From 'negotiations' to 'talks'
By Dr. Clovis Maksoud

The meeting of the Arab Peace Initiative Committee last week was characterized by more than usual precision in its terminology, describing what is going on between the Palestinian Authority and Israel as mere "talks" rather than negotiations. This is closer to the truth and is a positive sign.

The transition from the use of the word "negotiations" to "talks" is an important correction as there haven't been what any reasonable person might call "negotiations" since Oslo. Negotiations assume a prior agreement between the parties on the desired result, and the negotiations are the process of identifying stages, conditions and mechanisms necessary to achieve the previously agreed outcome. In this case, that should be the existence of two states (Israel and Palestine), each with full sovereignty over their land, sea and air space.

The security service in Gaza has been restored and is now ready for a development phase. This was the message given by Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip, at a ceremony honouring Police College graduates on 7 March. The government's intention is to have a professional security service that serves the Palestinian people, not the aims and objectives of the Israeli occupation. Denying rumours that there are internal divisions within the government, Mr. Haniyeh insisted that everyone is dedicated to serving their religion, their nation and their people.

Gordon Brown’s proposals to change the law in Britain to make it harder for private citizens to apply for arrest warrants against suspected war criminals has been condemned by the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). If the British Prime Minister’s changes are pushed through, local magistrates will lose the power to issue such warrants. It was a magistrate in Westminster who issued an arrest warrant against Israel’s ex-Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in December, causing her to cancel a visit to Britain. Under Brown’s proposals, it will be up to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide if there is a better than reasonable chance of securing a conviction before any warrants is issued. In practice, this means that arrests are unlikely to happen. It is believed widely that Brown’s proposals have been made at the insistence of the government of Israel and the Israel lobby in Britain.

By Abd al-Rahim Rihan

At a recent conference for Arab archaeologists, held at the Smart Village in Egypt, Dr Faraj Allah Yusuf shocked the audience when he announced that the Al-Aqsa Institute has obtained maps and documents giving details of the Zionist plot to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque. As well as the initial destruction of the Magharba Gate the papers indicate that archaeological evidence will be "forged" to provide "relics" from the Noble Sanctuary area "proving" that this is the site of the ancient Temple and, therefore, part of Israel’s heritage.