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Dec. 16, 2014
Daily summary- Wednesday, January 29, 2014
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Main News
NETANYAHU: WE ARE NOT OBLIGED TO ACCEPT AMERICAN PROPOSALS; THE JEWISH STATE IS CORE OF THE CONFLICT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israel would be ‘selective’ in dealing with any proposal put forth by US Secretary of State John Kerry, saying that “Israel was not obligated to accept what the Americans propose in a framework deal.” During a speech at the national security studies institute in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said that the Israeli public rejected the idea of a bi-national state, saying the solution must be two states and mutual recognition between the two, in reference to Israel’s demand of a Palestinian recognition of a Jewish state. He said the Palestinian state would be demilitarized and would have “limited symbols of sovereignty,” adding that Israel ‘insists on the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and national homeland for the Jewish people.”
Defense minister Moshe Ya’alon meanwhile, ridiculed the PA’s commitment to taking steps against political activists, saying during the conference that the defense ministry had gathered “1040 cases which Palestinian security services handled in 2013. How many were taken to court? Zero,” he maintained. During the same time, Israel arrested 3,000 Palestinians. He said that Israel ‘could not depend on the PA from the security aspect, calling them an ‘irresponsible neighbor.” He pointed out that the PA had arrested over 1,000 Hamas activists last year but had not tried any of them. “As long as they raise their children to carry explosive belts and Israel does not appear on the Palestinian map, there is no hope for peace,” Yaalon said. (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
YA’ALON: A WITHDRAWAL WOULD PUT ISRAEL’S SECURITY AT RISK; WE ARE IN NO HURRY TO REACH A PEACE DEAL
Israeli defense minister Moshe Ya’alon said during the opening session of the national security institute conference yesterday in Tel Aviv that while there was a ‘need to solve the conflict” Israel should not rush into any agreement with the Palestinians. Ya’alon said that the main issue that must be focused on in solving the conflict was the economic aspect, confirming that there was no ‘independent Palestinian economy that could support the Palestinian people.” He said the second issue was to halt “Palestinian incitement.” He said there could be no peace as long as Palestinians “prepare 3-year olds to blow themselves up and teach their children that Palestine is from the river to the sea.” He said Israel should not withdrawal at all from any more land – citing the post-Oslo area as an example – because this would put more Israeli lives in danger. (Al Ayyam)
ABBAS PROPOSES GRADUAL WITHDRAWAL FROM THE WEST BANK OVER THREE YEARS
President Mahmoud Abbas suggested yesterday that Israel withdraw from the West Bank gradually over a period of three years within the framework of a peace deal. According to Reuters, Abbas suggested this in an interview that was broadcast during the international security conference in Tel Aviv. Abbas said that anyone who proposes a transitional period of 10-15 years does not want a withdrawal, saying the transitional period should not exceed three years, during which Israel would pull out gradually. (http://safa.ps/details/news/121536/.html)
WASHINGTON: RESOLUTION TO THE REFUGEE PROBLEM IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN NEGOTIATIONS
Deputy secretary of state William Burns said yesterday that reaching a just and agreed on solution to the Palestinian refugee issue was one of the biggest challenges for achieving progress in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. In an interview run by the Jordanian news agency Petra, Burns said that both Kerry and Obama were committed to achieving a final status agreement, commending the Jordanian King Abdullah as being the ‘best partner’ in this effort. He said Washington could not make decisions for the Palestinians and Israelis but that ‘we will do everything possible to make progress and reach a final settlement.” (http://safa.ps/details/news/121540/.html)
AL HAYAT: KERRY IS SEEKING TO EXTEND NEGOTIATIONS
According to western diplomatic sources quoted in the London-based Al Hayat, US Secretary of State John Kerry is seeking to reach a framework agreement before the end of the time allotted for Palestinian-Israeli negotiations next April, which would allow him to extend the negotiations until the end of the year. According to the sources, the two Israeli and Palestinian delegations in Washington are discussing this with Kerry, saying the meetings were aimed at discussing the possibility of reaching such framework agreement ahead of prolonged negotiations. (Al Quds)
ISRAELI MILITARY VEHICLE TARGETED EAST OF GAZA; ARREST CAMPAIGNS IN THE WEST BANK
The border strip east of Deir Al Balah in central Gaza was very tense yesterday after an Israeli army vehicle was targeted by a shell, but without any reported injuries. Israeli army forces made a limited incursion into the area following the incident. Local sources said that resistance groups fired a shell at the vehicle, without mentioning if it had made a direct hit or not. Israeli military sources said that a mortar had been fired near an army vehicle but that no injuries or damages had occurred.
In related news, Israeli occupation forces carried out wide-scale arrest campaigns in the West Bank, including a 14-year old boy in Essawiyeh after clashes broke out in the town. Palestinians reported that 25 people were arrested yesterday by Israeli forces, mostly in Jerusalem. (Al Quds)
EU REAFFIRMS AGAIN ITS SUPPORT FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INDEPENDENT PALESTINIAN STATE AND THE ILLEGALITY OF SETTLEMENTS
EU representative in the Palestinian territories, John Rater reconfirmed to Palestinian journalists yesterday the EU’s position on supporting a Palestinian state and rejecting Israel’s continued settlement expansion, which he said was illegal and illegitimate. He also said the EU was still insistent on having settlement products labeled when they enter EU markets. He said the EU supported Kerry’s efforts, saying “the alternative would be harsh and difficult.” Rater said that the essence of EU funding was in support of institutions for the future Palestinian state, adding that if peace efforts failed, the EU would have to reconsider its funding. He did say, however, that it would not break off humanitarian aid to any people in need. Rater also said that the decision to head to the UN to join its agencies and treaties was a ‘decision for the Palestinian leadership”, which must “do what it feels fit” but confirmed that the best way for Palestinians to gain their rights was through reaching a just and comprehensive peace deal through negotiations. (Al Quds)
SETTLERS BREAK INTO THE AQSA; THE OCCUPATION LEVELS LAND IN BETHLEHEM
Twenty settlers broke into the Aqsa Mosque compound yesterday, led by extremist rabbi Yehuda Glick; the settlers tried to bring in Israeli flags, but were met with worshippers and religious students who prevented them.
In related news, the Israeli Shabak said last night that, in cooperation with the Israeli police in Jerusalem, it had arrested a cell of 16 Palestinians in the past few weeks on charges of organizing and funding activities in Jerusalem and in the Aqsa aimed at strengthening Hamas. The Shabak claimed that members of the cell tried to carry out what they called “security crimes”, saying some of the detainees were members who belonged to the northern branch of the Islamic Jihad inside the Green Line. (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
NEW ISRAELI DRAFT LAW ALLOW FORCE-FEEDING OF PRISONERS ON HUNGER STRIKE
Israeli government legal advisor Yehuda Feinstein gave the green light yesterday for putting forth a draft law allowing for hunger striking prisoners to be force fed. According to the website of Hebrew-language radio station “Reshet Bayt” the draft law stipulates that if the prisoner’s life is in danger, he may be force fed by court order; the prisoner’s physician will then feed him after receiving approval.
On its part, the Palestine Prisoner Studies Center warned of the danger the prisoners would be facing if this law is put into force and prisoners are force fed. The law is being proposed mainly to counter the many hunger strikes waged by Palestinian prisoners. The center said the move was part of the overall roles of the Israeli legislative, judicial, and security institutions, all aimed at humiliating and oppressing Palestinian prisoners. Researcher for the center, Riyad Al Ashqar, said force feeding prisoners was a contravention of international charters and a clear violation of the Malta and Tokyo declarations of 2006. He called on all international organizations such as the Red Cross to intervene and halt the enactment of this law, because it posed a real threat to the prisoners’ lives.
The Red Cross meanwhile, expressed its opposition to the system of force feeding prisoners, stressing on the need to respect the choices of detainees and preserve their human dignity (Al Ayyam)
ISRAEL DIRECTS CHARGES AT A PALESTINIAN IN BOMBING AT AMERICAN EMBASSY IN TEL AVIV
A Palestinian man was charged yesterday with what Israel says is his involvement in a conspiracy to wage a suicide attack on the American embassy in Tel Aviv, which was ostensibly discussed in contacts with a man from Gaza. The charge sheet, which was presented to a court in Jerusalem yesterday, did not point to any actual steps taken to carry out the attack. The charges were given to Iyad Abu Sara, saying he made contact with a foreign agent and conspired to carry out a crime; he was also charged with supporting Hamas because he waved the movement’s flag in a demonstration at the Aqsa last year. The charge sheet said there was ‘reason to believe’ that Abu Sara new the man he was in contact with in Gaza was affiliated with Al Qaeda. It also said Abu Sara agreed to the suggestion of a man who introduced himself as a member of Hamas, to carry out a suicide bombing, pointing to the possible target of the American embassy and the Israeli conference center in Jerusalem along with bus bombings. (Al Ayyam)
UNESCO HEEDS TO PRESSURE, ANNOUNCES EXHBIT LINKING HISTORY OF JEWS TO PALESTINE
UNESCO heeded to pressure and announced yesterday that on June 11 it would hold the Israeli exhibit that plans to link the history of the Jews to the land of Palestine. The exhibit was supposed to be held last week but was postponed after 22 Arab member countries objected. The exhibit will showcase the “3,500 year relationship of the Jewish people to the holy land”. Israel, Canada and Montenegro will all participate in sponsoring the exhibit. (Al Ayyam)
SYRIA: SEVEN NEW MARTYRS IN YARMOUK BECAUSE OF THE SIEGE
Palestinian sources announced yesterday that seven Palestinian refugees died in Syria due to the siege on the Yarmouk camp. The Working group for Palestinians in Syria said that the seven had all perished because of dehydration and the lack of medical attention due to the ongoing siege. The group also documented the number of Palestinians in Syrian jails, saying that 355 refugees had been listed as detainees in Syrian regime jails and 36 refugees were imprisoned by the Syrian opposition. The group also said there were 137 cases of death under torture, 135 of them in regime jails. Medical sources inside the camp have also reported cases of marasmus due to the malnutrition, dehydration and lack of sugars among children and infants. Marasmus had become completely extinct before these new cases. (Al Ayyam)
NEW SETTLEMENT PROJECT IN JAFFA
The Israeli daily Haaretz revealed yesterday that a settlement group had begun to plan a construction project in Jaffa exclusively for Jews in their attempt to Judaize the city. The group plans to build 12 housing units on Yefet street in Old Jaffa for Jews only. The contractor said the project aimed at making Jaffa ‘completely Jewish” (Al Ayyam)
B’TSELEM: DETENTION OF PALESTINIAN MINORS ILLEGAL AND TERRORIZING
The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem issued a statement last night stipulating that the detention of minors under the age for criminal responsibility who the police are not allowed to interrogate, is illegal, adding that this is also a suspected ‘terrorizing act.” The statement cited the arrest of child Islam Abu Hamdiyeh from Hebron, eight years old, saying he was taken without an adult and no attempts to inform his parents were made. They said soldiers must be told again that this is illegal and that soldiers and police do not have the authority to detain children under the age of criminal responsibility. (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
BARDAWIL: CHARGES OF EGYPTIAN JUDICIARY AGAINST HAMS IN CASE OF STORMING PRISONS IS ‘ILLOGICAL”
Hamas spokesperson Salah Bardawil said that the charges made by the Egyptian judiciary against Hamas in the case of storming prisons during the January 25, 2011 revolution were “unrealistic and illogical” and were aimed at striking a blow at the Palestinian resistance and distorting their image in an attempt to ‘appease the Zionist enemy.” Bardawil said that what is happening is an attempt to link Hamas to the events in Egypt, which he said would not stop the movement from their ‘goal of confronting the Zionist enemy and liberating the land.” He said it did not make any sense that armed Hamas men could infiltrate the Egyptian borders and enter Cairo in four-wheel drives to storm Egyptian prisons and free the prisoners. He said Hamas did not interfere in Egyptian affairs and would not allow anyone to impose its own dictates on the Palestinian resistance. Bardawil made his statements following the first sessions of Mohammed Mursi’s trial, which dealt with the issue of the prison storms in which Hamas is charged. (http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=127906)
ISRAELI COURT TO LOOK INTO COURSE OF SEPARATION WALL THREATENING AGRICULTURAL LAND IN BATEER AND CREMISAN VALLEY
The Israeli judiciary will discuss today two issues regarding the course of the separation wall south of the West Bank, the first in the village of Bateer and the second in Cremisan Valley. Should the wall be built in Bateer, west of Bethlehem, it will cut farmers off from their land inside the Green Line and damage the ecosystem in that area. As for Cremisan Valley near Beit jala, the wall would also cut cultivated land off from its farmers and divide the Christian monastery. (http://alhayat.com/Details/597565)
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Headlines
*Settlers try to bring in Israeli flags into the Aqsa (Al Ayyam)
*The occupation hands over remains of two martyrs Tahayneh and Abdel Jawad (Al Ayyam)
*Jerusalem: eviction order for apartment building in Sheikh Jarrah (Al Ayyam)
*Tehran: Rjoub discusses number of issues with Iranian foreign minister (Al Ayyam)
*Settler attacks an educational institute in Jerusalem, hands it an eviction order (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*The President: Hamas insists on dividing the joy of our people (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Palestine wins first place in young Arab inventions for information technology (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Cabinet discusses draft budget in light of financial crisis (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Israeli army deploys new unit in the Golan (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Bishops of holy land call for urging Israel to abide by international law (Al Quds)
*Israeli army detains convoy of PM Hamdallah at northern entrance to Ramallah (Al Quds)
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Front Page Photos
Al- Quds:Damascus: man carries body of one-year old child who died of hunger in Yarmouk camp
Al-Ayyam:Damascus: man carries body of one-year old child who died of hunger in Yarmouk camp;2) Rjoub and Iranian foreign minister Mohammed Tharif during their meeting in Tehran
Al Hayat Al Jadida:1) the President, during his participation in the mass wedding in Jericho; 2) Irrigation system dating back to the Roman empire, threatened by the separation wall in Bateer; 3) Mursi in his holding cage during a court session yesterday
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Voice of Palestine News
Jerusalem:
Q: Can you provide us with more information about inviting citizens for investigations and the latest break inn to Al-Aqsa?
First of all these arrests are continuous and witnessed escalation in the last days, arrests are on a daily basis since the beginning of this year, more than 60 citizens were arrested since the beginning of the year, yesterday 16 were arrested and during the last two weeks another 18 were arrested, as the occupation claimed they belong to a Hamas cell in eth city, in addition to another group of Palestinians from inside the green line belonging to the same cell according to the occupation claims. Also, with regards to targeting children, child Samir Ubied from the old city began a hunger strike after being transferred to a civilian prison (Ofek) instead of being transferred to Hasharon prison, Ubied will be the first child starting a hunger strike protesting his arrest conditions.
Q: How old is he?
He is 15 years old, from Bab Hutta in the old city, his brother Uthman (16 years old) was arrested more than one time. We said before that these children are being exposed physical and sexual abuse during their arrest and investigation.
Storming Al-Aqsa mosque continued led by extreme Yehuda Glick, these conceded with preparations of extreme Jewish organization to construct the so-called third temple.
Yesterday night clashes erupted in Sheikh Jarrah between a group of youth and a group of settlers led by extreme settlers Arie King, after the settlersstormed the Omiga educational center in Sheikh Jarrah, and handed officials in the center evacuation notice claiming it is owned by settlers. Owners of the center were given 24 hours to evacuate the two floors building.
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Voice of Palestine Interviews
** Mahmoud Zawahry, coordinator of the popular committees in Bethlehem, on bulldozing lands in the village of Kisan east of Bethlehem.
Q: Is this area subjected to continuous bulldozing and confiscation?
Not at all, this area is 1-2 kilometers away from the closest settlement, it is located on the top of a mountain, and it will be in the future a triangle with another two settlements, if this area is confiscated it will lead to more confiscation for settlements. The settlers bulldozed tens of dunams of agriculture land, knowing that residents of the area depend of agriculture; they also bulldozed lands at the top of the mountain, established a tent and planted some trees in the area. Yesterday they brought bulldozers under the protection of the occupation forces and bulldozed the whole area, and experience with settlers say that usually the first come to the area secretly, for reaching the area.
Q: Is this an indicator for establishing a new outpost in the area?
Yes this is what they want to do, yesterday they established a tent, tomorrow they will put a water container and then they will raise the flag. This is the way they act since the early 20’s, this is what happened in Hertzeleya and other places in the 20’s, and they are only repeating history. Now, what is needed to confront this? I was there yesterday and I saw Palestinian bulldozers working in eth area, this is a crime, we know that the Palestinian workers need jobs, nut it is the PNA duty to provide jobs instead of working in this.
Q: do you mean Israeli bulldozers with Palestinian workers?
Yes, in this case the workers are Palestinians, when I approached them one of them told me “I am waiting for someone like you to come and stop this, I’m ashamed of myself, but I have to live.”
Q: the main issue is the bulldozing and Israel will implement this whether with Palestinian or Israeli workers, what should we anticipate now if the outpost is established?
The scenario id happened would mean controlling hundreds of dunams that will be used for expanding settlements. I call all citizens to go the land and plant it, and go and make sure the land is legally owned by them, in order to also pursue this issue with legal means.
** Shaher Sa’d, Secretary General of the Federation of trade unions of Palestine, on the federation announcing support for UNRWA workers strike.
Q: the crisis continues andwe don’t see any solution soon, with regards to not paying the salaries for the workers, did the UNRWA say it will return workers to their jobs?
The UNRWA administration is not willing to have any dialogue with the workers, the issue was presented six months ago to the UNRWA, they began talking to the workers without any respond to the demands, the union tried and issued all needed papers but the UNRWA did not respond. The crisis not entered its 59 day. At the beginning of the crisis, the government issued an initiative and the workers greed to the initiative, but the UNRWA rejected it. The UNRWA and its commissioner are the only responsible side for this crisis and its results. The union always responded positively to the different initiatives, and then the UNRWA cut salaries and punishes the workers and their families, the commissioner doesn’t care, his salary is worth 300 salaries of any worker of the UNRWA. Some are on a hunger strike…
Q: Is there anything that can be done in this regard after two months of the strike?
Some are on hunger strike for more than 30 days now, some reached a serious health condition, and still the UNRWA did not respond and did not even visit these strikers. We at the federation are willing to help in order to end the strike, but the demands should be accepted, how you expect to end the strike without accepting the demands after almost 60 days of strike. These are legitimate demands.
** Osama Qawasmeh, Fateh Spokesman, on Al-Zahar statement against late president Arafat and President Abbas.
Q: These statements were considered as part of the negative approach by Hamas regarding the reconciliation, doe this mean closing the door for reconciliation again?
To be honest, we are used to Al-Zahar statements each time we reach a breakthrough in the reconciliation efforts, trying to assault late president martyr Yasser Arafat, looks like Al-Zahar did not read history books and he is not aware of who is Yasser Arafat, he does not know that Arafat is the second name for Palestine, he was the one who brought back Palestine to history, he fought Israelis from Karamah to Ramallah and died poisoned by Israelis, I advice Al-Zahar not to even come close to Arafat, since there is a huge distance between him and Arafat. The truth is that there is a play role in Hamas, and Al-Zahar usually plays the role of closing the reconciliation role, we think that whoever is not in favor of the reconciliation is against the Palestinian people, these statements by Hamas leadership is not consistence with what Haneyah said and did lately, the truth is that Hams is not ready for reconciliation and tries to maneuver. We hoped we will hear positive reactions and statements relating to their agreement for the national unity government, what we heard instead were attacks on late president Arafat and President Abu Mazen. It is strange that Al-Zahar attacks Abu Mazen while Israel and its leadership do the same in this very difficult period.
Q: After these statements, do you think that the agreement between Haneyah and Al-Ahmad is still valid?
If we would to take Hamas statements against Fateh in a serious manner, there will be no reconciliation efforts whatever, they are always attacking Fateh but we keep on doing all we can do to reach reconciliation, and we will continue with these efforts no matter what they do. Israel wants us to be divided, we tell Al-Zahar we will continue with the reconciliation efforts despite all what you do, and this is a high national interest. I want to tell Al-Zahar, what do you have against Yasser Arafat, do you consider yourself the same as Arafat, the whole world even his enemies respect him, and only you disrespect him. I want to ask you Al-Zahar, please tell us your history that allows you to attack Palestinian symbols like Arafat.
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More Headlines
Occupation authorities hand over remains of martyr Abdel Karim Tahayneh
Israeli occupation authorities handed over last night the remains of martyr Abdel Karim Tahayneh from the town of Silet Al Harthiyeh west of Jenin. The family received the body from Israeli authorities at the Taybeh checkpoint. The martyr will be buried today in his hometown after noon prayers. Tayahneh was killed on March 5, 2002. (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
The President: Hamas insists on dividing our people’s joy
President Mahmoud Abbas participated last night in a mass wedding organized by his office for 436 brides and grooms in Jericho. Another mass wedding was supposed to be held in the Gaza Strip for 80 brides and grooms but Hamas prevented the mass wedding from happening. The President said this was a “joyous Palestinian occasion,” but adding that the joy was ‘lacking’ because Hamas insisted on dividing “even our people’s joy” by banning the wedding, which he said was an expression of unity of the people and homeland. The presidency held the mass wedding as a way of alleviating the financial burdens on young couples during this time of financial crisis. Abbas assumed the responsibility of the wedding expenses in addition to donating $4000 to each couple (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
Jerusalem: eviction order for apartment building in Sheikh Jarrah
Arieh King, the ‘godfather’ of settlements, handed an eviction order to an apartment building last night in Sheikh Jarrah, which includes the Omega educational institute and belongs to the Kiswani family. The order comes ahead of a settlement takeover, and gives the owners 14 days to evacuate. According to Salah Diab, an activist from Sheikh Jarrah, a group of settlers led by King broke into the western are of Sheikh Jarrah and handed the order to the building owners, for the sake of the settlers. The building comprises of two stories, the first which is the Omega institute and the second which is a café. Fistfights broke out between the settlers and the students who were at the institute. The police then came and evacuated the settlers but refused to listen to the complaints of the students. Diab said King is exploiting his position as a member of a municipality committee to hand out orders to several properties in Sheikh Jarrah and other neighborhoods with the aim of handing them over to settlers (Al Ayyam)
Jerusalemite prisoner declares open hunger strike
Jerusalemite prisoner, 16-year old Obaida Iseed declared a hunger strike this morning in protest of being transferred to the Ofek prion for prisoners with civil sentences. Iseed’s father said prison authorities moved his son yesterday from the Russian Compound (Maskubiyeh) to Ofek where he refused to enter the cell. Israeli forces and guards forced him in, which was when he declared an open hunger strike. Obaida and his 13-year old brother Othman were arrested on November 25, 2013 and charged with throwing ‘firebombs at an Israeli police car in Jerusalem. Othman was released on bail and put under house arrest but the 16-year old Obaida was kept in prison. (http://safa.ps/details/news/121539/.html)
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Arab Press
Suspicious of Kerry’s proposals
By Osama Al Sharif
Public hostility is building up in Jordan towards US Secretary of State John Kerry’s much-publicized proposals to reach a framework agreement on final status issues between the Palestinians and Israelis.
Last week, small demonstrations broke out, after Friday prayers, in a number of towns to protest “Kerry’s project to impose a Jordanian role in the West Bank”.
Similarly, figures representing professional unions and political parties are planning to hold a national conference to “protect Jordan and Palestine and repulse Kerry’s peace plan”. And a number of lawmakers signed a memorandum to convene a special Lower House session to discuss Kerry’s controversial proposals.
Jordan’s main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, issued a communiqué last week warning of an impending plan to liquidate the Palestinian cause, which, it said, threatens both Jordanians and Palestinians.
It said that the current regional situation will encourage the US and Israel to impose their conditions on the Palestinians and put pressure on Jordan.
One Islamist leader, Salem Al Falahat, told a local news website that while detailed information on Kerry’s proposals is scarce, it is clear that current negotiations will not serve the interests of Palestinians or Jordanians.
Palestinian sources said that Kerry has not submitted written proposals to either side, but outlined his thoughts on a number of crucial issues, such as borders, settlements, land swaps, refugees and East Jerusalem.
Leading Fateh movement official, Azzam Al Ahmad, said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cannot accept what Kerry is offering.
Similarly, another Palestinian official, Yasser Abed Rabbo, told Al Hayat newspaper that both Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected Kerry’s proposals.
Abed Rabbo gave the most detailed account of Kerry’s proposals. He said that Kerry suggested that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state in return for allowing them to have their capital in parts of East Jerusalem.
Israel would also keep major settlements in the West Bank and lease others. It would also be in control of airspace and border points while the Jordan Valley would be monitored by a joint US, Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian forces.
The refugee issue would be solved in accordance with the Bill Clinton proposal: allowing a symbolic return of Palestinian refugees.
Abed Rabbo also said that Israel would maintain the right of hot pursuit into Palestinian territories. He said Kerry suggested that Israel’s security concerns would be reviewed in light of Palestinian adherence and preparedness. But the Palestinian official added that Netanyahu had rejected these suggestions.
Kerry met King Abdullah recently and briefed him on his plan. The Royal Court issued a statement reiterating Jordan’s position of backing the two-state solution, but adding that the Kingdom will support a deal that meets with its “higher interests”.
The same wording was used after the King met with Abbas and Netanyahu, separately, in the past two weeks.
Such development in the official Jordanian stance has raised questions about where the government stands on Kerry’s proposals.
Recently, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said that Jordan will not have a military role west of the River Jordan.
Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh was quoted as saying that Jordan will not accept Israeli military presence on its borders with the Palestinian state.
Other officials spoke of Jordan’s obligation to defend the rights of over two million Palestinian refugees on its territory, more than half of them are Jordanian citizens.
These statements have helped turn public opinion in the country against Kerry’s proposals.
Some pundits suggested that Jordan will come under pressure to play a political and military role in the West Bank.
The communiqué issued by the Islamist movement warned that Jordan will make concessions to Israel while political analyst Labib Kamahawi wrote that Jordan could come under pressure to play a security role in the West Bank on behalf of Israel.
Political analyst Hassan Barari wrote that Jordan is unable to define its high political interests in relation to Israel and the Palestinian issue. He warned that Kerry’s proposals will pave the way for the implementation of the “Jordan option”, which, he said, remains a viable Israeli choice.
Fears of the settlement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Jordan, under Kerry’s plan, have given conservative opponents of political reforms a platform to warn against deals that may come at the expense of East Bank Jordanians.
A recent initiative in the Lower House to grant the offspring of Jordanian women married to foreigners their civil rights is being resisted on account that it coincides with Kerry’s peace moves.
Former chief of the Royal Court, Riad Abu Karaki, made controversial comments on Facebook against such initiative.
If approved by the government, the decision will affect the civil rights of over 300,000 individuals. Critics believe it is a ploy to give citizenship to Palestinian refugees.
Palestinian and Israeli officials have been critical of Kerry’s proposals. But there is growing concern in Jordan that Abbas will succumb to US pressure on the issue.
How this affects Jordan remains an open question, but there is now pressure on the government to state its position on these proposals as public anxiety and suspicion reach critical levels.(http://jordantimes.com/suspicious-of-kerrys-proposals)
On Scarlett Johansson and 'Blood Bubbles'
By Jamil Khader
The American Studies Association's (ASA) historic decision to boycott, divest from and sanction Israeli academic institutions has inadvertently become a site for a long overdue debate about the taboos in US public discourse and media regarding the Israeli apartheid and Zionist settler-colonialism in Palestine.
BDS (boycott-divest-sanction) activists and pro-Palestinian voices are receiving more exposure to public platforms and media venues that were inconceivable a few years ago. However, the violent and irrational Zionist backlash against the ASA, in particular, and the BDS, in general, is not going away anytime soon.
A war of delegitimisation
Those who oppose the ASA and its call for BDS are wasting no time in their quest to crush the ASA and delegitimize it. As Ben Cohen put it in The Algemeiner: "Much as some Jews are uncomfortable with acknowledging this reality, we have the power to harass, frustrate, and crush the BDS movement wherever it appears. Let us do so without mercy."
His scary call for "Jewish power" smacks of a long history of fascist usurpation of democratic institutions and civil society.
The fact is that the field of public opinion is still in flux, and many people, especially academics, are still making up their minds about the ASA and the BDS. Mired in their multicultural mantras and cultural relativism, many of these liberal academics are still wavering in their support of the ASA.
They are hiding behind the veil of "teaching the debate" through the painstakingly long process of contextualization, displacement, and abstraction of concrete oppressive conditions. Indeed, their whole (Eurocentric) ideological system, and Israel's fetishistic position at its center, let alone their health, income, and any academic reputation they may have, are all at stake here.
However, the Zionist lobby and the "Israel right or wrong" cheerleaders have radicalized public discourse in such a way that the lines are clearly drawn, leaving one no choice but to choose sides. And choose we must, for the post-ideological age is steeped in ideological mystification. Not even mainstream pro-Israel advocates, as AIPAC's critique of the chair of the National Democratic Committee Debbie Wasserman Shultz has shown, are safe from this backlash anymore. It is thus more urgent than ever to engage these academics not only in dialogue and deliberation, but also in polemics regarding the symbolic meaning and moral importance of the BDS and the ASA's historic resolution.
The Scarlett Johansson scandal has taught us this much. One cannot stick to her inane ideological liberal guns in the fight for a single issue (ecological responsibility, or clean air, in this case), while mystifying the same system that makes ecological racism a big part of the Israeli apartheid policies and Zionist settler-colonialist project in Palestine.
Johansson's progressive politics, including her charity work for Oxfam, cannot harmoniously co-exist with her endorsement of an oppressive system that promotes capitalist enterprises built on ethnically-cleansed land. These two issues are not disconnected; rather, the struggle for ecological responsibility and conscious consumerism in the region won't be over until the Palestinians are free.
Exploitation as cooperation?
Johansson's pathetic apologia, released on January 24, for settler-colonialism and Israeli apartheid policies reflects the poverty of her progressive liberal ideology. In it she maintains that the global corporation Sodastream is an example of "economic cooperation and social interaction between a democratic Israel and Palestine". Johansson also adds that:
"As part of my efforts as an Ambassador for Oxfam, I have witnessed first-hand that progress is made when communities join together and work alongside one another and feel proud of the outcome of that work in the quality of their product and work environment, in the pay they bring home to their families and in the benefits they equally receive."
There are so many absurd fabrications and inconsistencies in this statement that one must wonder where the line between cynicism and conviction begins. To even suggest that a colonial factory built on ethnically-cleansed and illegally-obtained land in an illegal settlement is an example of economic cooperation is obscene. The sole function of a corporation, as many CEOs would tell you, is the extraction and maximization of profits.
This happens through, among other things, the exploitation of cheap labor - any available labor, including the indigenous work force, which is usually compensated less than adequate salaries and benefits. Just ask Sodastream's Palestinian workers, who have no choice but seek employment with such corporations, as a result of Israeli deliberate underdevelopment of the Palestinian economy.
Her ludicrous claims are nothing but a recycling of the same tired racist arguments that white slave owners in the American South circulated in order to justify their noxious antebellum regime. Slave owners even concocted perfectly outlandish claims about the rights, privileges and benefits their slaves enjoyed under slavery.
Indeed, for them, their slaves were much better off than many Africans or Blacks anywhere in the world. During the Jim Crow era, moreover, American businesses employed African-American workers, while upholding the oppressive segregation system in the American South.
Furthermore, new life is breathed into these narratives in a post-racial United States, where any struggle for political power in the republic is displaced onto other terrains that entertain and delight, but obfuscate the fundamental antagonism. Newt Gingrich, for instance, once used a basketball analogy to describe racial relations in a post-racial US. For him, a black basketball player passing the ball to his white teammate serves a shining example of racial harmony and cooperation.
'Blood Bubbles'
The only thing these analogies do is de-politicize the brutality of a colonial or racist regime. They translate its contentious political realities into a spectacle of (athletic) entertainment or cultural festivities that celebrate our respect for the law and our common humanity. However, these flawed analogies do not only displace the actual oppressive structures of slavery and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. They also transmute the troubled relations between oppressors and oppressed, into opposed but equal teams who voluntarily accept to play by the same rules of the game.
This reference to Gingrich is not a coincidence. It really shows that a progressive liberal is merely the obverse side of the conservative right-wing ideologue. Indeed, Johansson's reference to Sodastream and the exploitation of Palestinian labor as an example of cooperation between "communities" is laughable, unless corporations, in the words of Mitt Romney, are considered to be "people, my friend".
In other words, Sodastream is a part of the problem, not the solution, for it perpetuates the daily atrocities committed against Palestinians in the occupied territories.
In a normal situation, devoid of the realities of apartheid and settler colonialism, such cooperation would be an ideal to strive for between Palestinians and their Jewish neighbors. Nonetheless, as Jewish settlers, living in illegal settlements that exist on Palestinian land against all international conventions and laws, continue their campaign of terror against the rightful owners of the land, to speak of cooperation in those terms is obscene.
Ultimately, Johansson's appeal to ecological awareness is a pathetic mystification of the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation and Zionist settler-colonial project. The former must be linked back to the struggle for Palestinian freedom where the true antagonism of the class struggle is turned inside out.
In the words of the brilliant Palestine Solidarity Network image, "Blood Bubbles", one should not worry about setting the bubbles of Sodastream free, but about freeing Palestine form colonial oppression. There is no time for complacency now and for thinking that the racist and fascist anti-Palestinian backlash will be over anytime soon. Let's take it to the Super Bowl.(http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/01/scarlett-johansson-blood-bubble-201412871229280397.html)
Why Palestinians don’t recognize Israel as a Jewish state
By Bakir Oweida
What would happen if Palestine officially recognized Israel as a Jewish state? Would it turn the Arab and Islamic worlds upside down? Or would the mother of all wars erupt, scorching the planet with nuclear weapons? Only God knows the answer to the second question.
Many people do share the conviction that the end of the world is drawing near, providing as evidence a plethora of indicators foretelling the impending eruption of a nuclear third World War. Not everyone has to believe in this hypothesis, so it’s best we leave the realms of the unknown and return to reality.
The response of the Arab and Islamic worlds to Palestine officially recognizing Israel as a Jewish state—if there is any response at all—would probably result in nothing more than some street protests and some loud shouting. Some angry Arabs might put on a show of force; some would issue statements denouncing the decision or might publish articles or poems threatening Israel and Palestinian officials with future acts of revenge.
Once again, Israel has played a crafty trick by asking the Palestinian Authority to recognize it as a Jewish state, in a bid to spark reactions in Palestine and across the Arab world, as well as among other Muslims who support the Palestinian cause. This, of course, would play into Israel’s hands, since it is not serious about achieving true peace.
I doubt any such reactions would affect Palestine’s hypothetical decision to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
Israel's duplicity
Would it be an exaggeration to say that Israeli politicians—from the founding generation to today’s shifty Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu—have built their policies on the assumption that if Palestinians rejected taking part in any peace process or political settlement it would thereby absolve Israel in the world’s eyes?
History shows that Israel has always met Palestinian overtures with maneuvers. Tel Aviv’s duplicity has hinged on the international community’s submission to Israeli arrogance, as much as it has on capitalizing on a Palestinian deference borne out of an entrenched fear of provoking Israel.
Once again, Israel has played a crafty trick by asking the Palestinian Authority to recognize it as a Jewish state, in a bid to spark reactions in Palestine and across the Arab world, as well as among other Muslims who support the Palestinian cause. This, of course, would play into Israel’s hands, since it is not serious about achieving true peace.
It has been said, and will be said again, that such recognition on the part of the Palestinian Authority would open the door for Tel Aviv to expel Palestinians from Israel into Jordan, as an “alternative homeland.”
Meaningless sentiment
Although that expression has been repeated since the Six-Day War of 1967, it has proven empty and meaningless. To begin with, Israel originally failed to send Palestinians to Jordan because its backers in major world capitals did not allow it to do so. With transformations taking place around the world, how could Israel get the permission to evacuate Palestinians from their country?
Even more, how could anyone assume that 1.5 million Palestinians, who have been standing firm since the establishment of Israel, lack the determination to stand their ground and just quietly flee to Jordan in the face of Israeli violence and threats of ethnic cleansing?
On the other hand, little is said about the Palestine Liberation Organization officially recognizing the state of Israel according to the pre-1967 borders. Moreover, the Palestinian side accepting an Israeli demand is in itself a condemnation of Israel, rather than a redefining act for Palestine. After all, Palestine remains a place where believers of all the heavenly religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam—can live in peace.
The Palestinian Authority will not expose this deceptive Israeli mentality by exposing its racism during this age of the globalization. By giving in to Israeli demands for its recognition as a Jewish state, Palestine would prove that it is just another entry in the Israeli record that began when the founders of Israel claimed to have established a secular state.
Have the Palestinians figured out this trick? They most certainly have, but they fear provoking their longstanding enemy with a surprise move. It is therefore no wonder that Palestinian territories continue to shrink while Israeli settlements expand, thanks to John Kerry’s initiative, just the latest in a series started by William Rogers, a former U.S. politician, in 1970.(http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/2014/01/28/Why-Palestinians-don-t-recognize-Israel-as-a-Jewish-state-.html)
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Opinions
Jerusalem deserves more than condemnations…!
By Abdulrahim Mahmoud Jamous
Two important meetings regarding Jerusalem were held recently, the first one was in Marrakech (the meeting of the Jerusalem Committee) headed by the Moroccan Monarchwith the participation of President Abu Mazen representing Palestine, the second meeting was held in Kuwait (the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting), chaired by the speaker of the Kuwaiti House, and President of the Palestine National Council Salim Zanoun (Abu Al-Adib) represented Palestine.
Abu Mazen and Abu Al-Adib updated participants in the meetings of the, threats to the city of Jerusalem, and the arbitrary actions against the Holy City, its holy sites and populations by the Zionist occupation authorities, which aims at targeting its demographic and geographic composition and changing it in accordance with the clear and consistent policies and strategies,aiming at changing its character and impose Zionist Jewish control, in order to consider it as the capital of the Zionist entity. This is done through threat to Islamic and Christian holy places in the city, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, leading to the implementation of Jewish myths to demolish Al-Aqsa and build the alleged third Temple, or through imposing Jewish-Zionist hegemony through storming the mosque, as happened with the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
The world heard the words of the participating in the meetings, all were unanimous and serious regarding the threats to the Holy City, its holy sites and Arab citizens, all denounced and condemned these actions and threats, but it did not change the reality of Jerusalem, the situation in Jerusalem remains the same until further notice, with new Zionist threats, without developing policies and strategies, both at the Arab and Muslim levels, official or popular. These policies should be determined to confront the repeatedly attacks and threats and ongoing Zionist actions against Jerusalem, and to ensure the cessation of such threats, and support the steadfastness of the Palestinian Jerusalemites, until ending the occupation and returning Jerusalem to Palestinian Arab sovereignty.
It is the right of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim citizens to ask what are the Arab strategies, which emerged from the Arab parliamentary meeting, and what are the Muslim strategies, emerged from the twentieth session of the Jerusalem Committee, assigned by the Organization of the Islamic Conference to defend Jerusalem and its holy sites and face the Zionist proceduretargeting the city?!
What did the Arabs decided to protect Jerusalem and its holy sites, and protect its populations, those who follow-up on this regard can only seean outcome of zero in confronting the actions of the occupation authorities, that allocate bigbudgets, the municipality, governmental and non-governmental organizations, to implement plans aimed at changing the city’s character and confiscate and annexit, and usually they start the implementation of their plans before they announce it..!
The painful truth is that Arab and Islamic efforts for the protection of Jerusalem are still modest, and can only be described as weak or absent for forty-seven years of occupation of the Holy City.
The Holiness of occupied Jerusalem for the Arabs and Muslims could not makethem do anythingmore than denunciation and condemnation of what the Holy City is being subjected to?! This grave and massive challenges facing Jerusalem must be confronted with positions and practical policies to face the aggression against the Holy City, the first kiblah and the third holiest site for Islam…!(http://amin.org/articles.php?t=opinion&id=23192)
Who will stop house demolition in Jerusalem?
Al-Quds Editorial
Demolition of Palestinian houses in Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods escalated recently. The Jerusalem municipality bulldozers demolished houses in Beit Hanina and Issaweyah, and handed 18 demolition orders for others. All issued or to be issued under the pretext of the so-called "construction without a permit", a pretext without a legal and moral justification, the policy of demolishing Arab houses continue in the Holy City and its surroundings in the West Bank since the 1967 occupation until today.
Comparison between how Israeli governmental and municipal authorities treats both Jewish and Arab citizens regarding housing looks out of context, because Palestinians are under occupation history neversaw before - this authorities challenges all international laws and humanitarian norms while demolishing Palestinian homes, without feeling any guilt while they watch children, women and the elderly cry on the ruins, mourning and wondering how and where they will seek protection from the cold winter. The question is: will these decision makersagree that damaged Housesbe owned by a Jewish family? What would the supporters of Israel say regarding such presumptive tragedy?
This practice is supposed to fall within the so-called crimes against humanity, and international community should act strongly to end it. But the world reactions seem tepid -if there are any reactions at all. The international community should condemn the demolition of Palestinian houses since the beginning and put pressure on Israel to refrain from collective and individual punishment at the same time. If this would happen, there will be no accumulated cases of house demolition reaching thousands during the forty-six years of occupation.
Israel is responsible under international law for the protection of interests of the Palestinians as an occupying power. As such, it cannot justify the demolition of Palestinian houses on the pretext of "construction without a permit". For the Israeli Government, which built and continue to build settlements on Palestinian land confiscated by force, if assumed its responsibilities, should facilitate obtaining building permits and ease the onerous requirements to get these on the one hand, and to provide housing for those under its occupation instead of sending bulldozers to demolish what Palestinians build with sweat and toil for years to establish sheltering roof for their families, as required for the natural increase.
It is strange that the municipal authorities impose fines on homeowners threatened with demolition with the hundreds of thousands of Shekels, they pay the fines or a substantial part, and then they are surprised with bulldozers demolishing their houses. This is a double punishment, if these authoritiesinsist on demolishing the houses from eth beginning, then making Palestinians pay fines?
House demolition in Jerusalem and its surrounding areas is an inhumane and immoral practice. Will the world and its international organizations act to put an end to house demolition, or will it leave the rope loosefor Israeli authorities to continue without being accountable, as the case is now? (Al-Quds)
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