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121. Settlement Monitor

Author:
Geoffrey Aronson
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This section covers items—reprinted articles, statistics, and maps—pertaining to Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Unless otherwise stated, the items have been written by Geoffrey Aronson for this section or drawn from material written by him for Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories (hereinafter Settlement Report ), a Washington-based bimonthly newsletter published by the Foundation for Middle East Peace. JPS is grateful to the foundation for permission to draw on its material.
Political Geography:
Washington, Middle East, and Israel

122. UN-Appointed Palmer Commission, Report on the Gaza Flotilla incident, New York, July 2011 (excerpts).

Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
On 2 August 2010, in response to the continuing fallout over Israel's 31 May 2010 attack on a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza that resulted in the death of nine Turkish citizens, the UN Secretary formally established a panel of inquiry into the incident. The six-vessel flotilla, led by the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara and heading toward Gaza with the stated intention of breaking Israel's siege, was boarded by Israeli forces some seventy-two nautical miles out to sea. The incident further strained Israeli-Turkish relations, which had deteriorated sharply over Israel's Operation Cast Lead in 2008–9.
Political Geography:
New York and United Nations

123. Middle East Quartet, Statement Urging the Resumption of Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks, New York, 23 September 2011

Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
With the approach of the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) session and the Palestinians not yet completely de- cided on whether to go ahead with a bid for full membership in the world body, the U.S. in late August 2011 stepped up efforts to avert the move. These included pressure on the Palestinians to accept a proposal by the Middle East Quartet (the U.S., EU, Russia, and the UN) to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talk in lieu of their statehood bid. U.S. envoys pre- sented several formulas, but the Pales- tinians found them insufficient and not serious, and said that even if a viable proposal were presented, the statehood bid would proceed (see Quarterly Update in this issue for details). The U.S. urged its Quartet partners to issue a statement on reviving talks nonetheless, believing it would give the U.S. leverage to argue that an alternative to the statehood bid still existed through negotiations, and that until all negotiating prospects were exhausted unilateral Palestinian steps should be opposed.
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and United Nations

124. Richard J. Goldstone, "Israel and the Apartheid Slander," New York Times, 31 October 2011.

Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Judge Goldstone, who led the UN - commissioned investigation into allegations of war crimes committed during Israel's winter 2008–9 operation in Gaza (see Special Doc. File in JPS 154) and later, in a much-publicized move, repudiated one of the commission's major findings (see Doc. A1 in JPS 160), elicited further controversy with his op-ed in the New York Times defending Israel against accusations of apartheid. The op-ed was occasioned by the third session of the Russell Tribunal on Pales- tine (an “international people's tribunal” created by activists to promote peace and justice in the Middle East and funded by the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation), scheduled to begin on 4 November in Cape Town, South Africa, which was to focus on the question of whether Israel's practices with regard to the Palestinians constitute apartheid differences (see un- der “Other” in this issue's Quarterly Up- date). See the first item in the “Selections from the Press” in this issue for reactions to the Goldstone op-ed.
Political Geography:
New York, Israel, South Africa, and United Nations

125. UN Security Council, Report of the Committee on the Admission of New Members Concerning Palestine's Application for Membership to the UN , New York, 11 November 2011.

Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
The UN Committee on the Admission of New Members, comprising representatives of the fifteen serving members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), considered the Palestinian application at a number of meetings between 28 September and 8 November, the date it completed its final report. In addition to the five permanent members (the U.S., France, Great Britain, Russia, and China), the rotating members during this period were Bosnia, Brazil, Colombia, Gabon, Germany, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Portugal, and South Africa. The report was formally accepted by the UNSC on 11 November.
Political Geography:
Britain, Africa, China, New York, Bosnia, Middle East, India, France, Brazil, Colombia, Palestine, Germany, United Nations, Nigeria, and Portugal

126. State of Palestine, Application for Admission to Membership in the UN and Accompanying Letters, Ramallah, 23 September 2011

Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
The Palestinian application for admission to the United Nations, addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, consisted of three elements: a covering letter, the letter of application, and an appended declaration affirming that the State of Palestine accepts the obligations contained in the UN Charter, as required by the rules of procedure for both the Security Council and General Assembly. All three documents were signed by Mahmud Abbas in his dual capacities as president of the State of Palestine and chairman of the PLO Executive Committee, and the text of the latter two documents explicitly identifies the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. The letter of application further specifies that the application is made “consistent with the rights of the Palestinian refugees.” This reference, and the emphasis on the PLO's status as the Palestinians' sole legitimate representative, were reportedly prompted by concerns that recognition of statehood could affect the rights of diaspora Palestinians and especially the refugees. The three documents submit- ted by the Palestinians were forwarded by the secretary-general with a covering letter to the serving president of the Security Council, Lebanese ambassador to the UN Nawaf Salam, who in turn conveyed all four items to all members of the Security Council as document S/2011/592 dated 23 September 2011. The documents were taken from the website of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations at http://www.un.int/wcm/content/site/ palestine.
Political Geography:
Palestine and United Nations

127. Palestinian Pres. Mahmud Abbas, Address to the UN General Assembly on the Occasion of Palestine's Application for UN Membership, New York, 23 September 2011 (excerpts)

Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
President Abbas's speech, which ended with the announcement that an application for membership in the United Nations had just been filed, consisted primarily of a comprehensive overview of the Palestinian position, past efforts, and current situation and included a clear statement of purpose, goals, and conditions for renewed negotiations. Addressing relentless settlement expansion and Israel's refusal to commit to terms of reference as called for by international law and UN resolutions, he stated frankly that it was "no longer possible to redress the issue of blockage of the horizon of the peace talks with the same means . . . that have been repeatedly tried and proven unsuccessful" and declared that negotiations were futile "without clear parameters and in the absence of credibility and a specific timetable," and in the continuing presence of an entrenched occupation that "continues to change the demography of our country in order to . . . alter the borders." Abbas was greeted enthusiastically upon his return home on 25 September by thousands of Palestinians who praised his actions at the UN General Assembly session as an assertion of Palestinian rights and principles, even while being skeptical that they would result in substantive change. The speech, delivered in Arabic, was taken from the PLO's Negotiations Affairs Department.
Political Geography:
Palestine and United Nations

128. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Address to the UN General Assembly on the Occasion of Palestine's Application for UN Membership, New York, 23 September 2011 (excerpts).

Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech, which followed Palestinian pres. Mahmud Abbas's, was sharply critical of the United Nations, and emphasized Israel's unflagging efforts to reach a just peace in the face of multifold threats, the most recent and gravest being Islamist fanaticism. Though reiterating his often-expressed hope that the Palestinians will become a partner in peace and finally recognize Israel as a Jewish state, the speech was vague on specific reasons (beyond Palestinian intransigence) for the stalled negotiations. When Netanyahu took the podium following a standing ovation for Abbas, a number of delegates left the assembly hall, prompting him to state: "I did not come here to win applause. I came here to speak the truth." The speech was taken from the Israeli Prime Minister's.
Political Geography:
New York, Israel, Palestine, and United Nations

129. U.S. Ambassador to Jordan David Hale, Confidential Memo on the Debate in Jordan Concerning the Palestinian Right of Return, Amman, 5 February 2008.

Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This confidential memo to Secy. of State Condoleezza Rice and the State Department's Near East Affairs Bureau was published by WikiLeaks on 30 August 2011, sparking controversy in Jordan for revealing the tensions between Jordanians of East Bank and Palestinian origin and the extent to which many Palestinian and Jordanian figures assume that the right of return has become unattainable. Titled "The Right of Return: What It Means in Jordan," the analysis was written by then-ambassador David Hale, currently the Obama administration's special envoy to the Middle East peace process. It summarizes the views of various Jordanians (East Bankers and Palestinians) regarding the Palestinian refugee population in the kingdom, and their concerns regarding Israeli-Palestinian final status. It has been described as "the best single short treatment of the topic in any language, drawing out the many tensions and nuances around the issue." The text was taken from the WikiLeaks website at www.wikileaks.org.
Political Geography:
United States, Middle East, and Palestine

130. U.S. Pres. Barack Obama, Address to the UN General Assembly, New York, 21 September 2011 (excerpts).

Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Much of President Obama's speech was taken up with surveying the year's progress with regard to ending conflicts and realizing democracy and human rights (e.g., Iraq, Afghanistan, South Sudan, the Arab Spring). His remarks on the Israel-Palestine conflict, reproduced below, were less optimistic, and contrasted with his UN General Assembly address of September 2010, which gave a nod to the Palestinian demand for a settlement moratorium with tentative support. In this year's address, the burden of responsibility seemed to lie squarely with the Palestinians, leading some critics to speak of a "final capitulation to the Israeli position." The text of Obama's speech was distributed by the White House press office.
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, New York, Israel, Palestine, Arabia, United Nations, and South Sudan