Arabische zangers boycotten Jordaans muziekfestival wegens vermeende link Israël

 

De Peace Loving Arabs, aanhangers van de religie van vrede, zien niets liever dan normalisatie van kontakten met hun Israëlische buren. Het zijn de agressieve kolonialistische oorlogszuchtige Zionistische bezetters die de boel verpesten, de Arabieren willen alleen maar vrede.

 

Het is dus precies onderstaande mentaliteit die vrede in de weg staat. Alles wat met Israël te maken heeft is slecht, en de Arabieren zelf treft uiteraard geen enkele blaam. Wat zou het mooi zijn als Arabische zangers/musici, zoals Israëlische, zouden oproepen tot vrede en verzoening en zich kritisch over de eigen kant zouden uitlaten. Waar blijft de Arabische Daniel Barenboim??

 

RP

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Arab singers to boycott Jordan festival over Israel

Agence France Presse / June 30, 2007

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jip9Eq2Lz5SKPYsypGhofRQWiQeg

 

AMMAN (AFP) - Arab singers will boycott a music festival in Jordan next month over claims it is being set up by the same company which organised Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations in May, a union leader said on Monday.

The month-long Jordan Festival, due to open on July 8, will feature local and international artists including tenor Placido Domingo and jazz vocalist Diana Krall.

But several Arab singers will boycott it after calls by Jordan's Islamist-dominated 14 professional trade unions, said Shaher Hadid, president of the Jordan Artists Association.

Jordan's tourism board, however, denies that the company involved in the Israeli festivities is involved in the festival.

"Publicis Groupe has nothing to do with Jordan Festival. Another French company, Les Visiteurs du Soir, is organising the event and it has been contracted by the tourism ministry," Tourism Board chief Nayef Fayez told AFP.

Publicis has organised several events in Jordan, including the annual meeting of Nobel laureates which was held in June in the ancient city of Petra.

Hadid said that Jordanian popular singer Omar Abdallat and Egyptian crooner Amr Diab are among Arab singers "who have announced their boycott of the event in line with decisions by their unions."

The union of Lebanese artists also decided to stay away from the event and urged "Lebanese artists to boycott the festival or any event that is linked to Israel," a statement said.

Jordanian trade unions maintain that the event is being organised by Publicis which orchestrated events for the 60th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel.

For Arabs the creation of Israel consecrated the occupation of Palestine.

"It's unimaginable that Arab singers take part in such a suspicious event... (meant) to open the door to normalisation with the enemy (Israel)," the unions said in a statement.

Although Jordan and Israel are bound by a 1994 peace treaty, many Jordanians are opposed to normalisation of ties with the Jewish state.

VN-rapport negeert overtredingen resolutie 1701 door Hezbollah

 

De VN (en de Arabische staten, en Frankrijk) laat liever Hezbollah Libanon opslokken dan de stabiliteit in gevaar te brengen. Vanuit deze positie wil men Hezbollah niet te fel bekritiseren wat betreft haar schendingen van VN resolutie 1701, waarmee de VN zich als neutrale bemiddelaar diskwalificeert. Het is een laffe positie, waar de Libanezen ook niet mee geholpen zijn. Hezbollah maakt zich niet alleen op voor een mogelijke nieuwe confrontatie met Israel, maar ook met de anti-Syrische groepen in Libanon. Een door Hezbollah en haar bondgenoten gedomineerd Libanon zal desastreus zijn voor de regionale stabiliteit.  

 

RP

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'UN report ignores Hizbullah violations'

 

Jul. 1, 2008

JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1214726169542&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to submit on Tuesday morning the quarterly report on the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1701, which cemented the end of the Second Lebanon War. According to reports, the document does not accuse Hizbullah of violating the terms of the cease-fire, despite Israeli allegations that the Shi'ite militia has retaken its border positions and continues to amass rockets and other arms banned under 1701.

Diplomatic sources quoted by Army Radio assessed that the conciliatory tone of the report stemmed from the UN's desire to maintain political stability in Lebanon.
The report also states that both Israel and Syria have yet to address maps of the contested Sheba Farms area drawn up by a UN representative and submitted to the two countries over six months ago.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said that "United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 is not being implemented. Rockets continue to be moved into Lebanon, Hizbullah is becoming more powerful, and I think it is the Security Council's duty to convene and decide how to ensure that this resolution is indeed being enforced and carried out."

According to Army Radio, the report only mentions kidnapped IDF reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser to say that "This subject is also sensitive and there have been developments in recent days, which is why we cannot report on the matter to the Security Council."

Meanwhile, Lebanese sources quoted by Israel Radio Tuesday morning said that the swap deal between Israel and Hizbullah is expected to take place in the coming week.

According to the sources, who spoke to a Kuwaiti news agency, the deal will be completed in two phases, the first of which will last two days. On the first day, Hizbullah will transfer to Israel remains of soldiers killed during the Second Lebanon War in exchange for the bodies of dozens of Hizbullah fighters and terrorists buried in Israel. On the second day Israel will receive captured reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser and will transfer Samir Kuntar and four additional Lebanese prisoners to Hizbullah.

The second phase of the deal, the release of Palestinian prisoners, will only take place after 30 days. Israel, according to the sources, will probably release only women, children and sick inmates.

The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the reports.

Meanwhile, Army Radio reported that German mediator Gerhard Konrad was set to meet Hizbullah representatives in the coming days and peruse a dossier compiled by the organization on the subject of missing IAF navigator Ron Arad. According to the report, the deal will only be officially signed if Konrad confirms the seriousness of the Hizbullah dossier.

PA leiders noemen moordenaar Samir Quntar een held

 

Hoe diep moet je gezonken zijn om deze man een held te noemen? Je hoeft toch geen Zionist te zijn om te snappen dat het walgelijk is om een vierjarig kind met de loop van je geweer de schedel in te slaan nadat je haar vader voor haar ogen hebt vermoord? Waarom wordt deze man een held genoemd door Palestijnse media en Palestijnse leiders? De Palestijnen leven onder een bezetting, maar dat betekent niet dat je geen enkele moraal meer kunt hebben.

 

RP

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Palestinian Media Watch - Bulletin June 29, 2008

 

PA leaders: Quntar a hero

by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook

 

According to the Palestinian Authority leadership, Samir Quntar epitomizes the ideal Palestinian prisoner. Quntar, who crushed the head of four-year-old Eynat Haran with his rifle, is serving four life sentences for murder in an Israeli prison, but is almost certain to be freed in a prisoner swap with Hizbullah this week.

On one hand, Quntar embodies what the PA considers the "heroism" of terrorists fighting Israel. On the other hand, he's the ultimate symbol of all terrorist prisoners who have murdered Israelis and will eventually be freed as a result of future kidnappings or through some other means. 

PA TV, controlled by Mahmoud Abbas, broadcast the following picture honoring Quntar. He is depicted beside a map of Israel completely covered by the Palestinian flag.

  

[PATV, 23-25 June 2008]

 

Following are several recent quotes from PA leaders since April 2008, describing Quntar:  

"Samir Quntar, the warrior from Lebanon."
"The brave warrior, Samir Quntar."
"The Palestinian people and the Palestinian leadership are standing behind you (Quntar)."
"You (Quntar) are an inseparable part of the action to free our homeland."
"Your (Quntar) patience and strength are a lesson for us."

 

Besides bludgeoning Eynat Haran to death with rocks and his rifle, Quntar killed her father and was responsible for the death of her infant sister. He also killed two policemen in the 1979 attack in Naharia.  The Israeli cabinet today approved a prisoner exchange that would free Quntar and several other prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, who were kidnapped by Hizbullah in 2006. The exchange could happen within the next few days.

PMW | King George 59 | Jerusalem | Israel

Internationale enquete: meeste mensen tegen partij kiezen in Israëlisch-Palestijns conflict

 

Daarnaast is een meerderheid voor een grote rol van de Verenigde Naties, in de vorm van een vredesmacht nadat Israël en de Palestijnen een vredesverdrag hebben getekend, en veiligheidsgaranties aan Israël en de Arabische staten. Daarbij zijn meer mensen voor bescherming van de Arabische staten dan voor Israël, zoals ook wat betreft partij kiezen in geen enkel land een meerderheid vond dat zijn regering voor Israël moest kiezen, maar wel een meerderheid in drie landen voor de Palestijnen koos. Ook werden de Israëlische politici het slechtst beoordeeld van alle spelers in het conflict.

 

Naast 18 landen werd ook de Palestijnen over sommige zaken om hun mening gevraagd, maar dat werd niet in de (meeste) resultaten meegenomen. Om de een of andere reden vond men het niet interessant ook de Israëli's om hun mening te vragen, wat een verdenking van onevenwichtigheid achter laat. Desondanks zijn de resultaten veelzeggend en zou het onverstandig zijn als Israëli's die, onder het mom van 'iedereen is tegen ons', ter zijde schuiven. De internationele gemeenschap heeft de macht een oplossing op te leggen, en veel mensen hebben vooralsnog geen sterke voorkeur voor een van beiden.

 

Een sterke rol voor de VN klinkt mooi, en meer dan afzonderlijke landen heeft de VN het imago objectief te zijn en niet voor één partij op te komen. Probleem is echter dat de VN allesbehalve neutraal is. De VN vredesmacht in Zuid-Libanon kijkt toe terwijl Hezbollah wapens uit Syrië krijgt en bunkers bouwt, terwijl zij helemaal niet aanwezig dient te zijn in dat gebied. De VN vredesmacht in de Sinai vertrok destijds meteen toen Egypte daarom verzocht, wat mede tot de Zesdaagse Oorlog heeft geleid. De VN heeft de PLO in 1974 waarnemersstatus gegeven, en sindsdien zijn onder VN vlag een batterij aan anti-Israël organisaties gecreëerd die allerhande anti-Israël activiteiten organiseren, zoals conferenties over de 'rechten van de Palestijnen' en Nakba herdenkingen. In de Algemene Vergadering en de Mensenrechtenraad wordt Israël door dictatoriale regimes continu aan de schandpaal genageld terwijl de echte schurkenstaten de dans ontspringen. De VN zou een mooie bemiddelaar kunnen zijn, indien zij zich daadwerkelijk neutraal zou opstellen, en de invloed van de Organisatie van de Islamitische Conferentie aan banden wordt gelegd. Daartoe moet ook de Divisie voor Palestijnse Rechten, een van de zeven regionale divisies met een volkomen eenzijdig karakter, worden opgeheven.

 

RP

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International Poll: Most Publics--including Americans--Oppose Taking Sides in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

 

July 1, 2008

 

Israeli, Palestinian, American and Arab Leaders All Get Low Marks On Efforts to Resolve Conflict
Most Favor UN Playing Robust Role in Peace Enforcement

 

www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/home_page/503.php?nid=&id=&pnt=503&lb
[For complete results: www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/pdf/jul08/WPO_IsPal_Jul08_packet.pdf ]

 

A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 18 countries finds that in 14 of them people mostly say their government should not take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Just three countries favor taking the Palestinian side (Egypt, Iran, and Turkey) and one is divided (India). No country favors taking Israel's side, including the United States, where 71 percent favor taking neither side.

Asked to evaluate how well a number of key actors are doing their part to resolve the conflict, none of them get good grades, including Israel, the Palestinians, the United States, and the Arab countries. On average across all the countries polled, none of the actors receives good grades from more than 3 in 10. Interestingly, Americans are divided as to whether the United States is doing its part.

Publics in most countries favor the United Nations offering to play a robust role in support of a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nearly all publics would favor the UN saying that, if the parties come to a peace agreement, the UN would send a peacekeeping force to enforce it. Most publics would also favor the UN offering to provide security guarantees to both Israel and the Arab countries should a peace agreement be reached.

"Publics around the world are not cheering for either side and want their governments to take an even-handed approach," said Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org. "All of the key actors are seen as failing to do their part to break the impasse and most want the UN Security Council to step in and offer peacekeeping forces and even security guarantees to help resolve the conflict."

The poll of 18,792 respondents was conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a collaborative research project involving research centers from around the world and managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland. Interviews were conducted in 18 countries, including most of the largest nations -China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Russia--as well as Mexico, Peru, Britain, France, Spain, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Thailand and South Korea. Not all questions were asked in all countries. In addition, most of the questions were asked in the Palestinian Territories. The nations included represent 59 percent of the world population.

Publics Support Even-Handed Approach to Conflict

Asked how their country should approach the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 14 out of 18 publics preferred taking neither side. On average, 58 percent say that their country should not take either side, while just 20 percent favor siding with the Palestinians and 7 percent say that their country should take Israel's side.
In eight of the countries this was a large majority--seven in 10 or more--including Mexicans (88%), South Koreans (82%), Britons (79%), the French (79%), Peruvians (76%), the Chinese (74%), Americans (71%), and Ukrainians (69%).

Only in a few predominantly Muslim countries do most favor taking the side of the Palestinians. Robust majorities take this position in Egypt (86%) and Iran (63%), as does a modest plurality in Turkey (42% Palestinians' side, 38% neither side). However two other predominantly Muslim countries primarily favor taking neither side--Azerbaijan (54%) and Indonesia (43%).

In no country does a majority favor taking Israel's side. The largest percentages favoring taking Israel's side are Indians (24%), Americans (21%), and Nigerians (15%).

Negative Reviews of Israel, Palestinians, US, Arab Countries, Quartet

World publics give low marks to all the various parties who play a major role in trying to resolve the conflict. Respondents were asked to evaluate how well each party is "doing its part," in "the effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." In nearly all cases publics give poor grades to Israel, the Palestinians, the United States, or the Arab countries.

Israel

Israel receives the worst ratings, with most saying they are not doing their part very well in 13 out of 15 countries asked. On average, 54 percent say it is not doing its part well (31% not very, 23% not at all) while just 22 percent say it is (5% very, 17% somewhat).

Negative ratings of Israel are not confined to predominantly Muslim publics--the largest majorities saying Israel is not doing its part well include Egypt (88%), South Korea (69%), Indonesia (66%), France (64%), the United States (59%), Azerbaijan (59%), Mexico (57%), and Great Britain (57%).

Only in India do more say that Israel is doing its part than do not (35% to 25%), while the Chinese are divided (41% to 39%).
In addition, the Palestinians were asked to evaluate Israel (though they are not included in the averages). Not surprisingly, 81 percent say that Israel is not doing its part well (61%, not at all well). Just 13 percent say that it is (4% very well).

Palestinians

Ratings of the Palestinians are not much better than those of Israel. In ten out of 15 countries most say they are not doing their part well to resolve the conflict. An average of 47 percent says they are not doing their part well, while just 28 percent say they are.

The largest majorities critical of Palestinian efforts are Americans (75%), South Koreans (74%), the French (66%), Mexicans (61%) and British (57%). Pluralities in Turkey (42%) and Azerbaijan (50%) also rate the Palestinians' efforts poorly, as do pluralities of Russians (41%), Ukrainians (34%), and Thais (33%), though many decline to offer an opinion.

Palestinians receive the most positive ratings from Egyptians (63%) and Nigerians (46%), though a significant number of Nigerians is also critical (43%) making the overall public divided. Pluralities in Indonesia (49%), China (40%), and India (34%) all say the Palestinians are doing their part at least somewhat well.

The Palestinians give themselves quite good ratings (again, they were excluded from the averages). Seventy-five percent say they are doing their part well (40%, very). However, 15 percent give them poor ratings (5%, not well at all).

United States

Asked to rate how well the United States is doing its part to resolve the conflict, 12 out of 15 nations say the United States is not doing its part well (excluding Americans but including Palestinians). On average, 59 percent rate US efforts poorly, while just 20 percent give positive ratings.

US efforts receive the most negative evaluations from Egyptians (86%), Mexicans (77%), the Palestinians (77%), the French (71%), South Koreans (70%), the Chinese (69%), and Turks (64%).

A majority of Nigerians (53%) says that the US is doing its part at least somewhat well. Indians are divided (33% well, 34% not well), as are Thais (27% well, 26% not well).

Interestingly, Americans themselves are divided. Only 44 percent say the United States is doing its part well (7%, very), while 46 percent say it is not (15%, not at all).

Arab Countries

Evaluations of the Arab countries are somewhat less negative than those of Israel or the US, with most in 11 out of 15 publics rating their efforts negatively (excluding the Egyptians). On average, a plurality among the nations polled (48%) says they are not doing their part well, while just 23 percent say they are.
Americans (78%) and South Koreans (76%) rate the Arab countries most negatively, followed by the French (69%). Majorities of the Palestinians (57%) and Turks (58%) also rate them negatively.

In just two countries a plurality gives a positive rating--Indonesia (50%) and China (40%). Two publics are divided: Nigeria and India.

The one Arab nation (other than the Palestinians) polled--Egypt--gives the Arab countries a positive evaluation. Seventy-one percent say the Arab countries are doing their part well (9%, very well), while just 29 percent say they are not.

The Quartet

The countries that are part of the "Quartet" were also polled on the performance of their country and of the European Union. The Quartet consists of the US, Russia, the UN, and the European Union.

The European Union's efforts were evaluated by France and Britain. The EU receives negative ratings from pluralities in both countries (France 48%, Britain 45%), and in both countries those giving positive ratings does not exceed one third (France 33%, Britain 31%).

The British also give their own country poor ratings. A plurality of 47 percent gives their government an unfavorable review while 33 percent give a positive review.
Russians are a bit more upbeat about their country's performance. While many do not provide an answer, a plurality of 36 percent give a positive evaluation while 17 percent give a negative one.

Widespread Support for Robust UN Role

Overall, there is strong support for the United Nations playing a robust role in the effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Very large numbers favor the United Nations contributing a peacekeeping force to enforce a peace agreement and substantial numbers favor the UN Security Council offering to provide security guarantees to Israel and the Arab countries.

Enforcement of Peace Agreement

In 16 of 17 countries polled, majorities or pluralities favor the UN Security Council offering--if Israel and the Palestinians come to a peace agreement--to send a peacekeeping force to enforce the agreement. On average, 67 percent favor such an approach, while just 20 percent oppose the idea.

Among all of the permanent members of the UN Security Council publics are supportive. In four countries this is by a robust majority--China (81%), France (74%), Great Britain (67%), and the United States (61%). Only in Russia is support limited to a plurality (47%), though few are opposed (25%).

Palestinians are strongly in favor of such an idea (63%), as are those in other predominantly Muslim countries--Turkey (65%), and Egypt (64%).

In addition, large majorities also favor this idea in Nigeria (89%), Indonesia (88%), South Korea (83%), Mexico (82%), and Azerbaijan (74%). Only Ukrainians are not in favor, but rather are divided (35% favor, 32% oppose) with a large number uncertain.

Providing Security Guarantees

Respondents were also asked about a much stronger possible commitment by the UN Security Council in the event of a peace agreement--committing to protect Israel if attacked by its Arab neighbors, and to protect Arab countries if attacked by Israel. Though such a commitment could prove costly, support was surprisingly high. Out of 16 nations, 11 favor such a UNSC commitment to protect Israel and 13 favor a commitment to protect Arab countries.

On average, 45 percent favor providing security guarantees to Israel (36% opposed), while 55 percent favor providing guarantees to Arab countries (24% opposed).

Ten countries favor the UN Security Council providing security guarantees to both Arab countries and Israel. This includes three of the permanent members of the Security Council. Very large majorities are supportive in China (84% for Arab countries, 80% for Israel), with more modest majorities in France (61% for Arab countries, 65% for Israel) and Great Britain (54% for Arab countries, 51% for Israel).

Other countries include Mexico (66% for Arab countries, 57% for Israel), Nigeria (67% for Arab countries, 61% for Israel), Azerbaijan (63% for Arab countries, 57% for Israel), and Turkey (50% for Arab countries, 43% for Israel). South Koreans support both proposed commitments equally (63% for the Arab countries, 65% for Israel), Indonesia has a large majority favoring protection of the Arab countries (71%), while a much smaller plurality (48%) favors the UNSC protecting Israel as well. Pluralities in Thailand are also favorable, though many appear to have an unformed opinion on the issue (for Arab countries 32% favor, 14% oppose; for Israel 31% favor, 16% oppose).

The other two permanent members of the UN Security Council--the United States and Russia--have less robust public support. A majority of Americans favor making a commitment to protect Israel (53% favor), but a plurality opposes protecting Arab countries (38% favor, 50% oppose). Russians oppose protecting Israel from an attack by its Arab neighbors by a slight margin (36% oppose, 28% favor) while a similar number oppose protecting Israel (34% to 27%). But large numbers of Russians do not take a position.

Only two publics where a majority favors protection of Arab countries do not also favor protecting Israel: Egyptians (82% Arab countries, 16% Israel) and the Palestinians themselves (75% Arab countries, 12% Israel).

Among Indians, a plurality favors protecting Arab countries (28% favor, 19% oppose), but they are divided on whether Israel should also receive protection from the UNSC (34% favor, 34% oppose).

Ukrainians, like Russians, have pluralities opposed to protecting Israel (39% oppose, 15% favor) and Arab countries (38% to 15%), with large numbers undecided.


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

IDF waarschuwt Palestijnen die te dicht bij het Gaza hek komen

Israël wil terecht voorkomen dat Hamas langs de grens met Israël versterkingen, bunkers, tunnels en explosieven bouwt om zich zo op een toekomstige confrontatie met Israël voor te bereiden. Voor Palestijnen die hierdoor niet meer bij hun land kunnen is dit op zijn zachtst gezegd 'een beetje lullig' maar zij kunnen hun beklag beter bij Hamas doen, dat sinds het staakt-het-vuren al verhoogde activiteit vertoonde en dit wil gebruiken om zich goed in te graven.

 

RP

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Palestinians who approach Gaza fence will be shot, says IDF

 

By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent

Last update - 07:53 01/07/2008
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/997897.html

 

Israel has informed Hamas it will fire "warning shots" at Palestinians who enter an area west of the Gaza Strip border fence, extending for several hundred meters.

Egyptian officials told Hamas of the new procedure, which is expected to raise tensions between the two sides.

Israel's representative in truce talks, Amos Gilad, told Egyptian mediators of the decision to declare the area west of the border a "special security zone" and to prevent Palestinians from entering it. The Egyptians informed Hamas, which objects to the plan.

Several incidents have occurred near the fence since a cease-fire came into effect on June 19.

Earlier this week the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported eight cease-fire violations by Israel. Most of these violations apparently consisted of Israeli troops firing at people who approached the fence. OCHA's reports rely mainly on Palestinian accounts.

Israel is interested in maintaining the security zone for fear that Palestinian terror groups will use the truce to plant explosives on the Palestinian side of the fence. This would prepare them if fighting resumes. In the past, explosives aimed at Israel Defense Forces vehicles on the Israeli side have been planted in this area.

Israel also fears that Hamas might build a line of fortifications along the fence as a basis for further attacks, as Hezbollah did in Lebanon between Israel's pullout from South Lebanon in 2000 and the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

However, preventing people from approaching the fence will block Palestinian farmers' access to their lands. Farmers have been unable to reach their fields for years because of the fighting along the border. The IDF suspects that some of the farmers are sent by terror organizations to plant bombs or observe Israeli troops.

Throughout the second intifada Israel declared areas along the fence as "security zones." Soldiers were instructed to fire warning shots at people approaching the fence, and for certain periods were allowed to shoot even at unarmed people. These instructions met resistance in the army, with senior officers saying civilians were being killed.

The IDF believes that Hamas has recently been taking firmer action to curb other Palestinian factions' attacks against Israel. IDF sources told Haaretz that Hamas' leadership in Gaza apparently wants to maintain the truce and is trying to enforce its authority on the smaller factions.

At the beginning of the week Israel opened the border crossings that had been closed last Thursday after Qassam rockets were fired at the Western Negev.

Opnieuw Afrikanen doodgeschoten door Egyptische grenspolitie

Het is al herhaaldelijk voorgekomen dat de Egyptische grenspolitie in koelen bloede Afrikanen neerschoot die naar Israël probeerden te komen. Egypte en Israël moeten dringend om de tafel gaan zitten om een eind te maken aan dit 'beleid' en een humane oplossing voor de Afrikaanse vluchtelingen te bedenken. De internationale gemeenschap (lees: de VN) moet hierbij de helpende hand toesteken.

 

 

Wouter (naar Ami Isseroff)

__________________________

African immigration tragedy continues

Last update - 16:05 28/06/2008

 

Egyptian police kill African man, 7-year-old girl at Israel border

 

By Reuters

 

 

Egyptian police shot and killed two African migrants, including a seven-year-old Sudanese girl, as they tried to cross the border into Israel on Saturday, security and hospital sources said.

 

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the security sources said an Egyptian patrol opened fire on the migrants to stop them getting across the border south of the Rafah crossing.
 
They added that seven other African migrants had been detained, including the dead child's mother.

 

Their deaths bring to 16 the number of migrants killed at the border this year.

 

Hospital sources said the other victim was an unidentified African in his thirties, killed by a gunshot wound to his back.

 

Egypt has pursued a crackdown on African migrants that has seen up to 1,000 Eritrean asylum seekers deported since June 11, despite UN objections.

 

Hoofdpunten overeenkomst gevangenenruil Israël en Hezbollah

Een gevangenenruil is het feitelijk niet, want de 2 Israëlische soldaten zijn zeer waarschijnlijk dood, aangezien Hezbollah geweigerd heeft enig bewijs te geven dat zij nog zouden leven...

 

____________

 

Main Points of the Framework of the Agreement on the Release of Israel's Missing and Captive Soldiers in Lebanon
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

 

The Government today (Sunday), 29.6.08, approved the outline for the agreement on releasing the abducted soldiers in Lebanon:

1. The abducted soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev will be returned to Israel, a report on the disappearance of Ron Arad (in continuation of Government decision #978 from 9.11.03) will be delivered to Israel and remains from the Second Lebanon War will also be received.

In exchange for the return of the abducted soldiers, the State of Israel will release prisoners and detainees being held in its prison facilities, and will transfer bodies and information, as follows:

A. Prisoner Samir Kuntar and four illegal Lebanese fighters being held by Israel will be released to Lebanon.

B. The bodies of dozens of infiltrators and terrorists, including eight members of Hezbollah, will be delivered to Lebanon.

C. Information on the four missing Iranian diplomats will be delivered to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

D. Following the implementation of the deal, Palestinian prisoners will be released.  The number and identities of the prisoners will be determined at the sole discretion of the State of Israel.

2. Mr. Ofer Dekel, the official responsible for the negotiations on behalf of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, will continue the process of implementing the negotiations according to the principles detailed in this decision.

3. The Government will hold an additional discussion in order to complete and implement the agreement according to the principles detailed in this decision.

4. The Government of Israel reiterates and confirms its obligation to exhaust all that is required in order to obtain credible and solid information that will shed light on the fate of Israel Air Force navigator Capt. Ron Arad.

5. At the same time, the Government of Israel reiterates and confirms its commitment to continue acting for the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit.

6. The Government of Israel will not slacken in its efforts to locate and bring home the missing and those Israeli soldiers whose resting place is unknown.


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

Gevangenenruil met Hezbollah goedgekeurd

Vanwege de uitgebreide campagne door de nabestaanden van de 2 soldaten, die demonstraties hielden en alle ministers en Knessetleden benaderden met hun hartverscheurende roep om de terugkeer van hun jongens, komt Samir Kuntar samen met een aantal andere terroristen binnenkort vrij. Hezbollah heeft al de overwinning uitgeroepen, en niet alleen Hezbollah ziet het zo. Het grootste probleem is nog niet eens het feit dat deze walgelijke man, die de schedel van een vierjarig meisje insloeg nadat hij voor haar ogen haar vader had gedood, vrijkomt, maar het effect van deze gevangenenruil. Velen wijzen op de vele gevangenendeals die Israël met zowel Hezbollah als Hamas heeft gesloten, maar een belangrijk verschil is dat in dit geval (de lijken van) soldaten worden vrijgekocht die speciaal met dit doel voor ogen zijn ontvoerd.

 

Ratna

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Prisoner swap approved

I still hope, because we must always hope, that I am wrong. That the kidnapped soldiers are alive. That there will be no more kidnappings. I know it is not true though. Alive or dead, this deal will encourage kidnappings.

 

Every Israeli who is hurt or whose loved ones are hurt by future violence cause by this swap should be entitled to sue the government, each official personally, journalists who misled the public and the Goldwasser and Regev families, who should be each and severally held responsible for the damage they have done.

 

In the same way, the Tannenbaum family should have been sued by the Regev and Goldwasser families.

 

It's a done deal. We lost. Hezbollah won.

 

See below,

Ami Isseroff

 

Despite defense officials' warning that prisoner exchange with Hizbullah will prompt further abductions, 22 ministers vote in favor of deal. Earlier,  Prime Minister Olmert tells ministers captives are 'probably dead'

 

Roni Sofer

YNET - Latest Update: 06.29.08, 16:06


Earlier, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert urged his ministers to vote in favor of the deal. "At the end of a long process, I havereached the conclusion that as the Israeli prime minister I must recommend that you approve the proposal which will bring this painful affair to an end - even at the painful price it requires us to pay," Olmert said during Sunday's cabinet meeting.

Olmert said during the discussion that as far as Israel knows, the kidnapped soldiers are no longer alive, and are believed to have been killed during the abduction or died of their wounds shortly afterwards.

The prime minister said the kidnapping was likely aimed at bringing about the release of Samir Kuntar, as Hizbullah knew it was unable to meet its commitment in a previous deal to provide information on missing navigator Ron Arad.

Olmert explained that although the report submitted to Israel regarding the status of missing navigator Ron Arad was more detailed than the previous reports, it offered no clear answer as to the missing navigator's fate.

"The goal and assumption leading us all this time has been that we are working to return live men. Today we know for certain that this is not the case. The report must be the focus of today's discussion."

Ehud Goldwasser's father Shlomo told Ynet in response to Olmert's remarks, "We welcome the prime minister's words. It's nice that the prime minister has decided to rectify his error. He has made a brave decision and the right one at that."

The meeting was attended by Mossad Director Meir Dagan and Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin. During the meeting, defense sources told the ministers that approving the deal may prompt additional kidnappings, and asked them not vote in favor of it.

At the start of the meeting, Olmert said the deal would affect Israelis' lives in the coming years.

"Even people with the utmost responsibility, like me, have the right and duty to have doubts, as this decision deals with the repercussions on our lives in the coming years."

The prime minister noted, "I admit that I had a lot of doubts due to the problem's multiple aspects, and due to history and the different considerations.

"We have the utmost collective responsibility and mist look the Regev, Goldwasser, Haran (family killed by Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar), (Ron) Arad and (Gilad) Shalit families in the eye - as well as our conscience."

He added that the government is faced with sensitive issues on a weekly basis, but that there was no doubt that the discussion on the captives had particular value, was extraordinarily sensitive and had deep national and moral ramifications.

Olmert said that the negotiations for the kidnapped soldiers' release were held for two years, according to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War. according to the prime minister, during this time Hizbullah attempted to use manipulations and take advantage of the Israeli society's special sensitivities.

Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yishai said before the cabinet meeting that "this is a difficult decision. The question is whether Ron Arad could be brought back today, would we pay the price? We mustn't wait 22 more years. In any event, this is a difficult decision."

Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit said, "I support this deal wholeheartedly. It's our commitment as a government which sends soldiers. They should have been released by now. The media drama is unnecessary and is the result of politics."

Culture, Sports and Minister Raleb Majadele, who supports the deal, said that "we must stop the families' humiliation campaign, and must carry out a mutual and immediate release."

Rallying in favor of deal
The ministers spoke as dozens of people rallied in the government building area in Jerusalem, calling on the ministers to approve the prisoner exchange deal with Hizbullah.

"I hope the ministers will come to their senses and vote in favor of the deal," Miki Goldwasser, Ehud's mother, told Ynet. "We've spoken with the prime minister and we've made our case," she said.

The rally was also attended by several of missing Israeli Air Force navigator Ron Arad's friends, who called on the cabinet not to forget the MIA airman and to continue in their efforts to find out what became of him.

Should the Regev-Goldwasser deal be pushed through, the government would be greenlighting the release of Samir Kuntar, who has long been considered Israel's strongest bargain chip for any information pertaining to Arad's fate.

Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser have been held captive by Hizbullah for 718 day.

 

Ronen Medzini contributed to this report

 

Families van vermiste Iraanse Joden eisen informatie in deal met Hezbollah

De deal met Hezbollah waartoe Israël maandag heeft besloten, omhelst ook informatie aangaande vier Iraanse diplomaten die in 1982 in Libanon waren ontvoerd door een Libanese christelijke militie. Dit op verzoek van Hezbollah's leiders in Teheran. 

De verwanten van een aantal Iraanse Joden die in de jaren '90 naar Israël wilden emigreren en bij de grens werden aangehouden, willen dat Israël als onderdeel van de deal met Hezbollah ook informatie van over hun lot eist. De advocaat motiveert dit als volgt:

 

"We have proof that at least some of these missing Jews are being held in Iranian prisons today. These individuals attempted to come to Israel at the encouragement and with the assistance of the Israeli government.  It is therefore the responsibility of the Israeli government to do everything it can to gain reliable, specific information regarding their whereabouts in order to save them if we can and give closure and end the suffering of the wives, children, fathers and mothers [of the twelve] to those who were murdered by the Islamic Republic.

 

Na deze deal is de kans dat Iran informatie over hun lot zal vrijgeven miniem. In tegenstelling tot de ontvoerde Israëlische soldaten, zijn deze mensen mogelijk nog in leven en zitten in Iraanse gevangenissen weg te kwijnen. Maar omdat hun families wat minder hebben gelobbied bij Israëlische politici en minder worden gehoord in de media, lijkt dat niet zo'n probleem te zijn...

Ratna

----------

 

June 29, 2008

FAMILIES OF 12 MISSING IRANIAN JEWS TO FILE HIGH COURT PETITION TO BLOCK HIZBOLLAH DEAL OVER RELEASE OF INFORMATION TO TEHRAN ON FATE OF MISSING IRANIAN DIPLOMATS

Demand Israel Receive "Quid Pro Quo": Missing Jews for Missing Diplomats

The families of 12 missing Iranian Jews will file a petition in the Israeli High Court of Justice in Jerusalem on Monday, June 30th, seeking to block the government from releasing information on the fate of four missing Iranian diplomats as part of the deal with Hizbollah. The Jews were arrested in the 1990s as they sought to escape from Iran across the border with Pakistan and they are believed to still be in Iranian prisons. The Iranian diplomats were captured by Christian militia forces in South Lebanon in 1982.

The urgent petition, to be filed by the families' attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of the Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center human rights organization, demands that the Prime Minister not authorize the transfer of information regarding the diplomats until such time as reliable and detailed information is received about the missing Jews' fate. The families of the missing Jews have never received any acknowledgment of their loved ones' arrests, status or whereabouts from the Islamic regime.

Shurat HaDin claims it has reliable information that at least one of the Jews is still alive and being held as a prisoner in Tehran.

The petition will argue that the government must honor the obligations imposed upon it by the Israeli High Court approximately two years ago that [the Israeli government] "Push forward diligently without sparing any effort in order to gain information about the [12 missing] Jews of Iran." The families are insisting that there be a "quid pro quo" on information about their family members in exchange for the release of the details on the fate of the missing Iranians.

Darshan-Leitner emphasized that, the families' are not appealing against the deal to bring back the Hizbollah captives itself but rather are demanding that the fate of the 12 missing Jews be included as a "quid pro quo" before any information about the diplomats is released.

Background:

In the years between 1994-1997, 12 Iranian Jews who attempted to flee Iran and emigrate to Israel disappeared without a trace.  All of the Jews were attempting to cross the Iran-Pakistan border.  It is alleged by the families that the Jews were kidnapped by Iranian security services and are still being held captive in Tehran.

Details of a planned prisoner exchange with Hezbollah released by the government of Israel today call for Israel, in addition to other concessions to provide the United Nations with information concerning 4 Iranian diplomats who were abducted in Beirut in July 1982 during the first Lebanon War, by a Lebanese-Christian militia (the Samir Jaja faction), in South Lebanon. The information on the fate of the missing Iranian officials is being requested by Hezbollah's financial patrons in Tehran and the United Nations has been appointed as the transmitter.

In a warning letter sent to the Prime Minister last week, Shurat HaDin wrote: "If the Israeli government intends to honor their court-ordered obligations, the government is not permitted to hand over information in its possession regarding the four Iranian diplomats, which is the last bargaining chip Israel has that could shed some light on the fate of the twelve missing."

Attorney Darshan-Leitner has stated: "We have proof that at least some of these missing Jews are being held in Iranian prisons today. These individuals attempted to come to Israel at the encouragement and with the assistance of the Israeli government.  It is therefore the responsibility of the Israeli government to do everything it can to gain reliable, specific information regarding their whereabouts in order to save them if we can and give closure and end the suffering of the wives, children, fathers and mothers [of the twelve] to those who were murdered by the Islamic Republic.

"Without proof that the information has been received from Iran and transmitted through Hezbollah, the only thing we can draw from this is that the fates of the twelve [Iranian Jews] have been abandoned.  It is simply unthinkable that the State of Israel would convey information about the four disappeared Iranian diplomats without receiving in exchange information about the twelve missing Jews in Iran.  Information about the diplomats is the last bargaining chip in Israel's hands toward acquiring information about the missing Jews in Iran.  If we give it up with nothing in return, the possibility of knowing what happened to the twelve missing is totally dead.

"Saving the lives of these missing Jews, still being held in Iranian prisons after years of torture must be a central component of any deal with Hizbollah and Iran."


Contact:

Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, 011.972.52.383.7020, 011.972.3.751.4175
Mike Cohen, 011.972.54.499.6453, 011.972.3.751.4175

media@israellawcenter.org

http://www.israellawcenter.org


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

Hamas: dictators en terroristen, maar de straten zijn schoon

Het Hamas regime lijkt na een jaar controle over de Gazastrook nog niet te wankelen. Dat komt volgens Barry Rubin door de brede steun onder Palestijnen voor de extremistische opstelling van Hamas, en dat Fatah nog steeds geen aantrekkelijk alternatief weet neer te zetten. Na jaren van incompetent en corrupt Fatah bestuur zijn de schone straten nu in Gaza toch wel een verademing, terwijl de repressie onder Fatah niet zoveel minder erg was.

 

Het is waarschijnlijk alleen aan de Israëlische grensblokkades en internationale isolatie van Hamas te danken dat het regime haar nieuwe machtpositie in Gaza niet heeft kunnen gebruiken om het aantal aanslagen op Israëlische burgers op te voeren.

 

Wouter

________

 

The Jerusalem Post Sunday, June 29, 2008
Jun 26, 2008 13:52 | Updated Jun 27, 2008 15:28

The Region: They're dictators and terrorists, but look what clean streets!

 

By BARRY RUBIN
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1214132697657&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Hamas just celebrated its first anniversary of power in the Gaza Strip amid massive misinterpretations regarding the situation there.

Ironically, Hamas's victory and survival has little to do with Israel.

Instead, it rests on the rotten strategy of Yasir Arafat, who ruled the Palestinian movement for 35 years by establishing a weak, anarchic, corrupt and factionalized structure which he played like a violin. Only after Arafat's death did the Palestine Liberation Organization pay the price: Fatah collapsed in the Gaza Strip, first electorally, then militarily. Following which, having failed at governing, Fatah proved itself a failure in opposition as well.

As for Hamas, its power is founded on repression, radical ideology, international protection and an incompetent enemy. As one Palestinian storekeeper told an American reporter, "What can we do? Hamas is even stronger than a year ago. They can take me and put me away whenever they want."

FATAH IS its own worst enemy in combating Hamas.

President George Bush recently stated that a Fatah-ruled Palestinian state should be quickly developed since, "It will serve as an alternative vision to what is happening in Gaza."

This is rubbish. No matter how much money the West pumps in, the nationalists are not going to offer an attractive regime. Fatah's lower level of still-considerable repression as compared to Hamas is counterbalanced by the corruption and anarchy included in the package.

Moreover, Fatah is still up to its old tricks. When it does arrest those involved in terrorism, they are quickly released. Incitement to commit violence continues on the Palestinian Authority media, and the PA is far more eager to reconcile with Hamas than to make peace with Israel.

Yes, the PA's survival is a US, Western, and Israeli interest, but let's not get sentimental or naive about these weak, corrupt and largely radical allies of necessity.

AS FOR Hamas, it possesses three key weapons.

* The mainstream appeal of extremism and terrorism. "Hamas is strong and brutal but very good at governing," Eyad Sarraj told The New York Times, which described him as a British-trained psychiatrist and secular opponent of Hamas. After all, he continues, it's distributing gas coupons, getting people to pay electricity bills, and keeping the city clean.
Suddenly, people considered "progressive" see the up side of having a police state. Imagine this kind of thinking applied to other dictatorships around the world: they are brutal, but boy do they keep law and order! Sarraj also forgets that Hamas's war policy resulted in reducing the gas and electricity supply.
In any case, Sarraj is no moderate. In 1999, he wrote that Palestinians were better off without the peace process. Refusing to recognize Israel had been their "nuclear weapon" and armed struggle their great asset. Giving these up was a mistake, Sarraj insisted, and might lead to ending the conflict without eliminating Israel.

Sarraj, while a member of Gaza's tiny left, advocated a strategy parallel to that of Hamas today. Perhaps that's why he protested Arafat's repression but now seems content to accept Hamas's, however much he dislikes its Islamism. The continued extremism of mainstream Palestinian activist opinion makes Hamas's rule seem an acceptable trade-off because of its militancy.

* The success of ideological demagoguery. As one Hamas supporter told a reporter: "Israel is trying to pressure us to make us forget that the real problem is the occupation." Of course, there is no Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip, which is one reason why Hamas was able to seize power. "We can take it," she continued, "The Koran teaches that in the end we will be victorious."

This expresses widespread sentiment: Israel is the only enemy; everything else is irrelevant, suffering isn't important, victory is inevitable. Shortly after Hamas seized power, Sarraj told a Canadian reporter how Hamas threw Fatah men off the tops of buildings, murdered them in hospital beds, and tortured them in a "horrific" manner. But that isn't important. Whether Hamas brutalizes Palestinians, creates conditions that destroy living standards, drags people into endless war, turns Gaza into a mini-Iran or causes numerous casualties, its militancy and refusal to compromise is what counts.

That may seem irrational to Western observers, but that's how Palestinian politics work.

* Pretended moderation as a scam. Since Westerners can't understand the culture of ideology and extremism, they're sure Hamas will moderate. This is "proven" for them when Hamas leaders say that if Israel only returns to the 1967 borders - giving the West Bank and east Jerusalem to the Hamas-ruled state - and lets millions of Palestinians live in Israel, they'll make a truce until they decide otherwise.

That silly evaluation reminds me of an American high-school textbook which said Israel should try this idea - if it didn't work, we would all know better.

FINALLY, THERE'S the strange conclusion that since Hamas isn't about to fall from power, this proves sanctions have failed. One could argue that this shows economic and military pressures should be increased. But at least it should be understood that the sanctions' purpose is to make Hamas less able to kill even more people, take over the West Bank, damage Israel, or turn Gaza into - to stand Bush's view on its head - an "attractive alternative."

Any policy that prevents those things seems pretty valid; any Westerner favoring a strategy that strengthens Hamas should be forced to live under its rule.

 

--------
The writer is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center at IDC Herzliya and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs Journal .

Groot-Brittanië subsidieert martelpraktijken op Westoever

Het is een bekend dilemma: geef je steun aan dictators die er vreselijke praktijken op na houden, omdat de alternatieven nog erger zouden zijn?

 

Met name de VS heeft decennialang politiek, financieel en militair rechtse dictaturen gesteund in Latijns-Amerika en elders, omdat naar haar mening het alternatief - een overwinning van de 'communistische' oppositie - tot een veel ergere dictatuur zou leiden. Waarschijnlijk dacht men dat ook oprecht, maar minstens zo zwaar zal hebben gewogen dat die rechtse dictaturen de economische belangen van Amerikaanse bedrijven en de strategische belangen van de Amerikaanse regering goed behartigden. Zo ook met de dictaturen en autoritaire regimes in het Midden-Oosten. O.a. Egypte ontvangt jaarlijks miljardensteun van de VS sinds dat land in 1979 vrede sloot met Israël.

 

In de Arabische wereld lijkt - anders dan op veel plaatsen in de wereld - de zorg terecht dat de alternatieven erger zouden zijn. De basis voor democratisering lijkt in veel Arabische landen zwak, zoals onder meer bleek bij de verkiezing van islamitische extremisten in Algerije in de jaren '90 en in de Palestijnse gebieden in 2006.

Als dictators al het mindere kwaad zijn om te steunen, dan nog zou die steunpositie gebruikt kunnen en moeten worden om tenminste een minimum aan beschaving af te dwingen bij de steunontvanger.

 

NB: Conform de Britse traditie voor understatement wordt in onderstaand artikel Hamas omschreven als "een conservatieve islamitische partij"...

 

Wouter

____________

West Bank torturers funded by Britain

 

Marie Colvin

The Sunday Times June 29, 2008
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article4232022.ece

 

Millions of pounds of British government money is going to Palestinian security forces which use methods of torture including hanging prisoners by their feet and putting them in "stress" positions for hours at a time.

Evidence to be published next month in a report by Human Rights Watch was corroborated last week in interviews by The Sunday Times with victims in the West Bank, ruled by President Mahmoud Abbas's western-backed Palestinian Authority.

Prisoners who have emerged from Palestinian Authority jails - many of whom have never been charged with any offence or even seen a lawyer - said they had been subjected to mock executions, kicked, punched and beaten with sticks, plastic pipes and hoses.

The disclosures came at the end of a week in which a Berlin conference of 40 donor nations, including Britain, pledged GBP121m over the next three years to bolster the Palestinian security forces and judicial system in the West Bank.

Of this total, about GBP20m will come from Britain, which is already committed to spending GBP2.7m on the training of Palestinian security forces this year. A British brigadier based in the West Bank city of Ramallah is involved in the training. Britain has set aside a further £4.5m for reform, civil justice and public prosecution over the next three years.

A total of GBP4 billion overall has been promised to the government of Abbas, who is the commander-in-chief of the Palestinian security forces.

Western support for Abbas's security forces is part of a strategy to isolate Hamas fundamentalists who seized control of Gaza last year.

However, many of those detained on suspicion of links to Hamas described a form of torture called "shabah" in Arabic - being forced to hold stress positions for prolonged periods.

Some have been made to stand with one leg and one arm raised for hours. Others have had to sit on the edge of a chair with their hands tied to their feet.
Amar al-Masri, 43, a Nablus businessman who is married to Kholoud al-Masri, an elected Hamas municipal official, has been held since last month in al-Jenid prison in Nablus. Last Thursday, his son Abdullah, 13, crossed off day 54 on a calendar on the family's refrigerator.

"What is shocking me is that no charge has been addressed against my husband," Kholoud said last week, sitting in her home in Nablus, a hijab (head-scarf) covering her hair.

"He is in a Palestinian jail, but we don't know why." She has been allowed to visit him only once.

"He said he was hung by his two legs by a rope connected to the ceiling," Kholoud said. The prisoner's lawyer said he had seen puffy wrists and legs that supported the testimony, as well as scabs on his legs and hands.

A former prisoner, interviewed at a coffee shop near his third-floor flat in Nablus after he was released at the end of a 50-day spell in prison, described similar experiences.

"They arrested me on fantasy charges that I had rockets," said the 29-year-old law student, who did not want his name used out of fear the security forces would come after him.

"They tied my hands behind my back, and the rope was connected to a pipe," he said. "They would stress the rope every 20 seconds. They said if they did it more I would be paralysed."

He was eventually released without charge. "They [the security forces] told me, 'You have been steadfast under torture so we have decided you are clean. We will not bother you again.' " The Palestinian Authority denied using torture in detention centres. "They are prisoners. We do not give them chocolate and roses," said Akram Rajoub, head of preventive security in Nablus. "But I can assure you that we don't use torture methods or shabah methods."

The Foreign Office expressed concern at the Human Rights Watch revelations.

"The UK is concerned to hear reports of human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories," a spokesman said. "We are committed to reforming the Palestinian security sector."

British officials confirmed that the aid money pledged last week would be going to the West Bank security forces, which locals said were engaged in a crackdown on their political opponents in Hamas.

Although Hamas, a conservative Islamic party, was elected to power in January 2006, it has been largely shunned by the West because it refuses to recognise Israel or renounce violence.

Palestinian territory is virtually divided by internal disputes; Hamas's writ runs in Gaza, while Abbas has appointed an emergency government composed mostly of officials from his Fatah party in the West Bank.

A spokesman for the Department for International Development, which administers the funds paid to the Palestinian Authority, confirmed that money was going to West Bank security forces but said some of it would be used to root out abuses.

"People are aware of irregularities in their behaviour . . . and that's why we are investing in making them a more professional outfit and a more accountable police force," the department said.

Human Rights Watch last week called for the aid going to the Palestinian Authority security forces to be made conditional on effective efforts to reduce arbitrary arrests and torture and on improving the system of justice.

 

Additional reporting: Nicola Smith in Brussels

Israëlische Arabier houdt lezingen over de Holocaust voor Palestijnen

Het is zeker goed als de Palestijnen over de Holocaust leren, maar de precieze strekking van Mahamids boodschap wordt in onderstaand artikel niet duidelijk. 'Ken Uw vijand' of 'Maak Uw vijand tot Uw vriend'? Dat veel Palestijnen de 'Protocollen van de Wijzen van Zion' voor een echt geschrift houden doet hun imago zeker geen goed, evenmin als de populariteit van Mein Kampf en Holocaustontkenningen. Het is de vraag in hoeverre Mahamid dat moreel afkeurt.

 

Mahamid has a unique perspective on this issue. He argues that the Palestinian people paid the price for the Holocaust during their Nakba - Arabic for "catastrophe" or the day of Israel's independence.

Mahamid says that Palestinians are still paying for the Holocaust, and will continue to do so, if it does not learn what happened to the Jews.

 

Dit is een dubieuze motivatie om Palestijnen over de Holocaust te leren. Het is overigens verre van een 'uniek perspectief'. Antizionisten als Van Agt roepen dit al jaren. Het is onjuist, want Israël is niet gesticht vanwege de Holocaust maar omdat de Joden als volk een nationaal thuis opbouwden in Israël/Palestina, en opkwamen voor hun recht op zelfbeschikking. De Palestijnen betalen vooral voor hun weigering tot een compromis en hun bijna 100-jarige gewelddadige strijd tegen Joodse zelfbeschikking. Bovendien sympathiseerden een aantal Palestijnse leiders, voorop nazi collaborateur Haj Amin Al Husseini, openlijk met de nazi's, en deden de Palestijnen er alles aan om de Joodse immigratie naar Palestina in de donkerste dagen van de Joodse geschiedenis onmogelijk te maken. Zo onschuldig zijn ze dus niet.

 

Alleen een einde aan het terrorisme, aan de ophitsing tegen Israël en de Joden, en het erkennen van de eigen zwarte bladzijden in de geschiedenis kan tot een einde van het conflict leiden.

R&W
----------

Last update - 15:36 26/06/2008

Israeli Arab teaches Palestinians about the Holocaust

 

By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/996592.html

On the way to the Hawara checkpoint, near the West Bank city of Nablus, Khaled Ksab Mahamid says: "You remember that you are American, yes? How is your accent in English?"

Mahamid, whose family originates from a destroyed Arab village near what is now Megiddo, is the founder and director of a private Holocaust museum in Nazareth.

We are on our way to the Balata refugee camp, where he is scheduled to give a lecture. The tension at the checkpoint is rising.

In general, Palestinians and Arabs try not to talk about the Holocaust. The distance between solidarity with the Jewish people and solidarity with the Jewish state is short, and is not usually up for discussion, especially in a refugee camp.

Mahamid has a unique perspective on this issue. He argues that the Palestinian people paid the price for the Holocaust during their Nakba - Arabic for "catastrophe" or the day of Israel's independence.

Mahamid says that Palestinians are still paying for the Holocaust, and will continue to do so, if it does not learn what happened to the Jews.

He has lectured in the Nablus area in the past, but this is his first time in Balata. He does not know exactly what to expect. The organizers of the lecture welcome him at the entrance to the camp, shake his hand.

The first stop: memorial for the fallen. Mahamid mumbles the fataha, the opening chapter of the Koran, within the palms of his hands extended upward like an open book.

After the memorial, we go down to one of the alleyways in the camp. It is exactly like in the movies - the narrow alleyways of a refugee camp.

A dozen or so residents gather next to a clubhouse - which also serves as the headquarters of Al-Alqsa Martyrs Brigade commander and Fatah parliament member, Jamal Tirawi, who was arrested by Israeli forces last year.

Mahamid begins his lecture with the claim that the Zionist movement has failed, in a big way.

"Most Jews did not come to Palestine. Also today, there are eight million [Jews] in the world that are not here. Where are they?"

The crowd listens quietly. One of the guests gets up to serve juice and cookies. When he stands, the gun in his belt is evident.

Mahamid raises his hands and warns that the Palestinians must not be like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This, he says, plays into the hands of the Zionists. Palestinians must remember the Jews' weak points. "Know your enemy," he says.

He does not exactly tell what happened to the Jews during the Holocaust; he hints at it. He shows pictures of Jewish prisoners in the death camps and says Palestinians must use "understand what the other thinks, not deny it."

"The Israelis believe in this, the Germans and the French believe in this. We also need to adopt this," he says. Addressing the crowd, he continues: "You, who live in Balata, could you tell somebody this is a lie?"

Mahamid insists that the Palestinians have to end the violent struggle against Israel, as given that they have lost six million of their people, the deaths of 25 in a terrorist attack will not deter them.

Another person attending the lecture, of local origin, becomes angry. There is no logic in making the occupation a five-star occupation, he says. He is also against Mahamid's claim that the Zionist movement has failed.

"If one Jew comes, if they took my father's orchard in Jaffa, it has not failed. Have you not read the Protocols of the Elders of Zion? They sit in a tent but want to control the entire world."

As we leave the refugee camp and head back toward Hawara checkpoint, the tension eases. The journalists are already chatting in Hebrew with the guests. At the checkpoint, Mahamid pulls out his ID for the woman soldier. With his ID, he always carries a picture of a Jewish child from the Holocaust - why not shame the soldiers a little? When the woman soldier expresses amazement, he produces more pictures of Jews from the Holocaust and tells her that he just gave a lecture on the subject at Balata.

Palestijnen vuren mortiergranaten af op Karni grensovergang

Terroristenlogica: nadat Israël had besloten ondanks de schendingen van het staakt-het-vuren toch de grenzen zondag weer beperkt te openen, vuurden Palestijnen een aantal mortiergranaten op de Karni grensovergang af.

 

R.

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

Palestinians fire mortars at Karni crossing

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3561413,00.html
In another breach of agreed upon truce, number of shells land near crossing that is expected to be reopened Sunday; no injuries reported

 

Shmulik Hadad
Published:  06.28.08, 23:42 / Israel News

 

 

Palestinians fired a number of mortars Saturday evening toward the Karni crossing on the Gaza-Israel border. It remains unclear whether the shells landed in Israeli or Palestinian territory. No injuries or damage were reported in the attacks.
 
An explosion was heard near the western Negev community of Gabim, but a search for a rocket or mortar landing site came up empty.

 

The Karni crossing is expected to be reopened by Israel on Sunday for the transfer of goods to the Strip within the framework of the agreed upon ceasefire between Israel and the armed Palestinian organizations in the coastal enclave.

 

The crossings were closed down a week ago following repeated truce violations on the part of the Palestinians.

The Nahal Oz fuel terminal was reopened on Friday to allow the transfer of fuel to Gaza in a limited capacity.

A senior Israeli security establishment official said on Thursday that "any breach of the ceasefire agreement will be dealt with accordingly. However, if the calm is upheld, we'll fulfill our part of the deal.

Earlier on Saturday, Islamic Jihad threatened to resume rocket attacks on Israel if the IDF continues its military operations in the West Bank.

 

"Islamic Jihad reserves the right to respond to all Israeli violations," one of the group's Gaza chiefs Khaled al-Batch said, but added they would "not take the initiative in breaking the calm."

Shin Bet akkoord met vrijlaten Palestijnen met bloed aan hun handen voor Shalit

Tegenover elke Israëlische dode schijnen honderden Palestijnse doden te staan, maar voor één Israëlische soldaat moeten ook 1.000 Palestijnse gevangenen worden vrijgelaten. Sommigen beschuldigen Israël van racisme, en van een extreme vergeldigspolitiek, anderen wijten dit aan de doodscultuur van de Arabieren. Dat is wat sterk uitgedrukt, maar feit is dat de Palestijnen in meerderheid het doden van Israëlische burgers goedkeuren en hun doden - ook als dat plegers van zelfmoordaanslagen zijn - eren als helden, en Hamas gebruikt burgers geregeld als menselijk schild.

 

Het absurde aantal gevangenen dat Israël vrij laat voor een soldaat heeft niet zozeer met racisme te maken, maar de Israëlische moraal dat je alle mensen van het slagveld thuisbrengt wordt door de regering tot in het extreme getrokken, niet in de laatste plaats vanwege de chantage door de familie van de soldaten, die geregeld overleg hebben met regeringsfunctionarissen. Wie is er bestand tegen de pijn, het verdriet en de hartverscheurende pleidooien om alles te doen om haar zoon terug te krijgen?

 

R&W

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Last update - 11:13 27/06/2008

 

Shin Bet agrees to free prisoners 'with blood on their hands' for Shalit

 

By Amos Harel and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/996811.html

 

Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin has somewhat softened his position regarding the prisoners who could be released in return for Shalit. Diskin is now prepared to release some prisoners "who have the blood of Israelis on their hands," so long as the risk they pose is lessened.

The government's coordinator for hostage negotiations, Ofer Dekel, left for Cairo on Thursday, where talks have resumed over a deal to secure the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Shalit was abducted two years ago in a cross-border raid by Palestinian militants, and has since remained in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
 
Sources in the defense establishment expressed satisfaction at the renewed effort to advance the deal, and in particular at the increased Egyptian role in mediating between the parties.

The resumption of the talks is part of the agreements Israel and Egypt reached in connection with the cease-fire (tahadiyeh) between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Dekel held meetings in Cairo with Egyptian intelligence officials, headed by Egypt's intelligence chief, General Omar Suleiman. Simultaneously, talks are taking place between Egypt and Hamas. Dekel was supposed to talk to his hosts about the procedural aspects of the talks, while gaining an impression as to areas where Hamas might prove flexible.

Israeli officials are encouraged by the Egyptians' attitude toward the mediation, which they found to be more serious and thorough this time around. The intention is to conduct intensive negotiations in the near future, in order to advance a deal. The gaps between the sides are still substantial, primarily because of Hamas' demand that Israel release dozens of its members who are serving multiple life sentences for their roles in suicide bombings that killed and wounded many.

The solution being proposed is to transfer such inmates who are from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip or another country. A similar solution was used in the deal involving the wanted militants who holed up in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in 2002. Dekel is in favor of a similar arrangement, as are Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.

The London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al Hayat reported on Thursday that Egypt had given Israel a list of 1,000 prisoners Hamas wants freed in return for Shalit, but Israel objected to 75 percent of them. According to the paper's sources, the deal in the works is set to include the release of 150 Palestinian inmates in the first stage, in return for Shalit being transferred to Egypt, where his family will be able to visit him. On Shalit's return to Israel, 800 additional prisoners will be released in two stages.

Etnische zuivering in het Midden-Oosten

99% van de Joodse inwoners van Arabische landen is over een periode van enkele decennia verdreven. Hier is internationaal nooit veel aandacht voor geweest, en sommige 'historici' durven zelfs te beweren dat zij maar al te graag hun geboortegrond, huis en haard en al hun bezittingen achterlieten vanwege hun heimwee naar Jeruzalem. We mogen zulke personen geen antisemieten noemen, maar ze ruiken er wel een beetje naar...

 

Wouter

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Jun 23, 2008 19:12 | Updated Jun 24, 2008 10:05

The ethnic cleansing of Arabic Jews

By ASHLEY PERRY

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1214132663726&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 

Israel is perhaps the least efficient "ethnic cleanser" in the history of mankind, calumnies to the contrary notwithstanding.

In 1947 some 740,000 Palestinians lived in the British Mandate for Palestine. Today, the Arab residents of the West Bank and Gaza, together with Arab citizens of Israel, comprise a total of over five million Palestinians (altogether over nine million people worldwide refer to themselves as Palestinian.)

Using a popular population growth rate equation, the Palestinian growth rate has been calculated as close to double that of Asia and Africa over a comparable period of time.

Drazen Petrovic defines ethnic cleansing as "a well-defined policy of a particular group of persons to systematically eliminate another group from a given territory." By this definition, only one type of ethnic cleansing has occurred in the Arab-Israeli conflict - that of the Jews of Asia and North Africa. Whereas before 1948 there were nearly 900,000 Jews living in Arab lands, by 2001 only 6,500 remained.

THOSE WHO claim Israel carried out ethnic cleansing of Arabs can point to no official command to that effect. Jewish ethnic cleansing from Arab lands, on the other hand, was often official state policy.

Jews were formally expelled from many areas in the Arab world. The Arab League released a statement urging Arab governments to facilitate the exit of Jews from Arab countries, a resolution which was carried out through a series of punitive measures and discriminatory decrees that made it untenable for Jews to remain in their native lands.

On May 16, 1948, The New York Times recorded a series of measures taken by the Arab League to marginalize and persecute the Jewish residents of Arab League member states. It reported on the "text of a law drafted by the Political Committee of the Arab League, which was intended to govern the legal status of Jewish residents of Arab League countries. It provides that, beginning on an unspecified date, all Jews except citizens of non-Arab states would be considered 'members of the Jewish minority state of Palestine.' Their bank accounts would be frozen and used to finance resistance to 'Zionist ambitions in Palestine.' Jews believed to be active Zionists would be interned and their assets confiscated."

IN 1951, the Iraqi government passed legislation that made affiliation with Zionism a felony and ordered "the expulsion of Jews who refused to sign a statement of anti-Zionism." This pushed tens of thousands of Jews to leave Iraq, while much of their property was confiscated by the state.

In 1967, many Egyptian Jews were detained and tortured, and Jewish homes confiscated. In Libya that year, the government "urged the Jews to leave the country temporarily," permitting each to take one suitcase and the equivalent of $50.

In 1970, the Libyan government issued new laws confiscating all the assets of Libya's Jews, issuing in their stead 15-year bonds. But when the bonds matured, no compensation was paid. Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi justified this on the grounds that "the alignment of the Jews with Israel, the Arab nations' enemy, has forfeited their right to compensation."

These are just a few examples of what would became common measures throughout the Arab world - not to mention the pogroms and attacks on Jews and their institutions that drove a major part of the Jewish exodus.

THE ECONOMIC suffering on the part of the two refugee populations was equally lopsided.

According to the newly released study "The Palestinian Refugee Issue: Rhetoric vs. Reality" by former CIA and State Department Treasury official Sidney Zabludoff in the Jewish Political Studies Review, the value of assets lost by both refugee populations is strikingly uneven.

Zabludoff uses data from John Measham Berncastle, who in the early 1950s, under the aegis of the newly formed United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP), undertook the task of calculating the assets of the Palestinian refugees. Zabludoff calculates that their assets were worth $3.9 billion in today's currency.

The Jewish refugees, being greater in number and more urban, had almost double those assets.

On top of this equation, it must be taken into account that Israel returned over 90 percent of blocked bank accounts, safe deposit boxes and other items belonging to Palestinian refugees during the 1950s. This considerably diminishes the UNCCP calculations.

THESE FACTS are conveniently forgotten or not publicized, leaving the way open for Israel-bashers like Exeter University history Prof. Ilan Pappe to omit any mention of the Middle East's greatest ethnic cleansing.

However, a few recent events are clearing the world community's perception of this history. On April 1, the US Congress adopted Resolution 185, which for the first time recognizes Jewish refugees from Arab countries. It urges that the president and US officials participating in Middle East discussions ensure that any reference to Palestinian refugees "also include a similarly explicit reference to the resolution of the issue of Jewish refugees from Arab countries."

Just as importantly, the first-ever hearing in the British parliament on the subject of Jewish refugees from Arab countries takes place today in the House of Lords. It will be convened by Labor MP John Mann and Lord Anderson of Swansea, a joint briefing organized by Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC) in association with the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

Greater recognition of the refugee issue and the ethnic cleansing of Jews from the wider Arab world will bring clearer definition of the area's history to a greater number of people.

A people cannot be said to have been "ethnically cleansed" from an area in which it has grown at double the rate of its geographic neighbors. On the other hand, a people that lost more than 150 times its number from an area over the course of a few decades can make a very strong case for having undergone ethnic cleansing.

 

The writer, a political analyst who has worked with many organizations including the Israel Prime Minister's Office, is the editor of the Middle East Strategic Information project.

 

Hamas dreigt overtreders staakt-het-vuren te arresteren

Het staakt-het-vuren is in Hamas' belang en dat beseft men dondersgoed, vandaar dat, nu de herhaaldelijke schendingen de deal in gevaar brengen, men eindelijk bereid lijkt om het actief te handhaven, nadat Hamas eerder zei dat men geen 'geweer tegen het hoofd van een vrijheidsstrijder' zou houden.

 

Ratna

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Zahar pledges to arrest truce breachers

 

Jun. 28, 2008

Khaled Abu Toameh , THE JERUSALEM POST
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1214492525696&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 

Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip over the weekend issued new warnings to the Palestinian armed groups against violating the cease-fire agreement with Israel and threatened to arrest anyone who does not abide by it.

The latest warnings came after members of Fatah and Islamic Jihad fired a number of rockets at Israel last week.

This is the first time that Hamas threatens to arrest Palestinians who launch rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip. The threat is seen as a sign of Hamas's keenness to preserve the cease-fire and show that it is capable of enforcing its will on all the factions in the Gaza Strip.

Sources in the Gaza Strip told The Jerusalem Post that Hamas's security forces arrested Friday five Fatah militiamen on suspicion of firing three rockets at Israel last week. The five were arrested in the town of Bet Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, the sources said, noting that Fatah's armed wing, the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, had claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas official, said his movement's position regarding the violations made by Fatah and Islamic Jihad were "clear."

He said representatives of Fatah and Islamic Jihad have been summoned to meetings with Hamas officials who warned them against breaching the agreement.
"Some elements were working secretly to foil the [cease-fire] agreement," Zahar told reporters. "they don't want this agreement to succeed because they are working against the national interests of our people."

Zahar also said that some Palestinian "collaborators" and unruly factions were behind the attempts to foil the cease-fire agreement. He said that his movement has made it clear that anyone who violates the agreement would be arrested, even if he belongs to Hamas.

"We have reached an agreement with Islamic Jihad that anyone, even if he's from Hamas, would be arrested and disarmed if he violates the agreement," he said. "Those who violate the agreement would be accused of sabotaging the national program."

Asked if he was not concerned that Hamas would be accused of serving Israel by arresting rocket launchers, Zahar said: "Whoever makes such an allegation does not understand anything and is himself a collaborator with Israel. This agreement was reached on the basis of national consensus."

Zahar revealed that Hamas has already arrested a number of Palestinians who fired mortars and rockets at the border crossings in the Gaza Strip or trucks supplying fuel. He also revealed that some clans in the Gaza Strip have handed over their sons who were accused of violating the agreement and "harming the national interests of the Palestinians."

Hamas's Interior Minister, Said Siam, on Friday night summoned representatives of various Palestinian armed groups to an urgent meeting at his home where he warned them against breaching the cease-fire. "All those who accepted the agreement must now honor it," he said after the meeting. Anyone who acts otherwise will be held responsible and will be seen as serving the interests of Israel."

On Friday Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called on all Palestinian factions to honor the cease-fire with Israel.

Speaking at the conclusion of Friday prayers, Haniyeh said that "The [Palestinian] factions and people accepted the cease-fire in order to stop the Palestinian people's suffering, stop the siege [on Gaza] and bring an end to the Israeli occupation. Therefore, we hope that everyone will respect the national agreement, since its in our mutual interest," Haniyeh urged.

Haniyeh's call to honor the cease-fire came after it had been broken yet again earlier Friday by terrorists firing two mortar shells at southern Israel.

One of the shells landed near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in the Sha'ar Hanegev region, while the other landed in an open area. No one was wounded and no damage was reported.

IDF spokesman Peter Lerner said industrial fuel was transferred Friday into Gaza to run power stations, but that most crossings remained closed.
Lerner said Israel last let food into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

Herb Keinon, Yaakov Lappin and AP contributed to this report.