U.S. Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton

Day 7 of IDF Operation Pillar of Clouds [a/k/a Defense Pillar]

Day 7 opened with reports from international journalists in Gaza saying it had been an unusually quiet night — but the IDF reporting some 180 overnight strikes. The rocket fire from Gaza resumed just before the start of the business day.

UNSG Ban Ki Moon was in Egypt, and had already made a press statement from Cairo saying it would be a bad idea for Israeli to move to a ground operation inside Gaza, before a delegation of Arab Foreign Ministers headed by Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Araby headed to Rafah to go to Gaza on another solidarity visit.

European Foreign Ministers and Quartet Envoy were doing the rounds in the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem-Ramallah circuit.

A surprise announcement this morning said that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was diverted to head to the region from Thailand today, and should arrive in Israel by the afternoon or evening to strengthen efforts to conclude a cease-fire.

Then, by mid-day the cease-fire [vs escalation by ground invasion] roller-coaster ride picked up weight + speed. Via Twitter:

@CNNInternatDesk – BREAKING NEWS: Israel Security Cabinet decided to put temporary hold on possible ground offensive into Gaza

RAGreeneCNN ?@RAGreeneCNN – Israel to HOLD OFF on ground offensive “for a limited time for a diplomatic solution,” Israel govt official tells CNN’s @camanpour

Earlier, veteran French TV [2] correspondent Charles Enderlin ?@Charles1045 – Avant de faire des concessions majeures au Hamas en échange d’un cessez le feu Bibi veut la preuve que le Hamas contrôle Gaza [My translation: Before making major concessions to Hamas in exchange for a cease-fire, Bibi wants proof that Hamas controls Gaza { !!! }]

Enderlin’s next Tweet said: je n’arrive pas a croire que Benjamin Netanyahu va conclure un accord avec des terroristes 🙂
[My translation: I Ican’t believe that Benjamin Netanyahu is going to make an agreement with terrorists : )…]

Then just after 13:hh, a Tweet from the BBC’s Lyse Doucet [@bbclysedoucet] – Mohammed Deif Head of Hamas Military wing will give “important announcement” on #Hamas TV shortly #Gaza #Israelah

But, the BBC’s Paul Danahar then Tweeted: @pdanahar – Head of the Hamas military wing Mohamed Deif in #Gaza says nothing about ceasefire he just encouraging people to keep fighting

@pdanahar – Head of the Hamas military wing Mohamed Deif in #Gaza says their fighters should be ready for a ground war with #Israel

And then from @bbclysedoucet – Deif Head #Hamas Military wing says #Israel ground invasion best way to get Pal prisoners released – by capturing Israel soldiers

Just after 14:00 air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem. There is no Iron-Dome battery in Jerusalem. An explosion was heard. The missiles [reportedly, two] apparently hit an area of open ground. The AlQassam Brigades said they were M-75 missiles with a 75-km range. It was later reported [via Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency] that the missiles hit in a Palestinian area near Surif, Beit Ummar, in the southern West Bank.

Not long afterwards, the IDF reported they made a direct hit on a motorcycle, killing the riders who the IDF identified as the crew which fired the missiles towards Jerusalem.

After that, leaflets were dropped in certain areas of Gaza, instructing residents to leave their homes and move towards the center of Gaza City. That should make it very crowded…

This could be an indication of an imminent ground invasion. Or, it could be a Psy-Ops operation intended to push truce negotiations forward. Leaflets dropped by the IDF in Gaza Tuesday afternoon instructing residents to move towards specified areas in the center

A translation, posted here, offered by Yousef Munayyer of the Palestine Center says:

Military Communique

To the residents of Sheikh Ajleen, Tal Al-hawa, Al-Rimal janoob, Al Zaytoon neighborhood, Shija’eya, Al Turkman, and New Shija’eya,

The IDF is not targeting any of you and does not want to harm you or your family. For your safety, we demand you to evacuate your homes immediately and move toward the center of the city via one of the following paths: Al Qahira, Jami’at Al Dool Al Rabya, Al-Aqsa, Alqadsyah, Om El Laymon, Salah Eldeen, Almansoorah, Khalas and Baghdad. The designated area in the city of Gaza is limited to west of Salah-a-deen Road, north of Omar Al Mokhtar Road, east of AlNassir Road and south of al-Quds road. This is a temporary confrontation and in the end every person will return to his home . Obeying these IDF instructions will keep civilian residents like you from harm’s way

The leadership of the Israeli Defense Force

An alternate translation can be found here.

Yousef Munayyer notes that the area delineated is “the most densely populated area of the Gaza Strip in and around Gaza city. This is one of the most densely populated places on earth. According to UN OCHA, the population density in this area is close to 7,000 persons/SqKm. Hundreds of thousands of people are being told to immediately leave their houses”…

His post offers a larger map, published here, showing exactly the area defined. He explains: “The red area represents the neighborhoods which must evacuate immediately into the area in the blue square”.

People in the center of Gaza are advised to go be squeezed together inside an even tighter and smaller area — for how long?

Tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of terrified people, crowded overnight into a central area — without shelter, sanitation, food and water?

The Arab League delegation of Foreign Ministers did go in and out of Gaza today, rolling in impressive SUVs on some surprisingly clear streets with security guards standing in the doors of the cars as the convoy whizzed passed. Ismail Haniyeh gave the group a brief lecture, then they went to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu showed some emotion.

AlQassam Brigades said the Turkish FM was “sharing the #Palestinian people pain and sorrow”, and Tweeted a photo of one of the moments: @AlqassamBrigade – pic.twitter.com/JHMh4PEI

Turkish FM Ahmet Davuto?lu at Gaza City's main Shifa Hospital - 20 Nov 2012

Then, two journalists working for Al-Aqsa TV [Mahmoud Al-Komi and Husam Salama ] were killed in a targetted strike moments after the Arab League delegation’s convoy left, burning to death in their struck car, which was clearly marked “PRESS”. A third journalist was targetted a short while later, elsewhere in Gaza. Ma’an News Agency later reported here that Palestinian press freedom group Mada “condemned the strike as a ‘heinous crime … (and) a flagrant breach of the international conventions that protect journalists’.”, and demanded an international investigation.

Six men accused of being “collaborators” — identifying targets for Israeli strikes — were pulled out of a van that pulled up on a downtown street and shot in front of surprised onlookers. Despite the ongoing air attacks, the crowd grew when the executioners said that the men were collaborators. One report later said Hamas was investigating. Reuters reported that “Hamas executed six Palestinians accused of spying for Israel, who a security source quoted by Hamas Aqsa radio said had been ‘caught red-handed’ with ‘filming equipment to take footage of positions’. The radio said they had been shot. Militants on a motorcycle dragged the body of one of the men through the streets”. This report is published here

The Gaza Mall, which also houses the offices of AFP, was targeted later.

The only explanation is this Tweet put out by the IDF: @IDFSpokesperson – Targeted in #Gaza over evening: bank used to finance Hamas operatives, command & control center, Hamas hideout & operatives’ meeting place

According to a later report on Reuters, here, “Israel’s military said it had been targeting a Hamas intelligence centre in the tower”.

The Committee to Protect Journalists [CPJ] issued a statement saying that Israel “must immediately halt airstrikes targeting news offices”, apparently referring to the strikes over the past several days. The CPJ statement is published here.

CPJ later issued a second statement, which focused a bit more on the targetted killing of the three Palestinian journalists working for Al-Aqsa TV + Radio.

“We’re alarmed by the mounting toll on journalists in Gaza,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. “Israeli airstrikes continue to put journalists in harm’s way. This reflects the risks journalists face while reporting on conflict, especially in such a densely populated area.” A third journalist was killed when his car was hit by a missile this evening, The Associated Press reported citing a Gaza official. Initial local news reports identified the journalist as Mohamed Abu Aisha, director of the private Al-Quds Educational Radio. The reports said his vehicle was hit while he was driving in the Deir al-Balah neighborhood, but did not say whether Abu Aisha was reporting at the time. CPJ continues to investigate the circumstances of his death. This is posted here

This morning, it was reported that 111 Palestinians had been killed since the start of Pillars of Clouds. By 16:30, the death toll in Gaza had increased to 121… and counting. Just after 22:00, Arwa Damon of CNN posted this Tweet:

@arwaCNN – #gaza casualty toll in last 7 days – 130 dead, more than 1020 injured

The Haaretz Live Blog reported here at 10:40 P.M. “IDF: Since beginning of Operation Pillar of Defense, 1,500 targets were hit in the Gaza Strip, 133 on Tuesday. Iron Dome intercepted 389 rockets since operations’ onset, including 51 on Tuesday”…

Egyptian protestors stay the course in big turnout on Friday

Al-Jazeera has been shut down on NileSat, and moved to another frequency, notices on Twitter inform us. Today is the day of the “million person” march in Egypt.

Now, livestation.com is overcapacity, too.

A Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson has just said the key demand, for them, is that Husni Mubarak step down. He said Egypt has “an unjust, repressive government”. Other demands are for freedom of expression, and dissolution of the Parliament, and removal of Mubarak’s son Gamal as a prime candidate for replacing his father…

Mubarak had been expected to make a live statement to his nation at 6pm, about 1.5 hours ago, when a 13-hour curfew was to have gone into effect. But, thousands and thousands of Egyptians are still out in the streets in cities around the country.

All protests were banned in Egypt today, too — but that, too, was completely ineffective.

The army was sent out into the streets out of Egypt earlier in the day.

By 7:30 in the evening, Al-Jazeera was reporting that there was no police presence left on the streets. At least two police personnel carriers were burning, after having been set on fire by the protestors.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a live appearance instead (from Washington) in which she called first of all upon the Egyptian government to refrain from using force against the demonstrators. She said that the U.S. supports “the universal human rights of the Egyptian people”, including freedom of expression and assembly. And she called on the government to reverse its unprecedented steps to cut off communication in the country.

UPDATE: Later — after 1 am on Saturday — a recorded statement by Egyptian President Mubarak was broadcast on state television and internationally. Mubarak said there was a “fine line between freedom + chaos”. He said that Egyptians were worried about unrest and insecurity, and fearful for the future. And, he added, “I asked govt to step down today + will name a new one tomorrow”.

After Mubarak’s statement was aired, U.S. President Obama spoke to him by phone, reportedly for 30 minutes — then Obama made his own public on-air statement. Obama said that “our first concern” was to “call on the Egyptian authorities to refrain from using violence… Violence will not address the grievances of the Egyptian people. Wahat is needed are concrete steps to address the grievances of the Egyptian people”. And, Obama said pointedly, “all governments must maintain power by consent, not by coercion”, and added that “the U.S, will continue to stand by the Egyptian people”…

Hillary Clinton at Saban Forum: Palestinian state achieved through negotiations is inevitable, meanwhile parties will grapple with "core issues"

Amazing… American right-wing (+ pro-Israel) organizations think Hillary Clinton’s speech at the Saban Forum on Friday night was anti-Israel.

If the pre-speech briefings, leaks and spin were not enough to contradict this extreme view, a read through the full text, posted here should do it.

Basically, she said, the U.S. will continue its efforts:
“Now, you don’t have to read secret diplomatic cables to know that we are meeting during a difficult period in the pursuit of peace in the Middle East. I understand and indeed I share the deep frustrations of many of you in this room and across the region and the world. But rather than dwell on what has come before, I want to focus tonight on the way forward, on America’s continuing engagement in helping the parties achieve a two-state solution that ends the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians once and for all ..The parties have indicated that they want the United States to continue its efforts … we will be persistent and press forward. We will push the parties to grapple with the core issues. We will work with them on the ground to continue laying the foundations for a future Palestinian state. And we will redouble our regional diplomacy. When one way is blocked, we will seek another”.

Broad policy stroke:
“The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and between Israel and Arab neighbors is a source of tension and an obstacle to prosperity and opportunity for all the people of the region. It denies the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people and it poses a threat to Israel’s future security. It is at odds also with the interests of the United States.

Somewhat tighter policy stroke:
“The long-term population trends that result from the occupation are endangering the Zionist vision of a Jewish and democratic state in the historic homeland of the Jewish people. Israelis should not have to choose between preserving both elements of their dream. But that day is approaching … we conclude without a shadow of a doubt that ending this conflict once and for all and achieving a comprehensive regional peace is imperative for safeguarding Israelis’ future. We also look at our friends the Palestinians, and we remember the painful history of a people who have never had a state of their own, and we are renewed in our determination to help them finally realize their legitimate aspirations. The lack of peace and the occupation that began in 1967 continue to deprive the Palestinian people of dignity and self-determination. This is unacceptable, and, ultimately, it too is unsustainable”.

Then, Clinton indicated that sometime between September and 10 December “both sides decided together to pursue a framework agreement that would establish the fundamental compromises on all permanent status issues and pave the way for a final peace treaty“.

So, how does the U.S. intend to proceed, now that it has announced it has abandoned attempts to persuade Israel to reinstate a “moratorium” on settlement building in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem)?

Continue reading Hillary Clinton at Saban Forum: Palestinian state achieved through negotiations is inevitable, meanwhile parties will grapple with "core issues"

Clinton in the West Bank

The Washington Post reported that Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu “on Sunday rejected a total freeze but suggested some flexibility on the issue. He said Israel could not ‘freeze the lives, of residents but would also not begin a massive construction program. Before she arrived here, Clinton told reporters traveling with her that although the United States wants Israel to extend the moratorium, there could be other agreements between the two sides that would improve the atmosphere for talks and permit them to continue. Palestinian officials, for instance, are seeking to begin the discussions by focusing on the potential borders of the two states, which would identify which settlements Israel might keep in a peace deal. Israeli officials want Palestinian recognition of Israel as a ‘Jewish homeland’. ‘There is no prospect for success in the absence of direct negotiations’, Clinton said. ‘For me, this is a simple choice: no negotiations, no security, no state’. The administration had hoped that direct talks would have begun when the construction moratorium was announced, making it harder to let the ban lapse. Now U.S. officials are trying to keep the talks going past the initial phase, making the settlement issue less of a factor in whether the talks continue. Clinton said Monday that the ‘time is ripe’ for the two sides to make a deal”. This is posted here.

Clinton is due to visit Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah, then meet again with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, after which she heads for Amman for discussions with King Abdullah II. Will she drive through the Allenby Bridge? [I’ve seen Tony Blair do it, zipping through as if it were a normal place, an open road, a highway…]

UPDATE: Ma’an News Agency is reporting here that “Officials said Israeli crews would be performing maintenance on the Israeli-controlled portion of the border, which would be closed between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. [But] Sources told Ma’an that the closure was related to the passage of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton through the passage on her way to meet Jordan’s King”…

She still won’t be able to see what the real problems are…

UPDATE TWO: The AP reported later Thursday that Abbas told journalists at the Muqata’a, the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, that “We all know there is no alternative to peace through negotiations, so we have no alternative other than to continue these efforts” … while “Egypt’s leader said in a radio interview that he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the [settlement] restrictions for three more months to give peacemaking a chance. Mubarak said he told Netanyahu the delay could give the two sides time to draft their future borders. After those lines are agreed, Mubarak reasoned, Israel can build within its future borders and the Palestinians within theirs”. This news report is posted here.

Abu Mazen scheduled at Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem at 5pm

So, he must already have arrived.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem — the warmth of the invitation no doubt intended to melt resistance and encourage agreement, even as the Palestinian negotiators face the realization that the will have to stay the course, whatever happens to the settlement freeze…

UPDATE: The U.S. is reportedly suggesting/requesting a three-month continuation of the freeze-that-never-was-a- real-freeze…

Laura Rozen suggests here that there is logic to the idea that Netanyahu + Abu Mazen already be scheduled to meet (perhaps also with Clinton) in another week’s time in New York, in the “margins” of the UN General Assembly’s annual high-level session.

Abu Mazen’s predecessor, the late Yasser Arafat, never got officially invited to Jerusalem (though it is said he was allowed to pass through, in an extremely low-key way, while en route from Ramallah to Bethlehem one time…)

Why is Abu Mazen going through with this? For reasons that Hillary Clinton will not see, ever, while in Jerusalem or driving through the West Bank for her meeting with Abu Mazen and — of course — also with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad tomorrow…

Amira Hass wrote in Haaretz today that “A peace agreement is not a contract. It requires a change of values of a kind that does not exist within the vocabulary of the democratic Jewish state, which elevates the system of double standards to a level of virtuosity. The people of this state are incapable of imagining themselves departing from the privileges that this system confers. And who cares if the flip side of those privileges is dispossession, suppression of freedoms and the risk of regional conflagration? The day before yesterday, Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz (Habayit Hayehudi ) was interviewed on Army Radio’s morning broadcast, and argued that it was impossible to continue the construction freeze in the West Bank settlements while the Palestinians went on building and building. One cannot expect an interviewer on Army Radio or Israel Radio to surprise and ask, for example: ‘Since the principle of equality is suddenly so important to the settlement lobby, why then residents of Nablus and East Jerusalem cannot have a housing project in Haifa or live in Ashkelon or in a panoramic neighborhood in the Galilee, while residents of Haifa and kibbutz Hazorea are allowed to build in Nablus Heights or in the East Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan? But the interviewer didn’t even correct a distortion of the facts and didn’t tell the listeners that the Palestinians cannot build at will. In the 62 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli control, known as Area C, Israel has frozen Palestinian construction for the past four decades. It can be assumed that the interviewer, despite numerous reports, is unaware of the building freeze beyond the pale of settlement allocated to the Palestinians. Natural growth only applies to Jews. In Area C, schools, kindergartens and water are only for Jews. The Mekorot Water Company’s wells in the Jordan Valley supply quantities of water to the settlements and their orchards. The water flows from the Palestinians’ land, and the pipes are fenced off. And the land is parched, because the Palestinians are not allowed to draw their own water from those pipes, as Israel imposes on them a quota which is not set to human beings’ needs. In the democratic Jewish state, within its virtual borders, it’s as clear as the sun rising in the east. If the American partner had wanted to, it would have demanded to begin evacuating the settlements, not only to continue the construction freeze. But the territory robbed by the separation barrier – Ariel, Givat Ze’ev, Ma’aleh Adumim, Efrat in its Anglo-Saxon elegance and East Jerusalem – are all within the consensus. Whose consensus? The people of the democratic Jewish state and evangelical Christians, of course. No one thinks to ask about the consensus among the residents of Palestinian cities and villages on whose land the settlements have been built. The millions of Palestinians don’t count at all”… This ref=”Amira Hass article can be read in full here.

Two days ago, Amira Hass revealed that, upon reflection, she has now come to the conclusion that it is worse to be Palestinian in [East] Jerusalem than in Gaza. She wrote in Haaretz: “I have found myself wondering which Palestinians have it the worst under the Israeli rule. For many years, I thought there was nothing worse than life in Gaza. I even argued my point with a friend, who claimed the absolute worst is to be a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship because ‘we live in the midst of the Nakba [1948 catastrophe] sites and experience the daily racism masquerading as democracy’. But for more than a year now, I have been vacillating between Gaza and Jerusalem. That is to say, I have been trying to decide which is worse – the isolation and insulation that Israel has imposed on Gaza (which includes being cut off from water sources and from the cultural, social and family ties those residents have with their People ); or the cynicism with which the decision makers continue to turn the population of East Jerusalem into welfare clients and slum dwellers, and then pride themselves of the national insurance payments they grant them. A visit to the [East Jerusalem] neighborhood of Isawiyah decided the issue. Heaps of concrete, uncollected garbage, roads that are becoming narrower due to pirate additions to buildings – forced on residents thanks to construction prohibitions and the expropriation of vacant lots – all lies in sight of the Hebrew University campus and the city’s French Hill, which are so green, spacious and civilized. And now a report from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel has confirmed my determination. The report, titled “Unsafe space: The Israeli authorities’ failure to protect human rights amid settlements in East Jerusalem“, is based on testimonies, media reports and official documents. It highlights the loss of personal and collective security in Jerusalem’s Palestinian neighborhoods, in the heart of which hostile bodies have settled over the past 30 years – settlers supported by millionaires and religious and archeological associations … The authorities who prevent Palestinians from building and developing their lands allocate vacant plots to the Jews, not only outside of the populated areas but also in their very heart. These spaces are allocated for parking or entertainment, archeological digs or construction. As these neighbors are the authorities’ darlings, confrontations are unavoidable, so the Housing and Construction Ministry provides hundreds of armed guards for the Jews at the public’s expense (some NIS 54 million in 2010 ). When [East Jerusalem] Palestinians complain to [Israeli] police about harassment [this would never happen in the West Bank], they find themselves treated like suspects. When they call the police, they feel like the officers are in no hurry to get there. And when police investigate cases in which Jews are suspected of causing bodily harm, these cases are closed swiftly. In this way, the Palestinians are left at the mercy of the aggressive, belligerent and officially sanctioned invaders. The guards, who are employed by a private company, think their position permits them to hit people, to act abusively and even to shoot. The people in whose midst these fortified complexes are sprawling are afraid to get in and out; relatives and friends think twice before coming to visit them. These complexes are also characterized by a great deal of noise – digging at archeological sites that goes on until night, and dancing and religious celebrations accompanied by anti-Arab songs… Ariel Rosenberg, the [Housing and Construction] ministry’s spokesman, firmly denies any claims that guards harass Palestinians and praises their professionalism and the instructions they receive to show restraint and forbearance. ‘In the past year’, he writes, ‘the situation in the area under discussion has significantly worsened and the guards are witness to extremely hostile activity’ … I have been able to memorize only a few Arabic adages. One I learned from one of the many villagers who was handed an expropriation order for his land. Sitting at the entrance to his home, he looked like he was attending a funeral. ‘To whom can a grain of wheat complain when the cock is the judge?’ he said, in response to my dumb question about what he planned to do”… And this Amira Hass article is posted here.d

Mitchell is back in town

Haaretz is reporting that “U.S. special envoy George Mitchell met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Friday morning, and was scheduled to hold separate talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas later in the day … Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also spoke with Abbas on Thursday before Mitchell’s arrival in the region. State Department Spokesman Philip Crowley said on Thursday that extensive talks had been held with the Israelis and the Palestinians on concrete steps that both parties could take to improve the atmosphere, and that Mitchell would be continuing those talks … He said that talks had been held with the Israelis and the Palestinians since Mitchell’s last visit, including meetings with David Hale, Mitchell’s deputy, and Middle East policy adviser Dan Shapiro, and that with the conclusion of these talks Thursday, it was thought wise for Mitchell to go to the region”. This Haaretz report is published here.

See our sister site Palestine-Mandate.com for some media analysis.

More to follow…

Quartet Statement on "indirect" Israeli-Palestinian talks + East Jerusalem

Russia has wanted to host an international conference on Middle East Peace since the start of the Annapolis process of direct negotiations in late November 2007.

It wasn’t exactly a full international multilateral conference, but today the Quartet of Middle East negotiators (US, Russia, European Union + UN) met in Moscow — with their Special Representative Tony Blair — and issued a statement on proposed U.S.-brokered “indirect” talks which is being billed as “strong”:

[In the statement’s last line, it says that “The Quartet reaffirms its previous statements and supports in consultation with the parties on international conference in Moscow at the appropriate time, concurrent with direct negotiations”.]

Most of the specifics in this Quartet statement were addressed to Israel – in particular, to the position expressed by Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and others in his government about East Jerusalem.

But, there is not much in it that would encourage the Palestinians – many of whom remain unconvinced that the proposed U.S.-mediated “indirect talks” between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will do anything good.

The Quartet statement called for an Israeli freeze on settlement expansion — and for Israel “to refrain from demolitions and evictions in East Jerusalem”.

And, the Quartet said, “Recalling that the annexation of East Jerusalem is not recognized by the international community, the Quartet underscores that the status of Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the parties and condemns the decision by the Government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem. The Quartet reaffirms its intention to closely monitor developments in Jerusalem, and to keep under consideration additional steps that may be required to address the situation on the ground. The Quartet recognizes that Jerusalem is a deeply important issue for Israelis and Palestinians, and for Jews, Muslims, and Christians, and believes that through good faith and negotiations, the parties can mutually agree on an outcome that realizes the aspirations of both parties for Jerusalem, and safeguards this status for people around the world”.

What is it like in East Jerusalem these days? Here are two instructive videos:

(1) Filmed on 15 March – Hagit Ofran, who documents settlements for Peace Now, has posted this encounter at the entrance to the Old City of East Jerusalem on her new Eyes on the Ground in East Jerusalem Blog, here:

(2) Filmed one month earlier, on 14 February – this video taken by International Solidarity Movement volunteers was posted showing participants in a bus tour for Jewish groups visiting the homes built by the UN in the mid-1950s in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem to house Palestinian refugees. Four of these homes have been evacuated by Israeli court orders over the past 18 months, and handed over to Jewish settlers. This video was made in the entryway to the home of Rivka Kurd — the front wing of her house, built apparently without proper permit, was the most recent property turned over to Jewish settlers. The family property was tossed out on to the front lawn that these visiters mill around it. The family, who sits in a tent from where this video was made, say that it is ironic that the part of their house built without a proper permit was declared illegal for them to live in, but legal for the Jewish settlers:

Is it really enough for the Quartet to express the intention to “closely monitor” developments — and maybe even to “keep under consideration additional steps that may be required to address the situation on the ground”?

Continue reading Quartet Statement on "indirect" Israeli-Palestinian talks + East Jerusalem

Now that Netanyahu has finally called…

Barak Ravid reported in Haaretz, rather quickly after the announcement of Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin’s almost-overdue phone call to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (she was in Moscow attending a meeting of the Quartet), on what Israel will do now to help mend its most important external relationship.
Both the White House and the U.S. State Department pointedly announced, publicly, on Thursday that they were waiting for Netanyahu’s call:
“Israel is willing to carry out trust-building moves in the West Bank in order to facilitate peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday. In a phone call between Netanyahu and Clinton, the Israeli PM reportedly conveyed a detailed list of gestures Jerusalem was willing to perform in order to restart negotiations with the Palestinians. The Prime Minister’s Office stated following the conversation between Netanyahu and Clinton that there was ‘a real effort by Israel to aid the U.S. administration in renewing negotiations though trust-building measures with the Palestinian Authority’.” This Barak Ravid report can be read in full on the Haaretz website here.

UPDATE: A clarification was issued later saying that Netanyahu has now indicated that his willingness to take “confidence-building measures” does not extend to “Jerusalem”.

Continue reading Now that Netanyahu has finally called…

Is Tony Blair being upgraded or downgraded in role as Quartet Middle East representative?

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in Washington today that: “I spoke today with Quartet Representative Blair to discuss developments in the Middle East. This Administration has, from the beginning, worked to bring about comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On that issue our approach has been three-fold: (1) to help build the economy and capacity to govern of a Palestinian state; (2) to renew political negotiations to enable the earliest possible establishment of that state; and (3) to achieve these in a manner that ensures the security of Israel and of the Palestinians. Consistent with Prime Minister Fayyad’s plan for a future Palestinian state, Tony Blair, as the Quartet representative, will intensify his partnership with Senator Mitchell in support of the political negotiations. In his role as Quartet Representative Tony Blair will continue, with full support by and coordination with Senator Mitchell, to mobilize the efforts of the international community: (1) to build support for the institutional capacity and governance of a future Palestinian State, including on the rule of law; (2) to improve freedom of movement and access for Palestinians; (3) to encourage further private sector investment; and (4) to bring change in the living conditions of the people in Gaza”.