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The following letter was presented to the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on behalf of 78 Palestinian organizations on Wednesday, Sept. 22.
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To: President Mahmoud Abbas
Chair of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee
President of the Palestinian National Authority
CC:
League of Arab States
Non-Aligned Movement
Organization of the Islamic Conference
Re: The Rights of Palestinian Refugees and the Final Status Negotiations
Dear Mr. President,
Greetings of Return
We, the undersigned Palestinian refugee organizations, civil society movements and institutions in the Palestinian homeland and in exile are national organizations working to defend the right of return. We appeal to you now because we are convinced that the alignment of the official Palestinian position and the position of the Palestinian people with regards to the final status negotiation issues is of the highest priority. Foremost among these issues is the cause of the Palestinian refugees. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts on October 1, 2008 - ב' תשרי תשס"ט at 9:19 pm
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Representatives of the Quartet - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union Javier Solana, European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner - met today in New York to discuss the situation in the Middle East. They were joined by Quartet Representative Tony Blair.
The Quartet reaffirmed its support for the bilateral and comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and commended the parties for their serious and continuous efforts since the Annapolis Conference. The Quartet recognized that a meaningful and results-oriented process is underway and called upon the parties to continue to make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008. It noted the significance of this process and the importance of confidentiality in order to preserve its integrity. The Quartet underlined its commitment to the irreversibility of the negotiations; to the creation of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, living in peace and security alongside Israel; and to an end to the conflict. The Quartet expressed its desire to see the continuation of the solid negotiating structure, involving substantive discussions on all issues, including core issues without exception, in order to ensure the fulfillment of the Annapolis goals. The Quartet reiterated its previous call for all Palestinians to commit themselves to non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations. Restoring Palestinian unity based on the PLO commitments would be an important factor in this process. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts on September 27, 2008 - כ"ז אלול תשס"ח at 10:49 pm
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By Ray Hanania , YNet News, September 25, 2008
In the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that dominates everyone’s attention and the news, another fight for the protection of children, families and Christian education is taking place in the Middle East.
It is being waged by an Arab-Israeli woman named Nadia Hilou who has bucked the systems in Israel and in the Palestinian community to do what some thought impossible.
A long time advocate of children and family rights, Hilou is a citizen of Israel and ran for the Israeli Knesset so she could advocate for the rights of all people in Israel, Arab and Jewish.
Instead of running on one of the Arab Israeli party lists only to see her message drown in the “us against them” fight for Palestinian rights, Hilou ran on a mainstream list with the Israeli Labor Party. This way she would make sure her message reached everyone and change would follow.
The only Arab Christian Woman in the Knesset - one of 17 women and one of only two Christians - Hilou will not stop fighting for family services and the rights of children even when everyone else has. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Islam, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, News Articles, Recent Posts on September 25, 2008 - כ"ה אלול תשס"ח at 12:12 pm
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RAMALLAH/GAZA, 2 September 2008 (IRIN) - Strikes in state schools and the health sector are plaguing the Gaza Strip, causing turmoil and reminding all that the rival Fatah and Hamas factions in Gaza are still far from working out their differences.
According to international observers, the strikes at hospitals in Gaza, which started on 30 August, led to a significant section of the medical workforce staying away.
At the main Shifa hospital and several of the larger medical institutions, some 30 percent of doctors and 70 percent of nurses absconded, although at some smaller hospitals in the north and south the impact was not as deep.
An official at the International Committee of the Red Cross said services were mainly limited to emergency needs, and a local observer said standard medical checks and procedures were hardly being carried out.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, speaking with IRIN, blamed the strikes on the Ramallah-based caretaker government of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and President Mahmoud Abbas.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts on September 3, 2008 - ג' אלול תשס"ח at 10:21 am
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Reprinted from Herald Sun, September 2, 2008
MUSLIMS around the world this week begin the fasting and feasting month of Ramadan amid hopes of violence easing in some of the Islamic world’s conflict hotspots.
The start of the ninth and holiest month in the Muslim calendar is determined by the sighting of the new moon, which means Muslims in various countries begin Ramadan at dawn either on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.
Followers are required to abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn to dusk - and ideally violence - during the lunar month while gorging on sunset "iftar" meals rendered difficult for many by the global food crisis.
Pakistan marked Ramadan by halting a major military campaign against Taliban rebels on its border with Afghanistan, launched after intense pressure from Western nations.
Taliban militants freed six Pakistani soldiers of the 30 they are holding after they drew lots, with the insurgents pledging not to attack others in a "goodwill gesture".
But in Somalia Islamist militia commander Yusuf Mohamed Siad said that his fighters will intensify attacks against government and Ethiopian forces.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Islam, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, News Articles, Recent Posts on September 1, 2008 - א' אלול תשס"ח at 9:36 pm
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by Andy Sambidge, Arabian Business, 31 August 2008
A group of UAE companies on Sunday announced a partnership with a US organisation in an initiative to build desperately needed homes for those living in poverty.
Property developer ETA Star, Dubai Lifestyle City, Homes r Us and Star Cement have teamed up with the Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI).
ETA Star and its partners will donate a percentage of their total sales during the holy month of Ramadan towards building homes for the destitute in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ethiopia.
The initiative follows ETA Star’s Homes for the Homeless programme last year when a contribution of two million dirhams was made to the Red Crescent Authority.
Rapid population growth and urbanization has added to the urgency of the housing need.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Business and Commerce, Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts on August 31, 2008 - ל' אב תשס"ח at 9:50 am
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Largest mosaic wall to be built at Gilboa Coexistence Festival; head of regional council wants Guinness Company to declare unique feat a world record
By Yuval Amir, YNet News, Agust 21, 2008
A mixed group of young Jewish and Arab children will try to enter the Guinness Book of World Records, together.
On August 26 the first-ever Gilboa Coexistence Festival will open. As part of the festival, a seven-foot high by 32-feet long, huge mosaic wall will be constructed. Jewish, Arab artists are to perform in the three-day August festival in north. Program includes: Performances, trips, family activities, food market and open houses. Full story
Lines from John Lennon’s song, “Imagine” in Hebrew, Arabic and English will be included in the work of art. The creators, who have been working on the project for the past two months are Jewish children from the Gan-Ner camp and Arab youngsters from the Maayan-Harod camp with the assistance of a professional studio.
The piece will be displayed by the festival’s participants at Maayan Harod, the Gilboa’s Taibe village and at the opening ceremony at Kibbutz Ein Harod Meuhad in northern Israel’s Jezreel Valley.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, News Articles, Recent Posts on August 21, 2008 - כ' אב תשס"ח at 6:58 am
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By David Brinn , THE JERUSALEM POST, Aug. 20, 2008
"My dream is to see a Peace Child bicultural arts center, which would include teachers’ courses, productions, cultural series in the evening - a way to institutionalize this coexistence mechanism."
"What we teach is that it’s not what you say but how you say it. Anything can be said if it’s done respectfully." Melisse Lewine-Boskovich is talking about the work of the organization she directs - Peace Child Israel (PCI), now marking its 20th anniversary of repair work, using theater and the arts to bridge the gap between Arab and Jewish teenagers in Israel. But the 55-year-old long-time American immigrant might well have been referring to herself.
A former member of the Jewish Defense League under the late Meir Kahane, Lewine-Boskovich spent a fair share of time in the 1970s undergoing paramilitary training and doing time in US jails after arrests for disturbing the public during demonstrations for Soviet Jewry.
"I was very active, to the point that I can’t even mention some of the things I did," she told The Jerusalem Post. "I had a need to nurture something, and at that time it was the Jewish people, at all costs."
When she made aliya in 1971, she spent the first three months living with then-Right wing leader Geula Cohen. She recalls teaching karate and selfdefense to Cohen’s nine-year-old son, future cabinet minister Tzhai Hanegbi.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts on August 20, 2008 - י"ט אב תשס"ח at 10:17 am
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Editor’s Note: Hardly a day goes by when Palestinian sympathizers aren’t bemoaning the “plight of the oppressed Palestinians suffering from the brutal Israeli occupation.” Mostly they cite the security checkpoints which make it difficult for the West Bank and Gaza Arabs to go into Israel for free medical care. They long for the “good ol’ days” of the Armistice Lines of 1949 when Jerusalem was divided and the Arabs controlled the West Bank. As it turns out, these “good ol’ days” are no more than a poor selective memory for erroneous fantasies. The following travel advisory from the US Department of State in 1954 demonstrates the travel difficulties which resulted from the 1949 Armistice Lines and Arab intolerance. Thanks to Les Barany for submitting this valuable document which is reprinted verbatim.
Submitted by Les Barany exclusively to CN Publications
AMERICAN TRAVELERS TO THE ARAB COUNTRIES, ISRAEL, AND JERUSALEM
As an aftermath of the hostilities in 1948 and 1949 between certain Arab states and Israel, which ended in the division of Jerusalem into Israel- and Jordan-held sections, the regulations governing travel in Arab countries are subject to frequent change. At the present time, the Arab countries usually, with the exception of Egypt and sometimes Lebanon,
(1) refuse entry to persons of Jewish faith and background regardless of nationality, and
(2) either refuse entry or make it very difficult for travelers with Israeli visas in their passports.
It is, therefore, suggested that travelers visit the Arab countries first through Lebanon or Egypt and enter Israel from Jordan via Jerusalem. An Israeli visa can be obtained there upon entry.
Once the traveler crosses from one territory to another, he must continue his journey and cannot recross either to Israel or Jordan. Exception is usually made for Christians residing in or visiting Israel who may cross over and back for the Christmas and Easter services in Bethlehem and Jordan-held (or “Old City” of) Jerusalem, where the majority of the Holy Places are located. Permission for those crossings must be obtained well in advance.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East, Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts on August 12, 2008 - י"א אב תשס"ח at 10:13 am
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By Rafael D. Frankel, The Christian Science Monitor, August 12, 2008
MAWASSI, Gaza - Three years have passed since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, and in that time the economy of this coastal territory of 1.4 million people has gone from bad to worse.
Gas and food shortages are now being compounded by cash shortages as tens of thousands of people were unable to withdraw money from banks on Monday.
Still, despite their economic hardships, most Gazans insist that they prefer life here without the Israelis.
But in Mawassi – a mixed ethnic Palestinian and Bedouin town that was completely isolated from the rest of Gaza inside a Jewish settlement enclave – it’s a different story.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, News Articles, Recent Posts on August 12, 2008 - י"א אב תשס"ח at 9:31 am
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