The unforgotten "Nakba": facts about Palestine

photo by palestinalibre.org on Flickr.

The world has watched today's events and until now there are 15 killed in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. The Nakba or "catastrophe" isn't only 63 years old, efforts have been made years before 1948 to prepare for Jewish migration and to get them into Palestine. After Palestine was placed under British mandate, efforts have been conducted to facilitate placing around 3-4 million Jewish amongst Arabs in Palestine, expelling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians out of their homes. The first Israeli PM Davin Ben-Gorion once said: "the old will die and the young will forget" referring to the Palestinian refugees. Surprisingly to the Israelis, they haven't forgotten.

Many villages inside the borders of Israel were ethnically cleansed to allow for colonial settlements and to establish the new state of Israel, around 95% of the newly established state of Israel were built between 1948-1953 on the land of the expelled Palestinians. Today, there are around 4.7 million Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and elsewhere; some of them are still living in refugee camps under inhuman conditions. The fate of these refugees is still unknown.

Today, the 15th of May is the 63rd anniversary of the "Nakba", Palestinians and Arabs took to the streets marking this day, which lead to clashes were the Israeli army has shot the protesters killing around 15 till the moment.
 
The Lebanese army has tried to prohibit the protesters at the borders from evoking clashes with the Israelis on the other side of the border. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Army has blocked the roads to the Gaza border city of Rafah and detained around 10 activists, The Israeli Defense Force has though condemned that the Syrian and Lebanese Armies have done nothing to prevent violence at the borders.

The protests outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo turned violent after the  police forces cracked down on protesters injuring tens and detaining some of them.

• Most Muslims and Arabs are against the "Zionist project" but not Judaism as a religion. Arabs see Zionism as a racist movement that uses religion to uproot the Palestinians and force them out of their homes to seize the land and build Israel.
• Israel had denied residency rights to 140,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, in what Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz described as a "demographic policy" whose "sole purpose is to thin out the Palestinian population". 
• The international community recognizes the West Bank and Gaza Strip as the "Occupied Palestinian Territories".
• Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 but the United Nations Security Council resolution 478 declared it "null and void" and a violation to the international law.

Syrian uprising: they need your support

As you know, the Arab uprising has spread from Tunisia to Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain and Syria. The situation right now in Syria is so critical because the regimen their is as brutal as those of Egypt and Tunisia together and because Syria is a very crucial element in the area. Bashar Al Asad forces have been using excessive force, killing, injuring and detaining thousands (around 110 killed only in the past 2 days).

The video below shows part of the massacre that the security forces in Deraa committed against peaceful demonstrators. Warning: the video contains very graphical material, not recommended for those under 18 years old.

We all have to show support and solidarity for the Syrian people, spread their news and raise the awareness about what is happening there. We can arrange protests in front of the Syrian embassies all over the world, we can send them messages on the internet via facebook, twitter and youtube. We can at least show them that they are not alone and that we pray for them.
Check the BBC website for the latest news about Syria or follow @SyrianJasmine on twitter.
God bless Syria.

Egyptian Uprising #jan25, A revolution that started on facebook?

It was a big day for Egyptians, tens of thousands of Egyptians attended demonstrations all over the country, protesting against poverty, unemployment, police brutality and the current regime.The protesters are also demanding presidential terms to be limited to only two.

Photo by Emad Abdel Rahman.

The demonstrations started around 02:00 PM in all the big cities in Egypt specially Cairo, Alexandria, Mansoura, Mahla, Suez and Asyoot with multiple protests in each. In the beginning of the day, the police was dealing with the protesters softly and some protesters were handing flowers to the police forces. Later on, things turned ugly with the increasing number of people the riot police started harassing the protesters, hitting them and throwing tear gas grenades at them, the police also used live ammunition, many people were injured and hundreds were detained. There was heavy police and state security presence in all of the cities where protests were held but protesters outnumbered the police in many of them.

The protests were mainly announced and organized online via facebook groups and twitter with many of the Egyptian opposition movements but most of the people in the street were just regular citizens and not of a specific political affiliation.

Most of the Arab media coverage was just so weak, in fact most of the news about the marches, photos and videos were broadcasted and published online using cellular phones and digital cameras. The famous micro-blogging website Twitter was blocked in Egypt as well as some other news websites and blogs.

If you are a twitter user you can view the latest updates from bloggers, activists and protesters at these hashtags: #jan25 and #tahrir.
Here is the live coverage from the Guardian, updated frequently.








CNN coverage.

Another Video of the protests.

Activist Tarek Shalby has published some videos that he shot.


Latest updates:

• Three protesters were killed tonight in Suez City by the security forces' live ammunition.
  
  
• A police solider was killed.
  
  
• From Zeinobia's blog: It is 12:50 AM CLT now and our friends in Al Tahrir square are currently under huge attack from the security forces that are firing cannons of tear gas. Mass arrests are taking place in the streets of Al Tahrir. Many are injured. Ambulances are heading to the place.

Egypt - January 25

Today is the 25th of January, the day that was announced by many Egyptians as a day for protesting for political reform and freedom. The Tunisian revolution has become a source of inspiration for many Arabs looking for freedom and justice.

Today, thousands of Egyptians from all political movements, Islamists, football fans, lawyers, workers and university students are supposed to be protesting against Mubarak's regimen and their government. Tunisian activists announced they would be holding their own protests in solidarity with their Egyptian counterparts.

The day was labelled as a "day of revolution against torture, corruption, poverty and unemployment" by protest leaders, most of the protesters have known and arranged for protests online on facebook and twitter. The security forces have branded the demonstrations as "illegal" and will be dealt with "strictly".