Expanding the temporary truce to include the West Bank would be a difficult task at this moment. That’s according to Dr Bassem Naim who is leading a Hamas delegation in South Africa. He is also Gaza’s former health minister.

It comes as the Israeli occupation regime has unleashed an intensified assault on towns in the West Bank during the temporary truce in Gaza. It has particularly targeted Jenin, Tulkarem and Nablus, which are regarded as bastions of resistance.  

A delegation of Hamas officials is in South Africa, calling on the media and activists to only provide the truth of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Hamas’ representative in Iran, Dr Khaled Qaddoumi, addressed the media in Salt River last night. He reiterated that a two-state solution is no longer an option for Palestinians.

[Picture: Radio 786]

A written message to Hamas from a prisoner of war. Danyal was held by Hamas together with her daughter. The pair was released as part of an exchange deal during the humanitarian truce in the wake of Operation Al-Aqsa flood.

The translated text of the letter:
“To the generals who have accompanied me in recent weeks, it seems we will part ways tomorrow, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your extraordinary humanity shown towards my daughter, Emilia. You were like parents to her, inviting her into your rooms whenever she desired. She acknowledges feeling like all of you are her friends, not just friends, but truly beloved and good.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the many hours you spent as caregivers. Thank you for being patient with her and showering her with sweets, fruits, and everything available even when it was not.

Children should not be in captivity, but thanks to you and other kind people we met along the way, my daughter felt like a queen in Gaza… In general, she acknowledges feeling like the center of the world. She hasn’t met anyone on our long journey, from the rank and file to the leadership, who didn’t treat her with gentleness, affection, and love.

I will forever be a prisoner of gratitude because she did not leave here with a lifelong psychological trauma. I will remember your kind behavior, granted here despite the difficult situation you were dealing with yourselves and the severe losses you suffered here in Gaza. I wish in this world we could truly be good friends.

I wish you all health and well-being… Health and love to you and your families’ children. Many thanks.

Danyal and Emilia

On the 7th of October 2023, the world woke up from its slumber. The Palestinian struggle was no longer white noise rather it was a shameful reality of how the World has failed to end the occupation in Palestine.

To stop is one means of putting an end to something, but what about the inherited generational trauma that comes with violence and occupation of ones land, existence and life, how do we stop that?

[Picture: Unsplash]

The Zionist regime has been perpetrating decades of human rights violations; abducting Palestinians, detaining them indefinitely, uprooting agricultural land, illegally evicting them from their homes, restricting their movement, and murder. So where is the law, and international law in all of this?

Guest: Ziyaad Patel, attorney and lawfare expert

[Picture: Shutterstock]

We’ve known of the indiscriminate Israeli abduction and imprisonment campaign for years. Under Operation Al Aqsa Flood, the abductions are somewhat reminiscent of what we experienced under Apartheid; where family members are just “disappeared” with no trial or indication of their alleged crime. And the Israelis are attacking people just for airing their views on social media. One of these Palestinians is Ahed Tamimi. The 22-year-old, and her family are well known for their resistance against the Israeli theft of their homeland in Nabi Saleh near Ramallah.

Guest: Manal Tamimi, Nabi Saleh activist

[Picture: Vaktel-Forlag]