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March 4, 2014
Daily summary - Tuesday, March 04, 2014
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Main News
Two martyrs and two injured in Israeli air strike on Beit Hanoun
Two youths in their twenties and a child and a girl were injured in anair strike launched by Israeli reconnaissance aircraft, in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza Strip. The Israeli reconnaissance aircraft fired a missile at an orchard adjacent to several houses, and killed Musab Al-Mousa Al-Za'anin(21 years old), and another man who died of his wounds, injuring a girl and a child (7 years old), who were transferred to Beit Hanoun governmental hospital, and then to Kamal Edwan hospital in Beit Hanoun.According to eyewitnesses, the air strike resulted in damaging a number of houses near the bombed area. Spokesman of the Israeli military said the air strike "was carried out in order to prevent an imminent attack against civilian communities in southern Israel.” (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
Settlement construction rose by 123% last year
According to Yediot Ahronot website, settlement construction rose last year by 123% over the previous year.The statistics, issued by the Israeli Central Bureau of statistics, came hours before the scheduled meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama, where the issue of construction in settlements is the most controversial issues in the relations between Israel and the world.According to statistics, Israel has built over the past year 2534 housing units in the West Bank and it built 1,133 units in 2012, with the city of Tel Aviv had a significant decrease of 19% in housing construction.The statistics indicate that the process of housing construction in settlements is 5.7% of total housing in Israel. Secretary-General of “Peace Now” Yariv Openhaimer said that this official data indicating that the Netanyahu Government is committed only to one thing - construction in the settlements - and not to continue the political process or to solve problems related to the housing crisis within Israel.(http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/491692)
President to Galon: If a persuasive framework agreement is not presented I will put the keys on the table
Israeli media quoted Meretzleader Zahava Galon, who was received by President Mahmoud Abbas in his headquarters in Ramallah yesterday, as saying that President Abbas said that Palestinian-Israeli negotiations are facing two fundamental issues: 1)releasing the fourth batch of Palestinian prisoners agreed to be released, 2)the approaching end of the nine months negotiations.according to Galon, the President said that "If theframework agreement and did not provide a satisfactory answer to the key issues of the negotiations, I will put the keys on the table, and approach international organizations, there is only one chance we could agree to the extension of the negotiations, that is Netanyahu announcing he agrees to freeze settlement activity and stop building in settlements, and his approval to the release of additional Palestinian prisoners other than those who will be released in the fourth batch.” Regarding the refugee issue, the President said, according to Galon that "the allegation that I intend to return 5 million Palestinian refugees is no more than joke, I do not want to destroy Israel and will not return any refugees into Israel without the approval of Israelis, but I am waiting and I expect Israel to agree set a number concerning the number of refugees it can absorb annually."(Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
Obama to Netanyahu: peace requires difficult decisions and the two-State solution possible
US President Barack Obama called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take "difficult" decisions to reach peace with the Palestinians, at the beginning of their meeting at the White House. Obama said he still believed in the possibility of reaching a two-State solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Netanyahu said that the Palestinians have not done what is necessary; Netanyahu's claims come at a time when official statistics showed the Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank rose over 123% in 2013, compared with the previous year.Obama had said warning the Israeli Prime Minister on the eve of their talks at the White House, that Washington's defense of Israel in the face of efforts to isolate it internationally will be harder if the Washington-led peace talks fails.Obama said, "what I think is that if a peace agreement is not reached, the construction of settlements continued and the Palestinians reacha believe that the possibility of establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian State is no longer possible, our ability to deal with international repercussions will be limited."(Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
Obama said that President Abbas is the most Palestinian moderate leader in order to reach peace, and “if Netanyahu does not believe that peace with the Palestinians is the right thing for Israel, he should to put forward alternative, and it is very hard to propose alternatives other than peace.” (Al-Ayyam).
Erekat calls on Netanyahu to "absorb" Obama's position on the need to achieve peace
Chief Palestinian negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday to "absorb" US President Barack Obama's position on the need to achieve peace with the Palestinians as an interest for all. Erakt told Palestine radio yesterday "that Netanyahu insists on settlements, incursions, assassinations, and the imposition of facts, believing it provides pace and security and this is an illusion".(Al-Ayyam)
Shaath to “Al-Ayyam”: publishing settlements data before the Netanyahu-Obama meeting is a challenge for America
Dr. Nabil Shaath, Member of Fateh Central Committee, confirmed for “Al-Ayyam” that the escalation of Israeli settlement activity in the Palestinian territories raises "a high degree of discomfort and anger among the Palestinians," adding that “the ICBS published data on rising Israeli settlement just hours before the meeting of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with US President Barack Obama at the White House, is a message of challenge to the latter.” Shaath said "we are following the escalation of the Israeli settlements on ground, so we know the fact that there is an escalation in settlement activity, and that the activity has increased in recent month, this raises a high degree of discomfort and anger and it also violates Israeli commitments to US Secretary of State John Kerry."(Al-Ayyam)
Bishop Shomali program announced agenda of the Pope's visit to Palestine
Bishop William Shomali, Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the mass Bethlehem, announced the completion of all arrangements for the reception of his Holiness Pope Francis I, during his visit to Jordan, Palestine and Israel between the 24thand 26th of next May. Shomali expressed his conviction that “this visit will be a global event, and would be a message of love and brotherhood to all residents of states which will be visited by his Holiness."Shomali said that the visit will include Jordan, where the Pope will meet with Jordan's King Abdullah II, will preside a mass in the stadium of Hussein before visiting the River Jordan and Al-Maghtas, and then he will fly directly to Bethlehem, where an official reception for the Pope will be held, before presiding over the Sunday mass in Manger Square, where thousands are expected to attend, and then he will visit the Dheisheh refugee camp and meet with children form the camp who will sing anthems for the Pope before leaving Bethlehem to Jerusalem, Where he will meet with Israeli leaders, and heads of Christian communities in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and Muslim clerics in Al-Aqsa mosque.(Al-Ayyam)
Hundreds of settlers organized a provocative march in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque
Hundreds of settlers and members of Jewish groups, led by a number of rabbis, participated yesterday evening in a march around Al-Aqsa gates, entitled “the gates march” to mark the beginning of the Hebrew month, where participants raised Israeli flags and chanted slogan "Let us build the temple", while wearingsweaters with the same slogan written om them, and photos of the alleged Temple. Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and heritage said that the March was guarded by the occupation forces, which closed roads and prevented residents from approaching the parade route.(Al-Ayyam)
America refused to grant entry visas to officers and agents in the Israeli army
Maariv revealed today a refusal of requests for visas to the United States for senior officers in the Israeli army, Israeli military industries, and even agents of the Mossad and Shabak. The newspaper added that senior officials in the Israeli security services recently discussed the prevention officers of the army and security forces from entering the United States because of the refusal to issue visas for them.A security source, said that he had visited the United States dozens of times, but last year his request for a visa was rejected, and he was forced to cancel a visit to Washington.(http://qudsnet.com/news/View/267548/%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A7-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%B6-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AD-%D8%AA%D8%A3%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%AF%D8%AE%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%84%D8%B6%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B7-%D9%88%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A7-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A/)
Cameron delivers a speech at the Knesset next week
British Prime Minister David Cameron will addressed the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) next week during a visit that was decided for last month, but was postponed because of the floods in Britain. Knesset said in a statement that "British Prime Minister David Cameron is due to address the Knesset next Wednesday on the 12th of March", without giving more details.(Al-Ayyam)
Kerry: we will not allow turning the West Bank to a second Gaza
US Secretary of State John Kerry said that his country would not allow turning the West Bank to a second Gaza under any future agreement, noting that "any agreement would include a Palestinian recognition of a Jewish Israel".Kerry said during a speech at a Conference of the Jewish lobby in Washington "IPAC" tonight, that any future agreement must take into account the Jewish nature of Israel.Kerry added that the two sides should take difficult decisions, noting that the success of any agreement includes: security, mutual recognition, and an agreed solution to the Palestinian refugee problem provided that it won’t change the nature of Jewish Israel.With regard to occupied Jerusalem Kerry said a solution that could allow the city to continue to exist as a city of peace is needed.(http://safa.ps/details/news/123855/%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%86-%D9%86%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%AD-%D8%A8%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B6%D9%81%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9-%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9.html)
Two PFLP leaders arrested in Nablus
The Israeli occupation forces arrested today dawntwo leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), from Nablus, north of occupied West Bank. “Safa” correspondent said that the Israeli occupation forces arrested Ismat Al-Shuli(65 years old) from Assira Al-Shamaleyah, after breaking into his house and searching it, adding that he was arrested before by the occupation many times.The correspondent added that the occupation also arrested Nabeeh Aziz Awad (50 years old) after storming his house in the village of Awarta, east of Nablus.(http://safa.ps/details/news/123854/%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%B3.html)
Occupation forces closed a road north of Ramallah with cement blocks
Israeli authorities closed this morning the Jerusalem Nablus road, adjacent to the Beit El settlement with cement blocks, without giving any reasons.Citizens who use the road from villages north of Ramallah, and citizens from north of the West Bank, were surprised of the closed the road with cement blocks, which forced them to return and take another road.(http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=678432)
In response to the demand of President Abbas, Shtainets: completehalt of settlement activities is not on our agenda
Israeli Minister Yuval Shtainets from the Likud party, who is accompanying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his visit to the United States, said that the issue of complete halt of settlement activities is not on the agenda of the Israeli Government, in reference to an Israeli response to President Mahmoud Abbas’ demand to stop settlement completely, if an extension of the negotiations is needed. Shtainets said that Israel's position in the negotiations is endorsed and supported by the leaders of the US House of Congress and Senate leaders, who know that the main obstacle to peace is the Palestinian refusal to recognize the right of the Jewish people to a State of their own, and the terrible incitement by Palestinians against Israel.(http://www.pnn.ps/index.php/israel/83065-%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%85%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%B3-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B3-%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%B3-%D9%88%D9%82%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B4%D9%83%D9%84-%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%84-%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B3-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%A7)
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Headlines
** Russia loyalists govern Crimea and Europe threatens to review its relations with Moscow (Al-Ayyam)
** Masses in “Abu Arab” funeral in Hums (Al-Ayyam)
** Resumed fighting in Yarmouk disables UNRWA continueddistribution of food to thousands of trapped refugees (Al-Ayyam)
** Establishing an Endowment Fund for Jerusalem to support the steadfastness of its residents (Al-Quds)
** The Jerusalem District Court approves the transfer of management of archaeological area south wall of Al-Aqsa mosque to “Elad”settlement organization (Al-Quds)
** The supreme body of the prisoners: linking the fourth batchwith the framework agreement is an unacceptable political blackmail (Al-Quds)
** Dmiedi: systematic policy to control the movement of government vehicles (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal visits Ramallah today (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** Paying salaries for employees with annual premium and cost of living tomorrow (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** The deposed Government in Gaza warns of power station stopping to operatein a week and its employees demand payment of arrearssalaries(al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** Health Ministry discover dozens of cases of diabetes in Jenin (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
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Front Page Photos
Al- Quds:President Abbas during his meeting with Galon.
Al-Ayyam: 1) Washington – supporters of the Palestinian people protest before IPAC during its meeting yesterday, 2) Putin oversees military exercises in Leningrad yesterday.
Al Hayat Al Jadida:.President Abbas during his meeting with Galon.
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Voice of Palestine News
Gaza Strip: After midnight last night, Shareef Nasser, 28, died from wounds sustained from an Israeli raid on a group of people in Beit Hanoun, bring the number of martyrs up to two after Mousa Za’aneen, 21. Two others, including a child, were injured. The Israeli raid was on a group of people in their garden and agricultural land. Israeli planes continued to hover over Gaza all last night.
Jerusalem: Thousands of extremist settlers participated in a march in Jerusalem’s Old City yesterday evening under the slogan: “Screams against the doors”. There were about 5,000 settlers from settlements all over the country. They approached the doors to the Aqsa mosque and the closer they got, the louder their screams got and also their aggressive behavior against the Palestinian residents. Israeli occupation troops protected them, making shopkeepers close their shops. They circled the doors to the Aqsa and ended the march at Lion’s gate with screams and dancing. The march is one of a series of marches announced by extremist settler groups that are scheduled to take place over the next few days. Right-wing Rabbis, Knesset members and lawyers will participate in them.
What about the area near Al Aqsa which the Israeli government is turning over to the Elad settlement group?
This is actually a very vital and important area near the Aqsa, known as the ‘archeological park” by Israel, west of the Aqsa. Over the past few years, Israeli authorities dismantled all of the Muslim artifacts, some dating back to the Omayyad’s, in the area. Some of the stones were moved to the Knesset courtyard. Other large stones were reserved for building the so-called Third Temple. This move will expand the area under the control of settlers, which is right up against Silwan.
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Voice of Palestine Interviews
** Ishak Jad, on the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics report on the increase of settlement construction which reached 46% of all construction in Israel
Q: Do you think this report reflects the reality on the ground?
I don’t think this reality really describes the reality. It does not include the settlement units that were built in Jerusalem because the Israeli bureau of statistics doesn’t consider Jerusalem settlements as such, but as neighborhoods. The truth is that construction tenders in the West Bank issued in 2013 were 11,000 units, not 2.434 like the report says. For us, this means that the number of settlers increased in the West Bank by about 60,000 settlers in 2013 and have now become about three-fourths of a million.
Q: The Israeli report said the increase in construction was 123% from the year before. Do the Palestinian numbers show something different?
The percentage has increased by 1.5 from the previous year, so in terms of proportionality, their percentage is right, it’s just that the original numbers of units are different. Settlement councils says this number of an increase of settlement units is not enough for natural growth. I tell them that natural growth in Israel does not even need this number. This is just a race against time and is actually four times the requirements for natural growth.
Q: The report also said that 46% of Israeli construction is inside these settlements. Does this show that Israel is focusing its construction areas in the settlements as opposed to inside Israel?
Yes, this is the only way the Israeli government can encourage settlement construction. It does not build inside Israel but focuses on Jerusalem and the West Bank to attract those who suffer from housing problems in the country, offering them all the facilitations they need – infrastructure, facilities and other things that make it easy for them. This shows that natural growth in Israel does not exceed 1.7% while growth in the settlements has reached 5.6%. This clearly shows how Israel is trying to take advantage of political conditions to settle as many Jews in the settlements.
**Prisoner Affairs Minister Issa Qaraqe, on the deteriorating situation of hunger striking prisoners in Israeli clinics and the release of the fourth group of prisoners
Q:What is the situation of the hunger strikers?
Their situation is very dangerous; they are all vomiting and their systems are collapsing while they are completely isolated in Israeli hospitals. What happened to prisoner Waheed Abu Mariya is that a prison warden pointed his gun at him while in hospital when Abu Mariya asked to go to the bathroom on a wheelchair, since his on hunger strike and cannot walk. This is a dangerous precedent – that a hunger striking prisoner who is handcuffed is threatened at gunpoint by a prison guard. Abu Steifi and Muammar Banat is also very dangerous, they are isolated in the Kaplan hospital and their health is failing. Kifah Hattab is in Ramleh hospital and is also in poor health, but they all say they will continue with their strike. Prison authorities are even trying to blackmail them, telling them they will offer them medical treatment in exchange for ending their strike, but they have refused. They are all in isolated rooms with little facilities even though they cannot move unless they are shackled.
All of these prisoners are striking against their administrative detention sentences except for Kifah Hattab who is on strike demanding to be considered a prisoner of war; he is a military prisoner, he is a pilot.
Q: How many prisoners on strike are there?
There are eight right now, with three joining this month and who are in Ofer prison in solitary cells. Some have been on strike for 60 days.
Q: Have the ministry’s lawyers visited them?
Yes, two days ago our attorney Hanan Khatib visited all of them; she was the one who raised the alarm bells about their situation and called for immediate intervention. There has been Egyptian intervention in this issue, to halt their administrative detention sentences so they can halt their strike.
Q:How many prisoners are currently under administrative detention?
At present, there are 183 administrative detainees, a number which has risen in this past month.
Q: do you think the Egyptian intervention will be fruitful?
Yes, it has in the past. It has intervened in other strikes and was a sponsor to the agreements that took place and Israel was more committed to the agreements under Egypt. But now, Israel has not abided by these agreements and the Egyptians are pressuring them. We are depending heavily on their intervention.
Q: There is a draft law in the Knesset to allow force –feeding of prisoners on hunger strike. What do you say to this?
This is very dangerous. Even hunger strikers have been threatened that if they continue, they will force feed them. We consider this as an execution, because this is a violent process through forcing tubes down into their stomachs; in the past when prisoners were force-fed, three ended up dying. Israel thinks it can stop the wave of strikes in prisons through this measure, but they are wrong.
Q: What is happening in terms of the release of the fourth group of prisoners?
Yesterday, we were in a meeting with the President and he reassured us that the fourth group of prisoners would be released on time, March 29. But there are fears that Israel will try to manipulate this. The president said that if the 29th comes and Israel does not release them, then it will have to bear the consequences of this action.
**Fatah member Mohammed Madani and head of the committee for contacts with Israeli society, on the visit by Meretz leader Zahava Gal-On to Ramallah
Q: How do you assess this meeting and its importance of having it in Ramallah?
Any meeting with influential Israeli politicians is important, even with those who refuse to recognize us. Meretz is the only party that had the peace process on its election agenda. This meeting was important given its timing when Netanyahu is in Washington; it was a message from the Israelis, who reject Netanyahu’s policies and shows that they are serious about reaching a peace deal with us. The fact that the Meretz leader wanted to meet with Abu Mazen is a reflection of this intention. She expressed Israeli fears about the negotiations process but she said they were very serious in moving forward.
Q: But on the ground, it seems that there is no influence of these peace-seeking parties.
This Israeli government and the occupation and negotiations are two different things. There is extremism that is in the service of ‘protecting’ Israel and they are the ones inciting the Israeli public. But there are voices within Israel that say this extremism is destroying Israel and that peace is in its interest. They are the voices that say they must stand against this extremism. So this is an important message that needs to be conveyed from those who want peace.
Q: Have you felt any tangible impacts from these meetings with Israelis?
We have had a lot of meetings. Nabil Shaath held an important symposium in Tel Aviv University with around 200 Israeli students and academics. Also, our message was important – we were in Tel Aviv and addressing Israeli intellectuals and telling them that what Israel is doing is against the peace process and peace in general. In April, we will have a meeting with over 300 Israeli women to convey the same message. There is always a fear of the extremism in Israel but now we are hearing voices from within Israel that are demanding the success of the negotiations and the two-state solution.
Q; Still, Israel says the Palestinian leadership incites against Israel, which Netanyahu told President Obama yesterday. What do you say to this?
It is known that Netanyahu is always looking for any excuse or justification to prove his own credibility among the Americans. So, the only thing he could find was Palestinian incitement. But his argument is very weak, no matter how strong he tries to come across as.
**Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs, Mohammed Mustapha, on Kerry’s economic plan and where it has reached
Q: Is Kerry’s plan still on track or is it on hold to see if the negotiations’ process will succeed or fail?
The proposal still stands, but we all know that it was a general proposal. We have been trying to work over the past few months – the Americans, the Palestinians and the Quartet – to further develop the ideas in the economic plan, so it can be prepared for implementation. It was just an overall vision but we are working to develop these ideas. But we also know that in spite of all the good intentions, everything is linked to the political aspect of the situation. So, this economic plan – and we are talking billions of dollars – cannot be possible or implementable without a compatible political climate. We are preparing, but we are waiting for a political breakthrough that will open up opportunities to put this into action.
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More Headlines
Tamimi reveals establishing an endowment fund for Jerusalem worth $ 1 billion
Sheikh Tayseer Rajab Al-Tamimi Supreme Judge of Palestine and former member of Yasser Arafat Foundation, revealed an Endowment Fund worth $ 1 billion, in an own initiative of Palestinian businessman Munib Al-Masri. Tamimi that Palestinian businessman Munib Al-Masri declared this at the meeting of the Board of Trustees of martyr Yasser Arafat Foundation, held yesterday, and said he collected 50 million dollars so far from rich donors and financial institutions, adding "this will be announced at a large press conference that will be held in Ramallah on Saturday 8th of March.” (http://qudsnet.com/news/View/267525/)
Occupation storms Yatta and arrests eight citizens
Occupation forces arrested last night eight citizens from Yatta, south of Hebron, after storming the town. According to Coordinator of the National Committee to resist the wall and settlement Rateb Jbour, the occupation forces raided Al-Sha’abin neighborhood in the town, searched 10 houses and arrested eight Palestinians from the same family: Jabril Mahmoud Barakat (55 years old) and his son Hassan (21 years old), Issa Mahmoud Barakat (48 years old), and his son Muhammad (20 years old), Ibrahim Barakat (50 years old) and his son Khalil (15 years old) and Mahmoud Barakat (15 years old) and his son Mahmoud (19 years old). (http://www.raya.ps/ar/news/852969.html)
Elements of Israeli intelligence and settlers storm Al-Aqsa
A group of intelligence officers and Israeli police implemented today a suspicious round in the courtyards and Al-Aqsa mosque with strict and heavy protection of special units of the police. This came with the successive incursions of small groups of settlers to the mosque from the Moroccans’ Gate, amid large presence of school students and worshippers. (http://qudsnet.com/news/View/267552/
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Arab Press
Netanyahu’s games
by James J. Zogby
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu never tires of inventing new hoops through which he insists Palestinians must jump.
As he acknowledged a few weeks ago, it is all part of a cynical game that he plays in an effort to kill the chances for peace.
First, he insisted on the need to maintain Israeli control over the Jordan Valley. Next came his pledge that he would not “uproot a single Israeli” from West Bank settlements, so that in addition to forcing Palestinians to accept Israel’s annexation of whatever West Bank settlements are deemed “new realities”, the Palestinians would also have to swallow the “right” of settlers to remain in their settlements after peace.
Throw into this mix Netanyahu’s insistence that there be no Palestinian capital in Jerusalem, and the object of his “game” becomes clear: set up demands and conditions so onerous and obnoxious that the Palestinians will have to say “no”, thereby appearing to be the obstacle to peace.
Maybe the most troubling of all the Netanyahu “hoops” is his persistent demand that Palestinians accept Israel as a Jewish state, the homeland of the Jewish people.
While some in the West can understand the Palestinian refusal to cede the Jordan Valley or Jerusalem, or to accept that oftentimes violent settlers should remain in their settlements, they have difficulty understanding why Palestinians won’t simply agree to recognise Israel as the “state of the Jewish people”.
The problem for Palestinians is not in the name “Jewish state”, it is what the name means.
Palestinian spokespersons say that in forcing them to accept this designation, what Netanyahu wants is for Palestinians to accept the Israeli historical narrative and to deny their own. He wants, as we might say in American slang, the Palestinians to surrender and say “Uncle”.
This, they simply cannot do.
Narratives are important for peoples and nations. They define reality and give meaning to history.
I learned important lessons about the critical and definitional roles played by historical narratives in the Palestinian context through a series of personal encounters that occurred over 40 years ago.
It was 1971 and I had travelled to Lebanon to conduct research for my doctoral dissertation on the emergence of the Palestinian national identity. As part of my work, I spent time in Ain Al Hilweh, a massive Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon.
While I was there, I interviewed refugees from dozens of towns and villages who had all left Palestine in 1948. Many told stories of armed Jewish elements coming into their villages creating panic, forcing them to flee.
I was struck by their resilience and their determination to keep their attachment to their land, their homes and their culture alive. They did this in so many interesting ways.
In the camp, for example, Palestinians did their best to recreate their old life. Residents of villages clustered in neighbourhoods that were named after the communities from which they had fled. In a simple walk down just one street, you could pass through Haifa, Akka, Safad, Safsaf and Jerusalem. The homes in the camps might have been poor, but once inside them, you had the feeling of being back in the village.
One of my most memorable encounters during that trip was my interview with Umm Abed, the grandmother of the friend who had brought me to Ain Al Hilweh.
As was common for her generation, she carried on a string around her neck the key to her home in Palestine, which had been appropriated by Israeli settlers in 1948. She told me her story — a powerful tale of loss and pain.
At one point, she asked if I wanted to see her home. When I agreed, she took out an old photo album filled with pictures of her home, her family and the life they had lived back in Palestine.
She pointed with pride to the wall her father had built and the tree her grandfather had planted. But then, with a touch of anger, she noted that the tree had been cut down by the Israelis who had taken the house. She learned of this from a photo a Swedish journalist had taken and shown her.
As I was leaving, her brother told me of their longing to return.
“It’s our home. We go back four generations in that house. I was born there and lived my entire life there. The Israelis, who never lived here, say they didn’t forget after 2,000 years. For us, it’s only been 25 years. How can we forget?”
Two weeks later, my work was done and I was on a flight back to the United States. I had flown from Jordan to London, where I caught a flight to New York. On that plane, I ran into a student, Sandra, I had taught the year before at Temple University. She greeted me with exuberance: “Oh, Mr Zogby, I just had the most amazing experience! I went home this summer.”
Since I knew she was from Northeast Philadelphia, I asked what she meant. She explained that she had been to a camp in Israel. It felt so much like home, she wanted to return because, she said, she “belonged there”.
The disconnect between the reality of Umm Abed’s loss and my former student’s “discovery” defines the debate over “narratives”.
I will be honest and admit that I understand Umm Abed’s attachment to a home her ancestors built and the trees they planted.
Her memories were too fresh and the key she wore a constant reminder of unbearable loss. To ask her to erase that memory, to reject her claim and to deny her story is tantamount to asking her to cut off a limb.
There are hundreds of thousands of Umm Abeds who feel deeply about their history and their rights. They have lost so much over the last century. In many cases, all they have left is their narrative of the past and their hopes for the future.
In their name, the Palestinian president cannot say “Uncle”. Jumping through this Israeli hoop would be too costly.(http://jordantimes.com/netanyahus-games)
The Palestinian lesson that Syrians should know
By RAMZY BAROUD
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Opinions
Netanyahu’s conditions for Obama
Al Khaleej Editorial
“Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in the United States today to meet with US President Barack Obama, carrying with him a big ‘NO”, which is: no to a halt to settlements accompanied by a definitive assurance that “Israel” will not heed to pressures.
Netanyahu is going to Washington from a position of power, because he sees that there is nothing which will force him to go back on his current policies based on swallowing up more Palestinian land, expanding settlements as much as possible and taking gradual control over Jerusalem ahead of its complete Judaization.
He wanted to draw his red lines for his talks with Obama even before the two met, so he sent him a brief letter. The message was clear: we will not heed to any pressure and we will not renege on settlements. Anything other than these two conditions can be discussed by President Obama and any kind of settlement can be talked about.
Netanyahu is putting restrictions and boundaries on points that Obama may bring up. That is, he is shackling the American president with his conditions, which is a rude form of political blackmail to make the US succumb to Israeli demands.
If the US position, which includes the framework agreement proposed by John Kerry, is a basis for a possible settlement, then it already meets all of Israel’s security, political and strategic demands. Still, Netanyahu wants to force American policy to submit to his own vision; he also wants Israeli interests to be completely American interests as well. In any case, Netanyahu realizes that Obama cannot apply pressure on Israel or force it to accept anything it does not want.
Thus, the Palestinians are between the ‘Israeli” rock and the American ‘hard place” because it is the weaker party. So, what will Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas bring with him when he meets with Obama? What are his red lines that he will draw for him? What are the boundaries of the Palestinian position that could possibly bind President Obama? When negotiations are between the powerful and the weak, the rights of the weak are always put under the mercy of the strong. (http://www.alkhaleej.ae/studiesandopinions/detailedpage/6d217723-6fe4-4c6f-a2ce-edc7d4a93517)
In the face of two decisive dates
By Abdel Rahim Malouh
In the series of pressures being exerted on Palestinian negotiators and on President Mahmoud Abbas in particular, US President Barack Obama invited the President to visit Washington on March 17 to meet with him. Israeli PM Netanyahu is already meeting with him, to agree on a specific mechanism for a framework agreement, which will be proposed to President Abbas.
Given that Israel is strong and is a higher American interest, and given that the US are not mediators with even the minimum requirements needed for being a mediator, what they want first and foremost is for the Palestinians and their leadership to kneel and for Israel to continue to impose facts on Palestinian land under the pretext that it was Jewish land. It also wants to replace international legitimacy with Israeli and American legitimacy and their decisions about the decades-long conflict in the region and in Palestine.
We should look carefully into what has been leaked in the Israeli press about this framework agreement which Secretary Kerry has been working on; recently, in Paris, the framework was proposed to Abbas, which bound him from his head to his feet. The ‘framework agreement’ which Netanyahu and Kerry want specify the capital to be in Jerusalem, allow for an Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley, for settlement blocs, how many is still uncertain, to remain, settlement expansion, no refugee return, etc. That is, they want to give the Israeli occupation everything, first and foremost changing international legitimacy and law into a new legitimacy which is the ‘framework agreement” between Palestinians and Israelis, under American auspices.
The Palestinians and their legitimate institutions accepted international legitimacy begrudgingly because they believed it would do them justice. However, international legitimacy has not brought them justice or fairness in site of decades of revolution waiting for this to happen.
President Abbas will meet with Obama in the second half of this month after the latter’s meeting with Netanyahu. This begs the question of why the American president is throwing his weight into this crisis at this particular moment. Does he think there is a considerable possibility for success? Or does he want to save his secretary of state and personally take responsibility? What could it be? Especially since he is intervening on these dates, that is before the end of the period allocated for Kerry’s mission and before the fourth batch of prisoners are slated for release after Kerry promised to have them released following decades in Israeli prisons.
March 29 is the scheduled date for the release of our prisoners, according to Kerry’s commitments to President Abbas. We should remember that the previous three batches of prisoners have been released with this fourth batch remaining, even though they are all prisoners and comrades in arms. They went to prison in defense of the cause and the people and they sacrificed their freedom for the freedom of their people.
This is what the martyrs said before they were killed and what all prisoners say before they are locked behind bars, because they reject anyone who tries to take advantage of their tragedies inside Israeli prisons at the expense of their people and their just cause.
They long for freedom more than anyone else and they want out of prison as soon as possible. But they refuse to compromise over their own plight of that of theirs and their people’s cause. They are prisoners of freedom, and that is their stance. (Al Quds)
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