No time to lose in the Middle East peace process

The Jewish settlement of Hashmonaim, dating from the mid 1980s, in the West Bank.


During the last two years, Israelis and Palestinians have not marked an inch of progress towards the hoped for two-state solution. It is high time the international community mobilised serious efforts in that direction.

Israelis and Palestinians spent years negotiating the intertwined core issues of Jerusalem, the holy sites, the refugees, territory, borders and settlements, and security. I believe that we know what a final agreement will ultimately look like. Since President Clinton's parameters were laid down in December 2000, every political initiative to ending the conflict has led to the same fundamental solutions. The recent leak of Palestinian documents proves it.

It seems that there has never been a shortage in ideas, plans and initiatives. Moreover, the convergences between the parties throughout this period have been apparently more substantive than publicly revealed to date.

In Israel, time is running out for those who want to secure a Jewish and democratic state within recognised boundaries alongside a demilitarised Palestinian state. True, polls consistently demonstrate that Israelis overwhelmingly support the two-state solution. But this majority has not been heard politically. Israelis are starting to realise that, and are getting their act together to change this discourse. They say: we are proud to be Israeli, Jewish and Zionist, and refuse to apologise for it. We would like to secure this identity for generations – and, for that purpose, a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel is imperative.

In the absence of a capable leadership in the Middle East, a series of conditions should be considered by the US and its allies in this endeavor in order to reverse the course of the process for the benefit of all parties concerned.

First, there is a need to combine the bilateral approach with a regional one, thus establishing a supportive Arab coalition for a possible Israeli-Palestinian agreement, and providing further opportunities for negotiations and trade-offs. To the detriment of the PLO, Israel's interlocutor since Oslo in 1993, Gaza is governed by Iranian-backed Hamas, a brutal terrorist organisation, dedicated to the destruction of Israel. It is only under a regional framework that the Gaza timebomb could possibly be addressed. The 2002 Arab Peace Initiative represents a significant and strategic shift in the Arab League's approach to resolving the dispute. It should serve as a basis for further negotiations.

Second, it is crucial to win the individual and collective hearts and minds of the peoples in the region. We need to prepare the ground ahead of time for tough decisions to be taken towards peaceful co-existence. It is essential gradually to change the public's mindset by creating a new vocabulary, a fresh discourse, even if that means tackling what were once taboos. Until today, little thought was given to the preparation of public opinion. Media coverage focused on what the respective parties are likely to be giving up, rather than on the benefits of peace. And so mutual hostility continued unchecked.

Third, the architecture of the Oslo process must be reframed. It seems essential to change the "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed" paradigm of Camp David, Taba and Annapolis – into "what has been agreed should be implemented". Such an approach would open the way for an agreement on boundaries, security, statehood and the economy. Subsequently, the negotiations over Jerusalem and the refugees will continue in a state-to-state fashion.

Fourth, seeking the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be based anymore on falsified grounds, distorted truths and double standards vis-à-vis Israel, thus encouraging anti-Israel terrorism. Pursuing Israeli settlement relocation, within a final territorial agreement, should follow 1967 United Nations security council resolution 242. The resolution was drawn up by Lord Caradon, UK representative at the UN who stated:

"We didn't say there should be a withdrawal to the [19]'67 line; we did not put the 'the' in, we did not say all the territories, deliberately … We did not say that the '67 boundaries must be forever; it would be insanity."

The British foreign secretary at the time, George Brown, said:

"I have been asked over and over again to clarify, modify or improve the wording, but I do not intend to do that … Before we submitted it to the council, we showed it to the Arab leaders. The proposal said 'Israel will withdraw from territories that were occupied', and not from 'the' territories, which means that Israel will not withdraw from all territories."

And finally, tangible coordination on the ground should be promoted, enabling the bottom-up progress to sustain a political dialogue. Since 2007, we have seen in the West Bank a genuine Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation. In that climate, self-interest starts to supersede mistrust between the parties, as has been demonstrated in steady economic growth, rapid institutional development and improved welfare.

It is essential that President Obama should find without delay a mechanism to resume negotiations between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Yes, all three face a different set of domestic problems, but the US president should insist on maintaining a rigid negotiation framework with a binding agenda from which the parties cannot be allowed to depart. There is a reasonable chance of reaching a partial agreement on territory, security and the establishment of the Palestinian state within the president's remaining effective term.

The two-state solution is not only in the interest of Israel: it is clearly in the interest of the United States, Europe and the moderate Arab world to enhance global peace and stability.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/25/palestine-papers-two-state-solution

2 Kassams hit South after IDF kills 2 Gazans planting bombs

Two Kassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip struck southern Israel on Sunday, hours after the IDF fired on several Palestinians suspected of planting explosives along the security fence, killing two Islamic Jihad terrorists.

A combined force of IAF helicopters and armored troops reported direct hits on the suspects. Islamic Jihad’s military wing said in a statement that two of its fighters had been killed in the incident east of Khan Yunis. Israeli military sources confirmed the two deaths.

An IDF statement noted that a number of bombs had been detonated near IDF patrols along the border in the past month.

“The presence of Palestinian civilians in the area adjacent to the security fence is used by terrorist organizations as a cover for their activities, including the planting of explosive devices, planning terrorist attacks and attempting to kidnap IDF soldiers,” the statement said. “For this reason, the IDF will not allow anyone to be present in this area.”

Speaking on the second anniversary of the start of Operation Cast Lead, Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom expressed the hope that there would not be an escalation of violence with Gaza.

“I hope there is not need for another operation such as Cast Lead,” Shalom told Israel Radio.

“But if this situation continues, if rockets keep being smuggled in and they continue shooting at Israel in an attempt to hit innocent civilians, then obviously we will have to respond, and respond forcefully.”

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http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=200984

Arab Nations to Seek UN Pressure on Israel to Stop Settlement Construction

A Palestinian man is seen through a water pipe as he gestures while removing rubble after an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip December 21, 2010. Israel carried out a series of air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinian officials and witnesses said, after militants from the Hamas-ruled territory fired rockets into southern Israel.

Arab nations and the Palestinian Authority are set to ask the United Nations Security Council to demand that Israel halt settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

A draft resolution demanding that Israel “immediately and completely ceases all settlement activities” was to be given to the Security Council’s 15 member governments late yesterday or today, Egyptian Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz said in an interview.

The Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said that U.S. diplomats told him that the Obama administration opposes having the Security Council take up a resolution on the settlements issue. The U.S. mission to the UN didn’t respond to a request for a public comment on the draft resolution.

“The only road to peace between Israel and the Palestinians is through direct negotiations,” Israel’s Ambassador Meron Reuben said yesterday in an e-mail. “Palestinian attempts to bypass this road only move us further away from returning to the negotiation table. We hope that the international community won’t allow these moves to divert both sides from reaching the real goal: peace and stability in our region.”

The Security Council move stems from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s instructions last month to Mansour to begin talks in New York on a draft resolution.

Mansour said in an interview that the text was being distributed now so that Security Council members could study it over the next 10 days before formal talks are held in January. He said about 35 nations have agreed to co-sponsor the draft, which also condemns the continuation of settlement activity as illegal and a “major obstacle” to peace.

‘No Movement’

“We have to move on this track because there is no movement on any front,” Abdelaziz said. “We have a crisis situation. The Israelis have rejected the American proposal for a settlement freeze and they continue every day with settlement activity.”

The U.S. decided early this month to stop pressuring Israel to renew a moratorium on West Bank settlement construction. Palestinians refused to return to talks without an extension of the freeze, which expired in September.

The Arabs may have up to 14 votes for the draft resolution in the 15-member Security Council, and recognize that the measure would probably be defeated by a U.S. veto, said Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya’s deputy ambassador to the UN.

“If it gets 14 votes, they will put it to a vote,” Dabbashi said. “We know finally it will not pass.”

Libya introduced a similar draft resolution when it had a seat on the Security Council two years ago, but didn’t put the text to a vote.

“The situation is different now,” Dabbashi said. “Now there is practically no peace process. It is at a standstill. At the time, there was not an overwhelming majority to put it to a vote. It was not only the U.S. This time we feel it should have 14 votes.”

New Members

Abdelaziz said the entry of India and South Africa onto the Security Council as non-permanent members on Jan. 1 will create a body that will be “much in favor of movement” on the draft. The U.S., he said, might abstain rather than veto.

“Are the Americans even a little bit offended that the Israelis are brushing them aside all the time?” Abdelaziz said. “We will ask them to abstain.”

He said the Arabs haven’t received any signal from the Obama administration that abstention was a possibility.

About 500,000 Jews have moved to the West Bank and Jerusalem since Israel captured the territories in the 1967 Middle East war. The UN says the settlements are illegal, and the International Committee of the Red Cross says they breach the Fourth Geneva Convention governing actions on occupied territory.

Israel says the settlements don’t fall under the convention because the territory wasn’t recognized as belonging to any country before the 1967 war, in which Israel prevailed, and therefore isn’t occupied.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-22/arabs-to-seek-un-demand-for-end-to-israeli-settlement-building.html

Gaza Rocket Hits Near Kindergarten, Israeli Strikes Wound Six

Israel’s air force struck at least eight different targets in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, wounding six people, and Palestinians fired a rocket into Israel that hit near a kindergarten, injuring two.

The situation is “fragile and explosive,” Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, the Israeli military’s chief of staff, told a parliamentary committee yesterday, according to the army website. Israel has stepped up operations in Gaza in response to “terrorists’ decision to intensify their activity,” Ashkenazi said.

About 15 mortar shells and rockets have hit Israel since Monday, the army said. The upturn in violence came as Israeli- Palestinian peace negotiations remained stalled and reconciliation talks between the Islamic Hamas movement that controls the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority that runs the West Bank are frozen.

Hamas “is saying we are still here,” said Gerald Steinberg, a political scientist at Bar Ilan University outside Tel Aviv, adding that he expected “low-level escalation over the next few weeks” and nothing more than that.

Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S. and the European Union, refuses to recognize or negotiate with Israel. The Islamic movement seized control of Gaza in 2007 after winning parliamentary elections a year earlier, ending a partnership government with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party.

Mortar Attacks

Since the beginning of 2010, more than 200 rockets and mortar shells have been fired into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip.

The attack in southern Israel came after warplanes struck seven targets in Gaza early yesterday, the army said in a text message to journalists. Israel launched another strike in the afternoon, hitting what it said was a “Hamas terror activity center.”

In Gaza, Adham Abu Silmeya, spokesman for the Hamas-run Health Ministry’s emergency service, said two Palestinian militants and four civilians were wounded in Israeli air strikes.

Ronit Gil, a preschool teacher in Kibbutz Zikim, the collective community where the rocket fell, said she was getting out of her car and walking to the kindergarten when the air siren went off.

“I heard the boom,” Gil said on Army Radio. “Things are very tense here.”

A teenager and an adult were injured in the attack, the army said.

Read More

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-21/gaza-rocket-strikes-near-israeli-kindergarten-as-violence-grows.html

Iran accuses US, Britain, Israel of deadly suicide bomb attack

Iran on Wednesday accused the United States, Britain and Israel of involving in the deadly suicide bomb attack in the country which left 39 killed and more than 50 others wounded.

The attack occurred in front of the Imam Hussein mosque in southeastern port city of Chabahar on Wednesday when people gathered for a mourning ceremony on the religious occasion of Tasua, local satellite Press TV said.

Tasua is commemorated by Shiite Muslims, marking the eve of the day when Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was killed.

According to media, the Pakistan-based Sunni rebel group Jundallah (God' s soldiers) has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.

Chief of Iran's Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi accused the United States and Britain of involving in the attack, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

"The experience from the past incidents indicate that the U.S. and U.K. intelligent services are behind the crimes like the Wednesday morning bombing in Chabahar," Boroujerdi was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy Interior Minister Ali Abdollahi told official IRNA news agency that the equipment and facilities nabbed on Wednesday revealed that the bombing agents were supported by the intelligent services of the region and the United States.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Wednesday that such terrorist acts "are funded by the U.S. and Israeli intelligent services," according to local Mehr News agency.

"In the past, the United States recruited some in Afghanistan to create discord among Shiite and Sunni Muslims (by carrying out terrorist acts)," Larijani was quoted as saying.

Chabahar is the Iranian port city on the coast of Oman Sea situated in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province with the majority of ethnic Baluchis and Sunni Muslims.

"Israel and the U.S. intelligent services are behind these terrorist acts and they should know that such behaviors will receive response from the Iranian nation," Larijani said.

According to the official IRNA news agency, Director General of Sistan-Baluchestan provincial Forensic Medicine Office Fariborz Ayati said some women and children were among the victims.

An unidentified police commander of Sistan-Baluchestan province was quoted as saying by ISNA that four policemen were among the victims as well.

According to an earlier report by ISNA, the explosion occurred at 10:30 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) in front of the governor's office building of Chabahar in Sistan-Baluchestan province close to an emergency car of the Red Crescent Society.

Over the past three days, there had been threats of bomb attacks against mourners in Sistan-Baluchestan, and the emergency staff has been on alert, Iranian Red Crescent Society chief Mahmoud Mozaffar was quoted as saying by ISNA, adding that among the injured, six were emergency workers.

Meanwhile, the state IRIN TV said three suicide bombers were involved in the attack. Only one of them succeeded, the second was shot dead, and the last was arrested.

Read More:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-12/16/c_13650701.htm

Government fears nuclear war in Middle East

The cables present Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd as being very "supportive" of Israel.

The Federal Government fears a nuclear confrontation between Iran and Israel could draw Australia into another war in the Middle East, according to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks and published in Fairfax newspapers today.

The cables present Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd as being very "supportive" of Israel and he is praised for his tough stance against Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

But the cables also reveal serious concerns within Australia's intelligence bureaus that Australia and the US could be drawn into a nuclear war if Iran and Israel come to blows.

Dr Michael Wesley, executive director of the Lowy Institute, says the revelations are interesting but hardly surprising.

"That's the nightmare scenario that's worried a lot of people for a long time," he said.

"Even though Israel hasn't formally acknowledged that it has nuclear weapons, most people understand that it is a nuclear-armed state.

"Obviously with Iran rapidly gaining those capabilities and having made some fairly uncompromising statements about wiping Israel off the face of the map, you would have to think there would be a considerable threat if Iran does get nuclear weapons."

It has been a tough few weeks for Mr Rudd, who has withstood a barrage of embarrassing revelations contained in the WikiLeaks cables.

Among the cables were perceptions within the US embassy that he is a micro-manager as well as more potentially damaging remarks revealing he favours a tough stance against China.

But for now at least it appears Mr Rudd is among friends in Israel.

He is presently touring the Middle East, where he took the time to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.

Mr Rudd paid his respects to those who died in the Holocaust and admitted Australia could have done more to help Jewish people before World War II.

"We as Australia among the other nations of the world attended the conference at Evian in 1938 and we, in Australia, like so many countries around the world, closed our hearts," he said.

"What we did then as a nation was wrong and we know what happened when others did the same."

Embarrassment

Dr Wesley says the WikiLeaks cables with the most potential to harm Australia's foreign policy are the ones with the revelations about China.

"The Chinese are, to use a well-known phrase, brutal realists themselves," he said.

"They had little doubt about where Australia stood, so probably in terms of its embarrassment value, it gives them a chance to exercise a tiny bit of leverage against Rudd in particular.

"But I don't think it's a huge revelation to the Chinese."

Dr Wesley says most of the cables will do little more than embarrass those people named.

"It basically puts some issues on the table that probably the Government would rather not be out in the open," he said.

"A lot of what governments do depends on them keeping their rather frank assessments of each other secret and not in public view.

"If some of this material, for instance, impacts on Australia's image in China or any other country, then that will be a step backwards.

"But in terms of actual hard strategic interests, I don't think it will do a lot of damage."

WikiLeaks has still only released a small percentage of the 250,000 documents it is believed to possess.

Read More

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/13/3091889.htm

Ban Ki-moon says regrets continued W. Bank building

UN Sec.-Gen. urges Israel to "fulfill its Road map obligation to freeze all settlement activity"; says encouraged by determination of US efforts.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed regret that "Israel will not heed the united call of the international community...to extend the settlement restraint policy," in a statement issued by his spokesman early Thursday morning.

In the statement, Ki-moon reiterated his "urging Israel to fulfill its Road map obligation to freeze all settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

The spokesman continued, "In spite of this setback, the secretary-general believes it is more important than ever to promote a negotiated end-game for a two-State solution."

Ki-moon added that he "is encouraged that the United States has indicated its determination to continue its efforts in this direction and he urges the full cooperation of the parties towards that end." The secretary-general, the statement noted, "is looking forward to these matters being discussed in the days to come among all members of the Quartet."

The US earlier this week, announced that it was giving up on securing an extended settlement freeze as a move to bring the two parties back to the negotiating table. Israel has resisted calls to implement an additional West Bank building moratorium and the Palestinians have said they will not return to direct negotiations without a freeze in place.

Washington said its new approach on the Israeli- Palestinian peace process will be to focus on the final-status issues.

“We’re going to focus on the substance and try to make progress on the core issues themselves. We think that will create the kind of momentum we need to get to sustained and meaningful negotiations,” US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Wednesday.

“I would describe this as a change in tactics rather than a change in strategy. It’s not a change of our objectives at all,” he said.

He said that he didn’t anticipate the Israelis and Palestinians meeting together in Washington in the coming days, but avoided characterizing the process as returning to the proximity talks that were held before the launch of direct talks.

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http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=198659

'Israel has much to learn about controlling fires'

A day after the devastating Carmel forest fire that destroyed five million trees was finally extinguished, Israel planted 18 saplings in the region as a symbol of gratitude to the 18 foreign delegations that came to its aid, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told hundreds of foreign firefighters at an official send-off luncheon in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

“This was the most devastating fire in the history of Israel, and your help shows the strength of the human spirit,” Ayalon said. “These trees represent the roots all of you have now in Israel.”

The firefighters, dressed in clean uniforms and clearly happy to be heading home starting that evening, praised the cooperation among the various delegations, as well as Israel’s quick decision to ask for international assistance.


“I was in the helicopter yesterday and I saw how much damage there was on the ground, and I don’t think anyone could have handled this on their own,” said Col. Stefan Balsiger, commander of the Swiss delegation, which numbered 35 and brought with it three Cougar helicopters. “You need friends to fight a... disaster like this.”

Spanish High Officer Roberto de Domingo, who arrived with five aircraft and 22 firefighters, echoed British, Swiss, and French firefighters who said they had never before seen a fire of this magnitude, saying no amount of preparation could have averted this disaster. “These things you can only learn after you’ve suffered them,” de Domingo said.

But other firefighters said they were shocked by Israel’s complete lack of preparedness for forest fires and its unwillingness to have firefighters on the ground following the use of aircraft.

“We see that you didn’t do anything about prevention,” said pilot Stelios Kotzikas from Cyprus, who came with a nine-member delegation and said his country had battled three fires the same size as the Carmel blaze over the past three years.

Kotzikas suggested that Israel adopt Cyprus’s anti-forest fire methods, like clearing 100-meter-wide strips of trees and underbrush, and using bulldozers to clear out burned areas to prevent fires from reigniting.

“During the firefighting, you didn’t bring any bulldozers to clean up,” he said. “This was a big surprise to us; it was something unbelievable. You should have a minimum of 20 bulldozers, and we saw only one.”

As one of the first international delegations in the air, the planes from Cyprus were dropping water on the fire by 9 a.m. on Friday morning.

Kotzikas said that as more aircraft arrived over the course of the day, the skies grew increasingly chaotic and the Israel Air Force had difficulty coordinating the activity. He added, however, that confusion over positions and radio frequencies was cleared up by Saturday morning, and praised the IAF’s ability to adapt quickly to the situation.

But even graver, some firefighters said, was the lack of coordination between aircraft and crews on the ground. “When airplanes attack, ground forces must move in closer to extinguish the fire completely, because the helicopter cannot extinguish a fire by itself,” Kotzikas explained.

At a press conference on Saturday morning, while the flames were still raging, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stressed that the battle to stop the fire would be determined in the air. Indeed, aside from the 92-member delegation from Bulgaria, the personnel from abroad had been trained to fight fires from above.

Lt. Kostas Tzakiris, from the 70-member Greek delegation, said he believed Israel’s unwillingness to put crews “inside the fire” stemmed from the high death toll at the outset.

“It’s not that you don’t have experience,” Tzakiris said, “but you’re afraid to do this because you’re afraid there will be more victims.”

The coming days promise a blistering state comptroller’s report followed by months of investigations and finger pointing. Yet the mood at the send-off luncheon was upbeat.

“It’s very exciting and it’s very emotional to see the outpouring of support and great sympathy we get from all these nations around the world,” Ayalon told The Jerusalem Post as he moved from table to table to personally thank the departing crews.

Spanish firefighter de Domingo agreed.

“This is the part that really makes me so happy,” he said. “To know people are capable of working together happily, putting aside color and ideology. It’s something you wouldn’t expect to happen in this reality.”

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http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=198466

Argentina Joins Brazil in Recognizing Palestinian State

Argentina's government has announced that it recognizes the Palestinian territories as an independent state within their pre-1967 borders, following a similar move days earlier by neighboring Brazil.

The Argentine foreign ministry said Monday that President Cristina Fernandez had informed her Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, of the decision in a letter.

The ministry said the recognition is in response to a request made by Mr. Abbas during a visit to Argentina last year. It comes three days after Brazil's recognition, also in response to a similar request.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said Monday that he expects Uruguay and Paraguay to recognize Palestinian statehood in the next few days, followed by Bolivia and Ecuador.

Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman said more than 100 countries have recognized Palestine as a state within the borders it had before Israel seized control of the West Bank in 1967.

Israel's foreign ministry called Argentina's announcement "regrettable," and said it would not change the situation between Israel and the Palestinians.

U.S. lawmakers last week had condemned Brazil's recognition as "severely misguided" and "regrettable."

The announcements by the South American countries come as Middle East peace talks remain suspended. The Palestinians withdrew from direct negotiations when Israel in September refused to extend a temporary freeze on new settlement construction in the West Bank.

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http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Argentina-Joins-Brazil-in-Recognizing-Palestinian-State-111418479.html