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Abdullah Hourani died yesterday in Jordan, according to news agency Ma'an. The PLO Executive Council announced his death in a statement that remembers him as a faithful leader of the Palestinian struggle and co-founder of the contemporary Palestinian revolution. "His vast national and patriotic activities helped protect Palestinian identity."Abdullah Hourani was in Lisbon in 1979, during the period before the great World Conference of Solidarity with the Arab People and their Central Cause - Palestine, to collaborate in the preparatory work. He had the political courage to be the only Arab person who, under the conditions then, spoke in favour of the existence of two states: Israel and Palestine.He was again in Portugal at the invitation of the installing committee for the MPPM (Movement for the Rights of the Palestinian People and Peace in the Middle East), between May 27 and June 1, 2006. His visit was seminal for the MPPM, for it occurred at a time when the movement was structuring...

Ambassador Mufeed Shami, Carlos Almeida and Adel Sidarus were the speakers at a session, chaired by Julio de Magalhães, held at the Casa do Alentejo, Lisbon, on November 29, which evoked the struggle and suffering of the Palestinian people and stressed the urgent need for an intensification of international solidarity with this martyred people.Carlos Almeida noted that the United Nations General Assembly resolution 32/40, of December 2nd 1977, establishing the observance of International Day of Solidarity with the People of Palestine, stated in its first part, that a lasting peace in the Middle East was inseparable from the establishment of a just solution to the Palestinian question, and that this could only be achieved on the basis of the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, first the right to independence and national sovereignty, as well as right of return of refugees.  He evoked, then, the World Conference of Solidarity with the Arab nation and its...

The trip to Palestine, Special Jury Prize for the School Competition, organized by MPPM and sponsored by the General Delegation of Palestine, occurred  between 22 and 30 July 2010. The delegation was composed of eleven students (Ana Lourenço, André Pato, Inês Silva, Jéssica Roque and Rafael Monteiro, of the Escola Básica 2/3 of Poceirão, Palmela; Ana Real, Andreia Fernandes and Sara Costa, of the Escola Básica 2/3 of Real, Braga; Ana Pinho, Ana Bastos and Cátia Almeida, of the Escola Básica 2/3 of Carregosa, Oliveira de Azeméis); three teachers (Aníbal Serra, of  Escola Básica 2/3 of Poceirão, Palmela; Carla Ferreira, of Escola Básica 2/3 of Real, Braga; Nelson Gomes, of Escola Básica 2/3 of Carregosa, Oliveira de Azeméis), a representative of the General Delegation of Palestine; the journalist José Manuel Rosendo and, representing MPPM, Amador Clemente.Leaving from Amman, the group began its visit to Palestine through Jericho, where they were received at the Academy of Security and...

It is with deep regret that the National Movement for the Rights of the Palestinian People and Peace in the Middle East noted the death of José Saramago, Nobel Prize for Literature and President of the General Assembly of the MPPM.José Saramago, outstanding personality  of Portuguese cultural life, a citizen of this land and this world, was a man totally committed to his time, especially to the struggle of men and peoples for the emancipation from all forms of exploitation and oppression. The drama of the Palestinian people, their national cause, their heroic struggle against the occupation and for freedom, had a voice in Jose Saramago, a voice committed, courageous and warmly sympathetic. The MPPM is proud to have counted in its activity, his unique and active contribution on behalf of a movement of solidarity with the cause of the Palestinian people stronger and more intervening.In this sad hour, the MPPM expressed to the family of José Saramago, in particular to his partner, Pilar...

The National Directorate of MPPM condemns in the strongest terms the attack perpetrated by the Israeli navy, during this morning, against a naval convoy of humanitarian aid that caused the deaths of more than a dozen people. Organized by solidarity movements,  bound for Gaza, and taking on board about 750 people of sixty nationalities with 10,000 tons of various products to help the people of Gaza, that group of vessels was attacked, while  in international waters, according to the available news,  by units of the navy of Israel, which sets up a serious violation of international law.This brutal action of the Israeli armed forces, which occurred only days after the formal accession of Israel to the OECD, most dramatically illustrates the aggressive nature of Israeli politics and its profound contradiction with the principles of peace, freedom and democracy. It is therefore inseparable from the status of impunity that the government of that country seems to enjoy, as well as the climate...

The school competition was developed over six months in various schools in the country that adhered to the proposal of the nationwide contest, "Peace for Palestine" sponsored by the MPPM. The contest aimed at carrying out projects of various kinds that developed an interest in the history and culture of the Palestinian People and contributed to the knowledge of the situation in Palestine.Thus, students of the 2nd and 3rd cycle of basic education under the guidance of their teachers planned and implemented work in the form of Written Production, Fine Arts, Performing Arts, Video and Multimedia, which included their personal mark in their final product.In some schools, the competition triggered the implementation of other initiatives such as at the Institute Almalaguês, of Coimbra, where was organized a competition for cartoons, among students of the 5th and 6th grades, with a jury consisting of teachers, students and staff, who selected the winning entry that was submitted to the School...

After near a year of the inauguration of the right-wing government in Israel, led by Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman, the worst expectations are confirmed: worsening the repression of the Palestinian people, blocking the negotiation process with a view to a diplomatic solution to end the occupation, disrespect for international law and legality, and worsening tensions in the Middle East.Consistent with the political career of Netanyahu and Lieberman, and the positions of the respective parties during the election campaign that culminated in the elections of February 20, 2009, and in the wake of the guidelines issued yet by Ariel Sharon, the Israeli government strongly intensified the process of colonization of the West Bank of the Jordan River in clear violation of international law and legality. Israeli non-governmental organizations estimate at more than 50,000 the number of residential units that are currently in various stages of construction, only in the region of East...

The initiative "Remember Gaza", which brought together MPPM and a significant number of organizations and individuals in Portugal, aimed at recalling the brutal aggression committed by Israel against the population of the Gaza Strip, from December 27th 2008 to January, 18th, 2009, under codename "Cast Lead", and which caused more than 1.400 deaths among the defenceless population (children, women and elderly people) and had devastating effects on the territory.The program began with a vigil, in front of the Embassy of Israel in Lisbon, on December 27th, to show the indignation for the monstrous Israeli operation "Cast Lead", to claim for the investigation of the responsibility for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel and to demand the lifting of the illegal siege of Gaza.On the evening of January 13th, the Bookshop "Ler Devagar" hosted three cultural events conceived to express the strong the feelings of indignation and condemnation for the tragedy that struck...

For the second consecutive year MPPM - Portuguese Movement for the Rights of Palestinian People and the Peace in Middle East - organized the "Week of Palestine", a series of events, aimed at promoting the culture and fight of the Palestinian people, centered around the data of November 29th, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. A verse from Mahmoud Darwich's poem "Mural" - One day we shall become what we want - gave the motto to the "Week".This year's "Week" was also associated with the celebration of Jerusalem Capital of Arab Culture 2009, thus corresponding to the appeal by the organizers "to the solidarity groups to promote Jerusalem's historical and cultural identity as the capital of the State of Palestine".Dance: "I Can't"The "Week" began with a dance performance, on the 21st November. "I Can't", created by Sofia Silva and danced by Inês Tarouca, is, in its author's words, "a reflection on the state of war all...

On November 1979 Lisbon was the world capital of solidarity with the people of Palestine. It was here that, between the 2nd and the 6th November 1979, took place the World Conference in Solidarity with the Arab People and Their Central Issue: Palestine. Promoted by the Congress of Arab People – a platform that gathered political, labor, social, cultural and religious organizations from all the Arab world – and an International Committee representative of North and Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia, the Conference was organized, at the national level, by CPPC – Portuguese Council for Peace and Cooperation and counted on the support from a wide range of individuals and democratic civic, humanitarian and religious associations.The presence in Portugal, during those days, of PLO’s President Yasser Arafat – his first visit to a western European country, during which he was received by the then President of the Republic, General Ramalho Eanes, and the Prime-Minister, Maria de Lurdes...