As they so eloquently stated…

On Wednesday, March 16th, we mark the eighth anniversary of our daughter Rachel’s stand in Rafah, Gaza, to protect the right of a Gazan family to be safe and secure in their home and the rights of all Palestinians to self-determination, freedom, equality, and security in the same measure as their Israeli neighbors.

Here in Olympia, Washington – our hometown and Rachel’s – our family, the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, and our community will mark this anniversary with an event that emphasizes three components: community-building, education, and action. Strengthening community connections was important to Rachel when she lived and worked here in Olympia, but, also, beyond, as she embraced the world as her community. As we pursue a more just global community, we must arm ourselves with solid information and knowledge. Rachel believed this profoundly and emphasized in her writing from Gaza the importance of seeking and communicating the facts and doing so without exaggeration. And it is not enough for us to think and talk. We must, also, act. Indeed, it is because of Rachel’s action on March 16, 2003, that we pause to mark this day…

R.I.P. Rachel and God Bless the Corrie family…!

Now, in an extraordinary display of people power, Palestinians all across the West Bank and in Gaza held their ‘Day of Rage’ calling for ‘Unity’ between them… So naturally the PTBs had to crack down…

Ramallah protesters remain unbowed

Palestinians demonstrating in the West Bank city of Ramallah late Tuesday vowed to maintain their presence in a central square until the West Bank and Gaza Strip are re-united.

The call, through loudspeakers, came shortly after tear gas canisters briefly dispersed the crowd in the Manara circle. It was not clear who tossed the canisters out of a car that sped past the demonstration.

Throughout the day, around 7,000 people demonstrated in the West Bank, with around 3,000 in Ramallah, 2,000 in the northern city of Nablus and similar numbers in Hebron, and Bethlehem, reporters said.

Protesters and security forces clashed as the Palestinian Authority sought to gain control of demonstrations calling for an end to rivalry.

In Gaza…

Gaza security forces violently disperse rally

Security forces forcefully dispersed protesters from a square in central Gaza City late Tuesday, witnesses said.

Protesters in Gaza said security forces set up hundreds of barriers around the main square of demonstrations and were patrolling the area.

They beat people with batons and set fire to tents that were set up by the demonstrators, according to activists in Gaza City.

The March 15 Coalition said hundreds of Hamas security forces stormed the protests and tried to evacuate it by force.

Ma’an also painted a very bleak picture today, with their excellent Palestine protests live report…

Now, moving along… Another common I/P fallacy is exposed…

‘Palestinian influx into Jordan is a fiction’

New research published by a Jordanian daily reveals scope of “political naturalization” is much smaller than commonly believed.

Fears that Palestinians are granted Jordanian citizenship in huge numbers and gradually swamping the natives has long been a worry among the country’s indigenous population of so-called East Bankers. But new research says their concerns are unfounded.

Data published in the Jordanian daily A-Dustour this week revealed that the scope of “political naturalization,” a euphemism for Palestinians receiving Jordanian nationality, was much smaller than commonly believed. Only 217 West Bank Palestinians were granted citizenship in Jordan during the past decade, a far smaller number than the thousands of Jordanians of Palestinian origin whose nationality was revoked.

Oraib Al-Rantawi, director of the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies and a columnist for the newspaper, said Ministry of Interior records showed that less than 0.5% of the 46,000 people to receive Jordanian citizenship since 2000 were Palestinian. The few that did, Al-Rantawi claimed, got it for purely technical reasons, such as marrying a Jordanian or reclaiming citizenship previously revoked.

This revelation was news to many Jordanians who believe there is a master-plan, both by Israel and elements in Jordan, to turn the kingdom into an alternative Palestinian state.

I don’t blame the Jordanians one iota, the current GoI plans to make it the only Palestinian state…!

*gah*