The Joke of a Settlement Freeze

As you might know or have heard, Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has put in effect a ten month settlement freeze in the West Bank, as an act of restarting peace talks. This settlement freeze will stop all new settlements and housing, however, any houses that are being built are not to be halted. Also, public buildings such as synagogues, schools, and the such will also not be included in this "freeze". And the whole settlement freeze is aimed at restarting the peace talks like I mentioned above, and is so full of "honesty" and "integrity" and the Prime Minister and the Government of Israel only have peace in their minds as they put this into effect.

The Israeli Government now says that it has come the time for the Palestinians to contribute to the peace process and start negotiations. But as I had stated in a past article, Israel seems to offer all of the "generous" peace treaties, yet the Palestinians seem to be rejecting the whole of them every time, and for no apparent reason, or so they say, but since we've uncovered the truth of that all, let us look specifically at this move. This whole ten month settlement freeze only concerns the West Bank, and not East Jerusalem, since, as they say, "cannot stop building in our sovereign capital." This is yet another flaw in this so called "move for peace" that seems insignificant but is probably one of the biggest roadblocks to peace. Anyway let us examine the true motive of the Israeli Government's decision.

I'm positive this is just another scheme by the Israelis to cover up and better their profile in the International Community. Israel's corruption is now slowly being uncovered to the world, and the first step to this vast uncovering was seen during the Gaza offensive and after with all the protests and the global outcry. And Israel has full knowledge of this, and now wants to do anything to redeem its image. Of course, in terms of financial and militaristic support, the United States would never relent, but the image is what matters here. This was only proposed and put into effect because Israel wanted to show the world that it was not in opposition to peace, it was the side that started the peace. And now, I don't expect the Palestinians to respond at all to this so called "proposition of peace" because it is false and corrupt. Just yesterday, the Israeli government approved of 28 new settlements to be built in their beloved "Judea and Samaria" (West Bank), despite the freeze that was publicized to extremes. And not only that, but the Minister of Tourism vowed to build more settlements and to "unfreeze" this freeze on settlements soon.

Hypocrisy, foul, and corrupt are some of the words that come to mind when thinking of this whole issue and the Israeli government. With numbers like 28 new settlements, being offered on a regular basis, the West Bank will have no more Palestinians, and no more Palestinian land. Palestinian land is dwindling at a frightening pace, because the land that the settlements are built on is confiscated Palestinian land. And on top of all of this, Israel expects the Palestinians to come forth and bow down to this "generous" offer.

My Response To A False Claim

As you all know, my articles could be a bit controversial, and spark up a lot of discussion as well as comments of differing perspectives.

On my article entitled "The 'Generous" Peace Treaties Israel Offered", I wrote about the claims of the Israeli governments' strive for peace with the Palestinians, and to reach a final solution of a Palestinian State. Of course, if you look back in recent history and examine each peace process that ever came into existence on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, you would see that it was full of biased, and had a typical pro-Israeli point of view, and degraded the Palestinians right of statehood.

However this is the following comment I receive from "Anonymous" and I hope that this person would re-visit my blog as so he could see the response that I'm about to write. He/she said:

"Sorry but Israel is 17% of historic palestine whilst West bank and Gaza are about 5% and Jordan is 78% of historic palestine. No one has yet justified why a second arab state in palestine - in addition to Jordan - is really necessary.

Can't the two arab populations living on either side of the Jordan River be consolidated into one single state? This would give the Arabs about 80% of historic Palestine as their own exclusive Arab state with not one Jew living amongst them or controlling their lives.What more could the Arab population ask for?"

There is a lot of confusion by many foreigners on this topic, and pro-Israelis would always like to confuse them and use this as propaganda. Yet we have to understand the very essence of this claim. In the Ottoman Empire, before World War I, borders of modern day Arab states were not drawn. Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan were all part of "Greater Syria" yet each region of Great Syria had their own culture, customs, dialect, and lifestyles. When the Ottoman Empire fell, the Allied Forces of Britain and France chose to divide Greater Syria amongst themselves and drew out the borders of modern day Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan. Britain retained Palestine and Jordan, and France controlled Syria and Lebanon. So Palestine and Jordan (which was called the Kingdom of Transjordan) were separate, even though the cultures were very similar, were seperate regions, but were under the name of British Mandate, and Transjordan, along with the British, was controlled by the Hashemites. Many borders are drawn and redrawn in the entire world, for example the Soviet Union and Russia, Czechoslovakia, etc. But the natives remain the same, they are the only constant variable, as well as culture.

Regardless of all of these facts, let us look more personally at the situation. Why should it be alright for countless human rights to be violated. Why is it perfectly acceptable that natives of the land, of their towns and villages, should be expelled from their homes and suffer under the status of refugee, in which neighboring countries pack these people into horrid camps? Why should they not live free in the land and home of their ancestors? Why is it alright for a child never to see the home in which he was born in and in the city or town that he grew up in? The natives had established their lives on the land that they lived in which was Palestine, and all of their hard work and money were in this land. So for an outside force to come and cleanse the land of all the natives to establish an exclusively Jewish state, is going to receive massive retaliation, and that is the expected response.

So "Anonymous" and anyone of the same mind-set can look at this situation in two perspectives, the well known facts and politics of the claim, or the humanly and personal point of view. I suggest you look at both, and then on these proven facts and human rights, come up with a perspective.

Beirut: The Split

In the 1970's, conflicts escalated between the different groups in Lebanon, Shia, Sunni, Maronites, Greek Orthodox, over power. The government, if you could call it a government, still operated, yet it resembled a play, a cheap play that had no audience. The Parliament and President had no power whatsoever and could only watch as their country transformed into a chaotic set of brutality and savagery. One of the countless consequences that Beirutis have witnessed because of the escalating conflicts was the split of their beloved city, Beirut, and the shifting of Beirut's commercial and economic center, or what was left of it anyway.

The civil war had destroyed any connection the different groups of Lebanon had towards each other, and it ravaged the entire country. The borders that I had talked about in the previous post were invisible, yet respected and lived by, but now actual borders had been drawn, specifically the Green Line, in which the commercial capital and center of Lebanon, and maybe the entire Middle East was split. Beirut's Golden Age died an agonizing death and any remains of it remained in Hades. There were no more Western tourists, no more swarming elegant hotels, no more businessmen from the Arabian Peninsula looking to invest their millions in Beirut's economy, no more wealth, no more labels, and no more boasting about the Paris of the East that bewitched anyone that laid eyes on it. Gone were the times of the dazzling city that lay at the edge of the Levant. Gone was the gateway to the West.

Beirut was split across a border called the Green Line, which was the Beirut-Damascus road and some of downtown Beirut, that cut through the city, bisecting it. (It is called the Green Line because of the many weeds and shrubs that protrude out of the tarmac and asphalt). This would automatically take you back to the times of the Berlin Wall and the division of East and West Germany. This was so similar yet so different. First, there was no obscure or visible obstacle, such as a wall. It was just that road that symbolized so much. People knew of the consequences of this border, and its crossing. Anyone who dared to step across this road would meet a sudden, yet expected death. Because this line was not just an ordinary border. It represented Lebanon's tribalism. Before the war, it was just a thought, yet now it is illustrated in reality and on the ground for everyone to see.

Though this may have been the only visible and prominent border separating the city, there were so many subdivisions. They began in individual neighborhoods. All members would keep to their self, and most could not imagine a society operating outside of their own narrow borders, it was an inconceivable idea, and a faraway one at that. As the time passed in this civil wars, the divisions were not only in neighborhoods but in individuals. The trust between neighbors disappeared. A person would think everyone had the worst possible motives towards him/her, and looks of suspicion were always on everyones faces. With that, the remains of Lebanese society and mutualism had shattered.

Tribal Lebanon

Lebanon, since the beginning of time, has suffered so many conflicts and so many disagreements, but the all leads down to the essence of its society. Lebanese of course, will always boast about how modern and diverse their country is, but that is also a large problem hanging like a shadow over Lebanon's future, if it was back in the civil war, or till the present day.

Since its borders were drawn out of Greater Lebanon by the French in the 1943 National Pact, Lebanon and its citizens have never behaved as a nation or as one people, like any other country behaved. Although Lebanon was not an anarchy and there was a government present, there seemed to be no unity in how the Lebanese act. Lebanon is probably the most diverse state in the Middle East containing many people of different religion and sects.

The largest dividing factor in the Lebanese society would of course have to be religion. The country is made of Muslims and Christians, split almost evenly, at a 1 to 1 ratio. But these two groups are further divided. For Muslims, it is Sunnis, Shia, and Druze, and for Christians it is Maronites, Greek Orthodox, and some other sects. This of course is a situation very vulnerable to conflict because no trust is evident between any of these groups, even between people of the same religions. Each village, or district in a city behaves like its personal country and has a hierarchy present that makes the decisions and acts as a government. Each group is suspicious of the other and their motives, and will always tend to think of them in the worst. They are, in every meaning of the word, tribes. Sometimes they form alliances, other times their bitter enemies, and the latter is the most likely one. And this is the essence of the civil war of the 70's and 80's.

One point is evident of course. Each group works and behaves out of utter fear: fear that any other tribe will take control of the country. Not only that, but Lebanon operates on a system of "Zuama", or big bosses, similar to that in the Italian mafia movies like the godfather. Each tribe would have its own operating in the government and fulfilling the needs of their followers and their townspeople. For example, a man wants to buy a house and has a problem obtaining a loan from the bank, because of his low income. He does not go to a lawyer or any other professional to help him solve this problem legally, if there was any solution, but goes to the Ziam in charge of his town, village, or district. The Ziam would of course have the loan in his pocket in a couple of hours, by "pulling a few strings." Nothing is asked for in return, other than full loyalty and support to the Ziam. Corruption was everywhere in Lebanese society, and that being one part.

Lebanon seems to be a diverse country, but when you look closely, there are dividers and prominent borders in the entire state. People of different religious groups would not prefer to interact with anyone else but their own, and if one looked at a map of Lebanon, there is no diversity in areas. There would be sections, large or small, in parts of Lebanon wholly exclusive to one group or the other, such as South Beirut for the Shia, Western Beirut for Sunni, and Eastern Beirut for the Maronites, as well as Mount Lebanon for the Christians, and Southern Lebanon for the Shia. This is a complex equation that would soon lead to catastrophe.

Agreeable Two State Solution

So I was looking through headlines on Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper source (just to get all of the perspectives) and I came across an extremely interesting one, titled "A Palestinian Peace Israelis Can Live With." In this peace plan, the writer talks about Ray Hanania, a Palestinian-American that does stand up comedy and is married to a Jewish woman. Ray Hanania is the one that presents the following Two State Solution, that I'm sure can work great for both sides, and is so simple, that it may just work. These are the following outlines:

Hamas should be disarmed, and not be allowed in Palestinian governments, as well as the Jewish settlers should be disarmed.

Settlements can remain, in exchange for the same area of land that was used by Israel to build these settlements returned to the Palestinians in another part of the state.

Jerusalem is a shared city that has joint police, should contain an Arab presence.

Right of return to lands before 1948 is abolished and funding to Palestinian families that lost their home shall be made through the United Nations, Israel and surrounding countries.

Israelis should offer compassion and apology for the Palestinians

Funding for Jews that fled from Arab countries as well.

The West Bank wall shall be torn down or moved to the correct borders of the state until trust could be established between the two neighbors
All political parties should eliminate language that denies each other's existence, and that an Israeli map finally has Palestine present on their, as well as a Palestinian map having Israel present.

A subway system shall be built between the West Bank and Gaza.

For every Jew that wants to live in the West Bank, a Palestinian may live in Israel.

Jews living in Palestine can only vote Israeli elections and vice versa.

Israel and Palestine should create joint governments and police to monitor the peace on the border, working alongside the United States and United Nations.

So in my opinion, this is a great solution to this large and bloody conflict between the two peoples. Of course trust won't be gained in a couple of years, given the large casualties the Palestinians suffered, and some casualties Israel has suffered, but hopefully things will change. All of the points outlined seem to be fair to the extreme, and as this is a Palestinian talking, I think most Palestinians can trust a solution like this. The conflict has to end, and this is the best way to end it, because if no solution is found soon, Israel will continue its brutal occupation and isolation of the occupied territories, and will force Palestinians to lead a stateless and unidentified life.

Beirut: The Golden Age

Going back to the 1950's, it was a bleak time period for the Middle East. Just two years before, Israel had declared it's independence, and gained control of 78% of Historic Palestine. Countless numbers of Palestinians became refugees and fled to neighboring countries, and the Arab countries of Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq had lost a war of dignity against the terrorist state of Israel.

But north of Israel's border, in Lebanon, there sat a sparkling city jutting out of the Mediterranean Sea, waiting to enchant anyone who laid eyes on it. Beirut, in its beginnings was a quiet, but attractive small town. Starting from the 1950's however, all of that would change. Beirut had entered a Golden Age, much like Athens and Rome, and was under the International spotlight. This city, as beautiful as it was, was a controversial one. It was torn between its Arab identity and its Western character. That was probably the biggest reason of why it was extremely unique and why it had attracted to much attention. Going back about 55 years , this is probably the scene you would have come across:

Bikini clad women sunbathing on the white sand beaches of the Mediterranean, laughing and joking as if it had come straight out of a movie. On the beachfront rose prestigious hotels for the wealthy of Europe and the United States as well as Beirut and the rest of the Arab world. The Hotel St. Georges had the best to offer. It was built on its own private peninsula, overlooking the White Sea and the boardwalk. The huge swimming pool was the biggest tourist attraction in the hotel, and it as the sensational meeting place during the day. Businessmen in casual clothing would sit under the umbrellas discussing their projects and work, while tourists would be enjoying a nice swim under the Lebanese sun. One side of the pool was glass, and descending the stairs from the pool, you come across a bar that looks into the swimming pool. Here you could find the American journalists of Time Magazine discussing their new articles on the "Paris of the East" and enjoying a cocktail.

Not only was the Hotel St. Georges the only popular one in town, but other five star hotels had sprung up around it including the Phoenicia, and the Palm Beach Hotel. The Casino Du Liban, however, proved to be the most famous site in Beirut, which is perched in the port town of Jounieh a couple of kilometers due north. The Casino mesmerized its audience when beautiful women in feathers descended from the ceiling on large flowers; its been famous for this production ever since.

On top of being glamorous and wealthy, the city was greatly affected by the oil boom in the Arabian Peninsula. Men in traditional white Abayas exclusive to the Persian Gulf traveled to Beirut to invest fortunes in its banking system, hotels, theaters, and commercial districts. Beirut had wealth flooding into it from all sides, but of course this came to an end.

The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy in Syria

The Israel Lobby in the United States is extremely powerful and has no borders or limits in its support for Israel and its degrading of the surrounding countries in the Middle East. The Israel lobby has so much power that it shapes the foreign policy toward the entire Middle East, and persuades Congress in unimaginable ways that most laws or bills passed for Israel's support is voted by about 95% of the Senate and House of Representatives. So before we can discuss the tactics of this lobby, let us look more in detail at the United States Foreign Policy in the Middle East and how applies to Syria.

Syria is classified as one of the several countries on the US Axis of Evil which is absolutely ridiculous because Syria can in no way threaten or be threatening to the United States. The United States sided and will always side with Israel in all of its policies, including that toward Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and the entire Arab World. So if Israel is in conflict with Syria, then the United States is in conflict with Syria. But what is the reasoning for classifying Syria on the Axis of Evil.

The answer is nothing, nothing at all. Just because Syria and Israel are in conflict and don't have a formal peace treaty between them, does not mean that the United States should always take Israel's side, because doing so will fuel Anti-Americanism in the Middle East (but I'll discuss that in a whole detailed article). Syria never threatened the United States, and the US government would reason their decision because Syria supports "terrorist groups" such as Hamas and Hezbollah. But Hamas and Hezbollah are seen by many as resistance groups that sprung up because of the Israel occupations, and to many they are freedom fighters. We could say that the US supports terrorist governments such as the Israeli one, yet the US does not listen to reason.

Syria has sided and assisted the United States many times, including after the attacks of September 11, when the Syrian President would personally be in contact with the American President and pass on information about Al-Qaeda that the Syrians have acquired. This cooperation is extremely significant, yet it doesn't seem so in the eyes of the US Government, who still classify Syria as a rogue state, as does Israel, but let us not forget that Syria wanted peace with Israel in exchange for the Golan Heights, and would offer Israel many peace treaties, and wanted to pursue the peace, yet the Israeli government would not want to cooperate.

So there is no excuse left for the United States to be in conflict with Syria and the US sanctions on Syria because Syria does not have a problem with the US, and tried several times to pursue peace with Israel, yet the US would like to overpass that detail and look towards Israel's argument.

The "Generous" Peace Treaties Israel Offered

When the question of, "Why don't the Palestinians have their own state?" is asked, the general response from many pro-Israelis is that the Palestinians are terrorists and that they did not accept the numerous and "generous" peace treaties that the Israeli government had proposed. But these peace treaties are anything but generous. So let us examine in detail what I mean.

First, I'll give you the most widely accepted version of a two state solution. A two state solution that entails a separate state for Israelis, and a separate state for Palestinians. Each state has full control of its land, its borders, airspace, water, and harbors. Each state shall have the freedom to create a military, and each state shall be accepted and fully recognized by the other, and that each state has the right to live in peace.

Yet the numerous, and failed peace treaties called for no such thing. First of all, the Palestinian state would be established in the West Bank and Gaza, yet hold on a second, not all the West Bank. Thanks to the Israeli Government, and its settlement building and colonizing of the West Bank, this serves as a roadblock to peace. And in every peace treaty generated by the US, Israel's closest and most powerful ally, both nations, Israel and the US agree on one thing, that the settlers shall not leave the occupied territories, and a Palestinian state shall have to be built around that.

Not only that, but Palestine shall not have any control of the borders, airspace, and water, and it does not have a right to build a military. So how in the world can anyone call this a state, if it has not control over itself. How can a state be formed around Jewish settlements, making an archipelago of Palestine in a sea of Israel. No one in their right mind would accept to such conditions. And at Camp David, Arafat was offered 90 % if the West Bank to build a Palestinian state on, yet he refused because he doesn't want peace, or so they said.

But Israel Proper is 78% of Historic Palestine, the occupied territories: West Bank and Gaza making up only 22%. So they are allowing Arafat to build a Palestinian state on 90% of the 22% if Historic Palestine and on top of that, barely have control of it. This is absurd, and people in our international society should wake up to these lies and acknowledge the fact that no person should accept this upon his people.

Denying the Arab Identity: An Introduction

The title of this article sums this whole piece up, yet who is this title pertaining to? The people who are denying their Arab identity, are mostly the Lebanese Christians, the Maronites. We all know that Lebanon is almost perfectly split in half between Muslim and Christian, about a 1 to 1 ratio. Here the problems arise, yet let us examine the history of this area.

The word Arab and the Arab people unite several countries in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the Persian gulf, as Arabic-speaking, and under the religion of Islam, yet the latter doesn't always have to be the case. However the Christian Maronites have convinced themselves that to be Arab, one has to be Muslim, and not only that, yet they do not want to be generalized with the Arabs, because they have a whole different agenda in their hands for Lebanon, their tiny tortured country.

Christian Maronites, or at least the majority of them, will in no way associate themselves with Arabs, because there is a conflict of interests. During the colonial times, when the French and the British had divided up the Middle East among themselves after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, there was a general response of opposition from the Arabs. Yet the Maronites, at a time, welcomed this colonial power, and they found the French as their liberators in a very dangerous and untolerant Ottoman Empire ruled under Islam.

The main goal of the Maronites of Lebanon is to Westernize the country, and the colonizing of Lebanon, in their perspective, was the first step in doing this. They spoke French, understood French culture during that time, and intergrated themselves into French society which let them gain power, a large amount of power in government, military, economy, and the Lebanese society. The maronites wanted to split from the Arab world and establish a western state on the shores of the White Sea, and open Beirut, as the gates to the Western and "civilized" world.

I will go in more detail about the Arab Identity in the next articles in this series, follow up!

Beirut: My Journey and Reflections

This is my first article in the Beirut series that I will be writing from today and into the near future. Beirut and Lebanon were going to be a main focus of my blog once a came back from my summer vacation, since I had visited Beirut and the surrounding area and gained a lot of interest in it. But since I hadn't been writing much in that time, I will start from today.

There are so many things to be said about Lebanon and Beirut in particular. It is a beautiful city, a prestigious one, and a very liberal one, as is Lebanon as a whole. It's religiously diverse, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking, the people are great, the food is delicious and unique, and everything seems to be flowing in perfect harmony, except for the many wars that have plagued the area, but that will be the focus of the articles to come.

I will describe how my trip was to Beirut, and how astounded and extremely excited I was. We emerged through the Lebanese border from Damascus, and found a vast valley ahead of us. The Anti-Lebanon mountains opened up to the Bekaa Valley. We drove through the scenic and lush valley for about half an hour. We were passing toy stores, clothing boutiques, restaraunts and cafes, but what grabbed my attention most was the banners of the political figures, in majority it was of Saad al Hariri. Cedars in between red strips were waving in every direction you looked, and then I realized that I was truly in Lebanon, and I was thrilled that I finally got to see this gorgeous and controversial state. We kept driving until we bisected the valley and arrived at the opposing valley. We climbed a little while and then stopped for breakfast in Chtoura at a place called Hashem's, I think, and we had the best Man'eish and tea! We countinued our journey, ascending the huge mountains until I felt that I was at a higher altitude than the anti-Lebanon mountains on the oppose side of the valley that bordered with Syria. Yet we still kept climbing.

Then we reached level elevation and rounding a corner, I saw the first evidence of any chaos: large, destroyed bridge. We took a detour and began driving until I saw what was the most amazing thing. Everything turned green at some sudden time, or it seemed to me, and we were descending down the opposite side of the mountain. Beyond I could see what I had for years been aspiring to see. I white city perched on a peninsula that jutted out into the vast yet tranquil Mediterranean Sea. That was my first glimpse of Beirut and I fell in love with it. Through the rest of our journey down the mountains, I was snapping photos on both my Nokia N73, and my Sony camera, like it was going out of style. The scenery was just astounding and no words can describe it. It was truly like heaven: green, green, green, green, green, the vast blue of the sea, and in between a strip of white.

We continued winding down the narrow street to the Paris of the East, and passed many significant landmarks, to me anyway, like the MBC studios. My first impression of Lebanon, even when we were still in the valley, of how extremely Americanised, and Westernized it was. Signs of McDonald's and all the American fast food chains were decorating the streets, as well as countless advertisements of everything prestigious and expensive. It was, in my opinion, a relatively wealthy country.

Wait for the next parts of my trip and the Beirut Series, they're coming soon, and I promise not to keep you waiting long!

Fear of Being Labeled Anti-Semitic

There has been so many instances in near history when a brave soul wants to embark on the right path and speak of Israel's atrocities and to criticize its politics. But what does that person get as a response, you should all know this. A big "Anti-Semitic" label on the forehead, and from then on it is a smear campaign to destroy the reputation of that person until he is nothing but dust.

Ever since the Holocaust, the International Jewish community has been paranoid, and careful to target anyone that has the slightest criticism, not even towards Judaism, but towards the Jewish State of Israel. Isn't Israel a normal country, like all of the others in the world, that are in position to make mistakes and be criticized, yet that cannot be done without having a huge "ANTI-SEMITIC" label on your forehead in bold red font.

Why does the Jewish state have rights that the other countries of the world not, for being immune to criticism, especially in the United States? There are many instances where the Jewish community, including all of the powerful lobbies and organizations including AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee)revolt at one small criticism, uttered out of the mouth of a courageous politician, or journalist. Immediately this person has to issue a public apology with words "sucking up" (I can't word it any better) to the Jewish state, and a promise never to criticize it again. But this criticism is certainly not a religious remark or has any air of religion in it. It has everything to do with government and policies, be it the policies concerning peace with the Palestinians or that concerning the neighboring Arab states.

Does that not diminish in the United States right of Freedom of Speech? Is it perfectly fine to find whole novels and newspaper articles degrading the religion of Islam, and barely any criticizing or questioning Israel's right to exist? This is not what the United States is about and I suggest to anyone that has any remarks and criticisms for the Israeli state, that they not fear the "Anti Semitic" bullet, because this bullet is ineffective to the extent these people are using it. Voice out your opinions (of course respecting Judaism) and don't be afraid of a terrorist state or its supporters.

Rigal Al Hasim: Exciting New Ramadan Series!

This new and exciting Ramadan drama currently airs on Abu Dhabi TV at 23:00 KSA time. It stars Basil Khayat, a Syrian actor, and Maya Nasri, a Lebanese actress/singer. The show includes actors from Syria, Lebanon and many more Arab countries.

What grabbed my attention to this series is the plot. The whole drama revolves around the Arab-Israeli conflict, but precisely, Syrian-Israeli conflict about the Golan Heights. The series begins in 1967. From the promos and ads, Rigal al Hasim is beautifully shot in real-life locations in the Golan Heights, West Bank, and I think Israel. Many actors and actresses also learned a little Hebrew in their work and research.

Now the first episode introduces us to the life of Fares (Basil Khayat) who is a Golani. He is a teacher in a school and is a young man that is very interested in politics. His lifestyle is depicted as simple, yet his mind is complex. The Six Day War is about to begin and everyone is afraid of the consequences. The heads of state are very confident of a victory yet the people are worried.

By the third episode, the 1967 War began and the tragedies unfolded right at the start. Part of Fares' family is dead, his younger brother and mother. His father and sister are left and prepare to leave for Damascus. Fares chooses to stay behind and fight the war. He can't leave his home for the Israelis to come and occupy it. His bravery is shown during the fighting sequences when he chooses to risk his life to help many wounded soldiers. His determination to fight for his homeland also shows.

I'm very excited about the rest of this show, and I wait for it by the minute. What do you think of Rigal al Hasim? Are you currently watching it? I'll try to summarize each episode in a small post everyday as to keep those of you who are unable to watch it updated!

Nothing So Far

Why have I not been writing for the past few weeks?
This might be the question that all of the people that come and visit this blog on a dailybasis ask themselves. I also ask myself this. At first I thought that I was getting bored with my blog and just in general, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and all politics. But then I found the real answer on the Arabic and Israeli newsites:
Nothing new is going on or happening. It's all the same crap that you get from political leaders. All they do is talk, talk and talk a bit more. Threats are being thrown in every direction from every Middle Eastern country and Western countries as well. The United Nations had come up with a countless number of resolutions in the past 60 years concerning Israel, yet Israel did not follow and will not follow, yet it is still a member of the United Nations. This, I do not understand.
And just like Israel didn't follow the UN resolutions, I'm sure it will not follow the United States guidelines on creating a Palestinian state, unless action is taken. For the past three or more weeks, all I see on Haaretz or al Jazeera is talk and statements being said by a world leader. Netanyahu: a Palestinian state is not in our best interest. Obama: let me be clear, we fully back up the Two State solution. Hamas: we are not willing to recognize the Jewish state, and much, much more. I honestly got bored about writing the same topic over and over again. These leaders are not taking action. They're sitting in their elegant offices or at their podiums issuing statements that at first cause a reaction and by the next day they are forgotten.
Now you know why I did not write and why there is no use of me writing until something actually happens. For the past three months, I have written articles revealing the true nature of the occupation and the terrifying details, and I will continue if I read and educate myself more. But please do not think that I am closing this blog down or that I just forgot about it. Come by and check it daily and I promise you, I'll start writing once I find a good subject.
If you have any suggestions, please tell me in your comments or in the cbox. Thank you for being loyal to the Damascene Breeze.

Obama Changes Tactics on Israel

President Obama has just recently finished a tour of Europe and it ended in Turkey where he delivered a speech in front of the Turkish parlaimant. The visit to Turkey was very successful, and the people were very excited and recieved Obama in the best way. This visit was a sign as to improve relations between Turkey and the United States.

However, President Obama also talked a lot about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and stressed the fact that the United States fully supports the Two State Solution, which was a response to Israel's foreign minister when he said that the Israeli government was not bound by the Annapolis convention. The only way to end this conflict, or at least try to end it is the two state solution, and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Without that, this conflict will go nowhere he said.

Obama has also breifed his congressmen of a predicted confrontation with Netanyahu's rightist government about this. I am extremely happy that the President and the whole United States came to its senses and is doing what is right. What Obama has said, of a confrontation with the new Israeli government means that if the two state solution is not to be fulfilled and Netanyahu's government supporting it, then the United States may have to use different tactics with its strongest ally in the Middle East. I hope they stop sending financial aid and military aid to Israel if they oppose this.

I hope this is a start of a new era for the United States as well, to improve its image in the Middle East. The visit to Turkey was a huge success and I hope Obama visits all the capitals of the Middle East, like Damascus, Amman, and Beirut.

President Obama is also scheduled to visit Jerusalem and the West Bank in June. We might see a lot of change in the summer, and possibly the establishment of Palestine.

The Golan is #1 On Syrian Agenda

The Golan Heights, an area in southwestern Syria, currenlty occupied by Israel since 1967 is a very strategic point. Because of the elevation, both countries are in need of this geograhpic location. The Golan Heights overlooks all of Israel, and Syria. So we could understand why the two countries want it. But the Golan Heights righfully belongs to the Syrian Arab Republic, and is occupied territory. Israel doesn't even want to give it back even with a peace process. Netanyahu and all the previous governments of Israel have promised Bashar al Assad full withdrawl of the Israelis from the Golan Heights and the full return to Syria. However, now the real plan is uncovered. Israel does not want to withdraw, and it never will withdraw from the Golan Heights, peace treaty or no. So just today, the Syrian President, Bashar al Assad responded in a regional newspaper.

He said that the "enemy" does not want peace, and there is no other alternative but full resistance, which means war. He said that sooner or later, the Golan will be liberated. And I agree with him fully. Israel has occupied territories from four countries, and has ethnically cleansed a nation. Yet the international community and the United Nations is still silent on this aspect. Israel has occupied the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, but has returned it in a peace treaty. It occupied part of Jordan and the West Bank which was annexed by Jordan. It also occupied southern Lebanon, until Hezbollah forced them out. And right now the Golan. So I don't understand why the Israeli government cannot return the Golan Heights under a peace treaty just like with Egypt and President Sadat. No other alternative is left for the Syrian government but force, just like the Israeli-Lebanese model. Hezbollah forced out the Israelis from southern Lebanon and just like them, Syria may force Israel out of the Golan.

But now we come back to the same mindsets of the Israelis. They say that the Golan is rightfully theirs and it belongs to Israel, and it is part of the Holy Land historically. Everyone is tired of their rhetoric. Anyway, Assad's full words are that with Peace or War, the Golan will be liberated and that he is ready to hold peace talks with any Israeli government, even Netanyahu's, but the only condition is the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Golan.

One day, Israel says it is ready to withdraw from the Golan, the next day, they say peace can only be exchanged to peace.

Lieberman: Israel Is Not Bound to Annapolis

The foreign minister of the newly sworn in Benjamin Netanyahu has just made a statement today that Israel shall not be bound by the Annapolis Convention that was held in 2007. Israel is changing its peace plans currently. The Annapolis Convention was held to re-ignite the peace process, and it called for a two state solution. However, Leiberman is rejecting the whole idea, and saying that Israel is not commited and will not follow the policies of the Annapolis convention. I don't understand right now how the Americans can think that the Palestinians are the ones that do not want peace. Everyone is sick of the Israelis' mindsets and I know that they think all of Historic Palestine belongs to them. But right now it's 2009, not 3000 years ago when there used to be Israelite Kingdoms in the area. What I am trying to say is that they have to share the land. However, no the Foreign Minster of Israel "surprises" us and says that the Two state solution is not on their agenda. Of course it isn't and it has never been. The only thing that changed is that someone was brave enough to say it. Now that the whole thing is in the world's face, and on the table for the United Nations to see, they have to start pressuring the Jewish state to pursue peace. All we are getting right now are promises from Netanyahu that there will be peace, and he never even mentioned a Palestinian state. All he mentioned was that the Palestinians will rule themselves, but not to the extent where Israel is threatened. That tells you everything you need to know. Israel does not want a Palestinian state prospering alongside it, because it is afraid for its life. This is prepostrous though. They want to continue their occupation of the West Bank and Gaza yet they still wnat peace to be established. And when the Palestinians do not accept, then the world puts the blame on them saying that they don't want peace and are moving away. Israel sets the rules, and the Palestinians have to follow. It's ridiculous, that's all I can say.

Prime Minister Netanyahu Pressured

The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has been pressured by the European Union to endorse and support a two state solution, calling for a Palestinian state to be established in pre-1967 borders, and East Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinian leaders call for an immediate stop of the settlement building, however Netanyahu is a strong supporter of settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu stated that improving the occupation, in means of economy would be far better than ending the occupation itself.

What is new then? Nothing is the answer. Nothing is new. For the past decades the Palestinians have been trying to reach peace with Israel, yet Israel is always setting the standards and the "rules" of this peace agreement. How can peace be established without justice. And I still don't understand in what way the two state solution will be viable and will work? I'm sure no Palestinian would want their state to be small fragments surrounded by Israeli soil. Who would anyway? Could that even be called a state?

Netanyahu also promised to work towards "peace" but I don't know what peace is in their eyes. How can peace be built without a base of justice? He doesn't even want to discuss the status of Jerusalem or the borders, all he wants to do is "improve the Palestinian economy". This is ridiculous because no economy can prosper under the strict and horrendous occupation, which includes checkpoints, the apartheid wall, the curfews, the IDF presence, and etc. In my opinion, this is another way that the Israeli government wants to show the world that is willing to discuss peace. Well thank you Israel, we really appreciate it.

Adding to the Israeli peace proccess, the Israeli government wants to control all aspects of this new Palestinian state, that may form, including borders, airspace, water, harbors, electricity, and such. Right now, while I sit here and right this, it is getting more prepostrous in my eyes. How can anyone see it otherwise?

Life in the West Bank: An Introduction

In many articles I have stressed the point of the Israeli occupation being unbearable. But as many times as I write it, I cannot give this point justice. Writing it is one thing and experiencing it is a another, however thank God I've never experienced it. The most important thing right understand is that the West Bank is not wholly Palestinian. It is in ownership, but not in population. This piece of land, west of the Jordan River, is cut up into many fragments. The reason being the Israeli military presence, and the Jewish settler population. These are both illegal, along with the rest of the aspects of occupation. Yet Israel is the only colonial power left in the whole world. Why does it occupy this piece of land? The answer to this question is that it captured it in the 1967 War, yet it would have given it up for a peace process. The Israeli government, however, is not willing to withdraw, because it thinks that this is their rightful claim, and to occupy is the only answer currently. They want to keep sending in settlers, and building settlement upon settlement on confiscated property from the Palestinians. Yet the world tends to ignore this, because Israel is going through with its plans to make it seem to the international community that nothing new is happening.

Yet every single day, something new is happening. This includes the constant settlement building, and checkpoints to the smallest details, which the world tends to ignore, such as the daily harassment of the Jewish settlers to Palestinians. These details are multiplying, and are spreading like an infection. Soon the whole West Bank, will not be under military occupation, but will be annexed to Israel, and the Palestinians will still be denied citizenship, or they will expel the Palestinians as they did in 1948 and will be rid of the "demographic problem".

There are many small aspects that should be brought to the world's attention concerning this occupation, and in the articles to come, all of this will be revealed, and then you can judge.

Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza: Unchanged

You look ahead: blue skies, blue seas, and destruction. Utter destruction. That is the case in Gaza. All around you there is destruction and chaos. Children in the streets playing. The sewage line is in the civilian streets. Elderly people sit on the ground and pray to God to help them get out of this catostrophe.
It is in all means a catostrophe, nothing else. The recent Gaza Offensive, Cast Lead, as it was called by the Israeli Government and IDF destroyed what little infrastucture Gaza had. On top of all of that, Israel blames Hamas for bringing it on itself. The United States, and most of the European Union believes so too, yet the truth is in the eyes of every Gazan, that made it through the hellish three weeks, alive. Since the catostrophe, as I will refer to it, nothing has changed. The United Nations even said so. Nothing will change anyway if these ridiculous blockades are not lifted. 80% of the people in Gaza rely on relief agencies such as UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works agency for Palestinian refugees) for their survival, just survival, which means food and water. How is any humanitarian aid going to get through to Gaza if all the borders are closed most of the time, and there is simply not enough time for all the UN trucks to pass in. Israel has these borders closed, and is even denying the presence of a humanitarian aid! What a lie, a filthy lie, to deny anything ever happening to these people. I don't know what's going to happen now, but I'm sure the United Nations won't get anything done. What has it done throughout all of these occupations? It sets hundreds of resolutions, yet all of these are ignored by the State of Israel which thinks it is above International Law. I'm going to have a hard time believing that anything will change now, even if the United Nations is aware of what is happening. Maybe it'll pass yet another resolution, like the countless ones before it, and just like the countless ones before it, it will be jotted down in their historical archives, ignored and tucked away.

Settler Withdrawal from Gaza: Why It Happened

In a very well thought out move, Israel siginified to the world that it was a democratic state and is not willing to occupy captured territories from 1967. In 2005, the Israeli government withdrew its settler population from the Gaza Stip, which was about 5,000 people. By doing this, the Gaza strip was left tot he Palestinians to govern. The international society looks at this as a step leading up to a peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, however it is very far from that.
With the Gaza Strip free of all Jewish and Israeli settlers and safe in Israel, the Israeli government transformed Gaza: the heavily and densely populated civilian area ino its own military "laboratory". No obstacles remain in the face of this government, because the Palestinians can hardly be regarded as humans, or living things in their eyes. Palestinians meant nothing to Israel, only a waste of space.
With the transformation of Gaza into this laboratory, Israel can test all of its latest technologies on the civilian population. It created horrors on this little piece of land, horrors that ended in chaos, poverty, death, and destruction. Along with the constant "experiments" Israel has also put a blockade on Gaza that will result in a humanitarian crisis that Israel and the United States would deny fully (but that will be a whole different article).
The most important thing to know now, is that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, did not mean peace or friendliness. It meant that they wanted their population to be safe, and to bestow upon the 1.5 million Palestinians terror that will end in many consequences. At the same time they refuse to them the basic necissties of living, such as food, and clean water, and such. This whole withdrawal triggered a number of events, such as the recent Gaza offensive, Cast Lead.
The Israeli Government should not hide behind the excuse of withdrawal and an end to the occupation in Gaza because that is a lie. Nothing justifies the horrors that these people are experiencing and these are war crimes! In articles to come, I will reveal the day to day terrorizing events the Palestinians endured.