LATimes: WEST BANK: Palestinian Christians denied access to holy places in Jerusalem during Easter

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/04/west-bank-palestinian-christians-denied-access-to-holy-places-in-jerusalem-during-easter.html

April 16, 2011

As Christians get ready to celebrate Easter, Palestinian Christians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are envious of fellow Christians from all over the world who are able to visit Jerusalem’s holy Christian sites and worship freely while they cannot.

Since Israel cut off East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories in the early 1990s, Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been required to get Israeli army permission before they can enter Jerusalem.

The situation worsened since the turn of the century and restrictions got tighter after a 20-foot concrete wall was built all around East Jerusalem barring both Muslim and Christian Palestinians from reaching their holy sites in Jerusalem and its Old City.

“For Christians, Holy Week in Jerusalem has a special spiritual connection,” said a statement issued by the Christian community in the West Bank. “The Old City, its gates and roads, the Mount of Olives, Via Dolorosa and the Holy Sepulchre Church, where pilgrims from all over the world journey to, are equally important to the Palestinian Christians of Gaza and the West Bank, who want to join their Jerusalemite Christian brethren in the liturgical events leading to the resurrection, the holiest celebration in Christianity.”

But West Bank and Gaza Christians reaching Jerusalem even during holidays has become a privilege, rather than a spiritual right. To get to Jerusalem, any Palestinian resident of the West Bank or Gaza of any age or religion has first to get a permit issued by the Israeli military government.

These permits do not come easily...READ MORE

A Palestinian protester stands in the middle of tear gas fired by Israeli troops, not seen, during the weekly demonstration against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin, near Ramallah, Friday, April 15, 2011 (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia attend a demonstration of a ceremonial Passover holiday dinner known as a "seder" at an immigrant's centre in Mevasseret Zion, near Jerusalem April 14, 2011. This year will be the first "seder" the immigrants will be celebrating in Israel, which begins this Monday evening. Passover commemorates the flight of Jews from ancient Egypt as described in Exodus. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (ISRAEL - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY)

An ultra-Orthodox woman works at Matrix Global, a hi-tech company, in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Modiin Illit April 3, 2011. Ultra-Orthodox or "Haredi" women are exempt from the demands of religious studies imposed on men and the Bank of Israel says the past decade has seen "a significant increase" in ultra-Orthodox women's employment rate, now almost at 60 percent. To match Feature ISRAEL-ULTRAORTHODOX/ECONOMY Picture taken April 3, 2011 REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION BUSINESS)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish youths study religious texts at a synagogue in Jerusalem April 7, 2011. Ultra-Orthodox Jews, or "Haredim", are a devout tight-knit community who make up 8-10 percent of Israel's 7.7 million population, with eight children per family on average. Many are supported by the state and live well below the poverty line. A Bank of Israel report in March said about 60 percent of Haredi men don't work. To match Feature ISRAEL-ULTRAORTHODOX/ECONOMY Picture taken April 7, 2011. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION BUSINESS)

A view of the Sea of Galilee along the Gospel Trail in northern Israel, Thursday, April 14, 2011. For centuries, Christian pilgrims have flocked to Jerusalem to follow Jesus' last footsteps as he bore his cross on the way to his crucifixion. Now, Israel hopes to attract more Christian visitors with a new pilgrimage route in the Galilee — tracing the path of Jesus at the prime of his life and ministry. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Stones mark the trail on Mount Precipice, the site where according to tradition Jesus was banished from Nazareth and the starting point of of the Gospel Trail in northern Israel, Thursday, April 14, 2011. For centuries, Christian pilgrims have flocked to Jerusalem to follow Jesus' last footsteps as he bore his cross on the way to his crucifixion. Now, Israel hopes to attract more Christian visitors with a new pilgrimage route in the Galilee — tracing the path of Jesus at the prime of his life and ministry. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

A boat is by the jetty of the Capernaum National Park in the Sea of Galilee, along the Gospel Trail in northern Israel, Thursday, April 14, 2011. For centuries, Christian pilgrims have flocked to Jerusalem to follow Jesus' last footsteps as he bore his cross on the way to his crucifixion. Now, Israel hopes to attract more Christian visitors with a new pilgrimage route in the Galilee — tracing the path of Jesus at the prime of his life and ministry. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

A woman looks at an artwork of Houssam Bokeili's exhibition titled "A bus and its replicas" at a gallery in Beirut April 13, 2011. The bus referred to was carrying Palestinians when it came under attack by Christian militants in Ain al-Remmaneh, an incident believed to be one of the major events that triggered Lebanon's brutal 15-year civil war. Lebanon marks on April 13 the 36th anniversary of the start of the Lebanese Civil War, which ended in 1990. REUTERS/Cynthia Karam (LEBANON - Tags: SOCIETY POLITICS CIVIL UNREST ANNIVERSARY)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008 file photo, international activist Vittorio Utmpio Arrigoni, from Italy, carries an aid box from the 'Free Gaza' boat after its arrival at the Gaza port, in Gaza city. A pro-Palestinian group said Thursday April 14, 2011 that Arrigoni, 36, has apparently been kidnapped by Islamic militants in Gaza. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, Files)

Palestinian militants show their skills during a training session in Gaza City in 2008. A Salafist group of radical Islamists on Thursday kidnapped an Italian activist in Gaza and threatened to kill him, the group and aid workers said(AFP/File/Mohammed Abed)


A protester holds a banner condemning the killing of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza during a weekly protest to show solidarity with Palestinians against a Jewish settlement in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem April 15, 2011 REUTERS/Nir Elias (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

File picture shows an embroidered scarf bearing the name of South African judge Richard Goldstone at a Palestinian souvenir shop in Gaza City. The US Senate asked the United Nations to rescind a report on the Gaza War after its lead author, Goldstone, said he was wrong to conclude Israel targeted civilians during the 2008-2009 offensive. (AFP/File/Marco Longari)

A demonstrator runs away from tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers during clashes in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah April 15, 2011 REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

A woman holds a banner with a picture of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni during a protest against the killing of Arrigoni, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Friday, April 15, 2011. The body of Arrigoni was found hanged in a Gaza apartment just hours after he was abducted by an al-Qaida-inspired group, Hamas said early Friday, in the first kidnapping of a foreigner since the militant Hamas overran the coastal strip nearly four years ago. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Italian peace activists raise a banner reading: 'Let's be human' as they stage a protest at the Duomo gothic cathedral square in Milan, Italy, Friday, April 15, 2011, against the killing of Italian pro-Palestinian activist Vittorio Arrigoni who was found hanged in a Gaza apartment just hours after he was abducted by an al-Qaida-inspired group. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A Palestinian woman and her son hold a banner during a protest against the killing of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza City, Friday, April 15, 2011. The body of Arrigoni was found hanged in a Gaza apartment just hours after he was abducted by an al-Qaida-inspired group, Hamas said early Friday, in the first kidnapping of a foreigner since the militant Hamas overran the coastal strip nearly four years ago (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Palestinians light candles in front of a symbolic coffin during a protest against the killing of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza City, Friday, April 15, 2011. The body of Arrigoni was found hanged in a Gaza apartment just hours after he was abducted by an al-Qaida-inspired group, Hamas said early Friday, in the first kidnapping of a foreigner since the militant Hamas overran the coastal strip nearly four years ago. Arabic text inside the flowers wreath reads ' The popular youth activity send our condolences and honor to the Italian and Palestinian peoples for the martyr. the Journalist Vittorio Arrigoni. All of us are Vittorio Arrigoni.'. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Palestinians sit in a mourning tent for Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza City April 16, 2011. Hamas found the body on Friday of the pro-Palestinian Italian activist who was killed by al Qaeda sympathisers in the Gaza Strip, raising questions about Hamas's control over the beleaguered enclave. Two men were arrested and others were being sought for the abduction and killing of Arrigoni, 36, who was found strangled in an abandoned house on Friday, Hamas officials said. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

A Libyan holds the country's old flag, which has been adopted by the rebels, and a banner which reads in French:" No Qaeda, No Hezbollah, Long live Libya.." during the Friday noon prayer in Benghazi. Fighting raged in the long-besieged rebel-held Libyan city of Misrata where a human rights group charged the Libyan army was using banned cluster munitions (AFP/Marwan Naamani)

Palestinian women hold a banner with the picture of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni during a protest in the West Bank city of Nablus, Saturday, April 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad (L) and European High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton address a joint news conference after the annual spring meeting of the donor coordination group for the Palestine Territories at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels April 13, 2011. Fayyad will brief Western representatives in Brussels on Wednesday on his bid for nearly $5 billion in investment to launch a Palestinian state. REUTERS/Thierry Roge (BELGIUM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)

What do the Popular Uprisings in the Middle East Mean for the Future of Political Islam?

Restraint on Majority Rule: "There is going to be a religious right. There is a religious right here. There is a religious right in Israel. There will be a religious right in all these emerging Arab and Islamic democracies and they have a role to play within the rule of law- but the rule of law with the understanding of the rights of minorities and the rights of the individual." Hussein Ibish
http://www.americanprogress.org/events/2011/04/islammiddleeast.html

Mohamed Elshinnawi: US Mulls New Diplomacy in Troubled Middle East

The plenary session of the US- Islamic World Forum discusses Geo-Strategic Issues in the Middle East and focuses on the Arab-Israeli conflict

"...."The largest segment of Americans think that the demonstrations in the Arab world are not, in the first place, about Islamists," said Telhami. "They are about ordinary people seeking freedom and democracy. And that belief leads them to be somewhat optimistic and somewhat supportive of Arab democracy, and so when you ask them should the U.S. support the emerging democracies even if their governments are less friendly to the U.S., you have a majority say yes."

As Telhami and the other Middle East experts emphasized, if Washington can align itself with the people of the region instead of repressive governments, it can strengthen the resistance to radicalism and terrorism."

VOA Middle East Voices

A strong report about U.S. policy at a crossroads from VOA's Mohamed Elshinnawi. What is America doing right in the region and what is it doing wrong?

US Mulls New Diplomacy in Troubled Middle East

2 poems

by
Anne Selden Annab

Islamists

Islamists
should step down- disarm
for every one's sake
free the people

Let go of the hate mongering
that has built your kingdom
and war world wide

Release the slaves
forced to worship you

Repair the damage
you have done to Islam
and to Palestine
with your militancy

Juliano

Your death- your murder-
your blood mingles
with the bible burning/ flag burning
raging crowd of protest
stealing people's lives

Your baby will only know
that your arms held him
and then others grabbed

We are supposed to walk
the cattle chutes of opinion-
me here/you there
Stampede on demand
into the slaughter
of identity

poem copyright ©2011 Anne Selden Annab

King Abdullah: Time is Running Out for Arab-Israeli Peace... Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril

BUY
Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril

http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/king-abdullah-time-running-out-arab-israeli-peace-5146

BOOK REVIEW

King Abdullah: Time is Running Out for Arab-Israeli Peace

Bruce Riedel

April 13, 2011

King Abdullah II of Jordan, like the rest of us, was apparently surprised by this winter’s eruption of political dissent in the Arab world. His just published autobiography, Our Last Best Chance: the Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril, warns that upheaval and war is coming to the Middle East if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not resolved by a just and fair peace, but does not prepare the reader for the revolutions that swept Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and the rest of the Arab world this winter and spring. That is not a criticism—no one else saw it coming either. Rather it is a reflection on just how volatile and unpredictable the region is today and a reason why the king’s message is so important and timely. Without peace, the revolutions and violence sweeping Arabia today are all too likely to be exploited by the most extreme elements in the Islamic world—like al-Qaeda—and could turn 2011’s hope into despair.

The book is both an autobiography and a call to action. As autobiography it is a fascinating glimpse into the lives of not just King Abdullah and Queen Rania but of his father, Hussein, as well. Hussein sought to shield his oldest son from the glare and attention that royalty brings while also preparing him for his royal duties. So Abdullah spent much of his childhood being educated in the UK and USA. He expected to spend his life in the army since his uncle, Hassan, was Crown Prince for three decades and was expected to succeed his brother. Instead Hussein almost on his death bed made Abdullah king. King Abdullah has sought to build in Jordan a school that would give today’s young Jordanians the same quality of education that he got in America in his youth.

For more than a decade after acceding to the throne Abdullah has guided his small country through the tempest of terror and wars. He recounts his many interactions with three American presidents along the way. Bill Clinton gets credit for trying at Camp David and other summits to make peace. George Bush fares less well. Always polite and reserved, Abdullah nonetheless paints a picture of the 43^rd President as a man who just did not get what the King tried tirelessly to tell him— a peace agreement between Arabs and Israelis is not just good for them but a national security imperative for America and the world. Without peace, al Qaeda and other extremists feed on the anger and frustration a billion and a half Muslims feel about Israel and how it treats the Palestinian people....READ MORE

OR BUY THE BOOK

Golden Rule Song

Charter for Compassion

Golden Rule Day may have been a week ago, but the spirit of the day is still going strong! This Golden Rule song was written and performed by a Canadian Teenager. Thanks to our friends at Visionary Media for sharing this!

Ladder to the Moon

""The moon sort of guided us to points of intersection," Soetoro-Ng said. "She loved the moon so much because the moon was the same for everybody and all of these people and places were connected because we shared the same moon." Maya Soetoro-Ng, President Obama's little sister

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110412/ap_en_ot/us_fea_books_obama_s_sister

The book describes how one night, a golden ladder appears at the girl's open bedroom window with her grandmother, hair flowing down her back and silver bangles tinkling on her arms. The two climb to the moon, looking down on a world filled with sorrow, from earthquakes and tsunamis, poverty and intolerance.

They invite children and others who are suffering to take refuge on their gray, glowing moon, until it's time for the girl to say goodbye and climb back into bed, knowing they've helped others heal.

My letter to IHT RE: "Pray. Hope. Prepare." By Thomas L. Friedman

RE: Pray. Hope. Prepare. By Thomas L. Friedman
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/opinion/13friedman.html?ref=global

Dear Sir,

Thomas L. Friedman wisely and succinctly points out "The primary ingredient of a democracy — real pluralism where people feel a common destiny, act as citizens and don’t believe their minority has to be in power to be safe or to thrive...."

The first most obvious place to "Pray. Hope. Prepare." should be to do all we can to help end the Israel/Palestine conflict by advocating a just and lasting peace based on the rule of fair and just laws- and full respect for basic human rights, including but not limited to the Palestinian refugees inalienable right to return to original homes and lands.

Real pluralism respects property rights as well as every refugees' right to return- and every citizen's right to live in peace. Real pluralism rejects institutionalized bigotry- and religious tyranny: A fully secular two state solution to end the Israel/Palestine mess would go a long way towards empowering real democracy and pluralism, real peace and actual progress through out the entire region.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

NOTES

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." Eleanor Roosevelt

Growing Gardens for Palestine

Nihal Rabbani remembering Juliano

".... When we finished filming, I noticed that there was something wrong with the sound. Jule was already late for his next interview and laughed, “You mean these two hours, which usually only take fifteen minutes – they were for nothing?” (As it happens, the local broadcaster wasn’t interested in this subject so never watched the footage. But I did keep the video tapes and decided to edit the material as an homage to Jule.)

Since the day we met, Jule never failed to mention my “crazy memory” to people he introduced me to. The camera woman who worked with us that day in 2003 had since become a friend. When I sent her a text message about what happened last Monday, she responded in disbelief, saying, “What terrible news, coming from such a beautiful and inspiring man.”" Nihal Rabbani

http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/new-in-ceasefire/remembering-juliano/

Arts & Culture Remembering Juliano

My letter to the Independent RE: The ravaged palace that symbolises the hope of peace, Palestinian businessman is rebuilding his home....

RE: The ravaged palace that symbolises the hope of peace, Palestinian businessman is rebuilding his home after it was caught in the crossfire
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-ravaged-palace-that-symbolises-the-hope-of-peace-2266960.html

Dear Sir,

Good to see the story on the hope of peace for Palestine: I quite agree with the Palestinian businessman Albert Abu Zgheibreh who actively helps nurture a better way forward by clearly stating: "I'm building for the future and for my family. I hope now there will be peace. It's enough. For the Palestinians, for the Israelis, for everyone, peace will be better."

I very much hope that a viable sovereign and fully secular Palestine can emerge as a real nation state living in peace alongside a fully secular Israel, respecting the rule of fair and just laws- and basic human rights on all sides of every border.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab, American homemaker & poet

NOTES

Growing Gardens for Palestine

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." Eleanor Roosevelt

The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

The ravaged palace that symbolises the hope of peace: Palestinian businessman is rebuilding his home after it was caught in the crossfire

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-ravaged-palace-that-symbolises-the-hope-of-peace-2266960.html

The ravaged palace that symbolises the hope of peace

Palestinian businessman is rebuilding his home after it was caught in the crossfire

By Matthew Kalman in Beit Jala
Albert Abu Zgheibreh's home cost $880,000 and took five years to complete

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

The first remodelling of Albert Abu Zgheibreh's impressive home in Beit Jala on the outskirts of Bethlehem was free of charge, but not to his taste. Hellfire missiles fired from Israeli Apache helicopter gunships left gaping holes in the walls, tank shells smashed through the supporting pillars of the verandas and the stonework was raked with heavy-calibre machine-gun fire.

For nearly a decade, the ravaged beauty towered over the valley dividing Palestinian Beit Jala from the Israeli suburb of Gilo, its blackened holes and shattered stones like broken teeth in a gaping mouth silently bemoaning the folly of war.

It took five years and $880,000 to build the house. It was barely completed before the Palestinian intifada erupted in the autumn of 2000. Taking advantage of Mr Abu Zgheibreh's absence abroad, a group of gunmen decided to use it as a machine-gun nest to fire across the valley at Gilo, triggering the explosive Israeli response.

No one knows how many holes the Israelis punched in Albert's Hall, but now he has begun to fill them. "Last year I decided it was time to rebuild it again. I didn't want the people – Israelis and Palestinians – to have to keep looking at this reminder of what war could do," Mr Abu Zgheibreh, 69, tells The Independent as he conducts a private tour of the premises.

He has recalled the expert craftsmen, stonemasons and engineers and sunk another million dollars into a second remodelling, in the hope this stark reminder of recent violence will become, instead, a symbol of peace.

"This house has entered into history because of the Israeli bombardment. Everyone wanted to know why I wasn't rebuilding," he says. "I'm building for the future and for my family. I hope now there will be peace. It's enough. For the Palestinians, for the Israelis, for everyone, peace will be better."

Mr Abu Zgheibreh's story is almost a parable for the Christian Palestinians who now make up less than 2 per cent of the population and have been reduced to a minority even in the region of Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus....READ MORE

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/un-report-palestinian-authority-ready-for-statehood/2011/04/12/AFoKaUSD_story.html

U.N. report: Palestinian Authority ready for statehood

By Joel Greenberg, Tuesday, April 12, 7:05 PM

JERUSALEM — The Palestinian Authority is ready for statehood, according to six key criteria, although urgent action is needed to bolster its progress in state-building, the United Nations said Tuesday.

The declaration, contained in a report prepared for a meeting Wednesday in Brussels of donors to the authority, is an important boost to Palestinian efforts to obtain international recognition of a Palestinian state in September.

The U.N. study echoed findings by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, who in separate reports prepared for the donors conference said last week that the authority was well-positioned to run an independent state.

“In six areas where the U.N. is most engaged, governmental functions are now sufficient for a functioning government of a state,” said the report from the Office of the U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. It defined those areas as: governance, rule of law and human rights; livelihoods and productive sectors; education and culture; health; social protection; and infrastructure and water.

The Palestinian Authority has improved its ability to plan and budget effectively and has upheld transparency, media freedom and mitigation of corruption, while drafting laws to ensure compliance with international human rights norms, the report said.

The report noted improvements in security and the economy in the West Bank, with an estimated 8 percent growth in gross domestic product in 2010. It said that the area’s health-care system was well-developed and that government spending on social services had created a “comprehensive social safety net.”

But the report cautioned that the continuing Israeli occupation, the unresolved conflict with Israel

...READ MORE

Israel's bogus narrative on Palestinian refugees

"On setting up its state in 1948, Israel set about demolishing every vestige of Palestinian life and history in the land. The physical destruction of the villages, the replacing of Palestinian names with Hebrew ones and the wholesale takeover of Palestinian culture, whether in food -- "Israeli falafel" -- or in the traditional Arab dabke dance, renamed the Israeli "hora," were all aimed at making the world forget there had ever been anyone other than Jews in the Holy Land.

Through the work of Israeli filmmaker Benny Brunner, I have discovered another refinement of this cultural theft: the takeover of private Palestinian book collections, including ours. After 1948, Israeli officials took what books they found from abandoned Palestinian homes. Tens of thousands were looted in this way. Some of them remain in the Israeli National Library today, designated abandoned property. Brunner is currently making a film of this, "The Great Book Robbery."

Palestinians have never accepted our enforced oblivion. We are fighting to tell our history, win a future of political freedom and secure the return of refugees forced from their homes and never allowed to return..." Ghada Karmi April 12, 2011

http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2011/04/blowback-israels-bogus-narrative-on-palestinian-refugees.html

Blowback: Israel's bogus narrative on Palestinian refugees

What the “Israeli Peace Initiative” has to offer

"... In the final analysis there is only one state’s recognition of Palestine that will be decisive: Israel’s, since it is in complete control of the territory that will constitute the Palestinian state.

All roads ultimately lead back to negotiations, which is why documents like the IPI that reinforce the understanding that such a process is entirely plausible, and that therefore peace is genuinely achievable, are more relevant than they may appear at first glance." Hussein Ibish

http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=260844

UN says Palestinian Authority 'ready to govern'

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110412/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianspeaceungovernment

JERUSALEM (AFP) – The Palestinian Authority is now largely ready to govern a state, the office of the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process said in a report on Tuesday.

"In six areas where the UN is most engaged, governmental functions are now sufficient for a functioning government of a state," said the report, which will be submitted to Palestinian donor nations meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.

But the report warned that it would be difficult for the Palestinian Authority to make any additional progress while the Israeli occupation continued and peace talks remained stalled.

"The key constraints to the existence and successful functioning of the institutions of a potential state of Palestine arise primarily from the persistence of the occupation and the unresolved issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," the report said.

"The institutional achievements of the Palestinian state-building agenda are approaching their limits within the political and physical space currently available."

Arabs yearn to move on and enjoy genuine peace

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Apr/11/Arabs-yearn-to-move-on-and-enjoy-genuine-peace.ashx

Arabs yearn to move on and enjoy genuine peace

April 11, 2011 02:00 AM

By Hussein Ibish

The Daily Star

Probably the most important clause in the Arab Peace Initiative, first adopted by the Arab League at the Beirut summit in 2002 and reaffirmed on several occasions including in 2007, is its commitment to “establish normal relations with Israel in the context of [a] comprehensive peace.”

This clause represented the culmination of decades of evolution of Arab thinking regarding relations with Israel, and the final repudiation of the Khartoum resolution of 1967, which insisted the Arabs would allow “no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it.”

In other words, rather than being surrounded by an Arab world that generally, if not unanimously, rejected the idea of accepting Israel as a permanent and legitimate presence in the Middle East, for almost a decade now Israel has been facing a united Arab world that has repeatedly made clear its willingness to make a permanent and normalized peace with the Jewish state.

The importance of this clause is that it affirms that at the end of negotiations with the Palestinians, Israel can expect recognition and acceptance in the region, not just from the Palestinians but from the other Arab states as well....READ MORE

Palestinian Road Warriors Give Jerusalem Streets New [old] Names

http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=31881Palestinian Road Warriors Give Jerusalem Streets New Names

Written by David E. Miller
Published Monday, April 11, 2011

Signage is latest move in contest for control of city’s character

A group of Palestinian activists erected nine street signs in Jerusalem’s Jabel Mukabber neighborhood last Saturday, assigning the anonymous thoroughfares road names in Arabic and English. One was named Farouk Street, a popular nick name for Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, the Muslim general who conquered Jerusalem in 637 A.D.

Erected by a Palestinian NGO called Jerusalem Horizons, the street signs were a small but symbolic move in the contest over the character of a city venerated by three religions (Jews, Christian and Muslims) and claimed by two national groups (Israelis and Palestinians). Formed two months ago, Jerusalem Horizons strives to reclaim the Arab names of Jerusalem streets and neighborhoods, rescuing them from what organizers term the city’s "Judaization."

"Our main goal is to educate the people about the importance of maintaining the original Arab names," Fakhri Abu-Diab, a resident of Silwan and board member of Jerusalem Horizons, told The Media Line. "I fear the day my son will come home using the Hebrew name for a site." ....READ MORE