Israeli gunfire kills Gaza militant: Palestinians
by Mai Yaghi - DEC 28,10
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Israeli gunfire and tank shelling killed a Palestinian militant and wounded five other people east of Khan Yunis in Gaza on Tuesday, a Palestinian medical source and witnesses told AFP.Adham Abu Selmiya, a spokesman for the Hamas-run medical services in Gaza, and hospital officials named the dead man as 22-year-old Hassan Abu Rok Qadeeh.Witnesses told AFP Qadeeh was a member of the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of Palestinian factions that has claimed responsibility for a barrage of mortar fire into Israel in recent weeks.The group released a statement hailing his martyrdom in Zionist shelling east of Khan Yunis.A Israeli army spokeswoman said our soldiers, with air support, opened fire on members of a terrorist cell that was trying to place an explosive device near the security barrier separating Gaza from Israel.Tensions have been rising on Gaza's border with Israel over continued rocket fire into the Jewish state and retaliatory and often deadly Israeli air raids.Since the beginning of the month, at least 14 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops, according to an AFP count. Two Palestinians were also killed on December 10 when an unexploded tank shell detonated.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that approximately 37 rockets and other projectiles have been fired from Gaza since December 1.In recent weeks, both sides have ramped up their rhetoric, warning that an escalation could result in full-blown war.The renewed tensions come just two years after Israel launched the devastating Operation Cast Lead in response to rocket fire from Gaza.The war, which ended in a ceasefire on January 18, 2009, killed 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.On Sunday, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, one of the militant groups operating in Gaza, said it was prepared for a new war with Israel.
The occupation will pay the price if they even think of carrying out an escalation in the Gaza Strip, Abu Ahmed told mourners at the funerals of two comrades killed in a exchange of fire with Israeli troops.And a day earlier, a spokesman for Hamas's military also touted the group's preparedness for conflict with Israel, hinting they possessed a secret weapon, about which he provided no details.There is a truce in effect in the field ... But if there is any Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip we will respond strongly, said a masked spokesman who identified himself as Abu Obeideh.
On Monday, Israeli army chief of staff Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi said his troops were ready for a new confrontation if it became necessary.Two years after Operation Cast Lead the situation in the Gaza Strip is different and calmer, he said.
Yet, sadly, from time to time, rockets and mortar shells are fired at the Israeli home front. We will not accept this ... We hope that the security situation in the south does not deteriorate. However, the IDF is preparing for any scenario.
Israeli companies to help build Palestinian city By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press - DEC 28,10
RAMALLAH, West Bank – About 20 Israeli suppliers will help build the first modern Palestinian city in the West Bank but only after promising they will not use products or services from Israeli settlements, the project's developer said Tuesday.
The announcement angered the Jewish settlers, who accused the suppliers of caving in to an international boycott of settlement goods and businesses.The West Bank city of Rawabi, going up 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of Jerusalem, is a key part of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's plans to lay the groundwork for a future Palestinian state, regardless of progress in peace talks.The participation of Israeli companies in its construction is both an ironic twist on the heavy use of Palestinian laborers in building Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and a powerful reminder of how much the 43 years of Israeli occupation have made the Palestinian economy reliant on Israel.Project developer Bashar Masri told The Associated Press that he tries to use Palestinian suppliers whenever possible. But when necessary, he turns to Israeli firms on condition that products and services from any territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war — the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights — are not used.Settlements are diabolical. They steal Palestinian land and are an obstacle to an independent Palestinian state, and it's time for us to put an end to that harm, Masri said.He refused to identify any of the Israeli companies, but said they were suppliers of building and construction materials. Their contracts with the Rawabi project were first reported Tuesday by Israel's Army Radio.Settler leader Dani Dayan fumed that Israeli companies agreed to the Palestinian conditions. It's a capitulation to the boycott, Dayan said.
Palestinian activists and their supporters have launched a campaign to persuade investors to divest Israeli holdings and boycott Israeli companies over the occupation. The economic impact has been negligible, but for Israel, the negative publicity has been unwelcome.Israel accuses boycott advocates of trying to delegitimize the Jewish state and argues that many foreign companies with ties to authoritarian regimes are not similarly targeted.Fayyad has publicly advocated a boycott of settlement goods in the West Bank, and earlier this year, his government passed a law imposing heavy penalties and jail time on Palestinians who work in settlements.But they haven't been able to find alternative sources of employment for the estimated 21,000 Palestinians who work in settlements in construction, agriculture or industry, and the law isn't being enforced.Some 300,000 Israelis live in more than 120 settlements across the West Bank — almost a threefold increase since the two sides launched their first round of peace talks 17 years ago. An additional 180,000 live in east Jerusalem, the section of the holy city claimed by the Palestinians as a future capital.
Israel captured both areas in the 1967 Mideast war.
Late Tuesday, the Israeli army killed a Palestinian militant in the Gaza Strip near the border with Israel.The Israeli army said it targeted militants planting explosives near the border and hit one.Palestinian medical official Adham Abu Salmia said one man was killed and three wounded.A small Palestinian group, the Popular Resistance Committees, affiliated with Gaza's Hamas rulers, said the militant was carrying out a mission.Clashes common along Gaza's border, where militants fire rockets and try to infiltrate Israel.Associated Press writer Ibrahim Barzak contributed reporting from Gaza City, Gaza Strip.
Israel says London home to Hamas hub
– DEC 28,10
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel's defence ministry accused a London-based Palestinian centre on Tuesday of terror-affiliated activities and being the organisational arm of the militant Islamic Hamas movement in Europe.Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and advocates violent opposition to the Jewish state, is designated by the European Union as a terrorist organisation.An Israeli defence ministry statement said that the Palestinian Return Centre organises conferences in Europe at which it plays taped speeches by Hamas leaders who are banned from entering the EU.The centre is involved in initiating and organising radical and violent activity against Israel in Europe, while delegitimising Israel's status as a nation among the European community, the statement said.Among other terror-affiliated activities, the centre organises many conferences in various European countries for Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood activists from all around the world, it added.On its website, the centre describes itself as an independent consultancy focusing on the historical, political and legal aspects of the Palestinian Refugees.Israel however, says it is part of the broader Hamas activism and support network within Europe, which is especially strong in England.
Tuesday's statement said that earlier this month Defence Minister Ehud Barak signed a decree declaring the London centre an association illegal in Israel.A ministry spokeswoman was unable to explain to AFP what the practical implications of that decree were, and whether Israel would seek a similar designation of the group from the British government.Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum called the allegations against the centre false and fabricated.This is an Israeli misrepresentations intended to isolate the Palestinian people from any attempts to show solidarity with them or help them realise their rights, he told AFP.
Abbas Fatah faction bans former leader from meetings
DEC 28,10
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – The Western-backed Palestinian Fatah faction has banned from meetings a former leader, once considered a possible successor to President Mahmoud Abbas, an official news agency reported Tuesday.Mohammed Dahlan, for years Fatah's strong-man in the Gaza Strip, was banned from attending faction meetings, the WAFA news agency reported, saying only that he was being investigated by the group's highest decision-making body.Dahlan first fell from grace in 2007 when Hamas Islamists routed Fatah forces to take control of the Gaza Strip. As security chief, Dahlan had been charged with keeping Fatah dominant in the coastal territory.A senior Fatah official said the investigation revolves around Dahlan's financial assets and accusations of incitement against Abbas.Palestinian officials, speaking anonymously, have said Dahlan had publicly spoken poorly of Abbas's sons and had criticized the Palestinian president, going as far as to call for his replacement.Dahlan, who could not be reached for comment, was also ousted from his position of commissioner of Fatah media and is being replaced by a long-standing Abbas spokesman.Prior to the ban, Abbas had ordered security guards to be removed from Dahlan's office and house in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Since then, Dahlan has spent more time abroad.(Writing by Mohammed Assadi; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Israel rules out apology to Turks over flotilla raid
– Mon Dec 27, 9:11 pm ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel ruled out apologising to Turkey over the raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship that killed nine Turkish activists, as another vessel prepared to bypass its blockade of the territory.We will not apologise, but express our regrets to Turkey, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told private television network Channel 10.We don't want our soldiers to be possibly hauled before international tribunals... our soldiers acted in accordance with standards, he said, as an apology could be interpreted as an admission of liability.Netanyahu's comments came just a day after Israel's right-wing Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman dismissed as a cheek Ankara's demand for an apology before it would normalise relations.The ones who have to apologise are the government of Turkey for supporting terror, said Lieberman.There will be no apology from Israel for the May 31 commando raid, he added.Lieberman was only expressing a personal opinion, like other ministers do, said a statement from Netanyahu's office office soon after the comments Sunday.
And on Monday, explaining his foreign minister's comments, Netanyahu told Channel 10: In my coalition government, there are different points of view but the prime minister expresses the voice of the government.Israel's ties with Turkey plunged into crisis following the raid on the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish ferry carrying aid to the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Saturday that Ankara wanted to turn the page on a year of difficult relations with Israel, but the Jewish state had to apologise for the deadly assault.Thousands of Turks gave the Mavi Marmara a rapturous welcome when it docked Sunday at Istanbul following a lengthy refit in a port along the Mediterranean.According to the ferry's owner, a Turkish campaign group called IHH, the boat will be part of a new flotilla which will leave for Gaza on May 31, 2011, exactly one year on from the deadly raid.In the Syrian capital Damascus meanwhile, an aid ship backed by Asian activists was already making preparations to set sail with aid for the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for Palestinian groups based in Syria said Monday.
But it will bypass the Israeli blockade.
The Sierra Leone-flagged Asia 1 is awaiting the green light from Egypt to sail to the Egyptian port of El-Arish from where its cargo is to be carried overland to Gaza, Khaled Abdel-Majid told AFP.Several Asian charity organisations, mainly from India, were behind the initiative, and the boat would also carry a dozen activists from Asian countries, Abdel-Majid added.More than 100 other activists, from countries including Iran, Japan, Pakistan and Afghanistan, would fly to Egypt in order to link up with the aid convoy, the Palestinian official said.The boat would carry one million dollars (760,000 euros) worth of medicine, foodstuffs and toys as well as four buses and 10 power generators for hospitals, he added. Israel imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza after Palestinian militants captured one of its soldiers in June 2006.It reinforced it a year later after the Islamists Hamas seized control of the coastal enclave following deadly fighting with the Fatah faction of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.But it eased the blockade after its deadly raid on the Mavi Marmara provoked international condemnation.
Netanyahu says interim deal possible if talks fail
By Ori Lewis – Mon Dec 27, 4:36 pm ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deal could result from failure to reach agreement on major core issues, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday, the first time he has mentioned such an option.When asked about Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's comment that the best option could be a long-term interim pact because a permanent deal was not possible, Netanyahu said:If ... we perhaps reach a (dead end) on Jerusalem and perhaps (a dead end) on refugees, then possibly the outcome could be an interim agreement. It is possible, I cannot rule it out, Netanyahu said in an interview in Hebrew on Israel's Channel 10 television.It was the first time Netanyahu said there could be an alternative path in peace talks to the U.S.-brokered negotiations that stalled after Israel refused to extend a partial West Bank building freeze on September 26, although he declined to discuss details of such a move.A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected outright the possibility of an interim peace deal saying the matter of Jerusalem and refugees had to be resolved and could not be deferred to a later date.This is unacceptable to us, because it would exclude two vital issues, Jerusalem and the refugees. Jerusalem is a red line as it is to be the capital of a future Palestinian state ... going back to talk about a state without determining its borders is unacceptable, and it will not lead us to a true peace, Abbas aide Nabil Abu Rdaineh said.
U.S. EFFORTS CONTINUING
In Washington, a U.S. State Department spokesman said the United States was working hard to reach a peace deal.Our position is clear: we remain hard at work with the parties to achieve a framework agreement on all the core issues, spokesman Mark Toner said when asked about Netanyahu's comments.Netanyahu said he recognized that the Palestinians would not agree to enter talks over an interim agreement but that it might be where the talks would end up.If ahead of time we will tell (the Palestinians) let's (work on an interim deal) it is not certain that they will agree so easily, but it could be the outcome of a diplomatic initiative, Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said in the event the Palestinians agreed to recognize Israel as a Jewish state he would be willing to jeopardize coalition agreements to pursue a peace deal.
If the Palestinians will recognize a Jewish state ... I tell you here and now I will go all the way with this, no coalitional consideration will stop me ... Not in reaching the agreement and not in presenting it to the people and the majority of the people will support me,he said.
Thousands greet Turkish protest ship By Erol Israfil, Associated Press – Sun Dec 26, 6:43 pm ET
ISTANBUL – Thousands of pro-Palestinian activists on Sunday welcomed back to Istanbul the ship that was the scene of bloodshed during an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May. Activists meanwhile, promised to send more ships in an effort to break the Gaza blockade.Hundreds of balloons were released as the ship, Mavi Marmara, sailed into Istanbul's Sarayburnu port, following repairs at a port on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.The activists, mostly members of pro-Islamic groups, waved Palestinian and Turkish flags and chanted down with Israel and Allah is great as they greeted the vessel. Protesters also boarded boats to welcome the approaching ship, which was adorned with a poster of the nine activists from Turkey who were killed during the raid.We promise that we will go again and again to Gaza, until Gaza and Palestine are free, Israeli-Swedish activist Dror Elimelech Feiler told the crowd.The ship was part of an international flotilla carrying supplies to Gaza in a campaign to breach the blockade on Gaza when Israeli troops intercepted the convoy. Eight Turks and an American-Turkish teenager were killed in the violence that erupted on board the Mavi Marmara.
The incident aggravated relations between former allies Turkey and Israel that were already tense over Turkish criticism of Israel's conflict with Palestinians. Turkey recalled its ambassador and pushed for international condemnation of Israel.Turkey has since said it wants improved ties with Israel, but is not backtracking from its demands that Israel apologize for the raid and compensate victims before relations can return to normal.High-level Turkish and Israeli officials met in Geneva earlier this month to try to mend fences, after Turkey sent aircraft and firefighters to help Israel battle a wildfire. But they failed to agree on terms.Israel insists commandos opened fire in self-defense after meeting what they called unexpected resistance when they boarded the Mavi Marmara. Israel wants Turkey to return its ambassador to Tel Aviv and to drop the flotilla incident from the international agenda.Speaking at the welcoming ceremony, Ahmet Dogan, the father of the American-Turkish teenager who died, Furkan Dogan, said the victims' families wanted more than an apology and compensation from Israel.If they want to ease the pain of the families of the martyrs, the embargo and blockade (of Gaza) must be lifted, Dogan said. All those in the Israeli (military) command chain involved in the incident must be punished.After the raid, Israel significantly eased import restrictions over land, and announced it would permit increased exports from Gaza.
Palestinian government illegitimate: Israel FM
– Sun Dec 26, 11:46 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel's fiery Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Sunday that Israel should not sign a peace deal with the Western-backed Palestinian government because it is illegitimate.It is forbidden for us to reach a comprehensive deal today with the Palestinians. To put it clearly, you have to understand that their government is not legitimate, he told a meeting in Jerusalem of Israeli ambassadors.Lieberman pointed to the fact that the government of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had lost control of the Gaza Strip to rival Hamas and postponed elections after its term had expired.It is a government that has postponed elections three times, that lost elections, that does not hold elections, does not plan to hold elections and there are no guarantees that next time they do hold elections, that Hamas won't win again,Lieberman said.He also said the Palestinians would reject any deal from Israel, no matter how generous, and that there were unbridgeable gaps on Israeli security issues.Even if we offer the Palestinians Tel Aviv and go back to the 1947 borders, they would find reasons not to sign a peace deal with us, he said.
The Palestinian Authority, dominated by Abbas's secular Fatah movement, has repeatedly postponed national and local elections, while Hamas has refused to let them be held in Gaza.Hamas, which won a landslide victory in the last parliamentary elections in 2006, has said there can be no new elections without reconciliation with Fatah.The Islamist movement seized power in Gaza in June 2007 when it ousted forces loyal to Abbas in a week of bloody street battles, the culmination of years of struggle between the two main Palestinian movements.The two groups struggled for months to reach a unity deal under Egyptian mediation but the efforts collapsed late last year when Hamas refused to agree to a proposal that was signed by Fatah.
Lieberman, the hardline leader of the Yisrael Beitenu party, has been largely sidelined by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in peace talks with the Palestinians.
Direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the first for nearly two years, began in Washington on September 2 but quickly stalled when a 10-month Israeli settlements freeze expired on September 26.
World may recognise Palestine soon: Israel minister
– Sun Dec 26, 8:54 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – In spite of stalled peace talks, the entire world could recognise a Palestinian state within a year, a dovish Israeli cabinet minister warned Sunday, urging the resumption of negotiations.The comments from Industry and Trade Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer come after Ecuador formally recognised Palestine as an independent state on Friday, following the lead of other South American countries.
Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia gave formal recognition earlier this month while Uruguay said it will do so early in the new year.I would not be surprised if within a year the entire world, even the US, recognizes a Palestinian state, then we will have to explain how this happened, Ben Eliezer told reporters ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting.Israel opposes any recognition of a Palestinian state, saying its establishment must be reached through negotiations and not through unilateral moves.
But with the breakdown of peace talks, the Palestinians have said they are considering new diplomatic options, and welcomed the recognition from the Latin American nations.Direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the first for nearly two years, began in Washington on September 2. But they quickly stalled, when a 10-month Israeli settlement freeze expired on September 26.The Palestinians refused to resume negotiations without a new moratorium and on December 7 Washington admitted that it had failed to convince Israel to renew the building ban, despite offering a generous package of incentives.Ben Eliezer, from the dovish Labour Party, said Israel must do all it can to get talks back on track.We must do all everything possible to renew talks with the Palestinians, even if it means a settlement freeze for a few months, he said.Palestinian negotiators have emphasised a set of alternatives to new talks, including seeking recognition of a Palestinian state along the borders that existed in 1967, before the Six Day War.
