US may recognize Palestinian state

Sun Dec 26, 2010 11:47AM

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After five Latin American countries recognized a Palestinian state, Israeli Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer warns that Washington may do the same.

A top Israeli official says the United States may soon join other countries that have formally recognized an independent Palestinian state, if Tel Aviv continues to stall the peace process.

Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer declared Sunday that Israel's very existence depends on the renewal of the Middle East negotiations.

During a meeting with cabinet ministers on Sunday, Ben-Eliezer stressed that Israel should do "everything possible" to restart dialogue with Palestinians, even if it consists of a settlement freeze for just "a few months."

"I wouldn't be surprised if within one year the whole world supports a Palestinian state, including the United States. Then we'll ask where we were and what we were doing," the senior official said.

The warning comes a day after Ecuador joined four other South American countries to formally recognize Palestine as a free and independent state with 1967 borders.

Earlier this month, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Uruguay had done the same.

Israel has protested the recent recognitions, claiming that the move is against the spirit of the Mideast talks.

Tel Aviv accuses the Latin American nations of ignoring the 2003 Middle East roadmap for peace, which says that a Palestinian state could be established through dialogue, but not through unilateral measures.

On December 15, the US House of Representatives followed Israel's suit in denouncing the action and unanimously approved a resolution opposing unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state.

The resolution urged the White House to "deny recognition to any unilaterally declared Palestinian state and veto any resolution by the United Nations Security Council to establish or recognize a Palestinian state outside of an agreement negotiated by the two parties."

This is while the international community widely backs Palestinian demands for a state in most of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) -- all territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.

The recent developments come nearly three months after Tel Aviv announced that it would not halt its plan for constructing over 1,300 new settler units in East al-Quds and a further 800 units in the northern occupied West Bank.

The resumption of the illegal construction work put a halt to direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which began in early September after a 20-month break.

The Palestinians say that the settlement activities are being carried out to prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East al-Quds as its future capital.





FF/MMA/MB

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Travelling ke Palestina Seminggu Rp 22 Juta

Pemerintah Palestina menyerukan rakyat Indonesia untuk mengunjungi negara tersebut. Kunjungan para pelancong asal Indonesia itu akan sangat membantu perekonomian dan memberi semangat baru kepada rakyat Palestina.


Hal ini disampaikan oleh Duta Besar Palestina untuk Indonesia, Fariz Mehdawi, Senin 29 November 2010. Dia mengatakan bahwa Palestina mulai membangun sektor pariwisatanya, diantaranya adalah sektor perhotelan dan restoran.

"Satu minggu di Palestina kira-kira memakan biaya sebesar US$ 2.500 (Rp22 juta). Biaya ini akan menjadi pemasukan bagi warga Palestina di bidang perhotelan dan restoran," ujar Mehdawi yang ditemui pada acara Hari Solidaritas Internasional untuk Rakyat Palestina di Jakarta.

Kota Yerusalem, yang merupakan wilayah sengketa Palestina dan Israel, adalah tempat suci bagi tiga agama besar dunia. Di tempat ini terdapat salah satu dari tiga masjid suci umat Islam, yaitu masjidil Aqsa. Situs ini, ujar Mehdawi, adalah salah satu tujuan wisata yang akan banyak didatangi umat muslim dunia, khususnya Indonesia, negara berpenduduk muslim terbesar di dunia.

"Jika kau mengatakan bahwa al-Aqsa adalah milikmu (muslim), maka mengapa kau tidak datang," ujar Mehdawi.

Indonesia telah menunjukkan banyak bentuk solidaritasnya kepada Palestina yang diduduki Israel. Mehdawi mengatakan bahwa kunjungan saudara muslim dari Indonesia akan sangat membantu meningkatkan mental rakyat Palestina.

"Bantuan yang paling tepat bagi Palestina saat ini bukanlah bantuan finansial, namun bantuan peningkatan di bidang pariwisata dan pendidikan yang akan mendongkrak perekonomian kami. Kedatangan kalian juga akan membantu meningkatkan mental kami," kata Mehdawi.

Membantu peningkatan sektor pariwisata di Palestina telah menjadi salah satu program dari Kementerian Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata (Menbudpar) Indonesia. Bentuk bantuan antara lain beasiswa S2 bagi para sarjana pariwisata Palestina untuk belajar di Indonesia.

Tahun ini sepuluh warga Palestina telah dibiayai untuk kuliah dan belajar bahasa Indonesia. Ketika mereka kembali nanti, mereka diharapkan dapat menjadi pemandu wisata bagi para pelancong asal Indonesia.

"Tahun depan, lima orang warga Palestina akan melanjutkan pendidikan pengelolaan cagar budaya di universitas di Indonesia," ujar Sekjen Sejarah dan Arkeologi Menbudpar, Soeroso
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Traveling to Palestine Week Rp 22 Million

The Palestinian Authority called on the people of Indonesia to visit the country. Visit the travelers from Indonesia that will help the economy and give new vigor to the Palestinian people.


This was conveyed by Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Fariz Mehdawi, Monday, November 29, 2010. He said that the Palestinians begin to develop their tourism sector, such as hotel and restaurant sector.

"One week in Palestine will cost approximately U.S. $ 2,500 (Rp22 million). This fee shall be income for Palestinians in the field of hospitality and restaurants," said Mehdawi who met at the International Solidarity Day for the Palestinian People in Jakarta.

City of Jerusalem, which is the disputed territory of Palestine and Israel, is a sacred place for three major religions of the world. In this place there is one of three Muslim holy mosques, the Masjid Aqsa. This site, said Mehdawi, is one of the destinations to be visited by many Muslims in the world, particularly Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world.

"If you say that the al-Aqsa is yours (Muslims), then why do not you come," said Mehdawi.

Indonesia has shown a lot of forms of solidarity to the Israeli-occupied Palestine. Mehdawi said that the visit of Indonesian Muslim brothers will greatly help improve the mental Palestinians.

"The most appropriate assistance for the Palestinians now is not financial aid, but aid the increase in tourism and education that will boost our economy. The arrival you will also help improve our mental," said Mehdawi.

Help increase tourism sector in Palestine has become one of the program from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Minister of Culture), Indonesia. Forms of assistance include scholarships S2 for the Palestinian tourism scholars to study in Indonesia.

This year ten Palestinians have been funded to study and learn the Indonesian language. When they return, they expected to be a tour guide for travelers from Indonesia.

"Next year, five Palestinians will continue their education in university management of cultural heritage in Indonesia," said Secretary General of History and Archaeology Menbudpar, Soeroso

Market buzz over Palestine Exchange

 

For the first time, the Palestine Stock Exchange is offering shares to international investors.
Observers say the largest sale in 10 years is a sign of renewed confidence in the Palestinian Authority's economy.
And from humble beginnings, the exchange is now making a big impact on the market.
Nour Odeh reports from Nablus..

Recognise Palestinian state

More Latin American countries recognise Palestinian state

Hugh Naylor

Last Updated: Dec 8, 2010

Israel and the US criticise the decisions by some Latin American nations to recognise a Palestinian state.

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JERUSALEM // Argentina and Uruguay have announced that they would recognise a Palestinian state based on the borders that existed before the Arab-Israeli war of 1967, during which Israel captured East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The announcements, which followed a similar move by Brazil on Friday, come as peace negotiations have faltered.
While visiting Turkey on Monday, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, expressed "pride" at the announcements.
One hundred and four countries now recognise a Palestinian state, according to the Palestinian diplomatic mission at the United Nations.
Israel and the United States yesterday both criticised the decisions.
The US called them "premature" while Israel's foreign ministry spokesman, Yigal Palmor, yesterday said Argentina's decision was "highly regrettable", and that it was "damaging because they were in fact shattering the foundation of the peace process".
He reiterated Israeli claims that such recognitions contravened existing agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank. The Argentine declaration would not benefit the Palestinians since it would bring them no closer to reconciling their differences with Israel, he added.
"Negotiations are the pathway for the parties to see the realisation of their aspirations - for the Israelis, security; for the Palestinians an independent, viable and sovereign state of their own," a State Department official said. "We are working intensely with the parties to make that happen."
On Monday Argentina’s president, Cristina Kirchner, announced in a letter to Mr Abbas that her “government recognises Palestine as a free and independent state within the borders defined in 1967”.

Argentina’s foreign minister, Hector Timerman, hinted that the decision had come from his country’s frustration over the foundering peace process. He described the announcement as coming from a “deep desire to see a definitive advance in the negotiation process leading to the establishment of a just and durable peace in the Middle East”.
Also on Monday, Roberto Conde, Uruguay’s foreign minister, said his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state next year, pledging that it would “surely follow the same path as Argentina”.
“We are working toward opening a diplomatic representation in Palestine, most likely in Ramallah,” he said, referring to the defacto West Bank capital.
Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay now join Costa Rica, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, other Latin American countries that have already recognised a Palestinian state.
Since Mr Abbas suspended his participation in the peace talks, he has sent his diplomats on an offensive to court international support for Palestinian independence.

His foreign minister, Riad al Malki, suggested that this effort was starting to pay off, and that Palestinians could now expect Paraguay and other Latin American countries to follow suit.
“It is really symbolic but it is important because the more countries that recognise the Palestinian state, the more pressure this will put on countries that are hesitant and on the peace process,” he said on Monday.
“If Israel keeps refusing to recognise the Palestinian state when other countries do, this will make a difference,”
After Brazil’s announcement, Israel’s foreign ministry issued a lengthy statement detailing how unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state violates accords previously thrashed out between Israelis and Palestinians.
It also said such moves violated the principles of the 2003 Middle East roadmap for peace, a plan proposed by the US, the European Union, Russia and the UN to resolve the conflict.
“Every attempt to bypass this process and to decide in advance in a unilateral manner about important issues which are disputed, only harms trust between the sides, and hurts their commitment to the agreed framework of negotiating towards peace,” the foreign ministry statement said.
Several US politicians expressed similar concerns.
“Brazil is sending a message to the Palestinians that they need not make peace to gain recognition as a sovereign state,” Eliot Engel, a Democratic representative who co-chair of the US Congress’s Brazil Caucus, said on Friday.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican on the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, criticised Brazil for not waiting to recognise a Palestinian state until after Palestinian leaders had returned to talks and acknowledged Israel’s “right to exist as a Jewish state”.

Middle East Monitor and Friends of Al-Aqsa Parliamentary delegation to the West Bank and Israel

Monday, 29 November 2010 16:15 Dr. Hanan Chehata

The Delegation
In an attempt to explore the current situation of Palestinians living inside Israel and the occupied West Bank, the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) and Friends of Al-Aqsa organised a small parliamentary delegation to the region. The delegation toured some of the most troubled hotspots in the area, including Silwan where at least 88 Palestinian houses are currently subject to Israeli demolition orders; Hebron where Israeli militarisation and settler violence has devastated the neighbourhood; and the Negev Desert in Israel where the Palestinian Bedouin are subjected to consistent efforts to wipe them and their villages off the map.

The programme was intense and fast-paced and highlighted the many and varied ways by which Palestinians face intimidation by the Israeli regime on a daily basis. Every aspect of Palestinians’ lives is affected by Israel’s occupation, through arbitrary arrests (followed frequently by allegations of torture); the demolition of Palestinian homes; the arrest and interrogation of children; the racist apartheid-style checkpoints; the illegal apartheid wall; and many other oppressive measures used by Israel to subjugate a people under occupation. This journey brought home to the delegation just how urgent it is for the international community to mobilise itself and bring the occupation to an end.
In addition to meeting with local Palestinians and hearing about their daily struggles under the occupation the delegation also met with both sides of the Palestinian political spectrum, including members and representatives of Fatah and Hamas.
The delegation consisted of British members of parliament Mr Jeremy Corbyn (Labour party) and Mr Andrew Slaughter (Labour Party), accompanied by Seumas Milne (columnist and Associate Editor of the Guardian), Jenny Ousbey (journalist) and Dr Hanan Chehata (Press Officer for the Middle East Monitor). It took place between 5th – 9th November and was coordinated by Lubna Masarwa.

Download the full report