2 july 2019
German authorities barred Palestinian-Canadian journalist Khaled Barakat from speaking at a Palestine solidarity event in Berlin, claiming his “anti-Semitic” speeches posed a threat to public order and could undermine relations between the country and Israel.
The activist has been prohibited from attending future political events and threatened with up to one year in prison, marking another success in the Israel lobby’s bid to clamp down on criticism abroad.
Barakat had been invited to speak at an Arab community event in Berlin on 22 June to discuss Palestinian liberation and its implications for other Arab communities, as well as US President Donald Trump’s so-called Deal of the Century.
But, he was accosted by police on arrival.
“As soon as we left the U-Bahn station nearest the venue my wife and I noticed heavy police presence in the area, including multiple vans full of police,” Barakat told The Electronic Intifada.
“I was approached by a group of police and one officer spoke to me. He said: ‘You have an event here tonight and you are the speaker … you cannot speak.’”
The police took Barakat and his wife to a police station where government officials handed him an eight-page document prohibiting him from political activity.
The document, issued by the Berlin Foreigners Registration Office and seen by The Electronic Intifada, states in German that Barakat faces a ban on participating in specific events and a general “limit on your political activity until you leave the Federal Republic of Germany.”
“They [representatives of the foreigners office] told me that I am banned from speaking at any public event in Berlin and even attending meetings and gatherings,” Barakat said.
He said was also ordered to avoid social events of “more than 10 people,” or face a one-year prison sentence.
Barakat’s wife is also a Palestinian rights activist, but not Palestinian and she was not banned.
“After I was told to acknowledge that I had received the document we were released from the police station. We also noticed significant police presence on the way home,” Barakat added.
German-Israeli relations trump free speech
Barakat’s case mirrors that of Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh who was smeared in the German media before being banned from speaking at an event in Berlin for International Women’s Day earlier this year.
She was finally forced to leave the country.
The official document states that Barakat’s political activities “pose a threat to public safety,” that his talk would “impair and endanger the peaceful coexistence of Germans and foreigners” and that Germany’s relationship to Israel could be “considerably endangered” if he were allowed to speak.
The document also states that it believes Barakat might be working for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – PFLP – which the document notes is listed as a “terrorist” organization by the US, Israel and the European Union.
However it acknowledges that the group is “not prohibited” in Germany. Israel considers virtually all Palestinian political parties and organizations that militarily resist occupation to be “terrorist” groups.
“If you look at the campaigns being carried out by Israel and the Ministry of Strategic Affairs against BDS organizations around the world, or Students for Justice in Palestine in the US, they are trying their best to criminalize all movements for Palestine or even human rights organizations by using so-called connections to Hamas and the PFLP,” Barakat said.
Barakat observed that in the leaked Al Jazeera undercover film The Lobby–USA, “representatives from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies openly advocated for this tactic and now we are seeing it in practice.”
BDS stands for boycott, divestment and sanctions – a global campaign for Palestinian rights modeled on the one that helped end apartheid in South Africa during the 1980s.
The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies is a Washington-based neoconservative think tank and agent of Israel’s strategic affairs ministry.
The document goes on to list a number of speeches given by Barakat in Germany, but fails to cite any examples of anti-Semitism.
Barakat believes this is because the authorities need to “exaggerate in order to justify their repressive measures.”
Despite offering no examples of anti-Jewish bigotry on Barakat’s part, the government order insists the draconian ban on his political activities is justified because “the public should be protected from your expected anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements.”
Fear of a united front
Barakat strongly refutes the claim that his speech would have caused tensions between Jewish and Arab communities in Berlin and asserts, rather, that authorities are trying to prevent a united front from emerging.
“The same forces advocating for and issuing this political ban against me are involved in repressing Jewish voices that criticize Zionism, Israeli policy and German policy on Israel,” he said.
Barakat noted that under Israel lobby pressure, the director of the Jewish Museum Berlin was recently forced to resign.
Moreover, the group Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East had its bank account closed. And, two Jewish activists with Israeli nationality are on trial for criminal charges alongside a Palestinian activist from Gaza for interrupting an Israeli politician who supported Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza that killed more than 2,200 Palestinians including 550 children.
In recent years, German music festivals have also been banning international artists who refuse to denounce the nonviolent BDS campaign for Palestinian rights.
These facts, as well as the German parliament’s recent resolution smearing the BDS movement as anti-Semitic make it increasingly difficult for activists to advocate for Palestinian human rights.
The people who face the brunt of these attacks are Palestinians themselves.
The racism, political bans and growing repression aside, Barakat remains undeterred: “I firmly believe that the vast majority of people in Germany support justice for the Palestinian people and reject Israeli war crimes and apartheid, but they live in fear and I understand.”
~ Electronic Intifada/Days of Palestine
The activist has been prohibited from attending future political events and threatened with up to one year in prison, marking another success in the Israel lobby’s bid to clamp down on criticism abroad.
Barakat had been invited to speak at an Arab community event in Berlin on 22 June to discuss Palestinian liberation and its implications for other Arab communities, as well as US President Donald Trump’s so-called Deal of the Century.
But, he was accosted by police on arrival.
“As soon as we left the U-Bahn station nearest the venue my wife and I noticed heavy police presence in the area, including multiple vans full of police,” Barakat told The Electronic Intifada.
“I was approached by a group of police and one officer spoke to me. He said: ‘You have an event here tonight and you are the speaker … you cannot speak.’”
The police took Barakat and his wife to a police station where government officials handed him an eight-page document prohibiting him from political activity.
The document, issued by the Berlin Foreigners Registration Office and seen by The Electronic Intifada, states in German that Barakat faces a ban on participating in specific events and a general “limit on your political activity until you leave the Federal Republic of Germany.”
“They [representatives of the foreigners office] told me that I am banned from speaking at any public event in Berlin and even attending meetings and gatherings,” Barakat said.
He said was also ordered to avoid social events of “more than 10 people,” or face a one-year prison sentence.
Barakat’s wife is also a Palestinian rights activist, but not Palestinian and she was not banned.
“After I was told to acknowledge that I had received the document we were released from the police station. We also noticed significant police presence on the way home,” Barakat added.
German-Israeli relations trump free speech
Barakat’s case mirrors that of Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh who was smeared in the German media before being banned from speaking at an event in Berlin for International Women’s Day earlier this year.
She was finally forced to leave the country.
The official document states that Barakat’s political activities “pose a threat to public safety,” that his talk would “impair and endanger the peaceful coexistence of Germans and foreigners” and that Germany’s relationship to Israel could be “considerably endangered” if he were allowed to speak.
The document also states that it believes Barakat might be working for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – PFLP – which the document notes is listed as a “terrorist” organization by the US, Israel and the European Union.
However it acknowledges that the group is “not prohibited” in Germany. Israel considers virtually all Palestinian political parties and organizations that militarily resist occupation to be “terrorist” groups.
“If you look at the campaigns being carried out by Israel and the Ministry of Strategic Affairs against BDS organizations around the world, or Students for Justice in Palestine in the US, they are trying their best to criminalize all movements for Palestine or even human rights organizations by using so-called connections to Hamas and the PFLP,” Barakat said.
Barakat observed that in the leaked Al Jazeera undercover film The Lobby–USA, “representatives from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies openly advocated for this tactic and now we are seeing it in practice.”
BDS stands for boycott, divestment and sanctions – a global campaign for Palestinian rights modeled on the one that helped end apartheid in South Africa during the 1980s.
The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies is a Washington-based neoconservative think tank and agent of Israel’s strategic affairs ministry.
The document goes on to list a number of speeches given by Barakat in Germany, but fails to cite any examples of anti-Semitism.
Barakat believes this is because the authorities need to “exaggerate in order to justify their repressive measures.”
Despite offering no examples of anti-Jewish bigotry on Barakat’s part, the government order insists the draconian ban on his political activities is justified because “the public should be protected from your expected anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements.”
Fear of a united front
Barakat strongly refutes the claim that his speech would have caused tensions between Jewish and Arab communities in Berlin and asserts, rather, that authorities are trying to prevent a united front from emerging.
“The same forces advocating for and issuing this political ban against me are involved in repressing Jewish voices that criticize Zionism, Israeli policy and German policy on Israel,” he said.
Barakat noted that under Israel lobby pressure, the director of the Jewish Museum Berlin was recently forced to resign.
Moreover, the group Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East had its bank account closed. And, two Jewish activists with Israeli nationality are on trial for criminal charges alongside a Palestinian activist from Gaza for interrupting an Israeli politician who supported Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza that killed more than 2,200 Palestinians including 550 children.
In recent years, German music festivals have also been banning international artists who refuse to denounce the nonviolent BDS campaign for Palestinian rights.
These facts, as well as the German parliament’s recent resolution smearing the BDS movement as anti-Semitic make it increasingly difficult for activists to advocate for Palestinian human rights.
The people who face the brunt of these attacks are Palestinians themselves.
The racism, political bans and growing repression aside, Barakat remains undeterred: “I firmly believe that the vast majority of people in Germany support justice for the Palestinian people and reject Israeli war crimes and apartheid, but they live in fear and I understand.”
~ Electronic Intifada/Days of Palestine
1 july 2019
The US Ambassador to Israel, and longtime Israeli settlement financier, David Friedman, participated on Sunday in an underground excavation under the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, in East Jerusalem, actively participating in the illegal settlement action by bashing with a hammer a section of ancient underground wall located beneath Palestinian homes.
In addition to Ambassador David Friedman, the US “Peace Envoy” Jason Greenblatt also participated in the controversial and illegal excavation, along with Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who recently narrowly avoided prison time by negotiating a plea agreement in which she pleaded guilty to corruption charge.
The presence of US officials at the incident marks the first time that the US, or any country, has decided to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Old City of Jerusalem. The Old City was declared an international space open to all during the declaration recognizing the state of Israel in 1948. But since 1967, Israeli forces have occupied the mainly Palestinian city and have used many measures, legal and illegal, to push out the Palestinian residents of the city.
This archaeological dig is to excavate a tunnel that Israeli state archaeologists claim was used by Jewish pilgrims thousands of years ago.
According to a statement by the Israeli non-profit Emek Shaveh, the group believes that this incident with the U.S. officials is “a further step in American support for the pro-settlement policy in Jerusalem, and particularly the touristic-settlement projects….It is inexcusable to ignore the Palestinian residents of Silwan, carrying out extensive excavations of an underground city and to use such excavations as part of an effort to tell a historical story that is exclusively Jewish in a 4,000 year-old city with a rich and diverse cultural and religious past”.
In an editorial in the leading Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, the paper’s editors write, “The participation of American diplomats at an event sponsored by a right-wing group in East Jerusalem constitutes de facto recognition of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem’s historic basin. If anyone had any doubts about that, Friedman made clear in an interview with the Jerusalem Post that, ‘The City of David is an essential component of the national heritage of the State of Israel.” Giving it up, even in the context of a peace agreement, he said, “would be akin to America returning the Statue of Liberty.’”
The problem with this argument, according to the editors of Ha’aretz, is that, “This recognition doesn’t just put the American administration on the extreme right of the Israeli political map – thus undercutting the claim that American can be an unbiased broker between Israel and the Palestinians – but it also ignores the complicated reality in Silwan, East Jerusalem and the entire region.
The tunnel, which was excavated using controversial methods from a scientific standpoint, harnesses archaeology to politics while ignoring the nuances of Jerusalem’s ancient past….Anyone having even a passing familiarity with the Palestinian people knows that there’s no chance of arriving at any kind of agreement that will end the occupation so long as Israel continues to control East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Thus, by mere words and an event dripping with sweetness and smiles, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has sentenced Israelis to a life of constant conflict, or to an apartheid state in which there are two types of residents, those with rights and those without them.” video
Over 300,000 Palestinians live in the city of Jerusalem, at least 20,000 of whom live in Silwan. These Palestinians have no citizenship rights and are not granted freedom of movement by the Israeli authorities. They are frequently displaced from their ancestral homes by Israeli settlers, particularly in Silwan neighborhood, which has been targeted by Israeli right-wing settlers for colonization.
In addition to Ambassador David Friedman, the US “Peace Envoy” Jason Greenblatt also participated in the controversial and illegal excavation, along with Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who recently narrowly avoided prison time by negotiating a plea agreement in which she pleaded guilty to corruption charge.
The presence of US officials at the incident marks the first time that the US, or any country, has decided to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Old City of Jerusalem. The Old City was declared an international space open to all during the declaration recognizing the state of Israel in 1948. But since 1967, Israeli forces have occupied the mainly Palestinian city and have used many measures, legal and illegal, to push out the Palestinian residents of the city.
This archaeological dig is to excavate a tunnel that Israeli state archaeologists claim was used by Jewish pilgrims thousands of years ago.
According to a statement by the Israeli non-profit Emek Shaveh, the group believes that this incident with the U.S. officials is “a further step in American support for the pro-settlement policy in Jerusalem, and particularly the touristic-settlement projects….It is inexcusable to ignore the Palestinian residents of Silwan, carrying out extensive excavations of an underground city and to use such excavations as part of an effort to tell a historical story that is exclusively Jewish in a 4,000 year-old city with a rich and diverse cultural and religious past”.
In an editorial in the leading Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, the paper’s editors write, “The participation of American diplomats at an event sponsored by a right-wing group in East Jerusalem constitutes de facto recognition of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem’s historic basin. If anyone had any doubts about that, Friedman made clear in an interview with the Jerusalem Post that, ‘The City of David is an essential component of the national heritage of the State of Israel.” Giving it up, even in the context of a peace agreement, he said, “would be akin to America returning the Statue of Liberty.’”
The problem with this argument, according to the editors of Ha’aretz, is that, “This recognition doesn’t just put the American administration on the extreme right of the Israeli political map – thus undercutting the claim that American can be an unbiased broker between Israel and the Palestinians – but it also ignores the complicated reality in Silwan, East Jerusalem and the entire region.
The tunnel, which was excavated using controversial methods from a scientific standpoint, harnesses archaeology to politics while ignoring the nuances of Jerusalem’s ancient past….Anyone having even a passing familiarity with the Palestinian people knows that there’s no chance of arriving at any kind of agreement that will end the occupation so long as Israel continues to control East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Thus, by mere words and an event dripping with sweetness and smiles, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has sentenced Israelis to a life of constant conflict, or to an apartheid state in which there are two types of residents, those with rights and those without them.” video
Over 300,000 Palestinians live in the city of Jerusalem, at least 20,000 of whom live in Silwan. These Palestinians have no citizenship rights and are not granted freedom of movement by the Israeli authorities. They are frequently displaced from their ancestral homes by Israeli settlers, particularly in Silwan neighborhood, which has been targeted by Israeli right-wing settlers for colonization.
30 june 2019
The prime minister also lashes out at those pushing him to launch a large-scale military operation in the Hamas-controlled enclave in response to incendiary balloon terror, calling it 'the propaganda of so-called experts'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused the Palestinians of being "determined to continue the conflict at any price," and slammed those pressuring him into launching a wide-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking at his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu was referring to the Palestinian leadership's rejection of last week's Mideast peace conference in Bahrain aimed at providing economic assistance. The Palestinian Authority accuses the U.S. of trying to replace Palestinian statehood with money.
Netanyahu says while Israel welcomed the U.S.'s $50 billion Palestinian development plan, the Palestinians themselves denounced it and even arrested a Palestinian businessman who participated in it. The businessman, Saleh Abu Mayala from Hebron, has since been released.
"This is not how those who want to promote peace act," the prime minister said. "In contrast, we are continuing to advance ties with the Arab world, including today, and this serves everyone."
Netanyahu then addressed the situation on the southern border, saying those who urge him to go to war in Gaza will be the first ones to criticize him if he eventually resorts to a military operation in the Strip.
"I am not impressed by the propaganda of so-called experts. Many of them are offering us advice that they themselves would not implement if they were in power," said the prime minister. "I am guided solely by one thing – the security of the State of Israel."
The 69 year old also emphasized the incendiary balloon terror from Gaza, which over the past week sparked over 100 fires in Israeli communities bordering the Hamas-controlled enclave, is not taken lightly by the government.
"Last week we imposed heavy sanctions on Hamas including halting fuels. If we need to, we will employ much harsher measures. We are taking these actions in consultation with all security elements."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused the Palestinians of being "determined to continue the conflict at any price," and slammed those pressuring him into launching a wide-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking at his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu was referring to the Palestinian leadership's rejection of last week's Mideast peace conference in Bahrain aimed at providing economic assistance. The Palestinian Authority accuses the U.S. of trying to replace Palestinian statehood with money.
Netanyahu says while Israel welcomed the U.S.'s $50 billion Palestinian development plan, the Palestinians themselves denounced it and even arrested a Palestinian businessman who participated in it. The businessman, Saleh Abu Mayala from Hebron, has since been released.
"This is not how those who want to promote peace act," the prime minister said. "In contrast, we are continuing to advance ties with the Arab world, including today, and this serves everyone."
Netanyahu then addressed the situation on the southern border, saying those who urge him to go to war in Gaza will be the first ones to criticize him if he eventually resorts to a military operation in the Strip.
"I am not impressed by the propaganda of so-called experts. Many of them are offering us advice that they themselves would not implement if they were in power," said the prime minister. "I am guided solely by one thing – the security of the State of Israel."
The 69 year old also emphasized the incendiary balloon terror from Gaza, which over the past week sparked over 100 fires in Israeli communities bordering the Hamas-controlled enclave, is not taken lightly by the government.
"Last week we imposed heavy sanctions on Hamas including halting fuels. If we need to, we will employ much harsher measures. We are taking these actions in consultation with all security elements."
The New York Times newspaper has described the economic plan senior White House advisor Jared Kushner presented at a conference held recently in Bahrain as “tantalizing, weak and unrealistic.”
Bahrain hosted last Tuesday and Wednesday, June 25-26, an economic workshop dubbed “Peace to Prosperity” as part of the US Middle East peace plan known as the deal of the century.
Describing his plan as “the opportunity of the century,” Kushner told the attendees his plan was aimed at organizing the economic aspects of the upcoming US peace plan for political settlement.
He called on the Palestinians to seize the opportunity that he said would pump $50 billion into the stagnant economies of the Palestinian Authority and neighboring countries.
New York Times said that Kushner’s plan was divorced from reality and the proposals he mentioned were impossible to implement without the concurrence of Israel, which controls the economic life of the Palestinian territories.
“Yet the plan makes no demands on Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Gulf states, along with European nations and private investors, are expected to help finance the plan, but there have been no actual commitments, and the idea that the Arabs would bankroll a peace plan that sidesteps a Palestinian state is unlikely,” the newspaper said.
“Making the whole initiative even more surreal, it arrives after the administration, in which Mr. Kushner serves, sharply cut funds for programs that support Palestinian schools and health care,” it added.
In recent years, the administration of Donald Trump cut off all financial aid to the Palestinian Authority and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Bahrain hosted last Tuesday and Wednesday, June 25-26, an economic workshop dubbed “Peace to Prosperity” as part of the US Middle East peace plan known as the deal of the century.
Describing his plan as “the opportunity of the century,” Kushner told the attendees his plan was aimed at organizing the economic aspects of the upcoming US peace plan for political settlement.
He called on the Palestinians to seize the opportunity that he said would pump $50 billion into the stagnant economies of the Palestinian Authority and neighboring countries.
New York Times said that Kushner’s plan was divorced from reality and the proposals he mentioned were impossible to implement without the concurrence of Israel, which controls the economic life of the Palestinian territories.
“Yet the plan makes no demands on Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Gulf states, along with European nations and private investors, are expected to help finance the plan, but there have been no actual commitments, and the idea that the Arabs would bankroll a peace plan that sidesteps a Palestinian state is unlikely,” the newspaper said.
“Making the whole initiative even more surreal, it arrives after the administration, in which Mr. Kushner serves, sharply cut funds for programs that support Palestinian schools and health care,” it added.
In recent years, the administration of Donald Trump cut off all financial aid to the Palestinian Authority and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Dozens of people and activists from different nationalities engaged in a sit-in in front of the US Consulate in Toronto, Canada to protest the US workshop in Bahrain and the so-called "Deal of the Century".
The event, also to meant to protest the Israeli-Arab normalization, was organized under the slogan "Palestine is not for sale".
Participants chanted slogans demanding justice for Palestine and an end to the apartheid policy practiced by Israel against the Palestinian people.
The event, also to meant to protest the Israeli-Arab normalization, was organized under the slogan "Palestine is not for sale".
Participants chanted slogans demanding justice for Palestine and an end to the apartheid policy practiced by Israel against the Palestinian people.
by Jafar M. Ramini
Well, it’s happened. It’s real. Mr. Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and Senior Advisor of President Trump has delivered 136 pages of lies, suppositions and conjuring tricks to seduce or compel us Palestinians to accept our fate and surrender our rights. What rights? As far as this document is concerned, Palestinians have no rights whatsoever, and, as for a Palestinian perspective, what is that?
The Palestinians were not even invited to Manama, let alone considered. What about the Israelis? Were they there? Were they invited? On the face of it, no. But, in reality, they were amply represented. What is Jared Kushner if not the team captain for the Greater Israel Project? After all, he is Jewish, an ardent Zionist, an investor in the illegal settlements in Palestine and an advocate, par excellence, for Israeli survival and supremacy.
The Lie Of The Century, as I call it, is just that. A lie. From beginning to end, every word, every supposition of this long-winded deception is to ensure that the Greater Israel Project will advance unhindered, and we, the Palestinians, are to accept the crumbs off the table of our land-lords. Or perish.
But, hang on a minute. How could an occupier who seized our land by brute force be made a legitimate land-lord over us? The answer is simple. In the Trumpian universe, all that matters are power and Mammon. Isn’t this what the ‘Deal of The Century’ is all about? American/Israeli power exercised over us Palestinians without mercy? And, what about the money? Oh, yes. There is money, but it is not American nor Israeli money. It’s Arab money — to be extorted from despotic, Arabic regimes in the Gulf, as per usual. Trump demands and the Arab Regimes of the Gulf and Saudi Arabia oblige. If they don’t, as Mr. Trump intimated, their shaky thrones wouldn’t last a week without US protection.
Mr. Kushner promised $50 billion in Arab money to be divided between Palestine, Jordan and Egypt. Nowhere in the document was there any mention of Palestinian political rights, the right of return of the Palestinian refugees or even the Israeli occupation of Palestine. All was conveniently kicked into touch because it doesn’t matter, you see. What matters is Israeli survival and supremacy and the continued, rapid march of the Greater Israel Project.
I say ‘rapid march’ because who is to stop it? The Palestinians do not have an army, an air force, a navy or even a coalition to stop this march. Jordan has already succumbed to American threats and promises of prosperity. The same goes for Egypt, especially under the hand-picked President Abdul Fatah Alsisi, whose sole purpose is to neuter Egypt and serve as a facilitator for American and Israeli hegemony in our area.
Syria? Western powers, Israel and despotic Arab/Muslim states have made sure that Syria is taken out of the equation by embroiling it in a 7-year long devastating war.
The Gulf States? Saudi Arabia? Instead of stopping this advance of Greater Israel they are facilitating it by making a frantic rush towards normalization with Israel and to form a coalition of the willing to combat a perceived threat from another Muslim country, Iran. The honorable exception is the State of Kuwait, who refused to attend this farce and reaffirmed their total support of Palestinian rights and aspirations.
Let’s look closely at the word, ‘surrender’. Many of you might remember an article I wrote recently, entitled, ‘Surrender Or Die’. It didn’t take too long for the Israelis to prove me right. There it is. From the Grand weasel’s mouth, none other than Danny Danon, the Israeli Ambassador to the UN. In an article entitled, ‘What’s Wrong With Palestinian Surrender”, published in the New York Times on June 24th, one day before the Manama ‘Workshop’.
“Surrender”, he wrote,” is the recognition that in a contest, staying the course will prove costlier than submission.”
There you have it. To the victor the spoils.
And, then, comes the other Grand Weasel, Mr. Jared Kushner, to deliver the message of surrender to a room full of weasels. All of these aforementioned weasels, who have been gnawing at our heels for over a century, omitted to consider one vital point: The Palestinian character and pride.
Surrender is not in our character. We’d rather die standing up, defending our rights than exist, kneeling at the feet of our self-appointed land-lords and benefactors.
Just in case any of those weasels calling for our surrender might have any interest in what we Palestinians want, here is how Executive Member of the PLO, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, put it:
Well, it’s happened. It’s real. Mr. Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and Senior Advisor of President Trump has delivered 136 pages of lies, suppositions and conjuring tricks to seduce or compel us Palestinians to accept our fate and surrender our rights. What rights? As far as this document is concerned, Palestinians have no rights whatsoever, and, as for a Palestinian perspective, what is that?
The Palestinians were not even invited to Manama, let alone considered. What about the Israelis? Were they there? Were they invited? On the face of it, no. But, in reality, they were amply represented. What is Jared Kushner if not the team captain for the Greater Israel Project? After all, he is Jewish, an ardent Zionist, an investor in the illegal settlements in Palestine and an advocate, par excellence, for Israeli survival and supremacy.
The Lie Of The Century, as I call it, is just that. A lie. From beginning to end, every word, every supposition of this long-winded deception is to ensure that the Greater Israel Project will advance unhindered, and we, the Palestinians, are to accept the crumbs off the table of our land-lords. Or perish.
But, hang on a minute. How could an occupier who seized our land by brute force be made a legitimate land-lord over us? The answer is simple. In the Trumpian universe, all that matters are power and Mammon. Isn’t this what the ‘Deal of The Century’ is all about? American/Israeli power exercised over us Palestinians without mercy? And, what about the money? Oh, yes. There is money, but it is not American nor Israeli money. It’s Arab money — to be extorted from despotic, Arabic regimes in the Gulf, as per usual. Trump demands and the Arab Regimes of the Gulf and Saudi Arabia oblige. If they don’t, as Mr. Trump intimated, their shaky thrones wouldn’t last a week without US protection.
Mr. Kushner promised $50 billion in Arab money to be divided between Palestine, Jordan and Egypt. Nowhere in the document was there any mention of Palestinian political rights, the right of return of the Palestinian refugees or even the Israeli occupation of Palestine. All was conveniently kicked into touch because it doesn’t matter, you see. What matters is Israeli survival and supremacy and the continued, rapid march of the Greater Israel Project.
I say ‘rapid march’ because who is to stop it? The Palestinians do not have an army, an air force, a navy or even a coalition to stop this march. Jordan has already succumbed to American threats and promises of prosperity. The same goes for Egypt, especially under the hand-picked President Abdul Fatah Alsisi, whose sole purpose is to neuter Egypt and serve as a facilitator for American and Israeli hegemony in our area.
Syria? Western powers, Israel and despotic Arab/Muslim states have made sure that Syria is taken out of the equation by embroiling it in a 7-year long devastating war.
The Gulf States? Saudi Arabia? Instead of stopping this advance of Greater Israel they are facilitating it by making a frantic rush towards normalization with Israel and to form a coalition of the willing to combat a perceived threat from another Muslim country, Iran. The honorable exception is the State of Kuwait, who refused to attend this farce and reaffirmed their total support of Palestinian rights and aspirations.
Let’s look closely at the word, ‘surrender’. Many of you might remember an article I wrote recently, entitled, ‘Surrender Or Die’. It didn’t take too long for the Israelis to prove me right. There it is. From the Grand weasel’s mouth, none other than Danny Danon, the Israeli Ambassador to the UN. In an article entitled, ‘What’s Wrong With Palestinian Surrender”, published in the New York Times on June 24th, one day before the Manama ‘Workshop’.
“Surrender”, he wrote,” is the recognition that in a contest, staying the course will prove costlier than submission.”
There you have it. To the victor the spoils.
And, then, comes the other Grand Weasel, Mr. Jared Kushner, to deliver the message of surrender to a room full of weasels. All of these aforementioned weasels, who have been gnawing at our heels for over a century, omitted to consider one vital point: The Palestinian character and pride.
Surrender is not in our character. We’d rather die standing up, defending our rights than exist, kneeling at the feet of our self-appointed land-lords and benefactors.
Just in case any of those weasels calling for our surrender might have any interest in what we Palestinians want, here is how Executive Member of the PLO, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, put it:
~Counter Currents/Days of Palestine
(edited for the IMEMC by c h r i s @ i m e m c . o r g)
Opinion/Analysis 06/15/19 Angry Reaction from Abdullah as US Suggests Jordan as Homeland For Palestinians
(edited for the IMEMC by c h r i s @ i m e m c . o r g)
Opinion/Analysis 06/15/19 Angry Reaction from Abdullah as US Suggests Jordan as Homeland For Palestinians
Michael Lynk, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Palestine, said in a statement, yesterday, that without the framework of international law, any peace plan is destined to fail.
“Without the framework of international law, any peace plan, including the forthcoming proposal from the United States, will crash upon the shoals of political realism,” Lynk was quoted by the official Chinese press agency, Xinhua.
“Prior plans for Middle East peace over the past five decades have all failed, in large part because they did not seriously insist upon a rights-based approach to peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” he added, according to WAFA.
The Special Rapporteur said that international law, on the principles of humanitarian protection, human rights, equality, and justice, has been expressed in hundreds of United Nations resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He said that Palestinians and Israelis are entitled to the individual and collective human rights enshrined in international law, including the rights to equality, movement, expression, and association, as well as freedom from discrimination.
“The present international consensus supports a two-state solution, which requires a viable, contiguous and fully sovereign Palestinian state, based on the June 1967 boundaries, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a meaningful transportation link between the West Bank and Gaza,” he remarked.
He further noted that Israeli settlements across East Jerusalem and the West Bank are a “flagrant violation” of international law, according to the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
“The settlements would have to be removed, both to comply with international law and to enable a viable and sovereign Palestinian state to emerge.”
“Without the framework of international law, any peace plan, including the forthcoming proposal from the United States, will crash upon the shoals of political realism,” Lynk was quoted by the official Chinese press agency, Xinhua.
“Prior plans for Middle East peace over the past five decades have all failed, in large part because they did not seriously insist upon a rights-based approach to peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” he added, according to WAFA.
The Special Rapporteur said that international law, on the principles of humanitarian protection, human rights, equality, and justice, has been expressed in hundreds of United Nations resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He said that Palestinians and Israelis are entitled to the individual and collective human rights enshrined in international law, including the rights to equality, movement, expression, and association, as well as freedom from discrimination.
“The present international consensus supports a two-state solution, which requires a viable, contiguous and fully sovereign Palestinian state, based on the June 1967 boundaries, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a meaningful transportation link between the West Bank and Gaza,” he remarked.
He further noted that Israeli settlements across East Jerusalem and the West Bank are a “flagrant violation” of international law, according to the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
“The settlements would have to be removed, both to comply with international law and to enable a viable and sovereign Palestinian state to emerge.”
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