عن غزّة

خالد برّاج

لماذا هذا الإستغراب ؟ و لماذا تلك الضجة حول الإجراءات التي إتّخذتها حركة حماس في قطاع غزّة في الآونة الأخيرة ؟
هل كان من المؤكد إحترام حركة حماس لحرية التعبير و حرية الصحافة ؟
هل أعلنت حركة حماس رسمياً من خلال قيادتها عن إعطائها ضمانات لباقي التنظيمات (غير حركة فتح) بعدم التعرّض لها ؟
هل كنّا على يقينٍ تام أنّ حركة حماس ستفرج عن معتقلي حركة فتح ؟
هل كنّا مقتنعين تماماً أنّ حقوق المرأة ستبقى مصانة في ظلّ حكم حركة حماس ؟
هل كنّا واثقين إلى حدٍ كبير إلى عدم مساس حركة حماس بلباس المرأة ؟
هل كنّا من المنظرِين إلى إحترام حركة حماس لحرية العمل النقابي؟
هل أعلنت حركة حماس أكثر من مرّة إعجابها بالفن و الثقافة و تقديرها لمثّقفي فلسطين كالشاعر الراحل محمود درويش؟
هل و هل و هل...
بل على العكس ,
كنّا على يقينٍ كافٍ و لا نزال أنّ من نكّل بأهل غزّة و إغتصب ذاكرتها و داس على وحدتها و رمى مناضليها من على أسطح البنايات و شرفات المنازل ليس إلاّ فاشيٌ منمّق يشبه إلى حدٍ بعيد هذا الصهيوني المتعجرف الكامن لحرية فلسطين و أهلها.
كنّا واثقين ولا نزال من أنّ الأمور في ظل حكم و حكومة حركة حماس ستؤول إلى قمعٍ للحريات و إجراءات تعسّفية لا تمتّ إلى تاريخ نضال الشعب الفلسطيني بصلة...
كنّا من أكثر الناس إقتناعاً و لا نزال أنّ حركة حماس تمارس و تحرِض على التمييز الطائفي بين الفلسطنيين و هو أمر لم تشهده القضية و المقاومة الفلسطينية منذ نشأتها...
كنّا على علمٍ تام و لا نزال أنّ من نشأ على تعاليم الفكر التكفيري و الظلامي ليس من شيمه و أخلاقه صون حرية المرأة و حقوقها, ليس من خصائله تشجيع الثقافة و الفن, ليس من عاداته تقبلّ و مناقشة الفكر الأخر...هو يؤمن بالقمع و العنف فقط, لا يقبل الحوار أو النقاش.
و كنّا و ما زلنا...
فلماذا هذا الإستغراب و التعجّب إذاً ؟
هل هو دليل عن عجزٍ ما أم إحباطٍ داخلي نتيجة ما ألت الأوضاع إليه على الساحة الفلسطينية ؟ هل هو إشمئزازٌ من منظر هذا "الحمساوي" و هو يدوس على صورة "أبو عمّار" رافعاً راية النصر ؟ هل هو حنين إلى علمانية القضية الفلسطينية و فصائلها المنضوية تحت شرعية عباءة منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية ؟
أسئلة كثيرة يطرحها من عرف فلسطين منذ الصغر و عشقها و إعتبرها (و لا يزال) القضية الأولى , إنّها قضية فلسطيني يتمّ تهجيره و قتله منذ أوائل القرن العشرين على يد آلة إجرامٍ منظّمة إسمها الصهيونية , إنّها قضية فلسطيني خذلته جميع الأنظمة الشقيقة التقدمية منها و الرجعية, إنّها قضية فلسطيني أصبح الأن محاصراً بين كمّاشةٍ صهيونية و مطرقةٍ أصولية...
و بين إشتداد الكماشة و حدّة المطرقة شعبٌ يصيح من العذاب و الظلم و القتل و القمع, لا يزيده بؤساً سوى سماعه الخطب اليومية لزعماء و عظماء الأمة (من المحيط إلى الخليج) المزايدون على أهل غزّة من قصورهم العاجية و أنظمتهم المهترئة.

Al-Megrahi and the Swiss Bankers

By Joseph El-Khoury

The Al-Megrahi controversy illustrates one of the basic misunderstandings that poison East-West Relationships. The scenes of celebrations upon his return cannot have come as a shock to those who remember the history of Colonel Kaddafi(Gaddafi) and his consistent talent at irritating, insulting and keeping everyone on their toes. This is not about a clash of cultures or an Arab insensitivity to the suffering of others. Leaving aside whether Al-Megrahi is guilty of Lockerbie or whether the Libyan people feel his detention was a political one, the public display of jubilation are unlikely to have been spontaneous and can only have been blessed and orchestrated by a regime bent on sending messages as part of a conversation with London and Washington of which we know little. Capricious tyrant or Machiavellian visionary? The jury is still out on that one. What is clear is that the West is showing a great deal of tolerance in the name of pragmatic cooperation.

I remember a conversation with A Libyan doctor in self imposed exile who complained above all of the ‘unpredictability’ of a regime run by an unpredictable man. In a way Kaddafhi is not different from a Henry VIII changing wives like you would change socks, then creating a church to accommodate his personal needs. These, after all are the prerogatives of absolute Monarchs...and Rock stars. Kaddafi probably aspires to both status: omnipotent and dramatic. He is a figure as recognisable as Michael Jackson since the 1980s and will mostl likely become a pop-art icon for years to come. But the values of the 16th century are no longer in operation. This is 2009, supposedly dominated by liberalism, governance, accountability, fairness and...Democracy. Wars are being waged in the name of these values in Iraq and Afghanistan at a high cost for all those involved. Unfortunately, and since September 2001, Kaddafhi has been sold to Western public opinion as a repentant bad guy, turned anti-terrorist campaigner and business partner. Dropped were concerns over sustained human rights abuses, oppressive policies and lack of political freedom. Libya had become in 8 years the ideal investment spot, as longs as you managed to woo the ruling inner circle by accepting invitations to share food in the presidential tent or admiring the artwork of the heir to the throne Seif El Islam in a London Gallery. Britain, but also the US and others have only their governments to blame for marketing the regime as a model for the future Middle East.

Only a few days prior to Al Megrahi’s release on compassionate grounds -A decision that can only be praised if its premises are genuine- Switzerland was apologising to Kaddafi’s other son Hannibal for having smeared his image following allegations him and his wife had abused their staff while sojourning in the country. Libya had retaliated by withdrawing funds deposited in Swiss Banks and cancelling contracts. The sight of Swiss officials begging for forgiveness was more repulsive than the scenes in Tripoli. It was also more symbolic of the hypocrisy framing East-West relationships, a relationship of business and political powerhouses over which the average Arab has no influence.

'We Understand Islam'

By Joseph El-Khoury

Hamas spokesperson Ghazi Hamad’s desperate efforts to portray his movement as moderate and mainstream felt a tad rehearsed, triggering sniggers from other panel members during an Aljazeera English debate on the latest events in Gaza.

The heavy fighting over the weekend pitted Palestinian security forces, essentially under Hamas control, against a relative newcomer on the Islamist scene, known as the ‘Jund Ansar Allah’ or ‘Soldiers of the supporters of God’. This Salafi organisation of a few hundred members and apparently linked to the kidnapping of BBC Journalist Alan Johnston a few years ago, had been growing steadily and recruiting aggressively among the disaffected youth in the impoverished city of Rafah in Southern Gaza. As part of his diatribe Mr Hamad declared: ’These guys don’t understand Islam, We understand Islam’; an accusation that ironically had been levelled at them by Fatah in the past. Similarly he claims that his organisation never forces its beliefs on others, while the reality in Gaza reveals a systematic islamization of society organised by Hamas since it took over control of the district.

Only a few weeks earlier we read press releases indicating that Female lawyers were instructed to wear the veil while conducting official court business. Other reports suggest that Hamas is no longer content of focusing its task on fighting the Israelis but is determined to remodel Gazan life according to its religious and moral principles. Realistically, the movement doesn’t really have much choice, having dug itself into a hole by evicting Fatah to the West Bank and failed to emulate Hezbollah in the latest Gaza war, it is limited to capitalising on its religious platform.

Obviously they are not responsible for every brand of Islamism within Palestinian society, but on this account had so far only been rivalled by Islamic Jihad, a much more elitist organisation with no limited grass root support. In addition, any discerning observer with basic understanding of political Islam, will be aware of the radical differences between organisations such as Hamas (and Hezbollah) on one hand and the Global Jihadists of Al Qaeda. Their lumping together by the Western media only mirrors Israeli propaganda which equates between Palestinian resistance to occupation (regardless of how misguided and counterproductive) and the delusional behaviour of a group of religious fanatics. It is easy to forget that the West used military force in Iraq to bring to power political parties that would find themselves to the Right of Hamas ideologically, but what is ‘Kosher’ in Iraq is ‘Haram’ in Palestine.

Nonetheless, it is Hamas, aided by the Israeli blockade, which bears a large part of responsibility for creating an atmosphere where Islam could be used as a political tool in settling disputes and labelling opponents. A number of commentators have highlighted the rehabilitating benefit for the militants of having dealt a deadly blow to those who dared be more ‘Muslim’ than them. Others feel that this is not the last we will hear from the Salafis and that the appalling human situation in the strip has the potential to breed further unbridled fanaticism.