Excavation incites Riot

New Israeli renovation work has caused an uproar at one of Islam's most sacred sites, the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Shortly after Friday prayers worshippers clashed with riot police after Israel began work on a hill near al-Maghariba gate, to build a road for Jewish settlers. The hill serves as one of the entrances to the mosque. The Waqf trust, those in charge of the compound, said that two undergound rooms adjacent to the mosque will have their foundation compromised should the 'renovation' go ahead. Tensions between the Palestinians and the Isreali government are rising; a similar renovation in 2004 by the Israelis caused a cave-in on the path to the Maghariba gate. I'm speculating that this renovation may be no more than a ploy to incite anger and cause the Palestinians to do something that Israel can respond to with more-than-ample force. Let's pray that won't be the case.

Reports have also surface that the work is actually an excavation, for historic artefacts believed to be buried there. There's even a suggestion to install cameras so that people can watch the work to make sure nothing shady is occuring. Will those cameras be removed after the excavation? Or will there existence be forgotten in the ongoing occupation. Sounds like a jail to me. Now let me throw something else into the mix. The annexation of the mosque and compound is illegal under international law. Israeli authorities are not suppose to be anywhere near it. Imagine someone breaking into your home, setting up their own security cameras, and watching what goes on. The idea is absurd. To you and I it's ridiculous. For the Palestinians, it's just another day under the occupation.

And as for those rubber bullets being used. Let me break it down for you.

Rubber Bullets = not Rubber Bullets.

Palestine Peace Not Apartheid

So after a couple of months of intense work and a whole lot of shuffling things around, I now again find time to continue this blog. I know it's been a while, but please forgive my absence. Sometimes we are called away to do things that we cannot avoid.

I wanted to start by taking sometime to discuss the book put out by former America President Jimmy Carter entitled Palestine Peace Not Apartheid. This book is a good read for anyone that is still skeptical of the true nature of the war in Palestine, believing that Israel is under attack by these muslim terrorists that want to send her back to the stone age. You can see where the events of the rest of the world are starting to run together in the average North Americans brain. Though they're have been many Americans before him who have written quite critically on the subject, the fact that it's the former President taking a stance may draw some more people into reading this book, which will do them some good. Carter has written on the subject before, but I think the bold title and the concise way the chapters of the book are written may keep the attention span of the average reader for longer than a minute. He's provided Maps and Appendices of Security Council resolutions that will aid the reader in understanding the conflict.

A few quick points I'd like to make that Carter hits on. We always here in the news (Or at least I think I do) about the need for Palestinians and Israelis to have a cease fire and get back on the "ROADMAP" to peace. To the average person, this word "roadmap" is an easy excuse for them to say that both parties aren't following the roadmap to peace and this is why the fighting will continue. This allows them to have peace of mind, lets them think they're educated, and go along on their merry way. I want to talk about this Roadmap that we seem to know so little about. Carter hits on it in his book and I think people should know what the media is actually referring to.

In April 2003, Kofi Anaan, then Secretary General anounced the latest Roadmap to Peace. In it, the arrangments and appeasements to peace were outlined for both parties and it seemed like peace was possible. Here comes the kicker. The Palestinians accepted the roadmap right away, as they have done in the past with several resolutions. The Israeli government on the other hand had some amendments that they thought were necessary before they could accept this new roadmap. I want to touch on three of these ammendments that I think illustrate how much the state of Israel really cares for peace.

1. Cessation of incitement against, but the Roadmap cannot state that Israel must cease violence and incitement against the Palestinians

2. Israeli controll over Palestine, including the entry and exit of all persons and cargo, plus its airspace and electromagnetic spectrum (radio, television, radar, etc.)

3. The waiver of any right of return of refugees to Israel.

So please make up your own mind and ask yourself if the mentality for wanting peace exists on both sides. Of course this roadmap will never be adopted by Israel, who feeds on the suffering of Christians Muslims, and even some Jews in the occupied territories and within the current illegal state of Israel.

A U of T analyst that I admire for bringing down to earth, secular view to these sorts of issues, Janice Stein, appeared on a Canadian News morning show to talk about the issue. I was dissappointed when she said the she didn't agree with the title of the book (the apartheid) and said that attaching a label to it wouldn't help the peace process. I was kind of dismayed and a little frustrated with her. Not because of my own stance on the issue but because of the way she supported her own. Where Jimmy Carter provided hard facts and key initiatives, Stein kind of hopskotched over the issue. Granted he had a book to tell his story, but Stein did seem very reluctant to share any sort of insight on the issue. Some people begin to show their true colours
after a certain time. Hopefully, people will begin to see the American-Israeli rainbow of death, before the death of the occupied people.