Congress mulls closing PLO mission in Washington in light of UN bid
Haaretz 16 Sept -- Congress considers cutting PA aid; former terrorism finance analyst at U.S. Treasury accuses PA President Abbas of being corrupt, recommends that Abbas presidential budget be scrutinized and power of PA PM Fayyad be increased ... The Americans were frustrated that years of financial aid, currently comprising 600 million dollars annually, intended to promote peace negotiations and stability did not yield many material results.
Israeli report calls for continued aid to PA
WASHINGTON (Reuters) 16 Sept -- Israel is urging the international community to continue aid to the Palestinians just as US lawmakers are contemplating an aid cutoff if the Palestinians press for statehood at the United Nations. An Israeli government website on Thursday carried a report saying the Palestinian Authority already faced economic and fiscal woes, in part due to a decline in donor aid. "Israel calls for ongoing international support for the PA budget and development projects that will contribute to the growth of a vibrant private sector, which will provide the PA an expanded base for generating internal revenue," said the Israeli report.
And more news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing
Israel moves to retroactively okay settlement houses built on Palestinian land
Haaretz 16 Sept -- Israel announced on Thursday the initiation of a municipal plan that would retroactively legitimize structures in one of the largest West Bank settlements, and which were built on private Palestinian land. ... Over 58% of Ofra's structures are built on private Palestinian land, a fact which has delayed potential construction plans.
link to www.haaretz.com
IOA plans to uproot Jahaleen Arabs out of E. Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 16 Sept -- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has issued a military order Thursday of removing the Jahaleen Arabs out of their homes in the city so as to build and expand new settlements, Hebrew sources revealed. In an interview with channel 1 in the Israeli television, the spokesman of the Israeli "civil" administration said that the Jahaleen Arabs residing in Alaizariah suburb in occupied Jerusalem will be moved out of their homes because they pose "security threat" to the area. He added that new Israeli settlements will be built on the hundreds of thousands of square meters of the lands of the Jahaleen Arabs that they currently use as pastures for their livestock. Dozens of Bedouin families are dwelling in the area, but they said they don’t know where to go in case the IOA carried out the order.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Group: Israel's Bedouin relocation may bring violence
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 16 Sept -- An advocacy group for Arab-Israelis warned Thursday that Israel's plan to rehouse Negev Bedouin communities demonstrated neglect and could spark violence ... Mossawa Center said in a statement that the plan was "unilateral" and "neglects" the rights of Bedouin citizens of Israel ... The Haifa-based center said the plan involves "forcibly moving two-thirds of the Bedouin population in the Negev to cramped towns which cannot support the traditional agricultural lifestyles of the Bedouin community." Mosawwa said a protest outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's house after the decision would be followed with more demonstrations.
link to www.maannews.net
In would-be Palestinian state, a dose of reality / Tom Perry
JORDAN VALLEY (Reuters) 15 Sept -- In another world, the tented village at al-Hadidiya might mark the farthest reaches of a future Palestine. Instead, the herding community living here talk about the limits of that dream ... Even if Palestinian leaders win UN recognition of statehood this month, the people of al-Hadidiya say it will not improve their lives, squeezed by the rules of Israeli occupation ... "Remaining on the land is our first and last goal," said Abdul Rahim Bisharat, the community's official representative, his head covered by the black-and-white scarf long a symbol of the Palestinian struggle. "The weak-spirited people left, the last of them in 2008. Those who remain have taken a decision: no more forced expulsion."
link to www.maannews.net
Israel razes three buildings, roads in Jordan Valley village of Aqaba
NABLUS, (PIC)-- Israeli bulldozers tore down three structures as well as main roads in a Palestinian village in the northern Jordan valley as the Israeli army has declared the area a closed military zone. Journalists were prevented from taking photos as the force raised the home and two shacks of a local there in Aqaba village near Tubas on Thursday morning. Excavated also were the western road to the village and a street and telephone poles near the demolition site. Aqaba municipality head Sami Sadiq told our correspondent that all residents of the village have received demolition notices, including the local mosque, school, nursery, and health clinic.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Israel announces suspensions of OPT demolitions and promptly demolishes several structures
AIC 14 Sept -- During the first days of September, the Israeli military administration announced its decision to temporarily suspend demolitions in the occupied Palestinian territory, in recognition of the double standard applied for years to Palestinians and Jewish settlers. Nevertheless two days after the international media picked up this news, the same Israeli authorities ordered several demolitions in the regions of Hebron, Nablus and Jerusalem.
link to www.alternativenews.org
Violence - from settlers and Israeli forces
Settlers assault Palestinian child after kidnapping him south of Jenin
JENIN (PIC) 16 Sept -- A gang of young Jewish settlers attacked on Thursday night a young Palestinian boy in a village to south of Jenin. They then took him to the dismantled Haumash settlement and assaulted him before releasing him late at night. Locals said that a group of settlers ambushed Khalil Hamamrah, 16 years, at the fringes of the village, they kidnapped and assaulted him before the IOF transferred him to the PA’s liaison office.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Israel storms Nablus village after settler assault
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 16 Sept -- Israeli settlers assaulted a Nablus village Friday morning, leading to clashes with Israeli forces injuring 11 Palestinians. After the settlers were removed by Israeli police, Israeli forces raided Qusra village injuring six villagers with rubber bullets, a Ma'an correspondent said. Forces surrounded a house sheltering European press agency cameraman Alaa Bedarneh [who] was filming the earlier settler attack, the correspondent reported. Three children inside the house suffered tear gas inhalation during the military raid, and Bedarneh was injured in the hand, he said.
link to www.maannews.net
PNN reveals settlers' crimes against Palestinian citizens
PNN 15 Sept -- When Israeli settlers increase their attacks against Palestinian citizens in the West Bank, they usually observe their movements first before attacking them in remote areas. Iyad Sanafra is one of many Palestinians who endured the settlers’ aggression. Snafra, a Palestinian worker from Balata refugee camp in Nablus, was coming home on Wednesday exhausted after a long day of work in Qalqiliya. Instead of meeting his family, Snafra was attacked by a group of violent settlers near Yitzhar settlement near Nablus, and Snafra was taken to the hospital. According to medics, Sanafra’s upper jaw was broken and he is now staying in the operating room.
link to english.pnn.ps
Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (8-14 Sept)
* IOF continued to attack Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip - Two fishermen were wounded. IOF arrested and interrogated 8 fishermen, including two children, but released later. * IOF continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank. Dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation. *IOF conducted 51 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 23 Palestinians, including 10 children. IOF arrested and interrogated 3 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip, but released them later ... * IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. IOF demolished an under-construction house and shop of car parts in Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron. IOF handed notices to 8 Palestinian families ordering them to evacuate their farms in Hebron. Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian civilian vehicles traveling on the main roads, and a Palestinian civilian was injured. Israeli settlers uprooted 222 trees. Israeli settlers attempted to burn two cars in Burqa village, east of Ramallah. [details follow]
link to www.pchrgaza.org
Detention
IOF troops storm Ramle jail, ransack ward and damage captives' belongings
RAMALLAH (PIC) 16 Sept -- The IOF troops have stormed Wednesday night the patients’ ward at the Ramle jail and carried out provocative inspection in the captives' room after detaining them at the kitchen. Yasser Nazzal, who is serving an imprisonment term in the jail, said to his lawyer that the IOF troops stormed the rooms Wednesday night and dismantled the captives' beds and mixed their belongings together in a very aggressive and provocative manner without paying any attention to the bad conditions of the captives, some of whom are disabled, adding that the operation continued till 10 a.m. the following day.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Report: Palestinians from Galilee charged with terror offense
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma‘an) 15 Sept -- Israeli police filed charges against five Palestinian-Israelis from a Galilee village on Thursday, accusing the group of plotting attacks on their local police station, Israeli media said.
link to www.maannews.net
War criminals
UK amends law to protect Israelis from prosecution
LONDON (Reuters) 15 Sept -- A British law limiting citizens' rights to seek the arrest of foreign politicians for alleged war crimes took effect on Thursday, removing a thorn in British-Israeli relations ... Under the old law, private individuals could start criminal prosecutions, including for international war crimes, by applying to a magistrate for an arrest warrant. Israel demanded Britain change the law in late 2009 after reports that former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni would have risked arrest on war crimes charges over the 2008-9 Gaza offensive, had she not canceled a visit to London.
link to www.maannews.net
Gaza
Video: Israel continues plighting [?] Gaza fishermen
PressTV 16 Sept -- Israel's Navy continues patrolling the Gaza Strip's coastline around the clock to enforce Tel Aviv's all-out blockade on the coastal sliver and a related 3-mile (4.82-kilometer) fishing limit, Press TV has reported. The strict surveillance, which includes recurrent use of violence, has left hundreds of Gazan fishermen jobless, Press TV's correspondent Yousef al-Helou reported from the enclave.
link to www.presstv.ir
Fighter dies of wounds suffered in January 2009
IMEMC 16 Sept -- Palestinian medical sources reported that a fighter of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, died on Friday at dawn of serious wounds suffered during the three week Israeli war on Gaza that started on December 27, 2008. The fighter was identified as Khaled Suleiman Kaware’, from Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip
link to www.imemc.org
Turkish charity to build orphanage in besieged Gaza
Turkish Cansuyu Relief and Solidarity Association will build an orphanage in Jabalia city in Gaza Strip. Foundation of the orphanage was laid with a ceremony on Friday. The Chairman of the association Mustafa Koylu said that Cansuyu had been helping people in Gaza since Israel's embargo began, adding that they distributed food and clothes to poor families. Koylu said that the orphanage would cost 1.1 million USD, and serve 600 orphans.
link to www.worldbulletin.net
Activism / Solidarity
Palestinians march in Bil‘in in support of UN bid
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 16 Sept – Bil‘in residents marched in the Ramallah-area village in the weekly anti-fence, anti-settlements protest on Friday carrying and chanting slogans in support of Palestine’s bid to seek membership in the United Nations ... Similar protests took part in several other West Bank villages where residents hold weekly demonstrations against the barrier Israel is building on their land. The protests took place in Ni‘lin and Nabi Saleh, in the Ramallah area, and in Ma‘sara, in the Bethlehem area. A number of protesters were hurt in the various incidents.
link to english.wafa.ps
Video: Nabi Saleh weekly demo 16 September 3:51 minutes
link to occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com
In Pictures - Friday 16 Sept demos in West Bank
Nabi Saleh (including arrest of Ashraf Abu Rahmah, gassing of asthmatic Bahaa Tamimi), Ma‘sara - and settler attacks in Qusra
link to occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com
Video: Battle over Israel's separation barrier
NY Times Sept -- Produced by Stephen Farrell -- Israel has been building a barrier around and through the West Bank since 2002. Israel's government says it protects against terrorism. Palestinians argue it is an attempt to seize territory. Focuses on Bil‘in in particular. [very odd that the Times, like other media, insists that the wall is necessary for security and never mentions that hundreds of Palestinians go through, around and over the barrier all the time to work in Israel, and don't carry bombs though they easily could if they wanted to.]
link to video.nytimes.com
Subway station billboard battle is latest flareup in Israeli-Palestinian conflict
NY Daily News 16 Sept -- A subway station billboard war is the latest flareup in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The dispute began with posters urging an end to U.S. military aid for Israel, prompting a City Council member to demand an end to the ads - and spawning an upcoming series of counter-ads.
link to www.nydailynews.com
Hundreds rally in New York for Palestinian rights
NEW YORK (Reuters) 16 Sept -- Hundreds of people rallied in New York City on Thursday in a show of support to the Palestinian people. The rally comes one week before Palestinian leaders are expected to call for full UN membership during the United Nations General Assembly. Demonstrators from various groups including the International Action Center, Code Pink, Al-Awda, Socialist Action, Jewish Voice For Peace, and NYC Queers Against Israeli Apartheid braved the rain to show their support for the Palestinians. The rally began in Times Square and demonstrators later marched through Midtown Manhattan to the United Nations.
link to www.maannews.net
Naksa Day protester loses battle in military court
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 16 Sept -- 26-year-old Khaled Zwahre is crouched in front of an Israeli army jeep, clapping encouragingly to his two friends backed against the vehicle. It is June 5, or Naksa Day, 2011, marking the "setback" of 44 years of Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Around 300 Palestinians are gathered with Zwahre at the Qalandiya checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem ... On Wednesday Zwahre was given a six-month jail term, a 5,000 shekel fine, and a four-year suspended sentence under which he will be immediately re-imprisoned for a repeat offense. The Ramallah-based odd jobbing painter was found guilty of participating in an unauthorized demonstration, obstructing an officer on duty, and throwing stones. "We admitted the first charge," Zwahre's lawyer Nery Ramati told Ma‘an. "Every demonstration in the territories is unauthorized." ... No one else at Qalandiya that day was charged, the lawyer said, but Zwahre annoyed the border police, and was an easy target while sitting in the road.
link to www.maannews.net
Statehood bid
Abbas: Palestinians to seek full UN membership
Haaretz 16 Sept -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday that the Palestinians plan to approach the United Nations Security Council for full recognition, clarifying that they are seeking to delegitimize the occupation, not Israel, by taking the UN route for Palestinian statehood. He stressed that Israel is a legitimate state, but that by continuing to build in the settlements and rejecting the internationally recognized borders of a future Palestinian state, they are engaging in illegitimate activity.
link to www.haaretz.com
Netanyahu: Israel will agree to upgrade of Palestinian status, not statehood
Haaretz 16 Sept -- Netanyahu decides to address the UN General Assembly next Friday, the day the Palestinians will submit their statehood bid ... Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of five key EU members Thursday to rebuke them over their countries' policy on the Palestinians' bid for UN recognition as a state.
link to www.haaretz.com
Trappings of state in place as Palestinians head to UN
RAMALLAH (AFP) 15 Sept -- At the headquarters of the Palestinian postal service in the West Bank city of Ramallah, excitement is growing over the bid to see UN membership for a Palestinian state. The post office has already inked a deal to begin extricating its delivery system from Israeli supervision, and is eagerly preparing for the reality that could emerge after the Palestinians go to the United Nations next week to seek full membership for their state.
link to www.khaleejtimes.com
VIDEO: Taking the pulse on the streets of Tel Aviv and Ramallah
NBC Nightly News 16 Sept -- Palestinians are planning to make a push for recognition as an independent state at the United Nations next week. While Israelis and Palestinians are divided on the subject, there is some nuances in their opinions. NBC's Paul Goldman and Lawahez Jabari took to the street in Tel Aviv and Ramallah, respectively, to check the pulse of both Jews and Arabs on the looming U.N. vote.
link to worldblog.msnbc.msn.com
IDF boosts W. Bank presence ahead of UN bid
Ynet 16 Sept -- The IDF Central Command is raising its alertness level in the West Bank ahead of next week's expected Palestinian bid for statehood recognition in the UN. Reserve troops from three regiments were mobilized in the last week alone in a bid to reinforce troops deployed in the West Bank.
link to www.ynetnews.com
UNRWA chief on statehood and beyond
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 13 Sept -- As the debate intensifies over the bid for recognition at the UN of a Palestinian state, questions are being raised about UNRWA, the UN agency mandated to bring education, health, relief and social services to as many as five million refugees pending a resolution of their plight. What will the future hold for refugees following the statehood discussions? And what about the continuation of services provided to refugees? For answers, Ma‘an turned to the Commissioner General of UNRWA, Filippo Grandi.
link to www.maannews.net
Palestinians seek statehood, but Gaza is forgotten
GAZA CITY (AP) 16 Sept -- In the Palestinians' high-profile bid to seek statehood at the United Nations, half the future nation they envision has been all but forgotten. Residents of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip are watching frustrated from the sidelines as the West Bank-based leadership pushes for the long-held dream. The move for U.N. recognition has created a quandary for the Islamic militant Hamas, which violently overran Gaza three years ago and set up a rival government there. They can't publicly oppose the idea of statehood, but they are wary of giving a boost to their West Bank rival, internationally backed President Mahmoud Abbas. They also don't want to appear to recognize Israel, as the move implicitly does by calling for a state only on territories captured in 1967.
link to old.news.yahoo.com
Palestinian factions: PLO step to seek seat in the UN threatens the cause
DAMASCUS (PIC) 16 Sept -- The Damascus- based central leadership of the Palestinian factions alliance has strongly criticized Thursday the PLO move to seek a seat at the UN, stressing that the step was far from any national strategy for liberation and resistance.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
China press warns US against Palestinian UN veto
BEIJING (AFP) 16 Sept -- A Chinese state-run newspaper on Friday warned of a spike in tensions in the Middle East if the United States vetoed the Palestinian bid for membership of the United Nations next week ... "If the US chooses to fly in the face of world opinion and block the Palestine UN bid next week, not only will Israel become more isolated but tensions in the region will be heightened even more," said the China Daily. "The majority of the international community deems an independent state as the inalienable right of the Palestinians," the English-language daily said in an editorial, echoing Beijing's official position on the issue.
link to www.maannews.net
Israel's relations with Egypt, Jordan, Turkey
Israel summons Egypt ambassador over conflicting peace treaty remarks
Haaretz 16 Sept -- Foreign Ministry source says Yasser Rida asked to explain Egypt Prime Minister's remarks that peace treaty should be revised; earlier, Egypt military council said treaty should be preserved.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-summons-egypt-ambassador-over-conflicting-peace-treaty-remarks-1.384911
Obama to meet with Erdogan over damaged ties with Israel
Reuters 16 Sept -- U.S. President Barack Obama will meet Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at the UN General Assembly in New York next week and urge him to repair relations with Israel, as tensions continue to rise between the two key U.S. allies in the region. White House National Security Council spokesman Ben Rhodes told reporters that Obama also anticipated a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the president's three-day U.N. visit which starts late on Monday.
link to www.haaretz.com
Anti-Israel protest marks Turkey football clash
ISTANBUL (AFP) 16 Sept -- About 300 anti-Israel protesters gathered Thursday in central Istanbul as Turkish football side Besiktas took on Maccabi Tel Aviv in a Europa League match. Demonstrators chanted: "Murderer Israel, get out of Turkey" and "Destruction of Israel, freedom for Palestine" while holding aloft Palestinian flags on Taksim square ... Tight security measures were in place ahead of the match in the Turkish city
link to www.maannews.net
Israel ambassador returns to Jordan after protests
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 16 Sept -- Israel's ambassador to Jordan returned to Amman on Friday after he was temporarily withdrawn over fears that demonstrations outside the embassy would turn violent, a foreign ministry spokesman said. Hundreds of Jordanian protesters demanded on Thursday their government close the mission and scrap a peace treaty with Israel.
link to www.maannews.net
Why Jordan's king lashed out at Israel
Haaretz 16 Sept -- ...it appears Abdullah was reacting to a statement from Israel. Specifically, he was reacting to something said by Maj. Gen. (res. ) Uzi Dayan, a Likud member and chairman of the national lottery, Mifal Hapayis ... "Ultimately," [Dayan] said, "the best thing is a Palestinian Hashemite kingdom headed by the king of Jordan," with its capital in Amman and consisting of three provinces: the current kingdom of Jordan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. He later confirmed this to Haaretz. Thus Dayan effectively told the surprised audience that Jordan should be the Palestinian state, with the West Bank and Gaza as its provinces
link to www.haaretz.com
Other news
PA did not buy military equipment from Israel, says official
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 16 Sept -- The Palestinian Authority did not purchase military equipment from Israel as claimed by Israeli reports, Thursday said Adnan Damiri, spokesman for the Palestinian security forces. He said in a press release that the PA did not buy any military equipment from Israel in the past or the present, and all equipment of the Palestinian security forces were bought or delivered from Europe or Russia and they enter the Palestinian Territory, with a prior and complicated Israeli administrative approval, through Israeli ports. He said Israel usually impedes delivering the military equipment to the PA and usually withholds them.
link to english.wafa.ps
Palestinians skirmish over renaming of blocked Hebron street
PNN 15 Sept -- In a bizarre incident outside of the entrance to the Israeli settlement inside the southern West Bank city of Hebron, Palestinians with spray paint skirmished over whether to rename al-Shuhada Street Apartheid Street. "This is the street of the martyrs!" yelled one youth -- al-Shuhada means "the martyrs" -- after tearing down a sign belonging to the organizers of the event. "It is for all the injured and dead. This street is for all their brothers and sisters, for all Palestinians. We will not change the name." The youth, who would not give his name, then used black spray paint to cover tags reading "Welcome to Apartheid Street," writing :"al-Shuhada Street" next to them. Organizers of the event identified him as Azmi al-Shoukhi and said they were sure he was a collaborator with the Israeli army.
link to english.pnn.ps
South Africa: Development Squad to represent country in Palestine
allAfrica 15 Sept -- The South African Development team is in camp ahead of two international friendly matches against the Palestine National team. The matches will be played on Wednesday, 21 September in Ramallah and on Sunday, 24 September 2011 in Bethlehem and is in support of the war-torn nation of Palestine.
link to allafrica.com
Ghana renews diplomatic relations with Israel
Ynet 15 Sept -- Nearly four decades after severing ties in wake of Yom Kippur War, Israeli Embassy reopens in Accra -- "It's hard to describe the sense of pride we felt, standing here with a local orchestra playing the anthem and seeing the flag flying in the background," newly appointed Ambassador to Ghana Sharon Bar-Lee told Ynet on Wednesday.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Former IDF chief reveals new details of Israel's nuclear program
Haaretz 16 Sept -- Tzvi Tzur preceded Yitzhak Rabin as chief of staff and was Defense Minister Dayan's deputy in the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War .,, There were visits by the Americans, who came to Dimona to check us out. There was total pressure. To pass the review was an extremely difficult problem, until the Americans themselves decided that they did not want to make a mockery of themselves and canceled the visits. It was a very acute yearly visit.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/former-idf-chief-reveals-new-details-of-israel-s-nuclear-program-1.384889
Why are Israelis moving to Germany?
Haaretz 16 Sept -- Thousands of Israelis, among them many artists, have chosen to live in Berlin because of its relaxed atmosphere and relatively low cost of living, even if it means living in a country with a fraught history.
link to www.haaretz.com
Analysis / Opinion
Israel does not want a Palestinian state, period / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 15 Sept -- On Wednesday, a coalition of Israeli peace organizations published a list of 50 reasons for Israel to support a Palestinian state. Assuming that you only accept five of them, isn't that enough? What exactly is the alternative, now that the heavens are closing in around us? -- What will we tell the world next week, at the UN? What could we say? Whether in the General Assembly or the Security Council, we will be exposed in all our nakedness: Israel does not want a Palestinian state. Period. And it doesn't have a single persuasive argument against the establishment and the international recognition of such a state. So what will we say, that we're opposed?
link to www.haaretz.com
Diplomatic maelstrom / Issacharoff and Harel
Haaretz 16 Sept -- Israel is facing its most complex strategic challenges in decades. The return of Israeli envoys from the region's three most important countries is only the beginning.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/diplomatic-maelstrom-1.384826
Analysis: Turkey tough talk boosts Mideast stature
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) 16 Sept -- Treated to a hero's welcome in Egypt this week and flexing his military muscle in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is basking in growing popularity in an Arab world being transformed by revolution and war. After years of being cold-shouldered by the club of European countries it has sought to join, Ankara has been strengthening its role as regional leader while also unleashing invective against Israel -- a move which has rapidly bolstered its standing in the Muslim world.
link to www1.whdh.com
Twilight Zone: An organic bond / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 16 Sept -- Six years ago, Anna Weekes-Majavu donated a kidney to a Palestinian toddler. Since then, the South African-born peace activist has been prevented by the Israeli authorities from seeing the child whose life she saved.
link to www.haaretz.com
groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive)
Perhaps the most interesting news of the day is Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Tripoli today. What does this tell us about Turkey’s attitude to Syria now?
I find the news of this secret pact between Greece and Israel very disturbing. (I bet that Greece was told “sign up, our your economy really gors down the drain”.) It leads to a NATO member and a non-NATO member allying themselves against another NATO member.
link to defencegreece.com
the news is from DEBKAfile. Not to be taken seriously.
I also saw that somewhere. Typical parasite behavior for Israel hitching a ride on a NATO member–but one that doesn’t have enough money to even buy gas for their army. I would worry if I were Greece, Isr will do a false flag on them, blame it on Iran or who ever and hope NATO wil attack someone.
“… Typical parasite behavior for Israel hitching a ride on a NATO member”
American, Israel is almost a NATO member now; it conducts joint military excericises with it and has military attachés in Brussels and its military attends courses at the NATO Defense College in Rome. It even had the audacity of attacking a NATO member’s ship and kill 9 of its nationals and nobody from any of the other NATO countries said boo.
Yes, I would take that with a pinch of salt. Such a defense pact would require NATO to get involved and seriously, what defense force does Greece have? They’re on the verge of defaulting.
Greece has a better Air Force than Turkey and if push came to shove the EU countries along with the US would take the side of Greece over Turkey. Especially with Turkey’s renewed threats against Cyprus.
Don’t be an idiot DBG, if you can help it.
Turkey’s military drawfes Greeces in every way, air force included. Add to that the strong possibility that Turkey either has nukes or can obtain them very quickly (thanks to sharing of US intel stolen by Israel).
No one in Europe would dare take on Turkey. Not even the US.
DBG will support any country that helps Israel prolong the occupation in a narrow military sense.
DBG, are you capable of thinking morally outside of the parameters of Jewish nationalism?
Get a life, freak.
Where there can be no doubt the Turks outclass the Greeks, it is in ground forces. Turkey has a much larger population, far more soldiers, and battle experience against the Kurds.
Greece and Turkey have a land border (in Thrace). The Greeks would have to put up a fight for Thessaloniki, and I think that would result in a large Greek army being surrounded.
You have to remember, DBG belongs to the kook class who just knew there were nukes in Iraq.
Cliff, you are a child, ” get a life freak”? how is that going to help the Palestinians.
What does the Hellenic Air Forces’ superiority over the Turkish Air Force have to do with Jewish Nationalism?
I am surrounded by people like you on a daily basis, you don’t know jack about something so you change the subject, you try to score points with your comrades. You are a sad individual who become attached to the ‘Palestinian cause’ for one of two reasons, 1. it is the cool thing to do, 2. you are anti-Jewish, I bet for you Cliff, it is a combination of the two.
I guess that makes you a sad individual who become attached to the ‘Zionist cause’ for one of two reasons 1. Yuo hate muslims, 2. you hate everyone
Roha, did Turkey and Egypt not do the exact same thing?
No, not exactly the same thing. A Turkey/Egypt pact would be one of a NATO member and a non-NATO against a non-NATO member.
For Greece to side with Israel against Turkey would be a conflict of pacts.
There is no such conflict of pacts if Turkey sides with Egypt against Israel.
First of all, what you are saying doesn’t make sense. there is no conflict, these are simply defense treaties entered between two countries. secondly you didn’t take into account Cyprus, another NATO member who Turkey is openly threatening regarding their NG exploration.
“there is no conflict”
Not yet, there isn’t, but if war breaks out between Israel and Turkey there will be.
Cyprus is not a NATO member.
Sorry about saying Cyprus was a NATO member, i’d like to say I misspoke and meant the EU, but I was just flat out wrong about that one :)
Turkey’s actions against Cyprus over the next few days will illustrate to the world what they are really about regarding the NG exploration. I hope it will help people to realize they are also occupiers and responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Greek Cypriots from Northern Cyprus.
Natural gas exploration, huh? Remind us again, who’s warships are sitting off the Gazan coast?
Anyone know which 58 dems signed this letter?
Thu Sep 15, 5:32 pm ET
WASHINGTON – House Democrats are appealing to European leaders to oppose the Palestinian Authority’s pursuit of statehood recognition in the United Nations.
In a letter Thursday to 40 European heads of state, Democrats warned that such a step would have “devastating consequences for the peace process and the Palestinians.”
The Palestinians said Thursday they will ask the Security Council next week to accept them as a full member of the United Nations. Israel and the United States oppose the move, saying it would undercut negotiations leading to a two-state solution.
Signing the letter were 58 Democrats, including top leaders Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Howard Berman.
Separately, Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Foreign Affairs chairwoman, pressed European leaders to make clear publicly and privately that they will vote against recognizing the Palestinians
“Democrats warned that such a step would have “devastating consequences for the peace process and the Palestinians.”
Democrats must be really worried . It will be a disaster for the US if the lobby is exposed.
This letter is overshadowed by Representative Joe Walsh’s recently
introduced bill, which mirrors the bill introduced by Danny Danon in
the Knesset, to offer the US fullest support for Israeli annexation of
the West Bank. There are at least 30 other representatives who have
signed on.
I hope not.
Is there no independent confirmation of any such pact? I have seen a few version which make no mention of DEBKA.
link to jta.org
link to ekathimerini.com
Just look at a map.
So let me get this straight.
Congress, out of fealty to Israel, threatens to cut off aid to the PA, but Israel is lobbying for aid to the PA to continue?
Yeah, makes perfect sense.
one has to think like a chess master to get an idea of the games going on in international politics..
Exactly, James. For example, ridding Pakistan of its nukes is an Israeli goal (bec. it’s Muslim country with nukes) which it is accomplishing by using the US as proxy. That’s also why we’re in Afghanistan (to destabilize Pakistan…aren’t all the “terrorists” now in N. Pakistan? Only 50-100 left in Afghanistan according to the Generals). It’s why the Mumbai explosion was blamed on Pakistanis too. Ultimate goal? Complete regional hegemony. Pakistan’s nukes are a deterrent that part of the world needs.
I wont even bother going into the perennial obvious: Iran.
some of it is more obvious then other examples… the ones you offer are good examples though.. in chess the idea is to retain power and control over the whole board, even if some weird looking sacrifice suggests something otherwise… the less obvious intent of retaining ultimate power continues to be the agenda of these power hungry fanatics… power hungry fanaticism is a good definition for the neo con agenda..
mrw – thanks for your comments here at mondoweiss…
OMG, who did Mumbai if it wasn’t Pakistanis? you going to blame this on Israelis too? Jesus this conspiracy shit is getting out of hand. No one respects you people, if you cry wolf enough people start to think you are a nutter.
DBG at September 19, 2011 at 9:45 am,
David Coleman Headley, Key Mumbai Terror Plot Planner Testifies at Chicago Trial
World News with Diane Sawyer, March 18, 2010
link to abcnews.go.com
Chicago Man [David Headley] Charged For Role In 2008 Mumbai
Terror Attacks
link to abcnews.go.com
The Headley Saga: What Are They Hiding?
link to countercurrents.org
you are a nutter MRW, pure and simple.
Find those nukes in Iraq yet, DBG? Or do you still think Hersh is a fraud?
Shhh, don’t disturb him Chaos. His tin foil hat is very sensitive to one world government types.
If I had my way, its his soldier-sacrificing ass he’d need to watch out for, not his tin foil hat.
Yes, it makes sense, Shingo. Israel has been occupying the Palestinian territories without the burden of providing and paying for services to the occupied people as an occupier should, due to the Oslo gimmick and other excuses. The UN, Americans, Europeans and Arabs have been supporting the Palestinians all along and consequently also saving money for Israel and if the foreign funding comes to a halt, Israel may finally have to face the music. Besides, a good part of the aid monies that the Palestinians work their way into the Israeli economy. Of the $500 million the US gives to the Palestinian, excluding the lion’s share of UNRWA’s budget, there’s $100 million to cover the cost of PA security that’s primordially concerned with protecting Israel’s borders from the Palestinian side and keeping the population nice and docile (Jeff Halper from MRW’s video called it “pacification”). That’s why Israel doesn’t want the Congress people to help it, it’s not because it has suddenly found love for the Palestinians.
i agree walid, already read one article where palestinians said if the US cut off funds the PA would pack up and it would be left up to israel to fund the occupation (under their UN obligation). can’t recall where but i read it in the last few days.
thanks walid for putting it much more succinctly then me..
I’ve got a rather grim piece of information to share.
A retired Lebanese army colonel and current military adviser to a right wing political party in Lebanon has leaked information that in the last two years some EU countries, along with the US and Saudi Arabia have been training right wing Lebanese Phalanges (Christian and Sunni) in Urban Warfare. The training covered various special forces tactics, including night raids, counter-reconnaissance, and technical intelligence collection. In addition, the training focused on tank operations and the use of armored vehicles.
Close to 140 Lebanese fighters have returned from the United States, France, Belgium and Germany where they received training to fly combat planes and helicopters and carry out aerial bombing missions.
The Colonel emphasized that the military wings of the right wing Christian and Sunni parties have about 50,000 fighters who will be provided with the latest advanced weaponry Syria and Iran have to offer, weaponry that was purchased from East European countries. Some of the weaponry is stored in the Gulf states. In addition, the United States has on hand armored vehicles in Qatar which can be used to reinforce fighters in Lebanon should the need arise.
The plan is to wait until the Syrian regime falls, and then use the opportunity to attack and dismantle Hizbollah — a Shia’ group.
The Lebanese Colonel that leaked this information stated that the plan is already underway. He emphasized that in the early stages the Lebanese army will remain neutral lest it fragment like it did in 1975. In the event the Lebanese army splinters, the Phalanges will take over the army’s arsenal.
This in turn will see the reshaping of a new Middle East. It is safe to say that in the foreseeable future, civil wars, in both Lebanon and Syria, will become part of the daily reality.
oh great. this makes me want to puke.
interesting Avi, care to share where you got the information from?
But here’s the problem. From a sectarian perspective these Christian right winger (I guess the Lebanese forces) hate the Sunnis more than the Shiites because the Sunni’s are such an overwhelming majority in the Syrian region.
My guess is if there is a civil war in Syria between western backed Sunnis and the other sects, these Christian militias will turn their guns on Sunni neighborhoods and sunni refugee camps.
“But here’s the problem. From a sectarian perspective these Christian right winger (I guess the Lebanese forces) hate the Sunnis more than the Shiites because the Sunni’s are such an overwhelming majority in the Syrian region. ”
No, Simone D., those you mentioned are allied with the US and by extension to the Sunnis and Ikhwans that consider the Shia apostates and heretics but they don’t hate any Sunnis unless they are Palestinians. In Syria, the majority Syrian Sunni are closer to the ruling (Shia)Baathists than they are to their Sunni Ikhwans that are spearheading the insurgency and this is why the movement towards change in Syria is coming only in fits and starts as most of the country is solidly behind Assad while he’s taking his time making any meaningful changes.
You’re right to worry about the camps; it’s the same people that were contracted by Israel do Sabra-Shatila. It was also the same people that 7 years earlier under sponsorship from Syria had attacked the Palestinian camps at Tal al-Zaatar and at Dbayeh. A few years back, the Nahr al-Bared war (160 soldiers killed and 500 injured) that destroyed the Palestinian camp was instigated against the army by an offshoot military wing of the Salafist Ikhwans. A PR campaign demonizing the army to weaken it and split it is underway by the pro-US right wingers and Salafists but the army is doing a great job of standing firm and staying united.
If a retired Lebanese army colonel knows about it, then you can be sure that not only does Hezbollah, but that they have vonringencies in place to deal with the Phalangists militias.
Hezbollah have been training for 20 years, not two.
i recall the army attack on nahr al-bared in 07 due to the infilitration of salafist and i think hersh (?) wrote funding was channeled thru the abrams crew and wolfowitz girlfriend at the word bank..some ‘democracy building’ funding. and then there was that boasting of the saudi prince that was in the paper one day and hushed up the next. i would have to dig into the archives over @ missing links, badger is not translating anymore…bummer.
then there’s that location thing, and the future american base, the camp being in the way…
Hersh writes a lot of conspiracies theories Annie.
you mean like breaking abu ghraib, stovepiping and the my lai massacre? yeah whatever.
DBG,
Hersh writes a lot of conspiracies theories Annie.
What does that mean? “Write?” Report?
You realize of course he writes for The New Yorker, don’t you? With one of the strictest fact-checking operations in the biz.
Oh, so you have found those nukes in Iraq, then?
huh? nukes in Iraq? can be more irrelevant?
DBG,
Were you awake in Sept 2002?
“Top Bush officials push case against Saddam”
link to articles.cnn.com
October, 2002
“Bush: Don’t wait for mushroom cloud”
link to articles.cnn.com
The Phalangist militias didn’t acquit themselves well in battle when Israel tried to use them in its invasion of Lebanon in the 1980′s. They were good at killing women and children, not much else.
And Hezbollah is now popular among a lot of Lebanese Christians, because it beat Israel, whom the Christians now hate, because of how it has behaved in Lebanon. Lebanese Christian leader General Aoun is a political ally of Hezbollah.
It’s amazing how Israel unites pretty much everyone in the Middle East against them. I guess that’s what happens when you murder, pillage and slander with reckless abandon.
Avi, last night the army seized a large supply of various sidearms, rifles, RPG’s, anti-tank missiles, grenades, night vision goggles and so on allegedly destined for Syria’s insurgents in a Salafist and pro-US neighbourhood of Beirut. Every other day, arms are being seized at the border with Syria. So far the army has been holding strong and it’s what is keeping the country in one piece and standing in the way of those trying to break it up. It explains why the West won’t let the army get proper equipment.
thanks avi and walid for the information here..
Avi, do you have a link to that, please?
“This in turn will see the reshaping of a new Middle East”
Where have I heard that before ? Surely the people of Lebanon are sick of Israel’s wars.
Also the Shia issue in Lebanon- Hezbollah arose to meet a great need. Remember what Israel did to the Shia 82-99 . they will always remember.
Maybe for Israelis it would help to use a tech analogy. Amal was a domestic telephone. Hezbollah is the iphone.
Does this story imply that the United States and Iran (Syria and Iran will supply the Phalangists with East Euro weapons for use against Hizb) are hand in glove here? Are you saying that some sort of partition of the ME between these two apparent enemies is beginning? Or have I just misread?
Iran is often considered to be the patron of Hizb. I’m expressing surprise, not contradicting you, which I’m too ignorant of these matters to attempt.
I read it as the Phalange vs the Shia with the US on one side and Iran on the other.
The Christian irredentists in Lebanon are a few decades ahead of the Jews of Israel on the question of how to manage a deteriorating demographic account.
The implication is that the right wing coalition (Christians and Sunnis) that is Western-backed will be using Iranian and Syrian weapons so as to make it appear as though the US and NATO are not involved. Eastern Europe is mentioned because it is a good source for such weaponry, without needing to purchase them directly from Iran or Syria. The information this Colonel leaked did not imply that Iran or Syria were involved in any way.
In popular culture, those who watched the movie Charlie Wilson’s War may recall that Tom Hanks’ character goes to Egypt, a US ally at the time, to purchase Soviet-made weaponry to ship to Afghanistan during the US proxy war against the Soviet Union. The US didn’t want the Soviets to know that the US was supplying the Mujahideen with weapons.
So, in the Lebanese case, there is the Phalanges which include both Christian and Sunni fighters supported by EU, the US and Saudi Arabia, and on the opposite side is Hezbollah and by extension the Shia in Lebanon.
As an aside, Iran may get involved — directly or indirectly — That remains to be see. But, the information above was not meant to imply that Iran was going to be involved in this mess.
I’m sorry, but I don’t have a link. A London-based journalist publishes a newsletter in Arabic. It contained this information.
Here is his name: حميد غريافي
The US practice of denying school kids the right and need to learn at least three languages in order to graduate keeps them from reading global communiques and articles in their original language. It absolutely cripples them. If this globalization bullshit had anything to do with American workers or the middle class, and wasn’t simply a corporate legal perk to give CEOs and shareholders overseas profits with offshore parking, three languages other than English would be mandatory.
MRW,
Though Arabic was the original language of my family, assimilation into the Ashkenazi-dominated culture in Israel forced all Arab Jews (i.e. Mizrahi Jews and Sephardic Jews) to change their names and forget the language of their origin and use Hebrew as the only language.
This alienated entire generations as children were ashamed when their parents spoke to them in any language other than Hebrew. And parents felt alienated.
My Arabic wasn’t as good as it is today. I took private classes and managed to acquire what others were forced to forget.
Another practice that was quite heart-breaking and despicable had children taken from their parents — by the state — at a young age and put in a Kibutz for ‘re-culturing’.
My youngest sister was taken from my parents when she was six and that broke my mother’s heart. She made up a song that she would later hum in sadness whenever she sought to comfort herself.
Very few non-Ashkenazi Jews speak Arabic nowadays, less so in public.
Formally, Israeli Jewish school children are taught Arabic, but its voluntary and what little they are taught, it is the most basic form of Arabic, enough to serve them in the military (In the occupied West Bank or Gaza).
Ironically, in the non-Jewish sector in Israel, Palestinians whose native language is Arabic, start learning compulsory Hebrew as early as 4th grade.
Avi, your blog guy with the Arabic name is Hamid Ghoryaffi (different spellings in English). Last year he was still reporting for the Kuwaiti web publication “al-Siyassa” that’s pro-US and very anti-Hizbullah specializing in floating trial balloons and dropping supposed leaks for political purposes. It was heavily involved in a media disparaging campaign against Syria when Hariri was assassinated and week after week kept providing reports of Syria’s involvement in it. It did likewise with the 4 Lebanese generals that the UN Tribunal locked in prison for 4 years and then released them cleared of all suspicion without even an apology. Syria too was cleared of any suspicion in the Hariri killing and now the UN Tribunal has decided to go after Hizbullah based on some substantial evidence. Back to al-Siyassa, this publication is bad news and probably gets its articles written by the State Department. All the articles of al-Siyassa written by him that I found were dated 2010.
“Another practice that was quite heart-breaking and despicable had children taken from their parents — by the state — at a young age and put in a Kibutz for ‘re-culturing’.”
The Australian PM apologised for Australia having done that to the Aborigines.
Avi
Did your parents watch the Egyptian movies they used to show on Israeli TV on Saturday afternoons ?
I went to the big souk in Cairo a few years ago and the goldsmiths still use a lot of the Jewish vocabulary for business even though the Jews were all moved to Dimona or some other kip in Israel.
What a shameful story the whole Ashkenazi treatment of the Mizrahim is. Hebrew itself may not be much use if the political project it underpins collapses.
Interesting, but not really surprised. This being all part of the PNAC neocon plan eh! – to take down a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan. Makes me wonder how many US “Mercenary boots on the ground” were used in Libya?
–Wes Clark – America’s Foreign Policy “Coup” (2007 talk)
link to youtube.com
Although, I do think it interesting whyWes Clark would then go and speak at a MEK sponsored event? Being part of “…The MEK’s delisting campaign is funded by a fluid and enigmatic network of support groups based in the United States. According to an MEK leader, these groups are funded by money from around the world, which they deliberately shield from U.S. authorities…”?
– Mujahideen-e Khalq: Former U.S. Officials Make Millions Advocating For Terrorist Organization
link to huffingtonpost.com
OT perhaps. But I have recently been unable to link to 972mag. I keep getting an “Account suspended” message. Anyone else experiencing this? I did a google search and didn’t see anything like this. I tried 3 different machines with 3 different IPO addresses with the same result.
they are down
“The plan is to wait until the Syrian regime falls, and then use the opportunity to attack and dismantle Hizbollah — a Shia’ group
Here we go again
link to mnftiu.cc
It would be cheaper to dismantle Israel.
“It would be cheaper to dismantle Israel.”
That was both wise and funny.
There is correspondence in the NYT today following the Op-Ed by Turki al-Faisal, cracking off with the ADL needless to say.
link to nytimes.com
From the link:
“There are many reasons that the Palestinian decision to pursue a unilateral declaration of a state at the United Nations is a mistake, some of which were pointed out in your Sept. 12 editorial “Palestinian Statehood.”
Most important, any constructive step toward peace and statehood for the Palestinians must focus on the imperative for the Palestinians to accept Israel as a Jewish state and to agree to the end of the conflict.
The only United Nations resolution over the years that has proved beneficial to peace was Resolution 242 after the 1967 war. It passed because there was finally recognition that only by demanding that the Arabs accept Israel and agree to secure and recognized borders for the Jewish state can an Israeli withdrawal lead to stability rather than future wars.
The lesson is no less relevant today. Palestinian decisions in the last year to refuse to negotiate with Israel, to sign a coalition agreement with terrorist Hamas and now to bring this counterproductive initiative to the United Nations once again raise serious questions about Palestinian intentions.
The Times would have done a real service if it had said to the Palestinians: you have the best and only chance to achieve statehood by negotiating in good faith and by indicating to Israel that you are ready to accept it as a Jewish state, to settle Palestinian refugees in the new state of Palestine and to commit to end the conflict.
Abraham Foxman ”
He reminds me of Mubarak telling the Egyptians that the people in Tahrir sq were thugs and that he would never resign.
I love it when the tipping point arrives.
“He reminds me of Mubarak telling the Egyptians that the people in Tahrir sq were thugs and that he would never resign.”
Speaking of the devil, as some had anticipated happening with the Ikhwan being brought in from the cold by the US, things in Egypt are heading to worse than they were in the days of Mubarak. The military has been ruling in Egypt since 1953 and not about to stop. News about yesterday’s demo in Tahrir:
Hundreds in Cairo’s Tahrir Square slam emergency law
September 16, 2011 06:14 PM
By Jailan Zayan
CAIRO: Hundreds of people gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square Friday to protest against the recent expansion of the emergency law, amid palpable anger over the military’s handling of transition from autocratic rule. Protesters waved flags and chanted “no to the emergency law” in what was the epicentre of rallies that toppled the regime of president Hosni Mubarak in February.
Last week the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) widened the scope of the emergency law – restricted in 2010 by Mubarak to narcotics and terrorism – to include strikes, traffic disruption and the spreading of rumours.
Imam Gomaa Mohammed, delivering the Muslim noon prayer sermon, called on the authorities to repeal the law immediately and also to end the military trial of civilians.
“The application of the emergency law totally contradicts the demands of the revolution” that toppled Mubarak following 18 days of mass nationwide rallies, Mohammed said. He urged the military council to “abolish [the law] and to apply civil law to all citizens without exception.”
Mohammed called for “an end to the military trials of civilians” and demanded a retrial of all those sentenced by military courts. A number of rights groups put that figure at more than 10,000.
Echoing demands by youth groups that helped launch the uprising, Mohammed urged authorities to lay out a “clear timetable for legislative and presidential elections,” stressing that “security and stability will only return to the country after elections.” An AFP correspondent said that about 1,000 people were gathered in Tahrir Square by late afternoon.
“The emergency law takes us back to the style of the old regime,” said one protester, carrying his young son on his shoulders. He said he feared the military would keep finding reasons or justifications to remain in power, either directly, or by getting one of their ranks elected as president.
full article:
link to dailystar.com.lb
Walid
I think the region is fcked until the Palestine issue is sorted out.
Why has the “Gaish” been in charge in Egypt since 1953 ? Egypt “only” had 4 wars with Israel. Lebanon was invaded 7 times.
the state dept said in ’47, this will bring unending conflict. the state can only be established by force, and maintained by force.
They could have compensated the Palestinians with the reparations money from Germany.
There was no no need for the war in 1967.
The settlements were a choice.
Other areas of the world have had serious violence and managed to overcome it.
Israel’s problem is that nobody thought long term. And of course there is the bad faith. Bad faith is so corrosive.
“… Why has the “Gaish” been in charge in Egypt since 1953 ? Egypt “only” had 4 wars with Israel. Lebanon was invaded 7 times.”
Ever since the military led by General Muhammad Naguib and seconded by Colonel Abdel-Nasser overthrew King Farouk in 1952 , Egypt has been ruled by the military and all its presidents coming from the military. The following year, 1953, all political parties were abolished for 3 years and following an attempt on the life of Abdel-Nasser allegedly by the Muslim Brotherhood, this political group was banned in Egypt and stayed banned until this summer and the overthrow of Mubarak when the US State Department asked the Egyptian military to allow the Muslim Brotherhood to participate in Egypt’s new government which it did and gave permission to the MB to field candidates in the coming elections under the banner of the political party. This explains in part why the Brotherood has backed the military in opposing every planned demonstration against Israel’s embassy and against the various pro-Palestinian activities on Nakba Day.
The various wars had nothing to do with the military’s rule since 1953, it’s just a matter of keeping control. Foreign Affairs dad a good article about this in February; here’s a couple of paragraphs from it:
Why Egypt’s Military Will Not Embrace Democracy
Ellis Goldberg
February 11, 2011
… The Egyptian political system under Mubarak is the direct descendant of the republic established in the wake of the 1952 military coup that brought Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Free Officers to power. Nasser and the officers abolished Egypt’s limited parliamentary monarchy and ousted an entire generation of civilian political and judicial figures from public life. They created their own republic stocked with loyal military figures. Their one experiment with technocratic governance, allowing Egyptian legal experts to write a new basic document, was a failure. The experts’ draft had provisions for a strong parliament and limited presidency, which the officers deemed too liberal. They literally threw it into the wastebasket and started over, writing a constitution that placed immense power in the hands of the president.
Such an arrangement would prove to work out well for the military, as every Egyptian president since 1953 has been an army officer. For two generations, the military was able, through the president, to funnel most of the country’s resources toward national security, arming for a series of ultimately disastrous wars with Israel. These defeats, combined with the government’s neglect of the economy, nearly drove the country to bankruptcy. Popular revolt erupted between 1975 and 1977 over the government’s economic policies. To regain control, the military turned its attention away from war and toward development. It gradually withdrew from direct control over politics, ceding power to domestic security forces and the other powerful backer of Egypt’s ruling party — small groups of civilian businessmen who benefited from their privileged access to government sales and purchases to expand their own fortunes.
link to foreignaffairs.com
Seafoid, don’t be surprised if the November elections get postponned or that the next president, if elections were to take place, is President Tantawi. I think the US is campaigning for Amr Moussa, the former Sec Gen of the Arab League.
walid, thanks for the overview on middle east affairs here… where do you see this all going in a few years time? i tend to agree with your observations and appreciate the education in other areas i am less familiar with..
Walid,
Mubarak may have gone but the regime is stil in place and is now bearing it’s teeth in a depsrate attempt to hold onto power. Those elections that were supposed to be held in September, were subsequentrly delayed until November and now look like they will not happen at all.
“where do you see this all going in a few years time?”
Nobody knows because situations are changing by the minute. One minute you have a revolution taking place and it looks like a good thing happened but then when the dust settles, you discover that some worse monster was created. Remember how mostly everybody was happy with the liberation of Iraq? The so-called liberation resulted in millions killed or injured, a country that has been permanently fractured, a million Christians becoming refugees and compared to what the country has become today, Saddam’s Iraq was a paradise. It’s like that all over, Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and so on. Nobody really knows. Remember the euphoria of the Egyptian Arab Spring? Now it’s looking like the Egyptians will continue getting more of the same clobbering with the added flavour of Brotherhood involvement. In Libya, the oppressive dictator was replaced by a band of Islamist terrorists, so what’s to expect from there? Your guess is as good as mine.
No that’s not how I remember it Walid. The media whores and neocons were pushing that argument, but very few were buying it.
thanks walid… the past can often inform us of the future, but there will always be interesting twists in what lies ahead that are unforeseeable, as you rightly point out..
to me this arab spring is just the beginning.. it might get stuck and not progress as many had hoped.. but it is happening while the usa is being forced to redefine itself and find a new way of moving forward different from how it has been in the past.. at the same time china, india and perhaps russia and brasil continue to develop more clout on many levels which is something that will create different dynamics as they relate to the mideast where all the oil is..
i guess it is a bit boring to say we live in interesting times, but that is how i am seeing it at present.. syria will be the next place to undergo a change in leadership.. this is my guess.. i am not sure what it means for the region as i am not as knowledgeable as you or avi on this area and these matters.. it is my guess though..
thanks! – james
Walid
I see what you are saying but I really think the imposition of Israel on the region is the elephant in the room.
Iran and Egypt were at a similar stage at the dawn of the modern era, say 1860. Both “grand” nations with a rich history and a well educated upper class. Full of potential. The Egyptians got shafted by England’s banks with the Suez Canal and the Brits also shafted Iran in the 1880s . Onto the 20th century. Egypt made reasonable progress but then from 48 to 73 had 4 wars with Israel. Iran got shafted again in 1953 when the US destoyed Musaddeq. The US destroyed Nasser in 1967. Iran got hit by the Yanks in 1980 via the Iraq war. Egypt got the Camp David treaty.
Since then it has made far more progress than Egypt. Iran is a country with real potential and Egypt is miskeen khaalis and a lakhbatah gaamidah. 21 million in 1950 vs 85 million people today . 123 m forecast for 2050
link to esa.un.org
Iran has 17-73-85
I have 2 very good friends in Cairo. One of them is my old bawaab and the other works for a MNC.
The MNC employee talks about freedom and democracy.
The bawaab talks often about the army, security and the protection the army gives to the people against foreign invasion. That is one of the dominant memes in Egypt. Who is going to invade Egypt ? There is only one country rabid enough to even think about it.
Egypt is stuck in the rut of Army control of the economy. Interestingly the Turks are out of it. Iran and Turkey are going places. Egypt should be. It would be without Zionism.
Zionism has adversely affected all the neighbouring countries. Lebanon could have been like Malaysia or South Korea except for the psychopaths next door. I was in Byblos one time in a restaurant that had pictures of 60s film stars on the walls. Lebanon was the banking centre of the Middle East then. Later war came and the stars left and now they go to Dubai…
“Israeli report calls for continued aid to PA,” or, keep the money coming so the charade can continue
That would have been under LBJ as president. The inspections were serious under JFK. Once he died, things changed.
The reactor at Dimona went critical in December 1963.