The dire situation forcing people to re-act in inhumane way & it seems the blocking might not be the good solution but is it the ONLY solution?
U.N. official pleads for opening of Gaza borders
UNITED NATIONS, April 3 (Reuters) - The top U.N. aid official in the Gaza Strip urged Israel on Friday to ease restrictions on the flow of goods into the conflict-torn territory, saying they were "devastating" for the people
Link
"It's wholly and totally inadequate," John Ging, head of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, said about the amount of goods Israel permits into the territory, where some 1.5 million Palestinians live.
"It's having a very devastating impact on the physical circumstances and also the mindset of people on the ground," he said.
Israel says it has opened Gaza's border to larger amounts of food and medicine since its December-January offensive against Hamas militants who control the Palestinian enclave and were firing rockets against Israeli towns.
The war destroyed some 5,000 homes and, according to figures from a Palestinian rights group, killed over 1,400 people. Around 80 percent of Palestinians are reliant on aid.
Ging said access to goods was still a severe problem.
"We need access," he said. "It's the number one issue. It's the number two issue. It's the number three issue, and so on. Until we get it, there's nothing as important as solving the access issue."
Israel fears opening the borders would allow Hamas to smuggle more weapons and ammunition into the territory.
Ging said that all the crossing points from Israel into the Gaza Strip should be opened, and those that were currently opened in a limited way to only selected people or goods should be fully opened.
In addition to restrictions on what it deems luxury goods, such as cigarettes and chocolates, Israel has blocked entry of materials such as cement and steel for rebuilding because it says they could be used for bunkers and rearming.
Since Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in a 2007 civil war with Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah faction, Israel has tightened its blockade of the 30-mile (45-km) strip in an effort to weaken Hamas' hold on power.
Ging said he understood the "real security challenges" to the operation of crossing points, such as when militants were firing rockets that could endanger people at the crossings. But he said it was not clear why they were closed at other times.
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said last month that an expansion of activity at Gaza's border crossings could be discussed once Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was captured by Hamas in 2006, is released.
(Additional reporting by Claudia Parsons; Editing by Alan Elsner)
Read more...
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
US says will push hard for Palestinian statehood (Ynetnews)
It has been 2months since we started this blog & the same old 2-state proposition has been brought up and this is not a new issue anymore.
In fact, for those who are familiar with history of Israel or has been closely follow-up with Hanan’s written in Chedet knows that the issue not with this proposal.
But it is for those who are walking in the corridor of power to start make a difference.
The author is right, there is no easy task in this life, but how many casualties we need until we finally realize this?
While some of us are worried about sustaining our life style due to the unstoppable recession, our friends that in the conflict regions are only worried about 1 thing -> SURVIVAL.
While some of us thought that this is given…well..you might want to think again…
US says will push hard for Palestinian statehood (Ynetnews)
State Department spokesman says Obama administration to pursue two-state solution 'because we believe it's in the best interests of all the parties in the region' but adds 'it won't be easy'
Reuters Published: 04.02.09, 22:30 / Israel News
The United States will push hard for Palestinian statehood despite a new rightist government in Israel but anticipates a rough road ahead, a US official said on Thursday.
"We're going to be working hard to see what we can do to move the process forward. But we're under no illusions. It's not going to be easy," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood.
"We have to engage constantly and remind the parties of their obligations and to try to set up a framework, a process for getting us toward that goal of a two-state solution," Wood added, referring to the goal of separate Israeli and Palestinian states, living side by side in peace.
Israel's new foreign minister angered Palestinians and raised the prospect of tension with Washington on Wednesday by saying Israel was not bound by a deal to start negotiations on establishing a Palestinian state.
On his first day at the Foreign Ministry, ultranationalist Avigdor Lieberman said the US-backed Annapolis declaration of 2007 "has no validity," confirming a shift in stance under new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
'Anti-Arab rhetoric'
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made her first contact with Lieberman on Wednesday, telephoning him from London where she is with President Barack Obama.
"It was primarily to congratulate him on coming into his new position, but no dates have been set for any type of meeting," said Wood.
Wood said US special envoy to the Middle East, former Sen. George Mitchell, is set go to the region soon.
He did not comment on whether Clinton had raised US concerns over Lieberman's comments, but said the new Israeli foreign minister was "well aware" of the US position.
"We're going to pursue that two-state solution, because we believe it's in the best interests of all the parties in the region," said Wood.
Lieberman's anti-Arab rhetoric has particularly alarmed Palestinians as well as Arab leaders in the region. Lieberman says land where many of Israel's 1.5 million Arabs live should be "swapped" for West Bank Jewish settlements in a peace deal with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu was prime minister from 1997 to 1999 and clashed constantly with the administration of Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Netanyahu is expected to visit Washington soon, possibly as early as next month, an Israeli official told Reuters. However, he said no date had been set yet for that visit.
Read more...
In fact, for those who are familiar with history of Israel or has been closely follow-up with Hanan’s written in Chedet knows that the issue not with this proposal.
But it is for those who are walking in the corridor of power to start make a difference.
The author is right, there is no easy task in this life, but how many casualties we need until we finally realize this?
While some of us are worried about sustaining our life style due to the unstoppable recession, our friends that in the conflict regions are only worried about 1 thing -> SURVIVAL.
While some of us thought that this is given…well..you might want to think again…
US says will push hard for Palestinian statehood (Ynetnews)
State Department spokesman says Obama administration to pursue two-state solution 'because we believe it's in the best interests of all the parties in the region' but adds 'it won't be easy'
Reuters Published: 04.02.09, 22:30 / Israel News
The United States will push hard for Palestinian statehood despite a new rightist government in Israel but anticipates a rough road ahead, a US official said on Thursday.
"We're going to be working hard to see what we can do to move the process forward. But we're under no illusions. It's not going to be easy," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood.
"We have to engage constantly and remind the parties of their obligations and to try to set up a framework, a process for getting us toward that goal of a two-state solution," Wood added, referring to the goal of separate Israeli and Palestinian states, living side by side in peace.
Israel's new foreign minister angered Palestinians and raised the prospect of tension with Washington on Wednesday by saying Israel was not bound by a deal to start negotiations on establishing a Palestinian state.
On his first day at the Foreign Ministry, ultranationalist Avigdor Lieberman said the US-backed Annapolis declaration of 2007 "has no validity," confirming a shift in stance under new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
'Anti-Arab rhetoric'
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made her first contact with Lieberman on Wednesday, telephoning him from London where she is with President Barack Obama.
"It was primarily to congratulate him on coming into his new position, but no dates have been set for any type of meeting," said Wood.
Wood said US special envoy to the Middle East, former Sen. George Mitchell, is set go to the region soon.
He did not comment on whether Clinton had raised US concerns over Lieberman's comments, but said the new Israeli foreign minister was "well aware" of the US position.
"We're going to pursue that two-state solution, because we believe it's in the best interests of all the parties in the region," said Wood.
Lieberman's anti-Arab rhetoric has particularly alarmed Palestinians as well as Arab leaders in the region. Lieberman says land where many of Israel's 1.5 million Arabs live should be "swapped" for West Bank Jewish settlements in a peace deal with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu was prime minister from 1997 to 1999 and clashed constantly with the administration of Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Netanyahu is expected to visit Washington soon, possibly as early as next month, an Israeli official told Reuters. However, he said no date had been set yet for that visit.
Read more...
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Zionists: We hate you because you are evil, not because you are Jewish (PIC)
Interesting piece again from Khalid...any takers?
Zionists: We hate you because you are evil, not because you are Jewish (Khalid Amayreh)
I have been under fire of late from two diametrically opposite quarters. First, the fanatical, self-worshiping Zionists who think that non-Jewish suffering should never ever be compared with Jewish suffering.
Needless to say, this psychotic attitude stems from deep-seated convictions that a Jew is a special creature whose life is worth more than the rest of humanity. Haven’t we noticed, for example, how Israel has made “Gilad Shalit”, the Israeli soldier imprisoned by Hamas, a household name all over the world, while next to nothing is mentioned about the estimated 10,000 Palestinian political and resistance prisoners languishing in Israeli dungeons and concentration camps?
Link
And, Second, some pro-Palestinian activists who believe that I should avoid invoking the holocaust in my writings lest this help legitimize the Zionist narrative and inadvertently justify Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.
To our pro-Palestinian activists, I, with all due respect, would like to say the following: I sincerely believe that we would be walking in the path of immorality if we denied or belittled other people’s suffering. Indeed, it is imperative that we retain our humanity and moral fabric in the course of this legitimate struggle against the evil state. We must never imitate or emulate their ways and tactics. This would be self-defeating, self-destructive and immensely demoralizing.
Moreover, we must refrain from saying or doing things that would make others portray us as inherent enemies of Jews, because we are not.
We also need to be constantly vigilant and cautious about what we say and how we say it, lest we inadvertently besmirch the legitimacy of our just cause.
Israel is so manifestly criminal and ugly that we don’t need to deny anyone’s suffering to prove this plain fact.
In short, we don’t have to shoot ourselves in the foot. It is wrong and it hurts us a lot.
Obviously, the Zionists’ “arguments” are motivated, as always, by ill-will and a malicious desire to silence critics of Israeli criminality whose phantasmagoric expressions we all witnessed recently in the Gaza Strip.
The subject of contention this time has been an article I published a few days ago, entitled “Shame on us,” in which I strongly criticized efforts by some dubious “peace activists” to bamboozle some innocent Palestinian children from some impoverished localities into playing music before “holocaust survivors.”
This is what happened last week when a dozen young musicians from the Jenin Refugee Camp, in the northern West Bank, were taken surreptitiously to Tel Aviv where they were made to play a serenade before some elderly Zionists , some of whom veterans from the many criminal wars Israel had waged on our people. And as I said in the article, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine was not carried out by UFOs but by the very people our children are now being asked to cheer up.
Understandably, the not-so-innocent event left many Palestinians infuriated by the cheap exploitation of these kids for Israeli hasbara purposes. As one who lost three uncles in one day to Zionist murderers in 1954, I felt deeply wounded and humiliated by that event.
I am actually not against reconciliation between Palestinians and Jews. I don’t and never will view Jews as our inherent enemies. Some Jews are actually among the most effective supporters of our national cause. Those we salute for their honesty and morality.
However, it is obvious that true reconciliation in this part of the world requires that the slate be made thoroughly clean. Usurped rights must be returned to rightful owners, and wrongs must be rectified. This I say to honest and conscientious Jews who are genuinely interested in justice and peace.
But to the Zionists I would like to say that the following: the latest point of contention is not about music or even peace. This is first and foremost about human dignity of which the children of the holocaust and their children and grand children and great grandchildren have been trying to rob us.
And whether you like it or not, for us, at least, you represent the real Wehrmacht, the real SS and real Gestapo. You are the Nazis of our time. This is what we see from our vantage point. This is what much of the world sees. This is what many honest and conscientious Jews see.
You stole our country, you murdered our people, you destroyed our homes, and you expelled and dispersed the bulk of our people to the four corners of the world. And after all of this, you have the audacity to dupe our children to sing and play music to you? This is simply beyond, far beyond, Chutzpah.
Some of you habitually babble the word “hatred” whenever a Palestinian asserts his people’s humanity and dignity.
Well, you are really sick to the bone if you think Palestinians must sacrifice their dignity in order to become a hate-free people according to the Zionist lexicon. We will not pay tribute to the killers of our children, we will not show respect to our grave-diggers.
Besides, who do you think you are anyway to lecture us on hatred? After all, you represent and embody hatred in its ugliest form. The extirpation of a people from its ancestral homeland from time immemorial is a satanic act par excellence. The destruction and obliteration of hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages to fulfill Jewish nationalism is diabolical act of the highest order.
Your recent blitzkrieg in Gaza during which your Nazi-like army ganged up on a helpless, unprotected civilian population, exterminating them with bombs and missiles and incinerating their children with White Phosphorus proved once again that you are no better than the hateful Nazis you curse day and night for what they did to you sixty years ago.
Well, try to get yourselves out of this cocoon of self-denial. The Palestinian people don’t hate music nor do they teach their kids to hate Jews or non-Jews, it is your evil and murderous actions that generate hatred against you not only among Palestinians and Muslims but among many other people around the world.
Just look at your ugly faces in the mirror.
Read more...
Zionists: We hate you because you are evil, not because you are Jewish (Khalid Amayreh)
I have been under fire of late from two diametrically opposite quarters. First, the fanatical, self-worshiping Zionists who think that non-Jewish suffering should never ever be compared with Jewish suffering.
Needless to say, this psychotic attitude stems from deep-seated convictions that a Jew is a special creature whose life is worth more than the rest of humanity. Haven’t we noticed, for example, how Israel has made “Gilad Shalit”, the Israeli soldier imprisoned by Hamas, a household name all over the world, while next to nothing is mentioned about the estimated 10,000 Palestinian political and resistance prisoners languishing in Israeli dungeons and concentration camps?
Link
And, Second, some pro-Palestinian activists who believe that I should avoid invoking the holocaust in my writings lest this help legitimize the Zionist narrative and inadvertently justify Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.
To our pro-Palestinian activists, I, with all due respect, would like to say the following: I sincerely believe that we would be walking in the path of immorality if we denied or belittled other people’s suffering. Indeed, it is imperative that we retain our humanity and moral fabric in the course of this legitimate struggle against the evil state. We must never imitate or emulate their ways and tactics. This would be self-defeating, self-destructive and immensely demoralizing.
Moreover, we must refrain from saying or doing things that would make others portray us as inherent enemies of Jews, because we are not.
We also need to be constantly vigilant and cautious about what we say and how we say it, lest we inadvertently besmirch the legitimacy of our just cause.
Israel is so manifestly criminal and ugly that we don’t need to deny anyone’s suffering to prove this plain fact.
In short, we don’t have to shoot ourselves in the foot. It is wrong and it hurts us a lot.
Obviously, the Zionists’ “arguments” are motivated, as always, by ill-will and a malicious desire to silence critics of Israeli criminality whose phantasmagoric expressions we all witnessed recently in the Gaza Strip.
The subject of contention this time has been an article I published a few days ago, entitled “Shame on us,” in which I strongly criticized efforts by some dubious “peace activists” to bamboozle some innocent Palestinian children from some impoverished localities into playing music before “holocaust survivors.”
This is what happened last week when a dozen young musicians from the Jenin Refugee Camp, in the northern West Bank, were taken surreptitiously to Tel Aviv where they were made to play a serenade before some elderly Zionists , some of whom veterans from the many criminal wars Israel had waged on our people. And as I said in the article, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine was not carried out by UFOs but by the very people our children are now being asked to cheer up.
Understandably, the not-so-innocent event left many Palestinians infuriated by the cheap exploitation of these kids for Israeli hasbara purposes. As one who lost three uncles in one day to Zionist murderers in 1954, I felt deeply wounded and humiliated by that event.
I am actually not against reconciliation between Palestinians and Jews. I don’t and never will view Jews as our inherent enemies. Some Jews are actually among the most effective supporters of our national cause. Those we salute for their honesty and morality.
However, it is obvious that true reconciliation in this part of the world requires that the slate be made thoroughly clean. Usurped rights must be returned to rightful owners, and wrongs must be rectified. This I say to honest and conscientious Jews who are genuinely interested in justice and peace.
But to the Zionists I would like to say that the following: the latest point of contention is not about music or even peace. This is first and foremost about human dignity of which the children of the holocaust and their children and grand children and great grandchildren have been trying to rob us.
And whether you like it or not, for us, at least, you represent the real Wehrmacht, the real SS and real Gestapo. You are the Nazis of our time. This is what we see from our vantage point. This is what much of the world sees. This is what many honest and conscientious Jews see.
You stole our country, you murdered our people, you destroyed our homes, and you expelled and dispersed the bulk of our people to the four corners of the world. And after all of this, you have the audacity to dupe our children to sing and play music to you? This is simply beyond, far beyond, Chutzpah.
Some of you habitually babble the word “hatred” whenever a Palestinian asserts his people’s humanity and dignity.
Well, you are really sick to the bone if you think Palestinians must sacrifice their dignity in order to become a hate-free people according to the Zionist lexicon. We will not pay tribute to the killers of our children, we will not show respect to our grave-diggers.
Besides, who do you think you are anyway to lecture us on hatred? After all, you represent and embody hatred in its ugliest form. The extirpation of a people from its ancestral homeland from time immemorial is a satanic act par excellence. The destruction and obliteration of hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages to fulfill Jewish nationalism is diabolical act of the highest order.
Your recent blitzkrieg in Gaza during which your Nazi-like army ganged up on a helpless, unprotected civilian population, exterminating them with bombs and missiles and incinerating their children with White Phosphorus proved once again that you are no better than the hateful Nazis you curse day and night for what they did to you sixty years ago.
Well, try to get yourselves out of this cocoon of self-denial. The Palestinian people don’t hate music nor do they teach their kids to hate Jews or non-Jews, it is your evil and murderous actions that generate hatred against you not only among Palestinians and Muslims but among many other people around the world.
Just look at your ugly faces in the mirror.
Read more...
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Israeli soldiers cleared of alleged Gaza violations (Debka)
The news below reported all allegations on the misconducts & human right violations on IDF soldiers during the Operation Cast Lead last January has been cleared.This report should also answered the accusation from Human Right watchers that has been reported here on March 27
Israeli soldiers cleared of alleged Gaza violations (Debka)
Judge Advocate General Brig.-Gen Avichai Mandelblit decided March 30 to close the Military Police probe into allegations that Israeli soldiers committed human rights violations and abuses during Operation Cast Lead the IDF against Hamas last January. The advocate general, who launched an investigation in response to glaring headlines in Israeli and world media, established that the charges, which boiled down to two, rested purely on hearsay and rumor.
Link
He said they had been generated and then blown up to serve an agenda rather than being based on evidence.
The unsupported rumors that Israeli soldiers had deliberately targeted and shot innocent Palestinians during the fighting were leaked to the media by the head of the Rabin Pre-military Academy Danny Zamir and aired at an academy conference. He quoted a soldier called Aviv, who said he had been ordered to fire at an elderly Palestinian woman, but later admitted he had not witnessed the incident only heard a rumor. Another soldier, Ram, admitted that his claim of having been ordered to open fire on a woman and two children was false.
Soldiers attending the academy conference admitted their claims of the use of phosphorus munitions came from the media rather than personal knowledge.
Brig.-Gen Mandelblit said that while the IDF must constantly examine its moral standards, the damage caused the Israeli military's reputation and morale by false allegations was inestimable. It could have been avoided had the complaints been verified before publication.
Read more...
Israeli soldiers cleared of alleged Gaza violations (Debka)
Judge Advocate General Brig.-Gen Avichai Mandelblit decided March 30 to close the Military Police probe into allegations that Israeli soldiers committed human rights violations and abuses during Operation Cast Lead the IDF against Hamas last January. The advocate general, who launched an investigation in response to glaring headlines in Israeli and world media, established that the charges, which boiled down to two, rested purely on hearsay and rumor.
Link
He said they had been generated and then blown up to serve an agenda rather than being based on evidence.
The unsupported rumors that Israeli soldiers had deliberately targeted and shot innocent Palestinians during the fighting were leaked to the media by the head of the Rabin Pre-military Academy Danny Zamir and aired at an academy conference. He quoted a soldier called Aviv, who said he had been ordered to fire at an elderly Palestinian woman, but later admitted he had not witnessed the incident only heard a rumor. Another soldier, Ram, admitted that his claim of having been ordered to open fire on a woman and two children was false.
Soldiers attending the academy conference admitted their claims of the use of phosphorus munitions came from the media rather than personal knowledge.
Brig.-Gen Mandelblit said that while the IDF must constantly examine its moral standards, the damage caused the Israeli military's reputation and morale by false allegations was inestimable. It could have been avoided had the complaints been verified before publication.
Read more...
Hamas: Summit outcome lacked practical resolutions (PIC)
The blaming game continue & is sprawling towards the Arab summit organized by the Arab nations. While Hamas is finger pointing on the in-effectiveness & fruitless conclusion, I am wondering if Hamas reps are in that meeting & will he/she do not get the chance to speak up?
Hamas: Summit outcome lacked practical resolutions (3/31/2009)
GAZA, (PIC)-- Hamas on Monday regretted that the Arab summit resolutions did not live up to the expectations of the Palestinian people and lacked practical measures to ease their suffering.
Link
Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told the PIC that the summit's closing statement included weak positions that did not carry anything new for the Palestine cause.
He stressed that the Palestinians hinged high hope on that summit, and expected that it would adopt clear stands in protecting the Palestinian people, enhancing their steadfastness, defending their holy shrines and breaking the siege imposed on them by deeds rather than by words.
"We anticipated a summit that is distinctive from the previous ones that would adopt practical decisions and lay down speedy mechanisms to break the siege, deter the aggressor and protect holy places," he explained.
Barhoum said that the Arab leaders should have used all pressure cards available against the Israeli occupation to force it recognize the Palestinian people's rights.
Osama Hamdan, Hamas's representative in Lebanon, had earlier called on the Arab summit to pass clear resolutions insisting on Palestinian rights and defending Jerusalem.
In the inaugural session of the summit Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad said that peace would never be reached with an enemy that does not believe in peace.
He said that peace is imposed by resistance, describing support for resistance as a national and ethical obligation.
Read more...
Hamas: Summit outcome lacked practical resolutions (3/31/2009)
GAZA, (PIC)-- Hamas on Monday regretted that the Arab summit resolutions did not live up to the expectations of the Palestinian people and lacked practical measures to ease their suffering.
Link
Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told the PIC that the summit's closing statement included weak positions that did not carry anything new for the Palestine cause.
He stressed that the Palestinians hinged high hope on that summit, and expected that it would adopt clear stands in protecting the Palestinian people, enhancing their steadfastness, defending their holy shrines and breaking the siege imposed on them by deeds rather than by words.
"We anticipated a summit that is distinctive from the previous ones that would adopt practical decisions and lay down speedy mechanisms to break the siege, deter the aggressor and protect holy places," he explained.
Barhoum said that the Arab leaders should have used all pressure cards available against the Israeli occupation to force it recognize the Palestinian people's rights.
Osama Hamdan, Hamas's representative in Lebanon, had earlier called on the Arab summit to pass clear resolutions insisting on Palestinian rights and defending Jerusalem.
In the inaugural session of the summit Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad said that peace would never be reached with an enemy that does not believe in peace.
He said that peace is imposed by resistance, describing support for resistance as a national and ethical obligation.
Read more...
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Small step for better Environment Tomorrow
This article triggers a practical way to safe the increasing dire environment in this world. Probably it's about time we start to do something...Voluntarily :)
ENVIRONMENT: Bring your own bag while shopping
By : L. CHUAH, Penang
THERE have been many reports that our country plans to stop using plastic bags in the future. But the question is, when?
Here's an idea. What say we come up with a directive to all hypermarkets, supermarkets and shopping complexes to stop giving out plastic bags on the first Saturday and Sunday of every month?
Shoppers will be required to bring their own bags. Yes, it might slow businesses down, so how about encouraging these three types of outlet to have sales on the weekend?
This might kick-start the habit of using our own bags while shopping.
Once this habit kicks in, we can increase the number of days every month when businesses do not give out plastic bags to customers.
Read more...
ENVIRONMENT: Bring your own bag while shopping
By : L. CHUAH, Penang
THERE have been many reports that our country plans to stop using plastic bags in the future. But the question is, when?
Here's an idea. What say we come up with a directive to all hypermarkets, supermarkets and shopping complexes to stop giving out plastic bags on the first Saturday and Sunday of every month?
Shoppers will be required to bring their own bags. Yes, it might slow businesses down, so how about encouraging these three types of outlet to have sales on the weekend?
This might kick-start the habit of using our own bags while shopping.
Once this habit kicks in, we can increase the number of days every month when businesses do not give out plastic bags to customers.
Read more...
Monday, March 30, 2009
Assad: Syria still believes in peace with Israel (Haaretz)
Well said. But when?
Assad: Syria still believes in peace with Israel (Haaretz)
Syrian President Bashar Assad told the weekly magazine the New Yorker that though it may take some time, Syria still believes in the power of serious dialogue to produce a lasting peace with Israel.
Link
In an interview via email several days after Israel and Hamas declared unilateral cease-fires following Israel's three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip, Assad said that though Israel was "doing everything possible to undermine the prospects for peace," he was still very interested in closing a deal.
"We have to wait a little while to see how things will evolve and how the situation changes," Assad wrote as Israel voted in a new government headed by Benjamin Netanyau. "We still believe that we need to conclude a serious dialogue to lead us to peace," he declared.
In the interview, Assad argued that Israel understands that the return of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War, is not negotiable.
"The Israelis know that we are not going to negotiate the line of 1967," Assad wrote, but suggested that compromises were possible. "We only demarcate the line," he wrote. "We negotiate the relations, the water and everything else."
You discuss everything after the peace and getting your land. Not before," Assad stressed.
The Syrian leader criticized Israel for wasting time on the wrong issues, referring to Israel's insistence that Syria sever its ties with Iran and the militant groups the Islamic republic supports Lebanon's militia Hezbollah and the Gaza rulers Hamas under the terms of a peace agreement.
In order to achieve a peace agreement, Assad wrote, Israel would have to focus on "core issues" ? issues relating to Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and not waste time talking about who is going to send arms to Hezbollah or Hamas. Wherever you have resistance in the region, they will have armaments somehow. It is very simple."
"Hezbollah is in Lebanon and Hamas is in Palestine," Assad continued. "If they want to solve the problem with Hezbollah they have to deal with Lebanon. For Hamas, they have to deal with Gaza. For Iran, it is not part of the peace process anyway. This peace is about peace between Syria and Israel."
The Syrian president reiterated his stance that it was now, more than ever, "essential that the United States play a prominent and active role in the peace process," explaining that Syria required direct contact with U.S. President Barack Obama in order to advance the diplomatic process.
Assad also lauded the diplomatic efforts of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, saying that "Carter is most knowledgeable about the Middle East and he does not try to dictate or give sermons. He sincerely is trying to think creatively and find solutions that are outside the box."
Read more...
Assad: Syria still believes in peace with Israel (Haaretz)
Syrian President Bashar Assad told the weekly magazine the New Yorker that though it may take some time, Syria still believes in the power of serious dialogue to produce a lasting peace with Israel.
Link
In an interview via email several days after Israel and Hamas declared unilateral cease-fires following Israel's three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip, Assad said that though Israel was "doing everything possible to undermine the prospects for peace," he was still very interested in closing a deal.
"We have to wait a little while to see how things will evolve and how the situation changes," Assad wrote as Israel voted in a new government headed by Benjamin Netanyau. "We still believe that we need to conclude a serious dialogue to lead us to peace," he declared.
In the interview, Assad argued that Israel understands that the return of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War, is not negotiable.
"The Israelis know that we are not going to negotiate the line of 1967," Assad wrote, but suggested that compromises were possible. "We only demarcate the line," he wrote. "We negotiate the relations, the water and everything else."
You discuss everything after the peace and getting your land. Not before," Assad stressed.
The Syrian leader criticized Israel for wasting time on the wrong issues, referring to Israel's insistence that Syria sever its ties with Iran and the militant groups the Islamic republic supports Lebanon's militia Hezbollah and the Gaza rulers Hamas under the terms of a peace agreement.
In order to achieve a peace agreement, Assad wrote, Israel would have to focus on "core issues" ? issues relating to Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and not waste time talking about who is going to send arms to Hezbollah or Hamas. Wherever you have resistance in the region, they will have armaments somehow. It is very simple."
"Hezbollah is in Lebanon and Hamas is in Palestine," Assad continued. "If they want to solve the problem with Hezbollah they have to deal with Lebanon. For Hamas, they have to deal with Gaza. For Iran, it is not part of the peace process anyway. This peace is about peace between Syria and Israel."
The Syrian president reiterated his stance that it was now, more than ever, "essential that the United States play a prominent and active role in the peace process," explaining that Syria required direct contact with U.S. President Barack Obama in order to advance the diplomatic process.
Assad also lauded the diplomatic efforts of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, saying that "Carter is most knowledgeable about the Middle East and he does not try to dictate or give sermons. He sincerely is trying to think creatively and find solutions that are outside the box."
Read more...
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