Much has happen in the middle east on the Palestinian Issue. I had planned to write a diary with clips of the various news articles....but time got away from me. So here is a short diary.
Sweden joined several other European countries in a show of support for the new Hamas-
Fatah coalition, dispatching its foreign minister for talks Saturday with his Palestinian counterpart despite
Israel's call for a diplomatic boycott.
snip
Norway, a major donor to the Palestinians, was the first country to lift sanctions against the
Palestinian Authority. Norway's deputy foreign minister Raymond Johansen met earlier this week with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, becoming the first high-ranking Western official to do so.
http://news.yahoo.com/...
U.N. Chief Ban Ki-Moon Tours Palestinian Refugee Camp and Israeli Separation Barrier in West Bank furthering his resolve to find peace for Palestinian people:
http://abcnews.go.com/...
And:
Earlier Sunday, Abbas met with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, who said the time is "not yet fully ripe" to meet with Hamas officials. Ban met with non-Hamas members of the new coalition.
snip
Abbas said he talked with Rice about holding more meetings with Olmert. "All these meetings are part of the bilateral relations with Israel and the future vision that we are all seeking and working toward," Abbas said.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Rice told Abbas that "the Israeli approach is not enough."
http://www.cnn.com/...
AIPAC is on the defense, which is not all bad:
The attack on the 'Jewish lobby' keeps coming and coming
Some American Jewish leaders are worried, and for good reason. They are paid to be worried, and paid well. We're heading for hard times, said one, recounting several reasons. For one, the pro-Israel lobby has been on the defensive for the past several months.
This week Jewish billionaire George Soros joined the chorus, not for the first time, writing an article in the New York Review of Books in which he accused AIPAC of exerting a damaging influence over American policy.
"Supporters of Israel have good reason to question AIPAC's advocacy and they have begun to do so," he wrote.
Not good: settlements might be growing due to Olmert's weakness:
The heads of the Yesha council of settlements, skilled political practitioners, have discerned what they consider to be positive implications of the situation: the number of mobile homes at settlements and outposts has increased, a Palestinian house has been taken over in Hebron and a more extreme settler group has organized a march tomorrow to reestablish the settlement of Homesh in the northern West Bank, dismantled during disengagement.
The state will meet that test of its strength by sending ample security forces to the march. It has no choice. But in Hebron, all that has been seen so far is complete incompetence on the part of the government. Every day that passes that does not see a government decision on the status of the building increases the chances of the new outpost becoming permanent.
http://www.haaretz.com/...
There is also some whisperings on the wind of an Olmert and Saudi meeting. What will next week bring?
UPDATE:
One more thing, it's important to resolve this soon:
About 34 percent of Palestinians cannot afford a balanced meal and another 12 percent are at risk of reaching this state, the organisations found in a Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment published this month. Most affected is the Gaza Strip, where 51 percent of the population suffers from food insecurity.
"The poorest families are now living a meagre existence totally reliant on assistance, with no electricity or heating and eating food prepared with water from bad sources," according to a statement by Arnold Vercken, the WFP country director for the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt).
http://www.middle-east-online.com/...
UPDATE II:
Jewish group urges linkage
of loan guarantees, settlements
By Matthew E. Berger Published: //
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (JTA) — A Jewish organization is publicly urging the Bush administration to link Israel’s request for loan guarantees to a freeze on Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Americans for Peace Now is calling on the Bush administration to withhold the $8 billion in loan guarantees.
The group is also calling for 20 percent of the loan guarantee funds to be set aside for housing for settlers who want to relocate to homes inside Israel proper.
The move is being criticized by other Jewish groups, with at least one calling it a "big mistake."
In the fall, Israel officially requested $8 billion to help offset the country’s economic crisis and the looming threat of U.S. military action in Iraq.
The White House is expected to submit to Congress the request for $8 billion in loan guarantees and $4 billion in military aid, stretched out over three years.
http://www.jta.org/...