From 'hell on earth' Gaza refugee camp to superstar

A singer who became the first Palestinian to win Arab Idol after witnessing 'hell on earth' at a Gaza refugee camp where he grew up has made an impassioned plea for Israel to stop killing innocent civilians.

Mohammed Assaf told MailOnline how he witnessed countless deaths at the hands of Israeli forces after moving to the Khan Younis refugee Camp in Gaza when he was just four.

Khan Younis has been the scene of some of the most brutal Israeli massacres. Most of those who end up there have had their homes reduced to rubble and Mr Assaf saw harrowing parallels over the summer when nearly 2,200 Gazans were killed, including 513 children.

Last year, Mr Assaf risked everything by travelling to Egypt to audition for the Middle East's version of Pop Idol which he went on to win. He has since gone on to perform dozens of sell-out concerts all over the world from America to Australia.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline in London, Mr Assaf told how he often relives the horrors of his childhood after making several trips to Gaza this year to deliver aid in his role as UN Goodwill Ambassador for Palestine.

He said: 'The overwhelming majority of the Palestinians killed were innocent civilians. It's harrowing to see this level of suffering among my people.

'Thousands more were wounded and nearly half a million people were made homeless - and I know exactly how that feels.

'When bombs and bullets are pouring down on defenceless communities, and there is absolutely nowhere to run, then it is like absolute hell on earth.

'It is an unimaginably frightening situation and I went through it regularly during Israeli attacks while I was growing up. I saw the lives of families and friends destroyed in seconds.'

Concentrating on Israel's campaign in Gaza this summer, a new report by human rights group Amnesty International pointed to Israeli ‘war crimes’ carried out with ‘a callous indifference to the carnage caused’.

Israel, which lost five of its own civilians and 66 soldiers in the conflict, claimed it was responding to 'terrorist rocket fire', according to government spokesmen.

The 24-year-old is known as the 'Voice of Gaza' after winning the show to become a global superstar last year.

His final performance - in front of an audience of 100million - was a song called 'Raise Your Keffiyeh', a nationalist anthem referring to the Palestinians' traditional scarf.

The garment was famously worn by former leader Yasser Arafat and has become an iconic symbol of the Palestinian struggle for freedom.

Mr Assaf said he particularly wanted to visit London after the British parliament last month voted to recognise Palestine as an independent state.

'It was a hugely important step and one which added to the great hope all Palestinians share,' he said before a concert in Westminster Central Hall, across the road from the House of Commons last Friday night.

'I have to admit, I feel immensely proud to be here. The symbolic vote was won by a landslide majority, showing that the will is here in Britain to allow us peace.

'Now there needs to be official recognition of the Palestinian state. This is particularly relevant for the UK, given its historical responsibility for starting the Arab-Israeli conflict in the first place.

'Britain has a huge role to play in forging peace for the Middle East – all of us are relying on its support.

(dailymail.co.uk)

ANN.Az