The year had begun auspiciously with the success of the Palestinian presidential election, but the situation still remained fragile, the Secretary-General of the United Nations said this morning at the opening of 2005 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people. Now it was important to encourage the parties to deepen their political dialogue and match their positive words with action on the ground. Mr. Annan urged all Member States to help the parties meet their commitments and strengthen their cooperation, so that the opportunity for progress towards peace now at hand was firmly grasped. The United Nations would continue to work with its partners for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. Read more about Palestinian election success auspicious, but situation remains fragile, says Kofi Annan
Despite Israel’s efforts to destroy Hamas, including assassination of most of its top leaders, the resistance movement was able to emerge victorious in local elections held in 10 Gaza towns and villages last week. With a Hamas’ victory in Gaza’s local elections, and its earlier good performance in the West Bank local elections on 23 December, it is likely the movement will be encouraged to participate fully in July’s legislative elections. It remains unclear if the strengthening of Hamas through the ballot boxes will push the movement towards more moderation, as some observers have suggested. Khalid Amayreh reports from the West Bank. Read more about Is Hamas going mainstream?
Adri Nieuwhof, Bangani Ngeleza and Jeff Handmaker1 February 2005
History has not given the Palestinian people much reason to trust the intentions of the government of Israel. While Ariel Sharon has repeatedly claimed to be driven by a commitment to peace, his actions have so far belied his words, particularly concerning its military occupation of Palestinian territories. In this second article of a two-part series, Adri Nieuwhof, Bangani Ngeleza and Jeff Handmaker revisit key factors that built trust amongst both parties to the conflict in apartheid South Africa, without eroding key principles of the liberation movement, and reflect upon these experiences in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Read more about Lessons from South Africa for the peace process (2/2)
Adri Nieuwhof, Bangani Ngeleza and Jeff Handmaker1 February 2005
Despite some initial optimism following the outcome of the Palestinian presidential elections, there has been no obvious progress towards peace negotiations. This is of little surprise, since the conditions for holding negotiations simply do not exist and possibly have not even been thought through by either party. While opportunities for peace talks are fast disappearing as the region appears again to slide into outright confrontation, the writers, former anti-apartheid activists from the Netherlands, South Africa and Great Britain respectively, look back on this crucial period in South African history in the first of two articles in a series, to reflect upon and provide inspiration to the Palestinian struggle for liberation. Read more about Lessons from South Africa for the peace process (1/2)
Calling for an end to “serious breaches” of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the peacekeeping United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another six months and urged Lebanon to deploy an adequate number of security forces along the so-called Blue Line between the two countries. Acting on the recommendations of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Council unanimously adopted a resolution that continued the operation until 31 July. UNIFIL was established in 1978 to confirm the withdrawal of Israelis troops from its northern neighbour, restore international peace and security and help the Lebanese Government regain its authority over the area. Read more about Mandate of UN force in southern Lebanon extended until July
Today Physicians for Human Rights-Israel released a new position paper which warns that a process of planning and coordinating of the provision of external medical services to residents of the Gaza Strip must begin soon, or dozens of patients may die immediately following disengagement. The paper entitled “The Day After” states that Israel will still be required to allow Palestinian patients to receive life-saving treatment in Israel and abroad, even after disengagement, and explains the legal reasons for this. Also, Israel must rehabilitate the Palestinian health care system over the next decade, and to raise the standards to at least those of Jordan. Read more about Israel on the day after disengagement, medical concerns
A humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip is looming, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan might be the final nail in the coffin, an Israeli report has warned. Dozens of Palestinians may die if Israel does not act to ensure their medical care after a planned military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip later this year, according to the report by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. Israel’s current position is that it is not responsible for the fate of patients in Gaza, and is willing, at best, “to take into account humanitarian considerations” and “exceptional cases”, without explaining what these may constitute, says the medical rights group. Laila El-Haddad reports from Gaza. Read more about Gaza pullout could worsen health crisis
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have cast their ballots in the first municipal elections in decades in this part of the Occupied Territories. Thousands of Palestinians on Thursday turned up at voting booths in 10 districts in the Gaza Strip, including the northern town of Bait Hanun, devastated by Israeli incursions. The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, which for the first time has candidates running in Gaza, is expected to sweep the elections. Ahmad al-Kurd, director of the Islamic Benevolence Society and Hamas candidate for the district of Dair al-Balah, said he is confident of his party’s success and that the elections will bring change. Laila El-Haddad reports from Gaza. Read more about Gazans vote in municipal polls
Peter Hansen, the departing Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNWRA), spoke out about the conditions in Gaza at a recent conference sponsored by the Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace held in East Jerusalem. According to Hansen, the situation in Gaza is so horrendous that without the help of bulldozers you couldn’t get through the debris and sand barriers thrown up to block traffic. “If you wanted to go into Gaza today you wouldn’t be able to because there are tanks along all along the main road to Gaza. All along the road you will see houses that have been bulldozed. As you move down through Gaza the situation gets even worse,” Hansen stated. Read more about Departing head of UN refugee agency decries conditions in Gaza as horrendous
The United Nations Security Council today welcomed the recent Palestinian Presidential election, and congratulated the Palestinian people “who demonstrated their commitment to democracy by participating in the election under challenging conditions”. Reading out a consensus statement following a briefing on the situation in the Middle East and the question of Palestine, Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Antonio Biélsa, whose country holds the Council’s presidency for the month, said members of the 15-nation body commended the credible and fair character of the 9 January vote, and paid tribute the Central Elections Commission, which had played a key role in ensuring the successful conclusion of the ballot. Read more about Security Council hears briefing on Middle East, congratulates Palestinians with recent elections
