2 mar 2013
Sheikh Khatib slams Obama's planned visit to O. Jerusalem
Sheikh Kamal Al-Khatib, the deputy head of the Islamic Movement in the 1948 occupied lands, said the intended visit of US president Barack Obama to occupied Jerusalem is aimed at strengthening and supporting the Zionist presence in the holy city.
In a press statement to Quds Press, Sheikh Khatib stressed that Obama's visit is much graver than the marathon that took place on Friday in Jerusalem.
He explained that Obama plans to enter the Aqsa Mosque through Al-Maghariba Gate under the Israeli police protection without any coordination with the Islamic waqf authority, which is in charge of the Mosque, in order to support the Jews' temple allegations.
The Israeli regime exploits many western leaders and lackeys who still offer absolution prayers to the Israeli entity in order to atone for the "so-called massacres of Jews", the Palestinian religious figure underlined.
He expressed his belief that all the Israeli attempts to Judaize Jerusalem would be doomed to failure, noting that the Israeli occupation entity, like the other entities that had invaded Palestine throughout history, would be gone forever sooner or later.
Sheikh Khatib also denounced the Israeli marathon in the holy city and described it as part of the Judaization schemes against Jerusalem.
In a press statement to Quds Press, Sheikh Khatib stressed that Obama's visit is much graver than the marathon that took place on Friday in Jerusalem.
He explained that Obama plans to enter the Aqsa Mosque through Al-Maghariba Gate under the Israeli police protection without any coordination with the Islamic waqf authority, which is in charge of the Mosque, in order to support the Jews' temple allegations.
The Israeli regime exploits many western leaders and lackeys who still offer absolution prayers to the Israeli entity in order to atone for the "so-called massacres of Jews", the Palestinian religious figure underlined.
He expressed his belief that all the Israeli attempts to Judaize Jerusalem would be doomed to failure, noting that the Israeli occupation entity, like the other entities that had invaded Palestine throughout history, would be gone forever sooner or later.
Sheikh Khatib also denounced the Israeli marathon in the holy city and described it as part of the Judaization schemes against Jerusalem.
Haneyya condemns Zio-American campaign against Edrogan
Palestinian premier in Gaza Ismail Haneyya has lashed out at the Zio-American campaign against Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Haneyya said in a statement on Friday that Erdogan’s statements were true and correct and unveiled the falsity of the Zionist movement.
He said that the statements reflected Erdogan’s stable position and his country’s commitment to the Palestine cause.
The Israeli government and the White House had criticized Erdogan for his statement on Wednesday that "Just like Zionism, anti-Semitism, and fascism, it becomes unavoidable that Islamophobia must be regarded as a crime against humanity".
Erdogan is correct; Zionism is a crime against humanity
Comment by Khalid Amayreh
Israeli leaders have been infuriated by the fleeting remarks made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the opening session of the Fifth UN Alliance of Civilizations held in Vienna last week.
"Just like Zionism, anti-Semitism, and fascism, it becomes unavoidable that Islamophobia must be regarded as a crime against humanity," Erdogan said.
To the people who are familiar with Israel, especially Palestinians, Lebanese and other Arabs who have been on the receiving end of Zionist criminality; Erdogan's remarks are a statement of the obvious.
After all, Zionism is about the dispossession and usurpation of Palestine from its rightful native people, the Palestinians. It is the biggest act of theft and falsification since Adam and Eve. It was a crime against humanity then, it will always be a crime against humanity, no matter how many Congressmen and women praise the Jewish Golem.
In all honesty, I can't find an iota of untruth in Erdogan's words.
What else can be said about those gangs of Zionist Jews who came from Eastern Europe to arrogate, by way of terror and violence, a land that never belonged to them?
These criminal invaders didn't come to Palestine in order to live and let live. They rather came to Palestine in order to slaughter the indigenous Arabs, Christians and Muslims alike, and dispossess them of their homes and lands in order to establish a racist Jewish state free of non-Jews.
They wanted and still want to do to the Palestinians what the White man did to native Americans in the Americas and Australia. The white colonialists annihilated millions of native Americans and called the genocide "manifest destiny." Likewise, the Zionist murdered untold numbers of Palestinians, massacred Arab villagers at will and drove the bulk of our people to the four winds, and then had the audacity to call the genocidal ethnic cleansing "war of liberation." Indeed, the Zionists and much of the Western world don't even hesitate to commit an act of fornication with truth and history by calling their victims "terrorists."
Even today, 65 years after Israel's misbegotten birth, its leaders are shamelessly demanding that the victims recognize Israel as a Jewish state, where non-Jews, including native Palestinians, have no right to live except as wood hewers and water carriers.
In truth, there are a thousand observations justifying Erdogan's remarks. In the final analysis, Zionism is too nefarious and too ugly to be described in words. It is a movement that combines ethnic cleansing, genocide, racism, mendacity, barbarianism and fanaticism.
In fact, it is extremely hard to find a similar movement in the history of mankind that would parallel Zionism in its brutal ugliness and nefariousness, both at the theoretical and practical levels.
Today, in 2013, we continue to be affronted with Jewish Zionist leaders who continue to argue amongst themselves if non-Jews are genuine human beings. The most prevailing opinion within Orthodox Judaism is that non-Jews, that are more than 7,090.000.000, are actually sub-humans or actually animals in human shape.
This is not merely an anecdotal remark. There are millions of Jews around the world who are fully convinced of the veracity and correctness of this belief. Two years ago, Ovadia Yosef, one of the most respected rabbis in Israel told a Sabbath homily in West Jerusalem that non-Jews were very much like donkeys whom the Almighty created in order to serve Jews.
Yosef is not a marginal or satirical figure in Israel. He was Israel's Chief Rabbi and he now has hundreds of thousands of loyal followers. Unfortunately, his manifestly racist remarks raised no eye-brows in Israel, neither among politicians, nor intellectuals, not even amongst the media, which is very telling, indeed.
It would still be somewhat innocuous if Zionist criminality and racism were confined to the theoretical sphere. But Zionism, especially religious Zionism, which views non-Jews as animals or infra-human beings, also believes that the life of a goy, a non-Jew, has no sanctity and can be expended without any compunction. This is what prompts Jewish interrogators and prison wardens to torture innocent Palestinians to death, as happened with Arafat Jaradat last week.
Today, innocent Palestinians are routinely murdered in cold blood at the hands of Gestapo-like Zionist Jews, and when the murderers are apprehended and prosecuted, every conceivable legal trick is used to exonerate them.
Even when the indicting evidence is overwhelming, all sorts of extenuating circumstances are concocted in order to acquit the killers.
In 1953, Zionist Jews murdered my three uncles in one incident near the armistice line west of Hebron. Moreover, they seized our property, livestock and everything else, condemning us to 30 years of abject poverty.
Until this very moment, my family is yet to receive a simple Mea Culpa let alone any compensation from Israel for this crime. Compare this to rabid Zionist efforts to squeeze Europe to the last penny for stolen Jewish property and other grievances.!!
John Kerry has been dismayed by Erdogan's remarks. But I want to ask the honorable Secretary of State "what do you know about Zionism?"
Would you forgive Zionism if it did to you even a small fraction of what it has been doing to us since 1948?
I know it is difficult for you and your boss, Obama, to be honest and spell out your conscience regarding Israel. But forget you are Secretary of State for a moment and try doing some soul-searching as a moral human being. I have no doubt whatsoever that you will find yourself face to face with the ugliest and most evil entity under the sun.
Yes, the Jewish stranglehold over American politics and policies will silence your conscience and the conscience of your boss. This is exactly what happened to most of your predecessors since time immemorial, which explains America's shameless and unrestricted backing of the most Nazi-like state since Adolph Hitler's Germany.
Today, Israel adopts the policy of lebensraum that Germany practiced at the expense of her European neighbors. True, Israel calls the policy settlement expansion but the substance is the same.
Israel, like Nazi Germany, is carrying out an aggressive policy of ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank by banishing Palestinians from their homes in order to settle Jews in their places.
And you are watching passively while reiterating the same platitudinous jargon that you have been babbling for many decades.
Remember, Mr. Kerry, the holocaust didn't really start with Auschwitz or Treblinka or Bergen Belsen. It started much earlier in the early and mid-1930s when the Nazi authorities were indulging in the same harsh discriminatory and repressive practices that Israeli Jews are now practicing against the Palestinians, with government approval and encouragement.
I don't expect you or your government to take Israel to task over its manifestly criminal behavior toward the Palestinians. After all, you are Israel's protector and guardian. You are part of the problem, and you can't be part of the solution.
But at the very least, don't expect the victims to suppress their feelings by pretending that Israel is actually a charitable entity that has gone astray.
No, Mr. Secretary of State. Israel was evil from the very inception. At least for the Muslims and many Christians of this world as well as millions of other honest people, Israel is and will always be evil.
As for Erdogan, we must salute him for his honesty and rectitude.
He said that the statements reflected Erdogan’s stable position and his country’s commitment to the Palestine cause.
The Israeli government and the White House had criticized Erdogan for his statement on Wednesday that "Just like Zionism, anti-Semitism, and fascism, it becomes unavoidable that Islamophobia must be regarded as a crime against humanity".
Erdogan is correct; Zionism is a crime against humanity
Comment by Khalid Amayreh
Israeli leaders have been infuriated by the fleeting remarks made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the opening session of the Fifth UN Alliance of Civilizations held in Vienna last week.
"Just like Zionism, anti-Semitism, and fascism, it becomes unavoidable that Islamophobia must be regarded as a crime against humanity," Erdogan said.
To the people who are familiar with Israel, especially Palestinians, Lebanese and other Arabs who have been on the receiving end of Zionist criminality; Erdogan's remarks are a statement of the obvious.
After all, Zionism is about the dispossession and usurpation of Palestine from its rightful native people, the Palestinians. It is the biggest act of theft and falsification since Adam and Eve. It was a crime against humanity then, it will always be a crime against humanity, no matter how many Congressmen and women praise the Jewish Golem.
In all honesty, I can't find an iota of untruth in Erdogan's words.
What else can be said about those gangs of Zionist Jews who came from Eastern Europe to arrogate, by way of terror and violence, a land that never belonged to them?
These criminal invaders didn't come to Palestine in order to live and let live. They rather came to Palestine in order to slaughter the indigenous Arabs, Christians and Muslims alike, and dispossess them of their homes and lands in order to establish a racist Jewish state free of non-Jews.
They wanted and still want to do to the Palestinians what the White man did to native Americans in the Americas and Australia. The white colonialists annihilated millions of native Americans and called the genocide "manifest destiny." Likewise, the Zionist murdered untold numbers of Palestinians, massacred Arab villagers at will and drove the bulk of our people to the four winds, and then had the audacity to call the genocidal ethnic cleansing "war of liberation." Indeed, the Zionists and much of the Western world don't even hesitate to commit an act of fornication with truth and history by calling their victims "terrorists."
Even today, 65 years after Israel's misbegotten birth, its leaders are shamelessly demanding that the victims recognize Israel as a Jewish state, where non-Jews, including native Palestinians, have no right to live except as wood hewers and water carriers.
In truth, there are a thousand observations justifying Erdogan's remarks. In the final analysis, Zionism is too nefarious and too ugly to be described in words. It is a movement that combines ethnic cleansing, genocide, racism, mendacity, barbarianism and fanaticism.
In fact, it is extremely hard to find a similar movement in the history of mankind that would parallel Zionism in its brutal ugliness and nefariousness, both at the theoretical and practical levels.
Today, in 2013, we continue to be affronted with Jewish Zionist leaders who continue to argue amongst themselves if non-Jews are genuine human beings. The most prevailing opinion within Orthodox Judaism is that non-Jews, that are more than 7,090.000.000, are actually sub-humans or actually animals in human shape.
This is not merely an anecdotal remark. There are millions of Jews around the world who are fully convinced of the veracity and correctness of this belief. Two years ago, Ovadia Yosef, one of the most respected rabbis in Israel told a Sabbath homily in West Jerusalem that non-Jews were very much like donkeys whom the Almighty created in order to serve Jews.
Yosef is not a marginal or satirical figure in Israel. He was Israel's Chief Rabbi and he now has hundreds of thousands of loyal followers. Unfortunately, his manifestly racist remarks raised no eye-brows in Israel, neither among politicians, nor intellectuals, not even amongst the media, which is very telling, indeed.
It would still be somewhat innocuous if Zionist criminality and racism were confined to the theoretical sphere. But Zionism, especially religious Zionism, which views non-Jews as animals or infra-human beings, also believes that the life of a goy, a non-Jew, has no sanctity and can be expended without any compunction. This is what prompts Jewish interrogators and prison wardens to torture innocent Palestinians to death, as happened with Arafat Jaradat last week.
Today, innocent Palestinians are routinely murdered in cold blood at the hands of Gestapo-like Zionist Jews, and when the murderers are apprehended and prosecuted, every conceivable legal trick is used to exonerate them.
Even when the indicting evidence is overwhelming, all sorts of extenuating circumstances are concocted in order to acquit the killers.
In 1953, Zionist Jews murdered my three uncles in one incident near the armistice line west of Hebron. Moreover, they seized our property, livestock and everything else, condemning us to 30 years of abject poverty.
Until this very moment, my family is yet to receive a simple Mea Culpa let alone any compensation from Israel for this crime. Compare this to rabid Zionist efforts to squeeze Europe to the last penny for stolen Jewish property and other grievances.!!
John Kerry has been dismayed by Erdogan's remarks. But I want to ask the honorable Secretary of State "what do you know about Zionism?"
Would you forgive Zionism if it did to you even a small fraction of what it has been doing to us since 1948?
I know it is difficult for you and your boss, Obama, to be honest and spell out your conscience regarding Israel. But forget you are Secretary of State for a moment and try doing some soul-searching as a moral human being. I have no doubt whatsoever that you will find yourself face to face with the ugliest and most evil entity under the sun.
Yes, the Jewish stranglehold over American politics and policies will silence your conscience and the conscience of your boss. This is exactly what happened to most of your predecessors since time immemorial, which explains America's shameless and unrestricted backing of the most Nazi-like state since Adolph Hitler's Germany.
Today, Israel adopts the policy of lebensraum that Germany practiced at the expense of her European neighbors. True, Israel calls the policy settlement expansion but the substance is the same.
Israel, like Nazi Germany, is carrying out an aggressive policy of ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank by banishing Palestinians from their homes in order to settle Jews in their places.
And you are watching passively while reiterating the same platitudinous jargon that you have been babbling for many decades.
Remember, Mr. Kerry, the holocaust didn't really start with Auschwitz or Treblinka or Bergen Belsen. It started much earlier in the early and mid-1930s when the Nazi authorities were indulging in the same harsh discriminatory and repressive practices that Israeli Jews are now practicing against the Palestinians, with government approval and encouragement.
I don't expect you or your government to take Israel to task over its manifestly criminal behavior toward the Palestinians. After all, you are Israel's protector and guardian. You are part of the problem, and you can't be part of the solution.
But at the very least, don't expect the victims to suppress their feelings by pretending that Israel is actually a charitable entity that has gone astray.
No, Mr. Secretary of State. Israel was evil from the very inception. At least for the Muslims and many Christians of this world as well as millions of other honest people, Israel is and will always be evil.
As for Erdogan, we must salute him for his honesty and rectitude.
26 feb 2013
Hamas warns of the seriousness of Obama's visit to Al-Aqsa mosque
Hamas warned of the seriousness of the visit by U.S.A President Barack Obama to Al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing that "it is a political disaster that Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims should not be silent towards."
The movement said in a statement on Tuesday: "The mass media have been publishing news about President Obama's intention to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque, which threatens an imminent danger."
It warned in its statement of the consequences of the American support to the Israeli desire to impose its domination over Jerusalem, adding that Obama's visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the auspices of the occupation, is the most dangerous move in the history of political relations and a serious bias toward Israel.
Hamas called on President Obama to cancel his visit, and called on the Arab states, mainly Egypt, to oppose this visit by all possible means.
The movement demanded the Palestinian people and the masses of the Arab and Islamic nation to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque against any Israeli plan that aims to seize it.
The statement also called on the cultural and human rights organizations, particularly the UNESCO, to reject this violation against the Palestinian Islamic heritage in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The movement said in a statement on Tuesday: "The mass media have been publishing news about President Obama's intention to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque, which threatens an imminent danger."
It warned in its statement of the consequences of the American support to the Israeli desire to impose its domination over Jerusalem, adding that Obama's visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the auspices of the occupation, is the most dangerous move in the history of political relations and a serious bias toward Israel.
Hamas called on President Obama to cancel his visit, and called on the Arab states, mainly Egypt, to oppose this visit by all possible means.
The movement demanded the Palestinian people and the masses of the Arab and Islamic nation to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque against any Israeli plan that aims to seize it.
The statement also called on the cultural and human rights organizations, particularly the UNESCO, to reject this violation against the Palestinian Islamic heritage in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
23 feb 2013
Palestinians to state their position on Obama's planned visit to Aqsa
Noted Palestinian figures declared their intention to hold a news conference on Sunday before afternoon in the Palestinian national theater in occupied Jerusalem to state their position towards the upcoming visit of US president Barack Obama to the Aqsa Mosque.
A number of religious and national figures, including head of the higher Islamic council Ikrima Sabri and head of the Islamic Movement in the 1948 occupied lands Sheikh Ra'ed Salah, will participate in this news conference.
"It is known that we have our constants as Muslims, Arabs and Palestinians regarding the issue of Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque, and we confirm that Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque are under occupation, which has no sovereignty or legitimacy over them and will inevitably end," the Aqsa foundation quoted Sheikh Ra'ed Salah as saying.
"The US president is likely to visit the Aqsa Mosque, but we should affirm that our position towards such situation will be in conformity with the constants of the Muslim and Arab nations, and the Palestinian people as well as with the issue of Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque," he added.
For his part, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri said that the Palestinians would welcome any visitor to the Aqsa Mosque, provided that he should abide by the regulations set by the Islamic Waqf authority.
Sheikh Sabri explained that if Obama wanted to visit the Aqsa Mosque, he should enter through Al-Asbat gate and not Al-Maghariba gate under Israel's control in order to show his respect for the Islamic sovereignty over the Mosque.
He added that Obama should not be accompanied by an Israeli official during his visit to the holy Mosque because it belongs to Muslims and it is their holy site alone.
A number of religious and national figures, including head of the higher Islamic council Ikrima Sabri and head of the Islamic Movement in the 1948 occupied lands Sheikh Ra'ed Salah, will participate in this news conference.
"It is known that we have our constants as Muslims, Arabs and Palestinians regarding the issue of Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque, and we confirm that Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque are under occupation, which has no sovereignty or legitimacy over them and will inevitably end," the Aqsa foundation quoted Sheikh Ra'ed Salah as saying.
"The US president is likely to visit the Aqsa Mosque, but we should affirm that our position towards such situation will be in conformity with the constants of the Muslim and Arab nations, and the Palestinian people as well as with the issue of Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque," he added.
For his part, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri said that the Palestinians would welcome any visitor to the Aqsa Mosque, provided that he should abide by the regulations set by the Islamic Waqf authority.
Sheikh Sabri explained that if Obama wanted to visit the Aqsa Mosque, he should enter through Al-Asbat gate and not Al-Maghariba gate under Israel's control in order to show his respect for the Islamic sovereignty over the Mosque.
He added that Obama should not be accompanied by an Israeli official during his visit to the holy Mosque because it belongs to Muslims and it is their holy site alone.
21 feb 2013
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Bil'in resident documented Israel's illegal land grabs, 5 Broken Cameras is the result. Emad Burnat was invited to the Oscars but they didn't believe him at the airport. Please subscribe
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http://TinyUrl.com/5BrokenCameras "A Palestinian filmmaker and his family were detained at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday after arriving to attend this weekend's Academy Awards. The filmmaker, Emad Burnat, is nominated in the Best Documentary category for "5 Broken Cameras," which documents the growth of a resistance movement to the Israeli separation wall in the West Bank village of Bil'in. " - Amy Goodman of Democracy Now reporting. |
13 feb 2013
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'US will block trial of Israelis at ICC'
A political analyst says that the US and some of the European countries are still standing along side the Israelis and supporting them and they will not make it easy for anyone to bring any of the Israeli leaders to justice. The comments came after Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the Israeli regime for violating the laws of war during its eight-day assault on the Gaza Strip in 2012. Individuals who deliberately order or take part in attacks targeting civilians or civilian objects are responsible for war crimes, the right group noted. Press TV has conducted an interview with Hani al-Bassous, professor at the Islamic University of Gaza, to further discuss the issue. |
11 feb 2013
Obama to Negotiate with Netanyahu on Iran and Palestine
The US President Barack Obama is expected to discuss Iran’s attempts to gain nuclear weapons, the ongoing crisis in Syria, and the stalled peace process between Israelis and Palestinians during his upcoming visit to the region.
The White House wants to keep expectations for broad accomplishments low, especially when it comes to the possibility of reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Spokesman Jay Carney has stated that the goal of this visit is not to restart discussions over specific proposals, which have been stalled for the past two years.
The New York Times quoted the possibility of a “mini-summit” with Obama, Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during Obama’s visit.
According to Palestinian official news source WAFA, Obama will suggest to Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu an intensifying of pressures on Iran in exchange for negotiations with Palestinians, said Israeli daily newspaper, Maarif, on Sunday, 10 February.
The Israeli paper that reported from the British daily, The Sunday Times, said Obama will arrive with “a carrot and a stick” policy in an attempt to persuade Israelis to negotiate with Palestinians regarding borders and security issues.
According to WAFA, The Sunday Times quoted Aaron David Miller, a U.S. State Department adviser on Middle East affairs, saying “Barack Obama does not want to be the American president on whose watch Iran acquires a nuclear weapon or be accused of presiding over the demise of what’s left of the two-state solution.”
Israeli newspaper Ynet also reported that the main objective of President Obama’s visit is for the US to convey the message that Israel should not attack Iran militarily in the coming months. Instead, the US will attempt to convince Israel to continue with diplomatic and peaceful attempts at stopping Iran from gaining nuclear weapons.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has stated that Iran has likely resumed the process of converting uranium into nuclear fuel. The IAEA will produce a full report on these developments at the end of the month.
The White House wants to keep expectations for broad accomplishments low, especially when it comes to the possibility of reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Spokesman Jay Carney has stated that the goal of this visit is not to restart discussions over specific proposals, which have been stalled for the past two years.
The New York Times quoted the possibility of a “mini-summit” with Obama, Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during Obama’s visit.
According to Palestinian official news source WAFA, Obama will suggest to Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu an intensifying of pressures on Iran in exchange for negotiations with Palestinians, said Israeli daily newspaper, Maarif, on Sunday, 10 February.
The Israeli paper that reported from the British daily, The Sunday Times, said Obama will arrive with “a carrot and a stick” policy in an attempt to persuade Israelis to negotiate with Palestinians regarding borders and security issues.
According to WAFA, The Sunday Times quoted Aaron David Miller, a U.S. State Department adviser on Middle East affairs, saying “Barack Obama does not want to be the American president on whose watch Iran acquires a nuclear weapon or be accused of presiding over the demise of what’s left of the two-state solution.”
Israeli newspaper Ynet also reported that the main objective of President Obama’s visit is for the US to convey the message that Israel should not attack Iran militarily in the coming months. Instead, the US will attempt to convince Israel to continue with diplomatic and peaceful attempts at stopping Iran from gaining nuclear weapons.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has stated that Iran has likely resumed the process of converting uranium into nuclear fuel. The IAEA will produce a full report on these developments at the end of the month.
9 feb 2013
Press TV announces new frequency for US, Canada viewers
Press TV has announced a new frequency for viewers in the United States and Canada after the Iranian channel was removed from the Galaxy 19 satellite platform.
The satellite platform provided broadcast services to the viewers of the 24-hour English-language Iranian news channel, and the film channel iFilm in the United States and Canada.
In order to watch Press TV in the US and Canada, viewers can use the following frequency on Galaxy 19:
Frequency 12028 MHz
Polarization H (horizontal polarization)
Symbol rate 21991Msym
FEC 3/4
This is not the first time that Iranian media have been targeted.
In January, the Spanish government ordered Madrid’s regional government to stop the broadcast of the Iranian Spanish-language channel Hispan TV as of January 21.
The move came a month after the Spanish satellite company, Hispasat, terminated the terrestrial broadcast of Hispan TV.
Hispasat is partly owned by Eutelsat, whose French-Israeli CEO is blamed for the recent wave of attacks on Iranian media in Europe.
The ban on Press TV and Hispan TV in Spain followed a similar move by France’s Eutelsat, which had already taken several Iranian satellite channels and radio stations off the air, claiming that the channels were removed because of “a wider interpretation of EU regulations.”
Eutelsat SA and Intelsat SA, which stopped the broadcast of several Iranian satellite channels in October 2012, have cited pressure by the European Union as the main reason. However, the European Union has denied the claims by the European satellite companies.
The satellite platform provided broadcast services to the viewers of the 24-hour English-language Iranian news channel, and the film channel iFilm in the United States and Canada.
In order to watch Press TV in the US and Canada, viewers can use the following frequency on Galaxy 19:
Frequency 12028 MHz
Polarization H (horizontal polarization)
Symbol rate 21991Msym
FEC 3/4
This is not the first time that Iranian media have been targeted.
In January, the Spanish government ordered Madrid’s regional government to stop the broadcast of the Iranian Spanish-language channel Hispan TV as of January 21.
The move came a month after the Spanish satellite company, Hispasat, terminated the terrestrial broadcast of Hispan TV.
Hispasat is partly owned by Eutelsat, whose French-Israeli CEO is blamed for the recent wave of attacks on Iranian media in Europe.
The ban on Press TV and Hispan TV in Spain followed a similar move by France’s Eutelsat, which had already taken several Iranian satellite channels and radio stations off the air, claiming that the channels were removed because of “a wider interpretation of EU regulations.”
Eutelsat SA and Intelsat SA, which stopped the broadcast of several Iranian satellite channels in October 2012, have cited pressure by the European Union as the main reason. However, the European Union has denied the claims by the European satellite companies.
29 jan 2013
Israel boycotts UN rights scrutiny session
Israel boycotted a United Nations human rights forum on Tuesday where it was due to have its record reviewed, setting a precedent feared by many Western and other states.
The current president of the Human Rights Council, Poland's ambassador Remigiusz Henczel, noted the absence of the Israeli delegation and ordered the meeting suspended briefly to decide how to proceed.
He called it "an important issue and unprecedented situation", inviting comment by the council's 47 members as well as observer states.
Israel, which would be expected to face criticism for its practices in the Palestinian territories, suspended relations with the council last May because of what it called an inherent bias against it.
Israel's last review was in December 2008, when it attended. Diplomats said last week that they feared an unprecedented boycott would lead other countries to follow suit to avoid scrutiny of their human rights records.
"As the only recalcitrant state among 193, Israel's deliberate absence would sabotage the principle of universality," Peter Splinter, Geneva representative of Amnesty International to the UN in Geneva, said in a blog on Tuesday.
Meanwhile 15 Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations warned of the far-reaching consequences of Israel’s refusal to fully cooperate with the United Nations.
"This lack of transparency will not only mean that Israel avoids rigorous criticism of its violations of international law, but that the entire UPR system will be undermined by the loss of its two fundamental principles: equality and universality," the groups said in a statement.
US human rights ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, speaking to reporters last week, said of the US ally: "We have encouraged Israel to come to the UPR, to tell its story, to present its own narrative of its human rights situation. We think it is a good opportunity to do that."
A team of UN investigators, set up by the council last year, is due to report soon on whether Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories violate international human rights law.
The initiative was brought to the 47-member forum by the Palestinian Authority. Israel's ally the United States was the only member to vote against it.
The council said Israel's planned construction of new housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem undermined the peace process and posed a threat to the two-state solution and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned the decision at the time, saying: "The establishment of this mission is another blatant expression of the singling out of Israel in the UNHRC."
The Ministry also vowed that Israel would not cooperate with the fact-finding mission will and will not allow its members to enter Israel or the Palestinian territories.
The current president of the Human Rights Council, Poland's ambassador Remigiusz Henczel, noted the absence of the Israeli delegation and ordered the meeting suspended briefly to decide how to proceed.
He called it "an important issue and unprecedented situation", inviting comment by the council's 47 members as well as observer states.
Israel, which would be expected to face criticism for its practices in the Palestinian territories, suspended relations with the council last May because of what it called an inherent bias against it.
Israel's last review was in December 2008, when it attended. Diplomats said last week that they feared an unprecedented boycott would lead other countries to follow suit to avoid scrutiny of their human rights records.
"As the only recalcitrant state among 193, Israel's deliberate absence would sabotage the principle of universality," Peter Splinter, Geneva representative of Amnesty International to the UN in Geneva, said in a blog on Tuesday.
Meanwhile 15 Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations warned of the far-reaching consequences of Israel’s refusal to fully cooperate with the United Nations.
"This lack of transparency will not only mean that Israel avoids rigorous criticism of its violations of international law, but that the entire UPR system will be undermined by the loss of its two fundamental principles: equality and universality," the groups said in a statement.
US human rights ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, speaking to reporters last week, said of the US ally: "We have encouraged Israel to come to the UPR, to tell its story, to present its own narrative of its human rights situation. We think it is a good opportunity to do that."
A team of UN investigators, set up by the council last year, is due to report soon on whether Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories violate international human rights law.
The initiative was brought to the 47-member forum by the Palestinian Authority. Israel's ally the United States was the only member to vote against it.
The council said Israel's planned construction of new housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem undermined the peace process and posed a threat to the two-state solution and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned the decision at the time, saying: "The establishment of this mission is another blatant expression of the singling out of Israel in the UNHRC."
The Ministry also vowed that Israel would not cooperate with the fact-finding mission will and will not allow its members to enter Israel or the Palestinian territories.
24 jan 2013
Israel may boycott UNHRC rights examination session: US
US ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe
The US ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) says Israel is expected to boycott the council’s session which is scheduled to examine Tel Aviv’s rights situation.
"They (Israeli officials) signaled that they want it postponed. It is very unlikely they will participate on the 29th," Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe said on Thursday.
The UNHRC is scheduled to review Israel’s human rights records on January 29 as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. Tel Aviv is not a member of the Council but it is required to undergo UPR like all UN members.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which is held once every four years, was established by the UN General Assembly in 2006 to examine human rights records of the United Nations’ members.
Israel severed all ties with the Council in March 2012 after the UNHRC adopted a resolution condemning Tel Aviv’s announcement of new settlement homes and demanded a reversal of the settlement policy.
The UNHRC also ordered a probe into how Israeli settlements are infringing upon the rights of Palestinians.
Israeli leaders condemned the UN body, saying it was hypocritical and biased toward Israel.
The resolution was adopted by 36 votes in favor and 10 abstentions. The United States was the only member that voted against it.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the United States had "vigorously opposed the resolution" on the settlements as counterproductive
The US ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) says Israel is expected to boycott the council’s session which is scheduled to examine Tel Aviv’s rights situation.
"They (Israeli officials) signaled that they want it postponed. It is very unlikely they will participate on the 29th," Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe said on Thursday.
The UNHRC is scheduled to review Israel’s human rights records on January 29 as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. Tel Aviv is not a member of the Council but it is required to undergo UPR like all UN members.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which is held once every four years, was established by the UN General Assembly in 2006 to examine human rights records of the United Nations’ members.
Israel severed all ties with the Council in March 2012 after the UNHRC adopted a resolution condemning Tel Aviv’s announcement of new settlement homes and demanded a reversal of the settlement policy.
The UNHRC also ordered a probe into how Israeli settlements are infringing upon the rights of Palestinians.
Israeli leaders condemned the UN body, saying it was hypocritical and biased toward Israel.
The resolution was adopted by 36 votes in favor and 10 abstentions. The United States was the only member that voted against it.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the United States had "vigorously opposed the resolution" on the settlements as counterproductive
The Israeli Elections: What Do They Mean for the United States?
Israelis head to the polls next week, just one day after President Barack Obama’s second inauguration as the peace process remains stalled and changes sweeping the Arab world introduce new challenges for Israel.
The tense relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, the projected winner of next week’s elections, raises questions as to how the two countries will cooperate in dealing with these challenges, and others, including Iran’s nuclear program.
What do the election results tell us about Israel’s trajectory in the coming years? How will the United States and the region react to a new Israeli government?
On January 24, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings will host a discussion on the election outcomes and their meaning for Israeli domestic and foreign policy and for the incoming Israeli government’s relationship with the United States. Panelists will include Brookings Fellow Natan Sachs, who has spent the last four weeks in Israel observing the election campaign, and Vice President Martin Indyk, director of Foreign Policy at Brookings and former U.S. ambassador to Israel. Senior Fellow Daniel Byman, Saban Center Research Director, will provide introductory remarks and moderate the discussion.
After the program, panelists will take audience questions.
The tense relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, the projected winner of next week’s elections, raises questions as to how the two countries will cooperate in dealing with these challenges, and others, including Iran’s nuclear program.
What do the election results tell us about Israel’s trajectory in the coming years? How will the United States and the region react to a new Israeli government?
On January 24, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings will host a discussion on the election outcomes and their meaning for Israeli domestic and foreign policy and for the incoming Israeli government’s relationship with the United States. Panelists will include Brookings Fellow Natan Sachs, who has spent the last four weeks in Israel observing the election campaign, and Vice President Martin Indyk, director of Foreign Policy at Brookings and former U.S. ambassador to Israel. Senior Fellow Daniel Byman, Saban Center Research Director, will provide introductory remarks and moderate the discussion.
After the program, panelists will take audience questions.
American citizens fed-up with Israeli violations: Analyst
A political analyst says American citizens are getting fed-up with Israeli regime’s violation of Palestinians’ rights and the US support for the Tel Aviv regime, Press TV reports.
“The public opinion is beginning to move in the United States…. I think that American people and even the Jewish, and maybe especially the Jewish citizens of the United States, are really getting fed-up,” Paul Larudee said in an interview with Press TV on Thursday.
He further pointed out that people in the United States are getting more aware of Israel’s violations of Palestinians’ rights despite the West’s efforts to hide the truth.
“They [the American citizens] are learning more and more about what was kept quiet before about Israel’s violations. The Internet is making such information available to them,” Larudee added.
The analyst also stated that the American public will in the near future demand an end to their country’s aid to Israel.
“The public opinion is beginning to move in the United States…. I think that American people and even the Jewish, and maybe especially the Jewish citizens of the United States, are really getting fed-up,” Paul Larudee said in an interview with Press TV on Thursday.
He further pointed out that people in the United States are getting more aware of Israel’s violations of Palestinians’ rights despite the West’s efforts to hide the truth.
“They [the American citizens] are learning more and more about what was kept quiet before about Israel’s violations. The Internet is making such information available to them,” Larudee added.
The analyst also stated that the American public will in the near future demand an end to their country’s aid to Israel.
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“I do not know what the time period is. It could be six months or it could be ten years….
The public in the United States, will want to stop… supporting Israel diplomatically as well and also it is possible that the United States will not find [supporting] Israel to be to its strategic advantage,” he noted. Larudee went on to say that suing Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) will not stop it from building illegal settler units on the occupied Palestinian land as the Tel Aviv regime has no respect for the international law. “Israel has been sanctioned many, many times for violation of international law…. so I cannot imagine that it would cause them to reduce their settlement activities. If anything, maybe they are afraid that their impunity will be cut back and that, therefore, they should move faster before it disappears entirely,” Larudee concluded. |
The Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki announced on Wednesday that Palestine would take legal action against Israel at the ICC if the Tel Aviv regime builds new settler units on the occupied Palestinian lands.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967.
21 jan 2013
Memo of Recommendations to President Obama, Particularly the Palestinian File
An American document made by scholars from the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings generated internal policy recommendations for dealing with the many challenges that an unstable world, much of it in turmoil, will present president Obama in the next four years. The scholars divided this document into "Big Bets" and "Black Swans."
The Big Bets are places where the Foreign Policy scholars believe the President should consider investing his power, time and prestige in major efforts that can have a transformational impact on America and the world, as well as on his legacy. The Black Swans are those low probability but high impact events that can trip the President up and divert him from his higher purposes; events so dramatically negative that he will need to take steps in advance to avoid them.
The document includes around 20 files, on top of them the Palestinian issue.
The Palestinian Authority's (PA) demise would eliminate the single most tangible expression of efforts to achieve a two-state solution – all but destroying chances for a peaceful settlement between Palestine and Israel for the forseeable future. Khaled Elgindy drafted this memorandum to President Obama as part of Big Bets and Black Swans: A Presidential Briefing Book.
Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) is threatening to dissolve the PA and hand back to Israel full responsibility for the 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank. Even without such a step, the severe fiscal crisis within the PA, compounded by Israel's withholding of Palestinian tax transfers (accounting for two-thirds of the PA budget) and the drying up of international — especially Arab — donor funds, could lead to the same result.
The collapse of the PA could lead to large-scale Palestinian civil unrest and perhaps even a total breakdown in law and order in the West Bank, increasing the chances of a violent Palestinian uprising against Israel, a full Israeli reoccupation of the West Bank, and/or a takeover by extremist elements. From a strategic standpoint, the PA's demise would eliminate the single most tangible expression of efforts to achieve a twostate solution — an investment totaling tens of billions of dollars from the United States and the international community over nearly two decades — all but destroying chances for a peaceful settlement between Israelis and Palestinians for the foreseeable future. It would also increase the isolation of our ally Israel and force it to deal with Palestinian demographic realities on a whole new basis that threatens the democratic and Jewish nature of the state. It would have serious negative implications for U.S. interests in the region and beyond.
Recommendation:
Despite the dire condition of the PA, its collapse is not inevitable. Strengthening the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah, however, will require boosting the PA both economically and politically, as well as preparing the ground for a credible negotiations process. This will require you to press Congress to release aid to the PA, urge Israel to hand over all the tax revenues, and insist that the international donors fulfill their financial commitments. Israel will also need to be persuaded to allow Palestinian development in the West Bank's Area C and stop new settlement activity. And it will require you to announce early on that you have asked the Secretary of State to prepare for a new initiative to achieve a two-state solution.
Background:
The collapse of the PA would instantly put out of work approximately 140,000 public sector employees, who serve as breadwinners for roughly onethird of the Palestinian population in the West Bank. This includes some 58,000 men who currently serve in the various PA security services. The implications of this are impossible to overstate. On the one hand, mass unemployment and the absence of a police force could easily degenerate into large-scale Palestinian civil unrest and perhaps even a total breakdown in law and order in the West Bank, an environment in which extremists would thrive. This in turn would dramatically increase the likelihood of a violent Palestinian uprising against Israel (a "third intifada"), a full Israeli reoccupation of the West Bank, and/or a takeover of Palestinian population centers in the West Bank by extremist or rogue elements. In addition to ending nearly 20 years of security coordination with Israel, the prospect of tens of thousands of idle, frustrated, well-armed and welltrained Palestinian security personnel would pose a whole slew of security challenges for Israel.
The PA's collapse is likely to result in one or both of the following scenarios:
• Hamas Takeover: As the most obvious and most important beneficiary of the PA's demise, Hamas would have both the means and incentive to try to extend its current control over Gaza to the West Bank. Buoyed by its recent "victory" in Gaza and its growing regional acceptance, Hamas may judge that Israel would be willing to tolerate Hamas rule in the West Bank if it shows it is able to prevent attacks on Israelis and maintain basic law and order. For Israelis, however, the West Bank is not Gaza, and the prospect of a well-armed, ascendant Hamas force situated just a few kilometers from Tel Aviv and most major Israeli population centers is unlikely to be tolerated by any Israeli government.
• Local Ad Hoc Leaderships: As an alternative to a Hamas takeover (or as a precursor to one), we could also see the emergence of multiple, ad hoc leaderships across the West Bank, comprised of some combination of local clan heads, municipal councils, business interests, and even gangs or warlords. Dealing with multiple centers of power would pose logistical challenges for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in its efforts to protect Israeli settlers while increasing the likelihood of friction both with and within Palestinian communities, making an IDF reoccupation of Palestinian cities and towns far more likely.
Preventing the PA's Collapse:
In either case, the longer uncertainty and instability (or worse, violence and chaos) persist, the louder Palestinian, Arab, European and other voices will be for Israel, as the Occupying Power, to assume its responsibilities under international humanitarian law for both policing and governing the Palestinian population. The immediate objective for the United States therefore should be to do everything possible to prevent the collapse from occurring.
• The first priority is to prevent an imminent financial collapse of the PA by pushing all international donors, especially Arab states, to follow through on their commitments to the PA. For such calls to be credible, however, the U.S. and Israel must be willing to do the same. Thus, it is equally crucial that you press Congress for the immediate release of $200 million held since the PLO's unsuccessful bid for full UN membership last year (and to refrain from further aid cuts) as well as pressure Israel to release all withheld VAT transfers, which account for some two-thirds of the PA budget.
• This is only a short-term fix, however, which cannot succeed without parallel economic and political measures. As a recent World Bank report makes clear, genuine economic growth is not possible while restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation remain in place, particularly the Palestinians' inability to exploit or develop some sixty percent of the West Bank designated as Area C. It is time to have a serious conversation with the Prime Minister of Israel about lifting restrictions in substantial portions of Area C.
• It will not be possible to keep donor funds flowing or to sustain developments on the ground without meaningful and parallel progress at the political level. This will require credible U.S. action on the issue of Israeli settlements aimed at preventing the recent surge in settlement plans — especially in the E-1 corridor and other sensitive areas in and around East Jerusalem — from moving forward on the ground. While new negotiations remain a key objective, it would be a mistake to rush into them. Rather than merely urging (or attempting to force) the parties to return to the negotiating table, you should instruct your new secretary of state to undertake a serious appraisal of the likely requirements for success and causes of past failures, while making clear that an American initiative is forthcoming.
Minimizing the Fallout:
Should these efforts prove unsuccessful, and the PA collapses or is dissolved by Mahmoud Abbas, you would need to move quickly, in coordination with Israel and Jordan, to prevent West Bank cities and towns from descending into total chaos and to contain any outbreak of Palestinian– Israeli violence in either the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. At the same time, both the United States and Israel would have an overriding interest in preventing the total elimination of Fatah on the one hand and a complete, partial, or even attempted takeover by Hamas on the other. This will require close consultation with the Israelis to contain their military response to any unrest, and to prevent such a response from escalating the violence even further. It will also require engaging (directly or via third parties) with credible Palestinian interlocutors capable of exerting some measure of control on the ground — namely Fatah and Hamas. And since the United States cannot talk directly to Hamas, such coordination would need to take place through a unitary leadership mechanism such as the PLO, which could (at least theoretically) survive the PA's demise.
Needless to say, this will require the United States to drop its opposition to Palestinian reconciliation, and encourage Israel to do likewise. Moreover, if we are to dissuade Hamas from taking over (or even attempting to) in the West Bank, it will need to be offered something in return. This will entail some sort of power-sharing arrangement in a newly restructured and reconstituted PLO, as well as working with Egypt and other regional partners like Qatar and Turkey to persuade Hamas to go along.
There are many risks involved in engaging with Hamas in this way, including legitimizing a designated terrorist organization whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel as well as the potential for provoking a backlash from Congress (to say nothing of the resistance from the government of Israel). Nevertheless, attempting to ignore or sideline Hamas would be even riskier and more costly, encouraging it to become more assertive and aggressive in both the West Bank and Gaza. Although Hamas would undoubtedly pay a heavy price for any confrontation with Israel, it would come at considerable cost to Israel as well, in both human and political terms. Any period of protracted violence between Israelis and Palestinians will subject Israel to greater international opprobrium and isolation, as well as growing calls for Israel to assume its responsibilities under international law, while extinguishing what little hope may still exist for a two-state solution. The simple reality is that a credible Palestinian interlocutor that can act effectively both on the ground and in the diplomatic sphere, regardless of its composition, is the only thing standing between where we are today and an eventual one-state outcome.
* Khaled Elgindy most recently served with the Negotiations Support Unit in Ramallah as an advisor to the Palestinian leadership on permanent status negotiations with Israel (2004 –2009) and was a key participant in the most recent round of negotiations launched at Annapolis in November 2007.
The Big Bets are places where the Foreign Policy scholars believe the President should consider investing his power, time and prestige in major efforts that can have a transformational impact on America and the world, as well as on his legacy. The Black Swans are those low probability but high impact events that can trip the President up and divert him from his higher purposes; events so dramatically negative that he will need to take steps in advance to avoid them.
The document includes around 20 files, on top of them the Palestinian issue.
The Palestinian Authority's (PA) demise would eliminate the single most tangible expression of efforts to achieve a two-state solution – all but destroying chances for a peaceful settlement between Palestine and Israel for the forseeable future. Khaled Elgindy drafted this memorandum to President Obama as part of Big Bets and Black Swans: A Presidential Briefing Book.
Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) is threatening to dissolve the PA and hand back to Israel full responsibility for the 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank. Even without such a step, the severe fiscal crisis within the PA, compounded by Israel's withholding of Palestinian tax transfers (accounting for two-thirds of the PA budget) and the drying up of international — especially Arab — donor funds, could lead to the same result.
The collapse of the PA could lead to large-scale Palestinian civil unrest and perhaps even a total breakdown in law and order in the West Bank, increasing the chances of a violent Palestinian uprising against Israel, a full Israeli reoccupation of the West Bank, and/or a takeover by extremist elements. From a strategic standpoint, the PA's demise would eliminate the single most tangible expression of efforts to achieve a twostate solution — an investment totaling tens of billions of dollars from the United States and the international community over nearly two decades — all but destroying chances for a peaceful settlement between Israelis and Palestinians for the foreseeable future. It would also increase the isolation of our ally Israel and force it to deal with Palestinian demographic realities on a whole new basis that threatens the democratic and Jewish nature of the state. It would have serious negative implications for U.S. interests in the region and beyond.
Recommendation:
Despite the dire condition of the PA, its collapse is not inevitable. Strengthening the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah, however, will require boosting the PA both economically and politically, as well as preparing the ground for a credible negotiations process. This will require you to press Congress to release aid to the PA, urge Israel to hand over all the tax revenues, and insist that the international donors fulfill their financial commitments. Israel will also need to be persuaded to allow Palestinian development in the West Bank's Area C and stop new settlement activity. And it will require you to announce early on that you have asked the Secretary of State to prepare for a new initiative to achieve a two-state solution.
Background:
The collapse of the PA would instantly put out of work approximately 140,000 public sector employees, who serve as breadwinners for roughly onethird of the Palestinian population in the West Bank. This includes some 58,000 men who currently serve in the various PA security services. The implications of this are impossible to overstate. On the one hand, mass unemployment and the absence of a police force could easily degenerate into large-scale Palestinian civil unrest and perhaps even a total breakdown in law and order in the West Bank, an environment in which extremists would thrive. This in turn would dramatically increase the likelihood of a violent Palestinian uprising against Israel (a "third intifada"), a full Israeli reoccupation of the West Bank, and/or a takeover of Palestinian population centers in the West Bank by extremist or rogue elements. In addition to ending nearly 20 years of security coordination with Israel, the prospect of tens of thousands of idle, frustrated, well-armed and welltrained Palestinian security personnel would pose a whole slew of security challenges for Israel.
The PA's collapse is likely to result in one or both of the following scenarios:
• Hamas Takeover: As the most obvious and most important beneficiary of the PA's demise, Hamas would have both the means and incentive to try to extend its current control over Gaza to the West Bank. Buoyed by its recent "victory" in Gaza and its growing regional acceptance, Hamas may judge that Israel would be willing to tolerate Hamas rule in the West Bank if it shows it is able to prevent attacks on Israelis and maintain basic law and order. For Israelis, however, the West Bank is not Gaza, and the prospect of a well-armed, ascendant Hamas force situated just a few kilometers from Tel Aviv and most major Israeli population centers is unlikely to be tolerated by any Israeli government.
• Local Ad Hoc Leaderships: As an alternative to a Hamas takeover (or as a precursor to one), we could also see the emergence of multiple, ad hoc leaderships across the West Bank, comprised of some combination of local clan heads, municipal councils, business interests, and even gangs or warlords. Dealing with multiple centers of power would pose logistical challenges for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in its efforts to protect Israeli settlers while increasing the likelihood of friction both with and within Palestinian communities, making an IDF reoccupation of Palestinian cities and towns far more likely.
Preventing the PA's Collapse:
In either case, the longer uncertainty and instability (or worse, violence and chaos) persist, the louder Palestinian, Arab, European and other voices will be for Israel, as the Occupying Power, to assume its responsibilities under international humanitarian law for both policing and governing the Palestinian population. The immediate objective for the United States therefore should be to do everything possible to prevent the collapse from occurring.
• The first priority is to prevent an imminent financial collapse of the PA by pushing all international donors, especially Arab states, to follow through on their commitments to the PA. For such calls to be credible, however, the U.S. and Israel must be willing to do the same. Thus, it is equally crucial that you press Congress for the immediate release of $200 million held since the PLO's unsuccessful bid for full UN membership last year (and to refrain from further aid cuts) as well as pressure Israel to release all withheld VAT transfers, which account for some two-thirds of the PA budget.
• This is only a short-term fix, however, which cannot succeed without parallel economic and political measures. As a recent World Bank report makes clear, genuine economic growth is not possible while restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation remain in place, particularly the Palestinians' inability to exploit or develop some sixty percent of the West Bank designated as Area C. It is time to have a serious conversation with the Prime Minister of Israel about lifting restrictions in substantial portions of Area C.
• It will not be possible to keep donor funds flowing or to sustain developments on the ground without meaningful and parallel progress at the political level. This will require credible U.S. action on the issue of Israeli settlements aimed at preventing the recent surge in settlement plans — especially in the E-1 corridor and other sensitive areas in and around East Jerusalem — from moving forward on the ground. While new negotiations remain a key objective, it would be a mistake to rush into them. Rather than merely urging (or attempting to force) the parties to return to the negotiating table, you should instruct your new secretary of state to undertake a serious appraisal of the likely requirements for success and causes of past failures, while making clear that an American initiative is forthcoming.
Minimizing the Fallout:
Should these efforts prove unsuccessful, and the PA collapses or is dissolved by Mahmoud Abbas, you would need to move quickly, in coordination with Israel and Jordan, to prevent West Bank cities and towns from descending into total chaos and to contain any outbreak of Palestinian– Israeli violence in either the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. At the same time, both the United States and Israel would have an overriding interest in preventing the total elimination of Fatah on the one hand and a complete, partial, or even attempted takeover by Hamas on the other. This will require close consultation with the Israelis to contain their military response to any unrest, and to prevent such a response from escalating the violence even further. It will also require engaging (directly or via third parties) with credible Palestinian interlocutors capable of exerting some measure of control on the ground — namely Fatah and Hamas. And since the United States cannot talk directly to Hamas, such coordination would need to take place through a unitary leadership mechanism such as the PLO, which could (at least theoretically) survive the PA's demise.
Needless to say, this will require the United States to drop its opposition to Palestinian reconciliation, and encourage Israel to do likewise. Moreover, if we are to dissuade Hamas from taking over (or even attempting to) in the West Bank, it will need to be offered something in return. This will entail some sort of power-sharing arrangement in a newly restructured and reconstituted PLO, as well as working with Egypt and other regional partners like Qatar and Turkey to persuade Hamas to go along.
There are many risks involved in engaging with Hamas in this way, including legitimizing a designated terrorist organization whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel as well as the potential for provoking a backlash from Congress (to say nothing of the resistance from the government of Israel). Nevertheless, attempting to ignore or sideline Hamas would be even riskier and more costly, encouraging it to become more assertive and aggressive in both the West Bank and Gaza. Although Hamas would undoubtedly pay a heavy price for any confrontation with Israel, it would come at considerable cost to Israel as well, in both human and political terms. Any period of protracted violence between Israelis and Palestinians will subject Israel to greater international opprobrium and isolation, as well as growing calls for Israel to assume its responsibilities under international law, while extinguishing what little hope may still exist for a two-state solution. The simple reality is that a credible Palestinian interlocutor that can act effectively both on the ground and in the diplomatic sphere, regardless of its composition, is the only thing standing between where we are today and an eventual one-state outcome.
* Khaled Elgindy most recently served with the Negotiations Support Unit in Ramallah as an advisor to the Palestinian leadership on permanent status negotiations with Israel (2004 –2009) and was a key participant in the most recent round of negotiations launched at Annapolis in November 2007.
20 jan 2013
Activists demonstrate in Washington against settlement, US bias
Palestinian, Arab, and foreign activists participated in a demonstration in Washington on Saturday against Israeli settlement drive and the US bias in favor of Israel. The demonstration, which also comprised human rights activists, protested the American blind support for Israel while ignoring the Palestinian people’s rights.
The participants marched near the White House, one day before Barack Obama’s official inauguration ceremony for a second term in office.
They called on Obama to pressure Israel into halting the building of settlements in the occupied Palestinian land and to abide by human rights principles.
They also called for halting American assistance to Israel because the Israeli government is “killing the Palestinian people in Gaza”.
The participants marched near the White House, one day before Barack Obama’s official inauguration ceremony for a second term in office.
They called on Obama to pressure Israel into halting the building of settlements in the occupied Palestinian land and to abide by human rights principles.
They also called for halting American assistance to Israel because the Israeli government is “killing the Palestinian people in Gaza”.
16 jan 2013
Israeli lobby wage a fierce campaign against Egyptian President
"Al Quds Al Arabi" Newspaper revealed in Wednesday's edition that the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has been subjected to a fierce "disastrous" campaign waged by the Israeli lobby against him. The lobby has been searching for all Morsi's previous speeches and statements in which he criticized the Jews, to use them to distort his image. It is the same campaign that has been waged against the Westerners, Muslims, Arabs and some Jews who reject the Israeli racist policies adopted against the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
Al Quds Al Arabi Newspaper reported that "the White House strongly condemned on Tuesday comments that Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi had made in 2010 when he was a Muslim Brotherhood leader, while Israeli and Jewish community regarded them as anti-Semitic in nature."
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that the language Morsi had used was "deeply offensive" and that US officials raised concerns with the Egyptian government on the matter.
Nearly three years ago, Mursi, as an Islamist political leader, delivered a speech urging Egyptians to "nurse our children and our grandchildren on hatred for Jews and Zionists," the New York Times reported.
In a television interview months later, the newspaper said he described Zionists as "these bloodsuckers who attack the Palestinians, these warmongers, the descendants of apes and pigs".
Al Quds Al Arabi Newspaper reported that "the White House strongly condemned on Tuesday comments that Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi had made in 2010 when he was a Muslim Brotherhood leader, while Israeli and Jewish community regarded them as anti-Semitic in nature."
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that the language Morsi had used was "deeply offensive" and that US officials raised concerns with the Egyptian government on the matter.
Nearly three years ago, Mursi, as an Islamist political leader, delivered a speech urging Egyptians to "nurse our children and our grandchildren on hatred for Jews and Zionists," the New York Times reported.
In a television interview months later, the newspaper said he described Zionists as "these bloodsuckers who attack the Palestinians, these warmongers, the descendants of apes and pigs".
11 jan 2013
US Congress to Debate Visa Exemption for Israelis
The US Congress will debate a bid to exempt Israeli citizens from applying for an entry visa prior to visiting the US for periods of less then 90 days, for tourism and business purposes, Yediot Ahranot Israeli newspaper reported.
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows foreign nationals to visit the country without a visa, currently admits 37 countries, including western and central European countries, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Australia.
The 26 Representatives have voted for admitting Israel to the plan, but the Senate rejected the bid.
Since 2005, Israel has been asking to join the plan but did not fulfill two basic terms: Not all Israelis have biometric passports (a combined paper and electronic passport that contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of travellers), and the entry visa rejection percentage of Israelis is higher than 3%.
Another dispute is Israel's insistence on stricter security checks for Palestinian-US citizens entering the Jewish state. The US demands that they be subjected to the same security checks as any American citizen. On Tuesday, two Congressmen will hold a press conference in favor of the bid.
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows foreign nationals to visit the country without a visa, currently admits 37 countries, including western and central European countries, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Australia.
The 26 Representatives have voted for admitting Israel to the plan, but the Senate rejected the bid.
Since 2005, Israel has been asking to join the plan but did not fulfill two basic terms: Not all Israelis have biometric passports (a combined paper and electronic passport that contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of travellers), and the entry visa rejection percentage of Israelis is higher than 3%.
Another dispute is Israel's insistence on stricter security checks for Palestinian-US citizens entering the Jewish state. The US demands that they be subjected to the same security checks as any American citizen. On Tuesday, two Congressmen will hold a press conference in favor of the bid.
8 jan 2013
Abbas Willing To Cooperate With US To Achieve Two-State Solution
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated that he is willing to continue to cooperate with the United States and the Obama Administration to achieve a peace agreement with Israel based on the two-state solution.
The statements of Abbas came on Tuesday evening during a meeting, in Jordan, with the visiting U.S. Middle East Envoy, David Hale, the Palestine News Network (PNN) has reported.
Hale told Abbas that the United States is committed to the two-state solution, and will continue its efforts to reach this goal, and stressed on the importance of the resumption of peace negotiations between Tel Aviv and Ramallah.
Abbas said that “he appreciates the stances of the U.S. Administration as it considers peace in the Middle East as a top priority”, PNN reported.
The Abbas-Hale meeting was attended by member of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Dr. Saeb Erekat, and official presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rodeina.
The meeting took place while the U.S. and Israel continue their financial sanctions on the P.A. for heading to the United Nations, and for managing to upgrade the status of Palestine at the General Assembly to a nonmember state.
Tel Aviv and Washington said that the state of Palestine can only be achieved through direct peace talks between Tel Aviv and Ramallah.
The U.S. and Tel Aviv also rejected a decision made by President Abbas Sunday ordering the Palestinian Authority to start issuing Palestinian Passports, ID Cards, Postage Stamps and License Plates carrying “State Of Palestine”, instead of the Palestinian Authority.
U.S. State Department Spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, stated that, until peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, the United States will not refer to the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) as the state of Palestine.
The statements of Abbas came on Tuesday evening during a meeting, in Jordan, with the visiting U.S. Middle East Envoy, David Hale, the Palestine News Network (PNN) has reported.
Hale told Abbas that the United States is committed to the two-state solution, and will continue its efforts to reach this goal, and stressed on the importance of the resumption of peace negotiations between Tel Aviv and Ramallah.
Abbas said that “he appreciates the stances of the U.S. Administration as it considers peace in the Middle East as a top priority”, PNN reported.
The Abbas-Hale meeting was attended by member of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Dr. Saeb Erekat, and official presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rodeina.
The meeting took place while the U.S. and Israel continue their financial sanctions on the P.A. for heading to the United Nations, and for managing to upgrade the status of Palestine at the General Assembly to a nonmember state.
Tel Aviv and Washington said that the state of Palestine can only be achieved through direct peace talks between Tel Aviv and Ramallah.
The U.S. and Tel Aviv also rejected a decision made by President Abbas Sunday ordering the Palestinian Authority to start issuing Palestinian Passports, ID Cards, Postage Stamps and License Plates carrying “State Of Palestine”, instead of the Palestinian Authority.
U.S. State Department Spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, stated that, until peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, the United States will not refer to the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) as the state of Palestine.
Nuland: “U.S. Will Not Refer To P.A. As State Of Palestine”
U.S. State Department Spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, stated that, until peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, the United States will not refer to the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) as the state of Palestine.
Her statements came in response to a decree issued by Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, to rename the P. A. as the State of Palestine, and to change all official documents to reflect this modification.
In a press conference Monday, Nuland said that “a Palestinian state cannot be created through speeches and documents, as states are established through talks and negotiations”.
She also said that U.S. special envoy, David Hale, will be holding a meeting with Abbas, Tuesday, to inform him that his decision is “a bad idea”, and that “peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians must be resumed without any further delay.”
It is worth mentioning that the U.S. stance is coherent with the position of Tel Aviv as Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that Israel rejects the decree and will not recognize it, and added that “the Palestinian state can only be born through a peace agreement with Israel”.
The decree that was issued by Abbas calls for using the name State of Palestine on all official documents, this includes passports, ID cards, driving licenses and official letterhead within the coming two months.
The Abbas-led P.A. in the West Bank had to quit peace talks with Tel Aviv due to Israel’s ongoing violations against the Palestinians and their property.
These violations are topped by Israel’s construction and expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, and the ongoing demolition of Palestinian homes in the city.
Her statements came in response to a decree issued by Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, to rename the P. A. as the State of Palestine, and to change all official documents to reflect this modification.
In a press conference Monday, Nuland said that “a Palestinian state cannot be created through speeches and documents, as states are established through talks and negotiations”.
She also said that U.S. special envoy, David Hale, will be holding a meeting with Abbas, Tuesday, to inform him that his decision is “a bad idea”, and that “peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians must be resumed without any further delay.”
It is worth mentioning that the U.S. stance is coherent with the position of Tel Aviv as Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that Israel rejects the decree and will not recognize it, and added that “the Palestinian state can only be born through a peace agreement with Israel”.
The decree that was issued by Abbas calls for using the name State of Palestine on all official documents, this includes passports, ID cards, driving licenses and official letterhead within the coming two months.
The Abbas-led P.A. in the West Bank had to quit peace talks with Tel Aviv due to Israel’s ongoing violations against the Palestinians and their property.
These violations are topped by Israel’s construction and expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, and the ongoing demolition of Palestinian homes in the city.
New U.S. Defense Secretary Vows Full Support For Israel
U.S. Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel, of the Republican Party, who was named by President Barack Obama Monday, stated that he will grant Israel his utmost support under all circumstances, and slammed several Republican officials who criticized what they called “his attitudes regarding the Middle East, especially Israel and the conflict with the Palestinians”.
Hagel told a local paper in Nebraska that the criticism against him came after he refused to vote for certain resolutions that were strongly pushed by the Israeli lobby, and said that he did not vote for these resolutions because he believes they would backfire.
Hagel said that such criticisms do not help the interests of the United States in the Middle East, and the “U.S. efforts to ensure the resumption of peace talks.
“It is in Israel’s best interest that we help it and the Palestinians to find a way to live side by side in peace”, he added.
It is worth mentioning that several Congress members said that Hagel previously refused to support economic sanctions on Iran, but he said that he refused U. S. -led sanctions on Tehran but strongly supports sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
Furthermore, President Obama adopted a new proposal to impose financial sanctions on any country that buys oil from Iran.
Israeli daily, Maariv, reported Monday that the Obama administration assured the Israel Lobby in the U.S. that Hagel is committed to supporting Israel and ensuring its security, and added that Hagel will implement the policies of Obama that grant full support to Israel.
The AbC News Agency reported that criticisms against Hagel started following “controversial statements” on U.S. foreign policy, including a statement he made in 2008 in which he described American supporters of Israel as “the Jewish Lobby”.
The ABC added that Hagel also made statements that “encouraged talks between the United States, Israel the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) which is labeled by the U.S. State Department as “a terrorist group”. He also opposed the U.S-led war on Iraq in 2003.
Hagel told a local paper in Nebraska that the criticism against him came after he refused to vote for certain resolutions that were strongly pushed by the Israeli lobby, and said that he did not vote for these resolutions because he believes they would backfire.
Hagel said that such criticisms do not help the interests of the United States in the Middle East, and the “U.S. efforts to ensure the resumption of peace talks.
“It is in Israel’s best interest that we help it and the Palestinians to find a way to live side by side in peace”, he added.
It is worth mentioning that several Congress members said that Hagel previously refused to support economic sanctions on Iran, but he said that he refused U. S. -led sanctions on Tehran but strongly supports sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
Furthermore, President Obama adopted a new proposal to impose financial sanctions on any country that buys oil from Iran.
Israeli daily, Maariv, reported Monday that the Obama administration assured the Israel Lobby in the U.S. that Hagel is committed to supporting Israel and ensuring its security, and added that Hagel will implement the policies of Obama that grant full support to Israel.
The AbC News Agency reported that criticisms against Hagel started following “controversial statements” on U.S. foreign policy, including a statement he made in 2008 in which he described American supporters of Israel as “the Jewish Lobby”.
The ABC added that Hagel also made statements that “encouraged talks between the United States, Israel the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) which is labeled by the U.S. State Department as “a terrorist group”. He also opposed the U.S-led war on Iraq in 2003.
