Category: Palestinian N.A.

Palestinian National Authority

Palestinian President Abbas visits Ankara

Palestinian President Abbas visits Ankara

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 138

July 20, 2009

By: Saban Kardas

On July 16-17, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Turkey to hold talks on Middle East peace initiatives and discuss bilateral relations with Turkey. Abbas met President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. This came amidst speculation that he had supported the Greek Cypriot position on the Cyprus issue. On July 8-9, Abbas met the Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias. The two leaders supported each other’s stance on international issues. Citing Greek media sources, the Turkish press maintained that Abbas had expressed his support for the Greek Cypriot position on the Cyprus issue (www.ntvmsnbc.com, July 9). Some Turkish media outlets interpreted this attitude as a betrayal and disrespect for Turkey’s earlier support for the Palestinian cause. “Abbas stabbed [Turkey] in the back,” one nationalist newspaper claimed (Yeni Cag, July 10).

The Turkish foreign ministry summoned the Palestinian Ambassador, Nabil Maarouf, following such news coverage on the issue. Maarouf told Turkish officials that he had investigated the reports by contacting Abbas’ spokesperson and other Palestinian officials. Maarouf said that “Abbas did not make those statements. As a matter of fact, this issue was not even on the agenda. [Palestinians] were never involved in the Cyprus issue and will maintain this attitude” (www.mfa.gov.tr, July 10). On the same day, Maarouf issued a separate statement in which “he reiterated his remarks at the ministry, [and added that] Abbas’ visit to Cyprus was planned one year ago” (Today’s Zaman, July 13). Nonetheless, a statement issued by Christofias after meeting Abbas read: “I wish to warmly thank President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority for their firm and consistent stance in supporting the struggle of the people of Cyprus and the position of the Republic of Cyprus both within the Organization of Islamic Conference and the Arab world in general, as well as internationally” (www.mfa.gov.cy, July 9).

Nationalist media outlets continued their criticism of Abbas, ahead of his visit (Yeni Cag, July 14). Abbas therefore tried hard to diffuse tensions in Ankara. During his joint press conference with Gul, Abbas firmly denied these claims, and described the media reports as groundless. He also responded to another allegation about himself, which was raised by Fatah sources last week. A Fatah official claimed that Abbas was involved in a conspiracy with Mossad and the CIA, which resulted in the killing of Yasser Arafat (www.israelnationalnews.com, July 14). These reports also led to an intensive debate in the Turkish media, ahead of the visit by Abbas (Milli Gazete, July 16). He reiterated his rejection of those accusations in Ankara, arguing that the document that allegedly supported those claims was circulating on Israeli websites (Hurriyet, July 18).

Gul emphasized Turkey’s official position that the two-state solution should be the basis of the efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue. He reiterated Ankara’s support for an independent Palestinian state, which would have East Jerusalem as its capital. He called on Israel to stop building new settlements and lift the blockade to allow for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the flow of humanitarian aid (www.tccb.gov.tr, July 17).

In response to one question, Gul expressed Turkey’s objection to a plan suggested earlier by the E.U.’s Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana. Solana maintained that if both sides could not reach a solution within a designated period, the U.N. Security Council should endorse the two-state solution and open the way for the recognition of Palestine by the international community (Jerusalem Post, July 12). Gul noted that Turkey would not support efforts for the resolution of the problem which were not approved by all sides. Gul maintained that imposing a non-consensual solution would not prove beneficial and might be harmful. Turkey is ready to support a roadmap toward a Palestinian state, provided that it comes as a result of consensus, Gul added (www.tccb.gov.tr, July 17).

Abbas also exchanged opinions with Davutoglu on the Middle East. They discussed specific areas in which Turkey could help the Palestinian administration. It was announced that Turkey will release part of the $150 million aid which it had pledged at the Paris conference to relieve the financial burden of the cash-strapped Palestinian authority. Abbas solicited Turkey’s help for building Palestinian state institutions and constructing infrastructure for education and health services as well as creating jobs. Toward this end, Turkey pledged to build a university hospital, a new industrial zone and a conference hall. Moreover, Turkey will help with the infrastructure of Palestinian television and support the foundation of a diplomatic academy in Palestine (Anadolu Ajansi, July 17).

Davutoglu also emphasized another important pillar of Turkey’s policy toward the Palestine issue: a permanent and sustainable solution to the problem can only emerge as a result of a consensus between the Palestinian factions. He asked Abbas to conclude the talks on the formation of a national unity government soon, and confirmed Ankara’s support for the dialogue between Palestinian groups mediated by Egypt. Turkey and the Palestinian authority also reportedly agreed to form a joint committee to discuss developments within the peace process (www.cnnturk.com, July 18). In a related development, Egyptian diplomatic sources mediating the talks between Hamas and Fatah reportedly asked the parties to reach a consensus on a unity government by August 25. Since the talks reached deadlock because of the parties’ refusal of an earlier proposal, the Egyptian side suspended their mediation efforts (Cihan, July 19).

Turkish officials managed to put the unpleasant news stories aside and “talk business” with Abbas, in an effort to make a contribution to achieving peace in the Middle East. Official statements demonstrated once again the underlying principles of Turkey’s approach to the Palestinian issue. In Ankara’s view, third parties should only play a facilitator role and refrain from excluding the major stakeholders. It is for these reasons that Turkey seeks to interject itself as peace broker between the Israelis and Palestinians on the one hand, and among the Palestinians on the other. Although those policies frequently lead to the criticism that Turkey is following a pro-Hamas position, Ankara appears determined to maintain dialogue with all parties and refuse any call to exclude Hamas.

https://jamestown.org/program/palestinian-president-abbas-visits-ankara/

July 21, 2009
Israel soldiers speak out on Gaza

A group of soldiers who took part in Israel’s assault in Gaza say widespread abuses were committed against civilians under “permissive” rules of engagement.

The troops said they had been urged to fire on any building or person that seemed suspicious and said civilians were sometimes used as human shields.

Breaking the Silence, a campaign group made up of Israeli soldiers, gathered anonymous accounts from 26 soldiers.

Israel denies breaking the laws of war and dismissed the report as hearsay.

“We were told soldiers were to be secured by fire-power. The soldiers were made to understand that their lives were the most important, and that there was no way our soldiers would get killed for the sake of leaving civilians the benefit of the doubt,” said one soldier in the report.

“People were not instructed to shoot at everyone they see, but they were told that from a certain distance when they approach a house, no matter who it is – even an old woman – take them down,” said another.

Many of the testimonies are in line with claims made by human-rights organisations that Israeli military action in Gaza was indiscriminate and disproportionate.

Amnesty International has accused both Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes during the 22-day conflict.

Israeli officials insist troops went to great lengths to protect civilians, that Hamas endangered non-combatants by firing from civilian areas and that homes and buildings were destroyed only when there was a specific military need to do so.

‘Ill discipline’

According to testimonies from the 14 conscripts and 12 reserve soldiers:

• Rules of engagement were either unclear or encouraged soldiers to do their utmost to protect their own lives whether or not Palestinian civilians were harmed.

• Civilians were used as human shields, entering buildings ahead of soldiers

• Large swathes of homes and buildings were demolished. Accounts say that this was often done because the houses might be booby-trapped, or cover tunnels. Testimony mentioned a policy referred to as “the day after”, whereby areas near the border were razed to make future military operations easier

• Some of the troops had a generally aggressive, ill-disciplined attitude

There was incidents of vandalism of property of Palestinians

• Soldiers fired at water tanks because they were bored, at a time of severe water shortages for Gazans

• White phosphorus was used in civilian areas in a way some soldiers saw as gratuitous and reckless

• Many of the soldiers said there had been very little direct engagement with Palestinian militants

The report says Israeli troops and the people who justify their actions are “slid[ing] together down the moral slippery slope”.

“This is an urgent call to Israeli society and its leaders to sober up and investigate a new the results of our actions,” Breaking the Silence says.

Israel said the purpose of the 22-day operation that ended on 18 January 2009 had been to end rocket fire from Gaza aimed at its southern towns.

Palestinian rights groups say about 1,400 Palestinians died during the operation. Thirteen Israelis died in the conflict, including 10 soldiers serving in Gaza.

According to the UN, the campaign damaged or destroyed more than 50,000 homes, 800 industrial properties, 200 schools, 39 mosques and two churches.

Investigations

Reacting to the report, Israeli military spokeswoman Lt Col Avital Leibovich said:

“The IDF [Israel Defence Forces] regrets the fact that another human rights organisation has come out with a report based on anonymous and general testimony – without investigating their credibility.”

She dismissed the document as “hearsay and word of mouth”.

“The IDF expects every soldier to turn to the appropriate authorities with any allegation,” Lt Col Leibovich added. “This is even more important where the harm is to non-combatants. The IDF has uncompromising ethical values which continue to guide us in every mission.”

There have been several investigations into the conduct of Israel’s operation in Gaza, and both Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs the territory, have faced accusations of war crimes.

An internal investigations by the Israeli military said troops fought lawfully, although errors did take place, such as the deaths of 21 people in a house that had been wrongly targeted.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has requested more than $11m (£7m) in compensation from Israel for damage to UN property in Gaza. A limited UN inquiry blamed Israel in six out of nine attacks on UN facilities, resulting in casualties among civilians sheltering there.

Meanwhile, a fact-finding team commissioned by the Arab League concluded there was enough evidence to prosecute the Israeli military for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that “the Israeli political leadership was also responsible for such crimes”.

It also said Palestinian militants were guilty of war crimes in their use of indiscriminate rocket attacks on civilians.

BBC

July 15, 2009
White House asserts control over foreign policy

Ed Lasky

The focus of power involving foreign policy is in the National Security Council, not the State Department. The model Obama is following is that of Nixon White house where the hapless Secretary of State William Rogers twisted in the wind for years as Nixon-Kissinger ran foreign policy from the White House.

Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski were advisers to Barack Obama and both are proponents of this model.

I wrote about this months ago here.

Now we are seeing signs of this dynamic at work. This Haaretz article by Barak Ravid and Natasha Mozgovaya shows that NSC advisor James Jones is spreading the word about Obama’s “get tough” policy with Israel:

Gen. James Jones, national security adviser to President Barack Obama, told a European foreign minister a week ago that unlike the Bush administration, Obama will be “forceful” with Israel.

Meanwhile, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told an AIPAC conference last night that two states for two peoples is the only solution the United States is committed to.

[snip]

Emanuel called for Israeli-Palestinian cooperation if Iran is to be countered effectively.

He said the United States was trying to enter a dialogue with countries such as Syria and Iran, even though it was still unclear whether these countries would alter their behavior. He reiterated that the United States wants to talk with Iran in the hope that Tehran will relinquish its efforts to gain nuclear weapons.

Jones is the main force in the Obama administration stressing the Palestinian question and believes that the United States must become more intensively involved in the matter vis-a-vis both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Looks like Bibi is in for some tough talk from Jones and the president.

Source: www.americanthinker.com, 5 May 2009

May 24, 2009
UN report condemns Israel over Gaza war

James Bone in New York

A United Nations investigation yesterday accused Israel of “reckless disregard” for human life in using white phosphorus munitions that killed and injured Palestinians sheltering in a UN school during the Gaza war.

The four-man UN panel, led by Ian Martin, a former head of Amnesty International, confirmed that smoke projectiles containing white phosphoros had twice struck UN premises, causing two deaths.

The UN board had a limited mandate to investigate the nine worst attacks on UN premises and vehicles during the war earlier this year.

It found the Israel Defence Forces responsible for seven of those attacks, including one it described as a “direct and intentional strike into UN premises” that killed three young men at a UN school in Asma.

The UN panel blamed “a Palestinian faction, most likely Hamas” for one attack using a homemade Qassam rocket on a UN warehouse at the Karni crossing, saying the rocket was probably aimed at Israel but fell short. It was unable to establish responsibility for the ninth incident.

In the highly publicised case of the shelling of the UN’s Jabalia school on January 6, panel-members demanded that Israel apologise for falsely claiming that it was responding to Hamas mortar fire when it attacked, killing up to 40 people in the vicinity and injuring seven people inside.

Israel also wrongly claimed Hamas had fired from a UN field office it hit with artillery fire, the panel said.

“These allegations were untrue, continued to be made after it ought to have been known that they were untrue, and were not adequately withdrawn and publicly regretted,” the panel said.

The UN panel documented Israel’s use of white phosphoros munitions that hit the UN compound in Gaza City and the UN’s Beit Lahia school.

Two children, aged 5 and 7, were killed by shards of projectile casings at the Beit Lahia school on January 5 and smoke from the burning white phosphorus injured others.

“The firing by the IDF of projectiles containing white phosphorus in such close promixity to the school as to cause the death of two young children and serious injuries to others, as well as property damage, was highly negligent and amounted to reckless disregard for the lives and safety of those sheltering in the school,” an unclassifed 28-page summary of the 184-page report said.

Israel’s deputy UN Ambassador, Daniel Carmon, called the report “biased” and “one-sided”.

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk, May 6, 2009

May 6, 2009
Israel must accept Palestinian state, Joe Biden says

Vice-President Joe Biden placed America on a collision course with Israel on Tuesday, urging the new government to accept the goal of a Palestinian state and stop expanding Jewish settlements on occupied land.

By Alex Spillius in Washington
Last Updated: 11:16PM BST 05 May 2009

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden at a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels Photo: AP

Mr Biden used an address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee – the leading pro-Israeli lobby group in the United States – to deliver a tough message to Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s new prime minister.

“Israel has to work for a two-state solution,” said Mr Biden. “You’re not going to like my saying this, but not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement.”

Mr Netanyahu, by contrast, has not accepted the principle of a Palestinian state and his government plans to build more homes inside existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It has also refrained from removing any of the illegal settler outposts that Mr Biden mentioned. Meanwhile, hundreds of checkpoints scattered across the West Bank continue to restrict the freedom of movement of Palestinians.

Mr Biden’s comments brought the differences between America and Israel into the open. They came ahead of Mr Netanyahu’s first official visit to Washington, expected later this month.

The new prime minister, who leads a coalition government in which Right-wing parties have the most influence, told the AIPAC conference by satellite that he was ready to begin peace talks with the Palestinians “the sooner the better”. But Mr Netanyahu made no reference to the possibility of a Palestinian state.

Instead, he outlined a “triple track” approach to peace, a strategy that emphasises political, economic and security schemes to resolve the conflict.

On the economic track, Mr Netanyahu said Israel was prepared to remove as many obstacles as possible to advance the Palestinian economy.

“I want to see Palestinian youngsters know that they have a future,” he said. “I want them not to be hostage to a cult of death, and despair and hate.”

Privately, British officials predict that Mr Netanyahu will eventually accept the principle of Palestinian statehood, largely because of American pressure. But they believe he will hold out for a while in order to avoid being seen to give way easily.

In his speech, Mr Biden was careful to call on the Palestinian Authority to “combat terror and incitement against Israel”. He stressed that the US would never abandon its commitment to Israel’s security. Mr Biden also sought to reassure Israel’s supporters that the administration’s conciliatory approach towards Iran was not open-ended and the goal of preventing the Islamic republic from acquiring nuclear weapons remained unchanged. “We are intensely focused on avoiding the grave danger … of a nuclear armed Iran,” said the Vice-President.

Meanwhile, a United Nations inquiry was deeply critical of the Israeli army’s behaviour during the offensive in the Gaza Strip in January.

It blamed Israeli forces for six of the nine incidents when UN buildings in Gaza were attacked, causing death and injuries to people sheltering inside.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk, 05 May 2009

May 6, 2009
Abbas visits Iraq’s Kurdish region

Mahmud Abbas (L) shakes hands with Massud Barzani

ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) — Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Monday met Kurdish regional government leader Massud Barzani in a visit aimed at cementing ties between the two largest stateless peoples in the Middle East. (!!)

“We did not need any invitation to visit this brotherly nation and we have felt for a long time that the doors were always open to us without even needing to make an appointment,” Abbas said at a joint news conference.

“The honourable president Barzani was not even told of our visit until 24 hours beforehand and he said ‘Ahlan wa Sahlan,’” Abbas said, using the common Arabic form of greeting.

Barzani for his part praised Abbas for being the first “president” to visit the autonomous region in northern Iraq.

“We are used to our Palestinian brothers always being in the forefront of aiding our people in the past and present,” he said. “This visit will cement the relationship between our two peoples with their similar suffering.

“Just as he is the first president to visit the region we expect and we hope that the Palestinian consulate will be the first consulate to open in Arbil.”

Abbas is the president of the Palestinian Authority, an entity created by the 1993 Oslo autonomy accords that governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Abbas’s forces were driven out of the Gaza Strip by the Islamist Hamas movement in June 2007.

Barzani is the president of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The Kurds, numbering between 25 and 35 million people, are concentrated in a region overlapping Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria and have never had a state.

Abbas’s trip came one week after he held talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, in Baghdad, in what was the first visit to Iraq by a Palestinian leader since the 2003-US led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

Saddam was a vocal patron of the Palestinians under Abbas’s predecessor Yasser Arafat but ruled the Kurds with an iron fist, brutally crushing Kurdish rebellions in the 1980s and killing an estimated 182,000 people.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved

Source: www.google.com/hostednews/afp, 13 April 2009

April 14, 2009