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[5]
Go to Jerusalem, Mr. President.
Israel is anxious. It preferred the old Middle Eastern order. It could count on the despots, like Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, to suppress the jihadists, reject Iran, and play the Israeli-Palestinian game along lines that created a permanent temporariness ever more favorable to Israeli power.
Israelis are doubly worried. They wonder, Mr. President, if you like them in a heart-to-heart way. You’ve been to Cairo, you’ve been to Istanbul, so what’s wrong with Jerusalem? Why won’t you come and kvetch with us, President Obama, and feel our pain?
Lebanon hands out and renews hundreds of thousands of work permits every year to people from Africa, Asia and other Arab countries. But until now, only a handful have been given to the country’s large Palestinian refugee population.
Six months ago, the Lebanese government was internationally applauded for passing legislation granting the Palestinian population the right to work. But real changes remain to be seen.
There were signs on Wednesday of a new effort to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after months of stagnation, but chances of a resumption of talks looked slim, and Israel appeared to be stepping back from the stated goal of reaching a framework agreement resolving the core issues of the conflict by September.
Instead of a final accord on Palestinian statehood by fall, Israel is now floating the idea of an interim arrangement as a step toward a two-state solution, even without Palestinian agreement.
After agreeing last year to relax its blockade around the Gaza Strip, Israel moved Wednesday to tighten the security cordon by permanently closing what was once its largest commercial crossing point.
Israeli military officials cited unspecified security concerns for the closure and promised that all goods that would have passed through at the Karni crossing, southeast of Gaza City, would go through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint, the last operational commercial crossing, which is about 21 miles to the southwest at the point where Egypt, Israel and the Gaza Strip meet.
Following a string of protests and vandalism in the West Bank, right-wing Israelis and settlers blocked the road to Jerusalem with burning tires, and closed down train tracks to the country's airport on Thursday, in what was billed as a "day of rage."
Israeli news organizations said police evacuated protesters from highway 1 after a brief closure of the main artery, with the daily newspaper Haaretz saying that in Jerusalem, tires were set alight in a separate protest action.
The English news site Ynet noted that no arrests had been made.
The Palestinian Monetary Authority announced Thursday that all banks in Gaza would close on Thursday, following the perpetration of a robbery by unknown gunmen who stole cash from the Palestine Investment Bank in Gaza City.
PMA officials did not report the amount of cash taken from the bank, but said the financial institutions would remain closed until the funds were returned.
A statement from the body condemned the robbery, saying the use of weapons against the people of Gaza was unacceptable. The PMA "resents, denounces and condemns the attack," the statement said.
Political adviser to Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's plan to create a new unity cabinet was "born dead, it is of no political value."
In a government statement, Yousef Rizqa said Hamas officials never received information on Fayyad's plan, splashed across Palestinian newspapers, which said the re-appointed prime minister was consulting with Hamas members in an effort to bring the party into a new government body ahead of national and municipal elections set for September and June respectively.
The prospect of restarting the suspended peace negotiations between Israel and Syria may be advanced by the current unrest in the Middle East.
Earlier this week, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is willing to reach out to Israel, he will find a willing partner for negotiations.
Barak's remarks came a few days after it was revealed that the United States Senator John Kerry had been working with Assad over the last couple of months on a plan to renew the negotiations.
A senior Palestinian official on Wednesday announced rejection of any Israeli proposal for interim or partial solutions to the stalled peace process.
The Palestinians only want the end of the Israeli occupation in the areas that were occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem, and a fair solution to the issue of refugees, said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee.
Banks in the Gaza Strip closed on Thursday in protest against Hamas's seizure of $250,000 in cash in a dispute between the Islamist movement that runs the enclave and its West Bank rival, the Palestinian Authority.
A banking official said Hamas police went to the Palestine Investment Bank on Wednesday and demanded the money from the account of the PA-backed Palestine Investment Fund, which Hamas alleged had been illegally transferring money out of Gaza.
The PIF said its withdrawals from the bank were legitimate.
The extraordinary tension along the border with the Gaza Strip, which included the unusual launching of a Grad-type Katyusha at Be'er Sheva on Wednesday, appears now to have been a minor incident and not some sort of strategic turning point.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store told Haaretz Wednesday that his country would reevaluate its position on recognizing a Palestinian state if no progress is made in the peace process by September 2011.
Speaking from Jerusalem, where he is on a state visit, Gahr said Israel runs the risk of being seen internationally as a "permanent occupier" if the stalemate in the peace process continues. He said he was worried such a view would lead to a further delegitimization of Israel and would harm its security.
US President Obama this week called on Jewish leaders to speak to their colleagues in Israel and to “search your souls” over Israel's seriousness about making peace, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported Wednesday.
According to participants, Obama told the Jewish leaders that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is eager to secure his legacy by establishing a Palestinian state and would accept a decent offer if one were on the table.
“The Palestinians don't feel confident that the Netanyahu government is serious about territorial concessions,” the president reportedly said.
Palestinians expect broad global support: Some 150 countries will recognize a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders by September of this year, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Wednesday.
Maliki claimed that 10 more states in the Caribbean region will be declaring their recognition of Palestine this month.
In an interview with The Media Line last week, the PA foreign minister said the Palestinians were on track to declaring an independent state by September.
Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch offered his full support on Wednesday to security forces who shot plastic bullets at settlers during the razing of structures in the illegal outpost of Havat Gilad.
Responding to MK Yariv Levin's (Likud) question as to the reason plastic bullets were used against protesters – which created an uproar among settlers and led to a series of "price tag" operations – Aharonovitch stated that "during the operation the forces were met with violent resistance that included curses, threats and stone hurling.
It wasn’t a white flag of surrender, but it sure seems like the Obama administration is beating a retreat from the Middle East peace process it once embraced with great enthusiasm. Administration officials still talk about working to bring the parties together, but the truth is that neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians seem much interested, and officials here have finally gotten the memo.
As you well know, Israel has never been in such peril as it is today. Anti-Semitism has risen to historic levels. Israel’s enemies are arming themselves with weapons that endanger not only its existence, but its very existence. And now, added to these grave existential threats comes the upheaval we’ve seen spreading throughout the Middle East. In these days of uncertainty, a volunteer army of steady, sure, confident voices in Israel’s defense is more critical than ever. Here is a set of talking points for you to use when fighting the information war for Israel’s survival.
Sweden is not considering going the way of a number of South American countries and unilaterally recognizing a Palestinians state within the 1967 lines, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
Bildt’s words come amid consistent reports of concern in Jerusalem that a number of European nations might follow the lead of Brazil, Argentina, Chile and other South American states and recognize a Palestinian state.
Hawking olive oil, cherry tomatoes, beer and other traditional products, Palestinian farmers and agri-business people participated for the first time at the Agro Mashov international agriculture exhibition held in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
Taking their place among the glitzy Israeli stalls pushing everything from high tech fruit sorters, genetically modified fruit flies and sophisticated milking sensors, the Palestinians came seeking not only business deals, but in search of Israeli innovations.
Shifting sands in the Middle East and new political realities in Washington are forcing J Street to recalibrate its strategy.
The dovish Israel lobby, whose supporters gathered recently in Washington for its second national conference, had previously tried to provide political cover for President Obama as he pushed for a speedy resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But now J Street finds itself prodding a reluctant administration to take a more assertive approach.
It has a history of anti-war and pro-civil rights activism unmatched anywhere in the United States, yet not even this bucolic city nestled above San Francisco Bay in California is immune from the slings and arrows that accompany the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Berkeley is home to the top-ranked University of California, bookshops, cafes and wide leafy boulevards with imposing houses for professors and professionals from San Francisco's high-tech sector.
Many activists in Palestine believe that they are the inventors of the concept of popular uprisings in the modern Arab history. After all, many say, the Palestinian Intifada has been hailed as a shining example of an entire people rising up in unison against a ruthless aggressor.
Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday declared his intention to evacuate illegal settlement outposts that are located on private Palestinian land. This declaration reportedly applies to "at least 3 outposts."
This declaration is problematic, for a number of reasons:
1. The number of outposts on private land is 70, not 3. Of these, 16 are fully on private land and 54 are partially on private land. Of the 16, 11 are on land which is fully registered as private. See here the full list.
While the Arab world joins together in a call for democracy, Israel's democracy is unraveling. As the Arab world demands accountability from its leaders, Israel's leaders are facing investigations and indictments. As the Arab world demands greater social mobility and economic opportunity, Israel's gap between the rich and poor continues to widen. The Arab world has discovered the power of peaceful demonstration, while Israel continues to rely on military might, rather than peacemaking, to safeguard its national interests.
Links:
[1] http://www.americantaskforce.org/print/17783
[2] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printmail/17783
[3] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printpdf/17783
[4] http://www.americantaskforce.org/rss/wpr
[5] https://www.americantaskforce.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=1
[6] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/opinion/04iht-edcohen04.html?_r=1
[7] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/world/middleeast/03iht-m03-lebanon.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1299160936-Ki+BrqWQz7LA+lWJi5yrFg
[8] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/world/middleeast/03mideast.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast
[9] http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza-crossing-closure-20110303,0,4532369.story
[10] http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=365095
[11] http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=365100
[12] http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=364999
[13] http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-03/03/c_13758250.htm
[14] http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-03/02/c_13758201.htm
[15] http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/gaza-strip-banks-close-in-protest-of-hamas-cash-seizure-1.346890
[16] http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/escalation-with-gaza-will-likely-be-contained-within-a-few-days-1.345547
[17] http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/norway-may-recognize-palestinian-state-if-peace-process-remains-stalled-1.346788
[18] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4037049,00.html
[19] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4036984,00.html
[20] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4036643,00.html
[21] http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=210544
[22] http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=210546
[23] http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=210555
[24] http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=31530
[25] http://forward.com/articles/135838/
[26] http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/in-berkeley-california-us-jews-argue-fiercely-over-israeli-policies
[27] http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=35048
[28] http://peacenow.org/entries/at_least_70_outposts_are_located_on_private_palestinian_land
[29] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alon-benmeir/israel-where-are-you_b_829156.html
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