IMEU : From the Media

Gaza report to go to UN top council (Al Jazeera)

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:55:37 PST

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, has said that he is to pass a report alleging Israeli and Palestinian war crimes during the former's offensive on the Gaza Strip to the UN Security Council. "As requested by the General Assembly, I will transmit the report to the Security Council," Ban said on Friday, a day after the 192-member assembly UN General Assembly voted in favour of resolution endorsing a UN-sponsored report.

Clear signal (The Jordan Times)

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:50:01 PST

With Mahmoud Abbas, the PA president and head of the PLO, announcing that he will not seek another term in power, the clearest possible signal has been sent that the possibility for any peace process between Palestinians and Israelis is moribund. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has now reached a critical impasse, and only something dramatic can break the stalemate. Without anything suitably dramatic, the current artificial state of affairs can limp on for a few years until Palestinians yet again reach a breaking point and there is another serious round of violence.

'Worse than apartheid' (Gideon Levy, Haaretz)

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:45:12 PST

I thought they would feel right at home in the alleys of Balata refugee camp, the Casbah and the Hawara checkpoint. But they said there is no comparison: for them the Israeli occupation regime is worse than anything they knew under apartheid. This week, 21 human rights activists from South Africa visited Israel. Among them were members of Nelson Mandela's African National Congress; at least one of them took part in the armed struggle and at least two were jailed. There were two South African Supreme Court judges, a former deputy minister, members of Parliament, attorneys, writers and journalists.

Gaza students organize for justice (Bianca Zammit, The Electronic Intifada)

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:29:44 PST

In order to find sustainable alternatives to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict a new group calling itself the Justice Makers has been formed across the law departments in Palestinian universities. Two of the founders, Mohammed Eliwa and Yousef al-Nouri, are both fourth-year law students from al-Azhar University in Gaza. "The Justice Makers is about finding new ways within the international justice system to forward our case," al-Nouri explained.

U.N. affirms Israeli-Hamas war crimes report (Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service)

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:50:21 PST

A 575-page blistering report by Justice Richard Goldstone detailing war crimes in Gaza last December is refusing to die despite an aggressive Israeli smear campaign to kill it. The report, which was favourably voted by the 47-member Human Rights Council in Geneva last month, received overwhelming support Thursday in the 192-member General Assembly. The vote was 114 in favour and 18 against, with 44 abstentions. The 18 countries that voted against the resolution included the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Israel.

U.S. State Department: Israel is not a tolerant society (Akiva Eldar, Haaretz)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:31:05 PST

Israel fails the requirements of a tolerant pluralistic society, according to a new report from the U.S. State Department. Despite boasting religious freedom and protection of all holy sites, Israel lacks tolerance toward minorities, equal treatment of ethnic groups, openness toward various streams within society, and respect for holy sites. The 1967 law on the protection of holy places refers to all religious groups in the country but "the government implements regulations only for Jewish sites."

UN endorses Gaza war crimes report (Al Jazeera)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:14:33 PST

The United Nations General Assembly has voted in favor of resolution endorsing a UN-sponsored report into war crimes committed during Israel's war on Gaza. The Goldstone report, which accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes, was endorsed by the assembly on Thursday by a margin of 114 to 18, after two days of debate. Forty-four member-nations abstained from voting. The report had already been endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council, which sponsored the fact-finding commission.

Who can replace Abbas? (Ali Waked, Ynet News)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:07:05 PST

In the wake of Mahmoud Abbas' inclination not to run for-reelection as Palestinian Authority president, the rumor mill is working overtime in respect to possible replacements. Should Abbas follow through on his announcement, we may have to prepare for a new face near the negotiating table: Will it be the honorable President Mohammad Dahlan? Or perhaps Chairman Nasser al-Kudwa? And maybe even President-Prisoner Marwan Barghouti?

Palestinian shock: President says he wants to quit (Mohammed Daraghmeh, The Associated Press)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:05:56 PST

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pushed Mideast peace prospects into unknown territory Thursday, announcing he doesn't want another term and opening the way to a succession battle that could play into the hands of his rival, the militant Hamas. But it also could boost the prospects of a popular candidate who reportedly wants to run for the presidency from his Israeli prison cell.

Settlements 'end two-state hopes' (Al Jazeera)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:02:02 PST

Palestinians may have to abandon the goal of an independent state if Israel continues to expand Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, the chief Palestinian negotiator has said. Speaking to reporters in Ramallah on Wednesday, Saab Erekat said it may be time for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to "tell his people the truth, that with the continuation of settlement activities, the two-state solution is no longer an option".