The Gaza mess

The International Media Council of the NCF gave one of its main awards to Danny Rubenstein last year. Here are his views on how factional infighting amongst the Palestinians may impact on Israel - we hope the current cease fire may hold. The NCF's delegate, William Morris, is scheduled to arrive in Gaza today:

THE KEY LIES IN GAZA By Danny Rubinstein Haaretz, Opinion (Israel)January 29, 2007

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Gaza

William writes: Today, sadly, a bombing in Israel to add to the misery. And things in Gaza are bad. I will cross through Eretz to Gaza tomorrow (Tuesday) to see what the NCF can do in our small way to ease the situation. Keep us in prayer. See item below. On a positive note - David Sassoon and other NCF members in Israel launched a peace with Syria campaign in Jaffa last night so there are always candles that shine in the darkness:

Agence France-Presse - 29 January, 2007
Rival Palestinian factions welcomed a Saudi offer to mediate an end to violence that has cost 26 lives in Gaza, in the deadliest round of clashes since Hamas came to power a year ago. As the deadly violence continued in the coastal strip for a third day running, Saudi King Abdullah offered to hold talks in the Muslim holy city of Mecca to stop the "disgraceful" fighting. "I invite my brothers of the Palestinian people, represented by their leaders ... to a quick meeting in their brotherly homeland Saudi Arabia ... to discuss their differences without any intervention from outside parties," he said in an appeal carried by the state news agency SPA. The ruling Hamas movement and the Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas both welcomed the offer."The leadership of ... Hamas favourably welcomes the invitation of the Saudi king for a meeting (in Mecca) with our brothers in the Fatah movement to address our problems and to reach an accord to form a national unity government," said Meshaal by telephone from Damascus, where he is in exile.

Deadly battles shatter Gaza calm

At least 13 people have died in Gaza after some of the worst fighting for months broke out between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah.

Two civilians, one a two-year-old boy, were among those killed, according to Palestinian medical sources.

The clashes erupted after weeks of relative calm and renewed efforts to form a national unity government.

Hamas and Fatah said they were suspending talks after the violence, which was continuing early on Saturday.

Reports from Gaza City say Hamas and Fatah gunmen have been exchanging mortar fire and grenade attacks outside a security compound.

More than 40 people have died as a result of a power struggle between supporters of the Hamas-led government and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction since mid-December.

Full Story

Six killed in Gaza as factional clashes escalate

By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and Agencies

Rival Palestinian factions clashed across the Gaza Strip on Thursday and Friday, killing six people, as thousands of Hamas supporters marched on Friday to mark the Islamist group's election victory over Fatah opponents last year.

Three Hamas supporters, a militant from the Fatah-linked Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and two bystanders were killed in violence which began with a bombing on Thursday night and continued with a spate of shootings on Friday.


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Related articles: Abbas: Unity government deal should be reached within 3 weeks
Livni warns Abbas against striking deal with Hamas

A Referendum Could Heal the Palestinian Rift

Sent to the NCF by Sami Abdel-Shafi
The Independent

Palestinians, who have had to endure Israel's siege on their freedom of movement and economic activity, have also been faced with sharp disagreements between Hamas and Fatah. Silence about the detailed status of talks between Fatah and Hamas to form a unity government increases the sense of neglect that many feel at a time when the need for a resolution of their disagreements is crucial. Palestinians and the watching world must be unambiguously informed of what both parties propose to end the multiplying crises in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem...

To see the full article please click on the title

A Freedom Ride

This item datelined 20 January 2007 was sent us by Uri Avnery:

Yesterday, a decree of the Officer Commanding the Central Sector, General Yair Naveh, was about to come into force. It forbade Israeli drivers from giving a ride to Palestinian passengers in the occupied territories. The knitted-Kippah-wearing General, a friend of the settlers, justified this as a vital security necessity. In the past, inhabitants of the West Bank have sometimes reached Israeli territory in Israeli cars.

TO VIEW ARTICLE CLICK HERE

Rice Calls Meeting of Quartet for Middle East Peace

The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, will attempt to inject impetus into the drive for an Israeli-Palestine peace settlement by convening a meeting of the Quartet of Middle East negotiators early next month, for the first time for almost six months. Ms Rice yesterday met Tony Blair in London to brief him on her five-day trip across the Middle East. She will also host an informal summit with the Israelis and Palestinians, probably later in February...

To see the full article please click on the title

Israeli-Syrian Track Two negotiations

Cross-post from the Syria blog on Track Two negotiations between Israel and Syria.

IDF Chief Halutz resigns

Rather than reprint the inevitable self-exonerative speeches Israel's head of the armed forces is making, here is an interesting analysis from the JPost:

Analysis: Circumventing the hierarchy
Jerusalem Post, 17/1/07

While the IDF Chief of Staff answers first and foremost to the Defense Minister; Lt.- Gen Dan Halutz preferred to send his letter of resignation to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The last action of his command was yet another symptom of all that had gone wrong in the relationship between the IDF high command and its political legislators.

Halutz was appointed, not because the government thought that it would be a brilliant idea to have an air force commander in charge of the army, but because Ariel Sharon chose him. Sharon bypassed then-defense minister, the politically weak Shaul Mofaz, and appointed the general he believed would be most loyal to him and carry out the Gaza disengagement to the letter, as well as other plans he had in store.

Sharon circumvented the hierarchy by having his own man lead the army, and while it might have worked while Sharon was still in charge, as soon as he was replaced by a prime minister inexperienced in military matters and a defense minister who never wanted the job, the chain of command became totally imbalanced.

With Olmert and Peretz nominally above him, Halutz began to feel the he was the only grown-up left in charge of Israel's security. The mismanagement of the Lebanon war was an almost foreseeable tragedy.

Despite some minor failings at the field level, it's clear even before the Winograd Commission delivers its interim report that the IDF's combat units acquitted themselves well in the fighting. What was so miserably lacking was any clear sense of direction from the top.

Five months after the end of the war, we still don't know what its objectives were; there is no agreement over whether it was the right move to respond to Hizbullah's attack with an all-out offensive; and who actually won that war, that war that still remains unnamed?

This muddled aftermath is a direct result of the inability of the political leadership to come up with a coherent strategy during the war and the chief of staff's failure to present military options for approval.

Halutz's successor will have two urgent tasks to carry out in his first months of command. First, he will have to implement lessons drawn from the army's conduct during the war. Halutz has taken the first major step in that direction by setting up 40 teams that assessed the army's performance at all levels.

In the second task, the successor has received no help from Halutz - he will have to return the IDF's high command to its proper position of fulfilling the elected government's directives. But he will not be able to accomplish this without a political leadership that understands military matters and is capable of issuing orders.

Rather than reprint the inevitable self-exonerative speeches Israel's head of the armed forces is making, here is an interesting analysis from the JPost:

Analysis: Circumventing the hierarchy
Jerusalem Post, 17/1/07

While the IDF Chief of Staff answers first and foremost to the Defense Minister; Lt.- Gen Dan Halutz preferred to send his letter of resignation to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The last action of his command was yet another symptom of all that had gone wrong in the relationship between the IDF high command and its political legislators.

Halutz was appointed, not because the government thought that it would be a brilliant idea to have an air force commander in charge of the army, but because Ariel Sharon chose him. Sharon bypassed then-defense minister, the politically weak Shaul Mofaz, and appointed the general he believed would be most loyal to him and carry out the Gaza disengagement to the letter, as well as other plans he had in store.

Sharon circumvented the hierarchy by having his own man lead the army, and while it might have worked while Sharon was still in charge, as soon as he was replaced by a prime minister inexperienced in military matters and a defense minister who never wanted the job, the chain of command became totally imbalanced.

With Olmert and Peretz nominally above him, Halutz began to feel the he was the only grown-up left in charge of Israel's security. The mismanagement of the Lebanon war was an almost foreseeable tragedy.

Despite some minor failings at the field level, it's clear even before the Winograd Commission delivers its interim report that the IDF's combat units acquitted themselves well in the fighting. What was so miserably lacking was any clear sense of direction from the top.

Five months after the end of the war, we still don't know what its objectives were; there is no agreement over whether it was the right move to respond to Hizbullah's attack with an all-out offensive; and who actually won that war, that war that still remains unnamed?

This muddled aftermath is a direct result of the inability of the political leadership to come up with a coherent strategy during the war and the chief of staff's failure to present military options for approval.

Halutz's successor will have two urgent tasks to carry out in his first months of command. First, he will have to implement lessons drawn from the army's conduct during the war. Halutz has taken the first major step in that direction by setting up 40 teams that assessed the army's performance at all levels.

In the second task, the successor has received no help from Halutz - he will have to return the IDF's high command to its proper position of fulfilling the elected government's directives. But he will not be able to accomplish this without a political leadership that understands military matters and is capable of issuing orders.

Arabs vs Israel

Felix submits this item by Farrukh Saleem which appeared in The News, Pakistan, January 9, 2007. Felix comments: "This is the essence of what ails the Arab Middle East – not the Israeli/Palestinian issue which of course also needs settling but cannot move forward with the likes of Hamas".

Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb: "If God were to humiliate a human being He would deny him knowledge"The League of Arab States has 22 members. Of the 22, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman are 'traditional monarchies'. Of the 22, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria and Somalia are 'Authoritarian Regimes' (Source: www.freedomhouse.org). Of the 22, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Morocco and Somalia are among the 'world's most repressive regimes' (Source: A special report to the 59th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights). Of the 330 million Muslim men, women and children living under Arab rulers a mere 486,530 live in a democracy (0.15 per cent of the total).

TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE

Death toll of Israeli civilians killed hits a low

Raji Dajani of ATFP sent this. William comments that it's hugely misleading - given even the official figures for the Summer War:

By DION NISSENBAUM
McClatchy Newspapers
JERUSALEM - Israel's summer war with Hezbollah in the north and small rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip in the south have overshadowed a striking reality: Fewer Israeli civilians died in Palestinian attacks in 2006 than in any year since the Palestinian uprising began in 2000.
Palestinian militants killed 23 Israelis and foreign visitors in 2006, down from a high of 289 in 2002 during the height of the uprising.

TO VIEW FULL REPORT CLICK HERE

They know the price of peace

Haaretz (Israel) presents survey results of Israeli public opinion by the excellent Tamar Herman. This was forwarded to us by Rafi Dajani of ATFP:

Peace Index / They know price of peace, but are unwilling to pay it
By Prof. Ephraim Yaar and Prof. Tamar Hermann

Education Minister Yuli Tamir's decision to have the Green Line marked on maps in schoolbooks, and the controversy it sparked, led us to reexplore this month the Israeli Jewish public's views on the future of the settlements and relations with the Palestinians. In keeping with the Knesset Education Committee, and unlike Tamir's position, the rate of those who prefer that the Green Line not be marked on the maps is higher than the rate of those who agree with her. Likewise, even though a considerable majority of the Jewish public realizes that it is impossible to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians without evacuating most of the Jewish settlements in the territories, only a minority supports such an evacuation and an even smaller minority believes the Palestinians would sign a peace treaty in return. At the same time, opinions are divided on the government's recent decision to expand some settlements in the territories to absorb evacuees from the Gaza Strip. That is, at least some of the opponents of an evacuation oppose a further expansion of settlements, apparently out of a fear of aggravating relations with the Palestinians.

TO VIEW FULL REPORT CLICK HERE

Time to admit failure

Rafi Dajani of ATFP submits a Haaretz (Israel) opinion by Danny Rubinstein which declares the failure of the current peace process paradigm

TIME TO ADMIT FAILURE By Danny Rubinstein Haaretz, Opinion (Israel) January 8, 2007

It may already be too late for Israelis and Palestinians to be able to reach an agreement using the present format. The methods attempted by the sides thus far, and which for a moment seemed as if they were about to succeed, have failed. The peace process that began with the shake-up created by the first intifada almost 20 years ago has apparently reached the end of the road.

Many Palestinians, and many Israelis as well, estimate that the present period is among the worst in the history of the conflict in this land. The violent struggle between Fatah and Hamas is not good for Israel. Palestinian spokesmen reject out of hand any attempt to describe their situation as a civil war. Some say it is "a war of organizations," which is a more accurate description. Whatever the case, after the extensive coverage of the meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), two weeks ago, one of the Palestinian journalists declared that it is now clear to him that on one subject there is no difference of opinion among the rival Palestinian groups: They all agree that the State of Israel does not want peace.

TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE

Church message to Congress

This item was submitted by Afif in Washington:

Churches for Middle East Peace has sent a letter of greeting to the 110th Congress. The letter urges the new Congress "to make a negotiated resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in the context of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace initiative, an urgent priority" in 2007. The letter points out that "progress toward Israeli-Palestinian-Arab peace will require bi-partisan Congressional support and encouragement for the Administration" and reminds the Senators and Representatives that "church advocates around the country will support [their] work on behalf of peace in the Holy Land". A link to the full letter is included below.
In preparation for advocacy in 2007, CMEP has begun updating its Government Contacts page with the current information available (please continue to check back in the coming weeks as subcommittee membership is assigned).
Feb. 16-26 is the first scheduled Congressional recess. The second is over Easter/Passover from March 30-April 10 for the Senate and March 30-April 16 for the House (2007 Congressional Calendar).

Letter in PDF Format: House/Senate

Jewish groups are expecting action

Rafi Dajani of ATFP sent this item:

By Ron Kampeas January 2, 2007

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (JTA) — With Democrats in charge of the new U.S. Congress convening this week, it’s a time of well-wishing, wish lists and wishes come true for an array of national Jewish groups.

TO VIEW FULL REPORT CLICK HERE