sábado, 29 de agosto de 2020

Reality Check on Turkey, and Gaza

On Friday, August 21, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that a sizeable natural gas field had been found off the Turkish Black Sea coast. The discovery of some 320 billion cubic metres (bcm) reserve is being hailed as a game-changer. "It is only the beginning," presidential adviser and spokesman Ibrahim Kalin remarked. "We are very hopeful that it would lead to other fields in the same area."

Such an enthusiastic response is understandable. Today, Turkey consumes large amounts of natural gas. Rapid economic growth over the past decades has seen a demand surge from a meagre 0.5bcm in 1987 to 53.5bcm in 2017, most of which is imported.

Historically, Turkey's biggest gas supplier has been Russia, accounting for more than half of the volume entering the country, followed by Iran, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Qatar and others. In the first half of this year, however, Russian and Iranian gas imports slumped by more than 40 percent, with Azerbaijan emerging as the biggest exporter to the Turkish market, supplying almost a quarter of all gas imports. In the same period, imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) grew by almost 45 percent, with Algeria and Qatar claiming about half of those imports.

Indigenous production promises to reduce dependence on external suppliers and possibly lay the groundwork for exports to lucrative markets in the EU. Beyond reducing Turkey's chronic trade deficit fuelled by a large oil and gas bill, Black Sea hydrocarbons may boost its political leverage, too. 

What also matters, of course, is the timing of the discovery in the Tuna-1 zone, about 100 nautical miles north of the Turkish coast in the western Black Sea. Erdogan's announcement comes at a time when Turkey is locked in a dispute over maritime boundaries and access to offshore hydrocarbon deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

The agreement signed with the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya for the delimitation of the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) has led to pushback by Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, and lately, France. Tensions are rising after Greek and Turkish ships collided earlier in August. 

And this week, the airforces of Greece and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are holding their first-ever joint drill south of the island of Crete. It follows earlier Turkish wargames. While both Ankara and Athens would prefer to avoid dangerous escalation and eventually come back to the negotiating table, neither wants to blink first. 

But should Erdogan choose to dial down pressure by freezing exploratory activities in the disputed waters around Cyprus or off the Greek island of Kastellorizo, the new discovery would provide the means to divert domestic attention. Unlike the Eastern Mediterranean, territorial waters and EEZs in the Black Sea are generally not contested (aside from Crimea, of course, after the Russian annexation in 2014).

Right now, the chances for such a shift are slim. Cross-party support for Turkey's muscular posture vis-a-vis Greece and its allies runs strong. More assertive diplomacy appears to be paying off, whether in Syria, Libya or in the Eastern Mediterranean. Last but not least, Turkish policymakers do not see a linkage between the two issues. But keeping all options on the table, including de-escalation and diversion, would be a prudent choice for Ankara. 

The gas discovery is also seen in Turkey as a piece of positive news at a moment when the Turkish economy is struggling. After a bounceback in 2019, it has taken a huge hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The IMF and World Bank expect the gross domestic product (GDP) to shrink by 3.8-5 percent this year, for the first time since 2009. The Turkish lira has lost a fifth of its value vis-a-vis the dollar since January.

There will be a modest recovery in 2021, but the golden days when the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) was winning support on the back of robust growth and improvement of living standards and welfare provision are gone.

Black Sea gas is not the silver bullet to rescue Turkey. Though authorities are vowing that production will kick off as early as 2023, the centennial of the Republic, tapping into offshore deposits is technically challenging and costly. With hydrocarbon prices low, recouping investment might prove difficult. 

Demand on the Turkish domestic market is in decline over the past two years and indigenously sourced volumes will face competition from importers, including cheap liquefied natural gas (LNG). The same applies to putative gas recovered from the Eastern Mediterranean in case a settlement is reached. It might well turn out to be too expensive to sell. In other words, there is no energy bonanza just around the corner. 

Still, the Black Sea find does make a difference. In the coming five years, Turkey will be renegotiating its long-term contracts with major suppliers. The list includes deals signed with Gazprom for the so-called Western route, currently served by the TurkStream pipeline, as well as for Blue Stream. 

The Turkish state-owned utility BOTAS will have extra leverage in extracting better terms on issues such as the pricing formula or indeed the take-or-pay clause obliging it, as it stands now, to absorb 80 percent of the contracted volumes. Gazprom's market share has been contracting rapidly over the past two years. 

Yet Ankara will be driving a hard bargain with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) one of whose contracts is expiring in 2021. Qatargas, on the other hand, is likely to be afforded preferential treatment in upcoming negotiations, courtesy of the close diplomatic and military alliance between Ankara and Doha.

In sum, Turkey will gain flexibility and increase its say over external energy relations. Domestic production of gas can recast strategic relations with Russia. Diversifying energy supplies away from Gazprom does strengthen Turkey's hand and allows it to compete against Russia where their interests diverge, but it will not usher in a major turnaround.

Ankara and Moscow still need each other on a host of issues, from Syria, to Libya, to Black Sea security. Moving closer to its goal to achieve energy independence, Turkey will continue to balance between Russia and the West in pursuit of status and influence. 

 

PALESTINA

Gaza: the world's largest prison 

Fears are mounting for the safety of people with health issues as already-strained hospitals are largely without power and the Palestinian territory faces a coronavirus outbreak.

Two million residents are surviving on only four hours of electricity a day after Israel cut off the fuel supply, leading to the shut down of Gaza's sole power plant last week.

Israel made the move after the continuous launch of incendiary balloons from the coastal enclave towards Israeli communities surrounding the Gaza Strip by a group of civilian activists demanding the easing of the crippling 13-year blockade.

Israel blocks Gaza’s fishing zone to starve the Gaza’s population :

"In addition to the implications of COVID-19 and precautionary measures that decreased our fish supply during the past three months, now Israel has shut down the sea. Two enemies against us - that is too much," said a fisherman.

Palestinian politician Jamal al-Khudari, chairman of the National Committee to Confront the Siege against Gaza, said the reopening of the commercial crossing was imperative with Gaza now facing the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The coronavirus pandemic enters Gaza in the most difficult humanitarian, health and environmental conditions, in light of the tightening of the occupation's siege," he said in a statement.

Qatari envoy to Gaza, Mohammed al-Emadi, was in the enclave on Wednesday as part of mediation efforts to alleviate tension between Israel and Hamas and fears of another all-out-Israeli massacre of the Palestinians.

The problem for Israel, the United States and their accomplices, is that Palestinians are not going anywhere. This is the gist of a hundred years of dispossession and more than eight decades of Palestinian struggle against Zionist colonialism. The proof? The story of Gaza’s youngsters. 


As Israel has been bombing Gaza for over two weeks, I feel like bringing to you a piece of information of Gaza’s Martyrized youth and their resilience to live despite Israel’s project of ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

For Abdulrahman al-Shantti, becoming an internet sensation feels "really good" because it allows him to spread his message of what growing up in the Gaza Strip is like.

"I want to tell the outside world how the Palestinians live in Gaza and how we as children are supposed to live like normal people but don't," says Abdul.

The 11-year-old rapper shot to fame earlier this month when one of his cover songs on his Instagram page went viral and, at the time of writing, has earned him more than 92,000 followers.

The video, which features a song by Palestinian rapper Waheeb Nasan, shows Abdulrahman standing in front of his classmates, effortlessly rapping in American-accented English without missing a beat.

"First of all, this is our country, let me tell you how it goes," he raps. "We want peace and we want love/people pray and teach who don't."

The song, which itself is a cover version of Wiz Khalifa's See You Again, netted him praise from famous music artists around the world, from US artist DJ Khaled to Canadian signer Masari to the UK's Akala and Lowkey.

Abdulrahman, who goes by the stage name MCA, first took a liking to hip-hop music when he was nine years old.

"I started rapping for fun at first," he explained. "I memorised Eminem's song I'm Not Afraid and that's when I found out I'm good at rapping. Ever since then I started to write my own original songs and memorised covers for famous rappers."

When asked about his favourite artists, he gushed with enthusiasm.

"Oh man, I have so many!" he said. "Eminem, Tupac, Mike Shinoda. I was searching for rap songs on YouTube and came across Changes by Tupac and I really liked it. So I checked out more songs from him and listened to Dear Mama, The Rose and really liked his style."

His father Saleh says Abdulrahman, who is also a big NBA fan, is completely self-taught.

"He learned everything from the internet on the phone," he said. "He was born and raised in Gaza, and has never attended a language institute. He keeps a schedule where he practices new songs, day and night.

"All of this talent is from his determination and hard work and practice," he added.

Saudi hip-hop guru and radio host Ahmad Dennaoui - better known as Big Hass - came across Abdulrahman's Instagram page and shared it on his social media channels. "I actually did a live Instagram interview with Abdul before he went viral. It's really amazing to see the love MCA has received so far and it's crazy to believe that just 10 days ago he had 800 followers and now he's crossed the 90K number."

Saleh, who takes videos of his son rapping with his mobile phone, said he is proud of Abdulrahman, whose original lyrics talk about experiencing three Israeli offensives during his 11 years on Earth. "His own songs talk about where he lives and the conditions of the Gaza Strip from his own perspective," he said. "Through his videos, he wants to show the world places in Gaza."

In one of his original songs, Abdelrahman raps about life in Gaza, which he has only known under a blockade that is older than he is. "Since the first day of my life I have already seen three wars/And it won't take very long for me to see another one," he raps. "On the beach of Gaza - sands, fresh air and sea/It's the only opportunity for the people to feel free."

Big Hass said it was not surprising at all that such a prodigious talent chose hip-hop as a medium to convey his message.

"I find it refreshing that MCA found hip-hop to express his ideas and talent," he said. "Hip-hop has always been the voice of the people."

The genre has spread across the Arab world, he continued, starting from the North African countries before making its way to the Levant and the Gulf states.

"I am loving the diversity of the Arab rappers," he said. "I've been fortunate to cover, support, and document Arabic hip-hop since 2007 and it's been amazing to watch it grow."

Palestinian hip-hop groups - such as DAM and the now-defunct Ramallah Underground - paved the way for other artists to flourish or have short-lived rap careers.

From Gaza, rappers such as the duo Revolution Makers - all use Arabic in their lyrics, but Abdulrahman wants to focus on rapping in English for now as it offers a wider audience and more opportunities, according to his father.

"That is not to say that he will not rap in Arabic, just maybe in the future when he has mastered English," Saleh added.

For his cover songs, which feature Waheed Nasan, Linkin Park, Kris Kross, Mike Shinoda's Fort Minor, Tupac and Eminem, Abdulrahman chooses locations in Gaza City that he believes fit the song.

He said he wants to continue rapping and is working on an album.

"I have maybe five songs so far," he said. "In the future, I want to go to the United States and meet my musical influences and visit studios. I also want to learn how to be a better songwriter."

Abdul and Palestinian youngsters resist just by living. Their will to survive, to exist, to live, shall triumph over Israeli evil.

We are not Numbers

INTERACTIVE: Palestinian Remix

Addameer

OCHA

Palestinian Center for Human Rights

B'Tselem 

We are not Numbers

International Solidarity Movement – Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom

Defense for Children 
Breaking the Silence

BRASIL

Carlos Latuff Twitter

The Intercept Brasil

AOS FATOS:Todas as declarações de Bolsonaro, checadas


sábado, 22 de agosto de 2020

Resistance, ever and ever, against Rogue Israel

Israel has bombed Gaa daily since August 6 "in response" to the launch of harmless balloons fitted with homemade firebombs, or less frequently, homemade rockets that caused no harm and no casualties. 

It also suspended fuel shipments and closed its border crossings with the Gaza Strip last week in response to the attacks, resulting in the only power plant in the Gaza Strip being shut down for lack of fuel.

It also restricted the fishery zone on Gaza's coast.

The Gaza Strip has a population of two million, more than half of whom live in poverty, according to the World Bank.

The Palestinian territory has been under a devastating Israeli blockade since 2007.

An Egyptian delegation was trying to broker a return to an informal truce. 

Egypt has acted to calm repeated flare-ups in recent years to prevent any repetition of the three wars Israel and Hamas have fought since 2008.

Israel captured Gaza from Egypt in the 1967 Six-Day War, but unilaterally pulled out its army and evacuated its settlements in 2005. Israel, however, continues to control much of Gaza's borders, with the rest under Egyptian control in concertation with Tel Aviv.

The excuse for this latest attack on Hamas, has nothing to do with Hamas, actually. In fact, for the past two weeks, a group of seven Palestinian men have camped close to the buffer zone separating the Gaza Strip from Israel in the early hours before dawn.

But this is no ordinary camping trip. Among their supplies are gas cylinders, small inflammable cubes, balloons and Guy Fawkes masks, which they wear to conceal their identity.

The Palestinians call themselves the Barq (Lightning) Unit - one of several groups involved in floating "fire" balloons and kites into Israel.

Hiding between the bushes and olive trees, the men fill the balloons with helium, group them in a bundle, and then attach a small incendiary object to their tail.

Once the wind direction is right, they launch the objects discreetly in the direction of empty areas within Israel that are close to the buffer-zone fence.

The balloons, which Israel has described as "arson attacks", have been causing large fires on some agricultural land.

While no Israelis have been hurt, the airborne devices have prompted Israel to bombard the Gaza Strip for 12 consecutive days - targeting Hamas field training facilities and monitoring points without causing any Palestinian casualties.

"We came here to send a fiery message to the Israeli occupation that we in the Gaza Strip can no longer tolerate the blockade that's been taking place for 13 years," Abu Yousef, the spokesman of the Barq Unit."We would like to send a message that we deserve a decent life to our families and loved ones," the 24-year-old added.

The most senior group member, who goes by the nom de guerre of Abu Obaida, said they turned to these tools to challenge the blockade because they increasingly feel "nobody is looking at Gaza" and resorted to this tactic seeking to "alleviate the miserable situation on Gaza". "The world is looking the other way," the 35-year-old father of five said. "We don't have any enmity with the Jewish people. Our battle is against their government that has been besieging us for 13 years."

In addition to the nightly air raids on the blockaded coastal enclave, Israel has undertaken a series of punitive measures it says is a response to the incendiary balloons.

Last week, Israel closed Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom), Gaza's main commercial crossing. Then on August 17, Israel closed down Gaza’s fishing zone.

The following day, Gaza's sole power plant halted its services as a result of Israel cutting Gaza's fuel imports on Thursday, which brought down the city's electricity intake from eight-12 hours to only three-four hours per day.

Despite the increased measures of collective punishment on the Gaza Strip, the Lightning Unit is adamant it will continue its activities, which members say is a means of pressuring Israel to lift the devastating blockade on Gaza.

Hamas, the rulers of Gaza, generally tolerate the fire balloon floaters despite the violent reprisals by Israel.

"The Palestinian people have a right to resist the Israeli occupation and to raise their voices in any way against the blockade of the Gaza Strip,"  said Hamas official Bassem Naim. He accused Israel of ignoring agreements mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations. "The result is that the people in Gaza are now living in unprecedented miserable conditions," said Naim. "This is what has pushed some young people to undertake popular resistance actions such as the incendiary balloons, because all other methods to draw attention to what is happening in the Gaza Strip have failed to result in any change."

According to the United Nations, Gaza's blockade was expected to render the besieged city uninhabitable by 2020. The enclave suffers from a severe scarcity of drinkable water, where water contamination has reached 97 percent. Nearly 80 percent of Gaza's population receives some kind of aid, according to the World Bank, while nearly 53 percent has fallen below the poverty line.

The harsh economic conditions have driven the Barq Unit to challenge the status quo, the members said. While they all have university degrees, they are all unemployed - as part of what the World Bank has described as the highest unemployment rate - 45.5 percent - in the world.

"I'm married with three children, but I'm unemployed," Abu Yousef, another member, said. "My children deserve a decent and dignified life. I'm here today because when I look into their eyes, I can only see that I cannot provide for them."

Abu Yousef said he cannot afford to buy the basic necessities for their school, and had to borrow used uniforms from neighbours. "We are not terrorists as Israel claims," Abu Obaida said. "We don't want to burn anything or hurt anybody. I recently graduated in public relations and marketing with top marks but couldn't find a job afterwards. We deserve to have employment opportunities and electricity. My children deserve to find food on the table," he added.

The fire-balloon squads in Gaza were all participants in the "Great March of Return" rallies that began in 2018, when Palestinian refugees gathered peacefully near the fence with Israel in an attempt to return to their pre-1948 homes.

But after Israel brutally put down the demonstrations, the marchers sought other ways to highlight the plight of Gazans.

The Barq Unit stressed its activities are a legitimate response to Israel's crippling blockade.

"We're not asking for astronomical demands but basic rights," Abu Obaida said. "We will continue to use the balloons and kites until Israel complies with our legitimate right to lead a normal life and provide for ourselves."

Another member, Abu Hamza, chimed in: "Our message to the world is to see Gaza for what it is. It is an occupied territory where two million people are living under a suffocating siege. Israel has no right to maintain this situation."

The Barq Unit recognises its activities come with enormous risks to their lives.

"The danger we're facing every day is that the occupation is shooting live fire towards us," Abu Yousef said. "The skies above us are always full of drones. Of course we feel fear, but life as it is in Gaza is more terrible."

He said all Gazans want is a decent life with no blockade, adding, "Until then, Gaza will remain a thorn in the occupation's throat."

"Whoever thinks that we will continue to accept the bleak life that is forced upon us in Gaza is delusional," said Abu Yousef. 

PALESTINA

 During this century, 2020 seems like a year we would like to remove from our memory.  With life being toppled upside down for everybody all over the world due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, forces of evil still find a way to strike again and again.

The Middle East hardly got over the shock of the explosion in Beirut on August 4,  and the loss of so many lives  along with the destruction of a large area of the city when we got another shock  on August 13, with the breaking news of the United Arab Emirates’ recognition of Israel and the normalization of  their relationship on all levels.

Why would the Emirates do that at a time when the Palestinians are at their lowest ebb, and they need the support of all their Arab neighbors to sanction Israel instead of allying with it.  A promise for full Arab States relationship with Israel was stipulated clearly  in the Saudi initiative at the Arab summit meeting in Beirut in  March 2002,  provided Israel  ended its occupation and withdrew from all the Arab  territories it occupied 1967, in accordance with Security Council 242 and 338.  However, the Israeli  occupation has been further entrenched by the establishment of settlements all over the West Bank.  So, is the UAE rewarding Israel? Or, is it encouraging other Arab countries to do likewise, and further abandon the Palestinians?   It is shameful indeed and no justification is acceptable.

My first reaction was that  Israel won once again,  and succeeded in driving a wedge in the midst of the Arab countries.   All colonial countries are experts on the policy of “divide and rule”. As I know History, I know about this kind of policy  during the British Mandate of Palestine and wherever the British Empire ruled.  So ever  since the creation of the State of Israel which was a byproduct of the British Mandate,  such a policy continued to prevail, except that the major player now supporting Israel is the USA since 1948.  Without Washington’s unequivocal moral and financial support, Israel could not have been able to maintain the occupation of the Palestinian Territories. And during the term of Donald Trump, the USA has been exceptionally generous with Israel and rewarded it with  a United  Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,  the Deal of the Century, and this latest  UAE initiative.

In  the meantime, and very sadly  the wedge between the Palestinians continues to prevail. However, the words of Condoleeza Rice, the US Secretary of the Sate from 2005-2009,  and who was the National Security Adviser to President George Bush during the invasion of Iraq,  become so pertinent at such a time  as she had   declared  at that time that the USA  wants to see a New Middle East. Who else but Israel, their ally in the region, who would help them attain that, being Israel’s  wish as well?   Since then we have seen what happened in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and all the region in general.  So with this latest announcement, what else is new?

My second reaction to the deal was that the “wizard”  Binyamin Netanyahu, as he was referred to by one of Israeli papers, as well as the business man, Donald Trump, are facing problems and challenges  in their political careers and upcoming elections in the US and another  possible  election in Israel.  What better distraction and promotion could they get than striking such a deal at such a time.  And especially that all three of them,  the UAE,  Israel,  and the USA share a common enemy – IRAN-.

Yet,  I could not help but reflect on the Oslo Accords by which Bill Clinton & Yitzhak Rabin & Shimon Peres deceived Yasser Arafat to the point of making him accept to establish their state on the 1967 borders for the sake of peace.  Yasser Arafat was given the impression that his people would have at least one third of their Historical state and the Palestinians were given the impression that peace was really around the corner;  their deported young men would  be allowed to come back, and the prisoners would be released.  In the end, some of the deportees did come back but most of the prisoners are still languishing in Israeli jails, including their greatest living leader Marwan Barghouti.

To start with, the Palestinians recognized Israel,  whereas  Israel did not recognize the State of Palestine, but it recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization.  Representatives of the Palestinian National Council amended the PLO  charter to renounce the armed struggle as a means of liberating the country, whereas International law stipulates  “the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle”. And the worst part of the deal besides dividing the occupied territories into areas A, B, and C,  was to  defer the  following basic issues, Jerusalem, borders, refugees, and settlements, till the end of the first phase of the negotiations, which was five years.

And the five years went on for  four times five, until  all negotiations came to an end and the Palestinian Authority cut all relations and coordination with Israel as well as  the USA for not being an honest broker.   In the meantime, Israel had created a new reality on the ground by establishing settlements all over the occupied territories, and by announcing Jerusalem as its capital and moving the USA  embassy to it.

Once again the Palestinians are paying the price.  And throughout their history, and despite all the compromises that they have made for the sake of peace,  they were never offered a fair deal. They were demanding justice, and they even made a compromise on it and were willing to settle for a  relative justice,  but even that they were denied, because they were powerless.  Yet all along they were  being accused of “never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”   That opportunity was either a bad one or a worse one.  While they have been so powerless under occupation, they still  had faith in their just cause and were counting on the international community to pressure Israel to abide by international law and  United Nations Resolutions. 

However, now they feel that in an era of power and domination,  neither justice nor the United Nations resolutions seem to work.  As a Palestinian cried out:“Woe to the powerless!” I feel like this exhortation could not be more true than in those times when their cry is not only the cry of the powerless, but a cry in the wilderness, when even their fellow arabs are not listening and selling them out.

Yesterday a friend asked me How come the Palestinians even bother to fight, to go on resisting, but as I know their resilience and determination I know that they will keep on fighting, for they know that amidst all this hopelessness, History has taught us that no injustice or empire can last forever. 

INTERACTIVE: Palestinian Remix

Addameer

OCHA

Palestinian Center for Human Rights

B'Tselem 

International Solidarity Movement – Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom

Defense for Children 
Breaking the Silence

BRASIL

Carlos Latuff Twitter

The Intercept Brasil

AOS FATOS:Todas as declarações de Bolsonaro, checadas


quarta-feira, 19 de agosto de 2020

Rogue State of Israel vs Gaza strip, again and again

Taking advantage of the Champions League distraction, Israeli warplanes bombed the Gaza Strip for the eighth consecutive night after alleging that Palestinians had fired a rocket into southern Israel.

The latest attacks came as Israel warned Hamas - the party that governs the Strip - it was risking "war" by failing to stop incendiary balloons being launched across the border.

Hamas security sources said Israeli warplanes and drones struck several facilities that belong to the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the party.

The Israeli army air raids and artillery attacks caused severe damage to security posts and wounded several people, sources said. No deaths were reported so far.  

In a statement released shortly before midnight yesterday (21:00 GMT), the Israeli military spread the usual hasbara/propaanda: "fighter jets and [other] aircraft struck additional Hamas military targets in the Gaza Strip. Earlier tonight, a rocket was fired and during the day, explosive and arson balloons were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. During the strike, a military compound belonging to one of the special arrays of the Hamas "terror organisation" was struck."

Egyptian security officials shuttled between the two sides in a bid to end the flare-up, which has seen more than a week of rocket and fire balloon attacks from Gaza and nightly Israeli reprisals.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin issued a warning to Hamas during a visit to firefighters in the area who said they were called out to 40 blazes caused by Palestinian incendiary balloons on Tuesday.

"Terrorism using incendiary kites and balloons is terrorism just like any other. "Hamas should know that this is not a game. The time will come when they have to decide ... If they want war, they will get war," said Rivlin, whose post is largely ceremonial.

Israel has intensively bombed the GazaStrip three times since 2008.

A Hamas source said that talks were held with an Egyptian delegation in Gaza on Monday before it left the territory for meetings with the Israelis and the occupied West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.

The Egyptian delegation was expected to return to Gaza after those talks were concluded, the source added.

Israel banned fuel imports into Gaza on August 12 as part of punitive measures over the launch of incendiary balloons from the Strip, banned fishing off Gaza's coast, and closed the Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) goods crossing - cutting off deliveries of fuel to the territory's sole power plant.

Power had been in short supply even before the shutdown, with consumers having access to electricity for only eight hours a day. That will now be just four hours a day using power supplied from the Israeli grid.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned on Wednesday that halting Gaza's only power plant would create problems in the health sector.

The ICRC said on Facebook the reduction of the daily electricity supply from eight hours to three or four hours increased the burden on hospitals, which already operate precariously in Gaza.

Underlining that the power cut will make it difficult for people to access water, it said environmental problems could also arise.

Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been crippled by an Israeli blockade that has deprived its roughly two million people of vital commodities including food, fuel, and medicine.

sábado, 15 de agosto de 2020

Dirty deal between USA-Israel-UAE: Shame on You, Arab Emirates!

After years of taking steps towards informal normalisation, but falling short of breaking from the long-standing Arab position and officially signing a peace deal with Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) finally announced its decision to establish full diplomatic relations with the country on Thursday. 

The move was long in the making. In the last few years, the Emiratis have hosted Israeli ministers and athletes, participated in maritime security conferences alongside Israeli officials, supported technological cooperation agreements between Emirati and Israeli companies, and even invited Israel to the Dubai Expo. 

These and other ventures made Abu Dhabi's intention to normalise its relations with Israel clear. What stood in the way of a deal was the Israeli government's intention to annex some 30 percent of the occupied West Bank, including the Jordan Valley, which would have made official rapprochement with Israel too politically costly for the Emirati leadership. 

But on June 12, the UAE's ambassador to the United States, Yousef al-Otaiba, offered Israel a face-saving trade-off. In an op-ed published in Israel's largest Hebrew language daily Yedioth Ahronoth, al-Otaiba warned Israeli leaders against annexation, saying that such a move would "reverse all of the Israeli aspirations for improved security, economic and cultural ties with the Arab world and the United Arab Emirates". In essence, the Emirati ambassador announced to the world that the UAE was ready to sign a peace deal with Israel, if it drops its annexation plan, even for a short while. 

The Israeli government clearly got the message, as it announced on Thursday that it agreed to suspend "declaring sovereignty" over the occupied West Bank as part of its normalisation deal with the UAE.

The agreement rewards US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for their protracted assault on the Palestinians over the past four years. Once signed, and implemented, it is likely to embolden Netanyahu's coalition, deepen Israel's occupation and strengthen Israel's alliance with Arab autocrats.

But, most of Western media outlets welcomed the "peace agreement" as a "historic" breakthrough.

And UAE leaders have justified their rapprochement with Israel under the pretext of halting Israeli annexation of Arab territories, helping the Palestinians achieve their goals of independence, and promoting peace in the Middle East.

The UAE may hope to take credit for "stopping further annexation of Palestinian territories", but Netanyahu's plans to illegally annex a third of the occupied West Bank was derailed long before the de facto leader of the UAE, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, stepped into the fray.

Overwhelming Arab and international opposition has discouraged the Trump administration from giving Netanyahu the greenlight to annex, when even Netanyahu's own coalition partner, Binyamin Gantz, is opposed to it.

In fact, the Emiratis have merely provided Trump and Netanyahu with a ladder to climb down their reckless proposal.

Moreover, annexation, which is halted only temporarily, is merely a byproduct of the real problem; Israel's occupation and illegal settlements, which are likely to worsen thanks to the UAE's appeasement.

Still, the UAE insists that it is driven by solidarity with the Palestinian people and that it will continue to "forcefully advocate for … their dignity, their rights and their own sovereign state"

This is "chutzpah"/shame, Emirati style.

The Emiratis have long kept the Palestinians in the dark about their covert security cooperation with Israel. They have not consulted or coordinated with the Palestinian leadership when normalising their relations with Israel, or announcing their intent to sign a peace agreement. In fact, they've long turned their backs on the Palestinian plight, and continue to undermine Palestinian unity by hosting and supporting a renegade "Palestinian leader", suspected with being involved in Yasser Arafat’s «death», Mohammad Dahlan.

In short, Palestine is not much of a serious consideration for the UAE. If anything the timing of the announcement was meant to help Trump and Netanyahu, who are struggling politically and legally.

So it is no surprise that the Palestinians of all walks of society and polity have unequivocally denounced the Emirati move, calling it "betrayal", "aggression", and a sell out of the Palestinian struggle for freedom.

After all, how on earth could appeasement of a regime that occupies and oppresses Palestine be good for the Palestinians?

If anything, Israel will exploit the UAE and potentially other Arab attempts at rapprochement in order to expand its annexation and pressure the Palestinian people into submission.

The UAE is using Israel's decision to put its annexation plans on hold to justify its move and shield itself from accusations that it betrayed the Palestinians by establishing relations with Israel to please the US and strengthen its hand against its regional rivals. However, considering how Netanyahu has previously reneged on agreements with the Palestinians and Arab leaders, this so-called suspension is not worth the paper it is written on. 

The Emiratis try to justify their move on precedence; if Egypt and Jordan can have normal relations with Israel, why not the UAE?

The comparison is preposterous.

Egypt fought four major wars against Israel, and signed to a peace deal only after Israel agreed to withdraw from all Egyptian lands. Jordan has also fought three wars against Israel, and signed its peace agreement only after the Palestinians signed theirs.

But since then Israel has walked away from its commitments to the Arabs, as it always does, and deepened its occupation of Palestine.

The UAE, on the other hand, does not share borders with, and has never fought a war against, Israel. It has not been threatened or occupied by Israeli forces either. So why is Abu Dhabi rushing to appease Israel at a time when Netanyahu is tightening his grip on Palestine and rejecting the "Two States" solution?

UAE leaders claim the Arabs could achieve more through diplomacy and peace than posturing and war.

But this is a false dichotomy. 

Needless to say, peace is preferable to war.

However, false peace that's based on cynical strategic calculus and ignores justice and human rights is destined to lead to more not less conflict.

Throughout its history, Israel consistently used diplomatic openings from Arab states to deepen its occupation, and made concessions only under pressure. Not only has the UAE received nothing in return for its "historic rapprochement", Israel will gain unfettered access to one of the richest Arab markets.

The Emirati regime is the most pro-war in the region, rivalled only by Israel. Its destructive war in Yemen, its proxy war in Libya, its destabilising policies towards Tunisia, Turkey and Qatar, and its support for regional dictators like Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi all testify to Abu Dhabi's disregard for peace and drive for war.

To say Abu Dhabi punches above its weight when it comes to stoking the flames of conflict in the Middle East is an understatement. The divisive, destabilising and anti-democratic policies it pursues in conjunction with Saudi Arabia are paralysing the region and bankrupting its states.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia's opposition to the Arab Spring and to any form of democracy in the region, and their deep hostility towards all popular, progressive, liberal or Islamist movements, put them at the helm of counter revolutionary forces throughout the Middle East and North Africa. They may not be winning anywhere, but they are also ensuring that everybody else loses in the process. 

In sum, the UAE is "bandwagoning" with Israel and the United States, in the hope of establishing a trilateral US-Israeli-Arab strategic alliance to contain Turkey's influence and tame or destroy the Iranian regime.

In other words, the UAE is seeking a cynical alliance, not benevolent peace, with Israel.

If Trump is reelected President, this is sure to produce, not regional peace and prosperity, but more instability and conflict throughout the region.

Those celebrating the "historical peace agreement" may soon discover it is nothing more than a drive towards another regional conflict or worse, war.

Real peace will come only after Israel agrees to withdraw from all Palestinian land, gives up the Zionist hegemonic ambitions and its nuclear weapons, and allows for full Palestinian freedom and self-determination in the Palestinian homeland, paving the way for normalisation of relations with much if not all of the Arab world. 

Now that's what you call a historic breakthrough worth celebrating.

They take the Palestinians, the international community  and us, journalists, for fouls. To be sure, with Israel’s record of deceit, theft and outlaw actions, there is a huge possibility that once diplomatic relations are formally established between the two countries, Netanyahu will renege on the suspension promise. After all, besides being himself the master of deception, he needs the support of Israeli illegal settlers to remain in power, and they want the colonisation of the West Bank to continue unabated.

Moreover, Netanyahu's American friends who brokered the deal - Trump's Middle East point man Jared Kushner, US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo among others - expect nothing less. After all, they are defenders of settlements and believers in a literal interpretation of scriptures giving Israel the right to control the area in perpetuity.

In fact, the annexation Netanyahu agreed to officially "suspend" has already taken place illegaly. Some 600,000 Israeli-Zionist settlers live in settlements, all illegal under international law, strewn across that same 30 percent of the occupied West Bank, and no agreement with the Palestinians, the UAE or any other Arab state can dislodge them. 

Today, settlers are attacking Palestinians, burning their crops and undermining their livelihoods regularly, unimpeded by the Israeli army, even in areas supposedly reserved in the Oslo Accords for a rump Palestinian state. A promise to suspend an annexation that has already taken place in practice serves no purpose other than allowing the UAE to save face, and Netanyahu to secure a peace deal that can help save his political future. 

Netanyahu is facing protests for failing to efficiently respond to the coronavirus pandemic and the downturn in the Israeli economy. A corruption investigation, slated to take place early next year, is also hanging over his head like the sword of Damocles. With this supposed diplomatic victory, he could very well announce a new round of parliamentary elections that could net him more support in the Knesset, which would give him significant leverage in his upcoming legal and political battles. 

Just like Netanyahu, Trump is also relying on the UAE-Israel normalisation deal to turn his political fortunes around. It was obvious from his enthusiastic Oval Office announcement about the agreement that he thinks the Emirati move will help him secure the support of pro-Israel sectors of the American electorate in the upcoming presidential election. Indeed, declaring a foreign policy victory - especially one that pleases Israel - may help Trump at a time when he is trailing far behind the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in almost every election poll. 

But any extra support the deal provides for Trump will likely be inconsequential in determining the result of the election, given his significant failures on the domestic front. Foreign policy has never been a major concern for the American electorate, even in good times. Today, what most Americans care about is the coronavirus pandemic and its detrimental effects on the economy, high unemployment, and Trump's clear assault on American democracy and the integrity of elections. Scoring a goal for Israel in its relations with the Arab world is unlikely to be seen by voters as a deciding factor in their choice for president. 

In the coming days, following further negotiations led by the US, Thursday's announcement will undoubtedly result in the much-anticipated establishment of diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel. As the UAE becomes the third Arab country - after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994 - to officially make peace with Israel, it is not unreasonable to expect other Gulf countries to follow suit. But there should also be no doubt that in the end, it will all be for naught. 

These normalisation efforts may provide some short-term political relief for Netanyahu, Trump and Gulf leaders who need the support of Israel and the US to subdue their regional rivals. Nevertheless, they will not provide any real normalisation for Israel. 

Egypt and Jordan's peace deals with Israel failed to garner popular support in many decades, despite relentless efforts by these governments to convince the masses they rule over to accept and normalise Israel's existence in the region. 

There is no doubt that full normalisation with Israel cannot be accomplished until it agrees to end its occupation of Palestine and oppression of the Palestinian people.

Any deal between Arab leaders and Israel will not be accepted by the peoples of the region until Israel redresses the legitimate national and human rights of the Palestinians. What UAE leaders have just done is to simply betray these goals without gaining anything in return.  

PALESTINA

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OCHA

Palestinian Center for Human Rights

B'Tselem 

International Solidarity Movement – Nonviolence. Justice. Freedom

Defense for Children 
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