Israeli Minister Says Government Needs To Move Fast On Two State Solution

 A member of the Israeli cabinet says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to begin serious talks with Palestinians about a two-state solution, but also has to take measures to ensure Israeli-Arabs enjoy the same rights as other Israelis. Avishay Braverman, Israel’s Minister of Minority Affairs, told a news conference in New York that the current situation in Israel is unsustainable, and the window of opportunity for a two-state solution  is slowly closing. Braverman is a Labor party representative in the Netanyahu coalition government.

 Israeli Arabs represent over 20% of the population and have one of the highest birth rates in country but are often excluded fom Israel’s economic growth, with nearly half the population living in poverty and depending on a  comparatively weak social infrastrucure. Braverman says no Prime Minister since Itzack Rabin has successfully reached out to this population, but that the issue can no longer be ignored.  “This issue is not only just, it is also wise. Its not only good for the Arabs, its good for the Jews, so you do not have 20% of the people as adversaries.” 

Likud party leader and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has over the past year proposed several higly controversial measures concerning Arab citizenship in Israel, one which would require Arabs to take a loyalty oath to the State, but Braverman says the measures would never be accepted and accused Lieberman of damaging the delicate relationship between Israeli Jews and Arabs in order to pander to his political constituency.

Braverman says that contrary to popular belief, the most recent polls and studies show that the majority of Israel’s Arabs want to be citizens and participate in the state, but that Arab-Israeli leaders and Israel’s political parties have refused to engage with each other on the issue for the last decade.

 Braverman  says he is working on several programs to combat Arab economic inequality within Israel, but  admits that addressing the social integration issue has proven to be much more difficult and requires “creative” solutions.  Exchange programs between Arab and Israeli students have been successful in promoting integration in some communities but they  remain unfeasible in others because of the persisting mistrust and lack of communication. ” The dilemma is that the Jews do not know the Arabs. Many of them think when they see something in the news about traitors, that many of them are Fifth Column or terrorist.”

 Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu met with President Obama last week and Braverman says he is pleased they had a positive meeting, but now expects  the Prime Minister and Palestinian Leader Mahmud Abbas to begin direct negotiations in the next few months. “Both have to step up to the plate. Right now there is a positive climate, but climate is insufficient and actions are called for”

Anti-Israel Protests At The White House

After making an appearance at the Israeli Embassy this afternoon a crowd of about one hundred people moved the protest to the White House. They are protesting the incident today with the Gaza flotilla and the protesters are asking that the United States ask the Israeli Ambassador to leave Washington.

Amid shouts of "no more nickles, no more dimes, no more funding Israel's crimes" protesters also called for the end of Israeli occupation and blockade of Gaza. The protesters are mainly older white middle class Americans with a few women and men in headscarves and Palestinian neck scarves. One man walking to the demonstration told his children they could play in the park while he was demonstrating. The protesters are promising a large White House demonstration tomorrow, June 1 at noon. There was one counter protester with a bull horn from conservative World Net Daily attempting to give the other side of the story.

Former UK PM Tony Blair Calls For Two-State Solution To Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

By Antonia Aguilar - University of New Mexico / Talk Radio News

Former Prime Minister of the U.K. Tony Blair called for a two-state solution to the decades old conflict between Israel and Palestine Tuesday during an appearance before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

"If one day, Israel can be secure, recognized, understood and respected by the nations which surround it; if one day the Palestinian people can have their own state and can prosper in peace within it and beyond it, we will bring more than peace to people who have lived too long with conflict,” said Blair. “We will lift the scourge of extremism and bring hope to the world."

According to Blair both leaders already agree on a two state solution and the only step missing is a formal discussion wherein both parties trust each other and act accordingly.

“It isn’t that sensible, well-intentioned people could not sit down and negotiate their way through the issues of borders, refugees, even Jerusalem," said Blair. "The challenge arises from the breakdown of trust,” said Blair.

Islamic Conference Decries Israeli Move On Holy Sites

Islamic Conference Decries Israeli Move On Holy Sites
By Staff

On a day when Israeli security forces and protestors clashed in the West Bank city of Hebron, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) condemned Israel's decision to include Ibrahami Mosque in Hebron and Bilal Mosque in Bethlehem to the list of Israeli national heritage sites.

Also knows as Patriarch's Cave and Rachel's Tomb, both are important holy site to Muslims, Jews and Christians. Since announcing they would be included on the list, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given assurances that members of all faiths would be able to visit the sites freely.

But many Palestinians see the decision as an Israeli attempt to strengthen its grip on the occupied territories, where US and international pressure has failed to convince Israel to stop the expansion of settlements.

Members of the OIC have called on the General Assembly, the Secretary General and the Security Council to take the necessary measures to force Israel to revoke its decision. "We think this Israeli unilateral aggression aims at deviating public attention from the assassination in Dubai as well as undermining all remaining chances of the peace process." said Bashar Ja'afari, Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations.

Ibrahimi Mosque was also the site of 1994 shooting rampage by American born Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein that left 29 Muslim dead and several dozens more injured.

Secretary General Says Gaza War Crimes Investigations Still Incomplete

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon believes it is too early to say if Israel and the Palestinian Authority have properly investigated allegations of war crime during the Israeli Cast Lead operation in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009.

Last November, a General Assembly resolution called on both parties to investigate, after the Goldstone report into the Gaza fighting suggested war crimes might have occurred on both sides and called for credible investigations by all parties involved.

In his report to the Assembly, Ban included documents form Israeli and Palestinian investigations and said he hoped “the resolution has served to encourage investigation by the government of Israel and the Palestinian side that are credible and in conformity with international standards."

However he concluded that: “the processes initiated are still ongoing…As such, no determination can be made on the implementation of the resolution by the parties concerned”

Human rights group Amnesty International criticized Ban for missing an opportunity to advance accountability in Gaza, arguing that the responses the Secretary General received clearly demonstrated that neither side had conducted investigations “that are independent, credible and in conformity with international standards”

The Secretary General’s spokesperson was unable to say if or when conclusive reports on the matter would be completed, stating that any further action was dependent on the General Assembly and member states.