issue no 4

Issue No: 4 14th Nov, 2011

1

4

Issue No: 4

Article of the Week:

� On relations between Hamas and Europe

News Tour:

� Wrecked Israeli spy drone found in Turkish territory

� The French Consul Wounded in an Israeli Attack on a Palestinian Navy Site

Caricature:

� Unbreakable spirit of the Palestinians

Palestinian Weekly Report is a periodical insight into the latest developments of the

Palestinian Issue. It’s issued by The Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia and i

focuses on the most important news and analysis about the happenings of the

Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation in the Holy Lands of Palestine. The

views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect PCOM's editorial policy.

2

Contents

On relations between Hamas and Europe ……..…………………………………...

Wrecked Israeli spy drone found in Turkish territory......……..........

The French Consul Wounded in an Israeli Attack on a Palestinian Navy Site

Unbreakable spirit of the Palestinians in Al-Quds .……………………………….


It’s issued by The Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia and i

important news and analysis about the happenings of the



14th Nov, 2011

…………………………………... 3

.............................. 5

The French Consul Wounded in an Israeli Attack on a Palestinian Navy Site ...….. 6

…………………………....6


It’s issued by The Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia and it

important news and analysis about the happenings of the




3

Article of the Week

On relations between Hamas and Europe

By: Ali Badwan It is well known that Europe has been divided over what to do about Hamas over the past five years. At no point has there been a consensus on how to manage communications or build relationships with the Islamic Resistance Movement; it's been a controversial issue, with some European capitals opening secret communication channels between leading Hamas figures and government officials. Such initiatives have all been instigated by European countries individually, not collectively. The level of contact increased after the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, won by Hamas; this broke an earlier resolution for European Union countries to boycott the movement. That decision had been taken in mid-August 2003, when the Hamas political bureau was put on the designated list of "terrorist" groups. It was a decision made under intense US and Israeli pressure. The post-2006 expansion of contact with Hamas was not out of any liking of the movement, but recognition of its popular support and mandate having won more than two-thirds of the Palestinian Legislative Council seats in the election. History shows us that Europeans are pragmatic in the extreme and have few, if any, permanent constants; they are always ready to grab changes and build on them. It is no surprise, therefore, that in recent years we have witnessed a growth in the number of meetings in public and private with officials of institutions close to Hamas in the occupied Palestinian territories. Meetings with

Hamas officials directly have been held in places like Doha, Beirut and Damascus. A report issued almost two years ago by a British all-party parliamentary committee confirmed the need to end the boycott of Hamas because, quite simply, the policy had failed. That report was followed by a lengthy meeting in mid-March 2008 between the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, in Damascus. Later that month, a report by the International Crisis Group dated 19 March 2008 acknowledged that Israel's policy of "isolating Hamas and imposing sanctions on Gaza, is bankrupt and gave the opposite of its desired results"; the Islamic movement, said the report, "is moving towards the establishment of a framework of an effective force". Following that, an initiative by The Elders, an international body made up of veteran leaders and diplomats from around the world, saw the group approach Israel with a proposal by its four senior members: former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan; former US President Jimmy Carter; South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu; and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson. The Elders urged "Israel to have a ceasefire with Hamas, through direct dialogue and the recognition of its role among Palestinians; and to stop the policy of isolation." Jimmy Carter's tour of the region was controversial and provoked much debate in Israeli and Hamas circles. This suggested that the "unofficial" US recognition of Hamas by a figure like Carter hinted at the acknowledgement that the West's estimation and boycott of Hamas was mistaken. During his tour, Jimmy Carter met Khaled Meshaal more than once and was accompanied by retired – albeit still active publically - political figures from Europe. Regardless of the lengthy discussions that took place between Hamas and Jimmy Carter and his advisers, and between Hamas and other politicians, there are many incentives now to motivate the West to expand the circle of such dialogue. This is especially true now that Palestinian national reconciliation is close to being achieved.


4

Carter's meetings heralded a shift in America's attitude towards dealing with Hamas away from the isolationist policy. It is not inconceivable that we will see direct discussions between Washington and Hamas, avoiding the clandestine get-togethers in various capitals. Carter is outside the official US mainstream, but his influence is clear. Moreover, available data indicates that there is a trend towards a comprehensive review of the West's policies towards Islamic political parties and movements in general. Those involved will be groups with "moderate" policies in the Arab world who are influential in their own communities, including Hamas. A recent survey conducted in Europe showed increasing European awareness of events in the Middle East/North Africa region. Forty-five

percent of those polled believe that Hamas should be involved in negotiations with Israel, and have identified Israel as an occupying power. Such views concur with those of British Jews, a survey of whom found that 52 percent of respondents favour negotiations with Hamas in order to reach a peace agreement in the Holy Land. The Palestinian reconciliation agreement signed in Cairo last May opened the doors for the unification of Palestinian political activity at all levels; only the decisive will from both Fatah and Hamas is awaited. It also opened the doors for the removal of international reservations towards dealing with Hamas, which even Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has acknowledged is an essential part of the Palestinian national fabric.

The author is a Palestinian writer based in Damascus. He is a member of the Arab Writers Union. This article was first published in Arabic in Al Bayan newspaper, UAE, 7/11/11, then was translated into English by MEMO.


5

News Tour

The French Consul Wounded in an Israeli Attack on a Palestinian Navy Site

14/11/2011

On Monday, 14 November 2011, the French Consul in the Gaza Strip, Majdi Jameel Yaseen Shaqqoura, 44, and his two children were wounded in an Israeli attack on the Palestinian Navy site in the southwest of Beit Lahia, located in northern Gaza. They were in their home when they were injured by shrapnel. Additionally, as a result of the same attack the consul's wife suffered from hemorrhage that led to a miscarriage. According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) Majdi Shaqqoura was in his home, located behind al-Nawras Resort in al-Soudaniya area, southwest of Beit Lahia, at the time of the attack. Shaqqoura was watching TV in the house’s sitting room which is surrounded by large windows, together with his relative and three children: Arwa, 9, Rawan, 13, and Mohammed, 8. At 2:00 in the morning they suddenly heard an explosion that rocked the house. In his testimony to PCHR, Shaqqoura said that windows of the sitting room broke in the blast. Him and his relative rushed to protect the children. Then a second explosion took place which broke all the windows, and resulted in shrapnel injuries to Shaqqoura’s leg and Rawan’s hand and back. Shaqqoura added that, at the same time, his wife Majda Shaqqoura, 42, and her brother were on their way to the home in her car. They were 150 meters away from the bombardment site. As a result, Majda suffered from a hemorrhage injury. Her brother transported her to al-Awda Hospital, where she miscarried, being in the second month of her pregnancy.

At approximately 01:55 on Monday, 14 November 2011, the Israeli warplanes launched four missiles at a Palestinian Navy site located at the beach, in front of al-Nawras Resort, in the al-Soudaniya area. This area is located in the southwest of Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip. The attack resulted in the killing of first sergeant Mohammed Zaher Zaki al-Kilani. The Civil Defense found al-Kilani's body buried under the rubble after approximately one hour of searching for him. Five other members were wounded. The attack resulted in the full destruction of the Navy's site, which is has an approximate surface of 2,000 square meters. The building consists of an operation office, bedroom, place for prayer, administration office, office of the site's chief, and five additional offices for meetings and detention. Additionally, two other civilians were wounded by glass shrapnel throughout their bodies and were transported to the hospital for treatment. PCHR reiterates its condemnation of these crimes, and:

1. Stresses that these crimes form part of systematic violations perpetrated in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly the Gaza Strip, which reflects Israeli forces’ disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians; 2. Warns of further escalation in hostilities, which may result in the targeting of civilians and their property, in light of statements made by Israeli politicians and military leaders; and 3. Calls upon the international community to immediately take an action to stop such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their obligations under Article 1 which stipulates "the High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances," and their obligations under Article 146 which requires that the Contracting Parties prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and under Protocol I Additional to Geneva Conventions.


6

Wrecked Israeli spy drone found in Turkish territory

13/11/2011

Local news reports disclosed that the Turkish defense forces found lately the wreckage of an Israeli spy drone in Adana province, south of Turkey, and opened an investigation into the matter. According to newspaper Yeni Safak on

Saturday, a Turkish fisherman from Karatas town, discovered pieces of the drone known as Heron and reported what he saw to the coast guard authority, which in turn, sent a probe team to the scene. Later, the wreckage of the Israeli spy drone were retrieved from under the water and taken to a military command center in Mersin city for further investigation, the newspaper said.

It stated that this incident took place as the tension between Turkey and Israel are escalating, especially after Ankara suspended its military cooperation with the Israeli government and decreased its diplomatic representation in Tel Aviv.

The newspaper noted to the possibility that this drone was used by the Israeli occupation forces to help the Kurdish rebel group referred to as PKK to launch terrorist attacks against Turkey.

Source: Palestinian Information Center

Caricature

Unbreakable spirit of the Palestinians in Al-Quds

By: Omayya Joha

issue no 4

Documents