Necessary Intifada

Intifada or not, something powerful is going on.

Palestinian protesters take position during clashes with Israeli troops near the Jewish settlement of Bet El.

As the student cafeteria at Birzeit University empties after the lunchtime rush, Ehab Iwidat leans back on his chair and sips from a bottle of mineral water. The wiry, 20-year-old business and French student is suffering from a cold, but that has not stopped him from attending some of the recent demonstrations in the West Bank.

"It's the first time in a long time that we've seen this," he says. "I've seen young people, old people, females, males, protesting in the streets together. You can see rich people alongside poor people too."

Like many in the so-called Oslo generation of Palestinians, who have little or no memory of previous Intifadas in Palestine, Iwidat only knows life under occupation as a second-class citizen.

He believes that Israeli restrictions on Palestinian freedom and rights in the West Bank, harassment from Israeli settlers, and the bleak prospects for a peace deal between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders have pushed Palestinians into the streets in recent weeks.

"It's coming from the actions of settlers, who represent Israeli government policy. From burning people alive, humiliating people on a daily basis and restricting Palestinians' freedom movement, to the disrespectful actions at al-Aqsa Mosque."

The protests that have swept Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank this month have seen tens of thousands of Palestinians take to the streets. Men and women of all ages have joined the movement. In some cases, these massive demonstrations have passed peacefully, as protesters massed to chant slogans in unity, demanding solidarity to fight the Israeli military occupation.

Other gatherings have turned violent, as the Israeli military used tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live fire against Palestinian demonstrators throwing rocks and firebombs at Israeli soldiers.

The movement has even given traction to the idea that Palestinians could be on the verge of a new Intifada, or that one may have already begun.

'Day of rage'

Tuesday was declared a "Day of Rage" in Gaza and the West Bank, as thousands of Palestinians protested in refugee camps and at military checkpoints, singing anti-occupation songs and waving Palestinian flags. 

Palestinian citizens of Israel simultaneously took to the streets for a general strike, closing businesses and schools across the country, while tens of thousands gathered for a peaceful rally in Sakhnin, chanting slogans against the Israeli government.

On Wednesday, thousands more attended the funeral of Mutaz Zawahreh, a 27-year-old from the Duheisha refugee camp close to Bethlehem, who was killed in the previous day's clashes with the Israeli military. The protesters again chanted for solidarity and unity to battle Israel's occupation of the West Bank.

Tension has been simmering in Jerusalem over what Palestinians say is Israel's plan to  Judaise the city . This summer, however, it centred on the religious site which houses the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Only Muslims are allowed to pray at the site under the existing status quo, but a broader campaign among religious right-wing Israelis, calling for Jewish prayer to be allowed there followed by storming of al-Aqsa compound for several days by Jewish extremist groups under the protection of the Israeli security forces, has raised concerns among Palestinians that the Israeli government is preparing to alter the access rules in the long term.

However, the idea that the recent protests are motivated by religion is inaccurate, according to the demonstrators themselves.

"I don't look at al-Aqsa as just a religious symbol," said Hala Marshood, a political activist who lives in Jerusalem. "It's a cultural symbol. It's a symbol of our heritage and our Palestinian identity. It's a symbol of our social life. It's a really important place for the Palestinians in Jerusalem and outside of Jerusalem."

At 24, Marshood already has years of experience as an activist behind her. She keeps in touch with other activists in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza via social media networks and helped to organise a recent protest in the city of Nazareth, which was attended by thousands.

"Social media is a really important method to get in touch with youth everywhere," she said. "Facebook is the big one, even though it has its risks. And posters, flyers that we hand out in the neighbourhoods ... Besides that, we use connections that we have with activists in the West Bank, Jerusalem and every area, and we contact to make something united together."

Palestinian protesters throw stones during clashes in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

The unrest escalated after two Israeli settlers were killed on October 1. The Israeli military launched a manhunt for the perpetrators. Those incursions into West Bank towns and villages, marked by night raids on Palestinian homes and widespread arrests, further fuelled the anger and helplessness that many Palestinians feel under military occupation.

So far, the protests have been notable for the lack of obvious political party involvement. Mainstream Palestinian parties - Fatah, Hamas and the PFLP - have remained relatively quiet, while the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has urged protesters to remain peaceful.

"The unique thing about this movement is that the youth are protesting and no one is leading them, no politicians," said Saif al-Islam Duglas, the president of the Birzeit University student council.

"We've organised protests as the student union, but not along political party lines, everyone is coming together."

Within the often highly factional arena of Palestinian student politics, this kind of unity is often lacking. But political protest is nothing new for Palestinians. Many of these young people have attended the weekly demonstrations against the Israeli occupation in the West Bank, which are not organised along party lines.

"Most such waves of protests, whether the short ones or the long ones, are spontaneous and are done by young people without being organised in most of the cases. So it's not exceptional or strange that there are no political organisations that are masterminding this," said Ghassan Khatib, a political analyst at Birzeit University.

Currently the protests show little sign of abating, fuelled in part by fresh incidents of tit-for-tat violence as well as by Israel's excessive use of force and its policy of  extrajudicial killings . The UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged Israel to "seriously review" its use of force, finding "the apparent excessive use of force by Israeli security services" to be "troubling".

As of Saturday evening, 42 Palestinians have been killed in October, the majority at the hands of Israeli forces, while seven Israelis have been killed. If the death toll continues to rise, and the demonstrations grow in numbers, Palestinian political parties will likely come under pressure to increase their involvement.

"This movement needs political leadership," said Issa Amro, a political activist based in the West Bank city of Hebron. "Until now, there has been no political leadership. But it needs political leadership to go on, to organise it … to represent the Palestinian demands."

While political leadership may be required to guide and crystallise the aims of the current movement, it is unclear whether the established Palestinian parties want to lead the movement. While this could create a space for a new generation of leaders to emerge from outside the traditional parties, the movement has been defined to date by an absence of leadership.

A third Intifada?

While Amro believes that the current generation of political leaders is unlikely to take up the cause, he sees an opportunity for junior figures in established parties to take it on.

"I think the first line of leadership is exhausted. But sooner or later, if it continues like this, I believe the second and third line of leadership in the political parties will lead and go on with it."

A Palestinian man prays as Israeli policemen stand nearby during Friday prayers outside Jerusalem's Old City near the Arab East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Wadi al-Joz.

Some of the Palestinian demonstrators have called for an Intifada, while the term has also been used by political and regional analysts. However, it is probably too early to compare the movement with the sustained and widespread Palestinian uprisings that took place in the late 1990s and the early 2000s, according to Khatib.

"If the definition of Intifada includes sustained activities, widespread and popular, then I don't expect that this wave will become an Intifada," he explained. "It's happening mostly in Jerusalem and it's a reaction mainly to Israeli attempts to change the status quo at al-Aqsa Mosque. And it's not spreading all over."

As for the activists, talk of Intifada does not concern them for now. "I don't like labelling it," said Marshood. "[During] the second Intifada, I was really young, and in the first Intifada I wasn't born. What I can say is that we are escalating our protest and there is something very powerful going on."

"Wilson,Nigel" Intifada or not, something powerful is going on. Al-Jazeera. Al-Jazeera English. 27 Oct 2015. 11/16/15.  

                                http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/10/palestine-intifada-powerful-151016094419464.html

Intifada, a word that inspires fear in Jews and hope in Palestinians. As is clearly portrayed in this article which is heavily biased toward Palestine, many Arabs across Israel feel that a Third Intifada is necessary. Some already feel like one is going on, many hope one would bring what they feel are needed changes to the situation. This article was targeted towards Muslims and Palestinians in particular. Personally I would agree with many Palestinians that a Third Intifada is regrettably necessary to change the current status quo in Israel. The nation of Israel portrays itself as the only true democracy in all of the Middle East, yet it shamelessly marginalizes a great part of its population. Let me give some examples, not only is it legal for Israel military to demolish the homes of its own citizens, but they may also shoot stone throwers in the streets. No trial, No due process, simply extrajudicial justice. Because of these facts an Intifada, violent or peaceful as is debated in the article, is necessary to finally let the voice of the Palestinian people be heard.  

Syrian refugees to Poland.

Poland's modest refugee policy proves controversial

Protesters from far right organisations gather during a protest against refugees in Warsaw, Poland 

Wroclaw, Poland - The Polish government's decision to accept 6,800 refugeesfleeing Syria and Eritrea has created a fierce debate dividing Polish society with opponents of the decision dominating the discussion.

Since January, almost 600,000 migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa have reached the shores of Greece and Italy. Poland has agreed to take just 1.1 percent of this number. Nevertheless, this policy has spurred thousands of Poles across the country to take to the streets to participate in anti-refugee marches organised by far-right groups, and to flood social media with comments insulting the mainly Muslim refugees.

Poland's religious and ethnic homogeneity is one factor behind the opposition to assisting refugees. Just  0.1 percent of the country's population consists of foreigners, the smallest percentage in the European Union. Poland also has the heaviest concentration of Catholics in the world with 94 percent of Poles identifying with the religion.

Poland's pledge to accept 2,000 migrants sparks debate

Rafa Kostrzyski, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) spokesperson in Poland, said Polish politicians' opposition to accepting refugees has been another factor stirring up resistance among the general public.

"To me the resentment that has been recently activated has been stimulated mostly by politicians who were either giving xenophobic statements related to the refugee crisis, or seemed to have only a little idea of what they were talking about," Kostrzyski told Al Jazeera.

'Emergence of diseases'

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Poland's largest opposition Law and Justice Party, recently warned refugees from the Middle East could bring dangerous disease and parasites to Poland.

"There are symptoms of emergence of diseases that are highly dangerous and have not been seen in Europe for a long time: cholera on the Greek islands, dysentery in Vienna… There are various types of parasites and protozoa that … are not dangerous in the bodies of these people, [but] could be dangerous here," said Kaczynski.

His comments were heavily criticised in the media and by some of his political opponents. Janusz Palikot, a leader of the left-wing party Your Move, slammedKaczynski's statement as racist and fascist, and notified the public prosecutor of an offence of incitement to ethnic, religious, national or racial hatred, in violation of Polish law.

Nevertheless, a poll recently conducted by the Polish Research Centre found that two-thirds of Poles oppose taking in refugees from the Middle East and North Africa.

"I would kick them [refugees] all out," said an entrepreneur in his mid-30s, who preferred not to give his name. "They will all come here and spread their diseases, bring terrorism and rape our women. I'm considering vaccinating my family against hepatitis."

According to Marta Gorczyska, a lawyer at the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, there are two major reasons behind such staunch anti-migrant views. The first is that media coverage has portrayed Muslims and Islam in a negative light. The second, she said, is that few Poles have met or lived near foreigners because of the country's ethnic homogeneity.

"In everyday life we do not have any contact with refugees, and it's usual that people fear the unknown. It also comes from not being aware of these realities and people," Gorczyska explained.

Witold Waszczykowski, a member of parliament for the Law and Justice Party, said the main issue is integration. 

"These [Arab] communities will demand from Europe to respect the way they are used to living. Only a few people will integrate. We are just afraid that we will have to deal with the same problems related to Muslim existence that some European countries have been facing during the last few years," said Waszczykowski.

'No safe place'

A private initiative called Foundation Estera received approval from the Polish authorities in July to organise the arrival of more than 150 Christian Syrians to Poland. The Syrian families have been assigned to various Christian communities helping them assimilate.

But Polish NGOs accused Foundation Estera of applying discriminatory criteria by choosing refugees of only one religion. Although all of the 150 Syrians were provided shelter and financial support, the spokesperson for Foundation Estera, Przemysaw Kawalec, said more than half moved to Germany.

Among those who stayed is 26-year-old Ehssan, along with his family from Homs in Syria, who agreed to talk to Al Jazeera on the condition that their last names not be used.  

"There is no safe place in Syria now… Fighters used to shoot from the top of the roof of our house. We could see empty bullets falling down on us. We had a plan to run away, but we couldn't make it because of high costs and the danger of travelling by sea," said Ehssan, who lives with his mother, 24-year-old brother and 15-year-old sister in Poland's Lower Silesia region.

In Ehssan's opinion, successful integration depends on the will of both sides, and it can take a long time. His own efforts to assimilate have already started paying off - he has been employed by an airline in Poland.

Although he and his loved ones are surrounded by a community assisting them in settling in Poland, Ehassan has met other Poles who are not as keen on foreigners living in the country.

"Sometimes people give you a different look in the bus and don't want to sit beside you. It happened. I can't blame them, because some Syrians did really bad things," said Ehssan.

However, these negative experiences have not put him off from getting engaged in helping the 6,800 refugees expected to arrive in Poland between 2016 and 2017, as part of EU and UNHCR relocation and resettlement programmes.

"I really want to help because we lost our first home. I don't want us to lose our second home. I believe that a lot of steps can be taken to improve the situation. We are all human beings and everyone deserves to be given a chance," said Ehssan.

"Poland's modest refugee policy proves controversial" Al-Jazeera English. Al-Jazeera. 11/11/2015. 11/11/2015. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/11/poland-modest-refugee-policy-proves-controversial-151101102513587.html

This article was interesting to me for two reasons. I have a personal connection to Poland and it also examines existing racism and Islamaphobia in the country. Though the publishers of this article are Islamic in background this particular article did not seem very biased, it presented the information objectively and fairly. The article was aimed at European and Middle-Eastern readers. In my own opinion I think that those who are protesting rising immigration in Poland are somewhat justified. Even though I do not agree with their racism I do think that they have cause to worry as Muslims in general do not integrate well into Western nations when they arrive in large numbers. I have visited Poland and myself experienced the sideways looks, and racist gestures or words. I do believe that Poles should become more tolerant of other ethnic backgrounds and I believe that they too must play a part in the providing asylum for refugees. However, I think there should be initiative taken too make sure that the refugees that Poland accepts are like the 150 families it recently accepted; Christian. Because of the homogeneous demographic of Poland, I think it would be unwise too send a large number of Muslims to that specific nation. 

Chinese Aviation

First China-made passenger jet leaves production line

State-owned COMAC's first 158-seated narrow body jet is meant to rival similar plane models by Airbus and Boeing.

Comac says it has already received orders from 21 customers for a total of 517 aircraft 

More to this story

• First 'made in China' passenger jet unveiled

The first plane produced by a Chinese government initiative to compete in the market for large passenger jetliners has been unveiled in Shanghai.

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) showed off its twin-engine C919 in a ceremony on Monday attended by some 4,000 government officials and other guests at a hangar near the Pudong International Airport.

China's aviation market is growing fast but relies on Boeing and Airbus aircraft.

The ruling Communist Party wants to claw back some of the commercial benefits that flow to foreign suppliers.

Dependence on Boeing and Airbus

For China, the plane represents at least seven years of efforts in a state-mandated drive to reduce dependence on European consortium Airbus and Boeing of the United States, and even compete against them.

"China's air transport industry cannot completely rely on imports. A great nation must have its own large commercial aircraft," the country's civil aviation chief Li Jiaxiang told an audience of government and industry officials.

A small truck towed the 39-metre long plane - painted white with a green tail - out of a cavernous building decorated with an enormous Chinese flag into the sunlight as project workers marched alongside, an AFP news agency journalist saw.

"The roll out of the first C919 aircraft marks a significant milestone in the development of China's first indigenous aircraft," COMAC chairman Jin Zhuanglong told the ceremony.

The aircraft, which has a range of up to 5,555 kilometres, will make its first test flight in 2016, he said - meaning that it will miss the original deadline of this year.

The China Daily newspaper has reported the maiden voyage could even be put back to 2017.

China has dreamed of building its own civil aircraft since the 1970s when Jiang Qing, leader Mao Zedong's wife and a member of the notorious "Gang of Four", personally backed an attempt to do so. But the Y-10's heavy weight made it impractical and only three were ever made.

Although the C919 is made in China, foreign firms are playing key roles by supplying systems as well as the engines, which are made by CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric (GE) of the US and France's Safran.

More than 500 orders

Spending on the C919 has not been revealed. Last month, the Export-Import Bank of China said it would provide state-owned COMAC with $7.9bn in finance for its aircraft projects.

The company already has orders for 517 of its C919 planes, according to a COMAC statement, almost all of them from domestic buyers. Among foreign customers, Thailand's City Airways has ordered 10, according to an announcement last month.

But it will take years for the C919 to be delivered to customers, with the plane expected to enter service in 2019 at the earliest, industry officials said.

"There's a lot of work to do still," said Briand Greer, president for Asia-Pacific of Honeywell Aerospace, which is supplying four key systems for the C919: flight control, wheels and brakes, auxiliary power units and navigation.

"A lot of testing, a lot of flight testing, systems integration testing and of course all the certification," he told AFP.

COMAC has already developed a smaller regional jet, the ARJ, in a project which is years behind schedule.

Test flights

The 78-90 seat ARJ is still undergoing test flights and lacks the crucial certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration that would enable it to fly in US skies.

The Chinese company also plans a wide body plane, the C929, in cooperation with Russia's United Aircraft Corp., and speculation is mounting China will create a new aero-engine entity to try to produce the powerful jets needed for large civil aircraft.

China is expected to add 6,330 new aircraft worth $950bn to its commercial fleet by 2034, Boeing stimates.

The single-aisle C919 targets the lucrative segment dominated by Boeing's 737 and the Airbus A320.

"Research and manufacturing of a big plane is complex," said China's Vice Premier Ma Kai, the highest government leader attending the ceremony. "There is still a long way to go to commercial operation."

" First China-made passenger Jet leaves production line." Al- Jazeera. Al-Jazeera English. 11/2/15. 11/3/15 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/china-passenger-jet-leaves-production-line-151102054428051.html

Even though their stock market is slumping, the Chinese economy is still diversifying and growing. That is what this article is saying, to me it did not seem to have much of a bias , the media publisher Al-Jazeera is usually quite unbiased. It is interesting to see this new development in the Chinese aviation industry as it reflects the Chinese governments wish to engage in all areas and strata of the global economy. It also shows other nations willingness to engage in trade with China, as the article talks about over 500 planes being ordered by about a dozen different companies. This article was targeted at either plane enthusiasts or just the general public.