Meer dan 40 raketten op Sderot

Dinsdag is een recordaantal raketten afgevuurd op Sderot. Dinsdag is ook een recordaantal Palestijnen (vooral militanten) op één dag omgekomen: 16.

 

En dinsdag is een vrijwilliger op een kibboets doodgeschoten door Palestijnse schutters, ondanks het hek om de Gazastrook en de veiligheidsstrook erlangs (zo breed kan die dus niet zijn). Een trieste dag dus, maar dat geldt voor veel dagen.

 

Ratna

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Sderot braces for more rockets

Southern town under attack: More than 40 Qassams fired at Sderot Tuesday, bomb shelters opened; meanwhile, more social workers, psychologists dispatched to help residents, IDF decides to keep schools open

Shmulik Hadad YNET Latest Update: 01.15.08, 23:23 / Israel News
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3494754,00.html

Sderot hit by massive rocket offensive: More than 40 rockets were fired at southern communities Tuesday afternoon and evening. Most of the rockets targeted the southern town of Sderot, prompting municipal officials to convene an emergency meeting to decide on the next moves in the rocket-stricken town.

In the meeting, led by Mayor Eli Moyal, officials decided to boost the entire support system offered to Sderot residents coping with ceaseless Qassam attacks. Bomb shelters will be opened and more social workers, psychologists, and doctors will be sent to help residents.

Four civilians, including a 5-year-old girl, sustained shrapnel wounds in Tuesday's attacks. One of the rockets fired at Sderot hit a power line, causing power outages in some sections of town.

Turbulent Tuesday

Mayor Moyal said the rocket attacks were an ongoing reality and added that officials were constantly assessing the situation. "The defense establishment also boosted its forces here in Sderot. Regarding the education system, we will consult with security officials and together take a decision regarding the opening of schools on Wednesday." Later, the army decided to keep schools open.

The Qassam offensive started around 4:15 PM Tuesday, with one rocket hitting a chicken processing plant in town. Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam brigades claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks and also for separate mortar attacks.

The rocket strikes were part of a turbulent Tuesday that saw a volunteer from Ecuador murdered by a Palestinian sniper in a Gaza-region kibbutz.

IDF forces were also busy throughout the day, with a total of 18 Palestinians killed in various IDF attacks and operations, including the son of senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Zahar.

First Published: 01.15.08, 22:38

PLO-raad wil Palestijns parlement ontbinden

Nieuwe verkiezingen lijken de enige manier om de interne Palestijnse crisis zonder nog meer bloedvergieten op te lossen, maar daar zal Hamas zich niet makkelijk bij neerleggen, aangezien zij daar het meest bij te verliezen heeft.

 

Ratna

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PLO to form separate W. Bank parliament
Jerusalem Post / Jan 14, 2008 12:13

 

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1199964915221&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

The Palestinians may soon have two separate parliaments - one in the West Bank controlled by Fatah and the second belonging to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The PLO Central Council, which met in Ramallah on Sunday, is expected to vote to dissolve the current Palestinian Legislative Council [PLC], which is dominated by Hamas. The council is also scheduled to call for early parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories.

However, it's unclear how such elections would take place in the Gaza Strip, which is entirely controlled by Hamas.

Several Fatah officials have also called to dissolve the PLC, which has been paralyzed since Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip in June.

The move is set to deepen divisions among the Palestinians and further consolidate the split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It is also likely to hamper efforts by some Arab countries to patch up the differences between Fatah and Hamas.

The 116-member PLO Central Council would serve as a temporary parliament to fill the vacuum after the PLC was dissolved, a senior Palestinian Authority official told The Jerusalem Post.

"Of course we will hold new parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories," he said. "But in the meantime, the council will fulfill the duties of the parliament."

PA President Mahmoud Abbas has told the council members he "fully supports" early parliamentary elections, the official added.

At the previous meeting of the PLO Central Council in July, a majority of members expressed support for dissolving the PLC and holding early elections. But the idea was abandoned following severe criticism from Hamas and other Palestinian groups.

Some PLO officials said they were convinced that early elections would be the best way to resolve the power struggle between Fatah and Hamas.

"We have no other choice but to call early elections," said a veteran PLO official. "This is the only way to solve the crisis and prevent a permanent split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip."

Akram Haimouni, a Fatah legislator, said the council was likely to vote in favor of dissolving the PLC. "The PLO has the right to take such a decision in light of the continued crisis between Fatah and Hamas," he said.

Hamas officials warned the PLO council against dissolving the Legislative Council. In the last parliamentary elections in January 2006, Hamas won 74 of the PLC's 132 seats.

Ahmed Bahr, acting PLC speaker and a Hamas legislator, said even Abbas did not have the power to disband the parliament. "According to article 113 of the Palestinian Basic Law, no one has the power to dissolve the parliament," he said. "The PLC can't even be dissolved under a state of emergency."

Bahr dismissed allegations that the PLC has been paralyzed since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip. "The parliament has been holding regular meetings, but the problem is that Fatah has been boycotting the sessions," he said. "This is in addition to the fact that Israel has arrested many Hamas legislators, including Speaker Abdel Aziz Dweik."

Hamas legislator Salah Bardaweel said any decision to dissolve the PLC would be "unconstitutional" and "illegal." He added: "The so-called PLO Central Council is an illegitimate body, as are most of the PLO institutions. The PLO hasn't held internal elections for many years and its members are all in office in violation of the law and regulations."

Ayman Taha, another Hamas figure in the Gaza Strip, accused Abbas of using PLO institutions to reverse the results of the last parliamentary elections.

"The PLO Central Council was never elected by the Palestinians," he said. "Most of its members were appointed either by Yasser Arafat or by Hamas. How can a body that was never elected dissolve a democratically elected parliament?"

Ken uw vijand of vriend: Palestijnse studenten bestuderen Israël

Hoewel de gematigde Sari Nusseibeh president is van het college waar onderstaande studie wordt aangeboden, lijkt deze studie geen erg gematigd karakter te hebben:

 

The program's curriculum is hardly representative of mainstream Israel studies programs seen elsewhere in the world. It relies heavily on writings from the fringes of Israeli academia.

Massalha's class, for instance, analyzed at length a text written by Azmi Bishara, an Israeli Arab and former lawmaker who fled the country this year amid suspicions of treason and espionage.

 

 

Hoe Bishara kan bijdragen aan 'coëxistentie' met Israël, is me een raadsel. Als men Israël echt wil leren kennen en begrijpen, haar kracht en successen, de geschiedenis en de motivatie van de Joden om hier een staat te stichten, dan moet je natuurlijk vooral teksten van Joden en Zionisten lezen. Wat Bishara verwoordt is voor de Palestijnen een vertrouwd geluid, dus daar hoeven ze niet voor in de schoolbanken te zitten. Toch zegt een studente dat ze milder is geworden:

 

Her studies have dispelled some of her animosity. «I had an image of Israel as an enemy, but now I feel less hatred,» she said.

 

 

Alles wat je nader bestudeert blijkt wellicht minder zwart te zijn dan je dacht, maar O.K., wellicht probeert men oprecht ook een boodschap van (de noodzaak tot) verzoening en dialoog uit te dragen. Alleen jammer dat de Israeliërs die op bezoek komen wordt geadviseerd geen Hebreeuws te praten, hoewel die taal ook wordt onderwezen, omdat dit 'militante studenten kwaad zou kunnen maken' . Misschien kunnen ze ook hun Zionistische ideeën even afdoen voor ze naar binnen gaan. Niets maakt militante Palestijnen zo kwaad als Zionistische propaganda.

 

Ratna

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Know thine enemy or friend: Palestinian students study Israel

© AP Associated Press / 2008-01-13 01:21:02 -
http://www.pr-inside.com/know-thine-enemy-or-friend-palestinian-r383582.htm

ABU DIS, West Bank (AP) - With the Muslim call to prayer wailing from a mosque, some 20 Palestinian students crowd into a classroom on the outskirts of Jerusalem to study the origins of the Jewish state.

The Israel studies program at Al Quds University in the West Bank claims to be the first in the Arab world, drawing an eclectic mix of grizzled ex-prisoners, veiled women and top political operatives. Some seek knowledge to better fight their enemy, while others believe learning more about Israel increases the chances of peace.

Either way, the program has become a hit, with students lining up to study courses about the Israeli economy, its army and the role of women in its society.

«Different students go into it with different motivations, of course, but I think that most of the students who are engaged in the Israel studies program are people who are committed to coexistence with Israel,» said the college president, Sari Nusseibeh.

The two-year master's course is the brainchild of Nusseibeh, a Palestinian moderate who has long preached dialogue with Israel.

The program, which has 120 students, counts among its alumni some prominent Palestinian personalities, including former Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan and his counterpart in the West Bank, Jibril Rajoub.
Sameh Khader, 31, a senior civil servant, enrolled out of sheer curiosity.

«Israel was a mystery to me,» he said. «This is a process of discovery.
He said Palestinians could learn a lot from their next-door neighbor about building a state. «There are similarities between the Israeli cause and the Palestinian cause,» he said. «It's not a 'learn the enemy' thing.

Such views are not often heard among the 4 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, whose daily contact with Israelis is often limited to tense encounters with weapon-wielding soldiers.

Few of the students have ever traveled into Israel. From their classroom window they can see the concrete slabs of the wall and fence Israel is building to keep out suicide bombers. But the isolation doesn't stop them from wondering what it's like.

Rasha Rabaieh, a veiled 23-year-old from Bethlehem enrolled in the Israel studies program, said she wanted to «know the enemy, to understand why they came here.

Her studies have dispelled some of her animosity. «I had an image of Israel as an enemy, but now I feel less hatred,» she said.

During a recent class on «the social structure of Israel,» students heatedly debated the revival of the Hebrew language, the role of Israel's immigrant community vs. its native-born «Sabras,» and whether modern Zionism is religious- or nationalist-driven.

When students started bringing up Islam to explain their positions, Professor Mohammed Massalha cut them short, saying he wanted academic points of view, not ideological ones.

The program's curriculum is hardly representative of mainstream Israel studies programs seen elsewhere in the world. It relies heavily on writings from the fringes of Israeli academia.

Massalha's class, for instance, analyzed at length a text written by Azmi Bishara, an Israeli Arab and former lawmaker who fled the country this year amid suspicions of treason and espionage.

Inside graffiti-adorned classrooms, in this Arab town once earmarked as the capital of Palestine, the students furiously talk about Israeli politics. One class focuses on the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, with Khader noting that like the Islamic militant Hamas group, Shas draws strength from the poor and marginalized. «They establish nursery schools and work in poor neighborhoods that are neglected by the government.

A lot of students have a hard time separating academics from their daily frustrations.

Abir Waridat, 23, from Hebron, was pushed by her family to enroll so she could become its resident «Israel expert.» Seven of her brothers are in Israeli prisons, her house was once demolished and she blames Israel for the death of her father - who had a stroke after an encounter with a soldier. She said she wants to be able to teach, and warn, the next generation of Palestinians about Israel.

«It is difficult to believe that there will be peace with Israel because of their mentality,» she said. «It doesn't seem that the people who believe in peace (in Israel) can beat the people who believe in war.
Another student, Mohammed Ilias, said that was exactly why it was important for him to study.

«I believe the conflict will last a long time and you need to know who you are working against,» he said. «It is important to know their history, their thought process.

Ilias, a middle-aged man who spent 15 years in an Israeli prison, said he wanted to learn how Palestinians can replicate Israel's successes.

«We need to understand why we lost,» he said. «That is a question that constantly passes in my mind. Why did we lose and how can we overcome them in the future

Shlomit Keren, director of the Israel studies program at the University of Calgary, said the program's concept was positive, regardless of the students' motives.

«The moment you base your world view on knowledge, that is a welcome development,» said Keren.

Israeli academics often visit the Abu Dis campus. But while studying Hebrew is part of the school curriculum, visiting Israelis are advised against speaking their native tongue, for fear of angering militant students.

Khader, the civil servant, insisted most of his colleagues' intentions were pure.

«There is no enemy in the education process,» he said. «Ignorance is the main enemy.

 

Hamas smokkelde recentelijk $100 miljoen Gazastrook binnen

Dit was te verwachten, maar er is ook goed nieuws volgens de chef van de binnenlandse veiligheidsdienst Shin Bet:

 

But Diskin also said that the image of Hamas has taken a blow among the people of the Gaza Strip. "Not all the residents of the Strip feel that this is their salvation. The general atmosphere suggests that the military and economic pressure, in parallel with the continuation of the political process, is the right way forward: It weakens the radicals and bolsters the moderates," Diskin said.

 

 

Dat is tegengesteld aan wat veelal word beweerd, namelijk dat de armoede en ellende juist tot meer steun voor Hamas leiden.

 

Het volgende voorstel is interessant:

 

In an effort to further strengthen the hold of the moderates on Palestinian society, Israel and the Bush administration are evaluating a proposal by the PA's Fayyad, for the deployment of forces loyal to Fatah and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, at the crossings with between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

 

Fayyad is keen on beginning to return PA control to the Gaza Strip, and deployment of security forces at the crossings would be a first step toward that goal.

 

The idea also appears to be welcomed by the Hamas government in the Strip, even though it may be that the two rival Palestinian factions have different motives for backing this possibility.

 

 

Die veiligheidstroepen van Abbas zijn natuurlijk sitting dogs voor de een paar honderd meter achter hen gelegen Hamas troepen die erop zullen toezien dat de PA-troepen niet 'met de vijand meewerken' en hun volk verraden. Alleen wanneer het Hamas uitkomt mogen zij zaken met Israël doen. De 'verleiding' om met 'het verzet' te collaboreren zal groot zijn, en Hamas zal ze daar zeker toe 'aanmoedigen'. Het mag dan ook niet verbazen dat Hamas wel wat ziet in dit idee: het opent letterlijk de deur, en naar men hoopt naar meer dan alleen meer levensmiddelen transporten.

 

Ratna

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Diskin to MKs: Hamas managed to smuggle $100 million into Gaza

By Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents

Last update - 02:17 14/01/2008
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/944304.html

Hamas managed to smuggle $100 million into the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, according to Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin, speaking during a briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Sunday.

Meanwhile, Israel is considering the proposal of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, to transfer control of the crossings into the Gaza Strip to forces loyal to the PA and Fatah.

During his weekly briefing before the Knesset committee, Diskin said that the funds were smuggled into the Strip by hundreds of pilgrims returning from the hajj in Mecca.

Egypt allowed many of the pilgrims to enter the Gaza Strip via its territory, contrary to an earlier agreement with Israel, which insisted that they must cross into the Strip through Israeli-controlled checkpoints. Israel was concerned about the possibility of money and arms being secreted into the Hamas-controlled enclave.

Diskin said that the Shin Bet estimates that senior members of Hamas who returned from the hajj brought in about $100 million.

"The money that was smuggled is not being distributed to the residents, but is being used by Hamas people only," the Shin Bet chief added.

The MKs asked Diskin whether there was any change in the behavior of the Egyptian security along the Philadelphi Route, which separates the Strip from Sinai. He responded that the smuggling of weapons through the tunnels running under the route continues and that there is no improvement in the performance of the Egyptians in preventing the smuggling activity.

"Routine," he said.

But Diskin also said that the image of Hamas has taken a blow among the people of the Gaza Strip. "Not all the residents of the Strip feel that this is their salvation. The general atmosphere suggests that the military and economic pressure, in parallel with the continuation of the political process, is the right way forward: It weakens the radicals and bolsters the moderates," Diskin said.

In an effort to further strengthen the hold of the moderates on Palestinian society, Israel and the Bush administration are evaluating a proposal by the PA's Fayyad, for the deployment of forces loyal to Fatah and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, at the crossings with between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Fayyad is keen on beginning to return PA control to the Gaza Strip, and deployment of security forces at the crossings would be a first step toward that goal.

The idea also appears to be welcomed by the Hamas government in the Strip, even though it may be that the two rival Palestinian factions have different motives for backing this possibility.

However, Israeli security sources told Haaretz Sunday that the idea had some problematic aspects to it. They said, for example, that it will be difficult for Israel to cooperate with PA security forces knowning that several hundred meters behind them stood armed Hamas militants.

In the past, the crossings had been targeted by Hamas, and there is constant information of plans to attack those points on the border.

At the same time, there are indirect discussions being held on resolving the problem of some 2,000 Palestinians who are stranded on the Sinai (Egyptian) side of Rafah, who are waiting to be allowed back to the Strip.

Israel would like the Palestinians to enter the Strip through the Erez crossing, which would enable it to more effectively control smuggling into the area. The PA supports such a development, since it will not alleviate the economic and political siege Hamas is under in the Strip.

Humanitaire hulpgoederen voor Gazastrook soms explosief

Sinds Samir A. weten we dat je met kunstmest op basis van ammoniumnitraat explosieven kunt maken. Samir A. had de verkeerde kunstmest ingekocht, maar in Gaza weten ze wel wat ze moeten bestellen: de explosieve soort.

 

 

Is dit de humanitaire hulp die Israël van het Rode Kruis en andere organisaties niet mag blokkeren? Volgens de krant is dit het tweede incident deze week. Twee weken terug gebruikten terroristen suikerzakken van de EU om ook een nitraatsoort te smokkelen die voor explosieven in de Qassam raketten worden gebruikt.

 

Dit zijn dus geen geisoleerde incidenten meer, en als Israël de boel niet zo streng zou controleren, zouden gigantische hoeveelheden wapens, explosieven en andere grondstoffen voor fabricatie van wapens worden binnengesmokkeld, met misschien wel honderden raketten per dag op Sderot en andere plaatsen als gevolg.

 

 

Ratna en Wouter
________________

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3494131,00.html

2 tons of explosives found amongst humanitarian aid en route to Gaza

 

Terror groups take advantage of Israeli permit allowing humanitarian goods into impoverished Gaza Strip, attempt to smuggle two tons of fertilizer in truck transporting aid in second such incident this week

 

Ynet News - 14 January 2008

Hanan Greenberg

Security workers employed by the Israel Airport Authority uncovered two tons of fertilizer used in the manufacturing of Qassam rockets on Monday afternoon, the substantial amount of explosive material was concealed in a truck allegedly transporting humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

The security officials manning the Kerem Shalom border crossing discovered the smuggling attempt during a random inspection of vehicles carrying humanitarian equipment and goods.

This is the second such incident to occur this week.

At present time defense officials are still investigating the incident and the origin and destination of the explosives remain unknown. Security forces estimate terror organizations have recently increased smuggling efforts. "As we have seen in the past, terror groups will stop at nothing to carry out their plans. We have seen a number of attacks against the crossings themselves, the Karni goods crossing has been closed for several months because of this - and it is the Palestinians who ultimately suffer from this," they said.

Despite the security restrictions and economic siege of Gaza, Israel allows the transfer of medical equipment and drugs into Gaza at the insistence of the World Health Organization.

________________

Rocket-making materials caught at Gaza border crossing

Yaakov Katz and Shelly Paz , THE JERUSALEM POST Jan. 14, 2008
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1200308084927&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Israel Airports Authority (IAA) inspectors on Monday discovered two tons of dual-purpose fertilizer, which can be used to produce Kassam rockets, during a sample check of a humanitarian aid transport vehicle at the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into the Gaza Strip.

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) launched an investigation to determine the truck's origin and who was behind the transfer. Defense officials said that the incident was alarming and proved that Palestinian terrorists were trying to take advantage of the "humanitarian route" into Gaza for terror purposes.

The IAA stated that this was the second time within a week that its inspectors had discovered a dual-purpose substance on its way to the Gaza Strip under the cover of humanitarian aid shipments.

The IAA, which operates the Kerem Shalom crossing as well the Karni, Allenby, Nitzana, Taba, Jordan River and Yitzhak Rabin crossings, informed police and security forces about Monday's incident.

 

Wapengeweld en chaos ondermijnen veiligheid in Gazastrook volgens PCHR

Dit soort incidenten zijn een normaal verschijnsel in de Gazastrook, maar voor de media zijn alleen slachtoffers van 'de Israëlische agressie' interessant, lijkt het wel. Dat er vorig jaar net zoveel Palestijnen door intern geweld als in de strijd met Israël zijn omgekomen, zal velen dan ook verbazen.

_______________________

Security Chaos
Misuse of Weapons by Armed Groups and/or Security Personnel

Field Update - Palestinian Centre for Human Rights  postmaster@pchrgaza.net

13 January 2007

Security Chaos Continues in the Gaza Strip

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) has documented several incidents of security chaos in the Gaza Strip over the past forty eight hours. These include a raid on the American School in Gaza, the killing of a naval police officer by unknown persons, the injury of 3 members of the Izzedeen El-Qassam Battalions in a training accident, the injury of 2 policemen by the explosive device planted by unknown persons, and the death of one man in an armed clash between rival clans.

At approximately 22:00 on Friday, 11 January, two policemen were moderately injured by a roadside bomb planted near the police headquarters in the central Gaza Strip. Meflih Abu Hujayer (20), and Mohammad Hammou (21) both sustained shrapnel wounds, and were transferred to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for treatment.

According to investigations carried out by PCHR, at approximately 02:00 on Saturday, 12 January, several masked gunmen broke into the American School in northern Gaza City. They detained the school security guard and stole computers and other equipment from the school. Before leaving, they set fire to 5 buses and a car belonging to the school. The American school had also been attacked 3 days earlier, on January 9th, when unidentified gunmen fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the school, causing substantial damage.

At approximately 08:30 on Saturday, 12 January, the body of Sha'ban Salem Dughmush (39) from Sabra neighborhood in Gaza City was found in the Juhr El-Deek area of the central Gaza Strip. Dughmush worked in the Naval Police Department of the Government in Gaza. Medical sources stated he was killed by a gunshot to the head. Police spokesman, Islam Shehwan, stated that the police have opened an investigation into his death.

At approximately 09:00 on the same morning, three members of Izzedeen El-Qassam Battalions, the armed wing of Hamas, were injured by shrapnel, following the explosion of a projectile during training in land previously occupied by the Israeli Nitzarim settlement, south of Gaza City. The three men sustained moderate injuries, and were transferred to Shifa Hospital in Gaza city.

In the early morning hours of Saturday, 12 January, Sami Salman El-Rawgh (33) was shot dead during an armed clash between El-Rawagh and Abu Harb clans in a Bedouin village in the northern Gaza Strip. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at Kamal Odwan Hospital in Beit Lahia.

PCHR is extremely concerned about the continual death toll in Gaza due to the misuse of weapons. The Centre reiterates its call to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), represented by the Attorney-General, to seriously investigate these crimes and to prosecute the perpetrators.
 

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

Onderhandelingen over kernproblemen tussen Israël en Palestijnen beginnen vandaag

Eindelijk zal er gepraat gaan worden over de kernproblemen van het conflict. Goed nieuws, maar de situatie op de grond kan makkelijk roet in het eten gooien. 

 

In his speech Sunday, Abbas said, "We told President Bush that we can't move ahead in negotiations while settlement activities are going on. We can't have negotiations while they are building houses all over."

 

 

Waarop ik als ik Israël was zou zeggen: en wij kunnen niet onderhandelen terwijl de anti-Israël en antisemitische hetze, ook in door de Palestijnse Autoriteit gecontroleerde media, doorgaat, zolang jullie kinderen leren dat de gewapende strijd voor de bevrijding van Palestina een nobele zaak is en plegers van zelfmoordaanslagen eren als helden, en zolang er raketten op onze burgers worden afgevuurd en aanslagen beraamd, ook door aan Fatah geliëerde groepen.

 

Over die raketten zei Abbas het volgende:

 

Abbas criticized the Hamas-led Gaza regime for allowing rockets to be fired into Israel but said the rocket fire hurts the Palestinians more than they [hurt] Israelis, who keep demanding that Abbas take action to stop it.

 

 

Hij bedoelt: 'Ik betreur de pogingen onschuldige burgers van Israël te doden omdat het onze zaak schaadt, niet omdat het doden van burgers verkeerd is'. Een zeer moreel standpunt.

 

Zijn respect voor de VS uitte hij als volgt:

He said if Hamas relinquishes power in Gaza, he will begin talks with the Islamic militants, "even if the Americans reject that."

 

 

Vrij vertaald: 'laat Amerika maar lullen, we hebben ons geld al binnen, en bovendien, het zal ons toch wel blijven steunen want ze hebben geen keuze.'

 

Ratna

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Abbas: Negotiations on core issues to begin Monday

Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST Jan. 13, 2008
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1199964913142&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

At their next meeting, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will begin tackling the core issues that need to be resolved for a peace treaty, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced Sunday.

During a speech in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Abbas said that teams headed by ex-Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will begin discussion of six issues: Jerusalem, Israeli West Bank settlements, Palestinian refugees, borders, security and water resources.

"If we reach an agreement on all these issues, then we can say that we have reached a final agreement," Abbas said, adding that a peace treaty must resolve disputes over all the issues.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev confirmed that the negotiating teams would meet Monday, and that they received a mandate to begin discussions on the core issues.

Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to restart peace talks, frozen during seven years of violence, at a US-sponsored Mideast peace conference in November. Last week, before the arrival of US President George W. Bush, they told their negotiating teams to get down to discussing the core issues. Previous negotiations have broken down over these topics, as so far neither side has been willing to compromise enough to satisfy the other.

Olmert and Abbas pledged to make efforts to reach a peace accord this year, before Bush leaves office.

In his speech Sunday, Abbas said, "We told President Bush that we can't move ahead in negotiations while settlement activities are going on. We can't have negotiations while they are building houses all over."

Abbas criticized the Hamas-led Gaza regime for allowing rockets to be fired into Israel but said the rocket fire hurts the Palestinians more than they Israelis, who keep demanding that Abbas take action to stop it.

He said if Hamas relinquishes power in Gaza, he will begin talks with the Islamic militants, "even if the Americans reject that."

Ontruimen buitenposten: Olmert te roekeloos, Barak te voorzichtig?

Olmert said in a Kadima meeting on Sunday that "the fact is that the illegal outposts are still there despite the fact that the last two governments have tried to remove them - the situation is ridiculous.

 

"We cannot continue to say that the Road Map is a strategic Israeli asset and not implement what is required of us according (to the plan)," he said.

 

 

Het komt niet zo vaak voor dat een premier openlijk toegeeft dat zijn beleid 'ridiculous'  is, en ondanks de ontwapenende eerlijkheid is het natuurlijk een genante vertoning. De premier, de machtigste man van het land, heft moedeloos de handen ten hemel, en zegt: 'het is belachelijk dat het ons maar niet wil lukken die paar buitenposten te ontruimen.' Niet echt een manier om vertrouwen en daadkracht uit te stralen. Ik zou zeggen: doe er wat aan. Maar het vreemde is, dat Olmert plannen van minister van defensie Barak om buitenposten te ontruimen meermaals heeft afgewezen:  

 

Officials close to the defense minister claim that Barak has presented a plan for outpost removal on two recent occasions: before the Annapolis peace summit and before the recent Bush visit. On both occasions, Olmert refused to put them in place.

 

 

Tegelijkertijd beschuldigt Barak Olmert ervan te snel te willen ontruimen:

 

"The thinking that allows for the evacuation of outposts without first exhausting all other means is a type of recklessness that Olmert adopted during the (Second) Lebanon War and the evacuation of Amona," officials close to Barak told Ynet on Sunday evening.

 

 

Het is niet de eerste keer dat persoonlijke vetes, te grote ego's en/of electorale overwegingen een voortvarende besluitvorming en handelen in de weg staan. De kolonisten maken daar ongetwijfeld maximaal gebruik van, onder andere door deals voor te stellen die Olmert meent niet te kunnen verkopen maar volgens Barak wellicht toch te prefereren zijn boven een gewelddadige ontruiming zoals twee jaar geleden gebeurde in Amona. Het feit dat Israël heeft beloofd om de buitenposten te verwijderen (en niet uit te ruilen tegen uitbreiding van nederzettingen elders) speelt als puntje bij paaltje komt in de overwegingen een ondergeschikte rol, de openhartige uitspraken van Olmert ten spijt.

 

 

Ratna 

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Olmert suffers from recklessness, says Barak

Defense minister slams prime minister's remarks over delay in outpost evacuation. 'The thinking that allows for the evacuation of outposts without first exhausting all other means is a type of recklessness that Olmert adopted during the Second Lebanon War and the evacuation of Amona,' aides to Barak say

Roni Sofer

YNET - Latest Update: 01.13.08, 21:18
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3493744,00.html

Defense Minister Ehud Barak had some harsh words for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday following accusations the latter made regarding the delay in the eviction of West Bank settlers in illegal outposts.

"The thinking that allows for the evacuation of outposts without first exhausting all other means is a type of recklessness that Olmert adopted during the (Second) Lebanon War and the evacuation of Amona," officials close to Barak told Ynet on Sunday evening.

Barak, who is actually responsible for removing the outposts, was furious following an editorial published in Yedioth Ahronoth over the weekend that accused him of not being truthful with regards to the outpost removal process.

"This time he sent his adviser on settlement issues Eitan Broshi, to a (take part in a) marathon of secret discussions with (settlement leader Ze'ev Chever) Zambish and the result was similar.

"In exchange for the removal of a few outposts, Zambish requested approval for the construction of 80 in the Har Eybel outpost, 52 apartments in Elkana instead of 52 illegal pre-fabricated buildings and more," the editorial's author Nahum Barnea wrote.

Barnea also mentioned that Prime Minister Olmert refused to approve an agreement being worked out because he was afraid the agreement would make him look like a liar in the eyes of the Palestinian and - more importantly - US President George Bush.

Barak is convinced that the information was leaked by someone close to Olmert and that is what most like led him to respond.

Olmert said in a Kadima meeting on Sunday that "the fact is that the illegal outposts are still there despite the fact that the last two governments have tried to remove them - the situation is ridiculous.

"We cannot continue to say that the Road Map is a strategic Israeli asset and not implement what is required of us according (to the plan)," he said.

Barak: We must remain united

The defense minister's associates said that there was no question that the outposts must be evacuated and they will be in due time. Officials close to the defense minister claim that Barak has presented a plan for outpost removal on two recent occasions: before the Annapolis peace summit and before the recent Bush visit. On both occasions, Olmert refused to put them in place.

Barak's people are angry that the prime minister is talking about removing Migron as a gesture to President Bush and the Palestinians.

"At the end of the day, we're one people and one society and we must exhaust all the options before an evacuation. Migron was also included in one of the plans presented to Olmert. The defense minister is acting carefully in order to carry out a rational evacuation without using force. If and when force will have to be used, we will use it decisively."

Officials at the Prime Minister's Office responded by saying, "We can only apologize for things that appear to be presented as a personal disagreement between the prime minister and the defense minister. It is unclear to us why Minister Barak so quickly took upon himself the responsibility of outpost removal."

Officials close to Olmert told Ynet that "during Amir Peretz's tenure as defense minister, negotiations were begun with settlers for evacuation of illegal outposts.

"The negotiations continued for a year and a half. The prime minister supported them the entire way and said it was preferable to evacuate outposts through discussions rather than through the use of horses."

First Published: 01.13.08, 20:57

Feministisch tijdschrift wil geen succesvolle Israëlische vrouwen in advertentie

Succesvolle vrouwen in de Israëlische politiek, dat is natuurlijk zeer controversieel voor een feministisch tijdschrift. Men verdedigt liever het recht op 'zelfverdediging' van Hezbollah, een zeer vrouwvriendelijke club, dan een positieve kant van Israël te laten zien, zelfs als daar voor wordt betaald.

 

Volgens het AJC:

 

[MS] even ran an article in the Winter 2004 issue entitled, 'Images of Palestine,' which discussed the Ramallah Film Festival and gave sympathetic reviews to films concerning 'the liberation of South Lebanon' from Israel as well as numerous films which portrayed terrorism as legitimate 'revolutionary' activity against Israel and miscast Israel's activities to counter terrorism as 'oppressive...

 

 

De weigering de advertentie af te drukken heeft dan ook niks te maken met "het niet willen bevoordelen van een bepaalde politieke partij" en andere slappe excuses, maar met antizionisme. Het excuus dat de advertentie veel controverse zou oproepen is slap en laf. Feministen hebben wel vaker controverse opgeroepen, en het feminisme ziet, voor zover ik weet, conformisme niet als haar belangrijkste waarde.

 

Het lijkt er op dat MS Magazine alleen feministisch is wanneer dat niet ten kost van haar pro-Arabische bias gaat.

 

Lees ook: MS Feminists: No Israelis need apply met een unieke preview  van het volgende nummer, een special over vrouwen in de islam.

 

 

Ratna

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Feminist Magazine Rejects Ad Featuring Israeli Women

BY E.B. SOLOMONT - Staff Reporter of the [NY} Sun

January 11, 2008
www.nysun.com/article/69338

Jewish leaders are reeling after what they say was a decision by Ms. Magazine to refuse to accept a full-page advertisement featuring three prominent Israeli women. The advertisement, submitted to the feminist publication by the American Jewish Congress, featured photographs of three women who hold leadership positions in Israel, including the president of the Israeli Supreme Court, Dorit Beinisch; Israel's foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, and speaker of the Knesset, Dalia Itzik. Underneath the photographs, the advertisement included the text, "This is Israel."

Officials from the American Jewish Congress said they were shocked by the magazine's decision, which they said amounted to anti-Israel sentiment.

"For a magazine that I believe has stood for empowerment and supporting women in high positions of society, it was just stunning," the group's president, Richard Gordon, said. "Clearly, there is an anti-Israel sentiment here that is being exhibited, because there is no other possible rationale for making a decision like this."

The magazine's executive editor, Kathy Spillar, offered a different reason in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. She said that because two of the women photographed belong to the same political party, the advertisement showed favoritism. She added that an upcoming issue would feature a two-page profile of Ms. Livni. Officials at the American Jewish Congress said they conceived of the advertisement this past fall, when a member of its board suggested the group publicize the accomplishments of the three women. They first contacted the magazine in October about placing the advertisement, and they were working on its final details in mid-November when the magazine decided against running it. The advertisement was supposed to run inside the magazine and would have cost $3,800.

The director of the American Jewish Congress' Commission for Women's Empowerment, Harriet Kurlander, said a representative from the magazine told her the advertisement was too controversial and was likely to "cause a lot of opposition."

"If we print the ad, it will create a firestorm," Ms. Kurlander recalled being told. A lifelong advocate of women's rights, she called the magazine's decision hurtful. "I'm shocked," she said. "I'm not throwing accusations; I'm not calling names. All I'm saying is, I can't come to any other conclusion given the facts," she added. "If there's another conclusion to be drawn, I'd like to hear it."

As news of the incident was publicized, Jewish leaders condemned the magazine's actions.

"On its face, it's a very troubling story," the associate national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Kenneth Jacobson, said. "Here's a magazine devoted both to free expression and to women's rights, and an ad is submitted to it which represents free expressions and women's rights, and the response to it, apparently, is that it's too controversial."

The longtime editor in chief of the Jewish feminist magazine Lilith, Susan Weidman Schneider, said, "I suspect it will stir up a fair bit of negative responses from its natural constituency of feminist women."

She declined to speculate on why the magazine turned down the advertisement, but observed, "It seems useful for a women's magazine to spotlight not only an analysis of what is yet to be done, but some of the important roles that women play in Israel."

She added that she would "be happy" to run the advertisement in Lilith.

Antizionisme in Israël: Arabische leraar verbiedt vlag en Davidster

Het onderstaande incident zou je verwachten op een Amerikaanse of Britse school, en zou door Joodse organisaties als een uiting van antisemitisme worden behandeld. Maar het gebeurde op een school in Israël.

 

Hoe kan het dat een docent in Israël de Israëlische vlag niet kan aanzien, en eist dat een leerling die uit zijn zicht verwijdert? Toen ik in Israël was, viel me direct het grote aantal Israëlische vlaggen op, en ook linkse vrienden hadden hele rijen vlaggetjes voor hun raam hangen, overgebleven van een recente feestdag. Het was simpelweg onmogelijk door een stad te lopen zonder continu de Israëlische vlag en de Davidster tegen te komen. Als je daar niet tegen kan, moet je misschien ergens anders gaan wonen? Maar deze leraar ging nog verder, en wilde de leerling die het vlaggetje op haar tas had niet meer zien zolang ze een ketting met een Davidster droeg. Me lijkt dat je dan in Israël erg veel mensen moet mijden, want die kettinkjes zie je, in allerlei soorten, overal.

 

Heeft leraar Hassan wat teveel zon op zijn hoofd gekregen, wil hij graag aandacht of speelt er iets anders tussen hem en deze leerlinge? En waarom speelt dit nu opeens, terwijl hij al jarenlang lesgeeft op een Israëlische school? Zou dit met een nieuw Arabisch zelfbewustzijn in Israël te maken hebben, waarin men Israëls symbolen en haar Joodse karakter steeds openlijker afwijst?  

 

 

Ratna

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Arab lecturer forbids student from wearing Star of David

Sapir College instructor who gained notoriety when he refused to teach a student wearing an IDF uniform in spotlight once more after student claims he barred display of Israeli flag in his classroom, berated her for wearing Star of David necklace

Matan Zuri YNET Published: 01.11.08, 12:06 / Israel News
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3493016,00.html

Cinematography lecturer Nizar Hassan is still on suspension from him academic duties at the Sapir College in southern Israel pending a hearing on his divisive decision to bar a student wearing an IDF uniform from his class - but a new controversy has already reared its head and is further threatening the Hassan's future at the institute.

The letter, penned by a third-year student who attended a director's workshop taught by Hassan, was sent to the committee investigating the reserve soldier's case and may be used to prove the lecturer's behavior towards the reserve soldier was not an isolated incident.

According to the unnamed student identified only as A', she arrived at one of Hassan's classes with a backpack embroidered with the Israeli flag and was promptly asked by the lecturer to turn the bag so that the flag would not be facing him.

"I told him I would not do that - and then he approached me, grabbed the bag and forcefully turned it around," writes A' in her letter, which was also sent to College President Prof. Ze'ev Tzahor.

"When Hassan went back to the front of the class, I returned the bag to its original position, he then came back and turned it again. I picked the bag up a last time and spun it around.

"Nizar stopped the class, walked up to me, forcibly took the bag away from me and stuffed it into his desk."

But the heated battle over the flag was not A's only complaint. According to her letter, she met in private with Hassan some time later to discuss a documentary film she intended to direct. During the meeting the lecturer commented on the Star of David necklace A' was wearing.

"He asked me why I would even wear something like that. I answered that I view it as a Zionist matter. He then told me that he refused to see me wearing the necklace during the meeting," she wrote.

A' notes in her letter that prior to the aforementioned incidents she held Hassan in the highest respect and had a great affinity for his classes. "Hassan, with his charisma, was a great influence on me. Sometimes he would call me after classes to ask how the lecture had gone and he always praised me and my abilities. I remember several occasions where I sat with Nizar and he would analyze my personality instead of my work," she says.

But speaking with Yedioth Aharonoth on Thursday evening, A' sounded outraged. "I don't understand why he isn't kicked out of the college, I sincerely hope that they understand that he has no business teaching there because he crossed the line. He must not be allowed to come back."

The Sapir College said in response that the student's complaint is being dealt with by the school's disciplinary committee. Hassan declined to comment on the allegations.

Commissie van Palestijnse vluchtelingen wijst verklaring Bush over compensatie af

Eén van de vele problemen die Bush binnen een jaar zal moeten oplossen, als hij zijn voorspelling wil laten uitkomen dat er voordat hij het Witte Huis verlaat vrede zal zijn. 

 

UNRWA, voor het overgrote merendeel gerund door Palestijnse vluchtelingen zelf, zal de brief van de 'General Commission of Palestinian Refugees' zeker serieus nemen. Iemand zal de Palestijnen, en de vluchtelingen in het bijzonder, duidelijk moeten maken dat dit 'recht op terugkeer' niet bestaat, niet rechtvaardig is, niet aan vrede bijdraagt en ook geen onderdeel was van resolutie 194, die overigens door zowel Israël als de Arabische staten werd verworpen. 

 

Bush is hier om bekende redenen niet de aangewezen persoon voor. Misschien een geschikte taak voor de door de Palestijnen als evenwichtiger beschouwde Europese Unie?  

 

 

Ratna

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General Commission of Palestinian Refugees Refuses Bush's Statement on Compensations

Saturday, January 12, 2008 - 05:15 PM
www.sana.sy/eng/21/2008/01/12/156135.htm

Damascus, (SANA - Syrian news agency) - The General Commission of Palestinian Refugees announced on Saturday its refusal of US President George W. Bush's statement on compensating Palestinian refugees without affirming their right to return to their homeland from which they were removed since 1948 and onwards.

In a letter sent to UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd, the Commission affirmed the Palestinian refugees' commitment to their right to return to their homeland according the decisions of international legitimacy that guarantee their rights, particularly decision number 194 of 1948.

The Commission pointed out in the letter that decision number 194 of 1948 guarantees the Palestinian refugees' right to return to their homeland in addition to compensating them for the harm they suffered, affirming that the right of return and compensation are a single right to each Palestinian refugee and that they can't be separated.

H. Sabbagh, Ghossoun

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

Voorzichtig optimisme over vrede Midden-Oosten

Buiten George W. Bush en mij is ook Tony Blair voorzichtig optimistisch over de kansen van een vredesakkoord in 2008, dus we zijn al met zijn drieën.

Maar ik vraag me af of Blair het echt meende, of dat het een politiek correct cq. sociaal wenselijk antwoord was....

 

 

Wouter

_________________________

"Voorzichtig optimisme" na bezoek Bush

 

NOS Journaal website, 11-01-08
http://www.nos.nl/nosjournaal/artikelen/2008/1/11/110108_bush_mo.html

 
President Bush roept Israël op een einde te maken aan de bezetting van Palestijns land. Hij deed zijn oproep op de laatste dag van zijn bezoek aan Israël.

Door bezet gebied af te staan moet er ruimte komen voor een levensvatbare Palestijnse staat, zei de Amerikaanse president. Hij gaat er vanuit dat het mogelijk is om vóór het einde van zijn ambtstermijn in 2009 een vredesakkoord is tussen Israël en de Palestijnen.

Bush kon - noodgedwongen - zelf ervaren hoe frustrerend de Israëlische wegversperringen zijn voor de Palestijnen. Door mist kon hij niet met een helikopter van Jeruzalem naar Ramallah.

Controleposten

"De controleposten creëren een gevoel van veiligheid voor de Israëliërs, maar ze zijn een bron van frustratie voor de Palestijnen", aldus Bush.

Bush wil verder dat er een financiële compensatieregeling voor Palestijnse vluchtelingen moet komen. Hij zei dit in Jeruzalem na twee dagen van gesprekken met Israëlische en Palestijnse leiders.

Voorzichtig optimistisch

De Britse bemiddelaar Tony Blair was ook in het Midden-Oosten. Hij toonde zich na het bezoek van de Amerikaanse president "voorzichtig optimistisch" over een vredesakkoord in 2009.

Blair zei wel dat het voor de beide partijen niet gemakkelijk zal worden om compromissen te sluiten. Blair: "Ik denk dat mensen verrast zullen zijn dit jaar."

Aan het eind van zijn bezoek aan Israël en de Westelijke Jordaanoeveer bezocht Bush het Holocaust Monument Yad Vashem in Jeruzalem. Israël herdenkt in Yad Vashem de slachtoffers van de jodenvervolging door de nazi's.

Bush legde er een krans. Hij herinnerde eraan dat het kwaad moet worden uitgeroeid. Bush was vandaag ook bij het Meer van Galilea, waar Jezus veel zou hebben gepredikt.

Inmiddels is Bush in Koeweit. Daar gaat onder meer over Iran praten.

Zestig jaar

Bij zijn vertrek uit Israël zei Bush dat hij in mei terugkomt om de vaart in het vredesproces te houden en om viering van de zestigste verjaardag van de staat Israël bij te wonen.

 

Weer werk maken van mensenrechten - interview Maxime Verhagen

Maxime Verhagen werd in december fel aangevallen door Dries van Agt vanwege zijn Israël beleid. Hieronder geeft Verhagen een weerwoord.

 

 

Wouter

_____________________

 

Weer werk maken van mensenrechten
Van onze verslaggevers Theo Koelé, Martin Sommer

http://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article494187.ece/Weer_werk_maken_van_mensenrechten

gepubliceerd op 12 januari 2008 10:54, bijgewerkt op 12 januari 2008 11:13

Nederland heeft op het gebied van het internationaal recht een goede naam, zegt de minister van Buitenlandse Zaken. Tijd voor diplomatieke actie.

Maxime Verhagen (Joost van den Broek)

Volgende week zit minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Maxime Verhagen weer over mensenrechten te praten. Ditmaal met Amnesty en NOC*NSF-voorzitter Erica Terpstra over China en de Olympische Spelen. Mensenrechten, is Verhagens boodschap, zijn geen gebedsmolen waar je naar believen aan kunt draaien.

Onlangs bracht de minister een ambitieuze nota uit, waarin hij mensenrechten tot 'uitgangspunt' van buitenlands beleid verklaarde. Dat lijkt wellicht vanzelfsprekend, maar is het niet in de kousenvoetenwereld van de diplomatie.

Er staan stevige teksten in. Mensenrechten zijn geen westers concept, zoals cultuurrelativisten menen. Mensenrechten gelden 'altijd, overal en voor iedereen'. 'Nationale soevereiniteit kan nooit een excuus zijn' om het niet over mensenrechten te hebben. En Nederland zal 'meer dan voorheen' landen die een andere visie zijn toegedaan, trachten te overtuigen.

Aanleiding voor een gesprek met een bewindsman die 'de lat hoog legt', in zijn werkkamer met een Laatste Avondmaal van parelmoer tegen de muur. 'Gekregen van Yasser Arafat in 2000. Niet alleen mooi in zijn lelijkheid, ook opmerkelijk christelijk, vind je niet?'

Waarom die speciale nadruk op mensenrechten?

'Nederland heeft op het gebied van internationaal recht een reputatie hoog te houden. En er zijn de laatste jaren dingen veranderd. Vroeger waren het vooral regimes die tegenover hun eigen bevolking de mensenrechten schonden. Nu gaat het veelal om conflicten binnen staten, met groeperingen die zich niets gelegen laten liggen aan de rechtsregels, zoals de Lords Resistance Army in Oeganda en terroristen als Al Qaida.

'Ten tweede zijn er steeds meer landen en clubs die de geldigheid ter discussie stellen met een beroep op geloof of culturele achtergrond. De mensenrechten staan weer onder druk. Dus het is van belang een stevige strategie neer te zetten. Het is geen verplicht nummer dat Nederland die mensenrechten verdedigt.'

Hoe zit het in Afghanistan? Daar steunen we een regime dat vorig jaar nog vijftien keer de doodstraf voltrok.

'Het is niet overal ideaal, en zeker niet in Afghanistan. Maar de Taliban waren veel erger. Die hebben de mensenrechten op een schandalige manier met voeten getreden, daarover kun je lezen in De Vliegeraar. Onze aanwezigheid is juist voor vrouwen en kinderen een enorme vooruitgang.

'Tegelijk werken we aan verdere verbetering van de veiligheid, en ik spreek ook president Karzai aan, over mediawetgeving en persvrijheid. Dat levert waarborgen op die er eerder niet waren. Wij hebben bij Karzai de doodstraf en martelingen aan de orde gesteld. Daar is hij heus gevoelig voor, hij heeft zich intussen tegen de doodstraf uitgesproken. Je kunt alleen maar invloed uitoefenen als je daar zit.'

En vervolgens zeggen we dat we eind 2010 weer weg zijn. Dus dan is het weer afgelopen met de invloed.

'Ja we gaan weg als leidende natie in Uruzgan, over drie jaar vanaf nu. Ik ga ervan uit dat de situatie dan beter is. Het is waar, je kunt zover springen als je polsstok lang is. Maar we kunnen ook de NAVO in deze richting beïnvloeden. Omdat wij hebben besloten in Uruzgan te blijven, heb ik een enorme invloed op de formulering van de NAVO-strategie. Hetzelfde geldt voor het beleid van de Europese Unie. Daar kunnen wij met deze mensenrechtenstrategie invloed uitoefenen.'

U wilt samen optrekken met EU-landen, staat in de nota. Hebt u bijvoorbeeld tegen de Fransen gezegd dat ze Kadhafi eruit hadden moeten gooien?

'In de suggestie dat je alleen iets bereikt als je iemand de deur wijst, of dat je moet staan schreeuwen met een megafoon, zit een valse tegenstelling. Het middel, laten zien waar je staat, wordt dan tot doel verheven.

'Je hebt allerlei instrumenten, van stille diplomatie tot een veroordeling, of het inzetten van sancties. Wat je je steeds moet afvragen: hoe verbetert de situatie? In de Kamer dacht men dat als we geen gascontract met Rusland hadden gesloten, dat beter zou zijn geweest voor de mensenrechten. Dat slaat natuurlijk nergens op.'

Roept u dit soort reacties niet over uzelf af, met zo'n hooggestemde nota?

'Je loopt tegen dilemma's aan, dat is waar. Als je de lat niet hoog legt, krijg je nooit iets voor elkaar. En er zijn instrumenten waarmee je mensenrechten kunt dienen, daarop ben ik afrekenbaar. Er staan 102 maatregelen in de nota.'

Afrekenbaar? Door te zeggen, mijn polsstok was helaas te kort?

Verhagen springt op, beent naar zijn bureau om de nota te pakken. 'Elk hoofdstuk sluit af met concrete voornemens. Hier, Nederland zal bijdragen aan de naleving van de EU-richtlijn op gebied van folteringen, dat kun je gewoon meten.

'Er komt een human rights handbook voor ambassades. Of een importverbod voor producten die via gedwongen kinderarbeid zijn gemaakt. Daar kun je me op aanspreken. Een moeilijke is de WTO-richtlijn tegen slavenarbeid. Daar moeten we over onderhandelen. Maar als ik het niet doe, zal het in elk geval niet beter worden.'

Een van de dingen die we hebben geleerd, is dat ze in Afghanistan of Irak niet zo'n zin hebben in onze mensenrechten en democratie.

'Er is een verschil tussen het verabsoluteren van een bepaald model van democratie en de vraag of de bevolking betrokken is bij het bestuur. Als je zegt, het tweepartijenstelsel is zaligmakend, dan leg je een westers model op. Maar het gaat om de onderliggende waarde, dus het bestuur dat er zit moet vrijheid van meningsuiting respecteren, vrouwenrechten, godsdienstvrijheid.'

Begint u nu bij elke reis naar Pakistan of Saoedi-Arabië over homorechten en vrouwenrechten?

'Dat wordt inderdaad een aanmerkelijk zwaarder onderdeel van het beleid. Ik heb bij de Saoedi's geprotesteerd tegen de veroordeling van een verkrachte vrouw. Met effect: ze kreeg gratie, de vrouw hoefde niet de cel in en onderging geen zweepslagen.

'Het betekent niet dat ik in Rusland alleen maar praat over onderdrukking van de oppositie of het niet toestaan van een demonstratie voor homorechten. Juist het onderhouden van contact, ook op economisch gebied, geeft de mogelijkheid daarover te spreken. En overigens heeft het bedrijfsleven baat bij stabiliteit en dus handhaving van de mensenrechten.'

Uw partijgenoot Van Agt trok onlangs flink tegen u van leer. U zou eenzijdig pro-Israël zijn, wel klagen over Hamas maar geen woord over Israëlische mensenrechtenschendingen en de muur. Had hij een punt?

'Nee. Ik heb wel degelijk kritiek geuit, in persoonlijke contacten met mijn Israëlische collega Livni, en ook schriftelijk. Over administratieve detentie, over illegale nederzettingen, over het openstellen van de grens voor groenten en fruit uit Gaza. Dat laatste is ook gelukt, alleen door mijn interventie. Maar precies omdat mensenrechten altijd en overal gelden, is het verkeerd om alléén Israël tot de orde te roepen.

'Hamas is in Gaza met grof geweld aan de macht gekomen, daar heb ik Van Agt nooit over gehoord. Noch over de vrijheid van meningsuiting of de mensenrechten daar. Noch over raketten of granaten die naar Israël worden geschoten en de honderden gewonden als gevolg daarvan. Het is altijd maar Israël.

'Die onevenwichtigheid zie je ook in de VN mensenrechtenraad. Vier resoluties tegen Israël, maar ik wil ook resoluties zien over Soedan, Zimbabwe of Birma. Als de kritiek is je doet niks aan Israël, dan werp ik die verre van me.'

Is de stemming in Nederland anti-Israël geworden?

'Zo zou ik het niet willen zeggen. Het is wel zo dat de stemming anders is dan in de jaren zestig –  toen Nederland als één man achter Israel stond.' Even stilte. Fijntjes: 'Of tijdens het premierschap van Van Agt.'

Hoe verhoudt zich het boerkaverbod, waar het CDA vóór is, tot de vrijheid van godsdienst?

'We hebben in Nederland godsdienstvrijheid. Het boerkaverbod hebben we beargumenteerd met een beroep op de openbare orde. Als je van top tot teen bedekt loopt, vorm je een potentieel gevaar voor de veiligheid. We kunnen een boerka verbieden, maar ook een gezichtsbedekkende integraalhelm.'

Hoe staat het met de film van Wilders? Heeft hij ook recht op vrije meningsuiting, of heeft u geprobeerd hem van de film af te houden?

'Iedereen heeft het recht op vrijheid van meningsuiting, maar dat betekent niet een plicht tot kwetsen. Wilders is zelf naar me toe gekomen, hij wilde lunchen. Natuurlijk heb ik ook gesproken over de indruk die zijn opvattingen nalaten in het buitenland.

'Ik zou geen knip voor de neus waard zijn als ik dat niet deed. Als minister van Buitenlandse Zaken moet ik de belangen van Nederlanders in het buitenland in het oog houden. In die verantwoordelijkheid kan ik Wilders wijzen op mogelijke consequenties van woorden of beelden.'

Er is 40 miljoen beschikbaar voor mensenrechtenbeleid. Waarom steekt u niet één miljoen per jaar in de veiligheid van Ayaan Hirsi Ali?

'Nederland staat op het standpunt dat voor haar veiligheid wordt gezorgd op Nederlands grondgebied, en dat dat in Amerika voor rekening van de Amerikaanse overheid is. Die discussie is in de Kamer gevoerd, het zou vreemd zijn als het anders werd op basis van deze mensenrechtennotitie.'

Mensenrechten gelden altijd en overal – en er komt ook steun voor activisten in het buitenland. U zou geweldig de blits maken als u voor Hirsi Ali genereus de portemonnee trok.

'Als ik de blits wilde maken, werd ik voetballer ofzo. Het is een valse voorstelling van zaken. Nederland steunt personen die de mensenrechten verdedigen. Maar dat schept niet de verplichting iedereen te betalen voor zijn of haar bewaking. Je kunt je instrumenten niet groter maken dan ze zijn.'

 

CV
1956 Op 14 september geboren in Maastricht. Doorliep atheneum-A, studeerde geschiedenis in Leiden
1986 doctoraal examen
1984-1987 medewerker CDA-Kamerlid, daarna fractiemedewerker Europese zaken, ontwikkelingssamenwerking, handelspolitiek
1986-1989 lid, daarna fractieleider CDA in gemeenteraad Oegstgeest
1989-1994 lid Europees Parlement
1994-2002 lid Tweede Kamer
2002-2007 CDA-fractieleider
2007 minister van Buitenlandse Zaken

Maxime Verhagen is getrouwd met Annemieke Beijlevelt. Het echtpaar heeft drie kinderen.

Libië als voorzitter VN Veiligheidsraad blijft eigen principes trouw

Libië als voorzitter van de VN Veiligheidsraad. Het lijkt een nachtmerrie maar is de naakte werkelijkheid. En als zodanig weet men de eigen principes trouw te blijven.

 

Is het verwonderlijk dat velen in Israël de VN met wantrouwen bekijken en cynisch zijn over kwalificaties als 'schending van het internationaal recht'?


Ratna

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Last update - 09:47 10/01/2008

Libya thwarts Security Council censure of Shlomi missile strike

By Shlomo Shamir and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents and Reuters
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/943543.html

Libya, which last week took over the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council after decades as a pariah of the West, is hindering diplomatic efforts spearheaded by Israel to issue a resolution condemning Tuesday's Katyusha strike on the Galilee, Haaretz has learned.

Two Katyusha rockets struck the western Galilee town of Shlomi, causing no injuries early Tuesday morning. One of the rockets lightly damaged a house, and the second hit a street in the town.

The main bone of contention centers around an Israeli demand that the resolution include language that characterizes the rocket strike as a violation of UN Security Council 1701, which officially ended the Second Lebanon War.
 
The Libyan ambassador who assumed the council presidency, Giadalla Ettalhi, let it be known that his government rejects any reference to 1701, citing the UN position that there is no definitive proof that the rocket fire emanated from Lebanon.

Though Jerusalem has indicated a willingness to compromise on references to Lebanon in the document, it continues to insist that Resolution 1701 be cited in any censure.

For its part, Tripoli seeks to include language condemning the Israel Air Force flights over southern Lebanon in any resolution, a position which Israel rejects.

As president, Libya's ambassador to the UN is obliged to maintain contacts with all of the world body's member states, including Israel - with which it currently has no diplomatic relations. Diplomatic sources, however, doubted on Tuesday whether Libya would act so with reference to Israel.

The North African country was elected in October, as were Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia and Vietnam, to sit on the council in 2008-09 after the United States, which foiled two earlier bids by Tripoli, decided not to block it this time.

By an alphabetical accident, Libya becomes president of the 15-nation body from its very first day as a member, succeeding Italy. Each country is president for a month, the rotation going in English alphabetical order of names.

Libya and Burkina Faso had been unopposed after being endorsed by the African regional grouping for two African seats that fell vacant on Dec. 31.

The Security Council is the powerhouse of the United Nations, with the ability to send peacekeeping troops around the world and impose sanctions on specific countries.

Unlike the five permanent members - the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China - the nonpermanent members have no individual veto. But an alliance of seven of them can stop a resolution even if the big powers want it.

Libya has only recently rehabilitated itself in Western eyes from an accused sponsor of terrorism that organized the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Scotland, which killed 270 people.

Sderot weer onder vuur door Qassams en granaten

Voor de zoveelste keer wist een moeder met haar kind in Sderot net aan de dood te ontkomen. En voor de zoveelste keer sloeg een Qassam raket vlak bij een lagere school in. Het is een wonder dat niet vaker dodelijke slachtoffers vallen bij de vrijwel dagelijkse beschietingen op Sderot en omgeving. De inwoners van Sderot hebben gelijk wanneer zij zeggen zich genegeerd te voelen.

 

Dit geldt echter niet alleen voor de Israëlische regering, maar vooral ook voor de internationale gemeenschap en al die humanitaire organisaties die moord en brand schreeuwen over de situatie in Gaza, maar Sderot geen blik waardig gunnen. En al helemaal niet op het idee komen dat een einde aan de raketten op Sderot tot de door hun zo gewenste opening van grensovergangen met Gaza zou leiden.

 

 

Ratna

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Jan 9, 2008 9:50 | Updated Jan 10, 2008 0:41

Sderot comes under fire, again
By REBECCA ANNA STOIL AND YAAKOV KATZ
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517332008&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Gazans greeted US President George W. Bush with more than a dozen Kassam rockets and mortar shells on Wednesday, including one instance in which a mother and baby narrowly escaped death as a rocket slammed in to the Sderot house in which they were staying.

Shortly thereafter, Palestinians said, two Gazans were killed and four were wounded by an IAF strike in Bet Hanun.

Palestinians said the two fatalities were innocent bystanders - Hadra Wahdan, 52, and Muhammad Kfarneh, 15.

The attacks began shortly before 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, when four rockets were fired at Israeli communities in the western Negev. Two hours later, a second barrage was launched - and this time, rockets hit Sderot, with one landing in the yard of a home on Rehov Hehalutz and damaging the building. One person was treated for shock.

After a few hours of relative quiet, the Kassams began to pound the western Negev once again - this time, causing more injuries and damage. A Kassam hit the roof of an empty house in the beleaguered city, and a second struck near an elementary school.

Minutes later, one person was wounded in the legs by shrapnel and three suffered from shock when yet another rocket hit Sderot.

One rocket crashed through the roof of a house where a young mother lived together with her infant son. Fortunately, they were in another room. The Popular Resistance Committees took responsibility for the attack.

Eight other rockets hit open areas, causing no damage.

The woman's husband was at work in the center of the country, but the woman's brother-in-law, Sderot resident Danny Dahan, said that as soon as she heard the "Color Red" rocket warning, she grabbed her baby, "ran into the bomb shelter and was saved by a miracle." Dahan, hearing of the strike, ran to the house and "saw a rocket that had disintegrated the young boy's bed," he told Army Radio.

"How much more can we stand? How strong can we be? We're being abandoned," said a tearful Dahan.

Less than an hour later, a Kassam scored a direct hit on a building at a nearby kibbutz, and a second rocket exploded nearby. Residents of the kibbutz emphasized that their community did not have reinforced buildings to protect against such attacks.

Residents at another nearby kibbutz were surprised to discover that a rocket had landed in one of their henhouses, but fortunately - for kibbutzniks and chickens alike - it did not explode.

In response to the attacks, the IDF struck an Islamic Jihad terror cell in the northern Gaza Strip that the army said was behind the mortar fire. Palestinian medics said one gunman was killed and six were wounded.

While the IDF has scaled back operations in Gaza due to Bush's visit to Jerusalem, defense officials said the military would continue to act against Kassam launch squads and other terrorists in the advanced stages of preparing attacks. The officials predicted that the Palestinians would continue to fire Kassam rockets at the western Negev throughout Bush's visit, which ends on Friday.

Bush: Palestijnse staat en compensatie zijn oplossing voor vluchtelingenvraagstuk

Mensen vinden me wel eens naief, en ik ben ook wel eens naief. Niet zo naief als in mijn jonge jaren, en niet zo naief als George W. Bush.

Toch lijk ik tot de zeer weinigen te behoren die enigszins optimistisch zijn over de huidige vredesonderhandelingen. Daar zijn een paar wellicht naieve redenen voor:

 

1) Er zijn echte vredesonderhandelingen, voor het eerst in 7 jaar; en de vorige keer waren die onderhandelingen geëindigd met een verklaring dat de partijen nog nooit zo dicht bij elkaar waren gekomen als toen. Er zou dus een redelijke basis moeten zijn om nu verder te komen.

 

2) Olmert zowel als Bush spreken zich zeer onomwonden - zelfs ondiplomatiek - uit voor het stichten van een Palestijnse staat. Vorige keer wou Israël zich daar nog niet openlijk voor uitspreken, hoewel het vredesproces feitelijk volgens iedereen geen andere uitslag zou kunnen hebben. Olmert is bovendien hard aan het werk om zijn achterban daarvan te overtuigen.

 

Wat nog ontbreekt zijn gedurfde uitspraken van Palestijnse kant dat men echt tot concessies bereid is.

 

Oh ja, en dat praktische probleempje in Gaza....

 

 

Wouter

____________________

Last update - 20:24 10/01/2008

Bush: Palestinian statehood and compensation are solution to refugee issue 
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/943314.html

By Aluf Benn and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents, The Associated Press and Haaretz Service 

U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday laid out his vision for resolving some of the most contentious issues dividing Israelis and Palestinians, including the matter of Palestinian refugees, which he said would be resolved by the creation of a Palestinian state and compensation.

"I believe we need to look to the establishment of a Palestinian state and new international mechanisms, including compensation, to resolve the refugee issue," said Bush, in a statement summing up two days of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Bush arrived in Israel for a three-day on Wednesday.

"There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967," continued Bush. "The agreement must establish Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people, just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people."

"These negotiations must ensure that Israel has secure, recognized, and defensible borders," he said. "And they must ensure that the state of Palestine is viable, contiguous, sovereign, and independent."

The U.S. president reiterated a previous commitment he gave to then prime minister Ariel Sharon, saying Israel should not be expected to withdraw fully from territory captured in the Six-Day War.

"While territory is an issue for both parties to decide, I believe that any peace agreement between them will require mutually agreed adjustments to the armistice lines of 1949 to reflect current realities and to ensure that the Palestinian state is viable and contiguous," he said.

He offered no specifics to resolve the conflicting claims to Jerusalem, but urged both sides to work toward a solution. "I know Jerusalem is a tough issue," Bush said. "Both sides have deeply felt political and religious concerns."

"I fully understand that finding a solution to this issue will be one of the most difficult challenges on the road to peace, but that is the road we have chosen to walk," he added.

The president said Israel and the Palestinians must both live up to their commitments under the long-dormant road map for peace.

"On the Israeli side that includes ending settlement expansion and removing unauthorized outposts," Bush said. On the Palestinian side that includes confronting terrorists and dismantling terrorist infrastructure ... no agreement and no Palestinian state will be born of terror."

Bush added that the sides should be able to reach an agreement by the end of 2008, as they agreed to do at the U.S.-hosted Middle East peace conference in Annapolis in November.

"A peace agreement should happen and can happen by the end of this year," said the American president. "I know both leaders share this important goal and I am committed to helping both sides achieve it."

Within minutes, Bush's national security adviser Stephen Hadley said the president would return to the Middle East at least once and maybe more over the next year. He wouldn't elaborate on possible destinations.

Bush also called on Arab states to reach out to Israel, saying this was "long overdue."

Bush names U.S. General as new road map monitor

Bush earlier named Lt. Gen. William Fraser to monitor the Israeli-Palestinian "road map" for peace, the White House said Thursday.

Fraser, who has served as assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will "help monitor road map commitments", White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

The U.S. president met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah earlier in the day, telling a press conference that he is confident that the Israelis and the Palestinians will reach a peace deal in 2008.

"In order for there to be lasting peace, President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert have to come together and make tough choices," Bush said at a joint press conference with Abbas.

"And I'm convinced they will. And I believe it's possible - not only possible, I believe it's going to happen - that there be a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office [in January 2009]. That's what I believe."

Bush spent much of Thursday in the West Bank, including a pilgrimage to Jesus' traditional birth grotto in biblical Bethlehem.

The president arrived at Abbas' headquarters on Thursday for his first-ever visit to the Palestinian territories. Abbas greeted Bush as he emerged from his car in the walled compound. The two men walked side by side along a red carpet, flanked by Palestinian security in olive-and-gold uniforms.

He also accused terrorists of trying to ruin Palestinian hopes for statehood.

Abbas "knows that a handful of people want to dash the expectations of the Palestinian people," he said. "I appreciate your [Abbas'] understanding that the way to achieve peace is to offer an alternative vision of liberty."

The president said that the Americans are "very much engaged" in peace negotiations. "I am confident that with proper help, the state of Palestine will emerge... I am confident that the status quo is unacceptable, Mr. President," he said to Abbas.

Responding to a question about West Bank settlements, Bush said that "each side has got obligations under the road map... we have made our concerns about the expansion of settlements known."

Under the U.S.-backed road map for peace, Israel must halt the expansion of settlements in the first phase, and Palestinian security services must counter terrorism.

"I believe Palestinian security forces are improving... my message to the Israelis is that they ought to help, not hinder, the modernization of the Palestinian security forces," Bush said.

Abbas: Palestinians seek a state with Jerusalem as its capital

Abbas said that he and Bush agreed on the points they raised during the meeting. During the press conference, he spelled out Palestinian demands, saying that his people seek a state with "Jerusalem as its capital and an end to the refugee problem, in accordance with UN decisions."

"The Palestinian people, who are committed to peace, want to move freely in their country, with no roadblocks, [separation] fence or settlements... We want to see a different future, without thousands of prisoners in jail and innocent deaths. We want to stop the closure," Abbas continued.

In response to a question on Israel Defense Forces checkpoints in the West Bank, designed to prevent terror attacks on Israelis targets but which hinder Palestinian freedom of movement, Bush said he identified with both sides' positions.

He said that the Israelis "don't want a state on their border on which attacks can be launched. I can understand that... The checkpoints create security for Israel and they create frustrations for Palestinians."

On the Gaza Strip, which is under the control of the extremist Hamas movement since a bloody June takeover, Bush said that "there is a competing vision taking place in Gaza."

"Hamas... has delivered nothing but misery. I'm convinced his [Abbas'] government will yield a hopeful future."

Abbas echoed the sentiments, saying, "Hamas has to retreat from its coup, then we can talk."

Ahead of the visit, Palestinian police sealed off streets and erected checkpoints in large parts of the city, and residents in nearby buildings were told to stay away from windows and balconies. Palestinian security officials said U.S. snipers were being deployed in the area.

 

PA misleidt Israël in akties tegen terroristen

Doet de Palestijnse Autoriteit tegen terrorisme wat het kan? Volgens velen is Israëls wantrouwen onterecht, of erger: verhindert Israël een effectieve aanpak van Palestijnse extremisten door de PA omdat dit niet in haar belang zou zijn.

 

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

The Security Apparatus of the Palestinian Authority

Excerpt from Palestinian Terrorism in 2007 Statistics and Trends
Government of Israel
www.mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/75FC2B98-A581-4C89-88AC-7C3C1D1BC097/0/Terrorism2007report.pdf
....


Wanted Persons Use of Palestinian Authority Buildings for Refuge

In recent years, wanted Tanzim members from Ramallah and nearby villages used PA buildings throughout the city, including the Mukata compound [Palestinian Authority headquarters] and military intelligence headquarters in other places, as a place to hide from Israelis security forces and as a base from which to carry out terrorist attacks.

Over the past year, a number of messages have been delivered to the heads of the Palestinian Authority regarding the presence of wanted persons at these locations, but to no avail. For example, an extensive operation was carried out in March 2007 to arrest wanted persons, including many Tanzim operatives, who had been hiding for a long time in Palestinian military intelligence headquarters in the 'Ein Umm a-Sarayit neighborhood in Ramallah. In the operation, Israel's security forces arrested 20 wanted persons, among them Yunis Gamal Yunis Kafri, 24, who had fired at IDF troops in Ramallah and at separation fence guards and had been involved in an attempt to abduct a Jewish civilian and in the abduction and interrogation of suspected collaborators.

Security Apparatus's Pretend Arrests and Interdictions

Palestinian security forces on several occasions made false representations of extensive, significant operations to interdict attacks. For example, on 25-26 September, the Palestinians announced to the media that, at a house in Bethlehem, it had seized two Kassam missiles aimed at Jerusalem and a number of explosive charges and a suspicious suitcase. In fact, a professional examination by a sapper revealed that the "missiles" were empty pipes without any propellant material or flying capability, and certainly not capable of causing any damage.

An example of false representation of arrests by the Palestinian security apparatuses occurred with respect to the arrest, on 4 December 2007, of Hassan Dabak, 26, from Jericho, a member of the Palestinian National Security Force. Dabak was arrested for belonging to the Fatah-Tanzim cell that planned terrorist attacks at the Jericho bypass route, and for supplying arms to the group. Israel had requested the Palestinian security forces to arrest Dabak, who posed a danger to the security of the region and was engaged in planning attacks. The Palestinians replied that he had been detained but, upon investigation, it was found that he was moving about freely in Jericho. He was then arrested by the IDF and handed over for interrogation by the ISA.

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