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Dec. 16, 2014
Daily summary- Monday, January 27, 2014
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Main News
ISRAEL HIGH COURT APPROVES SETTLEMENT ROAD THAT SPLITS BEIT SAFAFA IN HALF
The Israel High Court in Jerusalem issued its decision yesterday regarding to the appeal put forth by the town council of Beit Safafa against the Jerusalem municipality, the Moriya company and the ministry of transportation, in regards to the “Begin Road” or Road 4, which splits Beit Safafa in half. The road, when completed will sever hundreds of dunams of land from its Palestinian owners and will ultimately link the center of Jerusalem with the settlements of Gush Etzion and Har Homa. According to attorney Mohanned Jbara, who is defending the town council, the court sufficed with obligating the municipality and the Moriya company with submitting a detailed plan of all the side roads that the municipality is planning to cancel out or rebuild because of the new Road 4, but without any hindrance to the actual construction of the road. It also said any road that posed an obstacle to the construction of Road 4 would remain closed. (Al Quds)
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: WE WILL NOT HESITATE TO REJECT KERRY’S PROPOSALS IF THEY CONTRADICT WITH OUR POSITIONS
Minister of foreign affairs Riyad Al Malki said yesterday that the Palestinian leadership ‘would not hesitate” to reject American peace proposals if they contradict with Palestinian positions. Al Malki told Voice of Palestine that: “We will have to wait to see what kind of agreement Kerry proposals to us,” adding that there would still be ‘more negotiations and discussions between the Palestinians and Americans in Washington with Saeb Erekat. Malki said they told the Americans “more than 10 times” that they would not have a problem turning down proposals that went against Palestinian positions and principles. Kerry said earlier on the sidelines of the Davos Economic Foreign that he planned on putting forth a framework agreement to the Palestinians and Israelis within a few weeks. Israel radio quoted Kerry saying that the framework agreement would include principles for solutions to all the core issues pending between the two sides and would constitute the basis of an agreement for the next stages of negotiations.
In this regard, Malki said the Palestinians would continue to hold the Americans to the written commitments from their administration, stipulating that the negotiations would be launched from the premise of recognizing the borders occupied in 1967 and the establishment of a Palestinian state. He went on to say that “if there is suddenly a change in the American position, then we will act accordingly.”
Malki also condemned the threats made by head of the Israeli negotiating team Tzipi Livni against President Mahmoud Abbas, saying the leadership was “looking closely at the threats and would be added to the list of threatening statements contradictory to peace from the Israeli leadership.” He also said they would pass on Livni’s statements to all Palestinian embassies so they could bring the issue up with the foreign ministers of the countries they are in, in addition to raising the issue in international forums. “We will not remain silent over this; it is a clear threat to the President and we must take it seriously.” Livni said on Friday that Abbas would “pay the price” for adhering to his positions in the negotiations. (http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=127138)
ABU RDEINEH: LIVNI’S THREATS MAKE HER UNFIT FOR NEGOTIATING
Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rdeineh said yesterday that the threats made by Tzipi Livni against President Abbas were aimed at evading obligations of the peace process and sabotaging Secretary Kerry’s peace efforts. Abu Rdeineh also said that her statements made her unfit for negotiating. “Perhaps Livni has joined the official group inside the Israeli government that is working to torpedo the current opportunity for peace, not to mention that what she said contradicts with what was agreed on with Kerry, which is not to speak to the press,” he said. (Al Ayyam)
NETANYAHU: ALL SETTLERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN THE WEST BANK I THEIR HOMES IN A FUTURE PALESTINIAN STATE
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed yesterday a solution to one of the stickier issues in the conflict, when one of his office employees said that Netanyahu believed it was the right of every Jewish settler to remain in their homes in a future Palestinian state. According to the official, Netanyahu does not agree to the Palestinian state becoming a ‘state of ethnic cleansing” against the Jews. The official preferred to remain unnamed. (Al Quds)
EREKAT: WE WILL NOT ALLOW ONE ISRAELI SETTLER TO REMAIN IN THE PALESTINIAN STATE
PLO Executive Committee member Saeb Erekat told Al Ayyam yesterday that “we will not allow even one Israeli settler to remain in the land of the Palestinian state”, in response to Netanyahu’s statements about not evacuating settlers within a framework of a final agreement. Ereket said that: “Anyone who says they want the settlers to remain is actually saying they don’t want the establishment of a Palestinian state.” He said they would never allow settlers to remain, adding that settlements are illegal and settlers are on our land illegitimately and in contravention with international law.(Al Ayyam)
ACTIVISTS BREAK DOWN THE EASTERN GATE TO THE EFRAT SETTLEMENT, ARRESTING ONE AND DETAINING JOURNALISTS
Activists were able yesterday to break down the eastern gate to the settlement of Efrat, south of Bethlehem. At the same time, Israeli army troops attacked famers in the Khallet Al Nahleh area in Irtas after confrontations broke out with settlers who raided their lands. Israeli troops attacked a group of settlers and journalists after they faced off with about 20 settlers who broke into the land, arresting three Palestinians and detaining journalists. The settlers tried to level the land of Khallet Al Nahlaeh before they were confronted by the farmers and residents, who were able to expel them from the land. Activist Hasan Breijeya, 41 was arrested and others were beaten. A 13-year old and a 14-year old boy were also held for several hours before being released.
In a separate incident, a number of masked activists were able to break down the eastern gate to Efrat settlement, built on lands from Al Khader. (Al Quds)
CITIZENS WOUNDED AND TREES CUT DOWN IN SETTLER ATTACKS IN JERUSALEM
Two people were wounded last night when they were pelted with stones by settlers in occupied Jerusalem. According to Mohammed Abul Hummous, a group of settlers threw stones at his car on Road 1 in Jerusalem, saying that when he got down from the car to check for damages, the settlers continued to throw rocks at him, wounding him in the foot and damaging his car. Abul Hummous also said that another man, Mansour Jamjom was hit and wounded by settlers on the same road.
Settlers also burned down a sit-in tent in Nabi Samuel village northwest of Ramallah. Activist Eid Barakat said settlers came in the early morning hours and set fire to the tent, which had been erected several days ago in protest of Israeli land expropriation from the village. (Al Ayyam)
ISRAELI BULLDOZERS DEMOLISH HOME IN ESSAWIYEH
Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished this morning a two-story home in the Obeid neighborhood of Essawiyeh, under the pretext of not having the proper licensing. Activist Mohammed Abul Hummous said four bulldozers along with tight security forces raided the town at around 5:30 this morning and began to demolish the home, still under construction, which belongs to Abdel Hay Dari. Abul Hummous said that around 7:00 a.m., schoolchildren took to the streets and prevented the Israeli army from crossing into the area, resulting in confrontations between them and the soldiers. http://www.qudsnet.com/news/View/264082/
ISRAEL TELEVISION: JEWISH GROUPS FINISH PREPARATIONS FOR BUILDING THE ‘TEMPLE’ AND DESTROYING THE AQSA
A television investigation broadcast on Israel’s Channel 10 last night said Jewish groups with the support of rabbis and Israeli politicians had finished preparations for the construction of the ‘Third Temple” ahead of the destruction of the Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock. the plan also includes expelling Muslims from the Old City of Jerusalem, demolishing their homes there and building Torah centers in their place. Yehuda Etzioni, what the channel called the mastermind behind the building of the temple, said that “he did not wager on the Aqsa being destroyed by a bold of lightening, saying it would be brought down by Jewish hands.” Some of the groups said they were finished with their preparations while others had actually begun to collect stones for the temple. A farm in Gush Etzion is even raising a herd of sheep to be massacred at the altar of the temple. Channel 10 said there were many Jews who supported the destruction of the Aqsa Mosque for messianic purposes, ending in the building of the Third Temple. (Al Ayyam)
SIX MORE PEOPLE IN YARMOUK DIE FROM HUNGER
The working group for Palestinians in Syria said yesterday that six more Palestinians had perished in the Yarmouk camp from hunger due to the ongoing siege and severe lack of food. The committee said the names of four of the martyrs were: Mohammed Amariri, 50, Naba’a Qweid, 65, Saeed Dirbas, 50, Wareefa Qareesh, 48. So far, as least 60 refugees have died of hunger in the camp since the siege began (Al Ayyam)
EXPLOSIVE DEVICE DETONATED NEAR ISRAELI JEEP EAST OF QARARA
This morning, a large explosive device planted between the Kissofim and Sareej gate went off about 50 meters from the border east of Qarara in the Gaza Strip. According to local sources, a huge explosion was heard after which thick smoke rose in the air. The explosion had targeted a remote-controlled Israeli army vehicle on guard duty along the border strip. The jeep was lightly damages and was removed from the scene through remote control. The Israeli army carried out search operations and also fired from a tank shell in the area. (http://safa.ps/details/news/121370/.html)
In related news, Maan news agency said in breaking news that a young Palestinian had been shot and injured in the chest east of Deir Al Balah.
FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE IN YEARS OF QASSAM, AQSA AND QUDS BRIGADES IN JENIN CAMP
Armed men from the armed wings of Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad appeared late last night during a memorial service of a Palestinian activist in the Jenin camp. The armed Qassam Brigades gunmen took to the stage for the first public appearance in years alongside armed men from the Quds brigades and the Aqsa Martyrs’ brigades, of Fatah. The memorial service was for a Quds Brigade operative, Nafe’ Al Saadi, killed by Israeli troops around 40 days ago. For the first time since the political split in 2007, the armed men shot into the air together, confirming national unity. (http://alhayat.com/Details/597045)
ISRAELI ARMY DRILLS TO SURPRISE, AND CONFRONT HAMAS AND HIZBULLAH
According to the Hebrew-language website Walla yesterday, the Israeli army is carrying out special drills for the 601 unit aimed at preparing for ‘surprises” in any future confrontations expected with Hamas in the south or Hizbullah in the north. According to the general commander of the unit, they are working to incorporate the “element of surprise” against the enemy, especially since they are always expecting surprises from the enemy. (Al Ayyam)
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Headlines
*Rise in the divorce rate last year cause of concern (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Citizen acquitted of corruption charges (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Bethlehem: national gores call for participation in funeral of martyr Hamamreh today (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Italian city of Assisi grants president honorary citizenship (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Lapid wants to put 35 random settlements on “national preference” map; Livni opposes (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Egypt hands over body of a Gazan citizen who died in its jails (Al Ayyam)
*American newspaper: plans to set up emergency forces in the Middle East (Al Quds)
*PLO currently looking for options post-negotiations (Al Quds)
*Extremist right-wing group wages attack on Netanyahu for his son’s romantic links to a Norwegian girl (Al Quds)
*New section opened in the Galboa prison; 30 prisoners moved there (Al Quds)
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Front Page Photos
Al- Quds:Jerusalem: bulldozers work on opening Road 4 in Beit Safafa
Al-Ayyam:1) Activists break the eastern gates of Efrat settlement south of Bethlehem; 2) Sisi pays condolences to father of a soldier killed with four others in a military helicopter crash north of Sinai
Al Hayat Al Jadida:Activists against the wall and settlements break down the gate to Efrat
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Voice of Palestine News
Jerusalem: on demolishing a house in Jerusalem today morning.
The demolition operation began half an hour ago, targeting a building composed of two floors, 300 square meters each. The building is owned by Citizen Abdulhay Dari, in Ubied neighborhood, in Issaweyah, north east of Jerusalem. The demolition operation continues amid intensive presence of occupation forces, which surrounded the house and prevented students from reaching schools, according to local sources. This is the newest demolition in Jerusalem, still dozens of demolition orders were handed over lately.
With regards to the Israeli high court decision, it provided ac over for the occupation municipality to divide Biet Safaf in order to establish the news settlement road 4. This road will connect the center of Jerusalem with Gush Etzion settlements, and the center with Har Homa settlement. This road will confiscate hundreds of dunams in Biet Safaf and will prevent citizens for expanding. The Court approved the decision two months ago and now the high court approved the decision.
Nablus: on an arrest campaign in Nablus.
The latest news says that young Palestinian Mujahed Al-Masri, Ayman Swidan and Samir Hashem were arrested, in addition to raids in various areas in Nablus including Askar refugee camp and Balatah camp. We can say that the occupation hands over investigation orders on a daily basis in Nablus. In addition settlers attacking civilians with atones near Yitzhar leading to injuring two citizens yesterday.
Gaza: Rafah crossing crisis.
Before we talk about the crossing, few minutes a go the Israeli army shot at the eastern area of Khan Younis, this came after an explosion while an Israeli army patrol passed in the border area.
With regards to Rafah crossing, it will be reopened again only for 450 passengers who area travelling to Mica, while those who returned into Gaza were allowed to enter yesterday, this will also be allowed today only for those who are returning to the Gaza Strip. The crossing will also be reopened again in the same way next week.
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Voice of Palestine Interviews
** Adnan Husieni, Jerusalem Governor, on the demolition operation in Jerusalem.
Q: the demolition operation continues, a new targeting of Jerusalemites, how do you view these operations at this time?
We know that a lot of buildings are considered illegal by Israelis, the series of demolition orders continues, especially in areas like Silwan, Issaweyah and Sheikh Jarrah because there is an intention to isolate these areas. This operation now continues, I don’t know how the world and various organizations in Jerusalem agree to such acts leading displacing people in the 21 century, we always told those that this issue needs of be solved, we are talking about third of the building in Jerusalem being threatened with demolition by Israel, so we are talking about a disaster, and we said always let us find a way to freeze these acts and find a way to protect these citizens. But it is a political issue and world does not say a word. This makes us feel that the conspiracy which began on 1917 continues today in different ways.
Q: As Palestinians, what can we do with regards to this issue?
We try our best to postpone these demolition operations, but the Israelis will always demolish at the end, they say that this is a legal issue and that they should operate according to their law. This needs an international decision telling Israel you are occupying powers in Jerusalem.
Q: With regards to the issue of deviding Biet Safa?
Biet Safa ins a victim of connecting the center of Jerusalem with Har Homa and Etzion, it is a road now, the village is divided into 4 parts since there is another road dividing the village.
Q: a report of Israeli channel 10 said that Jewish organizations finished their preparations to destroy Al-Aqsa and establish the alleged temple; do you think that they entered a practical phase?
Yes, there is serious focus of these settlers through daily break inns to Al-Aqsa, things that were nor usual in the past are on daily basis today. In the past these were considered as extremists, today it is different, we know that they represent an Israeli official policy, we have nothing to do other than calling for our people to reach Al-Aqsa, but we don’t hear any Muslim voice, no one pressures the Americans on this issue, this is not another road, Al-Aqsa is different this will lead to changing the whole region, the results will be disastrous.
** Shaker Al-Rishk, President of the UNRWA Arab workers Union, on UNRWA workers strike.
Q: UNRWA commissioner Grandi announces that he agrees on negotiation, but you have to end the strike first.
This is an irresponsible position of the UNRWA and show that the most important UNRWA official in the Middle East thinks this way, this will not happen, we will not surrender, this unacceptable, this the first issue. Now, the second issue, if the UNRWA administration wants to respect the PNA as a hosting state, it should have responded to the initiative issued by Minister of labor on 11.12.2013, we stand behind the government in the demand to recognize Palestine as a hosting state, this is an important demand, the UNRWA find a solution consistent with this demands also. Another issue is that the UNRWA approached the refugees’ affairs department of the PLO three times, and met with us, and when we realized that these meetings were made only for public relations we told DORA (Department for refugees affairs) you said that the UNRWA agreed for our demands? We want a document saying so and they couldn’t provide us with such a document. I think that everyone know that this trike is a Palestinian strike a national one.
Q: in this case of the UNRWA not responding, how can you pressure the UNRWA?
We think that there are more than 300 million workers in the word, some are Americans and some are European, they sent letters to Ban Ki Mon lately urging him to intervene. We think that there is a plan being prepared now, I can’t say much about this plan; in order to end the strike and make the UNRWA accept our demands. We can’t leave the UNRWA do whatever they want and nor providing the services it should provide, I think we will see some developments very soon. We know that if the UNRWA wins this battle it will mean more reduction of services, Grandi talked about Austerity measures in the Dead Sea, I don’t know what he means with Austerity measures, more reduction of services?
** Antwan Shalhat, political analyst, Laped’s plan to include 35 settlements to the high priority list.
Q: there are discussion in the Israeli government to provide settlers with facilitations in light of talks about a framework agreements presented by Kerry soon, are we going to see a confrontation between Israel and Kerry?
This an open question, what Israel is doing assures that nothing positive will happen in the negotiations, still the government postponed voting on the plan because of Livni’s rejection, but the government will vote in the end. In addition settlements receive facilitations without such plans. Also, we heard Netanyahu’s statement that he will not evacuate any settlers, and that he is thinking of keeping settlers where they are even after the establishment of a Palestinian state. In all cases, all these statements assure that settlement is the most problematic issue.
Q: so shall we anticipate American pressure?
I think it is not easy to anticipate what will happen, some opposition will be adopted by the US, and other issues will not be adopted and the US might impose pressure like settlement, the question would be how string these pressures will be.
MORE NEWS________________________________________________
Egypt hands over body of a Gazan citizen who died in one of its prison
Last night, Egyptian authorities handed over the body of Kamal Abu Ghali, 48 from Gaza City. Abu Ghali passed away in an Egyptian prison after being arrested several months ago. According to Palestinian sources, Egyptian authorities handed over Abu Ghali’s body via the Rafah Crossing. He had been arrested several months ago after crossing into Egypt for treatment for kidney failure. Palestinian sources said Abu Ghali died of heart failure and did not have any signs of torture on his body (Al Ayyam)
New section opened in the Galboa prison; 30 prisoners moved there
Addameer center for prisoners’ rights said yesterday that Israeli prison services recently opened a new section in the Galboa prison, transferring several prisoners to it. According to Addameer researcher Ahmad Beitawi, the new Section (2) of the prison now has 30 Palestinian prisoners, mostly transferred from Megiddo. He said the main purpose for opening the section was to lessen the pressure on Megiddo which is overcrowded with hundreds of Palestinian detainees and prisoners. (Al Quds)
Another home demolished in Essawiyeh
Another home was razed to the ground this morning by Israeli occupation troops in the East Jerusalem town of Essawiyeh, belonging to Hussein Ali Nasser. According to his sister Fatmeh, this is the second time Israeli authorities demolish her brother’s home; explaining that the first time was nine years ago. The family rebuilt the home and now his son lives in it after he was married. (http://wafa.ps/arabic/index.php?action=detail&id=167439)
OPINIONS__________________________________________________
Running to the Palestinian issue
Al-Khaleej Editorial
Seems that US President has reached the end of the road with what he can do at the end of his second term to put his mark on domestic achievements. The differences between the two parties and even within his own party on related substantive issues, such as weapons control, immigration and social security, brought him close to rethink his ambitions observers say. With regards to the internal arenahe became aware that he could only accept a modest role when history will write about his accomplishments. Apparently, he hopes to cultivate the seeds of change for the future rather than the change itself.
This is understandable in a country like the United States, where the political composition makes any President tied with limitations of various institutions and the structure of the elite which controls the political decision. But some Presidents are more ambitious than others, so some might search for foreign victories to put their mark in history, as they believe. Nixon was the one,who achieved a breakthrough in his country's relations with China, and Carter succeeded in completing the Camp David agreement between Egypt and Israel, and Clinton could impose on the Palestinians a lot of concessions and was not able to reach the end.
President Obama's ambitious are not less than the other’sambitions;the only way to maneuver in history records is only through external dimension. It also appears that the maneuvering in this dimension does not exceed a narrow area - the Palestinian issue. He wants to enter history from gate of the Palestinian issue, and he is aware of the difficulty of this gate. The US President knows that in this region he faces two major problems: the Jewish lobby in his country and extremists who control the Zionist entity. This realization made him choose to get around them, trying to break through the gate.
He knows it is the weakest in the Arab region that witnessesdifficult differences, a Palestinian situation dominated by political rivalry. He therefore enlisted Kerry to recruit the world to pressure the Palestinians to provide more concessions. However, the problem is still with the Zionist entity, which obviously does not want any agreement other than acknowledging that all of historic Palestine is theirs and Palestinians need only to leave.
This is the dilemma of the US President. (http://www.alkhaleej.ae/studiesandopinions/detailedpage/ce638317-2121-4bdb-bfe9-8f50f10cccd2)
Cement and construction crisis!!
Al-Quds Editorial
While the UNRWA works’ strike continues for weeks without the agency responding to their demands until now, with all the disastrous consequences of that, and as we have seen successive strikes in the health, education and public services sectors, we seem to be facing another strike in the construction sector, after the construction industry federation, the contractors federation and the developers federation announced on Saturday their intention to cease operations following the decision of the Palestinian commercial services co., the exclusive agent for importing of cement and the investment arm of the Palestinian investment fund in the construction sector, to raise the price of a ton of cement in 18 shekels, which is what consider by the construction federation, the private companies and contractors federation, an unjustified raise after raising the price per ton last year in30 shekels, while worldwide priceswere not raised.
Those who took the decision to stop working as of February 1, if the Palestinian commercial services co. insisted on raising the price, are the same who implement construction projects (contractors, concrete operators and industrialistsEtc…), which means that the strike if took place, will paralyze construction throughout Palestine, with all its disastrous repercussions at a time of high unemployment and economic decline, while construction is one of the main aspects in building our future state, which raises several questions about the real cause of this crisis, and how to overcome it before 1 February.
The question here is: will the new price raise bet us back to a monopoly on importing cement from the Israeli company “Nesher” by the Palestinian commercial services in the absence of a free cement market, and theabsence of competition and closing the door to direct import?! Or will the prices raise is due to economic restrictions imposed on the Palestinian side tying thisvital sector to import exclusively for the Israeli company “Nesher” Israel? If the prices of concrete components, especially the sand,are twice or three times the price in Israel, and that the new price for our cement will be higher than in Israel, how can the construction industry continue to work like this?!
What must be said here that the crisis is serious and affects a vital sector in Palestine, this requires the immediate intervention of the Presidency and the Government to find a quick solution, taking into account the reality of Palestinian construction and its significance, and the need to support and maintain a reasonable price for the cement industry to avoid damage and seizing to operate, which will not only affect construction industry, but will also affect workers with their difficult conditions,it will also affect those with low-income,as they are the majority of those who will be deprived for construction by the possibility of raising the prices.
If the roots of the crisis are due to the economic constraints imposed by agreements imposed by Israel, it is unreasonable to remain faithful to such agreements, which proved to harm us and make us hostages and brokers of Israeli companies, and would not be contrary to logic to review these agreements and change them to be in line with the Palestinian high interest.
The other issue that needs to be reviewed is the question of monopoly and competition, and the absence of other alternatives, such as direct import. It is clear to all that monopoly in economy leads to higher prices and the possibly of low quality product,while competition and other alternatives leads to reducing price and increasing quality, why not apply it on the cement sector and other vital monopoly goods, especially since we are at a stage of building our future state.
Finally, the Palestinian citizen who is suffering from the continuation of the occupation in all its forms, manifestations and practices, and suffers for the tragic division and poor economic conditions, certainly does not need another crisis affecting a vital sector like the construction sector, therefore, it is required to resolve the crisis before reaching escalation,especially since we are still under the pressure of the crisis of UNRWA and other successive strikes.(Al-Quds)
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Arab Press
When will international justice save Palestine?
By Stuart Littlewood
Eighteen months ago UK foreign secretary William Hague delivered an important speech at the Hague, home of the International Criminal Court.
He was saying all the right things, such as the rule of law, lasting peace, the important of international agreements.
He also spoke of a growing reliance on a rules-based international system. “We depend more and more on other countries abiding by international laws…. We need to strengthen the international awareness and observance of laws and rules….”
Some emerging powers, he said, didn’t agree with us about how to act when human rights are violated on a colossal scale, while others didn’t subscribe to the basic values and principles of human rights in the first place. He was talking about Syria although many in the audience must have had Israel in mind.
“The international community came together in an unprecedented way to address the crisis in Libya last year,” said Hague.
“The Arab League, the U.N. Security Council, the U.N. Human Rights Council, the European Union, NATO and the International Criminal Court all stepped forward and played their part to protect a civilian population.”
Yeah. Funny how they have never come together for crisis-torn Palestine these last 65 years.
Chuntering on
Hague, positively overflowing with fine words and sentiments, chuntered on. “We have to ensure that when we are trying to build peace, we don’t overlook the need for justice…. Our coalition Government is firmly of the view that leaders who are responsible for atrocities should be held to account…. Institutions of international justice are not foreign policy tools to be switched on and off at will.”
We didn’t hear Hague and his friends call for a reckoning with the psychopaths of the Israeli regime when they committed mega-atrocities against Gaza’s civilians just two years earlier
He said referring leaders in Libya and Sudan to the ICC showed that not signing up to the Rome Statute was no guarantee for escaping accountability. “If you commit war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide you will not be able to rest easily in your bed: the reach of international justice is long and patient…. There is no expiry date for these crimes….”
Woweee! Had he told Netanyahu this? Was this tough talking really from the man who watered down Britain’s laws of Universal Jurisdiction to protect Israel’s war criminals from arrest while shopping in London’s Bond Street? Israel and the US, after signing up to the Rome Statute, had second thoughts and ‘unsigned’ in order to escape the long reach of international justice. At last it was beginning to sound like bad news for Tel Aviv’s and Washington’s thugs.
Libya fiasco
At the time of the Libya fiasco Hague announced he had signed a directive revoking Gaddafi’s diplomatic immunity and also that of his sons, his family and entire household. He bragged how the UK “drove” through a Security Council resolution referring what was happening in Libya to the ICC Prosecutor, saying it “sends a clear message to all involved, in the regime and any other groups that if they commit crimes and atrocities there will be a day of reckoning for them.”
Bravo! What a splendidly high-principled chap Hague suddenly seemed to be. And how swiftly he managed to get the International Criminal Court’s attention when he wanted to. But we didn’t hear Hague and his friends call for a reckoning with the psychopaths of the Israeli regime when they committed mega-atrocities against Gaza’s civilians just two years earlier.
Instead they tinkered with our laws of universal jurisdiction to enable suspected war criminals to walk free. Gaddafi wasn’t welcome in London but the Foreign Office happily rolled out the red carpet for Livni, Lieberman, Barak and Netanyahu, while Hague conducted the brass band.
Our foreign secretary rounded off his speech by saying: “There is no doubt where Britain stands: we are with those who say that international law is universal and that all nations are accountable to it…. We are a country that believes in and upholds the Responsibility to Protect, and that is prepared to act to save lives – including through military action as a last resort. We actively support a rules-based international system…. We pledge to recommit to the importance of fighting impunity for grave international crimes wherever they occur…. We will be a robust supporter of the International Criminal Court in its investigations.”
Trampled Palestinians dispossessed by a brutal military occupier and sitting among the smoking ruins of their homes, or eking out a squalid existence in their refugee camp, must have been impressed.
‘Unswerving’ support
A year after Hague’s splendidly robust performance a policy paper issued by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, dated July 2013, hammered home the points he had made with these ‘key messages’: that British support for international criminal justice and accountability is a fundamental element of foreign policy, and that support for the ICC as a court of last resort and the importance of its role when national courts have been unwilling or unable to deliver justice is “unswerving.”
The document also promised that the UK government would be “a powerful advocate of the ICC in all our diplomatic relations” and “encourage more states to ratify and accede to the Rome Statute…. Widening the reach of the Court beyond the current 122 States Parties will increase accountability and help challenge impunity.”
And if nations didn’t play ball, the British government would consider mechanisms “to enforce cooperation and to take effective action against those who fail to cooperate.”
What, including Israel?
Heavens, no. Although the Foreign Office says: “Our support for the ICC is unswerving,” Agent Cameron, Britain’s PM, has said: “Our support for Israel… is unshakable.” The two opposing positions, unshakable and unswerving, are hopelessly incompatible. And in this case unshakable trumps unswerving. Sorry folks, international justice automatically switches off when it comes to Israel’s war crimes.
Every state should join the ICC… except Palestine?
In a masterly critique, analyst Dry David Morrison exposes Hague’s dishonesty. The Occupying Power in Palestine – Israel – has long been committing acts that Britain regards as illegal. “Our position on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is clear: they are illegal under international law, an obstacle to peace and make a two-state solution harder to achieve,” states the FCO’s website.
Not just illegal, settlement building is actually a war crime under the Rome Statute. “It involves the Occupying Power transferring some of its own civilian population to the territory it occupies,” explains Dry Morrison. “And under Article 8.2(b) (viii) of the Rome Statute the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies is a war crime.”
Since Israel has transferred well over 500,000 Israeli civilians into territory it occupies, and is still doing so, there is a prima facie case that Israelis responsible for the settlement program, including the present Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, are guilty of war crimes. Americans and others who fund settlement projects may be guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes.
As we’ve seen, the FCO’s strategy paper talks about extending the ICC’s jurisdiction so that it can more easily challenge impunity. But, says Morrison, eagerness to challenge Israeli impunity was conspicuously absent when Hague spoke in the House of Commons a few months later on 28 November 2012. Then, he offered UK support for a U.N. General Assembly resolution granting Palestine statehood on condition that Palestinian leaders promised they would not become party to the Rome Statute. Hague told MPs that if the Palestinians pursued ICC jurisdiction over the Occupied Territories at this stage, it could make a return to negotiations impossible.
“Believe it or believe it not” says Dry Morrison, “it is British policy to extend the jurisdiction of the ICC to every corner of the earth, except the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967. There it is apparently inappropriate for Britain to challenge impunity.”
Yet more settlements
Two days later, Israel retaliated against the U.N. granting statehood to Palestine by announcing plans for yet more settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Hague’s response was the same old mantra: “Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and undermine trust between the parties.”
If settlements are illegal under international law, then those responsible should be tried in an international court and, if found guilty, punished appropriately. “Dare I suggest,” asks Dry Morrison, “that, to this end, Palestine should be encouraged to accept the jurisdiction of the ICC?”
A state can grant jurisdiction to the Court by becoming a Party to the Rome Statute (Article 12(1)) or by making an ad hoc declaration accepting the Court’s jurisdiction (Article 12(3)). The Palestinian Authority in January 2009 tried to grant the ICC jurisdiction over the Occupied Territories by making an ad hoc declaration, so that Israelis could be prosecuted for atrocities against Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. But the ICC Prosecutor took more than three years to decide that the Court couldn’t accept the jurisdiction. Whether or not Palestine was a “state” within the meaning of Article 12(3) was a question for the U.N. Secretary General who, in case of doubt, would defer to the guidance of the General Assembly.
Not under pressure
The U.N. General Assembly shortly afterwards passed resolution A/RES/67/19 accepting Palestine as a state, apparently settling the question. However, the ICC Persecutor Fatou Bensouda has said, reportedly, that she doesn’t think retrospective claims could be considered going all the way back to the founding of the Court in 2002. The earliest would most likely be 29 Nov. 29, 2012, the date when the U.N. recognized Palestine as a state.
Nearly 14 months have gone by and the Palestinians still haven’t joined the ICC because they’ve come under fierce pressure, especially from the US, not to do so. They promised the U.S. not apply for membership of any of the U.N.’s bodies until April 2014 when the present round of US-brokered ‘negotiations” with Israel is due to end.
“It is absolutely outrageous,” says Dr. Morrison, “that the U.S., with the support of Britain and others, has pressurized Palestinians into forgoing a possible legal means of redress against the illegal actions by the power that has held them under military occupation for almost 50 years.”(http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/2014/01/27/When-will-international-justice-save-Palestine-.html)
No to a ‘Jewish state’
By Amer Al Sabaileh
The ambiguity that surrounds US Secretary of State John Kerry’s plan for Israel and Palestine means that Jordan should focus on its internal issues for the moment.
Social harmony is needed between Jordanians and Palestinians to face the consequences of a negotiated peace (and the non-negotiables that are inevitably negotiated away to achieve it).
Each time Kerry visits the Middle East; more details of his peace plan are leaked.
The US plan appears to involve three players: Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Still, from the details that have been leaked, it seems that all the real concessions will be made by Jordanians and the Palestinian Authority.
The Israelis continue to insist on the recognition of a “Jewish state”.
This is shaping as a political dilemma for their prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is negotiating this issue with the EU.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has been accusing the ambassadors of France, Spain, Italy and UK of siding with the Palestinians in their rejection of the settlement expansions and then demanding that they recognize the “Jewish state”.
Such demand is contentious not just because of the risks involved in the displacement of more than one and a half million Arabs or the incorporation of sectarian and ethnic entities in such a state.
What is of concern is the proposal to base Israel’s right to the land on religion, and seeing that what is trumpeted as a secular democracy is, in fact, a religious state.
The American democracy project has a long history of supporting democracies based on ethnic or religious diversity, from Yugoslavia to Lebanon, to Syria and Jordan.
Perhaps America needs to revise its vision of democracy, but the world should reject this dangerous phenomenon and keep religion out of politics, as the consequences could be fatal to the whole region.
Other leaked details from Kerry’s plan suggest that Jordan could be facing some major demographic changes, which would have a significant impact on the social and political realities of the country.
While it is best to wait from analyzing the impact until details are published, it is important to remind decision makers that transparency is fundamental to the success of this process, and secrecy introduces fear and uncertainty into an already unstable situation.(http://jordantimes.com/no-to-a-jewish-state)
Another war against Gaza?
By Sharif Nashashibi
In November, Filippo Grandi, the commissioner-general of the U.N. refugee agency UNRWA, warned that “once more, Gaza is quickly becoming uninhabitable.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks set to ensure that things get a whole lot worse for the besieged Palestinian territory.
Israeli authorities said on Wednesday that three members of an al-Qaeda cell in East Jerusalem had been arrested for planning attacks across the country, including against the American embassy in Tel Aviv.
The announcement came just days after Netanyahu threatened to teach Hamas, which rules Gaza, “a lesson… very soon.” How convenient, then, that the three suspects were allegedly recruited via Facebook by an al-Qaeda operative in Gaza. This could well be Netanyahu’s pretext for a new military onslaught, regardless of the implausibility of this whole affair.
Even Israel’s staunch ally the United States, one of the supposed targets of this cell, has downplayed the claim, saying it cannot confirm any of the details. “We can’t corroborate” it, said an American official. “We don’t have anything to prove it.” U.S. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said: “I just don’t have independent verification.”
Both Hamas and Fatah, which rules the West Bank, are strongly opposed to al-Qaeda, which has never had a presence or support base in Palestinian society. It would be just as unlikely that the terrorist organization would be able to infiltrate the Palestinian territories, given how tightly the borders are controlled by Israel.
Spoiling for a fight
Of course, none of this will matter to Netanyahu, who seems to be spoiling for another fight. His threat against Hamas came shortly after it said it had deployed forces in Gaza to “preserve the truce” that was brokered in Nov. 2012, following an increase in rocket fire from other Palestinian factions since last month.
As always, the impoverished, besieged civilians of Gaza will pay the price. The only difference this time is that the boogie man is al-Qaeda
Following his threat, Israel has so far carried out an air strike in Gaza, killing two Palestinians, and killed a Palestinian and wounded another in a cross-border shooting. Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shihab said Israel was trying to "disavow" the ceasefire.
Palestinian factions are “not interested in escalation, but if Israel insists and continues with targeted assassinations, they have to bear the consequences,” he added. And so the stage is set for another round in violence.
Netanyahu is likely seeking to take advantage of the political situation in Egypt, which has bolstered its own blockade of Gaza with particular fervor since the ouster of Mohammad Mursi. Egypt’s new authorities are openly hostile to Hamas, a result of baseless conspiracy theories about collaboration between the former Egyptian president and the Palestinian movement.
If Israel wages war again, Cairo will not display the level of solidarity shown by Mursi towards Gazans during the last major onslaught in Nov. 2012, and will be hoping – at least in private – for a decisive defeat of Hamas and other Islamist Palestinian groups.
Unlikely
Importantly for the Israeli prime minister, it is highly unlikely that Egypt would relax border restrictions with Gaza in the event of military action, as Mursi did. This would deprive Gazans of much-needed humanitarian relief, and allow Israel to more effectively restrict media access and hence control news coverage.
Netanyahu may be hoping that international and regional eyes will remain focused on the many other crises facing the Middle East. Either way, he would not need to worry about the effect of large-scale military action on approval ratings at home.
He enjoys domestic support from an increasingly right-wing society, particularly with regard to talking and acting tough against the Palestinians, and to rebuffing governments worldwide – friend or foe – that disapprove of his policies.
“Perhaps strengthening the human security of the people of Gaza is a better avenue to ensuring regional stability than physical closures, political isolation and military action,” said Grandi. Netanyahu will treat these wise words with the same disdain that Israeli politicians have shown UNRWA since its establishment to help Palestinian refugees.
Due to the shameful blockade, Gaza has been unable to rebuild and recover from the devastation of Israel’s previous onslaughts. As such, one wonders what is left to destroy – not that that would deter Netanyahu. Military action, regardless of the lack of justification, will send a message that resonates at home.
As always, the impoverished, besieged civilians of Gaza will pay the price. The only difference this time is that the boogie man is al-Qaeda, an organization that for all its rhetoric has never attacked Israel.(http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/2014/01/27/Another-war-against-Gaza-.html)
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