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Saturday, December 5, 2009
Palestinian fishermen paddle out to sea as sun sets on the last day of the muslim Eid Al-Adha festival in Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, is celebrated to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son.(AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)
A Palestinian woman watches a Jewish settler carry out the belongings of a Palestinian family from a house in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. In an unrest Tuesday, a Jewish family took over a house in an Arab neighborhood of east Jerusalem, sparking a protest by rock-throwing Palestinians and a few Israeli and foreign activists who joined them, police said. One of the family members was lightly injured in the head when a protester hit him with a metal bar, and police arrested five people. Both sides claim ownership of the building. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)
Israeli left wing activists walk with a banner during a protest in Jerusalem, Friday, Nov. 27, 2009. The protest was organized by groups supporting Palestinians evicted from their homes in east Jerusalem by Israeli authorities. Hebrew sign reads 'enough with the east Jerusalem settlements' (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
An Israeli left wing activist holds a sign during a protest in Jerusalem, Friday, Nov. 27, 2009. The protest was organized by groups supporting Palestinians evicted from their homes in east Jerusalem by Israeli authorities.(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
Muslim pilgrims gather at Mount Arafat. Iranians chanted death to America and Israel on Thursday as some 2.5 million Muslims, drying out after a day of torrential rains, continue their hajj pilgrimage and mass at the site of the prophet Mohammed's last sermon.(AFP/Mahmud Hams)
A Palestinian worker operates a construction vehicle in a construction site at the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim, near Jerusalem, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Jewish settlers pressed ahead Thursday with their refusal to abide by a government-ordered freeze of new building in West Bank settlements, blocking inspectors from entering one such community to enforce the edict. (AP Photo/ Tara Todras-Whitehill)
A Jewish settler, foreground left, looks on as Palestinian construction workers build a synagogue at the Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the northern West Bank, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Jewish settlers pressed ahead Thursday with their refusal to abide by a government-ordered freeze of new building in West Bank settlements, blocking inspectors from entering one such community to enforce the edict.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Palestinians returning from the Hajj pilgrimage hold hands with relatives on the other side of the fence as they cross back from Egypt into Gaza through the Rafah crossing, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. A total of 2.5 million pilgrims attended the hajj this year. (AP Photo/Eyad Baba)
RNPS IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2009 MEA - Smoke rises during Israeli's offensive in Gaza January 8, 2009. Palestinians faced even grimmer conditions in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a U.N. aid agency halted work, saying its staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants, after two drivers were killed. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA)
RNPS IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2009 - A Palestinian man tries to extinguish a fire that started after youths threw a petrol bomb during clashes with Israeli police in Jerusalem's Old City October 25, 2009. Israeli police fired stun grenades at Arab youths who threw rocks at them in the compound of Jerusalem's flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque in the Old City on Sunday, Israeli and Palestinian officials and witnesses said.REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (JERUSALEM POLITICS CONFLICT)
Voluntary contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Remarks by U.S. Senior Advisor Richard Erdman, at the Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for the announcement of voluntary contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Source: Government of the United States of America
Date: 03 Dec 2009
Richard Erdman
United States Senior Advisor
U.S. Mission to the United Nations
New York, NY
AS DELIVERED
I am pleased to represent the United States Government in expressing its support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). As we acknowledge next week the 60th anniversary of the passage of the resolution that called for establishment of UNRWA, the United States remains committed to supporting the agency's critical mandate.
In 2009, the United States continued to be UNRWA's largest bilateral donor, providing nearly $268 million to support the education, health, relief, social and emergency needs of 4.7 million registered refugees in the region. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Agency's achievements and steadfast dedication to the welfare of Palestinian refugees. Over the past 60 years, the commitment of UNRWA's staff has helped to better the lives of generations.
The United States remains concerned about the chronic shortfalls facing the organization. UNRWA faces a shortfall of $90 million in 2009. Furthermore, the Agency expects that it will face a deficit of $140 million against its core needs in 2010. UNRWA is confronting increased demands on its services at a time of record financial shortfalls and economic uncertainty. We commend UNRWA on developing a budget that clearly reflects UNRWA's needs and, for the first time, is linked to meeting the organization's medium-term strategic goals.
UNRWA requires adequate funding so that it can continue to provide quality services and meet the pressing needs of Palestinian refugees in the region. Pending the availability of funds, the United States intends to provide an early and significant contribution in 2010 and urges all UN Member States to consider robust contributions to UNRWA's 2010 budget.
Thank you.
Fatah official: UNRWA finance crisis spells human disaster
"The UNRWA financial crisis will not only affect the services offered to the more than four million of Palestinian refugees but also the cause of Palestinian refugees," An-Nahal said. "UNRWA is the only body in charge of the well being of the refugees until we can realize UN resolution 194," that calls for a just solution for Palestinian refugees, the official explained.
Last week UNRWA officials in Gaza announced that the organization had a "zero budget" for the new year, noting the financial crisis could mean failure to pay salaries of UNRWA workers and a decrease in the provision of services for refugees across the Middle East. On Thursday, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan of the UAE ordered the donation of 2.5 million dollars to the agency, marking the donation for Palestine refugees in the Near East.
It is not clear how much UNRWA needs to ensure the regular provision of services.
An-Nahal said he hoped the financial crisis would not be solved by reducing services to refugees, and urged UNRWA and the UN to insist that donor countries follow-through on their pledges so the agency can continue its work.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Statement By Majdi Ramadan Counselor Item 31: United Nations ...
Statement By Majdi Ramadan Counselor Item 31: United Nations ...
UNRWA determined not to scale back amid crippling funding crisis
By Dalila Mahdawi
Daily Star staff
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Reflections on the Badil “Palestinian Refugees under International Law” Course Written by Nidal Azza
Reflections on the Badil “Palestinian Refugees under International Law” Course
Written by Nidal Azza
“… for us, the inclusion of the international law course on Palestinian refugees in the academic program is a distinct step reflecting our duty toward law students, as well as our commitment to Palestine and Palestinian rights. On one hand, it provides students interested in international law and human rights law with new course material. On the other hand, it explores, through the lens of Palestinian refugee rights, the prolonged conflict from a comparative legal perspective.” (Muhammad Shalaldah, Dean of the Al-Quds University Law School, University Press Release, 19 May 2008)
“I studied International public law, international humanitarian law, the law of international organizations, and international human rights law, but I had not realized the importance of international law for ending the Israeli occupation before I took the course on Palestinian refugees under international law.” (Kifah Froukh, course of fall 2007)
“I have never believed that international law and mechanisms might be of any benefit for the rights of the Palestinian people. Even after I had taken three courses in international law, I could not see in international law any more than a tool in the hands of colonial powers. The course on Palestinian refugees under international law opened my eyes to see the possibility of using the same tool for defending our rights.” (Bader al-Tamimi, course of Spring 2009)
Palestine Note: Palestinian refugees learn journalism basics, launch blog
A new blog entitled "Palestinian Youth Writes" has recently been launched as the outcome of a journalism workshop training for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The workshop was organized by the British Embassy and Lebanon's Al Hayat newspaper, the Daily Star reported .
According to the newly-launched site:
"The "Palestinian Youth Writes Blog is a media project that creates an additional space for young Palestinians men and women, from all casts and affiliations, to express their views and concerns. They can do so by using the many different multimedia tools provided on the blog, such as texts, images and videos. This project thus aims to attract a wide spectrum of both the Palestinians and the Diaspora, in order to highlight their common concerns and problems, whether they are social, cultural or political in nature.
Joanna Abu Jaoude, the project manager told the Daily Star:
"Palestinian issues are usually covered by non-Palestinians, and the reports tend to focus on the security aspects of the camps. We want to empower Palestinian youths to report on issues of their interest."
According to the daily:
The participants, recruited through NGOs, the Internet and word-of-mouth, were introduced to various techniques of journalistic work, complete with training sessions on how to succeed at investigative reporting, feature-writing or online journalism. Seasoned journalists of Al-Hayat, BBC and NowLebanon acquainted them with the challenges of the job and the importance of objective reporting.
Peaceful resistance... an EXCELLENT letter in today's Jordan Times
letters
Peaceful resistance
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Thursday, December 3, 2009
My letter to The Guardian RE Shattering Israel's image of 'democracy'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/03/israel-negev
Dear Sir,
Excellent to see Ben White's enlightening article "Shattering Israel's image of 'democracy'": May many more voices of reason and compassion speak out clearly to help shape better policies- and better investments for both pubic and private funds.
AND Tempting though it might be to launch into an angry tirade about "Israel" in response, the real point is that bigotry is wrong: Palestinians do not need our rage- they need realistic solutions to end the Israel/Palestine conflict. The Arab Peace Initiative is a good start....
Emanating from the conviction of the Arab countries that a military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or provide security for the parties, the council:
1. Requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well.
2. Further calls upon Israel to affirm:
Furthermore, one does not have to support the Boycott campaign (Palestinian Call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)) to agree with its demands that Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people‘s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law by:I- Full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the June 4, 1967 lines as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon.
II- Achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194.
III- The acceptance of the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied since June 4, 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;
2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194 [from 1948].
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
My Letter to the New York Times Global Blog 11-2009 RE An Absurd Situation by Daoud Kuttab
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/israels-gamble-in-a-prisoner-swap/#daoud
Dear Editor,
THANK YOU for publishing a Palestinian perspective- in particular such an articulate one! Daoud Kuttab sums up so much so perfectly with his statement: "What’s more, it is politically horrifying that Israel is willing to reward radical Hamas with a prisoner exchange instead of honoring the commitments of the Road Map, which call for, among other things, a freeze in settlements in the occupied territories."
I wonder how many other ways has Israel helped empower Hamas and undermine Abbas, systemically sabotaging a secular two state end to the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
FILE - A Palestinian stone thrower faces an Israeli tank, during clashes at the Karni crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip, on the outskirts of Gaza City, in this Oct. 29, 2000 file photo. According to Enaam Udah, 41, her son Fares Udah, 13, is the boy in the picture and was shot dead by Israeli gunfire on November 8, 2000. 'We don't send our sons to an easy death, ' said Udah 'But if this is fated by God, then I cannot change that'. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours, File)
My letter to the Washington Post RE Israel revoked Jerusalem residency of 4,500 Palestinians in 2008
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/02/AR2009120202534.html
Dear Editor,
Thank you for headlining "Israel revoked Jerusalem residency of 4,500 Palestinians in 2008", rather than ignoring ongoing Israeli efforts to displace the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land.
According to the Jordan Times December 3 2009 Editorial "East Jerusalem, Israel’s unilateral and unrecognised annexation notwithstanding, is occupied territory (indeed, all of Jerusalem remains, under international law, a corpus separatum). As such, the residents of Jerusalem and their descendants have their right of residency guaranteed under international law." Furthermore: "Israel needs to be held accountable for its racism before it becomes a precedent for other countries to follow." http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=22017
One obvious reason why it is so very crucial to understand, respect and fully support the Palestinian refugees inalienable legal and natural right of return to original homes and lands is to help prevent future evictions- and crimes against humanity... This is not only about Israel, but about every country on earth where bigotry and burglary can too easily become public policy, undermining basic human rights and true democracy everywhere.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab