Gaza Convoy 2009 - Viva Palestina

Viva Palestina Convoy - some of the team.

Viva Palestina Convoy update:
Mudasir Saeed sent a message to the members of Gaza Convoy 2009.
Subject: Day 8 - When the people lead, the leaders will follow

The mile-long convoy of 100 plus vehicles and 315 drivers and peace activists today drive through the Moroccan/Algerian border in what is supposed to be a low key event, but the significance of that small journey can not be over estimated. Today’s border crossing will be recorded in the history books.

Morocco and Algeria agreed to put aside their differences to open their land border for the first time in 15 years for the sake of Palestine.

This wonderful gesture is something Condaleezza Rice failed to persuade the neighbouring countries to do - her last attempt before the departure of George W Bush was made in September.

But the peace mission and genuine humanitarian nature of the Viva Palestina convoy has melted the hearts of those on both sides of this vital land border. Despite their difference both sides have stepped aside for their mutual love and affection for the people of Palestine and, in particular to show their solidarity to the people of Gaza.

It is an astonishing gesture and both countries are to be congratulated on this generous move.

Another fine example of when people lead, the leaders will follow.

****NEWS FLASH*******

21:00 GMT…Update from the A Team…..

The convoy have been at the Algerian Border since early this morning. There have been thorough thorough thorough oh and did i mention thorough checks made by customs!!!!!. Whilst on the phone to Naveed, the loud cheering by the Algerian people could be heard. Naveed reported that hundreds of Algerians have been waiting eagerly just outside the border since dawn to recieve the convoy, but the convoy has been continuously stalled by the police with different excuses given every hour. The drivers fear that they will be made to travel in the dark of night.

There is a growing suspician that the authorities want to minimise public exposure of the convoy, to avoid public pressure on its government to provide humanitarian aid to the palestinians. It appears that the Moroccan Government may have shared this motive, when they provided a police escort to the convoy. At first the drivers felt that the police escort was a novelty. But the police avoided the planned original route in Morocco where rallies had been organised such as that in Casablanca.

Despite the interventions of certain governments and the lack of interest by the mainstream media, it is encouraging to see that people know and seek the truth about Palestine. Whatever maybe the agenda of the governments, what is certain is that the people’s hearts and minds are all in support of the Palestinian cause. And that Freedom to Palestine is no longer an Islamic or Arabic issue – its now an issue of right or wrong between justice and injustice, weather you are a Muslim, Jew, Christian or any other religion, faith or background. Viva Palestina!!!

Subject: Quick Update on Day 8

How a negative can turn into a positive…..

February 22nd, 2009
21st February 2009

Inital reports showed the Algerian authorities were somewhat stalling the convoy at the border, and indeed this was the case. however I have just learnt that after all the comotion, delays and checks, the convoy crossed the border and the Algerian authorities have provided fuel to fill up the vehicles. Im sure if the likes of Shell, BP or Esso advertised that they would provide free fuel for any cars that came through their stations, hundreds of us would gladly queue, many throughout the night to benefit from a full tank of fuel, on the house.

In this instance we are talking about free fuel for not one but many vehicles all on the house courtesy of Algeria just outside Maghnia!

It just goes to show, some things that start off negative can lead to a positve outcome…..

TEXT UPDATE: Naveed from the A Team 00:25 (GMT)

"Salaam we went through centre and hundreds of people here, it was amazing as its somthing we have never seen before. There were hundreds of people on the streets cheering. We were on the roof of our van, hanging off the back ladder with Mudasir tannoy. It was top, even the police are cheering 'Allah Hu Akbar'. The youths, kids and men were hugging us...a 15yr old boy told me that even the muslims who drink came on the street to shout 'Allah Hu Akbar' and they make dua for us everyday to succeed.
We have come to a caravan site to sleep now"

More update: by Farid Arada from Viva palestina Web Site
14.00 GMT
Sunday 22nd February
After spending the night in a caravan park, the convoy set off this morning at 08.30 towards the city of CHLEF(click map). Under police and gendarme escort,they hit some major trafic problems en route which slowed the pace down.They stopped on a couple of occasions for some rest. They are hoping to get to Chlef before dark.Then in the morning they will head for Algiers.I am told that they are bypasing the major cities to avoid congestion.

Link: Viva Palestina
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Viva Palestina: Gaza Convoy 2009 - Facebook Update

Viva Palestina: Gaza Convoy 2009 - Facebook Update.

Day 1: The Journey Begins

A huge convoy of more than 100 vehicles snaked its way out of London on route to Gaza, where more than £1 million-worth of aid, including a boat, several ambulances and a fire engine, will be delivered.

Later that night, the show-stopping convoy rolled off a freight ferry in Ostend to embark on a historic mission of mercy to help the Palestinian people.

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Day 2: Mayor of Bordeaux greets convoy

After spending a gruelling night in sub-zero temperatures, the convoy made its way to the french city of Bordeaux where it was met with a very warm reception by the mayor and the people.
The city has kindly provided a sports hall for our brave brits to camp in for the night..an appreciated break by all I'm sure, especially those suffering from arachnophobia :

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Day 3: Post From George Galloway Daily Record

"My mile-long convoy of aid to Gaza has snaked across the Pyrenees into the Basque country and the splendours of St.Sebastian.

Tonight we hit Madrid, where no less than the Prime Minister of Spain awaits our arrival at the steps of the Cortes (Editor: And the Prime Minister of the UK??).

The police will have cleared the roads for a triumphal entry of now nearly 150 vehicles, over 300 Brits, more than one mile long."

Link: Gaza Convoy 2009 Facebook Group
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Not as easy as it sounds by Yvonne Ridley

Not as easy as it sounds by Yvonne Ridley.

If you ever thought travelling in a convoy was easy, think again.

This latest drive from Bordeaux in France to Madrid via San Sebastian in Spain was back-breaking and some of the vehicles just simply gave up ... unlike their drivers.

The indomitable spirit, true grit and determination of those on board Viva Palestina refused to be beaten by mere mechanical failures and set backs which challenge long distance travellers.
Tool kits, spare parts and willing hands were in evidence everywhere, along with lashings of wonderful hot tea brewed by a man wearing a bright red Fez.

I'm not sure what time the main body of the convoy rolled up to a sports hall on the outskirts of Madrid but it is now 3am (gmt) on Tuesday and I know scores of my fellow travellers are still on the road.

Unable to face the challenges of the steep hills, some have simply headed south to the ferry where they will wait for the rest of us to catch up.

Spirits were lifted in San Sebastian when all the vehicles pulled in to a giant car park where they were greeted by George Galloway, MP, the mastermind behind Viva Palestina. We'll all be back up in a few hours time to get the latest news and developments planned en route from George.

There's still a long way to go, but as I talked to the group it is quite clear that the focus is Gaza and each and every one on board is determined to reach the Palestinians there.

"It's that focus which keeps us going. We do feel like moaning, and it's only Day Three but we get our inspiration from each other and from the example set by the Palestinians.

"Let's face it, they could have given up a long time ago but their determination to rebuild their shattered lives feeds our determination to help them," said one man from Birmingham which is represented by 20 vehicles on the convoy."

Another morale booster, they say, has been Press TV's coverage on both the website and TV news which has been avidly watched by the families, friends and supporters in Britain as well as across the world.

No other media outlet has been on the convoy since Day 1 apart from Press TV which is becoming the first station of choice for viewers tuning in to Sky 515 and other satellites in search of news without spin.

The reason for me filing this particular report to you so late?

Well the Press TV crew also suffered a malfunction - our GPS system went down and yours truly did the navigating from Bordeaux to San Sebastian. I knew confidence in my map reading skills collapsed when our technical engineer Omid Gharbifard began using his compass and the position of the stars!

The good news is that we now have a replacement electronic navigating system in place and Omid has already keyed in the final destination ... Gaza City.

So, can we do it? In the words of a certain Mr Obama: "Yes we can."
* Yvonne Ridley will be giving regular updates from the convoy for the duration of the trip. Her website is www.yvonneridley.org

Link: Viva Palestina
Link: pictures - Convoy leaving London
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Viva Palestina aid convoy for Gaza off to flying start

Watch out for the boat in the video!

Press release:

Viva Palestina aid convoy for Gaza off to flying start

In an extraordinary and unprecedented spectacle, 102 vehicles gathered in Hyde Park at noon on Saturday before setting off with aid supplies to Gaza. The convoy included 18 ambulances, a fire engine, a boat and two buses.

The convoy was given a rousing send off by veteran politician Tony Benn and by George Galloway who will be joining the convoy today.

The total aid on the convoy is etimated at over a million pounds. Last night they were given a civic reception in Bordeaux. Today they travel to a rally in San Sebastian before going on to a rock concert for Gaza in Madrid.They will then cross to Morocco via Tarifa and then travel across North Africa through Algeria and Libya before entering Egypt. Many more supporters from Britain are travelling out to join the convoy in Cairo around 6th March. The convoy will then head on to Gaza.

Press: For more information, comment, etc, phone Rob Hoveman on 07507 600561

Link: More video
Link: Follow the Convoy on Twitter
Link: Viva Palestina web site
Link: Respect
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Aid Convoy leaving London for Gaza

Aid Convoy leaving London for Gaza

George Galloway MP, Yvonne Ridley and hundreds of British volunteers are driving an aid convoy of over 100 donated vehicles packed with practical aid to Gaza leaving from outside the Houses of Parliament, London on Saturday the 14th February. This remarkable convoy will be over a mile long and carry a million pounds of aid raised in just four weeks.

Volunteers will drive the donated vehicles from all over Britain to Westminster on Valentine’s Day to form the convoy which will then drive almost 5,000 miles together through France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt where they will cross the border at Rafah into Gaza on the 2nd March.

The convoy includes a fire engine, 12 ambulances, a boat and trucks filled with medicines, cash, tools, clothes, blankets, and shoe-boxes filled with gifts for children. All this and more has been by donated by communities across the country.

George Galloway said, “No-one will send a vehicle that is not filled with items including pyjamas, clothes and blankets. Millions of people in this country care deeply, and we are going to show that.”

Each person travelling on the convoy is a self-financed British volunteer. The vehicles will be left with the people of Gaza; volunteers will fly home to the UK. Thousands of pounds cash has been fundraised and collections for donated goods and fundraising events are still taking place all over Britain.

The effort is being co-ordinated by the campaign group Viva Palestina and is supported by the Stop the War Coalition, the Anglo-Arab Organisation, several British trade unions and a large number of Muslim organisations. George Galloway MP and journalist Yvonne Ridley will lead the convoy from London across France and Spain then North Africa to enter Gaza via the Rafah crossing.

Please help us by making a financial contribution to help purchase further aid in Egypt.

In their darkest hour the people of Gaza must not be forgotten. Viva Palestina!

Now read this:
100 vehicles and £1million in aid

Link: Viva Palestina
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Respect is holding a public meeting jointly with the Socialist Party on the lessons of the Lindsey Oil Refinery strikes.

Respect is holding a public meeting jointly with the Socialist Party on the lessons of the Lindsey Oil Refinery strikes.

The meeting is at Friends Meeting House, London (opposite Euston station) this Friday 13 February at 7pm.

Jerry Hicks (left candidate for Unite general secretary and Respect National Committee member) will be speaking alongside SP member Keith Gibson, who was a member of the LOR strike committee.

Link: Jerry Hicks For General Secretary
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Tube staff anger as pay docked for snow day

Tube staff anger as pay docked for snow day by Jenny Booth - The Times

London Underground ticket office and platform staff vented their anger today after being told they will not be paid for failing to turn up for work last Monday when the capital was snowbound.

London’s bus network was suspended and Tubes were disrupted because of the extreme weather, which forced millions of workers - an estimated one in five - to stay at home across the UK.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) said its 4,000 members in ticket offices and in other grades on LU have been told they must claim last Monday as unpaid leave or a day out of their annual holidays.

The ruling, from LU's human resources department, affects mainly office and platform staff. Drivers are not included, and it is understood that managers who worked from home last Monday have been told that they will be paid.

Union reps will meet this morning and will hold talks with managers later amid growing anger against LU bosses and London Mayor Boris Johnson, although a spokesman said that it was premature to talk of strike action.

“We think this is gross hypocrisy on the Mayor’s part,” said Manuel Cortes, assistant general secretary of the TSSA.

“He cancels all the buses and most of the Tube and urges Londoners not to risk trying to get to work in the worst snowstorm for a generation.

“So our members could not get in because Boris had effectively halted all public transport because the main line trains weren’t running either.

“Yet here he is wanting to penalise them because of his own actions. It is unfair and he should tell Transport for London to stop being so mean to its loyal staff.”

Link: Freezing Britain braced for more misery - The Times
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Turkey Probes Israel's Gaza War Crimes

Never forget!

Turkey Probes Israel's Gaza War Crimes

A Turkish state prosecutor has launched an investigation into claims of Israeli crimes against humanity and genocide during a recent deadly offensive in the Gaza Strip.

"We submitted the complaint against those who we could prove were in some way responsible for giving orders for the attack on Gaza," Meryem Sari, an attorney of the Mazlum-Der rights group, which submitted the complaint, told Reuters on Friday, February 6.

The group accuses 19 Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak of committing genocide and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

"The complaint asks that Turkey be given the right to try the people mentioned," said Sari.

The investigation was launched under Article 13 of the Turkish Penal Code, which allows Turkish courts to try those charged with committing genocide and torture, even if the crime was perpetrated in another country.

Israeli troops killed more than 1,350 Palestinians, half of them women and children, and injured 5,450 others in 22 days of air, sea and land attacks in Gaza.

Foreign and Arab doctors documented abnormal injuries suffered by the civilian population of Gaza, accusing Israel of using banned weapons.

Several international rights groups, including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, have accused Israel of using banned weapons against the densely-populated coastal enclave of 1.6 million.

A coalition of 350 European and Arab civil society organizations has filed a lawsuit with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israel over war crimes in Gaza.

Last month, a Spanish judge launched a war crime investigation into Israeli officials over a deadly attacks in Gaza in 2002, which killed 14 civilians, including nine children.

Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country that belongs to NATO and has an official policy of secularism, has close military, commercial and diplomatic ties with Israel.

But ties have been strained since Israel launched its deadliest-ever onslaught in Gaza.

Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stormed off during a panel discussion in the World Economic Forum in Davos telling Israeli President Shimon Peres "you know very well how to kill".

(IslamOnline.net and Agencies) via Palestine Chronicle

Link: Jerusalem, the Schizophrenic by Joharah Baker
Link: Gaza: The New Siege Mechanism by Nicola Nasser
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Hamas Leader Says Israel Blocks Gaza Truce

War Crimes. IDF in Gaza.

Hamas Leader Says Israel Blocks Gaza Truce - Palestine Chronicle

Hamas will reject a long-term truce with Israel being mediated by Egypt unless the deal includes lifting the blockade on the Gaza Strip, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said on Friday.

Addressing a rally in Damascus, Meshaal said Hamas has only received "vague" proposals from Egypt without an Israeli commitment to lift the siege, which Hamas regards as an illegal collective punishment on Gaza's 1.5 million population.

"The enemy has yet to offer a lifting of the blockade and a reopening of the border crossings. They have given no guarantee and we will not agree to any truce except in exchange for a lifting of the blockade and a reopening of the crossings."

Meshaal, whose speech was aired on Syrian state television, told more than 1,000 supporters that Hamas emerged "victorious" from Israel's deadly offensive that killed more than 1,300 Palestinians and wounded 5,000 others.

"It is the first real war that the Palestinians won," he said.

Resuming Cairo Talks

Hamas officials are due to return to Cairo on Saturday to give a final reply to proposals to reach an 18-month truce with Israel after its invasion of Gaza, which was halted last month.

Egypt has been brokering indirect talks with Israel and the Palestinians on consolidating the ceasefires into a lasting truce.

Egyptian state news agency MENA reported on Thursday that a Hamas delegation was due on Saturday to give to Egyptian mediators a final response on a proposed long-term truce.

Hamas officials from both Gaza and the exiled leadership in Damascus held two days of talks in Cairo with Omar Suleiman, Egypt's pointman for Israel-Palestinian affairs.

Slamming PLO

Meshaal also slammed anew the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is headed by his rival Mahmud Abbas, who is also president of the Palestinian Authority, saying its "institutions have lost their legitimacy years ago."

Last week Meshaal said the PLO -- the historic Palestinian umbrella that does not include Hamas and the Islamic Jihad -- had become obsolete and called for "a new, national authority."

"Institutions that are opposed to resistance ... are illegal," Meshaal told Friday's crowds in Damascus.

"How much longer must we wait for you to reform the PLO and to allow in Hamas and the Islamic Jihad," Meshaal said.

His remarks put the spotlight again on the protracted Hamas-Fatah feud, which has prevailed since Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in June 2007 after ferocious street battles with Abbas loyalists.

Last Sunday, in a reference to Meshaal, Abbas ruled out talks with any group that does recognize the PLO's legitimacy.

(Alarabiya.net and Agencies) via Palestine Chronicle

Link: Israel Releases Seized Lebanese Aid Ship - PC
Link: Egypt Reseals Rafah Crossing with Gaza - PC
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Victory for the women's camp - Morning Star

FREEDOM TO EXPRESS: The Aldermaston women celebrating outside the High Court on Thursday. Lord Justice Wall said he was unimpressed with government arguments to ban their peace camp.pic: AWC.

Victory for the women's camp by Louise Nousratpour - Morning Star

ANTI-NUCLEAR campaigners were celebrating on Thursday after senior judges quashed a special "no camping" by-law which could have put an end to their famous women's peace camp.

In a unanimous verdict, the Court of Appeal rejected the Defence Secretary's arguments, saying: "Rights worth having are unruly things."

Lord Justice Wall said that he was unimpressed with government arguments that the prohibition on camping was merely a means of redirecting the protest and not extinguishing it.

"This is a case about freedom of expression under the the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) article 10 and freedom of association and assembly under article 11," he ruled.

The judge also ruled that there was "no evidence" that the protest was incompatible with the running of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), which produces and stores Britain's nuclear weapons.

Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Aldermaston Women's Peace Camp (AWPC) spokeswoman Sian Jones hailed the ruling as "not only a victory for the women's peace camp but an important judgement on the right to protest.

"This gives us renewed energy to carry on our opposition to the government's plans for development of a new generation of nuclear weapons at Aldermaston."

The by-law took effect in May last year and banned "camping in tents, caravans, trees or otherwise" near the AWE.

Members of the AWPC, led by peace veteran Kay Tabernacle, lost their case at the High Court when they argued that the prohibition amounted to an unlawful interference with rights guaranteed under the ECHR.

But Lord Justice Laws, Lord Justice Wall and Lord Justice Stanley Burnton ruled in favour of the camp protesters yesterday, arguing that the government had not shown that there was a "pressing social need" for the by-law.

Speaking after the judgement, Ms Tabernacle accused the Ministry of Defence of "23 years of harassment, evictions and false arrest."

Despite this, "women have continued their long-standing protest against Britain's weapons of mass destruction because we knew we must speak out against nuclear weapons," she proudly declared.

Gavin Sullivan of Public Interest Lawyers, who represented Ms Tabernacle, called the result "a landmark legal victory affirming the fundamental right to protest in the face of the government's widespread attempts to criminalise legitimate political dissent."

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) chairwoman Kate Hudson welcomed the "excellent news, not only for those wanting to protest against the madness of spending £76 billion replacing Trident but for everyone who wants to see the right to peaceful protest upheld.

"Ordinary people expressing themselves through peaceful protest has been the driving force behind social progress in Britain for hundreds of years."

Ms Hudson also welcomed Prime Minister Gordon Brown's decision to revoke the ban on protests around Westminster when he took office. But she added: "There is still a wave of repressive legislation, from by-laws and restrictions drawn up by local police, right up to acts of Parliament which all need to be reversed if we are to see the health of democracy in this country restored."

Campaigners urged supporters to join them on the peace camp on Friday evening and on Sunday afternoon.

Link: CND
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VIVA PALESTINA CONVOY T-SHIRT NOW OUT!

VIVA PALESTINA CONVOY T-SHIRT NOW OUT!

'Viva Palestina' T-shirt in support of the Aid to Palestine convoy of 100 vehicles which leaves London on Saturday 14 February for Gaza. A popular internationalism of material aid and practical solidarity at its best, reminiscent of the 'Aid to Spain' movement of the 1930s.

The brilliant design features 'A Lifeline from Britain to Gaza' in Arabic on the front, on the back the convoy's route, London to Gaza via Belgium, France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and through Rafah into Gaza. JUST £16.99!

Profits helps fund and promote Viva Palestina. The shirts will be worn by the drivers and crew on the convoy get yours from www.philosophyfootball.com

Link: More details
Link: Viva Palestina Web Site
Full Story - order yours now.

Badges for Palestine

Rob Marsden has produced a small range of badges as a fundraiser for the aid convoy.

The badges are 38mm diameter, metal with plastic backs and metal safety pins.

5p from each badge sold will go to the aid convoy and Rob is trying to produce them cheaply enough so that they can be sold on demos and at meetings to raise more money.

The prices are:
25 badges - £7.50
50 badges - £13.50
100 badges - £23.50 and £2.00 for each additional 10 badges.

All include postage and packaging.

Anyone interested should email Rob at kazeliot@hotmail.com

In addition to designs pictured, Rob can also produce badges to order for Respect branches and campaigns.

Link: Respect
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Strikers defy arctic storm by JAMES TWEEDIE - Morning Star

Strikers defy arctic storm by JAMES TWEEDIE - Morning Star.

UNOFFICIAL strikes against EU-sanctioned "social dumping" spread across Britain on Monday, hitting three power stations amid freezing snowstorms.

Workers braved arctic blizzards to maintain picket lines at the Lindsey oil refinery at Killingholme in North Lincolnshire, while the unfortunate bobbies sent to police them resembled snowmen by midday.

Contract workers at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria, Heysham nuclear power station in Lancashire and Staythorpe power station near Newark in Nottinghamshire were among those taking unofficial action for the first time.

Around 700 contractors at the Grangemouth oil refinery in central Scotland, who took unofficial action on Friday, walked out again yesterday, although they voted to return to work today.

The dispute centres on the refusal of an Italian subcontracting firm at Lindsey to offer jobs to local workers.

More than 1,000 workers gathered for a mass meeting at Killingholme on Monday and voted unanimously to allow the union to start talks with management.

Unite member Keith Gibson told the crowd: "I think there should be a call for industrial action right around this country to make the government aware of how we feel and how we're not prepared to let this industry go to the dogs.

"I call on every trade unionist around this country in the construction industry to come out on official action."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown had claimed that the strikes were "counterproductive."

But refinery worker Kenny Ward warned: "If the Prime Minister will not defend the working man, if Parliament will not defend the working man, then the union will defend the working man."

A small group of protesters later gathered about 100 yards from the Forest Pines Hotel, near Scunthorpe, where "talks about talks" brokered by conciliation service ACAS were taking place between French oil giant Total, which owns the Lindsey refinery, unions Unite and GMB and Jacobs, the main contractor at the site.

Total claimed: "It has never been the policy to discriminate against British companies or British workers."

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: "I hope, in the light of that, people will be reassured and call off these unofficial disputes."

The former EU commissioner claimed that, under EU law, companies had the right to subcontract work to those firms "best suited" for the job.

But GMB general secretary Paul Kenny pointed out: "The manner in which the EU Posted Workers Directive was applied into UK law was botched.

"The problem has been made worse by recent European Court judgements. The EU Parliament has asked the EU Commission and member states to put this right.

"As the interpretation of the law now stands, it is possible for overseas companies to refuse to employ UK nationals on projects in the UK."

Unite joint general secretary Derek Simpson added: "The problem is not workers from other European countries working in the UK, nor is it about foreign contractors winning contracts in the UK. The problem is that employers are excluding UK workers from even applying for work on these contracts."

The Communist Party of Britain urged support for the workers "rising up against the whole rotten set-up."

CPB trade union coordinating committee chairwoman Carolyn Jones said: "Workers taking action at Britain's power stations are fighting for jobs, decent terms and conditions and trade unionism.

"The strikers are opposing the EU 'free market' in labour which, in reality, is dominated by transnational corporations that move workers across the map to undercut pay and conditions and maximise profits."

Extra: The demands of the Lindsey total refinery North Lincolnshire

No victimisation of workers taking solidarity action.

All workers in UK to be covered by NAECI Agreement.

Union controlled registering of unemployed and locally skilled union members, with nominating rights as work becomes available.

Government and employer investment in proper training / apprenticeships for new generation of construction workers - fight for a future for young people.

All Immigrant labour to be unionised.

Trade Union assistance for immigrant workers - including interpreters - and access to Trade Union advice - to promote active integrated Trade Union Members.

Build links with construction trade unions on the continent.

The mass meeting overwhelmingly voted for the demands put to them by the strike committee.

Link: Strikes, protest and the crisis in the construction industry - Respect

Link: Galloway: "It's about decent jobs, available to all"

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West Bank Stands Strong Against Increased Repression

West Bank Stands Strong Against Increased Repression - Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign.

For the third week in a row, intense demonstrations were held all across the West Bank on Friday, with thousands of people coming out to protest the Occupation’s strategy of annihilation in Gaza. Once again, Occupation forces used brutal tactics to repress the rallies, causing dozens injuries to the protestors.

In the village of Ni’lin, thirteen people, including two women and two children, were injured by tear gas and rubber bullets. Nine of the people who were injured had to be rushed to hospital to receive medical attention. Some 300 villagers, along with international solidarity activists, marched in Ni’lin’s weekly demonstration. They held their midday prayed on the land near the Apartheid Wall, praying for the souls of the now more than 1,100 people who have died in Gaza. As they prayed, Occupation forces stormed the village and launched a heavy barrage of tear gas onto the streets and near houses. Many residents were unable to enter their homes as a result of the tear gas filling up the rooms. Occupation forces also fired sound bombs and rubber bullets near the praying demonstrators, prompting clashes that lasted into the evening.

Organizers in the village of Bil’in staged an innovative rally, as the weekly protest was symbolically silent. Protestors wearing flags from Europe, the UN, the US and Arab League countries gagged themselves, demonstrating the silence and complicity of the international community. As they marched towards the Wall, Occupation forces began shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at them, causing three injuries and dozens of cases of tear gas inhalation.

Meanwhile, in the village of Jayyous, in the Qalqilya district, early in the morning, Occupation forces occupied the rooftops of two homes near the south gate of the village, in an attempt to intimidate the villagers and stop them from staging their weekly demonstration. The people were undeterred, however, and some 400 protestors marched through the village streets. They were immediately met with significant amounts of tear gas, as the soldiers attempted to provoke confrontation. The forces then entered the centre of Jayyous on foot, going through the village to try and terrorize the residents. Dozens of people suffered difficulty breathing as a result of the heavy tear gas fired by the Occupation forces, while one youth was shot with a rubber bullet.

In the village of al Masra, in the Bethlehem district, two women were lightly wounded by attacks from Occupation forces. As the demonstrators marched near the Apartheid Wall, Occupation forces came and attacked them, beating them with their fists and rifle butts. The protestors pressed on, however, and the demonstration ended with speeches calling on the international community to stand up for humanity, and stop the massacre of the people of Gaza.

The city of Hebron was also the site of a large demonstration, which was once again repressed in a most brutal manner. Fifteen year-old Mustafa Da’ana was shot dead by Occupation forces, while fifteen others were injured.

Hundreds of people joined a protest in Tulkarem, as Palestinian flags were waved, and demonstrators chanted slogans denouncing the assault on Gaza. The city of Ramallah saw a similar scene, as several thousand people took to the streets in the central square in a show of national unity.

Link: Demonstrations against the Wall in Ma'sara, Bi'lin and Ni'lin
Link: Siege against ‘Azzun Atmeh tightened as 75 residents are further isolated
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The shortcut to peace by Hasan Abu Nimah, The Electronic Intifada

Israeli soldiers arrest Palestinians suspected of throwing stones during a protest in the West Bank city of Hebron, 30 December 2008. (Mamoun Wazwaz/MaanImages) via EI.

The shortcut to peace by Hasan Abu Nimah, The Electronic Intifada.

Because it is generally accepted by the so-called "international community" that Hamas is a major threat to Israel, and therefore to world peace and security, France has dispatched a frigate to participate in a new blockade of the Gaza Strip. The Sunday Times reported that United States naval ships hunting pirates in the Gulf of Aden have been instructed to track down Iranian arms shipments (25 January). Many other European states offered their navies to assist. Indeed, United Nations Security Council resolution 1860 emphasized the need to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition.

Unfortunately not one European country offered to send its navy to render humanitarian assistance to the thousands of injured, hungry, cold and homeless people in Gaza rendered so as a result of Israel's attack. Perhaps helping children dying from white phosphorus burns, or just lack of clean water, would be seen as supporting "terrorism."

The perverse assumption behind all the offers of help to Israel seems to be that Hamas and other resistance groups in Gaza fired rockets at Israel merely because rockets were available. Therefore, the logic goes, peace would prevail if the supply of rockets were curtailed.

Another strange assumption is that Hamas was freely importing rockets from Iran or elsewhere because Gaza's borders were open and free of any control.

This ignores the fact that since Israel "disengaged" from Gaza in the summer of 2005, the coastal territory was never allowed any free access to the outside world. Gaza has been under varied forms of siege and blockade by land, sea and air. Fishermen were not even free to fish without constant attacks by the Israeli navy.

The Rafah crossing linking Gaza to Egypt was kept closed on Israeli insistence until a regime for strict Israeli proxy surveillance, with European monitors acting on Israel's behalf, was established for it.

If Hamas, despite the blockade and total financial and diplomatic boycott managed to import so many rockets or the materials to make them, what level of further siege would guarantee an end to arms importation now?

But the glaring moral and legal question is why the "international community" is mobilizing its navies and political efforts to protect the aggressor, preserve the occupation, and deny the victims any means to defend themselves? If they do not want Palestinians to resist, why do they not themselves confront the aggressor and force an end to the occupation, the siege and dispossession?

In the better past when war broke out in a region the immediate response was often to impose an arms embargo on all sides. But when the defenseless population in Gaza were under attack from the region's strongest army all calls were to prevent the victims from defending themselves. Meanwhile, endless supplies of sophisticated weaponry were sent to the occupier despite its already massive dominance and indiscriminate and criminal attacks on civilians.

Without objective and daring diagnosis of the conflict's root causes there is no chance of any effective treatment. Sadly this lesson has never been learned, although it has been written repeatedly with much innocent blood.

When Palestinians started their first unarmed uprising in 1987, 40 years after their expulsion from their homes and 20 years after the brutal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip began, they had no rockets; they had only stones to confront heavily armed occupation forces. Israel used its guns and deliberate, sadistic bone-breaking against unarmed demonstrators killing almost 1,500 and injuring tens of thousands in its failed efforts to crush that uprising. Only with the 1993 Oslo accords was it possible to put an end to the uprising.

Hamas, as a resistance movement, was born in 1988. Israel, desperate to break the political monopoly of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, tacitly allowed Hamas to flourish.

Before any Palestinian fired a single shot at the start of the second uprising, in September 2000, Israel had already gunned down dozens of unarmed demonstrators. Palestinians learned these lessons well: Israel will meet any peaceful challenge with lethal force so one had better be prepared to fight back.

We need to recall these facts to understand the pure folly and detachment from reality of international politics today. The tendency has been to choose as the "cause" of the conflict to be addressed only what is politically expedient and easy, whether it is wrong or right, just or unjust, legal or illegal. The starting point of history is chosen not from the origins of the problem, but from whatever point suits the narrative of the strong.

It is utterly misleading and dishonest to pretend -- as so many now do -- that the sum total of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a confrontation over what expired Palestinian Authority President and Israeli puppet Mahmoud Abbas himself referred to as "silly rockets." To pretend that stopping the supply of rockets will make any difference to the course of a conflict that results from the historic dispossession -- the Nakba -- of an entire nation, and its replacement with a racist rogue state that has exiled, occupied and massacred the survivors for 61 years is the height of delusion.

It is convenient for the occupier and aggressor to forget all these things and talk only of rockets. And it is convenient for the cowards who dress themselves in diplomats' suits and don't dare utter the truth.

Should we not acknowledge -- if there is any real desire to resolve this conflict -- that the resistance did not fire rockets just because they had them, and Israel did not carry out its barbarous massacres in Gaza just because it wanted to stop them? Should we not acknowledge the indisputable truth that Hamas did not break the truce, but Israel did when it attacked across the border on 4 November killing six Palestinians? Hamas did not refuse to renew the truce -- as Abbas and Egyptian officials confirmed. All they asked was that the halt to killing be extended to the West Bank (which Israel refused) and that the starvation siege that was quietly killing Palestinians in Gaza be lifted. Have we not been all along taught that blockade is an act of aggression and that occupation legitimizes resistance?

The gunboats that Europe is sending to police the inmates of the Gaza Ghetto are not manifestations of strength, neither are they -- or the recent shocking statements of European Union Humanitarian chief Louis Michel in Gaza blaming Hamas for Israel's crimes on 26 January -- acts of responsible diplomacy in pursuit of peace and stability; they are a new prescription, if not a clear endorsement, for further bloodshed and war crimes. They are signs of a moral weakness and corruption unparalleled since Europeans stood by silently at stations and watched as their compatriots were loaded onto Nazi trains. Who could have thought that in the 21st century such things would need to be said -- and to those we thought had overcome their terrible history? But silence is not, and should not be an option any more. For years we have been told we should learn from the darkest episode in Europe's history, but never make comparisons to it lest we diminish its enormity. But the horrifying atrocities in Gaza which an Israeli official proudly predicted last March would be a "bigger holocaust" compel us to cast our reservations aside.

There is a shortcut to calm, the elimination of violence and eventually peace. It is a lesson that should have been learned many years, and countless thousands of lives ago: justice.

Hasan Abu Nimah is the former permanent representative of Jordan at the United Nations. This essay first appeared in The Jordan Times and is republished with the author's permission.

Link: The Electronic Intifada
Link: Palestine : Multimedia: Month in pictures: Coping in Gaza, January 2009 - EI
Link: Palestine : Human Rights: Gaza prisoners held in harsh and humiliating conditions - EI
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Gaza desperately short of food after Israel destroys farmland

Support the Viva Palestina UK Aid Convoy to Gaza.

Gaza desperately short of food after Israel destroys farmland by Peter Beaumont in Gaza - The Observer.

Gaza's 1.5 million people are facing a food crisis as a result of the destruction of great areas of farmland during the Israeli invasion.

According to the World Food Programme, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation and Palestinian officials, between 35% and 60% of the agriculture industry has been wrecked by the three-week Israeli attack, which followed two years of economic siege.

Christine van Nieuwenhuyse, the World Food Programme's country director, said: "We are hearing that 60% of the land in the north - where the farming was most intensive - may not be exploitable again. It looks to me like a disaster. It is not just farmland, but poultry as well.

"When we have given a food ration in Gaza, it was never a full ration but to complement the diet. Now it is going to be almost impossible for Gaza to produce the food it needs for the next six to eight months, assuming that the agriculture can be rehabilitated. We will give people a full ration."

The FAO estimates that 13,000 families who depend directly on herding, farming and fishing have suffered significant damage. "Before the blockade and the attack," said Ahmad Sourani, director of the Agricultural Development Association of Gaza, which runs programmes with charities such as Britain's Christian Aid, "Gaza produced half of its own food. Now that has declined by 25%. In addition, a quarter of the population depends on agriculture for income. What we have seen in large areas of farmland is the destruction of all means of life.

"We have seen a creeping process of farmers being forced out of the buffer zone around Gaza's border. Before 2000 we could approach and farm within 50m of the fence. After Israel's evacuation of the settlements in 2005, the Israeli army imposed a buffer of 300m. Although it is elastic, now there are areas, depending on the situation, where farmers cannot reach their farms in safety within an area of over a kilometre. It is indirect confiscation by fear. My fear is that, if it remains, it will become de facto. Bear in mind that 30% of Gaza's most productive land is within that buffer zone."

The wholesale destruction of farms, greenhouses, dairy parlours, livestock, chicken coops and orchards has damaged food production, which was already hit by the blockade.

Buildings heavily damaged during Israel's Operation Cast Lead included much of its agricultural infrastructure. The Ministry of Agriculture was targeted, the agriculture faculty at al-Azhar university in Beit Hanoun largely destroyed, and the offices of the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees in Zaitoun - which provides cheap food for the poor - ransacked and vandalised by soldiers who left abusive graffiti.

Although international and local officials are still gathering figures, they believe that scores, perhaps hundreds, of wells and water sources have been damaged and several hundred greenhouses have been levelled, as well as severe damage inflicted on 60,000-75,000 dunums of Gaza's 175,000 dunums (44,000 acres) of farmable land.

As well as the physical damage done by Israeli bulldozers, bombing and shelling, land has been contaminated by munitions, including white phosphorous, burst sewerage pipes, animal carcasses and even asbestos used in roofing. In many places, the damage is extreme. In Jabal al-Rayas, once a thriving farming community, every building has been knocked down, and even the cattle killed and left to lie rotting in the fields.

In al-Atatra, Ahmad Hassan, 65, the overseer of an orchard that once had hundreds of lemon and orange trees, surveyed an area flattened by bulldozers. "This was the well," he said, showing a pile of bulldozed concrete. "We can clear the ground in two weeks. Then what? The well is gone. The pump has been destroyed. And where will the trees come from to replant the land?"

Van Nieuwenhuyse said: "Already, the price of meat has tripled since the Israeli operation began. What is more worrying is the situation over vegetables. Protein we can help with, but before this there were already deficiencies in the diet. Now they will have to rely on Israel."

It was a view echoed by Hassan Abu Etah, the deputy agriculture minister in Gaza. "It has all been hugely damaged. And it affects all of Gaza, not simply the farmers. We produced some of what we needed. It makes you wonder whether they wanted to change Gaza from production to consumption."

In the heavily damaged village of Khuza'a, near Khan Younis, Salam Najar surveyed the no-go zone that extends from the last houses in the village to the border fence where Israeli farmland begins. "Most of the families here have farmed that side. Now no one feels safe to go there. They have destroyed it all."

Link: Viva Palestina web site

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Unions: Labour was warned about jobs for foreigners

Unions: Labour was warned about jobs for foreigners by Jamie Doward, Toby Helm, and Tom Kington - The Observer

As industrial unrest at foreign-owned companies refusing to hire British workers spreads, it has emerged the government was told in 2004 that EU laws were being used to prevent local people taking up UK jobs

The government was warned five years ago that European laws governing the employment of foreign workers in the UK would result in the current industrial unrest sweeping the country.

The revelation comes amid fears that the row is playing into the hands of the far right and claims that similar strikes could affect other key projects.

The disruption has come back to haunt the prime minister, Gordon Brown, who in 2007 - in his first speech to the Labour party as its leader - promised to bring in "British jobs for British workers".

The former Labour minister Frank Field last night called on Brown to make an emergency statement to parliament tomorrow. Field wants a new law to compel companies operating in the UK to offer contracts to domestic workers first. "We have got to get ahead of this debate rather than react to it," Field said. "Unless we do, we are supplying oxygen to the BNP."

Jon Cruddas, the Labour MP for Dagenham, said there was a real risk that "prestige projects", such as the 2012 Olympics, would be hit by similar protests unless ministers acted. At the last count, only 63% of workers on the Olympics site were British.

"If the government is planning big infrastructure projects to keep the economy moving - including the Olympics - this needs to be resolved now, because it is in the construction and engineering sectors where these issues are most acute," Cruddas said.

Last night the Unite union demanded urgent talks with Brown. It called for the government to ensure contractors on public infrastructure projects agreed to sign new corporate social responsibility clauses that will ensure free access for local labour. "If the government can bail out the banks, it can deliver a level playing field for engineering and construction workers in the UK," said Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of the union.

The prime minister's spokesman said the government would hold talks with the construction industry in the next few days "to ensure they are doing all they can to support the UK economy". When asked about the growing unrest, Brown - speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland - said he "understood" people's worries.

In an interview with the BBC's Politics Show to be broadcast today the Prime Minister condemned those threatening wildcat strikes, saying "that's not the right thing to do and it's not defensible." He also said that when he had talked about British jobs for British workers he was referring to "giving them the skills" so that they could get jobs that were going to foreigners.

As the row threatened to become increasingly xenophobic, the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, warned it should not jeopardise the UK's relationship with Europe. "It would be a huge mistake to retreat from a policy where, within the rules, UK companies can operate in Europe and European companies can operate here. Protectionism would be a surefire way of turning recession into depression."

This weekend the conciliation service, Acas, was continuing to try to calm the crisis that has seen workers at oil and power plants up and down the country stage unofficial protests in support of employees at the Lindsey refinery at North Killingholme. Lincolnshire. They are protesting at a decision by the refinery's owner, Total, to hand a £200m construction contract to the Italian company Irem, which employs only Italian and Portuguese workers on the site.

Similar protests have been made at two other construction projects -a refinery in Staythorpe, Nottinghamshire, and a power station on the Isle of Grain, Kent. In both cases, contractors working on behalf of foreign firms have said they will not use local labour.

Further industrial unrest is likely this week. Tomorrow, workers at Sellafield will consider a walkout.

Labour MPs are to table a Commons motion demanding changes to the law to prevent foreign companies undercutting national agreements negotiated by unions on behalf of British work forces.

Colin Burgon, Labour MP for Elmet, said that, if the law remained as it was, "there is going to be social unrest".

It has emerged that unions negotiating the 2004 Warwick agreement - the manifesto commitments made by Labour to the unions in return for financial backing - warned ministers that EU laws were being used to preclude domestic workers from applying for jobs in the UK.

The unions told the government that the way it had introduced the EU's "posted workers directive" - which guaranteed rights for temporary workers in EU countries - was being circumvented by foreign construction and engineering companies operating in the UK.

The 1996 directive was introduced in the UK in 1999 via a series of minor amendments to the Employment Relations Act. The unions told the government it had missed an opportunity to introduce comprehensive laws in the spirit of the directive that would guarantee a level playing field for all workers by barring the sort of exclusive practices that have triggered the current protests.

"We raised these fears with the government at the time of the Warwick agreement in 2004 and they now need to get on with resolving it," said Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union.

A series of recent rulings by the European Court of Justice has also raised fears the directive is being interpreted in a way that undermines the rights of EU member states' domestic workers.

Adolfo Urso, Italy's undersecretary for economic development, yesterday claimed the protests "are the product of an ignorance which verges on racism".

Italian and Portuguese workers at the centre of the row are said to be in fear for their safety as they remained on board a barge in Grimsby docks.

Link: George Galloway: "It's about decent jobs, available to all"

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