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March 6, 2015
Daily summary - Tuesday, December 3, 2013
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Main News
Despite reports on crisis in negotiations: a new Palestinian-Israeli meeting
According to Israeli website, “Walla”,Palestinian negotiations teammet with the Israeli team last week despite reports of a crisis in the negotiations. “Walla” said that several negotiating meetings were held since the resignation of the Palestinian negotiations team, including a meeting last week attended by Dr. Saeb Erekat without his companion Mohammed Shtayyeh. “Walla” Quoted Western diplomatic sources as saying that the Palestinians would demand from Kerry, who is scheduled to arrive in the region tomorrow, to deepening and intensifying the international community's intervention in the negotiations, while US sources said Kerry is interested in real progress in the negotiations by mid-January before releasing the thirdbatch of Palestinian prisoners, and that he dedicate his next visit to calm the parties and bring negotiations back on track.(http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=653508)
President meets with Arab journalists participating in the tourist media conference; called head of “Shas” and congratulatedMousafor finalizing the draft Constitution
A telephone call took place, last evening, between President Mahmoud Abbas and head of Israeli party “Shas”, Aryeh Deri’, the telephone call included update on the peace process and ways to support it. President Abbas also called, yesterday evening, Chairman of the Committee on amending the Egyptian Constitution, Amr Mousa,and congratulated him and the Egyptian people for completion the draft Constitution towards the implementation of the roadmap. Mousa thanked President Abbas for his positions towards the Egyptian people and the stability and prosperity of Egypt.President Abbas also received at his headquarters in Ramallah yesterday, Arab Journalists participating in the second session of the tourist media conference in Palestine. He welcomed the Arab brothers, stressing the importance of these partnerships that support Palestinian steadfastness on their land in the face of the occupation.(Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
Security forces of the PNA withdraws from the streets of Nablus after Israeli incursion
Palestinian security forces withdrew from the streets of Nablus after midnight, after Israeli occupation forces moved into the area around Joseph's Tomb. “Safa” correspondent said that the Israeli occupation forces stormed the city in preparation for the entry of extremist settlers to Joseph's Tomb in Balatah area east of Nablus, to perform Talmudic rituals in the place. Eyewitnesses said that “clashes broke out between Israeli forces and young men who threw stones and empty bottles, while the soldiers fired sound bombs and tear gas towards the young Palestinians and the surrounding houses.” The Israeli incursion came just hours after the arrival of some 500 members of the Palestinian national security to start a broad security campaign in the city and the neighboring refugee camps and villages.(http://safa.ps/details/news/117372/%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AD%D8%A8-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B9-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%B3-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%BA%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84.html)
Occupation allows entry of construction materials into the Gaza Strip under conditions
According to Haaretz website, Israeli occupation Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon approved yesterday on what he described as "professional-level recommendations in the security establishment," allowing the entry of construction materials into the Gaza Strip for several large projects implemented by international organizations. Haaretz added that Israeli security officials have warned of the danger of continuing to prevent the entry of construction materials, which means the loss of tens of thousands of Gaza Strip residents of their places of work and the deterioration of the security situation.Ya'alon was quoted as saying that "this partial approval will be conditional on the continued security on the border, and not allowing entry of what could be considered a threat to the security of Israel," and "staying away from practices that could lead to the freezing of the resolution again.”(http://www.qudsn.ps/article/34092)
Israel begins establishing a settlement near Ramallah
Resident of the village Mazra’a Al-Qibleyah, near Ramallah, fear losing their land forever, after Israeli bulldozers began its work to establish a new settlement on their lands. Abdallah Ladadweh head of the village council, told Reuters yesterday: "in 2007, Israel confiscated hundreds of dunams of land, using outdated laws, arguing that the land was deserted and are not cultivated, and offered them to settlers who used them to plant grapes.” Ladadweh added from his house facing the land wheremobile houses are placed to be the basis of a new settlement: "last month (Israel) issued a decision to turn this agricultural land to residential land for settlers and gave the village residents 60 days’ noticefor objection", adding: "this notice is formal and worthless with the continuation of the work of the bulldozers in the land, and placing mobile homes, as a first act to build houses." Ladadweh explained that Israel is imposing facts on the ground by placing mobile homes to a settlement, calling it "Nahala Tal" next to "Nahla’el" and "Tel Mond", adding: "When the land was confiscated in 2007 for agriculture, we feared the loss of land, but today with the introduction of a settlement, it seems that we will lost it forever.” (http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/476166)
Israeli military officer: there are common interests between the Israeli army and Hamas; and Al-Bardawil replies
Israeli channel 10 reported statements by the Gaza Division Commander Mickey Edelstien, who said, "There is a language of interest linking Israel and Hamas movement who controls the Gaza Strip." Edelstien said, according to the channel, "Israel is seeking to maintain the security of the towns in southern Israel, and Hamas is interested in not deteriorating the situation.” Edelstienadded that "Hamas established a unit of 800 fighters to prevent any escalation on the border, especially firing missile or placing explosive devices, to avoid confronting Israel at this stage.” In response, Hamas leader Salah Bardawil said “the resistance manages to calm the conflict with the Israeli occupation according to what serves the Palestinian resistance.” Adding:"we will not accept any analogy between Hamas and Fatah who holds regular security coordination and cooperation with the Israeli occupation in the West Bank to crack down on the resistance," stressing that “Hamas doesn't accept that there will be an inch of Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories. " (http://www.amad.ps/ar/?Action=Details&ID=7053)
Activists sail to the Gaza Sea with fishing boats to highlight Israeli siege
More than 200 Palestinian activists with a number of international solidarity activists sailed on fishing boats for several miles at the sea of Gaza City to highlight Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip. The activists, mostly young members of the " Intifada Youth Coalition”, which organized the event, called "Justice and steadfastness convoy”, sailed aboard twenty Palestinian fishing boats with Palestinian flags, for about six nautical miles before returning to Gaza City's fishermen Harbor.(Al-Ayyam)
An Israeli court freezes demolition orders of 10 buildings in the neighborhood of Ras Khamis in occupied Jerusalem for a month
Hundreds of citizens were able to reach adecision of an Israeli court to freeze orders to demolish their houses in Ras Khamis in east Jerusalem for a month, but they indicated that they have no confidence in Israeli courts and therefore they don’t have any hope.Khadr Al-Debs, a member of the Committee for the defense of threatened houses in demolition in Ras Khamis and Ras Shehada, and Coordinator of the National Committee for the resisting Judaization, told “Al-Ayyam”: "We were able through the counsel families’ lawyers to get a decision of the Israeli court to postpone demolition orders of houses in the neighborhood of Ras Khamis for a month during which objections to demolition will be issued."(Al-Ayyam)
Leaders of "Labor" and "Shas" agree to work to bring down the Netanyahu Government
Israel's labor and Shas parties announced their intention in the Knesset to bring down the Netanyahu Government.Maariv website said that the decision came following a meeting between the new Labor and Shas leaders Yitzhak Herzog and Aryeh Deri’.A statement of Arieh Deri’ said: "the two agreed to strengthen cooperation and work together through the seats of opposition to bring down the Netanyahu Government."(Al-Ayyam)
Othman: there is no policy of withdrawing Egyptian nationality of Palestinians
Egyptian Ambassador of Egypt to the PA, Yasser Othman, said that owning an Egyptian nationality by any foreigner is subject to controls provided for under Egyptian law only, adding that "there is no political decision to withdraw the Egyptian nationality of Palestinians, there is no need for the Palestinian brothers concerns in Gaza."(http://qudsnet.com/news/View/259121/%D8%B9%D8%AB%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%84%D8%A7-%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%AC%D8%AF-%D8%A3%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%87-%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A-%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86/)
Occupation arrested two sons of deported Deputy Attoun in Jerusalem
Occupation forces arrested on Monday evening, the two sons of Jerusalem deported PLC Deputy Ahmed Attounfrom the village of Sur Baher, south of Jerusalem. The occupation force surrounded the House of Attoun and arrested his two sons: Mujahed (15 years old) and Mohammad (14 years old).(http://wattan.tv/ar/news/81083.html)
Peres participation in an Arab-Islamic security summit through a speech over video conference revealed
Spokeswoman of Israeli President Shimon Peressaid that Peres delivered a speech via closed-circuit television (video conferencing) to a summit attended by 29 representatives of the Arab and Muslim world.Nobel Peace Prize winner Peres participated in the Security Summit held in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. two weeks ago via "video-conference" in front of some 29 Foreign Ministers of Arab and Muslim States who participated in the security summit for the Gulf States.(Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
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Headlines
** Jewish organizations are preparing to enter the "Talmudic candlestick" to Al-Aqsa today (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** Teachers’ Union declares open and general strike despite High Court decision (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** King Abdullah calls on churches to unite their efforts to confront Israeli practices in Jerusalem (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** Awad: a decision to fix medicine prices as in neighboring states especially Israel (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** Al-Habash: Waqf money should be administer according to Islamic Sharea’ laws (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** Public servants union renews partial strike today (Al-Ayyam)
** starting a project to lightening Al-Aqsa (Al-Ayyam)
** UN: Evidences showing Syrian President Responsibility for war and against humanity crimes (Al-Ayyam)
** Al-Hamdallah: Salaries end of this week (Al-Ayyam)
** Confrontation in Ayda refugee camp; Israeli forces demolish 3 houses and 9 pens in Al-Uja (Al-Ayyam)
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Front Page Photos
Al- Quds:1) Gaza – Palestinian boats during a convoy organized by the “Intifada Youth Coalition”. 2) Dr. Salam Fayyad.
Al-Ayyam:Gaza – citizens sailing in fishing boats during their participation in the convoy.
Al Hayat Al Jadida:1) Cartoon describing strikes in Palestine, 2) citizens in Al-Aqra’ funeral in Qabalan, 3) Security forces’ vehicles entering Nablus.
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Voice of Palestine News
Gaza Strip: Over the past week, Israeli occupation forces have been keen on conducting mock air attacks on the Strip, the most recent being last night. These came in tandem with shooting at Palestinian fishermen off of Rafah. No injuries were reported. It also seems like Israel has approved the entry of some construction materials for five UNRWA projects out of 20 which were halted. UNRWA has not yet been informed officially of this decision, but the approval was reported in the Israeli media.
If this is true, it could be the beginning of a number of facilitations for the Strip for completing the UNRWA projects; however this has nothing to do with commercial construction materials; this sector has come to a complete halt for the past month.
Jerusalem: In the last few days, there has been a rising number of settlers breaking into the Aqsa Mosque, most of whom are extremists from Kiryat Arba and West Bank settlements. Over the past two days, the settlers have been throwing themselves on the ground in the Aqsa compound; when the Palestinians try to face off with them, they are confronted by the settlers with foul language and hand signs. The Israeli police always step in to protect them. Israeli security members also have been touring the Aqsa, which they say are ‘visitors.” Also, last night and today, a large number of settlers marched around the gates of the Aqsa. Today we are expecting an escalation after Israeli groups said they would bring a menorah into the grounds to light it inside.
Tomorrow, a press conference will be held in the Islamic Commission in Jerusalem in which Sheikh Ikrama Sabri will speak about the threats to Al Aqsa.
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Voice of Palestine Interviews
**Khader Al Dibis, member of the committee for the defense of homes threatened with demolition, on the suspended orders to demolish homes in Ras Khamis in Shufat.
Q: Israel has suspended the demolition orders. What can the Palestinians do now to protect these homes from being demolished?
This is an opportunity which we need to appeal this demolition order; part of our case is that Israeli authorities take huge taxes from the residents and do not offer them any services. Instead, their tax money goes to service the settlement of Pisgat Zeev. The only service the authorities offer in this area is the houses.
So, we appealed through the neighborhood committees, saying that the municipality does not offer any services and then is coming to demolish the homes. We will continue to appeal and to oppose until we can prove that the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem practices discrimination and racism and terrorism in Jerusalem through these demolition orders.
Having said that, I do not trust Israeli courts because they are part of the Israeli military establishment, which is trying to Judaize Jerusalem and expel the Palestinians.
Q: So, in spite of the suspension of the order, will these homes remain under the threat of demolition?
Yes, because the order has not been cancelled, only postponed. The Israelis are claiming these houses never got the proper construction licenses, as if the authorities give Palestinian licenses. This is part of our appeal – the residents are prepared to apply for licenses as homeowners but the Israeli authorities are implementing a racist policy aimed at expelling Palestinian Jerusalemites.
**Issa Qaraqe, Minister of Prisoner Affairs, on the crackdown on administrative detainees in Israeli prisons
Q: Can you tell us about this crackdown and in which prisons it took place?
The measures were carried out in the Negev Prison’s Bloc 25 where there are 25 administrative detainees. These detainees announced their boycott of military courts and began a program of steps including returning meals every Monday. Israeli prison services began cracking down on them to break their strike, including raids on their rooms and confiscating their belongings including all electronic devices. They closed the bloc and turned it into cells and banned the prisoners from family visits. They do not let them take their break and have put many in solitary cells. The raids have been almost daily in the Negev prison.
Q: Should we expect even more escalation from the administrative detainees?
They have already begun to return meals and they said this program will continue until December 10; after that they will begin returning meals twice a week until the end of December. After that they will decide whether to wage an open hunger strike, depending on whether prison services respond to their demand, which is to cancel administrative detention orders. I would just like to say that all administrative detainees are following these protest measures, not just the ones in the Negev. There are around 150 administrative detainees in three prisons.
**Ayed Abu Qteish, head of the accountability program in Defense for Children International, on complaints filed against the arrest and mistreatment of Palestinian children
Q: What is new about this complaint? We see Palestinian children being mistreated all the time by Israeli occupation forces
Even though all Palestinian children who are arrested by Israeli authorities are subjected to some form of mistreatment, DCI files complaints in a number of specific cases: the main goal of filing a complaint is to prove that there is no accountability for the perpetrators. And the only way we can do that is to actually file the complaint to Israeli authorities and see if they open an investigation. So far this is the 10th complaint we have filed this year and so far DCI has been told that two the cases were closed for lack of evidence; the other eight, we have heard nothing about them. Our goal is to eventually hold the soldiers who mistreated the children accountable for their actions.
**PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi, on the leadership’s plans, namely going to the UN
We do not see any contradiction between going to the UN to file complaints in the Security Council or General Assembly, or entering agencies and agreements, and between the negotiating process. This is not a response to the failure of the negotiations. This is a basic Palestinian right – we are an observer state in the UN and we can enter into these agencies and strengthen our status to protect our lands, rights and resources.
Originally, there was pressure and efforts by the US and other countries to postpone this move, but the postponement was because of an agreement between the leadership and the US contingent upon the success of the negotiations. But it is very clear that the negotiations are facing a very dangerous crisis because of Israel’s intransigence and unilateral steps, which has replaced the two-state solution with the concept of Greater Israel. All of Israel’s measures – judiazation of Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley, its measures in the Negev – all of these measures show that Israel is not interested in moving forward with a real negotiating process that will lead to the two-state solution.
So, it is our right to go to the UN and strengthen our stance and get at least the minimum level of protection. It is not a threat or a response or illegal. Israel acts outside of the law and is a rogue state, not us.
Q: When do you think this will happen?
There are many things we need to consider and which need decisions. It is not about time – we are looking at this gradually and will do it step by step. We are planning to join conventions, such as the Geneva Convention so we can become a contracting member.
Q: Don’t you think the Israelis might renege on releasing pre-Oslo prisoners if you go to the UN, saying you breached an agreement with them?
This was an agreement with the Americans, not the Israelis. And the agreement was to ‘postpone’ going to the UN until they are released. But Israel is what is breaching all of the promises and agreements with the Americans, not us. They are sabotaging the very principles on which the process began, so we have every right to protect ourselves. We would never undermine efforts to release the prisoners. We know it is imperative that they are released, all of them. Their release is our right. They should be held accountable for not abiding by their own promises, not us.
Q: You spoke about a ‘dangerous crisis” in the negotiations. Does that mean you believe the nine-month period will not yield any results even if the Americans intervene?
We do not expect anything from this Israeli government, which is basically made of settlers who hold key positions. So, even if the Americans offer ideas to bridge the differences between the two sides, it will be very difficult to find any common ground between them. It is an occupying country and behaves like it is above the law. And we are the people under the occupation. So, you cannot ask that both sides show flexibility and give concessions. We gave a historical concession when we accepted the two-state solution and recognized Israel. What we need is for international law to be honored. If the Americans intervene our fear is that their position will be coordinated with the Israeli position and their demands instead of honoring international law.
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More Headlines
Al-Rashq: entering the "Talmudic Candlestick" to Al-Aqsa is a dangerous escalation
Member of the political Bureau of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, Ezat Al-Rashq, Considered the Israeli to enter the Talmudic candlestick to Al-Aqsa a dangerous escalation. Al-Rashq said on his Facebook account that entering the so-called “Talmudic candlestick” (menorah) to “Al-Aqsa during the next two days is a dangerous escalation and a new Israeli crime ". Al-Rashq called on the Palestinian people to face these attempts and protect Al-Aqsa. (http://paltimes.net/details/news/53907.html)
Occupation destroys wells and tents in the Valley
Israeli bulldozers began since the early morning hours destroying wells and tents belonging to citizens in different parts of the northern Jordan Valley, on the pretext of unauthorized construction. Aref Daraghmeh, head of Al-Maleh village Council, told “Ma’an” and nomadic that two bulldozers began to demolish two wells in Al-Bqea’ and Al-Adaseh areas in Al-Maleh. Daraghmeh pointed out that most citizens did not receive notices of demolition, adding that the occupation continues its attacks on citizens, trees and stone in the Valley to depopulate citizens. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=653539)
Kerry in the region today
Foreign Minister John Kerry begins a tour of the Middle East and Europe today, visiting Israel and the West Bank to discuss moving the negotiations between the two sides. Israeli public radio said that Kerry would arrive in Israel after a visit to Brussels and Moldova, where he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The radio said the two would discuss negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, in addition to discussing the Geneva agreement with Iran, which Israel objects. Kerry will also visit the West Bank to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (http://safa.ps/details/news/117385/.html)
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Arab Press
A narcissistic US, an anxious Saudi Arabia and a hysterical Israel
Amal Saad-Ghorayeb
For far too long now, members of the Resistance Axis (Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas) have been the objects of the West's psychopathologising gaze, as I have documented on my blog, ASG's Counter-Hegemony Unit. While the Syrian government has been pathologised as "delusional" and "detached from reality", Iran has similarly been anthromorphised and classified as an "irrational" actor whose foreign policy behaviour closely resembles a person suffering from Anti-Social Personality disorder.
Dubbed a "rogue state" by successive US administrations, official statements and political analyses of Iran's political behaviour have drawn extensively from criteria and symptomology contained in the various editions of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), US' psychiatry bible. Thus for example, Iran's refusal to "join the community of nations" corresponds with the Anti-Social deviant's "failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviours"; its failure to "fulfil its international obligations" is typical of his "consistent irresponsibility" to "honour…obligations"; its repeated attempts to "deceive the international community" about its nuclear ambitions mirrors his "deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying"; its "sponsorship of terror" is symptomatic of his "irritability and aggressiveness", and so on.
It wasn't until today after reading this piece by Robert Worth in the New York Times, that I was suddenly inspired to deflect some of that psychopathologising gaze back to its source, specifically, to the increasingly dysfunctional relationship between the US and its Israeli and Saudi allies, in the context of the nuclear talks with Iran. Worth's references to Saudi's "deep fear of abandonment", and the "[Saudi] wave of anxious, defeatist comments about being abandoned by the United States" on Twitter, were just begging for a Borderline Personality Disorder classification, as such fears are a hallmark of BPD.
US narcissism
In order to more fully appreciate this characterisation, one has to first understand the US' pathology and how it affects the behaviour of its partners who share diagnostic "Cluster B" traits with it. As a Malignant/Classical/Grandiose Narcissist (not to be confused with the Compensatory/Vulnerable narcissism exhibited by the likes of France and the UK), the US imperium is characterised by "an obsession with one's self to the exclusion of all others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition."
In fact, the US possesses every single NPD trait: harbours feelings of grandiosity and self-importance; is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success and power; believes in its uniqueness; has a very strong sense of entitlement; is interpersonally exploitative; lacks empathy; is arrogant and haughty; feels superior, omnipotent, omniscient, invincible, immune, "above the law", and omnipresent.
In keeping with narcissistic behaviour, the US defines its identity in relation to others, and as such, relies on both friends and foes for "Narcissistic Supply", not only in its positive manifestations - admiration, awe, fame and adoration - but even negative ones like fame, notoriety, infamy, fear and repulsion - anything that makes the narcissist feel powerful and in control. Displays of economic and military "hard power" with which to woo and terrorise others, therefore, provide the very edifice of uninterrupted Narcissistic Supply for the hegemonic world power.
But neither admiration and adulation, nor dependency and servitude suffice to maintain the narcissist's interest in his sources of supply, as he is prone to taking them for granted and replacing them with other sources deemed more worthy or valuable. Enter Saudi Arabia and its "frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment" by Washington, as per the DSM's leading criterion for BPD. Even "when faced with a realistic separation or when there are unavoidable changes in plans", the BPD will experience intense fears of abandonment and permanent separation from his partner.
Saudis' abandonment issues
As Worth reveals, these fears can be particularly outlandish:
"In its most feverish form, the Saudis' anxiety is not just that the United States will leave them more exposed to Iran, but that it will reach a reconciliation and ultimately anoint Iran as the central American ally in the region. As the Saudi newspaper Al Riyadh put it recently in an unsigned column:"The Geneva negotiations are just a prelude to a new chapter of convergence"between the United States and Iran."
Needless to say, such paranoia is only exacerbated in the borderline personality when the narcissist withholds information or lies from him. This is precisely what Washington did when it concealed the secret meetings it held with Iran, months before the two sides formally met in Geneva, from its allies. A regime insider revealed the disillusionment the Saudis felt on this matter: "We were lied to, things were hidden from us," he said. "The problem is not with the deal struck in Geneva but how it was done."
In borderline personalities, abandonment fears often leads to self-injury in the form of "suicidal threats and gestures", and other self-sabotaging behaviour. It is in this context that Saudis' unprecedented refusal to accept its newly won seat on the United Nations Security Council last month - a refusal which "gave the impression of a self-destructive temper tantrum" - must be read. Worth's observation that, "Beyond such gestures, it is not clear that the Saudis can do much," is particularly apt here. The US, being the callously indifferent narcissist that it is, simply doesn't care, as epitomised by Fareed Zakaria's headline in TIME "The Saudis Are Mad? Tough! Why we shouldn't care that the world's most irresponsible country is displeased at the US."
As expected of borderline personalities, Saudi Arabia reacted to this neglect with fits of rage, impulsivity and a destabilisation of the relationship - a kind of "I hate you, don't leave me" phenomenon - which only serves to push the narcissist further away from the borderline personality. In the case of the Saudi borderline personality, existential fears are especially pronounced as they directly relate to regime survival, which, in no small measure, is dependent on US military and political support.
And yet despite all this, Saudi threats of a "major shift" in relations with the US have been met with little more than John Kerry's glib reassurances of Saudi's "indispensability" punctuated by unremorseful, self-congratulatory pats on the back: "Nobody else in the world at this moment - and I don't say this with any arrogance; I say it with pride and I say it as a matter of reality - no one else comes close to what we are able to do to keep the peace or what we do to try to manage and tampen down old animosities and keep them at bay."
Israel's hysteria
But the US' nonchalance vis-a-vis the Saudis should hardly come as a surprise when it is extending similar treatment to its closest ally, Israel. As a Histrionic Personality disordered regime, Israel has been taking the P5+1 negotiations with Iran much harder than its Saudi counterpart. The histrionic's penchant for "hysteria", "self-dramatisation, theatricality, exaggerated expression of emotions", and discomfort when "not the centre of attention", has been showcased by Israel's "borderline hysterical response" to the interim agreement with Iran, as one Foreign Policy writer described it. These theatrics were most vividly illustrated by Netanyahu's meme-generating, Looney Tunes-inspired, Iranian bomb cartoon which he somberly displayed at the UN last year - a textbook case of the histrionic's "highly impressionistic" style of expression.
Doubtless, the profound sense of betrayal, and resulting "out and out nuttiness", to borrow the words of one Israeli writer, is due in large part to the histrionic's tendency "to believe that relationships are more intimate than they actually are" - a tendency best exemplified by Shimon Peres' rather embarrassing Ramadan message of "peace" to Muslims, earlier this year. But it is also a result of the histrionic's need "to control their partner through emotional manipulation or seductiveness on one level, whereas displaying a marked dependency on them at another level"; playing the role of "the victim" in need of rescuing, is simultaneously an instrument of control and a reinforcement of the dependency.
But excessive Israeli victimisation and escalating rhetoric against the Obama administration for striking a deal with Iran appears to have exhausted the latter, as evinced by Kerry's unusually harsh language earlier this month, when he deemed Israeli settlement expansion as "illegitimate" and asked if Israel wanted "a third intifada".
But being "excessively sensitive to criticism or disapproval" only sends the histrionic into a tail-spin of self-pity and inconsolable rage which was not in the least bit assuaged by Kerry's assurances that the deal "makes Israel safer". In typical histrionic fashion, Israel merely lashed out further against its partner, as Netanyahu unabashedly called for American Jews to oppose their government for dealing with Iran. As with the borderline personality's reactivity, the histrionic's self-sabotaging gestures are ultimately suicidal. The Economist observes, "Even if Mr Netanyahu were right, an increase in the risk of an Iranian nuclear bomb poses nowhere near as great a threat to Israel's security as losing the solidarity of American Jews."
In the final analysis, the US-Iranian nuclear agreement must be viewed not merely as a breakthrough in international relations, but as a psychological breakthrough in an otherwise pathological world order.(http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/11/narcissistic-us-an-anxious-saudi-arabia-hysterical-israel-201311301119738260.html)
Allen mission key to Israeli-Palestinian security talks
By Geoffrey Aronson
Lots of ink has been devoted to the formal negotiations that commenced in midsummer between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. An arguably more important undertaking, however, has been led by recently retired four-star Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, former commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, to come up with a made-in-America solutions to Israel’s security needs on its “eastern front” — across the Jordan River eastward to Iraq and Iran. Unlike the diplomatic track, whose failure to get out of neutral is subject to much informed and uninformed commentary, Allen’s effort has largely succeeded in maintaining a low public and political profile.
This is in inverse proportion to the issue at hand. Allen and a team drawn largely from the ranks of serving US military officers are in the broadest sense trying to define the security architecture of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, particularly as it relates to Israel’s strategic security. He is looking at how Israel’s security can be increased as part of an agreement — through redeployment of the IDF behind recognized borders and the creation of a third-party monitoring presence. His recommendations were passed on to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz.
The United States has traditionally bowed to Israel’s own expansive assessments on this issue, so the very fact that American policymakers are instructing their own generals and colonels to think critically about defining and addressing Israel’s security needs is a topic of concern to many Israeli officials and politicians, who will not easily surrender their absolute control of both the negotiating agenda or its practical elements.
It is difficult to measure Allen’s effort directly. But it is possible to see evidence of the consternation it is causing in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s effort to challenge the notions at the heart of Allen’s and more broadly the Kerry-led policy to facilitate a negotiated agreement. So, for example, Netanyahu has wrapped himself in the revered mantle of slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, the leader most associated with Israel’s uneven reconciliation with Palestinian nationalism, in reiterating opposition to any significant change in Israel’s military presence in and control over the Jordan Valley.
At a Knesset meeting in October marking the 18th anniversary of the Rabin’s assassination Netanyahu declared, “Our strength is the guarantee for our existence and peace. We do not want an Iranian offshoot in Judea and Samaria. This requires a security border in the Jordan Valley, as Rabin said in his last speech.”
In a May 2011 appearance before the US Congress, long before Allen’s appointment, Netanyahu insisted that “it's therefore vital — absolutely vital — that a Palestinian state be fully demilitarized, and it's vital — absolutely vital — that Israel maintain a long-term military presence along the Jordan River.”
And last month, citing concerns about an influx of refugees and terrorists from Syria. Netanyahu raised the prospect of constructing a new and improved barrier along the Jordan River.
Peace requires that the sides agree on “a security [framework] that can defend the peace and defend the state of Israel in case that peace frays. These security arrangements are important to us, and we continue to insist strongly on them,” Netanyahu told a weekly abinet meeting.
The security arrangements “will no doubt include many things,” Netanyahu added, “but first among them will be that the state of Israel’s security border remains along the Jordan [River].”
According to the report in Maariv on Nov. 3, “In Netanyahu's eyes, creation of a fence may also send a message to the Palestinians opposed to an Israeli presence along the Jordan River and its control of the border crossings that Israel intends to defend its eastern border in the Valley and that it has no intention to evacuate in any agreement whatsoever.”
The announcement of support for a barrier separating the Jordan Valley from Jordan remains reflects political as much as security concerns. Indeed, for decades Israel derided the concept of physical barriers along its de facto borders as limiting both its territorial aspirations and freedom of military action, a view that is reflected today in the refusal of some West Bank settlements to build fences around their undefined perimeters.
Israel in recent years has nonetheless adopted a strategy of creating physical barriers around its entire perimeter – from Gaza in the south to the “blue line” separating Lebanon from Israel in the north. The construction of a barrier in the Golan Heights has been announced. The separation barrier in the West Bank is too is a material reflection of Israel’s new focus on defensive operational strategy, framed as part, however, of an aggressive political intention to unilaterally determine the borders of the state.
Netanyahu's push-back in the face of an American diplomatic initiative to challenge this prerogative is not unexpected.
An earlier, similar US effort was attempted during the administration of President George W. Bush. In the wake of the Annapolis conference in November 2007 Bush appointed another Marine Corps general with an outsized reputation, James Jones, to “fly at 30,000 feet” to scope out how best to structure a security regime as part of a final status agreement.
Jones, like Allen, assembled a US military team, and a draft report was duly presented to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who put it in drawer where it promptly disappeared. As the Annapolis effort progressed, Jones’ mission lost its initial focus. Instead of planning for security in the context of peace, its mandate was narrowed to improving the security environment on the ground in and around the market town of Jenin — from an Israeli perspective a far more manageable and acceptable objective.
Allen’s effort could suffer the fate of the Jones mission, becoming yet another victim of American intentions undermined by a loss of focus and lack of commitment to achieving the objective.
There is good reason to believe however, that there will be a happier ending to this story. For a start, the Obama administration finds itself today leading a broad reappraisal of key security principles throughout the region — most notably towards Iran. While no one is contemplating a diminution of US support for Israel’s security, it would be foolish to assume that the goal of increasing Israeli security by agreement with Iran would not have an impact on an American assessment of Israel’s security requirements on its Eastern Front. US and many Israeli security professionals have long believed that Israel’s demand for a controlling presence beyond secure and recognized borders poses a fundamentally destabilizing challenge to any agreement with the Palestinians, and that there are better ways of meeting legitimate Israeli concerns that would increase Israel’s security and also enable the state of Palestine, with Israel’s support and that of the international community to exercise sovereign control over its territory.
Palestinians and other Arab neighbors have been excluded from Allen’s mission, which remains focused on establishing an American view of Israel’s security requirements in an era of peace and introducing these concepts to skeptical and wary Israelis.(http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/12/john-allen-mission-israeli-palestinian-security-barrier-wall.html)
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Opinions
Israel expels the Palestinians…and the Arabs clap for Peres
Al Quds Al Arabi Editorial
The Negev Desert is currently witnessing a very dramatic scene, which reflects the true picture of what Israel is founded on and the tragic conditions in which the Arabs live.
In the village of Um Hayran, south of the Hebron Hills in the Negev, 1,000 Palestinians live a primitive life in homes built from cement; they are deprived of medical or health services, water and electricity. Israel has issued an order to demolish their village and resettle them in another Arab village inside the Green Line named Hura (six kilometers away from Um Hayran and where 300 of its residents are awaiting residency permits). On the other side of Um Hayran, three kilometers away, 30 Jewish families in caravans are waiting for the moment the Arabs are expelled so they can move in. Israel has allocated $2 billion to building new settlements for Jews in the place of Arab villages.
The fate of the people of Um Hayran is like that of 70,000 Arabs from 37 other villages in the Negev Desert, who Israel is planning to expel and confiscate the land on which they have lived even before Israel was established. They plan to build 20 new settlements there for Jews, all under the so-called Prawer Law to ‘develop’ the area. Anyone following up on Israeli affairs might think that the words used by Israel seem very democratic indeed – words like ‘law’ and ‘development’. But this is nothing more than a takeover, destruction and displacement.
The Prawer plan dates back to September, 2011, when then Israeli planning minister Ehud Prawer presented a law to the Knesset aimed at expelling the Palestinian residents of the Negev. The Prawer committee was originally formed in order to implement decisions issued in 2008 from the Goldberg committee, which recommended recognition “as much as possible” of unrecognized villages. However, the Prawer committee deviated from this and recommended instead the destruction of these villages and displacement of its residents to build new settlements in their place. Last June 24, the Knesset ratified the law in its first reading with a vote of 43 in favor and 40 against. Now it is waiting to be passed in its second and third readings for final ratification. Then the bulldozers can start demolishing and preparing for tens of thousands of Jews to move into their new homes. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Arabs in the 1948 areas will face a new Nakba because the law will confine the Arabs, who comprise 30% of the population of the Negev to 1% of the land. It will also result in the state having ownership of all the Bedouin land, which Israel refused to register in the lands department, considering their papers that prove their ownership of the land illegal, especially since they are Ottoman ownership papers. Not to mention that the nature of land registration among the Bedouin is that it is approved by the heads of tribes.
This plan reaffirms Israel’s racism once again and its plans to promote settlements and usurp land from Palestinians who carry Israeli identification and whose children even serve in their army. If Israel were honest in its development plans for the region where its residents live a simple life, the only logical outcome would be for it to develop the area without destroying villages and expelling its residents.
The Bedouin of course, are confronting this plan with rage. They expressed this in demonstrations throughout the ’48 areas, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. However, fighting Israeli plans requires much more Palestinian, Arab and Islamic efforts. Unfortunately, while demonstrators are facing off with oppressive Israeli forces, the Palestinian Authority is engrossed in barren negotiations. As for the Arab and Islamic countries, they seem worlds away from any support for the Palestinians, especially while they hold secret meetings and agreements with Israeli officials. The most recent meeting, which was revealed yesterday, was a meeting of 29 Arab officials with Israeli President Shimon Peres. The foreign ministers of Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Qatar, the Arab League and other Islamic countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh, met in an Abu Dhabi meeting hall to listen to Peres who spoke to them through videoconference as he sat at his desk in Jerusalem. Behind him, the Israeli blue and white flag shown. He spoke to them about security and fighting terrorism. And according to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahranoth, which ran the news, Peres’ speech won the admiration, and applause, of all who attended. (http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=109618)
Palestinian requirements for this stage
By Shaker Fareed Hassan
Our situation is no secret – the violence, crimes and overall deterioration in our society in addition to the political oscillations in the Arab world and the Middle East, including the future and political repercussions of the American-Iranian agreement in Geneva on the region as a whole. Moreover, we cannot ignore the changes in the Israeli political climate, the spread of racism, fascism and the chauvinistic trend sweeping Israeli society. There is continued incitement against Arab people and the daily confrontation imposed by the ruling Zionist institution because of its policies and expulsion plans in the Negev, known as the Prawer Plan, which constitutes a new Nakba for our people. This is over and above the settlement expansion in the Palestinian territories and East Jerusalem, aimed at consolidating and immortalizing the occupation. Then there is the stumbling peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis under the auspices of the United States – no progress has been made in these talks for a final solution to the Palestinian problem, which led to the resignation of the negotiating team after every political tactic and maneuver was exhausted by the Israelis who simply want to buy time.
At the same time, the destructive Palestinian split continues, which threatens the future of the Palestinian national project and weakens the resistance movement and Palestinian course of liberation. It seems there is no reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah in the offing, not even any form of understanding no matter how much the talk, yell or lie! Now, talk about the unity of the Palestinian people, its national fabric and historical interests has become repugnant and worn out and has remained a distant and unattainable dream.
No wonder Israeli authorities are taking advantage of the Palestinians’ weak situation and internal split and the Arab’s weakness to carry out their political project and settlement plans in the West Bank, to tighten the siege on the Gaza Strip and eliminate any Arab presence in Jerusalem in an attempt to undermine any political solution that could achieve Palestinian goals of liberation and independence.
These facts and data on the current Palestinian situation imposes on our people, its factions, national forces, democratic and leftist parties, all to work hard to speed up the process of putting our house back in order. We need to revive the PLO as the first and only reference for our people and the cradle of the Palestinian struggle. All national, progressive and Islamic forces must be joined under its flag according to clear foundations that guarantee national unity and meet national demands and goals of return, liberation, independence and the building of an independent and free state.
Furthermore, the requirements of this stage necessitates from our Palestinian Arab people remaining in their homeland, and on their political and national forces, civil society and representatives, to adopt a new strategy and more responsible behavior than before. This is to build and comprise the widest possible alignment of resistance forces and political popular and civil action to stand together in one trench in facing the Israeli plans of usurpation, land confiscation, home demolition and political racism, which includes uprooting and oppression. We need to stand strongly in the face of Prawer so it does not pass.
We are the owners of this land and the owners of the cause; we are the victims of discrimination, deprivation and impoverishment. But we will not leave our land and our country. We love life, we adore our homeland and we long for the orange orchards of Jaffa, the sands of Haifa, the stone walls of Acca and the springs of Bisan. We still aspire for a better tomorrow and a more beautiful future for the two peoples in two neighboring countries. Dying in the name of the homeland is life itself. The only thing left if the valley is its own stones. (http://www.amin.org/articles.php?t=opinion&id=22728)
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