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March 5, 2014
Daily summary - Wednesday, March 05, 2014
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Main News
LEADERSHP: CONDITIONS ARE REJECTED, THEIR GOAL IS TO FOIL AMERICAN EFFORTS;
NETANYAHU IN WASHINGTON: JEWISH STATE, NO RETURN OF REFUGEES, MILITARY PRESENCE IN JORDAN VALLEY; ISRAELI TERMS FOR PEACE AGREEMENT
The Palestinian leadership described the conditions announced by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday in Washington for signing a peace deal with the Palestinians, including recognition of the Jewish state and abandoning the ‘illusion of drowning Israel with refugees” as conditions aimed at wasting time and evading a just and comprehensive peace deal. They said Netanyahu had declared his clear rejection of all principles of peace and negotiations, adding that his conditions were unacceptable by the Palestinians and Arabs. Presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rdeineh also said that Netanyahu’s speech to AIPAC ‘brought nothing new.” He also said that Netanyahu’s goal in declaring these conditions was to foil American peace efforts and hinder the negotiations. He said the Palestinian position was clear in a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, adding that the Palestinian negotiators’ goal was to preserve the necessary and national interests of the people.
Fatah leader Nabil Shaath, meanwhile, called Netanyahu’s AIPAC speech as “an official and unilateral Israeli announcement of the end of negotiations.” He said Netanyahu’s statements were a ‘defiance’ of the American administration, adding that “If the American administration accepts this, -- which I don’t think it will – we will reject it.” (Al Quds)
ISRAELI TV: WHITE HOUSE TEAMS PREVENTED OBAMA FROM PRESSURING NETANYAHU
Israeli television stations confirmed last night that Israeli PM Netanyahu was not subjected to any pressures from the White House, saying the visit was in his favor and against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israeli analysts including veteran journalists who accompanied Netanyahu to Washington, said President Obama is preoccupied with the Ukrainian file and that the White House teams succeeded in convincing President Abbas that Netanyahu is a man of peace and had kept his promises to Secretary John Kerry, which prevented Obama from putting any pressure on him. Analyst Rafik Droker said the White house teams ‘had succeeded in creating a buffer that protected Netanyahu from pressure” adding that the Israelis took on an approach of complimenting the Americans and Kerry, which forced the White House to reciprocate the compliments. The analysts all agreed that Netanyahu now had a ‘clean slate’ at the White House and that he had abided by Kerry’s conditions and released prisoners, adding that the real pressure would be on President Abbas from now on, who would have to defend himself to Obama. (Al Ayyam)
EGYPTIAN COURT BANS HAMAS ACTIVITIES IN EGYPT
An Egyptian court ruled yesterday on a ban of all Hamas activities in Egypt, considering it a ‘terrorist organization”, also ordering all of its headquarters closed. Attorney Sameer Sabri, who filed the suit against Hamas, said Hamas has been established as a movement to resist the Israeli occupation, but had turned into a terrorist organization, pointing to the movement’s links with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Sabri charged Hamas with committing crimes in Egypt, including the storming of several Hamas members of the Egyptian border in 2008 and involvement of its members in the storming of Egyptian prisons during the uprising that ousted Husni Mubarak in 2011.
Hamas has repeatedly denied any connection to acts of violence in Egypt, saying the fact that the court even accepted to discuss the issue of Hamas as a terrorist organization was a blow to the Palestinian cause and ‘offered a free service to the Zionist occupation” which is looking to strike at Palestine, its people and the Arab and Islamic nations. Hamas politburo member Izzat Rishiq said the Egyptian decision fell in line with “Zionist agendas and Kerry’s plan” which is aimed at eradicating the Palestinian cause. According to head of Al jeel Party, Naji Shihabi, the verdict also necessitates that the Egyptian government expel Hamas representatives from the country and for the Egyptian foreign minister to inform world countries of its verdict (Al Quds)
HAMAS LEADER: ABU MARZOUQ IS IN CAIRO AND IS NOT PLANNING TO LEAVE
A Hamas leader denied reports in the Egyptian press saying deputy chief of Hamas’ politburo Mousa Abu Marzouq had left Egypt yesterday. The official told Quds Net yesterday that Abu Marzouq was still in his personal residence in Cairo, saying the reports were completely untrue. In reference to the Egyptian court verdict, the official called in ‘unfair’ calling on Egyptian parties tow intervene and reverse the decision (Al Quds)
PALESTINIAN OFFICIAL: AMERICA AND ISRAEL ARE PUTTING TREMENDOUS PRESSURE TO STRIP US OF ALL OUR STRONG CARDS
A Palestinian official well-informed on the negotiations and who asked to remain unnamed told France Presse yesterday that ‘things are progressing like a card game. There are American and Israeli attempts to strip the Palestinians of all their strong cards.” He said that until now, “America has not given us anything” adding that “all of their demands have been in the service of continuing the occupation and settlement expansion.” PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi said the Americans were putting pressure only on the Palestinians ‘as if they were the stronger party”, saying the Palestinians’ strength was in their weakness and in their position, which was based on international law and not on war. She said that America’s bias towards Israel had damaged its credibility in the peace process and given Israel more time to impose its occupation, saying she believed the US was looking for a framework agreement that would allow for negotiations to continue and not for a final solution. (Al Ayyam)
SHEIKH RAED SALAH SENTENCED TO EIGHT MONTHS IN JAIL ON INCITEMENT CHARGES
The Israeli magistrate court in Jerusalem issued a verdict yesterday, sentencing head of the Islamic movement inside the Green Line Sheikh Raed Salah to eight months in prison on charges of ‘inciting towards violence.” He was also given another eight months of probation. The verdict cited what it called the “Wadi Joz sermon” in 2007, which Salah made after Israeli authorities demolished the Moroccan Gate pathway. Following his sentencing, Sheikh Salah said he was ‘happy with the verdict” because it ‘exposed Israeli injustice” and indicated to the end of the occupation, adding that repeated arrests would not crush their determination to continue defending Al Aqsa and Jerusalem. (Al Ayyam)
WALEED BIN TALAL MAKES QUICK VISIT TO RAMALLAH, FOCUSES ON INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN PALESTINE
President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday that he had agreed with Amir Waleed Bin Talal on putting forth projects in support of the Palestinian people. President Abbas held a press conference with the Amir in Ramallah in which Bin Talal said his visit was in order to reaffirm the strategic alliance and cooperation with Palestine in the context of humanitarian and investment projects. He informed Abbas that he was prepared to support Palestine in anything that would ‘serve the people”. Deputy PM for economic affairs Mohammed Mustapha said Bin Talal’s visit was a success in discussing investment opportunities in Palestine, adding that he met with several Palestinian businessmen to discuss economic matters, especially supporting Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, government spokesperson Ihab Bseiso said Bin Talal had also given a grant of $4 million from his personal charitable society to establish small projects for poor families in Palestine. (Al Ayyam)
21 FAMILIES GIVEN EVICTION ORDERS IN JORDAN VALLEY UNDER PRETEXT OF MILITARY DRILLS
Yesterday evening Israeli occupation authorities handed 21 families in the Jordan Valley area of Wadi Bazeeq eviction orders for today under the pretext of holding military drills in the area. According to Wadi Bazeeq representative, Imad Hroub, the authorities raided the area and handed its residents the orders to evacuate their Bedouin abodes today from seven in the morning until four in the afternoon. (Al Ayyam)
ISRAELI SPECIAL FORCES ARREST A WANTED MEMBER OF THE QASSAM BRIGADES IN HEBRON
Israeli special forces arrested last night leader in Hamas’ Izzedin Qassam Brigades, Ayyoub Qawasmi, from his home in Hebron. Qawasmi, 40, has been wanted by Israeli authorities and has been on the run for 16 years. (Al Ayyam). The “university quarter’ of Hebron, where Qawasmi lives, was the scene of confrontations following the exposure of the undercover Israeli forces, which were tailed by Israeli army patrols. According to Hamas websites Qawasmi’s son Mussalam said his father had been released from Palestinian custody just 15 days earlier after serving a three-year sentence. He said the PA released his father after he went on hunger strike in protest of his arrest. (http://www.qudsnet.com/news/View/267610/)
JORDANIAN PARLIAMENTARIAN ACCUSES ISRAELI EMBASSY IN AMMAN OF ‘BARGIANING WITH PALESTINIANS’ OVER THEIR LAND
Jordanian parliamentarian Khalil Atiyeh accused the Israeli embassy in Amman of bargaining with Palestinian refugees in Jordan over the lands in Palestine. He said the embassy was conducting ‘real estate-like business” with Palestinian refugees. Atiyeh said he called on Jordanian Prime Minister Abdallah Al Nusur to uncover the truth behind this behavior from the Israeli ambassador and to explain the role of the government towards the use of the Israeli embassy for actions other than those allowed by law. He wanted to know if the foreign ministry had taken any steps to prevent the Israeli embassy from doing this. A government source said the government would open an investigation into the issue, saying that this matter “had political and security ramifications that would harm Jordan’s higher interests.” (Al Quds)
SHABAK: STABBING IN BETAH TIKVA CARRIED OUT IN REVENGE FOR ASSASSINATIN OF MUTAZ WASHAHA
The Israeli Shabak allowed yesterday for media outlets to publish details of the stabbing last Sunday on highway 4 near Betah Tikva east of Tel Aviv. According to the Shabak, the perpetrator was 28-year old Fadi Al Huda is from Nablus but lives in Birzeit town and is affiliated with the PFLP. They said he carried out the attack to revenge the Israeli army killing of Mutaz Washaha last Thursday. According to the Shabak, Huda entered Israel through a dirt road near the village of Za’aem east of Jerusalem. An orthodox Jewish man was moderately injured in the attack. According to Israel’s Channel 7, Israeli forces had arrested Fadi more than once for trying to enter Israel and remain their illegally, warning against workers who enter Israel without a permit. (http://www.qudsnet.com/news/View/267603/)
ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES ARREST 11 PALESTINIANS IN THE WEST BANK
Israeli occupation forces arrested 11 Palestinians today from various areas of the West Bank. Israeli authorities claimed all of the detainees were wanted by their security services, saying they had been sent to interrogation. Polytechnic university student Mujahed Qawasmi, 20 was arrested along with 14-year old Shahadeh Salaymeh from the old city of Hebron. Israeli forces also raided the village of Aneen west of Jenin. (http://safa.ps/details/news/123926.html)
FOUR FIREBOMBS THROWN AT AN ISRAELI CAR SOUTH OF NABLUS
Last night, an Israeli car was hit with four firebombs while travelling near the village of Beita, south of Nablus. According to Israeli public radio’s website, an Israeli military force stopped a Palestinian car in the area on suspicion that its driver was involved in the attack, adding that the incident did not result in any damages or injuries. (http://safa.ps/details/news/123923/4-.html)
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Headlines
*Jordanian government reneges on civil rights and moves towardsgranting privileges of children of Jordanian women married to foreigners (Al Quds)
*America not approving entry visas to Israeli military and intelligence men and Israeli military industries men (Al Quds)
*Health conditions deteriorate in a number of prisoners in Eshel prison; Egyptian prisoners with cancer awaiting treatment (Al Quds)
*Zahhar: Egypt has forfeited its role in sponsoring the reconciliation (Al Ayyam)
*Netanyahu in Washington stresses on the Jewish state and attacks BDS (Al Ayyam)
*Government: Waleed Bin Talal’s visit aimed at offering aid for poor families (Al Ayyam)
*Beit Hanoun: funerals of martyrs from Israeli raid (Al Ayyam)
*Occupation closes the Ramallah-Jalazon road with cement blocs (Al Ayyam)
*Israel: draft law to impose breaking hunger strike of prisoners through force feeding (Al Ayyam)
*Woman stabbed to death by her husband in Ramallah (Al Ayyam)
*Education ministry begins accepting employment applications for teachers and counselors (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Sisi: I cannot ignore calls to run for president (Al Ayyam)
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Front Page Photos
Al- Quds:Ramallah: President Mahmoud Abbas gives Amir Waleed Bin Talal medal of honor yesterday
Al-Ayyam: Ramallah: President Abbas receives Amir Waleed Bin Talal in his headquarters; 2) Beit Hanoun: Relatives of martyr Musab Za’aneen during his funeral; Abdel Fattah Sisi
Al Hayat Al Jadida:.1) Cement blocs at entrance to Al Bireh closes Nablus road; 2) President Abbas receives Amir Waleed Bin Talal
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Voice of Palestine News
Gaza:
Occupation warships fired today morning on fisher boats before Al-Sodaneyah area, North West of Gaza city, and damaged some fisher boats without reporting any injuries of fishermen who were forced to leave the sea.
With regards to the Rafah crossing, it is closed now for more than a month, even for humanitarian cases, like students, patients and those with foreign nationalities. Thousands of citizens checked for traveling, demand that Egyptian authorities to re-open the crossing as soon as possible.
Q: With regards to the fuel crisis?
The power authorities in Gaza announced that the remaining fuel of the Qatari grant will be finished in 7 days, after this the crisis will hit Gaza again, they warned from not providing the Strip with fuel after 7 days.
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Voice of Palestine Interviews
** Qadoura Faris, President of the Prisoners’ Club, on the Prisoners’ hunger strike.
Q: What is new regarding the striking and patient prisoners?
Strikers are in a very dangerous situation due to continuing the strike, and the threats that they will be injected with replacements of food, some striking prisoners bled in the last days at “Kaplan” hospital, their bodies are not able to handle the situation anymore, and can’t absorb any liquids. With regards to eth patient prisoners if they don’t receive treatment their situation will only worsen.
Q: How do you use reports from lawyers to protect the prisoners’ issues?
We think that prisoners should be released in order to receive treatment, when we present their situation this adds more credibility of the Palestinian official political demand in the rights of these prisoners to be released and receive treatment, and it a refutation of the Israeli narrative that those prisoners are a serious security threat to Israel. I would say also that those prisoners should be released and then travel abroad for treatment. These reports also help in imposing more pressure on Israel.
Q: There are calls by the families of prisoners to activate popular participation do you have any plan for this?
You will see in the coming weeks more activation of popular participation in events related to prisoners.
Q: at the beginning of the negotiations a committee for prisoners’ affairs was formed, you were part of this committee, why this committee did not meet even once?
I don’t know, we only meet Dr. Saeb Erekat, and Israeli committee was supposed to be formed also but it was not formed at any stage, seems like the halt on negotiations is the reason for not holding nay meetings, the Israeli are not serious in discussing any issue in these negotiations.
** Aeref Daraghmeh, Head of Village Council Al-Maleh, on handing over 22 families in Wadi Bzieq (northern Jordan Valley) with evacuation notices.
Q: seems like it became a routine, where these notices are being handed over every Wednesday?
This year is full of deporting resident of their houses and tents in the Jordan Valley, for military exercise, these families were handed evacuation notices three times only during this month, or they will be forced out of the area, the army now is leaving its military base and settlements and hold military exercises in areas inhibited by these citizens.
Q: With regards to the popular campaign to confront this, is there anything new?
I’m afraid that these campaigns does not exist in eth Jordan valley, we issued a lot of letters to officials and popular campaign activists saying that this area is the food basket of Palestinians, we want these campaign to be here with us and support us, but this is not happening.
Q: What is the reason for this?
I don’t know, we asked them more than once but without any success.
Q: two days ago you called for issuing law suits against the occupation.
We have a huge archive of Israeli violations after 1967, like seizing lands, demolition and more, we hope that we will start with this next week.
** Dr. Hana Ashrawi, member of the PLO Executive Committee, on Netanyahu’s speech at AIPAC and the peace process.
Q: What do you think about Netanyahu’s speech at AIPAC?
I see another attempt to maneuver and public relations, in addition to put more obstacles facing Kerry’s efforts and reaching an agreement, in his speech he wanted to reconfirm the conditions that will prevent us from reaching an agreement, especially the issue of the Jewish state where he used it as the main issue in his speech, since as he said this would show a Palestinian commitment to the solution. Netanyahu knows this an impossible condition, and an ideological dimension, he wants to impose his Zionist ideology on us, and give up our ideology and rights.
Q: Kerry had a similar position during his Speech to IPAC when he said that a framework agreement will be signed including a Jewish state, and that there will not be any agreement without a Jewish state, how can we face this American Israeli agreement on the issue?
This is unacceptable, when the United States adopts such opposition, this means they are adopting positions that are contradictory with its own constitution which is against discrimination, and separates religion from the state, so how it accepts for Israel what it does not accept for the United States, this is as if we say the US is a state for Christians or whites etc… this is going very far with satisfying Israel and in an attempt to fulfill all Israeli conditions in the peace process, Kerry knows this is unacceptable and he shouldn’t repeat this at all.
Q: Aren’t you afraid this agreement will be the reason for holding the Palestinians side responsible for the failure of the negotiations?
It is an attempt f Netanyahu to put impossible conditions and its adoption by the US, I think this does not serve the peace process and the US positions, especially since Kerry wants to say that he is different, and he is very involved in the process, such demands should be included in any political agreement since these are ideologies and they shouldn’t be included in any political or legal agreements.
Q: During the meeting with Netanyahu, Obama called on Netanyahu to do more for peace and warned him of the isolation, some saw this as a pressure form Obama, at the same time we heard what Kerry said in his speech, is there a gap between the American Foreign Ministry and Presidency?
Not at all, Obama was the first who spoke of the Jewish State saying he will protect Israel as a Jewish state, this became an American discourse, not difference between the Foreign Ministry and the white House in this regards, as for the boycott and isolation Kerry and Obama said the same trying to make Netanyahu understand that peace is in the interest of Israel, and if this will not happen even the United State will not be able to protect Israel forever.
Q: President Abbas is supposed to meet Obama on eth 17th, what American pressures you expect in order for the leadership to accept the framework agreement?
I don’t envy the President for this visit to US, we are aware of the huge pressures imposed against the leadership to accept what is un acceptable, we cannot judge, but all indicators don’t show accepting any of the Palestinians rights and demands, we did not demand anything other than international law, and we have to face these pressures, and work the Arab world and the international community to face these pressures.
Q: In the case of failure of the negotiations there are three scenarios: 1) Extending the negotiations, 2) international conference, and 3) approaching international organizations, what is the most possible scenario for the Palestinian leadership?
I think that approaching international organizations is a right it is not a threat or punishment for anyone, even if the negotiations succeeded we need to approach the UN, we have to be part of international community and protect our rights and lands according to international law and conventions, so I don’t view this a result of failure of the negotiations. With regards to the international conference, this is a very basic issue that is now being presented, since the American sole sponsorship of the peace process resulted in this error in the current policy, especially since the US is a strategic ally of Israel, so we need to prepare for this conference. Extending negotiations will be only to fulfill the Israeli demand, which is negotiations for the sake of negotiations, and earning more time in order to continue imposing new facts on the ground. I think extension of the negotiations should happen only if we reach an agreement and we need time to implement it, and this is what President Abbas said.
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More Headlines
Israeli army targets cell near the Golan fence
The Israeli army announced this morning that it had targeted a military cell near the security fence north of the occupied Golan Heights, accusing it of trying to place explosive devices in the area. Israeli military sources say Hizbullah is most likely to have sent the cell, which it said had sustained injuries, but confirmed that no Israeli soldiers had been hurt. The sources said the army fired several shells and bullets at the cell, saying the incident were ‘unordinary’ for the area. (http://safa.ps/details/news/123929.html)
United States rejecting entry visas for Israeli officers and agents
According to the Israeli daily Maariv which quoted Israeli security sources, US authorities are refusing to grant entry visas to Israeli army officers, intelligence agents and security industry officials. The newspaper said dozens of security figures had been refused visas, which was now the subject of closed sessions. According to the newspaper, the Israeli security establishment has no explanation as to why this is happening, with hundreds of security industry men complaining over the past years that the US has refused to grant them entry visas into the US or that they were only given a visa for a short period. Some possible explanations, according to Maariv is that the Americans are implementing an unofficial policy against Israeli security industries since they are strong competition for American ones, while another is that the US fears industrial espionage in its country (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
Woman stabbed to death by her husband in Ramallah
Yesterday, a 36-year old woman was stabbed to death with a sharp object in her apartment in the center of Ramallah. Police have opened an investigation into the crime, with her husband as the prime suspect; he is now in custody. According to local sources, the husband is a lawyer and carries a Jerusalem ID. Apparently he and his wife got into an argument before he struck her with the sharp object. Sources say he was also intoxicated. They also said the couple were newlyweds and had only been married a few months. (Al Ayyam)
Bedouin home demolitions in the Negev
Israeli army bulldozers backed by Israeli police are currently demolishing the unrecognized village of Za’roura in the Negev. According to Mohammed Abu Joudah, Israeli troops raided Za’roura and are now demolishing the home of the Farawneh family. The demolitions were still underway at press time. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=678813)
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Arab Press
Obama’s harsh advice to Netanyahu
By Hasan Abu Nimah
Just a day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due in Washington to meet US President Barack Obama at the White House, Monday, every concerned observer was stunned by the content of the president’s interview with Geoffrey Goldberg of the Bloomberg View.
The president’s words were unprecedented in their candor, openness and even harshness, but objectively every word he said was correct and in Israel’s vital interest.
And yet, David Horowitz (The Times of Israel, March, 3) described the president’s statements as earth-shattering, saying that they “constituted a brutal political assault” on the Israeli PM before he had arrived.
Obama used the strongest language in criticizing Netanyahu’s ongoing settlement policy, blaming the Israeli PM for attempting to maintain “a chronic situation” as regards the Palestinians.
Obama emphasized the fact that time was running out for Israel to achieve a peace deal, stressing his belief that Netanyahu has the capacity to rally the Israelis behind an agreement. But if the Israeli leader “does not believe that a peace deal with the Palestinians is the right thing to do for Israel, then he needs to articulate an alternative approach”, said Obama.
The US president’s emphasis on the issue of Israeli settlement activity was well beyond the usual, apparently letting out in one go years of frustration with Netanyahu’s obstinate arrogance on this disturbing matter.
The president unequivocally stressed that the settlement construction in the West Bank, across the Green Line, is counterproductive and would make it extremely difficult for the US to defend Israel from painful repercussions in the international community. This may sound more like a threat than a cordial warning in Israel, but it is the reality.
“If you see no peace deal and continued aggressive settlement construction — and we have seen more aggressive settlement construction over the last couple years than we’ve seen in a very long time — if Palestinians come to believe that the possibility of a contiguous sovereign Palestinian state is no longer within reach, then our ability to manage the international fallout is going to be limited,” Obama said, adding a number of stinging questions: “Do you resign yourself to what amounts to a permanent occupation of the West Bank? .... Is that the character of Israel as a state for a long period of time? Do you perpetuate, over the course of a decade or two decades, more and more restrictive policies in terms of Palestinian movement? Do you place restrictions on Arab Israelis in ways that run counter to Israel’s traditions?”
According to what we know, the tradition of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is that while talking, each side takes every possible precaution to avoid being blamed for the failure of the talks.
As a way of applying pressure on the problematic side, the US, the main patron of the current talks, did indeed threaten to identify the side responsible for any possible failure if that is the inevitable outcome of the negotiations.
But traditionally also, Israel would hardly be blamed. If there is deadlock, both sides are normally reprehended. Never Israel on its own, as we see with much astonishment every time.
Singling out Israel for responsibility in advance for the possible breakdown of the Kerry mission is certainly troubling enough from the point of view of Israel and its many US supporters, particularly when that comes on the eve of the annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a festival of prodigious support for Israel from countless American political leaders and others.
What is worse, though, is the US president’s praise for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Abbas “has proven himself to be somebody who has been committed to nonviolence and diplomatic efforts to resolve” the conflict, President Obama said, adding: “We do not know what a successor to Abbas will look like.”
When the president was asked whether he felt that the PA leader was sincere about his willingness to recognize Israel and its right to exist, he replied in the affirmative.
Obama was extremely generous in describing Abbas as possessing “a rare quality not just within the Palestinian territories, but in the Middle East generally…. [F]or us not to seize that opportunity would be a mistake.”
Obama’s emphasis that it is time for tough decisions for Israel could not be missed in this important interview.
But let us make no mistake. The US president is not expect to adopt the Palestinian position on the other final status issues (Jerusalem, the right of return, borders and, most seriously, the Israeli demand that Israel be recognized as the home of the Jewish people) in its entirety.
The president addressed one issue: the settlements. He did not even ask for the removal of the existing illegal settlements that already encircle Jerusalem and cover most of the West Bank. All he did was to strongly condemn Israeli insistence on continued expansion.
Obviously the Obama-Netanyahu meeting, which was to be followed by a follow up meeting with President Abbas, was not expected to be easy. Apparently Obama wanted to step in directly in support of Secretary of State John Kerry to rescue his faltering peace mission. Kerry’s problem was more on the Israeli side.
In anticipation of that, and according to Horowitz, Netanyahu was hoping to avoid confrontation by accepting Kerry’s framework as a non-binding basis for further negotiations.
“And he must have had little hope that he was going to shift Obama’s stance on Iran, however powerful he believes his arguments to be. So not much point in confrontation there, either,” Horowitz added.
It looks like the US president’s tolerance for Netanyahu’s tricks, futile political games, blatant intransigence and the constant claim that security should justify all Israeli illegal behavior has reached the limit. He had to put up with heaps of that over the past few years but now, it seems, enough is enough.
Obama is not turning his back to Israel. All he is saying is what many have been saying for decades: Israel cannot be an occupier forever; cannot live outside the terms of international law; cannot cancel the rights of the Palestinian people; cannot let its territorial greed, at the expense of the legal rights of the Palestinian people, loose forever and at the same time expect protection and support.
Obama is simply sending the Israelis an overdue wake up call.
The Palestinians have been often mocked for “not missing an opportunity for missing an opportunity”, mostly by Israeli leaders.
The truth is that this applies solely to Israel.(http://jordantimes.com/obamas-harsh-advice-to-netanyahu)
Creative Gazans develop new crafts to cope with siege
By Asmaa al-Ghoul
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — in times of crises and hopelessness, people search for the smallest things to make life livable. Mohammed al-Zomar, Hassan Saad and Ahmed al-Arouqi each took an idea and defeated despair using light, water and colors.
In his small open-air studio in the rear courtyard of his house, Zomar, 32, takes pride in ammunition left over from the 2008-2009 war. This is not because he is a former soldier or a member of the resistance, but because he paints and writes on the old ammunition.
"After the end of Operation Cast Lead, I came up with the idea of convincing people to give me the old bombs that they were keeping as souvenirs. In 2010, I began painting on these pieces of ammunition," Zomar, who did not complete his high school education, told Al-Monitor.
Within the walls of the studio, an old bomb weighing 60 kilograms (132 pounds) leans against a tree, written upon it are lines from Mahmoud Darwish's poems: "Seed grains die, only to fill the valley with stalks." There are also pieces of shrapnel that he couldn’t mold, so he left them as they are and wrote upon them: "So leave our land … our shore … our sea." He has transformed the remnants of another bomb into a flower pot, which had been painted red for Valentine's Day. As for the discarded bullets, he has placed them on a wooden musical scale along with clefs, calling it the "Symphony of Survival."
All of the elements he places on the ammunition — plants, colors, lines of poetry and colorful ribbons — contradict with death and transform the work into a synthetic art "installation."
"I transformed death into life. I had always wondered why people keep these criminal instruments that killed their loved ones. I discovered that they think of them as they would a deceased person's shirt or bag. In one way or another, it reminds them of the person they have lost," said Zomar.
According to Zomar, each bomb fired by the Israeli army has a story. One bomb in his studio had killed his neighbors in the nearby popular market, while another had hit a house and killed the inhabitants. As for the large bullet, it was fired at a mosque by Israeli military aircraft. These are tales of bombs that have been transformed into stories of love and joy in Zomar's studio, in the middle of the Bureij refugee camp.
Hassan Saad and lights
Sometimes you only need 30 seconds to decide to carry out an idea that previously seemed crazy. This is what Saad did, when he saw that the street outside his home in the Shajaia neighborhood of eastern Gaza City was shrouded in darkness. Saad, 39, realized that the street was not illuminated most of the time, not only because of the electricity cuts that lasted more than eight hours a day but also because there were no streetlights in the first place. Thus, he decided spontaneously to light the place without electricity.
"I started implementing the idea last December, when I saw an electrician transform an old car battery into an electric generator. So I lift my home with car lights that each use less than one watt," said Saad.
Saad collected 11 old batteries that were not suitable for cars, through donations and purchases made at the scrap yard. He lit 800 lida, or car lights, along the entire street that stretches 550 meters (180.5 feet) in length, making it the only street in the region that is illuminated during electricity cuts.
On Saad's street, all of the lights are small and look alike, as if they are illuminated for a special occasion. Thus, one can easily deduce which street Saad lives on. There are no utility poles, but only lights every four meters (13 feet). The local youth, most of whom are unemployed, sit under the lights.
"For the first two months after launching the project, I couldn't sleep due to happiness and constantly welcoming well-wishers. Everyone was overjoyed with this project, especially after the tunnels were destroyed and fuel prices increased. People no longer could use generators [due to the difficulty of obtaining fuel], so residents — particularly the poor — began asking if they could light their homes in a similar manner. I lit 50 homes without taking anything in return," Saad added.
Saad seemed to be very busy throughout the duration of his talk with Al-Monitor. From time to time, he would get a telephone call about a light that was not working, so he would get up and look at the batteries and wires to determine the cause of the problem. He is assisted by most of the youth from the neighborhood.
One such youth, Mustafa Hamdia, 18, said, "We no longer use candles at all. Saad has changed our lives and illuminated them. We can now use electric lights, and in emergencies we can charge mobile phones and operate Internet routers."
Saad has not received support from any official body, only from some citizens who have donated. He calls his project the "National Unity Project for Charitable Lights," because when he lit the homes he did not differentiate based on the political affiliation of the homeowners. "I consider it a message to the West Bank and Gaza governments to have mercy on the people and reconcile, so that electricity will return to us. Only then will my charitable project come to an end," he added.
Ahmed’s "delivery" car wash
Not far from the colors and lights, we find Ahmed al-Arouqi, 27, who is studying for a master's degree in accounting. Arouqi tried to think of a new project that would be compatible with the nature of the blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has been increasing since July. He did not want to open a restaurant, a cafe or an accounting office, given that there are many such projects in the Gaza Strip.
"By coincidence, I read a story online about a portable car wash, so I traveled to Egypt and searched for one. I was finally able to bring one to Gaza, and this project cost me more than $10,000," Arouqi told Al-Monitor.
When the car wash arrived in the Gaza Strip, Arouqi placed it in a specially designed car and wrote an announcement reading “Delivery car wash,” or in vernacular, “Don’t come to us … We’ll come to you.” Arouqi worked on this project with his younger brother Khaled and a friend who helps them.
"At first, we thought about how to market this idea. One night last October, we parked in front of the Mister Baker Restaurant and washed one of the cars. People began to crowd around and asked us to wash their cars. That day, we washed cars until 3 a.m. Afterward, we printed business cards that we distributed and opened a page for the car wash on Facebook," noted Arouqi.
In less than 45 minutes, Khaled and Ahmed can clean a car inside and out, with a steam cleaner that uses only a few liters of water. "We consider our customers to be friends, and we welcome any comments on our work, so that we can develop the process. Some object to the price, since we charge $10 per car while normal car washes only charge $5," Arouqi said, noting that they travel to the customer, wherever he or she is located — that is, they are using gasoline, effort and money to get there.
Arouqi hopes to develop his idea by buying a more modern machine and providing his services to customers as they eat in popular cafes and restaurants in the Gaza Strip. He explained that his love for cars is what motivated him to think about starting a car wash business.
The intensification of the siege has spawned creativity in the most unlikely of places, as citizens seek outlets in an attempt to adapt to the crisis. In addition to these projects, there are people extracting gas from water, unemployed doctors who provide delivery medical services and other unsung heroes whom the media have yet to report on.(http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/03/art-craft-gaza-siege-israel-hamas-palestine.html)
Holding together Gaza's fragile ceasefire
By Nigel O'Connor
Leaders of armed group in Gaza doubtful whether current truce will last, as rocket fire draws retaliation from Israel.
Gaza City - Night's darkness is broken by a waiting car's headlights on the southern outskirts of Gaza City. A motorcycle appears, and both vehicles travel off-road, their headlights now switched off. The presence of an Israeli aircraft overhead makes the drivers more cautious. They wait half an hour before proceeding to their destination.
Around 20 men, masked and wearing military fatigues, await their arrival. Vegetation hides holes covered with wood. Removing the covers, the men reveal caches of Grad rockets and proudly display their arsenal of rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles.
They are members of the Al Nasser Salah Al Din Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC). In an interview with Al Jazeera, the Brigades' leader, identifying himself as Abu Sayyaf, expressed uncertainty about the current ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's factions.
"Nobody knows what will happen," he said. "Maybe war is coming tomorrow, or maybe a ceasefire. Nobody knows, but we are ready for anything."
Mahmoud, Abu Sayyaf's assistant and number three in the Brigades, is also in attendance and explains the process of ensuring agreement between the various groups within the Gaza Strip. "The ceasefires have rules and we meet with Hamas and make agreements," he said. "If the ceasefire is good for the Palestinian people we respect it, but if it's not, then we will find another solution. When the situation needs something, we will do it. We are always getting ready for the next day."
More rockets launched
The current ceasefire, which ended Palestinian rocket fire and Israel's eight-day bombardment under Operation Pillar of Cloud in November 2012, was brokered by Egypt - then led by Mohamed Morsi.
Recently, the ceasefire appears to be fraying, with the Israeli military and Palestinian armed groups engaged in missile fire and retaliatory strikes.
On February 4, Hamas fighters tasked with enforcing the ceasefire abandoned their positions along the border in protest against an Israeli airstrike on their position. A week later they took up their positions again, as Israel maintained it would continue to hold Hamas accountable for any security threats emanating from Gaza. The force was created in July and sourced from members of Hamas' armed wing, the Izz ad-Din Qassam Brigades.
While Abu Sayyaf claims his fighters are respecting the ceasefire, the Salah Al Din Brigades were reportedly responsible for firing two rockets into Israel on February 14. The attack came after a man was shot dead near the Israeli border while he collected gravel in the Israeli-imposed buffer zone.
The previous week, Abdallah Kharti, alleged by Israel to be a PRC member and involved in rocket launches, was injured in a targeted strike while travelling on a motorcycle, sparking further retaliatory rocket fire from Gaza.
"It's not up to Hamas to say we cannot fire rockets, but if we make an agreement and someone from outside the quorum launches rockets, sometimes it's someone doing it for business - or it's a spy who wants to make trouble," Abu Sayyaf claimed.
Following a relatively quiet 2013, more than 40 rockets have been fired from Gaza since the beginning of this year, according to the Israeli military.
In January, during the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of further escalation and punitive strikes on Hamas. "If Hamas and the rest of the terror organisation have forgotten their lesson, they will be reminded very soon," he said.
Yuval Steinitz, the Israeli intelligence minister, went further on February 1, and threatened an Israeli invasion of Gaza. "If the drip of rockets from Gaza continues, we will have no choice but to go inside in order to eliminate Hamas and allow the Palestinian Authority to regain control of the Gaza Strip," he cautioned.
Israel: Hamas is responsible
Lieutenant Peter Lerner, a spokesperson for the IDF, told Al Jazeera that Israel recognizes the threat to the ceasefire posed by smaller factions - but ultimately considers Hamas, as Gaza's ruling authority, responsible for all attacks emanating from the coastal enclave.
"These groups [like the Salah Al Din Brigades] have the potential to cause death and destruction, but overall we see the situation in Gaza as the responsibility of the Gazan authorities and that is Hamas," he said. "They are challenging the ceasefire and internal strife is keeping the Hamas authorities busy, but our job is to safeguard the border and to respond to security threats. At this time the majority of rockets fired are not from Hamas, but by these types of offshoot groups. They pose a threat but don't have a huge arsenal."
With Gaza's Hamas rulers isolated following the overthrow of Morsi in Egypt and the participation of Hamas' Palestinian rival Fatah in negotiations with Israel, conditions are becoming tougher in Gaza. Amid the continuing Israeli blockade, Egypt's new military-backed government has begun destruction of the network of tunnels that once supplied Gaza with building materials, groceries and weapons. Shortages of fuel, electricity and basic goods are affecting everyday life but Abu Sayyaf is adamant that "militarily we are fine, and nothing has changed".
As US Secretary of State John Kerry continues his diplomatic effort to achieve a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Abu Sayyaf said he would not recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza and would fight until Palestine reached from "river to sea" - the Jordan to the Mediterranean - even if it meant fighting against any Palestinian government emerging from negotiations.
"Abu Mazen [President Mahmoud Abbas] is the boss, and he might talk about selling Palestine - but you can't sell Palestine," he said. "Our problem isn't with the Jewish people. We will live with Christians and Jews. All of us are Palestinians, but people are coming from outside to take my land."
"Abu Mazen is crazy," Mahmoud added, shaking his head.
'We focus on the enemy: Israel'
Israel claims the PRC has links with Iran and Hezbollah and is funded, trained and equipped by Hamas. Abu Sayyaf said his men are not interested in domestic politics, only in the group's ultimate aims.
I've taught my seven-year-old son to use a gun and taught him everything about the fight.
- Abu Sayyaf, leader of the Al Nasser Salah Al Din Brigades
"After all the problems between Fatah and Hamas, and the groups in Gaza, we needed the strong people who care about the people, Gaza and the land," he said. "We stay far away from the problems between Hamas and Fatah and focus on the enemy: Israel."
The continuing hostilities between Israel and Gaza's factions place civilians on both sides in the firing line. Mahmoud did not answer clearly when asked whether Israeli civilians were considered legitimate targets.
"We try our best to shoot at the military bases, but if you want to compare us and Israel, Israel attacks children, homes and civilians," he said. "When we started the fight with Israel we used a knife and they used F-16s, so now we have much better guns to fight for our country. And people are not stupid. They know what we do here and for what."
Abu Sayyaf described the motives behind their actions as something fundamental to be passed between generations rather than a mere political act.
"I've taught my seven-year-old son to use a gun and taught him everything about the fight," he said. "My father taught me about Palestine and freedom, and I do the same for my son. You have to fight for your country and live a good life."(http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/03/holding-together-gaza-fragile-ceasefire-201432131220834335.html)
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Opinions
Is Hamas committing suicide..!!
By Akram Sourani
I disagree with Hamas, and consider it a resistance movement, despite any reservations; I think that despite the sacrifices it provided, it committed – and still commits - sins against the Palestinian national project, if such a thing still exists.
I believe it deviated from the Palestinian national line to the Brotherhood "tribe" by virtue of its establishment, history and reference, still this does not exempt it from thisaccusation.
Despite all that I say, Hamas is a Palestinian movement and not a terrorist organization, Hamas is demanded with a comprehensive strategy review to re-evaluate its relations, intellectual path and its national well-being, on the bases of reading the scene and reading itself and its future, before it is too late or perhaps before taking the suicide decision..!!(http://amin.org/articles.php?t=opinion&id=23460)
Confrontation before it’s too late
Al-Khaleej Editorial
Official and non-official Arab voices are being heard, in addition to the media, demanding a position against terrorism that turned into a killer virus in Arab countries, which is spreading like wildfire, dressed up like if it’s Islam, claiming to own the truth, understanding the meaning of religion, but in fact it exercises the worst fraud and misrepresentation of Islam.
These sounds demand what is beyond denunciations and condemnations. It calls for a clear and decisive position from everyone, without playing around, since terrorism is one thing with multiple names, it is the same terrorism that hits Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia and Yemen, Libya, Somalia and other Arab countries.
It is wrong to consider what is happening in one Arab state terrorism, and what is happening in another Arab state as not being terrorism. All drinks from one spring, which is terrorist Takfere thought that is threatening everyone, because it is based on an absolute rejection of the state, institutions, society and the nation, in addition to rejecting cultural, religious and political diversity, so it acts to destroy these of all possible instruments of terror by killing, bombing, destruction and sabotage, massacred and violation of sanctities and sanctuaries.
Therefore, calls to confront terrorism should not stop at statements, but must move into action as soon as possible by calling for a conference through the Arab League or the Organization of the Islamic Conference, or through the largest and most influential Islamic reference represented in Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, involving all Muslim and Arab countries to develop a plan for confrontation, with the participation of States and spiritual and temporal references, at the various levels of security, religion, cultural and social, which should be in the form of a clear strategy to eradicate this scourge before it becomes out of control.
International and regional powers aspiring in our land and our states, and storm into the void left by the Arab absenceuse terrorism as a pretext for more intervention... They will not hesitate to use the terrorism "Trojan horse", as long as terrorism in all its manifestations and practices achieve the objectives of all the enemies of our nation. (Al-Khaleej)
Withdrawal from the occupied territories is not an Israeli concession
Al-Quds Editorial
The Israeli chorus repeated since the start of the so-called peace process two decades and half ago is that Israel "will make painful concessions" to reach a settlement with the Palestinian side. As if the occupied Palestinian territories had become a property of Israel after the 1967 war. This is not in accordance with international law and the concepts of peoples’rights in this era, the era of freedoms, the right to self-determination and rejection of other peoples' land grabbing by force of arms.
All international laws and conventions reject the occupation and do not recognize it as a means of enforcing illusive rights or expansive claims without any right or justice bases. The United Nations and its supportive major powers condemns and sometimes even use forcein the case of the takeover of a state on the territory of another state, and restore normalcy and return the occupied land to its people.
Examples of this are many, including east Timor, Kosovo and Kuwait.
Perhaps the position of western countries in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula these days is an implementationof the established international legal norms, where western countries rejects the presence of Russian troops in Crimea, where the majority of the population are Russians, and they insist on the withdrawal of Russian troops out of respect for the sovereignty of Ukraine.
The Palestinian territories are not measured out of this general context. The Israeli forces occupied the West Bank including east Jerusalem and Gaza by military force, so their presence on this territory contradicts all international laws and norms. And there is no credibility in the Israeli claim of it being disputed lands.
The whole world sees the truth, the truth that the Israeli army imposes this occupation despite the will of the Palestinians, and not only this, but also violates international law through transferring residents of the occupying power of settlers to the Palestinian territories and create false facts, fancying it covers on the absolute Palestinian right to independence and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank.
It is the right of Palestinian people to claim compensation for their suffering and the denial of their basic rights, drainingits water and mineral riches and the suffering three generations of Palestinians under Israeli occupation nightmare, and its oppressive practices for more than forty-six years.
According to this, observers can be surprised of the term "difficult decisions" that Netanyahu should take through the negotiations with the Palestinians. A term used by US President Barack Obama in a statement Tuesday. The occupation, no matter for how long, does not give rights to the occupier, and does not make the occupier provide any kind of concessions for the people who suffered from harsh occupation and settlement, and the international community should not deal with it on an equal bases with the Palestinians, who has the right to independence, freedom and the enjoyment of human and political rights, enjoyed by all peoples of the world.
The Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories is not a concession on the part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but is due to be fulfilled if the so-called peace process is to be realized, and this troubled region of the world to calm down and settle down.(Al-Quds)
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