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Dec. 18, 2013
Daily summary - Wednesday, December 18, 2013
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Main News
Occupation raids Nablus and wages an arrest campaign
Occupation forces stormed several neighborhoods on Wednesday morning in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and waged raids and arrests.Local sources said that occupation soldiers arrested Mohammed Hamdan from Al-Ain refugee camp, and the young Palestinian Baker Abd Alatif Sharaya’ from Askar refugee camp after breaking into his house and destroying its contents. The sources noted that Israeli patrols were located in the surrounding of Kamal Jumblatt School, blibleh Street, and Askar refugee camp. The sourced also said that Israeli intelligence had arrested Mohammed Owayes Duglas (19 years old) after being called to Hawara military camp on Thursday.(http://safa.ps/details/news/118399/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%85-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%B3-%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B4%D9%86-%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA.html)
Israel fears widening boycott following the decision of the American Studies Association
Israel downplayed on Tuesday a group of US academics who decided to boycott it, describing them as "a left-wing radicals", but expressed concern that other academic forums in the United States will do the same.Israel fears such a move would give way to the popular efforts to isolate it in the United States. Israel boycott efforts have attracted some attention also in Europe.Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister, Zeev Elkin, described the American Studies Association as "a radical leftist group" that does not have any links to the academic community in Israel.But he told Israel Radio: "we must prepare ourselves for the risk of transmission (of boycott) to other more serious academic forums." Elkin said that the Foreign Ministry has formed a support group called "faces from Israel" to "operate among influential figures specifically to prevent situations like this."(http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/478557)
Ya'alon refuses entry of construction materials to Gaza and criticizes Ban Ki-moon
IsraeliMaariv website reported that Israeli Defense Minister "Bogey" Ya'alon refuses transporting building materials and other raw materials to the Gaza Strip under the pretext that these materials would be used against Israel. The website said that Ya’alon"Ya'alon" refused a request from the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon in this regard. Maariv Quoted Ya’alon as saying: "Ban Ki-moon asked me and I told him very clearly, whoever chooses to use cement to build offensive tunnels against Israel for killing Israelis is considered unreliable and we can’t provide them with cement.Ya'alon said "that Hamas in Gaza can decide to plant berries instead making rockets, and when a humanitarian crisis occurs in Gaza because of the weak economy, they should first approach Haniyeh not us."(http://www.wattan.tv/ar/news/82131.html)
President Abbas for South Africa: don't boycott Israel
South African newspaper “The Star” quoted statements of President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit to South Africa to attend the funeral of Nelson Mandela, described as "stunning", where President Abbas told reporters that "the Palestinians do not support boycott of Israel".President Abbas responded to question from journalists about South African institutions boycotting Israel by answering: "no, we don't support boycott of Israel. We ask everyone to boycott settlement products,since settlements are on our territory and illegal,” adding” Israelis should first halt construction on our territory, to stop everything in on territory." Abbas said adding: "we're not asking anyone to boycott Israel itself. We have relations with Israel; we have mutual recognition with Israel.” One of the founders of the “boycott, divestment and sanctions movement (BDS)”, Omar Barghouti, said in response: "Any Palestinian official speaking publicly today against boycotting Israel, particularly in countries such as South Africa, where the ruling party, trade unions, churches and other civil society organizations strongly endorsed the “boycott, divestment and sanctions movement” shows just how much he is indifferent to the aspirations of his people for freedom, justice, equality, and how much is unaware of our struggle for our rights.” (http://www.qudsn.ps/article/34927)
3 martyrs and warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe in Al-Yarmouk refugee camp
Three refugees were killed Tuesday as a result of the continued shelling on refugee camps in Syria. The action group for Palestinians in Syria said in a statement that the young Palestinians Hasan Hassan from Al-Yarmouk camp, died under torture in a security prison. The group added that young Palestinian Firas Moa’ed died in the area of Al-Zahira near the Yarmouk camp, noting that Mohammed Sweireh also died following the shelling of Yarmouk on Monday.(http://safa.ps/details/news/118397/3-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B0%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AB%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D9%85%D8%AE%D9%8A%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%85%D9%88%D9%83.html)
Al-Maliki: success of negotiations with Israel is not related to the European incentives
Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Riyadh Al-Maliki, said Tuesday that the success of the peace negotiations with Israel is not linked to the European Union economic incentives to both sides. Al-Maliki toldofficial Palestinian radio that the European incentives aimed at encouraging the Palestinian and Israeli sides to continue negotiations and to achieve concrete progress within the specified time period by the end of April.Maliki said that the European intensives are "a secondary issue for the Palestinian leadership and will not affect in any way the Palestinian leadership's commitment to the basic principles of the Palestinian people."(http://qudsnet.com/news/View/260325/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%8A-%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%BA%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%B7-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%81%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9/)
Al-Ahmed: reconciliation file is frozen
Azzam AL-Ahmad, head of Fatah parliamentary block, and head of Fatah delegation in the inter-Palestinian dialogue, said that reconciliation file is frozen.Al-Ahmad said in an interview with the “Moscow news” that “the reconciliation file is frozen, we want to form a Government according to the Doha agreement and set a date for elections, but Hamas is not ready for elections.” Al-Ahmad noted that his meeting with Khaled Mashaal, head of the political Bureau of Hamas, in the Qatari capital of Doha earlier this month reached no agreement on anything.(http://qudsnet.com/news/View/260342/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%AF-%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%87/)
EU holds Israel responsible for the failure of the negotiations due to settlement
Haaretz said yesterday that the EU is imposing pressure on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to move quickly in the "peace process". Haaretz said that big five countries in Europesent yesterday a message to Israel asking it not to announce new settlement construction in the West Bank after the release of Palestinian prisoners by the end of the month, and that if "the peace process" collapses following the announcement of new settlement building, the European Union will hold Israel responsible for the failure.(Al-Ayyam)
Informed sources: Hamas informed President Abbas its agreement to form a national unity Government
Informed sources revealed that Hamas had informed President Mahmoud Abbas that the movement formally agreed to the formation of a national unity government ahead of presidential and legislative elections.The sources added that the movement informed the President during a telephone conversation with Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamas political Bureau, and another telephone conversation with Ismail Haniyeh Prime Minister of the deposed Government in Gaza over the past few days.The sources confirmed that President Mahmoud Abbas will extend the Government of Dr. Ramy Al-Hamdallah for several days, and that he might entrusthim to head the national unity Government for six months at the request of Hamas, which requested six months instead of three months as stipulated in the Doha agreement.(Al-Quds)
An emergency meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers on the 21st upon Abbas’ request
Deputy Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Ben Helli said Arab Foreign Ministers will hold an emergency meeting on December 21 to discuss the developments of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. BenHelli said the Arab League called for the meeting at the request of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, while sources said that Abbas will this meeting. (Al-Quds)
Occupation raids Al-Rashaydeh village
Israeli occupation forces raided Al-Rashaydeh village, East of Bethlehem.Fawwaz Rashaida head of the Village Council said that the occupation forces imposed a curfew on the village, where soldiers implemented military training with artillery fire and scared the village’s residents. Rashaida said that the situation is serious and that soldiers deliberately provoke citizens and scare them, so they could not leave their homes.(http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/478427)
Sources: "Abu Mazen" rejected any Israeli control of the Jordan Valley
Foreign Minister John Kerry presented during his recent visit to the region a proposal to vacate the Jordan Valley settlers against Israeli military control over the Jordan Valley Road, 5 km west of the Jordan River, but the Palestinian President Abu Mazen's answer was short and clear in one sentence: "there is nothing we can talk about." This was according to Israeli channel 10 website quoting informed sources.The sources added that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded to Kerry's plan for the Jordan Valley, saying "it's an idea empty of content and the sovereignty of the Palestinian State would include the Jordan Valley area, and there's nothing we can talk or discussion," which means a Palestinian rejection of the security Kerry plan.(http://www.maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=657910)
Jordan demands Israel remove monitoring cameras and military occupation manifestation in Al-Aqsa Mosque
Jordan rejected the Israeli occupation authorities’ installation of surveillance cameras on the roof of Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to monitor Muslim worshippers and Waqf employees, especially women who use the dome of the rock mosque as their main prayer site.Minister of State for information Affairs and Government spokesman Mohammed Al-Momani, said in a press statement on Tuesday that Jordan strongly rejects the existence of a police station in Al-Aqsa Mosque and it is considered flagrant military assault against the freedom of worship and interference in the Affairs of the Jordanian.Momani called on the Israeli Government to remove all manifestations of the militarization of the Haram Al-Sharif, including the police station and surveillance cameras installed last week at the compound, and remove all cameras installed in 2011 on the Moroccans’ gate to monitorwho enters and leaves Al-Aqsa. (Al-Quds)
Netanyahu freezes the establishment of a military college in Mount Scopus in Jerusalem
Maariv revealed on Tuesday a decision of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze Israeli plan to build military college in Mount Scopus in east Jerusalem, fearing the reaction of the United States.(Al-Quds)
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Headlines
** Israeli forces shell fishermen boats in Gaza (Al-Quds)
** Revealing the biggest tunnel for car smuggling in the Gaza brooders (Al-Quds)
** Exhumation of dozens of Palestinian martyrs of the figures cemetery near Beersheba (Al-Quds)
** Washington praises the EU support to Palestinian Israeli talks (Al-Ayyam)
** Occupation notifies 10 houses with demolition in Barta’ Al-Sharqeyah and confiscate 10 agriculture dunams in Qasra (Al-Ayyam)
** UN: great damage in Gaza and the West Bank as a result of the snowstorm (Al-Ayyam)
** Siri: the year 2014 is a moment of truth for the two-state solution (Al-Ayyam)
** UNRWA issues an urgent call to save Palestinian refugees in Syria (Al-Ayyam)
** Calls to announce Hebron a disaster governorate and compensate citizens affected of the snowstorm (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
** President Abbas receives Egyptian ambassador (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)
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Front Page Photos
Al- Quds:Biet Lahya – citizen drying his cloth after the storm
Al-Ayyam:same as Al-Quds
Al Hayat Al Jadida:1) Policeman giving bread to elderly citizens in Hebron, 2) another policeman carrying gas cylinder during the storm.
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Voice of Palestine News
Gaza Strip: In terms of the conditions on the ground after the storm, some families, especially in the northern Gaza area, are still in shelters and schools. Efforts from government services are still trying to pump water out of these residents’ homes. They are digging a huge hole in the ground to drain the water in the streets.
As for crossings, the Karem Abu Salem crossing was open to allow in assistance and some fuel to operate the power station and other things.
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Voice of Palestine Interviews
**Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of the settlement file in the northern West Bank, on the confiscation order for land in the north
Q: Can you tell us more about the land Israel ordered confiscated?
The land is in the area if Qusra and is all fertile, cultivated land. They want to confiscate 10 dunams of land between Qusra and the settlement of YeshKodish. Their intention is to build a military watchtower there and to confiscate the road. If this happens, the residents of that area will not be able to access over 500 dunams of their land. The people of Qusra have a long history of resistance and they have already set up activities to confront this plan. On paper, the Israelis will confiscate 10 dunams, but in reality, this will affect 500.
Q: You have also called on the people whose land is being confiscate to prove ownership of their land so they can file lawsuits against occupation authorities. Where are you now in this action?
We have activated this action but the problem is how slow things go in issues such as the land registry office ‘Tabo”, land inheritance issues, etc. We are trying to fight settlements and land confiscation so you would think there would be more cooperation in this regard. I am calling on these departments to be more cooperative, especially when it comes to land being confiscated by Israel because sometimes occupation authorities only give us 10 days to appeal and we need those papers.
**Jenin governor, TalalDweikat, on home demolition orders handed out by Israeli forces to residents of BartaaSharqiyeh, south of Jenin
Q:Can you tell us about these demolition orders?
This is nothing new from Israel; in the past month, over 60 demolition notices have been distributed in Barta’a. Israel is using the excuse that the homes have no construction licenses. We are following up on this issue and have filed suits in Israeli courts. This is completely arbitrary because they use this excuse even though this land was supposed to be used for expanding the village because of the population growth in it. There is limited space because Israel gives the opportunity for surrounding settlements to expand and also for the separation wall.
Q: What legal and popular steps are you planning to take?
There will be a meeting in the village to study future steps and protests, so we can also expose these measures to local and international media. We are planning to file lawsuits in Israeli courts, even though we know that these courts are unfair and do not abide by the law. Still, there have been cases when lawyers were able to stop demolitions.
Q: You toured the Jenin district for damages from the storm. What damages did you find?
There were damages from the snow and frost on the agricultural sector and also for animals because chicken coops and sheep sheds were damaged. We set up a committee to assess the damages and to present it to the cabinet so that farmers can receive compensation.
**PLO Executive committee secretary, on political developments
Q: The EU announced a list of incentives to the Palestinians and Israelis in order to reach an agreement. How would you assess these?
The EU position has been positive from the start. One of its positive positions has been the sanctions on settlement products and settlement activities. Also, their insistence on the reference for the peace process, which they said are international resolutions and the 1967 borders, in addition to national Palestinian rights.
As for the incentives that were announced, I think this is also positive, but I think they should have also included what the punishments or consequences would be on Israel if it hinders this process, because so far it is clear that Israel does not want peace or a serious process. Their only project is expansionist.
Q: But Kerry seemed optimistic of issuing a joint Palestinian-Israeli statement saying there was progress in the peace talks
Until now, there is nothing to support this optimism whatsoever. I would like to add that we are not looking for one more statement just to be added to the pile of other statements. We don’t need any new and invented references to take the place of the real one. Such a statement would add the utmost amount of ambiguity as to where the process is going for us but would give Israel more clarity in terms of its expansionist aspirations on Palestinian land. Such statements are only games and are aimed at not reaching any real agreement.
Q: So why aren’t the Palestinians calling for a third party to sponsor the negotiations such as Russia or the EU?
We have never stopped asking the Quartet committee to assume its responsibilities and to play an active role. But until now, these countries have not taken the necessary steps to be an active player in the peace process.
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More Headlines
Channel 2: the Israeli Government is facing the biggest coalition crisis since it was formed
According to channel 2 television the Israeli Government is facing the biggest coalition since it was formed about nine months ago. The channel said the Likud party is scheduled to hold its General Conference today to decide on the Alliance between Likud and “Israel Beiteinu” party. Danny Danon, Deputy Defense Minister demanded the dismissal of the Alliance between his party, Likud, and Israel Beiteinu party, which was strongly opposed by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. (http://www.pnn.ps/index.php/israel/75966-)
An Israeli Committee accuses Palestinians of taking control of land around Jerusalem
Maariv revealed the existence of a Committee for foreign and security affairs, that is part of a parliamentary Committee concerned with the West Bank Affairs under the name "Committee on Judea and Samaria". This committee recently held a meeting on Palestinian construction in Jerusalem and its surroundings, particularly the area known as E1. The Israeli Committee claimed that this area is exposed to “hostile Arab takeover, through the unauthorized construction on state territory, and on roads leading to Jerusalem under the auspices and with the support of the Palestinian Authority and foreign organizations.” The Committee requested the Government of Israel and the Ministry of Defense to "organize Bedouin communities in the West Bank in general, and in particular E1 area in accordance with the law, and the interests of the Government and not in accordance with the interests of third parties.” (http://safa.ps/details/news/118392/.html)
Occupation forces stormed Nablus and waged a mass arrests campaign
Occupation forces stormed Nablus early Wednesday and Al-Ain and Askar camps, and waged an arrest campaign against resulting in arresting four citizens, while the occupation forces confiscated dozens of dunams in the village of Qasra, South of Nablus. Local sources confirmed that "occupation forces informed Qasra village residents south of Nablus that it confiscated dozens of dunams of lands belonging to citizens, in favor of neighboring settlements. Eyewitnesses said "that they saw helicopters flying over “Etamar” and “AlonMoreh” settlements, to provide assistance to settlers after the snowstorm. (http://qudsnet.com/news/View/260368/)
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Arab Press
The US plan makes a viable Palestinian state untenable
By Jonathan Cook
In recent days, US and European diplomats have been engaged in a frenzy of activity on the Israeli-Palestinian front, before they settle down for the usual two-week Christmas hibernation.
A sense of urgency looms because Washington is supposed to unveil next month its so-called “framework proposal” for the creation of a Palestinian state, in a last desperate effort to break the logjam in negotiations. For this reason, the outlines of the US vision of an agreement are finally coming into focus. And, as many expected, the picture looks bleak for the Palestinians.
John Kerry, the US secretary of state, who has invested much of his personal standing in a successful outcome, has grown increasingly forthright that an agreement hinges on satisfying Israel’s security concerns, however inflated.
During a speech to the Saban Forum in Washington this month, Mr Kerry said President Barack Obama’s highest priority was Israel’s “ability to defend itself, by itself”. Shortly afterwards, Mr Kerry headed back to the region to show Israeli and Palestinian officials what he meant.
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, was reportedly incensed by the US proposal. In recent days PA spokesmen have accused Mr Kerry of “appeasement” and of failing to be “a neutral mediator”.
The criticism looks more than justified. Under cover of a vision for peace, the US secretary of state is offering an Israeli security plan at the expense of meaningful Palestinian statehood.
That is not entirely surprising given that the plan was drafted by John Allen, a general formerly in command of US forces in Afghanistan, who has spent months quietly liaising with Israeli counterparts.
The main sticking point is the Jordan Valley, an area that was expected to comprise nearly a quarter of a future Palestinian state.
Gen Allen has indulged an Israeli demand that it be allowed to continue a long-term “military presence” in the Jordan Valley, with a reassessment by the US in 10-15 years’ time.
That is a retreat from Washington’s earlier commitment at the Annapolis talks of 2007 that no Israeli soldiers would be stationed in the West Bank following an agreement. Security guarantees were to be provided instead by Nato troops, under US command.
The new proposal should be a deal-breaker. The valley is a vital resource for the Palestinians, one they have been effectively stripped of for decades by Israel’s exaggerated “security needs”.
The Jordan Valley offers the only land border in the West Bank that would be potentially under Palestinian control. It is one of the few remaining undeveloped areas, making it a possible site to which hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees could return. And its lands are fertile and warm all year round, making it highly productive and a likely engine for the Palestinian economy.
According to Gen Allen’s plan, Israel’s security also requires that Palestinian security forces be only lightly armed, that it has control over the airspace and all borders and the US to install spying technology – euphemistically called “early warning systems” – throughout the West Bank.
In other words, the US vision of a Palestinian state looks remarkably like the model Israel has already implemented in Gaza.
One need only listen to the words of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, from a decade ago to understand his role in this new plan.
In 2001 Mr Netanyahu spoke to a group of settlers in the West Bank at a meeting that was secretly filmed. There he boasted that during his earlier premiership, in the late 1990s, he had halted the peace plan of that time, the Oslo Accords, through what he termed a “trick”.
He foiled a Palestinian state’s creation by agreeing to limited withdrawals from Palestinian land while insisting on the retention of the most significant areas, especially the Jordan Valley, by classifying them as a “specified military site”.
Mr Netanyahu told the settlers: “America is something that can be easily moved. Moved to the right direction.” Those words now seem prophetic.
In rejecting the US plan, Mr Abbas appears to have the backing of his people. A poll published this week showed only 19 per cent believed the talks would lead to an agreement.
So, given the essential conflict between Israel’s “security” requirements and the Palestinian demand for statehood, how does Mr Kerry intend to proceed?
That too is becoming clear. The task of making Israel and the Palestinians play ball is being subcontracted to the European Union. That makes sense because, as the main subsidiser of the occupation, the Europeans have major financial leverage over both parties.
Earlier this month the EU brandished its stick. It warned that it would stop financing Mr Abbas’ Palestinian Authority if no agreement had been reached by the end of the talks.
Though widely seen as a threat directed towards Mr Abbas, whose political power base depends on EU money paying tens of thousands of PA workers each month, it was equally aimed at Mr Netanyahu. Were the PA to be wound up, the huge costs of running the occupation would again fall to Israel.
The 28 European member states have also warned Israel that should it carry on building settlements in the coming months, they will officially blame it for the talks’ failure.
On Monday, Europe unsheathed its carrot. It is offering both Israel and the Palestinians a major aid package and an upgrade in economic relations to the EU, conferring on them a status of “special privileged partnership”. This would reportedly bring each side huge trading and security benefits.
However vigorous the EU’s arm-twisting, the reality is that the Palestinian leadership is being cajoled into an agreement that would destroy any hopes of a viable Palestinian state.
Mr Abbas is said to have viewed the US plan as “worse than bad”. His agreement to it would be worse than disastrous.(http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/the-us-plan-makes-a-viable-palestinian-state-untenable#full)
Address for Palestinian solidarity
byRamzyBaroud
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 lead a moral campaign to isolate and hold to 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 ShmuleyBoteach, writing in the New York Observer on December 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 from truly representing the Jewish people or Judaism.
But what has earned Waters such a title, which is often bestowed without much hesitation on 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, not only because of his legendary music, but also because 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 delegitimisation of Israel is about to reach a critical mass.
It is what Palestinian Gaza-based BDS activist HaidarEid referred to in a recent interview as Palestine’s South Africa moment.
In an article in the Israeli daily Haaretz, published on December 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.”
Titled “Swell of boycotts driving Israel into international isolation”, Ravid’s article establishes a concrete argument of 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 if we do that can we change our role from spectators and sympathisers to active participants as human rights defenders.
The main address of such activities can be summed up in the initials BDS.
What I learned during my tour, well attended and also covered in French media, was to surprise me. The BDS debate is at an advanced stage and 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 travel, 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 labourers to work in illegal Jewish settlements. A few years ago, this kind of news was simply unheard of.
But what changed?
In some respect, 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, and flexible in its ability to encompass limitless groups, religions and nationalities.
Indeed, there is no room for racism or hate speech in BDS platforms. Equally important is that there can 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 from 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 Waters took the stances he did, he knew well of the likes of Boteach, who would immediately denounce him as “anti-Semite”. The fact is, however, that the number of “Waters” out there is quickly growing, and the power of their moral argument is widely spreading. Israeli smear tactics are not only ineffective but also self-defeating.(http://jordantimes.com/address-for-palestinian-solidarity)
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Opinions
What law?
By Mohammed Obeid
The Israeli occupation and its leaders insist on ‘gracing’ us each day with new ways of proving their racism and state-sanctioned terrorism in addition to how they show their lack of respect for all laws and ethics. In this sense, they are exactly the same as their predecessors regardless of the different faces or political approaches or even the claims the make to the public.
Perhaps the most recent draft law ratified by Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, which is to be discussed and passed by the government, and which stipulates imposing sanctions on rights organizations that expose the crimes of the occupation and reveals their brutality, is just one more piece of evidence to an unending list of evidences that incriminates the occupation.
Needless to say, the consecutive occupation governments have always persisted in covering up the crimes of its terrorist army and soldiers, who are drenched in Arab and Palestinian blood, but that the current government, which allegedly wants the peace process to succeed, which has been doomed from the start, has gone even further in proving even more extremism. Its terror and threats have now reached organizations inside of their own entity; it won’t be long before they begin pursuing them and imposing sanctions on them.
The most extreme parties in the “occupation country” believe that this so-called draft law will protect their existence and that of their army and their destructive military machines; they believe the law will preserve what they consider to be a “Jewish and democratic state” even though there is no such thing, not even at the surface. Israel, whether it likes it or not, is nothing more than an occupying power that has adopted a racist and expansionist system and follows and approach of killing, destruction and the changing of landmarks on occupied land. It tries to force facts and history and is a master at blackmailing international forces in order for them to continue giving cover for its crimes and hostile policies.
The goal of the aforementioned law is very clear. Within the circles of this entity there is a growing realization of the scope of isolation of their state, from which its authorities are starting to feel the crunch. They are directly affected by the boycott campaigns that have begun to spring up throughout the world against settlement and other Israeli products. Furthermore, there are many countries in which lawsuits have been made against Israeli army war criminals and who are not willing to receive them accept in the courtroom. This is why the draft law seeks to contain any voices of rights inside its entity in a bid to continue the policy of self-containment imposed by the feeling of isolation and pullback from any of its former allies.
Whether the extremist Jewish Home Party is able to ratify the draft law, or whether it is rejected for considerations that have nothing to do with the humanitarian or rights aspect of it, the two outcomes will be the same. This is because the occupation does not need legislation to continue its crimes or any ‘law’ to continue it transformation into the only racist and expansionist occupation in the world.
When an international force, a country, or an entity reaches an advanced point of resisting the course of history, it is gambling with its own destiny and is leaving the currents to sweep it into the unknown. This is what is wrongly prompting the occupation authorities on, in their delusion that this occupation will continue for ages and will give them even more power. However, the truth is that it will not lead to the best conditions for it, but only more isolation, weakness and accelerated setback, because the world is no longer that place in which this entity was able to impose its vision and lies like before. (http://www.alkhaleej.ae/studiesandopinions/page/fe568388-1a3e-4a92-9aeb-74d787c5cce7)
It is the Arabs’ responsibility before it is America’s
Al Quds Editorial
Perhaps the statements of Prince Turki Faisal, former head of the Saudi intelligence has some hidden meaning, when he called on the United States to exert more efforts in order to impose a solution on the Palestinians and Israelis with reservation of course in terms of imposing it on the Palestinians. As the Prince knows, the Palestinians were, and still are very flexible and responsive to all international proposals and Arab initiatives to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region. Hence, the ‘imposition” if you will, must be focused on the Israeli side, which is stalling and rejects in practical terms, any progress on the road to a just settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
In terms of the Saudi initiatives, which during the Beirut Summit of 2002 turned into the Arab Initiative, was approved by the Security Council within the framework of its adoption of the two-state solution. The Palestinians welcomed the initiative and statements were also issued by the Arab League to this effect as well. But while the Arab League sent several delegations to world countries to mobilize support for the two-state solution, there was still one obstacle to implementing the Arab initiative, which was that Israel was still holding on to its occupation and consolidating it through extensive settlement activity in the West Bank.
There is no doubt that the United States has a role and impact on Israeli politics. However, this role and impact are confined to the pressure from the American Jewish lobby, which is able to shift US foreign policy towards Israeli interests and at the whim of the Israeli Prime Minister’s settlement plans. This was proven to the world when the Netanyahu government rejected American demands to freeze settlement construction, even if only for three months, in exchange for a huge reward offered by Washington, which was tremendous military and economic support to Israel.
The American role in important; nobody argues that. However, the Arab role is also very important, even more important than the Americans’. Our Arab brethren have several cards in their hands to pressure, not only the United States, but the entire international community. The most important card: oil. The Palestinians are not demanding that they use this strategic card right now because they understand the current Arab circumstances and the repercussions of even hinting at using such a card.
What the Palestinians had hoped for, however, is unity in the Arab position towards the Palestinian cause. They wanted that unity to be reflected in Arab policies used as pressure and which would have had an impact that could not be ignored on international position, absolutely including those of the United States.
The question is: How long will we demand that foreign countries take the initiative to solve Arab issues, at a time when the Arabs have tremendous potentials and influence and are able to impose a just solution to the Palestinian issue and other issues as well.
What is missing is determination and the mobilization of political energies, at least those in service of this sacred cause, which our Arab brethren say is their central cause. However, raising slogans of it being central without accompanying these slogans with actions that will make this real is painful evidence of ongoing Arab weakness, which has no justification in light of its capabilities and the aspirations and hopes of the peoples of this nation. (http://www.alquds.com/news/article/view/id/478561)
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