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March 18, 2014
Daily summary - Monday, March 18, 2014
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Main News
Abbas-Obama meeting… the demands and answers
According to Israel's channel 10 TV, the meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and President Barack Obama was held, adding that President Abbas refused during the beginning of the meeting with Obama to extend the negotiations, saying that "time is short and there is no room for more maneuvers, especially that we are living in the Middle East, in very difficult conditions, and we hope to use this opportunity to reach peace." The channel quoted sources at the White House as saying that President Abbas asked for the release of Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti and Secretary General of PFLP leader Ahmed Saadat and Fouad Shobaki, who is accused in the "Karine A" ship, and hundreds of other prisoners before talking about any extension of the negotiations, otherwise the next Palestinian step will be going to United Nations’ organizations and launching a diplomatic war against Israel. The channel said that President Abbas said at the White House ahead of his talks with Obama: "there is no agreement between us and the Israelis through Minister Kerry on the issue of prisoners, and hopefully the release of the fourth batch in March will be implemented, this will give an impression of seriousness of our endeavors to achieve peace."The channel added that "John Kerry has a lot of work and visits to the region and that thing are not easy, and that Abu Mazen refused in front of Obama to recognize a Jewish State of Israel and rejected Netanyahu's demands.(http://www.qudsn.ps/article/39588)
President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Monday at a joint news conference with US President Barack Obama at the White House that the Palestinians would welcome a solution in the Middle East leading to the creation of a Palestinian State based on the 1967 borders. Abbas said he hopes that Israel will release the last group of Palestinian prisoners by the end of March according to the agreement.(http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/494258)
US President Barack Obama said during the meeting: "I think everyone realizes the outlines of what will look like a peace agreement involving regional concessions on both sides on the basis of the 1967 lines with agreed land exchange, which would guarantee Israel’s security but it also ensures that a Palestinian sovereign state through which they can achieve the Palestinian people aspirations.” It was noted that President Obama did not used the term "Jewish State of Israel",even once, in his lengthy speech at the outset of his meeting with President Abbas.(Al-Ayyam)
Ashton announces the EU's opposition to boycott Israel
EU Foreign Minister, Catherine Ashton, announced at the end of a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels that the EU opposes the boycott of Israel.Ashton said at a press conference: "the EU opposed the boycott of Israeli companies. We don't want to see Israel isolated.” Ashton’s statements come with mounting international campaigns calling for a boycott of Israeli products.(Al-Quds)
Shaath said: we are discussing recognizing "the Jewish State of Israel" at the end of negotiations
Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Shaath said that Palestinians will be ready to consider the question of recognizing Israel as a Jewish state the end of the negotiations, following the resolution of other contentious issues and after receiving the necessary clarifications.Shaath said in an interview to the correspondent of the voice of Israel in Hebrew, this demand by Israel in this particular time raises doubts about whether Israel intends to thwart any possibility of reaching a peace agreement.(http://www.amad.ps/ar/?Action=Details&ID=18511)
Occupation makes the authority choose between releasing prisoners and extending negotiations
A senior Israeli political source told reporters in Jerusalem that Israel will reconsider releasing the fourth and final batch of Palestinian prisoners if the talks with the Palestinians will reach a deadlock.Israeli radio quoted today morning the source as saying: "it is in the interest of both parties to extend the talks for another year even if no agreement is reached on the document prepared by US Secretary of State John Kerry."The source confirmed that "the issue of recognition of Israel as a state of the Jewish people is a core issue."(http://safa.ps/details/news/124777/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%8A%D8%AE%D9%8A%D9%91%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A5%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%89-%D9%88%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%AA.html)
Abu Rudeina: Obama did not present a "framework agreement" to Abu Mazen
Spokesman of the Palestinian Presidency Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP that US President Barack Obama did not present a "framework agreement" at a meeting yesterday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House.Abu Rudeina said in a telephone interview from Washington, where he is accompanying Abbas: "President Obama did not formally present a framework agreement to President Abbas."But Abu Rudeina said “Obama and the US side presented various ideas on the Palestinian side and President Abbas,” pointing out that "the meetings will continue in the coming weeks.” (http://qudsnet.com/news/View/268956/%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%88-%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7-%D9%84%D9%85-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%B6-%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%88-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%86/)
Abbas puts plan in embassies to address the breakdown of negotiations and appoints Shobaki succeeding Al-Farra in Egypt
“Al-Ray" newspaper said that President Mahmoud Abbas asked embassies in several Arab and world capitals to prepare for a new phase of diplomacy in the coming period, in anticipation of the collapse of the peace process, adding that the plan will also include in the coming days after returning from his visit to the United States, signing decrees for changes in the Palestinian diplomatic corps, most notably the appointment of Jamal Shobaki, the current Ambassador in Saudi Arabia, as Ambassador in Cairo and Palestine's representative in the Arab League. The plan prepared by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry and other Palestinian figure at the President's Office, aims atpreparing Palestinian embassies in European capitals, and some Arab capitals, to be ready for diplomatic work around the clock, if peace talks collapsed with the Israeli side, or if it experience difficulties again in the near future.(http://paltoday.ps/ar/post/193364/%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B3-%D9%8A%D8%B6%D8%B9-%D8%AE%D8%B7%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%84%D9%85%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC%D9%87%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%83%D9%8A-%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%81%D8%A7-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1)
Peres apologized to Jordan for the killing of judge Raed Zuaiter
Israeli President Shimon Peres telephoned Jordan's King Abdullah II offering his apologies for the killing of Jordanian judge Raed Zuaiter by Israeli troops, according to a statement issued by the Jordanian Royal Court. AFP reported that the statement said: "King Abdullah II received yesterday (Monday) a telephone call from Israeli President Shimon Peres, in which he apologized to his Majesty the King, as the head of the State of Israel, for the killing incident of Judge Raed Zuaiter.” The statement added that the Israeli President "expressed his deep emotions and regret for what had happened,” stressing “Israel's commitment to move forward with the joint investigation into the incident with the Jordanian side.” (Al-Ayyam)
An Israeli General calls for recognition of Gaza as a sovereign State
In the first statement of its kind by an Israeli military and political official, contrary to Israeli policy against Hamas and its authority in the Gaza Strip. Brigadier General (reserves) Giora Eiland,called for recognitionof Hamas and of the Gaza Strip as a sovereign State,to guarantee the security interests of Israel.Eiland said in an article published in Yediot Ahronot: "If the Hamas do not control the Gaza Strip, it can be assumed that the Islamic Jihad will enhance their strength, even worse, power cells of Al-Qaida might enhance their strength.” Eiland added that the security interests of Israel implies a strong authority in the Gaza Strip, to bear its responsibilities, and the only one that can create a stable authority there is Hamas, and Israel's interest is that Hamas’ authority be stable. (Al-Ayyam)
Arab League: we support Abu Mazen in the negotiations
The Arab League confirmed its support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, under the auspices of the US administration, warning of the continued Israeli intransigence and non-compliance with the terms stipulated in international law.In the same context, Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ambassador Ahmed Ben Helli, confirmed in statements to reporters the importance of President Abbas visit to Washington for talks with US counterpart Barack Obama. Bin Helli said: "the Palestinian cause is going through a crisis as a result of the Israeli intransigence, so the United States, which has undertaken the sponsorship of negotiations, must take the negotiations out of the current impasse, created the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.” (Al-Ayyam)
Occupation arrested a released prisoner at Qalandia Checkpoint
Israeli forces arrested a 26-year-old man at Qalandia checkpoint, allegedly in possession of a knife, according to the website of the Israeli newspaper Maariv.The newspaper claimed that the young man confessed to planning a stabbing operation. Maariv added that the young man spent three years in Israeli jails before being released in the Shalit deal.(http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/494281)
Abu Mazen meets John Kerry after the meeting with Obama
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met last night with US Secretary of State John Kerry, a few hours after his meeting with President Barack Obama, who urged Palestinians and Israelis to take difficult political decisions to break the stalemate in negotiations conducted with American sponsorship. A senior official of the US State Department said that President Abbas and Kerry "exchanged views and ideas on the prospects for moving the negotiations forward," according to Reuters.(http://qudsnet.com/news/View/268972/%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%88-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B9-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%AC%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%87-%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7/)
95% of Israelis believe their country is racist
Results of a poll conducted in Israel to mark the international day against racism, next Friday, showed that a vast majority of Israelis (95%) Believes that one of the segments of Israeli society at least, suffer from racial discrimination. But the identity of this group varies from the point of view of the participants in the survey. The poll, published “Yisrael Hayoum” showed that 79% believe that Jews of Ethiopian origin are suffering from racial discrimination, while 68% said that Arabs are more vulnerable to racial discrimination, compared with 41.8% who pointed to religious groups, and nearly 34% said that eastern and immigrants from the Soviet Union suffer the most. 4.4% said that Israel do not exercised racial discrimination against any segment, while 50% said the best way to combat racial discrimination is through education.(Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
Egypt strongly supports President Abbas insistence on the terms of reference of the peace process
Egypt confirmed yesterday that it strongly supports Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas insistence on the terms of reference of the peace process, saying that a settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict fulfilling the aspirations of the Palestinian people is the true guarantee for peace stability.A statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in Cairo received by a German News Agency (DBA) said: " Egypt affirms that optimism prevailed at the beginning of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations and the active role of Secretary of State John Kerry for the resumption of negotiations, indicates that the opportunity still exists for a historical progress that could have positive repercussions of the future of the peace process and the region as a whole, thus alleviating polarization and helps drying up extremism.” (Al-Ayyam)
Israel implements the displacement "Prawer plan" quietly; demonstration outside Netanyahu's house
Dozens of Arabs of the Negev demonstrated Wednesday evening outside the house of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.The Steering Committee for the Arab Bedouins of the high follow-up Committee for the Arab masses inside 1948, organized the protest, which took placeyesterday evening, protesting the continued demolition of Arab houses, reaching also recognized Arab cities and towns, which suffer from a severe lack of lands for construction. A report of the Ministry for Interior Security in Israel confirmed an increase in demolition operations, where 697 Arab houses in the Negev were demolished in 2013.(Al-Ayyam)
Al-Hamdallah to Germany to participate in the Palestinian German Ministerial Steering Committee meeting
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah left yesterday to Germany to participate in the Palestinian German Ministerial Steering Committee meeting, which will be held in Berlin on Wednesday. The Prime Minister will sign two agreements for technical and financial cooperation between the two Governments worth 55 million euros, including projects in the areas of institution-building, infrastructure, education, and vocational education, health and humanitarian aid. Al-Hamdallah will be accompanied with: Foreign Minister Reyad Al-Malki, Interior Minister Saed Abu Ali, Economy Minister Jawad Naji, Minister for High Education Ali Abu Zuhri and development Affairs minister Muhammad Abu Ramadan. (Al-Ayyam)
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Headlines
** Bisharah: no indicators of a financial siege on the PA (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** Fahmi discusses with Kerry latest developments of the negotiations (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** The doctors union stops its strike (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** Jordan condemns Israeli escalation in Al-Aqsa (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** The people support Abu Mazen (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** Marches and demonstrations in support of President Abbas (Al-Quds)
** Sisi implements extensive modifications in the army leadership (Al-Ayyam)
** Occupation continues imposing restrictions on prayer in Al-Aqsa (Al-Ayyam)
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Front Page Photos
Al- Quds:Presidents Abbas and Obama during their meeting in the White House yesterday
Al-Ayyam: 1) Presidents Abbas And Obama during their meeting in the White House yesterday, 2) Ramallah – Thousand demonstrate in support of President Abbas.
Al Hayat Al Jadida:.1) Presidents Abbas and Obama during their meeting in the White House yesterday, 2) Abu Mazen, 3, occupation soldiers prevent soldiers from entering Al-Aqsa.
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Voice of Palestine News
Jerusalem: The Israeli police said soldiers at the Qalandiya checkpoint arrested a 26-year old man from the West Bank late last night. The police claimed the man tried to stab the soldiers, saying a knife and Palestinian flags were found on him. The man is a freed prisoner who was released during the Shalit prisoner swap and who had spent three years in prison for allegedly shooting at settlers. His name has not been released, but we know he is being detained in the Russian Compound in Jerusalem. This may be just another justification for arresting a previously freed prisoner – it is nothing new that the Israeli army or security forces try to pin these accusations on the freed prisoners so they can re-arrest them. The Israeli police also said that the man admitted during interrogation that he had come to the checkpoint in order to stab soldiers.
As for the Aqsa Mosque compound, we heard from the guards that the situation so far is calm in the compound. Yesterday however, was one of the worst days for the Aqsa for the worshippers and religious students and even the guards, who were prevented from entering the grounds for two hours until the settlers were done with their break ins. Yehuda Glick also broke into the compound, calling Aqsa guards ‘dogs’.
Gaza Strip:Last night, Israeli naval boats targeted Gazan fishing boats in Rafah. They shot at the boats even though they were within the six-mile radius allowed for fishermen in Gaza. they were forced however, to retreat to the shore. This happens almost every day.
In Breij camp, 47-year old Ala Eddin Awawdeh died and another person was seriously wounded during a family feud. He was hit by a blunt object and also suffered five gunshot wounds.
As for the Rafah Crossing, this is the 39th day it has been closed to the residents except for humanitarian cases.
Inside the Green Line:
What are the Israelis saying about these Washington meetings and also the media?
There are a lot of expectations about this meeting between Abbas and Obama today. The media today is all about the meeting between the two and the negotiations. Neftali Bennet, head of the Jewish Home said earlier today that he found it unlikely that his party would withdraw from the coalition if there is progress in the negotiations, but said there would be no release of prisoners because it would not get approval from the government. He said that President Abbas was interfering in Israeli affairs, given that some of the prisoners are from inside the Green Line.
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Voice of Palestine Interviews
**Qaddura Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, on the release of the fourth group of prisoners
Q: A senior Israeli political source stated that they would reconsider the release of prisoners if negotiations hit a dead end. Did you expect such as statement and is it being considered as an official Israeli position?
This is nothing new or surprising. From the first moment Israel agreed to the releases, there was a group of ministers who opposed this decision. Netanyahu called for a compromise – that at the time of the fourth release of prisoners, which include Green Line prisoners – he would pose this to the government, which he is doing. Now, while talk is going on about extending the negotiations, we know Israel does not want any more obligations on it, that is more prisoners. So, it is putting all of these obstacles, so they can evade any more commitments, no necessarily this previous one. But even this one, they are making it difficult because some ministers are opposed to Palestinian-Israelis being released. But the Palestinians are adamant on this point. The prisoners must be released on time.
Q: Do you think the latest developments will affect the prisoner release in any way, especially if the Palestinians reject the framework agreement or extending then negotiations? Will Israel take a stance or do you think the American administration will maintain this agreement regardless of the status of the negotiations?
Israel is concerned the failure will be attributed to them. It is working day and night to cause a failure but it wants it to be attributed to the Palestinian leadership and people, because whoever is blamed for the failure will have to face consequences. Israel wants the negotiations to continue and not to be blamed for their failure. But for us, the fourth release of prisoners is one of the obligations of the first part of the negotiations. Now, demands were made during the Obama-Abbas meeting; a letter was sent to the US administration and also to the EU, which includes new demands were made on more prisoners if they do not want the negotiations process to go on longer, for another nine months, for example.
Q: Is it true that the release of high-profile prisoners such as Marwan Barghouti, Ahmad Saadat and Foud Shobaki has been put on the agenda and has been posed to the American administration?
Yes, this is now on the table. We sent an official letter more than a month ago to the US administration on this subject. In addition to these leaders, we are calling for the release of all sick prisoners and female prisoners, administrative detainees and minors. These are our demands if the US wants to give the negotiations another chance.
Q: A delegation from the EU parliament is scheduled to arrive next week to visit Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. How likely is it that they will actually have access on the inside?
The delegation is to arrive tomorrow. We will meet with them to give them information and testimonies before they meet with a number of organizations and official parties. It is clear that Israel is not going to allow them visit the prisoners or the prisoners because they are concealing crimes and have much to be disgraced over. So they will not let them go in. This means the committee needs to depend on the information it is given and what they hear. It is time that the EU takes positions to confront this Israeli crime against the prisoners and against Palestine.
**PLO Executive Committee member Hanna Amira, on the Abbas-Obama meeting
Q:Do you have anything else to say about the meeting other than what was said officially in Washington?
Until now, we don’t have anything new about what happened, especially since this meeting was individual between Presidents Obama and Abbas. When Abu Mazen comes back the PLO executive committee will meet to discuss the meeting. The President has already said that if there is any request for an extension on the negotiations, he will come back to the leadership to decide on this.
Q:We heard the framework agreement was not officially proposed during the meeting. Does this change anything? Are we waiting for any such agreement to be proposed?
Let me say that the fact that no framework agreement was officially proposed is because of the huge differences in positions with the Israeli government. There are things from the government that we cannot accept under any circumstances, such as the Jewish state and the refugee issue. Now, the Americans are trying to save any ideas, saying that the issue of a Jewish state is not being proposed at this stage. This is also not acceptable because there are other issues that are equally as serious (Jerusalem, refugees, security) that need to be addressed. So what was agreed on in Washington is to continue the negotiations until April 29 and to release the fourth group of prisoners. After this happens, there can be talk about an extension, but according to different perimeters than those that the last nine months of talks have been following.
Q: Was there talk about freezing settlements and releasing high-profile prisoners, and if so, will this give a chance for the negotiations to be extended?
This is our original demand – to freeze or even halt settlement activity, which was posed at the start of the negotiations. But Israel never committed. On the contrary, the pace was picked up during this period. This demand still stands.
**Writer and political analyst Hamada Faraneh, on Abbas’ visit
Q: What expectations and outcomes do you think will come of this visit?
First, we should realize that the Palestinian president went to Washington knowing he has pillars of support for the Palestinian position. This position is supported by the Arab League and then by the PLO executive committee, Fatah’s Revolutionary Council and finally the popular support we saw in the street. He remained adherent to the Palestinian constants: Jerusalem, the ’67 borders, the right of return and no recognition of a Jewish state. We must realize that there are two agreements reached in Amman in 2013. The first was about the release of prisoners and the second was the resumption of negotiations. As far as I know, the two agreements are separate. The first ends on April 29 with the release of the fourth group of prisoners (including prisoners from inside the Green Line); so far Israel has committed to this agreement, but this last group is harder because it includes the Green Line prisoners.
Q: If the Palestinians refuse to extend the negotiations, what is the expected scenario?
If this happens, the question is what will the Palestinians gain from it? they have no problem in principle to keep on talking, but they need to exact a price for it, which is a complete halt to settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Also, right after the prisoners are released ,the leadership must resume their efforts to join UN agencies.
Q: Since the Arab League is supporting the Palestinians, do you think they will find financial support if an embargo on the Palestinians is imposed?
I think President Abbas will go to the Arab League and the PLO before he makes any major move.
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More Headlines
Bennett attacks the President and says he follows the stages policy of eliminating Israel
Israeli Economy Minister and leader of the Jewish Home launched today morning an attack against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and described his as the real enemy of Israel. Bennett said in a radio interview to voice of Israel that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is hostile to Israel and uses amalicious policy against it attempting to eliminate it within the classical stages political. Bennett said that the Palestinian leader deceives the international community, including the US Administration and US President Barack Obama and his Foreign Minister John Kerry, adding that Abu Mazen will follow the stages theory of attacking Israel across the world. (http://pnn.ps/index.php/israel/84444)
Shaath: Dahlan entered poisoned medicines to Arafat
Leader of Fatah and a member of the Central Committee, Nabil Shaath, accused dismissed of Fatah, Mohammed Dahlan, in entering poisoned pill boxes to Yasser Arafat through some of his guards, and through a foreign delegation which came to show solidarity with Arafat. Shaath said: "Dahlan asked the head guard of the late President Abu Ammar in Ramallah, while Arafat was at Percy military hospital for treatment, to collect all the medication boxes used by Arafat and burn them,” adding: "the President’s guards admitted this during their investigation." (http://paltimes.net/details/news/61417/%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%AB-%D8%AF%D8%AD%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A3%D8%AF%D8%AE%D9%84-%D8%A3%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%AA.html)
Occupation intensifies its presence at Ennab checkpoint east of Tulkarem
Israeli occupation forces have intensified since the early morning hours its military presence in Ennab checkpoint east of Tulkarem, and along the street up to the entrance of Beit Lid, east of the district. According to eyewitnesses dozens of military jeeps and Israeli intelligence, have spread extensively in the area, the soldiers searched the area around the checkpoint. (http://www.raya.ps/ar/news/854332.html)
Dozens of soldiers and settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards
Israeli special units arrested a student at the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards, and took him to a detention center in Jerusalem. Eyewitnesses in the city said that dozens of soldiers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in their military uniform and toured its open space and facilities amid extensive explanations from guide officers. A small group of settlers led by Rabbi "Yehuda Glick" also stormed Al-Aqsa through the Moroccans’ gate amid tight police protection. (http://qudsnet.com/news/View/268990/)
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Arab Press
Benn: A British voice for voiceless Arabs
By RAMZY BAROUD
Long before the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign inched slowly from the fringes of global solidarity with Palestinians to take center stage, Tony Benn had been advocating a boycott of Israel with unrestricted conviction, for years.
“Britain should offer its support for this strategy by stopping all arms sales to Israel, introducing trade sanctions and a ban on all investment there together with a boycott of Israeli goods here and make it a condition for the lifting of these measures that Israel complies with these demands at once,” Benn wrote in his blog on April 19, 2002, under the title “A STATE OF PALESTINE NOW.” Ben wanted Arafat to declare a state and “friendly nations” to recognize it.
Yes, the title was all in caps. It was as if Benn, a principled British left-wing politician, had wanted to loudly accentuate his insistence that the Palestinian people deserved their rights, freedom and sovereignty. He was as bold and courageous as any man or woman of true values and principles should always be. He remained uncompromising in matters of human rights and justice. This international warrior left a challenging space to fill when he passed away at the age of 88 on March 13.
Following the news of his death, British media was awash with reports about Benn and his legacy of being a stubborn politician and uncompromising advocate for human rights. Frankly, there was less emphasis on the latter and much more on the former, despite the fact that Benn understood politics was a platform to quarrel with moral dilemmas. The Parliament was a platform to serve the people, not to conspire with other politicians for the sake of one’s party. For some politicians, it is all about winning elections, not using office to carry out a morally grounded mandate to serve the people. Benn was different, thus there was the love-hate relationship Britain had with him.
True to form, British media immediately conjured up a few buzzwords by which it attempted to define Benn’s legacy. He had “immatured with age,” was one of them. It was a remark made by Benn’s fiercest rival in the Labour Party, Harold Wilson (still alive at 96) in reference to Benn’s becoming more of a radical left-winger, as he grew older. Some in the media simply love axioms and catchphrases, for it spares journalists the pain of exhaustive research. Wilson and his camp invested heavily in assigning Benn the responsibility of the successive defeats experienced by the Labour Party at the hands of the Conservatives. Indeed, Margaret Thatcher and then John Major had won four elections in a row and between them changed the face of British economy and quashed major labor unions. But blaming Benn for splitting the party is unfair to say the least.
Compare Tony Benn’s legacy with that of Tony Blair. The first was principled to the core, boldly challenged US hegemony in the world and fought hard for Britain’s poor, working class and against unhindered globalization that made states vulnerable to the inherent disparity of the global economic system. Blair stood for the exact opposite.
Benn, even from the point of view of those who disagreed with him, was always seen and shall always be remembered as a man of high values.
Although Benn seemed guided by the same high moral values that accompanied him throughout the over 50 years in which he served as an MP in the British Parliament, when he retired in 2001, he seemed ready to take on even bigger challenges. His task morphed from that of a fierce politician at home, fighting for the very definition of the Labour Party, to an internationalist, taking on the most difficult of subjects and never bowing down.
Following the US-British so-called “war on terror” — designed around economic and strategic interests — Benn rose to greater prominence, not as another TV celebrity “expert,” but as a fierce opponent to the US and his own government’s wholesale slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Since then, the man never stayed away from the streets. He spoke with passion and mesmerized audiences in his beautiful, immaculate English. Most important about the timing of Benn’s courageous stances was the fact that back then, all public discourses related to the wars were saturated with fear. But, whenever Benn spoke, he pushed the narrative up to higher degrees of audacity.
I listened to him once speak at Trafalgar Square in London. He wore a Kuffiya, the traditional Palestinian headscarf. He spoke of Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine, as if their peoples were his own. Thousands of us applauded with so much enthusiasm. It was as if his words alone were the salvation that would free Arab nations from the bondage of military occupation and war. But at times, words live in a sphere of their own where they multiply, and when repeated often enough, can change the world.
“The main responsibility for the appalling crimes being perpetrated against the Palestinians must be equally shared between Jerusalem and Washington for successive US governments have funded Israel, armed Israel and used their veto at the Security Council to protect Israel from being forced to comply with what world opinion wanted,” he said in 2003, in an interview with Egypt-based Al-Ahram. True, Benn was not the only British politician who spoke with such candor about the shared responsibility of crimes committed against Palestinians, but few went as far as he did. The next time there is a rally for Palestine, there ought to be an empty chair with a Palestinian Kuffiya, and the name of Tony Benn. It is a Palestinian tradition to honor its heroes, even those with a splendidly beautiful British accent.(http://www.arabnews.com/news/541986)
Emulating Sharon to avoid peace
Gulf News Staff
Far-right Israeli minister Uri Ariel’s recent visit to Al Aqsa is a dangerous provocation that is likely aimed at fermenting the kind of violence that will allow the Israeli regime to once again avoid a peace process with the Palestinians.
Knowing well how Israeli radicals celebrate those who create more conflict and misery for Palestinians, Ariel is perhaps trying to follow in the footsteps of Ariel Sharon, the late Israeli leader who was held responsible by his own government for the massacre of Palestinians at Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982. In 2000, he paid a visit to Al Aqsa mosque that sparked the Second Palestinian Intifada, shooting him to the kind of fame that eventually led him to getting elected as prime minister.
The Middle East does not need more Ariel Sharons. It is a sick country in which such figures are celebrated. And its sickness persists when others try to emulate him. The likes of Ariel must be stopped before it is too late. Another Palestinian uprising is simmering. If it boils over, no one will benefit.(http://gulfnews.com/opinions/editorials/emulating-sharon-to-avoid-peace-1.1305260)
Israel's opportunity in Syria
By Akiva Elder
Several hours before taking off from Washington on March 4, en route to Eilat, where he had his photo taken against the backdrop of the Iranian Klos-C weapons vessel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared with participants of the AIPAC conference his impressions from a visit to an Israeli army field hospital in the Golan Heights. Netanyahu spoke with pride about the devoted treatment by Israeli medical teams of nearly 1,000 wounded Syrians who managed to cross the border.
“That border, which runs a hundred yards east of that field hospital, is the dividing line between decency and depravity, between compassion and cruelty,” Netanyahu said. On the other side of this moral divide, Netanyahu went on, hinting at the weapons shipment, is Iran, which prefers sending rockets, terrorists and missiles instead of humanitarian rescue teams.
The story of the humanitarian aid to the wounded Syrians, as well as the story of the Iranian weapons ship, is far more complex in reality than Netanyahu describes. The weapons, which were probably making their way to the Gaza Strip, are an insignificant chapter in the story of Israel’s occupation of the territories. The full story has to include the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the hardships of its 1.6 million residents, who have to make do with no electricity and three hours of water a day, and the unending Israeli-Palestinian conflict. An end to this conflict depends, among other things, on resolving the problem of the 1948 refugees, including half a million who found refuge in Syria — a refuge which has become a death trap for them over the past three years.
The sacred mission of the military doctors, which Netanyahu described in his speech, and the wonderful attitude of the Nahariya hospital staff to the wounded Syrians, as recounted in a feature story by Inna Lazareva, bring out the bright side of Israel’s approach to the Syrian tragedy. But is it enough that Israel provides medical help to several hundred wounded while a crime against humanity is being committed on its doorstep? Can a government, which insists on being defined as a “Jewish government,” look on from the sidelines at the massacre which has cost the lives of more than 130,000 people, most of them civilians, and turned 2 million others into refugees?
Living in the besieged Yarmouk refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus are about 20,000 people, most of them children, the elderly and the disabled. They are natives of Nazareth and Acre, or descendants of former residents of Lod and Jaffa. Many of the 150,000 refugees from 1948 who lived in the Yarmouk camp until the start of the civil war, and the other 350,000 Palestinians living in Syria, have become refugees for the second time in their lives. Their decrepit homes collapsed and buried their meager belongings.
Facebook features pictures of children with bloated bellies in Yarmouk begging for a piece of bread. Does their being refugees exempt the State of Israel from all responsibility for their fate, as they are doomed to become refugees this second time in a lifetime?
In addition to the refugees of 1948, some half million refugees from the 1967 war — who lost their homes in the Golan Heights — as well as their descendants, also live in Syria. There’s no way of knowing how many of them have been killed in the bloody civil war and how many have lost their roof, once more. Jewish settlements, wineries and tourist attractions have been built on their lands. On the first anniversary of the war in Syria, Alon Liel, who served in the past as director general of the Foreign Ministry, proposed that Israel declare its willingness to take in Syrian citizens on the Golan Heights and provide medical and humanitarian help to any Syrian citizen who asks. “If our outreached hand comes in contact with a cold shoulder on the part of the Syrian population,” Liel wrote, “we have at least demonstrated our good will. And if, surprisingly, Syrian citizens do agree to come to the Golan to find refuge, perhaps we will be able to change the tenor of our relationship with the Syrian people over the generations.”
Just as in the humanitarian-ethical sphere, so it is in the strategic arena; the decision-makers and most of the Israeli public prefer sitting around doing nothing. But that is the wrong course. In a compilation of articles published by the Mitvim Institute about Israel and the Arab Spring, Eli Podeh and institute director Nimrod Goren point to a series of missed opportunities opened up for Israel by the Arab Spring, in general, and by the crisis in Syria, in particular. Both these events considerably weakened Iran’s influence in the region, which was supported in recent years by Syria and Hezbollah, and received a boost from the change in the standing of the Shiites in Iraq.
Israel might have, and perhaps still could, help engineer a moderate alliance, whose pillars are the Arab Peace Initiative and an end to the Syria conflict. Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morocco could represent this alignment, in both their concern about Iran, and, especially with Turkey and Jordan, in containing the spillover of the Syria war. Israel has a common interest with this axis, which is to block the Iranian nuclear threat as well as threats emanating from Hezbollah and global jihad militias in Syria and Lebanon.(http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/03/syria-israel-refugees-palestinian-camps-gaza-sunnite-axis.html)
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Opinions
The tough decisions
Al Khaleej Editorial
US secretary of state John Kerry urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to take difficult decisions. But what are the difficult decisions the American administration wants the Palestinians to make?
Kerry specified them just as [President] Obama did. The ‘difficult decisions’ are nothing more than to say to the Zionists: “We hand you Palestine and we apologize for having been born and lived in it.” The recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and the concession of the right of return are the two core demands the American administration is making. It is negotiating with the Palestinians over conceding their historical rights and their rights guaranteed in international law in addition to their rights outlined by UN resolutions.
After this, what would be left for the Palestinians? This is the next question that Palestinian officials must throw at the Americans. However muddled or clear the answer may be, it will be nothing more than telling them to remain in this state of refuge until they find someone to take them in after in the coming decades, or perhaps even centuries. If the right of return is conceded, this means that millions of Palestinians, displaced throughout the four corners of the world, will remain so. And what a Jewish state means is that anyone who lives in it and who is not Jewish is nothing more than an exceptional and emergency case for which another place should be found before they are kicked out anyway via Israel’s racist measures.
These are the American demands plain and simple, without their diplomatic cloak or ambiguous political jargon. These are the demands of the barbarian forces in previous eras from the people whose land they occupied, but this time with silk gloves. This is the truth unmasked, because these demands violate every letter of human rights, which western forces scream out with against anyone who does not agree with them. This is the truth, because these demands contradict everything international law says, which were formulated after the western powers were victorious in World War II. They violate international resolutions, which they themselves agreed to when they decided to usurp more than half of Palestine and give it as a gift to the Zionist movement only because they wanted to rid themselves of the Jews in their own countries. And because they wanted an entity that would serve their purpose and protect their interests in the midst of the Arab world.
The American administration is no longer concerned with the word “honest’ when it comes to its role. On the contrary, it abandoned the word “mediator” in the lexicon of its activities pertaining to the Palestinian cause. Its work has become to hold dialogue with the Israelis about what they want and about offering them advice on how to get to it. Then they ‘negotiate” with the Palestinians over urging them to implement what Israel wants.
This is the truth of what is happening; anyone who has anything to do with the negotiations knows this to be true. But the Palestinian people know it as well and will never allow for their cause and their rights to be obliterated. (http://www.alkhaleej.ae/studiesandopinions/detailedpage/e7b826d1-2a03-4679-abb9-c80c431a76d1)
Who should be taking the difficult decisions?
Al Quds Editorial
No two people would disagree that President Abu Mazen’s trip to Washington and his meeting with President Obama and senior American officials is extremely important. It may even be decisive in terms of the negotiations and the future of the peace process. No two would differ either over the fact that President Abbas is facing tremendous pressure from the US administration, to the point that Obama even said before the cameras that the President must take ‘difficult decisions” and risks. No doubt, in their closed meetings, even blunter things are said and these ‘difficult decisions’ were made clear including the risks that they involve.
Abu Mazen was clear when he talked about the 1967 borders, the establishment of a state with Jerusalem as its capital and reaching a mutual agreement on the refugee issue. He also pointed to the agreement on freeing the last group of prisoners and the need to implement this, something that Israel is trying to evade.
In addition to these clear positions outlined by Abu Mazen, hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets in several West Bank cities and Arab and international capitals to show their support for the president and his unwavering positions. They called on him not to surrender these positions and to face any possible pressures. PLO factions also released a statement in which they called for not extending the negotiations, which is what the American administration is pushing for. Thus, Palestinian national positions remained fixed and the President received the support he needed to stick by these positions and refuse to concede over them.
In the midst of these talks, meetings and developments, the question that should be directed to President Obama is which side should take risks and difficult decisions, us or Israel? President Abu Mazen or Israeli PM Netanyahu? International law and the entire world recognize that the land within the 1967 borders, including East Jerusalem, is occupied land and that settlements are illegitimate. Even the United States confirms this logic. Furthermore the EU has begun to adopt several forms of boycott of settlements and their products. We Palestinians along with the leadership have committed both in word and in deed to this and reconfirm this principle on every occasion all while Israel turns its back on all of its commitments, both in words and in action. It is continuing settlement construction, Judaizaing Jerusalem , expelling Palestinians from their homes, refusing to withdraw to the ’67 borders and insists on expanding and confiscating land; it refuses any return of refugees and has insisted on demanding our recognition of a Jewish state as a new condition for achieving peace, even a framework agreement. But this has been rejected by Abu Mazen just as it is rejected by all sectors of our people.
Dear Mr. Obama: demand that Israel takes difficult decisions and risks because it is the party that is obstructing any progress towards achieving peace. Demand that it recognize the Arab Peace Initiative, which would mean peace and normalization between Israel and 57 Arab and Islamic states. But, Mr. Obama, even if you are incapable or unwilling to pressure Israel because of your well-known internal situation, your pressures should not be directed to us as the weaker party. Our people will reject this and because it will not lead to anything but more tension and extremism in the region and push us farther away from any chances at peace. (http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/494283)
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