An end in sight for Mere State-Building In Palestine?

An end in sight for Mere State-Building In Palestine?HT: EliotAbrams.

How can a Palestinian state be built? For those who believe that the “two-state outcome” is important, and this includes the governments of Europe and the United States, that’s a critical question. Former prime minister Salam Fayyad had an answer: start building, now, under the Israeli occupation, despite the occupation, against the occupation. Get ready for independence step by step.
We now have an important European view, from the foreign minister of Norway–which chairs the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, the key donors’ organization for the Palestinian efforts. Espen Barth Eide is quoted as follows in the Jerusalem Post:

“The donors will not be ready to keep funding Palestinian state-building much longer if we are not seeing a political horizon,” said Eide. Eide said it was important for both sides to know – as they have just restarted negotiations – that the world was not willing to provide a blank check.
“I think this is important for the Palestinians to know, because if anyone there thought they could sort of just fall back to the comfort of an internationally subsidized state-building endeavor, that may be wrong,” he said in an interview. “And I think that it is important for some people on the Israeli side – living in reasonable comfort [given] that cooperation with the pseudo-state in the West Bank is quite good – to know that this cannot continue forever.”

That is an extraordinary statement, and should not pass without notice. What he derides as “falling back into the comfort of an internationally subsidized state-building effort” is in fact the greatest challenge facing Palestinians now, and one they have not met. Nor have donors– Arab, American, European– met the challenge of providing adequate political and financial support for state-building, focusing instead for decades on repeated failed efforts at leaping to final status agreements. Those efforts have produced little for Palestinians, while state-building efforts can offer them pragmatic gains and real improvement in their lives–and can show Israelis that their security needs can be met in an independent Palestine.

Put another way, Eide continues the failed policy of wanting to create a Palestine whose borders might be known– before we have any idea what will be within those borders: failed state or successful economy? Democracy or terrorist base? This has not worked and will never work. To find that the chairman of the donors’ committee now dismisses mere state-building as an activity not worth supporting in its own right suggests that nothing has been learned from the experience of recent decades.

France Hints it Will Support PA's UN Bid.

France Hints it Will Support PA's UN Bid.(INN).France is considering voting in favor of the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral statehood bid at the United Nations, its foreign minister hinted on Thursday. Speaking at a hearing in the French senate, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius reminded that French President Francois Hollande promised during his election campaign to promote the issue of Palestinian statehood. "I would like to mention that in his election campaign, President Hollande said he would work toward international recognition of a Palestinian state," Fabius said. While he did not specifically say how France would vote when the PA submits its request, a French government official said Fabius’ remarks are a hint that France would support the PA’s request for recognition as a non-member observer state. Earlier this week, British Foreign Secretary William Hague called Abbas to back off from his plans to ask for UN recognition, saying, "While there is any chance of achieving a return to talks in the coming months, we continue to advise President Abbas against attempts to win Palestinian observer state status. "We judge that this would make it harder to secure a return to negotiations, and could have very serious consequences for the Palestinian Authority," Hague told the British parliament.
Meanwhile, Channel 10 News reported on Thursday that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have asked Jerusalem not to punish Abbas as a result of his UN bid. Previous reports indicated that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has threatened that if the PA goes ahead with its unilateral statehood bid he “will work to ensure the PA will collapse.” Lieberman reportedly stressed that a unilateral statehood bid by the PA will "put an end to the chances to resume peace negotiations." 
Channel 10 reported that the international community is trying to come up with a compromise which would allow Abbas, on the one hand, to return from New York to Ramallah with UN recognition, but at the same time would prevent him to file lawsuits against Israel in the International Criminal Court. Abbas recently announced that the PA will present its bid for non-state UN membership on November 29. That date was chosen on purpose, as it is the anniversary of the day in 1947 in which the United Nations voted in favor of the partition plan.
The resolution recommended the creation of two states, one Arab, one Jewish and granted a small portion of the area, under the British Mandate, to the new Jewish state. U.S. President Barack Obama has announced that he opposes the PA bid and asked Abbas not to go through with it. However, Abbas responded to Obama with a direct “no”.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has told its ambassadors to explain that the PA’s plan to ask for UN recognition is a violation of the Oslo Accords and may cause Israel to officially announce that it is “canceling them partially or completely.” The agreement commits the PA to negotiate with Israel for the establishment of an independent PA entity. Lieberman, meanwhile, insisted on Thursday that Israel would not back down and would sanction Abbas if he goes ahead with his bid. “We respect the American government," Lieberman told Channel 10 News, “but we act according to Israeli interests, and I do not think we should it let it slide if Abbas takes such a far-reaching unilateral step, and there must be a serious Israeli response.Hmmmmm......"War is such a dangerous business that mistakes that come from kindness are the very worst." ~ Carl von Clausewitz.Read the full story here.

Video - Hamas Leader: We Accept Palestinian State, ’67 Borders, Right to Return

Hamas Leader: We Accept Palestinian State, ’67 Borders, Right to Return.HT: Breitbart.The Jerusalem Post: Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal declared a position on Palestinian statehood that is nearly identical to that of his Fatah rival, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in an interview with CNN aired Wednesday. “I accept a Palestinian state according [to] the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital, with the right to return,” the Hamas leader told Christine Amanpour in Cairo. Pushed about his party’s refusal to recognize Israel, Mashaal said such a declaration could only be made once a Palestinian state has been created. “After this state is established, it decides its standing toward Israel,” the Hamas leader said.Read the full story here.

Soldiers spell out critique of Netanyahu as a ‘loser’ for not using ground forces in Gaza.

Soldiers spell out critique of Netanyahu as a ‘loser’ for not using ground forces in Gaza.(TOI).The IDF Spokesman’s office said Thursday it was looking into a photograph circulating widely on Facebook in which 16 IDF soldiers arranged their uniformed bodies on the sand, to spell out the Hebrew words “Bibi loser” — in a deft physical critique of Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu’s failure to send ground troops into Gaza during the just-ended Operation Pillar of Defense.
Netanyahu warned throughout the operation that a wider military assault on Hamas might be about to unfold. The IDF called up tens of thousands of reservists and deployed large troop contingents close to the Gaza border, and some troops were reportedly ordered more than once to gear up for an incursion, only to be ordered to stand down at the last moment.
“We were twice ordered to gear up and told that we are going in, and then we were called back to Israel,” one soldier said Thursday; others said they had even opened border gates before being told to return.
The photograph’s source was not clear at time of writing. It had been posted and reposted on numerous Facebook pages, receiving more than 3,000 “Likes” and 400 “shares” in one Facebook group alone within three hours of appearing.
Many commenters on the photo said that the soldiers should be court-martialed; many others empathized with the soldiers’ evident sense of frustration at having been wound up for battle and then wound down, calling Netanyahu a coward and criticizing the prime minister for preventing the IDF from “getting the job done” and “giving it to Hamas.”
The IDF’s spokesperson desk said it was looking into the matter.
The soldiers did not wear identifying insignia; their red boots indicated that they were from infantry units.Hmmmm..........What will be the price Obama charges for stopping Iran?Read the full story here.

Netanyahu: Ground Campaign Might be Necessary After All.

Netanyahu: Ground Campaign Might be Necessary After All.(INN).On Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that Israel was accepting the U.S.-Egypt brokered cease-fire with Hamas, saying that it would “provide an opportunity for the situation to stabilize and become calmer.” But on his Facebook page Wednesday night, Netanyahu wrote that despite the cease-fire, “it may be necessary for us to conduct a major and harsh military campaign” against Hamas – and if such a campaign would become necessary, Israel would follow through. Netanyahu was responding to thousands of Facebook commenters who slammed him, along with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, for failing to fully rout Hamas and engage in a ground campaign to destroy the terror group for once and for all. Netanyahu wrote that he understood the commenters' feelings, but that Israel needed to “take this opportunity to achieve a long-term cease-fire. “As Prime Minister I have the ultimate responsibility to take the proper steps to ensure our security. That is what I have done in the past, and that is what I will continue to do.” While Netanyahu was updating his Facebook page after the announcement of the cease-fire, Gaza Arab terrorists continued their rocket fire on Israel unabated.Read the full story here.

Israel Announces Ceasefire, Hamas Keeps Firing.

Israel Announces Ceasefire, Hamas Keeps Firing.(INN).U.S. President Barack Obama spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Wednesday evening and asked him to agree to abide by a ceasefire with Hamas. Netanyahu gave his consent.
The terms of the ceasefire are not yet known in full but a partial text has been published.
Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman held a joint news conference Wednesday evening announcing the ceasefire. However, Hamas kept on firing rockets, and a siren sounded at 9:15 p.m. in Ashkelon and other locations.
Netanyahu said: "Eight days ago, Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense, after attacks from Gaza that were carried out at a growing rate the last few months.
"The terror organizations assumed that we would abstain from an aggressive action, but they were wrong. We hit senior leaders, we destroyed thousands of rockets that were aimed at the South, and most of the rockets that were aimed at the center of Israel. We hit Hamas's control mechanisms.
Netanyahu said that Israel and the U.S. agreed to work together against smuggling of weapons that originate in Iran into Gaza.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that while terrorists are to stop their rocket fire, he expects there to be a "small tail," like in previous ceasefires. By this he means that there will be some more rocket fire for a while before the attacks stop.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr, speaking at a joint news conference in Cairo with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said the cessation of hostilities would begin at 9:00 p.m., local time (1900 GMT).
"The United States welcomes the agreement today for a ceasefire. In the days ahead, the United States will work with partners in the region to consolidate this progress," Clinton said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu's office confirmed the news earlier Wednesday evening, but its statement leaves room for the use of greater force if Hamas fails to abide by the terms of the ceasefire.
Demonstrators in Israel's South called on Netanyahu not to agree to a ceasefire, but to restore deterrence and security. A Channel 2 political analyst noted that the demonstrators are largely Likud voters and said Netanyahu will have a problem with these voters if he agrees to a ceasefire at present.Read the full story here, more here.

Obama's end game: IDF to do Obama's and Abu Mazen's dirty work.

Obama's end game: IDF to do Obama's and Abu Mazen's dirty work. HT: IsraelMatzav.This very brief, unsourced piece in Hebrew perhaps explains everything that's going on. It explains why Hillary Clinton is suddenly here. It explains why Israel is sitting at the edge of Gaza without going in. It explains why there have been less bombing missions today (Wednesday) than any other day.
The piece claims that President Obama has agreed in principle for the IDF to conquer Gaza and throw Hamas out. (Link in Hebrew only).
But... and it's a huge but. He wants Gaza turned over to 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen and, so that this can be portrayed as Abu Mazen 'saving' the 'Palestinians' and to strengthen Abu Mazen's position, he wants Israel to immediately declare a 'Palestinian state' in wide swaths of Judea and Samaria, which would of course also be turned over to Abu Mazen.
As a bonus (not mentioned in the article), Abu Mazen would presumably then drop his appeal to the United Nations.
The Israeli government is said to be furious because if Israel does not agree, Obama will not back a ground operation, effectively a veto.
Although this has no sourcing, it makes too much sense. It explains why the Israeli government has not agreed to it. We're being asked to choose our poison.Hmmm.....I wonder what he will 'charge' for stopping Iran?Read the full story here.

"CHANGE" - 'Palestinian push for UN upgrade likely to succeed'.

"CHANGE" - 'Palestinian push for UN upgrade likely to succeed'.(JPost).U.N. - The Palestinians' push for upgraded status at the United Nations is likely to succeed, the president of the UN General Assembly said on Friday, while warning the United States against cutting UN funding over the issue. Having failed last year to secure full UN membership due to US opposition, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said last month he would ask the 193-nation General Assembly to approve a less ambitious promotion of the Palestinian Authority's observer status to "non-member state," like the Vatican. It is currently considered an "entity."
Vuk Jeremic, the Serbian president of the General Assembly, said Abbas was consulting with UN member states and was expected to call for a meeting on the Palestinian issue as early as next month, shortly after the November 6 US presidential election.
"Most people expect that it is going to be the second half of November," the 37-year-old former Serbian foreign minister told Reuters in an interview. "If they decide to go for it after these consultations, which is what President Abbas announced in his speech in September, most people expect that this is going to pass." The United States and Israel have warned the Palestinians against seeking a status upgrade, suggesting that it could have financial implications for the Palestinian Authority. UN diplomats and officials say they are also worried about a possible reduction of UN funding from the United States, which supplies 22 percent of the regular UN budget. Jeremic said he did not want to lecture Washington, but voiced concern about a possible suspension UN funding due to the Palestinian issue, which he said would have "dire financial implications" for the United Nations.

"I don't think this would be in the interests of the United States to cut the financial aid, but I am not in a position to say to the United States what is it they should do," he said. "They know what is best for them, and that's what they are going to do." 

The US Congress froze some $200 million in much-needed financial aid to the Palestinians after they took their statehood campaign to the United Nations last year. Western officials say further aid reductions are likely, along with a possible freezing of UN funding. The United States cut funding to the UN education and science agency, UNESCO, last year after it admitted the Palestinians as a full member. A 1990s US law prohibits US funding to UN organizations that grant full membership to any group that does not have "internationally recognized attributes" of statehood. Jeremic stressed that the Palestinians were not seeking UN membership, but to be recognized as a "non-member state." Such an upgrade could nevertheless be uncomfortable for Israel. Being registered as a state rather than an entity would mean the Palestinians could join bodies such as the International Criminal Court and file complaints against Israel for its continued occupation. The Palestinians need a simple majority for the upgrade, but predict that between 150 and 170 nations out of the 193 UN member states will vote in favor.Hmmm........Obama: "But I’m also mindful of the proverb, “A man is judged by his deeds, not his words.” So if you want to know where my heart lies, look no further than what I have done — to stand up for Israel."..........Just watch him Approve Palestinian statehood.Read the full story here.

What a 'Surprise' - UN to take up Palestinian state question middle of November.

What a 'Surprise' - UN to take up Palestinian state question middle of November.(NZweek).The question of statehood for the Palestinians is expected to come up for debate in the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in about six weeks, the president of the UNGA, Vuk Jeremic, said here Wednesday. While there still is no firm date, he told reporters at a press conference here, “I think that come in the middle of November there is going to be an international debate on the Palestine issue in the General Assembly,” adding that was his understanding after discussions with foreign officials during the just-concluded, week-long, high-level annual GA General Debate.
It has been speculated that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was holding off on his announced intention to seek non-member state status until after the November 6 U.S. presidential election. “It’s going to give much more clarity to issues related to the Middle East,” said Jeremic. “On the issue of Palestine, is it going to be an observer state or not and from my discussions with Middle East leaders of the past week I think this is going to take place sometime in November, ” he said. “They talked about November,” he said. “There are electoral and political calendars in many parts of the world. My understanding is the Palestinian leadership is going to try and engage in extensive discussions and consultations on this matter coming to a conclusion as to what they want to do sometime in November.”
“So, I am blocking out November,” the president said. “I am not going to go for vacation in November. That is my understanding of the discussions that I have had over the past week.” In Ramallah on Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian bid for UN recognition as a non-member state will be presented and voted on in October or November, reports said. Abbas said that the UN General Assembly will conduct the vote on the Palestinian bid “in either this month or the next month.” Last year, Abbas sought full membership in the United Nations for the Palestinian people but the effort, approved by the 193- member GA, failed because of a U.S. veto in the UN Security Council. The Palestinians decided to go for the UN vote to gain a non- member state in the General Assembly after the peace process in the Middle East remained stalled since October 2010 due to disputes on the issue of Israeli settlements. Both Israel and the United States oppose the Palestinian bid and demand the Palestinians to resolve the conflict with Israel through direct peace negotiations. Palestine won membership last year in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), despite strong opposition from the United States and Israel.Hmmmm......."Dreams of my Second Term".Read the full story here.

US warns Europeans on 'Palestinian' UN non-member status .

US warns Europeans on 'Palestinian' UN non-member status.HT: IsraelMatzav.Unwilling to face a showdown with Congress immediately upon starting a second term (God forbid), the United States has warned the European Union not to back a 'Palestinian' bid for non-member status at the United Nations. Under US law, if such a motion were to be voted on in the United Nations General Assembly (where it would almost certainly pass), the United States would be required to cut off all monetary aid to the 'Palestinian Authority' and probably to the United Nations as well.
The memorandum – described by one diplomatic source as "private correspondence" – said the US was continuing to work for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and urged both parties "to avoid provocative one-sided actions that could undermine trust or otherwise distract from the pursuit of peace". A Palestinian resolution on non-member state status "would have significant negative consequences, for the peace process itself, for the UN system, as well as our ability to maintain our significant financial support for the Palestinian Authority".
It added that a successful resolution could lead to Palestinian participation as a state in international bodies such as the international criminal court. Israel is concerned that Palestinian recourse to the ICC could have repercussions for its policies on settlements, the occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza. "We believe your government understands what is at stake here, and – like us – wants to avoid a collision at the coming UNGA session," said the text. "We hope you are willing to support our efforts … We would appreciate knowing where your government stands on this issue. We would also be interested in knowing whether you have been approached on this matter by Palestinian representatives."
 ... There were differing views among European countries on the wisdom of the Palestinians' move, the diplomat added. "The closer we get to the prospect of a vote in the UN general assembly, the more concerned the US administration is likely to be. This letter is an expression of their well-known position against such a vote. But if we are to persuade Abbas not to pull the trigger, a serious alternative needs to be put on the table, and fast." A second European diplomat said the US had "made it very clear to all of us that they're opposed to any [Palestinian] move at the UN". He also criticised the Palestinians for not engaging in "serious, high-level diplomacy" on the issue. Some European countries are alarmed at the prospect of the US withdrawing financial support for the Palestinian Authority in the wake of a bid for upgraded status, fearing that the EU would have to fill the funding gap. Following the Palestinians' acceptance as a state by the United Nations cultural and heritage body, Unesco, the US cut off funding as a punitive measure. The US had contributed 22% of Unesco's annual budget. Discussions among European governments on whether to support the Palestinians' bid are due to be held this week. However the 27 member states are unlikely to forge a common line. A vote giving the ''Palestinians' non-member status at the UN could be a blessing in disguise. It won't do anything to advance their 'statehood,' but it could bring about the financial ruin of the United Nations.Heh.Read the full story here.

"The Flexible Presidency " - No Holds Barred: Obama’s doublespeak Russia, Israel.

"The Flexible Presidency " - No Holds Barred: Obama’s doublespeak Russia, Israel.(JPost).By Shmuley Boteach.US President Barack Obama’s recent open mic comments to President Sergei Medvedev of Russia are troubling, which explains why Obama and the White House have decided to make light of them. Obama told Medvedev that he and Putin have to give him “space” on missile defense until his reelection when he’ll have far greater “flexibility,” presumably because he no longer has to answer to the American people. A great debate has been waged this year as to whether President Obama is reliably pro- Israel and deserves the support of the pro-Israel community. The president made his case to AIPAC by listing a long record of promoting military and intelligence cooperation with the Jewish state, arguing that “I have Israel’s back.” For the first three years of his presidency, Obama largely declared Israel’s settlements to be illegitimate and put near-unilateral pressure on Israel to make peace without any expectations from the Palestinian side. Ever since his self-confessed “shellacking” during the mid-term elections, part of which was due to his perceived unfriendliness to the Jewish state, the president decided to make nice with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and treat him with the same respect he accords other world leaders, albeit without the warmth of the two-armed embrace he reserved for Hugo Chavez or the bow he accorded the King of Saudi Arabia. At the UN in September, 2011, the president strongly supported Israel against a Palestinian attempt at unilateral statehood. He deserves credit for the effort. Then, he talked tough to Iran and imposed even greater sanctions. The president has gotten much better in his posture vis-à-vis Israel. But the all-important question here is: Why? Based on his actions, rather than his rhetoric, I believe the answer to the president’s new posture toward Israel lies in his words to President Medvedev. He has no “flexibility” before an election in which Jewish votes and financial support are critical to what will be a very close race.
And he therefore cannot be trusted to refrain from exerting undue pressure on Israel after the election to push through a peace deal that will likely not lead to peace but will simply compromise Israel’s security. Say what you want about Jimmy Carter, at least his disdain for Israel and its leadership was out in the open and consistent. Here is a man who outrageously compared Israel in his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid to apartheid South Africa. Likewise Clinton, who, as president, treated Netanyahu mostly with contempt, attacked him yet again in September of last year as an obstacle to peace. But Obama’s doublespeak when microphones are off and on is troubling. If the president dislikes Netanyahu, let him not play games with the American Jewish community and feign friendship for votes. After all, Obama came to the White House as the anti-politician, a man who was going to change the ways of Washington. A leader who was going to say what he means and mean what he says.How disappointing to discover he is guilty of the same beltway double-speak he once condemned. How worrisome to ponder what his policies on Israel will be once he has greater “flexibility.”Hmmmm........You may bet on the fact that he will not veto another Palestinian statehood bid if reelected.Read the full story here.

Abbas vows to renew U.N. state bid if he doesn’t receive Israeli nod to peace plan.

Abbas vows to renew U.N. state bid if he doesn’t receive Israeli nod to peace plan.(AlArabiya).The Palestinian Authority will renew its efforts to win the recognition of the United Nations for a Palestinian state if it does not receive a positive response from Israel to a suggested peace deal, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told an Israeli delegation on Sunday, a report published by an Israeli daily said on Monday. Abbas gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a month to respond to the Palestinian suggestions, which will be laid out in a letter to be delivered to Netanyahu next Wednesday during a meeting in Jerusalem with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Israel’s Haaretz reported. “It won’t be just a letter,” Abbas was cited as saying. “I also intend to turn to the public in Israel and around the world, and present the Palestinian positions regarding a peace agreement with Israel.” Abbas made the comments in a meeting with former Meretz chairman Yossi Beilin and others involved in promoting the Geneva Initiative, an unofficial 2003 proposal for an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord. The letter is expected to lay out Palestinian conditions for returning to direct negotiations that have been on hold since late September 2010, a Palestinian official told AFP on Sunday. “It was agreed that a Palestinian delegation, including Fayyad, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization Yasser Abd Rabbo and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat, will meet with Netanyahu on the 17th of this month,” the official said. According to the report published by Haaretz, Abbas said he would not wait until after the U.S. presidential polls, scheduled in November, before asking the U.N. General Assembly to upgrade the Palestinian Authority from “observer” status to that of a state without full membership in the United Nations. The U.S. administration officials had urged Abbas to wait until after the U.S. presidential voting. Abbas pledged during the meeting with the Israeli delegation that the Palestinians will continue to cooperate with Israel on security matters as long as he is in office, and that the Palestinian leaders will continue to try to prevent violence. Netanyahu’s office has said that he will respond with his own letter to Abbas, which is likely to call for a resumption of direct negotiations without preconditions. Last week, Erakat and Netanyahu’s envoy Yitzhak Molcho held talks believed to have focused on the contents of Abbas’ letter.Hmmm......Wait till i have more flexability, meanwhile i'll put $ 770 million on the side for your state.Read the full story here.