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Palestinian tourism minister quits
AlJazeera 6/13/2006
Murqos was the only Christian member in the Hamas cabinet -- Judeh Murqos, the Palestinian tourism minister, has announced his resignation from the Hamas-led government following increased inter-Palestinian violence. In a statement early on Tuesday, Murqos said: "I confirm to you that I have resigned from the government due to the violence that has occurred (Monday) in the Gaza Strip. " He added: "I shall give other reasons tomorrow. " Murqos, who comes from Bethlehem, was the only Christian member of the government set up by the Hamas movement after its victory in January elections. He is also the first member of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya''s government to resign.
Significance of the referendum
AlJazeera 6/10/2006
The Palestinian president has announced a referendum next month on a statehood proposal that implicitly recognises Israel. Below are answers to some questions about the vote. What is behind the referendum call? A power struggle between Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas has grown since the Islamic resistance movement took office after its defeat of Abbas''s Fatah movement in elections. He wants Hamas to bow to foreign pressure to recognise Israel''s right to exist and renounce violence as a way to end crippling financial sanctions. Some in Fatah see the referendum as a way to topple the new administration and Hamas calls it a "coup attempt".
Referendum pressure grows
Palestine Monitor/Al-Jazeera 6/6/2006
Mahmoud Abbas has given the Hamas government until the end of the week to accept a manifesto implicitly recognising Israel or face a referendum on the issue. "Before the end of the week, President Abbas will hold a news conference to announce the holding of the referendum and the beginning of the process for carrying it out," said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) official. "We, of the PLO Executive Committee, have approved his move and therefore Hamas has until the end of the week to change its position and accept the... document. "Hamas, the leading Palestinian Islamist group, has been at loggerheads with Abbas and his Fatah movement, which it defeated in elections in January. The groups have fought each other on the streets.
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 Conflict..
Israeli air strike kills Gaza official
AlJazeera 6/9/2006
A senior Palestinian security official in the Hamas government has been killed in an Israeli aerial attack in the southern Gaza Strip, witnesses and medics say. Witnesses said Jamal Abu Samhadana, also a veteran of the Popular Resistance Committees group, was among four people killed in a PRC-run camp near Khan Younis. An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed the strike late on Thursday, but said it targeted the camp rather than any specific resistance fighter. Hamas appointed Abu Samhadana as supervisor over the interior ministry, which oversees security services, in April. The move angered Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, who has been trying to salvage peacemaking with Israel since Hamas crushed his long-dominant Fatah faction in January elections.
Israeli shells, Palestinian bullets both hazards for Gaza residents
Ha''aretz 6/8/2006
11:00 A. M. A deluxe terminal is under construction at the Erez border crossing between Israel and Gaza. It appears to be nearly all window, an interesting architectural choice in light of the sonic booms that shake the Beit Hanun area every two minutes on average. The pager flashes a message from the Spokesman''s Office of the Israel Defense Forces: "In response to the firing of Qassam rockets at Israel, the IDF is firing shells. " The Erez crossing is empty. There are no workers, just a few Palestinian merchants still permitted into Israel. The main road to Gaza, Salah Al-Din Road, is filled with potholes. Suspended from the electricity cables above the road are the yellow flags of Fatah and the green ones of Hamas, souvenirs from the January elections.
Protesting late wages, PA security men attack Gaza parliament
International Middle East Media Center 6/1/2006
Thursday, thousands of Palestinian security men fired off automatic rifles at theparliament building in Gaza city, and smashed the windows, in protest to the unpaid wages since Hamas took office in March after winning the January 2006 legislative elections. The protesters slammed a plan by the Palestinian Prime Minister and a senior leader in Hamas, Ismail Haniyya, who stated that the government will pay in the coming few days, partial salary payments to the lowest paid workers in the Palestinian Authority (P. A). Some protesters climbed onto the roof of parliament in Gaza and smashed several windows. Most of the protesters are loyal to Fateh movement, headed by the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.
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Diplomacy..
Palestinians must prevent "civil war": Islamic conference
ReliefWeb 6/19/2006
BAKU, June 19, 2006 (AFP) - Palestinian factions must fight a slide into civil war which is being exploited by Israel, Islamic diplomats said at a pan-Muslim conference in Azerbaijan on Monday. "Palestinian forces should not allow a civil war to take place," the foreign minister of Malaysia, Syed Hamid Albar, said at the opening of an Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting in Baku. Yemen''s foreign minister, Abu Bakr al-Kurbi, said the victory of the Palestinian Hamas faction at parliamentary elections in January was being exploited by Israel. Like Israel, the United States and the European Union consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization. "The victory of Hamas is a trump card in the hands of Israel, which does not want dialogue with the Palestinian government," he said.
Dahlan: Olmert''s unilateral plan will perpetuate violence
Ha''aretz 6/20/2006
Mohammed Dahlan, one of Fatah''s leaders in the territories, warns that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert''s unilateral withdrawal plan in the West Bank will not solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and will only perpetuate the bloody cycle of violence. The unilateral withdrawal will bring neither peace nor security to Israel and the Palestinians, Dahlan says in an interview he gave Haaretz on Monday in his Ramallah office. On the consequences of unilateral withdrawal, Dahlan says, "I''m not saying whether there will be suicide bombings or not. But the conflict, the violence, the hostility, all will remain. "Dahlan was one of the few Fatah men who succeeded in getting elected to the Palestinian parliament in the regional elections.
Olmert approves arms shipment to bolster Abbas'' security forces
Ha''aretz 6/13/2006
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday he had approved a shipment of weapons and ammunition to bolster security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Israel''s decision comes amid an increasingly violent power struggle between Abbas and Hamas, which took control of the Palestinian Authority in March after winning parliamentary elections. "I authorized last night the transfer of arms and ammunition to chairman Abu Mazen (Abbas) in order to strengthen his presidential guard, so he can strengthen his forces against Hamas," Olmert said at a meeting with members of Britain''s Parliament as he wrapped up a visit to London. "I did this because we are running out of time and we need to help Abu Mazen," Olmert said. He did not give details of the amount or type of weapons.
Al-Qaeda rejects Abbas'' referendum
YNet News 6/9/2006
Al-Qaeda''s number 2 al-Zawahri call on Palestinians to reject Abbas''s referendum on two-state solution -- Al-Jazeera satellite channel broadcast Friday excerpts of a video tape by deputy leader of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahri, that criticized a possible referendum over a proposal calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. "I call on Muslims to reject any referendum on Palestine, because Palestine is part of the Islamic world and not subject to any compromise. " "I call upon Muslims everywhere to support the brothers in Palestine," He said mentioning armed Islamist militants, prisoners and their families. But he did not mention the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas by name as he did in an earlier tape when he criticized it for participating in elections.
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Human
Rights..
One in three sick babies dying in Gaza - UNICEF
ReliefWeb 6/13/2006
GENEVA, June 13 (Reuters) - One in three sick Palestinian newborns are dying in Gaza hospitals due to poor care and lack of basic medicines, the U. N. Children''s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday. The agency said it was nearly tripling its appeal for the occupied territories to $22. 7 million from the previous $8. 4 million as the Palestinian Authority was unable to provide essential health and education services. The United States and the European Union have cut aid and Israel has suspended tax revenue transfers to the Hamas-led government, which won elections in January. The Islamist militant group is sworn to destroy the Jewish state. Most teachers and health workers have not received salaries for three months due to the financial crunch, making it difficult to motivate them and reducing the quality of services, UNICEF spokesman Damien Personnaz said.
Caritas seeks to stave off Palestinian hunger
ReliefWeb/Caritas 6/12/2006
Vatican City, 12 June 2006 – Caritas Jerusalem is appealing urgently for nearly 1. 5 million US dollars to help Palestinians scrape by as salaries at the Palestinian Authority, which provide jobs for more than 150,000 people, go unpaid since Hamas won the January elections, prompting Israel and international donors to withhold funds destined for the new government. Those government employees directly or indirectly support a quarter of the entire Palestinian population of 1. 3 million people. Israel froze VAT and customs taxes owed to the Palestinian Authority when Hamas, which has been labelled a terrorist organisation by the United States and other countries, was elected to power and continued to refuse to recognize Israel''s right to exist.
PMRS Urgent Appeal: Emergency Support to PMRS Services in the Face of an Impending Humanitarian Crisis
Palestine Monitor/Palestinian Medical Relief Society 6/3/2006
Ramallah, 03-06-06: In the context of both an impending humanitarian crisis in Palestine and funding shortages facing the organisation, PMRS appeals to the generosity of all its friends throughout the world for support in helping it contribute to averting a public health disaster. Background: Following the results of the January 2006 legislative elections, the Palestinian people are facing an imminent humanitarian crisis as a result of (a) the decision by some members of the international community to halt funding to the new Palestinian government; (b) the refusal of Israel to transfer tax monies collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA); and (c) the freezing of PA accounts by commercial banks.... We therefore appeal to the generosity of all our friends and supporters throughout the world...
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People..
Poll: 77 percent of Palestinians support the prisoners'' document
Ha''aretz 6/7/2006
Some 77 percent of Palestinians support the "prisoners'' document," which calls for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to the results of a poll released Tuesday by Birzeit University in Ramallah. On Tuesday afternoon, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas extended until the weekend a deadline for Hamas to agree to the plan drawn up by Palestinians jailed in Israel, which implicitly recognizes Israel. The ruling Hamas party has rejected calls to recognize Israel. The poll also indicated a dramatic drop in support for Hamas. Of the respondents, 37 percent said they would vote for Hamas if parliamentary elections were held today, compared to 50 percent in April. Similarly, 37 percent said they would vote for Fatah.
Fatah sweeps Gaza university''s student elections with 80% of vote
Ha''aretz 6/4/2006
The Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas swept 80 percent of the vote in student union elections held at Al-Quds University''s five Gaza Strip colleges. In the Gaza City branch of the university, the faction won 75 percent of the vote, in the central Strip''s college Fatah took 75 percent of the vote, in Khan Yunis it won 78 percent, in the northern Gaza campus it won 82 percent and in the Rafah college Fatah won 84 percent of the student vote. A total of some ten thousand students participated in the elections..... About 3,000 Fatah activists are training in Gaza in preparation for possible deployment...
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International..
Arabs heed Obama’s call for change
Alaa Bayoumi, Al Jazeera 2/4/2008
If it were not for Barack Obama, many Arabs would not even bother to follow the results of the US presidential race on Super Tuesday. Such gloomy views could be attributed to Arabs’ negative attitudes toward governments and politics in general. Arabs have been living under authoritarian governments, many of them US allies, for decades. And the US’s traditional support for Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, coupled with the war on Iraq, has meant Arab mistrust of the US has dipped to new lows in recent years. Against this backdrop, it is easy to see why many Arabs will not be following the latest news from the US presidential primary elections. ’Offensive’ rhetoric Many do not see any serious differences between the Republican and Democratic candidates who are taking part in the race.
Ahmadinejad battles on the home front
Khody Akhavi, Asia Times 2/5/2008
WASHINGTON - Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has garnered headlines around the world for his defiance of Washington, as well as his rhetorical grandstanding on Palestinian issues, Israel and his government’s alleged support of Shi’ite militias in Iraq. Still, it appears that Iran’s parliamentary elections in March will be determined less by debates over the country’s foreign policy than by rising criticism of incompetence and economic mismanagement of conservatives and hardliners in the legislature and in Ahmadinejad’s office." Ahmadinejad is in trouble, not only because his economic policies have not worked; he has managed to antagonize almost the entire Iranian elite because of his exclusivist management style," said Farideh Farhi, an independent researcher on Iran and political scientist at the University of Hawaii.
IRAN: Ahmadinejad Caught Between Reformists and Hardliners
Khody Akhavi, Inter Press Service 1/28/2008
WASHINGTON, Jan 28(IPS) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has garnered headlines around the world for his defiance of Washington, as well as his rhetorical grandstanding on Palestinian issues, the existence of Israel, and his government’s alleged support of Shiite militias in Iraq. Still, it appears that Iran’s upcoming parliamentary elections in March will be determined less by debates over the country’s foreign policy than by rising criticism of incompetence and economic mismanagement of conservatives and hardliners in the legislature and in the office of the president.
"Ahmadinejad is in trouble, not only because his economic policies have not worked; he has managed to antagonise almost the entire Iranian elite because of his exclusivist management style," said Farideh Farhi, an independent researcher on Iran and political scientist at the University of Hawaii.
Mideast press urges action on Gaza
BBC Online 6/14/2007
The Palestinian press makes an urgent appeal for action to prevent the violence in Gaza from turning into a full-blown civil war, urging President Abbas to call a state of emergency and ask for intervention from the region’s Arab states. Papers in the wider Middle East blame the violence on Palestinian leaders and demand fresh elections to resolve the power struggle between the Hamas and Fatah factions. In Israel, commentators ponder how the country should react to the Palestinian infighting, with one advocating a total withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from the occupied territories. -
Palestinian AL-QUDS --
It seems we have reached the point of no return in this infighting and are witnessing the beginnings of civil war.
Lebanon factions resume talks
AlJazeera 3/22/2006
Leaders of Lebanon''s rival factions have resumed talks on the fate of the country''s pro-Syrian president and a UN call for the disarmament of the Hizb Allah group. The talks come amid signs that an agreement remains elusive on the two issues that threaten to destabilise the country. The discussions, which began on 2 March, have focused on a 2004 UN Security Council resolution that calls for disarming Hizb Allah and Palestinian fighters. The resolution also urged new presidential elections. It was passed in September 2004, days before Lebanese legislators extended Emile Lahoud''s term for three years.
Chirac vows ''voice of reason'' on Iran
Daily Star 3/6/2006
French president labels cartoon row a ''clash of ignorance'' -- RIYADH: French President Jacques Chirac said Sunday the West would still reach out to Iran for a deal on its disputed nuclear file, in the first address to the Saudi consultative council by a foreign leader. The president''s wide-ranging speech in Riyadh also covered Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian elections, reform in the conservative monarchy and the "clash of civilizations" between the West and Islam. "In Iran, the voice of reason that France, the United Kingdom and Germany wanted to be heard on the nuclear file has not been heard, for the time being," Chirac told the appointed advisory council, an all-male body of 150 members.
Palestinian Americans Push Religious Pluralism in P.A.
Forward 2/17/2006
WASHINGTON — Palestinian American activists are vowing to lobby Hamas against turning the West Bank and Gaza into an Islamic theocracy. Anxious about the victory of the Islamic fundamentalist group in last month''s Palestinian parliamentary elections, Palestinian American leaders say that they will push for laws favoring American-style church-state separation, pluralism, equality and inclusiveness. "We are at the time when defining decisions may very well be made in Palestine," said Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine. The task force is a prominent pro-Palestinian advocacy group in Washington.
Disagreement With Gaza Disengagement Sours Orthodox on Bush
Forward 6/24/2005
As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week, cracks were emerging in the coalition of Jewish conservatives that rallied this past November around the claim that President Bush was "the best friend Israel ever had in Washington." Many influential Republican loyalists and non-Orthodox hawks appear to be remaining firm in their support of Bush. But a growing number of Orthodox activists who were avidly courted by Bush in the 2004 election are feeling distinctly dismayed as the administration embraces Israel''s Gaza disengagement plan and presses for more aid to the Palestinians.
Elections give hope to Palestinian refugees
Daily Star 6/7/2005
BEIRUT: Palestinian refugees living in squalid and overcrowded camps dare to hope the legislative elections will directly improve their lives. "I have been monitoring the elections to see if they will bring change," said Mohammad al-Daoud, 21, outside Beirut''s Chatilla camp where portraits of candidates jostle those of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Some 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in 12 refugee compounds in South Lebanon, where conditions are often harsh and permanent citizenship is denied to all. Fouad Abed, 36, complained that the candidate he was rooting for lost in the first part of the four-stage elections that took place May 29.
El Salvador group opens park in honor of late Palestinian leader Arafat
Ha''aretz 5/25/2005
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - A new plaza on Jerusalem Avenue was inaugurated Wednesday in honor of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, despite criticism from the Israeli Embassy in El Salvador. "We are making a monument to the maximum leader of the struggle for the liberation of Palestine," said one of the promoters, businessman John Nasser, as the square with a large bust of Arafat was inaugurated. Migrants from Palestine flowed to El Salvador for decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and several families became prominent in business and politics. Both President Tony Saca and his rival in last year''s election, Schafik Handal, are sons of families that migrated from the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.
AIPAC Losing this Fight
Electronic Intifada 3/7/2005
Press Release, Council for the National Interest -- AIPAC has been taken aback by new Mideast resolutions. Last month the House and the Senate each passed their own resolutions expressing support for the Palestinian Authority in the wake of their successful presidential elections. The Washington Jewish Week reported that many on the Hill feel the Israel lobby was caught asleep on this one. The problem for the lobby was simple: popular support and optimism after the Palestinian presidential elections took the wind out of any possible grounds for raising opposition to the resolutions.
Arabs warmly welcome Abbas election
Middle East Online 1/10/2005
Analysts, officials hail election of Mahmud Abbas as Palestinian leader, pay tribute to strong voter turnout. -- Arabs gave a warm welcome Monday to the election of Mahmud Abbas as Palestinian leader, admiring a successful exercise in Arab democracy and hoping that a strong voter turnout will bolster his position. Analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah of Cairo''s Al Ahram Center of Strategic Studies said the high turnout and the strong result for Mahmud Abbas "gives him the necessary legitimacy for his plans to resolve the conflict" with Israel.
Press Review: ''The hour of truth has arrived''
The Guardian 1/11/2005
Mahmoud Abbas wins but how will events now develop? -- Times, Editorial, January 10 - "After [Sunday''s] election ... there was a palpable feeling that something had changed ... Mahmoud Abbas, the pragmatist favoured by Israel and the outside world ... won a triumphant victory ... to succeed the late ... Yasser Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority ...
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Economy..
Humanitarian emergency in Palestine
ReliefWeb/Lutheran World Relief 6/27/2006
Emergency Alert - Background: Since the Hamas victory in the recent Palestinian elections, the withholding of funds from the Palestinian Authority has worsened the crisis in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The UN has estimated that 1,350,000 refugees in these areas are currently in need of food aid. It also foresees an increase in the number of refugees dependent on humanitarian assistance. In addition to the food shortage, the lack of funds has also aversely affected the Lutheran World Federation''s Augusta Victoria Hospital, located in Jerusalem. This hospital provides healthcare services to Palestinians through a contract with the Palestinian Authority. The blockage of funds is effectively jeopardizing the lives of thousands of patients...
Growing crisis in Palestine
Electronic Intifada/Trócaire 6/16/2006
Report, Trócaire, 16 June 2006 -- Trócaire''s local partner in Jerusalem is appealing urgently for over 1. 5 million euro to help Palestinians scrape by as salaries at the Palestinian Authority, which provides jobs for more than 150,000 people, go unpaid. The salaries have been frozen since Hamas won the January elections, prompting Israel and international donors to withhold funds destined for the new government. Those government employees directly or indirectly support a quarter of the entire Palestinian population of 1. 3 million people. Other international organisations and donors also halted direct funding of the Palestinian Authority.... About 40 per cent of children in Gaza already suffer from malnutrition because of the area''s absolute poverty.
UNRWA employees vote in the Islamic Movement in their annual syndicate elections
Ma''an News 6/14/2006
Gaza -- The Islamic Movement has won most of the seats in the elections in the UNRWA employees'' syndicate in the Gaza Strip. The elections were carried out in three sections – services, teaching and labor. Palestinian sources said that the Islamic Movement won nine seats in the services section, eleven seats in the teaching section and seven seats in the labor section. At least ten thousand Palestinian UNRWA employees participated in the elections which are held annually. [end]
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