-
ISRAEL
- -----
- PABLO'S LAST SHOT
- From the first day of the Gush Katif expulsion, I warned
my readers that the government would crush the refugees and give
them nothing but empty promises. I insisted they had to fight
for their rights immediately or they would suffer catastrophe.
I further warned, that anyone who propped up their misery through
charity would be dooming the refugees to permanent poverty. I
wish it wasn't true, but all media reports illustrate that in
just three months, the once thriving residents of Gush Katif
have sunk into violence, despair, divorce, drug abuse, crime
and hopelessness. So keep on giving til it hurts and liberate
the Yesha Council and government from any responsibility for
their recklessness...
- (IsraelNN.com) Political advisor to the Yesha Council (of
Judea and Samaria communities), Yuval Porat, will head Defense
Minister Sha'ul Mofaz's campaign to head the Likud Party. Porat
served as advisor to the Yesha Council over the past year and
was one of the leading strategists behind the campaign against
the Disengagement Plan – ostensibly out of ideological identification
with the cause. He said Sunday that after deep internal ideological
conflict he decided to help Mofaz, even though the Defense Minister
was one of the main backers of the expulsion of Jews from Gaza
and northern Samaria.
- For the whole article: http://www.cephas-library.com/israel/israel_pablos_last_shot.html
- -----
- QUREI: PNA REJECTS CEDING JERUSALEM, WEST BANK FOR A 'GAZA
STATE'
- Israel Moves Swiftly to Capitalize on Pullout, Bush's Statements
28/08/2005 Palestine Media Center - PMC Prime Minister Ahmad
Qurei was scheduled to chair a Palestinian cabinet meeting in
the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis on Sunday to discuss and highlight
the Israeli settlement expansion in and around eastern Jerusalem,
which Israel occupied in 1967. Meanwhile Qurei indirectly criticized
US President George W. Bush's statements on Tuesday and Saturday
which ruled out jumpstarting the "roadmap" peace process,
saying that "the next step" after Israel's withdrawal
from Gaza would be establishing a working Palestinian government
there. Bush on Saturday also made his most direct call for the
Palestinians to "show the world that they will fight terrorism
and govern in a peaceful way" and demanded, "an end
to terrorism and violence in every form because we know that
progress depends on ending terror."
- The top Palestinian official in Washington, Hasan Abdel Rahman,
told Reuters the PNA "needs time and I think it's wise to
allow President Abbas to achieve that objective on his own terms."
However Qurei said the Palestinians are "rejecting the possibility
of establishing a Palestinian State in the Gaza Strip. The Strip
is part of the occupied territories and the Palestinian state
must coexist alongside Israel within the 1967 borders."
"We won't agree to renounce Jerusalem and the West Bank
in exchange for the (Gaza) Strip," Qurei added.
- The Israeli government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has
moved swiftly to capitalize on pullout from the Gaza Strip and
a tiny part of the northern West bank, Scott Wilson reported
in the Washington Post on Sunday. "Enjoying a moment of
international sympathy, Sharon's government is moving swiftly
to capitalize on its unilateral withdrawal and ongoing demolition
of 25 Jewish settlements," Wilson wrote. Qurei said the
Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is "very worried about
the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, particularly around
Jerusalem ... this will destroy the possibility of a viable Palestinian
state on the West Bank and Gaza," Qurie told Reuters. "What
is happening is very dangerous ... They are expanding the borders
of Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley. Who will accept that? Who
will accept swapping Gaza for Jerusalem or for the West Bank?"
Qurie asked.
- PNA Cabinet Meets in Jerusalem Smoke-screened by international
praise of his "courage" for evacuating some 9,000 settlers
from the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the northern
West Bank, Sharon embarked on demarcating the radium of the illegal
Jewish colony of Ma'ale Adumim on 100 square kilometers of occupied
Palestinian land east of Jerusalem, 35 km deep into the West
Bank and with a width of 15-25 km, and turned blind eyes to moving
the Gaza settlers into the West Bank colonies. The main goal
of the construction of the Ma'ale Adumim settlement bloc is to
separate the northern part of the West Bank from its southern
part, which would impede territorial contiguity between the southern
and northern West Bank.
- The PNA cabinet meeting in Abu Dis Sunday is meant to be
"a mark of our concern at the new Israeli settlement plans"
around east Jerusalem, Planning Minister Ghassan al-Khatib told
AFP on Saturday. The meeting is to be held inside the precincts
of Al-Quds University in Abu Dis. Ministers will also visit a
section of the Apartheid Wall that Israel is building around
east Jerusalem in defiance of Palestinian protests and the ruling
of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague in July
last year, which was later adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly. Palestinian Cabinet Secretary-General Samir Huleileh
told Ynet the PNA is highly concerned about Israeli construction
plans. "What is the message the Israeli government is sending
the Palestinian side?" Huleileh asked, blasting Israel for
boosting the number of West Bank settlers and expropriating Palestinian
land. The number of illegal Jewish settlers in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories (OPT) in 2004 reached 440,415, of which 432,275 live
in Israeli colonies in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and
8,140 in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
(PCBS) reported last week (Sunday).
- On Friday Israeli Interior Ministry spokesman Gilad Heiman
revealed that the population of the illegal Jewish settlers in
the Israeli West Bank colonies has grown in the past year by
more than 12,000 (5%) to about 246,000 in June this year. Israeli
officials routinely exclude Jerusalem from their statistics.
The number of Jewish settlers in the Holy City increased from
ZERO to more than 210,000 now since Israel occupied the West
Bank, including eastern Jerusalem in 1967. The Israeli new figure
may be boosted further after the evacuation of some 9,000 settlers
from 21 colonies in the Gaza Strip, many of whom found temporary
shelter in West Bank settlements and may look there for permanent
homes. Quartet Contacted, Urged for Immediate Interference Huleileh
added the Palestinians have already contacted US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice over the matter and have also relayed
a message to British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The PNA is also
expected to raise the matter with European Union envoy Javier
Solana, scheduled to visit the area on Tuesday.
- Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said Saturday the
PNA has sent messages, documented with maps, to representatives
of the Quartet of the US, UN, EU and Russia urging them to press
Israel to stop settlement activities in the Israeli colony of
Ma'ale Adumim east of Jerusalem. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov said Thursday that the Quartet would meet next month to
discuss the establishment of Palestinian control over evacuated
Israeli settlements. Erakat told Voice of Palestine that the
PNA demanded an immediate Quartet interference to force Israel
not to carry out its project of building more settlements in
Maeeh Adomim. "We demand that the Americans activate the
role of the Quartet committee and begin implementing the Road
Map. We are ready to engage our responsibilities according to
this plan," he said. "Since Israel finished its evacuation
of settlers, President Bush should make sure that Gaza will not
be first and last through the precise implementation of the Road
Map," Erakat told Reuters.
- US Green Light? Israel interpreted Bush's statements as a
green light to go ahead with its settlement expansion plans.
The April 2004 letter from Bush to Sharon, dubbed by Palestinians
as a new "Balfor Declaration," has become a cornerstone
of Israeli efforts to seek additional US aid, propose borders
beyond the demarcation between Israel and the territories, and
build within West Bank settlement blocs such as Maale Adumim.
"In this case, the Palestinians are not giving the quid
pro quo" for the Gaza pullout, said Dore Gold, an adviser
to Sharon. "This time, the quid pro quo comes from the United
States." This Israeli strategy continues unabated, the PNA
says. "Israel's strategy continues unabated, and that strategy
is simple: to take as much Palestinian land as possible with
as few Palestinians as possible," Michael Tarazi, a legal
adviser to the PNA, said. "Once you understand that, you
understand everything that is happening on the ground. [Official
PA website http://www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=1&id=972
]
- [ IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il
]
- -----
- ISRAEL'S SHARON PULLS OUT OF LIKUD
- By Amy Teibel, Canadian Press - November 21, 2005 - Israel's
Sharon pulls out of Likud to pursue peacemaking with Palestinians
- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at his Jerusalem office.
(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) JERUSALEM (AP) - Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon said Monday he gambled and broke away from his hardline
Likud party because he did not want to squander peacemaking opportunities
created by Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip or waste time
with political wrangling.
- Sharon, whose split from Likud electrified Israeli politics
and set the stage for likely March elections, ruled out unilateral
withdrawals from the West Bank, however. He also said he remains
committed to the internationally backed "road map"
plan, which calls for a negotiated peace deal culminating in
a Palestinian state. "There is no additional disengagement
plan," he told a televised news conference, referring to
the summer's Gaza withdrawal. "There is the road map."
Sharon's decision to form a new party he described as "liberal"
cemented his transformation from the hawkish patron of Israel's
settler movement to a moderate peacemaker reconciled to the inevitability
of a Palestinian state.
- Weekend polls indicated Sharon, Israel's most popular politician,
could marshal enough support to return to the prime minister's
office for a third term at the head of a moderate coalition.
- Palestinians said the developments created new prospects
for peacemaking, which ground to a halt during five years of
violence.
- "I believe this is an eruption of an Israeli political
volcano, and I hope that when the dust settles, we will have
a partner in Israel to go toward . . . a final arrangement,"
said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
- Sharon said he turned his back on former Likud allies who
opposed his Gaza withdrawal because life within the party had
become "insufferable."
- "The Likud in its present configuration cannot lead
the nation to its goals," said Sharon, the first sitting
Israeli prime minister to quit his party.
- The Gaza pullout created a "historic opportunity,"
he said. "I will not allow anyone to squander it."
- [Submitted by James McCutchan.]
- -----
- VATICAN WITHOUT COMMENT by Barry Chamish
- While reading, listen to my Vatican interview on Tamar Yonah's
show
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=93466
- From this point on, not a comment from me:
- http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=91526
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C13509-1823149%2C00.html
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/642171.html
- Report: Israel to hand control of Jerusalem holy site to
Vatican - Haaretz November 6, 2005 - By Amiram Barkat - Israel
is to give the Vatican control over one of the most sacred Christian
sites in Jerusalem, several European newspapers have reported
recently. According to the reports, Israel will give the Holy
See possession of the Coenaculum, or the Room of the Last
Supper (also known as the Upper Room or the Cenacle), on
Mount Zion.
- RABBI ROSEN INVESTED AS PAPAL KNIGHT -
http://www.barrychamish.com
- http://www.cephas-library.com/israel/israel_vatican_taking_over_room_of_the_last_supper.html
- -----
- ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER ANCIENT CHURCH
- By Aon Heller, Associated Press Writer November 5, 2005 -
Israeli archaeologists on Saturday said they have discovered
what may be the oldest Christian church in the Holy Land on the
grounds of a prison near the biblical site of Armageddon. The
Israeli Antiquities Authority said the ruins are believed to
date back to the third or fourth centuries, and include references
to Jesus and images of fish, an ancient Christian symbol. "This
is a very ancient structure, maybe the oldest in our area,"
said Yotam Tepper, the head archaeologist on the dig. The dig
took place over the past 18 months at the Megiddo prison in northern
Israel, with the most significant discoveries taking place in
the past two weeks, Tepper said. Scholars believe Megiddo to
be the New Testament's Armageddon, the site of a final war between
good and evil.
- Tepper said the discovery could shed new light on an important
period of Christianity, which was banned by the Romans until
the fourth century.
- "Normally we have from this period in our region historical
evidence from literature, not archaeological evidence,"
he said. "There is no structure you can compare it to, it
is a very unique find."
- Channel Two television, which broke the story Saturday evening,
broadcast pictures of a detailed and well-preserved mosaic bearing
the name of Jesus Christ in ancient Greek and images of fish.
- Pietro Sambi, the Vatican's ambassador to Israel, praised
the find as a "great discovery."
- "Of course, all the Christians are convinced of the
history of Jesus Christ," he told Channel Two. "But
is it extremely important to have archaeological proof of a church
dedicated to him? Certainly."
- Joe Zias, an anthropologist and a former curator with the
Israeli Antiquities Authorities, said the discovery was significant
but unlikely to be the world's oldest church. He said there were
no churches until Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity
in the fourth century.
- "The earliest it could be is fourth century and we have
other fourth-century churches. I think what is important here
is the size, the inscription and the mosaics," he said.
"I think it is an important find as far as early Christianity
but I wouldn't say it was the oldest church in the world."
- The Antiquities Authority said more than 60 prison inmates
took part in the dig in recent months. Channel Two said there
is speculation that Israel may move the prison and open a tourist
attraction in its place.
- "If it's between a prison and a church, I would like
a church," Zias said. "You can put a prison anywhere."
- Israeli Tourism Minister Avraham Hirshzon said the discovery
could greatly increase tourism to Israel.
- "If we nurture this properly, then certainly there will
be a large stream of tourists who could come to Israel. There
is great potential and together with the evangelical center in
the north could bring great strides in tourism," he told
Channel Two.
- -----
- ARAB KILLED IN JERUSALEM RIOTING
- ARUTZ SHEVA NEWS:
 November 10 2005
- By Ezra HaLevi - Israeli-Arabs rioted in the Jerusalem neighborhood
of Issawiya Wednesday night, burning cars in scenes reminiscent
of the nightly rioting in France and other European countries
in recent weeks. The riots broke out after the Lavi police unit
entered the Arab neighborhood of Issawiya, located near Hebrew
University’s Mt. Scopus campus. They came to arrest a man
who had been seen breaking into and stealing a car in the nearby
French Hill neighborhood.
- Police apprehended the man at the entrance to Issawiya with
the stolen car and, despite the violent efforts of a crowd of
Arab youths and elderly to prevent his arrest, put him in a police
vehicle and brought him to the French Hill police station. Meanwhile,
the mob tried to roll the stolen car into the village.
- A van then followed the police and, according to the officers,
tried to run over a policeman, hitting him and then speeding
away. The policeman managed to shoot the driver, 36-year-old
Sameer Rivkhi Dari. Dari’s passengers then dumped him out
of the van and sped back to Issawiya. He was brought to Hadassah’s
Mt. Scupus hospital, where he died of his wounds. The policeman
was also hospitalized.
- Rioting residents of Issawiya have their own versions of
the events. They claim that Dari had not tried to run over the
police officer, but was simply concerned with helping out his
nephew - the man arrested for stealing the car. Others say he
merely got out of his car to see what was happening.
- After the shooting incident, a mob tried to head for Hadassah
Hospital, where police prevented them from nearing the facility
by firing warning shots and using tear gas and stun grenades.
Other groups of rioters took alternate routes and succeeded in
setting several random vehicles ablaze near the hospital.
- “The police seem not to care about maintaining calm,”
an Arab resident told Israeli daily Yediot Acharonot. “They
murdered Sameer and renewed our Intifada here. Now residents
have blocked all the entrances and roads with burning tires.”
- -----
- ISRAEL AGREED TO A BROKERED DEAL ON HER INTERNATIONAL BORDER
CROSSINGS WHICH MANY BELIEVE WILL GRAVELY ENDANGER HER SECURITY
- "'Israel has forfeited its security': Israel no longer
able to act against any breach at international crossings",
Jerusalem Newswire, November 18, 2005 - "Israeli media analyst
Dr. Aaron Lerner says Israel has forfeited any say on its own
security by signing on to the ³Agreement on Movement and
Access² in the face of an international full-court press
led by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice earlier this week.
The deal, says Lerner, leaves Israel virtually powerless to act
or influence decisions should it detect a security breach at
the Gaza-Sinai border or off the coast of Gaza ... Furthermore,
Israel has committed itself to establish together with and under
the eyes of the Bush administration ³an agreed list of obstacles
to movement² in Judea and Samaria. Israel regularly uses
military roadblocks and checkpoints to disrupt ³Palestinian²
terrorist efforts to mass murder its Jewish citizens. According
to the agreement, it will now have to coordinate such non-lethal
preventative security measures with Washington.
- "... between Sunday evening and Tuesday morning, Rice
managed to reduce what remained of Israel's resolve and extract
the security concessions required by the gentile nations for
³peace.²
"CBN News Thursday quoted former Israeli ambassador and
veteran analyst Yossi Ben-Aharon as saying the agreement looks
good on paper, but not in practice.
'It may sound plausible, workable -- I beg to differ', said Ben-Aharon.
'We will really not be able to prevent the importation of people,
dangerous people, and arms. That is why I think we have made
a mistake, for which we will pay a heavy price'.² This is
a recipe for war -- sometime in 2006. Remember what the Apostle
Paul foretold as a sure sign of the End of the Age: "For
when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction
cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they
shall not escape." (1 Thess 5:3) Full story:
- http://www.cephas-library.com/israel/israel_agreed_to_a_brokered_deal_on_her
_international_border.html
- -----
- FOR CHRISTIANS & JEWS MUST READ:
- JERUSALEM - A SEPARATE COVENANT
- In 70 CE, Titus destroyed the Second Temple and all of Jerusalem.
The Jewish remnant was driven into all the nations just as Jesus
had spoken (Luke 21:24). He also spoke of Jerusalem being "trampled
under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be
fulfilled". On the morning of June 7, 1967, Jerusalem was
retaken by Israel. However, the prophecy spoken by Jesus was
not entirely fulfilled at that time. There is still one part
of Jerusalem that is not completely under Israeli control: the
Har Hakodesh (the Holy Mountain). Moshe Dayan (Minister of Defense
at that time) allowed Moslem authorities to retain authority
over this area. The prince of Islam has defiled this most holy
place with a satanic veil as a covering over the entire mountain.
However, the Lord has declared He will remove this covering:
"And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which
is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all
nations" (Isaiah 25:7).
We believe the sanctification of the Har Hakodesh is the final
step in fulfilling the prophecy spoken by Jesus. Jerusalem
truly is a "corpus separatum". However,
it is set aside by the Lord, not
by the United Nations. The Lord declares, "Behold, I
am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the
peoples around" (Zechariah 12:2). He also said that He would
put hooks in the mouths of all the nations and draw them into
war against Israel (Ezekiel 38:4). The nations are beginning
to gather against Israel, specifically Jerusalem. It is only
a matter of time before the UN resolutions are enforced. All
of the actions currently being taken by the UN are only preparations
for the final conflict with Israel. We have been appointed
watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem (Isaiah 62:6-7). To the one
who is a real follower of Messiah Jesus, Jerusalem should be
a primary concern. As Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem, so
should we. The hour is late. "When you see all these
things, recognize that He is near, right at the door" (Matthew 24:33) Full story
http://www.cephas-library.com/israel/israel_jerusalem_a_separate_covenant.html
- -----
- O GOD HELP US !! TEL AVIV THE PINK CITY
Local tourism officials plan on turning Tel Aviv into the gay
capital of the world; Israel Hotel Association official: Tel
Aviv and gay people are a perfect fit Danny Sadeh Tel Aviv is
known throughout the world as “The White City” due
to the many Bauhaus-style structures that adorn its streets,
but the city may soon be called “The Pink City,” as
tourism industry heads are planning on transforming the city
into the gay capital of the world, Israel’s leading newspaper
Yedioth Ahronoth reported. “Tel Aviv and gay people are
a perfect fit,” an Israel Hotel Association (IHA) official
said. The idea was born when IHA Director-General Eli Ziv visited
London recently to participate in the 2005 World Travel Market
exhibition. During the exhibition Ziv met with representatives
of the homo-lesbian travel industry, and discovered an audience
that would travel just about anywhere for a good party, even
to the Middle East. “The gay community has amazing consumer
power, and Tel Aviv has a lot to offer to this community,”
Ziv explained... “We are drafting plans to encourage gay
tourism from Germany, England and Holland,” Ziv added...
“Now the occupancy rate on these flights already stands
at more than 80 percent for the next few months. In February
they plan to increase the number of flights to three a week.
If this will indeed happen, we will see an airlift of gays to
Tel Aviv.” http://www.wordfromyerushalaim.com
- -----
- QUARTET STATEMENT
- NEW YORK, 20 September 2005 - Representatives of the Quartet
- U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.K.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, High Representative for European
Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, and European
Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner -
met today in New York to discuss the Gaza disengagement and the
prospects for movement towards peace in the Middle East. The
Quartet recognizes and welcomes the successful conclusion of
the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the northern West
Bank and the moment of opportunity that it brings to renew efforts
on the Roadmap.
- The Quartet reiterates its belief that this brave and historic
decision should open a new chapter on the path to peace in the
region. It paid tribute to the political courage of Prime Minister
Sharon and commends the Israeli government, its armed forces
and its police for the smooth and professional execution of the
operation. It also expresses its appreciation for the responsible
behavior of the Palestinian Authority and people for helping
maintain a peaceful environment during the evacuation. The Quartet
applauds the close coordination between the Israeli and Palestinian
security services during the process. These significant developments
create new opportunities and call for renewed focus on the responsibilities
of all parties. The conclusion of disengagement represents an
important step toward achieving the vision of two democratic
states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and
security.
- The Quartet commends continued cooperation between both parties
and the U.S. Security Coordinator, General William Ward, on security
issues related to the disengagement. The Quartet calls for an
end to all violence and terror. While the PA leadership has condemned
violence and has sought to encourage Palestinian groups who have
engaged in terrorism to abandon this course and engage in the
democratic process, the Quartet further urges the Palestinian
Authority to maintain law and order and dismantle terrorist capabilities
and infrastructure. The Quartet reaffirms the continued importance
of comprehensive reform of the Palestinian security services.
The rule of law through authorized security institutions is fundamental
to democratic practice. The Quartet expresses appreciation to
those parties which have made contributions to the security reform
effort, particularly Egypt , the European Union, and the United
States . Finally, the Quartet welcomes the agreement between
the Governments of Israel and Egypt on security arrangements
along the Gaza-Egypt border.
- At today's meeting, Quartet Special Envoy Wolfensohn's report
on his current efforts and initiatives was discussed. The Quartet
encourages his further work to facilitate continued discussion
between the parties to build on the success of disengagement.
The Palestinian Authority should demonstrate its ability to govern,
and all members of the international community should look for
ways to support these efforts. The Quartet will continue to lead
international efforts to support sustainable growth of the Palestinian
economy and to strengthen the overall capacity of the Palestinian
Authority to assume its responsibilities through an aggressive
pursuit of state building and democratic reform efforts. Given
the critical importance of free movement in the West Bank to
the viability of the Palestinian economy, the Quartet urges an
easing of the system of movement restrictions, consistent with
Israel 's security needs. The Quartet reaffirms that coordinated
action by the international donor community is crucial for the
success of the Quartet Special Envoy's Quick Impact Economic
Program, as well as for the longer term three year plan for Palestinian
development.
- In this regard, it notes the importance of the $750 million
in assistance which will be disbursed to the Palestinian Authority
during the remainder of this year. The Quartet urges Arab states
to implement existing commitments and to engage fully and positively
in response to the Special Envoy's initiatives. To ensure the
success of this effort, the Quartet views continued progress
on institutional reform of the Palestinian Authority, as well
as progress in combating corruption, as essential. The Quartet
also welcomes the announcement of Palestinian Legislative Council
elections and upcoming municipal elections.
- Looking beyond disengagement, the Quartet reviewed progress
on implementation of the Roadmap. The Quartet calls for renewed
action in parallel by both parties on their obligations in accordance
with the sequence of the Roadmap.
- As part of the confidence-building process the Quartet urged
both sides to return to the cooperative agenda reached at Sharm
el-Sheikh. Contacts between the parties should be intensified
at all levels. The Quartet charges the Envoys to keep progress
under review.
- Both parties are reminded of their obligations under the
Roadmap to avoid unilateral actions which prejudice final status
issues. The Quartet reaffirms that any final agreement must be
reached through negotiation between the parties and that a new
Palestinian state must be truly viable with contiguity in the
West Bank and connectivity to Gaza . On settlements, the Quartet
welcomed the fact that, in areas covered by disengagement, Israel
has gone beyond its obligations under the first phase of the
Roadmap. The Quartet expresses its concern that settlement expansion
elsewhere must stop, and Israel must remove unauthorized outposts.
The Quartet continues to note with concern the route of the Israeli
separation barrier, particularly as it results in the confiscation
of Palestinian land, cuts off the movement of people and goods,
and undermines Palestinians' trust in the Roadmap process as
it appears to prejudge the final borders of a Palestinian state.
- The Quartet members exchanged views on the Russian proposal
to hold an international meeting of experts in Moscow . Contacts
on this matter will continue, taking into consideration the need
to give attention to the various aspects of the Middle East situation,
including multilateral matters.
- The Quartet reiterates its commitment to the principles outlined
in previous statements, including those of May 4, 2004 , May
9, 2005 , and June 23, 2005 , and reaffirms its commitment to
a just, comprehensive, and lasting settlement to the Arab-Israeli
conflict based upon U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and
338. http://www.un.org/news/dh/infocus/middle_east/quartet-20sept2005.htm
- [ IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il
]
- -----
- ISRAEL LOWERS THE FLAG
-
- ISRAEL FINALIZES PULLOUT AS THE PALESTINIAN SECURITY TROOPS
CONTROL GAZA
- GAZA, Palestine, September 12, 2005 (IPC+Agencies)-[Official
PA website]-The Palestinian flag highly hoisted on the areas
the Israeli occupation forces pull out in Gaza Strip, marking
an end of a 38 prolonged Israeli military occupation. Immediately
after the Israeli troops left the latest posts inside the Jewish
settlements Palestinian security forces began entering the former
Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Monday,
a spokesman for the Palestinian Interior Ministry said.
- The spokesman said hundreds of members of the national security
service had entered all the former settlements , south Gaza Strip
including the Gush Qateif and Morg blocks Palestinians nearby
danced, played music and waved weapons and flags. "The Palestinian
flag has been planted in the settlements," Tawfiq Abu Khussa
said. The residents thronged towards the settlements, chanting
"GOD IS THE GREATEST" and honked the horns of their
cars and firecrackers and raised the portrait of the martyrs
killed in Al Aqsa Intifada.
- All the Palestinian factions took part in the celebrations
and their military wings fired on the air and raised the flags,
in jubilant of such historic event. An Israeli military source
said that the last Israeli soldiers left Gaza Strip Monday morning
and locked a gate at the Kissufim crossing between Israel and
Gaza around 7 A.M. Monday. The mission has been completed and
an era has ended," said Brig. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, commander
of the IOF forces in Gaza, at a brief ceremony.
- A day of Delight President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) convened
an urgent meeting with the leaders of the security services in
al Saray , the headquarter of security services in Gaza. The
meeting focused on the measures to be taken to impose a full
security control on the liberated areas and prevent and misconducts.
- Speaking to the reporters in Gaza, Abbas said the Israeli
withdrawal "is a day of delight and happiness the Palestinian
people lost a century ago.'
- But Abbas warned that it is necessary to find a solution
to the question of crossing and terminals otherwise Gaza Strip
will be turned into a big jail. He added that a slew of measures
should be taken in the post- Israeli disengagement era from the
Strip, first and foremost, get benefit from the lands to serve
the public needs. Abbas also stressed on the need to move a head
in the peace process to establish a viable Palestinian state
in the west bank and Gaza Strip.
- On the other hand, the interior minister Nasser Yousef warned
the residents not to enter the formers Jewish settlements and
asked them to show patience until the Palestinian teams ascertain
its vacancy of remnants lefts by the Israeli troops, which poses
life- threatening.
- The pullout of the Israeli troops and the deployment of the
Palestinian troops has been completed in the framework of a joint
coordination between the Israeli and Palestinians offices in
a meeting at al Mathen checkpoint including the commander of
the Palestinian national security forces Suleiman Heless and
the Brig. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, commander of the IOF forces in Gaza.
- Previously, the israeli flag lowered during a cermony hedl
at the former jewish settlement Neve Dikalim following the declartion
of an end to the israeli militry presence in Gaza Strip.
- Within the next few days Egypt will finalize the deployment
of 750 soldiers of borderguards at the egyptian side with Gaza
, mostly concentrated adajacent to Salah al din route to impose
the rule of law and prevent the so called gunrunning. [ IMRA
- Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il
]
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=10447
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- ERAKAT ABBAS TO DISCUSS WITH SHARON THE FINAL SETTLEMENT
ISSUES
- RAMMALLAH, Palestine, September 20,2005 (IPC+ Al Ayam Daily)
[Official PA website]-- The local newspaper "Al Ayam"
quoted, in its online edition, Dr. Sa'b Erakat, chief negotiator,
saying " in Sharon -Abbas meeting slated early October will
focus on a number of issues , first and foremost, the final settlement
issues; borders, refugees, water and others. Erakat explained
that the president Abbas "will set forth in the meeting
the Israeli withdrawal issue from Gaza Strip and not make Gaza
first and last. It should be attached with other withdrawals
from the West Bank and Jerusalem, meant a withdrawal to 1967
borders in order to establish a sovereign Palestinian state,
with Jerusalem as the capital as penciled in by the international
resolutions."
- As the Palestinians are concerned about turning Gaza Strip
into a big jail, the chief negotiator made clear that the president
Abbas will request Sharon for a full Palestinian control on the
border terminals and crossings and the airport as well as uplifting
the restrictions strained the free movement of the residents
and goods amongst the districts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In the anticipated meeting, as Erakat added, the President will
stress on the need toi stop all forms of settlement activities
in the West Bank and halt the ongoing construction of the Apartheid
wall. On the meeting's agenda also, the upcoming Palestinian
parliamentary voting, scheduled on 25 January and the Israeli
remarks, spurring insolent intervention in the Palestinian internal
affairs. Erakat hoped Israel to live up its due obligations in
such high sensitive profile for the Palestinian political life
in addition to its commitments in terms of the Road Map peace
plan and set a specified date to allow things back to pre 28
September 2000, mainly representing in the uplift of all forms
of siege, the release of all the Palestinian prisoners under
no criterion and solve the wanted people and deportees issue.
- Questioned about whether the issue of releasing the prisoners
from Gaza Strip after the Israeli withdrawal from the Strip,
would be raised on the table, Erakat remarked "any negotiation
could deliberate over the issue of the detainees of Gaza Strip
in the Israeli jails aside of the other prisoners from Jerusalem,
West Bank and the Green Line." http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=10660
- [ IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il
]
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