Are Jordanian Parliamentarians Sane?

You remember the 1994 Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty?

Article 9?

PLACES OF HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE
Each party will provide freedom of access to places of religious and historical significance.

In this regard, in accordance with the Washington Declaration, Israel respects the present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem. When negotiations on the permanent status will take place, Israel will give high priority to the Jordanian historic role in these shrines.

The Parties will act together to promote interfaith relations among the three monotheistic religions, with the aim of working towards religious understanding, moral commitment, freedom of religious worship, and tolerance and peace.

Now read this

Lawmakers angered by Israeli Knesset's plans to end Jordanian guardianship in Jerusalem

Amman, Feb 16 (Petra) -- Jordanian lawmakers...said the move, if taken, is a breach of the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty.  The MPs called on the government to take quick and immediate action to respond to such move which they said it violates Jordanian national sovereignty and is tantamount to a breach of the peace treaty signed between Jordan and Israel.

The Lower House of Parliament's Palestine Committee said the Knesset's proposal aims at legitimizing recurring storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Muslim and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem and Palestine.  If Israel goes ahead with such plans, the committee said in a statement, the government is required to shut down the Israeli embassy in Amman, expel the ambassador and close the Jordanian embassy in Tel Aviv...

Are these parliamentarians sane or rational?

______________

P.S.

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas warned Sunday of Israeli “plans” to impose Israeli sovereignty on the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.  PA Minister for Religious Affairs Mahmoud al-Habbash said that there would be no sovereignty over the Aqsa Mosque and Islamic and Christian holy sites other than Palestinian sovereignty. “This is the full right of the Arab, including Muslims and Christians,” he said.

P.P.S.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday the Palestinian Authority would not agree to share sovereignty over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in the course of a peace deal with Israel, but would allow freedom of worship for Jews in the Western Wall Plaza...Answering a question on whether the Palestinian Authority would be willing to accept Israeli settlers remaining under the jurisdiction of a future Palestinian state, the same as the Arab minority living in Israel, Abbas said the analogy is flawed, but even so the discussion of the issue is premature. "First of all, give me the borders of the Palestinian state and then we'll discuss the repercussions and minor details," he said.

^ 

Lost on the Roadmap

After reading this,

EU's Ashton 'deeply regrets' new settlement building

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton on Thursday criticized Israel for offering tenders this week for the construction of 1,213 new homes in east Jerusalem.  Ashton said in a statement that she "deeply regrets" moves to add 607 units in Pisgat Zeev and 606 units in Ramot.

..."During 2011 and 2012 the EU High Representative has expressed her profound disappointment on a number of occasions concerning the expansion of nearby Har Homa settlement. Together these developments continue the process of separating East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory," the statement added.

"Continuous expansion of settlements, wherever this takes place, further complicates ongoing diplomatic efforts to avoid deterioration in the prospects for a return to negotiations at this critical time," Ashton said.  "The EU has repeatedly urged the Government of Israel to immediately end all settlement activities in the West Bank, including in east Jerusalem, in line with its obligations under the Roadmap."

I was wondering, how many times has Lady Ashton similarly criticized PA infractions, violations and other naughty acts not in line with the Roadmap?

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Islamic Freedom of Religion

Al-Hayat reports:-

The PA's Council of Ministers, during its meeting held in Ramallah yesterday, headed by Dr.. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, condemned ongoing Israeli schemes aimed at the ngoing Al-Aqsa Mosque, whether through further excavation, or storming a daily basis and provocative by the army and settlers, and invitations to destroy it, or allow the Jews to pray in and prevent Muslims from entering at certain times.He warned that further campaigns of incitement deliberate by the leaders of Israeli multi-against the mosque and praying in it may lead to a disaster, stressing the need for a pressure of an international Arab actor to stop the Israeli violations against the Aqsa Mosque and the holy city, calling the Islamic Summit held today in Mecca to take decisions of actors to address these serious measures and practices and to support the steadfastness of our people and enable it to protect it.

Compare to the above this statement that I found in the book I just noted:-

You read that part about "freedom of worship" in the last paragraph?

Nu.  So where's my freedom of worship?

They have their's:

Thousands of worshipers from the West Bank, Jerusalem and Israel headed to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday to celebrate Laylat al-Qadr, one of Ramadan’s holiest nights. Director of the Jerusalem office of the Islamic Waqf told Ma’an that the number of worshipers exceeded 400,000.

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And While Ramallah Sparkled...

From a Reuters report:

...downtown Ramallah sparkles. The scars of an intractable conflict and occupation melt away: cafes bustle with smartly dressed patrons, water-pipe smoke perfumes the air and basslines from trendy clubs shake the night. New model BMWs ply leafy avenues beneath villas and tall apartment blocks sprout from the West Bank hills.

But it's more mirage than miracle.  "Thank God for loans," said Ibrahim el-Far, owner of the newly-opened branch of the upscale Italian cafe chain Segafredo Zanetti in Ramallah...

Government spending and living on credit at all levels of Palestinian society is rampant and, as the euro zone crisis has shown, may prove to be the economy's undoing.

Bank lending for personal consumption in the Palestinian territories has risen five-fold in the last two years to $417 million. Total credit for cars alone accounts for a further $119 million, according to the Palestinian Monetary Authority.

"If you're immersed in troubles, why not try to live well, have night life and good coffee? If we've been slapped once by occupation, the slap from the credit bill won't hurt as much," El-Far said.

...Salaries for a swollen public sector again cannot be paid in full this month. The productive base for the economy is shrivelling while unemployment climbs along with poverty...growth is down from a peak of 9 percent in 2010 after the lows of the Intifada to 5.4 percent in the first quarter of 2012 from the same 2011 period.

Oh, well.  At least there is the sparkle.

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Pal. Authority "Freedoms"

Remember my comparison of how journalist groups attack Israel but the PA seems to escape real criticism?

Well, from the new US report:
2011 Human Rights Reports: Israel and the occupied territories - the occupied territories

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:Share

a. Freedom of Speech and Press

Status of Freedom of Speech and Press

The PA Basic Law provides every person the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and expression, orally, in writing, or through any other form. The PA does not have laws specifically providing for freedom of press; however, PA institutions applied aspects of an unratified 1995 press law as de facto law. In practice, PA security forces in the West Bank and members of the Hamas security apparatus in the Gaza Strip continued to restrict freedom of speech and press. HRW reported that since 2007 most abuses against journalists in both the West Bank and Gaza were related to tensions between the PA and Hamas. The PA military judiciary detained civilian journalists, according to human rights organizations.
Israeli authorities placed limits on certain forms of expression in the occupied territories.

Freedom of Speech: Although there is no PA law prohibiting criticism of the government, there were reports that the government was not fully tolerant of criticism. HRW reported in February that the PA repeatedly responded to peaceful demonstrations with violent attacks (see section 2.b., Freedom of Assembly).
In the Gaza Strip, individuals publicly criticizing authorities risked reprisal by Hamas, including arrest, interrogation, seizure of property, and harassment. Civil society and youth activists, social media advocates, and individuals associated with political factions accused of criticizing Hamas in public fora such as the Internet faced punitive measures including raids on their facilities and residences, arbitrary detentions, and denial of permission to travel outside of Gaza. The ICHR reported numerous detentions of protesters in the Gaza Strip. For example, the ICHR reported at least 16 arrests of protesters in March alone and numerous instances in which Hamas quelled rallies and protests with violence.
In East Jerusalem, under Israeli authority, displays of Palestinian political symbols were punishable by fines or imprisonment, as were public expressions of anti-Israeli sentiment and support for terrorist groups. Israeli security officials regularly shut down meetings or conferences held in East Jerusalem affiliated with the PA or with PA officials in attendance. For example, the ISA warned organizers of a Palestinian agricultural trade show in East Jerusalem in September that they would face closure if they invited PA officials or displayed a Palestinian flag. In September Israeli police ordered shut a meeting in East Jerusalem on Israeli changes to Palestinian school curricula, and Israeli security officers questioned the organizers about their involvement in the meeting.


Freedom of Press: Across the occupied territories, independent media operated with some restrictions.
In the West Bank, the PA placed some restrictions on independent media as well as official media. The PA maintained a distribution ban in the West Bank on the twice-weekly pro-Hamas al-Risala and the Filistin daily newspapers, both Gaza-based publications. Hamas’s al-Aqsa TV reportedly enjoyed some degree of access to work in the West Bank without harassment.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas restricted independent media, especially for non-Hamas-affiliated press and media outlets. Israel restricted the mainstream pro-PA dailies, independent al-Quds (based in Jerusalem), independent pro-Fatah al-Ayyam, and PA official daily al-Hayat al-Jadida (the latter two based in the West Bank), from importation into the Gaza Strip. Hamas authorities tolerated reporting and interviews featuring officials from the PA to be locally broadcast. Hamas allowed, with some restrictions, the operation of non-Hamas-affiliated broadcast media in the Gaza Strip. The PA-supported Palestine TV reportedly enjoyed access to operate in the Gaza Strip.
In East Jerusalem independent media were able to operate. As a general rule, Israeli media were able to cover the occupied territories, except for combat zones where the IDF temporarily restricted access, but closures, curfews, and checkpoints limited the ability of Palestinian and foreign journalists to do their jobs (see section 2.d.). Israel revoked the press credentials of the majority of Palestinian journalists during the Second Intifada in 2000, with the exception of a few Palestinian journalists who worked as stringers for prominent international media outlets. As a result most Palestinian journalists were unable to cover stories outside the Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank.

Violence and Harassment: PA security forces reportedly harassed, detained occasionally with violence, and fined journalists several times during the year due to their reporting. HRW reported in April that the PA Preventative Security and General Intelligence services intimidated, detained, and assaulted journalists with impunity, including through detentions of civilian journalists by the military judiciary.
According to the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), PA police officers prevented Ibtihal Mansour, a reporter for al-Sharq al-Awsat Studies Center, from covering a sit-in against PA political arrests in Nablus on June 13. Mansour stated that, although she adhered to orders, two female officers in civilian clothes beat her up and tried to confiscate her camera and cell phone. She was released after the intervention of members of the public and other journalists.
PA security services summoned and questioned several journalists in the West Bank. For example, on September 10, the Palestinian intelligence services in Bethlehem summoned al-Aqsa TV cameraman Osayd Amarneh, whom they questioned about filming a protest and later released.
In the Gaza Strip, journalists faced arrest, harassment, and other pressure from Hamas due to their reporting. There were reports that Hamas also summoned journalists for questioning in an attempt to intimidate them. Hamas also constrained journalists’ freedom of movement during the year, attempting to ban access to some official buildings, as well as several prodemocracy protests.
During coverage of popular intra-Palestinian reconciliation protests on March 19 in Gaza City, Hamas internal security forces forcibly entered the Gaza City offices of CNN, NHK (Japan’s public broadcasting service), and Reuters, assaulted several journalists, seized equipment, and demanded that the journalists stop filming the protests.
According to MADA, on August 17, Hamas security personnel prevented Wisam Zu’bur, a photographer for al-Hurriya Media Center, from taking pictures near al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City.
There were reports during the year of Israeli authorities detaining or assaulting journalists due to their reporting or coverage. In various incidents Israeli forces subsequently raided those journalists’ homes.
For example, on August 19, Israeli forces reportedly assaulted Al Jazeera cameraman Nabeel Mizawi and correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh while the two were covering Friday prayers at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. In a live report on Al Jazeera, Abu Akleh claimed that IDF personnel beat Mizawi and ordered them to stop filming. According to the report, IDF personnel also cut a voice cable to mute the broadcast.
Local media reported that on November 22, Israeli authorities arrested Israa Salhab, a reporter for al-Quds satellite station, after she anchored a program on Palestinian prisoners. She was released on November 28 and never faced official charges.


Censorship or Content Restrictions: The PA prohibits calls for violence, displays of arms, and racist slogans in PA-funded and controlled official media. Media throughout the occupied territories practiced self-censorship. There were no confirmed reports of any legal actions or prosecutions against any person publishing items counter to these PA guidelines.
Civil society organizations reported that Hamas censored television programs and written content, such as newspapers and books. On January 23, according to HRW, Hamas police officers entered three bookstores in Gaza and confiscated copies of two novels--Haidar Haidar’s A Banquet for Seaweed and Alaa’ al-Aswany’s Chicago--and searched for copies of a third book, Forbidden Pleasure, telling the store owners that the books were seized because the Hamas ministry of interior “deemed them “against sharia” (Islamic law).
There were no reports that the Israeli government monitored the media in the occupied territories. Israeli authorities retain the right to review and approve in advance of printing all Jerusalem-based Arabic publications for material perceived as a security threat. In practice anecdotal evidence suggested the Israeli authorities did not actively review the Jerusalem-based al-Quds newspaper or other Jerusalem-based Arabic publications. Jerusalem-based publications reported that, based on previous experiences with Israeli censorship, over time they came to know what is acceptable and self-censored publications accordingly.


Libel Laws/National Security: There were instances in which slander and libel laws were used to suppress criticism. For example, on August 16, the PA attorney general banned the annual Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation’s Palestine TV Ramadan comedy program series, Watan ala Watar, in its third season, after PA security forces, representatives of the PA Ministry of Health, and the union of PA employees filed complaints claiming the program slandered members of their respective professions. On August 18, the PA attorney general issued final orders sanctioning the forcible suspension of the program.
There were no known reports that Hamas used security justifications or slander or libel laws to censure public critique.

Internet Freedom

There were no PA restrictions on access to the Internet; however, there were reports that the PA, Hamas, and Israel monitored e‑mail and Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could generally engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e‑mail.
On August 11, the Palestinian Telecommunication Company (PTC) suspended the Web site of electronic newspaper Alshu’la for one week, according to MADA. Alshu’la filed a complaint against the PTC with the PA attorney general. Alshu’la was reportedly forced offline because of a dispute between the PA and former Fatah member Mohammed Dahlan, who financially sponsored the site.
On November 15, PA intelligence services arrested George Qanawati, station manager of Bethlehem 2000 Radio, after he published a comment on his Facebook page on September 8 about tensions within Fatah. He was released five days later without charges.
Hamas did not restrict Internet access; however, based on anecdotal reports from Palestinian civil society organizations and social media practitioners, Hamas authorities monitored Internet activities and postings of Gaza Strip residents. Individuals posting negative reports or commentary about Hamas, its policies, or affiliated organizations faced questioning, and authorities at times required them to remove or modify online postings. No information was available regarding punishment for not complying with such demands.
Israeli authorities did not restrict access to the Internet; however, they monitored some Internet activity.

And Beinart & comrades criticize Israeli democracy.

^

The Pals. & Arab Spring - They're the 'Old Order'

Dr. Hillel Frisch:

The Palestinians are part of the old Arab order because time and time again they have aligned themselves with the worst dictators of the Arab world. Their own governments in the West Bank and Gaza are cut from the same cloth as the regimes of the old Arab order...They demand the right to self-determination for themselves but deny it to others. They are also part of the old Arab order of terrorism. Many have wondered since the beginning of the Arab upheavals why the Palestinians have not taken part in the hoped-for 'Arab Spring.' The answer is that with the positions they hold today, the Palestinians are an integral part of the old Arab order, and therefore are unable to participate in a democratic, tolerant Arab renaissance...

Read it all.

And while you're at it, read this, too:-

The picture is this: the “Arab Spring” sweeping the region has not left the Palestinian arena unaffected. Abbas thinks it will sweep him away, too, unless he joins forces with the Palestinian Islamist factions—principally Hamas but also Islamic Jihad. He aims to do that by, for the first time in history, incorporating at least Hamas in his relatively secular PLO. That way when the “Arab Spring” comes to the West Bank, Abbas hopes it will be directed against Israel instead of what’s left of his weakening rule.

^

On The False Recognition Ploy

Khaled Abu Toameh reports that a PA negotiator is suggesting the PA may withdraw recognition of Israel:

Mohammed Shtayyeh, member of the Fatah Central Committee and one of the Palestinian Authority negotiators with Israel, was quoted Sunday as saying that the Palestinians may cancel the agreements signed between the PLO and Israel...In response to a question about Israeli settlements, Shtayyeh said: "If Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insists that there is no difference between the settlement of Abu Ghneim [Har Homa] and Tel Aviv, we won't distinguish between Ramallah and Jaffa."

...Shtayyeh explained: "The recognition of Israel was not a balanced recognition. The PLO recognized Israel in the geographic sense, but Israel did not recognize Palestine geographically, but as an institution. Israel only recognized the PLO. Now we are demanding a mutual recognition. We want Israel to recognize the Palestinian territories of 1967."

Of course, the minister has it backwards, as usual.

As Palestine Media Watch has proved with its studies and monitoring, and others as well, the PA does not recognize Israel, not intrinsically as an expression of Jewish nationalism and neither in its geography of borders.  Israeli cities and regions are "Palestine".  They teach and they broadcast that there is no difference between Haifa and Beersheba and Bethlehem and Shchem.  The PA symbols eliminate Israel from maps.  The educational system does not instruct the existence of Israel in any positive fashion.  No peace or coexistence programs are run.

It's all a fake.  The ungenuine peace.  The false recognition ploy.


(k/t=IMRA)

^

Feminist Voice on a Feminist Issue: Terror

Here's from Emily Amrousi's column today

...On Tuesday night, Abbas met with the murderer who seduced young Ofir Rahum to his death. We must not let him seduce us to our deaths.

It is time to remove the blinders. If Abbas tells us in every conceivable language that he is not a peace partner, maybe we should start believing him.

Read it all.


^

The J Street Clap

No. I was not referring to any disease, communicable or otherwise. Although some may think this item sick:

J Street Applauds Inclusion of Palestinian Aid in Appropriations Package

J Street welcomes the inclusion of language providing for continued US assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the FY2012 appropriations package introduced yesterday in the House...said Dylan Williams, J Street’s Director of Government Affairs.

The appropriations bill allows aid benefitting the PA to continue so long as the Palestinians do not obtain full membership or the same standing as member states in additional United Nations entities...“It is gratifying to see a bipartisan consensus emerge in support of continuing US assistance to the PA at this critical moment, as well as increased recognition of its vital role in protecting Israel and the United States’ essential interests in a stable Palestinian government,” added Williams.

Numerous Israeli and American security experts have drawn a direct link between continued Palestinian security assistance and Israel’s own security...J Street supports funding such programs at the substantial levels of recent years.

Yes, this has been relatively a good year for non-terror and obviously, the better the cooperation, the better the results.

Of course, if the terrorists are coming out of the ranks of the PA security forces, if the PA continues to incite, if the PA does not encourage educational programs for peace and coexistence, is the training the US is providing - and for which the money goes - actually making a better terrorist in the future?

Does US tax dollars also go for sensitivity training? Or is it just "security" without peace?

I have been quite critical of the 'Dayton Force' at this blog and am not convinced that this "security" being developed will be in the long-term that beneficial without the attending factors I've mentioned.

And, of course, if the PA is a bad boy, is aid reduced, even in mid-budget?

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Palestinian Humor

From an official news web site:

"Empty"?

Jewish youth stabbed in Jerusalem.

Attempted stabbing at Gush Etzion.

Do not trust Pal. information sources or even news agencies (like this one or this one).

Here's Ma'an on the Jerusalem stabbing.

UPDATE

3rd stabbing attempt incident at Hebron.
^

And Who Opposes the Pal. UN Move?

Hamas.

Hamas, however, does not support the bid for UN recognition on the grounds that it is a unilateral move by the president. Hamas official Musheer Al-Masri says the bid is an "individual step taken by President Abbas without consulting any faction."

Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar says the Gaza Strip, which Hamas controls, has been left out of the campaign.

"Nobody has asked the people in Gaza to take to the streets showing solidarity with the so-called September bid. If the Palestinian Authority calls for that, we will oppose it because they detain people in the West Bank. How can I give them the right to demonstrate in Gaza, while they do not give us that right in the West Bank?"

Islamic Jihad also criticized the PA for launching the bid unilaterally.

"This move needs to be studied to make sure it will not ignore major issues such as the right of return, and the future of the Palestine Liberation Organization as a umbrella for the whole Palestinian people," said Islamic Jihad spokesman Dawood Shihab.

Shibab added that Islamic Jihad had reservations toward the UN bid, and that a state could not be announced under occupation.

The Islamic Jihad official said he expected the campaign to fail without Palestinian consensus.

They have two administrations, two territorial units, about a half dozen military groups - all engaged in terror, hate, incitement against Israel.

The last thing they can agree on is "two-states-for-two-peoples", unless they are referring to themselves.

To quote Aaron David Miller:

a much darker reality looms: The Palestinian national movement has become a fractured Humpty Dumpty, with grave consequences for Israeli-Palestinian peace, regional stability, and Palestinians themselves.

^

After Reconciliation, There Goes Democracy

I just blogged the postponment of reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas and now see that democracy continues also to be on hold:

Abbas postpones local elections in West Bank

President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree on Monday postponing local West Bank elections scheduled for October 22.

The presidential decree postpones elections "until appropriate circumstances" exist, the statement said, and gives time "to provide the Central Elections Commission with the opportunity to continue preparations for holding elections in all Palestinian districts."

The postponement will also provide the "appropriate environment" for efforts to end "division and reaching reconciliation and national unity," the decree said.

Local elections were last postponed in July 2011 to give more time to a reconciliation agreement between rival parties Hamas -- which rules the Gaza Strip and refuses elections until the electoral commission is reformed -- and Fatah in the West Bank, signed in May.

I see they are really preparing themselves for full Arab statehood: no freedom of the press, human rights abuses, lack of adequate judicial transparency, donor funds embezlement and now no elections.

Great going there, Pals.

^

Denying the Temple

The Temple Denial campaign of the Palestinian Authority moved up a degree.

As reported here, Palestinian Media Watch caught this from, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, an official PA newspaper,

"Since Monday morning, groups of extremist Jews have been roaming the courtyards of Al-Aqsa mosque one after the other, under heavy police protection, on the occasion of the [week of the] so-called 'destruction of the Temple'...This Sunday, the occupation's police handed the shop owners in the Market of the Cotton Merchants ... which leads to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, an order forcing them to close their shops on Monday afternoon in order to facilitate the arrival of the settlers to the Market, for the sake of holding special Talmudic rituals on the occasion of the destruction of the alleged Temple."

The WND report continues and notes that this is routine and that the PA consistently denies the existence of the Temples as well as the Jewish historic connection to Israel.

In a previous interview, Chief Palestinian Justice Sheik Taysir Tamimi declared the Jewish temples never existed and Jews have no historic connection to Jerusalem. He also claimed the Western Wall really was a tying post for Muhammad's horse, the Al Aqsa Mosque was built by angels, and Abraham, Moses and Jesus were prophets for Islam.

He was quoted as saying:

"Israel started since 1967 making archeological digs to show Jewish signs to prove the relationship between Judaism and the city, and they found nothing. There is no Jewish connection to Israel before the Jews invaded in the 1880s...About these so-called two temples, they never existed, certainly not at the [Temple Mount]...We don't believe in all your versions. Your Torah was falsified. The text as given to the Muslim prophet Moses never mentions Jerusalem. Maybe Jerusalem was mentioned in the rest of the Torah, which was falsified by the Jews..."The Western Wall is the western wall of the Al Aqsa Mosque. It's where Prophet Muhammad tied his animal, which took him from Mecca to Jerusalem to receive the revelations of Allah...Al Aqsa was built by the angels 40 years after the building of Al-Haram in Mecca. This we have no doubt is true,"

Can you believe that?

^

What Are They Looking For?

Here:

^

Strides Taken in Hamas-Fatah Unity Gov't

Just kidding.

Reported:

Hamas rejects Fayyad as next Palestinian PM

The Hamas militant group on Sunday rejected the rival Fatah movement's nominee for prime minister, complicating plans to unify the dueling governments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and jeopardizing international aid for the Palestinians.

Hamas' opposition to Salam Fayyad's nomination marked a key setback in the reconciliation process, which aims to form a caretaker government until elections are held next year....It was not clear whether Hamas' announcement Sunday was a final decision, or a bargaining tactic as the sides gear up to fill Cabinet posts.

Fayyad, the prime minister of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, was nominated by the Western-leaning Fatah over the weekend to remain in his post...A U.S.-educated economist, Fayyad enjoys the respect of foreign donors...

Oh, well.

Where were we now?

Back in January 1946, I guess:

^

BBC: Fatah Only Rules 'Parts'

Very clever of the BBC to note:

The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority runs parts of the West Bank, while Hamas governs the Gaza Strip.

That's right, the PA is not only still terror-supporting and corrupt, with no real intent to make peace or yield on core "Palestinian issues" such as the right of return and negation of Jewish nationalism, but it really doesn't rule.

And the only result this new reconciliation past just signed - or not - will be the obliteration of Fatah as a political force.

^

That Hamas-Fatah/PA Reconciliation Agreement

No, not the one signed yesterday in Cairo.

The other one.  The previous one.  The "Mecca Agreement".

To remind you:

Hamas & Fatah Mecca Agreement is an agreement between Fatah and Hamas signed in the city of Mecca on February 8, 2007 after eight days of talks, agreeing to stop the military clashes in Gaza and form a government of national unity. Representatives from the Fatah side included the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and parliament member Mohammed Dahlan. The Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and Khaled Mashal represented Hamas.

An analysis:

15 February 2007

The International Implications of the Hamas-Fatah Mecca Agreement

Lt. Col. (res.) Jonathan D. Halevi

•The Mecca agreement between Hamas and Fatah does not presage a favorable diplomatic turn. It is merely a tactical political measure calculated to create a false impression regarding Hamas' political flexibility in order to whitewash the organization into being accepted as a legitimate player in the international arena without it having to meet the three preconditions of the Quartet.

•In practice, Gaza under Hamas rule continues to be a hotbed of terror organizations, including those with ties to al-Qaeda.

•The political flexibility of Hamas, as expressed in the Mecca agreement, derives first and foremost from Hamas' inability to score a decisive triumph, as well as from the international political and economic pressure which eroded public support for the Hamas government and the carrot and stick policy of Saudi Arabia (Hamas' financial patron). Hamas' main objective is the removal of the international boycott on the Palestinian Authority.

•Despite the desire of the EU countries to see a stable and democratic Palestinian government, past experience demonstrates that the billions of dollars poured into the Palestinian Authority since the Oslo process commenced have only served to strengthen the radical forces. If assistance is now extended to a Palestinian government where Hamas predominates, the West would be sawing off the limb of the tree which constitutes its Middle Eastern perch.

•Hamas, as part of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, does not conceal its aspirations to foment Islamic revolution throughout the Middle East, which would topple the moderate regimes allied with the West and establish an Islamic caliphate which will threaten Europe.

How long did it last? Until June.

What evolved? Reconciliation?

No, this:-

One Gaza doctor, who has examined the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians killed in fighting with Israel, said the level of cruelty in the factional fighting was "beyond our imagination".

"Israeli missiles can dismember bodies... but such brutality cannot be between people who are supposed to be brothers in arms," the doctor said.

Khaled Abdallah, a construction worker, said attacks by rival gunmen on the homes of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and Abbas could mark the point of no return.

"I do not think they will ever reconcile. It is like pouring sand on a fire. It does not die out. Once some wind takes away the sand, the flames rise up again," he said.

It was even in the NYTimes.


(Major k/t= SoccerDad)

Thank You Hamas

Reported:

Senior Hamas leader: Interim Palestinian government not able to work on peace with Israel




Mahmoud Zahar says the program 'does not include negotiations with Israel or recognizing it.'; Israel says accord reached between Hamas and Fatah would not secure peace in Mideast.

Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas leader who participated in the reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas, said on Wednesday that the interim Palestinian government would not be able to work on peace negotiations with Israel.

Well, to borrow a phrase, that settles it.


UPDATE

Hamas: "No recognition - no negotiations"

Yesterday the Palestinian Authority Fatah movement and Hamas reached a reconciliation and unification agreement, even though Hamas did not agree to recognize Israel. Israel has condemned the PA saying they have to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas.

The following are PA Fatah and Hamas reactions:

"...[Hamas leader] Mahmoud Azhar said that the political platform of Hamas is 'no recognition [of Israel] and no negotiations.' He said that he's sure that the disagreements between Hamas and Fatah regarding the peace process will not affect the functioning of the government that will be established by this agreement, because the purpose of this government is only to handle internal Palestinian issues...


A spokesman for President Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudena, said, 'In response to Netanyahu's statements, we say that the Palestinian reconciliation and the agreement that was signed today in Cairo are internal Palestinian issues."

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 28, 2011]

^

Incitement - Sometimes

Anti-Semitism

In both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Palestinian media published and broadcast material that included both anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic content, which sometimes (?) amounted to incitement. Rhetoric by several Palestinian groups included expressions of anti-Semitism, as did sermons by some Muslim religious leaders. Some Palestinian religious leaders rejected the right of Israel to exist. Hamas's al-Aqsa television station carried shows for preschoolers extolling hatred of Jews and suicide bombings.

Palestinian media not under the control of the PA, particularly those controlled by Hamas, continued to use inflammatory anti-Semitic language. Unofficial Palestinian television broadcast content that sometimes praised holy war to expel the Jewish presence in the region. Some children's programs shown on Hamas television legitimized the killing of Israelis and Jews via terrorist attacks.

Source:

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
April 8, 2011

Will They Discuss Matters With Me and My Colleagues?

I doubt it.

Illegitimate, I guess.

Abbas meets European consuls in West Bank

Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday met consuls of Britain, France and Germany in the West Bank and discussed efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.   Nabil Abu Rdineh, spokesman for Abbas, said that the participants discussed the upcoming meeting of the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators, which comprises the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, in the middle of April.

They also talked about "the necessity to issue a statement from the Quartet contributing to creating a positive atmosphere on the level of peace process," Abu Rdineh said.

So objective. so comprehensive. So willing to be even-handed and a fair partner.

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