By Richard Falk

Activism via BDS is a real alternative to the see-no-evil posturing of governments when it comes to Israel and the 'peace process'

Israel's relentless accumulation of territorial facts on the ground some years ago doomed the peace process associated with the Oslo Framework of Principles adopted in 1993. It became increasingly difficult to envisage an Israeli willingness to dismantle settlements or remove the separation barrier, and without such steps there could never be achieved a truly independent and viable Palestinian state.

It should be kept in mind, without even raising the issue of the right of return of five million or so Palestinian refugees living outside of Palestine, that the whole premise of Palestinian statehood was based on the green line ceasefire borders that emerged from the 1967 borders.

Even if Israel were persuaded to withdraw from the entirety of occupied Palestine, it would amount to only 22 percent of historic Palestine – less than half of what the UN recommended to a much smaller population by way of partition in 1947 (General Assembly Resolution 181).

For years Israel has played along with the diplomatic consensus built around the two-state solution of the conflict. Israel had lots to gain from upholding this consensus. It could satisfy its own public and world opinion that it was doing everything it could to reach a peaceful end of the conflict. In so doing, Israel gained the time it needed to expand the settlement phenomenon until it became so extensive as to negate any reasonable prospect for substantial reversal.

And yet by relying on its sophisticated control of the media it could pin most of the blame on the Palestinian Authority for one round after another of failed bilateral negotiations. This in turn made it possible to mount a propaganda campaign around the claim that Israel had no Palestinian partner for peace negotiations.

Cynical distraction of Oslo

While this diversionary process continued, Israel consolidated its influence in the US Congress, which strengthened an already unprecedented "special relationship" between the two countries. These dynamics made a mockery of Washington's claim to be a neutral intermediary. And above all, the consensus pacified the international community, which repeatedly joined the public chorus calling for resumed negotiations. This became a cynical process with diplomats whispering in the corridors of UN buildings that the diplomatic effort to end the conflict was a sham while their governments kept restating their faith in the Oslo approach.

The present futility of Oslo diplomacy has been indirectly acknowledged by Israel, and should be explicitly abandoned by the world community. Whether Israel was ever prepared to accept a Palestinian state remains in doubt. The fact that each prime minister since Oslo – and this includes Yitzhak Rabin – endorsed settlement expansion raises suspicions about Israel's true intentions, but there were also indications that Tel Aviv earlier had looked with favour upon the diplomatic option provided that it could, with American backroom help, persuade the Palestinians to swallow a one-sided bargain that incorporated the settlement blocs and satisfied Israel's security goals.

In the last couple of years the veil has been lifted, and it is overdue to declare Oslo diplomacy a failure that has been costly for the Palestinian people and their aspirations.

We can reinforce this assessment by pointing to three connected developments at the pinnacle of Israeli state power, dominated in recent years by the right-wing Likud Party. The first is the election by the Knesset in 2014 of Reuven Rivlin as the 10th Israeli president.

Rivlin is a complex political figure in Likud politics, a party rival of Netanyahu, a longtime advocate of a one-state solution that calls for the annexation of the West Bank, and an opponent of international diplomacy. The complexity arises because Rivlin's vision is one of humane, democratic participation of the Palestinian population, conferring citizenship based on full equality, and even envisioning an ethnic confederation of the two peoples to be achieved within Israel's expanded sovereign borders.

Netanyahu’s election bomb

The second development was the campaign promise made by Netanyahu on the eve of the March elections that a Palestinian state would never be established so long as he was prime minister. This startling break with the American posture was also a reversion to Netanyahu's initial opposition to the Oslo Framework, and bitter denunciations of Rabin for embracing a process expected to result in Palestinian statehood.

Netanyahu's 2015 campaign pledge seemed closer to his true position all along if judged by his behaviour, although contradicting his statement at Bar Ilan University back in 2009 when he declared support for Palestinian statehood as the only way for Israel to achieve peace with security.

To slightly mend relations with Washington after his recent electoral victory, Netanyahu – always crafty – again modified his position, by saying in the heat of the elections that he only meant that no Palestinian state could be established so long as jihadi turmoil in the region persisted.

Given the extent of Israeli territorial encroachments on occupied Palestine, I would trust Netanyahu's electoral promise much more than his later clarification, a feeble attempt to restore confidence in the special relationship with the United States.

The mask drops

The third development, which should remove the last shred of ambiguity with respect to a diplomatic approach, is the designation of Danny Danon as Israel's next ambassador at the UN. Danon is a notorious settlement hawk, long an outspoken advocate of West Bank annexation, arrogantly disdaining the arts of diplomacy needed to deflect the hostile UN atmosphere.

If Israel felt that it had anything to gain by maintaining the Oslo illusion, then certainly Danon would not have been the UN pick. There are plenty of Israel diplomats skilled in massaging world public opinion that could have been sent to New York, but this was not the path chosen.

How shall we best understand this Israeli turn toward forthrightness? In the first instance, it reflects the primacy of domestic politics, and a corresponding attitude by Israel's leaders that it has little need to appease world opinion or accommodate Washington's insistence that diplomacy, while not now working, remains the only road leading to a peaceful solution.

Furthermore, the Likud troika seems to be converging on a unilateralist approach to the conflict with the Palestinians, while doing its best to distract international attention by exaggerating the threat posed by Iran.

Move to unilateralism

This unilateralist approach can move in two directions: The Netanyahu direction, which is a shade more internationalist, and involves continuing the process of de facto annexation of occupied Palestine, reinforced by an apartheid structure of control over the Palestinian people; the Rivlin/Danon direction of overtly incorporating the West Bank into Israel, and then, either following the democratic and human rights path of treating the two peoples equally, or hardening still further the oppressive regime of discriminatory control established during over 48 years of occupation.

While this Israeli scenario of conflict resolution unfolds, most governments, not sensing an alternative, continue to proclaim their allegiance to a two-state solution despite its manifest disappointments and poor prospects. In effect, “Oslo is dead, long live Oslo.”

This see-no-evil posture ignores the emergence of a more promising alternative: the gathering momentum of civil society activism exhibited via the BDS campaign and increasingly acknowledged by Israel as its biggest security threat, leading recently to the establishment of an official Delegitimation Department assigned to do battle with the Palestinian solidarity movement.

(Source / 18.09.2015)

NEW YORK, (PIC)– The UN Security Council failed once again to issue a press statement condemning Israeli recent violations against al-Aqsa Mosque and occupied Jerusalem.

Russia’s United Nations Ambassador Vitaly Churkin had said Tuesday that the UNSC was planning to issue a press release condemning the ongoing events in occupied Jerusalem and calling for restoring calm.

24 hours later, no UNSC press statement was issued due to US objections, according to UN diplomatic sources.

Jordan, which maintains a nominal role in managing al-Aqsa since its 1994 peace treaty with Israel, has warned that Israel's actions, if not stopped, will affect ties between the two countries.

Jordan submitted on the behalf of Arab countries a draft resolution condemning Israel’s aggression on Al-Aqsa Mosque and its violations of related conventions.

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov also warned the UN Security Council on Tuesday that recent events had "the potential to ignite violence well beyond the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem."

But he too stressed that "all sides have a responsibility to refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric"– failing to call for the occupying power to be held accountable.

Nearly 60 Palestinians were injured while many others were detained over the past four days after a group of settlers led by Israeli agriculture minister stormed al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem in total provocation to Muslims' feelings.

(Source / 18.09.2015)

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah gestures during an interview at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah on September 7, 2014

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Friday evening prevented Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and his envoy from entering Jerusalem, the Palestinian Authority (PA) said.The PM, accompanied by the head of PA intelligence, Majid Farraj, and head of PA preventive security, Ziyad Hab al-Reeh, were denied entry at the Hizma checkpoint east of Jerusalem based on instructions from Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, the PA told Ma’an.The envoy had planned to head to Jerusalem in an attempt to examine the current situation and support Palestinians residing in the area.An Israeli Border Police spokesperson did not immediately respond for comment.Violent skirmishes between Palestinians and Israeli forces skyrocketed across occupied East Jerusalem as the day progressed Friday after emergency border police were deployed and Palestinians faced restrictions entering the Al-Aqsa mosque for Friday prayers.Between 8,000 and 10,000 worshipers were estimated to have attended Friday prayers, with over 20 military checkpoints reported to be blocking the path to the mosque compound.After Friday prayers Israeli forces fired tear gas, rubber-coated bullets, and sound bombs to disperse worshipers near the Damascus Gate, Silwan, and Ras al-Amud.Over a dozen Palestinians have been injured throughout occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank so far Friday, with three Israeli police officers sustaining injuries in Jerusalem.Earlier in the day the UN Security Council urged calm and restraint in the area, asking both sides to refrain from “provocative actions and rhetoric.”Senior Palestinian officials have expressed concerns in recent weeks that Israel is restricting access to the compound in a bid to establish daily Jewish prayer, despite an agreement forbidding non-Muslim worship at the holy site, a potent symbol of the so-far unrealized Palestinian state.

(Source / 18.09.2015)

Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Friday at dawn, a Palestinian teenager, the son of the Manuscripts Department head in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied Jerusalem. His abduction comes just 24 hours after the soldiers kidnapped his brother.

Local sources said the soldiers invaded the home of Najeh Bkeirat, who heads of the Manuscripts Department in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and violently searched the property before kidnapping his son Salaheddin, 17 years of age.

Salaheddin’s abduction came only 24 hours after the soldiers kidnapped his brother, Mohyeddin.

It is worth mentioning that Najeh’s oldest son, Malek, was taken prisoner in 2001, and was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment, and his second son Daoud, 22, was kidnapped in 2013, and received a three-year prison sentence.

Also on Friday at dawn, soldiers invaded the Rashayda village, east of the West bank city of Bethlehem, and kidnapped one Palestinian.

In related news, the army said it arrested, on Friday at dawn, three Palestinians in Kharbtha al-Mesbah village village, west of Ramallah, and one in Hebron city.

(Source / 1809.2015)

Syrians inspect the body of a baby girl after she was pulled from the rubble   following a government air strike on a rebel held sector of the northern Syrian   city of Aleppo late on September 16, 2015

At least 45 people have been killed/murdered by President Bashar Al Assad regime in barrel bomb attacks in Aleppo yesterday, reported by Syrian Civil Defense to Anadolu Agency.

Civil Defense teams rushed to al-Mashhad neighborhood in Aleppo to look for victims trapped under collapsed buildings. The injured were rushed to field hospitals for treatment.

Aleppo's opposition-held neighborhoods have been targeted by Assad regime air forces continuously, damaging infrastructure and leaving many residents without water and electricity.

The Syria conflict began in 2011 when the regime of Bashar al-Assad responded with unexpected ferocity to popular protests that erupted all over Syria as part of the Arab Spring uprisings.

The people's revolution was soon hijacked by CIA/Israeli trained and supplied Al Qaeda, followed by ISIS insurgents in a very successful attempt to control the opposition, thus prolonging the genocide of Bashar Al Assad's regime on the Syrian population.

More than four years of intense fighting has left the country divided between pro-Assad forces and a number of heavily armed opposition factions, which are often at odds among themselves.

Although there is a huge problem with foreign terrorism in Syria such as ISIS, Bashar Al Assad and the Assad regime currently top the list of war crime suspects handed to the ICC.

WATCH FOOTAGE SHOWING SYRIAN MILITARY HELICOPTERS DROPPING IMPROVISED "BARREL BOMBS" ON DARAYYA IN SOUTH DAMASCUS DURING THE GENEVA II PEACE SUMMIT, RELEASED ONLINE BY THE TELEGRAPH. 

SEE FULL VIDEO BELOW: 

When Russia's President Vladimir Putin proposed a regime change in Syria, in 2012, the US sabotaged his efforts, refusing to agree. In 2012, roughly 7,500 had been killed by the Assad regime. Today, more than 250,000 Syrians have been killed.

The ethnic cleansing of the Assad regime continues, with new UN figures estimating thathalf of the country's population has been displaced by the violence, with over four million Syrians now seeking refuge in neighboring countries, especially Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, with the internally displaced refugees estimated to be between 7-9 million.

 The complete demolition of the Masha al-Arb'een neighborhood by President Bashar Al Assad's regime in Hama, Syria.

"Wiping entire neighbourhoods off the map is not a legitimate tactic of war," said Ole Solvang, emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch. "These unlawful demolitions are the latest additions to a long list of crimes committed by the Syrian government."

See: Syria wiping neighbourhoods off the map to punish residents – rights group

(Above) July 29, 2013, aerial view shows the total destruction by President Bashar Al Assad's regime of the al-Khalidiyah neighbourhood in central Homs, Syria. Government forces bolstered by Lebanese Shiite militiamen were poised to retake the largest rebel-held district of Syria's third largest city Homs, a watchdog and state media said.

(Source / 18.09.2015)

A Palestinian protester throws back a tear gas canister that was fired by Israeli troops (unseen) during clashes outside the Ofer military prison near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, after a march by Palestinians against violations of al-Aqsa Mosque compound in al-Quds (Jerusalem), September 17, 2015

Scores of people have staged massive demonstrations across the occupied Palestinian territories to express their outrage over the Israeli military's assaults on the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem) over the past few days.

On Friday, clashes broke out between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli troopers after the latter banned those under the age of 40 from accessing the sacred site. Israeli forces reportedly fired tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd.

Israeli forces had earlier beefed up their presence in al-Quds, deploying over 5,000 troopers to confront the worshipers. They had also closed roads in the Old City of al-Quds.

An Israeli soldier aims his weapon toward Palestinians, following a demonstration in solidarity with protesters at al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of al-Quds (Jerusalem), during clashes in the occupied West Bank town of al-Ram, September 15, 2015

The heavy deployment came after Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas dubbed Friday a "day of rage" against Israel over its desecration of the al-Aqsa Mosque.

During the Friday clashes, several people sustained injuries when Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets and hurled tear gas canisters at a group of Palestinian protesters in the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), located 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of al-Quds.

Scuffles were also reported in Abu Tor neighborhood of al-Quds. Palestinians also held a mass rally in the impoverished Gaza Strip in a show of solidarity with al-Quds protesters.

Israeli police use stun grenades to disperse Palestinian demonstrators in a street in the Muslim quarter in the Old City of al-Quds (Jerusalem), September 15, 2015

Early on Friday, Israeli soldiers shot and critically injured Ahmad Izzat Khatatbeh, 26, at a military checkpoint in eastern Nablus.

Additionally, Israeli soldiers shot and injured a 17-year-old Palestinian teenager, identified as Anas Muhammad Saleh, during clashes near the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem late on Thursday.

On Thursday, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), lashed out at the 15-member Security Council for its failure to condemn the ongoing Israeli aggression against Muslim worshipers at the al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israel has applied sweeping restrictions on entries into the al-Aqsa Mosque since August 26.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is Islam's third holiest site after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.

(Source / 18.09.2015)

Today in Kafr Qaddum, a village close to Nablus, Israeli forces injured almost 100 people.
Israeli forces attacked the village at around 11 am and invaded a family home. Upon breaking into the house Israeli forces attacked the whole family with pepper-spray. The 2 year old Bisan, 6 year old Moemen, 8 year old Nour and a 55-year old woman were all pepper-sprayed. The Israeli Forces then prevented any medical aid from assisting the family after this aggression.
Three people were injured with live ammunition by Israeli forces, a 13-year old boy and a 46-year old man in the leg and another man was ambushed and shot with live ammunition by Israeli forces while he was in his brothers house. They are being treated in a hospital in Nablus. 75 people had to be treated for exhessive tear gas inhalation.

Israeli bulldozer at the demonstration

Tear gas covering the village

An 8-year old girl was shot in the head with a sponge bullet by Israeli forces, and a 55-year old man with a sponge bullet in the arm.
The Israeli army also sprayed family homes with foul-smelling skunk water, inflicting collective punishment on the whole village. Weekly Friday demonstrations in Kafr Qaddum protest against the closure of the main road leading to the city of Nablus because of the illegal settlement of Qedumim. This weeks demonstration was also in protest of Israeli aggressions against and inside al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Skunk water being shot at civilian's houses

Skunk water truck at the demonstration

(Source / 18.09.2015)

Fighters detonate four vehicles and launch 250 shells into Fuaa and Kafraya, activists say.

Rebels posted video of fighters launching shells at what they called ‘Assad gangs

Syrian rebels have detonated explosives and launched shells into two Shia villages they have besieged for more than a year, activists have said.

Fighters blew up four vehicles packed with explosives and launched more than 250 shells at the villages of Fua and Kafraya in Idlib province, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activist group said.

A video released by the Jaysh al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) rebel coalition on Friday showed its members firing a vehicle-borne canon in the direction of Fua at what they said were “Assad gangs”.

The alliance includes the Nusra Front, and Ahrar al-Sham, two of the largest rebel groups fighting against the Syrian government.

Al-Manar TV, which belongs to the Shia Lebanese movement Hezbollah, said pro-Assad fighters had repelled rebel attacks, and destroyed five vehicles carrying explosives.

Failed truce

Hezbollah has thrown its weight behind Syria’s President Assad as he tries to put down an armed rebellion consisting mostly of the country’s Sunni community.

The villages of Fua and Kafraya are the government’s last two outposts in Idlib province, which has largely fallen to rebel forces after their capture of provincial capital Idlib city in March.

A number of truces brokered by Iran and Turkey to stop fighting in the villages, as well as the town of Zabadani near the Lebanese border have failed.

Zabadani is a rebel holdout in an area largely controlled by pro-government fighters. Hezbollah fighters have been involved in attempts to capture the city, backed by artillery and air cover from Syrian forces.

(Source / 18.09.2015)

An Israeli soldier looks from an armored personal carriers during a training exercise near the Israel-Gaza Border, on June 7, 2015

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Friday opened fire at Palestinians near the border north of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, witnesses told Ma’an.Witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire at seven Palestinians who approached the fence north of Beit Lahiya.No injuries were reported.An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that a group of Palestinians approached the border fence around 6:30 p.m. in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli forces then told the group to halt, and fired warning shots into the air, after which the “suspects retreated.”On Tuesday, Israeli forces shot and injured a member of Hamas’ military wing in the southern Gaza Strip.One day before that, the Israeli army said it had arrested five Palestinians after they crossed the border fence and entered Israeli territory.Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on Palestinians near the border since the ceasefire agreement signed Aug. 26, 2014 that ended a devastating 50-day Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip.In July alone, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights counted 27 incidents of shootings, incursions into the territory, and arrests.This included 18 shootings on land and at sea that left nine Palestinians injured, PCHR reported.

(Source / 18.09.2015)