Middle East Monitor - The Latest from the Middle East

UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon's decision to reject a request by the families of Palestinian Prisoners being held in Israeli prisons to meet with them during a recent visit to the Gaza Strip has caused widespread anger. The families of the prisoners in turn expressed strong objection to Mr Moon visit accusing him of double standards, disparity and indifference in dealing with the issue of Palestinian prisoners.
 
The Centre for Human Rights convened a press conference in response to Mr Ki-Moon's visit attended by a number of Palestinian lawyers, MP's and independent parliamentarians and during which the Centre Director, Raji Sourani, stated that human rights institutions had sent Mr Moon a written letter in response to his decision.

The Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Executive Training in Morocco, Lahcen Daoudi, stressed that the cooperation in the scientific field between Morocco and Turkey is vital and must be among the priorities of the two countries. He noted that the cooperation between Morocco and Turkey in the economic field is much wider than in the scientific field.
 
Following his meeting with the Turkish Ambassador in Morocco Tence Aacdol, Daoudi declared, in a press statement issued by the official media outlets in Morocco on Thursday, February 2, that there is a need to expand the scientific cooperation with Turkish universities in all divisions of study, especially at the level of students, scholarships, university professors and scientific research, stressing on the need to promote cooperation in the high areas.

Author: Alexander McNabb
Paperback: 265 pages
Publisher: Alexander McNabb
ISBN-13: 978-1466465718

Review by Samira Quraishy

Jordan, described as a new "emerging market" with "high human development", is a forward thinking, predominantly Muslim state. It has signed an array of treaties and is the beneficiary of millions of dollars of foreign aid, as well as military equipment. It finds itself at the heart of the ongoing Middle East conflict, as a handful of Palestinians and Israelis continue to negotiate and play with the lives of millions.

FACT SHEET

Over the past two decades, Palestinians have sat around the "negotiating table" on numerous occasions with successive Israeli governments and with a stated view of achieving a negotiated resolution to the intractable Palestine-Israel conflict. For years, Israel has claimed that the persistent failure of this so-called peace process was the result of Palestinian intransigence and of Israel having no reliable "partner for peace". However, an independently authenticated cache of confidential documents, records, contemporaneous notes and transcripts of private meetings between the two sides leaked in 2011, revealed a very different picture.

There are no Palestine-Israel negotiations being held at the moment because Israeli preconditions kill them before they begin. The Palestinian side doesn't have any alternative to offer instead of negotiations, which means that the issue will remain in limbo unless there is a change in the balance of power on the ground.

The logical basis for negotiations has to be the importance of Israel's withdrawal from the land it has occupied since 1967 in return for the security demands it wants. However, Israel has switched from the issue of withdrawal to a plan to change borders, which will allow it to continue its occupation with new land in the West Bank.