Israeli Soldier Returns Home

After more than five years in Hamas captivity, Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit arrived home Tuesday. 

In a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas, Schalit was exchanged for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.

The swap will be performed in a series of delicate stages. 477 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons were released Tuesday morning and an additional 550 prisoners will be released in two months.

Schalit, 25, was moved from Gaza into Egypt where Israeli medical personnel examined him.

Subsequently, Schalit was taken to a military base in Tel Nof, Israel where he was greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and embraced by his mother, father, grandfather, sister and brother.

After being welcomed home by more than 200 supporters and activists in his doorway, Schalit entered his home in Mitzpe Hila, a town in Northern Israel near the Lebanese border.

Medical examinations showed that Schalit was malnourished, pale and limping but otherwise in reasonable health. His mental health is still unknown.

Palestinian UN Bid Moving One Small Step at a Time

The UN Security Council today agreed to refer Palestinian application for UN membership to a special committee which will begin examining its request Friday.

Council members met briefly this morning to make the announcement, the first step in a process that could likely take weeks, or longer, before any final decision. 

The Palestinian Authority’s Envoy at the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters he was pleased Security Council members had started the initial process preparing for deliberation over Palestine’s admission request .

” As you see, the process is moving forward step by step, and we hope that the Security Council will shoulder its responsibility and approve our application…” he told reporters outside the Security Council. 

 The Palestinian Authority would need 9 of the Security Council’s 15 members to vote in favor of the resolution, with no votes against coming from the security body’s five veto-wielding permanent members.(China, Russia, France, UK, US)

American officials have already indicated they would veto a resolution on Palestinian UN membership should it come before the Security Council, although it remains unclear if the the Palestinian Authority has secured the necessary 9 votes of support from other members of the Council. 

The Palestinian envoy also condemned the Israeli government’s decision yesterday to approve the construction of over 1000 housing units in East Jerusalem, calling it “provocative”, “illegal” and evidence the Netanyahu government has no regard for the international community’s peace plan. 

Mansour said the move was “a clear answer by the Israeli government to the Quartet, to negotiations and to the refusal of abiding by the global consensus on the fact that settlements are legal obstacle to peace and they need to be stopped.”

“This speaks clearly that Israel is not interested in negotiating with us, in spite of the fact they say they like to do so. Their action speaks louder than what they say verbally.” he added.

The Palestinian President and Israeli Prime Minister butted heads over the issue of settlements in their speeches last week to the General Assembly, with Mahmoud Abbas arguing that continued expansion was preventing the resumption of negotiations and Benjamin Netanyahu charging back that it was the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, not settlements, that had ended talks. 

The UN and the large majority of international community consider settlement activity to be illegal. The Obama administration’s official position is that they are illegitimate and an impedement to the peace process. 

Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor dismissed Mansour’s accusations over the latest settlement expansion, arguing that Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish people, but also conceding that Israeli officials would be open to negotiations on the matter.  

“Every thing is on the table, everything is negotiable. I hear the Palestinians using every pretext in order to find a reason not to go into negotiations. All we want… is for both sides to sit down and negotiate everything, nothing is off the table.” he told reporters outside the Security Council. “We’ve started a process, and the process at the end of the day should be between Palestinians and Israelis talking about everything without any preconditions, in Jerusalem and in Ramallah.” 

The Middle East Quartet -Russia, United States, European Union and United Nations- issued a statement last week after Abbas filed the Palestinian request for UN membership, appealing to both sides to urgently return to negotiations and respect their obligations under the Middle East Roadmap. 

The Quartet statement also outlines timeline for the possible resumption of negotiations and calls on both parties to submit proposals on territory and security within the next three months.

Both Mansour and Prosor said their governments were in the process of reviewing the Quartet statement and expected official responses by the end of the week. 

Abbas, Netanyahu Talk Past Each Other at UN General Assembly

In a passionate speech before the United Nations General Assembly, Mahmoud Abbas today made good on his bid for full Palestinian membership at the United Nations in the hope of reviving talks with Israel and moving past the stalemate that has characterized negotiations over the past decades.

Just minutes later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the Abbas approach and called for a peace deal before recognition.

President Abbas said the Palestinian request supported the resumption of negotiations and actually enhanced its chances of success.

“ It is no longer possible to redress the issue of the blocked horizon of the peace talks with the same means and methods that have repeatedly been tried and proven unsuccessful over the past years.” Abbas told the General Assembly, in a speech punctuated by applause and cheers from a majority of the national delegations in the assembly hall.

“We extend our hand to the Israeli government and the Israeli people for peace making and I say to them: Let us urgently build together a future for our children were they can enjoy freedom , security and prosperity. Let us build the bridges of dialogue instead of check points and walls of separation.”

The Palestinian President said he presented Secretary General Ban Ki Moon earlier today with an application for admission of Palestine on the basis on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital.

In the run-up to today’s announcement, Israeli officials repeatedly dismissed Palestine’s application for UN membership as an attempt to pressure and isolate Israel within the international community. 

Abbas argued that the intentions behind the application were quite the opposite and that the Palestinian Authority and people had clearly chosen the path of diplomacy, but could no longer stand by as settlement construction continued.

“Our efforts are not aimed at isolating Israel; or delegitimizing it. Rather we want to gain legitimacy for the cause of the people of Palestine, we only aim to delegitimize the settlement activities , the occupation and apartheid and the logic of ruthless force.” he said “When we bring our plight and our case to this international podium it is a confirmation of our reliance on the political and diplomatic option and is confirmation that we do not undertake unilateral steps.”

Last September, Palestinian officials walked away from talks after the Netanyahu government refused to extend a moratorium on settlement construction in the Occupied Territories.

The Obama administration first tried to pressure Israel to maintain the 2010 construction freeze, but stepped back from its demands after Netanyahu indicated settlement construction would go on.

 Taking to the podium a few minutes later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu challenged the Palestinian President’s assertions about the failure of negotiations. 

“President Abbas just stood here and he said that the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the settlements. Well thats odd, our conflict was raging for nearly half a century before there was a single Israeli settlement in the West Bank.” he told world body. “The core of the conflict is not the settlements. The settlements are a result of the conflict. Its an issue that has to be addressed and resolved in the course of negotiations,  but the core of the conflict has always been and unfortunately remain the refusal of the Palestinians to recognize a Jewish state in any border.”

Netanyahu said the Palestinians leadership continued to deny the historical connection Jews have with the state of Israel and Jerusalem and ignore its legitimate security concerns. 

“Israel is the Jewish state. President Abbas, stop walking around this issue, recognize the Jewish state and make peace with us.” 

Netanyahu said his government had worked hard to advance peace since he had taken office, but Palestinians officials refused to respond to his offers. 

“President Abbas, why don’t you join me? We have to stop negotiating about the negotiations. Lets just get on with it. Lets negotiate peace.” he said to applause “I cannot make peace alone, I cannot make peace without you. President Abbas, I extend my hand, the hand of Israel in peace.”

Ten Years On, Durban Still Divides

As the UN commemorated the 10th anniversary of the controversial Durban World Conference Against Racism, opponents of the event held their own counter-conference at a nearby mid-town Manhattan hotel.

 The 2001 Durban Conference Declaration was boycotted by the US and other countries for its disproportionate focus on Israel and Zionism.

 The US, Canada, Australia and several European countries decided not to participate in this year’s commemoration.

 The Durban counter-event, entitled “The Perils of Global Intolerance”, had a wide range of participants from different fields, including Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor, Noble Laureate Eli Wiesel, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and one time American Ambassador at the UN John Bolton. 

Bolton, a long-time critic of the United Nations, spoke about his time serving at the world body and the organization’s relationship with Israel.

“The pervasiveness of anti-Israel feeling, anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and anti-Americanism is there [at the UN] as an under-current all the time,” he said. 

Bolton claims the central objective of the Durban III Declaration is the “delegitimization” of the state of Israel, “in ways large and small.”

George W. Bush’s former UN Ambassador also said he wanted the Obama administration to take “strong action” against the Palestinian membership application at the UN set for tomorrow, which he describes as yet another attempt to delegitimize the state of Israel. 

Bolton argued the White House should threaten the Palestinian Authority and UN with funding cuts.

 “If you want the USA to be listened to in the United Nations context, talk about money,”

Obama At UN: Peace Is Hard

Today, at the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama addressed a packed crowd of the world’s highest level dignitaries from countries including Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Sudan, France and Iran.

“I would like to talk to you about an issue which is at the heart of the United Nations; the pursuit of peace in an imperfect world. A lasting peace for nations and individuals depends on a sense of justice and opportunity. It depends on struggle, sacrifice and compromise.”

Amidst widespread criticism of his current policies regarding Israel, Obama stood firm on the United States’ position in regards to Palestinian statehood. 

“The lesson of Ireland and Sudan will be the path to a Palestinian state. Negotiations between the two parties,” he said. “America has invested so much time and effort in a building of a Palestinian state. But understand this as well, America’s friendship with Israel is deep and enduring. We must commit to Israel’s security. Let us be honest with ourselves. Israel is small country of eight million people where leaders of much larger nations threaten to wipe it off the map. Those are facts and they cannot be denied. Israel deserves recognition. That is the truth. Each side has legitimate aspirations. The deadlock will only be broken when each side learns to stand in the other’s shoes and see the world in each other’s eyes.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will call on the UN General Assembly to vote in support of a separate Palestinian state at the end of the week. He is expected to win the two-thirds majority of 129 votes needed within the General Assembly. Nonetheless, Susan Rice, the US Ambassador for the United Nations has stated several times the US, which holds a permanent seat at the Security Council, would veto the request. The General Assembly vote is being viewed by many critics within the international community as a symbolic gesture more than a shift in policy relations with Palestine.

“One year ago, I stood at this podium and I called for an independent Palestine,” Obama said. “I believe then as I do now that Palestinians need a state of their own. But a genuine agreement needs to be made by Israelis and Palestinians themselves.”

The President highlighted his plan for a two-state solution which he announced in May of this year. He added he understood clearly the frustration by the lack of progress as expressed by the Palestinian government. 

“The question is not the goal that we seek. But how we reach that goal. I am convinced there is no short cut to the end of a conflict that has lasted for decades. Peace is hard to come. It does not come from statements at the United Nations. Ultimately, peace depends on compromise and on people to live side by side.”

Obama also underscored his Administration’s achievements in setting a new direction with the world including the withdrawal of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. He strongly criticized the Iranian and Syrian governments. He immediately called on the Security Council to impose sanctions on the Syrian government.

 “The fact is peace is hard. We still live in a world scarred by conflict.” 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also stressed the importance of cooperation.  He canvassed the UN’s role as the world’s first emergency responder and the significant role the United Nations continues to play in maintaining peace in countries like Somalia, Sudan, Haiti and Cote d-Ivoire.

“This year, the UN peacekeeping budget will be over 8 billion dollars. To prevent violations of human rights, we must work for the rule of law and stand against impunity.  In the Middle East, we must break the stalemate. We have long agreed the Palestinians need  a state.”