Abbas verdedigt Egyptische blokkade van Gaza

The Palestinian leader also justified Egypt's construction of a steel wall that along its border with the Gaza Strip. Cairo has the "full right to protect its territory and prevent smuggling of illegal materials into Gaza," he said. "It is a sovereign and political decision of the Egyptian government and we understand that," Abbas added, reminding attendants of "the reasons for the Gaza siege.
It is, in fact, the coup that Hamas staged that created all the problems for Gaza's residents," he said.

 

Zo, beste Gaza activisten, nu hoor je het ook eens van een ander. Egypte, en dus ook Israel, heeft als soevereine staat het recht om haar grondgebied te beschermen en de illegale wapensmokkel tegen te gaan. Men heeft het recht de grens te sluiten met een gebied waar een vijandig regime aan de macht is. En de problemen zijn veroorzaakt door Hamas, dat in juni 2007 in een illegale coup de macht opeiste in Gaza, en sindsdien de burgerrechten en vrijheden van de inwoners aan banden heeft gelegd, dissidente journalisten opgepakt en islamitische regels heeft opgelegd. Ook laat men patienten die in Israel of op de Westoever behandeld kunnen worden vaak niet gaan, omdat zij niet over de juiste papieren zouden beschikken.

RP

-------------

The Jerusalem Post
Jan 6, 2010 11:10 | Updated Jan 6, 2010 16:20
Abbas: '67 borders precondition to talks
By JPOST.COM STAFF
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1262339407823&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he would be the first to negotiate with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, but only if the latter would cease construction in the settlements and recognize the 1967 borders of a Palestinian state, Israel Radio reported Wednesday, quoting Qatari newspapers.

Abbas also said that Netanyahu's recent statements following his visit to Cairo, in which the Israeli premier called for the resumption of peace talks, were vague and needed clarification.

Speaking at the Sheraton Doha, Abbas was quoted by Qatari daily Gulf Times commenting on the failed reconciliation attempts with Hamas, explaining that negotiators from the rival faction had kept asking for last-minute amendments in what was an attempt to halt the reconciliation process.

"Going through the whole gamut of things again means a delay of another two years and that is what Hamas wants," he said.

Abbas added that he "welcomed" mediation by any Arab country to solve the standoff between the rival Palestinian movements, but insisted that any deal must be signed in Egypt. "The national dialogue started in Egypt and must end there," Gulf Times quoted Abbas as saying.

The Palestinian leader also justified Egypt's construction of a steel wall that along its border with the Gaza Strip. Cairo has the "full right to protect its territory and prevent smuggling of illegal materials into Gaza," he said. "It is a sovereign and political decision of the Egyptian government and we understand that," Abbas added, reminding attendants of "the reasons for the Gaza siege.

It is, in fact, the coup that Hamas staged that created all the problems for Gaza's residents," he said.

On the negotiations for the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, Abbas said he welcomed the release of any Palestinian prisoner, "even if Hamas took credit for it."

Rellen aan Rafah grens tussen Hamas aanhangers en Egyptische grenswachten

The barrier has angered the Hamas rulers because it would sever Gaza's last lifeline and increases pressure on the militants to make concessions.

 

De blokkade is bedoeld om het Hamas regime te verzwakken, een regime dat, zowel in woord als in daad, in oorlog is met Israel. Mensen en groeperingen die deze blokkade bestrijden kiezen dus duidelijk partij in het conflict en helpen Hamas. Hamas heeft dat zelf ook heel duidelijk gemaakt in een welkomst toespraak tegenover de actievoerders een paar dagen geleden, en eerder zijn actievoerders door Hamas geprezen en geëerd. Dan ben je geen onpartijdige vredesactivist meer, die opkomt voor de zwakkeren, maar steun je een misdadig terroristisch regime dat in haar handvest oproept tot het doden van alle Joden en verwijst naar de antisemitische Protocollen van de Wijzen van Zion.

 

George Galloway en andere organisatoren staan bekend om hun extreme uitspraken en steun aan terroristische organisaties en regimes. Galloway was bijvoorbeeld bevriend met Saddam Hoessein.

 

RP

------------  

The Jerusalem Post
Jan 6, 2010 11:06 | Updated Jan 6, 2010 17:12
Egyptian border guard killed in clash with Gaza protesters
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
AL-ARISH, Egypt
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1262339407809&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Egyptian security forces and Palestinians clashed at the Gaza border on Wednesday over the delay of an international aid convoy, killing one Egyptian border guard and wounding 15 Palestinians.

The incident further raises the tension between Egypt and the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip who see Cairo's attempts to seal the border as a direct threat to their survival, particularly a new effort to build a steel wall blocking cross-border tunnels.

It was the worst violence on the border since an Egyptian major was killed by Palestinian gunmen during Operation Cast Lead in December 2008.

The Egyptian state news agency said Palestinians shot and killed the 21-year-old border guard who was in an observation tower overlooking the frontier. Nine other guards were injured by the stones thrown across the border by hundreds of Palestinians.

Hamas had called for a protest earlier over the delay of an international aid convoy at the nearby Egyptian port city of El-Arish, but soon lost control of the situation as hundreds of youths began hurling rocks across the border at the guards.

Hamas police fired shots to disperse the crowd and shots were also heard from the Egyptian side the border. The director of a local hospital, Dr. Abdullah Shahateh said they treated 12 people, two in a serious condition. There were three other wounded in another hospital.

Ehab Ghussein, the spokesman for Gaza's interior minister, said growing anger over Egypt's construction of an underground barrier along its border helped fuel the protests.

"There was anger, and that's because of what happened, especially about the wall and (Egypt preventing entry of) the people who are coming to stand with us," he said.

Ghussein said 35 Palestinians were injured, including two who are brain dead and five in serious condition. His tally could not be reconciled with that of local doctors.

The incident follows a late night clash between international pro-Gaza activists and Egyptian security at El-Arish when Egypt refused to allow part of the convoy to enter its territory and move on to Gaza.

More than 50 activists and over a dozen members of the security forces were injured. Activists briefly seized some policemen as well.

Egypt has come under criticism from Arab and Muslim groups for cooperating with Israel in its 28-month blockade of the impoverished territory. The blockade was imposed after Hamas violently seized control from the forces of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Hamas government has largely survived through a massive network of smuggling tunnels under the border, bringing in everything from food, medicine and consumer goods to cash and weapons.

Egypt began constructing an underground metal barrier along its border with Gaza late last year, in its highest profile attempt to control the smuggling.

The barrier has angered the Hamas rulers because it would sever Gaza's last lifeline and increases pressure on the militants to make concessions.

Egypt says it is no longer affected by Hamas attempts to rally international opinion over the blockade since the border is a matter of national security and sovereignty.

"This used to matter before, and we were sensitive to criticism. Now, this is the way it will be," Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said about the protests by activists.

More than 500 international activists accompanied the convoy organized by the British-based group Viva Palestina, bringing tons of humanitarian supplies, as well as vehicles, to Gaza. The group includes British, American, Jordanian and Turkish activists and lawmakers.

The scuffles at the port broke out late Tuesday at al-Arish port building when authorities told the organizers that out of the nearly 200 vehicles, some 59 can't enter Gaza through Egypt, but must go through Israeli terminals.

A security official said the vehicles in question are carrying pickup trucks, sedans, generators and other equipment, which are not allowed to pass through the Egyptian crossing at Rafah and had to go via Israel. Only medical aid and passengers are allowed through, the official said.

British MP George Galloway told Sky News television that the activists were negotiating with authorities and refusing to leave behind their vehicles.

"It's a breach of the agreement which we reached," he said. "It is completely unconscionable."

Zaki, the ministry spokesman, said the rules were clear from the start, and accused the activists of coordinating with Hamas to create problems.

"We didn't mislead anyone. They have their interests ... and they want to make up problems and clash with Egypt," he told The Associated Press.

Television reports showed images of both riot police and activists hurling stones at each other and said clashes began when angry protesters attempted to leave the port area and were driven back by riot police.

Alice Howard, a spokeswoman for the group speaking from London, said more than 50 activists were injured in the scuffle.

Wael al-Sakka, a Jordanian activist, said the group was not allowed to leave the port building, and denied government claims they took control of the premises.

"The Egyptians were too high-strung. The police are the reason for the tension," al-Sakka said.

He said six activists were detained, including Americans and British citizens. The security official said five were detained, but didn't identify them. US embassy officials did not immediately have information on the arrests.

Irak wil compensatie van Israel voor bombarderen Osirak kernreactor van Saddam

En misschien moeten de geallieerden Duitsland alsnog compenseren voor de bombardementen op Dresden, Berlijn, Keulen en een aantal andere steden.

Ik zou eerder zeggen dat Irak Israel moet compenseren voor de schade (ook psychologisch) die de scud raketten tijdens de Golfoorlog hebben aangericht.

 

RP

----------

The Jerusalem Post
Jan 5, 2010 15:51 | Updated Jan 5, 2010 16:40
'Israel must compensate Iraq for Osirak'
By JPOST.COM STAFF
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1262339400882&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Iraq will demand that Israel pay compensation for bombing the unfinished nuclear reactor at Osirak in 1981, an Iraqi member of parliament told the Iraqi al-Sabah newspaper in an article published on Tuesday.

Muhammad Naji Muhammad claimed that his government was planning to enlist the United Nation's help to pressure Israel into compensating Baghdad, according to a DPA report cited by Channel 10.

"Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the Foreign Ministry turned to the UN and the Security Council demanding that Israel pay us reparations for damage caused to the reactor in 1981," Muhammad was quoted as telling the newspaper.

Baghdad is demanding that the UN establish a committee to assess the scope of the damage caused by the Israeli strike in order to calculate the appropriate compensation.

The Iraqi demand is based on UN Security Council Resolution 487, which was drafted following the bombing of the reactor in June 1981. The resolution harshly condemned Israel's aerial attack and determined that Iraq had a right to demand compensation over the damages.

IDF zoekt juridisch advies tijdens toekomstige conflicten

Gezien het feit dat de hele wereld continu met een vergrootglas kijkt naar Israel, is dat geen overbodige luxe.

 

In the wake of the release of the United Nation's Goldstone report accusing Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the Gaza war, as well as efforts to issue warrants abroad for the arrest of senior IDF officers and former ministers, some Israeli officials have said the international rules of war need to be changed to better reflect the realities of asymmetric warfare.

 

Hierover zou inderdaad eens een stevige discussie moeten plaatsvinden, want veel regels zijn van kort na de Tweede Wereldoorlog en toen zag de wereld er iets anders uit dan nu. Er is vooral veel meer asymetrische oorlogsvoering gekomen, van staten tegen allerhande guerrilla's of rebellen of terroristische organisaties die soms tegelijkertijd een politieke partij zijn en soms een los verband met autonoom opererende cellen in verschillende landen. Ze worden vaak gesteund door een of meerdere staten, expliciet danwel impliciet, maar hoe innig de banden zijn en hoeveel eigen zeggenschap ze hebben is vaak niet geheel duidelijk. Ze dragen zelden uniformen, opereren in burgergebied en zijn voor de vijand nagenoeg onzichtbaar.

 

Over de interpretatie van een aantal bepalingen zijn experts het bovendien niet eens, en vaak 'wint' een bepaalde interpretatie op (machts)politieke redenen.

 

RP

-----------

IDF to seek legal advice during future conflicts
By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent Last update - 10:03 06/01/2010
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1140292.html

 

IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi has issued an order requiring the Israel Defense Forces to consult with the army's legal advisers while military operations are underway and not just when they are being planned.

Ashkenazi imposed the stricter regulations despite opposition by several commanders, including members of the General Staff.

In making that decision, Ashkenazi has essentially accepted the viewpoint of Military Advocate General Avichai Mendelblit. However, in an effort to keep the legal advisers from disrupting the combat, the IDF has decided they will work only with the divisional headquarters while operations are underway - rather than with brigade or battalion headquarters, as is common in some Western armies, including the U.S. military.

During Operation Cast Lead and in some other major IDF operations, legal advisers took part in the planning as well as the selection and approval of targets for destruction. However, legal advisers were rarely consulted once the combat began.

Last winter's operation in the Gaza Strip saw a gradual change on this issue, but it was only in recent months that the chief of staff reached a definitive position.

Meanwhile, greater emphasis has been placed on training officers in the rules of war and international law, as part of officer training courses at the level of company, battalion and brigade commanders.

In recent months, the IDF and Foreign Ministry have been cooperating increasingly closely on their interactions with foreign government and international organizations regarding the IDF's efforts to ensure the legality of its operations and to carry out investigations on the operations after they are over.

As part of this effort, Mendelblit has traveled to Washington for meetings with officials in the Obama administration, and to the United Nations headquarters for talks with officials there.

Part of the Israeli effort is to formulate understandings with foreign governments and armies on legal regulations that pertain to asymmetrical warfare, particularly involving fighting non-state entities in areas populated by civilians - the kind of combat that has characterized the IDF's battles with Hezbollah and Hamas, and those of NATO armies in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the wake of the release of the United Nation's Goldstone report accusing Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the Gaza war, as well as efforts to issue warrants abroad for the arrest of senior IDF officers and former ministers, some Israeli officials have said the international rules of war need to be changed to better reflect the realities of asymmetric warfare.

Legal advisers at the Foreign Ministry and the military advocate general's office have opposes such initiatives, saying it is unlikely that most countries would accept a reformulated Geneva convention.

However, efforts are being made to reach understandings with Western democracies and other countries, including India, to adopt what some call a dynamic interpretation of existing rules of war that would be better suited to the changing realities. Such rules would not restrict armies from countering the threat of terrorism because of concern that its officers or political leadership would be accused of war crimes.

Snelweg heropend voor Palestijnse automobilisten

"Stel je voor: je slaat de krant open bij het redactioneel commentaar en daar staat:

Vorige week gaf het Israelische Hoog Gerechtshof de regering opdracht een belangrijke forenzensnelweg te heropenen voor Palestijnse automobilisten. Over de 443 rijden dagelijks 40.000 auto's tussen Jeruzalem en Tel Aviv. Dit vonnis is representatief voor de enorme inspanningen van Israel om een evenwicht te vinden tussen de eigen behoefte aan veiligheid en de rechten van Palestijnen op de Westoever en in de Gazastrook. Deze weg werd in 2002 gesloten voor Palestijnen toen, tijdens de tweede intifada, in een paar weken 5 Israelische automobilisten werden vermoord door scherpschutters. De regering heeft bijna 3 miljard dollar uitgegeven aan een parallelle snelweg voor Palestijjnen, zonder checkpoints die het verkeer ophouden.
Bedenk dat deze zaak is aangespannen door een Israelische mensenrechtenorganisatie, is gefinancierd uit donaties van Israeli's, is behandeld in een Israelisch gerechtshof, en is gevonnisd door Israelische rechters. En nu gaan het Israelische kabinet en leger zich aan dit vonnis houden.
Als je nagaat dat Joden kunnen worden doodgeschoten als ze alleen maar over een Palestijnse straat lopen - en er zijn geen Palestijnse mensenrechtenorganisaties of rechtbanken bij wie ze in beroep kunnen gaan - dan zijn de Israelische pogingen om Palestijnen met respect te behandelen, ondanks de honderden pogingen tot zelfmoordaanslagen die elk jaar weer vanuit de Westbank en Gaza worden ondernomen, dan zijn die pogingen voorbeeldig.

Hoor ik daar iemand heel hard lachen bij de gedachte dat een krant zo'n commentaar zou afdrukken? Zou dit niet in de NRC hebben kunnen staan? In de Volkskrant? Telegraaf dan? Reformatorisch Dagblad? Het gelach gaat ongetwijfeld door, maar het bovenstaande stond dinsdag in de Canadese National Post. Waarom niet hier?"

 

Aldus Jantien op IsraNed. Goeie vraag. Misschien moeten we hem wel omdraaien: waarom is dat in Canada blijkbaar nog wel normaal? Misschien zou je eens een tijdje een Canadese krant moeten monitoren en dat tegenover de berichtgeving in een qua kleur vergelijkbare Nederlandse krant moeten zetten. Na mijn uitgebreide onderzoek naar de berichtgeving in NRC Handelsblad en het negeren daarvan door de media, lijkt me dat een leuke klus voor iemand anders. Ik ben altijd bereid om tips te geven :-)

RP

Israelische studenten winnen internationale debatwedstrijd

Eindelijk eens goed nieuws, maar wacht even, dit zal door antizionisten worden uitgelegd als bewijs dat Israeli's alles recht kunnen praten wat krom is, en daarom de Israellobby zo oppermachtig is en het buitenlands beleid van alle westerse landen onder controle heeft. Dat zo'n debatwedstrijd winnen betekent dat je goed inzicht hebt in de materie, goede feitenkennis bezit en vooral ook een goede kennis van de Engelse taal, zal men niet graag erkennen.

Maar misschien wel de belangrijkste overwinning is de volgende:  

 

Despite the large presence of students from Muslim countries, Cohen-Idov said that there was no tension felt between the delegations. "The debate community is unique in that it embodies all the clichés. No one cares about nationality or race. Even members of the delegations from Qatar, Iraq and Malaysia acted as our friends and congratulated us."

RP

------------

 

TAU students win world championship in debate

Israeli team beats 30 other groups, including delegation from University of Haifa. 'Even delegations from Qatar, Iraq, Malaysia congratulated us for victory,' winners tell Ynet

Yaheli Moran Zelikovich
Ynetnews / Published: 01.04.10, 21:35
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3829680,00.html

 

A victory that's hard to debate- Tel Aviv University debate team on Sunday made an impressive achievement when it won the world championship in debate for universities held in Istanbul. The Israeli team managed to beat three other groups from the Netherlands, Malaysia and an Israeli team from University of Haifa.

The team members, Yoni Cohen-Idov and Uri Merhav, won the finals for non-native English speakers after losing the title during the European championship last summer.

During the final round, Cohen-Idov and Merhav were asked to debate in favor of "banning the positive depiction of war criminals in the media", while in the semi-finals they argued the question of whether to allow prisoners to raise their kids in prison.

In the quarter-finals the two debated banning advertisement of treatments to "cure" homosexuality.

The world championship in debate for universities is held annually in different universities and is considered one of the largest student events in the world, with over 1,000 participants from some 150 universities. In 2002, the Hebrew university delegation won the coveted title.

The competition is held in two separate categories; debate for native English speakers and non-native English speakers. The two Israeli teams took part in the latter group together with 30 other teams. The winning team in the native-English category hailed from The University of Sydney in Australia, who managed to defeat delegations from top academic institutions such as Oxford and Harvard.

Five Israelis were nominated among the ten best non-native English speakers. Cohen-Idov, an undergraduate history student ranked forth, Merhav, an undergraduate physics student came in at number five and Yael Betzalel, a graduate gender-studies student ranked seventh. Two other Israeli participants from the University of Haifa came in at ninth and tenth places.

After returning to Israel, Cohen-Idov told Ynet:" We were raffled to take sides on a very difficult subject, which is banning the positive depiction of war-criminals. We gave a winning argument by saying that freedom of speech must be curbed when there is a probability it might lead to incitement and violence."

Despite the large presence of students from Muslim countries, Cohen-Idov said that there was no tension felt between the delegations. "The debate community is unique in that it embodies all the clichés. No one cares about nationality or race. Even members of the delegations from Qatar, Iraq and Malaysia acted as our friends and congratulated us."

Israelische militairen moeten in Groot-Brittannië arrestatie vrezen

 

Het is dus blijkbaar nog niet opgelost, ondanks eerdere toezeggingen van de Britten. Het is een absurde en ongehoorde situatie, en misschien moet de wet wel verder worden uitgehold door allerlei politici van bevriende landen te gaan aanklagen en hun arrestatie te eisen. Als dit de VS, Rusland of China overkomt is het snel gedaan met die wet.

 

RP

---------

The Jerusalem Post
Jan 5, 2010 5:22 | Updated Jan 5, 2010 10:09
IDF delegation to UK canceled due to fear of arrest warrants
By HERB KEINON AND JPOST.COM STAFF
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1262339396113&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


As Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and Britain's Attorney-General Baroness Scotland of Asthal are about to meet in Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, it has been revealed that a delegation of IDF officers cancelled a planned visit to the UK last week, after the British hosts couldn't guarantee that arrest warrants wouldn't be issued against the invitees.

An outraged Ayalon expressed concern that relations with London could be damaged by the current legal situation in the UK. The issue of changing UK law to prevent the arrest of Israeli officials and officers is expected to loom large in Lady Scotland's meetings with foreign ministry officials.

While it was the defense ministry, and not the foreign ministry, which advised the officers against accepting the British military's invitation, observers believe that airing the story during Lady Scotland's visit might be an attempt on the foreign ministry's behalf put the topic high on the public agenda.

The UK attorney-general's semi-private visit, scheduled months ago, comes less than a month after a British judge's arrest warrant for Kadima leader Tzipi Livni triggered a mini diplomatic crisis, and follows promises from the British government that it would finally act to close the loophole that made the threats of such arrests possible.

Lady Scotland is also expected to address the issue at a lecture at the Hebrew University on Tuesday night entitled "Lawfare: Time for rules of engagement?"

Her lecture is being sponsored by the law school.

Livni canceled a trip to the UK last month to address a Jewish National Fund conference after it was learned that a warrant for her arrest had been issued. At the time both British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband pledged to ensure that nothing similar would happen again.

Israeli officials said that so far nothing tangible has been done to close the loophole in legislation that allows individuals to go to court and ask for an arrest warrant against an alleged war criminal, without the British government having to know about it and, as a result, not having any say about whether it should be issued.

At the same time, the officials pointed out that the Livni affair exploded just prior to the holiday season in Britain, when very little government business is conducted.

Strategieën voor hervatten vredesoverleg Israel en PA

 

Allerlei geruchten doen de ronde over hoe het vredesproces weer opgestart kan worden. Een idee is dat voordat over tien maanden de bouwstop eindigt, er overeenstemming moet zijn over de grenzen van de te vormen Palestijnse staat. De andere onderwerpen komen daarna. Dan is gelijk duidelijk waar Israel weer mag bouwen en waar niet. Klinkt aardig, maar dan heeft Israel haar troefkaarten uit handen gegeven zonder daar iets voor te hebben teruggekregen wat betreft Palestijnse concessies over de vluchtelingen en Jeruzalem, erkenning van Israel als Joodse staat, een einde aan de verheerlijking van terorristen etc.

 

Iets anders is de afspraak dat binnen twee jaar een vredesplan op tafel moet liggen en de Palestijnse staat werkelijkheid zal worden, gebaseerd op de pre-1967 wapenstilstandslijnen. Ook daar is Israel tegen, want zo'n limiet zet de onderhandelingen onder druk en als de uitkomst al vaststaat, wat valt er dan nog te onderhandelen? Eventueel zou zo'n afspraak gepaard kunnen gaan met brieven van de VS aan beide partijen.

 

Israel wil zonder voorwaarden of afspraken vooraf gaan praten, en meent dat alles tijdens de onderhandelingen moet worden geregeld, terwijl de Palestijnen zoveel mogelijk buiten Israel om vantevoren vast willen leggen, via garanties van de VS en/of andere partijen. Deze garanties houden Israelische concessies in waarvoor de Palestijnen zelf niks hebben hoeven doen, zodat hun uitgangspositie beter is. Het is een slimme taktiek, en omdat iedereen zo ontzettend graag wil dat de partijen weer om de tafel gaan zitten, zal het de Palestijnen waarschijnlijk wel lukken zo nog het een en ander binnen te slepen. Misschien moet Israel ook maar weer voorwaarden gaan stellen, en 'hard to get' spelen.

 

RP

-------------

The Jerusalem Post
Jan 5, 2010 0:40 | Updated Jan 5, 2010 9:30
Gov't opposes 'borders first' approach
By HERB KEINON AND KHALED ABU TOAMEH
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1262339395393&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Israel's top decision-makers are against discussing the border issue first in future negotiations with the Palestinians, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Separating final borders from other core issues would allow negotiators to avoid the thorny settlement construction dispute.

In recent days, it has been widely reported that the issue of permanent borders would be the first one tackled in future Israeli-Palestinian talks - the idea being that once they are decided on, the contentious issues regarding settlement building would dissolve, and Israel would clearly be able to build in the settlements that would fall inside the negotiated border.

There have been reports of a US interest in solving the border issue within the next nine months, before the end of the construction moratorium in the settlements, so it would be clear afterward where Israel could and could not build.

But the problem with that approach, according to a senior official in Jerusalem, is that it would mean Israel relinquishing land and settlements without getting anything in return, and then having to begin discussing the more difficult issues of Jerusalem, refugees and the demilitarization of a future Palestinian state.

"In this case you give up territorial assets, and what have you done?" asked the official. "You haven't ended the conflict, and haven't dealt with refugees or Jerusalem. This idea is a nonstarter for all the ministers, from Left or Right."

The official said that from Jerusalem's point of view, the idea that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed must be the guiding principle in future talks, just as it has been in previous rounds.

The official's comments came as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday that he did not want to resume peace talks with Israel on an "unclear basis," and reiterated his demand for a complete cessation of settlement construction.

Abbas, who was speaking to reporters after meeting in Sharm e-Sheikh with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, said he reached understandings with Cairo on the required terms for resuming the peace talks.

He said the two sides agreed that Jerusalem must be included in the talks and that Israel should freeze all settlement construction.

"In principle, we have no objections to returning to the negotiating table or holding any kind of meetings," Abbas said. "Nor are we setting preconditions."

Asked if he would be willing to hold a tripartite meeting with Mubarak and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Abbas said: "We have said - and we continue to say - that we are ready to resume the talks once settlement construction is halted and international terms of reference are recognized as the basis for the negotiations."

In response to another question about whether he saw Netanyahu's latest ideas [which were discussed during last week's talks with Mubarak] as encouraging, Abbas said: "We will judge these ideas after the visit of [Egyptian] Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and General Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman to the US. They will discuss these ideas in Washington and everything will become clear afterwards. I don't want to judge ideas that now seem to be unclear."

Senior officials in Jerusalem said Abbas seemed to be leaving the door open for negotiations, and that the nuance and tone of his comments were not as unequivocally against entering into negotiations with Israel as in the past.

For instance, the official said, this was the first time in a while that Abbas has said he was not opposed to entering into negotiations or holding meetings with the Netanyahu government. The overall assessment in Jerusalem is that there has been a bit of a change in the "music" coming from the PA.

This apparently was what Netanyahu had in mind when he said at the Likud faction meeting on Monday that "in recent weeks, there has been a change of atmosphere. I hope that the time is now ripe to move the peace process forward."

He said that Palestinian preconditions for talks had wasted precious time that could have been spent negotiating a real agreement, rather than a framework for talks.

"I believe that negotiations about the nature of negotiations have delayed the process enough and should be dropped," the prime minister said.

He said it was obvious that each side would be free to raise its positions around the negotiating table. But, he said, Israel insisted that the results of the negotiations be determined in talks at the end of the process, and certainly not by preconditions at the very beginning.

Meanwhile, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, a spokesman for Abbas, accused Israel of "continuing to avoid its commitments" to the peace process. He said that Israel was continuing settlement construction and military incursions into Palestinian communities, while also ignoring the road map for peace in the Middle East.

Abu Rudaineh, who is accompanying Abbas on his current tour of a number of Arab countries, said that the PA did not want to hold meetings to waste time. The PA, he added, was prepared to return to the negotiations, but only on the basis of a freeze of settlement construction, and if the ultimate goal was clear. Abbas is insisting that the framework of the talks be a Palestinian state with the pre-1967 lines as its borders, a formula that Netanyahu does not accept.

Abu Rudaineh explained that "entering negotiations with Israel without clarity means that the talks would be fruitless."

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman meanwhile met on Monday with visiting Quartet envoy Tony Blair and said that it was important to hold a "frank dialogue" with the Palestinians, without creating any illusions that would only cause more frustration and lead to violence.

Lieberman said it was unrealistic to solve the border issue in nine months, and - as the Palestinians are demanding - to set a two-year deadline for reaching a final agreement.

According to a statement put out by his office, Lieberman said that what was needed was to start direct talks without committing to a deadline.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein, who is the only resident of Judea and Samaria among the Likud ministers, said he warned Netanyahu on Sunday against going too far to bring about negotiations with the Palestinians. He said that he and other Likud MKs were "getting ready to fight" against diplomatic concessions, just in case.

MK Danny Danon intended to criticize Netanyahu on diplomatic issues in Monday's Likud faction meeting, but the prime minister insisted that following his own statement about potential talks with the PA, the two-hour meeting would deal solely with the Likud's stance on the loyalty oath bill of Israel Beiteinu MK David Rotem, which is unlikely to be brought to a vote due to the Labor Party's veto.

Danon charged that Netanyahu was trying to avoid criticism. He warned security cabinet ministers in meetings on Monday that "Netanyahu will end up leading us back to pre-1967 borders."

Gil Hoffman contributed to this report.

Arabische leraren en gidsen in Jeruzalem ontkennen Joodse geschiedenis Israel

 

Dit zijn precies het soort dingen die het wantrouwen in Israel over de Israelische Arabieren voeden. Er staan natuurlijk ook verhalen tegenover van Arabieren die wel loyaal aan Israel zijn, die trots zijn op hun land en dat ook uitdragen. Dit zijn verhalen die je niet zo snel van PMW zult horen, maar die je evenmin zult horen van Israel-kritische organisaties, die vaak vooral het Arabische narratief uitdragen, en daar passen Arabieren die loyaal zijn aan de staat en haar steunen ook niet in. Zo houden beide kanten een vijandbeeld in stand.

 

Israelische Arabieren zitten in een lastige positie. Ze sympathiseren vaak met de Palestijnen maar zijn ook staatsburger van Israel, met alle rechten en plichten vandien, en het is terecht dat van hun ook loyaliteit aan de staat wordt gevraagd, met name in bepaalde beroepen (waarvoor ze zelf hebben gekozen). Het vreemde is, dat volgens enquetes het overgrote merendeel in Israel wil blijven wonen na de stichting van een Palestijnse staat. Zaken als onderstaande zou je in dat licht kunnen uitleggen als bewuste pogingen Israels positie te verzwakken en uiteindelijk ondermijnen, en niet als het gevolg van een oprecht loyaliteitsconflict waar men zich (noodgedwongen) voor geplaatst ziet.

 

RP

----------------

 

PMW Bulletin
Jan. 4, 2010

 

p:+972 2 625 4140     e: pmw@palwatch.org
f: +972 2 624 2803     w: www.palwatch.org
PMW | King George 59 | Jerusalem | Israel

 

Click here to view on PMW's new web site

Three Arab employees of Israeli institutions
misuse their positions to slander Israel
 
A teacher instructs his Israeli Arab students
that the Israeli curriculum should "not be considered information"
 
A researcher of the Tower of David Museum of Jerusalem's History calls
the museum's information "lies"
 
A guide at the museum prefers to convey "the Arab point of view"
  rather than the museum's "deceptions" to Arabic-speaking visitors
 
Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

 

 

Interviews with three Arab employees of official Israeli institutions in Jerusalem, a teacher, a researcher and a guide, were recently broadcast on Palestinian TV. The interviewees revealed that in the course of their work they do not convey to students and visitors the historical information which they are meant to impart - contrary to the guidelines of their Israeli employers, and without their knowledge.
 
Mustafa Othman, a teacher from the Beit Safafa neighborhood in the western part of Jerusalem, revealed on Palestinian television that he teaches Israeli Arab children that the Israeli state curriculum is "only for the test; you shouldn't consider it as information". The truth, he teaches Israeli Arab youth, is "that [Israel] conquered our land by armed force, robbed it, destroyed the houses, expelled its people from the cities and from the villages."
 
In another broadcast, two employees of the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem, a history scholar and an Arabic-language tour guide, were interviewed. Both defined the Israeli historical narrative regarding the Jewish connection with Jerusalem, which they are meant to convey to tourists, as "false," and testified that they teach different information instead. According to one, the museum invents stories for the purpose of "creating a historical right and a historical dimension, claiming that they [the Jews] were here 3,000 years ago and that they had buildings here, and that they had a presence here." The tourist guide in the museum said that the information signs on the walls of the museum are incorrect, while the history scholar reiterated the central Palestinian historical distortion denying the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, referring to it as the "alleged Temple".
 
The following is from the interview with the Arab teacher, Mustafa Othman, describing what he teaches Israeli Arab youth in Israeli schools:

"In the [preferred] Jordanian or Palestinian curriculum, if I may say, the material is studied on the basis of them [Israel] having conquered our land militarily, robbed it, destroyed the houses, expelled its people from the cities and from the villages. When I taught the Israeli curriculum I would tell the [Israeli Arab] students that it was only for the test, 'you shouldn't consider it as information.'"

[Al-Filistiniya (Fatah) TV, Sept. 10, 2009]

The following is a transcript of the television interview with the two employees of the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem:

Abir Zayyad, history scholar, employed by the Tower of David Museum
Rubin Abu Shamsiya, Arabic-language tour guide at the museum

 

PA TV Host, Houloud Al-Afifi: "[Speaking about the site known as David's Citadel] So we've spoken about its importance, its location, and its connection to the Christian religion, and that it's an Islamic structure, but what, inside this Citadel... is [related to] the alleged Israeli history, which the Israelis claim? What exactly is inside the Citadel?"
 
History scholar Abir Zayyad: "... In the hall pertaining to the Bronze Age, which they [the museum] call the [period of the] "First Temple" - and this appellation is not correct - in that period they focus on the issue of Palestine - that the Jews, comprising 12 tribes, entered it, and how Palestine was divided in this period between the 12 tribes, and the process of the conquest of the city of Jerusalem by David, and the construction of the alleged First Temple by Solomon."
 
[Zayyad goes on to say that the archaeological findings indicate that David and Solomon did not live in Jerusalem or in "Palestine", and that there are no structures in Jerusalem that can be attributed to them.]
 
Host: "What are they [the Israelis] proving by means of their version? And what is inside the Citadel? What are they trying to create in order to prove this matter and to sell it to the world?"
 
History scholar Zayyad: "It's the creation of a historical right and a historical dimension, claiming they were here 3,000 years ago, and that they had buildings here, and that they had a presence here, and that all of Palestine was under their rule, as though they created the city of Jerusalem and created all of Palestine."
 
Host (addressing tour guide Rubin Abu Shamsiya): "Mr. Rubin, when you accompany groups of tourists, how do you treat [the subject] - especially when you see the [museum's] history full of lies, the artificial and alleged history - how do you relate to these groups of [Arabic speaking] tourists in presenting the history that is found there?"

Tour guide Abu Shamsiya: "From my tour-guiding experience in the Tower of David Museum, I see many historical deceptions, which are displayed on the [museum] walls... Obviously, if I try to treat it in a more neutral way, from a historical point of view, I try to show the neutral historical point of view by means of information which I have drawn from a number of [other] historical institutions. I do not rely exclusively on that which is written on the museum's walls and texts. It is more important to me to convey the Arab point of view, but by means of greater historical neutrality."
 
History scholar Zayyad: "There is a documentary film at the Citadel which they present on the history of Jerusalem. This film is full of historical lies and historical deceptions and their dissemination."

[PA TV (Fatah), Nov. 13, 2009]

 

PA weigerde vooraf om moordenaar van Rabbi Meir Chai te arresteren

 

Israel had om de arrestatie van de moordenaar van rabbi Meir Chai gevraagd, maar de Palestijnse Autoriteit weigerde dat, aldus Arutz Sheva. Als dit inderdaad zo is, is de verontwaardiging van het Palestijnse leiderschap over zijn dood door Israel helemaal schijnheilig. Men had dit (en de moord op de rabbi) immers kunnen voorkomen door hem zelf te arresteren. De PA heeft de plicht onder de Routekaart en met Israel gemaakte afspraken om terrorisme te bestrijden.

 

Arutz Sheva has learned that the Shabak received highly dependable information that Subuh had gone back to terror activity after the fugitive "pardon." The IDF therefore demanded that the PA, which is headed by Fatah, arrest him. The PA refused, apparently because Subuh belonged to a Fatah subgroup and not to rival Hamas.

 

RP

-------------

PA Rejected Request to Arrest Fugitive Before He Murdered Rabbi
by Gil Ronen
Published: 01/04/10, 6:48 PM / Last Update: 01/04/10, 7:27 PM
www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/135349


(IsraelNN.com) Shortly before the murder of Rabbi Meir Chai ten days ago, the Palestinian Authority rejected a request by Israel's security forces to re-arrest Fatah terrorist Anan Subuh, who later participated in the murder.

Subuh, 36, a resident of Shechem, was a member of the Fatah terror group's "Al Aqsa Martyrs" and Tanzim subgroups. He had been a member of a Tanzim cell that operated from the casbah area of Shechem and was led by Naef Abu Sherach until Sherach's death in June 2004. Subuh traded in weapons and supplied the weapons for terror activity.

He was included in the "fugitive agreement" between Israel and the PA, in which Israel agreed to stop hunting down certain fugitives in return for a promise by them not to go back to terror activity.

Arutz Sheva has learned that the Shabak received highly dependable information that Subuh had gone back to terror activity after the fugitive "pardon." The IDF therefore demanded that the PA, which is headed by Fatah, arrest him. The PA refused, apparently because Subuh belonged to a Fatah subgroup and not to rival Hamas.

Shortly afterward Subuh participated in Rabbi Chai's murder. Two days later the IDF gunned him down when he hid in a weapons cache in his home. Two other terrorists who carried out the murder were also eliminated that day.

The Palestinian Authority is headed by Mahmoud Abbas, who also heads Fatah. However, ever since the 1993 Oslo Accords, world leaders and news media usually refer to terror acts by Fatah subgroups as unconnected to Fatah's political leadership and to Abbas.

Eerste Palestijnse zelfmoordterroriste geëerd door Abbas en PA televisie

Recentelijk eerde de Palestijnse Autoriteit de terroriste Dalal Mugrabi, die in 1978 een buskaping in Israel leidde waarbij 37 burgers werden gedood. Ter ere van haar 50ste verjaardag werd een ceremonie georganiseerd en op haar geboortedag werd een plein in Ramallah naar haar genoemd. Eerder al werden een computercentrum en een voetbaltoernooi naar haar vernoemd.

 

Nu is de eerste vrouwelijke zelfmoordterroriste aan de beurt om eens postuum in het zonnetje te worden gezet.

Toch worden president Abbas en de Palestijnse Autoriteit in het Westen nog steeds als gematigd en vredelievend beschouwd, en stellen alleen islamofoben als Geert Wilders dit soort dingen aan de orde. Je hoeft toch niet rechts te zijn om te zien dat dit erg weinig met vrede te maken heeft??

 

Uit het meest recente PMW Bulletin:

 

Wafa Idris, the first Palestinian female suicide terrorist, was honored as a "Shahida" - holy Martyr - in a new Fatah promotional music video broadcast this week on Palestinian Authority TV. Idris killed one Israeli and wounded 150 in her suicide bombing in 2002.

This picture of Wafa Idris with the text "The Shahida (Martyr) Wafa Ali Idris" appears in the new PA TV music video, which blends scenes and pictures paying tribute to the PLO, Fatah, Yasser Arafat and PA and Fatah Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. PA TV is under the control of Abbas's office.

 

Click to see documentation of glorification of terrorists on PMW's web site
Click to see PMW's recent bulletin on PA glorification of most recent terrorists
Click to see PMW's recent bulletin on PA glorification of terrorist Dalal Mughrabi

 

RP

-----------------

 

Palestijnse Autoriteit gestopt met martelen Hamasleden in gevangenissen Westoever

In the West Bank, persistent reports of abuse emerged over the past two years from prisons and interrogation centers. Since 2007, eight detainees have died in West Bank lockups and 15 in Gaza, human rights researchers say, though circumstances in some cases remain murky.

The abuse was driven both by a desire to take revenge for the Gaza takeover and by fear that Hamas would seize control of the West Bank, said Salah Mousa, a human rights activist and former member of the Palestinian security forces.

 

De mishandelingen op de Westoever zijn nu gestopt, volgens Hamas vanwege de internationale aandacht door de media en mensenrechtenorganisaties. Terwijl ook onderstaand artikel vooral gaat over mishandelingen op de Westoever, blijkt uit bovenstaande dat Hamas er in Gaza ook wat van kan. De vraag is wanneer de druk op Hamas om dat te beëindigen wordt opgevoerd, maar kritiek op Hamas lijkt haast het nieuwe taboe van de media en mensenrechtenorganisaties. Het gaat, voor de duidelijkheid, niet om een eenmalig iets zoals de mishandelingen door Hamas van Fatah activisten tijdens de Gaza oorlog (waar wel aandacht voor was), maar om de vele mensenrechtenschendingen van Hamas op een dagelijkse basis, de positie van minderheden, vrouwen en andersdenkenden in Gaza, de indoctrinatie en training van kinderen, het misbruik van civiele gebouwen voor wapenopslag, etc. etc.

 

RP

---------------

The Jerusalem Post
Jan 4, 2010 2:11 | Updated Jan 4, 2010 2:16
Hamas inmates say torture ends in West Bank jails
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1262339384609&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank have stopped torturing Hamas prisoners, ending two years of systematic abuse, Hamas inmates told The Associated Press in jailhouse interviews.

The change in practice, said to have taken effect in October, was confirmed by a West Bank Hamas leader, human rights activists and the Palestinian Authority prime minister. It defuses a potential problem for Washington since the US has been closely involved in training PA troops under the control of PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

Human rights groups say their public pressure campaign helped bring about change, and US President Barack Obama's no-torture policy might have helped set a new tone. However, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the decision to halt any abuse was an independent one, part of an effort to make sure a future state is built on the right foundations.

Hamas legislators and human rights researchers said they still get sporadic reports of prisoners being slapped or forced to stand for several hours during interrogation. And security forces continue to keep a close watch on Hamas activities, often arresting activists and holding them for lengthy periods without charge.

However, they said the worst behavior - prisoners beaten with clubs and cables, suspended from the ceiling while tied up in painful positions and forced to stand for days - has ended.

Fayyad confirmed a "dramatic change for the better" in West Bank prisons and said 43 officers have been jailed, fired or demoted for abusing prisoners.

In an interview, he denied torture was ever official policy, but acknowledged past "excesses" that he said stemmed from a flawed culture of revenge.

Abbas's security forces, dominated by supporters of his Fatah movement, have been clamping down on Hamas in the West Bank since June 2007, when the terror group wrested control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian leader.

Since then, some 4,000 Hamas followers were arrested in the West Bank, and 500 are currently in detention, according to Hamas. Just two weeks ago, dozens of Hamas supporters were detained during the group's anniversary celebrations. In Gaza, Hamas has rounded up hundreds of Fatah supporters, who also have complained of severe mistreatment.

Hamas and Fatah have failed to reconcile, despite many rounds of Egyptian-brokered mediation. However, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said in a visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday that significant progress has been made in reconciliation talks.

In the West Bank, persistent reports of abuse emerged over the past two years from prisons and interrogation centers. Since 2007, eight detainees have died in West Bank lockups and 15 in Gaza, human rights researchers say, though circumstances in some cases remain murky.

The abuse was driven both by a desire to take revenge for the Gaza takeover and by fear that Hamas would seize control of the West Bank, said Salah Mousa, a human rights activist and former member of the Palestinian security forces.

The worst accounts of abuse came from those held at Jneid Prison, a barbed wire-topped jumble of low buildings in Nablus, a former Hamas stronghold.

Last week, an AP team was granted access to the prison, including the wing holding 40 Hamas prisoners. Officials unlocked the metal cell doors on both sides of a hallway and bearded inmates in track suits stepped out. With wardens out of earshot, inmates described past abuse and said it has largely stopped.

Khaled Susah, 48, at Jneid for the past 14 months, pulled back a sleeve to show a swollen right wrist, which he said was the result of being repeatedly handcuffed and strung up from the ceiling during 80 days of interrogation at the start of his detention.

"They were dealing with us like sheep in a slaughter house," said Susah, who was arrested on suspicion of ties to Hamas' military wing but has yet to get a trial date.

He said inmates were told of the new policy during a prison visit in October by a man who identified himself as an Abbas adviser.

Another inmate, 38-year-old shopkeeper Ayman Hamad, leaned forward to show a deep scar on the bald crown of his head, where he said he was clubbed by a security officer a year ago. "Now things are much better. Beating has stopped, except for some violations here and there," such as slapping, Hamad said.

Other inmates said interrogation still involves being forced to stand, sometimes for several hours.

In the Military Intelligence section of the prison, three windowless isolation cells, each the size of a parking space, are still used at times to hold and pressure those under interrogation, prisoners said. Wardens insisted the cells are only used to punish those breaking prison rules.

The AP was not granted access to the interrogation area. However, Hamas officials who debrief released Hamas prisoners said security agents have stopped abusing prisoners.

"Torture has stopped, following strong articles in the foreign media and threats by human rights organizations of suing Palestinian Authority officials," said Mahmoud Ramahi, a Hamas leader in the West Bank and a leading critic of the security forces in the past.

Two leading Palestinian rights groups, Al Haq and the Independent Palestinian Commission for Human Rights, both confirmed the abuse has stopped. Shahwan Jabarin of Al Haq said lesser violations persist, such as denying prisoners blankets for days at a time, but the phenomenon is not widespread.

US officials wouldn't comment, noting that they do not train the forces accused of past torture.

Human rights activists say many of the government's measures remain problematic, such as holding Hamas supporters for long periods without charge and firing civil servants believed to be sympathetic to the group. Ramahi estimated that 1,500 Hamas loyalists have been fired from government jobs in the West Bank.

But in Jneid Prison, life is getting a little better.

The cells are still grimy and crowded, with prisoners sleeping in metal bunk beds.

But last month, each cell got a TV, and lawyers and relatives are now allowed to visit once a week, compared with restricted access in the past.

For some of the Muslim prayers, the inmates step out of their cells and kneel on mats on the floor in the hallway. In the past, they were unable to worship as a large group and had to pray in their cells.

One of the second-floor tracts is being renovated, with new tiles and wall paint, and hot water boilers have been installed.

Fayyad, the prime minister, said Hamas militants can be kept at bay with legal means. "If that means we get less information, so be it," he said.

Twee boeken over Gilad Shalit en het uitruilen van gevangenen

 

Dit is een boekbespreking van twee boeken, en vooral de eerste lijkt me erg interessant, omdat hij kritisch kijkt naar gevangenendeals en wat Israel daarvoor bereid is te betalen. Een citaat:

 

The data reveal the distance Israeli governments have slid down that slippery slope. On January 1, 1970, Fatah abducted night watchman Shmuel Rosenwasser from the northern Galilee town of Metula. Fourteen months later, Rosenwasser was swapped for a single Fatah man, Mahmoud Hijazi. On March 14, 1979, soldier Avraham Amram, who had been taken prisoner in Lebanon by Ahmed Jibril's organization, was released. This time, the price was 76 Fatah operatives, 20 of whom had "blood on their hands." In May of 1985, the notorious "Jibril deal" went through. It involved the return to Israel of three soldiers in exchange for 1,150 terrorists.

 

Het blijkt dat veel vrijgelaten gevangenen later weer werden gearresteerd vanwege terroristische activiteiten.

 

RP

---------------

Haaretz book supplement, Jan. 1, 2010
The principle turned on its maker
By Reuven Pedatzur

---
Medinat Yisrael Ta'aseh Hakol: Hakrav Hahashai al Hashevu'im Vehane'edarim

(By Any Means Necessary: Israel's Covert War for Its POWs and MIAs ), by Ronen Bergman
Kinneret Zmora-Bitan (Hebrew ), 637 pages, NIS 98
---
Mabat Me'aza
(Captive: A View From Gaza), by Sleman Al-Shafhe
Yedioth Ahronoth Books (Hebrew ), 188 pages, NIS 98
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1139558.html

As these lines are being written, Gilad Shalit is still a captive of Hamas, and Israel waits to hear whether the Islamist Palestinian organization will accept the terms it has set for an exchange of Palestinian prisoners that would make the Israeli soldier's release possible. Although a deal could be completed by the time you read this, it's also true that more than once in the past, the news that an agreement was about to be signed ended in disappointment. Last March, for example, attorney Eli Zohar informed Noam Shalit, Gilad's father, on behalf of then-prime minister Ehud Olmert, that "possibly the deal will be clinched tonight." That night, as we remember, went by and the deal did not go through. Whether Shalit is returned in the coming days, or the sides end up returning to the negotiations facilitated by a German mediator, the affair meshes with a long series of blunders and loss of good sense that have long characterized the government's approach to the subject of prisoners and abductees.

Our respective governments have taken, and continue to take, advantage of the public's short memory and of their own authority to employ censorship. This has made it possible to hide the blunders they have made in efforts to negotiate the release of Israeli soldiers and civilians taken prisoner or abducted by enemy states or terror organizations.

This is why reading Ronen Bergman's "By Any Means Necessary," which confronts the reader with a concentrated dose of all such cases, is so disturbing. It is impossible not to agree with Bergman, a commentator on intelligence affairs for Yedioth Ahronoth, who concludes his book with the statement that, "if we follow the sequence of dealing with prisoners and MIA affairs, it appears that the sacred principle of 'We don't abandon soldiers in the field' has turned on its maker. Only in recent years has the principle become the excuse, or at least trigger, for two failed wars. From a painful humanitarian issue, a natural byproduct of wars and the ongoing conflict, the affairs of Israel's various prisoners and MIAs and the attempts to move them out of a state of stasis have often become a dominant factor that itself makes history and leads to escalation of the conflict."


An excessive price?

The slide down the slippery slope that has so many times ended in the payment of unreasonable prices for the release of prisoners, and even dead bodies, can be attributed to the weakness of national leaders, who have not learned how to deal with pressure from the families, as well as to poor judgment, rigid thinking and rivalry among the various intelligence agencies.

"The cult of the dead bones has become life-threatening," writes Bergman, citing the incident in which fighters from the Nahal Brigade were sent to rescue the crew of a tank that was destroyed in the first hours of the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Those who sent them knew "they were on their way to gather pieces of corpses and that there were no living survivors." Another soldier was killed on that mission, and his comrades were wounded.

"You have an exceptional attitude on this issue," Dr. August Hanning, chief of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND ) told Jacob Perry, a former head of the Shin Bet security service, regarding the difference between Hezbollah's attitude toward the remains of its own dead (including a son of Hassan Nasrallah ) and the way Israelis are so often willing to pay a high price for the return of Israel Defense Forces soldiers for burial in Israel.

The data reveal the distance Israeli governments have slid down that slippery slope. On January 1, 1970, Fatah abducted night watchman Shmuel Rosenwasser from the northern Galilee town of Metula. Fourteen months later, Rosenwasser was swapped for a single Fatah man, Mahmoud Hijazi. On March 14, 1979, soldier Avraham Amram, who had been taken prisoner in Lebanon by Ahmed Jibril's organization, was released. This time, the price was 76 Fatah operatives, 20 of whom had "blood on their hands." In May of 1985, the notorious "Jibril deal" went through. It involved the return to Israel of three soldiers in exchange for 1,150 terrorists.

The excessive price Israel is willing to pay for the release of soldiers or bodies has significance beyond the numerical asymmetry. The release of terrorists serving time for murder increases the supply of terrorists motivated to attack Israelis again. This is one of the main reasons the current Shin Bet chief, Yuval Diskin, opposes a deal with Hamas for the release of Shalit in exchange for 980 Palestinian prisoners.

"Of the 364 who were released in the Tennenbaum deal in January 2004 who were infiltrated back into the territories, 30 percent were arrested again," writes Bergman about the case of Elhanan Tennenbaum, a businessman and reserve army officer kidnapped by Hezbollah in 2000. "Of the 238 released in the Jibril deal who were returned to the territories, 48 percent were imprisoned for a second time." After his release, one of them, Louay Saadi, established a broad infrastructure for attacks in the northern West Bank that led to the deaths of 30 Israelis and the wounding of 300 more. He was killed in 2005.

The decisions by Israeli governments concerning prisoners merit an academic study to establish the diplomatic and political background to a policy that seems to be very problematic. In the meantime, we have to content ourselves with Bergman's book, which presents the facts and paints quite a broad picture of the sequence of events in each case in which the government conducted negotiations for the release of prisoners and abductees.

Though much of the material has previously been published elsewhere, Bergman succeeds in casting new light on the subject and revealing details not previously known. He provides new details about the abduction of Ahmed Jibril's nephew from the heart of Beirut in 1985; about the determination that the MIAs from the battle of Sultan Yacoub, in 1982, were no longer among the living; and about a document on those MIAs whose conclusions were dictated by the people who had ordered it. Bergman also reveals that Yitzhak Rabin offered to "forgive" Austrian president Kurt Waldheim his Nazi past if he would help obtain details about the fate of missing air force navigator Ron Arad.

Bergman holds up a mirror before Israeli readers, and the image reflected back is not flattering. The Israel that emerges from this book has repeatedly failed to formulate a rational policy, leaving the country's leaders to make mistakes.

Bergman quotes Maj. Gen. (ret. ) Giora Eiland, former head of the National Security Council: "There is no issue on which Israel is in a position of greater inferiority than prisoner deals. All the pressure is on us, and when you're discussing only this you really do arrive at insane formulas, like what Hamas is demanding in the Shalit deal."

It would be appropriate, therefore, for those who are supposed to be making the decisions on these matters to read this book. Perhaps they will agree with Bergman, who writes in his epilogue: "This book is a call to restore the discussion to rational but humane lines ... A very thinline runs between the solidarity deriving from the good deed of ransoming prisoners and the chilling panic that deters politicians from doing what is necessary and saying what should be said, no matter how difficult."


A rumor circulating in Gaza

Another book about the Shalit affair has been accorded a great deal of publicity mainly because it led to Channel 2 News' decision to fire its author, journalist Sleman Al-Shafhe, who had reported from Gaza for the channel. The program let him go when they learned he was about to publish a book on the Shalit affair that would include information he had not passed along to the station, having held it back until he had published it in "Captive: A View from Gaza." Al-Shafhe sued the station in labor court, which determined in mid-December that his dismissal was legal.

All this would not be relevant to a review of his book were it not for the testimony of the news division's CEO Avi Weiss, which places the book in a problematic light: "I will tell you about the forums I participated in, with the top security people in this country," Weiss told the court. "These are the highest military brass you can think of. People who wear uniforms and also people who don't ... and there it was said explicitly by the most senior people -- perhaps the most senior person in uniform and the most senior not in uniform -- it was spoken there in jest about how unserious this book is."

I don't know the basis for the opinions of these "top security people" regarding the seriousness of the book. What is clear is that Al-Shafhe's work purports to paint a very detailed picture of the conditions of Shalit's captivity, the state of his health, his psychological state and the dynamic that has developed between him and his captors. Al-Shafhe says he based his account on numerous sources in Gaza City, Rafah, Cairo and throughout the Arab world. These, the author states, will continue to remain anonymous, "for understandable reasons, and at their request."

Weiss also told the court that when he asked Al-Shafhe about his sources for some of the stories in the book, Al-Shafhe replied, "That's the rumor circulating in Gaza." Weiss went on to say that he had asked Al-Shafhe in astonishment: "Are you writing a book that you are saying is a rumor? That is based on rumors circulating among the elite in Gaza? He said to me, 'That's why its subtitle is ... 'A View from Gaza.'"

Al-Shafhe describes what supposedly happened in hiding places where Shalit was held. The descriptions are detailed and specific, and written as though Al-Shafhe had been there in the room, or as though it were Shalit's captors revealing these things in inner sanctums. The problem, of course, is that Shalit's guards are cut off from the outside world, as Al-Shafhe himself states, and they therefore cannot verify or contradict the story.

Al-Shafhe also describes in great detail Shalit's reactions to certain events, and even includes exact quotations of what the captive soldier is supposed to have said. "Shalit was still wounded in his arm and was suffering from a skin rash that bothered him as much as the wound. His psychological state was very bad. Every few hours he suffered an anxiety attack. He would scream loudly and cry out, 'Mom ... Mom ...' with no response," the author writes. Elsewhere, he states: "With no connection to his captor's threats, the fear of death was reflected in Shalit's everyday behavior. His situation grew worse day by day and his hysterical and strange behavior, as it was described to me, aroused real concern among his captors about his mental health. When he fell asleep, his sleep was always short and restless and he would awaken from it screaming and drenched in perspiration." And later in the book: "Every time the door of his small room opened for the purpose of bringing in food and water, he would burst out crying hysterically and plead: 'I don't want to die ... I don't want to die.'"

It is, of course, hard to know what is really going on in Shalit's place of captivity, and it is also possible that these things were told to Al-Shafhe by people interested in creating the sense that Shalit was on the verge of psychological collapse in order to hasten the negotiations and achieve a better price in return for his release.

Al-Shafhe also writes about the preparations in Gaza for the June 2006 raid that culminated in Shalit's capture and the way it was carried out. This description seems more reliable than the details about his behavior in captivity, and it appears the author does indeed have sources who had been in on the secret and shared details with him that had not been revealed previously.

He presents the theory that Israel intended to take advantage of Operation Cast Lead last winter to bomb the building where the IDF thought Shalit was being held, in order to kill him. "Many sources claimed to me that Israel was not interested in paying the price tag attached to the release of the Israeli soldier and wanted to take advantage of the war to get rid of him, and afterward to cast the blame for his death on Hamas," the author writes. It is not clear who the "many sources" are, or what is behind this theory.

The most interesting and credible part of "Captive" is not about Shalit himself, but rather describes the effect the Shalit affair has had on the more than one million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. The IDF attacks and the siege Israel imposed on the Strip after Shalit was abducted have constituted a real disaster for Gaza's residents. Al-Shafhe, who covered the Gaza Strip before the abduction, paints a bleak picture of the conditions and mood there over the past three years, based on interviews with Gazans. It seems we will never know whether all of Al-Shafhe's descriptions reflect the reality or are merely figments of the imaginations of anonymous sources. In any case, as he writes in his book, "This story has not yet ended."
---
Reuven Pedatzur is a lecturer in the political science department at Tel Aviv University.

Haaretz Books, January 2010, haaretzbooks@gmail.com

Joodse pianist Kissin protesteert tegen anti-Israel teneur BBC

 

Het komt niet vaak voor dat een beroemde Joodse kunstenaar in Europa het voor Israel opneemt. Terwijl Joodse critici van Israel vaak hoog van de toren blazen en ook enorm veel media aandacht krijgen, houden zij die met Israel sympathiseren meestal hun mond. De Britse pianist Evgeny Kissin is een prettige uitzondering op die regel, maar of hij ook zoveel aandacht van de media zal krijgen valt nog te bezien.

 

RP

---------------
 

Pianist Kissin protests against BBC anti-Israel bias
World famous musician writes to BBC Director-General

 

By Stephen Pollard and Robyn Rosen, December 30, 2009
http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/25549/pianist-kissin-protests-against-bbc-anti-israel-bias

 

The Russian-born pianist Evgeny Kissin, who became a British citizen in 2002, has accused the BBC of "slander and bias" against Israel, broadcasting material he describes as "painfully reminiscent of the old Soviet anti-Zionist propaganda".

 

Mr Kissin, 38, who until now has not generally been known as politically engaged, has written to the director-general of the BBC, Mark Thompson. According to a close friend of the pianist, he has decided to become "actively involved in exposing and countering the evil propaganda of certain British media and especially the BBC."

 

Mr Kissin's decision to use his fame and artistic renown to protest to the BBC on Israel's behalf contrasts with the criticisms against the Jewish state regularly voiced by musicians such as Daniel Barenboim, who holds Israeli citizenship.

 

In Mr Kissin's letter, he accuses the BBC's Persian Service of a "blood libel concerning Israel's alleged harvesting of Palestinian organs and blood for future transplant".

 

He continues: "It beggars belief that the British taxpayer should be funding an organisation which is aligning itself with Iran's despotic leader in its antisemitic propaganda. Other print media like the Guardian, which erroneously printed this libel propagated by Israel's enemies, have since apologised. I am not aware of any such retraction from the BBC."

 

Mr Kissin, who was a child prodigy in his native Russia and is now widely recognised as one of the greatest living pianists, intends from now on to speak out against media bias against Israel, which he sees as both fuelling and being fuelled by antisemitism.

 

In his letter, he says that when he became a British citizen he was "inspired and proud to belong to the country of Winston Churchill, who famously said: 'There is no antisemitism in England because we do not consider ourselves more stupid than the Jews'. Above all, the BBC and especially its World Service, had always been a beacon of light, of truth and objectivity to those of us behind the Iron Curtain, in the 'Evil Empire'. Reaching out to far corners of the world, it was the voice of a country which for us was a model of democracy and human rights."

 

He concludes by asking: "Is it not time for the BBC to return to the values for which it was so much respected, before it finds itself in the garbage of history, together with Pravda, Tass, Volkischer Beobachter and Der Angruff?"

 

The classical music promoter, Lilian Hochhauser, said this week: "I fully support Evgeny Kissin's initiative to counter the increasing bias displayed by the BBC and others against Israel. I encourage all in the arts world to act against the growing stigmatisation of Israel, as well as increasing our cultural co-operation with the country."

 

A spokesman for the BBC said the corporation was unable to comment until it had received Mr Kissin's letter.

 

 

Regeringscommissie tegen segregatie op orthodoxe buslijnen

 

Als het hek van de dam is...  Wat begon als een paar buslijnen in orthodoxe buurten van Jeruzalem zonder precieze regels, eindigt met nu al meer dan honderd buslijnen waar vrouwen achterin moeten zitten. Ondertussen ligt de zaak bij het hooggerechtshof en is er een speciale commissie samengesteld door de regering:

 

In May 2008, the High Court asked the Transportation Minister to establish a special committee to investigate the functioning of the Mehadrin lines, in response to a petition by the Reform Movement's Israel Religious Action Center and others who say that the lines may be illegal because they discriminate against women, restrict freedom of movement and freedom from religious coercion.

In its recommendations, the committee, made up of representatives from the Transportation Ministry, the Justice Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office, found the current situation on the lines to be unjust.

 

Dus als ik het goed begrijp heeft het hooggerechtshof de zaak bij de regering gelegd (via een speciaal comité) en dat comité heeft bepaald dat de segregatie niet rechtvaardig is. Waarom het het dan nog door een ander juridisch instituut moet worden beoordeeld, ontgaat me. Het comité concludeerde onder andere: 

 

According to the committee's report, the ministry did not have records of how many Mehadrin lines were actually in service. The committee, which worked according to a list of routes published by the Rabbinic Council on Public Transportation, said that since Mehadrin lines were not licensed separately, any notice coming out of a haredi source could state that a line was Mehadrin, without government approval or knowledge.
The committee also criticized the public transportation operators, and the bus drivers themselves, for helping enforce the separation, something they were not allowed to do, and for failing to meet their obligations to the general public by reducing regular bus lines operating in places where Mehadrin buses operated.
In the end, the committee recommended that the arrangement be canceled and that every person be allowed to sit anywhere they wanted on the buses.

 

Daar lijkt me geen woord Frans bij.

 

RP

----------------

The Jerusalem Post
Jan 3, 2010 21:02 | Updated Jan 4, 2010 12:03
Is Tiberias next for 'Mehadrin' segregated buses?
By RON FRIEDMAN
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1262339382376&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Will Tiberias be the next city to offer segregated buses for the haredi population?

On Sunday, Haaretz reported that haredi representatives in the city sent a letter to Veolia Transportation asking the company to operate a special line for the haredi population.

The legality of such lines is uncertain pending a High Court of Justice ruling on the matter and Tiberias municipal officials say it is unnecessary.

Rabbi Asher Idan, director of Jerusalem-based Kol HaNa'ar, a haredi organization that helps at-risk youth, contacted Veolia Transportation last week requesting the company designate a special bus line for the haredi population in Tiberas, where for modesty's sake, men and women sit at opposite ends of the bus. Such routes, which have been termed "Mehadrin lines," exist in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh, Safed, Ashdod and other cities with large haredi populations.

According to Idan, the haredi community wants a bus that will take its members from the lower city to Shikun Dalet (the Dalet Neighborhood), where a majority of the haredi population resides. "The religious/haredi community in Tiberias is large and important and will surely appreciate the new initiative that already exists in Israel's large cities," read the letter.

In its response, Veolia stated it would be happy to provide the service to the haredi population, in line with Transportation Ministry regulations.

What remains uncertain is whether bus routes such as the proposed one in Tiberias will be allowed to continue. In May 2008, the High Court asked the Transportation Minister to establish a special committee to investigate the functioning of the Mehadrin lines, in response to a petition by the Reform Movement's Israel Religious Action Center and others who say that the lines may be illegal because they discriminate against women, restrict freedom of movement and freedom from religious coercion.

In its recommendations, the committee, made up of representatives from the Transportation Ministry, the Justice Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office, found the current situation on the lines to be unjust.

The lines, which were originally established in the beginning of the last decade to increase haredi use of public transportation, were meant to be regulated on a voluntary basis, whereby both the front and back doors of the buses would be available for boarding, and people could choose where they wanted to sit. In practice, the committee discovered, the rules regarding separation were strictly enforced by members of the haredi population, and women who sat in "male territory," at the front of the bus, were often intimidated and bullied into moving to the back or getting off the bus altogether.

In its proceedings, the committee received statements from nearly 7,000 people, both secular and religious. Of these, 5,064 were in favor of the separation and 1,234 were against it.

One of the main problems that the committee faced in its deliberations was that the Mehadrin bus lines had no formal standing. Because it was meant to be strictly voluntary, the Transportation Ministry could not set up strict regulations.

According to the committee's report, the ministry did not have records of how many Mehadrin lines were actually in service. The committee, which worked according to a list of routes published by the Rabbinic Council on Public Transportation, said that since Mehadrin lines were not licensed separately, any notice coming out of a haredi source could state that a line was Mehadrin, without government approval or knowledge.

The committee also criticized the public transportation operators, and the bus drivers themselves, for helping enforce the separation, something they were not allowed to do, and for failing to meet their obligations to the general public by reducing regular bus lines operating in places where Mehadrin buses operated.

In the end, the committee recommended that the arrangement be canceled and that every person be allowed to sit anywhere they wanted on the buses.

It also noted that the use of both the front and back doors of buses was a benefit in terms of safety, service and efficiency and, if possible, should be adopted in additional lines, but that it should not serve as a means of de facto segregation.

Tiberias municipal spokeswoman Shani Yisraeli said that as a commercial company it was up to Veolia to decide whether it wanted to operate a Mehadrin line, subject to Transportation Ministry approval, but questioned its necessity.

"The mayor's policy is that companies and business owners should act according to their conscience and commercial considerations and not be affected by irrelevant pressures. At the same time, due to the fact that Tiberias doesn't have a haredi sector that is larger than other cities in the region, there is no justification for a special line and it is doubtful it will be approved," Yisraeli said.

Tiberias religious council director Eliyahu Cohen said he saw no reason not to have such lines in the city, but that he saw no advantage in them. According to Eliyahu, 30-35 percent of Tiberias's Jews are secular and the rest are of varying levels of religious orthodoxy.

"In general there is little tension between religious and non-religious in the city and we like it that way. There are one or two streets in the city that are identified with the haredi community, but even there, secular people live peacefully," said Eliyahu. "I believe that Torah should be taught with calm and politeness and not be bashed like a club over one's head."

When asked if he knew of the haredi community's request for the segregated bus line, Eliyahu said he had heard about it in the news, but had not heard the call first-hand. When asked if he knew Ilan, the rabbi who sent the letter to Veolia, Eliyahu said that he did not.

The Transportation Ministry spokesman said the ministry would not respond to questions on the Mehadrin bus lines as long as the issue was still before the court.

According to a survey conducted by Hiddush, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting religious freedom in Israel, 41% of Israeli Jews say that Mehadrin lines should be canceled, 39% say they should be limited to special routes, 14% say they should continue operating as they are and 6% said they should be extended further.

A Jerusalem Post online poll found that 76% of those who responded did not approve of segregated buses, 6% approved and 18% said that segregation should only exist in lines that operate in haredi neighborhoods.