Noura- Notes From Palestine
Palestinians Dying for Relative Calm
I received a few replies to my last email asking me to clarify what I meant by "the situation is relatively quiet here in Palestine.". I
am sorry to say that I am guilty of falling into the same trap as the news media. In my last posting, I failed to mention that from May 1-Sept. 2005, 86 Palestinians lives have been taken; including 15 children*. We should compare it on a humanitarian level, but Palestinians aren't relative - their lives are defined in relation to the well being of their oppressors. And of course there were no Israeli casualties at the hands of Palestinians, so it didn't count.
However, the relative calm that is being experienced here during this time does not come for free, "it is a trade off: the Gaza Strip for the settlement blocks; the Gaza Strip for Palestinian land; the Gaza Strip for unilaterally imposing borders," said Dror Etkes, director of the Israeli organisation Settlement Watch. "They don't know how long they've got. That's why they're building like maniacs." For more in an excellent article explaining the purpose of the building of Qalandyia's administrative center, the ever expanding settlements and the isolation and strangulation of Jerusalem see:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5311688-117700,00.html
Palestinians can only enjoy the luxury of calm when they are finally offered their freedom in return.
If you have any comments, please add them to my blog I'm just getting started and trying to figure out how to use:
http://dreamingofreedom.blogspot.com/
I received a few replies to my last email asking me to clarify what I meant by "the situation is relatively quiet here in Palestine.". I
am sorry to say that I am guilty of falling into the same trap as the news media. In my last posting, I failed to mention that from May 1-Sept. 2005, 86 Palestinians lives have been taken; including 15 children*. We should compare it on a humanitarian level, but Palestinians aren't relative - their lives are defined in relation to the well being of their oppressors. And of course there were no Israeli casualties at the hands of Palestinians, so it didn't count.
However, the relative calm that is being experienced here during this time does not come for free, "it is a trade off: the Gaza Strip for the settlement blocks; the Gaza Strip for Palestinian land; the Gaza Strip for unilaterally imposing borders," said Dror Etkes, director of the Israeli organisation Settlement Watch. "They don't know how long they've got. That's why they're building like maniacs." For more in an excellent article explaining the purpose of the building of Qalandyia's administrative center, the ever expanding settlements and the isolation and strangulation of Jerusalem see:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5311688-117700,00.html
Palestinians can only enjoy the luxury of calm when they are finally offered their freedom in return.
If you have any comments, please add them to my blog I'm just getting started and trying to figure out how to use:
http://dreamingofreedom.blogspot.com/
posted by smokey spice at 1:05 AM
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