On March 14, Lt. General William Fraser III met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Amos Gilad [a member of the Israeli Defense ministry] at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem to discuss the current state of the peace process. Since his appointment after Annapolis over three months ago, Lt. General Fraser has taken a somewhat laissez-faire approach to the process, leaving the Palestinians and Israelis to resolve matters on their own. However, with the recent resumption of violence, failed peace initiatives and violations of the roadmap, Lt. General Fraser has decided to intervene.
Lt. General Fraser declared that “we examined areas where the parties are not meeting their commitments” reiterating the opinions of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who commented that “without following roadmap obligations and without improvements on the ground, it is very hard to sustain the process”.
On March 9, Israeli Housing Minister Zeev Boim confirmed that Israel will expand the Givat Zeev settlement, eight kilometers north of Jerusalem by 350 units while adding a further 750 housing units to the Pisgat Zeev settlement in east Jerusalem. Salam Fayyad emphasized at the meeting how a “freeze on settlement expansion is crucial to preserving the possibility of a Palestinian state”. Under stage one of the roadmap, Israel is obligated to seize all settlement expansion, however, misinterpretations of this prerequisite have led to widespread confusion. Israel maintains that east Jerusalem, the area Palestinians want to be the capital of their future state, is not to be included in this arrangement whereas Palestinians take the clause to encompass all settlements. In addition, Zeev Boim stressed that the permits for these housing units were issued almost a decade ago and were only suspended with the economic problems stemming from the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000 and therefore were agreed long before Annapolis occurred. The US has labeled this move from Israel “unhelpful” within the context of reaching a peace agreement – a view shared by much of the international community.
One notable absentee of the meeting was Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. By sending a subordinate to the meeting in Amos Gilad, it seems as if Israel was diminishing the importance of the discussion. Israeli officials stated that Barak was never scheduled to take part in the meeting while Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat frustratingly asserted that the Israeli Defense Minister was probably “busy planning more settlement construction and more incursions”.
The meeting between the US Lt. General, Salam Fayyad and Amos Gilad came just two days after violence escalated between Palestinians and Israelis after a three day period of calm.
On March 12, Israeli forces drove into Bethlehem killing four Palestinian activists. The raid targeted local Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed Shahada [48] who had been wanted for eight years for his operations against Israel. Islamic Jihad members Imad al-Kamel and Eissa Marzuk were also killed in the incursion, as was Ahmed al-Babul [48], a member of al-Aqsa Brigades - the group loosely linked with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fateh party. On March 13, 50,000 people attended the funeral of the dead at Manger Square in Bethlehem and watched as the bodies were carried with their coffins draped in Hizbollah flags, the Shiite Lebanese resistance group which has a long affiliation with Islamic Jihad.
Speaking about the raid in Bethlehem, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak declared that the incident was an example of how Israel is dedicated to “pursue and hit all assassins with blood on their hands. No matter how much time has passed, Israel will be waiting for them”.
Israel was thought to be honoring the mutual cessation of violence while talks were taking place between Hamas and Egypt. On March 11, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine [PFLP] fired a rocket which hit Ashkelon [11 kilometers north of Gaza], causing no injury but struck just hours after Prime Minister Olmert had visited the town. Israeli officials said that despite the attack they would restrain themselves and avoid reverting back to the conditions of a couple of weeks ago when 130 Palestinians and five Israelis were killed.
Therefore, confusion ensued as to the nature of the attack in Bethlehem and why Israel would risk the period of calm or hinder the talks between Hamas and Egypt, simply to “settle an old score” as Israeli legislator Tzahi Hanegbi from the prime minister’s Kadima party put it. Many questioned this Israeli decision believing that Israel must have known it would attract some degree of retribution.
The response came almost immediately. Islamic Jihad members in Gaza launched 24 rockets into Israel on the evening of March 12 and during March 13. The attack was the first by the faction since March 5 with no injuries reported. In reprisal for the rocket attacks, Israel struck Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza on March 13 attempting to destroy popular launching destinations in the area.
The Israeli attacks on Palestinian targets were condemned by the 57 members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference [OIC] who gathered in the Senegalese capital of Dakar on March 13 and 14. The group, which met to highlight the “war crimes” committed by Israel, also aimed to address ways of curing the “Islamophobia” felt by the West. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, adopting a stiff stance on the issue, publicly announced that “our people in Jerusalem are under an ethnic cleansing campaign”, continuing that the recent “barbaric crimes reveal the true face of Israel which speaks loudly of peace and security while committing murders and executions against our people”. The host of the conference, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, underlined the need for unity between Palestinian factions as a “priority” for success.
President Abbas had projected a more positive message on March 10 in reference to the talks between Hamas and Egypt, which were established to try and negotiate a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. While meeting King Abdullah in Jordan, President Abbas hinted that an agreement may be reached soon concerning Hamas and Israel. In stark contrast to the president’s words, Israeli cabinet ministers downplayed the event with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert later exclaiming that “there is no deal, there are no negotiations either direct or indirect”.
On March 12, deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh offered Israel a Tahdi’a – a period of calm. He proclaimed that Israel must “stop the aggression…including assassinations and incursions, end the sanctions and open the borders” concluding that the “ball is in Israel’s court”.
However, Israel rejected the proposal claiming that a Tahdi’a fell short of what Israel expects. According to Israel, a Tahdi'a is a state of relations more open to interpretation than a Hudna – a truce previously advocated by Hamas. Israel maintains that by using the term Tahdi’a, Hamas would be alleviating itself from responsibility in enforcing a halt on rocket attacks, while a hudna implies a more substantial and credible move towards recognizing Israel.
Contrary to Haniyeh’s comments, Israeli spokesperson Mark Regev expressed the complete opposite by saying that the onus is on Hamas. The spokesperson repeated that if Hamas wants to experience calm in Gaza, they must stop the rockets being fired into Israel. Mark Regev went further by confirming that Israel “will not allow Hamas to sub- contract out terrorism” but will subsequently blame Hamas for every rocket that is launched from Gaza, even if they are fired by other Palestinian factions.
With Israel’s disregard for roadmap obligations concerning settlement expansion and with the breakdown of a possible agreement between Hamas and Israel, there are fears that the violence will escalate further and thus prove more damaging for the peace process.
Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri told reporters that there is “no meaning to any ceasefire in the midst of these crimes…this crime demands a response from the resistance”. On March 14, another Hamas spokesperson, Abu Obeida, declared that al-Qassam Brigades [Hamas’ military wing] had shot an Israeli helicopter with the “improving ammunitions and more accurate weapons the fighters obtain”, reaffirming Israeli fears that Hamas may have acquired more effective arms from Egypt when the Rafah border crossing was forced open for almost two weeks in January.
Meanwhile, some Israeli officials share the same cynicism regarding a future agreement. An unnamed source told the Israeli paper Ha’aretz that “if there are no steps on the ground we will find ourselves in big trouble”.
In other news, Israeli deputy of Foreign Affairs Mjalli Wahbeh has expressed his reservations to Qatari authorities concerning the political stance of the news station Al-Jazeera. Israel has accused the Qatar-based [and mostly owned] news channel of favoring Hamas and sympathizing with their cause, threatening to refuse entry to Israel for their employees if the complaint is not sufficiently dealt with. Similarly, Majed Abu Baker, a lawmaker for President Abbas’ Fateh party, has also announced his dissatisfaction with Al-Jazeera claiming that their coverage is “unfair” and guilty of “spreading radical Islam”. Conversely, Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud Zahar have praised Al- Jazeera for their work and stressed that any action taken against the channel would be a violation of their right to free speech.
The German Foreign Ministry has revealed that they will host an international conference in Berlin to amalgamate support for and offer advice to the Palestinian police and judiciary to improve their efficiency and effectiveness.
Lastly, US Vice-President Dick Cheney has departed from the US and is to embark on a tour of Oman, Saudi Arabia, the West Bank, Israel and Turkey to demonstrate and reinforce America’s commitment to promoting peace in the Middle East. The vice-president will also use this trip as an opportunity to discuss the rising oil prices.
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.
