The Wall is only about 70 percent complete, new deadline for completion is … not until 2020

Jamal Juma’, in an interview with Ida Audeh published on the Electronic Intifada [EI] website, said, about the announced intention of the Palestinian leadership to go to the UN in September, that: “We have been talking to the national forces and leftist and democratic forces and institutions, as well as to the Palestinian human rights [and civil society organizations]. We developed a working paper that outlines our positions. We wanted to get a legal perspective on what international law says about going to the UN. We concluded that we should in fact go to the UN but not in order to establish a state on the 1967 borders. We should be demanding that the membership of the PLO be raised to state status“…

What should go to the UN Security Council, Juma said, is the un-implemented Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice in the Hague on The Wall.

Continue reading The Wall is only about 70 percent complete, new deadline for completion is … not until 2020

Another GENERAL CLOSURE of the West Bank for the 10-day Jewish holiday of Succot

Acording to the Jerusalem Post, a general closure will be implemented in “Judea and Samaria” (the West Bank) for ten days, starting from midnight tonight, for the Succot holiday: “For the duration of the closure, persons in need of medical attention will be permitted to pass for care. The passage of humanitarian aid as well as doctors, medical personnel, NGO members, lawyers, religious workers and additional professional groups will be authorized by the District Coordination and Liaison office. The closure will begin on Thursday at 11:59 pm and end on Saturday October 10 at 11:59 pm. The defense minister’s decision was made in accordance with the IDF’s security evaluation of the area”. This JPost report can be read in full here.

On top of that, the IDF is imposing very tight security restrictions on Jerusalem on Friday, the beginning of the Succot holiday — and also the day that the chief Palestinian Islamic Court Judge Sheikh Taysir Tamimi has called for a demonstration in defense of Al-Aqsa Mosque to follow the regular Friday prayers. According to the restrictions, men will only be admitted to the Haram ash-Sharif where the Friday prayers will be performed at Al-Aqsa if they are over the age of 50, and have Israeli ID (citizens and permanent residents of East Jerusalem, presumably). There will also be a heavy police and Border Police presence at all entrances and main intersections in the city.

However, lush palm fronds are being imported from Gaza to cover the roofs of the Succot huts that Jewish families build outside their homes to commemorate the Biblical account of the Jewish tribes’ 40 years of wandering in the desert after being released from exile in Egypt, but before finding the Promised Land.

Obama says there IS a HUMANITARIAN CRISIS in Gaza

Excerpts from remarks made by U.S. President Barack Obama with Chancellor Angela Merkel at Dresden Castle in Germany on Friday:

“I’ve assigned George Mitchell, my special envoy, who has met repeatedly with all the players in the region and who is going to be going back next week in the wake of my appearance in Cairo to follow up with each of the individual parties on a whole host of negotiation points and potential confidence-building measures that can be taken … You know, a lot of attention has been given to my statement that the Israelis need to stop settlement construction, and I recognize that it’s received a lot of attention in Israel, as well. Keep in mind that all I’ve done there is reaffirm commitments that the Israelis themselves had already made in the road map. And I recognize the very difficult politics within Israel of getting that done, and I’m very sympathetic to how hard it will be. But as Israel’s friend, the United States I think has an obligation to just be honest with that friend about how important it is to achieve a two-state solution — for Israel’s national security interests, as well as ours, as well as the Palestinians. And that’s an area where steps can be taken. They’re not the only steps, by the way, that Israel can take and will need to take in order to advance movement towards peace. And I mentioned some of the other issues that I’ve discussed with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office, for example, increasing freedom of movement within the West Bank, dealing with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and allowing reconstruction to proceed more aggressively”. The full transcript is available here.

The Israeli military — which administers without any serious government oversight the sanctions regime against the 1.5 million people in Gaza — has promised the Israeli Supreme Court that it would NOT let a humanitarian crisis develop …

So, what is President Obama going to do now? How will he follow up on his words?