Aid groups say Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes is at 5-year high.
Last updated: 07 Feb 2014 11:54
 |
Activists hold Palestinian flags as they walk through the old village of Ein Hajla near Jericho on Jan 31, 2014 [Reuters]
|
| Aid agencies working in the occupied West Bank and
East Jerusalem have expressed alarm at a spike in Israeli demolitions of
Palestinian property, which coincides with renewed US-backed peace
negotiations. The number of demolitions increased by almost half, the displacement of Palestinians by nearly three-quarters, between July 2013, when the talks began, and the end of the year, compared to the same period in 2012, a statement released by 25 aid organisations on Friday said. Of the 663 Palestinian structures torn down last year, the highest number in five years, 122 were built with international donor aid, the aid groups said. The International Red Cross announced this week it would stop delivering tents to Palestinians made homeless by demolitions in the Jordan border region of the occupied West Bank, citing Israeli obstruction and confiscation of aid. "International and local aid organisations have faced increasingly severe restrictions in responding to the needs created by the unlawful demolition of civilian property, in violation of Israel's obligation to facilitate the effective delivery of aid," wrote the groups, which included Oxfam and Christian Aid. Israeli military and political officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Protesters ejected from West Bank camps With a nine-month target date set by Washington expiring in late April, disputes holding up peacemaking include Israel's insistence on keeping a military and settler presence in the Jordan Valley, the future Palestine's eastern border. The fate of the strategic Jordan Valley - the proposed eastern border of a future independent Palestinian state - is a central issue in peace talks. Israel wants to keep a security presence there after a deal is reached, citing security concerns, and has set up military zones and settlements. Palestinians reject the presence of Israeli military and more than half a million Jewish settlers. Hundreds of activists had been demonstrating for a week at the site of Ein Hijleh, a Palestinian village in the Jordan Valley abandoned after Israel captured the land from Jordan in the 1967 war. Activists set up a protest camp in the village, but at dawn on Friday, Israeli forces raided the site and scattered them ahead of a mass rally for Friday prayers. "They came in large numbers with their armored vehicles but that will not break our will, the popular resistance will continue and will be victorious and we will return," Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the sit-in, said. The military said troops had called on the activists to leave the area and evacuated them after they refused. |
BUCKNACKT'S SORDID TAWDRY BLOG We should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive & well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate, bier or wein in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WHOO-HOO, WHAT A RIDE!!!!!!"
Showing posts with label peace talks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peace talks. Show all posts
07 February 2014
Israeli razing of Palestinian homes at peak 7FEB14
ISRAEL continues to occupy the West Bank utilizing gestapo tactics, including the destruction of Palestinian villages and the destruction of, seizure of and denial of aid for Palestinian refugees from the International Red Cross, Oxfam and Christian Aid. Such actions do nothing to encourage the peace talk negotiators or promote support for the peace talks in the West Bank or Israel. The cruelty shown to West Bank Palestinian refugees is disturbing enough, but it is made all the more disturbing by illegal and immoral actions of the Israeli government and military because they are using the same tactics and policies (except mass murder) and justification of these tactics and policies the nazi's used during the Holocaust and their brutal occupation of most of Europe. From Aljazeera English.....
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/02/israeli-razing-palestinian-homes-at-peak-201427111444294826.html
16 January 2014
Jimmy Carter: Iran Sanctions 'Devastating Blow' If Passed Before Peace Agreement & Tell your senators: Give diplomacy a chance. Oppose the Menendez sanctions on Iran & S.1881 - Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013 16&15JAN14&19DEZ13
WAR PIGS in the US Senate, Democrats and repiglicans and tea-baggers together, are getting closer to destroying the long sought for, painstakingly negotiated nuclear reduction agreement with Iran. I am not willing to sacrifice any American or Iranian lives in a war when we have come so far in reducing tensions in the area with this agreement just because Israel and the American military industrial complex are pushing for it with a massive, deceptive propaganda campaign (the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S. dictates most of our Middle East / Persian Gulf foreign and military policy. It is time for that to end). The truth is, this agreement does reduce the chances of Iran developing a nuclear weapon, and it provides for verification by inspectors on the ground in Iran. If you are against another war in the Persian Gulf, if you want to prevent American soldiers being sent to be injured, crippled or die in another meaningless war, watch this interview with Pres Jimmy Carter and then click the link to tell your Senators to vote against the Menendez sanctions bill (S 1881) and to support and vote for the agreement negotiated by Sec of State Kerry. This from HuffPost and Daily Kos....
Former President Jimmy Carter warned it could be a
"devastating blow" if Congress imposes new sanctions before the peace
agreement with Iran "is consummated."
Carter made the comments during a discussion on HuffPost Live Thursday morning.
“If the sanctions are imposed before the peace agreement is consummated between the U.S. and the other countries, that would be a devastating blow," Carter said. "If they put this as a potential punishment in the future -- an increase of sanctions -- if the agreement doesn’t exist and it breaks down, that would be okay."
Many observers fear that the sanctions bill under consideration in Congress could doom diplomatic efforts and push the U.S. toward war with Iran. The bill has the support of 15 Senate Democrats despite vociferous opposition from the White House. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama urged Senate Democrats to oppose the sanctions in a closed-door meeting, days after he publicly threatened to veto any legislation enacting new sanctions.
Previously, the White House has dared Democrats who support the sanctions to admit they want war.
Carter praised Obama, saying he "has done the right thing with John Kerry in negotiating this agreement."
"I’ve always advocated that the U.S. and Iran have diplomatic relations and exchange ideas," Carter said.
"I hope [the peace agreement] will stay intact, I believe its the best approach to resolve a threat of nuclear capability that is weaponry in Iran," Carter continued.
Watch Carter's comments above, and see his entire discussion with HuffPost Live below (click the link):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/16/jimmy-carter-iran-sanctions_n_4610552.html
Sign and send a petition to your senators urging them to give peace and diplomacy with Iran a chance.
The Menendez bill—which would unilaterally add further sanctions not approved of by our allies, drive Iran from the negotiating table and strengthen hardliners on both sides—is dangerously close to getting a veto-proof majority. There are 59 confirmed supporters in the Senate, including 16 Democrats.
If your senator is one of only 30 who have not declared their position on this bill, he or she needs to hear from you right away, hopefully before President Obama meets with the Senate Democratic caucus tonight (Wed, 15 JAN 14) at the White House. If you see this after 15 JAN 14 still send your message to your Senators, we must stop this war before it starts.
Support President Obama's peace efforts. Sign and send a petition to your senators urging them to give peace and diplomacy with Iran a chance by opposing S. 1881, the Menendez bill.
Keep fighting,
Paul Hogarth, Daily Kos
Sen.
Bob Menendez is pushing forward with legislation to impose new economic
sanctions on Iran, a move that could kill the Obama administration’s
negotiations to strictly limit Iran’s nuclear program and verify those
limits with international inspections.
Simply put, Menendez’s bill could close the door to a diplomatic solution and force a military action against Iran. Worryingly, right now it has 5934 public supporters, split almost evenly between the two parties, versus only 10 13 public opponents. [Update: The bill has 25 new co-sponsors, all but one of whom is Republican, bringing the total number of public supporters to 59.]
Menendez’s bill is reckless and irresponsible and we need to make sure that senators hear from their constituents on this hugely important issue before a veto-proof majority (67 senators) forms in favor of it.
Use the form below to see where your senators stand on this issue and email them now to let them know where you stand.
Carter made the comments during a discussion on HuffPost Live Thursday morning.
“If the sanctions are imposed before the peace agreement is consummated between the U.S. and the other countries, that would be a devastating blow," Carter said. "If they put this as a potential punishment in the future -- an increase of sanctions -- if the agreement doesn’t exist and it breaks down, that would be okay."
Many observers fear that the sanctions bill under consideration in Congress could doom diplomatic efforts and push the U.S. toward war with Iran. The bill has the support of 15 Senate Democrats despite vociferous opposition from the White House. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama urged Senate Democrats to oppose the sanctions in a closed-door meeting, days after he publicly threatened to veto any legislation enacting new sanctions.
Previously, the White House has dared Democrats who support the sanctions to admit they want war.
Carter praised Obama, saying he "has done the right thing with John Kerry in negotiating this agreement."
"I’ve always advocated that the U.S. and Iran have diplomatic relations and exchange ideas," Carter said.
"I hope [the peace agreement] will stay intact, I believe its the best approach to resolve a threat of nuclear capability that is weaponry in Iran," Carter continued.
Watch Carter's comments above, and see his entire discussion with HuffPost Live below (click the link):
Tell your senators: Give diplomacy a chance. Oppose the Menendez sanctions on Iran.
Sign and send a petition to your senators urging them to give peace and diplomacy with Iran a chance.
The Menendez bill—which would unilaterally add further sanctions not approved of by our allies, drive Iran from the negotiating table and strengthen hardliners on both sides—is dangerously close to getting a veto-proof majority. There are 59 confirmed supporters in the Senate, including 16 Democrats.
If your senator is one of only 30 who have not declared their position on this bill, he or she needs to hear from you right away, hopefully before President Obama meets with the Senate Democratic caucus tonight (Wed, 15 JAN 14) at the White House. If you see this after 15 JAN 14 still send your message to your Senators, we must stop this war before it starts.
Support President Obama's peace efforts. Sign and send a petition to your senators urging them to give peace and diplomacy with Iran a chance by opposing S. 1881, the Menendez bill.
Keep fighting,
Paul Hogarth, Daily Kos
Tell your senators: Give diplomacy a chance. Oppose the Menendez sanctions on Iran.
Sen.
Bob Menendez is pushing forward with legislation to impose new economic
sanctions on Iran, a move that could kill the Obama administration’s
negotiations to strictly limit Iran’s nuclear program and verify those
limits with international inspections.Simply put, Menendez’s bill could close the door to a diplomatic solution and force a military action against Iran. Worryingly, right now it has 59
Menendez’s bill is reckless and irresponsible and we need to make sure that senators hear from their constituents on this hugely important issue before a veto-proof majority (67 senators) forms in favor of it.
Use the form below to see where your senators stand on this issue and email them now to let them know where you stand.
© Kos Media, LLC
"Kos" and "Daily Kos" are registered trademarks of Kos Media, LLC
Privacy Policy
"Kos" and "Daily Kos" are registered trademarks of Kos Media, LLC
Privacy Policy
S.1881 - Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013113th Congress (2013-2014)
Bill
| Sponsor: | Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] (Introduced 12/19/2013) |
|---|---|
| Cosponsors: | 58 |
| Latest Action: | 12/20/2013 Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 288. |
| Major Recorded Votes: | There are no Roll Call votes for this bill. |
* = Original cosponsor
http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/1881/cosponsors?pageSort=alphaByParty 18 August 2013
UPDATED Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks Highlight Israel's Desperate Need for Legitimacy In Face of Growing International Criticism 17&30AUG13
THE latest round of Israeli - Palestinian peace talks are doomed and a waste of time. Israel has no intention of any progress from these talks, and will find, and be supported by the American government, a way to blame the Palestinians for the failure of these talks. Israel will continue to impose on the West Bank and Gaza many of the same tactics the nazis used against the Jews and the occupied nations of Europe in WW II. Until the American government finds the moral courage to stand up to aipac and the old guard zionist of the Israeli political establishment as well as the Arab world who has used and neglected the Palestinians, the Palestinians will continue to struggle just to survive under the thumb of an apartheid state and the children of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza will grow up knowing only the threat of war and hatred of each other. That should be enough to move their parents to really seek peace, should be enough if the Israelis and Palestinians really do love their children. For an objective view of the Israeli - Palestinian peace process read Brokers of Deceit by Rashid Khalidi. This from TRNN....UPDATED on 30AUG13, at the end of the post I have added the civil exchange between Shel and myself on the TRNN page for this post...
http://youtu.be/RRKNHw8_PJQ
August 17, 13
JESSICA DESVARIEUX, TRNN PRODUCER: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Jessica Desvarieux in Baltimore.This
week, peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders took
place, but they were shadowed by news of the Israeli government building
settlements in the West Bank. Now joining us to give us a
perspective that you won't hear in the mainstream media is Shir Hever.
Shir is an economist studying the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian
territories for the Alternative Information Center. Thank you for joining us, Shir.SHIR HEVER, ECONOMIST, ALTERNATIVE INFORMATION CENTER: Thank you for having me, Jessica.DESVARIEUX:
So, Shir, we've been covering this story at The Real News, and what
we've been hearing is that essentially these talks are doomed to fail.
So why is Israel and Palestine, why are they both deciding to
participate in these talks?HEVER: I think it's at this
point know by practically everyone that these talks cannot succeed,
because Israel is not interested in having a solution or having any kind
of compromise. Israel is interested in maintaining the conversation,
maintaining these talks forever. As long as the talks can take place,
Israel can maintain its international image. And what you
hear from the Israeli government quite a lot is that Israel should not
be pressured by the international community for ending the occupation.
There shouldn't be any boycott against Israel, there shouldn't be any
kind of sanctions against Israeli war crimes and apartheid, because
Israel is engaged in peace negotiations, and those sort of sanctions or
boycott would be harmful to peace process. This is exactly the kind of
strategy that Israel is trying to adopt. And what we hear
now, the breaking news from this week, is that the prime minister,
Benjamin Netanyahu, has signed an agreement with the Israeli student
union, which represents most but not all students in Israel, so that
students will work for the government and be paid public money to work
as paid commentators, and they would work anonymously to promote Israeli
propaganda in the world and social media.And this story
really shows what Israel is trying to get from these peace talks. Israel
is trying to get credibility, Israel is trying to get legitimacy and to
restore its images much as it can. But, of course, they have no real
interest in the substance.Now, you also ask why are the
Palestinians willing to negotiate, and that's maybe not a question that I
am the best person qualified to answer. I think there is a lot of
pressure on the Palestinian government in the West Bank of the
Palestinian--on Mahmoud Abbas to continue the negotiations. Mahmoud
Abbas has had a very clear position that negotiations will not resume
unless Israel freezes construction in the illegal colonies. And it's
very clear that Israel does not freeze that construction.DESVARIEUX:
Okay. Let's talk a little bit more about the construction. How was this
even able to happen? I mean, if Israel knows it's going to be coming to
the table to negotiate, how is this even possible?HEVER: I
think it's very clear when Israel is building these colonies in the
area that it is supposed to negotiate about and that its future is not
clear because this area might become part of the Palestinian state, then
it's obvious that Israel is intentionally and directly sabotaging the
negotiations. But I don't think that it's just because Netanyahu is
doing two things at once and sabotaging the negotiations while trying to
push for negotiations at the same time. Netanyahu honestly wants
negotiations to happen. He doesn't want a Palestinian state. He doesn't
want peace. He doesn't want an end of the occupation. But he wants
negotiations. Negotiations themselves can fail because of the
construction of the colonies. But the thing is that the
Israeli government has built over the years sort of pockets of autonomy
within its own government structure. There is a decent realization of
decision-making processes, especially regarding the occupation and the
colonies. In fact, no one in the Israeli government actually knows how
much money is funneled into the colonies, because of all these pockets
that allow funds to be transferred based on decisions of lower-,
mid-level clerks and officials who are appointed in order to promote
right-wing agendas and to help subsidize the colonies, but to do so in a
clandestine fashion. And this is a policy that is quite
special to Israel. It's not very common in Western countries to have a
sort of decentralized government model like this. And the best example, I
think, was just in the the very first days of the occupation during the
war of 1967, the Six-Day War. Towards the end of that war, Israeli
soldiers have occupied East Jerusalem, and they found the Wailing Wall,
which is a religious site which is holy to the Jewish religion, and they
decided to demolish an entire Palestinian neighborhood that surrounded
the wall. And in their journals, those soldiers wrote, we decided not to
ask the government for permission or for direct--for instructions about
what to do about this Palestinian neighborhood, because we didn't want
the government to have a sort of written record of the decision to
demolish the neighborhood. We understood that we were expected to
demolish it, but it's best that these things are done unofficially. And
that kind of ideology, that kind of method of operation signifies in
many ways the way that Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories
for the past 45 years, 46 years.DESVARIEUX: Okay. Now
let's talk about the United States, who is playing the role of mediator
in all of this. What does the U.S. have to gain from participating and
mediating these negotiations?HEVER: I don't think that the
U.S. has much to gain from this, because I'm pretty sure that Senator
Kerry, Barack Obama, they know--sorry, Secretary of State Kerry and
Barack Obama, they know very well that these negotiations are going to
fail, because they're not willing to put any pressure on Israel and
they're not really mediators between the side. They are just supporting
the Israeli side in a very clear way. They might get a few photo ops.
Obama might be able to claim that during his presidency he did something
for the peace process. But these things are not worth that much. I
think these negotiations are worth a lot to the Israeli government. The
Israeli government is in a state of panic at the moment. There is
social unrest and a lot of social problems in the Israeli government.
Just this week--in the Israeli public. Just this week it was revealed
that there is a pension shortage, and people who are going to retire in
the next ten years are going to have their pension payments reduced by
10 percent. So that's quite a big shock. And the
government is trying to say, yes, we are proceeding on the peace
process, we are maintaining Israel's image to the rest of the world, and
they have to desperately prevent any further sanctions and boycotts
from being announced regarding Israel. That is why Netanyahu uses all of
his cards, all of his influence over the U.S. government to try to get
these negotiations to resume, so to put pressure on the Palestinian
government that will get them to agree to negotiations. And
that's why he has this new plan with recruiting Israeli students. Of
course, he's going to achieve the opposite result, because whenever
people call for a boycott of Israel and call Israel an apartheid state,
then if they learn that the Israeli student union, which actually
doesn't represent the non-Jewish parties within the student group--so
this is a student union that represent almost exclusively Jews. It's the
very image of apartheid. And these universities and these students are
now working for the government in order to justify Israel's actions, to
justify the actions of the Israeli Army. So that actually proves that
Israel is indeed--that is not the proof, but it is yet another
indication that Israel is an apartheid state and Israel is a very
repressive, nondemocratic regime. So we can clearly see what's Israel
interest in this.The thing is that when the Israeli
government is so stressed and so worried about the public reaction in
its own public and the international outcry about the occupation and
other types of repressive policies that it adopts, there is a real risk
that Israel will try to create a diversion by means of escalating
conflict with its neighbors or attacking Iran. And we saw that last
November when Israel bombed Gaza and was ready to invade Gaza. So Israel
already called the reserve soldiers. About 70,000--80,000 soldiers were
called. Only 56,000 actually appeared for duty. And they were getting
ready to invade Gaza on foot when President Morsi in Egypt, who was
still in power in Egypt at the time, said that he could not see how the
peace treaty between Israel and Egypt would hold if Israel invades Gaza
on the ground. And at that moment, the U.S. interest
becomes very clear. The U.S. interest wants the peace treaty between
Israel and Egypt to hold, because this is an interest of the weapon
companies, the weapon industries, the military-industrial complex in the
U.S. Israel is the number-one recipient of military aid from the U.S.
Egypt is number two. But when I say aid, it might give the
impression that the U.S. is given some kind of benefit or gift to the
people in Israel. In Egypt that's certainly not the case. This is in
fact a subsidy to U.S. arms companies, because all of that money
actually ends up in the U.S. arms companies. Israel may get a $3 billion
voucher from the U.S. government, but they have to redeem it from U.S.
companies. So that's something that creates a lot of profits for these
massive corporations with very powerful lobbies in the U.S. government.
And as long as there is a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, the
U.S. can safely provide these military deals to both countries. As soon
as the peace treaty collapses, even if there is no actual war, if it
doesn't actually deteriorate to an open fight, the U.S. can no longer
support both countries with weapons and it will have to choose. I think
it's quite clear it will choose the Israeli side. But it will be a blow
to the profit of the arm companies in the U.S.DESVARIEUX: Okay. Thanks so much for joining us, Shir.HEVER: Thank you, Jessica, for having me.DESVARIEUX: And thank you for joining us on The Real News Network.
HERE is the exchange between Shel and me
http://youtu.be/RRKNHw8_PJQ
Published on Aug 16, 2013
Shir Hever: Israel wants
negotiations with the Palestinians to continue for the same reason it
recruits students to serve as propaganda agents, it tries to restore its
tainted imageShir Hever: Israel wants negotiations with the Palestinians to continue for the same
reason it recruits students to serve as propaganda agents, it tries to restore its tainted
image - Bio
Shir Hever is an economic researcher in the Alternative Information Center, a Palestinian-Israeli organization active in Jerusalem and Beit-Sahour. Researching the economic aspect of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, some of his research topics include international aid to the Palestinians and Israel, the effects of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories on the Israeli economy, and the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns against Israel. He is a frequent speaker on the topic of the economy of the Israeli occupation.Transcript
JESSICA DESVARIEUX, TRNN PRODUCER: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Jessica Desvarieux in Baltimore.This
week, peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders took
place, but they were shadowed by news of the Israeli government building
settlements in the West Bank. Now joining us to give us a
perspective that you won't hear in the mainstream media is Shir Hever.
Shir is an economist studying the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian
territories for the Alternative Information Center. Thank you for joining us, Shir.SHIR HEVER, ECONOMIST, ALTERNATIVE INFORMATION CENTER: Thank you for having me, Jessica.DESVARIEUX:
So, Shir, we've been covering this story at The Real News, and what
we've been hearing is that essentially these talks are doomed to fail.
So why is Israel and Palestine, why are they both deciding to
participate in these talks?HEVER: I think it's at this
point know by practically everyone that these talks cannot succeed,
because Israel is not interested in having a solution or having any kind
of compromise. Israel is interested in maintaining the conversation,
maintaining these talks forever. As long as the talks can take place,
Israel can maintain its international image. And what you
hear from the Israeli government quite a lot is that Israel should not
be pressured by the international community for ending the occupation.
There shouldn't be any boycott against Israel, there shouldn't be any
kind of sanctions against Israeli war crimes and apartheid, because
Israel is engaged in peace negotiations, and those sort of sanctions or
boycott would be harmful to peace process. This is exactly the kind of
strategy that Israel is trying to adopt. And what we hear
now, the breaking news from this week, is that the prime minister,
Benjamin Netanyahu, has signed an agreement with the Israeli student
union, which represents most but not all students in Israel, so that
students will work for the government and be paid public money to work
as paid commentators, and they would work anonymously to promote Israeli
propaganda in the world and social media.And this story
really shows what Israel is trying to get from these peace talks. Israel
is trying to get credibility, Israel is trying to get legitimacy and to
restore its images much as it can. But, of course, they have no real
interest in the substance.Now, you also ask why are the
Palestinians willing to negotiate, and that's maybe not a question that I
am the best person qualified to answer. I think there is a lot of
pressure on the Palestinian government in the West Bank of the
Palestinian--on Mahmoud Abbas to continue the negotiations. Mahmoud
Abbas has had a very clear position that negotiations will not resume
unless Israel freezes construction in the illegal colonies. And it's
very clear that Israel does not freeze that construction.DESVARIEUX:
Okay. Let's talk a little bit more about the construction. How was this
even able to happen? I mean, if Israel knows it's going to be coming to
the table to negotiate, how is this even possible?HEVER: I
think it's very clear when Israel is building these colonies in the
area that it is supposed to negotiate about and that its future is not
clear because this area might become part of the Palestinian state, then
it's obvious that Israel is intentionally and directly sabotaging the
negotiations. But I don't think that it's just because Netanyahu is
doing two things at once and sabotaging the negotiations while trying to
push for negotiations at the same time. Netanyahu honestly wants
negotiations to happen. He doesn't want a Palestinian state. He doesn't
want peace. He doesn't want an end of the occupation. But he wants
negotiations. Negotiations themselves can fail because of the
construction of the colonies. But the thing is that the
Israeli government has built over the years sort of pockets of autonomy
within its own government structure. There is a decent realization of
decision-making processes, especially regarding the occupation and the
colonies. In fact, no one in the Israeli government actually knows how
much money is funneled into the colonies, because of all these pockets
that allow funds to be transferred based on decisions of lower-,
mid-level clerks and officials who are appointed in order to promote
right-wing agendas and to help subsidize the colonies, but to do so in a
clandestine fashion. And this is a policy that is quite
special to Israel. It's not very common in Western countries to have a
sort of decentralized government model like this. And the best example, I
think, was just in the the very first days of the occupation during the
war of 1967, the Six-Day War. Towards the end of that war, Israeli
soldiers have occupied East Jerusalem, and they found the Wailing Wall,
which is a religious site which is holy to the Jewish religion, and they
decided to demolish an entire Palestinian neighborhood that surrounded
the wall. And in their journals, those soldiers wrote, we decided not to
ask the government for permission or for direct--for instructions about
what to do about this Palestinian neighborhood, because we didn't want
the government to have a sort of written record of the decision to
demolish the neighborhood. We understood that we were expected to
demolish it, but it's best that these things are done unofficially. And
that kind of ideology, that kind of method of operation signifies in
many ways the way that Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories
for the past 45 years, 46 years.DESVARIEUX: Okay. Now
let's talk about the United States, who is playing the role of mediator
in all of this. What does the U.S. have to gain from participating and
mediating these negotiations?HEVER: I don't think that the
U.S. has much to gain from this, because I'm pretty sure that Senator
Kerry, Barack Obama, they know--sorry, Secretary of State Kerry and
Barack Obama, they know very well that these negotiations are going to
fail, because they're not willing to put any pressure on Israel and
they're not really mediators between the side. They are just supporting
the Israeli side in a very clear way. They might get a few photo ops.
Obama might be able to claim that during his presidency he did something
for the peace process. But these things are not worth that much. I
think these negotiations are worth a lot to the Israeli government. The
Israeli government is in a state of panic at the moment. There is
social unrest and a lot of social problems in the Israeli government.
Just this week--in the Israeli public. Just this week it was revealed
that there is a pension shortage, and people who are going to retire in
the next ten years are going to have their pension payments reduced by
10 percent. So that's quite a big shock. And the
government is trying to say, yes, we are proceeding on the peace
process, we are maintaining Israel's image to the rest of the world, and
they have to desperately prevent any further sanctions and boycotts
from being announced regarding Israel. That is why Netanyahu uses all of
his cards, all of his influence over the U.S. government to try to get
these negotiations to resume, so to put pressure on the Palestinian
government that will get them to agree to negotiations. And
that's why he has this new plan with recruiting Israeli students. Of
course, he's going to achieve the opposite result, because whenever
people call for a boycott of Israel and call Israel an apartheid state,
then if they learn that the Israeli student union, which actually
doesn't represent the non-Jewish parties within the student group--so
this is a student union that represent almost exclusively Jews. It's the
very image of apartheid. And these universities and these students are
now working for the government in order to justify Israel's actions, to
justify the actions of the Israeli Army. So that actually proves that
Israel is indeed--that is not the proof, but it is yet another
indication that Israel is an apartheid state and Israel is a very
repressive, nondemocratic regime. So we can clearly see what's Israel
interest in this.The thing is that when the Israeli
government is so stressed and so worried about the public reaction in
its own public and the international outcry about the occupation and
other types of repressive policies that it adopts, there is a real risk
that Israel will try to create a diversion by means of escalating
conflict with its neighbors or attacking Iran. And we saw that last
November when Israel bombed Gaza and was ready to invade Gaza. So Israel
already called the reserve soldiers. About 70,000--80,000 soldiers were
called. Only 56,000 actually appeared for duty. And they were getting
ready to invade Gaza on foot when President Morsi in Egypt, who was
still in power in Egypt at the time, said that he could not see how the
peace treaty between Israel and Egypt would hold if Israel invades Gaza
on the ground. And at that moment, the U.S. interest
becomes very clear. The U.S. interest wants the peace treaty between
Israel and Egypt to hold, because this is an interest of the weapon
companies, the weapon industries, the military-industrial complex in the
U.S. Israel is the number-one recipient of military aid from the U.S.
Egypt is number two. But when I say aid, it might give the
impression that the U.S. is given some kind of benefit or gift to the
people in Israel. In Egypt that's certainly not the case. This is in
fact a subsidy to U.S. arms companies, because all of that money
actually ends up in the U.S. arms companies. Israel may get a $3 billion
voucher from the U.S. government, but they have to redeem it from U.S.
companies. So that's something that creates a lot of profits for these
massive corporations with very powerful lobbies in the U.S. government.
And as long as there is a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, the
U.S. can safely provide these military deals to both countries. As soon
as the peace treaty collapses, even if there is no actual war, if it
doesn't actually deteriorate to an open fight, the U.S. can no longer
support both countries with weapons and it will have to choose. I think
it's quite clear it will choose the Israeli side. But it will be a blow
to the profit of the arm companies in the U.S.DESVARIEUX: Okay. Thanks so much for joining us, Shir.HEVER: Thank you, Jessica, for having me.DESVARIEUX: And thank you for joining us on The Real News Network.End
DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.HERE is the exchange between Shel and me
20 July 2013
Kerry says Israel, Palestinians to meet to work out final details for relaunching peace talks 19JUL13
UNLESS the U.S. government has agreed to be an impartial mediator in these talks they will be a waste of time. Read Brokers Of Deceit by Rashid Khalidi to learn why peace has not been achieved in the Middle East. American foreign policy in the Middle East has been dictated by Israel almost since the creation of Israel. American presidents, from Truman to Obama, have kowtowed to the demands of the American Jewish lobby, mainly aipac (american israeli public affairs committee), giving legitimacy, but not legality, to the illegal and immoral seizure of West Bank lands and the brutal occupation and subjugation of the Palestinian people therein. There is no longer a question of Israel's right to exist within secure borders, that has been established by U.N. resolutions 242 & 338. The American government must demand Israel apply the mandates of these resolutions not only to themselves but to the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza and demand the Israeli settlements in the West Bank be halted and the land returned to the Palestinian owners. The right of return will never be agreed to with good reason, Israel as a Jewish nation would cease to exist in a few generations simply due to differences in birth rates of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. Financial compensation should be negotiated for those who lost property, homes and businesses when Israel was created. Jerusalem should be the capital of Israel but East Jerusalem should be returned to the Palestinians. Unfortunately, these negotiations will yield nothing of substance, and may in fact be the catalyst for a third intifada, giving the Israelis the excuse they seek for more brutality, killing, imprisonment of Palestinians and the seizure of more land for settlements in the West Bank. This from the Washington Post.....
The statement, which came in a press conference after a day in which Kerry shuttled between the Jordanian capital and the West Bank, reflected how painstakingly incremental movement in the process is. While it appeared deep differences over the groundwork of talks had been bridged, the two sides are to meet — likely in the coming week — to work out final details on actually resuming their negotiations on the toughest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Up to the last minute, the Palestinians had been reluctant to sign on to Kerry’s formula for returning to the table with the Israelis, five years after talks broke down.
Late Thursday, the Palestinian leadership said it was sticking by its demand that any negotiations on final borders between Israel and a Palestinian state be based on the cease-fire line that held from 1949 until the 1967 war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Israel rejects preconditions on the talks.
Kerry held extended talks Friday morning with top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in Amman, then spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kerry then flew by helicopter to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah, although his departure was delayed by nearly three hours.
Returning to Amman, Kerry told reporters, “We have reached an agreement that establishes the basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.” He added, “This is a significant and welcome step forward.”
Still, he said “the agreement is still in the process of being formalized” and the Israeli and Palestinian chief negotiators — Tzipi Livni and Erekat — would hold initial talks in Washington “within the next week or so.”
Kerry would not give details on the agreement on the negotiations’ basis. “The best way to give these negotiations a chance is to keep them private,” he said. “We know that the challenges require some very tough choices in the days ahead. Today, however, I am hopeful.”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended Kerry’s efforts and the decision by the parties to return to the negotiating table, pledged U.N. support, and called on both sides “to show leadership, courage, and responsibility to sustain this effort towards achieving the two-state vision,” U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.
Kerry has made winning a resumption of Mideast peace talks a priority, and this was his sixth visit to the region as secretary of state. He has been in the region since Monday, meeting in person with Abbas three times over the course of the week. By contrast, he did not see Netanyahu in person at all, but spoke to him numerous times by phone.
Netanyahu’s office said it would not immediately comment on Kerry’s announcement.
Hoping to push Israelis and Palestinians toward talks, President Barack Obama asked Netanyahu to work with Kerry “to resume negotiations with Palestinians as soon as possible,” according to a statement released by the White House late Thursday.
Final status negotiations aim to reach a deal on the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including borders, the fate of Palestinian refugees and security arrangements. Talks ground to a halt five years ago, and previous efforts to revive them have stalled, particularly over Palestinian demands that Israel announce a freeze in construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which they claim as part of a future state along with Gaza. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and it is now ruled by the Hamas militant group, which rivals Abbas’ Palestinian Authority.
Thursday night, the Palestinian leadership did not repeat the settlement freeze demand. But officials said they wanted guarantees the 1967 lines would be the basis for talks, saying that if Israel accepts that, it would make most of the settlements illegitimate.
Kerry’s announcement suggested that the issue had been resolved. In a statement issued after Kerry spoke, Abbas said “lengthy talks ... have resulted in the Palestinians accepting the resumption of talks.”
Abbas said “some details still need to be worked out,” but that Israeli and Palestinian officials could be invited to Washington for talks in the coming days.
A senior State Department official said the two sides had agreed on the core elements that will allow direct talks to move forward, and that agreement was not reached until Friday afternoon.
Still to be worked out in the upcoming initial talks is the process of the final status negotiations, including the agenda, the official said. When the sides first meet, they will not be “sitting down to draw a line on the map,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the details.
One question still unanswered is whether the tentative agreement reached by Kerry involved Israel explicitly accepting a reference to the 1967 lines — or if it involves the U.S. acting as guarantor that they will be the basis for negotiations.
Previous Israeli governments twice negotiated on the basis of the 1967 lines, with talks focusing on land exchanges. But besides disagreeing over how much land to trade and where, the two sides hit logjams on other key issues, including dividing Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
Netanyahu has given lukewarm endorsement to the idea of a Palestinian state but has not delineated his vision of boundaries, while demanding that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state. Palestinians reject that, concerned that it would undermine their claims that millions of refugees and their descendants have the right to return to their original homes, lost in the 1948-49 war surrounding Israel’s creation. Israel has rejected that claim outright.
While Kerry has not publicized details of his plan, an Arab League decision Wednesday to endorse his proposal raised speculation that the Palestinians would agree. Abbas traditionally has sought the blessing of his Arab brethren before making any major diplomatic initiative.
Ahmed Majdalani, a Palestinian leader, said Kerry has proposed holding talks for six to nine months focusing on the key issues of borders and security arrangements.
He said Kerry would endorse the 1967 lines as the starting point of negotiations and assured the Palestinians that Israel would free some 350 prisoners gradually in the coming months. The prisoners would include some 100 men that Israel convicted of crimes committed before interim peace accords were signed in 1993. Israel has balked at freeing these prisoners in the past because many were convicted in deadly attacks.
___
Daraghmeh reported from Ramallah, West Bank
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/palestinians-israel-must-agree-on-borders-before-restarting-peace-talks/2013/07/18/d6cdd468-f008-11e2-8c36-0e868255a989_story.html?wpisrc=al_national
By Associated Press,
AMMAN, Jordan — After a rush of last-minute talks with Palestinian officials, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sealed a step toward relaunching the long-halted Mideast peace process, announcing Friday that Israel and the Palestinians had agreed on a basis for returning to negotiations.The statement, which came in a press conference after a day in which Kerry shuttled between the Jordanian capital and the West Bank, reflected how painstakingly incremental movement in the process is. While it appeared deep differences over the groundwork of talks had been bridged, the two sides are to meet — likely in the coming week — to work out final details on actually resuming their negotiations on the toughest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Up to the last minute, the Palestinians had been reluctant to sign on to Kerry’s formula for returning to the table with the Israelis, five years after talks broke down.
Late Thursday, the Palestinian leadership said it was sticking by its demand that any negotiations on final borders between Israel and a Palestinian state be based on the cease-fire line that held from 1949 until the 1967 war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Israel rejects preconditions on the talks.
Kerry held extended talks Friday morning with top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in Amman, then spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kerry then flew by helicopter to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah, although his departure was delayed by nearly three hours.
Returning to Amman, Kerry told reporters, “We have reached an agreement that establishes the basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.” He added, “This is a significant and welcome step forward.”
Still, he said “the agreement is still in the process of being formalized” and the Israeli and Palestinian chief negotiators — Tzipi Livni and Erekat — would hold initial talks in Washington “within the next week or so.”
Kerry would not give details on the agreement on the negotiations’ basis. “The best way to give these negotiations a chance is to keep them private,” he said. “We know that the challenges require some very tough choices in the days ahead. Today, however, I am hopeful.”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended Kerry’s efforts and the decision by the parties to return to the negotiating table, pledged U.N. support, and called on both sides “to show leadership, courage, and responsibility to sustain this effort towards achieving the two-state vision,” U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.
Kerry has made winning a resumption of Mideast peace talks a priority, and this was his sixth visit to the region as secretary of state. He has been in the region since Monday, meeting in person with Abbas three times over the course of the week. By contrast, he did not see Netanyahu in person at all, but spoke to him numerous times by phone.
Netanyahu’s office said it would not immediately comment on Kerry’s announcement.
Hoping to push Israelis and Palestinians toward talks, President Barack Obama asked Netanyahu to work with Kerry “to resume negotiations with Palestinians as soon as possible,” according to a statement released by the White House late Thursday.
Final status negotiations aim to reach a deal on the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including borders, the fate of Palestinian refugees and security arrangements. Talks ground to a halt five years ago, and previous efforts to revive them have stalled, particularly over Palestinian demands that Israel announce a freeze in construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which they claim as part of a future state along with Gaza. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and it is now ruled by the Hamas militant group, which rivals Abbas’ Palestinian Authority.
Thursday night, the Palestinian leadership did not repeat the settlement freeze demand. But officials said they wanted guarantees the 1967 lines would be the basis for talks, saying that if Israel accepts that, it would make most of the settlements illegitimate.
Kerry’s announcement suggested that the issue had been resolved. In a statement issued after Kerry spoke, Abbas said “lengthy talks ... have resulted in the Palestinians accepting the resumption of talks.”
Abbas said “some details still need to be worked out,” but that Israeli and Palestinian officials could be invited to Washington for talks in the coming days.
A senior State Department official said the two sides had agreed on the core elements that will allow direct talks to move forward, and that agreement was not reached until Friday afternoon.
Still to be worked out in the upcoming initial talks is the process of the final status negotiations, including the agenda, the official said. When the sides first meet, they will not be “sitting down to draw a line on the map,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the details.
One question still unanswered is whether the tentative agreement reached by Kerry involved Israel explicitly accepting a reference to the 1967 lines — or if it involves the U.S. acting as guarantor that they will be the basis for negotiations.
Previous Israeli governments twice negotiated on the basis of the 1967 lines, with talks focusing on land exchanges. But besides disagreeing over how much land to trade and where, the two sides hit logjams on other key issues, including dividing Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
Netanyahu has given lukewarm endorsement to the idea of a Palestinian state but has not delineated his vision of boundaries, while demanding that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state. Palestinians reject that, concerned that it would undermine their claims that millions of refugees and their descendants have the right to return to their original homes, lost in the 1948-49 war surrounding Israel’s creation. Israel has rejected that claim outright.
While Kerry has not publicized details of his plan, an Arab League decision Wednesday to endorse his proposal raised speculation that the Palestinians would agree. Abbas traditionally has sought the blessing of his Arab brethren before making any major diplomatic initiative.
Ahmed Majdalani, a Palestinian leader, said Kerry has proposed holding talks for six to nine months focusing on the key issues of borders and security arrangements.
He said Kerry would endorse the 1967 lines as the starting point of negotiations and assured the Palestinians that Israel would free some 350 prisoners gradually in the coming months. The prisoners would include some 100 men that Israel convicted of crimes committed before interim peace accords were signed in 1993. Israel has balked at freeing these prisoners in the past because many were convicted in deadly attacks.
___
Daraghmeh reported from Ramallah, West Bank
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/palestinians-israel-must-agree-on-borders-before-restarting-peace-talks/2013/07/18/d6cdd468-f008-11e2-8c36-0e868255a989_story.html?wpisrc=al_national
19 January 2013
Victory: The Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act is now law & Women's Rights are Non-Negotiable in Afghanistan 19JAN13
HERE is a victory for human rights and the women and girls of Afghanistan, and a call to action to keep up the pressure on the Afghan and American governments to guarantee the human rights, the safety and well being of Afghan women and girls in negotiations with the taliban. Thanks to all who have participated in the earlier actions by Amnesty International, click the link to participate in this latest action...
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Victory: The Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act is now law
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Thanks to you, our ongoing campaign to secure the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan is marking a huge victory. You may recall that the campaign kicked off last May in Chicago when Amnesty International USA organized a Shadow Summit as a counterpoint to the NATO summit, which was failing to provide Afghan women a place at the table to discuss the future of their country. It was here that we first asked members and activists like you to sign a petition in support of the United States adopting an action plan to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls. We received an overwhelming response. This was followed by a Congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. on Afghan women's rights, in cooperation with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and featuring two dynamic women from the Afghan Women's Network, Hasina Safi and Mahbouba Seraj. Securing Afghan women's rights was also a pressing topic of discussion that same day at ourTown Hall on Women's Rights, the XX Factor. Thanks in large part to the hard work and courage of the Afghan women – supported by thousands of Amnesty International USA members like you, guests at the Congressional briefing, and participants in the XX Factor—Senators Casey and Hutchison introduced the Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act in the Senate in November. The amended bill was included in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which was recently signed by the President. It is now U.S. law! The Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act requires the Department of Defense to report on their efforts to promote the security of Afghan women and girls during the transfer of security responsibility to Afghan forces. The support that this amendment received in Congress was tremendous. During the final days of the debate, Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA) filed a motion to specifically instruct House conferees to include the Afghan women's bill in the reconciled version of the NDAA. The motion passed by an overwhelming vote of 399-4. Nine Members of Congress spoke on the House floor in favor of the amendment including the Republican Chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Buck McKeon. Reps. Tsongas, Jackson-Lee, Lee, Kucinich, Schakowsky, Rob Andrews, Biggert, and Hanabusa also spoke in support of the motion. Your voice made this possible. Thank you. We are thrilled with this victory, but there is still work to be done. We must continue to push the U.S. government to take concrete steps to support the rights of the women of Afghanistan and to ensure that their rights are not traded away during or after the reconciliation talks with the Taleban and Afghan government. Please continue to stand in solidarity with the women and girls of Afghanistan and take action in the fight for their rights. Again, thank you for raising your voice. We hope you will continue to act to support and help advance women’s rights worldwide. Warmly, Cristina M. Finch Director, Women's Human Rights Program Amnesty International USA |  | |||
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© 2013 Amnesty International USA | 5 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001 | 212.807.8400
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