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Palestin : Antara Ilusi Dan Realiti


بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
السلام عليكم رحمة الله وبركاته


“Anta dah siap ke? Jom la ke kelas”, saya memanggil Munawwar untuk keluar bersama ke kelas.

Sebaik sahaja kami mahu melangkah keluar, pandangan kami terlekat ke kaca televisyen.

Pagi itu, Televisyen Israel (Yahudi) Channel 1 menyiarkan rancangan TV Pendidikan. Saya menonton suatu rancangan yang dirakam di sebuah nursery. Guru yang mengajar anak muridnya menyanyi dengan diiringi sebuah piano, menyanyikan lagu berikut:

“Makanan paling sedap daging orang Arab, minuman paling sedap darah orang Islam”

Ya, itulah yang saya baca pada subtitle rancangan tersebut.

Kanak-kanak semuda 3 dan 4 tahun, diajar menyanyikan lagu tersebut dengan penuh keceriaan dan kegembiraan.

Demi Allah, suara cikgu dan kanak-kanak itu masih segar di dalam ingatan saya, dan jika saya pandai melukis, saya masih mampu melakarkan di mana cikgu dan piano itu berada, dan bagaimana kanak-kanak itu mendendangkan “nasyid” mereka. Walaupun sudah tepat 10 tahun peristiwa itu berlaku (1996).

Sesungguhnya gambar-gambar di ATAS adalah ’surat cinta’ kanak-kanak Yahudi yang menjalani proses pembelajaran yang sama. Mereka melakar ‘mesej cinta’ itu pada peluru dan bom yang bakal dihantar kepada penpal mereka di seberang sempadan. Dari balik tembok, anak-anak Yahudi ini mengucapkan “salam” kepada rakan Palestin dan Lebanon mereka, moga dipanjangkan usia, bukan di dunia, tapi di alam kematian yang hitam.

Para ulama yang menyokong tindakan suicide bomber kebanyakannya membezakan di antara situasi Palestin dengan situasi bukan Palestin. Adalah tidak harus sama sekali pendekatan suicide bombing dilakukan di kawasan awam seperti di kota New York, London atau Istanbul.

Tetapi Palestin berbeza. Ia adalah medan perang dan di tengah-tengah medan perang tidak ada orang awam. Sama ada kamu sebahagian tentera Islam, atau tentera musuh. Maka jika Yahudi di Palestin tidak mahu diri mereka, kaum perempuan mereka, atau anak-anak mereka terbunuh, mereka mesti keluar dari medan perang. Bagi umat Islam di Palestin, sama ada mereka mati diletupkan dari jauh, atau lebih baik mereka mati meletupkan diri untuk meletupkan musuh. Itu sifirnya. Mungkin kita setuju atau mungkin tidak. Tetapi kita sukar untuk berkata banyak kerana mereka di Palestin itulah sebenarnya yang menderita dan tahu pahit getirnya hidup di medan tempur.

Mungkin sukar untuk dibayangkan hakikat kanak-kanak Yahudi sebagai sebahagian tentera mereka. Tetapi saya tidak lupa kepada program televisyen yang saya tonton, bahawa setiap anak Yahudi memang dididik seawal usia buaian untuk membesar menjadi Yahudi sejati. Sama ada kamu mahu menjadi doktor, jurutera, arkitek atau ‘Ustaz Rabai’, kamu adalah tentera Yahudi yang wajib mempertahankan bumi ‘Israel’ dari anjing Arab dan Islam!

Itulah semangat yang disuntik ke jiwa setiap Yahudi di bumi Palestin.

Anak kita bagaimana?

Menjawab soalan ini, saya teringat kepada apa yang telah diungkapkan oleh Abu al-Hasan Ali al-Nadawi di dalam bukunya Ila al-Islam Min Jadeed (Kembali Semula Kepada Islam). Di bawah tajuk “Antara Ilusi dan Realiti” (Bayna al-Soorah wa al-Haqiqah), al-Nadwi telah memberikan suatu analogi yang sangat baik untuk difikirkan bersama.

Al-Nadwi membayangkan bagaimana seorang pemimpin hebat yang telah mati, dikenang oleh pengikutnya dengan membina sebuah patung yang besar dan amat menyerupai rupa pemimpin itu semasa hayatnya. Tetapi pada suatu hari, seekor burung datang bertenggek di atas hidung “pemimpin”tersebut dan melepaskan najisnya. Patung yang besar dan gagah itu tidak mampu berbuat apa-apa terhadap burung yang kecil itu, walaupun di kaki patung itu terpahat nama seorang pemimpin yang semasa hidupnya digeruni kawan dan lawan.

Mengapakah keadaan itu boleh berlaku? Mengapakah pemimpin yang hebat itu terhina hanya oleh perilaku seekor burung yang kecil?

Al-Nadawi mengulas analogi ini dengan mengemukakan konsep ilusi versus realiti.

Patung itu walaupun besar, gagah dan hebat, malah mewakili peribadi seorang pemimpin yang agung semasa hidupnya, adalah hanya “seorang patung”. Ia hanya sebuah gambaran. Sebuah ilusi. Manakala burung tersebut, walaupun kecil dari segi saiznya, ia adalah burung yang hidup. Burung itu walaupun kecil, namun ia adalah realiti.

Sunnatullah telah menetapkan bahawa realiti sentiasa mengalahkan ilusi.

Beginilah perihalnya kita ketika berhadapan dengan musuh. Jika kita membaca al-Quran dan meneliti ayat-ayat tentang Nasrani, kita akan dapati bahawa orang-orang Kristian hari ini amat menepati watak mereka seperti yang digambarkan oleh al-Quran. Aqidah mereka yang mengelirukan, paderi mereka yang kuat makan duit, kebencian mereka terhadap orang-orang yang beriman dan sebagainya, semua keterangan teori al-Quran itu menepati realiti kaum Nasrani hari ini. Maka orang-orang Kristian hari ini adalah orang Kristian sejati. Mereka adalah realiti. Pertembungan kita terhadap mereka adalah pertembungan kita dengan sebuah realiti.

Jika kita membuka lembaran al-Quran dan mengkaji tentang Yahudi, maka kita akan dapati bahawa keterangan al-Quran tentang karakter Yahudi amat selaras. Kelakuan penakut mereka yang hanya membolehkan mereka menyerang di sebalik tembok, sifat takabbur, dendam kesumat terhadap orang-orang yang beriman, semuanya menepati realiti. Maka orang-orang Yahudi hari ini adalah orang Yahudi sejati. Pertembungan kita dengan Yahudi adalah pertembungan kita dengan sebuah realiti.

Namun, jika kita amati keterangan al-Quran tentang ciri-ciri orang Islam dan Mukmin, apakah hasil pengamatan kita itu?

Al-Quran menjelaskan bahawa orang-orang Mukmin itu bersaudara. Al-Quran juga menjelaskan bahawa orang Mukmin itu saling menjadi pembantu kepada Mukmin yang lain. Orang Mukmin bersatu padu berpegang dengan tali Allah, mereka tidak berpecah belah ketika mendirikan agama, mereka pengasih sesama mereka dan keras terhadap Kuffar dan pelbagai lagi senarai ciri Mukmin yang diterangkan oleh al-Quran.

Namun, perhatikanlah realiti umat Islam hari ini. Berapakah jarak di antara diri idaman mereka seperti yang digambarkan al-Quran, dengan diri sebenar mereka di dalam realiti kehidupan?

Berat untuk lidah kita mengungkapkannya, namun al-Nadawi turut sampai kepada kesimpulan yang sama. Umat Islam hari ini tidak seperti umat Islam yang digambarkan al-Quran. Kita ramai tetapi kita hanya sebuah ilusi, dan ilusi sentiasa dikalahkan oleh realiti!

Muslim ilusi berdepan dengan Kristian realiti.

Muslim ilusi berdepan dengan Yahudi realiti.

Realiti sentiasa mengalahkan ilusi.

Ramainya kita hanyalah sebuah ilusi. Hakikatnya kita sedikit, dan jumlah itu semakin sedikit apabila saudara-saudara kita berbondong-bondong murtad meninggalkan kita.

Kayanya kita hanyalah sebuah ilusi. Hakikatnya kita miskin. Kita miskin jiwa, miskin daya juang dan kemiskinan itu semakin miskin apabila saudara-saudara kita tidak mampu mengawal jual beli harta mereka sendiri yang selama ini mengkayakan musuh.

Cerdiknya kita hanyalah sebuah ilusi. Hakikatnya kita bodoh. Kita masih dibelenggu oleh persoalan-persoalan yang bodoh dan tidak langsung menghasilkan sebarang hasil. Kebodohan kita menjadi semakin bodoh apabila kita tenggelam dalam tajuk-tajuk debat sesama kita yang langsung tidak menggambarkan yang kita sedang berada di medan perang.

Bersatunya kita hanyalah sebuah ilusi. Hakikatnya kita berpecah. Hati-hati kita terlalu mudah untuk diungkaikan ikatannya hanya disebabkan oleh kuatnya dendam kesumat kita terhadap sesiapa sahaja yang tidak mengiyakan apa yang YA di sisi kita, dan menidakkan apa yang TIDAK di sisi kita. Penyakit hati kita sangat menjijikkan. Kita cekap mencari kelemahan orang lain, dan kita begitu berselera menjadikannya sebagai hidang ‘kari daging busuk’ santapan harian.

Ya, jika al-Quran yang menjadi pengukurnya, maka Yahudi di Palestin itu adalah realiti. Nasrani di Rumah Putih itu adalah realiti. Namun umat Islam yang mengelilingi Rumah Hitam di Masjidil Haram itu hanyalah ilusi. Dan ilusi akan terus dikalahkan oleh realiti.

Selagi kita tidak berusaha untuk membentuk diri menjadi Mukmin sejati, selagi itulah kita tidak akan diizinkan oleh Allah untuk melihat pembebasan Palestin dan Masjidil Aqsa. Bukankah Allah telah menjelaskan di dalam al-Quran:

“Jika kamu berbuat kebaikan, (maka faedah) kebaikan yang kamu lakukan adalah untuk diri kamu; dan jika kamu berbuat kejahatan, maka (kesannya yang buruk) berbalik kepada diri kamu juga. Oleh itu, apabila sampai masa janji (membalas perbuatan derhaka kamu) kali kedua, (Kami datangkan musuh-musuh kamu) untuk memuramkan muka kamu (dengan penghinaan dan keganasannya); dan untuk memasuki masjid (BaitulMaqdis) sebagaimana mereka telah memasukinya pada kali yang pertama; dan untuk menghancurkan apa sahaja yang mereka telah kuasai, dengan sehancur-hancurnya.” [Al-Israa' 17: 7]

Ya, janji Allah itu benar. Kesudahan isu Palestin adalah kemenangan yang akan berpihak kepada umat Islam. Namun kemenangan itu adalah kemenangan bersyarat. Allah mensyaratkan bahawa gerombolan kemenangan kita yang bakal masuk ke bumi Palestin mestilah sebagaimana kumpulan umat Islam masuk buat pertama kalinya dulu. Renunglah ciri-ciri Rasulullah SAW dan sahabat. Renunglah ciri-ciri Umar dan tenteranya semasa masuk ke bumi Palestin dan ingatlah, selagi kita tidak masuk dengan cara kemasukan yang pertama, perjuangan kita hanya ilusi. Ilusi yang dengan mudah dapat dimusnahkan oleh sebuah realiti.

Ajarlah anak-anak kita siapa musuh mereka. Besarkanlah mereka agar menjadi mukmin sejati. Bersiap sedialah untuk menghantar anak-anak kita ke masa depan mereka yang jauh lebih mencabar. Ramai ibu bapa yang sudah berjaya menukar fitrah kanak-kanak itu sehingga mereka membesar sebagai Yahudi, Nasrani dan Majusi yang sejati. Sudahkah kita membesarkan anak-anak kita menjadi Mukmin yang realiti?

Keluarlah dari ilusi, dan jadilah Mukmin sejati. Kamu sedang disembelih oleh sebuah realiti.


Sumber : ABU SAIF @ www.saifulislam.com 56000 Cheras, 14 Ogos 2006

Surat dari Santi Soekanto, Mavi Marmara



بسم الله الرحمن الرحيمالسلام عليكم رحمة الله وبركاته



Santi Soekanto adalah salah satu dari 12 warganegara Indonesia di kapal Mavi Marmara yang diserang Israel. Sebelum serangan itu, Santi sempat mengirimkan ‘e-mail’ yang sangat menyentuh perasaan.

Surat jurnalis Majalah Hidayatullah ini bertajuk "Gaza Tidak Memerlukanmu!", dihantar pada Ahad 30 Mei 2010, atau sehari sebelum serangan lanun Israel. Surat ini dibuat di atas kapal Mavi Marmara tika masih berada di tengah laut, 180 batu dari Pantai Gaza.

Saat itu, Santi dan anggota ‘team Freedom Flotilla’ lain sedang menunggu kedatangan team lain untuk nanti sama-sama berangkat ke Gaza. Namun ura-ura kemungkinan Israel akan menyerang sudah berkocak.

"Kami masih menanti, masih tidak pasti, buat masa ini berita pelbagai ancaman Israel sedang tersebar," kata Santi dalam pembukaan suratnya.

Santi berkongsi pengalamannya bertemu dengan ratusan orang dengan pelbagai latar belakang. Masing-masing dengan gayanya yang tersendiri. Dari orang kanan pemimpin politik Inggeris yang angkuh, sehingga aktivis muslimah yang pendiam tapi sentiasa tangkas untuk memastikan semua rombongan dapat makan tepat pada waktunya. Berikut adalah surat lengkap Santi untuk rakannya Tommy Satryatomo yang kemudiannya diterbitkan di blognya:

: : : : : :

GAZA TIDAK MEMERLUKANMU!

Di atas M/S Mavi Marmara, di Tengah Laut, 180 batu dari Pantai Gaza.

Sudah lebih 24 jam berlalu sejak kapal ini berhenti bergerak kerana beberapa alasan, terutamanya menanti kedatangan sebuah lagi kapal dari Ireland [Rachel Corrie, pent] dan kedatangan sejumlah anggota parlimen beberapa negara Eropah yang akan turut serta dalam konvoi Freedom Flotilla menuju Gaza. Kami masih menanti, masih tidak pasti, buat masa ini berita pelbagai ancaman Israel sedang tersebar.

Ada banyak cara untuk menggunakan waktu –banyak di antara kami yang membaca Al-Quran, berzikir atau membaca. Ada yang sibuk mengadakan halaqah. Beyza Akturk dari Turki mengadakan kelas kursus bahasa Arab untuk peserta Muslimah Turki. Senan Mohammed dari Kuwait mengundang seorang ahli hadith, Dr. Usama Al-Kandari, untuk memberikan kelas Hadith Arbain An-Nawawiyah [Hadith 40 Imam An-Nawawi] secara singkat dan berjanji bahawa para peserta akan mendapat sijil.

Wartawan pula sibuk dengan tugas masing-masing, para aktivis –terutama para veteran perjalanan yang pernah ke Gaza sebelumnya– mundar-mandir; ada yang angkuh memasuki ruang media sambil menyatakan bahawa dia merupakan orang kanan seorang pemimpin politik Inggeris yang pernah menjadi penggerak salah satu konvoi ke Gaza.

Aktivism
Ada begitu banyak aktvism, heroism. Bahkan ada seorang peserta konvoi yang mengenakan ‘T-shirt’ yang di bahagian dadanya bertulis ‘Heroes of Islam’ atau ‘Para Pahlawan Islam’. Di sinilah terasa sungguh betapa pentingnya menjaga keutuhan niat agar selalu lurus kerana Allah Ta'ala.

Para wartawan pula sering merasa hebat dan ‘powerful’ kerana mendapat layanan khusus berupa akses komunikasi dengan dunia luar, sementara para peserta lain tidak. Yang mempunyai posisi penting di negeri asal, contohnya anggota parlimen atau ahli korporat; mungkin merasa diri mereka penting kerana sumbangan ‘material’ yang besar terhadap Gaza.

Kalau dibiarkan, riya’ akan menyelusup, na'udzubillahi min dzaalik, dan semua kerja keras ini bukan sahaja akan kehilangan maknanya seperti buih air laut yang terhempas ke pantai, bahkan menjadi lebih hina kerana menjadi sumber amarah Allah Ta'ala.



Muhasabah
Dari waktu ke waktu, dalam kesibukan dan kegelisahan memikirkan tugas, sempat memberi kesempatan untuk duduk merenung dan tafakkur, sungguh perlu bagiku untuk bermuhasabah dan mengingatkan diri sendiri. Apa yang kau lakukan Santi? Untuk apa kau lakukan ini Santi? Tidakkah seharusnya kau berlindung kepada Allah dari ketidakikhlasan dan riya’? Kau pernah berada dalam situasi ketika orang menganggap dirimu berharga dan ucapanmu patut didengar hanya kerana jawatanmu di sebuah pejabat penerbitan. And where did that lead you? Had that situation led you to Allah, to Allah's blessing and pleasure, or had all those times brought you Allah's anger and displeasure?

Kalau hanya sekadar penghargaan manusia yang kuperlukan di sini, Subhanallah, sungguh banyak orang disini yang jauh lebih layak dihargai oleh seisi dunia. Mulai dari Presiden IHH, Fahmi Bulent Yildirim sampai seorang Muslimah muda pendiam dan solehah yang tidak banyak bercakap selain sibuk menguruskan aktiviti ulama terkemuka di atas kapal ini, sehingga beberapa pemuda ikhlas yang tanpa banyak bicara sibuk membersihkan bekas puntung rokok sejumlah perokok tegar.

Kalau hanya sekadar penghargaan manusia yang kumahukan di sini, Subhanallah, di tempat ini juga ada orang-orang terkenal yang angkuh kerana kehebatan diri mereka.

Semua berteriak, "Untuk Gaza!" namun siapakah di antara mereka yang teriakannya memenangi redha Allah? Hanya Allah yang tahu.

Gaza Tidak Memerlukan Aku
Dari waktu ke waktu, aku perlu memperingatkan diriku bahawa Al-Quds tidak memerlukan aku. Gaza tidak memerlukan aku. Palestin tidak memerlukan aku.

Masjidil Aqsa milik Allah dan hanya memerlukan pertolongan Allah. Gaza hanya perlu Allah. Palestin hanya memerlukan Allah. Bila Allah mahu, sungguh mudah bagiNya untuk saat ini juga, detik ini juga, membebaskan Masjidil Aqsa. Membebaskan Gaza bahkan seluruh Palestin.

Akulah yang perlu berada di sini, suamiku Dzikrullah-lah yang perlu berada di sini kerana kami ingin Allah memasukkan nama kami ke dalam senarai hamba-hambaNya yang bergerak -betapa pun sedikitnya- menolong agamaNya. Menolong membebaskan Al-Quds.

Sungguh mudah menjeritkan slogan-slogan, Bir ruh, bid dam, nafdika ya Aqsha. Bir ruh bid dam, nafdika ya Gaza!

Namun sungguh sulit memelihara kesatuan antara seruan lisan dengan seruan hati.

Cara Allah Mengingatkan
Aku berusaha mengingatkan diriku selalu. Namun Allah selalu punya cara terbaik untuk mengingatkan aku.

Pagi ini aku ke bilik mandi untuk membersihkan diri seadanya - kerana tak mungkin mandi di tempat dengan air terhad di sini, walau betapa rimas dan busuknya tubuhku.

Masuk sahaja ke salah satu bilik, ternyata tandas kecil yang dioperasikan dengan sistem vakum seperti dalam pesawat itu dalam keadaan menjijikkan kerana ada dua potongan kuning coklat menyumbat lubangnya! Apa yang harus kulakukan? Aku sedar, masih ada satu bilik dengan tandas lain yang berfungsi, namun kalau kulakukan itu, alangkah tak bertanggung-jawabnya aku? Kalau aku mengajar kanak-kanak bahawa apa pun yang kita lakukan untuk membantu mereka yang fi sabilillah akan dihitung sebagai amal fi sabilillah, maka bukankah sekarang waktunya aku melaksanakan apa yang sering kuceramahkan?

Entah berapa kali kutekan tombol ‘flush’, namun tidak berhasil. Kotoran itu terus melekat dan tersangkut di situ. Kukosongkan sebuah bekas sampah dan kuisi dengan air sebanyak mungkin –perbuatan yang sebenarnya dilarang kerana semua peserta konvoi sudah diingatkan untuk menjimatkan air– lalu kusiramkan ke lubang tandas.

Masih melekat.
Kucuba lagi menyiram.
Masih melekat.
Tidak ada cara lain. Aku harus menggunakan tanganku sendiri.
Kubungkus tanganku dengan beg plastik. Kupicit sekali lagi tombol ‘flush’. Sambil sedikit menunduk dan menahan nafas, kudorong tangan kiriku ke lubang toilet.
Blus!
Kotoran melekat itu pun hilang disedut entah kemana.

Lebih dari 10 minit kemudian kupakai tandas tersebut untuk membersihkan diriku sebaik mungkin sebelum kembali ke ruang wanita, namun tetap sahaja aku merasakan tidak bersih. Bukan di badan, mungkin, tapi di fikiranku, di jiwaku.

Ada peringatan Allah di dalam kejadian tadi -agar aku merendah hati, agar aku ingat bahawa sehebat dan sepenting apa pun tampaknya tugas dan pekerjaanku, bila kulakukan tanpa keikhlasan, maka tak ada ertinya atau bahkan lebih hina daripada perbuatan menolak kotoran yang melekat tadi.

Allahumaj'alni minat tawwabiin

Allahumaj'alni minal mutatahirin

Allahumaj'alni min ibadikassalihin



29 Mei 2010, 10.20 malam.

Santi Soekanto

Terjemahan: Mohd Ferdaus Mohd Tahar

*Seorang suri rumah dan wartawan yang ikut serta dalam konvoi Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, Mei 2010. Email ini adalah emel terakhir beliau sebelum ditahan oleh Israel. Dilaporkan beliau masih ditahan oleh Israel.

(Sumber: Facebook Note)

Turkey Deserves An Apology from Israel

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 
السلام عليكم رحمة الله وبركاته



The Israeli attack on Mavi Marmara, one of the six ships in the aid flotilla off the coast of Gaza, in the early hours of 31 May marks a turning point in Middle East politics and international relations. Having murdered nine people and wounded several dozens, most of whom are Turkish citizens, Israel has antagonised 72m Turks, perhaps irreparably, over a billion of Muslims, and millions of others around the world.
Israel's use of brutal force against the aid flotilla is a clear violation of international law. The attack on Mavi Marmara took place 77 miles off the cost of Gaza in international waters over which the state of Israel has no legal entitlement. By brutally attacking and killing unarmed people, the Netenyahu-Lieberman government has committed a crime that must and will be investigated by an international court.
People in the aid flotilla came from 32 different countries and included aid workers, peace activists, writers, journalists, reporters, lawyers, members of parliaments and ordinary citizens. Contrary to the claims of the Israeli propaganda machine, these people are not terrorists but aid workers and peace activists from around the world who believe that the blockade of Gaza by Israel must end to restart the peace process in the Middle East. This was a chance for Israel to show that it is genuinely interested in peace. By defending the attack and the killing of civilians, the Netenhayu-Lieberman government has shown that they have no interest in peace in the region.
The aid flotilla was bringing humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza who have been suffering under a suffocating siege since the Gaza war at the end of 2008. Let's remember that Ehud Olmert, the prime minister of Israel at the time, had given orders for the destruction of Gaza only four days after he met the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara to finalise the Syrian-Israeli talks. Having lied to Turks, Syrians, Europeans and Americans all of whom were involved in the talks, the Olmert government started a war which resulted in the killing of more than 1,400 civilians with thousands injured. In the three-week war, Gaza was completely destroyed and no civilian buildings, schools, hospitals, houses of worship or even a UN building were spared. Since then, Gaza and its 1.5 million people have been living under Israeli blockade.
Israel has turned a deaf ear to calls by the Obama administration and the European Union to lift the blockade in Gaza, stop settlement activities in the Palestinian territories and restart the peace talks. By defying the international community and violating international law, Israel has cornered itself both morally and politically. The international reaction to the murdering of unarmed civilians in the aid flotilla shows the extent to which the world is becoming ever more impatient with the arrogant and irresponsible policies of successive Israeli governments. While the rage over what happened in Mavi Marmara has not died down, other ships like Rachel Corrie – in remembrance of the young American student so cruelly bulldozed by the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza 2003 while trying to stop the demolishing of a Palestinian home – were already making attempts to challenge the blockade.
The United Nations security council and the UN human rights commission condemned Israel for its action. So did scores of other states and international organizations including Nato and the Elders Group, which includes Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu. Heads of states from the UK and Russia to the Arab world have called for the investigation of events and the immediate lifting of the blockade of Gaza.
Israel faces a dilemma here: the siege of Gaza has not localised the reality of occupation but internationalised it. By acting in defiance and hoping that it can get away with illegal use of force against unarmed civilians, the Netenyahu-Lieberman government is turning against the whole world.
I personally do not know if the Turkish-Israeli relations will ever go back to normal after what happened in Mavi Marmara. But it is clear that Israel must formally apologise to the Turkish people for its brutal killing of Turkish aid workers. An international fact-finding mission, as called for by the UN, must be immediately established to investigate the events and those responsible for the raid must be brought to justice. Finally, the blockade of Gaza must be lifted to normalise the lives of 1.5 millions Palestinians. Furthermore, Egypt must keep the Rafah gate open to let international aid into Gaza.
These measures will not make us forget what happened in the early hours of 31 May. But they may being some semblance of rationality to the region.

resource - Guardian

p/s: sama-sama fikirkan. kerajaan Turkey yang dahulunya sekular dan pernah sekufu dengan Israel berani bersuara dengan lantang akan memerangi Israel. kita? yang memang tidak pernah sehaluan dengan Israel ini? bagaimana?


The hijacking of the truth: Film evidence 'destroyed'

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيمالسلام عليكم رحمة الله وبركاته


The hijacking of the truth: Film evidence 'destroyed'

Protesters say Israel had an assassination list. Israel says soldiers fired only in self-defence. So what really happened on 31 May? Catrina Stewart reports

Turkish activists aboard the Mavi Marmara don lifejackets after they are warned that Israeli naval ships are approaching; nine protesters died in the commando attack the next morning

ERHAN SEVENLER / AP

Turkish activists aboard the Mavi Marmara don lifejackets after they are warned that Israeli naval ships are approaching; nine protesters died in the commando attack the next morning

Jamal Elshayyal, a journalist with al-Jazeera, woke with a start to the opening salvos of an Israeli assault that would transform the decks of the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish vessel bound for Gaza, into a bloodbath.

From the ship's position deep in international waters, satellite images of Israeli speedboats and helicopters approaching the vessel were beamed across the globe before communications were abruptly cut off, leaving the events on the Marmara to unfold away from the eyes of the world.

Six days after the bloody assault that left nine foreign protesters, mainly Turks, dead, nobody can recount with any conviction precisely what happened that night. The convoy of ships, whose passengers included writers, politicians and journalists, had been expected for weeks, with organisers loudly broadcasting their plans to run Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip and draw international attention to the situation there.

From the beginning, it was clear that Israeli forces were concentrating in their largest numbers on the Marmara, a ship carrying some 550 peace activists. The remaining five boats were much smaller and easily commandeered. After the Marmara was subdued, the passengers silenced, and their recording equipment confiscated, Israel disseminated a carefully choreographed account of the events that night that would dominate the airwaves for the first 48 hours.

Only as eyewitnesses, traumatised by their experiences, started to return to their home countries, were serious questions raised about the veracity of the Israeli version of events. Israeli commandos initiated the attack on the Marmara with stun grenades, paintballs and rubber-cased steel bullets. They were met with water hoses as the ship's passengers tried to form a defensive cordon to prevent soldiers from reaching the wheelhouse. Next, the helicopters started their approach, hovering overhead as they tried to disgorge commandos.

From the other ships, passengers looked on helplessly: "The worst thing was seeing the helicopter come up because I knew they were going to invade," said Ewa Jasiewicz, a 32-year-old organiser. "You could hear the screams when they started shooting ... We wanted to stop and go back but there wouldn't have been anything we could have done."

From the moment the helicopters arrived, the sequence of events becomes confused. The dizzying number of claims and counter-claims serves only to present an incomplete account of a military operation that went badly, badly wrong. More than 1.7 million viewers have pored over the edited YouTube footage posted by the Israeli navy since Wednesday. In the dramatic clip, commandos rappel down on to the deck from a helicopter, where they are met by angry activists armed with iron bars and sticks.

This is a critical point, for Israel has rallied domestic opinion on the crucial claim that its soldiers dropped into a meticulously planned riot for which they were completely unprepared. Panicked, they acted in self-defence after they landed, shooting only those who threatened them.

The video is problematic, though. The images of angry protesters are striking, but they lack context. What happened before? What happened next? Had the soldiers started shooting when they descended to the deck? The only account offered by the Israelis of what happened next is left to Staff Sergeant S, a commando who claims he shot six of the protesters.

The last of 15 to arrive on the deck, he said he saw that two of his colleagues had gunshot wounds. Pushing others into a protective cordon around the injured soldiers, he shot at the protesters to force them to fall back. It's a neat account, but several eyewitness accounts tell a very different story.

Mr Elshayyal, a reporter for the Arab channel al-Jazeera, was standing to one side of the ship and had a view of the front and back of the vessel when the fighting started. By his account, soldiers fired down on the protesters from the helicopters before an Israeli soldier had even set foot on the ship. A man next to him was shot through the top of his head, dying instantly.

"What I saw were shots being fired from the helicopter above and moments later from below – from the ships," Mr Elshayyal said. "As far as I am concerned, it's a lie to say they only started shooting on deck."

At least two other eyewitnesses saw soldiers firing from above the ships before they landed on the Marmara's deck. It is possible that this is what prompted the fierce resistance to the soldiers when they dropped down. Several passengers recount how organisers urged their peers to stop hitting the soldiers, aware of how it would harm their claim to be peaceful protesters.

Others on the ship claim they raised a white flag, but say that it was ignored. They also used a loudspeaker to reiterate their message of surrender and requested that the injured be taken off the ship to get medical assistance. Again, they were ignored.

At some point early on, the activists dragged three, possibly four, injured soldiers to a lower deck, either to keep as hostages or for their own safety. It was then, several passengers say, that the situation quickly deteriorated. Israel has insisted that the protesters took two of the soldiers' pistols and used them, but others claim the pistols were taken away to prove that Israel planned to use live rounds.

Below, the protesters rummaged through captured soldiers' belongings and claimed to unearth a document that they allege is a list of people Israel intended to assassinate. The booklet, written in Hebrew and in English, contained some photographs of passengers on the Marmara, including the leader of IHH, the Turkish charity that provided two of the ships, an 88-year-old priest and Ra'ad Salah, head of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Mr Elshayyal said.

A military spokesman, Lt Col Avital Leibowitz, insisted soldiers acted in self-defence and that she "was not aware" of any list. But one thing is fast becoming clear – many of the dead were shot multiple times at point-blank range. One was a journalist taking photographs. "A man was shot ... between the eyebrows, which indicates that it was not an attack that took place from self-defence," Hassan Ghani, a passenger, said in an account posted on YouTube. "The soldier had time to set up the shot." Mattias Gardell, a Swedish activist, told the TT news bureau: "The Israelis committed premeditated murder ... Two people were killed by shots in the forehead, one was shot in the back of the head and one in the chest."

When Israeli troops had subdued the ship, they rounded up the passengers, bound their wrists, in some cases forcing activists into stress positions, and prevented them from using toilets. Mr Elshayyal said he was given just three sips of water before he was taken off the ship more than 24 hours later.

Their ordeal, of course, was not yet over. Accused of entering Israel illegally, the captives were transferred to an Israeli prison, where many were held in cramped cells and denied phone calls. Furious, Turkey sent three planes to transport the activists out of Israel, threatening to sever all diplomatic ties if they were not all released.

Meanwhile, much of the video footage confiscated from Marmara passengers remains undisclosed, and Israel has sought to undermine some eyewitness accounts by alleging some of the passengers were terrorist sympathisers bent on martyrdom.

Questions remain unanswered on both sides. But without a full and transparent airing of all the evidence, the truth of that dreadful night on the Marmara may never come to light.

In the meantime, the organisers say they will seek again and again to breach Israel's defences. Scottish protester Ali El-Awaisi said: "We sent six ships this time. Next time it will be 30 ships."

(taken from The Independent)

Gaza, We Are Coming!


KAPAL Rachel Corrie yang diambil nama daripada seorang pelajar kolej Amerika yang terbunuh akibat digilis oleh jentera berat tentera Israel. - AP

Rachel Corrie adalah kapal yang mengangkut bantuan kemanusiaan untuk rakyat Palestin yang seterusnya dirampas ISRAEL.




Q&A about Israeli Raid on Aid Flotilla.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيمالسلام عليكم رحمة الله وبركاته


Credit to: BBC NEWS

At least nine people died, and 30 were wounded, when Israeli troops boarded a flotilla of ships carrying aid for Gaza. It was the ninth attempt since 2008 to break an Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip by sea, but the first that has resulted in bloodshed.


How did the confrontation begin?

The six ships were boarded in international waters, about 80 miles from the Israeli coast. Commandos landed on the largest ship by descending on ropes from helicopters. They were attacked by the activists on board and opened fire.


Who started the violence?

This is disputed. The activists say the commandos started shooting as soon as they hit the deck. Israeli officials say the commandos fired in self-defence. Video clips show activists wielding something that looks like a baseball bat and other objects. Photographs have also been produced of metal bars and slingshots. Israel says the activists used axes, knives and fired shots from a gun taken from the soldiers.


Which countries did the dead activists come from?

It is reported that all nine were Turkish, or of Turkish origin.


What was purpose of the flotilla?

It wanted to deliver aid to Gaza, to break an Israeli and Egyptian blockade on the territory. According to the UN, Gaza receives about one quarter of the supplies it used to receive in the years before the blockade was tightened in 2007. The ships were carrying 10,000 tonnes of goods, including school supplies, building materials and two large electricity generators. The activists also say they wanted to make the point that, in their view, the blockade is illegal under international law.


Who organised it?

A group called Free Gaza, an umbrella organisation of activist groups from numerous countries, and a Turkish group called the IHH (Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief). The Israeli government says the IHH is closely linked to Hamas, and is a member of another organisation, the Union of the Good, which supports suicide bombings. However, the Turkish government regards the IHH as a legitimate charity, and urged Israel to let the flotilla through.


Why did Israel want to stop the flotilla?

Israel and Egypt prevent a large range of goods from reaching Gaza, in order to put pressure on the Hamas government. These include cement and scaffolding, which it says can be used to make launchers for rockets, but also a range of other goods which do not undermine Israeli security. Israel also wanted to check that the ships did not contain deliveries of weapons or cash. It offered to allow the flotilla to land in an Israeli port, and to deliver by road any goods that passed its checks.


Some previous flotillas have been allowed to reach Gaza, others have been turned round and sent back. It is not clear why this latest one was greeted by a commando-style raid. It may have been because of the size of the largest boat, the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara carrying nearly 600 passengers, which made it difficult to board by pulling up alongside.


What are the key unanswered questions?

Apart from the question as to who started the violence, it remains unclear whether the commandos' lives were in danger when they opened fire, whether all the dead activists were attacking at the time they were shot, and whether they were all armed. The video released by the Israeli military stops just before the shooting begins.


Did Israel breach international law?

This is disputed. A Turkish draft resolution circulated at the UN Security Council described the attack as a violation of international law. Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the raid "tantamount to banditry and piracy" and "murder conducted by a state".


Israel's foreign ministry says that under international maritime law, when a maritime blockade is in effect, no boats can enter the blockaded area. It adds: "Any vessel that violates or attempts to violate a maritime blockade may be captured or even attacked under international law."


How has the international community reacted?

There has been widespread condemnation of the violence. The UN Security Council has issued a statement calling for a "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent" inquiry into the raid. Turkey and several other countries wanted an independent international investigation, but the US said it should be led by Israel. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has, though, said that the US is "open to different ways of ensuring a credible investigation including international participation".


Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador from Israel, while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for Israel to be punished for its "bloody massacre" and Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Israel would face legal action in a Turkish court.


UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urged Israel to lift the Gaza blockade.


What could be the impact on the peace talks?

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said peace talks with Israel will continue. Proximity talks, mediated by the US, resumed in May after a two-year break.


Palestine Will Not Go Down

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
السلام عليكم رحمة الله وبركاته