Issue no 108

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Issue No : 108 10th NOVEMBER , 2014

Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia | 1


Palestinian Cultural Organization MalaysiaMalaysiaM

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Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia

Israel ‹pushing for religious warfare›

Malaysia reaffirms unwavering support for Palestine - Envoy

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FEATURED STORY

Interviews

Read in This Issue

Exclusive Interview with Khaled Meshaal, the Head of the Hamas

Political Bureau

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Israeli Police kills young Arab man in the Galilee

Large-scale arrest campaign in Jerusalem and W. Bank

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Two Israeli border guards killed in car attack in Jerusalem, Three others injured in Hebron

Israeli police: ‹Changes to the status quo at Al-Aqsa will be disastrous›

P13Malaysia & Palestine


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CONTENTS

News of Palestine :

Israel ‹pushing for religious warfare› 4

272 Palestinians Injured In Jerusalem Clashes 5

Large-scale arrest campaign in Jerusalem and W. Bank 6

Israeli Police kills young Arab man in the Galilee 7

Two Israeli border guards killed in car attack in Jerusalem, Three others

injured in Hebron 8

Israeli police: ‹Changes to the status quo at Al-Aqsa will be disastrous› 9

European campaign to end siege slams Israeli-Egyptian closure of Gaza crossings 10

Abu-Marzouk: Abbas must ‹pause and review› Gaza›s situation 11

Israel Insider

Lieberman: Israeli ministers› entry to Al-Aqsa ‹lacks wisdom› 12

Bennett makes verbal attack on Sephardi chief rabbi 12

Malaysia & Palestine

Malaysia reaffirms unwavering support for Palestine - Envoy 13

Articles & Analyses

Al-Aqsa ignites a revolution that will triumph 14

Interviews

Exclusive Interview with Khaled Meshaal, the Head of the Hamas Political Bureau 16

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News of Palestine

Amid heightened tensions at Jerusa-lem’s al-Aqsa mosque, the Palestinian Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, Sheikh Yousef Adeis, has called on the international community to push for the site’s protection.

Weeks of clashes at the al-Aqsa com-pound reached a climax this week, as Israeli security forces stormed the mosque, triggering confrontations be-tween riot police and Palestinian wor-shippers.

Adeis says Arab and Muslim decision-makers must broach the threat to al-Aqsa with UNESCO, the UN’s cultural arm, and provide daily updates on Is-rael’s “aggressive acts” to the UN Se-curity Council.

“Muslims and Arabs should develop a united stance towards defending the mosque… Israel, by its aggressive acts, is pushing for religious warfare that would have dreadful consequenc-

Israel ‹pushing for religious warfare›

es on the region,” Adeis said.

Financial support should also be increased, he said, to help the Palestinians not to abandon their homes in the Old City, where al-Aqsa is located: “I’m calling upon all Muslims worldwide to support Jerusalem and its people against the daily Israeli assaults on their rights.”

Under long-standing arrangements, Jews are allowed to visit al-Aqsa but are forbidden to pray, for fear of religious unrest. The site is Judaism’s holiest, believed to be the site of the Biblical temples, and the third-holiest in Islam. Jewish hardliners have been ramping up demands to be allowed to pray at the Muslim-run site.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured Jordan’s King Abdullah II that he would not yield to those demands, after Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel in protest against the “unacceptable” police as-sault on the mosque.

Senior members of Netanyahu’s government, includ-ing deputy Knesset speaker Moshe Feiglin, have been among the loudest voices pushing to change the status quo. Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, the head of the right-wing Jewish Home party, criticised the chief rabbi’s decree. 8/11/2014 Source: PIC

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Palestinian medical sources have reported that at least 65 residents have been shot by Israeli rub-ber-coated metal bullets, while more than 207 suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation, during clashes with the soldiers in different parts of occupied East Jerusalem.

The Red Crescent in the city said its medics provided treated to the wounded Palestinians, and moved many of them to local hospitals and clinics.

It added that 37 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli rubber-coated metal bullets, and around 150 suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation in Shu’fat refugee camp, north of occupied East Jeru-salem.

The clashes started following Friday noon prayers and lasted until late night hours, local sources said.

In addition, 28 Palestinians were shot by rubber-coated metal bullets, and around 50 suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation during clashes with Israeli soldiers invading various neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, including Wad al-Joz, at-Tour, al-Eesawiyya, and the Old City. One of the wounded suffered fractures in his leg.

The wounded residents received treatment by field medics, and some in a number of homes, as the ambulances could not transfer them to local hospitals and clinics due to extensive deployment of the Israeli army and police, especially since the soldiers blocked and sealed various roads and neighborhoods.

Clashes also took place in the al-‘Eesawiyya town, after the soldiers invaded the Mahmoud neigh-borhood, and fired gas bombs into its alleys and at a number of homes.

Mohammad Abu al-Hummus of the al-‘Eesawiyya Follow-up Committee, said dozens of residents suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation, seven of them were moved to a local hospital.

Abu al-Hummus said the soldiers continued their blockade of the town, after installing concrete blocks on its main entrances, in addition to keeping it completely surrounded.

8/11/2014 Source: IMEMC

272 Palestinians Injured In Jerusalem Clashes

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Large-scale arrest campaign in Jerusalem and W. Bank

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have carried out overnight a large-scale raid and arrest campaign in different areas of the West Bank and Jerusalem. The campaign lasted till the early morning hours.

More than twenty young men including minors were kidnapped during the raids for allegedly participat-ing in violent protests against Israel.

In occupied Jerusalem, the family committee of Jerusalem prisoners confirmed that the overnight raids on homes in Jerusalem caused a state of panic among women and children.

Dozens of youths were nabbed from their homes in the occupied city including an ex-detainee. The detainees are expected to be cited for later today.

The Israeli authorities have also extended the arrest of two Jerusalemites including a woman after be-ing detained Saturday shortly after leaving the Aqsa Mosque.

In Nablus, IOF deployed at dawn today in large numbers throughout the neighborhoods of the city and broke into a home belonging to Bashar Abu Sharkh before his arrest.

Dozens of people were also interrogated overnight in Hawara town southern the city under the pretext of looking for wanted persons involved in throwing a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli bus, local sources said.

In AL-Khalil, two young men were reportedly arrested after raiding their homes, while a third was nabbed in Ofer court while attending a court hearing for one of his relatives.

In Jenin, IOF soldiers arrested a woman from Jalama town northern the city late yesterday.

Yasmin Shaaban, a mother of four children, was arrested despite his difficult health condition, the Palestinian prisoner society said.

Furthermore, Israeli forces stormed Yabud town north of Jenin and established a military checkpoint at the entrance to the town. Several vehicles were stopped and searched at the roadblock.

4/11/2014 Source: PIC

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The Israeli Police shot and killed, shortly after midnight, a young man in Kafr Kanna village in the Gali-lee, after alleging that he attempted to stab a police officer.

The Arabs48 news website has reported that Kheir Hamdan, 22 years of age, was seriously injured by police fire, and died shortly after being moved to a hospital in ‘Affoula.

The police claims that a number of police officers went into the village, shortly after midnight Friday night, to apprehend a person, and that the officers “felt threatened and opened fire,” wounding Hamdan in his upper body.

Medical sources said Hamdan, who was not the person the police wanted to arrest, suffered various gunshot injuries to his chest, and died of his wounds.

The Arabs48 said dozens of police vehicles headed to the village after the shooting, and closed several roads.

Eyewitnesses denied the police claim, and said the situation could have been contained by other means, without using violence, adding live rounds fired by the police struck that one home.

They stated that the police murdered Hamdan, as he never posed any threat to them, and did not at-tempt to attack them.

Following the fatal shooting, several local youths protested in the streets, and burnt tires on the main road, while the village declared a general strike Saturday.

8/11/2014 Source: IMEMC


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Two Israeli border guards killed in car attack in Je-rusalem, Three others injured in Hebron

A Palestinian man rammed his vehicle into a group of Israeli border guards in occupied eastern Jerusalem on Wednesday killing two and wounding 14 others.

Preliminary reports indicated that the Palestinian man identified as Ibrahim al-Akari rammed his vehicle into three border guards near a light rail station in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

The Israeli reports said that Akari hit into another vehicle and stopped 100 meters away from the initial scene. The media reports said that Akari was shot dead by border guards after he got out of the car holding a metal bar, which he was planning to use in attacking settlers.

Hamas in a press release praised the operation of its cadre Akari as an act of revenge for the Aqsa and for defenders of the Aqsa.

On the same day, a similar attack took place, where Israeli police said three soldiers have been wounded, one of them seriously, after a Palestinian drove his car into them on a road near Hebron in the West Bank.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the driver of the “large commercial vehicle” bearing a Pal-estinian license plate fled the scene.

Wednesday’s incidents came amid continued tensions over right-wing Jewish demands to be able to pray inside the compound and the expansion of Israeli settlement building in East Jerusalem.

5/11/2014 Source: Agencies

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Israeli forces have shot and killed a Palestinian boy in a village in the occupied West Bank, local medics and resi-dents said.

Thirteen-year-old Bahaa Badr was shot as Israeli forces entered Beit Liqya near the separation wall with Israel, and were reportedly pelted with stones by local youths on Thursday.

It is unclear whether the boy took part in the confronta-tion, which the Israeli army described as an “illegal riot” in which residents threw Mo-lotov cocktails at their forces, as they were exiting the vil-

Israeli police: ‹Changes to the status quo at Al-Aqsa will be disastrous›

lage.

A military spokesperson said soldiers responded with live fire and the army would investigate the killing.

Director Ahmed Betawai of the Ramallah Hospital said the boy was shot three times in the chest and died of his wounds about two hours after the incident.

Tensions in the occupied West Bank have risen since Israel’s seven-week war in Gaza began in July and killed more than 2,000 Palestin-ians - mostly civilians - and more than 70 Israelis, almost all of them soldiers.

In recent days, tensions also spiked amid Palestinian charges that Israel is limiting access to Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa in East Jerusalem.

Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since captur-ing them in the 1967 war. Palestinians want the territories, along with the Gaza Strip, for a future state.

17/10/2014 Source: Aljazeera+Agencies

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European campaign to end siege slams Is-raeli-Egyptian closure of Gaza crossings

The European campaign to end the siege on Gaza strongly denounced Israel and Egypt for closing their border crossings in the post-war Gaza Strip, affirming that the lives of the population have become extremely unbearable.

“The Palestinian homeless citizens can no longer stand the catastrophic life they have been living for two months, either staying in schools and at corners of destroyed homes or taking shelter in tents and on the ruins of houses bombed during the aggression,” the Brussels-based campaign stated in a press release on Friday.

The campaign held Israel, Egypt and the western powers supporting the blockade on Gaza fully responsible for the suffering of the population in the impoverished enclave and de-scribed the siege as a hostile act against civilians and a violation of the international law.

It also accused the international community of complicity in what it described as the slow killing of more than 1,800,000 people in Gaza.

8/11/2014 Source: PIC

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been dealing with Gaza and its prob-lems harshly, a leading Hamas official said.

“The unity government’s insistence to continue to tax the only fuel station in the Gaza Strip will inevitably lead to the inability of Gaza to pay its bills, which will lead to an increased number of blackouts until Qatar sends more aid to Gaza,” Mousa Abu-Marzouk said in a statement published to his Facebook page.

“The unity government’s decision to finance things in this way is neither justifiable nor reasonable due to the lack of uniformity in state institutions and the equal dis-tribution of pay to employees. We have discussed the issue of the non-payment of employee salaries several times and every time it is justified with the excuse that the people of Gaza are unable to pay taxes.”

Abu-Marzouk called on Abbas to pause and review the outstanding issues and frequent conversations that the government has regarding the Gaza Strip, in ad-dition to the repeated talks of peace and security.

“President Abbas is the one who called for both elections and a review of the security file in a maximum of six months’ time and then he forgets that he wanted either option,” Abu-Marzouk added.

5/11/2014 Source: MEMO

Abu-Marzouk: Abbas must ‹pause and review› Gaza›s situation

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Lieberman: Israeli ministers› entry to Al-Aqsa ‹lacks wisdom›

Bennett makes verbal attack on Sephardi chief rabbi

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman harshly criti-cised Members of Knesset who have recently stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying the actions “lack wisdom”.

Speaking to Israel Radio, Lieberman said: “I think it’s the pursuit of cheap and easy publicity and a somewhat cyni-cal exploitation of the complicated political situation.”

“And let’s say it this way: it’s a lack of wisdom,” he added.

Last Sunday, Minister of the Knesset Moshe Feiglin stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, followed by Shuli Moalem Re-

Israel’s Economic and Religious Affairs Min-ister, Naftali Bennett, has made a strong verbal attack against the Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yousef. Rabbi Yousef called on Friday for Jews to stop storming Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The chief rabbi said that it was religiously forbidden for Jews to ascend to the “Temple Mount” (Al-Aqsa compound) at any time. This, he reminded them, is due to a long-held consensual rabbinical ruling that today’s “im-pure Jews should not risk defiling the holiest site in Judaism.”

According to the head of the Sephardic Jews in Israel, the “incitement provoked by peo-ple going to the Temple Mount” has to stop. “Jews must not go to the Temple Mount and provoke the Arab terrorists [sic]. This must be stopped... Only in this manner shall the blood

Israel Insider

faeli on Monday and Tzipi Hotovely on Tuesday.

Their actions led to protests by Palestinians, as well as in other Arab and Islamic countries.

In this regard, Lieberman said that “increasing the friction won’t bring security; it won’t bring anything.”


of the people of Israel stop being spilt.”

These remarks angered many ex-tremists in Israel, including Knes-set members (MKs) and senior partisan leaders. Some of them said that Yousef does not repre-sent anyone, but he only used the podium given to him during the fu-neral of one of the Jews killed in

the recent unrest.

Bennett and other extremist MKs and ministers are calling for strict punishment for the families of the “terrorists” who have carried out attacks in defence of their rights in Je-rusalem. Calling for the destruction of family homes they also insist that families should be expelled from the city in order to deter others from doing the same thing.


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Malaysia reaffirms unwavering support for Palestine - Envoy

Malaysia has reaffirmed its unwavering support in restoring the Palestinians’ inalienable right to self de-termination, self rule, right to national independence and sovereignty as well as the right to return to their homes.

Malaysia’s permanent rep-resentative to the United Nations, Datuk Hussein Haniff said Kuala Lumpur had always believed in a two-State solution and supported the establish-ment of a sovereign state of Palestine living in peace and security.

The envoy said this in his address on Agenda Item 69: Rights Of People To Self-Determination at the Third Committee of the 69th Session of the Unit-ed Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York yesterday. The text of his speech was made avail-able to Bernama, Tuesday.

Hussein noted that Israel’s

Malaysia & Palestinian Cause

Palestinian Cultural

Organization Malaysia

announcement on new expansions of illegal settlements in the West Bank including in East Jerusalem would also subject the people of Palestine to forced displacement.

The envoy cited that the international community had failed to address the persistent and flagrant violations of international law, international humani-tarian law, UN Resolution and Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice by Israel.

“While this Committee works towards solution of ending impunity on many issues including on violations and abuses of human rights, the blatant il-legal actions of Israel continues unabated,” he said.

Furthermore, he called on the international community to collectively shoul-der the responsibility and adopt the framework for time to end the Israeli occupation. 4/11/2014 Source: BERNAMA

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Al-Aqsa ignites a revolution that will triumphBy: Izzat Al-Rishq These days, the Palestinian cause is going through an exceptional phase, while the Arab and Muslim world are experiencing a very com-plicated time. I do not need to point out that Palestine is a part of our nation and is affected both nega-tively and positively by what hap-pens to the nation.However, Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, at the heart of which is Al-Aqsa Mosque, will continue to act as the nation’s compass, a sign of affiliation and an unmistak-able guide amid the abyss of po-litical events and developments in Palestine, the Arab world and inter-nationally. According to Palestinian history, Al-Aqsa is the place where all the Palestinian national wills meet, and I can say that Jerusalem and national unity are two faces of the Palestinian struggle that will be rewarded with victory.There have been repeated Zion-ist attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque recently and, in the background, there has been talk of dividing the mosque in terms of time and space, which has not gone unno-ticed, in light of the unprecedented and fanatical settler attacks on our land. It is as if the Zionist enemy wants to steal as much of our land, olives, blood and rights as it can in order to wait comfortably for a ne-gotiator to come later and then the enemy can demand a political gain in exchange for merely a fraction of what they stole.There are many harsh conditions that have been exploited by the occupation and used against our people and sanctities. There is no doubt that the difficult and compli-cated situation of the Arab world is one of the top factors that embold-ened the occupation to do so.After the blessed operation car-

Articles & Analyses

ried out by the hero martyr Moataz Hijazi, the occupation authorities embarked on a very dangerous escalation; i.e. completely closing Al-Aqsa Mosque all day Thursday. However, the escalation and suf-focation of the people and their discontent did not simply start after this incident, and Moataz did not commit this action for no reason.The occupation state had already declared war on Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, but a few weeks ago this war took some serious and dangerous turns. Security and military measures were intensi-fied on the city of Jerusalem and Israel increased the restrictions on the worshippers permitted to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque, while it allowed large groups of extremists entry into the mosque and to desecrate the courtyard in an attempt to im-pose time and space divisions.There have also been repeated and continued Zionist attempts to target the people of Jerusalem and uproot them from their homes and forcibly remove them from the city by means of restrictions, suffoca-tion, incitement, and the confisca-tion of the Jerusalemites’ identifica-tion cards. This suggests that there will be dangerous repercussions that will turn the tables on the Is-raeli officials and leaders who were

the masterminds of these escala-tions, beginning with Netanyahu, who instructed his security servic-es to exercise the maximum level of oppression and violence against the Jerusalemites and those stag-ing sit-ins in Al-Aqsa. He also in-structed the same to be done to the mass movement and popular uprising that began in a number of neighbourhoods in Jerusalem in response to the violations against Al-Aqsa. This sparked panic and fear in the hearts of the occupation who fear that a third Intifada will start from the heart of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa.The settlement interests and ambi-tions that the occupation is estab-lishing in occupied Jerusalem have especially continued and are now raging more and more every day. The UN Human Rights Council said that settlements have doubled over the past four years. During a press conference held a few days ago, Cees Flinterman, member of the council, talked about the suf-fering of Palestinians and property owners in the West Bank and Je-rusalem.Those who are calling for traveling to Al-Aqsa to protect it are aware of the role assigned to them, which includes confronting the occupa-

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tion’s attempts to impose a new status quo inside Al-Aqsa and its courtyards. They are remaining perseverant and are holding on to their land, and a popular upris-ing that has reached the streets of the occupied West Bank has also started, including the cities of He-bron and Nablus, even reaching the streets of Gaza, which still has not recovered from its wounds.This uprising is proof that our great people are holding on to the reins of the struggle initiative and are sparking revolutionary action whenever they have a chance. This is another victory and encourage-ment to add on to the victories dur-ing “Operation Protective Edge”, “Operation Pillar of Defence”, and “Operation Cast Lead”, as well as the first and second Intifadas, not to mention the countless other national struggles. This is proof that the Palestinian collective con-sciousness will no longer accept humiliation on any level.I would like to point out that these serious violations, which have been addressed by the UN coun-cils, were committed against our people, the people to whom Moataz belongs, and were com-mitted against the land that Al-Aq-sa Mosque still stands on. After all these violations, can the oppressed be blamed if they carry swords in order to prevent the oppressor from committing such crimes?The Palestinian people today, led by the resistance groups, demand that the people unite more than ever, and this is what is happen-ing after the calls in protest of the Zionist crimes have united. This is just the beginning. We need to use this unity and follow through on this step by restricting the PLO and making it a unifying national frame-work that will support the Pales-tinian national project. In addition to this, the national project must be re-build in accordance with a new comprehensive and approved strategy. We must stop the stall-ing and procrastination exercised by those dominating the PLO and holding its keys in an attempt to continue to monopolise and control the PLO.The Palestinian Authority is ex-pected to remove its security grip

on the Palestinian people in the West Bank, and to allow them to demonstrate, escalate mass and popular activities and movements in the face of the occupation and defend Al-Aqsa and all national issues. Such issues must be ad-opted by the PA and defended by it and the PA should mobilise the people, guide them, and encour-age them to champion these issues instead of gagging them, pursuing the resistance, and preventing the masses from getting angry.The Palestinian Authority must also put an end to its security coordina-tion with the occupation after its ra-bid attack on Al-Aqsa and allow our angry people to confront the occu-pation face-to-face and ignite the Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Intifada. The PA must stop boasting about the fact that it is preventing a new Intifada; such positions do not war-rant boasting, they warrant shame.The positions of the PA and the Arab and Muslim governments are still weak and very minimal and do not match the danger and se-riousness of what Al-Aqsa is being subject to. This requires a large-scale Palestinian, Arab and Islamic movement and harnessing all their energies and capabilities into de-fending Al-Aqsa and addressing the issue with all seriousness and strength in all international forums. They must also pressure the en-emy by means of its allies in Eu-rope and America and focus the media on covering Al-Aqsa and the threats posed to it.Doesn’t Al-Aqsa Mosque deserve an Arab and Islamic summit to be held to discuss ways to respond to the Zionist aggression? It was the reason for which the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) was established after the burning of Al-Aqsa in 1968. During that year, the burning of Al-Aqsa war-ranted an Islamic summit and the establishment of an international organisation, but today, its division and Judaisation elicits no reaction from the nations’ leaders. These leaders’ condemnation is not enough and Al-Aqsa will remain an important test and an unmistakable means to measure who supports the nation and its sanctities and who stands by helplessly.

All of the ZIonists’ attempt to Ju-daise Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem, the attempts to divide the first Muslim qiblah in terms of time and space, and all of the conspiracies and at-tacks will not change the historical and religious facts that Al-Aqsa has been and will eternally be a purely Islamic mosque and there will nev-er be at the Al-Aqsa Mosque was and will remain so forever mosque purely Islamic, and that there will be Zionist custody of it.The continued Zionist provocations and the challenging of our people’s feelings, as well as the feelings of all the Muslims around the world is enough to ignite an angry revolu-tion and unleash their wrath against the occupation and the settlers.Supporting the option of steadfast-ness and resistance is the only way and there is no alternative in order to defend Al-Aqsa against any im-minent danger. Activating the re-sistance in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and all of our occupied land will be the greatest response to the Zionist attack. The occupation and the settlers can only be deterred by resistance and Al-Aqsa can only be defended with the sacrifice of lives and blood, and relentless Jihad against the occupier.The delusion of negotiations has not achieved anything for our peo-ple. It has not restored even one metre of our occupied land and has not protected our people, land, Je-rusalem, or our holy sites.Our nation must support us and anyone who believes that what is happening in the Arab countries today is isolated from Palestine is mistaken. The international calcu-lation of any variable or develop-ment in our region is mainly based on the interests of Israel, and no one disputes the fact that its main project is to destroy our entire na-tion, not just the Palestinian cause. The entire nation, including all of its capabilities, components, and ef-forts are expected to play a major role because our bloodshed is one, our desired freedom is one, and our futures are integrated.Translated from Al Jazeera net, 4 November, 2014

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Interviews

Exclusive Interview with Khaled Meshaal, the Head of the Hamas Political Bureau

By: Ibrahim Hewitt – MEMO‹It is the occupation, not Hamas recognition of Israel, which is the core problem›It is rather unnerving to come face to face with a man regarded by many people in the West as the leader of a terrorist organisa-tion, and by possibly more peo-ple elsewhere in the world as the head of a legitimate resistance movement. It might, I suppose, have been the same for journal-ists meeting the late Nelson Man-dela when politicians in Britain and America, for example, called him a terrorist who «should be shot» (according to Teddy Taylor, a British MP, in the mid-80s) while to most others he was a freedom fighter to be admired and sup-ported.Is the switch from sinner to saint going to be the same for the head of the Hamas political bureau, Khaled Meshaal? Time will tell, but seeing that the Islamic Resis-tance Movement was described just last week in Britain›s unelect-ed second chamber by hereditary peer Viscount Slim as «one of the nastiest and most vicious terror-ist organisations in the world», it seems that there is a lot of ground to make up. Convincing people like John Slim that resis-tance against Israel›s occupation of Palestinian «by any means available» is not only a legal right for the people under occupation but also, according to Meshaal, a «duty», is likely to be an up-hill struggle. Struggle, though, is what Palestinians have been born into for almost 100 years.

I met with the Hamas leader in his office in Doha on, coin-cidentally, the 97th anniversary of the infamous and much mis-interpreted Bal-four Declaration. It was with this letter, which has no legal status, that the British government effec-tively signalled its intent to give Palestinian land to the Zionist movement for a «national home for the Jewish people». Meshaal is both modest and charming, and although he will no doubt be surprised to be compared with Mandela, he shares such char-acteristics with the great African freedom fighter. As with Man-dela, Meshaal›s charm masks a steely determination to achieve freedom for his people from an unjust oppressor. Criticism like that of Viscount Slim is par for the course and he shrugs it off. Nevertheless, he admitted in his book «The political thought of the Islamic Resistance Move-ment HAMAS» (MEMO Publish-ers, 2013) that there is a need to present the movement›s case «properly».Born in Silwad, Jerusalem, in May 1956, Khaled Meshaal has lived in exile since the 1967 war launched pre-emptively by the Is-raelis against Egypt. His homes have included Kuwait, Jordan, Syria and now Qatar. He joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1971, leaving to join its newly-formed

offshoot Hamas in 1987, and was listed as the 18th «most influen-tial» figure in the world by the New Statesman in 2010. He has more right than most not to trust the current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a seri-ous «partner for peace». In Sep-tember 1997, during Netanyahu›s first term in office, he ordered Israel›s Mossad security agency to assassinate Meshaal in the Jordanian capital Amman. The personal intervention of the late King Hussain forced the Israe-lis to supply the antidote for the poison with which Meshaal had been injected by Mossad agents.Politics, it seems, has been his life, so why did he choose to go down that route when, clearly, as a physics graduate there were other options available to him? «I didn›t choose this because of politics per se but simply be-cause politics is very much a part of the struggle for liberation and self-determination. The political struggle is an integral part of the whole struggle against the Israeli occupation; armed, political and diplomatic efforts are summed up by the legitimate framework of struggle ‹by all means available›

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in order to end the occupation.»The struggle against Israel›s occupation of Palestine since 1948, not just 1967, is central to Meshaal›s reason for being involved at such a senior level in the resistance movement. In-deed, it is, he says, «the core is-sue». Although the international community in the guise of the Middle East Quartet of the UN, US, EU and Russia, has said that Hamas recognition of Israel is a pre-condition for any degree of normalisation with the move-ment, Meshaal believes that the group is looking in the wrong place for the starting point to move towards peace. «The prob-lem arises not from Hamas refus-ing to recognise the usurper of Palestinian rights which occupies Palestinian land; it is the occupa-tion itself.»He believes that it is «unjust and unrealistic» to impose such a pre-condition. «This is the wrong way to solve the conflict,» insists Meshaal. «We are victims of the Israeli occupation and have the legitimate right to be free of that occupation. Is it fair, or even legal, to require the victims of the crime of ethnic cleansing, displacement and the occupation itself to recog-nise the rights of the occupier to carry out such crimes? That is the logical result of recognition of the state of Israel; it gives legitimacy to the crimes that it has carried out ever since it was founded.»Formal recognition is normally made between states and Hamas is a popular movement, not a state. Moreover, does Israel rec-ognise the right of Hamas to lead the Palestinian resistance to its military occupation? It most cer-tainly does not, and neither does Israel›s main supporter, the Unit-ed States and the other mem-bers of the Quartet. «The US and other main powers of the world have not helped the Palestinians to end the occupation at the core of the problem,» Meshaal points out. He has no doubt that this

makes the US an unsuitable in-terlocutor for the now discredited peace process. He is not alone in thinking that way; Washington›s status as an «honest broker» is tarnished beyond repair due to its unswerving support for Israel, right or wrong.Wasn›t, though, the offer of a long-term truce, a hudna, made by Hamas to the state of Israel de facto recognition of the existence of such a state? He is quick to tell me that the offer was not recog-nition of the right of that state to exist on someone else›s — the Palestinians› — land. Meshaal told former US President Jimmy Carter in 2008 that the offer of a 10-year hudna was on the table as long as Israel withdrew to the 1967 borders, and that this was «proof of recognition».He has said previously that Hamas favours a «gradual ap-proach» to resolving the con-flict that blights the region. So a long-term truce would be part of a series of moves? «The hudna was offered as a first step in the process but was rejected by Is-rael. This is a clear indication that the problem lies with Israel, not Hamas or the Palestinians.»The reasoning behind the hudna, proposed also by the founder of Hamas, Shaikh Ahmed Yassin, who suggested a 50-year truce, is that it will provide an oppor-tunity for people on both sides to live and work together before reaching «final status» deci-sions. It has been said that the hudna period would also allow for those with «serious baggage» to be less involved at the crucial stages. When Israel killed Shaikh Yassin as he left a mosque after morning prayers in March 2004, Britain›s then Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that although Israel is entitled to defend itself against terrorism, «it is not en-titled to go in for this kind of un-lawful killing and we condemn it. It is unacceptable, it is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve

its objectives.» The UN Secretary General of the time, Kofi Annan, also condemned the assassina-tion, as did a number of UN mem-ber states.«Nevertheless,» continues Me-shaal, «as a Palestinian faction, Hamas has a common agreement with the others that the initial aim is a sovereign, independent state within the 1967 borders, with Je-rusalem as its capital and the right of return for the refugees.» That is what the movement is working towards and there is nothing in these objectives that contradicts international laws and conven-tions; indeed, their achievement would fulfil the terms of numerous UN resolutions.Israel is adamant, however, that if Palestinian refugees and their descendants were allowed to go back to historic Palestine it would signal the end of the self-declared «Jewish state». This is no sur-prise to the Hamas leader, who is convinced that as a «civilisa-tional spearhead in the region», a colonial project no less, Israel has, in any case, a limited life-ex-pectancy. Is this, I wonder, what is meant when critics of Hamas claim that the movement wants to «wipe Israel off the map»?«We offered a truce which was rejected by Israel,» he responds defiantly. «All of the [Palestin-ian] factions agreed to establish a state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of the refugees. It was re-jected by Israel, and the world didn›t take this seriously, but we work with all factions. The fact that Israel has no future has been suggested by think-tanks, other countries (including, for example, Russia) and even Israeli thinkers. Why? Because it is a state built on the theft of someone else›s land, aggression, bloodshed, terrorism and violence.» Citing a poll which revealed that 59 per cent of Brit-ish citizens think that Israel is the biggest threat to world peace, he adds that this is reflected around

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the world.«Looking at the issue from the perspective of the global pow-ers,» he continues, «it is clear that they use Israel as a colonial tool to impose their hegemony on the Middle East, but things are changing. They can see now that this colonial tool is losing its val-ue to them. They are more aware that the entity is a moral and po-litical liability, especially after its wars against Gaza.At this point Meshaal uses the term «Holocaust». Did he really say that? He did, and means it. The Hamas leader sees a great irony in the fact that the West was keen to help the Jews of Eu-rope to escape from Hitler and the Nazis during and after World War Two, «but is now supplying the means for Israel to commit its own Holocaust against the Pales-tinians.»That is a serious charge which he makes with absolute conviction that what his people are facing is another genocide of massive proportions. Not, it must be said, through a direct replication of the industrialised murder of Europe-an Jews and others by the Ger-mans and their allies, but in the way that the tools of the modern military-industrial complex across the West are used on Palestinian civilians and then sold at arms fairs on the basis that the weap-ons and ammunition have been «field tested» on human beings and their homes. The fact that Palestinians appear to be entirely dispensable as part of this ob-scene process is evidence, it is believed, of the genocidal intent of the Israelis and their support-ers.For Meshaal, the «Israel-Pal-estine» issue is definitely much broader, not least because of the direct and indirect involvement of other countries behind Israel. I wonder if this include Arab states as he has said before that the threats from «Israel›s colonial ex-

pansionism... go way beyond the borders of historic Palestine» and that the conflict involves «the en-tire Arab and Islamic world». Al-though there has been an «Arab betrayal of the Palestinians», and «weak Arab diplomacy» certainly hasn›t helped, Meshaal is clear that Israel needs to be «chal-lenged by an Arab, Islamic and humanitarian response». Some Arab governments may be in the same camp as Israel, but the people have different ideas.Is there, I ask, still an «Arab na-tion» which can respond? Given that the Arab states have had de-cades to do something about the state of Israel but have gener-ally shied away from it, preferring good relations with the US over putting pressure on Israel, will they ever do anything positive for the Palestinians?«The Arab nation («Ummah») is a historical reality but it is weak and fragmented, Meshaal replies without hesitation. «The Western powers are aware of the geo-political importance and poten-tial of the Arab nation and so are keen to keep it weak and preoc-cupied with domestic problems, denying the people democracy and freedom. The Arab nation is suffering, so the Palestinians are suffering even more because the Arabs form the Palestinians› strategic back. It is a fact, though, that the Ummah will rise again, insha›Allah [God-willing], includ-ing the Palestinians.» He bases this belief on the experience of independence struggles in other countries.«Look around the world, all of the people who fought for freedom from occupation succeeded in their struggle. All forms of colo-nialism are doomed to fail and all of the nations who work hard for self-development have achieved their goal. This is a difficult pro-cess of change and it takes time and sacrifice no matter where it takes place.»

He is talking primarily about the Arab Ummah. Does this include the Muslim Ummah, the world-wide community of believers? «They overlap and interact.»Turning back to the political struggle for freedom, I ask if Hamas was surprised to win the 2006 Palestinian elections. «The movement›s participation in the elections [which surprised many people] was part of its vision to have a role in the democratic system. Hamas was aware of its support amongst the masses when the decision to participate was taken, so it was no great sur-prise to win, although we thought that we would be sharing govern-ment with other factions.»The election was described by observers, including some Brit-ish parliamentarians, as free and fair but the result was still rejected by Israel and its West-ern backers, including the US and UK. The subsequent politi-cal split caused in no small part by Western political and financial pressure on the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has seen the PA operat-ing under PLO/Fatah control in the occupied West Bank and the, more legitimate it must be said, Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. This is despite the fact that the Oslo Accords which founded the authority insist that the two occupied territories must be dealt with as one. Are fresh elections to try to overcome this damaging division likely in the near future as part of the much-vaunted rec-onciliation between Hamas and Fatah?«There are many aspects to the reconciliation process, of which just one is the planning for elec-tions,» says Meshaal. «The oth-ers include reform of the PLO, social reconciliation between families and partnership in de-cision-making.» If an election is held tomorrow, will Hamas win again? «Hamas can say that its

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popularity is at a high level af-ter the latest Israeli war against Gaza and the movement is ready to take part in free and fair elec-tions. It will accept the results as long as the process is free, fair and transparent.» Doubts have been cast on this likelihood given that the Abbas-led PA has been active in clamping-down on Hamas as a political force in the West Bank and the Israelis continue to detain elected mem-bers of the Palestinian Legislative Council, the nearest the Palestin-ians have to Members of Parlia-ment. A source within the Hamas leadership said recently that it is «difficult» to work in partnership «when your partners are plotting against you.»Doesn›t this indicate, I ask, that there are too many Palestinian groups in the «leadership» which merely serve to complicate mat-ters? Wouldn›t it be better to achieve an independent state under one umbrella, after which differences could either be rec-onciled or expressed through civil society and political activism? The Palestine Liberation Organ-isation, once despised by Israel and the West as a terrorist group but now recognised as the «sole legitimate representative» of the Palestinian people, is said to be ripe for reform. A major political and social player in Palestinian society like Hamas is not, for example, a member of the PLO. The movement wants to see the organisation reformed.«Hamas wants to see all of the Palestinian institutions — the PLO, PA and PLC, and the gov-ernment — established on a democratic basis,» explains Me-shaal. «The reconciliation agree-ment included the formation of a National Unity Government to be-gin the preparations for the elec-tions for president, the legislative council and the PLO, including its legislative body, the Palestine National Council (PNC). All of our institutions are important.» He

points out that the PA represents the system for governing issues in the West Bank and Gaza Strip whereas the PLO covers all Pal-estinians inside historic Palestine as well as those in the diaspora. «Some obstacles have been placed in the way of holding the elections by internal Palestinian sources; other obstacles have been placed in the way, especial-ly for the reform of the PLO, from international sources, with nega-tive foreign intervention blocking reconciliation and reform of the organisation. However, it is the right of the Palestinian people to reform the PLO and nobody can stop us.»In his 2013 publication, Meshaal referred to the «insular priorities» of the nation state, and said that the world appears to be moving to a preference for «quasi-federal blocs». Will the establishment of an independent state of Pales-tine be a prelude to the creation of a federal set-up with other na-tion states in the Middle East and beyond? Given that pro-Israel Lobby claims that Jordan «is the Palestinian state», this could be an interesting and potentially damaging scenario.«We are one nation in this region; the colonial powers divided us. The nation states we have today were created by the colonial pow-ers and we see no problem for them to have their own national priorities for the benefit of their own people, to have security and stability for their countries,» says Meshaal. I can sense a «but...» coming. «However, they should act as part of an Ummah, as one hand, for example, when one is attacked. The concept of the Um-mah should be in their minds for working together on economic and security issues.» The USA is a federal state but one nation, he notes; in Europe, with the EU, na-tion states work together for the common good. «This is the strat-egy that the Arab and Islamic na-tion/Ummah should commit to. At

the same time, we must be open to other nations for the sake of our common humanity. As such, when, not if, the occupation is ended and a sovereign Palestin-ian state is established it will be a nation state which will work for the good of its people but with the requirements of the wider Um-mah in mind.»Is the Palestinian state going to be established despite all of the obstacles; will it be free and inde-pendent? The head of the Hamas political bureau has no doubt: «Of course, insha›Allah!» He means it.Back in 2008, Jimmy Carter said that it was ridiculous for Hamas to be excluded from the peace talks. Similar sentiments were expressed by veteran British MP Sir Gerald Kaufman in parliament in January 2009; Kaufman›s speech made it clear that he is no fan of the movement, «but it was democratically elected and it is the only game in town». To this day, though, neither Israel nor its supporters will entertain the idea of even speaking to the Islamist group. According to Kaufman, «The boycotting of Hamas, in-cluding by our Government, has been a culpable error, from which dreadful consequences have fol-lowed.»Claims that Israel and the West have «shared values» which in-clude «respect for law and or-der» have been shown to be false, leading to increasing pres-sure from civil society and public opinion to change government policies. The Palestinians have waited for decades and have pa-tience in abundance, so until and unless such changes take place, the struggle for Palestinian free-dom will continue. Hamas and its leader Khaled Meshaal believe that victory will come because «colonialism remains an unac-ceptable anachronism in the 21st century.» Can anyone really dis-agree with that?

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