17 mar 2015
By Khalid Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem
Tony Blair is reportedly stepping down from his role as Middle East Peace envoy. This is probably good news for the peoples of the Middle East, peace and the tax payers who have paid millions of dollars of their hard-earned money for a mission that ought to be called "Mission fiasco" or "Mission Mendacity."
Indeed, for seven long years as Middle East envoy, Blair utterly failed to make any notable achievement for peace and justice in the region.
On the contrary, the erstwhile mass murderer (for his role in the occupation and destruction of Iraq) looked on passively if not gleefully as Israel was exterminating Palestinian civilians in Gaza (by the thousands) and stealing more Palestinian land in the west Bank. This Needless to say, this happened while the Zionist state was effectively completing the process of killing the very peace process Blair was supposed to save and promote.
During the seven years he has spent as Quartet envoy, Blair never succeeded in saving a Palestinian home from demolition at the hands of Israeli barbarians. He never succeeded in saving a Palestinian olive grove from obliteration by Israeli bulldozers. He absolutely failed to get Israel to end or suspend its murderous blockade of the Gaza Strip which thoroughly tormented ordinary Gazans, transforming their life into a ghoulish nightmare.
He actually failed to achieve much pettier tasks, such as getting the Israeli government to stop daily attacks and acts of vandalism and terrorism by Nazi-like Jewish settlers against Palestinians and their property, including mosques and churches.
And when the Israeli air-force was dropping one-ton-bombs on multi-story buildings, packed with terrified women and children in Gaza last summer, Blair remained silent, refusing to call the spade a spade.
Instead, he would either condemn the tormented victims for "provoking Israel" or just repeat the very same platitude we have been hearing ad nauseam from western officials since 1967.
I really don't know how this man has the audacity to look his face in the mirror after all the evil he has committed or caused to happen either directly or indirectly.
The amount of innocent blood shed as a result of his criminal policies as UK Prime Minister is so enormous, so much so that he can be compared to the worst offenders in history, figures like Adolph Hitler, Ariel Sharon, and Bashar al-Assad.
But criminals are not burdened by their sins.
According to reports from London, Blair has been trying to “absolve himself” of responsibility for the invasion and destruction of Iraq, which led to the present mess, including the appearance of the IS and similar extremist groups.
Blair repeatedly tried to distance himself from the Iraq disaster. A few weeks ago, he claimed in an essay that the 2003 invasion was not to blame for the current quagmire.
However, a small number of conscientious former British officials, including the former mayor of London, refuted his claims, saying in a letter published recently that “We believe that Mr. Blair, as a vociferous advocate of the invasion, must accept a degree of responsibility for its consequences.”
The letter, also addressed to foreign ministers in the US, Russia and the EU as well as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, adds that the former prime minister’s achievements as Middle East envoy are “negligible”.
Mass murderer par excellence
Blair is not a Western politician who inadvertently went astray. He is actually a "self-depreciating criminal," using the words of Independent columnist Matthew Norman
“Call it an atrocious strategic misjudgment, a dementedly misguided Neocon experiment, a war crime or whatever, it is perfectly well understood in these child-like terms.
"But Mr. Blair did a truly terrible thing, with unspeakably terrible consequences for the people of Iraq, the troops killed and maimed in prosecuting his folly, and those who died and were injured here in retaliatory bombings in July 2005, the morning after the 30th Olympiad was hereby awarded to the city of London.”
Norman continued:
“Tony Blair is no wrongly dishonored prophet but a pariah in his own land. He is a pariah because he colluded in an act of abundant wickedness, and untold hundreds of thousands died and millions more suffered monstrously in consequence.”
As such, this man deserves to be hanged. After all, he killed or caused the death of more innocent people than did Slobodan Milošević, Saddam Hussein, Bashar al-Assad and Ariel Sharon combined.
But I know too well that Blair won't be hanged or even imprisoned. This world, especially the West, including Britain, is too morally unscrupulous to punish powerful criminals like Blair if only because doing so would be a condemnation of the entire western civilization and a recognition of its moral bankruptcy.
After all Blair's crimes were not carried out against Christians or Jews. They were committed against children of a lesser God, people who may be murdered with little or no compunction.!!!!
Tony Blair is reportedly stepping down from his role as Middle East Peace envoy. This is probably good news for the peoples of the Middle East, peace and the tax payers who have paid millions of dollars of their hard-earned money for a mission that ought to be called "Mission fiasco" or "Mission Mendacity."
Indeed, for seven long years as Middle East envoy, Blair utterly failed to make any notable achievement for peace and justice in the region.
On the contrary, the erstwhile mass murderer (for his role in the occupation and destruction of Iraq) looked on passively if not gleefully as Israel was exterminating Palestinian civilians in Gaza (by the thousands) and stealing more Palestinian land in the west Bank. This Needless to say, this happened while the Zionist state was effectively completing the process of killing the very peace process Blair was supposed to save and promote.
During the seven years he has spent as Quartet envoy, Blair never succeeded in saving a Palestinian home from demolition at the hands of Israeli barbarians. He never succeeded in saving a Palestinian olive grove from obliteration by Israeli bulldozers. He absolutely failed to get Israel to end or suspend its murderous blockade of the Gaza Strip which thoroughly tormented ordinary Gazans, transforming their life into a ghoulish nightmare.
He actually failed to achieve much pettier tasks, such as getting the Israeli government to stop daily attacks and acts of vandalism and terrorism by Nazi-like Jewish settlers against Palestinians and their property, including mosques and churches.
And when the Israeli air-force was dropping one-ton-bombs on multi-story buildings, packed with terrified women and children in Gaza last summer, Blair remained silent, refusing to call the spade a spade.
Instead, he would either condemn the tormented victims for "provoking Israel" or just repeat the very same platitude we have been hearing ad nauseam from western officials since 1967.
I really don't know how this man has the audacity to look his face in the mirror after all the evil he has committed or caused to happen either directly or indirectly.
The amount of innocent blood shed as a result of his criminal policies as UK Prime Minister is so enormous, so much so that he can be compared to the worst offenders in history, figures like Adolph Hitler, Ariel Sharon, and Bashar al-Assad.
But criminals are not burdened by their sins.
According to reports from London, Blair has been trying to “absolve himself” of responsibility for the invasion and destruction of Iraq, which led to the present mess, including the appearance of the IS and similar extremist groups.
Blair repeatedly tried to distance himself from the Iraq disaster. A few weeks ago, he claimed in an essay that the 2003 invasion was not to blame for the current quagmire.
However, a small number of conscientious former British officials, including the former mayor of London, refuted his claims, saying in a letter published recently that “We believe that Mr. Blair, as a vociferous advocate of the invasion, must accept a degree of responsibility for its consequences.”
The letter, also addressed to foreign ministers in the US, Russia and the EU as well as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, adds that the former prime minister’s achievements as Middle East envoy are “negligible”.
Mass murderer par excellence
Blair is not a Western politician who inadvertently went astray. He is actually a "self-depreciating criminal," using the words of Independent columnist Matthew Norman
“Call it an atrocious strategic misjudgment, a dementedly misguided Neocon experiment, a war crime or whatever, it is perfectly well understood in these child-like terms.
"But Mr. Blair did a truly terrible thing, with unspeakably terrible consequences for the people of Iraq, the troops killed and maimed in prosecuting his folly, and those who died and were injured here in retaliatory bombings in July 2005, the morning after the 30th Olympiad was hereby awarded to the city of London.”
Norman continued:
“Tony Blair is no wrongly dishonored prophet but a pariah in his own land. He is a pariah because he colluded in an act of abundant wickedness, and untold hundreds of thousands died and millions more suffered monstrously in consequence.”
As such, this man deserves to be hanged. After all, he killed or caused the death of more innocent people than did Slobodan Milošević, Saddam Hussein, Bashar al-Assad and Ariel Sharon combined.
But I know too well that Blair won't be hanged or even imprisoned. This world, especially the West, including Britain, is too morally unscrupulous to punish powerful criminals like Blair if only because doing so would be a condemnation of the entire western civilization and a recognition of its moral bankruptcy.
After all Blair's crimes were not carried out against Christians or Jews. They were committed against children of a lesser God, people who may be murdered with little or no compunction.!!!!
16 mar 2015
Likud leader stresses right-wing credentials by vowing to keep 'all parts' of Jerusalem and continue to build in its controversial neighborhoods.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a final bid to shore up right-wing support ahead of a knife-edge vote on Tuesday, said he would not permit a Palestinian state to be created under his watch if he is re-elected.
Trailing his centre-left opponent Isaac Herzog in opinion polls, the three-term leader has sought to shift the focus away from socioeconomic issues and on to security challenges, saying he alone can defend Israel.
Having previously hinted that he would accept a Palestinian state, Netanyahu reversed course on Monday, citing risks that he linked to the regional spread of Islamist militancy. He said that if he is re-elected, the Palestinians would not get the independent state they seek in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
"Whoever moves to establish a Palestinian state or intends to withdraw from territory is simply yielding territory for radical Islamic terrorist attacks against Israel," he told the Israeli news site NRG.
Asked if that meant a state would not be established if he remained prime minister, he said: "Indeed."
On the final day of campaigning Monday, Netanyahu visited Har Homa, a Jewish development in east Jerusalem that is viewed as an illegal settlement by the Palestinians and the international community.
Netanyahu vowed to preserve Jerusalem's unity "in all its parts" and said he would "continue to build and fortify" the city to prevent any future division.
"Come home," he told disaffected Likud supporters. The choice is symbolic: the Likud led by me, that will continue to stand firmly for (Israel's) vital interests, compared with a left-wing government... ready to accept any dictate," he said.
Netanyahu promoted the establishment of Har Homa in 1997, in defiance of deep-seated international opposition, after he was first elected prime minister.
"I thought we had to protect the southern gateway to Jerusalem by building here," Netanyahu said, with a construction site behind the podium as his backdrop. "There was huge objection, because this neighbourhood is in a location which prevents the Palestinian (territorial) contiguity."
Despite the gap in polls, the numbers do not necessarily rule out Netanyahu's chances of forming the next government after Tuesday's election but have rattled the Likud, which began the campaign all but assured that it would stay in office. In recent days it has been on a get-out-the-vote blitz with Netanyahu warning against the rise of a left-wing government in a series of interviews and before tens of thousands of hard-line supporters at a Tel Aviv rally organized by the right on Sunday evening.
"This is a fateful struggle, a close struggle. We must close this gap. We can close this gap," Netanyahu said to roaring applause at the rally.
Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said Netanyahu's comments were "dangerous" and could plunge the region into violence.
"This is the real Netanyahu," she said. "From the beginning, he was attempting to carry out a grand deception by pretending to be in favor of the two-state solution. But what he was actually doing on the ground is destroying the chances of peace."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a final bid to shore up right-wing support ahead of a knife-edge vote on Tuesday, said he would not permit a Palestinian state to be created under his watch if he is re-elected.
Trailing his centre-left opponent Isaac Herzog in opinion polls, the three-term leader has sought to shift the focus away from socioeconomic issues and on to security challenges, saying he alone can defend Israel.
Having previously hinted that he would accept a Palestinian state, Netanyahu reversed course on Monday, citing risks that he linked to the regional spread of Islamist militancy. He said that if he is re-elected, the Palestinians would not get the independent state they seek in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
"Whoever moves to establish a Palestinian state or intends to withdraw from territory is simply yielding territory for radical Islamic terrorist attacks against Israel," he told the Israeli news site NRG.
Asked if that meant a state would not be established if he remained prime minister, he said: "Indeed."
On the final day of campaigning Monday, Netanyahu visited Har Homa, a Jewish development in east Jerusalem that is viewed as an illegal settlement by the Palestinians and the international community.
Netanyahu vowed to preserve Jerusalem's unity "in all its parts" and said he would "continue to build and fortify" the city to prevent any future division.
"Come home," he told disaffected Likud supporters. The choice is symbolic: the Likud led by me, that will continue to stand firmly for (Israel's) vital interests, compared with a left-wing government... ready to accept any dictate," he said.
Netanyahu promoted the establishment of Har Homa in 1997, in defiance of deep-seated international opposition, after he was first elected prime minister.
"I thought we had to protect the southern gateway to Jerusalem by building here," Netanyahu said, with a construction site behind the podium as his backdrop. "There was huge objection, because this neighbourhood is in a location which prevents the Palestinian (territorial) contiguity."
Despite the gap in polls, the numbers do not necessarily rule out Netanyahu's chances of forming the next government after Tuesday's election but have rattled the Likud, which began the campaign all but assured that it would stay in office. In recent days it has been on a get-out-the-vote blitz with Netanyahu warning against the rise of a left-wing government in a series of interviews and before tens of thousands of hard-line supporters at a Tel Aviv rally organized by the right on Sunday evening.
"This is a fateful struggle, a close struggle. We must close this gap. We can close this gap," Netanyahu said to roaring applause at the rally.
Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said Netanyahu's comments were "dangerous" and could plunge the region into violence.
"This is the real Netanyahu," she said. "From the beginning, he was attempting to carry out a grand deception by pretending to be in favor of the two-state solution. But what he was actually doing on the ground is destroying the chances of peace."
10 mar 2015
Israel's former envoy to US has joined centrist party headed by Netanyahu rival Moshe Kahlon, and is questioning PM's handling of peace talks.
Israel has to start creating a "two-state reality" on the ground, says former Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren, by restricting settlement construction to major blocs and East Jerusalem - lands Israel expects to keep - while improving the living conditions of Palestinians.
The American-born academic-turned-diplomat was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's envoy to the United States for more than four years. But when Oren decided to enter politics, he joined a former Netanyahu minister and began questioning the prime minister's handling of relations with the Palestinians.
Oren is now a key figure in Kulanu, a new centrist party that may play the decisive role in choosing the next prime minister. While the party is focused largely on bread-and-butter issues, Oren is the diplomatic point man, pushing for bolder efforts to end Israeli presence in the West Bank after decades of failed negotiations.
In an interview to The Associated Press, the 59-year-old Oren says the status quo with the Palestinians is unsustainable, and rejects Netanyahu's hard-line approach. Although he agrees with Netanyahu that there is no viable Palestinian negotiating partner - the sides cannot agree on terms - he takes issue with his former boss' announcement this week that he would not cede territory to make way for a Palestinian state. "I think we always have to say that we will be at the table and we are always ready to enter into final status talks," Oren says. "We have to lay the groundwork for a future final status agreement."
Oren also rejects Netanyahu's unrelenting focus on Iran's nuclear program, saying the issues that most concern Israelis are their own country's high cost of living, especially housing prices. He agrees with Netanyahu's tough stance on Iran and commended his speech to the US Congress last week as statesmanlike.
The speech antagonized President Barack Obama because it was arranged without the knowledge of the White House and criticized US-led negotiations with Iran. "The question is whether it justifies the price of hurting relations with the Americans," said Oren, an historian and best-selling author. "Damage was done and it is essential we do everything to repair that damage."
Unlike current Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer, Oren says he was never a member of Netanyahu's inner circle and was chosen for the job mostly because of his academic expertise on the United States. Oren says Kulanu's leader, Moshe Kahlon, was the most inspirational of the dozens of Israeli dignitaries who passed through Washington during his term there.
The son of Libyan Jewish immigrants, Kahlon grew up in a hardscrabble town in northern Israel and worked stints as a fisherman and fruit vendor before becoming a high-profile politician. "It's Lincolnesque," says Oren. "It's Israel's version of a log cabin." Kahlon's crowning achievement was taking on Israel's powerful wireless cartel as communications minister, introducing competition and forcing lower mobile phone prices.
A former member of Netanyahu's Likud Party, Kahlon now expresses support for territorial compromise and a Palestinian state. Many Israelis feel the continued control over millions of Palestinians is unsustainable, and that the country must agree to Palestinian independence to preserve its Jewish and democratic character.
Kahlon's campaign, however, has focused almost exclusively on economic issues. He has refused to endorse either of the two leading candidates for prime minister, Netanyahu or Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog. Both have a bloc of parties behind them - but polls strongly suggest neither will win a majority in the 120-member parliament. That could make the non-aligned Kahlon, who has been polling at around 8-10 seats, the kingmaker.
"We have not ruled out any coalition," says Oren.
Israel has to start creating a "two-state reality" on the ground, says former Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren, by restricting settlement construction to major blocs and East Jerusalem - lands Israel expects to keep - while improving the living conditions of Palestinians.
The American-born academic-turned-diplomat was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's envoy to the United States for more than four years. But when Oren decided to enter politics, he joined a former Netanyahu minister and began questioning the prime minister's handling of relations with the Palestinians.
Oren is now a key figure in Kulanu, a new centrist party that may play the decisive role in choosing the next prime minister. While the party is focused largely on bread-and-butter issues, Oren is the diplomatic point man, pushing for bolder efforts to end Israeli presence in the West Bank after decades of failed negotiations.
In an interview to The Associated Press, the 59-year-old Oren says the status quo with the Palestinians is unsustainable, and rejects Netanyahu's hard-line approach. Although he agrees with Netanyahu that there is no viable Palestinian negotiating partner - the sides cannot agree on terms - he takes issue with his former boss' announcement this week that he would not cede territory to make way for a Palestinian state. "I think we always have to say that we will be at the table and we are always ready to enter into final status talks," Oren says. "We have to lay the groundwork for a future final status agreement."
Oren also rejects Netanyahu's unrelenting focus on Iran's nuclear program, saying the issues that most concern Israelis are their own country's high cost of living, especially housing prices. He agrees with Netanyahu's tough stance on Iran and commended his speech to the US Congress last week as statesmanlike.
The speech antagonized President Barack Obama because it was arranged without the knowledge of the White House and criticized US-led negotiations with Iran. "The question is whether it justifies the price of hurting relations with the Americans," said Oren, an historian and best-selling author. "Damage was done and it is essential we do everything to repair that damage."
Unlike current Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer, Oren says he was never a member of Netanyahu's inner circle and was chosen for the job mostly because of his academic expertise on the United States. Oren says Kulanu's leader, Moshe Kahlon, was the most inspirational of the dozens of Israeli dignitaries who passed through Washington during his term there.
The son of Libyan Jewish immigrants, Kahlon grew up in a hardscrabble town in northern Israel and worked stints as a fisherman and fruit vendor before becoming a high-profile politician. "It's Lincolnesque," says Oren. "It's Israel's version of a log cabin." Kahlon's crowning achievement was taking on Israel's powerful wireless cartel as communications minister, introducing competition and forcing lower mobile phone prices.
A former member of Netanyahu's Likud Party, Kahlon now expresses support for territorial compromise and a Palestinian state. Many Israelis feel the continued control over millions of Palestinians is unsustainable, and that the country must agree to Palestinian independence to preserve its Jewish and democratic character.
Kahlon's campaign, however, has focused almost exclusively on economic issues. He has refused to endorse either of the two leading candidates for prime minister, Netanyahu or Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog. Both have a bloc of parties behind them - but polls strongly suggest neither will win a majority in the 120-member parliament. That could make the non-aligned Kahlon, who has been polling at around 8-10 seats, the kingmaker.
"We have not ruled out any coalition," says Oren.
9 mar 2015
In a statement released by the Likud Party, Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explicitly said Tel Aviv would never withdraw from any of part of the occupied territories
“Israel will never make concessions, no withdrawals,” he said, “any territory ceded by Israel would fall in the hands of Islamic extremism, and terror groups, supported by Iran.”
Likud Party spokesperson Elie Bennet said the speech, made by Netanyahu in Bar Ilan in 2009 calling for a Palestinian state next to Israel, “is not relevant anymore.”
Netanyahu’s aid during the time of the speech Ron Dermer said the Prime Minister vowed commitment to the two-state solution, establishing a Palestinian State along the 1967 borders through peace talks.
Dermer, currently Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, allegedly informed Quartet Committee head Tony Blair “Israel does not only want to grant the Palestinians a state, but also one along the 1967 border.
“Israel will never make concessions, no withdrawals,” he said, “any territory ceded by Israel would fall in the hands of Islamic extremism, and terror groups, supported by Iran.”
Likud Party spokesperson Elie Bennet said the speech, made by Netanyahu in Bar Ilan in 2009 calling for a Palestinian state next to Israel, “is not relevant anymore.”
Netanyahu’s aid during the time of the speech Ron Dermer said the Prime Minister vowed commitment to the two-state solution, establishing a Palestinian State along the 1967 borders through peace talks.
Dermer, currently Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, allegedly informed Quartet Committee head Tony Blair “Israel does not only want to grant the Palestinians a state, but also one along the 1967 border.
Israeli Ynet News said the Netanyahu - Likud statement was made after it published what it called “a secret list of concessions made by Netanyahu to the Palestinians during his previous term in office.”
It said the concessions completely contradict all positions and stances Netanyahu currently presents.
Israeli TV Channel 10 said during Netanyahu’s previous term, when the document was being addressed, Dermer told Blair that the Prime Minister promised in writing Tel Aviv “would cede territory, identical to all areas Israel captured in 1967, allowing the Palestinians to establish a state.”
It said the alleged commitment came when the Quartet sponsored direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, especially since Blair was skeptical about the sincerity of those statements, an issue that pushed Dermer to commit in writing.
According to the Ynet, Dermer denied the report, and said there has been no commitment of any type regarding this issue, and that the issue here is just about a paper that was meant to help advance stalled negotiations.
It said Netanyahu dispatched, in his second term in office, a close affiliate to talks with the Palestinian side, “offering drastic concessions” that include land swaps, a limited Right of Return to the refugees, and a potential deal on Jerusalem.
The Ynet said, after the “concessions list” was revealed in August 2013, its print publication, Yedioth Aharonoth, published a summary of the results of secret talks between Netanyahu’s senior aide, Yitzhak Molcho, and Palestinian official Hussein al-Agha.
It said the concessions completely contradict all positions and stances Netanyahu currently presents.
Israeli TV Channel 10 said during Netanyahu’s previous term, when the document was being addressed, Dermer told Blair that the Prime Minister promised in writing Tel Aviv “would cede territory, identical to all areas Israel captured in 1967, allowing the Palestinians to establish a state.”
It said the alleged commitment came when the Quartet sponsored direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, especially since Blair was skeptical about the sincerity of those statements, an issue that pushed Dermer to commit in writing.
According to the Ynet, Dermer denied the report, and said there has been no commitment of any type regarding this issue, and that the issue here is just about a paper that was meant to help advance stalled negotiations.
It said Netanyahu dispatched, in his second term in office, a close affiliate to talks with the Palestinian side, “offering drastic concessions” that include land swaps, a limited Right of Return to the refugees, and a potential deal on Jerusalem.
The Ynet said, after the “concessions list” was revealed in August 2013, its print publication, Yedioth Aharonoth, published a summary of the results of secret talks between Netanyahu’s senior aide, Yitzhak Molcho, and Palestinian official Hussein al-Agha.
8 feb 2015
The Middle East Quartet has urged the speedy resumption of talks between Palestine and the Israeli regime.
On Sunday, the representatives of the Quartet members - UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson, European Union foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry - held talks on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference to find a way to get Israeli-Palestinian talks started again.
"The Quartet underlined the importance of the parties resuming negotiations as soon as possible with a view to reaching a just, lasting and comprehensive peace," read the statement issued by the Quartet after the meeting.
"Pending the resumption of negotiations, the Quartet called on both parties to refrain from actions that undermine trust or prejudge final status issues," the statement added.
The last round of talks between Palestinians and Israeli aggressors collapsed in April 2014, a few months before the Tel Aviv regime launched an atrocious attack on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Over 2,140 Palestinians, including 577 children, were killed in the Israeli onslaught. More than 11,100 others, including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly people, were injured.
The Israeli-Palestinian talks have been hampered by Tel Aviv’s continued settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian lands.
Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds (Jerusalem), and the Gaza Strip and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of al-Quds.
On Sunday, the representatives of the Quartet members - UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson, European Union foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry - held talks on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference to find a way to get Israeli-Palestinian talks started again.
"The Quartet underlined the importance of the parties resuming negotiations as soon as possible with a view to reaching a just, lasting and comprehensive peace," read the statement issued by the Quartet after the meeting.
"Pending the resumption of negotiations, the Quartet called on both parties to refrain from actions that undermine trust or prejudge final status issues," the statement added.
The last round of talks between Palestinians and Israeli aggressors collapsed in April 2014, a few months before the Tel Aviv regime launched an atrocious attack on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Over 2,140 Palestinians, including 577 children, were killed in the Israeli onslaught. More than 11,100 others, including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly people, were injured.
The Israeli-Palestinian talks have been hampered by Tel Aviv’s continued settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian lands.
Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds (Jerusalem), and the Gaza Strip and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of al-Quds.
6 feb 2015
A United Nations spokesman has announced that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has appointed Nickolay Mladenov, from Bulgaria, as the top Mideast envoy, replacing Robert Serry.
UN spokesman Farhan Haqq stated to the press that Mladenov, who has occupied the position of top envoy in Iraq since August of 2013, was Bulgaria's foreign minister from 2012 to 2013. He is also known for his work within the international banking sphere.
PNN further reports that, according to officials and diplomats in the United Nations, the identity of Mladenov's successor as top envoy in Iraq is still unknown.
Serry, a veteran Dutch diplomat, has been the UN's special coordinator for the Middle East peace process and Ban's personal representative to the Palestinian Authority since November 2007. He is also the Secretary-General's envoy to the so-called Quartet of Middle East mediators.
UN spokesman Farhan Haqq stated to the press that Mladenov, who has occupied the position of top envoy in Iraq since August of 2013, was Bulgaria's foreign minister from 2012 to 2013. He is also known for his work within the international banking sphere.
PNN further reports that, according to officials and diplomats in the United Nations, the identity of Mladenov's successor as top envoy in Iraq is still unknown.
Serry, a veteran Dutch diplomat, has been the UN's special coordinator for the Middle East peace process and Ban's personal representative to the Palestinian Authority since November 2007. He is also the Secretary-General's envoy to the so-called Quartet of Middle East mediators.
5 feb 2015
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) warned of the appointment of Nikolay Mladenov as United Nations envoy, replacing Robert Serry, to the Middle East peace process for being known for his support of Israel.
Kayed al-Ghoul, member of the PFLP Political Bureau, said of the appointment “It is contradictory to any effort leading to real peace with justice in the region; rather Mladenov will offer a real cover for the crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people”.
Ghoul said, in a statement on Thursday, that the appointment of Mladenov in this position is a further attempt by powerful parties in the international organization, particularly the United States, to strengthen the position of the occupation state in international institutions concerned with the Palestinian cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In the same context, Ghoul denounced the attacks and pressures to which William Schabas, chair of the International Commission of Inquiry investigating the Israeli attack on Gaza and its war crimes against the Palestinian people, was subjected to by Israel and its allies, forcing his resignation and leading to his replacement by a US judge on the panel.
“This was clearly an attempt by the Netanyahu government to cut the road in front of the findings of Schabas on the crimes of the occupation in its war on Gaza”, said Ghoul.
Ghoul called on PA President Abu Mazen to take action urgently to stop the appointment of Mladenov because of his clear history of bias in favor of the Israeli occupation.
“It is definitely in contradiction with the rights of the Palestinian people and incompatible with the growing international public demand to hold the Israeli state accountable for its crimes and siege, and to support the rights of the Palestinian people and their struggle for freedom and justice”, he said.
Serry, whose name has been linked to Gaza reconstruction, is to end his work as UN envoy for Middle East peace process in March. He has been serving the position since 2007.
The legal period of the UN envoy for this assignment is five years. However, the UN Secretary General has the power to extend the term as happened with Serry who served the position for eight successive years.
Mladenov is known for his statements in support of Israel and justification of its crimes against the Palestinian people since he was foreign minister of Bulgaria.
Kayed al-Ghoul, member of the PFLP Political Bureau, said of the appointment “It is contradictory to any effort leading to real peace with justice in the region; rather Mladenov will offer a real cover for the crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people”.
Ghoul said, in a statement on Thursday, that the appointment of Mladenov in this position is a further attempt by powerful parties in the international organization, particularly the United States, to strengthen the position of the occupation state in international institutions concerned with the Palestinian cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In the same context, Ghoul denounced the attacks and pressures to which William Schabas, chair of the International Commission of Inquiry investigating the Israeli attack on Gaza and its war crimes against the Palestinian people, was subjected to by Israel and its allies, forcing his resignation and leading to his replacement by a US judge on the panel.
“This was clearly an attempt by the Netanyahu government to cut the road in front of the findings of Schabas on the crimes of the occupation in its war on Gaza”, said Ghoul.
Ghoul called on PA President Abu Mazen to take action urgently to stop the appointment of Mladenov because of his clear history of bias in favor of the Israeli occupation.
“It is definitely in contradiction with the rights of the Palestinian people and incompatible with the growing international public demand to hold the Israeli state accountable for its crimes and siege, and to support the rights of the Palestinian people and their struggle for freedom and justice”, he said.
Serry, whose name has been linked to Gaza reconstruction, is to end his work as UN envoy for Middle East peace process in March. He has been serving the position since 2007.
The legal period of the UN envoy for this assignment is five years. However, the UN Secretary General has the power to extend the term as happened with Serry who served the position for eight successive years.
Mladenov is known for his statements in support of Israel and justification of its crimes against the Palestinian people since he was foreign minister of Bulgaria.
3 feb 2015
The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry, met with the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, in Cairo Monday to discuss the latest crises rocking the occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza.
“The meeting tackled the Palestinian issue in light of latest updates including the new West Bank settlements,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Badr Abdelatty.
He added that both parties discussed potential ideas to resume the peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israeli occupation based on the mutually agreed upon international treaties and pledges to stop illegal settlement construction.
The conveners exchanged talks on the humanitarian crises rocking the Gaza Strip and possible ways to implement the recommendations previously discussed at the Gaza reconstruction conference.
The meeting further pointed out the role of the UN-run organizations, most notably the UNRWA, in ensuring that the pledged funds be dispatched to the blockaded Gaza Strip at the soonest time possible.
“The meeting tackled the Palestinian issue in light of latest updates including the new West Bank settlements,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Badr Abdelatty.
He added that both parties discussed potential ideas to resume the peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israeli occupation based on the mutually agreed upon international treaties and pledges to stop illegal settlement construction.
The conveners exchanged talks on the humanitarian crises rocking the Gaza Strip and possible ways to implement the recommendations previously discussed at the Gaza reconstruction conference.
The meeting further pointed out the role of the UN-run organizations, most notably the UNRWA, in ensuring that the pledged funds be dispatched to the blockaded Gaza Strip at the soonest time possible.
18 jan 2015
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday urged his Palestinian counterpart to renew peace talks instead of pursuing efforts at the International Criminal Court or United Nations.
"There is no other way than direct negotiations. Unilateral steps will not solve the conflict, but just give more power to the extremists," Rivlin said during a visit by a delegation of US senators headed by Republican John McCain.
"I call upon President (Mahmoud) Abbas: instead of going to The Hague or to the United Nations, come to Jerusalem. Come to talk directly to the Israeli government and people," Rivlin said.
Palestine applied earlier this month to become a party to the Hague-based ICC and recognized its jurisdiction to retroactively cover a period including the Gaza war.
The ICC announced Friday it was launching a "preliminary examination" into Israel's actions in the Palestinian territories, including last summer's war with Gaza militants.
The Palestinians last month also attempted to have a resolution passed at the UN Security Council on ending Israel's occupation, but it was rejected.
Both moves were strongly condemned by Israel and its key ally the United States.
The latest round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed nine months ago without any visible results.
The presidency in Israel is a largely ceremonial post, but past presidents have used the position to promote political messages.
Rivlin, who was a long-time member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, had in the past spoken against establishing a Palestinian state but since being sworn in as president in July 2014 largely restricted his public statements to internal Israeli issues.
"There is no other way than direct negotiations. Unilateral steps will not solve the conflict, but just give more power to the extremists," Rivlin said during a visit by a delegation of US senators headed by Republican John McCain.
"I call upon President (Mahmoud) Abbas: instead of going to The Hague or to the United Nations, come to Jerusalem. Come to talk directly to the Israeli government and people," Rivlin said.
Palestine applied earlier this month to become a party to the Hague-based ICC and recognized its jurisdiction to retroactively cover a period including the Gaza war.
The ICC announced Friday it was launching a "preliminary examination" into Israel's actions in the Palestinian territories, including last summer's war with Gaza militants.
The Palestinians last month also attempted to have a resolution passed at the UN Security Council on ending Israel's occupation, but it was rejected.
Both moves were strongly condemned by Israel and its key ally the United States.
The latest round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed nine months ago without any visible results.
The presidency in Israel is a largely ceremonial post, but past presidents have used the position to promote political messages.
Rivlin, who was a long-time member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, had in the past spoken against establishing a Palestinian state but since being sworn in as president in July 2014 largely restricted his public statements to internal Israeli issues.
15 jan 2015
United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jens Toyberg-Frandzen, stated Thursday that the changes of resuming direct Palestinian-Israeli peace talks remain very law, practically next to nothing.
The official said, during a session of the Security Council, that since the talks were resumed last year, neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority have taken any vital measures that could “rebuild trust between the two parties.”
He added that the current stalemate makes the chances of future resumption of talks nearly impossible, and added that the “current situation is unacceptable,” the Maan News Agency has reported.
Frandzen also reaffirmed the United Nations’ demand that Israel must stop all its construction and expansion activities of its colonies in occupied Palestine, and must resume the transfer of tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority.
On his part, permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour demanded the UN and the international community to act, and end the suffering of the Palestinian people, living under illegal Israeli occupation, and facing constant violations.
Mansour said Israel is still denying the access of humanitarian aid to the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip.
He affirmed that the Palestinians would continue to seek membership in different international organizations and treaties to ensure Israel is held accountable for its constant crimes and violations against the Palestinian people.
The official said, during a session of the Security Council, that since the talks were resumed last year, neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority have taken any vital measures that could “rebuild trust between the two parties.”
He added that the current stalemate makes the chances of future resumption of talks nearly impossible, and added that the “current situation is unacceptable,” the Maan News Agency has reported.
Frandzen also reaffirmed the United Nations’ demand that Israel must stop all its construction and expansion activities of its colonies in occupied Palestine, and must resume the transfer of tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority.
On his part, permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour demanded the UN and the international community to act, and end the suffering of the Palestinian people, living under illegal Israeli occupation, and facing constant violations.
Mansour said Israel is still denying the access of humanitarian aid to the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip.
He affirmed that the Palestinians would continue to seek membership in different international organizations and treaties to ensure Israel is held accountable for its constant crimes and violations against the Palestinian people.
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