Vermonters
for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel
Elections Archive - June 2007
Elections Archive - June 2007
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Vermonters
for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel Elections Archive - June 2007 |
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Abbas: Int’l force needed in Gaza Strip before new elections News Agencies, Ha’aretz 6/30/2007 Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas appealed Friday for the deployment of an international force in Gaza, so the divided Palestinians can hold new elections, and insisted he was determined to isolate the militant Hamas. Abbas, in Paris for his first talks with Nicolas Sarkozy since he was elected French president last month, won France’s full support for the Palestinian Authority and $20 million in aid. Abbas lashed out at the putschists of Hamas for their violent takeover of Gaza earlier this month, and said he hopes to stage presidential and parliamentary elections before the end of the current terms. Abbas’ emergency cabinet, devoid of Hamas representation, now controls only the West Bank. "I proposed an international force in Gaza to Sarkozy to ensure the elections can be held peacefully," Abbas said. Gaza academics demand early presidential and legislative elections, blame Israel and international community for crisis Ma’an News Agency 6/29/2007 Gaza - Ma’an - Palestinian academics and intellectuals in the Gaza Strip have called for early legislative and presidential elections on the basis of a proportional system rather than being elected through a system of lists or by region. In a statement, the group of academics and intellectuals expressed their rejection of attempts to solve or eliminate differences through the use of force. Such military actions would be considered a "coup," they said, which cannot be accepted. Furthermore, the results and outcome of such action would be rejected, they said. On this basis, they urged all Palestinian parties and factions to deal with the current crisis, stemming from Hamas’ military takeover of the Gaza Strip two weeks ago, with a high sense of national responsibility. Fatah leader slammed over statements release on Al-Jazeera George Rishmawi - IMEMC News, International Middle East Media Center 6/28/2007 Senior Fatah leader, Hani Al-Hassan, one of the founders of the movement and member of the central committee of Fatah was harshly slammed by other Fatah officials and leaders following an interview he gave to Al-Jazeera satellite channel during which he accused a group of Fatah leaders of being part of a plan set by an American general aimed at destroying Hamas. -- Al-Hassan, who was the senior advisor for the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said what happened in Gaza is a defeat for General Keith Dayton’s plan, and not a defeat for Fatah. Dayton has been stationed in Jerusalem after Hamas won the Palestinian Parliamentary elections in January 2006, in bid to destroy Hamas. Al-Hassan accused some of Fatah leaders, hinting to Mohammad Dahlan, of being followers of the Americans and the Israelis and. UNISON calls for boycott of Israel Statement, UNISON, 20 June 2007, Electronic Intifada 6/26/2007 Statement, UNISON, 20 June 2007 - he following motion was passed by UNISON (the biggest trade union of public workers in the UK representing over 1. 3 million workers) on 20 June 2007 at their 2007 national delegate conference in Brighton, England -- Conference notes that, during 2006, Israel invaded Lebanon and Gaza, withheld tax revenues form the Palestine Authority and refused dialogue with the elected Authority following the democratic elections of January 2006, re-sealed the borders of Gaza, expanded illegal settlements in the West Bank, and continued the construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall. Israeli policy represents a calculated defiance of international law and the United Nations (UN), with the collusion of the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) which cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority. Senior Fatah member calls for early elections as only solution to crisis Ma’an News Agency 6/26/2007 Ramallah - Ma’an - A senior member of Fatah’s central committee responsible for external affairs, Abdullah Al Franji, has said that early elections are the best way out of the current domestic Palestinian crisis. In a seminar entitled, "The Palestinian External and Internal Crisis," organised by the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) and held in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Franji added that elections would halt the deterioration in the Palestinian situation and control Hamas’ military actions in the Gaza Strip. Franji discussed Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip, the consequences of this action and its impact on the Palestinian national project. He also discussed the emergency government and the this new government. "Democratic parameters" must be in place before Palestinian elections go ahead, Israeli FM Livni says Ma’an News Agency 6/25/2007 Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, said on Monday that the international community should ensure "democratic parameters" are in place before any elections, either in the Palestinian territories or in Lebanon, take place. She said she hoped "the world has learned from the mistakes that it has made." "Terrorism needs a military solution, but at the same time it needs a political one as well," she added, during a conference in Herzliya on the Israeli coast. "After six years of war against terrorism, the world feels tired," the website of the Israeli paper Yedioth Ahronoth reported [end] Azzam Al-Ahmad: the founders of the Executive Force planned the military coup in Gaza Ma’an News Agency 6/25/2007 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Speaker of Fatah bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Azzam Al-Ahmad, said on Monday that notions of “elimination and replacement” dominated Hamas’ understanding of the nature of elections. Al-Ahmad held a press conference in Ramallah, in the central West Bank, in order to comment on the public address of deposed Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, on Sunday. Al-Ahmad said that Hamas devastated all Palestinian institutions. Al-Ahmad accused Hamas of disabling the PLC by being antagonistic towards the political partnership. “Hamas wants to establish a state which they do not deserve and they must talk reasonably about the law. ”Al-Ahmad alleged that those who committed the military coup in Gaza are the same people that established the Hamas-affiliated Executive Force and refused to assimilate it into the Palestinian security forces. Haniyeh: Fatah "rebels" were planning to overthrow Hamas since the 2006 PLC elections Ma’an News Agency 6/24/2007 Gaza - Ma’an - In a press conference in Gaza, the deposed prime minister Ismail Haniyeh has given more explanations about the "pressures" exerted on Hamas, and the "rebellion" planned against Hamas since they won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006. Haniyeh said: "We have faced a series of rebellions against us: our privileges were discharged, and obstacles were put in our way over the last few months. This trend is connected to Fatah, which has been supplied with money and all the necessary equipment to bring Hamas down." This rebellious trend, Haniyeh alleged, considered all the Palestinian unity agreements, especially the Mecca agreement, as an "armistice" only, and not a permanent agreement. Haniyeh revealed that he had sent a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, ahead of... Call to Order / Israeli citizens, Palestinian parliament Shahar Ilan, Ha’aretz 6/24/2007 Under MK Yisrael Katz’s plan, anyone unwilling to identify with the Jewish statecould vote in Palestinian parliamentary elections but still remain an Israeli citizen MK Yisrael Katz (Likud) calls his new plan "two parliaments for two peoples." Under the proposal, which would be implemented as part of a final status agreement, every citizen of the two states between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River would be able to choose which parliament to vote for, regardless of his citizenship. Citizens would not have to perform national service or declare their loyalty to vote for the parliament of the democratic Jewish state. What does Katz hope to gain? That anyone who votes for the parliament of the democratic Jewish state, or is elected to serve in it, will be choosing to participate in the democratic process of the Jewish state. PLO central council calls for early elections under proportional electoral system Ma’an News Agency 6/22/2007 Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Palestine Liberation Organisation central council closed its meetings on Thursday evening, calling for amendments to the election laws. In particular, the council called for the establishment of a proportional electoral system rather than a district-based system. The final statement, read by Fatah spokesman Ahmad Abdur-Rahman, stressed the need to prepare for new presidential and legislative elections after carrying out the necessary amendments. The statement also confirmed the recent decisions made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas regarding the dissolution of former Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s government and assigning an emergency government. The PLO central council condemned "the bloody fighting which erupted recently" and asserted that what happened in the Gaza Strip... Hamas ready for dialogue with Fatah Rory McCarthy in Gaza City, The Guardian 6/20/2007 A senior Hamas leader in Gaza said today the movement wants to hold talks with the rival Fatah faction to heal the widening divisions between the Palestinian territories. "We think that negotiations with Fatah are the only way out," said Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman and prominent figure in the Hamas movement. But in the same breath he dismissed an emergency government established in the West Bank by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, as illegitimate and suggested Hamas would not be willing to take part in fresh elections. "There is no law allowing the president to call early elections. There was an election a short time ago. Hamas won. He has to respect that," he said. Just a week after seizing full control of the streets of Gaza, the Islamist movement has entrenched its security power but has lost its political authority. Israel to release money, remove checkpoints Aluf Benn, Ha’aretz 6/21/2007 Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will bring a "package of gestures" for Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to Monday’s summit in Sharm el-Sheikh. The summit meeting, to be attended by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah II as well, is meant to show support for Abbas and the emergency government he formed in the West Bank this week, following Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip. At Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting, Olmert will ask the ministers to approve a decision to resume talks with Abbas’ government, headed by Salam Fayad. Israel suspended contact with the PA government when Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections 18 months ago. Resuming ties will be dependent on the Fayad government’s accepting the conditions posed by the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers - recognizing Israel, disavowing violence and honoring previous agreements. News in Brief Ha’aretz 6/21/2007 Ten truckloads of basic foodstuffs, provided by King Abdullah II of Jordan, entered the Gaza Strip yesterday through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The shipment, which was coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces, included 30 tons of margarine, 33 tons of lentils, 34 tons of noodles, 20 tons of beans and 15 tons of garbanzo beans. Altogether, the IDF said, more than 400 tons of food and 200,000 liters of fuel were brought into Gaza from Israel yesterday. In addition, it said, eight Palestinians in need of medical treatment were transferred to hospitals in Israel, and some 100 dual citizens were evacuated from the strip. (Yuval Azoulay and Reuters) 75 percent of Palestinians favor new elections Some 75 percent of Palestinians favor new elections, according to a poll published yesterday by the independent Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. Poll: 75 percent of Palestinians favor holding new elections Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent, and The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 6/22/2007 A survey published Thursday by an independent Palestinian research center found that 75 percent of Palestinians would back new elections. The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research conducted the poll during and after the Hamas military takeover of Gaza last week. It was conducted among 1,270 respondents in the West Bank and Gaza and had an error margin of 3 percent. If new presidential elections were to be held, 49 percent would vote for Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Fatah movement, and42 percent would vote for his political rival, deposed prime minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, the survey said. If imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti were to run against Haniyeh, he would win 59 percent to Haniyeh’s 35 percent, the poll said. Mustafa Barghouthi calls for early elections Ma’an News Agency 6/19/2007 Ramallah - Ma’an - The Palestinian Legislative Council member, Dr Mustafa Barghouthi, said on Tuesday that the solution to the current Palestinian crisis is early elections. Barghouthi said that suitable conditions for early elections must be prepared in order to preserve the Palestinian national unity and protect the Palestinian law, order and democracy. He explained that Palestinian democracy and law represent an element of the Palestinian power and so they should not be violated. Barghouthi also called for the composition of a transitional government to take charge of restoring unity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip and to restore the legal and natural conditions which prevailed before the eruption of the recent conflict. It will also keep order and security and prepare for the early elections which, he said, will enable the Palestinian people to decide. Hamas lambastes the West over aid policy John Smith - IMEMC, International Middle East Media Center 6/19/2007 Hamas on Tuesday accused the United States and Europe of playing political games with Palestinian aid after the governments of each country resumed direct aid to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank while leaving the Gaza blockade in place -- Speaking to gathered press on Tuesday afternoon, spokesperson for Hamas Sani Abu Zuhri accused the governments of the EU and US of supporting an illegitimate government and of punishing the Palestinian people for fairly and democratically electing the Hamas movement to power in January’s legislative elections. "By announcing their political and financial support for the Palestinian Authority, the West is backing an illegitimate government,” stated Abu Zuhri. In addition to the US and EU’s resumption of aid to the PA, the Israeli government announced recently... Marwan Barghouthi issues statement from prison cell John Smith - IMEMC, International Middle East Media Center 6/18/2007 Marwan Barghouthi, the former Tanzim leader, currently serving five life sentences in Israel, has released a press statement voicing his support of the decision of President Abbas to declare an emergency government and criticising Hamas for the activities in the Gaza Strip. The text of Barghouthi’s statement follows: From my dark, small prison cell, I address the great Palestinian people to do the following: 1. Condemn the military coup against the legitimate Palestinian Authority and its institutions in the Gaza Strip. 2. Consider the military coup by Hamas in Gaza a dangerous threat to the Palestinian unity and cause, a shift in the choice of resistance and the destruction of the principles of partnership. 3. Consider the coup a threat to the democratic process and democratic choice, which led Hamas to win the legislative elections. Netanyahu: I warned of Hamastan Amnon Mernada, YNetNews 6/17/2007 Opposition leader says PA crisis result of weak Israeli policies, calls on government to isolate Gaza. Asked about Barak as defense minister, he says, ’I’ll be sleeping much better when I know the government’s policy has changed’ -- "I warned this would happen. Before the last elections and my warnings were ignored. I said then that Hamastan would rise into existence and it has done just that," opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu told Ynet on Sunday as he follows the situation in the Palestinian Authority and particularly in Gaza. Netanyahu said he saw a direct link between Israel’s disengagement from Gaza in 2005 and the current situation there. "What we’re seeing in Gaza is the inevitable result of our weak, defeatist policies and withdrawal. Media Review: US Meddling Blamed for Gaza Crisis The US intervention in the Palestinian affairs and categorization of, Palestine Chronicle 6/16/2007 "To give the money to a Hamas government would be reckless," one senior Israeli official said. "To give it to a Fatah government is an opportunity." "Almost every decision the United States has made to interfere with Palestinian politics has boomeranged." Almost three years ago following the death of veteran Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, US President George W. Bush stood in the White House’s Rose Garden and laid out his vision for the Palestinians and called for democratic elections for future leadership. But democracy brought Hamas to power in a shock win to the US administration, Israel and the West, which all tried their best to marginalize Hamas and slapped a crippling economic boycott of its government. Washington organized a financial boycott of the government, in an effort to showcase Abbas as a moderate alternative in his role as president. President Abbas prepares to swear in unelected interim government Ma’an News Agency 6/16/2007 Bethlehem – Ma’an – President Abbas is preparing to swear in a new interim emergency government following the dismissal of the Hamas-led government of national unity. Former treasury minister, Salam Fayyad, is entrusted to act as the Prime Minister, while the Reuters news agency has reported that he will be joined by 11 other decision-makers to form an emergency cabinet. Following widespread international support for President Abbas, the new government will have the endorsement of the US administration, despite not yet being named, the US Consul-General, Jacob Walles, confirmed on Saturday afternoon. The US are reported to already have approved the lifting of the financial embargo against the Palestinian Authority, in place since Hamas democratically-won parliamentary elections in early 2006. Hamas hails ’liberation’ of Gaza BBC Online 6/14/2007 Hamas militants have hailed a series of military victories over rivals Fatah in the Gaza Strip as a new "liberation" of the territory. Fighters seized Fatah’s Preventative Security building in Gaza City and the intelligence service headquarters, and overran the town of Rafah. A least 20 Palestinians died as the latest battles raged throughout Gaza. An aide to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Mr Abbas plans to dismiss the government and call elections. Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the Hamas offensive was "illegal" and a coup against the Palestinian Authority. "This is part of the job of the president, he has full power according to the law to dismiss the government," he told the BBC. Gaza has been the focal point for a violent and bitter power struggle between Hamas and Fatah since Hamas won a surprise election victory in early 2006. Chronology: Conflict in the Middle East since Yasser Arafat’s death Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA, ReliefWeb 6/15/2007 Hamburg_(dpa) _ The violence in the Middle East has escalated since the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat nearly three years ago. A chronology of events: Januar 9, 2005: Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Mahmoud Abbas is elected Palestinian president with 62. 5 per cent of the vote. February 8, 2005: Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agree to a ceasefire at peace talks in Sharm el Sheik. September 12, 2005: Israel ends its 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip. January 26, 2006: The radical Islamist Hamas wins parliamentary elections. Abbas, a member of the moderate Fatah, appoints Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as prime minister. April 7, 2006: Key financial backers, the European Union and the United States, stop payments to the Hamas-led Palestinian government. 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. UN Middle East policy ’failing’ Al Jazeera 6/13/2007 A former UN envoy to the Middle East has condemned its policy in the region for focusing to closely on the interests of the US and Israel, according to a leaked document. Alvaro de Soto, who quit in May, suggested that the UN should withdraw from the Quartet of Middle East negotiators calling it a "sideshow". In a 53-page statement sent to senior UN officials, the Peruvian diplomat described the Quartet of the US, Russia, the European Union and UN as "pretty much a group of friends of the US". He added that Ban Ki-Moon, the UN secretary-general, should "seriously reconsider" membership. The confidential end of mission report, first reported in The Guardian newspaper on Wednesday, criticised economic sanctions imposed on Hamas after elections last year for having "devastating consequences" on the Palestinians. UN envoy: anti-Hamas rhetoric undermines democracy Ian Black, Middle East editor, The Guardian 6/13/2007 Alvaro de Soto, the just-retired UN coordinator for the Middle East, has warned that international hostility to the Palestinian Hamas movement, now fighting in the bitterly escalating civil conflict in Gaza, could have grave consequences by persuading millions of Muslims that democratic methods do not work. The Peruvian diplomat’s sensational valedictory dispatch, written last month and published exclusively in the Guardian today, traced increasingly violent responses to the victory of the Islamist group in the Palestinian elections in January 2006. These included a continuing boycott of the freely-elected government - which he admits has had "devastating" consequences, which have contributed to the current violence between Hamas and Fatah. "The steps taken by the international community with the presumed purpose... Abbas: I won’t meet Olmert until he lifts PA tax revenue freeze Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent, Ha’aretz 6/12/2007 Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that he refuses to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert until the latter transfers to the Palestinian Authority the tax revenues which Israel has been withholding. Israel began withholding the tax revenues, which it collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf, after the militant Hamas faction defeated Abbas’s secular Fatah in parliamentary elections in January 2006. "I will not meet with Olmert until he accepts my demand to lift the freeze on the Palestinian tax funds, in order to enable the bolstering of the security forces under my command and to begin building a port in Gaza," Abbas said Monday during a meeting with MKs Zahava Gal-On and Avshalom Vilan of Meretz in Ramallah. The two met with Abbas for an hour and presented to him their plan, first... Thirteen killed in Gaza battles Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem, The Guardian 6/12/2007 At least 13 Palestinians were killed in Gaza yesterday during fighting between rival armed factions, including a gun battle inside a hospital that left three people dead and several injured. Although Egyptian mediators have arranged several brief ceasefires between the gunmen from the Islamist movement Hamas, which won elections last year, and its rival Fatah, there still appears to be no agreement to halt their battles. Shooting broke out in Beit Hanoun, in the north of Gaza, with the killing of a Fatah bodyguard and a Hamas fighter. Then armed men stormed into the Beit Hanoun hospital, which was being guarded by Hamas gunmen, and three people were killed, a father and two sons. One was apparently shot from close range. At least 19 others were injured. European Union to renew support to Palestinian Ministry of Finance John Smith - IMEMC, International Middle East Media Center 6/11/2007 The Minister of Finance, Dr. Salam Fayyad, and European Commission Representative, Mr John Kjaer, today signed a memorandum of understanding re-launching European Union assistance to the Palestinian Ministry of Finance. The first EU initiative will be a €4 million project to assist the Minister of Finance in ensuring the proper use of Palestinian taxpayer’s money. The EU moves comes after the union of countries had placed an economic embargo on the PA following the victory of Hamas in January’s legislative elections with the apparent change of heart being attributed to the appointment of a minister who is widely viewed as being committed to and supportive of the Quartet’s demands. Welcoming the European initiative, Dr. Salam Fayyad stated, "The European Union has always played a leading role working with... Factional battles kill 616 Palestinians since 2006 Mohammed Assadi, ReliefWeb 6/6/2007 RAMALLAH, West Bank, June 6 (Reuters) - An estimated 616 Palestinians have been killed in factional fighting since Hamas defeated Fatah in elections in January 2006, a leading Palestinian rights group said on Wednesday. President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah said earlier this week that Palestinians were at the brink of civil war and the danger posed by factional fighting was equal to and sometimes exceeded the "danger of occupation" by Israel. In its annual report, the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens’ Rights said 345 Palestinians were killed in factional fighting in 2006. In the first five months of 2007, another 271 Palestinians were killed in factional fighting, the commission said. A Reuters count puts the number of Palestinians killed by Israelis since January 2006 at 659. Sources: Israel considers giving PA half of withheld tax revenues Reuters, Ha’aretz 6/5/2007 Israel is considering returning up to half of the tax revenues it has been withholding from the Palestinians as part of a United States-led effort to bolster Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli sources said Tuesday. Israel could transfer as much as $300 million to $400 million in phases,through a mechanism that would guarantee none of the money would be handled by the Hamas-led government or militants, the sources said. Israel started withholding the tax revenues, which it collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf, after Hamas Islamists defeated Abbas’s secular Fatah faction in parliamentary elections in January 2006. Coupled with a ban on direct Western aid, the sanctions have pushed the Hamas-led Authority to the brink of financial collapse and have prevented the government from paying full wages to its work force. Culture minister As-Salhi calls for an overhaul of the Palestinian political system Ma’an News Agency 6/5/2007 Bethlehem - Ma’an - Palestinian culture minister Bassam As-Salhi called on Tuesday for a total overhaul in the Palestinian political system. -- In an exclusive interview with Ma’an, the minister said that the defect is in the Palestinian political system; that "is why we should work on changing it." As-Salhi said that the whole system should be changed, including "the presidency and the parliament, so that the president could be elected by the parliament and that would prevent the double standards in ruling and the authorities." The minister suggested that the factions should be committed to an internal truce and wait for "the next presidential elections which will be after one and a half years." As-Salhi also pointed out that if the current president, Mahmoud Abbas, wins the next presidential elections,...  Articles
Stephen Lendman: ‘Demonstration’ Government in Palestine Stephen Lendman, Palestine Chronicle 6/26/2007 It’s a small, maybe temporary victory, but important one nonetheless.It shows mighty America, Israel and the EU can be challenged and forced to back down giving Palestinian people hope more victories will follow. In 1984 (a year of Orwellian significance), activist and media and social critic Edward Herman wrote one of his many important books titled "Demonstration Elections."In it, he analyzed the US-staged elections in the 1960s in the Dominican Republic and Vietnam and the 1982 one in El Salvador. In the book’s Orwellian glossary of terms, he defined the process as "A circus held in a client state to assure the population of the home country that their intrusion is well received. The results are guaranteed by an adequate supply of bullets provided in advance (and freely used as necessary to achieve the desired outcome)." This writer calls this ugly business "democracy-engineering, American-style" backed by force to win approval of a rigged process people would never accept another way. Noam Chomsky refers to the notion of "Keeping the Rabble in Line," the title of one of his many books. It can be through soft or hard methods to assure the public goes along with what governments want imposed. Neither Fatah nor Hamas but Palestine Redress Information & Analysis, MIFTAH 6/25/2007 Redress Information & Analysis argues that both Fatah and Hamas have forfeited the privilege of representing the Palestinian people and calls upon Palestinians in the occupied territories to form a broadly-based, patriotic national liberation movement that would represent all the people. For the first time since the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded in 1964, the Palestinian people have no leaders and nobody to represent them: no one to defend them in the occupied territories, and no one to speak on their behalf internationally. Paradoxically, there is no shortage of entities that purport to represent the Palestinians. In addition to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), there are 10 factions that make up the PLO , and there is also the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which was chosen by the Palestinian people to head the PNA in free and fair elections held in January 2006. Yet, in truth none of these entities represents, let alone cares for, the Palestinians, whether in the occupied territories or in the diaspora. The West hands Palestinians a poisoned chalice Sonja Karkar, ZNet 6/25/2007 It seems few can speak the truth anymore and that does not augur well for Palestine or for the world generally. Time and again, law and principles have been compromised for Israel’s benefit and the world has acquiesced; now it seems some Palestinians are prepared to do the same. Shades of Oslo repeated, but this time, without any hope at all for a just end to the Palestine question. Those who thought it would be different, have forgotten Israel’s ruthless masterplan to take all of the land. With 93 percent of Palestine already annexed to Israel and 7 percent under its actual control, a final solution to rid Israel of 4 million Palestinians was always inevitable. Just how Israel was going to do that without resorting to outright genocide seemed to have its abominable solution in transfer and apartheid. Now it looks like the solution will be found by turning Palestinian against Palestinian with consequences too awful to contemplate. Never before has there been such a need to expose the hypocrisy, lies and obfuscations that may well mean the end of a united liberation struggle. After years of claiming it had no partner for peace, it is interesting to learn that Israel will cooperate with President Abbas and the “new government”. More likely, the Palestinians are being handed a poisoned chalice. Democracy is being offered like some magic elixir, when all the while, the democratic process has been systematically undermined at every turn over the last 18 months. The result has seen Palestinians bitterly divided and the national framework for liberation fractured. What is happening now is more of the same. The Israeli/US-backed “emergency government” in the West Bank is contrary to Palestinian Basic Law and requires approval from a quorum of the Legislative Council in which Hamas holds the majority of seats. Those who would describe President Abbas’ actions as necessary to put down the Hamas “coup” in Gaza are making nonsensical claims. The Hamas government has always been legitimate since it won democratic elections in January 2006 and cannot instigate a coup against itself. That has been conveniently overlooked by the US, Israel, and shamefully by some members of the Palestinian Fatah party, all of whom have done everything to bring the legitimate government down. El-Farra: Palestinians must have hope to move forward Mona El-Farra, International Solidarity Movement 6/23/2007 As a physician from Gaza, I have treated far too many Palestinians wounded by Israeli troops. Now a day has come that I thought I would never see. Throughout our 59-year struggle to obtain our freedom, we Palestinians debated strategy and tactics. Political factions competed for popular support. But never would I have believed that we would turn guns against each other. What brought us to this point? In 2006, Hamas won free and fair elections on a platform that promised clean and efficient government. But Israel and the West meddled with our democratically elected choice by imposing devastating economic sanctions. How would Americans feel if a foreign power expressed its dissatisfaction with your elected government in this way? Our economy and our livelihoods have been destroyed, reducing many of us to poverty. At last, we exploded with a desperation born of decades of oppression, lack of opportunity and loss of hope. We brutalized each other over the crumbs of power. The shame is ours "” but the responsibility is shared between reckless Palestinians and external powers that turned the screws on our people. Palestinians Say Hamas and Fateh Equally Responsible for the Infighting Samar Assad, MIFTAH 6/23/2007 Overview. Fifty-nine percent of Palestinians surveyed in a 21 June 2007 poll blame Fateh and Hamas for last weeks intra-Palestinian fighting and 71 percent said they consider both groups to be the “loser.” The survey, conducted by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR), found that while 75 percent want early presidential and parliamentary elections, 40 percent said they would not participate if the race was between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh. Abbas would slightly edge out Hanyieh with 49 percent of the vote compared to Hanyieh’s 42 percent. The numbers change dramatically if imprisoned Fateh leader Marwan Barghouthi replaced Abbas in the race. The percentage of voter nonparticipation decreases to 31 percent and 59 percent of West Bank respondents said they would vote for Barghouthi compared to 35 percent for Haniyeh. In Gaza, 55 percent of respondents said Barghouthi was their choice compared to 41 percent who said they prefer Haniyeh. The 1270 randomly selected respondents from the West Bank and Gaza Strip were interviewed between 14 and 20 June 2007. The margin of error is 3 percent. Public Support. The survey found that a majority are angry over the recent fighting between Hamas and Fateh and have lost confidence in their leadership and in most of the security services. Only 13 percent expressed satisfaction with Abbas’ handling of the recent events and satisfaction with his performance in general stands at 36 percent compared to 48 percent in March. A restructured PLO Azmi Bishara, Al-Ahram Weekly 6/21/2007 Without an organisation capable of representing all Palestinians, both in the occupied territories and the diaspora, the future can comprise little beyond internecine conflict. The US and its Western followers revealed what democratisation of the Arab world actually means to them when they rejected the results of the Palestinian legislative elections and instead began an economic boycott. The result was escalating internecine violence fuelled by the lure of money. The Mecca Agreement between Fatah and Hamas to form a unity government opened the horizon for a unified Palestinian strategy that would include the restructuring of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and that would compel Arab governments to face their obligations to press for an end to the blockade against the Palestinian people and for the implementation of The Hague ruling on the separating wall. Some pro-settlement Palestinians believed that the Mecca Agreement was aimed at containing Hamas and that since Hamas had agreed in principle then all that remained was to name Hamas’s price. They thought a haggling process would drag on as the new Fatah-Hamas partnership stumbled from one crisis to the next while at the same time negotiations and communications would be conducted through diplomatic channels aimed at a permanent solution and these would require discussions between members of the unity government. There was, therefore, room for political action. Legitimacy contested Dina Ezzat, Al-Ahram Weekly 6/21/2007 Differing claims to "legitimacy" are asserted in Palestine and Lebanon in the unspoken war between "moderation" and "radicalism". Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa arrived in Lebanon Tuesday for a round of desperate mediation talks between the two main currently conflicting Lebanese camps: the parliamentary majority camp, headed by Prime Minister Fouad Al-Siniora and supported by the West and pro- Western Arab allies, and the opposition camp, headed by Hizbullah, that enjoys the sympathies of public opinion in many parts of the Arab world and the support of governments that oppose growing Western influence in the region, including Iran and Syria. When Moussa landed in Beirut, the political crisis worsened. The opposition, which is in alliance with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, is considering the composition of a "second" government that opposition figures say would represent all points of views -- not solely those of the Al-Siniora government, from which they have withdrawn. For Lebanon, a state with two governments is not a stretch of the imagination; it has happened before. In fact, for the Arab world, states of two governments appear increasingly the norm. In Palestine, at present there are two governments: one formed on the basis of free elections and presided over by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh; and one last week created by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and presided over by Western-backed former Finance Minister Salam Fayyad. Philip Rizk: Sharon’s Vision at Work in Palestine Philip Rizk in the Gaza Strip, Palestine Chronicle 6/22/2007 Although Abbas and his new US-backed government have finally received international status and the economic blockade is being lifted on Palestinians, the Palestinian cause seems to have been buried beneath the ruble. What does it take to get Israel to just begin recognizing some Palestinian human rights? 1. Carry out democratic elections 2. Determine a government according to the election outcome 3. THEN isolate this government in one part of the country 4. Set an illegal embargo on the people there 5. Freeze the government’s bank accounts 6. Isolate the government internationally The result will be: 1. The return of all stolen taxes belonging to Palestinians 2. An easing of roadblocks and security measures 3. Lifting of the illegally imposed economic embargo 4. International funding for a new non-democratically determined government 5. Normalization of relations between international governments and the non-democratically determined government 6. The legalizing of private American trade (the world’s largest economy) with Palestinians (previously this deed could result in incarceration) Ali Abunimah: Three-State Solution is No Path to Peace Ali Abunimah, Palestine Chronicle 6/22/2007 Is it a coincidence that one of Israel’s most ardent supporters, US Deputy National Security Advisor Elliott Abrams, who illegally channeled money to the Contras, has been the architect of the US strategy to support anti-Hamas militias? Some have portrayed, Hamas’ takeover of Palestinian Authority security compounds in Gaza as a "coup." But many Palestinians do not view it that way. In January 2006, Hamas decisively won legislative elections, giving it the right to form an administration. The US, despite its rhetorical support for democracy, decided to crush Hamas rule, imposing sanctions that have harmed ordinary Palestinians in the hope that Hamas would be forced out. When it won the elections, Hamas had already observed a one-year unilateral truce with Israel, and hadsuspended the suicide bombings against Israeli civilians that had made it notorious. It tried to enter mainstream politics through the front door, to play by the rules of the game, but was undermined at every step. The bitter conclusion for many Palestinians is that the US is not interested in supporting real democracy, and will intervene relentlessly to overthrow leaders it does not support, regardless of the will of the Palestinian people. Hamas acted on a very real fear of a US-sponsored coup Jonathan Steele, The Guardian 6/22/2007 Did they jump or were they pushed? Was Hamas’s seizure of Fatah security offices in Gaza unprovoked, or a pre-emptive strike to forestall a coup by Fatah? After last week’s turmoil, it becomes increasingly important to uncover its origins. The fundamental cause is, of course, well known. Israel, aided by the US, was not prepared to accept Hamas’s victory in last year’s Palestinian elections. Backed by a supine EU, the two governments decided to boycott their new Palestinian counterparts politically and punish Palestinian voters by blocking economic aid. Their policies had a dramatic effect, turning Gaza even more starkly into an open prison and creating human misery on a massive scale. The aim was to turn voters against Hamas - a strategy of stupidity as well as cynicism, since outside pressure usually produces resistance rather than surrender. The policy shocked even moderate western officials like James Wolfensohn, the former World Bank chief, whom the Americans had appointed to help Gaza’s economy before the Hamas election victory. "The result was not to build more economic activity but to build more barriers," he said this week while explaining why he resigned in disagreement with US and Israeli strategy. It is also well known that Hamas was as surprised by its election victory as everyone else and that it offered its rival, Fatah, a coalition government of national unity. The offer was refused. If this was done initially out of wounded pride, Fatah’s rejection of Hamas’s regularly repeated overtures increasingly appeared to be coordinated with Washington as part of the boycott strategy. In search of justice in the Middle East Ali Abunimah, The Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2007, Electronic Intifada 6/21/2007 Some have portrayed, Hamas’ takeover of Palestinian Authority security compounds in Gaza as a "coup." But many Palestinians do not view it that way. In January 2006, Hamas decisively won legislative elections, giving it the right to form an administration. The US, despite its rhetorical support for democracy, decided to crush Hamas rule, imposing sanctions that have harmed ordinary Palestinians in the hope that Hamas would be forced out. When it won the elections, Hamas had already observed a one-year unilateral truce with Israel, and had suspended the suicide bombings against Israeli civilians that had made it notorious. It tried to enter mainstream politics through the front door, to play by the rules of the game, but was undermined at every step. Laboratory rats: Palestinians of Gaza and our contemporary Josef Mengeles Agustin Velloso, Palestinian Information Center 6/19/2007 Madrid, Spain Faced with the fear that things may get even worse, one must not lose sight of the causes of the events in Gaza, their connection with the situation in Lebanon and Iraq and above all the lies the media use to defend the interests of the West and Israel at the expense of the Palestinians. An editorial of June 13th in Spain’s biggest circulation newspaper - probably a joint effort by Thomas Friedman, Victor Harel and Javier Solana - is a compendium of anti-Palestinian remarks, anti-Muslim feelings and racist arguments, whose use for university entrance examination should be obligatory as a means to judge the maturity of adolescents: "co-existence between the moderate Abbas and the government of Ismael Haniya has been a fiction from the very moment the radical Islamists, who waged a terror war against Israel, won the parliamentary elections last year." It is all too well known that laboratory researchers subject small rodents to stressful situations to provoke illness and aggression. It is also well-known that Gaza is a huge prison. Israel holds the keys, until a short while ago had its prison warders inside and now keeps them on the land and sea frontiers, as well as policing the airspace. Hamas’ Shock and Awe Sam Bahour, MIFTAH 6/18/2007 The recent overrunning of Gaza by Hamas militants was the equivalent to the United States’ Shock and Awe campaign in Iraq. Both campaigns were conducted outside the realm of international law and were violent and brutal, albeit each relative to their respective resources and internal contexts; both claimed to be ‘preemptive’ in nature; and both events placed the Palestinian people and struggle for national liberation in even a more precarious position. Shock and Awe is a US invention in the same way that the US flavor of “shrink wrapped” democracy is a US creation.As the Bush Administration failed to export its understanding of democracy to Iraq via the US military, the US’s second regional blunder was trying to impose US democracy in occupied Palestine by using a proxy governing body called the Palestinian Authority. The US’s weapon of choice for Palestine was to dangle millions of dollars as bait, there for the taking if the Palestinian leadership showed total obedience. While US and other donor countries channeled billions of dollars to ‘promote’ democracy and ‘build’ Palestinian security forces, Hamas was busy learning the intricacies of the US game of military shock and awe and imposed democracy.During the last 17 months, Hamas attempted both, successfully: they won democratically held elections, as confirmed by election observer President Jimmy Carter, and then went on to overrun Gaza by brute force. Palestine: A New Conundrum? Iqbal Jassat, MIFTAH 6/16/2007 Dramatic developments in the Occupied Territories of Gaza and the West Bank have catapulted the Palestinian freedom struggle onto a track which, despite the accompanying tragedy, may in fact be the only route for the elected government of Hamas to propel. What clearly bore the hallmarks of an interminable duel between Fatah and Hamas after the popular Islamic Movement emerged as the undisputed victors at the polls eighteen months ago, could not be allowed to degenerate into a major disaster for a people now into their 60th year following the Naqba. Since the January ’06 elections, the quartet, led by the Bush Administration has refused to recognize Hamas as the legitimate voice of the Palestinians. In addition to shunning the victors, it also adopted a more belligerent approach by punishing the people for electing Hamas. This aggression took the form of sanctions, isolation and a perpetual siege, placing a million people in an open-air prison without any recourse to end their miserable occupation except through resistance. But the Israeli/American axis had more than mere starvation in mind. They realized that Hamas cannot be manipulated the way Fatah’s unfortunate flirting with the Occupying Power had resulted in straitjacketing its revolutionary ideals. The ultimate prize sought by them is regime change! And, since new elections are years away, Hamas’ ability to govern had to be undermined at all cost. US and Israel Stir Up Palestinian Crisis Ira Chernus, MIFTAH 6/16/2007 It’s so obvious that Fatah and Hamas should work together to achieve an independent Palestine. Not long ago, they were proclaiming their unity. So why are they now destroying each other? If you get your news from the mainstream U.S. media, you might well think that they are just two irrational factions, driven crazy by lust for power. But if you know how to read between the lines, even our mainstream media tell a much more complicated story, one that implicates Israel and the U.S. government too. All the quotes that follow are from reporting on the crisis in the mainstream’s flagship newspapers, the New York Times and the Washington Post. “An Israeli analyst of Palestinian affairs, Danny Rubinstein, said the ‘primary reason for the break-up is the fact that Fatah has refused to fully share the Palestinian Authority’s mechanism of power with its rival Hamas, despite Hamas’s decisive victory in the January 2006 general elections.’” “Fatah leaders failed to heed warnings that the party’s corruption and arrogance were alienating voters.” “Fatah ‘was forced to overrule Palestinian voters because the entire world demanded it do so,’ Mr. Rubinstein added. ‘Matters have come to the point where Hamas attempted to take by force what they believe they rightfully deserve.’” Agustin Velloso: Palestinians and the Gaza Experiment Agustin Velloso, Palestine Chronicle 6/16/2007 The moral condition of the editorialists prevents them from regarding the Palestinians as anything but rats who deserve the fate they suffer, for that reason they take refuge in political, social and cultural pretexts like the terrorist character, factional behavior and the presence of Islamism. Faced with the fear that things may get even worse, one must not lose sight of the causes of the events in Gaza, their connection with the situation in Lebanon and Iraq and above all the lies the media use to defend the interests of the West and Israel at the expense of the Palestinians. An editorial of June 13th in Spain’s biggest circulation newspaper - probably a joint effort by Thomas Friedman, Victor Harel and Javier Solana - is a compendium of anti-Palestinian remarks, anti-Muslim feelings and racist arguments, whose use for university entrance examination should be obligatory as a means to judge the maturity of adolescents: "co-existence between the moderate Abbas and the government of Ismael Haniya has been a fiction from the very moment the radical Islamists, who waged a terror war against Israel, won the parliamentary elections last year." Ben White: The War in Gaza Ben White, Palestine Chronicle 6/15/2007 Dialogue is the only way forward for the Palestinians, but dialogue based on some fundamentals; respecting the will of the people, resistance to occupation and colonization. The events in Gaza this week, which represented the dramatic climax of months of tense bouts of fighting between Hamas and Fatah, were painful to watch. Those who stand in solidarity with the Palestinians, like the thousands who marched in London last weekend, need not be shy about speaking out, despite the pressures of the cynical, smug analysis that laughs at Palestinian ’self-rule’ and says ’I told you so’. Responsibility for the current crisis is shared amongst most of the protagonists. Fatah’s leaders should reflect that they are now reaping what some party members have sown. Elements within the party are indeed guilty of the charge of ’collaboration’ with the Israeli occupation, as well as with US designs. This has not just been in recent times, since the Palestine Legislative Council (PLC) elections, but has a history dating back to the pre-Oslo negotiations, through to the plutocratic Palestinian Authority and the days when Arafat’s men would detain and torture Hamas activists. Many of the Hamas members who now pose for the cameras in the captured Fatah operation centers may have been tortured in the very same buildings. Hamas continues a Palestinian tradition of wasting opportunities Editorial, Daily Star 6/14/2007 The leaked end-of-mission report by resigned United Nations envoy Alvaro de Soto is a convincing indictment of the world body’s co-option by US and Israeli interests. "Even-handedness has been pummeled into submission," de Soto wrote, resulting in "devastating consequences" for Palestinians and "precisely the opposite" of what the international community had been trying to achieve. He condemned Israel’s policies as "perversely designed to encouraged the continued action by Palestinian militants" and the tendency of US officials "to cower before any hint of Israeli displeasure and to pander shamelessly before Israeli-linked audiences." There is little that has emerged from de Soto’s report with which an objective observer might disagree. In fact, it only confirms that at least some people within the UN are least as disappointed by its recent stance as many of those on the outside. The situation is made all the more frustrating, however, by the dismal performance of the major Palestinian factions - especially Hamas, whose victory in last January’s elections prompted and/or exacerbated so many of the errors listed by de Soto. Given widening realization that punishing the Palestinian people for having put the Islamist group in power was an epic policy failure, the time was almost ripe for a consensus acceptance of Hamas’ popular legitimacy and the potential resumption of a viable peace process. ANALYSIS: Occupation under the guise of self government in PA Danny Rubinstein, Haaretz Correspondent, Ha’aretz 6/13/2007 The general collapse of government functions in the Gaza Strip Tuesday urged several senior Palestinian figures to seriously contemplate Professor Ali Jarbawi’s advice to disband the Palestinian Authority. Even before the civil war which Hamas and Fatah are starting in the Strip, Professor Jarbawi of Bir Zeit University maintained that the Palestinian Authority was a mere illusion of power: occupation under the guise of self government, and therefore useless. On Tuesday, a Palestinian journalist likened the Palestinian Authority to a smoke-belching car wreck, adding that it was time to toss the keys to the Israelis. His view is shared by many Palestinian civilians in Gaza, who in recent days have told the media that they are fed up. "We’ve had enough, we should be so lucky as to see the return of the Israeli occupation." The recent events we have been witnessing in Gaza are actually the disbanding of Palestinian rule. The primary reason for the break-up is the fact that Fatah, headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, has refused to fully share the PA’s mechanism of power with its rival Hamas - in spite of Hamas’ decisive victory in the January 2006 general elections. 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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