7 aug 2013
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Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli border police in Ramallah, West Bank during the first intifada in 1992
Irish member of the EU parliament criticised by some after calling for Palestinians to launch a third uprising. European politician Paul Murphy has come under criticism from his colleagues in the European Parliament after he called for the Palestinians to start an intifada against the Israeli Occupation during a recent TV interview. Murphy has been a member of the Parliament since 2011 and is a vocal opponent of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. He joined an aid flotilla to the Gaza strip in 2011 that was intercepted by Israeli security forces. |
A socialist MEP from Ireland, Murphy is cynical of the most recent revamp of peace talks and does not believe that Israel is interested in a viable Palestinian state. He has come under fire from his fellow MEPs for his belief that a redeveloped struggle, similar to the first intifada, could link up the Israeli left and working class with the Palestinians to overthrow "the capital establishment of Israel".
"There are many positive examples from the first intifada of mass protests, strikes and marches and checkpoints that I think would be ideal tactics to redevelop now," Murphy said. "I think a mass struggle from below, a Palestinian spring, with democratic committees of struggle, is absolutely necessary now in order to fight against poverty, oppression and for a viable Palestinian state."
His calls come as resumptions of peace talks take place for the first time in three years which aim to achieve a "final status" deal within nine months. Prior to 2010, peace talks had collapsed partially due to Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want for a state that would include the Gaza Strip and all territories captured by Israel in the six day war in 1967. The international community and international law do not recognise Israel's annexation of the land.
'Armed self-defence'
"A lot of the violence happening in Israel and Palestine is perpetrated by the Israeli state, I believe the Palestinians have a right to defend themselves against that aggression," Murphy told Al Jazeera. "That may involve armed defense against soldiers and I wouldn't have a problem with that."
Murphy has been lambasted by several of his colleagues in the European Parliament for his views. UK Conservative Charles Tannock said comments like this would "only result in futile and needless violence" and that it would be a "massive setback" for peace talks.
Irish MEP Sean Kelly who expressed his disdain at Murphy's comments. "In a region already beset with conflict, it is abhorrent to call for violence as a tool to achieve collective goals," Kelly told Al Jazeera. "The only route to a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is through dialogue and compromise on both sides." Kelly also drew parallels between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the struggle in Northern Ireland suggesting that the two have similar narratives and therefore the same solutions could be implemented in finding peace.
"We have a successful model in the Northern Ireland Peace Process, which makes it all the more abhorrent that Mr Murphy, who as an Irish citizen has benefitted from this process, is now calling for violence elsewhere," Kelly said.
Murphy responded to his critics by calling for a reevaluation of what they consider an intifada to be.
"The MEPs who have condemned my call for a mass movement along the lines of the first intifada as a call for violence and terror are either deliberately misconstruing my words or are entirely ignorant about the history of the Palestinian struggle," Murphy said. "Intifada is simply the Arabic word for 'uprising', something that is entirely justified and clearly necessary when you look at the ongoing oppression."
Intifada is an Arabic word which literally means "shaking off", though it is popularly translated into English as "uprising", "resistance", or "rebellion".
'Anti-colonial struggles'
According to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem during the first intifada which began in December 1987, 1,376 Palestinians and 94 Israelis were killed. Between September 2000 and October 2012, 507 Israelis and 6561 Palestinians have been killed in the region.
UN resolution 3246 from 1974 weighs in its support of an armed Palestinian struggle reaffirming "the legitimacy of the peoples' struggle for liberation from colonial and foreign domination and alien subjugation by all available means, including armed struggle" and "strongly condemns all governments which do not recognise the right to self-determination and independence of peoples under colonial and foreign domination and alien subjugation, notably the peoples of Africa and the Palestinian people".
Israel has been criticised for its policies in more than 100 UN resolutions and is on record for being the country that has broken the most UN resolutions since the UN was founded in 1945.
Murphy believes the EU is complicit in the oppression of the Palestinian people, saying "The EU cries a few more crocodile tears than US imperialism, but politically and economically it supports the Israeli elite."
"Israeli armaments companies, such as Elbit and Israel Aerospace Industries, are recipients of funding from the EU," he said.
Trade relations have been upgraded between the EU and Israel, effectively integrating Israel into the "single market". Murphy believes that this is a political statement of support for the Israeli establishment which effectively turns the other cheek to the oppression of Palestinians.
"There are many positive examples from the first intifada of mass protests, strikes and marches and checkpoints that I think would be ideal tactics to redevelop now," Murphy said. "I think a mass struggle from below, a Palestinian spring, with democratic committees of struggle, is absolutely necessary now in order to fight against poverty, oppression and for a viable Palestinian state."
His calls come as resumptions of peace talks take place for the first time in three years which aim to achieve a "final status" deal within nine months. Prior to 2010, peace talks had collapsed partially due to Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want for a state that would include the Gaza Strip and all territories captured by Israel in the six day war in 1967. The international community and international law do not recognise Israel's annexation of the land.
'Armed self-defence'
"A lot of the violence happening in Israel and Palestine is perpetrated by the Israeli state, I believe the Palestinians have a right to defend themselves against that aggression," Murphy told Al Jazeera. "That may involve armed defense against soldiers and I wouldn't have a problem with that."
Murphy has been lambasted by several of his colleagues in the European Parliament for his views. UK Conservative Charles Tannock said comments like this would "only result in futile and needless violence" and that it would be a "massive setback" for peace talks.
Irish MEP Sean Kelly who expressed his disdain at Murphy's comments. "In a region already beset with conflict, it is abhorrent to call for violence as a tool to achieve collective goals," Kelly told Al Jazeera. "The only route to a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is through dialogue and compromise on both sides." Kelly also drew parallels between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the struggle in Northern Ireland suggesting that the two have similar narratives and therefore the same solutions could be implemented in finding peace.
"We have a successful model in the Northern Ireland Peace Process, which makes it all the more abhorrent that Mr Murphy, who as an Irish citizen has benefitted from this process, is now calling for violence elsewhere," Kelly said.
Murphy responded to his critics by calling for a reevaluation of what they consider an intifada to be.
"The MEPs who have condemned my call for a mass movement along the lines of the first intifada as a call for violence and terror are either deliberately misconstruing my words or are entirely ignorant about the history of the Palestinian struggle," Murphy said. "Intifada is simply the Arabic word for 'uprising', something that is entirely justified and clearly necessary when you look at the ongoing oppression."
Intifada is an Arabic word which literally means "shaking off", though it is popularly translated into English as "uprising", "resistance", or "rebellion".
'Anti-colonial struggles'
According to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem during the first intifada which began in December 1987, 1,376 Palestinians and 94 Israelis were killed. Between September 2000 and October 2012, 507 Israelis and 6561 Palestinians have been killed in the region.
UN resolution 3246 from 1974 weighs in its support of an armed Palestinian struggle reaffirming "the legitimacy of the peoples' struggle for liberation from colonial and foreign domination and alien subjugation by all available means, including armed struggle" and "strongly condemns all governments which do not recognise the right to self-determination and independence of peoples under colonial and foreign domination and alien subjugation, notably the peoples of Africa and the Palestinian people".
Israel has been criticised for its policies in more than 100 UN resolutions and is on record for being the country that has broken the most UN resolutions since the UN was founded in 1945.
Murphy believes the EU is complicit in the oppression of the Palestinian people, saying "The EU cries a few more crocodile tears than US imperialism, but politically and economically it supports the Israeli elite."
"Israeli armaments companies, such as Elbit and Israel Aerospace Industries, are recipients of funding from the EU," he said.
Trade relations have been upgraded between the EU and Israel, effectively integrating Israel into the "single market". Murphy believes that this is a political statement of support for the Israeli establishment which effectively turns the other cheek to the oppression of Palestinians.
26 june 2013
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was borne out of the second intifada against Israeli occupation in 2000
Mourners packed a cemetery on Hebron's outskirts on a warm spring morning for the funeral of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh, one the founders of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades that has fought Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands. Despite the gates being shut once capacity was reached inside, people continued to climb over the cemetery's steep walls to see the body carried through the crowd and lowered into the earth.
Abu Hamdiyeh's life encompassed the major political manifestations of Palestinian nationalism of the 20th century's latter half: from the General Union of Palestinian Students - the body that facilitated Yasser Arafat's rise to prominence - to the Fatah party.
Arafat appointed Abu Hamdieh as a general within the Palestinian Authority's security apparatus, and rumours of his associations with Hamas apparently accounted for President Mahmoud Abbas's frosty indifference toward his death.
He died in an Israeli prison from cancer in April, and Abu Hamdieh had complained that Israeli authorities never provided him with proper health care.
While regimental PA soldiers stood below, a phalanx of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members bestrode the cemetery's gates, heads wrapped in the Palestinian keffiyeh and toting automatic rifles and handguns. They followed the burial with a prolonged salvo from their weapons.
Speaking through a megaphone, one of the men told the crowd they were "waiting for a green light" from Abbas to "respond to Israeli crimes".
"Abu Hamdiyah was one of the founders of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, helping to set them up in 2000," Abu Ubaida, one of the leaders of the group, told Al Jazeera, explaining their presence at the funeral.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was borne out of the second intifada, as a reaction to the growing popularity of the uncompromising military and political tactics of Islamist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and represented the armed wing of the West Bank's ruling Fatah party. The US State Department listed the group as a terrorist organisation following its adoption of suicide bombings.
While associated with Fatah, the group claims organisational and military independence, with three autonomous bodies operating in the West Bank's north, central region and south. A fourth cell operates within the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Making a comeback
Despite Fatah's announcement of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades disbandment in January 2008 - following an agreement with Israel to exile the group's leadership and absorb members into the Palestinian Authority's security forces - its cadres have been making more frequent public appearances and pronouncements in recent months.
During the early part of this year members of the Israeli security establishment and PA President Mahmoud Abbas expressed fears over a third intifada eventuating. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades would play an important role should open hostilities be resumed between the Palestinian factions and Israel.
Abu Ubaida, the leader of the Brigades'southern command, met Al Jazeera in a village north of Hebron. He explained the group's re-emergence as a direct consequence of "increased hostility" from Israel in the West Bank, claiming the existence of 450 members.
Along with the use of force, Abu Ubaida deemed such hostility to include Israel's withholding of the PA's taxation revenues by Israel following President Abbas' bid to have Palestinian statehood recognised by the United Nations.
In September 2012, protests broke out across the West Bank against former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as his government struggled to pay the salaries of civil servants.
"After the economic problems affecting the PA last year, it was decided we should increase our activities to be ready to make attacks," Abu Ubaida explained.
Third intifada?
Mourners packed a cemetery on Hebron's outskirts on a warm spring morning for the funeral of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh, one the founders of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades that has fought Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands. Despite the gates being shut once capacity was reached inside, people continued to climb over the cemetery's steep walls to see the body carried through the crowd and lowered into the earth.
Abu Hamdiyeh's life encompassed the major political manifestations of Palestinian nationalism of the 20th century's latter half: from the General Union of Palestinian Students - the body that facilitated Yasser Arafat's rise to prominence - to the Fatah party.
Arafat appointed Abu Hamdieh as a general within the Palestinian Authority's security apparatus, and rumours of his associations with Hamas apparently accounted for President Mahmoud Abbas's frosty indifference toward his death.
He died in an Israeli prison from cancer in April, and Abu Hamdieh had complained that Israeli authorities never provided him with proper health care.
While regimental PA soldiers stood below, a phalanx of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades members bestrode the cemetery's gates, heads wrapped in the Palestinian keffiyeh and toting automatic rifles and handguns. They followed the burial with a prolonged salvo from their weapons.
Speaking through a megaphone, one of the men told the crowd they were "waiting for a green light" from Abbas to "respond to Israeli crimes".
"Abu Hamdiyah was one of the founders of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, helping to set them up in 2000," Abu Ubaida, one of the leaders of the group, told Al Jazeera, explaining their presence at the funeral.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was borne out of the second intifada, as a reaction to the growing popularity of the uncompromising military and political tactics of Islamist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and represented the armed wing of the West Bank's ruling Fatah party. The US State Department listed the group as a terrorist organisation following its adoption of suicide bombings.
While associated with Fatah, the group claims organisational and military independence, with three autonomous bodies operating in the West Bank's north, central region and south. A fourth cell operates within the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Making a comeback
Despite Fatah's announcement of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades disbandment in January 2008 - following an agreement with Israel to exile the group's leadership and absorb members into the Palestinian Authority's security forces - its cadres have been making more frequent public appearances and pronouncements in recent months.
During the early part of this year members of the Israeli security establishment and PA President Mahmoud Abbas expressed fears over a third intifada eventuating. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades would play an important role should open hostilities be resumed between the Palestinian factions and Israel.
Abu Ubaida, the leader of the Brigades'southern command, met Al Jazeera in a village north of Hebron. He explained the group's re-emergence as a direct consequence of "increased hostility" from Israel in the West Bank, claiming the existence of 450 members.
Along with the use of force, Abu Ubaida deemed such hostility to include Israel's withholding of the PA's taxation revenues by Israel following President Abbas' bid to have Palestinian statehood recognised by the United Nations.
In September 2012, protests broke out across the West Bank against former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as his government struggled to pay the salaries of civil servants.
"After the economic problems affecting the PA last year, it was decided we should increase our activities to be ready to make attacks," Abu Ubaida explained.
Third intifada?
An activist from the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Describing the group's increased activities as precautionary, rather than aggressive, Abu Ubaida said he hoped a third Palestinian intifada would not come to fruition.
"A third intifada will be very harsh, there will be fewer rocks and more weapons," he warned. "In 1987, it was rocks and burning car tyres. Then the PA came and there were weapons. During the First Intifada I was 18 or 19. I saw kids during the Second Intifada the same age but knowing about weapons and bombs. If there is another one, it will be worse as people have nothing left to lose."
Abu Ubaida added he did not consider civilians a legitimate target of attacks.
When asked about the Israeli government's assessment of any threat posed by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office answered: "We constantly monitor groups that have been involved in terrorism. It would be irresponsible to do otherwise."
Remaining an avowed Fatah supporter, Abu Ubaida said he believes in establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel but is critical of Mahmoud Abbas's performance as president of the PA and chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.
Describing the group's increased activities as precautionary, rather than aggressive, Abu Ubaida said he hoped a third Palestinian intifada would not come to fruition.
"A third intifada will be very harsh, there will be fewer rocks and more weapons," he warned. "In 1987, it was rocks and burning car tyres. Then the PA came and there were weapons. During the First Intifada I was 18 or 19. I saw kids during the Second Intifada the same age but knowing about weapons and bombs. If there is another one, it will be worse as people have nothing left to lose."
Abu Ubaida added he did not consider civilians a legitimate target of attacks.
When asked about the Israeli government's assessment of any threat posed by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office answered: "We constantly monitor groups that have been involved in terrorism. It would be irresponsible to do otherwise."
Remaining an avowed Fatah supporter, Abu Ubaida said he believes in establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel but is critical of Mahmoud Abbas's performance as president of the PA and chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.
A Palestinian woman holds a picture of Abu Hamdiyeh
"Abbas has not done a good job as president," he said. "Abu Mazen has made a lot of mistakes. He's tried to create organisations and build a national economy, but we have lost more and more land to settlements and none of the agreements he has signed [with Israel] have been a success.
The occupation and Israel cannot be trusted. All agreements have been broken."
The strategic importance of reconciliation between Palestine's political factions is not lost on Abu Ubaida, who sees the geographical and political separation of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and Fatah-dominated West Bank as detrimental to the Palestinians'national aspirations.
"Before 2006 there was coordination between all groups. Now that's gone," he said. "But look at what happened last November in Gaza when you had members of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades working with Hamas during the fighting."
"Abbas has not done a good job as president," he said. "Abu Mazen has made a lot of mistakes. He's tried to create organisations and build a national economy, but we have lost more and more land to settlements and none of the agreements he has signed [with Israel] have been a success.
The occupation and Israel cannot be trusted. All agreements have been broken."
The strategic importance of reconciliation between Palestine's political factions is not lost on Abu Ubaida, who sees the geographical and political separation of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and Fatah-dominated West Bank as detrimental to the Palestinians'national aspirations.
"Before 2006 there was coordination between all groups. Now that's gone," he said. "But look at what happened last November in Gaza when you had members of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades working with Hamas during the fighting."
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