Palestinian supporters protest Israeli aggression

As fighting broke out for a sixth consecutive day on Jerusalem’s West Bank, members for the Coalition for Palestine gathered in solidarity Tuesday on the Oval. Facing toward the east, a group of about 50 Palestinian supporters lined up in five rows to offer prayers to their fallen brothers and sisters killed in the recent riots and fighting in Jerusalem. “This is a special occasion because the 55 people killed in the last few days are martyrs,” said Ahmed Al-Akran, president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Ohio. “This is not a Palestinian issue it’s an Islam issue.” The recent disturbances in Israel are a result of negations gone-sour between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, according to Peter Hahn, Ohio State history professor. Hahn said Israelis have expressed a willingness to share joint-sovereignty with Palestinians but Palestinian leaders did not find that acceptable. After the prayers were said people passed out green ribbons to symbolize Muslim solidarity and distributed fliers showing 12-year-old boy Rami Al-Dura and his father, Jamal, who were shot by Israeli soldiers while they cowered by the side of a building. “Does it look like this father and son are Palestinian terrorists?” asked Hussam Kashou, of the Muslim Student Association, pointing to a series of photos depicting the last minutes of the young Palestinians life. “It’s just a man trying to protect his son, but the boy was killed and his father is in a coma,” he added. “It (the flier) is becoming an icon of the brutality of the Israeli military,” Hahn said. “It’s a powerful image of the father shaking his finger as if to admonish them for what they (Israelis) are doing.” The bloodshed began last Thursday when Israeli General Ariel Sharon arrived at the Harem Al-Sharif, also known as the Temple Mount, Islam’s holiest site in Jerusalem which is also a sacred site for the Jewish people, with armed Israeli troops in tow. “The fate of the mosque is an issue for Palestinians who want to secure the state, but it has cultural meaning for Muslims,” Hahn said. The five groups that comprise the Coalition for Palestine met Tuesday to express concern that Americans are not getting a fair view of what has been occurring in Jerusalem and Gaza recently. Members of the coalition feel strongly that the U.S. should take a hard stand to help end the current conflict. A list of demands handed out at the rally insisted the U.S. government “stop turning a blind eye to Israeli aggression and cut off all foreign aid to Israel.”

1 comments

Jim G.

Tue Oct 20 2009 07:40

A Palestinian Photographer staged his report and the whole Muslim world is using this 55 seconds image (out of alleged 45 minutes) for violence and the creation of even more elaborate blood libels.

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