The Obama admin is selling the peace process, but the press is not buying it

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Written by Adam Horowitz Adam Horowitz

Published: 18 November 2009 18 November 2009

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Matt Lee from the Associated Press and State Department spokesperson Ian Kelly faced off today during State’s daily press briefing over the Obama administration’s lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Lee, and other members of the press corps, seemed especially emboldened by Israel’s announcement to build 900 new housing units in the West Bank settlement of Gilo.

The questioning stated off with a great point from a reporter whose name I don’t know (you can watch the video here):

QUESTION: How long is the U.S. going to continue to tolerate Israel’s violation of international law? I mean, soon it’s not even going to be possible – there’s not going to be any land left for the Palestinians to establish an independent state.

MR. KELLY: Well, again, this is a – we understand the Israeli point of view about Jerusalem. But we think that all sides right now, at this time when we’re expending such intense efforts to try and get the two sides to sit down, that we should refrain from these actions, like this decision to move forward on an approval process for more housing units in East Jerusalem.

QUESTION: But should U.S. inaction, or in response to Israel’s actions, then be interpreted as some sort of about-face in policy – the President turning his back on the promises he’s made to the Palestinians?

MR. KELLY: You’re – okay, you’re using language that I wouldn’t use. I mean, again, our focus is to get these negotiations started. We’re calling on both parties to refrain from actions, from – and from rhetoric that would impede this process. It’s a challenging time, and we just need to focus on what’s important here, and that’s –

It’s telling that that last word got cut off, I can only imagine what it was. And then Lee took over the questioning. Here he is taking the Department to task over its statement that the US is "dismayed" over the Israeli announcement to build in Gilo:

QUESTION: Right. And then, last one on this, you characterized this decision by the planning commission as dismaying.

MR. KELLY: Yes.

QUESTION: You can’t come up with anything stronger than “dismaying”? I mean, this flies in the face of everything you’ve been talking about for months and months and months.

MR. KELLY: It’s dismaying.

QUESTION: Yeah, you can’t offer a condemnation of it or anything like that? (Laughter.) I mean, who is in charge of the language here.

MR. KELLY: I have said what I have said, Mr. Lee.

And here’s another particularly enlightening portion of the exchange:

QUESTION: Could you give us just a brief synopsis of the progress that Senator Mitchell has made in his months on the job?

MR. KELLY: Well, I think we have – we’ve gotten –

QUESTION: Yeah, maybe if the –

MR. KELLY: — both sides to agree on this goal. We have gotten both sides –

QUESTION: Ian, they agreed on the goal years ago. I mean, that’s not –

MR. KELLY: Well, I think that we – this government –

QUESTION: You mean you got the Israel Government to say, yes, we’re willing to accept a Palestinian state? You got Netanyahu to say that, and that’s his big accomplishment?

MR. KELLY: That is an accomplishment.

QUESTION: But previous Israeli administration – previous Israeli governments had agreed to that already.

MR. KELLY: Okay, all right.

QUESTION: So in other words, the bottom line is that, in the list of accomplishments that Mitchell has come up with or established since he started, is zero.

MR. KELLY: I wouldn’t say zero.

QUESTION: Well, then what would you say it is?

MR. KELLY: Well, I would say that we’ve gotten both sides to commit to this goal. They have – we have – we’ve had a intensive round or rounds of negotiations, the President brought the two leaders together in New York. Look –

QUESTION: But wait, hold on. You haven’t had any intense –

MR. KELLY: Obviously –

QUESTION: There haven’t been any negotiations.

MR. KELLY: Obviously, we’re not even in the red zone yet, okay.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. KELLY: I mean, we’re not – but it’s – we are less than a year into this Administration, and I think we’ve accomplished more over the last year than the previous administration did in eight years.

QUESTION: Well, I – really, because the previous administration actually had them sitting down talking to each other. You guys can’t even get that far.

In summary, "the list of accomplishments that Mitchell has come up with or established since he started, is zero." Great job Mr. Lee. Read the full transcript after the jump:

MR. KELLY: Well, I think, Michel, you’ve heard us say many times that we believe that neither party should engage in any kind of actions that could unilaterally preempt or appear to preempt negotiations. And I think that we find the Jerusalem Planning Committee’s decision to move forward on the approval of the – approval process for the expansion of Gilo in Jerusalem as dismaying.

This is at a time when we’re working to re-launch negotiations, and we believe that these actions make it more difficult for our efforts to succeed. So we object to this, and we object to other Israeli practices in Jerusalem related to housing, including the continuing pattern of evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes.

And – just to repeat what we’ve said all along, our position on Jerusalem is clear. We believe that the – that Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the two parties.

QUESTION: Can you tell us, did this come up in Ambassador Mitchell’s meetings in London yesterday? Apparently, we were told that he met an advisor to Netanyahu, asked them to not permit these new buildings, and then that request was flatly turned down.

MR. KELLY: Yeah. Andy, I just don’t want to get into the substance of these negotiations. They’re sensitive. I think you’ve seen the Israeli – some Israeli press reports that did report that this was raised in the meetings. This is – I mean, these kinds of unilateral actions are exactly the kind of actions that we think that both sides should refrain from at a time when we’re trying to start the negotiations again. But I don’t want to get into the substance of the discussions yesterday in London.

QUESTION: Would you steer us away from not believing the Israeli press reports?

MR. KELLY: I just don’t want to get into the substance. I’m not going to steer you one way or the other on it.

QUESTION: Where’s Senator Mitchell today?

QUESTION: How long is the U.S. going to continue to tolerate Israel’s violation of international law? I mean, soon it’s not even going to be possible – there’s not going to be any land left for the Palestinians to establish an independent state.

MR. KELLY: Well, again, this is a – we understand the Israeli point of view about Jerusalem. But we think that all sides right now, at this time when we’re expending such intense efforts to try and get the two sides to sit down, that we should refrain from these actions, like this decision to move forward on an approval process for more housing units in East Jerusalem.

QUESTION: But should U.S. inaction, or in response to Israel’s actions, then be interpreted as some sort of about-face in policy – the President turning his back on the promises he’s made to the Palestinians?

MR. KELLY: You’re – okay, you’re using language that I wouldn’t use. I mean, again, our focus is to get these negotiations started. We’re calling on both parties to refrain from actions, from – and from rhetoric that would impede this process. It’s a challenging time, and we just need to focus on what’s important here, and that’s –

QUESTION: Well, what actions (inaudible) the Palestinians taken recently that would impede progress?

MR. KELLY: Well, as I say, we would discourage all unilateral actions, and I think –

QUESTION: Fair enough. But the Palestinians –

MR. KELLY: We talked yesterday –

QUESTION: — don’t appear to be taking any unilateral actions. It seems to be (inaudible).

MR. KELLY: Well, we did talk yesterday about the – and I want to make sure I get my language right here – about the – discouraging any kind of unilateral appeal for United Nations Security Council recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. That would fall in that category of unilateral actions.

QUESTION: Okay. So the Palestinian call for this, which was rejected by both the EU and yourself yesterday, you’re putting that on the same level as them building – as the Israelis building –

MR. KELLY: No, I’m not saying that. You just said that, Matt. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that –

QUESTION: Well, you’re saying you’re calling on both sides to stop doing these things.

MR. KELLY: We are.

QUESTION: Yeah. But the rhetoric from the –

MR. KELLY: I’m not saying they’re equivalent.

QUESTION: — Palestinians is not actually constructed in a –

MR. KELLY: I’m not saying they’re equivalent. I’m just saying that we – they – we have to treat these things as sensitive issues.

QUESTION: You said a little bit earlier that we understand the Israeli point of view on Jerusalem. Can you explain what you mean by that?

MR. KELLY: Well, you have to ask – I’m not going to stand up here and characterize the Israeli point of view on –

QUESTION: No. I’m just asking you, if you understand the Israeli point of view on Jerusalem, why are you saying that this is not a good thing?

MR. KELLY: I’m not saying we support the Israeli point of view. We understand it.

QUESTION: Right. And then, last one on this, you characterized this decision by the planning commission as dismaying.

MR. KELLY: Yes.

QUESTION: You can’t come up with anything stronger than “dismaying”? I mean, this flies in the face of everything you’ve been talking about for months and months and months.

MR. KELLY: It’s dismaying.

QUESTION: Yeah, you can’t offer a condemnation of it or anything like that? (Laughter.) I mean, who is in charge of the language here.

MR. KELLY: I have said what I have said, Mr. Lee.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Would you say, though, that your own envoy has – does he have any leverage at this point, given the fact that the Israelis not only refuse, but blatantly have ignored his wishes on this?

MR. KELLY: Well, let’s take a step back and let’s also recognize that both sides agree on the goal, and that goal is a comprehensive peace. That goal is two states living side by side in peace and security and cooperation. So that is why we continue to be committed to this. That is why Special Envoy Mitchell meets with both sides at every opportunity, and why we are continuing to expend such efforts on this. So let’s remember that, that we do share a common goal.

QUESTION: Well, where’s Senator Mitchell today?

MR. KELLY: I believe Senator Mitchell is on his way back today.

QUESTION: Could you give us just a brief synopsis of the progress that Senator Mitchell has made in his months on the job?

MR. KELLY: Well, I think we have – we’ve gotten –

QUESTION: Yeah, maybe if the –

MR. KELLY: — both sides to agree on this goal. We have gotten both sides –

QUESTION: Ian, they agreed on the goal years ago. I mean, that’s not –

MR. KELLY: Well, I think that we – this government –

QUESTION: You mean you got the Israel Government to say, yes, we’re willing to accept a Palestinian state? You got Netanyahu to say that, and that’s his big accomplishment?

MR. KELLY: That is an accomplishment.

QUESTION: But previous Israeli administration – previous Israeli governments had agreed to that already.

MR. KELLY: Okay, all right.

QUESTION: So in other words, the bottom line is that, in the list of accomplishments that Mitchell has come up with or established since he started, is zero.

MR. KELLY: I wouldn’t say zero.

QUESTION: Well, then what would you say it is?

MR. KELLY: Well, I would say that we’ve gotten both sides to commit to this goal. They have – we have – we’ve had a intensive round or rounds of negotiations, the President brought the two leaders together in New York. Look –

QUESTION: But wait, hold on. You haven’t had any intense –

MR. KELLY: Obviously –

QUESTION: There haven’t been any negotiations.

MR. KELLY: Obviously, we’re not even in the red zone yet, okay.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. KELLY: I mean, we’re not – but it’s – we are less than a year into this Administration, and I think we’ve accomplished more over the last year than the previous administration did in eight years.

QUESTION: Well, I – really, because the previous administration actually had them sitting down talking to each other. You guys can’t even get that far.

MR. KELLY: All right.

QUESTION: I’ll drop it.

MR. KELLY: Give us a chance. Thank you, Matt.

Yeah, in the back.

QUESTION: It seems Senator Mitchell is focusing in his meetings on the Israeli side. Is he – does he have any plans to talk with the Palestinians, or there is no need now for that?

MR. KELLY: Well, he, as I say, he had meetings yesterday with the Israelis. He’s coming back to the U.S. now. He always stands ready to talk to both sides. There are no plans at this moment to meet with the Palestinian side.

Israel approves 900 settler homes

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Written by BBC News BBC News

Published: 17 November 2009 17 November 2009

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The Israeli interior ministry has approved planning applications for 900 new housing units at a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.

The planning and construction committee authorised the expansion of Gilo, which is built on land captured in 1967 and annexed to the Jerusalem municipality.

The project still faces review and the public will be able to make objections.

Settlements on occupied territory are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/8364815.stm

Published: 2009/11/17 17:06:03 GMT

© BBC MMIX

Palestinians call for EU to back independence

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Written by an Black, Middle East editor an Black, Middle East editor

Published: 16 November 2009 16 November 2009

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• Frustration at impasse on 'two-state project'
• Israel warns of retaliation over any unilateral move


Palestinians have formally asked the European Union to urge the UN security council to recognise a fully independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in response to the current impasse in peace negotiations with Israel.

Saeb Erakat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, confirmed that the request to the EU was made on Monday as Israeli ministers repeated warnings that any unilateral moves would trigger counter-measures that could include the annexation of more of the occupied West Bank.

Erakat, speaking in Ramallah, said Israel had for 18 years continued to "impose facts on the ground by stealing Palestinian lands and building settlements and barriers aiming to finish off the two-state project". He added: "We will seek the support of all members of the international community."

EU foreign ministers are due to discuss the issue in Brussels today but are unlikely to reach any decision. Diplomats said there was no question of EU backing for a unilateral declaration of independence by the Palestinians, which would be likely to be vetoed by Washington. US senators visiting Jerusalem also warned that such an move would be a non-starter.

But Erakat made clear that the Palestinians were seeking a security council resolution spelling out the parameters for resolving the conflict — crucially without waiting for Israel to negotiate and without Israeli consent. A key element would be that a Palestinian state must include the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, within the 1967 borders in line with existing UN resolutions.

This move, supported by the Arab League, reflects mounting Palestinian frustration that negotiations with Israel have reached a dead end due to the refusal of Binyamin Netanyahu, the Likud prime minister, to agree to a freeze on settlement activity, as Barack Obama had been demanding until recently when he appeared to back-pedal.

Analysts say the UN move may also be intended to find a way for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to remain in office. Abbas, said to be angry and frustrated, announced last week that he would not stand for re-election, though the elections originally scheduled for January have now been postponed.

The Palestinians first declared independence unilaterally in November 1988, seeking to build on the achievements of the first intifada and Jordan's formal disengagement from the West Bank. That dramatic declaration was recognised by dozens of countries but never implemented on the ground. It was superseded by the Israeli-PLO Oslo agreement in 1993, though the negotiations that began then have never been completed. Israeli settlement activity has also continued unabated since.

In 2005 Israel disengaged unilaterally from the Gaza Strip without any agreement with the Palestinians. The area was later taken over by the Islamist movement Hamas, which is at odds with Abbas's western-backed Palestinian Authority.

Hamas said on Monday that it opposed diplomatic moves at the UN, with spokesman Fawzi Barhoum calling Abbas's approach a sign of desperation. "It's clear that this was a reaction by the Palestinian Authority after running out of options after two decades of negotiations," he said. Palestinians, added Hamas official Salah Bardwil, should focus on their own "ability to liberate the land".

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister, warned: "Any unilateral movement will be countered by a unilateral move on our part." Another minister said Israel could respond by annexing some settlements.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem immediately after the 1967 war, while expanding the city's boundaries, but has always agreed in principle that it would negotiate over the West Bank. Annexation would close off that option.

US senator Joseph Lieberman said "an essentially unilateral" declaration of statehood would not move the peace process forward. "I hope and presume that the US would veto such a move if it ever came to the security council," he said.

Israel's Palestinian Prisoners, America's Other Guantanamo: Report on Political Prisoners

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Written by AUPHR AUPHR

Published: 16 November 2009 16 November 2009

Hits: 2625 2625

Israel's Palestinian Prisoners, America's Other Guantanamo: A Report on the Conditions of Palestinian Political Prisoners

Featuring, directly from Ramallah in Occupied Palestine, human rights activist Ala Jaradat of Addameer--Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association

WHERE: Smith Memorial Student Center Rm 296
                   1825 SW Broadway Portland OR 97201

WHEN: Friday, November 20th, 2009, at 7:00 PM

The $3 billion dollars of annual U.S. aid to Israel helps fund Israeli prisons and detention centers where 8,100 Palestinian prisoners — including 60 women, 390 children, and 550 administrative detainees held without charge — are imprisoned in substandard conditions and subject to torture.

As part of a national tour organized by the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) and

the Palestine Solidarity Group (PSG)-Chicago,

in local partnership with Al-AWDA Oregon and the Al-Nakba Awareness Project,

 

Read more: Israel's Palestinian Prisoners, America's Other Guantanamo: Report on Political Prisoners