Hamas warns more strikes

2010-09-08T16:50:00Z

Group calls on PA to stop arresting Hamas members

Washington - Hamas members or those believed to be affiliated with Hamas have been detained en masse by Palestinian Authority forces since two shootings targeting settlers upset the West Bank last week.

After six more Hamas-linked persons were arrested in connection with the shooting Tuesday, Hamas has sent a message to the Palestinian Authority, warning that if detentions do not stop, they will strike again, Haaretz reported Wednesday:

In a harshly worded announcement, the Islamist group declared that "our patience will soon run out" and that they would not remain silent for long, Israel Radio reported.

"You know that the hands that have reached the heart of the occupier can reach you too," Hamas warned, referring to its recent attacks against Israelis in the West Bank, adding that Hamas cannot be stopped, and will strike anywhere, at any time it wishes.

Tuesday, PA security forces arrested six on suspicion of involvement on last week's shootings. Israeli daily Ynet reported:

A Palestinian security official told Ynet that all of those responsible for the shooting attacks are currently in custody. The Palestinian government has condemned the attacks, for which Hamas has claimed responsibility, and promise the culprits would be punished severely.

Last Tuesday, four Israeli settlers - one of whom was pregnant - were killed in a drive-by shooting near Hebron. The next day, two more settlers were wounded in a similar attack in Ramallah.

Hamas' militant wing - Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades - claimed the attacks. The political wing of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, praised the attacks but insisted there was no coordination between the Hamas militants and the political apparatus.

Above: Hamas militants [MATEUS - Flickr]

Peace could cost $50b

2010-09-07T13:30:00Z

Egypt FM says PA could get billions in compensation

Washington - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told Cairo's official news agency Tuesday that a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement could cost the international community $40-50 billion, mostly to ensure the sustainability of the Palestinian state, Ynet news reported.

The funds would also go toward compensation for lands and services lost the building of the Palestinian state, the report said.

Sunday Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was reported to have told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that without an extension to the settlement construction freeze (due to end Sept. 26), the Palestinians would pull out of negotiations. Aboul Gheit said settlements will be "the first test to Israel earnest in the process," Ynet quoted.

The report continued:

The volatile issue, he added, may bring about the end of the negotiations if it is not handles properly, since "the Palestinians are sure to halt the talks if the (freeze) in not extended.

"I have been hearing many good things about the good intentions of senior Israeli officials, but that has to be translated into viable negotiation stands on the ground," he concluded.

The first round of direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority since December 2008 were held in Washington, DC last week. The next round are slated for Sept. 14-15 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Above: US 50 and 100 dollar bills [Jtyerse - Flickr]

Lieberman vows resumed construction

2010-09-06T13:05:00Z

Israeli FM says he will ensure settlement freeze ends

Washington - Israeli FM Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that his right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party would block any moves to extend the settlement construction freeze in place until Sept. 26, AFP news agency reported.

Lieberman told Israeli army radio, "there is no need to extend the freeze," AFP said. He continued, explaining that his party could ensure settlement building resumes: "Yisrael Beitenu has enough power in the government and in parliament to ensure that no such proposal succeeds."

The Palestinian Authority has said repeatedly that settlement expansion will mean the end to direct peace negotiations, and President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu personally that Palestine will pull out of the peace talks unless the settlement building freeze is extended.

AFP added:

The negotiations "will last through this month and, if the Israeli government extends the decision to halt settlements, then we will continue the negotiations. If they do not, then we will walk out," the Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam quoted Abbas as saying.

Lieberman has already reported a pessimistic view of the peace talks, AFP reported:

On Sunday, Lieberman reportedly brushed off the latest round of talks, from which he has been largely sidelined.

"I do not believe that a comprehensive agreement with the Palestinians is possible within a year, nor even during the next generation," he told Yisrael Beitenu members at a party function, according to army radio.

Direct peace talks, which the Palestinians broke off when Israel launched a devastating offensive against the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip in December 2008, resumed in Washington on Thursday with the target of a deal within a year.

Above: Israeli FM Avidgor Lieberman [Wikimedia Commons], left, and an Israeli settlement [DaveH - Flickr]

Abbas: No talks without freeze

2010-09-05T12:51:00Z

Palestinian Pres. tells Israeli PM talks will fail unless freeze extended

Washington - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has informed Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that he will pull out of direct negotiations unless Israel extends its settlement building moratorium, due to end Sept. 26, The Associated Press reported Sunday.

According to Ma'an News and AP: "Abbas told PLO activists in Libya late Saturday that 'if the freeze period is not extended by the end of the month, there will be no negotiations'."

Abbas also told the PLO members that he has made this point clear to PM Netanyahu. The first direct negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leadership were held Thursday Sept. 2 in Washington, DC. The next round is scheduled for Sept. 14-15 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Netanyahu has indicated in the past he will not extend the building freeze, and doing so could cost him serious political capital - much of his support and ruling coalition is made up of pro-settlement expansion factions.

It was reported Friday that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Netanyahu to extend the freeze, but no further comment came from that report. The Palestinian Authority has said repeatedly that settlements will be the death blow to peace negotiations.

Settlements are one of the most visible issues in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Considered illegal installation of an occupying population on occupied territory under international law, much of the international community condemns Israeli settlements and supports the building freeze. The building freeze, begun in November 2009, has been widely violated in observant areas and has unobserved completely in East Jerusalem and areas administratively designated East Jerusalem by Israeli authorities.

Settlements are a key impediment to the two state solution, as they prevent the determination of borders for the future Palestinian state.

Above: Bulldozer, left, President Mahmoud Abbas, right [Wikimedia Commons]

Hamas defends targeting settlers

2010-09-04T13:39:00Z

Politburo official: settlers are military targets

Washington - After a series of shootings this week targeting Israeli settlers and claimed by Hamas' militant wing, a member of the Hamas politburo defended the attacks, saying settlers are legitimate military targets.

Politburo member Ezzat al-Rashk made the comments to Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat, Haaretz said.

Hamas' political apparatus has praised the shootings and has insisted its non-involvement, saying the militant wing, Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, can plan attacks independent of the political wing.

Haaretz reported Saturday:

"Attacking settlers is a natural thing," al-Rashk told Al-Hayat on Saturday, saying the "Zionist settlers are the occupation's first reserve military force."

"They are now a real army in every sense of the word, with more than 500,000 automatic weapons at their disposal, on top of the basic protection by the [Israel Defense Forces]," the Hamas official said.

Al-Rashk also referred to the ongoing attempt to relaunch talks between Israel and the PA, saying they were noting more "than a media circus through which the U.S. administration wants to market its policy."

Another Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, the organization's Lebanon spokesperson, told the London-based newspaper that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was willing to forfeit "99 percent of the Palestinians' rights, saying negotiations were over before they even began.

Hamas has also insisted that the shootings are not related to the peace process, which the Islamist group has condemned.

Above: Hamas militants [MATEUS - Flickr]

Report: Clinton demands freeze extended

2010-09-03T16:25:00Z

Secretary tells Netanyahu at talks to extend building moratorium

Washington - According to Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that he must extend the settlement freeze through the end of the year, Ma'an News Agency reported Friday.

Without that, talks will collapse, the report said.

Clinton reportedly made her remarks to the prime minister Thursday as direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority resumed for the first time in 20 months.

Ma'an continued:

The newspaper also quoted senior US sources as saying the US administration would not accept Netanyahu’s reasoning that the political price for extending the partial settlement freeze would be too high.

Netanyahu said in July that extending the 10-month moratorium, due to expire on 26 September, could lead to the collapse of his right-wing coalition.

Senior US officials said Netanyahu could not retain his political status at the expense of President Mahmoud Abbas’ domestic standing, Ma’ariv reported.

Israeli daily Haaretz reported this morning that President Abbas to remain in the talks should settlement expansion begin again. Netanyahu's ruling coalition and much of his support comes from a pro-settlement worldview, and an extension of the settlement freeze could spell trouble for him politically.

Above: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at Thursday's direct peace negotiations. [State Department - Flickr]

Bibi: "I came to Washington to reach historic compromise"

2010-09-01T13:45:00Z

Second shooting rocks West Bank

Washington - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House Wednesday night: "I came to Washington to reach a historic compromise," news agencies reported. Sify news reported:

Netanyahu said he was convinced that peace was possible, calling Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas 'my partner in peace' as the two leaders prepared to hold their first direct talks Thursday in nearly two years.

'We recognise that another people shares this land with us,' Netanyahu said at the White House. 'I came here to find an historic compromise that will enable both our peoples to live in peace, security and dignity.'

President Abbas and PM Netanyahu will begin direct negotiations at the State Department, beginning at 10am Washington-time.

Earlier Wednesday, the United States President, Barack Obama met separately with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas as well as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II. They are all to meet at a dinner at the White House tonight. Tomorrow the parties are scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and officially announce the beginning of direct talks.

The talks come at time when Hamas has violently expressed its objection to any negotiations with Israel.

The second drive-by shooting claimed by the militant wing of Hamas wounded two Israeli citizens in Ramallah Wednesday evening.

Ma'an News Agency reported Thursday:

At around 11 p.m. gunmen shot at a car near Romonim junction, close to the Kochav Hashachar settlement. One man, aged around 30, suffered a gunshot wound to his knee and a woman of a similar age was injured in the resulting crash, the Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post reported.

An Israeli army spokesman said the victims managed to exit the vehicle and escape the scene before climbing back to call for help, the Israeli news site Ynet reported.

In a statement, the Al-Qassam Brigades declared "full responsibility for Ramallah operation caused of injuring two Zionist settlers critically." The group said the attack was "a normal and legal response to Zionist aggressions on the Palestinian civilians" and "part of the repelling operations against the occupation assaults on Gaza Strip and West Bank."

Israeli forces closed all roads leading to Ramallah following the incident.

Tuesday evening, four Israeli settlers - among them a pregnant woman - were shot to death while driving near the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement in the Hebron area. The victims were identified as Yizhak and Talia Aimes, 45 and 47 respectively, 24-year-old Avishai Shindler, and 37-year-old Kochba Even-Chaim. All were believed to be from the area. Hamas initially praised the attack but did not claim involvement.

Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the militant wing of Hamas, has since claimed responsibility for the shooting, Al-Jazeera English reported Wednesday:

Osama Hamdan, a Hamas spokesman, told Al Jazeera that Hamas had not planned any attacks intended to sabotage the Israeli-PA talks. But Hamdan said he was speaking for the political wing of Hamas, and that the Qassam Brigades could have planned the attack independently.

"We believe that there is no need to do something like this to sabotage these negotiations, because Netanyahu has [already] done this," he said.

Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian Authority prime minister, condemned the shooting, saying it was "against Palestinian interests". He said the PA will "take measures" to prevent future attacks.

Israeli forces have sealed the Hebron area, and both Israeli and Palestinian Authority forces have been working to bring the guilty parties forward, AFP news agency said:

Access routes to the city of Hebron were closed by military roadblocks.

"We are operating on a number of different levels since the event took place and will continue to act until we get a hold of the terrorists," military Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said as he and other generals visited the area.

Hamas, which claimed responsibility for the attack, said Palestinian security forces had arrested more than 150 of its members, including family of parliamentarians.

The Islamist group ruling Gaza accused Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas of "siding with the Zionist enemy and continuing its project to abort and uproot the resistance," in a statement from Hamas MPs.

They went on to warn "Fatah and its authority of the dangerous consequences of this escalation," referring to Abbas's secular party.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that more than 250 Hamas members were arrested overnight in the West Bank.

A Palestinian security official told AP the shooters have not yet been found.

Hamas lawmaker Omar Abdel-Razek has condemned the crackdown on fellow members, AP's Mohammad Daraghmeh reported.

"It's unprecedented," AP quoted Abdel-Razek. "It is an act of treason."

Tuesday's shooting casts a dark cloud over direct peace negotiations beginning in Washington Thursday. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu met separately with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday.

Prior to their meeting Tuesday evening, PM Netanyahu and Secretary Clinton addressed statements to the press regarding the shootings. Both urged the for the negotiations to go forward and bring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: We witnessed today a savage murder of four innocent Israelis. There are seven new orphans that were added to the circle of grief in Israel. We will not let the blood of Israeli civilians go unpunished. We will find the murderers. We will punish their dispatchers. We will not let terror decide where Israelis live or the configuration of our final borders. These and other issues will be determined in the negotiations for peace that we're conducting, and in these negotiations I will set clearly the security needs that are required precisely to address this kind of terror; and I hope to have the opportunity to go into greater detail in my conversations with President Obama tomorrow and with you, Secretary Clinton, today, and the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinians as well. Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, let me express our deepest sympathy to the families who have lost their loved ones. This kind of savage brutality has no place in any country, under any circumstances. The forces of terror and destruction cannot be allowed to continue. It is one of the reasons why the prime minister is here today: to engage in direct negotiations with those Palestinians who themselves have rejected a path of violence in favor of a path of peace. We have to not only stand against the kind of horrific murders we saw today on behalf of the four who were lost and, as the prime minister said, the seven orphans who have been brutally deprived of their parents, but on behalf of all people -- Israelis, Palestinians, everyone who knows that there is no answer when violence begets violence. And I thank the prime minister for his leadership in seeking a different future for the children of Israel. And we pledge to do all we can, always, to protect and defend the State of Israel and to provide security to the Israeli people. That is one of the paramount objectives that Israel has that the United States supports in these negotiations.

Abbas and Netanyahu will meet separately with President Obama Wednesday, and a welcome dinner to kick off the direct negotiations - held Thursday at the State Department - will be tonight. These face-to-face negotiations will be the first since December 2008. Those talks broke down when Israel launched a 22-day assault on the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,400 Palestinians.

Above: Direct negotiations participants and delegates - clockwise from left, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, Tony Blair, the international Middle east envoy and former British Prime Minister, and President Hosni Mubarek of Egypt, in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House, Sept. 1, 2010 [Pete Souza - White House]

Abbas wants US active in talks

2010-08-31T13:35:00Z

Leaders gear up for direct negotiations in DC

Washington - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that he hopes the US will be "active" in mediating the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks this week, The Associated Press reported.

Abbas gave an optimistic prognosis to reporters en route to Washington, DC Tuesday. US President Barack Obama is hoping for a peace agreement to be signed within a year, and Abbas said he finds that reasonable, AP said.

The report continued

"If there is goodwill, then it is more than enough," he said. "Everything is clear."

However, Netanyahu has not agreed to pick up where negotiations left off in December 2008 between his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, and Abbas.

Abbas said he hoped for an active U.S. role in the talks. He said that when the two sides reach a deadlock, the Obama administration should "present proposals to bridge the gap between the two positions."

President Abbas and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu both left for Washington Tuesday. With Abbas went presidential staff as well as high-ranking Fatah and PLO members, Palestinian state news agency WAFA reported.

Yasser Abed Rabbo of the PLO Executive Committee, chief PLO negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat, Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Shaath, and presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah will be among those accompanying President Abbas.

Erekat will serve as Palestinian envoy, the report said.

Above: Presidents Obama and Abbas in the Oval Office [White House]

Settlement construction to resume 9/27

2010-08-30T13:40:00Z

Abbas: Israel responsible if talks fail because of building

Washington - According to an Israeli Army Radio report Monday, fifty-seven settlements currently observing the building freeze will resume expansion one day after the construction moratorium ends Sept. 26, Ynet news said.

The report comes as Israel and Palestinian leadership get ready to head for Washington, DC for the first round of direct negotiations since December 2008. The Palestinians have made it clear that settlement are a make-or-break issue, and resumed building in currently "frozen" areas will prompt the Palestinian leadership to pull out of the peace talks.

Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated this sentiment, saying Israel will be responsible if talks fail as a result of settlement construction, Ma'an News Agency reported. Abbas made his remarks at a speech in Ramallah.

Ma'an reported:

Talks, which are set to begin on 2 September, will address final status issues including Jerusalem, refugees, prisoners and security among others but that "security must not continue to be a security for the continuation of the occupation and settlements," Abbas said.

The US and international officials have been notified that "Israel will bear sole and full responsibility for the collapse of negotiations should settlement building continue," he added.

"Negotiations must be serious and must ensure the Palestinian people will be relieved from the yoke of occupation," Abbas said, adding that the decision to re-launch direct talks was based on the Quartet's statement after consulting with Palestinian and Arab officials.

"We will not accept to be drawn gradually to marginal issues to ignore these major issues," Abbas warned.

For his part, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet Monday that he made no promises regarding an extended settlement freeze, Haaretz reported:

"We made no proposals to the Americans on extending the freeze," Netanyahu said. "We said that the future of the communities will be discussed as one of the elements of a final-status settlement, along with the other issues. We promised nothing on this issue to the Americans."

The report continued:

"They are building an entire city with our encouragement and then they are fighting with us over every house in Judea and Samaria," said Netanyahu. "The hiatus of construction prior to the cabinet resolution [approving the freeze] lasted 10 months, during which we called them for talks. Now, three weeks before the end of that time, they come to the talks and say that we must continue the building freeze. This raises questions about the seriousness of the Palestinians to enter talks in good faith. They are building an entire city and they fight with us over every home."

Netanyahu is expected to leave for Washington Tuesday, Haaretz said. A welcome dinner is scheduled for Wednesday Sept. 1, and Mideast Quartet envoy Tony Blair is among the invitees.

Above: CAT D10 bulldozer, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right [Wikimedia Commons]

Jordan-Israel meet ahead of talks

2010-08-29T14:21:00Z

Abdullah II: Peace is Israel's choice

Washington - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman Sunday ahead of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Washington, DC this week.

Ynet news reported:

During the meeting, the two discussed the upcoming direct negotiations, slated to begin on Thursday. "Jordan has a central and important role in the regional peace, and helping Israel and the Palestinians reach an understanding during the talks," he said.

The defense minister added that peace is Israel's strategic goal: "We are expecting Palestinians to sit to the negotiations table with an open heart."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Abdullah II late last week to discuss the upcoming direct talks. King Abdullah II as well as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have been invited to Washington to support the talks, which are scheduled to convene Sept. 2.

King Abdullah II announced Sunday that Israel will have to choose between isolation or peace, Ma'an News Agency reported:

"Israel must choose between living in a castle and watch the region from behind walls, or living in peace, security and integration with its neighbors through a comprehensive peace agreement as suggested in the Arab Peace Initiative."

The king was quoted on an interview on Israel's Channel 1. The Ma'an report continued:

Abdullah described the upcoming launch of direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders as "an important opportunity which should not be missed in order to achieve peace," and warned that failure to end the conflict would subject the region to new waves of violence and tension.

The two-state solution is the only way to guarantee regional stability and security, he said, adding that its achievement is both a regional and international strategic interest.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu also made a pronouncement Sunday, saying in his weekly cabinet meeting the talks in Washington this week could build a long-lasting peace. The talks this week will be the first direct talks since December 2008.

Haaretz quoted the prime minister:

"I am convinced that if the Palestinian leadership takes the negotiations as seriously as we do, we can reach a stable agreement - not just a deal for a tactical ceasefire between wars. ... We can reach a peace based on stability for us and for our children and that is my goal."

Netanyahu proposed last week that he and President Abbas meet twice a month during the direct talks period. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat rejected the proposal, Haaretz reported:

It was too early to determine times, dates and participants in meetings between the sides and the main issue was still the freeze, Erekat said.

Above: King Abdullah II of Jordan [World Economic Forum - Flickr]

Report: Israel planning Syria attack

2010-08-28T14:42:00Z

Army preparing strike on Hezbollah arms cache

Washington - According to Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai, the Israeli military is planning a strike on Hezbollah targets, namely arms depots and weapons manufacturing sites, in Syria, Israeli daily Haaretz reported Saturday.

The report read:

The report is based on Western sources who asserted that Israel has increased its military force level along the northern border in the Golan Heights and Mount Dov areas.

The report cited European sources who claimed that recent Israeli unmanned aerial drone flights over Lebanon and Syria signal Israel's intentions to carry out operations in the area.

Israel and Hezbollah frequently trade threats, and a boarder skirmish on the Israel-Lebanon boarder earlier this month ratcheted up tensions.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon responded days after the skirmish, in which three Lebanese soldier, a Lebanese journalist, and an Israeli officer were killed, that he fears of a Hezbollah-ization of the Lebanese army, and if that is the case, Israel will treat the Lebanese army as an enemy entity.

Syria has been identified has a supporter of Hezbollah, and Israel accused Syria of providing Hezbollah in Lebanon with Scud missiles earlier this year. Both Syrian and Lebanese leadership denied the claim, and Israel never produced any evidence to support the allegation.

Above: Israeli planes [Shemer - Flickr]

US calls for deal now, peace later

2010-08-27T13:38:00Z

Netanyahu wants to meet bi-weekly with Abbas

Washington - The White House reportedly wants Palestinian and Israeli leadership to agree to a permanent agreement that would be signed within one year and implemented within ten, Israeli Ynet news said Friday based on a White House document obtained by its Hebrew-language counterpart:

The Yedioth Ahronoth daily has learned that the Americans will pressure the parties to sign a framework agreement for a permanent settlement within one year, but that the agreement itself would be implemented within 10 years.

The report continued:

Yedioth Ahronoth has obtained the protocol summarizing the conference call, written by White House officials. The document provides a fascinating peek into the administration's plans in the near future.

According to the American plan, the Israeli and Palestinian negotiation teams would hold hectic talks in a bid to reach a framework agreement within a year. The intensive talks would be held in isolated sites, so as to allow the teams to calmly discuss the core issues of the permanent agreement: Jerusalem's future, the borders, the settlements and the refugees.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would be required to hold frequent meetings in order to solve concrete problems and advance the negotiations' stages.

If the talks reach a deadlock, American officials would intervene and attempt to bridge between the sides. In addition, the US would try to convince the Arab states to offer goodwill gestures to Israel and influence the Palestinians to compromise.

The framework agreement aimed at ending the conflict would be signed within a year. From that moment on, the agreement would be implemented gradually over a period of several years.

Friday, Haaretz reported Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed he and Palestinian President Abbas meet every two weeks during the direct talk, which begin Sept. 2.

The aim of the bi-weekly meetings is to "try to forge covert understandings and set principles to solve every issue," the report said.

Haaretz continued:

After the principles are determined, small negotiation teams would hammer out the details and put the understandings into writing. Netanyahu said in a meeting to prepare for the Washington summit that "serious negotiations in the Middle East mean only direct, quiet and consecutive talks between the two leaders on the key issues."

The imminent end to the freeze on settlement construction has many wondering if peace talks will continue past the building moratorium's Sept. 26 end date. Palestinian leadership has said repeatedly that construction of settlements, which are illegal under international law, will prompt them to pull out of the negotiations.

The White House has hinted that something will be done to keep settlements from being built, and according to Haaretz, the Yesha Council, which represents Israeli settlers, has said Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak will enforce a tacit freeze after Sept. 26 by not signing building permits submitted for approval.

Said the report:

The settlers thus fear that in practice they will face enormous bureaucratic hurdles in their efforts to expand settlements.

One of the effects of this policy, the settlers argue, is that there will be hardly any new construction in the settlement blocs. Based on existing permits the only new housing units to be built are several dozen in Ariel, planned for the evacuees from Netzarim in Gaza, and another group in Ma'aleh Adumim.

Permits are also available for a handful of homes in Gush Etzion.

Yesha Council sources said on Thursday that the standard by which the "construction compromise" will be measured will be the number of housing units that will be built in the coming year.

"During Olmert's time, 3,000 housing units were built annually. As far as we're concerned, that's the number of units that need to be built in 2010," a source in the council said, referring to previous Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

"During the first week at the end of the building freeze, Barak will have to sign approvals for 1,500 housing units that should have been built in recent months. If he signs approvals for anything less, it will be possible to deduce that the freeze is actually still in place."

Above: White House [WIkimedia Commons], Benjamin Netanyahu [Upper right, World Economic Forum - Flickr], Mahmoud Abbas [Lower right, Wikimedia Commons]

Palestinians, Israeli forces clash in Jerusalem

2010-08-26T13:02:00Z

Scuffle with settlers sparks clashes in Silwan

New York - Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli forces early on Thursday in the neighborhood of Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, after an altercation with settlers turned violent.

According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, protesters hurled stones at Israeli border police sent to the area and also set four cars and two motorcycles on fire. A 22-year-old settler was also injured when a rock hit his head, the report stated. It was unclear if any Palestinians were hurt.

According to the Palestinian news agency Ma'an, Israeli settlers sparked the fight when they tried to enter a mosque in the neighborhood before dawn. Haaretz also quoted a Palestinian witness who said settlers attempted to enter the mosque's grounds. Settlers denied these reports.

Ma'an also noted that three incidents in recent months in which settlers and other right-wing Israelis have vandalized mosques have put Palestinians on edge.

The Israeli forces sent to Silwan following the altercation with the settlers used tear gas and rubber bullets, Ma'an reported.

The Silwan area, located in a valley adjacent to Jerusalem's Old City, is also sensitive because of local Israeli authorities' declared plans to demolish dozens of Palestinian homes in the area. Israeli settlers illegally occupying houses in the area has also raised tensions.

Above: The East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. [Wikimedia Commons]

PA shuts down anti-negotiation conference

2010-08-25T16:57:00Z

PA forces disrupt PFLP-organized gathering in Ramallah

New York - Fatah-allied Palestinian Authority (PA) forces shut down a conference in Ramallah on Wednesday organized by opponents of the PA's return to direct negotiations with Israel.

Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported on the incident:

A spokesman with the Ramallah security forces, however, said the conference was not interfered with, explaining that officers "banned an illegal rally that was being carried out in Ramallah."

Khaleda Jarrar, a candidate for Ramallah mayor with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine before President Mahmoud Abbas called off the scheduled July elections, told Ma'an that PA police "in civilian uniforms attempted to thwart the event from the start, chanting slogans and leading event participants towards the center of Ramallah."

The event was organized by leftist factions, PFLP, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian People's Party, as well as several independent politicians. Organizers said the event was set to be held alongside a similar one in Gaza City.

She said the plainclothes officers were trying to provoke participants, who were not intending to leave the conference hall but rather hold a news conference inside, where Jarrar said objectors to the talks would "express or stance against a return to negotiations."

Speaking with Ma'an by phone from Ramallah, Jarrar said she held the PA "completely responsible" for the events of the day. "We aimed to voice our dissent, and the PA decided to enter the conference hall and drag participants out to an unplanned rally" in order to quash it.

Relatedly, Reuters reported that the PA has arrested dozens of members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad over the past few days.

Wednesday's incident was not the first time the PA has used force to crack down on opposition to negotiations. In November 2007 during the Annapolis conference that launched the last round of negotiations, PA forces attacked protesters across the West Bank, killing one member of the pacifist Islamist group Hizb Ut-Tahrir in the West Bank city of Hebron.

Above: A Palestinian Authority (PA) police cruiser in Ramallah [Wikimedia Commons]

Lieberman: Settlement freeze must end

2010-08-25T13:24:00Z

Israeli FM says construction in West Bank settlements should resume

New York - Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday that Israel should allow a partial ban on construction in settlements in the occupied West Bank to expire on September 26.

Lieberman, who lives in a settlement, said that Israel should initiate new construction in "major" West Bank settlements.

The construction freeze, which applies only to new tenders in settlements outside what Israel considers greater Jerusalem, was put in place in November.

Earlier this week Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would withdraw from US-backed peace negotiations if the freeze is allowed to expire.

"We cannot punish tens of thousands of citizens who have served in the army and live in legal communities," Lieberman was quoted as saying by Haaretz. "We should take natural growth into consideration, as did the previous administration."

On Monday the US State Department said the matter of the settlement freeze would be up for negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians when negotiations resume on September 2. The talks are the first face-to-face negotiations since December 2008 when Israel launched a devastating war on the Gaza Strip.

'Day of judgment'

Also on Wednesday leaders of the Israeli settler movement warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would face a "day of judgment" if he continues the settlement freeze.

"This is not a time to mince words as this is literally a day of judgment for our prime minister and government," said Naftali Bennett, head of Yesha settler council, as quoted by AFP.

Yesha warned in a letter to Netanyahu of "serious diplomatic and political implications" if he extends the freeze.

Above: Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman [Wikimedia Commons], Israeli settlement [DaveH - Flickr]

Israel snubs nuclear watchdog

2010-08-24T13:15:00Z

Netanyahu cancels meeting with IAEA chief

New York - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu snubbed the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog agency who travelled to Israel for the first time Monday, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Tuesday.

Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), had requested to meet with Netanyahu months ago, the newspaper said.

But their scheduled meeting was abruptly canceled a few days ago because it conflicted with the Netanyahu's vacation. Amano was apparently not informed of the cancellation until he arrived in the country on Monday.

Israel is known to have have the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, although it refuses to officially acknowledge it.

The nuclear issue is sensitive also because Israel has threatened to attack Iran if it develops nuclear weapons.

Haaretz reports on Netanyahu's apparent snub of the IAEA chief:

According to a diplomat familiar with the details of the visit, the Amano-Netanyahu meeting was scheduled to take place Monday afternoon, shortly after the IAEA chief landed in Israel and a few hours before the premier was due to embark on his holiday.

The official added that even though the meeting was on the IAEA chief's schedule, he was told it had been canceled due to Netanyahu's vacation.

National Security Adviser Uzi Arad, whose portfolio includes sensitive strategic issues like nuclear weapons, will also not meet with Amano - and the same goes for other key officials, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Instead, Amano will be received by Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Dan Meridor, President Shimon Peres and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon. Meridor and Amano met in Washington in May.

Amano is in Israel at the invitation of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission. His visit here was meant to be kept under wraps, but was leaked to the press.

On Monday, Amano met with IAEC director general Shaul Chorev. He is also scheduled to tour the Soreq Nuclear Research Center, whose activities are monitored by the IAEA.

Netanyahu's decision to cancel his meeting with Amano raised eyebrows on Monday, particularly given the premier's fixation on Iran's nuclear program. The prime minister and his aides have also been working feverishly to minimize the effects of last May's Nuclear Non-Proliferation Review Conference, which adopted a resolution calling for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons.

On Saturday Israel condemned Iran's fueling up of its first nuclear power plant with Russian-supplied uranium.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy said: "It is totally unacceptable that a country that so blatantly violates resolutions of the (United Nations) Security Council, decisions of the International Atomic Energy Agency and its commitments under the NPT (non-proliferation treaty) should enjoy the fruits of using nuclear energy."

Above: Board Selects Japan's Yukiya Amano as IAEA Director General. (IAEA Vienna, 2 July 2009) Photo: Dean Calma/IAEA

Hamas: September talks will fail

2010-08-23T13:38:00Z

PLO negotiator warns against settlement building

Washington - Hamas leader and de facto prime minister of the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniyeh announced Sunday that the Palestinian Authority's decision to resume direct talks with Israel reflects "a failed policy and will not succeed," Ma'an News Agency reported Monday:

Speaking at Al-Khulafa Ar-Rashidin mosque in Jabaliya, Haniyeh said that negotiations would not restore rights or religious sites, and said the Palestinian people "should trust God, who will be an ally of the Palestinians."

The Gaza prime minister further said the Palestinian people were a "model for the Arab nations and Islamic countries," given their steadfastness through years of siege.

The decision to resume talks with Israel also compromised a meeting between Hamas and Fatah officials in Gaza. Friday, Haniyeh had called on two Fatah officials, in Gaza to pay their respects to recently passed Arafat intelligence chief Amin al-Hindi, to stay and discuss Palestinian political reconciliation.

On Saturday Hamas spokesman Salah Bardawil said the PLO's decision to resume talks "made it too difficult" for Hamas and Fatah to discuss reconciliation. Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since 2007 when Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip. Fatah controls the Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank.

'Settlements or peace'

Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Israeli and Palestinian leadership would convene in Washington, DC Sept. 2 to resume direct negotiations. An aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed with Palestine Note that the president would attend the meeting.

Clinton in her address on Friday said all final status issues, including Jerusalem, refugees, borders, would be on the table, but she made no mention of settlement construction, which has been cited as a major impediment of the peace process, as the settlements - illegal under international law - effectively usurp land intended to serve as the future Palestinian state. A partial settlement freeze, in place since November 2009, is due to end Sept. 26.

On Monday chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat reiterated his position that Israel must choose between "settlements or peace," as the Palestinian Authority gears up for meetings in Washington, AFP news agency reported:

"The choice of the Israeli government is settlement or peace, they cannot have both," he said at a news conference in Ramallah, the political capital of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

But he also said he believed agreement could be reached within one year.

"We think it is doable."

The report continued:

But Erakat made it clear on Monday that settlements remain a major issue, and that it now remains to be seen whether Israel will renew a partial, 10 month moratorium on settlement construction it imposed in November last year.

"If Mr Netanyahu decides to renew settlement tenders come September 26, he will have decided to stop negotiations," he said.

A similar relaunch of negotiations amid much fanfare at Annapolis in Maryland in November 2007 had produced no visible results by the time the talks collapsed when Israel launched its devastating military 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip just over a year later.

Above: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [Marcn - Flickr] and Hamas Prime Minister of Gaza Ismail Haniyeh [PNA Cabinet Secretariat]

Expectations low for talks

2010-08-22T13:51:00Z

Israelis, Palestinians downplay direct negotiations

New York - Palestinian and Israeli leaders sought this weekend to set expectations low for direct peace negotiations scheduled to launch on September 2.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mideast envoy George Mitchell announced the the negotiations at a Washington news conference on Friday. The talks will be the first direct negotiations between the two sides since Israel launched a devastating three-week military offensive in Gaza in December 2008, in which some 1,400 Palestinians were killed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, in his first comments to reporters since the talks were announced, acknowledged skepticism of the planned talks. Reuters reports:

"We want to surprise all the critics and sceptics. But to do that, we need a true partner on the Palestinian side.

"I know there is deep scepticism. After 17 years have passed since the Oslo process, it's possible to understand why this scepticism exists," he said at the start of Israel's weekly cabinet meeting.

He made no mention of a potential stumbling block once the talks start in Washington on Sept. 2 -- the scheduled end some three weeks later of Israel's 10-month limited moratorium on Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

"Achieving a peace agreement between us and the Palestinian Authority is difficult, but possible," he said.

The Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said on Saturday that the Palestinian side will withdraw from the negotiations if Israel does not renew the partial moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements.

"If the Israeli government decides to announce new tenders on Sept. 26, then we won't be able to continue with the talks," he was quoted as saying.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated this threat in a letter sent to the international Quartet of peace negotiators, according to the Palestinian news agency Ma'an.

Above: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announces the resumption of direct negotiations at Department of State in Washington, DC, August 20, 2010. She is joined by Special Envoy for Middle East Peace Talks Senator George Mitchell. [Photo: State Department]

Clinton announces direct talks

2010-08-20T13:29:00Z

Direct negotiations will begin in DC Sept. 2, secretary says

Washington - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Friday that Palestinian and Israeli leadership will convene in Washington, DC Sept. 2 to begin direct negotiations.

Giving her address from the US Department of State, Clinton said she is "encouraged by the leadership" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Clinton said it was she who extended the invitation to Abbas and Netanyahu to meet in Washington to resume direct negotiations.

A senior aide from President Abbas' office confirmed with Palestine Note that Abbas will attend the Sept. 2 meeting.

The Middle East Quartet, made up of representatives from the US, EU, UN, and Russia, also released a statement Friday supporting the move to resolve final status issues and put in place a peace agreement in 12 months. Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair has been invited to a dinner kicking off the talks Sept. 1, she said.

President Obama will hold bilateral meetings with Abbas and Netanyahu Sept. 1 before trilateral negotiations begin at the State Department Sept. 2, Clinton said.

Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have both been invited President Obama to take part in the negotiation process.

Clinton made no mention of a settlement freeze, but she did say all final status issues - Jerusalem, refugees, borders... - will be on the table. She also said state-building must continue while negotiations are under way.

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell took questions following Clinton's address. In response to a question asking what got both parties back at the negotiating table, Mitchell gave a broad answer, saying both leaders understand that the best outcome for the peace process is a two-state solution, which can only be achieved through direct negotiations.

Asked about the sequencing of the talks - what issues will come up first, will Jerusalem be held for last - Mitchell said it will be the decision of the participants to determine the order of issues discussed.

Earlier report:

Israeli and Palestinian leadership will be invited to begin direct negotiations in Washington Sept. 2, a diplomatic source told Reuters Thursday.

According to the source, diplomatic envoys from the Middle East Quartet - the US, EU, UN and Russia - agreed on the formal details of a statement Thursday, and the invite is expected to be issued Friday.

Said the report:

"They've got an agreement that the talks will start on September 2 in Washington," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Israelis and Palestinians were expected to agree to attend, and President Barack Obama would be present at the talks, the source said.

Earlier, diplomatic sources said the Quartet was discussing a draft statement inviting Israel and the Palestinians to embark on direct talks intended to conclude a treaty in one year.

When the Quartet discussed the subject in June, Reuters said, peace talks were expected to wrap up in 24 months, but this new draft calls for resolution in 12 months.

The report continued:

Diplomats say the idea that a unilateral declaration of statehood could win support if talks do not start or collapse in the next 12 months is gaining interest.

The peace process resumed in May after a hiatus of 19 months but is stalled over the terms of an upgrade from indirect talks mediated by U.S. envoy George Mitchell to direct negotiations.

Israel insists it is ready for direct talks provided there are no preconditions. The Palestinians are ready provided there is a clear agenda. Israel says an agenda means preconditions.

The White House did not comment on the reported development, as the President is on vacation in Massachusetts, Reuters said.

Thursday, State Department spokesman PJ Crowley told the press said there was nothing to announce regarding peace talks as of yet, Ma'an News Agency quoted him as saying: "We are getting very close to an agreement to enter into direct negotiations. We think we’re well-positioned to get there, but we continue to work on the details of this process. I don’t have anything at this point to announce."

Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Fayyad said Clinton instructed him that "the Palestinian Authority can continue its efforts to build up its institutions and prepare for the prospect of a Palestinian state at some point and self-government," Ma'an quoted.

According to Fox News Channel:

Israeli and Palestinian officials told the Fox News Channel that they are waiting for the Quartet's statement before they make any formal announcements.

"I have not seen the statement and we will wait to see what the Quartet releases before making any announcements," said Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian negotiator.

A senior Israeli official told the Fox News Channel that Israel will also not make any announcements before the Quartet's statement is released.

Israel is concerned the Quartet statement will demand a complete settlement construction freeze, Fox said. A complete construction freeze has been a consistent requirement from the Palestinian side to resume direct negotiations, which broke down in December 2008 when Israel launched a devastating 22-day assault on the Gaza Strip, which killed roughly 1,400 Palestinians.

Construction is a point of contention because Israeli settlements are considered under international law illegal, as they install a colonizing population in an occupied territory. The expansion of Israeli settlements is widely regarded as an Israeli attempt to grab all the land possible before a Palestinian state could be established.

The settlement construction freeze in place now began last November and will expire September 26. The Israeli government has indicated that freeze will not be extended. The freeze was never applied to areas Israel indicates as "east Jerusalem," which Israel occupied and illegally annexed after the 1967 Six-Day War. The settlement construction freeze demanded by Palestinian leadership applies to the entire West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem and its environs.

Above: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Left (World Economic Forum - Flickr), Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Center (Flickr), and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Right (Downing Street - Flickr)

UN: Israel restricts Gaza land, sea use

2010-08-19T13:01:00Z

Report says 178,000 people affected by live-fire zones

Washington - When Israel completed its disengagement from Gaza in 2005, it claimed to have abandoned the Strip completely, but a UN report released on Thursday noted that Israel still bans Palestinians from using 17 percent of Gaza's total land mass and 85 percent of the maritime area allocated to the Palestinians in the Oslo peace accords.

The Israeli military uses live fire to enforce an exclusion zone in Gaza up to 1,000 to 1,500 meters inside the Green Line (the 1949 armistice line), the report [PDF] from the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs states. The restrictions on land use mean that 35 percent of Gaza's agricultural land is off limits.

The report states: "An estimated 178,000 people - 12 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip - are directly affected by the access regime implemented by the Israeli military. This includes approximately 113,000 people affected by such measures in land areas, and 65,000 people affected by restrictions to maritime areas."

The report further states:

Access restrictions are primarily enforced by opening live ﬁre on people entering the restricted areas. While in most cases it is ‘warning shots’ that force people from the area, since the end of the “Cast Lead” offensive in January 2009, the Israeli army has also killed a total of 22 civilians and injured another 146 in these circumstances. Despite the potential for civilian casualties, the Israeli authorities have not informed the affected population about the precise gradually expanded restrictions on access to boundaries of the restricted areas and the conditions under which access to these areas may be permitted or denied.

Israel also engages in the "systematic leveling of farm land and the destruction of other private property located in restricted areas," the report notes.

Joystick shooters

Along Gaza's borders, the UN report states, Israel uses a system of automated, remote-control gun emplacements to shoot at Palestinians who venture into the restricted areas:

Shooting at people accessing restricted areas is often carried out from remotely-controlled weapon stations. These stations are deployed in secured pillboxes every several hundred meters along the fence, each containing machine guns protected by retractable armoured covers, whose ﬁre can reach targets up to 1.5km.

A team of all-female soldiers act as lookout staff of the operation rooms located at the battalions’ headquarters around Gaza. These soldiers identify potential targets and suggest them to their battalion commanders, who authorize whether the target is “incriminated” or not, i.e. whether warning or direct ﬁre can be opened at them. According to a recent report from the Israeli daily Haaretz, “the procedure to authorize opening ﬁre is complex, but takes less than two minutes”.

Actual ﬁre is ultimately carried out by pressing a button, which opens the pillbox dome revealing the machine gun, and operating a joystick which allows the soldier to aim the weapon toward a designated target, guided by the images relayed from the ﬁeld. The operator also draws upon images and information from ground sensors, aircrafts, and overhead drones, and is fed with real time audio of the target being struck: “This [the sound of the shots being ﬁred] gives you the feeling of, ‘Wow, I’ve ﬁred now” explained one twenty-year old operator. “It’s very alluring to be the one to do this. But not everyone wants this job. It’s no simple matter to take up a joystick like that of a Sony PlayStation and kill, but ultimately it’s for defense”.

Other military means are also used to enforce access restrictions to land, including airstrikes from unmanned drones and shooting from tanks. Ammunition used during the latter include ‘ﬂechette’ projectiles, which explode in midair releasing thousands of 3.75 cm metal darts that disperse in a conical arch three hundred meters long and about ninety meters wide. During July 2010, a least 2 civilians were killed and 10 injured (including 4 children) by this type of ammunition.

'Shooting is an everyday occurrence'

Also included in the report is the story of the Al Tarabeen family, who live approximately 1.2 kilometers from the border fence:

The Al Tarabeen family, composed of two parents and seven children, lives in the Juhor ad Dik village located south-east of Gaza City, approximately 1.2 km from the border fence. On the morning of 11 February 2010, Israeli troops ﬁred a number of tank shells and opened machine-gun ﬁre towards the village, after an unidentiﬁed armed Palestinian group opened ﬁre at Israeli forces stationed next to the border earlier that morning. One of the shells hit the roof of Al Tarabeen’s house and penetrated the room where the family stayed. Three of the family’s girls, Afaf (12), Ahlam (11) and Mona (ﬁve), received light-to moderate injuries and were evacuated to the Al Aqsa hospital. Machinegun ﬁre continued intermittently throughout the morning for approximately ﬁve hours, preventing many residents from leaving their homes.

Ismail Al Tarabeen, the father of the family, described the difﬁcult living conditions imposed on the family due to the location of its home in the vicinity of the border area. “Shooting is an everyday occurrence and we can never rest without fear”, he said. His children must walk an additional 1.3 km a day, in order to reach their school through a safer, but longer, alternative route. Ahlam, one of the injured sisters, wondered to what extent she will be able to take care of her injured younger sisters after the incident. According to Ismail Al Tarabeen, due to these conditions, three families from Juhor ad Dik have recently left the village and relocated elsewhere in the Gaza Strip. However, he said, “this is our house and this is our land, and my family is not going to leave it”.

Above: An Israeli Merkava tank with a plow attachment. [Wikimedia Commons]

Poll: US support for Israel declining

2010-08-18T20:14:00Z

Only 51% say US must back Israel

Washington - Support for Israel is declining sharply among Americans, particularly Liberals aligned with the Democratic party, a new poll shows.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz obtained some of the findings of the poll, which was conducted by prominent American pollster Stanley Greenberg for the activist group The Israel Project (TIP). The findings were presented to Israeli officials, the report said.

Haaretz reports:

One of the questions that the poll presented was "Does the U.S. need to support Israel?" In August of 2009, 63% of Americans polled said that the U.S. does need to support Israel. In June of this year, 58% of respondents shared the same view; by July only 51% of respondents said the U.S. needed to support Israel.

Another question posed by the pole was "Is the Israeli government committed to peace with the Palestinians?" In December of 2007, 66% of respondents said that the government, then led by Ehud Olmert, was committed to peace with the Palestinians. In June of 2009, a month after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House, only 46% of Americans said they believed the Netanyahu government was committed to peace.

In the months of May and June, there appeared to be a positive change in American public opinion on the matter, with 53% of respondents saying they believe Netanyahu seeks peace. However, in July, only 45% of American said they felt Netanyahu was committed to the peace process. Thirty-nine percent responded that Netanyahu and his administration are not committed to seeking peace with the Palestinians.

Greenberg has analyzed the poll results and says that the section of the American public where Israel is most rapidly losing support is among Liberal Americans who align themselves with the Democratic Party.

Above: Americans, including ultra-Orthodox Jews, protest a visit to New York by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July [Photo: Palestine Note]

Airstrikes hit southern Gaza

2010-08-18T13:26:00Z

Israeli warplanes target tunnels after earlier clashes

Washington - Overnight Tuesday, four Israeli warplanes hit targets near Rafah and Khan Younis in the south of Gaza near the Egyptian border, AFP news agency reported.

The airstrikes caused no injuries, according to Palestinian security forces and witnesses. The airstrikes in southern Gaza were aimed at disrupting the smuggling tunnels running under the border between Gaza and Egypt. Israel and other countries complicit in the Gaza siege point to weapons smuggling through the Gaza tunnels, but they are also used for importing goods banned by Israel, including construction material for private projects and a myriad of foodstuffs (like certain spices and chocolate) and personal items prohibited before the easing of the blockade in June.

In addition to tunnel targets in Gaza's south, warplanes also hit targets "near Zeitoun, east of Gaza City, and the Deir al-Balah refugee camp in the centre of the territory," AFP said.

The report continued:

An Israeli military spokeswoman told AFP that the air force had carried out four raids against the Gaza Strip targeting "an arms workshop and three tunnels used for smuggling arms" from Egypt.

She added that the raids were in retaliation for a mortar shell fired Tuesday at Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Tuesday, a mortar shell fired from Gaza hit the Eshkol regional council in the western Negev desert and "lightly injured" two Israeli soldiers, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

The mortar fire was followed by Israeli tanks shelling a home. No casualties were reported.

Three artillery shells hit the home, witnesses told the Chinese news agency Xinhua. They said the house shelled Tuesday was also hit in Monday's skirmishes. According to Xinhua, amid the tank shelling Tuesday, "An Israeli force entered the area for the second time in 24 hours and clashes with Palestinian militants were sparked. The armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committee said it launched five mortars at the encroaching forces and shot another five shells at an Israeli community in the Negev."

Tuesday's exchange of fire comes a day after a Palestinian man was killed in a reported exchange of fire with Israeli forces east of Khan Younis.

Haaretz identified the dead man as an Islamic Jihad field operative named Basem Da'ama, who was killed "after an exchange of fire in which an IDF tank commander was also lightly wounded."

Two homemade "Qassam" projectiles were fired from Gaza into the western Negev Monday, but the rockets caused no injures or damage, said Haaretz.

Haaretz reported on Monday's incident:

The exchange of fire began around 4 p.m. when soldiers from the IDF's Givati Brigade identified two Palestinian militants who were apparently planting an explosive device near the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip.

"The force opened fire at the suspects, one militant was killed," a military spokesman said.

Palestinian militants returned fire towards IDF troops and a tank commander was wounded lightly by shrapnel.

Militants said they had fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the IDF force during the exchange of fire.

Above: Warplanes [Shemer - Flickr]

Palestinian shot at Turkish embassy

2010-08-17T17:03:00Z

Former informant detained in Tel Aviv drama

New York - A Palestinian rushed the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and announced that he was holding hostages.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor also said Tuesday that the attacker was holding hostages. "This is a hostage situation," he told The Associated Press.

According to the website of the Israeli daily Haaretz, a man arrived, threatening embassy personnel, before he was shot in the leg by guards. He then barricaded himself in the building.

However, later on Tuesday, Turkish authorities said they had subdued the man, and it was unclear if he had taken any hostages.

According to Bloomberg, the Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed the assailant requested asylum and was also carrying a container of gasoline. He broke a window to get into the embassy, the statement said.

“He started to shout, saying he wanted to seek asylum and tried to take over the deputy consul,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said in a phone interview in Ankara, according to Bloomberg. “Our security officers apprehended him. He’s now being interrogated.” Unal said all embassy staff were “safe and accounted for.”

The assailant has been identified as Nadim Injaz, 28, from a village west of Ramallah. Injaz is reported to be a former informant for the Israeli police. According to Al Jazeera TV, he received a death sentence for collaborating with the occupation.

Israel's Channel 2 TV played a recording of a phone call it said came from the attacker. "I have two hostages, he said in Hebrew. I will blow up the embassy."

A lawyer told Israel Radio, however, that the hostages, the consul and his wife, had escaped, according to Haaretz.

In his call to Channel 2, Injaz went on, "If they don't let me leave this country now I will burn down the whole building. I will burn everything. I will burn the cars, the doors I will break down the doors. I will break everything."

He said he was demanding asylum in Turkey. At the same time, he said that Palestinian leaders, including President Mahmoud Abbas, "should die."

Four years ago, Injaz barricaded himself inside the British embassy in Tel Aviv, claiming to be armed. He threatened to shoot himself in the head if he wasn't granted asylum in Britain.

According to Haaretz, a negotiations team spoke to the man, Injaz, and discovered that he had a criminal record, and had worked as a police informant. After a SWAT team subdued Injaz they discovered that he had been armed with a toy gun.

Injaz served a year in prison, and was released two weeks ago, according to reports. Police also said Injaz is mentally ill.

According to Israel Radio, as quoted by The Guardian newspaper, Turkish officials are refusing to allow Israeli forces into the building.

In June, the Turkish embassy was the site of mass Israeli protests over Turkish support for an aid flotilla that sought to break Israel's blockade of Gaza. Israeli forces shot dead nine Turkish activists when they stormed the convoy, causing a rift in relations between the two countries.

White House denies Turkey ultimatum

2010-08-16T14:45:00Z

WH spokesman: 'There's no ultimatum'

Washington – In response to an earlier Financial Times report that President Obama warned Turkey to back US policy toward Israel and Iran or face the cancellation of a key arms deal, the White House denied any ultimatum was issued, Washington blog Politico reported Monday:

The White House denied a report Monday that the U.S. has threatened Turkey with potentially withholding future arms sales because of its tougher stance towards Israel and vote against U.N. Iran sanctions.

Obama “emphatically denied” a Financial Times story saying the president had told Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that future arms sales would be contingent on softening his anti-Israel talk, White House pool reporter Jonathan Weisman of The Wall Street Journal writes.

Earlier today, the Financial Times cited an Obama administration official who said that the U.S. had warned Turkey that its harder posture on Israel and vote against U.N. Iran sanctions would make it harder to get arms sales to Ankara through Congress. The Pentagon notified Congress earlier this month of its intended arms sales.

“The president and Erdogan did speak about 10 days ago, and they talked about Iran and the flotilla and other issues related to that,” White House spokesman Bill Burton told the press aboard Air Force One Monday. “We obviously have an ongoing dialogue with them. But no such [arms] ultimatum was issued.”

“There’s no ultimatum,” Burton added.

Turkish diplomatic officials have conceded that, despite there being no ultimatum issued from Washington, "Ankara's standing in Congress has been hurt as a result of Turkish-Israeli diplomatic tensions in the wake of Gaza flotilla violence in May," Politico's Laura Rozen said.

And Obama "did take a tough tone with Erdogan at a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 in Canada in late June," Rozen continued. Turkey, who lost 8 citizens and another Turkish countryman of US origin in Israel's raid of the "Freedom Flotilla," had the harshest response of Israel's allies, and the incident put immense strain on the Turkish-Israeli relationship. But despite reports that Turkey had "turned its back" on the West after the deadly raid, Erdogan senior adviser Dr. Ibrahim Kalin told Palestine Note there was no such tension between the US and Turkey.

Asked if Turkey felt any pressure from the US to drop its grievance with Turkey, Kalin said:

No. To the contrary, President Obama intervened on the day of the incident for the release of all of the peace activists, Turkish and non-Turkish ... And we achieved that within 24 hours.

Secondly in the days that followed, we worked with President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and other US officials, all expressing their sorrow and concern about what happened.

While Rozen reported tension in June, she said "Turkish officials say the meeting was positive as it helped dispel any lingering sense of U.S. ambiguity about Turkey’s role in negotiating a possible Iran nuclear fuel swap deal."

She continued: "U.S. diplomatic sources also say Turkey has also played a far more constructive role in recent weeks regarding the possible Iran fuel swap, consulting the U.S. frequently on developments in negotiations."

Earlier report

President Obama has personally warned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan that should Ankara must back US policy toward Israel and Iran or face the cancellation of a key arms deal, the Financial Times reported yesterday.

“The president has said to Erdogan that some of the actions that Turkey has taken have caused questions to be raised on the Hill [Congress] … about whether we can have confidence in Turkey as an ally,” said one senior administration official. The source went on to say that Ankara’s positions would make it “harder [to] move through Congress” the sale of “weaponry that [Turkey] would like to fight the PKK.”

Turkey has been fighting against the separatist Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) for decades.

Obama’s ultimatum poses a particularly salient threat to Turkey’s military operations given the the proposed sale of American-made missile-bearing drone aircraft. Turkey hopes to buy the Reaper drone to attack the PKK in its northern Iraq bases once the US pulls out of Iraq at the end of next year, according to FT.

Despite military cooperation, Turkey has repeatedly opposed American policy in the Middle East in recent months. Ankara adamantly rejects sanctions against Iran, which the US and Israel both accuse of nuclear military aims. In May, along with Brazil, Turkish officials brokered a nuclear fuel swap deal with Iran to bring it back to the negotiating table.

American officials rejected the deal, saying it was weak and would leave nuclear militarization open to Tehran. In June, American officials pushed forward with a UN resolution calling for stricter sanctions. Turkey voted against the sanctions, though the measure ultimately passed.

When world leaders met later that month at the G20 summit in Toronto, Obama chided Erdogan, saying Turkey had failed to act as an ally during the UN vote.

Obama has also called on Turkey to soften its criticism of Israel’s May 31 raid on an aid convoy attempting to break the naval blockade on Gaza. Following the raid, which caused the death of nine passengers and injury of several Israeli soldiers, what had been Israel’s strongest alliance in the region was seriously soured. Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Tel Aviv, Israeli warplanes were barred from Turkish airspace, and Israel issued a blanket ban on travel to Turkey.

Turkey has demanded Israel apologize for the raid. As recently as last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said "[n]o one else [but Israel] can take the blame for killing civilians in international waters. Israel has killed civilians, and should take the responsibility for having done so,” according to Haaretz.

Turkey’s ties with Israel were first strained after Erdogan condemned its 2008-2009 offensive in Gaza, Haaretz said.

“They need to show that they take seriously American national security interests,” the administration source said. He added that Washington was reviewing Turkey’s policies to decide whether Ankara had made “sufficient efforts that we can go forward with their request”.

Obama is required by law to notify Congress within 15 days of any military sale to a fellow NATO member. Though it would require formal legislation to bar the arms deal, political resistance from the hill could push the administration to call it off, the FT said.

Turkish officials reportedly said military relations with the US were good, but denied comment on any specific arms sale.

Above: US President Barack Obama [JMTimages - Flickr]; Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan [International Monetary Fund - Flickr]

Direct talks to resume?

2010-08-15T14:56:00Z

US official: Negotiations announcement as soon as Monday

New York - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is close to agreeing to direct negotiations with Israel, a top US official told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Saturday.

The unnamed official said Abbas would announce the beginning of direct talks within "a matter of days."

Abbas has been for several weeks been resisting US pressure to enter face-to-face negotiations. In May Abbas began a process of indirect negotiations mediated by US Mideast envoy George Mitchell.

Abbas wants Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to commit to a clear timetable for negotiations, and also accept the pre-1967 Green Line as the the basis for the proposed talks. On Thursday Netanyahu said he would not accept the Green Line as a precondition.

Haaretz has more:

Sources in Washington say the Palestinians are likely to announce the start of direct negotiations as early as Monday, and a similar announcement will be made by the Quartet of Mideast mediators, which will call for the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders within a year or two.

Contrary to the optimism in Washington, Israeli officials are trying to show toughness regarding preconditions. "Israel is not willing to agree to any preconditions from the back door via a Quartet announcement that will serve as a basis for the negotiations," a senior official in Jerusalem said.

"As far as we know, the negotiations may begin in two days, but also in two weeks."

If an announcement is made this week on resuming direct talks, a ceremony is expected to be held inaugurating the process.

On Sunday, Palestinian official told AFP that Abbas was to meet with David Hale, the assistant US Mideast envoy, to discuss a possible resumption of direct talks:

David Hale, the assistant US Middle East envoy, was to meet Abbas at the Palestinian leader's West Bank headquarters in the city of Ramallah at 8:30 pm (1830 GMT).

He was expected to show Abbas a draft copy of an invitation to direct talks put together by the Quartet which groups top diplomats from the European Union, the United Nations, Russia and the United States.

"Abbas will meet David Hale to discuss the final statement of the Quartet, and Hale will hear the final offer from Abbas about the (direct) negotiations," the Palestinian official told AFP.

Update: Also on Sunday, in an apparent reference to the proposed resumption of negotiations, the leaders of Hamas and ten other Palestinian factions based in exile in Syria issued a declaration rejecting all forms of "concession and compromise" with Israel.

Goldstone follow-up arrives in Gaza

2010-08-14T12:04:00Z

UN experts to monitor Cast Lead investigation

Washington - A group of UN experts have arrived in Gaza to oversee the Palestinian investigation of possible war crimes by Hamas during Operation Cast Lead, the Hamas Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

Ma'an News Agency reported:

Ministry under-secretary Ahmad Yousef said the delegation arrived through the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt to follow up on recommendations made in justice Richard Goldstone's report.

"The commission will come to monitor and evaluate the legal procedures on both the Israeli and Palestinian side on the Goldstone report, to ensure credibility and transparency during these investigations," Yousef told Ma'an.

The committee, which includes prominent jurists Christian Tomuschat, Mary McGowan and Davis Param Cumaraswamy, will meet with civil society representatives, UN organizations and groups, as well as victims and witnesses who testified before the UN's independent fact-finding committee shortly after the winter 2008-9 war.

The UN experts will be meeting with the Hamas committee investigating allegations and following up with recommendations made in the Goldstone report, Yousef said.

The Ma'an report continued:

Its roots were in a March 2010 UN Human Rights Council call for the committee's establishment to supervise "the independence, effective and genuineness of the investigations and their conformity with international standards," the UN News Agency reported at the time.

“The committee will focus on the need to ensure accountability for all violations of international humanitarian and international human rights laws during the Gaza conflict, in order to prevent impunity, assure justice, deter further violations and promote peace,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said when the committee was established.

Both the Hamas government in Gaza and the Israeli government were charged with submitting reports following up on allegation made by the Goldstone commission, and Gaza submitted the second installment of its follow-up at the end of July.

Israel submitted its report in July as well, and the study, overseen by Military Advocate General Avichai Mandelblit, confirmed key findings in the Goldstone report, journalist Max Blumenthal said. Those findings, however, appear to have been suppressed inside Israel, he said.

Above: UN Blue helmet [Wikimedia Commons], Destruction from Operation Cast Lead in Gaza [Freegazaorg - Flickr]

Abbas aide: 'We're waiting on the Quartet'

2010-08-13T13:46:00Z

PA to decide on direct talks after Quartet invite

Washington -Nimr Hamad, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told AFP news agency Friday that the Palestinian Authority awaits a formal invitation to the negotiating parties from the Mideast Quartet before making a decision on direct talks.

AFP reported:

"We are waiting for a statement from the Quartet to take the appropriate decision on direct negotiations," Nimr Hamad, an aide to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, told AFP.

"The Quartet should meet or issue a statement to invite the two parties, Israelis and the Palestinians, to enter into direct negotiations," he said.

"We hope the statement will include some important points that were in the previous Quartet statement issued in March."

Reports Thursday expected the Quartet to issue a statement on parameters for talks in the coming days, AFP said.

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton was quoted in Friday reported saying Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is nearly ready to agree to direct talks.

Ashton said Abbas "should be in a position to give a definitive answer by Sunday or early next week," in a letter to foreign ministers seen by AFP.

AFP reported:

Abbas "has requested a few more days for final consultations with Arab partners as well as with the Fatah and PLO executive bodies," Ashton wrote, and "should be in a position to give a definitive answer by Sunday or early next week."

Ashton, who speaks for the European Union as a member of the international Quartet seeking to negotiate a permanent, peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict alongside the United States, the United Nations and Russia, said direct talks could begin "later in August."

That would follow a statement from the Quartet "early next week," she said, one that would "reaffirm" their call on March 19 for Israel to freeze all Jewish settlement activity on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem.

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell wrapped up meetings with Abbas and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu this week with little to show for his efforts.

Abbas' team reiterated its position that a timeframe and other promises from Israel and the US will be necessary to move forward to direct talks, and Netanyahu said he would not yield to preconditions for direct talks.

Concessions?

Friday London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat reported PM Netanyahu has a plan to evacuate 50,000 settlers and give Palestinians 90% of the West Bank, Ynet news said.

The Prime Minister's Office has since said the report was "unfounded" and denied the claim.

Ynet reported:

The newspaper quotes "knowledgeable sources" in Ramallah as saying that the prime minister's plan will be in the form of a new interim agreement, similar to the 1993 Oslo Accords.

According to the sources, Netanyahu informed the Western delegates he met with recently that the current situation was not right for reaching a final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, and that he planned to present a proposal for a new interim agreement, which would be "extensive and tempting" to the Palestinians.

The same sources added that Netanyahu believes his offer would be tempting to the Palestinians, as it gives them an extensive part of the West Bank while evacuating a large number of settlements, without forcing them to sign an agreement ending the conflict or ceasing their demand to receive the rest of the West Bank and Jerusalem.

According to the sources, the offer matches the stand of the Hamas organization, which would welcome any new Israeli withdrawal, as long as this does not force the Palestinians to give up on the rest of the territory.

Turkey launches flotilla inquiry

2010-08-12T14:33:00Z

Panel to probe attack and prisoner treatment

Washington - Following the creation of two separate UN panels of inquiry into Israel May 31 raid of the Gaza-bound "Freedom Flotilla," which left nine activists dead, Turkey has set up its own investigative commission.

The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet said the commission will "listen to all responsible parties including the organizers of the flotilla." They will submit a report on their findings to the UN-led inquiry under Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, the report said.

According to diplomatic sources, the commission will aim to have the report ready by the end of August, so it can be submitted before the UN's report is released in mid-September, Hurriyet said.

Turkey's investigative commission will hear testimony from Turkish charity IHH, one of the organizers of the flotilla, among others.

Hurriyet reported:

“The commission will meet with everyone responsible including those who were aboard the ship from the Turkish side,” a senior Turkish diplomat told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Thursday. There were claims that İHH members aboard the Mavi Marmara ship attacked by Israeli commandos May 31 lacked passports and a few of them were carrying only business cards.

Turkish officials, however, denied any contact with Israel, saying that “the goal of the commission is to carry out an investigation in Turkey.” The members of the commission, who held their first meeting Wednesday, will submit a report to the international inquiry set up by the United Nations earlier this month to look into the incident.

The report continued:

The members of the commission will also examine the three ships towed into the port at İskenderun on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast after the Israeli government allowed Turkey to take them back, diplomatic sources said. The vessels were part of a six-ship flotilla that tried to make a run on Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian aid. Turkish diplomats said the return of the ships has made an inspection easier.

Turkey established a committee in the wake of the May 31 incident made up of officials from the Justice and Foreign ministries and the Maritime Undersecretariat. Officials said, however, the current commission, which will work under the Prime Ministry, is a brand new body that will also provide information to the U.N. panel, which has the full confidence of Turkey, and is broader than the former committee as it also includes officials from the Interior and Transportation ministries.

Israel initially refused to yield to an international investigation of the May 31 raid, instead launching an investigation of military conduction and an investigation into breaches of international law as pertaining to the blockade of Gaza and defending the blockade at sea.

The military investigation concluded in July, and the legality investigation continues under retired Israeli justice Jacob Turkel, hearing Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi this week.

"Asked if the Turkish commission will also include civilian figures for impartiality," Hurriyet said, "the unnamed Turkish diplomat said: 'We’ll speak with civilians, but whatever we do we cannot appear impartial. However much we don’t see the Israeli commission as impartial, they too will not see ours as impartial'."

“Only the state and its institutions have the capacity of conducting this inquiry. To what extent can we trust a civil society organization to do this?" the diplomat was quoted.

The UN-led panel of inquiry has for now the cooperation of Israel, but a UN Human Right Council investigation has been denied Israeli cooperation. Ambassador Mithat Rende will head the Turkish investigation to a certain degree, the report said, and server as a "liaison" between the Turkish investigation and the UN one.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has not announced investigation team members apart from Rende.

Above: The Turkish Mavi Marmara, which was violently raided May 31 by Israeli commandos, leaving 9 activists dead [Freegazaorg - Flickr]; Turkish flag [Wikimedia Commons]

Israel army chief: More force next time

2010-08-11T13:45:00Z

Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi defends Gaza flotilla raid

New York - The chief of staff of Israel's military told investigators on Wednesday that his forces should have been more forceful during their deadly takeover of a ship carrying aid to the besieged Gaza Strip on May 31.

Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi was speaking to an internal Israeli commission investigating the attack on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, where Israeli commandos killed nine passengers in international waters. The Mavi Marmara was part of the "Freedom Flotilla" that planned to challenge Israel's naval blockade of Gaza.

AP has this report:

Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said the military should have used more force to subdue pro-Palestinian activists before soldiers boarded the vessel.

Ashkenazi told an official Israeli inquiry into the raid that commandos used stun grenades to clear the area before rappelling from helicopters onto the ship, which was trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza.

Activists beat the troops with clubs and metal rods, stabbed them with knives and even fired shots. With their lives in danger, the soldiers responded with gunfire and killed nine Turkish activists, Ashkenazi said.

"We should have ensured sterile conditions in order to dispatch the forces in a minimum amount of time," Ashkenazi testified. "It would have lowered the risk to our soldiers but it would not have prevented the tension ... once the decision was made to stop the ship, the conflict was inevitable."

According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Ashkenazi also said that in future situations, the army should use snipers to protect Israeli soldiers. "If the IDF has to deal with a similar scenario in future, there will be no option but to employ snipers to protect the lives of troops," he was quoted as saying.

Israeli soldiers rappelled onto the deck of the Mavi Marmara from helicopters before dawn on May 31. Video footage showed that passengers attempted to fend off the soldiers with metal rods and other makeshift weapons.

Israeli soldiers shot dead nine Turkish men during the raid - among them a US citizen - shooting many of them at close range in the head and chest, according to autopsies. Several Israeli soldiers were also wounded.

The raid on the Gaza flotilla sparked international outcry both over the attack and Israel's crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Ashkenazi was testifying before an Israeli panel led by retired chief justice Jacob Turkel. In testimony on Monday and Tuesday respectively, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak appeared to lay blame on the Israeli military.

The Turkel commission is separate from two United Nations investigations into the raid. On Tuesday UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that a panel he appointed would not assign individual responsibility for the attack. The panel, led by outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, is expected to present its first progress report in September.

Another fact finding mission backed by the UN Human Rights Council is also investigating the matter.

Above: An Israeli warship in the Red Sea [Photo: Wikimedia Commons]

Israel DM: 'Violence was anticipated'

2010-08-10T14:24:00Z

Barak testifies at flotilla hearing

Washington - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave his testimony Tuesday before an Israeli investigation committee aimed to uncover illegality in the May 31 flotilla raid and the surrounding circumstances, news agencies reported.

The defense minister told the committee, headed by retired Israeli justice Jacob Turkel, that violence resulting from the raid of the vessels was understood to be a possibility, Bloomberg news said.

Barak said he carries "overall responsibility for everything that took place in the systems under my command. I carry responsibility for the orders given on the political level" in regard to the lives lost on the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara, Haartez quoted the minister. In confrontations with Israeli soldiers who boarded the ship in international waters, 9 activists were killed, and several Israeli soldiers were injured.

Haaretz's Barak Ravid said the defense minister held "himself accountable" but was also "quick to take aim" at the Israeli military for its role in the violence:

"The decision making process at the political level was not the reason for the reality that emerged at the end of the operation," Barak said, calling the move to intercept the ships "a reasoned decision by a group of senior cabinet ministers".

Barak said that on May 26, five days before the commando raid which left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead, a draft of the operation was presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's inner cabinet, known as the 'Forum of Seven'.

Barak said the draft discussed the possibility of "extreme scenarios" as commandos confronted activists, which "contradicts" Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's testimony Monday, Ravid said:

...[Netanyahu] said that discussions before the raid focused largely on the likely impact on public relations, while the chance of violent confrontation was mentioned only in passing.

While the Israeli military has been adamant that live fire was only used as a last resort by the commandos boarding the flotilla vessels, Barak said that in the cabinet meeting military Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi anticipated public fallout from the raid.

"In debates by the Seven, Ashkenazi stressed that it would not be simple but that we would do it ... The politicians determined the 'what' and the IDF worked out the 'how' - and the IDF carried out the operation," the defense minister said.

Despite perceived contradictions or fingers pointed at the military, Barak said that while the government "regrets any loss of life ... we would have lost more lives if we had behaved differently," Bloomberg's Johnathan Ferziger quoted.

Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi is scheduled to give his testimony Wednesday.

Above: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in an undated photo [Wikimedia Commons] and the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara [Freegazaorg - Flickr]

Nasrallah: Israel linked to Hariri killing

2010-08-09T19:29:00Z

Hezbollah chief says Israel tracked Lebanon PM's movements

New York - Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said Monday that an Israeli agent was involved in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005.

During a televised news conference broadcast from an undisclosed location, Nasrallah played a videotape in which an Israeli spy named Ahmad Nasrallah (no relation to the Hezbollah leader) confessed to telling Hariri, years before his murder, that Hezbollah was plotting to kill him.

Nasrallah said this claim was intended to drive a wedge between Hariri and the predominantly Shi'ite Hezbollah movement. Nasrallah said that Israel's motivation in backing the killing was to drive Syria out of Lebanon.

"Israel was looking for a way to assassinate Hariri in order to create political chaos that would force Syria to withdraw from Lebanon, and to perpetuate an anti-Syrian atmosphere [in Lebanon] in the wake of the assassination," he said.

Hariri's assassination led to a period of turmoil in Lebanon that eventually led to the withdrawal of Syrian military forces from the country.

Nasrallah also said Hezbollah had managed to capture video feeds from Israeli unmanned drones flying over Lebanon. He played portions of the the recorded footage apparently monitoring the routes frequently used by Hariri's motorcade, including the precise location where a bomb destroyed Hariri's car near the Beirut waterfront.

A UN tribunal is investigating the Hariri killing and is expected to present its conclusions later in 2010.

Nasrallah repeatedly accused UN investigators of refusing to investigate a possible Israeli role in the assassination despite the known presence of Israeli spies and other forms of surveillance in Lebanon. Analysts say Nasrallah's strategy is to undermine the credibility of the UN tribunal, which is expected to accused of Hezbollah of involvement in the assassination.

Israel denied Hezbollah's accusations a day before Nasrallah's speech. "They are looking for a way out," an official in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said. "When they start casting for straws like this, it just shows the degree of pressure they are under."

"This is completely ridiculous and ... everyone knows it," the official told The Jerusalem Post newspaper.

The following is a portion of the captured Israeli UAV footage that Nasrallah released:

Netanyahu: Turkey ignored warnings

2010-08-09T13:41:00Z

Israeli PM says not to blame for Gaza flotilla attack

New York - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a commission of inquiry into Israel's deadly attack on a Gaza aid flotilla that Turkey had ignored warnings from Israel to restrain the convoy.

Netanyahu was the first person to testify before an Israeli government panel that is investigating the May 31 raid in which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish activists onboard the largest of the convoy's ships, the Mavi Marmara.

Reuters quoted from Netanyahu's testimony:

"Beginning on May 14, my office held contacts with the highest levels of the Turkish government," Netanyahu said.

"These contacts ... were intended to prevent a confrontation with the Marmara flotilla, and they continued until the eve of the flotilla's arrival off Gaza's shores," he said.

"Despite our continuous diplomatic efforts, ultimately the Turkish government did not prevent the attempt by the Marmara to violate the naval blockade... It appears that (Turkey) did not see in the prospect of a clash between Turkish activists and Israel something that clashed with its interests..."

It was Netanyahu's most explicit public account of behind-the-scenes diplomacy that in the end failed to avert the clash.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Netanyahu placed responsibility for raid on the shoulders of the military and on his defense minister, Ehud Barak:

"The IDF had always decided on the ways in which to enforce the blockade [on Gaza] and has done its job well," the prime minister said, saying that this was the "division of labor."

When asked by the commission how the decision on military action was received, Netanyahu said that that all of those involved "felt that the raid was a last resort, and the instructions were to conduct it with as little friction as possible."

"The IDF had looked into several options, as per my instructions, but also according to the instructions of the defense minister and the chief of staff," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu's remarks drew criticism from Kadima, the center-right party that sits in opposition to Netanyahu's government. "Netanyahu's testimony to the Turkel commission proves, once again, that there is no leadership," the Kadima party said. "At the moment of truth, he put the blame on others and made the IDF into a punching-bag."

Above: Israeli "Zodiac" boats trail the Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in the "Freedom Flotilla" on the morning of May 31 2010. [Image: CulturesofResistance.org]

'Israel behind Hariri killing'

2010-08-08T15:24:00Z

Hezbollah to implicate Israel in 2005 assassination of Lebanon PM

New York - The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah is set to release information they say will implicate Israel in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

The announcement will likely increase tensions in a region already shaken by a deadly skirmish last week between the Lebanese and Israeli armies. The cross-border clash left three Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist, and an Israeli officer dead.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hasan Nasrallah announced on Tuesday, during a speech responding to the violence on the Israeli border, that he would present evidence showing Israel had a role in the 2005 killing of the Lebanese leader. Nasrallah said we would present this evidence in a speech on Monday.

Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim Mousawi told the Palestinian news agency Ma'an that the evidence would be "comprehensive, revealing conclusive information" implicating Israel in the car bombing that killed Hariri in Beirut.

An official in the Israeli Prime Minister's office denied the accusation in advance, telling The Jerusalem Post, "This is completely ridiculous, and –most importantly – everyone knows it."

"When they start casting for straws like this, it just shows the degree of pressure they are under," the unnamed official was quoted as saying.

A UN tribunal set up to investigate the assassination is reportedly set to announce its findings before the end of the year. Last month, Nasrallah announced that he had been informed that the tribunal would indict members of Hezbullah in the killing.

The killing of Hariri, a pro-Western politician, resulted in a period of political turmoil in Lebanon, which resulted in the withdrawal of Syrian military forces from the country.

The following year, Israel launched an offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah that left more than 1,000 people dead.

Above photo: Hezbollah flags along the Lebanon-Israel border [Wikimedia Commons]

Israeli ship fires at Lebanese boat

2010-08-07T14:44:00Z

Lebanese president vows to better equip army

Washington - The United Nations has called for calm and restraint on the part of Lebanon and Israel, but both parties continue to bristle after Tuesday's cross-border skirmish that left three Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist, and a senior Israeli officer dead.

Tensions are likely to remain high as reports of Israeli gunfire on Lebanese waters came out Saturday morning. Now Lebanon has the report:

Around 4 a.m. Saturday, an Israeli gunboat “fired several bursts toward Lebanese territorial waters” off Lebanon’s southern coast, the Lebanese Armed Forces’ Directorate of Orientation said in a statement on Saturday.

The Israeli military confirmed early on Sunday that they fired on a Lebanese fishing boat that entered what it termed a restricted zone.

After Tuesday's violence, both sides have threatened retaliation. Friday, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said the Lebanese Army is in danger of falling under Hezbollah's control, and, if that is the case, Israel will treat Lebanon as an enemy entity.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman came out immediately after the skirmish and accused Israel of violating UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and violating Lebanon's sovereignty. Following an emergency meeting of the Lebanese Higher Defense Council Tuesday, defense chief Said Eid said the council had given "instructions to face all aggressions on our territory, army and people by all available means, no matter the sacrifices."

Saturday, President Suleiman vowed to outfit the Lebanese military with "advanced weaponry," Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

After taking a tour of the site where Tuesday's skirmish took palce, Suleiman "commended their performance during Tuesday's fighting, saying 'it's necessary to resist Israeli aggression'," Haaretz said.

The Lebanese president further said the Lebanese cabinet would discuss a plan to better arm the Lebanese military "with all that is necessary," the report quoted Suleiman.

"Lebanon will work with friendly countries to provide it with more advanced equipment," he explained.

The report did not specify who those friendly countries might be. Following the violence Tuesday, most countries responded to the skirmish with regret for the loss of life and urged Lebanon and Israel to exercise restraint. Syria and Iran, however, both condemned Israel for its perceived boundary violation and expressed their support for Lebanon.

Above: Israeli naval vessel and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman [Wikimedia Commons]

Hamas militants applaud Sinai attackers

2010-08-06T13:32:00Z

Despite denial of involvement, PA says Hamas OK'd attack

Washington - Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, released a statement Thursday night that further denied the Islamist movement's involvement in rocket attacks Monday on the Israeli resort city of Eilat and Jordanian port city Aqaba that killed a Jordanian man. The statement also lauded the sympathetic attackers, Ma'an News Agency reported Friday.

"Military acts from the resistance are carried out inside of Palestine," Al-Qassam spokesman Abu Obeida said, apparently referring to Hamas resistance. He added that Hamas welcomes "any resistance targeting the occupation, whether from in [or] outside of Palestine."

He reiterated Hamas' noninvolvement, saying, "the brigades would not have been afraid of announcing the attacks as soon as they were carried out," had Hamas been behind them.

Abu Obeida explained, saying Hamas militants have a policy of "not using the lands of any state to carry out our military attacks, the borders of our acts are inside historical Palestine."

Despite their claims, Israeli daily Haaretz reported Friday that Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mash'al approved the attack, based on security officials in the Palestinian Authority:

The commander of Hamas' military wing in Rafah, Raed al-Atar, is responsible for ordering the firing of Grad-type Katyusha rockets at Eilat and Aqaba from Sinai earlier this week, Palestinian security officials say.

According to the report, Atar carried out the attack without the approval of Hamas' military chief, Ahmed Jabari. Rather, he received approval from Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al. The report explained:

Security sources told Haaretz that according to an investigation by Palestinian intelligence, Atar was behind the rocket attacks authorized by the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip, without the knowledge of the Hamas military commander there, Ahmed Jabari.

But Palestinian security sources said Atar carried out the attack with the approval of the Hamas leadership abroad and with the backing of Iranian intelligence agents, who appear to have initiated the mission.

The sources said the attack had been approved by the Hamas politburo chief, Khaled Meshal, based in Damascus.

Haaretz said Atar is a Hamas figure who has risen in power in Al-Qassam Brigades and has considerable control of the smuggling trade between Gaza and Egypt.

Haaretz continued: "According to intelligence sources, a number of militants under his control crossed into Sinai through the Rafah tunnels, where they were met by Egyptian drivers and the Grad-type Katyusha rockets. They drove in off-road vehicles toward Taba on the Red Sea coast, avoiding security checks by the Egyptians. "

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said after Monday's rocket fire that he holds Hamas responsible and threatened retaliation. Abu Obeida said Israeli claims that Hamas was behind the Monday attack was an attempt "to export a crisis and justify their planned attack against Gaza."

He further said states who support Israel's claim are "participating in the Israeli aggression."

Above: Militant with rocket [Zoriah - Flickr]

Egypt 'declares emergency' in Sinai

2010-08-05T13:51:00Z

Security forces sent to border. Netanyahu threatens Gaza escalation.

New York - Egypt has sent extra security forces to its border with Israeli a few days after guerrillas reportedly fired rockets into Israel and neighboring Jordan, killing a Jordanian man.

According to security officials quoted by Ma'an News Agency, the Egyptian government has declared a state of "extreme emergency" in the sensitive Sinai Peninsula border region.

On Wednesday Egypt blamed unnamed Palestinian factions from Gaza for the rocket attacks, although Hamas officials dismissed this accusation as "silly."

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said he holds Hamas responsible for the rockets and vowed to retaliate, likely in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu's pronouncement followed a series of deadly Israeli airstrikes in Gaza in retaliation for sporadic rockets and mortars emerging from the Strip.

The Hamas-led government in Gaza has enforced an informal ceasefire with Israel since the end of a three-week military offensive against Gaza in January 2009 which left some 1,400 Palestinians dead.

Adding to fears of war this week was a deadly skirmish between Israeli and Lebanese forces along their border on Tuesday. Three Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist, and an Israeli officer were killed in the brief confrontation.

Also on Thursday, fighters in Gaza affiliated with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said they fired two mortar shells at an Israeli military base the previous night, but Israeli officials said there were no reports of shelling.

Above photo: Razor wire along the Egypt-Israel border. [Wikimedia Commons]

Israel to retaliate for Eilat rockets

2010-08-04T19:04:00Z

Netanyahu: We hold Hamas responsible

New York - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that he holds Hamas responsible for rockets that landed in the Israeli Red Sea resort town of Eilat on Monday, and vowed to retaliate.

Netanyahu's announcement raises the possibility of further violence after a week of cross-border attacks in Gaza, the Israeli-Lebanese border, and in the Egypt-Israel-Jordan border area along the Red Sea.

Earlier on Wednesday Egypt blamed "Palestinian factions" for rockets fired from the Sinai Peninsula that landed in Israel and Jordan, killing a Jordanian taxi driver in the city of Aqaba.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Netanyahu's remarks:

"Over recent days we've witnessed three attacks against Israel," Netanyahu said in a special announcement on Israeli television. "An attack from Gaza on Ashkelon, an attack by the Lebanese army on Israel Defense Forces troops carrying out a routine operation, and another attack from the Sinai peninsula at Eilat. I want to make very clear to Hamas and to the Lebanese government that we view them as responsible for the violent provocation against us."

"Don't test our determination to protect our citizens," the prime minister went on to say.

"Israel will retaliate for every assault. Apparently there were those who understood that, and tried to avoid taking responsibility for these crimes. Three days after our retaliatory operation in Gaza, Grad rockets were fired from Sinai at Eilat and Aqaba by a seemingly anonymous organization. Several months earlier, on April 22, similar rocket fire came from Sinai. We investigated the two incidents – it became clear beyond a doubt that Hamas' military wing in Gaza had perpetrated both attacks under disguise," Netanyahu explained.

Above photo: An Israeli Merkava tank [Wikimedia Commons]

Israel razes bedouin town, again

2010-08-04T13:43:00Z

MK warns of 'Negev intifada'

New York - Israeli forces have bulldozed the Bedouin community of Al-Araqib, in the Negev desert, for the second time in eight days.

Israeli police, with the help of teenage volunteers, evacuated and razed the town for the first time last week, and then returned on Wednesday to demolish structures that had been rebuilt.

Ma'an News Agency reports:

Residents, who remained in the Negev-area village to rebuild, said clashes erupted with police, sent to clear the Bedouin who had not left the area.

The dwellings were rebuilt following a decision by the Higher Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, the online news site Arab48 reported. The decision was made following the demolition of the buildings on 27 July.

Witnesses said bulldozers tore down the new structures, prompting the clashes, in which five people sustained injuries, including Palestinian member of Israel's Knesset Taleb As-Sana, as Israeli police tried to remove him from one of the sit-in tents.

Salem Abu Madeghem and Awad Abu Fareeh, field researchers for the civil rights group in Israel Adalah, as well as two others, sustained injuries, residents said, adding that all were transferred to hospital for treatment.

Israel's Ynet news site adds this:

During Wednesday's demolition, Knesset Member Talab El-Sana (United Arab List-Ta'al) barricaded himself in one of the homes. He was forcefully removed by police officers and lost consciousness at some point. Before collapsing he said, "These demolitions will lead to an intifada in the Negev."

Village resident Sheikh Siach al-Turi told Ynet, "This is a war of independence against the Bedouin population and the Arab public in general. We will continue to build. The state should be ashamed of itself."

The human rights organization Adalah, representing the rights of Israel's Palestinian minority, released a statement demanding an investigation into police conduct during the destruction of the village:

In violation of law, most police officers who took part in the raid covered their faces and did not wear identity tags. They had weapons, tear gas, truncheons and other arms. Apparently in this way, the police officers sought to prevent the residents from identifying them. T-he residents did not respond violently to the destruction.

One of the most shocking aspects of the raid was that a bus filled with dozens of radical right-wing Jewish youth accompanied the police to the village. The youth began to tease the Arab Bedouin residents, who are citizens of Israel and who just lost their homes, and applauded when the police officers demolished the homes. This conduct amounts to vigilantism, a punishment outside of the law.

During the operation of destruction, the police confiscated all personal possessions of the residents from their homes including refrigerators, ovens, closets, bedroom and dining room furniture, textiles, carpets, crafts, etc. They also took other property from the area surrounding the houses such as electricity generators, plows, flour bags and the like.

Representatives of the Tax Authority also accompanied the police and seized property of residents in debt to the tax authorities. This confiscation was undertaken without prior warning or demand from the residents to pay their debt, and therefore, it too was illegal. Residents were required to pay NIS 22,500 (almost US $6,000) to retrieve their property.

Olive orchards and fruit trees planted by al-Araqib residents were uprooted. The police uprooted around 4,500 olive trees belonging to village residents.

Five dead on Israel-Lebanon border

2010-08-03T13:17:00Z

Israeli officer killed, journalist dead in most serious clashes since '06

New York - Three Lebanese soldiers and a journalist have been killed in the most serious clashes on the Israeli-Lebanese border since the end of Israel's summer 2006 offensive.

A senior Israeli officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel was also killed, the Israeli military confirmed. The death of the officer was originally reported by Hezbollah's TV station, Al-Manar.

Israeli artillery were shelled the town of Aadaiseh, where frightened residents fled their homes. Israel also dispatched its air force.

It was not immediately clear whether the violence would escalate into a wider war. According to Al-Manar, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hasan Nasrallah is to give a speech later on Tuesday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, meanwhile, said Israel "holds the Lebanese government responsible" for the incident.

Israeli general: 'One-time event'

However, a top Israeli general has said he does not foresee the border incident escalating into a larger confrontation.

"I believe this is a one-time event. We received requests and demands from the highest ranks in the Lebanese Army to cease fire," Major-General Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Israeli military's northern command, told reporters at a base near the Lebanon border, according to Reuters.

Journalist killed

The reporter who was killed was identified in Lebanese media as Assaf Abu Rahhal, a correspondent for Al-Akhbar newspaper. According to the Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar, an Al-Manar reporter named Ali Shuaib was slightly injured.

Cross-border gardening?

The conflagration apparently began when Lebanese forces fired at Israeli soldiers who used a crane to dangle a soldier across a border fence in order to trim an overgrown tree. An Associated Press photo also apparently shows Israelis cutting trees across the fence.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it came under fire while performing maintainence work that it coordinated with UN peacekeepers in charge of maintaining calm along the border:

Earlier today during the mid-day hours, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) fired at an IDF position along the Lebanese border in northern Israel. The force was in Israeli territory, carrying out routine maintenance and was pre-coordinated with UNIFIL. The border area is east of the Israeli town Metula. The incident occurred west of the internationally recognized “Blue Line” (the border between Israel and Lebanon) and east of the security fence, thus lying in Israeli territory.

Sources in Lebanon said the clash began when Israeli troops began chopping down a tree inside Lebanese territory.

"It started when the Israelis wanted to cut a tree down inside Lebanon," one security source in Lebanon said, as quoted by Reuters. "The Lebanese army fired warning shots at them and they responded by shelling."

The Lebanese military also reportedly said that it rejected the Israeli request for coordination in the tree-cutting. Ynet reports:

The IDF says the operation was undertaken in coordination with the Lebanese army. However, al-Jazeera's correspondent in Beirut Ghassan Bin Jido said the Lebanon army rejected the IDF's request to operate in the area two days earlier.

Israeli military spokeswoman Avital Liebovich told Al-Jazeera that the tree in question was inside Israeli territory, as the fence diverges from the Blue Line border in certain places.

Rockets kill 1 in Jordan resort

2010-08-02T13:19:00Z

Israel blames Egypt for attack following Gaza blast

New York - Rockets apparently fired at Israel landed in the Jordanian resort town of Aqaba on Monday, killing a taxi driver and injuring four others.

Israel also reported that rockets landed in the neighboring Red Sea town of Eilat, although no one was injured there. Israeli officials said the rockets were fired from Egypt, although Egyptian officials deny this claim.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Jordanian officials said a rocket struck in front of the InterContinental Hotel in Aqaba about 7:45 a.m. The attack was part of salvo of as many as five rockets fired toward the Israeli town of Eilat, which sits along the coast a few miles from Aqaba.

"The rocket was launched from outside the country," said Ali Al Ayed, the Jordanian minister for media affairs and communication.

sraeli officials said at least three explosions were heard in Eilat about 8 a.m. There were no casualties, and security teams were searching the city's outskirts to see if a rocket had landed in a field. Two others reportedly fell into the sea.

The assault was similar to an attack in April when a rocket struck a warehouse in Aqaba, causing no injuries. Israeli and Jordanian officials blamed Monday's and previous strikes on militants operating in the Sinai. Egypt has denied the reports.

It was the second such attack in the area in a year. Israeli officials said a similar volley in April also came from Egypt.

The attack came after an explosion wounded dozens of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip overnight. Palestinian officials said the blast was the result of an Israeli airstrike, but Israel has denied involvement.

Gaza blast wounds 24 Palestinians

2010-08-01T23:58:00Z

Hamas blames Israel. Military denies involvement.

New York - An explosion has rocked the Gaza Strip for the third night in a row, injuring 24 Palestinians.

Hamas authorities have blamed Israel for the blast, which they say targeted a militant commander. Israel has denied any involvement.

Reuters has more:

An explosion in the house of a Hamas commander in the Gaza Strip has wounded 24 people, a Hamas official and medical workers in the Palestinian territory said on Monday.

Hamas blamed Israel for the explosion, which it said targeted field commander Alaa al-Danaf. The Israeli military, through an army spokeswoman, denied any involvement.

Medical workers said the blast had wounded 24 people inside and outside al-Danaf's house. It was unclear if he was killed in the blast, which occurred at a time of renewed cross-border violence between militants and the Israeli army.

Meanwhile the Chinese news agency Xinhua reports that one person was killed in the blast.

Israel's air force bombed the Gaza Strip on Friday and Saturday following the launch of rockets from the coastal territory into Israel. A Hamas official was killed in Friday night's air raids, which also injured at least 10 people.

On Sunday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that he would reserve the right to respond through "all means" to projectiles emanating from Gaza.

"I see the Hamas as directly responsible for any attack that comes from the Gaza Strip toward the state of Israel and the international community should see it this way as well," Netanyahu said, according to The Associated Press. "Israel reserves the right to defend its citizens and we will continue to use all means to protect the people of Israel and the children of Israel."

Israel bombs Gaza for 2nd night

2010-08-01T02:18:00Z

Israeli jets hit Rafah tunnels

New York - Israel's air force bombed the Gaza Strip for the second time in two days early on Sunday morning, this time targeting smuggling tunnels underneath the Gaza-Egypt border.

The Israeli military confirmed the strike to the Israeli daily Haaretz. It was unclear if there were any casualties.

The military said the strike was in response to a rocket fired from Gaza that crashed through the roof of a building in Israel's Shaar Haganev area.

Israeli also bombed Gaza late on Friday in response to another rocket which landed in the city of Ashkelon. There were no injuries reported.

A Hamas official was injured in Friday's strikes, which hit the center of Gaza City along with targets across the coastal Strip. At least 10 other Palestinians, including a child and an old man were wounded in the bombing.

Gaza's Hamas-led government has largely enforced a ceasefire with Israel since Israel withdrew its forces at the end of a three-week military offensive in January 2009.

Israeli air raids kill 1 in Gaza

2010-07-30T21:57:00Z

10 injured in apparent escalation

New York - At least 10 Palestinians were wounded and one killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip overnight, medics in Gaza reported. Hamas-affiliated Al-Qassam Brigades fighter Issa Abdul-Hadi Al-Batran, 40, was killed in an airstrike near Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, Ma'an News Agency said.

Eight were injured in an airstrike on the Ansar Security Compound in Gaza City, the report said, and the strike caused serous structural damage to the nearby buildings and homes. The compound was largely evacuated prior to the strike.

Director of ambulance and emergency service in Gaza Muawiya Hassanein identified all those brought in from the compound as Hamas government-employed security personnel, Ma'an reported.

A strike on the Al-Muntada area where the compound is located put a young girl and an elderly man in the hospital as well, the report said. All were treated at Ash-Shifa Hospital.

Ma'an described the scene following the strike:

A statement from International Solidarity Movement workers in Gaza said "those first at the scene described building debris scattered everywhere and burned out cars still parked on the street."

Witnesses said the incident brought back raw memories of the strikes that kicked off Israel's war on Gaza, which targeted a police graduation ceremony at the primary security headquarters in Gaza City. The first strikes totaled the government buildings, and killed more than 200 young Gaza man who were graduating from the police academy.

The Israeli airstrikes also targeted Deir al-Balah and underground smuggling tunnels in central and southern Gaza, producing no injuries. Witnesses said sites in the north were targeted by air and artillery fire and that tanks were present as well, Ma'an reported.

The strikes appeared to be the largest in scale in recent months in Gaza, where a relative calm has prevailed since Israel ended a massive three-week offensive 18 months ago.

Initial reports of the number of casualties varied. Al-Jazeera television reporter Sami Zyara quoted police and medical sources saying that 13 people had been confirmed injured.

According to multiple news reports, smuggling tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip were among the targets of the strike, in addition to the Ansar security compound in Gaza City, and the Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood. Israeli F-16 jets were said to have been used in the attack.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes, but the military has since confirmed that the raids were in "response to Grad rocket fire," launched from Gaza that stuck the Israeli city of Ashkelon early on Friday. Ma'an has more:

The statement said the target near Nuseriat was a weapons-manufacturing warehouse, and described the Rafah strike as targeting a weapons-smuggling tunnel.

The series of strikes, the most destructive in months, came after Israeli officials reported the launch of a Grad rocket from Gaza which landed in the city of Ashkelon. In its statement the military noted that the hit "[caused] property damage" to the city that "has suffered casualties from rocket fire in the past."

No militant group in Gaza has claimed to be behind the firing, though the military statement said the "IDF holds Hamas solely responsible for terror emanating from the Gaza Strip."

While the official military stance is to hold Hamas responsible, a Ynet report quoting an Israeli military official indicated doubts Hamas is to blame, Ma'an said. The official said he does not believe Hamas fired the rocket, telling Ynet: "Hamas still wants to maintain the status quo in the Strip... It continues to grow stronger, but is deterred by the IDF and doesn't want to face a conflict."

Barak shares two-state vision

2010-07-30T14:40:00Z

DM plans for peace despite disregard for PA conditions

Washington - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak shared his vision for the two-state solution Friday, including his expectation of a delayed peace process and a plan disregarding the international rights of Palestinian refugees, Israeli daily Ma'ariv reported via Palestinian news agency Ma'an.

Barak said the settlement building moratorium will not continue after its September expiration date. As a result, Barak told his audience organized by the Geneva Institute and the Labor Friends of Israel, the Palestinian Authority will likely pull back from negotiations, blaming Israel for the impasse, and wait for "the US to introduce proposals through the UN Security Council," the report read.

Responding to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' demand that direct negotiations pick up where they left off with the Ehud Olmert administration in 2008, Barak claimed there are no written records or minutes saved from those meetings, so picking up where they left off would not be possible.

The report did not reconcile how Barak reasons stymied negotiations will lead to a two-state solution.

As to borders, Barak said they must be drawn "according to security and demographic considerations." Israel's illegal settlement installations in the West Bank would be absorbed into Israel or evacuated over a five-year period, he said.

The right of return for Palestinian refugees "must be solved within the Palestinian state," Ma'an reported on Barak's remarks. The report said nothing of satisfying UN standards for Palestinian refugees' right of return to their homes lost in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the 1967 Six-Day War.

Barak's two-state solution finds a predominantly Jewish Israel alongside a "a demilitarized but 'independent and practical' Palestinian state." The report did not specify if he elaborated on the status of East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, the status of Palestinian-Israelis, or what Gaza will look like as part of the Palestinian state.

Above: Palestinian flag [Perealbiac - Flickr] and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak (right) with US Middle Easy envoy George Mitchell (left) [IsraelMFA - Flickr]

'Build, build despite the occupation'

2010-07-29T17:33:00Z

Palestine Note’s exclusive interview with PM Salam Fayyad

Ramallah – For three years, Salam Fayyad, the Prime Minister in the West Bank Palestinian Authority (PA), has been a focal point for Mideast debate.

As an unelected official, he is reviled by Hamas and democracy activists alike for taking over the PA after the disillusion of the 2007 Palestinian unity government. He is also said to have alienated many within Fatah, the party of President Mahmoud Abbas, who see him as a limit to their influence in the West Bank.

But he has also won praise from other segments of society and adoration among Western commentators for his program of reforming, broadening and rebuilding Palestinian institutions, a process he says is a step toward founding a Palestinian state.

Yet his state-building program, too, has come under scruitiny, prominently with the release of a study in July by Nathan Brown of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which argued that Fayyad’s program is lagging in key areas such as the rule of law, and that his efforts are proceeding in an “authoritarian context.”

Confronted with these and other criticisms, Fayyad has an unflinching, some would say misguided, faith in himself and his program, which he sees as having “transformative” potential.

“This is a state-building track,” he told Palestine Note’s Fadi Elsalameen in an interview at his Ramallah office.

He added that his efforts are “supposed to ensure readiness for statehood. We think it's going to take us two years to get there. It's a bit ambitious, but doable despite the occupation. To end it, to end it means that—that's the dynamism of this—build, build, build despite the occupation to end it.”

So great is Fayyad’s confidence in the power of his own plans that he believes popular support for them could eventually be the key to reuniting the PA.

“Political parties, Hamas included, will find themselves compelled to go along,” with his state-building vision, coupled with hoped-for progress in peace negotiations, Fayyad said. “Or they resist and they start to pay dearly in political terms, a very, very heavy political price associated with going against that trend.”

Fadi Elsalameen: How do you respond to Nathan Brown’s Carnegie Endowment study that criticizes your program?

Salam Fayyad: It's a question of building up capacity. It cannot be taken literally or nominally as building institutions that did not exist before. Especially when he says that the issue was maintenance of existing institutions. That's a badge of honor. Fixing, reforming, maintaining—that's very much the nature of the task. Reform, upgrading capacity, getting those institutions better able to deliver services, maintaining them. All of these are elements of the state-building effort. To complete the task of getting ready for statehood. So to suggest we are building things from scratch, I never said that. The program doesn't say that, but when you're talking about building up capacity to govern ourselves effectively, that could mean introducing new institutions. But it certainly focuses on bringing up capacity of existing institutions.

In terms of infrastructure, there, of course, have been lots of new things. You can't say, “They're just maintaining existing infrastructure.” Over the span of two years, we implemented 1,000 community development programs, especially in rural areas, long-marginalized and most devastated by war, settlement activity, and whatnot. It's going to take us about half the time to implement the next batch of 1,000 projects—we're almost halfway through. You know, we celebrated project 1,000, I said afterward the next 1,000 projects will take us only one year. Before the year is out, I said, we're going to have another 1,000 such projects. And we are more than halfway through that mark already today, and I am certain we are going to make it. This will involve water, electricity, new schools, road networks, rural roads, the recreation center that your colleague started in Nablus [Tomorrow's Youth Organization] for the refugee camp. People have a lot of opportunities now that did not exist before. That really enters under the heading of 'new.’

And it’s very much related to the need to enhance the capacity of our people to withstand the adversity of occupation. On the way to statehood, on the way to freedom, you don't do these things—people do not have adequate education and services. They want to leave if they could. Just exactly the opposite of what we need to be doing. With all due respect, it's very superficial [Nathan Brown's argument]. I can better understand and better relate to those who assert that this is the other side of Netanyahu's economic peace coin. At least there is some thinking that went into making that statement that I cannot really dismiss as being superficial. It's wrong, I disagree with it, but at least there's a little bit of thought process that I can see leading to that conclusion. But here, to say, "Oh, there are no new institutions," that's almost childish. I don't know who funded this work, and it does not really... [have] any degree of scholarship. It's just really weak. How can you do that? And on the basis of what? Anecdotal stuff? “I talked to people.” Who are they? I would like to know how many people he talked to. Forget about whom he talked to, but how many people he talked to. Assuming it's an unbiased sample, how many people did he talk to? How long did he stay here, to form these impressions? And it's not true that it's only Ramallah. We started this campaign in Nablus. So, this is way too superficial, if you ask me. Way, way too superficial.

FE: You’ve led a campaign to boycott settlements and settlement products. People are asking, what is the Palestinian government offering to the people? Are they offering employment opportunities, are they helping businesses get alternatives?

SF: We are in many ways, and I can give you an example. If you look at the statistics on unemployment for May, which is the last month for which we have data, for the first time in many, many years, unemployment has inched downward to 14.6%, to below 15%. I'm talking about the West Bank now, [but] it's down in Gaza as well, compared to before, and there are reasons for this, but I'm talking about the West Bank now. This is a 10% decline [in unemployment] over three years. 10% unemployment decline. And it's still high! Don't get me wrong, 14.6% unemployment is nothing to write home about, but it's substantial improvement over what existed before. And it's happening in a growing economy. You know, unemployment data, the measure of unemployment officially (by the methods used in the International Labor Organization), you know they ask you, “Fadi, are you employed?” And if you say “yes,” then you're employed. “Are you unemployed?” You say "yes," and the next they ask you is, “are you looking for a job?” And if you are not looking for a job, you do not count as unemployed. Now, in a recession, or in a weak economy, there is a phenomenon called “discouraged workers” - those who stop looking for work. So they are counted out of the pool, they're counted out of those who are actually unemployed. Now what is really interesting is that in a growing economy, those sitting around not looking start to look [for work]. So therefore you have more people who are unemployed who say they are looking, so they begin to be counted as part of unemployment.

So I think, with a little bit of patience, if we really manage to keep this on track, you're going to see further improvement. That's one observation. The second, what I think is the most interesting observation and the most relevant, is that here we are. We are disengaging structurally in the sense of dependency on employment opportunities in Israel. We're reducing our unemployment—unemployment is coming down—in the context of disengagement in terms of labor dependency. So it looks like the theory is working.

FE: What about tax collection? Is that increasing?

SF: Definitely. For the first time, you know, this year we're projecting over 20% increase in overall tax take to take us over the $2 billion dollar mark for the first time in the history of the PA.

FE: How does this affect the budget?

SF: Well first of all, it reduces dependency on aid, for sure. This too is a very good story. In 2008, the external financing requirement—for budget support only, without development expenditure—amounted to $1.8 billion. This year, it's $1.2 billion. In 2011, we're reducing it to below a billion. So we're working very hard on attaining financial viability, you know what I'm saying. Reducing dependency on aid—the vision we have for the state is not one of perpetual dependence on aid. One thing that I personally tend to be credited for is the fact that we get aid. I say I measure success not by how much aid we get but by how much less of it we need. And so therefore, reducing reliance on aid is something that is definitely on top of our agenda. And we're doing it.

FE: What will happen at the end, by 2011, the date that you have set to be prepared for the creation of a Palestinian state?

SF: I view this as a dynamic process. People who look at with this with suspicion, doubt, I break into two categories. One that says, "How can this be done? It's impossible.” Of course there’s a third category, worst of all who say, “this is a conspiracy”—we’ll skip them. And there are fewer of these people. There’s definitely growing support amongst the public. There are some who say, “How can we possibly do that?” The people who say I think that's partly because they do not see the process of doing this as capable of influencing political outcomes, which is completely contrary to a guiding principal underlying this work. I mean basically we have an objective, we know what the endgame should be, so that's what we will be seeking. On the way to getting there, the idea is to exploit the momentum generated by creating positive facts on the ground. To order what otherwise would be a complete static vision. This is not static, this is dynamic. The [state-building] process itself is intended to generate pressure on the political process to produce, you know what I'm saying? So therefore the idea, the idea here is amass enough facts on the ground, enough critical mass of positive change to where the reality of the state will impose itself on the world. This is different from saying “unilateral declaration of statehood.”

When I announced this program in August of last year, this is exactly what I said. And that's why everyone said, “Ah, watch out, this is dangerous.” What I said, and I still say it today, the idea is what we hope and expect. This is a state-building track. It's supposed to ensure readiness for statehood. We think it's going to take us two years to get there. It's a bit ambitious, but doable despite the occupation. To end it, to end it means that—that's the dynamism of this—build, build, build despite the occupation to end it.

We estimate that it will take two years to finish this. It is our hope and expectation that by then the political process will have produced an end to the Israeli occupation. That's our hope and expectation. If it hasn't, then the reality of the state would be so obvious, so strong, so compelling as to exert so much pressure on that political process to produce.

On the way to getting there, with all the lift of the spirit of the people that it brings, Palestinians but internationals as well: With more and more people investing in this possibility—I don't just mean economically, materially but also psychologically, morally, politically—that cannot but influence the political process. It’s a not a coincidence that the Europeans came out with a landmark statement out of the European Council last year. It was against the backdrop of, “Guess what, the Palestinians are getting ready.” That’s an example. I know that’s what happened. All of the sudden everyone is talking about a two year timeline. The Quartet on March 19 of this year said two years. Well, their two years is longer than ours - we started a bit earlier.

We are already seeing some benefits because we are in a hurry to do this. When was it actually an issue for the world, the so-called 'Area C?' Now everybody's talking about 'Area C!' Finally, well last but not least, another key contribution this has made is the following: when, and I think this is really major in terms of the political process, the end of the interim period was crossed in May 1999, it seemed as if we had ushered into an endless open transitional period. Nothing, no timeline. [In 2009] we came and said, we're going to be ready for statehood in two years. And all of a sudden, the notion of this [transitional period] having to come to end started to resurface again. Not only, although that is not small, in terms of the window closing fast on the two-state solution, which is often said because of the settlements, but also because of this notion that, “Well, it's what we have said about Palestinians all along, they'll never build a state, they're terrorists, they're corrupt,” all this since, they're not going to be there. This is something I often express, the other thing that I positively believe, that some adjustment will have to occur before a settlement is possible. Because well, Israeli politics how they are today, if you really look at it, it's most unlikely that it will be able to produce something that will measure up to being a settlement from our point of view.

So therefore, you really would want to, again, deploy that process in a way that, as a matter of fact—let me back up a little bit. You asked me, for the two-state solution: the majority says “yes.” But you ask the same majority a different question: How many of you really believe that the state of Palestine will emerge along side the state of Israel? The percentage will drop substantially. What this means is that people have become desensitized to slogans of two states, of the Palestinian state. We have [said], in every speech we have, “The state of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital,” but how many people really believe it? People when I go and talk to them, I keep saying, “This state won't happen if you believe it won't happen." And I believe it will happen.

You know what is really happening here, is that—the same situation on both sides, the Palestinians and the Israelis—getting that majority to really believe it can happen is the challenge that has for long been underestimated. I think we really need to do that, and I keep saying, you know this state of Palestine is not going to happen to Israel or to Israelis or for the Palestinians, it's going to grow on them. First, we have an overarching vision for the state, based on the foundation, principles that are consistent with universally accepted values. Then you continue, you persevere in a manner fully consistent with those principles. The reality of it begins to force itself on you. So that's the process what I call transformation and transition of Palestinian statehood from a concept to the realm of possibility and then to the realm of reality. That's the power of it. It's the power of ideas. Ideas are important! Ideas are very important.

FE: But the political track is a different story. A friend, Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation, asked me to ask you this question. The Obama administration believes they can pursue a peace track while excluding Hamas, and in order to build a Palestinian state, you either have to build in Hamas or you have to crush them completely, and he’s not sure how you reconcile the two.

SF: You know, I look at this issue in a way that’s conceptually not different from the whole political process and the state-building track, in a dynamic setting. If you really put it this way, you have a Hamas that does not accept the platform of the PLO. You have certain requirements for engagement internationally, and as a matter dictated by agreements entered into by the PLO and commitments they made. So you look at this as a given, and you say "impossible, there is no way." So you come to the conclusion of these "golden solutions" I call them: exclude or include right now in order to produce a solution. This is the product of static thinking. It’s not dynamic. There are many scenarios that are possible on this, and maybe a combination of those scenarios is what could bring this impasse to an end.

One for example is, here we have a political process that is going on, maybe a feeble one, but it doesn’t really matter, but if all of a sudden there is a breakthrough of sorts that could suggest to people, "well, this actually may happen." That would have a major impact on the situation. The day after is not going to be like the day before. It’s watershed. That in itself produces a political revolution. Where the differences on the Palestinian scene begin to be perceived as very sharp and too difficult to overcome is a circumstance where people lose hope, lose faith in the political process and its possibility. But if you deal with that scenario, that changes the dynamic enormously. It probably would make it a little bit more appealing to Hamas to join the consensus, or to find ways to make it possible for them to get into this, as opposed to any other way. That’s one scenario.

Another scenario is that through the work we do and the fact that we're not engaging in "they say, we say" debate, split in television debate, but rather "they say, we do, and these are the results", and it could be, as it has been I believe, because the positive reaction that I detect exists on the part of people, ordinary citizens, toward this program and toward this vision, not only in the West Bank and Gaza as well.

So, people begin to see, that also influences the way people look at issues. Political parties, no matter what ideology they have, they cannot be indifferent to the way people feel. What we have is a situation characterized in the main by this divide politically. I think one way of dealing with it is to set in motion initiatives, activities and all of that that are seen as serving the interests and the over all good of the Palestinian people. Political parties, Hamas included, will find themselves compelled to either go along, and that reduces the differences or the extent to which they separate, or resist and they start to pay dearly in political terms, a very very heavy political price associated with going against that trend.

The answer to this is that the political process should produce. The effort to get ready for statehood should proceed. The worst thing we can do is sit on our hands and wait for something to happen. That perfect alignment of starts is never going to happen. Instead, it’s better to work and hope that something happens. I say that we Palestinians are due for a lucky bounce [laughs]. Overdue, as a matter of fact.

What this does is ensures that when that happens we are on the playing field, and not outside the arena altogether. It’s not going to settle anything, and it’s not guaranteed to produce anything, but it certainly positions us much better to take advantage of opportunities as they emerge. So that’s really my attitude. I’m not sure one can or should look at this as an either or, this or that. If it is that, I have to wait until we bridge all of our differences. I have my own views on that. I think it’s important from a point of view of sustainability, in order to get where we’re going, and sustaining it. Security. What kind of security doctrine.

I am a firm believer in nonviolence as a path to freedom, combined with this positive agenda, creative positive facts on the ground. Yes, every day something bad happens that discourages. Yes the Israelis demolished barracks a couple of days ago, but for the first time in history, there is an Authority that is there the next day building again with people. That lifts the spirit. All of a sudden you defeat the defeatism. You cease being either completely submissive or completely belligerent. This has tremendous power. It’s transformative. I believe in it.

FE: President Obama promised 400 million dollars to the Palestinians in June. Some of that money was supposed to go to Gaza. My question is twofold? Where did it go if it was supposed to go to Gaza? Second, he called on Israelis and Palestinians to increase their security cooperation. You recently met with Israeli Defense Minister [Ehud] Barak. Can you give some idea about this?

SF: Yes they do have money for projects in Gaza and today I had discussions with an American official on that, and we’re working very closely on that, to integrate the various initiatives intended for Gaza under the overall national plan. And that also helps bring about a greater sense of oneness even though the separation has become more deeply entrenched. I recognize this as a reality. And it’s not coincidental that I keep saying, each day, getting ready includes, importantly, reuniting the country. There’s not going to be a state of Palestine unless our country is reunited. And I believe that. It’s important. In fact this week when [EU foreign affairs chief] Catherine Ashton was here a few days ago. She announced a program that’s being implemented by us with European money to help the private sector. We’re getting there, and we’re certainly working and planning to work similarly with the Americans in building things and helping to restore a bit of normalcy, on the road to restoring economic life in Gaza and ending the hardship of people there. It’s very, very important . We attach great importance to that. I spend a great deal of my time these days on this issue, trying to really push the agenda, trying to deal with the problems there.

The other issue related to security. That meeting [with Barak] really focused on, among other things, Gaza, and the need for there to be a change of paradigm completely and to get rid of this approach that was restrictive and based on ‘everything is disallowed unless otherwise indicated’ to the opposite of that and to actually implement it this way. So there was a lot of discussion on that.

There was also a lot of discussion on getting political deliverables associated with the improved security situation, in the main getting Israel to stop its incursions into our areas, and getting us to have a uniformed permanent security presence in Palestinian centers outside of Area A. This is very important – I said political deliverables. Why? Because the whole thing is pivoted on the notion that all Palestinians want a state of Palestine and that’s how we internalize the security doctrine because we made it so organically tied to the objective of statehood. You want statehood? Then security has to be done this way. If still people see the Israeli army come into Nablus, Ramallah, people start to wonder. Conversely, if tomorrow Israel says, as I believe it should, as I believe it should have, “We are no longer sending troops into Palestinian territories,” this is huge There’s nothing that defines a state, or a state in the making, more than where its security services are, not where the security services of the occupation are. So it’s very important for that to begin to happen. Also for us to begin to have security presence in our own areas, where Palestinians live, to really have a little bit of a security presence. I travel around the country. If I happen to be traveling in rural areas, which is oftentimes, I see security there, our security, they are allowed to go there with coordination by the Israelis. I leave, they leave. So I think to myself, if this is a place I am visiting for the first time, it will be the first time our citizens there will have seen Palestinian security. Imagine what it will do to people if they wake up every day to the reality of a police station in their neighborhood. You know, statehood begins to make sense. The whole project begins to make sense. What we do every day improving quality of life, building institutions, building our capacity to govern ourselves and all of that begins to make sense as part of an effort aimed at getting us to freedom. You see what I’m saying? Absent that this beings to apply an exercise in adapting to the reality of permanent occupation. Then this could really be seen, in a way that cannot be challenged, as a sort of implementation of the ‘economic peace’ vision. Which it isn’t. That’s not what is intended.That is why Israel is definitely required to it. That’s what we’re talking about.

FE: Did Barak promise anything? Was this mainly the beginning of a discussion?

SF: No, it was not the beginning of a discussion. We have have raised these issues many times. I have many times. Many many times. Unfortunately they did not receive the attention they deserved early on. Now they are, so good. Fine. But can we really produce something after this? I don’t want to stay in the realm of you know, "we ask, they think about it, we ask, they think about it, we ask, they agree in principle." What we really would want to see is something concrete happening. It’s very very important. That is what is required.

Above: Prime Minister Salam Fayyad lays the corner stone for the newly enclosed gymnasium at Al-Quds University in Abu Dis. [Photo: Mustafa Abu Dayeh, Prime Minister's Office]

Arab League 'green lights' direct talks

2010-07-29T14:16:00Z

Committee says PA can determine 'when and how'

Washington - The Arab League committee overseeing Palestinian-Israeli negotiations has given a "green light" to direct talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, Al-Jazeera English correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin reported from Cairo Thursday.

"What we are hearing is that by all accounts there is at least an indication to the Palestinian Authority president that direct talks have been given a green light by the Arab League," Mohyeldin said.

The correspondent described the meeting as tense. While Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor Al Thani and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa issued approval of the resumption of direct talks, Syria's representative remarked to the press that the committee's decision "extended beyond its mandate," Moheyldin said.

Regardless, "The indication now is that the Arab League has given its backing to resume direct talks that have been suspended for nearly two years. However, they are doing so with conditions," Mohyeldin reported.

The Arab League continues to have concerns, they leaders said, with regard to a time frame for final status negotiations and what guarantees Israel can give to stop "certain realities on the ground," Mohyeldin said mentioning the demolition of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem and the expansion of illegal settlements. Haaretz quoted Moussa as saying: "I assure you I am not of the intention to enter into negotiations, without a time frame, without clear references and without monitoring."

The committee said they will leave it up to the PA to determine when and how direct talks resume. Abbas has told Israel the PA will only resume direct negotiations with settlement expansion ceases and Israel agrees to a Palestinian state consisting of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem based on the 1967 borders. Abbas made no statement to the press and left immediately after the meeting, Mohyeldin said.

Abbas reportedly gave a statement to Egypt's state news agency, saying, "When I receive written assurances [about] accepting the 1967 border and halting the settlement [building], I will go immediately to the direct talks," Haaretz said. The Israeli news agency did not specify if his comments came before or after the Arab League committee meeting.

Abbas has reportedly been given a letter of US assurances regarding the peace process, but the contents of the letter have not been made public, and the Qatar Foreign Ministry said they are going to leave it to the Americans to articulate the letter. However, the foreign minister expressed his doubts about the capacity of US assurances.

"The Foreign Minister of Qatar said that has his doubts, that right now he is hopeful but is not confident that the United States would be able to provide the assurances needed to bring about peaceful and positive results in direct talks." The foreign minister wants to see the US "exert more pressure" to ensure this time around direct talks are not seen as a failure, Mohyeldin said.

Above: Palestinian flag [Gideon Litchfield - Flickr], Israeli flag [Templar 1307 - Flickr]

Abbas to reject direct talks

2010-07-28T13:17:00Z

PA official: 'Nothing new' in Israel negotiations

New York - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will reject US calls for direct negotiations with Israel when he meets with Arab League leaders on Thursday, an aide told Reuters Wednesday.

Abbas came under growing US pressure this week to advance from indirect talks to direct talks.

Reuters reports that Abbas believes talks have not advanced sufficiently to justify face-to-face negotiations:

"Abbas will tell them that, until this moment, there is nothing to convince us to go to direct talks," the official told Reuters. "There is nothing new."

Resisting U.S. pressure, the Palestinian leader has said he first wants indirect talks to make progress, specifically on the issues of the security and borders of a Palestinian state he aims to found on land occupied by Israel since 1967.

He will brief the Arab League's peace process committee in Cairo on Thursday on the state of the current U.S.-mediated indirect talks that began in May after the forum's approval of a four-month timeframe, due to end in September. U.S. President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, last met Abbas on July 17 in Ramallah. Palestinian officials said that at that session, Abbas turned down a U.S. request to begin direct negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants to begin direct talks with the Palestinians immediately.

But the Palestinian official said: "We will tell the Arabs that the Americans brought nothing with them. We will most likely continue the remaining two months (of indirect talks) and see what happens."

AFP reports that Israel's vice prime minister Silvan Shalom also said Wednesday that Abbas' leadership is setting "impossible" conditions for talks:

"The Palestinians have set three impossible conditions: that the negotiations start from the point they left off at the end of 2008 when Ehud Olmert was prime minister, that they be based on a total Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 lines and that the freeze of (settlement) construction continue," Silvan Shalom told Israeli public radio.

Above photo: Palestine Note

'They want Hamas to fail'

2010-07-27T17:46:00Z

Exclusive interview with Gaza gov't deputy FM Ahmed Yousef

Hamas is prepared to accept a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 border but is wary of entering a peace process with an Israeli government they distrust, said Ahmed Yousef, the deputy foreign minister in the Hamas-led government in Gaza.

Hamas officials have said repeatedly in recent years that they would accept an accommodation with Israel along the pre-1967 Green Line, and Yousef is one of the main proponents of this idea within the Islamist movement.

Yousef, speaking to Palestine Note contributor Erica Silverman, says Hamas is also prepared for dialogue with the US and EU, but it will not accept certain aspects of the "Quartet conditions." For example, regarding the the condition to renounce violence, Yousef says, "We do not consider the legitimate right to defend ourselves according to the United Nations charter as violence. We have the right to continue our struggle as long as our land is occupied."

As for the condition to "accept previous agreements" signed by the PLO and Israel, the official says: "The government’s position still stands that if both parties have met their commitments under any of these agreements, then that is fine. But if not, then why should we adhere to any agreement that both parties do not respect?"

Yousef also suggests that the United States is using a "veto" to stymie Hamas-Fatah reconciliation. "There is outside pressure on Abu Mazen [President Mahmoud Abbas] and Fatah not to go ahead with the national reconciliation," Yousef says. "Maybe it is another strategy to weaken Hamas, since they do want to see an Islamic government succeed."

Erica Silverman: About 130 to 150 truckloads of basic humanitarian and commercial goods enter Gaza daily, since Israel announced its intent to ease its four-year blockade of the territory, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). How many truckloads would you need to restore normal life in Gaza?

Ahmad Yousef: We need thousands of trucks daily, and Kerem Shalom [Gaza’s only operational commercial crossing] does not have the capacity to enter them. That is why we need all the crossings to be open.

We used to trade $2 billion [USD] worth of goods per year with Israel. There are no natural resources in Gaza, so we are dependent on our ability to import raw materials, which remain prohibited from entry by Israel.

ES: A year and a half after Israel’s 23-day offensive Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, three-quarters of the resulting damage remains unrepaired, including homes, schools, and hospitals, due to the blockade, according to the UN. Has the government been able to purchase construction material, like cement entering Gaza via tunnels located along the Gaza-Egypt border?

AY: We cannot depend on the tunnels for postwar reconstruction in Gaza. This is only for minor repairs by private residents.

Over 4,000 homes were destroyed during the war, and since [then] the government has been unable to secure construction materials to re-build. We need at least 400 trucks of cement and construction material daily to re-build and to develop Gaza.

ES: How has the Israeli blockade and subsequent lack of post-war reconstruction specifically affected the refugee population in Gaza? [Some 80% of Palestinians in Gaza are refugees, according to the UN.]

AY: Living conditions in refugee camps remain intolerable. The refugees totally depend on UNRWA for food supplies, health and education services.

These people need to be resettled in healthy communities to end their suffering from problems, such as water and electricity shortages and lack of sewage infrastructure. The refugee camps were built as temporary structures but have become permanent. The government aims to re-build but has been unable to import necessary construction material. From the time Hamas formed the government we have suffered from sanctions and isolation, hindering our plans.

ES: Is there still an active dialogue between Fatah and Hamas?

AY: We still hope they will resume negotiations, but unfortunately there seems to be a veto from some regional powers, and maybe the Americans, against a dialogue between Fatah and Hamas. And of course the Israelis are not keen for Fatah and Hamas to resolve their problems.

There is outside pressure on Abu Mazen [President Mahmoud Abbas] and Fatah not to go ahead with the national reconciliation. Maybe it is another strategy to weaken Hamas, since they do want to see an Islamic government succeed.

ES: When does the Hamas government think is the right time for a new election?

AY: When we have the national reconciliation [between Fatah and Hamas], the next step will be the implementation of the terms of the agreement. If we sign it today, then we would hold elections in 4-5 months.

ES: Has the PA and/or Egypt played a role in instituting the four-year blockade of Gaza?

AY: I do not know. The major actor is Israel, and the others play a minor role.

ES: The Quartet (US, EU, UN and Russia) has put forth three conditions to the Hamas-led government - to renounce violence, accept previously signed agreements and to recognize Israel - to end its policy of isolation. Has the Hamas government accepted these conditions to date?

AY: We do not consider the legitimate right to defend ourselves according to the United Nations charter as violence. We have the right to continue our struggle as long as our land is occupied.

After the Israeli aggression on Gaza [Operation Cast Lead], the people here decided, because of the large scale destruction, to give priority to rehousing people and to encourage investors to come. We do not want to give Israel any justification for stopping international efforts to rebuild Gaza or to continue their aggression and military incursions into Gaza.

We call it a unilateral ceasefire. The legitimate resistance groups reached a ‘national consensus’ to keep the situation calm [and] to keep re-building Gaza the priority.

ES: Are groups now held accountable for random rocket-fire emanating from Gaza into neighboring Israeli communities?

AY: There is no random fire. There have been few rockets fired, and those responsible are questioned. I believe maybe these groups that are firing the rockets are taking direction from Israel, because these rockets have not killed or injured any Israelis, or destroyed settlement property for over a year. These rockets fall into empty spaces and give the Israelis an excuse to keep accusing the [Hamas] government of firing rockets.

ES: Does the Hamas-led government agree to the Quartet’s second condition, to accept previously signed agreements?

AY: The government’s position still stands that if both parties have met their commitments under any of these agreements, then that is fine. But if not, then why should we adhere to any agreement that both parties do not respect?

ES: The Hamas-led government supported the European Union monitors that were stationed at the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt under the Agreement on Movement and Access, signed by the Israelis and the Palestinians in 2005. Would you support their return to the Rafah border and a potential EU presence to monitor the Gaza seaport?

AY: We do not have any objection to European monitors. Egypt and the PA will decide these arrangements. If the Egyptians approve of the European monitors to come, then we will agree. The only reservation that we have is not to let the Israelis intervene, because this is a Palestinian-Egyptian border with terminals on both sides.

ES: Does the Hamas-led government agree to the Quartet’s condition to recognize Israel?

AY: What do you mean by ‘recognize Israel’? This issue can be discussed when our land is liberated and we have established a Palestinian state. This issue cannot be discussed while we [the Palestinians] are still under occupation – it is not in accord with international law to answer this question at this time.

ES: Israel says it has implemented its four-year blockade of Gaza due to your refusal to accept the Quartet’s conditions. Do you agree with this statement?

AY: The Israeli strategy is to keep pressure on Hamas until, they think, we fail, and the situation will collapse, and Fatah will return.

Fatah is easy for Israel to deal with since they are giving all the concessions that Israel is looking for, and Hamas is not. Fatah is coordinating security with the Israelis and cracking down on Hamas in the West Bank, so potentially, Fatah would help them [the Israelis] crack down on Hamas in Gaza.

Israel considers Hamas a real threat, that is why they are persistent with the blockade, the sanctions, the siege, and the aggression and incursions, all of these are efforts to uproot the government in Gaza.

ES: Israel recently reiterated that it continues its blockade because Israel views Hamas as a terrorist threat. Is that a legitimate claim on the part of Israel?

AY: No, this is not legitimate. The master of deception Mr. [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu fuels the Israeli propaganda machine by accusing Hamas. Hamas—and the Gaza government led by Prime Minster Ismail Haniyeh—has said we would accept a Palestinian state on pre-1967 borders with Jerusalem as it capital. This is less than 20-percent of historic Palestinian land. If we threaten Israel’s existence then we would not offer to accept any offer like this.

Hamas has said we will not hinder or place obstacles before any regional or international efforts to help the Palestinian community form their own state.

Israel says they are looking for a peaceful settlement to the conflict, but they are engaged in the act of war. If they were serious about anything related to peace, the Israelis would deal directly with Abu Mazen [President Abbas]. However, the Israelis do not fulfill their promises.

We do not trust the Israelis They are not serious about negotiation. Abu Mazen has been negotiating with the Israelis for 18 years and has not succeeded.

ES: Are you looking for a dialogue with the Quartet and the US?

AY: We have no problem to talk with any party that wants to assist in the negotiations for a Palestinian state. We have no restrictions to negotiate with the US or whoever wants to play a role. For example, if America is negotiating for a two-state solution, we will not put any obstacles in their way, or for a European or regional power like Egypt.

ES: How about the right of return?

AY: Palestinian people stand in their support for the right of return. United Nations resolutions 194 and 242 give the Palestinian people the right to return and to be compensated. Resolution 194 is clear that people will return to their cities and towns.

ES: How would that work logistically if the future Palestinian state is created on the pre-1967 borders, and the cities and towns of origin are located inside the state of Israel?

AY: This issue needs to be addressed and discussed, we cannot contemplate how this will go in detail while we are still under occupation, and the Israelis still do not recognize the Palestinian people in general and are denying people their right of return. We cannot elaborate on this now because the other side is not dealing with the whole issue regarding a Palestinian state or the refuges and their right to return.

Above: A Hamas rally in downtown Ramallah in early 2007 [Wikimedia Commons]

Israel destroys entire bedouin village

2010-07-27T13:10:00Z

Community of 300 made homeless

New York - At least 1,300 Israeli riot police surrounded the Bedouin town of Al-Arakib before government bulldozers razed the community housing 300 people to the ground.

At least one Bedouin woman was arrested and several others detained for questioning during the demolition.

Police with bulldozers arrived early on Tuesday morning to find that the villagers had set bonfires in the village in anticipation of their arrival. Dozens of left-wing Israeli activists were also on the scene to protest the demolition.

Ynet reports on the scene of the destruction:

The officers arrived at the village early on Tuesday morning and were greeted by large bonfires, lighted by locals. The officers advised the villagers to evacuate the area before they commence the demolition prompting protest on the part of the residents and left-wing activists.

Women and children watched as Land Administration bulldozers demolished their houses. Some grown men even wept. A group of left-wing activists clashed mildly with the officers.

"This is a declaration of war on the Bedouin residents," extreme left-wing activist Ezra Nawi proclaimed. Naomi, an activist from Jerusalem said: "An historical injustice is being performed here. These are people who lived here prior to the establishment of the State, which is now denying them of the most basic right for a roof over their heads. Most of them will be forced to live in the sands."

Al-Arakib spokesman and local resident Dr. Awad Abu-Farikh said following the razing: "Today we got a close glimpse of the government's true face. We were stunned to witness the violent force being used. The black-clad special unit forces are the true face of Lieberman's democracy. This operation is the first step in the uprooting of many villages. We shall return to our villages, build our homes and not leave this place."

Al-Arakib is one of 45 unrecognized villages in Israel's Negev desert, which have a combined population of 76,000. These communities, some of which have existed since before the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948, receive no water, electricity, or government services of any kind.

An emailed statement from Israel's leftist Peace Now organization said that Al-Arakib has existed since before 1948:

The destruction of the village was carried out despite dispute over ownership of the land still pending in the courts. Residents of al-Arakib are neither squatters nor invaders: their village has existed many years before the creation of Israel in 1948. Residents had been evicted by the state in 1951, but returned to the land on which they live and which they cultivate. Ownership of the land is now the subject of proceedings in the Be'er Sheva District Court, where academic researchers have already testified in confirmation of the residents' ownership right in the land.

The destruction's declared aim is to facilitate plans by the Jewish National Fund to plant a wood on the site. We regard this demolition as a criminal act. Bedouin citizens of Israel are not enemies, and forestation of the Negev is not a reasonable pretext for destroying a community which is more than 60 years old, dispossessing its residents, and violating the basic rights of hundreds of Israeli civilians, men, women and children.

Above, and Israeli Caterpillar D10N Bulldozer [Wikimedia Commons]

7 feared dead in Israeli copter crash

2010-07-26T18:15:00Z

Censor halts publication of crash in Romania

By Jared Malsin

New York - Seven people are feared dead after an Israeli helicopter crashed in the mountains of Romania on Monday.

Six Israelis and one Romanian were onboard the helicopter for a joint military training exercise.

For over two hours after the incident became public, there was no mention of crash on Israeli news websites. Under ordinary circumstances, a multi-fatality incident in which Israelis were killed would be leading news, leaving many to conclude that the incident was under a government-mandated publication ban.

Israelis familiar with the issue said the ban was likely in place in order to give time for officials notify the families of the victims.

The ban was then lifted, as the Israeli military issued a statement confirming that an American made CH-35 helicopter crashed in Romania. "Extensive searches are currently taking place on the scene," the military said.

News organizations in Israel by law must comply with the orders of a military censor, who has the ability to ban publication of information on sensitive matters. The censorship rules do not apply to journalists based outside Israel.

An Associated Press report on the crash went over the wires before 1:30pm, Eastern Time. More than an hour later, major Israeli news sites still made no mention of the matter. CNN, the Palestinian news agency Ma'an, and other publications followed with reports on the incident.

When asked about the crash, an Israeli military spokesman told Palestine Note, "I'm looking into it" before abruptly hanging up the phone.

There was no answer at the office of the Israeli censor's office.

Recent cases in which the Israeli government has issued gag orders include the arrest of Ameer Makhoul, a Palestinian-Israeli community leader, and the case of Anat Kamm, a former Israeli soldier now on trial for leaking sensitive military documents to the newspaper Haaretz.

Above: US Marine Corps CH-53 helicopters land in Djibouti in 2007 [Photo: US Air Force via Wikimedia Commons]

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