AFTER 63 YEARS OF FORCED EXILE
Palestinians storm Israel’s borders
Unarmed marchers shot demanding right to return
By
Joyce Chediac
Published May 18, 2011 3:55 PM
Thousands of Palestinian refugees from Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza
surged across fenced off borders and into Israel on May 15, asserting their
right to return home. The unarmed protesters were fired upon by Israeli
soldiers, killing 16 and wounding hundreds.
May 15, New York City.
WW photo: Paul Wilcox
|
These brave, coordinated, “Return to Palestine” marches by the
Palestinian people marked “al Nakba,” the Catastrophe, the
anniversary of the expulsion by force and terror of 750,000 Palestinians from
their homes by Zionists in 1948, and the establishment of Israel in its
place.
Inspired by protests in much of the Arab world, this was the first time in 63
years that Palestinian refugees marked their expulsion by going to the border
in the tens of thousands and calling for their right to go home. It electrified
the Arab world and showed that, no matter what forces are arrayed against them,
the Palestinian people will not abandon their right to return.
Palestinians marching from Jordan were attacked and stopped by Jordanian
soldiers before they reached the border. The Egyptian military fired into
crowds to repress them after three days of actions in solidarity with Palestine
in Egypt, culminating in a protest in front of the Israeli Embassy. Jordan and
Egypt are the only Arab countries that have signed a peace treaty with
Israel.
Coordinated actions reflect Hamas-Fatah agreement
Speaking from Gaza, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya said that
Palestinian and Arab blood spilt during Nakba marches suggests that Nakba is
being marked with a new spirit and that the Palestinians have begun to
“bury the Nakba” for good. He said that the situation marked the
“first application” of the recent Fatah-Hamas reconciliation
practiced on the ground, as differences were set aside for the greater national
interest.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah lauded those Palestinians mowed
down as “martyrs” killed by “the Israeli occupation while
they were in a demonstration commemorating the Nakba inside the
nation.”
No Western governments condemn Israeli killings
The Israeli government responded with deadly force against the unarmed
protesters, who certainly posed no physical danger. This bloody response made
clear who the terrorists are in this continuing struggle. But neither the U.S.
government nor its European allies have issued even one word condemning the
murder of Palestinians by Tel Aviv. In fact, while Palestinians mourn their
dead, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be greeted by President
Barack Obama in Washington on May 20, and Netanyahu has been asked to address a
joint session of Congress!
Meanwhile, on May 16 the Israeli and Egyptian navies together opened fire in
international waters on a Gaza freedom flotilla ship, the Spirit of Rachel
Corrie, carrying plastic sewage pipes to help restore the devastated sewerage
system in Gaza. None of the anti-war activists and journalists, from Malaysia,
Ireland, India and Canada, were harmed. The vessel is now anchored in Egyptian
waters, about 30 nautical miles from Gaza.
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt
In Lebanon on May 15, thousands of women and men, young and
old, secular and religious, gathered in the mountain-top border town of Maroun
al Ras, which has a panoramic view of occupied Palestine. For many it was the
first time they saw their country, which previously they had only heard
described by their elders.
Soon after speakers began addressing the crowds, thousands headed down the
opposite side of the mountain — though it was littered with Israeli
landmines — towards the border fence. Calling for their right to return,
they climbed and placed Palestinian flags on the fence. Some began throwing
stones at soldiers so far off they could barely be seen.
The soldiers opened fire, and 11 people were killed and about 100 wounded.
Participating in the action were the Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon,
Abdallah Abdallah, and representatives from Hezbollah, and the Future Movement,
which is aligned with it.
Four people were killed and four others critically hurt by Israeli gunfire
after hundreds of protesters from a Syrian-held part of the
Golan breached the fence and entered the part of the Heights annexed
by Israel. Syrians and Palestinians broke through the fence from both sides,
greeting relatives arbitrarily separated by the border. Israeli troops fired
live rounds and tear gas at the protesters.
In Jordan, police intercepted and stopped several thousand
Palestinians from marching to the border with Israel, injuring at least 25.
“The people want to liberate Palestine,” was one of the slogans the
young people chanted earlier near the Israeli Embassy in Amman. “We are
ready to die for Jerusalem. The right of return is sacred.” (AFP, May
15)
In Egypt, a huge crowd gathered in support of Palestine on May
13 in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Many had intentions of traveling to the
border crossing with Gaza on May 15, to demand that the blockade of Gaza be
broken. The Egyptian government, however, set up checkpoints and closed the
bridge and tunnel into the Sinai Peninsula to stop this from happening.
As an alternative, Egyptian and Palestinian protesters gathered for hours at
the Egyptian Embassy in Cairo on May 16, waving Palestinian flags and burning
an Israeli flag. They demanded the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and the
closing of the embassy. At least 350 pro-Palestinian demonstrators were
injured, and over 150 were arrested when Egyptian police and military violently
crushed this protest, firing live ammunition, tear gas grenades and rubber
bullets at the crowd.
Spirits remained high, however, with youth grabbing the tear gas canisters and
throwing them back at the army. Men and women raised a chant that is now well
known in Egypt: “We are not afraid! We will not bow down! We have gotten
used to bullets!”
A day of mourning and determination
There are now more than 4.8 million Palestinian refugees officially registered
with UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East, throughout the Arab world, including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan,
the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian refugees are the longest-lasting and
largest refugee population in the world. They live in limbo, a stateless people
denied their human rights both internationally and in the countries where they
live. Conditions for Palestinians are by far the worst in Lebanon.
May 16 was declared a day of mourning in all 12 Palestinian camps across
Lebanon as families of the 11 people killed prepared to bury their dead.
All work stopped in Lebanon’s southern Palestinian camps to make way for
mourners who gathered in their thousands to bid farewell to Imad Abu Shakra,
18; Abdel Rahman Said Sobhi, 20; and Mohammad Abu Shleeh, 28, three of those
killed. Similar funerals were held in Al-Bass and Burj Al-Shamali camps near
the southern port city of Tyre.
“In Ain el-Helwi, the bodies of Abu Shakra, Sobhi and Shleeh were held up
high by procession members, who also carried banners and chanted slogans
reflecting their deep longing for their loved Palestine.” The men had
“sacrificed their lives for the right to return,” read one banner.
“We will fight, we will die, we will return to Palestine,” read
another. (Beirut Daily Star, May 16)
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email:
[email protected]
Subscribe
[email protected]
Support independent news
DONATE