Ha'aretz: "The world's best-known Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish, delivered a stinging tirade Sunday against rival Palestinian factions in his first public appearance in Israel since he left the country more than 35 years ago. The 66-year-old poet, who was born in a village near Acre, described the infighting between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza as 'a public attempt at suicide in the streets.' He spoke to a packed Mt. Carmel Auditorium in Haifa. The event was also broadcast live over Arab satellite television and on large screens in adjacent halls. ... Among the predominantly Arab-Israeli crowd that assembled to hear Darwish were Jews- some of whom didn't even speak Arabic and could not understand what was being said."

Posted by Laura at July 15, 2007 10:51 PM