Palestinians for Syria/تحية فلسطينية للثورة السورية

تحية فلسطينية للثورة السورية
21.1.12 يوم الغضب العالمي لنصرة الشعب السوري
ثورة سلمية.. ضد التدخل الأجنبي.. ضد الطائفية والفئوية..
منذ عشرة شهور يسير الشعب السوري نحو الحرية وثقتنا به لا تشوبها شائبة لذا نرى أن من واجبنا أن نحذره من خطر التدخل الأجنبي وأن نشد على أياديه للحفاظ على سلمية الثورة التي عودتنا منذ بدايتها على رفض الطائفية والفئوية.
منذ عشرة شهور يسير الشعب السوري نحو الحرية بثبات، رغم تعثر خطواته التي يقطعها إجرام نظام بشار الأسد بأسلحة كانت أولى بحرب تحرير أرضه المحتلة، أو يقطعها اختلاف من ائتمنهم الشعب السوري على تمثيله.
منذ عشرة شهور يسير الشعب السوري نحو الحرية يسقط في مسيرِه شهيدا من يسقط، دون أن يَحدّ القتل ومحاولة تفريق الصفوف من صموده البطولي.
منذ عشرة شهور يسير الشعب السوري نحو الحرية والعالم كله يُحلل شعارات مظاهراته وتحقق الفضائيات نسب المشاهدة المرتفعة فوق دماء شهدائه ويبيع الإعلام الكلام والصور عن حرب أهلية أو مؤامرة، ويتهالك على سورية من لم يدعموا يومًا الحرية والديمقراطية في شرقنا، معتقدين أن مؤامراتهم ونواياهم تنطلي علينا. ونحن على ثقة أن هذه المؤامرات ستتهاوى عند أقدام الشعب السوري العربي العريق، حالما يستعيد عافيته.
عشرة شهور ونحن نتفرج ونؤدلج الموقف ونتفادى مشاهدة الجثث الممثل بها والنساء اللواتي لا يتظاهرن خوفا من الرصاص وننتقي القناة التي سنشاهد فيها خبر استشهاد ثلاثين وسبعين ومئة سوريّةً وسوريًّا ونخجل من تضامننا البائس. . وعندما ينتهي كل يوم ثوري تنام عشرات الأسر السورية دون أحد أبنائها ودون أن يقاسمها ألمها أحد.
نحن نشطاء ومدونون فلسطينيون، وفي يوم التضامن العالمي مع الثورة السورية، نؤكد وقوفنا إلى جانب الشعب السوري الثائر. نرفض بشدة استخدامنا واستخدام قضية فلسطين كسجادة يكنس نظام الأسد جثث ثوار سورية تحتها ثم يدوس عليها أمام عيوننا جميعا. لنفكر عميقا بما يدور حول الثورة السورية وداخلها لكن لنترك التحليل المفرط والفذلكة جانبا لأن الثمن ليس أقل من دماء إخوتنا. لندعم الثورة السورية لتظل ثورة ترفض التدخل الأجنبي وتلفظ الطائفية وتحتفظ بسلميتها، فدون ثقتنا جميعا بها ودعمنا لها لن يكون لنا أي حق بالتنظير والمزاودة على

الشعب السوري الذي يُقتل كل دقيقة.

Palestinians for Syria

21/01/12 is the Global Day Of Rage For Syria

A peaceful revolution…a revolution against foreign intervention…a revolution against sectarianism and factions.This is the revolution of the Syrian people we know.

For ten months now the Syrian people have marched towards freedom and we have no doubt that they will achieve their liberation. For this reason we see it as a duty to warn them of the dangers of foreign intervention and to express our support for their peaceful revolution against sectarianism and factions.

For ten months the Syrian people have marched steadily towards freedom, despite the criminal oppression of Bashar al-Assad’s regime which uses weapons against its own people, instead of using them to liberate their occupied land, and despite the disagreements among their representatives whom the people gave trust in.

For ten months the Syrian people have marched towards freedom as martyr after martyr is sacrificed, which has only strengthened their resolve and steadfastness to continue their march.

For ten months the Syrian people have marched towards freedom as the world analyzes the meanings behind slogans raised in protests, and satellite channels have garnered more viewers with the increase in bloodshed and murders. The media sells to its viewers talks of a conspiracy or of a civil war, and many powers, sells us their support to freedom or democracy in the Middle East, when they never did. We are confident that these plots will fail and be crushed under the feet of the Syrian Arab People.

Ten months and we have avoided watching the disfigured bodies and the brave women who do not fear facing the live ammunition. Ten months and we chose which channel to hear from about the news of 30, 70, 100 martyrs of Syria, which made us ashamed from our miserable show of solidarity, as at the end of every day dozens of families lose their sons and daughters, with seemingly no one to share their pain with.

We, Palestinian activists and bloggers, on the Global Day of Rage for Syrian Revolution, stress our support for the brave revolutionary Syrians. We strongly reject manipulating the Palestinian cause as a cover under which the Syrian martyrs’ bodies are brushed under and stamped upon by Bashar al-Assad’s regime. It is true we must think logically about the dynamics of the Syrian revolution, but we must put the overwrought analyses aside, because the cost is the blood of our Syrian brothers and sisters. We reiterate our support for the peaceful Syrian revolution and its rejection of foreign intervention amidst the threats of sectarianism, as without our solidarity and faith we have no right in theorizing and preaching to the Syrians who are being murdered one after the other.
KLO

Memories of the First Intifada

I interviewed my strong wonderful mother in response to #Intifada1

"We lived in a state of normalization. We had settlers coming to buy from Palestinian grocery stores. It was like we accepted the occupation. The occupation would always take and take and take, but there wasn't a strong enough reaction from the Palestinians. That is, until the intifada happened."

This is how Mama starts off reminiscing about the first intifada, which exploded on December 9th twenty-four years ago. Her eyes are bright, and her voice is excitedly animated as she recalls random memories of the first three years of the intifada, which she witnessed from living in the Khan Younis refugee camp.

My mother got married and moved from Ramallah to the Gaza strip where my dad's family were. In refugee camps, the action was always brewing due to a number of elements. People in refugee camps generally suffer more because of the memories of dispossession coupled with their current cramped and squalid living conditions weigh heavily on their shoulders. The refugees and their descendants live with the knowledge of having a bleak future, so even though resisting Israel by staging demonstrations, rock throwing, and spraying graffiti on buildings elicited a strong and disproportionate reaction from the Israeli Occupation Forces (Yitzhak Rabin's Bone Breaking policy comes to mind), the general attitude among these Palestinians was, "We already have it bad, how worse could it get?"

Palestinians living in the cities had relatively more stable lives, so there was a lot more to lose. As Mama put it, "في المدن كان الخوف اكثر ولكن التضحية اقل"

Mama kept emphasizing over and over how the intifada was a true popular uprising in every sense of the word. "It united people. Every house shared the same experience; every family had a martyr, a prisoner, an injured person. The best thing about the Intifada was that it broke the fear barrier and ended the barefaced normalization."

"Everyone would participate," she continued. "Everyone! Men, women, children were all seen on the streets demonstrating. There was a harmonious unification of all the political factions. Statements would be released in the name of all factions, and they would all be in agreement about the time of strikes and protests."

She remembers how at first, the Israeli soldiers would walk around in groups of three, four, or five. Once a soldier walked astray from his group and found himself inside a chicken coop. He was petrified, and literally pissed himself from fear. From that day on, there were now twelve soldiers in one group.

Arrests were widepsread and common. One uncle got arrested once, my youngest uncle twice, and my dad three times. One of those arrests came three days after my brother was born. I asked Mama how badly that affected her, in her delicate position.

She looked at me increduously. "I had just given birth, I was still in pain, what was I supposed to do? I told your dad 'God be with you' and that was that."

I pressed her to divulge some personal experiences. She was silent for a moment, before suddenly bursting out laughing.

"One time a group of soldiers barged into your grandparents' house and began asking each of your uncles what they did for a living. When they got to your father he replied, 'I sell chickens at the souk.' I wanted to laugh so badly. They believed him and thankfully left without destroying anything. They were known for going inside the kitchen and spilling the olive oil on the floor, mixing sugar with salt, ripping open the bags of flour...your grandmother and I were each wearing a dayir [a full black skirt with deep pockets] to hide all our gold in."

"We were under curfew so many times. The soldiers would come rumbling in their tanks, not jeeps, and the whole house would shake like a leaf. They would announce the curfew in the early hours of the morning, always coupled with the foulest language ever. You son of a... and Your mother's..."

I always find it a bit rich for my parents to stir up a World War III at home every time I announce my decision to go to the village of Nabi Saleh the next day for their weekly protests. They weren't some squares quaking from fear during the intifada. When Mama was 8 months pregnant with my older brother, she walked into the Nasser Hospital in the hopes of glimpsing those who were martyred or injured on that day. Doctors thought she was there to give birth but she shook her head and said, "No, no. I just want to have a look."

I asked her if she could envisage another true popular uprising, another intifada. It doesn't make sense to me, how twenty four years later we are still more occupied than ever before and living under the most atrocious conditions. Of course, Salam Fayyad's economic normalization under the guise of "state-building institutions" is partly to blame, along with the Palestinian Authority's collaborative and corrupt nature and Hamas' self-centered sanctimonious interests. Before launching into yet another diatribe about the dangerous failure of this so-called Palestinian leadership, I'll end with Mama's answer.

"Listen, after the on-going Arab revolutions, anything is possible. I for one had no hope in Egyptians revolting on a mass scale. But they did. Then I shared in the opinion that the Syrians were too depoliticized and wouldn't revolt, but they did. We had a huge chance of another intifada during the Gaza massacre in 08/09. But the PA brutally suppressed us. It just goes to show you that everyone cares only about the seat they hold. But a day will come, soon enough."

24 Years Since the First Intifada

يوافق التاسع من كانون الاول القريب الذكرى الرابعة والعشرين لانطلاق الانتفاضة الفلسطينية الأولى

نحن، مجموعة من الشباب الفلسطيني، أبناء الجيل الثاني للانتفاضة الأولى، كثير منا ولد خلالها، نحني رؤوسنا إجلالاً لأبطال الانتفاضة الأولى، شهداءها وأسراها، أطفالها، شيوخها، نساءها ورجالها.

إننا نرى في الانتفاضة الأولى حقبة هامة في تاريخ شعبنا، على الأجيال أن تتناقلها وتتعلم منها، كما وأنها شكلت نموذجاً تستلهم منه شعوب العالم في نضالها من أجل الكرامة، العدالة والحرية.

بهذه المناسبة نؤكد إيماننا بالمقاومة الفلسطينية الشعبية كجزء أساسي في نضالنا من أجل الحرية وتحصيل حقوق الشعب الفلسطيني، غير القابلة للتصرف أو المساومة أو التفريط، وبمواصلة النضال حتى تحقيق الحرية والعودة.

عليه، نتوجه بنداء لكافة أبناء شعبنا في الوطن والمنفى بإحياء هذه الذكرى من خلال تكريم صانعي الانتفاضة وأبطالها، ومواصلة طريقهم.

كما نتوجه بنداء لكافة المدونين الفلسطينيين في الوطن والمنفى بتخصيص مدوناتهم يوم التاسع من كانون الاول لنشر قصص أو مقابلات مع شخصيات عايشت الانتفاضة الاولى أو مقالات أو صور وأشرطة توثق الانتفاضة، وندعو كل مبدع فلسطيني، أن يقدم شيئاً في هذه المناسبة وفق ما يراه مناسباً وممكناً.

عاش شعبنا وتحيا فلسطين

---
"December 9th this year is the 24th anniversary of the First Palestinian Intifada.

We, a group of Palestinian youth, children of the First Intifada, bow in front of the heroes of the Intifada, its martyrs, children, elders, women and men.

We view the Intifada as a significant era in the history of the Palestinian people that future generations need to learn from, and that many have used as a model in their struggle for justice, dignity and freedom.

On this occasion we affirm our belief in the Palestinian Popular Resistance, as a principal part of our struggle for freedom and Palestinian rights that is not open for compromise. We support the struggle to achieve freedom and the right of return.
Based on that, we are calling out to all our people in Palestine and in exile to commemorate this anniversary, by honoring the heroes of this Intifada and to follow in their footsteps.
We are also calling out to all the Palestinian bloggers in Palestine and in exile to dedicate their blogs on the 9th of December to honor the people of the First Intifada through writing stories from the Intifada or conducting interviews with the heroes, publishing videos or photos etc. We also call on Palestinian artists for a dedication in honor of the Intifada.

Long live our people and long live Palestine

For more activities, calls for action, posts, and news follow #Intifada1 on twitter

Another Day of Rage

Fadi Quran has a face to his name, and he's studying for his MA at Birzeit University. Which makes us friends since you know.

Anyway, Democracy Now's Amy Goodman interviewed him a couple days after Sunday's special Nakba which for the first time saw Palestinian refugees in the bordering countries protesting and some succeeding in crossing over to Palestine (and in this man's case, all the way to Yafa). This nascent youth movement is solidifying quite quickly. In a way, I was filled with contempt at the hunger strikers who had at their heart pure and noble intentions but I was convinced that starving one's self was not going to yield any positive change and that other tactics (something along the lines of the US civil rights movement in the 60's) would prove to be more effective. But what did I know. So quick to judge and all that. Turns out that here, in this Palestinian society I live and breathe in everyday, there is such a movement. The hunger strikers formed the face of it, set things in motion, and then branched out to adapt to the quickly changing circumstances. The brave resistance going on in the villages of Nabi Saleh, Nil'in, and Bil'in every Friday for years now hasn't achieved that proper media coverage/awareness it needs. The youth movement is drawing upon the villagers' example and seeks to employ non-violent resistance. To say that Palestinian non-violent resistance is a relatively new concept is unbelievably wrong. It was just that throwing rocks against an army turned out to be more interesting for the world, the whole David verus Goliath thing. Yet the first intifada started off as a civil protest with syndicated strikes and Palestinians refusing to pay Israel taxes and their rejection of their military issued ID cards. Then came the hard hitting stuff as Israel responded with sadistic brutality, using the "break their bones" quota for the rock throwing youth.

What does Fadi have to say about a third intifada?

"I honestly—currently, I don’t think it’s going to be a third intifada, or uprising, in the sense that we saw in the First Intifada, 1988, and in 2000. I see that what’s going to develop now is something more similar to the civil rights movement in the South in the United States in the 1960s, where it wasn’t an ongoing uprising. It was more of a—you know, different events, people in their own communities organizing the Freedom Rides or organizing boycott campaigns. That’s what we’re going to begin seeing in the West Bank and Gaza, in the 1948 territories, and even in refugee camps. So it’s going to be that type of organic grassroots movement, and not an all-out uprising. Now, I think that if, at some point, our goals are not being achieved, if freedom still seems far away, then the pressure that we all feel as Palestinians due to Israeli oppression will likely lead us to an all-out uprising. But I think in the next maybe month, two months, it’s just going to be this type of escalating civil rights movement, people demanding equality, people demanding justice."

THANK YOU. We need direction because what kind of resistance will aimless rock throwing on Israeli military jeeps and soldiers will that be? Just another excuse to victimize poor Israel even more and to dehumanize the scum of the earth Palestinians. We need to build up awareness (people still scoff at BDS, dear God), educate, really work on building grassroots movements.

The youth movement which is STILL nameless and so shall be referred to here on the blog as PalestineYouthMovement--PYM-- is behind the Day of Rage set for Friday, May 20th. They are following up on the success of Sunday's Nakba commemoration which is good to see because continuity is integral. Key meeting points all over the West Bank and Gaza Strip have already been named and the purpose is to basically make our presence as an occupied people to the IOF and the watching world as even more salient. No doubt tomorrow there will be a lot of tear gas, but it's sending a message. The brown people are revolting the so-called western way, and the Occident's offspring are responding with violence. What a perfectly imbalanced equation right there. It's better to come with family and friends, to raise only the Palestinian flag, to be armed with scarves and plastic bags for the tear gas, and to watch out for the damn musta'rabeen and Israel's "elite special forces".

Ramallah: At 7am transportation will be provided to those who congregate around the Manara square to take them to Nabi Saleh. For those who consider it a criminal offence to wake up that early on a weekend, the protest will start later on in the morning at the entrance of Qalandiya's refugee camp and will proceed to the checkpoint.

RESIST IS TO EXIST.

The 63rd Nakba Commemoration

As a Nakba commemoration day, it was fine. As a third intifada, it was nonexistent, but that's also fine. At the Qalandiya checkpoint, around 150 youth suffered from tear gas inhalation and sustained related injuries. Tens were arrested by the musta3rabeen, or mistaravim in Hebrew and other "special forces". Around the borders and in the Gaza Strip, more civilians were shot at and killed. In Ras Maroun on the southern Lebanese border, civilians were killed by Israeli soldiers. These civilians, numbering so far ten, were still on the Lebanese side of the border. In Gaza at its northern border with Israel, one Palestinian got killed and almost a hundred injured. Syrian protesters managed to get inside the border into the Majdal Shams village. Four have been confirmed killed, and the rest were driven back to the Syrian border. The video below is of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon throwing rocks at the chain link fence that separates Lebanon from Israel/Palestine.



In Ramallah, there were a lot of festivities. For the first time ever, I wore the black and white kuffiyeh. With the whole unity thing, I decided to give it a shot. However, nothing changed as the total number for receiving unwanted pervy comments just got tallied off the chart.

"She's from the kata'ib [ Aqsa brigades]!"
"What a pretty Fat7awiya."
"Did you liberate Palestine yet?"
"Here comes the liberation of Palestine!"
"Look, here comes the big boss."
"Did you see that? Oh Allah, my heart!"

Last year I wrote a poem about how wearing a black and white kuffiyeh in the West Bank automatically typifies you as a supporter of Fateh. It makes me beyond sick. In high school, I wore the red kuffiyeh in the winter a couple of times, mainly because my favorite color is red and I like me some Palestinian heritage. To my horror, a couple of teachers gave me a knowing smile and said heartily, "I didn't know you were jabha! Haw haw haw." And when I wore a green shirt I got followed around by a few leering Neanderthals calling out to me, "Hamsawiya! Show us what you've got!"

Not meaning to digress, but what exactly is the best way to respond to these sexual harassers? I learned from the hard way that silence eventually shuts them up and makes them move on to their next prey, but one of these days I am going to bust out my kung-fu kicks and leave them rotting in some sewage pipe.

Back to the festivities. There was one on the side of the Manara square that leads off to Rukab Street, where a few men were leading the chants, and then there was a huge stage set up down by the hisbeh (vegetable marketplace). On that stage, a few notables said speeches, poems were read out, dabka was performed, a couple of Fateh songs were played, Ammar Hasan (finalist on the show Superstar 7 years ago) sang, two young women swooned, and the popular Abu Arab closed the show by singing for almost an hour. Schools from Ramallah and the surrounding villages proudly displayed their scout cubs who took turns in making their way down the streets in their band processions.

There were a lot of people, not as much as on the night before Eid, but it was obvious that many of them had come to Ramallah to do their shopping/sight-seeing and not just for the Nakba day. In terms of action, Ramallah got the least, and as I said above that's perfectly acceptable. The Palestinians are not ready for a third intifada. The youth movements, the political factions, and the grassroots activism movements need to get together, agree on a mandate, and set about finding ways to achieve their goals. Intifada doesn't mean piling up the numbers of martyrs. There needs to be a clear purpose, a collective will to endure sacrifices as a means to reach the ends. With 150,000 Palestinians employed in the PA ministries, their reaction to unity was long-suffering annoyance at not receiving their salaries for this month (as a result of Israel freezing the PA's tax revenues and Salam Fayyad withholding the 300 million dollars the PA have). The first intifada on a civil level was truly an uprising of the people, as they collectively boycotted Israeli goods, refused to pay their taxes, burned their IDF military issued IDs, etc. The second intifada saw different political factions fragmenting Palestinian society as each group used the intifada for their own interests. In one of our classes, the professor asked us all whether the martyrs who had died/sacrificed themselves for Palestine had died for nothing. It is easy to romanticize dying for a cause, in fact someone once said that to die for a cause is better than living for nothing, but to answer that question in the context of the present political reality is really crushing.

And yet, I am hopeful. Times are certainly a-changing. There's been unprecedented unbiased coverage of the Israeli occupation, more and more people all around the world are waking up to the true nature of what the state of Israel stands for, and with the Arab revolutions, the populations who were once silenced under the boots of their dictators are finally free to express their immense solidarity and support for the Palestinians and Palestine. It is highly possible that the next generation will never know what occupation is, and "jundi, hajiz, ta5, saroo5" (soldier, checkpoint, shooting, rocket) won't be part of a four year old's vocabulary. The West Bank society need to reform themselves, following the outstanding examples of the villages Nabi Saleh, Bil'n, and Nil'in, and to not acclimatize themselves with the occupation on the basis of just wanting to live their lives, because living under brutal military rule doesn't sound like much of a life, even if there's a rise in bar partying and more Movenpick hotels are built. And that's basically the summary of our huge dissatisfaction with our society. Resist is to Exist.


Pictures from today:

Posters all around Ramallah

Boys Scout club from Mughayar School

Even the soos guy went patriotic for the day

One side of the Manara

Peeping Tom :)

Ah, Stars and Bucks. The woman in the window was waving a kuffiyeh

Crap angle of the ever symbolic key

And continuing with the spirit of hopefulness in the face of positive change, here's a video of a protest that took place in Tel Aviv where the Palestinian flags were raised for the first time since 1948. No Fatah snide remarks for those kuffiyeh wearing peeps!

Ahead of March 15th

We have no idea if March 15th will blow out into a radically different intifada or see a couple thousand demonstrators on their lunch breaks chanting mechanically if at all slogans against the division and the occupation. We take heart from Egypt's January 25th, where a couple thousand grew into hundreds of thousands on that first day alone. Is there tension in the air? Not really. Personally, when we think about what a groundbreaking day March 15th could turn out to be and how that will play a pivotal role in forming a genuine Palestinian leadership ready to tackle the occupation head-on, our hearts flutter a bit. However, we don't want to dwell on that too long for fear of once again having our souls crushed if instead a pitiful crowd showed up for a couple of hours, yelling chants to let off steam before scooting back to their homes.

Here's the statement put out by the Palestinian youth groups organizing the shindig.

Regarding Attempts to Co-opt March 15th Protests
The mass protests planned by Palestinian youth groups for March 15th are gaining momentum and extended media coverage. We, the youth groups organizing and mobilizing for this movement, find it necessary to clarify the following points:
- These protests are being organized under the banner of national unity and reconciliation. However, we emphasize that resolving the predicament of Palestinian disunity must be based on principles and values agreed upon by the Palestinian people regardless of their political affiliation. The first of these principles is the illegitimacy of imprisoning people based on their political beliefs. Consequently, we demand the release of all political prisoners held by the government in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
Our demands for change go beyond ending Palestinian disunity and partial tweaks to the status quo. We insist on full democratic representation for Palestinians all over the world. Consequently our movement stipulates:
- Democratic Palestinian National Council (PNC) elections based on a one-person one-vote electoral system that guarantees equal representation for all Palestinians around the world (Gaza Strip, West Bank, 48 territories, refugee camps, and in the Diaspora). This necessitates a complete overhaul of the PNC’s structures and the establishment of new electoral procedures.
Attempts to Co-opt March 15th Mass protests
Palestinian political parties, Hamas’ government in Gaza, Fayyad’s government in the West Bank, and a plethora of nongovernmental organizations are seeking to co-opt this movement to serve their narrow interests. Moreover, they are attempting to legitimize themselves by falsely stating that they are the main organizers behind this event. We open-heartedly welcome the participation of party members and NGO employees, who are an essential and inseparable part of our societal fabric. We do not welcome attempts by their leaders to redirect our efforts.
- We affirm that the March 15th movement is by the people for the people, and is independent of any political party or institutional backing. It is being organized by non-partisan youth groups who dream of a better future for their people.
We invite all Palestinians, and particularly Palestinian youth, to come down to the street on March 15th. We will only carry Palestinian flags, and chant and sing for freedom, unity, and justice. March 15th shall be the day we stand in unity to demand democratic representation for all Palestinians as an affirmative step in our struggle for Freedom from Israeli Apartheid.

Will Twitter see a hash tag for March 15th? And more importantly, will Omar Offendum and The Narcicyst make a song entitled #Mar15th? Or will this blog run our angry bitter lamentations about what a huge disappointment the day turned out to be?

An Imminent Revolutionary Palestine?

Looks like we've unbuckled our explosive belts in favor for writing on bank notes.

Talking to Ynet, group founder Salah Barghouti discussed the initiative. "We were sitting and thinking of how we can voice our protest in a non-violent way and then the idea came up to write a clear short message on the notes."

Barghouti and his friend Amad Abu-Sumeia claim that this is a simple, creative, innovative and non-violent method of spreading Palestinian protest. They are pleading with people who have joined the group on Facebook to protest actively.

As social media helped facilitate the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, young Palestinians are turning to that tactic to push for their own revolution. Started by a couple of well meaning guys, the Facebook group called يلا ننتهي الاحتلال/Let's End the Occupation acts as a forum to its growing members (almost 14000 now) who pitch forward their ideas of how to resist and dismantle the ongoing Israeli occupation peacefully.

Just an interjection- to all the sanctimonious privileged foreign armchair activists who see it fit to dictate exactly just exactly how Palestinians should resist by lamenting that untapped reservoir of Ghandi-ism. Well we don't really have a scathing threat just yet, but seriously their opinion is required only after they actually experience the occupation, the inhumanity of it all, the unbearable suffering, the life without dignity, etc. That holier-than-thou attitude is probably masking their inner zionuts. A population under occupation can resist in whatever form they want to, and they've got the legal credentials (although widely dismissed in our case) to back them up too so booyah! Also, there's this little thing called BDS going on, as well as the weekly [favorite word coming up] 'non-violent' protests most famously at Bil'in and Nil'in against the encroaching Apartheid wall, in which 21 people were killed. So take your self-righteousness and stick it up where the sun don't shine.

Instead of a unified page a la We Are All Khaled Said mode, there are other Facebook groups calling for  revolutionary measures to be gradually taken up and since we've emphasized the division of society one too many times, we won't harp on about how this is a reflection of so and so. 

March 15th is the new toted Day of Mass Protests (there's no such thing as a Day of Rage, check) which will take place not just in Ramallah but in Gaza and other cities in the West Bank. Here's half of the ice burg of what we're protesting about:

• First and foremost, the Israeli occupation.
•  Dear white supremest colonizers, we will share our land with you with open arms, after you lose that dangerous superciliousness and accept some pretty hard core reparations. Just stop with those dehumanizing antics, gosh.
• The PA
• We don't want you, no really we don't. And the next time you introduce yourselves as the representatives the of the Palestinian people we will forgo our recently attained Ghandi-ism and shoot you in both knee caps whilst synchronizing our movements with the latest Lindsay Lohan album that will be blaring on the speakers used at Tahrir square.
• Hamas
• Maintain some sort of credibility and do not hog up power in the Gaza strip by repressive force, or by any force for that matter. The greater good, no? You can do it!
• The division between Hamas and Fateh
• For the love of Allah, just kiss and make up already. Then you can retire to your abodes or join in the revolution, but not before we impose a travel ban on some of those ministers and collaborators, freeze their assets, and then bring them up before court. Uh huh, we've got eyes on the back of our heads. You know who you are.
• The USA and its vetoing power
• Keep digging your own grave by supplying those 3 billion dollar military aid to Israel. We're already laughing at your democracy.

Writing Free Palestinian on the Israeli currency isn't our kind of thing. It's nice that those who thought up the idea exercised their creative powers to a stretch, but we'll let them in on a little secret. B.Freakin.D.S. BOYCOTT! It's much faster, more effective, and more popular. How many stores are going to accept a graffitified 100 NIS note? How many stores will stop supplying Israeli products when the customers acquire a new line of preference?

That's it. We're taking this into our own hands. Henceforth, our names shall be X Magna and Z Carta.

Shit, we really gotta start a Twitter account now.

Fomenting People Power III

Libya's Day of Rage was on the 17th, where protesters in Benghazi, the second largest city, took to the streets. A reported 24 were killed. 5 days into the protests, over 200 have been killed so far.

Fun Facts

• It is 1,759,540 square kilometers with a population of only 6.5 million
• Almost half of the population live on 2 dollars a day
• More than 95% of Libya is desert. Hello Sahara!
• The flag is boring. It's just green
• Libya imports 75% of its food due to its arid dry weather
• There was only one king, Idris or somebody who was overthrown in 1969 by reigning Crackhead

Fun Facts about Crackhead

• Claims his name is Muammar Gaddafi
• He's the longest serving ruler in the world, with 42 years under his festering belt
• Calls himself the king of kings in Africa
• Official title is Revolutionary Leader
• Rambles on inanely in UN meetings
• Has virgin female bodyguards to protect him
• Proposed once to resolve the Israeli occupation of Palestine by calling the country Isratin('tin' being the last 3 letters in filastin/Palestine)

Call for reform: Dude, he's been in power for 42 years. Plus the whole economic (30% are unemployed) and political limitations and censorship shtick.

Demure response: Gaddafi and his pro-government supporters shared the love publicly on Friday in Tripoli, as shown by state television. Then security forces were sent to Benghazi to crack down on dissenters, shooting them with snipers. 84 were killed and 1000 more injured. Facebook, Twitter, and Al Jazeera are banned, as are foreign correspondents.

The army is on the side of the protesters now, after witnessing the brutal tactics used by mercenaries from Chad and Niger on the peaceful protesters. Anti-aircraft missiles are one means used to kill them. Women and children jumped off the Giuliana Bridge in Benghazi to escape the murderers. They either drowned or were killed by the impact of water. This is definitely the most violent government response to demonstrators calling for reform. Hospitals were running out of supplies before today saw a change of fate as protesters took charge of military barracks and police stations, liberating the city of Benghazi from troops supporting the government and looking forward to liberating more cities in the direction of Tripoli. Protesters numbered in the hundreds of thousands after a 15 were killed during a funeral procession.

Fomenting People Power II

Three more people have been killed in Bahrain so far. Onto the next country.

YEMEN
Fun Facts

• North Yemen got rid of its extension to the Ottoman Empire in 1918, while South Yemen saw the withdrawal of the British in 1967
• United the north and south territories to form the Yemen of today in 1990
• Capital city is San'aa
• 40% of the population live on less than two US dollars a day
• Qat is a mildly narcotic leaf chewed by Yemenis to while away the time. Getting stoned is better than constant reminder of living in one of the poorest Arab nation.
• Cultivates mocha
• Less than a tenth of the roads are paved

Call for reform: President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been in power for 32 years. The government is corrupt. The people want him out understandably. Plus the economy is shit.

Demure response: The President graciously announced that he will not run for presidency again when his term finishes in 2013. Protest all you want Yemenis! He also ruled out his son inheriting power, but protesters naturally don't believe him.

20000 people showed up for the Day of Rage which started the 27th of January.

So far, there's been a lot of clashes between pro-government supporters and anti-government demonstrators. The pro-govs are joined by plainclothes police naturally who use violence to disperse the crowd.

Epicenter Tahrir-style: None. The government closed down public squares (one coincidentally called Tahrir) to prevent media from linking the protests to what went down in Cairo.

Fomenting People Power I

In no particular order-

BAHRAIN
Fun Facts

• Bahrain means "two seas". Heard the joke about what the Khalili wore when he went to Bahrain? "Mayohein" i.e. two swimsuits. Hush, it sounds better in Arabic.
• Capital city is Manama
• Gained independence in 1971
• Amalgamation of about 33 islands
• Smallest Arab country. To give some perspective, Qatar is 16 times bigger.
• Ruled by the Sunni Khalifa dynasty
• Majority are Shiites (70%) who suffer tensions and systematic discriminations at the hands of the governing Sunnis

Call for reform: protesters are not seeking to overthrow the monarchy per se, but they do want more power to be transferred to parliament (which celebrated its tenth anniversary yesterday), as well as economic amendments, the release of political prisoners, the end of the use of torture, and greater political freedom.

Demure response: Lest the Bahrainis get any ideas in their heads in light of Tunisia's and Egypt's successes, the magnanimous king Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa sought to bribe-sorry kindly donate 1000 dinars to every household.

Talk about an angry violent storm of locusts swarming uh..violently against the peaceful protesters.

Following these 'bullying and barbaric policies" of the security forces, the opposition Shia group Al-Wefaq withdrew its members from parliament. Ali Abdulhadi Mushaima became the first martyr while the second, Fadhel Salman Matrook, was shot dead at Mushaima's funeral this morning. Security forces attempted to disperse the 10000 strong gathering for the funeral with the same tactics used to disperse yesterday's protests-by firing tear gas. Wonder who supplies them.

Epicenter Tahrir Style: the Pearl Roundabout

To be continued..

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.

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.

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

Mabrook Tunisia!

Ousted Autocrat: Zein ilAbedine Ben Ali. In power for 23 years. Dyes his hair black, wears a permanent smug look, and puts up huge airbrushed posters of himself around the country. Who's the man? You da the man!

Cause: The Jasmine Revolution. The Tunisians have had enough of the soaring food prices, the crippling unemployment rates, the ostentatious extravagant lives the tiny ruling family enjoy, and the constant fear/censorship of any political dialogue. They want a democracy and for 29 days of peaceful protests, they have succeeded in making Ben Ali run for his life.

Special Mention: On December 17th, Mohamed Bouazizi, the 26 year old from rural Sidi Bouzid, who couldn't take any more of his unbearably shitty life, set fire to himself after authorities once again confiscated his vegetable stall on the grounds that he was not licensed. The police insulted and slapped him around a bit as well, getting their fill of fun for the day. Bouazizi had a university degree but unable to find a job, supported his family by selling vegetables. His sacrifice served as the catalyst to the Tunisian protests/intifada.

Ben Ali's wife: Leila Trabelsi, she of the "wooden smile" and parasitical mafia family. Most of her extended family have huge businesses run by state funds, and they get their way because It's Trabelsi dude. If the name won't send you vomiting up five 'democratic' terms of Ben Ali's regime, here's what they've been doing while the rest of the population wallow in misery.

• Freight ice cream from St Tropez for a dinner party
• Feed four chickens a day to a caged tiger in one of their homes
• Own a large stash of fancy expensive cars
• Own a string of ostentatious villas
• Get away with murder and other crimes, because corruption is a sport
• Swim in molten gold

Tunisians barely concealed their immense hatred of the first lady and small wonder. 

On the run: Ben Ali's plane first headed toward the Arabian Gulf countries before it changed course and made way for Paris, France. Sarkozy gave them the finger so the plane moved on to Sardinia, where it wasn't given permission to land. After circling around and non applicable diplomatic calls, the plane landed in Saudi Arabia, the camel jockey haven of murderers and mad men. Duh!

Reaction of  the West: The imperial powers that be have been gob-smacked by the rapidity and success of this intifada, and wasted no time in assuring the world that the Tunisian people have a right to democracy and that they have been neutral during this historical achievement etc. Then they can cosy up to the newly elected President and presumably go about their business by attempting to pull his strings.

One positive thing (in the long run) about an uptight controlling authoritarian police state is that opposition political parties are banned. This sounds very undemocratic and all, but this intifada lasted for TWENTY NINE DAYS and has already achieved what it had set out to gain. The people were all united under one main cause and they never lost sight of that because they had no other political affiliation to concern themselves with or to promote this party or that. One thing we've been thinking about...if a man set himself on fire in one of the villages surrounding Ramallah because the Palestinian Authority's security forces have once again after three arrests accused him of causing 'political dissent', what would the Palestinians do? Would they rage and riot, stage peaceful protests until the PA is dissolved, or simply shake their heads, mutter something about the man's insanity, and move on? The sad thing is, we honestly believe people will go with the third option. Maybe it's because they have to wait for old man Abbass to be in power for 23 years before they decide to take any action. 

Khubiz, hurriyeh, karama watania. Bread, freedom, national dignity.

Tunisia, please don't eff this up. We don't want to hear reports in two months' time of a new autocratic government and people still finding difficulty buying food or getting a job.

Will Egypt be the next regime to fall in the domino line? Or is this just wishful thinking?

Erm...about that Intifada

At five A.M on Tuesday hordes of ultra-orthodox Jews entered the old city of Jerusalem and began waving Israeli flags, all the while celebrating what Palestinians call the 'Judaizing' of al-Quds. Israeli police surrounded the zealots as a means of protection, and an hour later Palestinian young men had gathered near the crowd, kept back by the police. The young men were shouting chants about liberating al-Aqsa mosque and tension between the two sides was growing thicker. The breaking point arrived after a new party of Jewish settlers arrived from behind the Palestinians, trapping them in the middle. The Israeli police force nonchalantly looked on as the settlers began to harass the Palestinians, and fights erupted. The Palestinians were out-numbered, and the settlers on one side and the police on the other obstructed their escape. Suddenly, one settler began firing his firearm, causing serious injuries to four Palestinians. The Israeli police finally managed to restrain the trigger-happy fool, and the Palestinians dispersed, but not before a good handful were arrested. The injured were prevented from receiving medical aid, and at around 7 A.M the old city welcomed its first martyr. News slowly infiltrated the rest of the West Bank and the world, and a general strike was called upon by the Palestinian territories. As the day went on, clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers became more frequent, and casualties began to toll higher. Thousands took to the streets in Nablus, Jenin, Gaza City, Bethlehem, Hebron, but in Ramallah, Abbas's security forces, in plainclothes and in uniforms, heavily patrolled the streets and took random people for interrogation. In Qalandia, Palestinians were involved in a series of altercations with the Israeli soldiers, which prompted the typical Israeli response of firing live bullets to nullify the 'destructive' effect the stones thrown by the Palestinians were causing. Palestinian anger reached a point that led masses to surround Abbas's headquarters, al-Muqata'a, with women leading and protesting in the front rows. Back in the old city of Jerusalem, the reopening of the synagogue witnessed delays caused by the confrontations by the Palestinians and Israelis. In the courtyard of al-Aqsa mosque itself, Israeli soldiers barged in and removed Palestinians by force, which led to a killing spree. At the end of the day, 23 Palestinians in Qalandia and in the old city were killed. Amid the international out-cry, Israel forced another curfew on the West Bank, this time sealing it off for an undetermined amount of time. F-16 missiles were directed at the Gaza strip, and sonic helicopters hovered in the sky without any let-up. The Palestinians in the 1948 areas congregated in separate areas at midnight, condemning the Israeli brutal attacks and lighting candles in vigil. Abbas has expressed sorrow at the downturn of events, and pleaded with Palestinians via a televised message not to get carried away and to give negotiations another chance. Meanwhile, protests erupted around the rest of the world--

HOLD UP. You want to know what really happened that day?

Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem, and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers near the Qalandia checkpoint.

Have a nice day.