Gaza: The Hunger Games

The Art of Surviving

Little did the millions who watched “The Hunger Games” film series know that a similar reality actually exists, its not a fictional realm that the creator came up with. Yes, its called “Gaza”. A beautiful little coastal enclave that the least adjectives you can use to describe it are those like “impoverished”, “suffocating” and “Primal”. A little place on the map that suffers from an Israeli imposed siege and is always tightly sealed by Egypt. We can safely and accurately say that Gaza is the biggest modern open-air prison.

You might go through a dilemma or two in your life, but if you live in Gaza, your mere existence is a dilemma in itself. Your life is like a Marionette except its extra polarized and the strings pull you in different directions.

You are expected to aspire for better and higher education, yet thanks to Israel and Egypt you’ll need 10 miracles to get out of Gaza to seek such education. Palestinians are among the most educated and clever nations, we land scholarships so easily (which is supposed to be the hardest part) but visa and border issues always halts the process. Your dream is murdered, sometimes repeatedly.

You read serious reports made by NGOs like UNRWA who say that Gaza wont be livable by 2020, population will grow and life will decline. Many other reports mention the high rates of poverty, water pollution and scarcity, weak infrastructure, unemployment rates skyrocketing, inflation in the population and diseases widespread (like cancer).

Then comes the regular Israeli attacks on Gaza, plus the daily violation of the air space that usually leads to a major headache after all the buzzing and hovering over on low altitudes. People injured or killed, buildings are destroyed, blood is spilled and life is disturbed.

The whole world expected the “Arab Spring” to “blossom” in Palestine, or more particularly, in Gaza. Palestinians living in Gaza have turned into numb robots who are always judged, attacked and bossed around by every other country\nation.

We are asked to topple Hamas. What then? Settle with the PA? No, topple the PA too. Ok, but don’t forget that our main concern is ending the occupation. Yeah, we are expected to also topple the occupation. Wait, so we should end the internal Palestinian division, then topple both factions, then free Palestine? All that while we are hated, judged and attacked by the Egyptian media on a daily basis, which is starting to affect the Egyptian people who are now hating on those who live in Gaza, only because Hamas rules Gaza. Hmmm, collective punishment comes to my mind here, similar to Israel’s way in dealing with Palestinians. Interesting.

Oh, and let’s not forget how we are always judged by the international community. Every Palestinian living in Gaza is considered to be a Hamas member (terrorist) just because it’s the ruling regime, even those who didn’t vote for Hamas, which is highly and very inaccurate and wrong. Nearly two million people reside in Gaza, how is it fair to assume that all of them are Hamas?

As if Gaza isn’t separated enough from the West Bank, and we already feel the internal division and Israeli siege and separation, you have those who live comfortably and safely in their homes abroad and yet sit behind a screen to tell you that Gaza isn’t occupied. Yeah, Israel withdrew, ok, but Israel has a siege imposed and attacks Gaza whenever they have free time or extra fuel. Whatever you say, those people wont change their minds, they don’t know the kind of life you are living.

The US promises and swears to always be Fidus Achates with Israel. Hence AIPAC and all the Israeli domination and prominence. But who will support Palestinians if they aren’t even capable of supporting themselves or each others?

Lets put all that aside for a minute. Lets analyze the daily life here. Due to the high poverty and unemployment rates, people are occupied by making a living. If I had to pick one thing that stands out as the main common factor between Palestinians here in Gaza, or in Palestine, its going to be "HARD WORK". Yes, they just want to earn a living, no matter what it takes.

Rich, middle class, poor and homeless people are always busy making a living or thinking of ways to secure money and put food on the table even if its through street begging. Yes, even rich people here aren’t safe. Plus, those who actually afford to “live a little” rarely do because they are either afraid of the future or feeling guilty. Guilt springs from the horrible situation that explodes by the minute and its all before your eyes.

We are\were slowly trained to adjust to any living situation, no matter how bad it gets. Guinea pigs? Yes. We are opened to any situation. You might think it’s a positive thing, but if you don’t grasp the seriousness of this issue and how dangerous it is, then you’ll never get it. It’s the main reason behind us settling with being mediocre and thinking its okay. Well, its not okay.

We go through daily power outages, 8-12 hours cut, and that’s during the good days. We went through three weeks of no electricity during Israel’s first full-blown war on Gaza. Our sea is polluted with sewage water, so the water is also polluted. You can put two and two together and imagine how all of this highly affects and complicates every aspect of life.

Those who appreciate the beauty and nature of Gaza, or love the “Arts” and decide to defy their families and society by choosing such an understated field that generates no money, are usually ridiculed or accused of living in denial. You find yourself lost between feeling guilty of being hopeful and seeing the bright side, instead of being obsessed 24\7 with the ugliness of the details of life here. God forbid you say Gaza is beautiful, people will say you have gone mad. Even you, in your own mind, you scold yourself for believing in the obvious yet ignoring the common dark side of this same obviousness.

We are resilient. Life doesn’t stop here. But we don’t realize how much we are paying for this resilience. A very high price, in such a harsh era we live in. We are losing our humanity. We are becoming rude, inconsiderate and cutthroat. I wish this was a desultory fact, but it isn’t. We are detaching and becoming despondent. We are becoming less human and more animal-like who are only bothered by surviving in the forest.

If you yearn for a normal life in Gaza, you are in big trouble. Life can never be normal here, and if you try and live a normal life, you’ll be abnormal. People will judge you and make you feel less patriotic or passionate about your country. If you ever craved traveling for vacation, forget it, both Erez and Rafah are journeys from hell, assuming ofcourse you were lucky enough to have 10 miracles that might secure you a chance of exit.

If you yearn to Jerusalem, then wait till you are 50, or till you are very sick or you are blessed with a good job at one of Gaza’s many useless NGO’s who milk the Palestinian cause and launch huge donation campaigns with no real effect on ground. Or else, Israel won’t let you past Erez.

If you have best friends in the West Bank, then plan a meeting in any country but Palestine, for a chance to see them, only if Egypt has Rafah opened and you are okay with humiliation and being treated like a herd of sheep.

If you live in Gaza and you want to excel, then good luck and may God be on your side. With very few opportunities around, little resources and no major organization to support you, the competition is really high, like really really high and super tough, cutthroat. You have to shine brighter than the sun to be recognized.

If you live in Gaza, you realize that you CAN NOT live in it and you CAN NOT live out of it. When you are in, you will yearn to go out, and when you are out you will die to get back in to your family and your land. You are destined to a polarizing life. You are required to master the art of survival.

If you live in Gaza, you should smile and move on, but hold on very tightly to your humanity and everything that makes you the way you are. Live, love, be happy and be sad. See the obvious, with all its colors\shades\sides. Try to be a bit normal, but be clever enough to recognize that you will never be completely normal. Be humane, be you and be strong. Lets survive, without turning our surroundings into a jungle. Lets keep dreaming of a better world.

With love,

Omar Ghraieb

Gaza's 1st lion cubs die after 3 days of birth

A Different Roar in Gaza

 
Written by: Omar Ghraieb

This week, the Gaza Strip witnessed the unprecedented birth of two African lion cubs at the Beesan Zoo, a facility in the northern part of the densely populated Strip that was built and opened by the Islamist Hamas movement. But just three days later, the cubs died, from unknown causes.

The mother lioness, who was discovered to be pregnant nearly six months ago, received extensive medical care, including vaccines, vitamins and good nutrition, before delivering the cubs naturally.

“Immediately after their birth, both cubs were moved into a warmer room to get the necessary care and they were regularly checked by a professional team of local veterinarians,” Shadi Hamad, general manager of the zoo, told The Media Line. “We called the cubs ‘Fajr’ and ‘Sijeel’ -- ‘Fajr’ after Hamas’s Fajr 5 rocket that was launched into Israel during the second war on Gaza, and ‘Sijeel’ after the name that Hamas decided to call the second war on the Strip that took place in November of 2012.”

Sijeel is also mentioned in the Qur’an as fiery rocks that rain down on unbelievers.
The birth of the cubs had taken Gaza by storm, with their pictures going viral on social media. Palestinians say it’s nice to have some good news out of the area that is better known as the site of heavy clashes between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The lioness got pregnant one year ago but suffered a miscarriage during ‘Pillar of Defense’ in November of 2012,” explained Nahed Al-Majdoob, head of security at Beesan Zoo, referring to an eight-day military incursion in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces with hundreds of Israeli air strikes on Gaza. Hamas fired hundreds of rockets at Israeli cities. “She suffered psychologically, which affected her physically.”

The parents of the cubs are the only lions in Gaza. They were smuggled in from Egypt four years ago, when they were only three months old, through the Rafah tunnels, which previously existed on the border between the Palestinian territory and Egypt. The Egyptian and Israeli armies have since destroyed most of these smuggling tunnels.

“They suffered at first because they were accustomed to the tropical weather of Africa, their origin, while Gaza has a cold winter,” Hamad said. “But they survived.”

The new cubs, too, had to be warmed due to the current cold temperatures in northern Gaza.

“The zoo isn’t well equipped to raise two cubs,” Al-Majdoob told The Media Line. “Therefore, the Hamas Ministry of Health employed a team of professional local vets to track the health of the cubs and their medical care.”
Gaza’s three small zoos include apes, monkeys, parrots, lions, snakes, ostriches, various kinds of birds and chickens.

Mohammed Jumua owned a small zoo that was completely destroyed by an Israeli rocket in 2008.

“I lost everything,” Jumua told The Media Line. “Most of my animals died. I paid extra to get the animals smuggled into Gaza from Egypt. My collateral damage reached half a million dollars. I was devastated and broke.”

Dr. Saud Shawa, owner and founder of Vetco, Gaza’s first veterinary services center and clinic, said that Gaza doesn’t have the proper capabilities to raise cubs or lions. He predicted that if not done carefully and correctly, the lions could die or become dangerous. His prediction came true three days later.

“Cubs need special care, vaccines, nutrition and vitamins. Not all of them are available in Gaza,” Dr. Shawa told The Media Line. “Raising lions isn’t easy and needs to be done professionally and safely based on a background and knowledge of that tropical world.”

First appeared on: The Media Line

4m Gaza to NYC: 4m Gaza to Cairo & back

4m Gaza to NYC: 4m Gaza to Cairo & back

Pic taken at the hotel, showing Africa on the Globe

Gaza, October 26, hmmm where should I start from? Ok, so after losing any hope of doing my US Visa interview in Jerusalem due to Israeli hindrance I shifted all my efforts to Egypt. US Embassy in Egypt gave me an appointment on November 13^th, which is 10 days after my assigned date of being in NYC. After emailing the US Embassy in Cairo expressing the urgency of having an appointment ASAP and attaching the UN invitation, I got an email from the embassy on the afternoon of October 18^th saying I have a special appointment on October 21^st.

I had only two days to fathom this. I headed to Cairo on October 20^th and things were going relatively easy. We reached the Egyptian border very fast. Fewer than 20 persons were leaving Gaza that day so the border was empty until it was crowded by endless flocks of pilgrims heading to Mecca. My sister was the only female. We waited anxiously while I was watching nervously 90% of the guys being asked to head back to Gaza for not having a strong reason to reach Cairo. One of them had medical reports.

I thought my turn will come. I will be rejected and asked to head back home. But after hours and hours of waiting, I was asked to an interview with the Egyptian intelligence office at the Egyptian border. They were very respectful and cooperative. He let me through after he saw my UN invitation.

My journey to Cairo began with a long 5 hours ride from Egyptian Rafah to Cairo. It felt weird, overwhelming and I felt like a fish that is being taken out of water as the distance between us and Gaza grew.

I reached Cairo at night. We checked in at the hotel and I started getting nervous about my appointment at the US Embassy in Cairo the second day. 

I woke up early and head to the embassy 1 hour prior to my special appointment to find lines of people waiting entry to the embassy. I freaked out and nearly danced in the cab. I showed my email from the embassy saying I have a special appointment, the guards checked if my name is on a list they had, then motioned to me to enter after they found my name.

Security procedures were strict.  I had deodorant in my handbag and it kind of set the biggest alarm. I was asked to take it out and spray it on my hand. We then waited for a few minutes to check for any reactions on the skin, when nothing happened, I was granted entry. I went through all the regular routine, I waited for an hour and then my time came. I was asked to go to window 6. I went with a smile, I was being super polite but I was treated so poorly by a girl who had a constant frown on her face. She seemed like she hated her job, when I asked her, "Why are you upset and treating me with hatred?", she replied that she is just doing her job.

I didn’t have an original receipt of the paid Visa fees since Nusair (An amazing Egyptian brother and friend) did it to me and I had no time to go get it from him before I headed to the Embassy. I was asked to immediately leave and never come back before I get it. I asked her if there is someone else I can talk to, she talked to a lady on window 7 who claims to be the manager of the office. They were discussing my issue while laughing. Lady on window 7 said she is the manager and she cant do anything without the original receipt, a copy wont help.

"Look, we do our best to help "you" (people coming from Gaza) but we aren’t obliged to surpass common procedures for you. What goes on everyone, goes on you, you aren’t special. Go get the receipt then we can talk," lady on window 7 said in way that made me feel like she is superior while I am inferior just because I come from Gaza.

I left the embassy and headed to Nusair's house to get the original receipt then headed back to the embassy. It took two hours and I didn’t get to see Nusair after that. They made me go through everything once again and wait for more hours until I finally had my interview with the counselor after waiting, fixing every wrong thing you can ever happen and jumping every obstacle that was placed infront of me.

I decided not to judge the US Embassy in Cairo just because of an angry girl. Lady on window 7 was very sweet and friendly at the end. The consular was new and she was also very friendly and sweet. She chatted and asked questions to confirm the info on my US Visa application. The system went down a few times and many small but frustrating things happened but at the end I was approved. But the down side of being from Gaza is that you have to wait for a week or more to get the final approval. Then you will have to wait for another week or 10 days for the DHL delivery.

I told the consular that I cant afford all that time. I explained how important this is to me, my aim isn’t just to make to NYC for the UN media training, my aim is to give Gazan youth hope and motivation to follow their dreams no matter what obstacles they had to leap over. I wanted to show Gazans that nothing is impossible if you put your mind and heart into it. She sympathized and asked everybody if she could help, but she cant, it’s a common procedure.

I felt defeated. I tasted failure and desperation. I felt like I betrayed Gaza's youth. I headed back to the hotel and informed the UN about everything and told them that I will be heading home. They asked me to sit tight for an additional day so they can intervene.

I headed back to Gaza on October 25^th after guarantees from the UN that everything will work out. But in reality, no one can guarantee anything. This is your life if you live in Gaza. You live in mere uncertainty, nothing is guaranteed even when they are guaranteed.

If you live in Gaza, your future is a mystery, tomorrow is a surprise, uncertainty is a lifestyle and guarantees are built on shaky grounds.

Due to Qatari Emir's visit, Rafah border closed on October 23^rd so nobody crossed. Gazans piled up and hundreds of Gazans headed back home on the 24^th. Myself and my sister were among them. It was so crowded. We were pushed, shoved, hit, smacked, spat on, stepped on, humiliated, tortured and subjected to endless hours of waiting and standing. At first I blamed Gazans for not being organized. Then, I blamed the Egyptian border patrol for not being organized or able to control all of us in a civilized way. Then, I discovered that the problem is in actually both parties. Egyptian patrol didn’t know how to handle us and actually treated us like a 2^nd degree species and we didn’t help them or each other instead we made things more complicated by being selfish, inconsiderate and reckless.

I couldn’t feel any happier or exhausted when I entered Gaza. Now, I have to head back to Cairo in a few days and soon head to NYC although till this second I have no guarantees that it will happen in time.

I try to not take the easy road, ever, because taking the hard road always pays off. I am still fighting and I will keep fighting until I make this trip and prove to Gazans that we can break the siege and leave for better education\training no matter how impossible it may sounds.

Will I make it to NYC or not? We would know soon for sure. I have passed a long journey till now after all.

P.S. A looooooong individual blog post will soon be posted about "Egypt". I stayed there for a few days and saw so little but observed allot. My opinions and observations will come from a narrow point of view because I saw less than 1%  of Egypt but I definitely plan on visiting it again and again.

Yes, I miss Egypt but in Gaza I feel like I was home.

Love,

Omar from Gaza

4m Gaza 2 NYC: Mission Impossible

4m Gaza 2 NYC: Mission Impossible

Gaza, October 14, I have been hesitating about writing this post or waiting. But I actually might not make it to NYC so I decided to write everything that happened to me since the 1^st "4m Gaza 2 NYC" post, so you better buckle up because it’s a hell of a bumpy ride.

Hmmm I don’t even know from where to start. Ok, so after definite guarantees from a news agency in the West Bank that I wrote for, I decided to go ahead and apply through Jerusalem. I didn’t know what was waiting for me. In fact, many were commenting on how confident and assured I was. They made fun of my optimism but it didn’t affect me at all.

I sent all the required documents to the news agency and I had strong faith that I will DEFINITLEY get a permit to visit Jerusalem. After all, I am not affiliated with any Palestinian faction, I don’t have any security issues and I am a journalist. Many other Palestinians cross Erez, so why wouldn’t I cross to?

September and October were loaded with Jewish holidays so I collected some needed patience (You must know that patience isn’t one of my virtues) and waited with a smile. The number of people who thought I was crazy for applying through Jerusalem increased, but I didn’t care and I never lost confidence.

Ofcourse, during my waiting period, I skipped job interviews and cared less for any job opportunity since I will be leaving to NYC soon, or so I thought. I only went to an UNRWA job interview and I took the whole thing lightly although I did really good.

I let all my friends in Jerusalem know that I am coming soon. I wanted to meet them all and I was very excited that I will be visiting Jerusalem. Honestly, my excitement about Jerusalem topped my excitement for NYC. I would sleep and dream about walking in the streets of the old city and the alleys of Eastern Jerusalem and wake up the next day with a smile on my face.

I googled some amazing hotels in eastern Jerusalem, took addresses of some interesting places I want to visit and made a schedule that contains the names of places and people I wish to meet and see. It was crazy that I will have only two days but I was determined to make it work.

A few days ago I got a call. I was asked for an interview by Israeli authorities on Erez check point so they can determine whether I should be given permission or not (a permission to visit my own land, no comment). I kept an open mind until I learned that the interview was on October 22^nd. I will not have any time for my interview in the US consulate in Jerusalem and will def. have no time to get to Cairo on time if I was ever granted the visa. And this interview won't guarantee me a permit.

So I quickly shifted all my plans and efforts to the US embassy in Cairo. I thought it will be just like the one in Jerusalem and boy I was very very very wrong.

Now I have a few days to finish the procedures of a new US visa application, pay again, schedule a meeting in US embassy in Cairo, get there to do it, wait and then make to NYC in time. You might think its possible, but trust me its not.

I decided to take today off to consider whether I wanna go through this anymore or not. I decided that I wont go down without a fight. Cairo sounds like a long shot but I am gonna do it even if I am gonna waste time, energy, nerves and money and even if I know that there is a 90% chance of failure. I am Palestinian, we never give up and we never go down without a fight.

The death of your dream\s is a price you have to pay for living in besieged Gaza. Its not your fault yet you have to pay the price anyway. But what I am trying to tell the world is: Living in Gaza doesn’t mean we are not allowed of having dreams and making those dreams come true. That is why I am not giving up no matter what.

I got an email with an important yet not final\guaranteed book offer but I couldn’t be happy about it because all I can think about now is whether I would be able to make it to NYC or not. I have seen support and I am very thankful but with all due respect to everyone no one feels what you are feeling or goes through what you are going through but you.

This is so major for me on so many levels. I try to explain it sometimes but I feel. This is linked to so many things that I will mention later but the most prominent issue that I see from everything I went thru lately is that: People in Gaza are humans too; they have the right to dream\travel without going through hell and back. Gazans get scholarships\training and many other offers to travel but they cant, they are trapped. Not only Erez is impossible and Rafah is hellish but also the battle of obtaining a visa is a crisis by its own self.

This inspired me to send this email to the US consulate in Jerusalem:

"Dear Sir\Madam,

I write you today hoping to have my voice heard. My permit to Jerusalem has been denied and I have only a week to get to Cairo, schedule an appointment and go through it. This means that there is a 90% chance that I will no longer be able to get a US visa. 

I applied for a US visa because I was invited by the UN for a media training. Only a few elite Palestinians are chosen each year and they chose me this year because they saw in me a prominent journalist, social media pioneer and a public figure from Gaza (per to what they said). New York has been the city of my dreams for a long long while because NYC is a dynamic, passionate yet serene city and we are very much alike. NYC is the city of dreamers and I am a dreamer.

But thanks to the fact that I live in besieged Gaza, this dream has ended before it even started. 

I hereby send you an urgent request to try to find a solution for the people from Gaza who wish to apply for a US visa because they were chosen for a scholarship, training, tour .... etc. Why dont the US consulate consider opening a representative office in Gaza? or maybe interview the people from Gaza through skype (which is a method used internationally and professionally).

Its devastating to struggle for a couple of months to make ur dream come true but its even more devastating to watch your dream die without being given a chance even. My dream and the dreams of many young people here in Gaza have died because of the hardships we go through to try to obtain an interview at a US consulate here or in Cairo and we failed for reasons that have nothing to do with us and that arent in our hands.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE consider my request. Atleast my dream wouldnt have died for no reason. You have the chance to help many people realize their dreams so please just consider discussing my suggestions. 

Just because we live in Gaza it doesnt mean we dont have the right of dreaming and realizing our dreams.

I have confidence in you. 

My best regards of gratitude, respect and hope.

Thanks."

I am waiting for their response. If they don’t respond, then I will start a petition.

We have the right to live, have equal rights, have dreams and be respected like everyone else and its about time we demand this.

I hope this sparks a change. If I got to NYC or not, atleast I would have made a change that will lead to facilitate a person's life in Gaza in his\her pursuit to make dreams come true.

Love,

Omar from BESIEGED Gaza.

Sinai attacks affected Gaza more than Egypt

Sinai attacks affected Gaza more than Egypt

Gaza, August 11, I cant help but express my disappointment in the Egyptian new regime for many reasons. Among those reasons is their failure of predicting Sinai attacks that left nearly 20 Egyptian soldiers dead, another reason is their immediate closure orders of Rafah border, Gazans only way out.

Right after Sinai attacks occurred, Egyptian state TV started airing quotes of an "anonymous" top Egyptian security official saying that those masked gunmen belong to an extremist group and they came from Gaza. 

His hasty "allegations" made it to Al Jazeera as you can see here:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128523429347102.html

I would like to ask this Egyptian top security official –who chose to remain anonymous- about the source of his allegations? How did he know for sure and so early that those extremists are from Gaza? And if he is very smart, why didn’t he predict or see this Sinai attacks coming?

Scenarios about the plot of the Sinai attacks were flying in the air. Some claimed that those gunmen were after abducting an Israeli soldiers while other sources said that they wanted to "infiltrate" Israel and wreck havoc if not practice a few "terror" attacks. Immediately after the attacks, Gaza Ministry of Interior announced shutting down the smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt, then Egyptian helicopters bombed Rafah borderline and then Israel killed a Palestinian in Rafah after they "eliminated" the attack by blowing up the two vehicles that were commandeered by the attackers, they stole them after killing and injuring Egyptian soldiers who were breaking their fast.

Egyptian and Israeli sources said that the attack was accompanied by mortar shelling from Gaza on Kerem Shalom crossing on the borders between Egypt and Israel. However, no evidence was found of this shelling.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad rushed to condemn Sinai attacks and sending their support to Egypt. They both announced no relation to the attacks and accused Israeli mossad, just like Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt who also accused Israeli Mossad.

Israeli officials and ministers said in International media that those attacks should be a "wake-up call for Egypt to secure Sinai and eliminate terrorism" and denied any relation to the attacks. American officials rushed to back the Israeli claims. However, many Israeli officials and ministers and political commentators said on local radios and media outlets that Hamas wont benefit from such attacks and Israel is the only direction who benefits from such attacks.

I was disappointed to see Egyptians blame Gaza for the Sinai attacks and accused Morsi of being too loose specially after opening Rafah borders. They are delusional. Restrictions on Rafah border didn’t take place, Egypt only stopped deporting Palestinians. So how was Morsi loose with Rafah border? And where is the proof of Gaza being behind it? No one knows. Majority of Egyptians were smart enough to know that Gaza isn’t behind it, but some started a social media campaign against Palestinians.

Egyptian government closed Rafah border "indefinitely" and issued orders that prevent Palestinians from traveling through Cairo airport. In other words, Egypt just tightened the Israeli siege on Gaza and took away Gazan's only way out. Now, Gazans are trapped in Gaza with no hope of ever leaving. As if the restrictions that Egypt had before on Rafah border and the humiliation that they showered Palestinians with weren't enough.

Why Gaza isn’t behind Sinai attacks: Hamas will not ruin their relationship with Egypt and MB by executing such a juvenile attack that did nothing but kill innocent Egyptian soldiers while they were breaking their fast. Gaza was experiencing an improvement in the electricity crisis for a few days before Sinai attacks. Hamas will not benefit anything from the closure of Rafah border and Kerem Shalom border. If Hamas or Islamic Jihad did it why would they deny it? And if Gaza did it then where is the proof? Hamas will not benefit anything from closing all smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.

Why Israel did it: Israel knew about the attacks three days prior to them happening. They warned their residents in Sinai and Taba. Israel aims on causing tension between Hamas and Egypt so Morsi doesn’t ease the Israeli siege on Gaza. Israel aims on isolating Gaza and tightening its siege with every chance they get. Israel wants to confuse Muslim Brotherhood. Israel wants to pressure Egypt into strengthening the bond between them both on the claims of both countries suffering from "terrorism". Israel always craved Sinai and by this attack Israel will ask for more international forces to come into Sinai and maybe talk Egypt into letting them co-protect Sinai and the borders.  Everyone said that since MB is now controlling Egypt, Gaza and Egypt will have a stronger bond since Hamas controls Gaza, so Israel wanted to force MB out of that. Israel always wanted the smuggling tunnels in Rafah to vanish in any way. And many more reasons.

Israel found the bodies of the gunmen who did the attack and Egypt arrested 9 on the claims of having a relation to Sinai attacks but my question remains standing: Where is the proof of Gaza being behind Sinai attacks? Nada. Nothing. Yet Gaza is blamed.

Gaza held a vigil to show support to Egypt and to mourn the lives of the innocent 20 Egyptian soldiers who fell dead due to Sinai attacks.

Egyptian government claimed that their forces carried attacks against militants in Sinai but local residents of Sinai denied the report and asked them to show evidence. Later on, Egyptian security officials in Sinai were sacked because of the Sinai attacks.

Gaza was affected more than Egypt after Sinai attacks because Rafah border is closed, Palestinians are not allowed into Cairo airport, Gaza electricity crisis is elevating every day, smuggling tunnels are closed so a shortage in goods will surface soon, Gazans are trapped in Gaza with no way out even if they are students or patients, Gaza's image is darkened by false allegations and Israel killed a Palestinian in Rafah the day of the attacks just because he was a Palestinian and riding his bike near Rafah that day.

I was disappointed also to see Egyptian Channels airing quotes of Israeli officials buttering up to Egypt by saying that "Egypt is strong". While the Egyptian media still discuss Sinai attacks to this day, no new news surfaced from any investigation and Gaza remains innocent since no one found any evidence to tie Gaza to Sinai attacks.

Gaza remains the scapegoat. Gaza's biggest role is being the whipping boy who is there to be whipped even if he didn’t do anything. But nobody is cutting Gaza some slack, not even Egyptians. I refuse to generalize, not all Egyptians blamed Gaza.

Palestinians and Egyptians were always brothers and they will remain like that no matter what happens. May all the Egyptian soldiers who died due to this vicious attack rest in peace, our hearts and prayers are with their families. I would never believe that a Palestinian is capable of killing an Egyptian.

More interesting articles about this issue:

http://www.shorouknews.com/columns/view.aspx?cdate=09082012&id=c01ba28a-4470-4dc7-9599-2da8d66e4027

http://www.shorouknews.com/columns/view.aspx?cdate=11082012&id=79559cae-e217-453b-95ce-f91468f7ead4

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/08/20128816542664189.html

http://www.npr.org/2012/08/10/158549062/egypt-accused-of-bogus-attacks

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128523429347102.html

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/egypt-arrests-9-militants-linked-to-sinai-attacks-1.457455

Israel renews attacks on Gaza, 4 injured

Round 2 of the Israeli attacks on Gaza

Gaza, August 5, Israel decided to renew its attacks on Gaza again using air raids and again timing them at dawn. People usually are awake by that time since its Ramadan. Israeli warplanes carried out several air raids on several targets in Gaza.

The first air raid targeted a poultry farm located to the east of Deir Al Balah, considered at the center of Gaza. The second and third air raids targeted a security HQ. located in Deir Al Balah too. The third air raid targeted Asda’ media city in khan younis which led to a huge fire that broke out into it. The fourth air raid targeted a free zone in Beit Lahya, Northern Gaza, which led to the injury of three people –as official medics said- from which two of these injuries were guys who lost their lower limbs and the third injury was a kid.

Earlier that night, a man was injured after heavy Israeli shelling on Jabaliya, northern Gaza. Witnesses also reported seeing Al Rayes Mountain being shelled, no reported injuries.

On the other hand, Israeli soldiers station in the control towers on the borders with Rafah, southern Gaza, opened sporadic fire towards the houses and farms of Gazan citizens nearby which led to the flee of Gazan farmers and some Gazan families to a safer places until the sporadic fire stops.

Its noteworthy that Gaza is under attack for the second day in a row now.

The 3 Palestinian scams: Rafah border, Reconciliation & Electricity

Scams are no fun, specially local ones



Gaza, July 31, When you hear the word “scam” the first thing comes to your head is the hundreds of emails we get into our junk mail on daily basis either promoting money laundry or just selling bogus stuff. We all detest scams so much, but what if those scams were local and focal to the extent that they control your daily life? I bet you would detest them even more.

Our first and biggest most hilarious scam is\was the reconciliation, back in April Hamas and Fatah collided to come up with the most shameful scam in the Palestinian history: so-called reconciliation. The news of the reconciliation initial agreement broke suddenly and people around the world “including news agencies” were sharing whispers on how sudden and strange the news came. We heard nothing about preparations or initial meetings or nothing. We just heard “what we considered back then” the good news.

While Palestinians were busy celebrating, Hamas and Fatah were assigning dates and meetings to make this reconciliation final and start working on practical steps, but it never happened. They kept postponing the date for creating the transitional government saying they needed more time –more time maybe to benefit from this hoax- and people continued celebrating.

Apparently March15th movement and protests in Palestine were creating an international buzz which led Hamas and Fatah to come up with hoax to shut us up. They deceived us and few weeks ago both conflicted and STILL CONFLICTED parties Hamas and Fatah announced that the reconciliation reached a dead end after Hamas’s refusal of Salam Fayad and Fatah’s persistence on assigning Salam Fayad to the new transitional government. I feel ashamed because I was one of those who believed this hoax and thought that it might actually work –how naïve- and actually fought those who said it’s a hoax and asked me and Palestinians to becareful and not to believe in this.

Second Scam: After Egypt’s unprecedented revolution and victory in toppling Mubarak and his old regime, media outlets rushed to quote Egyptian officials who vowed to help end the siege on Gaza by opening Rafah border with less restrictions and adopting a new approach towards Gazans.

Another hoax well planned and advertised by the “new” regime in Egypt which is proving day after day that its not really different than Mubarak, same regime but different names. Media outlets then started singing and chanting about Rafah border’s great opening and that Gazans can easily travel and started predicting the future by saying “Rafah border opened, it’s the first step towards breaking the siege”. What was really funny is that I woke up everyday reading those headlines and laughing my heart out. Nothing changed at Rafah border. The first few days of this alleged new system failed epically. Then Hamas and the new Egyptian regime sank in bickering and fights and at the end Gazans were left sieged and bound to Gaza with minimal hope of traveling.

*Drum rolls*

The third and final ridiculous scam: lessening the daily long power cuts in Gaza by operating the third generator –Yeah Right- this made headlines to all local news networks.


Gazan officials in the power and energy Authority in Gaza resorted to local agencies to allegedly let Gazans know some good news about easing the daily long power cuts. Many officials said that the third generator in Gaza’s only power plant will be operated which will lessen the daily power cuts. Many Gazan officials backed up each other and kept their stories straight. Then they came up with a new scenario, “Gaza’s power plant has only 3 generators, two of them work and the third was completely damaged and took a lifetime and so much money to fix, it will be operated during the summer and Ramadan only”. Everyone believed these allegations until they saw no change in the daily power cuts. If anything, the power cuts were expanding and this was driving Gazans mad. The weather is super hot here in Gaza during summer and tomorrow is Ramadan which will require us to fast till 7 pm Gaza local time, the sun goes down at 7:30 – 8 pm in Gaza which leaves us with many hours of heat each day.


Ramadan will definitely be a challenge but Gazans are very used to this and we have seen even worse. But what makes us mad are those continuous and shameless local Palestinian scams made by Palestinian leaders and officials. Its like your own people are degrading the level of your intelligence, wouldn’t you be pissed off?


I guess that leads us to one thing: Never believe a Palestinian leader until you see practical and real steps taken on ground, even then don’t believe him and wait till the steps are made on a continuous basis, even then don’t believe him and wait till he finishes all his steps, even then don’t believe him and wait till he turns to the media to say what you believed in was a complete lie. Oh well, in the end, just don’t believe any Palestinian leader when it comes to internal issues, believe your instincts and experiences.