I am off to Baghdad on Sunday for an Arab League conference on Palestinian detainees held in Israel. This is part of my determination to devote more of my time to helping the Palestinian cause. It seems to me we are at a crucial point where the Palestinians are in genuine danger of an accelerated genocide, as Israeli intentions to annex Est Jerusalem and the West Bank become ever plainer.
In retrospect, my life has mostly been based on the idea that I may not be able to do much to help in a particular situation, but it is incumbent on me to try. So I am trying.
A “two state” solution has, from the start, been advanced in bad faith by promoters such as Blair and Bush, with the intention always that it would be a Bantustan solution. For those too young to recall, the grand plan of apartheid South Africa was that the black population would be corraled into a number of small regions which would become “independent states”.
I have said before that I am often pleasantly surprised by Sky News security correspondent Sam Kiley, who seems to get away with talking great sense by hiding behind a Ross Kemp style persona. A couple of days ago he reported from the West Bank that Israel was “moving towards an apartheid state”. There is no doubt that is true – even in Israel proper, there are over three hundred ethnically based Israeli laws prescribing different treatment for Jews and others, across almost every activity of the state. I fear Sam Kiley will not be on mainstream TV long – a tendency to tell the truth being career fatal.
Bibi’s desire to kill off the two state solution is a terrible, genocidal threat but strangely also an opportunity. Botha and De Klerk did not succeed, and Bibi may not either. I personally would have deplored a Bantustan based solution, with crammed and split Palestinian lands deprived of resources, water, communications and any hope of economic viability.
The ultimate solution must involve a proper single state in Israel/Palestine which is blind and fair in its laws to race and religion. That solution can ultimately bring security to the people of Israel, not based on their ability to kill or evict their neighbours and steal their land. The essentials of the agreement will have to be most people staying where they are – including most West Bank settlers – and very serious compensation to dispossessed Palestinians, with the settlements enlarged to become mixed communities.
On the Palestinian detainee question, for me it shows up yet again Israel’s extraordinary capacity for shameless sophistry in matters of international law. Israel justifies its naval blockade on the San Remo Convention, which is only applicable in times of armed conflict. Israel states that it is in a de facto permanent armed conflict. However it denies being in an armed conflict when it comes to its treatment of Palestinain detainees, captured outside Israel, who are not treated as prisoners of war. Both positions cannot be held simultaneously, but secure in the collusion of the West’s bought politicians, Israel does so.
Mike, its all planned and Osborne has no qualms to have another little war on our backs, as long as he gets his cut in cheap oil, making his 3p tax cuts affordable.
Welcome to consumer inflation never seen before, bye bye Threadneedle, welcome Weimar republic.
craig, if it’s the same arab league members who assisted in the destruction of libya & who are involved in the overthrow of the govt in syria, then i question their intentions:
5 Dec – US diplomat meets UN-AL envoy on Syria
The US State Department said on Tuesday that Deputy Secretary of State William Burns met with UN-Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and discussed with him the current situation in Syria in Washington.
During their meeting on Monday at the State Department, Burns reiterated the strong US support for Brahimi’s mission, according to a written statement issued by the department..
Brahimi on Friday urged the UN Security Council to act to save Syria from becoming a failed state…
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-12/05/content_15987058.htm
from Radio Netherlands:
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is in danger of collapse “anytime” as the opposition gains ground on the military and political fronts, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi told AFP on Monday.
“That could happen anytime,” the secretary general said in an exclusive interview..
He said a new coalition of Syrian opposition groups now based in Cairo was “moving ahead.”
The Arab League, which is also based in the Egyptian capital, last month recognised Syria’s National Coalition as the “legitimate” representative of the Syrian opposition.
“We are in touch with them and they come here all the time,” Arabi said..
http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/assad-may-fall-anytime-arab-league-head-tells-afp
also, what is the position of the arab league on the wahhabi saudi regime’s destruction of islamic heritage sites?
Interview from Voice of Cape Radio on Islamic heritage lost as Makkah modernizes
Interview with Dr Irfan Al Alawi, executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation:
We must consider that if in the 1980’s they could completely replace the Kaaba, what stops them from removing the Green Dome in Madina? What is needed is more awareness on these heritage sites around the globe because the time is running out quickly as Makkah is being blown to pieces.”..
http://www.shafaqna.com/english/shafaq/item/9433-interview-from-voice-of-cape-radio-on-islamic-heritage-lost-as-makkah-modernizes.html?tmpl=component&print=1
Medina: Saudis take a bulldozer to Islam’s history
Three of the world’s oldest mosques are about to be destroyed as Saudi Arabia embarks on a multi-billion-pound expansion of Islam’s second holiest site…
In Mecca, the Masjid al-Haram, the holiest site in Islam and a place where all Muslims are supposed to be equal, is now overshadowed by the Jabal Omar complex, a development of skyscraper apartments, hotels and an enormous clock tower. To build it, the Saudi authorities destroyed the Ottoman era Ajyad Fortress and the hill it stood on. Other historic sites lost include the Prophet’s birthplace – now a library – and the house of his first wife, Khadijah, which was replaced with a public toilet block…
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/medina-saudis-take-a-bulldozer-to-islams-history-8228795.html
Palestine – one or two-state solutions. both have advocates & detractors, but nothing gets done either way.
Most of Robert Fisk’s published articles are sadly too brief, this one is heartwarming and gives a taste of the Palestine that once was. 95 year old Ruth Dayan, lambasts the Zionists:
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/both-arab-and-jew-lived-in-the-original-palestine-why-moshe-dayan-asks-cant-they-do-so-again-8374174.html
the still somewhat independent McClathy media house in the US has an illuminating article on the Syrian rebels, which is timely given all the warmongering being waged at present, including in the Christian Science Monitor by the way:
2 Dec – Al Qaida-linked group Syria rebels once denied now key to anti-Assad victories
by David Enders
Nearly a year later, however, Jabhat al Nusra, which U.S. officials believe has links to al Qaida, has become essential to the frontline operations of the rebels fighting to topple Assad.
Not only does the group still conduct suicide bombings that have killed hundreds, but they’ve proved to be critical to the rebels’ military advance..
Among Nusra fighters are many Syrians who say they fought with al Qaida in Iraq, which waged a bloody and violent campaign against the U.S. presence in that country and is still blamed for suicide and car bombings that have killed hundreds of Iraqis since the U.S. troops left a year ago..
On a trip to Syria that spanned most of the month of November, a journalist found Nusra’s fighters on every frontline he visited..
Mahmoud said he saw no reason to hold elections if Assad falls.
“Eighty percent of Syrians want Islamic law,” he said.
Many fighters said they were aware of the accusations about Nusra’s links to al Qaida. But they generally discount the importance of those ties when speaking with journalists..
Still, there are moments when Nusra’s ideology shines through.
“When we finish with Assad, we will fight the U.S.!” one Nusra fighter shouted in the northeastern Syrian city of Ras al Ayn when he was told an American journalist present. He laughed as he said it and then got into a van and drove off, leaving the journalist unable to ask whether it had been a joke…
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/12/02/176123/al-qaida-linked-group-syria-rebels.html#storylink=omni_popular#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy
libyan rebel organiser & french public intellectual(?), Bernard Henri-Levy, deplores US inaction in Syria, watch the first 20 mins at least:
The Consequences of Inaction in Syria
A Conversation with Bernard-Henri Levy and Senator John McCain, held at the 2012 FPI Forum at the Newseum in Washington DC on November 27
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=G5PwxNt5h2Y#t=844s
what is extraordinary is how easily the West has gone from fighting Al Qaeda to teaming up with them again (as in Afghanistan, Balkans, etc) without the public barely even noticing, even when christians in syria are targeted, etc.
JUST OUT – NBC RATCHETS UP WAR ON SYRIA:
Syria loads chemical weapons into bombs; military awaits Assad’s order
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/05/15706380-syria-loads-chemical-weapons-into-bombs-military-awaits-assads-order?lite
tragedy after tragedy. lie upon lie.
Whilst I understand the feelings behind some of the rhetoric targetted against Oniel and his views I think it is important that we try and understand the opinions of those who have different perspectives.
Yes in my opinion there is little support for the Palestinian cause in the MSM and its good to come to a safe haven like this Blog where the majority of people here share our views and try and fight for the underdog. However, we must be open to having a real debate and therefore need to be prepared to listen to opposing views.
Clarks’ intervention was timely, well meaning and had the desired effect. We should discuss and disagree with opinions and views and try to avoid attacking the individual. It was encouraging to see that some common ground existed between adversaries and this is where the actual conflict should begin its resolution.
It will take people from both sides in this conflict to come together, find this common ground and then make compromises and agreements which can bring lasting peace. Whether the solution takes the form of a single or two separate states the joint negotiations must begin and continue unbroken until resolution is agreed. The major challenge is to find a facilitator who is objective and independant and acceptable to both sides.
As did many readers of this Blog I celebrated the UN vote in favour of a Palestinian state but as expected this antagonised the Israelies who countered with a programme of settlement building. The UN then potentially further escalated the situation by requesting that Israel open its nuclear facilities for inspection. This is something I have been in favour of for some time in the light of the demands being made on Iran by Western Governments and MSM. It will be interesting to see the Israeli response to this although I believe it is fairly predictable as they are known to ignore anything that the UN requests against their favour.
Again there’s an interesting lack of coverage in the MSM on this UN request but I read this in my local newspaper in the central Philippines, despite the fact that we were being bombarded by typhoon Pablo at the time which killed over 350 people. The source was AP and I later found it in The Gaurdian and Washington Post but without readers commments. I’d be interested to hear the views of commenters here.
These actions may just be escalating the pressure on this situation. They may be well intentioned to get Israel to capitulate and come to the negotiating table ready to compromise, but they could equally have the opposite effect. I hope someone has thought this chess game through and the outcome is an agreed draw rather than win/lose.
Continue the good work Craig, good luck in your endeavours and take care.
@ Craig
“On the other hand a two state solution is impossible, because Israel’s corralling of land and water resources has left no chance of a viable Palestinian state.”
which is another way of saying that if Israel could be incentivised to stop corralling land and water a one state solution is entirely possible, isn’t it?
I wish you luck, Craig, in all your endeavors. It is good to keep the eye on the ball, no matter how distant it seems now.
Alas, as someone who hails from that part of the world and reads more than a little in the language Israelis use to share their innermost feelings, I fear that things will get much much worse before they get better. It is not just Netanyahoo and his right wing die-hards. It is the entire strata of israeli jewish society that covets a land without natives. they got many in the world to buy into the myth of the “insecurity” that they feel threatemned by. It’s a myth however. the average israeli fears very little from the palestinian side. They may be annoyed at some inconvenience to their life style but annoyance is not fear. The sad truth is that the israelis do see israel getting away with a slow process of ethnic cleansing. They believe- for the most part that they got America cowed for a long time to come – and with America, the rest of the world. Most israelis (we can quibble about how many ‘most’ is) believe that they can live with the way things are for as long as necessary and they will support – really they will – whatever needs to be done to make the Palestinians “just go away”. In a nutshell – that is the plan. First Area C (60% of the west bank) to be completely emptied from palestinians. Then big chunks of Area B. What’s left are your batustans -about 20% of the west bank and they will be cordoned off like Gaza. Problem is – even that will not be enough ultimately.
I would say that at this point in time, talk of a just one-state is fine and well – again because it’s necessary to keep up hope for a future. The reality is as you said in the first paragraph – there is a process of ethnic cleansing going on – a deliberate and methodical one – and it is about to accelerate much more than we have seen thus far. Under these conditions, we should do all we can to make sure that it doesn’t go unnoticed, do what we must to ensure that it doesn’t turn into outright genocide, and keep up as much pressure as possible to somehow turn things around.
God speed!
Prof Jake Lynch’s exchange with The Australian’s journalist Christian Kerr re his article of December 6, 2012
http://www.australiansforpalestine.net/72514
Kerr wrote a critical piece about Prof Jake Lynch who had upheld the academic boycott. Lynch replied. The Australian is a Murdoch News Corp newspaper incidentally.
Sir Zelman Cowen referred to was a Jewish Governor General of Australia in the 70s. I note his Wikepedia entry has this neat little CAMERA edit –
‘The fact that Cowen was Jewish gave his appointment a multicultural aspect in keeping with contemporary Australian sentiment.[citation needed)’
{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelman_Cowen}
Nevermind – All of what you wrote is fair game and speaks a lot of truth. However, whether done intentionally or not, you completely absolved any responsibility from the Palestinian side. How do you expect 2 sides to come together when you can’t even see past your own failings?
Also, you have been writing as if Israel’s problem is with the European left (people on this blog), when actually, with all due respect, most Israelis don’t really care what you think. Their issue is with the Palestinians, not you. And it is the Palestinians that they need to make peace with.
You ask “why speak to us?” when I could be speaking to right wing Israelis, and the answer is that I want to hear an opposing view. I speak to many people on all sides of the spectrum and it is interesting to note the different attitudes to the conflict. Even more interesting is seeing how the only place where progress looks possible is where the 2 sides can actually agree on things. In an environment where people simplistically believe that one side is good and the other side is bad, all you end up with is people further entrenched in their positions. This approach will fail and cause more bloodshed.
Habbabkuk – Dinner was lovely, thank you. I’m sorry that me waking up this morning has upset you 🙂
Cebuano – Re: “We should discuss and disagree with opinions and views and try to avoid attacking the individual. It was encouraging to see that some common ground existed between adversaries and this is where the actual conflict should begin its resolution.”
My sentiment exactly.
Thank you
Nevermind 12.04
It is not dangerous either. The only attacks now in Iraq are external al-Qa’ida, funded from Saudi, trying to bring down the heretic Shi’a.
Mind you, you’re lucky, Craig, to get a visa to go to Baghdad. I’ve been waiting four months now for the Minister of Tourism to sign my letter of invitation.
Essentially, what happened in Iraq after after the US withdrawal was that the country has turned in on itself, back to the isolationism of the time of Saddam. I have no doubt that it is a sort of national trauma, a national PTSD, after the experience with the Americans (and us).
The reality is as you said in the first paragraph – there is a process of ethnic cleansing going on – a deliberate and methodical one – and it is about to accelerate much more than we have seen thus far. (Marlin)
Yes. There never was an intention to have a two-state solution*. Thanks to international flaccidity, the project is now past the point of no return. While up to now the Israelis have been careful to keep the West on side, no matter how illegal their actions, they are now confident enough of success in appropriating the West Bank to be able to ignore external criticism completely.
What Craig’s up against is whether eretz-Yisrael is to be a Jewish state, with no room for anyone with the wrong beliefs -in effect a theocracy without mullahs and administered by a bigoted political class instead – OR a genuine democracy of the kind it mendaciously claims to be and is so fond of contrasting with its neighbours’ systems.
Unless anyone cares to take it back by force, Israel is in charge between the Med and the Jordan. It is in a position to move further, and this is an article of faith for some of the extremists now in the Knesset: Israel between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates. For Jews and no-one else.
There are signs that the dim consciousness that this is not a noble endeavour we are assisting, is even beginning to penetrate skulls as thick as Hague’s. But it may be too late. The two-state solution is dead and buried – it may have been stillborn, indeed. It is not too late, though, for the democracies to insist that for trade to be possible with Israel, it must demonstrate real democracy itself. Or for Jordan to defend its own frontier in depth.
*Rabin may have been an honest broker, though
And it is the Palestinians that they need to make peace with. (Oniel)
No. They need an enemy. Otherwise the notion of Israel as a beleaguered little nation fighting for its freedom against the malice of the world falls apart completely. Ditto antisemitism. Essential to the project.
Komodo – THERE IS NO PROJECT. Israelis want to live peacefully, the majority of them side by side a Palestinian state.
Do you not see how your divisiveness makes the issue worse and prolongs the current situation? Please be honest with me and tell me what you expect to achieve through your method of pitting one side against the other, trying to force a situation on a set of people who don’t even want it. And then please answer just one last question – Do you really believe it will work?
Please please dont come back with “yeah, what about the… and what about the….”. Please just answer the question and at least we can debate it.
Regards
“I am off to Baghdad on Sunday for an Arab League conference on Palestinian detainees held in Israel.”
Will the Arab League be covering your costs for the trip Craig?
Oniel. You are misrepresenting my view. Everyone wants to live in peace, make enough to live on and a bit extra. Including the occupants of Gaza. That’s everyone in the street. Not everyone in government, and not people motivated by religious belief to the point where they become deaf to the man in the street.
What solution am I trying to impose? Oh yes. A pluralistic society. Shock horror. And who doesn’t want it? Meir Kahane and its fellow-travellers. Good enough reason, I’d say, to impose it.
Will it work? Pluralistic societies work just fine elsewhere. Even the USA, with its 2.5% of descendants of European Jews fleeing the pogroms. Half the world’s Jews live in the US, and they seem to manage…
To deny that there is a project, as you do, is absurd. Its evidence is abundant, in the systematic breakup and recolonisation of the Occupied West Bank (now officially Judea and Samaria, lol). In the nexus of checkpoints, and Jewish-only roads. And in the frantic efforts to attract yet more settlers.
Sorry, you can’t discuss this without mentioning what the Israeli state is doing, any more than I can without deploring the utter stupidity of some of Islamic Jihad’s actions.
You speak about Meir Kahana as if his views are common place in Israel. They are not. There are an extreme few (even that is too many for my liking) but they hold no political sway.
Everyone wants a pluralistic society. And fortunately one exists Israel. When I am on holiday in Israel, I walk past 2 mosques every morning on my way to get breakfast. 8 times out of 10, when I have an issue with my set top box at home, the engineer is an Israeli Arab. When I sit in a bar watching Real Madrid against Barcelona, I am sat amongst other Israeli Arabs. I am not denying that racism doesn’t exist and I am not denying that there are forms of discrimination at play, but the same levels are existent in other democracies the world over, including England.
Come on Komodo (sorry, I don’t know your birth name), it has got to be plain to see that Jews would not be able to live freely without fear of persecution in a democratic state in the ME. Do you think I am wrong there? If so, please show examples of the contrary.
Re Jewish only roads: Have you ever been on one or seen one? If not, how do you know they exist? There are roads that are accessible to Israelis only. This however, includes access to Israeli Arabs who of course are not Jewish. Please don’t use unfounded smears. If we are going to debate (and I appreciate you debating these issues with me), it needs to be kept factual as possible and honest.
The reason I asked not to go on to other subjects is so that we can discuss one point at a time, hopefully finding some common ground. Otherwise we will end up going round in circles without actually addressing anything at all
By the way, to those of you who are insistent on attacking me, I won’t be responding to you. If people (mainly) outside the conflict can’t have dialogue, what chance do the people involved have of doing the same
http://www.netanyahu.org/dearworld.html
Check. No connection there then.
Re the rest…then that’s fine, isn’t it? All you have to do is to extend the same equal rights to the Palestinians – that’s the people who have to use those roads to weave round the hilltop settlements built on their land – as you do to the “Israeli Arabs”….
http://www.acri.org.il/en/category/arab-citizens-of-israel/negev-bedouins-and-unrecognized-villages/
or “token n*****s” as some would say, unkindly. Well, maybe not.
BTW if you want to debate one point at a time, better not to raise several. But that’s up to you.
Sorry Komodo, I don’t understand your first point. Bit early for me!
Turning the West Bank into a part of Israel proper (1 state solution) would spell the end of Israel as you well know. And if that is what you want, do you believe that Jews would be able to live in this new environment (maybe 50-60 years from now) free from fear of persecution?
Fair enough on the last point. I agree
An insight into Netanyahu’s tactics –
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-5hUG6Os68
Morning all
Thanks to cebuano for your eloquent reply from the Phillipines, it shows that the whole world is watching what is happening in Israel now.
and thanks for the link to Ruth Dayans words in Robert Fisks interview, Cryptomnym, she makes it clear that it is not a matter of one side or other, but of mutuality, of one people.
We are faced with unprecedented US hardware assembling in the eastern Med. and are told by propagandists that Assad is about to chemically annihilate his own people. Will Israel keep out of this struggle at its northern border, or will it be used to further strain negotiations, a tactic used in the past to leave the negotiation table empty?
Economies world wide struggle and the UN is helplessly looking on as their efforts are discouraged and ignored in southern Lebanon, Dafur as well as in the eastern Kongo, so we cannot expect much of their token gestures.
Oniel, you say ‘I do not take Palestinians to task’ which reminds me of Goliath complaining to David as to why he uses a sling.
I like to ask you why it is that even arch Zionists as Mr. Glass ‘telling’ and badgering Mr. Netanmyahu for his failure, that he has wasted 7 years sitting on his hands, doing nothing to advance peace negotiations with ‘the best and most attentive Palestinian leader ever’?
If this is so, what chance will moderate politicians have in the Knesset? and why, if the next election means more of the same, should one hold sway or hope for a settlement at all?
But we are here, both factions have to made to live together, without the option of walking back, no more easy wars or conflicts to walk away from talks.
believe me living together without discriminating against each other, on an equal level, will be much harder than shooting, so at first this might feel like punishment to both sides.
We have spoken out against Palestinian rockets fired, in response to attacks or otherwise, Oniel, but we can seen the full spectrum force response they set against Gaza during cast Lead, some illegal and outrageous, aimed at children, one of the IDF’s core policy to strike the family/community at its heart. We see the need for a false flag by Israel during the latest conflict, the need to be seen to be hurt, and this is were I can agree with Komodo’s project argument, advanced by those who want to carry on eroding the 1967 borders until there is not much left.
I suggest that you talk to the Knesset’s MP’s to give a sign of change, join the NNPT, lift the roadblocks and give back the monies collected for Palestinians, for all I care open all crossings and debate the substantial issues with the next generation on both sides, not politicians, but those who will inherit and have to live in the chaos created by their grand/fathers.
Today, are we ALL working from home again? Suggest that it would be much warmer at the office where the cost of heating is a business expense.
Good luck on your trip, Craig.
An admission from the BBC that just one of their thousands of pro-Israel reports was biased.
BBC Trust admits problems with reports on Palestine solidarity protest against Israeli theater in London
by Ali Abunimah on Thu, 12/06/2012 – 01:34
Palestine solidarity campaigners have welcomed a ruling by the BBC Trust, the broadcaster’s governing body, that news bulletin had breached accuracy guidelines in reports on protests at a performance by Israel’s Habima theater company in London last May.
“Having initially denied the breach, the BBC backed down following a six month campaign by Palestine Solidarity Campaign (UK), and this week released its new ruling. In its finding, the Trust said the relevant news bulletins had not been presented in ‘clear, precise language,’” the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said in a press release.
“We welcome the BBC Trust’s admission that these news bulletins were inaccurate in the information they gave to the BBC’s audience and should have been scripted more carefully,” PSC’s Amena Saleem said.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/bbc-trust-admits-problems-reports-palestine-solidarity-protest-against-israeli
O/T (sort of)
A new study on why people believe in misinformation includes the observation that repeating an untruth, even when disproving it, can reinforce the untruth.
An article based on the study: http://www.spring.org.uk/2012/12/why-people-believe-weird-things-and-8-ways-to-change-their-minds.php