The Marxist-Leninist Daily

The resistance continues to hold its own in Gaza against the merciless invaders. According to a January 5 report from the Ma'an news agency the update on the situation in Gaza is as follows:

Israeli ground troops, backed by tanks, bulldozers and helicopters have now encircled Gaza City and cut the Gaza Strip in two. Palestinian fighters continue to exchange fire with Israeli troops, primarily in northern towns and on the outskirts of Gaza. Ma'an reports a fierce battle between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters in the northern outskirts of Gaza City just after midnight on Tuesday morning.

The Israeli military confirmed that a major confrontation is taking place in the area, Al-Jazeera reported. Near constant explosions have been lighting up the sky over the northern Gaza Strip.

The battle took place as Israeli tanks and ground troops pushed deeper into the Gaza Strip on the tenth day of an offensive that has killed more than 530 Palestinians, and wounded more than 2,500, Ma'an writes. It also reports:

"As night fell on Monday, Israeli troops had encircled Gaza City after approaching the metropolis from four directions, but appeared not to be invading the centre of the city. Israeli warplanes continue to pound Gaza, including the city centre, from the air.

"Also on Monday, Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai reiterated Israel's rejection of a ceasefire. Speaking on Israeli television, in response to a question from the mayor of Ashkelon, he said he expected fighting to continue for another two weeks.

"Roni Daniel, a military analyst with Israeli Channel Two said that Israeli forces are facing heavy fighting, and that contrary to statements from the military, the situation is extremely complex.

"Daniel also added in his analysis that the main opposition to the invasion so far appears to have been from groups other than Hamas, including the Al-Aqsa Brigades, Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades, and others. He said Hamas may be saving its firepower for a later showdown with the Israeli army.

"This assessment has been corroborated by statements sent by the various Palestinian armed groups in Gaza. In the last two days, Hamas' armed wing has said it took part in some of the fighting, but other groups have issued more statements claiming participation in the clashes.

According to Ma'an, "The Al-Qassam Brigades threatened to widen their projectile attacks in a broadcast addressing Israelis aired on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV Monday.

"We promise you that our target-sites will be vulnerable at all times and open to attack any time of day," said Hamas' military wing spokesman Abu Ubayda. "We will expand our targets," he said.

Tel Aviv and the Israeli nuclear site at Dimona have not yet been targeted, said Abu Ubayda, but we will not hesitate to launch projectiles at these sites if Israel continues its attack at the one and a half million people of the Gaza Strip.

"Our targets will also become the soldiers now in Israel," the spokesman assured. "Your friend Gilad Shalit is missing and we promise to bring him company. Your land invasion will do nothing but ensure the return of Palestinian prisoners when we swap them for the Israeli soldiers."

Israeli shelling has not weakened the Brigades; the brigades are powerful and their members are ready for any attack. said Abu Ubayda.

He also accused Israel of covering-up the casualties of the Brigades' attacks, and of the larger conspiracy of denying the failure of the land invasion.

"We have destroyed a tank and an Israeli military vehicle with a new type of explosive we are using," he said. "We have new projectiles and many other surprises for Israeli troops."

Abu Ubayda promised that there will be thousands of combatants and waiting for Israeli troops when they leave their tanks.

In another development, Israel has imposed tight restriction on the work of all journalists, banning reporters from entering Gaza and its surroundings. A Palestinian journalist from Jerusalem, Khader Shaheen, a reporter for the Iranian news network Al-Alam, was arrested on charges of violating military rules prohibiting the dissemination of "secrets."

Meanwhile, according to Israeli news reports, "Israeli soldiers have dragged dozens of Palestinian fighters and residents across the border with Gaza for interrogation.

"Since Israel's land invasion that started late on Saturday night, forces have detained members of armed groups in clashes with invading soldiers, Israel TV said on Monday.

"A reporter for the network reported that as many as 100 Palestinians have been arrested during the recent invasion, and that the Israeli government considers the Gaza residents 'illegal combatants.'

"Other sources quoted Israeli troops on Monday, saying they tend to arrest 'as many Palestinians as possible' in order to retrieve information that 'may lead to the capture of other armed groups' members,'" Ma'an reports.

As concerns Israel's criminal embargo on Gaza, on Saturday the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) announced that all crossings into the Strip were closed and food distribution was cancelled.

On Sunday a Palestinian Authority spokesperson said Israel would open the Kerem Shalom cargo crossing and the Nahal Oz fuel crossing for the transfer of humanitarian supplies.

Egyptian Consul General in Ramallah Ashraf Akel said Saturday that Rafah has been open and sending aid in since the first days of the Israeli strikes, though as of Monday he was unable to comment on the situation at the border.

The Rafah crossing from Egypt and Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel, are meant for civilians and cargo, not massive aid shipments, the UN office for Humanitarian Affairs spokesperson Aiden O'Leary told a Saturday press briefing. He stressed the painfully slow process of getting wheat through the Karni crossing.

"The problem is that we're operating at Karem Shalom instead of on the conveyor belt at Karni," he said. "If we keep this going, Karem Shalom will be continuously blocked by trucks filled with wheat [rather than allowing medicines, sugar and rice in]. Karni has got to be opened. Wheat grain is not enough."

Similar logistical problems were described at Rafah crossing. "It is a civilian crossing and not equipped for the large number of goods being shipped in," said Akel.

According to UNRWA spokesperson Adnan Abu Hasna, 18-35 trucks a day get through and about 10 percent of that is medical supplies. Before the Israeli airstrikes and ground invasion 750,000 Gazans relied on UNRWA as their main source of food. Recent estimates say as many as 2,000 families are now homeless and are now reliant on aid.

There has been no comment from Israel as to why the Karni crossing in the northern Gaza Strip has not been opened, Ma'an writes.

There are two principal aid distributors in Gaza currently, UNRWA and the Red Crescent Society in Palestine (PRC), news agencies explain. International aid and goods coming in from Rafah are coordinated by the Egyptian Red Crescent and are handed over to their Palestinian counterparts through Rafah. There has been no word on the amount of aid sent through. According to some reports the first three days of the attacks saw 65 tons of relief materials sent into Gaza. The PRC is then responsible for distribution of that aid, which is part food and part medical supplies.

For UNRWA, the largest aid distributor in the Strip, all goods are received through the crossings operated by Israel. UNRWA distributes goods based on a distribution list that depends on being able to contact individual aid recipients when aid is available. With phone companies in Gaza warning of a total collapse of the telecommunications system, distribution may become more difficult, UNRWA says.

The Palestine Red Crescent appears to be handling any international aid sent in via Rafah, including donations of 2,000 units of blood from Jordan, and five ambulances from Turkey, though these were scheduled for delivery to the area since November. UNRWA confirmed that the only goods they have brought in over and above what they have purchased, was some medication donated by the Hashemite fund and the Jordanian Government.

On Sunday Israeli authorities announced that approximately 200,000 litres of fuel will be pumped into Gaza via the Nahal Oz crossing. The industrial diesel will be used to boost reserves at the power station, which supplies about 30 percent of total need when fully operational and is now at half capacity after 10 days of Israeli strikes. The supplies are also said to be destined for "other humanitarian centers."

For reference, 420 thousand litres of industrial diesel gives about 30 hours of electricity from the Gaza plant.

During his situation report UN spokesperson Aiden O'Leary noted "the psychological damage caused by having no access to TV, radio, phones, etc. is real. Infrastructure is breaking down. The isolation caused by the lack of electricity cannot be overstated."

Peoples of the World Rise Up for Gaza

Across the globe, the peoples of the world began the new year by stepping up their opposition to the Zionist aggression being unleashed on the people of Gaza and the Palestinian resistance. For reports and photos of actions across Canada, see TML Daily, January 5, 2009 - No. 3.

A December 27 report from the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign states that "In response to the bombing attacks that have left 205 people dead in Gaza, Palestinians across the West Bank and inside the '48 have organized to protest the crimes. In almost every district, mass marches and clashes have occurred. [...]

"In Ramallah some 5,000 people headed the calls for demonstrations. Part of the demonstrators marched to the old road of el-Bireh, the location of the central offices of the so-called Civil Administration. The road, a site of daily confrontations at the beginning of the Second Intifada, was today again the site of heavy clashes. At the same time, in Qalandiya, the anger of the people erupted into violent confrontations against Occupation forces at the checkpoint.

"Popular demonstrations have occurred in nearly all the communities already organized for weekly actions against the Wall. [...]

"Most of the West Bank's main cities have seen popular actions. In Tulkarm and Nablus, hundreds went out in the streets to protest against the bombings of the Gaza Strip. In Hebron, university students led a mass march towards the old city where they stood up against soldiers and settlers in hours of clashes on Shuhada Street. Even in Jerusalem, people mobilized in demonstrations along Salahuddin Street in the city center and in the villages around the city."

According to the Associated Press, "Palestinian police violently cracked down on protests" in the West Bank. "Security forces particularly focused on anyone carrying Hamas' green flags, a telling indication of Abbas' determination to thwart any challenges to its own rule in the West Bank from Hamas."

"'We will prohibit any signs and slogans that are hostile to the Palestinian Authority, and prohibit incitement,' said Riyad Malki, Palestinian Authority Information Minister. 'Security forces have been instructed to deal with these demonstrations," AP reported.

"In several cases, the Palestinian police stopped protesters from approaching some of the Israeli checkpoints scattered around the West Bank, which youths target with rocks and firebombs," AP wrote. "Demonstrators were shocked to suddenly find themselves clashing with their own police forces. AP quotes Najiyeh Awdeh, a 50-year-old protester: "When I saw the police coming with their batons, I thought of the Jews." Referring to the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), he said, "They also don't deal with people except with clubs and live bullets."

Thousands demonstrated outside the UN headquarters in Beirut. Lebanese riot police fired teargas and water cannons at protesters near the U.S. embassy compound in Awkar, north of Beirut, Agence France Presse reported.

Beirut: Top left, banner reads: "Open Rafah crossing"; mock coffins read: "We are all Gaza"; top right, sign hung on razor wire outside Egyptian embassy: "Their might will break on Gaza's rock of pride."

Egypt

Government Feels Its People's Ire
- Per Bjoerklund*, The Electronic Intifada, January 5, 2009 -

Thousands of Egyptians have taken to the streets to protest the continuing Israeli aggression against Gaza and the participation of the Egyptian regime in the isolation of its population. Last Wednesday, the state responded with a major crackdown in which tens of protestors and journalists were assaulted and arrested.

Around the Arab world, the Egyptian regime has been a target of severe criticism for its continuing role in the ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip and its silence in the face of intense Israeli bombardment of the enclave. Last Tuesday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak responded to the criticism by announcing in a televised speech that the Rafah border crossing will remain closed until the Palestinian Authority led by president Mahmoud Abbas regains control of the Gaza strip -- a statement that only strengthened the impression that Mubarak approves of the Israeli military action against Hamas, perceived by the regime as a natural ally of the internal islamic opposition in Egypt.

While demonstrations in the region have targeted Egyptian embassies the biggest and most serious challenge against Mubarak's policy comes within the country. This week has witnessed a major outburst of anger by Egyptians, with hundreds of thousands taking part in demonstrations in cities and towns all over the country. Protestors have been demanding an opening of the Rafah border, the immediate expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, and the cutting of natural gas exports to Israel. While none of these demands are new, they have gained a new urgency with the recent increase in violence war in Gaza.

For opposition activists, criticism of the Egyptian regime's foreign policy is intimately linked to demands for democratization and social justice in the domestic sphere. "We came here today not only to demand an end to the siege of Gaza, but to demand an end to the regime of the Zionist Muhammad Hosni Mubarak," a socialist activist said during a demonstration held outside the Press Syndicate in Downtown Cairo on Saturday evening. "We all know that the road to the liberation of Palestine is through the liberation of Egypt, which has been occupied by this regime for 28 years!"

Cairo, January 2, 2009

While the protests have been peaceful and, until last Tuesday, largely tolerated by the authorities -- at least in comparison to the regular practice of using massive force to prevent any large scale public protest -- on Wednesday things quickly worsened. Around noon riot police and plainclothes officers laid siege to the central Tahrir ("Liberation") Square where the opposition political movement, the Socialist Alliance, had called for a demonstration outside the headquarters of the Arab League just as Arab foreign ministers were meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza. When a small group of activists gathered in a corner of the square police immediately intervened, briskly shoving journalists and photographers aside and arresting several protestors. Also arrested was a journalist from the left-leaning newspaper al-Badeel. At the same time police broke up a pro-Gaza demonstration in the northern Sinai town of al-Arish, not far from the Gaza border, also arresting a journalist from the same newspaper.

Shortly after that security forces cleared the street outside the Tagammu Party headquarters where party members where shouting pro-Palestinian chants from the balcony. An hour later, the repression turned to the Cairo University, where students had initiated a sit-in outside the main gate. They were soon surrounded by men in civilian clothes, who forced them inside the gates while hundreds of riot police cordoned off the area -- a tactic often used to prevent embarrassing pictures of police beating up students.

The major confrontation of the day, however, took place outside the Lawyers Syndicate, where the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups had called for a huge demonstration in support of Gaza. While the Mubarak regime had tolerated similar protests organized by the Muslim Brotherhood earlier this week -- seemingly on the condition that protestors avoid slogans on domestic issues and especially those aimed directly against the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak -- this time was different. According to eyewitnesses, large numbers of protestors were arrested in surrounding streets before even arriving at the demonstration.

As I arrived to the scene thousands of protestors were blocking Ramses street, a main street in downtown Cairo, chanting "We are all Hamas!" and "With our blood and souls, we sacrifice ourselves for you Palestine!"

"We will continue to protest despite these attempts by the police to scare us, because we have to show the world that we do not approve of the politics of our government," said Mahmoud, a middle-aged Muslim Brotherhood member who took part in the protest. "Egypt is part of an alliance between Washington, Tel Aviv, and Mahmoud Abbas against the Islamic movement of Hamas. Instead of helping the Palestinians, we are supporting the Israelis by selling them gas below market value!"

When plainclothes officers assaulted and arrested several people in the street, dragging them into police pick-ups, several fights erupted between demonstrators and police. Just when it seemed like the security forces might lose control over the situation the demonstration was called off and protestors dispersed peacefully -- adding fuel to recent criticism from some leftist and other opposition activists that the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood is avoiding confrontation and taking a soft stance towards the regime in return for being able to operate freely in the social and economic sphere.

Cairo, January 2, 2009: Riot police attack a demonstration for Gaza.

Immediately after noon prayer on Friday several demonstrations organized by the Muslim Brotherhood outside mosques in downtown Cairo was broken up violently by riot police armed with sticks and batons, who arrested tens of protestors. Daily News Egypt journalist Sarah Carr reported one man being beaten into unconsciousness by four plainclothes police as he was removed from a demonstration outside the Shareyya mosque. Ali Zalat, a journalist from local newspaper al-Masry al-Youm was also taken to hospital with head injuries after being attacked, and police confiscated the memory cards of several photographers covering the protests.

Last time similar confrontations took place in downtown Cairo was when police used tear gas to disperse a large demonstration in solidarity with Gaza during the brief opening of the border last January. Thus, 2008 ended in the same way it started. And it's only appropriate that a year marked by intense labor struggles, including a massive popular uprising against the Mubarak regime in the industrial town of Mahalla in April, should end with a another major outburst of popular anger.

* Per Bjoerklund is a freelance journalist based in Cairo since 2006, covering social protest movements and dissent in Egypt as well as events in the region.

Jordan

Amman

Iraq

Left: Sadr City. Right: Demonstrators in Basra burn photographs of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

Iran

Tehran. Right, protesters burn effigy of Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in front of the British embassy.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Doha, Qatar

Morroco; Tunisia

In Morroco, thousands rallied in the capital Rabat, accusing Arab leaders of having failed the Palestinian people. The demonstrators, about 40,000 according to police estimates, chanted expressions of anger over "the silence of Arab regimes." Protesters also accused Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of having "sold Gaza for [U.S.] dollars."

Algeria

Algiers

Africa

Tanzania; Kenya

Dar es Salaam; Nairobi

South Africa

Johannesburg

Asia

Afghanistan

Kabul

India; Kashmir

Dehli; Srinagar

Pakistan

Karachi; Lahore

Bangladesh

Dhaka

Indonesia

Jakarta; Kuala Lumpur

Europe

England

London

At least 50,000 demonstrators marched through London on January 3 in a militant, colourful and vocal protest against Israeli aggression and to hail the Palestinian resistance. The demonstration was called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Stop the War Coalition, the British Muslim Initiative and many other organizations.

As the demonstration passed Downing Street, protesters threw old shoes into the cordoned-off space in Whitehall in a gesture of contempt at Gordon Brown and the British government for their backing of the Israeli Zionists and their refusal to condemn the Israeli airstrikes or support the right to be of the Palestinian people.

Trafalgar Square was packed for a rally in a way it has not been for some time, with the steps down into the Square crammed with people listening to the angry speeches. Later about 5,000 people gathered to protest outside the Israeli embassy, continuing the pickets there that have been held all week.

France

Paris

In Paris, police said more than 21,000 demonstrators marched through the city. Some of the protests ended in clashes with police and a number of cars were reportedly set on fire. Demonstrations took place in other cities including Lyon and Marseille where thousands also took to the streets.

Marseille

Germany

Berlin; Düsseldorf

In Germany, rallies were held in a number of cities including Berlin, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. Police estimated that the Frankfurt demonstration drew around 10,000 people while 7,000 protested in the German capital. On January 4, more than 4,000 people joined protests outside the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Athens, burning effigies of U.S. President George W. Bush and U.S. President-elect Barack Obama. Earlier in the day, hundreds of protesters marched in the northern city of Thessaloniki, burning U.S. and Israeli flags in front of the U.S. consulate. Thousands also marched in both cities the previous day.

Netherlands;Switzerland

Amsterdam; Bern

Austria; Czech Republic

Vienna; Prague

Italy

Rome. Sign at right reads: "Gaza will not kneel."

Spain

Madrid; Malaga. Sign at right reads: "Stop the genocide in Gaza; Stop the occupation."

Greece; Cyprus

Athens; Nicosia

Turkey

Ankara; Istanbul

Demonstrations also took place in Dublin, Milan, Moscow, Helsinki and in many other cities across Europe.

In New York City on January 3, a huge rally in Times Square stretched from 42nd Street south to 36th Street, along 7th Ave. Buses of people came from throughout the region to join in. Crowd estimates ranged from 25,000 and 30,000. Just before the demonstration started the announcement of the Israeli invasion came over the news wires. A militant march through midtown Manhattan shut down 42nd St., stalled traffic and ended at the Israeli Mission to the UN.

In Boston, some 1500 people took to the streets to protest the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza. Chanting "Free, Free Palestine," "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will Free" and "We Support the Resistance" the demonstrators marched through main shopping area of downtown Boston, stopping at the U.S. military recruiters and the Israeli consulate.

In Atlanta, hundreds turned out for a protest in front of CNN, with two black caskets draped with Palestinian flags, and more than 100 signs with the names of people who have died in the assault.

More than 500 marched in Charlotte, North Carolina, where protesters, with Palestinian and Muslim youth at the forefront, took over downtown Charlotte with a sea of Palestinian flags and energetic chants.

Around 1,000 people stretched across the steps in front of Philadelphia City Hall for a rally targeting U.S. funding for the Israeli war against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Speakers linked budget cuts in Philadelphia that will close 11 libraries to U.S. funding of Israeli bombs being dropped on elementary schools. Behind a lead banner that read "War is Terrorism with a Bigger Budget -- Stop U.S.-Israeli War on Palestinians" demonstrators marched through the Center City shopping area to the Federal Building and FOX News, stopping to explain what the protest was about to passers-by.

(Sources: Workers' Daily, International Action Center, Agence France Presse, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle)

Steadfast Palestinian Resistance

Steadfast Palestinian Resistance

Peoples of the World Rise Up for Gaza

Europe