PALESTINE/ U.S.A. – PLO Delegation Urges US to Support Palestinian Right to Self-Determination

PLO Delegation Urges US to Support Palestinian Right to Self-Determination

 

WASHINGTON, December 22, 2011 (WAFA) – The General Delegation of the PLO to the US urged the United States administration to join the international community in supporting a meaningful right to self-determination for the Palestinians, and to firmly stand by its policy against Israel’s illegal settlement activities, Thursday said a press release by PLO delegation to US.

It said that on December 19th, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in support of the right of Palestinian to self-determination; 182 in favor, 3 abstentions, and 7 against.

It added that on December 20, nine members of the Security Council voiced their opposition to Israel’s illegal settlement policy. Especially remarkable was the joint statement issued by the UK, France, Germany and Portugal describing Israel’s accelerating settlement activities as sending “a devastating message” to the prospects of a return to negotiations.

The release said that the General Delegation of the PLO to the US is concerned by the US position in these sessions. The US was one of only seven countries in opposition to the General Assembly resolution, while in the Security Council, the US refused to condemn Israel’s illegal settlement policy. Such outlier positions are making the US more isolated in the international arena.

Additionally, these positions are in direct opposition to long-standing US policies on Palestinian self-determination and the illegality of Israeli settlements, it added.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time the US contradicted its declared policy. On February 18th, 2011, it vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements, despite the fact that its wording had copied US policy statements almost verbatim, the release said.

In his speech to AIPAC’s Policy Conference on May 22nd this year, President Obama alluded to how the US is becoming more isolated in its positions, according to the release.

It said that Obama cautioned that the context in the Middle East and the international community is changing rapidly and that the US is losing its credibility with the Arab masses – a group whose role in the region’s politics is growing every day. Therefore, such actions will contribute to eroding US leverage and its standing in the region and the world.

It is imperative here to dispel any confusion about the nature of talks on settlements. The negotiations were always meant to determine the fate of those settlements, not discuss their legitimacy, it said.

It added that the illegality of Israeli settlements is uncontestable; it is a matter of international law.

It also said that Israel’s settlement activity seriously undermines the potential for the resumption of the political process. A sizable portion of the Israeli population as well as Jewish Americans oppose settlement activities. Hence, many questions are being raised over why the US is not being firm with Israel on the settlements issue.

 

( Fonte: http://www.english.wafa.ps )

SYRIA – Newspapers Review: Dailies Focus on Damascus Attacks, Settlements

Newspapers Review: Dailies Focus on Damascus Attacks, Settlements

 

RAMALLAH, December 24, 2011 (WAFA) – The three Palestinian Arabic dailies Saturday focused on the suicide attacks in Damascus, the new Israeli settlement plan to block Palestinian geographical contiguity, and Israeli army assaults at the weekly non-violent demonstrations across the West Bank.

Al-Ayyam newspaper reported on its front page on the two car bomb attacks on Syrian security sites in Damascus as the first delegation of Arab monitors had arrived in Syria on Friday. The news article reported that 44 Syrians were killed in the attacks and more than 116 wounded.

The daily featured that the opposition accused the Syrian regime of planning the attack while the government announced that al-Qaeda was behind the terrorist acts.

Al-Hayat al-Jadida highlighted an Israeli t plan to construct a new settlement between Maale Adumim settlement and Jerusalem, which will result in the disposition of 2500 Palestinians, block Palestinian geographical contiguity in the West Bank and completely isolate Jerusalem.

The newspaper reported on the European Union warnings against the construction of the new settlement.

A main headline in al-Quds newspaper reported that two Palestinians were injured, one with a live bullet in his leg and the other with a gas canister in his face, during Israeli army assaults against participants in the weekly non-violent demonstrations against settlements and the Apartheid Wall across the West Bank on Friday.

The daily printed a picture of Israeli soldiers arresting one of the protesters in Nabi Saleh, a town south of Ramallah.

Al-Quds editorial tackled the results of the talks between Palestinian factions in Cairo, describing them as an important step towards achieving national unity, and urged all parties to hasten the implementation of the reconciliation agreement and end the internal division for the higher Palestinian interest.

 

( Fonte: http://www.english.wafa.ps )

OCCUPIED PALESTINE – Israeli forces Raid Houses near Qalqilia

Israeli forces Raid Houses near Qalqilia

QALQILIA, December 24, 2011 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Saturday raided Azzun village, east of Qalqilia, after closing down its northern and western entrances, and prevented its residents from getting in and out, according to local sources.

Head of Azzun village council, Ahmad Imran, told WAFA that Israeli soldiers raided Palestinian houses and tampered with their content.

 

( Fonte: http://www.english.wafa.ps )