Palestinian developments in 2013 (1)

Palestinian issue has witnessed bittersweet developments in 2013, topped by celebrations of Fatah founding anniversary in Gaza after a six-year hiatus, martyrdom of long-serving Palestinian captive Arafat Jaradat in Israeli jails, and demise of female Palestinian combatant, um Nazal Farhat.

International support to the Palestinian nation grew larger in the past Gregorian year compounded by an expanding hate among the western countries for the Zionist regime. The growing support prompted the western governments to modify their policies towards the Zionist regime's violation of the Palestinian rights.

The Palestinian nation for its part showed it no longer trusts any 'peace' initiative by the US and that it supports the option of resistance against the Zionist regime.

Let's review top developments of the first quarter of the 2013:

January:

- About one million people in Gaza convened in the al-Saraya square to celebrate the 48^th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah movement. The celebration was a first of its kind in six years since relations between Fatah and Hamas

- In a meeting in Cairo, Egypt, Leaders of Palestinian movements Hamas and Fatah, Khaled Mashaal and Mahmoud Abbas agreed over six key issues, topped by the national reconciliation.

- Israeli President Shimon Peres in unprecedented remarks admitted that his regime was involved in assassinating former Palestinian Authority head Yasser Ararft. Peres acknowledged that his regime should not have killed Ararft and that the situation turned worse for Israel in the aftermath of his assassination.

- Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in a provocative move strolled through the sacred ground of Ibrahimi shrine. The move triggered indignation among Palestinian Muslims.

February:

- A delegation from the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas headed by political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal met with Turkish Prime Minister, Recap Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey.

- Palestinian captive, Araft Jaradat who had already languished for 30 years in the Israeli jails was tortured to death a few days after the Zionist regime rearrested him. He was transferred to another jail two days before his martyrdom under torture. As news spread about his martyrdom, thousands of angry Palestinians staged massive demonstrations across Palestine. They declared the Zionist regime was directly responsible for the killing.

- Zionist regime's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form cabinet within the lawful period, adding to the regime's multitude of challenges.

March:

- Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas denied Palestinian Authority's claims that it has agreed with the PA talks with the Zionist regime as a precondition for a prospective national reconciliation government. The movement accused the PA government of pushing the reconciliation talks towards dead-end.

- Female Palestinian combatant, Mariyam Muhammad Farhan, Known as um Nazal passed away on March 17 after decades of struggle against the Zionist regime. She was 64. She mothered 6 sons and 4 daughters. All her sons were members of the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades and three of them were martyred in the path of anti-Israeli struggle, namely Nnazal, Muhammad, and Rawad.

- Palestinian captive, Aiman Sharawenah who had kept a hunger strike for over 260 consecutive days in protest at his re-arrest without charge by the Zionist regime broke his strike after the regime agreed to release him. He was later banished to the Gaza Strip.

- Zionist regime's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally formed a coalition cabinet of 21 ministers compared to 30 ministers in his previous cabinet. The current cabinet is said to be the most radical and extremist cabinets in the history of the fake state.

- US President Barak Obama arrived in the occupied historical Palestine in his first foreign tour since being elected to the post for a second time. Obama promised on arrival that his visit aimed to reaffirm his commitment to security of Israel. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya said Oabam's visit and remarks would never change the equations on the ground in the region.

- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei in a landmark speech on March 21, 2013 affirmed that if the Zionist regime does a damn thing against the Iranian nation and attacks Iran, the Islamic Republic would level Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground.