you’ve got to hand it to the women. when the s*&^ hits the fan they are always the ones to react. the strong ones. in the midst of a political situation where palestinians are afraid to speak out against the israeli terrorist war against gaza, the women’s union got fed up today and organized and impromptu protest at martyr’s square in downtown nablus. it was a brief demonstration, partially due to the rain i suspect, but important nevertheless. after the first fifteen minutes or so men joined as well. the chants were all about unity: one nation. no division. the chants criticized hamas and fatah alike. i recorded some of the chants in two mp3 files which you can listen to if you’d like:
we are having a second protest tonight at 5 pm. here is the statement about tonight’s evening demonstration:
على عتبه العام الجديد ..وبينما العالم يطوي صفحه عام مضى نفتح صفحه صبغت اولى حروفها بلون الدم .. دم اخوتنا في غزه … سنه جديده شاهده على عمق المأساه وحجم الجريمه التي ترتكب بحق شعبنا
لذلك ولاجل الدم الذي يسيل في غزه لاجل الاطفال وشيوخ
لاجل المناضلين الذين يرضون كل شيء الا الذله
نضيء شموعنا ..
علها توصل من قلوبنا نورا يضي عتمه ليلهم .. صوتا يواسيهم ويشد من ازرهم ويقول لهم اننا معكم … كلنا في الكرب واحد
المنا واحد …كيف لا ودمنا فلسطيني واحد
التجمع في
دوار الشهداء _ مدينه نابلسOn the threshold of the new year .. and as the world turns the page of one year and opens a new page in the color of blood .. The blood of our brothers in Gaza … the new year saw the depth of the tragedy and the magnitude of the crimes committed against our people.
for the blood spilling in Gaza, for the children and the elderly
for the freedom fighter who buys everything except fifth and dignity.
we lights our candles …
may the light from our hearts alleviate some of the darkness that surround them… attribute to them to tell them we are with you … we are all one in distress
we are sharing the pain our blood is unify us.
Today five p.m. turn on the candles in the center of the city of Nablus martyrs circle
Brothers … Make your voice loud for them to hear you like all the brothers in all over the country and around the world
in lebanon dear baha’a sent out an email about their protest this afternoon. he noted that there are many new year’s celebrations in jordan and syria have been canceled, but not in lebanon. he urged people to boycott those celebrations and i encourage others to do the same around the world:
Also, tonight happens to be the New Year’s night which everyone celebrates usually. Syria and Jordan have declared the cancellation of all celebrations to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine and Gaza. As for Lebanon, I urge everyone to boycott any celebrations as the violence against Gaza is increasing. Instead, a group of people will be gathering at Esqwa, downtown, before midnight to light candles and show solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza.
honestly, i don’t know how people can celebrate tonight given the situation. i am happy that i don’t have to worry about that here in nablus. but really i don’t know how people can go out and celebrate tonight. last year i arrived in beirut on new year’s eve. it was solemn then, too, because tamara’s grandfather had just died while i was en route to lebanon. we had a quiet dinner together and then met up with some friends for a low key night out at barometre. all night long ali kept asking me what my new year’s wish was. my response was: the right of return. he knows that i was earnest in saying this, but he kept wanting me to offer a different answer, an answer about something i want for myself. but honestly there was nothing i wanted for me. unfortunately, this year, while my answer would be the same, i would have to answer that i want this f(*#$^%& bloodbath to stop. the bombing just started again an hour ago from the american-made f16s, though gazans have been shelled all day from israeli terrorists along the seashore.
there are now 391 palestinian martyrs and almost 1,800 injured. it took this many dead palestinians before the arab league met today. not that anything will come out of it. some rhetoric maybe, but what will they do? they all want to continue normalization with the zionist entity. with the americans. in spite of how many millions of their arab brothers and sisters blood has been shed as a result of both of them. the only statement i have seen thus far that makes some bit of sense came from pflp today:
The PFLP further warned PA President Abu Mazen from providing cover for the enemy and its assaults against our people through the so-called “negotiations” with Israel, stating that these negotiations are a mockery and must end immediately.
The statement said that the PFLP has warned Abu Mazen and the PA government in Ramallah of the damaging and dangerous of these “negotiations” upon our people and our cause and stated that they only provide illusions and false promises to our people.
Our people are not fooled by these so-called “negotiations” or the so-called “peace process,” because they daily confront the crimes and aggressions of the enemy on the ground, from the latest massacres in Gaza, to the continuing imprisonment of over 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners, to the ongoing building of the settlements that steal our land, to the building of the racist annexation wall, to the Zionization of Jerusalem, to the countless other crimes committed over sixty years of occupation that have not once ceased due to such so-called “negotiations.”
The PFLP said that the road that must be taken instead and immediately is that which leads to the defeat of the enemy – steadfastness, resistance, national unity, and confrontation. Our responsibility is to protect our people under occupation and not to provide cover for the occupation as it commits its crimes.
mona el farra on her blog this morning recounted new war crimes by the israeli terrorists:
Today in the early morning hours, and while the health emergency teams on duty (Jabalia ), trying to evacuate the injured and dead, they were targeted by the israeli army, one of the health rescue members was killed another injured. (i will provide you with more details when i have the names and time of the incident).
i warned of in previous entry in my blog, and several times in my writing, while reporting from Gaza, since the year 2000. i warned of targeting health teams while on duty and in clear uniform.
can we just investigate who violate human rights? talking of terrorism! what do u think of state terrorism!
In Gaza We have many evidence, on daily human rights violations, we do not need the world to say we did not know, when it is late and the genocide is well prominent fact.
now tell me: is this really something you can delete from your mind and go celebrate tonight. and please, if you are my friend do not send me emails wishing me a happy new year. save your fingers from the typing. instead, write a letter to your newspaper, the the united nations, to anyone who will listen and ask them to make the israeli terrorists stop. NOW.
ps: i just learned that dubai canceled its new year’s celebrations tonight, which is great. now can we just get them to stop their f(*@!)* normalizing with israeli businessmen?:
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the UAE, ordered the cancellation of all New Year celebrations in the emirate to show support for the people of Gaza.
body on the line 
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