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Hafsa Halawa

@hafsahalawa.bsky.social

2K followers 100 following 680 posts

Egyptian/Iraqi Brit. Political analyst and mediation specialist, working across MENA/Horn of Africa. Views here my own. RT ≠ endorsement.

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · Dec 13

Today, 2011 doesn’t feel like a distant memory for any of us.

It feels like yesterday.

It feels like it can still be tomorrow.

Nedal Al-Amari @nedalalamari.bsky.social · Dec 13

Wow 😮 😍
The most beautiful video you will see today: is Damascus now. People are celebrating, full of joy. We deserve it! 💚

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 6h

You cannot exaggerate just how much the ERRs are true unsung heroes of war. The world abandoned Sudan, the UN and INGOs virtually disappeared, global diplomacy/mediation to end the war has been woeful, and the ERRs continue undeterred by risk of violence and death to serve, help, and save lives.

Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 6h

Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms: the continuous moral winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in the eyes of those who know their sacrifice, the risk they take, the losses endured.

(Taking nothing away from the winner, but two years in a row, the ERRs are robbed of their rightful place in peace building)

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 9h

Not to mention how everyone has so easily forgotten about the West Bank, about Lebanon. And Syria. Sigh…

Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 9h

I hear you. And I agree. I just don’t have the energy for the ignorant, uninformed media spin in the West that still relies almost entirely on a body of Israeli commentators, journos and intelligentsia who are inherently biased on this. Ceasefire became the new “two state”, it’s exhausting.

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 9h

I’ve said before: largely by consequence, Hamas sacrificed any semblance of ‘The Cause’ to obliterate Israel’s security policy of deterrence via occupation. The result is an Israel that sees only annexation & displacement as the alternative. The world must reconcile with that long term trajectory.

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 9h

I don’t have the energy to listen to or read anything on Gaza ceasefire. There is merit in arguing global support for this deal may act as a deterrent to restarting the war, but the reality is what it’s been for 77 years - inside Israel above all, things have not changed when it comes to Palestine.

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Reposted by Hafsa Halawa

Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 10h

This is not a story of two sides finally finding peace. It is a story of two peoples who will wake up tomorrow under two very different skies: one free to heal, the other trapped in the ruins

Nagham Zbeedat

www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

For Palestinians, the relief of the Gaza cease-fire belongs to others

This Is Not a Story of Two Sides Finally Finding Peace. It Is a Story of Two Peoples Who Will Wake Up Tomorrow Under Two Very Different Skies: One Free to Heal, the Other Trapped in the Ruins

www.haaretz.com

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 1d

"ستنتهي الحرب، ويتصافح القادة، وتبقى تلك العجوز تنتظر ولدها الشهيد، وتلك الفتاة تنتظر زوجها الحبيب، وأولئك الأطفال ينتظرون والدهم البطل. لا أعلم من باع الوطن ولكنني رأيت من دفع الثمن."

- محمود درويش

Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 1d

We would never have gotten today had it not been for the 9 September Doha Strikes - not least because they failed in their targeted intention. Western pressure has also reached a peak in recent weeks, albeit not yet a tipping point. So Israel retreats, to regroup - not to make peace.

Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 1d

The only red line we’ve materially established in this two year war: the Gulf States - their territorial integrity and their security - is a red line. Everything else remains imbalanced and relentlessly inadequate.

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 1d

For now, thankful and grateful we have a ceasefire. But this is not over for Palestinians, Lebanese, or Syrians. Medium-long term, Iranians too. Two-state is dead. Gaza is gone, the West Bank disappearing - that trajectory has not been altered by this announcement.

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 1d

As I predicted before, we have the lowest hanging fruit of a deal: hostage exchange and aid entry. Any attempts to look at the deeper, longer “20 point plan” and see a viable deal are futile, those positions cannot be reconciled, not just between Hamas and Israel, but Israel and the Arab States.

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 2d

Bassem Youssef is back on Egypt’s airwaves, writing again in Shorouk.

Plus ça change…

Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 3d

Hundreds of Israelis lost their lives in the years before 7Oct. Tens of thousands of Palestinians lost their lives in the years before 7Oct. What is about today specifically? What are “peace talks” for if we continue to divide? If you struggle w the concept it’s because this date is not a sole event

Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 3d

There can be no reconciliation without understanding and real reflection on how we got here, how we have reached this point. To grieve and respond to it all equally. If anything, to not do so buys directly into the narratives of the anti-semites, and the anti-Arab/Palestinian racism.

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 3d

Why does this have to be “us or them”? Why does it have to be one prioritised over another? True empathy, real empathy is to understand and acknowledge all pain and grief as one and the same. Today and every day, is a day to acknowledge, empathise, and grieve all crimes committed against humanity.

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 3d

Keir Starmer calls us “un British” because we can acknowledge all victims are the same victims of the same brutality, same occupation - one original sin. Being anti-violence, being anti-war, being anti-occupation is an absolute principle. Real Principle can never be selective. @mrjamesob.bsky.social

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 3d

Ali Kushayb, former senior leader of the Janjaweed - who ravaged and killed hundreds of thousands of people - convicted of war crimes in Darfur

bbc.com/news/article...

Ali Kushayb: Sudan militia leader convicted of war crimes in Darfur

Ali Kushayb led the Janjaweed, a group whose campaign of terror led to hundreds and thousands of deaths.

bbc.com

Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 4d

Let it breathe.

Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 4d

When you live in a world - however big or small, on the biggest or smallest scale - without accountability, your memory becomes the only form of accountability. Storing & locking away everything ever said or written. Your value judgment the only control or power you have to hold someone accountable.

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 4d

EVERRRRR 🔥

Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 4d

Van Jones’ “joke” has gone so viral is headline news in Arabic mainstream media, not just social media. Silly to underestimate how much Arabs follow and see from the West, and it’s always been a surprise to me how much Westerners don’t understand or internalise how long and deep memories can be.

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 4d

Nesrine is just so, so good. @nesrinemalik.bsky.social always brilliant reading.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 4d

Don’t despair, Tories: look upon Reform and see your rightful and fitting legacy | Nesrine Malik

If Kemi Badenoch wonders why her party conference looks and feels like a sideshow, perhaps she should reflect on the Conservatives’ 14 years in power, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik

www.theguardian.com

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Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 5d

Shabana Mahmoud now bringing in amendments to the law that effectively work only to specifically target ongoing pro-Palestine marches. The fundamental right to protest - freedom of expression - being curtailed and conditioned beyond what is just.

What does it even mean to be British anymore?

Hafsa Halawa @hafsahalawa.bsky.social · 5d

Priti Patel made us second class citizens in our own country with the Borders Bill. Suella Braverman called protestors “terrorists”. Nadhim Zahawi stood on the docks in Sunderland calling for Brexit to “keep the migrants out”, David Lammy helped entrench anti-Palestinian bias and racism

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