|
|
Nov. 20, 2013
Daily summary - Wednesday, November 20, 2013
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Main News
THE PRESIDENT: WE ARE SOUNDING THE ALARM BELLS OVER THE SITUATION IN JERUSALEM; WE WILL NOT ACCEPT A STATE WITH TEMPORARY BORDERS OR TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
President Mahmoud Abbas reaffirmed yesterday in his speech to the Arab-African summit in Kuwait that the Palestinians would not accept a state with temporary borders or be dragged into transitional arrangements. “Our goal is to reach a peace deal between the states of Palestine and Israel and to address all the issues pertaining to all files in accordance with international law and Security Council resolutions,” he said. He added that the Palestinians faced challenges every day because of Israel’s measures on the ground, referring to its settlement policy in particular, which he said it continued to carry out while negotiations were ongoing. Following the summit, Abbas headed to Saudi Arabia to meet the leadership there.
During the speech Abbas said he had to “sound the alarm bell” saying one of the biggest dangers to peace in Palestine and the region was what Israel was doing in Jerusalem and to its holy sites, including trying to change its character, land confiscation, house demolitions and displacement of residents.
The president also addressed the economic situation in Palestine, saying that the Palestinians’ annual losses according to the World bank are in the billions of dollars because they are not allowed to take advantage of all their land or invest in their natural resources such as the natural gas off of Gaza’s shore and the fuel in the West Bank. He said Israel bars the Palestinians from building airports, seaports and tourist resorts along the Dead Sea and in East Jerusalem and prevents the establishment of industrial and agricultural zones, which hundreds of thousands of workers could find jobs in.
The President said that achieving peace was “a Palestinian national interest just like it was an Israeli, regional and international interest” saying that the negotiations aimed at reaching a peace deal with would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. (Al Ayyam)
President Abbas went on to say that he was looking towards Palestine being an active partner in the Arab-African partnership, stressing on the need to combat the divisions and rifts in the Arab and African worlds.
Also yesterday, the Arab Peace Initiative ministerial committee, which met in Kuwait, held Israel responsible for the ‘deep crisis” that the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians had reached, warning of a collapse in the negotiations should continue with its measures. (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
SEVEN AIR RAIDS ON GAZA WHICH HIT CIVILIAN TARGETS AND A TRAINING SITE FOR THE QUDS BRIGADES
Israeli warplanes waged seven air raids last night on various sites in Beit Lahiya and Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip in response to mortars fired by resistance groups after Israel made an incursion east of Khan Younis. The Gaza-run health ministry said there were no injuries from the raids. The first two air raids hit two chicken farms in Khan Younis, destroying them completely along with 400 chicks and a number of sheep. The third raid targeted an open area near the Majhoul gate around250 meters west of the separation fence, and also an abandoned house north of Rafah. (Al Quds)
EXTREMISTS FROM A YESHIVA ON MOUNT ZION BREAK THE BACK OF A PALESTINIAN WORKER AND STAB HIS JEWISH EMPLOYER
Israeli sources revealed last night a brutal attack carried out by students from a yeshiva on Mount Zion in Jerusalem whose victim was a Palestinian worker from the city. The worker suffered serious injuries when the student threw a 17-kilogram boulder on him from the top of a fence next to where he was working. They then stabbed his Jewish employer with an iron rod and a knife. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz’s website last night, the incident took place last Thursday, saying the Palestinian worker suffered a smashed spinal cord after being hit by the boulder. The paper said Christians were also stoned yesterday by extremist Jews. The Jewish employer, named Eric Felstig is said to be at constant odds with the yeshiva “Yeshiat Havotsot” on the Mount. The newspaper said three of the students were arrested, adding that the extremists wreaked havoc in the workplace after the incident (Al Quds)
MOHAMMED SAWARKEH DIES SEVEN YEARS AFTER BEING SHOT WITH SEVEN BULLETS
An injured man from the village of Rashaydeh east of Bethlehem died yesterday from wounds he sustained seven years ago when Israeli army troops shot him seven times. According to the head of Rashaydeh’s local council Fawaz Rashaydeh, 58-year old Mohammed Sawarkeh was a member of the Palestinian national security services and had been wanted by Israeli authorities. He was injured in 2006 with seven bullets to the back, which resulted in his paralysis and which finally led to his death yesterday (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
QALQILYA: SETTLERS SET FIRE TO TWO CARS IN VILLAGE OF FARTA’A; SETTLER RUNS OVER WOMAN SOUTH OF NABLUS
Israeli settlers set fire to two Palestinian cars yesterday and drew the Start of David on a wall in the village of Farta’a according to Israeli police. According to the townspeople, the settlers poured flammable liquid on the two cars belonging to people from the town, east of Qalqilya, and set them on fire.
In related news, an Israeli settler ran over an elderly Palestinian woman last night, Shamsah Sharif, 60, while she was crossing the main street in Huwwara, south of Nablus. Hospital sources say her injuries were moderate. (Al Ayyam)
ISRAELI HOUSING MINISTER: THE REPORTS ON A HALT TO SETTLEMENT CONSTRUCTION ARE NOT TRUE
Israeli housing minister Uri Ariel said yesterday in the annual conference held in Sderot in the Negev that the Israeli government was continuing settlement construction in spite of reports that said there was a freeze. According to Israel radio, Ariel said the reports were baseless and that he knew PM Netanyahu was working according to considerations imposed on him by international conditions but that the real test would be the results on the ground. (Al Quds)
SHAATH: THE RESIGNED NEGOTIATING TEAM WILL RUN NEGOTIATIONS UNTIL END OF NINE MONTH PERIOD
Fatah’s central committee mandated the resigned negotiating team to run the negotiations until the end of the nine-month period agreed on with the Americans. Member of Fatah’s central committee, Nabil Shaath told the London-based Al Hayat that both Saeb Erekat and Mohammed Shtayeh insisted on resigning but that the committee, which said it completely understood their position, still asked them to continue as caretakers of the negotiations until the end of the agreed-on period. He said that he decision was ‘not an acceptance of what Israel was doing,” but explained that they wanted to show the American sponsor that they were still seeking to make the talks succeed but that the Israelis were working to make them fail. (Al Quds)
ISRAELI POLICE EXPEL THREE RELIGIOUS STUDENTS FROM AL AQSA; WORKS ACCELERATE NEAR THE BURAQ WALL
Israeli police have banned three religious students from entering the Aqsa Mosque Compound, saying they were a ‘threat to public security.” The students are: 35-year old Fawzi Ghazawi from Nazareth, Aram Shurafa, 38 from Jerusalem and Aziz Abbasi from Silwan. Their names and pictures have been distributed to all of the compound’s gates for Israeli police to see and ban them from entry. According to Abbasi, he was summoned to the police station on November 6 and given a paper nulling the previous ban on entry to the Aqsa. however, for two days in a row, when he showed his ID card at the gates, he was told that he could not enter, with police telling him “that [police] paper means nothing.” The other two had similar stories.
In related news, the Aqsa Institute for Waqf and Heritage said yesterday that the Israeli finance ministry had requested from the Knesset economic committee to agree to an increase of tens of millions of shekels in the budget to intensify judiazation of Jerusalem and to escalate construction works in the area of the Buraq wall. They also requested NIS6 million to encourage Israeli visits to the Buraq wall an to carry out further excavations underneath and around the Aqsa. (Al Quds)
KNESSET APPROVES MILLIONS OF SHEKELS AS SPECIAL FUNDING FOR SETTLEMENTS
The Knesset’s financial committee approved yesterday special funding of NIS24 million for settlements in the West Bank and Gold Heights. According to the Israeli news website Yedioth Ahranoth, the funding will be granted to the settlements in the Jordan Valley and to the Maaleh Efraim settlement in the West Bank in addition to settlements in the occupied Golan Heights. The funding will be used to support youth in these settlements (Al Ayyam)
JERUSALEM: CAR CRASHES INTO CHECKPOINT, CAUSES INJURY OF TWO SOLDIERS
A car with Israeli license plates crashed into an Israeli checkpoint at Za’aem in East Jerusalem yesterday after the driver ignored the soldiers’ orders to stop. Two of the soldiers manning the checkpoint were injured while the driver escaped. According to Yedioth Ahranoth, the soldiers fired at the car after the two soldiers were injured, but the car continued to drive away into the city. (Al Ayyam)
UNRWA: WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE GAA STRIP WILL UNDO REGIONAL SECURITY; AGENCY MAKES CALLS TO SOLVE ELECTRICITY CRISIS
UNRWA chief Filippo Grandi said yesterday that 19 of 20 building projects being carried out by UNRWA had been halted in Gaza, which he warned would have a very negative impact on the besieged Strip. Grandi, who was speaking to donor parties said that since march, the Israeli government had not agreed to any new UNRWA projects and for the past month had completely banned the entry of construction materials for the agency. Grandi said the entire region would be shaken up by what is happening in Gaza if things were not treated. He called on the international community “not to forget about Gaza” and to deal with the humanitarian aspect of the crisis.
In related news, UNRWA is holding undeclared contacts to solve the electricity crisis escalating in the Gaza Strip. The agency’s intervention is “unprecedented” given the rift between the PA and the Hamas-run government in Gaza on fuel provision needed to operate the power plant. UNRWA media advisor Adnan Abu Hasna said the agency was unofficially requesting help to solve the crisis. (Al Ayyam)
ISRAELI FORCES ARREST EIGHT IN YA’ABAD; NINE IN BEITA
Israeli occupation forces arrested this morning eight men from the town of Ya’abad near Jenin after raiding their homes. According to local sources, the men were between the ages of 20 and 22 including brothers. In the village of Beita south of Nablus, Israeli troops arrested nine young men including three brothers. Local sources say more than 10 army jeeps broke into the village after midnight last night and raided homes. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=649191)
NINE PRISONERS INJURED IN ASHKELON PRISON; PRISON SERVICES CUT WATER AND ELECTRICITY OFF OF THE PRISON
Nine Palestinian prisoners in the Ashkelon prison were injured yesterday after riot police stormed rooms 15 and 16 of Bloc 3. The Prisoners’ Club said all of the prisoners in the rooms were then transferred to solitary cells. The raid lasted several hours. Prison services also cut water and electricity off of the prisoners as punishment. The Club said the prisoners have waged an open hunger strike in protest of the raid (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES BEGIN DESTRUCTION OF PART OF KHIRBET AL TAWEEL EAST OF NABLUS
Israeli occupation forces began early this morning to demolish sheep stalls and a water tank in Khirbet Al Taweel, which belongs to the town of Aqraba east of Nablus. Member of the anti-wall and settlements committee Yousef Diriyeh said three bulldozers and a large Israeli army force began demolishing the structures, saying they were built in Area C where construction is prohibited. Diriyeh said the water tank cost NIS50,000 and the sheds around NIS10,000, adding that they were demolished last month as well at a cost of NIS150,000. (http://qudsnet.com/news/View/258006/الاحتلال-يشرع-بهدم-اجزا-من-خربة-الطويل-شرق-محافظة-نابلس/)
|
Headlines
*Two children die after their house burned down in Jenin; one dies in mysterious explosion in Gaza (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Yedioth Ahranoth: Netanyahu is seeking to regain his grip on Likud (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Fatah revolutionary council condemns gunfire at Abu Zaydeh’s car in Al Bireh (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*High Court to discuss payment of teachers’ attorney over strike case (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*World Cup 2014: Algeria to save face for Arabs (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Mother of prisoner Shawamreh makes cry for help to the world over her son (Al Hayat Al Jadida)
*Arab journalists’ union confirms that next general meeting to be held in Ramallah (Al Ayyam)
*Beirut: 23 people killed and 150 injured in two suicide bombings targeting Iranian embassy (Al Ayyam)
*Hamas accuses Israel, Egypt and PA of tightening siege on Gaza (Al Ayyam)
*Qassam operative killed and four injured in explosion in Tel Al Hawa (Al Ayyam)
*Two Israeli officers injured in bomb near Lebanese border (Al Ayyam)
*Clashes with Israeli police in Essawiyeh (Al Quds)
*Washington broadens Indyk’s team for negotiations, appoints David Macovsky as advisor (Al Quds)
*Four killed and dozens missing from floods in Saudi Arabia (Al Quds)
|
Front Page Photos
Al- Quds:Riyad: A car makes its way on a flooded road after heavy rainfall
Al-Ayyam:1) President Abbas, during his participation in the Arab-African summit in Kuwait; 2) citizens inspect a car burned by settlers in Farta’a near Qalqilya; 3) Beirut: flames rise from an explosion in the Bir Hasan neighborhood
Al Hayat Al Jadida:1) The President during his meeting with the Kuwaiti Amir; 2) citizen inspect a car burned by settlers in Farta’a; 3) Mother of prisoner Shawamreh; 4) teachers demonstrating outside the supreme court
|
Voice of Palestine News
Gaza: Israeli airstrikes stopped after seven airstrikes were launched against the Gaza Strip, but Israeli aircrafts are still present in the Gaza skies, still threatening to strike again. Airstrikes targeted areas south of Kahn Younis resulting in serious damages but no injuries were reported. Airstrikes also attack Beit Lahia and Khan Younis. Seems like the occupation is seeking more escalation since each time it attacks more areas
Jerusalem: Confrontations continued for the early morning hours in Issaweyeh, after the municipality teams accompanied with the occupation police stormed the village and handed demolition orders. Confrontations erupted and three Palestinians were injured, one of them was arrested and the rest were transferred to a police center in Salah Addin. Similar events occurred in Silwan, after settlers provoked some citizens. Attacks o on racist background in Jerusalem continues, during the last 48 hours 3 attacks were reported against Jerusalemites, attackers are always released after they are arrested. Break inns into Al-Aqsa continued, while tens of extreme settlers stormed Al-Aqsa, amid excavations in Rebat Al-Kurd, very close to Al-Aqsa, trying to controlling this area as it is considered by Jews as the “Small Wailing Wall”. Finally, we note that lands belonging to the Jaba’ village were bulldozed aiming at expanding the settlement of Adam.
Kuwait: the Arab League follow up committee on the peace process held Israel responsible for the crisis in negotiations, this came during the meeting of the Committee in Kuwait, attended by President Abbas. The committee issued a statement saying it holds Israel responsible for the crisis due to latest increased settlement activities. The committee also supported continuing the negotiations for nine months and warned of the collapse of the negotiations because of Israeli policies. President Abbas met more than 10 African presidents, and he left yesterday night heading to Saudi Arabia to meet King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz.
|
Voice of Palestine Interviews
** Issa Qaraqe’, Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs, on the incident at Ashkelon prison the day before yesterday and announcing a strike.
Q: with regards to Ashkelon prison, what is the situation now after the declaration on starting a strike?
Large forces stormed Ashkelon prison the day before yesterday and attacked prisoners, destroyed everything in the prisoners rooms, a lot of prisoners were injured during these events, in addition to the fact that they were punished by preventing visits, and preventing them from going out to the yards. In light of all this, the prisoners decided on a number of protest steps as starting a hunger strike and returning all meals, since Ashkelon prison witnessed a lot of storming events as the last one during the last years, making the prisoners decide on such protest actions.
Q: Do you think the prison administration will consider these steps, or the opposite, more escalation?
I think the prisoners don’t have any other alternative, seems like this prison is targeted by the Israeli authorities, dialogue is not helping; the prison administration is responsible for the results of this dangerous policy against prisoners. Maybe the lawyers will be able to visit the prisoners today and we will have more information regarding the situation.
Q: with regards to administrative prisoner Al-Barq, who issued an appeal to the Israeli court for release and was denied, what is next, and will this administrative detention be forever?
I think that when Israel announced his arrest claiming he is a member of Global Jihad, this is nonsense and fake heroism, they investigated him a lot without reaching any evidences, that’s why he is under administrative detention, meaning they failed to find any evidences of his involvement in Global Jihad. They tried to withdraw from their acts by offering him release conditioned of his return to Pakistan where his wife is, and now they withdrew from this. These actions are not based on any legal evidences and are stupid actions.
** Hasan Jabarin, Adalah, Um Heiran village inside Israel is threatened of demolition for establishing a settlement.
Q: Today Israeli court will decide on Um Heiran Bedouin village.
That is right, in the beginning of the 50’s residents of this area were deported to another area, and the military governor settled them in the current area, so they are living in this area for the last 50 years. But Israel decided that since this land is a state land it is its right to use it and ask citizens to leave the land, but since Israel was the one who gave the residents the right to settle in the land it can withdraw this right now and transfer them. so it is a transfer process, this claim was accepted by the court in Beersheba saying that residents of this area did not enter the land without an agreement of the state, that’s why today’s appeal is on this legal issue. It is clear that Israel wants to establish a Jewish settlement on this land and transfer the current Bedouin residents.
We say Israel does not act like this with any Jewish village but only against Arab villages. So it is only a racist approach that does not have anything to do with planning.
** Salim Kheleh, head of the follow up committee on this file, on Israeli intention to hand over bodies of martyrs who were stolen by Israel.
Q: how are you following up on this issue?
First of all let me correct one thing, Hussien AL-Sheikh said that Israel informed him it will deliver a list of martyrs that it took organs of their bodies, and not the organs themselves. It is only a list. This comes under the follow up of Mr. Al-Sheikh with the Israeli side of the bodies of martyrs.
Q: to make it clear, what is the difference?
The difference is huge, we refuse receiving martyrs bodies missing some organs while Israel doesn’t make it clear that it stole these organs, and I say in the name of the families, this is a war crime, Israel should be responsible for this, and this is an Israel impudent confession. We demand to receive the bodies of our martyrs as they are without any missing organs.
Q: Is it the first time that Israel confesses such actions?
No it is not the first, it confessed before that some organs were stolen, we should reject this crime and ask for Israel to be punished for such crimes, and these are human bodies and symbols of our resistance.
Q: When will this list be handed over to the Palestinians?
We still don’t know, only Mr. Al-Sheikh knows when it will happen.
|
More Headlines
Hamas accuses Israel, Egypt and the PA of tightening the siege on Gaza
Yesterday, Hamas accused Israel, Egypt and the PA of causing a tighter siege on the Gaza Strip and escalating the humanitarian crisis there. Hamas PLC member Ahmad Bahar said during a sit-in organized by Hamas in Gaza that the siege was being kept on Gaza “because it refused to concede and insisting on adhering to rights and the dignity of the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic people.” The first finger of blame was pointed at Israel, for continuing to close the crossings and not allowing the necessary amounts of fuel and food to enter the Strip. The second, Bahar said was the PA, through its imposition of taxes on the fuel used for the power station, and for doubling price of one liter of fuel in order to suffocate Gaza. He accused the PA of halting European grants going to the power station and pressuring Egypt into closing the Rafah Crossing in addition to not allowing Qatari fuel to reach Gaza. Finally, Bahar accused Egypt for the siege, for continuing to close the Rafah crossing and preventing the entry of free Qatari fuel along with destroying the tunnels. (Al Ayyam)
Qassam operative killed and four injured in explosion in Gaza
Medical sources from the deposed health ministry in Gaza said one citizen was killed and four others injured in an explosion inside a house in the Tel Al Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City yesterday. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Bahlul, 35 died of his wounds after reaching the hospital. All of the victims suffered burns. A statement released by Hamas’ Izzedin Qassam Brigades said Bahloul was a member of the brigades and was martyred during a ‘jihadist operation.” (Al Ayyam)
Update: 25 Palestinians arrested since this morning by Israeli occupation forces
Israeli occupation forces arrested 25 people since this morning in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. According to local sources, arrests were made in Anata north of Jerusalem, Nabi Sumwail, west of Ramallah, Al Aroub camp north of Hebron, Dura, south of Hebron , Saeer in Hebron, nine in Beita and eight in Ya’abad. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=649201)
|
Arab Press
For years, France has been a source of fascination for Palestinians and Arabs for its courage to take positions that run contrary to those of many in Europe and the United States. Palestinians still vividly remember the 1996 visit by former French President Jacques Chirac, when Israeli soldiers insisted on accompanying him to one of Islam’s holiest mosques — Al-Aqsa — as a way of declaring Israeli sovereignty over it. At the time, Chirac uncharacteristically screamed in English at Israeli security: “This is a provocation. Do you want me to get on my plane and go back to France?”
Much has changed since then, including the election of Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande, who have not shown similar courage in their support for Palestinian rights. Israeli officials have repeatedly praised Israel's relations with France, despite France’s vote at the UN in favor of Palestinian statehood in 2012. Even the physical manhandling of a French diplomat in September failed to shake up this unusual bond that has formed between France and Israel.
This Israeli love fest was put on display this week during the state visit by Hollande, who was given the special privilege of addressing the Israeli Knesset. The red-carpet treatment given to the French president was due in large part to his staunch refusal to sign on to the US-led compromise on the Iranian nuclear agreement.
News coming out of the French-Israeli talks, however, showed that despite the anti-Iranian rhetoric, Hollande and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are still far apart, as the French appear to be willing to accept some form of nuclear power for Iran — with the exception of the Arak plant — while Netanyahu wants to completely destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Iran’s insistence on building nuclear power for civil use pales against Israel’s own nuclear weaponry and its refusal to discuss or join any monitoring of its own facilities.
Despite the world interest in the French position on Iran, Palestinians were watching Hollande’s words to see if there was anything new he had to offer regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Nothing appeared different, despite claims by Hollande that Paris is planning a new initiative in regard to the slow-moving peace process.
A question during the Hollande-Netanyahu press conference revealed the French leader’s failure to take a public stand on the issue of settlements. Hollande was asked if he was willing to publicly repeat the description by US Secretary of State John Kerry of settlements as “illegitimate.” Hollande failed to utter the same term, preferring to say that France calls on all to refrain from any provocations. Previously, France had taken a leading role in criticizing Israel on its settlement activities. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said as recently as December 2012 that Israel's plans to build the controversial E1 settlement near Jerusalem was a "new area of colonization." Previous French officials have also been continuously critical of Israel’s settlement activities.
France under Hollande has not only opposed any sanctions on Israel, but during his visit, Hollande signed a number of bilateral agreements. This has further angered Palestinians, who feel that this is yet another sign of rewarding the aggressor rather than holding it accountable for its continued acts in violation of international law and even the official foreign policy of France and the European Union. The EU is scheduled to begin new guidelines early in 2014 that prevent Israeli companies in settlements from receiving prizes, grants or financing from the continent.
Press reports have referred to France’s economic situation as a possible basis for its policy. Numerous reports have said that the current French position regarding Iran seems to be fueled by financial interests in Saudi Arabia. France is a huge exporter of wheat and weapons to Saudi Arabia, which has been a staunch opponent to any nuclear development in Iran and has therefore, pushed France to take a hard-line position regarding compromises on Iran’s nuclear plans.
In choosing a topic that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries deeply care about, Hollande calculates that his government will not be hurt too much by its gushing remarks in Israel.
Hollande will make the mandatory visit to Ramallah and meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and he will repeat the longstanding French and European positions on the Middle East conflict. However, for many in Palestine, the romantic expectations that France will somehow help play an important role in balancing US support for Israel has evaporated.
Palestinian public opinion, which had for a long time counted on France and Europe to counter Washington, will be once again disappointed. This disappointment with France will result in Paris losing its credibility as a potential reliable broker in talks, playing into the hands of Abbas, who prefers to place all his eggs in the US basket.(http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/11/france-hollande-israel-visit-palestine-iran.html)
Palestinians police Israeli-controlled area
By Dalia Hatuqa
Unprecedented patrols in crime-infested town by Palestinian security forces raise questions.
Al Ram, West Bank - Residents in this small town were surprised last week to see armed Palestinian Authority security forces patrolling the streets. The area has become a drug-infested, crime-ridden hub for outlaws after years of Israeli neglect and because the PA wasn't allowed to operate in the area.
Once a thriving suburb of Jerusalem, Al Ram began to change when Israel started building the separation barrier in 2002. Eventually the town was surrounded by the wall on three sides, cutting off Al Ram from the eastern part of Jerusalem and causing residents to move and business owners to close up shop. Much of Al Ram's land was left on the Israeli side of the wall, and the town also was cut off from many nearby villages.
Once a commercial hub, it soon turned into a ghost town and after Israeli police patrols ended, criminals began taking advantage of the security limbo.
Last week's unprecedented operation carried out by Palestinian security forces to weed out criminals came as a welcome surprise to some officials.
"Al Ram is in a state of chaos," said Ali Maslamani, the town's mayor. "It has been like this for a very long time. Because of the occupation, weapons in the hands of outlaws are ubiquitous. Gunfire is heard on a daily basis, even armed robberies, attacks on citizens, stolen cars."
Drugs, murder and weapons in the hands of gangsters are everywhere.
- Adnan Al Damiri, Palestinian police spokesman
Since November 7, Palestinian police have arrested dozens of men and women, some Israeli citizens, wanted on criminal charges, and handed them over to Israeli authorities.
"Yes, Al Ram is under Israeli control, but for years the Israeli police have not carried out its legal or moral obligations to protect citizens in this area," said Adnan Al Damiri, a spokesman for the Palestinian security forces.
"Drugs, murder and weapons in the hands of gangsters are everywhere," Al Damiri told Al Jazeera. "All those who should face justice now flee to these areas because they know no one can touch them there."
Even though it wasn't part of the Israeli-drawn municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, Al Ram was in many ways an integral part of East Jerusalem. But after the separation wall was erected, Al Ram ceased to be the doorway between Ramallah (and the northern West Bank) and the Holy City.
"There are a number of areas where, for more than two decades and due to the Oslo Accords, Palestinians were not afforded even the most basic services, such as a functional fire department or civilian police force," said Diana Buttu, a lawyer and former adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). "The Israeli authorities failed to provide such services and forbade the PA from carrying out this work without first obtaining Israeli permission for each specific act."
In Al Ram, the onus is on residents to hire private companies to collect garbage, roads are dotted with pot-holes, children's parks are few and far between, and schools are neglected. But because the sole purpose of this current operation is to stop criminal acts, the PA will be unable to address any of these issues, Al Damiri said.
According to Maslamani, there have been some instances where Palestinian security officers - after coordinating with Israeli authorities - patrolled areas such as Al Ram, but that was too few and far between to matter, he said.
"In the past, Palestinian security personnel would only be allowed to enter these areas in very few numbers, without official uniforms and weapons," he said. "Criminals wouldn't take them seriously. This week, no fewer than 900 security personnel were here in their official uniforms and carrying their guns."
The timeframe for these patrols is unknown, but Al Ram's mayor said it may be a 10-day operation. Al Damiri said he was hopeful operations may take place in other towns such as Abu Dis, Eizarieh and Anata.
Border demarcations?
The Palestinian operation comes at a time when reports have emerged that Israel will use the route of the West Bank's separation barrier to serve as a future border. Israel had previously said the part-wall, part-fence structure was necessary to stop suicide bombers. But its erection inside the West Bank and away from 1967's internationally recognized "Green Line" led many Palestinians to believe it was a tool to demarcate future borders.
"Israel's opening position was that the border was only the route of the separation barrier, and not the 1967 lines as the Palestinians have demanded," media reports quoted Israeli negotiators as having told their Palestinian counterparts, just hours before the arrival of US Secretary of State John Kerry in Israel and the West Bank.
The PA wants to show Israel just how strong its security forces are and, therefore, how worthy it is to 'control' more territory, particularly if the Americans and Israelis continue to push for yet another interim agreement.
- Diana Buttu, former PLO adviser
For many years, Palestinian communities close to Jerusalem's city limits but beyond the wall voiced fears they would eventually be cut off from the Holy City.
Buttu said there may be more to the Palestinian security operation than ensuring a better quality of life for those living in places such as Al Ram.
"While it is important to provide such basic services to Palestinians, this may not be what is taking place here," he said. "I fear that the PA will once again act as Israel's security subcontractor through increased 'security cooperation', thereby serving to promote Israel's interests, rather than the interests of Palestinians.
"The PA wants to show Israel just how strong its security forces are and, therefore, how worthy it is to 'control' more territory, particularly if the Americans and Israelis continue to push for yet another interim agreement," Buttu added.
Security Coordination
The operation comes as a result of extensive security coordination between Israel and the PA, which experts say is at an all-time high. Al Damiri said the PA has been pushing for this for quite some time, and it took a lot of "pressure from friendly parties" to get Israel to agree to Palestinian demands.
Over the past few years, opposition to joint security coordination has grown among Palestinians. With settlements being built at a fast pace and little to show in way of the peace process, some Palestinians view the local security forces as a tool to crush public dissent and protect Israeli interests.
"The coordination and joint police matters will continue in the long term and has strengthened over the last eight years with the assistance of the EUPOL COPPS," said Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman, referring to the EU-backed mission training Palestinian police forces.(http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/11/palestinians-police-israeli-controlled-area-2013111710476212701.html)
Divided we fall
By the Daily star
The deadly terrorist blast that shook the southern suburbs of Beirut Tuesday was an attack against Lebanon’s sovereignty. The bombings might have targeted the Iranian Embassy, but the horrific incident was the latest in a series of rocket attacks and bombings that have struck the suburbs of the capital, which are an indivisible part of the Lebanese Republic. The attacks are deserving of nothing other than condemnation, and all sides should work together to ensure that such incidents are not repeated.
But the same also goes for every single Israeli action that violates the sovereignty of Lebanon, and it also applies to every single violation of Lebanon’s border by its neighbor Syria. Sovereignty cannot be vigorously defended in one place and ignored in another. The voices of outrage against Tuesday’s bombings are justified in warning of the growth of such terror attacks, but they often ignore what motivates the violence. In doing so, they manage to sound like the American and Israeli officials who have long complained about “Palestinian terror,” and reject any notion that some cause might generate such violence.
The war in Syria has had huge repercussions on that country’s neighbor to the west on several levels and it will continue to do so as long as Lebanese parties openly take part in the violence across the border.
The so-called “warning bell” has been ringing in Lebanon periodically ever since the first year of the uprising in Syria, but some Lebanese politicians still stubbornly insisted on becoming more deeply involved in the crisis. These days, the implications of the war in Syria aren’t abstract considerations – they are serious dangers to the country’s social fabric, economy and political order.
The problem is that two sides with dramatically different views on how to respond to these threats cannot sit down to address them. They can’t sit down to discuss how the country as a whole should respond to the threats to sovereignty posed by Israel because a national defense strategy is apparently too sensitive a matter to be left to civilian politicians. They can’t sit down to discuss how they should respond to the crisis in Syria. The option of the Baabda Declaration, as promoted by President Michel Sleiman and others, is a nonstarter, in the words of politicians from Hezbollah, which dominates one of the rival political camps.
Until serious efforts are made to come up with national policies that reflect national interests and are consistent in tackling the question of national sovereignty, there will likely be further deadly repercussions of the crisis in Syria. There are several actors who would like to see Lebanon divided. Some of them, such as Israel and “takfiri” groups have been blamed for Tuesday’s attack.
But the true culprit is an inability to recognize that Lebanon can only confront the crisis in Syria with a united stand and a commitment to noninvolvement. Everything else is a dangerous waste of time.(http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Editorial/2013/Nov-20/238354-divided-we-fall.ashx#axzz2l9yiNB1d)
|
Opinions
Translating settlements denunciation into active measures
Al-Dustuor Editorial
Several states, especially France and the US, have condemned settlements considering it as illegal, after Chief Palestinian negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat resigned in a protest against the continuation of this aggression, and the rejection of the Zionist aggression to comply with international legitimacyresolutions.
In our view, this conviction, although it is important and not new, still enough, just talksthat need to be transferred into effective action to deter the enemy and halt its illegal expansionist ambitions under international sanctions.
In some details... The United Nations and the Security Council issues a lot of resolutions denouncing settlements as a violation of international law, calling on Israel to stop this policy of aggression, repeated statements condemning this criminal act were repeated for more than six decades, and the result was what happened and still happening on the Palestinian territory. Settlements continue according to a planned approach and did not stop until now, more than swallowing more than 65% of West Bank territory and 86% of the territory of occupied Jerusalem, turning the rest to isolated islands that makes a contiguous Palestinian State impossible to reach.
On the other hand, denunciations that were absent for a long time in the international political arena came after the resignation of Palestinian negotiations team to protest the continuation of these absurd acts, this confirms that those States denounced settlements to satisfy the Palestinian Authority, and make it return to negotiations. This is what happened, as Palestinian President announced that the Palestinian Authority will continue with negotiations until the nine months are finished, regardless of what happens in the Palestinian territories..!!
It's no secret that western complicity and US unlimited support are the reason behind the refusal of the Zionist enemy to stop settlements and comply with the terms and conditions of the peace process, and its determination to proceed with the implementation of its plans and its expansionist schemes and Judaization, violating international law and relevant conventions, after being relaxed that American "veto" will protect it from international sanctions.
US-French condemnations by senior officials of the two countries are only talksthat lack the means of implementation, and does not call thing by their names.
If these States are really serious in condemning settlements, they would immediately invite the Security Council to convene and take bold decisions calling for Israel to dismantle all settlements in the West Bank as illegal, and to stop all unilateral actions, especially crimes against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, ethnic cleansing through demolition of Arab houses and building established around Al-Aqsa andbulldozing cemeteries. Israeli would not dare then to change the names of Arab Jerusalem streets Hebrew names.
In short: denunciation of settlements requires effective practical actions forcing the Zionist enemy to stop this aggression, evacuating existing settlements as illegal and stop Judaizing Jerusalem, storming Al-Aqsa, force it to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories and establishing a Palestinian State in accordance with international resolutions. Other than that would only remain talks to absorb the anger of the Palestinian Authority.(http://www.addustour.com/17040/%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%A9+%D8%A5%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A9+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%86+%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89+%D8%A5%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1%D8%A7%D8%AA+%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A9.html)
Kerry under Israeli fire..!!
Adel Abdurrahman
US-Israeli relations in recent weeks witnessesa noteworthytension after President Barack Obama called Hassan Rohani, the Iranian President, during the last session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the two countries, which resulted in a change of the US administration position of two files, theIranian nuclear file and the Syrian file aiming at dropping the military option and rush towards a political solution.
The contrast between the United States and Israel grown in the wake of Foreign Minister John Kerry's visit to the region last week, where he met on Wednesday 13 November in Bethlehem with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, followed by more than one statement of the Secretary of State against settlements, considering settlements as hindrance to progress the two-state solution on the pre-1967 borders. Kerry confirmed this position on National Palestinian Channel and Israeli channel 10. He denied the Israeli allegations trying to mislead Israeli, Palestinian and international public opinion that the Palestinian leadership had agreed to return to negotiations and the release of prisoners before Oslo for "no objecting" Israeli settlements. Israeli leaders, Ministers and other officials in decision-making positions, columnists and the Israeli media came out with an unprecedented campaign against John Kerry, as a target under fire, describing the man as "a persona non grata” in Israel and "dishonest broker", reflecting the size of the crisis between the two sides. Netanyahu did not even shake the hands of head of American diplomacy during their meeting Friday(12/11), as the simplest traditions of Protocol.
The US position is relatively considered as positive towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. However, the position of the Obama administration needs fit talks to actions, use sanctions against colonial settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories in 1967, and be consistent with the EU decision, which will start early next year, calling for a boycott of goods produced in the colonies and all who deal with it in Israel, so we can bit on the administration positions.
Observers cannot assume positive development if the US position remained within the limits of statements, but it is throwing sand in the eyes of the Palestinians, for Israel to continueits imperialist strategy, and distract Palestinians from pursuing their national rights in various international forums.
It is logical that no observer will be far from reading the boundaries and limits of the US/Israeli contrast, since the US administration, if assuming its good intentionsinmaking peace, is tied by the Congress, Senate, AIPAC and other centers of influence in decision-making, which will not allow for Obama, his Foreign Minister and head of the National Security Council to get far in the difference with the Israeli Government, regardless of its policies and its violations, which not only threaten peace in the region, but even threaten US vital for the nature of relationship between AIPAC and Israel, and for the Republican belief that the existence of Israel and its power now and its elimination afterwards, is related to the resurrection of the Messiah!? So the assumption that Israeli/American difference will tend towards broader and deeper horizons, is a false and naive assumption, and far the essence of strategic relations between the two countries.
The United States can turn its back to Israel in two cases, the first if Israel becomes a real burden and costly to the United States and its vital interests in the region, the second would be with the absence of the American Empire sun of international political decision. Otherwise,it is difficult to bet on more than what exists. However, Israel does not accept only declarations, since it knows very well how much the administration needs it. (http://amin.org/articles.php?t=opinion&id=22643)
|
|
WHAT'S NEW
BACKGROUND
POLLS
WAYS TO GET JMCC
CONTACT US
|
To subscribe to free newsletter submit your email |
|
|
|