تداعيات قضية الزعتر فلسطين 2007

Got this as a forward from a friend here...hehe...since it is very much "local humor" and politics, here's some background: it has to do with the "explosive issue" of Zaatar in Palestine in 2007! It is of course in reference to the speech/sermon of Palestinian PM Ismail Haniya last week in which he said "we will eat Zaatar and Zayt if we have to, they cannot starve us!", zaatar and zayt of course traditionally being a basic Palestinian staple that no house is without, and commonly a staple of the poor. Zaatar consists of crushed thyme leaves rubbed in olive oil, sumac, salt, and sesame seeds, eaten with olive oil and bread, for those non-Arab readers.



Hanya's speech, though well-intentioned and admirable, elicited a slew of comments, most in good humor like that below, others not so well-intentioned by Fateh's kabab-eaters, who mocked Hamas. People were also quick to point out that at 25 shekels a kilo (around $5.5) olive oil is pretty expensive here (because it has become a scarce commodity with so many trees having been razed) and cannot sustain an impoverished people.

Anyhow no matter what, this was just hilarious and had me laughing out loud. Rough translation follows below.

• اسرائيل ترفض ادخال شاحنتين من الزعتر الفارسي الغير مخصب الى مناطق السلطة.
• الملك عبدالله يعرض على الفلسطينين تخصيب الزعتر بالسمسم البلدي في الاراضي الاردنية.
• ديوان رئيس الوزراء الفلسطيني: نستخدم الزعتر المخصب لأغراض سلمية محضة.
• الرئيس عباس يعرب عن عدم نية الفلسطينين تزييت قنابل زعترية مسمسمة.

جيش الدفاع يقصف 8 طوابين يقول انها كانت تستخدم لتصنيع المناقيش الخفيفة.
هنية يبدي قلقه من قضية فوضى المناقيش في مدينة رام الله،
!! وعباس يقول: "لا لزعترة المجتمع الفلسطيني.

• لجنة الحوار الوطني الفلسطيني:
§ حماس: لا بديل عن الزعتر الاخضر
§ فتح: تغيير لون الزعتر شرط اساسي لاستئناف الحوار

الشبيبة تطلق مبادرة تدعو فيها لاستخدام الدقة الغزاوية بدلا من الزعتر لرأب
الصدع بين فتح و حماس.

وزير التموين الفلسطيني يمثل اليوم امام النيابة العامة لتورطه
في صفقة السمسم الفاسد

!!!في رسالة بعثها هنية الى الامم المتحدة: "لا تسقطوا عرق الزعتر من يدي".


• Israel blocks the entry of two trucks carrying non-enriched Iranian Zaatar (Thyme) to PA areas.
• Kind Abdullah of Jordan offers Palestinians the option of enriching Zaatar with sumsum baladi (organic/farm grown sesame seeds) on Jordanian soil
• The Palestinian Prime Minister’s office: “We will only use enriched Zaatar for peaceful purposes.”
• President Abbas says Palestinians will not be “oiling” sesame seeded Zaatar bombs.

• The Israeli Army shells 8 clay ovens and says they were being used to produce light/homemade manaqeesh (baked bread pastries with zaatar and oil)

• Haniya expresses his concern about the issue of “manaqeesh chaos” and lawlessness in Ramallah and Abbas says: “No to zaatarit (making it full of zaatar) Palestinian society”



• The National Palestinian Dialogue Committee

-Hamas: “There is no substitute for green Zaatar”
-Fateh: “Changing the colour of Zaatar is an essential condition for continuing dialogue

• Fateh’s Shabeeba starts a new initiative calling for the use of Gazan dagga (a famous Gaza salad of chilis, tomatoes, garlic, dill, and olive oil) instead of Zaatar to bridge the gap between Fateh and Hamas.

Gaza's famous dagga salad

• The Palestinian Minister of Supplies appears today in front of the Attorney General for his involvement in the corrupt sesame seed case.

• In a letter addressed to the United Nations, Haniya says: “Do not remove the Zaatar branch from my hand!”