4 july 2018
Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian political leader and a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), strongly denounced the Australian decision to end its aid to the Palestinian people.
In a statement, Dr. Ashrawi said, “it is clear Australia has surrendered to American pressures, and is now acting on boosting the illegal Israeli military occupation of Palestine.”
She added that this decision makes Australia part of the punitive illegal measures, targeting the Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails, and their families.
“This unfair decision targets our besieged and impoverished people,” Dr. Ashrawi stated, “It also deliberately ignores the ongoing Israeli violations, and war crimes against our unarmed population.”
The Palestinian official added that Article 81of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, outlaws such measures, and obliges the parties of conflict to provide free medical care and prohibit the deduction of “allowances and salaries.” It also prohibits the deduction of allowances needed to repay their costs.
|Parties to the conflict who intern protected persons shall be bound to provide free of charge for their maintenance, and to grant them also the medical attention required by their state of health.
No deduction from the allowances, salaries or credits due to the internees shall be made for the repayment of these costs.
The Detaining Power shall provide for the support of those dependent on the internees, if such dependents are without adequate means of support or are unable to earn a living.
Dr. Ashrawi also said: “I would like to remind the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, that the situation remains the same since the beginning of this Israeli military occupation in 1948; Israel is still brutally attacking the Palestinians, committing war crimes and massacres, killed at least 75.000 of them, and held more than 1.000.000 in its prisons since then.”
“The Palestinian leadership is very concerned about the accusations that it practices ‘politically motivated violence,’ while we have been committed to nonviolent resistance, and political efforts at the United Nations, trying to counter this Israeli terror against our people…
Meanwhile, Israel continues its crimes with impunity; its soldiers and settlers continue to kill our people, and steal their lands, continue to demolish their homes and livelihoods, and we are expected, and even ordered, to remain silent and submit to this occupation!”
Dr. Ashrawi urged Australia to reconsider its decision, and to refrain from encouraging Israel’s unilateral and illegal policies, and to act on “obliging Israel, as an occupying power, to abide by its obligations under International Law, International Humanitarian Law, in addition to all related treaties and resolutions.”
In a statement, Dr. Ashrawi said, “it is clear Australia has surrendered to American pressures, and is now acting on boosting the illegal Israeli military occupation of Palestine.”
She added that this decision makes Australia part of the punitive illegal measures, targeting the Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails, and their families.
“This unfair decision targets our besieged and impoverished people,” Dr. Ashrawi stated, “It also deliberately ignores the ongoing Israeli violations, and war crimes against our unarmed population.”
The Palestinian official added that Article 81of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, outlaws such measures, and obliges the parties of conflict to provide free medical care and prohibit the deduction of “allowances and salaries.” It also prohibits the deduction of allowances needed to repay their costs.
|Parties to the conflict who intern protected persons shall be bound to provide free of charge for their maintenance, and to grant them also the medical attention required by their state of health.
No deduction from the allowances, salaries or credits due to the internees shall be made for the repayment of these costs.
The Detaining Power shall provide for the support of those dependent on the internees, if such dependents are without adequate means of support or are unable to earn a living.
Dr. Ashrawi also said: “I would like to remind the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, that the situation remains the same since the beginning of this Israeli military occupation in 1948; Israel is still brutally attacking the Palestinians, committing war crimes and massacres, killed at least 75.000 of them, and held more than 1.000.000 in its prisons since then.”
“The Palestinian leadership is very concerned about the accusations that it practices ‘politically motivated violence,’ while we have been committed to nonviolent resistance, and political efforts at the United Nations, trying to counter this Israeli terror against our people…
Meanwhile, Israel continues its crimes with impunity; its soldiers and settlers continue to kill our people, and steal their lands, continue to demolish their homes and livelihoods, and we are expected, and even ordered, to remain silent and submit to this occupation!”
Dr. Ashrawi urged Australia to reconsider its decision, and to refrain from encouraging Israel’s unilateral and illegal policies, and to act on “obliging Israel, as an occupying power, to abide by its obligations under International Law, International Humanitarian Law, in addition to all related treaties and resolutions.”
3 july 2018
Israel Hayom newspaper on Tuesday reported that Israel is seeking to take advantage of what it described as the "historic opportunity" embodied in the current US administration to legalize settlement outposts built in the West Bank during the past 20 years.
Israel's Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz and Minister of Education Naftali Bennett had called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seize the opportunity and organize settlement construction in the West Bank by legalizing dozens of random outposts.
According to the Hebrew newspaper, Katz said that there is a legal plan already prepared to allow 300 Israeli families living in these outposts to settle down.
For his part, Bennet said that the US administration's policies, led by president Donald Trump, go in line with Israel's interests, adding that it is time for real actions in the international arena.
In response to the two ministers' requests, Netanyahu's office confirmed that the team established about a year and a half ago have made significant progress in that regard, and that the delay was due to bureaucratic reasons.
Israel's Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz and Minister of Education Naftali Bennett had called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seize the opportunity and organize settlement construction in the West Bank by legalizing dozens of random outposts.
According to the Hebrew newspaper, Katz said that there is a legal plan already prepared to allow 300 Israeli families living in these outposts to settle down.
For his part, Bennet said that the US administration's policies, led by president Donald Trump, go in line with Israel's interests, adding that it is time for real actions in the international arena.
In response to the two ministers' requests, Netanyahu's office confirmed that the team established about a year and a half ago have made significant progress in that regard, and that the delay was due to bureaucratic reasons.
2 july 2018
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Hundreds of Palestinians rallied in Ramallah, on Monday, to protest attempts by the United States to impose its plans in the area, which the Palestinians have rejected since the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, in December, and moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, in May.
Participants expressed support for PA president Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership’s rejection of what the US has called its “Deal of the Century.” They raised Palestinian flags and pictures of President Abbas while chanting anti-deal slogans. |
Mahmoud Aloul, deputy head of Fateh movement, condemned the “deal”, saying it will not work.
Palestinians have been rallying throughout the West Bank against the US plan.
07/02/18 VIDEO: Trump Pursues Israel ‘Peace Plan’ to Break off Gaza, Without Input from Palestinians
Palestinians have been rallying throughout the West Bank against the US plan.
07/02/18 VIDEO: Trump Pursues Israel ‘Peace Plan’ to Break off Gaza, Without Input from Palestinians
26 june 2018
Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said, on Tuesday, that the steadfast Palestinian position and their adherence to their national constants, as well as the Arab position rejecting bypassing the issue of Jerusalem and Arab legitimacy, have aborted the so-called “deal of the century” because it was originally based on the idea of a deal for Gaza deal to turning the Palestinian cause into a humanitarian issue.
Abu Rudeineh said, in a statement, that the United States “administration, and due to the complicity of some suspicious and conspiratorial parties with it, thought that by removing the issue of Jerusalem and refugees and canceling the nuclear agreement with Iran would pave the way for the Gaza deal, which is rejected by Palestinians, Arabs and the international community, the latest were statements by the Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov who said that Washington is incapable of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on its own.”
Abu Rudeineh pointed out that this is what President Abbas is demanding, which is to have an international mechanism for the solution and not a unilateral American control that would perpetuate the Israeli occupation.
He said that “what is being proposed in ideas and illusions through the so-called deal of the century or the Gaza deal aim primarily at the abolition of the Palestinian national identity and the killing of the national project embodied in the establishment of our independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and not as what came in American statements that talk about progress in the peace process.”
The official presidential spokesman warned against using Gaza’s political or humanitarian relief, while some try to deal with these ideas which are mentioned by Israeli officials, whether regarding building a seaport or other things, without being part of a comprehensive political solution based on international resolutions, in order to co-existence with the occupation and ignore the explosive reality.
He stressed, according to WAFA, that “these suspicious proposals, which try to harm the national project and the Palestinian national identity, require courageous national positions to preserve Jerusalem, the identity and the land, not through contacts or messages that give up our right to establish an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Abu Rudeineh said, in a statement, that the United States “administration, and due to the complicity of some suspicious and conspiratorial parties with it, thought that by removing the issue of Jerusalem and refugees and canceling the nuclear agreement with Iran would pave the way for the Gaza deal, which is rejected by Palestinians, Arabs and the international community, the latest were statements by the Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov who said that Washington is incapable of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on its own.”
Abu Rudeineh pointed out that this is what President Abbas is demanding, which is to have an international mechanism for the solution and not a unilateral American control that would perpetuate the Israeli occupation.
He said that “what is being proposed in ideas and illusions through the so-called deal of the century or the Gaza deal aim primarily at the abolition of the Palestinian national identity and the killing of the national project embodied in the establishment of our independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and not as what came in American statements that talk about progress in the peace process.”
The official presidential spokesman warned against using Gaza’s political or humanitarian relief, while some try to deal with these ideas which are mentioned by Israeli officials, whether regarding building a seaport or other things, without being part of a comprehensive political solution based on international resolutions, in order to co-existence with the occupation and ignore the explosive reality.
He stressed, according to WAFA, that “these suspicious proposals, which try to harm the national project and the Palestinian national identity, require courageous national positions to preserve Jerusalem, the identity and the land, not through contacts or messages that give up our right to establish an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Plans for a Gaza seaport in Cyprus, policed by Israel, were discussed as Defense Minister for Israel, Avigdor Lieberman, met with his Cypriot and Greek counterparts, on Friday.
The offer is conditional upon Hamas’ release of Israeli prisoners and remains of Israeli soldiers, with no mention of the 6036 Palestinian political prisoners or 310 Gazans alone that Israel currently holds.
The plan, according to the PNN, would supposedly help part of a US-led plan to ‘improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza’ with aid from the port.
This aid is also conditional on Hamas’ acceptance of America’s demands for the ‘peace deal’.
Leading Fateh members have already condemned the US “peace plan” as a ploy to create division between Gaza and the West Bank.
Many see Lieberman’s latest offer of a seaport as yet another political tool, and Israeli officials have been quite transparent about their motives.
In an interview on Monday, a senior security official revealed that “The moment that all the details are settled and everything is locked and loaded, we will directly turn to the public in Gaza, going above the head of Hamas, and we will put the benefits package on the table in the open and tell them—this is possible, this is the price. Take it or leave it.” It is clear that the deal is an attempt to undermine Hamas’ support.
There is certainly mistrust of the integrity of Lieberman’s supposed concern for the humanitarian situation in Gaza. After the massacre of 30 Gazans in April, by Israeli forces, he stated that “there are no innocent people in Gaza,” and he has previously boasted of the lengths he would go to to defeat Gaza, saying, “If a quarter of the [Gaza] Strip is needed, then we occupy a quarter of the Strip. If more, then more,” and claiming that the next war with Gaza will be the ‘last’.
The talks also coincide with joint Cyprus-Israel-Greece plans to work together for “security” in the Mediterranean, against illegal immigration and what Leiberman calls “rogue states”.
Israel and Cyprus are also keen to explore newly found gas reserves off their coasts.
Many are also suspicious of the Trump administration’s claims of concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Earlier this year, the US cut the budget for the UNRWA, leading NGO supporting Palestinian refugees, by fifty percent, as well as aid to the PA. In a tweet, Trump justified this, saying “We pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect… but with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?”
The offer is conditional upon Hamas’ release of Israeli prisoners and remains of Israeli soldiers, with no mention of the 6036 Palestinian political prisoners or 310 Gazans alone that Israel currently holds.
The plan, according to the PNN, would supposedly help part of a US-led plan to ‘improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza’ with aid from the port.
This aid is also conditional on Hamas’ acceptance of America’s demands for the ‘peace deal’.
Leading Fateh members have already condemned the US “peace plan” as a ploy to create division between Gaza and the West Bank.
Many see Lieberman’s latest offer of a seaport as yet another political tool, and Israeli officials have been quite transparent about their motives.
In an interview on Monday, a senior security official revealed that “The moment that all the details are settled and everything is locked and loaded, we will directly turn to the public in Gaza, going above the head of Hamas, and we will put the benefits package on the table in the open and tell them—this is possible, this is the price. Take it or leave it.” It is clear that the deal is an attempt to undermine Hamas’ support.
There is certainly mistrust of the integrity of Lieberman’s supposed concern for the humanitarian situation in Gaza. After the massacre of 30 Gazans in April, by Israeli forces, he stated that “there are no innocent people in Gaza,” and he has previously boasted of the lengths he would go to to defeat Gaza, saying, “If a quarter of the [Gaza] Strip is needed, then we occupy a quarter of the Strip. If more, then more,” and claiming that the next war with Gaza will be the ‘last’.
The talks also coincide with joint Cyprus-Israel-Greece plans to work together for “security” in the Mediterranean, against illegal immigration and what Leiberman calls “rogue states”.
Israel and Cyprus are also keen to explore newly found gas reserves off their coasts.
Many are also suspicious of the Trump administration’s claims of concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Earlier this year, the US cut the budget for the UNRWA, leading NGO supporting Palestinian refugees, by fifty percent, as well as aid to the PA. In a tweet, Trump justified this, saying “We pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect… but with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?”
25 june 2018
Chief Palestinian negotiator says American move part of a concerted effort to undermine the status of Palestinian refugees; ‘Our brothers in Jordan refused Kushner’s offer,’ says Erekat.
Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner has been accused by a top Palestinian official of offering to pay Arab governments funds previously directed to the United Nation Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in return for those governments serving the American agenda in the area.
Head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Saeb Erekat made the claim during the annual conference of the Arab American University’s Policy and Conflict Resolution Studies Center.
"They (the Trump administration) approached the host countries of the Palestinian refugees to ask how much UNRWA used to spend there and offered to give it directly to them," Erekat said, adding that by eliminating UNRWA, Israel and the US could drop the right-of-return (demand) of the Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
"Our brothers in Jordan refused Kushner’s offer," he declared.
Erekat discussed prospective negotiations with Israel in the face of what he described as the Trump administration’s bias. He said that if the peace process has come to mean considering the PLO a terrorist organization, cutting aid to Palestinian refugees, moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, and declaring that the settlements were no longer illegal—then "the American administration managed to put me in a position as a negotiator where I have nothing to lose."
Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with Al-Quds newspaper published Sunday, Kushner nevertheless stated that Washington was willing to work with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas—that is, if the PA chief was willing to engage.
He also disclosed that all of the Arab leaders with whom he and US Mideast negotiator Jason Greenblatt met during their five-country regional tour insisted on finding a solution to the conflict that protected Palestinian dignity and achieved a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.
Kushner said that the plan would be ready "soon," stating that while the American administration had almost completed it, he wasn’t sure whether Abbas had "the ability to, or is willing to, lean into finishing a deal."
For his part, Erekat stressed that the PA "does not have an American partner—we’ve had 35 meetings in total with the Trump administration," adding that the Palestinians had given the Americans every possible chance to establish a two-state solution based on international law.
"On May third (of 2017) we were at the White House. President Trump promised us that he would not take action and wait for a year to see which side was being an obstacle to peace." But then, according to Erekat, the US administration fully adopted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s positions.
"I… contacted the Americans and informed them that if they moved their embassy to Jerusalem, they would disqualify the US from any role in the peace process. Kushner responded to me (by) saying 'don’t threaten us," Erekat said.
In addition, Erekat affirmed that Israel was also not a "partner" in the peace process because, he claimed, premier Netanyahu did not believe in the two-state solution.
"He (Netanyahu) believes now that he can dictate what I term one state, two systems—apartheid."
Erekat explained that the Israeli leader thought he could achieve this because of the current developments in the Arab world and the division between Abbas' Fatah faction in the West Bank and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
"They (Israel) aim to kill the Palestinian national project and maintain the division in Palestine under any circumstances," he opined.
Dalal Erekat, a senior adviser to Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and an instructor at the Arab American University, told The Media Line that the Palestinian people were living in a "very difficult political situation" and therefore it was crucial to connect politicians with academics and civil society groups in order to come up with potential solutions to the crisis.
When asked about not inviting Israeli officials or even individuals to present the Israeli narrative, she said that given the current impasse this would not be appropriate. "At this stage, Palestinians need to decide on an internal strategy by brainstorming—and then bring in the Israeli side.
"Change has to come within Palestinian society first," she concluded.
Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner has been accused by a top Palestinian official of offering to pay Arab governments funds previously directed to the United Nation Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in return for those governments serving the American agenda in the area.
Head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Saeb Erekat made the claim during the annual conference of the Arab American University’s Policy and Conflict Resolution Studies Center.
"They (the Trump administration) approached the host countries of the Palestinian refugees to ask how much UNRWA used to spend there and offered to give it directly to them," Erekat said, adding that by eliminating UNRWA, Israel and the US could drop the right-of-return (demand) of the Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
"Our brothers in Jordan refused Kushner’s offer," he declared.
Erekat discussed prospective negotiations with Israel in the face of what he described as the Trump administration’s bias. He said that if the peace process has come to mean considering the PLO a terrorist organization, cutting aid to Palestinian refugees, moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, and declaring that the settlements were no longer illegal—then "the American administration managed to put me in a position as a negotiator where I have nothing to lose."
Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with Al-Quds newspaper published Sunday, Kushner nevertheless stated that Washington was willing to work with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas—that is, if the PA chief was willing to engage.
He also disclosed that all of the Arab leaders with whom he and US Mideast negotiator Jason Greenblatt met during their five-country regional tour insisted on finding a solution to the conflict that protected Palestinian dignity and achieved a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.
Kushner said that the plan would be ready "soon," stating that while the American administration had almost completed it, he wasn’t sure whether Abbas had "the ability to, or is willing to, lean into finishing a deal."
For his part, Erekat stressed that the PA "does not have an American partner—we’ve had 35 meetings in total with the Trump administration," adding that the Palestinians had given the Americans every possible chance to establish a two-state solution based on international law.
"On May third (of 2017) we were at the White House. President Trump promised us that he would not take action and wait for a year to see which side was being an obstacle to peace." But then, according to Erekat, the US administration fully adopted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s positions.
"I… contacted the Americans and informed them that if they moved their embassy to Jerusalem, they would disqualify the US from any role in the peace process. Kushner responded to me (by) saying 'don’t threaten us," Erekat said.
In addition, Erekat affirmed that Israel was also not a "partner" in the peace process because, he claimed, premier Netanyahu did not believe in the two-state solution.
"He (Netanyahu) believes now that he can dictate what I term one state, two systems—apartheid."
Erekat explained that the Israeli leader thought he could achieve this because of the current developments in the Arab world and the division between Abbas' Fatah faction in the West Bank and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
"They (Israel) aim to kill the Palestinian national project and maintain the division in Palestine under any circumstances," he opined.
Dalal Erekat, a senior adviser to Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and an instructor at the Arab American University, told The Media Line that the Palestinian people were living in a "very difficult political situation" and therefore it was crucial to connect politicians with academics and civil society groups in order to come up with potential solutions to the crisis.
When asked about not inviting Israeli officials or even individuals to present the Israeli narrative, she said that given the current impasse this would not be appropriate. "At this stage, Palestinians need to decide on an internal strategy by brainstorming—and then bring in the Israeli side.
"Change has to come within Palestinian society first," she concluded.
