24 sept 2013
Activists in Ramallah hold a mock funeral to protest the Palestinian Authority’s continued negotiations with Israel and coordination with its military, 28 August
Since the resumption of the most recent episode of the bogus, US-brokered “peace” talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in August, five Palestinians have been murdered by Israeli occupation forces. The latest was 22-year-old Islam Toubassi, assassinated in Jenin refugee camp on 17 September.
Among the five martyrs were three young Palestinian men killed on the morning of 26 August in the Qalandiya refugee camp, near Ramallah.
That day now seems like any another day, a painful — albeit distant — memory for some, and an occasion of unspeakable grief that turned the lives of three families upside down.
It should not be normal for heavily-armed soldiers to invade a refugee camp at dawn. Nor should it be normal for an occupying army to kill three unarmed Palestinians in cold blood and to injure dozens of other civilians, armed with nothing but rocks. The daily frequency with which Israel conducts those raids, however, makes this kind of terror and intimidation routine.
Israel is committing all of these crimes while the self-avowed Palestinian Authority unashamedly continues the “peace” talks charade and security collaboration with the Israeli occupation.
Lip service Meanwhile, Palestinians are left with nothing but pointless lip service from Mahmoud Abbas. After every violation, he claims that those violations might damage the futile “peace” process.
Abbas’ shy condemnation of Israel means nothing for the families of Rubeen Zayid, Younis Jahjouh and Jihad Aslan, the three young Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation soldiers in Qalandiya refugee camp on 26 August.
Witnessing the funerals of three martyrs is never easy, let alone writing about the experience objectively.
How can anyone accurately describe the suffering of a mother who had just lost her eldest son? How can one express support for a young woman whose husband — and the father of her son — was killed on his way to work for no crime but being a Palestinian?
How could anyone remain objective while listening to an elderly woman inconsolably begging her slain nephew to come back: “Jihad, my love, why did you leave me? Who will look after me now that they have taken your life away?”
How is it possible to describe the bitterness of watching journalists race to take pictures of sobbing Palestinian women, reminding me of these lines by Mahmoud Darwish: “To them my wound has become an exhibit for a tourist who loves collecting photographs.”
Parallel lines? And is there any polite manner in which you can comment on the speech of one Fatah official who attended the funeral and declared in his speech: “We believe that negotiations and resistance are parallel lines?”
There are moments that leave us completely and utterly speechless, unable to articulate the turmoil of emotions that overwhelm us. And even though it seems that Palestinians have gotten used to grief after 65 years of an ongoing Nakba or catastrophe, this should not in an way normalize the killing of one individual.
Jihad Aslan was just 19 but he had already lived through a lifetime of suffering. He was arrested by the Israeli occupation at the age of 15, spending a couple of years in jail, according to his relatives.
He was shot in his leg by Israeli soldiers briefly after his release. His arrest and injury meant that he couldn’t finish high school or find a job due to a permanent disability in his foot.
As the fatal raid began, he took two injured relatives to an ambulance before being shot himself and later succumbing to his wounds in a hospital.
For many, Jihad’s story is nothing special. He would go down as just another statistic, just another number in the endless lists of victims of the “Palestinian-Israeli conflict.” His story, the story of thousands of Palestinian youngsters whose lives were destroyed by a callous occupation, is irrelevant for an “international community,” whose only concern is maintaining Israel’s security.
Remembering is essential Remembering Jihad Aslan and other victims of Israel’s colonialism is essential, not just because of the recent clashes in Hebron and the arrest campaigns that followed the killing of two Israeli soldiers in the past week.
The US State Department condemned the killings of the soldiers as “terror,” a word it has never used to describe Israel’s routine killing and maiming of Palestinian civilians.
This reflects perverse thinking in many “Western” circles that turns the colonial aggressor and its army into the victim and the victim into the aggressor.
But Palestinians, like all occupied and colonized peoples, have a legitimate right to resist.
In 1970, the UN General Assembly affirmed “the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples under colonial and alien domination recognized as being entitled to the right of self-determination to restore to themselves that right by any means at their disposal.” Until Palestinians are free, that right applies to them too.
In no way can the killing of armed occupation soldiers be equated with the killing of indigenous, occupied people. These events do, however, highlight the hypocrisy of world powers that treat resistance as a crime and occupation as routine.
Recent events in Hebron and the clashes in Jenin and Qalandiya refugee camps before them show that if a third intifada does break out, it will start either in Hebron or the refugee camps. These places are targeted by both the Israeli occupation and its proxy, the Palestinian Authority. And they are always the first to rise up against both.
Budour Youssef Hassan is a Palestinian anarchist and law graduate based in occupied Jerusalem. She can be followed on Twitter @Budour48.
Since the resumption of the most recent episode of the bogus, US-brokered “peace” talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in August, five Palestinians have been murdered by Israeli occupation forces. The latest was 22-year-old Islam Toubassi, assassinated in Jenin refugee camp on 17 September.
Among the five martyrs were three young Palestinian men killed on the morning of 26 August in the Qalandiya refugee camp, near Ramallah.
That day now seems like any another day, a painful — albeit distant — memory for some, and an occasion of unspeakable grief that turned the lives of three families upside down.
It should not be normal for heavily-armed soldiers to invade a refugee camp at dawn. Nor should it be normal for an occupying army to kill three unarmed Palestinians in cold blood and to injure dozens of other civilians, armed with nothing but rocks. The daily frequency with which Israel conducts those raids, however, makes this kind of terror and intimidation routine.
Israel is committing all of these crimes while the self-avowed Palestinian Authority unashamedly continues the “peace” talks charade and security collaboration with the Israeli occupation.
Lip service Meanwhile, Palestinians are left with nothing but pointless lip service from Mahmoud Abbas. After every violation, he claims that those violations might damage the futile “peace” process.
Abbas’ shy condemnation of Israel means nothing for the families of Rubeen Zayid, Younis Jahjouh and Jihad Aslan, the three young Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation soldiers in Qalandiya refugee camp on 26 August.
Witnessing the funerals of three martyrs is never easy, let alone writing about the experience objectively.
How can anyone accurately describe the suffering of a mother who had just lost her eldest son? How can one express support for a young woman whose husband — and the father of her son — was killed on his way to work for no crime but being a Palestinian?
How could anyone remain objective while listening to an elderly woman inconsolably begging her slain nephew to come back: “Jihad, my love, why did you leave me? Who will look after me now that they have taken your life away?”
How is it possible to describe the bitterness of watching journalists race to take pictures of sobbing Palestinian women, reminding me of these lines by Mahmoud Darwish: “To them my wound has become an exhibit for a tourist who loves collecting photographs.”
Parallel lines? And is there any polite manner in which you can comment on the speech of one Fatah official who attended the funeral and declared in his speech: “We believe that negotiations and resistance are parallel lines?”
There are moments that leave us completely and utterly speechless, unable to articulate the turmoil of emotions that overwhelm us. And even though it seems that Palestinians have gotten used to grief after 65 years of an ongoing Nakba or catastrophe, this should not in an way normalize the killing of one individual.
Jihad Aslan was just 19 but he had already lived through a lifetime of suffering. He was arrested by the Israeli occupation at the age of 15, spending a couple of years in jail, according to his relatives.
He was shot in his leg by Israeli soldiers briefly after his release. His arrest and injury meant that he couldn’t finish high school or find a job due to a permanent disability in his foot.
As the fatal raid began, he took two injured relatives to an ambulance before being shot himself and later succumbing to his wounds in a hospital.
For many, Jihad’s story is nothing special. He would go down as just another statistic, just another number in the endless lists of victims of the “Palestinian-Israeli conflict.” His story, the story of thousands of Palestinian youngsters whose lives were destroyed by a callous occupation, is irrelevant for an “international community,” whose only concern is maintaining Israel’s security.
Remembering is essential Remembering Jihad Aslan and other victims of Israel’s colonialism is essential, not just because of the recent clashes in Hebron and the arrest campaigns that followed the killing of two Israeli soldiers in the past week.
The US State Department condemned the killings of the soldiers as “terror,” a word it has never used to describe Israel’s routine killing and maiming of Palestinian civilians.
This reflects perverse thinking in many “Western” circles that turns the colonial aggressor and its army into the victim and the victim into the aggressor.
But Palestinians, like all occupied and colonized peoples, have a legitimate right to resist.
In 1970, the UN General Assembly affirmed “the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples under colonial and alien domination recognized as being entitled to the right of self-determination to restore to themselves that right by any means at their disposal.” Until Palestinians are free, that right applies to them too.
In no way can the killing of armed occupation soldiers be equated with the killing of indigenous, occupied people. These events do, however, highlight the hypocrisy of world powers that treat resistance as a crime and occupation as routine.
Recent events in Hebron and the clashes in Jenin and Qalandiya refugee camps before them show that if a third intifada does break out, it will start either in Hebron or the refugee camps. These places are targeted by both the Israeli occupation and its proxy, the Palestinian Authority. And they are always the first to rise up against both.
Budour Youssef Hassan is a Palestinian anarchist and law graduate based in occupied Jerusalem. She can be followed on Twitter @Budour48.
President Mahmoud Abbas urged leaders of the American Jewish community to support efforts to bring peace to the Middle East.
He told a group of Jewish community leaders he met in New York Monday evening that this is the time to make peace.
“We have a real opportunity to achieve lasting, just, and comprehensive peace,” he said on the eve of the opening sessions of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). “We can do it, make no mistake.
No one gains more from reaching an agreement than Palestinians, and no one loses more if we fail to reach an agreement. Failure in not an option for us,” he said.
“We need your support to ensure the successful conclusion of the peace negotiations so that the State of Palestine can live side by side with the State of Israel in peace and security on the 1967 borders,” said Abbas.
“I urge the Israeli government to focus on building peace, and not building settlements,” he added.
Abbas warned that the current Palestinian-Israeli negotiations might be the last opportunity for peace in the region through the two-state solution.
“It is time to achieve peace in the holy land; it is time for Jews, Christians and Muslims to show the similarities of the greatness of these three faiths. It is time to replace hatred, conflict, bloodshed and incitement with cooperation, building together and realizing the potential of Israelis and Palestinians in times of peace,” he said.
“I am, 78 years old with 8 grandchildren, in pursuing peace, in trying to reach a historical agreement with Israel that will end the conflict and claims, I am not doing Israel a favor, I am doing it as a cardinal interest for my people. I hope and pray that Israeli leaders will act in the same manner,” he added.
Abbas said that he speaks the same language everywhere in the world, urging the Jewish community leaders to listen to his speech at the UNGA in which he will reiterate the Palestinian position of an independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital along with resolving all final status issues.
He stressed that East Jerusalem is an occupied territory and part of the Palestinian territory as well as the eternal capital of the future Palestinian state.
He criticized Israeli settlement activities, saying that all settlements Israel has build on occupied Palestinian land are illegal.
Abbas briefed the delegation on the latest developments in the peace talks with Israel, stressing that the United State, which exerted all efforts to re-launch the negotiations, “is a full partner in these negotiations,” which are supposed to address all permanent status issues including Jerusalem, borders, settlements, refugees, security and prisoners.
He said that a time period of 6 to 9 months was designated to achieve a comprehensive agreement including end of claims and end of conflict.
In exchange of Israel’s commitment to release the 104 prisoners held since before 1993, said Abbas, “I committed not to make accession to any of the UN agencies, and conventions, during the 6 to 9 months period.”
“We also agreed to continue fulfilling our security obligations, and we will shoulder all commitments emanating from agreements signed, the Road Map and the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002,” he added.
On incitement, said Abbas, “I propose to revive the trilateral committee on anti-incitement composed of the US, Palestinians and Israelis.”
The US state department financed a full-scale research and investigation on Israeli and Palestinian textbooks; the result published this year concluded that there were no incitements in the Palestinian textbooks, he explained.
Abbas said if Israel withdraws from the territories it occupied in 1967, at least 57 Arab and Islamic nations will normalize relations with it.
He also said that internal reconciliation would happen when Hamas agrees to presidential and legislative elections.
“Reconciliation will not be a burden on negotiations,” said Abbas, who stressed that “meanwhile we will continue with our institution building for the State of Palestine. I reiterate to you that the State of Palestine will be an example of democracy, human rights, women rights, accountability, transparency and the role of law.”
Referring to the changes in the Arab world, Abbas said that while democracy and peace are essential, the Palestinians have adopted a policy of non-interference in internal Arab affairs.
He told a group of Jewish community leaders he met in New York Monday evening that this is the time to make peace.
“We have a real opportunity to achieve lasting, just, and comprehensive peace,” he said on the eve of the opening sessions of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). “We can do it, make no mistake.
No one gains more from reaching an agreement than Palestinians, and no one loses more if we fail to reach an agreement. Failure in not an option for us,” he said.
“We need your support to ensure the successful conclusion of the peace negotiations so that the State of Palestine can live side by side with the State of Israel in peace and security on the 1967 borders,” said Abbas.
“I urge the Israeli government to focus on building peace, and not building settlements,” he added.
Abbas warned that the current Palestinian-Israeli negotiations might be the last opportunity for peace in the region through the two-state solution.
“It is time to achieve peace in the holy land; it is time for Jews, Christians and Muslims to show the similarities of the greatness of these three faiths. It is time to replace hatred, conflict, bloodshed and incitement with cooperation, building together and realizing the potential of Israelis and Palestinians in times of peace,” he said.
“I am, 78 years old with 8 grandchildren, in pursuing peace, in trying to reach a historical agreement with Israel that will end the conflict and claims, I am not doing Israel a favor, I am doing it as a cardinal interest for my people. I hope and pray that Israeli leaders will act in the same manner,” he added.
Abbas said that he speaks the same language everywhere in the world, urging the Jewish community leaders to listen to his speech at the UNGA in which he will reiterate the Palestinian position of an independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital along with resolving all final status issues.
He stressed that East Jerusalem is an occupied territory and part of the Palestinian territory as well as the eternal capital of the future Palestinian state.
He criticized Israeli settlement activities, saying that all settlements Israel has build on occupied Palestinian land are illegal.
Abbas briefed the delegation on the latest developments in the peace talks with Israel, stressing that the United State, which exerted all efforts to re-launch the negotiations, “is a full partner in these negotiations,” which are supposed to address all permanent status issues including Jerusalem, borders, settlements, refugees, security and prisoners.
He said that a time period of 6 to 9 months was designated to achieve a comprehensive agreement including end of claims and end of conflict.
In exchange of Israel’s commitment to release the 104 prisoners held since before 1993, said Abbas, “I committed not to make accession to any of the UN agencies, and conventions, during the 6 to 9 months period.”
“We also agreed to continue fulfilling our security obligations, and we will shoulder all commitments emanating from agreements signed, the Road Map and the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002,” he added.
On incitement, said Abbas, “I propose to revive the trilateral committee on anti-incitement composed of the US, Palestinians and Israelis.”
The US state department financed a full-scale research and investigation on Israeli and Palestinian textbooks; the result published this year concluded that there were no incitements in the Palestinian textbooks, he explained.
Abbas said if Israel withdraws from the territories it occupied in 1967, at least 57 Arab and Islamic nations will normalize relations with it.
He also said that internal reconciliation would happen when Hamas agrees to presidential and legislative elections.
“Reconciliation will not be a burden on negotiations,” said Abbas, who stressed that “meanwhile we will continue with our institution building for the State of Palestine. I reiterate to you that the State of Palestine will be an example of democracy, human rights, women rights, accountability, transparency and the role of law.”
Referring to the changes in the Arab world, Abbas said that while democracy and peace are essential, the Palestinians have adopted a policy of non-interference in internal Arab affairs.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas revealed that resumption of talks extends the offer of normalized relations for Israel with 57 Arab and Islamic countries following Israel’s full withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967. The deadline, assigned to reach a comprehensive agreement with the Israelis, is six to nine months, Abbas said during a meeting held in New York with a number of American Jewish community leaders.
He stated that the agreement states the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners detained before Oslo Accord, in return Palestinians will not resort to the International Criminal Court during this period.
If the Israelis pulled out of Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, 57 Arab and Islamic countries would establish relations with Israel, he continued.
Abbas has suggested during the meeting to form a committee to put an end to the incitement between both the Israelis and Palestinians.
He stated that the agreement states the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners detained before Oslo Accord, in return Palestinians will not resort to the International Criminal Court during this period.
If the Israelis pulled out of Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, 57 Arab and Islamic countries would establish relations with Israel, he continued.
Abbas has suggested during the meeting to form a committee to put an end to the incitement between both the Israelis and Palestinians.
At this week’s annual top-level UN General Assembly meetings, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will honour a promise to the US to suspend a Palestinian quest for further UN recognition.
But Palestinians have made clear that the strategy is not off the table, particularly if negotiations with Israel on Palestinian statehood don’t produce an agreement by April, the target proposed by Washington.
A poll published Monday indicates overwhelming support among Palestinians for the most dramatic element of the “international strategy” — bringing up Israel on war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court in connection with Israel’s continued settlement-building on war-won lands that the Palestinians want for their state.
For now, Abbas will stick to his promise to US Secretary of State John Kerry, who prodded Israelis and Palestinians back to negotiations in late July, after a five-year break. “We will not apply for any agency of the United Nations this time,” Riad Mansour, the head of the Palestinian mission at the UN, said of the General Assembly meetings that began Monday.
This year’s UN diplomacy is likely dominated by Syria’s civil war and Iran’s suspected nuclear ambitions. Abbas is addressing the plenum Thursday and is to meet a series of leaders, including President Barack Obama, on Tuesday. He is also set to talk with Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
A year ago, Abbas used the General Assembly gathering to lobby for recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state at the UN. Two months later, the General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the request, recognising a state of Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem — lands Israel occupied in 1967 — by a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions.
Israel and the US objected, arguing that such recognition harms attempts to negotiate the terms of Palestinian statehood in Israeli-Palestinian talks, with US mediation. Talks between Abbas and then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had broken down in 2008, and Abbas and Olmert’s successor, Benjamin Netanyahu, failed to find sufficient common ground.
Abbas has said UN recognition is not a bypass to negotiations, but meant to improve Palestinian leverage in the lopsided relationship between occupier and occupied. Palestinians say that in affirming the 1967 frontier, the UN helped counter Israeli attempts to blur that line through massive settlement building. More than a half-million Israelis now live on war-won lands, complicating any effort to partition the territory under a future peace deal.
Palestinians resumed talks with Israel in July despite low expectations, and without getting Israel to freeze settlement-building first. Yet Abbas could not afford to rebuff Obama at the time by saying no. Israel’s promise to release 104 long-held Palestinian prisoners over the course of the talks also helped bring Abbas back to the table.
Abbas, in turn, promised to suspend his UN strategy, which Israel fears will heighten its diplomatic isolation. As part of that strategy, the Palestinians would seek membership in a number of UN agencies. The most dramatic step would be to seek action by the International Criminal Court, though Abbas hasn’t yet given the green light.
The Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research said 60 per cent of Palestinians back Abbas’ decision to refrain from seeking membership in UN agencies for the duration of negotiations with Israel, in return for the release of prisoners.
However, 67 per cent support going to the ICC immediately, even if it means prisoners won’t be released or Israel retaliates with financial sanctions, according to pollster Khalil Shikaki.
He said the ICC option is popular because a majority of Palestinians don’t have faith in negotiations but also oppose a return to violence. “People want revenge because they see Israel is getting away with ... the theft of their land, confiscation of their property, bringing in settlers... and they feel there’s absolutely nothing they are able to do against it,” Shikaki added.
The survey was conducted September 19-21 among 1,261 respondents, with an error margin of 3 percentage points.
Political analyst Majed Swailem said Abbas is unlikely to abandon the UN strategy, despite the current suspension.
“The UN is the only strategy for Abbas, in case the current round of negotiations fails, as is expected,” Swailem said. “By the end of the assigned nine months, he can’t continue talking without any result and, of course, will return to the UN”.
But Palestinians have made clear that the strategy is not off the table, particularly if negotiations with Israel on Palestinian statehood don’t produce an agreement by April, the target proposed by Washington.
A poll published Monday indicates overwhelming support among Palestinians for the most dramatic element of the “international strategy” — bringing up Israel on war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court in connection with Israel’s continued settlement-building on war-won lands that the Palestinians want for their state.
For now, Abbas will stick to his promise to US Secretary of State John Kerry, who prodded Israelis and Palestinians back to negotiations in late July, after a five-year break. “We will not apply for any agency of the United Nations this time,” Riad Mansour, the head of the Palestinian mission at the UN, said of the General Assembly meetings that began Monday.
This year’s UN diplomacy is likely dominated by Syria’s civil war and Iran’s suspected nuclear ambitions. Abbas is addressing the plenum Thursday and is to meet a series of leaders, including President Barack Obama, on Tuesday. He is also set to talk with Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
A year ago, Abbas used the General Assembly gathering to lobby for recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state at the UN. Two months later, the General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the request, recognising a state of Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem — lands Israel occupied in 1967 — by a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions.
Israel and the US objected, arguing that such recognition harms attempts to negotiate the terms of Palestinian statehood in Israeli-Palestinian talks, with US mediation. Talks between Abbas and then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had broken down in 2008, and Abbas and Olmert’s successor, Benjamin Netanyahu, failed to find sufficient common ground.
Abbas has said UN recognition is not a bypass to negotiations, but meant to improve Palestinian leverage in the lopsided relationship between occupier and occupied. Palestinians say that in affirming the 1967 frontier, the UN helped counter Israeli attempts to blur that line through massive settlement building. More than a half-million Israelis now live on war-won lands, complicating any effort to partition the territory under a future peace deal.
Palestinians resumed talks with Israel in July despite low expectations, and without getting Israel to freeze settlement-building first. Yet Abbas could not afford to rebuff Obama at the time by saying no. Israel’s promise to release 104 long-held Palestinian prisoners over the course of the talks also helped bring Abbas back to the table.
Abbas, in turn, promised to suspend his UN strategy, which Israel fears will heighten its diplomatic isolation. As part of that strategy, the Palestinians would seek membership in a number of UN agencies. The most dramatic step would be to seek action by the International Criminal Court, though Abbas hasn’t yet given the green light.
The Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research said 60 per cent of Palestinians back Abbas’ decision to refrain from seeking membership in UN agencies for the duration of negotiations with Israel, in return for the release of prisoners.
However, 67 per cent support going to the ICC immediately, even if it means prisoners won’t be released or Israel retaliates with financial sanctions, according to pollster Khalil Shikaki.
He said the ICC option is popular because a majority of Palestinians don’t have faith in negotiations but also oppose a return to violence. “People want revenge because they see Israel is getting away with ... the theft of their land, confiscation of their property, bringing in settlers... and they feel there’s absolutely nothing they are able to do against it,” Shikaki added.
The survey was conducted September 19-21 among 1,261 respondents, with an error margin of 3 percentage points.
Political analyst Majed Swailem said Abbas is unlikely to abandon the UN strategy, despite the current suspension.
“The UN is the only strategy for Abbas, in case the current round of negotiations fails, as is expected,” Swailem said. “By the end of the assigned nine months, he can’t continue talking without any result and, of course, will return to the UN”.
23 sept 2013
Palestinian Political analyst, Rafeeq Awad, told PNN that Israel will likely exploit the killing of two soldiers to evade the negotiation process with the Palestinians and thereby rid itself of external US and international pressure and regulation.
Following the killing of an Isreali soldier by a Palestinian sniper on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, de-facto expanded the Jewish areas of the West Bank and called for Israeli settler presence in a Palestinian neighborhood.
Given the current peace negotiations, Netanyahu’s call for increased illegal settlement activity in PA controlled areas of the West Bank is interpreted by some as retaliatory and could threaten the continuity of the brittle peace negotiations.
Israeli Skepticism about the Peace-Negotiations
“Those who attempt to uproot us [Israelis] from the city of our forefathers will achieve the opposite effect. We will continue on one hand to fight terror and to harm terrorists and on the other hand to strengthen settlements,” Netanyahu stated just past midnight on Sunday.
His statement iterated the need to support illegal annexation of Palestinian land through illegal settlements and to fight Palestinian ‘terror’.
Netanyahu is set to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations with US President Barack Obama in Washington next week.
Right wing Israeli politicians went even further, to demand halting negotiations with the PA as well as the promised release of Palestinian prisoners.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) said, “We have to freeze the negotiations until [PA President Mahmoud Abbas] Abu Mazen and the Palestinian leadership condemn the terrorist incidents of the last few days. I told the prime minister [Netanyahu] that he can’t negotiate with those who support terror.”
Avi Ro’eh who heads the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, said “All ministers have a responsibility to stop talks with the PA,” and added that the murder of two Israeli soldiers in the last few days indicates Palestinians do not support the PA’s diplomatic policies and wish to travel the path of violence.
Palestinian Skepticism about the Peace Negotiations
Ro’eh statement about Palestinian violence is misguided, but, he is right about one thing: many Palestinians are opposed to the PA and PLO’s current negotiations with Israel. Several Palestinian groups launched a campaign on Sunday to demand that the Palestinian Authority (PA) halt peace talks with Israel.
At a press conference in Ramallah, the organizers called on the PA to abandon the talks with Netanyahu’s government in favor of “reorganizing the Palestinian home, and completing efforts to see Palestinian membership in the UN.”
They also signed a petition rejecting the idea of land swaps with Israel and the annexation of settlement blocs, including east Jerusalem, to Israel, in any future deal.
The campaign is being waged by various Palestinian groups, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestinian People’s Party, The National Initiative, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian Democratic Union, as well as several Palestinian political figures.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with US President Barack Obama during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York on Tuesday, and according to a PA official, “President Abbas will make it clear that Israel’s policies are jeopardizing the peace talks.”
The official said Abbas will criticize Israel’s continued construction of the illegal settlements and plans to build new housing units in some east Jerusalem neighborhoods.
Meanwhile Occupied Palestine reported 229 Israeli cease-fire violations.
Is the peace process working?
Following the killing of an Isreali soldier by a Palestinian sniper on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, de-facto expanded the Jewish areas of the West Bank and called for Israeli settler presence in a Palestinian neighborhood.
Given the current peace negotiations, Netanyahu’s call for increased illegal settlement activity in PA controlled areas of the West Bank is interpreted by some as retaliatory and could threaten the continuity of the brittle peace negotiations.
Israeli Skepticism about the Peace-Negotiations
“Those who attempt to uproot us [Israelis] from the city of our forefathers will achieve the opposite effect. We will continue on one hand to fight terror and to harm terrorists and on the other hand to strengthen settlements,” Netanyahu stated just past midnight on Sunday.
His statement iterated the need to support illegal annexation of Palestinian land through illegal settlements and to fight Palestinian ‘terror’.
Netanyahu is set to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations with US President Barack Obama in Washington next week.
Right wing Israeli politicians went even further, to demand halting negotiations with the PA as well as the promised release of Palestinian prisoners.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) said, “We have to freeze the negotiations until [PA President Mahmoud Abbas] Abu Mazen and the Palestinian leadership condemn the terrorist incidents of the last few days. I told the prime minister [Netanyahu] that he can’t negotiate with those who support terror.”
Avi Ro’eh who heads the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, said “All ministers have a responsibility to stop talks with the PA,” and added that the murder of two Israeli soldiers in the last few days indicates Palestinians do not support the PA’s diplomatic policies and wish to travel the path of violence.
Palestinian Skepticism about the Peace Negotiations
Ro’eh statement about Palestinian violence is misguided, but, he is right about one thing: many Palestinians are opposed to the PA and PLO’s current negotiations with Israel. Several Palestinian groups launched a campaign on Sunday to demand that the Palestinian Authority (PA) halt peace talks with Israel.
At a press conference in Ramallah, the organizers called on the PA to abandon the talks with Netanyahu’s government in favor of “reorganizing the Palestinian home, and completing efforts to see Palestinian membership in the UN.”
They also signed a petition rejecting the idea of land swaps with Israel and the annexation of settlement blocs, including east Jerusalem, to Israel, in any future deal.
The campaign is being waged by various Palestinian groups, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestinian People’s Party, The National Initiative, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian Democratic Union, as well as several Palestinian political figures.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with US President Barack Obama during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York on Tuesday, and according to a PA official, “President Abbas will make it clear that Israel’s policies are jeopardizing the peace talks.”
The official said Abbas will criticize Israel’s continued construction of the illegal settlements and plans to build new housing units in some east Jerusalem neighborhoods.
Meanwhile Occupied Palestine reported 229 Israeli cease-fire violations.
Is the peace process working?
Second deputy speaker of the Palestinian legislative council Hasan Khreisha has said that the West Bank was revolting against occupation and negotiations. He told the PIC on Monday that the confrontations and attacks (on Israeli targets) were a natural response to the Israeli occupation and its practices.
The growing Israeli incursions and cold-blooded murder of young men had provoked retaliatory operations, the MP said.
Khreisha said that all those in the Palestinian Authority and Fatah know quite well that negotiations with Israel did not serve any Palestinian goal but rather served the occupation and Americans’ strategies in the region.
Insisting on such negotiations was only increasing the people’s anger and thus the negotiations should come to a halt, especially that it was coupled with Israeli raids, Khreisha added.
The MP opined that what was happening in the West Bank had confused schemes being hatched against Gaza Strip, affirming that the Palestinian people would not remain arms-folded vis-à-vis any attack on Gaza.
PA-Israeli security coordination had failed and whenever the people decide to revolt no security coordination would be able to stop them, Khreisha concluded.
The growing Israeli incursions and cold-blooded murder of young men had provoked retaliatory operations, the MP said.
Khreisha said that all those in the Palestinian Authority and Fatah know quite well that negotiations with Israel did not serve any Palestinian goal but rather served the occupation and Americans’ strategies in the region.
Insisting on such negotiations was only increasing the people’s anger and thus the negotiations should come to a halt, especially that it was coupled with Israeli raids, Khreisha added.
The MP opined that what was happening in the West Bank had confused schemes being hatched against Gaza Strip, affirming that the Palestinian people would not remain arms-folded vis-à-vis any attack on Gaza.
PA-Israeli security coordination had failed and whenever the people decide to revolt no security coordination would be able to stop them, Khreisha concluded.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton warned that rise in violence in the West Bank could undermine negotiations and peace efforts. Ashton condemned in a statement issued on Sunday the killing of an Israeli soldier in the West Bank city of Qalqilya last week and said “this comes in the wake of several worrying incidents in the West Bank.”
She was referring to the Israeli army killing of six Palestinians last month and this month in Qalandia and Jenin refugee camps, which prompted violent protests in several areas of the West Bank.
“The EU regrets the loss of life, urges for maximum restraint and reiterates its call to all parties to refrain from actions that could undermine the negotiation process and the prospects of peace,” said Ashton.
She was referring to the Israeli army killing of six Palestinians last month and this month in Qalandia and Jenin refugee camps, which prompted violent protests in several areas of the West Bank.
“The EU regrets the loss of life, urges for maximum restraint and reiterates its call to all parties to refrain from actions that could undermine the negotiation process and the prospects of peace,” said Ashton.
President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in New York on Sunday and is set for talks with European and world leaders in the coming days, including a meeting with US President Barack Obama scheduled for Tuesday, Foreign Minister Riyad Malki said on Monday. He told Voice of Palestine radio that Abbas will hold a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Monday.
He said Abbas will talk about the latest developments in the peace talks with Israel, denying that Abbas will hold a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also scheduled to travel to New York this week.
“No such meeting is planned,” said Malki, explaining that “the situation is not yet set for such a meeting,” which “is not going to help in anything on the ground.”
Malki expressed concern that Israel may use the killing of an Israeli soldier in Hebron on Sunday and another off duty soldier in Qalqilya two days earlier in order to discredit the Palestinian Authority.
However, he said, the PA will be ready to counter any such attempt from Israel by explaining what Israel is doing on the ground in the West Bank, including the recent killings in Qalandia and Jenin refugee camps.
“We will talk about everything that Israel is doing on the ground and we can be persuasive in explaining the Palestinian position,” he said.
He said Abbas will talk about the latest developments in the peace talks with Israel, denying that Abbas will hold a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also scheduled to travel to New York this week.
“No such meeting is planned,” said Malki, explaining that “the situation is not yet set for such a meeting,” which “is not going to help in anything on the ground.”
Malki expressed concern that Israel may use the killing of an Israeli soldier in Hebron on Sunday and another off duty soldier in Qalqilya two days earlier in order to discredit the Palestinian Authority.
However, he said, the PA will be ready to counter any such attempt from Israel by explaining what Israel is doing on the ground in the West Bank, including the recent killings in Qalandia and Jenin refugee camps.
“We will talk about everything that Israel is doing on the ground and we can be persuasive in explaining the Palestinian position,” he said.
21 sept 2013
US President Barack Obama will hold talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the White House said. Obama is due to address the annual assembly of world leaders on Tuesday and will also find time to meet one-on-one with Abbas, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan and Lebanon's Michel Sleiman, spokesman Ben Rhodes said.
The meeting with Abbas comes six days before the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House amid ongoing Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations.
"This is the President's first opportunity to meet personally and at length with President Abbas since the launch of direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians," Rhodes said.
"The President will have an opportunity to hear firsthand from President Abbas about the progress of those negotiations," he added.
"This is an important opportunity for him to reinforce the support of the United States for the progress that is under way for the Middle East peace, and to welcome the courageous steps that have been taken by both leaders and reinforcing the need to continue to make progress given the opportunity that is presented through these negotiations."
Obama's meeting with Lebanese leader Sleiman will focus on the refugee crisis triggered by the war in neighboring Syria.
"This will give him an opportunity to discuss the extraordinary refugee challenge confronted by Lebanon as they have to take onboard many hundreds of thousands of Syrians who crossed the border," Rhodes said.
"The US has provided support for Lebanon in dealing with that challenge, and the leaders will be able to discuss the refugee situation as well as the broader situation in Syria."
The meeting with Abbas comes six days before the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House amid ongoing Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations.
"This is the President's first opportunity to meet personally and at length with President Abbas since the launch of direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians," Rhodes said.
"The President will have an opportunity to hear firsthand from President Abbas about the progress of those negotiations," he added.
"This is an important opportunity for him to reinforce the support of the United States for the progress that is under way for the Middle East peace, and to welcome the courageous steps that have been taken by both leaders and reinforcing the need to continue to make progress given the opportunity that is presented through these negotiations."
Obama's meeting with Lebanese leader Sleiman will focus on the refugee crisis triggered by the war in neighboring Syria.
"This will give him an opportunity to discuss the extraordinary refugee challenge confronted by Lebanon as they have to take onboard many hundreds of thousands of Syrians who crossed the border," Rhodes said.
"The US has provided support for Lebanon in dealing with that challenge, and the leaders will be able to discuss the refugee situation as well as the broader situation in Syria."
Dr. Yousef Rizqa, political adviser to the Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya, has warned of Abbas's policy of misinformation regarding the negotiations with Israel, calling for revealing what's going on in the backstage. PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas has ignored the Palestinian public opinion towards the ongoing negotiations, Rizka told Quds Press on Saturday.
Abbas has isolated the Palestinian people and factions, even the PLO and Fatah movement executive committees do not know anything about the resumed talks, the advisor said, adding that the current Ramallah government has become a government of services and know nothing about politics.
He said that there are multiple and contradictory news about the ongoing negotiations, which are shrouded in secrecy.
Some sources said that the negotiations have failed while other sources affirmed that the negotiations are going forward, he pointed out.
The American administration is not an honest mediator, he charged, saying that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is always pressing the Palestinian side to give more concessions.
Rizka said that there is a deadlock in the negotiations due to the Israeli endless conditions. He said that meeting all the Israeli conditions would constitute a “political suicide” not only for Mahmoud Abbas but also for the negotiation option and Fatah movement.
Abbas has isolated the Palestinian people and factions, even the PLO and Fatah movement executive committees do not know anything about the resumed talks, the advisor said, adding that the current Ramallah government has become a government of services and know nothing about politics.
He said that there are multiple and contradictory news about the ongoing negotiations, which are shrouded in secrecy.
Some sources said that the negotiations have failed while other sources affirmed that the negotiations are going forward, he pointed out.
The American administration is not an honest mediator, he charged, saying that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is always pressing the Palestinian side to give more concessions.
Rizka said that there is a deadlock in the negotiations due to the Israeli endless conditions. He said that meeting all the Israeli conditions would constitute a “political suicide” not only for Mahmoud Abbas but also for the negotiation option and Fatah movement.
Hundreds participated in mass rallies on Friday in northern Gaza Strip to condemn the Israeli continued siege on Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the return to the PLO-Israel negotiations, local media reported. The marches were called for by Hamas Movement. They set off after Friday prayers from the Al-Kholafaa El Rashedin mosque in Jabalya refugee camp and roamed a number of the streets of the camp.
The rallies, headed by ministers, MPs and a number of Hamas leaders, raised banners condemning Israeli measures in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and slogans rejecting the resumption of negotiations.
"Storming Al-Aqsa and the attempts to Judaize it represent a natural result of negotiations based on more concessions from the Palestinian side in light of the Arab countries' preoccupation in their internal affairs", Hamas leader Mohammed Abu Askar said.
The rallies, headed by ministers, MPs and a number of Hamas leaders, raised banners condemning Israeli measures in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and slogans rejecting the resumption of negotiations.
"Storming Al-Aqsa and the attempts to Judaize it represent a natural result of negotiations based on more concessions from the Palestinian side in light of the Arab countries' preoccupation in their internal affairs", Hamas leader Mohammed Abu Askar said.
20 sept 2013
Far-fetched Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations began earlier this month. But in parallel process for my family, long-time residents of occupied East Jerusalem, we have been sent into exile by the same Israeli authorities that claim they want to establish peace.
Our infraction? We had the temerity to live outside of our homeland for several years and the naivety to think we could return to Palestine for a summer vacation. Israel, however, allows such certainty only for Jewish residents of Jerusalem and not for the Palestinians whose land it occupied in 1967 – and certainly not for those Palestinians exiled in 1948.
It’s as though a Native American went to study in Europe and was expelled if she returned for a visit or to re-establish her life in the United States. Imagine your agony if you traveled abroad for several years and then were told by an (occupying) government that your right to return home had been forfeited while people of a different religion were allowed to make similar long-term trips or immigrate after never living there at all.
The double standard is obvious and should be addressed by Secretary of State John Kerry. Instead, Prime Minister Netanyahu inveighs against alleged Palestinian incitement when Mohammed Assaf sings of the Palestinian desire to return to homes and land from which over 700,000 Palestinians were expelled in 1948.
My family’s personal experience with this miscarriage of justice came in July. Just days into our vacation, the Israeli Ministry of Interior (MoI) presented us documents expelling us from our country, leaving us to face statelessness and exile. We are now in France, appealing our case, still in sharp pain, indignant about this injustice, and fearful for our future.
Our attorney hopes to convince MoI to reverse its decision on revoking our “permanent resident” status in East Jerusalem, where my husband was raised and my children were born. Should the MoI insist on its decision, two of our three children would end up stateless and passport-less. This will also mean that our family will not be able to live in, or possibly visit, our homeland again.
Israel imposed the “permanent resident” status on the Palestinians in East Jerusalem when it occupied and illegally, unilaterally annexed the city in June 1967 – thus not observing its obligations as an occupying power with regards to the provisions of international law, according to which Palestinian East Jerusalemites are not merely “residents” but are also “protected persons” who are entitled to continue living in their country. Over 14,000 Palestinians have been expelled since 1967.
My husband’s roots run deep in Jerusalem. His ancestral family (Mahshi) has lived in the city for centuries. It is still recognized by the Greek Orthodox Church as one of 13 prominent families within its congregation in Jerusalem. On important occasions, like Holy Fire Saturday, the family is called upon to carry a banner in front of the Patriarch in processions through the city streets.
My husband grew up in the Old City and was living there when Israel occupied it. Until 1994, he was involved in joint Israeli-Palestinian activities to realize a two-state solution and a just and lasting peace based on UN resolutions. He contributed to Palestinian statehood through the development of educational institutions and was a member of the team which established the first Palestinian Ministry of Education. His work was recognized by many, including France, which decorated him with the “Palmes Academiques” in 1993 and granted him French nationality in 2010. In 2001, he was offered a job at UNESCO where he presently holds a senior management position.
In 2001, our three children and I joined my husband in Paris, where we still reside. Triggered by the fact that my husband was granted French nationality, Israel expelled our family based on its policy of “center of life,” which it consistently applies to Palestinian Jerusalemites living and working outside the city, thus rendering them stateless. Israel thereby denies us our human right to travel, pursue our professional development and careers, and return to our country. Needless to say, Jerusalem’s Jewish residents have no such fears. It’s discrimination at its clearest.
My own roots also run deep in Jerusalem. The families of my paternal and maternal grandmothers are two of the 13 Greek Orthodox families mentioned previously. Many of my years were spent struggling for gender equality in Palestinian society. In 1994, I established the executive offices of the Women’s Affairs Technical Committee, a coalition of women’s organizations which was effective in reversing a number of discriminatory regulations against women.
How ironic it is that despite my life’s work on women’s and human rights, I am presently subjected to the violation of my basic rights as a person and a woman: my human right to leave and return to my country, a right secured by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 13.2) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Israel has signed (Articles 12.2 and 12.4). This covenant also stipulates that all persons lawfully within the territory of a State shall have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose their place of residence. My children, who are pursuing their studies, are also denied their human right to a nationality and the choice to return to their country.
We hope that Israel will demonstrate its seriousness in the ongoing negotiations through halting its inhumane policies which threaten Palestinians’ existence and enjoyment of basic human rights. Like all the peoples of the world, we have the right to go back to our home and country. We yearn to continue to work for peace, to live in our homeland and retire in peace. But Israel’s willingness to talk peace while at the same time exiling vulnerable Palestinians speaks volumes about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s intention to secure as much land with as few Palestinians as possible.
This article was originally posted on Mondoweiss.
Our infraction? We had the temerity to live outside of our homeland for several years and the naivety to think we could return to Palestine for a summer vacation. Israel, however, allows such certainty only for Jewish residents of Jerusalem and not for the Palestinians whose land it occupied in 1967 – and certainly not for those Palestinians exiled in 1948.
It’s as though a Native American went to study in Europe and was expelled if she returned for a visit or to re-establish her life in the United States. Imagine your agony if you traveled abroad for several years and then were told by an (occupying) government that your right to return home had been forfeited while people of a different religion were allowed to make similar long-term trips or immigrate after never living there at all.
The double standard is obvious and should be addressed by Secretary of State John Kerry. Instead, Prime Minister Netanyahu inveighs against alleged Palestinian incitement when Mohammed Assaf sings of the Palestinian desire to return to homes and land from which over 700,000 Palestinians were expelled in 1948.
My family’s personal experience with this miscarriage of justice came in July. Just days into our vacation, the Israeli Ministry of Interior (MoI) presented us documents expelling us from our country, leaving us to face statelessness and exile. We are now in France, appealing our case, still in sharp pain, indignant about this injustice, and fearful for our future.
Our attorney hopes to convince MoI to reverse its decision on revoking our “permanent resident” status in East Jerusalem, where my husband was raised and my children were born. Should the MoI insist on its decision, two of our three children would end up stateless and passport-less. This will also mean that our family will not be able to live in, or possibly visit, our homeland again.
Israel imposed the “permanent resident” status on the Palestinians in East Jerusalem when it occupied and illegally, unilaterally annexed the city in June 1967 – thus not observing its obligations as an occupying power with regards to the provisions of international law, according to which Palestinian East Jerusalemites are not merely “residents” but are also “protected persons” who are entitled to continue living in their country. Over 14,000 Palestinians have been expelled since 1967.
My husband’s roots run deep in Jerusalem. His ancestral family (Mahshi) has lived in the city for centuries. It is still recognized by the Greek Orthodox Church as one of 13 prominent families within its congregation in Jerusalem. On important occasions, like Holy Fire Saturday, the family is called upon to carry a banner in front of the Patriarch in processions through the city streets.
My husband grew up in the Old City and was living there when Israel occupied it. Until 1994, he was involved in joint Israeli-Palestinian activities to realize a two-state solution and a just and lasting peace based on UN resolutions. He contributed to Palestinian statehood through the development of educational institutions and was a member of the team which established the first Palestinian Ministry of Education. His work was recognized by many, including France, which decorated him with the “Palmes Academiques” in 1993 and granted him French nationality in 2010. In 2001, he was offered a job at UNESCO where he presently holds a senior management position.
In 2001, our three children and I joined my husband in Paris, where we still reside. Triggered by the fact that my husband was granted French nationality, Israel expelled our family based on its policy of “center of life,” which it consistently applies to Palestinian Jerusalemites living and working outside the city, thus rendering them stateless. Israel thereby denies us our human right to travel, pursue our professional development and careers, and return to our country. Needless to say, Jerusalem’s Jewish residents have no such fears. It’s discrimination at its clearest.
My own roots also run deep in Jerusalem. The families of my paternal and maternal grandmothers are two of the 13 Greek Orthodox families mentioned previously. Many of my years were spent struggling for gender equality in Palestinian society. In 1994, I established the executive offices of the Women’s Affairs Technical Committee, a coalition of women’s organizations which was effective in reversing a number of discriminatory regulations against women.
How ironic it is that despite my life’s work on women’s and human rights, I am presently subjected to the violation of my basic rights as a person and a woman: my human right to leave and return to my country, a right secured by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 13.2) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Israel has signed (Articles 12.2 and 12.4). This covenant also stipulates that all persons lawfully within the territory of a State shall have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose their place of residence. My children, who are pursuing their studies, are also denied their human right to a nationality and the choice to return to their country.
We hope that Israel will demonstrate its seriousness in the ongoing negotiations through halting its inhumane policies which threaten Palestinians’ existence and enjoyment of basic human rights. Like all the peoples of the world, we have the right to go back to our home and country. We yearn to continue to work for peace, to live in our homeland and retire in peace. But Israel’s willingness to talk peace while at the same time exiling vulnerable Palestinians speaks volumes about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s intention to secure as much land with as few Palestinians as possible.
This article was originally posted on Mondoweiss.
Hamas movement called on the Palestinian people in the cities of Ramallah and Bireh to sit-in on Friday to denounce the Israeli continued crimes against the Palestinian people and holy sites. The movement pointed out that the sit-in will be "in support of the Aqsa Mosque and in condemnation of the almost daily raids into its courtyards by the occupation forces and the extremist settlers."
The occupation forces have allowed Jewish extremists to storm the Aqsa and perform Talmudic rituals in its courtyards after the Knesset Interior Committee demanded to allow Jews to pray at Al-Aqsa during the Jewish holidays.
For their part, Palestinian security forces in Ramallah and Al-Bireh have suppressed more than once sit-ins and marches staged by Hamas movement to condemn the crimes committed by the Egyptian army against "supporters of legitimacy" after the recent coup in Egypt.
The occupation forces have allowed Jewish extremists to storm the Aqsa and perform Talmudic rituals in its courtyards after the Knesset Interior Committee demanded to allow Jews to pray at Al-Aqsa during the Jewish holidays.
For their part, Palestinian security forces in Ramallah and Al-Bireh have suppressed more than once sit-ins and marches staged by Hamas movement to condemn the crimes committed by the Egyptian army against "supporters of legitimacy" after the recent coup in Egypt.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erakat said Thursday that peace talks could come to an abrupt end if Israel continues building settlements on occupied land and killing Palestinians.
"There is a kind of pattern in these negotiations since they began," Erakat said during a visit with diplomats and journalists to the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank.
"Every time there's a (negotiating) session, there is an announcement on tenders" for new settler homes, he said.
And "seven Palestinians have been killed so far" in operations by the Israeli army since US-brokered bilateral talks resumed in August.
Days before the first meeting on Aug. 14, Israel announced the approval of more than 2,000 new Jewish settler homes for construction in the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem.
In the latest deadly clash between Palestinians and the Israeli army, soldiers shot a 21-year-old suspected Palestinian militant during an arrest attempt at his home in Jenin on Sept. 9. He died in hospital.
"Somebody needs to tell the Israelis: 'Give this peace process a chance, because if your pattern is to prevent Palestinians from coming to the negotiating table, you're about to succeed.'"
Erakat declined to elaborate on the progress of negotiations, which are under a media blackout imposed by the talks' middleman, US Secretary of State John Kerry.
However, he did comment on a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to maintain a long-term military presence in the Jordan Valley even after the creation of a Palestinian state.
"In 2012, the net income from the settlements' enterprise project in the Jordan Valley and the Tubas governorate was estimated at $612 million dollars."
"Netanyahu says that he needs to stay another 40 years in any settlements in the Jordan Valley. Of course, he will stay another four hundred years with such profits!"
Short-lived peace talks collapsed in September 2010 after Netanyahu declined to renew a freeze on new settlement construction in the West Bank.
"There is a kind of pattern in these negotiations since they began," Erakat said during a visit with diplomats and journalists to the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank.
"Every time there's a (negotiating) session, there is an announcement on tenders" for new settler homes, he said.
And "seven Palestinians have been killed so far" in operations by the Israeli army since US-brokered bilateral talks resumed in August.
Days before the first meeting on Aug. 14, Israel announced the approval of more than 2,000 new Jewish settler homes for construction in the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem.
In the latest deadly clash between Palestinians and the Israeli army, soldiers shot a 21-year-old suspected Palestinian militant during an arrest attempt at his home in Jenin on Sept. 9. He died in hospital.
"Somebody needs to tell the Israelis: 'Give this peace process a chance, because if your pattern is to prevent Palestinians from coming to the negotiating table, you're about to succeed.'"
Erakat declined to elaborate on the progress of negotiations, which are under a media blackout imposed by the talks' middleman, US Secretary of State John Kerry.
However, he did comment on a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to maintain a long-term military presence in the Jordan Valley even after the creation of a Palestinian state.
"In 2012, the net income from the settlements' enterprise project in the Jordan Valley and the Tubas governorate was estimated at $612 million dollars."
"Netanyahu says that he needs to stay another 40 years in any settlements in the Jordan Valley. Of course, he will stay another four hundred years with such profits!"
Short-lived peace talks collapsed in September 2010 after Netanyahu declined to renew a freeze on new settlement construction in the West Bank.
18 sept 2013
Sheikh Hussein Abu Kuwaik, a leader in Hamas movement, said on the twentieth anniversary of Oslo agreement that the signing of the agreement was a second Nakba (catastrophe) to the Palestinian cause. Oslo accord has created a state of division within the Palestinian people, compromised the Palestinian rights and deepened the suffering of the Palestinian people where it gave legitimacy to the occupation's confiscation of 78% of Palestinian historical land, he said.
He told the PIC in an interview on Tuesday that Oslo Accord constituted a serious turning point in the history of the Palestine cause and was meant among other goals to liquidate the armed resistance.
He added that the Oslo agreement divided the Palestinian people into two parties, one party who supports negotiations and works in coordination with the occupation, while the second party still adheres to resistance option.
Describing the ongoing talks between PA and Israeli authorities as “regrettable”, Sheikh Abu Kuwaik said that the PA preserves Israeli security and stability by prosecuting the resistance elements in West Bank, while the occupation continues its crimes and Judaization schemes.
He said that the Israeli officials and leaders do not recognize any of the Palestinian rights to establish a Palestinian state or the right of return, noting that the PA accepted to be part of the Israeli-US project that targets the region.
He called on the PA to halt negotiations with the occupation after failing in achieving Palestinian rights along twenty years of negotiation and to concentrate on achieving national reconciliation.
Sheikh Hussein Abu Kuwaik said that Hamas movement had participated in the election under its own conditions without compromising any of the national constants or resistance option. The elections resulted in a legitimate elected government that managed to protect resistance and defend Palestinian people in two wars.
He pointed to the severe torture practiced against Hamas supporters and elements in PA jails as well as to the continued suppression to the protests and sit-ins organized by the movement in the West Bank as part of the security coordination between the PA and Israeli forces.
Regarding the possibility of launching the Egyptian army an aggression on Gaza, he said that the Palestinian resistance has only one enemy, which is the Israeli occupation, and does not wish to start conflicts with anyone else, especially the Egyptian people.
He told the PIC in an interview on Tuesday that Oslo Accord constituted a serious turning point in the history of the Palestine cause and was meant among other goals to liquidate the armed resistance.
He added that the Oslo agreement divided the Palestinian people into two parties, one party who supports negotiations and works in coordination with the occupation, while the second party still adheres to resistance option.
Describing the ongoing talks between PA and Israeli authorities as “regrettable”, Sheikh Abu Kuwaik said that the PA preserves Israeli security and stability by prosecuting the resistance elements in West Bank, while the occupation continues its crimes and Judaization schemes.
He said that the Israeli officials and leaders do not recognize any of the Palestinian rights to establish a Palestinian state or the right of return, noting that the PA accepted to be part of the Israeli-US project that targets the region.
He called on the PA to halt negotiations with the occupation after failing in achieving Palestinian rights along twenty years of negotiation and to concentrate on achieving national reconciliation.
Sheikh Hussein Abu Kuwaik said that Hamas movement had participated in the election under its own conditions without compromising any of the national constants or resistance option. The elections resulted in a legitimate elected government that managed to protect resistance and defend Palestinian people in two wars.
He pointed to the severe torture practiced against Hamas supporters and elements in PA jails as well as to the continued suppression to the protests and sit-ins organized by the movement in the West Bank as part of the security coordination between the PA and Israeli forces.
Regarding the possibility of launching the Egyptian army an aggression on Gaza, he said that the Palestinian resistance has only one enemy, which is the Israeli occupation, and does not wish to start conflicts with anyone else, especially the Egyptian people.
Israel is close to officially approving the release of an additional 250 Palestinian prisoners detained before Aslo Accord, Palestinian sources said.
Israel has already agreed to release 104 prisoners as part of the resumption of peace negotiations. Twenty-six of those prisoners were freed last month. The second phase of the prisoners' release is scheduled for the end of October. The fourth and final release of prisoners is expected to take place on March 28.
In early September, Mahmoud Abbas told a meeting of the Fatah Revolutionary Council in Ramallah that he has agreed not to turn to international organizations during the negotiations in return for the release of the 104 prisoners, who were detained by Israel prior to the signing of the Oslo Accords.
"I consider the issue of the UN to be very important, but the case of the prisoners is worthy of sacrifice," he said. "We have prepared 63 requests to join 63 UN agencies and conventions, but I said the issue of the prisoners is now more significant."
Palestinian Minister of Prisoner Affairs met recently with the families of the 104 prisoners and promised them that they would be released regardless of whether any progress is made in the peace talks. He said the prisoners would be released to Gaza and the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Israel has agreed to allow limited quantities of building materials for use by the private sector into the blockaded Gaza Strip starting from Sunday.
The quantities allowed in per day would be 1,600 tons of gravel, 800 tons of cement and 400 tons of iron.
A Palestinian official in Gaza said that allowing building materials into Gaza was a positive development, but insufficient.
"It's a positive step, but Gaza needs 6,000 tons of gravel, 4,000 of cement and 1,500 of iron per day," deputy economy minister Hatem Oweida said.
Israel has already agreed to release 104 prisoners as part of the resumption of peace negotiations. Twenty-six of those prisoners were freed last month. The second phase of the prisoners' release is scheduled for the end of October. The fourth and final release of prisoners is expected to take place on March 28.
In early September, Mahmoud Abbas told a meeting of the Fatah Revolutionary Council in Ramallah that he has agreed not to turn to international organizations during the negotiations in return for the release of the 104 prisoners, who were detained by Israel prior to the signing of the Oslo Accords.
"I consider the issue of the UN to be very important, but the case of the prisoners is worthy of sacrifice," he said. "We have prepared 63 requests to join 63 UN agencies and conventions, but I said the issue of the prisoners is now more significant."
Palestinian Minister of Prisoner Affairs met recently with the families of the 104 prisoners and promised them that they would be released regardless of whether any progress is made in the peace talks. He said the prisoners would be released to Gaza and the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Israel has agreed to allow limited quantities of building materials for use by the private sector into the blockaded Gaza Strip starting from Sunday.
The quantities allowed in per day would be 1,600 tons of gravel, 800 tons of cement and 400 tons of iron.
A Palestinian official in Gaza said that allowing building materials into Gaza was a positive development, but insufficient.
"It's a positive step, but Gaza needs 6,000 tons of gravel, 4,000 of cement and 1,500 of iron per day," deputy economy minister Hatem Oweida said.
17 sept 2013
MP Hosni Bourini stated that the Israeli crimes against Palestinian people did not stop since the occupation of Palestine in 1948 until the present day. MP Bourini, affiliated to Change and Reform Bloc, said on Sabra and Shatila Massacre anniversary that this massacre is part of a series of the Israeli heinous crimes against Palestinian people.
The international silence and the Arabs' insistence on peace negotiations with Israel, despite its crimes, have encouraged the Israeli authorities to carry out more crimes against the unarmed people of Palestine, he said.
The ongoing negotiations for the past twenty years have constituted a legitimate cover for the Israeli crimes, he added.
The MP stressed that Sabra and Shatila massacre remains a witness to the ugliness of the occupation who committed the most egregious crimes to terrorize the Palestinian people into abandoning their land.
Bourini said, “The international community is an accomplice to the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people particularly Britain which issued its ominous Balfour Declaration for Jewish gangs to settle in Palestine.”
The international silence and the Arabs' insistence on peace negotiations with Israel, despite its crimes, have encouraged the Israeli authorities to carry out more crimes against the unarmed people of Palestine, he said.
The ongoing negotiations for the past twenty years have constituted a legitimate cover for the Israeli crimes, he added.
The MP stressed that Sabra and Shatila massacre remains a witness to the ugliness of the occupation who committed the most egregious crimes to terrorize the Palestinian people into abandoning their land.
Bourini said, “The international community is an accomplice to the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people particularly Britain which issued its ominous Balfour Declaration for Jewish gangs to settle in Palestine.”
Palestinian MP Mona Mansour said Israel seeks to impose on the Palestinians its racist vision of the form and the borders of a future Palestinian state that will have no borders outside the occupation state. MP Mona Mansour strongly denounced the demolitions in Khirbet Makhoul in the Northern Jordan Valley and the displacement of its inhabitants by the Israeli occupation authorities.
She said in a press statement on Monday, commenting on the demolition, that the IOA seeks through its attacks and racist procedures against the Palestinians to facilitate the process of grabbing the Palestinian land after evacuating it from its owners and indigenous population.
Mansour pointed out that "the occupation authorities are using the negotiations as a cover for its persistent aggressions against the Palestinian people and their properties in the West Bank, the Jordan Valley and the city of Jerusalem."
She added that the international and local silence had encouraged Israel to commit more crimes.
The MP called on the Palestinian negotiator to shoulder his responsibilities by taking a bold step and stop the negotiations with the occupation, then work on achieving national unity.
She said in a press statement on Monday, commenting on the demolition, that the IOA seeks through its attacks and racist procedures against the Palestinians to facilitate the process of grabbing the Palestinian land after evacuating it from its owners and indigenous population.
Mansour pointed out that "the occupation authorities are using the negotiations as a cover for its persistent aggressions against the Palestinian people and their properties in the West Bank, the Jordan Valley and the city of Jerusalem."
She added that the international and local silence had encouraged Israel to commit more crimes.
The MP called on the Palestinian negotiator to shoulder his responsibilities by taking a bold step and stop the negotiations with the occupation, then work on achieving national unity.
Commenting on the Israeli Government's decision to approve a series of easing measures for the West Bank and Gaza, Quartet Representative Tony Blair said: "I welcome the decision which reflects our ongoing discussions with the Israelis."
Blair added, "This is an important step in building a more positive environment for the diplomatic negotiations and in preparing the ground for the more comprehensive and transformative economic initiative which we have been working on for the past few months."
"Much more is needed to fundamentally transform the Palestinian economy and improve the lives and livelihoods of Palestinians, but one thing is clear – a vibrant and thriving Palestinian economy, although not a substitute for the peace process in any way, will be beneficial for both sides and can provide hope that a better future is achievable for all," Blair concluded.
Blair added, "This is an important step in building a more positive environment for the diplomatic negotiations and in preparing the ground for the more comprehensive and transformative economic initiative which we have been working on for the past few months."
"Much more is needed to fundamentally transform the Palestinian economy and improve the lives and livelihoods of Palestinians, but one thing is clear – a vibrant and thriving Palestinian economy, although not a substitute for the peace process in any way, will be beneficial for both sides and can provide hope that a better future is achievable for all," Blair concluded.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Sunday that the border between the future Palestinian state and Jordan will extend from the Dead Sea, through the Jordan Valley, and all the way up to Beit She’an, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The newspaper quoted Abbas as saying, “We are working with the US administration and the other members of the Quartet [the UN, the EU and Russia] to make the peace process succeed.”
“This is a Palestinian-Jordanian border, and that’s how it will remain,” he added, “Frankly Israel won’t be present between us and Jordan.”
An Israeli government official responded to Abbas’s comments about the new Palestinian border by saying that “if there is going to be a peace agreement, the Palestinians will have to engage seriously on Israel’s security concerns.”
According to the official, “If the Palestinians want to see an independent state, they have to be able to deal seriously with Israel’s security concerns. If they run away from this issue, they will be pushing away the chance of the deal and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.”
Abbas expressed the PA and PLO dedication to reaching a just and lasting solution to Israel’s occupation. He said, “If there are good and peaceful intentions, then we are ready for peace,” but insisted that the border of the Palestinian state will extend all the way up to Beit She’an, the newspaper added.
The newspaper quoted Abbas as saying, “We are working with the US administration and the other members of the Quartet [the UN, the EU and Russia] to make the peace process succeed.”
“This is a Palestinian-Jordanian border, and that’s how it will remain,” he added, “Frankly Israel won’t be present between us and Jordan.”
An Israeli government official responded to Abbas’s comments about the new Palestinian border by saying that “if there is going to be a peace agreement, the Palestinians will have to engage seriously on Israel’s security concerns.”
According to the official, “If the Palestinians want to see an independent state, they have to be able to deal seriously with Israel’s security concerns. If they run away from this issue, they will be pushing away the chance of the deal and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.”
Abbas expressed the PA and PLO dedication to reaching a just and lasting solution to Israel’s occupation. He said, “If there are good and peaceful intentions, then we are ready for peace,” but insisted that the border of the Palestinian state will extend all the way up to Beit She’an, the newspaper added.
The Maariv daily reported that the Israeli Government Coalition, who is participating in the negotiation process with the Palestinians, has recently approved a plan to pave a new road from the illegal Gush Etzion settlement bloc to the Dead Sea.
Israeli ministers are scheduled Tuesday to visit the Gush Etzion bloc in the West Bank to view the project that will go into effect after four months, according to the newspaper.
Israeli Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir and Chairman Avigdor Lieberman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee will visit Gush Etzion bloc for their first work tour associated with the giant project, the newspaper added.
Chief executive officers of the Tourism Ministry and the Department of Public Works, as well as other professionals who deal with infrastructure and the settlement enterprise in the West Bank will also take part in the tour.
The road is intended to be the largest road connecting illegal settlements located in the southern West Bank to the Dead Sea, and will also connect Gush Etzion to Israel.
The project is estimated to cost $34 million and will reduce the time between Gush Etzion and the Dead Sea to around 30 minutes.
Maariv quoted an Israeli official from the Yesha Council and an Israeli government official as saying that the road project demonstrates the Jewish identity of the land, and will also strengthen Israeli tourism.
Israeli ministers are scheduled Tuesday to visit the Gush Etzion bloc in the West Bank to view the project that will go into effect after four months, according to the newspaper.
Israeli Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir and Chairman Avigdor Lieberman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee will visit Gush Etzion bloc for their first work tour associated with the giant project, the newspaper added.
Chief executive officers of the Tourism Ministry and the Department of Public Works, as well as other professionals who deal with infrastructure and the settlement enterprise in the West Bank will also take part in the tour.
The road is intended to be the largest road connecting illegal settlements located in the southern West Bank to the Dead Sea, and will also connect Gush Etzion to Israel.
The project is estimated to cost $34 million and will reduce the time between Gush Etzion and the Dead Sea to around 30 minutes.
Maariv quoted an Israeli official from the Yesha Council and an Israeli government official as saying that the road project demonstrates the Jewish identity of the land, and will also strengthen Israeli tourism.
16 sept 2013
New York Times published a lengthy article for Ian Lustick, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the world top seven universities titled "illusions of a two-state solution". Lustick explained the US failed to stand up to Israel's violations, and has a long history in providing a ground cover for the Israeli occupation policies; it also failed to discourage Israel from its settlement activity under the pretext that not provoking Israel would push it towards a peace agreement.
He compared the solution of establishing a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel to Spanish dictator Francisco Franco who fell into a coma, and never stopped to be reported in the media as ‘alive’. “The news media began a long death watch, announcing each night that Generalissimo Franco was still not dead. This desperate allegiance to the departed echoes in every speech, policy brief and op-ed about the two-state solution today.”
With regard to the settlement expansions in the occupied West Bank and the doubled number of settlers under the cover of the 20-year-old Oslo Accords, Lustick believed that establishing a Muslim-ruled Palestinian state is has as potential as that of a secular Palestinian state “Strong Islamist trends make a fundamentalist Palestine more likely than a small state under a secular government.”
He indicated that “The disappearance of Israel as a Zionist project, through war, cultural exhaustion or demographic momentum, is at least as plausible as the evacuation of enough of the half-million Israelis living across the 1967 border, or Green Line, to allow a real Palestinian state to exist.”
“While the vision of thriving Israeli and Palestinian states has slipped from the plausible to the barely possible, one mixed state emerging from prolonged and violent struggles over democratic rights is no longer inconceivable. Yet the fantasy that there is a two-state solution keeps everyone from taking action toward something that might work,”
He considered that all sides have reasons to cling to two state-solution: “The Palestinian Authority needs its people to believe that progress is being made toward a two-state solution so it can continue to get the economic aid and diplomatic support that subsidize the lifestyles of its leaders, the jobs of tens of thousands of soldiers, spies, police officers and civil servants, and the authority’s prominence in a Palestinian society that views it as corrupt and incompetent.”
While for the consecutive Israeli governments, they “cling to the two-state notion because it seems to reflect the sentiments of the Jewish Israeli majority and it shields the country from international opprobrium, even as it camouflages relentless efforts to expand Israel’s territory into the West Bank,”
Conceived as early as the 1930s, the idea of two states between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea all but disappeared from public consciousness between 1948 and 1967. Between 1967 and 1973 it re-emerged, advanced by a minority of “moderates” in each community. By the 1990s it was embraced by majorities on both sides as not only possible but, during the height of the Oslo peace process, probable. But failures of leadership in the face of tremendous pressures brought Oslo crashing down. These days no one suggests that a negotiated two-state “solution” is probable. The most optimistic insist that, for some brief period, it may still be conceivable.
He added that many Israelis see the demise of their country as not just possible, but probable. “The State of Israel has been established, not its permanence. The most common phrase in Israeli political discourse is some variation of “If X happens (or doesn’t), the state will not survive!”
“Those who assume that Israel will always exist as a Zionist project should consider how quickly the Soviet, Pahlavi Iranian, apartheid South African, Baathist Iraqi and Yugoslavian states unraveled, and how little warning even sharp-eyed observers had that such transformations were imminent.” He followed.
He compared the solution of establishing a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel to Spanish dictator Francisco Franco who fell into a coma, and never stopped to be reported in the media as ‘alive’. “The news media began a long death watch, announcing each night that Generalissimo Franco was still not dead. This desperate allegiance to the departed echoes in every speech, policy brief and op-ed about the two-state solution today.”
With regard to the settlement expansions in the occupied West Bank and the doubled number of settlers under the cover of the 20-year-old Oslo Accords, Lustick believed that establishing a Muslim-ruled Palestinian state is has as potential as that of a secular Palestinian state “Strong Islamist trends make a fundamentalist Palestine more likely than a small state under a secular government.”
He indicated that “The disappearance of Israel as a Zionist project, through war, cultural exhaustion or demographic momentum, is at least as plausible as the evacuation of enough of the half-million Israelis living across the 1967 border, or Green Line, to allow a real Palestinian state to exist.”
“While the vision of thriving Israeli and Palestinian states has slipped from the plausible to the barely possible, one mixed state emerging from prolonged and violent struggles over democratic rights is no longer inconceivable. Yet the fantasy that there is a two-state solution keeps everyone from taking action toward something that might work,”
He considered that all sides have reasons to cling to two state-solution: “The Palestinian Authority needs its people to believe that progress is being made toward a two-state solution so it can continue to get the economic aid and diplomatic support that subsidize the lifestyles of its leaders, the jobs of tens of thousands of soldiers, spies, police officers and civil servants, and the authority’s prominence in a Palestinian society that views it as corrupt and incompetent.”
While for the consecutive Israeli governments, they “cling to the two-state notion because it seems to reflect the sentiments of the Jewish Israeli majority and it shields the country from international opprobrium, even as it camouflages relentless efforts to expand Israel’s territory into the West Bank,”
Conceived as early as the 1930s, the idea of two states between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea all but disappeared from public consciousness between 1948 and 1967. Between 1967 and 1973 it re-emerged, advanced by a minority of “moderates” in each community. By the 1990s it was embraced by majorities on both sides as not only possible but, during the height of the Oslo peace process, probable. But failures of leadership in the face of tremendous pressures brought Oslo crashing down. These days no one suggests that a negotiated two-state “solution” is probable. The most optimistic insist that, for some brief period, it may still be conceivable.
He added that many Israelis see the demise of their country as not just possible, but probable. “The State of Israel has been established, not its permanence. The most common phrase in Israeli political discourse is some variation of “If X happens (or doesn’t), the state will not survive!”
“Those who assume that Israel will always exist as a Zionist project should consider how quickly the Soviet, Pahlavi Iranian, apartheid South African, Baathist Iraqi and Yugoslavian states unraveled, and how little warning even sharp-eyed observers had that such transformations were imminent.” He followed.
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority chief, has renewed his insistence on going ahead with negotiations with Israel despite its ceaseless violations against Palestinian people and land. Abbas told a graduation ceremony in Jericho on Sunday that the Palestinian leadership was adamant on achieving a just and durable peace with “our Jewish neighbors”.
He said that such a peace agreement was possible thanks to the ongoing American-sponsored negotiations.
“We are working with the American administration and the international quartet committee to ensure success of the peace process,” he added.
Abbas said that he would not be deterred by Israeli violations on the ground including settlement activity, raids, arrests, and economic pressures and would go along that road to the end according to the timetable drawn by the American secretary of state John Kerry.
He said that such a peace agreement was possible thanks to the ongoing American-sponsored negotiations.
“We are working with the American administration and the international quartet committee to ensure success of the peace process,” he added.
Abbas said that he would not be deterred by Israeli violations on the ground including settlement activity, raids, arrests, and economic pressures and would go along that road to the end according to the timetable drawn by the American secretary of state John Kerry.
15 sept 2013
Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Ahmed Saadat said the PA headed by Abbas is not ready to draw lessons from the experience of Oslo, as it decided to return to negotiations and to submit to U.S. pressure. Saadat pointed out in a letter leaked from inside his prison cell at the Israeli Shatta jail "there is no logical justification or a project allowing the Oslo team to continue to bet on the negotiations. The experience over more than two decades has proven its failure."
He said that the path of negotiations is based on conditions that apply only on the Palestinian side, while the occupation is free to complete its settlement projects.
Saadat demanded tabling the Palestinian question with the United Nations, in order to provide international protection for the Palestinian people and to put the occupied territory under UN auspices for a transitional period during which the Palestinians would enjoy their right to self-determination and build the institutions of their independent state, which means disengagement from the Agreements of Madrid and Oslo and the futile approach of negotiations.
He said that holding an international conference to compel the occupation to respect international law has become a priority and one of the axes of the alternative political vision for managing the conflict.
He said that the path of negotiations is based on conditions that apply only on the Palestinian side, while the occupation is free to complete its settlement projects.
Saadat demanded tabling the Palestinian question with the United Nations, in order to provide international protection for the Palestinian people and to put the occupied territory under UN auspices for a transitional period during which the Palestinians would enjoy their right to self-determination and build the institutions of their independent state, which means disengagement from the Agreements of Madrid and Oslo and the futile approach of negotiations.
He said that holding an international conference to compel the occupation to respect international law has become a priority and one of the axes of the alternative political vision for managing the conflict.
Palestinian lawmaker Nayef Rajoub said that the resumption of the peace talks with the Israeli occupation regime under the exceptional circumstances in the Arab region in general and Palestine in particular reflects the indifference of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to what will happen to the Palestinian cause. In a press statement to the Palestinian information center (PIC), Rajoub said that the PA negotiator did not learn from the Oslo experience, which failed miserably.
"20 years after Oslo, the state was not established, the prisoners did not get out of jails, the settlement expansion did not stop, the enemy did not withdraw from one inch of land and there is no land at all to establish a country on," he added.
The lawmaker emphasized that the future of the peace talks with the current Israeli government would never be better than the past 20 years of negotiation with its predecessors.
For his part, senior Hamas official Jamal Al-Tawil said that the PA negotiator's insistence on clinging to his frivolous talks with the occupation after 20 years of ongoing failure is a reprehensible and disgusting behavior.
Tawil told the PIC that it is shameful for the PA negotiator to persist in pointless negotiations and make further concessions while the Israeli occupation keeps achieving all its settlement and Judaization schemes in Palestine.
The Hamas official urged the Palestinian people to uphold their rights and national constants and never waive them, and to keep up their struggle for their national cause.
"20 years after Oslo, the state was not established, the prisoners did not get out of jails, the settlement expansion did not stop, the enemy did not withdraw from one inch of land and there is no land at all to establish a country on," he added.
The lawmaker emphasized that the future of the peace talks with the current Israeli government would never be better than the past 20 years of negotiation with its predecessors.
For his part, senior Hamas official Jamal Al-Tawil said that the PA negotiator's insistence on clinging to his frivolous talks with the occupation after 20 years of ongoing failure is a reprehensible and disgusting behavior.
Tawil told the PIC that it is shameful for the PA negotiator to persist in pointless negotiations and make further concessions while the Israeli occupation keeps achieving all its settlement and Judaization schemes in Palestine.
The Hamas official urged the Palestinian people to uphold their rights and national constants and never waive them, and to keep up their struggle for their national cause.
