President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN General Assembly on September 23, surprising many with the power and strength of his message. First the president outlined the ills of the negotiating process that had led to a dead end and a multiplication of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land, saying it was long overdue for Palestine to enjoy independence.
“The core issue here is that the Israeli government refuses to commit to terms of reference for the negotiations that are based on international law and United Nations resolutions, and that it frantically continues to intensify building of settlements on the territory of the State of Palestine,” he said.
Still, he reminded the audience, Palestinians had already made their historical concession long ago. “Because we believe in peace and because of our conviction in international legitimacy, and because we had the courage to make difficult decisions for our people, and in the absence of absolute justice, we decided to adopt the path of relative justice – justice that is possible and could correct part of the grave historical injustice committed against our people,” in reference to the PLO decision to adopt the two-state solution.
After an impassioned speech in which he received ovations – some of them standing – Abbas said what he had come to say. Despite immense pressure from the United States, some European states and even certain Arab states, he announced that he, as president of Palestine and chairman of the PLO, had handed a request for full membership for Palestine into the UN to Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Addressing the delegates, he said, "Your support for the recognition of the state of Palestine is the greatest contribution to the state of peace in the region. I hope we shall not have to wait for long."
The euphoria of Abbas’ speech spilled into the streets of the West Bank as thousands of Palestinians waved flags and pictures of the president. A few hours later, however, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium and repeated his old argument of Israel’s security against the dangers surrounding the “tiny country.” Still, he insisted, Israel’s hand was extended to its neighbors.
“The truth is that Israel wants peace, the truth is that I want peace," Netanyahu said, adding that "we cannot achieve peace through UN resolutions," parroting US President Obama’s position in his own UN address days earlier.
"The Palestinians should first make peace with Israel and then get their state," he said, adding that it was “time for the Palestinians to acknowledge that Israel is the Jewish state."
Netanyahu isn’t fooling everyone, though. Even before his UN address, on September 20, former US President Bill Clinton expressed his wariness of Israel’s intention to make peace.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is responsible for the inability to reach a peace deal that would end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians,” he said on the sidelines of the Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York. In a Foreign Policy piece, Clinton claimed Netanyahu lost interest in the peace process as soon as two basic Israeli demands seemed to come into reach: a viable Palestinian leadership and the possibility of normalizing ties with the Arab world. “The Israelis always wanted two things that once it turned out they had, it didn't seem so appealing to Mr. Netanyahu," Clinton said.
On September 18 another former US President Jimmy Carter said the Palestinians should continue full steam ahead. “The Palestinians might regret if they don’t seek to achieve recognition of their state. The Palestinians can live without the US assistance,” he said in reference to a US threat to cut aid to the PA if the bid goes through.
The fact that Abbas did not heed the immense pressure on him to backtrack in his UN bid has irked the United States just as much as Israel. For months, the US has been warning the Palestinians not to resort to the UN for statehood, hinting at possible consequences if they did. US President Barack Obama addressed the UNGA on September 20, during which he left no question as to the US position.
“Peace is hard work. Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations,” he said. “Ultimately, it is the Israelis and the Palestinians who must live side by side. Ultimately, it is the Israelis and the Palestinians — not us –- who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them.”
While Obama said the US did “seek a future where Palestinians live in a sovereign state of their own”, he was sure to reiterate the US commitment to Israel. “America’s commitment to Israel’s security is unshakeable. Our friendship with Israel is deep and enduring. And so we believe that any lasting peace must acknowledge the very real security concerns that Israel faces every single day.” Obama went on in what was deemed as one of his most pro-Israel speeches to date.
“Israel is surrounded by neighbors that have waged repeated wars against it. Israel’s citizens have been killed by rockets fired at their houses and suicide bombs on their buses. Israel’s children come of age knowing that throughout the region, other children are taught to hate them…”
A day later, on September 21, Obama spelled it out plain and clear, telling Abbas that the United States would veto any Security Council move to recognize Palestinian statehood.
"We would have to oppose any action at the UN Security Council including, if necessary, vetoing," White House national security council spokesman Ben Rhodes told reporters after Obama met Abbas.
The Palestinians of course, were deeply disappointed in the speech. Mohammed Shtayyeh, Fatah Central Committee member, said Obama’s address was unbalanced and offered nothing new. “The speech of Obama gave a historical right for the Jews in Palestine while the Palestinian version of the story was not mentioned at all,” he said. “I believe that Obama’s speech was a speech prepared for elections in the US.”
Ahmad Al Tibi, Palestinian-Arab Knesset member, said Obama adopted the Israeli narrative in this speech and disregarded Palestinian suffering. “Obama lost many points with the Arab world and his moral status has been shaken.”
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi was even more to the point. In an interview with Haaretz she said she was very disappointed with Obama's speech. "Listening to [Obama], you would think it was the Palestinians who occupy Israel," she said.
"He presented a double standard when he disassociated the Arabs' fight for their freedom in the region from the Palestinian freedom fighters, who deal with the occupation for 63 years… what we heard is precisely why we are going to the UN."
Not all Palestinians were on board though with the PLO’s bid for statehood. On September 23, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said his movement rejected the statehood bid as “unworthy.”
"States are not built upon UN resolutions. States liberate their land and establish their entities."
For now, it remains to be seen how the cards will fall. The Quartet and France’s Nicolas Sarkozy have both put forth potential plans to get negotiations back on track. During his UN address on September 21, Sarkozy proposed accepting Palestine as an observer state and a one-year timetable for negotiations to reach a final peace agreement in the region.
On September 24, the Quartet called for the Palestinians and Israel to resume direct peace talks within a month and commit to seeking a deal by the end of 2012.
“We urge both parties to take advantage of this opportunity to get back to talks," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters after talks with her Quartet partners on the sidelines of the General Assembly. PLO official Saeb Erakat said the PLO was "ready to assume our responsibilities".
"But Israel needs to assume its own and end settlement activity", he added.
Speaking of settlements, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign scored a victory on September 22 by closing down the Avaha supplier in London after two years of protests.
Ahava has its main headquarters in the illegal Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Shalem; its products are imported from the Dead Sea, which Israel has blockaded from Palestinians since 2000 in contravention of the Dead Sea Agreements. The store incurred heavy losses because of the bi-weekly protests in the posh neighborhood of Covent Garden and eventually had to shut its doors.
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces killed 33-year old Issam Odeh on September 23 during an Israeli army raid into Qusra, a Nablus-area village. Odeh died after being shot by two bullets in the neck and shoulders during confrontations after morning prayers.
On September 22, the Israeli army raided the villages of Al Araqa and Bourqeen and two homes east of Bethlehem. Settlers also burned agricultural lands in Der Jreer and destroyed 60 olive trees in Madama.
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.
