Daily News Issue Date:
September 24, 2008
Israeli prime minister designate-Tzipi Livni assures Palestinian negotiators that the peace talks will continue even while she is forming the new government (1). Five Palestinians are killed as Egyptian forces explode two smuggling tunnels on their border with Gaza (2). Fatah approves tentative plans to restructure the Palestinian government (3). Jordanian and Egyptian heads of state call for increased global assistance in the establishment of Palestinian state (4). In a special report for The Middle East Times Editor Claude Salhani discusses an alternative option for the future of Palestine (5).
Palestinians win Livni pledge on talks
Article Author(s):
Wafa Amr
Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurie won an assurance from Israeli prime minister-designate Tzipi Livni on Tuesday that peace talks will not stall while she tries to form a new coalition government.
In an interview with Reuters following their meeting, Qurie warned that violence could erupt if the talks collapsed.
"The Palestinians will continue to negotiate. But, if the talks reached a dead end, what do we do? Capitulate? Resistance in all its forms is a legitimate right," Qurie said.
Gaza: 5 Die in Smugglers' Tunnels
At least five Palestinians were killed and four others were wounded on Tuesday when Egyptian forces blew up two smuggling tunnels beneath the Egyptian-Gaza border, medical workers and residents said. The tunnels, which are used to bring goods from Egypt into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, collapsed when Egyptian soldiers detonated explosives in an attempt to curb smuggling, residents said. Egyptian officials were not immediately available for comment. Israeli officials have said many of the tunnels are also used by militants to smuggle weapons into Gaza from Egypt.
Fatah OKs plan for new govt
Media Outlet:
Agence France Presse (AFP)
The ruling Palestinian faction Fatah has agreed to an Egyptian proposal to create a new government that would be acceptable to the international community, a senior Fatah official said yesterday.
Jordan, Egypt say world must help
Media Outlet:
The Jordan Times
Jordan and Egypt on Tuesday agreed to further coordinate their stands in the face of present challenges.
During a summit meeting in Cairo, His Majesty King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called for intensified international efforts to work out a just political settlement of the Palestinian issue that ends the Israeli occupation and leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Forget Palestine? Surely You Jest.
Article Author(s):
Claude Salhani
Media Outlet:
Middle East Times
Okay. The Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are getting nowhere fast. Some experts are starting to say that maybe it's time to look at the future of Palestine with a completely set of new lenses. The paradox in the comatose peace negotiations is that although the details calling for a two-state solution are generally accepted by all sides, a solution is not truly desired by either the Palestinians or the Israelis for various reasons. See the Sept. 15 issue of the Middle East Times
Palestinian, Jordanian, or both?
Article Author(s):
Arwa Aburawa
Media Outlet:
Common Ground News Service
?I love Jordan,? whispered a young refugee girl. ?I love Jordan even though I?m Palestinian.?
Listening to Ibtisaam, a proud Palestinian who lives in the expansive refugee camps of Jordan, I could see that this was a hard confession to make. In light of her Palestinian pride it was hard to justify her love of Jordan since this was seen as a denial of her Palestinian self ? a direct challenge to her Palestinian roots.
Naalin commander admits wrongdoing, but disputes criminal charges
Article Author(s):
Aviad Glickman
Lt. Colonel Omri Burberg, a Naalin regiment commander who was indicted following an incident in which a bound Palestinian was shot in the foot during an anti-fence protest in the West Bank village, contested a petition submitted by human rights organizations asking to charge him with more serious offenses.
Burberg was dismissed after the incident. His attorneys said Wednesday that "the inquiry into the regiment commander's behavior has led to the conclusion that this is not a case in which a mark of disgrace should be planted on his forehead, warning the public against him."
Playing Palestinians off against each other
Article Author(s):
Ghassan Khatib
Media Outlet:
Bitterlemons
In spite of their recent fierce confrontations and the continuing hostile rhetoric, there are apparently three levels of direct and indirect dealings between Israel and Hamas of Gaza. A ceasefire was reached and is still maintained, negotiations are taking place through third parties on a likely prisoners' exchange and the two sides are exchanging views over the possible opening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
Peres: Israel isn't willing to give Syria land in exchange for rocket fire
Article Author(s):
Yoav Stern
President Shimon Peres on Wednesday told his Turkish counterpart President Abdullah Gul that Israel "is not willing to take painful steps and return territories in exchange for rocket fire," referring to peace negotiations between Israel and Syria.
The two heads of state met on the sidelines of the opening of the 63rdl United Nations General Assembly in New York. Turkey has been acting as a mediator in the recently relaunched indirect talks between Israel and Syria.
Israel's population on eve of Rosh Hashanah: 7.3 million, 76% Jewish
Article Author(s):
Moti Bassok
On the eve of Rosh Hashanah 5769, Israel's population stands at 7,337,000 people, including 5,542,000 Jewish Israelis (75.5 percent) and 1,477,000 Israeli Arabs (20.1 percent).
The figures, published Wednesday in the Central Bureau of Statistics annual report, also include another 318,000 Israelis listed under the category of "others," in which some 200,000 foreign workers were counted. The report stated that the population has grown by 1.8 percent since last year.
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