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Dec. 15, 2014
Daily summary - Friday, December 7, 2012
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Main News
THE PRESIDENT IN INTERVIEW WITH PALESTINE TV: WE ARE NOW EVEN MORE DETERMINED TO AMEND THE PARIS ECONOMIC PROTOCOL
President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday in an interview with Palestine television that the leadership would now be even more determined to amend the Paris protocol in a way that will restore our rights. Abbas said that the protocol, which is a secondary agreement, has articles that need to be changed and amended, which they would not ask to happen. In terms of the countries that voted in favor and against the Palestinians at the UN, Abbas said that those who voted for Palestine were “friends” as were those who voted against them. “We told them that. We will not declare war on anyone. We understand that their policies and leaders dictated to them to make such a decision, and they have the full freedom to do so. “We will not boycott anyone who is against us but we will enter into discussions with the. Our struggle is not over neither are our demands. They might change tomorrow,” he said. The President said that the leadership would first turn to the Security Council to try and halt Israel’s settlement plans and ‘see what happens” and in light of that they would decide on what to do. “We have other ways to deal with us, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” he said, in reference to the possibility of going to the ICC.
The President reiterated his objection to a state with temporary borders, saying they had ‘buried’ this project ten years ago because this is completely unacceptable and we will confront efforts to this plan at all times. He did admit, however, that there are “people” who are discussing this issue, adding that they are not officials so cannot do anything, but that discussions are going on about this. “This bothers us,” he said, “that there are meetings and contacts with Israeli parties, parties who are ready and willing to talk about this issue.
The President also touched on the question of what the UN recognition meant on the ground, saying that if the situation continued as it is, there would be no two state solution. He said Palestinian youths were now raising the slogan of a one state, evidence of the lack of hope and desperation. Now, he said that since there is an international resolution saying this land is occupied, there is hope that they will also recognize that settlements – from start to finish – were illegal.
The President went on to say that “the small battle is over, now the big battle has begun, in reference to finding ways to translate the UN resolution on the ground from various aspects including legal. He said the leadership was aware of the consequences of this resolution and the pressures on it, but that they were ready to face them, including possible steps from the US Congress and the Israeli government.
Regarding Israeli elections, the President said that he hoped after elections ‘they could get back to where they ended with Olmert”. He also said that reforming of the PLO was one of the major subjects on the program for reconciliation but that PA elections must come first and then the PLO could be discussed with all the parties. Still, Abbas maintained that he would not run in the upcoming elections in spite of the people’s support of him. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=545756)
MESHAAL MET WITH THE QATARI PRINCE BEFORE TRAVELLING TO GAZ; SHALLAH MAY CANCEL HIS VISIT BCEAUSE OF ISRAELI THREAT TO STOP CEASEFIRE
Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifeh of Qatar received yesterday Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal in his office yesterday. The Qatari press agency said the two talked about the recent developments on the Palestinian arena. Meshaal is scheduled to travel along with his delegation from Qatar to the Gaza Strip today to participate in the party’s 25th anniversary. According to Hamas politburo member Izzat Rishiq, Meshaal will be accompanied by Mousa Abu Marzouq, himself and Mohammed Nasser. The celebrations are scheduled for Saturday. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=545741). Meanwhile, an official source in the Islamic Jihad said yesterday that their secretary general Ramadan Shallah may cancel his visit to Gaza because of Israel’s threat to halt the ceasefire if he does. According to the source, the Egyptian side informed Shallah that Israel would halt the ceasefire if he decided to visit the Strip. According to a source to Al Quds Al Arabi, who preferred to remain unnamed, the Islamic Jihad is holding contacts with the Egyptians on the subject but that Egypt was not prepared to coordinate a visit for Shallah in light of the Israeli threats. He said that the Jihad was not prepared to give the enemy the “free gift” of targeting Palestinian leaders. (http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=today\06z495.htm&arc=data\2012\12\12-06\06z495.htm)
ABDULLAH II AGREES WITH ABBAS ON NEED TO RETURN TO NEGOTIATIONS AFTER UPCOMING ISRAELI ELECTIONS
Jordanian King Abdullah II agreed during his visit to Ramallah yesterday with President Mahmoud Abbas on the need to return to direct negotiations with Israel after the upcoming Israeli elections next month and after the US President is re-inaugurated into his post on January. According to Palestinian sources, Abdullah II stressed on the importance of resuming Palestinian-Israeli negotiations on the basis of what was reached in meetings between the two sides previously, in reference to the exploratory talks sponsored by Jordan which did not end in any tangible results. The sources hinted that Jordan would play an important role in the possibility of resuming negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in the next phase through consultation and coordination with Washington. King Abdullah’s visit to Ramallah has been considered historic since it is the first of any world leader to the state of Palestine after the UN recognition. The PA also decided to name a square in Ramallah after King Abdullah II, with its foreign minister Riyad Al Malki saying it was an expression of the Palestinians gratitude for the role played by Jordan in supporting Palestine and its cause. Jordanian foreign minister Nasser Joudeh, on his part, said the discussions between the King and President Abbas were ‘constructive and completely in synch in terms of their opinions’ namely in discussions on steps following the UN recognition of Palestine as a non-member state. Joudeh said the UN resolution was a “historic achievement and a strategic decision” adding that he hoped Palestine would become a full member and more importantly, an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, saying this state was also in Jordan’s higher interests. He condemned Israel’s announcement of settlement plans for more than 4,000 settlement units in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, saying settlements were unanimously rejected internationally given that they are illegal and illegitimate.” (http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=today\06qpt958.htm&arc=data\2012\12\12-06\06qpt958.htm). Abdullah, in a statement from the royal court, said he would work with President Barack Obama as soon as he is re-inaugurated into office for his second term to find ways to get the US seriously involved in the peace process based on the two state solution, which he said was the only solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. (Al Quds)
CABINET CALLS FOR ARAB SAFETY NET TO BE RASIED TO $240 MILLION A MONTH
In its meeting yesterday in Ramallah, the Cabinet said it considered the UN status upgrade for Palestine the fruit of our peoples struggle over the decades to gain their natural rights to self-determination. The cabinet also said it was a victory for all peoples of the world for such rights, namely the right to establish an independent Palestinian state. The Cabinet condemned Israel’s E1 plans, saying the leadership would go to the Security Council to confront the settlements. The Cabinet also called on the international community to put an end to the Israeli policy of pirating Palestinian tax revenues, saying this was a type of political blackmail. In this context, the cabinet also called for the need of an Arab safety net that would enable the PA to confront the ramifications of Israel’s steps and enable the PA to commit to its various financial obligations. They also asked the Arabs to modify the amount of support offered in this safety net to $240 million a month as long as Israel is withholding tax revenues and as long as the money that was supposed to cover the budget deficit has not come in, calling on the international community to reject this sort of blackmail and force Israel to transfer the tax revenues and oblige donor countries to pay their dues to the PA. The Cabinet also condemned the continued Israeli violations to the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip by arresting dozens of citizens near the western coastal region of the Gaza Strip and east of Gaza City in addition to making incursions into agricultural areas in Khan Younis and randomly firing at citizens, injuring several of them. They also condemned settler violence in the West Bank, including the killing of Hatem Shadid in Allar, the destruction of the Mufaqara mosque, the leveling of 70 dunams of land, the destruction of three wells and three agricultural sheds and the uprooting of 200 olive trees west of Bethlehem. The Cabinet also called for an end to the Israeli treatment of prisoners, holding the international community responsible for the lives of hunger strikers, namely Ayman Sharawneh and Samer Essawiye. (Al Quds)
SOUTH AFRICA SUMMONS ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO PROTEST SETTLEMENT PLAN; CANADA; GERMANY: SETTLEMENTS UNDERMINE PEACE EFFORTS
The South African foreign ministry recalled Israel’s ambassador yesterday in protest of the Israeli decision to build 3,000 new settlement units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, according to a South African official. According to deputy minister for international affairs Ibrahim Ibrahim, “We thought it must make this move to express our concern.” He went on to say that the step was similar to those taken by Britain, France and Germany, adding that the South African ambassador to Israel will also relay the message to the Israeli government. The South African government said it considered the new settlement construction as a dangerous obstacle to any resolution of the conflict based on the two-state solution. It also criticized Israel’s refusal to pay the PA $100 million in tax returns. Furthermore, the Canadian President Steven Harper warned Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu that his country could not stand by Israel in its decision to build settlements as part of the E1 project linking Jerusalem to the West Bank. Harper said the settlements were undermining efforts to achieve peace between the Palestinians and Israel. Harper apparently called Netanyahu after the decision to go ahead with the settlement construction to chide him. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also said her country was at odds with Israel over the settlement plans saying she and Netanyahu had “agreed to disagree” on the subject and that all she could do was give a recommendation. (Al Ayyam)
PERES: ABBAS IS COURAGEOUS IN PEACE BUT WAS WRONG IN TURNING TO THE UN
In an exclusive interview with France Presse yesterday, Israeli President Shimon Peres said President Abbas was still a “serious partner” in peace in spite of succeeding in the UN bid. Peres said he tried to persuade Abbas not to go, telling him it was “not the right time but maintained that he was still a partner for peace and a serious man “who I respect” Peres also said Abbas was courageous to go to the UN in spite of the strong objections from the United States and Israel, adding that part of his courage was standing up and saying: “I am against terror and for peace.” He said Abbas had felt abandoned by Israel, the US and Europe and the rest of the world and therefore felt he needed to do something. Peres called on the Quartet Committee to intervene. “We need to ask ourselves: what now?” He said he believed that the Quartet should go back to being a negotiating body, saying it had the legitimacy to mediate. He also said there was not much to be done before the Israeli elections next month and until a new government is in place in Israel. Then there will be time to renew negotiations, he said. (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
MAARIV: GROWING INTERNATIONAL CRITICISM OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS POSSIBLE EUROPEAN SANCTIONS
The Hebrew daily Maariv said yesterday that the EU would impose sanctions on Israel if settlements were constructed in the E1 area linking Jerusalem with Maaleh Adumim. According to the newspaper, the EU foreign ministerial meeting will convene on Monday in order to approve a document outlining the European position on settlements. According to this paper, a law will be approved demanding that labels are put on settlement projects and reiterating that the economic agreements between the EU and Israel are not effective in the West Bank including in Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The newspaper also said that the ministers will denounce the E1 construction, adding that the EU would not recognize any changes to the 1967 borders, including Jerusalem. The EU has also summoned the Israeli ambassador to the EU to express their concern over the Israeli announcement, saying this step to summon the ambassador showed the gravity of the situation. (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
HAMAS LEADER: WE WILL FILE A LAWSUIT IN THE HAGUE AGAINST THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GAZA SIEGE
PLC member and Hamas leader Ismail Al Ashqar said yesterday that his movement would try and take advantage of the UN resolution granting Palestine a non-member statehood status by filing a lawsuit in the International Criminal Court against the Israeli army government coordinator Itan Dangot for his responsibility in imposing the siege on the Gaza Strip. In press statements to Yedioth Ahranoth, Al Ashqar said the siege was a crime against humanity, targeting children and women, adding that Dangot must be tried as a war criminal. In response, the Israeli army government coordination office said “Israel would in no way respond to the demands of armed groups who celebrate the killing of its residents and does not hesitate in using them as human shields. (http://qudsnet.com/arabic/news.php?maa=View&id=232549)
ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES HAND OVER BODY OF MARTYR HATEM SHADID
Israeli occupation forces handed over last night the body of martyr Hatem Shadid from the village of Allar. Shadid was killed last Monday by Israeli occupation soldiers west of Nablus after being shot at close range. Fatah issued a statement of condolences for the martyr, saying his funeral will be held today after Friday prayers and condemning the “ugly crime”, which it said was part of the chain of violations the occupation commits against our unarmed people. (http://qudsnet.com/arabic/news.php?maa=View&id=232555)
F-16 PALNE ENGINES STOLEN FROM AN ISRAELI ARMY BASE
Unknown perpetrators stole several engines from -made F-16 fighter planes yesterday, valued at millions of dollars, from an Israeli military camp in central Israel, according to Israeli army radio. According to the Wallah website, preliminary investigations by the military police showed that the theft most likely took place in collusion with soldiers or civilian workers at the base. The police refused to give any further details until the investigation was completed (Al Ayyam)
NEW ROUND OF TALKS; FAYYAD AND AL AHMAD TO CAIRO TOMORROW
The Egyptian sponsor to reconciliation talks agreed last night in Cairo with Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal that reconciliation was the Palestinians’ top priority in the coming few days. The Egyptian source told Al Quds that Meshaal agreed to hold a new round of meetings next week between Hamas and Fatah, saying he was optimistic about pushing the reconciliation forward. Fatah central committee member in charge of the reconciliation file Azzam Al Ahmad said he would arrive in Cairo tomorrow, Saturday, to discuss arrangements for the meetings. The Egyptian source also said PM Salam Fayyad would make an official visit to Egypt on Saturday to meet with his counterpart and a number of officials. (Al Quds)
At press time: Khaled Meshaal on his way to the Gaza Strip; heavy deployment of Qassam Brigades to meet him
The Izzedin Al Qassam Brigades heavily deployed their troops along the Salah Eddin road and in all areas of the Gaza Strip in preparation for welcoming Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal to the Gaza Strip in his first ever visit. The wife of Meshaal and Mousa Abu Marzouq, Meshaal’s deputy, and 14 of members of his family arrived through the Rafah crossing ahead of the Hamas delegation, which will participate in the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the movement. Senior Hamas officials will there to greet him after which Meshaal is scheduled to go to the home of the late Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, Hamas’ spiritual leader and then to the home of slain Qassam commander Ahmad Jaabari. He will then visit the families of martyrs from the Israeli invasion. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=545759)
Jewish protests hinder a pro-Palestinian meeting in a French university
President of the Toulouse University in southwestern France had to cancel a pro-Palestinian meeting that was intercepted by French Jewish organizations. The meeting, which was scheduled to take place on campus, was cancelled because of the “chance that there may be disorder.” The meeting, entitled “Palestine will win” was cancelled after a license for it to convene was revoked. The meeting was organized by the anti-imperialist coalition and was to host a representative of the PFLP, which the US and EU consider a terrorist organization. (Al Ayyam)
New charge sheet against Saadat, demanding that he pay ILS 42 million
Minister of Prison Affairs attorney Shirin Iraqi said yesterday that the Tel Aviv central court presented a new charge sheet against PFLP head and PLC member Ahmad Saadat, demanding that he pay compensation for the damages they say he caused because of a PFLP operation, saying the compensation amounted to ILS 42 million. Saadat told his lawyer that “these new charges are directed again me, against the PLC and against 81 members of the PFLP,” saying he would not deal with these courts or charges in any shape or form. He considered them as part of Israel’s continued assault on the rights of the Palestinian people. Saadat is serving a 30 year life sentence after Israel kidnapped him from the Jericho prison with a group of PFLP operatives. (Al Quds)
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Headlines
*King Abdullah: first leader to visit the State of Palestine (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Demonstrators chant “obsolete” and Mursi partially retreats (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Israel…politicians and parties in the mixer (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*The invasion of Burqa, whose victims were the sheep and its message was terror (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Theft of F-16 engines from an Israeli military base (Al Ayyam)
*Prominent Mursi advisor resigns along with head of the radio and television union (Al Ayyam)
*Israel: Peretz leaves Labor Party to join Livni (Al Ayyam)
*Over 24,000 killed in Syria over the 20 months of conflict (Al Ayyam)
*Haykal tells the details of the day Mubarak stepped down (Al Ayyam)
* Mursi calls for national dialogue tomorrow; opposition studying the offer (Al Quds)
*New charge sheet against Saadat, demanding that he pay ILS 42 million (Al Quds)
*E1 settlement project threatens to expel 2,300 Bedouin (Al Quds)
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Front Page Photos
Al-Quds: Ramallah: President Mahmoud Abbas upon receiving Jordan’s King Abdullah II at his headquarters; 2) Gaza: Two security men pass by a welcoming sign for Khaled Meshaal
Al-Ayyam: the President and King Abdullah with the honor guard at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida: the President and King Abdullah during their meeting in Ramallah; 2) Demonstrators in Cairo in protest of the constitutional announcement and referendum; 3) A boy inspects the furniture of his house ransacked by Israeli forces in Burqa yesterday.
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Arab Press
What are we waiting for?
By Hilmi Al Asmar
Yesterday, I watched a video that documents the Zionists’ demolition of a minaret belonging to a mosque in the Wadi Hanin village, depopulated in 1948. The mosque was then turn into a Jewish temple with the Star of David and a candelabra on its sad dome. The mosque has no minaret because the Zionists destroyed it so that no one would know it used to be a mosque. Not only did they destroy it, the celebrated its destruction. The video, which was played on Israeli television, is not just about this mosque. There are hundreds of other Muslim and Christian sites, cemeteries, mosques, churches and Waqf properties, which the occupation has laid its hands on and destroyed.
The Israeli efforts today are devoted to Jerusalem and Al Aqsa with the goal of completing its Judaization circle and stifling its Islamic characteristics. Today, occupied Jerusalem is living in a state of loss and alienation in light of the quick pace of settlement building and Judaization, represented in the building of temples, Talmudic schools (yeshivas) and Jewish religious centers right across from the holy Aqsa Mosque. The Israeli municipality has intensified its tourist projects to create an attractive atmosphere for Jews; they have established more than 70 settlement outposts inside the walls of the Old City right near the Aqsa Mosque, which is also surrounded by yeshivas and temples from all sides. They want to impose a settlement reality which extends to the network of tunnels and underground temples right beneath the Aqsa’s foundations. According to the study prepared by the field research team at the Aqsa Institute for Waqf and Heritage, it was uncovered that the Israeli municipality in coordination with the Elad settler group, the company for developing the Jewish quarter, the Wailing Wall preservation fund and in coordination with the Israeli archeology authority, has worked to encircle and besiege the Aqsa with about 100 temples and yeshivas and dozens of Torah gardens and Jewish museums. For example, the temple called “the Jewel of Israel” is only about 200 meters from the Aqsa. It has been allotted a budget of $12 million and will be built on the ruins of an Islamic prayer room which has been confiscated. Israeli occupation authorities have already begun to renovate the three-story building to become the third synagogue built in the Sharaf quarter on the ruins of mosques and Islamic properties. Before this, “Issac’s tent” and “Al Kharab” synagogues were both established.
All of these synagogues and Jewish centers were built on the ruins of properties belonging to refugees and to the Waqf authorities closed down by the occupation in 1967, especially in the Sharaf quarter, adjacent to the Buraq wall over which the so-called “Jewish quarter” was established. This was the starting point for Israel’s judaization projects, which all aim at stripping the Palestinian waqf authority of its jurisdictions, sidelining its role and obstructing its work. Israel is also trying to strip Jordan of its sponsorship authorities over Al Aqsa and holy sites in contravention with the peace agreement signed between the two countries. This agreement guaranteed Jordan’s right to oversee and be a caretaker over Al Aqsa.
What is so strange right now is how Jordan has not taken any serious steps to save these Waqf properties, especially in international arenas and especially since everything Israel is doing it in contravention with international law, which calls for the preservation of occupied land and Palestinian religious sites. They are also in contravention with the UNESCO charters which consider the Old City an archeological site that must be preserved. So, what are we waiting for? Will it take the destruction of Al Aqsa for us to take action? (http://addustour.com/ViewTopic.aspx?ac=\OpinionAndNotes\2012\12\OpinionAndNotes_issue1872_day07_id454005.htm)
Humiliation will not make Palestine stable
By Ian Buruma
Palestine is no longer an “entity,” but a state – or, to be precise, a non-member observer state of the United Nations, just like the Holy See. The Palestinian bid received the support of 138 member countries (Germany, the United Kingdom and 39 other countries abstained), while only seven, including the Marshall Islands, Palau and Panama, joined the United States and Israel in opposing it, leaving both more isolated than ever.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was furious; he called Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a liar, and gave permission for 3,000 new Jewish homes to be constructed on occupied Palestinian territory. His foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, had already threatened to crush the PA government on the West Bank if the U.N. vote went ahead.
But Israel has only itself to blame for what happened. Abbas and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, have been more moderate, and more open to serious negotiations with Israel, than any other Palestinian leader before. The Palestinian police have cooperated with the Israelis to contain violence on the West Bank. Improving the economy, rather than violent confrontation, has been the PA’s main concern.
But, by continuing to build settlements on Palestinian land, the Israeli government has undermined the authority of Abbas and his Fatah government almost to the point of impotence. More and more Palestinians, fed up with the futility of what is still called the “peace process,” believe that Fatah’s fierce rival, Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza, has more effective ways to break the current impasse. The failure of Abbas’ peaceful methods has made the alternative of violence look increasingly attractive.
Hamas also emerged as the moral victor after the latest – but surely not the last – military clash. Far from intimidating the Palestinians by bombing Gaza and mobilizing troops, the Israelis made Hamas look heroic in its resistance. Once again, Abbas looked feeble in comparison. This is why he desperately needed his victory at the U.N. The diplomatic promotion of Palestine offered him a lifeline.
Did the Israelis really want a resurgence of Islamist violence in Gaza, the potential collapse of peaceful politics on the West Bank, and now the right of a recognized Palestinian state to take Israel to the International Criminal Court for war crimes? If not, why are they so ham-fisted?
It appears that Israel is making the same mistake that others have made. It has been proven repeatedly that military intimidation of civilians does not break their morale and turn them against their own leaders, however terrible the regime. On the contrary, shared hardship usually strengthens the ties between citizens and their rulers. So it was in bombed German cities during World War II; so it was in Vietnam; and so it is turning out to be in Gaza.
But there is another way of looking at the situation. To call the Israeli government clumsy is to miss the point. Israel has few illusions about Palestinians toppling their own leaders. In fact, a strengthened Hamas may play into the hands of the Israeli hard-liners currently in power. They can point to the violent, anti-Zionist, and, yes, anti-semitic rhetoric of radical Islamists, and argue that no deal with the Palestinians is possible. The threat of a large stick is the only language that the natives understand.
Keeping the Palestinians divided between Islamist revolutionaries and the more business-minded Fatah suits Israeli purposes admirably. As long as Fatah keeps things more or less under control on the West Bank, and all Hamas can do is periodically lob missiles across the Israeli border or occasionally blow up a bus, Israel can easily live with the status quo. Those Israelis who believe that a two-state solution cannot be achieved feel vindicated; those who simply do not want two states to coexist are equally well served.
From the current Israeli government’s perspective, then, the correct strategy is to keep the Palestinian government on the West Bank weak and off balance, without quite bringing it down, and to contain Hamas with periodic displays of military power (while destroying long-range missiles that can do serious damage to Israel).
Israeli policies are not genocidal, as some commentators, not always free from anti-semitic animus, like to claim. Many Palestinians have been killed under Israeli rule, but their number is not even close to the number of Muslim civilians who are still being tortured, murdered and maimed by Muslim governments every day. Israel is, however, a semi-imperial power, using traditional colonial methods: ruling by proxy, dividing potential rebels, rewarding obeisance and punishing opposition.
Colonial history shows that this type of rule is fragile. Humiliation is not a firm basis for long-term stability. There comes a point when promises of independence no longer convince anyone. Fomenting violent resistance by demoralizing those who might still listen to reason is an invitation to disaster. The chances of a peaceful settlement vanish. Violence is all that is left.
It is one thing for colonies to blow up on the other side of the world. It is quite another if the colony is just next door, and the colonial power is surrounded by countries with limited sympathy for a mess that is largely of its own making. (http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2012/Dec-06/197427-humiliation-will-not-make-palestine-stable.ashx#axzz2EMKgkogg)
Ian Buruma is a professor of democracy, human rights and journalism at Bard College, and the author of “Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents.” THE DAILY STAR publishes this commentary in collaboration with Project Syndicate © (www.project-syndicate.org).
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Opinions
On the threshold of a new phase
By Sameeh Shbeib
Palestine has one a non-member observer status as a state at the UN General Assembly, something which has given it a new perspective in the course of the national struggle on the path of gaining full independence. Israel, and also the United States have realized that the scope and weight of international support Palestine received has called for a change in the rules of the game. It calls for the start of taking some serious and clear measures, especially in terms of settlements and attempts to circumvent the legitimate and national rights of the Palestinian people. This important development has passed to the Palestinians and to the international community, a group of decisive requirements.
On its part, Israel tried to sideline what took place at the UNGA by announcing tenders for new settlement units in Jerusalem. However, this reaction was met with a new kind of international positions which Israel is not used to. Furthermore, the PLO announced its intention to go to the Security Council to raise the issue of settlements once again. The policies of Israel’s aggression are no longer able to continue, which has forced Israel to reconsider the policies of tis parties and forces, especially the right wing ones.
As for the Palestinians, they got a taste of diplomatic victory but have not gone too far in this vein. They officially announced that the requirements of the coming phase need plans and intensified efforts. Perhaps the first and foremost of these is to reunify the Palestinians and end the despicable state of division based on the Cairo agreement of 2005 and the Doha agreement. This issue is urgent and must not be postponed. The intention was to hold a broad Palestinian meeting in the wake of the UN vote. However, this determination withered and retreated as a result of the internal elections in Hamas and the debates circulating about this issue. This retreat, however, did not prevent the formation of a committee to participate in all UN committees to study the necessary steps the Palestinians should take in the coming phase.
Israel will find itself, both regionally and internationally, before new developments it is not used to. It will see that what was feasible in the past can no longer continue now. Israel’s deterrent military role has fallen behind lately in response to the quick and decisive strikes. Now, after the UN vote, Israel has begun to lose its political deterrence as well because of its bullying through the US, whose policies match those of the Likud. The US is standing today before a widespread international will in a way that lacks logic and political ethics and contradict wish the Wilson principles and international law.
Perhaps something good will come out of these new developments and which hint at an American retreat; perhaps it may even lead to a call for an international peace conference! (Al Ayyam)
Expressing solidarity
JT Editorial
His Majesty King Abdullah’s visit to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, just after the upgrading of the Palestinian representation at the UN to non-member observer state and the end of a round of fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, is symbolic.
It also is consistent with the King’s, and Jordan’s, stand in support of the Palestinians who struggle to end the decades-old Israeli occupation.
Few Arab leaders manage to pay official visits to the Palestinian territories to show their solidarity with and support for the Palestinian people. The King’s trip to the West Bank, therefore, sends the message that the Palestinians do not stand alone and that their bid for a two-state solution to their conflict with Israel is the only doable political move.
Jordan was among the first to condemn the recent Israeli decision to expand its settlement construction in and around East Jerusalem; this continuous expansion of illegal Israeli colonies in the West Bank is most counterproductive, and a sure killer of the two-state solution.
Jordan happens to be the closest Arab state to the Palestinians, both geographically and in terms of historical and social ties. The Kingdom stood by the Palestinians for decades, helping them economically, politically and morally.
The special, fraternal relations that bind the peoples of the two banks of the Jordan River are unshakable. The Monarch said Jordan will relentlessly work to see the Palestinians regain their rights and arrive at the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel must develop a clearer vision not only for the interests and aspirations of the Palestinians but also for its own long-term survival.
In the absence of peace, the conflict between the two parties will be kept alive, to their detriment and to that of the entire region. (http://jordantimes.com/expressing-solidarity)
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