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ISRAEL'S BLOCKADE of Gaza is crumbling. In the wake of last week's clash between Israelis commandos and militants on a relief flotilla, the world at large has condemned it; the Obama administration has called it "unsustainable." Egypt reopened its crossing into Gaza for humanitarian aid and some travel. But the solution is not as simple as simply ending the checks on sea and land traffic by Israel. What's needed is a new regime that addresses the legitimate needs of Palestinians in Gaza without further empowering Hamas and its patron, Iran.
The L.A. City Council wants to boycott the Grand Canyon State. When will the United Nations condemn Los Angeles for its callous pursuit of collective punishment against Arizona in retaliation for its immigration policies? To be sure, the boycott is mainly symbolic, but at least in principle the measure is aimed at hurting all Arizonans regardless of whether they support the "regime" in Phoenix. That's collective punishment.
After meeting President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt Monday, Vice President Joe Biden said the US is looking for “new ways” to handle the situation in Gaza.
“We are consulting closely with Egypt, as well as our other partners, on new ways to address the humanitarian, economic, security, and political aspects of the situation in Gaza,” Mr. Biden said after the meeting, according to a statement released by the White House.
An American-Turkish dual citizen killed during an Israeli commando raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla was among activists buried in Turkey on Thursday.
Furkan Dogan was struck by five bullets shortly before dawn on Monday while atop the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara ship, according to friends who were on board at the time of the Israeli raid and attended the funeral for eight of the nine Turks who died.
The Palestinian ministers cabinet officially welcomed several international moves to lift the siege on Gaza during its weekly cabinet meeting Monday, calling for action to ensure recent moves to aid Gaza continue.
Alex Harrison, a British activist who participated in the Freedom Flotilla, was on the neighboring Challenger I when the Israeli army overtook the Mavi Marmara, leaving at least nine activists dead and dozens injured.
An eyewitness to the takeover, Harrison told Ma'an what she saw in the moments before the Israeli army boarded the Mavi Marmara.
"I was on the Challenger I, on the upper deck," Harrison said. "We were very close to the Marmara. We actually thought [the Israeli navy] was coming for us first."
Palestinian Authority Minister of National Economy Hasan Abu Libdeh arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon to participate in a seminar on the PA's boycott of settlement goods.
Organized by the German Friedrich Ebert Fund, Tel Aviv University, and the Peres Center For Peace, Abu Libdeh said his attendance was meant to inform Israel that the settlement enterprise and its economy in the West Bank "are obstacles to the peace process and the establishment of a Palestinian state."
Under President Barack Obama, the United States no longer provides Israel with automatic support at the United Nations where the Jewish state faces a constant barrage of criticism and condemnation.
The subtle but noticeable shift in the U.S. approach to its Middle East ally comes amid what some analysts describe as one of the most serious crises in U.S.-Israeli relations in years.
Under Obama, the United States seeks to reclaim its role as an impartial Middle East peace broker which critics say it lost during the previous administration of George W. Bush.
Turkey will seek the backing of its Middle Eastern and Asian neighbours at a regional summit on Tuesday to step up pressure on Israel over the killing of nine Turks on an aid ship bound for Gaza.
Israel has already rejected a United Nations call for an international inquiry into its seizure of the ship last week, but Turkey, flexing its diplomatic muscle as one of the biggest military and economic powers in the region, is not giving up.
A Palestinian official revealed Monday that there are contacts between Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and the European Union to submit a plan to the international Quartet for ending Gaza blockade.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that a number of European countries, including Spain and Switzerland, are contacting the PNA to discuss the ways possible to lift the blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007.
A Border Police officer was lightly wounded during clashes in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, as security forces attempted to demolish an illegal structure there.
This was the first clash in nearly a month. Two settler youths were arrested following the incident, on suspicion of hurling rocks at the special police unit.
The forces were on sire to enforce demolition of a cabin and the foundations of another structure laid following declaration of the settlement freeze last December, The Border Police officer was hurt when a settler hurled a rock his way.
The Israel Defense Forces announced Monday that it will conduct its own internal investigation into last week's botched raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla. IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi has appointed Maj. Gen. (res. ) Giora Eiland to head the probe.
The panel is charged with analyzing the failures of, and learning lessons from, the commando raid on a Turkish-flagged ship, which left nine Turkish passengers dead and several dozen people wounded.
On the day the prime minister headed on his needless journey to France and Canada, he hastily convened the forum of top seven government ministers for a semi-debate on the plan for stopping the Turkish flotilla. The ministers were asked to separately voice their views; as expected, each one of them said “amen” when his turn came.
Syrian President Bashar Assad was quoted recently as saying the Mavi Marmara episode marked a turning point in the Middle East.
Assad, as is his wont, was exaggerating. As bleak as things now seem for Israel – and they do indeed seem bleak – there is a need here for perspective.
The recent attempts to break the naval blockade of Gaza are the strongest evidence that the occupation over Gaza has never ended. When the Sharon government completed the disengagement from Gaza in 2005, foreign minister Tzipi Livni planned to announce to the UN General Assembly in September 2005 that Israel no longer occupied Gaza and that the international body is now responsible for the welfare of its people. The Legal Department of the Foreign Ministry informed her that she could not make that claim.
After three years of co-operating in the Israeli blockade of Gaza, Egypt said that it will leave its border with the Palestinian territory open indefinitely for humanitarian aid and restricted travel.
With international pressure building to ease the blockade, an Egyptian security official said on Monday that sealing off Hamas-ruled Gaza has only bred more militancy.
Didn't we tell you yesterday that Hassan Nasrallah wants to take back his role after the rug was pulled from underneath him by Turkey following what happened on the Freedom Flotilla off the coast of Gaza? Didn't we also tell you yesterday that "the game has been the same game, but the ability of the players is in decline" with regards to the Palestinian Cause? Didn't we tell you, days ago, not to save Israel [from itself] this time? So what happened?
It goes without saying that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, however – and perhaps without meaning to – he managed to break Iran's blockade of the Arabs.
When is the world going to say to Israel, enough?
When will the international community make clear that the situation in this part of the world is too dangerous to allow the Israeli government to act like a rogue state?
The moment is now. The world must insist that Israel cease to behave as if it is the one country that can act with impunity, above the law, with no regard for consequences.
The director of the Family Protection Unit, Lt. Col. Wafa’a Ayyad, urges Palestinian women to take part in the Police service because of their ability in understanding domestic cases. The Lt. Col. (the highest ranking Palestinian female officer) assured the Al-Quds newspaper that the Palestinian Police are working on developing the services provided to citizens and their families - because they are the main pillars in building a strong legal structure. She noted that the strength of Palestinian families is in their ability to argue and discuss problems and difficulties.
Links:
[1] http://www.americantaskforce.org/print/13443
[2] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printmail/13443
[3] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printpdf/13443
[4] http://www.americantaskforce.org/rss/wpr
[5] https://www.americantaskforce.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=1
[6] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/07/AR2010060703785.html
[7] http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-goldberg-blockades-20100608,0,6679013,print.column
[8] http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/306349
[9] http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0603/Israeli-raid-on-Gaza-Freedom-Flotilla-killed-US-citizen-Furkan-Dogan
[10] http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=290393
[11] http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=290391
[12] http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=290292
[13] http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/127598199447.htm
[14] http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE65629B.htm
[15] http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/07/c_13337866.htm
[16] http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israeli-security-forces-clash-with-settlers-while-enforcing-construction-freeze-1.294910
[17] http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-awaiting-u-s-green-light-for-internal-gaza-flotilla-probe-1.294786
[18] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3900905,00.html
[19] http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=177780
[20] http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=177765
[21] http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100608/FOREIGN/706089996/1011
[22] http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=21217
[23] http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=21213
[24] http://www.bitterlemons.org/issue/pal1.php
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