just come back from palestine, visited al-aqsa and other sites it was amazing.

Jerusalem is not too bad compared to the other areas we visited. saw all the illigal occupation going on there.

The zionist man will get a job provided by israel, a free house and doesnt need to pay tax for 3 years. The only thing he has to do is vote. After that he can come back if he wants (probabily will)

The zionists need votes and people to fake that they are the majority.

I advise every muslim to go to al-aqsa first before performingh umrah. wear the ihram from the al-aqsa mosque.

the more muslims from UK go there, the more we pump into the Palestinian economy. al-aqsa is the 3rd holiest site for muslims and we are not doing it justice.

''physical and spiritual journey''
...''enrolled in the Israeli army''

That's about as spiritual as Gary Glitter's journey to the Far East.

And in case you think the analogy is too strong: both abuse children in their own way.

Philip Burns ''has sold his business''
....''and will immediately be enrolled in the Israeli army''

No, he has not.
He's sold his soul.

Thats the norm - but look at it another way - If a Mulsim decided to pack up his bags and say his farewells and leave this country to go to the Middle East - AND once settled there he/she would then decide that that they would need to be involved in stopping the genocide in Iraq or Palestine or Afghanistan or Chechnya or Kashmir and enrolled to fight the foreign occupations - he would be classed as a terrorist.

As for Philip - good luck with your new life. I hope he sees the injustice to the Arabs and makes a difference.

Oi where are the zio nazies defending the position of british jewish kids being recrutied to kill arab children?

lets see how you try to turn the debate?

come on guys, your slipping.

"zio nazis" "injustice"-your problem is you fail to realise that actaully your not the victims but the oppressors. the reason that people from the uk who go abroad to fight britain and america are branded as terrorists is because they are fighting against a legitimate and concerted effort in afganistan to fight the taliban who are an odiuis repugnant force who which to destabalise not only afghanistan but the entire world and reak havok and tyranny across the world.
with regards to israel and this debate this gentlemen going off to israel is again defending a tiny piece of territory which has been under so much threat from its arab neighbours who wish to destroy its existence so i wish this man good luck in defending a tiny strip of land against overwhelming forces who use unconventional and disgusting tactics to enstill terror and fear into the inhabitants of that land

Zionist israel are the oppressors and the thieves.
They are the ones with the force, they keep telling the world that the arabs want to destroy them but that was never the case, it probably still isnt. The Europeans and Christians are the only ones who have persecuted the jews. the jews have always sought and got santuary in muslim lands. when the 6 day war happen the zionists were preparing for years, the had all the weopons, training and a massive army, infact their army was three times larger than all the arabs country together. the only ones who have ever used massive force are the evil zionist who keep stealing Palestinian land from both the christians and the muslims. Bethlehem has had a lot one land stolen and is home to one of the largest illegal settlements.

the jews living in palestine have never been under any threat, the threat only came when the thieving evil zionists from europe stole the land and have forced people to defend themselves.

So israel is a tiny peice of territory defending itself against arab neighbours,so big america and all its rcsouces at israels beck and call are irrelevant,nuclear bombs and every other conceivabel weapon in its arsenal and israel is tiny.
For a nation that is tiny it sure has committed a lot of crimes against humanity,stealing another mans land and homes,murdering-raping-sodomising and torturing them,60 years of sadistic and and barbaric occupation-humiliation on the palestinain people and israel is still the tiny innocent party,only using twisted logic could you attempt to justify the crimes of israelis.
The taliban have never attacked and occupeid a foreign nation,they want to live in afghan according to their beleifs and ways of life,the taliban are a threat to no one but criminals-rapists-murderers and drug barons.

dude:
"the jews have always sought and got santuary in muslim lands."

correct up until the 20th centuary jews generally were not persecuted as badly as they were in europe. however that is not to say that they werent persecuted and treated as second class citizens. moreover when the state of israel was created the arab nations uprooted their jewish inhabitants forcing over 800,000 jews to flee to Israel

"6 day war happen the zionists were preparing for years"

the eqypitain president at the time was threatening israel's destruction, at the same time syria had cut off a vital water supply-an act of war and the armies of jordan, syria and eygpt respectively massed their armies. thus israel was forced to launch a pre-emptive war in which she sucessfully defended herself and pushed back the ensuing arab armies
jews in israel have been under constant threat from the moment they starting coming into israel in the late 19th and early 20th centuary-just to name a few massacres before the state was actually created: hebron massacre, arab riots during the 1920s, massacre at hadassah hospital. this was before the state was even created and aimed specifiically at civilians. currently israel faces a grave threat to its existence by ahminehjad of iran

shan:
Israel has had no choice other than to arm itself due to the grave threat it has continually faced from its neighbours who have constantly rejected peace and sought to annihiliate the jewish state on every possible occasion-1948 when the arabs rejected the UN partition to share the land, 1967, 1973, 2006 etc

"committed a lot of crimes against humanity"
the only crime we have committed was the disgraceful massacre at deir yassin committed by paramilitary groups.
the palestinians have sadly brought suffering upon themselves by rejecting peace and statehood on several occasions in 1947, 1967 and 2000. they have constantly targated civilians leaving israel with no choice other than to create security measures which impinge upon daily palestinian lives
with regards to the taliban-they pose a grave threat to the world-you are sadly blind or deluded if you cannot see that

Alstair - why don't you enrol in the British Army and go to the Middle East and when you get back let us all know how you fought the injustice you came across - The truth is - British/American politicians still live in the middle ages - they still think Lion heart is calling them to the crusades

Alistair says of Phillip Burns:
''I wish this man good luck in defending a tiny strip of land against overwhelming forces who use unconventional and disgusting tactics to enstill (sic) terror and fear into the inhabitants of that land.

''Overwhelming forces, disgusting tactics, instill terror
....sounds like the Israeli Army and its lack of morals. Israeli State endorsed paedophilia.
Obviously learnt a lot from the Nazis.
In fact I dont see much difference, as the effects are the same.

Menachem Begin, former zionist prime minister, in June 1967, said:

"We again had a choice. The Egyptian army concentrations in the Sinai approaches do not prove Nasser was really about to attact us. we must be honest with ourselves. we decided to attack him"

[Noam Chomsky, the fateful triangle, 1999]

I've got many more quotes from various zionist generals stating similar things.

Stop lying to yourself and accept israel is full of evil thieving occupiers. Most of them from europe so they aren't even semites. the zionists are the most anti semitic people.

israelis do have a choice and that is to end the daily oppression and humiliation of palestine by ending occupation.
Just like the person in question has a choice,he is going to oppress and occupy palestinians with full knowledge,if anyone deserves to be given the guantanamo bay treatment it is this guy.

While ending the occupation remains an option for the Israelis, how it is ended is not entirely within their control. Ideally the occupation should end through a negotiated settlement that allows for the Israelis and Palestinians to co-exist peacefully. Simply ending the occupation and returning to the 1949 ceasefire lines is unlikely to facilitate the development of a successful and sustainable Palestinian state. To be successful the Palestinian state needs to have land and air connections between the West Bank and Gaza, and access to various infrastructural facilities. Were the Israelis to simply to retunr to the pre-67 position there would be no direct link between Gaza and the West Bank, and no access to port facilities. The Israelis are not obligated under international law to open their borders to anyone, or allow access to their ports, airports, hopsitals, and utility systems. However without access to these Palestine would simply languish in poverty and there is every likelihood that there would be a progressive outflow of capital and people.
In the negotiations the Israelis have a lot to offer the Palestinians, but the Palestinians have only peace and the acceptance of the Israeli state to offer. Sadly the Palestinians have yet to be demonstrate that they can and will deliver on either. If the two state solution is rejected and the intention of the Palestinians is to achieve the demise of the Israeli state then a state of war exists, and all that entails.

May I add that the Muslims should make sure that it is the RIGHT masjid. Al-Aqsa is NOT the blueish octagonal masjid with the big dome on it. Yet so many of us muslims do not realise it.

the more muslims from UK go there, the more we pump into the Palestinian economy. al-aqsa is the 3rd holiest site for muslims and we are not doing it justice.

shan:

the palestians had a choice to accept statehood on several occasions but categorically rejected it each time:

the peel commission of 1937
un partition of 1947
1967
and camp david in 2000

The words are occupation of palestine,not occupation of west bank or gaza.
So alistair when will the ocupation of palestine end,giving little bantustans to palestinians is a pathetic joke that racists in south africa used.

I think is a very interesting article. I'm sure that this young man is not the first British person to head to Israel to serve the in IDF in some capacity (it is possible to go there during your gap year to work with the Israeli army in a non-combatant capacity).

I certainly don't think that we should be concerned. As European Muslims, we should be inspired.

Instead of languishing in kebab shops, working all the hours Allah sends, serving second-rate food to drunk and abusive people, Muslims should be setting their sights higher. We should use our positions in Europe to influence a Muslim country to allow Muslim volunteers to serve in its army. Frankly, I think Israel is teaching the Muslims exactly what we have to do in order to be strong and to hold our heads up high. We need to help Muslim countries to develop, so we can be proud of our homelands and inspired to do all we can to help them - in the same way that the Jewish Diaspora all over the globe does all it can to cement Israel's power.

I for one am fed up of being associated with bling-obsessed Muslims who can hardly write their own names. Every one of us should be in University (reading subjects OTHER than medicine), learning eloquence, communication, literature. Our eyes should be on power, reason and intellectual achievement. Not BMWs.

Mr Burns has his priorities straight. Mabrouk 'alayhi.

Omar says:

''bling-obsessed Muslims''
''languishing in kebab shops''

My sentiments as well, Omar.

Omar

Unlike the Zionist fifth column, our 'homeland' isn't Saudi/Pakistan/Indonesia or whatever: our homeland in Britain.

The dangerous Zionists who have infiltrated EVERY strata of UK society have no loyalty to Britain. Their prime purpose, behind all their activities (however they may dressed them up as being 'British') is to help and strengthen Israel.

Time to criminalise UK/Israel dual citizenships.

So when they come back they are arrested at the airport and done for training for terrorism.
If young naive muslim kids can be banged up for years because they looked at iraqi jihadi sites to see what is happening in iraq,do you think they would be allowed to do what this jewish person is about to do.
Muslims are in all fields of british society,if running food outlets is degrading to you,then there is something wrong with your perspective on life.

Muslims are indeed NOT in all fields of British society in any significant numbers. If the statistics are to be believed and we are 1.6m people, then we really ought to be a lot more influential than we are. We are ignored because we are mostly taxi drivers/kebab shop owners etc.

Our people are the least educated in the whole of British society. We also vote less than anyone else.

There's nothing degrading about working in catering. I just don't believe that Muslims can afford to be doing that when we are at the nadir of our civilisation and power.

Back to the issue though: I'm not saying that Muslims should up-sticks and go work for some foreign army now. You're quite right Shan, that they would be arrested for terrorism. What I'm talking about would take many years of patient work to bring about. But if Jews can serve in the Israeli army, I don't see any reasons why Muslims, eventually, shouldn't be able to serve in the Saudi/Syrian/Pakistani army in the future especially if these countries reform themselves (human rights etc).

It was not the Palestininanswho carried out the holocaust yet they are ultimately paying for it.

By the way, it is Christian Palestininans who are also suffering the Israeli occupation and aggressions.

Habazhi -- Has any 'oppressed' Palestinian Christian ever become a suicide bomber?

Alistair Silver says:
''the palestians had a choice to accept statehood on several occasions but categorically rejected it each time:

the peel commission of 1937
un partition of 1947
1967
and camp david in 2000''

You mean that after you ZIONIST thugs TERRORISED and INVADED their HOMES and CHILDREN, they were to accept giving their land away.

As you find that morally acceptable, how about you and your friends giving the majority of your houses and businesses away.

Give MPAC the addresses and they'll have it done LEGALLY through solicitors.

I doubt if you'll do it.
But it will show that you have one set of morals for yourselves, and one for others.

Colin there is no such thing as suicide bombers,there are human bombers who use their bodies as weapons delivery systems.
If you are anyone else does not like the palestinians to use their bodies as delivery systems then they should be allowed the same weapons as their oppressors and occupeirs so that we can have a fair fight,until then it is the palestinians under 60 years of evil and sadistic occupation not anyone of us.
To give your life for the freedom and liberty of others is the ultimate sacrifice one can make and not everyone can do that.

Yes but you won't hear it in the news or newspapers. It would destroy the image the media portray about "muslim."

They like to keep that image of "sucide bombers" to palestinians.

And why go all way to Palestine. How about the Ireland? Hmmm. Forget many who were "TERROIST" but now have a nice room in the Parliment.