Despite the serious nature of various incidents, a prolonged breakdown of the calm prevailing in the Middle East over the past four months had been averted, Kieran Prendergast, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told the Security Council this morning in his briefing on the situation in the region, including the Palestinian question. There had been a resumption during the reporting period of the Israeli practice of targeting from the air Palestinian militants. Both sides were reminded of the need to take special care to protect innocent civilians, in accordance with international and humanitarian law. Read more about Security Council briefed on situation in the occupied territories
In Gaza and north of the West Bank, the Israelis are taking down what should never have been put up in the first place (their illegal settlements), all the while muttering, “they haven’t made us do it; we are doing it on our own”. On the West Bank, the Israelis are busy constructing what must in future be taken down and the US taxpayer is footing the bill! Day by day, what will have to be dismantled grows, concrete slab by concrete slab, what has to be “withdrawn” proliferates, and there is no one to stop it or even to protest against it. Read more about History's Greatest Reoccuring Hoax: Colonization "For Security Reasons"
There has been a flood of accusations for several years over the content of Palestinian textbooks — that the textbooks incite children to hatred and violence towards Israeli Jews, and fail to promote the values of peace, tolerance and coexistence. This claim has been widely accepted as a fact mostly in the United States and Israeli official circles. Such claims are based on reports by the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (CMIP), a Jewish organization with links to extremist and racist Israeli groups that advocate settlement activities in the Palestinian territories, expulsion (transfer) of Palestinians from their homeland. Read more about The myth of incitement in Palestinian textbooks
Hamas says it is being approached by European representatives seeking dialogue on the resistance movement’s role in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. Under heavy Israeli and American pressure, Hamas, including its political wing, was placed on the EU list of terrorist groups two years ago. The US had classified Hamas as a “terrorist group” several years earlier, citing resistance attacks, including suicide bombings, by Hamas’ military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, against Israeli civilian and military targets. However, the growing popularity of Hamas, which found expression in recent elections in the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, has prompted European policy planners to have second thoughts. Read more about Hamas: EU, US want to talk
As their leader, Mahmoud Abbas, prepares to visit Washington on 26 May, Palestinians are watching for signals from the White House to help them decide whether he deserves their continued support. Mr Abbas Goes to Washington: Can He Still Succeed?, the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, examines the Palestinian President’s predicament. Although Abbas enjoys institutional and popular legitimacy for his agenda, that support will fade if his international partners fail to deliver on their commitments. “Abbas has international support Yasir Arafat could only dream of”, says Crisis Group Senior Analyst Mouin Rabbani. “But he has until now been no more successful in changing Israeli policies or fundamentally altering the U.S. approach”. Read more about ICG report: Mr Abbas goes to Washington
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is holding a two-day meeting with 27 of its major donors and host authorities to discuss the humanitarian assistance provided by the international community to the 4.2 million Palestinians scattered across the Middle East. At the meeting UNRWA’s directors gave a major presentation on the Agency’s plans in the event of the removal of Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip. UNRWA is pre-positioning food stocks and other humanitarian supplies around the strip to allow it to cope with extended closures and possible conflict when the disengagement process starts in August. Read more about UNRWA shares hopes and fears for Gaza disengagement with donors and host authorities
To the rhythm of Palestinian songs, a troupe of young UNRWA pupils leaped onto the stage for a traditional folklore dance, performing to a packed audience of senior diplomats, United Nations officials and representatives of the Syrian Government and professional community, who turned out at the Damascus Training Centre on 17 May to review the achievements of UNRWA. Some 200 people took part in the open day and talked with UNRWA officials, including Lex Takkenberg, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Syria over exhibitions showcasing the work of the Damascus Training Centre, schools and community centres and hearing about the Field’s priorities. Read more about UNRWA displays major achievements
Recent events in the Middle East should hopefully be remembered as “a new start on the road towards peace” rather than a “slide back into conflict and violent confrontation,” the senior political affairs officer at the United Nations told the Security Council today. With violence between Israelis and Palestinians having declined since a meeting between their two leaders in Egypt earlier in the year, “We hope that in the near future Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas will continue the dialogue they began in Sharm el-Sheikh,” Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast said during his monthly briefing on the Middle East. Read more about Recent events in Middle East hopefully 'new start' on road to peace, Security Council told
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon look to Syria’s recent withdrawal from Lebanon, and their future, with anxiety and uncertainty. A week after Syrian military and intelligence units withdrew from their stronghold in Baalbak in the heart of the Beqaa Valley, there was little to indicate that they once controlled the streets of this sleepy town. Besides a few worn posters of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, change has come swiftly. Military checkpoints, once painted with the recognisable red and black of the Syrian flag, have been replaced with Lebanese cedars. Even a prominent sitting statue of the late Hafez al-Assad has been torn down and hauled back to Damascus. Read more about Palestinians in Lebanon fear for the future
Hidden away in a squalid Palestinian refugee camp is a historical treasure trove that keeps the dreams of many alive. In a corner of the Palestinian refugee camp of Mashook in southern Lebanon, 68-year-old Muhammad Dakwar shows the way into a dusky two-room gallery that he guards with his life. Inside, ragged pieces of traditional Palestinian garments hang on thin metal racks; decades-old clay pottery and copper plates are neatly arranged on shelves amid a melange of traditional Palestinian household items. Rustically preserved samples of Palestinian earth - soil, rocks, and olive tree branches - are displayed on poster boards, crudely taped and labelled according to city or village of origin. Read more about Safeguarding Palestine's past
