Palestinians certain to win UN recognition

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

[Ban Hammer 13,346]

Lol Bad_Daddy is hilarious! She hates Palestine so much!

kip got a sex change?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

kip got a sex change?

Well, Kip is the housekeeper in that relationship.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Your side lost. Deal with it. Oh, wait! You hate Jews almost as much as Arabs, so you can only win if everybody dies...

That's worth posting twice.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

kip got a sex change?

Bad_DADDY should be a give away.

BTW, abezyo. Kip (a guy) hates everybody, not just Arabs. He likes the attention this gets him lol.

Edited December 1, 2012 by Sofiyya

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Palestinian president returns to hero's welcome

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has returned home to a hero's welcome after winning a resounding endorsement for Palestinian independence at the United Nations.

Some 5,000 people thronged a square Sunday outside Abbas' government headquarters in the West Bank. Many hoisted Palestinian flags and balloons in the colors of the flag.

Abbas told the crowd that "we now have a state" and that "the world has said loudly, 'yes to the state of Palestine.'"

...

The Palestinians believe the strong endorsement will boost their leverage in future peace talks.

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Israel on Sunday roundly rejected the United Nations' endorsement of an independent state of Palestine, and announced it would withhold more than $100 million owed to the Palestinians in retaliation for their successful statehood bid.

It was the second act of reprisal since the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to support the Palestinians' statehood initiative. Less than 24 hours later, Israel announced it would start drawing up plans to build thousands of settlement homes, including the first-ever residential developments on an ultra-sensitive piece of real estate near Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the statehood campaign, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as "a gross violation of the agreements signed with the State of Israel."

"Accordingly, the government of Israel rejects the U.N General Assembly decision," he said. Israel, backed by the U.S., campaigned against the statehood measure, arguing that only negotiations can deliver a Palestinian state.

The U.N. resolution spelled out the borders of a future Palestine, endorsing the Palestinian position that it comprise the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel rejects a full pullback to its 1967 lines, and says the resolution is a way to bypass border negotiations.

In Sunday's response, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said the government would also strike at the Palestinians' pocketbook, by withholding taxes and customs collected from Palestinian laborers and businesses on behalf of Abbas' cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, which led the statehood campaign.

The money will be used to help pay off the authority's debts to Israel, including $200 million owed to the state-run Israel Electric Corp., government officials said. This month, more than $100 million was to have been transferred; Steinitz said Israel would decide later whether to withhold future transfers as well.

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Israel remains an occupying force in the first two territories and continues to severely restrict access to Gaza, ruled by the Hamas militant group.

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Half a million settlers currently live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, the result of a decades-long strategy aimed at blurring the borders between Israel and the occupied territories.

The U.N.'s endorsement of the Palestinians' vision of their future state was a resounding condemnation of Israel's settlement policies. Israel's failure to rally any major European powers, including its closest allies, to its cause came as a stinging diplomatic blow.

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The announcement that Israel would forge ahead with construction plans ... thrust Netanyahu into a new showdown with the Obama administration just days after the U.S. became the only world power to side with it in opposing the Palestinians' statehood bid.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said these plans "set back the cause of a negotiated peace."

Britain and France urged Israel to rescind the decision, and other European states denounced it.

The decision may be connected more to Israeli politics than an actual policy change. Netanyahu is up for re-election in Jan. 22 parliamentary elections and is eager to put on a strong face for the electorate. Actual construction could be years away, if it takes place at all.

http://news.yahoo.com/palestinian-president-returns-heros-welcome-125255572.html

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

The statehood bid gave Abbas a big bump on the Palestinian "street." He's been plunging in public opinion over the past few years. And Hamas is riding a huge surge in popularity after several developments including Israel's Operation Pillar of Cloud last month. Khaled Mashaal is to visit Gaza for the first time next week. So both of the Palestinian political factions are pumped up and there are unity moves underway... there is also talk of Hamas rejoining the PLO (in addition to being de-facto President of the Palestinian Authority, Abbas is also Chairman of the PLO.)

So now the Israeli government (in a considerably weakened position) reacts with a temper tantrum, taking actions that are intended not only to punish the Palestinians, but to send a big "F-U" to the UN, Europe, the U.S., and the rest of the world. "Price tagging"...

Next step: ICC ?

Following UN vote on Palestine, Israel may now find itself at The Hague

Since 1967, Israel has attempted to cement its occupation of the territories while evading international culpability. The Palestinians' successful statehood bid may change that, but it is far from a sure thing.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to build more housing units in the settlements, coming hot on the heels of the United Nations General Assembly’s declaration of Palestine as a non-member observer state, could put Israel on a collision course with the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Following the UN’s decision last Thursday, Palestine may contact the court's prosecutor once again, asking for a hearing on the crimes that are being committed in its territory. The court’s prosecutor may well rule that in light of Palestine’s recognition as a state, the court has authority to hear the case.

If Palestine should complain to the court, Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the court’s statute may be at the center of the case. This article states, in part: “The transfer, directly or indirectly, by an occupying power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies" is a war crime.

This statute is the continuation of a rule in the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel’s past claims that the rule did not apply in the territories may be rejected: The International Court of Justice, also in The Hague, settles legal disputes between countries and gives advisory opinions. When this court gave its advisory opinion over the separation barrier, it ruled that contrary to Israel’s position, the Fourth Geneva Convention applied in the territories, including the prohibition against building settlements in occupied territory. This ruling has even greater force now that Palestine has been recognized as a state.

Israel’s claim that the provision applies only to the forced transfer of a population from an occupying country to the occupied territories, and not to a voluntary move, is likely to be rejected both in light of Israel’s large investment in the settlements and the active establishment of new settlements, and also because the court’s statute includes the phrase “direct or indirect” in its prohibition against such a transfer.

It should be noted that the crime being discussed is the “transfer,” not the "move" of those moving. The ones to be accused are not the settlers themselves, but those responsible for building the settlements. Some believe that the prosecutor and the court will not want to deal with the matter because it does not involve grave war crimes such as the killing of civilians. However, the clause was included in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court over Israel’s objections, with full awareness, and the court cannot ignore it.

...

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/following-un-vote-on-palestine-israel-may-now-find-itself-at-the-hague.premium-1.481919#

[OriZ 3,157]

Yes... Hamas announced on Monday that it would back Abbas' move at the UN. Actually, Khaled Mashaal has said it for years - that Hamas will agree to a Palestinian state on the 1967 armistice lines with East Jerusalem as its capital, de facto recognizing Israel. For some reason, Israel and the U.S. seem to be pretending they're surprised...

Israel's big worry isn't Hamas... it's the ICC...

Hamas charter clearly states their goal is the destruction of Israel...and today we get yet another proof:

Hamas marked the 25th anniversary of its inception Saturday, with a ceremony and a mass rally held in Gaza City's al-Katiba Square.

Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal, his deputy Dr. Mousa Abu Marzook and politburo member Izzat al-Rishak attended the ceremony for the first time ever; as did top Fatah leaders.

Senior politburo member Saleh Al Arouri was also scheduled to attend the rally, but according to Egyptian media, Israel vetoed his presence; stressing that his presence in the enclave would jeopardize the recent ceasefire deal struck between Israel and Hamas.

Israel further vetoed the presence of Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ramadan Shallah and his deputy, Ziyad Nahala.

Thousands of Hamas supporters, some of them flashing victory signs, were braving the rain to attend the event. Some parents brought children dressed in military uniforms.

A spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades addressed the crowd, and spoke of Ahmed Jabari, whose targeted assassination sparked Operation Pillar of Defense.

Jabari, said the spokesman, played a key role in the resistance: "We vow to keep on with the resistance and with the Jihad until we defeat the occupation and purify the holy sites."

He thanked Iran and Turkey for their support during the days of the recent Gaza conflict and pledged that Hamas' military wing "will never abandon Gaza."

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told the cheering crowds that Gaza was victorious in the last military campaign because of "Hamas' thorough preparations beforehand."

The movement, he said, "Has thousands of combatants, on and under the ground, who are ready to ward off any Israeli aggression. The occupation will not remain on this land," he declared.

Haniyeh hailed Jabari as a "shahid" – a martyr – adding that he was not only a leader within Hamas, but "A great leader of the Arab nation."

He too thanked the Arab world for siding with the Palestinians during their fight against Israel, saying Hamas will now "begin formulating an Arab and Islamic strategy for the liberation of Palestine."

'Right of return sacred'

Mashaal took the podium next. "The West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israeli Arabs are united in the path of resistance, Jihad and the shahids," he told the elated masses.

"It will not be long before we see all the Palestinian prisoners released from prison. We promise you that. The way we freed some of the prisoners in the past is the way we will use to free the remaining prisoners."

He further thanked the military wings of all the Palestinian factions for their sacrifice during November's conflict with Israel.

"Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the south to the north. There will be no concession on an inch of the land," he said.

"We will never recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation and therefore there is no legitimacy for Israel, no matter how long it will take."

The politburo chief continued: "Jihad and the armed resistance is the only true path to liberation."

He congratulated the militants who were able to target cities in central Israel, saying that "We don't kill Jews because they are Jews. We kill the Zionists because they are conquerors and we will continue to kill anyone who takes our land and our holy places.

"The conqueror is not just the enemy of the Palestinians but the enemy of the entire Arab world. The Zionist plan is a danger to us all.

"We will free Jerusalem inch by inch, stone by stone…the right of return is sacred to us and we will not forfeit it."

Earlier Saturday, Hamas released a statement, carried by the "Palestine Information Center" website, saying that the movement has "renewed its adherence to the option of resistance for the liberation of Palestine."

"Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people, their land and holy sites only boost the Palestinian people's steadfastness and resistance and cannot succeed in breaking their will," the statement said.

"We will stay faithful to Jerusalem, al-Aqsa Mosque and the Islamic and Christian holy sites, and will not relinquish any part of them. We also support those steadfast in Jerusalem and our 1948 occupied land in the face of Judaization and displacement schemes."

Hamas further urged the Arab League and the organization of Islamic cooperation to protect the Palestinian people's interests "Against Israel's violations"; and implored them to take action to end the four-year blockade on Gaza.

Preparations for the ceremony were in full throttle throughout the week with Hamas positioning a full-scale model of an M75 rocket – the likes of which were fired at Israel during the latest round of escalation in the south – in the middle of al-Katiba Square.

Hamas has repeatedly boasted the rocket's ability to hit targets within a 70kn range, as well as the fact that the missile is domestically produced.

Hamas originally intended to hold its anniversary celebrations next week, but the date was pushed up to coincide with the anniversary of the First Intifada.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4317099,00.html

When Hamas talks about occupation, they're talking about all of Israel...when Hamas says they'll agree to the 1967 borders, they mean for a 10-20 year Houdna...nothing more than that...When they say they will never give up the right of return(even when they agree to the 1967 borders, they always include the right of return), they say it cause they know it means the de facto end of Israel...