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Kerry calls Israeli envoy to protest legalization of West Bank outposts ATFP News Headlines
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http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2013/0523/Defying-naysayers-on-all-sides-Kerry-keeps-pushing-Israelis-Palestinians-to-table?nav=87-frontpage-entryNineItem
Dear Editor,
Pundits, cynics, bigots and bullies on both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict are indeed farther apart than they have ever been... but their basic goals are identical as they do all they can to sabotage an actual end to the conflict.
Abolitionists in America seeking to end slavery were far outnumbered and very much harassed and maligned by a majority of citizens convinced that slavery was a necessary part of survival. Looking back it seems blatantly obvious that slavery was totally evil and wrong, but at the time that was not so obvious.
Today's Israel-Palestine conflict is totally evil and wrong- it has been driving people crazy and destroying the lives and communities of countless increasingly vulnerable men, women and children in many different ways. That fact is not so obvious to all involved right now, but with a just and lasting peace- a negotiated peace to actually end the conflict with two sovereign and secure fully secular states it will be.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES
From Palestinians' point of view, the law [Israel's Absentee Property Law] has always been controversial. The rights of refugees are a core issue in their conflict with Israel.
John Kerry makes unscheduled shawarma sandwich stop in West Bank ...Kerry is urging an economic package to boost the Palestinian economy. Perhaps as a signal of his commitment, he insisted on paying for his food.
Kairos Palestine condemns the kidnapping of two bishops in Syria - and calls for all conflicts and violence and proxy battles to be stopped.
In Israel, a modern wall is halted by ancient terraces
AP PHOTOS: Palestinians in Egypt village exhibit consequences of 65 years of mass displacement
Time Magazine Pictures of the Week: May 10 – May 17... Palestinian refugee children play in front of their family house in Jabaliya Refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip.
"In 1949, the international community accepted Israel's UN membership upon two conditions: That they respect resolutions 181 (two states) and 194 (refugee rights). Neither has been honored. In fact, 65 years later, Israel has not even acknowledged what it did in 1948." Saeb Erekat
Arab and Islamic countries and organizations pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to support Jerusalem during conferences and summits, but that only a small portion of the pledged money was sent.
Repercussions... a poem
Why Ending the Occupation and Peace with Israel is Still the Palestinian National Goal...
“Were you really shot in a fight over water?” He winces out his answer: “It wasn’t about politics. It wasn’t about the Muslim Brotherhood. It was about water.”
Former Palestinian fighter now battles for a middle path: Palestinian Mohammed Dajani, from a prominent Jerusalem family, has become a vocal advocate for pragmatism and peace.
Songs and Pictures from Palestine
Palestine now recognised by greater power than US or Israel – Google
Fayyad Steps Down, Not Out
This Week in Palestine: Palestinian Institutions A Story of Perseverance ... Salam Fayyad "This was not about roads, buildings, or infrastructure, despite their importance. This plan was about statehood, citizen participation, and enfranchisement. It was based on the vision of establishing a functional framework where government is accountable and citizens participate in the widest and most effective way possible in decision-making and governance."
CNN online Dean Obeidallah: I'm Muslim, and I hate terrorism
Hussein Ibish: Fate of Christians will define the Arab future
"I come from there and I have memories... "
******
".... it being clearly understood that nothing
shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious
rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine..."
The Office of International Religious Freedom ( http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/) Given the U.S. commitment to religious freedom, and to the international covenants that guarantee it as the inalienable right of every human being, the United States seeks to:
Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countriesPalestinian Refugees(1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.
The
Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you
"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
Refugees and the Right of Return
Palestinian
refugees must be given the option to exercise their
right of return (as well as receive compensation for
their losses arising from their dispossession and
displacement) though refugees may prefer other options
such as: (i) resettlement in third countries, (ii)
resettlement in a newly independent Palestine (even
though they originate from that part of Palestine which
became Israel) or (iii) normalization of their legal
status in the host country where they currently reside.
What is important is that individual refugees decide for
themselves which option they prefer – a decision must
not be imposed upon them.
UN Resolution
194 from 1948 : The
refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with
their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest
practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the
property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or
damage to property which, under principles of international law
or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or
authorities responsible.
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