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The Palestine Center - Reports and Commentary: Worth Reading
REPORTS & COMMENTARY
From time to time, the Palestine Center distributes articles it believes will enhance understanding of the Palestinian political reality. The following recently published articles are worth reading.
Israel: Extend Settlement Freeze (Human Rights Watch)
Israel should make permanent and total the partial “freeze” on construction in West Bank Jewish settlements, Human Rights Watch said today. Israel’s construction of settlements and their infrastructure violates its obligations as an occupying power and the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank, including unjustly limiting their ability to build homes and access their lands, Human Rights Watch said.
Abbas delays decision on talks (AlJazeera.net)
Israel’s 10-month moratorium on settlement construction has ended despite international pressure to extend it, sparking fears for the future of Middle East talks. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, held back on Monday from quitting the process, saying instead that he would first consult with other regional leaders about how to respond.
Fatah official: Serious progress in unity talks (Ma’an News Agency)
A Fatah Revolutionary Council member said Monday that “serious progress” has been made in finalizing a unity deal between his party and Hamas following a meeting in Damascus over the week.
Contradiction in Washington Prevents Peace in the Middle East by Osamah Khalil (The Huffington Post)
Israel’s ten-month “freeze” on settlement building, declared under pressure from the Obama administration last November, is set to expire this month. James Cunningham, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, reportedly warned European envoys that direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians were on the verge of collapse over the settlement freeze. While attention has focused on whether the freeze will continue, few have asked if it was ever truly in force.
On Israeli ‘moratorium,’ U.S. has taken sides by Josh Ruebner (USA Today)
As a former professor of constitutional law, President Obama is undoubtedly familiar with the “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine, which posits that prosecutors cannot benefit from evidence obtained through an illegal search.
Obama UN Speech on Mideast Talks ‘Filled with Empty Words’ – Palestinian Attorney Diana Buttu (Democracy Now!)
President Obama makes the Israel-Palestine conflict the centerpiece of his address to the UN General Assembly. Urging the international community to support his plan for peace, the President called on Palestinians to move ahead with “genuine reconciliation” with Israel and said Israel should extend it’s “settlement moratorium.”
A Test of Israel’s Character by Roger Cohen (Human Rights Council)
At a dinner hosted by American Jewish leaders for the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, I was seated with a senior U.S. diplomat to my left, the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization to my right, and Abbas opposite. It was like listening to a rousing peace overture as an ominous leitmotif of disaster keeps returning with ever greater insistence.
Human Rights Situation in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories (Human Rights Council)
Report of the international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, resulting from the Israeli attacks on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian assistance.
The views expressed in these articles are these of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of The Jerusalem Fund.
