are believed to have intercepted phone calls made by the Mumbai bombers to militants in Pakistan.
The Prime Minister offered an additional £6 million of assistance for security equipment for Pakistan, which has seen 50 suicide attacks this year compared to 7 in the previous year. "The aim must be to work together to do everything in our power to cut off terrorism," he said.
However he was rebuffed at the press conference by President Zardari, who refused to acknowledge Pakistani militants' involvement in the Mumbai attacks.
"They have still not completed their investigation. I'm hoping once the Indian government shares the information with us we will find whether there will be any culprits and will take action," the President said.
Pakistani officials admit that "non-state actors" in Pakistan may have been involved, but say they must tread carefully to prevent a backlash from the Pakistani public or from the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency, Pakistan's military-run spy organisation.
They also say they are growing increasingly frustrated that Indian authorities have yet to show them any evidence against the Pakistani militants they been under pressure to arrest.
Meanwhile, US and British security services have been anxious to get involved in India's investigation to gain potentially valuable intelligence and bolster the case against Pakistani militants.
Mr Brown believes that interviewing Mr Qasab, the captured militant, will send a signal that the Mumbai attack was a crime against the international community as well as India.
Mr Qasab is currently in Indian custody until December 24 facing charges including murder, attempted murder, waging war against a country and criminal conspiracy.
He has said he is from Pakistan and has written to the Pakistani authorities asking for legal assistance, according to Indian police.
British police and intelligence services have been gathering evidence about the attacks in Mumbai for the last fortnight. They can interview Mr Qasab even if they have no intention of bringing British charges because one British citizen and two people with dual nationality were killed in the attacks.
Intelligence services do not have specific evidence that Mr Qasab has British links, but believe he may be able to shed light on terror networks active in Britain.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5339975.ece
JPTF 2008/12/14
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