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Dec. 17, 2013
Daily summary - Tuesday, December 17, 2013
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Main News
An Association of more than 5,000 American Professor and researcher decides to boycott Israel
The association of more than 5000 American Professor and researcher decided to boycott Israel, to protest the Hebrew State's policy against Palestinians, a decision condemned by the World Jewish Congress on Monday. This boycott of Israeli academic institutions was ratified by 66, 14% of the American Studies Association 1252members who voted, according to the association’s website, which considers itself as the "oldest and most importantly among American associations specialized in the study of American history and culture." The association said on its website: "the decision adopted is of solidarity with all researchers and students that are deprived of their Academic freedom, looking to give this freedom for everyone, including Palestinians," mentioning”Israel's violation of international law and United Nations resolutions." The American Studies Association is the second American Academy based organization that adopts this position, after the Asian American Studies Association. (http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/478368)
3 Palestinian martyrs in Syria
Palestinian sources said that 3 Palestinian refugees were killed in Syria, following events there. A report of the Working Group for Palestinians in Syria affirmed that three Palestinian residents of the Yarmouk refugee camp. Haj Yousef Al-Khatib died following a shelling of Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, young Palestinian Zia Abdul Ghani, an elderly resident Kawthar Abdelkader from Yarmouk camp, died of drought and lack of heating and food because of the tightened siege imposed by the Syrian army. (http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=657650)
Europe promises the PA with "unprecedented" aid
The EU reaffirmed its readiness to provide "unprecedented" package of political, economic and security support for Palestinians and Israelis when reaching a final peace agreement. The European Union said in a statement issued after a meeting of Foreign Ministers in Brussels on Monday, that the agreement will open up a wide range of opportunities for cooperation with the Union for both Israel and the future Palestinian State, including greater access to European markets, and will strengthen the interdependence of cultural and scientific ties, investment in the countries of the Union, as well as enhancing security cooperation with the two countries, according to Agency official Wafa. The EU stressed its readiness to contribute substantially to post-conflict arrangements between Israel and the Palestinians to ensure sustainability of the peace agreement. The EU warned of actions undermines the negotiations and expressed its regret over the continued expansion of illegal settlements under international law that constitute an obstacle to peace. The EU also expressed its deep concern over incitement, and incidents of violence in the occupied territories, the demolition of houses and the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, in addition to actions that undermine the status quo of holy places, including Jerusalem, adding that it would continue to monitor the situation and act accordingly. (http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/478321)
Israel demands European recognition of a Jewish state, and adds files to final negotiations
Palestinian officials revealed that Israel is trying to add new negotiating file to the final status negotiations that were previously unknown such as the "Jewish State". Western diplomatic sources also revealed that Israel has begun a campaign to gather European States recognition of a Jewish State. This came while John Kerry announced yesterday in Washington of progress in efforts to reach an interim agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis, but refused to disclose the substance of this progress. Kerry told American News channel ABC: "personally, I feel encouraged, because the very difficult issues are taking shape in various options". In the meantime, Western diplomatic sources revealed that the Netanyahu Government was in contact with several European countries to recognize the Jewish State. Netanyahu had asked President Francois Hollande in his recent visit to declare recognition of Israel a Jewish State, but the latter refused, saying that France is a secular State that does not recognize religions of states. The sources also said that similar contacts with various European States are being conducted. (http://qudsnet.com/news/View/260249/%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%AA%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A7-%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%87%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7-%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%B6%D9%8A%D9%81-%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%85%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%A9/)
Knesset approves an extension of the emergency law for 5 months
The Israeli Knesset approved yesterday afternoon an extension of the emergency law for five months, until 31 May 2014, this law is applicable since 1948. Hebrew channel 7 website said Knesset ratified the recommendations of the Joint Committee, comprising of foreign and security committees and committee on legislation to extend the emergency law in force since the establishment of the state in 1948. Israel exploited this law inherited from the British mandate to suppress the Palestinian population through unfair military laws based on the law "to ensure the security of the nation”. (http://safa.ps/details/news/118312/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%AA-%D9%8A%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%82-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A6-5-%D8%A3%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%B1%D9%89.html)
Khaled calls for a referendum on Kerry's plan for peace
Member of the PLO Executive Committee, Taysir Khaled, called for a Palestinian public opinion referendum on the plan proposed by US Secretary of State John Kerry for a political settlement with Israel on the basis of a 15-year agreement. Khalid said on the social networking site "Facebook", "the leadership should be pragmatic and provide realistic solutions to the public and not repeat slogans only." Khaled added: "for pragmatic solutions not to turn into some advocating to accept that 99 percent of the solution is in the hands of the US administration, and we have nothing rather than to recognized this and act in accordance with its provisions, it is necessary to remind those of some of John Kerry’s political and security proposals". (http://www.qudsn.ps/article/34808)
Danon: American pressures would not change the policy of Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley area
Israeli Defense Vice Minister, Danny Danon , said Monday that American pressure would not change the policy of Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley area, and that Israel will not give up its military presence in that region in any future agreement. Danone said during a visit with Army Chief of staff Beni Gants, to a military base in the Jordan Valley, that the army's presence in this area is important and ensures the security of Israel along the border, and that the army can’t leave the area for terror groups to infiltrate into Israel. (http://www.pnn.ps/index.php/israel/75864-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B6%D8%BA%D9%88%D8%B7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%84%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%BA%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%A8%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B7%D9%82%D8%A9-%D8%BA%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86)
Hamas leader: Masha’al asks Abbas why you went alone to negotiations!
Member of the political Bureau of Hamas Sami Khater, confirmed in statement to “Qudsn.net”, that the telephone call between Mesha’al and Abbas was linked to recent meetings between the two delegations from Hamas and Fatah in Doha. Khater said that “Masha’al was inquiring about the negotiations and where did it lead, and that Abbas was informed of message asking why he went into the negotiations alone, and that Hamas message is that Abbas should stick to the Palestinian positions.” (http://www.amad.ps/ar/?Action=Details&ID=8484)
Netanyahu did not instruct to stop the “Prawer" plan
Ha'aretz quoted retired General Doron Almog, "commissioned by Netanyahu to implement the Prawer plan", as saying that he had not received any instructions to withdraw the plan, and that he continues to work on the law enforcement. Ha’aretz said that Netanyahu’s office adopted an unclear policy so far (since Begin’s announcement last Thursday to suspend the plan) in response to Begin’s announcement, and did not publish any statement to the media indicating a withdrawal of the draft proposed law. (http://paltimes.net/details/news/54870/%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%88-%D9%84%D9%85-%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%B9%D8%B2-%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%82%D9%81-%D9%85%D8%AE%D8%B7%D8%B7-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B1.html)
Sources: the last meeting between Abbas and Kerry turned "worse than bad"
A Palestinian official described the recent meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and US Secretary of State John Kerry is being "worse than bad," adding that during the meeting Kerry presented US ideas put forward by the former US security Envoy Jim Jones and especially in the Jordan Valley. The official said the US ideas "requires Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley for 10 years during which Palestinian security forces will assume responsibility in the area," adding: "the ideas mention Israeli invisible presence but decided on border crossings between the West Bank and Jordan as well as the dissemination of early warning stations on hills in the West Bank." (http://www.qudsn.ps/article/34677)
Blair calls on Israel to take all necessary measures for the rehabilitation of the Gaza economy
Representative of the Quartet, Tony Blair expressed his deep concern at the grave humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, especially in light of the recent storm that increased its already poor conditions. Blair said in a press release on Monday, "the catastrophic weather conditions had effects on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, leaving thousands of people homeless and many homes destroyed, difficult weather conditions have led to further deterioration in the already dire situation in Gaza and the ongoing crisis in energy, and restricting the movement of goods to and from the Gaza strip." Blair urged all parties to act immediately to find a lasting solution to the energy crisis, and called on the Israeli Government to take all necessary action to reopen the crossings to allow the movement of people and goods with the aim of rehabilitating the economy in Gaza, which would reduce aid dependency and improves the resistance of the citizens there. (http://qudsnet.com/news/View/260238/%D8%A8%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%8A%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B0-%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B6%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%A3%D9%87%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9/
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Headlines
We apologize for not providing front page headlines today due to the weather conditions
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Front Page Photos
We apologize for not providing front page photos today due to the weather conditions
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Arab Press
Winter storm causes humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza
By Rasha Abou Jalal
GAZA CITY. Gaza Strip — two members of the civil defense forces in Gaza City helped citizens who had been displaced from their homes because of rain to cross a flooded road. They used the metal frame of an old refrigerator stuffed with cork as a boat for transportation, after almost all of the relief machinery and equipment stopped working due to the fuel and electricity crises wracking the Gaza Strip.
A wave of extreme low pressure hit Palestinian territories on Dec. 10, amid cold winds that continued for several days.
Heavy rain caused a major humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip, flooding hundreds of houses in various provinces and neighborhoods, injuring dozens of people and closing a number of main and side streets.
According to the Ministry of Information in Gaza, 4,000 families were forced to leave their homes due to the extreme cold, and the government has offered in-kind assistance for 3,000 families.
Speaking to the Palestinian news agency Al-Rai, the information ministry's Director-General Salamah Maarouf said that the government opened 13 shelters across the Gaza Strip, housing 1,183 families consisting of 5,000 people.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 98 citizens were wounded, mostly in the towns of Khan Younis and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, as a state of emergency was announced by the ministry to cope with the extreme cold.
A spokesman for the ministry, Ashraf al-Qodra, told Al-Monitor that four citizens were seriously injured and that the rest of the injuries ranged between moderate and slight.
The residential areas adjacent to districts flooded with rainwater and located near sewage treatment pumps were the areas most affected by the deteriorating humanitarian situation. Their inhabitants were forced to completely evacuate their homes and resort to shelters and neighboring schools, after their houses were flooded with rainwater and sewage.
Amjad al-Attar, who lives next to an area flooded with rainwater in the neighborhood of Sheikh Radwan in Gaza City, said that the water coming from various regions kept filling the sewage system until it overflowed and caused a flood. The waters flooded the houses, damaged furniture and destroyed buildings.
Attar, who lives in a tin-roofed house with a sand floor that was mostly blown down by severe winds, had a harsh night after he was forced to flee with his children to a nearby school. “I woke up to the screams of my children, who almost drowned in the water that flooded our house. The waters nearly pulled them toward the sewage basin. I rushed to save them and was surprised to see that the water level had risen to about 150 cm [nearly 6 feet],” he told Al-Monitor.
The same scene that took place in the Sheikh Radwan basin was repeated in different areas, including the Abu Rashid basin, north of the Gaza Strip, and Wadi al-Salka basin in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, in addition to most of the residential areas adjoining sewage pumps. This led to sewage flooding these areas and forcing dozens of families to evacuate their houses.
Farida Abu Kweik, 82, spoke to Al-Monitor while she tried to help her son recover what remained of the furniture in their house adjoining the Abu Rashid basin, which flooded and displaced dozens of families. “Tens of millions of dollars were sent as aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza, but they were spent by the government to develop recreational and tourist areas. Wouldn’t it have been better if this money was invested in the building of more resilient infrastructure works, better sewage systems, and safer housing for poor and destitute families?” she said.
The director of the civil defense force’s public relations office, Muhammad al-Maidanah, reported that dozens of houses were flooded due to torrential rains, in addition to a number of main and side streets.
“The situation is catastrophic. Trees were uprooted; flying billboards and tin panels struck a number of citizens, wounding and breaking their bones. Water flooded hundreds of houses, while hundreds of cars became submerged in streets swamped with rainwater,” Maidanah told Al-Monitor.
He explained that all of Gaza Strip’s provinces met a similar fate, and pointed out that the province of Rafah, (at the extreme southern end of the Strip) was the hardest hit by the atmospheric low pressure area.
Rafah Mayor Subhi Abu Radwan stated to the local Safa news agency, “The Joint Operations Committee dealt with approximately 1,200 citizen reports in the city alone since the low pressure area arrived.” He said 44 of those reports involved flooded houses.
Local authorities faced the emergencies caused by the atmospheric low pressure area with primitive tools and minimal capabilities, due to the Israeli blockade that restricted imports of heavy equipment into Gaza, as well as the fuel shortage that put most available machinery out of service.
The head of civil defense, Youssef al-Zahar, told the Hamas-owned Al Aqsa satellite channel on Dec. 12, that the blockade and fuel crisis have exacerbated dangers and diminished the government and municipalities’ chances of adequately tackling the catastrophe. “The most we can do is erect sand berms in front of citizen’s homes to prevent water from flooding in,” Zahar said. He said this was the only option available for rescue and relief crews, in light of the blockade and lack of equipment.
Gaza Interior Minister Fathi Hamad also appealed to international organizations, as well as Arab and Muslim countries to save Gaza from this real humanitarian disaster. In a news conference held on Dec. 11 and attended by Al-Monitor, he said: “We are using dilapidated, primitive equipment to try and reach, save, and transport people to safe areas, where they would be safe from drowning. Yet, great difficulties stand in our way.”
Exacerbating the magnitude of suffering at this difficult time in the lives of Gazans was the fact that power outages had reached 30 consecutive hours in many provinces of the Strip.
In statements published by the local Al Quds newspaper on Dec. 12, the public relations officer at the electric distribution company tasked with delivering power to the provinces, Jamal al-Dirdasawi, said that malfunctions crashed the three main power lines coming from the Israeli side to feed northern areas of the Strip and some neighborhoods of northern Gaza City. A fourth line which supplied eastern Khan Yunis with electricity also went down, in addition to the line coming from Egypt. He appealed to all parties to save the Gaza Strip from a real disaster, as the limited amount of available electric power was being exhausted. (http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/12/winter-storm-gaza-crisis.html)
BDS: Permanent address for Palestinian solidarity
Ramzy Baroud
The intellectual dishonesty of Israel’s supporters is appalling. But in some odd way, it is also understandable. How else could they respond to the massively growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign?
When thousands of committed civil society activists from South Africa to Sweden and most countries in between leads a non-violent campaign to isolate and hold into account an apartheid country like Israel, all that the supporters of the latter can do is spread lies and misinformation. There can be no other strategy, unless of course, Israel’s friends get their own moment of moral awakening, and join the BDS flood that has already broken many barriers and liberated many minds from the grip of Israeli hasbara.
According to their logic, and that of the likes of Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, writing in the New York Observer on Dec. 12, legendary musician and human rights champion Roger Waters is an “anti-Semite.” In fact, according to the writer, he is an “anti-Semite” of the worst type. “I’ve read some heavy-duty attacks on Israel and Jews in my time, but they pale beside the anti-Semitic diatribe recently offered by Roger Waters, co-founder and former front man of the legendary British rock band Pink Floyd.”
Of course, Waters is as far away from racism as Boteach is far away from truly representing the Jewish people or Judaism. But what has earned Waters such a title, which is often bestowed without much hesitation at anyone who dares to challenge Israel’s criminal policies, military occupation and insistence on violating over 70 United Nations resolutions, is that Waters is a strong critic of Israel. In a recent interview with CounterPunch.org, Waters stated the obvious, describing Israel as a “racist apartheid regime,” decrying its “ethnic cleaning” of Palestinians, and yes, refusing to perform in a country that he saw as an equivalent to the “Vichy government in occupied France.”
Boteach is particularly daring to go after Waters, a person adored by millions, and not only because of his legendary music, but also of his well-known courageous and moral stances. But once again, the panic felt in pro-Israeli circles is understandable. What Israeli officials describe as the de-legitimization of Israel is reaching a point where it is about to reach a critical mass. It is what Palestinian Gaza-based BDS activist Dr. Haidar Eid referred to in a recent interview as Palestine’s South Africa moment.
In an article in the Israeli daily Haaretz published on Dec. 12, Barak Ravid introduced his piece with a dramatic but truthful statement: “Western activists and diplomats are gunning for Israel’s settlements in the Palestinian territories, and if peace talks fail, the rain of boycotts and sanctions could turn into a flood.” Entitled “Swell of boycotts driving Israel into international isolation,” Ravid’s article establishes a concrete argument as to why the boycott movement is growing in a way unprecedented in the history of Israel.
I am writing these words from Spain, the last stop on a European speaking tour that has taken me to four European countries: France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Belgium. The purpose of my tour was to promote the recently published French edition of my last two books, the second being: My Father Was a Freedom Fighter, Gaza’s Untold Story (Resistant en Palestine, une histoire vrai de Gaza). But at the heart of all my talks was the promotion of what I call “redefining our relationship to the struggle in Palestine,” based first and foremost on “moral divestment” from Israel.
Only then, can we change our role from spectators and sympathizers to active participants as human rights defenders. The main address of such activities can be summed up in the initials: BDS.
What I learned throughout my tour, well attended and also covered in French media was even to surprise me. The BDS debate is at such an advanced stage and it has indeed surpassed my expectations. In my last European tour of 2010, many of us were attempting to push the boundaries of the debate facing much resistance, even from groups and movements that were viewed as progressive. The situation has now changed in such an obvious away that on occasions I was compelled by the audience to discuss the most effective BDS strategies, as opposed to defending the very virtue of the tactic.
And within the two weeks of my travels, there was a flood of news of western governments, companies and academic institutions either joining the boycott or deliberating the possibility of doing so. The Romanian government, for example, is refusing to allow its labors to work in illegal Jewish settlements. A few years ago, this kind of news was simply unheard of.
But what changed? In some respects, nothing, and that is the crux of the argument. The Israeli occupation is more entrenched than ever; the illegal settlements are increasing and expanding; and the so-called peace process remains a charade maintained mostly for political self-serving reasons — a cover for the colonial policies of Israel, and a condition for continued US-western financial and political backing of the Palestinian Authority — and so on. But other factors are changing as well. BDS activists have found a common strategy and are formulating a unifying narrative that is finally liberating the Palestinian discourse from the ills of factionalism, empty slogans and limiting ideology. The new platform is both decisive in its morality and objectives, yet flexible in its ability to encompass limitless groups, religions and nationalities.
Indeed, there is no room for racism or hate speech in BDS platforms. What is equally as important is that there can also be no space for gatekeepers who are too sensitive about Israel’s racially motivated sensibilities, or those ever willing to manipulate history in such a clever way as to prevent a pro-active strategy in being advanced.
The ship has sailed through all of this, and the boycott is vastly becoming the new and permanent address of the international solidarity with the collective resistance and struggle of the Palestinian people.
Of course, when Roger Waters took the stances that he did, he knew well of the likes of Boteach who would immediately denounce him as “anti-Semite.” The fact is, however, the number of “Roger Waters” out there is rapidly growing, and the power of their moral argument is widely spreading. Israeli smear tactics are not only ineffective but also self-defeating. (http://www.arabnews.com/news/493796)
Kerry walks a tightrope on Jordan Valley plan
By HASSAN BARARI
For the 11th time this year, US Secretary of State John Kerry returned to the Middle East to help advance the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. His efforts this time are directed at the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to convince him of the feasibility of his ideas regarding an Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley within the context of peace.
To make his ideas appealing, Kerry brought with him Marine Corps Gen. (retd.) John Allen, who heads a 160-strong US defense and intelligence team that has drawn up a scheme for the day after an Israeli-Palestinian final agreement. Although the American side talked to the Israelis about these ideas, the Israeli government has yet to buy in to the idea of military presence for a specific time.
More than four decades ago, Yigal Allon — the then deputy prime minister of Israel — came up with a proposal whereby Israel to return the West Bank to Jordan in exchange for annexing the Jordan Valley. Although the government rejected the proposal, it provided the Labor-led government in the 1970s with clear guidelines as to where to establish settlements. The Jordan Valley became the focus of the official settlement policy accordingly.
The rationale for keeping the Jordan Valley was very simple: Israel should keep a permanent military presence in the Jordan Valley for security reasons. Israel has for long feared that Iraq would send troops through Jordan to fight Israel. For Israelis, better safe than sorry. Therefore, they thought defending Israel from the Jordan Valley was more strategically savvy.
However, new political and technological developments have rendered the idea of Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley irrelevant. It is worth bearing in mind that Yigal Allon drafted his plan when the military threat was mainly from the “Eastern Front.” Allon advanced the notion of defensible borders. Now with the new technological development, topography is less important for security. Back in 1993, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres argued that missiles could hit Israel from hundreds of miles away. Nothing could have stopped the Iraqi army from striking Israel during the Gulf war of 1991.
Accordingly, Peres belittled the idea of keeping territories to achieve security. Peres could not have been more accurate. The only way to make Israelis feel safe is by having peace and historical reconciliations with their adversaries rather than dictating the terms of peace and perpetuation its occupation to others’ territories.
The 1994 peace treaty with Jordan should serve as the death knell to the notion of Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley. In one of its articles, the peace treaty stipulates that Jordan would not allow the entrance of foreign troops hostile to Israel to its soil. Put differently, the peace treaty with Jordan has shifted the security border for the Jordan to the borders with Iraq. This makes the question of why the Israelis still want to keep the Jordan Valley indefinitely a burning one.
Unfortunately, the American side is dodging this question. Rather than having honest talks with Israel about the irrelevance of the security argument and the benefits of peace, Kerry seeks the to pressure the Palestinians to accept Israelis terms for peace.
I think we have seen this movie before. President Clinton tried to force Arafat to accept a deal in Camp David only to fail. Worse, the Palestinians resorted to the Intifada! Not only did the Intifada compromise the security of Israel but also proved that the American failure to play the role of honest broker did not help the cause of peace. I can understand why Kerry wants the Israelis and the Palestinians to cut a historic deal. His quest for personal success is totally justified. But, the problem, and herein lies the crux of the matter, is that doing that at the expense of the Palestinians is an insane idea. I cannot imagine any Palestinian leader who would accept the Israeli military presence in the future Palestinian state. No Palestinian would accept a new form of Allon Plan either. Not President Mahmoud Abbas! (http://www.arabnews.com/news/493806)
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Opinions
Mandela and Palestinian negotiations
Al Quds Al Arabi Editorial
Following the burial of Nelson Mandela in his village Qunu, many questions arise as to what will remain from his legacy and spirit, which he spread throughout the entire world.
The people most linked to Mandela’s legacy are the Palestinians, who are still struggling and walking in his footsteps (or at least that is what they hope); especially since they reclaimed his famous saying, which he made even after victory over the apartheid regime: “our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
Mandela was an inspiration to the Palestinians in their armed struggle, in prison and in their peaceful resistance and even today, in their negotiations with Israel.
Here, we feel obligated to recall the unbending Mandela in negotiations, who did not compromise one bit on the fundamentals for the sake of freeing his people from apartheid.
The other important fact that the Palestinians are missing in the negotiations and which were crucial in Mandela’s victory is the international shift from supporting the apartheid regime to applying pressure on it. The British Prime Minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher changed her position 180 degrees and applied tremendous pressure on South African Prime Minister Frederick De Klerk to disband the apartheid regime. This was after she used all of her power to prevent economic sanctions being imposed on Pretoria, saying that sanctions had no effect except for further consolidating positions. In 1987, she ordered her ministers to reject any contact with the ANC, which she considered a ‘terrorist’ organization.
In spite of the divisions from the cold war, harsh sanctions were imposed early on. The South African ambassador was expelled from UNESCO in the mid-50s and in 1964 the Olympic committee suspended South Africa’s membership before expelling them in 1970. Apartheid South Africa was then expelled from the UN General Assembly in 1974. During the stages of struggle in South Africa, the black population won wide scale African support and in 1976, 27 African countries boycotted the Olympics in Montreal in protest over the New Zealand rugby team touring South Africa. This all contributed to the great humanitarian victory, which was not exclusive to only the people of South Africa.
The Palestinians lack this strong Arab and international support. They also lack an Israeli negotiator. South African President De Klerk was able to lead the whites and convince them to relinquish the apartheid system and surrender the privileges they enjoyed and accept equality.
If President Barack Obama considers that he was strongly affected by the struggle of Mandela and if Benjamin Netanyahu declared that he considered Mandela a model, the truth is that neither of them have applied anything the African freedom fighter ever said. Perhaps they were trying to get closer to the iconic leader morally and ethically so they could insinuate to the world that they share his values. Actually, the American administration is doing the opposite of what would have pleased Mandela in terms of justice for the Palestinian cause. Obama must have forgotten that he took a decision to in 2011 to punish UNESCO and cut American funding to it because its member states voted in favor of Palestine becoming a member. He also took the harshest positions to prevent the Security Council from voting to accept membership of Palestine. Obama himself was the one who ordered resistance against every report from the UN Human Rights Council and investigation committees that accuse Israel of war crimes.
Obama, who praises the struggle of Mandela and his achievement of a comprehensive and final solution to end to the apartheid system himself is colluding with Netanyahu to impose transitional agreements on the Palestinians; agreements which not only maintain the occupation but legitimize it with bilateral agreements, without solving the issues of settlements and their constant expansion.
Perhaps Mandela’s legacy will help to escalate the movement in Europe to boycott Israeli settlement products and lead to the imposition of sanctions on Israel, which was one of the biggest cooperators with the apartheid system in the past. The current Israeli president Shimon Peres was one of the biggest symbols of this cooperation.
The boycott campaign of settlement products must expand and include all Israeli products; this will not happen except if there are Palestinian efforts first and Arab efforts, second. We should remember that Mandela, when he was released from prison and during his tour in Europe and America, called for maintaining the sanctions. These sanctions were not lifted off of South Africa until after Mandela requested this. He was left to decide when South Africa was eligible to be excluded from the system of sanctions.
In Israel, which struggles to defend itself and rejects any comparison between it and Apartheid, exercises all forms of discrimination against Muslim and Christian Arabs. This discrimination has even reached black Jews. An Israeli paramedic team refused to accept a blood donation from a Knesset member of Ethiopian origin on claims that Ethiopian blood does not meet the criteria allowed by the Israeli blood bank. And after this, Netanyahu comes out and says he considers Mandela a role model.
While bidding Mandela goodbye, the world realizes that much needs to be done to end oppression, discrimination and hatred. Loyalty to Mandela is not through sweetened words but through walking in his footsteps. (http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=114341)
The importance of evaluation and compensation after this unusual storm
Al Quds Editorial
Neither was Alexa, which hit the region, or its scope, completely unexpected – meteorologists in more than one place warned of its size and ramifications. Still, nobody took precautions or prepared for facing what was to come – not just in our country but in most, if not all of the countries where the storm struck.
In any case, what happened, happened and the storm has now subsided. However, its aftermath still remains and is strong in more than one aspect. The government did well in setting up a special ministerial committee to assess the damages in the various regions and is considering paying compensation wherever possible. However, what is needed is not just an assessment of the damage and the possibility of compensation but also an assessment of the performance of relevant parties and organizations to uncover where shortcomings or mistakes were made and to hold those responsible accountable. But more importantly, there needs to be work towards avoiding these missteps when they occur.
In this context, we must make note of the work of some services, which did whatever they could to help people and alleviate suffering in a number of locations. We must also confirm that many parties and bodies did not bear their responsibilities like they should have and did not address the shortcomings that occurred. First and foremost, we must mention the Jerusalem Electricity Company; power was cut off for days on end, which created several humanitarian, commercial and food problems. Perhaps the company had extenuating circumstances and justifications but we need to talk about what happened and evaluate it.
The storm exposed the weakness of the infrastructure in many roadways, cities and villages. It also showed how little equipment we have to confront situations such as these. Snowplows operated on very few main roads and way too late; therefore, side roads remained closed off and are still blocked until today. Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah made a recommendation yesterday to buy enough snowplows to deal with similar situations in the future. Hence, the reevaluation of confronting other uncustomary cases such as this storm must be conducted.
Huge damages were incurred by famers and bird raisers, especially chickens because sheds and greenhouses were destroyed. The Cabinet will definitely take this into consideration, but the most important thing is to compensate those who incurred losses, as much as possible.
…disaster in Gaza
If damages were incurred in the West Bank and shortcomings took place here and there, the storm’s impact on the Gaza Strip was closer to a catastrophe than anything else. Thousands of families were displaced and rainwater flooded the streets, damaging chicken coops and vegetable farms and other produce. There was not enough food or drinking water because of the siege and there was no electricity, at least up until yesterday.
The PA did not fully provide aid, like some say, but it did its duty. The Gaza Strip is part of the homeland, in spite of the division, and its people are part of the Palestinian people in spite of the distances and the checkpoints. Hence, the PA is responsible officially and nationally for providing whatever help it can. It did do that and the atmosphere of the split was softened, even if slightly, because of it.
The disaster in Gaza necessitates Arab and international action to offer aid and work to provide better living and humanitarian circumstances for its people. This is a call to all Arabs who have tremendous amounts of money – to lend a hand in rehabilitating and rebuilding the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank in order to prevent such disasters in the future if any new storm. (http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/478373)
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