Friday, July 21, 2006

Pictures from Rafah Crossing





Direct from Fida, who recently was able to make it into Gaza, shortly before the border was re-sealed.

Also, a brief update from Lebanon: the phone lines have been on and off lately, but we were able to get in touch with Yassine's family in Baalbeck, who were being shelled as we spoke to them. Things are very grim there, and the gas stations-whic his family rely on for income (re-selling fuel to Palestinian refugees in the camp, since palestinians are not allowed to own bussinesses or work in major professions). Yassine's oldest sister and her family are stuck in in the South in Tyre, adn with majore the roads destroyed, they are unable to evacuate.

15 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

why aren't Palestinians allowed to own bussinesses or work in major professions?

12:17 AM  
Blogger Naj said...

Dear mother,
Thanks for the great blog, i was able to read your blog when i realized that it has been widely known and circulating among some of my friends and even organizations while i was in the US. Now i am in Gaza, and i am trying to start mine. You have definately inspired me..
Best,
from Gaza
Naj

12:52 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2006/07/18/a-visual-introduction-to-the-middle-east/

3:20 AM  
Blogger Christopher Brown said...

I suppose this is Israel's version of an international border? I'm glad Fida was able to get back in, but I am sorry for Yassine's family ant he unimaginable hell thye are going through. I will hold them in the light.

6:46 PM  
Blogger Amelopsis said...

The biased coverage of:
the incursion into Lebanon,
the collective punishment being inflicted upon civilians, and,
the pre-emptive destruction of all the major evacuation / humanitarian routes throughout the country is nothing short of supporting and abetting war crimes.
Thank you again for your personal contribution to a better understanding of the intimate and personal effects of these events, and may Yassine's family keep strong, safe, and well.

1:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I guess they shouldn't have supported Hezballah, should they? It will get much worse before it gets better. Smart people will stay as far from the cowardly Hezballah as possible. As we say in our bible, "you reap what you sow."

2:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Asalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I have read through you blog and I want you to know. My family is with you, our prayers are with you, and our hearts are with you...

Please stay strong through these troubling times. I will make dua'ah for you, inshaAllah.

wasalaam.

8:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What do you mean that Palestinians can't own their own businesses or work in major professions? Please back up that statement with some hard facts.

3:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Date: 24 / 07 / 2006 Time: 18:31


Children call for the world to notice them (Ma'an)
Ramallah- Ma'an – "We are not terrorists, we are the people of freedom", "Long live the children of Palestine and Lebanon".

These were the cries of children from Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank who gathered to protest in the courtyard of the Al Amari refugee camp youth club on Monday. The demonstration included children from Al Amari, Jalazone, Shuafat and Qalandia refugee camps in the Ramallah area of the occupied West Bank.

The children were demonstrating to show their solidarity with the children who have been harmed in Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territory by the Israeli military offensive.

This demonstration was organized in order to send a message of hope to the children of the world, including the children of Israel, and as an expression from the Palestinian children that they are committed to life. This comes after it was widely publicized that Israeli children wrote messages on the Israeli military rockets that were fired into Lebanon.

The manager of the youth club and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Jihad Tamliya, said, "This was the wish of our children to show their solidarity with the children in Lebanon and Gaza and with the civilians in both places who are killed everyday in front of the whole world".

Tamliya said that the children came to "reject the genocide on everything that moves". He added, "After the Palestinian children saw the Israeli children writing on the rockets, they wanted to show their condemnation of this through their drawings and songs".

The children waved Palestinian and Lebanese flags during the demonstration and shouted loud condemnations of the Israeli offensive on children and civilians in Lebanon and Gaza. On some of their posters, the children asked "Where are the Arab leaders?"

Qatr An Nada, a girl from Al Amari refugee camp, said "It's horrible that they kill innocent children without paying attention to the feelings of their mothers". She continued, "As a Palestinian child, I have the right to live as the Israeli children, and so I ask them to withdraw from Palestine and Lebanon and to live in peace."

Sabreen, another child taking part in the demonstration, said, "Every child has the right to live and we have the right to live in peace. We are not terrorists as the Israelis claim. We want to live in peace. We haven't drawn on the rockets as the Israeli children have done knowing that these rockets are going to cause death and destruction in Gaza and Lebanon".

A number of Palestinian public figures also took part in the demonstration in order to express their condemnation of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and Lebanon that has resulted in the death of large numbers of innocent civilians.

3:57 AM  
Blogger tassoula said...

we have 2 countries.one is the biggest war machine on the planet.other have people that blow up them selves because they have no other way to fight back.can u tell me why when a man-woman blow up is a terrorist attack and when the war machine hits every day is dutty to stand up for their country?
thank you

11:34 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I stand in solidarity with the people who are the innocent on this imperialist war of aggresion used by the US cheap labor to protect oil Israel! my prayers are with you and may Allah Protect you

11:57 PM  
Blogger SH said...

Although I'm on the "bad guys" side, I find your blog fascinating.

I have a question - and I mean no disrespect - do you really believe a return of all palestinian refugees to their original villages is realistic?

2:18 PM  
Blogger Moses said...

No one thought one person, one vote was realistic for apartheid-era South Africa for a time.

The Boers said: Look what the blacks did to the rest of the continent! We are surrounded by hostile enemies! We are but one real democracy, the only white state in Africa, with a special relationship to the US!

Yet most people now agree it was a great day when apartheid was thrown into the dustbin of history.

It is only Israel and the US standing alone against the rest of the world.

7:47 PM  
Blogger SH said...

Abu Shaar:

Thank you for your answer.

But the Boers were allowed to stay unharmed in the country, while the Palestinians openly declare their intention to "clean" Palestine from all Israelis after the return.

Is there no way in which both Palestinians and Jews can live together and equal on this land?

10:03 AM  
Blogger Wangberg said...

Salam!

I just wanted to say that I feel strong about the situation, and I'm deeply sorry about how low humans can go when it comes to hurting others. I pray, and if there's anything I can do, i will. I have my own blog, mostly for Norwegian readers, but I hope to make a difference.

http://srwangberg.blogspot.com

Please let me know if there's anything I can do.

Peace be with you!

Yours,
Mr. Wangberg

1:59 AM  

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