[Het Parool, The Netherlands]

Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria

Gaza: Pride of the Arabs

"The city has responded with derision to the technology of death made in the USA. … So here we have very poor and very deprived people - who have been subject to an inhuman blockade for over 18 months, giving the entire world a lesson in dignity and courage."

Editorial by K. Selim

Translated By Sandrine Ageorges

January 8, 2009

Algeria - Le Quotidien d'Oran - Home Page (French)

After eleven days of indiscriminate bombing and extreme violence, the "glorious" Western army of Israel has failed to achieve any of its objectives.

Palestinian rockets continue to fall steadily over the colonizers' territory, and incursions by "elite" troops from the world's second army (or the first, if one considers that this force of assassins is just another arm of the American military) are confronting effective and determined opposition from a resistance that has only machine guns and grenade launchers.

Bombarded from the air, by artillery and by naval forces, the city has responded with derision to the technology of death made in the USA. Enraged by this and in their purest tradition of treachery and cowardice, the Israeli criminals are using ammunition prohibited by international convention [see photo below]. And the targets are schools crammed with exhausted refugees, homes and mosques.

Shells of white phosphorus shower Gaza: Used to shield the activity of

soldiers from the view of the enemy, the substance is highly flammable

and ignites on contact with oxygen. Banned under the Geneva Treaty of

1980 as a weapon of war in civilian areas because of the severe injuries

it causes, white phosphorous has yet to be banned as a smokescreen.

The overwhelming majority of victims, over six hundred dead and nearly three thousand wounded so far - have been unarmed civilians.

But just as it was on the very first day, determination is unwavering and the Azzedine El Kassem brigades [part of Hamas' military arm] are preventing the Zionist panzers from moving forward. The resistance of the Palestinian people is indeed heroic. What Arab army has ever resisted the Zionist war machine for more than six days? So here we have poor people - very poor and very deprived - who have been subject to an inhuman blockade for over 18 months, giving the entire world a lesson in dignity and courage.

The lone resistance of the people of Gaza and the massacre of innocents with the active complicity of the Americans will long remain in the memory of Arabs and Muslims. 

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

The martyrdom of all of the murdered children, the women, the civilians who had, as one would say, only the luxury of their miserable lives, will continue to haunt the conscience of all of those who agreed to submit to the instructions of these criminals.

History will also recall the cry of a female protester from Sudan, inviting Arab leaders to wear dresses, which, according to the outraged Arab/Muslim woman, would better reflect their inclinations.

In the midst of this horrifying butchery, one can still smile at this cry of the heart. But it reflects an undoubted fact. What Gaza makes more obvious with every passing day is the disappearance of Arab States from the political scene. Even the ridiculous Czech Republic in Germany's backyard can afford to treat them above the leg [offhandedly] … One might wonder how far this capitulation and loss of moral leadership will go.

The scene in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip,

Wednesday, after Israeli air strikes.

This is one of the concrete results of "moderation" (it would be better to use the word submission) and the support of these leaders for the American line. As one can see, the incoherent gesticulations of every other Arab official put together weighs far less than the single voice of Turkey...

But the resistance of the holy warriors of Gaza is a clear sign that this phase of the interminable and despairing collapse of Arab regimes is drawing to a close. Like Hezbullah yesterday, Hamas today heralds new forms of political organization, capable of coping successfully with the imperialist-Zionist war machine.

In this storm, Gaza is the vanguard of the Arab World.

CLICK HERE FOR FRENCH VERSION

[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US January 8, 8:17pm]