Issue no 30

Issue No: 30 6th Feb, 2013

Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia (PCOM) 1



Read in this report:

MP Natsha: The prisoners will start a new

hunger strike (P.4)

Israelis evict Palestinian protest

camp (P.5)

Israeli deputy foreign minister star

in anti-Islam film (P.6)

Election Commission to begin voter

registration in Gaza (P.7)

Peres asks Netanyahu to form new

Israeli government (P.9)

PCOM concludes its visit to

Gaza (P.11)



CONTENTS

NEWS OF PALESTINE

Report: Israel detained 350 Palestinians in January .................................................................. 4

MP Natsha: The prisoners will start a new hunger strike .......................................................... 4

Israelis evict Palestinian protest camp ....................................................................................... 5

IOA deprives 20,000 Jerusalemite children from reuniting with their families ........................ 6

Israeli deputy foreign minister stars in anti-Islam film .............................................................. 6

Election Commission to begin voter registration in Gaza ......................................................... 7

Hamas denies accepting two-state solution ............................................................................... 8

ISRAEL INSIDER

Final results of the Israeli 19th

Knesset election 2013 ............................................................... 9

Peres asks Netanyahu to form new Israeli government ............................................................. 9

Ovadia Yosef warns Peres of Israeli civil war ......................................................................... 10

No international congratulations for Netanyahu post-election ................................................ 10

MALAYSIA & PALESTINIAN CAUSE

PCOM concludes its visit to Gaza ........................................................................................... 11

PHOTO GALLERY

PCOM visit to Gaza ................................................................................................................. 13



Report: Israel detained 350 Palestinians in January

01/02/2013

Israeli forces detained 350 Palestinians from

the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during

January 2013, AHRAR Centre for Prisoners

Studies and Human Rights has reported.

According to Fou'ad al-Khaffash, manager of

AHRAR, only 15 detainees came from the

Gaza Strip; the majority of whom are

fishermen, while 92 were from Jerusalem with

the remaining number distributed among the

other West Banks cities.

According to AHRAR's monthly report, 82 are

from Hebron, 44 from Jenin, 36 from

Bethlehem, 35 from Nablus, 15 from

Ramallah, 14 from Tobas, 6 from Qalqilia and

Tulkarm and 5 from Salfeet.

Al-Khaffash said that this was not a complete

number of the arrests as sometimes citizens

who stay only a few days in Israeli jails are not

officially reported.

He also called for mass media and human

rights organisations to shed light on Israeli

detention of Palestinian citizens and the

continuous "humiliation" of their rights. He

said that they are "exposed to brutal

procedures while they are being kidnapped

from their families."

Source: MEMO

_______________________________________________________________

MP Natsha: The prisoners will start a new hunger strike

29/01/2013

MP Mohammed Jamal Natsha called for

activating the popular movement in order to

support the captives during their ongoing

battle against the Israeli jailer.

Natsha said in an exclusive statement to PIC

that the popular movement, in solidarity with

prisoners during the battle of the empty

stomachs has strengthened the prisoners'

steadfastness and adherence to their demands.

The MP from al-Khalil Governorate called on

the Egyptian side to put pressure on the

occupation to oblige it to commit to the

agreement signed between the captives and the

prison administration under the Egyptian

auspices.

He added that the agreement provided for

releasing all the detainees from the solitary

confinement, pointing out that the occupation

still refuses to release the prisoner Dirar Sissi

NEWS OF PALESTINE



from the solitary confinement, which is

considered a breach of the agreement.

He stressed that the prisoners will wage a new

battle of hunger strike in case the prison

administration continues attacking the

prisoners and violating the terms of the

previous agreement.

It’s worth mentioning that several Palestinian

prisoners are already on hunger strike to

protest against their detention’s conditions,

some of them spent more than 6 months like

“Samer Al-Essawi” and “Ayman Sharawneh”

who started their hunger strike on July last

year.

Source: PIC + Agencies.

_______________________________________________________________

Israelis evict Palestinian protest camp

02/02/2013

Israeli authorities have fired tear gas and

violently evicted Palestinians and activists

who were setting up a protest camp near an

Occupied West Bank village.

An AFP correspondent said the army used tear

gas and violence to remove hundreds of people

who had set up four temporary huts and three

tents near Burin, south of Nablus, in the

northern Occupied West Bank on Saturday.

The correspondent said journalists were also

forcefully removed from the site. He said

security forces made arrests, but he was

unaware of any injuries.

'The neighbourhood'

Earlier on Saturday, residents and activists set

up what they called "the neighbourhood... Al-

Manatir", activist Abir Kopty told AFP.

According to Kopty, the name means "the

traditional stone huts Palestinians built in their

agricultural lands, which were used as shelter

for the watchmen of the fields".

In January, Palestinians put up a 24-tent

protest camp on disputed land on the eastern

outskirts of Jerusalem, dubbed Bab al-Shams

or Gate of the Sun in Arabic, in a bid to draw

attention to Israeli plans to build in the area,

known as E1.

Later that month, activists set up an

encampment of four tents and a structure

under construction to protest against Israel's

intention to confiscate land near Beit Iksa

northwest of Jerusalem, naming it Bab al-

Karama, or "Gate of Dignity."

Both encampments were later removed by the

Israeli military which controls those parts of

the Occupied West Bank.

Source: Aljazeera



IOA deprives 20,000 Jerusalemite children from reuniting with

their families

04/02/2013

The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) have

deprived more than 20,000 Jerusalemite

children from the right of reuniting with their

families in occupied Jerusalem.

The secretary general of the Islamic Christian

commission for supporting Jerusalem and the

holy shrines, Dr. Hanna Issa, pointed to a

sharp rise in the number of Palestinians who

were denied residence permission in occupied

Jerusalem.

Issa, a professor in international law, said in a

press release on Monday that Israel was

exerting all efforts possible to reduce the

number of Palestinians living in Jerusalem.

He said that the IOA was concerned over the

noticeable increase in the number of

Palestinian Jerusalemites wishing to return to

the holy city and was doing all what it could to

foil such a trend.

Source: PIC

_______________________________________________________________

Israeli deputy foreign minister stars in anti-Islam film

30/01/2013

The Israeli daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, reported

on Wednesday that the Israeli Foreign

Ministry has produced a film called 'The fact

about Jerusalem' which contains "provocative

content" about the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The film will not be published, the newspaper

said, for fear of causing a "wide wave of

anger" among Muslims around the world.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Danny Ayalon, plays a main role in the film

the newspaper claimed. Throughout the film

he gives a "distorted" historical narrative about

the holy city and at one point is seen standing

in front of the Dome of the Rock. He also

speaks about the relationship between

Jerusalem and Jews.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has

produced a series of films bearing the words

"The Fact..." in their title. These include, 'The

fact about the Jewish Refugees', 'The fact

about the West Bank' and 'The Fact about the

Peace Process'.

These films, which have been translated in to

several languages, have been viewed millions

of times around the world.

In this film, Ayalon appears wandering around

the outskirts of Jerusalem and speaking about

the freedom of religion that followers of Islam,



Christianity and Judaism are enjoying under

Israeli rule in the holy city.

At one point of the film, Ayalon appears

reading from what looks to be a copy of the

Torah while standing in front of the Dom of

the Rock. In the background, the Dome of the

Rock disappears and a shape of the so-called

Jewish Temple appears in its place.

The Israeli daily reported that Ayalon

defended the film by saying: "This is to

showcase the religious freedom for the

followers of the three religions in the region.

This is a reversal of what is going on in the

neighbouring Arab countries which does not

respect the rights of minorities."

Source: MEMO

_______________________________________________________________

Election Commission to begin voter registration in Gaza

31/01/2013

Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas

movement, said in a statement on Wednesday,

after a meeting between the Palestinian

factions and the election commission, that the

committee has informed the factions that it

will update the electoral register from

February 11 till February 19 in Gaza and the

West Bank.

"We have agreed to start operations in the

Gaza Strip and we will begin in Gaza and the

West Bank," Central Elections Commission

chief Hanna Nasser said after meeting Prime

Minister Ismail Haniya, noting that there will

be 254 centres to update voter rolls in the Gaza

Strip.

We were able to resolve 99% of problems

relating to voter registration, although the

update process will begin in a few days, he

added.

Nasser called on Hamas and Fatah movement

to provide positive atmosphere till the end of

the voter registration in Gaza.

He expressed his hope that the positive

atmosphere will not be spoiled by media

statements between Hamas and Fatah

movements, noting that "no matter what

happens, the Commission must continue its

work."

He stressed the need to allow all citizens to

register their names and not to put pressure on

anyone to prevent him/her from registering.

Source: PIC



Hamas denies accepting two-state solution

01/02/2013

Hamas on Wednesday said it does not accept

the two-state solution, following reports the

party had changed its position to accept the

state of Israel.

The Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq reported

Wednesday that Hamas politburo chief Khalid

Mashaal asked Jordan's King Abdullah to

inform US President Barack Obama that

Hamas accepted the two-state solution.

Hamas said in a statement that the report was

baseless and that Mashaal did not address the

two-state solution in his meeting with the

Jordanian king in Amman on Monday.

Senior Hamas official Yahya Moussa also

denied the report and said recognizing the two-

state solution would indicate acceptance of

Israel's occupation of Palestine. Hamas will

not change its position, Moussa told Ma'an.

Source: Ma’an Agency



Final results of the Israeli 19th

Knesset election 2013 Elections for the 19

th Knesset were held in “Israel” on 22 January 2013. Exit polls showed the

following results:

Party Chairman Votes % Seats +/–

Likud Yisrael Beiteinu Benjamin Netanyahu 884,631 23.32% 31 -11

Yesh Atid Yair Lapid 543,280 14.32% 19 +19

Labor Party Shelly Yachimovich 432,083 11.39% 15 +7

The Jewish Home Naftali Bennett 345,935 9.12% 12 +7

Shas Eli Yishai 331,800 8.75% 11 +1

United Torah Judaism Yaakov Litzman 196,038 5.17% 7 +2

Hatnuah Tzipi Livni 189,168 4.99% 6 +6

Meretz Zahava Gal-On 172,382 4.54% 6 +3

United Arab List–Ta'al Ibrahim Sarsur 138,362 3.65% 4 0

Hadash Mohammad Barakeh 113,610 3.00% 4 0

Balad Jamal Zahalka 96,926 2.56% 3 0

Kadima Shaul Mofaz 79,487 2.09% 2 -19

Note - The above list contains only the parties which passed the

threshold.

Source: Agencies

_______________________________________________________________

Peres asks Netanyahu to form new Israeli government

03/02/2013

Israeli President Shimon Peres on Saturday

formally asked incumbent Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new governing

coalition following the Jan. 22 general

election.

Netanyahu will initially have 28 days to form

a coalition. His rightist Likud-Beitenu party

took a battering at the ballot box and won 31

seats, 11 fewer than it had going into the

election, but it nevertheless emerged as the

largest party.

Last week Peres consulted with representatives

from the 12 parties elected to the 120-seat

parliament, the Knesset, and factions that

control 82 seats recommended that Netanyahu

should be asked to form a coalition.

His administration is expected to be cobbled

together from a new centrist party headed by

former TV personality Yair Lapid, which with

19 seats, is the second-largest party, the 12-

seat far-right Bayit Yehudi ("Jewish Home")

faction and other centrist and religious parties.

Israeli coalition-building can be a laborious

process and Netanyahu may require the full 28

days before announcing success. He can ask

Peres for another 14 days to complete the task,

if needed.

Source: Reuters

ISRAEL INSIDER

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta%27al



Ovadia Yosef warns Peres of

Israeli civil war

31/01/2013

According to the Maariv newspaper website,

representatives of the Shas Party delivered a

message from Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (the party's

spiritual leader) to Israeli President, Shimon

Peres, warning him that "passing the law to

recruit yeshiva (religious) students into the

Israel army will cause a rift in Israeli society

and will lead to civil war."

Eli Yishai and Aryeh Deri who are both

leaders of the party arrived at Israeli

President's residence on Thursday morning to

negotiate on who will be charged with forming

the next Israeli government. They both

recommended assigning the task to the current

Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

During the meeting, Arieh Deri delivered a

personal message to Peres from Rabbi Ovadia

Yosef regarding "the need to hold serious talks

in order to find a suitable solution to the issue

of drafting yeshiva students into the army so

as to avoid a chasm forming within Israeli

society which could lead to conflict between

brothers."

In his message, Raabi Yosef called on the

Israeli president to "do everything in his power

and use all his influence to bring all the

sections of the Jewish people together,

especially at this point in time."

Source: MEMO

_______________________________________________________________

No international

congratulations for

Netanyahu post-election

28/01/2013

A week after the Israeli general election and

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still

waiting for congratulatory calls from world

leaders. Maariv newspaper claimed at the

weekend that no leader of any country has

called Netanyahu following the announcement

of the election results last

Tuesday. Netanyahu's Likud-Yisrael Beitenu

group won the most seats in the Knesset.

The newspaper added that the prevailing belief

in Israel is that the international community is

waiting for President Shimon Peres to ask

Netanyahu to form the new government,

which will be another coalition.

However, Maariv also pointed out that former

US President George W. Bush has contacted

ex-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to

congratulate his party for winning 29 seats,

compared with Likud-Yisrael Beitenu's 31.

Israeli political sources say that Bush's

congratulations came because of his close

relationship with Olmert, hinting at the crisis

in relations between the current occupant of

the White House and the Israeli premier. It has

also been noted that relations between

Netanyahu's government and European

countries are at a low thanks to the stalemate

in the peace process and Israel's settlement

expansion programme.

Source: MEMO



PCOM concludes its visit to Gaza

01/02/2013

The Palestinian Cultural Organization

Malaysia (PCOM) has concluded on Thursday

(31 January, 2013) its visit to Gaza that lasted

for 5 days.

Dato’ Seri Shahidan Kassim (Special Advisor

to Malaysian PM and Chairman of PCOM’s

Board of Trustees) headed the delegation that

included both board of trustees and board of

directors of the organization, besides several

academics and members of some other

Malaysian NGOs.

The delegation has been warmly welcomed at

Rafah crossing by several Palestinian officials

who expressed their appreciation to the

Malaysian delegations flowing into Gaza to

lend support to its people, and the last of

which was the historic visit of the Malaysian

Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The delegation has met with the Palestinian

Prime Minister “Ismail Haniyah” who

witnessed the signing of Memorandum of

Understanding between Yayasan Restu,

PCOM and the Palestinian Government to

launch Mushaf of Palestine’s project. Haniyah

has praised the project saying it’s a mutual

honour for both Malaysians and Palestinians.

For his part, Dato’ Abdul Latif Mirasa,

member of PCOM’s board of trustees and

chairman of Yayasan Restu said that his

foundation intends to train some Palestinians

to join the project and collect information

about the Palestinian heritage that will be

reflected in the new Mushaf.

Besides, the delegation has met with several

Palestinian Ministers including Minister of

Health, Minister of Economics, Minister of

Culture and Minister of Women to coordinate

the Malaysian support to them based on their

essential needs. The delegation has also paid a

visit to the Palestinian Legislative Council

(PLC) and met with its Deputy Speaker and

MPs to express solidarity with the Palestinian

MPs in the Israeli jails.

The delegation has also visited Al-Shifa’

hospital and Al-Salamah Society and met with

MALAYSIA & PALESTINIAN CAUSE



several injured and disabled Palestinians who

were wounded during the last aggressive

attacks on Gaza in 2009 and 2012. The

delegation has also viewed the demolished

sights including the Palestinian PM office that

was targeted during the 8-day war last

November.

Besides, PCOM has participated with tens of

Palestinians in a solidarity tent with the

Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails that

was held in front of the Red Cross HQ in Gaza

city.

At the end of the visit, the chairman of

PCOM’s board of directors “Muslim Abu-

Umar” told media agencies that “the visit was

successful and we realized that what Gaza

needs most is a continuous support for its

resistance to stand against the Israeli

aggression until all Palestine is free”.

Source: PCOM



PCOM visit to Gaza

PHOTO GALLERY



Documents

Issue no 30