:icon_sadangel2: Palestine Peace a dream?

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Gazan infant diagnosed with brittle bone disease
Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:24:06 GMT

Gaza health officials have diagnosed a Palestinian baby girl with a rare condition caused by a genetic mutation in the production of collagen, commonly called brittle bone disease.

"About 10 days after her birth, while her mother was changing her clothes, I noticed a fracture like that of a pencil tip in her skull. The girl then started screaming her head off and crying. We rushed her to a nearby hospital since we had no idea what the issue was," the infant's father, seeking anonymity, told the UAE daily al-Bayan.

The father added that twenty days later another rupture took place leading doctors to place the little girl under constant care. Further tests revealed that she is suffering from Osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disorder characterized by bones that break easily, often from little or no apparent cause. The baby has so far sustained eight fractures, two in the skull, one in each of the right and left hands, and four in the legs.

The girl's father lamented that her daughter can neither undergo proper treatment in Gaza nor receive care elsewhere, all due to the tight blockade Israel has imposed on the impoverished coastal sliver.

Israel's blockade of Gaza denies 1.4 million Palestinians the food, fuel and medicine they require. The United Nations has occasionally called on Israel to end the blockade of Gaza, which is having a negative impact on the humanitarian and human rights situation of the civilian population.

In his latest report on human rights of the Palestinians, UN chief Ban Ki-moon stressed that the blockade of Gaza, in its third year, amounts to a "collective punishment", and is a violation of the right to food, water, health, work and adequate standards of living for the Palestinian people.

"Israel should allow unimpeded access to Gaza for humanitarian aid and the non-humanitarian goods needed for the reconstruction of properties and infrastructure," Ban said in the annual report addressed to the General Assembly.

MP/MB

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Israel halts settlement work for only limited time
Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:50:10 GMT

Israel says it will impose a temporary freeze on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank in a bid to resume peace talks with the Palestinians.

"Israel today has taken a far-reaching step toward peace; it is time for the Palestinians to do the same," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The Palestinians, however, rejected the 10 month freeze which is to be applied only to new housing projects, meaning about 3,000 units under construction can be finished.

"Netanyahu did not advance any formula for the re-launching of negotiations," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.

The situation of settlement building has been a key issue in efforts to restart Middle East peace talks with the Palestinians.

"We will not halt existing construction and we will continue to build synagogues, schools, kindergartens and public buildings essential for normal life in the settlements," Netanyahu said.

He also said the "far-reaching and painful" move to freeze settlement work would not be implemented on East Jerusalem Al-Quds which is viewed by the regime as a separate issue to be discussed in a final status agreement with the Palestinians, Haaretz reported.

"We do not put any restrictions on building in our sovereign capital," the Premier said.

The regime which occupied the city during a 1967 aggression claims it is its "eternal, indivisible" capital.

SB/SS/RE

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UK urges full Israeli settlement freeze
Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:38:34 GMT

Miliband called for a full settlement freeze in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
As Palestinians have rejected an Israeli proposal for a temporary freeze on settlement activity, Britain says the offer should revive the Middle East peace talks.

"Britain wants today's announcement by Israel to become a step towards resuming meaningful negotiations to achieve this vision," said Foreign Secretary David Miliband in a statement on Wednesday.

"Britain continues to call for a full settlement freeze in the West Bank and East Jerusalem," Miliband added. “Negotiations are the only way for the Israelis and Palestinians to achieve a comprehensive, just, and secure peace."

The statement was made after the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that his government will bring a 10-month halt to its housing projects in the occupied West Bank in order to resume peace talks with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu, however, emphasized that the "far-reaching and painful" move to freeze settlement work would not be implemented in East Jerusalem Al-Quds which is viewed by the regime as a separate issue to be discussed in a final status agreement with the Palestinians, according to Israeli daily Haaretz.

"We will not halt existing construction and we will continue to build synagogues, schools, kindergartens and public buildings essential for normal life in the settlements," Netanyahu said.

The Palestinians rejected the 10-month freeze which is to be applied only to new housing projects, meaning about 3,000 units under construction can be finished.

They have demanded a complete freeze on Israeli settlement in the West Bank as a condition for returning to the peace talks with Israel.

Miliband had earlier criticized Israel's decision for approving the construction of hundreds of new housing units in annexed East Jerusalem.

"Expanding settlements on occupied land in East Jerusalem makes that deal much harder. So this decision is wrong and we oppose it," said a British Foreign Office spokeswoman.

AO/AKM

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Report: Israel set to leave Lebanese Ghajar village
Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:07:53 GMT

A sign stands at the entrance to the village of Ghajar on the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Israel has informed the United Nations Interim Force in Southern Lebanon that it plans to evacuate the northern part of the Lebanese village of Ghajar within hours.

Lebanese al-Akhbar newspaper, quoting a senior UN official that spoke on the condition of anonymity, reported Thursday that Israel would fully withdraw from the northern part of the village, which will remain under the UN control.

He told the paper that he believed the move was aimed at reducing the international criticism against Israel.

Despite the report, UNIFIL announced that it has not been informed about any possible pullout from Ghajar, and no special army preparations for an evacuation have been observed on the ground.

Israel is obliged to withdraw from the northern part of Ghajar by Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance forces in 2006. The Israeli troops have however kept a military presence in Ghajar following the end of Israel's aggression against the Lebanese resistance movement. The soldiers have also set up a security fence to control entrance to the village.

Ghajar, located at the foot of Mount Hermon, was annexed by Israel in 1981 along with the Syrian Golan Heights, which had been occupied by the Israeli forces since 1967.


MP/MB

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Jordan: Partial settlement freeze insufficient
Fri, 27 Nov 2009 02:16:08 GMT

Jordan has rejected Israel's latest plan to temporarily freeze settlement activity in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem Al-Quds.

"The unilateral Israeli plan for partial cessation of settlement activity in the occupied West Bank is an insufficient step, which fails to meet the world community's requirements for the two-state vision," AFP quoted Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh as saying on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday declared a 10-month suspension of settlement construction in the West Bank but said the building of settlements would continue in East Jerusalem Al-Quds, which Israel seized from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war.

The UN still considers it an occupied territory and has urged Israel to stop its illegal settlement activity in the area.

Judeh noted that the Israeli step was aimed at tempting the Palestinians to resume negotiations with Israel with the eventual aim of creating a "demilitarized Palestinian state".

"The exclusion of East Jerusalem from the freeze of settlement activity is rejected by Jordan because it runs counter to the international consensus that considers East Jerusalem an occupied city which should be drawn on the agenda of the final status talks," he added.

Judeh stated a possible end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should lead to the creation of a "sovereign Palestinian state" with East Jerusalem Al-Quds as its capital.

MGH/SS/MMA

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Israeli air raid injures four in Gaza
Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:07:10 GMT

At least four Palestinian civilians have been wounded after Israeli warplanes struck near a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

Witnesses and medics said the Israeli air force fired missiles at the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern part of the blockaded coastal sliver early Friday.

They added that the attack wounded four civilians. One of the victims is reported to be in critical condition.

Gaza continues to suffer from the aftermath of the last massive Israeli military offensive launched at the turn of the year. More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed during three weeks of Israeli land, sea and air assaults, dubbed 'Operation Cast Lead ', in the impoverished coastal enclave. The offensive also inflicted $1.6 billion damage to the Gazan economy.

Israel has kept attacking Gaza despite its announcement of a unilateral cease-fire following the deadly military operation.

Most of the damage in Gaza has not been repaired due to an Israeli blockade that has prevented construction materials from entering the territory.

Gaza has been under Israeli siege since 2007.

MP/DT

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Israel chooses occupation rather than peace'
Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:21:21 GMT

Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas has dismissed Israel's plan for a 'temporary halt' in settlement construction as insufficient to resume peace negotiations.

During his first visit to Venezuela, Abbas said on Friday that "we can't accept the current Israeli government's concept for the negotiations."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a 10 month halt on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank excluding East Jerusalem Al-Quds on Wednesday, calling for the resumption of stalled peace talks with the Palestinians.

"We don't have any condition to restarting negotiations except the commitment of the two sides to the foundations of the peace operation according to the road map, and especially stopping the expansionist activities of the Israelis," Abbas added.

He said Wednesday's announcement by Netanyahu "didn't bring anything new because the occupation is going to continue in the West Bank and in Jerusalem."

"The Israeli prime minister had to choose between peace and occupation. Lamentably, he chose occupation," Abbas said.

He told Venezuela's National Assembly that the long history of negotiations has indicated that Israel "doesn't want peace".

SB/SS/MMA

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Chavez: Israel aims to exterminate Palestinians
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:56:29 GMT

Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas (L) and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says that Israel is aiming to 'exterminate the Palestinian nation' and that he backs the establishment of East Jerusalem Al-Quds as capital of an independent Palestinian state.

"We are on the side of the Palestinian people's memorable struggle against the genocidal state of Israel that knocks down, kills and aims to terminate the Palestinian people," Chavez told acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas in Caracas on Friday night.

"We reiterate our greatest commitment and our greatest solidarity for the creation of an independent Palestinian state with the holy city of Jerusalem Al-Quds as its capital," he added.

During the meeting Mahmoud Abbas dismissed an Israeli plan to temporarily halt construction of new West Bank settlements as insufficient, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose occupation rather than peace.

"Wednesday's announcement by Netanyahu of a 10-month halt to new construction in the West Bank Jewish settlements didn't bring anything new because the occupation is going to continue in the West Bank and in Jerusalem Al-Quds," Abbas said.

The acting Palestinian Authority Chief added, "We don't have any condition to restarting negotiations except the commitment of the two sides to the foundations of the peace operation according to the road map, and especially stopping the expansionist activities of the Israelis."

Abbas earlier visited Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay to build support for efforts toward a Palestinian state.

Latin American leaders backed his calls for Israel to halt settlement construction and also to guarantee that future borders are based on 1967 lines.

Under the 2002 Roadmap for Peace plan brokered by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia, Israel has to 'dismantle settlement outposts erected since 2001 and also freeze all settlement activities'.

There are currently 121 Israeli settlements and approximately 102 Israeli outposts built illegally on Palestinian land occupied by Israel in 1967. All of these settlements and outposts are illegal under international law and have been condemned by numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions.

These settlements and outposts are inhabited by a population of some 462,000 Israeli settlers. Some 191,000 Israelis are living in settlements around Jerusalem Al-Quds and a further 271,400 are further spread throughout the West Bank.

MP/MTM/DT

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Two die in Israeli raid on Gaza refugees
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:55:29 GMT

Two Palestinians have reportedly died, succumbing to injuries they suffered in an Israeli air raid on a Gaza-based refugee camp.

The Israeli army reported that one Gazan had died after a Friday aerial bombardment it had carried out over the Jabaliya refugee camp north of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported Saturday.

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth later wrote that another Palestinian had died from wounds sustained during the attack. The Israeli military has denied having caused such mortality, added the Palestinian outlet.

Israeli military said the raid had been ordered after mortar shells were launched from the Palestinian side on Thursday, adding that the rounds had not landed in Israel.

Tel Aviv ordered three weeks of unabated land, air and sea attacks on the Gaza Strip at the turn of the year, accusing the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, of launching rocket attacks on Israel. The raids killed more than 1,400, injuring thousands others.

HN/SC/MMN

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Israel reneges on settlement ban with tourism plan
Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:00:40 GMT

A Palestinian woman walks past an Israeli barrier in the West Bank.
Israel plans to develop tourist magnets in the West Bank despite pledging to temporarily halt settlement construction in the occupied territories.

Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov announced the plans, hot on the heels of a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze settlement expansions for 10 months, the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported on Saturday.

Misezhnikov said the ban had to exclude construction of public buildings in settlements or construction in Jerusalem Al-Quds.

He went on to say that the areas to be built on include Judea and Samaria, “the stalagmite cave in Ariel, the Herodion in Gush Etzion and Qasr al-Yahud near Ma'aleh Adumim.”

He added, “The agreement to freeze construction in Judea and Samaria created an important diplomatic achievement for Israel.”

The decision followed another contradictory post-ban move by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak through which he allowed the construction of 28 new public buildings in settlements.

The West Bank has been dotted with Israeli-built dividing walls and checkpoints that severely restrict the Palestinian people's movement, while completely closing off 38 percent of the area to them.

HN/SC/HGL