Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel
Elections Archive - December 2007
Elections Archive - December 2007
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Five killed as violence erupts at Fatah rally in Gaza Strip Avi Issacharoff and News Agencies, Ha’aretz 12/31/2007 Five Palestinians were killed after nightfall on Monday as anniversary celebrations for the Fatah movement turned violent in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. Medical officials said one of the dead was a Hamas police officer, another was a teenager and a third was a Fatah supporter. About 30 people were wounded, they said. Fatah marks the anniversary of its founding on January 1, but Hamas banned Fatah marches. All over Gaza, Fatah backers fired rifles in the air and set off fireworks. These were the first fatalities in Fatah-Hamas fighting since November 11, when Hamas forces opened fire on a huge Fatah rally, killing eight and wounding about 85. Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged Hamas Islamists on Monday to agree to early elections and to open a "new page" by ceding control of the Gaza Strip and holding reconciliation talks with his Fatah faction. Palestinian, Israeli leaders mourn death of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto Ma’an News Agency 12/29/2007 Bethlehem – Ma’an - The assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is reverberating in Palestine andIsrael, three days after her death, with both Palestinians and Israelis claiming to have had her support. Palestinian lawmaker, democracy activist, and academic Hanan Ashrawi said on Friday that Bhutto “certainly was a very brave woman, who stood for democracy despite lots of obstacles — social, societal, and even personal. She steered the course for democracy and against any extremism and violence”. Bhutto, a twice former Prime Minister who had recently returned from exile to contest elections slated for January, was assassinated on Thursday in after a political rally in the city of Rawalpindi. Israeli officials, meanwhile, maintain that if elected, Bhutto would have acted to improve relations with Israel. Palestinian source says Hamas and Israel likely to reach a comprehensive ceasefire soon Ma’an News Agency 12/24/2007 Bethlehem – A Palestinian source, who spoke to Ma’an on condition of anonymity, revealed on Monday that a prisoners’ swap deal between Hamas and Israeli is being completed. The deal includes releasing the abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit , and Israel in exchange releases 500 Palestinian prisoners in addition to all the detained Palestinian Legislative Council PLC members. The source also told Ma’an that the deal would include halting the launching of Palestinian homemade projectiles from Gaza Strip towards Israeli towns. Furthermore, inter-Palestinian dialogue will start three months after the agreement is in effect in order to form a new Palestinian government and prepare for new legislative elections. OPT: Olmert rules out ceasefire, strikes on Hamas continue Mail and Guardian, ReliefWeb 12/23/2007 The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, on Sunday ruled out ceasefire negotiations with the Islamist movement Hamas and said his military was fighting a "true war" against armed groups in Gaza. He warned of further Israeli military strikes in the days ahead which he said were intended to prevent Palestinian militants from firing makeshift rockets into Israel "Counter-terrorist operations will continue as they have for months," Olmert told his weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. "There is no other way to describe what is happening in the Gaza Strip except as a true war between the IDF [Israel Defence Force] and terrorist elements." In the past week more than a dozen militants from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have been killed during Israeli strikes in Gaza. In recent days there have been suggestions that Hamas, which won Palestinian elections early last year and then seized... Secular settlement being swallowed up by religious outpost Akiva Eldar, Ha’aretz 12/22/2007 The report of an illegal outpost on Palestinian land is already a dog-bites-man type of story, but the tale of Tal Menashe and Heinanit has all the makings of a man-bites-dog tale. Tal Menashe is an illegal outpost that has taken over a more veteran Jewish settlement, Heinanit, on the other side of the Green Line. The settlers of Heinanit have hired none other than attorney Michael Sfard, who works for the leftist organizations Peace Now and Yesh Din and is despised by the Yesha council of settlements, to represent them. Last week, Sfard approached the attorney general, the Interior Ministry and the Shomron Regional Council, to demand that the local government at Heinanit not be allowed to fall into the hands of the neighboring outpost. The storm broke out three weeks ago, following local elections in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Doubts about Annapolis process keep Hamas’ popularity stable, poll shows Ma’an News Agency 12/18/2007 Bethlehem – Ma’an – A complete lack of confidence in the Annapolis process is keeping Hamas’ popularity stable, despite deteriorating conditions in the Gaza Strip, a new poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research shows. If new legislative elections were held in the occupied territories today, Hamas would receive 31% of the vote and Fatah 49%. Hamas declined in popularity after the group violently took control of the Gaza Strip in June, but the new poll shows Hamas no longer in a free fall. 50% are satisfied with President Mahmoud Abbas’ performance, compared to 45% last September and 36% last June. In a contest between jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti and Haniyeh, Barghouti would receive 63% and Haniyeh 32%. The suvey was conducted between December 11th and December 16th, and has a margin or error of 3%. Paris donor nations pledge billions for Palestinians Ian Black in Paris, The Guardian 12/17/2007 Palestinians today won a powerful signal of international and Arab support for an independent state, with billions of dollars of aid pledges to revive their economy and help boost renewed but still badly faltering peace negotiations with Israel. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, called on Israel to halt settlement "without exceptions" in the West Bank. But he also strongly attacked Hamas, the Islamist movement controlling the Gaza Strip, insisting it would have to face new elections and respect previous peace agreements. Launching the Paris donors conference, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, spoke of the urgent need to create a Palestinian state by the end of 2008, a hugely ambitious goal given the gap between the sides, Palestinian internal divisions and scepticism about whether Abbas and Israel’s Ehud Olmert can deliver. Study: Hamas maintaining its popularity in Gaza Associated Press, YNetNews 12/17/2007 New poll indicates lack of confidence in recent peacemaking efforts keeps Palestinian public firmly on Hamas’ side, despite deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. Were elections held today, Hamas would receive 31% of votes while Fatah would win 49% - unchanged from pre-Annapolis polls - A lack of confidence in recently renewed peacemaking between Israel and the Palestinians has kept Palestinian support for Hamas stable despite worsening conditions in the Gaza Strip, according to a poll released Monday. However, the Islamic militant group’s popularity lags far behind that of the rival Fatah movement, said the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, an independent polling agency. Poverty in Gaza has deepened since Hamas wrested control of Gaza from the pro-Fatah security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in June. Israeli army detains 25 Palestinians in the West Bank Rami Almeghari&Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 12/16/2007 Israeli army took prisoners on Sunday 25 Palestinians from various parts of the West Bank, Palestinian security officials said. According to local sources, the Israeli army arrest campaigns were focused in the West Bank city of Nablus. Such an Israeli crackdown on Hamas, came one day after the Hamas movement celebrated in Gaza its 20th birthday, and after the Palestinian security forces of Palestinian President Abbas arrested earlier 26 Palestinians in the West Bank, involving Hamas supporters. The West Bank-based government of President Abbas, outlawed Hamas in June, after the Islamist group took over the coastal region amidst power struggle with Fatah. Acting-speaker of Palestinian parliament, Ahmad Bahhar of Hamas, said on Sunday that the total number of detained Hamas parliamentarians mounted to 46, since Israel boycotted Hamas after last January’s elections, which Hamas won overwhelmingly. UNRWA: Emergency Appeal 2008 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in, ReliefWeb 12/13/2007 Executive Summary Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank are living in conditions of severe hardship and social distress. A protracted socio-economic crisis, characterised by draconian restrictions on Palestinian movement and the repeated destruction of physical assets, has seen major increases in poverty and joblessness over the past seven years as household incomes have plummeted. Since the start of the Intifada in September 2000, the number of Palestinians below the poverty line has more than doubled; unemployment rates in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) have increased by a similar margin and are now amongst the highest in the world. Following Hamas’ success in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections of January 2006 the crisis entered a new phase. As a result of the impounding of Palestinian tax and VAT revenues by the Government of Israel (GoI) and... Abu Amr: Cabinet re-shuffle will not affect political stalemate between West Bank and Gaza Ma’an News Agency 12/8/2007 Gaza – Ma’an – Palestinian Legislative Council PLC member, and former foreign minister, Ziad Abu Amr said on Saturday that any cabinet re-shuffle in the Palestinian government in Ramallah will not affect the status quo, neither will it have any positive impact on the current state of political stalemate between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. "There is no need for a ministerial adjustment in the Fayyad’s government at this time because efforts should be dedicated to the formation of a transitional government within nationalist dialogue and reactivation of the Palestinian institutions for the best of the Palestinian national higher interests, along with the preparation for new presidential and legislative elections" he told Ma’an. Fatah sources have been talking for some weeks about the possibility of a cabinet re-shuffle in Fayyad’s government. Fatah’s spokesperson: Hamas needs to retract ’coup’ before early elections Rami Almeghari&Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 12/9/2007 Spokesperson of the secular Fatah party, Ahmad Abdelrahman, demanded Hamas to retract what he calls a ’ coup against legitimacy in Gaza’, before going to early elections. Abdelrahman’s statement came in response to a recent public opinion poll, which found that more than 70 percent of respondents want dissolution of the Palestinian parliament and going to early elections. " We are aware that the Palestinian people want an early election as a way out of current political turmoil, however, we deem a Hamas’ renunciation of its coup in Gaza, first and foremost". He believes that such a wish is difficult to realize for what he considers ’ Hamas leaders’ belief that the June coup was a legitimate move, maintaining that the only out of such a situation is putting an end to the Hamas control over the coastal region. In letter to Rice, Hamas calls for dialogue with West Ma’an News Agency 12/9/2007 Gaza – Ma’an – Hamas signaled its desire to be included in Western-backed peace negotiations in an open letter to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday. America’s efforts to isolate the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, on the other hand, will undermine any attempt at peace, wrote Ahmad Yousef, a senior aide to depose Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. The letter, sent indirectly through media outlets, says that by ignoring "the overwhelming victory Hamas achieved in the Palestinian elections," the United States is harming its own interests in the Middle East and deepen anti-American animosity in the region and throughout the Muslim world. Yousef reiterated Hamas’ readiness for negotiations with the United States and Europe aiming to seriously address the issues discussed at the international conference in Annapolis last month. Lebanon Crisis: Health Cluster Bulletin No. 36, 05 Dec 2007 World Health Organization - WHO, ReliefWeb 12/5/2007 The Lebanon Crisis Health Cluster Bulletin aims to give an overview of the health activities conducted by the health cluster partners in relation to the latest Lebanon conflict as well as the crisis in the Palestinian camps. It compiles health information received from the different organizations working in the most affected areas. The Health Cluster Bulletin will be issued every other Wednesday. Highlights - A Hepatitis A outbreak was detected in a public school in Hasbaya district. - Landmines/UXOs/cluster bombs continue to cause casualties. - The situation in Lebanon is pending the presidential elections expected on Friday 7 December 2007. - WHO hub in Tyr is phasing out. Nahr El-Bared Crisis - United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and its partners continue their efforts to restore life at Naher El Bared Camp.  Articles
Where are Labor and Meretz? Akiva Eldar, Ha’aretz 12/24/2007 On the eve of the trip to the Annapolis summit, a penetrating debate was held at the Muqata on the question of whether Mahmoud Abbas should participate in the George W. Bush and Ehud Olmert show. At the last moment the Palestinians discovered that the Israeli prime minister had retracted his promise that the conference document would address at least one of the core issues specifically, and in a binding manner. The opponents said that they were tired of the Israelis’ empty promises to dismantle roadblocks, evacuate outposts and be more generous about freeing prisoners. They warned that another fruitless peace gathering would be a disappointment that the Palestinian public would not be able to tolerate, and spoke about how Hamas would celebrate the farce in Annapolis. The argument that tipped the balance in the end was that without the conference in Maryland, there would be no donors conference in Paris. Economic distress overcame political distress. Olmert cited political constraints as his excuse for refusing to mention the June 4, 1967 borders in the Annapolis declaration, and for refusing to commit to a time frame for concluding the negotiations. He explained that Avigdor Lieberman had threatened to take his party Yisrael Beitenu out of the government and to bring about early elections. On ‘Israel’s Right to Exist’ John Whitbeck, Palestine Chronicle 12/22/2007 There is an enormous difference between "recognizing Israel’s existence" and "recognizing Israel’s right to exist". Almost two years after the most democratic elections ever held in the Arab world, as Palestinians struggle to survive in two disconnected and hostile fragments of historical Palestine, a besieged Gaza Strip and a coopted West Bank, with the enemies of the Palestinian people sending arms and funds to the side perceived as responsive to Israeli and Western wishes for use against the side perceived as representing Palestinian interests, the justification put forward by Israel, the United States and the European Union for their refusal to accept the result of the January 2006 elections, their determined efforts to overturn that result and their brutal collective punishment of the Palestinian people -- the refusal of Hamas to "recognize Israel" or to "recognize Israel’s existence" or to "recognize Israel’s right to exist" -- merits serious examination. Prerequisites for peace Mustafa Barghouthi, The Baltimore Sun, 17 December 2007, Electronic Intifada 12/17/2007 As one who for decades has supported a two-state solution and the nonviolent struggle for Palestinian rights, I view the recent conference in Annapolis with a great deal of skepticism -- and a glimmer of hope. Seven years with no negotiations -- and increasing numbers of Israeli settlers, an economic blockade in Gaza and an intricate network of roadblocks and checkpoints stifling movement in the West Bank -- have led us to despair and distrust. Any commitment must be made not only to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008 but also to end Israel’s occupation. The Palestinians must also heal their internal divisions. This must include institutional reform to root out corruption and nepotism. The first step in that process is democratic elections at all levels of government. We must rid ourselves of the false dichotomy between Fatah and Hamas. These are not the only options. My movement, the five-year-old Palestinian National Initiative, offers an alternative emphasizing democratic elections, transparent government and institution-building. Our goal is to democratize and engage the Palestinian national movement in a unified strategy to confront Israel’s ongoing occupation and seizure of our land and resources. We strive to achieve our national rights in our homeland and to establish social justice to uphold the rights of the underprivileged and marginalized, including women, children and people with disabilities. Prerequisites for Peace Mustafa Barghouthi, MIFTAH 12/14/2007 As one who for decades has supported a two-state solution and the nonviolent struggle for Palestinian rights, I view the recent conference in Annapolis with a great deal of skepticism - and a glimmer of hope. Seven years with no negotiations - and increasing numbers of Israeli settlers, an economic blockade in Gaza and an intricate network of roadblocks and checkpoints stifling movement in the West Bank - have led us to despair and distrust. Any commitment must be made not only to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008 but also to end Israel’s occupation. The Palestinians must also heal their internal divisions. This must include institutional reform to root out corruption and nepotism. The first step in that process is democratic elections at all levels of government. We must rid ourselves of the false dichotomy between Fatah and Hamas. These are not the only options. My movement, the 5-year-old Palestinian National Initiative, offers an alternative emphasizing democratic elections, transparent government and institution-building. Our goal is to democratize and engage the Palestinian national movement in a unified strategy to confront Israel’s ongoing occupation and seizure of our land and resources. We strive to achieve our national rights in our homeland and to establish social justice to uphold the rights of the underprivileged and marginalized, including women, children and people with disabilities. Can Hope Triumph Over Mideast Experience? Dion Nissenbaum, MIFTAH 11/30/2007 The Wednesday morning newspapers trumpeting the latest fresh start toward peace between Israelis and Palestinians hadn’t hit American doorsteps when the first crude Qassam rocket of the day soared out of the Gaza Strip and into southern Israel. Before lunch, Palestinian Authority police in the West Bank were using truncheons to break up angry mourners trying to bury a demonstrator who was killed a day earlier while protesting the new peace initiative. By the time Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas joined President Bush in the Rose Garden to launch the latest round of negotiations, an Israeli airstrike had killed two naval police officers in the Gaza Strip, where the militant Islamist group Hamas seized military control in June after winning U.S.-backed elections in January. Things could have been worse on a day that was supposed to celebrate the beginning of a yearlong march to peace. But Wednesday’s events were a reminder that facts on the ground in the Middle East usually trump expectations in Washington. 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.
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