NOW WHEN THE TREATY TALKS START JORDAN AND EGYPT ARE INVITED WITH THE ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN TALKS.
LAST DAYS LEADERS
KING OF THE NORTH - RUSSIA
KING OF THE SOUTH - EGYPT
KING OF THE EAST - CHINA
KING OF THE WEST - EUROPEAN UNION(REVIVED ROMAN RULER)
Iran starts to fuel up first nuclear power plant By Katya Golubkova and Ramin Mostafavi 12:34PM AUG 21,10
BUSHEHR, Iran (Reuters) – Iran began fuelling its first nuclear power plant on Saturday, a potent symbol of its growing regional sway and rejection of international sanctions designed to prevent it building a nuclear bomb.Iranian television showed live pictures of Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi and his Russian counterpart watching a fuel rod assembly being prepared for insertion into the reactor near the Gulf city of Bushehr.Despite all the pressures, sanctions and hardships imposed by Western nations, we are now witnessing the start-up of the largest symbol of Iran's peaceful nuclear activities, Salehi told a news conference afterwards.Iranian officials said it would take two to three months before the plant starts producing electricity and would generate 1,000 megawatts, a small proportion of the nation's 41,000 megawatt electricity demand recorded last month.Russia designed, built and will supply fuel for Bushehr, taking back spent rods which could be used to make weapons-grade plutonium in order to ease nuclear proliferation concerns.Saturday's ceremony comes after decades of delays building the plant, work on which was initially started by German company Siemens in the 1970s, before Iran's Islamic Revolution.
The United States criticized Moscow earlier this year for pushing ahead with Bushehr given persistent Iranian defiance over its nuclear program.But U.S. State Department spokesman Darby Holladay said on Saturday Washington did not view the Bushehr reactor as a nuclear proliferation risk, partly because of Russia's role in providing nuclear fuel and taking it back when it is spent.Russia's support for Bushehr underscores that Iran does not need an indigenous enrichment capability if its intentions are purely peaceful, Holladay said.Moscow supported the latest U.N. Security Council resolution in June which imposed a fourth round of sanctions and called for Iran to stop uranium enrichment which, some countries fear, could lead it to obtain nuclear weapons.The construction of the nuclear plant at Bushehr is a clear example showing that any country, if it abides by existing international legislation and provides effective, open interaction with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), should have the opportunity to access peaceful use of the atom, Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, told the news conference.The Vienna-based IAEA said the agency regularly inspected Bushehr. The Agency is taking the appropriate verification measures in line with its established safeguards procedures, spokesman Ayhan Evrensel said.
CONCERN
The fuelling of Bushehr is a milestone in Iran's path to harness technology which it says will reduce consumption of its abundant fossil fuels, allowing it to export more oil and gas and to prepare for the day when the minerals riches dry up.Iran's neighbors, some of whom are also seeking nuclear power, are wary of Tehran's nuclear ambitions and its growing influence in the region, notably in Iraq where fellow Shi'ites now dominate and Lebanon, where it is a backer of Hezbollah.While most nuclear analysts say Bushehr does not add to any proliferation risk, many countries remain deeply concerned about Iran's uranium enrichment.It disclosed the existence of a second enrichment plant only last year and announced in February it was enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent, from about 3.5 percent previously, taking it closer to weapons-grade levels and well above what is needed to fuel a power plant.Iran, which says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, said it needed to enrich to that level as a deal with major world power and the IAEA to supply special fuel for a medical reactor in Tehran had fallen apart. Israel, widely assumed to be the only Middle East country to have nuclear weapons, has said a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to its existence, raising concerns Israel could attack Iran's nuclear sites. However, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the prospect of an Israeli strike. I rule out any such attack because the Israeli entity is too weak to do so,he told Al Jazeera on Thursday. Iran's response will be so strong and decisive that it will make the attackers regret their decision to hit our installations.(Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Charles Dick)
Probable delay hits Lebanon all-women aid ship to Gaza
AUG 21,10
BEIRUT (AFP) – A Lebanese aid ship aiming to reach Gaza in defiance of Israel will probably be delayed, organisers said Saturday, on the eve of its planned departure, after Cyprus denied use of its waters and ports.The Mariam, a Bolivian-flagged cargo ship renamed for the all-women aid operation, was to have set off from the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli on Sunday night, headed for Cyprus on the first leg of a crossing to Gaza.But Rima Farah, spokeswoman for the group, told AFP the mission could not go ahead without the green light from the Cypriot authorities.We are continuing our contacts with countries such as Turkey and Greece for them to allow us to dock. Pending their reply, the project will probably be delayed, she conceded.
Farah said a new date would be announced once the organisers had the green light from a third country.Israel came under international censure over its May 31 seizure of a six-ship aid fleet bound for the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip when Israeli commandos shot dead nine Turkish activists in a clash on the lead boat.On Friday, Israel said it could use force again to stop the new aid boat to Gaza, even as a Lebanese minister said Beirut refused to bow to warnings against authorising the mission to the blockaded Palestinian territory.In a letter to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Israel's UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said the stated intention of the Mariam was to violate the existing naval blockade of Gaza.Israel also had information that another vessel, the Naji al-Ali, plans to leave from Lebanon with the aim of violating the blockade, she said.Israel reserves its right under international law to use all necessary means to prevent these ships from violating the aforementioned naval blockade, Shalev warned.She said such confrontational actions by the organisers, as well as those that offer their consent, is deeply troubling, also charging that the organisers had suspected links to Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah.But Lebanon's Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi said his country would not respond to the wishes or requests of Israel. We will continue to exercise our sovereignty and make the decisions we find appropriate,he said.
The Mariam, renamed in honour of the Virgin Mary, plans to carry aid to Gaza in a bid to break Israel's four-year siege with more than 50 Lebanese and foreign women activists on board.However, the Cyprus government has said it was keeping in place a ban on ships sailing from the island to the Gaza Strip.The organisers of the Mariam are due to hold a news conference at 11:00 am local time (0800 GMT) on Sunday.The Naji al-Ali, another Lebanese boat organised by journalists, has also announced it would sail to Gaza via Cyprus but has not yet received clearance from Lebanese authorities.
Mideast talks should not be wasted: UN chief
AUG 21,10
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday said the upcoming talks in Washington between Israel and the Palestinians are a chance for peace that must not be wasted.Ban welcomes the decision by both Israeli Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas to begin direct negotiations, following the statement of the Quartet and at the invitation of the US government, the United Nations said in a statement.He believes that negotiations are the only way for the parties to resolve all final status issues and he calls upon both sides to show leadership courage, and responsibility to realize the aspirations of both peoples.We should all be aware that this is an opportunity that must not be wasted, the statement read.In the first direct talks in 20 months, Netanyahu and Abbas will meet face-to-face in Washington on September 2 with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.Those negotiations will come a day after Netanyahu and Abbas meet separately with US President Barack Obama, Clinton announced Friday.Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II have also been invited for bilateral talks with Obama on September 1.Backed by the diplomatic Quartet -- the United States, Russia, the United Nations and European Union -- the parties will relaunch direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues, which we believe can be completed within one year, Clinton said.Ban added that the opportunity must be seized so that the hope of a better future for the people of the region to live in peace, security and freedom can be fully realized.
Egypt's Mubarak accepts invite for Mideast talks
Sat Aug 21, 8:04 am ET
CAIRO (AFP) – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak accepted an invitation to attend the start of direct peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Washington next month, a newspaper reported on Saturday.President Mubarak welcomed the Quartet's statement and confirmed his acceptance of President Barack Obama's invitation to participate in the launch of direct talks at the beginning of September, the official Al-Ahram reported.On Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton invited Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah II to the launch of the first direct talks between Palestinian and Israeli leaders since December 2008.Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas had refused face-to-face talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but accepted the invitation after key powers reiterated a call for an end to Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands it conquered in 1967.The Quartet of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations said the negotiations for a Palestinian state alongside Israel could be completed in a year.
Germany urges fast results from Mideast talks
Sat Aug 21, 7:50 am ET
BERLIN (AFP) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Saturday for quick results from Israelis and Palestinians after the newly-announced resumption of direct talks between the two over reaching peace in the region.Possible solutions on unresolved questions have already been floated in previous talks and now the task is to prove the capacity for necessary compromise, Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas will resume direct peace talks on September 2 -- the first in 20 months.The diplomatic Quartet of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations who are backing the talks said the negotiations for a Palestinian state alongside Israel could be completed in a year.Merkel also welcomed the role played by US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who has shuttled between both sides for months. She encouraged him to continue tirelessly on the same path.
Peace this time? Israel, Palestinians to talk By ANNE GEARAN and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writers – Sat Aug 21, 2:48 am ET
WASHINGTON – Plunging into the Mideast peacemaker's role that has defeated so many U.S. leaders, President Barack Obama on Friday invited Israel and the Palestinians to try anew in face-to-face talks for a historic agreement to establish an independent Palestinian state and secure peace for Israel.Negotiations shelved two years ago will resume Sept. 2 in Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said. Obama will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for dinner the night before.The goal: a deal in a year's time on the toughest issues that have sunk previous negotiations, including the borders of a new Palestinian state and the fate of disputed Jerusalem, claimed as a holy capital by both peoples.There have been difficulties in the past, there will be difficulties ahead, Clinton said. Without a doubt, we will hit more obstacles.Indeed, soon after Clinton's announcement the militant Hamas movement that controls the Gaza Strip, which along with the West Bank is supposed to be part of an eventual Palestinian state, rejected the talks, saying they were based on empty promises.Winning agreement to at least restart the direct talks makes good on an Obama campaign promise to confront the festering conflict early in his presidency, instead of deferring the peace broker's role as former President George W. Bush did.
Bringing the two sides to Washington for a symbolic handshake also will saddle Obama with one of the world's most intractable problems just when many other things, from a jobless recovery to probable midterm election losses, are not going well.This is the Pottery Barn rule for Obama. He owns this now, said Aaron David Miller, a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center who advised presidents during two decades of attempts at a Mideast settlement.The breakthrough after a nearly two-year hiatus in face-to-face negotiations brings the two sides back to where they were when the last direct talks began in November 2007, near the end of the Bush administration. Those talks broke down after Israel's 2008 military operation in Gaza, followed by Netanyahu's election last year on a much tougher platform than his predecessor.
Friday's announcement came after months of shuttle diplomacy by the Obama administration's Mideast envoy, former Sen. George Mitchell. It also followed a period of chilly U.S. relations with Netanyahu, primarily over expansion of Jewish housing on disputed land.Under the agreement, Obama will hold separate discussions with Netanyahu and Abbas on Sept. 1 and then host the dinner, which will also be attended by Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II.Egypt and Jordan already have peace deals with Israel and will play a crucial support role in the new talks. Also invited is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the special representative of the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers — the U.S., the U.N., the European Union and Russia.On Sept. 2, Clinton will bring Abbas and Netanyahu together for the first formal round of direct talks since December 2008. At that point the parties will decide where and when to hold later rounds as well as lay out what is to be discussed. U.S. officials have said following rounds are likely to be held in Egypt.In a choreographed sequence of events, Clinton's announcement came as the Quartet simultaneously issued a statement backing direct talks and Netanyahu's office quickly accepted the proposal.Reaching an agreement is a difficult challenge but is possible, it said. We are coming to the talks with a genuine desire to reach a peace agreement between the two peoples that will protect Israel's national security interests, foremost of which is security.Abbas enters the talks politically weaker than when he negotiated with Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, in 2007 and 2008.
A formal statement from Abbas' office accepting the invitation was expected late Friday. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said he hoped the Quartet and others would work diligently to ensure the one-year timeframe was achieved and would press Israel to end provocative acts.We hope that the Israeli government would refrain from settlement activities, incursions, siege, closures and provocative acts like demolishing of homes, deporting people from Jerusalem in order to give this peace process the chance it deserves, he said. But in Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri rejected the invitation.We ... consider this invitation and the promises included in it empty, and it's a new attempt to deceive the Palestinian people and international public opinion, he said. Abbas' Palestinians had been balking at direct talks, saying not until Israel froze the construction of Jewish settlements.Israel had rejected that, saying it amounted to placing conditions on the negotiations, and had been demanding a separate invitation from the U.S. A temporary freeze on Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank is to expire on Sept. 26.Mitchell said the United States would step in when talks hit rough patches, offering proposals to bridge gaps as necessary and appropriate.We will be active participants,he said. It is not clear whether the United States would eventually draft its own peace plan or remain primarily a referee. Also unclear is whether Obama would convene his own high-stakes peace summit, in the mold of Camp David meetings that succeeded, under Jimmy Carter, and failed, under Bill Clinton.
Palestinians warn new settlement will derail talks
By Mohammed Assadi – Fri Aug 20, 7:10 pm ET
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinian leaders on Friday accepted a U.S. invitation for face-to-face peace talks with Israel but said they would withdraw if it resumed Jewish settlement building on occupied land.The chief Palestinian negotiator said the Palestinians would pull out of the talks, due to start on September 2, if the Israeli government announced any new settlement building on land where the Palestinians aim to found their state.If the Israeli government decides to announce new tenders on September 26, then we won't be able to continue with the talks, Saeb Erekat said after a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's (PLO) executive committee in Ramallah.He was referring to the date when a 10-month, Israeli freeze on settlement building in the West Bank is due to end. His comments reflected the immediate challenges facing the U.S. effort to revive the two-decade-old Middle East peace process.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads a coalition government that backs Jewish settlement on land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. A majority of his seven-member inner cabinet opposes extending the settlement moratorium.
A minority is seeking some compromise that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas might be able to swallow.The PLO executive committee accepted the U.S. invitation to begin direct talks during an emergency meeting in Ramallah. We hope that the Israeli government will choose peace not settlements, will choose reconciliation and not the continuation of occupation, Erekat said.Israel already had accepted the invitation issued earlier on Friday by the United States for a start to direct negotiations between Netanyahu and Abbas.Abbas had sought a full halt to Israeli settlement building before any direct negotiations. He also had demanded a clear agenda for the talks -- demands which Palestinian critics said he failed to secure.Now they go to direct talks with neither, Palestinian political commentator Hany al-Masri told Reuters.It damages the credibility of the president and the leadership,he said.This will help Hamas, he added. Hamas is an Islamist group that seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. It is listed as a terrorist group by Western powers and is opposed to Abbas's strategy of seeking a negotiated peace deal with Israel, to which it is deeply hostile.
QUARTET STATEMENT
U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell said on Friday that the parties would determine the terms of reference and basis for negotiations when they met.Abbas, by far the weaker party, has said he had faced unprecedented international pressure to agree to direct talks.His credibility has been damaged by the failure of past talks and he was reluctant to enter more negotiations with an Israeli leader he believes is unwilling to make the Palestinians a peace deal they can accept.The Palestinians said they had accepted a resumption of direct talks based on a statement issued on Friday by the Middle East Quartet -- the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.That text reiterated a commitment to earlier Quartet statements, including one which called on Israel to freeze all settlement activity. However, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, inviting the parties to start the talks in Washington, made no mention of the statement.Neither did a statement issued by Netanyahu's office in which he accepted the U.S. invitation. Netanyahu had said there should be no preconditions for peace talks. Clinton, in her statement, also said there should be no preconditions. We confirmed our opposition to accepting Hillary Clinton's invitation,said Tayser Khaled, a member of the PLO executive committee representing the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.It was provocative and amounted to submission to Israeli conditions,he said. (Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Michael Roddy)
Israel urges Lebanon to block ships to Gaza By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer – Fri Aug 20, 5:09 pm ET
UNITED NATIONS – Israel urged Lebanon and the international community on Friday to prevent ships from sailing to Gaza from the Lebanese port of Tripoli to break Israel's blockade of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory.Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said in letters to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council that her country reserves the right under international law to use all necessary means to prevent the ships from violating the naval blockade.Shalev said a group of individuals with suspected ties to the Hezbollah terrorist organization has announced that the vessel Mariam will depart from Tripoli on Sunday en route to Gaza via a port in Cyprus, possibly via Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus.Israel's U.N. spokeswoman said the organizers also are expected to send other vessels to try to break the blockade.In Tripoli, activist Samar al-Hajj said the Mariam will be carrying medicine and that all the passengers will be women activists.
Al-Hajj said Lebanon's president, prime minister and parliament speaker refused to meet with her, which appeared to signal the government's lack of support for the venture.A deadly Israeli commando raid on a Turkish ship trying to bring aid to Gaza on May 31 killed nine activists and focused international attention on Israel's blockade of Gaza, imposed after the Islamist militant and anti-Israel Hamas violently overran the Palestinian territory in June 2007.Under growing pressure to open Gaza's borders, Israel decided to let in most consumer goods — in addition to food and medicine — but military and military-related material remain banned, and Gazans are still unable to travel or to export goods.Shalev said the organizers attempting to break the blockade are aware of the internationally recognized and unimpeded channels to ensure delivery of aid to Gaza.However, the organizers — similar to previous attempts by others — seek to incite a confrontation and raise tension in our region, she said.Furthermore, it cannot be ruled out that these vessels carry weapons or individuals with violent intentions.Shalev noted the state of hostility between Israel and Lebanon, and the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.She called on the Lebanese government to demonstrate responsibility and to prevent these boats from departing to the Gaza Strip ... (which) will prevent any possible escalation. She also urged the international community to exert its influence to prevent the vessels' departure and discourage their citizens from taking part.Shalev sent similar letters in late July about two other ships, Junia and Julia, reportedly bound for Gaza with humanitarian aid.
Israel's Netanyahu accepts U.S. peace talks invite
Fri Aug 20, 12:45 pm ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday accepted a U.S. invitation to direct peace talks with Palestinians, his office said.We are coming to the talks with a genuine desire to reach a peace agreement between the two peoples that will protect Israel's national security interests, foremost of which is security, a statement said.Reaching a deal would be possible but hard, it added.Talks had stalled before an Israeli offensive on Palestinian-run Gaza in late 2008.Israel had said it was ready for direct talks provided there are no preconditions but Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had wanted a clear agenda, which the Jewish state said amounted to preconditions.
The statement said Netanyahu welcomed the U.S. invitation of the United States to begin direct negotiations without preconditions.Netanyahu has been calling for direct negotiations for the past year and a half, it said. The Israeli leader was pleased with the American clarification that the talks would be without preconditions.Israel wanted serious and comprehensive talks, it said.Reaching an agreement is a difficult challenge but is possible.Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev told CNN news that Israel does not want talks for the sake of talks.We know that the issues on the table are tough.. we don't want negotiations just to drag on.The first thing Israel wanted was to know it going to be accepted as legitimate part of the region. If Arab states continue to say Israel is illegitimate then I'd ask them what kind of peace they are offering us.The second core issue was security, he said. Israel, which has been the target of rocket attacks from Gaza, would be seeking ironclad agreements on security in peace treaty.All these issues will be on the table. All these issues are open to negotiation,the Israeli spokesman said.
A look at previous Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
By The Associated Press The Associated Press – Fri Aug 20, 11:43 am ET
A look at previous rounds of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and how they fared:
_Sept. 13, 1993, The White House, Washington:
The two sides sign the Oslo accord, negotiated in secret meetings shepherded by Norwegian academics and lower-level officials. The deal includes mutual recognition between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization and allows for creation of a Palestinian autonomy government in the West Bank and Gaza. The fate of Jerusalem, Jewish settlements and Palestinian refugees is left for final status talks. The historic handshake between Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, President Bill Clinton between them, ushers in era of direct peace talks.
_Oct. 15-23, 1998, Wye River Conference Centers, Queenstown, Maryland:
Clinton, Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participate. Israel agrees to hand over an additional 13 percent of the West Bank, bringing Palestinian control to about 40 percent, release Palestinian prisoners and lift trade restrictions. Palestinians agree to arrest militants, give up some guns and annul a clause in their charter that negated Israel's right to exist. However, Israel releases mostly car thieves instead of political prisoners and Arafat does not reduce forces or confiscate arms.
_July 11-25, 2000, Camp David, Thurmont, Maryland:
Clinton meets with Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak after the deadline for interim accords expires. Israel offers a Palestinian state in Gaza and most of the West Bank, with a Jerusalem foothold. But disagreements remain, including a demand by Arafat for a right to resettle Palestinian refugees in Israel. The effort fails as fighting erupts two months later and continues for several years, killing thousands in Palestinian suicide bombings in Israeli cities and Israeli military operations in the West Bank and Gaza.
_Jun. 4, 2003, Aqaba, Jordan:
President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas participate. The parties begin a three-phase process toward a final deal under the internationally backed road map peace plan of June 2002. The talks break down because neither side meets their obligations under the first stage: Israel did not halt settlement construction and the Palestinians did not clamp down on militants. A new wave of Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli targeted killings of Hamas leaders also derails talks.
_Nov. 27, 2007, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland:
Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert participate. Direct negotiations resume with the aim of establishing an independent Palestinian state based on the road map. Olmert and Abbas hold a long series of direct talks. The last round breaks down in late 2008, reportedly when the sides were close to an agreement. Shortly afterward, Israel launches its bruising military offensive against Hamas rocket launchers in the Gaza Strip.
_May 2010: Indirect, U.S.-mediated talks are launched.
_Aug. 20, 2010: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announces resumption of direct peace talks.
Text of a statement issued by Mideast Quartet By The Associated Press – Fri Aug 20, 11:19 am ET
Here is the full text of a statement issued Friday by the Mideast Quartet — the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations:The representatives of the Quartet reaffirm their strong support for direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians to resolve all final status issues.The Quartet reaffirms its full commitment to its previous statements, including in Trieste on 26 June 2009, in New York on 24 September 2009, and its statement in Moscow on 19 March 2010 which provides that direct, bilateral negotiations that resolve all final status issues should 'lead to a settlement, negotiated between the parties, that ends the occupation which began in 1967 and results in the emergence of an independent, democratic, and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbors.The Quartet expresses its determination to support the parties throughout the negotiations, which can be completed within one year, and the implementation of an agreement.The Quartet again calls on both sides to observe calm and restraint, and to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric.
Welcoming the result of the Arab Peace Initiative Committee in Cairo on July 29, the Quartet notes that success will require sustained regional and international support for the negotiations and the parallel process of Palestinian state-building and the pursuit of a just, lasting and comprehensive regional peace as envisaged in the Madrid terms of reference, Security Council resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.The Quartet Principals intend to meet with their colleagues from the Arab League in September in New York to review the situation.Accordingly, the Quartet calls on the Israelis and the Palestinians to join in launching direct negotiations on September 2 in Washington, D.C. to resolve all final status issues and fulfill the aspirations of both parties.
Four Israeli airstrikes on Gaza: Palestinians
Tue Aug 17, 6:25 pm ET
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Israeli warplanes carried out four air strikes on the southern Gaza Strip late Tuesday that caused no injuries, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said.The raids struck targets near Rafah and north of Khan Yunis, near the border with Egypt, as well as targets near Zeitoun, east of Gaza City, and the Deir al-Balah refugee camp in the centre of the territory.An Israeli military spokeswoman told AFP that the air force had carried out four raids against the Gaza Strip targeting an arms workshop and three tunnels used for smuggling arms from Egypt.She added that the raids were in retaliation for a mortar shell fired Tuesday at Israel from the Gaza Strip.Two Israeli soldiers were slightly wounded on Tuesday by the mortar shell fired by Palestinian militants, the military said.On Monday an Islamic Jihad militant was killed and an Israeli soldier wounded in an exchange of fire.
Gaza's once vibrant tunnel trade caves in
By Nidal al-Mughrabi - Tue Aug 17, 7:19 am ET
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) – Jamal al-Shatli scours Gaza's scruffy border area looking for a job where he once worked in the warren of tunnels used by smugglers to outwit Israeli controls and sneak in goods from neighboring Egypt.While Israeli air strikes and Egyptian bombs hurt the once-flourishing trade, they failed to close it down. But Israel's decision to let imports flow more freely to Gaza has put many tunnels out of business and many workers out of a job.I jumped from one tunnel shaft to another looking for a job but they all turned me down, said Shatli, a father of three.He used to earn up to 120 shekels a day ($32) down the tunnel shafts, making him one of the best-paid workers in the coastal Palestinian territory, home to 1.5 million people.There is no other work, the 42-year-old said.Shopkeepers and Gaza consumers meanwhile have benefited from sometimes cheaper and higher quality goods.
Quite literally an underground economy, the tunnel business flourished after the Islamist group Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, with Israel escalating its restrictions and preventing pretty much anything bar basic aid from getting in.Egypt imposed its own tight limitations, meaning that the only way for entrepreneurial Gazans to bring in anything from cars to chocolate was to sink tunnels under the border and set up smuggling networks, which became emblematic of local life.At one stage an estimated 2,500-3,000 tunnels snaked their way under the border line, but the network was severely damaged by Israeli air strikes during a three-week offensive in late 2008 launched to respond to Palestinian rocket attacks.Locals say there are now just 50 operational tunnels, with only 10 working at any one time and dozens of others mothballed because Palestinian merchants are more willing to buy their goods from Israel rather than from the smugglers.
STEEL AND CEMENT
Some young men slept in the shade in the once bustling area, waiting for a call to work, while a lucky few were busy pulling out a covert consignment of steel for construction work.Tunnel workers only bring stuff that is still banned by Israel, especially steel and cement, said Mohammed Abdel-Qader, who has worked in the tunnels for the past two years.Israel now allows more food, different kinds of it, juice, electrical equipment and even fridges, therefore merchants shifted their business to the old regular way and abandoned tunnels, he added.Israel relaxed its restrictions in June in the wake of its raid to halt a blockade-running flotilla from reaching Gaza in a military operation that killed nine activists and drew widespread international condemnation.It has maintained its ban on some 3,000 items, such as building materials, arguing that these could be used by Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, to carry out rocket attacks.But anything not specifically barred can now be brought in.I sleep, then I wake up, eat and sleep. These days it is Ramadan, I wake up only to sleep again with my phone next to me awaiting that call,said 23-year-old Bassam, a former tunnel hand. He has joined the mass ranks of unemployed in a territory with a jobless rate put at up to 60 percent.
GUARANTEED GOODS ON SHELVES
Inside Abu Goma's store in Gaza, new Israeli-imported electrical tools and equipment take pride of place on the shelves, with three-year warranties on offer. Now I can guarantee to repair and replace items. Goods brought through tunnels cannot be guaranteed, he said. Better still, many of the goods brought through Israeli crossings are cheaper than those smuggled from Egypt. An Israeli-imported DVD player sells for 190 shekels ($50) while an Egyptian device, of lower quality, costs 270 shekels ($70). When customers enter my store they ask for Israeli goods. Good, clean and guaranteed items,Abu Goma said.Although many of the tunnel workers bemoan their new reality, they also admit their trade was hard and dangerous.Dozens of Gazans have died inside tunnels that caved in or collapsed because of Israeli and Egyptian raids.People die, they die of hunger too, said Abdel-Qader, who needed the tunnel work to help support his 14-member family squeezed into a shabby, three-room apartment.But Bassam said fear of deaths in Israeli air strikes or Egyptian security sweeps had persuaded many of his colleagues they were better out of the tunnel business.Egyptian police used to warn tunnel owners before they detonated explosives. They used to give us several hours to flee, but now they blow it all of a sudden and many people have died that way,Bassam said. (Editing by Crispian Balmer and Jon Hemming)
Two Israeli soldiers wounded by Gaza fire: military
Tue Aug 17, 5:50 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Two Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded on Tuesday by mortar shells fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, the military said.In response, troops opened fire towards the source of the projectiles.The attack occurred in the same area where troops shot dead a Palestinian militant late on Monday, the army said, without specifying exactly where the shooting occurred.The victim, a 19-year-old member of the Islamic Jihad militant group, was part of a team of fighters who were trying to plant an explosive device near the border fence, the army said.One soldier was wounded when the Palestinians opened fire, it said.
Overnight, militants fired four rockets into southern Israel, the army said, noting 115 rockets and mortars have been fired from Gaza since the beginning of 2010.In December 2008 Israel launched a vast offensive in Gaza to stamp out persistent rocket fire on southern Israel. The 22-day operation left more than 1,400 and 13 Israelis dead.
Israeli PM urges patience on new Palestinian talks By ELENA BECATOROS, Associated Press Writer – Mon Aug 16, 3:37 pm ET
ATHENS, Greece – The Israeli prime minister said Monday that patience was needed in restarting direct negotiations with the Palestinians, but that launching the talks would not take years or even months.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking during a visit to Greece, which for years has sought an active role in Middle East negotiations. Netanyahu showed no sign, however, of backing down from his insistence that there be no preconditions, such as a timeline or agenda, before direct talks can begin — a demand of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.The Israeli-Palestinian negotiations — aimed ultimately at establishing a permanent status for the Palestinians — broke down in December 2008. Since then, the international Quartet of Mideast mediators — the U.S., the U.N., the European Union and Russia — has been seeking ways to reconcile the two sides' demands for restarting the talks.For the past year and a half I've been trying to have direct meetings without a predetermined agenda with the Palestinian Authority, Netanyahu said during a joint news conference with Papandreou in Athens.We have to have patience, he said in Hebrew, with the comments translated into Greek. "Of course we won't need to wait for many months or many years. I believe that with some patience you will see results.Asked whether Cairo or Washington would be a good venue, Netanyahu indicated the talks could be held anywhere.We can go to Cairo, we can go to Washington, we can go to any place we can in order to give flesh and bones to this initiative, he said. I hope everything will have a positive development.At U.N. headquarters in New York, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the Quartet members have been in contact with each other on a possible statement.
It's possible that there could be something this week,he said. That would depend on agreement among the Quartet partners.Netanyahu was in Athens on a two-day visit — the first by an Israeli prime minister to Greece — and planned Tuesday to visit a nearby island with Papandreou. The two leaders on Monday discussed tourism, military issues, renewable energy and water resources.On Sunday, Papandreou spoke by phone with Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League. A Greek government official said on condition of anonymity that Papandreou wanted to hear the Arab leaders' opinions on the Middle East peace process, including the push for a resumption of direct talks. Papandreou had lobbied for a role in Mideast negotiations during his previous tenure as foreign minister nearly a decade ago.The Israeli prime minister said there was a coalition of countries seeking peace.It's a much broader coalition than meets the eye ... it includes Arab countries and Israel, many more Arab countries than people normally understand, it includes Greece and other well-meaning countries in the region, he told reporters.We hope that it will facilitate the progress in the direct talks, which I hope to resume with the Palestinians without preconditions, but to move, definitely to move. And I think this is the desire of all those who want stability and peace and security in the Middle East, and I add also prosperity.
The visit comes as relations between Israel and Turkey, Greece's traditional rival, have soured since an Israeli commando raid in May on an international flotilla trying to bust Israel's blockade of Gaza. Nine Turkish activists were killed in the raid on the flotilla, in which Greek activists were also participating.But both Netanyahu and Papandreou insisted that improving Greek-Israeli ties had nothing to do with Israel's deteriorating relations with Turkey.Security was tight for Netanyahu's trip, with increased patrols in the city center and all cars and pedestrians kept well away from any areas he was visiting, including the Jewish Museum and the Acropolis.A few hundred mainly left-wing and pro-Palestinian activists held a peaceful demonstration to protest Netanyahu's visit, marching to the Israeli Embassy which was surrounded by riot police. Stopping briefly outside Netanyahu's hotel, they displayed banners reading Zionist murderer get out, and Sever all ties with Israel.About 200 people took part in a separate peaceful protest in central Athens.Associated Press writers Aisha Mohammed in Jerusalem, Nicholas Paphitis in Athens and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Hamas leader: Ground zero mosque must be built
Mon Aug 16, 6:31 am ET
NEW YORK – A Hamas leader says Muslims have to build a mosque near ground zero.
Mahmoud al-Zahar said Muslims have to build everywhere so that followers can pray, just like Christians and Jews build their places of worship.Al-Zahar spoke Sunday on Aaron Klein Investigative Radio on WABC-AM. He is a co-founder of Hamas and its chief on the Gaza Strip.Sen. Chuck Schumer says Al-Zahar's comments don't carry any weight because Hamas is a terrorist organization. Schumer hasn't taken a stand on the mosque.Rep. Peter King, who opposes the mosque, says he won't respond to Hamas.
The mosque is a project of the Cordoba Initiative, an advocacy group that promotes improved relations between Islam and the West. It didn't respond to Al-Zahar's comments.Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com
