Israel land grab law 'ends hope of two-state solution'

Salaam

Update on the situation in Gaza

Gaza crisis reaches boiling point

BEIRUT, LEBANON (3:00 P.M.) – The ongoing humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip is quickly coming to a boiling point.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the 11th of August expressed their “deep concerns” for the intensifying conditions in the humanitarian crisis and when we look at the situation it’s really not hard to see why they are concerned.

The situation in Gaza:

Right now, the current situation in the Gaza strip is perhaps the worst it has ever been. If you are a 9 year old child in Gaza, you have lived through three separate wars, with each war delivering a different horror, ranging from illegally dropped white phosphorous, to the targeting of Gaza’s sewerage system and other essential facilities like Gaza’s only power plant.

Over 80% of Gazan’s currently rely upon international food aid to live, 96% of their the water is completely undrinkable, the unemployment rate in Gaza is 46%, over 60% amongst the youth and all these problems are being exacerbated by the recent ongoing (4 month) crisis.

Roughly eighty percent of Gazan’s currently receive only 2 hours (per day) of electricity due to the recent power crisis. The lack of electricity means that most of Gaza’s hospital facilities are rendered un-operational, with half of Gaza’s hospitals completely closing down.

Gazan’s are robbed of the right to self determination via agricultural means and cannot store fish that they catch (from the areas they are restricted to fishing within) due to lack of refrigeration means. Fishermen will often be targeted within Israel’s imposed zones and will be killed for no reason other than the Israelis felt like shooting.

Gaza is also deprived by Israel of the electricity necessary to pump sewerage properly, which results in sewage running into the streets, this has spiked an increase in disease. In Israel, Ashkelon beach has even been deemed un-swimmable as a result of their own policies – employed to strangle the population of Gaza – pouring over into their backyard.
Feel like leaving Gaza for medical reasons or study? Good luck! The only two exits are extremely hard to pass through with the Erez (Gaza-Israel crossing) racking up a 84% decline rate this year and the Rafah crossing (Egypt-Gaza crossing) is perhaps even harder to pass through, as the crossing opens randomly for short periods of time which are often unpredictable.

Ever since the Oslo accords Israel has officially (by international law) had the requirement to take care of the humanitarian situation (until Gaza gets self determination) and operate justly along the armistice lines which encompass Gaza (established in the early 1950’s).

The Israeli regime ignore international law with their illegally imposed siege and as they enter the eleventh year of the siege (as of June this year), they are now rolling out a two year “underground wall” building plan which will cage Gaza from under the ground. This move makes it evident that Israel do not want to end the siege any time soon (against international consensus).

This is just a brief outline of Gaza’s current condition for it’s two million plus inhabitants (most of whom are refugees), there are of course a plethora of other issues not noted above.

Hamas and their choices:

Since Mahmoud Abbas (President of the PA) set out on his mission to seize control of Gaza, the situation has only gotten worse and the pressure is really mounting on Hamas to act.

Mahmoud Abbas pleaded with Israel to shut down the power supply to Gaza and refused to pay Israeli companies to deliver Gaza it’s diesel fuel supply, on top of this the PA decided to slash the salaries of their members in Gaza by up to 70% sending many families below the poverty line.

The elected government in Gaza (Hamas) have also been backed into a corner as of late with the recent Gulf conflict between Qatar and neighboring countries. As a result of the tensions, Doha has been pressured extensively by Saudi Arabia to halt their funding and cut relations with Hamas.

Turkey, which provided Gaza with a donation of diesel fuel earlier this year (in February), seem to be very active in verbally advocating for the end to al-Aqsa tensions, but not so active in it’s aiding of the people of Gaza recently.

Hamas themselves can’t be regarded as angels in all of this of course, refusing to use donated oil trucks from Egypt due to political tensions and refusing much needed aid from Iran.

According to a leaked source (supposedly from within Hamas), it is being alleged that Hamas are considering giving up civilian control of Gaza and assuming military control of the strip alone in order to create a power vacuum, they would in this case hand control of the crossings to the likes of Islamic Jihad and other Islamist groups and this would be used as plan to keep the PA’s hands off of power in Gaza.

This plan – although denied by Hamas to be the case – could be one of many ways this could all escalate into a fourth military confrontation with the Israeli regime. If something similar to this plan was to be implemented, a war would be very possible.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party is currently loosing favor in Israel and is loosing its following to far right parties. Netanyahu – who is currently under investigation for fraud – also knows that Israeli public opinion will skyrocket in his favor in the event of a conflict.

Despite a war being in their interests in terms of public opinion, the current state of Gaza is exactly how the Israeli regime wants it, in chaos with a crippling government and humanitarian catastrophe. So what happens next all depends upon which cards Hamas play.

All in all it seems as if the people of Gaza continue to bleed as the greed of politicians further ruin their lives. Israel wants rid of the Palestinians in Gaza and instead of uniting under one cause for the betterment of the people, Palestinian political parties play into the hands of their enemies by making the lives of the people in Gaza completely unbearable and devoid of any glimpse of hope.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/gaza-crisis-reaches-boiling-point/

Salaam

A look at the Jewish impact on world history. Well worth watching whether you agree or disagree with his arguments or conclusions.

format_quote Originally Posted by Junon

Salaam

A look at the Jewish impact on world history. Well worth watching whether you agree or disagree with his arguments or conclusions.

The fact that there were a disproportionate number of Jews in Communist parties is nothing special. The same was true for all kinds of 19th and 20th century revolutionary movements, for the simple reason that Jews were numerically overrepresented among the social class that most revolutionaries come from - the intellectual middle class. Which, in turn, is a consequence of the social evolution they have been subjected to in Europe, where for most of their history they have been barred from mainstream society and forced into very specific professions and ways of living.

All kinds of bigots like to claim their bigotry is fact-based by pointing out how this or that group is overrepresented in this or that thing, whether it's Jews in Communist parties, or Muslims in terrorism.

Salaam

format_quote Originally Posted by anatolian

Where is Marx in the picture? lol. Marx was a Jew too. Probably, he was the most influencial Jew (ethnicity) after Paul in the history of Mankind.

He himself wrote a book 'On The Jewish Question'.

Another update

Sadat to Salman: Israel at the expense of Palestine

Israel and Saudi Arabia have been the hot subject of speculation and gossip in recent weeks. Not a day goes by without us hearing about their latest rendezvous, their winks and whims, their flirtations and fantasies.

I'm not sure Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman did indeed make a secret trip to Tel Aviv, but I did see former Saudi and Israeli intelligence chiefs share a stage at a New York synagogue last month.

The hilarity - or rather, the calamity - of the scene transcended the attempt at normality from former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki Al Faisal, with his English gentleman's red socks, as he disagreed on stage with former Mossad director Efraim Halevy, as the latter argued in favour of maintaining the Iran nuclear deal. When an Israeli spymaster sounds like a moderate in comparison to his Saudi counterpart regarding a "fellow Muslim nation", it's time to be alarmed.

At any rate, since Prince Turki's "flirtation" with another former Israeli spy and ex-foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, in Davos in January, informal meetings and overtures between the Israelis and the Saudis seem to have multiplied. Bahrain and the UAE have also joined in. Their objective is to prepare the public for the shock of normalisation, to normalise the idea of future normalisation with Israel.

Love and hate

The attraction between the Wahabi and Zionist leaders may be neither halal nor kosher, but it's nonetheless strong and getting stronger. And it's nothing new.

Their rapprochement is born out of necessity and driven, primarily, by mutual aversion rather than mutual attraction: aversion to the Iranian regime and fear of its expanding influence in the region. As those feelings grow, so does their relationship, in accordance with the realist proverb: my enemy's enemy is my friend.

Indeed, US President Donald Trump noticed with great satisfaction the "really good feeling towards Israel" in Saudi Arabia after his May visit to both countries. Since then he's been godfathering a trilateral arrangement with Israel and Saudi Arabia to confront Iran's "fanatical regime"and its regional aggression.

In an interview with the Saudi publication Elaph earlier this month - yet another sign of normalisation - Israel's military chief of staff, Gadi Eisenkot, explained how Iran threatens both Saudi Arabia and Israel through not one but two parallel (Shia) crescents of influence that cross the region. To the north, one goes through Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and to the Mediterranean Sea; and to the south, a second goes through the Gulf region, Yemen and to the banks of the Red Sea.

Marriages of convenience have been built on much less.

Gains and losses

Judging from their public declarations, Israelis are terribly impatient. They want to take the Saudi relationship to a whole new level; they want to "go steady" and they want to come out. And they want it yesterday. Their generation-old (wet) dream of public strategic engagement with moderate Sunni Arab regimes is finally coming true.

Israel has everything to gain and, if it can help it, nothing to lose, from the normalisation of relations with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. It could see its relations improve dramatically with many of the other 55 Muslim-majority countries, just as it saw a huge spike in its diplomatic and economic relations around the world after the 1993 Oslo Accords, including with the likes of Jordan and Qatar. Doha shut down Israel's trade office in the Gulf country in 2009 after the Israeli offensive on Gaza.

For Israel, shared strategic interests and shared goals with Saudi Arabia should suffice to normalise their relations and strengthen their union. But as Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz's latest revelations about Israel's long "sharing of intelligence" have shown, it's Riyadh, not Tel Aviv, that insists on secrecy out of a sense of shame.

When Saudi Arabia committed to a peace initiative that became an Arab League initiative in 2002, it expressed willingness to normalise relations with Israel but only after Israel's withdrawal from Palestinian and Arab territories and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

For Riyadh, quick and unconditional normalisation with its historical nemesis has long been a risky proposition for the kingdom and its regional standing. Even its more enthusiastic neighbour, the United Arab Emirates, has been, in the words of one Israeli expert, a silent partner.

Not any more.

New leadership, new policy

It was quite shocking to see the above-mentioned Saudi interview with Israeli chief of staff totally and utterly ignore the Palestinian issue. That's clearly no mistake or lapse of journalistic judgment - it's intentional. And it's politically motivated.

Has the Saudi (and UAE) leadership accepted Israel's generous offer on Iran in return for ignoring the plight of Palestine? Or does Riyadh still insist on Israel accepting the Arab initiative before formal normalisation begins?

It seems the Saudis and Israelis are waiting for clarifications and answers from President Trump's proposal - what he promises will be the "ultimate deal" to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. For example, will the US ask Israel to withdraw from East Jerusalem or will it pressure the Saudis to pressure the Palestinians to give up their right to a state and a capital? Or, perhaps, leave it in limbo?

Spare yourselves the suspense. The "ultimate deal" is the ultimate BS.

Why? Well, because the boy-wonder that Trump appointed as the best man for the job of resolving the century-old conflict is none other than his son-in-law, Jared Kushner - a lousy businessman and a religious Zionist, whose claim to fame is marrying the right girl at the right time. It's not even clear whether Kushner's White House career will survive the Russia investigation, since Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly after him for his role in the dismissal of FBI chief James Comey. Mueller is also looking into Kushner's secret policy coordination with Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu to undermine the Obama administration during a UN vote on Israeli illegal settlements in Palestine.

In my estimation, the Trump administration will fail to produce a credible and comprehensive peace strategy, and, like its predecessors, it will fail to resolve the "Israel problem" or stop the colonisation of Palestine. Likewise, the administration has no real actionable Iran strategy, and lacks the will and the intention to confront Iran in various hotspots of the greater Middle East.

Tweeting Iran into submission doesn't require Israeli or Saudi participation. Trump is more than capable.

Consequently, if the Saudi royals normalise with the "Zionist usurpers" of Jerusalem, they'll find out that they've been exposed on all fronts. They'll learn that Israel won't fight their battles for them. And they will also discover, rather late, that instead of putting Iran in a corner, normalisation with Israel in the absence of peace will empower and propagate Iran's role in the region.

And there's more.

Before the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques surrenders al-Aqsa to the "Zionists" or before the Salmans raise Israeli flags in Riyadh, it's worthwhile to consider the consequences of the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's normalisation with Israel. Bear in mind that Saudi Arabia, unlike Egypt, does not seek to liberate territories from Israeli occupation and desires no aid from the United States.

Four decades later...

Forty years ago this week, then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat made a diplomatic splash when he visited Israel and spoke to the Knesset. It broke a psychological barrier in the Arab world, marked a turning point in the conflict with Israel, and saw the beginning of Egypt's official normalisation of relations with Israel.

Sadat cemented that process into a cold peace the following year, signing the Camp David accords, which guaranteed the return of occupied Sinai and billions of dollars in aid from the US, but neglected the occupied territories of the rest of the Arabs, including the Palestinians.

A militant Egyptian group assassinated Sadat during a military parade three years later, but his successor Hosni Mubarak continued to honour the agreement. Sinai was returned and the aid came through, but the bigger promise of modernisation, openness and peace dividend never really materialised, certainly not for ordinary Egyptians.

For the people of Egypt, normalisation with Israel never became normal. The Egyptian people remained mostly hostile or indifferent towards their neighbour to the north. And Palestine continued to be a rallying cause for Egyptian civil society, in their pursuit of justice and freedom from repression.

But for Israel, normalisation was a bounty. With its southern flanks secured, it began a large campaign of repression against Palestinians and escalation of its illegal settlement activities in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel annexed the occupied Syrian Golan Heights in 1981. And in 1982, it invaded Lebanon to crush the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Lebanese National Movement, which led to tens of thousands of casualties. It maintained its occupation of southern Lebanon for the next 18 years. Israel's status was elevated soon after from US regional ally to global "strategic asset".

Forty years ago, there was no Palestinian Hamas and no Lebanese Hezbollah, no al-Qaeda and ISIL, and no Islamic Republic of Iran. But soon after the Camp David accords, Israeli aggression paved the way for the rise of Hamas and Hezbollah, just as Soviet and US aggression - coupled with Arab discord - plunged the region into chaos and paved the way for the rise of militant Islamists.

Betraying Palestine

The lessons couldn't be clearer. Arab autocrats, who fail in governance and in war, also fail in peace and normalisation.

Normalisation through weakness is the exact opposite of peace through strength, and therefore, is destined to fail. It is an idea that is tinged with betrayal: betrayal of common Arab interests, as well as the betrayal of Palestine.

For the people of the Arab world, Palestine has long been a rallying cause because it's about more than geography or a homeland for the Palestinian people. Palestine is the test of Arab conscience, the symbol of the struggle for freedom, not only from military occupation, but also from political repression at home.

Those who shed tears over Arab unity and national security in Cairo this week are the very regimes cooperating with Israel in secret. Their incompetence has paved the way for Israel, Iran and the US to run amok in the region.

When the regional hysteria finally ceases, when the hallucination subsides, history will cast a harsh judgment on the cynics who normalise with Israel at the expense of Palestine.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opi...073734966.html

Salaam

Another update

Trump tells Abbas he will move US embassy to Jerusalem

US President Donald Trump has told Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that he intends to relocate the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a plan met with condemnation across the Middle East and elsewhere.

Wafa, the official news agency of the Palestinian Authority (PA), reported on Tuesday that Trump called Abbas to inform him of his "intention".

"President Abbas warned of the dangerous consequences such a decision would have to the peace process and to the peace, security and stability of the region and of the world," Nabil Abu Rudeina, the Palestinian president's spokesperson, said.

No further details were given about when Trump plans to move the embassy.

Speaking to reporters later on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump will deliver remarks about his decision on Wednesday.

"He's going to continue having conversations with relevant stakeholders, but ultimately he'll make what he thinks is the best decision for the United States," said Sanders.

Asked if Trump has made up his mind, she replied: "The president, I would say, is pretty solid in his thinking at this point."

Earlier on Tuesday, a statement by the Jordanian royal palace said Trump had also called King Abdullah to inform him about his intention to move the embassy to Jerusalem.

The statement said the king warned Trump the relocation would have "dangerous repercussions on the stability and security of the region" and would also inflame Muslim and Christian feelings.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/trump-tells-abbas-move-embassy-jerusalem-171205160340393.html

Salaam

Another update more bad news

Trump ignores warnings with 'reckless Jerusalem move'

President Donald Trump has announced that the US formally recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will begin the process of moving its embassy to the city, breaking with decades of US policy.

"I have determined that it is time to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," Trump said in a televised speech on Wednesday.

The president said he ordered the State Department to develop plan to relocate the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

He added he is not taking position on any final status issues, including contested borders. Trump said he intends "to do everything" in his power to help forge a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.

Shortly after Trump's speech, Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said the US president "destroyed any possibility of peace" and was "pushing this region towards chaos [and] violence".

"He's destroying all moderates in the region and he's giving power to extremists," Erekat told Al Jazeera from Jericho.

"This is the most dangerous decision that any US president has ever taken," he said, adding that Trump had "disqualified his country from any possible role in the peace process".

"How can he talk about peace when he dictates the future of Jerusalem before negotiations begin, in total violation of international law?" asked Erekat, saying it is "meaningless" to have a Palestinian state without Jerusalem as its capital.

The only option remaining for Palestinians, he said, "is to fight for equal rights" between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, the area of historic Palestine.

US analysts say Trump's announcement might be intended as an opening move in the administration's yet-to-be revealed Middle East peace plan, but risks igniting a "powder keg" at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

"Jerusalem has a tendency to explode when you fool around with the status quo," said Aaron David Miller, vice president at the Woodrow Wilson Center and a former Middle East adviser to the Clinton and Bush administrations.

He said the president's decision could either be part of a strategic plan or a "one-off" born from his desire to fulfil his election campaign promise.

"Some might argue that the president has succeeded at extracting certain assurances from the [Israeli] prime minister on other permanent status issues, but needed this for cover," Miller said. "I'd love to believe … that there is a coherence here, but if there is, I am at a loss to understand what it is."

The immediate grounds for Trump's announcement was the expiration of the latest six-month waiver delaying relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act requires the US government to establish an embassy in Jerusalem, but allows the president to delay doing so by signing a waiver every six months. The waiver spares the state department financial penalties for failing to comply with the law.

Presidents Bush and Obama signed the waiver twice per year with little fanfare. However, Trump has long hinted he would deviate from his predecessors.

In the lead-up to Wednesday's speech, Mustafa Marghouti, an independent Palestinian politician, told Al Jazeera: "This is a reckless act from the side of the American president ... . This is a very dangerous act.

"It does not take into consideration what it means to 1.6 billion Muslims, 2.2 billion Christians and 360 million Arabs.

"It will create a very serious reaction and destabilise the region - and definitely destabilise the situation in Palestine itself."

Alienating Arabs

On the campaign trail, candidate Trump promised to move the embassy to Jerusalem and, according to Senator Bob Corker, was ready to do so on day one of his presidency.

When Trump used his waiver power last June, an unnamed White House official was quoted saying the move was "a question of when, not if".

Trump's announcement risks alienating Palestinians and Arab countries that would be key to any peace plan, experts say.

"Accepting to move the embassy to Jerusalem means that the US is participating with Israel in imposing facts on the ground," Barghouti told Al Jazeera.

"This is not a single [isolated] act. This US administration that did not speak even once about a two-state solution. This American administration did not say or mention the world Palestinian state once.

"This American administration has failed to exercise any pressure on Israel on the issue of settlements, although Israel has enhanced settlement activities in the occupied territories by no less than 100 percent since President Trump was elected."

For his part, Miller said that by recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Trump is implicitly "validating Israeli claims and sovereignty over part of the city that is aspired to by another national movement".

Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said the Trump administration has been signalling it will soon debut a plan to resolve one of the world's longest and most intractable conflicts. Wednesday's announcement could be an opening salvo in that plan - an attempt to open discussions.

"If that's what this is, it's likely to backfire given the initial reaction we've seen from some of our closest allies and partners like Jordan," Katulis said.

Public outcry could prime Arab governments to eschew rather than embrace US proposals, he said.

In a statement, John O. Brennan, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, also called Trump's action "reckless", saying it would "damage US interests in the Middle East for years to come and will make the region more volatile".

Message to Palestinians

The announcement is likely to dash hopes that the US would give equal weight to Palestinian concerns in future negotiations - hopes raised when administration officials made an effort to meet Palestinian leaders earlier this year.

"I think this will send a message that US administrations have been sending for years: that the Palestinians are not as important as the Israelis, or their views are not as important," said Katulis.

Jerusalem has long been a flashpoint in Israeli-Palestinian relations. Violence broke out most recently last summer, after Israeli authorities installed metal detectors at entrances to the al-Aqsa compound.

"I can't predict violence - I don't know," said Miller. "But certainly, if you wanted to make an issue out of this, a quote-unquote 'defence of Jerusalem,' it's a ready-made issue."

World leaders have warned violent reactions to the US embassy announcement are a distinct possibility.

King Abdullah II of Jordan - speaking at a press conference in Istanbul with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday - said the US was inviting blowback with the decision.

"Ignoring the Palestinian, Muslim, and Christian rights in Jerusalem will only fuel further extremism and undermine the war against terrorism," Abdullah said.

Erdogan also highlighted the threat of violence after the US decision.

"No one has the right to play with the fate and development of millions of people for the sake of personal ambitions. Such a step will only play into the hands of terror groups," Turkey's president said.

But analysts said the embassy decision will please religious conservatives among Trump's base, as well as major donors.

Rabbi Alissa Wise, deputy director of the left-wing advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace, said US evangelical Christians - who voted overwhelmingly for Trump in the 2016 election - are staunch supporters of Israel's right-wing government. Wise also cited billionaire Sheldon Adelson, one of Trump's largest campaign donors, as a possible source of pressure on the president to back Israel's claim to a united Jerusalem.

Wise is worried the decision would frame a political struggle over land, rights and sovereignty in religious terms.

"Because Jerusalem is a symbol of holiness to so many religions, creating a tension around Jerusalem runs the risk of shaping or framing this conflict as a religious one, which I think gets us further and further away from a more equitable solution," Wise said.

"It really is a match in the powder keg, a decision like this."

For his part, Barghouti said: "This is an administration that obviously is, to a large extent, taking its decision according to the will and pressure of the Israeli Zionist lobby in Washington.

"The Palestinian people will react, with a public, popular non-violent uprising. That's what you will see tomorrow, after tomorrow and the days after.

"This is a very serious matter. People should not forget that the second intifada started because of the issue of Jerusalem and I believe that ... Trump will be killing completely any future American role in any future peace process."

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/trump-defies-warnings-reckless-jerusalem-decision-171206160643273.html

- - - Updated - - -

Salaam

More comment

Mass rally in Gaza protesting Trump’s decision on Jerusalem

Palestinian factions on Wednesday organized a mass rally in Gaza City, denouncing US President Donald Trump's plan to transfer the US embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize it as the capital of the Israeli occupation.

Member of the political bureau of the movement, Salah Al-Bardawil, said during the march that the Palestinian people will thwart the schemes of Trump like previous schemes, and will continue to struggle until the liberation of their land and holy sites.

Al-Bardawil said, “The world must understand that our resistance and uprising will not show mercy to all those responsible for the oppression of the Palestinian people and their schemes that aim to distort our Palestinian history”.

He stressed that Palestine from its sea to its river is the native land of the Palestinian people and no party has the power to steal it from them.

In a speech during the march, the Palestinian factions considered the decision as an American occupation of the city of Jerusalem, stressing the need to accelerate the reconciliation process in order to address Trump’s plan.

The factions demanded that the PLO withdraw its recognition of Israel, calling for the severing of relations with the occupation and ending the normalization.

In the same context, the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation also called for an emergency meeting to respond to Trump ‘s decision.

http://hamas.ps/en/post/1095/mass-rally-in-gaza-protesting-trump%E2%80%99s-decision-on-jerusalem

Salaam

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman showing where his allegiances truly lies.

Saudi offers Abu Dis as future capital of Palestine

A Saudi proposal for a peace initiative between Israelis and Palestinians offers the village of Abu Dis as the future capital of Palestine instead of East Jerusalem, stirring widespread anger.

Activists have released a new hashtag under the name “Jerusalem is our capital” in response to the Saudi proposal.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman made the proposal during Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Riyadh last month.

According to the proposal, the Palestinians will get a non-contiguous state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over which they will have only partial sovereignty while the majority of Israeli settlements in the West Bank will remain. The proposal does not grant Palestinian refugees and their descendants living in other countries the right of return to Israel.

According to the paper, Saudi Arabia gave Abbas two months to respond to the offer.

Abu Dis is a Palestinian town near occupied East Jerusalem. According to the Oslo Accords it is classified as Area B which is administered by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

US President Donald Trump is expected to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and set in motion the relocation of the US Embassy to the international city today, a decision that upends decades of US policy and risks fuelling violence in the Middle East.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20...-of-palestine/

- - - Updated - - -

Salaam

Another update

Saudi: Palestinian Abbas must endorse US’ plan or leave

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman has told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he has to back Donald Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian peace deal or resign.

According to Israeli sources Abbas was offered an ultimatum after he was summoned to Riyadh last week for a meeting with Bin Salman days after Us Presidential advisor Jared Kushner made an unannounced visit to the Saudi capital to meet the young crown prince. The two are reported to have thrashed out a plan in which Abbas seems to have had no say.

Riyadh had offered to normalise relations with Israel in 2002 on the condition that it agreed to the two-state formula, which more and more Israeli’s, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have rejected.

It’s still not clear what peace deal has been offered to Abbas, but Palestinians will be concerned by Bin Salman’s readiness to rally behind the US President who is described by close associates as the most pro-Israeli president in years. Trump is said to be drafting a deal put together by his son-in-law, Kushner, who is a strong advocate of Israel and his support for the country, say critics, is odd even by American standards. Kushner has given money to Israeli settlements and his family are close friends of Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israeli sources also mentioned that Abbas was instructed to stop any further rapprochement with Hamas; an ultimatum that could jeopardise the reconciliation process between the two main Palestinian rivals. If Israeli sources are to be believed than the ultimatum given by Bin Salman seems to be identical to the one made by Netanyahu who is also strongly opposed to the Palestinian unity government.

Though Abbas has rejected the claims made by the Israeli Channel 10, details of the meeting seems to be in line with the Saudi, UAE, Israeli and US vision for the region agreed prior to Trump’s inauguration.

It was widely reported that the US gave its backing for the unpredictable young prince while endorsing a regional plan that included unreserved support for Gulf monarchies; revision of the Iran nuclear deal; and a new Israel-Palestine peace plan.

The Saudis appear to be fully behind this deal whose blueprint has been drawn up by senior members of Trump’s exceptionally pro-Israeli administration.

Since his election, Trump has gone on to describe Saudi Arabia as a “magnificent country” while taking the unprecedented step of visiting the Gulf state in his first official visit, having condemned the rulers during his election campaign. Trump also struck a multibillion dollar deal with the Saudi royals in May.

Trump’s new fondness for the Saudi’s saw him backing the Saudi-UAE media onslaught on Qatar and, last month, he announced he was decertifying the Iran nuclear accord. Last week, when Saudi Arabia arrested scores of princes and businessmen in an “anti-corruption” purge, the president also tweeted his support.

Palestinians no doubt had hoped that a Saudi crown Prince would be a trusted ally who could at the least present their cause with sympathy. They will be concerned over Bin Salman’s ultimatum, which appears to have been coordinated by people that support Netanyahu’s vision for the region which is nothing more than a “state-minus” for the Palestinians.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171114-saudi-palestinian-abbas-must-endorse-us-plan-or-leave-resign/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42265337
Trump Jerusalem move sparks Israeli-Palestinian clashes
23 minutes ago

The Israeli army fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds as Palestinian protesters burned tyres and threw stones
At least 31 Palestinians have been wounded in clashes in the Gaza Strip and across the occupied West Bank, during protests against US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
One person is in a critical condition.
Mr Trump's announcement - met with worldwide dismay - reversed decades of US policy on the sensitive issue.
Israel deployed hundreds of extra troops in the West Bank as Palestinians went on strike and took to the streets.
Protesters set tyres alight and threw stones, and Israeli troops fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live bullets.
One rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded inside southern Israel while others fell short, Israel's army said.
In response, an Israeli tank and an aircraft targeted "two terror posts" in Gaza, the army said without giving further details.
Palestinian man and Israeli soldier outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on 7 December 2017Image copyrightAFP

This Palestinian man and Israeli soldier were photographed outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem
Many of Washington's closest allies have said they disagree with the move, and both the UN Security Council and the Arab League will meet in the coming days to decide their response.
There are fears the announcement could lead to a renewed outbreak of violence. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has already called for a new intifada, or uprising.
Why did Trump reverse US policy?
Mr Trump announced the move on Wednesday. The US president said: "I've judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the United States of America and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians."
He said he was directing the US state department to begin preparations to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.




Analysis: Breaking down what Mr Trump said and what it means for peace
Despite warnings of regional unrest over any such move, the decision fulfils a campaign promise and appeals to Mr Trump's right-wing base.
Recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital was "nothing more or less than a recognition of reality", he added. "It is also the right thing to do."
Trump's speech in full
Media reacts to 'slap of the century'
Five key takeaways from speech
How are capital cities chosen?
Mr Trump said the US would support a two-state solution - shorthand for a final settlement that would see the creation of an independent Palestinian state within pre-1967 ceasefire lines in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, living peacefully alongside Israel - "if agreed to by both sides".
The president also refrained from using Israel's description of Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided capital". The Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of any future Palestinian state.
What has been the reaction?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was profoundly grateful to Mr Trump, who had "bound himself forever with the history of the capital".
He also said Israel was "in touch with other countries to follow suit". He did not name any of these countries, although the Philippines and the Czech Republic have been mentioned in Israeli media.
The White House said it was not aware of any countries planning to follow Mr Trump's lead.
The mood has been very different on the Palestinian side.
The leader of Hamas, which dominates the Gaza Strip, has called for a "day of rage" on Friday and said it should "be the first day of the intifada against the occupier".
Hamas members would be "fully ready" to "confront this strategic danger", Ismail Haniya said in a speech in Gaza.




Hamas leader Ismail Haniya said the announcement was a "declaration of war"
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's rival Fatah movement is seeking to protest through diplomatic means, by filing a complaint to the UN Security Council and pushing for a strong stance by the Arab League.
"We are going to declare the United States disqualified as co-sponsor of any peace process or political process," spokesman Dr Nasser Al-Kidwa said. "In our mind, it has lost its ability to do or perform any efforts in this regard."
Which countries condemned Trump's move?
There has also been widespread condemnation across the Arab and wider Muslim world, with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warning Mr Trump that he was "throwing the region into a ring of fire".
The leaders of the UK, France and Germany have all said they disagree with the US announcement.
Why is the announcement significant?
Jerusalem is of huge importance to both Israel and the Palestinians. It contains sites sacred to the three major monotheistic faiths - Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognised internationally, and all countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv.
What are the alternatives to a two-state solution?
Why settlement issue is so difficult
East Jerusalem, which includes the Old City, was annexed by Israel after the Six Day War of 1967, but before now it has not been internationally recognised as part of Israel.
According to the 1993 Israel-Palestinian peace accords, the final status of Jerusalem is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.

Salaam

Another update

'Decades of chaos': Arab leaders condemn US decision on Jerusalem

Donald Trump’s unilateral move to back Israel’s claim to holy city has reunited competing factions across the Middle East to a common cause


The Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has drawn widespread condemnation across the Arab world, with political leaders, commentators and locals labelling the move as provocative and a threat to global security.

The decision has been cast as the final nail in the coffin of a two-state solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict – an approach broadly recognised by Arab states – and the end of meaningful US diplomacy between both sides after almost 70 years.

It has also allowed competing factions across the Middle East to refocus on a common cause that had drifted from the spotlight over the past five years, eclipsed by regional power plays, war and insurrection.

Leaders in Turkey and Lebanon warned of dangerous instability in the wake of the announcement, which overtly sides Washington with Israel at a time when the US had been attempting to table a new peace initiative between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

The future of Jerusalem had been central to all previous peace pushes and commentators and residents were united in their belief that negotiations could not begin if the Palestinians’ claim to the holy city was no longer on the table.

Jordan’s King Abdullah said: “There is no alternative to a two-state solution, and Jerusalem is key to any peace agreement. It is imperative to work fast to reach a final status solution and a peace agreement. Ignoring Palestinian Muslim and Christian rights in the holy city could fuel terrorism.”

In Beirut, Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, called for demonstrations on Monday to protest against the decision. “Trump had support from the Arabs or else he wouldn’t have been able to do this,” said Nasrallah. “The Arab government will scream for a few days then go on with the occupation. America has shown that it doesn’t take into account the opinion of its allies.”

But US ally Saudi Arabia was also quick to denounce the move. Riyadh had sponsored a regional peace initiative that promised full Arab League recognition of Israel in return for a retreat to borders that were in place before the 1967 war.

That plan had been the centrepiece of dormant peace efforts. However, it had barely been raised in recent years as energies had been diverted to other regional crises, and support in Riyadh and the Gulf states for the Palestinian leadership had ebbed.

Ali Nassereddine, a chef from the Shia suburb of Dahiyeh in south Beirut, claimed Trump’s announcement had likely been coordinated with the Saudis and other allies, including the UAE. Echoing sentiments also widely expressed in Syria and Turkey, he said: “The decision was not only based on Israelis and Americans, the Arabs had a hand in it. The question should be directed to the Palestinians and [Palestinian leader] Mahmoud Abbas and all the resistance: do you now realise that negotiations will not get you anywhere?”

In Iraq, powerful militia and political leaders vehemently condemned the move. Muqtadr al-Sadr, a Shia leader and chief protagonist in the country’s civil war, said: “I am ready to be the first soldier, not even leader, if all factions involved decided to confront Israel. No peace with the evil, arrogant and colonial governments. I ask of the Palestinians not to accept this decision in any way, and to revitalise the revolution.”

Other militia groups in Iraq also issued an effective call to arms, as did al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. There was no immediate response from other regional terror groups, such as Islamic State.

Khalid al-Zubidi, a commentator for the Jordanian newspaper Ad Dustour, said: “Despite the turmoil the Arab world has faced the last years with governments turning on each other or on themselves, there are still some situations that we cannot negotiate. Jerusalem is one of them for Arabs.”

Writing in the Saudi-aligned Asharq al-Awsat, Samir Atallah said: “Previous American presidents never touched on the subject of Jerusalem because they knew it goes beyond the Israeli Palestinian conflict. It involves Muslims worldwide. Unfortunately Trump doesn’t have a historical or political background. If his intention is to solve the Palestinian conflict he chose the wrong door. Jerusalem is not a political symbol but will forever be a religious one.”

Khalid Zuberi, a banker in Cairo, said: “This shows [Trump] has bad faith towards us. He is a fool and he did this to be provocative. We all know he wants to please those who elected him, like the US Christian Zionists. But he must understand from his friends in the region that this will cause chaos. It will be difficult to be an American businessman or tourist here now. More than that though, the region is condemned to decades of chaos because of this.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/07/arab-leaders-condemn-us-decision-on-jerusalem-israel

http://www.newsweek.com/trumps-jerus...s/yahoous/news


TRUMP’S JERUSALEM DECISION MAY LEAD TO PERMANENT PEACE IN ISRAEL
BY DANNY DANON ON 12/8/17 AT 6:15 AM
CLOSE

SHARE
OPINION
The American president, Donald Trump, has made a bold decision.


By announcing that the United States will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, he has not only proven himself as a reliable ally whose word can be counted on, but also a courageous leader who is not afraid to stand for what is right.


This decision is right for Israel, it is right for the United States, and it has a good chance of positively influencing the possibility for peace in our region.


"Jerusalem is an inseparable part of Israel and her eternal capital. No United Nations vote can alter that historic fact."


This quote was not said by one of our leaders in response to the shameful Security Council resolution 2334 last December. It was part of a statement by Israel's first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, on December 5, 1949 only days after the UN voted for a resolution calling for the internationalization of Jerusalem.


Ben Gurion's response was to move forward with a planned announcement about the moving of our Knesset (parliament) and other national institutions to Jerusalem.


The announcement by the Israeli government was met with condemnations from around the world. The US even went as far as to refuse to hold any diplomatic meetings in Jerusalem and they continued to send official cables to an office of our Foreign Ministry in Tel Aviv.


GettyImages-888189248
Palestinian Muslims pray in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, December 8, 2017. Israel deployed hundreds of additional police officers after Palestinian calls for protests after the main weekly Muslim prayers against Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/GETTY


Nevertheless, Ben Gurion's brave decision was the right one for Israel. It made clear the idea of turning our historic capital into an international zone administered by others was a non-starter for Israel.


The decision also had long-term positive effects such as galvanizing Jews around the world with an allegiance to the holy city which had served as our capital since the days of King David.


Prime Minister Ben Gurion also put the countries of the region on notice that Israel would not shy away from making the right decisions – even in the face of international pressure.


Similarly, President Trump's decision carries immense significance for Israel and our region.


When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed President Trump to Israel last May, he did so in what he called “Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people, the united capital of the Jewish state.” By publicly affirming this vital understanding of our national being, President Trump has laid the groundwork for other countries to soon follow suit.


While some may doubt that other states will want to make such a move for fear of retribution from Arab countries, it is important to recall that many countries around the world take their cues from the US when it comes to certain aspects of their foreign policy.


This decision is also beneficial for the US interests. Israel is America's most stable and loyal ally in the Middle East. We stand by the US at the UN, and in every other forum, on almost every question of foreign policy.


Public opinion of the US by Israelis is consistently one of the highest in the world. More importantly, Israel is an island of stability in the one of the world's most tumultuous regions.


America knows that our democracy is strong, and our commitment to safety and security can be counted on and this in turn serves US interests in the Middle East.


Critics of US foreign policy have made the claim that over the past few years American allies have often been taken for granted while adversaries were rewarded. The nuclear agreement with Iran and past decisions to turn a blind eye to Assad's brutal regime in Syria are just two examples of America's opponents who have benefited from this policy.


Recognizing Jerusalem as our capital serves notice that the US respects its allies and supports them.


Finally, and probably most importantly, this decision may set in motion events that will make peace between Israelis and Palestinians more likely.


Israel exists in a tough neighborhood where strength is respected and perceived weakness can lead to disaster. Our two peace treaties were reached after Egypt and Jordan understood that Israel is here to stay and no amount of war or military might can defeat us.


Similarly, the Palestinians began considering diplomatic negotiations – in addition to their ongoing terror campaigns – only in the aftermath of the Gulf War when they lost the hope of forcing a settlement on Israel through the prism of Cold War politics.


The recognition of Jerusalem as our capital can serve as a healthy reality check for the Palestinians. As more and more countries begin to recognize our capital as fully under Israeli sovereignty, the reality will set in that neither terrorism nor Security Council resolutions will succeed in forcing our hand on a compromise in Jerusalem.


This understanding will remove the issue of Jerusalem from the other thorny final status disputes that have long vexed negotiations between us and the Palestinians. Freed from at least one part of their unrealistic expectations, this may encourage the Palestinians will finally turn to real direct negotiations.


There are times when leaders have to make the hard choice not only because there may be great geopolitical benefits from such a move, but because it is simply the right thing to do. This is what guided Prime Minister Ben Gurion when he moved the Knesset to Jerusalem almost seven decades ago.


President Trump has made a similar courageous decision today.


Danny Danon is Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gS_xQrT424

Salaam

More comment.


The axis of Arab autocrats who are standing behind Donald Trump

#Occupation

Whatever domestic constituency he is appealing to, Trump could not, and would not, have made his announcement without regional backers

So Donald Trump revealed his hand on Jerusalem. In so doing, he tossed aside any lingering pretence of the US being able to broker a deal between Israel and Palestine. There can be no “neutrality” now. Without Jerusalem as its capital, no Palestinian state can exist. Without that it is only a matter of time before another uprising starts.

Only a symbol as powerful as Jerusalem can unite Palestinians as viscerally opposed to each other as Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas. Only Jerusalem has the power to unite the inmates of all the prisons and places of exile Palestinians find themselves in – Israel’s physical prisons and its metaphorical ones, the Palestinians in 1948, Gaza, West Bank, the refugee camps and the diaspora. Only Jerusalem speaks to billions of Muslims around the world.

As Trump will soon learn, symbols are powerful. They have a habit of creating a reality all of their own.

Trump, however, does not act alone. Whatever domestic constituency he thinks he is appealing to, and the evangelical Christians appear high on the list, Trump could not and would not have made his announcement unless he had regional backers.

The support of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and religious nationalists from Jewish Home are a given, but they are wearily familiar. The exotic and temptingly alien support comes from a new generation of Gulf Arab superbrats – young, irreverent, dune-bashing, selfie-taking, in your face, and appearing in a coup near you.

Under Trump they have formed an axis of Arab autocrats, whose geopolitical ambition is as large as their wallets. They really do think they have the power to impose their will not just on the shards of a Palestinian state, but on the region as a whole.

Under construction, at least in their minds, is a network of modern police states, each wearing a lip gloss of Western liberalism. All see Likud as their natural partners, and Jared Kushner as their discreet interlocutor.

Thought, reflection, cooperation, consultation, consensus do not appear in their lexicon. Democracy is to be postponed, free speech is there to be managed. And Arabs? They are there to be bought.

This was why Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince and the kingdom’s de facto ruler, thought he could browbeat Mahmoud Abbas, the ailing Palestinian president, into acquiescence. He told Abbas either to accept the terms – no Jerusalem, no right of return – or make way for someone who will, according to multiple sources quoted by the New York Times.

Several of the officials said bin Salman had offered to sweeten the deal with direct payment to Abbas, which he refused.

Normalising relations with Israel

Bin Salman’s threats have been orchestrated by a chorus of licensed Saudi writers and journalists all distancing themselves from the Palestinian cause and calling for normalisation of relations with Israel.

Chief among these is the Saudi novelist and writer Turki al-Hamad. Why, he tweeted, should he bother supporting Palestine, if the Palestinians themselves had sold out? Palestine should no longer be regarded as the prime Arab cause.

He wrote: “It was reported that I tweeted that Jerusalem is not the issue. This is not true. What I said was that Palestine is no longer the Arabs’ first cause after its people sold it out.

“I have my own country’s cause of development, freedom and emancipation from the past. As for Palestine, the house (Palestine) has a Lord (God) who would protect it if abandoned by its inhabitants (Palestinians).”

He added: “Since 1948 we have been suffering in the name of Palestine. Coups were orchestrated in the name of Palestine… development was suspended in the name of Palestine… liberties were repressed in the name of Palestine… eventually, even if Palestine were to return it would not be more than just a traditional Arab country… so let’s stop the fraud.

“In South Africa, the young struggled before the old… has the Palestinian done so, despite all the support? No… I shall not support a cause whose people were the first to abandon it.”

There are many other Saudi voices saying the same thing.

Hamzah Muhammad al-Salim, the writer and economic analyst, tweeted: “Once peace is concluded with Israel, it will become Saudi Arabia’s first tourist destination.”

Sa’ud al-Fawzan wrote: “I am not a defender of the Jews, but name a single Jew who killed one Saudi and I’ll give you the names of one thousand Saudis who killed their own countrymen with explosive belts.”

The former director of al-Arabiyah TV channel, Abd al-Rahman al-Rashid, wrote: “It is about time to reconsider the concept of dealing with Palestine and Israel.”

Muhammad al-Sheikh said: “The issue of Palestine is not ours… if an Islamist wearing make-up came to you calling for jihad, spit into his face.”

In a country where tweeting the wrong tweet can get you a three-year spell in prison, these are not spontaneous expressions. Rather they set the mood music for the announcement Trump made.

Division of the region

This then is the axis behind Trump – the crown princes and de facto rulers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Mohammed bin Salman, Mohammed bin Zayed, Abdel Fatah el Sisi are all personally dependent on Trump.

Neither the blockade of Qatar, nor the attempt to force Saad Hariri to resign as prime minister of Lebanon, nor the break-up of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the formation of a military and economic alliance between Saudi and the Emiratis could have happened without Trump’s green light.

Trump has enabled bin Salman to smash the pillars of the Saudi state, rob his cousins of their wealth, and dress it all up in the name of modernisation and reform.

But they, too, have allowed Trump to impose his Muslim ban and retweet the poison of British fascists about Muslims.

The chaos created by this group has opened up a clear distance with another group of US allies, who are feeling the effects of these policies on themselves. King Abdullah of Jordan, and Mahmoud Abbas both tried to warn Washington of the dangers of what Trump was about to announce on Jerusalem. They see themselves as cornered and have lost the space to manoeuvre.

Jordan is joined by Turkey, whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cross-party support for suspending relations with Israel. Turkey is currently the leader of the 57 member-nation strong Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Nationalists too are joining the hue and cry. The leader of Turkey’s opposition Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahceli, warned the US was making an “historic mistake” with its decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Bahceli said: “The Jerusalem plot is a dagger which has been drawn out to strike all things we consider holy.”

The third group is Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah, who were presented yet another gift on a silver platter. Trump has now given Iran a huge opportunity to repair the damage done by the civil war in Syria with Sunni groups and nations, to say once more: ” We are with you over Jerusalem.” It’s an invitation Tehran will eagerly accept.

The fourth group is one Trump, Netanyahu, bin Salman, bin Zayed can never reach. They are the Palestinians themselves. Historically they are at their most powerful when they are at their most isolated. This was the power shown at the start of the first and second intifadas. It was what came to the fore when they forced Israel to take away the security barriers at the entrance to the old city.

No Palestinian, be he or she nationalist, secular, Islamist, Christian can accept losing Jerusalem as their capital, and we will see exactly what this means in the days and weeks to come. There are 300,000 Jerusalemites who are residents, but not citizens of, the freshly declared Israeli capital and Trump has just thrown a grenade in their midst.

Friday will be the 30th anniversary of the first intifada. Just watch the Palestinian reaction to the walls of the Old City, the only bit of “real estate” they had left, lighting up in the colours of Israeli and US flags.

http://normanfinkelstein.com/2017/12/07/on-jerusalem-quite-good-i-hope-hes-right-in-the-last-paragraphs/

Salaam

More comment

Israel is a terror state and Arab leaders must act: Erdoğan

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has described Israel as a “terror state,” while urging leaders of Arab countries to act following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“Israel is a state of occupation and a terror state,” Erdoğan said in a speech in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas on Dec. 10, vowing that Turkey “will not leave Jerusalem to the consciousness of a child-killer state.”

“Jerusalem is the light of our eyes. We won’t leave it to the conscience of a state that only values occupation and looting. We will continue our struggle decisively within the law and democracy,” he added.

On Dec. 6, Trump announced the U.S.’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided” capital, saying the U.S. Embassy would relocate from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in a dramatic shift in Washington’s Jerusalem policy.

While demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territories, Turkey and other Muslim-majority countries have been ongoing since the recognition, Erdoğan has been one of the most vocal leaders to slam Washington’s move.

“Palestine is oppressed and a victim. Israel is absolutely a state of occupation. Israel has never recognized any decision adopted concerning it, especially United Nations decisions, and it will never do so,” Erdoğan said, also presenting a series of maps showing how Israel has expanded its borders by occupying Palestinian territories since 1947.

“Look at this scene, do you see this treachery?” he said, pointing to Israeli expansion.

Erdoğan also showed a picture of a 14-year-old blindfolded Palestinian boy surrounded by Israeli soldiers.

“Look at how these terrorists are dragging a 14-year-old blindfolded child,” he said, describing Trump’s statement on Jerusalem as “null and void” for Turkey.

“We will continue to stand with the oppressed. We will use every opportunity we have for our first qibla, Jerusalem. We’ve been carrying out intense phone diplomacy since the dire decision of the U.S. I’ve held phone calls with the heads of many governments and states, including the Pope. We’ve told them that this issue is not one that only concerns Muslims; it is also the seizure of the rights of Christians. But I must say clearly that this step of the U.S. is completely an Evangelist understanding,” he added.

An extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is scheduled to be held in Istanbul on Dec. 13, hosting the leaders of Muslim-majority countries.

“With the roadmap that we will determine [at the OIC meeting], we will show that the realization of this decision [moving of the embassy] will not be easy at all,” he added.

Earlier on, Erdoğan urged Arab leaders and Muslim countries to present a “united stance” on the issue.

“The Arab League will be present at the meeting on Dec. 13. Its term president, Jordanian King Abdullah II, thinks the same as us. Islamic countries must present a united stance on this issue,” he said.

“The dividedness and internal problems of the Islamic world have made it easier for the U.S. to adopt such a decision. What’s happening in Iraq and Syria are also out in the open. Libya, Egypt and Yemen are also experiencing serious problems. This Jerusalem step shows how some have been taking advantage of this situation. We need to be vigilant as Muslims,” Erdoğan added.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogan-slams-israel-as-a-terrorist-state-123874

Salaam

Another update

Afghan Govt Asked To Suspend Relations With US

Wolesi Jirga speaker says Trump’s Jerusalem decision highlights the crisis at international level and it is an act of aggression.



In a statement issued on Saturday, members of Afghan parliament asked the Kabul government to suspend all its relations with the US following President Donald Trump’s decision on Jerusalem.

The lawmakers said Trump’s decision on Jerusalem is a move against peace.

“In reaction to this anti-Islamic and anti-humanity decree, the diplomatic and trade ties should be suspended until the decision is canceled,” MP Abdul Qayyum Sajjadi said.

“The Islamic nations’ presidents and officials are slaves and you (MPs) should take a stance,” MP Abdul Sattar Khawasi said.

The MPs said recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is against democratic values and that asked the government to stop all its ties with the US.

“This decision highlights the crisis at international level and it is an act of aggression,” said Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, speaker of the Wolesi Jirga, the Lower House of Parliament.

“I ask (Trump) to withdraw his signature and to never underestimate Muslims,” MP Lailuma Hakimi said.

According to the MPs, the inability to make decisions and the lack of solidarity and cooperation between the Muslim nations, are the reasons that Trump was encouraged to make such decision.

“If you think the powerful (countries) will be stopped by shouting, it will never happen,” MP Abdul Rauf Anami said.

“America is a hypocrite, America is a bully, American is the big devil,” MP Mohammad Sarwar Osmani Farahi said.

Trump on Thursday night announced that he officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. His decision was denounced by many of countries.

http://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/afghan-govt-asked%C2%A0-suspend-relations-us

Salaam

Another update

OIC declares East Jerusalem as Palestinian capital

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has declared East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, rejected the US stance as "dangerous" and called on the international community to follow in its footsteps.

At a summit held in Turkey a week after US President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the group of Muslim leaders on Wednesday called on all countries to "recognise the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital".

In a statement, the OIC added that the 57-member group remains committed to a "just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution".

It also called on the UN to "end the Israeli occupation" of Palestine and declared Trump's administration liable for "all the consequences of not retracting from this illegal decision".

"[We] consider that this dangerous declaration, which aims to change the legal status of the [city], is null and void and lacks any legitimacy," the group said.

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said the summit in Istanbul highlighted that Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims continue to be committed to peace.

"Now, Muslim countries in addition to a whole lot of others that are allied with the Palestinian cause will recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine," he said.

"And those Islamic countries are ready to sever relations to punish any one country that follows in the footsteps of the United States in recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel."

Situation of instability

Speaking earlier on Wednesday, Yousef al-Othaimeen, the OIC's secretary general, rejected the US decision and urged Muslim leaders to work together to present a united response to the move.

"The OIC rejects and condemns the American decision," he said. "This is a violation of international law ... and this is a provocation of the feelings of Muslims within the world.

"It will create a situation of instability in the region and in the world."

Speaking before al-Othaimeen, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the US had "disqualified" itself from future Israel-Palestine peace talks after proving its "bias in favour of Israel".

Founded in 1969, the OIC bills itself as "the collective voice of the Muslim world".

Trump announced on December 6 that the US formally recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will begin the process of moving its embassy to the city, breaking with decades of US policy.

The decision violated international law, according to Abbas.

"We shall not accept any role for the United States in the peace process, they have proven their full bias in favour of Israel," he said.

"Jerusalem is and always will be the capital of Palestine."

Palestinians envisage East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. Israel, meanwhile, says Jerusalem, which is under Israeli occupation, cannot be divided.

The comments by Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority (PA) were seen as his strongest yet on the issue.

Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Ramallah, said Palestinians were "very frustrated" after seeing "many agreements and many condemnations" but "nothing really changing for them on the ground".

"When you ask them who they hold responsible for that, they say certainly the PA, their own leadership," she said, citing Palestinians' disappointment about the disunity among their different political factions.

Abdel-Hamid also said that "there is a belief among many Palestinians that Trump's Jerusalem move couldn't have happened without the green light of Saudi Arabia".

The Istanbul summit was attended by just over 20 heads of state. Saudi Arabia, the host of the OIC headquarters, sent only a senior foreign ministry official. Others, including Egypt, deployed their foreign ministers.

The extraordinary OIC summit was called for by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following Trump's announcement.

Speaking at the meeting, Erdogan accused Israel of being a "state of terror" and said the US' recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel had been rebuked by the international community.

"It is null and void … except Israel, no country in the world has supported [this decision]," he said.

"Anyone who walks a few minutes in the streets of Jerusalem will recognise this city is under occupation."

Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow, reporting from Istanbul, said Erdogan was seeking to "unite the Muslim world" and "come up with a concerted response" to the US' move.

"He faces a daunting task," our correspondent said. "In the hall that he was addressing, there were countries who are not willing to go beyond rhetoric opposition at the expense of sacrificing their relationship with the United States," he said.

Trump's move has provoked a wave of protests from Asia, through the Middle East, to North Africa, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets in recent days to denounce his decision.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/oic-leaders-reject-trump-decision-jerusalem-171213095417995.html

- - - Updated - - -

Salaam

Another update

Is Jordan paying the price for Jerusalem criticism?

Arab states have put pressure on Jordan to accept the United States' recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and a heavily stripped-down version of the Palestinian state, Jordanian politicians and analysts say.

Member of Parliament Wafa Bani Mustafa told Al Jazeera the two main antagonists are the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, where Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has taken a dominant role.

Jordan sided with the Palestinians and rejected US President Donald Trump's decision last week to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognise the Holy City as the capital of Israel.

"Bin Salman and the United Arab Emirates are trying to strangle Jordan's economy until it agrees to their terms, submit to their leadership in the region, and agree to Trump's so-called 'ultimate deal'," Bani Mustafa said, referring to the US president's as yet unexplained new plan to bring about peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

US, Saudi, Israel axis

King Abdullah II said Trump's Jerusalem announcement would have "dangerous repercussions on the stability and security of the region", according to a statement released by the royal palace.

Thousands of protesters in Amman and other Jordanian cities denounced the US and Israel as well as Saudi Arabia - accusing the Gulf kingdom of collusion in the Jerusalem decision.

An official Saudi statement described Trump's move as "unjustified and irresponsible", and "a big step back in efforts to advance the peace process".

However, according to a report by Reuters news agency, Crown Prince Salman is said to be acting on behalf senior White House advisor Jared Kushner and has presented Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with the American plan for Middle East peace.

The US scheme reportedly involves creating a Palestinian state consisting of the Gaza Strip and disjointed parts of the occupied West Bank - without East Jerusalem as its capital, and without resolving the right of return of Palestinian refugees displaced when Israel was founded in 1948.

Al Jazeera spoke to three officials close to the Palestinian Authority's leadership who confirmed that Crown Prince bin Salman pressured Abbas to accept a watered-down version of Palestinian statehood, without its chosen capital.

Bani Mustafa said the United States and its regional partners excluded Jordan from any arrangements regarding a Palestinian state. She also pointed out Jordan was not invited by Egypt to participate in Palestinian reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas last October.

Economic diplomacy

While Jordan is the only Arab nation directly impacted by a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, neither the US or Arab countries invited Jordan to the negotiating table, Bani Mustafa noted.

Jordan is home to several million Palestinian refugees, and its social, economic, and political fabric is interwoven directly with Palestinians in the West Bank.

King Abdullah is also the custodian of Jerusalem's holy places, and the royal court pays the salaries of Palestinian employees there.

Bani Mustafa also said Jordan's closest Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) allies - Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait - did not renew a five-year financial assistance programme with Amman worth $3.6bn that ended in 2017.

US aid to Jordan amounts to about $1.6bn a year; about $800m in military assistance and $800m in economic relief. Part of the economic assistance arrives as a direct monetary transfer, while the rest comes in the form of USAID projects in the country. Jordan's 2018 budget includes a $400m direct grant from the United States.

King Abdullah met King Salman in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and discussions focused on "the dangerous implications of the United States decision" on Jerusalem, reported Jordan's state news agency Petra.

King Abdullah will be in Istanbul on Wednesday for the emergency meeting called by the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation that aims to produce a "unified Islamic position" over Trump's decision.

He joins other leaders, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and Lebanon's President Michel Aoun. Saudi Arabia and UAE are not expected to be represented by heads of state.

Jordanian analysts told Al Jazeera the apparent rift in bilateral relations between Jordan and Saudi Arabia is unlikely to be resolved any time soon.

Journalist and political analyst Fahad al-Khitan said Crown Prince bin Salman is departing rapidly from traditional diplomacy in the region.

"The Saudis no longer view the Arab-Israeli conflict or the issue of Jerusalem as a priority for them or even on their agendas," al-Khitan said. "Saudi Arabia's regional posture has since President Trump won the American elections shifted toward more escalating and aggressive approach to Iran."

Khitan also said Prince bin Salman, 32, has placed Saudi-Jordanian relations "on ice".

"Bin Salman no longer views Jordan as a needed partner now that he has warming and direct ties with Israel - according to several statements made by Israeli politicians," he said.

"Bin Salman is behaving as if he is the leader of the entire Arab world. But the problem is that he does not realise that such leadership also requires that he bears the burden of leading the region. But he is not getting it."
Egyptian withdrawal

Al-Khitan highlighted Egypt's diminished solidarity with the Palestinian cause, saying the current leadership is not looking for any role as a regional power broker.

"I was directly told by the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry here in Amman a few months ago that Egypt is not interested in becoming a leader in the Arab world. Egypt is more concerned now with its own domestic problems," he said.

Bani Mustafa said Jordan must now reach out to countries such as China, Russia, Turkey, and Qatar to balance out the cooling relations with Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt in order to pressure the US to reconsider its unilateral decision-making in the Middle East.

Member of Parliament Khalil Atiyeh agreed.

"Jordan's position on Jerusalem is closer to the position of Turkey and Qatar than with the Saudi-UAE-Egypt axis," Atiyeh said.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/jordan-paying-price-jerusalem-criticism-171212102011205.html

- - - Updated - - -

Salaam

What a surprise

Israel TV: Saudi Arabia, Egypt gave Trump green light regarding Jerusalem

Israel’s News 10 said Saudi Arabia and Egypt gave US President Donald Trump the go ahead to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the occupied city.

The channel said the Arab parties’ reactions and condemnations are not genuine and are misleading.

Israeli journalist and head of the Arab desk at the news channel, Zvi Yehezkeli stressed that the announcement could not have been made without coordination between Trump and his regional allies.

“I am not sure about the Arab countries’ reactions to this resolution,” Yehezkeli said, adding that the responses issued so far were not serious.

On Wednesday, the US President Donald Trump announced his decision to formally recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s new capital adding that the American embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

World leaders, from Europe to the Middle East to Australia, slammed the decision as a “unilateral and outside the vision of a negotiated peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” warning of “heightened tensions or even violence across the Middle East.”

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171208-israel-tv-saudi-arabia-egypt-gave-trump-green-light-regarding-jerusalem/

- - - Updated - - -

Salaam

Another update

Makkah and Madinah imams silent on Jerusalem in Friday sermons

The Saudi imams of the Grand Mosques in Makkah and Madinah did not mention the situation in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque during their Friday sermons, Shehab.ps has reported. Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is regarded as the holiest place in Islam after the two Grand Mosques.

Although he did point out that the Kingdom “reiterated the legal rights of the blessed Palestinian people” and hailed King Salman and other Muslim leaders for seeking the best for Islam and Muslims, well-known Shaikh Maher Mu’eqili did not mention the issue of Jerusalem in his Makkah sermon. Shaikh Abdullah Al-Bu’ejan, who delivered the Friday speech in The Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, did not mention the issue at all. Instead, he discussed God’s miracles in the change of the seasons throughout the year.

In the wake of Trump’s decision about Jerusalem, the Saudi Royal Court ordered the local media not to give the issue wide coverage, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported. The Saudi and Bahraini Embassies in Amman also called on their citizens living in Jordan not to take part in the demonstrations organised to protest against the US move.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171209-makkah-and-madinah-imams-silent-on-jerusalem-in-friday-sermons/

Salaam

Trump is doing what previous presidents have said they would do.

Moazzam Begg‏

@moazzam _Begg

Dec 8
More

“#Jerusalem will remain the capital of #Israel and it must remain undivided.” Barak Obama’s speech to AIPAC, 2008. Don’t get fooled into believing US was ever anything but Israel’s biggest advocate.

Salaam

More comment

Salaam

Another update

Custodian to most sacred Christian site in Jerusalem refuses to meet Mike Pence over Israeli capital decision

Keeper of keys at Church of the Holy Sepulchre will not extend welcome to Vice President when he makes official visit to city

The guardian of the most sacred site in Christianity has refused to meet US Vice President Mike Pence when he visits Jerusalem next week.

Adeeb Joudeh, the custodian of the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, will not welcome Mr Pence if he chooses to make an official trip to the Old City.

Mr Joudeh, a practising Muslim, said his decision was in protest against President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

In a statement released this week, he said: “It has come to our attention that Vice President Pence intends to make an official visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and asked me to receive him officially.

“I absolutely refuse to officially welcome the American Vice President Mr. Mike Pence at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and I will not be physically in church during his visit.

“This is an expression of my condemnation of President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel."

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre contains the two holiest sites in Christianity, the place Jesus Christ was crucified and the empty tomb where he is said to have been buried and resurrected.

Muslim families have been tasked with opening and closing the shrine since at least the 16th Century as part of an agreement by the three Abrahamic faiths aimed at maintaining the fragile balance between religious groups in Jerusalem.

Representatives for Mr Pence denied a visit to the church was ever on the agenda for the Vice President, who was born into a Catholic family and now identifies as an evangelical Christian.

His press secretary, Alyssa Farah, said on Twitter Mr Pence’s office had not extended an offer to visit the holy site.

A senior church official played down the weight of Mr Joudeh’s statement.

He told the Times of Israel: “We didn’t receive any formal or informal request and if there is a request, there is a status quo procedure to respect involving the three communities.

“It is not up to one of the key keepers to decide anything about this kind of issue.”

Mr Trump’s decision last Wednesday to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has raised tensions in the city and across the Middle East.

The move has been hailed in Israel but widely condemned by Arab countries and the US’s western European allies.

Protests in the West Bank led to clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian demonstrators, in which at least two demonstrators were killed and hundreds injured.

Lebanese security forces fired tear gas at demonstrators outside the US embassy in Beirut on Sunday, while the Arab League has called on Mr Trump to reverse his decision.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/jerusalem-mike-pence-church-holy-sepulchre-israel-capital-adeeb-joudeh-old-city-muslim-donald-trump-a8109206.html

- - - Updated - - -

Salaam

Another update

Nazareth cuts back Christmas celebrations to protest Trump's Jerusalem move

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Nazareth, the Israeli Arab city where Jesus is thought to have been raised, has canceled some Christmas celebrations in protest at U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, an official said.

Trump announced the move last week, reversing decades of U.S. policy and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, jeopardizing Middle East peace efforts and upsetting the Arab world and Western allies alike.

Nazareth, the largest Arab town in Israel with a Muslim and Christian population of 76,000, is one of the Holy Land’s focal points of Christmas festivities.

“We have decided to cancel the traditional Christmas singing and dancing because we are in a time of dispute, because of what Trump has said about Jerusalem,” city spokesman Salem Sharara said.

Nazareth is traditionally thought to be where Jesus grew up. The imposing Basilica of the Annunciation in central Nazareth is built on a site which many Christian faithful believe was the childhood home of Jesus’ mother, Mary.

Sharara said the town’s market stalls and the traditional Christmas church services would be held as they are every year.

Within an hour of the announcement, the Palestinian towns of Bethlehem, Jesus’s traditional birthplace, and Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank briefly switched off their Christmas lights in protest.

There was no word from the Bethlehem municipality whether it was also weighing a cutback on its celebrations at a crucial time of year for the town’s tourist trade.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-christmas/nazareth-cuts-back-christmas-celebrations-to-protest-trumps-jerusalem-move-idUSKBN1E82AM