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Dec. 16, 2014
Daily summary - Thursday, February 13, 2014
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Main News
President of the European Parliament: my speech to the Knesset was supportive of Israel
President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz,expressed his surprise and concern of the Israeli response to his speech in the Knesset yesterday, considering it as supportive of Israel.Commenting on Jewish right-wing party Jewish Home deputies leaving the Knesset during the speech, Schulz said in a newspaper interview (Welt) German, “Those belong to an extreme party that also attacked US Secretary of State John Kerry.” Schulz said that his speech included the position of the European Union, which some might dislike. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the President of the European Parliament's speech to the Knesset, adding that he presented wrong information regarding the sharing of water resources between settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank.(http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=673105)
Palestinian sports will face Israel's behavior with a "diplomatic battle"
Head of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, Chairman of the Football Association, Jibril Rajoub, said that the Association will go to the FIFA Congress to be held in June next year in Brazil, to demand compelling Israel to international conventions and the Olympic Charter, and be subject to accountability, and expel it from FIFA and of allinternational sports committees, if it do not obey the International Olympic Committee Charter.Rajoub said during a press conference held at the Olympic Committee headquarters in Ramallah yesterdaythat Palestinians would not accept any compromise or cosmetic solutions to solve the problem of sports and athletes, and "we will demand the expulsion of Israel from the International Federation of football association (FIFA), and the International Olympic Committee and all sports federations."(http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/488571)
Occupation: lifting the siege of Gaza is out of the question
Israeli political sources rejected in Jerusalem tonight a request by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to lift the marine siegeof Gaza as a condition for the normalization of Israeli-Turkish relations.Israeli Radio quoted the sources as saying: "this is out of the question as far as Israel is concerned."Haaretz said yesterday that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded to lift the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip as a condition for signing the agreement of reconciliation with Israel, and normalizing relations with it.(http://safa.ps/details/news/122597/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9-%D8%BA%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82.html)
Khaled: Kerry’s framework agreement is designed in accordance with Israeli standards for a settlement
Member of the PLO Executive Committee, and Member of the political Bureau of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Taysir Khaled, said that "the framework agreement" being prepared by Secretary of State John Kerry is rejected, since it is designed in accordance with Israeli standards of all relevant issues on the agenda of negotiations on the final settlement.Khaled said in an interview yesterday that Kerry’s "framework agreement" is still in the discussions phase, awaiting what will be agreed upon in meetings between Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama next month, in addition to meetings with and other US officials, and that any adjustments of the Palestinian side to the core ideas will not change its conformity with the vision and Israeli interests. (http://qudsnet.com/news/View/265712/%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF-%D8%A5%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%A5%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B5%D9%85%D9%85-%D9%88%D9%81%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A9/)
Shaath: President Mahmoud Abbas’ life is in danger
Member of the Central Committee of Fatah, Nabil Shaath, said that President Mahmoud Abbas’ life is in danger under mounting Israeli threats against him.Shaath said in an interview with Russian news agency Novosti: "there is a new danger threating the life of President Abbas, after threats of the Israeli negotiations team leader (and the Israeli Justice Minister) Tzipi Livni, in light of Abbas’ insistence of sticking to the rights of his people,” adding that Abbas "believes in God, his movement and his people, and will not make any concession regarding our national rights."(http://www.wattan.tv/ar/news/86209.html)
Occupation forces detained five young men claiming they found weapons in their car near Ramallah
Hebrew sources said yesterday night that Israeli army forces arrested five youths alleging they found weapons and ammunition in their car near the village of Nabi Saleh, in Ramallah district.A security source claimed that during routine inspection patrols in the vicinity of settlements, Israeli soldiers found automatic weapons of M-16 type and pistols inside a car near Ramallah.According to the sources, the five young men were transferred to investigate and soldiers confiscated the weapons.(http://pnn.ps/index.php/policy/81207-%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%84-5-%D8%B4%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AB%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AA%D9%87%D9%85-%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87)
Abed Rabbo: Israel put obstacles to peace by requiring a referendum for concession of land
Secretary General of the PLO Executive Committee Palestinian Yasser Abed Rabboaccused Israel yesterday of putting obstacles to the peace process after the ratification of the law requiring a referendum on any agreement that includes concessions of territories under Israeli sovereignty.Abed Rabbosaid to Xinhua News Agency, that the said law "is a continuation of the racist Israeli policy aimed at disrupting the peace process and the negotiations", under the auspices of the US.Abed Rabbo said that the law backed by right-wing parties, including the ruling party (Likud) "shows that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaches out for negotiations on the one hand and, on the other hand stabs the political process.” Abed Rabbo added that "Israel from the very first moment of launching negotiations, is acting to disable it, and providing further proofs every day to fail and prevent international efforts to bring peace.” (Al-Ayyam)
Serry: only the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank could pave the way for a lasting solution to the Gaza Strip
The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process expressed his concern over the deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip. Serry said, "I'm worried when seeing more and more signs that the ceasefire understanding reached in November of 2012 is being lost.” Serry said in a statement sent to “Al-Ayyam” that "over the past two months, we have seen more rockets fired on Israel, more incidents on the border, and Israeli retaliation causing death or injury to civilians, the UN condemns the escalation of violence, and all parties must act in accordance with international law.” Serry said that “only the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, based on the commitments of the Palestine Liberation Organization, could pave the way for a lasting solution to the Gaza Strip, as part of the political progress towards peace."(Al-Ayyam)
Nablus: funeral of martyr Hanani in Beit Furik
Big numbers of citizens participated yesterday in the funeral of martyr Habash Hanani in Beit Furik village in Nablus governorate. Occupation authorities handed over the body of martyr Hanani Tuesday evening through Al-Taybeh checkpoint of Tulkarem. The funeral procession began from Rafidia hospital in Nablus to Al-Muqata’ah east of the city, where a military funeral was held for martyr Hanani, and then his remains where transferred to his house, and then to the martyrs' cemetery in the town.(Al-Quds)
Dagan: demanding the recognition of the a "Jewish State" is nonsense
Former Mossad Chief Meir Dagan, described in closed his lecture this week in Tel that Israel's insistence on its demand for the Palestinians to recognize a Jewish State is nonsense, excess and unnecessary. Dagan said: "If we go back to the establishment of Israel resolution by the United Nations in 1947, we clearly find an establishment of a Jewish State, and now we come to ask for a similar recognition of the Palestinian State?! We are asking for recognition of our State for a state that does not exist yet?”Dagan added: "Israel should insist on the abolition of the right of return for Palestinian refugees to areas inside the green line rather than insisting on a recognition of a Jewish State, and we must work and lobby for the Palestinian refugees to obtain citizenship of the States in which they reside, from Lebanon to the Gulf States", as he put it.(Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
Obama meets Netanyahu on 3 March
The White House announced yesterday that President Barack Obama will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 3rd.Netanyahu's Office revealed on Monday that the Prime Minister will visit the United States starting March 2nd.White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement that "the President is happy to discuss with the Prime Minister the progress in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, developments of Iranian file and other regional priority files.” (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
American Ambassador in Israel reveals progress in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations
US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro revealed that a progress in the negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides was achieved.Shapiro said in a radio interview yesterdayhe hope that a framework agreement will be presented by the end of the nine-month period set for negotiations, in order for discussions to continue on the various issues of permanent settlement. Shapiro added that those who claim that US Secretary of State John Kerry supports boycott against Israel distorts Kerry’s positions, and that it is ironic to attribute anti-Semitic motives to Kerry. (Al-Quds)
Al-Alami: Al-Ahmad’s visit to Gaza is a positive step’ we are ready to support President Abbas in rejecting Kerry’s plan
Member of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Imad Al-Alami, saidthat Azzam Al-Ahmad’s visit to Gaza is a positive step towards ending the division. Al-Alami said during a political meeting, organized by the Palestinian writers association of Gaza City Wednesday evening, that the only way to achieve Palestinian national unity is through dialogue between all the forces on the ground. Al-Alami said that Hamas is ready to start a comprehensive national dialogue with Palestinian forces at home and abroad, adding that the Palestinian cause is in dire need of unity, adding: "We are ready to support President Mahmoud Abbasin saying no to Secretary of State John Kerry’splan."(Al-Quds)
Activists returning to "Dier Hijleh"; occupation forces evacuate the village
Dozens of popular resistance activists returned yesterday evening to the village of DierHijleh, in the Jordan Valley near Jericho.Popular resistance activists told “Ma’an” they returned to the village of DierHijleh and after a few minutes the Israeli army blockaded them and forced them out of the village immediately. Activists Munther Amirah and Mahmoud Zawahreh were arrested and taken to an unknown destination, in addition to arresting Samer Nazal and Shadi Hatem. (Al-Ayyam)
Israel will ask European states to enact laws prohibiting its economic boycott
Israel Radio said that Israel is preparing to request from friendly Western states to enact laws prohibiting its economic boycott. The radio added, "this was agreed during a discussion held earlier this week headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after statements by prominent European leaders saying they oppose any boycott on Israel though they criticize its policy.” (Al-Ayyam)
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Headlines
** Jerusalem: Occupation municipality ratified the establishment of agiant religious Jewish Institute in Sheikh Jarrah (Al-Ayyam)
** Erekat called on Kerry to abide by international law in its proposals for peace with Israel (Al-Ayyam)
** Haaretz: Sharon expelled thousands of Bedouins in a cold night and 40 of them died (Al-Ayyam)
** "Al-Ahram Weekly published a report for the largest operation for rebuilding tunnels between Egypt and Gaza (Al-Ayyam)
** Israel rejects patients to travel for treatment, citing the ‘State of Palestine” emblem (Al-Ayyam)
** Clashes with occupation forces in “the martyrs triangle”’ three citizens injured (Al-Quds)
** Israeli and Palestinian intellectuals send a support letter to Kerry (Al-Quds)
** The President awards Ambassador of Egypt the central class“Star of Jerusalem”medal (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
**Lawyers decided to suspend work in all courts today (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** Sisi: we believe in the wisdom of President Abbas to reach a just solution for his people (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** About 105,000 work in Israel and settlements; 275100 unemployed in the third quarter of 2013 (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
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Front Page Photos
Al- Quds:Gaza – A woman who suffers cancer sitting in her home after being rejected to travel for treatment by the occupation authorities
Al-Ayyam: 1) Gaza – A woman who suffers cancer sitting in her home after being rejected to travel for treatment by the occupation authorities, 2)Nablus – funeral of martyr Hanani yesterday.
Al Hayat Al Jadida:.1)Military funeral for Hanani yesterday, 2)President Abbas awards Egyptian Ambassador the Star of Jerusalem medal.
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Voice of Palestine News
Jerusalem: A march will take place with thousands of settlers and extremists, including right-wing Knesset members, which will head to the Bab Al Shams area in East Jerusalem. The groups called for thousands to join to pressure the Israeli government into immediately beginning construction of the E1 project. Israeli occupation forces are preparing to provide safety and protection for the march, which will end in a huge festival for Israelis.
As for the approval for building a Talmudic school and settlement center in Sheik Jarrah, it will be built over four dunams of land. There are already a number of Jewish takeovers in this area. Also yesterday, 11 dunams were taken over on the Mt. of Olives from Palestinian families.
Israeli municipality teams continue to hand out administrative demolition orders to families in Silwan and Al Turi neighborhoods in addition to photographing dozens of homes ahead of their demolition.
Israeli authorities have also cut water supplies off of dozens of families in the Old City and removed the water meters from around 120 homes, all around the Aqsa Mosque.
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Voice of Palestine Interviews
**Mayor of Al Maleh, Aref Daraghmeh, on the continued demolitions and evictions in the Jordan Valley
Q: What can you tell us about the Israeli measures in the Jordan Valley?
This year, the violations have increased against the people of the Jordan Valley. The people are being evicted by the Israeli army from their areas of residence under the pretext of carrying out military drills. Yesterday 18 Palestinian families were evicted from their homes for this purpose for hours while the drills were conducted right in between their tents. This is very dangerous because we believe this is the start of Israel’s forced eviction of the people of the Jordan Valley.
Q: How much can the people resist this?
The people are very determined to remain on their land, but realize at the same time that Israel has the intention of kicking them out and taking this land. But the people are trying as much as they can to remain steadfast and we will try to provide anything they need to help their cause. This needs the help of all Palestinians though, not just those in this area.
**Shaher Saad, head of the Palestinian workers’ union, on the suffering faced by Palestinian workers at Israeli checkpoints, namely Al Taybeh
Q: What can you tell us about some of the things these workers must endure?
We are waiting for the ILO visit to Palestine so we are documenting the violations against workers at Israeli checkpoints in general and the Taybeh checkpoint in particular, where there is so much humiliation. There are long hours of waiting, the checkpoint is not humane at all; the workers are not protected from the rain, cold or hot sun.They are searched more thoroughly than any other checkpoint, humiliated and insulted by the Israeli security company in charge. We are even building a file against this company because they humiliate and provoke the laborers. All checkpoints are bad and humiliating, but this one is worse. We took this up with the ILO and they are going to send a delegation to this checkpoint to look into its conditions and present their findings in a meeting in June.
**Fatah spokesperson in Europe, Jamal Nazzal on EU Parliament Chief Martin Shulz and his Knesset speech and subsequent Israeli walkout
Q: What do you think of Shulz’s speech before the Knesset and the subsequent ‘storm” among the Israelis?
If these extremists still don’t comprehend that their state is the party responsible for imposing the siege on Gaza and do not admit that they steal our water and use four times of what we use, this indicates to their catastrophic isolation from reality. As a Palestinian, I gauged the difference between the European stance, expressed by Martin Shulz and the Israeli extremist view and I can see the huge gap that separates Israel today from reality and from the world in general. None of us is surprised at the uncivilized response of the Knesset to Shulz. Let them come and research the water division with the Palestinians or the siege on Gaza if they don’t believe us.
Q:Shulz said there would be no boycott of Israel by the EU even though the EU said it would boycott settlements. Can you clarify this more?
It sounded as if Shulz backtracked on the EU decision not to fund any projects in settlements and also its decision in 2013 to punish any company that is active in the settlements. Europe has not backtracked on these decisions. Shulz’ statements yesterday that Europe would not boycott Israel does not mean that it will continue working with settlements. Those decisions are still in place. He means that Europe will not impose economic sanctions on the state of Israel [proper]. He said this because he knows that the word “boycott” is sensitive in Israel, especially since he is German and the Holocaust is still an issue between the two countries.
Q: Were his statements reassuring to Israel then?
We hope that Israel will not be reassured by these statements; we must stress that the European boycott of Israel [settlements] is becoming a reality. How many times have we heard about European financial institutions that halted business with Israeli banks and even universities? The boycott is moving forward and this is a fact. From an Israeli point of view, their relationship with Europe is not reassuring at all. The world understands settlements, finally and is not willing to heed to it anymore.
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More Headlines
About 105,000 work in Israel and settlements; 275100 unemployed in the third quarter of 2013
Results of the labor force survey conducted by the Central Bureau of statistics, showed that the number of participants in labor force is approximately 970 million during the last quarter of 2012, including 780,000 in the West Bank, and 414,000 in the Gaza Strip. The results indicated that the gap between males and females is still significant is participating in the labor force, amounting to 70% males versus 18% females. The report said that the number of unemployed rose from 275100 in the third quarter of 2013 to 301200 person in the last quarter of the same year, and that the number of workers in settlements decreased form 20,000 workers in the third quarter of 2013 to 19,000 workers in the fourth quarter of 2013. (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
Israel removes the word "State” of transfer papers as a condition for letting Gaza patients to cross
Well-informed Palestinian sources revealed the ending the crisis of traveling patients from the Gaza Strip for treatment in Israel and the West Bank through Beit Hanoun, after an agreement on removing the word “Sate” of transfer papers. “Ma’an” correspondent learnt that a meeting took place on Wednesday afternoon between the delegation of Palestinian and Israeli civil liaison in Beit Hanoun (Erez), during which an agreement on the removal of the word “State” from medical transfers approved for the Ministry of health, until finding a new mechanism issuing transfer papers is found. 199 patients passed today from Beit Hanoun crossing today according to the new agreement. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=673113)
Cameras on settlers’ vehicles to monitor stone throwers
Many settlers began in recent months installing cameras called "Dash Board" on their vehicles during their movement in the West Bank, in order to identify stone throwers and incendiary bottles. According to Maariv, these cameras have succeeded in getting the army to a cell of stone throwers at the village of Azzuon near Qalqilya few days ago. The cameras installed on settlers' cars enabled the army to identify the Palestinian vehicles, reach their owners and arrest them. (http://safa.ps/details/news/122613.html)
Prisoners hold a surgery for a prisoner
President of the Prisoners' Club in Hebron Amjad Najjar, said yesterday that prisoners in the "Rimon” prison implemented a surgery in their room for prisoner Rami Samir Hassan, a 30 years old prisoner, who is imprisoned in Israeli jails since ten years and sentenced to 19 years of imprisonment. Najjar said in a press release that prisoner Hassan suffered from shrapnel in the Palm of his hand that was not removed, despite dozens of requests to the prison clinic without any response, forcing his colleagues to hold the surgery and extract shrapnel. (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
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Arab Press
Israel’s Big Question
By Thomas L. Friedman
I’ve written a series of columns from Israel in the past two weeks because I believe that if Secretary of State John Kerry brings his peace mission to a head and presents the parties with a clear framework for an agreement, Israel and the Jewish people will face one of the most critical choices in their history. And when they do, all hell could break loose in Israel. It is important to understand why.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not without reason, is asking the Palestinians to recognize Israel as the “nation state of the Jewish people,” confirming that if Israel cedes them a state in the West Bank, there will be two-states-for-two-peoples. But, for Netanyahu to get an answer to that question, he will have to give an answer to a question Israelis have been wrestling with, and avoiding, ever since the 1967 war reconnected them with the heartland of ancient Israel, in the West Bank, known to Jews as Judea and Samaria. And that is:
“What is the nation state of the Jewish people?”
Kerry, by steadily making the answer to that question unavoidable, has set the whole Israeli political system into a roiling debate, with some ministers shrilly attacking Kerry and slamming Netanyahu for even putting the question on the table — as if the status quo were sustainable and just hunky-dory.
For instance, Kerry recently observed at a conference in Munich that if the current peace talks failed “there’s an increasing delegitimization campaign that’s been building up [against Israel]. People are very sensitive to it. There are talks of boycotts and other kinds of things.”
Some Israeli ministers and American Jewish leaders blasted Kerry for what they said was his trying to use the B.D.S. movement — “boycotts, divestment and sanctions” — as a club to pressure Israel into making more concessions. I strongly disagree. Kerry and President Obama are trying to build Israelis a secure off-ramp from the highway they’re hurtling down in the West Bank that only ends in some really bad places for Israel and the Jewish people.
I like the way Gidi Grinstein, the founder of the Reut Institute, a nonprofit that works on the thorniest problems of Israeli society, puts it: “We are in a critical moment in our history — far more significant than many realize.” Ever since 1936, “the Zionist movement has sought to establish a sovereign Jewish and democratic majority in Zion, and, therefore, eventually accepted the principle of two-states-for-two-peoples: a Jewish state and an Arab state.” Although there is a powerful settler movement in Israel that would like to absorb the West Bank today, the State of Israel has continued to tell the world and the Jewish people that, under the right security conditions, it would cede control of that occupied territory and its 2.5 million Palestinians and forge a two-state deal.
If Kerry’s mission fails — because either Israelis or Palestinians or both balk — he will either be tacitly or explicitly declaring that this two-state solution is no longer a viable option and “that would plunge Israel into a totally different paradigm,” said Grinstein, who recently authored the book “Flexigidity: The Secret of Jewish Adaptability.”
It would force Israel onto one of three bad paths: either a unilateral withdrawal from parts of the West Bank or annexation and granting the Palestinians there citizenship, making Israel a binational state. Or failing to do either, Israel by default could become some kind of apartheid-like state in permanent control over the 2.5 million Palestinians. There are no other options.
But what these three options have in common, noted Grinstein, is that they would lead to a “massive eruption of the B.D.S. movement” and “the B.D.S. movement at heart is not about Israel’s policies but Israel’s existence: they want to see Israel disappear. What is keeping the B.D.S. movement contained is that we’re still in the paradigm of the two-state solution.” If that paradigm goes, he added, not only will the B.D.S. movement launch with new momentum, but the line between it and those around the world who are truly just critical of Israel’s West Bank occupation will get blurred.
Furthermore, being the “nation state of the Jewish people,” means that the values of Israel cannot be sharply divergent from the values of the Jewish diaspora (the vast majority of American Jews vote liberal) or from the values of America — Israel’s only true ally. Added Grinstein: “If that happens, the relationship between Israel and America and American Jewry will inevitably become polarized.”
To avoid that, no one expects Israel to concede to whatever Palestinians demand or to accept insecure borders or to give Palestinians a free pass on their excesses. And Kerry is not asking that. Israel should bargain hard and protect its interests. “But Israel has to be seen as credibly committed to ending its control over the Palestinians in the West Bank,” concluded Grinstein, otherwise it won’t just have a problem with B.D.S., but eventually with America and a growing segment of American Jews — “turning Israel from a force of unity for Jews to a force of disunity.”
So responding to the Kerry plan, when it comes, is about something very deep: What is the nation state of the Jewish people — and how will Jews abroad and Israel’s closest ally, America, relate to it in the future?(http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/opinion/friedman-israels-big-question.html)
The no-peace process continues
By Mustafa Barghouti
As US Secretary of State John Kerry tries to move toward a resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the process is hampered by unilateral moves and new demands from the Israeli side. The result is that international law, a global consensus, and Palestinian rights are being increasingly usurped by what is indistinguishable from Israeli interests and ambitions.
The first problem with Kerry’s emerging framework is that it does not propose a solution. Kerry proposes new terms of reference, new interim periods, and the opportunity for both sides to “express their reservations.” An extension of negotiations means an extension of the status quo, but the status quo is not static. It is deteriorating on a daily basis, with each new illegal Israeli settlement on occupied Palestinian land, and with each new demolition of Palestinian homes and livelihoods.
Since negotiations resumed last July, Israel has initiated the construction of 10,000 new illegal units and increased its settlement expansion rate by 132 percent. It has also made hundreds of Palestinians homeless by destroying entire communities, from East Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley.
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If leaked details of Kerry’s framework are true, new demands from the Israelis have the potential to scuttle Palestinian rights rather than accommodate them. References to respecting Palestinian “aspirations” for a capital in Jerusalem, for instance, combined with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to relinquish sovereignty over the holy city, suggest that Palestinians are being set up to plant a flag in a remote neighborhood on the outskirts, contrary to all international conventions that recognize East Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory.
Then there is the new insistence that Palestinians formally recognize Israel “as a Jewish state.” The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) recognized the state of Israel more than 21 years ago, and the Palestinian Authority has recognized and cooperated with the state of Israel for many years. Israel, however, has never recognized a Palestinian state, and is now pushing the goal lines further down the field with this unprecedented demand.
No such demand was made to Egypt or Jordan when they signed their peace agreements with Israel. No such demand was made to other countries that have recognized Israel. Moreover, one in five Israelis is not Jewish, and every modern democratic state should be a state for all its citizens, regardless of their ethnicity or creed.
This unacceptable proposition would foreclose the internationally recognized right of return of the Palestinian refugees. The demand, in other words, is nothing but a maneuver to obstruct any movement forward by presenting the Palestinian side with an impossible choice. In addition, the Israeli position indicates that 90 percent of the settlers on the West Bank would remain in place, along with the Palestinian land they have illegally confiscated.
These settlements include some of the most fertile land in the West Bank and up to 80 percent of the water resources. Such losses can’t be recuperated through “mutual land swaps.” Retaining the settlement blocs legitimizes what is illegitimate and fractures the Palestinian state.
There is also talk of maintaining an Israeli security presence on the borders, Israeli control of all passages into and out of the Palestinian state, and Israeli control of Palestinian airspace and the electromagnetic spectrum.
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If this is the framework, then we are not talking about a Palestinian state. We are talking about disjointed Palestinian Bantustans.
With all due respect for his determination and the thousands of miles he has traveled, Kerry is allowing the prospects for peace to collapse. These convoluted and manipulative frameworks will not do. The solution is simple and uncontroversial. Consistent with world opinion, international law, United Nations resolutions, and statements of the International Court of Justice, Israel should withdraw from the territories it occupied in 1967. The West Bank and the Gaza Strip, constituting just 22 percent of historic Palestine, should form the Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital. On this basis, a sovereign Palestinian state would barely be viable — but it would be viable nonetheless.
Most recently, in the heart of the occupied Jordan Valley and in response to leaked reports that Israel intends to maintain its army presence here for years or decades to come, volunteers from across the West Bank have launched a new campaign called “Salt of the Earth,” a nonviolent direct action aimed at reclaiming and revitalizing our lost lands. On Feb. 1, we moved into the ancient village of Ein Hijleh, which was depopulated in 1967 with the onset of the occupation. In the face of Israeli harassment and blockades, we began restoring the buildings and the land so that Palestinians can once again enjoy the valley and the Dead Sea. Our creative action counters Israel’s illegal settlement policies with a constructive Palestinian presence on the ground.
These global and local models of popular nonviolent resistance unveil the façade of the emerging Kerry framework. If international pressure is not brought to bear on Israel at this juncture, the system of discrimination and apartheid will be reinforced and imposed on future generations.(http://www.arabnews.com/news/525006)
Kerry, Jordan and Palestinians
by Daoud Kuttab
The seriousness of the US-initiated framework for a possible solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem appears to have shaken dormant relations in the region, including in Jordan.
The Palestinian-Jordanian relationship, which is experiencing its highest degree of cooperation and mutual trust, is being put to the test.
The challenges facing this important relationship stem from identity issues that have plagued Jordan for decades but which have been pushed under the rug.
Jordanian politicians, pundits, journalists and even government officials are expressing different degrees of concern and worry regarding the aftermath of US Secretary of State John Kerry plan, even though information about the plan is very sketchy.
The potential of solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has resurrected badly needed discussion about political reform, which was delayed until the resolution of the Palestinian cause.
The refugee issue is perhaps the most important part of this discussion. Two million registered refugees in Jordan are the biggest single group of Palestinian refugees in the world. Their case is even more complicated by the fact that they are also full Jordanian citizens, though not equitably represented in Parliament as a result of large scale gerrymandering.
Murmurings began on websites and social media, and from former Jordanian officials, including former prime minister Marouf Bakhit, who requested that a Jordanian representative attend the ongoing US-led talks to ensure that Jordanian rights are preserved.
The issue of Palestinians in Jordan was also included in the discussions about the rights of Jordanian women to pass on citizenship to their children.
A promise by the government to a parliamentary coalition led by Madaba MP Mustafa Hamarneh to give civil rights to children of Jordanians provoked angry responses from East Bank Jordanians who fear that this will cause a shift in the sensitive demographics of Jordan.
Respected columnist Fahed Fanek picked up on the issue saying, without substantiation, that the idea of giving temporary or permanent passports to Palestinians caused the emptying of the West Bank.
The discussion, however, was further escalated when members of Parliament demanded a briefing from the government on the progress of the peace talks.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs Nasser Judeh gave a general briefing about Jordan’s key interests in the peace talks, but this did not please the MPs who wanted more details.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour came to the podium and surprised parliamentarians by questioning the transparency of the Palestinian side vis-à-vis the Jordanian counterparts.
Ensour said that Jordanians are afraid of a Palestinian surprise, a hint to the fact that Jordan, like many others, was caught totally by surprise when the Oslo back channel produced the 1993 Israeli-Palestinian memorandum of understanding.
Although he praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the media picked on Ensour’s questioning of the Palestinian openness to Jordan.
Ensour’s claim, however, was quickly responded to by Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al Malki.
In an interview, portions of which were broadcast on Radio Al Balad in Amman, Malki insisted on the fact that Palestinians are totally open and transparent with Jordan.
He said that Palestinian president briefs His Majesty King Abdullah regularly and completely. However, Malki hinted to the possibility that the problem might be within Jordan.
“What the King chooses to relate to his government is not our business,” he concluded.
Malki’s statement on the radio produced some angry remarks from some Jordanians.
Former head of the Royal Court, Riyad Abu Karaki, wrote on his Facebook page that Malki’s statements were inappropriate.
He used the Arabic word “eib” (shame) to describe the hints at the disconnect between the palace and the government.
There is no doubt that the national identity issues confronting Jordanians if and when the Palestinian issue is resolved are daunting.
Real political reform and an equitable share to all citizens, which has been postponed for years, will not be justified any further.
While the late King Hussein’s memorable quote that Jordan is for its citizens, irrespective of origin, remains the guiding principle for the way forward, many fear that the interests of some Jordanians who have benefited from the central government for decades will be washed away once the need for equity among all citizens become the rule.(http://jordantimes.com/kerry-jordan-and-palestinians)
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Opinions
Kerry and the Jewish Brutus
By Khayri Mansour
American diplomacy no longer has enough room to absorb what “Israel” is dishing out in insults, which has reached the chiding of Secretary Kerry. More than once, he has been described as a ‘mere cat meowing” and that he is anti-Semitic. But Kerry is not the first secretary of state subject to this campaign of political lampooning. Rarely have his predecessors been spared similar campaigns. Even Henry Kissinger, who was completely biased towards Tel Aviv, was once described as just a ‘little Jew.”
National security advisor Susan Rice took over the responsibility of responding to the accusations directed at her country’s diplomacy, perhaps because she was nominated for the position of secretary of state and what happened to Kerry could have easily happened to her.
Of course, there is a group in Tel Aviv which is seeking to minimize this campaign and contain it to convince those who have waged it that America is the strongest and most durable ally, given that it has always declared that Israel’s security is an intimate and vital part of its own national security. This group may not be able to complete its mission of silencing the voices of condemnation of Kerry, but at least it offers a sort of balance, thus lessening the discontent of the Americans.
Furthermore, there is almost a complete consensus among Jewish circles on the antagonism that has mushroomed between Netanyahu and President Obama, even though the protocol aspects of their meetings have tried to conceal this, ever since Obama felt that Netanyahu was extremely biased towards his electoral opponent Romney.
This is all in spite of the fact that politics is not subject to such factors, neither does the personalization in politics act as an alternative to strategies and national interests.
But what is happening in such cases is that this has created a cold atmosphere, reflected on bilateral relations, thus providing suitable ground for tipping the scales of one position over the other, even if only narrowly.
The question that keeps getting asked in such a context is what damage has this American diplomacy had in Tel Aviv? Has it impacted the position on settlements, whose continuation and escalation has prevented American facilitation of the negotiations with the Palestinians? Or has America itself changed, even if slightly?
Some analysts in “Israel” including Haimi Shelev, believe that the conditioned understandings Washington reached with Iran have come at the expense of Israel. What worries them is not what has been achieved until now, or what may be achieved later. Tel Aviv’s real concern is that it can no longer impose its agenda on Washington. The war on Iraq is the perfect example of this imposition, for which America was made to pay heavily, so much that it has begun to scale back and reconsider its priorities.
What has been published in the Hebrew press and social media against Kerry and even the American administration has reached the point of public insulting and has overstepped any semblance of etiquette.
The truth is that the feeling of discontent that the US is starting to experience has many reasons other than the lampooning of Secretary Kerry, especially after American voices have begun to rise up and which see Israel as a political, economic and moral burden on the United States. (http://www.alkhaleej.ae/studiesandopinions/page/e6b1f1b4-8ff6-4309-8703-abf5dc1e7137)
Recognizing the Jewish character of Israel
By Haidar Eid
The possibility of achieving justice and peace at present is the farthest it has ever been in light of the tight siege on Gaza and the dissecting of the already severed West Bank. All of this has led to the impossibility of achieving the ‘national dream” for one-third of the Palestinian people, that is, the population of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This is over and above further confusing and complicating the cause of the other two-thirds, namely the refugees who live in desolate camps and who are sometimes treated like animals, and for those living inside the Green Line, as third-class citizens of Israel.
What is the Palestinian cause if it is not the right of return for refugees living inside and outside of Palestine? Is there even a small possibility for peace to prevail in the Middle East without the resolution of this issue? If there is, like those who are panting behind the American mirage, and there is a way of finding a ‘just solution” that does not include their return or guarantee full equality for 1948 Palestinians, does this guarantee a just and comprehensive peace? Is this not a breach of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Unfortunately, the dominating ideology has its own way, especially when it is strong, which represents its racist interests.
The whites defined the apartheid institutions of South Africa as democratic, even it were only a white democracy. However, the indigenous African inhabitants never recognized the ‘white nature” of the country; neither was the concept of defining the country as ‘white and democratic” acceptable by the international community, which considered this idea as blatantly racist. Unlike the Palestinians, the black Africans were considered humans and therefore, the universal declaration of human rights was applicable to them.
The call to recognize Israel as a Jewish state means exactly this: a disregard to the cause of some 5 million refugees dispersed in all corners of the world as a result of the ethnic cleansing that came in tandem with the establishment of the State of Israel. It means the neglect of the cultural and national rights of 1.4 million Palestinians living Israel. According to this formula, the Palestinians are only those who live in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
The conflict in the Middle East, according to the American equation, will be resolved by granting a flag and three for four amputated Bantustans, with a chief for each Bantustan, or for all of them, who we can call President.
The proposals of US secretary of state John Kerry, or at least what has been leaked about them, does not deal with the refugee issue. It also does not call for putting an end to the flagrant racism practiced against Palestinians inside Israel. It does not call for demolishing the separation wall, which is being built in the West Bank; nor does it call for the immediate lifting of the siege off Gaza. All of the discussions and statements revolve around one issue only: the Palestinian recognition of Israel’s Jewish character.
This insolent and racist demand is nothing more than asking the Palestinians to admit to the mistake of their own narrative and the correctness of the Zionist narrative, thus becoming Zionist themselves! This is no different than demanding the Africans of South Africa to recognize the white nature of the state and the historical right of white colonialists to it!
Let us forget about Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which clearly stipulates that: all people are born free and equal in dignity and in rights”, where the victim accepts the status of below animals. This is the final goal, which the forefathers of apartheid in South Africa failed to achieve over the span of 42 years. But will Kerry, Obama and Netanyahu be able to achieve it?
However, just like the international boycott backed by the struggles of the black population in South Africa, was able to eliminate the apartheid regime and all of its oppressive tools, the international boycott in motion today, under the Palestinian leadership, which is targeting Israel’s measures of occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing, has made considerable progress – so much that it has prompted the Israeli government to sound the alarm bells. This is the alternative, which many who oppose the continued futile negotiations, have been asked about. The alternative is to implement international law, which guarantees the right of return, freedom and equality. And this is the exact opposite of the demand to recognize the Jewish character of Israel. (http://www.amin.org/articles.php?t=opinion&id=23311)
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