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Nov. 17, 2013
Daily summary - Sunday, November 17,2013
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Main News
ATTACK ON THE MAMANALLAH CEMETERY
The Aqsa Institute for Waqf and Heritage said last night that dozens of graves had been damaged and desecrated by Jewish groups belonging to the ‘price-tag’ movement. The Institute said the attack was on graves in the center of the cemetery from the western and northern sides, adding that racist slogans and inciting language was spray-painted in Hebrew on them along with some in English. The Institute said the attack was just one rung in the chain of attacks on this cemetery by Israel, which is constantly trying to smother its identity and character. It said Israel was attacking the remaining graves after most of the area of the graveyard, 200 dunams, had already been Judaized, with only around 20 dunams left. The price-tag groups scrawled graffiti on 13 graves in the Islamic Mamanallah cemetery in Jerusalem in addition to writing slogans on the Kabkabi shrine also inside the perimeters of the graveyard. The Institute strongly condemned the attack, holding the Israeli government responsible for the desecration of the graves and calling for the attackers to be held accountable. Some of the graffiti written on the tombstones included “Revenge.” And “Death to the Arabs” with stars of David drawn on them. Some tombstones were also broken by the group. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=648005)
ISRAELI AUTHORITIES CONFISCATE HUNDREDS OF DUNAMS OF LAND FROM VILLAGES SOUTH OF NABLUS
The Israeli government decided last night to confiscate hundreds of dunams of land planted with olive trees from the Zaatara junction to the intersection leading to the Osreen village south of Nablus. According to settlement official Ghassan Daghlas, the land is located in Basin 9 and belongs to the villages of Zaatara, Osreen, Yitma and Aqraba south of the city. A few days earlier, the Israeli army set up watchtowers in the area ahead of building a military post on these lands. The exact lands will be specified by the Israeli civil administration tomorrow. According to Yitma village council member Ahmad Snobar, Israeli authorities informed the council that all of the land near the Zaatara junction to the Osreen village would be confiscated, saying the land fell on Basins 9 and 5 and belonged to dozens of residents from Yitma, Beita, Qabalan and Osreen. (Al Ayyam)
ISRAELI FORCES ATTACK AND BEAT A FAMILY IN ARROUB CAMP; SETTLERS FROM BET EL ATTACK PALESTINIAN CARS; ISRAELI FORCES SHOOT SEVERAL TEARGAS CANISTERS AT HOMES IN AIDA CAMP
Israeli occupation forces continued yesterday to raid and break into homes and to make arrests, while settlers attacks Palestinian cars and areas around settlements under the protection of the army. In Arroub camp, the Israeli army attacked and beat the Abu Daoud family when they tried to confront soldiers breaking into their home to take over their rooftop. The entire family: Mohammed Abu Daoub, 36, his wife Nathmiyeh and their children Ibrahim, Yousef and Ahmad in addition to Mohammed’s brother Ibrahim and his son Fadi, were all taken to hospital for treatment. In Bethlehem, Israeli forces heavily shot teargas at the homes of residents in Aida camp yesterday, leading to several people suffering from suffocation, fainting and nausea. Dozens of Palestinian youths clashed with Israeli soldiers near Rachel’s Tomb yesterday throwing stones and empty bottles. The soldiers responded with rubber coated metal bullets and teargas.
Israeli troops also raided Beit Fujjar yesterday morning south of Bethlehem and raided the home of freed prisoner Asad Abdel Latif, handing him a summons to report to Israeli intelligence. An 11-year old boy was arrested as well in Azzoun yesterday and the father of a 12-year old was handed a summons for the boy to ‘hand himself in’ to Israeli authorities.
In related news, settlers from Bet El north of Ramallah pelted Palestinian cars last night with stones, closing the road leading to the Jalazon camp and to the northern West Bank. Several windshields and windows were broken. Palestinian homes in the area were also stoned by the settlers under the eye of the Israeli army. (Al Quds)
HANIYEH CALLS FOR A MEDIATION COMMITTEE WITH EGYPT TO ALLEVIATE THE CRISIS BETWEEN THEM; ORDERS MAAN OFFICE TO REOPEN ; ORDERS MAAN OFFICE TO REOPEN
Head of the de facto government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh urged yesterday Palestinian factions to mediate with Egypt in order to alleviate the tension with it. Haniyeh met in Gaza with representatives from Islamic and leftist factions to discuss political developments in Gaza and in the region as a while. Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri reaffirmed that Hamas was part of the national Palestinian movement and has not interfered in Egyptian affairs, adding that Haniyeh encouraged the factions to form a committee to meet with the Egyptians in Egypt and abroad to explain the Palestinian position and reaffirm the strong relationship between Palestine and Egypt and the Arab world in general. (Al Quds)
In other news, Haniyeh’s deposed government ordered yesterday the reopening of Maan’s office in the Gaza Strip after a closure of four months. According to government spokesperson Ihab Ghussein, the government withdrew its complaint against Maan ahead of the office’s reopening. Al Arabiyeh offices, which were closed at the same time and for the same reason, was not included in the decision. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647910)
EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR: CAIRO DOES NOT VIEW THE GAZA STRIP FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF EGYPT’S RELATIONSHIP WITH HAMAS
Egypt’s ambassador to the PA Yasser Othman said yesterday to Al Ayyam that Egypt’s view towards Gaza was a ‘holistic, comprehensive view” based on national considerations because Gaza represents a ‘depth’ for Egypt and a source of strength for it. Hence, he explained, his country did not view Gaza from the viewpoint of its relationship with Hamas. He said Gaza was a part of the Palestinian state and dealt with it as such, adding that there were no tensions in the relationship between Egypt and Gaza just because there was tension with Hamas. “The relationship with Gaza began before the factions and has continued until now,” he said. “The Gaza Strip is much bigger than the factions.” In the same vein, Othman did say that Hamas should ‘reassess” its policy towards Egypt so that they could reach a ‘balanced and objective’ policy based on mutual interests between brothers. He added that the issue of the tunnels was a non-issue, adding that they must all be closed down, saying they were detrimental to Egyptian national security and its economy. (Al Ayyam)
GAZA GOVERNMENT: CONTINUED CLOSURE OF RAFAH CROSSING A BELITTLING OF SUFFERING IN THE STRIP
The de facto government in Gaza said Egypt’s insistence to continue closing the Rafah Crossing for the 10th day in a row confirms the policy of creating a humanitarian crisis and belittling the suffering of Gaza’s people. Hamas expressed its concern over the continued closure, saying it was the only channel of travel and connection for the people in Gaza to the outside world. The government said the continued closure was part of the ongoing siege and boded towards a complete collapse of all basic sectors needed for the continuation of daily life in the Strip. (http://safa.ps/details/news/116191/حكومة-غزة-تواصل-إغلاق-معبر-رفح-استهتار-بمعاناة-القطاع.html)
TIGHT SECURITY MEASURES IN JERUSALEM AHEAD OF FRENCH PRESIDENT’S VISIT; ISRAEL PREPARING A ‘KING’S RECEPTION’ FOR THE FRENCH PRESIDENT ON THE BACK OF HIS STANCE ON IRAN
Israeli police spokesperson Luba Sumari said yesterday that Jerusalem police had completed preparations for the upcoming visit of the French President to Israel. Hundreds of police and army along with other security forces will be deployed in the city from the early morning hours until the end of the visit. Some streets in west Jerusalem will also be intermittently closed in the afternoon hours to allow the French president’s convoy to pass. (Al Quds)
In related news, the Israeli government is planning on a ‘king’s reception’ for French President Francois Hollande today, on the back of the French position regarding negotiations with Iran. Hollande will arrive today in Israel on his first official visit. After being received in Israel today, Hollande will visit the Sainte Anne in the Old City of Jerusalem tomorrow and then head to Palestine to meet President Mahmoud Abbas. On Monday afternoon, Hollande will address the Knesset. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the French President “a close friend to Israel” and said he had been waiting to receive him in Israel, especially during this time when major countries, including France are searching for ways to halt the military nuclear program of Iran.(http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647995)
HAMAS: HOLLANDE’S VISIT TO PALESTINE IS UNWELCOMED
Hamas announced yesterday that French President Francois Hollande’s visit to Israel, the West Bank and Jerusalem today is “unwelcomed” saying it encouraged Judaization. Hamas spokesperson Salah Bardawil said his visit to Jerusalem was particularly unwelcomed because it will contribute to encouraging Israel’s crime of judaization and settlements. He also said his visit reflected the scope of ‘hypocrisy in western politics towards the Palestinian cause” and sets the stage for a disregard of rights. (http://alhayat.com/Details/572887)
EGYPTIAN ARMY DISCOVERS TUNNELS AND DRUGS ON BORDER WITH GAZA
Yesterday, the Israeli army uncovered nine tunnels and a network for smuggling fuel at the border with Gaza at Rafah. An Egyptian source told Maan that Egyptian border guards waged a major military campaign on the areas of tunnels at the border and raided areas where they found the nine tunnels and the network for smuggling fuel. Egyptian security sources also said the found weapons in one of the homes in the Halwat area. An anti-drug campaign was also waged in the village of Talul where 20 dunams of land were discovered, planted with ‘bango’ (Al Ayyam)
ISRAELI MINISTER: THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE PALESTINIANS COULD CAUSE A RIFT IN THE GOVERNMENT
Israeli minister for science and technology from the Yesh Atid Party, Yacov Perry who is also a former Shabak chief, said yesterday that there was a huge gap between his party and the Jewish Home party regarding negotiations with the PA. He said in statements made in Tel Aviv that a rift would form sooner or later in the government after which one of the parties would have to resign. Perry said there were ministers in the government who were trying to ‘torpedo the negotiations”, pointing the finger at housing minister Uri Ariel in direct reference to the escalation of settlement construction in the West Bank. (Al Ayyam)
THE PA CONSIDERING THREE OPTIONS FOR CONFRONTING SETTLEMENTS’ SHTAYEH DETERMINED TO RESIGN FROM NEGOTIATING TEAM; ABBAS SAID TO HAVE REJECTED RESIGNATION OF EREKAT
The numbers gathered by the Negotiations Affairs Unit on official Israeli government settlement announcements showed that since the resumption of negotiations on July 29, Israeli authorities approved the construction of 6,296 settlement units, which the department says, is higher than the overall figure approved during the five months before the negotiations began, which is 5,577. Discussions at the political level are now revolving around the possibility to halt negotiations altogether or to continue them until the end of the nine-month period agreed on, which ends in April. Informed sources told Al Hayat that some leaders called on President Abbas to begin the process of submitting applications for joining international agencies during the negotiations. Others say applying to any of these organizations now would push Israeli into halting the release of any more pre-Oslo prisoners. A third group proposes continuing the necessary preparations to join international organizations and submit the applications immediately after the nine months are over.
The negotiating team held one more session of talks after handing in their resignation to President Abbas. Sources close to Abbas say the talks will continue until the nine-month period is over so that the pre-Oslo prisoner release could be completed and to avoid American and international pressure should they pull out. Saeb Erekat has maintained that the resignation is still ‘under discussion” while Mohammed Shtayeh says he is still determined to resign. (http://alhayat.com/Details/572718)
In further news, according to the London-based Al Sharq Al Awsat today, President Abbas rejected the resignation of the head of the negotiating team Saeb Erekat, asking him to continue with his duties. According to the newspaper, should Erekat insist on resigning, two new negotiators would be chosen. (http://qudsnet.com/news/View/257758/صحيفة-الرئيس-عباس-يرفض-استقالة-عريقات/)
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Headlines
*Israeli website: he siege and shortage in electricity and fuel will cause an eruption of the situation in Gaza (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Hamdallah confirms government efforts to promote capabilities of Palestinian state institutions (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*President grants Turkish ambassador the Jerusalem Star Medal (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Muslim Brotherhood calls for dialogue without demanding the return of Mursi (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*One person killed and another injured in road accident in Khares (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Young man shot and killed by gunman in central Jaffa (Al Ayyam)
*Israeli arrested for smuggling army weapons to foreign parties (Al Ayyam)
Israeli general: peace is the right time to prepare for war (Al Ayyam)
*14 Palestinians killed in Syria in a week (Al Ayyam)
*Escalating tensions between Israel and the United States because of peace process and Iran file (Al Quds)
*Renewed clashes in Tripoli, armed elements insist on remaining in the capital (Al Quds)
*For the first time, Palestine celebrates its independence day in UNESCO (Al Quds)
*Netanyahu: reaching an agreement with the Palestinians depends on their recognition of the Jewish character of Israel (Al Quds)
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Front Page Photos
Al- Quds:Tajura’: checkpoint set up by the rebel brigades on the road leading to Tripoli following confrontations in the city
Al-Ayyam:1) Mohammed Mursi; 2) Lebanon: Syrian refugee children play in a camp east of Biqa’a valley
Al Hayat Al Jadida:1) Hamdallah inaugurates Kur-Kafr Aboush street in the Kafriyat region; 2) Separation wall dividing a building in Nazlat Issa
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Voice of Palestine Interviews
**Dr. Jamal Amr expert on construction in Jerusalem, on the national park to be built on lands of Essawiyeh and Tur, which recently got government approval
This is park number seven which was approved after 11 hours of deliberation. A small portion of Israelis objected, but this showed that the government disregarded them and are moving towards the utmost right to take over Palestinian land, in this case 750 dunams. These will all be turned into a Torah garden. This area has nothing to do with the Torah. This is all part of Israel’s plan to cover up for the expansion of the settlement, Ramat Eshkol. We are about to see a ‘tsunami of settlements” to hinder Palestinian growth in Jerusalem. This tsunami is a conjunction of the political establishment with the military one in Israel aimed at completely disconnecting Palestinian populated areas from one another. Sometimes the plans radiate towards the center of Jerusalem and the old city in terms of growth and sometimes they branch out towards the Jordan Valley for example. Sometimes the growth is circular, with three rings around Jerusalem to completely obliterate any future establishment of a Palestinian state. This is the dream of this right-wing Israeli government.
**Salah Khawajeh, coordinator for the popular resistance committees, on the hole made in the separation wall near Bir Nabala, by activists
Q: How can the recent events, such as breaking through the wall, promote the culture of popular resistance in the future?
Over the years, several types of resistance have been successful in confronting the occupation, especially in terms of the wall. The main purpose of the protests was to show the Palestinian narrative in terms of Israel’s policy occupation and the wall. But in the past year, from October 2012 when we entered the Rami Levy supermarket in protest, closed roads and adopted the initiative Bab Al Shams and Children of Younis villages, a new era of confrontation has begun. We moved from protesting Israel’s measures to actually confronting them. Now we as Palestinians – after getting international recognition at the UN -- and because we have no partner for peace – we believe we need to take the initiative and frontline of popular resistance and offer a model that will hurt the occupation and incur losses to it.
This is not only about protests and demonstrations. We are now in the stage of confronting the occupation and the wall – breaking it down, like what happened in Abu Dis, Bir Nabala, Nilin and Ezzariyeh.
Q: Have you seen results from this new approach?
The fact that these moves had an effect means they reaped results. The Bab Al Shams was against the E1 project. Now, when the world heard about 20,000 settlements units including in E1, the responses and decisions from the world were clear to pressure Israel to halt this policy and showed the danger of this project. The world is starting to get it.
**Tourist minister Rula Maayah, the PA’s protest of Israel’s false promotions of Bethlehem being an Israeli tourist city in advertisements in Italy
Q: Have you already made contacts with concerned parties to halt this advertisement?
We are in constant contact with these parties in Italy. We are preparing letters which our embassy in Italy will send to the Italian government to protest these advertisements and to demand that they be pulled. We are also in contact with our embassy in Rome to prevent Israel from participating in the international tourism exhibit that will be held in two months in Milan if it continues to promote Palestinian cities as Israeli.
Q: What other steps can be taken by the Palestinians?
We plan to take several steps and effort to stop them. Things are still unclear and our efforts at the beginning but we want to nip this in the bud. Israel did something similar in Britain and we filed a lawsuit at the time; unfortunately we lost. Now we are waiting to hear responses from the Italian foreign ministry and government. If these advertisements are pulled, then this is great. If not, we will look into filing a lawsuit in Italy against Israel, in conjunction with Palestinian and non-Palestinian parties in Italy.
** Minister for foreign affairs, Dr. Riyad Al Malki, on the Arab-African summit beginning today in Kuwait
Q: What is the significance of this summit for the Palestinian cause?
It is actually very significant. We are meeting not only at the Arab level but at the African level as well. This gives us the opportunity to pose the Palestinian question to a much broader arena to all of these countries and to put Palestine at the top of the list of priorities at this summit. A special statement will be issued by the summit on Palestine, but we will also work hard so that the Kuwait declaration also points to the economic situation in Palestine and the possibility of offering aid. We are planning to focus on this and on Palestine being part of the development of the entire Arab-African region. We are not talking about pure financial aid, but more about exchanging of expertise and setting up joint projects with African countries and Arab financial support.
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More Headlines
76 settlers under Glick raid Al Aqsa
Dozens of settlers under the head of the “Temple Mount Fund” Yehuda Glick, broke into the Aqsa Mosque this morning under tight Israeli army and police protection. According to the Aqsa Institute, the settlers came into the compound in consecutive groups with Rabbi Glick heading a group of 30 settlers. The Aqsa Institute’s media director Mahmoud Abu Ata said Glick was carrying a book about the Temple in a provocation to Muslims, even though he had been banned from entering the compound for two weeks. The order was reversed two days ago and he was given permission to enter Al Aqsa. (http://safa.ps/details/news/116198/76-مستوطنًا-بقيادة-غليك-يقتحمون-الأقصى.html)
Flag of Palestine shines on tower in Columbian capital
The flag of Palestine shown from the top of a tower in the Columbian capital Bogota for three hours, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Palestine’s declaration of independence on November 15. The highest tower in Columbia, the Colpatria Tower, was lit at exactly 6:30 p,m. to 9:30 p.m. in the colors and shape of the Palestinian flag. Millions in Bogota saw the tower given its strategic position and height, with dozens of members of the Palestinian and Arab communities gathering together to take pictures of the historical event. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=648070)
Fourteen Palestinians killed in Syria throughout the week
The working group for Palestinians in Syria announced yesterday that according to reliable information they have received for the period between November 9 to 15, a total of 14 Palestinians have been killed in Syria. (Al Ayyam)
Israeli forces arrest four boys and a youth in Bethlehem
This morning, Israeli occupation forces arrested four boys and one youth from the village of Obeidiyeh and from Bethlehem. According to security sources, Israeli troops stormed central Bethlehem and raided the homes of Mohammed Awad, 17, Mohammed Azza, 17 and Mahmoud Shweiki before arresting them. , Furthermore, a local source from Obeidiyeh east of Bethlehem, said Israeli troops arrested 16-year old Abdallah Shteiwi and Ahmad Abu Sarhan, also 16 after raiding their homes. (http://www.wafa.ps/arabic/index.php?action=detail&id=163497)
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Arab Press
Negotiation and compromise will always trump violence
James Zogby
During the Bush administration I would often criticise its neoconservative ideology, suggesting that it was, in many ways, a secularised version of fanatic and fundamentalist Millenarian Christianity. Both shared a world view characterised by the belief in the inevitable clash between good and evil. Both were absolutist, seeing compromise as a sign of weakness and a surrender to evil. As a consequence both saw violence as necessary and desirable. And both believed in an apocalyptic end in which, despite the damage done, good would be victorious and evil would be vanquished.
Guided by this ideology, the neoconservatives, rejecting compromise, proceeded to dismantle the architecture of diplomacy that had been evolving since the end of the Second World War.
In particular, they cast aside the post-Cold War efforts made by former presidents George HW Bush and Bill Clinton who used limited force only when absolutely necessary, and who otherwise built coalitions in an effort to negotiate solutions to regional conflicts.
Across the Middle East the consequences of this neoconservative ideology were devastating, especially in Iraq and Lebanon and in the effort to salvage Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
This “neocon” absolutist approach to politics, of course, wasn’t unique to the United States and didn’t end with the passing of the Bush years. It remains alive and well in America and across the Middle East and is at work today prolonging conflicts in Egypt and Syria, Israel-Palestine and Iran.
The notion that violence is the first resort, that negotiations are equivalent to surrender, that compromise is weakness, and that what is identified as evil can and must be destroyed are on display in each of these settings. As a result, actors on all sides have overreached and the conflicts in which they are engaged have been prolonged and aggravated.
The lesson that should have been learnt from past tragedies is that the victor-vanquished scenario is a destructive fantasy with only religious fanatics or the ideologically-minded still believing that the fight must go on until the enemy is ultimately eliminated.
That is why groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, despite repeated catastrophic failures, continue to reject peace negotiations and insist on the use of violence until the final victory is won. It is why the regime in Damascus has, from the beginning, refused to consider the concerns of their opponents and now dismisses them all as “terrorists”.
And it is why hardline Israelis continue to maintain that their dispossession of Palestinians and control over all of the land of Mandatory Palestine is right and will ultimately be victorious. It is also why Iran’s religious leaders long insisted on maintaining their meddlesome and messianic export of revolution. And it is why the Muslim Brotherhood overreached in their efforts to consolidate their control over all the reins of state power and their drive to Islamise Egypt.
But it is also true of those who refuse to see that negotiations with Iran, if successful, can be beneficial to the region’s security, or those who reject national reconciliation as the way to advance Egypt’s new democratic experiment, or those who reject participation in Geneva II as a necessary step to ending the horrific bloodbath that has become Syria.
In each case, parties on all sides continue to overreach, operating under the illusion that through the application of more violence the “other side” can be destroyed once and for all – with good triumphant over evil.
In reality, what recent history has taught us is that there is no ultimate victory, just an exacerbation of tensions. Each new dose of violence only adds fuel to the fires that continue to rage. Fifteen long years of civil and regional proxy war in Lebanon resolved nothing.
Similarly, decades of Israeli and Palestinian conflict neither ended the occupation, nor defeated the resistance to the occupation. And the same is true of the conflict that has torn Syria asunder.
The way forward out of the messes created by the absolutist fantasy of victor-vanquished is to recognise that as long as violence is seen as the first resort conflicts will continue without resolution. Negotiations are necessary and compromise is the only way forward. Efforts like: the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the P5+1 negotiations with Iran, Geneva II, and efforts to achieve national reconciliation in Egypt – all should be supported. Pressure, when necessary, must be applied. And compromise is a must.
The solutions reached will neither be perfect nor will they resolve all differences. But at a minimum they will stop the haemorrhaging, end the waste of human life and treasure, ease tensions, and provide the space for needed change to occur.(http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/negotiation-and-compromise-will-always-trump-violence)
Back to square one
Jordan Times Editorial
The decision of the Palestinian team involved in peace talks with the Israelis to withdraw from the negotiation table shows the desperation of the Palestinians and the point these talks have reached, which is nowhere.
The announcement to this effect by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas neither shocked nor surprised many, especially in this part of the world.
If there is any surprise, it is that it took the Palestinian side so long to come to this realistic conclusion.
There was a sliver of hope, against hope, that the peace negotiations, which resumed at US’ prodding after an interruption of three years, might yield some positive outcome, in view of the developments in the region: Arab Spring, Syria, Iran.
There was hope that Israel would come to realise that intransigence and greed will never lead to peace and stability.
Yet, despite US Secretary of State John Kerry’s talk about the “promising” new cycle of talks, they amounted to nothing due to Israel’s obduracy.
It is not Israel’s settlement activity alone that blocks the road to peace, but its overall position on the core issues dividing the two sides.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to appear as a peace maker by instructing his housing minister to suspend the construction of some 20,000 additional housing units on Palestinian lands.
It was really a gimmick to project a “nice” image of an accommodating country, which would contrast with that of Iran, the “bad” regional element whose nuclear programme is subject to sanctions and, more recently talks with the US administration.
Now that the irksome talks with the Palestinians have been done away with, Netanyahu is free to focus on Tehran and the progress on that front.
The so-called peace process between Palestinians and Israelis is once again in a state of limbo, the short-lived hope it engendered now dead.
How often will there be attempts to resuscitate it?
And how long will it take the international community to act firmly and implement UN resolutions on this issue?(http://jordantimes.com/Back+to+square+one-66628)
The unrelenting Israeli pursuit for regional domination
By Tariq A. Al Maeena | Special to Gulf News
I have occasionally been irritated by the belligerence demonstrated by the Iranian governments in recent times, and more so when the rhetoric from the previous government under Mahmoud Ahmedinejad sometimes bordered on the confrontational with Iran’s Gulf neighbours. Thankfully it was more a public relations inspired commentary.
But there is another form of belligerence that continues right in front of our eyes and that is of the Israeli onslaught against rightful owners of the land and its Arab neighbours. This is not empty rhetoric but a systematic annihilation of lives and property that have been documented by global organisations, and sanctioned by successive Israeli governments over the past six decades.
The Israelis have successfully used their proxy moles in various western governments to carry out their aggressive campaigns. It was their Aipac (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) agents in the United States who steered the country into a meaningless war with Iraq, one that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia clearly defined as illegitimate. Aipac, which heavily finances neo-conservative and like-minded groups within the US, often steers US foreign policy particularly in the Middle East contrary to the democratic principles for which the country stands for, much to the chagrin of the region’s inhabitants. In whose interest were Paul Wolfowitz or Dick Cheney acting then when they goaded the US into a senseless war which has resulted in untold human misery? It was certainly not in the interest of the United States!
Today, Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu is extremely worried as Iran, with a new government, is taking a positive approach to working out a solution in its nuclear talks with the West. Following President Hassan Rouhani’s conciliatory message in front of the UN General Assembly in September, Israel has been on a similar covert offensive to discredit and dismantle any steps that would lead to fruitful negations between the Iranians and the West.
Following the latest talks between Iran and the six major powers — the United States, Germany, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France last week, it was France that torpedoed the talks before they had a chance to fully materialise. As a matter of fact, the French surprised their counterparts attending the talks and according to reports, their Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius who said the talks brought up “several points that we’re not satisfied with compared to the initial text”, adding a damper to the proceedings. To drive home his point, he then went on public radio and said that France did not want to be part of a “con game”.
Fabius’ outburst unmistakably ran parallel to recent objections by Netanyahu who was masterminding behind-the-scenes efforts to ensure that no agreement be reached at the talks and that they would fail. Now why would France not give a chance for this window of opportunity to materialise? Why would it dismiss talks still in their early stages as a “con game”?
Surprised, anyone? Don’t be. It was Netanyahu who turned the heat on the French government to disembowel the talks before they had a chance to reach a significant stage. Israel’s Channel 2 reported that Netanyahu himself had called upon the French foreign minister and this was followed by another call by Meyer Habib, a right wing Jewish member of the French parliament. Habib, a deputy in the National Jewish Organisation in France, has a long association with the Likud Israeli government and is himself known as a full time Israeli Likud Party activist. He is also a close friend of Netanyahu and his personal representative in Paris according to Haaretz. In conveying a veiled threat, Meyer was reported to have said to the French foreign minister, “If you don’t toughen your positions, Netanyahu will attack Iran…I know this. I know him.”
According to a knowledgeable source in the French government who spoke to Truthout, a nonprofit organisation providing independent news and commentary, “there is, in the ministry of foreign affairs, a tightly knit team of advisers on strategic affairs and non-proliferation which has played a major role in shaping the French position on Iran over the years. The direction the group has taken French policy generally has coincided with that of the neoconservatives in the United States, according to close observers of that policy.”
Truthout elaborates, “At the centre of that tight-knit group is the former French ambassador to the United States during the George W. Bush administration, Jean-David Levitte. He was appointed diplomatic adviser to Sarkozy in 2007. Levitte, who has been called by some the “real foreign minister” of France, has family ties to Israel and Zionism. His uncle, Simon Levitt, was co-founder of the Zionist Youth Movement in France.
It is no surprise that just as Aipac and other covert agencies in the United States, there exists similar clandestine groups of Zionist sympathisers in the French government and in other western governments whose primary commitment is towards the nation of Israel. National interests come secondary. Such groups foster suspicion in the nations they reside in against a target country. In the last decade it was Iraq. Today, they have set their sights on Iran. What next? Turkey? Pakistan?
While the Israelis have proven time and again that they not only flout international laws and UN resolutions but defiantly break them, they mask their own quest for regional dominance by getting western powers to do their bidding, all courtesy of the many Zionist sympathisers embedded deep in the governments of these countries.
For the security of the region, the talks must not be torpedoed on the whims of such sinister manipulations.(http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/the-unrelenting-israeli-pursuit-for-regional-domination-1.1255733)
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Opinions
The suffocating traffic at Qalandiya checkpoint
Every day, the traffic jam on the Jerusalem-Ramallah road gets worse and worse, between the Qawasmi gas station and the Kuf Aqab intersection. If you are lucky, you can get through this traffic within an hour. This is a long time in comparison to the distance, which is n more than a few kilometers. But you are going so slow, you may just break a world record.
The main reason for this jam is of course the Qalandia crossing through the separation wall. Cars must stop there for any range of time depending on the mod of the Israeli soldiers manning the checkpoint. But let’s not forget that in any case, the checkpoint is illegal and illegitimate, according to the International Court of Justice because it digs deeply beyond the Green Line, into the 1967 border, which is considered by the international community as occupied Palestinian territory that same year. Thus, Israel is obligated to withdraw from these lands in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 242 and 338.
The traffic jam only got worse after the separation wall divided the historical Jerusalem-Ramallah road between the Dahiyeh intersection and the Qalandiya crossing into two parts – one inside the wall and one outside of it. The route on the inside of the wall is also divided into two lanes going both to and from Jerusalem. All it takes is one car to break down and the entire traffic movement grinds to a halt.
The portion of the road outside of the wall is used by residents of Al Ram. Cars from the southern West Bank heading towards Ramallah and those coming from Jerusalem all end up at the checkpoint from both ways. Thousands pile up at the checkpoint’s bottleneck throughout the day, especially in the peak morning hours and the afternoon. Lately, the evening hours have also seen an unprecedented amount of congestion.
This traffic is a huge waste of time for the people and prevents them from going about their business. It delays employees from work and students from school, not to mention the waste of gas because of constantly running motors. Both motorists and pedestrians suffer equally because of this checkpoint.
This problem needs a solution, especially after it has grown with the growing number of cars on the one hand, and because this road is one of the most vital and used thoroughfares on the other. It not only connects between Jerusalem and Ramallah but also between the northern and southern West Bank in general.
Of course the real and just solution to this problem would be in removing the separation wall altogether. But until this solution can be achieved through a final solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, perhaps a temporary solution would be to add another crossing to the west of this one, which can be accessed from the road parallel to the Jerusalem-Ramallah road.
This issue should be posed to international organizations interested in alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people caused by the Israeli occupation. Furthermore, the Palestinians can discuss this subject with the Israeli side in order to reach a solution that would put an end to the daily suffering that tens of thousands of people have been enduring for years.
Will international organizations and donor countries respond? They should, given that the representatives of these organizations see this problem and congestion whenever they travel from the northern West Bank to its south and can see the people enduring yet another day at Qalanidiya crossing. (Al Quds)
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