zaterdag 14 februari 2009

Assad's toespraak over de Zionistische Entiteit in Syrisch school curriculum

 
Met dit land moet Israel vrede sluiten? Aan dit land moet Israel land teruggeven? Volgens een recent bericht stonden Israel en Syrië op het punt te beginnen met directe vredesonderhandelingen toen de oorlog in Gaza uitbrak. Dit soort tirades spelen rechts in Israel, dat tegen vrede met Syrië is, ongelofelijk in de kaart.
 
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MEMRI: Special Dispatch | No. 2243 | February 13, 2009
Syria
Assad's Speech on 'Terrorist Zionist Entity' To Become Part of Syrian School Curriculum

 
At the Second Islamic Conference of Ministers in Charge of Childhood, held February 3, 2009 in Khartoum, Syrian Education Minister Dr. 'Ali Sa'd announced that the concept of the" terrorist Zionist entity," presented by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in his speech at the January 16, 2009 Doha summit, would be incorporated into the Syrian school curriculum. In that speech, Assad accused Israel of perpetrating another Nazi holocaust in Gaza, claiming that the spilling of Arab blood since the establishment of Israel was intended to bring about a purely Jewish state. Assad also called to instill in the future Arab generations the principle "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," to ensure that they would never forget or forgive Israel's actions.

 
Following are excerpts from statements by Syrian Education Minister Dr. 'Ali Sa'd and by other Syrian and Arab officials, as well as excerpts from Assad's speech at the Doha summit.

Syrian Education Minister: Assad's Message Must Be Transmitted to Future Generations
At the conference, which was attended by representatives of 36 Arab and Islamic countries, Syrian Education Minister Dr. 'Ali Sa'd said: "The Syrian Education Ministry regards the strategic concepts and ideas presented by President Bashar Al-Assad at the emergency summit on Gaza as [an outline for a] work plan."

He added that at a meeting held by the ministry, attended by all elements in charge of developing the Syrian curriculum and textbooks, it had been decided to incorporate these concepts and ideas into the new curriculum and books, in order to inculcate them in "the generations that would build the nation's future," and thereby teach them that "the Zionist entity is a terrorist entity."

Sa'd stressed that if the expressions "We will not forget and not forgive" and "terrorist entity" (as a label for Israel) appeared in Syrian textbooks, it would "create awareness about [the nature of] this entity, and constitute immeasurable support for resistance in the [battle]field." Sa'd also stated that President Assad and his wife had a personal interest in education and concern for this issue, and that they intended to "equip the nation's [future] generations with the knowledge, ideology, values, and abilities [necessary] to meet the needs of the [country's] renewed development."(1)

It should be noted that the Khartoum conference adopted the Syrian delegation's recommendation to term Israel a "terrorist entity" in textbooks and in the media.(2)

At a reception for the delegations attending the Arab Youth Conference, held February 3-6, 2009 in Syria, Ba'th Party National Deputy Secretary Muhammad Sa'id Bkheitan announced that Syria "saw the Arab youth as the nation's hope for strengthening the endeavor of construction, progress, and support for the enterprise of resistance to occupation and aggression."

Several delegation heads likewise expressed their appreciation for "the role played by Syria in strengthening the culture of resistance and steadfastness," and the conference proposed "to inculcate the culture of resistance as a culture of an Arab generation that believes in the power of life, aspires to freedom, and opposes the culture of defeatism."(3)

Assad: "Israel - The Most Dangerous [Brand of] Nazism in the Modern Era"
In his speech at the January 16, 2009 Doha summit on Gaza, Assad declared: "The starting point of our decisions today will be our support for the people of Gaza in the face of the new Nazi holocaust [perpetrated by] Israel... [However, our understanding] will not be complete unless we realize that the problem lies not only in the occupation per se, but in the nature of the enemy we are facing.

"This enemy has established itself through slaughter, sustained itself through plunder and destruction, and anchored its future in genocide. This is an enemy who speaks only the language of blood, and hence understands only the language of blood. The spilling of Arab blood since Israel's establishment is regarded by Israel's leaders as the fuel needed to [power] the machine [designed] to create a purely Jewish state. [This state] will become possible only after the non-Jews are expelled from Palestine and those remaining are exterminated.

"It follows that the [current] Gaza events are not merely a response to [Hamas'] missiles - [because] had missiles not existed, the [Israelis] would have invented them and fired them [themselves] as an excuse [for their aggression]. Rather, [the Gaza offensive] is a link in the long chain [of actions] aimed at creating the Palestine of their dreams, which they presume to portray as a country without a people.

"There must be legal measures so that Israel stands trial - despite our lack of faith in the relevant international institutions - so that it will be written in the annals of history that [the Israelis] are not only racists but [represent] the most dangerous brand of Nazism in the modern era.

"Oh brothers, we are a nation of peace, and our national, Arab, and human moral values are anchored in peace. Likewise, we have tried to forget the massacres of Deir Yassin, Kafr Qassem, Jenin, Qana - both the first and the second - and many others perpetrated by Israel against the Arabs. But Israel insists on reminding us of the truth about itself. We have a very good memory. [and] we promise them that we will continue to remember.

"But, more importantly, we will ensure that our sons remember too. We will preserve for them the pictures of the Gaza children, with their open wounds oozing blood on their toys. We will tell them about the martyrs, the bereaved [families], the widows, and the cripples. We will teach them that 'Allah favors and loves the strong believer over the weak one,' [and to uphold these principles:] 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'; 'he who started the fight is guilty'; and what was taken by force will only be reclaimed by force.

"We will explain to them that those who do not remember the past forfeit the future as well. On the walls of their rooms, we will hang posters exhorting every Arab child who is born into this world 'Do Not Forget' - so that when he grows up, he will say to them, 'No, I will neither forget nor forgive'."(4)

"For Every Arab Child Killed, Dozens of Resistance Fighters Are Born"
"I stress [to the Israelis] that the war crimes they are committing will bring them nothing but generations of Arabs imbued with [even] deeper hatred for Israel. The [Arabs'] strength and determination will grow faster than [Israel's] arsenal, and the power [of their determination] will be more lethal. This means that for every Arab child killed, dozens of resistance fighters are born - thus, [the Israelis] are digging the graves of their children and grandchildren with their own hands.

"Today, they have an opportunity to plant the seeds of the future they want - for better or for worse. Later, they will no longer be able to determine what harvest [they will reap]. They have sowed blood and will reap nothing but [blood]. And when the seedling grows, it will be much bigger than the seed from which it sprang."(5)

 
Endnotes:
(1) Al-Ba'th (Syria), February 3, 2009.
(2) Teshreen (Syria), February 5, 2009.
(3) Al-Thawra (Syria), February 6, 2009.
(4) Al-Ba'th (Syria), January 17, 2009.
(5) Al-Ba'th (Syria), January 17, 2009.

==============
For assistance, please contact MEMRI at memri@memri.org.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

MEMRI
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Phone: (202) 955-9070
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www.memri.org

Hamas klaar om Shalit te ruilen

 
Een deal waarbij Israel 1.000-1.500 gevangenen vrijlaat voor Shalit is niet alleen slecht voor Israel maar ook voor Abbas en Fatah.
Het is bovendien de vraag of de nieuwe regering zich straks gebonden zal voelen aan een overeenkomst die een demissionaire en onpopulaire regering er nog even op het laatst heeft doorgejast.
 
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Last update - 12:20 13/02/2009
Hamas said ready to sign deal on Shalit release
By Haaretz Service and News Agencies
 
 
Hamas is prepared to sign a deal next week for the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit as part of a long-term truce agreement between Israel and the Gaza Strip, the Arabic daily Al-Hayat reported on Friday.

According to the report, Hamas will cement the truce within the next few days and finalize the deal to free Shalit by Wednesday.

Palestinian sources told Al-Hayat that Shalit, who was captured by Hamas-allied militants in a 2006 cross-border raid from Gaza into southern Israel, would be freed in exchange for 1,000 Palestinians jailed in Israel.
According to the report, the deal would include the release of women and children, as well as a number of Palestinian lawmakers and ministers.

Egypt has been trying to broker a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, which is holding Shalit. Cairo's negotiator, Omar Suleiman, told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram on Friday that Israel is refusing to allow iron, aluminum and cement into the Gaza Strip until the deal for Shalit's release has been reached.

Suleiman also said that Egypt has rejected Israel's offer to release jailed Palestinian residents of the West Bank into the Gaza Strip, insisting that they be returned to their homes.

Cairo will meet next week with Israel over Hamas' response to the Egyptian truce proposal, the negotiator added.

According to Suleiman, there are still four obstacles preventing the deal from being finalized: ongoing Qassam fire, the construction of a barrier between Gaza and Israel, Hamas' commitment to observe the truce, and the halt of weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip.

Suleiman also said that Egypt was prepared to work with the new Israeli government, regardless of its leader, but warned that any attack on Gaza would harm Cairo-Jerusalem relations.

Meanwhile, another Egyptian newspaper reported that Hamas has rejected a Qatari offer of $400 million dollar in exchange for Shalit.

The Egyptian report of an imminent deal on Shalit's release contradicts statement made Thursday night by Hamas deputy chief Moussa Abu Marzouk.

In an interview with the Egyptian news agency MENA, Abu Marzouk confirmed that the Islamic militant group has agreed to a long-term truce with Israel and said Cairo, which has been mediating between Hamas and Israel, would announce the truce within two days of consultations with other Palestinian factions.

However, Abu Marzouk said that a deal for Shalit's release would be negotiated later. He also told the agency that under the Egyptian-brokered deal, Israel will reopen six border crossings with the strip.

Earlier Thursday, Hamas said that the sides had come to an agreement in most of the issues which had been stalling the truce. "Most of the obstacles that prevented us from reaching an agreement were resolved and an announcement of a deal is expected," said Taher al-Nono, a member of Hamas's negotiating team in Cairo.

Nono said the agreement would ensure the end of all violence in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the opening of the territory's border crossings.

Israel had no comment on the reports.

Terms of Egyptian truce proposal

According to the Egyptian proposal, a declaration of an 18-month ceasefire would be followed by an exchange of prisoners, the opening of Gaza's border crossings and reconciliation talks between rival Palestinian factions.

It would take the place of a shaky January 18 truce that ended Israel's 22-day military offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in which more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed.

Israel's envoy to the talks, senior defence official Amos Gilad, is expected to return to Cairo, possibly on Saturday night.

 
These are the components of the proposed deal, according to Western diplomats and Palestinian officials:

Gaza-Egypt crossings
Egypt would open the Rafah border crossings with Gaza under the auspices of international monitors and border guards who would report to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas' rival. Turkey may also send a force to oversee the functioning of Rafah, Gaza's only passage to the outside world that does not go through Israel.

The Hamas Islamist group, which beat Abbas's secular Fatah faction in a 2006 election and seized control of the Gaza Strip 18 months later, has been vague on whether it would cede control of the Gaza side of the crossing to Abbas' security forces.

Gaza-Israel crossings
Israel would open border crossings with the Gaza Strip, but it is unclear how soon and under what conditions. Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has hinged a full opening of the crossings on the release of Shalit.

Olmert has also refused to offer Hamas guarantees that the passages will stay open.

Israel has insisted that certain materials be barred from entry because they could be used to make rockets, fortifications or explosives. These include certain types of steel piping and chemicals used in agriculture, Israeli defense officials said.

Hamas officials say they have demanded more details about what would be excluded from entering the impoverished enclave, which will require massive amounts of steel, cement and other commercial goods to rebuild after the war.

Prisoner swap
Israeli and Palestinian officials have sent mixed signals about the status of prisoner swap talks. Hamas has demanded that Israel free 1,400 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit. Diplomats said Israel would free closer to 1,000.

Buffer zone
A 300-meter wide buffer zone would be established along Gaza's border with Israel, from which militants would be barred. Israel initially proposed a zone 500 to 800 meters wide.
 

Bewegingsvrijdheid voor Palestijnen op Westoever verruimd

 
Het is natuurlijk mooi dat Israel meer roadblocks gaat verwijderen, maar het zal het effect van 1000 vrijgekomen Hamas politici en terroristen niet ongedaan maken. Een deel van die mensen komt van de Westoever en zal daarnaartoe terugkeren, en dat zal, zowel psychisch alsook fysiek, de beweging een flinke boost geven. Voor Abbas en het gematigde Palestijnse leiderschap is de op handen zijnde deal tussen Israel en Hamas dan ook bepaald niet gunstig.
 
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IDF to ease movement for Palestinians in W. Bank
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST
 
In an effort to bolster PA President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of a possible prisoner swap with Hamas, the IDF on Thursday announced a series of goodwill gestures it will make to strengthen the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank.

On Thursday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Quartet envoy Tony Blair and presented him with the list of restrictions Israel plans to ease in the coming days.

At least one main dirt roadblock near Hebron will be lifted. A second dirt roadblock near Ramallah was planned to be lifted but will not for the time being due an increase in shooting attacks in the area.

Last month, an Israeli was seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting near Ramallah.

On Tuesday, The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel was considering implementing a list of goodwill gestures to help Abbas out of concern that trading many Hamas security prisoners for St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit would undermine the PA president's regime. In 2008, the IDF lifted more than 140 roadblocks in the West Bank.

OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Gadi Shamni informed his Palestinian counterparts of the new measures during a meeting late Wednesday night. Shamni announced that the IDF was also permitting the opening of 12 new PA police stations in Area B, where Israeli has security control and the Palestinian have civil control under the Oslo Accords.

The IDF is also issuing special travel permits for PA security commanders and other VIPs that will allow them to pass through checkpoints. Palestinians who are allowed into Israel for medical treatments or study in Israeli medical schools will receive six-month permits instead of the three-month permits they received until now.

On the economic level, the IDF announced that it will begin allowing Israeli Arabs into Nablus on weekends. Israeli Arabs are already allowed into Jenin and have been instrumental in increasing the economic activity in the city.

Volgens Israel waren doden Gaza voor tweederde terroristen

 
Als er in totaal 1,134 Palestijnen zijn gedood, waarvan 673 strijders en 288 burgers, wat waren die overige 213 dan? En als de cijfers zo precies zijn, duidt dat erop dat men lijsten van namen heeft. Door die vrij te geven zijn de cijfers controleerbaar en kunnen die tegenover de claims van de Palestijnen en de VN worden gezet. Nu blijft het bij verschillende claims die niet te verifiëren zijn.
 
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Israel: Two-thirds of Palestinians killed in Gaza fighting were terrorists
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Last update - 02:35 13/02/2009
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1063883.html

 
Israel says that about two-thirds of the Palestinians who were killed in the Gaza fighting were members of terror organizations who took part in the fighting, Channel 2 News reported Thursday.

These include the Hamas police cadets who were killed in an Israeli air strike at the beginning of the operation.

Channel 2 cited a report issued by Military Intelligence and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, listing 1,134 Palestinian fatalities, 673 of which belonged to Hamas and other groups.

Only 288 were innocent civilians, the report says.

The Palestinians reported 1,330 fatalities but did not submit their names.

vrijdag 13 februari 2009

Amnesty International beschuldigt Hamas van elimineren tegenstanders

 
Eindelijk heeft ook Amnesty International aandacht voor de oorlogsmisdaden van Hamas, waardoor ook de media er enige aandacht aan besteden. Er is nog altijd nauwelijks aandacht voor het misbruiken van de eigen burgerbevolking als schild door Hamas, ondanks het vele bewijs dat daarvan voorhanden is, zoals luchtfoto's, video's en ook uitspraken van Palestijnen daarover. Het cynische gebruik van ziekenhuizen, ambulances en moskeeën door Hamas wordt nog steeds genegeerd.
 
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Hamas whacking internal opposition - Palestinian democracy in action

 
'Islamist group forces in Gaza engaged in campaign of abductions, deliberate and unlawful killings, torture and death threats against those they accuse of collaborating with Israel,' human rights group says
AFP - Ynet
Published:  02.10.09, 15:29
 
 
Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Hamas of waging a campaign to kill or maim scores of Palestinian opponents in the Gaza Strip since the end of December.
 
The human rights group said in a report that at least two dozen men have been shot dead by gunmen from the Palestinian militia that governs the Gaza Strip since December 27.

"Scores of others have been shot in the legs, knee-capped or inflicted with other injuries intended to cause severe disability, subjected to severe beatings ... or otherwise tortured or ill-treated," it added.

"Hamas forces and militias in the Gaza Strip have engaged in a campaign of abductions, deliberate and unlawful killings, torture and death threats against those they accuse of 'collaborating' with Israel, as well as opponents and critics," the report said.

The victims included members of Palestinian Authority security forces and members of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas' Fatah party, Amnesty said.

The campaign began shortly after the beginning of the three-week Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip on December 27 and continued after the ceasefire on January 18, according to Amnesty.

'Perpetrators did not conceal their weapons'
 
Palestinian human rights groups and victims first made such accusations at the end of last month, saying the Hamas rulers of Gaza were persecuting members of the rival Fatah movement to quash any opposition.

Taher al Nunu, a spokesman for Hamas, denied the charges at the time, dismissing them as "lies spread by Ramallah," where Abbas and the Palestinian Authority are based.
 
Amnesty International said the targets included former detainees who were accused by Hamas of collaboration with Israel after escaping from Gaza's central prison when it was bombed by Israeli forces on December 28.

Some were shot dead in hospitals where they were being treated for injuries suffered during the bombing raid, sometimes in front of distraught relatives, according to the testimony gathered by the human rights group.

"The perpetrators of these attacks did not conceal their weapons or keep a low profile, but, on the contrary, behaved in a carefree and confident - almost ostentatious - manner," the report noted.
 
Amnesty said there was "no doubt" that the victims were abducted, killed, shot and tortured by Hamas security forces and armed militias, adding that the evidence was "incontrovertible."

It called on the "Hamas de facto administration" to immediately end the campaign, accept an independent and impartial investigation and guarantee that victims and witnesses would not be targeted.
 
 

Palestijnen moeten hun vredeskansen grijpen en met Hamas afrekenen

 
De notie dat de VS en de EU een oplossing moeten opleggen aan Israel en de Palestijnen is populair en wijd verbreid. Edwin Bennatan legt uit waarom dat volgens hem niet alleen geen goed idee is, maar ook onnodig.
 
Het volgende lijkt zijn these tegen te spreken:
 
With a right-wing government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, it is highly unlikely that the current peace deal will remain on the table or that meaningful negotiations will be resumed anytime soon.
 
Dat ligt echter volgens Bennatan aan het feit dat de Palestijnen voor de zoveelste keer een vredesvoorstel hebben verworpen.
 
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Hamas must be brought to book for havoc they have sown

Hamas must be brought to book for havoc they have sown

EDWIN BENNATAN

Mon, Feb 09, 2009

OPINION: Israelis are fed up with the Palestinians' inability to take Yes for an answer, writes EDWIN BENNATAN.

THE RENOWNED physicist Wolfgang Pauli, who was known for his colourful objections to incorrect or sloppy thinking, was once asked for his opinion of a paper written by a young student. "This is not right," declared Pauli. "It's not even wrong."

Some arguments are so blatantly flawed that they do not even deserve being called wrong. Such is Lara Marlowe's simplistic view of the Israel-Palestinian conflict (Opinion and Analysis, February 3rd) in which she proposes that the US and the EU impose a solution on the two sides. "The UN should flood the Gaza Strip with blue helmets," she suggests, "who would prevent Hamas firing rockets."

She continues: "The most maddening thing about the conflict is that there is such an obvious solution, as there was in Northern Ireland."

First, the Middle East is not Northern Ireland. Cambridge historians John Bew and Martyn Frampton have stated in a recent report that although it has become "fashionable to look to the lessons of the peace process in Northern Ireland as holding insights for other areas of conflict, simplistic comparisons may be unhelpful".

While the aims of the IRA posed no "existential threat" to the British, they argue, "the objectives of Hamas require the destruction of the state of Israel". The researchers also maintain that while the IRA's political goals were local, Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is part of a global Islamist movement.

Second, Israel has already experienced the impotence of UN forces when, in 1967, UN peacekeepers were swiftly removed from the Egypt-Israel border in response to the first demand from Egypt's president Gamal Abdul Nasser, who then proceeded to mass his army on the border, which led to the Six Day War. Israel has no reason to believe that the UN would act differently today.

And as for the notion that the US and the EU should impose a solution to the conflict, Marlowe seems to have a mental picture of two brawling children whose parents need to send them off to bed with no supper until they learn to behave.

Israel is not the 30th or 20th strongest force in the world; it is one of the most powerful forces (which it needed to become to survive in a tough neighbourhood), and it will never accept an imposed arrangement that it believes would imperil its very existence. Israel is not facing just Hamas, or even just the Palestinians. The situation in the Middle East is more complex than that.

As Bew and Frampton have noted, Israel is facing a global Islamist movement in which Iran plays a leading role, and which also includes Hizbullah and the Muslim Brotherhood who are fighting to overthrow the relatively moderate pro-western governments in Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Marlowe needs to understand this before she offers her simplistic proposals.

Marlowe is also apparently unaware that the Palestinians have been offered a two-state solution, which they have repeatedly rejected. As far back as 1947, the Palestinians rejected UN Resolution 181 on the partitioning of British Mandate Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab (the Jews of Palestine accepted the UN partition plan).

More recently, the Palestinians rejected US president Bill Clinton's proposal in 2000 at Camp David for a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which included the removal of Jewish settlements. Amin al-Mahdy reported in the Arabic daily newspaper Al-Hayathow Yasser Arafat, in an interview two years later, lamented his mistake in rejecting the peace offer.

Al-Mahdy wrote: "Arafat has admitted his mistake in refusing Clinton's proposals. But what he should have explained was why he refused, why it was wrong, and why it took him two years to realise it. Now the situation has deteriorated to a degree that goes beyond the mistake of rejecting the Clinton peace plan. That rejection was part of a tragic cycle of mistakes that involved resorting to violence and a direct alliance with the Islamic political groups before the negotiations.

"This tragic cycle of mistakes overthrew the idea of peaceful negotiations and did a lot to bring down the Israeli left and the peace movement."

Six years after the Palestinians rejected Clinton's proposals the Israeli peace camp regained its ground and returned to power in the 2006 elections. Peace negotiations with the Palestinians resumed, and additional details of the peace deal were ironed out (Palestinian control of Arab east Jerusalem, compensation for Palestinian refugees, and land swaps of territory in Israel proper in exchange for 4 per cent of the West Bank adjacent to the Israel border).

But again the Palestinian leadership rejected the deal that their negotiating team had worked out with the Israelis, and which offered them virtually everything they had been demanding (other than the destruction of Israel).

The latest barrages of cross-border rockets from Gaza into southern Israel, and the war that followed, have all but ended the current attempts at peace. To be blunt, the Israeli public is fed up with the Palestinians' inability to take Yes for an answer, and is expected once again to shift to the right at tomorrow's elections.

With a right-wing government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, it is highly unlikely that the current peace deal will remain on the table or that meaningful negotiations will be resumed anytime soon.

So where does this leave Lara Marlowe's analysis? She is clearly unaware of the history of this long and sad conflict, and seems to be preoccupied with baseless rumours and innuendos that serve no useful purpose.

But Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak got it right a few days ago in his address in honour of Egypt's national police force day. It is the responsibility of the Palestinian people, he said, to settle the score with Hamas for the pain and the destruction it has caused them.

If the Palestinians took Mubarak's advice that would be a welcome step towards peace.

© 2009 The Irish Times

 

Langdurig staakt-het-vuren Israel-Hamas over 2 dagen bekendgemaakt


En wat als de nieuwe regering het daar straks helemaal niet mee eens is?? In Nederland mag een demissionair kabinet geen grote beslissingen meer nemen, maar in Israel werkt dat blijkbaar iets anders.... Het maakt de kans dat het staakt-het-vuren standhoudt er niet groter op.
 
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Last update - 23:58 12/02/2009
Hamas: Egypt to announce Gaza truce in 2 days
By The Associated Press

The official Egyptian news agency is reporting that a top Hamas leader says the militant group has agreed to a long-term truce deal with Israel over the Gaza Strip.

Moussa Abu Marzouk told MENA that Egypt would announce the truce in two days after consulting with other Palestinian factions.

It was unclear whether Israel had already agreed to truce.
Marzouk told the agency that under the Egyptian-brokered deal Israel will reopen six border crossings with the Strip.

Egypt is trying to mediate a truce deal between Hamas and Israel to solidify a cease-fire that ended Israel's devastating 22-day offensive in Gaza in mid January.

Earlier on Thursday, Hamas said a truce agreement with Israel on the Gaza Strip would most likely be announced in the next three days.

"Most of the obstacles that prevented us from reaching an agreement were resolved and an announcement of a deal is expected within three days," said Taher al-Nono, a member of Hamas's negotiating team in Cairo.

Nono said the agreement would ensure the end of all violence in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the opening of the territory's border crossings.

Hamas demands any Gaza truce include full opening of its borders. Israel wants guarantees Hamas will be prevented from smuggling weapons into Gaza.

Earlier on Thursday, MENA said Hamas' strongman from Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar, and deputy chief Moussa Abu Marzouk from the group's Damascus branch were taking part in the negotiations in the Egyptian capital.

Egyptian intelligence chief Gen. Omar Suleiman has been trying to broker a more solid cease-fire following Israel's 22-day offensive in Gaza last month, which was launced in aim to bring Hamas's rocket firing into southern Israel to a halt.

Definitieve verkiezingsuitslag Israel: Kadima 28, Likoed 27, Yisrael Beiteinu 15, Labor 13 zetels


Ondanks het feit dat Livni nu definitief heeft gewonnen lijken haar kansen op het premierschap niet erg groot, omdat Shas en Yisrael Beitenu waarschijnlijk voor een coalitie met Netanjahoe zullen kiezen als zij daarvoor in ruil een aantrekkelijke post in zijn regering kunnen krijgen. Informateurs kennen ze in Israel geloof ik niet; alle partijen spreken tegenover president Peres hun voorkeur uit over wie een regering mag samenstellen, waarna diegene daarmee direct aan de slag gaat.
 
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Last update - 23:33 12/02/2009

Final election results: Kadima 28 seats, Likud 27, Yisrael Beiteinu 15
By Shahar Ilan, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1063744.html


Click here for exclusive Haaretz coverage of the elections in Israel

Members of Israel's central elections committee said on Thursday the apportionment of Knesset seats would remain as is following the final tally of Israel Defense Forces soldiers' ballots.

Kadima led by Tzipi Livni captured the largest number of Knesset seats - 28 - edging the Likud's 27 seats. Yisrael Beiteinu made history on Tuesday, becoming the third-largest party in the Knesset with 15 seats. The Labor Party finished with a disappointing 13 seats; Shas with 11; United Torah Judaism won five seats; the National Union captured four; United Arab List - Ta'al - four; Hadash - three; Meretz - three; Balad - three; and Bayit Hayehudi ("The Jewish Home") - three.

The results of Tuesday's election were finalized Thursday after the votes of IDF soldiers were tallied. It was thought these additional ballots could nab Yisrael Beiteinu or the Likud party another Knesset seat, which would have put Likud and Kadima on equal standing in terms of Knesset representation.

Knesset seats are allocated after a party's votes are divided by 120, the number of parliament seats. About 28,000 votes are required per seat. Parties must garner at least 2 percent of the vote to be represented in parliament. The party closest to approaching the 2 percent minimum, the Green Movement-Meimad, is not expected to make the cut, as it would need more than 40,000 additional votes.

Excess voting arrangements allow parties with more than the necessary minimum to enter parliament, but less than the votes needed to nab an extra seat, to allocate "excess" votes to an allied party.

The military vote was not expected to nab Meretz a fourth seat. Zahava Gal-On, one of the Knesset's most highly-regarded lawmakers, is fourth on the Knesset list. President Shimon Peres will not begin consulting with the parties over the formation of a new coalition until next Wednesday, when the election results are officially published.

Kadima, Likud declare victory after final tally

Whoever thought that the announcement of the final election results would put an end to the bickering over which party emerged the winner - and which should form the next governing coalition - was mistaken.

After tallying the ballots cast by soldiers, the physically challenged, and diplomats from abroad, the central election committee confirmed that the apportionment of Knesset seats would remain as was announced on election night.

"Tonight the campaign led by Bibi (nickname of Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu) and the wheeler-dealers of the Likud aimed at stealing power and the will of the voter in Israel must come to an end," read a statement released by Kadima minutes after the official results were announced.

Kadima repeated its call for Netanyahu to join a national unity government with Tzipi Livni serving as prime minister. "With the completion of the vote count Kadima won and it is the largest party," the party statement read. "Netanyahu must accede to Tzipi Livni's call and join a centrist national unity government headed by her."

Likud officials responded to Kadima's statement with scorn. "Kadima's statement is pathetic and shows that it continues to spin some imagined reality instead of recognizing a political reality in accordance with the voter's verdict," a Likud communiqué read. "An absolute majority of Israelis wants Netanyahu as prime minister and clearly rejected Kadima's way which has failed."
 
 

IDF soldaat veroordeeld voor schietincident in Hebron


Nu al  die anderen nog, kun je cynischerwijze denken, maar feit is dat het leger dergelijke incidenten wel degelijk serieus neemt.
 
RP
---------
 
Soldier who fired gunshots in Hebron to be jailed
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3670656,00.html
 
(VIDEO) Corporal Nahum Ben-Yaakov of Givati Brigade arrested after Ynet publishes video showing him threatening, firing in air during clash between settlers, Palestinians. Plea bargain states soldier to serve five months in prison
 
Hanan Greenberg - Ynet
Published:  02.12.09, 09:35
 
 
VIDEO - An Israel Defense Forces soldier, who fired gunshots in the air during a clash between settlers and Palestinians near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba adjoining the city of Hebron, will serve five and a half months in prison, according to a plea bargain which will be presented to the court in the coming days.

"The soldier's actions were severe, so the punishment must deter all those holding weapons in their hands," a military source involved in the affair said Thursday.
 
The incident, first reported by Ynet, took place during a clash which broke out last November in a wadi between Kiryat Arba and Hebron. Corporal Nahum Ben-Yaakov of the Givati Brigade, who lives in the area, was off duty at the time but was caught into the scene of the riot.
 
He was documented with a video camera firing in the area at least twice with his military weapon. He was arrested after the video was released by the B'Tselem human rights organization.

The soldier's trial has been taking place at the Southern Command's military court for the past two months. The Judges' panel is headed by Lieutenant Colonel Orly Markman.

Ynet has learned that the sides held a series of discussions recently, which resulted in a plea bargain. The deal reveals that Ben-Yaakov faces an older indictment for the possession of weapons. According to the agreement, the two affairs will be united to one indictment which will be summed up to five and a half months in prison.

After the shooting incident, sources in the IDF said that the soldier had no reason to fire the shots as no one's life was in danger during the clash.
 
Illegal use of weapon
 
The military source refused to detail the Hebron incident's part in the punishment, but hinted that the military prosecution viewed Ben-Yaakov's actions as an illegal use of weapons.
 
"IDF soldiers holding weapons must always remember the rules and use them only when their life is in danger or when they were specifically instructed to do so. This did not happen in the current affair," the source said.
 
As part of the plea deal, the soldier will be convicted for the possession of military property, as claimed in the older indictment. He will also be convicted of illegal using weapons and of making threats, as claimed in the latest indictment.
 
The soldier's lawyer, Attorney Chai Haber, refused to comment on the content of the expected deal.
 
"We'll present the agreement in the next court session," said Habre. "My client did not fire at anyone, and this can be seen in the documentation of the event, when other members of the security forces also fired in the air during the clash. The plea bargain does include an older indictment filed against my client, but I cannot elaborate."
 
 
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donderdag 12 februari 2009

25.000 bloemen uit Gaza naar Europa

 
Geen bommen maar blommen uit Gaza. Is daar werkelijk een verzoek van Maxime Verhagen voor nodig?
 
Wouter
______________

25,000 flowers to be exported from Gaza to Europe
(Communicated by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Spokesman)
11th February, 2009


In the first time in over a year, and at the request of the Dutch Government, Israel has approved and will facilitate the export of 25,000 carnations from Gaza to the European market. The flowers will be shipped tomorrow morning (Thursday12/2/2009) via Kerem Shalom cargo terminal and are scheduled to arrive in Europe by Valentines Day.

Links in Israel heeft een zware klap gehad bij de verkiezingen

 
Het valt me op dat Kadima door de een als (centrum-)rechtse partij wordt aangemerkt en door de ander bij het linkse blok wordt gerekend (dat ook met Kadima nog geen meerderheid heeft). Kadima begon als afspliting van de 'linkervleugel' van de rechtse Likoed, hoewel oprichter Sharon moeilijk als links te kwalificeren valt, maar aangevuld met Labor leden waaronder de huidige president Peres, die ik toch zeker niet rechts zou kunnen noemen. Een middenpartij lijkt mij dus de beste kwalificatie. Naar Israelische verhoudingen is links vooral een partij die vrede door een compromis met de Palestijnen nastreeft, en ik geloof dat Kadima dat oprecht doet.
Livni slaagde er in september vooral niet in om een nieuwe coalitie te vormen, omdat zij erop stond dat met de Palestijnen over Jeruzalem moest kunnen worden onderhandeld. Als zij ook nu daaraan vast houdt, lijkt het me nagenoeg onmogelijk dat ze nu wel een coalitie gevormd krijgt....
 
Wouter
_________________

Meretz chairman: Left suffered harsh blow
 
MK Chaim Oron says despite election failure, his party 'will continue to serve as a key element in establishment of social-democratic Zionist Left'
 
Eli Senyor - YNET

 
Merger with new leftist movement fails miserably: Meretz Chairman Chaim Oron said Tuesday night following the publication of TV exit polls that "the Left suffered a harsh blow".

According to the polls, the left-wing party will only have four representatives in the next Knesset.

Oron promised that his party would continue to be a key element in the political arena in a bid to hold a dialogue with different sectors of Israeli society.

Meretz had hoped that its merger with the new left-wing movement would help the party gain at least six Knesset seats. According to Channel 1 exit poll the party got five seats, while all other polls predicted it would settle for only four.

"Based on the energies which I saw today as well, and the forces existing within us, we must overcome the difficult feeling we are experiencing this evening. We won't be annihilated," Oron stated, promising that Meretz will continue to be "a key element in the establishment of a Zionist dovish and humanistic Social-Democratic Left in the State of Israel. This vacuum has not been filled in these elections."

Labor lost these elections

Oron added, "The fact that what is perceived as the leftist camp - Labor and Meretz - and those groups which did not cross the threshold, reached less than 20 Knesset seats, must switch on a red light for all of us.

"First of all, however, this fact must create a commitment of each and every one of us to do what the Israeli Left needs so much. Out of a desire to hold dialogue with different sectors of Israeli society; out of a desire to say clearly that the State of Israel is not divided between Kadima and the Likud, between Lieberman and the National Union."

The other side of the leftist camp which Oron referred to was also disappointed by the election results. Senior Labor Party members responded to the exit polls, which gave the party between 13 to 14 seats, by stating that "the public has spoken."

Education Minister Yuli Tamir and MKs Ophir Pines-Paz and Shelly Yacimovich all agreed that the voters sent them a message that the party must sit in the opposition.

Yacimovich said, "This is a democratic decision which is very difficult for us. The people have spoken. We will sit in the opposition courageously and reestablish ourselves as a peace-seeking social-Democratic party."

Pines-Paz added that "something very serious happened to us - we paid a heavy price. Labor lost these elections, and it must self-examine itself."
 

(Satire:) Nieuwe Joods-Zionistische Provocatie

 
In de Arabische (en ook de Nederlandse) pers wordt de Israelische 'ruk naar rechts' gehekeld. Maar in de Arabische wereld zelf valt er niet veel te kiezen......
 
-------------------- 

An egregious provocation of the Jew Zionist Tel-Aviv regime occurred on February 10, 2009. All right thinking progressive peoples should be organizing protests. All progressive nations such as Libya and Saudi Arabia should be initiating a severe security council reprimand.

For the eighteenth time in their history, the apartheid Tel-Aviv regime has held free elections, a clear affront to right thinking Arab peoples everywhere, and otherwise nearly unheard of in the Middle East. Did not the clarion voice of progressivism in the Middle East, the Saudi Arab News, rightly protest that the Zionist elections would not bring peace? In Saudi Arabia of course, there is no danger of any such heretical practice of elections.

Imagine the horror of right thinking Arab peoples: In Israel, the communist party is allowed to run alongside Zionist parties, and the communists are not the most radical. Most of the parties have female candidates, and most support the teaching of evolution as well as rights for homosexuals. Such horrors are unheard of in well run countries like Saudi Arabia of course.

In Syria, Omr Jaftali asks in Tishreen, "Which new extremist will be elected?" Syrians have no such uncertainty of course. They know precisely which extremist will be elected, because only one extremist is ever running, and he always gets well over 90% of the vote. There is no election night tension in Syria.

In Egypt, where any party can run as long as they agree with the government, media are likewise justifiably outraged. Who can blame them? The Jew Zionists of the Tel-Aviv government insist on holding this embarrassing rite of elections, contrary to all customs in the Middle East. Over 30 parties competed in the elections, and not one of them has its own army! Between all the Israeli parties, there is not a single armed faction or assault rifle. The closest thing to that was an old cache of arms from the Israel War of Independence discovered in Kibbutz Nirim not long ago.

The right-thinking Hamas, democratically chosen by the Palestinian people after throwing a sufficient number of them off tall buildings in Gaza, use a different procedure for deciding issues. Hamas has recently killed tens of opposition figures in Gaza according to Amnesty International. There is no problem deciding which extremist will run the government in Gaza.

Arab world commentators are excited because a party that wants to deny citizenship to disloyal Arab citizens might get as much as 15% of the vote in Israel. Arab countries have no such problems. Disloyal citizens are hanged or in some cases gassed en masse. Most Arab countries expelled their Jewish population, loyal or not, a long time ago. Non-Muslims cannot be citizens at all in Saudi Arabia, and they cannot even enter the city of Mecca. In Egypt, candidates sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood got about 20% of the vote in the last elections. The Muslim Brotherhood wants to establish a Caliphate throughout the world and make Islam the state religion everywhere. They are not considered an extremist party of course, not by any means.

There was a serious violation of democratic decorum during this Zionist provocation. A candidate of a right-wing party was barred from exercising his right to oversee elections in Um-el-Fahm, after Arab demonstrators created a violent mob scene.

These elections are a sinister Zionist propaganda coup to gain sympathy with the West - clearly planned by the Israel Lobby. Palestine Solidarity Movement, Jewish Voice for Peace and all the other right-thinking and progressive forces should urge President Obama, the EU and the UN to institute a Secular Arab Palestinian Democracy in occupied Palestine, similar to the flourishing democracies in Gaza, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Libya, and eliminate this blot on the almost perfect Human Rights Record of the Middle East. Perfectly awful, that is.

Ami Isseroff
 

Kadima en Likoed houden beide coalitiebesprekingen met Yisrael Beiteinu


Livni en Netanjahoe claimen beiden de overwinning, en zijn beiden al begonnen met coalitiebesprekingen. Dat betekent dat partijen als Shas en Yisrael Beiteinu Livni en Netanjahoe handig tegen elkaar uit kunnen spelen, en maximale concessies in de wacht kunnen slepen.
 
RP
--------------

Last update - 00:08 12/02/2009
Election aftermath
Wooed by Kadima and Likud, Lieberman agrees to more talks with Livni
By Lily Galili, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and Agencies
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1063348.html


After an inconclusive general election Tuesday seemed likely to send Israel into political limbo, Kadima leader Tzipi Livni met with Yisrael Beiteinu head Avigdor Lieberman in Jerusalem on Wednesday in a bid to build a coalition.

Kadima won 28 of 120 Knesset seats in Tuesday's vote, putting it narrowly ahead of the rightist Likud, which garnered 27 seats. Both Livni and Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory Tuesday night, each arguing the right to form and lead the next government. The two parties began intensive efforts Wednesday to form rival coalitions.
 
The far-right Yisrael Beiteinu came in third place, winning 15 seats with its anti-Arab, anti-religious platform, and securing the position of kingmaker in the formation of the next government. The once dominant Labor, led by Ehud Barak, came a dismal fourth with 13 seats.

Livni told Lieberman on Wednesday that the people had made their choice for the next prime minister, and it was her that they had chosen.

She said that now was the time for unity, and for the Yisrael Beiteinu leader to advance his agenda. The pair agreed to hold further talks.

Speaking before the meeting, Livni vowed to fight to become the next prime minister.

"The people chose me in droves. I feel a great responsibility to translate the power that has been given to me into action, to advance the country and to unify the people," said Livni from her Tel Aviv home.

Kadima's narrow lead makes it uncertain whether Livni will be able to put together the 61-seat bloc needed to form a government. Netanyahu has a better chance of forging a coalition because of gains by right-wing parties, his natural allies.

Early Wednesday, Lieberman said he was leaving his options open, indicating he could jump either way. Yisrael Beiteinu was to convene later Wednesday to discuss its coalition options.

The outgoing coalition chairman, Kadima MK Yoel Hasson, said Wednesday morning that a team would begin negotiations immediately in order to forge a Livni-led coalition.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, was also due to meet Wednesday afternoon with Lieberman, after talks with Shas leader Eli Yishai, whose ultra-Orthodox party received 11 seats.

Yishai on Wednesday morning told Army Radio that, "We committed ourselves before the election to recommend Benjamin Netanyahu to the president. The people's choice is a rightist government. This, of course, doesn't rule anything out."

The Shas leader was referring to President Shimon Peres legal obligation to consult with all the parties as to who they prefer as prime minister, after which whoever is recommended by more Knesset members is given the nod. Hence if the religious and rightist parties all recommend Netanyahu, he would get first crack at forming a government.

Peres will meet next week with party leaders to hear their recommendations, and around February 20 expects to assign the task, presidential spokeswoman Ayelet Frisch said.

Yisrael Beiteinu sources: We won't rule out joining coalition with Shas

Sources in Yisrael Beiteinu said Wednesday their party was not ruling out joining a coalition that included Shas. The announcement came despite Lieberman's pledge Tuesday that he would not forget Shas' attacks on his party and himself.

On Saturday night Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef said that, "Whoever votes for Lieberman gives strength to Satan."

Should the two rightist parties succeed in putting their antagonism behind them, Netanyahu would likely find coalition-building significantly easier.

"We aren't making an ultimatum," said a senior Yisrael Beiteinu official. "It also doesn't matter from our point of view that Bibi's first meeting is actually with Shas. Everything depends on the fundamentals."

Although most of the ballots were counted by Wednesday morning, the final results may not be known until Thursday afternoon, when election officials finish counting the soldiers' votes and other absentee ballots.

There are about 150,000 eligible absentee voters, so if the race remains close their votes could be decisive. In past elections, the soldiers' vote has often leaned rightward.
 
 

Palestijnen boycotten Israelische ziekenhuizen


Wat Israel doet is nooit goed. Palestijnse patienten opnemen, Arabische partijen aan de verkiezingen laten deelnemen of voor de Arabische bevolking een vrijwillig civiel jaar als alternatief voor de militaire dienstplicht die zij niet hoeven te volgen instellen - het is allemaal zionistische propaganda en slechts bedoeld om de Arabieren te bedonderen, te verzwakken, hen hun afkomst te doen verloochenen of wat al niet.
Dit is de duivelse zionistische filosofie van de oncologische afdeling van het Hadassah ziekenhuis:
 
"Twenty percent of our patients are Palestinians, and we have one common enemy: cancer. The rest is immaterial. The question now is how to get those patients back into our care."
 
RP
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Palestinians Dyring to Boycott Israel

New York Times, 10-02-2009
 
 
JERUSALEM — Scores of Palestinian patients being treated in Israeli hospitals, a rare bright spot of coexistence here, are being sent home because the Palestinian Authority has stopped paying for their treatment, partly in anger over the war in Gaza.
 
Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem says that for the past week, no payments have come in and Palestinians whose children it is treating have been instructed by Palestinian health officials to place them in facilities in the West Bank, Jordan or Egypt.
 
"Suddenly we have had 57 patients dropped from our rolls," said Dr. Michael Weintraub, director of pediatric hematology, oncology and bone marrow transplantation at Hadassah. "We have been bombarded by frantic parents. This is a political decision taken on the backs of patients."
 
The Palestinian health minister, Fathi Abu Moghli, said he was examining the entire referral procedure because he was tired of adding to what he called Israel's "oil well," meaning the payments for Palestinian patient care. In particular, he said, he had no desire to see the wounded from the Gaza war receive Israeli care.
 
"We already pay $7 million a month to Israeli hospitals," he said in a telephone interview. "Since the first day of the Gaza aggression, I said that I will not send to my occupier my injured people in order for him to make propaganda at my expense, and then pay him for it."
 
An Israeli clinic set up with great fanfare on the Israeli-Gaza border the day the war ended, Jan. 18, has already closed, since both Hamas, which governs Gaza, and the Palestinian Authority essentially boycotted it. The Palestinian Authority pays for much of its citizens' care in Israel from its budget.
 
Israel has long pointed to its medical care of Palestinians as an example of its advanced skills and humanitarianism. Palestinians generally are eager to gain the benefit, but are also resentful. As relations have chilled, each side has accused the other of political manipulation.
 
Dr. Abu Moghli said that with 24 hospitals in Gaza and the West Bank, there was no reason for so many Palestinian patients to go automatically to Israeli facilities, which he said were much more expensive and contributed to a culture of dependency.
 
"We can't pay our government salaries this month, but at the same time I have to pay Israeli hospitals so much," he said. "The Israelis have refused to reduce their costs."
 
Israeli doctors and nonprofit groups support having the Palestinians provide more care for their own people, but say that the gap with Israel in quality remains huge, and that the Palestinian Authority is making a mistake that could cost lives.
 
"Cutting it in one day makes no sense," said Ron Pundak, director general of the Peres Center for Peace, which sponsors care for 1,000 Palestinian children a year in Israeli hospitals and training for 40 Palestinian doctors. "Such a move needs to be coordinated, but dialogue with the Palestinian Authority has been much harder since the war."
 
Anan Dahmi, a salesman from the West Bank city of Tulkarm, said he had been told by the Palestinian Health Ministry last week that his 4-year-old son, Aous, had to stop going to Hadassah Hospital for follow-up treatments after a bone marrow transplant there a year ago, and should be taken instead to a Palestinian or Jordanian hospital.
 
Mr. Dahmi said that his 6-year-old daughter had died from the same disorder because he had not gotten her to Hadassah quickly enough, and that now he was deeply worried about his son.
 
"I don't know how I am going to manage," he said by telephone. "I don't want to lose my son the way I lost my daughter."
 
Hadassah officials say that removing Aous from their care could endanger his life, because his medical requirements are strict and specific and there is not yet a pediatric oncology facility in the Palestinian areas (one in East Jerusalem is due to start functioning, with Israeli help, in the coming year).
 
They add that while the cost of care is much higher in Israel than in the West Bank, Palestinians are not charged the higher rates for foreigners but those for Israelis — which are much lower than rates in the United States or Western Europe. In addition, they say, there are subsidies from foreign governments, charities and the hospital itself.
 
"The cure rate for childhood cancer is about 80 percent, but only in the first world," Dr. Weintraub, of Hadassah, said. "It costs between $50,000 and $100,000 here. It costs four times that in the U.S."
 
He added that the relationship between an Israeli hospital in Jerusalem and patients in the West Bank was like that between a hospital in El Paso and patients on the Mexican side of the border.
 
"People in the third world want first-world care just like we do," he said. "If they live in Malawi, they have no hope for it. But if they live 10 minutes from Hadassah, they will do everything they can to get admitted. And we are happy to take them. There are no politics in our wards. Twenty percent of our patients are Palestinians, and we have one common enemy: cancer. The rest is immaterial. The question now is how to get those patients back into our care."
 
 

Hoge bloedarmoede onder kinderen in Gaza is hoax

 
Onlangs kreeg ik een mail van een zogenaamde vredesorganisatie die vermeldde dat Gazaanse kinderen vanwege de Israelische blokkade lijden aan bloedarmoede. Ami Isseroff besloot de zaak te onderzoeken en kwam tot opzienbarende conclusies.
 
RP
------------

Childhood anemia in Gaza?

Anemia rates and high infant mortality among children in Gaza are cited by NGOs and UN agencies as evidence of a humanitarian crisis caused by the "Gaza siege." Examination of the actual data however shows that anemia rates have probably not changed much in Gaza and the West Bank since 1990, that childhood anemia is endemic among Palestinians outside of the occupied territories, and that higher anemia rates are found in other parts of the world. Infant mortality rates have declined slightly since 2000 and are less than infant mortality rates in Turkey, Syria and Egypt.

A UNICEF announcement of April 2008 which has been widely cited as evidence of the humanitarian crisis caused by the Israeli "siege," actually states that the situation is little changed since 2000. This suggests that there is no acute humanitarian crisis at all in Gaza as regards child health care and nutrition, relative to other parts of the world, and certainly no crisis caused by Israeli measures taken in recent years. Judging from these data, the Gaza "humanitarian crisis" appears to be a hoax. Health statistics have been deliberately and cynically manipulated for political purposes.

In 2002, widely quoted and quite alarming figures supposedly showed that about 19% of Gaza and West Bank children suffered from anemia, attributed to the malevolence of the cruel Zionists by diverse sources (for example see electronicintifada.net/v2/article616.shtml and lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/OIAHR/Documentation/ELCJ-Newsletter_August-2002.pdf). By 2008, headlines were claiming anemia rates of 50% or more.
 

Enquete: 31% van Europeanen geeft Joden schuld van financiële crisis

 
Antisemitisme is diep verankerd in Europa, en komt steeds sterker naar boven. De militaire operaties van Israel, de financiële crisis, andere crises, het zijn allemaal aanleidingen voor het naar buiten komen van een dieper liggend sentiment dat nooit geheel afwezig is geweest. Dit is iets om ons niet alleen voor te schamen, maar ook actie op te ondernemen.
 
RP
-----------

Last update - 05:49 11/02/2009
Poll: 31% of Europeans blame Jews for global financial crisis
By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspsondent, and Haaretz Service
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1063092.html
 
 
A recent survey conducted by the Anti-Defamation League found that anti-Semitic attitudes in seven European countries have worsened due to the global financial crisis and Israel's military actions against the Palestinians.
 
Some 31 percent of adults polled blame Jews in the financial industry for the economic meltdown, while 58 percent of respondents admitted that their opinion of Jews has worsened due to their criticism of Israel.
 
The ADL, a Jewish-American organization polled 3,500 adults - 500 each in Austria, France, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom - between December 1, 2008 and January 13, 2009.
 
According to the survey, 40 percent of polled Europeans believe that Jews have an over-abundance of power in the business world. More than half of the respondents in Hungary, Spain and Poland agreed with this statement. These numbers were 7 percent higher in Hungary, 6 percent higher in Poland and 5 percent higher in France than those recorded in the ADL's 2007 survey.
 
Nearly half of the respondents in each of the countries said that Jews were more loyal to Israel than to their home country. Twenty-three percent said that their opinion of Jews was influenced by Israel's military and political activities.
 
Another 44 percent of respondents said it was "probably true" that Jews reference the Holocaust too much, while 23% said that they still blame Jews for the death of Jesus.
 
"This poll confirms that anti-Semitism remains alive and well in the minds of many Europeans," said Abe Foxman, the National Director of Anti-Defamation League. "In the wake of the global financial crisis, the strong belief of excessive Jewish influence on business and finance is especially worrisome."
 
Late last year, the ADL reported a major upsurge in the number of anti-Semitic postings on the Internet relating to the financial crisis engulfing the United States.
 
The Jewish-American organization cited hundreds of posts regarding the bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers and other institutions affected by the subprime mortgage crisis.
 
The messages railed against Jews in general, with some charging that Jews control the U.S. government and finance as part of a "Jew world order" and therefore are to blame for the economic turmoil.
 
The arrest of Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff, who allegedly swindled $50 billion from investors, prompted an outpouring of anti-Semitic comments on mainstream and extremist Web sites, according to the ADL.
 
The ADL said some of the posts on the highly trafficked sites spread conspiracy theories about Jews stealing money to benefit Israel and suggest that, "Only Jews could perpetrate a fraud on such a scale."
 
These and other anti-Jewish tropes about Jews and money have appeared on popular blogs devoted to finance, in comment sections of mainstream news outlets and in banter among users of Internet discussion groups, according to the ADL.
 
"Jews are always a convenient scapegoat in times of crisis, but the Madoff scandal and the fact that so many of the defrauded investors are Jewish has created a perfect storm for the anti-Semites," Foxman said last year, following news of the Internet hate messages.
 
 

woensdag 11 februari 2009

Pas volgende week wijst Peres formateur aan


De vraag wie de nieuwe premier van Israel wordt zal pas volgende week definitief worden beantwoord, en dat hoeft niet per definitie de grootste partij te zijn.
 
RP
----------

Peres awaits IDF votes, to meet factions only next week
 
Formal results available only Thursday, after count of soldiers' votes. President to decide only next week who will bear responsibility of forming coalition
 
Attila Somfalvi - YNET
 
Although exit poll results are in, President Shimon Peres will only meet with Knesset factions at the beginning of next week in order to determine which party head will lead the formation of a new government coalition.

The full count of votes - including those of foreign representatives and soldiers - is expected to be completed no earlier than Thursday afternoon. As such, Peres announced that discussions as to who should lead coalition-building would only begin next week.

According to Israeli law, the creation of a coalition government is granted to the head of the faction who has the greatest chance of forming a coalition - in other words, the one with the greatest chance of securing positive support from other factions.

Given this fact, it is unclear from exit polls which party leader should be given this task. While Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni appears to have won the elections (securing 28 to 30 mandates, according to various polls,) Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu lags behind by only two mandates.

More importantly, the exit polls show that right-wing parties will secure over 61 mandates - thus easily allowing for the potential creation of a right-wing coalition.

Moreover, Livni has a troubled history with coalition construction. In October, after winning the Kadima primaries held pursuant to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's resignation, Livni tried and failed to set up a coalition government, leading to the call for early elections.

Bradley Burston over Israelische verkiezingen: roterend premierschap?

 
Roterend premierschap is in het verleden geen groot succes gebleken. Het is echter de vraag hoe makkelijk Livni of Netanjahoe onder de ander als premier zullen kunnen dienen.
 
RP
-----------
 
LIVE ELECTION BLOG:
Will Livni, Netanyahu settle for rotation, sharing premiership?
By Bradley Burston
Israel Elections

MOST RECENT:

Will Livni, Netanyahu settle for rotation, sharing premiership?- 2 A.M.

Three hours after the polls closed Tuesday night, the campaign for prime minister abruptly began in earnest, with Benjamin Netanyahu and Tzipi Livni squaring off in a battle for the right to form the next government, and perhaps, an agreement to sharen the premiership in a rotation agreement.

First out of the gate was Benjamin Netanyahu [see following post]. Then Livni took the stage before a gathering of Kadima activists and candidates, declaring that her party had won the trust of the people, and would seek to head a unity government.

Netanyahu was clearly the object of her address, which could also be seen as an indirect plea for a rotation agreement, in which the Likud chief could serve for an initial period of perhaps a year or longer, with Livni then taking over.

Click here for exclusive Haaretz coverage of the elections in Israel

Saying that there had been a resurgence of division into camps, with a particular emphasis on the "national camp" of the right, she said "The Land of Israel does not belong to the right, just as peace does not belong to the left."

Livni said the people of Israel had made their determination and that they had chosen Kadima. "And now all that is left is to honor the people of Israel and to join a unity government headed by us, with parties to the right of kadima and to the left of Kadima."


Netanyahu finally launches PM bid in earnest - 3 hours after polls close. 1:00 A.M. Wednesday

Benjamin Netanyahu, a taut smile welcoming cheers hailing him as Israel's next leader, gave no ground. "With the help of the Almighty, I will stand at the head of the next government," Netanyahu told a crowd of Likud party activists at the Tel Aviv fairgrounds, the raucous home field of the center-right party.

Netanyahu, who had remained oddly quiet throught the campaign, vowed to begin Wednesday morning to put together a coalition that was both broad and stable, a hint at an attempt to court a hesitant Kadima and Labor into a coalition that might well be anchored by a large number of rightist factions.

A measure of the difficulty Netanyahu may face came early on, as he lauded the high voter turnout of a wide range of Israelis. At his mention of the left, the crowd booed loudly.

The Likud chief turned aside the predictions that Kadima rival [and onetime Likud colleague] Tzipi Livni had beaten him in the race for the largest number of Knesset seats.

"The people in Israel have spoken in a clear manner," he declared. "The camp of the right, with the Likud at its head, has scored a clear victory," and will enjoy a certain majority in the Knesset, he said,

In an oblique nod to Barack Obama, he concluded "The people want change."

"Our way has triumphed. Our way will lead the people."

A blow to Netanyahu, but right holds out hope for ruling bloc. 10:02

The exit poll predictions showing Tzipi Livni scoring an upset come-from-behind victory in Tuesday's election, represent a considerable blow to Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, the campaign-long frontrunner.

Nonetheless, the right is holding out hope that its strength as a bloc will grant it first chance at forming a ruling coalition, to take office in about a month.

The predicted results, if they stand up in the actual vote count and in the later tallies of soldiers' votes, would be a stunning mirror-echo of Netanyahu's triumphant 1996 run for the premiership, in which he overcame a 20 percentage point deficit in opinion polls to edge incumbent Shimon Peres.

It will fall to Peres, as president, to make the decision on whether to ask Livni or Netanyahu to try to form the government. Netanyahu's task would likely be numerically easier, as he could rely on right-leaning parties for 63-64 Knesset votes, clearing the 61 needed for approval.

But initial indications showed that Livni could field a broad coalition anchored by Kadima's 29-30 seats, the Likud's 27, and the 13 expected to be held by the center-left Labor. The coalition, which could stand with or without the votes of Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu, could also reach out to a number of other parties, including the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism.

The Israeli electorate appeared to indicate a leaning toward centrism, granting unexpected support to both Kadima and the center-right Likud. The high-profile momentum of Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu and its campaign of strident confrontation with Arab parties seems to have flagged somewhat at the finish. Lieberman had hoped to gain as many as 21 seats, but the predictions granted him 15.

Both the radical Arab Balad faction and the ultra-rightist National Union had relatively poor showings. Balad may not have enough votes to enter the Knesset at all, and the National Union may have only three seats.

Overall, the left, while not surprised by the results, seemed nonetheless stunned by its poor performance. Despite substantial public approval of Labor leader and Defense Minister Ehud Barak's handling of the recent war in Gaza, his party, once the unchallenged dominant force in Israeli politics, gained only 13 seats, by far an all-time low.

The leftist Meretz sank to just four seats, and is likely to undergo a major overhaul in the wake of the election. Environmental parties, which had splintered the green vote, were unable to win any seats.

Offsetting the 15 seats gained by Lieberman - and owing much to Lieberman's campaign against them - were the resurgent Arab parties, which had worried that their constituents would stay home in a protest vote over the war. Instead, they came out in substantial numbers, netting Arab parties from seven to as many as 10 seats.

Israel awaits its verdict: Extremism v. Centrism 8:40 P.M.
 
This election was supposed to be about leadership and good government, then it was supposed to be about the economy. After that it was supposed to be about Iran, then it was supposed to be about the war.

As it turned out, it's an election about extremism, Arab and Jewish. It is a referendum about Israel's future, and, no less, its troubled present.

Israelis by the millions are waiting tonight to hear their own verdict about themselves. In a battle between extremism and centrism, they are waiting to learn how polarized they are, how vexed, how disillusioned, how alienated, how furious.

The election may not change Israel's history, but it may change the ways Israelis see themselves.

The markers will be clear:

- How many Knesset seats go to Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party, with its thinly veiled message of racism and xenophobia.

- How many seats go to Balad, by far the most radical of the Arab parties.

Its founding leader, Azmi Bishara, is in exile abroad. Israeli police confirmed in 2007 that he is suspected treason and espionage, for allegedly having aided Hezbollah in its rocket attacks on Israel during the Second Lebanon War in July and August 2006.

- How many seats go to the National Union, in some ways the opposite number of Balad on the Israeli political spectrum. The National Union openly embraces disciples of the slain rightist radical Rabbi Meir Kahane.

The number three candidate on the National Union list, Michael Ben-Ari, was quoted recently as calling himself a Kahane disciple, declaring that Israeli Arabs should be expelled to places like Venezuela and Turkey. Ben-Ari was also quoted as saying that IDF soldiers were obligated to refuse orders to evacuate settlements.

- To what extent the public presses for a broad centrist coalition, incorporating as many moderate MKs as possible, rather than a bloc of the right.
 
 

Kadima aan kop met meer dan 90% stemmen geteld

 
De Haaretz website bevat tevens een interactief overzicht van de getelde stemmen dat steeds ge-update wordt.
 
Tegen de voorspellingen en de peilingen in, heeft Kadima waarschijnlijk de meeste zetels gehaald, maar morgen worden de stemmen van de soldaten pas geteld en dit kan de uitslag nog veranderen. Het lukte Livni eerder niet om een coalitie te vormen, en met de nieuwe rechtsere zetelverdeling zal dat niet perse gemakkelijker zijn. De Arbeidspartij kiest met zijn zware verlies waarschijnlijk voor de oppositie, waarmee Livni dus twee rechtse partijen, waarschijnlijk Likoed en Shas of Yisrael Beiteinu in een coalitie zal moeten opnemen.
 
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Last update - 04:16 11/02/2009
With over 90 percent of votes counted, Kadima leads Likud 28 to 27 seats
By Haaretz Service
 
 
With 88 percent of the votes counted, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's Kadima Party is in first place with 28 of the Knesset's 120 seats, with Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party following closely behind with 27 seats.

As the vote progresses, Labor stands at 13 seats, while Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party is expected to garner 15 seats. 

Exit polls by Israel's three main television stations on Tuesday night came to the same conclusion with Kadima as the leader and Likud coming a narrow second.

Channel 1, Channel 2 and Channel 10 polling of voters as they left the ballot box all pointed to victory for Kadima, headed by Tzipi Livni.

Despite the poll results, it is not certain that Livni will be able to muster the 61-seat coalition needed to form a government. The elections were called when she failed to achieve this goal following the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert late last year.

If the exit polls are correct, the right-wing bloc, led by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, will comprise 63-64 seats, while the center-left bloc, headed by Livni, will take 56-57 seats. This means that a win in the polls does not necessarily mean that the next government will have a center-left bent. 

The Channel 1 poll gave Kadima 30 seats, Likud 28 seats, and Labor 13 seats. Yisrael Beiteinu is predicted to win 14 seats, according to the poll.

According to the Channel 2 poll, Kadima will hold 29 seats, Likud will take 27 seats and Labor 13 seats. Yisrael Beiteinu will have 15 seats in the new Knesset.

The Channel 10 poll indicated that Likud will take 28 seats, Kadima will hold 30 seats and Labor 13 seats. Yisrael Beiteinu will have 15 seats.
 
 

dinsdag 10 februari 2009

Theodor Herzl over Avigdor Lieberman


Door antizionisten wordt Herzl steevast als een racist afgeschilderd die een puur Joodse staat wilde stichten en alle Arabieren eruit wou gooien. De realiteit is een andere.
 
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Haaretz / Feb. 9, 2009
Herzl's vision of racism
By Shlomo Avineri
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1062723.html

 
In 1902, Theodor Herzl published his utopian novel "Altneuland" ("The Old New Land"), in which he described the Jewish state to be established in Palestine in 1923. In doing so, Herzl not only provided an idealized description of the Zionist movement's goal; he also provided the State of Israel - the product of Zionism - with a mirror for viewing itself in light of Herzl's vision. Not many national movements have such an efficient tool for self-scrutiny.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is the description of the election campaign that was to have taken place in 1923. The campaign focused on the rights of the country's non-Jewish inhabitants. Contrary to what is sometimes said of Zionism - that it ignored the existence of Arabs in the country - the book reveals not only an awareness of the existence of the Arab population; the Jewish state is predicated on the concept that all its inhabitants, regardless of religion, race or gender, enjoy equal rights and the right to vote. These rights are extended not only to Arabs, but to women, though at the time the book was written no Western democracy had given women the vote.

In the book, not only do the country's Arabs have the right to vote, some of them serve in key posts. Among them is one of the novel's heroes, an Arab engineer from Haifa named Rashid Bey. To use a term from our day, Herzl envisioned a state that would be both Jewish and democratic, both a Jewish nation state and a state of all its citizens.

A new party appeared in the 1923 campaign, headed by a man who had recently come to the country and wanted to annul his old citizenship and rescind the right to vote of all non-Jews. Herzl named the founder of the Jewish racist party Geyer (which in German means a bird that eats carrion [a vulture]), modeling the character and his ideology after the Viennese anti-Semitic leader Karl Lueger.

Geyer's argument was simple: This is a Jewish state, and only Jews should have the right to citizenship. Others can remain as tolerated residents, but they do not deserve equal political rights.

The depiction of the campaign in "Altneuland" is compelling: Geyer's racist party creates quite a stir. In one of the book's most dramatic moments, a confrontation takes place between Geyer's supporters and a number of the new society's liberal leaders. While Geyer claims the exclusivity of citizens' rights for Jews, the liberals justify giving equal rights to the Arab inhabitants based on liberal, universal principles and on Jewish sources ("Ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger and for him that was born in the land" - Numbers 9:14).

After a hard fought contest, the liberals win and the defeated Geyer leaves the country in shame. There is something very special in this description. In the classical utopias that were Herzl's guiding light, from Thomas More's "Utopia" to the 19th century utopias, it is always an ideal society that is depicted, without defects. In "Altneuland," in contrast, Herzl combined an ideal society with political realism. As one who had seen for himself the anti-European, anti-Jewish racism, he imagined that Jews could also be racists and inserted into his utopia the errant and disturbing image of a Jewish racist. But in contrast to Europe, where racism was victorious, in Zion and Jerusalem, it was defeated and the principles of equality and liberalism won.

A utopian novel? Contemporary reality? The moral of the story, of course, is crystal clear. It should be remembered that the motto of Altneuland is "If you will it, it is no dream." It is in our hands.
 
 

Fatah bevreesd om vrijlating Palestijnse gevangenen in ruil Shalit

 
Zou de Israelische regering - in haar haast nog een deal te bereiken voor haar termijn erop zit - aan dergelijke consequenties hebben gedacht? Al die Hamas gevangenen die Israel vrij laat zullen hun werk voor Hamas, in zowel de politieke als de militaire vleugel, waarschijnlijk met verve hervatten, met alle nadelige en wellicht ook desastreuze gevolgen vandien. Wat voor erfenis laat de regering op deze manier na?

Arab papers have mentioned Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti as one of the prisoners who could be freed in the Shalit deal. However, even though Barghouti enjoys wide support among the Palestinian public, he would have a difficult time lashing out against those who secured his release.
 
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ANALYSIS / Fatah fears Shalit deal will bring down Abbas
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent
Last update - 01:45 09/02/2009
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1062612.html

 
Concerned voices have been heard in the Muqata in Ramallah over the past few days: Senior Palestinian Authority and Fatah officials are speaking openly of the end of an era if an agreement to free abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is reached.

Palestinian officials say a Shalit deal would bring about early elections in the territories, and Hamas would win again - but this time it would win the Palestinian presidential election, too. Israel would then be forced to deal with a Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip, they say.

The latest poll from the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre conducted in the territories shows the recent war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip afforded the Islamic organization unprecedented popularity.

For the first time, Hamas is leading Fatah in the polls: 28.6 percent for Hamas compared to 27.9 percent for Fatah. Despite the euphoria in Israel over the Gaza operation, on the Palestinian side at least, some 46.7 percent view the Gaza fighting as a Hamas victory and only 9.8 percent deemed Israel the victor. Some 37.4 percent thought there was no winner.

The reports first published in Haaretz, that there was a breakthrough in the deal for Shalit's return, bode ill for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The immediate significance of a Shalit agreement would be the assembly of the Palestinian parliament again, including all the Hamas representatives now sitting in Israeli prisons. This has Fatah concerned, as Hamas would apparently claim a large majority in the parliament and could therefore render Salam Fayyad's government illegal. Hamas could also pass a law stating Abbas's term had ended on January 9 and he now had to resign and hold new elections.

It is not at all clear if any or all of these events would transpire. Egypt, which is mediating the contacts to free Shalit, will try to receive guarantees from Hamas that it will not take such steps, but nothing can truly prevent the organization from making use of its majority in the parliament.

Before the war in Gaza, Hamas did not seek early elections for either the parliament or the presidency as it feared it would lose power; however, after securing a Shalit deal and a "victory" against Israel in Gaza, it would expect increased support.

Arab papers have mentioned Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti as one of the prisoners who could be freed in the Shalit deal. However, even though Barghouti enjoys wide support among the Palestinian public, he would have a difficult time lashing out against those who secured his release. Such a move might provide Fatah with a future leader, but even Barghouti could not stop the wave of support for Hamas.

Slecht weer kan uitkomst verkiezingen Israel beinvloeden


Ook Israel heeft weleens slecht weer, en ook daar beinvloedt dat mogelijk de uitkomst van de verkiezingen. Overigens ben ik blij dat het eindelijk regent in Israel, want men kampt met een groot gebrek aan regenval, waardoor het water in het Meer van Galilea zo laag staat dat er geen water meer uit gepompt kan worden.
 
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Last update - 01:58 10/02/2009
Blustery weather for an end to stormy campaign season
By Shahar Ilan and Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondents
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1063061.html

 
At the moment of truth, it will not be the election ads, the consultants, the slogans or the billboards that will decide the elections. Apparently, it will be the rain, as elections are held in what is to be the most wintry day in the past two months.

After weeks of neck-and-neck campaigning, the last lap is here, and with it rain, wind, hail and even snow in many parts of the country. Cold air from Italy is expected to sweep into the Mediterranean over 24 hours, dropping temperatures to below 20 in the coastal region and close to 10 degrees and less in Jerusalem and the Galilee.

In the face of the bad weather, good organization by the various parties to get people to the polls has become particularly important.
If the election is close, the final results will not be known before Thursday afternoon, after the ballots of soldiers and absentee ballots are counted.

About 5,279,000 Israelis will be able to cast their ballots Tuesday - five percent more than during the last election.

The main vote count will be completed Wednesday morning, but some 150,000 absentee ballots will be counted only on Thursday. These include soldiers, police, sailors, diplomats, poll station secretaries, hospital patients and prisoners.

Since the soldiers' votes make up the bulk of the absentee ballots, they could give one or two Knesset seats to Lieberman at the expense of the other parties. The official election results will be published up to eight days after the elections, and only then will President Shimon Peres be able to begin consultations with the factions for forming a government.

A low voter turnout is expected mainly in the Arab community and among young people, due in part to meager public interest, indifference and the stormy forecast.

By the end of the 1990s Israelis had a relatively high voter turnout, around 80 percent. This plunged in the 2003 election to 69 percent and in the last elections fell to 63.5 percent.

The Knesset's vote percentage threshold is two percent, equivalent to some 63,000 votes in the last election.

Elections will be held in 9,263 polling stations, which will open at 7 A.M., with most closing at 10 P.M, while stations in communities of fewer than 350 voters will close at 8 P.M.

Blank slips are available in the voting booths so that voters can write on them the letters of the party of their choice, in case their party's slips are missing. Slips with nothing on them will be disqualified, as will more than one slip in an envelope.

Voters can find out their designated voting station by calling 1-800-200-131 or through the government Web site. Former Gush Katif residents who have not changed their addresses can vote at station 990 at the Shevah Mofet school on 20 Hatzfira Street in Tel Aviv.
 
 

Overeenkomst staakt-het-vuren en Shalit binnen 2 dagen?


Het komt wel heel erg over als een gehaaste deal om nog een resultaat aan de kiezer te kunnen laten zien. Ondertussen lijkt erg veel aan Hamas toegegeven, waardoor zij deze deal terecht als een overwinning zal claimen, en haar positie tegenover Fatah en president Abbas verder kan versterken, wat niet goed is voor de vooruitzichten op vrede.
 
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Report: Truce deal within 2 days
 
Egyptian newspaper al-Gomhuria says Hamas strongman Mahmoud al-Zahar set to return to Cairo with approval of new understandings between Israel, Palestinian group. Jewish state expecting Gilad Shalit's release to be included in agreement
 
 
A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas is expected to be signed within the next 48 hours, Egyptian newspaper al-Gomhuria reported Monday.

The deal is set to include two stages: An oral agreement on both sides to hold fire, followed by a written agreement for a one-year truce at least.

According to the Egyptian report, Hamas strongman Mahmoud al-Zahar is expected to return to Cairo with a positive answer to the proposals presented to the organization by Egypt. Turkey was also said to be involved in the talks.

Israel expects the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit to be included in the truce agreement along with the reopening of the Gaza Strip's crossings. The past few days have seen many reports on progress made in the indirect talks on this matter, including some flexibility on both sides.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak declared that Operation Cast Lead had advanced the changes to secure Shalit's release. He expressed his hope that the captive soldier will return home before a new government is sworn in.

Arab newspapers reported Monday morning that Israel had expressed its willingness to release most of the senior prisoners demanded by Hamas, excluding Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Secretary-General Ahmad Saadat, who was responsible for the assassination of Minister Rehavam Ze'evi, and three other prisoners.

Slechts kwart Palestijnen in Gaza steunt Hamas

 
Tot zover de zogenaamde enorme toename van Hamas' populariteit in Gaza, waar Sander van Hoorn en anderen het steeds over hadden.
 
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Last update - 13:08 09/02/2009       
Survey: Only one in four Gazans supports Hamas
By Haaretz Service
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1062758.html
 
 
Only a quarter of the Palestinians in Gaza support Hamas, Army Radio reported Monday.
 
According to the findings of a new poll conducted in Gaza, support in the ruling Hamas government has drastically gone down following the Israel Defense Forces offensive in the coastal strip.
 
Only 28% of the Palestinians now say they support Hamas, compared to 51% who voiced their support for Hamas in November 2008.
 
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' moderate Fatah party has seen a rise in favorability rate, with 42% of the Palestinians in Gaza now supporting Fatah, compared to 31% in November.
 
Despite the findings of the poll, more than half of those questioned said they hold Israel responsible for the recent escalation in Gaza
 
 

Hoge Britse diplomaat gearresteerd wegens antisemitische tirade

 
Het probleem is dat dit soort dingen steeds meer gebeuren. Een Noorse medewerker van de ambassade in Saoedi-Arabië stuurde e-mails rond met foto's van de Joodse slachtoffers in de concentratiekampen en van Israels offensief in Gaza ter vergelijk. De Nederlandse ex-ambassadeur in Saoedi-Arabië Jan Wijenberg heeft het CIDI ervan beschuldigd knokploegen in dienst te hebben die tegenstanders uit de weg ruimen. Ook in Nederland waren vergelijkingen van Israels offeisief in Gaza met de Holocaust vaak te horen, en nam het aantal antisemitische incidenten flink toe. En het gekke is, dat we het allemaal ook steeds normaler lijken te vinden, en er zo weinig verontwaardiging over te horen is.
 
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High-ranking Foreign Office diplomat arrested over anti-Semitic gym tirade
 

A high-ranking diplomat at the Foreign Office has been arrested after allegations that he launched a foul-mouthed anti-Semitic tirade.
 
Middle East expert Rowan Laxton, 47, was watching TV reports of the Israeli attack on Gaza as he used an exercise bike in a gym.
 
Stunned staff and gym members allegedly heard him shout: 'F**king Israelis, f**king Jews'. It is alleged he also said Israeli soldiers should be 'wiped off the face of the earth'.
 
His rant reportedly continued even after he was approached by other gym users.
 
After a complaint was made to police, Mr Laxton was arrested for inciting religious hatred through threatening words and behaviour and bailed until late next month.
 
The maximum penalty for inciting religious hatred is a seven-year prison term or a fine or both.
 
Mr Laxton, who is still working normally, is head of the South Asia Group at the Foreign Office, on a salary of around £70,000.
 
He is responsible for all the UK's diplomacy in that area and for briefing Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who is Jewish.
 
Mr Laxton has worked extensively in the Middle East  -  he married a Muslim woman in 2000  -  and has been deputy ambassador to Afghanistan.
 
The case could not have come at a worse time for the Foreign Office. Next week, Britain is hosting an international summit on combating anti-Semitism, with politicians from 35 countries.
 
Mr Laxton had gone to the London Business School's gym in Regent's Park after work on January 27.
 
An onlooker said: 'I was in the gym around 9pm and I heard this guy shouting something about "f**king Israelis".
 
'This bald guy was cycling away on his machine in the middle of the exercise room. When another guy approached him he shouted "f**king Jews, f**king Israelis".
 
'The gym was pretty full and everyone looked totally shocked.
 
' That sort of racist language is totally unacceptable. The gym staff called security and I think the guy was asked to leave.'
Laxton was alleged to have been watching TV reports of the Israeli attack on Gaza as he used an exercise bike in a gym when he began the tirade
 
Mark Gardner, deputy director of the Community Security Trust which monitors anti-Semitism, said: 'There were an unprecedented number of anti-Semitic incidents during the Gaza conflict.
 
'This alleged case is particularly shocking, given the position held by the civil servant in question.
 
'We must not allow an overseas conflict to cause racism here in Britain and especially not among civil servants.
 
'The Jewish community will be rightly appalled to hear of these allegations against such a senior figure.
 
'We hope that the appropriate disciplinary actions will be taken forthwith, as they would be if these comments had been made against any other section of society.'
 
A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'It is too early to comment in detail on a matter that is currently the subject of police enquiries. But we take extremely seriously any allegation of inappropriate conduct on the part of our staff and continue to follow developments closely.'
 
When contacted by the Daily Mail, Mr Laxton denied his comments were anti-Jewish but refused to answer when asked if they were anti-Israeli.
 
The Oxford graduate joined the diplomatic service in 1993 and rose rapidly through the ranks.
 
He ran the British High Commission in Pakistan for three years before moving to Afghanistan in 2001. He stayed in Kabul for two years, then returned to London. He was appointed head of his section last year.
 
Mr Laxton is believed to be separated from his wife, a banker who is working in the United Arab Emirates.
 
The Israel page of the Foreign Office website says: 'The Government has a shared responsibility to tackle anti-Semitism and all other forms of racism and prejudice'.

 

Propaganda en oorlogsmisdaden


In Afghanistan zijn geen honderdduizenden burgerslachtoffers omgekomen, tenzij de Sovjet inval wordt meegerekend, en ook van het volgende ben ik niet overtuigd:

"that Israel's impact on innocent bystanders, as tragic as it is, is less severe than that of Europe."

De rules of combat voor Nederlandse soldaten in Afghanistan zijn behoorlijk streng, mogelijk of zelfs waarschijnlijk strenger dan die van Israelische soldaten, omdat Nederland er ook of zelfs vooral voor de opbouw is. Hoe dat met andere NAVO-leden zit weet ik niet precies, maar de Amerikanen hebben met operatie Enduring Freedom zeker ruimere bevoegdheden qua geweldsgebruik.

Hoe dat ook zij, de grote lijn van dit stuk kan ik alleen maar onderschrijven. Onze arrogantie tegenover Israel lijkt schier grenzeloos, en maar weinigen wijzen op de totale ongepastheid van onze continue terechtwijzingen van Israel.
 
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http://www.hagshama.org.il/en/resources/
War Crimes and Propaganda Crimes
By: Ben Dror Yemini
 
 
Israel will never kill as many innocent people as European armies have. So who are they to preach to us?
 
"We will conquer Rome and then all of Europe. When we are done with Europe, we will conquer both the Americas, and we will not give up Eastern Europe either." The speaker in need of such a large territory went on to say that all the Jews should be annihilated.
 
Sounds like Hitler, talks like Hitler, but these words were spoken by Dr. Yunis al-Astal, a Hamas member of the Palestinian parliament. Dr. al-Astal and other Hamas leaders do not try to hide their views regarding Jewish extermination and world domination by radical Islam. They are recorded as they appear on Hamas TV broadcasts and are available through MEMRI or PMW websites in Hebrew, English and other languages to anyone who is interested in learning about the true nature of Hamas.
NATO also makes mistakes
 
The refugees thought they had found shelter. They were wrong. The air strike didn't spare their lives. Over 100 died. This is not the story of the tragic bombing of the school in Gaza. This is the story of the bombing of Korisa in former Yugoslavia. The strikes were carried out by NATO planes. This happened less than ten years ago, on May 13, 1999. There's more. On April 12, NATO planes killed, accidentally of course, twelve civilians. On April 14, they killed 70 refugees. On April 27, another sixteen civilians were killed. On May 1, twenty-three died in a bus bombing. On May 6, sixteen were killed by a cluster bomb. On May 19, a Belgrade hospital was bombed; three died. On May 30, eleven died when a bridge was bombed. On the very same day, an old-age home was hit and twenty inhabitants were killed. The next day another eleven died. Around the same time, the Chinese embassy was bombed, and a missile flew 30 miles off course and hit the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. "It was a mistake, sorry" was the NATO spokesperson's standard response.
 
This is what happens in war. It's sad; it's unfortunate. And Europeans should look back, not to the distant past, to the bombing of Dresden, but to the recent past, before they wag their finger at Israel. Because Israel hasn't reached, and won't reach, even a hundredth of the number of innocent people killed by European democracies, in just wars.
 
Israel doesn't have to justify itself to Europe
 
Has Europe changed? The following is a quote from a report by the UN Secretary General: "Of the 8000 deaths in Afghanistan in 2007, 1500 were civilians." Of those 1500, half to two-thirds were murdered by their Taliban brethren. The rest were killed by various bombings, including by European armies operating in the region under NATO. Experts claim that the real numbers are significantly higher than these estimates. In 2008 the situation escalated and many more thousands were killed. In fact, every week European armies are killing innocent civilians and justifying it as inevitable in the struggle against the Taliban.
 
Israelis don't owe the Europeans explanations; they owe us. The Taliban hasn't fired rockets at any European city, whereas Hamas does shoot at Israel. The Taliban don't proclaim their desire to kill all Europeans, whereas Hamas encourages Jew-killing in its charter and its leaders' sermons. Yet Europeans continue fighting in Afghanistan, if only to destroy one more branch of fanatic Islam. Just like Israel against the Hamas. However, the Hamas' threat to Israel is far greater than the threat the Taliban poses to Europe.
 
So why, in the name of heaven, are Europeans allowed to conduct a war on territory that is thousands of miles from their homes, kill hundreds or thousands of innocent civilians and claim that their cause is just, while Israel cannot do the same? Where do they get the nerve?
 
Thousands of Taliban fighters die each year, compared to a few dozen European soldiers. Hundreds or thousands of civilians die in Afghanistan, compared to zero civilian casualties in Europe. So you in Europe want to teach us about war ethics and "proportional responses"? Are you serious?
 
Lebanon can and Israel can't?
 
In May 2007 a conflict broke out between the Lebanese army and a small group, Fatah-al-Islam, in the Nahr-al-Bared refugee camp in Lebanon. The group is yet another cancerous cell of the global Jihad movement. The Lebanese army did not opt for urban warfare. They just bombed and destroyed buildings in a way Israel would never conceive of doing.
 
The official number of Lebanese army casualties was 168, and more than 300 were left dead in the camp. Some were militants, others civilians. Six UNIFIL soldiers and two Red Cross workers were killed as well. The refugee camp was in ruins. 33,000 of the 40,000 inhabitants of the camp had no homes to return to. The Lebanese soldiers didn't want to take unnecessary risks. The number of combatants they were facing was tiny, certainly less than the 16,000 Hamas terrorists hiding in Gaza's tunnels. If the Lebanese army had to deal with them, there wouldn't be a single house standing – all of Gaza would be wiped off the face of the earth.
 
When Lebanon was dealing with this offshoot of the radical Islam menace, it was the sweetheart of most of the free and Arab worlds alike. It used means Israel wouldn't dream of using. Most of the casualties were innocent. The terrible pictures of death and destruction, all available to those interested, didn't lead to mass protests on the streets of London or Paris. On the contrary, Lebanon was applauded. Arabs are allowed to "take care" of Arabs.
 
Why is Lebanon allowed to use brutal measures to uproot this radical Islam growth? Why is Europe allowed to go half-way around the world to kill thousands of fighters and civilians in the name of the same anti-Jihad cause? And why isn't Israel allowed to do the same, even though it faces a greater threat?
 
The importance of the small screen
 
In the struggle between Israel and Hamas, there can be no victory without legitimacy. Israel is not Russia in Chechnya, NATO fighting the Taliban or the Lebanese erasing a whole refugee camp and being applauded for it. Israel needs support. And Israel can win support only with the truth.
 
Official Israel is trying to gets its message through to the world: that Hamas is an anti-Semitic organization calling for the extermination of Jews; that Hamas wants to take over the world; that "proportional response" is complete nonsense that Europe hasn't adhered to in their past conflicts or in their present ones. That Hamas is worse than the Taliban; that Israel's impact on innocent bystanders, as tragic as it is, is less severe than that of Europe.
 
The world's reluctance to accept this message has reduced the support Israel had during the first days of the war. But that's not Israel's fault. If Hamas wins the propaganda war, the entire free world will be the loser. We cannot afford to lose. The truth must prevail.
 

maandag 9 februari 2009

Terreur slachtoffers kwaad over mogelijke ruil Shalit voor terroristen

 
De mogelijke vrijlating van honderden Palestijnse terroristen in ruil voor de ontvoerde Israelische soldaat Shalit zorg voor veel ophef bij slachtoffers van terreur en hun nabestaanden.
 
-----------

Almagor: we will stand outside polling stations with photos of terror victims if outrageous Schalit deal announced
8 February 2009
Almagor Terror Victim Association
 
The Almagor Terror Victim association warns against a political spin and grab in the matter of Gilad Schalit by the current government before the elections in which it will commit to pay an outrageous price for his release so that they can announce it before the elections (this in light of the remarks by Barak on Saturday and reports from Turkey and the Arab world and the high profile Olmert, Livni and Barak meeting held Saturday night).

Almagor warns that if this happens then the families of terror victims will stand outside the polling stations with photographs of their loved ones and the lists of their murderers and photographs of 180 Israelis murdered recently by released terrorists.

"We will remind the voters who promised us by the graves and in the homes of mourners of the long hand that would reach the murderers and that that same hand that is now surrendering to release them and cause more murders and kidnappings in the future," said Dr. Aryeh Bachrach, head of the Bereaved Parents' Forum at Almagor, who lost his son at Wadi Kelt.

Almagor blames Amos Gilad for leading a diplomatic process instead of enabling the continuation of military pressure and recommended opening the passages claiming that keeping them closed was not effective.

"The deal being developed for opening the passages without tying it to the release of Schalit and without any conditions is evidence that Hamas' determination has won.  The fiasco of the war will be that hundreds of murderers will return to Gaza, something that will turn the military achievements earned thanks to our soldiers and the blood of the dead and wounded - to a historic victory for Hamas", said Lt.-Col. (res.) Meir Indor, director of Almagor.


--------------------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website:
www.imra.org.il

Turkije doet onderzoek naar oorlogsmisdaden in Gaza

 
Gisteren in Haaretz:
 
Turkish warplanes strike Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/sns-ap-eu-turkey-iraq-kurds,0,5819449.story
By Associated Press
4:53 AM EST, February 6, 2009
 
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's military says its warplanes have struck Kurdish rebel targets inside northern Iraq.
Brig. Gen. Metin Gurak, the military spokesman, says Air Force jets bombed the Hakurk area on Wednesday and Thursday. Gurak made the announcement during a weekly news conference on Friday.
It is the latest of a series of Turkish strikes against rebel hideouts in northern Iraq, from where the guerrillas have staged hit-and-run attacks on Turkish targets for decades.
The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's southeast since 1984.
Turkey has launched several aerial attacks and one major ground operation against rebel bases across the border with Iraq this year.
 
Bij eerdere aanvallen op de Koerden in Turkije zelf zijn hele dorpen weggevaagd. Ook bij deze aanvallen zullen de nodige burgers zijn omgekomen. Oorlogsmisdaden! Genocide!
 
RP
-----------------
 
The Jerusalem Post
Feb 6, 2009 14:06 | Updated Feb 7, 2009 23:16
Turkey probes IDF 'war crimes' in Gaza
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304705452&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Turkish prosecutors said Friday that they were investigating whether Israeli leaders should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity over the recent IDF offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The Ankara chief prosecutor's office said the probe was opened after Mazlum-Der, an Islamic-oriented human rights organization in Turkey, filed an official complaint against Israeli leaders.

The group alleges that genocide, torture and crimes against humanity were committed by President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Israeli army and military intelligence chiefs.

Mazlum-Der has also asked that the Israeli officials be detained if they enter Turkey, prosecutors said.

Turkish prosecutors are required to open an investigation whenever an official complaint is filed.

An Israeli Embassy spokesman in Ankara declined comment.

Turkey has long been Israel's closest ally in the Muslim world, but many Turks have held fierce demonstrations against Operation Cast Lead and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned the counterterror offensive on more than one occasion.

At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Erdogan scolded Peres over the Gaza war during a panel discussion and walked off the stage.

Last month, a Spanish judge began an investigation into seven current or former Israeli officials over a 2002 bombing in Gaza that killed a top Hamas terrorist and 14 other people, including nine children.

The judge acted under a doctrine that allows prosecution in Spain, and other European countries, to reach far beyond national borders in cases of torture or war crimes

Hamas akkoord met link Shalit aan openen Gaza grens?

 
Het ziet ernaar uit dat de regering koste wat het kost nog een deal wil sluiten voor het einde van haar termijn. Wat ik vreemd vind is dat het doorlaten van bepaalde materialen naar de Gazastrook afhankelijk wordt gemaakt van Shalits vrijlating. Doorlaten van deze materialen zou eerder gelinkt moeten worden aan strenge controles en garanties van hulporganisaties dat zij niet door Hamas worden geconfisceerd. Met Shalit heeft dat toch verder weinig te maken.

RP
-----------

Egypt sources: Hamas agrees to link Shalit deal to opening of Gaza border
By Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Jack Khoury and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1062608.html 

 
Hamas has acceded over the past few days to the Israeli demand to link the opening of the border crossings to the release of kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, Egyptian sources told Haaretz on Sunday.

This allows progress toward a cease-fire, by creating a connection between the opening of all crossings by Israel, completion of a prisoner swap and Shalit's release.

Egyptian sources told Haaretz cautiously that they were "very optimistic" about making progress toward a deal in the near future. However,
t hey said it could not be known when there would be a breakthrough.

According to the plan Egypt is promoting, Israel would open the crossings, albeit not totally, when a cease-fire is reached. The crossings would operate at 80-percent capacity, which would allow a large quantity of merchandise to pass into the Gaza Strip, as Hamas is demanding.

However, Israel still insists on the right to prevent certain materials from entering the Strip - including cement, iron and other items. Hamas is believed to want just these materials to come in, to begin rebuilding the thousands of homes destroyed by the Israel Defense Forces during Operation Cast Lead.

Israel says these materials would be allowed in only after an agreement is reached on Shalit's release, in exchange for the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Noam Shalit on Sunday met at his home in Mitzpeh Hila with leaders of the struggle to release his son, to decide how to proceed in light of a possible prisoner exchange. It was suggested that he meet again with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. It emerged from the meeting that the family has no reliable information on a breakthrough in negotiations.

A statement released after the meeting said the family believed the present government was working determinedly to meet its obligation to bring Shalit home before the end of its term.

"[We] understand we are on the brink of an opportunity that will not return to bring Gilad back, when we have all the leverage in our hands. It is inconceivable that the border crossings will be opened without Gilad's return," said the statement.

Meanwhile, three members of the cabinet on Sunday made optimistic statements about a possible release of Shalit before the end of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's term.

Israel apparently intends to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in return for Shalit, among them prisoners who have committed serious offenses, including most of the people Hamas has demanded to be freed.

Defense sources said Sunday they believed a deal could be clinched within a few weeks.

Some movement has been evident in the position of Hamas, which until recently had refused any linkage between a cease-fire, the opening of the border crossings and Shalit's release. However, any deal still needs the approval of Hamas leader Khaled Meshal in Damascus, who has so far opposed it.

A delegation of Hamas leaders headed by Mahmoud Zahar left Cairo on Sunday for Damascus, for talks on the subject with leaders from the movement's political wing. They then returned to Cairo with the Damascus wing's responses to the Egyptian cease-fire plan and the Israeli proposal concerning Shalit's release.

Egypt has specifically noted that reports from Turkey that the Turkish government is participating in mediation efforts with Hamas are incorrect.

Hamas officials who were in Egypt during the past few days have also said that Turkey has played no active part in attaining a cease-fire or a prisoner swap.

Deputy head of the Hamas political bureau Musa Abu-Marzuk on Sunday denied that significant progress had been made toward a deal for Shalit's release.

Said a government source in Jerusalem Sunday: "The decision Israel has to
make involves the names of the prisoners it is willing to release, and all the other issues are marginal."

One proposal is that particularly problematic prisoners would be sent to the Gaza Strip, on the assumption that they would be less dangerous to Israel there than back at home on the West Bank.

Official Israeli sources on Sunday declined to discuss reports in the Arab media that imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti was among those to be released.

The Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam reported Sunday that the latest Israeli proposal mentioned the names of approximately 1,000 prisoners, including 350 on the Hamas list.

Reports about the number of prisoners to be released actually range from 700 to 1,000. If the number is indeed 1,000, the release would take place in three stages: 350 prisoners would be freed simultaneously with Shalit's transfer to a site outside the Gaza Strip (Cyprus or Egypt); 100 more would be released after Shalit is brought to Israel; and the remaining prisoners would be released in the third stage. The release of the last group may be presented as a gesture to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is the major intermediary in the deal.

The three ministers who spoke about the Shalit release -Defense Minister Ehud Barak, National Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and Pensioner Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan, who was appointed by Olmert to be on the team dealing with Shalit's release - did so during interviews on Army Radio.

Barak said he did not believe Shalit would be released before the elections, but added that he hopes "we will be wise enough to navigate in a way that will have him home before the end of the present government's term, but that is, as noted, uncertain."

Citing major progress in the talks, Ben-Eliezer said, "We know that Gilad is alive and well," and that he believed "we've never been as close to getting Gilad home as we are now."

Ben-Eliezer added that no matter what the cost, he would vote for the deal.

Eitan also said he believed Shalit's release would happen before the end of Olmert's term.

Speaking at Sunday's cabinet meeting, Olmert called the ministers'
statements "exaggerated and damaging," and said that great caution needs to be exercised in this situation. "When there is something to say, I will say it," he stressed.

Sources close to Olmert were apparently displeased over reports that Barak and his representative, Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's political department, were responsible for moving the agreement forward.

Olmert, Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met to discuss the Shalit deal before Sunday's full cabinet meeting. No details of their meeting were released.
 
 

Hulpleveringen aan Gazastrook 1-6 februari 2009


Humanitarian Effort - Humanitarian Aid to the Gaza Strip
Weekly and Accumulative figures 1-6 February2009
Communicated by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Spokesman
8th February, 2009

Stability of the crossing activities were disrupted this week due to rocket and mortar fire against Israel. Despite this, throughout the week, 27,522 tons of humanitarian aid, food commodities, medical supplies and medication and supplies requires for electrical and communications networks were transferred to the Gaza Strip via Kerem Shalom cargo terminal and the Karni conveyor belt.
 
787 tons of gas for domestic needs was pumped this week via Nahal Oz fuel depot.
28 Medical evacuations from Gaza to Israel took place (including escorts), via Erez crossing.
75,249 tons of humanitarian aid has been delivered to Gaza since the unilateral cease fire.
Also, 4,777,900 liters of heavy duty diesel were transferred to Gaza for the power station, and 1840 tons of gas for domestic uses were pumped via the fuel Depot at Nahal Oz.
423 truckloads of humanitarian aid were delivered this week by the international community.
 
UNRWA informed COGAT (6.2.2009) that following a second account of theft by Hamas terrorists, all shipments of aid for the organization will be suspended until further notice.
Due to a Palestinian decision fuel was not transferred on Thursday (5.2.2009).

International Aid & Donations
 
A total of 423 trucks laden with international aid and donations were shipped this week to Gaza. Since the beginning of the cease fire 1211 trucks of international aid and donations have been transferred to Gaza.
 
Kerem Shalom & Karni accumulative summary
 
Throughout the week a total of 27,522 tons of aid were transferred to the Gaza Strip, including International aid, donations, food supplies, medical supplies, medication, hypochloride, dairy and meat products, bees, supplies for the electrical networks and communications sector, various types of grain, vaccines and fodder for livestock. Karni conveyor belt facilitated shipping of 15,152 tons of grain.

Nahal Oz
 
Nahal Oz Fuel Depot operated from Sunday - Thursday conveying 1,760,000 liters of heavy duty diesel and 787 tons of domestic gas. Also, UNRWA received 391,000 liters of diesel for the needs of the UN organizations and other needs defined by UNRWA (including support to various municipalities).


--------------------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website:
www.imra.org.il

Verdeeldheid Hamas vertraagt deal Gilad Shalit en staakt-het-vuren

 
Zahar is expected to make the view from Gaza clear to Meshal; a rejection of the Egyptian proposal will be seen as missing a historic opportunity to ensure Hamas' control over the Strip.

Dat zou te denken moeten geven. Moet Israel met een deal instemmen die Hamas' grip op de Gazastrook alleen maar verder versterkt en legitimeert? Was dat het doel van Israels offensief? Moet Israel niet in plaats daarvan inzetten op verdere verzwakking van Hamas, dat immers de oorlog heeft verloren, en officieel helemaal niet is erkend als de autoriteit die het in Gaza voor het zeggen heeft? Het lijkt erop dat de huidige regering koste wat het kost nog voor de verkiezingen een deal wil bereiken (of op zijn minst vooruitzicht daarop kunnen tonen), in de hoop zo meer stemmen te krijgen.
 
RP
-------------

Last update - 09:33 08/02/2009
ANALYSIS / Hamas rift holding up approval of Gilad Shalit deal
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1062322.html
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff 

 
Anyone who has been burned repeatedly in the past needs to be extra careful, but over the weekend it seemed that for the first time some optimism was justified. A genuine opportunity is out there, not only for a long-term cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, but also, according to a variety of sources linked to the talks, for a deal to free captured soldier Gilad Shalit.

The main obstacle to what sources have described as a "negotiated formula" remains Khaled Meshal and the Hamas politburo in Damascus.

Even though details remain unclear, it appears that the most significant change occurred in Hamas' "domestic" leadership. For the first time in weeks, senior figures of the organization, including Mahmoud al-Zahar, left the Strip to visit Cairo and then Damascus for talks. It seems they have reached the end of their tether, with Israeli military pressure and the economic siege on the Strip, accompanied by the constant threat on the lives of Hamas leaders. The Hamas leadership in Gaza is ready for a deal, one that will include the opening of the border crossings, an 18-month cease-fire, and probably an exchange of Shalit for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

A finalizing of the deal - there will be no signing of this "non-paper" - is still very much up to the Palestinian leadership. The head of Hamas' military wing, Ahmed Ja'abari, is likely to oppose it. But Meshal's opinion is even more important in light of his steady opposition to any progress in recent months.

Zahar is expected to make the view from Gaza clear to Meshal; a rejection of the Egyptian proposal will be seen as missing a historic opportunity to ensure Hamas' control over the Strip.

There has been growing tension between Hamas' domestic leaders and those abroad. The former have felt that they have been pushed by the group's Damascus leadership to confront Israel, with the people of Gaza paying the price. The local leadership is now asking to take control of the group.

For a deal to take place, the pieces need to fall in the right order on the Israeli side, too. The case of Gilad Shalit is of paramount importance for Israel, and its handling is sensitive. But there is a growing inclination toward greater flexibility and the release of however many Palestinians are needed to bring Shalit home.

The timing of the election may be ideal, as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is on his way out and may clear this thorniest of issues from the prime minister's desk, leaving his successor with no public blame. On the other hand, as the elections are three days away, an announcement tomorrow that a breakthrough has been achieved may draw votes away from Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud toward the center-left of Kadima and Labor.
 
 

zondag 8 februari 2009

Meretz lijsttrekker: laatste kans voor de tweestatenoplossing

 
Voor zover Israel en Nederland te vergelijken zijn, is Meretz de Israelische GroenLinks en Lieberman de Israelische Geert Wilders.
Hadash is de communistische partij waarvan Ilan Pappe ook lid is, maar die grotendeels uit Arabische Israeli's bestaat en vaak op een hoop wordt gegooid met de twee andere Arabische partijen in Israel. De drie 'Arabische' partijen zijn tegen het zionisme, terwijl Meretz - zoals de meeste 'Joodse' partijen - zionistisch is.
 
Wouter
_________________

Last update - 15:31 06/02/2009
Meretz leader to Haaretz: Two-state solution on last legs
By Ari Shavit
 
 
You gotta love Jumes. You can disagree with him and you can get mad him, but in the end, you have to have great warmth for him. In the age of Lieberman's nationalism and Eyal Arad's spin, Meretz chair Haim Oron is like an antibody. Even when he goofs, he goofs with his heart in the right place.

If any two numbers reveal just how awful this election is, it's these: Lieberman 20, Meretz five. The Lieberman-Meretz gap raises serious questions about the future and the present of the state of Israel. From his Tel Aviv campaign headquarters, Jumes is still fighting to change both.

Why Meretz? For half their lives, half of Haaretz's readers have been voting Meretz and nothing good has come of it.

Meretz is a kind of start-up. It tosses out ideas that catch on later and other people implement them. But I don't accept that division of labor any more. It's not okay with me that there is an incubator for ideas in one place and they sprout somewhere else. There should be one political entity that represents the social-democratic and peace positions. And that entity is Meretz.

But Meretz isn't having an easy time in this election. Barak and Livni are gnawing at your position from one side, Hadash is chewing on the other. Let's start with Labor chair Ehud Barak. Why not Barak?

Barak is running in 2009 as a successful defense minister who rehabilitated the army and conducted an operation in Gaza. He is not running as the leader of the peace camp.

So maybe Kadima chair Tzipi Livni is the leader of the peace camp. She promises a dove with an olive branch. Just open the window and let her in.

Livni saved herself the question of right and left by not going where she has to decide if she is right or left. She hasn't gotten to dividing Jerusalem and hasn't gotten to resolving the refugee problem. She might have a clearer picture in her own mind. Livni talks about the courage to tell the public the truth. And I say: 'Tzipi, with all due respect to your courage, the question is what you tell Palestinians behind closed doors about Jerusalem.' I don't know what she says. She isn't where Bibi is but she hasn't even gotten to the places that Olmert has. I think both she and Barak make comments from the hazy center that blur the truth. That haze harms the foundations of democracy. It makes political parties into unions of interested parties. It makes the public fed-up with politics because people figure politicians don't say what they really think.

Then Hadash. Dov Khenin says what he really thinks. He is clearer and sharper than Meretz. He has a kind of charisma.

Black-and-white positions look sharp, but reality is not black-and-white. I oppose the injustices that took place in Gaza but I do not accept that Israel doesn't have the right to self-defense. But the underlying conflict between Meretz and Hadash is more substantial. I am a Zionist. I see Israel as a Jewish state that must be democratic and must be for all its citizens. Anyone who says there is tension here is right. It is the tension we live with here. Khenin releases himself from that tension by defining himself as the non-Zionist left. I believe that dealing with the complexities of life in Israel is more moral than disengaging.

Let's admit the truth, Jumes. The warfare in Gaza hurt Meretz twice. On the one hand it brought Labor back into the game and on the other it boosted Hadash. You guys look hesitant.

There is no way a left-wing party like ours doesn't come out of war bruised. There was an option of calling the war right and just, and anything done in it was good. There was an option to say that Israel doesn't have the right of response even after 60, 80, 100 rocket strikes. I think both options are oversimplified. So Meretz took the position that a focused military action against Hamas was justified, but it is not okay to cross lines in the sand. And in this war there were lines in the sand.

Your sons fought in an operation that some of your voters believe was a war crime.

I told you, I live in the tension between poles. On the one hand is the need to remove the threat, but on the other there were tractors that demolished Gaza neighborhoods in the last days of the ground operation. I do not accept that. I believe there is a line that we cannot cross if we want to remain who we are.

Do you still believe in peace? Has the word "peace" been erased from your campaign?

Neither the word nor belief in peace have been erased. The lack of peace and the continued occupation are the greatest dangers to the future of Israel.

Is the two-state solution viable? Can it still be implemented?

The two-state solution is on its last legs. That is why this election is so important. If we do not quickly implement the partition into two states, that solution will evaporate and Zionism will be stuck its worst crisis ever. This could turn into a bad cross between Rhodesian apartheid and Somalian bloodshed.

That bad?

Let me tell you a story. A few days after Sari Nusseibeh retracted his position on two states, I went into Ehud Olmert's office and told him that he should take the report of Nusseibeh's comment like he would take the news that an Arab state has a nuclear bomb.

For decades I have fought for peace. In Peace Now, in Mapai and in Meretz. The two-state solution is the only solution. And I live in fear today. I see the light fading. Why did my parents come here? To what have I devoted my life? For what am I here? For a Jewish and democratic state. And if there is no Jewish and democratic state, what am I left with?

If the situation is so dramatic, maybe it's better not to vote for a small party like Meretz.

Not true. There is no one else like Meretz now. We are the only leftist Zionist alternative that believes in peace, human rights and social democracy.

Some say Amos Oz has become your guru. You are the Eli Yishai of Meretz and Oz is your Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

Amos and I have a very close relationship. We do and our families do. But there is no spiritual leader here. There is no authority. We are attentive, not authoritative.

Would you join a unity government with Netanyahu?

We won't sit in a government with Netanyahu as prime minister.

And a unity government with Livni?

If it is possible to create a center-left government we would be a substantial factor. If it is a unity government of mutual paralysis, we would rather serve the public from the opposition bench. Against the rise of the right and the Israeli racism of Lieberman, Meretz will provide an ideological and political platform that will become an alternative.
 
 

Hamas gebruikt ziekenhuizen Gaza als gevangenis

 
Omdat Israel de meeste politiebureaus en andere gebouwen van Hamas kapot had gebombardeerd, heeft Hamas noodgedwongen maar ziekenhuizen en inrichtingen voor psychiatrische patienten in detentie- en martelcentra voor dissidente Fatahleden en 'verraders' veranderd. Je moet nou eenmaal wel de juiste prioriteiten stellen. Vreemd genoeg meldde het journaal wel uitvoerig hoe sterk Hamas nog was en hoe weinig beschadigd maar deze praktijk, die, laten we zeggen niet geheel volgens de regels is, wordt geheel genegeerd.
 
RP
--------------------
 
Last update - 17:24 07/02/2009    
Palestinian Authority: Hamas used Gaza hospitals as detention centers
By DPA
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1062246.html
 
 
The Palestinian Authority's health ministry on Saturday accused the militant movement Hamas of turning some of its medical facilities in the Gaza Strip into detention centers.
 
After Israel stopped 23 days of aerial and ground attacks in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip last month, "Hamas unfortunately used several facilities, mainly a large number of hospitals, as stations for summons, interrogation, torture and detention," the Ramallah-based ministry said in a statement.
 
The ministry also claimed Hamas sacked tens of employees, loyal to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, who broke their general strike and returned to their work after Israel launched it assault on December 27.
 
The Israel Air Force aerial bombardment, which preceded a large-scale ground invasion on January 3, destroyed most of the police stations and civil administration departments of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.
 
According to the statement, Hamas specifically seized some buildings in Shifa, the main hospital in the city, al-Nasser pediatric clinic and the psychiatric hospital.