Slaughter Of The Palestinians Children

While surffing sites,I got a web site where Palestinian Holocaust Memorial Museum features the photos, names and stories of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in the context of a new Holocaust. It is said that more than 400 children have been killed by the Israel "when the Israel took over on the Ghaza" and killed 1300 people,400 Children have been targatted out of 1300 people,there is no doubt they all were innocent,naive and decent this is what i want to ask from the Israel Government that why they had killed innocent children,no one can say that those children who were killed had been involved in any terrorist activity then why they had been targetted?
here are the pictures of the innocent children who have been killed by Israel.
Age: 5 years old
Date of injury or death: January 2, 2009
Place of injury or death: Jibalia in northern Gaza Strip
Cause of injury or death: Israeli air strikes
Details of the Last Hours: At around 2 am, while the martyr’s father was entering his house, Israeli f-16 aircrafts aimed at their house with a raid of 3 missiles. This totally destroyed the house that tumbled over the heads of its inhabitants. The martyr – 5 years old – died with 13 members of the family that was comprised of a father, four wives, and seven brother and sisters. Only three brothers, who were not at the house during the raid, survived the bombing. The martyr and his family were picked up from under the rubble. Dr. Mu`awiya Hassanein said that most of the family members were in fragments due to the violence of the raid. More than ten thousand people joined the funeral of the martyr and his family the following day.
Other Information: At approximately 11:35 pm on the same day, Israeli aircraft raided the al-Khulafa Mosque, which is located near Rayyans' house, destroying the mosque completely and damaging tens of houses in the area, some for the second time on the same day.

Name: Sodqi, Ahmed & Mohamed al-Absi
Age: 5, 14, 12 respectively
Date of Death: Mon., 29/12/2008
Place of Death: Inside their house, Rafah.
Weapon Type: Air-to-ground missile.
Details of the last hours: The three children were inside their family house in Rafah when an Israeli bomb struck the house.

Name of martyr: Kawkab al-Dayeh
Age: 4 years old
Date of Death: Tuesday, January 6 , 2009
Place of Death: Al Zeitoun neighborhood , east of Gaza city
Weapon Type: IOF warplane
Cause of Death: She was found dead, her head sticking out of the rubble that once was her home. Other members of the family are missing. They are believed to be trapped under the debris.
Details of the Last Hours: At approximately 06:00 on Tuesday, an IOF warplane bombarded a 4-storey house belonging to al-Dayeh family in Al Zeitoun neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. As a result, the father, two of his children, one of his grandchildren and his daughter-in-law were killed.

Name of martyr: Al-Batran family (Death of six members of the family, most of them children)
Age: Various Ages
Date of Death: Friday, January 16, 2009
Place of Death: Al-Bureij Refugee Camp in central Gaza Strip.
Weapon Type: air strike on their home
Cause of Death: A mother and her five children from the Al-Batran family were killed Friday afternoon in an Israeli air strike on their home in the Al-Bureij Refugee Camp in central Gaza Strip.
Palestinian medical sources identified the dead as 30-year-old Manal, and her children 12-year-old Wala, 8-year-old Izz- Ad-Din, 10-year-old, Bilal, 11-year-old Islam, and seven-year-old Ihsan. Name of martyr: Farah Al-Helo
Age: Two-year-old baby
Date of Death: Monday , January 5, 2009
Place of Death: Killed at her home in Al Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza.
Weapon Type: Killed along with her grandfather and uncle by an Israeli tank shell.
Cause of Death: Died as a result of gunshot wounds
Details of the Last Hours: At approximately 5:30 am, Israeli aircraft attacked the house of 50-year-old Fuad al-Helo, in the neighborhood of al-Zeitoun, killing the man and a child from his family. The child was identified as two-year-old Farah Emad al-Helo. Farah is seen in the photo as she lies beside her uncle at the mortuary of Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza City.
Name of martyr: Dena Ba'losha
Age: 4 years old
Date of Death: Mon., 29/12/2008
Place of Death: Inside her home, Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza.
Weapon Type: Air-to-ground missile.
Cause of Death: Killed in her home, as well as her other young 4 sisters, by rubble falling through the roof
Details of the last hours: Dena was inside her house with her other 4 young sisters: 8-year Jawaher, 12-year Samer, 14-year Ekram, and 17-year Tahreer Anwar Ba'losha, when their house was hit by an air strike in Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, while three other young children were killed when a bomb struck their house in Rafah.

Name of martyr: Christine Turk
Age: 14 years old
Date of Death: Friday, January 2 , 2009
Place of Death: Shujaya neighborhood, east of Gaza
Cause of Death: Morning air strikes hit six houses near Christine's home making her live with non- stop nightmares. Christine died apparently of a heart attack, terrified by an explosion which rocked her house.
Details of the Last Hours: The pictures show Palestinians attending the funeral of Christine Turk, in Deir al-Laten Church in Gaza.

Name of martyr: Mus'ad Abu Mu'attaq
Age: 1 Years Old
Date of murder: April 28, 2008.
Place of murder: Inside his house in the town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.
Weapon used: Tank shell.
Details of the last hours:
The family was having breakfast. An Israeli tank fired a shell at the one-storey Palestinian house. The bombing immediately killed Mus'ad and his three siblings whose ages ranged from 3 to 5 years old. The victims were identified as Hana', three, Rudeina, four, Saleh, five.
Their mother died of her critical wounds in hospital. Nine other people were wounded in the Israeli attack, including two other siblings who are in life-threatening conditions.
Belongings:
Buried under the debris of the building after the shelling
Dreams::

Name of martyress: Iman Hijo
Age: 4 Months Old
Date of murder: May 07, 2001
Place of murder: At her grandmother's house in Khan Yunis Refugee Camp
Weapon used: Israeli Tank
Details of the last hours:
Suzanne Hijo, Iman's mother, hastened on to the street with her three children, Dina (6 years), Mahmoud (18 months), and Iman. She was trying to escape a sudden Israeli attack on the grandmother's house. A tank shell ripped through the wall next to the front gate. Small fragments of shrapnel sliced into Iman's body, killing her almost instantly. Her mother, brother, and sister were severely wounded. "There was blood everywhere here," said Rocha Hijo, Iman's 15-year-old aunt, scuffing her foot on the floor. The shell's fragments went through Iman's back and dispersed parts of her body in the street and on the walls of the house.
Belongings:
Suzanne Hijo said, "Until now, her toys are still all in place... Her lollipop, her bed, her clothes - all are in the same place."

Look at the photos and it could not be imagined that ,they all had been killed by human beings but we can say they all are killed by Evils and the Israeli soldiers and its rulers they all are Evils because any human could not do like that.Beware muslims and be united it's my request you i am weeping while writing all this becuase i am a human and muslim too,i am feeling very sad tonight just because of lack of muslims unity all over the world.

i share my deepest condolences and grief here with their families whose children had been targatted by the Israel.

Honesty will be Seen

I dont know that who is sincere in this world but i can be assured for my friends "Waheed Anwer Abro,Naveesh oad,Meraj sher,Wahid sher,Doctor Ghulam asgher memon and Liaquat Saleh Bhatti",They all are my best friends even though they all are hailing from civil service of pakistan,most of them are csp officers excluding me,meraj,Doctor ghulam asgher and naveesh,We all are still inpiring to be a csp officer.

Today my best friend "Waheed Anwer Abro" asked me that "Waqar Abro" why are you damn loco to be an honest officer in police services of pakistan as you know as well as i know that our political system is totally currupted then why you are willing to be an honest officer,besides,he said Mr Waqar Abro our currupted system will not accept you and you will be alone while surviving as a civil servant.

However,I have decided that i would work for the poor and for my country as well,I dont want to be a part of the system,I just want to prove that i can do everything without taking abit of bribe,"Cervantes,Don Quixote said "Honesty is the best policy" it means that Honesty is just a policy but dnt do this in reality,but i think pope is right,he said in his qoute that "An honest man's the noblest work of God" and shakespear also said in his favorite qoute that "Ay,Sir: to be honest,as this world goes,is to be one man picked out of ten thousand".

I am damn sure that "Waheed" was just kidding with me because He is also damn loco to be an honest man he just wanted to check my notions regarding this topic,well God knows whether i will be successful or not,after being successful,Either i will be an honest "CSP Officer in PSP" or i will be currupted like others are.

My friends have been praying for success and Inshallah i will get though first Attempt by the grace of God.

here i am going to share my best friends pictures,most of them are not in these pictures.

Waheed Anwer Abro a written qualifier,willing to join PSP Group.

Liaquat Saleh Bhatti,He is also a written qualifier and willing to join DMG Group.

Naveesh oad inspiring to be a csp officer in Foreign service of Pakistan

It is my humble request to readers that please post their comments over this post and it will be highly appreciated.

God in Islam

Who is "Allah" and what is His nature?

The most fundamental belief that a Muslim has is that "There is only One God," the Creator, the Sustainer -- known in the Arabic language and by Muslims as Allah. Allah is not a foreign god, nor an idol. Arabic-speaking Christians use the same word for the Almighty.
The fundamental pillar of faith in Islam is to declare that "there is no deity worthy of worship except the One True Almighty God" (in Arabic: "La ilaha ill Allah").
In the Qur'an, we read that Allah is Compassionate and Merciful. He is Kind, Loving, and Wise. He is the Creator, the Sustainer, the Healer. He is the One who Guides, the One who Protects, the One who Forgives. There are traditionally ninety-nine names, or attributes, that Muslims use to describe Allah's nature.

Some non-Muslims mistakenly think that Allah is an "Arab god," a "moon god," or some sort of idol. Allah is the proper name of the One True God, in the Arabic language used by Muslims all over the world. Allah is a name that is neither feminine nor masculine, and it cannot be made plural (unlike god, gods, goddess, etc). Muslims believe that there is nothing in the heavens nor on earth that deserves worship except Allah, the One True Creator.
Islam is based on the concept of Tawhid, or Unity of God. Muslims are strictly monotheistic, and fiercely reject any attempt to make God visible or human. Islam rejects any form of idol worship, even if its intention is to get "closer" to God, and rejects the Trinity or any attempt to make God human.

"Say, 'He is Allah, the One;Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;He begets not, and neither is He begotten;And there is nothing that can be compared to Him."Qur'an 112:1-4 In Muslim understanding, God is beyond our sight and understanding, yet at the same time "nearer to us than our jugular vein" (Qur'an 50:16). Muslims pray directly to God, with no intermediary, and seek guidance from Him alone, because "...Allah knows well the secrets of your hearts" (Qur'an 5:7).

"When My servants ask thee concerning Me,I am indeed close (to them).I respond to the prayer of every suppliantwhen he calls on Me.Let them also, with a will,Listen to My call, and believe in Me,that they may walk in the right way."Qur'an 2:186

In the Qur'an, people are asked to look around them for the signs of Allah in the natural world. The balance of the world, the rhythms of life, are "signs for those who would believe." The universe is in perfect order: the orbits of the planets, the cycles of life and death, the seasons of the year, the mountains and the rivers, the mysteries of the human body. This order and balance are not haphazard nor random. The world, and everything in it, has been created with a perfect plan, by the One who knows all.
Islam is a natural faith, a religion of responsibility, purpose, balance, discipline, and simplicity. To be a Muslim is to live your life remembering God and striving to follow His merciful guidance.

The First Jengro President

Barak hussain Obama has taken the oath of office and has become the 44th President of America. It is proclaimed that he has become the "First Jengro President in the history of America", His father late senior barak obama was a Muslim that is why his middle name is hussain. It cannot be clearly predicted whether he will prove to be a good president for the Muslim world, for a few days ago when Isreal attacked Gaza, he did not give any statement against Israel. Its crystal clear that he will also be a President like Bush. However, there is no doubt that "The American Culture" will totally be changed after Obama as the President of America, since until now the America blacks have been segregated due to their skin colour. That possibility will not see the light of day during his tenure.
Moreover, Martin Luther King had once said that "my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but the content of their character". I would like to share Martin Luther King's picture, taken while he was addressing in Washington on Aug 28,1963.

However,Barak hussain Obama said in his first presidential speech that "We all are equal and we all are free",besides,he said we are having economical crises and "Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened," he said, blaming the current situation both on the greed of a few and the "collective failure" of many.here is the picture of the First Jengro President of the United States.Let us see what changes will come after Barak hussain Obama,well my best wishes are with him because i like his qoute which he spoke while addressing nation as president that " Muslims,ChrIstians,Jews and Hindu they all are equal" furthermore i will write all about his policies as soon as possible.

UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY

A couple of days ago, my two friends came to my home and took me away to visit Sea side here in karachi but at that time i was suffering from high fever over 102 deg cent,Waheed Anwer Abro and Liaquat Saleh Bhatti they both are my best friends as well as "CSS 2008 written qualifiers" well i didnot say them that i am suffering from high fever that is how they took me away to visit sea side with them.
The journey was innocuous for me but i never forget when i stood down near to "Arabian Sea"for a while an impatient desire rose into my heart that i should do something for my country as well as for the poor.
However,i made a solemn pledge with my God that i will do something for the poor and for my country as well.
Here i am going to share with you all those pictures which was captured by my cellfone.




Liaquat Saleh Bhatti was busy on his mobil fone and Waheed Anwer was thinking about his favorite Group while this image was taken.

Over 1,000 Gazans killed

On the 20th day of the conflict, over 1,000 Gazans have been reported killed and many thousands wounded in the Israeli offensive. According to a Palestinian human rights organisation, close to two-thirds are civilians. UNICEF has stated that over 300 children are among those killed in the assault.

An Israeli soldier prays near tanks as his unit prepares to enter the northern Gaza Strip January 14, 2009. Israeli troops edged closer to the heart of Gaza City on Wednesday morning and international organisations expressed growing concern about the plight of children trapped in the offensive.

An injured Palestinian man looks on as others inspect the damage at a building following Israeli military operations, in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan.14, 2009. Israeli aircraft pounded militants' rocket-launching pads, weapons arsenals and dozens of arms smuggling tunnels near the Gaza-Egypt border, the military said Wednesday, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon headed to the region to lend his heft to diplomatic efforts to wrest an end to Israel's bruising, 19-day-old assault.

Palestinian medics wheel a wounded girl to the treatment room of Shifa hospital following Israeli military operations in Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. Israel showed no signs of slowing its bruising offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers, striking some 60 targets on Wednesday. Israel launched the onslaught on Dec. 27, seeking to punish the Hamas militant group for years of rocket attacks on southern Israel.

An unidentified relative of Palestinian Hamas member Mohammed al-Kintani mourns during his funeral in Gaza City on January 14, 2009.

Backdropped by Gaza, Israeli soldiers stand on tanks as they prepare for combat missions in Gaza as they gather on the Israel-Gaza border during Israel's military offensive, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. Israeli aircraft struck a Gaza City cemetery Wednesday, pulverizing newly buried bodies, and pounded militants' weapons positions and arms smuggling tunnels, witnesses and the military said.

A Palestinian boy, who fled his home with his family during Israel's offensive, looks at people as they receive food at a UN school in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip January 14, 2009.

Medics try to revive Palestinian 3 year-old Aysha Al-Najar, minutes before her death of her wounds during an earlier Israeli military strike, at the Kamal Adwan hospital of the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya, Wednesday Jan. 14, 2009.

A group of Israeli Hassidim Jews dance and listen to loud music on top of a vehicle as they celebrate the “success” of Israeli army’s offensive in the Gaza Strip on January 14, 2009 at the Yad Mordechai intersection in southern Israel.

A Palestinian boy carries his belongings as he leaves his house during Israel's offensive in Khuzaa in the southern Gaza Strip January 14, 2009.

Palestinians react during a funeral of four men killed in Israeli military operations, at the mosque in Beit Lahiya northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. Smoke rises following an explosion caused by Israeli military operations is seen through a window of the Associated Press office, riddled by a bullet, in Gaza city, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009.

A Palestinian girl holds her brother as they pass the al-Noor mosque destroyed after an Israeli air strike in Gaza.
Israeli soldiers take position during a protest held by Palestinians in the West Bank village of Bilin near Ramallah.

Bush legacy shaped by war, economic crisis

Bush leaves office with one of the lowest approval ratings of any president in modern times – under 30 percentTWO unfinished wars, the US economy deep in recession, the budget deficit about to hit $1 trillion and America’s image badly tarnished abroad. Not since Herbert Hoover left Franklin Roosevelt the Great Depression has a US president left his successor a litany of problems seemingly as daunting as George W Bush will bequeath to Barack Obama when he takes office on January 20. While Bush and his loyalists insist history will take a kinder view of his legacy, historians are already debating whether he will rank among the worst presidents ever, putting him in the company of Herbert Hoover, Warren Harding and James Buchanan. Some presidential scholars say it’s too soon to render a verdict, but many have made up their minds. “Can anyone really doubt that this was an abysmal presidency?” said Shirley Anne Warshaw, a political scientist at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. “All that’s left to sort out now is just how far down the list he goes.” A generation ago, Ronald Reagan, Bush’s Republican hero, asked Americans to think about whether they were better off than when his Democratic opponent, incumbent Jimmy Carter, entered the White House. By that standard, Bush doesn’t stack up well. Ending his eight-year tenure amid the worst financial crisis in 80 years, he leaves with one of the lowest approval ratings of any president in modern times - under 30 percent. The widespread support he won in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001 is long gone, weighed down by the unpopular war in Iraq, an inept response to Hurricane Katrina and a meltdown on Wall Street that has spilled onto Main Street. At home, unemployment is at a 16-year high, mortgage markets are imploding and people’s savings are slipping away. On the plus side, Bush’s top domestic achievement may be something that didn’t happen - another attack on US soil. “We haven’t had another attack in seven years,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. “And that matters.” Overseas, Bush’s legacy will be defined largely by Iraq, and it will be left to Obama to finalise an exit strategy and repair the damage to US credibility. Bush flew to Baghdad last month hoping to showcase security gains there, but instead the enduring image will be of the president ducking shoes hurled by an angry Iraqi journalist. Bush leaves other unfinished foreign policy business. The nuclear standoff with Iran could be one of Obama’s biggest challenges, testing his promise of direct talks with Tehran to supplant Bush’s policy of diplomatic isolation. In Afghanistan, which critics say Bush neglected because he was too distracted by Iraq, the Taliban are resurgent and Osama bin Laden has yet to be captured or killed. Bush’s effort to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace came, in the view of most analysts, as too little, too late, and the latest crisis in the shape of Israel’s blatant aggression in the Gaza Strip is seen as a fitting epitaph. Obama has promised bolder engagement in the Middle East but will face entrenched distrust in the Arab world of a US bias in favour of Israel, the residue of Bush’s policies. While Obama copes with that, he will inherit another problem from Bush - what to do with terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay. The military detention centre has been a source of human rights condemnation. Obama has vowed to shut it down. Bush also has drawn fire, especially in Europe, for resisting fixed nationwide limits on greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change, a stance that has added to a perception of US arrogance that Obama must now contend with. On the other hand, Bush has won praise for forging stronger ties with India, nudging China into a more constructive international role and battling the AIDS epidemic in Africa. But it is a once-in-a-century financial crisis - which erupted after six years of presiding over an economy that would be the envy of most presidents - that may have dealt the crowning blow to Bush’s legacy. His administration has resorted to massive government intervention once anathema to his free-market roots. And as ripples have spread worldwide, criticism of unbridled US-style capitalism has grown, raising questions about the future of America’s dominance of the global system. Many analysts say Bush’s deregulatory zeal contributed to the meltdown, though they also agree there is plenty of blame to go around. But since it happened on Bush’s watch, he will likely bear the brunt of history’s judgment. Bush’s Republicans have already heard the voters speak. Obama’s resounding victory in November against John McCain was widely seen as a repudiation of Bush’s policies. “Without Bush, the first African-American president probably wouldn’t have been elected at this time,” said Stephen Wayne, a political scientist at Georgetown University. Mindful of the clock ticking down, Bush has spent his final weeks trying to burnish his legacy. He granted more exit interviews than any recent president, delivered a series of policy speeches and held a farewell news conference. Through it all, Bush has staunchly defended his record but has also seemed more reflective, admitting to reporters on Monday his disappointment that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq and about the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal that shocked the world. Bush said history would be his judge but only “after some time has passed.” He has insisted he will be vindicated someday like Harry Truman, unpopular when he left office and now admired for his handling of the Cold War. “Truman is the patron saint of failed politicians,” said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University in Houston. He suggested a likelier comparison to a very different president - Hoover, who presided at the start of the Great Depression.

Israel stops Iranian aid ship for Gaza

Vessel was carrying 200 tonnes of food and medicine.

An Iranian ship carrying aid to Gaza was stopped by Israel’s navy off the coast of the under attack Palestinian territory, Iran’s state radio reported on Tuesday. “An Iranian ship that was carrying foodstuff and medicine was stopped by the Zionist regime’s navy 20 miles off the coast of Gaza,” radio reported, adding that the ship had left the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas 13 days earlier. It said the ship was carrying 200 tonnes of foodstuff and medicine “for distribution among the blockaded people of Gaza.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday the ship had passed Port Said, the Egyptian port on the Mediterranean end of the Suez Canal and about 180 kilometres west of the Gaza coast. Ahmad Navvab, described as the ship’s director on board, told Iran’s state radio: “The consignment of relief aid contributed by the people of Iran is now close to Gaza. But the ship has not received any permit to enter Gaza and the Zionist regime is still obstructing it.” Asked if there was any other way for the aid to reach Gaza, Navvab said: “Our effort is to enter Gaza directly, otherwise we will have to do it through Egypt and the Rafah crossing.” Navvab added that officials in Tehran were in contact with Egypt, the only other state apart from Israel with a border to Gaza, to ask them to accept the aid for delivery. Iran said last week it had told Egypt it was ready to treat those wounded in Israel’s assault and wanted to set up a field hospital nearby on Egyptian territory. Iran has also said it had landed a plane in Egypt with aid and wanted to send more. Iran does not have full relations with Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel. Iranian politicians have accused Egypt of not doing enough to help Gaza’s Palestinians.

Gaza carnage

The aerial blitz by Israeli defence forces (IDF) which began on December 27 against hapless Palestinians continues unabated. In a week-long savage attack, more than 400 Palestinians, including 113 women and 42 children, have died. Those injured are in the thousands.The world remains a silent spectator to this savagery. Some Western leaders have issued pro forma appeals for a ceasefire to be rejected by Israel with disdain. In pursuance of its vicious policy of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert has maintained that these attacks are "the first of several stages approved by the security cabinet." Israel's brutal policies of genocide have received direct endorsement and encouragement by the US and EU. US President Bush, in a blatant show of uncritical support to Israel, has held Hamas responsible - "Hamas's continued rocket attacks into Israel must cease if the violence is to stop. Hamas must end its terrorist activities if it wishes to play a role in the future of the Palestinian people."

The official EU statement also merely expressed "concern at the events in Gaza." The statement did not carry any condemnation and reference to Israeli brutality to Palestinians. Neither of these statements referred to Israel by name nor condemned the carnage unleashed by IDF and the continued spree of killings and mayhem. The UNSC meeting on December 28 also refrained from blaming Israel for the massacre of Palestinians in its joint statement. Two days later, the Security Council met in a formal session, at the insistence of some members. As expected, the resolution was vetoed by the US and UK. Israel, since its creation, has defied 69 UNSC resolutions and another 30 have been vetoed by the US. Besides the obvious tilt and bias in favour of Tel Aviv, the US media, as also the West, seldom go into the origin of the violence. In the situation under reference, unilateral decree has been issued.The current attacks are interpreted as Israel's right of self-defence. Some rockets fired from Gaza killed one Israeli and provided IDF the justification for its collective punishment and destruction of Palestinian homes.

Gaza is a tiny strip of land, between Egypt and Israel, with 1.5 million inhabitants. Hamas, after its overwhelming victory in the general elections held in early 2006, took over the reigns of government in Gaza. Israel and the US declined to acknowledge Hamas' mandate, dubbing it a terrorist organisation and hence, not a negotiating partner for the settlement of the Palestinian issue. Both also manoeuvred a civil war among the Palestinian factions. Finally, PLO, led by its president, Mahmoud Abbas, lost to Hamas and withdrew from Gaza. Egypt eventually succeeded in brokering a ceasefire between Hamas and the PLO. Later, it also arranged a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel last year, expiring on December 19. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but has retained complete control of Gaza by sea, air and land. During the ceasefire period, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza. The Palestinians were not allowed to cross into the West Bank or Egypt through the Rafah exit. The blockade had a debilitating effect on the daily life of Gazans. Essential food supplies, fuel, electricity and water have been periodically denied to the population of 1.5 million, seriously impoverishing their precarious existence. A recent UNWRA report mentions that as a result of Israel's comprehensive economic siege, Palestinians have been forced to scavenge from rubbish dumps. These inhuman policies of economic strangulation have rendered the ceasefire meaningless. Gaza represented a kind of concentration camp, with all restrictions on movements and denial of contact with the outside world. The truce of June 2008 included provisions for ending the embargo. Israel did not observe these terms either. In view of this situation, Hamas decided not to renew the ceasefire on its expiry and decided to retaliate IDF forays in Gaza with firing rockets into Israeli towns, killing one Israeli. This episode was considered grave enough for Israel to retaliate in full measure. Till date, more than 400 Palestinians have been killed in IDF attacks as against 4 Israelis killed by homemade Hamas rockets. The current Israeli offensive began after a visit by Foreign Minister Livni to Cairo on December 25 where she met President Mubarak.

In a press conference in Cairo, Livni vowed to strike at Hamas, declaring that Israel "will not take this situation any longer," creating the impression that the Israeli onslaught has Egyptian approval. Egypt's refusal to open the Rafah border for the Gazans, even for medical reasons, made them bitter and hostile. Mubarak has been accused of complicity with Israel.Israeli attacks against Gaza have led to anger and outrage across the Arab world. The protests and demonstrations in Cairo have been particularly emotionally-charged. Mubarak, during the thirty years of his autocratic rule, has not allowed any opposition to, or criticism of, his policies, domestic or external. According to a State Department Human Rights report, Egypt has more than 10,000 political prisoners and human rights activists languishing in prison for years, without any charge or trial.
It is, therefore, highly significant that Cairo protestors were carrying banners declaring that "Mubarak and Livni have agreed on the genocide of the Palestinian people." The protestors also raised anti-Mubarak slogans - an unprecedented scene. The ongoing massacre and criminal silence of the world and the OIC in the face of such savagery is bound to radicalise the Arab masses. Hamas leader Khalid Mashal has already spoken of the possibility of an Intifada-III. A Saudi cleric, Sheikh Awad Al-Qarni, has issued a fatwa declaring Israelis everywhere a legitimate target for killing. The OIC, as spokesperson of the Muslim world, has remained quiet and moribund, and its Jeddah Declaration of January 3 will only evoke derision, for its banal text. President-elect Obama has maintained studious silence but his "unshakeable commitment to Israel's security" inspires little hope of any significant change in the US position. In the present crisis, Hamas may be facing Israel alone but as the Palestinians have demonstrated, their spirit of resistance shall not break and eventually, will prevail over all odds. Pakistan during Musharraf's reign kept itself aloof from the Palestine problem, and much to the disappointment of Arabs, made contacts with Jewish leaders in America. Foreign Minister Kasuri also met with his Israeli counterpart in Istanbul. Consistent and substantive support to the Palestinian cause has been the cardinal principle of Pakistan's foreign policy. The Zardari government must correct the course and direction of our policy to regain our coveted niche in Arab hearts. Palestinians should not be left alone in this critical moment of their national crisis. In this regard, Zardari must join the initiative by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan for an immediate ceasefire and end to the blockade of Gaza.