In Dulce et Decorum est Pro Patria Mori: A Poem for Remembrance Sunday 2018:

SWEET

Due East of Nowhere lies a sandy shore,

Undulating, wriggling out from sea.

Lie on this naked beach with your amour,

Conjoin your limbs and set your passion free;

Enjoy your thoughts, because you cannot go and see.

AND

Each sorrowed soul that dwells there cannot leave:

This slice of shore a web around is weaved.

NOBLE

Dream you to go with me inland? Where cleaned-up Kids

Excited stare at guests there never are?

Come up and beg to take us home, their bids

Outdo each other in a wish bazaar;

Racing forward, pointing hands gesture maps in light,

Until at last we choose a child, a home, a plight, where

Mum must fast to feed us in her bairn's birth-right.

 IT IS

Eating in a tent perched on the old house debris,

Sofa from the rubble - and completing the Marquee a

Table topped by tinned food wrapped in UN decree.

ON BEHALF OF

Prayers. "Thanks God we survive through our people's Laments."

Rebuild? - "Bombed houses make coffins and then become tents."

Offspring? - "Bred for Waste. I have 2 left from 8. God is great".

OUR FATHERLAND

Punctually at sunset, the drones fly over.

Actions don't change, you can't hide in a tent

There's nowhere to run to, no bed of clover.

Remember the fallen, but remember the rent.

Inside the Bivouac Mum tells her poppet:

Aircraft whine this way, that sound's a rocket.

TO DIE

Mother of Palestine, why don't your sons

Organise rebellion, acquire some big guns?

Reader and Leader, don't all we tell this story:

In Dulce et Decorum - est Pro Patria Mori.

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(Sweet and Noble it is to die for your Country,)

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Letter about Sacks/Corbyn

To the i newspaper by email only

Your front page headline "Ex-chief Rabbi condemns Corbyn comments on British Zionists" is exactly correct so far as Corbyn did lambast Zionists - though what their ethnicity was neither we nor Sacks know, unless there is a published ethnic breakdown of the audience. Claims of anti-semitism are simply assumptions.

Indeed it is Sacks, not Corbyn, that is recklessly assuming Anti- Zionism is Anti-Semitism. In my experience, Zionists that seek cover for their racist views invent anti-semitism to hide behind.

My experience of touring an exhibition and presentation about Gaza Child trauma over many years demonstrated that Jews were as likely to be organising my event as heckling it. As were Christians. Some Christian Zionists were particularly virulent antagonists, whilst Israeli students were sometime hecklers at university, as the Israeli Government, I'm told, will pay £2000pa to students for "promoting Israel" at Palestine events in the UK. They get a manual on how to do it. And the Israelis offered Labour Friends of Israel £1m too.

So Corbyn correctly defined supporters of Apartheid Israel as Zionists - whether they be Christian or Jew, British or Foreign.

And Sacks makes Corbyn's point for him: It's ironic when racists claim it is racist to call them racist! Indeed Sacks complains that identifying someone as a Zionist might somehow result in rivers of blood here, rather than complaining about someone being a Zionist, which has already resulted in rivers of blood in Palestine.

British or not, Zionists don't understand irony. Didn't Corbyn say that?

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Oh Jezza Corbyn, you are so, so naive; In New York they're plotting, and Tel Aviv.

Oh Jezza Corbyn, you are so, so  naive; In New York they're plotting, and Tel Aviv.

Nobody cares what Netanyahu done say, what worries us is that you always give way.

OH YES, YOU ALWAYS GIVE WAY.

Like Mars Attacks they shout they come, come in peace, but people running from the gun-firing Feast;

The dead in Tunis graves are all, all victim; No trials, The Mossad murder each on a whim.

OH YES, EACH KILLED ON A WHIM.

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THE MOSSAD DENIED IN 1992 THAT THEY KILLED THE FRANCE PLO LEADER, NOW BURIED IN TUNIS, BY SHOOTING HIM IN PARIS. 

 French intelligence at the time announced that the responsibility for his death was to be traced to the Abu Nidal Organization, a claim denied by that group. The PLO pointed the finger at Mossad, which is now known to have organized his killing. At the time, Ehud Gol, spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, stated that claims of Israel's responsibility were 'completely ridiculous' and did not merit a reply. (Wikipedia)

 The PLO denied Bseiso had any connection to the Munich operation. His death was seen at the time as damaging PLO attempts to strengthen their credentials by sharing intelligence information with Western countries.(Wikipedia)

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THE GERMAN POLICE KILLED 5 OF THE KIDNAPPERS AND MOST OF THE HOSTAGES, AND THE REMAINING 3 KIDNAPPERS WERE RELEASED FROM CUSTODY BY THE GERMANS, and did not include Bseiso. 

MOSSAD spent thirty years using the pretext of the Munich Kidnapping to kill anyone that they felt like, because, it seems from the text above, the PLO was giving info to the West that such Facts as that Israel penetrated and controlled the Abu Nidal Organisation, who also murdered PLO leaders.  (A Boast by Tzipi Livni reminiscing on her years in the Mossad office in Paris.) 

Israel Killed more innocent Civilians in the hunt for the three assassins than PLO men, and five Mossad operatives were given jail terms for one such murder of an innocent in Lilliehammer, Norway. 

Bseiso was involved in negotiations for the OSLO ACCORDS. (Wikipedia)

The CIA was furious with Israel for burning one of its key contacts (Bseiso) within the PLO. The French were outraged that Mossad had performed a targeted assassination on French soil, and began to crack down on Mossad infrastructure and operations in that country. (Wikipedia)

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SO Jeremy Corbyn is supposed to apologise for accidentally leaving a wreath on the coffin of a man who was engaged in the Peace process that Netanyahu has aborted, and was assassinated by Mossad for that reason.  He was never a Munich assassin, he was a PLO Leader in France involved in the Peace process. You are going to have to overcome your guilty reaction to these outrageous accusations Jeremy, sack the appeasers and come out fighting.

 Oh Jezza Corbyn, you are so, so  naive; In New York they're plotting, and Tel Aviv.

Nobody cares what Netanyahu done say, what worries us is that you always give way.

OH YES, YOU ALWAYS GIVE WAY.

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Haaretz article begins:  The U.K. Labour leader is the only politician hapless enough to lose the moral high ground to Bibi (Netanyahu)

This piece written as a comment in Haaretz by Ben Alofs:

A decent journalist would check the facts....

Jeremy Corbyn in 2014 attended a conference on Palestine in Tunis at the invitation of the Tunisian president, a supporter of human rights, with other European parliamentarians, including Conservatives and Liberal Democrats from the UK. During the conference Corbyn and others laid wreaths to commemorate the victims of a 1985 Israeli airstrike in Tunis, that killed 62 Palestininians and 12 Tunisians. This act of state terrorism was condemned in the UN Security Council by a majority of 14-0. Corbyn has said himself that the wreath laying was meant to commemorate the victims of all forms of terrorism. The decorative ribbon on the wreath says in Arabic "monitoring the Palestinian legal and political issue", which was the title of the conference Corbyn was attending. The extreme right wing rag the Daily Mail deliberately tried to imply that Corbyn was laying wreaths on the graves of those responsible for the Munich massacre. None of those who carried out the terrorist acts in Munich are buried in Tunis. Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad) and Atef Bseiso, who are buried in Tunis, have been accused by Israel of having had links with Black September in the 1970s, but have always denied this. They were senior Fatah and PLO leaders at the time and the Palestinians continue to pay respect to them, just like they continue to pay respect to Yasir Arafat, who is buried in the Muqata. When Jack Straw, the UK foreign minister in Tony Blair's government, laid a wreath at Arafat's grave in the Muqata there was no outcry. Netanyahu telling off Corbyn displays what a hypocrite he is. He is the one who commemorates the terrorists who bombed the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1947 causing huge loss of civilian life, including Jews. When Ariel Sharon, the butcher of Qibya and Sabra and Shatila, was lying in state in the Knesset, not one of the mourners thought for one moment what an insult this was to all of the innocent victims of this war criminal. There was no outcry when Tony Blair attended the butcher's funeral. Finally, that Corbyn attended the conference in Tunis and laid wreaths, was known back in 2014. One Tory minister tried to besmirch Corbyn then over this matter, until it became clear that the conference was also attended by Tories. This shows the extent to which Corbyn's enemies are prepared to go to find dirt on him and try to unseat him as leader of the Labour party.

In 2010, how was Gaza then?

In 2018 The world for Palestinians gets worse, daily, with 773 shot in Gaza through the fence, a new record of psychotic racist massacre, even for the Israelis. - but it was never good, not since 1917.

In Twenty Ten, How was Gaza then?

At Israel was fired in Twenty Ten

Four hundred** Missiles by Gaza men.

Across the wall, No Jews were killed at all

But 8 felt shock, when in July

A rocket landed quite close by**

5 children and 70 women and men,

Were killed in Gaza by Israel then;

Their vacant space implores we take their place

It's time to count the missiles there*

Caress the dead, lay siege to fear

Bloody stolen land of lies, Zion hates not guns, but sighs

It dreads the weeping in the wide world's eyes.

*(5 Children in a total of 72 deaths. Additionally, 500 were injured, and 'at least' 700 Gazans are in Israeli prisons, out of a total of 6500 Israeli imprisoned Palestinians - PCHR/B'Tselem), but there is no record of the number of bombs, rockets and shells fired into gaza by Israel, though it must be at least ten times more than the Palestinians fire. 

** (365 total consisting of 215 mortars & 150 rockets; 1 Filipino farm worker was killed elsewhere, otherwise the 8 shocked Israelis were the only missile 'casualties' - Shin Bet&Israel Army) In addition in 2010, Israel killed and injured others in the West Bank, invaded a civilian boat on the high seas outside Israel territorial waters and killed 8; attacked Gaza fishing boats and impounded an unknown number. In 2010. In the same period, no Palestine forces invaded any part of Israel, or attacked any ships on the high seas, or attacked and confiscated any Israeli boats. Palestinians did kill 3 Israelis in the West Bank. Israelis - including settlers - killed 10 Palestinians there. in 2010.

The Balfour Declaration
So when did the Aggravation Start?

Whilst you read on,  listen to this,  Gaza Reggae/Rap - say GRR!

1917         "(Oh Gaza) New Year"         2017

Damn! - Hannah Cinthio's Reggae is a different kind of Rocket 

So, when did all the aggravation start? Probably 1917 with the insane Balfour Declaration in which Tory Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour, in a letter, promised Lord Rothschild a homeland for the Jews in Palestine. He pledged assistance for the Zionist cause, totally disregarding the consequences for the Arab majority there.

Lord Sydenham warned: “What we have done, by concessions not to the Jewish people but to a Zionist extreme section, is to start a running sore in the East, and no-one can tell how far that sore will extend.”

It was surely the cruellest and most idiotic foreign policy decision by a British government.

 RAP NEWS

Today there are 6.5 million dispossessed Palestinian refugees worldwide. More than 1.5 million live a miserable existence in 58 refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, waiting in vain to return to their family homes and farms. Those who still live in the shredded remnants of Palestine have been under brutal Israeli military occupation or blockade for 69 years. The Western powers’ failure to implement international law and deliver justice to the Arab communities in the Holy Land is deeply resented by Muslims worldwide.
The Holy Land has been a powder-keg since 1948 when Britain walked away from its mandate responsibility and the Israelis immediately declared statehood without defining borders. They have been stealing Palestinian lands and resources ever since. It will remain a powder-keg until the international community comes to its senses.

(Extract from an Article by Stuart Littlewood, a journalist in Nazareth)

God of Revolution: a rap by DAM

Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori

On November 11th at 11:00 1918, The First World War ended, and is remembered annually on Remembrance Sunday. This year, Pacifist Jeremy Corbyn, new UK Labour Party Leader will attend the memorial at the Cenotaph  and the Media want to know if he will sing the National Anthem, bow to the Queen and wear a Red Plastic Poppy.

Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori is written in red, out of respect for the Soldiers who have fallen in the wars fought throughout History. Red on a white Background symbolises Blood and Bandages. The Red Poppy sold by the Royal British Legion also is said to represent not only the Poppies that grew on the blood soaked soil of the Flanders Battlefields - Poppies are always one of the first flowers to colonise land churned up by diggers or tanks - but also to symbolise the blood spilt.

Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori is Latin. It translates as "Sweet and Noble it is to die for your Country". Throughout History Men have had this sort of sentiment drummed into them (that's a Military derived metaphor, BTW). Their leaders, working, obviously, for the good of the nation, which is the only protection those leaders have for their business profits, have employed their religious and, more recently, media stooges to justify why YOU should give away your life for their stay-at-home benefit. 

Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori Many returning Soldiers believe in this jingoism. The war gives them the most intense experience they have ever had, and ever will have, probably. For men from sheltered, limited opportunity backgrounds it provides pride and a great sense of worth. For those and others the slaughter of colleagues and the Bathos of the return to civil life, however, often renders their lives and their sacrifice utterly meaningless, and they constantly need re-assurance that it was actually worthwhile.  it is ironic that many surviving "victors" of wars need the same kind of recognition of their suffering as do the bomb victims that I visited so recently in Gaza. The very least that the rest of us can do is to stand quietly for a minute at 11:00 to tell all of them, from the bottom of our heart, how proud, and how indebted, we are - and wear a Red Plastic Poppy.

Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori? Whose Country is it Noble to die for? Many UK soldiers have no difficulty allowing that the Germans feel the same way about their Soldiers, especially in First World War. It may be a little more difficult to get unanimity on the Second, but even there, ordinary Soldiers were, at least at the time, regarded as a very civilised and ethical group, even if the SS was not. Japanese Soldiers, with a very different culture to ours, are less acceptable to many, while the un-uniformed French Resistance are viewed as the glamour girls and guys, extremely brave, and not bound by War ethics at all in their undercover role. The same is true of the Polish resistance, Jewish and native Pole alike, whilst Russian Soldiers are admired for their sacrifice rather than their skill. 

Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori? So why is the Palestinian resistance so vilified? These fighters are fighting for their children's lives, not the Glory of the State. Many French were able to run away from the bombs reigned down on their heads, and although it is very small comfort for the refugees in Syria, they too are at least able to escape. Through the whole of History, I have never heard of a Nation keep locked up in a Zoo enclosure behind barbed wire and used for target practice, especially , when the nation terrorising them does not even have any intention of conquering them. No German, Japanese or Russian airforce ever bombed, day after day, unarmed civilians locked up by Razor wire, shooting on the ground those who even just come close to the fence. Yet those who resist with stones and home made weapons, and who almost invariably die, are spat upon. Oh yes, the Patria - the economically active trading partner country - we support here is Israel, isn't it? And Palestine - fully exploited by Israel and economically inert - is, ahem, not a state, actually.....

Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori! Here is my little Haiku for Gaza, in Red on white, though there are no bandages. Please repeat it whilst playing Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony (here). Let Tchaikovsky's lonely bitter suffering stand in for all of us, and let us continue to highlight this brutal suffering, as they will also say on November 11th: "Lest we Forget"

Grey Britain mourn for Gaza's

Orange Scented Sunshine: Death

Illuminated

Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori!? Men made of Sterner stuff, however, see through all this Patria Stuff. For many years after 1918 old soldiers demonstrated at the remembrance Services against the glorification of War. And many of the First World War Soldiers, even if they never returned, found time to write about the horrific slaughter, and ignorance of the reality of War: The Independent printed some:

Siegfried Sassoon: 

You smug Faced Crowds with Kindling Eye

Who Cheer when Soldier lads march by

Sneak Home and pray you'll never know 

The hell where Youth and Laughter Go.

Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori!? Men like these invented the Peace Pledge Union, which in 1935 came up with the idea of the white Poppy to symbolise both the sacrifice of the dead and the pledge never to let it happen again. I'm definitely not a Pacifist, but the end of War nevertheless seems an eminently sensible and desirable goal. I'm proud to wear a white poppy. What a shame that the weight of the militarily inclined leadership of all parties see it as a direct threat to their power, and that many Soldiers see it as the negation of the praise they need to stay sane. And the British Legion sees it as an attack on its revenue stream. It is ironic that in order to stay sane and feel whole, the "victors" of war need the same acknowledgements of their suffering that Gaza children need for their broken bodies.  White Poppy wearers, like dirty hippies, are hated even more than the German army - or so the media seem to say. People do need the security of living in a Society that they have, however humble, a place in. They react when changes in Society make them feel threatened, and they respond to the propaganda of our leaders. The fact that the white Poppy rocks their foundations so strongly tells us much about the current nature of the Society we live in, and we have to ask: "Why is it like that?" Why does death shock us less than obedience to the powerful? Why are we so ready to abuse those who don't glorify war, when the Soldiers who actually fought it refused to do so? We have forgot the Horror! And our leaders are ready to start another war. So let us remember:

Keith Douglas:

Now in my dial of glass appears

The Soldier who is going to die.

He smiles, and moves about in ways his mother knows,

habits of his

The wires touch his face: I cry

NOW! Death, like a familiar, hears.

Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori: Our Patria is controlled by much deeper currents than an election or two. Let the raging, barmy Labour Leader be elected, you can hear the shadows say, we will devour him in the maw of our media, claw at his most hidden beliefs, invite him to eat a dog or be painted the villain. Everything he believe will have an enemy and he will bow to that enemy, or the people will spit him out. Let him say that he is a Republican, and we will make sure he kneels before the Queen; a Pacifist and we will make him a coward if he will not praise the killing. Corbyn must wear his white Poppy, or betray, again and again those whose hopes rest on his ability to lead.  Principles are hard to keep, but giving them away to appease the baying crowd really is cowardice. To reject violence he must win the battle of ideas. This is what being a leader is: He has to sell his story and give courage to those who will work for him. And make no error, the stake is our Patria, and beyond. And it is for sure a Battle to the death, for those who make money from power, will certainly kill to keep it.

Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori: My Patria is no country, it is our right to live as Human Beings, and the only war that is justified is that which liberates us from the manacles of those who would exploit us. To invade Iraq; to fund Ukrainian Far right parties to kill Ukrainian police to provoke a civil War; to fund Al Qeada via Saudi Arabia to overthrow Assad at the cost of hundreds of thousand lives, all these are murder. To support the struggle of Tibetan Buddhists to be free from communists; or the right of Muslim Rohingas to self determination in Burma, or Christians to be free from Muslim persecution in Indonesia, or Communists to be free from Christian persecution in The USA, are the Human Rights worth fighting for if fighting is all there is left. We are all Human, even Untouchables and Palestinians.

Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori - the lie: We must - and all of us will - fight and die for our real dignity, our fundamental right to life, Liberation, Fraternity, Equality, if it became necessary. This is not a lesson to learn, it is natural in every Mother, in every Lover. They - we - will not need telling when the time is right, because there will be no choice. But what must never be allowed to happen again, is for the Love we feel for our Children to be exploited by the Lust for Power of those whose hearts are made entirely of cold Gold and whose veins circulate only lies in search of power. Never again can we let these Psychopathic merchants of Greed abuse the love we have for our society, and pervert it for the conquest of others by pretending innocent people are a threat to us; nor let them take the courage and adventure of our young people and press it into a false glamour of war. Never Again, we said after the last World War,  but then Blair, and then Cameron, too young to know the past, up and lead us to death and ignominy on foreign fields that will never be England, just forgotten. Blair and Cameron are too young to have felt the blood pumping freshly out of a soldiers's leg, still hot from the amputating shrapnel in Flanders or Dunkirk, like World War Soldiers have; and they are too callous to feel the searing amputation heat of Israeli DIME or Flechette bombs, which their spy planes see perfectly clearly. Lest we forget, Remembering the Dead is not to glorify war, it is to thank those who gave their lives, support those who survived, and pledge NEVER AGAIN. To refuse to bow the Head to the Queen, merely a symbol for the power brokers to shelter under, like a false flag to wrap up in while raping the innocent; and always to wear the white poppy, and always to carefully explain why. And Lest We Forget:

Wilfred Owen:

If you could hear, at every Jolt, the blood

Come Gargling from the Froth Corrupted Lungs,

Obscene as Cancer, bitter as the Cud, 

Of vile incurable sores on innocent Tongues -

My Friend you would not tell with such high Zest

To Children ardent for some desperate Glory

The old lie: Dolce et Decorum Est 

Pro Patria Mori

Ms Livni and the Mossad Man with Gratitude to Lewis Carroll

Gaza Loss of Innocence

This is a Fifteen Minute video about Gaza, seen through the perspective of the Art Exhibition that I brought back in 2009. I hope it gives you the motivation to "do Resistance". Everything else is wasting time, don't you think?

Palestinian Children come to Chester to tell their stories and share their lives.

A group in Chester is giving Cestrians a chance to meet and talk to young Palestinians about what it is like to live and go to school in the West Bank. The public meeting will be held in the POP-UP Gallery next to Alexander's in Rufus Court, Chester CH1 2JW, from 4pm on Sunday 12th October (next Sunday) Entrance to the meeting is absolutely free, but there will be Palestinian Snacks and a hearty English Stew available for which donations are requested. The Children are mainly between 13 and 15, and they very much hope to meet children of their own age as well as adults.

The Group also includes Adam Halabiyeh, 18, who, with a friend Johar, was shot in the legs multiple times by Israeli Soldiers on his way home from Football training. When asked where he had come from, and he said 'football training', they broke both boys' knees. They were held in an Israeli Detention Centre for four days, then treated at the family's cost in Jordan, as no hospital in Palestine could treat their injuries. On his return, Adam was arrested and imprisoned for three months. Once again, after a campaign by Camden-Abu Dis Twinning group, who have organised this visit, he was released without charge.

Adam cannot play football any more, but the other boys will play five a side against a Lache team at 'Goal' in Bumper's Lane at 13:00, and other teams (age about 14) can contact Rod Cox if they would like to play (Rod@cape.uk.net).

Rod Cox, of Chester Friends of Palestine said: "The devastation of Gaza outraged everyone. But the Humiliation and suffering in the West Bank, of teenagers especially, continues quietly and gets daily worse. Israel imprisons children without trial or charge in violation of the Geneva Conventions, and ignoring the world's condemnation. In Football their Government's Apartheid Policies of discrimination against Palestinians is also illegal, and a particular target of the Kick Racism out of Football campaign instituted by the English FA."

"There are always voices to be heard making excuses for Israeli behaviour, but it is rare for people to be able to meet and talk directly with Palestinians, so we hope as many as possible will take advantage of the opportunity."

The Mayor of the Town is also on the tour, and with excellent translators, the organisers hope that he, Adam and the Children from this Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis will be able to answer everyone's questions, and everyone will have the chance to meet and talk with them while sharing a mint tea or Humous Dip.

A Slim Chance of Peace

Here's a joke. Of course being about Israel, its not funny.
Why has Israel banned half-starved women from modelling?
Because it gave the Palestinians too many job opportunities.

Please Give support in any way you can to Hana Shalabi, who is on hunger strike and close to death:
She has not been charged with any offence, but is held in detention, and is reported to be determined to continue with her fast. She said "Freedom is even more precious and more powerful than their cells"
About Hana.
PSC asks you to write to the Foreign Office as well.

Abbas gets tough or Abbas is weak

Abbas has sacked Mohammed Dahlan, formerly head of the Presidential Guard in Gaza, and regarded by everyone I've ever met as the hand of Israel in Palestine. Although there is certainly no proof, very many Palestinians point the finger at Dahlan when they talk of the mysterious death of Arafat, now almost universally regarded as murder by poison by Israel through the hand of...
When Hamas won the January 2006 election in Palestine, but were not allowed to take power, they eventually formed a power sharing government with Abbas' Fatah and some deals for practical implementation of the unitary government were put in place. One of these deals was that 'security' in Gaza would be put under the control of the Government in a unified force, rather than the collection of private militias that had existed since Arafat's time. These militia, you may recall, were responsible for kidnappings, including the BBC journalist Alan Johnson. A quick search of the BBC for "Johnson Gaza" brings up Jul 2004 - 'This weekend a string of high profile kidnappings and fighting...' April 2003 - 'Dahlan says he will disarm other militias by force if necessary', and so on. Johnson was captured on March 12th 2007 by the Dogmush clan, another fearsome tribe that had been allowed to run wild whilst Dahlan was head of security in Gaza under Arafat and then Abbas.
The reason for the kidnap at a time when Hamas looked certain to beat Dahlan, seems to have been an excuse to bring in International - ie Israeli - forces against Hamas, who had been fighting Dahlan as part of their mission to unify security, agreed as part of the coalition settlement. Dahlan was supposed to slot into the Hamas Parliamentary chain of command, but that was never going to happen after Israel - who preferred Gaza split, unstable, corrupt and divided - gave him a boatload of arms, and in the end the fighting became very bloody, but Hamas 'won'. Dahlan fled to the West Bank, where he was found a job in Tony Blair's re-organisations, but that spelt the end of any Hamas input there, as a wave of arrests of Hamas activists by Abbas, and Hamas MPs by Israel, took place.
So, the removal of Dangerous Dahlan is bravery by Abbas beyond what I would have considered possible. Does that make Abbas weak or strong? The BBC quotes him as under pressure, which he is, but I see this as poke in the eye for Israel, and a statement of independence from Abu Mazan (Abbas).
In Israeli eyes Abbas has been behaving strangely lately: he's refused to obey Israel slavishly, he insists on the settlement ban, and by removing Dahlan, he may actually be clearing the way for a dialogue with Hamas. So, as with Arafat, Israel'd want to get rid of him, so the coup charge against Dahlan looks realistic. And therefore getting rid of Dahlan is very brave, and a smack in the teeth for Netanyahu, isn't it?  Well, I've always been a glass half full man, because otherwise I'd have to cut my wrists, it's so depressing, so let's look at the picture in the round.
Abbas had not folded in his demand for a settlement moratorium, he has a plan B (declare an independent state of Palestine) to go forward diplomatically in the face of Israeli Intransigence which is meeting with some success, and he has just got rid of the one man that Hamas would want him to, opening the way for genuine dialogue. He is now in a position where he can be a little bit generous to Hamas - even if Israel will portray that as weakness. A united front will be important to get a first ever Security Council Resolution against Israel's brutality, and then the Gaza Boats will be on the seas again in May, again with a powerful Turkish presence making it hard for Israel to sustain the Gaza blockade AND any credibility as a peace-loving state. Obama doesn't have to do anything, he just has to sit on his hands, and let it all happen. I think Abbas thinks he can actually achieve something, and I hope he's right.

 Here's the BBC article in full; what a shame that it doesn't seem to feel it necessary to tell us Dahlan's blood-stained history:

Abbas suspends Dahlan from Fatah over 'coup plot'

By Wyre Davies

BBC News, Jerusalem

Mohammed Dahlan is Fatah's former head of security in the Gaza Strip

Continue reading the main story

Related stories

• Palestinians pursue 'Plan B' after failed talks
• Profile: Fatah Palestinian movement
• Young leaders dominate Fatah vote

A senior figure in the Palestinian Fatah movement has denied plotting an internal coup to remove President Mahmoud Abbas.

Mohammed Dahlan has been suspended from Fatah's central committee pending an investigation into the allegations, which he describes as "fantastical".

There are increasing divisions in the movement, which runs the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank.

Mr Dahlan was Fatah's security chief in Gaza before Hamas took over in 2007.

Although President Mahmoud Abbas enjoys strong backing from the international community, the 75-year-old's presidential term formally ended more than a year ago and he has been effectively governing by decree ever since.

With peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians indefinitely suspended, there is growing criticism in Palestinian circles of what some describe as Mr Abbas' weak leadership.

Among his critics is Mr Dahlan, a 49-year-old who is originally from Gaza.

Mr Dahlan has emphatically denied plotting a coup and expressed his full support for Mahmoud Abbas in a BBC interview

"Abbas is the president of the Palestinian people and when he summons me, I will go to him. But this is an exaggerated story that is not good for Fatah or the Palestinian people," he said.

"There are those who want to stab Fatah in the back, but I won't give them the reason or means to do so. I am dedicated to the movement and I will not turn my back on it."

Embezzlement probe

Taking no chances, President Abbas also closed the offices of a TV station with links to Mr Dahlan and removed his personal security detail.

Mr Abbas has also reportedly ordered an internal investigation into embezzlement, which could focus on Mr Dahlan's multi-million dollar fortune.

Such moves might succeed in neutering any immediate attempt by Mr Dahlan, or others, to force a change of leadership in the Palestinian Authority.

But there is no doubt, say observers, that President Abbas looks like an increasingly weakened and dispirited leader.

Today is the start of the European Cup.

                                   It was during the last European cup that Israel played against England at Wembley, and I tried to bring a Palestine team for some games against UK football league teams at the same time. My objective was to give the Palestinians opposition that would motivate them to practice and improve. We had a base at the University of Chester, who were providing specialist coaching, and we had  an ascending order of games culminating with a premier league game against Blackburn Rovers. But it didn't happen. The UK government refused them visas on the grounds that Israel might refuse them re-entry, if they let them out in the first place, so they would become refugees and become a burden on the state. Meanwhile Israel turn up to an official reception to play their leg in the European Cup, feted by the English FA. But why does Israel play in Europe whilst it is imprisoning another team, and why Europe anyway?

The reason Israel plays in Europe is the Oslo agreement. Palestine is not a 'country' as Zionists keep telling us, so is not entitled to a FIFA recognised team, whilst Israel could not get a game in Asia, where most countries boycotted it. So giving Palestine a team, as a concession for moving Israel to Europe was an obvious move to make in the Oslo settlement. Crucially, Israel gets to be treated as a 'normal' state where it matters most, in the west.

In this Cup, Israel play Malta tonight. They have a very easy group, their seeded team is Croatia, who they have beaten before, I think, and the second seed is Greece, a team very varied in quality. The winner of each group and the 5 best runners up qualify for the finals, and this must be Israel's best opportunity yet. Their other opponents are Malta, Latvia and Georgia (who despite the distance, really are in geographical Europe). And an appearance in the final play-offs is yet another step to normalising them as a country, and as a European Country at that. No wonder Israeli commentators like Gideon Levy and Illan Pape say that the Israeli public have closed their mind to Peace, seeing no need to get out of their chairs, and feeling comfortable in the world's acceptance of who they are, occupation and all.

As I said, I invited the Palestine youth team over, but they were refused visas by the UK Government. A practiced media expert could have made much more out of it than I did, but, still there was some media attention for it. I do not discount rumours that Israel threw their England game as a deal to get the banning result, you have only to read the commentaries on the game, and see what an appalling game Yossi Benayoun had, for instance, and England badly needed a win to retain credibility (they still didn't qualify). But whether or not, they played at Wembley and the Palestinians remained locked in Gaza.

Anyway, the amount of work in trying to organise the tour was astonishing, and the costs enormous, so I won't be trying it again. In any case, after the failure of that visit the situation changed dramatically for the team. They were not helped by the then president of the Pal's FA saying that my failure to get visas was a personal failure, because I was obviously not corrupt enough to pull the right strings, and, as he told me, nothing to do with the siege of Gaza, which didn't affect him personally much. There are still a very few people in Gaza, I very much regret to say, who feel that breaking the siege is just a matter of corrupt payments to the right Israelis rather than action to end the occupation for all. This corruption is, of course the reason why Fatah were punished in the elections, and Hamas elected, but our Pals FA president, sitting in his 5 star hotel in Qatar, paid for by the Emir, had not yet got that message, even though the 2006 world cup qualifying run came to an end for the Palestine team when Israel refused visas to half the team when they needed to get a good result against Uzbekistan, and they lost, and lost momentum. "Pah, he said, why would the British government be implicated in the siege of Gaza?"

The progress of the team was mentored by a Kuwaiti based Palestinian refugee businessman called Barakat, who persuaded many other businesses to invest in the team. They really thought that World Cup qualification was possible, and the team moved up the FIFA rankings from the bottom to 115th, nearly halfway. The enthusiasm was palpable and it was possible to image the world sitting up and taking notice. As their success grew, beating Taiwan 8-0, and drawing with in form Iraq 1-1, Israel suddenly refused to allow half the team to play against Uzbekistan, and that was the beginning of the end. They lost 3-0, and under similar sanctions, they failed to qualify through their remaining games. 
In 2007, in the next world cup, without Barakat's support, and with West Bank pressures, they lost their pre-qualification match with Singapore, at 'home' in Qatar, and failed to show up for the return leg in Singapore, probably because of Israel visa issues, but also shortage of money and organising ability. The Pal FA failed to organise Palestinian TV coverage of the Singapore game, and failed to inform Al Jazeera (in Qatar!) or to make the most of Al Jazeera's coverage when I accidentally organised it for them following a fortuitous meeting in my hotel. I presented a shirt from Blackburn Rovers, but the Pals insisted that it be off camera, thus alienating Blackburn who were looking to build support in the Middle East, and also failing to get the important message, that they have friends in the West, out to their supporters. What was the explanation for this behaviour? I don't know, but it didn't help the team, and if the President thought it helped his position with Israel or the West Bank Fatah Government, he was mistaken. It just made it easy for him to be replaced.

Israel could clearly see the propaganda value of a successful Palestine team, and were keen to stop it.

Tony Blair, Middle East envoy, also saw the propaganda value of the team, and that clubs in Gaza were still largely controlled by Fatah but delegates were moving towards Hamas, so it was that FIFA agreed to re-build a national stadium, but on condition was that there must be a new election for President and delegates. Then they ruled out all the Gaza votes because Hamas 'gunmen' were said to have intimidated the voters at one local Gaza club. As a result, all the delegates are West Bank Fatah, except the delegate for Qalqilya, who 'is in touch with Hamas'. As a result the emphasis of the team was moved to the West Bank, and the new stadium was built there, just outside the area Israel has zoned as part of "Jerusalem", so not being contentious in the current Peace talks when Israeli Annexation of Jerusalem is ratified. They did this rather than rebuild the Gaza stadium that Israel bombed.

And it was the old West Bank section of the FA (supposedly under control from Gaza, but encouraged by Blair and Israel to behave independently) who had also sabotaged 'my' tour by refusing to take part unless they got 50% of the players regardless of ability, and on refusal by the President, pulled out. (This sabotage made it much easier for the UK to refuse the team visas, since they were all from Gaza. The press often described it as 'A Gaza Youth Team', whereas it was the official U19 Palestinian National Team. I was asked by Channel 4 News whether it wasn't right that the team should be blocked to punish Hamas)

The new President of the Palestine FA, Jibril al Rajoub, is a Fatah hard man. He is a powerful general previously in charge of Internal Security. Blair wanted to get rid of most of these guys from Government in order to create a unified structure of armed forces control, and he had to find jobs for them. 
Unlucky FA! Since his appointment, many foreign players, such as Chile's Roberto Kettlun, that were so prominent in Palestine's dramatic progress towards the 2006 world cup, when they beat Taipei 8-0, have not been recalled, even when they request it, and some are now being recruited by Jordan instead. Conversely, however, Jordan has pressured the Palestine FA not to recruit Jordan based Palestinians (70% of Jordan citizens) and the Palestine FA appear to have agreed. A recent story concerns two Croats, the Sharbini Brothers, called up for the Singapore qualifier in 2007, but too frightened by death threats in Croatia to leave at that time, but who have not been recalled subsequently even though they have signalled a willingness to be so. One has been approached by Croatia, but both seem likely to play for Jordan, who has also approached them. The team is thus being downgraded to a non-threatening position, although they were scheduled to play a friendly against a league side in Belgium last year, but I'm not sure if it happened. There are plenty of UK clubs that would play them if the UK FA could be persuaded to invite them, but there is a strong link with the Israel FA in London, both officially and by Zionist individuals in senior positions.
And so the Israelis will strut the International stage, while the football mad Palestinians languish at 171 out of 207, positioned above the Comoros Islands and Somalia, their only scheduled fixtures being friendlies against Yemen away (played in Amman) and Iraq at home (played in Amman, despite FIFA promises about their home stadium). They have previously drawn with Mauritania, Sudan and the UAE, lost to China 3-1, and to Iraq 3-0, then 4-0

Still the West Bank got that new Stadium, and most Gaza players are allowed out of their jail to play, but generally not to train, although the Captain is still not allowed out - but then he is also no longer the Captain. The siege has been left out of the picture by these dealings, as Palestine is now not called unsafe by FIFA, so FIFA also now supposedly allow foreign teams to play in this Ramallah stadium, and both the men's and women's teams have played Jordan in friendlies, both ending in draws. Yet no other matches have been played in 'Ram', or are scheduled to be. 
Interesting and co-incidental that England's first game in its new Wembley stadium was against Israel. And while I have been writing this, Israel have beaten Malta 3-1. A hat trick by Yossi Benayoun, ex Liverpool, now Chelsea player. Well Done, how the Premier league has improved your play!  What a shame that the UK Premier league will never be allowed to employ Ramzi, the 65 times capped Palestine keeper. I don't how many of Benayoun's goals he would have saved, but I do know that he would give his life for the opportunity to be allowed to try.

Truth, What Truth?

When a Massacre is not a Massacre

When a truth is not a truth

I don't write poems but, in any case, poems are not poems.

Long ago, I was made to understand that Palestine was not Palestine;

I was also informed that Palestinians were not Palestinians;

They also explained to me that ethnic cleansing was not ethnic cleansing.

And when naive old me saw freedom fighters they patiently showed me

that they were not freedom fighters, and that resistance was not resistance.

And when, stupidly, I noticed arrogance, oppression and humiliation

they benevolently enlightened me so I can see that arrogance was not arrogance,

oppression was not oppression, and humiliation was not humiliation.

I saw misery, racism, inhumanity and a concentration camp.

But they told me that they were experts in misery, racism, inhumanity and concentration camps
and I have to take their word for it:

this was not misery, racism, inhumanity and a concentration camp.

Over the years they've taught me so many things:

invasion was not invasion, occupation was not occupation,

colonialism was not colonialism and apartheid was not apartheid.

They opened my simple mind to even more complex truths that my poor brain could not on its own compute like:

"having nuclear weapons" was "not having nuclear weapons,"

"not having weapons of mass destruction" was "having weapons of mass destruction."

And, democracy (in the Gaza Strip) was not democracy.

Having second class citizens (in Israel) was democracy.

So you'll excuse me if I am not surprised to learn today

that there were more things that I thought were evident that are not:

peace activists are not peace activists, piracy is not piracy,

the massacre of unarmed people is not the massacre of unarmed people.

I have such a limited brain and my ignorance is unlimited.

And they're so fucking intelligent. Really.

By Ghassan Hage, professor of anthropology and social theory at the University of Melbourne.

Dear Stephen Mosley, new Conservative MP for Chester.

You have replied to my query via Amnesty International supporting human rights, but you did not reply to my question about the right to detain and try War Criminals that land on UK shores: here follows a link to an article by Robert Fisk which details not only the abuses of the Israeli Government, but the lies it tells.

In connection with the illegal assaults on unarmed aid ships, the last this morning, the Israelis have produced highly edited audio 'evidence', including 'evidence' in which the voice of an activist - Huwaida Arraf, known personally to me, who was not present on the Mavi Marmara, but was on Challenger 1 as confirmed by Newsnight - is heard, supposedly from the Mavi Marmara, to support their case. Their audio file is transparently a racist attempt to blacken the Peace activists. The doors to the wheelhouse on the Mavi Marmara were locked, only the crew were in there, which would not include Ms Arraf in any case: This is evidence given by Journalists on board the ship. Please note that the Israelis have searched. both bodily and materially, for all evidence from the voyagers and have destroyed all other videos taken on board, (although the foregoing link gives a summary of what the reporters say), and stolen the personal belongings of every individual that was forced to go to Ashdod. Most significantly, the Israelis have released no footage of any of the deaths or woundings, including of their own soldiers, although an Israeli soldier shooting a hand gun can be clearly seen in the last three seconds of this video:

Can you please confirm for me that:

1 You are not, or are no longer, a member of the Conservative friends of Israel

2 You will support the arrest and trial of Israel policy-makers responsible for these crimes of piracy and ethnic cleansing, if evidence is put before a magistrate by any citizen that makes a prima facie case to that effect, as is allowed under the current law. You will not change the current law.

3 That these deaths both ongoing in Gaza, and on the boats, and the cover up by this one sided onslaught of lies on the media by Israel will be condemned by you unequivocally.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-the-truth-behind-the-israeli-propaganda-1991803.html

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/06/20106374525843674.html

Where Next? It's a surreal world.

I predicted a while ago on my blog that the involvement of Turkey would be crucial, even wondering if they would send a warship - and some sources now say that they will next time. But Turkey is not going to go off and do one, its hysteria is carefully controlled. It has far more leverage staying involved with Israel, if only to show the west - the US and The EU, that it is not a mullah run hysteria factory (Yes I know that Iran isn't either, but image is everything).

I really believe that we have a chance to end the siege of Gaza in practical terms as a result of this action. Egypt has opened its borders, and although they'll close again, they will not close as tightly. If Turkey restricts itself to outrage only in the specific area, then it will succeed in getting Nato to require Israel to allow independent patrols of the Gaza coast to stop ships and inspect for weapons, but weaponless ships of all trade will be permitted.

I floated this possibility with some Hamas low rankers in Gaza when I was there, and they insisted that the right to have arms is essential for a nation state, and so would resist independent shipping controls - what do you all think? An Independent Nation needs all its rights for sure, and Free but regulated trade would probably see the UN become the effective government of Gaza. It would be very hard for Hamas to motivate resistance from a prosperous community, which is one reason why I think that this is the route that Obama will take. But giving trade rights will eventually lead to a withering of controls and a drift into statehood after some years,whatever government runs it, in my opinion. But that is only Gaza.

Far more worrying is the the plan to absorb only the West Bank into a single state. Inbuilt Arab Minority, no way to stop the expansion of settlements and the impoverishment of arabs, no land or marriage rights, and job discrimination - One state only works if Arabs have a reasonable shot in a secular state of influencing the democratic process: Freedom is meaningless without access to power! But the west might be attracted to a solution that incorporates the west bank into Israel and gets rid of Gaza to loose international control, which would include Egypt, of course. (Ideally the Israelis would like to give Gaza away to Egypt, but Egypt won't do that, because the radical Gaza tail would wag the Egyptian dog). Can Palestine ever be united again with Israel's main nuclear plant directly geographically inline between them, and Fatah and Hamas being separated by such a large distance politically?

Moshe Arens, former Defense Minister, and noted Israeli hawk, has endorsed a one-state solution for Israel/Palestine. It can be achieved in a matter of months. Israel should formally annex the West Bank and offer the Palestinians citizenship. As he puts it:

Adding another 1.5 million Muslims, the population of Judea and Samaria, to Israel's Muslim population would of course make the situation considerably more difficult. Would a 30-percent Muslim minority in Israel create a challenge that would be impossible for Israeli society to meet? That is a question that Israeli politicians, and all Israelis - Jews and Arabs alike - need to ponder.

Unlike the dire predictions heard so often, Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria would not be the end of the State of Israel, nor would it mean the end of democratic governance in Israel. It would, however, pose a serious challenge to Israeli society. But that is equally true for the other options being suggested for dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This option of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria merits serious consideration. http://themagneszionist.blogspot.com/

I'm glad that Britons are all safe, but why have they been sent to Turkey? Have you noticed that the media, and Israel, is making this entirely into a spat with Turkey? What about the appallingly weak British Reaction:

We need to maintain the pressure of international action, all forty countries. We have to let our government know that WE were involved, and we want them to care. There is no doubt that Israel would like to shunt all the anger through Turkey, and the propaganda has already started about the Turkish Islamic Relief Organisation IHH being a terrorist organisation. This talk must not be allowed to become the norm in the West.

Israel's strategy is clear - exploit the differences between the new Islamism in Turkish Society which sees IHH as a positive force for good, and the secular Old Guard, especially in the army, who see themselves defending Ataturk's legacy against religion, and are suspicious of Islamic institutions being successful. They will seek to promote civil war in Turkey, rather than accede to International sanctions, exactly as they have done in Lebanon, and of course, in Palestine itself.

If the Turks can be persuaded to fight amongst themselves, even just in the media, that will provide the route for the marginalisation of the current Government, and the excuse that the Zionist West wants to forget the whole thing. We will start hearing that Turkey is an undemocratic state etc.

The Foreign Secretary William Hague was very complimentary about Turkey in Parliament Yesterday, praising its mediation role with Iran and Syria, and almost criticising Israel for failing to make peace with Syria. There is no doubt that the anger at these deaths has made a deep and lasting change to the politics of Israel, and is all that is keeping natural zionists like Hague onside.

But when they are not being unutterably stupid, the Israeli Government will be attempting to explore the fault lines I've mentioned. We must keep our government up to speed with our anger, and onside with the Turks - its the best route for the Palestinians, I feel sure.

What Happened on Board the Mavi Marmara

OK, it's become clear, now, what happened on the Mavi Marmara. A Helicopter arrived, Four soldiers rappelled down onto the Mavi and were captured and disarmed, and these events were the ones that the Israelis filmed from above and that Turkish TV filmed from the ship. A second Helicopter then brought in more soldiers who fired directly onto the crowd before they landed. In other words, indiscriminate fire on unarmed civilians. There is little film of this from the boat for the obvious reason that the cameramen went inside when the firing started, but the Israelis will have it, just not releasing it.

This, of course only describes the events on boarding. Witnesses have consistently said, about all the boats, that the Israelis fired stun grenades, sound bombs and fired at them before even coming alongside.

Of course, it also explains how an Israeli soldier got shot by his own side. He was in the first wave, and he got shot by the second wave. Nobody is sticking to the original Israeli story about guns on board, the Israeli story now is it was an IOF weapon that was taken off a soldier.

Question: if the voyagers had wanted to kill the Israelis, and they had them in custody, then why didn't they just kill them?

Silver Lining: At least four Israeli Occupation Force Soldiers know, just for 2 minutes, what it's like to be a Palestinian. And if you whine and whinge like this when you are manhandled by unarmed civilians, IOF, then just think how a Palestinian Youth feels when he is assaulted by a Soldier with a taser, bayonet and machine gun. Now can you think of any reason at all why the world is very pissed off with you? NO?

Testimony of Reporters on board the Mavi Marmara: I have changed this link reference, as Al Jazeera seem to have altered their pages -- Please don't do this Al Jazeera!!!