Egypt's promise to keep the Rafah crossing open every day, rather than just sporadically.
Only those with foreign passports or residency, or people requiring medical treatment or accepted at foreign universities are eligible to cross into Egypt.
Hani Ihlayyel has been stuck in Gaza since returning for a summer visit in 2006 after earning a degree in computer engineering from a college in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Anxious Gazans trying to leave blockaded territory
By KARIN LAUB / AP
RAFAH, Gaza Strip – A Palestinian who had to delay graduate school in Malaysia and an elderly man forced to put off eye surgery in Egypt are among thousands anxiously trying to get out of Gaza now that the blockaded territory's gateway to the world has opened just a little.
A Hamas-run passenger terminal on the Gaza side of the border was packed on Tuesday with hundreds of Gazans trying to get clearance just to approach the crossing into Egypt. It was a chaotic scene, with stressed passengers arguing with overwhelmed Hamas border officials.
"Move back!" a Hamas official barked at the crowd from a hand-held microphone. Nearby, a black-clad policeman raised his club threateningly to cut short an argument with a middle-aged man.
Many of Gaza's 1.5 million people have been forced to put their lives on hold during the three years the territory's borders were sealed by Israel and Egypt, following the violent takeover by the Islamic militant Hamas.
Now, following last week's deadly Israeli raid on a blockade-busting flotilla, there is a glimmer of hope the darkest days may be over. In the wake of the assault that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists, world leaders have demanded the embargo be lifted or loosened.
Egypt's promise to keep the Rafah crossing open every day, rather than just sporadically, marks the first tangible improvement.
But even that gesture comes with many strings attached.
Only those with foreign passports or residency, or people requiring medical treatment or accepted at foreign universities are eligible to cross into Egypt. It's the same restricted group as in the past, though the steady opening of the terminal over the past week has helped reduce a backlog of thousands.
For some in the crowd on Tuesday, it was the second or third attempt in as many days to get out, with much at stake.
Hani Ihlayyel has been stuck in Gaza since returning for a summer visit in 2006 after earning a degree in computer engineering from a college in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
His plan was to return to Malaysia for graduate school, but instead the blockade forced him to remain in Gaza, where he said he wasted four years with odd jobs, including buying and selling computers. Gaza has several colleges and universities, but many areas of study, like medicine and advanced computer technology, are not available.
Ihlayyel tried several times to leave via Rafah in the past, but could never get all the necessary documents together, including an Egyptian security clearance and a spot on the Hamas-controlled waiting list. With Egypt opening Rafah only a few days every month or so, that list swelled to more than 8,000 by the end of May.
By Tuesday, just over 3,000 Gazans had crossed into Egypt, and Ihlayyel felt he might have a chance. He arrived at the Gaza terminal at 6:30 a.m. and waited for his name to be called to receive a ticket for a seat on a bus taking him to the border crossing.
Three hours later, a Hamas official announced over a loudspeaker that no more tickets would be issued for Tuesday because four buses had already crossed and no more would be accepted by Egypt. Those in the terminal, Ihlayyel among them, were now waiting for tickets to cross Wednesday.
As the oldest of six brothers, Ihlayyel said he feels pressure to succeed and that his future depends on getting out of Gaza. He said his nerves are frayed because the stakes are so high and so much can go wrong.
"I am afraid of Hamas, of Egypt, of everything," he said, clutching a plastic envelope with his travel documents. "I'm scared, actually."
Najwa Asmar and her three children failed to cross Tuesday, their second attempt in two days, but were promised they would get on the first bus Wednesday.
"Of course, I'm disappointed. For the last three days, we didn't get any sleep or rest," Asmar said as her teenage son Mohammed loaded their suitcase onto the roof of a taxi for the 45-minute drive back to Gaza City. Asmar hopes to spend the summer with Egyptian relatives she hasn't seen for years.
Nearby, 77-year-old Adnan Mohanna stood in the sun, waiting for word from Egypt that he was cleared to travel.
Hamas border officials had warned him that a local doctor's note saying he required eye surgery wasn't enough to get him across the border. His Egyptian eye surgeon, who operated on him eight years ago, would have to send word to the Egyptian authorities, he was told.
Mohanna and the others were visibly frustrated, but just shrugged when asked whom they blamed for their predicament, apparently fearful a critical word might jinx their chances of getting out of Gaza.
An Egyptian border official said about 500 Gazans, or seven busloads, are to be allowed to leave every day. Senior Hamas officials are banned from traveling, according to Egyptian officials.
Egypt has cooperated with Israel in enforcing the blockade, in part because it has been fighting homegrown Islamic radicals since the 1990s and feared Hamas' militancy could spill into Egyptian territory. However, Egypt's role in maintaining the blockade has hurt its standing in the Muslim and Arab world.
In recent days, Egypt has tried to shift responsibility for the blockade to Israel. Egypt's renewed promise on Monday to keep the Rafah terminal open came as Vice President Joe Biden met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and called for new ways of dealing with Gaza.
On Tuesday, Israel rebuffed calls led by Turkey for an international inquiry into what caused last week's deadly raid, saying it would conduct its own investigation.
Israel staunchly opposes a complete opening of the Gaza border, fearing that would strengthen Hamas, branded a terror group by the West, and allow the Islamic militants to bring in weapons, including missiles that could hit all over Israel.
However, Israel has suggested it is willing to expand the list of several dozen basic humanitarian items it has permitted into Gaza since 2007, while continuing to ban all exports.
Some in Gaza fear that in the end the international community, led by the U.S., will settle for only cosmetic adjustments.
Iyyad Saraj, a psychiatrist and leading figure among Gaza's independents, said partial solutions, such as a proposal by France to inspect aid ships before they reach Gaza, will only prolong Israeli control of Gaza's gates.
"If there is any kind of courage and leadership and moral standing, now is the moment to end the siege," he said.
PALESTINIAN WITH MALAYSIAN DEGREE AMONGST THOSE AT RAFAH CROSSING
NASIB RAKYAT MALAYSIA DI ISRAEL
Ada syarikat berita asing melaporkan mereka telah dibawa ke Haifa. Ada yang menyatakan mereka kini dikurung dalam kapal Mavi Maruma dan ada khabar angin mengatakan terdapat individu relawan Malaysia yang sudah syahid.
Senarai 12 rakyat M'sia yang ditawan
Berikut senarai nama nama-nama rakyat Malaysia yang menyertai Misi Talian Hayat Untuk Gaza yang berada di kapal Mavi Marmara yang diserang dan ditawan tentera rejim Israel awal pagi semalam.
Maklumat adalah berdasarkan laman web Lifekine4Gaza.
* Noorazman Mohd Samsuddin, HaluanPalestin
* Dr Mohd Arbai'e Syawal, Haluanalestin
* Dr Syed Muhammad Haleem Syed Hasan al-Haddad, HaluanPalestin
* Al-Hami Husain Suhaimi, HaluanPalestin
* Mohd Nizam Mohd Awang, HaluanPalestin
* Hasanuddin Mohd Yunus, Aqsa Syarif
* Jamuliddin Elias, Yayasan Amal
* Dr Selamat Aliman, Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM)
* Abdul Halim Mohd Redzuan, Muslim Care
* Mustafa Mansur, Mapim
* Ashwad Ismail, wartawan Astro
* Shamsul Kamal Latif, jurukamera Astro
Nasib mereka masih belum diketahui.
MALAYSIAKINI
ISRAEL MEMBUNUH 10 SUKARELAWAN DI ATAS KAPAL MENUJU GAZA
Ten dead after Israel boards Gaza-bound ships: military
By Jeffrey Heller and Alastair Macdonald Jeffrey Heller And Alastair Macdonald –reuters
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli commandos stormed Gaza-bound aid ships on Monday and at least 10 pro-Palestinian activists on board were killed, unleashing a diplomatic crisis and charges of a "massacre" from the Palestinian president.
The violent end to a Turkish-backed attempt to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip by six ships carrying some 600 people and relief supplies raised a storm of protest across the Middle East and far beyond.
As the navy escorted the ships toward the Israeli port of Ashdod, accounts remained sketchy of the pre-dawn interception out in the Mediterranean.
But the use of lethal force angered Israel's long-time Muslim ally Turkey, which had supported the convoy. The United Nations condemned the violence and demanded an explanation from Israel, European Union demanded an inquiry and France said it was "profoundly shocked."
Israeli officials said the marines were met with knives and staves when they boarded the ships, which included a large ferry flying the Turkish flag. In at least one incident, an activist seized a gun from the boarding party, they said. A military spokesman said two pistols were found on the captured vessels.
Independent accounts of the clash were not available since the navy cut ship-to-shore communications and Israel imposed military censorship on reports of the operation.
Israel's attempts to maintain its three-year-old blockade on the Hamas Islamist-ruled enclave while avoiding bloodshed that would spark an international outcry collapsed in spectacular fashion. "It's going to be a big scandal, no doubt about it," Israel's Trade Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told Reuters.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said: "What Israel has committed on board the Freedom Flotilla was a massacre." He declared three days of official mourning for the dead.
Israel's deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, blamed the activists for the violence and branded them allies of Israel's Islamist enemies in Hamas and al Qaeda. Had they got through, he said, they would have opened an arms smuggling route to Gaza.
There was no question of easing the blockade, he said.
In a statement, the Israeli military said there "over 10 deaths among the demonstrators and numerous injured." It said at least five soldiers were hurt.
HIGH ALERT, PEACE TALKS DOUBT
Israeli forces were on high alert on the Gaza, Syrian and Lebanese borders as well as around Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and areas of northern Israel where much of the country's Arab population lives. Israeli officials denied reports that a leading Israeli Arab Islamist had been killed on the convoy.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Ottawa and officials said he was considering whether to cancel a White House meeting on Tuesday with U.S. President Barack Obama and fly home early.
Those talks had been expected to focus on U.S. efforts to advance tentative negotiations with Abbas. But peace talks, mediated by Obama's envoy, seem unlikely to continue for now.
Israel's Arab enemy Syria, which hosts the exile leadership of Gaza's ruling Hamas movement, called for an emergency Arab League meeting to discuss the incident.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel's interception of the ships was "inhuman."
The United Nations' coordinator for Middle East peace, Robert Serry, and the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Filippo Grandi, expressed shock at the killings aboard boats carrying humanitarian supplies in international waters.
"Such tragedies are entirely avoidable if Israel heeds the repeated calls of the international community to end its counterproductive and unacceptable blockade of Gaza," they said in a joint statement.
More worryingly for Israel, its allies were unlikely to show much sympathy. The Turkish government, long Israel's lone friend in the Muslim Middle East, "strongly protested." It marked a new low in an already crumbling Israeli relationship with Ankara.
"Israel will have to suffer the consequences of this behavior," a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said.
Greece, some of whose citizens were on the convoy, halted a joint naval exercise with Israel and summoned the Israeli ambassador in Athens. Ireland, another country whose citizens were aboard, said it was "gravely concerned."
DEFIANCE, AID REQUESTS
The convoy, carrying 10,000 tonnes of supplies, set off from international waters near Cyprus on Sunday in defiance of warnings that it would be intercepted. Israel had hoped to end the operation without bloodshed and had prepared air-conditioned tents at Ashdod for detainees.
Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev said: "We made repeated offers that they should bring the boats to the port of Ashdod and from there we guaranteed that all humanitarian cargo would be transferred to the people of Gaza."
Greta Berlin, a spokeswoman for the Free Gaza Movement that organized the convoy, said: "How could the Israeli military attack civilians like this? Do they think that because they can attack Palestinians indiscriminately they can attack anyone?"
Israel's Western allies have been critical of the embargo on the 1.5 million people of Gaza, which the Jewish state says is aimed at preventing arms supplies from reaching Hamas.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh described the Israeli action as piracy and praised the activists as heroes.
Turkey and Arab states were highly critical of Israel's attack on Gaza 18 months ago, in which 1,400 Palestinians died.
The United Nations and Western powers have urged Israel to ease its restrictions to prevent a humanitarian crisis and allow for postwar reconstruction. Israel says food, medicine and medical equipment are allowed in regularly.
Television channels aired video of a woman in a Muslim headress holding a stretcher with a large bloodstain on it. Below her lay a man, apparently injured, in a blanket.
Others showed pictures of a commando apparently rappelling down a rope and clashing with a man wielding a stick.
(Writing by Alastair Macdonald, Additional reporting by Michele Kambas in Nicosia and Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara bureau)
Video Links
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/20074396
PALESTIN O PALESTIN UMMATI UMMATI
LA TAHZAN VIDEO dan LIRIK
لا تحزن معاك الله يا أعظم شعب..يا أعظم شعب لا تحزن بعون الله يهون الصعب..يهون الصعب (2) ما تبكي يا جنين على حالك..آهاها وحقك ترفعي راسك بأبطال..آهاها لا لا تبكي يا فلسطين على حالك..آهاها ووالله وا...
لا تحزن معاك الله يا أعظم شعب..يا أعظم شعب
لا تحزن بعون الله يهون الصعب..يهون الصعب
(2)
ما تبكي يا جنين على حالك..آهاها
وحقك ترفعي راسك بأبطال..آهاها
لا لا تبكي يا فلسطين على حالك..آهاها
ووالله وارفعي راسك بأبطالك
وخلي الجبنى يشوفوا أطفالك..ما سلموا للخوف بعز الرعب بعز الرعب..بعز الرعب
لا تحزن معاك الله يا أعظم شعب..يا أعظم شعب
لا تحزن بعون الله يهون الصعب
يا أطفال حجــــار..علموا الفجار كيف النار بتنهاب
كيف الكرامة بتنصان..وإنو الموت فدى الأوطان ومش إرهاب
(2)
وإنو الإرهاب المحتل وأعوانو..آهاهامش ذاقوا وشافوا الموت وما هانوا..آهاها
(2)
ولا الطفل اللي عم يرضع..خوف وتشريد وما بيخضع
حالف ليكبر ويتبع بنفس الدم بنفس الدم..بنفس الدم
لا تحزن معاك الله يا أعظم شعب..يا أعظم شعب
لا تحزن بعون الله يهون الصعب
لو مهما صــــــــار...ما بنحيد ما بنلين يا فلسطين
جاي نهار بعد الليل وبعد الويــــــــل منتصريـــــــن
(2)
محتملين قتل وأسر وقهر ومر..آهاها
فداكي يهون يافلسطين كل العمر..آهاها
(2)
ولا الطفل اللي عم يرضع..خوف وتشريد وما بيخضع
حالف ليكبر ويتبع بنفس الدم بنفس الدم..بنفس الدم
لا تحزن معاك الله يا أعظم شعب..يا أعظم شعب
لا تحزن بعون الله يهون الصعب..يهون الصعب
(2)
آآه ..ما تبكي يا جنين على حالك..آهاها
وحقك ترفعي راسك بأبطال..آهاهالا لا تبكي يا فلسطين على حالك..آهاها
ووالله وارفعي راسك بأبطالك
وخلي الجبنى يشوفوا أطفالك..ما سلموا للخوف بعز الرعب بعز الرعب..بعز الرعب
لـ "فرقة اليرموك" من شريط " توحدي
SYABAS PEMUDA PAS KEDAH SANGGUP KE PALESTIN DEMI JIHAD
Buatlah persiapan sewajarnya jika telah memasang niat untuk ke Palestin. " Sesungguhnya Allah telah membeli dari orang mukmin harta dan jiwa mereka sebagai balasan syurga'..." maksud ayat Al Quran. " Dan siapkanlah untuk menghadapi mereka kekuatan apa saja kamu sanggupi..." Al Anfal: 60.
Pemuda PAS Kedah bersedia jihad ke Palestin
Izwan Abdul Halim / HARAKAHDAILY
SUNGAI PETANI, 3 Januari (Hrkh) - "Sesungguhnya isu Palestin tidak akan selesai dengan diplomasi tetapi selesai dengan senapang dan jihad umat Islam."
Demikian kata-kata As-Syahid Dr Abdullah Azzam yang dipetik semula oleh Setiausaha Dewan Pemuda PAS Negeri Kedah semasa membakar semangat para hadirin yang menyertai demonstrasi membantah kezaliman Zionis Israel berhampiran Menara Jam Besar, i sini selepas solat Jumaat semalam.
Dengan kalimah syahid dan jihad menjadi laungan peserta demonstrasi, bekas Ahli Jawatankuasa PAS Negeri Perak, Ustaz Sidik Noor yang turut menyertai demonstrasi itu juga bersama membangunkan semangat peserta dengan pidatonya.
Beliau menyeru pemuda agar melakukan kesiap-siagaan sekiranya dipanggil untuk melaksanakan jihad di bumi Palestin. Katanya, pemimpin Hamas, Syeikh Ahmad Yassin telah menyediakan pemuda-pemuda untuk berjihad di bumi Palestin, maka pemuda PAS juga perlu bersiap untuk berjihad dan syahid pada bila-bila masa.
"Buktikan bahawa kita pemuda Islam adalah pemuda yang berani mati di jalan Allah!" katanya disambut laungan takbir para peserta.
Menurutnya juga, ulama-ulama Iran telah memberi galakan kepada pemuda mereka untuk berjihad di Palestin, oleh itu beliau mahu mimbar-mimbar di seluruh negara mengakui bahawa mereka yang berjihad di Palestin adalah mati syahid.
Demonstrasi anjuran Pemuda PAS Kedah itu disertai lebih 1,000 peserta dari pelbagai peringkat umur dan kaum. Turut serta Ahli Dewan Negara, Senator Ir Zamri Yusof, Exco Kerajaan Negeri, Dr Hamdan Mohamed Khalib, Abdullah Jusoh dan Tan Wei Shu, Adun Kubang Rotan, Mohd Nasir Mustafa, Adun Bukit Lada, Ustaz Ahmad I'zzat Mohamed Shauki dan aktivis sosial, Kalai Vanar.
Pada demonstrasi yang berlangsung hampir dua jam itu, Ketua Pemuda PAS Kedah, Ustaz Musoddak Ahmad telah membacakan deklarasi Pemuda PAS Kedah. Demonstrasi itu turut menyaksikan lima bendera negara Israel dibakar dan demonstrasi diakhiri bacaan doa oleh Exco Pemuda PAS Kedah, Ustaz Md Lotfi Ariffin.
HAMAS DAN ISRAEL DI SEMENANJUNG GAZA
Hamas is an Islamic fundamentalist organization whose military wing has admitted responsibility for attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.
The group came into being in December 1987, growing out of the Muslim Brotherhood, the religious and political organization founded in Egypt. Its goal is an Islamic fundamentalist Palestinian state. It is considered a terrorist organizations by Israel and the United States.
Hamas is an acronym for "Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamia" or Islamic Resistance Movement, in English. The group was primarily a religious and charitable organization between the 1960s and 1980s. It has wings devoted to religious, military, political and security activities.
Hamas has an annual budget of $70 million, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. It gets financial support from expatriate Palestinians, private donors in the Middle East, Muslim charities in the West, and Iran.
Here are some notable events in its 21-year history:
1988 - The covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement is published. The group presents itself as an alternative to the PLO.
1989 - An Israeli court convicts Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin of ordering Hamas members to kidnap and kill two Israeli soldiers.
April 1994 - Hamas orchestrates its first suicide bombing. Five are killed in the Israeli city of Hedera.
February to March 1996 - The Palestinian Authority cracks down on Hamas, after a series of Hamas-orchestrated suicide bombings in Israel kill more than 50 people. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat condemns the bombings, referring to them as "a terrorist operation." Later, the PNA arrests approximately 140 suspected Hamas members.
1997 - Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin is released from prison.
1999 - King Abdullah of Jordan closes down Hamas headquarters in Jordan.
2001 - The U.S. State Department lists Hamas on its official list of terrorist groups.
June 12, 2003 - A suicide bomber disguised as an ultra-orthodox Jew detonates himself on a Jerusalem bus, killing 16 Israelis. Hamas claims responsibility.
August 20, 2003 - A suicide bomber detonates himself on a bus killing at least 20 Israelis. Hamas and Islamic Jihad claim responsibility.
January 2004 - The first Hamas female suicide bomber kills four Israelis at Erez crossing in a joint operation with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
March 14, 2004 - Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claim responsibility for a double attack at the Israeli port of Ashdod that kills 10 Israelis.
March 22, 2004 - Hamas leader Yassin is killed by Israeli air strikes.
March 23, 2004 - Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi is named as Yassin's successor.
April 17, 2004 - Rantisi is killed by an Israeli air strike on his car.
August 31, 2004 - The Islamic militant group Hamas claims responsibility for deadly simultaneous explosions on two buses in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva that killed at least 14 people and wounding more than 80.
September 26, 2004 - A leading member of Hamas, Izz Eldin Subhi Sheikh Khalil, is killed by a car bomb as he leaves his home in Damascus, Syria.
December 12, 2004 - An attack at a checkpoint on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt kills five Israelis. Hamas claims responsibility.
January 14, 2005 - A bomb at the Karni crossing at the Israel-Gaza border kills six Israelis. Hamas claims responsibility.
January 25, 2006 - Hamas, running as the "Change and Reform Party," participates for the first time in Palestinian parliamentary elections. The group is fielding 62 candidates.
January 26, 2006 - Hamas wins a landslide victory in the Palestinian legislative elections. Hamas wins 76 seats, and Fatah 43 seats in the 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council, giving Hamas a majority.
March 29, 2006 - The new Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniya, and his cabinet are sworn in. The governments of the United States and Canada say they will have no contact with the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
June 25, 2006 - Hamas militants attack an Israeli military post and kill two soldiers. A third, Gilad Shalit, is kidnapped. The Palestinian government denies any knowledge of the attack.
Early June 2007 - After a week of battles between Hamas and Fatah, Hamas seizes control of Gaza.
June 14, 2007 - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas dissolves the government and dismisses Ismail Haniya as Prime Minister. Haniya rejects this and remains the de facto leader in Gaza.
April 18-19, 2008 - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter meets with exiled Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal, in Damascus, Syria.
June 2008 - Cease-fire truce between Hamas and Israel negotiated by Egypt goes into effect. Hamas agrees to stop firing rockets at Israeli border communities and Israel will allow limited trade into and out of Gaza. The cease-fire has a six-month deadlines.
December 19, 2008 - Hamas formally ends cease-fire with Israel. Attacks between the two had continued the entire time to some degree, escalating more in November.
From December 24, 2008 - The rocket attacks from Hamas increase and so do the retaliation air strikes from Israel.
Pictures and stories by courtesy of CNN
