This month, the uprisings and revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa have dominated news from the region impacting significantly on Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israel-Palestine peace process. The Palestinian Authority (PA) has reacted to the turmoil by the dissolving their cabinet and calling for elections in September; they have announced increased openness toward national reconciliation and stood their ground in the face of US pressure to scupper a UN resolution condemning Israeli settlements as 'illegal'. Europe has also changed gear showing an increased willingness to take a more active role in the peace process with British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, calling for a more concerted US and Israeli effort toward securing a peace settlement. By voting for the UN resolution on settlements despite knowing it would be vetoed by the US, Europe has expressed a keen wariness and discontent with US brokerage of the process and continued Israeli intransigence on key issues. In Palestine, the US decision was met with anti-US protests.
The wave of unrest is set to reach the streets of the Palestinian territories sooner rather than later with protests being organised on facebook for March 15th.
Following the outbreak of political turmoil in the Middle East, and the revolution in Egypt, British Foreign Minister William Hague called for more urgency to be interjected into the Middle East peace process, particularly on the part of Israel and the US. However, the removal of the Mubarak regime coupled with the general regional uncertainty is being exploited by Netanyahu and his government to justify continued procrastination on key issues such as settlements. This intervention is thought to reflect the European belief that the US has mismanaged the peace process and left it on the back burner.
Following the announcement that long overdue elections were being scheduled for September, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salam Fayyad, tendered his cabinet's resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas. The unelected Fayyad is expected to put together a new team of technocrats like himself within the next few weeks. It is not known whether Abbas, whose term expired two years ago will run for election.
On the 17th, the Obama administration wielded its veto at the UN Security Council for the first time blocking a resolution condemning the resumption of Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied territories and contravening their own policy on the illegal construction. All of the 14 remaining members of the council, including Britain, France and Germany, voted in favour of the resolution. Israel's decision to resume its illegal construction in September last year exaggerated the rift between Israel and the Palestinian Authority derailing direct negotiations between the two.
On Friday (25.02.11), thousands of protesters from across the Middle East including Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Tunis, Jordan, Bahrain and Palestine took part from their respective countries, in protests labelled 'a day of rage'. The various demands included;
- Iraq: An end to corruption and the need for basic services.
- Yemen: An end to the 32 year reign of President Ali Abdullah Saleh
- Egypt: Faster reform, the instatement of a new cabinet, the release of all political prisoners and that Mubarak be put on trial.
- Tunis: Resignation of the Prime Minister and against the violence on Libya.
- Palestine: Demands for national unity and liberation.
Protests are being organised by a grassroots non-aligned movement via Facebook to bring together Palestinian youths from across the occupied territories and refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon on the 15th of March. The aims of the Egypt inspired protests are not to overthrow the government but to engender unity between the bitterly divided Fatah and Hamas factions and to form a system based on the interests and aspirations of the people. The Facebook group already has thousands of supporters and it continues to grow.
Education Minister, Gideon Sa'ar, has announced that his department will be making trips to the Tomb of Patriarch in Hebron [Al-Khalil] part of the official curriculum in the new academic year.
Irish journalist and author, David Cronin, attempted a citizen's arrest of Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, this month with the words "Mr Lieberman, this is a citizen's arrest, you are charged with the crime of apartheid. Please accompany me to the nearest police station." Lieberman branded Cronin a "dedicated anti-Israel activist" obviously obsessed with Israel describing his actions as "Utterly uncivilised" and in bad taste. Lieberman also commented that Israel, "…like the EU, is very supportive of free speech. It's a shame that some people take advantage of that freedom sometimes."
Israel, the West bank and Gaza
In an article in the Guardian this month, Israeli Palestinian parliamentarian, Haneen Zoubi, talks about the impact of the shocking revelations made by the Palestine Papers for Palestinians living in Israel, particularly the PA's willingness to recognise of Israel as a Jewish State. She argues that decisions which directly impact the future status of their national minority must only be taken following full consultation.
Unlike many of its British counterparts, the New York Times hasn't abandoned its coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict to focus on events on North Africa and other parts of the Middle East. News items aside, the NYT's columnists Thomas L. Friedman and Roger Cohen have been in the region to provide their own insights into the uprisings in Egypt and Libya.
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