Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting began on August 22 with US President Barak Obama addressing Muslims on the occasion from the White House on day earlier. As part of his Ramadan message, Obama said his country was, "unyielding in its support for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians."
In his videotaped message, Obama said the US was committed to "keeping our responsibility to build a world that is more peaceful and secure." In this context, the President said he would support a two-state solution where both peoples live in peace and security.
Both Obama and the rest of the world understand that this goal cannot be achieved while Israeli settlements continue to expand. The US has so far continued its pressure on Israel to freeze settlement construction, while the latter continues to resist.
Still, on August 17, media reports claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Housing Minister Ariel Atias agreed to temporarily freeze settlement construction by declaring a moratorium on new building in the settlements. According to the reports, the freeze would remain in effect until the beginning of 2010.
However, on August 19, the media reported that tenders had been issued for the construction of 450 housing units in the Pisgat Zeev settlement in Jerusalem, with Israeli deputy foreign minister Daniel Ayalon denying that any official decision was taken to freeze settlements.
According to Peace Now, even a decision to freeze settlements for this short period of time is meaningless. On August 18, the Israeli peace movement issued a report saying that currently there are over 1000 housing units under construction in West Bank and east Jerusalem settlements, which are not part of the freeze.
Furthermore, the government, which claims jurisdiction over any decision to freeze or halt settlement expansion, sponsors only about 40% of settlement construction in Palestinian territories. Most settlement construction is through private initiatives from settler groups, and NGOs. This means, the report continued, that even if there were a complete freeze of construction bids on behalf of the government, at least 60% of settlement construction would continue.
Germany expressed similar sentiments to that of President Obama through its foreign ministry spokesperson. On August 21, Germany's government said "urgent action" is needed on the settlements for any peace efforts to move forward.
"We and our partners the Americans have made very clear that we see the settlements issue as one of the biggest impediments to a two-state solution," foreign ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke said.
Earlier this month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel also said that settlements should stop in the occupied West Bank.
Israel has been under fire this week, not only because of the international pressure on it to halt settlement construction but also because of an article published in a Swedish newspaper that claims the Israeli army has harvested organs from Palestinians it killed. According to the article, the army has been taking organs from Palestinian youths as far back as 1992.
Israel, of course, was screaming anti-Semitism and blood libel almost immediately after the story broke, accusing the Swedish government of not intervening in the case. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman demanded that Sweden's foreign minister Carl Bildt print a state rebuttal to the piece.
Bildt refused, saying on August 21 that would be an impingement on Sweden's freedom of expression. "Freedom of expression and press freedom are very strong in our constitution by tradition. And that strong protection has served our democracy and our country well," Bildt wrote in a statement.
At present, Israeli officials are looking into how to respond to the "crisis" including refusing to deal with Swedish journalists in Israel, or focusing on this issue during Bildt's upcoming visit to Israel.
Israel was also criticized this week by the US over its recent introduction of PA-only visa stamps for foreign nationals crossing into Israel via the Allenby Bridge. On August 19, the US State Department issued a statement calling the new regulations "unacceptable."
"The United States expects that all American citizens be treated equally, regardless of their national origin or other citizenship," the statement read. "We have let the government of Israel know that these restrictions unfairly impact Palestinian and Arab-American travelers, and are not acceptable."
Nevertheless, in its travel advisory, the US State Department clearly stated that it could do nothing to change this visa status once Israel issued it. The new visas are being issued to foreign nationals with either a Palestinian background. At the Ben Gurion Airport, Israeli officials have also begun demanding that foreigners sign a pledge not to enter the Palestinian territories.
Another controversial report that surfaced in the Israeli press this week was on August 19 in the Israeli daily Haaretz. According to the article, the Shin Bet's VIP security unit provides security to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad when they are in Area C during their trips in the West Bank.
On August 20, the Palestinians vehemently denied the report. According to Palestinian security services spokesman Adnan Dmeiri, Israel does not provide any protection to the president or prime minister. “This news is not true,” Ad-Dameri said in phone interview with Palestinian news agency, Maan. “The Israeli media says so to misrepresent and to harm the status of the Palestinian Authority.” He stressed that Israel has “nothing to do with the security of the Palestinian President.”
On the internal Palestinian front, the Gaza Strip was relatively quiet after last week's bloodshed between the ruling Hamas party and the Islamist group Jund Ansar Allah, who claimed an Islamic Emirate in Rafah. The fighting resulted in the deaths of 28 from both sides along with several civilians. On August 18, Jund Ansar Allah called on its members to "retaliate with force" to any arrest attempts by Hamas security forces. Just one day after the end to the hostilities, around 100 of the group's members had already been arrested by Hamas.
Meanwhile, an Egyptian security delegation met with Hamas and Fateh representatives on August 18 to bridge the gaps between the two sides in front of a scheduled conciliation meeting later this month. However, nothing came of the meeting with Hamas saying that no national elections would take place without first reaching unity.
During a cabinet meeting on August 17 President Abbas reiterated his government's commitment to national unity and to reaching a peaceful solution through negotiations. The President also praised current Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and said he would remain in his post.
Finally, on August 16, Israeli authorities handed demolition orders to 17 families in Salem near Nablus under the pretext that the homes were being built in Area C. Residents there said they were forced to build because Israeli authorities would not give them permission to expand because of the expanding settlements and bypass roads. This has pushed the number of homes that recently received demolition orders in the Nablus area to 40.
UN Resolution 1325
Date posted: February 03, 2021
By MIFTAH
Kerry talks peace while Israel bars UNESCO mission [May 19 - May 25]
Date posted: May 25, 2013
By MIFTAH
President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both met with US Secretary of State John Kerry this week in the latter’s fourth visit to the region since he assumed office.
After meeting with the two to ostensibly find ways to restart stalled negotiations between the two sides, Kerry urged on May 24 both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take "hard decisions" to revive the peace process.
"We're getting toward a time now when hard decisions need to be made," he said at the end of his visit.
Kerry admitted a day before after meeting with the two leaders that there was skepticism and cynicism about his efforts to revive talks.
"I know this region well enough to know there is skepticism, in some quarters there is cynicism, and there are reasons for it. There have been bitter years of disappointment," he said. Still, he maintained: "It is our hope that by being methodical, careful, patient, but detailed and tenacious, that we can lay on a path ahead that can conceivably surprise people and certainly exhaust the possibilities for peace."
British foreign secretary William Hague was also in the region visiting with leaders on both sides and even visited the Bedouin community of Khan Al Ahmar between Jerusalem and Jericho, whose residents are under the threat of displacement.
On May 23, Hague was poignantly clear on where his country stands on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. "Israel has lost some of its support in Britain and in other European countries over time - this is something I've often pointed out to Israeli leaders -because of settlement activity, which we condemn,” he said.
"We strongly disagree with settlements on occupied land. Israel is a country we work with in many ways but we do disapprove of settlements,” he maintained, adding that: "We want to see both Israelis and Palestinians really commit themselves to the peace process while there is still a chance of a two-state solution."
In Khan al Ahmar, Hague listened to the residents’ grievances from Israeli efforts to push them out to make way for more settlement expansion. "We (in Britain) strongly condemn the building of settlements and recognise they are a severe threat to a two-state solution,” he told the people there.
On March 21, Israeli forces demolished two residential buildings in the Jabal al-Mukabbir in East Jerusalem. Earlier, they demolished two Palestinian homes in al-Tur, all under the pretext of unlicensed construction. Dozens of people have been left homeless from the demolitions.
A UNESCO fact-finding mission was supposed to arrive this week to look into Israeli measures in the Old City of Jerusalem and their impact on the archeological, cultural and heritage significance of the place, but was denied entry by Israel on May 20. Israel justified its decision by saying Palestinians were trying to politicize the visit.
"The Palestinians were not respecting the understandings,” an Israeli foreign ministry official said. “The visit was supposed to be professional, (but) they were taking measures that showed they were politicizing the event and not letting the delegation focus on professional sides of it," the official said.
UNESCO maintained that the mission was not cancelled, but postponed, the agency’s spokeswoman Sue Williams said.
The Palestinians said they expected Israel to pull something like this. “We weren't surprised by this decision because we believed that Israel's agreement to (allow the mission) was not convincing," minister of foreign affairs Riyad Al Malki said.
The Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was reopened on May 22 after a five day closure. Egyptian soldiers and policemen closed the crossing following the kidnapping of seven Egyptian soldiers in Sinai, only reopening it after the soldiers were freed. Over 2,400 Palestinians had been stranded on both sides of the crossing during the days of the closure.
Extremist Israelis extended their attacks this week all the way to the Negev desert. On May 19, residents of the Retamim Kibbutz attacked the nearby Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj and set fire to a tent, according to head of the local village council, Salman Ibin Hamid
"The setters of Retamim are acting like they are in the West Bank," Ibn Hamid said. "These people have the mentality of the occupying settler to attack every Arab."
Finally, on May 23, the US appointed Gen. John Allen as special envoy on security issues in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. According to a US official, Allen will deal with the U.S. position on Israeli security needs and the security arrangements that would accompany the establishment of a future Palestinian state.
Al Nakba commemorated amid increasing settler attacks [May 12 - May 18]
Date posted: May 18, 2013
By MIFTAH
This week Palestinians commemorated the 65th anniversary of the Nakba, the catastrophe of 1948 on May 15, with a variety of activities, demonstrations and events throughout the Palestinian territories and outside of its borders. Festivals were held in Ramallah and Nablus in addition to several protests and confrontations with Israeli occupation forces. In Jerusalem, clashes broke out between protesters and Israeli police and border guards when Palestinians commemorating Al Nakba, raising Palestinian flags and facing off with Jewish settlers and soldiers. Thirty people were wounded or arrested during the clashes in addition to six Israelis.
The Jerusalem clashes come at a time when settler break-ins to Al Aqsa have been on the rise amid increasing calls by extremist Jewish groups to make a presence at the compound. The break-ins have become a near daily event. Muslim worshippers and Palestinian youths have kept constant vigil at the mosque to stave off the break-ins which included settler groups who used children as a cover to enter the compound on the occasion of Shavuot.
Settlers in the West Bank have wreaked havoc this week as well. On May 17, three Palestinians were injured in clashes in Urif south of Nablus when dozens of settlers set fire to lands in three area-villages: Urif, Einabus, and Asira al-Qibliya. The settlers also attacked citizens and threw burning tires at people’s homes.
Jewish extremists attacked inside the Green Line as well. On May 14, extremists set fire to three cars and sprayed racist graffiti on a mosque south of Haifa, according to Israeli media reports.
"Price-tag" and "Eviatar," which is thought to refer to the name of a settler stabbed to death last week, were found on the mosque’s walls in addition to the Star of David. In Safed, even farther north, racist graffiti with the words "Arabs out" was found on walls in the city.
On May 13, Israeli settlers exhumed a number of graves and sprayed racist graffiti in the Sawiya village in Nablus. Ghassan Daghlas, head of the PA settlement activity file, said settlers from the Alia settlement were responsible for the damage.
On the same day settlers from Tel Hatimar begin building a religious school for children on Al Khader lands in the Bethlehem area.
The Israeli army meanwhile, uprooted over 1,200 olive tree saplings on May 16 and razed land Palestinian farmer in the northern West Bank, according to Daghlas. He said the army dug up over 40 dunums of farm land and demolished a water tank and stone walls in Ras Karker, near Nablus.
On May 17, three Palestinian laborers were wounded in Beit Ula northwest of Hebron after Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets and unleashed police dogs at them according to Issa al-Amla, coordinator for the popular struggle committee. He said Omar Al-Amla, 31, and Abdulkadir Al-Amla, 28, suffered multiple dog bites to the neck and hands. A third laborer, Jihad Saleem, was shot in the leg.
In Jerusalem on May 17, Israeli forces raided the home of Iyad al-Awar and insisted on taking his two children 6-year-old Qassam and 5-year-old Nasrallah for “interrogation”. While their father prevented the forces from arresting his boys, Israeli soldiers handed him a warrant ordering him to bring his children to the Russian Compound for questioning.
"We arrived to the Russian Compound and the troops wanted to take my kids for investigation; I refused and they beat me in the ear and the leg. My kids started crying and were so scared from the troops. They took my kids by force," al-Awar said.
Israeli Intelligence officers apparently questioned the children about their detained cousin Shadad, and asked if they had seen him throwing stones or Molotov cocktails at Israeli forces, Al Awar said.
On the same day however, Palestinians scored a tiny victory in the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis when they were able to tear a hole through part of the separation wall. Protesters marking the Nakba anniversary ripped a 4-meter hole in it, eyewitnesses said. Clashes ensued between the protesters and Israeli soldiers who fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Several injuries were reported.
Peace Now reported on May 16 that the Israeli government planned to grant retroactive approval to four West Bank settlement outposts it had previously pledged to at least partially demolish.
The Israeli state attorney's office said that settlers had purchased the private Palestinian land on which they built, thus paving the way for the government to give its blessing.
"In the response, the government declares its intention to legalize four outposts, in isolated areas," Peace Now said in a statement, adding that the strategy was an affront to US Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts to revive dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. "The intention to legalize outposts as new settlements is no less than a slap in the face of Secretary Kerry's new peace process," Peace Now said.
On May 14, Hamas and Fatah agreed in Cairo to form a national unity government within three months during which they would finalize and approve the Palestine National Council elections law. The two sides, represented by Fatah leader Azzam Al Ahmad and Hamas politburo member Mousa Abu Marzouq, came to the agreement under Egyptian sponsorship and said President Abbas would immediately begin talks on the new government formation. Once the government is formed, general elections can be held.
