Vermonters
for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel
Elections Archive - January 2007
Elections Archive - January 2007
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Vermonters
for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel Elections Archive - January 2007 |
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President Abbas: New Ballot Likely in Three Weeks International Middle East Media Center 1/26/2007 Palestinian President and Fatah leader, Mahmoud Abbass said Friday that he would repeat call for early presidential and legislative elections if underway talks on national unity government fail. Abbas was speaking in a press briefing on the sideline of the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland. “We are at a junction, either yes or no. This doesn’t need more than two weeks or maximally three weeks”, Abbas told reporters. “There are two key points, compliance with the Palestinian, Arab and international legitimacies as well as acceptance of independent members of any would-be government”, the President refereed to basis of Palestinian factions talks. "If we fail to achieve a national unity government that allows us to lift the siege, I will call for presidential elections," Abbass maintained. Livni warns Abbas against striking deal with Hamas Ha’aretz 1/26/2007 DAVOS, Switzerland - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni warned Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas Thursday that should he reach a compromise with Hamas, that would send the diplomatic process into a deep freeze." Compromising with extremists will not promote anything, but it can lead to further stagnation," Livni told Abbas during a session of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Abbas, though not mentioning Hamas by name, responded by saying that should the Islamic organization refuse to honor agreements signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization or to accept proposals that have the support of the Arab world - an apparent reference to the Arab League’s Beirut declaration of 2002 - he will call new elections. One year of Hamas in power Ma’an News Agency 1/25/2007 Bethlehem - Thursday 25th January commemorates the victory of the Hamas movement in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections. Great changes have happened domestically, globally and at the regional Arab level, during Hamas’ year in power. Ma’an interviewed several key people one year after this ground-shaking event:Former minister and Fatah leader, Nabil Sha’ath stated that it has been "a very dire year", yet he attributed it not only to the Hamas movement, but also to the "tyrant international siege imposed on the Palestinians". He added that Hamas had "frozen" the PLC and failed to bring about security in the Palestinian street. Furthermore, said Sha’ath, "there has been no progress towards national unity and the relationships with the international and Arab communities have weakened. Abbas says won’t obligate Hamas to recognize Israel YNetNews 1/23/2007 Talks on the establishment of PA unity government expected to resume; Palestinian president says early elections possible if negotiations fail; ‘Hamas recognition of Israel not a precondition,’ he adds -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday he would not demand that Hamas recognize Israel as a precondition for the establishment of a unity government in the Authority. “However, I am demanding that the government adhere to the agreements of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the decisions reached by the United Nations,” he said. The talks on the establishment of a Palestinian unity government are expected to resume Tuesday on the heels of Abbas’ meeting with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Damascus. Palestinian leaders fail to agree to unity cabinet The Guardian 1/22/2007 Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president last night failed to win acceptance for his plans for a national unity government from the Hamas leadership in Damascus. Mr Abbas has said that he is willing to give one final chance for a national unity government before he calls legislative and presidential elections. Both Mr Abbas and Khaled Mashaal, the Hamas leader in Damascus said they had "made progress" in their meeting, which has been postponed several times in two days because of prior disagreements. Mr Abbas and Hamas have been discussing the formation of national unity government since May last tear, but neither side has come close to agreement. In the same period, tensions between the two sides have increased, with scores killed and kidnapped in factional fighting. OPT: Abbas says early Palestinian polls still an option ReliefWeb 1/22/2007 DAMASCUS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday he may still call early elections if negotiations with Hamas on a unity government lead nowhere." My talks with Hamas have been positive, but early elections are an option if talks for a national unity government fail," Abbas told reporters before leaving Damascus, where he met the Islamist movement’s leader Khaled Meshaal on Sunday. Abbas, head of the once-dominant Fatah faction, and Meshaal agreed despite their political rivalry to try to stop Palestinian bloodshed. But they did not reach a deal on forming a new government, and officials pointed to deep divisions. In Gaza, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh -- a senior Hamas figure -- said Palestinian factions would begin a "national dialogue" on Tuesday to follow up on Sunday’s session. One year of Palestinian crisis ReliefWeb 1/23/2007 GAZA CITY, Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) - Palestinian factions have been locked in a power struggle since Hamas dramatically trounced the Fatah faction of president Mahmud Abbas in elections a year ago. Here is a chronology of key events since Hamas’s election win, which led to a Western aid freeze and an Israeli boycott of peace talks. 2006January 25: In its first electoral outing, Hamas sweeps legislative elections in the Palestinian territories, ending 10 years of Fatah domination. Israel refuses to do business with the new administration, saying it is led by terrorists bent on destroying the Jewish state. February 4: First meeting between Hamas leaders and Abbas, who was elected 13 months earlier after the death of Yasser Arafat. February 19: Israel implements sanctions against the Palestinians, triggering an economic crisis.... Abbas: If latest unity gov’t talks fail, I will call early elections Ha’aretz 1/20/2007 Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that if the latest round of unity government talks with Hamas fails he will call early elections, but acknowledged that Hamas could emerge the victor once again." We say either there is a (unity) government or elections," he said after a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "Elections don’t mean we want to throw Hamas into the sea. It has been elected and can be elected again." Abbas is expected to meet in Damascus on Saturday with Khaled Meshal, the head of the Hamas political bureau, according to Palestinian parliamentarian Ziad Abu Amar. Abu Amar and Mohammed Rashid, the economic adviser to the later Yasser Arafat, have been busy for weeks mediating between the two Palestinian leaders. Israel, Palestinians ’can forge peace deal in 2 years’ Daily Star 1/19/2007 Peretz’s deputy cites ’opportunity’ but ’we have to do it very, very quickly’ -- Israel and the Palestinians can wrap up a final peace deal within two years, but the international climate for such talks might not remain favorable for long, Israel’s deputy defense minister said Thursday. As part of the favorable climate, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana joined growing calls to jump-start the tattered peace process by looking at aspects of a lasting deal. And in a goodwill gesture, Israel said it would free $100 million in frozen Palestinian tax revenues on Friday to boost President Mahmoud Abbas - the first Israeli payment since the militant Hamas won legislative elections and took office last year. Israeli Deputy Minister, Ephraim Sneh has formulated a new peace plan together with Defense Minister Amir Peretz of the moderate Labor Party... Haneyya: Threatening early elections would only deepen differences Palestinian Information Center 1/17/2007 Gaza - Ismail Haneyya, the PA premier, has criticized those who described a fresh dialogue on formation of a national unity government as the "a last ditch effort", which if failed would entail holding early legislative elections. The Palestinian people don’t accept and reject such threats, he said, adding that PA presidency continued to meet the USA officials and others for long years and find excuses for continuation of such negotiations. Hence, they should rather have patience with their own brothers, he elaborated. Haneyya charged that threatening early legislative elections carried "legal and constitutional violations" and would confuse the Palestinian arena and might lead to deep differences. ’2006 didn’t shake Israeli patriotism’ Jerusalem Post 1/17/2007 Israeli Jews are just as patriotic following the Second Lebanon War and other difficult events of 2006 as they were in 2005, but their faith in government, its institutions and the armed forces has been severely shaken, a new survey indicates. In some instances, the survey found a small rise in the level of Israelis’ emotional identification with the country as a result of the trying year, especially among residents of the North. The study also showed a drop in feelings of patriotism among the 18-29 age group. The IDB survey on patriotism in Israel was conducted for the Herzliya Conference, which will take place next week at the Institute for Policy and Strategy, IDC, Herzliya. Even in Israeli terms, 2006 was a year packed with mega-events: Ariel Sharon’s stroke; a political "big bang" and a new government; Hamas winning the Palestinian elections... Hamas says will never recognize Israel YNetNews 1/16/2007 Haniyeh insists Hamas will never acknowledge Israel, hopeful about faltering unity gov’t talks with Fatah, wants Barghouti as part of Shalit deal -- Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Monday the Islamist militant group Hamas would never recognize Israel. "Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, said in an interview from Gaza with Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbullah’s al-Manar television: "Hamas will never recognize the legitimacy of the occupation." Hamas took control of the Palestinian government last March after winning parliamentary elections a year ago.... Haniyeh renewed his rejection of Abbas’ election call. He said Hamas would never agree to conditions set by Western powers, which also included accepting previous interim peace accords signed in the 1990s by the Palestine Liberation Organization with Israel. Human Rights Watch: Israel Excessively Restricted Movement of Palestinians International Middle East Media Center 1/12/2007 The Washington-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Israel has restricted movement of Palestinians. -- In its annual report, the HRW elaborated that Israel has imposed ‘excessive’ restrictions on movement, particularly in the West Bank and East Jerusalem during 2006. The report maintained that in August2006, Israel increased the number of roadblocks to 540, compared with 376 in 2005. HRW pointed out that the Israeli government withheld custom money due to the Palestinian Authority, following the installation of a Hamas-led government in January2006 democratic elections. In another human rights abuse, the report referred to the Israeli army insufficient probes into killings of civilians... Hamas accuses Abbas of unrealistic slogans, Ma’an News Agency 1/11/2007 Gaza - The Hamas movement has on Thursday portrayed the Palestinian president’s address marking the 42nd anniversary of the Fatah movement as unrealistic and full of slogans. The Hamas movement also criticized President Abbas for failing to call for immediate dialogue to form a unity government. The movement’s spokesman in Gaza, Dr Ismail Radwan said that "the president’s address was full of dogmas which can’t be perceived in reality and which came only to improve the image of the radicals inside the Fatah movement." With regard to the president’s reassurance of going to early presidential and legislative elections, Radwan said, "Hamas expected President Abbas to call for dialogue for a unity government based on the national unity agreement, especially after the regrettable bloody events. Dahlan Says Elections Can End Palestinian Infighting International Middle East Media Center 1/10/2007 Palestinian former minister and Fatah front man said that the only way out of underway Fatah-Hamas infighting is the early elections called on by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last month. Speaking to Israeli Daily Haaretz, Dahlan was quoted “from our perspective, the solution is a democratic one; elections”. Dahlan referred to the largest Fatah rally in Gaza few days ago, saying that such a large demonstration proved to Hamas that Gaza is not theirs, a thing that Fatah has been working on for months. Asked whether he has been put in charge of President Abbas’ security forces, the Palestinian leader answered he does not have such a position, though he welcomed it if he is asked to do so. He maintained that all Palestinian security bodies are now going through a drastic rehabilitation process... Mohammed Dahlan in a special Haaretz interview: We proved to Hamas that Gaza is not theirs Ha’aretz 1/11/2007 In the midst of a bloody civil war in Gaza, and persistent threats against him by Hamas, Mohammed Dahlan was all smiles and jokes - and curses - perfectly coiffed, stylishly suited. A few minutes after returning from the bureau of Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, senior PA officials made pilgrimage to Dahlan one by one - first, former finance minister Salem Fayed, then PLO Executive Committee member Yasser Abed Rabo. Already present were Salim Abu Safia, chief of Palestinian crossings security, and Dahlan’s good friend and fellow leader Sufian Abu Zaida. Few today doubt the indentity of the strongest man in Fatah - and Abbas’ heir apparent. Only three days ago he headed the biggest rally in the history of Fatah in Gaza, where the crowds waved his picture, as he taunted Hamas: "Please, shoot me. "Does his outer calm belie inner fear?" Forget it. I’m not afraid for a second," he told Haaretz. Why did you tell them to shoot you? Dahlan smiles. "My bodyguards wanted to move me back for fear I would be attacked. But I say to [Hamas] I will do what I want, take part in every event. "But why are you a target? Why are they afraid of you?" They are sure that if they kill Mohammed Dahlan, Fatah will disappear. They don’t understand that this is a popular movement. They know that I know them personally better than anyone else. From the years Israel tried to cooperate with them [Hamas] against Fatah, from the years when [Hamas PA foreign minister] Mahmoud a-Zahar was in touch with Yitzhak Rabin. But they make mistakes. They lost the Palestinian street, which sees what they have become. A bunch of murderers and thieves who execute Palestinians only because they are Fatah members?" Abu Zaida sits to Dahlan’s left. His house was blown up by Hamas and he survived a number of attempts on his life. Dahlan explains that the security forces under Abbas have begun implementing a plan to protect senior Fatah officials. "We will do everything, I repeat, everything, to protect Fatah activists," Dahlan says. It was reported that you have been put in charge of Abbas’ security forces. "I don’t have such a position. But if I am asked to advise or assist I do so. " Dahlan says the Palestinian security organizations are at the height of a process of change: retiring officers over 60, uniting the forces into three branches: national security (the army), internal security (police) and preventive security (intelligence). The biggest change Dahlan can chalk up for himself is in Fatah in Gaza. "It’s a strategic, historic process for us, which brought the movement back to the street. We have been working for months and we see the result. More women are at rallies, and [we are] getting to out-of-the-way places even under severe weather conditions. "Dahlan again mentions the rally that Fatah says was attended by some 250,000 people. Even if the numbers were smaller, it would still be a victory for the process Dahlan is leading, sometimes to the displeasure of the movement’s veteran leaders. However, with the backing of Abbas, the young commanders previously sidelined by the older leadership have been appointed as grassroots leaders. Some of the best-known, whose names may mean nothing to Israelis, include Majid Abu Shimala, Suleiman Abu Mutlek, Maher Makdad, Abed al-Hakim Awad. But how will the war end? "It is not a war. It is an attack by Hamas on Fatah," Dahlan says. "The solution from our perspective is the democratic one: elections. In the end we will have to go forward together. But to do this we must make sure Fatah is strong enough. And the rally, from my point of view, was just the beginning. We proved to Hamas that Gaza is not theirs. Gaza is not Tora Bora. We made mistakes in the past but we won’t repeat them. " Fatah faithful gather in Gaza to confront Hamas rivals The Guardian 1/9/2007 Tens of thousands of Fatah supporters packed Gaza’s main football stadium yesterday in a show of strength to boost the movement in its increasingly violent struggle with the Islamic militant group Hamas. Fatah’s strongman in Gaza, Muhammad Dahlan, was given a hero’s welcome as he entered the stadium. The gathering was the largest Fatah demonstration in Gaza since 1994, when Yasser Arafat returned triumphantly to Gaza from exile in the framework of a partial peace deal with Israel. Fatah and Hamas have been locked in a bloody struggle for control of the Palestinian government since the Islamic group won parliamentary elections last year. Head of the Hamas legislative bloc says external military support is not the solution to domestic discord Ma’an News Agency 1/8/2007 Khan Younis - The spokesman for the Hamas bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Dr Salah Bardawil, has confirmed that the domestic Palestinian disagreements cannot be settled through external military support. Instead, a national agreement is needed, he said, especially since the Palestinians are living under occupation. Bardawil affirmed in talks with Ma’an that the Hamas movement absolutely rejects the recent events in the Palestinian arena, which he said have had negative consequences and which can only serve the Israeli enemy’s interests. The spokesperson also accused external parties of trying to bring the Palestinian arena to a position where legislative elections are necessary. Hamas: U.S. is funding a ’revolt’ against our gov’t Ha’aretz 1/6/2007 Senior Hamas official Mushir al-Masri blamed the United States on Friday for attempting to promote a revolt against the Hamas government, after U.S. documents showed that the Bush administration will provide $86. 4 million to strengthen security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas." We demand that Abbas postpones this U.S. policy, which is tearing the Palestinian people apart," he said. The new policy would expand U.S. involvement in Abbas’ power struggle with Hamas. Fighting between Abbas’s Fatah faction and Hamas has surged since talks on forming a unity government collapsed and Abbas called for early parliamentary and presidential elections. Hamas accused Abbas of mounting a coup. Six injured in internal clashes in Gaza International Middle East Media Center 1/3/2007 Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported on Wednesday that six Palestinians were shot and injured during clashes between members of the Executive Force and members of the Preventive Security forces in the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The Executive Force was formed by Hamas after it won the legislative elections. Eyewitnesses reported that members of the Executive Force stopped the car of Mohammad Ghareeb Abu Al Majd, a senior security commander, and abducted two of his companions before burning the vehicle. Following the incident, armed clashes took place near the house of Abu Al Majd; three members of the Executive Force and three members of the Preventive Security force were injured. Tumultuous year in Palestine Palestine Times 1/1/2007 There is no doubt that 2006 will be viewed by historians as one of the most tumultuous years in the annals of recent Palestinian history. On 25 January, legislative elections in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem finally took place after a series of postponements and delays by the Fatah leadership, mainly due to worries that the erstwhile PA ruling party was not sufficiently prepared for the polls. The elections were monitored by hundreds of foreign observers, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who testified to its fairness, transparency and democratic nature. The results of the elections showed that the worries of those who feared that Fatah would be defeated by Hamas proved to be more than vindicated. Hamas won as many as 75 seats out of the 132 seats making up the Palestinian Legislative Council, whereas Fatah won only 47 seats... Hamas member of the Executive Force killed in Gaza explosion International Middle East Media Center 1/2/2007 The Palestinian Information Center, controlled and run by Hamas, reported on Tuesday that a member of the Executive Force that belongs to the Ministry of Interior was killed in an explosion in Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The Executive Force was formed by Hamas movement after it won the legislative elections last year. Islam Shahwan, spokesperson of the Executive Force, denied media reports which claimed that a vehicle that belongs to the force was targeted by an RPG shell near the Force’s center in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Shahwan added that the force was not subjected to gunfire, and that investigations in the causes of the explosion are still ongoing. He also said that the explosion was apparently caused by an “internal accident” and that there are no external parties involved in the explosion. [end] Palestinian groups renew Gaza clashes, abductions Ha’aretz 1/2/2007 Internal tensions between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah flared Monday in the northern Gaza Strip as unknown assailants abducted 12 Hamas members and four from Fatah, security sources said. All the kidnapped militants were later freed after both sides agreed to swap captives, sources from the groups said. The groups declared a truce in December to end weeks of deadly violence, which intensified after Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, head of Fatah, called for new elections. The militant group Hamas, which won a parliamentary ballot in January, has dismissed calls for fresh elections as attempts at a coup. The kidnappings Monday sparked gunbattles between the factions, which wounded three Palestinians caught in the crossfire, including a boy, Palestinian rescue workers said. Hamas, Fatah members grabbed in Gaza Jerusalem Post 1/1/2007 After members of the Palestinian Hamas and Fatah factions carried out tit-for-tat kidnappings Monday in northern Gaza City, violating an internal agreement to avoid such deeds, the Islamic Jihad has stepped in and is attempting to mediate between the two warring factions, Israel Radio reported Monday evening. The Islamic Jihad boycotted the Palestinian Authority legislative elections last January and has refused to sign any agreements on a cease-fire with Israel. Seven of the Hamas members kidnapped had been released later Monday evening, sources said. They said that initially Hamas gunmen abducted the brother of a senior Fatah member in northern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Jabaliya, provoking Samih al-Madhoun of Fatah’s armed wing to seize a number of Hamas loyalists. 2006: Most difficult year in ten Palestine News Network 1/1/2007 By most accounts of local analysts and observers, 2006 was the most difficult year in a decade. Several human rights organizations referred to it as the year of “hunger and blockade in every sense of the word. ” All agreements, payments and aid were cut in March, any monies owed or gifted to the Palestinian Authority from the European Union and others were stoped. It all happened at the beginning of 2006, after Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Council elections on 25 January and the government became exclusively Hamas. The United States refused to accept it, and many followed suit including the Israelis who stopped paying tax revenue due on trade. The deterioration of the Palestinian situation was remarkably serious. Palestinian Legislative Council members call for talks on goverment formation Ma’an News Agency 12/25/2006 Bethlehem - Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, PLC, members of Hamas and residents of the Jenin area, now serving in Israeli jails, have confirmed that they are concerned by confrontations and the ever-looming threat of civil war in the territoriesDuring Abbas Zakkour’s visit to the PLC members jailed in Nafha, these members called on the two main factions to begin talks concerning the formation of a national government. Despite viewing the call for early elections as unconstitutional, the members believed that the leaders of the two factions could resolve most issues, including the contentions issue of ministerial posts. [end]  Articles
Abbas at Davos / Incapable of effecting change By Danny Rubinstein, Ha’aretz 1/29/2007 Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos during the weekend was first and foremost one of despair. He presented numbers: 79 percent of the residents of the Gaza Strip live below the poverty line. Annual per capita income in the Strip is less than $800 a person, as opposed to nearly $20,000 in Israel. Restrictions on travel, destruction of infrastructure, fragmentation of the Palestinian territories, 10,000 prisoners in Israeli jails and a Palestinian economy in thrall to Israel, were all listed as causes of the present misery. How should the Palestinians extricate themselves from this situation? Abbas said at Davos that if a unity government does not emerge in the Palestinian Authority in two or three weeks, he would call early elections for the presidency and the parliament. He has presented this ultimatum to Hamas at least three times in recent months. Nothing happened. Now it makes no impression on his adversaries in the Gaza Strip, who have turned its streets into a battlefield. With the central government in Gaza crumbling, its place is being taken by local and tribal militias, Ghassan al-Khatib, former PA minister of planning said. The truth is that Abbas cannot do much. At Davos he reiterated his plan for ending the conflict: establishing a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders including East Jerusalem, and solving the problem of the refugees through UN Resolution 194. In Madrid We Trusted By Rami Bathish, MIFTAH 1/13/2007 As a teenager growing up in Vienna, Austria, at the time, the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s is clearly enshrined in my memory as the single most significant historical event. Characterised by the dawn of a “new world order,” that period had reshaped the balance of power among nations and set the governing dynamics of what followed from regional and global events (and tragedies) until the present day. Meanwhile, as a Palestinian, first and foremost, I also recall that the winds of change had unmistakably stormed in another direction, one that is closer to home, and closer to heart. It was on 30 October, 1991, that the Madrid Peace Conference was convened, and consequently the assertion of our national aspirations for the first time since Al-Nakba on the largest possible scale. Within the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, this, in itself, was as historic as the end of the Cold War. Today, more than 15 years after Madrid, Palestinians find themselves desperately trapped between the evident threat of internal strife and a prolonged Israeli occupation that has multiplied in form and magnitude since 1991. At the merciless hand of time, the dream of an independent and truly viable Palestinian state has become a distant and vague object in our rear view mirror. National disunity, particularly following the second Palestinian Legislative Council elections of January 2006, has transcended political collisions between Fateh and Hamas and is increasingly following the catastrophic pattern of head-on militaristic confrontation, at the tragic expense of Palestinian blood. Israel, on its part, continues to relentlessly colonise what is left of Palestine (the territories it illegally occupies since the June 1967 war), through the imprisonment of the Gaza Strip and settlement construction and expansion, the construction of its Annexation Wall, and enforcement of demographic alterations in the West Bank, thereby creating irreversible realities on the ground and pre-empting the outcome of final status negotiations, let alone diminishing the prospects of their resumption altogether. Palestinian refugees and exiles must have a say-so By Rima Merriman, Electronic Intifada 1/15/2007 Today, Palestinian refugees outside the occupied territories and Palestinian exiles feel completely excluded from the body politic and national debate currently taking place in the occupied territories. They listen to the feuding emanating from the territories in helpless dismay. They watch those on the inside who are caught up in a carefully engineered web of power struggles and passionate rifts that seem incomprehensible in their intensity and misdirection. This fragmentation in the Palestinian political process has long been in the making. The Palestinian National Authority, courtesy of the Oslo negotiations, is designed to represent only Palestinians living in the occupied territories and to function as no more than Israel’s administrative arm. The advent of Hamas on the Palestinian political scene has forcefully brought to the fore the question of adequate forms of representation for the Palestinian people. Far from enhancing democracy and representation, the elections of the Palestinian Legislative Council exclude Palestinians outside the territories. As it turned out, these last elections were also deemed by the international community as irrelevant. The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole legitimate voice of the Palestinian people as recognized by the United Nations and the Arab League in 1974, is now separated functionally and structurally from the Palestinian diaspora. Its links with the outside were weakened and marginalized when the core elite of the PLO moved to the West Bank and Gaza as a result of the Oslo negotiations in 1994. Neutralizing Palestine, to better focus on Iran By Clayton E. Swisher, Daily Star 1/12/2007 US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s trip to the Middle East, which begins today, will be aimed at convincing the so-called "moderate Arab states" of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia that the United States is finally ready, after six years of promises, to help Palestinians achieve their state. While good-faith American mediation would be welcomed, many Arabs will greet her visit with well-founded skepticism, questioning why a Bush administration that is seemingly locked at the hip with Israel now wishes to roll up its sleeves and help the Palestinians. Six years of empty promises have bred considerable skepticism. Calls shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks for a Palestinian state, the pressure applied by President George W. Bush on then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to end the first siege of Yasser Arafat’s Ramallah compound in 2002, and even the 2002 "road map" for peace were all viewed as no more than attempts to placate the international community, especially moderate Arabs, in order to prepare for war in Iraq. Without Arab cooperation, particularly from Jordan and Saudi Arabia, US plans to depose Saddam Hussein would have ended up in the same jar of formaldehyde as we now know was reserved for the Palestinian issue. In instances where the Bush administration chose to momentarily focus on Palestine, the international media rushed to applaud the US commitment, hoping hands-on involvement would follow. This was particularly true once the 2004 presidential elections passed. Bush was expected to reward the coalition allies that had confronted Iraq by producing the oft-promised Palestinian state. ....With two years left in office, the Bush administration wants to see Iran’s regime humbled, if not toppled. Neoconservatives who have had their sights set on Iran are buoyed by the new arrangement where Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Israel find themselves on the same page when it comes to confronting Iran’s uranium enrichment program. They all want to do business together, including with Israel - which has the motive and means to degrade Iranian targets through air strikes - but moderate Arabs demand progress on the Palestinian issue to retain some measure of legitimacy and avoid public embarrassment. Elliot Abrams’ Uncivil War By Alastair Crooke and Mark Perry, Alternative Information Center/Conflicts Forum 1/10/2007 Is the Bush administration violating the law in an effort to provoke a Palestinian civil war? Deputy National Security Advisor, Elliott Abrams—who Newsweek recently described as “the last neocon standing”—has had it about for some months now that the U.S. is not only not interested in dealing with Hamas, it is working to ensure its failure. In the immediate aftermath of the Hamas elections, last January, Abrams greeted a group of Palestinian businessmen in his White House office with talk of a “hard coup” against the newly-elected Hamas government—the violent overthrow of their leadership with arms supplied by the United States. While the businessmen were shocked, Abrams was adamant—the U.S. had to support Fatah with guns, ammunition and training, so that they could fight Hamas for control of the Palestinian government. While those closest to him now concede the Abrams’ words were issued in a moment of frustration, the “hard coup” talk was hardly just talk. Over the last twelve months, the United States has supplied guns, ammunition and training to Palestinian Fatah activists to take on Hamas in the streets of Gaza and the West Bank. A large number of Fatah activists have been trained and “graduated” from two camps—one in Ramallah and one in Jericho. The supplies of rifles and ammunition, which started as a mere trickle, has now become a torrent (Haaretz reports the U.S. has designated an astounding $86.4 million for Abu Mazen’s security detail), and while the program has gone largely without notice in the American press, it is openly talked about and commented on in the Arab media—and in Israel. Thousands of rifles and bullets have been poring into Gaza and the West Bank from Egypt and Jordan, the administration’s designated allies in the program. At first, it was thought, the resupply effort (initiated under the guise of “assist[ing] the Palestinian Authority presidency in fulfilling PA commitments under the road map to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism and establish law and order in the West Bank and Gaza,” according to a U.S. government document) would strengthen the security forces under the command of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Officials thought that the additional weapons would easily cow Hamas operatives, who would meekly surrender the offices they had only recently so dearly won. That has not only not happened, but the program is under attack throughout the Arab world—particularly among America’s closest allies. See also:Elliott Abrams and Return of Zionist Extremist Elliott Abrams Interview: Fostering Muslim-West dialogue By Humayun Chaudhry, AlJazeera 8/8/2005 Alastair Crooke is a former official with Britain’s MI6 intelligence agency who has worked in some of the world’s most dangerous hotspots. He spent many years in the Arab and Muslim world and engaged in dialogue with Hamas and Hizb Allah, as well as facing paramilitary forces and drug cartels in Latin America and militias in Africa. His last posting, based in Jerusalem, was as a senior adviser to the EU high representative on foreign affairs, Javier Solana. During this time, Crooke helped end the Israeli siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in 2002 and worked to mediate the summer 2003 ceasefire between Palestinian armed groups and Israeli forces. Now retired and leading his own non-profit organisation, Conflicts Forum, Crooke hopes to foster a broader dialogue between the Muslim world and the West. Aljazeera.net spoke to him on the phone while he was in Lebanon recently. We asked him about the London and Sharm al-Shaikh bombings, the war on terror and dialogue with Islamist groups. Aljazeera.net: Do you believe the London attacks are a consequence of Britain’s participation in the war on Iraq? Alastair Crooke: I believe there is no causal motivation that has been established yet for what happened in London, on the two occasions, so I think it’s difficult to say what is the causal trigger to these two events. But I think it’s very clear that there has been a great deal of anger and hostility that has risen from Muslims everywhere, from not only events in Iraq - that is an important element - but much more widely, in Afghanistan, but also the Palestinian issue and others, that has radicalised many young Muslims, not only in the UK but everywhere. ....Aljazeera.net: You make a distinction between the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Hizb Allah, and al-Qaida or al-Qaida related-groups, that are more global in their actions? Alastair Crooke: I think there is a big difference between the two, in that what you have is Hamas, Hizb Allah, Jammat Islamiya, Muslim Brotherhood and these groups. They may be seen on the one hand through the optic of using resistance or violence, in support of their objectives, but these groups all favour elections, they look for reform, they’re looking for constitutional change in their society, and that is an important difference between these groups and some of the other Salafi, Takfiri, extreme radical groups who are looking for polarisation. New Year Reflections By Ramzy Baroud, Palestine Chronicle 1/5/2007 This is yet another reckless American-Israeli experiment that if fully actualized, shall harvest untold political instability, debase America’s reputation even further and expand the list of innocent victims who have fallen as profusely as ever in this passing year. 2006 was yet another year of tribulations in the ever tumultuous Middle East. It defied all early expectations that 2005 would be the worst for many years to follow. It ended on a sad note in Palestine, and left wide open the chance for many appalling possibilities that stretch from Baghdad, to Lebanon, to Mogadishu, and elsewhere. Like January 2005, January 2006 brought about momentous elections, the former in Iraq, and the latter in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; both occasions, which had the potential of becoming icons of democratic experiences, led to unmitigated disasters, exposing the American democracy charade for what it truly was, a farce, pure and simple. The 120 Iraqi parties that fielded candidates in the country’s 2005 first nationwide elections since the toppling of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, revealed the country’s sectarian divisions; expectedly, Iraq’s Sunni population boycotted the elections, fearing that their participation was a rubber stamp in a highly suspicious US experiment aimed at dividing the country by stripping it of any national cohesion, thus smoothing the progress of a more manageable occupation. Sadly, many Iraqis allowed the US plan to fester civil strife bordering on civil war, which left countless innocents dead or maimed; The outcome of those divisions never expressed itself as clearly as it did in 2006, which left even the most optimistic amongst us anticipate nothing less than a full-fledged civil war morphing out of the current chaos. Meanwhile, most Americans, as articulated in the Congressional elections of November 2006, expressed resentment for their country’s war in Iraq like never before on any foreign policy issue. Though their rejection of the Republican Party’s candidates was an illustration of their refusal of the Bush Administration staying the course mantra, the election brought back a divided Democratic Party that is equally supportive of the war, but wishes to convey its position in so clever a way so as to appear in disagreement of Bush’s war management style, but without offering any substantial policy shift. The elections will also likely position Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton of New York and Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona at the helm of Presidential candidates to follow the current lame duck president. Clinton is a staunch pro-war and pro-Israel savvy politician, and the latter wants to see a dramatic increase in the number of American troops in Iraq, as a way out of the quagmire. Using his constant opposition of President Bush’s foreign policies, McCain is unlikely to pay the price of Bush’s past failures, which, to varying degrees have damaged the credibility of most Republican politicians. Denial of entry and its impact on higher education By Birzeit University Right to Education Campaign, Electronic Intifada 1/6/2007 Since the beginning of 2006, many thousands of Palestinian foreign passport holders have been denied entry to visit, work or study in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt). This policy has brought tremendous insecurity to Birzeit University and its financial and academic wellbeing. From March to September 2006 there has been a 50 percent drop in foreign passport holding staff, leaving most departments at the risk of being forced to drop courses and of losing irreplaceable lecturers on specialist areas. One department in particular risks losing up to 70 percent of its staff. Currently there are at least 14 faculty members who are at risk of not being able to continue teaching, and 383 students who fear deportation or prison sentences if they are caught at checkpoints. The Arabic language and culture programme is particularly at risk as it is entirely self-sufficient and dependent on their foreign students’ access to the University. In the last term alone, four students were not allowed to complete their studies as they were not allowed to enter or re-enter the oPt. The programme is also a major source of emergency funds for the university, which has recently come into use to cover staff salaries since the economic blockade post the 2006 elections. Since Israel’s restrictions on access to Palestinian education, applications for next term’s course fell by 50 percent - taking with it 50 percent of the programme’s income. However, for the first time since the prevalence of this deportation policy, the Israeli government has allocated an official to be responsible for the right to enter the Palestinian territories, Maj. Gen. Mishlav. In December 2006, Mishlav told EU officials that their policy has changed and that those given ’last permits’ would be able to stay and renew their visas. However, this does not help those who are already outside and have ’denied entry’ stamped in their passports, as is the case for two of Birzeit’s faculty staff: Somida Abbas and Bahgat Taiam. Palestine’s leaders have become their own worst enemies Editorial, Daily Star 1/9/2007 Ever since Hamas came to power in democratic elections last January, the specter of internecine violence has haunted the Palestinian territories. Attempts over the past year to negotiate an agreement that would allow Hamas and Fatah to share power were interrupted by armed clashes, but many still held out hope that the two factions would eventually recognize the futility of their ways and arrive at some form of compromise. However, this past week has seen a rapid degeneration from bad to worse: a series of gun battles, abductions and raids - occurrences which have become alarmingly common in the territories - culminated with officials from Hamas and Fatah issuing public threats to kill one another’s leaders. The chasm between the two factions has never been wider, and the leaders of both parties are to blame for dragging their population to the brink of civil war. In fairness, the situation in the Occupied Territories can be attributed to a long list of factors over which Palestinian leaders have little or no control. These include the crippling embargo that was imposed after the elections produced results that were unacceptable to Western nations, Arab leaders’ systematic neglect and exploitation of the Palestinians’ plight, the crushing of civil society and state institutions that occurred during the rule of late President Yasser Arafat, and the chaos, misery and destitution wrought by decades of oppressive Israeli occupation. But acknowledging the role that these and other factors may have played in creating the current crisis does not absolve Palestinian leaders of their share of responsibility. On the contrary, as elected representatives, the leaders of Hamas and Fatah have a greater responsibility than anyone else to act in the interests of the Palestinian people. But instead of acting like elected representatives and serving the interests of their public, Palestinian leaders are behaving like rival gang chiefs and are dragging their entire population into a deadly and pointless street war... US, Israel seek to strengthen Abbas against Hamas By Khalid Amayreh, Palestine Times 1/1/2007 With the US effectively at loss over the quagmire in Iraq, and with the Baker-Hamilton report accentuating the centrality of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as maker-or-breaker of stability in the region, Israel and the Bush Administration as well as British Prime Minister Tony Blair are adopting a new motto: Strengthening Abbas against Hamas. The motto is not new, of course, and is not really aimed at achieving a genuine and historical of the seemingly irreconcilable Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The main aim seems to bolster the “moderate camp” (Fatah) against the “extremists” (Hamas), especially militarily and financially. In the context of expediting this new-old policy of divide and conquer, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hosted in his official residence in West Jerusalem Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas. The meeting, which took place on 23 December was preceded with all the necessary and unnecessary trappings, pleasantries and kissing, and hugging, representing a stark contrast to the bleak reality of Israeli Palestinian relations, especially since Olmert came to office earlier this year. Indeed, since his Kadima party won the general elections in spring, the Israeli army has killed over 700 Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, the vast bulk of them innocent civilians. The Hamas factor By Robert Malley and Henry Siegman, International Herald Tribune 12/27/2006 The latest American and European bid to revive the long-dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace process apparently goes something like this: Tighten the squeeze on Hamas’s government to curtail its acquisition of money and weapons. Tip the military balance by pouring in tens of millions of dollars to train and equip security forces loyal to Fatah. Strengthen the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, politically with the kinds of immediate, tangible concessions — money transfers, prisoner releases, lifting of roadblocks — mentioned by the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, at his dinner last Saturday with Abbas. Then, the thinking goes, press the two sides to agree on a plan involving Israel’s withdrawal from areas of the West Bank and creation of a Palestinian state, while conditioning implementation on a Palestinian government that recognizes Israel and renounces violence. Formalize that accord at a ceremony attended by American, European and Arab dignitaries, who would pledge substantial funding for the soon-to-be state. By then, the choice before the Palestinian people will be clear: a life of isolation and hardship under Hamas, or potential peace and prosperity under a new, internationally backed government. Abbas will schedule early elections or a referendum. Hamas will resist. In the ensuing violent confrontation, Abbas — militarily bolstered and enjoying broad domestic support — will prevail. The theory is elegant and appealing. It also is unworkable. There is, to begin, the colossal suspension of disbelief — of reason, really — in which one is asked to indulge. In the next two years, the Bush administration would have to do what it has shown neither will nor capacity to accomplish in the past six: Focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, engage in skillful diplomacy and extract Israeli concessions. Israel would have to take significant steps under precarious security conditions and for the sake of an uncertain outcome. Democracy Remains on Trial In Palestine By Dr. Daud Abdullah, Palestine Chronicle 12/27/2006 Jimmy Carter is no anti-Semite. He belongs to a prominent group of American presidents who made more important contributions toward the advancement of the Zionist project than the Zionists themselves. Two words explain the Palestinian democratic experience during the past year - disappointing and frustrating. Palestinians in the Occupied Territories [OT] feel this way not because their elections were flawed. Rather it was because of their inability to gain universal recognition for the result of those polls. Today the chickens hatched by the international sanctions are coming home to roost. They are witnessed in the complete paralysis that has grounded the Palestinian economy, the attendant political confusion and declining social security. For the first time in living memory an Occupied [Protected] People have been subjected to an international economic blockade of this magnitude. These punitive measures were taken in support of the Occupying Power, which after six decades still refuses either to define its international borders or recognize an independent Palestinian state in the territories occupied in 1967, (a mere 22% of historic Palestine). Hence the sanctions imposed on the Occupied Territories since the parliamentary elections of 26th January 2006 amount to no less than a dreadful violation of Article 54 of the Fourth Geneva Convention: The Occupying Power may not alter the status of public officials or judges in the occupied territories, or in any way apply sanctions to or take any measures of coercion or discrimination against them, should they abstain from fulfilling their functions for reasons of conscience. Only those blinded by prejudice and narrow interests could not have foreseen the consequences of these sanctions on the Palestinian people. One individual who did not jump on the bandwagon was former US president Jimmy Carter. One month after the elections he warned that any tacit or formal collusion between Israel and the international community to subvert the elected Hamas government by punishing the Palestinian people could well result in their alienation and an increase in the domestic and international standing of Hamas. LinksAdalah Adalah (Justice in Arabic) is the first non-profit, non-sectarian Palestinian-run legal center in Israel. The main goal of Adalah’s work is to achieve equal rights and minority rights protections for Palestinian citizens of Israel. Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Organization: Addameer (conscience) is a Palestinian non-governmental, civil institution which focuses on human rights issues. Supports Palestinian prisoners, advocates for rights of political prisoners, works to end torture. Amnesty International Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights. AI’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. Amnesty International USA Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights. AI’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. Arab Association for Human Rights - HRA The HRA was founded in 1988 to promote and protect the political, civil, economic, and cultural rights of the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel and to further the domestic implementation of international human rights principles. It is an independent non-governmental organisation registered in Israel. Association for Civil Rights in Israel - ACRI The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) was founded in 1972 as a non-political and independent body, with the goal of protecting human and civil rights in Israel and in the territories under Israeli control. B’tselem The Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. Occupation Prisoners News stories and reports about Palestinian prisoners from International Press Center, of the Palestinian National Authority’s State Information Service. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is an independent legal body based in Gaza City dedicated to protecting human rights, promoting the rule of law, and upholding democratic principles in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Palestinian Prisoners Society The Palestinian Prisoner Society is a social and human institution and its members are prisoners inside prisons and released prisoners. Membership is open to every Palestinian prisoner inside and outside prisons who meets the conditions of membership. Physicians for Human Rights - Israel Physicians for Human Rights - Israel (PHR-Israel) was established in 1988 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, dedicated to promoting and protecting the medical human rights of all residents of Israel and the Occupied Territories. Public Committee Against Torture in Israel - PCATI An independent human rights organization founded that monitors the implementation conditions in detention centers and continues the struggle against the use of torture in interrogation in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine The main collection contains the texts of current and historical United Nations material concerning the question of Palestine and other issues related to the Middle East situation and the search for peace. World Organisation Against Torture OMCT is today the largest international coalition of NGOs fighting against torture,summary executions, forced disappearances and all other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in order to preserve Human Rights. It has at its disposal a network, SOS Torture, consisting of some 240 non-governmental organisations which act as sources of information.
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