15 nov 2017
The Palestinian MP and political expert, Mustafa al-Barghouthi, on Wednesday said that Israel has turned the West Bank into 225 separate small islands through the checkpoints and settlement outposts scattered everywhere in addition to the apartheid wall passing through its lands.
Following the Oslo Accords in 1993, the West Bank was divided into three areas: A, B and C. Area A comprises 18% of the West Bank and falls under the security and administrative control of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Area B represents 21% of the West Bank and is administered by both the PA and Israel, while Area C, which covers 61% of the West Bank, is exclusively controlled by Israel.
Barghouthi affirmed that the Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories has increased by more than 100% since the US President Donald Trump took office in December 2016.
During an interview with the Anadolu agency in Istanbul, Barghouthi stressed that the current Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu has no desire to allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
"We are facing a dangerous Israeli project that must be met with strong and effective Palestinian unity," he added.
The Israeli government since the beginning of 2017 has issued many tenders for the construction of thousands of settlement units in the West Bank.
According to human rights organizations, Israel's settlement activity in 2017 is three times higher than that recorded in 2016.
Following the Oslo Accords in 1993, the West Bank was divided into three areas: A, B and C. Area A comprises 18% of the West Bank and falls under the security and administrative control of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Area B represents 21% of the West Bank and is administered by both the PA and Israel, while Area C, which covers 61% of the West Bank, is exclusively controlled by Israel.
Barghouthi affirmed that the Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories has increased by more than 100% since the US President Donald Trump took office in December 2016.
During an interview with the Anadolu agency in Istanbul, Barghouthi stressed that the current Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu has no desire to allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
"We are facing a dangerous Israeli project that must be met with strong and effective Palestinian unity," he added.
The Israeli government since the beginning of 2017 has issued many tenders for the construction of thousands of settlement units in the West Bank.
According to human rights organizations, Israel's settlement activity in 2017 is three times higher than that recorded in 2016.
14 nov 2017
~Professor Kamel Hawwash, Middle East Monitor/Days of Palestine
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not known for missing an opportunity to push peace further into the distant future. The dust had not even settled on the Balfour Centenary, which the Palestinians marked with anger and Israel and its supporters celebrated, before Netanyahu took to the air to absolve Israel of any fault for the lack of progress towards peace. Israel is in a difficult neighbourhood and therefore its security needs are such that meeting these is almost incompatible with a Palestinian state.
In an interview with the well-known BBC broadcaster Andrew Marr, he trotted out the usual talking points. Israel, he said, “stands out as a beacon of democracy, a beacon of self-restraint in a sea of trouble.” As for the Israeli army, “there is no more moral army in the world,” he said. The settlements “are an issue but I don’t think they are the issue”. Instead he believes the issue “is the 100-year-old refusal of the Palestinian leadership to recognise a Jewish state in any boundary.”
Netanyahu took issue with Marr regarding the settlements, saying “the idea that Jews cannot live in Judea [the West Bank] is crazy”. When challenged that it is Palestinian territory, which the UN says is a flagrant violation of international law, he said that it is “disputed territory”. He even claimed that the settlements are “a side issue for Palestinians too,” arguing that he is continuing to work for the liberation of the whole of historic Palestine.
On the prospects for a Palestinian state he said that the Palestinians “should have all the powers to govern themselves and none of the powers to threaten us”. Marr pushed him on whether this means the end of the two-state solution and the move to a different solution – one state. “No,” he replied, “I don’t want a one-state solution. I’ll be clear about that.”
He argued that it was about the kind of state that emerges. To him it would have to be demilitarised and recognise the state of Israel. In fact, the Palestinian Authority has already met both these conditions. In signing the Oslo Accords, the PLO recognised the state of Israel while Israel did not recognise a Palestinian state, but rather the PLO as the “sole representative of the Palestinian people”.
In the wider context, the real threat to Israel is the Iranian threat. In a Chatham House interview earlier in the same week, Netanyahu argued that Iran was a “cause”; an expansionist country that wanted to gobble up small and medium-sized states as it moved towards the “larger states”.
To him, Israel shares this fear with Sunni-majority countries. He presented Israel as the only example in the Middle East of what he called “modernity” vs. the “Medievalists,” which were both Shia and Sunni Islamists.
Netanyahu again reiterated his belief that the conflict would be finished if the Palestinians recognised a Jewish state. When challenged that in fact the Palestinians will not get a state but an “entity,” Netanyahu came clean. He argued that it was time to “to reassess whether the model we have of sovereignty and unfettered sovereignty is applicable everywhere on the earth.”
He pointed to the British not wanting “outside control” on their economy, hence Brexit, and pointed to the lack of “economic sovereignty” that Greece has, referring to his “friend” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. He argued that in the complex world we live in, there are constraints on what are considered sovereign powers.
His argument was that in the case of historic Palestine, the land was too small to divide. He said that he had presented to US President Donald Trump a map which showed the distance from the West Bank to the Mediterranean as 50 kilometres which he said was the same distance form “Trump Tower to the George Washington Bridge”. If Israel leaves the West Bank, then “militant Islam” would move in as happened in Gaza and Lebanon.
It is either a “green flag” or a “black flag.” While not wanting to “govern the Arabs,” he wants overall security from the river Jordan to the Mediterranean: “For us the critical thing is to have the overriding security responsibility.” The demilitarisation of the West Bank would be done by Israel.
In other words, no Palestinian state will emerge but an entity which would have governing sovereignty but no security sovereignty.
At the same Chatham House event, Netanyahu described the demand for the removal of West Bank settlers as “ethnic cleansing,” comparing the settlers to Palestinian citizens of Israel. “From the Palestinian point of view, why do I have to take out Jews for peace? Do I have to take Arab citizens out of Israel for peace?” The comparison between Palestinian citizens of Israel and the illegal settlers is absurd. The Palestinians were there before Israel was created while the settlers were moved into the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Golan Heights in breach of international law. Their removal would correct a wrong.
This is not the first time Netanyahu has used this analogy. In 2016 he was rebuked for using it by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the Obama administration. The Obama administration described it as inappropriate: “We believe that using that type of terminology is inappropriate and unhelpful,” State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said. Perhaps Netanyahu feels that with Donald Trump in the White House, this approach will find favour.
Another term that needs adjusting according to Israel is refugee. The claim now is that Jews that migrated to Israel from Arab countries at its inception are refugees in the same way as Palestinian refugees deliberately driven out of Palestine in 1948 are regarded as refugees, despite the fact that they are not formally recognised as refugees by the UN.
In Netanyahu’s eyes, rather than Israel work towards meeting its obligations under international law for peace, he is attempting to create confusion and change the discourse to make ending the occupation and creating a sovereign Palestinian state a threat to Israel’s very survival. The two terms he is out to remould are now sovereignty and ethnic cleansing.
I wish he was using the brain power around him to pursue genuine peace with the Palestinians instead of thinking that the status quo and redefining a couple of terms will bring Israel peace or security.
Professor Kamel Hawwash is a British Palestinian engineering academic based at the University of Birmingham. He is a commentator on Middle East affairs, Vice Chair of the British Palestinian Policy Council (BPPC) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not known for missing an opportunity to push peace further into the distant future. The dust had not even settled on the Balfour Centenary, which the Palestinians marked with anger and Israel and its supporters celebrated, before Netanyahu took to the air to absolve Israel of any fault for the lack of progress towards peace. Israel is in a difficult neighbourhood and therefore its security needs are such that meeting these is almost incompatible with a Palestinian state.
In an interview with the well-known BBC broadcaster Andrew Marr, he trotted out the usual talking points. Israel, he said, “stands out as a beacon of democracy, a beacon of self-restraint in a sea of trouble.” As for the Israeli army, “there is no more moral army in the world,” he said. The settlements “are an issue but I don’t think they are the issue”. Instead he believes the issue “is the 100-year-old refusal of the Palestinian leadership to recognise a Jewish state in any boundary.”
Netanyahu took issue with Marr regarding the settlements, saying “the idea that Jews cannot live in Judea [the West Bank] is crazy”. When challenged that it is Palestinian territory, which the UN says is a flagrant violation of international law, he said that it is “disputed territory”. He even claimed that the settlements are “a side issue for Palestinians too,” arguing that he is continuing to work for the liberation of the whole of historic Palestine.
On the prospects for a Palestinian state he said that the Palestinians “should have all the powers to govern themselves and none of the powers to threaten us”. Marr pushed him on whether this means the end of the two-state solution and the move to a different solution – one state. “No,” he replied, “I don’t want a one-state solution. I’ll be clear about that.”
He argued that it was about the kind of state that emerges. To him it would have to be demilitarised and recognise the state of Israel. In fact, the Palestinian Authority has already met both these conditions. In signing the Oslo Accords, the PLO recognised the state of Israel while Israel did not recognise a Palestinian state, but rather the PLO as the “sole representative of the Palestinian people”.
In the wider context, the real threat to Israel is the Iranian threat. In a Chatham House interview earlier in the same week, Netanyahu argued that Iran was a “cause”; an expansionist country that wanted to gobble up small and medium-sized states as it moved towards the “larger states”.
To him, Israel shares this fear with Sunni-majority countries. He presented Israel as the only example in the Middle East of what he called “modernity” vs. the “Medievalists,” which were both Shia and Sunni Islamists.
Netanyahu again reiterated his belief that the conflict would be finished if the Palestinians recognised a Jewish state. When challenged that in fact the Palestinians will not get a state but an “entity,” Netanyahu came clean. He argued that it was time to “to reassess whether the model we have of sovereignty and unfettered sovereignty is applicable everywhere on the earth.”
He pointed to the British not wanting “outside control” on their economy, hence Brexit, and pointed to the lack of “economic sovereignty” that Greece has, referring to his “friend” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. He argued that in the complex world we live in, there are constraints on what are considered sovereign powers.
His argument was that in the case of historic Palestine, the land was too small to divide. He said that he had presented to US President Donald Trump a map which showed the distance from the West Bank to the Mediterranean as 50 kilometres which he said was the same distance form “Trump Tower to the George Washington Bridge”. If Israel leaves the West Bank, then “militant Islam” would move in as happened in Gaza and Lebanon.
It is either a “green flag” or a “black flag.” While not wanting to “govern the Arabs,” he wants overall security from the river Jordan to the Mediterranean: “For us the critical thing is to have the overriding security responsibility.” The demilitarisation of the West Bank would be done by Israel.
In other words, no Palestinian state will emerge but an entity which would have governing sovereignty but no security sovereignty.
At the same Chatham House event, Netanyahu described the demand for the removal of West Bank settlers as “ethnic cleansing,” comparing the settlers to Palestinian citizens of Israel. “From the Palestinian point of view, why do I have to take out Jews for peace? Do I have to take Arab citizens out of Israel for peace?” The comparison between Palestinian citizens of Israel and the illegal settlers is absurd. The Palestinians were there before Israel was created while the settlers were moved into the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Golan Heights in breach of international law. Their removal would correct a wrong.
This is not the first time Netanyahu has used this analogy. In 2016 he was rebuked for using it by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the Obama administration. The Obama administration described it as inappropriate: “We believe that using that type of terminology is inappropriate and unhelpful,” State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said. Perhaps Netanyahu feels that with Donald Trump in the White House, this approach will find favour.
Another term that needs adjusting according to Israel is refugee. The claim now is that Jews that migrated to Israel from Arab countries at its inception are refugees in the same way as Palestinian refugees deliberately driven out of Palestine in 1948 are regarded as refugees, despite the fact that they are not formally recognised as refugees by the UN.
In Netanyahu’s eyes, rather than Israel work towards meeting its obligations under international law for peace, he is attempting to create confusion and change the discourse to make ending the occupation and creating a sovereign Palestinian state a threat to Israel’s very survival. The two terms he is out to remould are now sovereignty and ethnic cleansing.
I wish he was using the brain power around him to pursue genuine peace with the Palestinians instead of thinking that the status quo and redefining a couple of terms will bring Israel peace or security.
Professor Kamel Hawwash is a British Palestinian engineering academic based at the University of Birmingham. He is a commentator on Middle East affairs, Vice Chair of the British Palestinian Policy Council (BPPC) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
13 nov 2017
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Figari Casso has contacted Israel’s ambassador to Mexico, Yoni Peled, and told him that Mexico has decided to change its voting strategy in all the upcoming voting procedures related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and will turn from voting in favor of Palestine to abstaining from doing so, or by voting to Israel, the Israeli news paper, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
There are 10 out of 20 pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli resolutions which are proposed annually at the UN, on the eve of November 29, according to the PNN.
In the past, Mexico belonged to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and therefore voted as the movement, against Israel. Since April, Israel has observed a consistent change in Mexico’s voting patterns. In April, Mexico abstained from voting against Israel for a UNESCO decision regarding Israel’s status in al-Haram al-Sharif, in Jerusalem. Also, in the WHO vote on health in the Palestine, Mexico changed from voting against Israel to abstaining, and, last week, Mexico voted for Israel during a debate at UNESCO.
Netanyahu’s successful visit to Mexico, last September, and the Israeli Aid delegation sent there, during its earthquake, has reportedly helped to warm relations between the two countries.
There are 10 out of 20 pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli resolutions which are proposed annually at the UN, on the eve of November 29, according to the PNN.
In the past, Mexico belonged to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and therefore voted as the movement, against Israel. Since April, Israel has observed a consistent change in Mexico’s voting patterns. In April, Mexico abstained from voting against Israel for a UNESCO decision regarding Israel’s status in al-Haram al-Sharif, in Jerusalem. Also, in the WHO vote on health in the Palestine, Mexico changed from voting against Israel to abstaining, and, last week, Mexico voted for Israel during a debate at UNESCO.
Netanyahu’s successful visit to Mexico, last September, and the Israeli Aid delegation sent there, during its earthquake, has reportedly helped to warm relations between the two countries.
The Israeli Knesset is mobilizing to stop EU aid from reaching Palestinian prisoners or their families, under the pretext that they are “terrorists” or “families of terrorists,” Israel Hayom reported on Friday.
According to the online newspaper, Zionist Union MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, a member of the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet, is gathering support for the project; she has received the blessing of Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and six other MKs from various factions so far.
“Figures we have collected show that, every month, some €4.5 million in EU funds are divided among those who carried out terrorist attacks against Israel and the families of terrorists,” Nahmias-Verbin told Israel Hayom.
The Israeli MK, the newspaper said, had sent a letter to the new EU Ambassador to Israel, Emmanuel Joffre, briefing him about her project and its goals. She also asked for a meeting along with other MKs to discuss the issue.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously asked the Palestinian Authority to stop paying former prisoners and families of current prisoners, claiming that they are terrorists or families of terrorists.
Critics of the Israeli occupation have pointed out that while Israel calls Palestinian resistance fighters “terrorists” its government has recently rewarded an Israeli soldier who shot dead an already wounded, motionless Palestinian in Al-Khalil (Hebron), Days of Palestine reports.
According to the online newspaper, Zionist Union MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, a member of the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet, is gathering support for the project; she has received the blessing of Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and six other MKs from various factions so far.
“Figures we have collected show that, every month, some €4.5 million in EU funds are divided among those who carried out terrorist attacks against Israel and the families of terrorists,” Nahmias-Verbin told Israel Hayom.
The Israeli MK, the newspaper said, had sent a letter to the new EU Ambassador to Israel, Emmanuel Joffre, briefing him about her project and its goals. She also asked for a meeting along with other MKs to discuss the issue.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously asked the Palestinian Authority to stop paying former prisoners and families of current prisoners, claiming that they are terrorists or families of terrorists.
Critics of the Israeli occupation have pointed out that while Israel calls Palestinian resistance fighters “terrorists” its government has recently rewarded an Israeli soldier who shot dead an already wounded, motionless Palestinian in Al-Khalil (Hebron), Days of Palestine reports.
8 nov 2017
Amir Sagie, Israel’s deputy consul general in New York, claimed that "The two sides in the conflict are conducting war crimes" in Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis, in an attempt to justify Israel’s arms sales to the Southeast Asain country amid growing international concern over the ethnic cleansing campaign against the Muslim minority.
Haaretz Hebrew newspaper reported that Sagie had met with six American rabbis who voiced concern about reports of Israeli arms sales to Myanmar.
“The rabbis were worried that Israeli businesses could be contributing to what the UN has termed ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, Myanmar’s Muslim minority, but Amir Sagie, Israel’s deputy consul general in New York, told the rabbis that to the best of Israel's knowledge, the current crisis began after the Muslims attacked the Myanmar army.”
Sagie charged that the current situation "started after Muslims attacked government positions in Myanmar" and that both sides in the conflict are "conducting war crimes."
His position is considered consistent with that of the Foreign Ministry regarding reports in the media regarding Israel's ties with Myanmar.
Sagie stated, "we deny totally any kind of relations or any connection to Israel with this tragedy. There is no direct or indirect connection with what is going on with the Rohingya people."
He added that Israel "applies a policy of non-intervention in Myanmar's domestic issues."
Sagie refused to give details about Israel’s arms trade with Myanmar, saying Israel "does not discuss publicly with our friends or our foes Israel's military or defense relationships." But he stressed that all weapons exports are "done with due diligence," and exports take "into consideration human rights violations, including existing sanctions from the UN or international organizations."
He also noted that the Israeli High Court of Justice had rejected a petition against the arms deals, but that verdict remains classified.
The meeting came amid growing violence in the Rakhine state where more than a quarter of a million Rohingya refugees have flooded into Bangladesh in just two weeks fleeing genocide.
The UN also estimates 1,000 people have died in the past 2 weeks, but this is likely to be an under estimate.
Haaretz Hebrew newspaper reported that Sagie had met with six American rabbis who voiced concern about reports of Israeli arms sales to Myanmar.
“The rabbis were worried that Israeli businesses could be contributing to what the UN has termed ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, Myanmar’s Muslim minority, but Amir Sagie, Israel’s deputy consul general in New York, told the rabbis that to the best of Israel's knowledge, the current crisis began after the Muslims attacked the Myanmar army.”
Sagie charged that the current situation "started after Muslims attacked government positions in Myanmar" and that both sides in the conflict are "conducting war crimes."
His position is considered consistent with that of the Foreign Ministry regarding reports in the media regarding Israel's ties with Myanmar.
Sagie stated, "we deny totally any kind of relations or any connection to Israel with this tragedy. There is no direct or indirect connection with what is going on with the Rohingya people."
He added that Israel "applies a policy of non-intervention in Myanmar's domestic issues."
Sagie refused to give details about Israel’s arms trade with Myanmar, saying Israel "does not discuss publicly with our friends or our foes Israel's military or defense relationships." But he stressed that all weapons exports are "done with due diligence," and exports take "into consideration human rights violations, including existing sanctions from the UN or international organizations."
He also noted that the Israeli High Court of Justice had rejected a petition against the arms deals, but that verdict remains classified.
The meeting came amid growing violence in the Rakhine state where more than a quarter of a million Rohingya refugees have flooded into Bangladesh in just two weeks fleeing genocide.
The UN also estimates 1,000 people have died in the past 2 weeks, but this is likely to be an under estimate.
6 nov 2017
Amnesty International on Sunday condemned Israel’s decision to deny an Amnesty International USA staff member entry to the West Bank.
According to a statement issued by Amnesty International, Raed Jarrar, Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA, was stopped at the King Hussein crossing (Karama) between Jordan and the West Bank. He was on a personal trip to visit his family in Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) following the recent death of his father.
Jarrar was interrogated by Israeli officials about the reasons for his visit, his work with Amnesty International and in particular the organization’s denunciation of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, before being denied entry and forced to return back to Jordan.
“The fact that Raed Jarrar was barred from entry after being interrogated about his work with Amnesty International appears to suggest that this move was taken in retaliation for the organization’s work on human rights violations in the OPT,” Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East, said.
“This appears to be another ominous signal of the Israeli authorities’ resolve to silence human rights organizations and activists who are critical of the Israeli government. It flies in the face of the government’s repeated claims that Israel is a tolerant state, respectful of human rights.” he added.
“Refusing entry to a human rights advocate because he works for an organization that has criticized human rights violations by Israel would constitute a blatant assault on freedom of expression,” Philip Luther stated.
According to a statement issued by Amnesty International, Raed Jarrar, Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA, was stopped at the King Hussein crossing (Karama) between Jordan and the West Bank. He was on a personal trip to visit his family in Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) following the recent death of his father.
Jarrar was interrogated by Israeli officials about the reasons for his visit, his work with Amnesty International and in particular the organization’s denunciation of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, before being denied entry and forced to return back to Jordan.
“The fact that Raed Jarrar was barred from entry after being interrogated about his work with Amnesty International appears to suggest that this move was taken in retaliation for the organization’s work on human rights violations in the OPT,” Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East, said.
“This appears to be another ominous signal of the Israeli authorities’ resolve to silence human rights organizations and activists who are critical of the Israeli government. It flies in the face of the government’s repeated claims that Israel is a tolerant state, respectful of human rights.” he added.
“Refusing entry to a human rights advocate because he works for an organization that has criticized human rights violations by Israel would constitute a blatant assault on freedom of expression,” Philip Luther stated.
4 nov 2017
Rocket alert sirens blared in Israeli settlements near the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning, in what the Israeli army said was a false alarm.
Spokesman for the army said that the sirens sounded in Karem Abu Salem and the surrounding areas, on the southern borders of Gaza Strip, due to a mistake made by Israeli Army’s rocket interception and missile radar units.
An investigation has been opened into the incident which triggered panic among Israeli settlers, he added.
The incident is considered the second of its kind in less than one week.
Last Thursday, sirens were heard in many Israeli areas including Tel Aviv.
Spokesman for the army said that the sirens sounded in Karem Abu Salem and the surrounding areas, on the southern borders of Gaza Strip, due to a mistake made by Israeli Army’s rocket interception and missile radar units.
An investigation has been opened into the incident which triggered panic among Israeli settlers, he added.
The incident is considered the second of its kind in less than one week.
Last Thursday, sirens were heard in many Israeli areas including Tel Aviv.
3 nov 2017
The two-day International Conference of Resistance Scholars which kicked off in Beirut on Wednesday slammed the British Government for its reluctance to apologize over the Balfour pledge, saying recognizing Israel is the most shameful of all acts of betrayal.
A statement issued at the end of the conference dubbed any attempt to recognize Israel as a legitimate state “an act of betrayal” refused by all Muslims across the globe.
The statement added that the Balfour centenary comes at a time when the Palestinian resistance has scored several goals against the Israeli occupation.
It called on the Arab and Islamic states to stand by the Palestinian people throughout the anti-occupation struggle, speak up for holy al-Aqsa Mosque, and stand on guard to any attempts to normalize ties with Israel.
The conference expressed deep concern over underway schemes to Judaize Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque—the 3rd holiest site in Islam.
The concluding statement stressed that armed resistance is the key to ousting the Israeli occupation from Palestine.
A statement issued at the end of the conference dubbed any attempt to recognize Israel as a legitimate state “an act of betrayal” refused by all Muslims across the globe.
The statement added that the Balfour centenary comes at a time when the Palestinian resistance has scored several goals against the Israeli occupation.
It called on the Arab and Islamic states to stand by the Palestinian people throughout the anti-occupation struggle, speak up for holy al-Aqsa Mosque, and stand on guard to any attempts to normalize ties with Israel.
The conference expressed deep concern over underway schemes to Judaize Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque—the 3rd holiest site in Islam.
The concluding statement stressed that armed resistance is the key to ousting the Israeli occupation from Palestine.
2 nov 2017
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes part in an annual memorial service in Israel’s parliament for Rehavam Ze’evi, a slain minister who advocated the expulsion of Palestinians, 13 October 2015.
On 11 October 1994, Israeli lawmaker Rehavam Ze’evi and his wife Yael sent a brief letter to Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara congratulating the couple on the birth of their son Avner.
Netanyahu was at the time the head of the Likud Party and the leader of Israel’s official opposition.
“Dear Sara and Bibi,” the letter begins. “Many Jewish children and the transfer of the Arabs are the answer to the demographic problem. Mazel tov!”
The Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz found the letter in the archives of Ze’evi, who was also known as “Gandhi.”
But the late general espoused anything but the peaceful politics with which his namesake is associated.
Lived and died by the sword
Ze’evi was a founder of Moledet, an Israeli party espousing the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians – euphemistically known as transfer – in order to maintain Israel as a Jewish state.
It also emerged last year that Ze’evi was a serial rapist, a cold-blooded killer and an associate of organized crime.
Ze’evi died as he lived. He was assassinated by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 2001, while serving as tourism minister, in order to avenge Israel’s killing of that group’s leader, Abu Ali Mustafa, 40 days earlier.
Ayman Odeh, the head of the Joint List, a group of lawmakers representing Palestinian citizens of Israel in Israel’s parliament, commented on the letter, noting that Ze’evi is “the man whose legacy Netanyahu does not want you to forget.”
On 11 October 1994, Israeli lawmaker Rehavam Ze’evi and his wife Yael sent a brief letter to Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara congratulating the couple on the birth of their son Avner.
Netanyahu was at the time the head of the Likud Party and the leader of Israel’s official opposition.
“Dear Sara and Bibi,” the letter begins. “Many Jewish children and the transfer of the Arabs are the answer to the demographic problem. Mazel tov!”
The Tel Aviv newspaper Haaretz found the letter in the archives of Ze’evi, who was also known as “Gandhi.”
But the late general espoused anything but the peaceful politics with which his namesake is associated.
Lived and died by the sword
Ze’evi was a founder of Moledet, an Israeli party espousing the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians – euphemistically known as transfer – in order to maintain Israel as a Jewish state.
It also emerged last year that Ze’evi was a serial rapist, a cold-blooded killer and an associate of organized crime.
Ze’evi died as he lived. He was assassinated by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 2001, while serving as tourism minister, in order to avenge Israel’s killing of that group’s leader, Abu Ali Mustafa, 40 days earlier.
Ayman Odeh, the head of the Joint List, a group of lawmakers representing Palestinian citizens of Israel in Israel’s parliament, commented on the letter, noting that Ze’evi is “the man whose legacy Netanyahu does not want you to forget.”
Odeh might have been referring to the fact that Netanyahu, along with much of Israel’s ruling establishment, still honors Ze’evi as a national hero.
Since 2010, Israel’s education ministry has required public schools to dedicate one day a year to honor Ze’evi. But the adulation is not universal. This year, the principals of Tel Aviv’s schools defied the order.
Netanyahu’s incitement
Haaretz notes that while it found Ze’evi’s letter in his estate archives, “unfortunately the collection does not contain Netanyahu’s response.”
But there’s little reason to think Netanyahu would have objected to Ze’evi’s violent anti-Palestinian views.
This week marks the anniversary of the 4 November 1995 assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by Yigal Amir, an Israeli Jewish extremist who opposed the 1993 Oslo accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Rabin’s widow Leah blamed Netanyahu for his role in inciting the murder of her husband.
This week Peace Now tweeted out notorious video footage of the hate rallies preceding Rabin’s murder, in which the prime minister is called a Nazi and a traitor.
Netanyahu can be seen in glimpses of the video.
Rabin’s killing paved the way for Netanyahu to win power, becoming prime minister in an election the following year.
In a tweet, Eli Valley, the American Jewish cartoonist, suggested that the video of “Netanyahu at rallies comparing Rabin to a Nazi/calling for his murder should be shown in every Hebrew/Jewish day school on earth.”
Valley might have meant that as a challenge to how normalized the culture of violence and ethno-racial hatred embodied by the likes of Ze’evi and Netanyahu has become in Israel and among its supporters around the world.
Myth of peaceToday, Israeli politicians and public figures who espouse expulsion of the Palestinians to deal with the so-called “demographic threat” are increasingly confident and their ideas enjoy considerable public support.
The kinds of rallies inciting Rabin’s murder are commonplace in Israel, though the cry is more typically “death to the Arabs.”
As for Rabin, he is still lionized as a man who gave his life for peace by the so-called international community and what still passes for an Israeli left.
The myth has taken hold that had Rabin not died, the “peace process” would have stayed on the rails and ended in a two-state solution.
Since 2010, Israel’s education ministry has required public schools to dedicate one day a year to honor Ze’evi. But the adulation is not universal. This year, the principals of Tel Aviv’s schools defied the order.
Netanyahu’s incitement
Haaretz notes that while it found Ze’evi’s letter in his estate archives, “unfortunately the collection does not contain Netanyahu’s response.”
But there’s little reason to think Netanyahu would have objected to Ze’evi’s violent anti-Palestinian views.
This week marks the anniversary of the 4 November 1995 assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by Yigal Amir, an Israeli Jewish extremist who opposed the 1993 Oslo accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Rabin’s widow Leah blamed Netanyahu for his role in inciting the murder of her husband.
This week Peace Now tweeted out notorious video footage of the hate rallies preceding Rabin’s murder, in which the prime minister is called a Nazi and a traitor.
Netanyahu can be seen in glimpses of the video.
Rabin’s killing paved the way for Netanyahu to win power, becoming prime minister in an election the following year.
In a tweet, Eli Valley, the American Jewish cartoonist, suggested that the video of “Netanyahu at rallies comparing Rabin to a Nazi/calling for his murder should be shown in every Hebrew/Jewish day school on earth.”
Valley might have meant that as a challenge to how normalized the culture of violence and ethno-racial hatred embodied by the likes of Ze’evi and Netanyahu has become in Israel and among its supporters around the world.
Myth of peaceToday, Israeli politicians and public figures who espouse expulsion of the Palestinians to deal with the so-called “demographic threat” are increasingly confident and their ideas enjoy considerable public support.
The kinds of rallies inciting Rabin’s murder are commonplace in Israel, though the cry is more typically “death to the Arabs.”
As for Rabin, he is still lionized as a man who gave his life for peace by the so-called international community and what still passes for an Israeli left.
The myth has taken hold that had Rabin not died, the “peace process” would have stayed on the rails and ended in a two-state solution.
Knesset commemorates Prime Minister Rabin who gave his life for peace. His legacy remains a living inspiration
But as Shlomo Ben-Ami, a former Israeli foreign minister and negotiator, told Democracy Now more than a decade ago, this is wishful thinking.
Ben-Ami called Oslo “an exercise in make-believe” whose ambiguities allowed the parties to clinch a deal in the short term, but only stored up for the future the irreconcilable differences that would and did bring the whole thing apart.
For one thing, the Oslo accords failed to make any mention of Palestinian self-determination. This suited Rabin, who according to Ben-Ami was only willing to consider granting the Palestinians a “state-minus.”
“He never thought this will end in a full-fledged Palestinian state,” Ben-Ami said.
In other words, Rabin’s ultimate goal was little different from that of Netanyahu, the current prime minister still accused of helping put his predecessor in his grave: to unload the political burden of ruling over the Palestinians, while maintaining real, permanent control of their land and their lives.
“Force, might and beatings” … and ethnic cleansing
For Palestinians, Rabin will always be remembered as the officer who oversaw the 1948 ethnic cleansing of tens of thousands of people from Lydda and Ramle.
And he will be remembered as the defense minister who tried to put down the first intifada, which began 30 years ago next month, with “force, might and beatings.”
The video images of Israeli soldiers deliberately breaking the bones of young Palestinians on Rabin’s orders are an indelible reminder of that time.
There are no heroes in Israel’s genocidal political culture.
But as Shlomo Ben-Ami, a former Israeli foreign minister and negotiator, told Democracy Now more than a decade ago, this is wishful thinking.
Ben-Ami called Oslo “an exercise in make-believe” whose ambiguities allowed the parties to clinch a deal in the short term, but only stored up for the future the irreconcilable differences that would and did bring the whole thing apart.
For one thing, the Oslo accords failed to make any mention of Palestinian self-determination. This suited Rabin, who according to Ben-Ami was only willing to consider granting the Palestinians a “state-minus.”
“He never thought this will end in a full-fledged Palestinian state,” Ben-Ami said.
In other words, Rabin’s ultimate goal was little different from that of Netanyahu, the current prime minister still accused of helping put his predecessor in his grave: to unload the political burden of ruling over the Palestinians, while maintaining real, permanent control of their land and their lives.
“Force, might and beatings” … and ethnic cleansing
For Palestinians, Rabin will always be remembered as the officer who oversaw the 1948 ethnic cleansing of tens of thousands of people from Lydda and Ramle.
And he will be remembered as the defense minister who tried to put down the first intifada, which began 30 years ago next month, with “force, might and beatings.”
The video images of Israeli soldiers deliberately breaking the bones of young Palestinians on Rabin’s orders are an indelible reminder of that time.
There are no heroes in Israel’s genocidal political culture.
Jordan has informed the Israeli government of its refusal of the entry of the Israeli Ambassador to the country.
Israel’s Channel 2 said Jordan still refuses the re-entry of the Israeli Ambassador after the Israeli embassy’s security guard who shot and killed two Jordanian citizens showed up with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.
Jordan called on the Israeli government to appoint a new Ambassador to Amman.
Israel’s Channel 2 claimed that preliminary investigations found out the guard was attacked for nationalistic reasons and will not be brought to court.
Israel’s Channel 2 said Jordan still refuses the re-entry of the Israeli Ambassador after the Israeli embassy’s security guard who shot and killed two Jordanian citizens showed up with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.
Jordan called on the Israeli government to appoint a new Ambassador to Amman.
Israel’s Channel 2 claimed that preliminary investigations found out the guard was attacked for nationalistic reasons and will not be brought to court.
A siren that sounded in in the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Givatayim, Bat Yam, Holon and Azur at predawn time on Thursday has scared many Israelis, raising tension in those areas.
According to Hebrew news outlets, many Israelis in central Israel awoke at 02:48 a.m. Thursday to the sound of a rocket alert siren, which ended up being a false alarm.
The Israeli army spokesman's office said several minutes afterwards that an examination found the siren sounded was a false alarm.
A rocket alert siren drill was scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv earlier this week in the morning hours, but it was called off amid the tensions on the Gaza border after the Israeli army struck a Palestinian resistance tunnel south of the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The deadly tunnel blast in Gaza, which left seven resistance fighters killed and dozens injured, along with foreign reports that Israeli warplanes attacked an ammunition factory in Syria raised fears of retaliation among the Israelis across the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories.
According to Hebrew news outlets, many Israelis in central Israel awoke at 02:48 a.m. Thursday to the sound of a rocket alert siren, which ended up being a false alarm.
The Israeli army spokesman's office said several minutes afterwards that an examination found the siren sounded was a false alarm.
A rocket alert siren drill was scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv earlier this week in the morning hours, but it was called off amid the tensions on the Gaza border after the Israeli army struck a Palestinian resistance tunnel south of the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The deadly tunnel blast in Gaza, which left seven resistance fighters killed and dozens injured, along with foreign reports that Israeli warplanes attacked an ammunition factory in Syria raised fears of retaliation among the Israelis across the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories.