Obama Administration rebukes Israel for designating holy sites as Israeli national heritage sites
munaeem | 26 February, 2010 02:26
The Obama administration has expressed displeasure over designating holy sites in West Bank and Bethlehem as Israeli national heritage sites. The Administration terms this move as provocative and unhelpful.
The US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said:
We have asked both parties to refrain from provocative and unilateral actions that undermine efforts to resume negotiations to end the conflict.
In my opinion, the U.S. should sternly tell Israel to halt the settlement growth. I also urge Palestinian not to resort to violence. This is will give Israeli government a excuse not to come to negotiating table.
Obama Administration rebukes Israel for designating holy sites as Israeli national heritage sites
munaeem | 26 February, 2010 02:19
The Obama administration has
expressed
displeasure over designating holy sites in West Bank and Bethlehem as
Israeli
national heritage sites. The Administration terms this move as
provocative and
unhelpful.
The US State
Department spokesman PJ Crowley said:
We
have asked both parties to refrain from provocative and unilateral
actions that
undermine efforts to resume negotiations to end the conflict.
In my opinion, the U.S.
should sternly tell Israel to halt the settlement growth. I also urge
Palestinian not to resort to violence. This is will give Israeli
government a excuse not to come to negotiating table.
Obama Administration rebukes Israel for designating holy sites as Israeli national heritage sites
munaeem | 26 February, 2010 02:19
The Obama administration has
expressed
displeasure over designating holy sites in West Bank and Bethlehem as
Israeli
national heritage sites. The Administration terms this move as
provocative and
unhelpful.
The US State
Department spokesman PJ Crowley said:
We
have asked both parties to refrain from provocative and unilateral
actions that
undermine efforts to resume negotiations to end the conflict.
In my opinion, the U.S.
should sternly tell Israel to halt the settlement growth. I also urge
Palestinian not to resort to violence. This is will give Israeli
government a excuse not to come to negotiating table.
Obama Administration rebukes Israel for designating holy sites as Israeli national heritage sites
munaeem | 26 February, 2010 02:19
The Obama administration has
expressed
displeasure over designating holy sites in West Bank and Bethlehem as
Israeli
national heritage sites. The Administration terms this move as
provocative and
unhelpful.
The US State
Department spokesman PJ Crowley said:
We
have asked both parties to refrain from provocative and unilateral
actions that
undermine efforts to resume negotiations to end the conflict.
In my opinion, the U.S.
should sternly tell Israel to halt the settlement growth. I also urge
Palestinian not to resort to violence. This is will give Israeli
government a excuse not to come to negotiating table.
Obama Administration rebukes Israel for designating holy sites as Israeli national heritage sites
munaeem | 26 February, 2010 02:19
The Obama administration has
expressed
displeasure over designating holy sites in West Bank and Bethlehem as
Israeli
national heritage sites. The Administration terms this move as
provocative and
unhelpful.
The US State
Department spokesman PJ Crowley said:
We
have asked both parties to refrain from provocative and unilateral
actions that
undermine efforts to resume negotiations to end the conflict.
In my opinion, the U.S.
should sternly tell Israel to halt the settlement growth. I also urge
Palestinian not to resort to violence. This is will give Israeli
government a excuse not to come to negotiating table.
People in the Middle East think that Obama can solve their woes of the Arab people specially Palestinian.In my opinion, they are sadly mistaken. Israel is America’s trusted ally. They will not ditch him.
Americans administrations have been making promises since Harry Truman’s days to solve the middle problem. However, they never did any to solve the problems facing the Arabs.
It is wrong to put all the blame on Israel. Arabs are responsible for the Middle East problem.Israel is a reality. Muslim cannot destroy it by their rhetoric. They cannot destroy it by forces. Israel can retaliate with ferocity.
Arabs should make an agreement with Israel to bring in the region. They must redressthe concerns of the Jewish state.
The silence of the United Nations and Western powers at the destruction of Palestinian lives and infrastructure by Israel security forces has shocked me. Israel's Gaza offensive is generating anger against the western powers and the United States.
Some people say that Israel is doing all this at the backing of the US. Israel wants to corner Hamas to allow Abbas’s forces to take over the Gaza strip.
The silence of western powers over the Israeli offensive will create more militants in the Islamic world. The US and European powers should force Israel to end the offensive and lift economic restrictions imposed on Palestinians.
Former US president has met the Hamas leader Khaled Mashal despite opposition from the Bush administration and the Israel. The meeting took place under tight security in the Syrian capital Damascus where reporters were not allowed.
Mr. Carter is on a tour of the Middle East for finding solutions of Israel-Palestinian conflict. He has also met the Syrian President Bashar-ul-Asad. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. I think that the opposition is unjustified. No solution can be found without taking on board all stakeholders in the conflict.
Hamas has public support and it cannot be ignored if a solution is to be found. I think that Hamas should be engaged in talks and Mr. Carter has made a right move by meeting its leader.
The Russians are trying to increase their influence in the Middle East. Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas has visited Moscow and has called for a Middle East peace conference in Russia. He has said that the Moscow conference should be held as soon as possible in order speed up the slow peace talks with Israel.
I think that the Russian influence will provide a counterbalance in the Middle East. The Russians are acting in order to claim their lost power. They are now beginning to assert themselves in world affairs and I think that in the coming days the Russian influence in the region will increase all the more.
Despite this, I think that the Arab Israel conflict will not be solved even there is absence of sincere efforts on the part of big powers. The people of Palestine must also act to bring peace in the region. It must be realized that Israel is a reality which cannot be obliterated.
According to news report the Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrullah has vowed for the destruction of Israel and has also said that it was destined to disappear.
I think that Israel is a hard reality which the leaders of the Arab World must realize. They must also realize that they lack the power to undo Israel. Israel has unmatched firepower and has the open backing of the United States. It is a wishful thinking that Israel is destined to disappear. I do not see any such thing even in the remote future.
It would be better to find out ways of peaceful co-existance. I do not mean to say that I support Israel in whatever it is doing. I want the Muslim world to be united. Unity is their only option for survival in the present world.
The Middle East Times has reported that the escalating rhetoric between the feuding politicians of Beirut proved too much for the Arab League chief who has been trying to broker a deal to arrive at a settlement.
It is unfortunate indeed that the political crisis in Lebanon has not been resolved so far and we don’t see any amicable solution in the near future. The election to the office of the president which fell vacant after the pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud stepped down in November 2007. The presidential election has been postponed thirteen times as the politicians continue to fight over cabinet representation.
The entire Muslim world is plagued with internecine disputes which are a hindrance to peace and prosperity. I fail to understand that why is it so that we Muslims are not being able to solve such petty disputes. The Muslims in general and their leaders in particular must realize that they must show unity and rise above petty political disputes and think for the betterment of our people.
According to press reports a least one million people have been killed so far in Iraq after the US forces invaded to find the weapons of mass destruction. How many more people will be killed before it will be realized that enough is enough. It was claimed that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that Saddam Hussain could use them against western interests. When nothing was found after hectic search it was shamelessly told that the intelligence reports were deliberately falsified in order to find a pretext to attack Iraq.
Saddam was a despot, he was a cruel leader. I do not deny this. I think he has been outdone in cruelty and tyranny. Innocent people are being killed and their blood does not lie heavy on the world consciene. If only the Muslims could realize that their survival is hidden in thier unity.
A surety bond is a written agreement in which the surety pledges to pay the project owner for any losses if the contractor does not perform the contact. Sometimes the surety takes over and performs the agreement.
You can see that a surety bind is very important piece of paper. You should approach companies who are qualified to write bonds and has good reputation in the market.
Bryant Surety Bonds can assist you with your bonding needs including clients with good credit or bad credit. They know the bonding companies in the market and have established good contacts with them. Their experience and qualified staff can your bid, payment, and performance bond requirements. These bond professionals will take into consideration all of your coverage needs and help you to control and eliminate losses. They will also ensure that you remain an attractive risk to insurers and receive the most competitive premiums available.
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The United States said on Monday it was confident its planned Middle East conference will launch Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and that both sides will agree on a joint document to be presented there.
U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to host the meeting at Annapolis, Maryland, probably on November 27, that will kick off an attempt to revive Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking before he leaves office in January 2009.
A meeting is a group of important persons who can simple do nothing but together can decide that nothing can be don.
Egypt, Syria press for IAEA resolution against Israel
munaeem | 20 September, 2007 00:17
Arab World two most undemocratic countries have asked UN nuclear watchdog to pass a resolution condemning Israel for possessing nuclear weapons. They insist that the Jewish state does have such weapons and is a danger to peace and stability in the Middle East.
Instead of wasting time in confrontation with the Jewish states, Egypt and Syria should try to bring reforms in their country. Israel is not a threat to the Middle East. This dictators use Israel as a pretext to prolong their rule.
Members of the Senate: Boxer, Cardin, Coleman, Feingold, Feinstein, Kohl, Lautenberg, Levin, Lieberman, Sanders, Schumer, Specter, & Wyden
Honorable Members of the House and Senate
Out of 525 members in the House, 30 of you, 5.7 percent, are of Jewish heritage.
Out of 100 members of the Senate, 13 of you, 13 percent, are of Jewish heritage.
You hold the key to world peace in your hands and I urge you to act now to bring about the needed changes to accomplish this goal. Throughout the Middle East there is one, and only one prominent problem which affects the entire region. The resolution to this problem will bring peace to the region and greatly enhance worldwide peace efforts. The problem is the ongoing, unresolved Israeli/Palestinian Conflict.
This conflict has lasted for almost 50 years and much of the blame for not resolving the conflict rests in the hands of the American government. Influenced by powerful lobbies the American government has always taken a decidedly one-sided approach to the conflict. (Info about Jewish and Arab Lobbies see: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ jsource/US-Israel/lobby.html). The result of this one-sided view is obvious to anyone who will take the time to actually look at the situation. Led by a relative handful of Zionist (see: http://www.mideastweb.org/zionism.htm), generations of Israeli governments have continued to occupy and oppress the Palestinians. Armed by the U.S., the Israelis are able to reek havoc upon the Palestinians on a daily basis. Rather than return to the 1967 boundaries, the Israelis have continued to occupy more and more of Palestine's land. In addition, they are in the process of building huge walls to further isolate and separate the Palestinians.
Largely at the insistence of the U.S. Government, the Palestinians held democratic elections. However neither the U.S. nor Israel were willing to accept those elections. Nor were they willing to even hold dialog with the winning Palestinian party. Now a cleverly orchestrated wedge has been driven between differing factions of the Palestinians which will undoubtedly lead to more land grabs by Israel.
None of this is to say that the Palestinians are blameless. In their efforts to resist the Israeli encroachments, Palestinians have committed many unspeakable atrocities. Their suicide bombers have extracted and alarming toll upon largely innocent Israeli citizens. Their actions are always labeled as terror by the U.S. and Israel while equally alarming atrocities committed by Israeli troops upon largely innocent Palestinians are always labeled as defensive moves.
The unending occupation of Palestine and the failure of the Israelis to negotiate a real and lasting peace has brought, and will continue to bring, hostile relations toward Israel by much of the free world, especially the countries of the Middle East. (See http://www.mideastweb.org/briefhistory.htm). Travel anywhere in the Middle East and nearly every citizen will tell you there will be no peace unless and until Israel recognizes Palestine and withdraws to the 1967 borders. The Arab League has had a peace plan in place (see: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ jsource/Peace/arabplan.html) since 2002 which has been largely ignored by the George Bush led American Government and the Israelis. Today, that plan has been resurrected and emissaries from several Arab countries have recently visited Israel. Secretary of State Rice is currently shuttling around the region in an effort to stimulate the dialog. (see: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/888657.html). There is serious talk now about a Regional Peace Conference sponsored by the U.S. It is important that the Conference be held and, it is equally important, that all countries in the region be included.
You, members of the House and Senate and influential leaders of the American Jewish Community, have an important role to play and the time to assume your role is now. You must look at what is happening in the entire world and explore worldwide attitudes about what is driving the anti-American and anti-Israel campaigns. These sentiments are caused by the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the disastrous war in Iraq, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the calls for democracy and then the rejection of democratically elected governments, the refusal to even talk with Iran and Syria, the labeling of Hamas and Hezbollah only as “terrorists”, and many other events which have only served to embolden Muslim fanatics. Rather than stem “terrorism” the actions of America have only fanned the flames. Hatred of America grows daily.
While Israel is an important part of the overall equation, it is not the only factor which should influence your opinions and your votes. There are active groups within Israel who are urging their government to make peace and settle the Palestinian conflict. Their voices are growing, but are largely unreported in the U.S. press. You, the American Jewish Leaders, must set aside much of your old personal views and prejudices, many of them generated by influential American lobbyist, and look more closely at the entire region and the entire world and then use your substantial influence to bring about a permanent solution of the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict. Peace in Israel and Palestine will go a long way toward bringing peace to the entire world. Peace in Israel and Palestine will greatly help in diminishing the influence of radical Muslim groups who use the conflict as their primary call to arms.
Throughout American history Jews have played a vital part in numerous causes. Many of the freedoms Americans enjoy, such as rights to vote, civil rights, and labor rights were all brought about by the assistance of dedicated and hard working American Jews. I urge you to take your places in history now by leading the American government in achieving a permanent peace settlement in Israel and Palestine.
Sincerely in peace, Thomas Daly
Thomas Daly is a retired California newspaper publisher.
The Israeli education ministry recently authorized Arab schools inside the Jewish state to use a history book that includes the Palestinian side of the 1948 War - or Nakba (Catastrophe), as it is called in the Arab world. Speaking on Israeli radio, education minister Yuli Tamir noted: "The Arab public deserves to be allowed to express its feelings."
In an unprecedented move, the education ministry approved a textbook for third-graders referring to the events of 1948 as the "Nakba," stating that Arab citizens were expelled from their homes and became refugees after their lands were confiscated by Israel. The book also emphasizes that Arabs rejected United Nations Resolution 181 calling for the division of the territory between Arabs and Jews, which, it says, the Jews were prepared to accept.
In Iraq and elsewhere, terrorism thrives with Saudi support. by Stephen Schwartz
ALMOST SIX YEARS after September 11, 2001, and more than four years since the beginning of the U.S.-led intervention in Iraq, the American government and media have begun to admit something every informed and honest Muslim in the world has known all along. That is: the "Sunni insurgency" in Iraq, as well as 9/11 and certain acts of extremist Sunni violence inside Iraq before then, are consequences of the official status of the ultra-fundamentalist Wahhabi sect in Saudi Arabia, Iraq's southern neighbor. Saudi Wahhabi clerics have preached and recruited for terror in Iraq; Saudi money has sustained it; the largest number of those who have carried out suicide bombings north of the Saudi-Iraqi border have been Saudi citizens.
Does this sound obvious and familiar? Perhaps to regular readers of THE WEEKLY STANDARD and THE DAILY STANDARD , which have reported frequently on the Saudi connection to terror in the Iraq war since the phenomenon first appeared. But the truth is finally seeping out elsewhere. On Friday, July 27, the Washington Post and the New York Times reported on the links between Saudi Arabia and the Wahhabi terror in Iraq, employing their usual cautious and polite language when dealing with the desert kingdom. The Post ran a Reuters rewrite of the Times reportage, casting the problem in terms of Saudi distrust for the Shia-led Iraqi administration of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and the resulting difficulties facing Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates as they visit the Saudis this week. Seven paragraphs down, the story quoted the Times about the real issue: "the Saudis had offered financial support to Sunni groups in Iraq and U.S. officials were increasingly concerned about its close Arab ally's 'counterproductive' role in Iraq."
"Counterproductive" is a euphemism for Saudi state subsidies to Wahhabi clerics who demand the genocide of Shia Muslims, urge young men to go north and sacrifice themselves to that end, and preach eulogies after their deaths. It is also a diplomatic way to describe the official Saudi policy of ignoring financial contributions by rich Saudi citizens to support Wahhabi terror in Iraq. Others might call such behavior acts of war rather than merely "counterproductive."
The Times itself, in an article by Helene Cooper, further noted, "Of an estimated 60 to 80 foreign fighters who enter Iraq each month, American military and intelligence officials say that nearly half are coming from Saudi Arabia and that the Saudis have not done enough to stem the flow." Administration officials, the paper reported "spoke on the condition of anonymity because they believed that openly criticizing Saudi Arabia would further alienate the Saudi royal family." Then came the bald truth: "the majority of suicide bombers in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia [and] about 40 percent of all foreign fighters are Saudi. Officials said that while most of the foreign fighters came to Iraq to become suicide bombers, others arrived as bomb makers, snipers, logisticians and financiers."
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has "revealed" information about the Al Rajhi Bank, one of the kingdom's main financiers of Wahhabism, most of which has been available in print for several years. The "fresh" disclosures include the role of the Al Rajhi Bank in facilitating Saudi extremist operations. But the Journal admits that the Al Rajhi name appeared on a document many Westerners were loath to take seriously, the "Golden Chain" roster of al Qaeda donors seized by Bosnian authorities in Sarajevo, and handed over to the U.S. government in 2002.
Yet even the Journal seems not to have noticed that the Al Rajhi financial system's Suleiman Abdul Al-Aziz Al Rajhi also created the SAAR Foundation, an object of the federal raid known as GreenQuest, which struck a nest of Islamist entities in Northern Virginia in 2002.
Why has there been so little media interest in the role of Saudi money and influence in Iraq and elsewhere? The best explanation is media cooperation with the official U.S. preference for the "quiet, behind-the-scenes influence" that one administration after another has defaulted to in dealing with Saudi problems, and which the Saudis exploit to continue their deceptive ways.
Saudis and Iraqis, even with own imperfect media, are much better informed. Here is what they have been reading.
* On July 25, the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan reported on 61 Saudis held in Iraqi jails. The inferred charge was terrorism.
* The day before, Al-Watan described an uproar over Saudi clerics advocating the destruction of Shia holy sites in Iraq. According to Iraqi sources, the Wahhabis have specifically called for the destruction of the shrines of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in Karbala, and of Caliph Ali, the prophet's son-in-law, in Najaf--the two most sacred Shia sites. As also reported in Iraqi media, students at the Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, located in Riyadh and known as the "terrorist factory," have organized activist groups and sent members streaming north to join the onslaught on Iraqi Shias.
* On July 17, the Grand Mufti or chief Islamic cleric of the Saudi kingdom, Abd al-Aziz Al Ash-Shaykh, cautioned Saudis not to go to Iraq to engage in terror, and said that "those who mislead young Muslims, calling them to jihad, refuse to send their own sons to participate in the same conflict."
* On July 16, the Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat quoted the comment of Prince Nayef, the Saudi interior minister who wriggles like an eel on this issue, that Saudis lured to participate in the Iraq terror are "brainwashed teenagers." The same day, the Saudi daily Al-Hayat interviewed U.S. Treasury undersecretary Stuart Levey, who argued that financing terror in Iraq is no different from contributing to al Qaeda elsewhere.
* And the day before that, on July 15, the Wahhabi website Al-Sahat posted a list of Saudi terrorists recently killed in Iraq, with names, addresses, and dates and places of their demise.
This, too, is merely the beginning of a long inventory of such information reported in the Muslim world. Nobody can say the Saudis, Iraqis, and other Muslims do not know who organizes and supports the Wahhabi terror in Iraq.
None of the recent "revelations" should come as a suprise to anyone. In 2002, THE WEEKLY STANDARD reported on the Al Rajhi financial network and terrorism; in 2003 on the Saudi injection of Wahhabi radicals into Iraq, including Saudi media publicity about their deaths in defense of Saddam Hussein and on Saudi involvement in combat against the U.S.-led coalition at Falluja; in 2004 on general Saudi support for terror in Iraq, and yet more on the Saudi involvement in the fight for Falluja.
One question remains: How many more American and Coalition soldiers, as well as innocent Iraqis, will be killed before the Saudis are compelled to end their support for terrorism in Iraq?
Stephen Schwartz is a frequent contributor to THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates today start a key Middle East mission to seek Arab support for the Iraqi government and also discuss weapons sales to regional allies.
The secretaries of state and defense are making their trip at a time when America’s credibility in the Mideast has plummeted. The United States has failed to stabilize Iraq, destroy al-Qaida, pacify Lebanon, isolate Syria or bolster moderate Palestinians.
So far, U.S. support for Israel’s ill-fated war in Lebanon and its efforts to undermine radical groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon have borne little fruit. Along with its support for autocrats such as Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, such actions have undercut U.S. claims that it is championing Muslim democracy.
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a news briefing in Washington on July 27 that a primary objective of the tour is to seek Arab support for Iraq.
They hope to persuade Iraq’s neighbors to help stabilize the country, to counter Iran’s growing ambitions and to try to get real movement on peace between Israel and the Palestinians. There is also an overarching aim: to reassure worried allies in the Middle East that despite its troubles in Iraq, the United States remains committed to the region.
In my opinion Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates face a tough assignment. Because Gulf states - particularly Saudi Arabia - have started to get nervous about Tehran's increasing influence in the Persian Gulf region.
Pakistan is a nuclear power and its nuclear weapons are not aimed at the United States. Its nuclear weapons are largely a deterrent against any Indian adventure.
Why is the United States restless about Pakistan’s Islamic identity?
Prior to the 2002 general elections, the Islamists could not muster more than 5 percent of the votes. But the situation changed in 2002 the Islamic alliance Muttahida Majils e-Amal (MMA) won 60 seats and became an influential kingmaker in Pakistan politics.
Such a possibility heightens US anxiety. An Islamist leader, who is more likely to follow an anti-US policy, may offer resistance to US policy in Afghanistan.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons will pose a major threat to US hegemonic designs and neutralize Israel's military dominance in West Asia.
In short, it poses a major threat to US security interests. So denuclearizing Pakistan is one of the national interest objectives of the United States.
MORE of meaningless rhetoric poured forth from Mr Tony Blair’s lips as he arrived in the Middle East on Tuesday on his first visit after being named the Quartet’s envoy. As is typical of all western diplomats when they speak about the Arab-Israeli conflict, the former British prime minister merely beat about the bush when he discovered a “moment of opportunity” and a “sense of possibility” for … for nothing. Here is what the longest serving Labour prime minister had to say: “whether that sense of possibility can be translated into something, that is something that needs to be worked at and thought about over time”… Brilliant diplomatese! What he simply could not utter was the truth — that Israel should withdraw from the occupied territories so that a Palestinian state could come into being. If he were to say that, Israel’s doors would be closed on him forever. More of the rhetoric: “I am just trying to have a sense of what’s happening here…” This is from a leader who was actively involved in Middle Eastern affairs for his long 10 years in office and who in January 2003 called a conference in London to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Now, in his post-prime ministerial days, he is “trying to have a sense of what’s happening here…”
In his heart of hearts, Mr Blair must be a happy man, for the brief given to him by the Quartet does not entrust him with the task of doing anything concrete. The brief itself is a vegetable. It asks Mr Blair to concentrate his efforts on the occupied territories’ economic development, governance and institution building — but mention of the real issue is at stake. As chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat wondered, how can one speak of economic development and institution building while “the settlements, the wall, the denial of movement, the obstacles, and the road blocks are eating up the whole idea of a Palestinian state? Let’s be realistic.” That is where Mr Erakat is wrong. Mr Blair’s brief does not authorise him to be realistic.
Mr Blair is not alone: besides Israel and the pro-Israeli lobby in America and Europe, the Quartet is behind him. His job is to obfuscate the Palestinian question with non-issues. The process of sidetracking the real issue began in Yasser Arafat’s time. For instance, one of the tricks for bypassing the real issue was to ask Arafat to have a prime minister and reform the Palestinian Authority. He did both, but there was no progress on the question of Israel’s withdrawal. Now again Mr Blair will concentrate on ‘institution building’ at a time when the Palestinians themselves have gladdened their enemy’s heart by fighting a civil war and turning the West Bank and Gaza into two warring cantons. Israel could not be happier. Clearly, it is futile to expect Mr Blair or the Quartet to do anything substantive, when between them Hamas and Fatah have scuttled the Palestinian cause. Irrespective of how the US, the European Union and Israel view Hamas, both President Mahmoud Abbas and Mr Ismail Haniye have acted very irrationally. President Abbas has received fulsome praise from America and the EU, and aid has started flowing in, but that is not going to take him and the Palestinian people any closer to the goal of liberation of the Israeli-occupied territories and living in freedom and dignity in their own areas.
After four years mucking up Iraq, President George W. Bush is calling an American-led "international meeting" on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Please, Mr. President, let it be, bad as it is. Go fishing, send Dick Cheney hunting, whatever. Don't blunder again in a region in which you and your neoconservative advisers have zero credibility.
The much-abused Israelis and Palestinians deserve an honest broker.
Events in the region have deteriorated since Israel's victory in the 1967 war resulted in control and eventually occupation of those lands left to Palestinians after creation of the state of Israel.
Reporting from the West Bank in 1982 for King Broadcasting, I concluded a 30-minute documentary: "The occupation has taken the land, diverted the water, and filled village life with tension and conflict. Palestinian boys leave to become guer-rillas, for there is little reason to stay under the guns and in the prisons of occupation. This is an occupation financed and forgotten by Americans. But while it continues, there will be no peace, on the land or in the souls of the people."
Shortly after the documentary aired, Israel invaded Lebanon and drove the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) into exile. Two Islamic organizations — Hamas and Hezbollah — emerged in the chaos, and now dominate the Palestinian cause. Palestinians were overwhelmingly secular in 1982 — the only PLO element with religious overtones was a Christian militia. Gradually, Palestinians turned to Islamists because nothing else worked.
With the exception of the Oslo agreements in 1993, events have gone downhill in the past 25 years, directly related to the building of permanent Israeli settlements (now 271) in Palestinian territory. Jerusalem is ringed by fortresslike settlements, a 30-foot wall is sealing off the West Bank, and a network of roads exclusively for Israeli settlers carves the West Bank into a series of isolated and impoverished enclaves.
Some 400,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.5 million West Bank Palestinians, but control more than 40 percent of the land. Israeli soldiers protect them, staff some 500 roadblocks and checkpoints, and control much of West Bank life.
These "facts on the ground" must be addressed along with the violence from both sides if any progress is to be made. The policy of the Bush administration has been to turn a blind eye to expansion of Israeli settlements while condemning Palestinian violence. Our Cheney-driven policy is black-or-white, us-or-them, good-or-evil, in a region where everything comes in shades of gray.
We have not helped our cause by promoting democratic elections in Palestinian territories and then refusing to accept the overwhelming victory of Hamas in a free and fair election. Just as our invasion created al-Qaida in Iraq, isolating and demon-izing Hamas may create a branch in Gaza.
Israel "gave" Gaza to the Palestinians in 2005, an overcrowded slum with no jobs and with borders sealed off by Israel. No one wanted Gaza — it has no religious significance — and its predictable implosion gave Israel an excuse not to yield on the West Bank.
Politics have failed on both sides. Israel's vibrant and democratic politics have been captured by right-wing religious zealots and sometimes-violent settlers. Among Palestinians, the Fatah government has been ineffectual and corrupt, and educated secular professionals have emigrated to find a better life, leaving a gap that has been filled by violence. Ordinary people on both sides want peace and support a two-state future.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas holds the shredded cloth of secularism, but is increasingly unpopular. Hopes for reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah remain, but lack a leader.
Israel is releasing some Fatah prisoners, but not Marwan Barghouti, perhaps the only Palestinian with the street credibility to unite Palestinians. Israel says Barghouti "has blood on his hands." Indeed. No major player in the dispute has clean hands. In 2006, according to B'tselem, an Israeli human-rights group, Israeli forces killed 660 Palestinians; Palestinians killed 23 Israelis.
My dictionary defines terrorism: "The use of violence or threats to intimidate or coerce." There is terrorism on all sides. Palestinians carry suicide bombs and lob mortar rounds into Israel. Israeli soldiers raid Palestinian neighborhoods and shell from the air. One terrorist wears a robe, the other a uniform.
Earlier this month, departing British Prime Minister Tony Blair was named a special envoy to the Middle East. Better to give Blair a chance rather than turn this vital area over to the tender mercies of Bush, Cheney and the neocons. They need to make a genuine effort to get Syria and Iran to help extricate us from Iraq, not look for one more place to intervene.
Floyd J. McKay, a journalism professor emeritus at Western Washington University, is a regular contributor to Times editorial pages. E-mail him at floydmckay@yahoo.com
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the region as the new envoy for the "Quartet" of Mideast mediators hoping to add new momentum to fledgling peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.
Blair arrives at a time when the Palestinian uprising has fizzled out and Israel has indicated its readiness to work with the new Palestinian leadership after seven years of stalemate.
But critics say. How can the man who brought havoc to Iraq/refused to condemn Israel last summer/rode shotgun with Bush for so long etc, possibly be a plausible peacemaker now?
THE 22-member Arab League will send envoys on a historic first mission to Israel this week to discuss a sweeping Arab peace initiative. Foreign Ministers of Jordan and Egypt would be leading the delegation that is expected to exchange views with Israeli leadership on the Arab peace plan. Given the fact that officially the Arab League has all along been hostile towards Israel because of latter's atrocious policies and stubborn attitude, the planned visit of the delegation indicates softening of AL's stand towards Tel Aviv. Some observers believe that it amounts to beginning of a journey that may lead to ultimate recognition of the Jewish State. It would, however, be too early to draw any conclusion and things would become clear after discussions between AL delegation and Israeli leaders.
This is a major Arab departure from their stated osition and shows flexibility and sincerity of the Arab world for resolution of he longstanding dispute in the Middle East. Arabs demonstrated similar lexibility in the past as well and elements of the peace plan unfolded by Saudi rabia way back in 2002 rested on the premise of land for peace but Israel utrightly rejected it. In March this year, leaders of the Arab world again threw heir weight behind the Saudi-proposed plan but Israelis are not yet ready to ccede to the demands for complete vacation of Arab lands occupied in 1967 and esettlement of Palestinian refugees. Under these circumstances, no breakthrough s expected at the forthcoming talks especially when an important party - Hamas - s being sidelined. Anyhow, the visit of the Arab League delegation would be a ajor diplomatic boost to Israel but it is to be seen if the new level of ngagement brings any relief for Palestinians.
Lebanese authorities allegedly accuse Fatah al-Islam of having links to al-Qaeda and the Syrian government.
Fatah al-Islam is far from being an ordinary armed Palestinian faction. Indeed, it seems hardly to be Palestinian at all. Whereas a minority of its members may be Palestinian, the others - judging from those who have been killed, wounded or captured -- come from half a dozen Arab and Asian countries, some of them jihadi veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its parent body - or at least its inspiration - seems to be Al-Qaida.
The Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, one of Syria's most virulent critics, has alleged that Fatah al-Islam is a 'Syria's proxy,' while the exiled Abd al-Halim Khaddam, a former Syrian vice-president who now heads an opposition movement dedicated to the overthrow of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, has stated categorically that 'Syria is responsible.'
Proof, however, is lacking. Interrogation of captured members of Fatah al-Islam might yield some evidence of a Syrian connection but, for the moment at least, the evidence seems to point in quite another direction.
According to the U.S. investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, the U.S. and Saudi governments are covertly supporting Sunni groups like Fatah al-Islam as part of a policy against Iran and growing Shia influence in the Middle East.
In a recent interview with CNN International's “Your World Today”, Hersh also said groups like Fatah al-Islam are the result of Washington's underground policies.
Accusing the White House of “no longer acting rationally,” Hersh said: “We're in the business of supporting the Sunnis anywhere we can against the Shia… We're in the business of creating ... sectarian violence." Some analysts believe that a group like Fatah al-Islam was initially tolerated, and perhaps even funded, by Lebanese Sunnis who may have seen in it the embryo of the militia they needed. They certainly longed to be able to demonstrate that they could stand up to the Shi 'is and to Syria.
