<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Gaza Protesters Prepare for March 15&nbsp;&#8211;]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><span class="marron">By Pam Bailey</span> |  IPS ipsnews.net<br />
<span class="texto1"><br />
<strong>GAZA CITY, Feb 27, 2011  (IPS) &#8211; A look at the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings that succeeded in ousting long- entrenched dictators confirms a universal truth: it is the youth who are leading  the way in forcing reform in the Middle East.</strong></p>
<p>In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, particularly the troubled Gaza Strip,  youth are a potential ticking time bomb. Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip  make up the biggest segment of society, with more than half of the 1.8  million inhabitants under 18 years of age.</p>
<p>Like their compatriots in Tunisia and Egypt, Palestinians of Gaza have been  inhibited from fully participating in shaping their future by an autocratic,  often oppressive government – one that has not held free elections since  2006.</p>
<p>Unlike youth elsewhere, though, they are struggling under an additional layer  of restriction – a four-year-long blockade imposed by Israel with the  cooperation of Egypt.</p>
<p>Talal Okal, a Gazan political columnist who has written for Palestine’s Al Yam  newspaper for 15 years and Dubai’s Al Bayam for five, said through an  interpreter, &#8220;Even before the events that split our government and pit Hamas  and Fatah against each other, youth weren’t well organized. They didn’t get  much support from outside, or inside. The political factions were only  interested in using them as employees or fighters.&#8221;</p>
<p>After the schism in 2006, the situation worsened. Youth groups previously  licensed by the Fatah-led government in the Gaza Strip were dissolved by the  new Hamas administration, and communication with the West Bank was  effectively severed as Israel imposed its blockade.</p>
<p>In the wake of the 2008/2009 Israeli invasion, however, new youth groups  started to come to life, even as Hamas shut down the oldest, called the Sharek  Youth Forum.  Now, as &#8220;revolution fever&#8221; sweeps the region, Gazan youth are  feeling a new energy.</p>
<p>An attempted &#8220;Day of Dignity&#8221; on Feb. 11 – called by an anonymous, pro- Fatah group to protest Hamas restrictions – was disbanded before it ever  really began. Suspected organizers were interrogated, and police blanketed  the street corners.</p>
<p>However, a broader coalition of youth has now coalesced around plans for a  March 15 sit-in, demanding that Hamas and Fatah halt their propaganda  campaign against each other, include all Palestinian factions in a restructured  PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization), force their senior representatives in  the two governments (West Bank and Gaza) to resign their posts, and call new  elections after agreeing to work together.</p>
<p>&#8220;Abu Yazan,&#8221; the nickname adopted by a 24-year-old student who is one of  the leaders of GYBO (Gaza Youth Break Out) and one of the organizers, has  been in touch with Palestinian youth leaders in the West Bank, Lebanon,  Jordan and even as far away as France, and similar sit-ins are being planned  there.</p>
<p>&#8220;We aren’t going to leave until they meet our demands,&#8221; he says, adding that  he and his co-organizers are reaching out to the leaders of the Egyptian  protests for advice. &#8220;People here are so depressed about the two political  movements. We want one government, one security system. Put everyone on  the election books and those who are clean will stay.&#8221;</p>
<p>Not all youth in Gaza like the idea of protesting against Palestinians’ own  governments, saying the real enemy is Israel. Mohammed Herzallah, 21, a  coordinator of Soora &#8211; at two years old, one of the oldest and largest youth  groups in Gaza – says, &#8220;The best thing for youth to do now is to focus on our  biggest problem – the siege. Yes, we have internal problems, but we need to  stay focused on our most enduring threat.&#8221;</p>
<p>He, like many others, believes that the division within the Palestinian  community is encouraged by Israel, and thus the occupation must end before  unity can truly be achieved and sustained.</p>
<p>Abu Yazan and other youth leaders, however, insist that unity is required to  effectively resist the occupation and that political reform would significantly  improve quality of life in the meantime. The slogan for the March 15 event is  &#8220;End the division. One people against zionism.&#8221;</p>
<p>Gazan youth groups are near unanimous in their support of the Palestinian  Authority’s call for elections, although – as Abu Yazan points out – that will  be impossible until the two parties reach some kind of unity agreement.  Hamas has come out firmly against Fatah’s plan for September elections, and  without its participation, they would be a farce.</p>
<p>Ali Abdul Bari, a 24-year-old leader of Esha (Wake Up), a liberal, secular  group devoted to promoting human rights, tells a story to illustrate just how  deep the divide is.  His group posted a sign demanding elections near the  destroyed Palestinian Parliament building in downtown Gaza City. It was  removed by Hamas 90 minutes later, despite the permit they had obtained.  Later, many group members were interrogated or had their backgrounds  checked.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have taken what happened with Hamas and Fatah as a lesson,&#8221; says  Safwan Thabet, 22, a member of the youth group Genesis. &#8220;If given the  chance, we will stay unified. We are all Palestinians. If any conflict happens  again over an election, there can’t be any killing; we will just throw flowers.&#8221;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, there is broad agreement that the blockade against Gaza is the  primary cause of their suffering. Many youth leaders interviewed are not  optimistic that the regime change in Egypt will reverse its longstanding  collaboration with Israel’s blockade of Gaza. &#8220;The military (in Egypt) have  already said they will honour all prior international agreements,&#8221; observes  Mohammed Ashekh Yousef, 22, a leader with the youth group Fikra (idea).</p>
<p>Bari is more optimistic. &#8220;Soon, Egypt will have elections and the people who  made the revolution will elect representatives to control the government. They  are Arabs and Muslims and will support us in our call for freedom.&#8221;</p>
<p>He adds that the Palestinians must be clear, however, that what they want is  not more aid, but independence and freedom. &#8220;The media talk about Gaza as  a centre of starvation, but that’s not true. What we are lacking is our freedom:  We have a sea, but we can’t use it. We have air, but we aren’t allowed to build  an airport. We want to be able to depend on ourselves. And it’s not just Gaza;  we want to be part of Palestine.&#8221;  (END)</span></p>
<p><a href="http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54637">MIDEAST: Gaza Protesters Prepare for March 15 &#8211; IPS ipsnews.net</a>.</p>
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