Imagine a handful of engineering students imprisoned in the tiny Gaza enclave taking on the cream of Europe’s technical universities in a competition to build a race car and compete with it.

– at least that’s what their students’ union tells me, and I’ve been trying to get confirmation.

Formula Student (FS) is a challenge to university students around the world to design and build a single-seat racing car, which they must then put through its paces at the Silverstone Circuit in the UK in a series of static and dynamic tests.

The aim is to inspire young people and boost skills in advanced engineering. In Europe the competition is run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineer (IMechE). America has a similar student competition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

Students have to pretend they’ve been engaged by a manufacturing firm to produce a prototype car for evaluation. In addition to technical skills, the exercise teaches management, marketing and people skills. The motorsport industry regards this as an ideal standard of achievement for students making the transition from college to workplace.

Last year’s Class 1 winner was the University of Stuttgart. Stuttgart, of course, is home to Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, and the University is renowned for its advanced automotive engineering. Gottlieb Daimler himself was a student there, and Wilhelm Maybach received an honorary doctorate from the University at the age of seventy – names to conjure with!

This gives some idea of what the Gaza lads, who are starting in Class 2, will eventually be up against. Peter Leipold, 26, Chief Executive of the winning Rennteam Stuttgart, said: “Formula Student gives you the chance to learn much more than you ever could through studying, internships and diplomas. You have to deal with ideas and concepts, design, manufacturing, costing, materials, testing, logistics – there’s such a huge range of work you have to do. I don’t think there’s any other competition in the world in which you can learn so much.”

Construction of the car itself has to conform to nearly 30 pages of stringent rules and regulations. A four-stroke piston engine no larger than 610cc must be used, but this is enough to catapult the car from 0 to 60mph in just a few seconds. Electric only or hybrid vehicles are also allowed.

Further rules cover judging. The cars are judged in a series of tests such as technical inspection, cost and sustainability, presentation, and engineering design, solo performance trials, and high performance track endurance.

The rules even cover “unsportsmanlike conduct”.

The competition has been running in the UK since 1998 and Silverstone has been the venue since 2007. Nowadays Silverstone, besides being the home of Formula One racing, incorporates a technology park and is a very different world from the old aerodrome circuit many of us remember from the 1950s and 1960s.

Blockaded and Starved of Resources

The Khan Younis Training Centre (KYTC), located near Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, was set up by UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency) in 2007 to provide training for Gazan refugees and to inject skilled labour into the local economy.  One of the programmes it offers is Autotronics, which includes diagnosis, maintenance & repair of automotive systems, injection & ignition systems and electronics & electrical systems

Ever since Hamas won the 2006 elections in Palestine and enforced their right to govern the Gaza Strip this tiny coastal enclave has been viciously blockaded by Israel, turning it into a prison. Nothing gets in or out without Israel’s say-so.  Although the siege is illegal under international law the international community does nothing. In 2009 KYTC’s first Autotronics class, frustrated at the lack of workshop materials for hands-on automotive experience, set about building a race car from recycled parts. The following year the students decided to go further and build a car to the exacting standards of Europe’s Formula Student contest. 11 students eventually travelled to the UK last June with their high-octane creation.

Entered in Class 2, the team won 3rd prize for their business plan and came 9th with their financial report. But they were docked a huge number penalty points for missing the deadline for their design and specification report. This was because Israel’s illegal blockade prevented specialty parts from Italy reaching them.  The team had to improvise with recycled items from Gaza. Had they been awarded just an average score for the design and specification section they’d have finished in the top half of the results table along with Bath, Budapest, Brunel and Edinburgh.

Dr Colin Brown, Director of Engineering at IMechE, said: “It really is inspirational to see a team working so hard with the odds stacked against them like this. Formula Student is a massive challenge in its own right, but to be working with almost entirely recycled parts in one of the most deprived areas in the world is remarkable.

“These students epitomise the spirit and inventiveness of those who take part in Formula Student.”

Domestic Water pipes and Old Motorcycle Engine

Who are these remarkable youngsters and who encouraged them to get involved? UNRWA says: “The 11 youngsters that make up the Formula Student team are following a course in autotronics, designed to give a solid practical grounding in automobile engineering. In educational terms, it equates to an A Level or Ordinary National Certificate (ONC). Many are from a background that the United Nations describes as “abject poverty”, which means families who do not have the financial resources to provide for the very basic necessities such as food, clothing, and hygiene…”

The Principal of the KYTC, Dr Ghassan Abu-Orf, was aware of the then-fledgling Formula Student competition while teaching at the University of Sunderland in the UK. When he returned to Gaza, he reckoned that building such a car locally would be an ideal project for his pupils.

According to Emel (Muslim Lifestyle) Magazine, “once the team had made the plans for the car and identified the necessary parts they needed, they set about contacting various suppliers around the world to see where they could be acquired from. After many companies turned them down, the students found an Italian company that was willing to work with them. But even after the parts were sent, the Israeli authorities refused to let them enter the Gaza Strip.

“We didn’t give up,” a member of the team told Emel. “As Palestinians, we look for plan B all the time.”

So the students checked old cars and machinery in the Strip and salvaged the parts they needed. The engine came from a used Honda motorcycle and the chassis was fabricated with domestic hot water pipes. “Unfortunately we didn’t have the tools, machines and parts necessary to give us the best possible results — technology in Gaza is still quite primitive and out of date in comparison with international standards. But our mission was different, and remains different.”

Sahar Mousa, writing in Rotterdam4gaza, said: “For us the Formula Student competition is more than a prize, its more than a competition to win, it’s not related to being famous or to get any material reward. When we think about the competition we think about Palestine, we think about the Palestinian people wherever they are, we think about a message we need to send for the world. We need to tell everybody that we are a part of this world and we deserve our place in this world. We are able to be active and Palestinian Youth are able to create, innovate, and compete.

“Yes we can make it, we are strong enough to do it, because it’s for Palestine and it’s for every Palestinian.”

Sadly, I’m posting this article without any contributions from the main players – the General Union of Palestinian Students UK who hosted the Gaza team while in Britain, the Palestinian Embassy in London, and the team itself. The reason? After several requests the union said it was “too busy” to give me the team’s contact details. The embassy has not, as far as I know, issued any press releases or briefings, although it did reproduced a Daily Telegraph report on its website last June. I have written twice asking the ambassador’s office for information and contact details only to be ignored. After combing the internet I found a general email address for KYTC. Two emails have been sent but not acknowledged.

So this amazing story is scraped together from other sources. Had I known about it last summer, I’d have been at Silverstone cheering the lads on.

But it would be good to know …

• While in the UK the team visited Parliament and presumably other places besides Silverstone. Did they manage to establish any helpful links to the performance car industry (constructors and R&D) or liaise with likeminded education and training establishments?
• Have they arranged a programme yet for their 2012 visit?
• For 2012 what changes are they making? Will it be the same car modified or an entirely new one? Same team or a new one?

These were among the questions sent to the Principal, although he might not have received them.  I also asked for pictures. Again nothing.

The 2012 event is only three month away. If the KYTC lads read this and wish to update me on their preparations I’ll be happy to do a follow-up. But I hope they appreciate that writers and reporters need to wrap up their stories and move on. If unable get a timely reply or make proper contact they soon lose interest.

As for the Palestinian embassy in London, its prime task is surely to represent all Palestinians in a good light, showcase their achievements and help open doors to opportunities. This year, if indeed these remarkable youngsters are coming back, let us hope the Ambassador and his staff are on the ball and actively engaged.

By Stuart Littlewood

- Stuart Littlewood’s book Radio Free Palestine can now be read on the internet by visiting www.radiofreepalestine.org.uk. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.

The M.P. currently sitting in the seat won by Bobby Sands on 31 years ago whilst he was on hunger strike calls for action and sends her message of support to Khader Adnan on day 65 of his .  

“This is Michelle Gildernew the M.P. for Fermanagh South Tyrone sending a message of solidarity and support to Khader Adnan on the 65th day of your hunger strike. I hold the seat that was won 31 years ago by Bobby Sands when he was on hunger strike in Long Kesh gaol in Ireland. Bobby died on the 66th day of his fast. We’re very concerned now about Khader and about the fact that your life could be coming to an end very soon if the Israeli government does not act. We call on the Israeli government, the united nations and people with influence around the world to do what you can to stop the illegal administrative detention carried out against the Palestinian people, internment without trial basically, and to intervene to save Khader’s life.

I also feel as the mother of small children, I understand what your wife must be going through, it must be a horrendous time our thoughts, our prayers and our support are with you at this very traumatic and difficult time and we want you to know the Irish people are 100% behind you and we will do what we can to encourage and force Israel to end the illegal detention of your husband” .

Comrade, On Behalf of the family of Irish Republican Army Volunteer Francis Hughes, who died on Hunger Strike on the 12th of May 1981, we offer to you and your comrades our total support and best wishes.

“On this day you will have completed 59 days on Hunger Strike. It was after 59 days on Hunger Strike that my brother died.. My cousin Thomas Mc Elwee also died after 62 days.

The Irish people understand the plight of the Palestinian people. Our country has been occupied by the British for 800 years, and throughout all those years we have suffered murder, imprisonment, and death on Hunger Strike.
The Palestinian people are a proud people. You must keep up the struggle. You have a lot of support and sympathy worldwide. My thoughts and prayers are with Khader Adnan his comrades, family, and friends on this day.”

Oliver Hughes, February 14th, 2012,

Click on the following link to watch video

Khader Adnan receives message of support from Oliver Hughes

 Khader Adnan is now only a few short hours away from starting his 62nd day on Hunger Strike.

Tonight, his wife visited Khader, and she described his condition in a short statement:

 ”His health has drastically deteriorated from the last time I saw him. . . .I expect the worst,”

“The world should pressure the Israeli government to release him before it’s too late.”

““Israel denied Khader fairness & decency, maybe the rest of humanity will show more mercy.”

 

A Doctor who examined Khader on Wednesday, described his condition as been “In immediate danger of death”, and his Lawyers have filed an urgent appeal. The appeal was approved by a High Court Justice, and will be heard at the earliest opportunity.

Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories,  described the situation as urgent, and said the international community should intervene on Mr. Adnan’s behalf.

“In view of the emergency of his situation, the Government of Israel must take immediate and effective action to safeguard Mr. Adnan’s life, while upholding his rights,” said Mr. Falk in a statement.

Richard Falk went even further today in an Op Ed piece in the following Al Jazeera article:

Saving Khader Adnan’s life is saving our own soul Richard Falk

Due to the urgency of Khader’s condition, the Palestinian Council of Human Rights Organizations (PCHRO) urges the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union to take immediate action and intervene with Israel in the strongest manner possible to save Khader’s life.

The PCHRO demands that the international community put pressure on Israel to end his arbitrary detention before it is too late.

Across the world, vigils are been held for Khader, and at the prison facility, Ofer, daily demonstrations are been held. The protesters have come under sustained attacks from the Israeli military, and many people have been injured after been shot with rubber bullets, and effects of tear gas inhalation.

Support for Khader Adnan has also come in from Oliver Hughes, whose brother Francis , 25, died in the H Blocks after 59 days. His cousin, Thomas McElwee, 33, also died on Hunger Strike after 62 days. In total, 10 Irish men died during this Hunger Strike in 1981 which included Bobby Sands.

OnTuesday, as Khader Adnan entered his 60th day on Hunger Strike, Oliver, sends a message of support and solidarity to Khader.

Click on the link below to hear Oliver’s message.

Khader Adnan receives message of support from Oliver Hughes. Feb 14th, 2012

Khader was arrested on 17 December 2011 and has since been refusing food and medical treatment until he is granted release. On 8 January 2012, Israeli authorities issued a four-month administrative detention order, which was confirmed on 7 February 2012 by an Israeli military judge despite his worsening health condition.

The appeal against his administrative detention order was rejected by an Israeli military judge on 13 February.

Khader's wife and children join protests after visiting her husband

One Palestinian man was injured on Sunday and two others were reported missing after Egyptian authorities pumped sewage inside a Rafah smuggling tunnel running underneath the border with the Gaza Strip, medics said.

Palestinian medical sources told Ma’an that a tunnel worker was hurt and two others went missing inside the Rafah tunnel as a result of sewage pumped in from the Egyptian side.

Two Palestinians were killed and three others injured on Saturday after a gas canister exploded in a smuggling tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip, medics said.

Egyptian security officials said in early September that they were cracking down on the network of tunnels used by smugglers from the coastal enclave.

Medics say over 160 Palestinians have died in the network of underground tunnels since Israel imposed a siege on the Gaza Strip in 2006.

Under Israel’s crippling blockade, the tunnels have provided a lifeline for residents of the coastal enclave.

Egypt’s reopening of the Rafah border eased the impact of the siege for some residents, who were able to leave Gaza freely for the first time in years.

Ma’an

A Gaza military court on Thursday played the alleged confessions of four men accused in the April kidnap and murder of Italian peace activist Vittorio Arrigoni.

Of the four men, all from Gaza, two are accused of murder, a third of having helped in the kidnap and killing, and a fourth of providing the house where the body of Arrigoni was found hanging, hours after he was snatched.

The defendants appeared in Gaza City courtroom unshackled and in civilian clothes. They appeared calm and responded to questions from the court’s three judges.

The prosecution submitted four CDs purportedly containing videotaped confessions from each defendant.

The judges called each of the accused to the bench to observe a portion of their alleged confession being played on a laptop, which was not visible to the court’s audience.

“Is this your confession?” one of the judges asked Tamer al-Husasna, 25, who is charged with murder.

“Yes, but it was taken from me by force,” he replied, alleging he had been tortured by Hamas’ internal security forces.

The three other defendants also claimed that their confessions were extracted from them by torture, though they gave no details of their alleged mistreatment.

A lawyer observing the trial on behalf of a Gaza rights group said on condition of anonymity that the trial had been adjourned to Oct. 3, when the prosecution was expected to present additional witness testimony.

The three other defendants in the case are 23-year-old Mahmud al-Salfiti, who is charged with murder, Khadr Faruk Jerim, 25, who is accused of assisting the kidnap and murder, and Amer Abu Ghola, also 25, who allegedly provided the house in which Arrigoni was held and later killed.

Arrigoni, a long-time member of the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement, was kidnapped on April 14.

Shortly after his disappearance, a previously unknown Salafist group released a YouTube video showing a bruised and bloodied Arrigoni and threatened to kill him within 30 hours if Hamas failed to release a group of jihadist prisoners.

Security forces found Arrigoni’s body shortly afterward, ahead of the stated deadline, in an abandoned house in northern Gaza.

Among those the group demanded be freed was a leader of the Salafist group Tawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War), which denied involvement in the incident.

Hamas quickly arrested several suspects in the case, and a week later raided a house where three more suspects were reportedly hiding.

Two were killed during the raid, and a third was taken into custody.

Arrigoni’s death shocked the local community and international aid workers and activists in Gaza, where he had lived and worked for much of the three years prior to his death.

Ma’an

Today Irish rugby stars Trevor Hogan, Jerry Flannery, Gordan D’Arcy, Shane Horgan and Tipperary hurling captain Eoin Kelly have joined forces in a video pledge to raise funds for the sabotaged Irish Ship to Gaza ‘MV Saoirse to sail again.

MV Saoirse was set to sail as part of  this years ‘Freedom Flotilla 2′ but was sabotaged with a damaged prop shaft in port whilst in Turkey. Dr Fintan Lane, national coordinator of Irish Ship to Gaza, who own the vessel, said on the sabotage : “This is an appalling attack and should be condemned by all right-thinking people.  It is an act of violence against Irish citizens and could have caused death and injury.  If we had not spotted the damage as a result of a short trip in the bay, we would have gone to sea with a dangerously damaged propeller shaft and the boat would have sunk if the hull had been breached.  Imagine the scene if this had happened at nighttime.”

Trevor Hogan and Fintan Lane

He continued: “One of the most shocking aspects is the delayed nature of the sabotage.  It wasn’t designed to stop the ship from leaving its berth; instead, it was intended that the fatal damage to the ship would occur while she was at sea and this could have resulted in the deaths of several of those on board.  This was a potentially murderous act.”

Dr Lane, who was on board Challenger 1 in last year’s flotilla, said: “The Freedom Flotilla is a non-violent act of practical and humanitarian solidarity with the people of Gaza, yet Israel continues to use threats and violence to delay its sailing.  They attacked us in international waters last year; now they are attacking us in Turkish and Greek ports.  There is no line that Israel won’t cross.”

“We will not be intimidated by attacks like this — it simply highlights the aggression that the Palestinian people of Gaza have to put up with on a daily basis.  It strengthens our determination to continue until this illegal and immoral blockade is lifted.”

Follow the Irish Ship to Gaza at:
http://irishshiptogaza.org/

Palestinian political factions are due to meet on September 24 to discuss part of the reconciliation deal, a Fatah official said Wednesday.

Fatah national relations commissioner Diab al-Loh told Ma’an that the factions will meet to discuss the issue of community reconciliation, which was part of the deal signed in May.

The meeting was supposed to be held on September 17, al-Loh said, but Hamas asked for it to be postponed.

Fatah agreed to the request by Hamas in order to maintain the reconciliation deal, al-Loh added.

The reconciliation deal was signed in Cairo on May 4 and set out a path for the creation of a transitional government of technocrats and an end to the animosity which has split the Palestinians into two camps since 2007.

In August, Fatah and Hamas agreed to delay efforts to implement the reconciliation agreement until September.

Ma’an

Today the ‘Irish Ship to Gaza’ group have announced that their vessel MV Saoirse will again be sailing to break the ILLEGAL blockade of the coastal enclave.

MV Saoirse was set to sail as part of  this years ‘Freedom Flotilla 2′ but was sabotaged with a damaged prop shaft in port whilst in Turkey. Dr Fintan Lane, national coordinator of Irish Ship to Gaza, who own the vessel, said on the sabotage : “This is an appalling attack and should be condemned by all right-thinking people.  It is an act of violence against Irish citizens and could have caused death and injury.  If we had not spotted the damage as a result of a short trip in the bay, we would have gone to sea with a dangerously damaged propeller shaft and the boat would have sunk if the hull had been breached.  Imagine the scene if this had happened at nighttime.”

He continued: “One of the most shocking aspects is the delayed nature of the sabotage.  It wasn’t designed to stop the ship from leaving its berth; instead, it was intended that the fatal damage to the ship would occur while she was at sea and this could have resulted in the deaths of several of those on board.  This was a potentially murderous act.”

Dr Lane, who was on board Challenger 1 in last year’s flotilla, said: “The Freedom Flotilla is a non-violent act of practical and humanitarian solidarity with the people of Gaza, yet Israel continues to use threats and violence to delay its sailing.  They attacked us in international waters last year; now they are attacking us in Turkish and Greek ports.  There is no line that Israel won’t cross.”

“We will not be intimidated by attacks like this — it simply highlights the aggression that the Palestinian people of Gaza have to put up with on a daily basis.  It strengthens our determination to continue until this illegal and immoral blockade is lifted.”

Follow the Irish Ship to Gaza at:
http://irishshiptogaza.org/

What began as a chance friendship on Facebook recently took Taher Musalmani, 23, of Kafr Kara, on the expedition of a lifetime. Two months ago Musalmani married Rita Ashok, a 26-year-old film director and journalist from Gaza, after what seemed an impossible journey.

From his home in Kafr Kara, Musalmani told Haaretz this week that about six months ago he happened onto Ashok’s Facebook page. After they began to correspond regularly, “we slowly felt that the love between us was not a passing thing and I proposed marriage to her,” he says.

After she agreed, there was only one problem – how to meet – since he was in Israel and she was in Gaza. “At first I thought that as a Palestinian citizen and a journalist, she could reach Ramallah and we would meet there, but all her requests were rejected,” he says.

Taher Musalmani with his bride Rita Ashok.

Musalmani explains that his requests to visit Gaza were refused, even though he declared that the purpose of his trip was to get married. At this stage the pair came up with an alternate plan: He would reach the Egyptian side of Rafah via the Israel-Egypt Taba border crossing and she would cross from the Gaza side to the Egyptian side.

On July 6, Musalmani arrived as planned in Rafah, but Ashok was prevented by bureaucratic difficulties. “I decided to get to Gaza through the tunnels, a secret I did not share with anyone,” Musalmani says. “The trip was short; within two or three minutes I would be in Palestinian Gaza.”

Ashok, in a telephone call from Gaza, says, “I know that sometimes there are explosions and so these minutes went very slowly for me.

“To my delight, he arrived in the end and we were able to meet and marry.”

After five days in Gaza, Musalmani returned to Israel exactly the same way and took a bus from Eilat to Tel Aviv. When he reached the Tel Aviv central bus station, he was arrested on suspicion of being present in Israel illegally.

After 23 days detention, he was released with some limitations on his freedom, and forced to leave the documents attesting to his marriage in the hands of the police.

“What concerns me now is being with Rita, and I hope that soon she will be allowed to visit Ramallah and we’ll be together again,” he says.

According to a recent letter from attorney Nomi Heger of the Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement to Interior Minister Eli Yishai and the coordinator of government activities in the territories, Maj. Gen. Eitan Dangot, Palestinians with Israeli citizenship seeking to enter Israel from Gaza are forced to undergo genetic testing upon entrance.

The letter says that the Israeli population registrar is concerned that women will come into Israel with children unrelated to them. “It gives off the rotten smell of callous discrimination and violates the basic human right to respect and freedom,” the letter says.

The population registrar’s office denies that there has ever been a demand for genetic testing as a condition for border crossing.

The spokesman for the coordinator of government activities in the territories said that, in the wake of the letter, a broad based investigation is taking place.

By Jack Khoury
Haaretz

Israel likes to portray itself as a small, defenceless nation in the middle of a sea of angry Arabs. However, while Israel is anything but defenceless – it is after all a nuclear power with one of the most well-equipped and well-trained armies in the world – it is indeed beginning to be the focus of an upsurge of hostility and anger from its neighbours. Even long-time allies have started to lose their patience with Israel for its consistent law-breaking, daily human rights violations, lack of accountability and unabashed arrogance about the fact that it has, until now, been able to commit serious crimes with impunity.

Israel’s status as a pariah state is becoming more and more entrenched as a result of two key developments. The first is the gradual democratisation of countries in the Middle East and the second is Israel’s own conduct in refusing, for example, to apologise for killing the citizens of a former friendly state, or to bring those responsible to justice.

In terms of the democratic shifts in the region, countries like Turkey and Egypt, which once turned a blind eye to Israel’s criminality or were complicit therein, are finally waking up and taking a stand against the bully of the Middle East. Israel’s past reliance on its close ties with the Turkish military is no longer a winning hand. Since the ruling AKP came to power the army has been sent back to barracks and its influence over Turkish politics has diminished. The Israeli government now has to contend with its peers in Ankara and the likes of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan, who is making it very clear that the past alliance between Israel and Turkey is no longer assured. Understandably, he maintains that any relationship between the two countries is conditional and must be based on mutual respect. It is Israel’s apparent lack of respect and, it could be said, contempt for the people of Turkey which is placing the once cosy relationship in jeopardy.

Ever since May 2010 when Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish citizens on board the Mavi Marmara on a humanitarian mission to break the siege on Gaza but still in international waters, Turkey’s stance against Israel has been hardening. Erdogan’s government in Ankara has waited patiently to give time for diplomacy to run its course in the hope that Israel would do the right thing and offer, at the very least, an apology for the killings. To no avail, it seems; the Israelis responsible have not been brought to justice and Israel’s piracy and kidnapping has gone unpunished. Israel’s refusal to offer a simple apology for the murder of Turkish civilians is an insult that the government of Turkey cannot let pass; it has become a matter of national dignity.

The escalation in diplomatic tensions between the two “allies” has seen Turkey expel Israeli diplomats from Ankara and downgrade its own diplomatic representation in Tel Aviv. Turkey has also said that its navy will now maintain a constant presence in the Mediterranean and provide a military escort for any future humanitarian flotillas heading for Gaza. Furthermore, Prime Minister Erdogan is visiting Egypt, with speculation rife about a possible visit to the besieged Gaza Strip. That would be a bold statement creating both anger and embarrassment in Israel which would be applauded across the Arab and Muslim world. Erdogan’s visit to Cairo may also see Turkey and Egypt solidifying their stand against Israel; if so, that would be bad news for the Zionist state.

Israel’s arrogance and refusal to apologise for its criminality is foolhardy as it has the potential to lose one of its strongest allies in the region. Turkey is emerging as a huge regional power, politically and economically, and is leading the way for many other countries to step out of the shadows and challenge Israel. Many of the emerging post-revolution Arab governments will be looking to Turkey for leadership and guidance and may well take Ankara’s lead on how to deal with Tel Aviv.

In Egypt, the same two issues are also having a major impact on the country’s relationship with Israel. Democratic change and Israeli intransigence place the countries’ peace treaty under threat. The Zionist state has enjoyed the protection of its Egyptian ally ever since the Camp David accords in 1979; post-revolutionary Egypt, however, is emerging as an entirely different kettle of fish. While the government and military institutions may more or less still be the same, the Egyptian people are not and never will be the same again. The nation has found its voice and will not be silenced. If the first significant victim of the Egyptian people’s freedom was Hosni Mubarak, the second may well be the treaty with their Israeli neighbour. It suited Israel to be surrounded by Arab dictators, particularly Mubarak, at its beck and call, but that era has now passed.

When Israeli troops killed six Egyptian soldiers on the border recently, could Tel Aviv have guessed that this would prompt demonstrations in Cairo leading to the Zionist ambassador and his staff having to flee the country? It is significant that the Palestinian flag was raised alongside the Egyptian flag over the embassy after the demonstration; that is indicative of the mood of the people of Egypt. The sight of the Palestinian flag around the Middle East does not bode well for the Zionist state.

Israel is in a quandary, not simply because the Middle East is undergoing such a seismic shift but also, primarily, because Israel is not evolving and adapting its own policies to the changes taking place around it. The stubborn refusal to amend its policies and practices towards the Palestinians is clearly costing Israel in terms of relations with its erstwhile allies.

Cries from Tel Aviv about the attack on the “sovereign land” of its embassy in Cairo fall on stony ground. How can the Israeli government have the audacity to complain while it continues to abuse Palestinians in their own land; build illegal settlements across the occupied Palestinian territories; kill Egyptians going about their lawful business; launch invasions of Lebanon apparently at will; and annex land stolen from its Arab neighbours? Israel cannot continue to insist on one set of rules for itself and another for everyone else. It has to get used to being judged by the laws and conventions by which the rest of the world is expected to abide. There is a limit to global patience, and it is running out, as is the time for Israel to make amends. If it ends the occupation of Palestine, perhaps that will give Israel a glimmer of hope. If not, what sort of future can there be for a pariah Zionist state in a sea of emerging Arab democracies?

Dr Hanan Chehata

Middle East Monitor Online