Alarm in France over fate of detained French-Algerian writer


By AFP
November 22, 2024

Boualem Sansal is a favoured writer among the right in France 

- Copyright AFP/File FRANCOIS GUILLOT

Valérie Leroux and Stuart Williams

Alarm grew in France on Friday over the fate of a prominent French-Algerian novelist detained in the country of his birth, with his publisher urging his immediate release and President Emmanuel Macron closely following the case.

Boualem Sansal, a major figure in francophone modern literature, is known for his strong stances against both authoritarianism and Islamism as well as being a forthright campaigner on freedom of expression issues.

His detention by Algeria comes against a background of tensions between France and its former colony which have also appear to have spread to the literary world.

The 75-year-old writer, granted French nationality this year, was on Saturday arrested at Algiers airport after returning from France, according to several media reports including the Marianne weekly.

The Gallimard publishing house, which has published his work for a quarter of a century, in a statement expressed “its very deep concern following the arrest of the writer by the Algerian security services”, calling for his “immediate release”.

There has been no confirmation from the Algerian authorities of his arrest and no other details about his situation.

Macron is “very concerned by the disappearance” of Sansal, said a French presidential official, asking not to be named.

“State services are mobilised to clarify his situation,” the official said, adding that “the president expresses his unwavering attachment to the freedom of a great writer and intellectual.”

A relative latecomer to writing, Sansal turned to novels in 1999 and has tackled subjects including the horrific 1990s civil war between authorities and Islamists.

His books are not banned in Algeria but he is a controversial figure, particularly since making a visit to Israel in 2014.

Sansal’s hatred of Islamism has not been confined to Algeria and he has also warned of a creeping Islamisation in France, a stance that has made him a favoured author of prominent figures on the right and far-right.

Prominent politicians from this side of the political spectrum rushed to echo Macron’s expression of concern for the writer.

– ‘Courageous opponent of Islamism’ –

Centre-right former premier and candidate in 2027 presidential elections Edouard Philippe wrote on X that Sansal “embodies everything we cherish: the call for reason, freedom and humanism against censorship, corruption and Islamism.”

Far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen, another possible 2027 contender, said: “This freedom fighter and courageous opponent of Islamism has reportedly been arrested by the Algerian regime. This is an unacceptable situation.”

In 2015, Sansal won the Grand Prix du Roman of the French Academy, the guardians of the French language, for his book “2084: The End of the World”, a dystopian novel inspired by George Orwell’s “Nineteen-Eighty Four” and set in an Islamist totalitarian world in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust.

His publisher said that Sansal’s novels and essays “exposed the obscurantisms of all kinds which are tragically affecting the way of the world.”

The concerns about his reported arrest come as another prominent French-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud is under attack over his novel “Houris”, which won France’s top literary prize, the Goncourt.

A woman has claimed the book was based on her story of surviving 1990s Islamist massacres and used without her consent.

She alleged on Algerian television that Daoud used the story she confidentially recounted to a therapist — who is now his wife — during treatment. His publisher has denied the claims.

The controversies are taking place in a tense diplomatic context between France and Algeria, after Macron renewed French support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara during a landmark visit to the kingdom last month.

Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is de facto controlled for the most part by Morocco.

But it is claimed by the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, who are demanding a self-determination referendum and are supported by Algiers.

Daoud meanwhile has called for Sansal’s release, writing in the right-wing Le Figaro: “I sincerely hope that my friend Boualem will return to us very soon”, while expressing his bafflement in the face of the “imprudence” that Sansal allegedly showed in going to  Algiers.

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Macron recognises Algerian national hero Larbi Ben M'hidi 'killed by French soldiers' in 1957

French President Emmanuel Macron issued a statement on Friday, the 70th anniversary of the November 1, 1954 uprising that led to the Algerian War, acknowledging that prominent Algerian revolutionary leader Larbi Ben M'hidi was killed by French soldiers after his arrest in 1957.


Issued on: 01/11/2024 -
By: NEWS WIRES

Larbi Ben M'Hidi, Algerian leader of the FLN, tortured to death in 1957. © AFP Archives


President Emmanuel Macron on Friday acknowledged that Larbi Ben M'hidi, a key figure in Algeria's War of Independence against France, had been killed by French soldiers after his arrest in 1957, the French presidency said.

"He recognised today that Larbi Ben M'hidi, a national hero for Algeria... was killed by French soldiers," the presidency said on the 70th anniversary of the revolt that sparked the war, in a new gesture of reconciliation by Macron towards the former colony.

France's more than a century-long colonisation of Algeria and the viciously fought 1954-62 war of independence have left deep scars on both sides.

In recent years, Macron has made several gestures towards reconciliation while stopping short of issuing any apology for French imperialism.
Watch more

Red All Saints' Day: Remembering the start of the Algerian War, 70 years ago

Since coming to power in 2017, Macron has sought "to look at the history of colonisation and the Algerian War in the face, with the aim of creating a peaceful and shared memory", the presidency said.

Ben M'hidi was one of six founding members of the National Liberation Front (FLN) that launched the armed revolt against French rule that led to the war.

The presidency said that according to the official version, Ben M'hidi after his arrest in February 1957 attempted to commit suicide and died during his transfer to the hospital.

But it said he had in fact been killed by soldiers under the command of General Paul Aussaresses, who admitted to this at the beginning of the 2000s.

Read more 

Sixty years on, Algerian and French nationals share stories of the Algerian War

In 2017, then-presidential candidate Macron dubbed the French occupation a "crime against humanity".

A report he commissioned from historian Benjamin Stora recommended in 2020 further moves to reconcile the two countries, while ruling out "repentance" and "apologies".

But Macron, who has sought to build a strong relationship with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in 2022 questioned whether Algeria existed as a nation before being colonised by France, drawing an angry response from Algiers.

(AFP)

IMPERIALI$M

Macron pledges French investment in disputed Western Sahara in speech to Morocco's parliament

Speaking to Morocco's parliament on the second day of his state visit to the North African country Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron renewed France's support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara.

 Click on the player to follow Macron's speech as it happened.


Issued on: 29/10/2024 - 
By: NEWS WIRES

41:58

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech in front of the members of Morocco's Parliament in Rabat on October 29, 2024. © Ludovic Marin, AFP



President Emmanuel Macron renewed French support for Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara Tuesday and pledged French investment in the largely Moroccan-controlled but disputed territory.

Deals with Morocco involving Western Sahara have been a problem for European governments with the EU's top court earlier this month upholding the cancellation of trade deals allowing Morocco to export Sahrawi products to the bloc.

In an address to the Moroccan parliament on a three-day state visit, Macron said French companies "will support the development" of Western Sahara, whose "present and future" belong under "Moroccan sovereignty".

He pledged "investments and sustainable support initiatives to benefit local populations".

10:02


This comes a day after Paris and Rabat signed several deals – including on energy and infrastructure – with a total value of "up to 10 billion euros", official sources told AFP, though specific contract details were not disclosed.

Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is largely controlled by Morocco but the Algerian-backed Polisario Front has campaigned for its independence since before Spanish forces pulled out in 1975.

The United Nations considers Western Sahara a "non-self-governing territory" and has had a peacekeeping mission there since 1991 whose stated aim is to organise a referendum on the territory's future.

But Rabat has repeatedly rejected any vote in which independence is an option.

France's stance on the issue has been ambiguous in recent years, which – in addition to Macron's efforts to reconcile with Algeria – strained ties between Rabat and Paris.

The two governments have also been at odds over other issues, including migration after France in 2021 halved the number of visas it grants to Moroccans.

But Macron began easing tensions when he said in July that Morocco's offer of autonomy for the territory under its sovereignty was the "only basis" to resolve the conflict.

France's diplomatic turnabout had been awaited by Morocco, whose annexation of Western Sahara had already been recognised by the United States in return for Rabat normalising ties with Israel in 2020.

Macron's visit to Rabat comes after his rapprochement efforts with Algeria seem to have hit a dead end.

He said France's new position on Western Sahara was "hostile to no one", though Paris's diplomatic shift has angered Algiers.

A state visit to Paris by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was rescheduled multiple times before being called off by Algiers earlier this month.

After Macron endorsed Morocco's autonomy plan in July, Algeria promptly withdrew its ambassador to Paris and has yet to send a replacement.

Algeria, which cut diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021, has recently began imposing visa requirements on Moroccans, accusing some of its passport holders of "Zionist espionage".

(AFP)

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France launches probe into cyberbullying of Olympic boxing champion Khelif

French authorities on Wednesday launched a cyberbullying investigation following complaints lodged by Algerian Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif. In one of the biggest controversies of the Paris Olympic Games, Khelif was targeted by an onslaught of online harassment around her gender shortly after she beat Italy’s Angela Carini in the women’s 66kg preliminaries. The hot-button issue has even seen JK Rowling, Donald Trump and Elon Musk weigh in.


Issued on: 14/08/2024 -

French prosecutors say a probe has been launched following a complaint by Algerian Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif. 

© Mohd Rasfan, AFP file photo

France has launched a cyberbullying probe following a complaint by Algerian Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif, who was at the centre of a gender controversy at the Paris Olympic Games, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

The controversy has rapidly become a hot-button issue outside the ring, with politicians and celebrities including Donald Trump and Elon Musk weighing in.

The investigation was opened Tuesday into "cyberharassment" following the high-profile gender row at the Games, the Paris public prosecutor's office told AFP.

Read moreUnder pressure: Algerian boxer Imane Khelif triumphs after days of abuse over 'gender controversy'

The athlete's lawyer Nabil Boudi said last week that Khelif, 25, had filed a complaint for online harassment, calling it a "fight for justice."

"The investigation will determine who was behind this misogynist, racist and sexist campaign, but will also have to concern itself with those who fed the online lynching," he said at the time.

The Central Office for Combating Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crimes has been tasked with the investigation.
'Born a woman'

According to US magazine Variety, billionaire entrepreneur Musk and Harry Potter author JK Rowling have been named in the complaint.

Former US President Trump, who is the Republican party's nominee in the 2024 presidential race, would also be part of the investigation, Variety said, citing the lawyer.

Khelif won the women's 66kg final against China's Yang Liu in a unanimous points decision, having been the focus of intense scrutiny in the French capital during the Olympics.

Together with Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, who won the 57kg women's final, Khelif was disqualified from last year's world championships after they failed gender eligibility testing.

However they were cleared to compete in Paris, setting the stage for one of the biggest controversies of the Games.

Algeria's Imane Khelif punches Italy's Angerla Carini in the women's 66kg preliminaries round of 16 boxing match during the Paris Games. © Mohd Rasfan, AFP

The row in Paris erupted after Khelif won her bout against Italy's Angela Carini in just 46 seconds with two strong punches to the Italian's nose.

Trump said he would "keep men out of women's sports" and his running mate JD Vance described the bout as a "grown man pummelling a woman in a boxing match".

Rowling also weighed in, saying on X that the Paris Olympics would be "forever tarnished by the brutal injustice done to Carini".

The International Boxing Association's Russian president and Kremlin-linked oligarch, Umar Kremlev, has targeted both athletes, claiming that Khelif and Lin had undergone "genetic testing that shows that these are men".

The IBA were responsible for the world championships in 2023 that Lin and Khelif were thrown out of, but the IOC cleared them to box in Paris.

Khelif said she is "a woman like any other".

"I was born a woman, lived a woman and competed as a woman," she told reporters about her eligibility.

"They hate me and I don't know why," she said of the IBA.
'Defamation campaign'

Russia's team has been banned from the Paris Olympics over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, Khelif received a hero's welcome at Algiers airport, with crowds cheering the boxer with chants of "Tahia Imane" (Long live Imane).

The row in Paris erupted after Algeria's Imane Khelif won her bout against Italy's Angela Carini in just 46 seconds. © Mohd Rasfan, AFP


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An editorial in government daily El Moudjahid praised Khelif.

"Imane's victory is also a victory for the oppressed and the excluded, but above all it is a victory for the law, which for too long has been trampled by the logic of the powerful, who are greedy for domination and adept at double-standard policies."

Asked if the International Olympic Committee was prepared to consider reviewing the gender issue, its president Thomas Bach has said: "If someone is presenting us a scientifically solid system how to identify men and women, we are the first ones to do it."

"But what is not possible that someone is saying this is not a woman just by looking at somebody or by falling prey to a defamation campaign by a not credible organisation with highly political interest."

(AFP)

Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling named in harassment complaint filed by Olympic boxer: report

Daniel Hampton
August 13, 2024 

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and tech billionaire Elon Musk — both of whom have a history of espousing anti-transgender views — were reportedly named in a complaint in France over allegations of "aggravated cyber harassment” against an Olympic boxer who eventually won a gold medal.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif became the subject of GOP-led attacks by former President Donald Trump, his running mate J.D. Vance, and a variety of Fox News hosts after she defeated Italian boxer Angela Carini in under a minute.

Khelif is a woman from birth and has naturally occurring high levels of testosterone. She was excluded from competition last year for failing an unspecified gender eligibility test, which led right-wing commentators to falsely claim Khelif is transgender or even a "biological man."

Khelif filed a complaint alleging online harassment in Paris, Variety reported Monday. On Tuesday, an attorney for Khelif told Variety that Musk and Rowling were mentioned in the complaint, which was posted to an anti-online hatred center of the city'sprosecutor’s office on Friday.

The lawsuit was filed against the social media app X, according to the report, her attorney Nabil Boudi said ensures prosecutors have "all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people" — including those who may have anonymously expressed hate messages.

“J. K. Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” he told Variety. Trump will also be part of the investigation, he said.

“Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution,” said Boudi.

Rowling posted a picture of Khelif’s bout with Carini and posted: "Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered."

Musk, meanwhile, shared a post with the caption "absolutely" from swimmer Riley Gaines that said: “Men don’t belong in women’s sports.”

Trump, for his part, also posted a picture of the match on his Truth Social app with the caption: “I will keep men out of women’s sports!”

Hero's welcome for Olympic gender-row boxer Khelif in Algiers

Algiers (AFP) – Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif said she had won for her country's women as Algeria's Paris Games medallists received a hero's welcome at Algiers airport on Monday.

Issued on: 12/08/2024 - 

An artist paints a large portrait of Algerian Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif in her hometown Tiaret © - / AFP

Khelif, who was the centre of a gender controversy at the Olympics on her way to the women's 66kg title, teenage gymnastics gold medallist Kaylia Nemour and men's 800m bronze medallist Djamel Sedjati brandished their medals for the waiting fans.

The crowd cheered Khelif with chants of "Tahia Imane" (long live Imane).

"The answer lay in the results of each match," she said. "I wanted to show the strength of performance and the presence of women in general, and Algerian women in particular."

The International Olympic Committee took over the boxing competition in Paris after losing patience with the International Boxing Association.

The IBA, led by Umar Kremlev, a Kremlin-linked oligarch, retaliated during the Games by saying it had disqualified Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting from its world championships last year because its tests showed "these are men". The IBA had allowed both boxers to compete in Tokyo three years ago.

Khelif, 25, addressed what she called a "relentless campaign" on Monday.

She said she wanted "to thank the Algerian people who supported me in this ordeal and gave me strength".

"Algerian women are an example and a model for the whole world," the boxer said. "Thanks to God, we have restored Algeria's honour and flown the Algerian flag in Paris, which is the most important thing."

© 2024 AFP

OLYMPICS: THE FIRESTORM AROUND IMANE

Ryan Storr | Holly Thorpe 

THE CONVERSATION 

Published August 11, 2024 

Angela Carini (left) refused to shake Imane Khelif’s hand after their contest | AP

In a preliminary women’s under 66kg boxing match at the Paris Olympics last week between Algerian Imane Khelif and Italian Angela Carini, a powerful punch to the face resulted in Carini withdrawing after 46 seconds.

Carini dissolved into tears, crying “this is unfair”, and “I have never been hit so hard in my life.”

Almost immediately, journalists and commentators jumped to Carini’s defence, raising questions about International Olympic Committee (IOC) policies and making many false assertions about Khelif’s gender identity.

The back story


In the face of harmful inaccuracies and widespread online hate speech it is important to outline some of the basics.

Khelif has identified as female since birth and lived her entire life as a woman, including throughout her sporting career.

She is not transgender. She did not go through puberty as a male and then transition later.

The recent controversy at the Paris Olympics about a female Algerian boxer being falsely accused of being male or a transgender for throwing powerful punches or looking like a man was a case of misinformation, abuse and injustice

Her passport marks her identity as female, thus meeting the IOC criteria for gender classification of boxers.

In her first international boxing competition in 2018, she lost five of six elite level bouts. She went to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 as one of Algeria’s first Olympic boxers and, while she won her opening bout, she lost her second.

Khelif has had some previous international success but she has been beaten by nine women boxers prior to the Paris games.

Boxing’s questionable approach to gender testing

In 2023, a boxing competition held in Russia and run by the International Boxing Association (IBA) questioned the gender identity of Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting (who is also competing at the Paris Olympics).

The IBA president, Umar Kremlev of Russia, was quoted as saying the two athletes had XY chromosomes and thus were subsequently disqualified. Elsewhere, it was stated the athletes presented with “elevated” levels of testosterone.

The facts are yet to be confirmed and it is not the role of an international sports organisation to be handing out personal and private information.

Upon request from the athletes, the IBA refused to provide evidence of the tests undertaken. The IBA minutes (available on its website) state the decision to disqualify Khelif and Lin was initially taken solely by the IBA secretary general and CEO.

The IBA board only ratified it afterwards, with the minutes stating the organisation needs to “establish a clear procedure on gender testing.”

As the records suggest, the IBA did not follow ethical practice regarding the disqualification of Khelif and Yu-Ting. In fact, the very use of such tests to identify an athlete’s sex and/or gender are highly problematic.

Sex testing in question

Since 1968, some sportswomen competing in the Olympics have had to undergo humiliating tests, “proving” their gender identities. This often involved visual examinations of their genitals in front of doctors and other medical experts.

Mandated by the IOC, “gender verification” tests were then implemented by international sports organisations.

Underpinning such practices was a set of problematic assumptions, particularly that a woman who is good at sport could perhaps be a man masquerading as female.

Beyond visual examinations, blood tests documenting hormone levels and/or chromosome testing were used. But as research has revealed, the effects of testosterone on performance are often overstated, and understandings of sporting performance and gender require much more nuanced approaches.

After many years of critique, the IOC halted such practices in 1999.

In place of outdated sex tests that fail to recognise the physiological and socio-psychological complexities of gender identity, the IOC introduced a new set of guidelines, prioritising the basic human rights of privacy, inclusion and participation.

While the IOC sets out the framework in the hope of guiding other international organisations towards more inclusive understandings of gender, the guidelines remain contested.

Some organisations opted to take alternative approaches to testing and proving an athlete’s “true” gender identity — for example, World Athletics continue to use testosterone testing.

Boxing and the IOC: a clash of ethics

The boxing events at the Paris Olympics are not being organised by the IBA, but instead by a special IOC-appointed unit.

The IBA was suspended in 2019 by the IOC, and last year stripped of its status as the world governing body of amateur boxing due to concerns regarding its governance, financial transparency and the integrity of its officials.

The IOC was also concerned the IBA refused to follow their approach in issuing sanctions on Russian athletes over the Ukraine war. With the Russian leadership of the IBA, this position highlights another layer of geopolitical complexity in this case.

Responding to the media frenzy after the Khelif-Carini bout, the Paris 2024 boxing unit stated: “All athletes participating in the boxing tournament comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU).”

The IBA has responded by offering Carini and her coach a payment similar to the purse awarded to the Olympic champion (US$100,000).

Since the incident, Carini has apologised to Khelif for her reaction and the resulting abuse, stating she would “embrace her” the next time they meet.

The real issues for women in sport

In the contemporary context, many sportswomen who appear too powerful, too successful, or look “too masculine” according to a particular set of values, are at risk of being targeted. Importantly, it is most often non-white athletes who face the most scrutiny of their gendered sporting bodies.

Beyond the ethics of the tests being used, the extreme levels of online abuse directed to sportswomen such as Khelif and Lin reveal new ways in which women’s bodies are being policed and regulated.

To avoid such accusations, many sportswomen are engaging in what scholars have termed “emphasised femininity” — wearing long lashes, jewellery, make-up, painted nails and overtly feminine clothing. This is not because it enhances their performance but to reassure audiences (and critics) of their femininity.

If they do not offer a convincing performance that meets limited versions of femininity, they may also face surveillance of their gendered bodies, and public attack and online abuse.

However, this recent controversy may be a distraction from the real issues affecting women’s sport, such as safeguarding against systematic abuse, which has been seen in recent high-profile cases involving Volleyball Australia and USA Gymnastics.

While the Paris Olympic and Paralympics may be celebrated as the first “gender equitable” games, with 50 percent female participation, the abuse faced by Khelif and Yu-Ting highlight the challenges many women still face in sport.

Holly Thorpe is Professor in Sociology of Sport and Gender at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand

Ryan Storr is a Research Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia

Republished from The Conversation

Published in Dawn, EOS, August 11th, 2024.

Imane Khelif takes legal action against online harassment amid gender controversy: ‘I want to change minds…’

By Bhavika Rathore
Aug 11, 2024

Imane Khelif filed the formal complaint after winning a gold medal in women’s welterweight boxing.

Boxer Imane Khelif made a legal complaint on Friday, August 10 against all the online harassment. She recently won a gold medal for her country in the women’s welterweight boxing after defeating China’s Yang Liu at the Paris Olympics. Khelif was trolled relentlessly since the gender controversy began after her match with Italian boxer,

 Angela Carini

.

TOPSHOT - Imane Khelif filed a legal complaint against the online harassment after the gender outcry. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP)(AFP)

Also Read: Second gender-row boxer Lin Yu Ting wins Olympic gold after Imane Khelif; rival left with bloodied face
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Imane Khelif clap backs at trolls with a legal complaint

The Algerian boxer filed a legal complaint against hate comments which claimed she was not a woman after her victory at the Olympics. Khelif’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi mentioned stated that a formal complaint was filed against the online harassment. The gold medalist said, “All that is being said about me on social media is immoral. I want to change the minds of people around the world,” about her move to file a complaint.

Khelif further added, “For eight years, this has been my dream, and I’m now the Olympic champion and gold medalist,” as reported by the interpreter to AP. Khelif was asked about the gender scrutiny which surrounded her for the past few days, she said, “That also gives my success a special taste because of those attacks. We are in the Olympics to perform as athletes, and I hope that we will not see any similar attacks in future Olympics.”

The gender scrutiny began after her opponent, Carini, backed out of the match due to health concerns and parted with the statement, “I have never felt a punch like this,” while crying.

‘I’m a woman’: Imane Khelif

While Khelif was one of the two women who were allowed to participate in the Olympics after they were disqualified from the International Boxing Association’s women’s world championship last year, the association is now banned. The other athlete was Taiwanese player Li Yu-ting. According to the announcement by IBA, both the players failed the testosterone and gender eligibility test. However, Khelif who was raised as a female since childhood said, “I’m fully qualified to take part in this competition. I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born as a woman, I live as a woman, and I am qualified” right before winning herself a gold.

Boxing-Taiwan's Lin says she blocked out gender dispute en route to gold

Paris 2024 Olympics - Boxing - Women's 57kg - Victory Ceremony - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - Aug 10, 2024. Gold medallist Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan kisses her medal.

Reuters
August 10, 2024 

PARIS — Lin Yu-ting, one of two boxers at the centre of a gender dispute at the Paris Olympics, said staying off social media and focusing on her sport had helped her cope with nearly two weeks of international headlines over her eligibility for the Games.

Lin, who beat Polish opponent Julia Szeremeta to claim the women's featherweight gold on Saturday (Aug 10), and Algerian Imane Khelif were both caught up in a storm that has dominated headlines and been the subject of heated debate on social media platforms.

The two boxers were disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from the 2023 World Championships, which said a sex chromosome test had ruled both of them ineligible.

They competed in Paris after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped the IBA of its status as the sport's governing body in 2023 and took control of organising the boxing itself.

The IOC used boxing eligibility rules that were applied at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics and do not include gender testing.

"As an elite athlete during the competition, it's important to shut myself off from social media and to focus. That is extremely important," Lin told reporters after the win.

"Of course I heard some of the information through my coach, but I didn't pay too much attention to it. I was invited by the IOC to participate at the Games, this is what I focused on.

"As for the other news, I relied on my coach to answer the questions. I just focused on who my competitor would be, I focused on training and being able to bring my A-game when I fought."

On Saturday, Khelif's lawyer Nabil Boudi said the Algerian boxer had filed a formal legal complaint citing online harassment.

Asked if she would take similar measures, Lin said: "This is something I will discuss with my team. We will decide later what the next step will be."

Lin, a two-time world champion, was overcome by emotion after the bout and moved to tears while standing on the podium.

"During the fight, I saw images flashing and I thought about the beginning of my career when I started boxing," the 28-year-old said.

"All the difficult practise sessions, the times I got injured, the competitors I fought against.

"There were times of great pain, and times of great joy. I cried because I was so touched. I represented Taiwan, I got the gold medal. I want to thank all the people in Taiwan who supported me, from the beginning to the end."

FIGHTING TALK 
Imane Khelif hits out at ‘enemies of success’ after fighting through gender row to win Olympic gold

Khelif defeated Yang Liu to win the women’s welterweight tournament in Paris, becoming Algeria’s first woman to ever win a gold medal in boxing at the Games.

Gold medallist Imane Khelif of Algeria kisses her medal
Jack Rathborn 

UK Independent

Imane Khelif hit out at “the enemies of success” and those who do not believe she is a woman after fighting to win Olympic gold amid a gender row at Paris 2024.

Khelif defeated Yang Liu to win the women’s welterweight tournament in Paris, becoming Algeria’s first woman to ever win a gold medal in boxing at the Games.

The 25-year-old boxer was disqualified by the IBA from the women’s World Championships for allegedly failing a gender eligibility test.

Khelif said that by winning gold she sent the IBA, which is no longer recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a message that she still her “dignity and honour” due to her success.

She added: “It’s a dream for every athlete. I took part in Tokyo, but I was not well prepared at the time; it was during Covid, the times were difficult.

“But in Paris, the whole world, the Algerians, they all know how hard I worked. I trained in the [United] States, mostly, in preparation for the Olympics, with a great trainer – Pedro Diaz, he has 21 Olympic medals, today he has 22, he also deserves this medal.

“As for if I qualify or not, if I’m a woman or not: I made many statements in the media, I’m fully qualified, I’m a woman, I was born a woman, I lived a woman. There’s no doubt about that.

“These people [who claim I am not], they are the enemies of success. It’s what I call them. It gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.

“My honour is in tact, but the attacks on social media were extremely bad and they are meaningless. They impact the dignity of people, now people’s thinking has changed.

“As for the IBA: since 2018 I was boxing under the umbrella of the IBA, they know me very well. They know what I’m capable of, how I’ve developed over the years. But now they are not reocgnised anymore and they hate me, and I don’t know why. I sent them a single message with this gold medal – and my dignity and honour is above everything else.

“The Algerian women are known for their strength and strong will, and they are valiant and they came to support me. They sent a message to the Arab [world] as well. They sent the message that our honour is above everything else.”

'I am a woman': Victorious gender scandal boxer Imane Khelif hits out at 'bullies and enemies' after clinching Olympic gold

10 August 2024, 10:21

'I am a woman': Victorious gender scandal boxer Imane Khelif hits out at 'bullies and enemies' after clinching Olympic gold. Picture: Alamy 

By Christian Oliver

Imane Khelif - the woman at the centre of a gender eligibility row over her inclusion in the Paris Olympics - has said 'attacks' on her left a 'special taste' after clinching the gold medal last night.

The Algerian - who was disqualified from the World Championships last year after reportedly failing gender eligibility tests - said she "doesn't care" about the controversy swirling over her inclusion in the women's 66kg boxing category after being waved on to victory by hundreds of flag-waving Algerian supporters.

Khelif stormed through her gold medal bout with a unanimous decision over five rounds to defeat Chinese world champion Yang Liu.

Algeria's supporters turned the normally genteel surroundings of Phillippe-Chatrier Court at Roland Garros into a cauldron of noise in support of Khelif, who has come under fire from critics after Italian boxer Angela Carini abandoned their fight, claiming she had fears over her safety. She later apologised to Khelif.

Khelif had managed to avoid a huge media scrum after her previous fights, but the Algerian broke her silence to hit out at her critics: "I don't care what anyone is saying about me with the controversy."

Algeria's Imane Khelif celebrates after defeating China's Yang Liu to win gold in their women's 66 kg final boxing match. Picture: Alamy

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She continued: "I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I am a woman like any other woman.

"I was born a woman. I have lived as a woman. I competed as a woman - there is no doubt about that."

Khelif said she had been a victim of "bullying" since her fight with Carini, claiming that the International Boxing Association (IBA) "hate me and I really don’t know why".

But the governing body itself was stripped of its international recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year for its failure to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues.

It is also closely tied to the Kremlin and its president, Russian businessman Umar Kremlev, is believed to be a close ally of Vladimir Putin.

Khelif is one of two fighters, along with Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei, who were disqualified from last year's World Championships for failing to meet gender eligibility criteria. But disgraced sporting authority the IBA carried out the tests in 2023.

Continuing her comments after the fight: "All that is important to me is that I stay on the level and give my people the performance they deserve. I know I'm a talented person and this is a gift to all Algerians."

On Monday, an IBA press conference descended into farce as controversial president Kremlev made baseless claims about Lin and Khelif and launched an astonishing tirade against IOC president Thomas Bach.

Khelif and Lin were allowed to return to competition by the IOC, which is effectively administering the Paris 2024 boxing tournament in the IBA's absence.

The case has aroused global interest, with figures such as former United States president Donald Trump and Harry Potter author JK Rowling weighing in on the issue.

Khelif won every round on the judges' cards, appearing close to securing a stoppage at times, and celebrated with a victory jig in the ring as the Algerian supporters celebrated wildly.

Imane Khelif (left) celebrates gold at Roland Garros. Picture: Alamy

Last week's controversial bout between Khelif and Carini came under scrutiny from the likes for former Team GB gold medal winner Nicola Adams who said it was "unfair and dangerous".

Adams, who won flyweight gold for Team GB in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, wrote on X on last Friday: "After years of fighting for women's boxing to even exist in the Olympics and then all the training they go through to get there it was hard to watch another fighter be forced to give up on her Olympic dreams.

"People not born as biological women, that have been through male puberty, should not be able to compete in women's sport. Not only is this unfair it's dangerous!"

Shortly after the fight, the IOC said that as with previous Games, the gender of athletes was based on their passports.

The body said "misleading information" had been reported about Khelif and Lin, and pointed out they had been competing in international boxing events for many years, including the Tokyo Games three years ago.

It described the IBA's decision to disqualify them last year as "sudden" and "arbitrary" and having been made "without due process".

The IBA has not given specifics regarding Khelif and Lin's disqualification but said on Thursday the decision to disqualify had been based on "two trustworthy tests" at World Championships in Istanbul in 2022 and New Delhi in 2023.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif wins gold to cap an Olympics amid scrutiny


Copyright © africanewsJohn Locher/

Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved

By Rédaction Africanews Last updated: 3 hours ago


Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has won a gold medal Friday at the Paris Olympics, emerging a champion from a tumultuous run at the Games where she endured intense scrutiny in the ring and online abuse from around the world over misconceptions about her womanhood.

Khelif beat Yang Liu of China 5:0 in the final of the women’s welterweight division, wrapping up the best series of fights of her boxing career with a victory at Roland Garros, where crowds chanted her name, waved Algerian flags and roared every time she landed a punch.

After her unanimous win, Khelif jumped into her coaches' arms, one of them putting her on his shoulders and carrying her in a victory lap as she pumped her fists and grabbed an Algerian flag from the crowd.

“For eight years, this has been my dream, and I’m now the Olympic champion and gold medalist,” Khelif said through an interpreter. Asked about the scrutiny, she told reporters: “That also gives my success a special taste because of those attacks.”

“We are in the Olympics to perform as athletes, and I hope that we will not see any similar attacks in future Olympics,” she said.

Fans have embraced Khelif in Paris even as she faced an extraordinary amount of scrutiny from world leaders, major celebrities and others who have questioned her eligibility or falsely claimed she was a man. It has thrust her into a larger divide over changing attitudes toward gender identity and regulations in sports.

It stems from the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association’s decision to disqualify Khelif and fellow two-time Olympian Li Yu-ting of Taiwan from last year’s world championships, claiming both failed an eligibility test for women’s competition that IBA officials have declined to answer basic questions about.

“I’m fully qualified to take part in this competition,” Khelif said Friday. “I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born as a woman, I live as a woman, and I am qualified."

The International Olympic Committee took the unprecedented step last year of permanently banning the IBA from the Olympics following years of concerns about its governance, competitive fairness and financial transparency. The IOC has called the arbitrary sex tests that the sport’s governing body imposed on the two boxers irretrievably flawed.

The IOC has repeatedly reaffirmed the two boxers’ right to compete in Paris, with President Thomas Bach personally defending Khelif and Lin while calling the criticism “hate speech.”

Khelif noted that she has boxed in IBA competitions since 2018 but now “they hate me, and I don’t know why."

"I sent them a single message with this gold medal, and that is that my dignity and honor are above all else,” she said.

The IBA's reputation hasn’t stopped the international outcry tied to misconceptions around the fighters, which has been amplified by Russian disinformation networks. It also hasn’t slowed two boxers who have performed at the highest levels of their careers while under the spotlight’s glare.

Khelif was dominant in Paris at a level she had never reached before: She won every round on every judge's scorecard in each of her three fights that went the distance.

Khelif’s gold medal is Algeria’s first in women’s boxing. She is only the nation’s second boxing gold medalist, joining Hocine Soltani (1996) while claiming the seventh gold medal in Algeria's Olympic history.

While Khelif drew enthusiastic, flag-draped fans in Paris, she also has become a hero in her North African country, where many have seen the world’s dissection of Khelif as criticism of their nation.

Dubbed “The Night of Destiny” in local newspapers, Khelif’s fight was projected on screens set up in public squares throughout Algiers and other cities. In the city of Tiaret in the region where Khelif is from, workers braved scorching summer heat to paint a mural of Khelif on the gym where she learned to box.

“Imane has managed to turn the criticism and attacks on her femininity into fuel,” said Mustapha Bensaou of the Tiaret gym. “The slander has given her a boost. ... It’s a bit of a blessing in disguise.”

Khelif won the first round over Yang on all five judges’ cards despite showing a bit less aggression than earlier in the tournament. Khelif then knocked Yang back against the ropes with a combination early in the second, although Yang responded with a flurry of shots and fought gamely.

Khelif won the second round and cruised through the third, doing a triumphant boxer’s shuffle in the final seconds of the bout before the boxers hugged. When the verdict was announced, Khelif saluted and pumped her arm with glee.

During the medal ceremony, she grinned and waved to the crowd before kissing her gold medal. The four medalists — boxing gives out two bronze — then posed for a podium selfie, clasped hands and raised them together.

The gold medal fight was the culmination of Khelif’s nine-day run through an Olympic tournament that began bizarrely. Khelif’s first opponent, Angela Carini of Italy, abandoned their bout after just 46 seconds, saying she was in too much pain from Khelif’s punches.

An already brewing story suddenly drew comments from the likes of former U.S. President Donald Trump and “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, weighing in with criticism and false speculation about men competing with women in sports. Carini later said she regretted her actions and wished to apologize to Khelif.

Khelif has never done as well in another international tournament as she did in these Olympics. When she was cast as some sort of unstoppable punching machine last week by pundits and provocateurs who had never seen her fight before, opponents and teammates who knew her were shocked by the characterization.

Then she lived up to the notion of being one of the best Olympic boxers in the world.

Lin fights for a gold medal Saturday on the final card of the Olympics. She takes on Julia Szeremeta of Poland with a chance to win Taiwan’s first boxing gold.


Additional sources • AP

ACCUSED OF BEING TRANS

Olympics gender row boxer in tears after winning at least bronze

Paris (AFP) – The Algerian boxer embroiled in a major gender controversy guaranteed herself at least bronze at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, bursting into tears after winning her quarter-final.


Issued on: 03/08/2024 - 

Algeria's Imane Khelif celebrates her victory over Hungary's Anna Luca Hamori 

© MOHD RASFAN / AFP
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"It's a battle, it's for my dignity," said Imane Khelif, one of two boxers at the centre of the storm, after she outclassed Hungary's Anna Luca Hamori to win on a unanimous points decision and reach the semi-finals of the women's 66kg category.

The duo embraced at the end and shook hands, before the judges' verdict was delivered, and an animated Khelif left the ring in tears.

The 25-year-old is ensured of a medal because losing semi-finalists in the boxing take home bronze.

Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, the other boxer facing intense scrutiny, can also guarantee herself at least a bronze on Sunday when she faces Bulgaria's Svetlana Staneva in the quarter-finals of the women's 57kg.

Khelif and Lin, 28, were disqualified from last year's world championships, run by the International Boxing Association (IBA), after failing gender eligibility tests.

The IBA said this week that the two boxers "did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test, whereby the specifics remain confidential".

Neither boxer is known to identify as transgender.

The row ignited on Thursday after Khelif took 46 seconds in her opening bout in Paris to dismantle the Italian Angela Carini, who was left hurt and tearful.

The IBA, which has no involvement in the Games after years of mismanagement, immediately criticised the IOC.

'Honour to Algeria'

Hamori, who had said before the fight that it was unfair to face Khelif, was booed into the North Paris Arena.

Khelif won comfortably after consistently driving the Hungarian back and scoring with repeated jabs to the face.

Hamori was magnanimous in defeat.

"I think it was a good fight," she said. "I wish good luck to my opponent and to the others in the semi-finals."

Algeria's president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, was quick to congratulate Khelif, who like Taiwan's Lin boxed at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago but did not win a medal.

"You bring honour to Algeria, Algerian women and Algerian boxing. We'll stand next to you whatever your results in the next two rounds," he wrote on social media.

Khelif's coach Mohammed Chaoua said his fighter "deserves a medal for courage".

She faces Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand in the last four on Tuesday for a place in the final.

The IOC has leapt to the defence of Khelif and Lin, with president Thomas Bach on Saturday saying they were born and raised as women, and have passports saying that.

Ahead of Saturday's bout, Khelif's father Omar told AFP from their Algerian village: "My child is a girl.

"She was raised as a girl. She is a strong girl -- I raised her to work and be brave."

© 2024 AFP

'I want to inspire': Algeria's woman boxer fighting prejudices

Agence France-Presse
August 3, 2024 

Algeria's Imane Khelif has spoken of the difficulty conservative life in Tiaret's semi-desert surroundings © MOHD RASFAN / AFP

Algiers (AFP) – Born in a poor village some 300 kilometres from Algiers, boxer Imane Khelif had to overcome obstacles in a conservative country where women are considered unfit for the sport.

With braided hair and a powerful 1.79 metre (5 foot 9 inch) physique, the 25-year-old is the object of a Paris Olympic Games gender controversy.

With smiles and a soft voice, Imane told her story on television channel Canal Algerie one month before the start of the games.

"Our village was around 10 kilometres from the centre (of Tiaret, 280 kilometres southwest of Algiers). I moved from the village to the city. From the city to the capital. From the capital to abroad," she said.

From a family of limited means, she spoke of the difficulty of her life in "a village of conservative people" in Tiaret's semi-desert surroundings.

"I came from a conservative family. Boxing is not a widely-practised sport by women, especially in Algeria. It was difficult."

Already a strong athlete, she played football with the boys in her village of Biban Mesbah -- but beating boys in matches brought on fights where she fought back with punches.

Photo by Tim Winkler on Unsplash

These fights lead her to boxing.

In an interview with UNICEF, she said she used to sell scrap metal and her mother sold homemade couscous to pay for bus tickets to Tiaret.

Imane's father at first did not approve of her decision to pursue boxing, but he eventually became one of her biggest fans.

The 49-year-old unemployed welder told AFP that his daughter is "an example of the Algerian woman, a heroine of Algeria".
'How society looked at me'

He hailed "her strong will to work and to train", in an interview with AFP on Friday.

In 2022, Imane told the Algerian news agency APS that she had considered giving up boxing "because my family did not accept the idea, and because of how society looked at me, considering that I was doing something wrong."

But "all these barriers made me even stronger and were an extra motivation to achieve my dreams."

She also expressed her determination in an interview on the UNICEF website, where she said her "dream is to win a gold medal".

"If I win, mothers and fathers will be able to see how far their children can go," she said. "I want to inspire girls and children in Algeria."

Imane's international career took off with her participation in the lightweight category in the 2020 summer Olympic Games in Tokyo -- postponed to 2021 -- where she won fifth place after losing in the quarter finals to Ireland's Kellie Harlington.

"Everything changed for the better, especially as my country's flag flew and its hymn played in many countries throughout the world", she explained.

In 2023, she made it to the semi-finals of the women's amateur boxing world championships in New Delhi, India.

But then she was disqualified following unspecified gender eligibility testing by the International Boxing Association, which is not recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

After her match against Italian opponent Angela Carini this week in the Paris Games -- whom she beat in less than a minute -- Imane was targeted by online harassment and racism, where far-right publications insinuated that she was "a man fighting women".

SHE CRIED AFTER GETTING PUNCHED IN THE NOSE,  AND RAN OFF

SHE DID NOT THINK NOSE PUNCHING WAS ALLOWED IN BOXING

 YOU CRY IT HURTS ITS AUTOMATIC

Her father has dismissed aspersions about her gender, saying she is "a strong and courageous girl."

And the IOC has supported her participation, amid the furore over Khelif and another woman boxer also disqualified from last year's world championships.

"All of the competitors respect the eligibility rules for the competitions," said Mark Adams, IOC spokesman, adding that it had "established that these are women."

Imane's coach, Mohamed Chaoua, said the "controversies give her the strength to move forward".

 

Even in Palestine, the Birds Shall Return

The Thirty-First Newsletter (2024)

by Vijay Prashad / August 1st, 2024

Rula Halawani (Palestine), Untitled XII from the Negative Incursion series, 2002.

On 26 July, senior United Nations (UN) officials briefed the UN Security Council about the terrible situation in Gaza. ‘More than two million people in Gaza remain trapped in an endless nightmare of death and destruction on a staggering scale’, said Deputy Commissioner-General Antonia De Meo of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Within Gaza, the UN officials wrote, 625,000 children are trapped, ‘their futures at risk’. The World Health Organisation has recorded ‘outbreaks of hepatitis A and myriad other preventable diseases’ and warns that it is ‘just a matter of time’ before a polio outbreak spreads amongst children. In early July, a letter in The Lancet from three scientists working in Canada, Palestine, and the United Kingdom suggested that if they applied a ‘conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza’.

Two days before the UN Security Council meeting, on 24 July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed both chambers of the US Congress. Two months before this appearance, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said it had ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ that Netanyahu bears ‘criminal responsibility for… war crimes and crimes against humanity’. This judgment was utterly set aside by elected US representatives, who welcomed Netanyahu as if he were a conquering hero. Netanyahu’s language was chilling: ‘give us the tools faster, and we’ll finish the job faster’. What is the ‘job’ that Netanyahu wants the Israeli military to finish? In January, the International Court of Justice reported a ‘plausible claim of genocidal acts’ by the Israeli army. So, is the ‘job’ that Israel wants to complete its genocide of the Palestinian people, accelerated by the increased provision of arms and funding by the US?

Shurooq Amin (Kuwait), The Moving Dollhouse, 2016.

Despite Netanyahu’s complaint that the US has not been sending sufficient weapons, in April the US government approved the sale of fifty F-15 bombers to Israel, worth $18 billion, and in early July said it would send nearly two thousand 500-pound bombs to be used in Gaza. Netanyahu wanted more then, and he wants more now. He wants to ‘finish the job’. This genocidal language is sanctified by the US government, whose representatives accompanied the call for mass murder with a standing ovation.

Outside the halls of government, tens of thousands of people protested Netanyahu’s visit to Congress. They are part of the phalanx of young people who have been involved in a cycle of protests against the Israeli genocide of Palestinians and against the US government’s total support of the violence. Netanyahu called the protestors ‘Iran’s useful idiots’, a strange statement made by a foreign guest of the citizens who were exercising their democratic rights in their own country. The police used pepper spray and other forms of violence to contain the protests, which were peaceful and righteous.

While Washington welcomed the accused war criminal, Beijing hosted representatives of fourteen Palestinian factions who came to discuss their differences and find a way to build political unity against the Israeli genocide and colonisation. Just before Netanyahu entered the Congressional chamber, the fourteen representatives posed for a photograph at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Their agreement, the Beijing Declaration, advanced their commitment to work together against the genocide and the occupation and recognised that their disunity has only helped Israel.

Charles Khoury (Lebanon), Untitled, 2020.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, a range of national liberation movements, such as those in South Africa and Palestine, were enfeebled and forced to make significant concessions in order to end conflicts with their colonisers. After several false starts, the apartheid regime in South Africa joined the Multi-Party Negotiating Forum in April 1993, which was the site of concessions made by the liberation forces (undermined by the assassination of communist leader Chris Hani that same month and by attacks from the neo-Nazi Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging). The negotiated transfer of power through the interim constitution of November 1993 did not dismantle structures of white power in South Africa. Meanwhile, in 1993 and 1995, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) agreed to the Oslo Accords, in which the PLO recognised the state of Israel and agreed to build a state of Palestine in East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank. Edward Said called the Oslo Accords a ‘Palestinian Versailles’, a judgment that seemed harsh at the time but which, in retrospect, is accurate.

Zaina El Said (Jordan), Ersin, 2017.

Israel used the Oslo Accords to press its advantage, mainly by building illegal settlements across Palestinian land and by denying Palestinians the right to free passage through the three non-contiguous territories. In 1994, leading groups in the PLO created the Palestinian National Authority to bring the factions together in the new state project, but the groups that had rejected the Oslo Accords did not want to manage the occupation on Israel’s behalf. In January 2006, Hamas won the largest bloc in the Palestinian legislative elections, with 74 out of the 132 seats, and by June 2007 Fatah and Hamas broke relations and ended the attempt to build a new, post-Oslo Palestinian national project.

In May 2006, from within Israel’s harsh prisons, five Palestinians who represented the five main factions drafted the Prisoners’ Document: Abdel Khaleq al-Natsh (Hamas), Abdel Raheem Malluh (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), Bassam al-Saadi (Islamic Jihad), Marwan Barghouti (Fatah), and Mustafa Badarneh (Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine). These five factions include two left formations, two Islamist formations, and the main national liberation platform. The eighteen-point document called upon various groups (including Hamas and Islamic Jihad) to reactivate the PLO as their joint platform, accept the Palestinian Authority as the ‘nucleus of the future state’, and retain the right to resist the occupation. In June, all parties signed a second draft of the document. Despite attempts to create unity, including during the Israeli assault on Gaza known as Operation Summer Rains (June to November 2006), no such convergence was possible. The animosity between the Palestinian factions remained.

Zhang Xiaogang (China), Blindfolded Dancer, 2016.

This disunity has provided ample space for the Israeli occupation to deepen and for Palestinians to flounder without a central political project. Several attempts to bring Palestinian political groups into a serious dialogue have failed to provide any forward motion, including in Cairo in May 2011 and October 2017 and in Algiers in October 2022. Since last year, the Chinese government has worked with various regional states to invite the fourteen main Palestinian factions to Beijing for reconciliation talks. These factions are:

1. Arab Liberation Front
2. As-Sa’iqa
3. Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
4. Fatah
5. Hamas
6. Islamic Jihad Movement
7. Palestinian Arab Front
8. Palestinian Democratic Union
9. Palestinian Liberation Front
10. Palestinian National Initiative
11. Palestinian People’s Party
12. Palestinian Popular Struggle Front
13. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
14. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (General Command)

The Beijing Declaration, repeating the formulations in the Prisoners’ Document, called for a Palestinian state to be established, for Palestinians’ right to resist the occupation to be respected, for Palestinian political groups to form an ‘interim national consensus government’, and for the PLO and its institutions to be strengthened in order to advance their role in the struggle against Israel. Though the declaration, of course, called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, its main focus was on political unity.

Whether this Chinese-brokered process will yield results when Palestinians sit down with Israelis is to be seen. Yet it nonetheless marks an advance in this direction and a possible turning point in the collapse of a unified Palestinian project that began in the wake of the 1995 Oslo II agreement. The Beijing Declaration is diametrically opposed to the vehemence of Netanyahu’s speech in the US Congress: the latter genocidal and dangerous, the former seeks peace in a complex world.

Halima Aziz (Palestine), Praying Palestinian Women, 2023.

Fadwa Tuqan (1917–2003), one of Palestine’s most wondrous poets, wrote ‘The Deluge and the Tree’. The fall of the tree, beaten down by the deluge, was not its end but a new beginning.

When the Tree rises up, the branches
shall flourish green and fresh in the sun,
the laughter of the Tree shall blossom
beneath the sun
and birds shall return.
Undoubtedly, the birds shall return.
The birds shall return.

The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (1962–2024) in Tehran (Iran) has made the situation deeply difficult, and will make it difficult for the birds to sing.

Warmly,

Vijay\Facebook

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Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian and journalist. Prashad is the author of twenty-five books, including The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World and The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South. Read other articles by Vijay, or visit Vijay's website.