Neither Abbas nor Sharon paused at Sharm el-Sheikh, or have done so since, to consider how their agreements will affect the only community for which both are responsible by virtue of their office. One and a quarter million Palestinians live as citizens of Israel, comprising a fifth of the country’s population. Sharon is their representative as head of the Israeli government, while Abbas is charged with their welfare, as he is with that of the whole Palestinian people, in his role as chairman of the PLO. Since the official talks that came to be known as the Oslo peace process began 12 years ago, the two leaderships have severely taxed this large Palestinian community’s reservoir of goodwill. Read more about What future for Israel's Palestinian citizens?
Since the war in Iraq and Bush’s re-election we have witnessed the collective surrender by large segments of European and Arab ruling elites, as many allow themselves to become tools of Bush administration policies, write EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah and EI co-founder Ali Abunimah. UN missions in Lebanon, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s visit to Jerusalem, and recent EU statements about about Iran represent the reassertion of a western double standard that reinforces regional fears that international law is a weapon to be used only to punish disobedient Arab and Muslim countries, while Israel is totally exempt from all enforcement action. Read more about Fear and loathing across the Middle East
Once again, it seems that US President George W. Bush has declared victory and “mission accomplished” far too early: The heralded Lebanese Spring, which Washington’s PR experts quickly dubbed the “Cedar Revolution,” has not been a slam-dunk validation of US Middle East policies after all. Just ten days after stepping down from the position of prime minister in President Emile Lahoud’s government, Omar Karameh is about to step back into place again. EI co-founder Laurie King-Irani, who lived in Beirut from 1993-98, reviews the last month’s tumultuous events and considers what they might mean for the future of Lebanon and its neighbors. Read more about Single minds, double standards, and plural societies: One month on in Lebanon
Israel has long lived in fear of the so-called “demographic bomb” — the fact that the Palestinian population in Israel and the occupied territories is increasing much faster than the Israeli Jewish population. While Israeli Jews thought the day they would become a minority was perhaps still twenty years away, a new US government report says that Palestinians are already a majority in historic Palestine, as they were until Israel was created. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah looks at the numbers and examines their implications for a just resolution to the Palestine/Israel conflict. Read more about Defusing Israel's "demographic bomb"
In days of yore, when right-wing thugs shouted “Arik, King of Israel!” leftist leaders grimaced in disgust. On Sunday, February 20, however - after the cabinet approved “Arik’s” Disengagement Plan - Labor ministers beamed with smug satisfaction. They had all they could do to keep from shouting, “Arik, King of Israel!” Sharon has begun to accomplish for them what the Oslo Accords never dared to broach: dismantlement of settlements. On that festive Sunday, few wanted to be reminded that after approving disengagement - practically in the same breath - the government decided to build its notorious “separation barrier” on a line that will unilaterally annex, in effect, 7% of the West Bank. Read more about Unilateral Give, Unilateral Take
Are Israelis and Palestinians finally on the road to peace? A glance at commentary in the US press would seem to suggest so. Since Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced a truce in early February at the Sharm al-Sheikh summit, many observers see a “window of opportunity” they are encouraging both sides to leap through. And do the latest tussles among Palestinian leaders reflect the kind of democratic reform that ordinary Palestinians want? EI co-founder Ali Abunimah compares this euphoria with the most recent developments on the ground. Read more about Is peace in Palestine about to break out?
An Arab businessman has reportedly offered Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon tens of millions of dollars to buy evacuated Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah looks at the legal background and argues that this scheme is as outrageous as offering a common thief compensation for returning stolen property, as well as offering him the expenses for the petrol, tools and clothing he used to commit his crime. Rather than encouraging such prepesterous ideas, as it appears to be doing, the Palestinian Authority should put a stop to it and focus on regaining Palestinian rights as set out in international law. Read more about Rewarding aggression in Palestine
The Sharm El-Sheikh summit of Sharon and Abbas is hailed in the Western media as the opening of a new era. This is the climax of a wave of optimism that has been generated since the death of Arafat. In the last four years, the Israeli leadership singled Arafat out as the main obstacle for peace. Adopting the Israeli perspective, the media world believes that his departure would enable a renewal of the peace process. This, in the media world, is coupled with the faith that Israel is finally led by a man of peace. Sharon, who might have had some problems in the past, so the story goes, has changed his skin, and now he is leading Israel to painful concessions. Tanya Reinhart comments. Read more about From Aqaba to Sharm: Fake Peace Festivals
Avi Shlaim
Zionism is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people and the state of Israel is its political expression. Israel used to be a symbol of freedom and a source of pride for the Jews of the Diaspora. Israel’s mistreatment of the Palestinians, however, has turned it into a liability and a moral burden for the liberal segment of the Jewish community. Some Jews, especially on the left, would go even further by linking Israel’s behavior to the upsurge of the new anti-Semitism throughout the world. Read more about Why Zionism today is the real enemy of the Jews
“Every time a Gazan father faints as he watches his family home demolished; every time a Jew, Muslim or Christian is violently attacked by armed Israelis because they are non-violently protesting the separation wall; every time a rain of Israeli army bullets flies into the body of a young child on her way to school; every time a young Palestinian man is made to play violin by Israeli soldiers, or a pregnant woman dies at a checkpoint, Jews like us must speak out.” Commentator Cecilie Surasky is communications director for Jewish Voice for Peace and a New Voices fellow with the Academy of Educational Development. Read more about Speaking out about Israel to save the Jewish soul
