1. In late August, the Israeli
army stormed through the Al-
Aqsa Foundation in Umm al-
historic documents stored there
Mayorofthetown,SheikhRaed
Salah. Thousands of historic
documents which preserve
the heritage of the Islamic
and Christian sanctuaries in
Jerusalem were removed, and
valuable historically, culturally
and academically. The actions
of Israel have been condemned
internationally, and the
Palestinians are calling for
intervention and pressure to be
brought on Israel to return all
of the documents.
Friends of Al-Aqsa has
called on the government
to intervene and ensure the
documents are returned to their
rightful owners. Many fear that
this is another attempt by Israel
to erase the historic rights of
all non-Jews to Jerusalem.
Reports have also emerged
that Israeli Raabis have called
for the murder of prominent
Palestinian leader Shaykh
Raed Salah and for attacks
against the Al-Aqsa mosque.
Shaykh Raed is a well-known
and popular Palestinian peace
activist and has been arrested
by Israel previously for his
activism.
Setting Gaza Free
Israel makes journalists
a legitimate target
British diplomats attacked
by violent Israeli settler
Aqsa
Palestinian gives
birth to quadruplets
Peace Activists Sail to Gaza’s Shore
Condemnation as Israel Closes Al-Aqsa Foundation
The plight of the 1.5 million
people in Gaza has been in the
forefront of people’s minds
throughout the world. As the
blockade tightened, and the
humanitarian situation turned
catastrophic, a group of peace
activists decided to take action
and break the siege themselves
and help bring relief to the
suffering people.
Months of planning
culminated in August with
the sailing of two boats from
Greece to Gaza, with 46
international activists from 14
countries around the world on
board. With them, they carried
vital medicines and supplies
which the people of Gaza have
been denied for many months.
These included hearing aids
for the hundreds of children
in Gaza whose hearing has
been impaired by Israel’s loud
bombs, explosions and sonic
booms.
The SS Free Gaza and the
SS Liberty were by no means
luxurious liners, but rather,
there was doubt about their
seaworthiness from many
quarters. However, these 46
heroes and heroines braved
the tides and made the perilous
journey on a rough sea, even
with the threat of Israeli guns
targeting them.
Those on board included
journalist and presenterYvonne
Ridley, who alluded to many
threats made against the peace
activists and their family’s
during the planning of this
voyage and while it was under
way. Israel initially responded
by stating that the boats would
not be allowed to reach Gaza.
This position later changed
following intense international
media interest in the voyage.
mission was humanitarian and
did not intervene as the boats
approached Gaza.
Thousands of Palestinians
meet the peace activists, and
boats were in the waters to
escort them in. The peace
activistsdescribedtheir mission
as perilous but absolutely
necessary. While in Gaza, they
their territorial waters safely.
All too often, the lives of these
Israeli gun-boats.
Most of the peace activists
left Gaza on August 28th,
having achieved their mission
of bringing the world’s
attention to the humanitarian
situation there. However,
Israel has closed all of Gaza’s
borders ‘until further notice,’

2. I N B R I E F
2
Israel makes journalists legitimate
targets
Palestinian
woman gives
quadruplets
Jeff Halper Arrested
Extra-judicial
Israel constructing 2600
in the area.
Israeli petition against
attacking Iran
website
Shana by an Israeli tank crew
journalist crew.
The Palestinian Centre for
part of the ‘chronic failure
The failure of Israel to
international prosecution of the
alists no
area.
a tour of the city of Hebron.
the area.
the Palestinian town of Hebron
police.
the situation in Hebron for
This project has been
Palestinian prisoner at close
City in July. The healthy birth
care for ill babies.

3. I N B R I E F
3
Siege of Gaza continues despite truce
Friends of
Al-Aqsa
Sponsored
Walk 2008
Award winning Palestinian journalist tortured by Israeli soldiers
Paul McCartney to
Perform in Israel
the Palestinian people.
Israeli troops continue
incursions in West Bank
incursions into West Bank towns
to cause fear in the local population.
Palestinians fear attack on
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Campaigns to Boycott
Israeli Dates in Ramadan
treat patients with acute
illnesses for nearly 2 years. but there has been little action
success. 100 people took part
sponsorship. Look out for
to take place in May 2009.
The Martha Gellhorn Prize is
to a journalist whose work
be a father.
the National Court of Spain
the warrants so that these

4. 4
Truth and consequences under the Israeli occupation
BOOK REVIEW
Mohammed Omer
5 August 2008
I am a Palestinian journalist
from Gaza. At the age of 17,
I armed myself with a camera
and a pen, committed to report
accurately on events in Gaza.
I have interviewed mothers as
they watched their children
die in hospitals unequipped
recognized for my reporting,
even in the United States and
United Kingdom, where I have
won two international awards.
This summer, at age 24,
I was honored to learn that
journalist to receive the Martha
Gellhorn Prize for Journalism,
named for the famed American
war reporter and awarded
to journalists who counter
propaganda with the truth.
Although Israel has sealed
Gaza’s 1.5 million Palestinians
in what many now call the
world’s largest open-air prison,
Dutch MP Hans Van Baalen
to let me leave Gaza to receive
my award in person. Upon my
return from London, I was
hours.AtonepointIfaintedand
pinching me, laughing all the
my feet, sweeping my head
through my own vomit. I lost
consciousness. I was told
later that they transferred me
to a hospital only when they
thought I might die.
and scratches on my chest and
doctor informed me that due
to nerve damage from one
children and will need to have
an operation.
are not new; nor are they rare.
In April, Reuters cameraman
press. According to Amnesty
International, “Fadel Shana
Reporters Without Borders
has condemned the Israeli
to Protect Journalists reports
that journalists covering Israeli
military actions in the West
alone, Israeli soldiers shot
photographers from Agence
France-Presse, Al-Ayyam
newspaper and Al-Aqsa TV.
The television cameraman,
Imad Ghanem, fell to the
ground when wounded. Israeli
forces then shot him twice
more in the legs. Both of his
our cameras and computers,
which give the world access
to images and information
of Palestinians? Indeed, this
an Israeli soldier shooting
outlets.
Although Palestinians
face this violence daily, the
images and our stories rarely
Israel seems intent on hiding
its oppression of Palestinians
under its rule -- including
its dual system of laws, one
giving civil, political and
social rights to Israelis, and
the other denying those rights
to Palestinians living under
occupation. This system allows
to enjoy freedom of movement
and access to healthcare and
education, while Palestinian
have run out of medicine.
to light atrocities committed
in World War II and in the
Vietnam War. In her tradition,
I remain committed to accurate
reporting from Gaza today.
For this I may suffer lifelong
consequences. But I hold on to
the hope that Americans -- as
well as journalists worldwide
-- will impress upon Israel the
need to respect the rights of
reporters. Freedom of speech
of any democracy. I am proud
to call myself a Palestinian and
a journalist. The might of the
Israeli military will not silence
lens.
Mohammed Omer is an award-
winning photographer and journalist
based in Rafah Refugee Camp in the
southern Gaza Strip.
.
Making Israel
By Benny Morris (ed) 2007,
University of Michigan Press,
ISBN 978 0 472 03216 7,
pp 384, £17.50.
Benny Morris is a
history and historiography of
Palestine and Israel. One of the
had challenged the propagandist
tendencies of much Israeli
history and helped to reveal the
Morris’ later career, however,
challenger to hard-line Zionist
schools of scholarship, does
not necessarily correlate with a
concern for modern-day Palesti-
nian rights or experiences,
or rejection of the theory and
Palestinians from the current
a neat (though not necessarily
complete) potted history of the
movement, such as it was, and
out, an interesting account of this
phase in Israeli historiography.
Morrishighlightsthe‘outsider’
Historians, such as Tom Segev
or Avi Shlaim – as journalists
rather than conventional
academics, or as scholars who
had studied overseas and had
the opportunity to acquire new
perspectives. He is also realistic
that they did play an important
narratives and challenging some
of the founding myths of Israeli
that they had a particularly major
role in political shifts towards
contact with the PLO leadership
and the genesis of the Oslo
peace accords. These, he insists,
political, economic and security
Morris also contextualises
some of the developments in
Historians were a part. Rather
they were in part responding to
which allowed them access to
which provided documentary
evidence of expulsions and
of the commanders of the Israeli
troops who carried them out. As
such, he to an extent defends
the Old Historians’ tradition,
censored academic and political
atmosphere. While Morris may
of the opening of Israeli archives,
some of the Palestinian writers
chapter, including famous names
and Edward Said, point out that
to question and explore history
and identity is often easier to do
Israeli writers, particularly those
As with some manifestations
of the Israeli peace movement
and its US and European
sympathisers, most of the
are concerned with cleaning
up the inside of Jewish Israel’s
own house, not with restoring
justice to Palestinians, whether
citizens of Israel, living under
Occupation or in the diaspora.
Mordechai Bar-On’s attempt
to illustrate how dominant
developed in Israeli society,
accounts to his own experiences
with the political or ethical
implications of admitting that
Palestinian villagers were forced
or of conceding that the ‘David
vs Goliath’ story of the tiny,
valiant Jewish resistance might
enlist historiography in the cause
of peace is morally praiseworthy,
State of Israel was, he asserts,
the act of a people “regaining its
and views of history in Israeli
an education in the wider events
such as the account in Morris’
hand account of military service
soldier turned peace activist).
Palestinian position, some of the
language used and assumptions
Reviewed by Sarah Irving,
Freelance writer and
researcher.
www.sarahirving.net
.

5. 55

6. 6
Message from Friends of Al-Aqsa
Bo
CCCooooo lloooo uuu rr iiiii nnnggggggggg
Palestine
BookBookBookBook
Palestine
h
Word-searches
Colouring
Crosswordsr
Spot the differenference
he diffdiffer
And much more…
AAAAAccccccccccttttt iiivvviiii tttttttttty
We wish all the readers of Aqsa News
a blessed Ramadan. In this month of
we ask you all to take a moment to
imagine life in Palestine. Gaza is a prison
and everyday life is full of hardships and
misery. Palestinians living there are being
nothing to look forward to and no end in
sight to the misery.
Palestinians need two things from the
to get through to them in Gaza and the
and every one of us. Governments around
the world have failed to bring Palestinians
Friends of Al-Aqsa works hard to bring
media and work in solidarity with other
Palestinians from oppression. Until
to live freely and build their lives up
independently. Help them to do this by
supporting solidarity groups like Friends
of Al-Aqsa to spread knowledge and
What does Friends of Al-Aqsa do?
Friends ofAl-Aqsa is a non-government
defend the human rights of Palestinians.
We do this by highlighting the abuses
and oppression.
As more and more information about
far, Israel has barely been rebuked over its
end.
pressured into doing so. Many movements,
mounting this pressure.
the pressure on Israel.
on our web-site www.aqsa.org.uk.
a few thousand were able to return to their
Palestinian refugees living in refugee
for a prosperous future without the right to
return to their homes and live in what is
now Israel shoulder the harsh burden of
Israel; they are denied employment and
denigration, they are still required to pay
Palestinian land through its settlements
wall has also led to the isolation of East
Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank
Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the Holy
Al-Aqsa. Membership Form on page 5.
Leicester Radio Ramadan
Friends of Al-Aqsa
Pledge Day
Sunday 14 September 2008
Collection point:
200 Melbourne Road, Leicester
Tune in to 87.7FM
and support us!!

7. 57

8. 8
Library Images of Olive
trees planted in 2007.
Thank you for the Olive TreesDuring the Friends of Al-
Aqsa Pledge Day in Ramadan
2007, many of you donated
towards the campaign to
raise funds for Olive trees in
Palestine. Your kind donations
amounted to thousands of
pounds. These funds were sent
to Palestinian organisations in
Tulkarem, Nablus and Jenin.
The funds were used to plant
olive trees and adopt pre-
existing olive tree orchards.
Palestinians have grown and
harvestedolivesforgenerations,
and your donations will bring
much needed income to the
people of these areas for many
years to come.
The need to plant new olive
trees and protect existing ones
in order to give Palestinian
farmerssomehopeforthefuture
remains pressing. The Israeli
army has been responsible for
uprooting thousands of olive
and fruit trees in the Occupied
Territories, and has used this
as a tactic to force Palestinian
farmers to leave their land.
Friends of Al-Aqsa asks all
supporters to Please continue to
donate towards the planting of
olive trees to help Palestinians
regain sustainable futures.
.
.
f
Advert

9. 9
The passing of Mahmoud Darwish
Yvonne Ridley was one of
the 46 Peace Activists who
participated in the Free Gaza
Campaign. She reported the
events which unfolded in a
daily column. There were
times when it was clear
that Yvonne and her fellow
activists did not think they
wouldeverreachGaza.Below
their mission.
Setting
Gaza FreeBy Yvonne Ridley
I still cannot believe I am
writingtoyoufromGaza.Since
the Free Gaza Movement sailed
its two boats into Palestinian
waters the celebrations have
not stopped and our groups
have been very busy.
Today I joined some women
whose husbands, fathers
and brothers are Israeli-held
detainees; in a protest rally as
a sign of solidarity in the hope
that the Zionist State might
show a little bit of humanity
and release these political
prisoners.
And yes, many, if not all of
them are political prisoners.
This was reinforced today at
the Gazan legislative council
where we were told how 40
democratically elected MPs
from Gaza are being held
in Israeli jails having been
kidnapped by the Zionist
State for nothing more than
being chosen to represent their
people.
It is unbelievable, No
wonder the Israelis like to shut
out Western journalists from
Gaza, they really do not want
the world to know what is
happening here.
While I was doing this some
20 of the other international
peace activists were up at 4am
Gaza, with six Palestinian
8-miles off the coast of Gaza
as I write. I hear that they are
being circled by three Israeli
Dabur naval vessels. No shots
boats are continuing to exercise
turned round.
The Oslo Accords allow
Palestinian Gazans a 20-mile
limit off the coast of the Gaza
Strip. Currently the Navy is
enforcing a 6 mile limit, so
the Free Gaza Movement has
broken that naval blockade,
too.
And tomorrow we all intend
to go to the Rafah crossing to
demand the Egyptians open
the border so we can get sick
Palestinians out to receive
urgent medical aid and make
sure humanitarian aid can get
in from the other side.
Egypt - you have been put
on notice - we are a determined
group of peace activists
who will stop at nothing ...
especially brutal man-made
barriers, blockades, walls and
borders.
It is about time you and the
rest of the Arab world started
to show some solidarity with
your Palestinian brothers and
sisters. Do you really need to
take lessons from a bunch of
westerners in solidarity? Mr
Hosni Mubarak - time to rip
down the borders. You have
been warned!
Celebrated Palestinian poet
Mahmoud Darwish passed
away on Saturday 9 August
2008 after 67 years of a life
jumping from one peak to
another, rising higher every
time, transcending his own
successes.
Mahmoud Darwish was
considered to be the most
important contemporary Arab
poet. He was born in 1942 in
the village of Barweh in the
Galilee, which was razed to the
ground by Israelis in 1948. As
a result of his political activism
he faced house arrest and
imprisonment. Darwish was
the editor of Ittihad
Newspaper before leaving
in 1971 to study for a year in
the USSR. He then travelled
to Egypt where he worked
in Cairo for Al-Ahram
Newspaper and in Beirut,
Lebanon as an editor of the
Journal “Palestinian Issues”.
He was also the director of the
Palestinian Research Center.
Darwish was a member of
the Executive Committee of the
PLO and lived in exile between
Beirut and Paris until his return
in 1996 to Palestine. His poems
are known throughout the Arab
world, and several of them
wereputtomusic.Hepublished
30 poetry and prose collections,
which were translated into 35
languages.
In 2001, Muhamoud
Darwish won the Lannan Prize
for Cultural Freedom. The
prize recognizes people whose
extraordinary and courageous
work celebrates the human
righttofreedomofimagination,
inquiry, and expression. As
cultural freedom is the right of
individuals and communities to
diverse ways of life currently
threatened by globalization.

10. NNOOI OI OT ITI TIT ITE TEPPMMMOOC OC O MMMMOOC O MC O M P IITTIITTEE OE T I T I O NNNN
En
chhance to win a £20 Argos voucher
and a Friends of Al-Aqsa goody
bag!!! There will be one winner per
competition.
13 years old or under???
following words in this word search
and send us your entries!
14-18 years old???
Can you rearrange these letters to
make words from the story of Musa
(as) above?
ilhcdren
eaiisr
Deadline for both
competitions:
31st October 2008
Send your answers with your
name, age and address to:
Friends of Al-Aqsa, PO Box
5127, Leicester, LE2 0WU.
Or email us on
info@aqsa.org
Winners of the last
competition:
Ammaarah Usmani,
age 9 from Birmingham.
Khushbana Jan,
age 14 from Bradford.
aaphroh
iramucllyous
esa
fatfs
rrhuied
taph
didmle
ootrps
Order your free copies of these posters from Friends of Al-
Aqsa today.
These handy posters can be displayed anywhere includ-
ing at home or in the office. The Shrinking Map tells the
story of Palestine; the Wall poster shows how Palestin-
ians are being caged in; and the Boycott poster is a
great reminder of which companies to boycott.
To order your copies, email us at info@aqsa.org.uk with
your details and specify how many posters you require.
Fun & Games
10
Is
Hunger
For
People
In
Gaza
And
West Bank
The
Children
Of
Palestine
Will
Have
Little
Food
This
Ramadan
There

11. The story of Ahmed Hisham
Abu Shawish.
August 2008
‘I have been sick for more
than a year now. Five months
University here in Gaza city,
northern Gaza city.
suffers from serious hematuria,
from their home.
uncertainty.
The ongoing siege of the
to see restrictions on Gazans,
Gaza patients continue painful wait for urgent medical treatment
get there before the stock ran
been scouring every corner of
he insists. “Those men are
income.
After more than a month into
of gas every two weeks, but
the case with most car owners
crisis in Gaza.
in Gaza, which is sensitive to
but to break it.
Digging tunnels between Gaza and Egypt is the only option for Gazans starved of medicine, fuel and basic supplies
11

12. The number of medical
patients who have died of
treatable illnesses in the Gaza
Strip since the siege began rose
to 239 on 21 August 2008. The
Gaza Health Ministry called on
Egypt to defy Israel and open
up the border crossing at Rafah
so that patients who cannot
be treated in Gaza can safely
pass without relying on Israeli
issued permits. Israel issues
permits on an ad hoc basis
and many desperate patients
have been denied the right of
passage.
There are at least 10 patients
in ICU’s in Gaza waiting to
be transferred to hospitals
where they can be treated. The
situation is also exacerbated
by the refusal of the Ramallah
based Palestinian Authority
to issue new PA passports
to Palestinians in Gaza who
cannot travel internationally
without them.
Israeli human rights groups
have also revealed that they
have received reports from
some patients stating that
Israeli soldiers have been
exerting pressure on them to
become collaborators in return
for passage abroad for medical
treatment. This has been
condemned.
Earlier on this year,
Palestinians held protests in
to symbolise the number of
patients who have died due
to lack of medical treatment
in Gaza. These Palestinians
continue to call on the
international community to
bring an end to the suffering
of medical patients in the
besieged strip.
Gaza Health Ministry appeals for Rafah Border opening
The Swiss Bank Sarasin
has heeded the calls of local
activists to divest from Veolia
Environnement, a company
involved in the building of
a tramway running through
occupied East Jerusalem. The
tramway is intended to make
movement in East Jerusalem
easier for the hundreds of
thousands of illegal Israeli
settlers living in the settlement
belt built around the Palestinian
side of the city. Bank Sarasin
has entered into talks with
Veolia about the Jerusalem
contract and it is expected that
they will either convinceVeolia
to withdraw from it, or sell
their shares in the company.
Building of the tramway is
illegal under international law,
and is another step being taken
by Israel to consolidate its
control over East Jerusalem.
The tram line cuts through
Palestinian neighbourhoods
already cut off from the rest of
theWestBankbytheseparation
wall.
Swiss Bank
heeds
divestment
calls