Palestinians Aspire to be United

By ISMAIL AMSYAR BIN MOHD SAID This is the second of a two-part series in conjunction with the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinan People which falls on Nov 29. Malaysia commomerates the day on Dec 3. KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 (Bernama) -- There is a Malay proverb that literally means 'United we stand, divided we fall'. This saying resonates with the plight of the Palestinians after the recent onslaught by Israel which killed more than 160 Palestinians and wounded some 1,000. Palestinians feel they need to be united to end Israel’s occupation and atrocities. Palestinians want to fight under one flag. Following the ceasefire on Nov 21, after the eight-day Israeli aggression, that had at least stopped more killings, the call to accelerate the reconciliation of rival factions – Fatah and Hamas – became more enhanced because Palestinians believe that if they don’t stay united they cannot defeat their aggressor, Israel. Fatah and Hamas had signed a reconciliation pact in April last year, brokered by Egypt. The deal had opened up the possibility of a joint caretaker government, before the national elections. FATAH-HAMAS UNITY Dr Abdallah Abdallah, Deputy Foreign Relations Commissioner of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, expounded on the aspiration of the Palestinians to put up a united front. He told Bernama since the ceasefire more and more Palestinians wanted the two factions to end their conflict, because without unity, they could never achieve their goal. Usamah Hamdan, Hamas Head of the International Relations department agreed on this. Although differences exist, he believed that Palestinians should be united in their struggle for freedom. "We have to stay united even though we may have different ideas. We should think practically, by focusing on a united Palestinian nation, instead of talking about divisions,” he said. These are the leaders’ words. Citizens too want a united Palestine as aptly noted by Ahmed Mezhar, an employee of the Palestinian Ministry of Economy in an interview with Bernama correspondent in Gaza recently. “Unity is best option in confronting the occupation,” he said. THE EIGHT-DAY ATTACK ON GAZA Hamdan said that the aggression on Gaza begun after Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani visited Gaza on Oct 23. The Israelis were unhappy because they felt that for the first time, there would be an important breakthrough with regard to the Gaza blockade, since the Qatari Emir was financing some of the projects in Palestine, he said. According to Hamdan, the recent Israeli attacks destroyed the houses of six Palestinian leaders. In addition, Ahmed Al-Ja'bary, second in command of the Hamas military wing was assassinated. The Israelis assumed that the six leaders were at their respective homes, he said, adding that one of the houses belonged to the Prime Minister of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh. "The Israelis only succeeded in assassinating Al-Ja'bary. They failed in their mission to kill the other six leaders,” Hamdan said. THE CEASEFIRE Dr Abdallah said apart from the ceasefire, there were other issues that need to be discussed. "The ceasefire does not solve all our problems. It depends on whether Israel is keen on lifting the siege, opening the border crossings into Gaza and stopping all forms of atrocities on the Palestinians," he said. Dr Abdallah said that there were several reasons as to why Israel agreed to the truce. One of them is because of the new mindset displayed by some Arab countries in supporting Palestine coupled with criticism leveled against some Western powers that were accused of 'covering up' the Israeli aggression. ROLE OF THE ARAB COUNTRIES AND OIC "Some of the Arab countries are helping us and some are not. Some of the Arab countries can do more for Palestine. We do not keep knocking on doors, begging for assistance," Dr Abdallah said. He said that Palestine has received assistance from a number of Arab countries but the country still required political and financial assistance. He said that countries and entities that have provided aid include the European Union, some Arab countries and Malaysia, which has built two schools in Palestine. Hamdan said that the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) were supporting Palestine. "If the people put pressure on their governments, they will react and support Palestine through the OIC," he said. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s former prime minister, said that the OIC was bound by consensus with regard to the Palestinian issue. "Everybody should agree before we can carry out a task. To get over 50 countries to agree is very difficult. This is because these countries get threats from the US, or are obligated to the US, and they will not accept a resolution that will damage their relationship with the US," he explained. He added that the policies formulated by the US would never be criticised by the OIC as a whole, but certain members of the OIC might take another stand. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY With regard to the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which will be observed in Malaysia on Dec 3, Dr Abdallah said, "We don’t want the Palestinians to be remembered only when they are attacked”. He hoped that people all around the world would support the Palestinians in their cause. "Any form of aid and support, including humanitarian aid, should focus on Palestine as a whole," he said. Dr Abdallah agreed that the Palestinian struggle is an ongoing one. The international community too concured with this view and gave its assurance that Palestine would not be left alone in its struggle for freedom. This was clearly seen when the the United Nations on Thursday overwhelmingly voted to recognise Palestine as a non-member observer state. The resolution was approved by a vote of 138 to nine, with 41 abstentions, in the 193-member world body. This decision clearly shows that unity is indeed strength. -- BERNAMA