EU on verge of abandoning hope for a viable Palestinian state

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Written by Donald Macintyre Donald Macintyre

Published: 17 January 2012 17 January 2012

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EU on verge of abandoning hope for a viable Palestinian state

Israel's foreign ministry denied that Israeli settlers were taking water resources from the West Bank
Donald Macintyre

Jerusalem - Thursday 12 January 2012 - Independent (UK)

The Palestinian presence in the largest part of the occupied West Bank - has
been, "continuously undermined" by Israel in ways that are "closing the
window" on a two-state solution, according to an internal EU report seen by
The Independent.

The report, approved by top Brussels officials, argues that EU support,
including for a wide range of building projects, is now needed to protect
the rights of "ever more isolated" Palestinians in "Area C", a sector that
includes all 124 Jewish settlements - illegal in international law - and
which is under direct Israeli control. It comprises 62 per cent of the West
Bank, including the "most fertile and resource rich land".

With the number of Jewish settlers now at more than double the shrinking
Palestinian population in the largely rural area, the report warns bluntly
that, "if current trends are not stopped and reversed, the establishment of
a viable Palestinian state within pre-1967 borders seem more remote than
ever".

The 16-page document is the EU's starkest critique yet of how a combination
of house and farm building demolitions; a prohibitive planning regime;
relentless settlement expansion; the military's separation barrier;
obstacles to free movement; and denial of access to vital natural resources,
including land and water, is eroding Palestinian tenure of the large tract
of the West Bank on which hopes of a contiguous Palestinian state depend.

International brokers are trying to persuade both sides to reach a peaceful
settlement through talks, which had stalled over the building of Israeli
settlements and the Palestinians' recent declaration of statehood at the UN.

The report points out how dramatically the settler population - now at
310,000 - of Area C has increased at the expense of Palestinian numbers -
estimated at around 150,000. In 1967, there were between 200,000 and 320,000
Palestinians in just the agriculture-rich Jordan Valley part of the zone.

Area C is one of three zones allocated by the 1993 Oslo agreement. Area A
includes major Palestinian cities, and is under the control of the
Palestinian Authority. Area B is under shared Israeli-Palestinian control.

Although Area C is the least populous, the report says "the window for a
two-state solution is rapidly closing with the continued expansion of
Israeli settlements and access restrictions for Palestinians in Area C
[which] compromises crucial natural resources and land for the future
demographic and economic growth of a viable Palestinian state".

It says the EU needs "at a political" level to persuade Israel to
redesignate Area C, but in the meantime it should "support Palestinian
presence in, and development of the area". The report says the destruction
of homes, public buildings and workplaces result in "forced transfer of the
native population" and that construction is effectively prohibited in 70 per
cent of the land - and then in zones largely allocated to settlements of the
Israeli military.

In practice, it says Palestinian construction is permitted in just 1 per
cent of Area C, "most of which is already built up". The EU report's short-
and medium-term recommendations include calling on Israel to halt
demolitions of houses and structures built without permits - of which there
have been 4,800 since 2000. But there is also a call for the EU to support a
building programme that includes schools, clinics, water and other
infrastructure projects.

The EU should also be more vocal in raising objections to "involuntary
population movements, displacements, evictions and internal migration".

The report says Area C - along with East Jerusalem - has not benefited from
the gradual reversal of the West Bank economic collapse since the beginning
of the intifada in 2000 which saw growth of 9 per cent in 2010. It also
claims Palestinian economic activity is mainly "low intensity" agriculture
in contrast to specialised, export-directed farming by Jewish settlers in
the Jordan Valley "which uses most of the water resources in the area", and
that it is of "great concern" that cisterns and rainwater structures have
been destroyed by the Israeli authorities since January 2010 - a claim which
Israel's foreign ministry denied.

Israel upholds citizenship bar for Palestinian spouses

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Written by BBC News BBC News

Published: 12 January 2012 12 January 2012

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The law is thought to have prevented thousands of Palestinians from living with their Israeli spouses

Israel's Supreme Court has upheld a law banning Palestinians who marry Israelis from gaining Israeli citizenship.

Civil rights groups had petitioned the court to overturn the law, saying it was unconstitutional.

"Human rights do not prescribe national suicide," Judge Asher Grunis wrote in the judgement.

The law was introduced in 2003, with its backers citing security concerns and the need to ensure Israel remains a Jewish-majority state.

Human rights activists and Arab politicians condemned the court's decision.

The court "had failed the test of justice", said Arab-Israeli MP Jamal Zahalka of the Balad party.

"It is a dark day for the protection of human rights and for the Israeli High Court," lawyers from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel told AFP.

"The ruling proves how much the situation regarding the civil rights of the Arab minority in Israel is declining into a highly dangerous and unprecedented situation", Arab-Israeli civil rights group Adalah, one of those that brought the petition, said in a statement.

The Citizenship and Entry Law was passed in 2003, during the second Palestinian intifada (uprising), as waves of suicide bombings targeted Israel.

Many were launched from the West Bank, some with the help of Israeli Arabs.

Initially, the law was emergency legislation which has since been extended periodically.

It was amended in 2005, allowing women over 25 and men over 35 to apply for temporary permits to live in Israel, but still ruling out citizenship for all but a handful of cases.

In 2007, it was expanded to apply to citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Palestinian Sesame Street falls victim to US Congress

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Written by Damien Pearse Damien Pearse

Published: 08 January 2012 08 January 2012

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Shara'a Simsim hit by Congress decision to suspend £130m of aid funding to punish Palestinians for UN membership bid

Shara'a Simsim's Kareem held by actor Rajai Sandouka at the programme's offices in Ramallah. Photograph: Nasser Shiyoukhi/AP
With its colourful band of Muppets preaching tolerance and neighbourly love, the Palestinian version of the children's television programme Sesame Street had become a beacon of hope for children in a region ravaged by decades of unrest.

But the cast of peace-loving characters have now found themselves in the crossfire of a political dispute between Palestinian leaders and the US Congress, and episodes have been axed for 2012.

Sesame Street – known as Shara'a Simsim in Arabic – is one of many US-funded Palestinian shows suffering after Congress froze the transfer of nearly £130m to the US Agency for International Development in October. The suspension aimed to punish the Palestinians for appealing to the United Nations for membership.
The funding suspension has affected a broad range of services in Palestine relying on American aid, including hospitals, education, government ministries and communications.

This week, the Ramallah offices of Shara'a Simsim, the writing workshop room was empty and the set was closed.
"If we had funding, we would be writing scripts, we would be reviewing scripts, we would be hiring film-makers to produce the videos," said executive producer Daoud Kuttab.

The Palestinian show has been put on hold as more than £490,000 has been invested in the Israeli version of the show. The new season has a particular emphasis on teaching children the value of fairness.

Danny Labin, an executive at the Israeli TV channel that co-produces Israeli Sesame Street, called the funding halt to the Palestinian show "extremely unfortunate".
"Young children, whether Israeli or Palestinian, who are in need of educational tools to foster diversity appreciation and to prepare for life in a pluralistic society, should not be penalised or held accountable to the politics and political leadership, over which they have no control," Labin said.

Shara'a Simsim debuted in 1996 and has produced five seasons since, with long intermissions for fundraising. It has promoted a message of peace and tolerance that Israeli critics say is often missing from Palestinian airwaves. The main characters Haneen, a red-headed orange puppet, and the green rooster Kareem have became household names for Palestinian children.

Shara'a Simsim is one of about two dozen international shows produced by the Sesame Workshop, the parent company of the American show. Others are aired in Israel, Egypt, Russia and South Africa. In each country, the New York-based Sesame Street staff consults with the local production teams to create a unique cast and content.

From 2008-2011, USAid gave £1.6m to developing the programme in Palestine, covering nearly the entire budget, Kuttab said.

USAid was scheduled to issue another £1.6m grant to Shara'a Simsim to last until 2014, but in early October the funding was cut.

Israeli companies can profit from West Bank resources, Israeli court rules

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Written by Harriet Sherwood in Kochav HaShachar Harriet Sherwood in Kochav HaShachar

Published: 06 January 2012 06 January 2012

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Israeli companies can profit from West Bank resources, Israeli court rules

[NOTE: Israel as an occupying power must follow the Fourth Geneva Conventions, and international laws condemning apartheid and colonialism.  The Israeli court''s ruling defies international law and Israel's responsibilities.  This ruling will be marked as another major milestone in Israel's destruction of the chance of creating a Palestinian state.]

Supreme court says international law does not fit the 'reality on the ground' of long-term Israeli occupation

The potential value of mining and quarrying in the West Bank is thought to be around $900m (£580m) a year. Photograph: Jonathan Blair/Corbis

Israeli companies are entitled to exploit the West Bank's natural resources for economic gain, according to a supreme court ruling that says international law must be adapted to the "reality on the ground" of long-term occupation.

Read more: Israeli companies can profit from West Bank resources, Israeli court rules