Tuesday, February 1, 2011
AYMAN QWAIDER: HEROISM IN PALESTINIAN CULTURE
Among the Arab world, the Palestinian people have become icons and heroes in a particular way. Listening to some Palestinian national songs generates intense reminiscence of Gaza and the ongoing Israeli’s government violence in that territory. It also paints a portrait of the Palestinian struggle and how this contributes to the culture of resistance.
The Palestinian people brought up in an unstable environment dominated by all manner of violence for decades. Regularly different areas in the Gaza Strip are exposed to Israeli invasion resulting in the killing of people and demolishing of homes. Palestinian people always show struggle and patience against invasions. After invasion, people keep speaking about the consequences of the invasion for a long time and how resistance and non-violent resistance highly highlight the violence of these military operations. Obviously, this has ensured that resistance has become a culture within the Palestinian society.
In the Islamic world, there are two special occasions “Eid” where people celebrate and enjoy. From the very early part of my life, I noticed that gun game is unfortunately the main and favorite game for little children even during these moments of celebrations. I still remember how little kids named this game “let’s play Yahood & Arab” that means “let’s play Arab against Jewish”. This abnormal environment has a crucial role to play in drawing attention to the culture of resistance inside the Palestinian community.
A Culture Sprung from Occupation and Resistance
Palestine was placed under the British control after the First World War by the League of the United Nations. The Balfour Declaration[1] (1917) proclaimed Palestine as a national home for Jewish settlers (Allain, 2004: 80-84). The British mandate facilitated the Jewish occupation and settlement in Palestine. As a result of repeated colonisations, Palestine has a long history of being occupied. Accordingly, this has often compelled Palestinians to revolt against these despotic occupations. Palestinians, since the occupation of their land in 1948, have never stopped resisting.
Resistance under the British Mandate
The Palestinian resistance did not start with the establishment of the State of Israel but dates back to the British mandate period, starting in 1917. The British mandate and the establishment of Israel are both strongly integrated in the Palestinian history where the British mandate is considered the root of the conflict in Palestine.
The 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine came up as an example of uprising in protest against the British mandate and their role in bringing more Jewish immigrants to Palestine. In 1936, a general strike marked the start of the great Palestinian revolt.
The 1936 Palestinian general strike and the armed revolt that followed were momentous events for the Palestinians, the Region, and the British Empire. The six-month general strike, which ran from April until October and involved work stoppages and boycotts of the British- and Zionist–controlled parts of the economy was the longest anti -colonial strike of its kind until that point in history, and perhaps the longest ever (Khalidi, 2006:106).
From Nakba (Catastrophe) to Naksa (Tragedy)
The history of Palestine became a long chain of losses, feelings of being outdone, dispossessed. From the partition plan (1947) to the numerous massacres and mass expulsions, Palestinians suffer to the chore the lack of a real Hero able to transcend an overwhelming situation. To survive the Creation of Israel’s State in 1948 to the “Tragedy” of 1967, survival in itself becomes heroic, and this explains too, the importance of the Hero, the love of heroic acts in Palestinian culture.
The First Intifada: Mass Mobilization
The first Intifada began in December 1987 when a military Israeli truck killed Palestinian workers awaiting permission to cross into Israel to work. It is important to realize that the intifada was a strong example of a mass mobilization uprising but not a politically-based discussion (Holt, 1996:28).
Due to the aggression of the Israeli military over the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Palestinians revolted against this subjugation. Evidently, it had become a crucial part of the Palestinian daily life as it mobilized all population, including women, children and the elderly to participate. The first Intifada took the form of civil resistance where all population was participating to protest against the Israeli occupation (Ben-Ami, 2006:188). It also took the form of boycotts of the occupation’s institutions and goods. Further, the Palestinian people at that time disobeyed the occupation and regularly organized general strikes around all villages. At the same time, there were the stone demonstrations where young people threw stones against the aggressive Israeli armed occupation troops (Beinin and Hajjar). In contrast, the Israeli army always responded with violence against unarmed vulnerable Palestinians. It was obvious that the Palestinian youths battled the Israeli tanks and soldiers with their bodies without any means of violence (Rosen, 2005:116). Palestinian youth considered that the days of fighting with the Israeli soldiers were regarded as the glorious days of the Palestinian resistance.
Manal who was thirteen years old when the Intifada broke out and she was shot at her chest at the age of fifteen. I miss those days a lot. They were the most beautiful days of my life. True, everyone was scared of the soldiers and their guns but we had dignity and it was our dignity that made us so defiant (Rosen, 2005:118).
It is interestingly attractive when I read a story that happened in refugee camp “Al Bureij Camp”, where I received my primary education, which shows how the Palestinian women importantly participated during the first Intifada. For example, a woman spoke of routine raids by the Israeli soldiers. “The soldiers come,” she says:
Enter some houses without knocking and take the men and the boys away. We try to be quicker than the army and as soon as we hear the warning whistles from the guarding shabab (young men) at the edge of the camp, we women go out into the roofs and give signs to the shabab in our area that they have to run away. We signal to them from which direction the soldiers are coming. This is one of the roles of women during the uprising (Augustine, 1993:124).
The culture of resistance in the first intifada happened to be relatively non-violent. Further, it was dominated by the population through their disobedience of the Israeli occupation regarding their everyday life affairs. It’s an interesting case of “mass-heroism”.
The Second Intifada
The second Intifada is remarkably considered to be a religious uprising. It erupted as a reaction to the accumulation of the daily Israel oppression and violence. The visit of Ariel Sharon[2] to the Dome of the Rock[3] ”Al Aqsa Mosque” in Jerusalem in late September 2000 was the start of the Intifada. Therefore, Palestinians give this Intifada the name of “Intifada AL Aqsa” so as to keep it linked with most religious places in Palestine. This visit was provocative for the Palestinian Muslim people as Sharon violated their holiest mosque. Israelis consequently fired upon the Palestinian worshipers and demonstrators sparking the second Intifada.
The resistance during the Intifada as it is characterized with the increase of Israeli violence toward Palestinians was more brutal than the first Intifada. According B’Tselem organization, in the first intifada around 100 Israelis were killed, about two-fifths of those security forces, and 1000 Palestinians were killed, the majority were civilians. The second Intifada was much more aggressive and bloody as around 5050 were killed, tens of thousands injured, and approximately 5113 houses were demolished (Palestinian Center for Human Rights: 2010).
It is believed that occupied people have to right to resist and International Law guarantees this right. In this respect, the Palestinian people have all possible right to resist either violently or non-violently. The violent resistance in Palestine always emerged as a reaction of the daily Israeli oppression on the Palestinians which is characterized by brutality.
Obviously, the second Intifada also took the form of non-violent resistance. This kind of resistance has powerfully sustained and empowered the second Intifada through exploring non-violence to control the Israeli power. For instance, there is a one weekly demonstration taking place in two of the Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank (Ba’leen and Ni’lin). In these demonstrations, there is a popular participation including Palestinians, Israeli peace activists and foreigners who struggle none violently. This includes the desire to halt Israeli’s illegal confiscation of land for its notorious separation wall which Palestinians refer to as “Apartheid wall”. This wall paralyzes the Palestinian daily life as it cuts them off from their villages and their neighbors (Dowty, 2005:172). The International Court of Justice describes the construction of the Separation Wall as illegal and gravely infringes on Palestinian rights. Additionally, the court considered the wall constitutes violation of the International Law (International Court of Justice, 2004).
Such non-violent conquests as demonstrated by the two intifadas produce different forms of heroism: At individual level and at the collective level. At the collective level, it is remarkable to observe that the Palestinian people, who in the face of comparative weakness and disadvantage, have demonstrated courage and the will power to fight non-violently for what legitimately belongs to them: their land. Such-non violent resistance also indicates the sacrifices of Palestinians which aims at producing a better good for its people. Such collective heroism is also demonstrated by the international awareness which the Palestinian people are able to create regarding the occupation of their land and their self determination.
At the individual level, Palestinians as a people have learnt to live non-violently. Suffice it to mention that as recently as February, 2010 one student, Ayman Qwaider, gallantly demonstrated heroism by exploring exhaustive non violent campaigns to achieve his right and noble objective of studying outside his country (McIntyre:2010).
Throughout the quick overview of the two Palestinian Intifadas, we would easily realize these Intifadas have created a real Palestinian heroism. Regarding the culture of resistance, the Palestinian heroism would be defined as the ability of Palestinians to dedicate their lives to struggling and resisting the occupation their land. Moving to discuss the hero in the Palestinian constitution would actually illustrate the Palestinian perspective about the occupation as both heroes have been influenced by the occupation.
[1]On 2 November 1917, British Foreign Secretary Author Balfour, in a letter to a leading British Zionist Lord Rothschild wrote: “His Majesty’s Government views with the favour the establishment in Palestine of a national Home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object. It is being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jewish any other country.
[2] Sharon is an Israeli general and politician, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He is currently in a permanent vegetative state after suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006.
[3]Al-Aqsa Mosque is the second oldest mosque in Islam after the Ka’ba inMecca, and is third in holiness and importance after the mosques in Meccaand Medina. It is great stature in Muslim and Palestinians’ heart.
I am Ayman Talal Quader. I’m a Palestinian born and raised in Gaza. I’m 23 years old. I have a bachelor degree in English Language and Education. I have worked in several different fields’ pre and post of my university studies for almost 4 years. I have worked as volunteer in civil societies where I practiced tasks to help people and educate children. i always try to bring the suffering of Palestinian to the whole world.I Do Love Gaza and its people, its land, its the breezes. i believe that justice and freedom should prevail one day.
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2011/01/ayman-qwaider-heroism-in-palestinian-culture/
Subscribe to Falestin Under Occupation by Email
The Palestinian people brought up in an unstable environment dominated by all manner of violence for decades. Regularly different areas in the Gaza Strip are exposed to Israeli invasion resulting in the killing of people and demolishing of homes. Palestinian people always show struggle and patience against invasions. After invasion, people keep speaking about the consequences of the invasion for a long time and how resistance and non-violent resistance highly highlight the violence of these military operations. Obviously, this has ensured that resistance has become a culture within the Palestinian society.
In the Islamic world, there are two special occasions “Eid” where people celebrate and enjoy. From the very early part of my life, I noticed that gun game is unfortunately the main and favorite game for little children even during these moments of celebrations. I still remember how little kids named this game “let’s play Yahood & Arab” that means “let’s play Arab against Jewish”. This abnormal environment has a crucial role to play in drawing attention to the culture of resistance inside the Palestinian community.
A Culture Sprung from Occupation and Resistance
Palestine was placed under the British control after the First World War by the League of the United Nations. The Balfour Declaration[1] (1917) proclaimed Palestine as a national home for Jewish settlers (Allain, 2004: 80-84). The British mandate facilitated the Jewish occupation and settlement in Palestine. As a result of repeated colonisations, Palestine has a long history of being occupied. Accordingly, this has often compelled Palestinians to revolt against these despotic occupations. Palestinians, since the occupation of their land in 1948, have never stopped resisting.
Resistance under the British Mandate
The Palestinian resistance did not start with the establishment of the State of Israel but dates back to the British mandate period, starting in 1917. The British mandate and the establishment of Israel are both strongly integrated in the Palestinian history where the British mandate is considered the root of the conflict in Palestine.
The 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine came up as an example of uprising in protest against the British mandate and their role in bringing more Jewish immigrants to Palestine. In 1936, a general strike marked the start of the great Palestinian revolt.
The 1936 Palestinian general strike and the armed revolt that followed were momentous events for the Palestinians, the Region, and the British Empire. The six-month general strike, which ran from April until October and involved work stoppages and boycotts of the British- and Zionist–controlled parts of the economy was the longest anti -colonial strike of its kind until that point in history, and perhaps the longest ever (Khalidi, 2006:106).
From Nakba (Catastrophe) to Naksa (Tragedy)
The history of Palestine became a long chain of losses, feelings of being outdone, dispossessed. From the partition plan (1947) to the numerous massacres and mass expulsions, Palestinians suffer to the chore the lack of a real Hero able to transcend an overwhelming situation. To survive the Creation of Israel’s State in 1948 to the “Tragedy” of 1967, survival in itself becomes heroic, and this explains too, the importance of the Hero, the love of heroic acts in Palestinian culture.
The First Intifada: Mass Mobilization
The first Intifada began in December 1987 when a military Israeli truck killed Palestinian workers awaiting permission to cross into Israel to work. It is important to realize that the intifada was a strong example of a mass mobilization uprising but not a politically-based discussion (Holt, 1996:28).
Due to the aggression of the Israeli military over the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Palestinians revolted against this subjugation. Evidently, it had become a crucial part of the Palestinian daily life as it mobilized all population, including women, children and the elderly to participate. The first Intifada took the form of civil resistance where all population was participating to protest against the Israeli occupation (Ben-Ami, 2006:188). It also took the form of boycotts of the occupation’s institutions and goods. Further, the Palestinian people at that time disobeyed the occupation and regularly organized general strikes around all villages. At the same time, there were the stone demonstrations where young people threw stones against the aggressive Israeli armed occupation troops (Beinin and Hajjar). In contrast, the Israeli army always responded with violence against unarmed vulnerable Palestinians. It was obvious that the Palestinian youths battled the Israeli tanks and soldiers with their bodies without any means of violence (Rosen, 2005:116). Palestinian youth considered that the days of fighting with the Israeli soldiers were regarded as the glorious days of the Palestinian resistance.
Manal who was thirteen years old when the Intifada broke out and she was shot at her chest at the age of fifteen. I miss those days a lot. They were the most beautiful days of my life. True, everyone was scared of the soldiers and their guns but we had dignity and it was our dignity that made us so defiant (Rosen, 2005:118).
It is interestingly attractive when I read a story that happened in refugee camp “Al Bureij Camp”, where I received my primary education, which shows how the Palestinian women importantly participated during the first Intifada. For example, a woman spoke of routine raids by the Israeli soldiers. “The soldiers come,” she says:
Enter some houses without knocking and take the men and the boys away. We try to be quicker than the army and as soon as we hear the warning whistles from the guarding shabab (young men) at the edge of the camp, we women go out into the roofs and give signs to the shabab in our area that they have to run away. We signal to them from which direction the soldiers are coming. This is one of the roles of women during the uprising (Augustine, 1993:124).
The culture of resistance in the first intifada happened to be relatively non-violent. Further, it was dominated by the population through their disobedience of the Israeli occupation regarding their everyday life affairs. It’s an interesting case of “mass-heroism”.
The Second Intifada
The second Intifada is remarkably considered to be a religious uprising. It erupted as a reaction to the accumulation of the daily Israel oppression and violence. The visit of Ariel Sharon[2] to the Dome of the Rock[3] ”Al Aqsa Mosque” in Jerusalem in late September 2000 was the start of the Intifada. Therefore, Palestinians give this Intifada the name of “Intifada AL Aqsa” so as to keep it linked with most religious places in Palestine. This visit was provocative for the Palestinian Muslim people as Sharon violated their holiest mosque. Israelis consequently fired upon the Palestinian worshipers and demonstrators sparking the second Intifada.
The resistance during the Intifada as it is characterized with the increase of Israeli violence toward Palestinians was more brutal than the first Intifada. According B’Tselem organization, in the first intifada around 100 Israelis were killed, about two-fifths of those security forces, and 1000 Palestinians were killed, the majority were civilians. The second Intifada was much more aggressive and bloody as around 5050 were killed, tens of thousands injured, and approximately 5113 houses were demolished (Palestinian Center for Human Rights: 2010).
It is believed that occupied people have to right to resist and International Law guarantees this right. In this respect, the Palestinian people have all possible right to resist either violently or non-violently. The violent resistance in Palestine always emerged as a reaction of the daily Israeli oppression on the Palestinians which is characterized by brutality.
Obviously, the second Intifada also took the form of non-violent resistance. This kind of resistance has powerfully sustained and empowered the second Intifada through exploring non-violence to control the Israeli power. For instance, there is a one weekly demonstration taking place in two of the Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank (Ba’leen and Ni’lin). In these demonstrations, there is a popular participation including Palestinians, Israeli peace activists and foreigners who struggle none violently. This includes the desire to halt Israeli’s illegal confiscation of land for its notorious separation wall which Palestinians refer to as “Apartheid wall”. This wall paralyzes the Palestinian daily life as it cuts them off from their villages and their neighbors (Dowty, 2005:172). The International Court of Justice describes the construction of the Separation Wall as illegal and gravely infringes on Palestinian rights. Additionally, the court considered the wall constitutes violation of the International Law (International Court of Justice, 2004).
Such non-violent conquests as demonstrated by the two intifadas produce different forms of heroism: At individual level and at the collective level. At the collective level, it is remarkable to observe that the Palestinian people, who in the face of comparative weakness and disadvantage, have demonstrated courage and the will power to fight non-violently for what legitimately belongs to them: their land. Such-non violent resistance also indicates the sacrifices of Palestinians which aims at producing a better good for its people. Such collective heroism is also demonstrated by the international awareness which the Palestinian people are able to create regarding the occupation of their land and their self determination.
At the individual level, Palestinians as a people have learnt to live non-violently. Suffice it to mention that as recently as February, 2010 one student, Ayman Qwaider, gallantly demonstrated heroism by exploring exhaustive non violent campaigns to achieve his right and noble objective of studying outside his country (McIntyre:2010).
Throughout the quick overview of the two Palestinian Intifadas, we would easily realize these Intifadas have created a real Palestinian heroism. Regarding the culture of resistance, the Palestinian heroism would be defined as the ability of Palestinians to dedicate their lives to struggling and resisting the occupation their land. Moving to discuss the hero in the Palestinian constitution would actually illustrate the Palestinian perspective about the occupation as both heroes have been influenced by the occupation.
[1]On 2 November 1917, British Foreign Secretary Author Balfour, in a letter to a leading British Zionist Lord Rothschild wrote: “His Majesty’s Government views with the favour the establishment in Palestine of a national Home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object. It is being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jewish any other country.
[2] Sharon is an Israeli general and politician, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He is currently in a permanent vegetative state after suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006.
[3]Al-Aqsa Mosque is the second oldest mosque in Islam after the Ka’ba inMecca, and is third in holiness and importance after the mosques in Meccaand Medina. It is great stature in Muslim and Palestinians’ heart.
I am Ayman Talal Quader. I’m a Palestinian born and raised in Gaza. I’m 23 years old. I have a bachelor degree in English Language and Education. I have worked in several different fields’ pre and post of my university studies for almost 4 years. I have worked as volunteer in civil societies where I practiced tasks to help people and educate children. i always try to bring the suffering of Palestinian to the whole world.I Do Love Gaza and its people, its land, its the breezes. i believe that justice and freedom should prevail one day.
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2011/01/ayman-qwaider-heroism-in-palestinian-culture/
Subscribe to Falestin Under Occupation by Email
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
European Union ready to recognize Palestine
Europe, December 14, (Pal Telegraph-Agencies) – The European Union says it is prepared to recognize a Palestinian state in the wake of a groundswell of international support for the Palestinians.
In a statement issued on Monday, the EU Foreign Affairs Council said it "reiterates its readiness, when appropriate, to recognize a Palestinian state,".
The EU also said such a state had to be “contiguous and viable.”
Brazil and Argentina recently recognized Palestine, and Uruguay and France have pledged that they will follow suit.
However, Israel continues to construct and expand illegal Jewish settler units on the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East of Jerusalem. Tel Aviv occupied the territories in 1967.
Israel refused to extend a partial freeze on settlement activities in late September, thus stalling the direct talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA) that had resumed earlier that month.
The Palestinians say that the settlement construction activities are being carried out to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
The EU foreign ministers, who were meeting in Brussels, "noted with regret" Tel Aviv's failure to prolong the moratorium.
The settlements “are illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace," the EU ministers said in a statement.
Source-http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7720:EU-ready-to-recognize-Palestine&catid=81:world-news&Itemid=128
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In a statement issued on Monday, the EU Foreign Affairs Council said it "reiterates its readiness, when appropriate, to recognize a Palestinian state,".
The EU also said such a state had to be “contiguous and viable.”
Brazil and Argentina recently recognized Palestine, and Uruguay and France have pledged that they will follow suit.
However, Israel continues to construct and expand illegal Jewish settler units on the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East of Jerusalem. Tel Aviv occupied the territories in 1967.
Israel refused to extend a partial freeze on settlement activities in late September, thus stalling the direct talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA) that had resumed earlier that month.
The Palestinians say that the settlement construction activities are being carried out to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
The EU foreign ministers, who were meeting in Brussels, "noted with regret" Tel Aviv's failure to prolong the moratorium.
The settlements “are illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace," the EU ministers said in a statement.
Source-http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7720:EU-ready-to-recognize-Palestine&catid=81:world-news&Itemid=128
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Monday, December 13, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Last kaffiyeh factory struggles to stay afloat in Palestinian territories
The kaffiyeh became a symbol of resistance because of its most famous exponent, Yasser Arafat. Its popularity as a fashion item came later. Photograph: AFP
In a rundown office to the side of a gloomy and deserted breeze-block factory, 76-year-old Yasser Hirbawi is hunched on a low couch turning his life's work over and over between his fingers.
In his lap – and on his head – are specimens of what has become the internationally recognised symbol of the Palestinian national struggle, the kaffiyeh, the chequered headscarf worn by politicians and militants alike and adopted not just by their supporters but by fashionistas across the globe.
But the kaffiyeh's ubiquity is of small comfort to Hirbawi, his two sons and the sole employee left in the last factory making the headscarves in the Palestinian territories. After almost 50 years, the family business is struggling to keep afloat amid a flood of cheap Chinese imports.
"The Chinese kaffiyehs are like a cigarette paper," says Jouda Hirbawi, 44. "They are cheaper, but the quality is lower."
According to the Hirbawis, the Chinese manufacturers use polyester and poor-quality cotton in their kaffiyehs. In contrast, a Hirbawi kaffiyeh is laboriously produced with high-quality material and – just as importantly – a sense of history.
But the Chinese products sell at less than two-thirds the price of the Palestinian scarves. "We sell a dozen for 100 shekels (£17). The Chinese sell a dozen for 60 shekels (£10)," says Jouda. "The people who are importing this garbage from China are killing the local product."
Hirbawi Textiles once employed 15 men in the factory, plus perhaps another 25 women finishing the scarves in their homes, between them supporting about 300 people and producing hundreds of kaffiyehs daily. "We were working 17 or 18 hours a day, supplying the local market. It's very intensive and tedious work."
Now one loyal employee is left working alongside the Hirbawi brothers. All but one of the looms was idle today, its clacking echoing around the factory floor. A low-wattage fluorescent strip casts a pool of light over the machine in the factory gloom.
The change in fortunes followed the signing of the Oslo accords in the early 1990s, after which the newly formed Palestinian Authority opened up its market to imports. In 1995, Hirbawi Textiles closed down. "There was no demand," says Jouda. "We shut for five years. Then we said, 'This is the only thing we know how to do', so we decided to try again."
The family is bitter at the PA's refusal to protect Palestinian businesses and what it describes as a "national product".
"There should be high taxes imposed on outside products," says Yasser Hirbawi. "They should not be helping outside products against local products. A falafel stand makes more money than this factory."
He is dismissive of the Palestinian businessmen importing Chinese kaffiyehs. "They are merchants, they just want to make a profit."
The factory's main source of income now is from foreign visitors, without whom "we would have closed a long time ago," says Jouda. "A lot of foreigners wear kaffiyehs to show their support for the Palestinians."
In the factory office, a small boy is rearranging bagged kaffiyehs on banks of shelves awaiting the next group of foreigners to descend with shekels to spend. On the wall is a poster of Palestinian icon Yasser Arafat, sporting, as always, a kaffiyeh. Is it one from the factory? "Yes," says Yasser Hirbawi. "Maybe," says his son more realistically.
As they show their visitors out, they shut down the one working loom and switch off the overhead light. It's lunchtime and perhaps production is over for the day.
Jouda Hirbawi insists the family will not give up its struggle to keep the factory going. "We will continue. This is the fruit of 50 years of continuous work – it's more than a business. We are trying to be competitive but we want to manufacture a high-quality kaffiyeh."
The family finds it hard to believe that the item they have been producing for almost half a century is in such global demand yet their business is on its knees.
"All over the world the kaffiyeh has become a symbol of resistance – even on protests that have nothing to do with the Palestinian people, you see people wearing them," says Jouda.
His father, weary and bitter, adds: "Everyone all over the world is benefiting from this symbol – except us."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/02/last-kaffiyeh-factory-palestinian-territories
Subscribe to Falestin Under Occupation by Email
In a rundown office to the side of a gloomy and deserted breeze-block factory, 76-year-old Yasser Hirbawi is hunched on a low couch turning his life's work over and over between his fingers.
In his lap – and on his head – are specimens of what has become the internationally recognised symbol of the Palestinian national struggle, the kaffiyeh, the chequered headscarf worn by politicians and militants alike and adopted not just by their supporters but by fashionistas across the globe.
But the kaffiyeh's ubiquity is of small comfort to Hirbawi, his two sons and the sole employee left in the last factory making the headscarves in the Palestinian territories. After almost 50 years, the family business is struggling to keep afloat amid a flood of cheap Chinese imports.
"The Chinese kaffiyehs are like a cigarette paper," says Jouda Hirbawi, 44. "They are cheaper, but the quality is lower."
According to the Hirbawis, the Chinese manufacturers use polyester and poor-quality cotton in their kaffiyehs. In contrast, a Hirbawi kaffiyeh is laboriously produced with high-quality material and – just as importantly – a sense of history.
But the Chinese products sell at less than two-thirds the price of the Palestinian scarves. "We sell a dozen for 100 shekels (£17). The Chinese sell a dozen for 60 shekels (£10)," says Jouda. "The people who are importing this garbage from China are killing the local product."
Hirbawi Textiles once employed 15 men in the factory, plus perhaps another 25 women finishing the scarves in their homes, between them supporting about 300 people and producing hundreds of kaffiyehs daily. "We were working 17 or 18 hours a day, supplying the local market. It's very intensive and tedious work."
Now one loyal employee is left working alongside the Hirbawi brothers. All but one of the looms was idle today, its clacking echoing around the factory floor. A low-wattage fluorescent strip casts a pool of light over the machine in the factory gloom.
The change in fortunes followed the signing of the Oslo accords in the early 1990s, after which the newly formed Palestinian Authority opened up its market to imports. In 1995, Hirbawi Textiles closed down. "There was no demand," says Jouda. "We shut for five years. Then we said, 'This is the only thing we know how to do', so we decided to try again."
The family is bitter at the PA's refusal to protect Palestinian businesses and what it describes as a "national product".
"There should be high taxes imposed on outside products," says Yasser Hirbawi. "They should not be helping outside products against local products. A falafel stand makes more money than this factory."
He is dismissive of the Palestinian businessmen importing Chinese kaffiyehs. "They are merchants, they just want to make a profit."
The factory's main source of income now is from foreign visitors, without whom "we would have closed a long time ago," says Jouda. "A lot of foreigners wear kaffiyehs to show their support for the Palestinians."
In the factory office, a small boy is rearranging bagged kaffiyehs on banks of shelves awaiting the next group of foreigners to descend with shekels to spend. On the wall is a poster of Palestinian icon Yasser Arafat, sporting, as always, a kaffiyeh. Is it one from the factory? "Yes," says Yasser Hirbawi. "Maybe," says his son more realistically.
As they show their visitors out, they shut down the one working loom and switch off the overhead light. It's lunchtime and perhaps production is over for the day.
Jouda Hirbawi insists the family will not give up its struggle to keep the factory going. "We will continue. This is the fruit of 50 years of continuous work – it's more than a business. We are trying to be competitive but we want to manufacture a high-quality kaffiyeh."
The family finds it hard to believe that the item they have been producing for almost half a century is in such global demand yet their business is on its knees.
"All over the world the kaffiyeh has become a symbol of resistance – even on protests that have nothing to do with the Palestinian people, you see people wearing them," says Jouda.
His father, weary and bitter, adds: "Everyone all over the world is benefiting from this symbol – except us."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/02/last-kaffiyeh-factory-palestinian-territories
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Thursday, July 29, 2010
Palestinian prisoners protest inhumane Israeli punishment
Palestinian prisoners protest inhumane Israeli punishmentThe Ministry of Prisoner Affairs for the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has warned of an 'explosion' of the situation within Israeli prisons, given the systemic conduct of collective punishment of detainees exercised in most Israeli jails.
In a press release issued on Monday (26.07.2010), the ministry stated that the management of Israel's Prison Service continues to enforce repressive policies against Palestinian detainees who have in turn responded by escalating their active objection.
The ministry's lawyers explained that all detainees of the Ramon prison have recently begun a partial hunger strike in protest at the sudden campaign of carrying out night searches. 11 detainees of the Eshel prison have also taken the same step in objection to the collective punishment they are all subjected to; they are banned from receiving visitors for 6 months - a measure that was taken after the prison management found a cell phone on one of the detainees.
A detainee of the Israeli Shata prison has said that special army units carry out inspection campaigns that usually last for four consecutive hours, during which time prisoners' personal effects are tampered with and some items are even confiscated - searches are carried out on the pretext of searching for cell phones.
In the Gilbo'a prison five detainees have been prevented from receiving visitors while electric fans have been confiscated and all inmates have been stopped from taking part in any sports for two months without reason.
The Ministry also mentioned that detainees in Ofer prison said that the prison's management has installed distraction devices which make noises that continuously irritate prisoners and cause mental and physical disorders. According to the ministry, Ofer's prisoners have demanded that Israeli authorities be pressured into removing these devices which are spread all over the prison.
Palestinian prisoners protest inhumane Israeli punishment
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In a press release issued on Monday (26.07.2010), the ministry stated that the management of Israel's Prison Service continues to enforce repressive policies against Palestinian detainees who have in turn responded by escalating their active objection.
The ministry's lawyers explained that all detainees of the Ramon prison have recently begun a partial hunger strike in protest at the sudden campaign of carrying out night searches. 11 detainees of the Eshel prison have also taken the same step in objection to the collective punishment they are all subjected to; they are banned from receiving visitors for 6 months - a measure that was taken after the prison management found a cell phone on one of the detainees.
A detainee of the Israeli Shata prison has said that special army units carry out inspection campaigns that usually last for four consecutive hours, during which time prisoners' personal effects are tampered with and some items are even confiscated - searches are carried out on the pretext of searching for cell phones.
In the Gilbo'a prison five detainees have been prevented from receiving visitors while electric fans have been confiscated and all inmates have been stopped from taking part in any sports for two months without reason.
The Ministry also mentioned that detainees in Ofer prison said that the prison's management has installed distraction devices which make noises that continuously irritate prisoners and cause mental and physical disorders. According to the ministry, Ofer's prisoners have demanded that Israeli authorities be pressured into removing these devices which are spread all over the prison.
Palestinian prisoners protest inhumane Israeli punishment
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010
West Bank Bedouins worse off than Gazans
AL HADIDIYA, WEST BANK, 28 July 2010 (IRIN) - The road to al-Hadidiya village in the northeastern West Bank district of Tubas is dotted with boulders etched with a warning in Hebrew, Arabic and English: "Danger - Open Fire Area".
The boulders arrived about six months ago, and are positioned at the entrance to Palestinian villages, indicating that chunks of the Jordan Valley have become a closed military zone claimed by the Israeli army. They signal a further squeeze on the Bedouin communities here.
Shepherd Abdul Rahim Bsharat, 59, and his family have lived and farmed in al-Hadidiya since the 1960s. At that time, he said, there were 400-500 families there. Now, there are 17, who stay on despite having no access to water or electricity. Every building in the village has an Israeli demolition order on it.
On 21 June, the Israeli military gave Bsharat notice that his house and animal shelters could be destroyed at any time. When Bsharat’s house was previously demolished in 2002, his water tank was confiscated too. "If they destroy my property again, I’ll come back and rebuild it again. This is my land," he told IRIN.
Bsharat’s home is a canopy of sewn-together sacks propped up over bare ground. It can easily be rebuilt. His other problems are more difficult to solve.
Photo: Phoebe Greenwood/IRIN
Bsharat in front of his home, which has an Israeli demolition order against it
Al-Hadidiya is in a part of the West Bank under complete Israeli control, known as Area C. The estimated 40,000 Palestinians living there are unable to build or repair their homes, schools, hospitals or sewage systems under Israel’s strict permit system, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In a region where almost all families are herders, Israel’s restrictions on Palestinian access to and development of agricultural land mean thousands are going hungry, aid agencies say.
A report published recently by Save the Children UK entitled Life on the Edge, warns that many parts of Area C have plummeted into a humanitarian crisis more acute than in Gaza.
Israeli townships
Al-Hadidiya is surrounded by three expanding Israeli townships, Ro’i, Beka’ot and Hemdat. Its land is directly adjacent to Ro’i and the community collects any over-flow from the water pumps irrigating the settlers’ crops in rusting tins.
Despite a lengthy petition from Bsharat, Israeli authorities have not permitted al-Hadidiya to be connected to the main water network. There is no health centre and no permit to build one. The nearest hospital is several hours away in Jericho.
Israeli roadblocks and checkpoints mean that reaching a doctor can take hours. In 2002, Bsharat’s then two-and-a-half-year-old son was hospitalized for 16 days when a common cold turned into pneumonia. In the same year, his eight-year-old son was badly injured falling off a tractor. It was six hours before a car could get through to al-Hadidiya to get him to hospital. He died from blood loss.
Israel has suffered deadly suicide bombings launched from the West Bank in the past and says strict rules on Palestinian movement enforced through checkpoints and roadblocks are necessary for its security.
According to the Israeli military, homes in al-Hadidiya and much of the Jordan Valley are being demolished because they have either been built illegally, without an Israeli building permit, or are located in "closed military areas". Around 18 percent of the West Bank is now a closed military zone.
Stunting
Photo: Phoebe Greenwood/IRIN
Bedouin children wander away from their home in al-Hadidiya village, which is now within a closed military zone claimed by the Israeli army
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) found that in Bedouin communities like al-Hadidiya, rates of stunting are more than double those in Gaza. Almost half the children have diarrhoea, one of the biggest killers of children under five in the world, and three quarters of families do not have enough nutritious food.
Save the Children works with local NGO Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) to help families in al-Hadidiya repair damaged buildings and farmland, when possible. But the strict restrictions on building and access mean that the Palestinian Authority and aid agencies are limited in the help they can offer families anywhere in Area C.
"In recent weeks the international community has rightly focused on the suffering of families in Gaza but the plight of children in Area C must not be overlooked. Many families, particularly in Bedouin and herder communities, suffer significantly higher levels of malnutrition and poverty," Salam Kanaan, Save the Children UK’s country director, said. Source -
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The boulders arrived about six months ago, and are positioned at the entrance to Palestinian villages, indicating that chunks of the Jordan Valley have become a closed military zone claimed by the Israeli army. They signal a further squeeze on the Bedouin communities here.
Shepherd Abdul Rahim Bsharat, 59, and his family have lived and farmed in al-Hadidiya since the 1960s. At that time, he said, there were 400-500 families there. Now, there are 17, who stay on despite having no access to water or electricity. Every building in the village has an Israeli demolition order on it.
On 21 June, the Israeli military gave Bsharat notice that his house and animal shelters could be destroyed at any time. When Bsharat’s house was previously demolished in 2002, his water tank was confiscated too. "If they destroy my property again, I’ll come back and rebuild it again. This is my land," he told IRIN.
Bsharat’s home is a canopy of sewn-together sacks propped up over bare ground. It can easily be rebuilt. His other problems are more difficult to solve.
Photo: Phoebe Greenwood/IRIN
Bsharat in front of his home, which has an Israeli demolition order against it
Al-Hadidiya is in a part of the West Bank under complete Israeli control, known as Area C. The estimated 40,000 Palestinians living there are unable to build or repair their homes, schools, hospitals or sewage systems under Israel’s strict permit system, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In a region where almost all families are herders, Israel’s restrictions on Palestinian access to and development of agricultural land mean thousands are going hungry, aid agencies say.
A report published recently by Save the Children UK entitled Life on the Edge, warns that many parts of Area C have plummeted into a humanitarian crisis more acute than in Gaza.
Israeli townships
Al-Hadidiya is surrounded by three expanding Israeli townships, Ro’i, Beka’ot and Hemdat. Its land is directly adjacent to Ro’i and the community collects any over-flow from the water pumps irrigating the settlers’ crops in rusting tins.
Despite a lengthy petition from Bsharat, Israeli authorities have not permitted al-Hadidiya to be connected to the main water network. There is no health centre and no permit to build one. The nearest hospital is several hours away in Jericho.
Israeli roadblocks and checkpoints mean that reaching a doctor can take hours. In 2002, Bsharat’s then two-and-a-half-year-old son was hospitalized for 16 days when a common cold turned into pneumonia. In the same year, his eight-year-old son was badly injured falling off a tractor. It was six hours before a car could get through to al-Hadidiya to get him to hospital. He died from blood loss.
Israel has suffered deadly suicide bombings launched from the West Bank in the past and says strict rules on Palestinian movement enforced through checkpoints and roadblocks are necessary for its security.
According to the Israeli military, homes in al-Hadidiya and much of the Jordan Valley are being demolished because they have either been built illegally, without an Israeli building permit, or are located in "closed military areas". Around 18 percent of the West Bank is now a closed military zone.
Stunting
Photo: Phoebe Greenwood/IRIN
Bedouin children wander away from their home in al-Hadidiya village, which is now within a closed military zone claimed by the Israeli army
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) found that in Bedouin communities like al-Hadidiya, rates of stunting are more than double those in Gaza. Almost half the children have diarrhoea, one of the biggest killers of children under five in the world, and three quarters of families do not have enough nutritious food.
Save the Children works with local NGO Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) to help families in al-Hadidiya repair damaged buildings and farmland, when possible. But the strict restrictions on building and access mean that the Palestinian Authority and aid agencies are limited in the help they can offer families anywhere in Area C.
"In recent weeks the international community has rightly focused on the suffering of families in Gaza but the plight of children in Area C must not be overlooked. Many families, particularly in Bedouin and herder communities, suffer significantly higher levels of malnutrition and poverty," Salam Kanaan, Save the Children UK’s country director, said. Source -
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Sunday, June 6, 2010
Shaikh Raed Salah
* Raed Salah was born in 1958 in the Palestinian town of Umm al-Fahm, in the territories occupied by the nascent state of Israel in 1948. Being one of the "1948 Palestinians" (i.e. those governed by the Israeli occupation since 1948), he holds an Israeli passport, which enables him to move relatively easily across the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem. He also visits several European countries to attend gatherings of the Palestinian diaspora and conferences for solidarity with the Palestinian people and occupied Jerusalem.
* Shaikh Raed enjoys unprecedented popularity among Palestinians, especially because despite facing numerous threats from Israeli officialdom he remains one of the most daring Palestinian figures in his fight against the occupation. This struggle led to him being imprisoned more than once. Aside from his charismatic personality, he is known for his close relationship with ordinary Palestinian people, having a very modest lifestyle, high moral standards, a quiet character and a kind smile always on his face.
* He began his political and public career in 1989 through his candidacy for mayor of Umm al-Fahm and earning a tremendous victory with more than 70% of the votes cast. He won the municipal elections twice in 1993 and 1997 before, in 2001, he gave up his post voluntarily to defend the Palestinian cause and stand up for the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants in the face of growing Israeli threats.
* As a leader of the “Islamic Movement in Palestine '48", the most popular political force in that area, Shaikh Raed Salah rejected the opportunity to stand for election to the Israeli parliament (Knesset). He believes that there are no opportunities to end the occupation of Palestine through parliamentary life due to the dominance of military, intelligence, extremist and racist forces over Israeli political life.
* He is famous for his tireless and peaceful protests against the Israeli occupation and its continued violations. His reliance on non-violent means meant that he is sometimes known as the "Gandhi of Palestine." In addition to the social programmes and the humanitarian and educational projects he stands behind, in 1998 Shaikh Raed launched the "self-reliant community" initiative which aimed to achieve the ’48 Palestinians’ self-development and economic independence from the Israeli occupation.
* He draws attention repeatedly to successive Israeli governments’ use of “peace agreements” with the Palestinian side as pretexts for continuing its expansionist policies on Palestinian lands against the Palestinian citizens. This includes the ongoing violations against the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants, and the occupation of the Palestinian territories.
* In 2002, the Israeli Ministry of Interior issued an order banning him from travelling abroad, and the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice turned down Sh. Raed’s appeal against the order. He went on to be among the first to launch mass campaigns against the policies of the Israeli occupation in the city of Jerusalem, especially the attacks on Islamic and Christian holy places, and the destruction of tombs and encroachment on the historic Ma`man Allah cemetery.
* In 2009 and 2010, the Israeli occupation authorities issued military orders banning Sh. Raed from entering Jerusalem, after he discovered a series of secret Israeli plans for the implementation of wide-ranging archaeological digs around Al-Aqsa Mosque and the construction of complex tunnels under Muslim and Christian holy sites and the historic walls of Jerusalem.
* He led many solidarity actions with the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem against the Israelis’ plans to expel them from their homes, withdraw their identity cards and cancel their residence permits in the city. He had a direct role in organizing daily convoys of buses loaded with people from the Arab towns and villages occupied in 1948 showing solidarity with inhabitants of the Old City of Jerusalem.
* Over the last few years, Shaikh Raed has played an effective role in demanding implementation of the right of return for Palestinian refugees who were expelled by Israeli forces from their towns and villages in 1948. For this purpose, he regularly participates in gatherings and conferences organized by the Palestinian refugees in living in Europe to claim their right to return to Palestine. Raed Salah is famous for his dictum declared on the sixtieth anniversary of the Nakba (the catastrophe of 1948) which said, "No retreat from the right of return”.
* In 2000, Israeli troops shot him in the head in what was considered by observers as an attempted assassination; needless to say, he survived. The Israeli occupation authorities arrested him several times, the first being in 1981. Between 2003 and 2005, Shaikh Raed Salah was imprisoned for two years but after his release he continued with his public and popular movements against the occupation, facing further arrest a number of times for his contribution to protest rallies in solidarity with the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants. On January 13, 2010, an Israeli court sentenced him to nine months in prison plus a six-month suspended sentence in addition to a fine. The sentence was supposed to take effect from February 28, 2010.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/resources/fact-sheets/1082-shaikh-raed-salah
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* Shaikh Raed enjoys unprecedented popularity among Palestinians, especially because despite facing numerous threats from Israeli officialdom he remains one of the most daring Palestinian figures in his fight against the occupation. This struggle led to him being imprisoned more than once. Aside from his charismatic personality, he is known for his close relationship with ordinary Palestinian people, having a very modest lifestyle, high moral standards, a quiet character and a kind smile always on his face.
* He began his political and public career in 1989 through his candidacy for mayor of Umm al-Fahm and earning a tremendous victory with more than 70% of the votes cast. He won the municipal elections twice in 1993 and 1997 before, in 2001, he gave up his post voluntarily to defend the Palestinian cause and stand up for the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants in the face of growing Israeli threats.
* As a leader of the “Islamic Movement in Palestine '48", the most popular political force in that area, Shaikh Raed Salah rejected the opportunity to stand for election to the Israeli parliament (Knesset). He believes that there are no opportunities to end the occupation of Palestine through parliamentary life due to the dominance of military, intelligence, extremist and racist forces over Israeli political life.
* He is famous for his tireless and peaceful protests against the Israeli occupation and its continued violations. His reliance on non-violent means meant that he is sometimes known as the "Gandhi of Palestine." In addition to the social programmes and the humanitarian and educational projects he stands behind, in 1998 Shaikh Raed launched the "self-reliant community" initiative which aimed to achieve the ’48 Palestinians’ self-development and economic independence from the Israeli occupation.
* He draws attention repeatedly to successive Israeli governments’ use of “peace agreements” with the Palestinian side as pretexts for continuing its expansionist policies on Palestinian lands against the Palestinian citizens. This includes the ongoing violations against the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants, and the occupation of the Palestinian territories.
* In 2002, the Israeli Ministry of Interior issued an order banning him from travelling abroad, and the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice turned down Sh. Raed’s appeal against the order. He went on to be among the first to launch mass campaigns against the policies of the Israeli occupation in the city of Jerusalem, especially the attacks on Islamic and Christian holy places, and the destruction of tombs and encroachment on the historic Ma`man Allah cemetery.
* In 2009 and 2010, the Israeli occupation authorities issued military orders banning Sh. Raed from entering Jerusalem, after he discovered a series of secret Israeli plans for the implementation of wide-ranging archaeological digs around Al-Aqsa Mosque and the construction of complex tunnels under Muslim and Christian holy sites and the historic walls of Jerusalem.
* He led many solidarity actions with the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem against the Israelis’ plans to expel them from their homes, withdraw their identity cards and cancel their residence permits in the city. He had a direct role in organizing daily convoys of buses loaded with people from the Arab towns and villages occupied in 1948 showing solidarity with inhabitants of the Old City of Jerusalem.
* Over the last few years, Shaikh Raed has played an effective role in demanding implementation of the right of return for Palestinian refugees who were expelled by Israeli forces from their towns and villages in 1948. For this purpose, he regularly participates in gatherings and conferences organized by the Palestinian refugees in living in Europe to claim their right to return to Palestine. Raed Salah is famous for his dictum declared on the sixtieth anniversary of the Nakba (the catastrophe of 1948) which said, "No retreat from the right of return”.
* In 2000, Israeli troops shot him in the head in what was considered by observers as an attempted assassination; needless to say, he survived. The Israeli occupation authorities arrested him several times, the first being in 1981. Between 2003 and 2005, Shaikh Raed Salah was imprisoned for two years but after his release he continued with his public and popular movements against the occupation, facing further arrest a number of times for his contribution to protest rallies in solidarity with the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants. On January 13, 2010, an Israeli court sentenced him to nine months in prison plus a six-month suspended sentence in addition to a fine. The sentence was supposed to take effect from February 28, 2010.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/resources/fact-sheets/1082-shaikh-raed-salah
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Monday, May 31, 2010
UN chief 'shocked' by Gaza aid flotilla raid
KAMPALA — UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he was "shocked" by a deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla and demanded a full investigation.
"I am shocked by reports of killings and injuries of people on boats carrying supplies for Gaza," the UN chief said at a press conference following the opening in Uganda of a key conference on the International Criminal Court.
"I condemn this violence," Ban added, as an Israeli television channel reported that as many as 19 pro-Palestinian activists may have been killed in the Israeli military raid.
"It is vital that there is a full investigation to determine exactly how this bloodshed took place," Ban said.
"I believe Israel must urgently provide a full explanation," he added, moments after delivering a speech hailing the "new age of accountability" heralded by the creation of the ICC in 2002.
The Hague-based tribunal, of which Israel is not a member, is the world's first permanent court mandated to bring perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide to justice.
The UN chief said that a detailed account of the incident was needed before the international community could coordinate its response.
http://islamicscholars.newsvine.com/_news/2010/05/31/4442389-afp-un-chief-shocked-by-gaza-aid-flotilla-raid?threadId=969074&commentId=14504515#c14504515
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"I am shocked by reports of killings and injuries of people on boats carrying supplies for Gaza," the UN chief said at a press conference following the opening in Uganda of a key conference on the International Criminal Court.
"I condemn this violence," Ban added, as an Israeli television channel reported that as many as 19 pro-Palestinian activists may have been killed in the Israeli military raid.
"It is vital that there is a full investigation to determine exactly how this bloodshed took place," Ban said.
"I believe Israel must urgently provide a full explanation," he added, moments after delivering a speech hailing the "new age of accountability" heralded by the creation of the ICC in 2002.
The Hague-based tribunal, of which Israel is not a member, is the world's first permanent court mandated to bring perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide to justice.
The UN chief said that a detailed account of the incident was needed before the international community could coordinate its response.
http://islamicscholars.newsvine.com/_news/2010/05/31/4442389-afp-un-chief-shocked-by-gaza-aid-flotilla-raid?threadId=969074&commentId=14504515#c14504515
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