Olmert Challenged to Declare He Won't Divide Jerusalem
By Julie Stahl - CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief
September 26, 2007
Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - A week after Israeli Vice Prime Minister Haim Ramon spoke publicly about a plan to divide Jerusalem between Arabs and Jews, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is being asked to state clearly that he does not intend to do so.Olmert is scheduled to meet Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at a U.S.-sponsored conference this fall - a meeting intended to put the peace process back on track. He has expressed his willingness to withdraw from most of the West Bank as part of a deal with Abbas. Jerusalem is one of the most hotly contested issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The city, divided between Israel and Jordan from 1948 to 1967, was reunited under Israeli sovereignty as a result of the 1967 Six-Day War. But the move was never recognized by the international community.
Israel has always insisted that the city will remain its undivided, eternal capital. The Palestinians want the eastern part of the city, including the ancient Old City and Temple Mount, to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.Ramon, who is a close associate of Olmert's, said last week that Israel should allow Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods to come under Palestinian rule as part of a peace deal with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. In return, Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem's Jewish neighborhoods would be recognized by the international community.
Israel's hold on the city will be endangered by keeping all of Jerusalem, Ramon said. This annexation threatens Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish people. It will bring about its transformation into a Palestinian capital with a Palestinian majority, Ramon said in a radio interview on Friday.Earlier, in a letter to a Jerusalem Municipal Council Member, Ramon not only proposed the separation of Jewish and Arab neighborhoods but also called for the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, to be handed over to the Palestinian Authority, press reports said. (The Western Wall and Jewish quarter of the Old City would remain under Israeli sovereignty.)
Likud Knesset member Limor Livnat asked Olmert on Monday to publicly and clearly state that he has no intention of dividing Jerusalem and relinquishing the Temple Mount, the Jerusalem Post reported.If he does not do so, Livnat said, it would indicate that Ramon had been authorized by Olmert to speak about dividing Jerusalem. Politicians here often use close associates to float controversial ideas in the press to test reaction before making any official announcement.Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin said that Olmert himself had stated that nobody can question what he thinks about Jerusalem.Ramon's ideas are his own, Eisin said. Olmert was the mayor of Jerusalem for 10 years and he is very committed to the city, she told Cybercast News Service. Four opponents of Ramon's plan -- from Olmert's own Kadima party --met on Monday to discuss ways of scuttling Ramon's plan.One of them, Ze'ev Elkin, said he would have expected Olmert to reject the plan unequivocally, but that has not happened, the Israeli internet site YNET quoted him as saying. This plan is a deviation from the party's platform.Other coalition and opposition lawmakers also rejected Ramon's plan.
The plan to divide Jerusalem between Arab and Jewish neighborhoods was first floated in 2000 as part of former U.S. President Bill Clinton's push to clinch an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before leaving office.Although then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak agreed to the proposal, it was met with fierce opposition by Israelis and Jews and Christians from abroad. Even American Jews, who typically back the Israeli government, took to the streets to protest the division of Jerusalem.Olmert was mayor at the time, and he called on Clinton to refrain from making creative proposals for dividing the city.While various peace proposals have raised the prospect of giving East Jerusalem to the Palestinians while keeping West Jerusalem in Israeli hands, in reality, it might not be that simple, since Arab and Jewish neighbors are intermingled in the north, east and south of the city.There are some 732,100 residents of Jerusalem, about 30 percent of whom are non-Jewish, mostly Arab.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
QUARTET RALIES BEHIND CONFERENCE
Quartet rallies behind US call for Israeli-Palestinian parley by Sylvie Lanteaume SEPT 23,07
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The Middle East diplomatic Quartet on Sunday rallied behind the US call for an international peace conference later this year to set out the contours of a future Palestinian state. After a two-hour meeting here, the four peace sponsors -- The United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- expressed backing for the international conference which Washington hopes to host later this year.The Quartet will work for a successful international meeting and for the implementation of its conclusions, a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting said.The talks brought together UN chief Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and British former prime minister Tony Blair.Blair delivered his first report to the Quartet since he was named the grouping's special envoy in June.
Things are moving again, said Blair who has been tasked by the Quartet to help the Palestinians create stable institutions to underpin a viable state. There's a good deal of momentum, Rice chimed in, speaking of a very firm commitment by key players and of a lot of goodwill among fellow Quartet members and Arab leaders.
The Quartet issued a roadmap for achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace in 2003, but the three-stage plan that should have led to the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005 has since languished.Earlier Sunday, the United States dropped a bombshell by announcing plans to invite Syria to the planned international peace talks.The conference, proposed by US President George W. Bush, would also draw in neighboring states, major powers and members of the Arab League follow-up committee and other key international players.We have not issued invitations as such but it is only natural that we would hope that the participants would include the members of the Arab follow-up, Rice told reporters.The Arab League committee includes Jordan, Egypt -- the only two Arab states to have signed a peace treaty with Israel -- as well as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Syria.The panel is tasked with persuading Israel to accept a land for peace Saudi initiative relaunched in March by the Arab League during a summit in Riyadh.But Rice did not name Syria, a country which Washington suspects of being behind political assassinations in neighboring Lebanon and of allowing arms and fighters to flow into Iraq.The grouping made no direct mention of Israel's decision to declare the Hamas-run Gaza Strip a hostile entity and to threaten to cut essential services to the territory. It underscored the need for immediate additional steps to meet previous commitments, including those under the roadmap and the Agreement on Movement and Access.
This was a reference to Israel's previous commitments to ease restrictions on movements to and from the Palestinian territories.The Quartet also expressed concern over conditions in Gaza and stressed the importance of continued emergency and humanitarian assistance without obstruction.Blair meanwhile announced that a meeting of donors for the Palestinians would be held late this year. Economic assistance to the beleaguered Palestinians was to be discussed at a meeting of donors to be chaired by Norway Monday. The United States and the European Union suspended direct economic assistance to the Palestinians in April 2006 after Hamas, which they regard as a terrorist group, won parliamentary elections. Although Washington and the EU announced the resumption of direct aid in June following the appointment of Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad, the Quartet statement endorsed an extension until the end of the year of the temporary (aid) mechanism set up in 2006 to bypass Hamas.
UN hosts meeting of Middle East peace Quartet Sun Sep 23, 12:57 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The four sponsors of the Middle East peace process meet here Sunday to discuss preparations for a US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace conference expected to be held in November. The UN meeting, being held two days before world leaders kick off summit talks during the General Assembly session, is also an opportunity for the so-called Quartet to hear former British prime minister Tony Blair's first report since he was named the grouping's special envoy in June.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon is hosting the gathering with his three Quartet partners: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.Rice told reporters earlier this week that she planned to brief her colleagues on her recent Middle East trip during which she engaged in shuttle diplomacy with Israelis and Palestinians.She added that she also planned to meet separately with Blair ahead of Sunday's meeting.US President George W. Bush has called for a Middle East peace conference later this year in order to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian talks, a summit that regional players widely expect to be held in November.
Quartet members are to give a joint press conference at the end of Sunday's two-hour meeting.
The quartet issued a roadmap for achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace in 2003, but the three-stage plan that should have led to the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005 has since languished.Sunday night, Quartet members are to huddle with representatives of the Arab League at an Iftar dinner, the evening meal for breaking the daily fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan.Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store, who is to chair a meeting of donors for the Palestinians Monday morning, was to take part in the Iftar dinner.Earlier this month, Jordan's King Abdullah told Blair that final status issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be a top priority at the US-sponsored peace conference.The Jordanian monarch then said his country, a close US ally, supports all efforts by the Quartet to bring closer the points of view between the Palestinians and Israelis ahead of the peace meeting called for by US President George W. Bush.Hard work is needed for the the success of the international meeting, which should come up with positive results that would meet the aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state on their territories, he told Blair.The Jordanian monarch has urged Israelis and the Palestinians to waste no time in resuming final status negotiations on crucial issues such as borders, the future of Jerusalem and refugees.And Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has warned that the planned conference could fail unless Israel agrees on a framework of core issues.
STATEMENT BY MIDDLE EAST QUARTET SEPT 23,07
The following statement was issued today by the Quartet ( United Nations, Russian Federation, United States, European Union): The Quartet principals -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, High Representative for European Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado and European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner -- met today in New York to discuss the situation in the Middle East. They were joined by Quartet Representative Tony Blair.The Quartet recognized the present opportunity for progress and the robust regional and international desire for peace in the Middle East. The Quartet expressed its strong support for the ongoing bilateral talks between Prime Minister [Ehud] Olmert and President [Mahmoud] Abbas, and welcomed the formation of Israeli and Palestinian teams to discuss the core issues that are essential to progress towards their shared goal of a negotiated two-State solution and establishment of a viable Palestinian State living side by side with a secure Israel. The Quartet welcomed parallel steps taken by the parties to build confidence and improve conditions on the ground. The Quartet underscored the need for immediate additional steps to meet previous commitments, including those under the Road Map and the Agreement on Movement and Access, so as to create a positive atmosphere conducive to progress towards a two-State solution.
The Quartet expressed support for the international meeting on Israeli-Palestinian peace called for by President [George W.] Bush in his 16 July statement. Principals discussed the meeting and agreed that it should be substantive and serious, providing support to the parties in their bilateral discussions and negotiations in order to move forward urgently on a successful path to a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza that will unite all Palestinians. The goal of this meeting is to bring together key members of the international community in support of efforts between the Israelis and Palestinians to end their conflict and help bring a final peace in the Middle East. The Quartet expects the meeting to affirm its support for the two-State solution based on a rejection of violence and its support for progress by the parties in their bilateral discussions. The meeting should also review progress that has been made towards building Palestinian institutions and discuss innovative and effective ways to support further Palestinian reform. The Quartet will work for a successful international meeting and for the implementation of its conclusions.Quartet Representative Tony Blair briefed the Quartet on his meetings and discussions in the region, and discussed the way forward on the development of a functioning Palestinian economy and the institutions of governance that will form the foundation of a Palestinian State. The Quartet agreed that Mr. Blair should work closely with the Palestinian Authority Government in developing a multi-year agenda for institutional and economic development, and looked forward to strong technical and financial support from the international community in support of these efforts, beginning with the 24 September Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting. In that context, the Quartet called upon all countries that are able to contribute to urgently provide financial support to the Palestinian Authority. The Quartet endorsed an extension of the Temporary International Mechanism until 31 December 2007, and expressed its hope that, during this period, a mechanism would be established to facilitate the transition to direct international assistance to this Palestinian Authority Government.
The Quartet expressed concern over conditions in Gaza. It agreed on the importance of continued emergency and humanitarian assistance without obstruction. The Quartet called for the continued provision of essential services. It expressed its urgent concern over the continued closure of major crossing points given the impact on the Palestinian economy and daily life. The Quartet further noted its grave concern over the continued rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, and recent efforts by Hamas to stifle freedom of speech and the press.The Quartet discussed its forthcoming meeting with members of the Arab League follow-up committee to consult on next steps on the Arab Peace Initiative and regional support for bilateral talks between the parties.
The Quartet reaffirmed its commitment to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).
TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE ON MIDDLE EAST BY SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON,QUARTET PRINCIPALS AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, 23 SEPTEMBER 2007
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of the media. We had a very good, constructive Quartet meeting this afternoon. I am going to read out the joint statement. I would like to inform you that, after this press conference, we are going to have another meeting with the Arab partners over dinner, an iftar dinner.
The joint statement reads as follows.
The Quartet principals met today together with the Quartet Representative, Tony Blair.The Quartet recognized the present opportunity for progress and the robust regional and international desire for peace in the Middle East. The Quartet expressed its strong support for the ongoing bilateral talks between Prime Minister [Ehud] Olmert and President [Mahmoud] Abbas and welcomed the formation of Israeli and Palestinian teams to discuss the core issues that are essential to progress towards their shared goal of a negotiated two-State solution and establishment of a viable Palestinian State living side by side with a secure Israel. The Quartet welcomed parallel steps taken by the parties to build confidence and improve conditions on the ground. The Quartet underscored the need for immediate additional steps to meet previous commitments, including those under the Road Map and the Agreement on Movement and Access, so as to create a positive atmosphere conducive to progress towards a two-State solution.The Quartet expressed support for the international meeting on Israeli-Palestinian peace called for by President [George W.] Bush in his 16 July statement. Principals discussed the meeting and agreed that it should be substantive and serious, providing support to the parties in their bilateral discussions and negotiations in order to move forward urgently on a successful path to a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza that will unite all Palestinians. The goal of this meeting is to bring together key members of the international community in support of efforts between the Israelis and Palestinians to end their conflict and help bring a final peace in the Middle East. The Quartet expects the meeting to affirm its support for the two-State solution based on a rejection of violence and its support for progress by the parties in their bilateral discussions. The meeting should also review progress that has been made towards building Palestinian institutions and discuss innovative and effective ways to support further Palestinian reform. The Quartet will work for a successful international meeting and for the implementation of its conclusions.
Quartet Representative Tony Blair briefed the Quartet on his meetings and discussions in the region, and discussed the way forward on the development of a functioning Palestinian economy and the institutions of governance that will form the foundation of a Palestinian State. The Quartet agreed that Mr. Blair should work closely with the Palestinian Authority Government in developing a multi-year agenda for institutional and economic development, and looked forward to strong technical and financial support from the international community in support of these efforts, beginning with the 24 September Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting. In that context, the Quartet called upon all countries that are able to contribute to urgently provide financial support to the Palestinian Authority. The Quartet endorsed an extension of the Temporary International Mechanism until 31 December 2007, and expressed its hope that during this period, a mechanism would be established to facilitate the transition to direct international assistance to this Palestinian Authority Government.The Quartet expressed concern over conditions in Gaza. It agreed on the importance of continued emergency and humanitarian assistance without obstruction. The Quartet called for the continued provision of essential services. It expressed its urgent concern over the continued closure of major crossing points, given the impact on the Palestinian economy and daily life. The Quartet further noted its grave concern over the continued rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, and recent efforts by Hamas to stifle freedom of speech and the press.
The Quartet discussed its forthcoming meeting with members of the Arab League follow-up committee to consult on next steps on the Arab Peace Initiative and regional support for bilateral talks between the parties.The Quartet reaffirmed its commitment to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).
Thank you very much.
Question: Mr. Secretary-General and distinguished members of the Quartet, I would like to welcome you all on behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association -- and a particular welcome to Mr. Blair, who is making his first appearance in the United Nations since you assumed your duties.In the statement, you expressed only concern over the conditions in Gaza, in sharp contrast to what’s really happening on the ground there. Relief organizations like Oxfam International said, unless you solve the humanitarian conditions there, especially starvation, the peace process has no chance to proceed. I wonder if you have any comment in light of the short meeting you had today, and whether you’re waiting for the meeting in Washington happening soon, organized by the White House, in order to seek real solutions for [the] Gaza Strip.The Secretary-General: Thank you very much. The United Nations has borne its humanitarian responsibilities all around the world, wherever they need our assistance. It is much more so in [the] Gaza Strip, Palestinian State. I have expressed my concern on several occasions already about this closure of the crossings and all these difficulties Palestinian people are suffering. There are 1.4 million people. Among them, more than 80 per cent are depending upon the humanitarian assistance from the United Nations agencies, led by UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East], and other agencies. Therefore, it is crucially important that the United Nations continue without any hindrance this humanitarian assistance.
At the same time, just providing daily humanitarian assistance will not help much in revitalizing their economy. Therefore, there should be free movement and opening of the crossings. So this is a very important aspect.At the same time, this peace process should continue. It is encouraging that the Palestinian and Israeli leaders have been meeting regularly. Our Quartet Representative, Mr. Tony Blair, has been actively engaged, together with Secretary Rice and many other Quartet principals. These diplomatic activities will continue and will have to continue, and we sincerely hope that the international meeting called for by President Bush in the fall, in November, will also address this issue overall and comprehensively.
Question: Madam Secretary, one of your aides said that the follow-up committee of the Arab League will be invited to the conference this fall. Based on your discussions here, how confident are you that Saudi Arabia and Syria will attend the peace conference? And do these invitations mean that this conference is evolving into an effort to push for a full-scale comprehensive peace in the Middle East beyond the bilateral track that’s been discussed previously?
Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State: Well, I think that the contours of the meeting have been described as a meeting to encourage and support the bilateral track that the Israelis and the Palestinians have established, and on which I think there is a good deal of momentum. The meeting, of course, will obviously take note of the fact that, ultimately, there has to be a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. That is why its framework is resolution 242, 338; why the Road Map and the Arab Peace Initiative -- all of which contemplate a comprehensive peace -- will form the framework, the basis, for the meeting. But we have an opportunity on the Israeli-Palestinian track to move that forward because of the maturing of the bilateral discussions between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas. And we should not miss the opportunity to support and push forward on that track.
I should note that the meeting will, I believe, take note, not only of the importance of that bilateral political track and will clearly need to have serious and substantive discussions about the core issues that are being discussed in that track, but it will also be very important to have this meeting take note of the importance of the capacity-building efforts that Prime Minister Blair is involved in; it will have to take note of the importance of pushing forward the improvements on the situation on the ground. We have a series of meetings and activities coming up. We’ve had the Quartet meeting here. We’ll have the iftar with the Arab League follow-up committee afterthis press conference. We have a meeting of the [Ad Hoc Liaison Committee] tomorrow, which will lay the groundwork for a donors conference in December. And, of course, we have the international meeting.
So I think that there’s a sense of momentum in support of the Palestinians and the Israelis in their efforts to end the conflict. Now, there’s a lot of work to do, a lot of hard work ahead of us, and so, as always the case with the Middle East, one should recognize that the road ahead is one that is very difficult. But, given that it has been a number of years since the Israelis and the Palestinians have expressed their interest in discussing the core issues between them, it is very important that the regional players, as the international community, mobilize to support them.
Now, as to the invitations, we haven’t issued invitations as such, but it’s only natural that we would hope that the participants would include the members of the Arab follow-up committee, because that is the committee that has been charged by the Arab League with following up with the international community on the Arab Peace Initiative, which we would hope would be one part of the discussions, or one of the primary means for discussing these issues at the international meeting. And we have a lot of work to do before we get to the question of who will accept and who will come. But it would be an only natural outcome of all that has happened that the members of the follow-up committee would hopefully be there.
Question: The question is for Madam Secretary and Foreign Minister Lavrov. After reports of Syria going on nuclear efforts, can you explain how the international community missed that fact? And do you think that Syria should be part of the international community?
And, Mr. Lavrov, can you tell us if the fact that your country is supplying weapons to Syria, and from there to Hizbullah, is something that helps the general peace process?
Ms. Rice: Well, the United States has made no secret of its concerns about proliferation in general. I am not going to comment on any specific issues, but I’ve seen press reports; I won’t comment on anything specific. But, we obviously are very concerned about dangerous activities in a region that is already very dangerous.
We have spoken repeatedly about the need of the Syrian regime to change behaviour that is, frankly, very harmful to the region, to accept the international community’s insistence that Lebanon be able to carry out its constitutional processes without intimidation, that Lebanese sovereignty should be respected. We have been very clear that we have grave concerns about the terrorists that are being allowed to cross the border into Iraq and are putting at danger innocent Iraqis, as well as coalition forces. And, of course, there is the question of support for those who would reject a two-State solution. And so this is -- obviously, the position of the United States is very clear about the need for change in the behaviour of the Syrian regime.
The process on which we are about to -- the process on which we are launched to try and support the nascent, very fragile work that Palestinians and Israelis are doing together should have the support of the entire international community, and it should especially have the support of the regional neighbours. And, in a sense, we would hope that those who choose to come to this meeting are indeed signalling that they support the two-State solution, that they support the renunciation of violence and that they support the many agreements that Palestinians -- Palestinian leaders have signed on behalf of their people that would lay the framework for a two-State solution.
Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation: I’ll speak in Russian, so get ready with your earphones. (Interpretation from Russian) We are selling weapons to Syria, as we do to many other countries. Accordingly, we are doing the same as many other producers of arms. Everything that we sell fully and transparently meets our international obligations and our export control legislation, one of the toughest in the world. When the nature of our deliveries is determined for Syria, we do not allow any deliveries that would disrupt the balance of power in the region, specifically in the Middle East. Our deliveries to Syria are for defensive arms, and in no way can that balance be disrupted.
Moreover, given the particular delicacy of questions related to deliveries of arms to this region, in our contract we always prohibit the transfer of weapons to anyone apart from the direct recipient of such weapons.
And with regard to Syria, we have mechanisms and inspections; we can see where the arms we have delivered are -- whoever is concerned. If there are facts indicating that obligations have not been fulfilled, if those obligations have been violated, we always investigate such instances. But, in this instance, we have not received any facts. We have spoken about this with our Israeli colleagues, and they are worried about this.
The last point I want to make is that, in principle, in order to attain the goals mentioned by Secretary Rice -- to make the meeting planned to be held in Washington this autumn effective, to make it truly lead to practical steps that will ultimately lead not only to an Israeli-Palestinian settlement, but to a Middle East settlement on all tracks -- the countries of the region definitely have to be involved. One should not try to isolate them. I am convinced that, through that policy of involvement, not exclusion or isolation, we will achieve much more than we would achieve simply through talking about who is guilty. First you need the facts, then you need honest cooperation involving everyone in the settlement process. We should not leave anyone out of this.
Question: Secretary Rice, just can we have a clear answer on whether Syria will be invited or not? I mean, yes or no. And also, at the same time, obviously you’ve dealt with the situation in Gaza. Can you kindly tell us how do you think the situation there will be solved. Obviously, it can’t go on forever. And I’d like also to hear what Mr. Lavrov said about that, because you’ve had your own talks with Hamas, Sir.
Ms. Rice: First of all, all of the members of the Arab follow-up committee, we believe, would be natural invitees for this meeting. It is extremely important, though, to note that the purpose of this meeting in supporting the Israelis and the Palestinians has to be a commitment to actually supporting a two-State solution. And so, since we believe that the Arab Initiative, in effect, is intended to do that, it makes sense that the members of the follow-up committee would be natural participants.
As to Gaza, the position of the United States on Gaza is very clear: first of all, that the West Bank and Gaza are both constituent parts of the Palestinian Territory and, when there is a Palestinian State, would be constituent parts of a Palestinian State; secondly, that Prime Minister [Salam] Fayyad and President Abbas are the legitimate authorities, the legitimate representatives of all the Palestinian people, wherever they live. And in that regard, what happened in Gaza with the undermining -- in effect the overthrow -- of legitimate Palestinian institutions does not mean that the legitimate Palestinian Authority is not still -- should not still be the recognized authority for Gaza. Third, and most importantly, the United States will never abandon the people of Gaza simply because they live in Gaza. We will continue our humanitarian efforts. We have intensified those efforts over the last year and a half, increasing substantially our humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people. And we do agree that that humanitarian assistance needs to be delivered to the people of Gaza without obstruction. We have talked with our -- I have talked with the Israelis about the importance of maintaining a focus on the humanitarian plight of the people of Gaza. There are innocent people there who should not have to suffer because of the political coup d’état that took place as a result of what Hamas did a couple of months ago.
So, we hope that, ultimately, the prospect, the beginnings of the -- the emergence of a concrete idea of the Palestinian State will be a unifying factor for all Palestinians. But I just think it’s extremely important that we recognize that Gazans are a part of the Palestinian people, and Abu Mazen -- President Abbas -- and Salam Fayyad represent the Palestinian people.
Mr. Lavrov (interpretation from Russian): Again, I will speak Russian. As I already said, we all attach particular importance to the upcoming United States meeting proposed by President Bush. We supported that initiative, and all members of the Quartet said that they were ready, that they were interested in participating in the preparations in order to make it a success. And today, we agreed how specifically to work in that area. If everything comes off, that could mark the beginning, for the first time in I do not know how many years, of practical progress: moving towards a settlement not just between the Palestinians and the Israelis, but in the Middle East as a whole, on all tracks, and opening the way towards an international conference on the Middle East. That has repeatedly been mentioned by President [Vladimir] Putin; the members of the League of Arab States have said they are in favour of it; and we in the Quartet have said that we would definitely have that prospect in mind and would plan further steps to that end.
As I said, it is clear that a comprehensive settlement is impossible if one part of a people, or one people, is left in isolation by the side of the road. As Secretary Rice has said, the Palestinians of Gaza are an intrinsic part of the Palestinian people. Thus, we devoted special attention during our discussions to the fact that we should prevent a situation, in this nascent process which is just getting under way, in which any part of the Palestinian people would be isolated. That would only increase the fracture that has occurred. I am sure that the restoration of the unity of the Palestinians is a priority. In parallel with preparations for steps on the Palestinian-Israeli track, we need to ensure that the Palestinian side of the equation is united, which would also strengthen their negotiating position.
Of course, there is the separate question of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. I think that many of you are aware of the draft World Bank report, which paints a very grim picture and offers very grim prospects.
Therefore, in our statement, which was read out by the Secretary-General, we particularly highlight the need for unimpeded -- I stress, “unimpeded” -- access for humanitarian assistance and emergency assistance to Gaza. Russia is interested in this issue because the assistance -- three weeks ago we sent assistance, food and medicine -- has, so far, not been able to get to Gaza.
Question: Secretary Rice, you saw the Saudi Foreign Minister today. Do you have any reason to believe that he would attend the November conference? Also, can you and Prime Minister Blair shed some more light on the substance of the meeting? Do you expect actual agreements on the outlines of how to solve the core issue of borders, refugees, Jerusalem, even final status?
And, Mr. Blair, you had a request on [an] economic development summit from Israeli businessmen at the same time as the November summit. Is that going to be part of it?
Ms. Rice: Thank you, and then I’ll turn over to Tony Blair. First of all, let me just go back for one moment to the Gaza question, because we are very concerned about the people of Gaza. I think it bears noting that we also have to be concerned about the security situation. We have to be concerned about rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel. And we have to be concerned about the security situation for Palestinians. And so, let’s remember how we got to where we are. And the Quartet’s statement also notes that it is extremely important that the steps be taken, or that the security situation in Gaza be addressed and that the rocket fire stop. So, I want to make that very clear.
As to attendance at the meeting, as I said, we will be working on this issue and we are very clear in our discussions with our colleagues that this meeting is going to be serious and substantive, that, of course, it has to address the core issues. It would really make no sense for the United States to invite members of the international community, regional actors, the parties themselves to have a meeting that was not serious and substantive and didn’t address the core issues. We have many things to do, and so I’m sure we could find something better to do than to have a meeting that did not address those issues. And so, we also recognize that, in coming to the meeting, we hope that those who come are really committed to helping the Israelis and the Palestinians find a way through. And that means renouncing violence, it means working for a peaceful solution, it means working on the basis of all of the many documents that, to now, have formed the framework for an eventual peace. And so, coming to this meeting also brings with it certain responsibilities, and we hope that there will be full participation of those who want to see a Palestinian State established, as the United States and as the members of the Quartet most certainly want to see.
Tony Blair, Quartet Representative: First of all, I think it’s important just to understand what the big picture is, if you like, arising out of the meetings that have been happening out in the region and the Quartet meeting today. The most important thing is that things are moving again. There is momentum back in this process. That doesn’t mean to say that we’re foolishly optimistic after all the difficulties of the past. But things are moving again. And there are three parts to that. The first is that there is a reinvigoration of the political process. That is the importance of the meeting that the Americans are calling. That political process, of course, is not going to be able to resolve all the outstanding issues straight away -- of course not. But it will give a political horizon that puts credibility back into the process. That is the aim; that’s what people want to see. And that is something that President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert will negotiate together.
The second thing is that there is going to be then the publication of the Palestinian national agenda for action, which is about creating the institutions of a Palestinian State, because a State without proper functioning institutions is not a State. A State’s not just about territory; it’s about capacity, capability, about governance.
And then the third aspect to this is that there have got to be things happening on the ground that give hope to people, in Israel and on the Palestinian side, that their lives are going to improve, that things are going to change, that people have the prospect of an improvement in their living standards, in their ability to live normal lives. That is where, for example, the proposals put by Israeli businessmen, by Palestinian businessmen, by others in the international community, are also important.
So, these three things move together the whole time: the reinvigoration of the political process, the Palestinians building the institutions of a serious, well-functioning State, and things improving on the ground. And the important thing, I think, also to realize is that, over these next few months, there will be two very important meetings -- not just one, but two actually. The first will, of course, be the meeting that Secretary Rice has referred to. But the second will also be an opportunity for the international community, as supporters and donors to the Palestinian Authority, to come behind the Palestinian agenda for action and support it.
So, our aim, if you like, is to get to the end of this year, the end of the period of the next few months, with real hope back in the political process, with a sense of what this Palestinian State could look like in terms of capability and governance and with things improving on the ground. And that is -- you know, those are, in one sense quite ambitious objectives for the next few months, but I think they are achievable if the right will and the right focus is there. And, certainly, it’s important that it is.
Question: I understand that at the meeting, the following meeting, the iftar, that two members -- two directly involved parties in the conflict of the Middle East are not invited: Palestine and Lebanon. I can’t understand the logic why would you exclude both Palestine and Lebanon from the next meeting coming up. If I am wrong, I stand corrected, please.
And, Madam Rice, why is it you think, that you are, despite your goodwill, there is a lack of confidence in what you’re trying to do, to bring about this important conference.
And why is it that, for example, Mr. Lavrov, if you care to tell us, how much do you care that when you speak of comprehensive, how much do you care that the Lebanon issue is very much on the table -- for example, to safeguard the constitutional process so that there would be an elected President and that the country would remain together, at least to get the table there?
Ms. Rice: The Secretary-General will speak to the first part.
The Secretary-General: For the first part of your question, we have invited exactly the same countries who participated in the Arab partners meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh in May.
Ms. Rice: No, no. This was a meeting also with the Arab follow-up -- [unintelligible].
We’ll get you a complete guest list. But our understanding is that it is the follow-up committee that the Arab League produced, or named, to follow up on the Arab Initiative -- that that is the purpose of the meeting. But the Secretary-General will comment further on that later.
Yes, sure, the question about confidence in what we’re doing. There have been many, many disappointments over many decades about moving this forward. And I understand that. And I understand that perhaps there is scepticism as to whether or not we can succeed this time. As Tony Blair said, anyone who has dealt with issues in the Middle East knows to be cautious in your optimism about whether we can achieve what we’re trying to achieve. But I would just note that we’ve come a long way since the end of the Camp David process in 2000. We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs. President Bush enunciated, in 2002, the desire to see two States living side by side, one Israel, one Palestine, in peace and freedom. He was the first American President to make that statement as a matter of policy. Even this year, we have been through a lot of ups and downs to get to where we are now. I would remind that, I think when I was in Jerusalem and we held the trilateral in February, frankly, conditions were not very good and the atmosphere was not very good.
And so we’ve come a long way in a relatively short period of time. We believe that the international meeting has the potential to galvanize people on the political front and to give the international community, the regional States and, most importantly, the parties something to shoot for, something to look forward to. And, that is frankly all that we can do, and then to work as hard as possible so that the meeting has the kind of substantive, serious core that we all want it to have.
But I’m not surprised that people wonder if we’re going to succeed. If this conflict had been easy to solve it would have been solved long ago. But the commitment of this President of the United States, of myself personally, of the United States Government and, I sense, of the international community to try and to make progress here is very firm. And all that you can do is to put in your best effort. I think there is a lot of goodwill, there is a lot of commitment. And, hopefully, this time we’ll succeed.
Mr. Lavrov(interpretation from Russian): Raghida, I did not quite get the point of your question. You asked about Lebanon or what my attitude is to the constitutional process in Lebanon. Well, my attitude is one of respect for the constitutional process in any country. I am convinced that, if no one impedes the Lebanese, they will be able to agree on how to overcome the current crisis. We know that many eminent politicians in Lebanon are thinking about how to prevent the situation from slipping again into a profound crisis and are putting forward initiatives. And, I repeat, the main thing is not to get in the way of the Lebanese. Then I think everything will be fine.
Question: There seems to be a new emphasis on, even a new urgency in pushing the proclamation of a Palestinian State, which was supposed to be at the end of the Road Map. So, is the Road Map dead? And, if not, how do you reconcile this new process that you’re trying to push with the Road Map? And also, what are the concrete conditions on the ground for a Palestinian State to be acceptable in your view.
Ms. Rice: Well, I’m very glad that you asked the question, because I think the Road Map is still a reliable guide that is supported by the entire international community on how a Palestinian State gets established. And if you look at the phase-one commitments, it is very hard to imagine the establishment of a Palestinian State in which the phase-one commitments have not been realized or have not been carried through. And so, absolutely, those phase-one commitments have to be met.
What is very clear is that -- after some experience over the last several years -- is that the political horizon for the Palestinian people, and indeed for the Israeli people, is an important ingredient of the momentum and the commitment and the sense of a real outcome in order for people to have the capability and the energy, if you will, to meet those phase-one commitments. I don’t think it was ever envisioned in the Road Map that it wouldn’t be possible to even discuss or talk about or potentially even negotiate the outlines, the content of a Palestinian State. But it is absolutely the case that you’re not going to be able to establish a Palestinian State if you don’t have a commitment to end terror, if you don’t have a commitment to end settlement activity, if you don’t have a commitment to non-violence. All of those things have to be achieved. The Palestinians will have to have capacities. They will have to have security forces that can provide security against terrorism, but that can also provide security for the Palestinian people.
All of these things are integral and essential for the establishment of a Palestinian State. So, the Road Map remains in place. The Road Map remains a reliable guide. It also remains a document to which the international community is committed through a Security Council resolution. It is going to be critical that the Road Map obligations be met if the Palestinian State is going to be established. And it’s one reason that the work that Tony Blair is doing -- and, by the way, the work that General Keith Dayton on the establishment of reliable, integrated Palestinian forces that truly report to the Palestinian Authority.
Mr. Blair: If I could just add to that very briefly. The Road Map remains, and, as Secretary Rice has just said, all the issues in that are the valid issues and will have to be addressed if you’re ever going to get a solution. The important thing, I think, however, to understand about what has been happening recently, is, first of all, that for people to make advances, they need to have some sense of where the process is heading politically. And the questions that people were asking a few months back, or a few weeks back, were all about the meeting that President Bush had called for. Was it going to be substantial or was it not going to be substantial? I think the importance of today’s communiqué is there’s an answer to that. It is going to be substantial. We want it to be a substantive, serious discussion with an outcome which allows us to see how we then move the process forward. So that’s on the political horizon, which is taken forward, as they say, by Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas.
But the second point about the Palestinian capability. Let me just make this very clear. In the end, for a Palestinian State to be created, there are questions about the nature of that State -- has it got a proper security infrastructure, are its public services properly functioning, does it have the infrastructure that it needs, are the systems of governance in place? -- that are a vital part of the questions you would ask about any State. And the important thing, I think, to keep in your mind the whole time is that these things shouldn’t be divorced from each other; they actually go together -- the political horizon, so that people know what they’re aiming for and know what they’re trying to achieve, and the practical steps necessary to make a reality of that. And I think it’s both of those things going together, plus the immediate changes that we need on the ground to give people some sense things are really happening, that is the work of the next few months.
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The Middle East diplomatic Quartet on Sunday rallied behind the US call for an international peace conference later this year to set out the contours of a future Palestinian state. After a two-hour meeting here, the four peace sponsors -- The United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- expressed backing for the international conference which Washington hopes to host later this year.The Quartet will work for a successful international meeting and for the implementation of its conclusions, a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting said.The talks brought together UN chief Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and British former prime minister Tony Blair.Blair delivered his first report to the Quartet since he was named the grouping's special envoy in June.
Things are moving again, said Blair who has been tasked by the Quartet to help the Palestinians create stable institutions to underpin a viable state. There's a good deal of momentum, Rice chimed in, speaking of a very firm commitment by key players and of a lot of goodwill among fellow Quartet members and Arab leaders.
The Quartet issued a roadmap for achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace in 2003, but the three-stage plan that should have led to the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005 has since languished.Earlier Sunday, the United States dropped a bombshell by announcing plans to invite Syria to the planned international peace talks.The conference, proposed by US President George W. Bush, would also draw in neighboring states, major powers and members of the Arab League follow-up committee and other key international players.We have not issued invitations as such but it is only natural that we would hope that the participants would include the members of the Arab follow-up, Rice told reporters.The Arab League committee includes Jordan, Egypt -- the only two Arab states to have signed a peace treaty with Israel -- as well as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Syria.The panel is tasked with persuading Israel to accept a land for peace Saudi initiative relaunched in March by the Arab League during a summit in Riyadh.But Rice did not name Syria, a country which Washington suspects of being behind political assassinations in neighboring Lebanon and of allowing arms and fighters to flow into Iraq.The grouping made no direct mention of Israel's decision to declare the Hamas-run Gaza Strip a hostile entity and to threaten to cut essential services to the territory. It underscored the need for immediate additional steps to meet previous commitments, including those under the roadmap and the Agreement on Movement and Access.
This was a reference to Israel's previous commitments to ease restrictions on movements to and from the Palestinian territories.The Quartet also expressed concern over conditions in Gaza and stressed the importance of continued emergency and humanitarian assistance without obstruction.Blair meanwhile announced that a meeting of donors for the Palestinians would be held late this year. Economic assistance to the beleaguered Palestinians was to be discussed at a meeting of donors to be chaired by Norway Monday. The United States and the European Union suspended direct economic assistance to the Palestinians in April 2006 after Hamas, which they regard as a terrorist group, won parliamentary elections. Although Washington and the EU announced the resumption of direct aid in June following the appointment of Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad, the Quartet statement endorsed an extension until the end of the year of the temporary (aid) mechanism set up in 2006 to bypass Hamas.
UN hosts meeting of Middle East peace Quartet Sun Sep 23, 12:57 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The four sponsors of the Middle East peace process meet here Sunday to discuss preparations for a US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace conference expected to be held in November. The UN meeting, being held two days before world leaders kick off summit talks during the General Assembly session, is also an opportunity for the so-called Quartet to hear former British prime minister Tony Blair's first report since he was named the grouping's special envoy in June.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon is hosting the gathering with his three Quartet partners: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.Rice told reporters earlier this week that she planned to brief her colleagues on her recent Middle East trip during which she engaged in shuttle diplomacy with Israelis and Palestinians.She added that she also planned to meet separately with Blair ahead of Sunday's meeting.US President George W. Bush has called for a Middle East peace conference later this year in order to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian talks, a summit that regional players widely expect to be held in November.
Quartet members are to give a joint press conference at the end of Sunday's two-hour meeting.
The quartet issued a roadmap for achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace in 2003, but the three-stage plan that should have led to the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005 has since languished.Sunday night, Quartet members are to huddle with representatives of the Arab League at an Iftar dinner, the evening meal for breaking the daily fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan.Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store, who is to chair a meeting of donors for the Palestinians Monday morning, was to take part in the Iftar dinner.Earlier this month, Jordan's King Abdullah told Blair that final status issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be a top priority at the US-sponsored peace conference.The Jordanian monarch then said his country, a close US ally, supports all efforts by the Quartet to bring closer the points of view between the Palestinians and Israelis ahead of the peace meeting called for by US President George W. Bush.Hard work is needed for the the success of the international meeting, which should come up with positive results that would meet the aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state on their territories, he told Blair.The Jordanian monarch has urged Israelis and the Palestinians to waste no time in resuming final status negotiations on crucial issues such as borders, the future of Jerusalem and refugees.And Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has warned that the planned conference could fail unless Israel agrees on a framework of core issues.
STATEMENT BY MIDDLE EAST QUARTET SEPT 23,07
The following statement was issued today by the Quartet ( United Nations, Russian Federation, United States, European Union): The Quartet principals -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, High Representative for European Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado and European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner -- met today in New York to discuss the situation in the Middle East. They were joined by Quartet Representative Tony Blair.The Quartet recognized the present opportunity for progress and the robust regional and international desire for peace in the Middle East. The Quartet expressed its strong support for the ongoing bilateral talks between Prime Minister [Ehud] Olmert and President [Mahmoud] Abbas, and welcomed the formation of Israeli and Palestinian teams to discuss the core issues that are essential to progress towards their shared goal of a negotiated two-State solution and establishment of a viable Palestinian State living side by side with a secure Israel. The Quartet welcomed parallel steps taken by the parties to build confidence and improve conditions on the ground. The Quartet underscored the need for immediate additional steps to meet previous commitments, including those under the Road Map and the Agreement on Movement and Access, so as to create a positive atmosphere conducive to progress towards a two-State solution.
The Quartet expressed support for the international meeting on Israeli-Palestinian peace called for by President [George W.] Bush in his 16 July statement. Principals discussed the meeting and agreed that it should be substantive and serious, providing support to the parties in their bilateral discussions and negotiations in order to move forward urgently on a successful path to a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza that will unite all Palestinians. The goal of this meeting is to bring together key members of the international community in support of efforts between the Israelis and Palestinians to end their conflict and help bring a final peace in the Middle East. The Quartet expects the meeting to affirm its support for the two-State solution based on a rejection of violence and its support for progress by the parties in their bilateral discussions. The meeting should also review progress that has been made towards building Palestinian institutions and discuss innovative and effective ways to support further Palestinian reform. The Quartet will work for a successful international meeting and for the implementation of its conclusions.Quartet Representative Tony Blair briefed the Quartet on his meetings and discussions in the region, and discussed the way forward on the development of a functioning Palestinian economy and the institutions of governance that will form the foundation of a Palestinian State. The Quartet agreed that Mr. Blair should work closely with the Palestinian Authority Government in developing a multi-year agenda for institutional and economic development, and looked forward to strong technical and financial support from the international community in support of these efforts, beginning with the 24 September Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting. In that context, the Quartet called upon all countries that are able to contribute to urgently provide financial support to the Palestinian Authority. The Quartet endorsed an extension of the Temporary International Mechanism until 31 December 2007, and expressed its hope that, during this period, a mechanism would be established to facilitate the transition to direct international assistance to this Palestinian Authority Government.
The Quartet expressed concern over conditions in Gaza. It agreed on the importance of continued emergency and humanitarian assistance without obstruction. The Quartet called for the continued provision of essential services. It expressed its urgent concern over the continued closure of major crossing points given the impact on the Palestinian economy and daily life. The Quartet further noted its grave concern over the continued rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, and recent efforts by Hamas to stifle freedom of speech and the press.The Quartet discussed its forthcoming meeting with members of the Arab League follow-up committee to consult on next steps on the Arab Peace Initiative and regional support for bilateral talks between the parties.
The Quartet reaffirmed its commitment to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).
TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE ON MIDDLE EAST BY SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON,QUARTET PRINCIPALS AT UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, 23 SEPTEMBER 2007
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of the media. We had a very good, constructive Quartet meeting this afternoon. I am going to read out the joint statement. I would like to inform you that, after this press conference, we are going to have another meeting with the Arab partners over dinner, an iftar dinner.
The joint statement reads as follows.
The Quartet principals met today together with the Quartet Representative, Tony Blair.The Quartet recognized the present opportunity for progress and the robust regional and international desire for peace in the Middle East. The Quartet expressed its strong support for the ongoing bilateral talks between Prime Minister [Ehud] Olmert and President [Mahmoud] Abbas and welcomed the formation of Israeli and Palestinian teams to discuss the core issues that are essential to progress towards their shared goal of a negotiated two-State solution and establishment of a viable Palestinian State living side by side with a secure Israel. The Quartet welcomed parallel steps taken by the parties to build confidence and improve conditions on the ground. The Quartet underscored the need for immediate additional steps to meet previous commitments, including those under the Road Map and the Agreement on Movement and Access, so as to create a positive atmosphere conducive to progress towards a two-State solution.The Quartet expressed support for the international meeting on Israeli-Palestinian peace called for by President [George W.] Bush in his 16 July statement. Principals discussed the meeting and agreed that it should be substantive and serious, providing support to the parties in their bilateral discussions and negotiations in order to move forward urgently on a successful path to a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza that will unite all Palestinians. The goal of this meeting is to bring together key members of the international community in support of efforts between the Israelis and Palestinians to end their conflict and help bring a final peace in the Middle East. The Quartet expects the meeting to affirm its support for the two-State solution based on a rejection of violence and its support for progress by the parties in their bilateral discussions. The meeting should also review progress that has been made towards building Palestinian institutions and discuss innovative and effective ways to support further Palestinian reform. The Quartet will work for a successful international meeting and for the implementation of its conclusions.
Quartet Representative Tony Blair briefed the Quartet on his meetings and discussions in the region, and discussed the way forward on the development of a functioning Palestinian economy and the institutions of governance that will form the foundation of a Palestinian State. The Quartet agreed that Mr. Blair should work closely with the Palestinian Authority Government in developing a multi-year agenda for institutional and economic development, and looked forward to strong technical and financial support from the international community in support of these efforts, beginning with the 24 September Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting. In that context, the Quartet called upon all countries that are able to contribute to urgently provide financial support to the Palestinian Authority. The Quartet endorsed an extension of the Temporary International Mechanism until 31 December 2007, and expressed its hope that during this period, a mechanism would be established to facilitate the transition to direct international assistance to this Palestinian Authority Government.The Quartet expressed concern over conditions in Gaza. It agreed on the importance of continued emergency and humanitarian assistance without obstruction. The Quartet called for the continued provision of essential services. It expressed its urgent concern over the continued closure of major crossing points, given the impact on the Palestinian economy and daily life. The Quartet further noted its grave concern over the continued rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, and recent efforts by Hamas to stifle freedom of speech and the press.
The Quartet discussed its forthcoming meeting with members of the Arab League follow-up committee to consult on next steps on the Arab Peace Initiative and regional support for bilateral talks between the parties.The Quartet reaffirmed its commitment to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).
Thank you very much.
Question: Mr. Secretary-General and distinguished members of the Quartet, I would like to welcome you all on behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association -- and a particular welcome to Mr. Blair, who is making his first appearance in the United Nations since you assumed your duties.In the statement, you expressed only concern over the conditions in Gaza, in sharp contrast to what’s really happening on the ground there. Relief organizations like Oxfam International said, unless you solve the humanitarian conditions there, especially starvation, the peace process has no chance to proceed. I wonder if you have any comment in light of the short meeting you had today, and whether you’re waiting for the meeting in Washington happening soon, organized by the White House, in order to seek real solutions for [the] Gaza Strip.The Secretary-General: Thank you very much. The United Nations has borne its humanitarian responsibilities all around the world, wherever they need our assistance. It is much more so in [the] Gaza Strip, Palestinian State. I have expressed my concern on several occasions already about this closure of the crossings and all these difficulties Palestinian people are suffering. There are 1.4 million people. Among them, more than 80 per cent are depending upon the humanitarian assistance from the United Nations agencies, led by UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East], and other agencies. Therefore, it is crucially important that the United Nations continue without any hindrance this humanitarian assistance.
At the same time, just providing daily humanitarian assistance will not help much in revitalizing their economy. Therefore, there should be free movement and opening of the crossings. So this is a very important aspect.At the same time, this peace process should continue. It is encouraging that the Palestinian and Israeli leaders have been meeting regularly. Our Quartet Representative, Mr. Tony Blair, has been actively engaged, together with Secretary Rice and many other Quartet principals. These diplomatic activities will continue and will have to continue, and we sincerely hope that the international meeting called for by President Bush in the fall, in November, will also address this issue overall and comprehensively.
Question: Madam Secretary, one of your aides said that the follow-up committee of the Arab League will be invited to the conference this fall. Based on your discussions here, how confident are you that Saudi Arabia and Syria will attend the peace conference? And do these invitations mean that this conference is evolving into an effort to push for a full-scale comprehensive peace in the Middle East beyond the bilateral track that’s been discussed previously?
Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State: Well, I think that the contours of the meeting have been described as a meeting to encourage and support the bilateral track that the Israelis and the Palestinians have established, and on which I think there is a good deal of momentum. The meeting, of course, will obviously take note of the fact that, ultimately, there has to be a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. That is why its framework is resolution 242, 338; why the Road Map and the Arab Peace Initiative -- all of which contemplate a comprehensive peace -- will form the framework, the basis, for the meeting. But we have an opportunity on the Israeli-Palestinian track to move that forward because of the maturing of the bilateral discussions between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas. And we should not miss the opportunity to support and push forward on that track.
I should note that the meeting will, I believe, take note, not only of the importance of that bilateral political track and will clearly need to have serious and substantive discussions about the core issues that are being discussed in that track, but it will also be very important to have this meeting take note of the importance of the capacity-building efforts that Prime Minister Blair is involved in; it will have to take note of the importance of pushing forward the improvements on the situation on the ground. We have a series of meetings and activities coming up. We’ve had the Quartet meeting here. We’ll have the iftar with the Arab League follow-up committee afterthis press conference. We have a meeting of the [Ad Hoc Liaison Committee] tomorrow, which will lay the groundwork for a donors conference in December. And, of course, we have the international meeting.
So I think that there’s a sense of momentum in support of the Palestinians and the Israelis in their efforts to end the conflict. Now, there’s a lot of work to do, a lot of hard work ahead of us, and so, as always the case with the Middle East, one should recognize that the road ahead is one that is very difficult. But, given that it has been a number of years since the Israelis and the Palestinians have expressed their interest in discussing the core issues between them, it is very important that the regional players, as the international community, mobilize to support them.
Now, as to the invitations, we haven’t issued invitations as such, but it’s only natural that we would hope that the participants would include the members of the Arab follow-up committee, because that is the committee that has been charged by the Arab League with following up with the international community on the Arab Peace Initiative, which we would hope would be one part of the discussions, or one of the primary means for discussing these issues at the international meeting. And we have a lot of work to do before we get to the question of who will accept and who will come. But it would be an only natural outcome of all that has happened that the members of the follow-up committee would hopefully be there.
Question: The question is for Madam Secretary and Foreign Minister Lavrov. After reports of Syria going on nuclear efforts, can you explain how the international community missed that fact? And do you think that Syria should be part of the international community?
And, Mr. Lavrov, can you tell us if the fact that your country is supplying weapons to Syria, and from there to Hizbullah, is something that helps the general peace process?
Ms. Rice: Well, the United States has made no secret of its concerns about proliferation in general. I am not going to comment on any specific issues, but I’ve seen press reports; I won’t comment on anything specific. But, we obviously are very concerned about dangerous activities in a region that is already very dangerous.
We have spoken repeatedly about the need of the Syrian regime to change behaviour that is, frankly, very harmful to the region, to accept the international community’s insistence that Lebanon be able to carry out its constitutional processes without intimidation, that Lebanese sovereignty should be respected. We have been very clear that we have grave concerns about the terrorists that are being allowed to cross the border into Iraq and are putting at danger innocent Iraqis, as well as coalition forces. And, of course, there is the question of support for those who would reject a two-State solution. And so this is -- obviously, the position of the United States is very clear about the need for change in the behaviour of the Syrian regime.
The process on which we are about to -- the process on which we are launched to try and support the nascent, very fragile work that Palestinians and Israelis are doing together should have the support of the entire international community, and it should especially have the support of the regional neighbours. And, in a sense, we would hope that those who choose to come to this meeting are indeed signalling that they support the two-State solution, that they support the renunciation of violence and that they support the many agreements that Palestinians -- Palestinian leaders have signed on behalf of their people that would lay the framework for a two-State solution.
Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation: I’ll speak in Russian, so get ready with your earphones. (Interpretation from Russian) We are selling weapons to Syria, as we do to many other countries. Accordingly, we are doing the same as many other producers of arms. Everything that we sell fully and transparently meets our international obligations and our export control legislation, one of the toughest in the world. When the nature of our deliveries is determined for Syria, we do not allow any deliveries that would disrupt the balance of power in the region, specifically in the Middle East. Our deliveries to Syria are for defensive arms, and in no way can that balance be disrupted.
Moreover, given the particular delicacy of questions related to deliveries of arms to this region, in our contract we always prohibit the transfer of weapons to anyone apart from the direct recipient of such weapons.
And with regard to Syria, we have mechanisms and inspections; we can see where the arms we have delivered are -- whoever is concerned. If there are facts indicating that obligations have not been fulfilled, if those obligations have been violated, we always investigate such instances. But, in this instance, we have not received any facts. We have spoken about this with our Israeli colleagues, and they are worried about this.
The last point I want to make is that, in principle, in order to attain the goals mentioned by Secretary Rice -- to make the meeting planned to be held in Washington this autumn effective, to make it truly lead to practical steps that will ultimately lead not only to an Israeli-Palestinian settlement, but to a Middle East settlement on all tracks -- the countries of the region definitely have to be involved. One should not try to isolate them. I am convinced that, through that policy of involvement, not exclusion or isolation, we will achieve much more than we would achieve simply through talking about who is guilty. First you need the facts, then you need honest cooperation involving everyone in the settlement process. We should not leave anyone out of this.
Question: Secretary Rice, just can we have a clear answer on whether Syria will be invited or not? I mean, yes or no. And also, at the same time, obviously you’ve dealt with the situation in Gaza. Can you kindly tell us how do you think the situation there will be solved. Obviously, it can’t go on forever. And I’d like also to hear what Mr. Lavrov said about that, because you’ve had your own talks with Hamas, Sir.
Ms. Rice: First of all, all of the members of the Arab follow-up committee, we believe, would be natural invitees for this meeting. It is extremely important, though, to note that the purpose of this meeting in supporting the Israelis and the Palestinians has to be a commitment to actually supporting a two-State solution. And so, since we believe that the Arab Initiative, in effect, is intended to do that, it makes sense that the members of the follow-up committee would be natural participants.
As to Gaza, the position of the United States on Gaza is very clear: first of all, that the West Bank and Gaza are both constituent parts of the Palestinian Territory and, when there is a Palestinian State, would be constituent parts of a Palestinian State; secondly, that Prime Minister [Salam] Fayyad and President Abbas are the legitimate authorities, the legitimate representatives of all the Palestinian people, wherever they live. And in that regard, what happened in Gaza with the undermining -- in effect the overthrow -- of legitimate Palestinian institutions does not mean that the legitimate Palestinian Authority is not still -- should not still be the recognized authority for Gaza. Third, and most importantly, the United States will never abandon the people of Gaza simply because they live in Gaza. We will continue our humanitarian efforts. We have intensified those efforts over the last year and a half, increasing substantially our humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people. And we do agree that that humanitarian assistance needs to be delivered to the people of Gaza without obstruction. We have talked with our -- I have talked with the Israelis about the importance of maintaining a focus on the humanitarian plight of the people of Gaza. There are innocent people there who should not have to suffer because of the political coup d’état that took place as a result of what Hamas did a couple of months ago.
So, we hope that, ultimately, the prospect, the beginnings of the -- the emergence of a concrete idea of the Palestinian State will be a unifying factor for all Palestinians. But I just think it’s extremely important that we recognize that Gazans are a part of the Palestinian people, and Abu Mazen -- President Abbas -- and Salam Fayyad represent the Palestinian people.
Mr. Lavrov (interpretation from Russian): Again, I will speak Russian. As I already said, we all attach particular importance to the upcoming United States meeting proposed by President Bush. We supported that initiative, and all members of the Quartet said that they were ready, that they were interested in participating in the preparations in order to make it a success. And today, we agreed how specifically to work in that area. If everything comes off, that could mark the beginning, for the first time in I do not know how many years, of practical progress: moving towards a settlement not just between the Palestinians and the Israelis, but in the Middle East as a whole, on all tracks, and opening the way towards an international conference on the Middle East. That has repeatedly been mentioned by President [Vladimir] Putin; the members of the League of Arab States have said they are in favour of it; and we in the Quartet have said that we would definitely have that prospect in mind and would plan further steps to that end.
As I said, it is clear that a comprehensive settlement is impossible if one part of a people, or one people, is left in isolation by the side of the road. As Secretary Rice has said, the Palestinians of Gaza are an intrinsic part of the Palestinian people. Thus, we devoted special attention during our discussions to the fact that we should prevent a situation, in this nascent process which is just getting under way, in which any part of the Palestinian people would be isolated. That would only increase the fracture that has occurred. I am sure that the restoration of the unity of the Palestinians is a priority. In parallel with preparations for steps on the Palestinian-Israeli track, we need to ensure that the Palestinian side of the equation is united, which would also strengthen their negotiating position.
Of course, there is the separate question of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. I think that many of you are aware of the draft World Bank report, which paints a very grim picture and offers very grim prospects.
Therefore, in our statement, which was read out by the Secretary-General, we particularly highlight the need for unimpeded -- I stress, “unimpeded” -- access for humanitarian assistance and emergency assistance to Gaza. Russia is interested in this issue because the assistance -- three weeks ago we sent assistance, food and medicine -- has, so far, not been able to get to Gaza.
Question: Secretary Rice, you saw the Saudi Foreign Minister today. Do you have any reason to believe that he would attend the November conference? Also, can you and Prime Minister Blair shed some more light on the substance of the meeting? Do you expect actual agreements on the outlines of how to solve the core issue of borders, refugees, Jerusalem, even final status?
And, Mr. Blair, you had a request on [an] economic development summit from Israeli businessmen at the same time as the November summit. Is that going to be part of it?
Ms. Rice: Thank you, and then I’ll turn over to Tony Blair. First of all, let me just go back for one moment to the Gaza question, because we are very concerned about the people of Gaza. I think it bears noting that we also have to be concerned about the security situation. We have to be concerned about rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel. And we have to be concerned about the security situation for Palestinians. And so, let’s remember how we got to where we are. And the Quartet’s statement also notes that it is extremely important that the steps be taken, or that the security situation in Gaza be addressed and that the rocket fire stop. So, I want to make that very clear.
As to attendance at the meeting, as I said, we will be working on this issue and we are very clear in our discussions with our colleagues that this meeting is going to be serious and substantive, that, of course, it has to address the core issues. It would really make no sense for the United States to invite members of the international community, regional actors, the parties themselves to have a meeting that was not serious and substantive and didn’t address the core issues. We have many things to do, and so I’m sure we could find something better to do than to have a meeting that did not address those issues. And so, we also recognize that, in coming to the meeting, we hope that those who come are really committed to helping the Israelis and the Palestinians find a way through. And that means renouncing violence, it means working for a peaceful solution, it means working on the basis of all of the many documents that, to now, have formed the framework for an eventual peace. And so, coming to this meeting also brings with it certain responsibilities, and we hope that there will be full participation of those who want to see a Palestinian State established, as the United States and as the members of the Quartet most certainly want to see.
Tony Blair, Quartet Representative: First of all, I think it’s important just to understand what the big picture is, if you like, arising out of the meetings that have been happening out in the region and the Quartet meeting today. The most important thing is that things are moving again. There is momentum back in this process. That doesn’t mean to say that we’re foolishly optimistic after all the difficulties of the past. But things are moving again. And there are three parts to that. The first is that there is a reinvigoration of the political process. That is the importance of the meeting that the Americans are calling. That political process, of course, is not going to be able to resolve all the outstanding issues straight away -- of course not. But it will give a political horizon that puts credibility back into the process. That is the aim; that’s what people want to see. And that is something that President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert will negotiate together.
The second thing is that there is going to be then the publication of the Palestinian national agenda for action, which is about creating the institutions of a Palestinian State, because a State without proper functioning institutions is not a State. A State’s not just about territory; it’s about capacity, capability, about governance.
And then the third aspect to this is that there have got to be things happening on the ground that give hope to people, in Israel and on the Palestinian side, that their lives are going to improve, that things are going to change, that people have the prospect of an improvement in their living standards, in their ability to live normal lives. That is where, for example, the proposals put by Israeli businessmen, by Palestinian businessmen, by others in the international community, are also important.
So, these three things move together the whole time: the reinvigoration of the political process, the Palestinians building the institutions of a serious, well-functioning State, and things improving on the ground. And the important thing, I think, also to realize is that, over these next few months, there will be two very important meetings -- not just one, but two actually. The first will, of course, be the meeting that Secretary Rice has referred to. But the second will also be an opportunity for the international community, as supporters and donors to the Palestinian Authority, to come behind the Palestinian agenda for action and support it.
So, our aim, if you like, is to get to the end of this year, the end of the period of the next few months, with real hope back in the political process, with a sense of what this Palestinian State could look like in terms of capability and governance and with things improving on the ground. And that is -- you know, those are, in one sense quite ambitious objectives for the next few months, but I think they are achievable if the right will and the right focus is there. And, certainly, it’s important that it is.
Question: I understand that at the meeting, the following meeting, the iftar, that two members -- two directly involved parties in the conflict of the Middle East are not invited: Palestine and Lebanon. I can’t understand the logic why would you exclude both Palestine and Lebanon from the next meeting coming up. If I am wrong, I stand corrected, please.
And, Madam Rice, why is it you think, that you are, despite your goodwill, there is a lack of confidence in what you’re trying to do, to bring about this important conference.
And why is it that, for example, Mr. Lavrov, if you care to tell us, how much do you care that when you speak of comprehensive, how much do you care that the Lebanon issue is very much on the table -- for example, to safeguard the constitutional process so that there would be an elected President and that the country would remain together, at least to get the table there?
Ms. Rice: The Secretary-General will speak to the first part.
The Secretary-General: For the first part of your question, we have invited exactly the same countries who participated in the Arab partners meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh in May.
Ms. Rice: No, no. This was a meeting also with the Arab follow-up -- [unintelligible].
We’ll get you a complete guest list. But our understanding is that it is the follow-up committee that the Arab League produced, or named, to follow up on the Arab Initiative -- that that is the purpose of the meeting. But the Secretary-General will comment further on that later.
Yes, sure, the question about confidence in what we’re doing. There have been many, many disappointments over many decades about moving this forward. And I understand that. And I understand that perhaps there is scepticism as to whether or not we can succeed this time. As Tony Blair said, anyone who has dealt with issues in the Middle East knows to be cautious in your optimism about whether we can achieve what we’re trying to achieve. But I would just note that we’ve come a long way since the end of the Camp David process in 2000. We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs. President Bush enunciated, in 2002, the desire to see two States living side by side, one Israel, one Palestine, in peace and freedom. He was the first American President to make that statement as a matter of policy. Even this year, we have been through a lot of ups and downs to get to where we are now. I would remind that, I think when I was in Jerusalem and we held the trilateral in February, frankly, conditions were not very good and the atmosphere was not very good.
And so we’ve come a long way in a relatively short period of time. We believe that the international meeting has the potential to galvanize people on the political front and to give the international community, the regional States and, most importantly, the parties something to shoot for, something to look forward to. And, that is frankly all that we can do, and then to work as hard as possible so that the meeting has the kind of substantive, serious core that we all want it to have.
But I’m not surprised that people wonder if we’re going to succeed. If this conflict had been easy to solve it would have been solved long ago. But the commitment of this President of the United States, of myself personally, of the United States Government and, I sense, of the international community to try and to make progress here is very firm. And all that you can do is to put in your best effort. I think there is a lot of goodwill, there is a lot of commitment. And, hopefully, this time we’ll succeed.
Mr. Lavrov(interpretation from Russian): Raghida, I did not quite get the point of your question. You asked about Lebanon or what my attitude is to the constitutional process in Lebanon. Well, my attitude is one of respect for the constitutional process in any country. I am convinced that, if no one impedes the Lebanese, they will be able to agree on how to overcome the current crisis. We know that many eminent politicians in Lebanon are thinking about how to prevent the situation from slipping again into a profound crisis and are putting forward initiatives. And, I repeat, the main thing is not to get in the way of the Lebanese. Then I think everything will be fine.
Question: There seems to be a new emphasis on, even a new urgency in pushing the proclamation of a Palestinian State, which was supposed to be at the end of the Road Map. So, is the Road Map dead? And, if not, how do you reconcile this new process that you’re trying to push with the Road Map? And also, what are the concrete conditions on the ground for a Palestinian State to be acceptable in your view.
Ms. Rice: Well, I’m very glad that you asked the question, because I think the Road Map is still a reliable guide that is supported by the entire international community on how a Palestinian State gets established. And if you look at the phase-one commitments, it is very hard to imagine the establishment of a Palestinian State in which the phase-one commitments have not been realized or have not been carried through. And so, absolutely, those phase-one commitments have to be met.
What is very clear is that -- after some experience over the last several years -- is that the political horizon for the Palestinian people, and indeed for the Israeli people, is an important ingredient of the momentum and the commitment and the sense of a real outcome in order for people to have the capability and the energy, if you will, to meet those phase-one commitments. I don’t think it was ever envisioned in the Road Map that it wouldn’t be possible to even discuss or talk about or potentially even negotiate the outlines, the content of a Palestinian State. But it is absolutely the case that you’re not going to be able to establish a Palestinian State if you don’t have a commitment to end terror, if you don’t have a commitment to end settlement activity, if you don’t have a commitment to non-violence. All of those things have to be achieved. The Palestinians will have to have capacities. They will have to have security forces that can provide security against terrorism, but that can also provide security for the Palestinian people.
All of these things are integral and essential for the establishment of a Palestinian State. So, the Road Map remains in place. The Road Map remains a reliable guide. It also remains a document to which the international community is committed through a Security Council resolution. It is going to be critical that the Road Map obligations be met if the Palestinian State is going to be established. And it’s one reason that the work that Tony Blair is doing -- and, by the way, the work that General Keith Dayton on the establishment of reliable, integrated Palestinian forces that truly report to the Palestinian Authority.
Mr. Blair: If I could just add to that very briefly. The Road Map remains, and, as Secretary Rice has just said, all the issues in that are the valid issues and will have to be addressed if you’re ever going to get a solution. The important thing, I think, however, to understand about what has been happening recently, is, first of all, that for people to make advances, they need to have some sense of where the process is heading politically. And the questions that people were asking a few months back, or a few weeks back, were all about the meeting that President Bush had called for. Was it going to be substantial or was it not going to be substantial? I think the importance of today’s communiqué is there’s an answer to that. It is going to be substantial. We want it to be a substantive, serious discussion with an outcome which allows us to see how we then move the process forward. So that’s on the political horizon, which is taken forward, as they say, by Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas.
But the second point about the Palestinian capability. Let me just make this very clear. In the end, for a Palestinian State to be created, there are questions about the nature of that State -- has it got a proper security infrastructure, are its public services properly functioning, does it have the infrastructure that it needs, are the systems of governance in place? -- that are a vital part of the questions you would ask about any State. And the important thing, I think, to keep in your mind the whole time is that these things shouldn’t be divorced from each other; they actually go together -- the political horizon, so that people know what they’re aiming for and know what they’re trying to achieve, and the practical steps necessary to make a reality of that. And I think it’s both of those things going together, plus the immediate changes that we need on the ground to give people some sense things are really happening, that is the work of the next few months.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Rice heads to Mideast as peace process shows signs of life by Sylvie Lanteaume SEPT 18,07
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to Jerusalem on Wednesday planning to capitalize on signs of life in Israeli-Palestinian dialogue to accelerate a Middle East peace conference. US President George W. Bush has called for the international conference, expected to be held in November, to jump-start Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.Although November is fast-approaching, the chief US diplomat has remained reticent on her goals for her sixth visit to the Middle East of this year.The previous trips raised expectations of a breakthrough that were never realized, and this time the State Department is being coy about whether Rice will hold a three-way meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and embattled Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.This time around, I think we will focus on having parallel meetings, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch said Monday, while not ruling out a broader meeting with the main players.Israeli and Palestinian sources said Rice was due to meet Olmert on Wednesday, and Abbas on Thursday.Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP: We are attaching great importance to this visit.
President Abbas stresses that the roadmap and the Arab peace initiative are the framework (for the peace summit), and wants all the parties concerned to take part, he added.Olmert and Abbas have both reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, on the lines of the roadmap to peace envisaged by a quartet of diplomatic players including the United States.Washington is keen on getting Saudi Arabia -- its most influential ally in the Arab world -- to participate in the planning international gathering.Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel, so having representatives of both sides in the same room would be a diplomatic coup for Rice.Riyadh has revived a plan first floated in 2002 for Arab states to recognize Israel, in return for the Jewish state returning all territories seized in the 1967 Six-Day War.Ahead of the Rice trip, a senior Israeli government official said that both sides would work very intensely in the coming weeks to try to reach an understanding, preferably before the summit.
But Abbas last week denied media reports that he and Olmert had been drafting an accord of principles ahead of the US-sponsored peace conference.According to an alleged copy of the Hebrew-language document, published on the Palestinian Maan news agency's website, a demilitarized Palestinian state would be created within 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as capital.In Washington, Welch said the US government had been encouraged by the appointment last week by Abbas and Olmert of negotiating teams ahead of the planned peace conference.This is a very important moment and we think we can make some progress here, he said, previewing Rice's visit to the region.
I think for the first time here for quite some time, I do feel there is an opportunity, with a little hard work... we can get in a way that looks a little bit better, the State Department official said. The peace process appears to have perked up since the Western-shunned Hamas movement took control of Gaza, leaving Abbas's fractured government based in the West Bank. The glue for a revived partnership is the understanding that the alternative is Hamas, which threatens Israelis and Palestinians alike, commented David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. But writing in Newsday, he warned that unrealistically high expectations for the November meeting could tragically trample whatever moves the parties do make.
Palestinian government seen needing $1.6 bln a year By Adam Entous
SEPT 18,07
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Western-backed government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas estimates that it will need at least $1.62 billion in donor assistance per year to close its soaring budget gap, the World Bank said. In a bleak report to donors obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, the international lending agency said local revenues were not enough to sustain the government's wage bill and that there was little chance of improvement as long as Israel refused to lift restrictions on Palestinian travel and trade.The World Bank said 94 percent of the foreign aid needed by the Palestinian Authority would be used to cover recurring expenditures, including salaries, utility bills and social payments, leaving little money to fund development.The World Bank report was prepared for next week's meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, a major Palestinian donors' group. The meeting, which will lay the groundwork for a donors' conference in December, is part of a U.S.-led effort to bolster Abbas and the government he appointed in the occupied West Bank following Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip in June.
Western diplomats said Abbas's government, led by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, would be able to cover this year's budget gap by using foreign aid and frozen tax revenues recently released by Israel.But the diplomats questioned Fayyad's ability to cover a fiscal hole estimated at $1.6 billion per year in the absence of a political breakthrough that will revive the Palestinian economy and bring in larger amounts of Arab aid.It's huge and we don't see how the Palestinian Authority can finance it, said one diplomat who monitors its funds.
PEACE CONFERENCE
U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to convene a conference on Palestinian statehood in November but it is unclear what will result from it.In April, Fayyad estimated that the Palestinian Authority would need at least $1.3 billion in international aid in 2007. Fayyad was serving at the time as finance minister of a unity government between Hamas and Abbas's secular Fatah faction.While foreign aid and tax funds started flowing again to the Palestinian Authority after the unity government ended in June, Western sanctions remain in place against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where economic conditions have deteriorated.Despite some initial steps by Fayyad to rein in spending, the World Bank said the government wage bill would exceed total revenues even after taking into account Israel's decision in June to hand over frozen tax funds.Fayyad's government has sought to reduce payroll by not paying workers hired by the Hamas-led government, but the World Bank said the prime minister may find it politically challenging to reduce the work force any further.It is unclear how Fayyad will be able to cover the government's energy and infrastructure needs long-term.
In Hamas-controlled Gaza, the economic crisis is more acute. Gaza's main border crossings have been closed to all but humanitarian supplies, prompting the suspension of up to 90 percent of the coastal territory's industrial operations.
The impacts of these closures will become more difficult to reverse, said the World Bank. It estimated that unemployment could reach the unprecedented level of 44 percent.Despite the embargo, Israeli, Palestinian and Western officials say Hamas has been able to bring in tenq of millions of dollars to fund its military and social programs.
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Rice heads to Mideast as peace process shows signs of life by Sylvie Lanteaume SEPT 18,07
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to Jerusalem on Wednesday planning to capitalize on signs of life in Israeli-Palestinian dialogue to accelerate a Middle East peace conference. US President George W. Bush has called for the international conference, expected to be held in November, to jump-start Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.Although November is fast-approaching, the chief US diplomat has remained reticent on her goals for her sixth visit to the Middle East of this year.The previous trips raised expectations of a breakthrough that were never realized, and this time the State Department is being coy about whether Rice will hold a three-way meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and embattled Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.This time around, I think we will focus on having parallel meetings, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch said Monday, while not ruling out a broader meeting with the main players.Israeli and Palestinian sources said Rice was due to meet Olmert on Wednesday, and Abbas on Thursday.Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP: We are attaching great importance to this visit.
President Abbas stresses that the roadmap and the Arab peace initiative are the framework (for the peace summit), and wants all the parties concerned to take part, he added.Olmert and Abbas have both reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, on the lines of the roadmap to peace envisaged by a quartet of diplomatic players including the United States.Washington is keen on getting Saudi Arabia -- its most influential ally in the Arab world -- to participate in the planning international gathering.Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel, so having representatives of both sides in the same room would be a diplomatic coup for Rice.Riyadh has revived a plan first floated in 2002 for Arab states to recognize Israel, in return for the Jewish state returning all territories seized in the 1967 Six-Day War.Ahead of the Rice trip, a senior Israeli government official said that both sides would work very intensely in the coming weeks to try to reach an understanding, preferably before the summit.
But Abbas last week denied media reports that he and Olmert had been drafting an accord of principles ahead of the US-sponsored peace conference.According to an alleged copy of the Hebrew-language document, published on the Palestinian Maan news agency's website, a demilitarized Palestinian state would be created within 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as capital.In Washington, Welch said the US government had been encouraged by the appointment last week by Abbas and Olmert of negotiating teams ahead of the planned peace conference.This is a very important moment and we think we can make some progress here, he said, previewing Rice's visit to the region.
I think for the first time here for quite some time, I do feel there is an opportunity, with a little hard work... we can get in a way that looks a little bit better, the State Department official said. The peace process appears to have perked up since the Western-shunned Hamas movement took control of Gaza, leaving Abbas's fractured government based in the West Bank. The glue for a revived partnership is the understanding that the alternative is Hamas, which threatens Israelis and Palestinians alike, commented David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. But writing in Newsday, he warned that unrealistically high expectations for the November meeting could tragically trample whatever moves the parties do make.
Palestinian government seen needing $1.6 bln a year By Adam Entous
SEPT 18,07
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Western-backed government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas estimates that it will need at least $1.62 billion in donor assistance per year to close its soaring budget gap, the World Bank said. In a bleak report to donors obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, the international lending agency said local revenues were not enough to sustain the government's wage bill and that there was little chance of improvement as long as Israel refused to lift restrictions on Palestinian travel and trade.The World Bank said 94 percent of the foreign aid needed by the Palestinian Authority would be used to cover recurring expenditures, including salaries, utility bills and social payments, leaving little money to fund development.The World Bank report was prepared for next week's meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, a major Palestinian donors' group. The meeting, which will lay the groundwork for a donors' conference in December, is part of a U.S.-led effort to bolster Abbas and the government he appointed in the occupied West Bank following Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip in June.
Western diplomats said Abbas's government, led by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, would be able to cover this year's budget gap by using foreign aid and frozen tax revenues recently released by Israel.But the diplomats questioned Fayyad's ability to cover a fiscal hole estimated at $1.6 billion per year in the absence of a political breakthrough that will revive the Palestinian economy and bring in larger amounts of Arab aid.It's huge and we don't see how the Palestinian Authority can finance it, said one diplomat who monitors its funds.
PEACE CONFERENCE
U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to convene a conference on Palestinian statehood in November but it is unclear what will result from it.In April, Fayyad estimated that the Palestinian Authority would need at least $1.3 billion in international aid in 2007. Fayyad was serving at the time as finance minister of a unity government between Hamas and Abbas's secular Fatah faction.While foreign aid and tax funds started flowing again to the Palestinian Authority after the unity government ended in June, Western sanctions remain in place against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where economic conditions have deteriorated.Despite some initial steps by Fayyad to rein in spending, the World Bank said the government wage bill would exceed total revenues even after taking into account Israel's decision in June to hand over frozen tax funds.Fayyad's government has sought to reduce payroll by not paying workers hired by the Hamas-led government, but the World Bank said the prime minister may find it politically challenging to reduce the work force any further.It is unclear how Fayyad will be able to cover the government's energy and infrastructure needs long-term.
In Hamas-controlled Gaza, the economic crisis is more acute. Gaza's main border crossings have been closed to all but humanitarian supplies, prompting the suspension of up to 90 percent of the coastal territory's industrial operations.
The impacts of these closures will become more difficult to reverse, said the World Bank. It estimated that unemployment could reach the unprecedented level of 44 percent.Despite the embargo, Israeli, Palestinian and Western officials say Hamas has been able to bring in tenq of millions of dollars to fund its military and social programs.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
TROUBLE - JERUSALEM BEING DIVIDED
ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
ZECHARIAH 14:1-9 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
Diplomatic collapse in draft deal: Israel to cede Jerusalem's Old City
By Israel Insider staff September 15, 2007
The independent Palestinian news agency Maan published a Hebrew document late last week that purports to represent the principles apparently agreed on in negotiations between Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. While the offices of both men denied any connection to it, comments by Israeli President Shimon Peres confirm some of the main points. On one of the most controversial points, that Israel has agreed to surrender sovereignty the Old City of Jerusalem, Peres pointedly refused to comment.
Despite the denials, then, there is reason to believe that the draft does represent or approximate, the emerging deal between Olmert -- who has kept negotiations from almost all of this minister -- and Abbas, who has doubtful authority to even negotiate a deal since his supporters were expelled from Gaza and his headquarters there conquered by Hamas. That apparently hasn't stop the Israeli Prime Minister, evidently with the blessing of eminence grise Peres, who long has pushed for a deal that would redivide Jerusalem.
In its first point, the document states -- adopting Arab language for the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria -- that Israel has agreed to end the occupation of the West Bank within an agreed-upon time period. adding that the retreat and the evacuation of the settlements will occur gradually and in several stages. Each area that is evacuated will be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, which will establish law and order there. Sidestepping the fact that the legally elected government of the Palestinian Authority supported Hamas, while Abbas and his Fatah apparatus fled to the West Bank, the document goes on to note that "the existence of a regime in Gaza that is willing to be part of the peace process will enable Israel to view Gaza and the West Bank as one political entity.
The second point of the document confirms previous reports that Israel had agreed to give up the equivalent of 100% of the territories acquired in the Six Day War of 1967. It says that an unarmed Palestinian state will be established, whose permanent borders will be based on the pre-1967 borders. The precise border will reflect security, demographic and humanitarian needs. An exchange of territory will be enabled on a 1:1 basis, to preserve settlement blocs in Israeli hands and to guarantee Palestinian contiguity and economic development.
The third point says that There will be two capitals in Jerusalem, that of Israel and that of Palestine, and they will be sovereign over the Jewish and Arab neighborhoods, respectively. The two municipalities will cooperate for the enhancement of the quality of life of all the residents. The language would seem to indicate that Israel has abandoned its position that the Palestinian capital would be in Abu Dis, not in the central part of Jerusalem.
Indeed, the document suggests that there would be a special administration presumably under the authority of an international or multinational authority to administer the holiest of sites in Jerusalem, and possibly the entire Holy Basin, including the Old City in its entirety. Special arrangements will be emplaced to preserve free access to all the holy sites of the various religions. A special administration will be established to maintain the two nations' bonds with the holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. In other words, this special administration will determine how and when and where Jews are allowed to visit and pray in their most sacred spots, including the Temple Mount and the Kotel (Western Wall).
The fifth point holds that Palestine will be recognized as the national home of the Palestinian nation, and Israel will be recognized as the national home of the Jewish nation.
The incendiary sixth point appears to confirm prior reports that Israel has made additional concessions on the issues of Palestinian refugees, without clear insistent that they would be resettled in a future Palestine, not in Israel. Indeed, there is a suggestion that Israel may be ready to take some responsibility for their suffering. A fair and agreed solution will be found for the problem of the Palestinian refugees, with consideration and recognition of the suffering that was caused to them, and with the understanding that the implementation of national self-definition will be the main aspect of the solution. The term national self-definition hints at a further erosion in the Israeli position. If each nation defines itself, who is to say that a future Israel, bloated with the fast-growing birthrate of Arab citizens and newly arrived Palestinians rejoined by family unification and other measures to redress their suffering, will not choose to redefine itself as a state of all its citizens. The ambiguous language hints at unresolved issue that guarantee future explosions.
The seventh point of the document essential equates Israeli army actions with terrorist attacks from the Arab sites, effectively preventing Israel from taking pre-emptive or retaliatory measures. The two sides will declare their willingness to end the conflict and to act to increase public support for the agreement as much as possible. The two sides will act with all their force, together and separately, against any manifestation of violence and terrorism that is directed from the area of either state to the other.
The eight point expresses the hope that the Arab states will support these principles. The two sides see this agreement as a significant manifestation of the principles of the Arab League's peace initiative, and call upon the members of the League to take operative steps to bring about its full implementation. Similarly, the sides call upon the entities represented in the Quartet and international community to guarantee and help, in various ways, to promote and actualize this agreement.
The document ends with this paragraph: A document based on principles of the above type must be reached before the international summit in November, must be presented during the summit, and must be anchored in international decisions after it. Immediately following the summit, parallel with the negotiations for a detailed agreement, Israel will begin withdrawing its forces and evacuating settlements from areas in the West Bank. Completion of the various stages of evacuation will be done parallel to the completion of the negotiations.
The emphasis on must and immediately indicates that Israel will invite and succumb to international pressure and that negotiations will not reach their completion until Israel has retreated fully, with no strategic assets left in its hands. Since it says that immediately following the summit... Israel will begin withdrawing its forces and evacuating settlements there is the understanding that the agreements, which will have no backing by the Knesset or people of Israel, will have a force that supersedes the authority of Israel's parliament: truly an imposed solution that disregards the will of the Israeli people. The last sentence of this paragraph further indicates that there will be no recognition of Israel nor declaration of an end of conflict before fully Israeli capitulation and retreat. Likely not then either, since the Palestinians and Arabs will have nothing more to gain without additional Israeli withdrawals and dismantlement.
In a holiday interview with the Jerusalem Post, President Shimon Peres waxed loquacious on all manner of subjects related to Israel. Asked about the status of Jerusalem, he referred to the formula of former US President Bill Clinton: What Clinton said: Jewish parts of Jerusalem for Israel, and the Arab parts for the Arabs. And there has to be an arrangement whereby all of the faiths can pray in the places that are holy to them.
The Jerusalem Post followed up -- You mean some kind of non-sovereign arrangement in the Old City? Peres refused to answer. I don't want to get into that.
Peres tried to rationalize the refusal to discuss or vote on Israel's diplomatic position.And these [political] negotiations also have to be secret. There is an opening position and a fallback position. You can't bring an agreement to the people [for approval] until it is finalized. However, Prime Minister Olmert has indicated that he has no plans to bring the declaration of principles, or any other diplomatic paper for the vote of the Knesset or the people before the mandatory summit planned for November. In other words, the government of Israel appears ready to undertake diplomatic obligations without any public discussion of its position, a stance which is ruffling feathers even within Olmert's government.
Peres' refusal to indicate the nation's red lines was echoed by Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni. Israel cannot divulge information on what the country is willing to give up before the beginning of negotiations with the Palestinians because it will weaken the country's stance, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Saturday, rejecting a proposal made by Vice Premier Haim Ramon, the Jerusalem Post reported.
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
ZECHARIAH 14:1-9 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
Diplomatic collapse in draft deal: Israel to cede Jerusalem's Old City
By Israel Insider staff September 15, 2007
The independent Palestinian news agency Maan published a Hebrew document late last week that purports to represent the principles apparently agreed on in negotiations between Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. While the offices of both men denied any connection to it, comments by Israeli President Shimon Peres confirm some of the main points. On one of the most controversial points, that Israel has agreed to surrender sovereignty the Old City of Jerusalem, Peres pointedly refused to comment.
Despite the denials, then, there is reason to believe that the draft does represent or approximate, the emerging deal between Olmert -- who has kept negotiations from almost all of this minister -- and Abbas, who has doubtful authority to even negotiate a deal since his supporters were expelled from Gaza and his headquarters there conquered by Hamas. That apparently hasn't stop the Israeli Prime Minister, evidently with the blessing of eminence grise Peres, who long has pushed for a deal that would redivide Jerusalem.
In its first point, the document states -- adopting Arab language for the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria -- that Israel has agreed to end the occupation of the West Bank within an agreed-upon time period. adding that the retreat and the evacuation of the settlements will occur gradually and in several stages. Each area that is evacuated will be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, which will establish law and order there. Sidestepping the fact that the legally elected government of the Palestinian Authority supported Hamas, while Abbas and his Fatah apparatus fled to the West Bank, the document goes on to note that "the existence of a regime in Gaza that is willing to be part of the peace process will enable Israel to view Gaza and the West Bank as one political entity.
The second point of the document confirms previous reports that Israel had agreed to give up the equivalent of 100% of the territories acquired in the Six Day War of 1967. It says that an unarmed Palestinian state will be established, whose permanent borders will be based on the pre-1967 borders. The precise border will reflect security, demographic and humanitarian needs. An exchange of territory will be enabled on a 1:1 basis, to preserve settlement blocs in Israeli hands and to guarantee Palestinian contiguity and economic development.
The third point says that There will be two capitals in Jerusalem, that of Israel and that of Palestine, and they will be sovereign over the Jewish and Arab neighborhoods, respectively. The two municipalities will cooperate for the enhancement of the quality of life of all the residents. The language would seem to indicate that Israel has abandoned its position that the Palestinian capital would be in Abu Dis, not in the central part of Jerusalem.
Indeed, the document suggests that there would be a special administration presumably under the authority of an international or multinational authority to administer the holiest of sites in Jerusalem, and possibly the entire Holy Basin, including the Old City in its entirety. Special arrangements will be emplaced to preserve free access to all the holy sites of the various religions. A special administration will be established to maintain the two nations' bonds with the holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. In other words, this special administration will determine how and when and where Jews are allowed to visit and pray in their most sacred spots, including the Temple Mount and the Kotel (Western Wall).
The fifth point holds that Palestine will be recognized as the national home of the Palestinian nation, and Israel will be recognized as the national home of the Jewish nation.
The incendiary sixth point appears to confirm prior reports that Israel has made additional concessions on the issues of Palestinian refugees, without clear insistent that they would be resettled in a future Palestine, not in Israel. Indeed, there is a suggestion that Israel may be ready to take some responsibility for their suffering. A fair and agreed solution will be found for the problem of the Palestinian refugees, with consideration and recognition of the suffering that was caused to them, and with the understanding that the implementation of national self-definition will be the main aspect of the solution. The term national self-definition hints at a further erosion in the Israeli position. If each nation defines itself, who is to say that a future Israel, bloated with the fast-growing birthrate of Arab citizens and newly arrived Palestinians rejoined by family unification and other measures to redress their suffering, will not choose to redefine itself as a state of all its citizens. The ambiguous language hints at unresolved issue that guarantee future explosions.
The seventh point of the document essential equates Israeli army actions with terrorist attacks from the Arab sites, effectively preventing Israel from taking pre-emptive or retaliatory measures. The two sides will declare their willingness to end the conflict and to act to increase public support for the agreement as much as possible. The two sides will act with all their force, together and separately, against any manifestation of violence and terrorism that is directed from the area of either state to the other.
The eight point expresses the hope that the Arab states will support these principles. The two sides see this agreement as a significant manifestation of the principles of the Arab League's peace initiative, and call upon the members of the League to take operative steps to bring about its full implementation. Similarly, the sides call upon the entities represented in the Quartet and international community to guarantee and help, in various ways, to promote and actualize this agreement.
The document ends with this paragraph: A document based on principles of the above type must be reached before the international summit in November, must be presented during the summit, and must be anchored in international decisions after it. Immediately following the summit, parallel with the negotiations for a detailed agreement, Israel will begin withdrawing its forces and evacuating settlements from areas in the West Bank. Completion of the various stages of evacuation will be done parallel to the completion of the negotiations.
The emphasis on must and immediately indicates that Israel will invite and succumb to international pressure and that negotiations will not reach their completion until Israel has retreated fully, with no strategic assets left in its hands. Since it says that immediately following the summit... Israel will begin withdrawing its forces and evacuating settlements there is the understanding that the agreements, which will have no backing by the Knesset or people of Israel, will have a force that supersedes the authority of Israel's parliament: truly an imposed solution that disregards the will of the Israeli people. The last sentence of this paragraph further indicates that there will be no recognition of Israel nor declaration of an end of conflict before fully Israeli capitulation and retreat. Likely not then either, since the Palestinians and Arabs will have nothing more to gain without additional Israeli withdrawals and dismantlement.
In a holiday interview with the Jerusalem Post, President Shimon Peres waxed loquacious on all manner of subjects related to Israel. Asked about the status of Jerusalem, he referred to the formula of former US President Bill Clinton: What Clinton said: Jewish parts of Jerusalem for Israel, and the Arab parts for the Arabs. And there has to be an arrangement whereby all of the faiths can pray in the places that are holy to them.
The Jerusalem Post followed up -- You mean some kind of non-sovereign arrangement in the Old City? Peres refused to answer. I don't want to get into that.
Peres tried to rationalize the refusal to discuss or vote on Israel's diplomatic position.And these [political] negotiations also have to be secret. There is an opening position and a fallback position. You can't bring an agreement to the people [for approval] until it is finalized. However, Prime Minister Olmert has indicated that he has no plans to bring the declaration of principles, or any other diplomatic paper for the vote of the Knesset or the people before the mandatory summit planned for November. In other words, the government of Israel appears ready to undertake diplomatic obligations without any public discussion of its position, a stance which is ruffling feathers even within Olmert's government.
Peres' refusal to indicate the nation's red lines was echoed by Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni. Israel cannot divulge information on what the country is willing to give up before the beginning of negotiations with the Palestinians because it will weaken the country's stance, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Saturday, rejecting a proposal made by Vice Premier Haim Ramon, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
OLMERT DESTROY JEWISH TOWNS
PA: Israel Agrees to Destroy Jewish Towns, Starting in November
by Hillel Fendel SEPT 12,07
(IsraelNN.com) The Palestinian Authority's Maan news agency has published a copy, in Hebrew, of PM Olmert's agreement to expel tens of thousands of Jews and replace them with a Palestinian state.The report states that Israel has agreed to begin destroying Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria immediately following the US-sponsored international summit this coming November.The PA claims that the document's eight points represent the principles of agreement between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, in anticipation of the upcoming Middle East summit.
The document begins by stating that Israel and the PA are to immediately enter a process that will lead to the formation of two states, Israel and Palestine, side by side, and are to reach understandings of the type detailed below. The eight points upon which Olmert and Abbas undertake to agree are the following:
1. Israel will end the occupation of the West Bank within an agreed-upon time period. The retreat and the evacuation of the settlements will occur gradually and in several stages. Each area that is evacuated will be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, which will instill law and order there. The existence of a regime in Gaza that is willing to be part of the peace process will enable Israel to view Gaza and the West Bank as one political entity.
2. An unarmed Palestinian state will be established, whose permanent borders will be based on the pre-1967 borders. The precise border will reflect security, demographic and humanitarian needs. An exchange of territory will be enabled on a 1:1 basis, to preserve settlement blocs in Israeli hands and to guarantee Palestinian contiguity and economic development.
3. There will be two capitals in Jerusalem, that of Israel and that of Palestine, and they will be sovereign over the Jewish and Arab neighborhoods, respectively. The two municipalities will cooperate for the enhancement of the quality of life of all the residents.
4. Special arrangements will be emplaced to preserve free access to all the holy sites of the various religions. A special administration will be established to maintain the two nations' bonds with the holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem.
5. Palestine will be recognized as the national home of the Palestinian nation, and Israel will be recognized as the national home of the Jewish nation.
6. A fair and agreed solution will be found for the problem of the Palestinian refugees, with consideration and recognition of the suffering that was caused to them, and with the understanding that the implementation of national self-definition will be the main aspect of the solution.
7. The two sides will declare their willingness to end the conflict and to act to increase public support for the agreement as much as possible. The two sides will act with all their force, together and separately, against any manifestation of violence and terrorism that is directed from the area of either state to the other.
8. The two sides see this agreement as a significant manifestation of the principles of the Arab League's peace initiative, and call upon the members of the League to take operative steps to bring about its full implementation. Similarly, the sides call upon the entities represented in the Quartet and international community to guarantee and help, in various ways, to promote and actualize this agreement.
The agreement ends with this paragraph:
A document based on principles of the above type must be reached before the international summit in November, must be presented during the summit, and must be anchored in international decisions after it. Immediately following the summit, parallel with the negotiations for a detailed agreement, Israel will begin withdrawing its forces and evacuating settlements from areas in the West Bank. Completion of the various stages of evacuation will be done parallel to the completion of the negotiations.
Clauses 3 and 4 indicate that Israel has agreed to give up the Temple Mount, Judaism's most sacred spot in the world, and allow an administration to determine when Jews would be allowed to visit or pray there.
Clauses 1 and 2 do not take into account the tremendous amount of Arab-held weaponry already present in Judea and Samaria, nor the anti-Israel violence emanating from Gaza that increased dramatically upon Israel's withdrawal in 2005.
Clause 6 leaves open the possibility that Right of Return refugees would be allowed to live in Israel.
The immediate response of the Yesha Council (the body representing the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria) was this: Only a government that acts so totally wantonly would be able to suggest such an agreement, precisely on the day that dozens of its soldiers are wounded from a rocket fired from area we gave over to the Palestinians. The Yesha Council calls upon all those to whom Israel's security and welfare are of top priority to object to this calamitous process of Olmert. The Knesset Members must thwart this program, which means the division of Jerusalem, as well as Kassam rocket launchers to the outskirts of Kfar Saba and Ben Gurion International Airport.
by Hillel Fendel SEPT 12,07
(IsraelNN.com) The Palestinian Authority's Maan news agency has published a copy, in Hebrew, of PM Olmert's agreement to expel tens of thousands of Jews and replace them with a Palestinian state.The report states that Israel has agreed to begin destroying Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria immediately following the US-sponsored international summit this coming November.The PA claims that the document's eight points represent the principles of agreement between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, in anticipation of the upcoming Middle East summit.
The document begins by stating that Israel and the PA are to immediately enter a process that will lead to the formation of two states, Israel and Palestine, side by side, and are to reach understandings of the type detailed below. The eight points upon which Olmert and Abbas undertake to agree are the following:
1. Israel will end the occupation of the West Bank within an agreed-upon time period. The retreat and the evacuation of the settlements will occur gradually and in several stages. Each area that is evacuated will be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, which will instill law and order there. The existence of a regime in Gaza that is willing to be part of the peace process will enable Israel to view Gaza and the West Bank as one political entity.
2. An unarmed Palestinian state will be established, whose permanent borders will be based on the pre-1967 borders. The precise border will reflect security, demographic and humanitarian needs. An exchange of territory will be enabled on a 1:1 basis, to preserve settlement blocs in Israeli hands and to guarantee Palestinian contiguity and economic development.
3. There will be two capitals in Jerusalem, that of Israel and that of Palestine, and they will be sovereign over the Jewish and Arab neighborhoods, respectively. The two municipalities will cooperate for the enhancement of the quality of life of all the residents.
4. Special arrangements will be emplaced to preserve free access to all the holy sites of the various religions. A special administration will be established to maintain the two nations' bonds with the holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem.
5. Palestine will be recognized as the national home of the Palestinian nation, and Israel will be recognized as the national home of the Jewish nation.
6. A fair and agreed solution will be found for the problem of the Palestinian refugees, with consideration and recognition of the suffering that was caused to them, and with the understanding that the implementation of national self-definition will be the main aspect of the solution.
7. The two sides will declare their willingness to end the conflict and to act to increase public support for the agreement as much as possible. The two sides will act with all their force, together and separately, against any manifestation of violence and terrorism that is directed from the area of either state to the other.
8. The two sides see this agreement as a significant manifestation of the principles of the Arab League's peace initiative, and call upon the members of the League to take operative steps to bring about its full implementation. Similarly, the sides call upon the entities represented in the Quartet and international community to guarantee and help, in various ways, to promote and actualize this agreement.
The agreement ends with this paragraph:
A document based on principles of the above type must be reached before the international summit in November, must be presented during the summit, and must be anchored in international decisions after it. Immediately following the summit, parallel with the negotiations for a detailed agreement, Israel will begin withdrawing its forces and evacuating settlements from areas in the West Bank. Completion of the various stages of evacuation will be done parallel to the completion of the negotiations.
Clauses 3 and 4 indicate that Israel has agreed to give up the Temple Mount, Judaism's most sacred spot in the world, and allow an administration to determine when Jews would be allowed to visit or pray there.
Clauses 1 and 2 do not take into account the tremendous amount of Arab-held weaponry already present in Judea and Samaria, nor the anti-Israel violence emanating from Gaza that increased dramatically upon Israel's withdrawal in 2005.
Clause 6 leaves open the possibility that Right of Return refugees would be allowed to live in Israel.
The immediate response of the Yesha Council (the body representing the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria) was this: Only a government that acts so totally wantonly would be able to suggest such an agreement, precisely on the day that dozens of its soldiers are wounded from a rocket fired from area we gave over to the Palestinians. The Yesha Council calls upon all those to whom Israel's security and welfare are of top priority to object to this calamitous process of Olmert. The Knesset Members must thwart this program, which means the division of Jerusalem, as well as Kassam rocket launchers to the outskirts of Kfar Saba and Ben Gurion International Airport.
Monday, September 10, 2007
LOST TRIBE AT WESTERN WALL
ISRAELS INHERITED LAND IN THE FUTURE
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.
ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.
Olmert and Abbas agree on teams to tackle statehood By Adam Entous
SEPT 10,07
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed on Monday to create teams to tackle Palestinian statehood issues, a move both sides described as a step towards more substantive talks. But Israel cautioned against expecting major final status breakthroughs, either before or during a U.S.-sponsored conference planned for mid- to late November.Washington is pushing a reluctant Israel to make tangible progress to avoid disappointment at the conference, which Western diplomats said could culminate in an agreement to relaunch full-blown peace negotiations.After their three-hour meeting, Olmert and Abbas emphasized the importance of their joint commitment to a two-state solution and decided to appoint teams in order to work towards achieving this goal, said Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin.
Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the appointment of the teams was a significant development but offered few details.They (Olmert and Abbas) now believe it is time to take it to the next level, to engage on the substance of how to achieve a two-state solution, Erekat said.The Israeli leader is seeking a broadbrush declaration of principles for the November conference. Abbas wants an explicit framework agreement with a timeline for implementation.It is still unclear to what extent Olmert is prepared to meet Abbas's appeal to delve deeply into the core final status issues of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees and the borders of a Palestinian state.
A senior Palestinian official close to Abbas said Washington was exerting immense pressure" on both sides to come to the conference with an agreed document.
NO TIMETABLE
Eisin said the leaders did not set timetables during their session in Olmert's official residence in Jerusalem. Both sides would like to see the success of the international meeting, but the meeting (in November) is not the end-game, she said.
Olmert and Abbas have been meeting regularly since Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip in June and are keen to show progress ahead of next week's visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.Eisin said Olmert and Abbas had agreed to meet again within two weeks. An opinion poll found that only 26 percent of the Palestinians it surveyed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip expect the Middle East conference to succeed.The findings by the independent Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed that a final peace deal, mirroring a U.S. proposal in 2000 to establish a Palestinian state in nearly all of the West Bank and in the entire Gaza Strip, would be supported by just 46 percent of Palestinians.The bilateral meetings and the conference are part of a U.S.-led campaign to shore up the Fatah leader's hold on power in the occupied West Bank and to isolate Hamas in Gaza.
Olmert has also been weakened politically since last year's war in Lebanon, raising doubts among Israelis and Palestinians over his ability to deliver on any peace promises.Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told his cabinet after the meeting, which he also attended, that the time had come to move from the stage of verbal discussions to the drafting of proposals, a Palestinian official said.Eisin said ministers in Olmert's cabinet would separately begin holding face-to-face meetings with their Palestinian counterparts in a sign of growing cooperation. During Monday's talks, Olmert told Abbas he would ask his cabinet to approve the release of Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture. Israel is expected to free around 100 Fatah prisoners for the Ramadan fast month, which begins this week. (Additional reporting by Wafa Amr in Ramallah)
12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
EZEKIEL 47:13-23,48:1-35
13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.
15 And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;
16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazarhatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.
17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazarenan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.
18 And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.
19 And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.
20 The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.
21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.
22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.
1 Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.
2 And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.
3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.
5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.
6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.
7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.
10 And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.
11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.
12 And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.
13 And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
14 And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.
15 And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
16 And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
17 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.
18 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.
19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.
21 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.
22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.
23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.
24 And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion.
26 And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.
27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion.
28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.
29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.
30 And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.
31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
Lost tribe of Israel arrives at Western Wall
Tear-ridden welcome for group descended from Joseph that struggled to return home Posted: September 10, 2007 - 1:00 a.m. Eastern - By Aaron Klein
2007 WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM – More than 200 people from a group of thousands in India that believes it is one of the lost tribes of Israel paid an emotional first visit to the Western Wall after arriving here last week, fulfilling for many a lifelong dream of returning to what they consider their homeland. Members of lost tribe of Israel arrive at the Western Wall in Jerusalem (courtesy Shavei Israel) Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based organization led by American Michael Freund, hopes to bring to the Jewish state the remaining 7,000 Indian citizens who believe they are the Bnei Menashe, the descendants of Manasseh, one of biblical patriarch Joseph's two sons and a grandson of Jacob, the man whose name was changed to Israel. The tribe lives in the two Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur, to which they claim to have been exiled from Israel more than 2,700 years ago by the Assyrian empire. Last week, WND reported 230 Bnei Menashe touched down in Israel and made their way to a Shavei Israel absorption center in northern Israel, where they will study Hebrew and Judaism.
A few days after arriving, Shavei sponsored the group on a tour of Jerusalem's Old City, which culminated in a tear-ridden visit to the Western Wall, where the Bnei Menashe sang Psalms and recited afternoon and evening prayers. Jerusalem is so central to their return home. They had to immediately visit the Kotel (Western Wall), said Shavei Israel chairman Freund, who previously served as deputy communications director under former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I truly believe the Bnei Menashe's return is a miracle of immense historical and even biblical significance. Just as the prophets foretold so long ago, the lost tribes of Israel are being brought back from the exile, Freund said. The Bnei Menashe, which has preserved ancient Jewish customs and rituals, has been trying the past 50 years to return to Israel. Members of 'lost tribe of Israel' arrive at the Western Wall in Jerusalem (courtesy Shavei Israel) Over the last decade, Freund's Shavei Israel, at times working with other organizations, brought about 1,200 Bnei Menashe members to the Jewish state. Many settled in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. About 80 lived in Gaza's slate of Jewish communities, which were evacuated by the Israeli government in 2005. The original batches of Bnei Menashe to arrive here were brought to Israel as tourists in an agreement with Israel's Interior Ministry. Once here, the Bnei Menashe converted officially to Judaism and became citizens. But diplomatic wrangling halted the immigration process in 2003, with officials from some Israeli ministries refusing to grant the rest of the group still in India permission to travel here. To smooth the process, Freund enlisted the help of Israel's chief rabbinate, which flew to India in 2005 to meet with and consider converting members of the Bnei Menashe. Once legally Jewish, the tribe can apply for Israeli citizenship under the country's Law of Return, which guarantees sanctuary to Jews from around the world.
Six rabbis were sent by Israel's Sephardic chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, to begin converting the Bnei Menashe. The rabbis met with hundreds of tribal members, testing their knowledge of Judaism and assessing their conviction, converting 216 individuals – over 90 percent of the members interviewed. The rabbis were incredibly impressed with the Bnei Menashe, said Freund. "They saw for themselves that the group is very serious and should be integrated into the Jewish nation. That they are a blessing to the state of Israel.Last year, 218 converted members arrived in Israel. Freund hoped to repeat the process for 231 more Bnei Menashe who had been approved for conversion, but the Indian government, which heavily restricts conversions, put a halt on the plan. Members of 'lost tribe of Israel' arrive at the Western Wall in Jerusalem (courtesy Shavei Israel) Instead, the batch of Bnei Menashe that arrived last week were brought to Israel as tourists in coordination with the Israeli government. The tribe is slated to be officially converted by the country's chief rabbinate and qualify for Israeli citizenship.
The Bnei Menashe that arrived here over the years have fully transitioned into Israeli society. Many attended college and rabbinic school, moved to major Israeli communities and even joined the Israel Defense Forces. Twelve Bnei Menashe served in the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon in 2006. One of them, Avi Hanshing, a 22-year old paratrooper, was injured during a clash with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Hanshing's father was among those who arrived here earlier this week in an emotional reunion at Israel's international airport. As much as we might think that Israel is helping the Bnei Menashe, it is the reverse that is true. It is they who strengthen us – with their faith, with their commitment and with their undying love for Zion, said Freund. According to Bnei Menashe oral tradition, the tribe was exiled from Israel and pushed to the east, eventually settling in the border regions of China and India, where most remain today. Most kept customs similar to Jewish tradition, including observing Shabbat, keeping the laws of Kosher, practicing circumcision on the eighth day of a baby boy's life and observing laws of family purity. In the 1950s, several thousand Bnei Menashe say they set out on foot to Israel but were quickly halted by Indian authorities. Undeterred, many began practicing Orthodox Judaism and pledged to make it to Israel. They now attend community centers established by Shavei Israel to teach the Bnei Menashe Jewish tradition and modern Hebrew. Freund said he hopes the arrival this week of more Bnei Menashe would jump-start the process of bringing back the rest of the 7,000 Bnei Menashe who are in India yearning to return home.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.
ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.
Olmert and Abbas agree on teams to tackle statehood By Adam Entous
SEPT 10,07
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed on Monday to create teams to tackle Palestinian statehood issues, a move both sides described as a step towards more substantive talks. But Israel cautioned against expecting major final status breakthroughs, either before or during a U.S.-sponsored conference planned for mid- to late November.Washington is pushing a reluctant Israel to make tangible progress to avoid disappointment at the conference, which Western diplomats said could culminate in an agreement to relaunch full-blown peace negotiations.After their three-hour meeting, Olmert and Abbas emphasized the importance of their joint commitment to a two-state solution and decided to appoint teams in order to work towards achieving this goal, said Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin.
Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the appointment of the teams was a significant development but offered few details.They (Olmert and Abbas) now believe it is time to take it to the next level, to engage on the substance of how to achieve a two-state solution, Erekat said.The Israeli leader is seeking a broadbrush declaration of principles for the November conference. Abbas wants an explicit framework agreement with a timeline for implementation.It is still unclear to what extent Olmert is prepared to meet Abbas's appeal to delve deeply into the core final status issues of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees and the borders of a Palestinian state.
A senior Palestinian official close to Abbas said Washington was exerting immense pressure" on both sides to come to the conference with an agreed document.
NO TIMETABLE
Eisin said the leaders did not set timetables during their session in Olmert's official residence in Jerusalem. Both sides would like to see the success of the international meeting, but the meeting (in November) is not the end-game, she said.
Olmert and Abbas have been meeting regularly since Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip in June and are keen to show progress ahead of next week's visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.Eisin said Olmert and Abbas had agreed to meet again within two weeks. An opinion poll found that only 26 percent of the Palestinians it surveyed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip expect the Middle East conference to succeed.The findings by the independent Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed that a final peace deal, mirroring a U.S. proposal in 2000 to establish a Palestinian state in nearly all of the West Bank and in the entire Gaza Strip, would be supported by just 46 percent of Palestinians.The bilateral meetings and the conference are part of a U.S.-led campaign to shore up the Fatah leader's hold on power in the occupied West Bank and to isolate Hamas in Gaza.
Olmert has also been weakened politically since last year's war in Lebanon, raising doubts among Israelis and Palestinians over his ability to deliver on any peace promises.Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told his cabinet after the meeting, which he also attended, that the time had come to move from the stage of verbal discussions to the drafting of proposals, a Palestinian official said.Eisin said ministers in Olmert's cabinet would separately begin holding face-to-face meetings with their Palestinian counterparts in a sign of growing cooperation. During Monday's talks, Olmert told Abbas he would ask his cabinet to approve the release of Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture. Israel is expected to free around 100 Fatah prisoners for the Ramadan fast month, which begins this week. (Additional reporting by Wafa Amr in Ramallah)
12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
EZEKIEL 47:13-23,48:1-35
13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.
15 And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;
16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazarhatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.
17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazarenan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.
18 And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.
19 And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.
20 The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.
21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.
22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.
1 Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.
2 And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.
3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.
5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.
6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.
7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.
10 And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.
11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.
12 And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.
13 And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
14 And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.
15 And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
16 And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
17 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.
18 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.
19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.
21 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.
22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.
23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.
24 And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion.
26 And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.
27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion.
28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.
29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.
30 And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.
31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
Lost tribe of Israel arrives at Western Wall
Tear-ridden welcome for group descended from Joseph that struggled to return home Posted: September 10, 2007 - 1:00 a.m. Eastern - By Aaron Klein
2007 WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM – More than 200 people from a group of thousands in India that believes it is one of the lost tribes of Israel paid an emotional first visit to the Western Wall after arriving here last week, fulfilling for many a lifelong dream of returning to what they consider their homeland. Members of lost tribe of Israel arrive at the Western Wall in Jerusalem (courtesy Shavei Israel) Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based organization led by American Michael Freund, hopes to bring to the Jewish state the remaining 7,000 Indian citizens who believe they are the Bnei Menashe, the descendants of Manasseh, one of biblical patriarch Joseph's two sons and a grandson of Jacob, the man whose name was changed to Israel. The tribe lives in the two Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur, to which they claim to have been exiled from Israel more than 2,700 years ago by the Assyrian empire. Last week, WND reported 230 Bnei Menashe touched down in Israel and made their way to a Shavei Israel absorption center in northern Israel, where they will study Hebrew and Judaism.
A few days after arriving, Shavei sponsored the group on a tour of Jerusalem's Old City, which culminated in a tear-ridden visit to the Western Wall, where the Bnei Menashe sang Psalms and recited afternoon and evening prayers. Jerusalem is so central to their return home. They had to immediately visit the Kotel (Western Wall), said Shavei Israel chairman Freund, who previously served as deputy communications director under former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I truly believe the Bnei Menashe's return is a miracle of immense historical and even biblical significance. Just as the prophets foretold so long ago, the lost tribes of Israel are being brought back from the exile, Freund said. The Bnei Menashe, which has preserved ancient Jewish customs and rituals, has been trying the past 50 years to return to Israel. Members of 'lost tribe of Israel' arrive at the Western Wall in Jerusalem (courtesy Shavei Israel) Over the last decade, Freund's Shavei Israel, at times working with other organizations, brought about 1,200 Bnei Menashe members to the Jewish state. Many settled in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. About 80 lived in Gaza's slate of Jewish communities, which were evacuated by the Israeli government in 2005. The original batches of Bnei Menashe to arrive here were brought to Israel as tourists in an agreement with Israel's Interior Ministry. Once here, the Bnei Menashe converted officially to Judaism and became citizens. But diplomatic wrangling halted the immigration process in 2003, with officials from some Israeli ministries refusing to grant the rest of the group still in India permission to travel here. To smooth the process, Freund enlisted the help of Israel's chief rabbinate, which flew to India in 2005 to meet with and consider converting members of the Bnei Menashe. Once legally Jewish, the tribe can apply for Israeli citizenship under the country's Law of Return, which guarantees sanctuary to Jews from around the world.
Six rabbis were sent by Israel's Sephardic chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, to begin converting the Bnei Menashe. The rabbis met with hundreds of tribal members, testing their knowledge of Judaism and assessing their conviction, converting 216 individuals – over 90 percent of the members interviewed. The rabbis were incredibly impressed with the Bnei Menashe, said Freund. "They saw for themselves that the group is very serious and should be integrated into the Jewish nation. That they are a blessing to the state of Israel.Last year, 218 converted members arrived in Israel. Freund hoped to repeat the process for 231 more Bnei Menashe who had been approved for conversion, but the Indian government, which heavily restricts conversions, put a halt on the plan. Members of 'lost tribe of Israel' arrive at the Western Wall in Jerusalem (courtesy Shavei Israel) Instead, the batch of Bnei Menashe that arrived last week were brought to Israel as tourists in coordination with the Israeli government. The tribe is slated to be officially converted by the country's chief rabbinate and qualify for Israeli citizenship.
The Bnei Menashe that arrived here over the years have fully transitioned into Israeli society. Many attended college and rabbinic school, moved to major Israeli communities and even joined the Israel Defense Forces. Twelve Bnei Menashe served in the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon in 2006. One of them, Avi Hanshing, a 22-year old paratrooper, was injured during a clash with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Hanshing's father was among those who arrived here earlier this week in an emotional reunion at Israel's international airport. As much as we might think that Israel is helping the Bnei Menashe, it is the reverse that is true. It is they who strengthen us – with their faith, with their commitment and with their undying love for Zion, said Freund. According to Bnei Menashe oral tradition, the tribe was exiled from Israel and pushed to the east, eventually settling in the border regions of China and India, where most remain today. Most kept customs similar to Jewish tradition, including observing Shabbat, keeping the laws of Kosher, practicing circumcision on the eighth day of a baby boy's life and observing laws of family purity. In the 1950s, several thousand Bnei Menashe say they set out on foot to Israel but were quickly halted by Indian authorities. Undeterred, many began practicing Orthodox Judaism and pledged to make it to Israel. They now attend community centers established by Shavei Israel to teach the Bnei Menashe Jewish tradition and modern Hebrew. Freund said he hopes the arrival this week of more Bnei Menashe would jump-start the process of bringing back the rest of the 7,000 Bnei Menashe who are in India yearning to return home.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
POPE MEETS WITH PERES AT VATICAN
Blair meets Olmert on Middle-East peace tour SEPT 6,07
The Middle-East envoy Tony Blair has told the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he will focus on practical steps to try to build confidence in the peacemaking process. The former UK premier is in Israel as part of a tour of the Middle-East as envoy of the so-called Quartet - America, the EU, Russia and the UN - with a limited mandate on economic development and building Palestinian institutions in the West Bank.Olmert, and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have held regular meetings in recent months, though Israel only wants to talk about general principles. The moderate Fatah leader hopes Blair will use his influence to persuade Israel to enter more detailed talks on a Palestinian state, before a US sponsored conference scheduled for November.Israel's Supreme Court has delivered an embarrassing blow to the government, over a controversial barrier between Israel and the West Bank. The court ruled in favour of villagers in Bil'in, who'd argued that the barrier stopped them accessing their fields and orchards. Now planners have to re-route the fence-line.
Abbas asks Blair to press Israel on checkpoints
Thursday September 6, 09:35 PM
By Mohammed Assadi
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked Middle East envoy Tony Blair on Thursday to put pressure on Israel to remove some of the hundreds of checkpoints that restrict travel in the West Bank. Blair is developing a plan that would spell out practical steps that Israeli, Palestinian and business leaders would gradually take to try to boost peace prospects, officials said. Abbas and the Palestinian side asked Blair to really put pressure on Israel to remove the checkpoints because how can you improve the Palestinian economy if you cannot move goods from one area to another, Abbas aide Saeb Erekat told Reuters. The president also asked Blair to press Israel to stop carrying out arrest raids in the occupied West Bank, where Abbas's secular Fatah faction holds sway. Hamas Islamists seized the Gaza Strip in June. Abbas said Blair's action plan should spell out steps to bolster the Palestinian economy. Israel is expected to be asked under the plan to ease travel restrictions in the occupied West Bank, officials involved in the talks said.
Steps for the Palestinian side would focus initially on improving Abbas's security hold on the West Bank, a key Israeli precondition for removing checkpoints, the officials said. Israeli government officials said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert does not want Blair's action plan to set specific dates for implementation. Doing so would raise expectations that may not be achievable due to security developments, one official said. Blair, who started a visit to Israel and the West Bank on Tuesday, made no public comments after his meeting with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
A Blair spokesman had no immediate comment.
The Quartet of Middle East mediators gave Blair a limited mandate mainly focused on economic development and building governing institutions in the occupied West Bank.
But Abbas's aides hope the former British prime minister will go further and use his influence to get Olmert to enter serious negotiations for a Palestinian state ahead of a U.S.-sponsored conference in November.
Washington declines comment after Syria fires on Israeli planes
Thu Sep 6, 2:26 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Thursday declined comment on reports that Syria opened fired on Israeli warplanes, which Damascus believes violated its airspace. I have seen those press reports. I don't have anything for you that could substantiate them one way or the other, State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters Thursday.Certainly I don't want to comment on at this point in time, Casey said.A department official who declined to be identified said Washington was not particularly concerned about the incident which could heighten tensions between Israel and Syria.I don't think anybody here is viewing this with any particular or unique concern, the official said.A Syrian cabinet minister confirmed Thursday that his country had launched what Damascus considered a counterattack to perceived Israeli aggression.They intervened in our airspace ... which they should not do -- we are a sovereign country and they should not come into (our) airspace, Expatriate Affairs Minister Bussaina Shaaban said.The standoff comes amid a continuing war of words between Syria and Israel, with each blaming side the other for stoking regional tensions and for the failure to revive peace talks that have been stalled for seven years.
Vatican: Pope meets Israeli president
Castel Gandolfo, 6 Sept. (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday received Israeli president and Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres at his summer residence outside Rome. Peres also met the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and Israel's ambassador to the Holy See, Oded Ben-Hur.During very cordial meetings, Peres exchanged information with the Vatican on the recent resumption of contact between Israelis and Palestinians inmoves to re-start the stalled Middle East peace process.Washington is sponsoring an international peace conference on the Middle East scheduled for November and in Thursday's talks it was agreed that both sides at the conference should do their utmost to satisfy the aspirations of their peoples, the Vatican said in a statement.
Relations between the Vatican and Israel were also examined during the meetings, in the hope of a rapid conclusion to important negotiations that are still continuing and of constant dialogue between the Israeli authorities and local Christian communities, the Vatican said.Peres - who is on his first trip abroad since becoming Israel's head of state in June. - re-extended an invitation to the pope to visit the Holy Land.Also on Thursday, Peres met Italy's foreign minister Massimo D'Alema in Rome. The two men discussed the prosptect for Arab-Israeli peace, as well as bilateral relations, regional issues. D'Alema was this week West Bank, Egypt and Israel.Benedict VXI on Wednesday received Syria's vice-president Faruq al-Sharaa at the end of the pontiff's weekly general audience, the Vatican said.
The Middle-East envoy Tony Blair has told the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he will focus on practical steps to try to build confidence in the peacemaking process. The former UK premier is in Israel as part of a tour of the Middle-East as envoy of the so-called Quartet - America, the EU, Russia and the UN - with a limited mandate on economic development and building Palestinian institutions in the West Bank.Olmert, and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have held regular meetings in recent months, though Israel only wants to talk about general principles. The moderate Fatah leader hopes Blair will use his influence to persuade Israel to enter more detailed talks on a Palestinian state, before a US sponsored conference scheduled for November.Israel's Supreme Court has delivered an embarrassing blow to the government, over a controversial barrier between Israel and the West Bank. The court ruled in favour of villagers in Bil'in, who'd argued that the barrier stopped them accessing their fields and orchards. Now planners have to re-route the fence-line.
Abbas asks Blair to press Israel on checkpoints
Thursday September 6, 09:35 PM
By Mohammed Assadi
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked Middle East envoy Tony Blair on Thursday to put pressure on Israel to remove some of the hundreds of checkpoints that restrict travel in the West Bank. Blair is developing a plan that would spell out practical steps that Israeli, Palestinian and business leaders would gradually take to try to boost peace prospects, officials said. Abbas and the Palestinian side asked Blair to really put pressure on Israel to remove the checkpoints because how can you improve the Palestinian economy if you cannot move goods from one area to another, Abbas aide Saeb Erekat told Reuters. The president also asked Blair to press Israel to stop carrying out arrest raids in the occupied West Bank, where Abbas's secular Fatah faction holds sway. Hamas Islamists seized the Gaza Strip in June. Abbas said Blair's action plan should spell out steps to bolster the Palestinian economy. Israel is expected to be asked under the plan to ease travel restrictions in the occupied West Bank, officials involved in the talks said.
Steps for the Palestinian side would focus initially on improving Abbas's security hold on the West Bank, a key Israeli precondition for removing checkpoints, the officials said. Israeli government officials said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert does not want Blair's action plan to set specific dates for implementation. Doing so would raise expectations that may not be achievable due to security developments, one official said. Blair, who started a visit to Israel and the West Bank on Tuesday, made no public comments after his meeting with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
A Blair spokesman had no immediate comment.
The Quartet of Middle East mediators gave Blair a limited mandate mainly focused on economic development and building governing institutions in the occupied West Bank.
But Abbas's aides hope the former British prime minister will go further and use his influence to get Olmert to enter serious negotiations for a Palestinian state ahead of a U.S.-sponsored conference in November.
Washington declines comment after Syria fires on Israeli planes
Thu Sep 6, 2:26 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Thursday declined comment on reports that Syria opened fired on Israeli warplanes, which Damascus believes violated its airspace. I have seen those press reports. I don't have anything for you that could substantiate them one way or the other, State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters Thursday.Certainly I don't want to comment on at this point in time, Casey said.A department official who declined to be identified said Washington was not particularly concerned about the incident which could heighten tensions between Israel and Syria.I don't think anybody here is viewing this with any particular or unique concern, the official said.A Syrian cabinet minister confirmed Thursday that his country had launched what Damascus considered a counterattack to perceived Israeli aggression.They intervened in our airspace ... which they should not do -- we are a sovereign country and they should not come into (our) airspace, Expatriate Affairs Minister Bussaina Shaaban said.The standoff comes amid a continuing war of words between Syria and Israel, with each blaming side the other for stoking regional tensions and for the failure to revive peace talks that have been stalled for seven years.
Vatican: Pope meets Israeli president
Castel Gandolfo, 6 Sept. (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday received Israeli president and Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres at his summer residence outside Rome. Peres also met the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and Israel's ambassador to the Holy See, Oded Ben-Hur.During very cordial meetings, Peres exchanged information with the Vatican on the recent resumption of contact between Israelis and Palestinians inmoves to re-start the stalled Middle East peace process.Washington is sponsoring an international peace conference on the Middle East scheduled for November and in Thursday's talks it was agreed that both sides at the conference should do their utmost to satisfy the aspirations of their peoples, the Vatican said in a statement.
Relations between the Vatican and Israel were also examined during the meetings, in the hope of a rapid conclusion to important negotiations that are still continuing and of constant dialogue between the Israeli authorities and local Christian communities, the Vatican said.Peres - who is on his first trip abroad since becoming Israel's head of state in June. - re-extended an invitation to the pope to visit the Holy Land.Also on Thursday, Peres met Italy's foreign minister Massimo D'Alema in Rome. The two men discussed the prosptect for Arab-Israeli peace, as well as bilateral relations, regional issues. D'Alema was this week West Bank, Egypt and Israel.Benedict VXI on Wednesday received Syria's vice-president Faruq al-Sharaa at the end of the pontiff's weekly general audience, the Vatican said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)