27 july 2019
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed a recent wave of terror and bloodshed waged by Israel against the Palestinians, saying Ankara will oppose anyone who supports the Tel Aviv regime.
“Whoever is on the side of Israel, let everyone know that we are against them,” said Erdogan while addressing senior provincial officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara on Saturday.
The remarks came amid a new wave of Israeli crackdown in the occupied Palestinian territories as regime forces continue with demolition of the Palestinian houses in occupied areas in the West Bank and in the Jerusalem al-Quds.
Israel came under renewed international criticism earlier this week after its forces stormed a neighborhood of the Sur Baher village in the West Bank early on Monday and destroyed Palestinian homes.
Tel Aviv claims the buildings had been constructed illegally and built too close to Israel’s apartheid wall in the region.
Palestinians, however, say Israel is using security as a pretext to force them out of the area as part of long-term efforts to expand settlements built on occupied Palestinian land and roads linking them.
Governments and rights campaigners have slammed the demolitions as a serious blow to international efforts to reach peace in the occupied territories.
Erdogan said Turkey will continue to promote the Palestinian cause regardless of efforts to undermine it mainly by supporters of the Israeli regime.
“We do not approve of silence on the state terror that Israel blatantly carries out in Palestine,” said the Turkish president.
The comments came several days after the United States moved to block a United Nations Security Council draft resolution seeking to condemn Israel’s demolition of Palestinian properties.
Relations between Turkey and the US have soured in recent times due to Washington’s sanctions on Ankara which come over Turkey’s increasing defense cooperation with Russia.
Erdogan said US sanctions against Turkey would not deter the country from consolidating its military ties with Russia, especially those centered on Turkey’s deployment of modern Russian missile defense system.
“I would like to once again express that no threats or sanctions ... can prevent us from implementing our country’s security priorities,” he said.
“Whoever is on the side of Israel, let everyone know that we are against them,” said Erdogan while addressing senior provincial officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara on Saturday.
The remarks came amid a new wave of Israeli crackdown in the occupied Palestinian territories as regime forces continue with demolition of the Palestinian houses in occupied areas in the West Bank and in the Jerusalem al-Quds.
Israel came under renewed international criticism earlier this week after its forces stormed a neighborhood of the Sur Baher village in the West Bank early on Monday and destroyed Palestinian homes.
Tel Aviv claims the buildings had been constructed illegally and built too close to Israel’s apartheid wall in the region.
Palestinians, however, say Israel is using security as a pretext to force them out of the area as part of long-term efforts to expand settlements built on occupied Palestinian land and roads linking them.
Governments and rights campaigners have slammed the demolitions as a serious blow to international efforts to reach peace in the occupied territories.
Erdogan said Turkey will continue to promote the Palestinian cause regardless of efforts to undermine it mainly by supporters of the Israeli regime.
“We do not approve of silence on the state terror that Israel blatantly carries out in Palestine,” said the Turkish president.
The comments came several days after the United States moved to block a United Nations Security Council draft resolution seeking to condemn Israel’s demolition of Palestinian properties.
Relations between Turkey and the US have soured in recent times due to Washington’s sanctions on Ankara which come over Turkey’s increasing defense cooperation with Russia.
Erdogan said US sanctions against Turkey would not deter the country from consolidating its military ties with Russia, especially those centered on Turkey’s deployment of modern Russian missile defense system.
“I would like to once again express that no threats or sanctions ... can prevent us from implementing our country’s security priorities,” he said.
A child suffering from malnutrition caused by the Saudi aggression lies on a bed at a treatment center in al-Sabeen Maternal Hospital in the Yemeni capital Sana'a on June 22, 2019
The United Nations has for the third year put Saudi Arabia and its allies in their military campaign against Yemen on the world body's blacklist of child killers.
According to a report by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in 2018, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen killed or injured 729 children, nearly half the total child casualties of the year.
The UN chief's report, which was presented to the Security Council on Friday, also states that Palestinian casualties caused by the Israeli regime, mainly its military, hit a four-year high in 2018.
The report shows that 59 Palestinian children were killed - 56 by Israeli forces - and another 2,756 were injured last year.
Guterres urged "Israel to immediately put in place preventive and protective measures to end the excessive use of force".
"I condemn the increasing number of child casualties, which are often a result of attacks in densely populated areas and against civilian objects, including schools and hospitals," Guterres said in the report, produced by UN Children and Armed Conflict envoy Virginia Gamba and issued in Guterres' name.
The report does not subject those listed to action; however, it shames parties to conflicts in the hope of pushing them to stop killing children.
Diplomats say Saudi Arabia and Israel both have exerted pressure in recent years in a bid to stay off the list, but no to avail.
In reaction to the Friday report, Saudi Ambassador to the UN Abdadllah Al-Mouallimi claimed that "every child's life is precious" to Riyadh, and questioned the sourcing and accuracy of the report, describing the numbers as "exaggerated."
His claims come as over 80,000 Yemeni children under five years have died as a result of severe malnutrition caused by the Saudi-led coalition's aggression against the people of Yemen, Guterres cited a report as saying earlier this year.
The war that began in March 2015 has so far killed thousands of Yemeni women and children and destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure.
The Yemeni Health Ministry announced in a report on Friday that one Yemeni child is dying of malnutrition every 10 minutes. The report, cited by al-Mayadeen TV, said malnutrition has affected 2.3 million children in Yemen during the past five years.
It also pointed to the outbreak of cholera as a result of the Saudi-led coalition's aggression, saying that children account for 40 percent of the 3,700 people diagnosed with the disease in the war-torn country.
Israel Blacklisted by UN Among Top Child Killers of 2018
The United Nations has, for the third year in a row, put Israel on the world body’s blacklist of child killers.
According to a report by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in 2018, Israel killed 59 Palestinian children during that year.
The UN chief’s report, which was presented to the Security Council on Friday, states that Palestinian casualties caused by the Israel, mainly its military, hit a four-year high in 2018.
The report shows that 59 Palestinian children were killed – 56 by Israeli forces – and another 2,756 were injured last year.
Guterres urged “Israel to immediately put in place preventive and protective measures to end the excessive use of force,” PNN further reports.
“I condemn the increasing number of child casualties, which are often a result of attacks in densely populated areas and against civilian objects, including schools and hospitals,” Guterres said in the report, produced by UN Children and Armed Conflict envoy Virginia Gamba and issued in Guterres’ name.
The report does not subject those listed to action; however, it shames parties to conflicts in the hope of pushing them to stop killing children.
Diplomats say Israel have exerted pressure, in recent years, in a bid to stay off the list, but no to avail.
The United Nations has for the third year put Saudi Arabia and its allies in their military campaign against Yemen on the world body's blacklist of child killers.
According to a report by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in 2018, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen killed or injured 729 children, nearly half the total child casualties of the year.
The UN chief's report, which was presented to the Security Council on Friday, also states that Palestinian casualties caused by the Israeli regime, mainly its military, hit a four-year high in 2018.
The report shows that 59 Palestinian children were killed - 56 by Israeli forces - and another 2,756 were injured last year.
Guterres urged "Israel to immediately put in place preventive and protective measures to end the excessive use of force".
"I condemn the increasing number of child casualties, which are often a result of attacks in densely populated areas and against civilian objects, including schools and hospitals," Guterres said in the report, produced by UN Children and Armed Conflict envoy Virginia Gamba and issued in Guterres' name.
The report does not subject those listed to action; however, it shames parties to conflicts in the hope of pushing them to stop killing children.
Diplomats say Saudi Arabia and Israel both have exerted pressure in recent years in a bid to stay off the list, but no to avail.
In reaction to the Friday report, Saudi Ambassador to the UN Abdadllah Al-Mouallimi claimed that "every child's life is precious" to Riyadh, and questioned the sourcing and accuracy of the report, describing the numbers as "exaggerated."
His claims come as over 80,000 Yemeni children under five years have died as a result of severe malnutrition caused by the Saudi-led coalition's aggression against the people of Yemen, Guterres cited a report as saying earlier this year.
The war that began in March 2015 has so far killed thousands of Yemeni women and children and destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure.
The Yemeni Health Ministry announced in a report on Friday that one Yemeni child is dying of malnutrition every 10 minutes. The report, cited by al-Mayadeen TV, said malnutrition has affected 2.3 million children in Yemen during the past five years.
It also pointed to the outbreak of cholera as a result of the Saudi-led coalition's aggression, saying that children account for 40 percent of the 3,700 people diagnosed with the disease in the war-torn country.
Israel Blacklisted by UN Among Top Child Killers of 2018
The United Nations has, for the third year in a row, put Israel on the world body’s blacklist of child killers.
According to a report by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in 2018, Israel killed 59 Palestinian children during that year.
The UN chief’s report, which was presented to the Security Council on Friday, states that Palestinian casualties caused by the Israel, mainly its military, hit a four-year high in 2018.
The report shows that 59 Palestinian children were killed – 56 by Israeli forces – and another 2,756 were injured last year.
Guterres urged “Israel to immediately put in place preventive and protective measures to end the excessive use of force,” PNN further reports.
“I condemn the increasing number of child casualties, which are often a result of attacks in densely populated areas and against civilian objects, including schools and hospitals,” Guterres said in the report, produced by UN Children and Armed Conflict envoy Virginia Gamba and issued in Guterres’ name.
The report does not subject those listed to action; however, it shames parties to conflicts in the hope of pushing them to stop killing children.
Diplomats say Israel have exerted pressure, in recent years, in a bid to stay off the list, but no to avail.
26 july 2019
L-R) US special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, Trump adviser Jared Kushner, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Mideast peace envoy Jason Greenblatt and Israel's US envoy Ron Dermer, in Jerusalem.
By Iqbal Jassat
Is South Africa among the countries standing aside as the world is confronted with illegal moves by the Trump Administration to facilitate the complete annihilation of Palestine by Israel?
Notwithstanding the fact that the ANC-led government headed by President Cyril Ramaphosa has not backtracked on the decision to downgrade its embassy in Tel Aviv, not much more is evident in defense of Palestinian rights.
Silence is not an option at a time when United Nations investigator Michael Lynk has warned that Israel is moving rapidly to annex more of the Occupied West Bank as it intensifies settlement-building on Palestinian land.
Speaking to Mondoweiss during a week-long fact-finding visit to the region, Lynk claimed that Israel’s settlement-building was at its “highest level in recent years”.
“It’s moving much more rapidly and on the horizon is something much more dramatic,” said the UN’s special rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory.
“The public statements made by senior American diplomats in favor of the long-expressed wish by senior Israeli political leaders, including virtually every member of the Israeli cabinet, in favor of annexation of some parts of the West Bank has only gotten louder. There is a greater normalization of the concept of annexation.”
As on previous visits, the Canadian law professor was denied entry to Palestine by Israeli officials — a decision he criticized as “contrary to Israel’s obligations as a UN member to cooperate fully with experts” from the world body.
Looking on in abject silence as South Africa appears to be doing while reports of demolitions of Palestinian homes reveal that illegal land-grabs are continuing at a frightening rate, is disconcerting.
In sharp contrast to Pretoria’s weak-kneed inaction, the Trump administration is on the go backing Israel to the hilt. In clear defiance of United Nations Resolutions which prohibit Israel’s settlement-activities, David Friedman, Washington’s ambassador to Israel, said Israel was entitled to annex at least “some” of the Palestinian West Bank.
Important to note that Friedman was a bankruptcy lawyer, who headed the Trump Empire before landing his current position. Not surprising too that as an ardent extremist Zionist, he has been involved in supporting and financing settlements.
Since ascending to power, U.S. President Donald Trump has surrounded himself with appointees who are unashamed white supremacists. In addition to their bigoted views, they are known as hawks willing to do Israel’s bidding at any cost. Including at the expense of American citizens’ interest.
In contrast to Trump’s “America First” policies, rogue elements within his inner circle have pursued an agenda which insists on “Israel First”. These neocons hold key positions of power as is evident in the portfolios held by Bolton, Pompeo, Greenblatt, Pence, Friedman, and Kushner among others.
For Netanyahu, having a team of unabashed Zionists embedded within the Trump administration was an opportunity to eliminate any prospect of Palestinian statehood. Thus without wasting any time and in defiance of UN Resolutions, he, in cahoots with Israel’s “White House dream team”, rushed to ensure that new facts on the ground will “legalize” the apartheid regime’s current and future status.
Thus we saw Trump having recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moved the US embassy there, cut funding to Palestinians and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
According to Link, Israel has “already crossed the bright red line into illegality”.
In tandem with the expansion of Israel’s massive settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner set up the first phase of what’s been dubbed as a sell-out of Palestine’s freedom struggle.
Hosted by Bahrain and co-sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the Kushner plot seeks to fulfill Zionist ambitions of a Jewish state unfettered by the legitimate demands of the indigenous Palestinian inhabitants, whom it dispossessed and occupied.
Though the US-led conference in Bahrain was presented as providing huge economic advantages for stateless Palestinians, it is actually designed to bluff them and the world into believing that peace can be bought. In other words, keep the prisoner chained and handcuffed and hope that swopping the brass chains and cuffs to gold will buy the prisoner’s silence.
The politics of the so-called economic deal is to enslave the Palestinian people to a lifetime of misery, disenfranchised and ghettoized in bantustans. Though Kushner is feted in the Arab capitals of America’s client-states as an ally of their respective regime’s despotic rulers, as far as Palestinians are concerned, he is an ardent Zionist who backs and finances Israel’s illegal colony-settlements.
Netanyahu may be smarting that he has successfully manipulated Trump and his team to rubber stamp Zionist goals. Not only that but also that he has Arab dictators in his pocket. But the concern Palestinians have expressed centers on the silence of friends, especially South Africa.
Treachery by Arab dictators is to be expected but not the silence of a country who offered the world legendary human rights icons such as Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Yusuf Dadoo, Joe Slovo, Chris Hani, Robert Sobukwe, Steve Biko and many more.
– Iqbal Jassat is an Executive Member of the South Africa-based Media Review Network. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle. Visit: www.mediareviewnet.com
By Iqbal Jassat
Is South Africa among the countries standing aside as the world is confronted with illegal moves by the Trump Administration to facilitate the complete annihilation of Palestine by Israel?
Notwithstanding the fact that the ANC-led government headed by President Cyril Ramaphosa has not backtracked on the decision to downgrade its embassy in Tel Aviv, not much more is evident in defense of Palestinian rights.
Silence is not an option at a time when United Nations investigator Michael Lynk has warned that Israel is moving rapidly to annex more of the Occupied West Bank as it intensifies settlement-building on Palestinian land.
Speaking to Mondoweiss during a week-long fact-finding visit to the region, Lynk claimed that Israel’s settlement-building was at its “highest level in recent years”.
“It’s moving much more rapidly and on the horizon is something much more dramatic,” said the UN’s special rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory.
“The public statements made by senior American diplomats in favor of the long-expressed wish by senior Israeli political leaders, including virtually every member of the Israeli cabinet, in favor of annexation of some parts of the West Bank has only gotten louder. There is a greater normalization of the concept of annexation.”
As on previous visits, the Canadian law professor was denied entry to Palestine by Israeli officials — a decision he criticized as “contrary to Israel’s obligations as a UN member to cooperate fully with experts” from the world body.
Looking on in abject silence as South Africa appears to be doing while reports of demolitions of Palestinian homes reveal that illegal land-grabs are continuing at a frightening rate, is disconcerting.
In sharp contrast to Pretoria’s weak-kneed inaction, the Trump administration is on the go backing Israel to the hilt. In clear defiance of United Nations Resolutions which prohibit Israel’s settlement-activities, David Friedman, Washington’s ambassador to Israel, said Israel was entitled to annex at least “some” of the Palestinian West Bank.
Important to note that Friedman was a bankruptcy lawyer, who headed the Trump Empire before landing his current position. Not surprising too that as an ardent extremist Zionist, he has been involved in supporting and financing settlements.
Since ascending to power, U.S. President Donald Trump has surrounded himself with appointees who are unashamed white supremacists. In addition to their bigoted views, they are known as hawks willing to do Israel’s bidding at any cost. Including at the expense of American citizens’ interest.
In contrast to Trump’s “America First” policies, rogue elements within his inner circle have pursued an agenda which insists on “Israel First”. These neocons hold key positions of power as is evident in the portfolios held by Bolton, Pompeo, Greenblatt, Pence, Friedman, and Kushner among others.
For Netanyahu, having a team of unabashed Zionists embedded within the Trump administration was an opportunity to eliminate any prospect of Palestinian statehood. Thus without wasting any time and in defiance of UN Resolutions, he, in cahoots with Israel’s “White House dream team”, rushed to ensure that new facts on the ground will “legalize” the apartheid regime’s current and future status.
Thus we saw Trump having recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moved the US embassy there, cut funding to Palestinians and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
According to Link, Israel has “already crossed the bright red line into illegality”.
In tandem with the expansion of Israel’s massive settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner set up the first phase of what’s been dubbed as a sell-out of Palestine’s freedom struggle.
Hosted by Bahrain and co-sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the Kushner plot seeks to fulfill Zionist ambitions of a Jewish state unfettered by the legitimate demands of the indigenous Palestinian inhabitants, whom it dispossessed and occupied.
Though the US-led conference in Bahrain was presented as providing huge economic advantages for stateless Palestinians, it is actually designed to bluff them and the world into believing that peace can be bought. In other words, keep the prisoner chained and handcuffed and hope that swopping the brass chains and cuffs to gold will buy the prisoner’s silence.
The politics of the so-called economic deal is to enslave the Palestinian people to a lifetime of misery, disenfranchised and ghettoized in bantustans. Though Kushner is feted in the Arab capitals of America’s client-states as an ally of their respective regime’s despotic rulers, as far as Palestinians are concerned, he is an ardent Zionist who backs and finances Israel’s illegal colony-settlements.
Netanyahu may be smarting that he has successfully manipulated Trump and his team to rubber stamp Zionist goals. Not only that but also that he has Arab dictators in his pocket. But the concern Palestinians have expressed centers on the silence of friends, especially South Africa.
Treachery by Arab dictators is to be expected but not the silence of a country who offered the world legendary human rights icons such as Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Yusuf Dadoo, Joe Slovo, Chris Hani, Robert Sobukwe, Steve Biko and many more.
– Iqbal Jassat is an Executive Member of the South Africa-based Media Review Network. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle. Visit: www.mediareviewnet.com
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said a new committee will examine how to implement the ending of cooperation with Israel, following a decision by PA leaders in Ramallah.
President Abbas said at Palestinian leadership meeting held in Ramallah following Israel’s demolition of 10 Palestinian buildings in Sur Baher neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem that the leadership decided to stop the agreements signed with Israel and the formation of a committee to implement this decision.
The Palestinian leaders met Thursday to decide on measures against Israel following the demolition of Palestinian homes in the village of Sur Baher, on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Sunday.
The President said: “Our hands have been and are still extended to a just, comprehensive and lasting peace. But this does not mean that we accept the status quo or surrender to the measures of the occupation, adding that:” We will not surrender and we will not coexist with the occupation, nor will we accept the ‘deal of the century.’ Palestine and Jerusalem are not for sale or bargain, They are not a real estate deal in a real estate company.”
He stressed that “there will be no peace, no security, and no stability in our region and the world without our people achieving their rights in full. No matter how much time it takes, the repugnant occupation is going to be defeated and our future state will be independent.”
The President thanked all the friendly and brotherly countries of the world that stand by the Palestinian people and their just cause in international forums.
However, he added, “we want to see practical steps and implementation of United Nations resolutions on the ground, even once.”
He also stressed that the time has come to implement the Cairo 2017 agreement for intra-Palestinian reconciliation mediated by Egypt. “We do not want to return to the tragic results of the Moscow meeting when Hamas refused to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization, which put it in line with Israel and the United States on this matter.
“My hand is extended for reconciliation and it is time to get more serious,” he said.
President Abbas said at Palestinian leadership meeting held in Ramallah following Israel’s demolition of 10 Palestinian buildings in Sur Baher neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem that the leadership decided to stop the agreements signed with Israel and the formation of a committee to implement this decision.
The Palestinian leaders met Thursday to decide on measures against Israel following the demolition of Palestinian homes in the village of Sur Baher, on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Sunday.
The President said: “Our hands have been and are still extended to a just, comprehensive and lasting peace. But this does not mean that we accept the status quo or surrender to the measures of the occupation, adding that:” We will not surrender and we will not coexist with the occupation, nor will we accept the ‘deal of the century.’ Palestine and Jerusalem are not for sale or bargain, They are not a real estate deal in a real estate company.”
He stressed that “there will be no peace, no security, and no stability in our region and the world without our people achieving their rights in full. No matter how much time it takes, the repugnant occupation is going to be defeated and our future state will be independent.”
The President thanked all the friendly and brotherly countries of the world that stand by the Palestinian people and their just cause in international forums.
However, he added, “we want to see practical steps and implementation of United Nations resolutions on the ground, even once.”
He also stressed that the time has come to implement the Cairo 2017 agreement for intra-Palestinian reconciliation mediated by Egypt. “We do not want to return to the tragic results of the Moscow meeting when Hamas refused to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization, which put it in line with Israel and the United States on this matter.
“My hand is extended for reconciliation and it is time to get more serious,” he said.
25 july 2019
The United States on Wednesday blocked an attempt by Kuwait, Indonesia and South Africa to have the UN Security Council adopt a resolution condemning Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes in Sur Baher town, on the outskirts of Occupied Jerusalem.
Ignoring widespread international criticism, the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) embarked last Monday on demolishing dozens of homes in the Palestinian town of Sur Baher near the separation wall in Jerusalem.
The IOA claims the homes, which are close to the separation barrier that criss-crosses the West Bank and is locally referred to by Palestinians as the "apartheid wall,” a security risk.
According to Reuters, Kuwait, Indonesia and South Africa circulated a five-paragraph draft statement at the 15-member Security Council on Tuesday that expressed grave concern and warned that the demolitions “undermines the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for just and lasting peace.”
Such statements have to be agreed by consensus and on Wednesday the US told its council counterparts it could not support the text before another revised three-paragraph draft statement was circulated, but the US again rejected the text.
In this regard, the UN demanded Israel to halt its demolition policy and confiscation of homes in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Addressing the UN Security Council last Tuesday, Rosemary DiCarlo, head of the UN's Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said Israel’s recent demolitions breached international rules and had hurt the livelihoods of some 300 Palestinian locals.
"Israel's policy of destroying Palestinian property is not compatible with its obligations under international humanitarian law and contributes to the risk of forcible transfer facing many Palestinians in the West Bank," DiCarlo added.
Ignoring widespread international criticism, the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) embarked last Monday on demolishing dozens of homes in the Palestinian town of Sur Baher near the separation wall in Jerusalem.
The IOA claims the homes, which are close to the separation barrier that criss-crosses the West Bank and is locally referred to by Palestinians as the "apartheid wall,” a security risk.
According to Reuters, Kuwait, Indonesia and South Africa circulated a five-paragraph draft statement at the 15-member Security Council on Tuesday that expressed grave concern and warned that the demolitions “undermines the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for just and lasting peace.”
Such statements have to be agreed by consensus and on Wednesday the US told its council counterparts it could not support the text before another revised three-paragraph draft statement was circulated, but the US again rejected the text.
In this regard, the UN demanded Israel to halt its demolition policy and confiscation of homes in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Addressing the UN Security Council last Tuesday, Rosemary DiCarlo, head of the UN's Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said Israel’s recent demolitions breached international rules and had hurt the livelihoods of some 300 Palestinian locals.
"Israel's policy of destroying Palestinian property is not compatible with its obligations under international humanitarian law and contributes to the risk of forcible transfer facing many Palestinians in the West Bank," DiCarlo added.
24 july 2019
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy faces strong criticism from members of the UN Security Council, including Washington’s own allies, after he downplayed the world body’s resolutions on the Middle East conflict and said the Israeli-Palestinian issue cannot be resolved by relying on “fictions” of global consensus.
Addressing a UNSC meeting in New York on Tuesday, Jason Greenblatt dismissed the notion that international law and UN resolutions must serve as the foundation of any solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Greenblatt said the issue will not be settled by references to international law, which he called “inconclusive.”
“A comprehensive and lasting peace will not be created by fiat of international law or by these heavily wordsmithed, unclear resolutions,” he said. “The vision for peace that we plan to present will not be ambiguous, unlike many resolutions that have passed in this chamber,” referring to the so-called peace plan Washington had been developing without Palestine’s consent to end the conflict.
Greenblatt also noted that the upcoming plan — which Trump himself calls the “deal of the century” — would not be based on “fictions of international consensus” as it is often “nothing more than a mask for inaction.”
“So let’s stop kidding ourselves. If a so-called international consensus had been able to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it would have done so decades ago. It didn’t,” he added.
His controversial comments against international law triggered strong rebuttals from the UNSC’s four other permanent members, namely France, Britain, Germany and Russia.
Security Council members, in response, underlined the need for respecting international law and UN resolutions in efforts to resolve the Palestine issue.
Germany’s UN Ambassador Christoph Heusgen stressed that UNSC resolutions are binding under international law, saying, “For us, international law is not menu a la carte.”
“For us, international law is relevant; international law is not futile,” he said. “We believe in the force of international law; we do not believe in the force of the strongest.”
British representative Karen Pierce also reminded all countries that they “have a responsibility” to implement UNSC resolutions.
Similarly, Russia’s UN envoy challenged Greenblatt’s assertions.
“This international consensus is international law, because Security Council resolutions are international law — they merely need to be complied with,” Vassily Nebenzia said. “The matter lies not with a lack of international consensus; rather the matter has to do with the fact that there is utter disregard for this internationally-acknowledged consensus by the United States at present.”
Moreover, French UN Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere emphasized that Paris would support any peace effort “so long as this aligns with the approach that we have set out together, so long as this adheres to international law, specifically all resolutions of the Security Council.”
Greenblatt, has worked with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, on the US president’s highly-contentious “peace” deal, which the Palestinians have already dismissed “the slap of the century.”
The economic section of Trump’s proposal was released during a Washington-sponsored conference in Manama, Bahrain, on June 25-26 despite a Palestinian boycott of the event.
Critics say Washington is offering financial rewards for Palestinians to accept the Israeli occupation. Palestine, similarly, called that a “humiliating blackmail.”
Addressing a UNSC meeting in New York on Tuesday, Jason Greenblatt dismissed the notion that international law and UN resolutions must serve as the foundation of any solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Greenblatt said the issue will not be settled by references to international law, which he called “inconclusive.”
“A comprehensive and lasting peace will not be created by fiat of international law or by these heavily wordsmithed, unclear resolutions,” he said. “The vision for peace that we plan to present will not be ambiguous, unlike many resolutions that have passed in this chamber,” referring to the so-called peace plan Washington had been developing without Palestine’s consent to end the conflict.
Greenblatt also noted that the upcoming plan — which Trump himself calls the “deal of the century” — would not be based on “fictions of international consensus” as it is often “nothing more than a mask for inaction.”
“So let’s stop kidding ourselves. If a so-called international consensus had been able to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it would have done so decades ago. It didn’t,” he added.
His controversial comments against international law triggered strong rebuttals from the UNSC’s four other permanent members, namely France, Britain, Germany and Russia.
Security Council members, in response, underlined the need for respecting international law and UN resolutions in efforts to resolve the Palestine issue.
Germany’s UN Ambassador Christoph Heusgen stressed that UNSC resolutions are binding under international law, saying, “For us, international law is not menu a la carte.”
“For us, international law is relevant; international law is not futile,” he said. “We believe in the force of international law; we do not believe in the force of the strongest.”
British representative Karen Pierce also reminded all countries that they “have a responsibility” to implement UNSC resolutions.
Similarly, Russia’s UN envoy challenged Greenblatt’s assertions.
“This international consensus is international law, because Security Council resolutions are international law — they merely need to be complied with,” Vassily Nebenzia said. “The matter lies not with a lack of international consensus; rather the matter has to do with the fact that there is utter disregard for this internationally-acknowledged consensus by the United States at present.”
Moreover, French UN Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere emphasized that Paris would support any peace effort “so long as this aligns with the approach that we have set out together, so long as this adheres to international law, specifically all resolutions of the Security Council.”
Greenblatt, has worked with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, on the US president’s highly-contentious “peace” deal, which the Palestinians have already dismissed “the slap of the century.”
The economic section of Trump’s proposal was released during a Washington-sponsored conference in Manama, Bahrain, on June 25-26 despite a Palestinian boycott of the event.
Critics say Washington is offering financial rewards for Palestinians to accept the Israeli occupation. Palestine, similarly, called that a “humiliating blackmail.”
20 july 2019
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) reasserted last night its position that opposes any meetings between Palestinian journalists and officials from the administration of US President Donald Trump.
It said in a statement reiterating an earlier similar positon that it was following closely attempts by the US embassy in Israel to invite Palestinian journalists for meetings with US officials, including Jarod Kushner, senior advisor to Trump and his son-in-law and author of the so-called Deal of the Century, strongly opposed by the Palestinians for being overly biased toward Israel.
The PJS said it was proud of the journalists and media organizations that had previously refused to respond to invitations by the White House for meetings.
It said it was “confident of the failure of the new call to meet Kushner or other promoters of the Trump deal,” saying that the purpose behind these invitations is to “disseminate venom and false rumors, and to deceive Palestinian public opinion.”
It called on all journalists to abide by the positon of the syndicate and the national consensus on this matter that calls for boycott of any meeting with members of the current US administration who have adopted the Israeli position from the occupied Palestinian territories and who refuse to recognize any of the Palestinian national rights.
The syndicate said the Trump administration, which has appointed an official and opened a department to follow up on the Palestinian media and public opinion, has begun inviting journalists, focusing on the young ones, for a tour of the United States and meetings with officials in November.
It said all invitations were rejected, applauding the journalists for not falling for the US trap.
It said in a statement reiterating an earlier similar positon that it was following closely attempts by the US embassy in Israel to invite Palestinian journalists for meetings with US officials, including Jarod Kushner, senior advisor to Trump and his son-in-law and author of the so-called Deal of the Century, strongly opposed by the Palestinians for being overly biased toward Israel.
The PJS said it was proud of the journalists and media organizations that had previously refused to respond to invitations by the White House for meetings.
It said it was “confident of the failure of the new call to meet Kushner or other promoters of the Trump deal,” saying that the purpose behind these invitations is to “disseminate venom and false rumors, and to deceive Palestinian public opinion.”
It called on all journalists to abide by the positon of the syndicate and the national consensus on this matter that calls for boycott of any meeting with members of the current US administration who have adopted the Israeli position from the occupied Palestinian territories and who refuse to recognize any of the Palestinian national rights.
The syndicate said the Trump administration, which has appointed an official and opened a department to follow up on the Palestinian media and public opinion, has begun inviting journalists, focusing on the young ones, for a tour of the United States and meetings with officials in November.
It said all invitations were rejected, applauding the journalists for not falling for the US trap.
Hamas's spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri has denounced the latest statements by the US Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt's on the West Bank settlements.
"Greenblatt's remarks that the West Bank is not occupied and that Israeli settlements are "Jewish neighborhoods" are rude," adding that these statements confirm that Donald Trump's administration is clearly biased against the Palestinians.
"Israel is actually more the victim than the party that's responsible" for the Middle East conflict, said Greenblatt in an interview with PBS on Wednesday.
Greenblatt rejected using the word "settlements", adding he prefers to refer to the Jewish communities established on Palestinian lands in the West Bank as "neighborhoods and cities." He also rejected the term "occupied" to describe the West Bank. "I would argue that the land is disputed," he said.
"Greenblatt's remarks that the West Bank is not occupied and that Israeli settlements are "Jewish neighborhoods" are rude," adding that these statements confirm that Donald Trump's administration is clearly biased against the Palestinians.
"Israel is actually more the victim than the party that's responsible" for the Middle East conflict, said Greenblatt in an interview with PBS on Wednesday.
Greenblatt rejected using the word "settlements", adding he prefers to refer to the Jewish communities established on Palestinian lands in the West Bank as "neighborhoods and cities." He also rejected the term "occupied" to describe the West Bank. "I would argue that the land is disputed," he said.
