14 mar 2019
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said that the United States dropping the term “occupation” from the occupied Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan Heights will not change the fact they are an occupied territory as deemed by the United Nations and international law, on Wednesday.
Abu Rudeineh said in a statement that the US decision to drop the status of occupation from the Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan Heights is "a continuation of the hostile approach of the American administration toward our Palestinian people and is contrary to all UN resolutions."
He stressed, "These American titles will not change the fact that the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 and the occupied Arab Golan are territories under Israeli occupation in accordance with UN resolutions and international law."
Abu Ruideineh said that this last decision "falls within the American scheme to pass the so-called 'Deal of the Century' to liquidate the Palestinian cause. But regardless of the attempts and conspiracies, our Palestinian people led by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and by President Mahmoud Abbas will remain steadfast and adhering to the national constants. Our national project will prevail until we reach our independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."
According to Hebrew-language news outlets, the US dropped from its annual report on the human rights situation any reference to the Palestinian territories or the Syrian Golan Heights as “occupied territories” as it used to be mentioned in former reports.
It is noteworthy that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been boycotting the US administration since December 2017 when US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and then moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018.
Following recent tensions and the US Trump administration's undeniable support for Israel has prompted the Palestinians to cut communication with the US and declared it unfit to be a mediator during the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Abu Rudeineh said in a statement that the US decision to drop the status of occupation from the Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan Heights is "a continuation of the hostile approach of the American administration toward our Palestinian people and is contrary to all UN resolutions."
He stressed, "These American titles will not change the fact that the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 and the occupied Arab Golan are territories under Israeli occupation in accordance with UN resolutions and international law."
Abu Ruideineh said that this last decision "falls within the American scheme to pass the so-called 'Deal of the Century' to liquidate the Palestinian cause. But regardless of the attempts and conspiracies, our Palestinian people led by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and by President Mahmoud Abbas will remain steadfast and adhering to the national constants. Our national project will prevail until we reach our independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."
According to Hebrew-language news outlets, the US dropped from its annual report on the human rights situation any reference to the Palestinian territories or the Syrian Golan Heights as “occupied territories” as it used to be mentioned in former reports.
It is noteworthy that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been boycotting the US administration since December 2017 when US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and then moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018.
Following recent tensions and the US Trump administration's undeniable support for Israel has prompted the Palestinians to cut communication with the US and declared it unfit to be a mediator during the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
11 mar 2019
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki has says that the U.S. decision to stop financial aid, to a UN agency which supports Palestinian refugees, has not affected its works.
“Thanks to the contributions of many countries led by Turkey, UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency ] continues its services,” al-Maliki told Anadolu Agency.
Last year, U.S. President Donald Trump cut Washington’s annual funding for UNRWA. The U.S. had been the agency’s largest contributor by far, providing it with $350 million each year — roughly a quarter of its overall budget.
According to UNWRA, nearly one-third of the registered Palestine refugees, more than 1.5 million individuals, live in 58 recognized Palestine refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Denying the reports that Arab countries are in the process of normalizing ties with Israel, al-Maliki said: “The main requirement for normalization is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem [al-Quds] as its capital on the 1967 borders.”
“We will not bow to any pressure on the Palestine cause. It is our duty to defend the Islamic values in Jerusalem in the name of the Muslim Ummah and Arabs,” he said.
The Palestinian Authority has made great efforts to punish Israel’s crimes against humanity in Gaza, al-Maliki added.
Some Arab states appear to be taking tentative steps toward normalizing relations with Israel.
These steps have reportedly included visits to Tel Aviv by Iraqi officials and Egypt’s recent admission that it was coordinating security efforts with Israel in the volatile Sinai Peninsula.
Israeli officials in recent months have also reportedly visited a number of Arab countries, including one such visit to Oman in October by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Nearly 50 countries, including Israel and several Arab states, reportedly confirmed their participation in the “Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East,” held jointly by the U.S. and Poland, took place in Warsaw, Poland on Feb. 13-14.
On several occasions, Israeli officials have spoken of “positive change” vis-à-vis diplomatic normalization with the Arab world — despite a continued lack of progress in the Israel-Palestine peace process.
“Thanks to the contributions of many countries led by Turkey, UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency ] continues its services,” al-Maliki told Anadolu Agency.
Last year, U.S. President Donald Trump cut Washington’s annual funding for UNRWA. The U.S. had been the agency’s largest contributor by far, providing it with $350 million each year — roughly a quarter of its overall budget.
According to UNWRA, nearly one-third of the registered Palestine refugees, more than 1.5 million individuals, live in 58 recognized Palestine refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Denying the reports that Arab countries are in the process of normalizing ties with Israel, al-Maliki said: “The main requirement for normalization is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem [al-Quds] as its capital on the 1967 borders.”
“We will not bow to any pressure on the Palestine cause. It is our duty to defend the Islamic values in Jerusalem in the name of the Muslim Ummah and Arabs,” he said.
The Palestinian Authority has made great efforts to punish Israel’s crimes against humanity in Gaza, al-Maliki added.
Some Arab states appear to be taking tentative steps toward normalizing relations with Israel.
These steps have reportedly included visits to Tel Aviv by Iraqi officials and Egypt’s recent admission that it was coordinating security efforts with Israel in the volatile Sinai Peninsula.
Israeli officials in recent months have also reportedly visited a number of Arab countries, including one such visit to Oman in October by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Nearly 50 countries, including Israel and several Arab states, reportedly confirmed their participation in the “Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East,” held jointly by the U.S. and Poland, took place in Warsaw, Poland on Feb. 13-14.
On several occasions, Israeli officials have spoken of “positive change” vis-à-vis diplomatic normalization with the Arab world — despite a continued lack of progress in the Israel-Palestine peace process.
4 mar 2019
The United States is scheduled to move ahead with a downgrade of its mission to the Palestinians, on Monday, by merging its Jerusalem consulate with the embassy to Israel, a US official said.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on Saturday, said the announcement to merge the two offices in October was intended to improve “efficiency and effectiveness” and did not constitute a change in policy.
But Palestinian leaders have seen the decision as yet another move against them by US President Donald Trump‘s administration, which they froze contact with after his 2017 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
A date for the merger of the consulate into the embassy had not been announced, but a State Department official told AFP news agency, on condition of anonymity, that it “is expected to take place on March 4”.
The Jerusalem consulate general, which has acted independently as a de facto embassy to the Palestinians since the Oslo accords of the 1990s, will be replaced by a new Palestinian affairs unit within the embassy.
PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said, at the time of the announcement, last year: “It [the merger] has nothing to do with efficiency and a lot to do with pleasing an ideological US team that is willing to disband the foundations of the international system.”
Placing the consulate under the authority of the embassy could be seen as an American recognition of Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The controversial US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has been a supporter of Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
Friedman previously expressed doubt over a potential two-state solution, which has traditionally been the bedrock of US diplomacy, and had long called for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The State Department official could not confirm reports that the consul general’s residence in Jerusalem would eventually become the home for the US ambassador as part of the embassy’s move to the disputed city, which occurred last May.
Located near occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, it has been the home of the consul general since 1912, while the US permanent diplomatic presence in the city was established in 1857.
Trump, who is expected to release his long-awaited peace plan in the coming months, has also cut more than $500 million in Palestinian aid, in a bid to force its leaders to negotiate.
Palestinian leaders call it an attempt to blackmail them into accepting a plan aimed at wiping out their cause, and have labelled the US as a “dishonest broker”.
The status of Jerusalem – home to sites holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians – is one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Though Israel claims Jerusalem is the capital of its state, its jurisdiction over the city is not recognized internationally.
After occupying the city’s eastern part in the 1967 war, Israel unilaterally annexed the territory and proclaimed it as its capital. The Palestinians, however, see the city as the capital of their future state.
Trump’s decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem broke with decades of international consensus that the status of the city must first be decided upon through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on Saturday, said the announcement to merge the two offices in October was intended to improve “efficiency and effectiveness” and did not constitute a change in policy.
But Palestinian leaders have seen the decision as yet another move against them by US President Donald Trump‘s administration, which they froze contact with after his 2017 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
A date for the merger of the consulate into the embassy had not been announced, but a State Department official told AFP news agency, on condition of anonymity, that it “is expected to take place on March 4”.
The Jerusalem consulate general, which has acted independently as a de facto embassy to the Palestinians since the Oslo accords of the 1990s, will be replaced by a new Palestinian affairs unit within the embassy.
PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said, at the time of the announcement, last year: “It [the merger] has nothing to do with efficiency and a lot to do with pleasing an ideological US team that is willing to disband the foundations of the international system.”
Placing the consulate under the authority of the embassy could be seen as an American recognition of Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The controversial US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has been a supporter of Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
Friedman previously expressed doubt over a potential two-state solution, which has traditionally been the bedrock of US diplomacy, and had long called for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The State Department official could not confirm reports that the consul general’s residence in Jerusalem would eventually become the home for the US ambassador as part of the embassy’s move to the disputed city, which occurred last May.
Located near occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, it has been the home of the consul general since 1912, while the US permanent diplomatic presence in the city was established in 1857.
Trump, who is expected to release his long-awaited peace plan in the coming months, has also cut more than $500 million in Palestinian aid, in a bid to force its leaders to negotiate.
Palestinian leaders call it an attempt to blackmail them into accepting a plan aimed at wiping out their cause, and have labelled the US as a “dishonest broker”.
The status of Jerusalem – home to sites holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians – is one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Though Israel claims Jerusalem is the capital of its state, its jurisdiction over the city is not recognized internationally.
After occupying the city’s eastern part in the 1967 war, Israel unilaterally annexed the territory and proclaimed it as its capital. The Palestinians, however, see the city as the capital of their future state.
Trump’s decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem broke with decades of international consensus that the status of the city must first be decided upon through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Trump administration’s “Deal of the Century”, or so-called Middle East Peace Plan does not include the establishment of an independent Palestinian state., but rather calls for Palestinian autonomy in the Gaza Strip, with political and economic links to the West Bank, the Palestinian newspaper al-Quds reported on Thursday.
The paper did not cite the source of the information, yet said that the Jewish settlements in the West Bank will remain on the ground, but will not be able to be extended.
Most of the Israeli military checkpoints in the West Bank will instead, reportedly, have to be removed to facilitate the movement of Palestinians.
The newspaper added that 25 billion dollars of investment in the West Bank and Gaza will be foreseen as part of the ‘deal’, as well as significant investment for Egypt, Jordan, and possibly also Lebanon, PNN reports.
The paper did not cite the source of the information, yet said that the Jewish settlements in the West Bank will remain on the ground, but will not be able to be extended.
Most of the Israeli military checkpoints in the West Bank will instead, reportedly, have to be removed to facilitate the movement of Palestinians.
The newspaper added that 25 billion dollars of investment in the West Bank and Gaza will be foreseen as part of the ‘deal’, as well as significant investment for Egypt, Jordan, and possibly also Lebanon, PNN reports.
27 feb 2019
by Madeeha Araj/ NBPRS/
The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said, in its latest weekly report, that the ruling Israeli right-wing in Israel is racing time in order to get the votes of the Israelis, particularly those of the settlers. It escalates land confiscation campaigns throughout the West Bank, especially in occupied Jerusalem, using the American protection, ahead of the Knesset election scheduled for next April 9th, as the settlement file occupies an important part in Israel.
Accordingly, the gov’t recently ratified the construction of 464 housing units in the Gilo settlement of East Jerusalem, as part of a plan to build more than 4,000 settlement units throughout the city, besides the construction of 23,576 housing units in East Jerusalem, 180 units in Kiryat Yovel and 375 units in Kiryat Menahem. Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Li’on said, “This is good news for me and for the young couples in the city.”
This report comes after the discovery of other settlement projects in occupied Jerusalem, to which millions of NIS has been allocated for implementation, whereas the so-called “Renovation and Development of the Jewish Quarter” implements Judaization projects worth over NIS 200 million ( i.e. about $ 55 million), including the so-called “Wailing Wall Project” and the “Mosaic of Jerusalem”, all aimed at catering to Talmudic legends in these various neighborhoods, to attract more Jewish tourists and change their features completely.
Those projects include the construction of buildings and houses which the occupation claims date back to the era of the Temple. The project “Beautiful Village” aims to change the features of the “Jewish Quarter”. It is erected on the ruins of the honorary and Moroccan neighborhoods from after the 1967 war, claiming it is infrastructure works and adapting to the Talmudic legend in order to attract Jewish tourists, but, as they said, they are renovating a synagogue which settlers claimed was destroyed in 1948.
Renovation is expected to continue for several years, during which the entire structure will be changed. The height of the building will be 25 meters and the stairs leading to the Buraq wall will be removed by building an elevator. The project will have a total area of 2000m2, costing NIS 57 million shekels, and will be completed by 2022.
At the same time, Israel’s right-wing leaders continue to launch provocative calls for annexing C areas and imposing Israeli law on them. Israeli Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked, one of the founders of the New Right party, with Naftali Bennett, said that Israel should control them.
Thus, Israeli citizenship will be granted to half a million Palestinians who will live in peace and can vote in the Knesset. In response to a question on whether the residents of East Jerusalem, about 400,000 Palestinians, would receive full citizenship with the right to vote in the Knesset, Shaked said that the residents of these areas chose to obtain residency only, but, if the Israeli law was applied to them, they would be citizens of the State of Israel, and have the right to vote.
Moreover, the occupation authorities continue applying the ethnic cleansing policy in Jerusalem as they also continue displacing citizens of the Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood by force, replacing them with Jews through carrying out settlement projects in the city. They uprooted Abu-Assab family from its home that overlooks the Dome of the Rock. They detained the son of Abu-Asab, assaulting him with many other citizens who rushed to stand with the family. The family was forcibly evicted from the house according to a decision issued at the end of last October, though it has owned the house for many decades (i.e. since its displacement from the Al-Baqa’a Neighborhood of West Jerusalem in 1948).
In another context, the Institute for Applied Sciences -ARIJ said that the Israeli War Ministry’s website revealed a series of secret files containing some racist Israeli laws and orders related to the areas of influence of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli occupation army deliberately hid them from the owners of the Palestinian lands so they can not reject or object them in the Israeli courts. Consequently, Israel managed to expand its control over the settlements.
Israel has adopted a number of such racist laws to facilitate the confiscation of Palestinian lands, including a military order on the administration of regional councils in Judea and Samaria, no. 783 and 5739 – 1979, in which five Jewish regional councils were declared in the occupied West Bank, besides establishing local councils in Judea and Samaria, no. 892 and 5741 – 1981, under which local councils were established within Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said, in its latest weekly report, that the ruling Israeli right-wing in Israel is racing time in order to get the votes of the Israelis, particularly those of the settlers. It escalates land confiscation campaigns throughout the West Bank, especially in occupied Jerusalem, using the American protection, ahead of the Knesset election scheduled for next April 9th, as the settlement file occupies an important part in Israel.
Accordingly, the gov’t recently ratified the construction of 464 housing units in the Gilo settlement of East Jerusalem, as part of a plan to build more than 4,000 settlement units throughout the city, besides the construction of 23,576 housing units in East Jerusalem, 180 units in Kiryat Yovel and 375 units in Kiryat Menahem. Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Li’on said, “This is good news for me and for the young couples in the city.”
This report comes after the discovery of other settlement projects in occupied Jerusalem, to which millions of NIS has been allocated for implementation, whereas the so-called “Renovation and Development of the Jewish Quarter” implements Judaization projects worth over NIS 200 million ( i.e. about $ 55 million), including the so-called “Wailing Wall Project” and the “Mosaic of Jerusalem”, all aimed at catering to Talmudic legends in these various neighborhoods, to attract more Jewish tourists and change their features completely.
Those projects include the construction of buildings and houses which the occupation claims date back to the era of the Temple. The project “Beautiful Village” aims to change the features of the “Jewish Quarter”. It is erected on the ruins of the honorary and Moroccan neighborhoods from after the 1967 war, claiming it is infrastructure works and adapting to the Talmudic legend in order to attract Jewish tourists, but, as they said, they are renovating a synagogue which settlers claimed was destroyed in 1948.
Renovation is expected to continue for several years, during which the entire structure will be changed. The height of the building will be 25 meters and the stairs leading to the Buraq wall will be removed by building an elevator. The project will have a total area of 2000m2, costing NIS 57 million shekels, and will be completed by 2022.
At the same time, Israel’s right-wing leaders continue to launch provocative calls for annexing C areas and imposing Israeli law on them. Israeli Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked, one of the founders of the New Right party, with Naftali Bennett, said that Israel should control them.
Thus, Israeli citizenship will be granted to half a million Palestinians who will live in peace and can vote in the Knesset. In response to a question on whether the residents of East Jerusalem, about 400,000 Palestinians, would receive full citizenship with the right to vote in the Knesset, Shaked said that the residents of these areas chose to obtain residency only, but, if the Israeli law was applied to them, they would be citizens of the State of Israel, and have the right to vote.
Moreover, the occupation authorities continue applying the ethnic cleansing policy in Jerusalem as they also continue displacing citizens of the Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood by force, replacing them with Jews through carrying out settlement projects in the city. They uprooted Abu-Assab family from its home that overlooks the Dome of the Rock. They detained the son of Abu-Asab, assaulting him with many other citizens who rushed to stand with the family. The family was forcibly evicted from the house according to a decision issued at the end of last October, though it has owned the house for many decades (i.e. since its displacement from the Al-Baqa’a Neighborhood of West Jerusalem in 1948).
In another context, the Institute for Applied Sciences -ARIJ said that the Israeli War Ministry’s website revealed a series of secret files containing some racist Israeli laws and orders related to the areas of influence of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli occupation army deliberately hid them from the owners of the Palestinian lands so they can not reject or object them in the Israeli courts. Consequently, Israel managed to expand its control over the settlements.
Israel has adopted a number of such racist laws to facilitate the confiscation of Palestinian lands, including a military order on the administration of regional councils in Judea and Samaria, no. 783 and 5739 – 1979, in which five Jewish regional councils were declared in the occupied West Bank, besides establishing local councils in Judea and Samaria, no. 892 and 5741 – 1981, under which local councils were established within Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
26 feb 2019
Ta’al Party head Dr. Ahmed Tibi told Ynet that he doesn’t consider a Lapid-Gantz coalition akin to the Rabin government of the 90’s nor does he have any expectations of the Trump peace plan.
MK Ahmed Tibi, Hadash-Ta’al Party (The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality and the Arab Movement for Renewal, respectively), told Ynet that he is opposed to US President Donald Trump’s proposed “deal of the century” for Mideast peace, a sliver of which was revealed Monday by Jared Kushner, the president’s adviser and son-in-law.
“It is a terrible proposal,” Tibi said, “the American administration is not very familiar with the region. Kushner coordinated some of the initiatives with Netanyahu and not with the Palestinians side.”
Asked if the Arab Knesset parties would consider joining with Center-Left parties to block the Likud from forming a coalition, Tibi replied: “The truth is, from the perspective of the Arab parties, the experience from the 90’s (in supporting the Rabin government over the Oslo Accords) was successful. It improved the status of the Arab population.
“But then it was a Rabin-Meretz government. Today, there is a different direction, a different type of politics, more extremism and anti-Arabism; therefore I think that we are far from such a situation,” Tibi said. “We want to be in the Knesset in order to make a difference, to improve the status of the Arab minority and also to influence the diplomatic issue and end the occupation.”
Tibi emphasized his opposition to Netanyahu and the Right. “But don’t expect to hear cries of joy from us over Gantz or Lapid. Lapid declared only a few days ago that he will not sit in a coalition with Arabs. Imagine a French politician saying that he won’t sit with Jews. It is a harsh, disturbing and inexcusable statement. I have also yet to hear from Gantz anything regarding equality for Arab citizens. Therefore I have a problem with these two,” Tibi concluded.
If Gantz does talk about equality, forms a coalition with Meretz and advances the “deal of the century,” will you then consider supporting his coalition?
“We oppose the Trump deal. It is a plan that does not include east Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, it lacks full sovereignty for the Palestinians and it leaves settlements. Why should we support such a plan? The cardinal elements of the proposal are opposed to the interest of the Palestinian people,” Tibi responded.
“I am quite sure that Jared Kushner coordinated parts of the proposal with Netanyahu and his associates,” Tibi continued. “He didn’t coordinate with the Palestinian side, therefore they oppose it — justifiably. Even assuming it’s the only proposal, who says it must be accepted? It is a terrible proposal; the Americans aren’t familiar with the region and their policies are one-sided.”
The New Right Party says that the proposal calls for Netanyahu dividing Jerusalem.
Tibi: “I don’t wish to get involved in the internal intrigue on the Right. For us it’s the same position. So much has been tried, but they have yet to try one thing: ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, alongside Israel.”
You can see the increase in anti-Semitism and attacks on Jews across the world, why, in your opinion, is this happening?
Tibi: “We have said in the past that anti-Semitism is a form of racism. We don’t mean that opposition to Israel’s policies is anti-Semitic but rather anti-Semitism of attacking a Jew because he is a Jew or he has a kippa or attacking a Muslim because she has a hijab or head covering; these racist phenomena ought to be opposed.
“Racism has always existed, in Europe, Netanyahu’s friends in Poland or Hungary for example, they have a strong element of anti-Semitism in their platform but Netanyahu gives them a break because they are with him against the Palestinians,” Tibi said.
MK Ahmed Tibi, Hadash-Ta’al Party (The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality and the Arab Movement for Renewal, respectively), told Ynet that he is opposed to US President Donald Trump’s proposed “deal of the century” for Mideast peace, a sliver of which was revealed Monday by Jared Kushner, the president’s adviser and son-in-law.
“It is a terrible proposal,” Tibi said, “the American administration is not very familiar with the region. Kushner coordinated some of the initiatives with Netanyahu and not with the Palestinians side.”
Asked if the Arab Knesset parties would consider joining with Center-Left parties to block the Likud from forming a coalition, Tibi replied: “The truth is, from the perspective of the Arab parties, the experience from the 90’s (in supporting the Rabin government over the Oslo Accords) was successful. It improved the status of the Arab population.
“But then it was a Rabin-Meretz government. Today, there is a different direction, a different type of politics, more extremism and anti-Arabism; therefore I think that we are far from such a situation,” Tibi said. “We want to be in the Knesset in order to make a difference, to improve the status of the Arab minority and also to influence the diplomatic issue and end the occupation.”
Tibi emphasized his opposition to Netanyahu and the Right. “But don’t expect to hear cries of joy from us over Gantz or Lapid. Lapid declared only a few days ago that he will not sit in a coalition with Arabs. Imagine a French politician saying that he won’t sit with Jews. It is a harsh, disturbing and inexcusable statement. I have also yet to hear from Gantz anything regarding equality for Arab citizens. Therefore I have a problem with these two,” Tibi concluded.
If Gantz does talk about equality, forms a coalition with Meretz and advances the “deal of the century,” will you then consider supporting his coalition?
“We oppose the Trump deal. It is a plan that does not include east Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, it lacks full sovereignty for the Palestinians and it leaves settlements. Why should we support such a plan? The cardinal elements of the proposal are opposed to the interest of the Palestinian people,” Tibi responded.
“I am quite sure that Jared Kushner coordinated parts of the proposal with Netanyahu and his associates,” Tibi continued. “He didn’t coordinate with the Palestinian side, therefore they oppose it — justifiably. Even assuming it’s the only proposal, who says it must be accepted? It is a terrible proposal; the Americans aren’t familiar with the region and their policies are one-sided.”
The New Right Party says that the proposal calls for Netanyahu dividing Jerusalem.
Tibi: “I don’t wish to get involved in the internal intrigue on the Right. For us it’s the same position. So much has been tried, but they have yet to try one thing: ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, alongside Israel.”
You can see the increase in anti-Semitism and attacks on Jews across the world, why, in your opinion, is this happening?
Tibi: “We have said in the past that anti-Semitism is a form of racism. We don’t mean that opposition to Israel’s policies is anti-Semitic but rather anti-Semitism of attacking a Jew because he is a Jew or he has a kippa or attacking a Muslim because she has a hijab or head covering; these racist phenomena ought to be opposed.
“Racism has always existed, in Europe, Netanyahu’s friends in Poland or Hungary for example, they have a strong element of anti-Semitism in their platform but Netanyahu gives them a break because they are with him against the Palestinians,” Tibi said.