Issue No - Palestinian Cultural Organization – Malaysia

1st April, 2012
Issue No: 15
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1st April, 2012
Issue No: 15
Palestinian Weekly Report is a periodical insight into the latest developments of the
Palestinian Issue. It’s issued by The Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia and it
focuses on the most important news and analysis about the happenings of the
Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation in the Holy Lands of Palestine. The
views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect PCOM's editorial policy.
Contents
News Tour
Osama Hamdan meets with Dato' Seri Dr. Hamidi ............................................................................. 3
PCOM Holds a Public Talk by Brother Osama Hamdan ...................................................................... 4
10,000 Malaysians join Global March to Jerusalem ........................................................................... 5
Tens of thousands participate in Jerusalem march in Gaza ............................................................... 6
Tens of thousands of Jordanians participate in Jerusalem march ...................................................... 7
Hundreds participate in the "Global March to Jerusalem" in London................................................ 8
Activists take part in Global March to al-Quds in Australia ................................................................ 8
Palestinian youth killed and dozens, including journalist injured in Gaza ........................................ 10
150 Palestinians injured in protests in occupied Jerusalem .............................................................. 10
Commentary
Jerusalem globalises Palestine Land Day .......................................................................................... 11
Photos Tour
Global March to Jerusalem (30th March 2012) ................................................................................. 13
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Issue No: 15
News Tour
During a visit hosted by "PCOM"
Osama Hamdan meets with Dato' Seri Dr. Hamidi
Kuala Lumpur - The Palestinian Cultural
Organization Malaysia (PCOM) has
hosted a leading delegation from the
Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas” to
Malaysia last week (14-19 March 2012).
The delegation was led by the head of
international relations in the movement
Mr. Osama Hamdan.
aggressions against the holy city of
Jerusalem.
On the other hand, the delegation has met
with the leadership of the main Malaysian
political parties, where they met with the
secretary general of "UMNO” Dato‟
Tengku adnan Tengku Mansor and
President of "PAS” Haji Abdul Hadi
Awang and discussed the potential
cooperation
aspects
between
the
movement and the mentioned parties.
The delegation has met with Dato‟ Seri Dr.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Minister of
Defence Malaysia who affirmed the full
support and commitment of the Malaysian
government and people towards the issue
of Palestine. For his part, Mr. Hamdan has
expressed his movement‟s appreciation for
the role of Malaysia in adopting supportive
stances towards the Palestinian issue,
moreover, he has updated the Minister on
the latest developments in the Palestinian
arena with regards to the reconciliation
agreement signed by the Palestinian
factions, the recent Israeli escalations in
Gaza and the continuous Israeli
It is worth mentioning that Mr. Hamdan
has also met with several NGOs, Islamic
associations and organizations, such as;
ABIM, Ikram, Yayasan Restu and Aman
Palestin. Moreover, PCOM has organized
a discussion session for the delegation
with researchers and experts from the
Institute of Strategic and International
Studies “ISIS”, where they had a fruitful
discussion on the future of the Palestinian
issue, besides, the Malaysian-Palestinian
relationships.
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1st April, 2012
Issue No: 15
PCOM Holds a Public Talk by Brother Osama Hamdan
Kuala Lumpur - The Palestinian Cultural
Organization Malaysia (PCOM) has
invited the head of international relations
of Hamas, brother "Osama Hamdan” to
deliver a public talk in De Palma Hotel last
Friday (16th March 2012).
Nevertheless, brother Hamdan has stressed
on the great influence of the Arab spring
on the future of the Palestinian issue, and
concluded his talk by touching on the
nature of his visit to Malaysia and its
fruits.
In his talk, brother Hamdan has
highlighted the latest developments in the
Palestinian arena with regards to the
reconciliation agreement signed by the
Palestinian factions, the recent Israeli
escalations in Gaza and the continuous
Israeli aggressions against the holy city of
Jerusalem.
It is worth mentioning that the talk was
held under the auspices of Dato‟ Seri Dr.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and it was attended
by his representatives besides the
representatives of the Malaysian political
parties, NGOs and media.
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Issue No: 15
10,000 Malaysians join Global March to Jerusalem
Shah Alam – On March 30th, 2012,
MyGMJ organizers had held a massive
assembly to gather all the Malaysians to
support the Global March to Jerusalem at
Stadium Malawati Shah Alam. A number
of more than 10 000 people from all over
Malaysia came to give their support from
all types of races and religion. Not to leave
behind, there were also foreigners from the
Palestine Land came to show that they care
and will never give up to free their country
from Zionist Israel.
student of Taylors Colledge) and Ustaz Dr.
Maszlee Malik (IIUM Lecturer). Besides
the speeches from the Malaysian
organizers, they showed the video
recording speech by the Prime Minister of
Palestine, Ismail Haniyeh and George
Galloway, the founder of Viva Palestina.
All speeches were very inspiring indeed
and everyone agreed to the fact when Br.
Ooi said that although he is a Buddhist,
this is not a religion issue, but it is a
human right issue and not only a politician
can deal with this issue, but everyone can!
As to give updated news from the
Malaysian Delegation to Amman, Jordan
about the whole wide nation march to
Jerusalem, they had a live telecast by Mr.
Norazmi, Brother Mu‟az Ruslan and
Brother Aiman Mohd Zin.
This assembly was hosted by Ally
Iskandar, a TV3 host and presenter and
Nurul Iman Dzulkefly, a member of The
Wayfarers and host for TV Al-Hijrah.
Furthermore, there were speeches from Dr.
Tahir Abdul Rahman (Chairman of
MyGMJ), Datuk Dr. Musa Mohd. Nordin
(Deputy Chairman of MyGMJ), Brother
Ooi Kok Hin (2nd year Political Science
Mr. Sathira Morgan and Mr. Abdul
Ghaffar Ibrahim also known as Pak AGI
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1st April, 2012
Issue No: 15
recited a poem which is very entertaining
and made the audience burst into laughter
but the content of the poem really touched
the audience‟s heart deep. Along with the
speeches, there were performances by
several Malaysian well-known artist such
as Yasin, Mirwana and Muadz Dzulkefly,
also performances by the Music Stomp
team from Architecture students UTM,
Dabka Dance by the Palestinian students
from UIA, Choral Speaking by students of
Sekolah Integrasi Masjid Al-Ehsan and the
assembly ended at 11.40pm with a Flash
Mob performance by the IPT Students
(UIA, Taylors, UiTM) which was the
highlight of the performances of the day.
Tens of thousands participate in Jerusalem march in Gaza
demonstrations which also mark Land
Day.
The Prime Minister of the Gaza
government, Ismail Haneyya, participated
in the march accompanied by the Egyptian
parliamentary delegation which is visiting
Gaza.
Dr. Ahmad Abu Halabeyya, member of
the higher national committee for the
Global March to Jerusalem, said that the
large participation in Gaza, the West Bank
and outside Palestine shows that Jerusalem
is a global cause that is supported by all
free people around the world and not only
Palestinians.
31/03/2012
Tens of thousands of Palestinians marched
on Friday towards the Beit Hanoun
crossing in the northern Gaza Strip from
different parts of the Strip. Different
Palestinian factions participated in the
march.
He added that he expected a participation
of about 3 million people in 80 different
counties in the world.
The popular action committee of Hamas
said that dozens of buses carried protestors
from different parts of the Gaza Strip
amidst
huge
participation
in
Source: PIC
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Issue No: 15
Tens of thousands of Jordanians participate in Jerusalem march
to rally for Jerusalem and to mark the
Palestinian Land Day. PIC correspondent
in Amman said that hundreds of buses
from all Jordanian districts transported
participants to Kafrain.
Dr. Yahya Halloum, coordinator of the
Global March said that delegates from 80
countries participated in the march.
31/03/2012
He also said that today‟s Global March to
Jerusalem laid the foundation for popular
activities in support of Jerusalem and the
Palestinian people in their struggle for
liberation.
Tens of thousands of Jordanians and
foreign and Arab solidarity activists
participated in the Global March to
Jerusalem at the Kafrain area in the
northern Jordan valley near the Jordanian
Palestinian border.
Former Jordanian PM, Dr. Ahmad
Obaidat, said in his speech that Jerusalem
is still a steadfast Arab city that gives
inspiration to free people and that stability
in the region cannot be achieved without
its liberation.
Leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Dr.
Hammam who lead the Friday prayers said
in his sermon: "The liberation of the Aqsa
Mosque is getting closer as the people
started to free themselves from the tyrants
[..] A year on the start of the Arab spring
and after the people got rid of the tyrants,
the Muslim ummah looks forward to
liberating Jerusalem and holy places."
The head of the Indian delegation, San
Aghnash, for his part said that the
delegation came from the land of Gandhi
to express the support of the Indian people
for the Palestinian cause, support which he
said goes back in history to the time of
Gandhi who said: France is for the French,
Britain is for the British and Palestine is
for the Palestinians.
“Aqsa today is in our hearts and this rally
in which participants from all over the
world took part demand an end to
occupation and restoration of Palestinian
rights who sacrificed thousands of martyrs
and thousands of captives.”
Other heads of delegations, such as the
Moroccan delegation, the Indonesian
delegation and Malaysian delegation
delivered messages of support.
Thousands of Jordanians travelled to the
place of the demonstration in an area from
which Palestine can be seen at a distance
Source: PIC
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Issue No: 15
Hundreds participate in the "Global March to Jerusalem" in London
Speakers at the rally emphasised the
dangers engulfing Jerusalem in terms of
ethnically cleansing the holy city of its
indigenous population and trying to
obliterate its character. They also talked of
Jerusalem as being central to the
Palestinian cause.
People of different faiths, different
political persuasions and different
ethnicities
participated
in
the
demonstration and called for an end to
occupation of Jerusalem and other
Palestinian lands. Participants chanted
"free, free Palestine”, “from the river to
the sea, Palestine will be free", "1,2,3,4
occupation no more.. 5,6,7,8 Israel is a
terrorist state", "Zionism .. Terrorism".
31/03/2012
Hundreds of people participated in in a
demonstration outside the Israeli embassy
in London as part of the activities of the
"Global March to Jerusalem", which took
place in about 80 cities around the world.
Participant raised Palestinian flags and
placards supporting Jerusalem and the
Palestinian cause and called for boycotting
Israeli goods as a way of supporting the
Palestinian cause.
The rally was organised by the Palestinian
Forum in Britain, the Association of the
Palestinian Community in the UK, the
Muslim Association of Britain, Palestine
Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War
Coalition, Islamic Forum of Europe,
British Muslim Initiative, Viva Palestina
and Friends of Al-Aqsa. Many other
organisations supported the demonstration.
About two dozen Zionists, probably
embassy employees, raising large Israeli
flags mounted a counter demonstration for
about an hour.
Source: PIC
__________________________________________________________________________________
Activists take part in Global March to al-Quds in Australia
A protest took place on Friday, Mar 30 2012
in Sydney as part of the global day of action in
support of international activists attempting to
enter Jerusalem/Al Quds which remains a
closed city. The Global March to al-Quds is an
international peaceful movement that also
condemns the Israeli occupation of the holy
Palestinian city.
taking part in the Global March to Jerusalem
al-Quds, or GMJ.
The GMJ was organized to coincide with
Palestinian Land Day on March 30. The GMJ
is an international event, bringing activists
from around the globe who will attempt to
peacefully March to Jerusalem al-Quds and
demand that the city becomes an open city and
that the Israeli occupying forces put an end to
what they call the apartheid, ethnic cleansing
and Judaisation policies affecting the people
A protest took place in Sydney on Friday in
solidarity with international activists that are
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1st April, 2012
Issue No: 15
and land of Jerusalem al-Quds. Same protest
were taking place in cities all around the world
in support of the GMJ.
November last year, found that articles
published in the Australian newspaper relating
to boycott Israel protests, were in breach of the
council‟s standards of practice. A number of
articles published for the paper portrayed the
BDS campaign as anti-Semitic which angered
BDS activists who say it was as an inaccurate
portrayal of their campaign which they say is
aimed at pressuring Israel to comply with
international law and end its human rights
abuses. Politicians and other high profile
people in Australia have also publicly
condemned the protests and likened the
protesters to Nazis, some of them even
organised „sit-ins‟ at the cafe together, to show
their opposition to the protests. Organisers say
they will not be intimidated by the neither the
police brutality nor the slander from the press
and politicians and say they will not be
silenced in their opposition to Israel‟s crimes.
The protesters marched to one of the Israeli
owned franchise cafes, Max Brenner which
has been the target of the Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions campaign, or BDS protests
across the country. Max Brenner is 100%
owned by an Israeli company, the Strauss
Group, one of Israel‟s largest food and
beverage companies. The Strauss Group
boasts of the support it gives to the Israeli
army saying it wants to “sweeten their special
moment”, particularly the Golani and Givati
brigades of the Israeli Occupation Forces.
While this content has been removed from the
Strauss Group‟s English website, it can be
found on the Hebrew version of the site.
Both the Sydney and Melbourne branches of
Students for Justice in Palestine say they have
been the targets of a very heavy-handed
approach by the police who arrested 19 people
in Melbourne and 2 in Sydney. According to
organisers, the Victorian police, violently
attacked a Max Brenner protest on July 1,
2011, and arrested 19 people, known as the
Boycott Israel 19, in what was one of the
largest political arrests in a decade.
Protesters expressed the need to maintain the
BDS campaign in Australia saying that like the
boycott of South Africa, the campaign is an
important tool to pressure Israel to comply
with international law and end its war crimes
against the Palestinian people. They say
boycotts become necessary when governments
like Australia do nothing to stop Israel‟s
crimes adding that BDS is about ordinary
people exercising the power that is theirs.
Protesters say they were also the targets of
slander in the mainstream press. A media
inquiry by the Australian Press Council in
Source: Press TV
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Issue No: 15
Palestinian youth killed and dozens, including journalist
injured in Gaza
Kissufim military post in the south and threw
stones at IOF soldiers stationed at the two
positions. The IOF troops responded by firing
live bullets.
Adham Abu Selmeyyah, spokesman for
Emergency Services, said that Mahmoud
Zakout, 20 years, was killed by IOF fire at the
Beit Hanoun crossing in the northern Gaza
Strip.
31/03/2012
He added that the number of wounded people
rose to 37, mostly from the northern Gaza
Strip.
A young Palestinian man was killed on Friday
afternoon after participating in the Global
March to Jerusalem at the Gaza borders near
the Beith Hanoun crossing into 1948 occupied
Palestine.
Eyewitnesses also said that amongst the
wounded is journalist Yousef Hammad, who
works as a correspondent for al-Watan local
radio station, And who was wounded in his
foot as he covered the events at Beit Hanoun
crossing.
Dozens of Palestinian young men managed to
draw close to the border fence at the Beit
Hanoun border crossing in the north and
__________________________________________________________________________________
150 Palestinians injured in protests in occupied Jerusalem
The IOF tried to supress the central
demonstration in Jerusalem injuring 23
participants and arrested 45 young men who
were not allowed to reach the Aqsa Mosque to
attend the Friday prayers. Eighteen of those
injured were taken to Jerusalem hospitals, 6 of
them to Makased hospital.
Amongst those injured was MP Hatem AbdelQader the Jerusalem minister in Salam
Fayyad's government.
31/03/2012
The IOF troops interrupted the speech of the
Palestinian governor of Jerusalem, Adnan alHusaini, and moved in to disperse the
protestors outside Bab al-Amoud near the
walls of the old city were demonstrators
Protests to mark Land Day and express
support for Jerusalem took place in occupied
Jerusalem and around on Friday after the
Friday prayers.
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Issue No: 15
gathered. 11 of the participants were arrested
using IOF soldiers disguised as Palestinians
who mingled with the crowd.
At the Qalandia roadblock to the north of
Jerusalem which West Bank Palestinians are
not allowed to cross into Jerusalem, IOF
troops dispersed protestors by firing teargas
and rubber-coated bullets injuring 120
Palestinians, 23 of them were taken to
hospitals in Ramallah. The IOF also arrested
17 participants in the march.
Clashes with the IOF broke out in Tur and
Wadi al-Jouz suburbs of Jerusalem were youth
belted IOF soldiers with stones and empty
bottles. In Silwan and Shafat refugee camp the
IOF was present in force but it did not stop
youth from throwing stones at IOF soldiers
and settlers.
The IOF had declared a 24 hour closure of the
West Bank and declared a state of alert
amongst its armed forces to deal with the Land
Day protests.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Commentary
Jerusalem globalises Palestine Land Day
Since its inception, Land Day has united
Palestinians of all faiths and political
persuasions across historic Palestine and in
every corner of the world. When the final
chapter of Palestinian history is written, 30
March will, inevitably, occupy a distinguished
position. Without minimising the importance
of other landmark events, this day symbolises
more than any other the true nature of the
conflict in Palestine, which resolves around
the fact that Palestine was never "a land
without a people", as Israel's founding myths
insist, and its real owners have never
relinquished their sovereign rights to the
ownership of their land.
By: MEMO
Palestinians have observed Land Day on 30
March every year since 1976. It was then that
Palestinians in Israel organised a general strike
to protest against the seizure of their land by
the state. The Israeli government responded
with
characteristic
colonial
brutality,
unleashing military force against peaceful
demonstrators; six Palestinian youths were
killed by the Israelis that day, and scores more
were wounded. This year, because of Israel's
escalated assault on occupied Jerusalem and
its inhabitants, Land Day 2012 is a global
event of enormous significance.
The organisers of the Global March to
Jerusalem could not have chosen a better date
on which to highlight the troubles of the Holy
City. Two million people are expected to take
to the streets in 30 countries to send a message
to the Israeli establishment; that its illegal
occupation of Jerusalem has gone on too long
and its twin policies of ethnic cleansing and
Judaisation must end.
Israel's objectives are clear: [1] to change the
demographic balance in Palestine in favour of
Jews; [2] to provide land for illegal Jewish
settlers and investors; and [3] to procure a
cheap source of labour for Jewish-owned
businesses. Nevertheless, more than 100 years
since their first encounter with Zionist
colonialism, Palestinians remain rooted in
their land. From the Galilee in the north to Bir
Saba'a in the south, and to Jerusalem in the
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1st April, 2012
Issue No: 15
centre, their aim is one and the same: to
overcome the scourge of Israeli policies such
as home demolitions, land grabbing and
indefinite incarceration.
Land Day 2012 is thus extremely significant.
The tragedy of Jerusalem has transformed it
into a global event. Far from being an occasion
of localised civil protest, Land Day has
become the focus of a global campaign to save
Jerusalem from the ravages of Judaisation. The
Holy City is not the unique preserve of the
Palestinians; it is the collective heritage of all
mankind. Israel ignores this and its relentless
campaign to change the city's religious and
demographic character has gone too far. This
is why people across the world have decided
to stand up and march today.
Six decades after the creation of the Zionist
state of Israel, scores of Arab villages remain
classified as "unrecognised", the legal device
used to deny them basic services such as
water, electricity, health and education.
Meanwhile, the conquest of the land continues
at an alarming speed in the Galilee and Negev,
often accompanied by the colonisers'
customary tactic of changing place names. The
fact that this process of land-grabbing has
continued for so long is a testimony to the
determination of the Palestinian people, but
this begs a somewhat obvious question: if the
Palestinians in Israel are truly equal citizens of
a democratic state, why does the government
deem it necessary to dispossess them of their
land?
Israel's deluded leaders prefer the reductionist
approach to Jerusalem; they want to confine it
to elusive "final status negotiations" between
themselves and the PLO, while they continue
to do their worst. Jerusalem's stakeholders,
however, belong to much more than the PLO
or its dominant faction, Fatah; they belong to
humankind. This is why the Global March to
Jerusalem marks a major step in the right
direction in seeking to return Jerusalem to its
natural and rightful position in the consciences
of people who love justice and believe in the
rule of law, wherever they may live.
Today, the Israeli government has put in
motion 14 separate proposals to build
settlements on both sides of the 1949
Armistice Line. The undeclared aim is to
prevent any geographic contiguity between
Palestinians villages and towns and thwart the
future demarcation of a border between the
State of Israel and an independent Palestinian
state.
This year's Land Day marks the beginning of a
new era; the era of silence is over. People
around the world have woken up to the mortal
dangers confronting Jerusalem; their own
historic and religious connection to the city is
threatened. The Global March will not end the
occupation, that's for sure, but it will certainly
raise the awareness of the threats to Jerusalem.
Israel's ethnic cleaning and military conquest
of the Palestinians has created awareness
instead of confusion, resolve instead of apathy
and hope instead of despair. Everything points
to the fact that neither the Palestinians nor the
free people of the world will ever surrender
their rights to and in Jerusalem. No injustice
lasts forever, and Israel's occupation and
desecration of the Holy City of Jerusalem is
not and must not be an exception to that basic
rule of humanity.
When Land Day comes around next year, a
new reality will be in place on the ground.
Israel will have completed the construction of
its 700 kilometre –long apartheid wall across
the West Bank and around Jerusalem. In 2013
it will be almost ten years since the
International Court of Justice ruled that the
wall is illegal and should be dismantled.
Eighty-five per cent of this hideous structure
runs through the occupied West Bank; leaving
200,000 Palestinians isolated from the West
Bank and marooned between the wall to the
east and the Armistice Line to the west.
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Issue No: 15
Photos Tour
Global March to Jerusalem (30th March 2012)
13