Mag verlamd meisje uit Gaza in Israël blijven?

Veel Palestijnse kinderen krijgen stereotype vijandbeelden over 'de Joden' aangeleerd, door familie en omgeving of zelfs op school en in de moskee. De Hamas TV spant daarbij de kroon met kinderprogramma's die oproepen tot een heilige oorlog. De kinderen raken verder getraumatiseerd door overvliegende gevechtshelicopters, door militaire invallen en huiszoekingen; en soms worden ze rechtstreeks getroffen door het geweld, zoals een vijfjarig meisje in de Gazastrook dat werd geraakt door een Israëlische raket die bestemd was voor een commandant van de Islamitische Jihad.

 

Het kind werd halfwees en bijna geheel verlamd, maar leerde in een Israëlisch ziekenhuis ook een ander gezicht van de vijand kennen. Nu zou ze naar Ramallah moeten verhuizen, waar haar verzorging gevaar loopt. Hopelijk velt de Hoge Raad een wijs oordeel. 

 

Wouter

__________________________ 

The birthday party that captured Israel's heart

By Eric Silver in Jerusalem

Published: 31 August 2007

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2914415.ece

Maria Amin, a chubby-faced Palestinian girl with gleaming brown eyes, celebrated her birthday yesterday like any pampered six year old. Doting aunts decked her out like a princess in a gauzy white chiffon dress, spotted with pink hearts and topped with a toy tiara.

A make-up girl primped her hair, rouged her cheeks and painted her lips. With a pout and a shake of the head, Maria rejected a plain lipstick and demanded a glittery gold one. She insisted on being sprayed with a favourite scent. When the make-up girl held up a mirror, she cooed: "How pretty!"

But Maria was no ordinary birthday girl. She came to the party in a wheelchair, which she navigates with her chin against a joystick. She was paralysed from the neck down in May last year when the car she was in was caught in an Israeli missile strike on an Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza. Her mother, grandmother and older brother were killed.

She celebrated her birthday party in the Israeli Alyn hospital and rehabilitation centre for handicapped children, where she is hooked to the respirator she will need for the rest of her life.

Her father, Hamdi Amin, who is on call 24 hours a day, supervised the festivities. The Israeli army allowed his father, grandfather and sundry cousins to visit from Gaza. The hall, overlooking the Jerusalem forest, was awash with balloons.

Reporters who had followed Maria's story, turned up with their own children, bearing gifts, as did Arab and Jewish friends. The birthday girl thanked them in her native Arabic and the Hebrew she has picked up from the hospital staff.

But the celebrations were overshadowed. The Israeli Defence Ministry has paid for Maria's rehabilitation at Alyn and for a small flat on the premises for her father and younger brother. Now, however, the ministry says she must move to the Abu Raya Rehabilitation Centre in Ramallah. It will continue covering expenses.

The Palestinian doctors say that they cannot provide the care Maria needs. They don't have the equipment; they don't have the trained staff. The Israeli hospital is defying orders and refusing to discharge her. The case will come before the Israeli Supreme Court on 25 September.

Hamdi Amin is a father in limbo. He can't work, even if the Israelis give him a permit. Maria needs him constantly. "Until the judges decide," he said, "I don't know how we'll live or where we'll go. Maria's condition is still very grave. For her it's a matter of life or death. She can't move her arms or legs. She can't breathe on her own. There's nowhere in Gaza or the West Bank that can look after her. How can the Defence Ministry say the Ramallah hospital has to treat her?"

The family has seen the worst and the best of Israel. Hamdi declines to blame or to praise. "I don't care about wars, I don't care about Hamas, I don't care about America," he explained. "I grew up in a family where you worked to put food on the table for your children. I believe that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away."

A support group of Israeli and Palestinian activists has rallied to the Amin family's side. Dalia Becker, a chain-smoking Israeli matron, said: "We're Hamdi's second family. Anything he needs, he turns to us. We're paying for the lawyers who will represent Maria at the Supreme Court. It's hard to believe that once the judges see her, they will send her away."

Back in Gaza, the undeclared war goes on. Children are still paying a price. An Israeli shell killed two Palestinian boys and a girl near Beit Hanoun on Wednesday. A military spokesman said the troops targeted several Qassam rocket launchers aimed at Israel. It expressed "sorrow for the cynical use the terror organisations make of the active participation of teenagers in terror attacks".

The army said yesterday that it had arrested a 15-year-old Gaza boy on his way to a suicide bombing against Israeli soldiers. 

PLO leider Farouk al-Qaddoumi: verzet enige optie voor Palestijnen

Volgens PLO leider Farouk al-Qaddoumi heeft onderhandelen met Israël geen zin en is 'resistance' de enige optie. Dit is vreemd, want de PLO heeft zogenaamd al in 1988 en anders toch zeker in 1993 het geweld afgezworen en Israël erkend.

 

Vele westerse journalisten en Midden-Oosten deskundigen wijzen op deze erkenning en het afzweren van geweld als bewijs van de goede bedoelingen van de Palestijnen, en claimen dat alleen Israël de vrede nog tegenhoudt door de bezette gebieden maar niet te willen opgeven. Waarom worden alle geluiden die tot enige twijfel leiden wat betreft de bedoelingen van de Palestijnen door deze mensen stelselmatig genegeerd?

Ratna
_________________________

Al-Shara and Al-Qaddoumi Discuss Developments in Palestine
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 07:05 PM
www.sana.org/eng/21/2007/08/29/136606.htm


Damascus, (SANA- Syrian news agency) - Vice President Farouk al-Shara on Wednesday discussed with Head of the Political Department of the Palestinian Liberation Organization Farouk al-Qaddoumi the latest developments on the Palestinian internal arena.

In a statement to the press after the meeting, al-Qaddoumi praised Syria's national stances defending the Palestinian people and their just cause. "Syria is the impenetrable fortress of the Arab nation that considers the Palestinian cause to be the essence of Arab-Israeli conflict." He stated.

Al-Qaddoumi stressed the necessity of dialogue among Palestinians and working together to solve their differences and confront the Israeli occupation. He affirmed that resistance is the only option for the Palestinian people because Israel doesn't want any serious negotiations that lead to peace.

He doubted any usefulness of the conference called by US President George W. Bush on peace in the Middle East.

H.Sabbagh, Mazen

NGO conferentie VN roept op tot boycot Israël

Zoals te verwachten, werd tijdens de "International Conference of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace" alom opgeroepen tot een boycot van Israël 'naar Zuid-Afrikaans voorbeeld'. Verschillende leden van het Europese Parlement en de nationale parlementen waren aanwezig, waarbij Dries van Agt ook een voordracht hield. Ook de vice-voorzitter van het Europees Parlement sprak tijdens de conferentie.

 

Wat vreemd is, is dat de conferentie duidelijk ingaat tegen het officiële beleid van de Europese Unie en de door de EU gesteunde Routekaart naar Vrede, en toch door haar wordt gesteund en gefaciliteerd. Bovendien ontvangen verschillende pro-Palestijnse NGO's die aan de conferentie deelnamen subsidie van de EU en/of van afzonderlijke lidstaten.

 

Waarom steunt de EU organisaties die oproepen tot een boycot van Israël, Palestijns terrorisme steunen en een oplossing van het conflict promoten waarin alleen nog in naam sprake is van twee staten? Gelooft men in de Routekaart, die aan beide kanten verplichtingen oplegt, erkent men de verantwoordelijkheid van beide partijen voor het conflict, staat men een twee-staten oplossing voor met Israël als Joodse staat tegenover Palestina waar de Palestijnen zelfbeschikking hebben, of gelooft men in sancties tegen Israël om het tot concessies te dwingen die de burgers in gevaar brengen, en die uiteindelijk tot doel hebben de staat te ontmantelen, naar het voorbeeld van Zuid-Afrika?

 

De vergelijking met Zuid-Afrika en de bewering dat Israël een apartheidsstaat is, suggereert dat Israël als Joodse staat ontmanteld moet worden. De eis dat alle vluchtelingen en hun nakomelingen moeten kunnen 'terugkeren' bevestigt dit. Het is dan ook op zijn zachtst gezegd hypocriet dat Edward McMillan-Scott, vice-president van het EP, op de conferentie spreekt en zegt dat het Europese Parlement zich verbonden heeft aan een twee-staten oplossing. Iedereen die onder een 'twee-staten oplossing' ook het zelfbeschikkingsrecht van de Joden verstaat, moet zich krachtig tegen dergelijke conferenties uitspreken, en de steun voor radikale NGO's ter discussie stellen.

 

Ratna

____________________________________________

 

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3444096,00.html

UN summit: Boycott Israel

United Nations conference at EU parliament compares Israel to apartheid South Africa

Yaakov Lappin

Published: 08.31.07, 00:08 

 

A UN conference, held at the European Parliament in Brussels, heard an array of speakers call for a boycott against Israel and strategize on ways to achieve its international isolation, during the first day of an event billed by organizers as a gathering to promote "Middle East peace".

 

The 'International Conference of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace' has been organized by the UN's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and attracted political figures and pro-Palestinian members of non governmental organizations (NGOs).

 

According to the Bnei Brith organization, which sent delegates to attend the conference from its European Affairs Office, British Member of Parliament Clare Short said during her speech that Israel was not interested in a two-state solution, and blasted the EU for "allowing" Israel to build "an apartheid wall".

 

"The boycott worked for South Africa, it is time to do it again," Short was quoted as saying.

 

The security fence was also attacked by the European Parliament's vice president, Edward McMillan-Scott, who maintained that it would not bring peace to Israel. McMillan-Scott added that the European Parliament was committed to "a two state solution with safe borders," according to the Bnei Brith report of the conference.

 

Addressing the conference on behalf of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Leila Shahid, Palestinian Representative to the EU, read out a statement in which Abbas expressed satisfaction that the conference was hosted by the European Parliament, and lamented the suffering of the Palestinian people.

 

Pierre Galand, European coordinator of the Committees and Associations for Palestine, claimed that the conference was taking place despite pressures to cancel it, and blamed the Fatah-Hamas conflict on "Israeli policy".

 

'Members guided by clear agenda'

"This is a conference of Israel-haters," Adam Mouchtar, Director of Bnei Brith's European Union Affairs Office, told Ynetnews. Mouchtar attended the conference's first day, and said its members were clearly guided by a single agenda: "To prove that Israel is a racist apartheid state, and therefore Israel should be boycotted internationally, as South Africa was."

 

"We've had this in Durban in 2001. These are the same organizations that took over the Durban conference and coined the term 'Zionism is racism'," Mouchtar said.

 

He added that the most positive speech came from an Israeli-Arab Knesset Member, Nadia Hilou, who praised the recent boost in relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

 

"I feel that it's a farce," Mouchtar said, adding: "It's a biased conference. It nearly totally excludes any reasonable Israeli speakers." According to Mouchtar, one of the few Jewish attendees was a "self hater" invited to "legitimize the claim that the conference was not biased".

 

Mouchtar called on the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, to take action to prevent such activities in the future, adding that the actions of UN sub-committees were "delegitimizing the good work the UN is doing in other fields".

 

'Campaign to demonize Israel'

But Wolfgang Grieger, Secretary of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, told Ynetnews that the conference had "received a message from Ban Ki-moon".

 

"It opened this morning with some 400 participants attending, representatives of 140 civil society organizations, members of the European and national parliaments, 53 government observers, as well as 16 intergovernmental organizations, including UN agencies. The Committee is very pleased with this big turnout," he said.

 

  

A spokesman for NGO Monitor, an Israeli watchdog, told Ynetnews: "As NGO Monitor's continued research has shown, non governmental organizations funded and supported by the EU and other international governments, are at the forefront of the political campaign to demonize and delegitimize Israel.

 

"This conference highlights once again, the moral bankruptcy of so many of these groups and individuals who compare the Israel-Palestinian conflict to apartheid South Africa, and single out Israel for boycotts and sanctions," he said. 

Carriere Egyptische filmster in gevaar door samenwerking met Israëliër

De carriere van een van Egyptes knapste filmsterren is in gevaar. Amr Waked, die speelt in een serie over het leven van Saddam Hussein, moet zich verantwoorden voor een comité bestaande uit leden van de Egyptische Acteursbond en een rechter. Van welke misdaad de beste man wordt verdacht?

"We found out Amr Waked was participating in a movie with an Israeli artist and so when he returns from abroad he will be investigated," union chairman Ashraf Zaki said. "The Actors' Union here is against normalization with Israel."

Wakeds verweer tegen de aantijgingen?

Waked declined to comment on the upcoming investigation, but in earlier interviews with Egyptian media, the actor said he did not know the nationalities of every person involved in the project.

Een beetje zwak misschien, en vooral niet geloofwaardig, om te beweren dat je de nationaliteit van de hoofdpersoon niet kent.

Naor [the Israeli actor, RP], who played a Palestinian character in Steven Spielberg's film Munich, stars as Saddam in the series. Many in the Egyptian press found it disturbing that an Israeli was playing the former Iraqi leader, who is still lionized by many Arab nationalists.

Die verdomde Joden ook, die duiken op de meest onwaarschijnlijke plaatsen op, en kunnen zich werkelijk als iedereen voordoen.

Je zou denken, verwachten, hopen dat met het vredesverdrag tussen Israël en Egypte dit soort absurde praktijken tot het verleden behoren, maar ik ben wat dit betreft al vaak teleurgesteld. En Waked zal mogelijk moeten kiezen tussen zijn carriere en zijn land.

The investigation could have serious ramifications for Waked's career in Egypt, where the majority of his films are still made.

Egypte is inderdaad een zeer gematigd en pro-Westers land, en de miljarden steun van de VS (voor een groot deel uitbetaald via wapens) meer dan waard. Steun die het overigens kreeg in ruil voor het sluiten van vrede met Israël.

Ratna
----------------

Egyptian Actors' Union to probe movie star working with Israeli
By The Associated Press Last update - 20:11 30/08/2007
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/899322.html

The chairman of Egypt's Actors' Union said Thursday that the group planned to investigate one of the country's brightest young movie stars for appearing in an upcoming miniseries with an Israeli actor.

The controversy began when the group discovered that Amr Waked, who starred in the Hollywood film Syriana, was in Tunisia filming a four part series on Saddam Hussein's life opposite Yigal Naor, an Israeli of Iraqi descent.

"We found out Amr Waked was participating in a movie with an Israeli artist and so when he returns from abroad he will be investigated," union chairman Ashraf Zaki said. "The Actors' Union here is against normalization with Israel."

Media and artistic circles in Egypt remain deeply opposed to improving cultural relations with Israel even though the country is one of only two Arab nations that has made peace with Israel.

Nearly a dozen articles have appeared over the past week condemning Waked for participating in the series, titled Between Two Rivers and backed by the British Broadcasting Corporation and Home Box Office.

"Who will hold Amr Waked accountable?" read a headline Monday in Egypt's opposition daily el-Wafd.

Zaki said Waked would be questioned by a committee made up of two members of the union's board and a senior judge from the country's Administrative Court.

Waked declined to comment on the upcoming investigation, but in earlier interviews with Egyptian media, the actor said he did not know the nationalities of every person involved in the project.

The Egyptian actor also indicated he has no intention of leaving the series, in which he plays the role of Saddam's son-in-law Hussein Kamel, who defected from Iraq to Jordan but eventually returned and was executed.

Naor, who played a Palestinian character in Steven Spielberg's film Munich, stars as Saddam in the series. Many in the Egyptian press found it disturbing that an Israeli was playing the former Iraqi leader, who is still lionized by many Arab nationalists.

Though Egypt was the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, professional and artistic associations have resisted opening up to Israel, citing the continued occupation of Palestinian lands.

Anti-Israeli sentiment flared in the country during the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000, much of it led by left wing academics and artists who have long been Israel's fiercest critics in Egypt.

"The [film] industry is in general very left wing and stays away from normalization as a whole," said Richard Woffenden, the former cultural editor of the local Cairo Times weekly.

Woffenden, who hailed Waked's emergence onto the Egyptian film scene in 2001 as part of a new generation of Egyptian actors, noted that he was one of the few Egyptians in recent years to surmount the language barrier and cross over to Western films.

Egyptian actor Khaled el-Nabawy appeared briefly in Ridley Scott's crusader movie Kingdom of Heaven - for which he was also criticized by the Egyptian media.

The investigation could have serious ramifications for Waked's career in Egypt, where the majority of his films are still made.

When Egyptian actress Sawsan Badr appeared in the 1980 film Death of a Princess about Saudi Arabia, it caused a furor for allegedly being anti-Arab, and it was years before she appeared again in an Egyptian film.

HRW: Hezbollah's lastercampagne zal rapport Libanon Oorlog niet tegenhouden

Hezbollah is niet gediend van kritiek. Het is eigenlijk een beetje vreemd dat men zo'n moeite heeft met een rapport dat stelt dat men bewust Israëlische burgerdoelen beschoot, want dit is altijd de zelfverklaarde opzet geweest. Maar het zou natuurlijk kunnen dat het rapport ook bewijzen bevat van het bewust afschieten van raketten vanuit de nabijheid van huizen, scholen en moskeeën, zodat Israëlische acties om de lanceerinstallaties uit te schakelen er uit zien alsof men bewust burgerdoelen beschiet.

 

Israël heeft die bewijzen vorig jaar al geleverd, maar het is natuurlijk wat anders wanneer een organisatie als Human Rights Watch, niet bekend als pro-Israël, ze bevestigt. Dat zou Hezbollahs reputatie in sommige kringen weleens kunnen schaden.

 

Het feit dat Hezbollah blijkbaar wat te verbergen heeft maakt het HRW rapport er extra interessant op. Snel maar eens gaan lezen.    

 

Ratna  

__________________________

 

Lebanon/Israel: Hezbollah Smear Campaign Won't Silence Report

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/08/29/lebano16763.htm

Investigation Criticizes Wartime Conduct

(Beirut, August 29, 2007) – Human Rights Watch today canceled a news conference planned for Thursday, August 30, 2007 in Beirut, citing reports by Hezbollah-controlled media about planned demonstrations to prevent the scheduled event at the Crowne Plaza hotel, and the hotel's decision to disallow the news conference.  

Hezbollah is trying to silence criticism of its conduct during the 2006 war. But the fairness and accuracy of our reporting will speak for themselves, whether we hold a press conference or not. Sarah Leah Whitson, director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division

Human Rights Watch had called the news conference to release "Civilians Under Assault: Hezbollah's Rocket Attacks on Israel in the 2006 War," a new 128-page report criticizing Hezbollah for its conduct during the 2006 war with Israel, in particular Hezbollah's practice of deliberately and indiscriminately firing rockets toward Israeli civilian areas.  
 
"Hezbollah is trying to silence criticism of its conduct during the 2006 war," said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division. "But the fairness and accuracy of our reporting will speak for themselves, whether we hold a press conference or not."  
 
This report is one of a series by Human Rights Watch examining compliance of parties to the 2006 war with international humanitarian law. On September 6, Human Rights Watch is releasing in Jerusalem a report critical of Israel's conduct in its attacks on Lebanon, a comprehensive follow-up to a report released during the war, titled "Fatal Strikes: Israel's Indiscriminate Attacks Against Civilians in Lebanon".  
 
"Our focus is on the protection of civilians wherever they may be, and not about taking sides in a conflict," said Whitson.  
 
In the course of preparing the report, Human Rights Watch repeatedly sought meetings with Hezbollah officials and solicited information in writing from them, with no substantive response. But starting on August 28, 2007 the Hezbollah-controlled al-Manar television station and website www.almanar.com.lb ran repeated stories criticizing Human Rights Watch for its planned news conference and reporting that Lebanese organizations were mobilizing to "prevent" the news conference.  
 
Al-Manar television and www.almanar.com.lb falsely stated that Human Rights Watch had been assisted by unspecified Lebanese parties in preparing the news conference. It refused repeated requests to provide Human Rights Watch an opportunity to present its report and respond to the accusations. Due to security concerns following the decision of the hotel where the conference was planned to cancel the venue, Human Rights Watch has decided not to relocate Thursday's news conference and to publish the report for immediate release. 

Archeologen: 'opgravingen Waqf beschadigen Tempelmuur'

Meer informatie over de graafwerkzaamheden door de Waqf (islamitische autoriteit voor de Tempelberg) op de Tempelberg.

Among the antiquities that have been damaged are a 7-meter-wide wall that apparently dates back to Second-Temple times and was likely part of the Temple courts, according to Israeli archaeologists from the nonpartisan Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount.

"This is the first time in the history of archaeological excavation in Israel that we have remains that could have been part of the courts of the Temple itself," Barkai said.

Bovengenoemd comité was 7 jaar geleden opgericht nadat grootschalige werkzaamheden door de Waqf tot vernietiging van een ondergrondse ruimte hadden geleid, en resten van oude artefacten op de vuilnisbelt van Jeruzalem waren gevonden. Dergelijke ernstige vernielingen dreigen nu weer plaats te vinden.

Hebrew University archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar said that the Temple Mount had become "one big construction site," and blasted the government for authorizing "rampant barbarism and vandalism" there.

De minachting van de Waqf voor het verleden, voor Israël en de Joden voor wie de Tempelberg zo'n hoge waarde heeft dat men er zelf geen opgraaf werkzaamheden verricht om niet het risico te lopen dingen te beschadigen, is verbijsterend. Voor de duidelijkheid: ik zelf heb die binding niet, want ik heb met geen enkele religie veel binding, maar van een religie die zelf continu klaagt over een gebrek aan respect en zich overgevoelig toont voor wat men ervaart als Westerse arrogantie of te hard verwoorde kritiek, verwacht ik, laten we zeggen, een wat sensitievere houding.

Ratna
---------------------

Archaeologists: Muslim dig damaged Temple wall
Etgar Lefkovits , THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 31, 2007
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1188392502776&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 

A month-old Islamic dig on Jerusalem's Temple Mount to replace faulty electrical cables has damaged an ancient wall that is likely a remnant of the Second Temple, Israeli archaeologists said Thursday.

The work, which is being carried out with the approval of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the state-run Antiquities Authority, has been repeatedly condemned by independent Israeli archaeologists, who are calling for its immediate halt.

"The Israeli Government is lending a hand to the destruction of one of the most important archaeological sites in the world," said Bar-Ilan University archaeologist Dr. Gabriel Barkai at a Jerusalem press conference.

Barkai said the dig, which involves tractors and other heavy construction equipment, has created a 400-meter-long and 1.5-meter-deep trench on the site, destroying layers of ancient remains.

Among the antiquities that have been damaged are a 7-meter-wide wall that apparently dates back to Second-Temple times and was likely part of the Temple courts, according to Israeli archaeologists from the nonpartisan Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount.

"This is the first time in the history of archaeological excavation in Israel that we have remains that could have been part of the courts of the Temple itself," Barkai said.

He added that it was unfathomable that Israel's top archaeological body was turning a blind eye to archaeological destruction at Judaism's holiest site. "All civilized people should stand up and protest this barbaric act," he said.

The committee, which plans to appeal to the High Court of Justice next week to stop the dig, noted that the work was also being carried out at night, when proper archaeological inspection was impossible.

Antiquities Authority spokeswoman Dalit Menzin declined comment. Islamic officials have said the trench was necessary to replace decades-old electrical cables, and have denied any antiquities have been damaged.

The Israeli archaeologists said the Antiquities Authority has refused to discuss the issue with them, while both Olmert and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter have turned down requests for a meeting.

The Antiquities Authority's Jerusalem regional archaeologist Jon Seligman was at the site on Thursday, eyewitnesses said.

Seligman has long been accused by members of the committee, which was established seven years ago following massive destruction on the Temple Mount by Islamic officials, of failing to protest the damage done in the late 90s at an underground compound of the Temple Mount known as Solomon's Stables.
Hebrew University archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar said that the Temple Mount had become "one big construction site," and blasted the government for authorizing "rampant barbarism and vandalism" there.

According to decades-old regulations, Israel maintains overall security control at the site, while the Wakf, or Islamic Trust, is charged with day-to-day administration.

Wakf director Azzam Khatib said that the work followed an electrical shortage in Al-Aksa Mosque, and denied that any antiquities were being damaged.
The Islamic infrastructure work comes just months after an Israeli excavation outside the compound ahead of a now-nixed plan to build a new bridge to the Mughrabi Gate led to low-level Arab violence.

Internationale Rode Kruis: 17.000 Libanezen vermist sinds burgeroorlog 1975-1990

Ik las laatst dat er in de burgeroorlog in Libanon tussen 1975 en 1990 ca.130.000 doden vielen. Toch is het enige waar je nog geregeld beelden van ziet en over hoort de massaslachting van de Phalangisten in de Palestijnse vluchtelingenkampen Sabra en Shatilla 'met goedkeuring van het Israëlische leger', en de Israëlische bombardementen op Beiroet.

Wat Syrië, de PLO, Hezbollah, en andere fracties en milities er allemaal hebben uitgespookt mag Joost weten.

Nou blijkt dat er nog steeds 17.000 mensen vermist zijn. Misschien moet men de rest ook eens zo nauwkeurig gaan uitzoeken en documenteren als de Israëlische operaties in Libanon.

 

Israël beweert overigens nog slechts één en een halve Libanees in haar gevangenissen te hebben, en ik weet geen reden om daaraan te twijfelen.

 

Ratna
______________________________________

International Committee of the Red Cross says 17,000 Lebanese missing since start of 1975-90 Civil War
By Hanadi Chami

Special to The Daily Star
Thursday, August 30, 2007
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=84921


BEIRUT: The International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday that there have been around 17,000 missing people in Lebanon since the start of the Civil War in 1975.

"This country has suffered enough since 1975 and throughout the Arab-Israeli conflict and there are nearly 17,000 missing people in Lebanon," said Tracing Agency officer for the ICRC Christine Rechdane Wednesday.

Rechdane was speaking from the ICRC offices in Beirut where it celebrated the "International day of the Missing," by discussing the issue of the missing Lebanese in Syrian and Israeli prisons.

She said that since 1975 the Red Cross Committee has  been receiving applications containing personal information about missing individuals from their families.

Lebanon has many mass graves but the remains are mixed, making it hard to identify individuals, Rechdane said, explaining the obstacles faced by the ICRC in tackling the issue.

"Political and military barriers, especially those which eradicate humanity, have forbidden us from dealing with many cases as well," Rechdane said.

She added that the first condition for the ICRC to complete its tasks in Lebanon is the political harmony and agreement that is "clearly absent at the time."

The ICRC sends its recommendations to the government and works on capacity building. "We can't work without the conformation of the government" Rechdane said. Perhaps the Lebanese government is busy with its political, economic and social priorities at the meantime, she added.

"We just ask the Lebanese government for more interest and more involvement in the issue" she said.

The ICRC also requests new legislations in Lebanon to protect the mass graves and preserve the remains which would help in uncovering the identities of the victims and consequently revealing the fate of some of the missing.

In its progress report of the missing, the ICRC stated "basic guidelines" around the management of the remains in armed conflicts and internal violence and the use of DNA, in addition to practical guides for forensic practitioners.

Moreover, the ICRC has been visiting Israeli detention centers in both Lebanon and Israel since 1995 and reporting back to the families of the missing news about their relatives.

Rechdane said that the ICRC in Lebanon is working on preventing persons from getting unaccounted for during armed conflict and on enhancing the concern about the issue among government authorities, and the local society.

She added that families of the missing have the "right to know" where there relatives are, according to the international humanitarian law.

ICRC has an exclusive humanitarian mission of protecting the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal conflict.

"Our main concern is the humanitarian division of the issue, and we care most for the distressed families of the missing" Rechdane said.

The ICRC responds to the needs of families that lost contact with their relatives during armed conflicts or internal violence as it stresses on the need to reinforce the implementation of the international humanitarian law.

According to the ICRC reports, the material and psychological needs of the families awaiting clarification of their relatives' fate should be addressed by the concerned authorities.

Israëlische archeologen waarschuwen voor beschadiging artifacten op Tempelberg

Al voor de tweede keer sinds er een conflict ontstond over Israëlische opgravingen bij de Tempelberg begin dit jaar, heeft de Waqf, de islamitische organisatie die de Tempelberg beheert, opgravingswerkzaamheden op de berg zelf verricht (de Israëlische opgravingen vonden plaats buiten de berg). Het woord 'hypocrisie' is nog zacht uitgedrukt. Het probleem is, dat nu wel degelijk waardevolle artifacten verloren kunnen gaan.

 

Barkay said earth from the trench contained pottery shards dating to the Byzantine period. He cautioned that more relics still underground could be harmed.

Christian, Muslim and Jewish heritage could "fall victim to this heinous act", Barkay said.

 

Waarschijnlijk uit angst nieuwe rellen te veroorzaken treedt de Israëlische regering zeer terughoudend op naar de Waqf, en kan zij de facto haar gang gaan. Het vreemde is, dat hiervoor in het geheel geen aandacht is in de media.

 

Ratna

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

 

Last update - 14:07 29/08/2007    

Israeli archeologists warn Muslim dig could harm Temple Mount artifacts

 

By Reuters

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/898762.html

Israeli archeologists said Wednesday they fear priceless relics could be damaged by a mechanical digger being used by Muslim caretakers to carve out a utility trench at the Temple Mount.

 

The work is being carried out on the plaza revered by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as the Temple Mount.

 

"It is appalling that in one of the most important archaeological sites in the country, heavy machinery is used in a barbaric way to dig a ditch 120 meters long and 1.5 meters deep," said Gabriel Barkay, an archeologist at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv.

 

He and other members of the Israeli-based Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, have criticized the Israel Antiquities Authority for allowing the Waqf, the Muslim caretakers of the site, to conduct the work.

 

Dalit Menzin, a spokeswoman for the Antiquities Authority declined to comment.

 

Sheikh Abdel al-Azeem Salhab, president of the Waqf Council, which is charged with day-to-day administration of the compound, denied the digging would cause any archaeological damage.

 

The trench is being dug to replace decades-old electric wiring at the complex, which now houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock and was the site during biblical times of two Jewish Temples.

 

The future of the compound is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 

"I assure you that the area where the electrical cables are being extended was excavated in the past and there is nothing of value in it that can be damaged or destroyed," Salhab said.

 

Barkay said earth from the trench contained pottery shards dating to the Byzantine period. He cautioned that more relics still underground could be harmed.

 

Christian, Muslim and Jewish heritage could "fall victim to this heinous act", Barkay said.

 

In February, an Israeli dig intended to salvage ancient artifacts before construction of a new walkway leading to the holy complex sparked worldwide protests by Muslims who said they feared the two mosques would be damaged.

 

The Jerusalem municipality denied any harm would come to the shrines but scrapped its original construction plan and ordered a committee to prepare new blueprints and hold public hearings on the project.

 

Veiligheidsdiensten Europese Unie houden geheime gesprekken met Hamas

Dit is niet de eerste keer dat dergelijke contacten uitlekken. In het geheim wordt er waarschijnlijk ook wel tussen Israël en vertegenwoordigers van Hamas gepraat. Het grote verschil is natuurlijk dat geheime contacten Hamas geen legitimiteit geven en openlijke wel. Uitgelekte geheime contacten hangen daar ergens tussenin. Wat mij telkens weer verbaast is dat in contacten met Hamas niet iedere keer wordt gehamerd op het Hamas handvest en op antisemitische uitlatingen van Hamas leiders.

 

Ondertussen gaan ook de pogingen om de crisis tussen Hamas en Fatah op te lossen gewoon door, ondanks het feit dat er sprake lijkt van een serieuze toenadering tussen Fatah en Israël. Uiteraard komt daar een einde aan zodra Hamas weer tot de regering zou toetreden. Het is daarom bijzonder vreemd dat notabene Abbas notabene Soedan heeft gevraagd om te bemiddelen. De Soedanese regering weet wel hoe je conflicten op moet lossen.  

Ratna

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

Exclusive: European Union officials hold secret talks with Hamas
Khaled Abu Toameh , THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 29, 2007
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1188197180657&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

EU security officials have been conducting secret talks with Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip over the past few weeks, Palestinian Authority officials told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

The PA officials did not reveal the identity of the visitors, except to say that they belonged to three EU intelligence services.

The Europeans are said to have met with top Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, as well as Ahmed Yusef, political adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Sources close to Hamas confirmed that EU officials had visited the Gaza Strip recently for talks focusing on security-related issues.

According to the sources, the Hamas leaders urged the EU representatives to work to end the boycott of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, and to pressure Israel to reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

"We hope these talks will be the first step toward ending the boycott of Hamas, which came to power in a free and democratic election," the sources told the Post. "There is growing awareness among the Europeans of the fact that Hamas can't be ignored as a major player in the Palestinian arena."

In response, Christina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana, told The Jerusalem Post that she was unaware of any such meetings. On a separate note, she said that Solana was due to visit the region this weekend and would be in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Jordan.

Israeli government officials contacted about this matter Tuesday night said they knew of no EU contacts with Hamas.

One government official reiterated that Israel,s position was that "Hamas should not be dealt with and should be kept as far away form the game as possible."

The official added that Hamas was a terrorist organization "that continues to do whatever it can to impede any chance for progress."

This is the first time Hamas has confirmed that its representatives have held secret talks with EU security officials.

The Hamas representatives reportedly stressed during the talks that they were not interested in a major confrontation with Israel.

Both Zahar and Yusef denied assertions that Hamas was planning a wave of terrorist attacks in the West Bank to undermine PA Chairman Mamoud Abbas's status ahead of November's Middle East peace conference.

Meanwhile, Abbas has asked Sudan to use its good offices with Hamas to resolve the crisis in the PA. A senior Fatah delegation headed by Azzam al-Ahmed, who is close to Abbas, held talks in Khartoum on Tuesday with Sudanese government officials on ways of ending the Fatah-Hamas dispute.

The Fatah delegation emphasized that Abbas and Fatah were keen on resuming "national dialogue" with the Islamist group.

Herb Keinon and Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.


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Iran in VN comité dat anti-racisme conferentie voorbereidt

Je zou verwachten, of op zijn minst hopen, dat de VN heeft geleerd van zijn fouten, en dit keer zal voorkomen dat een globale anti-racisme conferentie in een antisemitisme festijn verandert zoals in Durban in 2001. Dit gebeurde onder andere omdat er een hele infrastructuur aan anti-Israël instituties is gecreëerd binnen de Verenigde Naties, wat op zijn beurt weer is veroorzaakt door de dominante positie van de islamitische landen (en met hen mee stemmende derde wereld landen) in de Mensenrechtenraad en de Algemene Vergadering.

 

Het feit dat Iran is geselecteerd voor een leidende positie in het voorbereidingscomité voor een vervolg conferentie op Durban doet het ergste vrezen. Eén keer raden welke grote mensenrechtenvriend de voorbereidende commissie voorzit? Juist ja, Libië. 

 

Dergelijke praktijken zijn zowel schadelijk voor de VN als voor Israël en de Joden, als voor de talloze andere landen en minderheden die aandacht willen vragen voor hun zaak. De positie van de Tibetanen bijvoorbeeld, van de Dalith (kastenlozen) in India, de Arabische minderheid in Iran, het toenemende racisme in Rusland, enz. enz.

 

Er moet een manier gevonden worden om te voorkomen dat een anti-racisme conferentie in een racistische conferentie verandert. Als de VN dat niet kan, verliest het haar geloofwaardigheid.

 

 

Ratna

 

(Lees ook: Wat er mis is met de 'Conferentie voor Israelisch-Palestijnse Vrede' in Brussel?)

___________________________

 

Islamic Republic selected by UN for 'leading position' to plan anti-racism conference

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3441314,00.html

Yaakov Lappin

Published:

08.23.07, 21:45

 

Despite its numerous calls for Israel's destruction, and repeated denials of the Holocaust, Iran has been selected by the United Nations for a leading position in a committee that will plan the 2009 UN World Conference against Racism.

 

The planning committee, which will meet for the first time in Geneva on August 27, will be made up of an inner circle of 20 UN member-states, to be headed by Libya.

 

The decision to include Iran in the committee has been slammed by UN watchdogs. "As a UN spokesperson against racism, Iran will invert totally the message and mission of the United Nations," Anne Bayefsky, senior editor of the New York-based Eye on the UN, said in a press release.

 

"Iran is now poised to wrap itself in a UN flag as a lead agent of the next global conference against racism, Durban II," she added, referring to the 2001 UN conference on racism held in Durban, South Africa, which saw unprecedented levels of anti-Zionist rhetoric and calls for Israel's destruction.

 

Speaking to Ynetnews, Bayefsky said that "the leading exponents of anti-Semitism, whether directed at Jews individually or the Jewish people and its state generally, continue to be provided a global platform at the UN. This is but one example of a broader phenomenon."

 

"Eye on the UN has found that in 2006 the UN system as a whole directed the most condemnations for human rights abuses against specific states - first towards Israel and fourth towards the United States. Iran was lower down on the list of UN human rights concerns," Bayefsky said, adding: "And yet the US taxpayer continues to pay a quarter of the bill for activities which demonize Americans and Israelis on a global scale."

 

A spokesperson for the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed to Ynetnews that "Iran is one of 20 States who are members of the bureau of the Preparatory Committee," but added that "Iran does not occupy a leading role."

 

When asked how a state which openly denies the Holocaust could find itself in such a role, the spokesperson said: "The Preparatory Committee is an inter-governmental body, meaning States were chosen freely to sit on the Prep-Com. It is the Member-States who decide."

 

'UN body hijacked again'

Bayefsky explained that the structure of the UN's Human Rights Council has effectively been taken over by the countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), allowing Iran and Libya access to key roles.

 

"The states were selected by the UN Human Rights Council and the Council is controlled by the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The majority of seats on the Council are held by the African and Asian regional groups and the OIC has a majority of seats on each of these groups. Western states do not have the votes to block this outrage and it is another example of the hijacking that has occurred of the UN's lead human rights agency," she said.

 

Reacting to the statements of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of the Geneva-Based UN Watch organization, said that the UN had failed to explain how Iran had ended up on the planning council.

 

"I think they are basically dodging the question," Neuer said. "To ask why Iran should be a member, and then to be answered that Iran is a member, is not an answer," he added.

 

"This conference is turning into a wolf in sheep's clothing. The United Nations' government and diplomats do not think the way regular people think. They treat every country equally and do not use common sense principles. That attitude is contrary to the UN charter, which says members who act contrary to the charter's principles of supporting peace should be expelled," Neuer explained.

 

"According many diplomats, this will be a fiasco in the making. And it should be noted there are African states that care about legitimate issues concerning racism and want those to be addressed. It's a shame that the Islamic states are intending on subverting this conference as they have done with the Human Rights Council and numerous other UN bodies," Neuer added.

 

"The High commissioner (Louise Arbour) has to speak truth to power. The high commissioner should express her concern that once again a leading human rights entity at the UN is being headed by Libya with Iran in a leadership position, whatever the UN may say. It undermines any last vestige of moral credibility," he said.

 

'Israel's options limited'

Asked what his advice would be for Israel on how to deal with the conference, Neuer said: "There is a limited amount of options for Israel. The analogy is to the UN General Assembly, where the numbers speak for themselves, and there is not much Israel can do to prevent certain resolutions."

 

"The key thing is to work on Western states like Canada and the Europeans. Israel has to be vigilant, has to closely monitor diplomatic developments, and needs to engage with its Western friends and to make sure that the Europeans stand firm and refuse to appease the extremists," Neuer added.

 

According to Bayefsky, "Israel needs to point continually to the dangerous role played by the UN in undermining the welfare of the Jewish state and its people. The veil of legitimacy of the organization as a leader in human rights protection must be lifted." 

 

Olmert en Abbas bespreken drie belangrijke 'final status' onderwerpen

Tijdens de ontmoeting op 28 augustus tussen Abbas en Olmert is voor het eerst serieus over 'final status' onderwerpen gesproken, zoals grenzen, Jeruzalem en vluchtelingen. Ondanks optimistische bewoordingen zijn er volgens Palestijnse bronnen nog steeds wezenlijke verschillen in wat men van de onderhandelingen verwacht: 

However Palestinian sources also said that while progress had been made, Olmert seemed interested only in a declaration of intent, while Abbas wanted to formulate a detailed document that would set out the Israeli position on the main issues.

The main development in the talks so far has been Olmert's acceding to the inclusion in the agreement of principles of the "core issues" - Jerusalem, permanent borders and refugees. This represents a reversal of his earlier position that raising these issues might lead to a breakdown in the negotiations.

 

 

Ook Israëlische bronnen zijn voorzichtig:

 

The source [a senior government official, RP] also said that "implementation will be subordinate to the road map," meaning that Israel will insist on the disbanding of terrorist organizations at the outset and the establishment of a Palestinian state in stages, rather than a final-status arrangement in one move. Thus it seems Olmert is willing to be flexible on a declarative level, while leaving "safety valves" on the road leading from principles to action.

The official said Olmert would not offer Abbas any new gestures involving an easing of restrictions on the Palestinians. The security establishment has still not completed its plans for removing road blocks and obstacles in the West Bank, which Olmert had pledged to Abbas more than two months ago.

 

 

Aangezien beide partijen de Routekaart voor Vrede hebben gaccepteerd, is het niet raar dat Israël hieraan vast wil houden. De Routekaart, voor de duidelijkheid, gaat uit van verschillende fases en de creatie van een Palestijnse staat met tijdelijke grenzen voordat een permanente oplossing van het conflict overeengekomen wordt. Als Abbas het hier niet mee eens is moet hij vragen om aanpassing van de Routekaart.

 

 

Ratna
----------

PM, Abbas discuss three major final status issues
By Aluf Benn, Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents, and
News Agencies Last update - 19:03 28/08/2007
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/898071.html 

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held one-on-one talks Tuesday on the three issues that are at the heart of a final status agreement - borders for a Palestinian state, the division of Jerusalem and the right of return of Palestinian refugees to Israel.

It was the first time the two men discussed these matters in depth, according to an Israeli official. The two aim to bring an "agreement of principles" to an upcoming international summit on Middle East peace, set to take place in November.

These core issues have to be discussed on the way to finding a diplomatic solution of two states for two peoples, an official in the Prime Minister's Office quoted Olmert as saying. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the two leaders spoke privately.

David Baker, an official in the PMO, said ahead of the talks that they would center on "the development of Palestinian governing institutions, bolstering Abbas' government and issues concerning Israelis and Palestinians living side-by-side."

Olmert believes that the two leaders must meet at least once or twice more before handing over to aides who will hammer out the details of an agreement.

Aside from their face-to-face meeting, Olmert and Abbas were joined by their advisors to discuss security cooperation. Olmert thanked Abbas for the actions of the Palestinian security forces who rescued an Israel Defense Forces officer from an angry mob after he unintentionally strayed into Jenin on Monday.

Abbas headed into the talks warning that the planned conference would be pointless if it failed to address the core issues of Palestinian statehood - borders, refugees and Jerusalem.

"If there is a clear framework including final status issues, we will welcome this and go to the conference," Abbas told Voice of Palestine radio.

He pressed Israel to be more specific on how it plans to approach peace talks, saying Olmert's proposed declaration of principles would not suffice.

The PA chairman had also expressed concern Monday that the summit would be a "waste of time" if it limited itself to a "declaration of principles."

Hamas called the Abbas-Olmert meeting another attempt to isolate it.

"The meeting will end in complete failure. Such meetings can never achieve anything as long as the Israeli occupation continues to deny the rights of our people and continues its aggression against them," said Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official.

Olmert and Abbas last met in the West Bank city of Jericho at the start of August, at which time the prime minister told Abbas that he would push for the establishment of a Palestinian state as "fast as possible."

Though it has been announced that the conference would be held in November, Abbas said he is still unsure about the timing, participants and agenda of the planned summit.

"There are no answers to these questions," he said after talking with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by telephone. "I spoke with Dr. Rice today and she has no answers either," he said.

Earlier Monday, a senior government official said the framework of discussions between Israel and the PA will be expanded to include the establishment of negotiating teams for each side, which will discuss the agreement of principles to be prepared ahead of the peace summit.

Meetings between Olmert and Abbas have so far been private, but the framework will now be expanded in order to "reach November with a logical product," the official said.

Olmert and Abbas are expected to meet again before the Rosh Hashanah holiday next month; sources in the Palestinian Authority said that in their next meeting, Olmert and Abbas will try to agree on as many issues as possible, in order to be able to present both their points of contention and agreement to Rice when she comes to the region in mid-September.

However Palestinian sources also said that while progress had been made, Olmert seemed interested only in a declaration of intent, while Abbas wanted to formulate a detailed document that would set out the Israeli position on the main issues.

The main development in the talks so far has been Olmert's acceding to the inclusion in the agreement of principles of the "core issues" - Jerusalem, permanent borders and refugees. This represents a reversal of his earlier position that raising these issues might lead to a breakdown in the negotiations.

The government official explained that Olmert has been persuaded to present the Palestinians with a political horizon, "so that Abbas will not lose the support of the Palestinian masses."

Referring to the appointment of Salam Fayad as Palestinian prime minister, the official said "two months ago a partner was born, and we must now talk to him about everything. We want to bring other countries into the process and reach more significant conclusions."

The source also said that "implementation will be subordinate to the road map," meaning that Israel will insist on the disbanding of terrorist organizations at the outset and the establishment of a Palestinian state in stages, rather than a final-status arrangement in one move. Thus it seems Olmert is willing to be flexible on a declarative level, while leaving "safety valves" on the road leading from principles to action.

The official said Olmert would not offer Abbas any new gestures involving an easing of restrictions on the Palestinians. The security establishment has still not completed its plans for removing road blocks and obstacles in the West Bank, which Olmert had pledged to Abbas more than two months ago.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a preliminary meeting last week and asked the army to present a detailed proposal that would include new operational roads. Barak is said to support temporary "flying roadblocks" in the West Bank that could replace permanent ones, thus easing passage for Palestinians while making it more difficult to carry out attacks. However he reportedly believes that moving to a new operational concept will require new deployment and training in the IDF, which will take time.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Fayad agreed at their meeting in Jerusalem Monday to strengthen civilian and economic ties between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. To this end, they resolved to establish committees for economics, social affairs and the environment. It was also suggested that meetings between mayors from each side be organized to promote joint projects.

The meeting between Livni and Fayad was their fourth since Fayad took office in June.

Livni told Fayad she appreciated the actions of the Palestinian security forces Monday, in assisting the Israeli officer who mistakenly entered Jenin.

Over the past few days, a special team has been set up in the Foreign Ministry to deal with preparations for the regional conference in November. The team will be headed by Foreign Minister Director General Aharon Abramovich, and a number of relevant department heads will also be included.

A senior government source noted that the team will prepare a number of position papers for Livni to submit to Olmert. The team will work mainly to prepare a plan of action to show the international community and the Arab world, in order to draft support for the regional conference and for subsequent talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The team members are to prepare a list of steps Israel will take, and steps that Israel will ask the Arab world and the members of the Quartet to take. "The goal is to be ready with plans for the continuation of negotiations" following the summit, the official said.

Diplomatic activity is to be renewed next week with the end of the summer vacation. Assistant U.S. Secretary State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch is to come to the region ahead of Rice's planned visit. The Quartet's Middle East envoy, Tony Blair, is also expected to visit the region soon.

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Palestijnse regering sluit 103 foute organisaties

Een hoopvol bericht. Hamas is onder andere zo populair vanwege het sociale netwerk dat men heeft opgezet, en vanwege de corruptie binnen Fatah. Als Fatah beide zaken aanpakt kan het zijn populariteit verhogen ten koste van die van Hamas. Overigens geniet Fatah op het moment volgens verschillende peilingen meer steun dan Hamas. 

 

Meer dan 100 instituties klinkt veel, maar dit is op een totaal van 2400. Uiteraard kan de regering niet zomaar allerlei klinieken of welzijnsclubs sluiten, zonder dat deze de wet overtreden, en zonder dat het voor alternatieven zorgt. Scholen waar wordt onderwezen dat het de heilige plicht van iedere moslim is om voor Allah te sterven en 'verraders'  hard gestraft zullen worden, zetten de bevolking op tegen de seculiere regering en overtreden daarmee waarschijnlijk de wet. De staat heeft niet alleen een monopolie op geweld en handhaving van de wet, maar ook op het leveren van basisvoorzieningen aan de bevolking. Uiteraard brengt dit ook verplichtingen met zich mee.

 

Ratna

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

Palestinian government shuts 103 groups
By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer

 

Mon Aug 27, 11:01 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070828/ap_on_re_mi_ea/palestinians_hamas;_ylt=Ape8MH5SiCwXL7vNUUa6kCcSewgF

RAMALLAH, West Bank - The moderate Palestinian government has ordered the closure of more than 100 institutions in the West Bank and Gaza, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Monday, in an apparent crackdown against the Islamic Hamas.

Fayyad said implementation of the order began Sunday. But it was unclear how Fayyad's government would carry out the edict in Gaza, which Hamas has ruled since violently taking over the territory in June. That amplified a power struggle between Hamas and the more moderate Fatah that began with a sweeping Hamas victory in a 2006 parliamentary election.

The government cited violation of laws governing civil groups for the order, and Fayyad denied the decision was aimed at Hamas alone.

But he added, "When there is a violation of the law, should I stop there and say there is a sensitivity because this institution might be a Hamas one? This is not acceptable."

The order appeared aimed at Hamas because its strength is based on a network of groups that provide welfare to many Palestinians. Its strongest social welfare base is in the Gaza Strip, but it also has groups in the West Bank.

Fayyad said the closure orders were part of a wider reform. He would not list the targeted institutions but said their bank accounts would be frozen. Of the 2,400 registered institutions, 103 are to be closed, officials said.

Fayyad said the affected institutions could appeal to Palestinian courts.

He said his government would provide for those harmed by the shutting down of the groups.

"Our responsibility as an authority is to look after all sectors of society, especially those vulnerable groups that need help," he said. "We are the address for that. The Palestinian Authority is committed to these needs."

Palestijnse mensenrechten organisatie bezorgd over marteling Fatah aanhangers door Hamas

Hamas heeft internationaal nog een beetje het imago dat ze tenminste - na de eerdere chaos en geweld - in de Gazastrook voor rust en orde hebben gezorgd.

 

De 'rust en orde' die ze hebben gebracht wordt er echter met een heel harde stok ingeslagen bij iedereen die het niet met Hamas eens is en dat hardop durft te zeggen.

 

Wouter

_________________________________

 

PCHR
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Press Release

Ref: 109/2007
Date: 27 August 2007
Time: 11:30 GMT

PCHR Is Concerned Over the Detention and Torture of a Number of Fatah Supporters by the Executive Force

PCHR is deeply concerned over the arrest campaign waged by the Executive Force in the past two days against a number of supporters of Fatah movement in Gaza City and the central Gaza Strip. PCHR calls for an investigation into the torture and beating of a number of detainees during their detention by the Executive Force and to take legal action against the perpetrators.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, on Saturday morning, 25 August 2007, the Executive Force arrested 15 residents of al-Daraj neighborhood in the east of Gaza City to interrogate them about their participation in the prayer conducted in the Unknown Soldier Yard in Gaza City on the preceding day, and the demonstration that followed. Fatah movement had called for doing the Friday Prayer in the Unknown Solider Yard, in protest to what it described as "the incitement and politicization of religious preaches at mosques."

 

According to a number of released detainees, they were beaten and humiliated during their detention at al-Saraya security compound. They were also forced to sign a document pledging not to participate in any activities organized by Fatah movement and not to give any information to the media, and if they break this pledge, they must pay 3,000 JD (approximately US$ 4,285).

In the same context, the Executive Force arrested 3 residents of the same neighborhood on Sunday morning, 26 August 2007. They were also beaten, humiliated and forced to sign the same pledge.

In his testimony to PCHR, one of the released detainees stated:

"At approximately 04:15 on Saturday, 25 August 2007, many members of the Executive Force broke into the yard of our house and arrested my brother who got out to check what was going on. They then ordered me and my other brothers to get out. As soon as I got out, they handcuffed, blindfolded and violently beat me. They placed me in a jeep and then transported me to al-Saraya compound. During our way to al-Saraya compound, they continued to beat me. I sustained fractures to my left hand and upper jaw. In al-Saraya security compound, they interrogated me about my participation in the Friday prayer and the demonstration that followed. During the interrogation, they beat and insulted me. They then forced me to sign a document pledging not to participate in demonstrations and activities organized by Fatah movement and not to talk to the media, and if I violate this pledge, I must pay 3,000 JD. They released me and my brothers at approximately 09:00 on the same day."

On Saturday morning, 25 August 2007, the Executive Force arrested 5 supporters of Fatah movement in Nusairat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, because they did not allow members of Hamas to deliver a statement at the mourning house of Nizar al-'Abeed, who was killed by Israeli Occupation Forces on 18 August 2007. Members of the Executive Force violently beat the detainees and cut their hair.

In his testimony to PCHR, one of the released detainees stated:

"At approximately 09:00 on Saturday, two masked persons intercepted me when I was walking in the market. They took me in a vehicle towards Jenin outpost near the police station of the central Gaza Strip. There, they handcuffed, blindfolded and beat me. They then started to interrogate me. During the interrogation, they violently beat me and hit my head to the wall until I fainted. They also cut my hair. The interrogation continued for an hour and a half. After the interrogation, they detained me in a room for half an hour. They hanged me with a cord, and started to beat me violently until I fainted again. Later, they took me to a toilette and ordered me to clean it with my hands. An hour later, they took me to a room, where they interrogated and violently beat me. At approximately 22:00, they forced me to sign a document pledging not to cause chaos or insult Hamas, and then released me."

PCHR strongly condemns these actions, and:

1.        Calls for an immediate investigation into such practices, prosecuting the perpetrators and taking steps to prevent their recurrence.
2.        Reminds that torture is outlawed by Palestinian Law, and is a serious human rights violation under international human rights instruments, especially the Convention against Torture and other forms of Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment (1984).
3.        Stresses that arrests under the Palestinian Law are the mandate of judicial warranty officials represented by the civilian police, working under the instruction and supervision of the Attorney-General.
4.        Affirms that the right to peaceful assembly is ensured by the Basic Law and the Law of Public Meetings #12 of 1998.


Public Document
**************************************
For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 - 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip.
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One Voice Movement voor vrede en een twee-staten oplossing

One Voice, een 'grassroots' organisatie gericht op het verwerven van zoveel mogelijk steun aan beide kanten voor een twee-staten oplossing, begint zijn geduld te verliezen. Men roept op tot aaneengesloten en voortdurende onderhandelingen totdat men overeenstemming heeft bereikt. Het doet denken aan de idee om onderhandelaars van beide kanten in een ruimte op te sluiten en ze er pas uit te laten als ze het eens zijn geworden. Als drukmiddel kan verder worden overeengekomen dat de koks na een maand nog maar halve porties bereiden, en na twee maanden helemaal stoppen met eten bereiden...

 

Voor de duidelijkheid: ik wil dit initiatief geenszins belachelijk maken, en denk dat het cruciaal is om op deze manier te proberen de stem van de gematigden luider te laten horen. Wel denk ik dat men zich niet alleen op onderhandelingen moet richten, maar ook op het opbouwen van vertrouwen, op het kweken van begrip tussen beide kanten zonder verschillen weg te poetsen, en op het aanmoedigen van de gematigden om zich luid en duidelijk tegen de eigen extremisten uit te spreken.  

 

Meer informatie: http://blog.onevoicemovement.org/one_voice/2007/08/save-the-date-o.html

 

Ratna
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Mid East: One Million Palestinians and Israelis Call for Immediate, uninterrupted Negotiations for Two-state Solution

Dennis Ross, Saeb Erakat, Muhammad Ali, Dov Lautman, Klaus Schwab
Among Global Leaders Supporting Grassroots OneVoice Movement

Landmark Public Summits in Jericho + Tel Aviv 10.18.07
Message to Abbas and Olmert: Moderate Majority Silent No Longer 

http://www.onemillionvoices.org

Jericho/Tel Aviv, August 1, 2007 - Frustrated with ongoing instability in the region, the recent crisis in Gaza and lack of progress, the OneVoice Movement today announced that nearly 500,000 Palestinian and Israeli citizens have united to demand immediate, ongoing, uninterrupted negotiations until a comprehensive two-state agreement is achieved. OneVoice has committed to recruit one million signatories to join the movement by October.

On October 18, 2007, Israeli and Palestinian citizens - together with international supporters - will mobilize to call for a two-state solution and an end to the occupation and terror. OneVoice, a non-partisan mainstream nationalist movement working in Israel and Palestine for an end to the conflict, will organize separate, simultaneous public summits in Tel Aviv, Jericho and Jerusalem, with international "Echo" events in London, Washington D.C. and Ottawa. The summits will be broadcast via satellite for the world to see the international solidarity towards ending the conflict. Hundreds of thousands are expected to participate and to add their signatures to the OneVoice mandate for a two-state solution. 

 "The people need to start leading the way, to create the conditions necessary for their elected representatives to fulfill the will of the moderate majority," said Daniel Lubetzky, Founder of the OneVoice Movement. "Excuses and disclaimers won't get us anywhere. Each of us needs to ask, what can I do to help end the conflict? What am I willing to do to ensure negotiations do not stop until the Heads of State achieve an agreement that can be presented to the people?"

 Bringing together international co-producers Michael Lang (Woodstock Productions) and Chris Wangro (Zaragunda Inc.) with the top Israeli and Palestinian production teams, programs for the One Million Voices to End the Conflict public summits will include live statements from foremost dignitaries and religious leaders, a variety of international and regional musical talent, messages from celebrities and luminaries, a magical performance by David Copperfield and raw commitments from OneVoice activists on the ground. The events will create an unprecedented shared reality, in which the Israeli, Palestinian and international communities are linked by their commitment to end the conflict. 

 In 2004, as a result of ground-breaking citizen negotiations, OneVoice revealed that 76 percent of both Palestinians and Israelis support a two-state solution. By late 2005, over 150,000 Palestinian and Israeli citizen negotiators had achieved consensus on Ten Pillars for Conflict Resolution. However, to date moderates on both sides have kept silent, allowing a small minority of violent extremists to hijack the will of the people and capture global media attention.

 "The most difficult thing in this region is to be a person of peace and moderation, especially at times when people are being killed," said Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian negotiator. "Sanity, wisdom and courage tend to disappear when violence is prevalent. Peacemaking is not just about negotiating an agreement - it's about having the people demand peace. OneVoice's initiatives on October 18 are a major step towards making that happen."

 "OneVoice's October 18th events are poised to inject the political situation in the Middle East, rife with complexities and contradictions, with a new hope by enabling the Israeli and Palestinian people to take part in the process," said Ambassador Dennis Ross. "There have been failures of leadership on both sides, but what the OneVoice Movement is doing goes beyond blaming politicians, focusing in on the people of this region, empowering and mobilizing them to build a bold, absolute mandate for an end to the conflict."

 By organizing the moderate majority, OneVoice aims to empower its signatories to challenge the current dynamic of weakened leaders and divided populations. The public summits on October 18th will serve as a mandate for Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert, both of whom were elected on a platform for a two-state solution, to make a sustained push for peace. As momentum builds towards the event, OneVoice aims to expand its support base to one million, thus bringing together One Million Voices to End the Conflict.

 International support is growing for the OneVoice Mandate and for October 18th One Million Voices To End the Conflict public summits. The list of global luminaries who have proclaimed their support for OneVoice continues to expand. Board members and supporters thus far include:

Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and President of the World Economic Forum
Muhammad Ali, philanthropist and former heavyweight boxing champion
Sheikh Taysir al Tamimi, Chief Palestinian Islamic Justice
Rabbi David Rosen, Chairman, International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations
Ambassador Dennis Ross, Mideast Envoy during Clinton and Bush Administrations
Saeb Erakat, Head of Negotiations, Palestinian Authority
Dov Lautman, foremost Israeli business leader and winner of Israel Prize
Stuart Eizenstat, former US Deputy Secretary of Treasury and Undersecretary of State
Samer Khoury, foremost Palestinian business leader; CEO, Consolidated Contracts International

OneVoice Palestine Executive Director Nisreen Shaheen said, "With the Arab Initiative on the table and the entire world's attention on the Middle East, ordinary people have an extraordinary opportunity to make their voices heard."

Dr. Fathi Darwish, OneVoice Palestine Director General, added, "We need to create a sense of urgency among all parties involved - Israelis, Palestinians, and people everywhere - to once and for all end the occupation and the violence and suffering on all sides and enable Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace."

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About the OneVoice Movement:

The OneVoice Movement is a mainstream nationalist grassroots movement with nearly 500,000 Israeli and Palestinian signatories, and 3,000 highly-trained youth leaders.  It aims to amplify the voice of the overwhelming but heretofore silent majority of moderates who wish for peace and prosperity, empowering them to demand accountability from elected representatives and work toward a two-state solution.  OneVoice counts on its Board over 60 foremost dignitaries and business leaders across a wide spectrum of politics and beliefs, joining as OneVoice against violent extremism and for conflict resolution. Learn more by visiting www.onevoicemovement.org.

 

Wapensmokkel en bewapening door Hamas

Het Hamas leiderschap in Syrië heeft opdracht gegeven aan Hamas in Gaza en de Westelijke Jordaanoever om een grootschalige aanval uit te voeren, aldus de Israëlische veiligheidsdienst.

Dit bericht komt nadat afgelopen weekend zwaar bewapende Palestijnen uit de Gazastrook Israël infiltreerden, waarschijnlijk om een aanslag te plegen. Alleen al deze maand heeft Israël zes aanvallen vanuit de Gazastrook verijdeld.

 

Ondertussen heeft de wapensmokkel een grote vlucht genomen, en ontvangen Hamas leden een speciale training in Iran.

Ratna
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[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:  Report: "Five smuggling operations from Egypt into Gaza were carried out successfully since the beginning of August. "
Should be:  "We are aware of five smuggling operations from Egypt into Gaza carried out successfully since the beginning of August and clueless how many others were carried out in addition to the five."]

Behind the Headlines: The arming of Hamas
Briefing by Assistant Chief of the Israeli Security Agency at the weekly Cabinet meeting Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tuesday, 28 August, 2007

On Sunday, 26 August 2007 the assistant chief of the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) briefed the cabinet on the issue of weapons smuggling into Gaza and the arming of Hamas as a result.

Following is a series of press reports on the briefing:

"There is a clear directive from Hamas headquarters abroad to Hamas here - to carry out a large-scale terrorist attack inside Israel.  We are following the situation closely." This grave information was delivered by the assistant chief of the ISA during his briefing at the weekly Cabinet meeting.

According to the assistant chief, Hamas in the Gaza Strip is "deeply enmeshed in strategic complications". It cannot manage the government, is unable to obtain international legitimacy or solve the problem of the crossings. The heads of the organization are unable to achieve any accomplishments that have any influence on day-to-day activities. All these increase the likelihood of a change in their terrorism policy - in Gaza, in Judea and Samaria and perhaps even outside of Israel.

Arms smuggling has reached a peak since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip.

In 2006, 31 tons of military grade explosive materials were smuggled into the Strip. The massive increase in smuggled arms began in 2006, and did not consist only of explosives: 14000 rifles, about 5 million units of light ammunition, 40 rockets, 150 RPG bombs and 65 launchers, 20 advanced anti-tank missiles and 10 anti-aircraft missiles were also smuggled in.

Latest reports show that since the Hamas takeover in June, 40 tons of explosives were smuggled into the Strip from Egypt. This is the same amount that was smuggled in during the previous two years. There was also an increase in the frequency and quantity of Kassam attacks.

Five smuggling operations from Egypt into Gaza were carried out successfully since the beginning of August. The ammunition smuggled in included more than 13 tons of explosives and 150 RPG launchers. This occurred in conjunction with a decrease in Egyptian preventive operations.

The significance of these great amounts of ammunition and explosives is that they upgrade the terrorist organization capabilities, enabling them to increase the power of bombs and explosive belts, increase their ability to carry out terrorist attacks and excavate tunnels, and also to enhance rocket range and the shelf life of rockets. In addition, Hamas is sending hundreds of terrorist to Iran for advanced training.

Preventative measures by the IDF and security forces included the destruction of 20 tunnels (after warning the inhabitants of the apartment building in which they were situated) and destruction of an additional 8 tunnels by the Israel Air Force.

The assistant chief of the ISA notified the cabinet of an increase in terrorist activities during the previous week - 56 attacks as opposed to 43 in the previous week, and 20 rocket attacks into Israel.

The notable trend is an increase in rocket attacks into Israel, with an average of 70 attacks per month.

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