My letter to the NYTIMES RE "The Two-State Solution: What It Is and Why It Hasn’t Happened" oped- by Max Fisher & NYTimes Editorial "Is Israel Abandoning a Two-State Solution?

RE: "The Two-State Solution: What It Is and Why It Hasn’t Happened" oped- by Max Fisher & NYTimes Editorial "Is Israel Abandoning a Two-State Solution?" http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/world/middleeast/israel-palestinians-two-state-solution.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/28/opinion/is-israel-abandoning-a-two-state-solution.html?src=me
& a very good letter by IBRAHIM AHMED: "I encourage both parties to negotiate to end this conflict. It can be done." http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/opinion/the-rift-between-the-us-and-israel.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Dear Editor,

Your American letter writer, Ibrahim Ahmed, gets to the right to heart of the matter when he gracefully points out that  "Palestine and Israel should put their religious differences aside..."

Think it through and it becomes quite obvious that the popular argument that Israel needs to make peace with Palestine so that Israel can remain Jewish is a bad argument, as well as an extremely dangerous and cruel decades long status quo that has shaped and exasperated the angst of the Israelis and the very real plight and suffering of the men, women, and children of historic Palestine.

Think it through: Tax payers here and there should not be funding and fueling state sponsored bigotry, injustice and escalating religious conflict.

Golden Rule thinking based on full respect for international law and all Universal Human Rights can and should guide every conversation, every choice, and every negotiation on the way to a just and lasting peace: One state or two, religion needs be a personal, private matter.

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

NOTES

CNN VIDEO: Palestinian leader Hanan Ashrawi reacts to the UNSC vote calling on Israel to stop building settlements.  https://www.facebook.com/umkahlil?fref=ts 

Growing Gardens for Palestine... #Christmas #Palestine #PalmTrees #Mary... Informative, inspiring and entertaining facebook posts today from my friend Mike 

Putting a Face on the Facts... An Easy to Understand Essay by Nancy Harb Almendras outlining a Global Controversy: The conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinians.

Ibrahim's Estate

Jimmy Carter: America Must Recognize Palestine

Newsweek: Award-winning Palestinian teacher on how to help traumatized kids Baltimore's Susan Muaddi Darraj wins American Book Award for 'A Curious Land'

"We're a really diverse community, actually," Darraj says. "A lot of people think that all Palestinians are Muslims. But, the characters I write about are Palestinian Christians."  American Book Award winner Susan Muaddi Darraj among highlights of Baltimore Book Festival

Freda Hughes' art, created in 2008: Remember Palestine this Christmas

A mural by Norwegian artist, Per Krohg, depicts a phoenix rising from ashes, symbolizing the resurgence of peace, equality and freedom.

"This issue marks the eighteenth year of This Week in Palestine, and we are pleased to present you with another issue filled with articles that attest to Palestine’s cultural wealth. A high level of religious tolerance and the integration of various faiths are defining facets of Palestinian culture, historically and today. Such practice sets Palestine apart in a region where too many people have been immensely traumatized by acts of violence frequently caused by lack of tolerance, greed, and thirst for power and dominance. It is time to remember, in the Holy Land and elsewhere, that the central tenets and pillars of our religions are good will and kind deeds towards our fellow visitors on this planet." Tina Basem, This Week in Palestine editor's message Issue #224, December 2016

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

"The position of the United States with respect to our long expressed hope, the Republicans and the Democrats alike (and) many presidents of the last 50 years or more, has always been for peace and President Obama remains committed to a two-state solution," Kerry

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a press conference at an economic conference, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Saturday, March 14, 2015. Kerry said he hopes Israel elects a government that can address the country's domestic needs and also "meets the hope for peace." Kerry said whatever decision Israeli voters make in the election Tuesday, he hopes there will be the chance to move forward on peace efforts afterward. (AP Photo/Thomas Hartwell)

US President Barack Obama (centre) looks on as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) shakes hands with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas before a 2009 meeting in New York (AFP Photo/Jim Watson)

On Friday, Kerry held talks on the peace process with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II.

The four discussed creating an environment to "push forward the peace process to reach a comprehensive and just peace in the region," Sisi's office said after they met.

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-committed-two-state-solution-israel-palestinians-095413959.html

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Obama 'committed' to two-state solution for Israel, Palestinians

Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) (AFP) - US President Barack Obama is "committed" to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians, Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday on the stalled Middle East peace process....READ MORE

My letter to the NYTimes RE Still Failing Syria’s Refugees

Barriers to Health for Palestinians Under Occupation

RE: Still Failing Syria’s Refugees
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/opinion/sunday/still-failing-syrias-refugees.html?ref=opinion

Dear Editor,

Still Failing Syria’s Refugees: "Normally, the United States takes the majority of refugees referred annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; in 2013 this totaled 70,000 refugees from 65 countries — more than the rest of the world combined. But the approvals have become more time consuming as Washington seeks to screen out applicants with connections to militants."

Many of the refugees from Syria are originally from Palestine.  Times are changing: Religious tyrants, thieves and thugs are actively destroying the Middle East, and they are also eliminating avenues of escape for Arabs and Muslims- and Palestinians... as well as jeopardizing crucial funding for UNWRA & support for the United Nations.

Active "Pro-Palestine" advocates of a one state status quo claim to be for Palestine and peace but they are mainly an anti-Israel/anti-America echo chamber cherry picking story lines and blurring facts to build rage.

Doors are closing... and so is the window of opportunity to actually end the Israel-Palestine conflict.  Right now the PLO Delegation in Washington DC is foolishly obsessed with following and promoting Mondoweiss blog posts, as if a handful of very angry at Israel Jewish bloggers help shape a conversation that will end the Israel-Palestine conflict: The plight of the Palestinians continues to get more dire, but The American Task Force on Palestine, composed of articulate Arab Americans advocating for a two state end to the Israel-Palestine conflict in line with international law and fully respecting universal human rights, is downsizing due to lack of support.

Life is not fair- never has been. Every day brings personal pain, suffering, shocking tragedy, trauma, and betrayal to many people worldwide, with most stories never heard.  But if humankind can be industrious enough to put a man on the moon, and if humankind can be inventive enough to create the internet so that voices everywhere can be heard and preserved, surely humankind can also figure out ways to work together to empower decency, dignity, and diplomacy so that more people will have a better chance to live in peace with the rule of fair and just laws shaping a better future for all our children.

 “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” Khalil Gibran (1883-1931), born in Lebanon, immigrated to the United States in 1895 where he grew up to become a beloved poet and respected writer.

"There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies" Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968)

Kerry heads to talks on Palestinian statehood bid: "There are a lot of different folks pushing in different directions out there, and the question is can we all pull in the same direction," Kerry said Friday, when asked about his meeting with Netanyahu."

It's all interconnected- ending the Israel-Palestine conflict with a just and lasting peace based on a two state solution would go a long way towards ending the refugee crises and the religious extremism inspired by that conflict.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Shibley Telhami 2014: The power and weakness of inciting violence

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

King Abdullah of Jordan says the threat posed by ISIS represents a struggle between "good and evil." (AP)

Hussein Ibish: Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians

Tala Haikal: Empathy Is Essential to Humanity

To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace : "The only way to honor our tragic histories is to create a future for our children free of man-made tragedy. This means making peace fully, completely and without reservation, between Israel and Palestine." Ziad Asali

STAY CONNECTED... 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 countries

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?

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

Kerry: 'Imperative' to resume Israel-Palestinian talks: "There wasn't a leader I met with in the region who didn't raise with me spontaneously the need to try to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because it was a cause of recruitment and of street anger and agitation,"

"...  We need "to find a way to create two states that can live together side by side, two peoples, with both of their aspirations being respected," Kerry added.

"I still believe that's possible, and I still believe we need to work towards it."

He said the unresolved Israel-Palestinian conflict was fueling recruitment for the Islamic State militant group.

"There wasn't a leader I met with in the region who didn't raise with me spontaneously the need to try to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because it was a cause of recruitment and of street anger and agitation," Kerry said.

"People need to understand the connection of that. And it has something to do with humiliation and denial and absence of dignity," he added.

Kerry was the architect of the resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process between July 2013 and April, which broke down after Israel announced plans for 700 new illegal settlements..."

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 http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=733668

Kerry: 'Imperative' to resume Israel-Palestinian talks

 ***

Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967... Al-Aqsa Mosque (Arabic:المسجد الاقصى al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, IPA: [ʔælˈmæsdʒɪd ælˈʔɑqsˤɑ] ( listen), "the Farthest Mosque") also known as Al-Aqsa and Bayt al-Muqaddas, is the third holiest site in Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. The site on which the silver domed mosque sits, along with the Dome of the Rock, also referred to as al-Haram ash-Sharif or "Noble Sanctuary,"

The Arab Peace Initiative

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:

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.

3. Consequently, the Arab countries affirm the following:

I- Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region.

II- Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.

Translating the Obvious ... A poem for peace in Growing Gardens for Palestine by Anne Selden Annab

Translating the Obvious

"... a renewed commitment from everybody to work for peace that meets the aspirations of all, for Israelis, for Palestinians for all people of this region" John Kerry's call for a lasting Mideast peace

A
(singular- a united push
in and for peace)


RENEWED
(start now convinced peace
is decidedly better than war)


COMMITMENT FROM EVERYONE
(no matter who you are weigh in
for a just and lasting peace)


TO WORK
(resist distractions- focus,
put in all your best efforts)


FOR PEACE
(for a better future
for all our children)


THAT MEETS THE ASPIRATIONS OF ALL,
(freedom, freedom from fear & freedom
from want & freedom from bigotry &


freedom from one-state cynics and thieves
who thrive on the continuation of the conflict)


FOR ISRAELIS
(a fully secular Israel
fully respecting universal human rights
& the rule of fair and just laws)


FOR PALESTINIANS
(a fully secular Palestine
fully respecting universal human rights
& the rule of fair and just laws)


FOR ALL PEOPLE
(human beings- all equally part
of the human family,
and all equally responsible
for what is said, what is heard,
what will be... Invest all the goodness
and decency, all the honor and dignity,
all the compassion and hope and clarity
you can muster into conscientiously
ending the Israel-Palestine conflict)


FOR ALL PEOPLE
OF THIS REGION
(and beyond)

U.S. calls for renewed commitment to lasting Mideast peace: "... a renewed commitment from everybody to work for peace that meets the aspirations of all, for Israelis, for Palestinians for all people of this region"

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attends the Gaza international donors conference in Cairo October 12, 2014. Kerry announced on Sunday an additional $212 million in aid to the Palestinian people at a Cairo conference on rebuilding Gaza following a war earlier this year. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

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http://news.yahoo.com/u-calls-renewed-commitment-lasting-mideast-peace-101544372.html

CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Sunday for a renewed commitment to achieving Middle East peace, saying a lasting deal between Israel, the Palestinians and all their neighbors could be achieved.

"Out of this conference must come not just money but a renewed commitment from everybody to work for peace that meets the aspirations of all, for Israelis, for Palestinians for all people of this region. And I promise you the full commitment of president Obama, myself and the United States to try to do that," Kerry told a Gaza reconstruction conference in Cairo. 

"Everything else will be a band aid fix, not a long-term solution... Everything else will be the prisoner of impatience and that has brought us to this unacceptable and unstable status quo."

The latest round of U.S.-brokered peace talks foundered in April over Israeli objections to a Palestinian political unity pact including the Islamist Hamas movement and Palestinian objections to unremitting Israeli settlement growth.

(Reporting by Stephen Kalin and Lin Noueihed, editing by John Stonestreet)

US condemns 'heinous murder' of Palestinian teen

US Secretary of State John Kerry

"The world has too often learned the hard way that violence only leads to more violence and at this tense and dangerous moment, all parties must do everything in their power to protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not recrimination and retribution"

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http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/top-news/us-condemns-heinous-murder-of-palestinian-teen/ngXw9/

The Associated Press 

WASHINGTON —

The Obama administration is condemning the killing of a Palestinian teenager as a "despicable act" and is calling on the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the United States "condemns in the strongest possible terms" the death of 17-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir, which followed the discovery in the West Bank on Monday of the bodies of three abducted Israeli teenagers.

"We hope to swiftly see the guilty parties brought to justice," Earnest told reporters. "We call on the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to take all necessary steps to prevent an atmosphere of revenge and retribution. People who undertake acts of vengeance will only destabilize an already volatile and emotional situation."...READ MORE

Statement by U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, on the Abduction and Murder of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir... "The world has too often learned the hard way that violence only leads to more violence and at this tense and dangerous moment, all parties must do everything in their power to protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not recrimination and retribution."

http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/07/228699.htm?goMobile=0

Abduction and Murder of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir

Press Statement

John Kerry
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

July 2, 2014

---

The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the despicable and senseless abduction and murder of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir. It is sickening to think of an innocent 17 year old boy snatched off the streets and his life stolen from him and his family. There are no words to convey adequately our condolences to the Palestinian people.

The authorities are investigating this tragedy, a number of Israeli and Palestinian officials have condemned it, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has been emphatic in calling for all sides “not to take the law into their own hands”. Those who undertake acts of vengeance only destabilize an already explosive and emotional situation. We look to both the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to take all necessary steps to prevent acts of violence and bring their perpetrators to justice. The world has too often learned the hard way that violence only leads to more violence and at this tense and dangerous moment, all parties must do everything in their power to protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not recrimination and retribution.

******

Churches for Middle East Peace

Churches for Middle East Peace expresses its abhorrence and dismay at the news that the three Israeli students abducted on June 12 were found dead yesterday near Hebron in the West Bank. This is a horrific act for which there can be no excuse or rationale.

We also deplore the disproportionate response to the kidnappings by Israeli security forces that has contributed to the deaths of several Palestinian youths. This violence clearly is a symptom of a long conflict and occupation that must be resolved if more tragic losses are to be avoided.

We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint at this difficult time.

Have you taken action yet to condemn the destruction at the Nassar family farm?

Annie's Notes

SUBJECT:  Condemn the Recent Violence & Injustice by Israeli Forces

Dear Mr. Secretary,

Sometimes form letters are the only way to say something... for when it comes to Palestine it has all been said, and yet still, the very real plight of the Palestinians remains dire.

The destruction of over 1,500 trees on the farm of Daoud Nassar near Bethlehem by Israeli Forces on May 19 is but the latest in a series of actions or threats of action by Israeli authorities  aimed at separating farmers and herders from their land in the occupied Palestinian territories.

I call on you to publicly call attention to this Israeli practice and condemn it as a barrier to peace.

Sincerley,
Anne Selden Annab

http://action.cmep.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=17591

URGENT ACTION : Tent of Nations Farm Uprooted by Israeli Forces

Last Monday morning Israeli forces uprooted some 1,500 fruit trees on a farm of Daoud Nassar, a Lutheran farmer with land near Bethlehem. He is well known to many US visitors as the head of “Tent of Nations” and has fought to hold on to his family’s land in the face of opposition by nearby settlers.  His motto is “We Refuse To Be Enemies.”    
In a nationwide telephone conference organized by CMEP on Tuesday, he stressed the importance of non-violent resistance by Palestinians to the occupation and expropriation of land by Israeli authorities.  His farm is surrounded by growing Israeli settlements east of the Green Line but west of the separation barrier/wall.

The destruction of the trees this week on the Nassar farm seems consistent with long standing  efforts by Israeli authorities to force Palestinian farmers and herders off the land by various means, including  more construction of the wall that separates farmers from their land; demolition  orders for structures in newly declared military firing zones; and destruction of water cisterns  used by farmers for their animals.

Tell Secretary of State Kerry that the U.S. must publicly condemn systematic efforts by Israeli  authorities to force Palestinians off their land.

John Kerry

U.S. Department of State

Email:kerryj@state.gov

 

FORM LETTER

 

 Working together
Justice can prevail
Peace is possible

Middle East peace: The concrete proof of Israel’s opposition to a two-state solution - the construction of nearly 14,000 homes in occupied territories

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/middle-east-peace-the-concrete-proof-of-israels-opposition-to-a-twostate-solution--the-construction-of-nearly-14000-homes-in-occupied-territories-9303236.html

A fourfold increase in settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem seen as key reason for failure of peace talks

Josef Federman

Jerusalem

Tuesday 29 April 2014 

 

Israel increased settlement work fourfold during the latest round of peace talks, pushing ahead with the construction of nearly 14,000 homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, a watchdog group has said.

 

Peace Now issued its statistics as a nine-month negotiating period between Israel and the Palestinians came to a close. The group cited Israel’s construction surge as a key reason for the failure.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had envisioned brokering a final peace agreement when he brought the sides together last July. But talks made no progress and were characterised by a lack of trust, in large part because of continued Israeli construction in captured territories claimed by the Palestinians.

The Palestinians seek the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, along with the Gaza Strip, for an independent state. They say Israeli construction is a sign of bad faith.

Israel captured all three areas in 1967, although it withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Today, more than 550,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem...READ MORE
 

Arabs urge U.S. to keep up Mideast peace push

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki: "We are committed as Palestinians and Arabs to the negotiation process and the April 29 date and continuing to deal with the efforts that the American administration and John Kerry are making to find a way out of this crisis..."

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http://news.yahoo.com/arabs-urge-u-keep-mideast-peace-push-154946327--sector.html

Arab Foreign Ministers and their delegations attend the Arab Foreign Ministers' meeting at the Arab League headquarter in Cairo. April 9, 2014. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Arab League called on the United States on Wednesday to keep up efforts to salvage Middle East peace talks that are on the brink of collapse, blaming Israel for a crisis that has led Washington to evaluate its role in the negotiations.

At a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, the Arab League said Israel was responsible for the "serious predicament" facing the negotiations, citing its failure to release about two dozen Palestinian prisoners as one of the major causes.

"(The ministers) called on America to continue its efforts for the resumption of the negotiation track that obliges Israel to implement its commitments ... according to the agreed time frame," a League statement said.

The U.S.-brokered negotiations plunged into crisis last week after Israel, demanding a Palestinian commitment to continue talking after the end of the month, failed to carry out the promised release of about two dozen Palestinian prisoners.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded by signing 15 global treaties, including the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war and occupations, on behalf of the State of Palestine, a defiant move that surprised Washington and angered Israel.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who had hoped to reach a peace deal by April 29, said on Friday that Washington was evaluating whether it was worth continuing its role in the Middle East talks, saying it was "not an open-ended effort".

Israel announced on Wednesday a partial freeze in high-level contacts with the Palestinians in retaliation for their signing international conventions it contends they are not entitled to endorse before formal establishment of a state.

Underscoring the Palestinians' main concern - economic measures imposed by Israel - the Arab League said Arab states must meet their financial commitments to the Palestinian Authority "to provide an Arab financial safety net".

Under interim peace deals, Israel collects and transfers to the PA some $100 million a month in taxes on goods imported into the Palestinian territories. Israel has previously frozen the payments during times of heightened tensions ...READ MORE

***

BBC News Profile: The League of Arab States, or Arab League, is a voluntary association of countries whose peoples are mainly Arabic speaking or where Arabic is an official language.
Its stated aims are to strengthen ties among member states, coordinate their policies and direct them towards a common good.

"...Kerry told the Senate panel that leaders on both sides said they want the negotiations to continue, and U.S. mediators are talking to them. “I’m not going to suggest anything is imminent, but one always has to remain hopeful in this very difficult, complicated process,” Kerry said. "

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry changed his travel plans today to squeeze in a last-minute visit to Israel and the West Bank.Photographer: Jacquelyn Martin/AFP via Getty Images

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-08/israel-acts-derailed-palestinian-peace-talks-kerry-says.html

Israeli Ministers Cut Off Meetings With Palestinians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered cabinet ministers to stop meeting with their Palestinian counterparts, a government official said, hours after the U.S. blamed Israel for the breakdown of peace talks.

Israeli government officials have been told to refrain from meeting their Palestinian counterparts because the Palestinians violated commitments made under the peace talks, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss diplomacy for the record.

Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry charged that the announcement of 708 new Jewish homes in east Jerusalem derailed eight months of Mideast peace talks. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he said the sides were closer to resolving differences over a delayed Israeli release of Palestinian prisoners when “700 settlement units were announced in Jerusalem and, poof, that was sort of the moment.”

While Kerry said both sides took “unhelpful actions,” some Israeli officials fumed at his suggestion that Israel’s April 1 announcement of settlement construction brought the talks to collapse....READ MORE

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"There is no meaning to prolonging the negotiation, even for one more additional hour, if Israel, represented by its current government, continues to disregard international law," PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told AFP. "If there was a committed partner, we wouldn't even have needed nine hours..."

(MaanImages/file)

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http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=677252

PLO negotiator rejects US moves to extend peace talks

 RAMALLAH (AFP) -- A senior Palestinian official on Thursday rejected US moves to extend an April deadline for nine months of talks with Israel to culminate in a framework peace deal.

"There is no meaning to prolonging the negotiation, even for one more additional hour, if Israel, represented by its current government, continues to disregard international law," PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told AFP.

"If there was a committed partner, we wouldn't even have needed nine hours to reach that deal," he said.

He was responding to comments by US Secretary of State John Kerry who told reporters in Washington on Wednesday that more time would be needed and that he hoped first to agree a framework to guide further talks.

It was Kerry who coaxed the two sides back to the negotiating table in late July, after a three-year hiatus.

"Then we get into the final negotiations. I don't think anybody would worry if there's another nine months, or whatever it's going to be... But that's not defined yet," he said.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said last month that he expected the time-frame to be lengthened.

"We are now trying to reach a framework to continue negotiations for a period beyond the nine months some thought would suffice for reaching a permanent accord," he said.

Palestinians will not sway on principles, Abbas tells Kerry

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http://www.worldbulletin.net/world/129311/palestinians-will-not-sway-on-principles-abbas-tells-kerry

At a Wednesday meeting in Paris, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated to US Secretary of State John Kerry that the PA would not accept any agreement that didn't uphold five "fixed" principles as spelt out by the Palestinian side.

 World Bulletin / News Desk
 

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated to US Secretary of State John Kerry that the PA would not compromise on longstanding Palestinian principles in ongoing peace talks with Israel, an Abbas spokesman said on Thursday.

At a Wednesday meeting in Paris, Abbas reiterated to Kerry that the PA would not accept any agreement that didn't uphold five "fixed" principles as spelt out by the Palestinian side.

"The Palestinian position is fixed," Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah told official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

"We will not recognize a 'Jewish state,' nor will we approve illegal [Jewish-only] settlements," he said. "We are committed to achieving a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with Al-Quds [occupied east Jerusalem] as its capital."

Abbas also called for a "just solution" to the issue of Palestinian refugees and the release of all Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails, according to the spokesman.

Direct US-brokered peace talks between Israel and Palestine resumed in Washington last summer after a nearly three-year pause.

Abbas is the president of the PA-controlled West Bank, while the Gaza Strip has been governed by Hamas – the PA's political rival – since 2007.

Earlier this month, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya said his group would reject any framework peace agreement hammered out by the PA and Israel.

Kerry, during his visit to the region last month, presented both sides with a proposed framework for an eventual peace agreement that addresses "final status issues" – namely, borders, security, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem.

About 500,000 Israelis now live in more than one hundred Jewish-only settlements built since Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967. The Palestinians want these areas, along with the Gaza Strip, in which to establish their future state.

Palestinians insist that the issue of Israeli settlement-building must be addressed before a comprehensive final-status agreement can be reached.

My letter to the NYTimes RE Whose Garbage Is This Anyway? by Thomas L. Friedman

Friends of Earth ME: Bringing together Jordanian, Palestinian, and Israeli environmentalists.

https://twitter.com/FoEMidEast

Website http://www.foeme.org

RE Whose Garbage Is This Anyway? by Thomas L. Friedman
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/opinion/sunday/friedman-whose-garbage-is-this-anyway.html?ref=international

Dear Editor,

Friends of the Earth Middle East, an umbrella organization representing leading environmental non-governmental organizations in the Middle East, has the right priorities- and the right approach... and Thomas L. Friedman is wise to suggest that Secretary of State John Kerry take Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on an eco-tour to see “the seeping time bomb that’s ticking underneath both of them.”

The complexities and numerous negative ramifications of the Israel-Palestine conflict will only get more complex and more ruinous with time, with dangerous consequences for the entire region.  

One can look for reasons to dismiss peace and Palestine, or one can choose to weigh in with hope.  

I'd rather weigh in with hope and look for educated, intelligent and diplomatic others who do so too. Negotiations right now based on full respect for international law and universal basic human rights need to be taken seriously. On all fronts there are articulate and compassionate people already doing all they can to help build a better way forward...

"If the current American-led peace initiative succeeds, it could be the “tipping point” for stability, peace and prosperity in the entire region." Ahmad Y. Majdoubeh Current peace efforts should not fail

In a recent op-ed The Road to the Arab Civil State Dr. Ziad Asali of the American Task Force on Palestine concludes that "These challenges are gigantic, but the crucial thing is to begin moving in the right direction. Once the process is underway, it is the responsibility of like-minded people to work together and develop the necessary compromises and consensus views that can begin to coalesce on the ground and online to develop a better and safer future for the region. The path will be long and difficult, but it is unavoidable and failure cannot be an option."

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Children of the occupation: growing up in Palestine

Israel demolished 27 Palestinian homes in Palestine's Jordan Valley in January... leaving 147 people homeless

ISRAELI DEMOLITIONS OF PALESTINIAN PROPERTY IN THE JORDAN VALLEY, 2013... UNITED NATIONS OCHA MAP

Free to Fund Palestine ... a Growing Gardens for Palestine poem by Anne Selden Annab

UNITED NATIONS: Give Peace a Chance... The year 2014 has been proclaimed the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

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 countries
The Office of International Religious Freedom
( http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/ )

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

Refugees, Borders & Jerusalem
"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

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

Refugees and the Right of Return
We call for a just solution to our refugee issue in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194. Our position on refugees is also included and supported in the Arab Peace Initiative (API), which calls for “a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194.” A just solution to the refugee issue must address two aspects: the right of return and reparations.

The Arab Peace Initiative

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:

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.

3. Consequently, the Arab countries affirm the following:

I- Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states of the region.

II- Establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.

John Kerry defends US foreign policy “The reason we’re so devoted to finding a solution is simple: Because the benefits of success and the dangers of failure are enormous for the United States, for the world, for the region and, most importantly of all, for the Israeli and Palestinian people,” US secretary of state John Kerry at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

EU warns Israel, Palestinians of the cost of peace failure

Analysis: Why Palestinian leadership is right to engage in peace talks

Ziad Asali of ATFP: Why Palestinians are puzzled by the 'Jewish state' demand... Netanyahu's demand for recognition of Israel as a Jewish state bizarrely inserts Palestinians into the 'Who is a Jew' debate

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 1

• All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

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

 Live by the Golden Rule

John Kerry defends US foreign policy

“The reason we’re so devoted to finding a solution is simple: Because the benefits of success and the dangers of failure are enormous for the United States, for the world, for the region and, most importantly of all, for the Israeli and Palestinian people,” US secretary of state John Kerry at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

ATFP American Task Force on Palestine:

Sec Kerry speech in Davos 2014 Palestine part

My letter to the NYTimes RE Secretary Kerry’s Derring-Do by Thomas L Friedman

The Jerusalem Arbitration Center: An Israeli former peace negotiator, Oren Shachor, and Palestinian tycoon Munib Al-Masri have founded the Jerusalem Arbitration Center, in a rare example of cooperation aimed at bypassing the political pitfalls of decades of conflict....Centre officials said they hope the availability of arbitration will lead to an increase in Israeli-Palestinian business ties and attract foreign investment. Two-thirds of the annual trade between Israel and the West Bank consists of Israeli exports to the territory.

RE Secretary Kerry’s Derring-Doby Thomas L Friedman
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/opinion/friedman-secretary-kerrys-derring-do.html?ref=international

Dear Editor,

Friedman certainly is taking liberties with his podium at the NYTimes as he asserts, with what sounds like an air of absolute authority, that Kerry is saying (or should be telling) Palestinians that there will be no return to original homes and lands for Palestinian refugees.

I vehemently disagree with Friedman's advice about Palestinian refugees, not only because his advice is in direct conflict with the dictates of international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but also because I believe that a person's religion should not ever ever EVER be the determining factor for security and citizenship and job opportunities. 

Israel's choices must not be about being Jewish: Israel's choices must be about being a sovereign nation making sovereign choices that respect international law, basic human rights and every citizen's need for security and peace- regardless of supposed race or religion.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

 NOTES

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 1

• All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

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

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 countries

 Live by the Golden Rule

Welcome to Bethlehem, Secretary Kerry: A call for humanity by Bethlehem Mayor Vera Baboun

 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

"Secretary Kerry, just as our city received Joseph and Mary more than 2,000 years ago, in 1948 Bethlehem received waves of refugees expelled from their homes in the Jerusalem area. Today they live mainly in three refugee camps in and around the city: Duheisha, al-Azza and Aida. Many have held onto the keys of their original homes for generations. Their keys, dear secretary, are not a symbol of revenge, but a call for humanity."Bethlehem Mayor Vera Baboun

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=644870

Published Wednesday 06/11/2013 (updated) 09/11/2013

Bethlehem Mayor Vera Baboun pictured in front of the Church
of the Nativity.

By Vera Baboun

Dear Secretary Kerry,
You are most welcome to the holy city of Bethlehem. It is an honor for me, as the mayor of Bethlehem, to welcome you on your most recent trip to our occupied homeland, in order to achieve the two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. The nobility of your goal makes me extremely proud of your visit, and particularly because Bethlehem serves for many as an eye-opener.

Our biblical city could be one of the driving forces for our state. Just to give you an example: The distance between the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is only 10 kilometers, and a highway would link us with the Dead Sea in less than 20 minutes. However, Palestinian control in Bethlehem has been reduced to 13 percent of the district. The rest of our land has been taken either by Israeli settlers or by a foreign army. In fact, just as when Vice President Joe Biden visited back in 2010, some hours before your arrival, Israel approved hundreds of new housing units for settlements around our besieged city. This approval included units in Gilo and Har Homa, both built on our land with the goal of severing the historic connection between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

Secretary Kerry, just as our city received Joseph and Mary more than 2,000 years ago, in 1948 Bethlehem received waves of refugees expelled from their homes in the Jerusalem area. Today they live mainly in three refugee camps in and around the city: Duheisha, al-Azza and Aida. Many have held onto the keys of their original homes for generations. Their keys, dear secretary, are not a symbol of revenge, but a call for humanity. They reflect an open wound that will only heal with the restoration of their dignity through the respect of their right to choose their future.

Secretary Kerry, we are a nation of refugees. We all have been victims of Israeli policies of forced displacement and replacement with foreign settlers by the State of Israel. This war crime must be stopped in order to give peace a chance. Today, while foreign settlers continue to flow into our district, thousands of daughters and sons of Bethlehem are spread all over the world, in places as far flung as Australia, Chile and the US, all of them denied right to return to their homeland. This is morally unacceptable.

Dear Secretary, we have heard about your economic projects for Palestine. They seem to be very positive and the people of Bethlehem are grateful for the attention you have given to our city. But please allow me to reiterate that no true economic development is possible as far as Israel continues its occupation of our country. As the World Bank confirmed a few weeks ago, we continue to lose billions of dollars because of the Israeli occupation.

Once we are free we are ready to develop our state just as successful Palestinian professionals have helped to develop the economies of wherever they have lived. Now it is their time to freely develop their own country without any foreign intervention. It is Palestine’s time to reach her potential, beginning with freedom of movement, and genuine sovereignty, including control over our international borders. In our case, Secretary Kerry, the same wall that you will come through to enter our city must fall in order to revitalize our historic ties with East Jerusalem, our national capital.

In Bethlehem we resist the occupation with love and hope. I hope you will have the chance to participate in one of the weekly Catholic masses that our community organizes at Cremisan; a time where we pray against the latest expropriation orders that will leave 58 Palestinian Christian families without access to their lands in one of the last green areas left in our district. I hope you might also find time to witness the steadfastness of the people of Walaja, a community that was originally displaced in 1948 and that today is being completely encircled by the Israeli annexation wall. Perhaps you might see the peaceful demonstrations of the people of Maasara, who are violently repressed by Israeli occupation forces, or the advocacy work of the people of Artas, Khirbet Nakhle and the southern Bethlehem area against new plans to expand the settlement of Efrat on their lands.

Dear Secretary Kerry, you are most welcome in Bethlehem, a city surrounded by 27 ever-expanding Israeli settlements, sealed off by an annexation wall built deep inside our district’s land. Even under these circumstances, we are working hard to look after our city. The restorations to the Nativity Church supported by UNESCO after Palestine obtained full membership in the organization, is another great example of how, in Bethlehem, we defy the occupation with love and creativity. Dear Secretary Kerry, you are most welcome to our city, please feel at home.

Sincerely,

Vera Baboun, Mayor of Bethlehem