Middle East Monitor - The Latest from the Middle East

INCLUDING PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT

On Wednesday 28th July, the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) and the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) hosted a groundbreaking and highly successful public event in the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. The special guests were Palestinian members of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) who brought the plight of Arab citizens of the state of Israel to the attention of the British people, particularly our parliamentarians. As representatives of an indigenous people who constitute a minority in the "Jewish State" established around them and on their land, the Palestinian MKs discussed the reality and significance of the Jewish character of Israel for its Palestinian citizens. Dr. Jamal Zahalka, Miss Haneen Zoubi and Mr. Talab Al-Sana gave eye-opening and impassioned accounts of the daily battles fought by their community for equality and basic civil rights in the face of the legalised discrimination that blights every aspect of their lives. The amazing thing was that they were able to maintain a sense of humour about their condition.

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EXCLUSIVE PICTURES

The Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) has held a special graduation ceremony for its male and female students. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Jamal Al-Khodary, MP, said that the university's vision is to stimulate students towards excellence and innovation, especially at a time when the education sector is facing the most difficult of circumstances with the ongoing siege and the aftermath of the recent Israeli invasion of Gaza.

The IUG has won international recognition, including an award from the Islamic Bank for Development and Innovation for its Engineering Faculty. There have been many international bodies aiding and funding the university and its students; at the forefront have been Turkey's government and its Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. At the graduation ceremony, the IUG bestowed honorary doctorates on Mr. Erdogan and his Palestinian counterpart in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, in honour of their ongoing work for the people of Gaza.

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The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has called the British Prime Minister's statement about the Gaza Strip "a step in the right direction". David Cameron described Gaza as a "prison camp" in a speech in Ankara.

In a written statement, Hamas spokesman in Gaza Fawzi Barhom called on "David Cameron and the other leaders of Europe's governments to take practical steps towards changing the situation on the ground". This is of particular importance, he said, following Israel's refusal to end completely the current siege of Gaza. Nevertheless, Mr. Barhom expressed appreciation for the Prime Minister's words.

The Deputy Leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel ("1948-occupied Palestines") has issued a warning of an Israeli plot to kill the movement's leader, Shaikh Raed Salah, while the latter is in an Israeli jail.

Shaikh Kamal Al-Khatib's warning was quoted on a website dedicated to prisoners' affairs: "There is a threat to Shaikh Salah's life from Jewish criminals in Ayalon prison where he is currently serving a sentence." Al-Khatib explained that it is widely believed that Sheikh Raed Salah was the target of a failed assassination attempt by the Israeli forces when he was on board the Freedom Flotilla in May. His friends and colleagues believe that a similar scenario might occur while he is in jail, with prisoners being assigned the task by the Shabak (Israeli internal intelligence service).

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Interview by Khalid Amayreh

Nayef Rajoub, 52, is one of the most popular Islamic leaders in Occupied Palestine. His courageous promotion of Palestinian rights, including the right of return for Palestinian refugees, has attracted the unwanted attention of the Israeli security services. He has served a total of eight years in Israeli jails, mostly on trumped-up charges such as "incitement against the Israeli state". Indeed, Mr. Rajoub was released from an Israeli jail only a few weeks ago, having served nearly 50 months for the "crime" of taking part in the 2006 Palestinian elections. In Al-Khalil (Hebron), Rajoub won more votes than any other candidate. The elections were given the go-ahead by both Israel and the US in the hope that Fatah would win. However, when Hamas won a landslide victory, the US and most other western countries, as well as America's puppet regimes in the Middle East, were hostile towards the new Palestinian government, resulting in the imposition of a financial siege (followed by a total siege on Gaza) intended to make the occupied territories ungovernable by the new Islamist rulers.

(The Lancet) In January, 2009, an 18-year-old man presented to the emergency department after suffering an attack with an incendiary shell. He had many painful patches of full-thickness burns, which were surrounded by sloughed tissue. His wounds covered 30% of his body surface area, and were distributed on both upper and lower limbs, and his right shoulder.

There were no signs of inhalation burns. After a clinical diagnosis of white phosphorus burns was made, the airway was secured, resuscitation fluid was initiated, and wounds were irrigated with diluted sodium bicarbonate solution before wet dressing.

¹day after admission to the burns unit, white smoke was noticed emanating from the wounds, which now contained extensive necrotic tissue and had extended into the underlying tissue.

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The head of Foreign Relations for the Hamas Political Bureau has said that Europe is beginning to realise that ignoring the Islamic Resistance Movement is a mistake. According to Osama Hamdan, the French Foreign Minister's recent statement that his country is ready to talk with Hamas is "a correction of the errors committed by European countries against Hamas". He also pointed out that some EU countries already have contacts with the movement.

In an interview with "Palestine" newspaper, Mr. Hamdan called on Europe to take practical steps to reach out to Hamas which is, he claims, "The most prominent political force in the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and a political group whose influence, role and position is well known".

Earlier, the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, expressed his country's willingness to talk with Hamas "if the Palestinian Authority requested that", stressing that there will not be a peace agreement without Hamas at the table. Mr. Kouchner's statement is, according to Osama Hamdan, an indication that the French are more daring than others in the open expression of such views. He also pointed out that similar comments have been made by many journalists, academics and think-tanks in France, proving his movement's status in the country.

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