Workers are on strike:
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Western-backed government said on Sunday it had begun making payments to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who lost their homes in last month's Israeli offensive.
Abbas' prime minister, Salam Fayyad, said that as a result, he did not have enough money to pay salaries to government workers in both the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Government workers have declared a strike, citing Fayyad's inability to pay wages at the beginning of the month.
The financial trade-off underscored the difficult balancing act facing Fayyad, who, in addition to running a government dependent on foreign aid, wants to take the lead in reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip to sideline Hamas.
Significant progress in ceasefire talks:
A senior Hamas figure told Ynet Sunday evening that the last several hours have seen a "significant breakthrough" in the Gaza ceasefire talks held in Egypt. Should everything proceed as it has been, added the source, the ceasefire may take effect within hours.
Egypt has taken the role of mediator between Israel and the Islamist group with the objective of carving a long-lasting armistice from the fragile ceasefire declared at the end of Israel's January offensive in Gaza.
Hamas' statement was made shortly after Israel expressed once again an adamant stand as to the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, stating that his release was a prerequisite to any other mitigations.
Combined with news reports that Livni has refused to join a Likud coalition, this suggests that Kadima may be stalling for time until a deal is complete. The story also mentioned that the truce would be 18 months long and provide for the opening of the Gaza border as well as the release of Gilad Shalit.
Hanan Porat gloating over the ascendancy of the Right:
A strictly political analysis makes it appear that a Likud-Kadima government shall make no progress diplomatically, while being dragged into adopting the political positions of the new American Administration, which demands the establishment of a Palestinian state throughout Judea and Samaria and the ostensible removal of Syria from the "axis of evil" via a bribe called the Golan Heights.
As far as I know, these views, which are held by Israel’s blatantly leftist camp, are far from the positions held by most of the Jews in Israel, and this was expressed via the latest elections.
It is possible that the general public has not yet reached the point of mentally and ideologically clinging to the land, yet in pragmatic terms it realizes that the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria is a recipe for a Hamas terror state in the heart of the country and would constitute tangible danger for every resident of central Israel, just like a withdrawal from the Golan will in the long-term lead to a Syria threat on the entire north of the country.
Therefore, I would like to tell Netanyahu, in the spirit of the National Union’s election slogan (which is in fact taken from the words of Rabbi Nachman from Breslov):
Benjamin Netanyahu! Proceed with courage, with no fear at all, and form a national government with a solid majority of 65 mandates. We can assume that later on, other MKs will make their way into this government. This is the only way for you to do well and ultimately guarantee the Jewish character of the State, while doing the right thing for the Land of Israel, which expects us to stop trading in it as if it were a carcass in the market.
Do not be deterred by the many members of the media who wish to hinder you in any case, whether by using threats or sweet talk. I urge you to do the right thing, with the help of God, and most importantly, do not fear at all.
Apparently, he didn't get the memo -- Israel and Hamas have been negotiating a truce over the last five years, which would include the Sharon administration. They are nearing such a deal as he writes his tripe. Bibi will either have to freeze settlement construction, meaning the fall of his right-wing government, or continue it, and lose aid from the US.
Students for Justice in Palestine -- why this is a victory:
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) wishes to respond to the "statement of clarification" issued by Hampshire College’s president and chair of the board of trustees regarding Hampshire’s recent divestment from the State Street mutual fund. SJP wishes to shed light on the college’s withdrawal from the fund by presenting a chronology of events.
On May 8, 2008 SJP presented a proposal to the Committee at Hampshire on Investment Responsibility (CHOIR), a subcommittee of the Board of Trustees’ investment committee. The proposal was to divest from six companies due to their activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. On May 16, 2008 SJP made the same presentation to the full Board of Trustees, urging them to divest from the six corporations. On August 26, 2008 CHOIR voted "to recommend to the investment committee that Hampshire College divest of the following six companies: Caterpillar, Terex, Motorola, ITT, General Electric, United Technologies based on full consideration of the presentation by SJP." This is a direct quotation from the CHOIR meeting minutes.
After this recommendation, the Investment Committee made the decision to divest from the mutual fund that held these companies. On Feb 7, 2009, the Investment Committee informed the Board of Trustees of its decision to divest. The administration denies that the decision was made in response to any concerns about any particular "region" or "political movement;" however SJP was explicitly asked by the administration what companies to avoid in the future in terms of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. This fact illustrates that the Israeli occupation and SJP’s work were undoubtedly the primary reasons for the decision to divest.
Hampshire College's administration had issued a release saying that their decision to divest was part of a larger decision in which they divested from 200 companies which were not socially responsible.
Rocket fired at Negev:
A Qassam rocket fired from northern Gaza Sunday night landed in an open area between the Sha'ar Hanegev and Sdot Negev regional councils in south Israel. There were no reports of injury or damage.
At approximately 11:05 pm the Color Red alert system sounded in a number of Gaza vicinity communities, and residents reported of a loud explosion shortly thereafter.
Security forces were scouring the area in search of the rocket's exact landing site.
Earlier Sunday, a senior Hamas figure reported of a "significant breakthrough" in the Gaza ceasefire talks held in Egypt. Should everything proceed as it has been, added the source, the ceasefire may take effect within hours.
Israel retaliates by bombing two tunnels near Egyptian border.
Israeli Navy shoots and critically wounds fisherman:
Soldiers oocupy house by force in Jayyous:
Around noon around 20 Israeli soldiers entered Jayyous village from the southern gate. At this time no residents were in the area and the planned demonstration had not yet started.
The soldiers immediately proceeded to occupy two houses next to the southern gate. International human rights activists were already in the houses to provide protection from military occupation. The Israeli army frequently holds the families hostage in their homes and use their roofs as sniper positions.
Soldiers occupied one house whose family is temporarily out of the country several times during the previous night, imposing a curfew on the village. ISM activists witnessed the damage the soldiers had caused throughout the night.
Other troops entered a home located next to the entrance to the village. The family of that home has been resisting it’s continued use by Israeli troops as a staging location for the last several weeks. This time the soldiers beat and threatened the family members and ISM activists with weapons. Fifteen soldiers blocked the entrance of the house forcing some family members inside and others out.
Israel could release Marhan Barghouti:
Israel is exploring the option of releasing Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti to bolster President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction ahead of any prisoner swap with Hamas, Israeli television said on Sunday.
Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is trying to negotiate a last-minute deal with Hamas under which Israel would release 1,000 or more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
To help Fatah, one idea under discussion was the possibility of releasing Barghouti ahead of the prisoner swap with Hamas, according to Israel's Channel 10 television. An Israeli source told Reuters this option was under consideration but that no decisions have been taken.
"There will not be a Shalit deal without the release of Marwan Barghouti," Barghouti's lawyer, Hader Shkirat, told Israel's Channel 10 television.
Peres justifying the recent military offensive:
"The television stations failed to capture what really happened," Peres said in response to Lavrov's comment that hard images were broadcast from the Strip, "they did not show the million mothers in south Israel who could not put their children to bed. Israel cannot accept rocket fire and attacks on its civilian population.
"All of the suffering in Gaza could have been avoided had Hamas refrained from firing rockets on Israel," Peres said. "We too have red lines that any sovereign nation would not allow anyone to cross."
So, why hasn't Israel launched a military offensive in response to the recent rocket attack on Negev? I submit that the reason that they launched their recent attack was to get Kadima reelected.
Eitan Haber -- Labor and Kadima should merge:
These two parties are entrusted with the national responsibility to build a joint home. There is no room for two such parties here. There should be either Kadima or Labor, and if this does not happen, in the next elections one of them may be wiped out and disappear.
And don’t say it’s impossible. The phenomenon of the Dash Party (15 mandates in the 1977 elections,) which was fed up with Labor and to its own amazement brought the Likud’s Begin to power, had been analyzed to death by now. Books and studies have been published about Rafael Eitan’s Tzomet (eight mandates,) about the Centrist Party (six mandates) formed by Yitzhak Mordechai and his partners, and about Shinui (15 mandates) of one-time political magician Tommy Lapid.
There was good reason why all these parties, as well as others (such as the Pensioners’ Party in the latest elections) evaporated and became no more than footnotes in the annals of history; all these parties were right for their time. They had no vision, deep ideology, roots, or history. In many cases, there was no ideological connection between their Knesset members. They were doomed for failure.
Kadima is destined to follow suit: It has no way or ideology that is deeply rooted in the Israeli experience. It is difficult to imagine that a true line connects Haim Ramon to Tzachi Hanegbi, for example. In fact, Kadima was established as another Likud branch, along with some hitchhikers from Labor, some of whom realized they reached the end of the road and wanted "more."
Excuses and passing the buck:
At the end of Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, after the Israel Defense Forces took over the West Bank's cities and Ariel Sharon's government imposed a boycott on Yasser Arafat, I asked then-foreign minister Shimon Peres how he was able to support the destruction of the Palestinian Authority. "What do you want from me?" he said. "Ask the Americans why they stood on the side. You expect me to oppose an operation that they have given a green light to?" I also asked the question to a senior official in the Bush administration. "How can we condemn an operation that the leader of the 'peace camp' is peddling around the world, while defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, a leader of the Labor Party, is running things at home?" I was told.
The virtues of Israel's multiparty system:
It's even more hard to understand the debate that erupted right after elections that produced an unequivocal outcome, of all times. Not only did the elections show that the people want the right wing, they also allow for two stable coalitions: a narrow, right-wing government, or a Likud-Kadima government. There is a real chance for a government that would last for four years, something that has not happened in Israel since 1981.
It's hard to shake the impression that one reason for the wave of proposals to change the system of government, specifically in light of the fact they come from the center and left, is that this time the public voted the wrong way - for the right. If you can't change the public, you try to change the system.
The truth is, an objective look at the Israeli system reveals that it is a huge democratic success. The Knesset contains representatives of groups with opposing worldviews and completely conflicting interests, who sometimes regard each other with boundless hatred. They all come to the Knesset, make decisions together, bargain, horse-trade and curse. And mainly, they run the country together.
The problem is that Bibi's government might not last for six months. Livni has already ruled out joining a coalition with Bibi, a decision that has the backing of most of her people. And while there is a right-wing majority in Israel, the problem is that there are a lot of ideological divisions on the right. And since right-wing ideology is inherently rigid and resistant to change, it is not likely, as this writer claims, that the new government will last four years.
How the Basic Law works:
The Basic Law allows for the task of forming a government to be assigned to only one MK, who will serve as the prime minister. It does not allow for appointing two MKs to serve as premier in rotation. But the law does not prohibit a quasi-conditional mandate, one that would urge the MK who forms the government to forge as broad a coalition as possible for the sake of governmental stability.
The president's apolitical role need not prevent Peres from expressing public support for a broad, stable government, nor need it prevent him from intervening in the process to help forge agreements among the various parties, blocs and interests. There is a successful precedent for this: President Haim Herzog played an active role in forging the rotation government headed alternately by Peres and Yitzhak Shamir in the 1980s, and that was one of the few Israeli governments that managed to serve out its full term.
The purpose of the Basic Law on Government is to ensure that a government is formed as quickly as possible, in order to shorten the tenure of the transition government, which does not enjoy the Knesset's confidence and must exercise its authority "with caution and restraint," in the High Court's words. The law grants the president - who, according to the Basic Law on the President, is the head of state - broad discretion, for the sake of the public welfare. And this welfare requires governmental stability - not a paper government that will survive only for a short time.
Thus Peres now faces a public task of supreme importance: trying to form a stable government that will include both large parties, Kadima and Likud. Such a government would reflect the will of a significant majority of the public. And it would not stand or fall on a single vote.
Israel could open key route to Palestinians in Hebron; settlers whine:
The Israel Defense Forces is considering opening a key route in the West Bank city of Hebron to Palestinian traffic, after it has been restricted for Jews only for the past 10 years.
The road, Zion Route, leads from the Jewish community of Kiryat Arba to the Cave of the Patriarchs and is parallel to Shuhasa Street, which is still closed to Palestinians.
The road was closed to Palestinian traffic more than 10 years ago for security reasons, due to a large number of terror attacks which took place along the route. Because only Jews have been allowed to travel on it for years, it has often been nicknamed "the apartheid route".
The Jewish settlement in Hebron responded with anger to the report. "(Defense Minister) Ehud Barak wants to set facts on the ground for the next government while compromising the residents' security and endangering human life," said the settlers' spokesman, Noam Arnon.
Jordanian MP files war crimes suit against Israel:
The MP claimed that these officials were "the main forces behind the war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip". The petition refers to Israel's Operation Cast Lead and all activity carried out between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009.
The lawsuit accuses the Israeli officials of charges such as "expelling residents, the demolition of houses, places of worship, hospitals, schools and ambulances".
The Jordanian Parliament members further claimed that Israel used weapons prohibited by international treaties, such as white phosphorus, shells containing uranium, and shells containing cancerous substances that were used for the first time.
During the war, the parliament held a protest meeting, during which MPs from the Muslim Brotherhood demanded the Israeli ambassador be expelled from Jordan and diplomatic ties between the two nations be severed.
During the meeting, parliament members burned Israeli flags in protest and Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi did not rule out the possibility that his country may reevaluate relations with Israel.
BBC -- Where is the Left?
Labour used to be one of Israel's most sacred cows. When it was a group known as Mapai, it won every election from Israel's establishment until 1969.
In this election, it was knocked into fourth place, behind the hard-right Yisrael Beiteinu party.
But the numbers do not tell the entire story. Some Israelis are questioning whether the left exists at all.
Labour's leader, Ehud Barak, prosecuted the war in Gaza, as defence minister. He is reported to have offered to build a large new settlement in occupied territory to house settlers from Migron, the biggest unauthorised outpost (illegal even under Israeli law) in the West Bank.
It was four years ago next month that Talia Sasson wrote her report on unauthorised outposts. She was a government lawyer, and was commissioned to investigate the issue by the then Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon.
Her report detailed how Israel's officials actively colluded in the establishment of dozens of outposts across the West Bank.
The poker game between Livni and Bibi:
Haaretz political commentator Yossi Verter compares Livni and Netanyahu to poker players, "each staring the other down, each knowing that the other also doesn't hold good cards."
Even without a good hand, Livni is playing it with unexpected skill. She's adamant that because Kadima edged Likud she deserves the nod from President Shimon Peres to have the right to form the government. She's even invited Netanyahu to join her, rejecting the idea that her party would be a "fig-leaf" to, in the description of one of her top lieutenants, "a stone age government" (a Netanyahu-led narrow government of nationalist, ultra- nationalist and religious parties). The weakness of the Livni gambit is that, without Likud, she can't muster the numbers to form a viable coalition. Netanyahu, for his part, blusters about being the only one capable of putting together a government, even without Livni.
But his hand is not strong enough. On paper, he has a narrow majority, but he has no guarantees since his potential junior partners - notably the ultra- nationalist Israel Beiteinu party of Avigdor Liberman - refuse to line up solidly behind him. And, another complication, Netanyahu's hope of prising away from Kadima several former prominent Likud party members and getting them to desert Livni, has also been stymied by the fact that his hand is not decisive.
Israel insists on exile of prisoners it frees:
As a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas is taking shape, Israel has insisted that the high-level Palestinian terror masterminds it will free in exchange for captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit will not be allowed to return to Gaza or the West Bank, but rather be exiled to Syria or Lebanon, the London-based Arabic language Al-Hayat reported Monday.
Shalit was captured by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid in June 2006. Hamas, the rulers of the Gaza Strip, have demanded that Israel release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the Israeli soldier's freedom.
Hamas has yet to respond to this Israeli demand, but Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman said last Friday that Egypt is opposed to exiling these life sentence prisoners. In essence, Suleiman said that Egypt will insist that these prisoners return home.
On Sunday, Hader Shkirat, attorney for jailed leader of Fatah's Tanzim faction Marwan Barghouti, told Haaretz that there will be no deal for Shalit without the release of his client.
Gershon Baskin -- what did this war achieve?
Writing this week in the Jerusalem Post, Gershon Baskin, co-CEO of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information, disclosed that for more than two years he had been in contact with a "senior Hamas personality" in Europe over the release of Gilad Schalit, the Israeli soldier captured by Hamas and held in Gaza since 2006. The Israeli government knew of those contacts and gave him permission to continue, Baskin says.
Ten days before the war began in December, Baskin wrote to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other Israeli leaders that Hamas was willing to open a "direct secret back channel" for a deal that would include renewal of the cease-fire and a prisoner exchange for Schalit. Baskin waited for a response but heard nothing.
"When the war broke out," Baskin writes, "I understood that the decision to go to war had already been taken and that the government preferred to teach Hamas a lesson rather than negotiate a new cease-fire and the release of Schalit."
Today, with Hamas still in power, still holding Schalit, still proposing the same deal as before, Baskin wonders: "What did this war achieve?"
"Israel spent $1 billion on the war, caused some $2 billion worth of damage in Gaza, more than 1,000 people have been killed, thousands of lives have been destroyed. What is the result? More hatred, more extremism and more support for fanatics and their ideas on both sides of the Gaza border."
Israel to build 2,500 more settlement homes:
Israel has taken control of a large chunk of land near a prominent West Bank settlement, paving the way for the possible construction of 2,500 settlement homes, officials said Monday, in a new challenge to Mideast peacemaking.
Successive Israeli governments have broken promises to the United States to halt settlement expansion, defined by Washington as an obstacle to peace. Ongoing expansion is likely to create friction not only with the Palestinians, but with President Barack Obama, whose Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, has long pushed for a settlement freeze. Obama has said he'd get involved quickly in Mideast peace efforts.
The composition of Israel's next government is not clear yet following inconclusive elections last week. However, right-wing parties are given a better chance to form a ruling coalition, with hardline leader Benjamin Netanyahu at the helm.
Netanyahu supports settlement expansion and has derided peace talks with the Palestinians as a waste of time, saying he would focus instead of trying to improve the Palestinian economy. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has dismissed Netanyahu's approach as a non-starter, and his aides said recently that peace talks can only resume after a settlement freeze.