Bani Israil

By Fauzan Al-Anshari

Hai Bani Israil, ingatlah akan nikmat-Ku yang telah Aku anugerahkan kepadamu, dan penuhilah janjimu kepada-Ku, niscaya Aku penuhi janji-Ku padamu; dan hanya kepada-Ku-lah kamu harus tunduk (takut). (QS Al-Baqarah: 40).

Israil yang artinya pilihan adalah sebutan bagi Nabi Ya'kub as. Bani Israil adalah anak-anak keturunan Nabi Ya'kub as. Tetapi, sekarang bangsa mereka lebih terkenal dengan sebutan Yahudi atau Zionis. Sebagai bangsa pilihan, mereka banyak dianugerahi nikmat Allah SWT, sesuatu yang tidak dinikmati bangsa-bangsa lainnya.

Kenikmatan yang diterima Bani Israil itu kalau dirinci satu per satu tentu tidak terhitung. Namun ada beberapa kenikmatan yang sangat menonjol dirasakan oleh mereka seperti: diselamatkannya mereka dari kejaran Fir'aun dan bala tentaranya yang amat bengis (QS 2:49), dibelahnya laut untuk jalan mereka dan ditenggelamkannya Fir'aun dan para pengikutnya (QS 2:50), diturunkannya Nabi Musa dan Kitab Taurat untuk mereka serta dimaafkannya kesalahan mereka atas perbuatan menyembah anak sapi (QS 2:51),

dibangkitkannya mereka setelah mati disambar petir akibat keraguannya terhadap eksistensi Allah SWT (QS 2:55-56), dinaungi dengan awan ketika berjalan di bawah terik matahari dan diturunkannya makanan sorga yaitu manna dan salwa serta dua belas mata air (QS 2:57).

Namun, ketika mereka diperintahkan masuk ke Palestina dengan penuh keberanian, karena di dalamnya terdapat penguasa yang otoriter, ternyata mereka mengingkarinya, bahkan mereka mengatakan kepada Nabi Musa as: ''Barangkali engkau bersama Tuhanmu (untuk berperang merebut Palestina), dan kami di sini saja (menunggu hasilnya)!'' Sungguh orang-orang Yahudi itu tidak bisa mensyukuri nikmat, tidak tahu balas budi, dan selalu ingkar janji. ''Oleh sebab itu, Kami timpakan atas orang-orang yang zalim itu siksa dari langit, karena mereka berbuat fasik''. (QS 2:59).

Kini, atas bantuan Inggris dan para sekutunya, sejak 1948 bangsa Yahudi telah menjajah bumi Palestina dan mengusir penduduknya dari tanah kelahirannya. Segala upaya telah dilakukan untuk mengusir kaum Zionis itu dari tanah Palestina yang suci, namun setiap usaha tersebut hingga kini menemui kegagalan.

Berbagai perjanjian telah dibuat. Lebih dari 600 rekomendasi dihasilkan lewat seminar atau simposium tingkat dunia. Sudah puluhan resolusi lahir dari rahim PBB (Perserikatan Bangsa Bangsa). Namun sampai detik ini, Yahudi tetaplah Yahudi yang dulu. Mereka kufur akan nikmat, suka melanggar perjanjian, dan tidak tahu membalas budi.

Mungkin benar adanya sinyalemen, bahwa masih ada orang-orang Yahudi yang baik. Oleh karena itu, bangsa Indonesia ingin menjalin hubungan dagang secara formal dengan mereka. Hanya saja, sejarah yang selalu arif telah membuktikan bahwa jangankan Indonesia yang masih lemah, negara-negara adidaya pun kini telah bertekuk lutut di bawah kendalinya. Semoga saja kita tidak menjadi korban ke sekian dari tipu daya Yahudi. - ah

Source : www.republika.co.id

The Muslim Family

Family is the bedrock, cradle of human civilisation. It is the foundation and basis of Muslim society.

Adam and Hawa, our first father and mother, struggled to cultivate and endure in the earth as husband and wife. Gradually their family multiplied into multitude. Family gives mooring, anchor, stability and tranquility among the close blood related and other members.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

�O Mankind, be conscious of your duty to your Lord, Who created you from a single soul, created of like Nature, his mate, and from the two created and Spread many men and women; and be mindful of your duty to God whose name you appeal to one another and to (the ties of) the womb. Verily God watches over you�. Qur'an (4:1)

The Islamic family system brings the rights of the husband, wife, children, and relatives into a fine equilibrium. It nourishes unselfish behavior, generosity, and love within the framework of a well-organized family system. The peace and security offered by a stable family unit is greatly valued by Islam, and it is seen as essential for the spiritual growth of its members. A harmonious social order is created by the existence of extended families and by treasuring children.

The institutions of marriage and the family have been commended as the �way of the Prophets�.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

"And surely We have sent Messengers before you, and we assigned to them wives and offspring; and it was not for any Messenger to bring assign except by God's leave. For every term has a Book."Qur'an (13:38)

And the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:

�Marriage is a part of my Sunnah. Whoever runs away from my path is not from amongst us�. [Ibn Majah, Book of Marriage]

Moreover a Muslim family has its unique features, e.g. it provides a secure and healthy 'home' environment for all its members, it guards against passions of whims and desires and channelise them to wholesome and meaningful pursuit, it proliferates human virtues, such as, love compassion, sacrifice, justice etc. and it provides a refuge against any difficulty.

And since the family is the microcosm of a society and as such there are distinct role for its members.

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) says:

"Each one of you is a trustee (shepherd) and is accountable for that which is entrusted to him. A ruler is trustee and is accountable for his trust, a man is a trustee in respect of his family, a woman is a trustee in respect of her husband's house and children." (Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Men has the leadership role in the family and in the family women have to be loyal to men.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

"Men are the supporters of women, because Allah has stowed on the one more than the other, and for what they have to provide (for them) from their sources. So the righteous women are obedient and protect in the absence of their husbands that which God ordains to be protected." Qur'an (4:34)

Leadership raises the question of responsibility, consultation (shoora) and justice. As shepherd of the house women have responsibility over the house and children.

Parents are to provide their children with basic human necessities, such as food, cloth, shelter, education and medical support. This is treated as and Ibadah (worship) for the parents. Also parents should provide their children with love, warmth, compassion, etc. As human being consists of body and spirit, parents must provide their children with the life skills and spiritual nourishment.

Also there are many traditions regarding children's responsibility toward their parents. As God ask children to obey and serve their parents and be kind and decent to them. Bukhari and Muslim narrated,

'A man came to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and asked permission to go to Jihad (fighting for the sake of Islam). The Prophet asked him, "are your parents alive?" The man said, "yes". The Prophet responded, "then strive to serve them."

The rights and responsibilities within the family are inter-twined. One's responsibility is the other's right. Rights and duties of husband, wife, parents and children are inscribed in Shariah (God's Commands). No Superiority except in Piety.

What Islam has established is equitability in the role of sexes because of many factors, such as, physiological, physical, emotional, etc. Allah has no bias for or against men and women.

No burden bearer can bear another's burden.

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) has stressed the importance of good conduct in the family.

"The best of you is the best to his family and I am the best among you to my family". "The most perfect believers are the best in conduct, and the best of you are those who are best to their spouses "(Tirmidhi).

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) shared household works with his wives. For genuine economic reasons both the spouses might need to engage in financial activities. But rearing up and educating children cannot be compromised. There should be frank discussion and consultation between the spouses. Children need to be involved as and when necessary and also in order to train them to become responsible in their lives.

Extended family with three to four generations under the same family structure helps Muslims to acquire many social qualities, such as sacrifice, compromise, respect, affection, consultation etc. There is mutual support in case of needs. There may be some inherent difficulties in this arrangement, but, after all, children should also learn to live in the realities of life.

Thus the family enjoys a high status in Islam. It is the core of the society, because a healthy family means a healthy society. Hence Allah, the Exalted, commands that parents be treated with gentleness and submissiveness.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

"And we have enjoined upon man (to be good) to his parents. With difficulty upon difficulty did his mother bear him and wean him for two years. Show gratitude to Me and to your parents; to Me is your final goal." (Qur'an 31:14)

Source: salaam.co.uk

www.islamonline.com

Erdogan gets a hero’s welcome

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday stood by what he said during a heated debate with Israel’s president as the Jewish state sought to calm tempers, saying bilateral ties would recover.

Erdogan received a hero’s welcome home and Hamas and Islamic Jihad hailed his “courageous stand” after he walked out of the debate on Gaza at the World Economic Forum at Davos following a clash with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Peres had launched a fiery defense of his country’s offensive in Gaza over the past month, and with a raised voice and pointed finger, questioned what Erdogan would do if rockets were to be fired at Istanbul every night.

“President Peres you are older than me and your voice is very loud. The reason for you raising your voice is the psychology of guilt. I will not raise my voice that much, you should know that. When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill. I know very well how you hit and killed children on the beaches,” he said during the panel discussion, which also included United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Arab League chief Amr Moussa. “The death of civilians cannot be seen as a simple work accident.”

Erdogan later stressed that he had not targeted Peres personally or the people of Israel. “My reaction (walkout) was to the moderation,” he said, explaining that Peres had been given 25 minutes by the moderator to talk while the others on the panel were given less time. The moderator, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, had given him a minute to reply, then asked him to finish, saying that people needed to go to dinner.

On his return to Istanbul, Erdogan told a cheering crowd: “We will never allow anyone to show disrespect to the prime minister of Turkey.”

Thousands of people gathered at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport to greet Erdogan, waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting “Turkey is proud of you.”

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said: “Nobody should expect the prime minister of Turkey to swallow a disrespectful act. He gave the necessary response.”

Peres said yesterday he hoped relations with Turkey would not be affected by the heated exchange and added he had spoken to Erdogan by telephone after the debate.

“We don’t want conflict with Turkey. We are in a conflict with the Palestinians,” Peres told reporters in Davos.

“I called him up and said, ‘Yes, I do not see the matter as personal ... and the relations can remain as they are’,” Peres said. “My respect for him didn’t change. We had an exchange of views.” Some Turkish newspapers reported that Peres apologized to Erdogan. Peres spokeswoman Ayelet Frisch denied that.

The Turkish military indicated its ties with Israel would not immediately change.

“The rule is to act according to national interests in bilateral military relations with all countries,” Brig. Gen. Metin Gurak, the military spokesman, said in response to a question on the possibility of cutting military ties.

Red and white Turkish flags flapped next to green Hamas banners at rallies throughout Gaza City yesterday, as well as the ruins of a bombed-out mosque in the Gaza refugee camp of Jabaliya. About 5,000 Hamas supporters rallied in front of the ruined Palestinian Parliament, some waving Turkish flags and carrying pictures of Erdogan. ¬

Source: Arab News
www.islamonline.com

Smoking Ban Fatwa Divides Indonesia

A fatwa by Indonesia's top Islamic party banning smoking in public places is dividing the world's most populous Muslim state amid a conflict of interests between health and business. "We will submit the fatwa to the Supreme Court as a basis of upgrading it to become apart of additive essence," Aries Merdeka Sirait, secretary general the National Human Rights for Children Protection, told IslamOnline on Saturday, January 31.

He said if the court considered tobacco an additive essence, then smoking will be banned in the Muslim country.

"So, the fatwa would be in effect not only for children and pregnant women," said Aries.

Nearly 700 scholars of the Ulemas Council on Sunday, January 25, banned smoking in public places and for children and pregnant women.

The scholars, however, failed to agree an outright ban on smoking, fearing it could harm the country's economy.

The fatwa is not legally binding for Muslims, who make up some 86.1 percent of Indonesia's 235 million population, but can influence government policy.

"I am happy and glad about the fatwa," Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said.

When asked about the impact of the fatwa on the country's tobacco industry, Supari said the issue is beyond her authority.

"That is not the concern of the health minister, but rather the trade and industry minister."

Indonesia is the world's third biggest cigarette consumers after China and India.

At around $1 a pack, cigarettes in Indonesia are among the cheapest in the world.

More than 60 million Indonesians are active-smokers.

Conflict of Interests

But cigarette producers warned that the fatwa would badly harm the country's economy.

"This limited fatwa is hitting our profits, let alone legalized by the Supreme Court," Amin Wahyu Hidayat, deputy secretary the Cigarette Companies Association in East Java, told IOL.

"Hundreds home cigarette industries in East Java will die, especially the government is due to the increase the cigarette tax about 33 percent in next February."

Amin said the fatwa will also impede the community surrounding the cigarette factories, as the stakeholders of small-scale cigarette industries.

"If the revenue decreases then we have no option to keep them with our company," he said.

The Indonesian Tobacco Farmer Association expects the production of home cigarette industry to drop about 50 percent after the fatwa.

The 8-billion-dollar tobacco industry is a main source of income in Indonesia.

Taxes on cigarettes account for about 10 percent of government income.

The industry also provides millions of jobs for many Indonesians.

"Most of people here rely on the industry," said Muhammad Syafiq, head of MUI Kudus, East Java.

The Indonesian United Cigarette Factories (Gapri) estimates that nearly 30 million people depend on the 4,575 industries of cigarette and tobacco.

"If smoking is fully banned so the salary of the workers and the income of tobacco farmers could be haram," Gapri chairman Ismanu Soemiran said.

The Indonesian government admits the conflict of interests.

"That is the only factor of why we have not found a concrete policy to reduce cigarette consumption," Dr. Yulizar Darwis, Health Service Building Director at the Heath Ministry, told IOL.

He said the ministry is trying to persuade the ban supporters and opponents to sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to cut cigarette consumption.

Indonesia is the only Asian country in Asia to have not signed the framework due to the conflict of interests.

"Even the parliament has not found the way out," said Yulizar.

The government has set a roadmap to reduce cigarette output to 260 billion sticks by 2020, against 231 billion in 2008.

"We have been many times meeting with the parliament over the issue but the result is still the same," said Yulizar.

Source: IslamOnline

Hamas:"on n'accepte aucun soldat sioniste sur le sol de la Bande de Gaza".

Le Hamas a affirmé d'une manière décisive et très claire son refus à l'existence d'aucun soldat sioniste sur le sol de la Bande de Gaza, et que cela nous pousse à continuer la lutte quel que soit le prix à payer pour libérer nos territoires.

Lors d'une déclaration de presse, Fawzi Barhoum, a annoncé sur la chaîne d'Al Aqsa que le Hamas n'accepterait jamais l'existence de tout soldat sur le sol de la Bande de Gaza, et que les résistants palestiniens vont continuer leur résistance nationale face aux troupes de l'occupation jusqu'à leur retrait définitif du sol de la Bande de Gaza.

En soulignant que l'occupation a échoué complètement à atteindre ses buts annoncés au cours de sa guerre folle contre les habitants de Gaza, Barhoum a confirmé que le Hamas refuse les exigences de l'occupation et continue de soutenir les résistants de toutes les factions palestiniennes qui vont combattre les forces armées sionistes jusqu'à la réalisation des droits légaux du peuple palestinien, ainsi que le retrait des troupes armées sionistes, la levée du blocus et l'ouverture de tous les passages.

"Le Hamas n'est pas intéressé par tout accord sécuritaire des forces ennemies qui tentent de priver le peuple palestinien de ses droits légitimes, en faisant allusion à l'accord de Tzipi Livni et Condolleeza Rice qui appelle la communauté internationale à renforcer le blocus contre le Hamas, sous prétexte de faire face au armes clandestines", a protesté Barhoum contre les coupables qui soutiennent toujours les dirigeants néo-nazis sionistes criminels qui ont perpétré un holocauste ,sans précédent, contre les civils de la Bande de Gaza.

Le responsable du Hamas a appelé à déployer tous les efforts régionaux et internationaux pour emmener les responsables sionistes coupables à la cour pénale internationale pour qu'ils subissent leur peine, notamment Livni, Olmert et Ehud Barak, à cause de leur crimes de guerre, très flagrants, contre des enfants, femmes et personnes âgées, et leur utilisation des armes interdites au niveau international.

Source : http://www.palestine-info.cc

Swiss delegation: Israel committed war crimes in every sense of the word

In a meeting with Palestinian lawmakers Ismail Al-Ashqar and Salem Salama, the visiting delegation strongly condemned the assassination of interior minister Sa'eed Siyam as a heinous crime and conveyed the Swiss and European parliaments' solidarity with the PLC and their rejection of all Israeli violations against Palestinian lawmakers.

For his part, MP Ashqar expressed the PLC's shock and dismay at the official European position in support of the Israeli criminal war on the Palestinian people in Gaza, which claimed the lives of more than 1,300 citizens and led to the injury of thousands, noting that this position gave Israel the pretext to persist in its war on Gaza.

The lawmaker underlined that Israel felt satisfied with the Arab and European positions and the full American support during its war which made it continue its genocide against the Gaza people.

Ashqar called on the Swiss and European parliaments to pressure their countries to arrest Israeli leaders and officers responsible for committing war crimes in Gaza in order to prosecute them in the international criminal court.

The Swiss delegation is expected to be in Gaza for another day to visit different bombed areas and eyewitness the impacts of the Israeli aggression on Gaza in order to report about Israel's crimes and the results of its war to the Swiss and European parliaments.

Source : http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Haneyya gov't forms committee to file war crime charges against Israel

The Palestinian government headed by premier Ismail Haneyya formed an official committee to document the Israeli atrocities committed in the Gaza Strip in order to prosecute Israel's leaders as war criminals in regional and international courts.

Minister of justice Mohamed Al-Ghoul called on all international and local institutions working in the field of law or human rights to coordinate with this official committee, stressing the need to pool and intensify all efforts to confront the Israeli occupation and its Nazi leaders in order to achieve the desired objectives.

In another context, minister of social affairs Ahmed Kurd announced on Saturday the formation of the higher national committee for relief in order to coordinate and supervise urgent relief operations for the citizens affected by the Israeli war on Gaza.

Kurd told a news conference that the committee is formed of the ministry of social affairs in addition to Palestinian factions and institutions of civil society, noting that this committee is the only one operating in Gaza.

The minister explained that the committee would be the only authority which is referred to in relief efforts in order to provide transparency and ensure the distribution of relief assistance to all segments of the society.

He stressed that the ministry had contacts with all Palestinian factions in Gaza including Fatah, where a representative of Fatah participated in the preparatory meeting of the committee.

Kurd said that the committee would distribute more than 35 million euros to those affected by the aggression on Gaza.

The minister pointed out that the committee is not for the reconstruction of destroyed areas, but it was formed to provide instant relief to all citizens who were wounded or whose houses were destroyed partially or completely, adding that the reconstruction efforts need enormous amounts of money and coordination with donor countries.

In an exclusive statement to the PIC, Dr. Mohamed Askool, the minister of education stated that the opening of the second school semester and the return of students to classrooms on Saturday represent a message to the Israeli occupation that Palestinian students decided to continue their lives in defiance of the size of pain and destruction it caused in Gaza.

Dr. Askool said that 250,000 students from all levels returned to 380 schools in Gaza, adding that the destruction that affected some schools was addressed through transferring students to other schools.

About 200,000 students studying in UNRWA schools also returned on the same day to classrooms.

Source : http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Perang Nafas Panjang

oleh Yasen Izzuddin

Israel masih terus melakukan eskalasi serangan ke Jalur Gaza sesuai rencana yang mereka buat sejak enam bulan lalu. Serangan ini dilakukan setelah mereka yakin blokade terhadap Jalur Gaza tidak membuahkan hasil yang mereka inginkan. Karenanya harus ada alternatif. Seruan terhadap ribuan pasukan cadangan dan mobilisasi opini publik agar bersiap melakukan perang panjang mengisyaratkan bahwa perang kali bukan sekedar bertujuan menghentikan roket perlawanan Palestina.

Apa lantas tujuan Israel kali ini? Apa tahapannya? Apa alternatif bagi perlawanan Palestina? Bagaimana kita membantu dan menduukung perlawan Palestina dalam perangnya melawan Israel?

Niat dan tujuan Israel
Tujuan Israel dalam perang kali ini bukan sekedar menghentikan roket perlawanan. Sebab itu bisa dilakukan dengan memperpanjang gencatan senjata dan membebaskan blokae. Israel selalu melihat bahaya perlawanan Palestina yang terus mempersenjatai diri. Karenanya sejak awal Israel berusaha memaksakan syarat “hentikan penylundupan senjata” dalam kesepakatan gencatan senjata. Setelah mereka gagal di sini, mereka mulai menyerang Jalur Gaza seperti sekarang ini.

Serangan Israel ke markas kepolisian di Jalur Gaza tidak mempengaruhi kekuatan perlawanan. Sebab memang sulit menyerang dengan target markas perlawanan di Jalur Gaza. Karenanya, Israel ingin mengkloning eksperiman “teror dan hantam secara psikologi” seperti yang dilakukan Amerika ketika menyerang Irak. Israel berharap Hamas dan perlawanan akan hancur tanpa melalui perang hakiki seperti yang terjadi dalam perang menghadapi Saddam Husain. Ini bisa kita lihat bagaimana media Israel memprovokasi warga sipil Palestina agar menyalahkan dan menyerang Hamas. Bahkan Israel ingin menciptakan konflik internal setelah perang kali ini. Sehingga kemampuan Hamas terkuras habis.

Perang kali ini juga mengharuskan kita menengok proyek Israel – Amerika setelah lima tahun terakhir mereka menyerang Irak, Libanon, Afaganistan dan Somalia. Proyek menghancurkan “negara perlawanan” di Gaza menurut mereka amat darura dilakukan. Sebab gerakan Hamas memiliki popularitas paling tinggi. Eksistensi Hamas di Gaza sangat mengancam proyek Israel Amerika. Apalagi menurut mereka Hamas dari sisi senjata masih lemah dan tidak memiliki dukung Arab yang kuat. Ditambah letak geografis Jalur Gaza.

Berdasarkan realitas di atas, kita harus menunggu kondisi terburuk dari Israel. Mereka menyerang markas-markas polisi dan dianggap serbagai operasi yang berhasil dan cerdas. Namun ini menunjukkan mereka terjepit dalam dilematis karena mereka tidak berhasil menghcurkan proyek perlawanan. Hingga sekarang Israel belum menggunakan seluruh kekuatannya. Dalam peperangan ini Israel masih mengerahkan 60 pesawat tempurnya di hari pertama yang merupakan 10 persen dari kekuatan udara Israel.

Adapun model perang Israel kali ini adalah sebagai berikut:
Israel siap perang panjang selama beberapa pekan meski mereka rugi nyawa dalam batas relatif. Namun kemungkinan ketegaran mereka sangat rendah menghadapi kerugian itu.

Israel hanya mengandalkan serangan udara hingga sekarang.
Tidak ada dimulai perang darat kecuali jika semua target serangan udara tercapai. Serangan darat akan dilakukan dalam dua bentuk:

Serangan luas di seluruh wilayah Jalur Gaza dan ini akan memakan korban nyawa yang banyak. Perang seperti ini akan segera berakhir jika spirit perlawanan menurun.

Serangan bertahap dimana Israel akan menguasai wilayah perbatasan. Kemudian jika ada perlawanan di depan mereka yang lemah maka Israel akan maju ke wilayah lain. Dan demikian seterusnya. Model serangan ini akan mengurangi kerugian pasukan Israel. Namun kelemahannya gaya perang ini akan lama yang tidak sepadan dengan kemampuan pasukan Israel.

Israel berusaha fokus dalam serangannya menghancurkan pos-pos pemerintah dan infrastruktur yang terkait dengan Hamas. Ini untuk mencari lagalitas internasional dan meyakinkan kelompok moderat Arab bahwa adalah kepentingan bersama dalam perang kali ini.

Alternatif bagi perlawanan
Tidak ada banyak pilihan bagi perlawanan kecuali melewati perang dengan seminim mungkin menekan kerugian dan menggagalkan target-target Israel. Pada saat yang sama mereka harus menciptakan capai-capaian berikut:

Tetap tegar dan memperpanjang peperangan. Semakin lama perang, militer Israel semakin terbebani dan semakin kuat tekanan internasional terhadap mereka. Karena roket perlawanan adalah ujung tombak perlawanan, roket ini harus menembus dan mengenai sasarannya. Yang penting keberlanjutan serangan roket ini.

Ujian ril perlawanan adalah mulai perang darat. Di sini perlawanan akan melakukan tiga tugas: pertama, menghalangi pasukan Israel dalam jangka yang lebih panjang. Kedua, memasang banyak ranjau. Terakhir, memukul serangan Israel melalui roket dan serangan lainnya.
Keberlanjutan serangan ke titik dalam Israel dan menciptakan kerugian nyawa di kalangan mereka. Meski sehari roket perlawanan bisa membunuh satu orang Israel selama 10 hari itu lebih baik daripada dalam sekali serangan. Dari sisi psikologi ini lebih berpengaruh di pihak Israel.

Perlawanan harus bisa menjatuhkan sebuah pesawat Israel dan menghancurkan tank atau menawan pasukan Israel. Ini dilakukan untuk menciptakan dilamatis Israel dan mencari dukungan dari Arab oleh Palestina yang terdlalimi.

Bagaimana membantu
Aksi kecaman terhadap Israel harus terus dilakukan oleh publik dan massa di negara-negara Arab dan Islam. Demikian juga aksi dukungan terhadap perlawanan harus dilakukan tanpa henti. Sehingga semua warga Palestina akan keluar membawa dan melempar batu dan pecahan botol dan kaca ke arah Israel. Terutama di Tepi Barat. Hal ini juga akan menimbulkan prakarsa pribadi dari warga Palestina untuk melakukan serangan ke Israel seperti bom syahid dan serangan merebut mobil.

Publik Arab juga harus menekan Israel. Jika mereka diam sama saja mereka setuju dengan kejahata Israel.

Kesimpulan
Berbagai indikasi menunjukkan, kejahatan dan brutalisme Israel di Jalur Gaza akan berlangsung lama. Sehingga perlawanan Palestina harus siap dengan segala kemungkinan dan mereka harus mampu bertahan di tengah pertempuran dan menyerang Israel secara fisik dan non fisik. Semua kita harus mendukung perlawanan itu. Yang menang dalam perang ini adalah yang memiliki nafas panjang dan memiliki kemampuan mengadapi musuh secara berkesinambungan. (bn-bsyr)
Source : http://www.infopalestina.com

Hamas gaining sympathy as onslaught continues

By Khalid Amayreh

With the massive Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip continuing unabated, and with Israeli political and military leaders threatening to “decimate” Hamas, Palestinian intellectuals as well as ordinary people expect Hamas’s popularity to rise dramatically when the present Israeli campaign is over.

Israel claims that its war on Gaza is with Hamas, not with the Palestinian people. However, There is hardly a Palestinian who would give the Israeli claim the benefit of the doubt.
And those who do, such as the followers of the so-called “American-Israeli Trend” within the Fatah movement, are quite reluctant to speak up publicly, fearing a severe reaction from the Palestinian public and being accused of treason and collaboration with Israel.

Israel also hopes that the vast havoc and destruction and death wreaked on Gaza so far would prompt the masses to blame Hamas.

However, apart from some Fatah figures who have vested interests in portraying Hamas in bad light, most Palestinians are blaming Israel and the “treacherous Arab regimes” for the Gaza nightmare.

On Wednesday, the American-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was forced to acknowledge that the “Israeli aggression” was targeting not a specific Palestinian faction, but the entire Palestinian people.

“This criminal aggression is targeting all Palestinians without discrimination,” said Abbas in pre-recorded speech broadcast by the Fatah-controlled Palestine TV.

The Palestinian leader also hinted that he might terminate futile peace talks with Israel if the Jewish state continued to use the talks as a rubric for murdering and tormenting the Palestinian people.

It is not certain if Abbas’s relatively tough tone is genuine or disingenuous. Skeptics, and they are many, think that Abbas is only trying to mollify the decidedly anti-Israeli Palestinian public.
In recent days, Hamas accused a number of PA figures, including two top aides to Chairman Abbas, al Tayeb Abdul Rahim and Nimr Hamad, of colluding with Israel against Hamas.

Hamas’s officials in Gaza accused Abdul Rahim of directing a cell of Fatah informers in Gaza to collect information on Hamas’s targets and relay it to Israel via Ramallah.Such charges, coupled with the widespread views in the Arab world that the PA along with Egypt were conniving and conspiring with Israel to bring down the Hamas government have forced the Ramallah regime into a defensive posture.

“We have been struggling for forty years, and no one has the right to doubt our credentials,” Abbas angrily told reporters earlier.

However, such defensive reflexes by PA leaders are failing to convince the skeptical Palestinian public opinion of their innocence.

“There are widespread feelings among Palestinians that the PA is quite satisfied with what is happening in Gaza . And undoubtedly this is going to seriously undermine the image of Palestinian leadership,” opined Abdul Sattar Qassem, Professor of political Science at the Najah National University in Nablus .
Qassem predicted that the current Israeli campaign would actually lead to the boosting of Hamas’s popularity.

“ Israel , and probably some other Arab regimes, think that the intensive bombing and pornographic murder in Gaza would force the Palestinian main street to abandon or rise up against Hamas. This was undoubtedly the goal behind the harsh blockade of Gaza . But of course no serious uprising against Hamas took place.

“From my observations of the general mood in Gaza and Palestine in general, I don’t think that even those who hate Hamas would rise up against it, mainly because of the broad-based support it enjoys. Yes, many people may be quite satisfied seeing Israel bomb Hamas targets, but their ability to mobilize the Palestinian street against the movement is very limited.

“Moreover, the anti-Hamas elements know that they won’t be able to successfully confront Hamas’s supporters in the streets.”

Qassem said he believed that the PA would be the biggest loser in the current showdown between Israel and Hamas.

“If Israel succeeded in dismantling the government of Gaza , and then handed over the coastal enclave to the PA, then most Palestinians and Arabs and Muslims would view the PA as a quisling entity very much like defunct Israeli puppet South Lebanese army.”

Another Palestinian intellectual, Abdul Bari Atwan, predicts that public support for Hamas will increase as a result of the present Israeli campaign in the Gaza Strip.

“The Palestinian people is not stupid, it knows very well who the real patriots are and who the real traitors are. Abbas is not a real President of the Palestinian people. He is answerable to Israel and the United States , not to the Palestinian people,” said the Editor-in-Chief of the London based Arabic daily, al Quds al Arabi.

The mood of ordinary Palestinians who are unaffiliated with any political faction doesn’t differ much.

“I think Israel wouldn’t have started this genocide without at least a wink from Abbas,” said Hasan Amer, a cabbie from the Bethlehem region.

“Things are clear and one doesn’t have to be versed in politics to see the facts.”

Source : http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Reflections on the Israeli holocaust in Gaza

By Khalid Amayreh

The virtual holocaust Israel is now waging against the Gaza Strip is taking its toll on innocent civilians. The shocking scenes speak for themselves. The gruesomeness transcends reality; it exceeds by far the most eloquent of words.

Gaza-2008-9 is very much like Dresden-1945. And as Dresden was annihilated by the RAF toward the end of the Second World War, the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza are being decapitated and thoroughly terrorized by the Israeli army, the Wehrmacht of our time.
But there is obviously a fundamental and conspicuous difference between Gaza and Dresden. Dresden was targeted by the allies as an act of sheer vengeance and revenge for what the Nazi war machine had done, including German attacks on London and other British cities.

But Gaza committed no crime against Israel. To be sure, the opposite is quite true. Have we forgotten that the bulk of the Gaza victims, who are being annihilated with the Zionist war machine, happen to be refugees and their children and grandchildren uprooted from their towns and villages across the borders inside Israel?

In 1948, Israel uprooted them in wave after wave of genocidal ethnic cleansing, and ever since has been trying to liquidate them by bombing their homes, killing their children, bulldozing their farms and lately by trying to starve them to death.

And now, the six-decade reign of terror and death is being culminated with an aerial holocaust, all for the purpose of displaying “Jewish power” and “heroism.”!!! Well, what heroism is there in having the state-of-the-art of the American machine of death rain missiles and bombs, including Bunker Busters, on unprotected apartment buildings, mosques, streets, pharmacies, college dormitories? This is not heroism; it is a sheer act of cowardice.

The Nazis ganged up on defenseless people more than six decades ago, but they at least didn’t claim to be carrying out heroic acts as self-absorbed and gleeful Israeli leaders are doing now.
In truth, Gaza is being crucified because it refuses to succumb to the cruelty and supremacy of the “holy tribe,” because it refuses to die quietly and continues to cling to life and look forth for a better tomorrow, because Gaza is saying “give me freedom or give me death.”

The Nazis of our time want Gaza to die quietly, or at least as quietly as possible. Israeli behavior leaves no doubt as to the diabolical designs of the Judeo-Nazi entity.

But the Israeli military and political establishments don’t want to appear before the world as they really are, as Nazis par excellence who think, behave and act like the Nazis. This is why they are trying to cover up their crimes with a frantic campaign of fabricated lies.
But Nazis are Nazis even if they have Jewish names and pretend to be the victims. In the final analysis it doesn’t matter if Nazis call themselves “chosenites” or “master race” or “ubermenschen,” or even “victims.”

Sowing hatred
Israel is not only wreaking death, terror and havoc on defenseless Gazans. It is also sowing hatred, a lot of hatred, in the hearts and minds of millions of people who are watching Israel decapitate Gaza.

This is undoubtedly going to be one of the lasting aftereffects of this madness.
The gruesome and phantasmagoric images which hundreds of millions of Arabs and Muslims and others around the world are watching on their TV screens around the clock are a sure prescription for decades of hatred and sullen enmity toward Jews throughout the Muslim world.

Arab and Muslim children won’t have to read about Israeli Nazism in their textbooks. They are watching it live on their TV screens.

Let it be clear to all and sundry. Israel is telling an entire generation of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims that they either surrender to the Jewish Third Reich or become “terrorists.”
They will become “terrorists” and be it as it may.

Surely, the pornographic slaughter will eventually boomerang on Israel and regretfully on Jews. Unfortunately, many innocent Jews will pay the price just as mostly innocent Palestinians are paying the price, with their lives and the lives of their children and beloved ones, for the brutal ugliness of the Zionist mindset. In the final analysis, anti-Semitism is manufactured in Israel, not in Damascus or Cairo or even Gaza.

Hamas
Israel says its aim is to destroy Hamas. Well, there is no doubt that Israel possesses the military ability to destroy the Hamas government. Israel, after all, is a military superpower which also happens to be more or less in control of the politics and policies of the United States and to a lesser extent the governments of Europe.

However, destroying Hamas’s government is one thing, and destroying Hamas the movement, is quite another.

Hamas has hundreds of thousands of supporters in occupied Palestine as well as tens of millions of sympathizers across the Arab and Muslim world. These will not disappear even if the Gaza government does.

The ongoing huge demonstrations in solidarity with Hamas, now flooding the Arab world, shows that Hamas is more, much more, than a local nationalist-Islamic movement that can be eradicated by Israeli firepower.

Yes, Hamas has obviously been hit hard. But the movement is by no means about to die or even get weaker. In fact, there are many indications that Hamas will get stronger, at least in terms of popularity and stature.

The American puppet regimes in the Arab world may not like Hamas. Some of them may even be gloating over the Gaza calamity.

However, Hamas is definitely winning the hearts and minds of the Arab masses from Casablanca to Bahrain. This may not yield tangible benefits immediately, but the long-term gains are absolutely certain, and this is exactly what Hamas is seeking.

Well, let us suppose for the sake of argument that Israel succeeds in “terminating” the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip as Israeli leaders have been saying. Would this end the Islamic resistance to the Israeli occupation? Would this allow Israel to liquidate the Palestinian cause by imposing a “peace settlement” on the weak Palestinian Authority?

Nay, this won’t happen at all, because Hamas, whether we like or not, represents and encapsulates the spiritual essence of the Palestinian people and their yearning for freedom and justice.

More to the point, the contemplated elimination of the Hamas government by Israel would eventually be proven to be one of the stupidest Israeli misdeeds ever.

First of all, it would free the resistance group from the burden of government and allow it anew to carry out more ferocious attacks against Israel without having to worry about the bombing by Israel of buildings and security headquarters and hospitals.

In fact, Hamas had never wanted to be in government let alone form one. Hamas all along had wanted to be in a position to influence any Palestinian government, but not to be in the driver’s seat itself.

However, the outcome of the 2006 elections imposed the burden of government on Hamas especially after Fatah refused to join Hamas in forming a government of national unity.
So, in a certain sense, the disappearance of the Hamas government in Gaza would be a bless in disguise for Hamas.

Remember these words very well. Because the conflict with Israel is not going to end in ten years or twenty or even fifty years.

Source : http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Korban Gaza: Mereka Membombardir Kami Saat Sedang Bersujud

“Saat kami sedang bersujud menghadap Allah, tiba-tiba kami mendengar raungan pesawat tempur Zionis Israel yang datang dari jauh. Tidak lama kemudian pesawat-pesawat pembunuhan itu memuntahkan bom-bom ke arah kami. Semua itu terjadi dalam hitungan menit hingga masjid yang kami ada di dalamnya dihancurkan dari atas kepala-kepala kami.”

Inilah kalimat yang menuturkan kepedihan. Yang menggambarkan aksi bombardemen pesawat tempur Israel ke rumah-rumah Allah di Jalur Gaza. Kalimat itu dituturkan Ramadhan Khaled al Afsy, salah seorang dari 13 korban luka yang sampai di rumah sakit Nasher di Kairo, Mesir, dari total 36 korban luka Jalur Gaza yang berhasil dibawa ke wilayah Mesir.

Khaled (27), menuturkan sisi lain “genosida Gaza yang kedua”. Dia mengatakan, “Saya adalah satu di antara warga kamp pengungsi Nusairat di Jalur Gaza. Bersamaan dengan dimulainya gempuran Israel ke seluruh wilayah Jalur Gaza Sabtu (27/12) siang lalu, saya bersama sekelompok orang berangkat menunaikan shalat dzuhur di masjid al Zahra, sebuah masjid kecil di kamp pengungsi Nusairat.”

Dia menambahkan, “Baru saja kami memulai pada rekaat pertama hingga missil-missil pesawat pembunuhan Israel menghantam kami saat kami sedang bersujud. Saya saat itu hanya bica memohon kepada Allah agar melindungi kami semua dari segala keburukan dan mengembalikan tipu daya mereka ke leher-leher mereka.”

Dia merasa bersyukur atas apa yang menimpanya, lebih baik dari apa yang menimpa yang lainnya. Khaled menuturkan, “Tiba-tiba saja masjid sudah dihancurkan total dari atas kepala-kepala kami. Bukan hanya masjid satu-satunya. Namun sejumlah rumah warga di sekitar masjid juga dihancurkan. Nasibku agak lebih baik. Karena saya berada di dekat pintu masjid yang dipenuhi dengan jamaah shalat. Saya berhasil dikeluarkan dengan segera dari bawah reruntuhan puing-puing masjid dan dibawa ke rumah sakit. Kami, 40 jamaah shalat tertimpa masjid dari atas kepala-kepala kami akibat bombardemen Israel. Saya tidak tahu sampai sekarang, apa yang terjadi pada mereka (jamaah yang lain).”

Khaled, meskipun mengalami patah tulang di kedua pundahknya dan sejumlah tulang rusuk serta terkena serpihan rudal di pinggang kanannya, sehingga membuatnya sangat sulit berbicara, namun dia terus melanjutkan penuturannya. “Sesampainya saya di rumah sakit as Shifa di kotaGaza, saya tahu bahwa Zionis Israel menjadikan masjid-masjid sebagai sasaran bombardemennya. Saya tahu pesawat-pesawat tempur Israel menghancurkan sejumlah masjid lainnya. Di antaranya adalah masjid as Shifa di barat Gaza, masjid al Qassam di Khan Yunis, masjid Imad Aqil di utara Jalur Gaza, masjid Abu Bakar ash Shidiq di kamp pengungsi Jabaliya dan masjid al Istiqamah di kota Rafah,” tuturnya.

Khaled, yang kini dirawat di lantai empat bagian gawat darurat di rumah sakit Nasher, Mesir, dengan bercucuran air mata melanjutkan penuturannya. “Saya memiliki 9 anak. Saya tidak tahu nasib sebagian dari mereka sekarang. Meskipun salah seorang anak saya sudah menghubungi saya dan menenangkan saya soal mereka, namun saya belum mendengar suara mereka. Saya cemas mereka tertimpa bahaya,” ungkapnya sedih.

Mengenai perjalanannya hingga sampai ke Mesir dia mengatakan, “Saya tinggal di rumah sakit as Shifa di Jalur Gaza selama dua hari. Selama itu kondisi saya terus memburuk. Senin malam saya sampai di Kairo setelah diangkut mobil ambulan dari kotaGaza ke perbatasan Mesir. Kemudian mobil ambulan di perbatasan Mesir membawa saya ke rumah sakit Arisy. Dari sana saya dibawa ke Kairo karena saya sangat membutuhkan tindakan operasi cukup rumit.”

Para Dokter Menangis
Dengan suara bercampur cucuran air mata, Khaled menyerukan semua pihak segera membawa para korban luka agresi biadab Israel di Jalur Gaza ke Mesir untuk mendapatkan pengobatan. “Para dokter di rumah sakit-rumah sakit di Jalur Gaza menangir karena kengerian yang mereka saksikan dan sedikitnya kemampuan yang mereka miliki. Saya sampaikan kepada semua, rumah sakit-rumah sakit di Jalur Gaza sama sekali tidak memiliki apa-apa untuk mengobati korban. Semua penuh dengan korban luka.”

Di kamar sebelah Khaled, berbaring rekannya bernama Syukri Muhammad Riyad, yang menuturkan kondisi kerja pegawai medis di Jalur Gaza. “Saya bekerja di departemen kesehatan pemerintah Gaza di kota Rafah. Saat saya melakukan tugas mengevakuasi korban luka, kepala saya kejatuhan bagian tembok yang roboh dan membuat jaringan mata saya terputus.”

Dengan sangat sedih Riyad menegaskan, “Korban luka di rumah sakit-rumah sakit Jalur Gaza tidak mendapatkan apa-apa bahkan sekadar tempat untuk meringankan rasa sakit mereka. Kami semua berharap derita sakit itu bisa berkurang dengan pengiriman korban luka ke rumah sakit-rumah sakit Mesir dan sampainya bantuan Arab ke Jalur Gaza.” Hingga Selasa (30/12), jumlah korban luka yang sampai di Mesir baru 36 orang, sebagian besar mereka dalam kondisi kritis, untuk mendapatkan pengobatan yang semestinya.

Korban Terus Bertambah
Sejak sabtu (27/12) siang jet-jet tempur Zionis Israel membombardir seluruh wilayah Jalur Gaza. Rumah-rumah warga, masjid dan fasilitas umum menjadi target bombardemen Israel. Hingga hari keenam, Kamis 01/01/09), jumlah korban gugur mencapai lebih 420-an syuhada dan lebih 2100-an terluka, 300-an di antaranya dalam kondisi kritis.

Menteri Kesehatan Palestina Dr. Baseem Naeem sebelumnya telah menegaskan bahwa korban pembantaian terbuka yang dilakukan Zionis Israel di Jalur Gaza sejak hari Sabtu (27/12), terus bertambah banyak. Terlebih ada ratusan korban luka yang dalam kondisi kritis dan puluhan lainnya masih di bawah puing-puing reruntuhan.

Naeen menegaskan persediaan obat-obatan dan kebutuhan medis lainnya sangat kurang untuk menghadapi kondisi darurat ini. Dia mengungakapkan ada 105 jenis obat-obatan utama yang stoknya nol, 225 kebutuhan medis lainnya stoknya juga nol. Sementara itu 93 bahan khusus laboratoriam stoknya juga nol.

Naeem mengatakan 50% mobil ambulan tidak bisa beroperasi karena tidak ada gas dan bahan bakar akibat blockade. Saat ini juga sangat dibutuhkan pembangkit listrik. Naeem menegaskan semua itu sudah terjadi sejak sebelum pembantaian yang dimulai Israel Sabtu lalu dan akibat blockade Israel. Dia mengatakan, “Agresi terjadi di tengah-tengah sikap diam Arab yang membunuh dan persekongkolan dunia.”

Dia menyatakan pasukan penjajah Zionis Israel tidak hanya menggempur isntitusi-institusi dan gedung-gedung namun mulai mengempur fasilitas-fasilits sipil dan rumah-rumah warga. Ada puluhan peringatan untuk mengosongkan rumah dan ancaman kepada para penghuninya akan dihancurkan di atas kepala mereka. Dia meminta pengiriman tim medis Arab dan rumah sakit-rumah sakit lapangan untuk membantu pengobatan korban luka di saat-saat korban tiba. Dia mengimbau Negara-negara Arab untuk mengirim obat-obatan dan kebutuhan medis secepatnya dan mengganti kekurangan mobil ambulan dengan mengirim mobil ambulan yang siap beroperasi.

Pihak Mesir sendiri tetap menolak membuka pintu gerbang Rafah untuk pengiriman obat-obatan, peralatan medis serta tim medisnya ke Jalur Gaza. Mesir hanya mengizinkan pengiriman korban ke gerbang Rafah untuk kemudian diangkut ke Mesir atau Negara Arab lainnya.

Mengenai pengiriman korban luka melalui gerbag Rafah ke Mesir, Naeem mengatakan, “Ada kesulitan membawa korban ke luar Jalur Gaza. Padahal ada banyak korban luka yang sangat serius. Apapun upaya membawa korban dengan tidak aman justru membuat hidup mereka terancam bahaya. Kami masih ingat meninggalnya 6 korban luka di Arisy terakhir.”
Dia mengatakan, “Kami siap membawa korban luka kapan kondisi mereka stabil.” Dia menegaskan bahwa pemerintah Haniyah sudah meminta mobil ambulan Mesir masuk ke Gaza untuk mengevakuasi korban namun mereka menolak dengan alasan politik. Naeem mengatakan, “Siapa yang ingin membantu rakyat Palestina dalam ujian ini maka harus memudahkan sampainya tim dokter dan rumah sakit lapangan masuk secepatnya pada saat-saat sulit di Jalur Gaza.”

Menurutnya, sudah ada ratusan dokter Arab yang menunjukkan kesiapan mereka untuk masuk ke Jalur Gaza. Sebagian mereka sudah bermalam di sisi perbatasan Mesir dari gerbang Rafah berharap bisa masuk. Namun otoritas Mesir menahan mereka.
Dia menambahkan, bahkan tim medis dari departemen kesehatan Palestina sudah berada di sisi Jalur Gaza dari gerbang Rfah sejak pagi untuk menerima bantuan medis Arab, namun otoritas Mesir tidak mengizinkan mereka masuk hingga saat ini.

Naeen mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Negara-negara yang sudah membantu seperti Qatar, Arab Saudi dan Libia. Namun pihaknya kembali meminta Mesir mempermudah masuknya bantuan ini dan membuka gerbang untuk masuk tim tim medis ke Jalur Gaza. (seto)

Source : http://www.infopalestina.com

World Rallies for Gaza Peace

Millions of people around the world took to the streets on Friday, January 2, in a day of anger over the ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. "Israel is committing an act of terrorism. It's the duty of all the free people in the world to stand against it and stop this evil," Australian Muslim imam Abu Mohammed said.

Bearing pro-Palestinian flags and banners, thousands of Australian Muslims took to the streets early Friday to denounce the Israeli attacks in Gaza.

The protestors flocked to Parry Park in the city's Islamic heartland to demonstrate and pray for the Palestinian victims of the week-long Israeli blitz.

A makeshift coffin draped in the Palestinian flag was carried before the crowd, followed by a procession of eight imams.

In London, protestors gathered to demonstrate against the Gaza attacks.
Click to Watch "I would like to make an appeal to president elect Obama to speak up," human rights activist Bianca Jagger said.

"People throughout the world were hopeful when he was elected and we must appeal to him to ask for the immediate cessation of the bombardment of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip."
Obama has kept a low profile on the Gaza conflict, stressing that there is only one president at a time ahead of his inauguration on January 20.

At least 428 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,200 wounded in a week-long Israeli offensive in the overcrowded strip."I want to feel proud of Israel, I want to be proud of my people but I am ashamed," said actor Alexei Sayle.

Stop Killings
Pro-Palestinians rallies also swept the streets from the Middle East to Asia.
Tens of thousands marched in the West Bank, where Israel slapped a full closure, against the Israeli attacks in Gaza.

In Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem), protesters hurled rocks at Israeli troops which barred a lot of Palestinians from praying at Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine.
Pro-Gaza rallies were also staged throughout Jordan, with campaigns demanding Jordanians to donate blood, medicine and food to the besieged Gazans.

In Lebanon, protesters staged mock funeral parlors and carried empty coffins in a sign of solidarity with Gazans. Some protesters have kept their sit-in in the front of the Egyptian embassy in Beirut.

Thousands of Egyptians took to the street in several cities after the Friday prayers, calling for an action over the Israeli attacks.

In Cairo, riot police cordoned key mosques.
"Except Cairo, Egyptians across the country protested against the Israeli onslaught in Gaza," Mohamed Ezzat, Secretary-General of the Muslim Brotherhood, told the Doha-based Al-Jazeera.

In the Gulf state of Qatar, thousands of Qatari nationals and foreigners staged blood and aid campaigns for the Gazans.More than 1,000 Afghans also marched through the centre of Herat City, in the western province of Herat, against the Israeli attacks.

"We are here to demonstrate against Israelis who make Palestinians suffer," said Mohammad Shafi, a 19-year-old Afghan student."Down with Israel," were among the slogans the protestors chanted as they marched through the streets.
"We are gathered here to share our voice with the depressed and defenseless people of Palestine in order to be able to do a small thing for the Muslim people of Palestine," said scholar Farooq Hossaini.

In Turkey, thousands of people demonstrated against the deadly Israeli offensive outside the historic Beyazit Mosque in the ancient heart of Istanbul. "Israeli murderers, get out of Palestine", "Muslims, don't sleep, defend Palestine" were among the slogans chanted by the protestors.

Thousands of people also marched in Pakistan, Indonesia and Kashmir against the deadly Israeli attacks. "Look how they are killing Muslims and no one seems to be bothered," said Kashmiri protestor Akbar Ali.

Source: IslamOnline

Tahun Baru Diatas Tangis Palestina

oleh Haryandi

Baru kali ini diri merasakan tahun baru di Swedia. Pukul 22.00 kami beranjak menuju pusat kota di Goteborg, kota terbesar kedua setelah ibukota Swedia, Stockholm. Dinginnya malam, dengan suhu -2 C tak urung mengerdilkan nyali warga untuk menghabiskan malam tahun baru dengan berpesta dan berkumpul.

Sempat hati tak ingin ikut menikmati malam pergantian tahun ini, tapi momen ini menjadi hikmah tersendiri untuk mengukur nikmat Allah kepada hambaNya. Malam itu dipenuhi pesta dan hura-hura. Diskotik, pub, club, dan sarana hiburan lainnya ramai pengunjung bahkan hingga antrian panjang memenuhi lorong-lorong di pusat keramaian. Di jalan-jalan ratusan pemuda pemudi bermabuk ria. Miras yang dibeli sejak sore, dihabiskan untuk malam tahun baru, padahal dari sisi harganya sangat mahal karena kebijakan pajak tinggi untuk miras dari pemerintah Swedia.

Berbagai hiburan ditawarkan, pesta khusus pun direncanakan. Detik-detik pergantian tahun selalu diiringi letusan dan kemilau kembang api. Dari segenap penjuru kota Gotenborg penuh dihiasi cahaya warna warni tanda tahun sudah berganti. Entah, berapa uang yang keluar pada malam ini. Andai 1 set kembang api dengan harga 100 SEK (1 SEK sekitar Rp.1400) untuk ukuran standar, berapa yang terbuang pada malam itu. Ditambah berkaleng-kaleng minuman keras dihamburkan, hanya untuk pesta pergantian tahun 2008 menuju 2009.

Pikiranku melayang, membayangkan kondisi di salah satu negeri yang saat itu mengalami hal yang sebaliknya. Negeri para nabi digempur dari darat, laut, dan udara. Dentuman keras bukan suara kembang api, tapi bom asli. Kilauan cahaya bukan warna-warni kembang api, tapi kilauan bom dari pesawat tempur dan tank tempur. Disaat manusia berpesta pora, mereka di blokade dari berbagai sisi bahkan negara tetangga bersekongkol menutup perbatasan sebagai jalur bantuan. Disaat uang dan makanan dihambur-hamburkan pada malam ini, mereka tak berdaya hingga rumah sakit kehabisan stok obat, anak-anak dan keluarga kelaparan.

Sungguh tak adil. Orang yang menyerang dianggap pahlawan, orang yang bertahan dianggap teroris. Persekongkolan busuk yang nyata didepan mata. Sekitar 400 syahid dipanggil Allah, beberapa keluarga musnah tanpa generasi, bangunan porak poranda, bahkan rumah Allah pun diluluh lantakkan dengan berbagai dalih. Tangisan duka menyelimuti ibu-ibu yang kehilangan anaknya, tangisan luka menghiasi tiap jengkal tanah Gaza. Kekecaman ini kian menunjukkan arogansi umat yang terlaknat, umat yang selalu membuat ulah disaat Allah mengirimkan nabi dan rasul pilihan.

Darah dan air mata dari pelosok Gaza. Tangis dan luka itu takkan menyurutkan perjuangan merebut hak rakyat Palestina. Sekecil apapun bantuan kita, baik doa dan finansial. Semoga Allah memberi balasan yang setimpal dan memberikan kekuatan kepada saudara-saudara kita di Palestina. Untuk saudaraku di Gaza, Allahlah tujuan akhir kita.

Source : www.eramuslim.com