Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel
Elections Archive - May 2007
Elections Archive - May 2007
|
Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel Elections Archive - May 2007 |
|
|
|
Khalid Mash’al warns against continued embargo against Palestinian government Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2007 Bethlehem - Ma’an - Hamas politburo chief, Khalid Mash’al, has warned against the continued international embargo against the Palestinians, predicting that this "will lead to an explosion across the whole of the Middle East." In an interview with the London-based Guardian newspaper, Mash’al stated, "The siege is collective punishment, and a crime. And the crime is even worse after the Mecca agreement because Palestinians had expected the siege would be lifted. Domestic problems have been compounded by the financial siege imposed on the Palestinian Authority by the US and EU after Hamas won democratic elections in 2005, Mashal revealed." Now the international community is trying to undermine Hamas. That will lead to an explosion that will be in the face of the Israeli occupation. Politicians warn against collapse of government: "Too early to judge failure or success" Ma’an News Agency 5/30/2007 Ramallah - Ma’an - The recent fighting between Fatah and Hamas continues to affect the domestic arena, and has raised many questions over the potential consequences of the internecine fighting to the Palestinian cause. In a workshop organized in Ramallah by Palestinian peace groups, ministers and politicians warned of the danger inherent in a collapse of the government, and called for "comprehensive dialogue in order to protect the national project." The workshop was attended by the minister of public works, Mahmoud Al Aloul, and other high ranking officials and political analysts. Al Aloul declared that "the government represents the last chance for the Palestinian people, and is facing two choices; either to succeed or to move to early elections. Israelis seize Fatah legislator BBC Online 5/30/2007 Israeli troops have detained a member of the Palestinian parliament said to have close ties with a militant offshoot of the mainstream Fatah party. Jamal Tirawi was seized during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus. In the past year Israel has held dozens of sitting MPs from the militant winner of the 2006 elections, Hamas, but he is the first from the rival Fatah group. Two Palestinian militants were killed in an air raid at Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza, Palestinian sources said. An Israeli military spokesman said "armed terrorists in the Jabaliya camp" had been hit in the air raid, but gave no more details. Hamas said the men were members of its military faction. Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli troops killed two other armed Hamas members as part of ongoing efforts to stem rocket attacks. Labor primaries: Candidates persuade undecided voters Attila Somfalvi, YNetNews 5/27/2007 One day before Labor primaries, candidates make final efforts to gain support from undecided voters. Peretz’s headquarters exhibit optimismThe five final Labor chairmanship candidates exhausted last-minute efforts in preparation for Monday’s primary elections. The candidates all called dozens of undecided voters to try to get their support. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak tried to convince them that he was the best choice as he was willing to make far-reaching steps for peace, but added that he wouldn’t make them unless there was a partner on the Palestinian side. Ami Ayalon and Ehud Barak, the two leading candidates according to polls, said they hoped that the last-minute efforts would yield results and bring many voters to the ballots. Palestinian gov’t workers plan strike to protest overdue salaries The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 5/23/2007 Palestinian government workers launched a three-day strike on Wednesday to protest overdue salaries. The Palestinian government employs 175,000 civil servants, whose salaries provide for one-quarter of the Palestinians. However, it has struggled to pay salaries since Hamas won parliamentary elections in January 2006, provoking an international aid cutoff and the withholding of some $600 million in tax transfers from Israel. The formation in March of a coalition between Hamas and the Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has failed to persuade most countries to renew aid because the new government did not renounce violence or recognize Israel’s right to exist. The sanctions have deepened the poverty in Palestinian areas and badly disrupted government services, leading to periodic strikes. Dr. Barghouthi meets king Abdullah of Jordan Naseer Faleh - IMEMC, International Middle East Media Center 5/18/2007 Palestinian Information Minister, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi met on Friday with King Abdullah of Jordan on the sidelines of the Economic Forum held at the Dead Sea in Jordan. Dr. Barghouthi stated that he discussed with the monarch the situation in the Palestinian territories, the Israeli attacks, the siege and embargo, and Israel’s seizure of Palestinian tax revenue estimated by 850 Million US Dollars since Hamas won the elections last year. He called on Jordan and the international community to practice pressure on Israel to stop its aggression in the Gaza Strip, and to lift the siege. He also held talks over the efforts being practiced to end the internal clashes in the Gaza Strip and to implement the unity deal in order to maintain the Palestinian unity. IDF bombs Hamas offices in retaliation for Qassam barrage Amos Harel, Ha’aretz 5/16/2007 Israel Air Force jets bombed a Hamas headquarters in Rafah yesterday, killing four Palestinians and injuring approximately 20 others. All the injured were Hamas militants. In another raid that evening, the air force killed a Hamas militant on the outskirts of Gaza City. He was part of a crew of Qassam rocket launchers. With the exception of these air raids, there has been no substantial change in Israel’s response in the Gaza Strip, even as the heavy barrages of Qassam rockets targeting Sderot and its environs entered its second day. The Hamas headquarters served the Executive Force, the militia set up after the group came to power following national elections. Several rockets were fired at the structure during the attack, which took place at about 2 P. PLC head meets Abbas in Gaza IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center 5/13/2007 Palestinian sources reported on Saturday that Palestinian Legislative Council head Dr. Ahmad Bahar, met with the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and discussed several internal issues including chaos and insecurity. President Abbas expressed his full support to the plan and said that it should be implemented without any delays in order to restore order. Abbas and Bahar also discussed the issue of the imprisoned Palestinian legislators, including head of the Legislative Council, Dr. Aziz Dweik. Several legislators, ministers, mayor and officials were abducted by the Israeli army last year after the Hamas party achieved an overwhelming victory in the Legislative elections, and its victory in at municipal elections. Abbas said that Israel in interfering in the Palestinian politics and lives, and that it... Factions unite for Gaza crackdown BBC Online 5/10/2007 A major Palestinian security operation has begun in Gaza, in a joint effort by rival political parties to crack down on violence and lawlessness. Forces loyal to Hamas and Fatah, which only recently clashed on Gaza’s streets, were operating together, an official said. Up to 400 people have died in clashes since the Islamist Hamas won last year’s parliamentary elections. But the rival parties agreed to form a coalition government earlier this year. As many as 3,000 police were to take part in the operation, the Associated Press reported. Turmoil -- "There is a full agreement," senior Fatah leader Nabil Shaath said. "The determination is there and I think what we will see in the next 48 hours is a full deployment to deal with the lawlessness in the Gaza Strip. Hamas annex ’Reform and Change’ banned by Israeli government Aluf Benn, Ha’aretz 5/9/2007 The annex of Hamas in Israel, the Reform and Change party, was declared illegal earlier this week. The decision, which comes more than a year after Hamas won the parliamentary elections in the Palestinian Authority, was announced in the official government gazette, Reshumot. Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who signed the original order banning the party on February 20, says he was "convinced that the Reform and Change party, or as it is know by its Arabic name, al-Aslah u’ al-Ta’ayer, has for some time been part of Hamas. I henceforth declare that this organization, by whatever name it may appear, including its branches and support groups, is an unrecognized association, in the terms set by the emergency orders." The order also requires that any individual holding property belonging to the party should inform... Palestinian Finance Minister receives German Foreign Minister in Bethlehem Rami Almeghari - IMEMC & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 5/5/2007 Palestinian Finance Minister, Salam Fayad, met on Saturday with the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Fayad told reporters that the meeting aimed at easing the daily suffering of the Palestinians by finding a ways of ‘honorable’ stable living. Fayad complained to his guest about the continued Western-led economic embargo as well as withholding by Israel of tax money revenues, due to the Palestinian authority, since Hamas has taken power in last January’s parliamentary elections. Fayad also called on Steinmeier , whose country currently presides the European Union, to enlarge the temporary mechanism for assistance to the Palestinian Authority, and decrease the debts of the Palestinian private sector. PA officials deny reports Abbas may resign over int’l sanctions Reuters, Ha’aretz 5/5/2007 A senior official in Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party said Friday afternoon that though Abbas is increasingly concerned about an ongoing international boycott of the Palestinian government, he has has not threatened to resign or call early elections over the impasse, despite earlier reports to the contrary. Abbas met Wednesday and Thursday with leading Fatah members. One of the Fatah officials, Nabil Shaath, denied reports that in these meetings, Abbas threatened to resign or call early elections if the sanctions aren’t lifted soon. "President Abbas didn’t threaten, in the meetings of the Fatah Central Committee, to resign," Shaath said. "Neither were there any discussions about the possibility of dissolving the national unity government or going to early elections. President Abbas advocates new elections as only way out of international impasse, London paper says Ma’an News Agency 5/4/2007 Bethlehem - Ma’an - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is advocating holding new legislative and presidential elections, in the hope that new elections would bring in a new government acceptable to the international community, the London-based, Arabic language paper,’Al-Sharq Al-Awsat’, has reported. Abbas is reported as saying in a closed meeting, "there is no escape from conducting new legislative and presidential elections following the refusal of the European states to deal with the national unity government," according to a well-informed Palestinian source. The source told ’Al-Sharq Al-Awsat’ that Abu Mazen was very pessimistic following his last European and Arab tour because the Europeans clarified that they cannot overcome the United States’ position which strongly refuses to deal with the current government. Fateh rejects statements about resignation of President Abbas Rasheel Hilal – IMEMC, International Middle East Media Center 5/5/2007 Spokesperson of Fateh movement in the West Bank, Fahmi AL Za’areer, stated on Friday that any talks about the resignation of president Mahmoud Abbas are unacceptable since Abbas was elected by the Palestinian people in democratic and fair elections. He also said that the Palestinian Authority was created by an international agreement in accordance to the international law, and that all countries must abide by their responsibilities to ensure the survival of this Authority. Furthermore, Al Za’areer stated that president Abbas and the Palestinian leadership are explaining the Palestinian position to the international countries since the Palestinians abided by the conditions of the Quartet after signing the Mecca Unity Agreement and after issuing the official statement of the government. European parliamentarians demonstrate Europe’s cooperation with Palestinian government in visit to Haniyeh in Gaza Ma’an News Agency 5/1/2007 Gaza - Ma’an - Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh received a European parliamentary delegation in his office in Gaza City on Tuesday. The prime minister explained to his guests the developments in the occupied Palestinian territories in the political, economic and social spheres. He also explained to them the suffering of the Palestinian people as a result of the embargo imposed on the Palestinian people since Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections in January 2006. Haniyeh stressed to the delegation the need for the world to deal with the Palestinian national unity government as the representative of the Palestinian people. He also emphasized that aid and support should come direct to the Palestinian ministry of finance. European parliamentarians demonstrate Europe’s cooperation with Palestinian government in visit to Haniyeh in Gaza Ma’an News Agency 5/1/2007 Gaza - Ma’an - Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh received a European parliamentary delegation in his office in Gaza City on Tuesday. The prime minister explained to his guests the developments in the occupied Palestinian territories in the political, economic and social spheres. He also explained to them the suffering of the Palestinian people as a result of the embargo imposed on the Palestinian people since Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections in January 2006. Haniyeh stressed to the delegation the need for the world to deal with the Palestinian national unity government as the representative of the Palestinian people. He also emphasized that aid and support should come direct to the Palestinian ministry of finance. Fatah wins Al-Quds University elections by narrow margin Ma’an News Agency 5/1/2007 Jerusalem - Ma’an - Fatah has won the student council elections in Al-Quds University, in Abu Dis east of Jerusalem, on Monday. The Fatah movement won 30 seats in the student council; Hamas won 22 seats; the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) won four; Islamic Jihad won two; the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) two; and the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) one. In spite of clashes that erupted between students on Sunday in advance of the elections, in which many students were injured, the university went ahead with the elections. Fatah spokesman Fahmi Za’arir said that the result of the university elections was evidence that Palestinian students support Fatah’s policy. [end] Fatah wins Al-Quds University elections by narrow margin Ma’an News Agency 5/1/2007 Jerusalem - Ma’an - Fatah has won the student council elections in Al-Quds University, in Abu Dis east of Jerusalem, on Monday. The Fatah movement won 30 seats in the student council; Hamas won 22 seats; the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) won four; Islamic Jihad won two; the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) two; and the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) one. In spite of clashes that erupted between students on Sunday in advance of the elections, in which many students were injured, the university went ahead with the elections. Fatah spokesman Fahmi Za’arir said that the result of the university elections was evidence that Palestinian students support Fatah’s policy. [end] Lawyer of Mandela Institute visits the detained PLC head, legislators and several detainees Ali Samoudi – IMEMC, International Middle East Media Center 5/1/2007 Lawyer of the Mandela Institute, Bothaina Douqmaq, visited the Dr. Aziz Dweik, the jailed head of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and a number of detained legislators and officials illegally held by Israel. Douqmaq visited Dr. Hatim Jarrar, head of Jenin Municipality, Legislator Nasser Abdul-Jawad, Legislator Hosny al Boureeny, Legislator Fathi Al Qar’awy, Legislator Riyadh Raddad, and Legislator Hashim Al Masry. Dr. Dweik said that Israel’s imprisonment of the elected legislators and officials is a direct violation to the international law, and an attack against the Palestinian democracy, and called on the Palestinian legislatorsto hold regular sessions in order to follow-up on the Palestinian situation and the needs of the people. He also called for continuing the local elections in the remaining Palestinian... Lawyer of Mandela Institute visits the detained PLC head, legislators and several detainees Ali Samoudi – IMEMC, International Middle East Media Center 5/1/2007 Lawyer of the Mandela Institute, Bothaina Douqmaq, visited the Dr. Aziz Dweik, the jailed head of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and a number of detained legislators and officials illegally held by Israel. Douqmaq visited Dr. Hatim Jarrar, head of Jenin Municipality, Legislator Nasser Abdul-Jawad, Legislator Hosny al Boureeny, Legislator Fathi Al Qar’awy, Legislator Riyadh Raddad, and Legislator Hashim Al Masry. Dr. Dweik said that Israel’s imprisonment of the elected legislators and officials is a direct violation to the international law, and an attack against the Palestinian democracy, and called on the Palestinian legislatorsto hold regular sessions in order to follow-up on the Palestinian situation and the needs of the people. He also called for continuing the local elections in the remaining Palestinian...  Articles
First, we’ll shoot a bit, flex a muscle Zvi Barel, Ha’aretz 5/19/2007 It is the same prestige that contributed quite a bit to creating the real strategic threat facing Israel. This threat is not expressed by the terrifying Qassams that are causing Sderot residents to flee from their city, but rather by the disintegration of Gaza, by the subjection of its million and a quarter residents to the reign of gangs, by the neutralization of the ability to build a strong, united Palestinian leadership, and by the establishment of a state of terror in Gaza, which operates almost in isolation from any central Palestinian administration. The reason for the state’s prestige being in question is its need to justify the decision not to recognize the Hamas government and to impose an economic siege on the territories. At the same time, Israel has conditioned the Palestinians’ ability to exist on a matter of honor - on Hamas’ recognition of Israel. How ridiculous now is the tally of triumphs and defeats of Fatah versus Hamas, of corpses on one side versus corpses on the other side, and the mathematical determination that Hamas is winning on the street. Is it not the same Hamas that already won over the street in the elections last year? The same Hamas that maintained the welcome cease-fire for many long months? The same Hamas that signed the Mecca Agreement and accepted the Arab Initiative. Hamas is not a pleasant movement. It includes elements of terror and draws its sources from a fanatical religious ideology. But Hamas and the Palestinian unity government, as long as the latter still holds up, are the best address Israel has at the moment. This government is not just the only one that has the potential to control the "State of Gaza," it is the only one that is still interested in the fate of its public and, therefore, is influenced by the pressure of that public. It is the only one that is also threatened by the firing of Qassams on Sderot. But without the means to provide benefits for its citizens, it is also paralyzed. World Bank exposes the blatantly obvious Sonja Karkar, Electronic Intifada 5/14/2007 It should have happened sooner, but at least it has happened now. Israel has been exposed by the august World Bank for its oppressive control of the West Bank. Three weeks before global protests begin against 40 years of Israel’s occupation, the report reveals what every government knows, but not one has been prepared to stop. Effectively, the report challenges the notion of a viable two-state solution under Israel’s current restrictions and illegal land appropriations. According to the report, the West Bank has been fragmented into 10 isolated non-contiguous ghettoes which is an impossible configuration for any viable state, and this is made even more bizarre by the presence of some 250,000 illegal Jewish settlers (excluding those in East Jerusalem) who exercise control over 50 percent of the West Bank.And the Wall, says the report, exceeds at times Israel’s security needs and seems rather to contribute to, along with restrictive zoning and land use rules and practices, Jewish settlement expansion. The Bank’s report is timely and welcome, but curiously it does not mention the effects of the sanctions that the West and Israel imposed on the Palestinians at the beginning of last year. At the time, the World Bank had stated that the Palestinian economy would shrink by 27 percent in 2006 -- "a one year contraction that compares to the Great Depression in the US".In other words, the Palestinian economy was in danger of collapse even then and the warnings were not acted upon. Instead, the world cavalierly continued with its sanctions because it did not approve of the newly elected Hamas government -- democratically elected in fair and transparent elections overseen by former US president Jimmy Carter.Now, the World Bank is ratcheting up its dire warnings about the prohibitive restrictions that have decimated the Palestinian economy: as long as the political situation remains unresolved and the economy continues to depend on foreign assistance simply for survival, there is very little prospect of a sustainable economic recovery. Certainly not the sort of sustained growth rates that can provide decent living standards for an expanding population. Any reversal of the situation, says the report, would have to entail dismantling Israel’s grid of physical and administrative barriers. 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 In Hebrew - 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 Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. It endeavors to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel. Boycott Israeli Medical Association UK: The Medical Committee for Boycott of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) will document the systematic torture of Palestinian people by agents of Israel. It will publicise the practice in order to bring world opinion to bear on Israel. And it will challenge the Israeli Medical Association which has repeatedly failed to issue advice to doctors who are involved in any way with torture. 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. Palestinian Center 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.
The Treatment of Prisoners and Detainees: Home page
To receive
a once-daily e-mail digest of our News and Articles content, write to FAIR USE NOTICE: This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
