Monday, September 13, 2010

EU APPOINTS LEADERS TO PEACE PROCESS

Imam: NYC mosque site is not hallowed ground By JENNIFER PELTZ, Associated Press Writer - SEPT 13,10

NEW YORK – The imam leading the effort to build an Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero says there is a misperception that the proposed site is sacred ground.Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said Monday that the location where the center would be built, two blocks from the World Trade Center, has a strip joint and betting parlors nearby. He says it's absolutely disingenuous to suggest that it is hallowed ground.He also says the location is important, because it will serve as a platform where the voice of moderate Muslims can be amplified.

Rauf make his remarks before the Council on Foreign Relations.Rauf says the center will be a place for all faiths to come together. He says the world is watching what we do here and that it is important to live up to our ideal.

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.

Israeli ambassadors to call for EU upgrade
ANDREW RETTMAN Today SEPT 13,10 @ 09:25 CET


Israel has instructed its ambassadors in the EU to appeal for a resumption of talks on upgrading relations with the bloc. But it has declined to host a high-level visit by five of the bloc's largest countries, according to reports.Israeli centre-left daily Haaretz on Monday (13 September) said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government last week sent a paper entitled Leveraging the start of talks in Washington into renewing the European agenda to its ambassador in Brussels, Ran Curiel, and to its envoys in member-state capitals.The paper says embassies should ask the EU to unfreeze proposals dating back to 2008 for increased diplomatic co-operation and Israeli integration with the single market.A group of member states, including Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden objected to the plan following Israel's attack on Gaza in early 2009, but Israel believes that the resumption of Middle East peace talks on 2 September has improved the political climate.We have always been in favour of strengthening relations between Israel and the EU and of closer institutional dialogue, including on the Middle East peace process, but also a whole range of issues - co-operation on science, the environment and culture. But unfortunately there are certain member states that insist on creating this linkage between overall relations and the peace process. Our belief is that such a link does not serve either Israel or the EU, as a contributor to the process,an Israeli diplomatic source told this website.

The data-protection issue is a clear case in which all the technical authorities approved this agreement and the [European] commission even invested in a training programme with Israel, and it was stalled by one country, namely Ireland. This is an example of the kind of linkage that does not serve either side.The Irish objection to the transfer of personal information such as bank details for security purposes comes after eight forged Irish passports were allegedly used by the Israeli security service, the Mossad, in a targeted assassination in Dubai earlier this year.Meanwhile, Israel's attempt to unfreeze the EU upgrade did not stop it from blocking a planned visit this week by the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.The EU quintet was due to have gone to Israel on Thursday and held meetings on Friday, British and Israeli media report. But the Israeli side said it would clash with Yom Kippur, a Jewish holy day. The trip was planned by French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner and Spain's Miguel Angel Moratinos and was expected to urge Israel to continue a partial freeze on settlement-building on occupied Palestinian land, causing embarrassment. The EU has historically taken a more Palestinian-friendly position in the peace process than the US. The Yom Kippur argument for rejecting the proposal depicts the EU side as being insensitive to Jewish customs. The second round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks is to take place in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt on Tuesday. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton is to attend. But EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton's official diary says she will give a talk in Brussels on civil society and meet the president of Austria instead, despite having attracted criticism for missing the first round of talks.

Ashton nominations, Israel to come up at EU ministers' meeting
ANDREW RETTMAN 10.09.2010 @ 09:23 CET


EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Friday and Saturday (10 and 11 September) are likely to discuss the carve up of senior posts in the EU's diplomatic corps and the Middle East peace process, on top of the main agenda.The informal or so-called Gymnich event, which is to take place in the Belgian foreign ministry's Egmont Palace building, has on its primary agenda the prospect of launching a strategic partnership with China and the idea of reducing EU trade tariffs for Pakistani goods to help the country following disastrous floods.
But with EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton expected to name her first tranche of senior personnel in the European External Action Service in the coming days, EU diplomats foresee an outbreak of bilateral meetings between Ms Ashton and member states as capitals lobby for their candidates.A source told EUobserver that the Belgian foreign minister, in the margins of the event, is keen to discuss a recent study by the Polish Institute for Foreign Relations about the unequal distribution of senior jobs in the current EU foreign relations set-up. The study shows that Belgian, Dutch, Italian, French and German men make up a vastly disproportionate number of the 115 existing EU heads of delegation abroad.

The Belgian foreign ministry forcefully denied the EUobserver report about the Polish study. None of this is true, a Belgian diplomat said. Meanwhile, German diplomat Markus Ederer is a leading candidate for the prestigious post of head of delegation to China. The 53-year-old lawyer has for five years worked as the head of policy planning in the German foreign ministry. His CV also includes three previous years in Brussels and three years as head of political and economic assessment in the German secret service, the BND.Ms Ashton's envoys are supposed to be loyal to Brussels. But the placement could be interesting for Berlin - sales of BMW cars in China grew by 37 percent last year. The nomination is not a done deal. Austria's ambassador to the EU, Hans Dietmar Schweisgut, and Ireland's ambassador to China, Declan Kelleher, are said to be in the running. Mr Ederer himself is also being spoken of as an excellent candidate to lead the EU's intelligence-sharing bureau, the Joint Situation Centre. The recent relaunch in Washington of Middle East peace talks is predicted to come up in the any other business slot of the Gymnich. The German, French and Spanish foreign ministers are exploring the idea of a joint trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories. The initiative comes after French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner criticised Ms Ashton for going to Beijing instead of the Washington talks last week.I am not sure there will be much bickering [at the Gymnich] about who was where or why,an EU diplomatic source said.

The [trilateral] trip is still more or less in limbo, some people are working on it. There are some difficult logistical and security issues to be taken care of. And of course, we will have to see how the Washington process develops.The contact added that the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, is also likely to be discussed.It has become such a big media issue that ministers will want to raise the issue of human rights in Iran, where that poor lady is to be stoned.Correction: the original story was amended at 12.30 Brussels time on 10 September. The correction adds a denial by the Belgian foreign ministry that it intends to discuss a Polish study on EU personnel at the event.

Ashton pursues closer links with China as EU reassesses global ties
ANDREW WILLIS Today SEPT 13,10 @ 09:20 CET


EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - At a time when Europe is reassessing its role in the world, EU top diplomat Catherine Ashton has stressed the need for strong bilateral relationships, especially with China. Speaking after an informal meeting of foreign ministers last week (10-11 September), Ms Ashton told a news conference that the 27-member group needed to build big economic and political partnerships that have the potential to change our lives.The rhetoric comes as EU leaders prepare to meet in Brussels this Thursday to discuss foreign policy issues, aware that the global financial crisis has contributed to change in the global pecking order, with many developing countries increasingly on the ascendancy. Ms Ashton briefed the Brussels-based gathering on her recent one-week trip to the Middle Kingdom, stressing the importance of strong ties with the world's second largest economy in the new Lisbon Treaty era.Officials suggest that common agreements made during the visit are likely to become official when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao travels to Brussels in early October for an EU-China summit.

Despite the increasing EU attention directed towards Beijing, causing Ms Ashton to miss the start of a fresh round of Middle East peace talks in Washington this month, the two sides continue to harbour a number of concerns about each other. Ms Ashton has warned against Chinese companies simply filling the void left by EU counterparts complying with new economic sanctions against Iran.Similarly, Europe still remains divided on lifting its arms embargo with China, put in place in 1989 following the events in Tiananmen Square.

China has repeated called for the measure to be scrapped.

The issue was discussed at the informal EU foreign ministers' meeting, with a circulated document examining the possibility of lifting the embargo, provided certain conditions were met. The potential conditions could include improved ties with Taiwan or an amnesty for arrests linked to events at Tiananmen, but the foreign ministers failed to reach an agreement.We discussed delivering arms to China but did not advance at all towards a solution or joint position, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said at the close of the meeting.France has long been favourable to ending the embargo, he said. But we need a joint stand.

Thousands of Israeli settler homes planned
by Joseph Krauss - SEPT 13,10 8:30AM


JERUSALEM (AFP) – An Israeli settlement watchdog said on Monday that construction could begin on thousands of new homes this month if Israel does not renew a moratorium seen as key to US-backed peace talks.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly planning to let the moratorium expire while curbing construction in order to avoid a showdown with US President Barack Obama, who has urged him to extend the restrictions.The Palestinians have repeatedly threatened to walk out of direct peace talks launched earlier this month if construction resumes, casting a pall over the second round of the negotiations set to be held in Egypt on Tuesday.The anti-settlement Peace Now group said the construction of some 13,000 new homes for Israeli settlers in the West Bank could proceed immediately after the moratorium expires later this month without any further government action.The group said ground had already been broken on 2,066 units and that another 11,000 had received final government approval.

This means that if the government decides on a de facto tacit freeze, and commits to not approve any new construction but without renewing the freeze order, the settlers can still build 13,000 housing units, Peace Now said.It added that another 25,000 units were in the pipeline but required further government approval.An Israeli government official confirmed on condition of anonymity that construction on around 2,000 homes could proceed without any further approval, without providing further details.Israeli officials speaking privately have said the government will avoid making any formal announcement either way when the moratorium expires on September 26while quietly preventing any major new construction.And on Sunday Netanyahu told his right-wing Likud party, which opposes any extension, that there is all or nothing but there are also halfway options, according to Israel's Ynet news service.The Palestinians view the presence of some 500,000 Israelis in more than 120 settlements scattered across the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem as a major obstacle to the establishment of a viable state.They had repeatedly called for a complete settlement freeze ahead of any direct peace talks, but reluctantly backed down on the demand in August after months of intense pressure from Washington.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has threatened to walk out of the current talks if construction in the settlements resumes, while Obama has asked him to show more flexibility.On Monday a member of the Palestinian negotiating team said their position on settlements was clear, but he did not explicitly threaten to quit the talks.We will go to Sharm el-Sheikh with an open heart and an open mind, but if Israel resumes construction in the settlements it amounts to an assault on the peace process and the Palestinian people, Mohammad Shatayeh told AFP.We will not accept talk of partial, or light or slow settlement activity. Our demand, which we conveyed to the American administration, was for a complete settlement halt.

Clinton heads to Mideast for uncertain peace talks By ROBERT BURNS, AP National Security Writer - SEPT 13,10

WASHINGTON – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vague remarks on restricting new Israeli housing in the West Bank are the latest hurdle for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as she flies to Egypt and Israel for the next round of Mideast peace talks.Clinton and former Sen. George Mitchell, President Barack Obama's special envoy to the region, plan to be in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, for talks Tuesday with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.They're scheduled to shift to Jerusalem for a second day of talks Wednesday. It's likely that President Barack Obama will resume negotiations with Abbas and Netanyahu in New York the following week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.Obama has framed Clinton's task for this week's meetings as an effort to get Israeli and Palestinian leaders to focus on how they can help the other succeed rather than figuring out a way for the other to fail.But the most immediate obstacle for negotiators is a Palestinian demand that Israel extend a curb on new housing construction in the West Bank, a constraint that Israel says will expire Sept. 26. The Palestinians have insisted that without an extension, the peace talks will go nowhere.Raising the pressure, Obama said Friday that he has urged Netanyahu to extend the partial moratorium as long as talks are making progress.

On Sunday, Netanyahu seemed to reject a total freeze on construction, saying a Palestinian demand for no construction will not happen. He said Israel will not build thousands of planned homes, but without providing details or a timeline added, We will not freeze the lives of the residents.Obama also said he's told Abbas that if he shows he's serious about negotiating, it will give political maneuvering room to Netanyahu on the settlement issue. Abbas knows the window for creating a Palestinian state is closing, Obama said.Previewing the upcoming talks, Clinton said there is some momentum after an initial round in Washington on Sept. 2, which marked the first direct Israeli-Palestinian talks in nearly two years.In an appearance last week at the Council on Foreign Relations, Clinton was asked why those who see little chance of reaching a settlement in the one-year deadline Obama has set are wrong.I think they're wrong because I think that both sides and both leaders recognize that there may not ever be another chance, she replied.The last chance notion is based in part on the knowledge that Abbas is living on borrowed time, in a political sense. His electoral mandate expired in 2009 and he fears a Hamas takeover of the West Bank, which is supposed to make up the bulk of an independent Palestinian state.

Time is a motivating factor for the Israelis, too. Some Israelis believe the longer that Israel occupies the West Bank and its growing Arab population, the more Israel's future as a Jewish state is imperiled. Creating a sovereign Palestine would get Israel out of the occupation business.More broadly, the status quo is a drag on U.S. interests. The wars and grievances that flowed from Israel's 1948 founding as a Jewish state have divided the Middle East, and U.S. officials have argued that the conflict begets hatred and suspicion of the U.S. as Israel's principal ally.Obama wants a deal within a year; Israelis are deeply skeptical after decades of failed efforts.One concern of all the parties to the talks is Hamas, the militant Islamist movement that refuses to negotiate and opposes Israel's very existence. Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, which is supposed to be part of a negotiated Palestinian state along with most of the West Bank.Online: State Department: http://www.state.gov/p/nea/index.htm Clinton's Council on Foreign Relations speech: http://tinyurl.com/29yeusq

Israeli PM: Current settlement curbs won't remain By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer – Sun Sep 12, 4:46 pm ET

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday the current restrictions on West Bank settlements will not remain in place, though there will still be some limits on construction.Israel's 10-month freeze on new housing starts in West Bank settlements expires at the end of this month and is a key point of contention in newly launched peace talks with the Palestinians. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has threatened repeatedly to quit the talks if Israel does not renew the restrictions.Netanyahu told Mideast envoy Tony Blair, the Palestinians demand that after Sept. 26, there will be zero building in the West Bank.That will not happen, Netanyahu said. Israel will not build tens of thousands of housing units that are in the pipeline, but we will not freeze the lives of the residents.He did not provide details or timelines, but his statement means the ban on new housing starts would be at least partially lifted.The prime minister imposed a 10-month settlement slowdown in the West Bank to promote the resumption of peace talks. But several thousand housing units already being built were allowed to continue, and the measure does not apply to Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem. Even so, there has been a de facto halt to new construction there as well.Over the weekend President Barack Obama urged Netanyahu to keep the slowdown in place.

Members of Netanyahu's Likud Party and government coalition partners oppose extending the restrictions on housing starts.Blair's office would not immediately comment about the details of his meeting with Netanyahu.Palestinians repeated their threats to leave the talks after Netanyahu's announcement.Our position is very clear,said spokesman Husam Zomlot. Should the settlement construction and expansion continue, we are out.Negotiator Nabil Shaath rejected one possible scenario — that Israel would halt construction in outlying settlements but allow building in settlement blocks closer to the Israel-West Bank line. Shaath said this would appear to give Israel the right to decide which settlements it will keep.Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. They have expressed willingness to trade West Bank territory with Israel in exchange for Israeli land to allow some settlements to remain within Israeli borders after a peace deal, but no detailed agreement has been reached.Netanyahu also told Blair the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state, but he would not make that a condition for continuing the negotiations.I'm not saying that if this doesn't happen, I will get up and leave the peace talks, he said.He also questioned the Palestinian stand on settlement construction, saying it is not logical for the Palestinians to set a precondition and threaten to abandon the talks.Speaking at the weekly meeting of his Cabinet earlier Sunday, Netanyahu said that Israel recognizes the principle of two states for two peoples, the Israelis and the Palestinians, but the Palestinians speak only of two states. I hear them saying two states but I do not hear them recognizing two states for two peoples,he said.Palestinian leaders have refused to recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people because some 20 percent of its citizens are Arabs, and the Palestinians claim the right of refugees and their descendants from the 1948-49 war that followed Israel's creation — several million people in total — to return to their homes in Israel.

Israelis firmly reject that as an attempt to undermine the Jewish character of their state. Netanyahu is to meet with Abbas on Tuesday for their first meeting since peace talks resumed at the White House earlier this month. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Sen. George Mitchell, Obama's special envoy to the region, will be joining them for the meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The scene will then shift to Jerusalem for a second day of talks on Wednesday.Also Sunday, Hamas security officials said an Israeli tank opened fire on north Gaza, killing three Palestinians and wounding five more.The Israeli military said soldiers opened fire on Palestinian militants who were about to fire a rocket-propelled grenade near the Israeli border.Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians are common. Israel says Palestinians often try to infiltrate or plant explosives on the border and sometimes fire rockets and mortars at Israel.Palestinians complain that Israel is enforcing a wide no-go zone in Gaza, and soldiers open fire on farmers and other civilians who enter.Hamas is the militant Islamic group that rules Gaza. On Sunday, a top Israeli security commander warned Israel's Cabinet that Hamas would try to torpedo the new peace talks, according to a participant in the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin said his security assessment was based on evidence supplied by intelligence agents.

Hamas took responsibility for two shooting attacks that killed four Israeli civilians and wounded two others in the West Bank as the talks resumed. Associated Press writers Ian Deitch in Jerusalem and Ben Hubbard in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.

Israel troops kill three Palestinians after rocket fire
– Sun Sep 12, 3:36 pm ET


GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Israeli tank fire killed three Palestinians on Sunday at the flashpoint border with Gaza, medics said, following a rocket attack claimed by militants.The Israeli shelling killed 91-year-old security guard Ibrahim Abdullah Abu Said, his grandson Hossam Khaled Abu Saeed, 17, and a man identified as Hossam Khaled Abu Saeed, 20, medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salima told AFP.Salima said the military action, which was confirmed by the Israeli army, took place in the town of Beit Hanoun, close to the border between Israel and the Islamist Hamas-run Gaza Strip.Witnesses said they heard an explosion at the border zone shortly before the tanks began firing.The military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees in Palestine later claimed responsibility for rocket and mortar fire into Israel that occurred at around the same time and location.A group of the Al-Nasser Salahaddin Brigades succeeded in firing two rockets and one mortar shell on Sunday evening, it said in a statement.Our heroes who implemented the mission are safely back in their base, said the statement, adding the action was launched in retaliation for attacks on Gaza civilians.

Israel's military said its soldiers identified a number of suspects attempting to fire an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) in their direction. The soldiers returned fire towards the suspects, who were apparently hit.In a statement, the army said its forces had fired warning shots at a number of suspects approaching the security fence in the same area earlier in the day.The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) remains committed to protecting the citizens of Israel and will continue to act against terror. The IDF holds Hamas solely responsible for terror emanating from the Gaza Strip.The statement was did not say how many suspects were hit or give any further details.The latest clashes came on the last day of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr festivities that mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.At least seven rockets or mortar rounds have hit Israel in the past week, and on Friday Israel launched a series of reprisal air raids, mostly targeting smuggling tunnels, that wounded two members of the Hamas security forces.Hamas is vehemently opposed to Israeli-Palestinian peace talks which restarted in Washington this month after a break of nearly two years. A second round of talks is to take place on Tuesday in Egypt.In late 2008, Israel launched a devastating 22-day war on the Gaza Strip aimed at halting rocket attacks against its territory. The conflict cost the lives of 1,400Palestinians and 13 Israelis.Fatah and Hamas, the two largest Palestinian factions, have been fiercely divided since the Islamist movement seized control of Gaza in June 2007.

Israel push demand for recognition as Jewish state
– Sun Sep 12, 9:20 am ET


JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday reiterated his demand for the Palestinians to recognise Israel as a Jewish state, in remarks ahead of a second round of US-backed peace talks.The demand, which has been repeatedly rejected by the Palestinians, could further complicate the newly relaunched negotiations which go into a second round in Egypt on Tuesday with the participation of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.Just as we are asked to recognise the Palestinian national state... we also demand and expect the Palestinians to recognise a Jewish state, Netanyahu said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting.

This is the true foundation of peace, he added.The two sides relaunched direct talks on September 2 after months of US pressure but remain deeply divided on the core issues of the conflict as well as the expiration of an Israeli settlement moratorium later this month.Israel Hayom, a newspaper considered close to Netanyahu, said he wanted to first discuss security arrangements and the issue of recognition before addressing final borders.The prime minister has demanded a discussion about the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state as proof of the seriousness of the Palestinians' intentions to put an end to the conflict, it said Sunday.Israel's other main newspapers carried similar reports, all citing sources close to the talks. An Israeli government spokesman would not immediately comment on the reports.

The Palestinians refuse to recognise Israel as a Jewish state because they fear it would endanger their claim to a right of return for refugees who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and their descendants. Their fate has been a core dispute in previous peace talks.The Palestinians also note that 20 percent of Israel's citizens are Muslim and Christian Arabs.

Obama sees enormous hurdles in Mideast peace talks
– Fri Sep 10, 3:49 pm ET


WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said Friday he saw enormous hurdles ahead in Middle East peace negotiations, but said it was a risk worth taking and the United States would remain engaged even if talks break down.There are enormous hurdles between now and our endpoint, Obama said at a news conference.Obama said the talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who are due to meet again in Egypt on September 14-15, represented a chance to realize the goal of an independent Palestinian state living side by side in peace with a secure Israel.The two parties need each other. That doesn't mean it's going to work. Ultimately it's going to be up to them, Obama said.I remain hopeful but this is going to be tough, Obama said. It's a risk worth taking because the alternative is a status quo that is unsustainable. And so if these talks break down, we're going to keep on trying.Obama said he had told Netanyahu that it made sense to extend a moratorium on settlement construction for as long as Middle East talks are constructive.Obama said a successful peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians could change the strategic landscape in the Middle East and help U.S. efforts to pressure Iran over its nuclear program.This is something in our interests. We're not just doing this to feel good. We're doing it because it will help secure America as well.(Reporting by Washington newsroom; editing by Tim Dobbyn)

UAE gives Palestinian Authority $42 million: sources
– Fri Sep 10, 3:15 pm ET


WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates has donated $42 million to the Palestinian Authority, boosting support for President Mahmoud Abbas' cash-strapped government as it embarks on direct peace talks with Israel, Arab officials said on Friday.An Arab source in Washington said the donation, which was confirmed by a Palestinian government spokesman, was made after repeated calls by senior U.S. officials for more Arab support to help build Palestinian government capacity.It is a timely gesture of support both for the talks and the institution-building project of the PA, as well as a response to the public urging from (U.S.) President (Barack) Obama and Secretary (of State Hillary) Clinton, the source said.Palestinian government spokesman Ghassan al-Khatib confirmed the UAE donation but declined to give further details. The sum is meant to support the government's budget, he said.

Abbas is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Egypt on September 14 for a second round of direct peace talks aimed at striking a deal within a year to set up an independent Palestinian state living peacefully next to Israel.Abbas' Palestinian Authority has seen a decline in funding from Arab countries and imposed spending cuts even as it seeks to expand government functions.The Palestinian Authority's main Arab donors, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have contributed considerably less this year than they have annually since 2007.So far, the Saudis have donated $30.6 million until August, compared to $241.1 million in the same period in 2009. The new donation by the UAE, the world's third-largest oil exporter, is its first this year -- it gave $173.9 million in 2009.A United Nations report last month said the Palestinian Authority could face a serious liquidity crisis in September due to the aid shortfall.The Arab source in Washington said it was unclear if Saudi Arabia -- another key U.S. ally in the region -- also intended to provide more funds, but said this week's Eid al-Fitr holiday, which ends the holy fasting month of Ramadan, may be a factor.As for the Saudis, I am not aware of any signs, though it is Eid and it was Ramadan, and the machine there tends to grind to a halt during this period, the source said.(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Paul Simao)