Palestinian women, walk next to a mural depicting the Al-Aqsa mosque in the West Bank town of Jenin, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she is frustrated by the latest setback in efforts to get Israel and the Palestinians back to the peace table, but she insists the Obama administration will keep pushing. Arabic text on left reads 'Freedom, Justice'. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas)

A Palestinian woman walks past part of Israel's separation barrier with a mural depicting a zipper being opened to reveal a Palestinian flag in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she is frustrated by the latest setback in efforts to get Israel and the Palestinians back to the peace table, but she insists the Obama administration will keep pushing. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

A tourist walks past part of Israel's separation barrier with a mural on it depicting the Al-Aqsa mosque and Jerusalem in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she is frustrated by the latest setback in efforts to get Israel and the Palestinians back to the peace table, but she insists the Obama administration will keep pushing.(AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

Palestinian farmer Isa Sawafta stands on the frame of his cucumber greenhouse as he tries to fix damage caused by powerful wind gusts in the West Bank village of Bardala, in the northern Jordan Valley December 12, 2010. Squalls battered the West Bank and Israel's coast and interior on Sunday, disrupting shipping and road traffic and bringing some snow to the north of the country following an especially parched winter. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini (WEST BANK - Tags: AGRICULTURE ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY)

In this aerial photo from files dated Oct. 20, 2005, Muslim worshippers gather outside the Dome of the Rock Mosque, in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, also known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and Jews gather at the Western Wall, bottom center, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem's Old City. Conventional wisdom on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking has long held that Israel should relinquish most of the lands it occupied in 1967 in favor of a Palestinian state, the 'two-state solution' that much of the world has supported for years, but Mohammed Ishtayeh, a senior adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said on Sunday Dec. 12, 2010 'If Israel continues with these measures that it is employing today the possibility of a two-state solution becomes very slim'.« Read less (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer, File)

Palestinian Wadea Abdel-Haq, 9 In this photo taken Friday, Dec. 10, 2010, Palestinian Wadea Abdel-Haq, 9, right, plays near his house in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras el-Amud. Riot police arrested Wadel Abdel-Haq and his friend Omar Abu-Saoud and took them and their fathers to the station for questioning on suspicion of stone-throwing. An Israeli human rights group has accused police of arresting Palestinian minors as young as five in east Jerusalem and dealing with them in ways it says violate Israel law. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

Palestinian university students take part in a chess competition at the Arab American University in the West Bank city of Jenin December 13, 2010. Twenty-four university students took part in the first stage of the competition, which was for Palestinian universities. The winners of this stage will face off for the right to participate in a bigger competition comprising of universities from the Arab world. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini (WEST BANK - Tags: SPORT CHESS EDUCATION)

FILE- thousands of Palestinian children throw ** FOR USE AS DESIRED, YEAR END PHOTOS ** FILE -In this July 22, 2010 file photo, thousands of Palestinian children throw basketballs to the air to celebrate their attempt to break the world record for the number of basketballs bounced simultaneously, in the destroyed Gaza international airport in Rafah southern Gaza Strip. The top U.N. aid official says more than 7,000 Gaza children have simultaneously dribbled basketballs for five minutes in an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Records. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

Palestinian Umm Eyad, 45, pours olives ** FOR USE AS DESIRED, YEAR END PHOTOS ** FILE -In this Sept. 27, 2010 file photo, Palestinian Umm Eyad, 45, pours olives from a bucket she picked before sorting out the leaves, during the harvest on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

Jordan's Queen Rania speaks at a fund-raising dinner for Madrasati Palestine in Manama December 13, 2010. The dinner raised more than $780,000 for Madrasati Palestine, which was launched by Rania to renovate schools in the Palestinian territories. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed (BAHRAIN - Tags: SOCIETY EDUCATION ROYALS)

Crossing into Israel from West bank town - In this Dec. 5, 2010 file photo an Israeli officer walks next to Palestinian firefighters, crossing into Israel from the West bank town of Jenin through Al-Jalameh checkpoint, in order to help to extinguish the fire in northern Israel. Israel had to cancel a Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010, ceremony meant to honor Palestinian firefighters who helped battle Israel's worst wildfire after some of the Palestinians were denied entry into Israel. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas)

A Palestinian man walks past a portion of Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. Tourists from all over the world are expected to flock to Jesus' traditional birthplace to celebrate the Christmas holiday this month. The writing on the wall reads 'Merry Christmas world from Bethlehem ghetto'. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

David Bowie and Bing Crosby - Little Drummer Boy

Hussein Ibish: Sec. Clinton's speech offers new opportunities for Palestinians

Not walking away from peace just yet

Hussein Ibish

To read more: http://www.nowlebanon.com/Default.aspx#ixzz186zMwnV0

Sec. Clinton's speech offers new opportunities for Palestinians

December 14, 2010 - 12:00am

by Hussein Ibish

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s speech at the Brookings Institution on December 10 has again shown that the Obama administration is not willing to walk away from efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in spite of the obstacles and setbacks it is facing. The position Clinton laid out presents an important potential opportunity for Palestinians to make the point that they are ready for and serious about peace, and to test Israel’s willingness.

Clinton delivered a well-balanced and clearheaded appraisal of US interests and was unambiguous about the importance of ending the conflict and the occupation. The secretary gave what is probably the strongest ever statement by a senior US official about Palestinian statehood, calling it “inevitable.” She described the occupation as “unacceptable” and “unsustainable,” and left no doubt that from the American perspective it must be ended.

Clinton also said the Obama administration plans to intensify its support for Palestinian state-building efforts. Since it now views Palestinian statehood as inevitable, Washington has a strong interest in using the state-building program to advance that cause in parallel to the diplomacy and to lay the groundwork for a successful, rather than a failed, state.

The secretary cautioned Palestinians against unilateral diplomatic moves, and Israel, in slightly stronger language, against “provocative announcements on East Jerusalem.” And she dismissed out of hand any notion of “economic peace,” saying that “economic and institutional progress ... is not a substitute for a political resolution,” and that such ideas are “wrong” and “dangerous.”

In addition, Clinton left no doubt that the US remains committed, perhaps more than ever, to resolving the conflict through an agreement that establishes a Palestinian state. US diplomatic language on this point is deepening and intensifying, and this reflects a growing policy commitment to that outcome.

Clinton also said the US will press the parties to make their positions on key final-status issues as specific and clear as possible. This could spell trouble for leaders on both sides (particularly Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu), who for political reasons prefers to remain ambiguous about some controversial questions. If the Palestinians present straightforward positions on the final-status issues and Netanyahu does not, it will not only be an enormously clarifying development, but will also potentially set the stage for a more assertive American role in spite of Israeli objections.

It would be wrong to be cynical when senior US officials make Washington’s commitment to this outcome so unmistakably clear. The US has many options, but the situation is so delicate that most of them would probably make matters worse. The path the administration has chosen – to make sure everyone understands what is expected at the end of the day and that the US is not walking away – and at the same time emphasizing caution and recognizing the delicacy of the politics on both sides while pushing them to reveal their own intentions, is probably the most advisable course at present.

A combination of quiet diplomacy, looking for openings with the parties and getting them to take clear, specific positions on core issues, along with intensified support for state-building, might be the only serious, politically plausible US response at this stage.

Palestinians were unwise to allow themselves to be sucked into the settlement freeze extension gimmick, and should welcome the opportunity to focus on final-status issues, such as borders and Jerusalem. In the end, any practicable agreement will require Israel to relinquish control over a considerable amount of the settlements it has built anyway, so the settlement issue is a subset of the border issue, which is the real bone of contention.

No matter how frustrated they might be with the failure to secure an extension to the partial, temporary settlement freeze moratorium, Palestinians should welcome the renewed and rhetorically intensified US commitment to ending the occupation and securing the establishment of a Palestinian state. The bottom line is that while Washington remains committed to Israel’s security, it is also committed, in its own interests, to Palestinian independence and an end to the Israeli occupation. In other words, the world’s only superpower and Israel’s patron is genuinely committed to securing the Palestinian national goal.

Clinton gave the Palestinians a lot to work with and welcome, but, like the Israelis, they have yet to convince Washington of their seriousness about achieving a negotiated agreement. They should embrace the secretary’s call for the parties to take clear positions on final-status issues and lay out their vision for the future as specifically as possible. They would then probably be able to demonstrate that their vision of the future is closer to the US view than Israel’s is, assuming the Israelis are willing to reveal any vision at all.

Palestinians would thereby give the United States every reason to increase its support for the party better in sync with its own policies.

My letter to the Guardian RE Palestinians' future is in their hands. The creation of a Palestinian state is closer than ever – but only if...

RE: Palestinians' future is in their hands. The creation of a Palestinian state is closer than ever – but only if its leadership accepts Israel's place on the map http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/14/palestinian-state-future-israel

Dear Editor,

It does not take UN Resolution 194 from 1948 to convince me that FULLY respecting the Palestinian refugees right to return to original homes and lands is a crucial part of creating a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

194 is simply one clear and easy to understand reference for a much larger and totally universal truth about justice and security for all people- regardless of supposed race or religion.

Palestinians in agreeing to a negotiated settlement to craft a two state solution that ends the Israel/Palestine conflict have already acknowledged Israel's place on the map: Israel obviously is- that reality is quite well known, but what will Israel be ten or twenty years from now as it foolishly continues to invest in and promote institutionalized bigotry?

Long term survival for both Israel and Palestine depends on investing on a better way forward- for everyone's sake.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES

Towards a two-state solution and regional peace

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

Growing Gardens for Palestine

Core Issues

• The returning issue of Palestine's refugees
• Palestine

Refugees, Borders & Jerusalem...

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

My letter to the LA Times RE Who's stopping the peace process?

RE Who's stopping the peace process? Ask the Palestinians directly and openly if they're prepared to make any concessions. By Danny Ayalonhttp://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ayalon-peace-talks-20101214,0,5056630.story
comment i left online

AnneSeldenAnnab at 04:20 AM December 14, 2010

Israel's Danny Ayalon wants us to believe that Israel's ongoing land grabs and settlement projects are merely a red herring, but imagine having your own life disrupted by Zionist ideologues who want your land- your own private property as well as any and all inheritance from your parents.

Imagine your own family fragmented and impoverished (day in and day out for decades) by state policies and heavily armed pundits that prevent you from returning to your own home- or getting to your job.

Imagine a matrix of punitive curfews and checkpoints and the bureaucratic nightmare of paperwork created in order to help displace and silence you because you have been deemed the 'wrong' religion by those in power.

Fact is Israel as a fully sovereign nation state has the ability to stop investing in and promoting institutionalized bigotry. Israel has the power and the resourcefulness to end its own occupation of Palestinian territory. Israel also has the power and the legal obligation to fully respect the Palestinian refugees inalienable right to return to original homes and lands-as clearly affirmed by UN Resolution 194 from 1948. Where there is a will there is a way. The onus really is on Israel.

My letter to the New York Times RE A U.N. Plan for Israel By Robert Wright

RE: A U.N. Plan for Israel By Robert Wright
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/a-u-n-plan-for-israel/?ref=opinion

Dear Editor,

Israel's flagrant and ongoing violations of international law and the Palestinians basic human rights are an obvious rejection of existing U.N. initiatives that should have already brought peace and justice to the persecuted, impoverished, and displaced men, women and children of historic Palestine. How exactly will yet another resolution change that fact?

The UN is many impressive and inspiring things- but it is not a magic state making fairy. Zionists are the ones who created Israel sixty years ago, and Zionists are the ones who continue to shape and define Israel today by foolishly investing in institutionalized bigotry: Don't blame the UN for Israel's own abject failings.

Negotiations need to be about how to start respecting international law and basic human rights across the board.... how to begin again so that both Israel and Palestine (as two separate and sovereign nation states) are able and willing to invest in a just and lasting peace based on a secular two state solution to once and for all end the Israel/Palestine conflict.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES

Towards a two-state solution and regional peace

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

Growing Gardens for Palestine

Core Issues

• The returning issue of Palestine's refugees
• Palestine

Refugees, Borders & Jerusalem...

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

Ibishblog: Three questions about the occupation and prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace

http://www.ibishblog.com/blog/hibish/2010/12/13/three_questions_about_occupation_and_prospects_israeli_palestinian_peace

December 13, 2010 - 9:03am

An Ibishblog reader poses a series of questions about my recent articles:

Q: First, do you think that Israel could continue to hold out a decision onwhat to do with the Palestinians? Earlier you noted that stasis is not possible, but isn't that what we have had since the failure of Oslo, a "stasis" that perhaps dates back to 1967?

A: I say stasis is not possible for the state and institution building program. My point in this context is that this project is predicated on continual expansion and will wither and ultimately die if it does not continue to expand. It is this very quality that gives it its greatest strength in terms of challenging the occupation. It actually doesn't allow for what its strongest opponents on the Palestinian side accuse it of: accepting the status quo and making that work. If it doesn't keep expanding, it will start retracting and will not survive. If it isn't the project that lays the groundwork for statehood, it's pretty meaningless. An understanding of that was strongly expressed in Sec. Clinton's address at the Brookings Institution on December 10. I think there are a lot of Israelis who grudgingly understand it as well.

Yes, of course there has been a consistent status quo in the occupied territories since 1967, but only in the broadest possible sense. In June 1967 the occupied territories became occupied by Israel, and they remain occupied. But that's hardly “stasis.” The ebb and flow within the context of that occupation has been fairly dramatic, including the first intifada, the Oslo years, the second intifada and now the circumstances defined by the new Palestinian security forces and the state building program. And that's leaving out everything that's happened in Gaza. And of course the biggest single change has been the gradual introduction of what are now 500,000 Israeli settlers. You don't have stasis in the occupied territories even though you have an ongoing occupation. You have a continually deteriorating situation in terms of entrenching the occupation, anger on both sides and an expansion of the constituencies opposed to a reasonable peace agreement, and conditions that ensure that a failure to achieve a peace agreement will result in another round of bloodshed that is even worse and more religious than the last. Offsetting this are signs of the growing maturation in Palestinian strategy to deal with the occupation, particularly the state building program but also nonviolent protests, settlement boycotts and other such strategies.

The bottom line is the status quo of occupation is neither acceptable nor tenable. If it isn't resolved it will eventually erupt in another wave of terrible violence. The biggest illusion possible is that the situation is stable or manageable. One of the very few virtual certainties I think is worth accepting in this situation is that absent an agreement to end the occupation there will be wave after wave of violent resistance to it in unpredictable spasms. I'm also willing to bet those waves become increasingly violent and increasingly religious, as we can see developed during the first intifada and then throughout the second. I think it's even reasonable to put the Gaza war in exactly that context as a third example, and it only deepens my point. So, no, “stasis” isn't possible in the context of the occupation at all.

Q: Second, if Israel will not allow for the creation of a Palestinian state, what is the alternative that you allude to twice in your essay? How does it fit with the "broader agenda" you spoke of?

A: Of course the only real alternative outcome to an end to the occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state is further conflict....READ MORE

The Elders: We need peace in the Middle East, not just process.

The Elders: We need peace in the Middle East, not just process.

Israeli-Palestinian negotiations must be grounded in international law
and human rights – define borders and address security issues first.

13 December 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For nearly two decades, there have been peace processes in the Middle East but no peace. In our recent visits to four countries across the region and the occupied Palestinian territory, we heard a consistent message: people want peace, but are sceptical about the process and have little faith in the international community to deliver.

There is now an opportunity to reassess the entire approach to the negotiations. The flawed U.S. effort to secure from Israel another partial freeze on settlement-building, in exchange for generous inducements, as a way of resuming direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders has failed.

We now urge a renewed effort, firmly based on international law and respect for human rights, aimed at defining boundaries between Israel and a new Palestinian state and addressing security issues, without neglecting the other issues at the core of the conflict. Without such focus, we may see the possibility of a two-state solution slipping even further away.

Our primary purpose is to help bring peace and security to Israel and its neighbours.

We therefore call on governments and citizens around the world to insist that future negotiations are based on the following:

Universal human rights and respect for international humanitarian law must apply equally to all. The occupation must end, and the aim of negotiations should be to define the boundaries of a future Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, including its capital in East Jerusalem. Such an accord could entail, if agreed, a one-to-one land swap to allow for minor adjustments. Initial negotiations should also aim at security arrangements in which both Israelis and Palestinians have confidence. The remaining final status issues can be addressed more effectively once there is an agreement on borders and security. Israeli settlements are illegal and all settlement activity must halt throughout the occupied Palestinian territory including in East Jerusalem. Israel must lift its illegal and inhumane blockade of Gaza and stop the demolition and seizure of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza must end all human rights violations against political critics and rivals. Israel's right to exist must not be denied. Incitement and calls for the destruction of Israel must not be tolerated. The Arab Peace Initiative must serve as the basis for normalisation of relations between Israel and the Arab world.

Towards a two-state solution and regional peace

Israelis and Palestinians must ultimately agree to a solution, but they cannot do it alone.

The international community must help them reach that agreement through fair and robust mediation and by reconfirming prior agreements, UN Security Council resolutions, international law and human rights principles.

Citizens must step up pressure on their leaders.

As Elders, we will do all we can to persuade governments around the world to apply a rights-based approach to this terrible conflict and to turn the focus of initial negotiations to border and security issues.

We have already given our support to non-violent protest and creative civil action for peace. We will continue to do so – in person when we can and in spirit when we cannot.

Without a strategy that can deliver a peace agreement based on a two-state solution, Palestinians will continue to live under Israeli occupation, millions of Palestinian refugees will continue to live without hope and Israel’s survival and security remain under threat. If there is no real progress, more violence is the likely outcome.

Our greatest wish is that the Middle East will achieve lasting peace, stability and prosperity for all its people.

More information:
Read the report from the Elders's 2010 visit to the Middle East.
Read posts from the Elders, as well as those affected by the conflict, on the Elders' Middle East blog.
Following their trip to the Middle East, the Elders asked supporters to send in questions about the conflict. Their video responses were published on the Elders' YouTube Channel.

About The Elders

The Elders are an independent group of global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela in 2007, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace- building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity.

The Elders are Martti Ahtisaari, Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Lakhdar Brahimi, Gro Brundtland, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Jimmy Carter, Graça Machel, Mary Robinson and Desmond Tutu (Chair). Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi are honorary Elders.

Website: www.theElders.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/theElders
Twitter: www.twitter.com/theElders

Contact:

media@theElders.org

"Let Us Call On Israel To STOP SHOOTING CHILDREN!" Congressman Brian Baird

"In 2010 children in Bil'in and throughout the West bank are still being awakened in the middle of the night to find guns pointed at their heads. In the year that I have spent in prison, the military has carried out dozens of night raids in Bil'in with the purpose of removing those involved in the popular struggle against the occupation.

Imagine if heavily armed men forced their way into your home in the middle of the night. If your children were forced to watch as their father or brother was blindfolded, handcuffed, and taken away. Or if you as a parent were forced to watch this being done to your child.

This week the door of our cell was opened and a sixteen year boy was pushed inside. My friend Adeeb Abu Rahmeh was shocked to recognize his son, Mohammed, whom Adeeb had not seen since he himself was arrested during a nonviolent demonstration 16 months ago.

Mohammad smiled when he saw his Father, but his face was red and swollen and it was clear that he was in pain. He told us that he had been taken from his home two nights previously. He spent the first night blindfolded and shackled, being moved from one place to another. The next day after a terrifying, disoriented, and sleepless night he was taken to an interrogation room, his blindfold was removed and an interrogator showed him pictures of people from the village. When questioned about the first picture he told the interrogator that he did not recognize the person. The interrogator slapped him hard across the face. This continued with every question that Mohammad was asked: when he did not give the answer that the interrogator wanted, he was slapped, punched and threatened. Mohammad's treatment is not unusual.

Young boys from our village have been taken from their homes violently and report being denied sleep, food, and water and being kept in Isolation and threatened and often beaten during interrogation." Abdullah Abu Rahmah

A Message from Israeli Military Prison on International Human Rights Day

The Government of Israel has continued to choose settlements over peace, and colonization over ending its occupation

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MMAH-8C26N5?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR

Identical letters dated 2 December 2010 from the Permanent Observer of Paletine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

Source: United Nations General Assembly; United Nations Security Council

Date: 03 Dec 2010 A/ES-10/506 - S/2010/612

General Assembly

Tenth emergency special session

Security Council

Sixty-fifth year

Agenda item 5

Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Identical letters dated 2 December 2010 from the Permanent Observer of Paletine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

It is with grave concern that I must draw your attention to the continuation and intensification of Israel's illegal, massive colonial settlement campaign in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

In that connection, we wish to place on record our total condemnation of the approval by Israel, the occupying Power, of the construction of 625 new settlement units in the illegal Israeli settlement of "Pisgat Ze'ev" in Occupied East Jerusalem as announced on 1 December 2010. The latest unilateral, illegal measure comes on the heels of yet another unlawful announcement by the occupying Power, on 29 November 2010, to build 130 new settlement units in the illegal Israeli settlement of "Gilo", also in occupied East Jerusalem, on land confiscated from the Palestinian villages of Beit Jala, Shu'fat and Beit Safafa. As has been the case over the past years and months, the Government of Israel has continued to choose settlements over peace, and colonization over ending its occupation. These latest plans and announcements further confirm Israel's rejection of its legal obligations under international law, United Nations resolutions and the Quartet road map, as well as its rejection of the two-State solution for peace on the basis of the pre-1967 borders.

At the same time, Israel, the occupying Power, has continued to carry out additional actions that are obviously aimed at changing the status of Occupied East Jerusalem and at entrenching its illegitimate annexation of the city. In that regard, the first phase of the so-called Jerusalem light rail, which was initiated in 2005, is currently under construction. The route of the first instalment of the train line will connect the illegal Israeli settlements of "Neve Ya'aqov" and "Pisgat Ze'ev", via the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Shu'fat, to the West Jerusalem city centre and neighbourhoods. The so-called Jerusalem light rail will constitute additional infrastructure serving the illegal settlement network, which is not only in violation of international law but will also present further obstacles to the freedom of movement of the Palestinian population and detrimentally impact the fabric and presence of Palestinian life, including residence and livelihoods in the Old City. Moreover, such policies gravely undermine the prospects for the realization of the two-State solution since they deliberately and artificially sever East Jerusalem from the rest of the Palestinian Territory and destroy its contiguity and viability. We call on the international community to condemn this illegal action and to call on the occupying Power to halt all construction in this regard.

Full_Report (pdf* format - 36.1 Kbytes

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli agribusiness thrives off of the land and labor of the Jordan Valley Palestinians.

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MMAH-8C294E?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR

OPT, Haiti: Setting the Standard for Global Resource Rights Defense

Source: Grassroots International (GRI)

Date: 10 Dec 2010

The United Nations designates December 10 as International Human Rights Day. At Grassroots International, we give special recognition to the efforts of our partners and allies around the world—but for them, it's just another day in the trenches to realize these rights as communities in action.

From the Middle East to Latin America and the Caribbean to Africa and Asia, our partners engage in determined struggles for resource rights—the human rights to land, water, and food. Despite enormous obstacles like land grabs, poisoned water, and decreased access to local food, our partners build local solutions to solve problems from the bottom up.

In Gaza, Israeli authorities continually shift the buffer zone inward on the crowded population, decreasing access to some of the most fertile agricultural land and leaving people homeless—sometimes making them refugees for the second or third time in their lives. Still, local organizations like the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) provide opportunities for Gazans to work on the land and call for change.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli agribusiness thrives off of the land and labor of the Jordan Valley Palestinians. The produce is often exported to Europe, leaving a generation of farmers landless and unemployed, causing food insecurity in their families. But local Palestinian organizations like MA'AN Development Center and the Union of Agricultural Works Committees (UAWC) are determined to give them the seeds and tools they need to continue an agrarian heritage at the heart of their nation.

Our partner the Association of Rural Workers (ATC) in Nicaragua scored a hard-earned victory with the passage of a new law that controls participation by transnational companies in the local food system and promotes the restoration of local food culture and peasant agriculture.

In Asia, where more than three billion people depend on rice for food and livelihood, agribusiness threatens to degrade life-giving rice farmlands with genetically modified seeds and non-sustainable methods. Grassroots International's grantee, Save the Rice Campaign, is fighting back in 14 countries to protect good nutrition, biodiversity, and precious traditional crops.

And in Haiti, cholera has sickened more than 100,000 people and poisoned an already fragile water supply. Organizers and local social movements like the Peasant's Movement of Papaye (MPP) work to install networks of clean cisterns across the country and advocate for national and international policies that could have prevented this health crisis before so many lives were lost.

The list goes on, highlighting dynamic work for human rights far too numerous to celebrate in just one day.

During this special season of giving, we are inspired by the work that is happening on the ground, linking communities in a global movement for justice. Their tenacity creates hope for human rights progress, no matter how seemingly insurmountable the barriers.