The press release featured below from the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s ‘Department of Culture and Information’ is dated March 26. It features Dr Hana Ashrawi’s bold rebuke of the US for its predictable failure to support four resolutions brought before the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) condemning Israel for ongoing human rights abuses in occupied Palestine.
Obama has made his visit to Israel/Palestine and his position is clear: US support for Israel is unconditional and no pressure is being put on the Netanyahu government to end the Palestinian occupation or even to slow the rate of settlement expansion! Now the gloves are off and the PA is telling it like it is! As Ashrawi says, “The United States, ostensibly a champion of ‘liberty and justice for all’, voted against freedom and democracy, and for racism, oppression and apartheid.”
Will this press release receive any attention in the US? We’ll see. Will these prophetic protests from Palestine make any difference to US policy? Not likely!
Father Dave
Dr Hanan Ashrawi
Dr. Ashrawi on the adoption by the UNHRC of four resolutions regarding the situation in the Occupied State of Palestine
On 19 March 2013, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in its 22nd session, voted nearly unanimously to adopt four texts regarding the situation in the Occupied State of Palestine, including East Jerusalem.
In relevant part, the texts warned that ongoing Israeli violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, particularly as regards the illegal settlement enterprise, constituted ‘a major obstacle to the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace and to the creation of an independent, viable, sovereign and democratic Palestinian State’. They demanded that Israel respect international human rights and humanitarian law and comply with its legal obligations thereunder. They condemned ‘all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction’; and called upon Israel to implement serious measures to prevent and punish acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians and properties in the Occupied State, including East Jerusalem. They demanded that ‘Israel, the occupying power, cease all practices and actions that violate the human rights of the Palestinian people, including the killing and injury of civilians, the arbitrary detention and imprisonment of civilians and the destruction and confiscation of civilian property’. They demanded that all parties concerned implement and ensure the implementation of the all of the recommendations found in the Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission to Investigate the Implications of Israeli settlements on the Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and urged their assistance in the early realization of ‘the inalienable, permanent and unqualified right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including their right to live in freedom, justice and dignity, and to establish their sovereign, independent, democratic and viable contiguous State’.
Only the United States voted against any of the four texts, and it voted against them all.
In response, PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said:
“On behalf of the Palestinian people and leadership, I would like to express great appreciation and gratitude to the Council Members who stood up for human rights, peace, and justice in the Occupied State of Palestine. We appreciate your support and value your courage to stand behind your convictions.”
Dr. Ashrawi stressed, “In this context, the United States once again demonstrated a total disregard for Palestinian rights and the requirements of peace. In this 22nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, it willfully voted against the fundamental human rights of people and against the very core values upon which the United States claims to be founded.”
“The United States, ostensibly a champion of ‘liberty and justice for all’, voted against freedom and democracy, and for racism, oppression and apartheid. It voted against justice, and for impunity, in the face of the most egregious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. It voted against peace. There can be no justification for this double standard.”
“Rather than respecting human rights and the rule of law, the United States has chosen to politicize them, and to continue to isolate itself with its unwavering support for the illegal policies and practices of the Israeli occupation.”
“It is therefore incumbent upon the international community to stand strong and united in upholding the rule of law and the established principles and values that govern the international system and individual states,” concluded Dr. Ashrawi.
Filed under Israel and Palestine by on Mar 30th, 2013. Comment. 
‘Palestinians for Dignity’ have a point! President Obama’s two terms in office have thus far given the Palestinian people absolutely nothing to celebrate!
While the proposed trip to the West Bank might be interpreted as an indication that the American President takes the Palestinian people seriously, the US did indeed vote against statehood for Palestine at the UN last year and have repeatedly declared that they are the Occupier’s staunchest ally!
If Obama does enter Palestine accompanied by an Israeli security team he will not be coming as a friend but as a symbol of the Empire that powers the Occupation!
Father Dave
The days of promise: Obama in Cairo in 2009
source: http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=305821
Palestinian activists: Obama non grata in Palestine
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Group called “Palestinian For Dignity” plan demonstrations in protest of Obama’s planned visit to the West Bank.
Palestinian activists said over the weekend that they would hold demonstrations in protest against US President Barack Obama’s planned visit to the West Bank later this month.
A group called “Palestinian For Dignity” called for “huge demonstrations” against Obama and US policies “supportive of the occupation.”
The group said that Obama was “persona non grata in Palestine” because of US military, financial and diplomatic aid for Israel.
“We call upon our people to demonstrate against receiving he who considers himself Israel’s No. 1 ally,” the group said in a statement. “We also call for demonstrations against the idea of returning to the negotiations [with Israel.”
The group said that Obama’s planned visit to Ramallah “comes at a time when our prisoners are on hunger strike and weeks after the death of prisoner Arafat Jaradat in interrogation cells.”
The group said that it was naive to think that US policy toward Israel has changed during Obama’s term.
It also reminded Palestinians that the US had voted against the PA request for upgrading the Palestinians’ status to nonmember observer at the UN in November last year.
In a related development, Hamas and Islamic Jihad called on Palestinians to prevent Obama from visiting the Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem.
The two groups said they were opposed to Obama’s visits, especially if he is accompanied by Israeli security officials.99
Filed under Israel and Palestine, israel and palestine conflict by on Mar 11th, 2013. 1 Comment.
This recently-published video is a compilation of images of Bethlehem – the ‘little town’ that was the birthplace of Jesus.
Today as then, Bethlehem is a city under occupation. Jesus was only born there because the occupying power (Rome) ordered Mary and Joseph to travel there in order to complete a census. The current occupying power (Israel) is not so intent on increasing the population of Bethlehem but seems more interested in sealing it off from the rest of the world!
Father Dave
If you can’t view the video, click here
Filed under map of israel and palestine by on Mar 11th, 2013. 1 Comment.
PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION NEGOTIATIONS AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
RUNNING RINGS AROUND THE WORLD: ISRAEL’S COLONIAL EXPANSION IN OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM
FEBRUARY 2013
Since the Israeli occupation of 1967, the Israeli government, in cooperation with Israeli settler organizations, has actively intensified a process of colonization all over the Occupied West Bank, particularly in and around Occupied East Jerusalem. This process serves the overarching Israeli goal of annexing vast parts of the State of Palestine to the State of Israel. Although the international community considers Israel’s actions to be illegal and has strongly condemned them through several UN resolutions[1], Israel has been allowed to aggressively pursue its illegal colonization enterprise without any legal, diplomatic or political consequences.
Israeli settlement activity in and around Jerusalem has increased under recent Israeli governments, particularly under PM Netanyahu’s mandate. Israel has been creating three main rings of settlements:
1) Ring of settlements set to fragment the Old City of Occupied East Jerusalem and its adjacent Palestinian neighborhoods. This is in order to expand the Jewish Quarter and includes several Palestinian houses taken by Israeli settlers in the Christian, Armenian and Muslim quarters as well as the demolition of the Magharbeh Quarter. Meanwhile, adjacent to the Old City, Israel’s colonial activity spreads throughout Sheikh Jarrah, Wadi Joz, Ras Amoud, Silwan and the Mount of Olives.
2) Ring of settlements set to isolate the surrounding neighborhoods of Occupied East Jerusalem from the Old City. These settlements include: Ramot Eshkol, French Hill, Kidmat Zion and East Talpiyot.
3) Ring of settlements set to seal the whole of Occupied East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied State of Palestine. These settlements include: Pisgat Ze’ev, Neve Yaaqov, Giv’at Ze’ev, Ramot, Ma’ale Adumim, Har Homa, Giv’at Hamatos, Gilo and Har Gilo.
This fact sheet describes the first ring of colonial settlements. It focuses on the settlements built throughout the Palestinian neighborhoods surrounding the old city of Jerusalem and also highlights the new facts on the ground that settler organizations, along with Israeli Occupation Forces, are trying to establish in the occupied Palestinian capital. A newly planned Israeli military academy will also be considered in more detail, as a recent example of Israeli colonization policies in Occupied East Jerusalem.
To continue reading the fact sheet, please go to RUNNING RINGS AROUND THE WORLD
Filed under israel and palestine articles by on Feb 18th, 2013. Comment.
Father Roy writes: Here’s something tangible that we in the International Community can work with. Notice that Jordan’s King Abdullah met Monday with a delegation from AIPAC. Notice what HRH had to say. The International Debate continues.
Peace, Roy
Arab League urges ‘new approach’ to Mideast conflict
Monday, 14 January 2013
By Al Arabiya wit agencies
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi on Monday called for a “new approach” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, slamming previous processes as a waste of time.
“In order to solve this problem, we should have a new mechanism and new methods and a new approach to dealing with the crisis,” AFP reported Arabi as saying after talks with the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy.
“The main target after all these wasted years should be ending the Israeli occupation, not signing temporary agreements that would go round in circles and that would only lead to wasting time in a way that allows Israel to expand its settlements,” he said.
Last month, Arabi had criticized the International Quartet — which comprises the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia — as ineffective.
For his part, Van Rompuy said there must be “concerted and coordinated actions by all key actors to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”
“Now is the time to look forward and to take bold steps towards peace in the Middle East,” he said.
Jordan’s king urges Israel
In a related story, Jordan’s king has warned that the failure to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians is adding to regional tensions.
A statement from the royal palace said King Abdullah II told a delegation from the Washington-based American Israel Public Affairs Committee that regional changes tied to the Arab Spring should “drive” the Israeli government to “embrace peace,” the Associated Press reported.
In his talks Monday with the pro-Israel group, the king also called on Israel to stop measures that he said hinder peace efforts, including West Bank settlement construction.
Abdullah urged Israel, the Palestinians and the U.S. to resume peacemaking efforts. He called for direct talks based on a two-state solution, which envisions the establishment of a Palestinian state.
He said it remains the “only formula” to end the 65-year old conflict.
Filed under Israel and Palestine, israel and palestine conflict by on Jan 15th, 2013. Comment.
Recent Comments