Nablus was front and center again this week after a Palestinian man entered the area settlement of Yitzhar, stabbed a nine-year old boy, set fire to a house and managed to escape into nearby villages. The incident happened at dawn on September 13 and Israeli army reinforcements were quick to respond, invading the villages of Madama and Aseera Qabaliya in search of the perpetrator. Meanwhile settlers from Yitzar have been on the attack ever since, closing off the entrances of Oreef and Aseera Qabaliyah and opening fire on the villagers. At press time, eight Palestinians had been injured by settler fire.
Earlier in the week on September 10, 25-year old Waleed Freitekh was shot and killed in Nablus' old city. His companion, Jaafar Jaabreh was also shot, wounded and then arrested by an Israeli army unit that raided the city. According to eyewitnesses and medical sources, Freitekh was left to bleed when ambulances were not allowed access to the scene of the shooting. Palestinians say Jaabreh was a member of the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and recently received partial immunity by Israel not to be pursued. Freitekh was not wanted by Israel.
Settlers and settlements were also in the spotlight during the week. A report released by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem stated that tens and thousands of acres of Palestinian land had been taken over and fenced off by settlers in the West Bank. The report added that in some places, the settlers had taken up to two and a half times more land than was originally designated to them. The Israeli army responded to the reported by saying that the "security zones" were established after settlers complained of Palestinian attacks.
In any case, most settlements are to remain intact if a final agreement is to be based on the course of the separation wall running through the West Bank. According to a report issued by the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem on September 11, once the wall is completed, 31 percent of the total area of the West Bank would have been isolated. In addition, the wall will encompass 107 Jewish settlements with a total of 400,000 settlers on the Israeli side of the wall.
On September 10, Israeli authorities issued an order to the mayor of Jayyous, a town near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya, informing him of the expropriation of 724 dunams of land for the sake of the wall. Part of the land also belongs to another Palestinian village in the area, Falamya.
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad made it clear on September 12 that settlements and peace agreements just don't mix. During a meeting in Ramallah with EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, Fayyad said the international community's support for the peace process was 'meaningless' as long as Israel does not halt its settlement expansion. Fayyad also stressed that ending the Israeli occupation over Palestinian lands was the key to stability and security in the region.
Solana also did not limit his meeting to diplomatic niceties. He criticized the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships in their efforts at achieving peace, saying the process following the Annapolis conference in November 2007 was "too slow." On that note, he continued to urge the parties to step up their efforts to reach a deal by the end of the year, saying that if they hold off until 2009 it would be 'much more complicated' to do so.
President Abbas is scheduled to travel to Washington later this month to hold talks with US officials on ways to push the peace process forward.
Still, the President did not seem all that optimistic about reaching a final deal with Israel by year's end during an interview with the Hebrew daily Haaretz on September 12. Speaking on the 15th anniversary of signing of the Oslo Accords, Abbas told Haaretz that he doubts a peace deal could be reached by then because none of the six key final status issues had been resolved. The President reiterated the leadership's stance on refugees, saying any future deal must include the right of return.
In spite of the several obstacles that surfaced after the accords were signed and the fact that a Palestinian state has yet to be established, Abbas confirmed that he would do it all over again if necessary. "Even today, I am sure I would sign the Oslo Accords," he said. "I risked my life for peace, and if I have to pay for it with my life, it is still a marginal price."
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert seemed more upbeat about the prospects for peace. In a speech to a Kadima party gathering on September 11, Olmert said he would work for a peace deal until his last day in office, adding that he thought an agreement with the Palestinian Authority was still possible by the end of 2008.
On September 12, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine announced from Cairo that Egyptian mediators are calling for Palestinian factions to agree on a Palestinian national document to resolve their divisions. In a statement, the PFLP said the Egyptians also urged the Palestinians to form a technocrat government to resolve the split in Gaza.
Egypt has made it clear it will not play mediator forever and expressed its dissatisfaction over the continuing rivalries between Palestinian factions. In the closing session of the Arab League conference on September 9, Arab League Secretary General Amer Mousa said the League would take serious steps against any Palestinian faction that stands in the way of the national dialogue currently underway in Cairo. "We do not want, nor will we deal with a reconciliation process that lasts for years," he warned. "It has to end at some point."
Similarly, Hamas was not particularly happy with the Arab League session. Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum criticized the Arab League resolutions saying they did not offer any practical solutions to the problems such as the siege on Gaza or the Judaization of Jerusalem. He said the fact that the League did not use any pressure tactics on the Israeli occupation to halt these measures meant it was as good as turning a blind eye to its crimes.
In Gaza, two people were killed on September 11 in a tunnel between Rafah and Egypt. Hani Khalaf and Faysal Abu Sultan were both in their twenties and were working inside the tunnels when they were killed.
On September 8, the Hamas de facto government in Gaza released 12 Fateh affiliated men from their prisons. The move, they said, was part of the call by the national committee to end political arrests.
Deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh was also supposedly trying to mend fences on September 12 during an Iftar meal in the Shujayieh quarter of Gaza City. In speech before the evening breaking of the Ramadan fast, Haniyeh urged all those who fled the Shujayieh quarter in the recent inter-factional clashes to return to their homes. "The government is extending a bridge of understanding to the families." Fateh affiliated members of the quarter fled the neighbourhood during clashes with Hamas forces months ago and say have not returned to their homes in fear of retaliation.
Finally, on September 9, an Israeli ministerial committee mandated to compile a prisoner list, presented 450 names of Palestinian prisoners to swap with captured Israeli corporal Gilad Shalit. Previously, Israel had only approved 71 of the 450 names Hamas suggested through their Egyptian mediator. This is the first time Israel initiates the list.
However, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar said on September 12 that any prisoner exchange with Israel would be on Palestinian terms and not based on Israel's list of names. He made his comments during the Friday sermon, adding that priority would be given to prisoners who are serving life sentences.
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.
