MUSSA PEACE BUT NOT AT ANY COST

Mussa wants peace with Israel but not at any price
– Thu Jun 9, 2:18 pm ET

CAIRO (AFP) – The Arab League's outgoing chief and Egyptian presidential candidate Amr Mussa told French television on Thursday that he wants to work for peace between Israel and Palestinians but not at any price.Egypt's position will have to get back to a position of influence in the region and to follow the right policy, which is to establish peace, not at any price, he told France 24 during a visit to Paris.Not just to move around, joining meetings and so on, but to work diligently and seriously to establish peace. This is what I intend to do if I'm elected,he said.The 74-year-old is considered a leading candidate for the election scheduled to be held by the end of this year. He has been a harsh critic of Israel, which he accuses of stalling peace talks with the Palestinians.He served as Egypt's foreign minister until 2001 in the government of president Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown by a popular revolt in February.Mussa said rebuilding Egypt requires peace and stability around us. It certainly doesn't need adventurous policies. But at the same time ... we need fairness, and our commitment to Palestinian statehood is unshakable.Egypt in 1979 became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel.

Palestinians grapple with opposition to UN plan
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press – Thu Jun 9, 1:12 pm ET

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Faced with opposition from the United States, a number of top Palestinian officials are quietly advising President Mahmoud Abbas to drop plans to seek recognition for a state of Palestine at the United Nations this fall.Top officials say Abbas remains committed to his plan — a result of the widespread sense among Palestinians that two decades of on-and-off negotiations with Israel have run their course, and that the current Israeli leadership is not a partner for peace.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press Thursday, said Abbas would like to climb down from the tree and find a mutually acceptable formula for restarting negotiations, preferably based on ideas presented by President Barack Obama recently.At the same time, there is a widespread sense that Abbas, having advertised his intentions so prominently, has left himself with little room to maneuver and may proceed with the UN gambit simply to avoid a loss of credibility.We are trapped with September, said one official.We don't know what to do after that.The misgivings reflect a growing realization that the project is problematic and promises a messy and unclear outcome that could change little on the ground — and might backfire politically or even spark new violence if Palestinians emerge disappointed with the result.That was underscored this week when U.S. officials told a visiting Palestinian delegation that seeking U.N. recognition in the absence of a peace deal was a nonstarter — the latest indication that the U.S. would veto a resolution at the Security Council.There are no clear Palestinian options, said Hani Masri, an analyst who is in close contact with Abbas' inner circle.Abbas will definitely go to the U.N. to preserve his credibility. But if there is any other chance of getting back to the negotiations, he will do that.

The Security Council, the U.N.'s most powerful body, is charged with recommending membership for new states in the world body — a required step in the process. The U.S., as one of five permanent members, has veto power over council decisions.The Palestinians have been exploring alternatives, such as asking the General Assembly, where they enjoy widespread support, for recognition of some other kind.The assembly's decisions are not legally binding, and it has become increasingly clear that approval would amount to little more than a symbolic victory. Late last month, the assembly's president, Swiss politician Joseph Deiss, said there is no way a Palestinian state could become a U.N. member without a recommendation from the Security Council.The Palestinian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing sensitive deliberations, say a number of top advisers are now having second thoughts about the U.N. strategy.They said that among them are Yasser Abed Rabbo, the No. 2 official after Abbas in the Palestine Liberation Organization; Abbas' chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat; and Nasser al-Qidwa, a former Palestinian envoy to the U.N. and top Abbas confidante.

All three declined comment.

Earlier this week, al-Qidwa acknowledged the limits of Abbas' strategy in a closed gathering of prominent Palestinian intellectuals.Al-Qidwa said the Palestinians should still try to rally support for their cause at the U.N. But we should distinguish between getting support and getting recognition. We cannot get recognition simply because the U.S. will veto it, he said, according to a transcript obtained by The Associated Press.The U.N. option has been a centerpiece of Abbas' foreign policy since a short-lived round of peace talks collapsed last September after an Israeli slowdown on settlement construction expired.The Palestinians have demanded a renewed settlement construction freeze in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim both areas, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel counters that the Palestinians have never laid down such a condition before, and the issue of settlements should be discussed in negotiations.The Palestinians want the U.N. to endorse an independent state within the pre-1967 lines.
While such a vote would have little immediate effect on the ground, the Palestinians believe it would send a strong message to Israel to withdraw. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, rejects a return to the pre-1967 lines.Both Obama and France have recently offered similar formulas for restarting talks, suggesting that future borders be based on the pre-1967 lines with mutually agreed-upon modifications.The Palestinians have embraced both proposals. Masri, the analyst, said he believes they are even ready to drop their long-standing demand for a full settlement freeze in return for Obama's formula. Israel, however, has reacted coolly.

Top Palestinian and Israeli negotiators were in Washington this week, meeting separately with U.S. officials in search of ways to resume negotiations. There was no word on any breakthrough.Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki, Abbas' point man on the U.N. preparations, said the Palestinians are determined to seek U.N. membership in September unless negotiations resume based on Obama's parameters.

IAEA reports Syria to UN over nuke allegations
by Simon Morgan – Thu Jun 9, 12:59 pm ET

VIENNA (AFP) – The UN atomic watchdog voted Thursday to report Syria to the United Nations Security Council over allegations it built an undeclared nuclear reactor that was then destroyed by Israeli bombs, diplomats said.At a closed-door meeting of the 35-member board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 17 countries voted in favour of a corresponding resolution by the United States and six against, diplomats attending the meeting said.Azerbaijan, China, Ecuador, Pakistan, Russia and Venezuela all voted no.There were 11 abstentions, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, South Africa and Peru, and one country -- Mongolia -- was absent from the vote, the diplomats said.The IAEA will not officially publish the outcome of the vote given the confidential nature of the deliberations.Washington and its Western allies had asked the IAEA's governing body to find Syria in non-compliance with its international obligations and report it to the Security Council in New York.The last time the IAEA did so was in the case of Iran in February 2006.Washington alleges that Syria was building an undeclared nuclear reactor at a remote desert site called Dair Alzour with North Korea's help until the site was bombed by Israeli planes in September 2007.The IAEA began investigating the allegations in June 2008, but Syria has refused to cooperate all along and, with the exception of a one-off visit, has not allowed UN inspectors to Dair Alzour or related sites to verify the US claims.Frustrated by Syria's three years of stonewalling, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano took the unprecedented step recently of stating his conviction that the site was very likely a covert nuclear reactor, as alleged.Washington seized on Amano's assessment and tabled a resolution to censure Damascus at the regular June meeting of the IAEA board of governors this week.It is not appropriate behaviour for a country to build a secret nuclear reactor... without telling anyone and one that had no civilian purpose. That's why we had to do what we did today,US ambassador Glyn Davies told reporters after the vote.Syria's apparent attempt at constructing a covert, undeclared plutonium production reactor, a reactor with no credible peaceful purpose, represents one of the most serious safeguards violations possible,he said.

Syria?s nuclear intentions at Dair Alzour are clear; the reactor there was built for the express purpose of producing plutonium for possible use in nuclear weapons, Davies said, arguing a resolution was a necessary and appropriate step to safeguard the credibility of the IAEA and the international non-proliferation system.However, in statements to fellow board members ahead of the vote, both Moscow and Beijing said they saw no reason for such action.Russia and China are both veto-wielding permanent members of the 15-member Security Council.The UN Security Council is responsible for holding international peace and security and the site at Dair Alzour no longer exists and therefore poses no threat to international peace and security, the Russian statement said.We cannot therefore agree with the resolution and that is why, if it is put to a vote, we will vote against it, it said.China followed similar arguments, saying it saw no reason to adopt the resolution or refer Syria to the Security Council.Asked what Washington now expected from New York, US ambassador Davies said: We'll have to see. Obviously this is not the end of the matter. We'll find in New York a separate dynamic, a separate debate and a separate conversation and a separate effort to air of the issues surrounding this matter.Nevertheless, the US would continue to seek to work with the Russians, the Chinese and all of the members of the Security Council when it comes time to consider this question in New York. Obviously there is still some work to do, Davies said.Syria had been reeling from anti-government protests since mid-March, with human rights groups saying more than 1,100 people have been killed throughout the country.

UN says West Bank economy not flourishing
– Wed Jun 8, 6:33 am ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Claims that the economy in the West Bank is flourishing overlook rising unemployment and a jump in inflation that has decreased purchasing power, a United Nations report said on Wednesday.In recent months, observers and officials including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have described the West Bank's economy as booming, calling it a sign of positive momentum under Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.But UNRWA, which assists Palestinian refugees, said on Wednesday that private sector growth and economic expansion were accompanied by an increase in unemployment and rising inflation that were hurting average Palestinians.

The report said the unemployment rate in the West Bank stood at 25 percent in the second half of 2010, up from 23.5 percent in 2009.For Palestinians in the West Bank classed as refugees, the unemployment rate was even higher, standing at 27.9 percent, according to the report.And it said that rising consumer inflation, which stood at 2.3 percent in the second half of 2010, caused a further slide in the purchasing power of wage incomes among Palestinians in the West Bank.The agency said the figures provided a stark counterpoint to claims of an economic boom in the West Bank.During his address to the US Congress last month, Netanyahu said there had been remarkable growth in the Palestinian economy, in part due to Israel's decision to remove checkpoints and restrictions on movement.UNRWA, however, said such claims ignored deep economic problems that showed no signs of improvement.The economic good news that the media have made much of in recent months overlooks deeper processes underway,said UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness.The occupation and its related infrastructure, such as settlements and settler-only roads that encroach on and divide Palestinian land, settler violence and the West Bank barrier have diminished prospects for Palestinians in general and especially for refugees.Annual growth of the Palestinian economy was estimated to have reached 9.3 percent in 2010, exceeding the PA?s projections of 8.0 percent, according to data from the World Bank, which added in its latest report that the growth did not appear to be sustainable.

Rafah crossing reopens after Hamas-Egypt talks
– Wed Jun 8, 4:10 am ET

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip was reopened on Wednesday, ending a four-day closure amid disagreements between Egyptian and Hamas officials.In a statement, the Hamas manager of the border crossing, Ayub Abu Shaar, said the terminal was reopened after an agreement with the Egyptian side that all the parties agreed to.The crossing is operating normally today for both departures and arrivals, he added.The reopening Wednesday brought an end to a closure that began on June 4, when Egyptian officials halted operations on their side of the border just a week after announcing they would permanently reopen the crossing.Palestinian officials on the Gaza side said then that they had not been informed in advance that the crossing would be shut, and that their phone calls to the Egyptian side went unanswered.A crowd of hundreds of Palestinians gathered on the Gaza Strip side, angered by the unannounced closure, and a day later Abu Shaar said the Palestinians would not resume operations at Rafah until clear procedures had been agreed with the Egyptian side.A senior Hamas official said last week that the Palestinians wanted Egypt to allow more travellers to cross each day, speed up operations at the border, decrease waiting times, and agree on regular operating hours.

Egypt agreed to permanently reopen the Rafah crossing last month, ending its cooperation with a blockade Israel imposed in 2006, after Gaza-based militants snatched an Israeli soldier.Rafah is Gaza's only border crossing not controlled by Israel, and news of Egypt's decision to reopen it was warmly welcomed in the coastal strip, though Israel strongly criticised the move.

Palestinian mosque set ablaze in West Bank
– Tue Jun 7, 10:52 pm ET

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Arsonists torched a West Bank mosque early Tuesday and scrawled Hebrew graffiti on one of its walls.The Palestinian mayor of el-Mughayer village said a tire was set ablaze inside the mosque in an apparent attempt to burn down the building.No one claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell upon Jewish settlers, both because they have carried out similar acts in the past and because the graffiti read, Price tag, Aley Ayin.Price tag is a settler practice of attacking Palestinians in revenge for Israeli government operations against settlers. Aley Ayin is a small, unauthorized settler outpost that was evacuated by security forces last week.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the act, calling it a heinous act of provocation.The U.S. also condemned the burning and vandalizing of the mosque.This attack is the latest of several such acts of violence against West Bank mosques,deputy State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said.These incidents have served to undermine efforts to promote a comprehensive peace in the region.We call on the Israeli government to investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice, and for calm from all parties,he added.U.N. Mideast envoy Robert Serry noted Netanyahu's condemnation.Serry called on Israel to ensure the accountability of those responsible and protect the human rights of Palestinians and their property.
Mayor Faraj al-Nassan said villagers discovered the fire when they went to the mosque for morning prayers.Prayer rugs were burned, but the fire did not spread extensively.

France to move forward on Mideast conference By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press – Tue Jun 7, 7:18 pm ET

UNITED NATIONS – France will move ahead with its proposal to bring Palestinians and Israelis together at a peace conference later this summer despite U.S. reservations, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Tuesday.He said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded positively to the initiative and the Israeli government is continuing to study the proposal.He said he expected a response from Israel soon.

Juppe said he discussed the proposal on Monday with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and that the Americans are hesitant about plans for a large political conference without prior agreement of the two parties on the framework for the meeting.That's exactly what we have proposed, Juppe told reporters after attending a U.N. Security Council meeting on HIV/AIDS.We think it is necessary to have an agreement of both the Palestinians and the Israelis on the parameters we are proposing.He added: We are still working on those ideas, and I think there will be positive developments during the next weeks.Juppe stressed after Monday's meeting with Clinton that a resumption of negotiations is the only way to head off a Palestinian bid to secure recognition of an independent Palestinian state during the annual ministerial meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in September.The French minister extended invitations to Palestinian and Israeli leaders to a peace conference during a visit to the Mideast last week.The French proposal for a peace conference is another indication that the Europeans are frustrated at the lack of progress in U.S. efforts to revive talks, and believe they might have a better chance. Juppe told reporters that France believes the status quo in the Middle East is unsustainable,a view which he said it widely shared around the globe.

He said the conference would use Israel's boundaries prior to the 1967 war as a starting point for talks on borders, a position endorsed by President Barack Obama but strongly opposed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Clinton said after meeting Juppe on Monday that the U.S. strongly supports a return to negotiations, but believes it can't be done without a lot of advance work.A return to negotiations, she said,will take a lot of persuasion and preliminary work in order to set up a productive meeting between the parties.She said the Obama administration is in a wait and see mode about the merits of the conference in Paris.The United States has taken the lead for years in trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Obama announced in September 2010, as U.S.-brokered direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations resumed, that a peace treaty should be signed in a year. But those talks collapsed weeks later after Israel ended its freeze on building Jewish settlements on land claimed by the Palestinians.With no sign of talks being revived, France, Britain and Germany launched an initiative in March to restart the stalled negotiations by proposing the outlines of a final settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.They wanted U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the European Union to propose a settlement text at a meeting of the Quartet of Mideast mediators — the U.S., U.N., EU and Russia. But the United States, Israel's closest ally, blocked a Quartet meeting on the proposal in April, saying it wasn't the right time.

Syria warns of more marches on Israeli border
– Tue Jun 7, 3:38 pm ET

DAMASCUS, Syria – A Syrian government newspaper said Tuesday that more Syrians and Palestinians plan to march to the Israeli border, warning Israel the day will come when hundreds of thousands of refugees return to their occupied villages.Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian and Syrian protesters Sunday, killing as many as 23 people who tried to cross into the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.The article referred to Palestinian refugees in camps in Syria, as well as Syrians who fled the Golan Heights when Israel captured the strategic plateau in the 1967 Mideast war.In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. believes President Bashar Assad's government is actively supporting the Palestinian protests near the Israeli border.We don't have any hard evidence, Toner said.But we've seen this kind of behavior before. And certainly it seems in keeping with the Syrian regime's actions that they would try to deflect or distract international attention from what's going on internally in Syria by encouraging these kind of protests.The Tishreen newspaper said the Sunday march was only an introduction, adding Syrians and Palestinians were now determined to recover their territory through resistance.It said Israel should expect 600,000 refugees to march at any time back to their villages and farms from where their families were forcefully uprooted.

Israel's military responded with a stern warning. It said in a statement that breaching the frontier lines is a violation of international agreements, and the military would operate as necessary to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents in the future.Provocative rioters who breach the Israeli security fence place themselves in danger and must accept the responsibility for their actions, the statement said.The deaths from Sunday's march led to violent tensions among Palestinian factions in Syria and a gunfight within the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus. Clashes erupted late Monday at the camp between a group of Palestinians and the guards of a building belonging to the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command.The clashes erupted following funeral processions for Palestinians who were killed Sunday by Israeli gunfire on the Golan Heights. They were sparked when some youths began shouting slogans against the PFLP-GC's leaders and pelted them with stones.The PFLP-GC issued a statement Tuesday saying two of its members were killed and several of its offices were torched. It accused Palestinian agents working for the Zionist enemy of the killings and provocation.Some relatives of Palestinians who died while marching Sunday were reportedly angered that the march was allowed to happen and some blamed the PFLP-GC.

A two-year war that followed Israel's creation in 1948 displaced about 700,000 Palestinians. Together with their descendants, they number several million today. According to U.N. figures, about 450,000 refugees and their descendants are registered in Syria.Roughly 100,000 Syrians fled the Golan Heights when Israel captured the territory in 1967.Additional reporting by Ian Deitch in Jerusalem and Bradley Klapper in Washington.

Developing nations want climate aid for Palestine
– Tue Jun 7, 11:53 am ET

BONN, Germany – Developing countries have asked the U.N. climate conference to accept Palestine as a participant and give it access to funding to fight global warming.Jorge Arguello, who heads the group of 131 developing countries, suggested Palestinian participation in the 194-party negotiations on a climate change accord.
The Palestine Authority says it will seek U.N. recognition as an independent nation at the General Assembly meeting in September.We all (already) recognize Palestine, Arguello said in an interview Tuesday.In an address to the conference, Argentina's ambassador said his group reiterates the necessity of Palestine's active participation in climate talks and to make every effort to grant Palestine access to funding from different climate change sources.