A Film PALESTINE DIVIDED

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Palestinians hold 'day of rage' protests against Trump

Palestinians hold 'day of rage' protests against Trump 

Hamas leader Ismail Haniya has called the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel a "war declaration against Palestinians" and urged his people to launch a new Intifada, or uprising.

Hours after Haniya's speech, Palestinians took to the streets of the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza to show their anger at US President Donald Trump's announcement.

Trump reversed decades of US policy on Wednesday by recognising Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and announcing his intention to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Palestinians called for three days of rage to protest the US decision.

The Israeli military fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition at Palestinian protesters in Gaza and the West Bank.

Protests were held in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron, among other cities.

Dozens of Palestinians sustained injuries in the ensuing clashes.

Members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine burn representations of Israeli and US flags in Gaza City. MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS

 Palestinians burned an Israeli and a US flag during a protest in Gaza City.
[Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

Posters on Arab social media calling for a Palestinian day of rage

Posters on Arab social media calling for a Palestinian day of rage

08-12-2017

Third Intifada

HAMAS LEADER CALLS FOR INTIFADA AGAINST ISRAEL OVER JERUSALEM

HAMAS LEADER HANIYEH CALLS FOR INTIFADA AGAINST ISRAEL OVER JERUSALEM STATUS

Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh gestures as he delivers a speech over U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in Gaza City December 7, 2017. (photo credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS)

Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh called for an uprising in the West Bank and Jerusalem in response to US President Donald Trump’s changes to American policy on Jerusalem.

“Tomorrow, December 8, 2017, should be a day of rage and the beginning of a major effort to rise up, which I will name the ‘Intifada of Jerusalem and the West Bank’s Freedom,’” he said Thursday in a televised speech. “[Just] as we liberated Gaza, we [will be] able... to free Jerusalem and the West Bank by the way of this popular struggle.”

Since Hamas forcibly ousted the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority from Gaza in 2007, the PA security forces have cracked down on Hamas and other groups’ military infrastructure in the West Bank and undermined their sources of funding.

Meanwhile, the IDF has also targeted terrorist groups’ activities in the West Bank and arrested Hamas members allegedly planning attacks against Israelis.

In his speech, Haniyeh added that the Palestinian people needs to overcome its differences and unite for the sake of Jerusalem.

“We are a people in one boat. The time has come for us to be strong in this boat, hold onto each other, push each other forward, unite and stand together,” he said. “We need to quickly overcome all the issues and details in order to turn our attention to Jerusalem and Al-Aksa [Mosque].”

In mid-October, Fatah, led by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas signed a deal to advance reconciliation efforts and restore the PA’s governing authority in the Gaza Strip, but have since struggled to implement the agreement.

PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and other Fatah delegates arrived in Gaza on Thursday to meet Hamas officials.

“This historic stage requires that we all unite and speed up the steps of uniting the homeland,” he said.

Haniyeh also urged Arab states to announce a boycott of the Trump administration.

Source:Jerusalem Post 

PFLP: Our struggle – not Trump – will decide the fate of Jerusalem

PFLP: Our struggle – not Trump – will decide the fate of Jerusalem

Dec 06 2017

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine described the declaration of US President Donald Trump as a declaration of war against the Palestinian people and their rights that makes the U.S. position clear as a hostile entity toward our people and a partner of the Zionist state in its crimes against the Palestinian people and land, and it must be addressed on this basis.

Further, the Front considered that Trump also launched a “bullet of mercy” on the so-called two-state solution, the settlement project and the delusions of the peace process. It called upon the Palestinian leadership to learn the necessary lessons from the devastating experience of reliance on negotiations and U.S. domination and announce the immediate withdrawal from the Oslo agreement and all subsequent and attendant obligations.

The PFLP called on the Palestinian masses and their organizations to unite their efforts and respond collectively, practically and forcefully to this decision through action and escalation of the momentum of the popular movement.

The battle for Jerusalem is one for all of Palestine. For us, Jerusalem is Haifa, Safad, Yafa, Gaza, Ramallah and every village and city in Palestine.

Further, the Front emphasized the need to confront the triangle of conspiracy against Jerusalem and Palestine and the rights of the Palestinian and Arab people, that of imperialism, Zionism and Arab reactionary regimes, and to open the door to appropriate options to resist these schemes.

The Arab masses also clearly reject this decision, which clarifies further the nature of U.S. imperialism as the primary sponsor of Zionist terror in the region that constantly seeks to ignite the region in order to maintain its hegemony.

Jerusalem will always remain the capital of the Palestinian people and the State of Palestine and the imperialist-Zionist alliance will not succeed in its attempts to obliterate the city’s Arab identity and its status in the Arab and Islamic world.

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

December 6, 2017

Full transcript: Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital

https://youtu.be/K-XE2pvc_7o

U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, saying that final borders are up to Israel and the Palestinians in a twelve-minute speech on Wednesday evening.

Full transcript:

When I came into office, I promised to look at the world's challenges with open eyes and very fresh thinking. We cannot solve our problems by making the same failed assumptions and repeating the same failed strategies of the past. All challenges demand new approaches.

My announcement today marks the beginning of a new approach to conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. In 1995, congress adopted the Jerusalem Embassy Act urging the federal government to relocate the american embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize that that city, and so importantly, is Israel's capital. This act passed congress by an overwhelming bipartisan majority and was reaffirmed by unanimous vote of the senate only six months ago.

Yet for over 20 years, every previous American president has exercised the law's waiver, refusing to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem or to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital city. Presidents issued these waivers under the belief that delaying the recognition of Jerusalem would advance the cause of peace. Some say they lacked courage, but they made their best judgment based on facts as they understood them at the time.

Nevertheless, the record is in. After more than two decades of waivers, we are no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. It would be folly to assume that repeating the exact same formula would now produce a different or better result.

Therefore, I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today, I am delivering. I have judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the united states of america, and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. This is a long overdue step to advance the peace process and to work towards a lasting agreement.

Israel is a sovereign nation with the right, like every other sovereign nation, to determine its own capital. Acknowledging this as a fact is a necessary condition for achieving peace. It was 70 years ago that the United States, under President Truman, recognized the State of Israel. Ever since then, Israel has made its capital in the city of Jerusalem. The capital the jewish people established in ancient times.

Today, Jerusalem is the seat of the modern Israeli government. It is the home of the Israeli parliament, as well as the Israeli supreme court. It is the location of the initial residence of the prime minister and the president. It is the headquarters of many government ministries. For decades, visiting American presidents, secretaries of state, and military leaders have met their israeli counter-parts in Jerusalem, as I did on my trip to israel earlier this year.

Jerusalem is not just the heart of three great religions, but it is now also the heart of one of the most successful democracies in the world. Over the past seven decades, the israeli people have built a country where Jews, Muslims and Christians, and people of all faiths are free to live and worship according to their conscience and according to their beliefs.

Jerusalem is today and must remain a place where Jews pray at the western wall, where Christians walk the stations of the cross, and where Muslims worship at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

However, through all of these years presidents representing the United States have declined to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. In fact, we have declined to acknowledge any israeli capital at all. But today we finally acknowledge the obvious, that Jerusalem is Israel's capital.

This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It's something that has to be done. That is why, consistent with the Jerusalem Embassy Act, I am also directing the state department to begin preparation to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This will immediately begin the process of hiring architects, engineers and planners so that a new embassy, when completed, will be a magnificent tribute to peace.

In making these announcements, I also want to make one point very clear. This decision is not intended in any way to reflect a departure from our strong commitment to facilitate a lasting peace agreement. We want an agreement that is a great deal for the israelis, and a great deal for the palestinians. We are not taking a position of any final status issues, including the specific boundaries of the israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem or the resolution of contested borders. Those questions are up to the parties involved.

The United States remains deeply committed to helping facilitate a peace agreement that is acceptable to both sides. I intend to do everything in my power to help forge such an agreement. Without question, Jerusalem is one of the most sensitive issues in those talks. The United States would support a two-state solution if agreed to by both sides.

In the meantime, I call on all parties to maintain the status quo at Jerusalem's holy sites, including the temple mount, also known as Haram al-sharif.

Above all, our greatest hope is for peace. The universal yearning in every human soul. With today's action, I reaffirm my administration's long standing commitment to a future of peace and security for the region. There will of course be disagreement and dissent regarding this announcement. But we are confident that ultimately, as we work through these disagreements, we will arrive at a peace and a place for greater in understanding and cooperation.

This sacred city should call forth the best in humanity, lifting our sights to what is possible, not pulling us back and down to the old fights that have become so totally predictable.
Peace is never beyond the grasp of those willing to reach it.

So today we call for calm, for moderation, and for the voices of tolerance to prevail over the purveyors of hate. Our children should inherit our love, not our conflicts. I repeat the message I delivered at the historic and extraordinary summit in Saudi Arabia earlier this year. The Middle East is a region rich with culture, spirit and history. Its people are brilliant, proud, and diverse, vibrant and strong. But the incredible future awaiting this region is held at bay by bloodshed, ignorance, and terror.

Vice President Pence will travel to the region in the coming days to reaffirm our commitment to work with partners throughout the Middle East to defeat radicalism that threatens the hopes and dreams of future generations. It is time for the many who desire peace to expel the extremists from their midst. It is time for all civilized nations and people to respond to disagreement with reasoned debate, not violence. And it is time for young and modern voices all across the middle east to claim for themselves a bright and beautiful future.

So today let us rededicate ourselves to a path of mutual understanding and respect. Let us rethink old assumptions and open our hearts and minds to possible and possibilities. And finally, I ask the leaders of the region, political and religious, Israeli and Palestinian, Jewish and Christian and Muslim, to join us in the noble quest for lasting peace.

Thank you. God bless you. God bless Israel. God bless the Palestinians. And god bless the United States.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Source: https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.827348

ENB Poster Jerusalem ISSUE

Trump tells Abbas he will move US embassy to Jerusalem

Trump tells Abbas he will move US embassy to Jerusalem

Abbas gave Trump warning of "dangerous consequences" of such a move [File: Getty Images]

US President Donald Trump has told Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that he intends to relocate the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a plan met with condemnation across the Middle East and elsewhere.

Wafa, the official news agency of the Palestinian Authority (PA), reported on Tuesday that Trump called Abbas to inform him of his "intention".

"President Abbas warned of the dangerous consequences such a decision would have to the peace process and to the peace, security and stability of the region and of the world," Nabil Abu Rudeina, the Palestinian president's spokesperson, said.

No further details were given about when Trump plans to move the embassy.

Speaking to reporters later on Tuesday,  White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump will deliver remarks about his decision on Wednesday.

"He's going to continue having conversations with relevant stakeholders, but ultimately he'll make what he thinks is the best decision for the United States," said Sanders.

Asked if Trump has made up his mind, she replied: "The president, I would say, is pretty solid in his thinking at this point."

Earlier on Tuesday, a statement by the Jordanian royal palace said Trump had also called King Abdullah to inform him about his intention to move the embassy to Jerusalem.

The statement said the king warned Trump the relocation would have "dangerous repercussions on the stability and security of the region" and would also inflame Muslim and Christian feelings.

No embassy in Jerusalem
Jerusalem's status is an extremely sensitive aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel claims the city as its capital, following the occupation of East Jerusalemin the 1967 war with Syria, Egypt and Jordan, and considers Jerusalem to be a "united" city.

Palestinians have long seen East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

They say that a US move to relocate the embassy would prejudge one of the most sensitive issues in the conflict - the status of Jerusalem - and undermine Washington's status as an honest mediator.

No country currently has its embassy in Jerusalem, and the international community, including the US, does not recognise Israel's jurisdiction over and ownership of the city.

Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian legislative council, called the planned relocation "a very reckless and dangerous act from the side of the US president".

Speaking from Ramallah, he told Al Jazeera that such a move would not "take into consideration what it means to 1.6 billion Muslims, to 2.2 billion Christians, and to 360 million Arabs".

"It will create a very serious reaction and destabilise the region - and definitely destabilise the situation in Palestine itself," he added.

"If President Trump proceeds with moving the embassy, he will be killing completely any future American role in any future peace process."

In a statement on Tuesday, the US consulate in Jerusalem instructed employees to stay away from the occupied West Bank and parts of Jerusalem.

'Red line'

In recent days, senior Palestinian officials warned of the potentially destructive effects of any move denying their claim to occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Saeb Erekat, the secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said this week he had spoken to Arab leaders, who relayed the message "that Jerusalem is a red line, not just for Palestinians but for Arabs, Muslims and Christians everywhere".

During his election campaign last year, Trump repeatedly promised to move the embassy and recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

In June, however, like his predecessors, Trump signed a six-month waiver to delay the relocation, which would have complicated US efforts to resume the long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

"Every US president for more than 20 years has recognised that this could have cataclysmic results and repercussions if it were to happen," Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, said.

A number of world leaders have sharply criticised such a relocation, fearing it would further escalate regional tensions.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday threatened to cut diplomatic ties with Israel over reports that the US plans to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Such a move would be a "red line" for Muslims, he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron told Trump by telephone that Jerusalem's status must be decided in peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

Also on Tuesday, the Arab League held an emergency meeting to discuss developments on the status of Jerusalem, following a request by Palestinian officials.

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said a move the by the US to relocate the embassy to Jerusalem "would have disastrous consequences for the US around the world".

"Arabs and Muslims will not take this lying down, if not today, then tomorrow, and that will have major consequences for the US."

Barghouti, the Palestinian politician, said if Trump proceeds with moving the embassy, then "the Palestinian people will react, with a public, popular non-violent uprising ... That's what you will see tomorrow, after tomorrow and the days after.

"This is a very serious matter," he added. "People should not forget that the second Intifada started because of the issue of Jerusalem."

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

Catalan arrest warrants withdrawn by Spain's Supreme Court

Catalan arrest warrants withdrawn by Spain's Supreme Court
5 December 2017

Ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont appears on a screen during an event of his political platform "Junts per Catalunya" to mark the official start of the electoral campaign

Image copyright REUTERS, Campaigning for the vote officially began at midnight

A Spanish judge has withdrawn European arrest warrants for ousted Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and four other ex-ministers.

They fled to Belgium a month ago after declaring unilateral independence in a referendum ruled illegal by Spain.

Despite the move, the judge said they still faced possible charges for sedition and rebellion.

Rebellion is considered one of the most serious crimes in Spain, carrying a jail term of up to 30 years.

Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llareno announced the warrant's withdrawal on Tuesday morning, citing the willingness the Catalan leaders had shown to return ahead of fresh regional elections being held on 21 December.

He said the European-wide warrant would complicate the Spanish legal probe, and its removal allows Spain to gain full control over the investigation.

The ministers turned themselves into Belgian authorities after the warrant was issued last month, but were freed after being questioned.

A Belgian judge was previously expected to rule whether to extradite the ministers on 14 December. The five were fighting the move, saying they may not receive a fair trial on their return.

Mr Puigdemont has previously said he would return if this was guaranteed.

On Monday six Catalan ex-ministers being held in a prison near Madrid were released from prison on bail. But two others, including former Catalan Vice President Orial Junqueras, were remanded in custody.

Campaigning has now officially started ahead of the new vote organised by Spanish authorities in an attempt to try and resolve the Catalonia crisis.

Mr Puigdemont labelled the election as a choice between "nation or submission" while speaking on a video link from Belgium to a rally in Barcelona on Monday night.

He said voters must chose "between Catalan institutions or dark characters in Madrid".

A seat reserved for the former leader at the event was marked with a yellow ribbon, an emblem that has become a symbol of support for the jailed politicians.

All but one of the 13 Catalan leaders sacked by the Spanish government after the independence referendum are standing for election again in the fresh vote.

The Best of Bob Marley

Bob Marley Best Hits - The Best of Bob Marley

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