Ahmad Jaradat : Alternative Information Center - Palestine
With the beginning of the school year in Palestine four weeks ago, the issue of
education in Jerusalem has returned to the forefront of events. It is the battle of
the Israeli occupation attack on the Palestinian curriculum in Jerusalem. This is a
policy followed by the Israeli occupation authorities through the Jerusalem
Municipality and the Israeli Ministry of Education to prevent the teaching of the
Palestinian curriculum and replace it with the Israeli curriculum. The Jerusalem
Municipality and the Israeli Education Ministry modified the Palestinian
curriculum, and are trying to impose the modified curriculum on Jerusalem’s 150
schools, some of which are affiliated with the occupation municipality. The Israeli
Ministry of Education, private schools, schools affiliated with the Palestinian
Authority, and schools affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency
for Palestine Refugees in refugee camps ( UNARWA) in Jerusalem such as the
Shuafat camp.



Since the first day of the opening of the school year, weeks ago, the Israeli police
have been besieging schools, searching students' school bags, and confiscating
textbooks issued by the Palestinian Authority that include the Palestinian
curriculum. It is a policy that the occupation authorities had begun to implement
in recent years, but this year it took a more harsh and severe form, as the Israeli
police surrounded schools since the morning hours, arresting students, searching
their bags, and confiscating books that include the Palestinian curriculum, which
was rejected by the students, their families, and Jerusalem institutions. As a racist
policy that aims to empty Jerusalem of its Palestinian identity by attacking the
Palestinian curriculum and imposing the Israeli curriculum in line with the
occupation’s decisions to annex Jerusalem and declare it the capital of the State
of Israel. Many students preferred to sit on the roads near their schools and
practice education as a refusal to submit to this policy and as an example of
popular resistance to this racist policy.
More than this, the Israeli Ministry of Education in Jerusalem sent a letter to
Jerusalem schools obligating them to teach the amended Palestinian curriculum,

that is, in practice, teaching the Israeli curriculum. The letter included a decision
on the necessity of adopting the amended curriculum and prohibiting the
teaching of the Palestinian curriculum issued by the Palestinian Authority. The
letter included a warning to withdraw and cancel the license of schools that do
not implement the decisions of the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israeli
Ministry of Education, or that teach the Palestinian curriculum, and that the
municipality will cancel the licenses of these schools and close them. It is
noteworthy that last year, for the same reason, the Jerusalem Municipality and
the Ministry of Education withdrew and canceled the licenses of five private
Palestinian schools. It is worth mentioning that about 70% of Jerusalem schools
are now affiliated with the Israeli Ministry of Education and the occupation
municipality and use the Israeli curriculum. The municipality and the ministry are
trying to control all schools by teaching the modified Israeli curriculum. Not only
that, but the Israeli police stop cars carrying textbooks to schools, confiscate
books, and arrest drivers, as happened a few days ago at the entrances to a
number of schools in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The Palestinians in Jerusalem, through educational institutions, civil institutions,
and national forces, say that this is a dangerous policy practiced by the Israeli
authorities to empty Jerusalem of its identity and by attacking the most important
sector, which is education in Jerusalem. It is a policy that is consistent with the
Israeli decisions to annex Jerusalem and isolate it from its Palestinian
surroundings, and it is a policy that violates International agreements and
international law because Jerusalem is a city occupied in 1967 and its condition is
the same as the rest of the occupied Palestinian cities. The annexation decision is
illegal and illegitimate, and Jerusalem must be treated as an occupied city, and no
changes may be made that affect this legal status. It is a racist policy against
Palestinians by imposing the occupation curriculum on schools in Jerusalem.
What the schools are exposed to in Jerusalem is not new, but has been going on
for years, and which the Palestinians reject. Strikes have occurred during previous
years, especially last year, in rejection of this policy, in what the Palestinians in
Jerusalem called the slogan “the battle for education in Jerusalem.”



The result these days in Jerusalem is that the educational process is confused and
does not proceed normally. Many schools cannot be accessed by students due to
police siege and the policy of confiscating books. This negatively affects the
educational process and leads to its irregularity, which constitutes a violation of
the freedom of education and the provision of appropriate conditions for
students and educational bodies. For education. Thus, Israel is seriously violating
its obligations as an occupying power to provide these conditions in accordance
with the Fourth Geneva Conventions.
Ahmed Jaradat : Alternative Information Center - Palestine

Ahmad Jaradat – Alternative Information Center – Palestine
Most reports and documentation of human rights institutions, national bodies
and civil society indicate that the Israeli violations against the Palestinians in
occupied Jerusalem have escalated and increased significantly. Violations on more
than one level: arrests, especially those of children and women, demolishing
homes and facilities, leveling lands, decisions to increase the construction of
settlement units in various areas in Jerusalem, and direct assaults on citizens,
which resulted in the injury of many of them with live and rubber bullets and tear
gas canisters.
The storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock by extremist settlers
also escalated, incursions that were under the protection of the Israeli police and
security men, which confirms the official coordination with the Israeli
government, and its support for these incursions and violations that occur
continuously. During these incursions, Muslim worshipers are expelled from the
mosque and beaten by the police. Extremist settlers raise racist slogans against
the Palestinians during these incursions.
With regard to the repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the
Rock, the incursions by settlers continued on an almost weekly basis, especially in
the mornings. The participation of 6,542 settlers who participated in these
incursions during the months of July and August were documented by the
Jerusalem Governorate and the Islamic Commission. This is considered by a large
number of settlers, which indicates that there is a decision and policy to intensify
the incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, which leads to more tension in the Al-Aqsa
Mosque and in Palestine in general, especially since these incursions come within
the framework of a general policy taken by the Israeli authorities to support and
support these incursions, and the statements of many Extremist ministers' control
of the mosque has been repeatedly denied, especially by Israeli National Security
Minister Ben Gavier and Finance Minister Smotrich. On the other hand, the
Palestinians in Jerusalem reject this policy and this behavior of the settlers and
confront it permanently by being present in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa, which

always leads to clashes with the settlers and the police, who arrest many people,
especially young men and women, beat them up and spray tear gas.
In addition, the policy of direct house demolition or self-demolition by the owners
to avoid paying large financial fines in return for their demolition by the
occupation municipality in Jerusalem has increased during the last two months
and in various neighborhoods and areas of Jerusalem: Documentation from the
Palestinian governorate of Jerusalem indicates the demolition of 36 homes and 14
facilities. It is self-destructive. Also, 5 families were handed notices to demolish
their homes in Jerusalem. In the same context, the Sub Laban family was
evacuated from its house in Aqabat Al-Khalidiyah area in the Old City of
Jerusalem, and the occupation police handed over the house to the settlers. As
for the arrests, 151 were arrested, including 14 children under the age of 18. and
4 women.
With regard to settlement expansion in Jerusalem, the occupation authorities
decided to build 450 new settlement units in the towns of Umm Lisoun and Jabal
Mukaber, south of the city. For this purpose, 12 dunums of Palestinian lands were
confiscated from the two towns. Planning is also underway to build 670 new
settlement units in the town of Beit Safafa, southeast of the city.
Mr. Zakaria Odeh, coordinator of the Civil Coalition for Human Rights in
Jerusalem, stated to the Alternative Information Center - Palestine that "the
Coalition has monitored a serious escalation in recent weeks of human rights
violations in Jerusalem, and that these violations affected most aspects of citizens'
lives, such as house demolitions, arrests, beatings and the use of force , land
confiscation and a significant increase in the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the
Dome of the Rock. This reality that the extremist Israeli government is trying to
impose in Jerusalem is a continuation of gross human rights violations, which are
a violation of the Geneva Conventions, international laws and United Nations
charters. This policy is an escalating continuation of the displacement of the
Palestinians by putting pressure on it and imposing a difficult fait accompli on
them."
Ahmad jaradat- Alternative Information Center – Palestine

NIGER: A COUP AGAINST FRENCH CONTROL AND DOMINANCE
Chandra Muzaffar*
Malaysia - 9 August 2023

The situation in Niger is still in flux. On 26 July 2023 a military coup took place in that West African state that led to the ouster of its elected President, Mohamed Bazoum, by Brigadier General Abdourahmane Tchiani. The Brigadier General has proclaimed that he is the new president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP).

The coup has been condemned by the 15 member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of which Niger is a member, the African Union, the European Union and the United States of America. On the 30 th of July, ECOWAS whose current head is Nigeria (not to be confused with Niger) issued an ultimatum to the coup leaders to restore Bazoum to power within one week, or face the consequences including possible military action. The deadline has expired. ECOWAS has not acted. It is alleged that the regional grouping would now prefer diplomacy.

One of the reasons why ECOWAS has changed its stance is because of strong opposition to any military intervention from some of its member states. Mali and Burkina Faso have made it explicitly clear that they would view military intervention as a “declaration of war” against the people of Niger and would defend the newly installed military junta. Besides, Niger is geographically one of the biggest countries in West Africa and possesses a well-trained army.

But an even more compelling reason why military intervention may not be an option for ECOWAS or anyone else for that matter is because the 26 th July coup, it is obvious to most observers, has widespread support among the people. The people see the coup as an attempt to end continuous Western --- mainly French and now also American--- exploitation and dominance of Niger. Niger, once a French colony, is rich in natural resources, uranium, oil and gold.

Its uranium industry for instance is owned and operated by a so-called  joint venture, between Niger and France, the Societe des mines de l’Air ( Somair). 85% of Somair is owned by France’s Atomic Energy Commission and two French companies, while 15% is owned by Niger’s government. Niger is the world’s seventh largest producer of uranium, vital for nuclear energy while France relies heavily upon nuclear energy for 70% of its domestic power supply. As Vijay Prasad and Kambala Musavuli put it in a recent article, “One in three lightbulbs in France are powered by uranium from Niger, at the same time as 42% of the African country’s population live below the poverty line.”

France’s grip over Niger’s uranium is just one example of the former colonial power’s hold on Niger’s economy. This neo-colonial dominance expresses itself in many other ways. Niger, like other ex- French colonies in Africa, is tied to the French currency and the French financial system. It uses the Communaute Financiere Africaine (CFA) for its domestic and foreign financial transactions.

50% of the reserves of these African states are held in the French Treasury as part of an arrangement forged between the ex-colonies and France. Consequently, when France devalued the CFA, the impact upon the African economies including Niger was disastrous. If we look at these economies as a whole, it is only in the fields of external trade and investments that some positive changes have occurred in recent years largely because of the emergence of China as an important partner.

Outside the Nigerien economy, the neo-colonial presence is most visible in the form of French and American soldiers and bases. French and American militaries were brought in by the government to fight Muslim insurgents. The rise of these insurgents is linked --- to some extent at least --- to the US-NATO overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 which paved the way for the growth of so-called jihadist groups in parts of North and West Africa. Of course, the Jihadist phenomenon cannot be divorced from US and British intelligence operations in the post 911 period.

Resentment against French and American troops has reinforced the perception that leaders like Bazoum, though elected, were mere puppets of Western interests. This explains why in the huge demonstrations that have taken place in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, and elsewhere Bazoum was denounced for betraying the people. It is not just in Niger that anti-French and anti-Western sentiments have peaked. In three other states, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea such sentiments have also found expression. The presence of French and American troops in those states has also played a role in the mounting anger towards Western power.

Economic difficulties faced by the people which are often attributed to Western dominance have exacerbated popular feelings. It is significant that in all 3 states military coups had taken place between August 2020 and September 2021. As feelings against France in particular and the West in general have become more pronounced in West Africa, the mood towards Russia seems to have become more positive. An article in the Guardian ( 5 August 2023) notes that “ Russian flags were brandished by those demonstrating outside the French embassy in Niamey, with many calling for Vladimir Putin to replace Macron as their biggest global backer.” Putin himself has been critical of the coup and has expressed the hope that civilian rule would be restored.

And indeed, civilian rule should prevail in Niger and other states in the region. But civilian rule should reflect the people’s legitimate desire for liberation from neo-colonial dominance. Civilian rule should uphold the dignity of the human being and the sovereignty of the people. It should protect the independence of the people which must include their right to own and control their economy and define and defend their own security.

 Dr Chandra Muzaffar is the president of the International

Movement for a Just World (JUST)