Gaza

Who has failed?



Just prior to 1948, the Palestinians realized that they were about to get rid of the British colonial hegemony that began in 1917, yet they woke up on the day the Britons left to another occupation, called Israel. Since that year, Palestinians began all over again to fight for their sovereignty over their ancestral lands; however, despite recent peace agreements with their occupiers, they have not so far attained that sovereignty. The international community, which clearly concedes the Palestinians’ legitimate right to fight the occupation on the path to freedom and statehood, has so far not been able to involve itself actively to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. 

Necessity is the Mother of Inventive Nonviolent Resistance



Long ago, Thomas Edison invented the electric light at a time when there was a need for light. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone at a time when there was a need for telecommunications. Now, the Palestinians in Gaza have invented a new weapon of nonviolent resistance at a time when they desperately need such a weapon to defend their homes from the ongoing Israeli airstrikes that destroy Palestinian homes on a nearly-daily basis. The new Palestinian weapon is very simple, all you need is to call on your neighbors, friends and beloved ones to gather around your home or on its balconies or on its rooftop… 

Israel's rain of missiles on Gaza and Tae'er's legs



The most tragic event can easily happen when two ambulances from two hospitals start collecting the remains of the flesh of people who were killed. The collection of body parts within the chaos and destruction is definitely not an easy task, especially when there are groups of people being killed and two ambulances take the share of delivering all the victims remains to two different hospitals. Within this horrendously difficult process, one ambulance will have body parts of a victim that will take to a hospital, and the other ambulance will take (not knowing) other parts of flesh… leg, or arm, owned by the very same victim to another hospital to the north. 

Gaza under large-scale attack



I am writing while the jet fighters are in the sky with their horrible sounds, bringing death and horror. It is 10:30 pm and I am still waiting, like everyone. I hope they will not go ahead with their operation into Gaza; the outcome could be horrible. The resistance movements are going ahead with their preparations too, but it is obvious which side holds the balance of power. Anyway, Israel - resistance or no resistance - is attacking us all the time, but this time will be different, and in the process many civilian lives will be lost. 

In the footsteps of his father



8 April 2006—Last Saturday, crowds estimated at tens of thousands marched in the funeral procession of Eyad Abulineen, a Palestinian resistance fighter of Rafah, his 7-year old son Belal and four other people, who were all killed by Israeli missiles on Friday. Prior to heading to the Rafah cemetery east of the city, the crowd said a last farewell to their martyrs in a local mosque. Chanting angry slogans, with resistance fighters firing into the air, the crowd marched toward the cemetery, where the martyrs were laid to rest. 

Romantic moments under artillery



The charming fragrance of lemon filled the area when my wife and I were on the roof enjoying the warm breeze last night in Jabalia Refugee Camp, north of Gaza. My wife, Suha, was happy with the scene of the moon in the middle of the partially cloudy sky and the aura of sanctity. Suha’s eyes were glittering and her beautiful smile was shining in the middle of darkness. We were chatting and exchanging jokes. The innocent laughs of my wife added a special taste to the romantic moment. Suddenly, the explosions literally rocked the ground of my apartment building. The Israeli artillery shot tens of rockets on “unoccupied areas!” 

Just another Gaza Friday



I’ve always loved Fridays in Gaza. In the mornings, save for the lone garbage collector futilely sweeping the abandoned streets and Municipality park, littered with plastic cups, watermelon seeds, and strangled straws from the night before, the hustle and bustle of the city comes to a standstill. It is a serene if lethargic time, an escape from the sea of chaos, uncertainty and violence that grips our lives each waking day and night. For a few hours, things seem ordinary in a place where ordinary is an illusion. 

Sleeping in Gaza under roaring Israeli jets



Israeli jetfighters, mainly F-16s, continue to air-strike many areas in the ‘recently-evacuated’ Gaza Strip, in which several Palestinians have been killed, dozens others wounded, severe damages inflicted to buildings and a great deal of panic caused to men, women and children. “Suddenly, at 2:30am, in the early hours of Saturday 24, 2005, I woke up suddenly from my sleep, finding my three little kids, Ghadir (9), Rewan (6) and Fadi (4) , crying fearfully in my room, calling “Dad, Dad”. 

Gaza family's nightmare comes to an end



He was a happy man, gracefully making his way amid the guests who filled his living room, distributing smiles as well as juice, while sharing jokes and social talk, with a smile that would not leave his face. “Nafez Abu Nahyeh was reborn today,” whispered one of the guests, while pointing at their host, who took the center of a rustic couch with his four children, tickling the youngest and caressing the hair of the eldest. For more than three years the Abu Nahyehs were prisoners in their own home, after Israeli soldiers had commandeered their house, which is situated right next to the Jewish settlement Kfar Darom. 

Gaza and the children who did not visit the sea for 5 years



At 3am on September 12th, the last Israeli soldier left Gaza and, at the same minute, crowds of Palestinian left their homes in the towns and villages of Gaza from north to south and vice versa, and towards the Israeli settlements. Curious, excited, and sensing the taste of freedom they have been denied for the last 38 years, the Gaza roads were jammed with cars, carts, and people. 

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