US MediationIsrael and Palestine
The US would like to believe it is fair and balanced and a fair broker for the conflict. Most of the rest of the world, and especially the Arab street, see things otherwise. Why? What do do we say and do to promote that view? Do we even recognise that we do it?
Friday, April 22, 2005
Sharon: "Sharon vows to defy Bush over expansion of Israeli settlements
News: "Sharon vows to defy Bush over expansion of Israeli settlements | By Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem | 22 April 2005
Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, vowed to continue expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank despite his admitted differences with President George Bush on the issue.
In his most uncompromising comments yet on the settler question, Mr Sharon depicted the planned withdrawal from Gaza as the only way of preserving the largest settlement blocks on the Palestinian side of the pre-1967 border with Israel. 'I am doing everything I can to preserve as much [of the West Bank settlements] as I can,' he said."
News: "Sharon vows to defy Bush over expansion of Israeli settlements | By Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem | 22 April 2005
Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, vowed to continue expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank despite his admitted differences with President George Bush on the issue.
In his most uncompromising comments yet on the settler question, Mr Sharon depicted the planned withdrawal from Gaza as the only way of preserving the largest settlement blocks on the Palestinian side of the pre-1967 border with Israel. 'I am doing everything I can to preserve as much [of the West Bank settlements] as I can,' he said."
Saturday, April 16, 2005
'Palestinians expect the American president to develop a political backbone [so as] to tell Israel it has gone too far,'
The Jerusalem Fund: "The Changing Palestinian Political Landscape | A Summary of a Palestine Center Briefing by Hanan Ashrawi | For the Record No. 218, 12 April 2005
The Palestinian political arena is currently moving toward the 'politicization' of Islamic groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, whose impact on the July 2005 Palestinian legislative elections is yet to be measured. However, if Israel continues to undermine the prospects for peace by dictating a solution to the Palestinians through settlement expansion, the strangulation of the Palestinian economy, and unilateral actions—rather than engaging them directly—there will instead be an 'Islamization' of Palestinian politics, argued Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Speaking at an 11 April 2005 briefing at the DC-based Palestine Center, Ashrawi urged the United States to adopt a policy shift in its dealing with Israel. 'U.S. standing, influence, and credibility in the region has been undermined by Israel's behavior on the ground,' Ashrawi said. 'It is in the interest of the U.S. to have a viable peace in the region.'
Ashrawi argued that only a viable peace can counter fundamentalism and violence. A solution to the Palestinian issue will bring stability to the region and rectify the damage done to the U.S. standing in the Middle East.
'Palestinians expect the American president to develop a political backbone [so as] to tell Israel it has gone too far,' Ashrawi said. Furthermore, the Palestinians look to a re-engaged U.S. administration that will put an end to Israel's unilateral actions and create an atmosphere for serious political negotiations."
The Jerusalem Fund: "The Changing Palestinian Political Landscape | A Summary of a Palestine Center Briefing by Hanan Ashrawi | For the Record No. 218, 12 April 2005
The Palestinian political arena is currently moving toward the 'politicization' of Islamic groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, whose impact on the July 2005 Palestinian legislative elections is yet to be measured. However, if Israel continues to undermine the prospects for peace by dictating a solution to the Palestinians through settlement expansion, the strangulation of the Palestinian economy, and unilateral actions—rather than engaging them directly—there will instead be an 'Islamization' of Palestinian politics, argued Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Speaking at an 11 April 2005 briefing at the DC-based Palestine Center, Ashrawi urged the United States to adopt a policy shift in its dealing with Israel. 'U.S. standing, influence, and credibility in the region has been undermined by Israel's behavior on the ground,' Ashrawi said. 'It is in the interest of the U.S. to have a viable peace in the region.'
Ashrawi argued that only a viable peace can counter fundamentalism and violence. A solution to the Palestinian issue will bring stability to the region and rectify the damage done to the U.S. standing in the Middle East.
'Palestinians expect the American president to develop a political backbone [so as] to tell Israel it has gone too far,' Ashrawi said. Furthermore, the Palestinians look to a re-engaged U.S. administration that will put an end to Israel's unilateral actions and create an atmosphere for serious political negotiations."
Bush praises Gaza evacuation and condemns settlement expansion: Sharon will ignore his Bush's advice
Salt Lake Tribune - Opinion: "04/12/2005 11:40:05 PM | Unsettling Talk: Bush's message to Sharon on settlements was right on
President Bush got two things very right in his meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel. He praised Sharon's courageous bid to evacuate Jewish settlers from Gaza this summer, and he condemned Sharon's insistence on adding to large Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Unfortunately, Sharon indicated quite firmly that he will ignore his indispensable ally's advice about expanding Jewish housing in the corridor between East Jerusalem and Maale Adumim, an existing Israeli town in the West Bank. Sharon's intransigence will justifiably inflame Palestinian and international hostility to Israel, but it will win the prime minister points with Jewish zealots who are furious with him for his plan to abandon the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the northern West Bank. "
Salt Lake Tribune - Opinion: "04/12/2005 11:40:05 PM | Unsettling Talk: Bush's message to Sharon on settlements was right on
President Bush got two things very right in his meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel. He praised Sharon's courageous bid to evacuate Jewish settlers from Gaza this summer, and he condemned Sharon's insistence on adding to large Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Unfortunately, Sharon indicated quite firmly that he will ignore his indispensable ally's advice about expanding Jewish housing in the corridor between East Jerusalem and Maale Adumim, an existing Israeli town in the West Bank. Sharon's intransigence will justifiably inflame Palestinian and international hostility to Israel, but it will win the prime minister points with Jewish zealots who are furious with him for his plan to abandon the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the northern West Bank. "
Monday, April 11, 2005
"United States still sees itself as a partner for Israel and Israeli interests rather than an honest broker": Bush "That's no expansion of settlements
Excite News: "Bush Cautions Sharon Over Settlement Growth | Apr 11, 6:16 PM (ET) | By Adam Entous
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President Bush cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday against West Bank settlement expansion but Sharon made no firm commitments and said peace talks with Palestinians would not proceed until they fought terrorism.
Bush had promised to press Sharon publicly and privately to stop expanding the settlements and said he told Sharon at his ranch of his concern "Israel not undertake any activity that contravenes 'road map' (peace plan) obligations or prejudices final status negotiations."
"Therefore, Israel should remove unauthorized outposts and meet its 'road map' obligations regarding settlements in the West Bank," Bush told an outdoor news conference with Sharon at his ranch. "That's no expansion of settlements."
...
Palestinians voiced anger and disappointment afterward at Bush's reaffirmation that Israel should be able to keep some West Bank settlement blocs under a future peace deal.
"This American position gives an unequivocal message to the Palestinians that the United States still sees itself as a partner for Israel and Israeli interests rather than an honest broker," Cabinet Minister Hassan Abu-Libdeh told Reuters.
...
It appeared the two leaders agreed to disagree on the issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as Sharon sent conflicting signals about abiding by the road map's call for a halt to Israeli "settlement activity."
Referring to large Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Sharon said, "It is the Israeli position that the major Israeli population centers will remain in Israel's hands under any future final status agreement," adding "with all related consequences." ...
Excite News: "Bush Cautions Sharon Over Settlement Growth | Apr 11, 6:16 PM (ET) | By Adam Entous
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President Bush cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday against West Bank settlement expansion but Sharon made no firm commitments and said peace talks with Palestinians would not proceed until they fought terrorism.
Bush had promised to press Sharon publicly and privately to stop expanding the settlements and said he told Sharon at his ranch of his concern "Israel not undertake any activity that contravenes 'road map' (peace plan) obligations or prejudices final status negotiations."
"Therefore, Israel should remove unauthorized outposts and meet its 'road map' obligations regarding settlements in the West Bank," Bush told an outdoor news conference with Sharon at his ranch. "That's no expansion of settlements."
...
Palestinians voiced anger and disappointment afterward at Bush's reaffirmation that Israel should be able to keep some West Bank settlement blocs under a future peace deal.
"This American position gives an unequivocal message to the Palestinians that the United States still sees itself as a partner for Israel and Israeli interests rather than an honest broker," Cabinet Minister Hassan Abu-Libdeh told Reuters.
...
It appeared the two leaders agreed to disagree on the issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as Sharon sent conflicting signals about abiding by the road map's call for a halt to Israeli "settlement activity."
Referring to large Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Sharon said, "It is the Israeli position that the major Israeli population centers will remain in Israel's hands under any future final status agreement," adding "with all related consequences." ...
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Glossing Over Israel's Human Rights Abuses
William A. Cook: Glossing Over Israel's Human Rights Abuses: "April 9 / 10, 2005 | The Janus Face of the Department of State | By WILLIAM A. COOK
Two recent reports issued by the U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" and the "Report on Global Anti-Semitism," deserve attention in light of the Department's professed declaration that "a central goal of U.S. foreign policy has been the promotion of respect for human rights, as embodied in the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" promulgated by the United Nations ...
...
Should we apply this moral stance to the Department's two reports, we Americans face a conundrum: in the words of Shamai Leibowitz, an Israeli human rights attorney from Tel Aviv and a reserve sergeant in the Israeli tank corps, "For years, American taxpayers money has funded the occupation the torture chambers, the military apparatus, the bulldozers used in house demolitions, the building of settlements and now the construction of the West Bank wall, declared illegal by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Americans should be held accountable for where their money is going" (The Nation: 3/16/2005). Our Department of State, despite its more than fifty years of monetary support to Israel, more than that given to any other nation on the planet, does not hold the state of Israel "accountable to their obligations under universal human rights norms and international human rights instruments," nor does it "promote respect for human rights" in Israel, or "freedom from torture," nor does it "promote the rule of law" regarding Israel's wall, and these are only the allegations as noted in Leibowitz' article. A more thorough review of these reports reveals the Janus face of the Department of State.
The "Report on Global Anti-Semitism," released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor on January 5, 2005 notes "The increasing frequency and severity of anti-Semitic incidents since the start of the 21st century, particularly in Europe, has compelled the international community to focus on anti-Semitism with renewed vigor." No analysis is offered to explain why these incidents erupted since 2000. No mention of the Intifada and Israel's occupation of Palestine, no mention of the million bullets fired by the IDF in the opening days of the Intifada, a bullet for every Palestinian child according to Noam Chomsky ("Anti-Semitism, Zionism, and the Palestinians" 3/22/05), no mention of the military crackdown in the West Bank or Gaza, the destruction of homes, the torture chambers, the wanton killings of civilians, the checkpoints and humiliation of the indigenous population, or the illegal continued construction of settlements to mention a few items identified interestingly enough in the "Country Report," though buried in an appendix. No mention of the Bush administration's rise to power in that year and its acquiescence to Sharon's dictates concerning his invasions into Jenin or Rafah, or his adding to the settlements or to the continued construction of the Wall, all items at deviance with the "Road Map" designed by the U.S. and its three accomplices. No mention of how the U.S. protects Israel's outrages in the UN Security Council, the vetoes it uses to deflect world opinion as it wishes to assert that Israel return to the demands of Resolution 242 and to remove the illegal wall. In short, while the report reflects a renewed anger and frustration against the Israeli state beginning in 2000, it does not address what may have caused this rise in what it terms anti-Semitism; it merely lists the incidents and denies the possibility that people across the globe, including member states of the EU, which it condemns outright, could have as much reason to express resentment and outrage at the government of Israel as they do about the government of George W. Bush.
...
Given that context, consider the very fact that the State Department has singled out only maligned and discriminated Jews for its report when the world is filled with people who have endured hatred and discrimination worldwide: in Rwanda, Darfur, Bosnia, Iraq, India, East Timor, the United States, and Palestine to name a few, and all since 2000. Should the State Department publish a report identifying hatred and discrimination against the Jews? Yes. Should it also publish a report that identifies such abuse against all others who suffer such animosity, such disrespect, such indignity, such humiliation, such dehumanization, such suffering and death? Yes. Indeed, this is the point. ...
...
Here, in an appendix devoted to the only two remaining areas of Palestine left to the indigenous population, buried at the back of the report, not included in the section devoted to the Israeli Government, we find horrendous acts of Human Rights abuse committed by the Government of Israel, some deceptively misplaced, scattered among Palestinian abuses executed by Hamas or the PA. And I would note that the above paragraph is only a sampling of this deception. In each section of item 1, "Respect for Human Rights," a, Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life; b, Disappearance; c, Torture and Other Cruel Punishment; d, Arbitrary Arrest or Detention; e, Denial of Fair Public Trial; f, Arbitrary Interference with Privacy; g Excessive Force the Israeli Government's acceptance of Human Rights abuses is itemized, by the U.S. Department of State, page after page: Israeli settlers murder of Palestinians; Physicians for Human Rights in Israel reporting on torture, "techniques prohibited by law," used against Palestinian detainees; 8,300 Palestinians held as security prisoners; the admission that "Israeli military courts rarely acquitted Palestinians of security offenses"; recognition that virtually no resolution to any allegation of wrongdoing by an Israeli, whether military or settler, has occurred during the year of the report; admission that the Israeli Government has destroyed over 6,900 acres of Palestinian land to construct the illegal wall; and 15,000 Palestinians have been made homeless by demolition. Each and every one of these abuses cry out for action by the Department of State, based on its own declaration, that it will "hold accountable governments to their obligations under universal human rights and international human rights instruments." ...
William A. Cook: Glossing Over Israel's Human Rights Abuses: "April 9 / 10, 2005 | The Janus Face of the Department of State | By WILLIAM A. COOK
Two recent reports issued by the U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" and the "Report on Global Anti-Semitism," deserve attention in light of the Department's professed declaration that "a central goal of U.S. foreign policy has been the promotion of respect for human rights, as embodied in the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" promulgated by the United Nations ...
...
Should we apply this moral stance to the Department's two reports, we Americans face a conundrum: in the words of Shamai Leibowitz, an Israeli human rights attorney from Tel Aviv and a reserve sergeant in the Israeli tank corps, "For years, American taxpayers money has funded the occupation the torture chambers, the military apparatus, the bulldozers used in house demolitions, the building of settlements and now the construction of the West Bank wall, declared illegal by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Americans should be held accountable for where their money is going" (The Nation: 3/16/2005). Our Department of State, despite its more than fifty years of monetary support to Israel, more than that given to any other nation on the planet, does not hold the state of Israel "accountable to their obligations under universal human rights norms and international human rights instruments," nor does it "promote respect for human rights" in Israel, or "freedom from torture," nor does it "promote the rule of law" regarding Israel's wall, and these are only the allegations as noted in Leibowitz' article. A more thorough review of these reports reveals the Janus face of the Department of State.
The "Report on Global Anti-Semitism," released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor on January 5, 2005 notes "The increasing frequency and severity of anti-Semitic incidents since the start of the 21st century, particularly in Europe, has compelled the international community to focus on anti-Semitism with renewed vigor." No analysis is offered to explain why these incidents erupted since 2000. No mention of the Intifada and Israel's occupation of Palestine, no mention of the million bullets fired by the IDF in the opening days of the Intifada, a bullet for every Palestinian child according to Noam Chomsky ("Anti-Semitism, Zionism, and the Palestinians" 3/22/05), no mention of the military crackdown in the West Bank or Gaza, the destruction of homes, the torture chambers, the wanton killings of civilians, the checkpoints and humiliation of the indigenous population, or the illegal continued construction of settlements to mention a few items identified interestingly enough in the "Country Report," though buried in an appendix. No mention of the Bush administration's rise to power in that year and its acquiescence to Sharon's dictates concerning his invasions into Jenin or Rafah, or his adding to the settlements or to the continued construction of the Wall, all items at deviance with the "Road Map" designed by the U.S. and its three accomplices. No mention of how the U.S. protects Israel's outrages in the UN Security Council, the vetoes it uses to deflect world opinion as it wishes to assert that Israel return to the demands of Resolution 242 and to remove the illegal wall. In short, while the report reflects a renewed anger and frustration against the Israeli state beginning in 2000, it does not address what may have caused this rise in what it terms anti-Semitism; it merely lists the incidents and denies the possibility that people across the globe, including member states of the EU, which it condemns outright, could have as much reason to express resentment and outrage at the government of Israel as they do about the government of George W. Bush.
...
Given that context, consider the very fact that the State Department has singled out only maligned and discriminated Jews for its report when the world is filled with people who have endured hatred and discrimination worldwide: in Rwanda, Darfur, Bosnia, Iraq, India, East Timor, the United States, and Palestine to name a few, and all since 2000. Should the State Department publish a report identifying hatred and discrimination against the Jews? Yes. Should it also publish a report that identifies such abuse against all others who suffer such animosity, such disrespect, such indignity, such humiliation, such dehumanization, such suffering and death? Yes. Indeed, this is the point. ...
...
Here, in an appendix devoted to the only two remaining areas of Palestine left to the indigenous population, buried at the back of the report, not included in the section devoted to the Israeli Government, we find horrendous acts of Human Rights abuse committed by the Government of Israel, some deceptively misplaced, scattered among Palestinian abuses executed by Hamas or the PA. And I would note that the above paragraph is only a sampling of this deception. In each section of item 1, "Respect for Human Rights," a, Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life; b, Disappearance; c, Torture and Other Cruel Punishment; d, Arbitrary Arrest or Detention; e, Denial of Fair Public Trial; f, Arbitrary Interference with Privacy; g Excessive Force the Israeli Government's acceptance of Human Rights abuses is itemized, by the U.S. Department of State, page after page: Israeli settlers murder of Palestinians; Physicians for Human Rights in Israel reporting on torture, "techniques prohibited by law," used against Palestinian detainees; 8,300 Palestinians held as security prisoners; the admission that "Israeli military courts rarely acquitted Palestinians of security offenses"; recognition that virtually no resolution to any allegation of wrongdoing by an Israeli, whether military or settler, has occurred during the year of the report; admission that the Israeli Government has destroyed over 6,900 acres of Palestinian land to construct the illegal wall; and 15,000 Palestinians have been made homeless by demolition. Each and every one of these abuses cry out for action by the Department of State, based on its own declaration, that it will "hold accountable governments to their obligations under universal human rights and international human rights instruments." ...
Sunday, April 03, 2005
U.S. says Israel must give up nukes
Haaretz - Israel News - U.S. says Israel must give up nukes: "U.S. says Israel must give up nukes | By Amir Oren | Sun., April 03, 2005
The State Department yesterday called on Israel to forswear nuclear weapons and accept international Atomic Energy Agency safeguards on all nuclear activities.
This is the second time in about two weeks that officials in the Bush administration are putting the nuclear weapons of Israel, India and Pakistan on a par.
The officials called on the three to act like Ukraine and South Africa, which in the last decade renounced their nuclear weapons.
The similar phrasing used by the officials refers to Israel's military nuclear capability, as distinct from "nuclear option," which is to be rolled back, although not necessarily in the "foreseeable future."
The rare use of these terms contradicts the custom of senior administration officials to avoid any possible confirming reference to Israeli nuclear weapons. ...
Haaretz - Israel News - U.S. says Israel must give up nukes: "U.S. says Israel must give up nukes | By Amir Oren | Sun., April 03, 2005
The State Department yesterday called on Israel to forswear nuclear weapons and accept international Atomic Energy Agency safeguards on all nuclear activities.
This is the second time in about two weeks that officials in the Bush administration are putting the nuclear weapons of Israel, India and Pakistan on a par.
The officials called on the three to act like Ukraine and South Africa, which in the last decade renounced their nuclear weapons.
The similar phrasing used by the officials refers to Israel's military nuclear capability, as distinct from "nuclear option," which is to be rolled back, although not necessarily in the "foreseeable future."
The rare use of these terms contradicts the custom of senior administration officials to avoid any possible confirming reference to Israeli nuclear weapons. ...
