More People Power and "Correct" Resistance

Spain, that slice of heaven that keeps on producing male eye candy, is taking a leaf out of the Arab Spring revolutions. Beginning on May 15th, the Spaniards/Basques/Catalans etc took to the streets to demand a TRUE democracy, for a " decent, solidarity and sustainable future".




Egypt's revolution is still on-going. The "second revolution" will take place next Friday May 27th because as this video below says, repression of social rights still exist-the most recent example being the Egyptian army arresting peaceful demonstrators outside the Israeli embassy a few days ago.




And here's just a couple of links to illustrate the point of Palestinian non-violent resistance not being something new. Grr. Palestinian guerrilla movements began after their non-violent resistance was met by severe repression.

May 15th and the Third Palestinian Intifada

Every year for the past 62 years, there has always been a Nakba commemoration day. May 15th marks the Israeli "War of Independence Day" at the expense of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians that were displaced, expelled, and ethnically cleansed from their cities, villages, and homes in the most brutal manner. Some fled for fear of experiencing the same fate that Deir Yassin underwent, where over one hundred men, women, and children were murdered on the spot. Others were threatened, forcibly evicted, and were either placed on trucks that took them to the Jordanian/Lebanese borders or were told to walk there under the unbearable heat with inadequate food and supplies and no shelter. Many died on the way. Others made their "temporary" homes in the nineteen refugee camps in the West Bank, and the eight in the Gaza Strip.

Every Palestinian is familiar with the Nakba, as it still lives on in the collective memory, passed on from generation to generation, where land deeds and rusty keys are the most prized possessions. 700,000 refugees, over half of the original Palestinian population, have escalated 63 years later into a 6 million problem. Israel continues to systematically deny these facts and figures, disseminating lies through their hasbara machine that these Arabs left on their own accord and free will, but for how long? Especially in such glaring evidence? Writing on newly obtained statistics that show how Israel revoked residency rights of Palestinians (up to 140,000) up until the time of the Oslo Accords, Gideon Levy writes how the spirit of ethnic cleansing is still very much alive and kicking in the democratic state of Israel, all for the purpose of transforming the land into a purely Jewish only state.

"This is an absolute refusal to allow the return of the refugees - something that would "destroy the State of Israel." It's also an absolute refusal to allow the return of the people recently expelled. By next Independence Day we'll probably invent more expulsion regulations, and on the next holiday we'll talk about "the only democracy."

This year, the 63 third commemorative year of the Nakba, is surrounded by so much hype and fanfare. Bolstered by the geopolitical changes in the Arab world, and drawing upon loud support from the resuscitated Egyptians as a result of their spectacular revolution, this Sunday promises to be something memorable. Egyptian youth have called for a million man march to the Rafah border to show their support and solidarity with the Palestinians, and Jordanians and refugees in Lebanon have pledged to do the same on their side. But guess who has the audacity to rain on the Egyptians' parade... Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal. He called for the Egyptian youth to refrain from marching to the border, citing fears of "unwanted military confrontation" and not wanting to place Egypt in direct conflict with Zionism when they have their own problems to sort out. Given that Hamas shot any diaphanous shred of credibility by announcing its favor in the two state solution, Meshaal's comments are seen as nothing less than traitorous. Imagine Mahmoud Abbas or any of his henchmen saying that. Speaking of which, the PA has banned anyone from demonstrating on Sunday next to checkpoints and settlements.

63 years, and Palestinians are not in any way closer to giving up their right of return.


And again, Ben Gurion's "The old will die and the young will forget" couldn't be further away from the truth. IMEU has come up with this great initiative where second or third generation refugees in a one minute video talk about their parents/grandparents' Nakba memories.

This year, Israel passed a law forbidding anyone inside of Israel to commemorate the nakba since apparently it's a criminal offense. This from the Palestine Monitor:

Palestinian schools inside the Green Line have already experienced signs that portend increased censorship. According to an Alternative Information Center report, officials from Israeli Ministry of Education visited Palestinians schools on Land Day, 30 March, requesting that school officials send the Ministry a list of teachers and students that were absent that day.


This act of intimidation was received as a reminder to schools that the Ministry of Education is in fact watching their political activities.


The Follow-Up Committee on Arab Education, an Israeli organization founded in 1984 to advocate for and protect Arab education in Israel, have vocalized their opposition to the law and dedication to Palestinians’ right to observe national days that form cultural and collective memory.


In the past, Palestinian schools have worked with their mayors and local councils to develop lesson plans, activities and video screenings to memorialize the Nakba. Since the passing of the “Nakba Law,” FUCAE is working with legal organizations, Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Adalah, to understand how Palestinian schools will be able to recognize their historical narrative without incurring heavy fines.

On Friday, protests were held in Cairo and Amman and Gaza and the West Bank. Israeli security was tight, and one youth from Silwan died early this morning from a gunshot wound to his stomach. In the areas around East Jerusalem particularly, clashes took place between Palestinians and the Israeli forces, resulting in the arrest of 34 people.

And now onto the Third Palestinian Intifada. It all started on Facebook after getting inspired by the Arab revolutions. Fans numbered almost 300,000 when Facebook decided to pull the page after a couple of whiners were concerned about the anti-Semitic message the page was giving out. In its place, dozens of the Third Palestinian Intifada pages appeared. We don't know how exactly this proposed intifada will pan out, but Mahmoud Abbas is determined that no intifada will happen under his festering reign, stating that anyone who wants to carry out "armed resistance" should do so away from the Palestinian people. Some people just don't know when to stop sinking so low. We checked out the Facebook page for the intifada, and it included a long-winded mission statement in Arabic that outlined the cause and effects of the first two intifadas and and what the aspirations for the youth or anyone partaking should be and how that in turn should develop and shape their personalities with regards to social, economic, political, cultural, organizational, and gender related issues. From a quick skim, we saw no information about how this imminent third intifada will be implemented.

Matthew Cassel clarifies what will happen on May 15th, which looks like the normal procedure for previous May 15ths. The third intifada is a day where:

...Palestinian activists, political factions and non-governmental organizations, are participating in various coordinated actions to protest Israeli occupation and call for the right of return for some six million Palestinian refugees. The significance of this date is that it is Nakba day — the day Palestinians annually commemorate their ethnic cleansing from Palestine as British forces departed in 1948 and Zionist forces took over much of the country to establish Israel.

We really do not want to belittle the events/actions that are going to take place tomorrow. While it was heartening to hear Jordanians from the village of Karameh shouting "The people want the liberation of Palestine"/"A-sha3b yureed ta7reer falasteen" and even more so that the Egyptians are putting together convoys to effectively break the siege of Gaza once and for all, here in the West Bank we can't but help feel that all this hullabaloo will result in crushing disappointment, much like the one experienced on March 15th. In fact, we have already bet that around three thousand people will show up around the Manara square and other landmarks in the West Bank cities, instead of the hundreds of thousands who are participating rigorously in debates on Facebook pages, posting links and pictures and YouTube videos in a frenzied manner.

Here's what we think will go down tomorrow:

• Congregation of disappointing amount of people
• First half hour characterized by emphatic chanting, waving of flags, fist-pumping, etc
• Adrenaline flows as there seems to be genuine feelings of nationalistic pride
• Attempted sabotage by the united political factions
• Blaring loudspeakers play nationalistic songs over and over again as people begin to lose interest and walk away
• Unleashing of Ramallah perverts, who make sardonic and immensely witty jokes about liberation of Palestine
• We cry
• Go home, turn on the news, watch youth who demonstrated at Qalandia checkpoint get tear-gassed and maybe a procession of a martyr or two 

Keep in mind, we made this list not because it's the prototype of what usually goes on in (PA approved) rallies/demonstrations or to be called useless slags who keep on moaning about the incompetence of any type of Palestinian leadership that lacks that stimulating factor, but rather so we can be proved horribly, magnificently wrong. A couple of months ago, there was on article on the al-Jazeera website that asserted that no revolution is likely to take place in Syria anytime soon because of these so and so factors.

We'll be there around the Manara square tomorrow, but this time with no high hopes or expectations. May 15th will be yet another commemorative year, but this won't explode or even ignite the fuse for the Third Intifada. The youth seem to know what they want (an end to division, an end to occupation, liberation of Palestine, calls for democratic elections, etc) but their problem lies in their means to achieve these goals. Again, with March 15th on our minds, copying the tactics of Egypt and Tunisia was not enough. March 15th didn't bring about the reconciliation of Hamas and Fateh. The geopolitical circumstances in surrounding Arab countries did. May 15th will be another year, another day of remembrance, a devastating and amplified reminder that 63 years have gone by, where over 500 villages and 11 urban neighborhoods were completely destroyed and now have thriving Israeli infrastructures built upon the ruins. 

Egypt Still Moving

The revolution in Egypt was simply amazing. That's such an understatement but the fact is that it's too overloaded with potent emotions that render it just indescribable. It is also a one-off revolution. Until Yemen in the future (Saleh, some self-dignity please!) might contradict that statement, we will continue to bask in the glow of the power of the millions of people who showed to the whole world what democracy truly looks like.

The Egyptians are a smart bunch. They knew that with the ousting of Mubarak-who for the first time since sent out a public sniveling-the revolution was just beginning. They have taken to Tahrir Square again and again to demand continued reformations, the prosecution of key figures from the Mubarak regime, and exercised extraordinary restraint not to pummel the military who are getting more autocratic.

The people took to protesting in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo, shouting that they will not leave until the Israeli flag is replaced with the Palestinian flag. Seems odd that that embassy is still there. We suppose the threat of a likely impending theocratic country was just some propaganda tool to showcase that Arabs are definitely not ready for democracy and that they should continue to be passive under regimes that promote first and foremost stability and...what? Oh.



We're looking for anyone to denounce this act as anti-Semitic (Arabs/Semites attacking themselves?) and the beginning of a dangerous journey to wipe out all Jews etc etc.
Just remember what the Israeli embassy stands for-cough-fascism. 


Here's an excellent slideshow of the "thrilling, tech-savvy tide" who were the reason for us breathing the TV for eighteen days.

Because we just can't get enough.

Ramallah Reaction to Egypt's Awesomeness

After an excess of whoops and cheers and lindy-hopping and spontaneous hugging of whoever was in arm's reach, the family-aunts and cousins included-settled down to watch the reaction from Arab cities. There was a crowd over at the Manara square, and my uncle's wife agreed to take me, my sister and my cousin over there. We were actually dressed for another cousin's joyous occasion, the first in a series of predetermined events before the actual wedding. I swapped heels for my chucks before we left, unlike my uncle's wife who chose to stay on the outer circle around the Manara once we arrived.

The ubiquitous Abu Ali was once again busy working his vocals on somebody's shoulders, and the two big flags of Egypt and Palestine were being enthusiastically waved. Families were there, little kids on their parents' shoulders, a few young women, but the majority of course were the men. At first glance it actually looked as if the photographers and journalists on top of the lions numbered more than the people on the ground. Once again though, not all the people were out there solely to celebrate Egypt's toppling of its dictator; the young men who loiter around Ramallah's streets at night were simply drawn to the crowd. It was these young men who turned the festive mood into something of a mas5ara/مسخرة with the emphasis on خرة. No doubt they must have thought it terribly amusing to sing silicone mess Haifa Wahby's Boos il Wawa (Kiss the booboo) amid celebratory chants of the Egyptian people removal of Mubarak.

Omar Barghouti was holding this up.

I decided it was time to leave. We barely spent 15 minutes there.

The next day at university, the students' reaction was absolutely infuriating. Not all of them, but there's a large number who believe that what happened in Egypt is Egypt's business alone and that we shouldn't be celebrating their cause because that won't help us. One even remarked dryly, "Hey, maybe the gas prices will then lower." They honestly believe that what happened in Egypt will not affect us at all. I HATE their cynicism. I LOATHE their pessimism. Thank god other students acknowledge that the revolution in Masr, Umm il Dunya (Mother of the World) will drastically change the face of the region. Thank god they understand what this means for Gaza-the collective punishment will finally by lifted. Thank god they hope for the best for the Egyptian political landscape.

The hardest part is yet to come for Egypt-refer back to Ali Abunimeh's link on the previous post. I just wish more people here would be positive about this momentous change. I remember a few days after the Tunisian revolution, watching the news with my mother. We both voiced our thoughts at the same time-If only Egypt would move, imagine what would happen to Arabs everywhere! I cynically replied, "Yeah right. They'll be out protesting one day, about three hundred of them, they'd get beaten up by the police, then they'd go home." It feels amazing to lose that cynicism.

PS There are more hilarious links found every day. Check this out! Also, I feel pretty proud to have read this in Arabic.
PPS I've meant to post this a long time ago. My friend from Saudi Arabia lives and studies in Egypt at the MSA University in Cairo and at my request wrote up a brief account (edited slightly by me) of what she went through:

9ra7a.. it was complicated..

let me tell u wut happened...

my friend lives with her bro..

he travelled on the 27th so she asked me to sleep over at her house that night so i can help her pack and so she wouldn't be alone.. my parents said no 1st cause they heard that there r gonna b riots... but my friend's relative said it would be a very calm 1 hour thing.. bs so i woke up on friday morning (28th) and my service kan sos at like 9... 6anasht w nomt... around 11 bardo kan sos... fa i asked my friend... galat hers is sos too... fa we put on the news... and it was ok... bs faj2a it started gettin really bad... and i freaked out cause i couldnt contact my mom and tell her that i won't come home or that im ok and what not... then 2 of my friend's brother's friends.. they came over to check up on us... and i started crying cause there was a curfew and i couldn't go home... fa one of them went to pick up my mom and sisters cause baba w 3bdullah r in jeddah and were home alone... he {the friend} wasnt supposed to go! bs 7mdilla nothing happened.. he brought them to my friend's house.. and i dunno why but his phone only got service but he could only receive calls.. so his bro called from saudi.. and i gave him my dads number... and he was like go home now and get ur passport and as soon as the curfew is over... go to the aiport... fa me and the 2 guys and my friends and mama and my sisters went home around 4 am... kan fe like 4 tanks next to my house fa i freaked out ! anyway we left at about 9... on r way to the airport... we found 3 buildings on fire... bayen ennu from last night theyre still burning bs no1 is puttin them out... w a few police trucks on fire on the side of the road... w tanks every here and there... bs other than that we were ok... the airport was reallllyyy crowded.. we gfot there at 11 and got on a plane around 5... it started gettin bad while we were at the airport... 50000 ppl were at medan al t7reeer... and 7mdilla right after we left.. all the raping and stealin and attacks started and wut not...

Later:

 my friend just called me.. she lives in alex... she says its a million times worse than cairo.. all her neighbors r in the streets with guns and knives and sticks and all that

Egypt I Want to Have Your Babies

Question. Is Husni Mubarak still the president of Egypt?
Haha, got you there.

18 days. Millions upon millions of people. Egypt is reborn. There is absolutely no point in trying to capture the phantasmagoric elations shaking the country all around. Viva la revolution. May the dead rest in peace, those who sacrificed their lives for freedom. The sheer willpower of Egyptians. Their immense love and pride for their country. Their enviable united stance. The world salutes you.

The Guardian has more pics.

LISTEN TO THAT CROWD. That's the sound of millions getting their inalienable rights back.

I fear I've become somewhat incoherent-still caught up in the celebratory mood! I never thought I had it in me-a thousand ear-splitting ululations piercing the next hour and half since the news reached me. I had religiously followed the revolution unfolding in Egypt, cramming an average of ten hours a day of TV, and then a few more reading up articles and first hand accounts and watching videos online. I am desperately sleep deprived, my eyes have never been so googly, and I have completely neglected my university studies these past two weeks. Of course, it's not like Egypt was counting on me for anything or benefiting  from my hawkish obsession with news updates, but it just felt right. So I'm reduced to just posting links about everything and anything, my favorite being the youtube videos of course.

Army's role? This isn't something that should be downplayed or ignored, even if the army promised to oversee the next few months of Egypt while the country sorts itself out.

Tamer Hosni fail. Oh how we all laughed at him. He so resembles the beetles from A Bug's Life.

Rest assured neocons. No Islamist country. But that doesn't mean you can stop shitting yourselves with fear, especially when you realize that 11/2/11 is the 32nd anniversary of the Iranian revolution. I'm pretty sure the Glenn Becks of the world will find the insidious connection.

Please do not fall under corruption again. Learn from the mistakes of other countries.

Wael Ghonim went missing during the early stages of the revolution. He is so emotional. Yet sincere.  His interview on the Arabic Dream channel is better, because it captures the raw moments after his release, where he breaks down a few times, confesses that he had not slept in 48 hours, and reiterates over and over again that the protesters are the true heroes, not him.

Clayton Swisher, dissed as a former CIA agent by Looney Bin Erekat, writes this.

Tariq Ali quotes Nizar Qabbani in his congratulatory article. The prophecy indeed has been partly fulfilled.

Ali Abunimeh: the revolution is far from over.

I've shed a few tears every Friday, just absorbing the sight of millions on TV praying, displaying their covetable faith, and then listening to their uproarious unified chants against Mubarak and his regime. I cried a bit too when I saw this fantastic video-a compilation of the notable videos of this Revolution. One of the best parts was when the woman screaming for the young men to protect Egypt and they all surrounded her and kissed her hand. Dang, tearing up again.

Another amazing video.

Sout Al Huriyeh. The Sound of Freedom.

Egypt, you amazing upholding nation of people power, take a bow.

Good Shit-Revolutionary Style*

* Highly subjective of course. In case anyone is experiencing an Egypt burnout, because that jackass still doesn't know how to leave. No dignity dude.

Egyptian hip hop crew Arabian Knightz came out with this spiffy one, called Rebel.Their upcoming album is called Uknighted State of Arabia. UPDATE: Here's the youtube etc

Everyone is harping on about Lupe Fiasco's new song. We loved it. Then we liked it. Then we rejected it after facebook ensured everyone loved it (and after listening to it on repeat for 500 tines). Now we like it again.



Bella and Edward look out! Uprising by Muse. No? Yeah.


How awesome are they? Ska-p with Intifada.



Raaaaaaaaage Against the Machine. Bulls On Parade. We're saving the other song for a post of its own ;)

And it won't do not to have a song by one of our favourties, Abdelhalim Hafez.

And another video we can't get stop singing, especially in that voice. Kullina, eed wa7da, ir7al!

Egyptian Solidarity Rally Worked This Time (sort of)

The last few days of the solid millions of protesting Egyptians got me thinking how Palestinians would react in a similar situation. But the fact of the matter is that we are so segmented from each other, with political party allegiances prioritizing over national ones, that it was hard for me to envisage a true Palestinian people revolution where citizens from all walks of life, young old religious secular rich poor students employees etc, intensely unite against a common adversary (either the PA or the Israeli occupation-take your pick) simply for the reason of wanting a proper representative or their basic freedom, without propagating factional or religious interests.

Expressing solidarity for either Tunisia or Egypt in Ramallah has been met with PA saboteurs, which only allowed a small pro-Mubarak demonstration. PA spokesman Adnan Damiri announced that all protests were illegal and not allowed because "our policy is that we don't intervene in the internal affairs of other countries." However, Saturday was proclaimed to be the International Day in Support of Global Democracy, an event sponsored by a number of civil society organizations and individual artists and that was largely promoted by social networking media. The announcement included "Participation Guidelines" warning that this was a non-violent rally not coordinated by any political party, therefore only Egyptian, Palestinian, and Tunisian flags be brought and not factional signs. I told my friend the minute I see the yellow Fateh flag I would be going home. The rally would be in sync with ones taking place the same day in Jerusalem and Bethlehem at 2 pm. It looked like the PA had given this one the green light to go ahead, perhaps to save face from its undemocratic decision to ban any solidarity protests. Abbas certainly knows how to pick his friends, and is scared shitless lest the Palestinians in the West Bank get afflicted with the revolutionary fever. It's the same in Gaza; any protest unbacked by Hamas immediately got shut down.

I've already spoken about the university's nonchalant reaction toward the unfolding events in Egypt, but today on campus a suspension of classes after noon was declared, and a bus was to collect participants and drop them off at the Manara square in Ramallah. It wasn't clear what time classes would resume, but some of the teachers wanted to take part in the rally. It would be shameful if we didn't put on at least one good demonstration for the heroic Egyptian protesters. I walked past the bus, where students bundled in with rolled up posters. I hoped the turnout would be good, not just from students but from everyone.

The crowd when I arrived at the Manara square was a sizable one, but the chants could only be heard faintly from a smaller inner group of people. After five minutes of standing there, I went to photocopy a book down the road and returned ten minutes later to a bigger crowd, slowly finding their voices. Along with my friend and my sister, I pushed in to get to where the chants were concentrated most, thanking the young man who gave me a tiny flag of Egypt. Abu Ali, an elderly man in a kuffiyeh known for leading chants at demonstrations, was up on someone's shoulders shouting rhymes about despotic Arab leaders, Ramallah hailing Tahrir square, and "Thawra thawra hata nasr! Revolution until we achieve victory!" Suddenly, the ever popular staccato that summed up the Egyptians' protests was given about a dozen rounds: The people deMAND the END of the reGIME! It was simply glorious, everyone in one deafening voice. Then an American flag was burned amidst cheers and whistles of approval, but I thought it was unnecessary and untactful. The USA is the crown of imperialism that backs tyrannical corrupt Arab governments for fear of national independence or pan-Arabism or whatever, but we were protesting in solidarity with Egypt, who in twelve days so far have not burned a single American or Israeli flag.

It looked like everyone was having a good time. The sky was cloudy but had stopped drizzling. Posters with Gamal Abdel-Nasser were held up, Egyptian and Palestinian flags rippled together with one or two Tunisian flags in the distance, and more and more people joined us which added to the buoyant atmosphere. Finally, we were allowed to express our voices, try out the chants the Egyptians made popular, and smile furtively as we chanted them out with other intentions. "The people demand the end of the regime" perhaps wasn't only alluding to Mubarak's...

The students from Birzeit University arrived, and they seemed to be a group on their own. They began moving away from the Manara square into Rukab Street, and many people followed suit. Yet unity was definitely missing here. I heard someone say that the PFLP party was leading the procession with their own chants, while the Fateh party was just behind us, also with their own chants. We were all moving together which made it more cacophonous, not knowing whether to repeat after chants of "Down with Mubarak!" or "Egypt is Palestine, and Palestine is Egypt." Two million people in Cairo shouted together in unison yesterday, whereas a couple of thousand people in Ramallah couldn't remonstrate in consonance. It was fairly disappointing to say the least. I saw a lot of my teachers who I greeted, and remarked to one of them that this was a good turnout. She quietly replied, "This is not a lot of people." The days of more than a few thousand milling around the Manara square were over due to the political crackdown by the PA on anything not pro-sulta, as anything otherwise is conceived as a threat to Abbas's dominion of a few cities sadly riddled with checkpoints and settlements.

We headed back to the Manara, and there were as many as five or six different people intoning all at the same time: national unity, no to division, Ramallah and proud Gaza hail Egypt, the people demand the fall of Erekat, no to negotiations, no to normalization, the people demand the annulment of the Oslo agreement, CIA out of the country, Arab leaders are so shameful, the people demand the end of occupation, etc. Then it sort of fizzled out a bit. Abu Ali was still on the shoulders of a man, but without a loudspeaker no one could hear what he was saying unless he was facing us. Other men were sporadically shouting out slogans but more and more people were just standing there, not knowing again who to repeat after. One guy behind me was discussing the situation is Egypt with his non-Palestinian friend and described Mubarak in delightfully colorful words, my favorite being "He's such a persistent fuck."

My friend decided to go home, and my sister and I found my mother standing outside the railings of the Manara. I sighed and began griping about how people couldn't be united even for this cause when she gave me a look and murmured close to my ear that the plainclothes police were behind us. I stole a look, noting they were weedier and scrawnier than the Egyptian thugs I saw on TV, rolled my eyes and stared back at the crowd from my slightly elevated position, my flag slightly crumpled. All of a sudden I saw a Styrofoam board with "Down with Abbas" written on it in Arabic. I quickly told my sister to snap a picture of it, and sure enough seconds later the board was ripped into pieces and the man holding it up was dragged away. The plainclothes behind me were buzzing, "Keep your eye on him...he's changed his jacket.." One man jumped out of nowhere and began yelling "The people demand the fall of Abbas!" but no one swarmed up on him which obviously meant that he was part of the secret police hoping to instigate others. Some of the crowd, who were onto him, yelled back "The people demand the end of disunity" but the man was joined by two others who were then all hoisted up onto shoulders, still screaming for the end of Abbas. It was such a poor blatant show of instigation, that even the foreign journalists around us were muttering all too knowingly. A couple of scuffles broke out as the plainclothes dragged away a few men, and that was the end of the Egyptian solidarity rally. It seemed inevitable that Abbas's goons would screw this peaceful assemblage over. The same men who had shouted for Abbas' demise were now yelling over and over again "The people. Want. Mahmoud. Abbas!" A few people urged the others to start up one of the popular chants, "Mubarak is a coward, he is America's agent" in an attempt to drown out the insultingly rude men but the mood was broken and the crowd was slowly drifting apart. A yellow Fateh umbrella was unfurled. My mother, sister and I began walking away from the Manara. When I looked back, more Fateh flags had materialized and we could hear the men yelling out pro-Abbas slogans-our rightful president, our role model, etc. They went further though; chants about Al Jazeera being Zionist and not Arab, chants against Hamas, chants for the division of Gaza and the West Bank, and to demonstrate their imbecilic deficient selves, chants against Tehran. In the end, it had to be all about them.

No one could doubt that these Fateh supporters were planted among us for the very glaring purpose of one way or another, turning it into a Fateh celebration. It's completely sickening and frustrating to know that we have reached a stagnant point. Any protest must be infiltrated with dozens of plainclothes police. Anyone daring to speak out against the PA or even have the nerve to publicly advocate national unity is promptly arrested. Those outside the country wrote that the PA has lost any shred of credibility it hung on to as a result of the leaked Palestine Papers, but they were disappointed by the lack of response on behalf of Palestinians who did not take to the streets demanding the dissolution of the PA. The Palestine Papers did not reveal anything we did not know. Saeb Erekat's offer of the biggest Yerushalayim shouldn't have caused an uproar (minor or not) as for years we have seen East Jerusalem disappearing under its Judaized neighborhoods and incessant settlements. Raja Shehadeh wrote of an emerging strong police state in the West Bank which contrasts ironically with the surge of revolutionary change currently taking place in Arab countries. We have a double fight on our hands-overcoming the corrupt PA and instating a new government devoid of Fateh and Hamas representatives (wishful thinking), and resisting against the Israeli occupation, which should have been our only contest.

A couple of days ago, I was embroiled in an online debate with a friend. He had written that none of the Arabs cared about the Palestinians and that we in turn shouldn't care about them. I patiently explained to him that the Arab governments couldn't care less about us because of the nature of their relationships with the USA and Israel who supply them with military aid and business deals, and that they saw us as a tenacious problem, but the average Arab common man were sympathetic to our cause. One thing led to another, and I was spewing out words like "sell-outs", "traitors", "corrupt mercenaries" and he countered back with the childish justifications that the PA learn from their mistakes and were a good force for us all-look at how the number of stolen cars have drastically reduced! I pointed out the failure of negotiations, that ever since 2005 we haven't achieved any small part sovereignty, and that Israel has successfully put up more checkpoints, built more settlements, evicted more Palestinians, expropriated more land-in short, making us more occupied than we ever were. He opened my eyes to the sad truth-one that I refused to believe that likable people could ever be victim to- that there is a large majority who wholeheartedly support the PA and would rise to its defense without thinking. I thought that the only people like that were goons. In today's rally, I saw people who earnestly shouted for the end of the division and for national unity. They didn't give a damn about about any political party/faction or had either become disillusioned with them a long time ago, and wanted the Palestinians to be a unitary population. I fear that we might be a tiny minority. If we weren't, then there would have been protests against the PA. Abbas has been president for six years now, there's only twenty four years left until we could be level with Egypt-more than enough time for a sufficient people's revolution.

Also found over at Mondoweiss.

Mubarak Sends Disrupting Camel-Jockeys

Ghazwit Uhud: Down with you infidels!

Around two thirty pm, I received a text from my mother, who texts in both languages: سلمات هجموا البلطجية, the thugs came out. My initial reaction was, Shit. I was in class, and still had an hour left. Mubarak's speech last night was fatuous at best. But it was also ominous. I had a feeling that there was going to be some bloodshed tomorrow, no matter on what scale it was on. After millions of people protesting peacefully with only verbal vitriol aimed at the regime, Mubarak's "I will die on Egypt's soil" rah-rah foreshadowed that events would unfold differently the next day. I was itching to get back home. The university has been completely apathetic to the ongoing changes in Egypt ever since the first Day of Anger. You can't even find students discussing the situation in either surreptitious or enthusiastic groups. The Palestinian Authority backed television (it seems incongruous to say "state" television) has been pretty quiet too, bringing silly soap operas instead of news coverage. I've been coming straight home after classes since last week or so, plopping myself down in front of Al Jazeera, absorbing the inflamed masses with exhilaration, with my laptop on my knees. This position would be kept for hours. I don't think I've opened a book since, because James Joyce and Robert Burns are so trivial, so extraneous.

One shouldn't call those pro-Mubarak supporters demonstrators. They came with one mission and that was to disrupt the peaceful protests, to incite fear and acts of violence, and to disperse the protesters away from Tahrir square. They're to be called thugs, or baltagia in Arabic. The West Bank has its own fair share of thuggery too. Beefy jerks with one track minds who when given the green light, know no mercy whether their victims be women and children or the elderly. It's obvious, from the tactics used, that they were both trained and supplied by the same system-thank you Uncle Sam. In Egypt, there are rumors that these pro-Mubarak supporters were bribed, and that shouldn't surprise anyone. One old lady, shriveled and dressed in black, shouted "Long Live Mubarak!" displaying her one yellow tooth. People like her, conspicuous by their tattered shoes-if they had any- and ragged clothing, most likely came from the Ashwa'iyat areas in Cairo, the most destitute neighborhoods in the country, where those lucky to have houses are furnished with corrugated tin roofs. Seventeen dollars must have felt like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow for them.

I have no idea who Mubarak is trying to fool. For the first time in Egypt's history, there is a true people's revolution going on. They want the tyrant OUT, and they want a democratic government chosen by the people, for the people. The US can learn a thing or two about this concentrated people power. And that's the beautiful thing about it all, the revolution is comprised from human beings from all walks of life who want to overthrow the despotic system and create a new constitution, a new government that best serves their interests. No more hogging up of power, no to hereditary rule, and no to foreign dabbling. The protests have not witnessed any burning of Israeli or USA flags. Islamists (what a stupid made up word) are not pulling the strings here. A future democratic Egypt has no reason to war with Israel. It might give the Israelis an incentive to war with them, but Israel's known for its barbaric distortions of peace. The siege on Gaza will no longer be, but wait--weapons are being smuggled in! Bibi has thrown his weight behind Mubarak, and small wonder since the Nazi ideologue is apparent here: The brutal repressive and oppressive tyranny over 80 million people in order to secure the lives of the 6 million Israeli Jews, because they're better than everyone else. That the 80 million should even dare to think of protesting is unthinkable, unwanted. That protests have actually gone on in full force is disastrous. The Israeli government has always been the Israelis' worst enemy. They resort to fear-mongering tactics instead of promoting genuine peace with the first neighboring Arab country to recognize its existence.

Back to the thugs aka the secret popo. They came in droves, riding Lawrence of Arabia style on camels and horses, armed with machetes and sticks and knives, yelling out their cries of undying loyalty to Mubarak. They set buildings on fire, and climbed up on the roofs to throw petrol bombs and Molotov cocktails down onto the crowd. Close fighting took place between the thugs and protesters, rocks were raining down. They caused mayhem and chaos, which is Mubarak's way of saying, "I am the stabilizing force. Without me, chaos is only the beginning." No one is falling for that. He needs to change his strategies. Obama needs to come up with new ones.

Protesters have seized police ID's from some of those thugs and presented them to cameras, for the whole world to see. Hundreds are reported wounded, with the make shift clinics around Tahrir square overwhelmed. I'm not sure how many people died, the official number isn't out yet. The peaceful, carnival like atmosphere changed into a war zone for a few hours today. And all of this just to buy Mubarak some time to properly "transition" power to a government that will agree and abide to the US's demands and policies. al Baradei who? I don't trust him at all. He seems like another US puppet waiting in the wings. The opposition groups have already met and agreed to a coalition government.

I don't think I've necessarily said anything new here. Powerful images are seared in my mind, particularly the one with Egyptians wrapped in white burial shrouds, symbolizing their willingness to die for freedom. The chants of the peaceful crowd are tattooed to my brain, yearning to yell them out outside my home. But I can't even do that, thanks to the sulta. Before I launch into the usual harangue about that idiotic failure, enjoy these links.

More from Ahmed Moor about today's events.

Freakin amazing pictures. Here's a teaser:

Palestinian poet Tamim al Barghouthi

Don't you ever make those mistakes...ever!

Twitter Revolution? Oh you fools. Great Interview.

Reaction from Gaza youth.

It is not the most amazing video on the internet, but it comes close.

Robert Fisk on the Million(s!) People March

Seems like Hosni Mubarak is determined to leave Egypt humiliated. Today marked the point where it was too late for him to make a gracious humble exit.

PA Disperses Egypt Solidarity Rally

Revolutions are dangerous. First Tunisia, then Egypt. Abbasshole doesn't want to the proletariats to start getting any ideas, so his security forces have been menacingly keeping order. At 4 pm on Sunday a solidarity rally was to take place in front of the Egyptian Embassy. Turnout predictably was low,as either the people of Ramallah didn't want to brave the rain or had a better Sunday afternoon activity. We're completely nonplussed. All around the world people in many countries have come out in support of the Egyptian people, and here the reaction is barely worth noting. What's wrong with us?

Anyway, security forces clamped down on this dangerous threat of a more than 5-person congregation:

Demonstrators tried multiple times to argue with police and army officers, invoking democracy and the right to free speech, but to no avail. The answer remained the same, over and over again: ‟It is forbidden to be here. Go home.” As demonstrators were being pushed back, armed men and security forces multiplied and kept pouring onto the street, either from nearby official buildings or from cars driving up to the scene. One car displaying the PA logo with ‘Protection Forces’ written in Arabic and English—even pretended to charge at the demonstrators before screeching to a halt only a couple of meters in front of the crowd. Rifle-carrying men dressed in civilian clothes then came out of the car quickly, as if on some emergency drill.

Some US human rights group has denounced the PA's actions regarding the rally.

Raja Shehadeh wrote that ironically, as people in the Middle East have woken up and are shifting toward change or at least protesting their governments, the West Bank is turning into a vicious police state. Ahmed Moor's riveting account of his experience at the hands of the Egyptian plainclothes police echo the tactics of the Palestinian equivalent, especially during a protest in 2009 in Ramallah about the massacre going on in Gaza at that time.

Maybe people are beyond disillusioned now, since they now realized that they have to ultimately get rid of the collaborative autocratic (in its own rights) PA regime before tackling the Israeli occupation. The intifadas that captured the hearts of millions of Arabs are no longer viewed as a way out, since the 1st resulted in the calamitous PA with the increase of Israeli oppression and occupation, and the 2nd in even more Israeli oppression and occupation. That would explain the unpopularity of protests/rallies at this point. But then, one needs to ask, since foresight isn't that common, what next?

UPDATE: Not wanting to feel left out, Hamas also oppressed Gaza's version of an Egypt solidarity rally.

This Revolution is Being Televised

Al Jazeera English: Live Stream - Watch Now - Al Jazeera English

We are witnessing history. It is only a matter of time before Mubarak steps down. Ydoom ilsha3b ilmasri!

USA are all in a dither since Egypt is a key ally (read: protector of Israel) in the region. It receives 1.3 billion dollars in military aid from the US annually, and shares the special border with Gaza. We can't help the grins on our faces. Yemen and Jordan (against the government, not the monarchy, but baby steps Jordanians) seem to be following suit. Oh, this is so on!

Meanwhile, enjoy these few translated pages from the "Egyptian Activist's Action Plan" brochure that were distributed on Friday

The 5th day of events here, and enjoy the pics, courtesy of Al Jazeera.

PA Buss Supporters While Egypt Comes to Life

The government ministries closed an hour earlier so that their employees could congregate in Ramallah to protest the apparent witch-hunt Al Jazeera TV is unwittingly implementing against the PA. The Palestine Papers? What Palestine Papers? Al Jazeera is Zionist! That's all that matters.

The PA also bussed in the tailandeen from the northern parts of the West Bank, as is their custom whenever they are in dire need of supporters. I hurried through Ramallah today, already late for a workshop, but I didn't need to look twice to see what was going on. Traffic was horrific; the incompetent policemen had closed off a road or two and ignored traffic lights completely, waving their arms to signal the movement of vehicles. The Muqata'a was busy as Abbasshole made his fighting speech to the masses, namely that the Papers were forgeries and that he has nothing to hide. Around the Manara, a sparse crowd milled about, while some idiot shouted threats to Al Jazeera next to boy, no more than nine years old, holding up this poster:

The bigger crowd were in front of the City Center building, where Al Jazeera's offices are located and had already been broken into and vandalized. I walked on, torn between derisive amusement and irritation. Al Jazeera are no saints. In fact, some of their motives and tactics are questionable. But this is NOT about Al Jazeera, nor is it about the British newspaper The Guardian. This is about the full documentation of years and years of failed collusive negotiations between Israel and the PA. This is about bringing into light what many people have suspected about the PA, from happily offering unprecedented concessions, to killing Palestinians in order to maintain "order", to having previous knowledge-at least 6 months prior-to Operation Cast Lead, to employing their American-trained, Egyptian funded, Jordanian based "security forces" to crack down on any political dissent, etc etc. So for people to come out in support of the PA is an action befitting a gormless ogre. For people to defend the PA is unreasonable and irrational. The stage is set, the dominoes are quivering.

Speaking of which, tens of thousands of Egyptians marched through the streets today demanding the end of Hosni Mubarak's 28 year reign. It is toted as the biggest demonstration in a generation.

"We have never seen anything like this before – it is the first day of the Egyptian revolution," said Karim Rizk, one of those who joined multiple rallies in the capital. Apparently taken by surprise at the size of protests, police initially stood back and allowed demonstrators to occupy public squares and march through the streets, an unprecedented move in a country where political gatherings are strictly outlawed and demonstrations are normally quickly shut down by security forces. "We have taken back our streets today from the regime and they won't recover from the blow," claimed Rizk.

Shouting "down with the regime" and "Mubarak, your plane is waiting," protesters demanded the end of President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year dictatorship and said they were fighting back against decades of poverty, oppression and police torture. The protests had been declared illegal by the authorities and were met with a fierce police response, as tear gas and water cannon were fired into the crowd and rocks were hurled into the air by both demonstrators and security forces.

Central Cairo