Leeds PSC

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Posts by Leeds PSC

Peace dinner with Netanyahu Abbas and Obama

A peace dinner with Netanyahu, Abbas and Obama

Peace dinner with Netanyahu Abbas and Obama

Hamas warns PA over recent arrests

Al Jazeera.

Group in charge of Gaza Strip says Palestinian Authority will be targeted if it continues arresting its members.

Hamas has warned the Palestinian Authority to stop detaining its members or risk becoming a target of the group.

The warning came after the PA confirmed it had detained seven Hamas armed group activists suspected of involvement in the Hebron and Ramallah shootings last week.

A PA official said security forces had arrested Hamas members from separate cells linked to two drive-by shooting attacks that killed four Israeli settlers and wounded two others. More >

For a morally consistent boycott of Israel

EI.

Statement, Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, 7 September 2010

Provoked by the recent announcement of the inauguration of a cultural center in Ariel, the fourth largest Jewish colony in the occupied Palestinian territory, 150 prominent Israeli academics, writers and cultural figures have declared that they “will not take part in any kind of cultural activity beyond the Green Line, take part in discussions and seminars, or lecture in any kind of academic setting in these settlements” (“150 academics, artists back actors’ boycott of settlement arts center,” Haaretz, 31 August 2010). A few protestors went as far as reiterating the fact that all Israeli colonies built on occupied Palestinian land are in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and thus constitute a war crime. More >

The refugees are the crux of the matter

MEM.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit hinted recently that Palestinian refugees would receive $50 billion dollars as a compensation for giving up the right of return. The Egyptian official didn’t elaborate or reveal the source of the information.  More to the point, he didn’t say where the money would come from or whether the current Palestinian leadership, e.g. the PLO, would accept such a scenario. More >

Israel, Jews and the peace process

Guardian.

In his analysis (‘It’s time to get to work’: 17 years after Oslo, Clinton takes on the Middle East challenge, 3 September), Ian Black describes Netanyahu as demanding that Abbas recognise Israel “as a Jewish state”.

However, according to Chris McGreal’s report on the facing page (‘Together we can lead people to a future that will end conflict’, 3 September), what Netanyahu actually demanded from the Palestinians was recognition of “Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people”. The difference is significant. Netanyahu is a Jewish prime minister, but he is certainly not the prime minister of the Jewish people, as he implicitly claims.

A state defined by ethnic religion is bad enough; but what Netanyahu’s actual demand amounts to is legitimation of Zionism, and the “right” of Israel to speak and act for an alleged Jewish “nation” consisting of Jews everywhere, including the UK. More >

This time in Washington, honest brokerage is not going to be enough

Guardian.

An intractable asymmetry between Palestinian and Israeli power bases means the US must intervene. Otherwise, these talks fail.

The pope, according to a no doubt apocryphal story, maintains that there are two possible solutions to the Arab-Israeli conflict – the realistic and the miraculous. The realistic solution involves divine intervention; the miraculous solution involves a voluntary agreement between the parties themselves. The American-sponsored peace talks that got under way in Washington last week may be viewed in this light. It will take nothing less than a miracle to produce a peaceful settlement of the century-old conflict between Jews and Arabs over the Holy Land. More >

Rochdale campaigners call for boycott of Israeli dates

Rochdale Online.

Campaigners from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group gathered in Yorkshire Street over the weekend promoting the boycott of Israeli goods.

A week before Eid, they highlighted the particular issues of dates grown by Israeli settlers on occupied Palestinian land in violation of the 4th Geneva Convention and of attempts by Israeli companies to package their products in ways which make their true origins difficult to detect.

They urged shoppers to boycott dates that come from Israel, West Bank, ‘Jordan Valley or Jordan River and to buy fair trade Medjoul dates from the Zaytoun organisation. More >

U.S. actors back Israeli boycott of West Bank theater

Haaretz.

More than 150 American actors, writers, directors and other artists signed a letter of support for the Israeli actors who declared they would not perform in the West Bank.

The American signatories include Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda on “Sex and the City”; Mandy Patinkin, who played Inigo Montoya in “The Princess Bride”; and character actor and writer Wallace Shawn, who played the principal in “Clueless.” More >

A call for Israeli architects to take a stand

http://jfjfp.com/?p=17101

The time has come for those planning the red-roofed facts on the ground to refuse to design any more buildings in the settlements.

After dozens of actors, theater workers, professors and writers declared their refusal to appear in the new cultural hall in Ariel or any other settlement, the time has come for architects and planners to wake up and announce publicly that they will not continue planning new buildings in the settlements. More >

Anti-Israel economic boycotts are gaining speed

Haaretz.

The sums involved are not large, but their international significance is huge. Boycotts by governments gives a boost to boycotts by non-government bodies around the world.

The entire week was marked by boycotts. It began with a few dozen theater people boycotting the new culture center in Ariel, and continued with a group of authors and artists publishing a statement of support on behalf of those theater people. Then a group of 150 lecturers from various universities announced they would not teach at Ariel College or take part in any cultural events in the territories. Naturally, all that spurred a flurry of responses, including threats of counter-sanctions. More >

U.S.: Rabbi’s ‘offensive’ remarks harm peace efforts

Haaretz.

U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley condemns Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s ‘inflammatory’ statement that all Palestinians should perish.

The United States on Sunday condemned remarks by the spiritual leader of Israel’s leading ultra-Orthodox party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who said the Palestinians should “perish”.

“We regret and condemn the inflammatory statements by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef,” U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley. “These remarks are not only deeply offensive, but incitement such as this hurts the cause of peace.”

“As we move forward to relaunch peace negotiations, it is important that actions by people on all sides help to advance our effort, not hinder it.” More >

PSC Weekly Update – Friday 3 September 2010

PSC.

Why should an occupied people be forced to negotiate their freedom?

flagPresident Obama has enjoyed his White House photocall and the much-hyped ‘peace talks’ between the Palestinians and Israel have begun in earnest.

However, as former PLO advisor Diana Buttu points out, the Palestinians have been down this road before and emerged from previous negotiations empty handed. Moreover, what legitimacy will these talks have, given that Mahmoud Abbas’ term of office has expired, and the majority of Palestinians – including those under siege in Gaza and the refugee diaspora – are not represented at all? More >

Anger at EU chief’s Middle East outburst

Guardian.

EU trade commissioner accused of antisemitism after saying Jewish intransigence dooms Middle East talks in Washington.

A top European official was accused of antisemitism tonight after declaring that there was little point in engaging in rational argument with Jews and suggesting that the latest Middle East peace talks were doomed because of the power of the Jewish lobby in Washington. More >

Israeli raids claim lives in Gaza

Al Jazeera.

Two Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air raids in the Gaza Strip, medics and security sources say. Another person has been critically injured.

The Israeli army launched three raids in the south of Gaza on Saturday after Palestinian fighters fired a rocket over the border.

The flare-up of violence on the Israel-Gaza border came just two days after the relaunch of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in the US.

Israeli aircraft reportedly struck targets including smuggling tunnels running under the border with Egypt at Rafah.

The two Palestinians were killed when one of the tunnels collapsed. Three others were wounded.

A raid also struck a former base of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.

An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the three raids, saying one was aimed at “a tunnel dug in the direction of Israeli territory” for attacks across the border.

Early on Saturday, Palestinian fighters fired a rocket from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, causing no injuries, the Israeli military said.

Gaza is under the control of Hamas, the Palestinian faction which is strongly opposed to negotiations with Israel.

Hamas pledge

Hamas has vowed to carry out attacks against Israeli targets in the coming weeks.

Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades carried out two shooting attacks against Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank last week, killing four people in one incident, and wounding two in the other. More >