Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 

Egyptian March to Rafah, in Support of Palestinian Right of Return

May 14, 2011

Haniyah lauds Tahrir Square rally

[ 13/05/2011 - 09:59 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The Palestinian Prime Minister of the Gaza government, Ismail Haniyah lauded the participant in the rally that took place Friday in the Egyptian capital Cairo in support of the Palestinian cause.

Haniyah sent a message to the participants in the rally praising the Egyptian people and their revolution and expressed appreciation for Egyptian protests in support of Palestinian rights stressing that resistance will not be abandoned and rights will not be conceded.

He also told the protesters, who called on Palestinians never to give up armed resistance, that his movement will not recognise the “Zionist entity.”

The Egyptian protesters called on Palestinian resistance not to give up arms until complete liberation. They also chanted “down with Israel” and “To Jerusalem we are going, martyrs in our millions”. They called for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Egyptian jails.

Haniyah stressed the importance of ending political detention in the West Bank to achieve firm unity on the ground.

Haniyah said in a statement after the Friday prayer in Gaza in the company of the Secretary General of the Egyptian Labour Party and presidential candidate Majdi Hussain: “We are following up the file of political prisoners the release of whom we consider to be essential for the reconciliation to succeed.”

Citing Security Concerns, Egypt Demands Cancellation Of “The Return March”

Friday May 13, 2011 10:18 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Ministry of Interior in Egypt demanded organizers of the Return March to cancel their May 15 “The Return Procession” to Gaza, due to what it called the “current delicate security situation in the country”.

The Ministry issued a statement calling on all parties that planned the procession in Cairo and in Gaza, to cancel their activity “in order to avoid potential dangers and security issues that could take place due to the current situation in Egypt”.

The procession is planned to be held on May 15, the Nakba (Catastrophe) Day that marks the occupation of historic Palestinian and the creation on Israel; the protesters will be marching in support to the Palestinian Refugees’ Right of Return, the Palestinian cause, and the release of Palestinian political prisoners.

The Egyptian Ministry of Interior said that it supports the Palestinian people and their cause, and supports the Palestinian legitimate struggle towards liberation and independence.

The May 15th procession was called for by several social and political parties calling for a massive nonviolent march starting from the Al-Tahrir Square in Cairo, and several areas in Egypt, heading towards the border with the Gaza Strip.

The organizers of the protests said that this act aims at affirming the Right of Return to all Palestinian refugees, and calls on Egypt to permanently open the Rafah Border terminal.

Ahmad Al-Zeer, spokesperson of the preparation committee for the Return Procession stated that the march is nonviolent in nature, and has no other aims rather than ensuring the implementation of the Right of Return that was granted to the Palestinian refugees sixty-three years ago.

During a press conference at the Al-Manara news Agency on Thursday, Al-Zeer said that May 15 “will be the beginning of a long-term popular movement that will escalate and take different forms and shapes until its ends it all cities and towns where the refugees were displaced”.

He also denounced that silence of the United Nations and different international human rights groups while the Palestinian people continue to suffer under occupation and the refugees continue to live is Diaspora.

Marking The Nakba Day On May 15, Egyptians Plan To March To Gaza

Friday May 13, 2011 05:09 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

As the Palestinians prepare to mark the Nakba (Catastrophe) Day on May 15, thousands of Egyptians are said to be preparing to march to the Gaza Strip to challenge the illegal Israeli siege on the coastal enclave. They intend to attempt to cross into the coastal region via the Rafah Border Terminal, between Gaza and Egypt.

The Palestinians mark May 15 each year as the Nakba (Catastrophe) Day that marks Israel’s creation in historic Palestine in 1948, when the Israeli forces displaced more than 700.000 Palestinians, forcing them into different Arab countries and into the West Bank.

During the Nakba, Israel wiped out more than 500 Palestinian villages and towns, eventually leading 4.7 million Palestinians to become refugees in different Arab countries and in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian activists plan to protest the illegal Israeli siege on Gaza, and to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation, and struggling to achieve liberation and independence.

Israel passed several laws outlawing the marking of the Nakba in the 1948 territories. The same day, May 15, is marked in Israel as “Independence Day”.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Ministry of Interior demanded the organizers of the march to Gaza not to hold their protest “due to the sensitive and delicate situation Egypt is currently going through”, the Quds Press reported.

Furthermore, a number of civil-society institutions and organization in Britain, known for their support to human rights and the Palestinian cause, called on the Arab and Muslim residents of Britain and their supporters to participate in the massive protest in front of the British Parliament this Saturday, May 14th, marking the 63rd anniversary of the Nakba.

Under the rule of former Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian regime collaborated with Israel in enforcing the illegal siege on Gaza by closing the Rafah Terminal, the only gateway that in not controlled by the Israeli forces.

Mubarak was removed from power in late January this year following massive Egyptian protests demanding his removal and real changes in the country.

Israel never recognized the internationally guaranteed Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees and all related United Nations and Security Council resolutions regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, especially United Nations General Assembly Resolution #194 that was passed on December 11, 1948, near the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War calling for the Right of Return of the
Palestinian Refugees.

Israel also never recognized resolutions 242,181 and other resolutions calling for its withdrawal from occupied Arab and Palestinian territories.

Israel occupied West Jerusalem in 1948 declaring it as its capital; following the 1967-six-day war, Israel occupied East Jerusalem.

In 1980, the Israeli Knesset illegally passed the so-called “Jerusalem Law” annexing East Jerusalem, and declaring Jerusalem “complete and united” as the capital of Israel.

The United Nations then issued Security Council Resolution number 478 declaring the Israeli “Jerusalem Law” as “null and void” as it violates different related resolutions and the International law. Israel never complied with any resolution.

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* For detailed information of the Nakba, reports, maps and testimonies please refer to this link on Palestine Remembered

"The core issues of the Palestinian-Israeli are the collective dispossession and ethnic cleansing (compulsory population transfer to achieve political objectives) of the Palestinian people for the past six decades. In our opinion, the conflict would have been at the same level of intensity even if both parties had been Jewish, Muslims, or Christians…"

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