Dividing Israel 2007
Condi pulls a Solomon: Split Jerusalem in 2
WorldNet Daily
(August
28, 2008) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, completing a
visit to the region today, has been pressing Israel to sign a document
by the end of the year that would divide Jerusalem by offering the
Palestinians a state in Israel's capital city as well as in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip, according to top diplomatic sources involved in the
talks. The Israeli team, led by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, has been
negotiating the division of Jerusalem – despite claims to the contrary –
but would rather conclude an agreement on paper by the end of the year
that would give the Palestinians a state in the West Bank, Gaza and some
Israeli territory, leaving conclusions on Jerusalem for a later date,
the informed diplomatic sources told WND. The sources said the
Palestinian team has been pushing to conclude a deal by January on all
core issues, including Jerusalem, and has been petitioning the U.S. to
pressure Israel into signing an agreement on paper that offers the
Palestinians eastern Jerusalem. Rice, the sources said, has asked
Israeli leaders to bend to what the U.S. refers to as a "compromise
position," concluding an Israeli-Palestinian agreement by the end of the
year that guarantees sections of Jerusalem to the Palestinians. But
Israel would not be required to withdraw from Jerusalem for a period of
one to five years. The diplomatic sources said the plan is that once an
Israeli-Palestinian deal is reached on paper by January, Bush would
issue an official letter guaranteeing that the U.S. supports the
conclusions of the document. Any Israeli-Palestinian paper agreement is
to finalize a process that began at last November's U.S. backed
Annapolis conference, which seeks to create a Palestinian state, at
least on paper, before Bush leaves office. One Palestinian negotiator
speaking to WND described as "crazy" the intensity and frequency of
Israeli-Palestinian talks in recent weeks, saying both sides have been
meeting on a daily basis, usually at the highest levels. The negotiator
said Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Chief Palestinian Negotiator Ahmed
Queri have been leading the talks. The negotiator said Jerusalem is
being discussed by both sides and that the two teams are "closer than
ever" on coming to an agreement on the status of the city. This claim
was verified to WND by other diplomatic sources involved in the
negotiations. The Palestinian negotiator said Jerusalem would be divided
along the framework of the 2000 U.S.-brokered Camp David accords. He
said the general philosophy for dividing Jerusalem would be "Arab for
Arab and Jew for Jew," meaning that most Arab-majority eastern sections
of Jerusalem would be granted to the Palestinian Authority while Israel
would retain Western, Jewish-majority sections. Israel recaptured
eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site –
during the 1967 Six Day War. The Palestinians have claimed eastern
Jerusalem as a future capital. About 244,000 Arabs live in Jerusalem,
mostly in eastern neighborhoods. Jerusalem has an estimated total
population of 724,000, the majority Jewish. A number of Arab-majority
eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods widely regarded as slated for a
Palestinian state include large numbers of Arabs who live on
Jewish-owned land illegally. The Jewish National Fund, a U.S.-based
nonprofit, owns hundred of acres of eastern Jerusalem land in which tens
of thousands of Arabs illegally constructed homes the past few decades.
Arabs are now the majority on the Jewish-owned land in question. Asked
by WND whether Jerusalem is currently being negotiated, Mark Regev,
Olmert's spokesman, simply stated, "No." Olmert has several times denied
Jerusalem is being negotiated. Members of his government coalition have
promised to bolt his government and precipitate new elections if
Jerusalem is discussed in talks. Olmert, facing several criminal
investigations described as "serious," recently announced he will resign
after his Kadima party holds primaries next month to chose a new leader.
That leader is widely expected to continue Israeli-Palestinian talks,
especially if frontrunner Livni takes Olmert's place.
The diplomatic situation in Israel is such that many commentators
believe Olmert has an interest in concluding some sort of agreement
quickly. Many believe he would like his input in an Israeli-Palestinian
agreement to be among his final "achievements."
WND
first exclusively reported Aug. 1 that Olmert told the PA he intends
to accelerate negotiations to reach some understanding on paper as soon
as September. Over the weekend, the Israeli media quoted officials close
to Olmert stating the prime minister is working for an interim document
as soon as next month to be presented to the United Nations. The
document likely will not be the conclusion of negotiations but an
outline of some of the breakthroughs regarding the West Bank and Gaza.
One PA negotiator told WND of the planned paper: "Papers are very
important. It puts limits on the new prime minister. For example, the
weak point of Israeli-Syrian negotiations are papers signed by former
prime ministers that now must be abided during current negotiations."
Regarding the division of Jerusalem, top diplomatic sources said both
sides are close to agreements on specific issues. One PA negotiator
claimed the U.S. has guaranteed the Palestinians that sensitive areas in
eastern Jerusalem in which what he termed "extremist Jews" are
purchasing real estate would be handed to the Palestinians. "The
Israelis had no problem with this," the PA negotiator claimed. "We were
also told not to worry too much about scattered Jewish properties in
Arab neighborhoods, or yeshivas (Jewish seminaries) in the Old City."
The PA negotiator's claim could not be verified by sources in Jerusalem.
The initial stage also calls for the PA to operate Jerusalem municipal
institutions, such as offices to oversee trash collection and
maintenance of roads. After five years, if both sides keep specific
commitments called for in a larger principal agreement, according to the
U.S. plan the PA would be given full sovereignty over agreed upon
eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods and discussions would be held regarding
an arrangement for the Temple Mount. The plan doesn't specify which
parts of the Temple Mount could be forfeited to the Palestinians or
whether an international force may be involved. The PA also could deploy
official security forces in Jerusalem separate from a non-defined basic
force after the five year period and could also open major governmental
institutions, such as a president's office, and offices for the finance
and foreign ministries. The U.S. plan leaves Israel and the PA to
negotiate which Jerusalem neighborhoods would become Palestinian.
According to diplomatic sources familiar with the plan, while specific
neighborhoods were not officially listed, American officials recommended
sections of Jerusalem's Old City as well as certain largely Arab
Jerusalem neighborhoods such as Jabal mukabar, Beit Hanina, Abu Dis, and
Abu Tur become part of the Palestinian side. Also recommended were the
Jerusalem neighborhoods of Shoafat, Kfar Akev and Qalandiya. more...
Abbas-Olmert Meeting Sunday Amid Signs of Secret Deal
Israel National News
(August
28, 2008) - Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas and
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet on Sunday amid growing signs that
the Israeli leader is trying to complete the outline for a new Arab
state before he leaves office. PA sources said they will discuss the
status of Jerusalem and the PA "right of return" demand that involves
allowing millions of foreign Arabs to immigrate. Water resources also
will be discussed. American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
hinted a deal is in the works during her visit to Israel this week.
At her meeting with Abbas in Ramallah, she "proposed new ideas related
to the peace process," Abbas's spokesman Nabil Abu Rdneh said. "The
coming weeks will be very decisive," he added. Prime Minister Olmert is
taking advantage of the summer vacation, when most Israelis are
vacationing, the Knesset is out of session and he is free to act without
worrying about keeping his coalition government together. The Prime
Minister already has said he will step down from office after the Kadima
party chooses a new leader in primary elections next month. He recently
said that negotiations with the PA must be kept secret and not in the
eye of the media. The editor of a leading PA newspaper believes that
Secretary Rice, Prime Minister Olmert and Abbas are cooking up a
surprise to satisfy President Bush's desire to reach a final agreement
before he leaves office in January. Hafith Barghouthi, the chief editor
of the daily Hayat Al-Jadidah, wrote on Wednesday, "It seems a
political 'meal' is being cooked on fire behind the scenes…. The fact
that Rice met with both negotiation teams separately, then together
proves what she said in the press conference about both sides abstaining
from negotiating in front of the media. All this indicates that the
negotiations are serious," he wrote. more...
Europe into the breach
International Herald Tribune
(August
26, 2008) - Some diplomatic movement has returned to the Middle
East. Under American supervision, Israelis and Palestinians have been
negotiating again since the end of 2007. Syria and Israel have begun an
indirect negotiation process with Turkey as a mediator. In Lebanon, a
new government including all relevant political factions has finally
been formed. This would not have been possible without a green light
from Syria. And this green light would not have come had Damascus not
been convinced that its own negotiations with Israel could, in the
medium term at least, lead to a bilateral agreement and also bring about
an improvement of Syrian-American relations. Individual European Union
states have already honored this constructive about-turn of Syrian
policies. For all those engaged in Middle East diplomacy - this goes for
the Arab-Israeli fold as well as for the Iranian nuclear file - the U.S.
political calendar is always present: No one expects the current U.S.
administration to settle any of the conflicts in the region or to bring
any of the ongoing diplomatic processes there to a conclusion during the
rest of its term. This is explicitly so for the Syrian-Israeli
negotiations: Syria has already declared that it would not move from
indirect to direct talks before the inauguration of a new American
administration ready to actively engage with such a process.
Implicitly, however, the same applies to the Annapolis process between
Israel and the Palestinian Authority. President Bush has repeatedly said
that he wants the two sides to reach an agreement while he is still in
office. Israel's outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Palestinian
president, Mahmoud Abbas, who lead the talks, are both aware of the
contours of a possible, mutually acceptable agreement, and they seem to
have come closer with regard to some of the particularly difficult
so-called final-status issues. Nonetheless, even under the most positive
scenario, the best one could expect is a further narrowing of the gaps.
A comprehensive agreement that would sort out such complex issues as the
future of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, future borders between Israel
and Palestine, or infrastructural links between the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip, will not be reached within only a couple of months. And
neither Israel's prime minister nor the Palestinian president would
today have the authority and the necessary majorities to ratify, let
alone to implement a peace agreement. All this does not speak
against the process, only against exaggerated expectations. The process
is extremely fragile, and it could easily break down - particularly in
the absence of sustained external "care," of guidance and support from a
third party both able and prepared to drive the process forward and
encourage the negotiating parties to continue their efforts even in the
face of domestic opposition. The current U.S. administration will cease
to play its role after the November elections; many of its
representatives will by then be looking for new jobs. The new U.S.
president will first have to get his senior officials confirmed by
Congress, and a foreign policy review, before he begins any major policy
initiative. As a result, we should expect a time-out for any active
American involvement in the Middle East peace process between the end of
this year and at least March or April 2009. Herein lays Europe's
challenge. As an active partner in the so-called Middle East Quartet
with the United States, Russia and the United Nations, the EU has helped
to bring about the current talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
The EU and several of its member states are contributing to the process
through the support of state- and institution-building in the
Palestinian territories, particularly in the security and justice
sectors. But beyond that, the EU must now prepare itself to keep the
process alive from the end of this year through to next spring.
Considering such a task we also have to be aware of the particular
structures of the Union. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which
currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU, has already announced
a more active support for the Middle East peace process. But the French
presidency ends in December 2008, and the Czech government, which takes
over in January 2009, is unlikely to summon the same energy and
resources for the Middle East. The EU's special representative for the
Middle East, the Belgian diplomat Marc Otte, does not have enough
political weight to assume a role that so far has been played by the
U.S. secretary of state. Individual EU states like France, Germany or
Spain would have the resources and diplomatic skills and could even be
interested in temporarily guiding the process until a new American
administration resumes this function. In practice, however, jealousy
among EU states would make it impossible for any one of them to act for
Europe in this or any other important foreign-policy field, unless this
country happens to hold the EU presidency. EU states that want to
promote a consensual and common European approach would therefore not
even try to assume this role; others that might want to take it on would
not be able to fill it. This does not make the EU incapable of acting.
[Who ya gonna call?] The Union,
through its Council of Foreign Ministers, should as soon as possible
give a mandate to Javier Solana, the High Representative for the Common
Foreign and Security Policy of the EU, to make himself available, with
the approval of Israel, the Palestinians, and the current U.S.
administration, as a temporary mediator for Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations from the end of the year. Solana would not take such an
initiative on his own, but he can do so with a mandate from the Council.
His staff is familiar with the subject matter and his diplomatic skills
are beyond doubt. Any coalition of willing EU states could support him
by delegating some of their own experienced diplomats to his office for
the task. Solana and the EU would not be expected to make peace or to
bring the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to a conclusion and to dispel
any opposition to an agreement. This cannot be done by the EU, simply
because, compared to the United States, it has less influence over
Israel and cannot give security guarantees to either Israel or the
Palestinians. The EU, however, can act as a temporary trustee for the
process, thereby preventing it from breaking down and, given its
knowledge of the regional situation, help the parties to find practical
solutions for some of the most complicated final-status questions - for
example, the political division of Jerusalem as the future capital of
two states - only to hand back the process and the role of external
guidance to Washington once the new administration there is ready for
it. As an active trustee in this sense, the EU could not only show that
it lives up to its own claim of contributing to crisis management
through preventive diplomacy, it would also demonstrate to the new U.S.
administration how high a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict ranges on the European list of priorities, and how useful it
can be for the United States to cooperate on this with its
trans-Atlantic partners.
Hamas leader: We'll retrieve Jerusalem only by way of jihad
YNet News
(August 21, 2008) - 'Jerusalem will be
returned to the Palestinians not by way of negotiations or hugging and
kissing the enemy, but through blood, shahids and resistance,' Haniyeh
says, adding 'Muslims must protect Al-Aqsa Mosque.' Hamas leader Ismail
Haniyeh said Wednesday that the Islamist group will not accept any
future peace agreement that does not include the return of Jerusalem and
the Jordan Valley to Palestinians hands and the return of Palestinian
refugees to their homes in Israel. Speaking at a ceremony marking 39
years since the fire at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City,
Haniyeh said "no one can cede Jerusalem, the city from which the Prophet
Muhammad ascended to the heavens. "Jerusalem will be retrieved to the
Palestinians not through negotiations or by hugging and kissing the
enemy, but by way of jihad, blood, shahids and resistance. With Allah's
help, Jerusalem will be returned," he said. The Hamas leader added that
"the Israeli-Arabs are safeguarding the Al-Aqsa Mosque; it is as if they
are inside the belly of a whale. They represent the Islamic nation. We
send them our regards, especially to Sheikh Raed Salah (founder of
Islamic Movement in Israel)." Haniyeh said that "according to most all
reports on secret peace talks or agreements, Israel is refusing to
relinquish Jerusalem and the West Bank, refuses to accept the right of
return of Palestinian refugees, refuses to dismantle the settlements and
deems the Jordan Valley vital to its security." On behalf of the
Palestinian nation and Muslims everywhere, I say that we will not accept
any such agreements," he said. The Hamas chief continued to say that
Israel is looking to damage Al-Aqsa and called on all Muslims to
"protect Jerusalem".
PA: Reported peace offer unacceptable
The Jerusalem Post
(August 12, 2008) - The Palestinian
Authority said on Tuesday it would reject an Israeli peace proposal
published in the Hebrew press a day earlier which included withdrawal
from most of the West Bank. They said such a plan, which they did not
confirm receiving, would be unacceptable because it did not call for the
establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its
capital. Under the proposal, which was published in Haaretz,
Israel would withdraw from 93 percent of the West Bank, in addition to
all of the Gaza Strip, after the PA regains control over the Gaza Strip.
Olmert had presented PA President Mahmoud Abbas with the proposal as
part of an agreement in principle on borders, refugees and security
arrangements between Israel and a future Palestinian state, the report
claimed. In exchange for West Bank land that Israel would keep, Olmert
proposed a 5.5% land swap giving the Palestinians a desert territory
adjacent to the Gaza Strip. Chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat said the
Palestinians were unaware of the existence of such a proposal. "At no
time were the Palestinians presented with a detailed set of proposals by
[Prime Minister] Ehud Olmert or any Israeli official," he said. "All the
details mentioned in this report are either completely untrue or are not
linked to reality." The Prime Minister's Office neither confirmed nor
denied the Haaretz report. Its spokesman Mark Regev said that
progress had been made in the negotiations, including with respect to
borders, but that in other areas there was still important work that had
to be done. Nabil Abu Rudaineh, spokesman for
Abbas said "the Israeli proposal [in Haaretz] is not acceptable"
and called it a "waste of time." He added that "the Palestinian side
will only accept a Palestinian state with territorial continuity, with
Jerusalem as its capital, without settlements, and on the June 4, 1967
boundaries." Abu Rudaineh said the proposal showed that Israel was "not
serious" about reaching peace with the Palestinians on the basis of a
two-state solution. Erekat said the Palestinians
would not accept any solution that excludes the issues of Jerusalem and
the "right of return" for the Palestinian refugees. "The era of partial
agreements and phased tactics has gone," Erekat added. "The talks [with
Israel] are continuing despite the wide gap between the two sides."
more...
Official: Olmert to give Palestinians state before quitting
WorldNet Daily
(August 1, 2008) - Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert told the Palestinian Authority he intends to accelerate
negotiations the next few weeks to reach a deal on paper outlining a
Palestinian state before he steps down from office next month, a top PA
negotiator told WND. "Papers are very important. It puts limits on the
new prime minister. For example, the weak point of Israeli-Syrian
negotiations are papers signed by former prime ministers that now must
be abided during current negotiations," said the PA negotiator, speaking
to WND on condition of anonymity. "Olmert told us his goal is to reach
an agreement on paper," the negotiator said. He said the agreement will
likely encompass understandings regarding the transfer of much of the
West Bank to the Palestinians. He said he "hopes" the issue of Jerusalem
is broached but that it might not be mentioned on paper beyond a
declaration of agreement to negotiate further. Sending political
shockwaves through the country, Olmert yesterday announced he will
resign from office after his Kadima party holds internal elections next
month to choose a new leader. He said he is stepping down due to a
criminal investigation, described by police officials as "serious," in
which he is accused of corruption and financial improprieties. But
Olmert officials have been telling reporters here the prime minister
intends to continue negotiating with the PA as long as he remains in
office. One Olmert official told the Haaretz daily newspaper the prime
minister intends to "reach an agreement with the Palestinians during the
time he has left." "Any agreement he reaches with the Palestinians won't
be a personal agreement, and he will make sure that the (new) Kadima
leadership is briefed and on board," the official added. For his part,
PA President Mahmoud Abbas' announced he would negotiate with any
Israeli leader and that Olmert's departure shouldn't affect negotiations
started at last November's U.S.-backed Annapolis conference, which seek
to create a Palestinian state by January. Not everyone in Olmert's party
was happy with the continued talks. Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz,
considered a frontrunner for the Kadima leadership primary, said it
would be wrong to reach agreements with the Palestinians on the core
issues of the conflict while Olmert's government is teetering. "At this
time of change in the government, we must not reach agreements on the
core issues in negotiations with the Palestinians," Mofaz said.
"Anything that is decided now is very problematic, because it is
happening before the change in the government and against the background
of instability on the Palestinian side."
Sarkozy: no Mideast peace without sharing Jerusalem
Arab News
(June 23, 2008) - French President Nicolas
Sarkozy said an agreement between Palestinians and Israelis is possible,
tomorrow, and that agreement would allow the two peoples to live
side-by-side in peace and security. During their meeting on diplomatic
affairs, Sarkozy stressed that the peace process between Israel and the
Palestinian Authority should progress. "Those who will make peace in the
end will be Israelis and Palestinians," the French president said. At
the start of a three-day visit to Israel, Sarkozy said it is important
for the Palestinians to establish a state of their own. Referring to the
settlements, Sarkozy said that it must be said loudly the decision to
build settlements in East Jerusalem is not good for Israel. "I believe
that the path to peace lies there before us, that the path to peace is
not blocked. I have come to bring my support and that of France and the
European Union, your partners in the negotiations." Meantime, Sarkozy
said according to the The Washington Post today that "there could be no
Mideast peace unless Israel drops its refusal to cede sovereignty over
parts of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinians." This coincides with a
report of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) that said
that the total Palestinian refugeed is more than six million. According
to UN organization UNRWA, Palestinian registered refugees totaled to
4.56 million at end of 2007, of whom about 41.7% in Jordan, 9.9% in
Syria and 9.1% in Lebanon. About 1.5 million Palestinians refugee are
estimated to be non-registered refugees.
Israel to build new settlement in West Bank
Associated Press
(July 24, 2008) - A key committee has approved construction of
the first new Jewish settlement in the West Bank in a decade, an Israeli
official said Thursday. The news infuriated Palestinians, who said the
decision could cripple peace efforts. The only hurdle that remains is
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who plans to approve the Maskiot settlement
within weeks, the official said. Barak had signaled to the national
planning committee that it should authorize the plan, the official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the Defense
Ministry did not officially announce the settlement would be built in
the Jordan Valley Rift, an arid north-south strip that forms Israel's
eastern flank with Jordan. Asked why Israel was moving ahead with the
politically charged plan, the official said that it has been in the
pipeline for years. Israel originally announced in 2006 that it would
build Maskiot, then froze the plan after international outcry. But
earlier this year, nine Israeli families settled in mobile homes at the
site, which Palestinians claim as part of a future state. A number of
Israeli politicians however, have said Israel needs to retain control of
the Jordan Valley as a buffer between a future Palestinian state and
Jordan. The issue remains to be resolved in negotiations between Israel
and the Palestinians. Settlers say around two dozen more families are
waiting to join them. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Israel
of undermining U.S.-backed peace talks. "This is destroying the process
of a two-state solution," Erekat said. "I hope the Americans will make
the Israelis revoke the decision. I think they can make the Israelis do
this." The U.S. Embassy had no comment. But on her last visit to the
region in June, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said settlement
building "has the potential to harm the negotiations."
'We'll Take Land By Force if Talks Fail'
The Jerusalem Post
(July 12,
2008) - Should diplomacy fail to return "Israeli-occupied land"
to Lebanon, the Lebanese army (LAF) will take it by force, Lebanese
President Gen. Michel Sueleiman said on Sunday. Suleiman was speaking at
a press conference after meeting Syrian President Bashar Assad on the
sidelines of the Mediterranean conference in Paris. The Lebanese
president stressed, however, that the military option was the last
resort. Assad said Lebanon had an important role to play in the Middle
East peace process and that any progress in future Israel-Lebanon
negotiations would be made in coordination with Syria. Meanwhile, in
what is being interpreted in Israel as a declaration of ownership, the
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has built a road and set up a military
position in the Shaba Farms/ Mount Dov area for the first time since
Israel's withdrawal from that part of Lebanon in 2000. Israeli defense
officials confirmed the move, which was first reported in the Lebanese
media, but would not comment on its significance.
Javier Solana: What Kind of Palestine?
Middle East Times
(July 4, 2008) - Israeli and Palestinian
negotiators have now been talking to each other for more than six
months, since the peace process was re-launched at Annapolis in November
2007, with the stated aim of reaching agreement on a Palestinian state
before this year is out. The final status issues of borders, Jerusalem
and refugees are back on the agenda, and the outlines of a two-state
solution are visible. There have recently been some encouraging signals:
Egypt has mediated a truce between Hamas and Israel in Gaza; there are
signs of inter-Palestinian dialogue; and there appears to be movement on
the Israeli-Syrian track. We have to grasp the opportunity for peace.
Comprehensive peace in the Middle East is the strategic goal of the
European Union, and resolving the Israeli-Arab conflict on the basis of
a two-state solution is the key to achieving this. Europe wants, and
needs, to see the creation of an independent, democratic, and viable
Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel. For this, the
foundations and the structures of a Palestinian state have to be
created, which is where the European Union is playing a distinctive
role. It is leading international efforts to assist the Palestinians
with their state-building efforts under a major strategy adopted by the
EU last year. An important part of this strategy is devoted to
developing security and the rule of law, which are the cornerstones of
the fledgling Palestinian state and the theme of a large international
conference of foreign ministers hosted in Berlin on June 24. The EU is
making a tangible difference on the ground. It is helping the
Palestinians strengthen their civilian security capabilities not just
with words or money but also with people. Our police mission, EUPOL
COPPS, has been active in the Palestinian territories since November
2005, advising and mentoring the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to
build up a civil police force and establish law and order. Canada,
Norway and Switzerland are supporting the mission and we are working in
close coordination with our U.S. partners. We are now about to increase
the mission in size and expand its scope to the broader rule of law
sector, embracing in particular the penal and judiciary systems. A
democratic Palestinian state needs a properly equipped, trained and
disciplined civil police and it needs functioning law courts and
prisons. The EUPOL COPPS is not the only EU security mission in the
Middle East. Our border assistance mission, EUBAM Rafah, established at
the Rafah crossing point between Egypt and Gaza in 2005, is currently on
standby and ready to deploy as soon as circumstances permit and EU
member states form the backbone of the United Nations force in Lebanon
(UNIFIL). Our efforts are bearing fruit and are helping to make a real
difference on the ground. In the past year alone, the EU mission has
trained 800 civil police officers in public order, refurbished police
stations and contributed to the communications network of the civil
police. The Palestinian Authority has begun to deploy forces in major
urban areas such as Nablus and is gradually taking over responsibility
for security in the West Bank. Palestinian and Israeli security forces
are cooperating and this cooperation must continue and increase. These
measures in the area of security and rule of law are part of a wider
effort to improve conditions for the Palestinian people and revive the
economy. For democracy to take root, the people must see that their
lives are improving. Roadblocks must come down, trucks must be able to
transport goods freely, people must be able to travel to work, to school
and to hospitals unhindered, farmers must be able to grow and sell
produce, investors must be encouraged to come with foreign capital, and
businesses must be set up. And, of course, it is not only the
Palestinians who gain from this. Israel's security interests can only
stand to gain from a peaceful, democratic, and ultimately prosperous
Palestinian state. In truth, the entire region will be stabilized if the
Israelis and Palestinians resolve their 60-year-old conflict. The EU is
doing everything it can to help with this.
Fearing Olmert collapse, Palestinians rush for deal
WorldNet Daily
(May 29,
2008) - Fearing the collapse of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's
government, the Palestinian Authority asked the U.S. government for
backing to rush a deal regarding the establishment of a Palestinian
state, WND has learned. According to a top PA negotiator, the
Palestinians expect Olmert will be forced from office before the end of
the year. They fear some of the negotiations led by Olmert's government
will be fruitless unless an understanding is reached before the Israeli
leader vacates office. "What we are seeking is to quickly reach certain
understandings, put those understandings on paper and have them
guaranteed by the U.S. so the understandings can be used as a starting
point in negotiations with the next Israeli prime minister," the top PA
negotiator told WND. Olmert's government has been conducting intense
negotiations with the PA started at last November's U.S.-backed
Annapolis summit, which sought to create a Palestinian state before Bush
leaves office in January. Israel is highly expected to offer the
Palestinians most of the West Bank and sections of Jerusalem. Olmert
faces a bribery and corruption investigation that has been described by
police officials here as "very serious." The Israeli leader has said he
would resign if he is indicted. Earlier this week, Morris Talansky, a
U.S. businessman, testified in court he provided about $150,000 in cash
to Olmert over the years and that he didn't know exactly what the
Israeli leader did with the money. According to sources close to the
investigation, the charges against Olmert extend far beyond possible
cash transfers by Talansky and involve other foreign businessmen
allegedly passing on money in exchange for political and business
favors. In a major blow to Olmert's future leadership, his defense
minister and senior coalition partner, Ehud Barak, yesterday called on
him to step down. "I do not think the prime minister can simultaneously
run the government and deal with his own personal affair," Barak said at
a nationally televised news conference after conferring with other
members of his Labor party. Barak maintained his position today, telling
the Knesset that early elections appear inevitable in light of the
corruption probe. Olmert, though, continues to insist he will not resign
unless he is indicted. He told the Knesset he was certain that once his
side of the story is aired, no charges would be brought against him. "I
have been done an injustice, and it is illogical that a prime minister
should be brought down because of something like this," Olmert said.
"Some people think that every investigation requires a resignation. I do
not agree, and I do not intend to resign," Olmert said. The prime
minister has faced five previous investigations into accusations of
corruption or accepting bribes. Immediately after Barak's statements
yesterday, three members of his party, which is in a governing coalition
with Olmert's Kadima party, submitted motions to the Knesset to dissolve
the Olmert government. By Israeli law, if the majority of the Knesset
votes for the downfall of the prime minister, new elections must be held
within 90 days. Barak has made no secret of his desire to become prime
minister. But his calls for Olmert to step down were also echoed across
the political spectrum. Legally, Olmert can remain in office until 2010
unless he is either convicted or the Knesset votes for new elections. If
he resigns, Olmert could appoint a member of his Kadima party as prime
minister to avoid early elections and ensure his party remains in power.
He could also take a 90-day leave of absence during which time his
deputy prime minister, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, would temporarily
govern. Olmert, though, is said to oppose placing Livni is power.
According to top political sources in Jerusalem, Olmert is attempting to
coordinate the future leadership of Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz,
a former defense minister and close Olmert confidant.
Palestinians reject Israeli offer to hand over 91.5% of W. Bank
Haaretz
(May 26, 2008)
- Palestinian
officials close to peace talks said Sunday that Israel has offered a
West Bank withdrawal map that leaves about 8.5 percent of the
territory in Israeli hands, less than a previous plan but still more
than the Palestinians are ready to accept. Also Sunday, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as telling backers that the
negotiations have achieved no progress since they were restarted
last November with a pledge to U.S. President George W. Bush to try
for a full peace treaty by the end of the year. The Palestinian
officials said Israel presented its new map three days ago in a
negotiating session. The last map Israel offered had 12 percent of
the West Bank remaining in Israel. Israel wants to keep West Bank
land with its main settlement blocs, offering land inside Israel in
exchange. The land would be between Hebron in the southern West Bank
and Gaza - at least part of a route through Israel to link the two
territories. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity
because the negotiations are being conducted behind closed doors,
said Palestinians were ready to trade only 1.8 percent of the West
Bank for Israeli land. Israeli officials refused to comment. Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert has said that progress has been made in several
areas, but he refused to give details out of concern for harming the
negotiations. more...
Iran tells Syria must regain control of Golan
YNet News
(May 24, 2008)
- Syrian Defense
Minister Hassan Turkmani arrived in Tehran on Saturday evening as
part of Damascus' bid to reassure its Iranian ally after resuming
peace negotiations with Israel. General Turkmani is scheduled to
meet with his Iranian counterpart, Mustafa Mohammad-Najjar, and
additional key figures in Tehran. A possible meeting with President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not yet been confirmed. In a meeting he held
earlier on Saturday with Hamas politburo chief, Khaled Mashaal,
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki publically addressed the
renewed talks for the first time. "The Golan belongs to Syria and
must be returned to its control. The Zionist regime must withdraw
from the Golan, and we support Syrian efforts to repossess the
Heights." The Syrian defense minister's visit to Tehran follow
reports of Ahmadinejad's outrage over the contact between Israel and
Syria. Sources close to the Iranian president told the London-based
Asharq al-Awsat daily that Ahmadinejad has made his discontent over
the clandestine negotiations well known. He described the talks as a
"flagrant violation" of the mutual commitments between Syria and
Iran. Meanwhile, Damascus as reiterated its rejection of Israel's
demand that it sever ties with Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas as a key
condition of any peace agreement. During a joint press conference
Mashaal held with Mottaki after their meeting, the exiled Hamas
leader was careful not to criticize the negotiations. He did say
however that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert lacks the political might to
make the moves necessary for peace with Syria. "There is great
skepticism concerning (Israel's) seriousness to return the Golan,"
Mashaal said. "It's
maneuvering and playing all the (negotiation) tracks – this is a
well known game and besides, Olmert's weakness will not allow him to
take this step." He was referring to the current ongoing
investigation against Olmert, who has recently been suspected of
receiving money unlawfully. Mashaal said he
was sure the renewed talks would not come at the expense of the
Palestinian track.
Blair unveils new 'West Bank package'
The Jerusalem Post
(May 13, 2008) - Quartet envoy Tony
Blair on Tuesday unveiled a package of steps designed to allow
greater movement in the West Bank, and help the Palestinian economy
grow in a way in which he said would be consistent with protecting
Israeli security. Blair, speaking a day before the arrival of US
President George Bush, said that the Israelis and the Palestinian
Authority, after weeks of negotiations, have agreed on the steps
which he said could begin to change the reality on the ground. "For
Palestinian statehood to be possible in the eyes of Palestinians
there must be hope that occupations will, over time, be lifted,"
Blair said. "For Palestinian statehood to be possible in the eyes of
Israelis, there must be hope, over time, that the security of Israel
will be improved and not harmed by the way the Palestinians run
their territory." Blair, at a press conference at his headquarters
in the American Colony Hotel, said that the centerpiece of the
package is an area in and around Jenin which is greater in land mass
than the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinians will be given increased
security authority and a number of economic and social projects will
begin there. In addition, Blair said that the Israelis had agreed to
remove four checkpoints throughout the West Bank, upgrade seven
others, and move one.
Israel's Olmert admits taking cash but won't quit
Reuters
(May 8, 2008) - Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert admitted on Thursday taking cash from a U.S. businessman but
resisted calls to resign over a police investigation into alleged hefty
bribes over almost a decade. As Israelis enjoyed festivities marking
Independence Day and the 60th anniversary of the founding of their
state, police lifted a week-old media gag order and announced details of
accusations that sparked opposition calls for Olmert to quit. He said he
would resign only if he were formally indicted. Whether he goes or not,
doubt over his future is likely to upset his faltering, U.S.-sponsored
peace negotiations with the Palestinians and will cast a heavy cloud
over next week's celebratory visit to Israel by U.S. President George W.
Bush. The White House said Bush still intended to make the trip. Olmert,
in a late-night televised address to the nation, said: "I look each and
every one of you in the eye and say, 'I never took bribes. I never took
a penny for myself'." His allies say there is a right-wing campaign to
wreck the peace process, but it was unclear if his fragile coalition
would rally behind a man who last year said he was "indestructible".
Israelis are no strangers to tales of corruption at the top in the
Middle East's most feted democracy and the latest case may fuel calls
for an overhaul of political funding rules. Olmert, who was questioned
by police for an hour last Friday, has weathered a string of
investigations since he succeeded Ariel Sharon as prime minister in
2006. Sharon's son is in jail for campaign funding misdeeds on his
father's behalf. On Thursday, Olmert said all the cash he received --
put at hundreds of thousands of dollars by one judicial source -- was
legitimate support from New York financier Morris Talansky to fund
various election campaigns over nearly a decade from 1993. more...
Secret documents detail post-WWII debacle
OneNewsNow
(May 7, 2008) - A messianic Jewish
ministry leader says recent documents released by the British government
have confirmed a long-held belief. Jan Markell has long believed that
God judged Britain for its treatment of the Jews. She notes that 400
pages of formerly secret documents -- recently made public by the
British National Archives -- reveal how the British government tried to
send thousands of Holy Land-bound Jewish Holocaust survivors back to
post-war Germany without inflaming world opinion. But despite the best
efforts of early spin-doctors to portray the move in a most sympathetic
light, the decision to turn away more than 4,500 Jewish refugees on
board the Exodus refugee ship turned into a humanitarian and public
relations debacle for Great Britain. Markell, founder and director of
Olive Tree Ministries, believes Britain has paid a steep price for
betraying the Jews in 1947. "At one time [Britain] had so many nations
and colonies that the sun never set on [the British Empire]," she
recalls. "Today [Britain] is a broken and fractured empire, and I
believe it is partly because of the way that she dealt with the Jews ...
during the Holocaust and post-Holocaust," says Markell. And the
pro-Israel advocate warns this story ought to serve as reminder to
supporters of Israel today. "It should remind us that the world to this
day continues to hate the Jewish people," she continues, "because they
still are God's chosen people no matter what the Muslim world wants to
do to annihilate them. [The Jews] will not go away." Markell argues the
United States should take special heed to this story, considering its
continual efforts to force the Jewish people to turn over their covenant
land in order to create a Palestinian "state."
Troubling
turnaround at Olmert-Abbas meeting
Jerusalem Newswire
(May 5, 2008) - After initial reports
indicated a negative outcome, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PLO
chief terrorist Mahmoud Abbas reportedly held an unexpectedly successful
meeting in Jerusalem Monday morning, with officials saying they had
suddenly made "considerable progress." Maps depicting the areas of
Israel's historic lands being demanded by the Palestinian Arabs for
their state were brought to the meeting, which was held at Olmert's
official residence shortly after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
ended a two-day visit to the land. According to The Jerusalem Post,
after "warmly" embracing Abbas, a man responsible for the deaths and
wounding of untold numbers of Israeli Jews - Olmert told him Israel now
realized the need to make "tangible" changes in Samaria and Judea
because it was necessary that the months of peace talks be accompanied
by actions on the ground. Abbas' aides said earlier the PA chairman was
contemplating resigning within a few months unless noticeable progress
was made towards the creation of "Palestine." Palestine is the name
intended for the Arab state the international community is working to
establish in the biblical heartland of the Jewish people. Ha'aretz
reported that a senior Israeli official had told Army Radio that during
the meeting, Olmert and Abbas made "significant progress on the borders
issue" - the issue of where the borders of the new "Palestine" would lie
in relation to what would be left of Israel. Abbas' authority is also
being challenged by Hamas, which violently wrested control of Gaza from
the PLO last year and is spreading its influence across Samaria and
Judea. Officials in the Prime Minister's Office said "these were the
most serious talks the sides have ever conducted," according to Ynetnews.
Commentators wondered whether Olmert was trying to bolster Abbas in the
face of the opposition against him, or whether the Israeli leader had
perhaps been spurred to make sudden concessions because his own position
is threatened in a new police investigation.
Bush backs peace deal as Hamas offers truce
Euro News
(April 25, 2008) - With the clock
ticking down on his administration, President Bush says he remains
committed to securing a Middle East peace deal. He's held talks with
his Palestinian counterpart in Washington ahead of his trip to the
region in mid-May. Negotiations have stalled since Bush pledged to
achieve an agreement by the end of this year. Bush said: "I assured
[President Abbas] that a Palestinian state's a high priority, for me
and my adminsitration, a viable state, a state that doesn't look
like Swiss cheese, a state that provides hope." But one of the
biggest holes in the plan has been the rise of Abbas's political
rivals Hamas, who captured the Gaza strip last June. They too are
pushing for peace - at least temporarily. Former foreign minister
Mahmoud al-Zahar offered Israel a six-month truce in Gaza with an
option to extend it to the West bank. In return they want end to the
Israeli blockade of the territory. Israel's UN ambassador dismissed
the deal. Menawhile Gaza is at breaking point. The UN has had to
suspend its aid operations in the Strip after an emergency fuel
shipment was blocked by petrol-hungry farmers. Israel says it has
cut shipments of fuel and other supplies in response to cross border
rocket attacks by Hamas militants. The EU sent a shipment of diesel
to Gaza's only power station after engineers warned it was about to
shut down. They say the generators will grind to a halt on Sunday if
no more fuel is allowed through.
Israel, Palestinian talks raise hope for 2008 accord: Solana
EU Business
(April 8, 2008) - EU foreign policy
chief Javier Solana expressed hope Tuesday that Israel and the
Palestinians could reach a peace settlement this year, after their
leaders met for the first time in almost two months. "Politically,
an important meeting took place yesterday," he told members of the
European Parliament, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas held direct talks in
Jerusalem. "I do think that we have still a chance to move the
process to a settlement before the end of year 2008," Solana said,
underlining: "I don't want to sound too optimistic, I want to sound
realistic." He said that "the situation in Gaza is more relaxed than
it used to be" and that he hoped a "period of quietness" would
descend on Gaza, with the help notably of Egypt. Israel has sealed
off Gaza from all but vital goods since Hamas seized power last
June, in a bid to halt rocket attacks from the territory and to put
pressure on the Islamist-run government. But Solana said the future
would become clearer in the summer. If "we are not able to move the
process in a dynamic manner by this period of time, maybe we'll have
to begin to think that the possibility of an agreement in the year
2008 will be further away," he said. Olmert and Abbas agreed Monday
"to continue with the goal of reaching an historic agreement by the
end of the year," an Israeli spokesman said, despite accusing each
other of failing to meet commitments under a peace roadmap.
Insider leaks plans for Palestinian state
WorldNet Daily
(April 7, 2008) - U.S.-backed
negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians are expected to generate
an agreement by the end of the year that would set up a Palestinian
state in the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem, according to a
source who has participated in the talks. In one of the first media
glimpses into the current negotiations, a source who takes part in the
regular meetings outlined for WND the main objectives of the secretive
negotiations. Since last November's Israeli-Palestinian Annapolis
summit, which set as a goal the creation of a Palestinian state before
2009, negotiating teams including Israeli Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni
and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia have been meeting weekly
while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas have been meeting biweekly. Unlike previous
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in which both sides attended with about
a dozen advisers each, the teams working with Livni and Qureia are
small, usually consisting at most of five people each. Also unlike
previous talks, in which the contents of many meetings were leaked
quickly to the media, the current negotiations have resulted in few
press leaks. According to the source who has been playing a role in the
meetings, the two sides are drafting an agreement, to be signed by the
end of the year, requiring Israel to evacuate most of the West Bank and
certain eastern sections of Jerusalem. The source said Israeli community
blocks in the zones of Gush Etzion, Maale Adumin and Ariel would remain
Israeli while most of the West Bank and parts of Jerusalem will be
slated for a Palestinian state. In contradiction to statements by
Olmert, the status of sections of Jerusalem is being negotiated but the
specifics of any agreed-upon Israeli withdrawal is as yet unclear, said
the source. "It is understood [Jerusalem] Arab neighborhoods would
become part of a Palestinian state," the source said. The source told
WND both sides agreed Israel would retain Jerusalem's Pisgat Zeev
neighborhood, which is located near large Arab communities. Many of
those Arab towns were constructed illegally on property owned by the
Jewish National Fund, a Jewish nonprofit that purchases property using
Jewish donors funds for the stated purpose of Jewish settlement. The
source said the U.S. pledged advanced training for thousands of PA
security officers who would take over security in the West Bank and
eastern sections of Jerusalem and operate in those territories instead
of the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli police. The U.S. previously has
trained thousands of Palestinian security officers, including units in
which known members of Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group
serve. Scores of those security forces have carried out terrorist
attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians, including recent deadly
shootings in the West Bank. But the source claimed the planned U.S.
training is different: "This training is unlike anything before. The PA,
Israel and the U.S. are working very closely to vet the forces. All
sides are approving the training candidates. The training is more
advanced than ever. It will create a very serious Palestinian army,"
said the source. The source said as part of the negotiations, Abbas has
agreed to hold early PA elections in the West Bank by 2009, including
presidential elections that could replace the Palestinian leader... A
U.S. security report last month concluded the PA is failing to fight
terrorism. The report was compiled by Gen. William Fraser, who was
deployed to the region to monitor implementation of agreements pledged
by Israel and the PA at Annapolis. Fraser's report slammed the PA for
failing to arrest, interrogate and place terrorist suspects on trial.
The report said the PA occasionally carries out arrests of suspected
terrorists, but usually only following pressure from Israel or the U.S.
The arrested terrorists, the report said, are rarely interrogated or
tried but instead are briefly detained. more...
Olmert, Abbas to meet again after seven weeks
Breitbart.com
(April 7, 2008) - Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas meet on
Monday for the first time in six weeks as Middle East peace talks get
back on track under heavy US pressure. Abbas, who suspended his
bi-weekly meetings with Olmert at the beginning of March after an
Israeli military operation in Gaza killed more than 130 people, said on
Sunday that he would not accept a peace deal at any price. "We are
negotiating seriously and we are striving to arrive at a solution for
all the final-status issues, but it will not come at any price," Abbas
told a meeting of local officials in the West Bank political capital of
Ramallah. The talks were given new impetus after US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, during a visit to the region last week, managed to
secure an Israeli commitment to ease hardships on West Bank Palestinians
and convince Abbas to resume his meetings with Olmert. Senior
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said Abbas and Olmert would discuss a
mutual ceasefire, lifting the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip and the
implementation of the 2003 Middle East roadmap agreement. The
international roadmap peace blueprint urges Israel to freeze Jewish
settlement construction and calls on the Palestinians to improve
security in their territories. But the latest peace talks have made
little progress since they were launched at a US-sponsored conference in
Annapolis outside Washington in November, with each side accusing the
other of neglecting its obligations. Israel has "not implemented a
single one of its obligations as specified in the roadmap. It has not
halted the (growth of) settlements or freed prisoners or removed
checkpoints," negotiator Erakat told AFP. An Israeli official said
Olmert, who last met with Abbas on February 19, was "looking forward to
the renewal of talks." "We want the Annapolis process to succeed and the
meetings between the leaders will continue focusing on the crucial
elements of the peace talks," the official said on condition of
anonymity. The two leaders are expected to discuss several of the core
issues at the heart of the conflict, but the sides remain divided on
many issues. Olmert said last month that he does not envisage the
possibility of anything more than an outline agreement by 2009, despite
the US target of a peace deal by the end of 2008, and that settlement
expansion on Palestinian land would continue. Abbas has in turn accused
Israel of splitting the Palestinian territories into isolated cantons as
a means to prevent the creation of a viable Palestinian state.
PM, Abbas aim for deal by end of '08
The Jerusalem Post
(April 7, 2008) - Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will meet every
two weeks until the November deadline for striking a deal, regardless of
developments on the ground, Olmert and Abbas decided in a meeting at the
Prime Minister's Office Monday. The two men pledged at the Annapolis
summit in November 2007 to meet every two weeks in an effort to reach a
deal by the November 4, 2008 deadline. But they had not met since
February 19 due to Abbas's protests of IDF activity in the Gaza Strip
during Operation Hot Winter. From now on, they intend to take the same
approach as the heads of the Israeli and Palestinian negotiation teams,
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Authority prime
minister Ahmed Qurei, who meet regularly regardless of the day's news.
For instance, Livni and Qurei met the day of the suicide bombing in
Dimona in January. In their sixth meeting since the Annapolis summit,
Olmert and Abbas met for some three hours, including one hour in which
they met alone, without their negotiating teams. The next steps in the
process include Abbas's forthcoming visit to Washington, next week's
visit to Israel by US National Security Adviser Steve Hadley and US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice returning to Israel after Pessah.
Olmert and Livni complained that the Palestinians were not doing enough
to fight terror in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But much of the meeting
focused on what steps Israel could take to ease conditions for the
Palestinians. "We discussed what we could do to improve the lives of the
Palestinians so they would see that it was in their best interests to
make a strategic choice in favor of the moderates against the
extremists," a participant in the meeting said. Officials on both sides
indicated that as in the past, the talks deteriorated into mutual
accusations that each side was not doing its part under the road map
diplomatic plan that is the basis of the negotiations. Hamas control of
the Gaza Strip, Israeli settlement construction, West Bank checkpoints,
terrorist violence and frequent armed clashes remained serious obstacles
in the way of success for the talks. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat
said much of the meeting focused on the settlements. Abbas showed Olmert
"documents and maps" in emphasizing the need to stop the construction.
"Settlement expansion undermines the credibility of the peace process,"
Abbas told Olmert, according to Erekat. more... Rice Wins Concessions From Israel, Paving the Way Towards Peace Agreement Fox News (March 30, 2008) - Israel and the Palestinians agreed Sunday to a series of "concrete steps" aimed at paving the way for a final peace agreement later this year, beginning with Israel's pledge to remove some West Bank roadblocks. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, visiting the region for the second time this month in hopes of energize faltering talks, said the moves "constitute a very good start to improving" a Palestinian economy crippled by the Israeli restrictions. Under the plan that Rice announced, Israel will remove about 50 roadblocks, upgrade checkpoints to speed up the movement of Palestinians through the West Bank and give Palestinians more security responsibility in the town of Jenin with an eye toward looking at "other areas in turn." The Israelis also pledged to increase the number of travel and work permits it gives Palestinians and to support economic projects in Palestinian towns. In return, the Palestinians promised to improve policing of Jenin "to provide law and order, and work to prevent terror," according to a State Department statement released shortly before Rice spoke. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad consented to the steps at a joint meeting with Rice earlier Sunday. They agreed to pursue the measures with "special, immediate emphasis and work," the statement said. "We've been told that this is going to start and, hopefully even be completed in a relatively short period of time," Rice told reporters. "I am expecting it to happen very, very soon." "We will be monitoring and verifying," she added. The agreement includes:
Neither Barak nor Fayyad commented on the developments
when they appeared at a brief photo opportunity with Rice after their
meeting. One Palestinian official said he welcomed any improvement, but
that Israel's moves were "too little, too late." "We want Israel to move
quickly in removing these obstacles that make no sense and make the
lives of the Palestinians difficult," said Samir Abdullah, the
Palestinian planning minister. Israel maintains hundreds of checkpoints,
roadblocks and other travel restrictions in the West Bank, and says they
are needed to stop suicide bombers. The Palestinians say the
restrictions are excessive and have stifled their economy. They have
made removal of the checkpoints a priority as the two sides, with U.S.
backing, try to negotiate a peace agreement by year's end. Rice had said
she was looking for "meaningful" steps to put in place the stalled
U.S.-supported plan that envisions the creation of an independent
Palestinian state through concessions on both sides. "There has not been
enough momentum," she said. "This is a start in terms of delivering on
some of those obligations."
Your Tax Dollars at Work in Gaza
Jewish World Review
(March
24, 2008) - Last week, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported
that American officials are again pressing Congress to open up the U.S.
aid pipeline to the Palestinian Authority. If the plea sounds familiar,
it ought to. Since the 1993 Oslo Accords, Americans have been
subsidizing the activities of the P.A. to the tune of hundreds of
millions of dollars per year. Today, as in the past, the arguments in
favor of this policy are urgent. We are told by both administration
officials who are friends of Israel and by some Israelis that unless we
help fund the training and the payment of Palestinian security forces,
the P.A. will have no way to cope with terrorists who want to sink any
chance of a two-state solution which would enable Israel to live
side-by-side with a peaceful Palestinian partner. THE ONLY OPTION?
With Hamas in control of Gaza, the P.A., under the current leadership of
Mahmoud Abbas, is, we are informed, the only address for creating a
moderate force that will work for peace. Given the alternative of the
Iranian-backed Hamas or the equally unpalatable choices of either Israel
reoccupying the territories or an international peacekeeping force doing
so, reinforcing the P.A. seems to make sense. But does it really?
Doubts about the wisdom of the policy have led Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.)
and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-N.Y.) — respectively, the chair and the
ranking minority member of the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee —
to place a hold on a request of another $150 million in direct
assistance to the P.A. Thwarted on that front, the administration now
wants the committee to okay an additional $25 million in indirect
funding for the military training program. Both Lowey and Ros-Lehtinen
rightly worry about the commitment of Abbas and his Fatah Party to
peace. They cite recent statements by Abbas in which he would not rule
out a return to "armed resistance" against Israel. The support by the
P.A. media for attacks against Israelis, such as the slaughter of eight
students at a Jerusalem yeshiva this month, as well as the ongoing blitz
of southern Israel by Hamas missiles, is also reason to doubt the P.A.'s
sincerity. The P.A. also continues to honor the memory of slain
terrorists as "martyrs" and, as The Jerusalem Post reported this week,
plans to celebrate Israel's 60th birthday by having Arab refugees to
rush Israel's borders to promote a "right of return," which is
synonymous with the destruction of the Jewish State. Supporters of aid
respond that these statements do not reflect Abbas' real goals. Yet,
they ignore the fact that what the P.A. has done for the past 15 years
is to legitimize a Palestinian culture in which political plaudits are
won only by killing Jews. Indeed, via its control of broadcast outlets,
newspapers and the schools, the P.A. has solidified a mindset of hate.
more...
Livni: Jerusalem on the Table
Israel National News (March
22, 2008) - Despite assurances by her boss,
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, to the contrary, Foreign Minister Tsipi
Livni said in a weekend interview with Channel Two that Jerusalem would
indeed be a subject for negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.
“All core issues are up for negotiations,” she said in the interview –
regardless of what Shas was told or believes. The Likud reiterated its
demand that Shas withdraw from the government, adding that the Olmert
government was “dangerous for Israel.” Olmert Offers Judea, Samaria, Divides Jerusalem in Draft Accord Israel National News (March 7, 2008) - Israel's government has agreed, in writing, to hand over 6,250 square kilometers of land – the equivalent of its entire biblical and strategic heartland - to an Arab terror state. So reports Dr. Guy Bechor, a leading expert on Arab affairs, who also supplies some of the details of the negotiations. Bechor reports, based on "leaks from the Palestinian side," that Israel has, in the past few days, presented Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas at least one draft of an "agreement of principles."
Bechor says that Abbas and his men have gone over the
draft and are not pleased; they know how to negotiate, he notes. In a
recent interview with PA TV, Abbas said that "declarations of principles
are a waste of time" and "useless." What the PA wants, he said, is a
clear timetable for establishing Palestine, as well as an Israeli
pullback, demolition of Jewish communities and "return of refugees"
(i.e., the flooding of Israel with Arab citizens). The Arabs are hoping
Israel will become more pliable in November, when an international
diplomatic conference, sponsored by the US, is to be held in an attempt
to hammer out an accord. An official close to Mahmoud Abbas, Mustafa
Bargouti, said that the idea of a conference is "an Israeli trap" and
that nothing will come of it.
U.S. Jews give Palestinian state endorsement
World Net Daily
(March 3, 2008) - The Jewish Council for Public Affairs, a
coalition of major mainstream U.S. Jewish organizations, has for the
first time given endorsement to a Palestinian state. But the firestorm
of nationalist Jewish outrage on the Internet has targeted the Orthodox
Union, or O.U., one of the largest U.S. Orthodox Jewish organizations
representing hundreds of Orthodox synagogues, which abstained and did
not vote against a successful resolution calling for a "two state
solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Surveys have consistently
demonstrated American Orthodox Jews oppose a Palestinian state. "It is
an outrage Jewish organizations would support a Palestinian state and
it's a shock the O.U .would abstain," Mort Klein, president of the
Zionist Organization of America, told WND. "When the Palestinian
Authority refuses to arrest terrorists, engages in and glorifies murder
against Jews, and puts out maps showing all of Israel is Palestine
surrounded by rifles, it becomes clear any Palestinian state will be a
terrorist state which will greatly harm Israel," Klein said. At a vote
last week during its annual meetings, the JCPA resolved "the organized
American Jewish community should affirm its support for two independent,
democratic and economically viable states – the Jewish state of Israel
and a state of Palestine – living side-by-side in peace and security."
The resolution recognized American Jewry's "diverse views about current
and future policies of the Israeli government towards settlements," and
blamed the standstill in the peace process on Palestinian intransigence.
The Council is an umbrella of 14 major national Jewish groups and 125
local Jewish community relations councils. Among the groups represented
by the council are such giants as the American Jewish Committee,
American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League , National Council of
Bnai Brith, Hadassah, the National Conference on Soviet Jewry and
Hillel, the largest Jewish university outreach group. The O.U. was
recipient of the most criticism for abstaining during the vote in which
all other groups voted in favor. According to a source at the
organization, e-mails have been pouring in from outraged Orthodox Jews.
In a widely circulated e-mail, Pessach Aceman, a Canadian immigrant to
Israel and a diarist for the BBC website, lambasted the Orthodox group
as a "terror supporting organization through your silence." "What total
hypocrisy this is," wrote Acement. "What this goes to show is that
politics and funding rule the airwaves which makes your efforts totally
hypocritical." Ted Belman, who runs the
Israpundit
blog, posted, "To my mind this resolution is very detrimental as it
makes it harder for alternates to be forwarded. By endorsing this
resolution are the O.U. and the others saying they support a two state
solution regardless if it necessitates the division of Jerusalem?" In an
official clarification, the O.U. released a statement that while it
abstained from the final vote endorsing a Palestinian state, the group
still managed to insert into the resolution's text a statement
explaining Israel's repeated offers to establish a Palestinian state
"have been met, time after time, by violence, incitement and terror.”
The organization also successfully vetoed a clause that would have
stated the American Jewish community views the establishment or
expansion of Israeli communities in the West Bank as an "impediment to
peace." more...
Gaza: EU Slovenian presidency condemns ‘disproportionate use of force’
by Israel European
Jewish Press
(March 2, 2008) - The European Union has
condemned on Sunday what it called the “disproportionate use of force"
by Israel in the Gaza Strip as the EU’s foreign policy chief, Javier
Solana is arriving in the region. In a statement, the EU’s Slovenian
presidency said: "The presidency condemns the recent disproportionate
use of force by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) against Palestinian
population in Gaza and urges Israel to exercise maximum restraint and
refrain from all activities that endanger civilians." It added: "Such
activities are contrary to international law. The Presidency at the same
time reiterates condemnation of continued firing of rockets into Israeli
territory and calls for its immediate end." The statement was issued
after intense fighting in the Gaza Strip over the weekend in which
fifty-four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed. Senior
Israeli political and military leaders have been mulling a major ground
operation in the Gaza Strip for months, as Hamas militants launched
daily rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israel. The EU presidency
said "it rejects collective punishment of the people of Gaza." "We are
deeply worried about the suffering of the civilian population on Israeli
and Palestinian side. We have stated too many times that both
Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in peace and security,”
the statement said...
Javier Solana,
the European Union foreign policy chief, has started on Sunday a 3-day
visit to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Lebanon. In Israel,
Solana will meet on Monday with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defence Minister
Ehud Barak. On Tuesday, the EU official will travel to the Palestinian
territories for meetings with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime
Minister Salam Fayyad, Ahmed Ali Mohammed Qurei, chairman of the
Palestinian negotiating team, and Saeb Erekat, head of the negotiations
affairs department. According to his cabinet, Solana will stress the
importance of keeping the Annapolis peace process on track and underline
the EU's commitment to this process and its support for the parties.
He will also stress the EU's readiness to help bring about and implement
a solution to the situation in Gaza. more...
Part of Jerusalem Officially Labeled PA Territory
Israel National News
(February
27, 2008) - Israeli authorities have placed several signs near
the Atarot area in northern Jerusalem recently warning travelers, “You
are entering territory under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
Israelis are absolutely forbidden to enter!” Approximately 25,000
residents of Jerusalem, some of them Israeli citizens, live in the areas
now designated as PA territory. Jerusalem Forum chairman Aryeh King said
Wednesday that approximately 1,200 dunams of property owned by Jews were
located beyond the signs. The government violated laws regarding
Jerusalem by putting up the signs, King said. The signs prove the
government is acting to make its policy of splitting Jerusalem a
reality, he said. King said he plans to lead a tour on Thursday in areas
that fall within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem but are in
practice controlled by the Palestinian Authority. The tour will begin at
the Kalandia checkpoint at 12 p.m. and end in the biblical village of
Mitzpa.
Alarmed rabbis: Prime minister dividing Jerusalem
WorldNet Daily
(February
26, 2008) - A group of hundreds of prominent Israeli rabbis this
week urged a religious partner of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's
government to immediately bolt the Israeli leader's coalition amid
rampant media reports Jerusalem is up for negotiations. The rabbis
warned that if the Orthodox Shas party remains in Olmert's government,
they will urge Jews against supporting Shas. If the party bolts,
Olmert's coalition government could fall apart, precipitating new
elections. "We are seriously considering issuing a statement signed by
the hundreds of rabbis of the organization declaring it is absolutely
forbidden for any observant Jew to vote for a party that lent its
support to a government that negotiated the division of Jerusalem, a
move that will place the entire population in Israel in mortal danger,"
Rabbi Avrohom Shmuel Lewin, director general of the Rabbinical Congress
for Peace, told WND. The Congress is a coalition of more than 350
Israeli rabbinic leaders and pulpit rabbis. Olmert repeatedly has
insisted Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are not dealing with the
status of Jerusalem, while Palestinian leaders, including Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abba, and many Israeli officials, including
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, stated in recent weeks negotiations are
covering all core issues, including Jerusalem. The Israeli Shas party
has stated it would bolt the prime minister's coalition if it becomes
clear the Israeli government is negotiating the ceding of any part of
Jerusalem. Shas' departure could collapse Olmert's government. Olmert
must maintain a majority of the Knesset's 120 seats to continue ruling.
He currently rules with a slight plurality. If Shas, with its 12 seats,
bolts the government, Olmert would be forced to forge a new coalition or
face new elections. Most analysts here believe if Shas does bolt, Olmert
could only stay in power if he invites Arab parties to his government, a
move that would be considered highly controversial. Shas denies
Jerusalem is being discussed during weekly Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations, which commenced after last November's U.S.-sponsored
Annapolis summit. "Nobody is talking about Jerusalem. The moment
Jerusalem is being discussed, Shas will leave the government – period,"
Shas Spokesman Roi Lachmanovitch told Israel National News. A Rabbinical
Congress for Peace statement issued after an emergency meeting yesterday
countered: "Every novice journalist and anyone listening to the news in
Israel knows that giving up large chunks of Jerusalem has been on the
negotiating table for quite some time and is in its advanced stages.
Only the representatives of Shas are burying their heads in the ground
and pretend they know of nothing." "They are lying to themselves and
deceiving their electorate. The Shas ministers know that Olmert and
Abbas have agreed not to make public any agreement on Jerusalem until
after the final signature in order to keep Shas in the government," said
the RCP statement. The statement was signed by scores of prominent
rabbinic leaders here. Since the Annapolis summit, which aimed to create
a Palestinian state before the end of the year, senior negotiating teams
including Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia have been
meeting weekly while Olmert and Abbas meet biweekly. Unlike previous
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in which both sides attended with about
a dozen advisors each, Livni's and Quereai's teams are small, usually
consisting at most of five people each. Media leaks from the current
negotiations have been rare. Some momentum is highly expected before a
visit Bush has scheduled to Israel in May, his second trip since
Annapolis. Olmert's government has hinted a number of times it will
divide Jerusalem and reportedly has halted all Jewish construction
permits for eastern sections of the city. In December, Israeli Vice
Premier Haim Ramon said the country "must" give up sections of Jerusalem
for a future Palestinian state, even conceding the Palestinians can
rename Jerusalem "to whatever they want." "We must come today and say,
friends, the Jewish neighborhoods, including Har Homa, will remain under
Israeli sovereignty, and the Arab neighborhoods will be the Palestinian
capital, which they will call Jerusalem or whatever they want," said
Ramon during an interview. Positions held by Ramon, a ranking member of
Olmert's Kadima party, are largely considered to be reflective of
Israeli government policy. Olmert himself recently questioned whether it
was "really necessary" to retain Arab-majority eastern sections of
Jerusalem. Israel recaptured eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple
Mount – Judaism's holiest site – during the 1967 Six Day War. The
Palestinians have claimed eastern Jerusalem as a future capital; the
area has large Arab neighborhoods, a significant Jewish population and
sites holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. About 231,000 Arabs live
in Jerusalem, mostly in eastern neighborhoods, and many reside in
illegally constructed complexes. The city has an estimated total
population of 724,000. Ramon listed population statistics as the reason
Olmert's government finds it necessary to split Jerusalem. But
WND broke the story that according to Jerusalem municipal employees,
during 10 years as mayor of Jerusalem, Olmert instructed city workers
not to take action against hundreds of illicit Arab building projects
throughout eastern sections of Jerusalem housing over 100,000 Arabs
squatting in the city illegally. The workers and some former employees
claim Olmert even instructed city officials to delete files documenting
illegal Arab construction of housing units in eastern Jerusalem. Olmert
was Jerusalem mayor from 1993 to 2003. As mayor, he made repeated public
statements calling Jerusalem the "eternal and undivided capital" of
Israel. Jerusalem municipal employees and former workers, though, paint
a starkly contrasting picture of the prime minister. "He did nothing
about rampant illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem while the
government cracked down on illegal Jewish construction in the West
Bank," said one municipal employee who worked under Olmert. She spoke on
condition of anonymity, because she still works for the municipality.
One former municipal worker during Olmert's mayoral tenure told WND he
was moved in 1999 to a new government posting after he tried to
highlight the illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem. He also spoke on
condition of anonymity, fearing for his current job. Aryeh King,
chairman of the Jerusalem Forum, which promotes Jewish construction in
Jerusalem, told WND an investigation by his group found Olmert's city
hall deleted files documenting hundreds of illegal Arab building
projects throughout eastern sections of Jerusalem. He said he forwarded
his findings to Israel's state comptroller for investigation. King also
claims Olmert told senior municipal workers not to enforce a ban on
illegal Arab buildings. "Ehud Olmert gave the order not to deal with the
problem and not to put Israeli security forces to the duty of taking
down the illegal Arab complexes," said King. "Senior municipal workers
told me Olmert said not to bother with the illegal Arab homes, because
eventually eastern Jerusalem would be given to the Palestinian
Authority." King's report alleges Jerusalem municipal officials erased
the files, which detail over 300 cases of Arab construction in eastern
Jerusalem deemed illegal starting from 1999. The illegal buildings
reportedly were constructed without permits and are still standing.
According to law, they must be demolished. more...
Holy land in escrow
YNet News
(February
25, 2008) - After years in which various Jewish associations have
bought up scopes of land in east Jerusalem, with the declared intention
of maintaining the city's Jewish nature – they now find themselves
bidding against various Muslim and Christian associations wishing to get
a hold of land in the city's east. As reported in Yedioth Ahronoth
Monday, wealthy West Bank-based Palestinians, funded by Persian Gulf
benefactors, have been attempting to buy as much land as possible in
east Jerusalem, concentrating their efforts in the Old City, in order to
push out the Jewish associations – doing exactly the same. Backed by
private millionaires, Muslim foundations, Arab banks, the PLO's Orient
House's Housing Division and even several affiliates linked to Hamas,
these Arab associations offer twice, even three times, the property
value compared to their Jewish counterparts. Many Arab associations
offer mortgages in favorable rates to any Muslim buying property in
Jerusalem. Arab associations, said the report, have bought 12 apartments
in the Old City in the last four months alone, with four more apartments
in the Muslim Quarter in escrow. These associations have also bid on
property located in Jerusalem's Shoafat and Beit Hanina neighborhoods,
on the Mount of Olives; and have recently purchased a five-acre stretch
of land in south Jerusalem, with the intention of building a new
Palestinian neighborhood. Palestinian sources claim Turkey has also
become involved in the land venture, aiding Arab associations by denying
the Jewish ones access to Ottoman land records – which may prove
historical Jewish ownership of the land. The various Christian
associations found in the mix have reportedly been concentrating their
efforts in buying land near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and
Jerusalem's Christian Quarter. Right-wing activist Arieh King, funded by
Jewish billionaire Irwin Moscovitch, has recently formed the Israel Land
Foundation, in an attempt to stop Arab associations from acquiring any
more land in Jerusalem, by outbidding them. "If the Jewish National Fund
would have done its job and buy these lands for the Jewish people, my
work would be redundant," said King, "but the Palestinian associations
are pouring tens of millions of dollars on lands in east Jerusalem,
while not even one of our efforts is government funded." more...
Abbas: Peace in 2008 or never
The Jerusalem Post
(February
25, 2008) - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged
the US on Monday to make good on its promise to work for a Middle East
peace settlement by the end of the year, warning that there would not be
any future chances. Abbas spoke following a closed door meeting with
Jordan's King Abdullah in the Jordanian capital of Amman and warned that
if the Bush administration didn't make good on its pledge to "make 2008
the year to broker peace, then there will never be any future chances to
achieve this goal." The Palestinians and Israelis are negotiating a
final peace settlement, which the Bush administration hopes would lead
to the creation of an independent Palestinian state later this year. The
US "must understand it is to play an active role, not just as a
supervisor, by intervening directly to help make peace," Abbas told
reporters. He also urged Israel "to stop escalating the situation in the
Palestinian territories and stop all attacks in the Gaza Strip,
including firing missiles there." For his part, Abdullah expressed
dismay over the rapidly deteriorating living conditions in Gaza and
called for end to the economic blockade imposed there, according to a
royal palace statement. The king emphasized that Jordan refused any
partial solution or unilateral actions on the Palestinian issue which
would create "real obstacles to achieving tangible progress in the peace
process," the statement said. Gaza's battered economy has nearly
collapsed under the weight of the closure and basic services to 1.4
million Palestinians - such as water, sewerage, medical care and
education - have been crippled. "Gaza is on the edge of an explosion,"
Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, warned Monday. A separate palace
statement announced that Abdullah and his Palestinian-born wife Queen
Rania will visit the United States later this month for meetings with
President George W. Bush and other administration officials on Mideast
peacemaking. The statement did not give a specific date for the meeting
with Bush, but said the visit would start Feb. 28. Foreign Ministry: Peace talks on the right track The Jerusalem Post (February 24, 2008) - Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have agreed to set up three committees to deal with civil affairs issues: water and the environment; legal matters; and economic subjects. The move came as Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni held another round of talks Sunday with the head of the Palestinian final status negotiating team, former Palestinian Authority prime minister Ahmed Qurei. The regular negotiating teams were joined by 20 experts - 10 from each side - who will make up the core of the three new committees. Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel hailed the move as an indication that the negotiations were on the right track. "It's definitely a sign of progress," Mekel told The Jerusalem Post. "An indication that the negotiations are moving forward." The idea is that the new panels will meet regularly, in parallel with the main negotiating teams, which will stick to the core issues of borders, refugees and Jerusalem. The Israeli representatives on the new committees include the directors-general of a number of ministries who met with Livni last week to draw up the government's position on a variety of the technical issues. The Palestinian experts include five former PA ministers. Up till now it has been difficult to assess the state of the final status talks, which were launched in the wake of November's Annapolis gathering, as both sides observed a policy of discretion fearing any publicity could damage the chances of success. Both parties seem to have backtracked over recent weeks from the initial |
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