Gaza war - 3rd anniversary: We moved on

Gaza war - 3rd anniversary: We moved on 

Gaza, December 27, Today we mark the 3^rd anniversary of Israel’s vicious war on Gaza. Three years have passed. Wow. Three years ago today, at 12:30 pm, I was playing with my nephew in the living room when the whole ground shook. Israeli F16s, Apaches and drones suddenly filled the air and bombings were happening. We never guessed it was the start of a vicious war that will leave us with no water, electricity, food or movement for 24 days. 

I remember running to my nephew and trying to cover him with my body. And then hell opened. Hundreds of Gazans were killed in cold blood while thousands got injured. Neighbor hoods were wiped out and death filled the air.

Three years after, here we are. Gaza is stronger, brighter, better and life springs from every corner of it. We have moved on. You see now many new buildings and many others under construction. Psychological and physical wounds are healing well.

We honor the martyrs, injured and medics today for giving their life to Gaza and by keeping the land moist with their pure blood. Life goes on and people thrive for life even more now. I will steal Rafeef Ziadeh’s sentence and say, “In Gaza, we teach life Sir”. Maya Angelou said: “When you know better, you do better”, and boy she is right. We know better know, we have seen better and we are doing much better.

Yes, three years have passed and now its time for us to make a vow: “We promise ourselves and the world to make Gaza a better stronger place; we will make our society better by starting bettering ourselves from within”. “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”. I remember one day during the war in Gaza, I felt so dark inside that I doubted I would ever see the dawn of tomorrow but when I woke up the next day I saw the sun lighting up every grain of sand in Gaza. I believe in tomorrow now thanks to Gaza.

I went out today to shop for books and the weather was very warm and beautiful. I walked through Gaza’s streets holding my head up high, looking at the sky and smiling. We survived. We made it. I believe that we made it for a reason; we survived just to make Gaza a monumental place that the world will never forget.

Three years passed and we still demand the prosecution of Israel’s war criminals and we will never stop demanding our right to see those cold blooded monsters behind bars. I will not remind Gazans of this day because we will never forget what we went through, I will not remind the world because the world never gave a crap.

Believe it or not but I am grateful today, we are overwhelmed with the support and love that we indulge in coming from people around the whole world. And we have also witnessed recently allot of BDS successes. Palestinians are now stronger in Palestine and around the world. We have a cause that makes us stronger and makes us wanna fight till the last breath to gain our freedom.

We are more determined and focused now. We are more aware and we have made people around the world more aware too. Gaza’s light has touched hearts around the globe, why shouldn’t I be grateful?

Today I feel a pinch of freedom, today I feel happy and proud.

I will post here a picture of a Palestinian child that lost his family and his house during the vicious war in Gaza; he was standing near his completely-demolished house looking frightened and lost. He didn’t understand what happened and what did he do to deserve such a tragedy. Those of you who are my friends already know how many times I have shared this picture and I will never stop. I wish I can turn the time back so I can be there for that innocent child, I wish I was there to hug him and tell him everything will be alright. I wish I was there to tell him that after three years things would be much better and people would be healing and moving on. I will never ever forget this little boy’s picture in my life, its carved in my head and heart:

Finally, I would kindly ask you to help Gaza, Palestine and Gazans move on instead of reminding them of the tragedies they will never forget. We don’t want to dwell on the past, we want to move forward. We will never forget but we have the right to move forward and live and make our country better. Help us heal. We appreciate all the support. Believe it or not, we are the land of love and abundance and we send you all our love and gratitude.

All my love,

Omar from Gaza

Revealing "The Guardian" lies: Hamas didnt stop Christmas in Gaz

Revealing "The Guardian" lies: Hamas didnt stop Christmas in Gaza

Gaza, December 26, I can’t help but share my fury after reading “The Guardian” and seeing their false and misleading article and how its full of mistakes. Let’s dissect their mistakes one by one:

1-      Their headline: Gaza Christians long for days before Hamas canceled Christmas. Correction: Hamas didn’t cancel Christmas and Christians celebrate it every year. In fact, last night Latin Patriarchate Church held a mass celebrating Christmas and flocks of Christians attended it.

2-      They published the article on 23^{rd of} December. Correction: Christmas in on the 25^th.

3-      They mentioned that over 1.5 million of Gazans live in Gaza. Correction: According to Statistics centers in Gaza, over 1.8 million Gazans live in Gaza

4-      Christians are fewer than 1,400. Correction: Christians in Gaza are between 2,000 and 3,000 according to Al Arabiya.net and Wikipedia.

5-      Hamas attacks Christians in Gaza. Correction: Attacks on Christians in Gaza were carried out by individuals or extremist groups not by Hamas or the regular people of Gaza.

6-      The Guardian mentioned in an indirect way that racism is carried out against Christians in Gaza. Correction: Christians in Gaza live and pray freely, they are treated with equality.

7-      The Guardian wanted to show how the Palestinian division affected Christians mostly. Correction: The Palestinian division affected all Palestinians.

8-      The Guardian failed to mention the repercussions of the Israeli unjust illegal siege on Gaza and chose to blame Hamas for everything.

9-      They blamed the bad economy in Gaza on Hamas not on the Israeli illegal blockade.

10  They didn’t mention that Israel puts age limitation for Gaza’s Christians. They let those who are under 16 and over 40 only visit Bethlehem.

Need I right more?

If you aren’t convinced yet, I wrote an article for the media line about Christmas in Gaza and how Christians celebrated it, check it here:

http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=34046

Westernizing Islam: Bikini is the new Hijab

Westernizing Islam: Bikini is the new Hijab

I find it startling that we started linking the fact of being open-minded to having a western mentality. Who said that being open-minded means we should have a western mentality? It seems like it’s a trend now to show how open-minded we are by picking on Islam and attacking some Islamic aspects to sound cool and hip and open-minded, we thrive to measure up to the American standards of being open-minded. Its mind boggling to read, hear and meet people whether in Gaza, Palestine or the Arabic world talking about how much they are very proud of being “Western” and “open-minded” and how being religious is so “Two thousand and late” or so “1990s”. Really? Are you for real?

I was born and raised in Europe; I came to Gaza to a whole new culture. I knew I was Muslim but I didn’t learn more about my religion till I came here. I am proud of my blended culture and proud of being Muslim and liberal. I am too open-minded for my own sake which usually puts me in trouble; I am usually accused of either being too liberal or less religious. Both are untrue.

I find myself torn between defending liberal people who choose to be Muslim yet open minded (like girls who are good Muslims but choose not to wear Hijab yet) and in the same time defending religious people who are often accused of being narrow minded, too religious, terrorists ….etc. Women who wear Hijab in the western world are often harassed, slandered and sometimes dangerously attacked like Marwa Al Sherbini (Egyptian woman who was attacked by a German douchebag just because she was wearing Hijab and he later stabbed her to death when she decided to take him to court). Some European countries placed ban on Niqab which made many of Muslim women’s lives hellish and hard.

In the Arab world, women who decided not to wear Hijab yet are often attacked, slandered and harassed. People give themselves the right to judge them and call them many things including: “hookers, sluts and bitches” just because they aren’t covering their heads and they claim that they are doing it because they honor Islam. Well news flash: Islam never asked you to judge, attack and slander people for any reason even if its defending because its not really an “Islamic” act. Islam asks us to respect everyone and all religions. I don’t see people pressuring men for not praying or fasting yet they feel so powerful about pressuring women to wear Hijab.

The western media and governments got so worked up to blame, frame and put shame on Islam for every wrong thing in their countries to cover up their corruption. Islam, Muslims and Arabs became a target. This shows how powerful Islam is and how powerful Muslims are which pushed those directions to focus on deforming Islam’s image. Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance whether you wanna believe it or not.

Ofcourse, some Arabs and Muslims contributed a great deal in deforming Islam’s image. Let me not talk about people elsewhere, let me talk about what I saw with my own eyes. I see some shameful Gazan youth who believe that its very cool and western to degrade Islam so they can get publicity or a trip to a foreign country or an invitation to a conference….. etc. How hideous is that? I see foreign organizations and INGOs in Gaza trying their best to focus on how Hamas is using Islam to oppress people and how some girls in Gaza are forced to wear Hijab and how frustrating is that? Seriously? You left all the bad things happening in Gaza and the suffocating siege imposed on us and suddenly you wanna do the community good by “liberating” Gazan girls from wearing Hijab?

I am not with Hamas nor am I defending it. Hamas has its bad and good sides just like Fatah and all other Palestinian factions. But if I say that our biggest problem in Gaza is Hijab then I would be the most disgusting guy on earth. I personally know some of the most powerful, independent, clever, educated, cultured, influential and inspiring girls in Gaza whom I was honored to know and meet. I never really cared whether they are veiled or not. Some are veiled and some are not but they are equally brilliant. Hijab doesn’t stand in the way for those who wear it or don’t.

What is really pathetic is seeing how some foreign organizations and journalists using Gaza just to attack Islam. I see them writing about religious oppression in Gaza (which doesn’t exist) and how they cant move without wearing Hijab. Come to Gaza and you will see foreign journalists moving freely even if they are wearing a jeans and a T-shirt, you will see veiled and non-veiled girls and you will see that not only do women have freedom but they are also a force to be reckoned with. Women actually wear Jeans and T-shirts in Gaza and I don’t find that so shocking. Let me just share how sick I got when I saw the Anti-Niqab protests in Europe, European women were degrading Hijab in every way possible including wearing Niqab over a bikini and even wearing nothing but Niqab. How disgusting and idiotic.

I laughed my heart out when I read about Aliaa Magdi, the Egyptian thing, who saw that she should share her naked photos to show her revolutionary side. She called it the new "Naked Revolution". She -somehow- decided to link revolution with naked art and claimed that freedom of speech must enable Arabs of sharing their naked photos. No thanks, I will pass. What the hell is wrong with her? What on earth is the link between revolution and nudity? I have no respect for her or her boyfriend who likes to always link sex to everything on earth. They are disgusting and lame and they will do anything for fame.

Oh yeah and lets talk about the honor killing. I don’t support honor killing in any way, shape or form. I am against violence and I do admit that we heard and still hear about some horrifying stories about honor killing in the Arab world. Some stories are not justified and others show how the girl was killed because of a misunderstanding. But lets not forget that crimes exist all around the world. So westerns don’t kill? A western man never murdered his wife\sister\mother\daughter\girlfriend\neighbor…etc for no apparent reason? America has the highest crime rates and yet I never saw it being attacked for “Western” honor killing. Some of the crimes there are much more awful than the Arab honor killing cases. I am not justifying the notorious phenomenon of honor killing in the Arab world; I am just saying lets condemn it internationally so we can be fair to the victims and to ourselves.

Women have been always taking a part in Gazan community. They are equally active, educated and employed if you compare them to men. They have the freedom of movement too. The phenomenon of early marriage has reduced greatly because Gazans are more aware now. Majority of young women are getting married due to love stories and freedom of choice. Women are seeking and occupying high positions in the employment field becoming even higher than men sometimes.

Its fascinating to see how Gaza is evolving and growing in every aspect yet we still see foreign and local attempts to keep us busy with dilemmas from the stone age. We moved on so its time for others to move on and embrace our growth. Its also shameful to see some young Gazans falling in this trap which is deforming the very productive image of Gaza’s bright youth.

So consider me boring for the saying the truth but I don’t wish to be invited to a European country or praised by an American journalist or supported by France just to attack Islam or Gaza. I would rather stay here and raise my voice and say: “We are way hip, cool and advanced than you think; believe or see”.

Why do Muslims and Arabs have to always try hard to fit in and be accepting? Why doesn’t the world embrace us like we embrace it? Why do they want us to become something else? Why do they want us to become like them? Why do they want us to degrade our culture and religion to gain their respect? Why are we always pressured to justify ourselves?

My last advice or message: Please let’s stop judging each other. Its 2011 for god’s sake. People are categorized by being good or bad not by wearing Hijab or not. Not all women wearing Hijab are angels and not all women not wearing Hijab are right. Live and let live. Give love to receive love and lets embrace each other with our differences, imperfections and different perspectives.

From Gaza with love, less judgment and a huge hug,

Omar

Follow me on Twitter: @Omar_Gaza



Gaza: Beautiful moon, Eid, Resilience, Gratitude

This pic was taken by my friend near his house.

By: Artist Khaled Jarra

Gaza, November 10, Last night, the moon in Gaza was like a beautiful portrait that you notice in a museum and you just cant stop checking it out. Its not the first time we witness such a spectacular moon but its something to watch each and every time that it happens. The moon was full, luscious and shiny rounded by a big shiny pearly Aura with a glowing star underneath it. Some took pictures of it while others thought its not unusual. For me, it was a spiritual and beautiful moment. I kept watching and smiling, thinking and reflecting, bathing in those pearly rays and stood in awe of what I was witnessing.


Tonight, at 12:00am, the date will change into 11.11.11. . Some of you might not see it as a big deal while others might be stressing way too much about it. For me, I will look at the moon again and celebrate the spiritual moment. Sometimes the universe goes through special moments and its nice to live them.


We just came out of four days of Al-Adha Eid in Gaza. This year was no different. The weather was cold and Israel ofcourse bombed us but that didn’t stop the people and the children from celebrating the joy of eid. Nothing stop Gazans. Living in Gaza for a number of good years now, I would say that only 1 word can describe Gaza and Gazans: RESILIENCE. Gaza and Gazans are phoenixes. They rise from the ashes even stronger than before. I cant be blessed enough to witness Gaza growing and see how more resilient it gets every year. Gaza, I salute you.


This year, Eid witnessed a new event in Gaza. Gaza’s first ever Tent-shopping festival. It was new and unprecedented. I wrote a feature about for the media line. Check this link if you wanna know more:


http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=33636
 

I wanna share a special story and experience I went through and ended up learning allot from. Recently, I went through a number of accidents in one night. I should have been more injured but thankfully it wasnt that bad. I ended up depending on only 1 leg for those past couple of days. I realized how hard it is to rely on one leg. Seeing or Hearing or watching about people with a broken leg or people who lost a leg makes you sympathize with them but you never feel what they go through until I experienced it myself. It gives you tremendous strength & patience! Then you realize how blessed you are & how blessed they are each in his own way! I wanna send a special salute to people with 1 leg or a broken leg, You have my respect & love! ♥I would likes to also Thank all my Facebook friends, blog followers, twitter followers and all my local, national and international friends and fans for trusting me and supporting me. You are all amazing and I am so blessed to have you in my life. You make my heart glow and beam.

 

I always get overwhelmed when I see the Pro-Palestinian supporters supporting Palestine in so many ways. They endanger their lives, work, reputation, losing friends and sometimes even losing family’s support just because they stand by us. Here is a video by a Canadian student who chose to show her support for Palestine in her graduation ceremony. Bless her heart.

I also shared a picture of a Palestinian passport stamp that I hope we use and see very soon. This was made by Artist Khaled Jarra and shared by my friend Laurent Schuman. It made my day. I pray, hope and wish that Palestine becomes free in my lifetime and I get to celebrate it with my awesome friends everywhere.

Finally, I wanna wish you all the best. May spread love, justice, freedom and kindness and may your hearts glow with happiness and joy. Lets not give up on ourselves and loved ones. Lets always keep hoping.

Gaza and Gazans rock.

Follow me on Twitter if you like: @Omar_Gaza

New international boats set sail to break Gaza's siege

■Irish and Canadian boats in international waters on their way to challenge illegal siege policy


■Palestinian activists call for end to international complicity in Israel’s crimes

■Support actions taking place throughout the West Bank and inside Israel

Gaza, November 2, Two civilian boats, the Canadian Tahrir (Liberation), and the Irish Saoirse (Freedom), carrying 27 people from nine countries (including journalists and crew), are currently in international waters making their way to the beleaguered Gaza Strip to challenge Israel’s ongoing criminal blockade of the territory. A Palestinian youth activist from Haifa has joined this renewed international mission to challenge Israel’s unrelenting stranglehold on Gaza via the sea. The message they carry is one of unity, defiance, and hope, in spite of Israel’s policies that have physically separated Palestinians from each other. The “Freedom Waves to Gaza” organizers chose not to publicize the effort in advance given Israel’s efforts to block and sabotage Freedom Flotilla II last July. The boats, which set sail from Fethiye, Turkey, are expected to arrive in Gaza on Friday afternoon, sailing from international waters straight into Gaza’s territorial waters without entering Israel’s waters. The boats carry symbolic cargo - $30,000 in medicines, along with a diverse group of passengers, all committed to nonviolent defense of the flotilla and Palestinian human rights.

“Israel has caged Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, prohibiting physical contact between us. We want to break the siege Israel has imposed on our people,” said Majd Kayyal, a Palestinian philosophy student from Haifa on board the Tahrir. Kayyal added, “The fact that we’re in international waters is already a victory for the movement. Israel’s siege of Gaza is untenable and it’s a moral responsibility to put an end to this injustice.”

Turkish news also reported that a number of Turkish boats have "secretly" started moving from Turkish ports heading to Gaza to break the siege.

Meanwhile, a statement signed by Palestinian youth urged the international community and the U.N. in particular “to take urgent action to protect this mission as well as to end its compliance with Israel’s criminal blockade of Gaza.” They condemned the U.N. Secretary General’s previous declarations calling for aid to Gaza to go through "legitimate crossings and established channels," despite the U.N.’s own admission that Israel’s failure to own up to its responsibilities has created an unprecedented crisis of human dignity.

Throughout the week Palestinian activists in the West Bank and inside Israel are organizing solidarity actions with the Freedom Waves mission, including a presence outside the UN compound (Tokyo Street, Ramallah) and rallies across West Bank towns.

This is the 11th attempt to break the siege of Gaza via the sea, with five missions arriving safely in Gaza between August and December 2008 and the remaining violently intercepted by Israel. On May 2010, Israel attacked passengers of the Freedom Flotilla in international waters, killing nine civilians and injuring over 50. Israel’s actions were widely condemned and led to protests around the world. Efforts to bring a second flotilla to Gaza were foiled by the government of Greece last July following pressure by Israel and Western governments, as well as by acts of Israeli sabotage.

Israel has intensified in the past days its aerial bombardments on Gaza, underlining the need for international initiatives of deterrence similar to this one.





US cuts funding for UNESCO after admitting Palestine as a full member

Palestine, UNESCO & USA

Gaza, October 31, The UN's cultural agency voted to admit Palestine as a full member on Monday.


UNESCO said 107 member states voted in favor, 14 states voted against, and there were 52 abstentions.

The resolution needed 81 votes to pass, the UNESCO representative said.

The United States, Canada and Germany voted against Palestinian membership. Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa and France voted in favor. Britain abstained.

The Obama administration has decided to cut off funding for UNESCO because it approved a Palestinian bid for full membership.


State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says Monday's vote triggers a long-standing congressional restriction on funding to UN bodies that recognize Palestine as a state before an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is reached.

Barack Obama speaking about the situation in Egypt at the White House, Feb. 1, 2011.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the UN cultural agency's decision was "regrettable" and "premature" and that it undermines the international community's shared goal to a "comprehensive, just and lasting peace" between Israel and the Palestinians.

Carney added that Monday's vote was a distraction from the goal of restarting direct negotiations between the two sides.

Delegates to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization approved Palestinian membership in a vote of 107-14 with 52 abstentions. U.S. lawmakers have threatened to halt $80 million in annual funding to UNESCO if Palestinian membership was approved.

Nuland went on to say the U.S. would refrain from making a $60 million payment it planned to make in November.

But she said the U.S. would maintain membership in the body.

"The UNESCO General Conference’s action does not diminish our determination to work with UNESCO to advance U.S. national interests. Therefore, we will maintain our membership in UNESCO and our commitment to UNESCO," the State Department said.

The Palestinians want full membership in the UN, but Israel opposes the bid. The U.S. ¬says it would veto a vote in the Security Council.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called UNESCO's acceptance of a Palestinian state "anti-Israel and anti-peace."

"This is only the beginning", said Ros-Lehtinen. "The Palestinians will now seek full membership at other UN bodies."

J Street urged the U.S. not to cut funding, saying disengagement from UNESCO would weaken the country's international standing. "In addition to undermining our own national interests, it would also deprive Israel of its most vocal and powerful advocate in a key UN organ," said Dylan Williams, J Street’s Director of Government Affairs.

The U.S. Congress is also currently considering new legislation that would impose additional restrictions on American funding of the United Nations, threaten cutting aid to the Palestinian Authority, and slashing military assistance to key foreign countries in retaliation to their support for the Palestinian bid for full UN membership.

Germany also said Monday that the UNESCO vote on Palestinian membership was likely to make it more difficult to achieve peace in the Middle East.

A Foreign Ministry statement from Germany said that the country opposed the vote.

"There is a danger that the UNESCO application will further harm the already difficult indirect talks recently begun under the aegis of the Middle East Quartet," the statement said.

The Palestinians are seeking full membership in the United Nations, an effort the U.S. has threatened to veto in the Security Council. Given that, the Palestinians separately sought membership at Paris-based UNESCO and other UN bodies.

Sources: Maan News, Reuters, Haaretz






Behind Bars, Palestinians Find Love, Marriage

Behind Bars, Palestinians Find Love, Marriage

I know it took me time to add a new blog post, for me writing is all about inspiration. I have been working on this feature for the past week and now I bring you a story that inspired me, enjoy.

He is Fatah, she is Hamas; they were both freed in last week’s prisoner swap

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – He was from Fatah and she was from Hamas, the two rival Palestinian movements. They were both serving multiple life sentences. They had participated in killings – she for her role in a Jerusalem restaurant bombing, he in connection with the killing of an Israeli.

As lovers go they could not have been more star crossed, yet Nezar and Ahlam Al Tammimi met, fell in love, got engaged and finally married while they were sitting in Israeli jails. Both were among some 450 Palestinian prisoners swapped for Israeli hostage Gilad Shalit last week.

“Nobody believes me when I say that I never ever lost hope. I always saw the light at the end of the tunnel and now I am free,” Ahlam, 31, declares.

Married behind bars, the two now plan a big wedding – as soon as they can finally see each other. They don’t know when that will happen: Under the conditions of their release, Nezar was returned to his home the West Bank while Ahlam was flown to her family in Jordan.

Ahlam was born in 1980 to a Palestinian family that moved from Palestine to Jordan in 1967. Ahlam has two brothers and four sisters. Recalling Ahlam’s childhood, her brother Fakhr Al Tammimi said: “Ahlam was a rebellious child with a strong personality. She never took the easy way and always thought out of the box. My sister had Palestine in her heart and always wanted to go back there.”

In 1998, Ahlam began studying media and journalism at Birzeit University in Ramallah. In September 2000, as the Second intifada erupted, Ahlam felt like she had to do something. During her university years, Ahlam was working for Al-Milad magazine and Al-Istiqlal television station, both local media outlets, because she believed in working and studying at the same time.

“I met a fellow Palestinian in the university who inspired me, it turned out he was a member of Hamas. I expressed my desire to join them. He told me he has to ask his superior because Ezzeldin Al-Qassam brigades have no female members. After a few days, he came with an approval, which made me the first female Ezzeldin Al-Qassam brigade member,” Ahlam explains.

Ahlam helped Ezz Al Din Al Massri, 20, to blow himself up in Sabarro restaurant in Jerusalem in August 2001, which killed 16 Israelis and injured 150. Her role had been to choose the location and secure transportation to reach that location. Not long after, she was arrested.

Israeli security forces stormed Ahlam’s house at 3:00 a.m. They handcuffed her, blindfolded her and dragged her into interrogation. She was sentenced to do 16 life sentences for her deed.

“Israeli police used both mental and physical torture on me to admit my role in the operation but it wasn’t important because my fellow members had already confessed about my role,” Ahlam shared. During that time, Ahlam and her family were mourning the loss of their mother. “Aside from the mental and physical torture, I was also going tough times because of my mother’s death. Things were harder and darker.”

“I was placed in solitary confinement many times, sometimes for a reason and sometimes for no reason. The cell is so small and dark with dark walls and built underground. It’s just like being jailed in a tomb. If I hadn’t of turned to God, praying and Qura’an, I would have lost my mind.” Ahlam recalls.

“Let me share with you a funny story, I was sentenced with an extra year to my 16 lifetimes because I had a fight with an Israeli female prison guard. This incident kept me laughing for days, as if I would care less about an extra year added to my jail time of 1,548 years.” Ahlam says laughing.

Ahlam wasn’t veiled before jail, but she began to wear the hijab in jail and also got her first Palestinian identification card while in Jail.

Ahlam heard about Nezar Al Tammimi, her relative, 38, who was jailed in 1993 during his university years. He was also studying in Birzeit back then. He was sentenced to life in prison for belonging to a Fatah cell responsible of kidnapping and killing an Israeli in the Jewish community of Beit El near Ramallah. Ahlam admired him. Ahlam actually visited Nezar in jail before she was jailed herself. The spark of mutual admiration that they felt back then developed over time into love.

Ahlam and Nezar started exchanging letters while in jail. “Each letter would take a month to reach Nezar and another month to get his response back. I would place the letter in the mail and send it to my family. My family would send it to Nezar’s family. Nezar’s family would send it to him.”

“Nezar would go through the same process to send me a letter. Our letters were so precious, they took so much time and they were our only means of communication. We would share experiences, express our love and share our virtual dreams of being and living together after our marriage,” Ahlam says with a broad smile and a sparkle in her eyes.

The two were not only separated by bars but by membership in rival movements. After briefly sharing control of the Palestinian Authority, Fatah and Hamas fought each other for control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 and have failed to patch up their differences despite a declaration of national unity last spring.

On an August day in 2005, Nezar’s fellow inmates threw him a party to celebrate his engagement to Ahlam. Simultaneously, Ahlam celebrated a party in parallel with her inmates. After that, their one and only meeting came in March 2010, when they were both summoned by the Israeli intelligence to be questioned about the relationship between them and their future plans.

“After exchanging letters and falling in love we both decided to get engaged even if we were both jailed for life,” she recounts.

Their fathers arranged the documents and sent them copies of the marriage contract in jail. Nezar sent his wife wedding rings but the Israeli prison administration confiscated them all, she says.

“Initially, it was purely a familial attachment ungoverned by factional politics even though our link is a practical demonstration of the factions' call for Palestinian unity,” Ahlam told Uruknet.info, a Middle East website. “As Nezar and I have been united by this engagement we hope to be a beautiful demonstration to the factions of the unity that is possible, God willing, through comprehensive reconciliation.”

With the release of the Palestinian prisoners October 18, Nezar was sent to Nabi Saleh, his hometown in the West Bank where he was welcomed as both a hero and bridegroom.

But Ahlam, denied entry to the West Bank as a condition for her release, says she was obligated to fly to Jordan to join her family. The couple met briefly at Cairo Airport's Sheraton Hotel on their way to their final destinations.

Arriving in Jordan, Ahlam says she was overwhelmed when large numbers of family, friends and fans came to Amman’s Queen Alya airport to welcome her. “I only met my family twice during my 10 years of jail time, which made me drown in despair sometimes. I missed them so much.

Meeting my father and the rest of the family means the world to me,” Ahlam says in tears.

Ahlam says she already feels rejuvenated by being reunited with her family. “There is a whole new generation in my family that I missed out on. Photographs and names have turned into people that I am eager to know,” Ahlam adds happily.

Ahlam’s dream now is to settle down after a huge wedding that reunites her with her husband Nezar. “All I dream about now is to live with Nezar, settling down and raising our future children.”

According to Ahlam, Plan A is Nezar’s trip to Jordan so they can hold a real wedding there and live together. If Nezar is denied access to Jordan, then Plan B is for both Ahlam and Nezar to request permission to visit Gaza and settle there with the support of the Palestinian Authority and Gaza’s Hamas government.

Ahlam is trying her best to acquaint herself with all the new technology that has become available during the years she was imprisoned, including means to communicate with Nezar till they reunite. “I was told that we can cam-chat with each other using motion picture and voice both at the same time, whatever that means,” Ahlam adds with a laugh, “It certainly sounds like a cooler way to communicate than the mobile telephone.”

I originally wrote it for the media line: http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=33569