By W. Patrick Lang and Ray McGovern
TomPaine.com
"As Robert Gates takes the helm at the Pentagon today, he is probably already aware that Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush are resolute in their decision to stay the course in Iraq (without using those words) for the next two years. What he probably does not realize is that the U.S. military is about to commit hara-kiri.
The media are abuzz with trial balloons with official leaks that President George W. Bush is about to approve a “surge” in U.S. troop strength in Iraq by tens of thousands. At the same time, surge advocate Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., just back from a brief visit to the Green Zone with fellow surgers John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., has warned that “the amount of troops will make no difference” if Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki avoids taking “bold” moves. The three pretend to be unaware that the most important move for which they pressed—breaking with radical Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr—would amount to political suicide for Maliki....."
Continued.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Abbas punishes Kaddoumi for rejecting early elections
"Amman - The Palestinian ambassador to Jordan Atta Khairy on Monday closed down offices of the PLO's political department in his embassy in implementation of written orders by PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, a senior Palestinian source in Amman revealed.
He told Quds Press that the decision was glued to the door of that office and all employees were expelled while the guesthouse prepared for Farouk Kaddoumi, the PLO political department head, in Amman was also closed down.
The measures followed Kaddoumi's supportive stand of the ten Palestinian factions in Damascus that rejected Abbas' call for early legislative elections in the PA-run lands.
Khairy, for his part, justified the measure saying that closure of the office in his embassy was due to the fact that it duplicated his diplomatic work.
Meanwhile, Kaddoumi met with Khaled Mishaal, the Hamas political department head in Damascus, for a discussion on latest developments in the Palestinian lands topped by Abbas' call.
Both men called for continuation of internal Palestinian dialogue until a national unity government was formed and rejected holding early legislative and presidential elections.
They also condemned the assassination attempt against PA premier Ismail Haneyya and denounced the murder of the three children in Gaza a week ago describing it as a "cowardly act".
They also demanded a halt to attacks on private and public buildings in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and advocated reactivation of bilateral relations between Hamas and Fatah Movements. "
War Pimp Alert: Framing Iran
Israeli intelligence warns Hamas gunmen being trained in Iran
"Israeli military officials said Monday that dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Hamas militants recently left the Gaza Strip to receive advanced military training in Iran.
The training is similar to that received by thousands of Hezbollah guerrillas from Lebanon over the past few years, and Israel fears it will greatly improve Hamas' military capability in any future battle with Israel Defense Forces troops in Gaza, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter."
"Israeli military officials said Monday that dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Hamas militants recently left the Gaza Strip to receive advanced military training in Iran.
The training is similar to that received by thousands of Hezbollah guerrillas from Lebanon over the past few years, and Israel fears it will greatly improve Hamas' military capability in any future battle with Israel Defense Forces troops in Gaza, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter."
Elliot Abrams Must Go
By Juan Cole
"Back to Washington. The remaining Neoconservatives in the Bush administration, like David Wurmser in Cheney's office and Abrams at the NSC have been agitating behind the scenes for war on Syria and Iran. These people hate peace the way the devil hates holy water. They confess themselves actively disappointed when a war doesn't happen. They helped send US troops into Iraq where 24,000 have been wounded or killed, and they'd just love to expend some more lives on other pet projects.
That does it. Elliot Abrams must go. Elliot Abrams is a felon. He was involved in stealing Pentagon weapons from US stockpiles, selling them to the Ayatollah Khomeini, and then stealing the Iranian funds so garnered to give to far-right Central American death squads, and then lying about all this to Congress. The Congress in the Constitution controls the budget. The Congress had cut off money to the rightwing death squads supported by Reagan and henchmen like Abrams. This elaborate criminal conspiracy inside the White House was the Right's response. They shredded the Constitution (and ever since have been calling their critics "unpatriotic.")
In 1991, Abrams pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of lying to Congress under oath. Without the plea deal, he was facing felony charges, since what he did was in fact a felony.
Congress pledged that Abrams would never work at a high level in government again. But by the time the Neoconservative cabal in the Bush administration got Bush to appoint him to the National Security Council, there had been so much turn-over in Congress that, one member told me, "no one remembered who Abrams was."
I'm serious about this, everyone. The bloggers are touted as influential, but their influence is hard to measure or prove. Let's make this a test case.
Can Kos help? Eschaton? Talkingpointsmemo? And, it needn't be only one side of the aisle. A lot of principled persons on the right are deeply troubled by the criminality of this administration.
Please write your congressional representative and your senators and demand that they hold hearings on why Elliot Abrams is in charge of Middle East policy in the Bush White House.
Enough of being ruled by criminals and liars and warmongers. Enough of censorship and attacks on our Constitution. Elliot Abrams must go."
Counterproductive U.S. "Advice" to Palestinians
Slide of Palestinian divide into the brink of a US sponsored civil war
by Nicola Nasser
(a veteran Arab journalist based in Ramallah, West Bank of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories)
Global Research, December 18, 2006
"RAMALLAH. December 18, 2006. Regardless of good will or bad faith, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to go without national consensus to early presidential and parliamentary elections was divisive, counterproductive and conforms to U.S.-Israeli plans to remove the Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” from power or pressure it into accepting what its rival Fatah had accepted: A peace process on their dictated terms and conditions.
“I have decided to call for early presidential and parliamentary elections,” Abbas said in a televised 90-minute speech on Saturday, in an effort to break a political nine-month deadlocked dialogue mainly bilateral between Fatah, the former ruling movement, and the incumbent Hamas. “Let’s return to the people to have their say, and let them be the judge.”
Early election was among several options floated with the aim of outmaneuvering Hamas including a referendum, declaring a state of emergency, calling for early legislative election, forming an emergency government or a government of independents or technocrats.
Chairman of the Higher Committee of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Hanna M. Nasser, said after a meeting with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday that the CEC needs 110 days after the issuance of the relevant presidential decree, which has yet to be issued, to organize the election; the CEC decided five days earlier to start updating the voter's list as from mid-January 2007.
Close aide to Abbas and member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Yasser Abed Rabbo, said he expected the election to take place in the next three months, but Saeb Erekat, another senior aide and chief negotiator, said they might not happen until June.
Accordingly a time space is still available to mediate the Palestinian divide; Abbas’ decision could be used as a pressure tactic to prod the political protagonists into a common ground either for a consensus to form a national unity government, in which case the elections become irrelevant, or a consensus to go to the polls, which precludes the slide into civil war.
Abbas could be once again maneuvering to pressure Hamas into giving in to the Israeli-U.S. conditions. “My aim,” he said, “is a national unity government to lift this crisis and siege.” This is, after all, the same Abbas who once threatened to hold a referendum on the prisoners' document and changed his mind; and now he is threatening early elections and could change his mind.
However he hardly finished his speech than his decision backfired. Hamas legislators and cabinet ministers had boycotted Abbas’ speech and Hamas leaders immediately called his declaration illegal and tantamount to a coup.
The Hamas-led Palestinian government of Haniyeh on Sunday refused Abbas’ decision as “unconstitutional” and condemned his speech as divisive. Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar said that the call for new elections is illegal: “We will not participate … If he (Abbas) is tired, he should resign and we’ll have a presidential election.” Haniyeh’s senior adviser, Ahmed Yousef, was more blunt: “Abu Mazen (Abbas) is not part of the solution anymore. He is part of the problem now,” he said. Reiterating an earlier similar warning by Zahar, Yousef had warned in Gaza on Saturday: “Today what we have heard from Abu Mazen is a call … for a civil war.”
But Abbas on Saturday played down the warning: “The removal of the government is not a recipe for civil war, as suggested by Zahar. Firing the government is a constitutional right that I can exercise when I want.” Many political experts, even in his own Fatah movement, believe he only has the right to fire the current prime minister and cabinet, but under the Palestinian Basic Law, only the legislature can dissolve itself, these experts say, according to The New York Times.
Ahmed Baher, the deputy speaker of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislature Council (PLC), said that Abbas “can’t dismiss the legislative council. Such a decision violates the basic law.” The PLC is like the government paralyzed and could not convene on Sunday. The Palestinian Basic Law, which acts as a constitution, has no provision for calling early elections. Fatah officials say Abbas can do so by issuing a presidential decree. Hamas says that would be illegal.
Abbas’ decision however has only escalated the mutual incitement and the war of words is exacerbating an already tense situation, which spelled over to the streets in massive pro and con demonstrations across the West Bank and Gaza Strip and threatens to turn into armed mass expression of support or protest, the ideal environment for a flare up into a full-fledged civil war.
Abbas cited several reasons behind his decision: The divide arising from a two-head political system should be resolved, the national dialogue has reached an impasse and he has to act, the dual U.S.-Israeli economic siege on both Abbas and Hamas should be lifted sooner than later by a government mandated to do so by conforming to the conditions set by Israel and adopted by the Quartet of the U.S., U.N., EU and Russia, and to end the security chaos that has claimed 320 Palestinian lives, a figure reported by MP and former foreign minister Nabil Shaath to be 400 during the past three months.
Contributing Factors
On all accounts Abbas’ decision is proving counterproductive. It was advised by the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she met the Palestinian president in Jericho at the end of November and recommended by the PLO executive committee earlier this month.
The PLO recommendation could be a bad advice out of a good will to break through an impasse, although the PLO represents one side of the Palestinian divide vis-à-vis Hamas, but Rice’s advice could not be judged except as given in bad faith.
Palestinian polarization into a brink of civil war is being fueled by several factors, but mainly by the active and direct U.S. , Israeli and European contribution to the divide by taking sides; this factor is too influential to allow in more constructive international influences. The absence of Arab mediation and the Arab League divide over several Middle Eastern hot issues is another important contributing factor. Internally the marginal role of factions other than Fatah and Hamas and the non-existence of a third mainstream party that could provide a balancing power to bridge the divide is a third factor.
The Israeli government, the U.S. administration and the European Union welcomed Abbas’ move and pledged support; at the same time the Jordanian minister of information, an Egyptian statement, the U.N. Secretary General and Russia ’s foreign ministry as well as Syria and Iran urged Palestinians to preserve their national unity and to de-escalate.
Israel and the U.S. are not neutral in the inter-Palestinian crisis. They were inciting the PLO and its autonomous Palestinian Authority (PA) to take on armed resistance to the Israeli 40-year old occupation long before Hamas assumed power. Their incitement was fleshed with more muscle after the Islamic movement came to power through ballots, which they themselves financed and monitored. Bringing in the EU to join them they imposed a devastating economic siege on both heads of the Palestinian leadership. However they spared their political and diplomatic siege to one head, the Hamas-led government, and selectively streamed in only humanitarian aid through the other head, which they continued to flesh with more muscle.
According to USINFO, Rice has said its administration will request from the Congress additional funding to support the mission of the U.S. security envoy, Army Major General Keith Dayton, who is leading an effort to train and equip Palestinian security forces controlled by Abbas since November last year; nonetheless Rice blamed the recent violence on Hamas’ “inability to govern” and White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo denied on Friday that Washington was meddling in Palestinian “internal affairs!”
The U.S.-Israeli blockade did not start with the election of Hamas on January 25 but was imposed on the PA since the collapse of the Camp David summit talks in 2000; late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was a prominent casualty. The hundreds of millions of dollars in tax monies owed to the PA were withheld by Israel before that. Even the Arab League financial pledges were not enough to bail out the salaries of the PA employees and the PA was compelled to borrow more than $600 million from local banks before Hamas came to power.
In fact both heads of the Palestinian leadership are now under siege; the aim did not change since 2000: Give in to the will of the Israeli occupation or starve to yielding!
Regional Spillover Inevitable
The accelerating slide of the Palestinian divide into the brink of a low key civil war is a direct result of U.S. shirking of its responsibilities vis-à-vis the regional peace process, its unbalanced and biased foreign policy in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, its unwavering commitment to its strategic alliance with Israel at the expense of its Arab strategic allies who have proved their worth much better than the Jewish state in many regional conflicts during the past decades, and its preoccupation with other Middle East issues that are less central to the security of the region, which is pivotal and more vital for U.S. interests.
Washington is currently preoccupied with coordinating an “arch of moderation,” which it hopes would lump up together Arab moderates and Israel to stand up to the so-called Syrian-Iranian “axis of evil,” but is shooting its plan in the legs by dictating to the Palestinians and meddling in their internal affairs. How could any Arab state subscribe to such a scheme when the U.S. fails to provide for the success of the long-awaited and much-trumpeted Abbas summit meeting with the Israeli Prime minister Ehud Olmert?
Both U.S. allies Jordan and Egypt tried to add the resumption of the Palestinian –Israeli peace process to the agenda of President George W. Bush during his last visit to Amman; both hoped Bush could arrange for Abbas-Olmert meeting or at least would meet Abbas to pave the way for such a summit; instead he sent Rice to meet the Palestinian president in Jericho, where she denied him even promises to secure Israeli reciprocity to sustain the renewed Palestinian unilaterally-declared and honored two-year old truce and gave him in bad faith her bad advice to outmaneuver Hamas by going to polls, knowing beforehand her advice would only deepen the Palestinian divide and polarization.
It was a counterproductive advice. Sustaining the Palestinian divide and allowing it to slide into civil war would only defer the peace process indefinitely and prolong the suffering of the Palestinian people, but would not also spare the Arab as well as the Israeli neighbors the expected repercussions.
A full-blown civil war in the Occupied Palestinian Territories inevitably “would also boil over to us,” Ron Ben Yishai wrote in the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronot on Dec. 15; a civil war would also thwart any attempt to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis through negotiations and would almost certainly lead to the most radical elements taking over Palestinian society.
Egypt and Jordan may also be hit by unfriendly ricochets from this civil war, so they, just like Israel , have a clear interest in stopping this deterioration at this point before it completely spirals out of control, Ben Yishai warned.
How could such a development contribute to defusing the already explosive regional situation to serve U.S. interests as envisaged by the Baker-Hamilton report is a question for Bush and Rice to answer!"
US Financed Israel Bombing of Lebanon
US Financed Israel Bombing of Lebanon: Putin reported 'furious' over US payment for Lebanon war
CIA Egypt terror ring
An Interesting Article
by Sorcha Faal
Global Research, December 18, 2006
"Reports from the Kremlin today are portraying President Putin as being 'furious' with the American War Leader Bush over his breaking of a promise to the Russian President to not provide US funding to the Israelis for their Lebanese War. Less than 3 weeks after making this promise the United States used a little known provision in their security agreements with Israel to fully pay for the war, and as we can read as reported by Israel's Ynet News Service in their article titled "US to double emergency equipment stored in Israel", and which says:
"The American Congress gave Israel financial and security encouragement when the Senate and the House of Representatives gave their approval to double the emergency equipment the United States stores in Israeli stockpiles. Within the next two years the Americans will fill the military emergency stockpiles in Israel with double the equipment they now hold.
In addition, the US will allow Israel to use the remainder of the US's monetary guarantees given to them that have not been used yet, and add up to USD 4.5 billion, by 2011. The emergency stockpiles are meant to store American military equipment in the Middle East in case of an emergency. However, in case of an emergency, Israel is allowed to use the stockpiles. The bill was approved by the Senate and House and it renewed authority to transfer equipment to be stored in Israel.
A great portion of the American equipment stored in Israel last year was used for combat in the summer war in Lebanon."
In an even greater affront to Russia, and its supposed Middle Eastern ally Egypt, these reports also accuse the United States of operating a CIA/French Intelligence backed terror ring on Egyptian territory for the recruitment of foreign fighters to be deployed in the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars, but which Egyptian authorities had infiltrated and arrested the American and French Ringleaders, and as we can read as reported by the Forbes News Service in their article titled "Egypt Releases Details on American Man", and which says:
"Security officials in Egypt released new details Monday about an American man in their custody on suspicion of links to a terror network which allegedly recruits Muslims to fight the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. In Washington, the administration said Monday it expected an American detained in Egypt as a suspected terrorist to be freed.
The American was arrested late last month along with 11 Europeans and an unknown number of Egyptians and Arabs from other countries who were accused of belonging to an Islamist terror cell plotting attacks. Egyptian authorities expelled eight French citizens and two Belgians on Thursday. Another French citizen was in custody along with the American.
The State Department has criticized Egypt for refusing to grant U.S. officials timely access to the arrested American."
Egyptian authorities became further outraged when the French Intelligence Agents plotting with the CIA, and who were deported to France with the understanding that they would be prosecuted, were released by French Authorities, and as we can read as reported by the International Herald Tribune in their article titled "French police release 8 terror suspects expelled from Egypt", and which says:
"French anti-terrorist police have freed eight Frenchmen accused by Egyptian authorities of plotting attacks in the Middle East and expelled from Egypt, judicial officials said Sunday. The eight Frenchmen were arrested upon their arrival in France on Friday. The DSAT anti-terrorist agency released four Saturday, and four more Sunday, the judicial officials said."
Aside from the tragedy of the American and French Governments having to recruit combatants to fight against their own soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is with noted irony that the CIA finds one of its own operatives in the custody of the Egyptian secret police forces at the same time that Italian authorities are preparing to indict 26 CIA agents for the kidnapping and turning over to those same Egyptian secret police an Egyptian Cleric, and as we can read as reported by the AP News Service in their article titled "Italian Court Moves Closer To Indicting CIA Agents", and which says:
"Italy has set a date to bring possible indictments against its own intelligence service in the case of an Egyptian cleric. Over 30 U.S. and Italian intelligence agents may face charges after the extraordinary rendition of Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr in Milan.
According to prosecutors, 26 US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents and five officials from the Italian Military Intelligence and Security Service (SISMI), including former SISMI chief Nicola Pollari, were involved in the abduction, where Nasr was sent to Egypt and tortured."
To the much greater danger of these actions by the United States, however, is the fueling of tensions and hostilities in a part of the World that needs little more incentive to ignite our entire Globe into a scenario of Total War."
The Thieves Hunker Down
Abbas weighs up election gamble in his 'bunker'
The Telegraph
"The headquarters of Mahmoud Abbas, the Fatah leader and president of the Palestinian National Authority, had the air of a military bunker yesterday, its inhabitants braced for an epic political fight.
Outside, security was tighter than ever with checkpoints manned by heavily-armed members of Force 17, an elite unit of guards [trained by the U.S.], on the approach roads to the Muqata, or presidential compound.
Behind metal shutters Mr Abbas, known widely among Palestinians as Abu Mazen, spent all day dealing with a stream of political counsellors, constitutional lawyers, election officials and security advisors.
Also at work in the bowels of the Muqata in Ramallah was his confidant and chief of staff, Rafiq Husseini, a virologist who trained in Birmingham and whose family live in Leicestershire.
Mr Husseini, 54, that Mr Abbas's call for early presidential and parliamentary elections to break the deadlock with the current Hamas-controlled parliament was portentous. "A lot is at stake here, not just the future of Abu Mazen but the future of the entire Palestinian state," he said.
"We have the best opportunity in decades to create a meaningful Palestinian state [the same lie has been repeated by this Oslo gang while the number of Israeli colonists in the W.B. doubled] and we must not let extremists destroy it. If it goes wrong, then we will not go back ten years, but tens of years. The Palestinian Authority could collapse and we could all come unstuck."
Inside the president's office there was a clear sense that new and uncharted territory was being explored. The constitution, drafted, debated, and redrafted ad nauseam since the Oslo peace process created the Palestinian National Authority, does not give explicit authority for Mr Abbas to dismiss parliament.
The only reference to dismissing parliament says it cannot be dismissed by the president during a state of emergency. No state of emergency is currently in place [hence Dahlan and the gang must create this state of emergency].
But the constitution does state that the Palestinian people are the ultimate source of sovereign power and it was that legal-constitutional fig leaf that Mr Husseini and his team of advisors were clinging to.
"You can debate the Basic Law or Constitution as much as you want, but what it comes down to is this," Mr Husseini said. "Power resides with the people [suddenly the thieves discovered that there is such a thing called the people] and, at this point of crisis, Abu Mazen has said he wants to go back to the people to let them decide. It is morally the right thing to do, to put the people at the centre of the democracy [the thieves now speak of democracy! Those NGOs have finally succeeded in coaching them]." Mr Abbas spent most of yesterday talking to Hisham Ikhail, the director of the central elections committee exploring electoral logistics. Presidential and parliamentary elections have never been held at the same time in the Palestinian territories, so their co-ordination will need careful consideration.
Mr Husseini said it would take at least four months to organise polls, even if all other political events went smoothly. This appeared unlikely with Hamas, who won the January parliamentary election, rejecting Mr Abbas's electoral ploy and threatening to boycott any attempted election.
"At times like this you must think with your head, not your heart, you must strategise logically and calmly," he said. "Anything else would be irresponsible.""
Yousef: Haneyya's assassination attempt premeditated
"Gaza - Ahmed Yousef, the political advisor to the PA premier Ismail Haneyya, has accused the PA presidential guards and other armed elements of premeditating the assassination attempt of Haneyya on his return to the Rafah terminal from a tour abroad.
He told a press conference on Sunday evening that the delegates, accompanying Haneyya, succeeded in convincing thousands of Palestinians who came to greet the premier to push back in order to allow Haneyya and his delegation to enter through the Rafah terminal without problems and they did that.
Yousef said that around 0800 pm (local time) two trucks and four jeeps arrived at the terminal loaded with gunmen who were deployed on all sides of the terminal and over rooftops.
The advisor, who was injured in the attempt, said that on reaching the cars the armed men opened fire. "We found ourselves the target of intensive shooting," he said, affirming that the bodyguards accompanying Haneyya had only pistols while the gunmen were using machineguns.
"They wanted to liquidate all those in the motorcade because we were the only ones present in the outside plaza," Yousef charged, adding that he along with Abdul Salam Haneyya and the driver of their car were hit while one of the bodyguards who surrounded Haneyya was killed.
What happened was a premeditated plot by certain parties to assassinate Haneyya and all those with him, the advisor charged and demanded the formation of an investigation committee to question all workers at the terminal and to arrest all presidential guards who were present at the time of the attempt."
Preparing for a civil war
By Danny Rubinstein
"The civil war between Hamas and Fatah appears to be a fait accompli in Gaza and to a large extent in the West Bank, too. The proof lies not only in the violent clashes, killings, burnings of offices and property, and stormy demonstrations, but also in the blunt style used by both sides.
Palestinian politics saw this type of violence and style in the past, in 1982-1983, for example, at the end of the Lebanon War, when a group of Fatah veterans rebelled against Yasser Arafat. But since then, there hasn't been any evidence of such phenomena. Appellations such as "traitors," "foreign agents" and "thieves" are now heard from all sides and aimed at leading figures.
For example, one Hamas spokesman in Gaza referred to Mohammed Dahlan publicly as "Al-Mad'u Dahlan," which translates literally as, "the one referred to as Dahlan." The use of this sort of term in Palestinian politics is, however, usually reserved for collaborators - the worst of them. Such a reference to Dahlan implies that he can and should be executed. And, indeed, senior Fatah officials already announced at the end of last week that if Hamas people harm their activists, the response would be a bloodbath involving the Hamas leadership.
In preparing for the civil war, Fatah is in an inferior position as compared to Hamas. Certainly this is the case in Gaza. And it is primarily the case with respect to the internal organizational level. Fatah's leadership institutions are not functioning. The branches are falling apart and Fatah's secretary general, Farouk Kaddoumi, is cooperating openly with Khaled Meshal in Damascus. But he is not the only one. On Saturday, the well-known Palestinian caricaturist, Omayya Joha, published in Al-Hayat al-Jadida - the official Fatah organ whose editors in chief are part of the movement's leadership - a drawing welcoming Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh back to Gaza after his recent trip [ was posted here]. If they are printing greetings to Haniyeh, that is another sign of the lack of organization and discipline in Fatah.
On the streets of the West Bank and Gaza, it is possible to meet many people who say openly: We take money from Fatah and vote Hamas. And who are the members of the Popular Resistance Committees" in Gaza if not Fatah operatives who in practice work for Hamas? The Fatah movement is weak due to lack of organization, corruption and the death of its chairman, Yasser Arafat, who left a leadership void that is tough to fill. But the truth must be acknowledged, and it is that most of Fatah's weakness stems from the fact that its diplomatic agenda has failed. The political process that started with the Madrid Conference in 1991 and perhaps even earlier, with the Palestine Liberation Organization Council in Algiers in 1988, which recognized Israel, was led by the top Fatah leadership and reached a dead end. Not now, but six years ago when the bloody clashes started. Since then, the tendency has been clear: Fatah is on the retreat.
The blame lies with Fatah leaders who did not have the foresight to set up a proper administration in Gaza and the West Bank, who did not maintain law and order even in security issues related to Israel. But Israeli governments share a sizable portion of the blame for what happened in the years of the Oslo process. The Oslo Accords were perceived by Israel as a license to expand the settlements in the West Bank and to build new neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem. The facts are known: The number of residents in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem doubled during the 1990s. Hamas gained strength not necessarily because the Palestinians have become more religious, but because West Bank residents woke up in the morning and out of their windows, in front of their eyes, they saw more and more fences and roadblocks, and more bypass roads. "I get up in the morning and see my death approaching," wrote a resident of a village near Ramallah.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahoud Abbas' success in dealing with Hamas is dependent, therefore, not only on him. Nor is it dependent on American intervention, as some Israelis who welcomed the Baker-Hamilton report think. "President Clinton at Camp David in 2000 was the height of American involvement and we saw what happened," the Palestinian journalist Khader Khader wrote recently. In other words, if the government of Israel does not manage to forge a breakthrough via a diplomatic channel, Abbas and Fatah don't have a chance."
"The civil war between Hamas and Fatah appears to be a fait accompli in Gaza and to a large extent in the West Bank, too. The proof lies not only in the violent clashes, killings, burnings of offices and property, and stormy demonstrations, but also in the blunt style used by both sides.
Palestinian politics saw this type of violence and style in the past, in 1982-1983, for example, at the end of the Lebanon War, when a group of Fatah veterans rebelled against Yasser Arafat. But since then, there hasn't been any evidence of such phenomena. Appellations such as "traitors," "foreign agents" and "thieves" are now heard from all sides and aimed at leading figures.
For example, one Hamas spokesman in Gaza referred to Mohammed Dahlan publicly as "Al-Mad'u Dahlan," which translates literally as, "the one referred to as Dahlan." The use of this sort of term in Palestinian politics is, however, usually reserved for collaborators - the worst of them. Such a reference to Dahlan implies that he can and should be executed. And, indeed, senior Fatah officials already announced at the end of last week that if Hamas people harm their activists, the response would be a bloodbath involving the Hamas leadership.
In preparing for the civil war, Fatah is in an inferior position as compared to Hamas. Certainly this is the case in Gaza. And it is primarily the case with respect to the internal organizational level. Fatah's leadership institutions are not functioning. The branches are falling apart and Fatah's secretary general, Farouk Kaddoumi, is cooperating openly with Khaled Meshal in Damascus. But he is not the only one. On Saturday, the well-known Palestinian caricaturist, Omayya Joha, published in Al-Hayat al-Jadida - the official Fatah organ whose editors in chief are part of the movement's leadership - a drawing welcoming Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh back to Gaza after his recent trip [ was posted here]. If they are printing greetings to Haniyeh, that is another sign of the lack of organization and discipline in Fatah.
On the streets of the West Bank and Gaza, it is possible to meet many people who say openly: We take money from Fatah and vote Hamas. And who are the members of the Popular Resistance Committees" in Gaza if not Fatah operatives who in practice work for Hamas? The Fatah movement is weak due to lack of organization, corruption and the death of its chairman, Yasser Arafat, who left a leadership void that is tough to fill. But the truth must be acknowledged, and it is that most of Fatah's weakness stems from the fact that its diplomatic agenda has failed. The political process that started with the Madrid Conference in 1991 and perhaps even earlier, with the Palestine Liberation Organization Council in Algiers in 1988, which recognized Israel, was led by the top Fatah leadership and reached a dead end. Not now, but six years ago when the bloody clashes started. Since then, the tendency has been clear: Fatah is on the retreat.
The blame lies with Fatah leaders who did not have the foresight to set up a proper administration in Gaza and the West Bank, who did not maintain law and order even in security issues related to Israel. But Israeli governments share a sizable portion of the blame for what happened in the years of the Oslo process. The Oslo Accords were perceived by Israel as a license to expand the settlements in the West Bank and to build new neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem. The facts are known: The number of residents in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem doubled during the 1990s. Hamas gained strength not necessarily because the Palestinians have become more religious, but because West Bank residents woke up in the morning and out of their windows, in front of their eyes, they saw more and more fences and roadblocks, and more bypass roads. "I get up in the morning and see my death approaching," wrote a resident of a village near Ramallah.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahoud Abbas' success in dealing with Hamas is dependent, therefore, not only on him. Nor is it dependent on American intervention, as some Israelis who welcomed the Baker-Hamilton report think. "President Clinton at Camp David in 2000 was the height of American involvement and we saw what happened," the Palestinian journalist Khader Khader wrote recently. In other words, if the government of Israel does not manage to forge a breakthrough via a diplomatic channel, Abbas and Fatah don't have a chance."
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Researchers: US 'bribes' countries in order to 'sway' UN Security Council votes
Heather Stewart, economics correspondent
Sunday December 17, 2006
The Observer
The US uses its aid budget to bribe those countries which have a vote in the United Nations security council, giving them 59 per cent more cash in years when they have a seat, according to research by economists.
Kofi Annan, the outgoing UN Secretary-General, expressed his frustration at the power the US wields over the UN in his parting speech last week. In a detailed analysis of 50 years of data, Harvard University's Ilyana Kuziemko and Eric Werker provide the clearest evidence yet that money is used by the council's richest member to grease the wheels of diplomacy.
Anti-poverty campaigners reacted angrily to the findings. 'Aid should go to the people who need it, not as a political sweetener,' said Duncan Green of Oxfam. 'In recent years most rich countries have been making progress on this, but showering bribes on developing countries just because they sit on the UN security council is clearly a step backwards.'
Charities often complain that the US uses its aid as a political tool, and this new evidence of what the authors call 'vote-buying' will raise fears about whether the surge of aid money that was promised at last year's Gleneagles G8 summit will be fairly spent.
Ten of the 15 seats on the security council are filled for two years at a time, by rotation. Kuziemko and Werker found that, in years when they have a seat, countries get an average of more than £8m extra in foreign aid from the US.
'I don't think it's surprising this goes on; but I wonder whether countries being aware that it goes on might have some salutary effect,' Kuziemko said.
Countries with a security council seat also receive an average of £500m extra from the UN itself, most of it channelled through its children's fund, Unicef, over which the US traditionally has been able to exert control. President George Bush recently provoked controversy by appointing a close political ally, former Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, as Unicef's chief.
When there is a controversial vote in prospect, the premium for countries with a security council seat is even higher. US aid surges by as much as 170 per cent, bringing in a £23m windfall, while the UN spends an extra £4m.
'Some countries serve on the security council during relatively calm years, whereas others, by chance, are fortunate enough to serve during a year in which a key resolution is debated and their vote becomes more valuable,' the authors say. They highlight controversial resolutions over issues including the Korean War, Suez, the Falklands and Kosovo - though the period they study does not include the notorious 'second resolution' over the invasion of Iraq, which never came to a vote.
David Woodward, of the New Economics Foundation, who is writing about the paper for a forthcoming edition of the Lancet, said the findings suggest the UN should be radically reformed.
'As long as one country wields such influence, there will always have a degree of control over what goes on, and they will be likely to abuse that.'
'The biggest obstacle, in both the IMF and the World Bank, as well as the UN, is that the countries that now have power can use that power to block reform - and they do.'
Sunday December 17, 2006
The Observer
The US uses its aid budget to bribe those countries which have a vote in the United Nations security council, giving them 59 per cent more cash in years when they have a seat, according to research by economists.
Kofi Annan, the outgoing UN Secretary-General, expressed his frustration at the power the US wields over the UN in his parting speech last week. In a detailed analysis of 50 years of data, Harvard University's Ilyana Kuziemko and Eric Werker provide the clearest evidence yet that money is used by the council's richest member to grease the wheels of diplomacy.
Anti-poverty campaigners reacted angrily to the findings. 'Aid should go to the people who need it, not as a political sweetener,' said Duncan Green of Oxfam. 'In recent years most rich countries have been making progress on this, but showering bribes on developing countries just because they sit on the UN security council is clearly a step backwards.'
Charities often complain that the US uses its aid as a political tool, and this new evidence of what the authors call 'vote-buying' will raise fears about whether the surge of aid money that was promised at last year's Gleneagles G8 summit will be fairly spent.
Ten of the 15 seats on the security council are filled for two years at a time, by rotation. Kuziemko and Werker found that, in years when they have a seat, countries get an average of more than £8m extra in foreign aid from the US.
'I don't think it's surprising this goes on; but I wonder whether countries being aware that it goes on might have some salutary effect,' Kuziemko said.
Countries with a security council seat also receive an average of £500m extra from the UN itself, most of it channelled through its children's fund, Unicef, over which the US traditionally has been able to exert control. President George Bush recently provoked controversy by appointing a close political ally, former Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, as Unicef's chief.
When there is a controversial vote in prospect, the premium for countries with a security council seat is even higher. US aid surges by as much as 170 per cent, bringing in a £23m windfall, while the UN spends an extra £4m.
'Some countries serve on the security council during relatively calm years, whereas others, by chance, are fortunate enough to serve during a year in which a key resolution is debated and their vote becomes more valuable,' the authors say. They highlight controversial resolutions over issues including the Korean War, Suez, the Falklands and Kosovo - though the period they study does not include the notorious 'second resolution' over the invasion of Iraq, which never came to a vote.
David Woodward, of the New Economics Foundation, who is writing about the paper for a forthcoming edition of the Lancet, said the findings suggest the UN should be radically reformed.
'As long as one country wields such influence, there will always have a degree of control over what goes on, and they will be likely to abuse that.'
'The biggest obstacle, in both the IMF and the World Bank, as well as the UN, is that the countries that now have power can use that power to block reform - and they do.'
Meanwhile in Iraq
Legal System in Iraq Staggers Beneath the Weight of War: Soldiers who have little if any training in gathering evidence or sorting the guilty from the innocent are left to decide whom to detain. The military conducts reviews to decide whom to release, yet neither Iraqi detainees nor defense lawyers are allowed to attend, according to military documents and interviews.
53 corpses found in occupied Iraq: Fifty-three bullet-ridden corpses were discovered by the Iraqi police in Baghdad on Saturday, including 15 dumped in one flashpoint neighborhood in the war-torn capital
Iraq: Aleast 15 killed in another bloody day in Iraq: A roadside bomb detonated near a U.S. military patrol on Saturday, killing three occupation forces soldiers and wounding one north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
Up to 30 people kidnapped at Baghdad Red Crescent: The organization is part of the Red Cross movement and has 1,000 staff and about 300,000 volunteers in Iraq, working to provide food, water and medicine to those in need.
Powell: We Are Losing In Iraq: Exclusive: Former Secretary Of State Says More Troops Isn't The Answer
Stephen Lendman: Omissions In the Iraq Study Group Report: How could a nation born as a great democratic experiment rebelling against the divine right of monarchs become instead now one worshipping the divine right of capital and capable of being even more repressive.
U.S. to triple number of military trainers in Iraq: The U.S. military plans to speed up the training of Iraq's army by tripling its number of embedded trainers to about 9,000, while keeping a close eye on units' sectarian loyalties, a U.S. general said on Sunday.
UK troops to stay in Iraq until job done: Blair: Blair defended London's plans for a gradual withdrawal of its 7,200 troops in the south, mostly in and around oil-rich Basra, as Iraq's fledgling security forces take over.
53 corpses found in occupied Iraq: Fifty-three bullet-ridden corpses were discovered by the Iraqi police in Baghdad on Saturday, including 15 dumped in one flashpoint neighborhood in the war-torn capital
Iraq: Aleast 15 killed in another bloody day in Iraq: A roadside bomb detonated near a U.S. military patrol on Saturday, killing three occupation forces soldiers and wounding one north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
Up to 30 people kidnapped at Baghdad Red Crescent: The organization is part of the Red Cross movement and has 1,000 staff and about 300,000 volunteers in Iraq, working to provide food, water and medicine to those in need.
Powell: We Are Losing In Iraq: Exclusive: Former Secretary Of State Says More Troops Isn't The Answer
Stephen Lendman: Omissions In the Iraq Study Group Report: How could a nation born as a great democratic experiment rebelling against the divine right of monarchs become instead now one worshipping the divine right of capital and capable of being even more repressive.
U.S. to triple number of military trainers in Iraq: The U.S. military plans to speed up the training of Iraq's army by tripling its number of embedded trainers to about 9,000, while keeping a close eye on units' sectarian loyalties, a U.S. general said on Sunday.
UK troops to stay in Iraq until job done: Blair: Blair defended London's plans for a gradual withdrawal of its 7,200 troops in the south, mostly in and around oil-rich Basra, as Iraq's fledgling security forces take over.
Meanwhile in Palestine
Supporters Call for the Recall of South African Ambassador From Tel Aviv and Sanctions Against Israel: At a press conference held today in South Africa the Palestine Solidarity Committee, COSATU (the Congress of South African Trade Unions representing 1.2 million workers) and the South African Council of Churches called on the South African government to recall the ambassador to Israel and to implement sanctions against Israel.
Israeli Wall Condemned by Non-Aligned Movement: Nunez said Israel has already erected 209 miles of wall, which represents 42 percent of the project. Another 63 miles remain under construction. The Non-Aligned Movement called for sanctions against companies participating in building the wall. Over two million Palestinians living to the east of wall will be separated from East Jerusalem and another 230,000 Palestinians in Jerusalem will be isolated from the rest of the West Bank.
Forty settlers freely trespass Palestinian property, Australian human rights volunteer arrested: At 11am, human rights workers in the Tel Rumeida district of Hebron were alerted that 40 Israeli settlers, one of whom was armed, had invaded the Abu Haikal's property and were having a picnic and campfire in their olive groves. The settlers were accompanied by 15 soldiers. The settlers and soldiers refused to let Palestinian schoolchildren enter their houses after school although this is against even Israeli law.
Faith leaders' appeal to US government over Israel-Palestine conflict: As Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders, our shared Abrahamic faith compels us to work together for peace with justice for Israelis, Palestinians and all peoples in the Middle East. As Americans, we again ask the United States to make peace in the Middle East an urgent priority. Our nation has an inescapable responsibility and an indispensable role to provide creative, determined leadership for building a just peace for all in the Middle East.
Mortars fired at Abbas' office; Hamas accuses Fatah of coup: Palestinian security sources reported that several mortar shells were fired at the offices in the Gaza Strip and that six people were injured – five security officers and a 45-year-old passer-by. The Palestinian president was in Ramallah at the time and was not hurt.
Atmosphere of civil war hangs over Gaza as Fateh forces overtake ministry buildings: Several gunmen opened fire from a rooftop near the Foreign Ministry building on Foreign Minister and Hamas member Mahmoud Az Zahar's convoy. It was stressed that there were no injuries. The guards exchanged fire with the shooters long after Az Zahar was gone.
Ceasefire in Gaza after inter-Palestinian violence escalates: "There is an agreement between all armed Palestinian groups for a ceasefire and to end the violence," Ibrahim Abu Najja said after a day of unrest in Gaza in which at least three Palestinians were killed. The accord was confirmed by Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan, who told AFP that the ceasefire pact stipulates that "armed men must stop circulating on the streets".
Palestinian PM: Hamas will not participate in elections: Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh vowed Sunday that his Hamas party will not participate in fresh elections, and branded Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' remarks on the matter "inflammatory."
IRAQ: Palestinian refugees fear for their lives after recent attack: On 13 December, local militia attacked the al-Baladiya district of the capital, where hundreds of Palestinians have lived for years. No attempt was made by the Iraqi police or multinational forces to halt the three-hour attack, Muffitlak said, adding that the militia stopped ambulances entering the area and attacked anyone who tried to enter or leave without their authorisation.
Carter wants to finish job creating peace in Mideast; Ex-president says he's disappointed by U.S. inaction: As a matter of fact, a lot of the territory I was in was the Palestinian territories -- all down the Jordan River Valley and a good portion up around Golan Heights. Those were Israeli-occupied territories. At that time, everyone expected the Israeli forces to withdraw from the occupied territories. ... Nobody dreamed that there would be a massive escalation of the Israelis to colonize, you might say, the entire area of the West Bank.
An enlightened occupier: The juggler from the palace of justice has struck again. In a single week, retired Supreme Court president Justice Aharon Barak proved his impressive acrobatic talents. In his last rulings, all of them having to do with the occupation, the outgoing Supreme Court president seems to have wanted, as he has during the 11 years of his presidency, to have his cake and eat it, too. Barak wants to appear as though he is both upholding justice and not harming security - the unofficial religion of a state that shoots, then cries. What an enlightened occupier!
Ex-soldiers break `silence' on Israeli excesses: In them, soldiers talk about the total power of the occupiers over the occupied — throwing Palestinians out of their homes; making them stand for hours for disobeying the curfew or trying to bypass a checkpoint or even smiling or arguing at the wrong time, Shaul said. "We can play with them. This is the mindset from which everything flows."
Palestinians say French journalist lightly wounded by Gaza City gunfire: Didier Francois, a reporter for the French daily Liberation, was hit in the leg by gunfire, said Raja Abu Daka, a Palestinian translator who accompanied the French journalist. Clashes have been raging in Gaza between Fatah and Hamas, rival factions vying for control over the Palestinian government.
President Abbas meets the Central Election Commission: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with the Central Election Commission in Ramallah to discuss legal steps and logistics for holding the elections. Dr. Hanna Nasser chair of the commission that they need at least four months to prepare for elections. Dr. Nasser added that if there are any objections against holding the elections they have to go to court.
Bedouin, police clash over renewed Negev demolition orders: A week and a half ago the Israel Lands Authority and the Interior Ministry demolished 17 of the 50 structures that make up the village - caravans, shacks and tents - leaving 12 families homeless. The Israel Lands Authority views them as squatters and therefore refuses to help them find housing.
Palestinian professor calls for dissolution of security forces: A professor of political science at the Al-Najah National University, Dr Abdus-Sattar Qasim, on Saturday called for breaking up all the Palestinian security services and the Executive Force of the ministry of interior except the police as a solution to the current state of chaos in the Palestinian Territories. Qasim also called for the substitution of the leaderships of the police department and declared illegal every weapon that appears publicly.
Strike by Palestinian workers near end -official: Under the deal, which is expected to be signed later on Sunday, workers will be given assurances from Abbas and the Hamas-led government that they will receive partial salary payments within days and full wages starting next month.
Gaza, West Bank close to civil war, Hamas leader warns: Exiled leader Khaled Meshal made his comments after the main Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, accused each other of carrying out deadly attacks. Egyptian diplomats have begun attempts to mediate between the two sides. The move follows days of rising tensions between Hamas, the largest faction, and the Fatah group headed by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Human Rights NGOs Calls for Dialogue and Referring to the Law to End Tension in the OPT: The undersigned Palestinian human rights NGOs express their grave concerns over the deterioration in the internal security situation, which has mounted to the peak in the past few days due to the political tension between Hamas and Fatah movements resulted from the failure of the two movements to agree on the formation of a national unity government.
Abbas' dangerous gamble: The head of the PLO negotiating team, Saeb Erekat, was first to jump to his feet in enthusiasm during yesterday's speech by Mahmoud Abbas at the Muqata in Ramallah. But Abbas held up his hand. Not so fast. "I have spoken with the Central Election Committee on a date for the elections," Abbas said, "and I am still negotiating over a unity government." It sounded like the old Abbas.
Hamas: Call for vote is coup attempt: Abbas said mockingly that every time Hamas leaders held talks with unofficial European figures, they claimed they were negotiating with European states. He mentioned former British intelligence agent Alastair Crooke, who held ongoing contacts with Hamas. "He's out on pension already, and they say they have a new British initiative. Every time they talk to a local councillor from a little town in the U.S., they report contact with an American delegation."
Sheikhs, rabbis and priests battle together in fight against the same demons: The Holocaust-denial theories aired last week in Iran were denounced Friday from an unexpected source - in a statement released by sheikhs of the Islamic Movement in Israel. Simultaneously, Religious Zionist rabbis issued a statement denouncing damage done to the Muslim cemetery in the center of Jerusalem in the construction of the Museum of Tolerance.
Gaza goods cost up to a million shekels more a day: In order to sell goods in the Gaza Strip, merchants have to pay over half a million shekels in "protection money" to drivers and shippers, TheMarker has learned. The payments are for transfer of goods from Israel to Gaza through the Karni crossing point.
First woman appointed to Higher Arab Monitoring Committee: The Hadash Party has appointed a woman to represent it in the the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, it was revealed Sunday, becoming the first Arab party to send a woman to the body.
Women's soccer finding its niche in Arab world: No field, no money, no wins -- it has been tough going for the fledgling Palestinian women's national soccer team. Yet the players, some competing in headscarves and extra long shorts for modesty, shrug off their setbacks. They say they love the sense of strength and confidence they get from the game, as well as the rush of claiming a once forbidden place in a society largely run by men.
Woman, Abbas guard killed in escalating Fatah-Hamas clashes: "Hamas gunmen" opened fire at a large political rally by the rival Fatah movement Sunday, wounding three people, Palestinian security officials said. An estimated 100,000 Fatah supporters were participating in the rally.
Rice to seek additional funds to boost Abbas' security forces: United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday she would ask the U.S. Congress for tens of millions of dollars to strengthen the security forces of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Congress extends Israel loan guarantees: The new aid package comes on top of the annual US aid package for Israel, as well as special packages, such as for the Arrow anti-ballistic missile program.
What Are You Going to Do Now, Israel?: Have you thought about what you are you going to do, if Palestinian leadership you despise finally disintegrates?
We must speak out: Today we are launching an appeal for a world-wide cultural boycott against the Israeli state.
Gideon Levy: The High Court's blessing for IDF assassinations: At the end of this productive judicial week, the Israeli occupation won significant power.
Jimmy Carter: Revisiting 'Apartheid': "You and I both know the powerful influence of AIPAC [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee], which is not designed to promote peace. I'm not criticizing them, they have a perfect right to lobby, but their purpose in life is to protect and defend the policies of the Israeli government and to make sure those policies are approved in the United States"
Israeli Wall Condemned by Non-Aligned Movement: Nunez said Israel has already erected 209 miles of wall, which represents 42 percent of the project. Another 63 miles remain under construction. The Non-Aligned Movement called for sanctions against companies participating in building the wall. Over two million Palestinians living to the east of wall will be separated from East Jerusalem and another 230,000 Palestinians in Jerusalem will be isolated from the rest of the West Bank.
Forty settlers freely trespass Palestinian property, Australian human rights volunteer arrested: At 11am, human rights workers in the Tel Rumeida district of Hebron were alerted that 40 Israeli settlers, one of whom was armed, had invaded the Abu Haikal's property and were having a picnic and campfire in their olive groves. The settlers were accompanied by 15 soldiers. The settlers and soldiers refused to let Palestinian schoolchildren enter their houses after school although this is against even Israeli law.
Faith leaders' appeal to US government over Israel-Palestine conflict: As Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders, our shared Abrahamic faith compels us to work together for peace with justice for Israelis, Palestinians and all peoples in the Middle East. As Americans, we again ask the United States to make peace in the Middle East an urgent priority. Our nation has an inescapable responsibility and an indispensable role to provide creative, determined leadership for building a just peace for all in the Middle East.
Mortars fired at Abbas' office; Hamas accuses Fatah of coup: Palestinian security sources reported that several mortar shells were fired at the offices in the Gaza Strip and that six people were injured – five security officers and a 45-year-old passer-by. The Palestinian president was in Ramallah at the time and was not hurt.
Atmosphere of civil war hangs over Gaza as Fateh forces overtake ministry buildings: Several gunmen opened fire from a rooftop near the Foreign Ministry building on Foreign Minister and Hamas member Mahmoud Az Zahar's convoy. It was stressed that there were no injuries. The guards exchanged fire with the shooters long after Az Zahar was gone.
Ceasefire in Gaza after inter-Palestinian violence escalates: "There is an agreement between all armed Palestinian groups for a ceasefire and to end the violence," Ibrahim Abu Najja said after a day of unrest in Gaza in which at least three Palestinians were killed. The accord was confirmed by Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan, who told AFP that the ceasefire pact stipulates that "armed men must stop circulating on the streets".
Palestinian PM: Hamas will not participate in elections: Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh vowed Sunday that his Hamas party will not participate in fresh elections, and branded Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' remarks on the matter "inflammatory."
IRAQ: Palestinian refugees fear for their lives after recent attack: On 13 December, local militia attacked the al-Baladiya district of the capital, where hundreds of Palestinians have lived for years. No attempt was made by the Iraqi police or multinational forces to halt the three-hour attack, Muffitlak said, adding that the militia stopped ambulances entering the area and attacked anyone who tried to enter or leave without their authorisation.
Carter wants to finish job creating peace in Mideast; Ex-president says he's disappointed by U.S. inaction: As a matter of fact, a lot of the territory I was in was the Palestinian territories -- all down the Jordan River Valley and a good portion up around Golan Heights. Those were Israeli-occupied territories. At that time, everyone expected the Israeli forces to withdraw from the occupied territories. ... Nobody dreamed that there would be a massive escalation of the Israelis to colonize, you might say, the entire area of the West Bank.
An enlightened occupier: The juggler from the palace of justice has struck again. In a single week, retired Supreme Court president Justice Aharon Barak proved his impressive acrobatic talents. In his last rulings, all of them having to do with the occupation, the outgoing Supreme Court president seems to have wanted, as he has during the 11 years of his presidency, to have his cake and eat it, too. Barak wants to appear as though he is both upholding justice and not harming security - the unofficial religion of a state that shoots, then cries. What an enlightened occupier!
Ex-soldiers break `silence' on Israeli excesses: In them, soldiers talk about the total power of the occupiers over the occupied — throwing Palestinians out of their homes; making them stand for hours for disobeying the curfew or trying to bypass a checkpoint or even smiling or arguing at the wrong time, Shaul said. "We can play with them. This is the mindset from which everything flows."
Palestinians say French journalist lightly wounded by Gaza City gunfire: Didier Francois, a reporter for the French daily Liberation, was hit in the leg by gunfire, said Raja Abu Daka, a Palestinian translator who accompanied the French journalist. Clashes have been raging in Gaza between Fatah and Hamas, rival factions vying for control over the Palestinian government.
President Abbas meets the Central Election Commission: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with the Central Election Commission in Ramallah to discuss legal steps and logistics for holding the elections. Dr. Hanna Nasser chair of the commission that they need at least four months to prepare for elections. Dr. Nasser added that if there are any objections against holding the elections they have to go to court.
Bedouin, police clash over renewed Negev demolition orders: A week and a half ago the Israel Lands Authority and the Interior Ministry demolished 17 of the 50 structures that make up the village - caravans, shacks and tents - leaving 12 families homeless. The Israel Lands Authority views them as squatters and therefore refuses to help them find housing.
Palestinian professor calls for dissolution of security forces: A professor of political science at the Al-Najah National University, Dr Abdus-Sattar Qasim, on Saturday called for breaking up all the Palestinian security services and the Executive Force of the ministry of interior except the police as a solution to the current state of chaos in the Palestinian Territories. Qasim also called for the substitution of the leaderships of the police department and declared illegal every weapon that appears publicly.
Strike by Palestinian workers near end -official: Under the deal, which is expected to be signed later on Sunday, workers will be given assurances from Abbas and the Hamas-led government that they will receive partial salary payments within days and full wages starting next month.
Gaza, West Bank close to civil war, Hamas leader warns: Exiled leader Khaled Meshal made his comments after the main Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, accused each other of carrying out deadly attacks. Egyptian diplomats have begun attempts to mediate between the two sides. The move follows days of rising tensions between Hamas, the largest faction, and the Fatah group headed by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Human Rights NGOs Calls for Dialogue and Referring to the Law to End Tension in the OPT: The undersigned Palestinian human rights NGOs express their grave concerns over the deterioration in the internal security situation, which has mounted to the peak in the past few days due to the political tension between Hamas and Fatah movements resulted from the failure of the two movements to agree on the formation of a national unity government.
Abbas' dangerous gamble: The head of the PLO negotiating team, Saeb Erekat, was first to jump to his feet in enthusiasm during yesterday's speech by Mahmoud Abbas at the Muqata in Ramallah. But Abbas held up his hand. Not so fast. "I have spoken with the Central Election Committee on a date for the elections," Abbas said, "and I am still negotiating over a unity government." It sounded like the old Abbas.
Hamas: Call for vote is coup attempt: Abbas said mockingly that every time Hamas leaders held talks with unofficial European figures, they claimed they were negotiating with European states. He mentioned former British intelligence agent Alastair Crooke, who held ongoing contacts with Hamas. "He's out on pension already, and they say they have a new British initiative. Every time they talk to a local councillor from a little town in the U.S., they report contact with an American delegation."
Sheikhs, rabbis and priests battle together in fight against the same demons: The Holocaust-denial theories aired last week in Iran were denounced Friday from an unexpected source - in a statement released by sheikhs of the Islamic Movement in Israel. Simultaneously, Religious Zionist rabbis issued a statement denouncing damage done to the Muslim cemetery in the center of Jerusalem in the construction of the Museum of Tolerance.
Gaza goods cost up to a million shekels more a day: In order to sell goods in the Gaza Strip, merchants have to pay over half a million shekels in "protection money" to drivers and shippers, TheMarker has learned. The payments are for transfer of goods from Israel to Gaza through the Karni crossing point.
First woman appointed to Higher Arab Monitoring Committee: The Hadash Party has appointed a woman to represent it in the the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, it was revealed Sunday, becoming the first Arab party to send a woman to the body.
Women's soccer finding its niche in Arab world: No field, no money, no wins -- it has been tough going for the fledgling Palestinian women's national soccer team. Yet the players, some competing in headscarves and extra long shorts for modesty, shrug off their setbacks. They say they love the sense of strength and confidence they get from the game, as well as the rush of claiming a once forbidden place in a society largely run by men.
Woman, Abbas guard killed in escalating Fatah-Hamas clashes: "Hamas gunmen" opened fire at a large political rally by the rival Fatah movement Sunday, wounding three people, Palestinian security officials said. An estimated 100,000 Fatah supporters were participating in the rally.
Rice to seek additional funds to boost Abbas' security forces: United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday she would ask the U.S. Congress for tens of millions of dollars to strengthen the security forces of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Congress extends Israel loan guarantees: The new aid package comes on top of the annual US aid package for Israel, as well as special packages, such as for the Arrow anti-ballistic missile program.
What Are You Going to Do Now, Israel?: Have you thought about what you are you going to do, if Palestinian leadership you despise finally disintegrates?
We must speak out: Today we are launching an appeal for a world-wide cultural boycott against the Israeli state.
Gideon Levy: The High Court's blessing for IDF assassinations: At the end of this productive judicial week, the Israeli occupation won significant power.
Jimmy Carter: Revisiting 'Apartheid': "You and I both know the powerful influence of AIPAC [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee], which is not designed to promote peace. I'm not criticizing them, they have a perfect right to lobby, but their purpose in life is to protect and defend the policies of the Israeli government and to make sure those policies are approved in the United States"
نتائج عكسية لمقامرة عباس
عبد الباري عطوان
"اقدم الرئيس محمود عباس علي مقامرة خطيرة بدأت تعطي نتائج عكسية تماما، عندما قرر الدعوة الي انتخابات رئاسية وتشريعية في الخطاب الذي القاه يوم امس الاول، فقد تحولت الاراضي العربية المحتلة في الضفة والقطاع الي ساحة مواجهات بين انصار حركتي فتح و حماس اسفرت حتي كتابة هذه السطور عن مقتل اثنين واصابة عشرين آخرين.
حركة حماس رفضت خطوة السيد عباس هذه واعتبرتها غير شرعية، وفعلت الشيء نفسه فصائل فلسطينية اخري مثل الجهاد الاسلامي والجبهتين الشعبية والقيادة العامة علاوة علي لجان المقاومة الشعبية، ولم تؤيدها الا مجموعة من الشخصيات الفلسطينية القريبة من مكتب الرئاسة مثل السيد ياسر عبد ربه وقيادة حزب الشعب (الشيوعي سابقا) بالاضافة الي قيادات في حركة فتح .
السيد عباس كان مترددا في الدعوة الي الانتخابات، ويتضح ذلك من عدم تحديد موعد محدد لاجرائها، وكأنه يريد من خلالها ممارسة ضغوط علي حركة حماس للعودة الي مفاوضات تشكيل حكومة وحدة وطنية فلسطينية، ولكن حساباته جاءت خاطئة تماما، لان دعوته هذه اجهزت علي كل بارقة امل في استئناف الحوار وأحدثت قطيعة ربما تتطور الي حرب اهلية دموية تمتد لأشهر ان لم يكن لسنوات.
وجاء التأييد الثلاثي، الاسرائيلي الامريكي البريطاني، لمقامرة السيد عباس هذه ليزيد من حراجة موقفه، وتعقيد مهمته، واثارة الشكوك وعلامات الاستفهام حولها، وبما يعزز من موقف خصومه في حركة حماس علي المديين المتوسط والبعيد. فالشعب الفلسطيني لا يثق بهذا المثلث الذي لدغ منه اكثر من مرة، وما زال يعاني من مؤامراته، ويقف في معظمه في الخندق المقابل دون تردد.
حركة حماس مصيبة في رفضها لأي انتخابات جديدة، واصرارها علي عدم شرعية هذه الخطوة التي تهدف الي الإطاحة بحكومتها والغاء نتائج الانتخابات التشريعية الاخيرة التي فازت فيها. فما فائدة خوض انتخابات جديدة والفوز فيها اذا كانت ستؤدي الي النتيجة نفسها اي استمرار الحصار التجويعي علي الشعب الفلسطيني، والمقاطعة الغربية وبعض العربية للحكومة الجديدة؟ فهل يصبح حال الشعب الفلسطيني مثل حال الشعب العراقي، اي الذهاب الي صناديق الاقتراع مرتين او ثلاث مرات في العام مرة من اجل الانتخابات المؤقتة، ومرة ثانية من اجل استفتاء علي الدستور ومرة ثالثة لانتخاب برلمان دائم، ويكتشف بعدها ان كل هذه الانتخابات لم تحقق له غير الحرب الأهلية الدموية، وانعدام الأمن واستفحال الفساد وغياب الخدمات؟
السيد عباس اكد علي الخيار الديمقراطي للشعب الفلسطيني، وقال ان هذا الشعب هو مصدر السلطات، وهذا صحيح وكلام دقيق، ولكن الشعب قال كلمته قبل اقل من تسعة اشهر، وصوّت ضد الفساد والتفريط، ولا نعتقد ان اي انتخابات جديدة وبعد حصار خانق، وتعمّد حجب الرواتب، ستكون شرعية وتعبر عن مواقف هذا الشعب الحقيقية.
الجائع المحروم الذي لا يستطيع شراء رغيف الخبز لأطفاله لا تجوز شهادته، مثلما لا تجوز مشاركته في الانتخابات لانه سيصوت بمعدته، وربما كان هذا هو الهدف الحقيقي الذي ارادته اسرائيل والدول المانحة عندما اوقفت صرف مساعداتها للشعب الفلسطيني عقابا له علي انتخاب حركة حماس .
كنا نتمني لو ان السيد عباس قد بدأ بممارسة الديمقراطية في اوساط اهل بيته الفتحاوي، من خلال عقد مؤتمر عام للحركة، لانتخاب مجلس ثوري جديد ولجنة مركزية جديدة، لان جميع مؤسسات الحركة الحالية التي تتحكم في دائرة صنع القرار فيها قد شاخت، وتحتاج الي تجديد وضخ دماء جديدة، فمن غير المنطقي ان تهيمن علي الحركة وقيادتها الوجوه نفسها التي كانت تتصدر صفوفها الاولي في الفاكهاني وتونس واخيرا رام الله.
اننا نخشي علي حركة فتح من خطوة عباس هذه اكثر من خشيتنا علي حركة حماس نفسها، لان الحركة التي قادت النضال الفلسطيني لاكثر من ثلاثين عاما وقدمت آلاف الشهداء وآخرهم ياسر عرفات، مهددة بالانشقاق والتفسخ، وشاهدنا بوادر ذلك في وجود السيد فاروق قدومي امين سر لجنتها المركزية يقف جنبا الي جنب في دمشق مع السيد خالد مشعل رئيس المكتب السياسي لحركة فتح والدكتور رمضان عبد الله شلح امين عام حركة الجهاد الاسلامي، والسيد احمد جبريل قائد القيادة العامة والسيد ماهر الطاهر عضو المكتب السياسي في الجبهة الشعبية، وهو التجمع الجديد الذي رفض خطوة السيد عباس في الدعوة الي انتخابات رئاسية وتشريعية مبكرة ويعتبرها انقلابا علي الشرعية.
وعندما يسخر السيد عباس من بعض قيادات الخارج الذين يعيشون في غرف مترفة، ولم يغبروا احذيتهم بالتراب الفلسطيني، فإنه يدين نفسه قبل ان يدين اكثر من ثمانية ملايين فلسطيني يعيشون في المنافي مكرهين، فقد نسي السيد عباس انه كان احد هؤلاء حتي الأمس القريب، ولم يعد الي الوطن الا علي ظهر اتفاقات اوسلو التي جاءت تفريطا بالحقوق الفلسطينية، وقادت الي المزيد من الاستيطان والجدران العنصرية وكسر العزلة عن الدولة العبرية عربيا وعالميا.
حركة حماس تتحمل جانبا من مسؤولية تدهور الاوضاع، عندما دخلت عملية سياسية محكومة النتائج، خرجت من رحم الاحتلال واتفاقات اوسلو، ولكنها ليست مسؤولة عن الحصار المالي والتجويعي، ولا عن الفلتان الأمني، لانها استلمت خزائن خاوية، وحكومة مديونة باكثر من ملياري دولار، وفلتانا امنيا في ذروته بسبب تعدد الأجهزة وفساد رؤوسها، وتعاون بعضها مع الاسرائيليين وأجهزة استخبارات اجنبية، مثلما اكد اكثر من مرة اللواء نصر يوسف وزير الداخلية الأسبق وعضو اللجنة المركزية في حركة فتح .
المخرج من المأزق الدموي المتفاقم الذي ينجرف اليه الشعب الفلسطيني بسرعة مذهلة، هو حل هذه السلطة العفنة التي اصبحت عبئا علي هذا الشعب ونضالاته، لانها قلبت الأولويات الفلسطينية رأسا علي عقب، وحرفت النضال الفلسطيني عن وجهته الحقيقية اي تحرير الارض الي الاقتتال الداخلي.
فأي سلطة هذه التي يتعرض رئيس وزرائها للإهانة في معبر رفح ويجلس مثل المتسول علي الرصيف انتظارا للسماح له بالعبور ومن معه، وعندما يمر يتعرض موكبه لاطلاق النار؟
كنا نتوقع ان يتناطح رأسا السلطة سياسيا وديمقراطيا، ولكن عندما يتحاوران بالرصاص وقذائف ال ار. بي. جي وينسيان العدو الذي يحتل الأرض ويحتجز آلاف الأسري، ويرتكب المجازر بشكل يومي، فإن هذا امر مفاجيء، ويتجاوز كل الأعراف والخطوط الحمراء.
قد يأتي الخير من باطن الشر، نقولها بأسي وحزن، لعل هذا الانهيار يكون بداية الخلاص، وتصحيح الاوضاع، واعادة المسيرة الي مسارها الحقيقي.
الشعب الفلسطيني لا يستحق هذا الهوان الذي يلحق به علي يد ابنائه، بعد كل هذه التضحيات التي قدمها طوال المئة عام الماضية."
"اقدم الرئيس محمود عباس علي مقامرة خطيرة بدأت تعطي نتائج عكسية تماما، عندما قرر الدعوة الي انتخابات رئاسية وتشريعية في الخطاب الذي القاه يوم امس الاول، فقد تحولت الاراضي العربية المحتلة في الضفة والقطاع الي ساحة مواجهات بين انصار حركتي فتح و حماس اسفرت حتي كتابة هذه السطور عن مقتل اثنين واصابة عشرين آخرين.
حركة حماس رفضت خطوة السيد عباس هذه واعتبرتها غير شرعية، وفعلت الشيء نفسه فصائل فلسطينية اخري مثل الجهاد الاسلامي والجبهتين الشعبية والقيادة العامة علاوة علي لجان المقاومة الشعبية، ولم تؤيدها الا مجموعة من الشخصيات الفلسطينية القريبة من مكتب الرئاسة مثل السيد ياسر عبد ربه وقيادة حزب الشعب (الشيوعي سابقا) بالاضافة الي قيادات في حركة فتح .
السيد عباس كان مترددا في الدعوة الي الانتخابات، ويتضح ذلك من عدم تحديد موعد محدد لاجرائها، وكأنه يريد من خلالها ممارسة ضغوط علي حركة حماس للعودة الي مفاوضات تشكيل حكومة وحدة وطنية فلسطينية، ولكن حساباته جاءت خاطئة تماما، لان دعوته هذه اجهزت علي كل بارقة امل في استئناف الحوار وأحدثت قطيعة ربما تتطور الي حرب اهلية دموية تمتد لأشهر ان لم يكن لسنوات.
وجاء التأييد الثلاثي، الاسرائيلي الامريكي البريطاني، لمقامرة السيد عباس هذه ليزيد من حراجة موقفه، وتعقيد مهمته، واثارة الشكوك وعلامات الاستفهام حولها، وبما يعزز من موقف خصومه في حركة حماس علي المديين المتوسط والبعيد. فالشعب الفلسطيني لا يثق بهذا المثلث الذي لدغ منه اكثر من مرة، وما زال يعاني من مؤامراته، ويقف في معظمه في الخندق المقابل دون تردد.
حركة حماس مصيبة في رفضها لأي انتخابات جديدة، واصرارها علي عدم شرعية هذه الخطوة التي تهدف الي الإطاحة بحكومتها والغاء نتائج الانتخابات التشريعية الاخيرة التي فازت فيها. فما فائدة خوض انتخابات جديدة والفوز فيها اذا كانت ستؤدي الي النتيجة نفسها اي استمرار الحصار التجويعي علي الشعب الفلسطيني، والمقاطعة الغربية وبعض العربية للحكومة الجديدة؟ فهل يصبح حال الشعب الفلسطيني مثل حال الشعب العراقي، اي الذهاب الي صناديق الاقتراع مرتين او ثلاث مرات في العام مرة من اجل الانتخابات المؤقتة، ومرة ثانية من اجل استفتاء علي الدستور ومرة ثالثة لانتخاب برلمان دائم، ويكتشف بعدها ان كل هذه الانتخابات لم تحقق له غير الحرب الأهلية الدموية، وانعدام الأمن واستفحال الفساد وغياب الخدمات؟
السيد عباس اكد علي الخيار الديمقراطي للشعب الفلسطيني، وقال ان هذا الشعب هو مصدر السلطات، وهذا صحيح وكلام دقيق، ولكن الشعب قال كلمته قبل اقل من تسعة اشهر، وصوّت ضد الفساد والتفريط، ولا نعتقد ان اي انتخابات جديدة وبعد حصار خانق، وتعمّد حجب الرواتب، ستكون شرعية وتعبر عن مواقف هذا الشعب الحقيقية.
الجائع المحروم الذي لا يستطيع شراء رغيف الخبز لأطفاله لا تجوز شهادته، مثلما لا تجوز مشاركته في الانتخابات لانه سيصوت بمعدته، وربما كان هذا هو الهدف الحقيقي الذي ارادته اسرائيل والدول المانحة عندما اوقفت صرف مساعداتها للشعب الفلسطيني عقابا له علي انتخاب حركة حماس .
كنا نتمني لو ان السيد عباس قد بدأ بممارسة الديمقراطية في اوساط اهل بيته الفتحاوي، من خلال عقد مؤتمر عام للحركة، لانتخاب مجلس ثوري جديد ولجنة مركزية جديدة، لان جميع مؤسسات الحركة الحالية التي تتحكم في دائرة صنع القرار فيها قد شاخت، وتحتاج الي تجديد وضخ دماء جديدة، فمن غير المنطقي ان تهيمن علي الحركة وقيادتها الوجوه نفسها التي كانت تتصدر صفوفها الاولي في الفاكهاني وتونس واخيرا رام الله.
اننا نخشي علي حركة فتح من خطوة عباس هذه اكثر من خشيتنا علي حركة حماس نفسها، لان الحركة التي قادت النضال الفلسطيني لاكثر من ثلاثين عاما وقدمت آلاف الشهداء وآخرهم ياسر عرفات، مهددة بالانشقاق والتفسخ، وشاهدنا بوادر ذلك في وجود السيد فاروق قدومي امين سر لجنتها المركزية يقف جنبا الي جنب في دمشق مع السيد خالد مشعل رئيس المكتب السياسي لحركة فتح والدكتور رمضان عبد الله شلح امين عام حركة الجهاد الاسلامي، والسيد احمد جبريل قائد القيادة العامة والسيد ماهر الطاهر عضو المكتب السياسي في الجبهة الشعبية، وهو التجمع الجديد الذي رفض خطوة السيد عباس في الدعوة الي انتخابات رئاسية وتشريعية مبكرة ويعتبرها انقلابا علي الشرعية.
وعندما يسخر السيد عباس من بعض قيادات الخارج الذين يعيشون في غرف مترفة، ولم يغبروا احذيتهم بالتراب الفلسطيني، فإنه يدين نفسه قبل ان يدين اكثر من ثمانية ملايين فلسطيني يعيشون في المنافي مكرهين، فقد نسي السيد عباس انه كان احد هؤلاء حتي الأمس القريب، ولم يعد الي الوطن الا علي ظهر اتفاقات اوسلو التي جاءت تفريطا بالحقوق الفلسطينية، وقادت الي المزيد من الاستيطان والجدران العنصرية وكسر العزلة عن الدولة العبرية عربيا وعالميا.
حركة حماس تتحمل جانبا من مسؤولية تدهور الاوضاع، عندما دخلت عملية سياسية محكومة النتائج، خرجت من رحم الاحتلال واتفاقات اوسلو، ولكنها ليست مسؤولة عن الحصار المالي والتجويعي، ولا عن الفلتان الأمني، لانها استلمت خزائن خاوية، وحكومة مديونة باكثر من ملياري دولار، وفلتانا امنيا في ذروته بسبب تعدد الأجهزة وفساد رؤوسها، وتعاون بعضها مع الاسرائيليين وأجهزة استخبارات اجنبية، مثلما اكد اكثر من مرة اللواء نصر يوسف وزير الداخلية الأسبق وعضو اللجنة المركزية في حركة فتح .
المخرج من المأزق الدموي المتفاقم الذي ينجرف اليه الشعب الفلسطيني بسرعة مذهلة، هو حل هذه السلطة العفنة التي اصبحت عبئا علي هذا الشعب ونضالاته، لانها قلبت الأولويات الفلسطينية رأسا علي عقب، وحرفت النضال الفلسطيني عن وجهته الحقيقية اي تحرير الارض الي الاقتتال الداخلي.
فأي سلطة هذه التي يتعرض رئيس وزرائها للإهانة في معبر رفح ويجلس مثل المتسول علي الرصيف انتظارا للسماح له بالعبور ومن معه، وعندما يمر يتعرض موكبه لاطلاق النار؟
كنا نتوقع ان يتناطح رأسا السلطة سياسيا وديمقراطيا، ولكن عندما يتحاوران بالرصاص وقذائف ال ار. بي. جي وينسيان العدو الذي يحتل الأرض ويحتجز آلاف الأسري، ويرتكب المجازر بشكل يومي، فإن هذا امر مفاجيء، ويتجاوز كل الأعراف والخطوط الحمراء.
قد يأتي الخير من باطن الشر، نقولها بأسي وحزن، لعل هذا الانهيار يكون بداية الخلاص، وتصحيح الاوضاع، واعادة المسيرة الي مسارها الحقيقي.
الشعب الفلسطيني لا يستحق هذا الهوان الذي يلحق به علي يد ابنائه، بعد كل هذه التضحيات التي قدمها طوال المئة عام الماضية."
America’s outrageous meddling in Palestine
A Great Comment
By Khalid Amayreh
The West Bank
"At a time when the Bush administration is utterly unable or unwilling to get Nazi-like Israel to remove even a single roadblock in the West Bank, the US government appears hell-bent on stoking up the fire of civil war in Palestine.
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she would ask Congress for “tens of millions of dollars” to “strengthen the security forces” of PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas. But strengthen Abbas against whom? Against Israel which is savaging Palestinians and occupying their country and gravely violating their human, civil, political and national rights? Or perhaps they want to strengthen him so that his ’ strengthened “security forces would force Israel to dismantle the gigantic wall it has built in the heart of Palestinian population centers for the purpose of stealing more and more Palestinian land for Jewish settlement expansion?
Well, everybody knows why the mendacious American administration is seeking to strengthen Abbas. It is simply trying to do in Palestine what it has done in Iraq , Lebanon , Somalia and Afghanistan to mention just a few countries. America is seeking nothing short of sparking off the flames of civil war in Palestine in order to promote and expedite Zionist ambitions and, consequently, abort Palestinian aspirations for freedom and independence from Jewish imperialism.
It is very lamentable (and shameful), indeed, that Abbas and his coterie of sycophants and hangers-on are putting their trust where it shouldn’t be, namely in the Bush administration and this deceitful Rice.
When will they realize that the US , not Hamas, is the Palestinian people’s tormentor?
Didn’t Rice instruct John Bolton just two weeks ago to veto a UN Security Council resolution that would have condemned Israeli massacres in Beit Hanoun? Didn’t this callous, sadistic Rice, only a few weeks ago, publicly congratulate her Israeli counterpart, Tsipi Livni, on succeeding in pushing hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of Palestinians to the brink of starvation? And finally, didn’t these stupid so-called leaders understand the meaning of Rice’s incessant and aggressive demand that Abbas and Fatah not join any national unity government with Hamas?
My God, when will they realize that nothing good could ever come from America , the empire of evil that killed over a million Iraqi children in order to punish one man, Saddam Hussein. And just look what America has done in Iraq following its invasion and occupation and destruction of that Arab country.!!
America , as we all know, has been making so-called “peace initiatives” from the mid 1950s and classifying the leaders and governments in this Arab-Muslim Middle East into extremists and moderates. But what have these so-called “moderates” got from America in return for acting as mercenaries and betraying their own people? Did the successive American administrations ever succeed in getting Israel to remove one Jewish settlement outpost from our land, to stop the demolition of even one Palestinian home, or to stop the bulldozing of even one Palestinian olive grove?
If Abbas and cohorts realize this, why are they then harrowing after the American mirage? Why are they so blindly and so willfully stepping on the same trap that smashed our feet and broke our backs many times? Are they so gullible, so stupid and so demoralized that they are allowing themselves to be duped again and again and again by the American devil?
America doesn’t want peace in Palestine , America , which is controlled from head to toe by diabolical Zionist lobbies, can’t really achieve peace in Palestine . America has had more than fifty years to achieve peace, even when Israel was weaker and the Arab world was stronger than they are now. In short, America is part of the problem, not part of the solution.
I am sure that Abbas and company understand this in the bottom of their hearts. But, if so, why are they placing all their eggs in the American basket? Haven’t they learned the lesson of Yasser Arafat’s experience with the Americans and Israel .
Arafat recognized Israel, revoked the Palestinian National Charter, kissed the hands of Yitzhak Rabin’s wife’s hands, and established “state security courts” in his police state without a state in order to swiftly punish the “enemies of peace” with Israel. He even ordered these “enemies of peace” tortured and imprisoned, all for the sake of obtaining a certificate of good conduct from the criminals and thieves in Tel Aviv and their supporters, protectors and allies in Washington .
And what did he receive in return for all this “good will” which bordered on hypocrisy and sycophancy? They besieged him in his own office in Ramallah for three years before finally killing him by poison.
I am not asking Abbas to fly in the face of America , or even Israel . He is too coy and too obsequious to do so. However, He must at least uphold the Palestinian constants and refuse to be at America ’s beck and call at the expense of our enduring cause and our inalienable and legitimate rights.
He must resist and reject all this American meddling in Palestinian internal affairs, including American money and American weapons that everyone knows are meant to set Palestine on fire, a fire that would, God forbid, cause civil war in every Palestinian town, every Palestinian street, if not in every Palestinian clan and family.
Yes, Mr. Abbas. The White House and State Department spokespersons would wholesomely praise you for “showing leadership” and “strength” vis-à-vis Hamas? But then what would you do with all the praise in the world if you lost your people and killed their cause, while making Israel, the occupier of our national patrimony and tormentor of our people, truly gleeful and mesmerized with satisfaction at seeing Palestinian blood, a lot of Palestinian blood, shed by Palestinian hands. "
By Khalid Amayreh
The West Bank
"At a time when the Bush administration is utterly unable or unwilling to get Nazi-like Israel to remove even a single roadblock in the West Bank, the US government appears hell-bent on stoking up the fire of civil war in Palestine.
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she would ask Congress for “tens of millions of dollars” to “strengthen the security forces” of PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas. But strengthen Abbas against whom? Against Israel which is savaging Palestinians and occupying their country and gravely violating their human, civil, political and national rights? Or perhaps they want to strengthen him so that his ’ strengthened “security forces would force Israel to dismantle the gigantic wall it has built in the heart of Palestinian population centers for the purpose of stealing more and more Palestinian land for Jewish settlement expansion?
Well, everybody knows why the mendacious American administration is seeking to strengthen Abbas. It is simply trying to do in Palestine what it has done in Iraq , Lebanon , Somalia and Afghanistan to mention just a few countries. America is seeking nothing short of sparking off the flames of civil war in Palestine in order to promote and expedite Zionist ambitions and, consequently, abort Palestinian aspirations for freedom and independence from Jewish imperialism.
It is very lamentable (and shameful), indeed, that Abbas and his coterie of sycophants and hangers-on are putting their trust where it shouldn’t be, namely in the Bush administration and this deceitful Rice.
When will they realize that the US , not Hamas, is the Palestinian people’s tormentor?
Didn’t Rice instruct John Bolton just two weeks ago to veto a UN Security Council resolution that would have condemned Israeli massacres in Beit Hanoun? Didn’t this callous, sadistic Rice, only a few weeks ago, publicly congratulate her Israeli counterpart, Tsipi Livni, on succeeding in pushing hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of Palestinians to the brink of starvation? And finally, didn’t these stupid so-called leaders understand the meaning of Rice’s incessant and aggressive demand that Abbas and Fatah not join any national unity government with Hamas?
My God, when will they realize that nothing good could ever come from America , the empire of evil that killed over a million Iraqi children in order to punish one man, Saddam Hussein. And just look what America has done in Iraq following its invasion and occupation and destruction of that Arab country.!!
America , as we all know, has been making so-called “peace initiatives” from the mid 1950s and classifying the leaders and governments in this Arab-Muslim Middle East into extremists and moderates. But what have these so-called “moderates” got from America in return for acting as mercenaries and betraying their own people? Did the successive American administrations ever succeed in getting Israel to remove one Jewish settlement outpost from our land, to stop the demolition of even one Palestinian home, or to stop the bulldozing of even one Palestinian olive grove?
If Abbas and cohorts realize this, why are they then harrowing after the American mirage? Why are they so blindly and so willfully stepping on the same trap that smashed our feet and broke our backs many times? Are they so gullible, so stupid and so demoralized that they are allowing themselves to be duped again and again and again by the American devil?
America doesn’t want peace in Palestine , America , which is controlled from head to toe by diabolical Zionist lobbies, can’t really achieve peace in Palestine . America has had more than fifty years to achieve peace, even when Israel was weaker and the Arab world was stronger than they are now. In short, America is part of the problem, not part of the solution.
I am sure that Abbas and company understand this in the bottom of their hearts. But, if so, why are they placing all their eggs in the American basket? Haven’t they learned the lesson of Yasser Arafat’s experience with the Americans and Israel .
Arafat recognized Israel, revoked the Palestinian National Charter, kissed the hands of Yitzhak Rabin’s wife’s hands, and established “state security courts” in his police state without a state in order to swiftly punish the “enemies of peace” with Israel. He even ordered these “enemies of peace” tortured and imprisoned, all for the sake of obtaining a certificate of good conduct from the criminals and thieves in Tel Aviv and their supporters, protectors and allies in Washington .
And what did he receive in return for all this “good will” which bordered on hypocrisy and sycophancy? They besieged him in his own office in Ramallah for three years before finally killing him by poison.
I am not asking Abbas to fly in the face of America , or even Israel . He is too coy and too obsequious to do so. However, He must at least uphold the Palestinian constants and refuse to be at America ’s beck and call at the expense of our enduring cause and our inalienable and legitimate rights.
He must resist and reject all this American meddling in Palestinian internal affairs, including American money and American weapons that everyone knows are meant to set Palestine on fire, a fire that would, God forbid, cause civil war in every Palestinian town, every Palestinian street, if not in every Palestinian clan and family.
Yes, Mr. Abbas. The White House and State Department spokespersons would wholesomely praise you for “showing leadership” and “strength” vis-à-vis Hamas? But then what would you do with all the praise in the world if you lost your people and killed their cause, while making Israel, the occupier of our national patrimony and tormentor of our people, truly gleeful and mesmerized with satisfaction at seeing Palestinian blood, a lot of Palestinian blood, shed by Palestinian hands. "
Haneyya rejects Abbas' call
"Gaza - PA premier Ismail Haneyya on Sunday emphasized his government's rejection of PA chief Mahmoud Abbas' call for early legislative elections, describing the call as "unconstitutional".
Haneyya, speaking at the inauguration of a cabinet meeting in Gaza, said that Abbas' speech on Saturday was provocative and ridiculed the Palestinian people's steadfastness and resistance.
The premier appreciated the stand adopted by the ten Palestinian factions in Damascus, which rejected Abbas' call in a press conference.
He addressed an urgent appeal to Abbas to issue clear-cut orders to his presidential guards not to target civilians as what happened in Ramallah.
Haneyya also denounced the shooting at the motorcade of AP foreign minister Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar while on his way from his ministry to the cabinet meeting.
The premier urged all Palestinians to unite and to end all tensions because their battle is not an internal one but rather with occupation, colonialism, the wall, judaization of Jerusalem and those denying the right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees. "
Israeli denial of entry policy continues despite promises made to the EU
by the Right to Entry Campaign, December 17th
Despite assurances given to the EU presidency by Israeli authorities, foreign passport-bearing Palestinians continue to be denied entry to the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). “Arbitrary denials of entry and expulsions have not stopped. No transparent rules or mechanisms are in place so far. Palestinian families, vital service providers and businesses remain vulnerable to arbitrary denials of entry and residency. This is especially hard to accept at a time of major Christian and Muslim traditional festivities when families want to be together more then ever”, said Anita Abdullah, speaking for the Campaign for the Right of Entry to the oPt.
For example, on Thursday December 14th, a Palestinian American national from Cleveland/Ohio, Linda Ali Mahmood, was refused entry at Ben Gurion airport. Linda, who is deaf like her brother Shukri, had traveled in the hope of spending time with her cancer stricken aunt but was denied entry allegedly because Shukri had overstayed his visa. Shukri’s passport had been submitted for regular visa renewal after October 16th when the Israeli Ministry of Interior liaison at the Israeli Civil Administration stopped processing renewals for foreigners married to Palestinian ID-holders.
On December 13th, the EU Presidency met with Israeli Major General Mishlav, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) to discuss Israel’s policy on issuing visitor permits to foreign nationals residing with family or working in the oPt.
Several EU Member States have since informed their nationals that responsibility for issuing Israeli visitor visas for foreign passport holders entering the oPt has been transferred from the Ministry of Interior to COGAT, which is a part of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) command in the oPt. The EU Presidency also reported receiving the following assurances from General Mishlav:
• the policy changes and systems introduced by the Israeli Ministry of Interior three months ago have been cancelled;
• new rules have been adopted permitting foreign nationals seeking entry into the oPt to apply for three-month tourist visas and visa renewals;
• EU spouses of Palestinians should apply for 3 month permits while COGAT considers longer term alternatives;
• a COGAT liaison is now in place at Allenby Bridge crossing and a liaison will be in place at Ben Gurion Airport ‘within weeks,’ to prevent problems at crossing points.
The EU Member States have promised their nationals to monitor the implementation of the new procedures closely and have stated that they ‘shall continue to ensure that the issue of entry to the oPt for foreign nationals is continuously raised at the highest levels’. While the Campaign welcomes the efforts of foreign governments to resolve this urgent issue, tens of thousands of Palestinian families remain separated or at risk, and untold numbers of Palestinian educational and social service institutions and businesses continue to suffer the loss of critical personnel.
Contact: Basil Ayish Coordinator, Media Committee
(c) +970-(0)59-817-3953 (email) info@righttoenter.ps
IRAQ: Palestinian refugees fear for their lives after recent attack
UN Office For The Coordination Of Humanitarian Affairs
"BAGHDAD, 17 Dec 2006 (IRIN) - Palestinian refugees living in Iraq say there is increasing fear in their community after a recent attack on a predominantly Palestinian Baghdad neighbourhood left nine people dead and several injured, including children.
“We are getting worried about our situation in Iraq. We cannot leave the country because the borders are closed to us and the government doesn’t give us any hope that it can increase our security,” said Ahmed Muffitlak, spokesman for the Baghdad-based Palestinian Muslims Association (PMA).
On 13 December, local militia attacked the al-Baladiya district of the capital, where hundreds of Palestinians have lived for years. No attempt was made by the Iraqi police or multinational forces to halt the three-hour attack, Muffitlak said, adding that the militia stopped ambulances entering the area and attacked anyone who tried to enter or leave without their authorisation.
“Many elderly people got seriously sick just from the tension [of the situation] and some children were injured. When a father tried to take his six-year-old son to hospital, the fighters killed him, leaving the child in the street bleeding,” Muffitlak said.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said it was appalled by this violent attack by armed militia and appealed to the international community to provide a solution for Palestinians attempting to flee Iraq.
"We are very alarmed by this attack and dismayed by the lack of protection given to Palestinians in Iraq. They have very limited freedom of movement and no possibility to leave the country - unlike Iraqis - to find a safe haven, nor any community to protect them," Radhouane Nouicer, UNHCR's Geneva-based deputy director for the region, said in a statement on 14 December.
Urgent protection needed
"We are urgently appealing to the Iraqi government and the multinational forces to provide protection and safety or an alternative safe location for this targeted group. We also ask the world to stop turning their back and provide a humane solution and safe haven to these people who have no way out," Nouicer added.
IRIN contacted a spokeswoman for the Multinational Forces in Iraq on the subject of the safety of Palestinians living there but has received no response as yet.
Palestinians in Iraq have lived under a degree of fear since the US-led occupation of Iraq began in 2003. As Sunnis under Israeli occupation in their homeland, they were afforded privileged status under former president Saddam Hussein’s government – a factor which is now pitting them against the formally marginalised Shi’ite community in Iraq.
But ever since Sunni militants attacked a Shi’ite shrine in the northern city of Samarra in February this year, Palestinians have been increasingly targeted as sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims escalated.
Dozens of cases of the kidnappings and killings of Palestinians have been reported by UNHCR and local NGOs in the past few months.
“We have received reports of more than 500 threats against Palestinians and many cases of murders as well as women and youths being raped,” Muffitlak said, adding that leaflets with death threats were left outside doors in Palestinian neighbourhoods of Baghdad, prompting hundreds to flee to the Syria-Iraq border.
Muffitlak said that most embassies in the country have stopped taking documents from Palestinians trying to arrange foreign visas. “We have called the UNHCR for help in taking every Palestinian out of Iraq before they get killed. But the organisation said that it is having great difficulty getting authorisation from foreign and Arab countries,” he said.
UNHCR said it has approached resettlement countries, but so far positive responses have only been forthcoming from Canada, which has taken 64 Palestinians who were stranded in a Jordanian refugee camp for years. Syria took in 287 Palestinians in May 2006, before closing its borders to other desperate Palestinians, according to the latest UNHCR press release.
In 2003, UNHCR registered 23,000 of an estimated 34,000 Palestinians living in Iraq in 2003. Today, less than 15,000 Palestinians are believed to remain in the country. "
JORDAN: Noora Nadi, Jordan, “Nobody cares about refugees from Gaza”
The World Of A Palestinian Refugee In Jordan
UN Office For The Coordination Of Humanitarian Affairs
"AMMAN, 17 Dec 2006 (IRIN) - Widow Noora Nadi, 40, a Palestinian refugee living in Baqaa camp, 20 km west of Amman, is struggling to make ends meet to support her three children after her husband died two years ago.
She spoke to IRIN about her calamity and the bleak future she foresees.
“I have been struggling to feed my family since my husband died. UNRWA [United Nations Agency for Relief and Work for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] does not provide me with financial assistance and officials from the Jordanian government say I do not qualify for social aid like many widows in this country because I do not have Jordanian nationality.
I am paying the price of my parent’s decision to come to Jordan after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Refugees who came to the country after that date were given temporary passports but not Jordanian nationality, contrary to those who arrived in Jordan after [the Arab-Israeli conflict in] 1948. The latter can work everywhere and enter government-run universities, but we are treated like foreigners.
My 22-year-old son is not allowed to work in the government because he is not considered Jordanian, although he was born here.
I work in nearby farms picking fruits and taking care of animals from early morning to sunset. My mother is sick and too old to take care of herself.
I do not know what is going to happen to my family if I become ill. Nobody seems to care about refugees from Gaza. I asked the Palestinian embassy to help me go to Gaza, where most of my family lives, but they dismissed me saying an agreement with Israel means I cannot go until a permanent solution to the refugees problem is found.
In Jordan, I am treated as if I were a rich tourist. I am not allowed to go to a government-run hospital for free treatment, while waiting lists at the UNRWA clinics are very long. I am afraid if one of my kids falls ill I will have to sell my furniture to provide medication.
Winter has now arrived. When it rains, the ceiling leaks on our heads. I do not have the money to fix it. Moreover, I cannot afford fuel to fill my heater and my children do not have enough clothes to warm themselves.
I am still a refugee who lost everything: my home country, my husband and now I am afraid I will also lose my children. The UN must live up to its responsibility and provide me with help. If not, Jordan must step in and do something to allow my son to work.""
General Reveals Residual Neocon-Likudnik Haunting at Pentagon
By Kurt Nimmo
"For the neocons, it was not enough last month when Bush compared Iran to al-Qaeda. Forget the rhetoric, say the neocons. Bomb Iran, now. Of course, this is nothing new, as the Israel First neocons, at the behest of Likud-Kadima, the nationalist-religious parties, and the fanatical settler wing of the Israeli government, have called for mass murdering untold numbers in Iran for some time now.
However, with each passing day, the calls get more strident, more shrill, more desperate, especially with Israel’s humiliating defeat at the hands of Hezbollah last summer. Hezbollah over the border in Lebanon and a tarnished invincibility image, however, take a backseat to the cardinal fear of the Israelis—international pressure may force them to seriously negotiate with the Palestinians and, dread to imagine, work toward creating a Palestinian state.......
.....Air Force Brig. Gen. Mark O. Schissler is not retired, so he has yet to experience one of JINSA’s (the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs) infamous and stepfordizing Israel walking tours, but he is completely onboard with the now patented “clash of civilizations” palaver, an ideological stance well-ensconced in the Pentagon.
“The American people need to prepare for a long-duration war against radical Muslims who are set to fight for 50 to 100 years to create an Islamist state in the region,” writes Bill Gertz, seasoned Iraq invasion propaganda disseminator, for the Moonie Times, otherwise known as the Washington Times. Schissler is deputy director for the “war on terrorism” within the strategic plans office of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff. “I don’t care about the politics. I care about people understanding the facts of what’s our enemy is thinking about, what’s our strategy to defeat them, and for [Americans] to understand that it will take a long fight, mostly because our enemy is committed to the long fight…. One of my concerns is how to maintain the American will, the public will over that duration,” that is to say 50, 100, 200 years, however long it takes to reduce the Middle East to a smoldering backwater.
“Our enemy,” naturally, just so happens to be Israel’s, as well. And although the frontline neocons—Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, and Richard Perle—are no longer at the Pentagon, their “Grand Strategy for the Middle East” (called the “Bush-Sharon Grand Strategy” in 2003 by Patrick Buchanan) lives on at the highest reaches of the Pentagon, as the remarks of Schissler reveal."
The March to War: Political Crises in Lebanon and Palestine
by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya
Global Research, December 16, 2006
"......Lebanon is one of the theatres in the Middle East, just as Palestine is another theatre, where indigenous forces are facing-off against forces propped up by foreign powers from outside the region. Lebanon is additionally linked through Anglo-American strategic planning with the situation in Iraq, the Palestinian Question, and the American threats directed against Syria and Iran. The current crisis in Lebanon and the ongoing militarization of the Levant is only one piece of a larger arrangement. Because of Lebanon’s geographic position in the Middle East, control of Lebanon is a vital step in guaranteeing Anglo-American ascendancy in the Middle East.
Beirut is currently a venue where foreign rivalries and contentions are being played out. Lebanon is one of several pressure points in the region, along with Iraq, Palestine, and Kurdistan, from which a “New Middle East” can be created to satisfy the objectives of the Anglo-American alliance and Israel. Lebanon can provide security to energy haulage and a vital component of a land bridge, which also includes Syria, for the Baku-Tbilisi-Cehyan (BTC) Oil Terminal from Turkey to Israel.
Lebanon is strategically vital for providing the Anglo-American alliance and its partners with military positions to control the energy stream in the Eastern Mediterranean. For these reasons and several others, Lebanon also has significant strategic value for the interests of Israel, the United States, France, Syria, Britain, and Iran—including Russia and China, which is evident from their military involvement in the small Arab state after the Anglo-American sponsored Israeli siege of Lebanon. Russian interests are also highlighted by the Russian position at the United Nations with regards to Lebanon and the recently planned visit of the Lebanese Prime Minister to the Russian capital, Moscow.
The United States is currently supporting a client government in Beirut that serves Anglo-American and Israeli interests in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. Besides energy security in the Eastern Mediterranean, Lebanon can serve as a multi-facet bridgehead into Syria. Although Syria was hegemonic in Lebanon, current Syrian interests in Lebanon are linked to Syrian national security concerns in regards to real threats of various forms from the Anglo-American alliance and Israel; this includes regime change and the establishment of an international tribunal that appears to be targeting Syria. Lebanon is unquestionably a multi-level steppingstone for attempts of overwhelming Syria and also attempts at marginalizing Iran.......
The duplicity of the foreign policy of the United States and its allies is becoming crystal clear in regards to “democratization” in the Middle East. The goal is not to spread democracy, but to establish a series of puppet, client governments that serve Anglo-American financial, military, and strategic interests in the region. These governments for all intents and purposes are undemocratic in nature, but termed as “moderate.” The situations in both Lebanon and Palestine share startling similarities, although Palestinians face military occupation and the Lebanese face strengthening foreign induced sectarian tension(s).
In Palestine a majority government dominated by Hamas is under siege from the United States, Israel, and Fatah with the support of the European Union and most Arab governments. The Hamas-government is also desperately trying to create a “national unity government,” with Fatah and its leader, Mahmoud Abbas the Palestinian President. It is ironic that the political party with the majority in Palestine has been reduced to a position where it has to plead with Fatah—which has been holding out—to create a “national unity government.” Fatah under the influence of the United States and with the help of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and the Arab Sheikdoms of the Persian Gulf is attempting to utterly squash the Hamas-government of Palestine because of its resistance to Anglo-American objectives vis-à-vis collaboration with the Israeli government.
In Lebanon the National Opposition is demanding the formation of a “national unity government” to ensure that “the State” acts in the interest of Lebanon's citizens rather than serving the interests of the U.S., France, and Israel.
In both Lebanon and Palestine the political entities and individuals rejecting the creation of “national unity governments” are collaborating with the United States and supported by the United States, Israel, Britain, and Saudi Arabia amongst others. In parallel, the groups trying to create “national unity governments” in Lebanon and Palestine are indigenous forces resistant to foreign tutelage and supported by Iran and Syria for various reasons.....Continued."
Laura Bush wants the 'good news' from Iraq to be reported
By Juan Cole
Laura Bush wants the 'good news' from Iraq to be reported, especially about the "schools opening."
"Actually, Laura, the schools in Iraq were open every day until March 19, 2003. Iraqis at one point had 95 percent literacy, before the US/UN sanctions of the 1990s. They didn't need the Bush administration to open schools for them, they needed the Americans to stop strangling them on the pretext that Saddam hadn't destroyed his WMD, which the professionals knew he had."
Zahhar survives assassination attempt
"Gaza - PA foreign minister Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar on Sunday survived an assassination attempt at the hands of armed elements affiliated with the Fatah Movement and the Force-17, both under the direct command PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, according to the ministry.
Taher Al-Nunu, the ministry spokesman, said that a number of snipers were deployed around the ministry's premises and started shooting at Zahhar's motorcade immediately after he left the ministry.
He added that Zahhar proceeded with his car unharmed while shooting continued at the ministry blocking the departure of employees.
The new assassination attempt followed a similar one targeting PA premier Ismail Haneyya at Rafah terminal on Thursday evening on his return from a tour that killed one of his bodyguards and wounded his son and his political advisor.
Hamas accused Fatah MP and former head of the notorious preventive security apparatus Mohammed Dahlan of orchestrating the attempt. "
***
This coup is being televized; stay tuned. The next couple of days will be critical. The coup leaders are now moving to the next phase which is to take, by force, the various ministries and PA government facilities.
Abbas' call for early elections causes rift within Fatah
Some of Fatah's military wings took part in Hamas' rally against Abbas' call for a coup.
"Gaza - The central committee of the Fatah Movement on Sunday lashed out at Farouk Kaddoumi, the secretary general of the Movement, and other Palestinian factions that rejected PA chief Mahmoud Abbas' call for early legislative elections.
In a statement on the issue, the committee said that Kaddoumi's stands do not reflect the official position of Fatah, especially those refusing Abbas' call for early elections.
It added that such positions only caused more confusion within the Fatah Movement and involved the Movement in regional axes that only "harmed the Palestine cause".
For his part, Ahmed Abdul Rahman, the official Fatah spokesman, said that Kaddoumi was not "qualified" to determine the Movement's policy.
However, the higher military council of the AMB, the armed wing of the Fatah Movement, declared its refusal of Abbas' call.
The council, which is the most prominent among the Fatah military wings, declared allegiance to Kaddoumi for his "national and responsible stands and in his capacity as an honest leader that crystallized the unity and cohesion of the Palestinian people".
Another armed wing of Fatah Tawhid (Unification) Brigades, also announced backing to the PA government in its rejection of early elections.
It affirmed that Abbas did not enjoy the same legitimacy as that of the government, noting that he only won 40% of votes in the presidential elections last year. "
"غزة - المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام
أعلنت خمسة أجنحة عسكرية تابعة لحركة "فتح"، مبايعتها لفاروق القدومي، رئيس الدائرة السياسية لمنظمة التحرير الفلسطينية، الذي هجوم من قبل قيادات في "فتح" والمنظمة لرفضه دعوة محمود عباس، رئيس السلطة الفلسطينية، بإجراء انتخابات مبكّرة، ووقوفه إلى جانب فصائل المقاومة والحكومة.
وقالت الأجنحة العسكرية، والتي ضمّت كلا من "كتائب شهداء الأقصى - المجلس العسكري الأعلى"، و"كتائب الشهيد خالد أبو عكر"، و"قوات الصاعقة – حركة فتح"، و"مقاتلي فتح كتائب التوحيد"، و"كتائب الشهيد أحمد أبو الريش- سيف الإسلام"، في بيان، تلقى "المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام" نسخة منه: "نبايع القائد القدومي، ونقدم له كل الاحترام لموقفه الذي كان صمام أمان للساحة الداخلية الفلسطينية"، مؤكدين أن "فتح ما زال فيها روح الوحدة وستكون صمام أمان لوحدتنا الوطنية إلى جانب باقي الفصائل".
وأضاف البيان "جميعناً يعلم أن ما قاله الرئيس (عباس) بالأمس شيء مستغرب ومستهجن"، مضيفاً: "نحن لا نمثل أنفسنا فقط، فنحن نمثل شارعاً عريضاً من الشارع الفتحاوي، وكانت لنا مسيرات في السابق ضمت أكثر من 6 آلاف من كوادر وأبناء شهداء الأقصى وأجنحة المقاومة التي تنتمي لحركة فتح".
وتابع الأجنحة العسكرية القول: "نحن سيكون لنا كلمة فصل ومشاورات مع أبو اللطف، ومن ثم سيتم الإعلان بشكل واضح عن قرار الحركة لوقف هذه الماكينة التي تريد زج شارعنا الفلسطيني لفتنة داخلية".
وعبّرت عن اعتزازها من "أننا أبناء فتح الإسلاميين الذين نتخذ من أبناء القسام وإخواننا في باقي فصائل المقاومة إخوة لنا وليسوا أعداء، ونظن أن من يتخذ هذه القرارات هو من يقوم بتحصين الوحدة الداخلية، وليس من يتلقى تعليمات من أميركا والكيان الصهيوني ومن دول العالم الظالمة التي تحارب أبناء شعبنا الفلسطيني".
وشدد البيان على أن "من يمثل فتح الحقيقية ليس من يصف عمليات المقاومة بالعبثية والخطيرة"، في إشارة واضحة إلى رئيس السلطة ورئيس حركة "فتح" محمود عباس، مؤكداً: "أننا أصحاب المشروع الفتحاوي الحقيقي، الذي يعبر عن أغلبية أبناء الفتح". "
CURRENT Al-JAZEERA ONLINE (Arabic) POLL
The question is:
Do you support Abbas' call for early Palestinian elections?
With over 7,500 responding so far, here are the results:
Yes.............18.0%
No..............82.0%
***
Abbas: I will keep repeating elections and rigging them until Condoleezza gets what she wants. I just called her a couple of hours ago to report the progress of the coup; she said, "faster, you dummy!"
Do you support Abbas' call for early Palestinian elections?
With over 7,500 responding so far, here are the results:
Yes.............18.0%
No..............82.0%
***
Abbas: I will keep repeating elections and rigging them until Condoleezza gets what she wants. I just called her a couple of hours ago to report the progress of the coup; she said, "faster, you dummy!"
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