Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)
Showing posts with label Manama Conference 2019. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manama Conference 2019. Show all posts

Monday, 1 July 2019

David Singer: Trump Should Champion Legal Migration from West Bank and Gaza

Here's the latest article by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer.

He writes:

President Trump should consider championing legal, voluntary and financially-assisted emigration from Gaza and the West Bank by calling on Jordan and Egypt to open their border crossings and grant residency status to Gazan and West Bank Arabs seeking a better future for themselves and their families.

Such action is certainly justified following the rejection of President Trump’s offer to inject US$6.5 billion into the West Bank and Gaza – with both Hamas and the PLO telling Trump they were not prepared to accept any financial assistance coming out of the Manama Conference jointly convened last week by Trump and Bahrain.

Hamas purported to speak for the “Palestinian people” – a body politic invented in 1964  that last had a say in its own future in 2006:
“No one can represent the Palestinian people except the Palestinians themselves, who have never been unqualified to taking decisions related to Palestine. The parties and states meeting in Manama do not have any right or mandate to take decisions on behalf of the Palestinian people. Therefore, any resolution taken or stance adopted at the conference is null and void and does not represent the Palestinian people. Such decisions or positions are only desperate attempts to liquidate the Palestinian issue and do not represent the Palestinian people.”
The PLO was just as quick to reject the massive financial aid being offered by Trump – PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas declaring:
“We say that national rights are not pieces of real estate that are purchased and sold and that arriving at a political solution that guarantees freedom, dignity, independence and justice for our people must precede any economic programs or projects because that will create stability and security for everyone,”
Christine Lagarde – managing director of the International Monetary Fund – appeared to agree with both Hamas and the PLO when stressing:
“Improving economic conditions and attracting lasting investment to the region depends ultimately on being able to reach a peace agreement.
Peace, political stability and re-establishment of trust between all the parties involved are essential pre-requisites to the success of any economic plan for the region.”
Lagarde’s comments appeared at odds with the views expressed by White House adviser Jared Kushner when he opened the conference and said an economic plan:
“is a necessary precondition to resolving what has been a previously unsolvable political situation.”
The “unsolvable political situation” in Gaza and the West Bank has been ongoing for the last 100 years.
Gaza and West Bank Arabs – currently forced to endure this political uncertainty – faced the following dire economic circumstances in 2018 according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics:
  • Unemployment in Gaza reached 52 percent – an increase of almost eight percent since 2017
  • Unemployment among young people in Gaza aged 15-29 was 69%.
  • The unemployment rate in the West Bank was 17.6 percent
Gaza’s civilian population has paid a heavy price for the indiscriminate targeting of Israeli population centres with thousands of missiles and incendiary balloons.

Hamas and the PLO – still fighting between themselves for control of the Johnny-come-lately “Palestinian people” – seem extremely unlikely to allow the respective constituencies they have ruled for the last 12 years to have any say in the future political and economic direction of Gaza and the West Bank.

US$16.5 billion proposed for projects in Jordan and Egypt – coupled with Trumps’ US$6.5 billion unexpended in Gaza – constitute a humanitarian lifeline for Gazan and West Bank Arabs to migrate and enjoy far better lives than they currently have.

If Gazan and West Bank Arabs cannot vote in election booths – then Trump should help them vote with their feet.

Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones” one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog

Sunday, 23 June 2019

David Singer: Trump Should Stop Billions Being Poured into Gaza and West Bank

Here's the latest article by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer.

He writes:

President Trump should not allow the euphoria that swept the world following the 27 November 2007 Annapolis Conference to infect the Manama Conference being jointly hosted by himself and Bahrain on 25-26 June.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s closing remarks at Annapolis were brimming with hope:
“The conference began with the joint announcement by Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas that they will begin negotiations to establish a Palestinian state and to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace with the goal of concluding an agreement by the end of the year 2008”
Under their Joint Understanding Olmert and Abbas committed: 
“to immediately implement their respective obligations under the Performance-Based Road Map to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israel-Palestinian Conflict, issued by the Quartet on 30 April 2003 (hereinafter, "the Roadmap") and agree to form an American, Palestinian and Israeli mechanism, led by the United States, to follow up on the implementation of the Roadmap. The parties further commit to continue the implementation of the ongoing obligations of the Roadmap until they reach a peace treaty. The United States will monitor and judge the fulfillment of the commitments of both sides of the Roadmap. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, implementation of the future peace treaty will be subject to the implementation of the Roadmap, as judged by the United States”
Conference attendees included:
• Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
• Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas
 • President Bush
 and representatives from:
• Quartet members – United Nations, European Union and Russia
• Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
• Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen
• 30 other States including Canada, China, France, Germany,Japan and the United Kingdom
 A follow-up Donors’ Conference was held in Paris on 17 December 2007. 

Delegations from 87 countries and international organisations pledged a total of US$7.4 billion to support Palestinian institution-building and economic recovery for the next three years.

Of this amount, US$3.4 Billion was pledged for 2008. This amount included:
“humanitarian assistance, which was essential to help relieve the daily lives of the Palestinian population, especially in Gaza.”
The International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Economy for the Reconstruction of Gaza was held in Sharm El-Sheikh on 2 March 2009. Participants pledged approximately US$4.48 billion covering the next two years.

They committed themselves to:
“start disbursing these pledges as quickly as possible in order to rapidly impact the daily lives of the Palestinians.”
 Pouring billions into Gaza and the West Bank has not relieved or impacted the daily lives of Gaza and the West Bank’s Arab populations.

The promised “Permanent Two-State solution” is dead and buried.

Trump and those attending Manama need to focus on how their new pledges will best help the daily lives of these captive populations still being governed by their 2007 rulers – Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

The Manama Conference should consider:
• Funding new residential and infrastructure programsin neighbouring countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia and 
• Encouraging the legal migration of West Bank and Gazan Arabs to such countriesby offering them financial incentives to help themachieveprosperity and a better life for themselves and their families.
The invitees tothe Manama Conference will reportedly not include Israel. Mahmoud Abbas has refused to attend. Hamas has rejected the conference being held.

The Manama Conference should not continue pouring billions of dollars into these bottomless pits of misery and despair ruled by groups who will:
• not allow free elections and
• never recognise Israel as the national home of the Jewish people
 Manama 2019 will hopefully not repeat the mistakes of Annapolis, Paris and Sharm El-Sheik.

(Author’s note:The cartoon —commissioned exclusively for this article —is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”-one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators —whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog)

Thursday, 30 May 2019

David Singer: Freedom from PLO and Hamas Rule awaits Gaza and West Bank Arabs

Here's the latest article by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer.

He writes:

The announced participation of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar in the “Prosperity for Peace Conference”  in Manama on 25-26 June — jointly convened by President Trump and Bahrain (“Manama Conference”) — promises to offer unique opportunities for Gaza and West Bank Arabs to emigrate to other Arab countries to seek better lives for their families.

Tens of millions of desperate people have fled their birthplaces in recent years seeking entry illegally into other countries. There is no reason to believe that Gaza and West Bank Arabs would not similarly want to emigrate if offered the opportunity to do so legally.

Gaza and West Bank Arabs have personally suffered under the oppressive rule of Hamas in Gaza since 2006 and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the West Bank since 1993. They have not been given the opportunity at any time to determine their own future in free and fair elections— except in 2006 when the PLO refused to accept the result. A bitter internecine struggle since then has ensued between Hamas and the PLO for political control of the Gaza and West Bank Arab populations that still remains unresolved. Elections are not even being contemplated to resolve this impasse.

The policies espoused by both Hamas and the PLO in relation to Israel have wrought disaster on Gaza and West Bank Arabs both in regard to their personal lives and economic prospects for themselves and their children.

The UAE has voiced its support for the Manama Conference and what it hopes will be achieved:
“The UAE supports all international efforts aimed at supporting economic progress and increasing opportunities in the region, and alleviating the suffering of people in the region, particularly our brothers in Palestine… It (the Conference) aims to lift the Palestinian people out of misery and to enable them for a stable and prosperous future”
Hamas and the PLO are both violently opposed to the Manama Conference and have indicated they will not be attending. They are well aware of the threat an exodus from Gaza and the West Bank would pose to their hold on power and financial privilege.

Hamas — which has turned Gaza into a hell hole since Israel unilaterally disengaged from there in 2005—had the gall to declare:

“We warn Arab states against the malicious activities aimed to pave the way for normalisation with the Israeli occupation and involvement in the deal of the century”
Saeb Erekat — secretary general of the PLO — expressed his opposition against the Conference claiming: 
“there will be no economic prosperity in Palestine without the end of the occupation”
Among the many exciting initiatives expected to be presented at the Conference is Saudi Arabia’s already announced NEOM project — a planned US$500 billion mega city.

The project includes a bridge spanning the Red Sea, connecting the proposed city to Africa. Some 10,000 square miles (25,900 square kilometers) — the size of Israel — have been allocated for the project - which will be close to the borders of Jordan and Egypt.

The opportunities for work and the prospects of enjoying happier and safer lives in being part of NEOM and other to-be announced projects would prove irresistible for Gaza and West Bank Arabs - fed up with decades of deprivation and suffering supposedly pursuing the goal of “ending the occupation” by creating another Arab State.

Hamas and PLO threats, objections and non-attendance will not see the Manama Conference cancelled.

Hamas and the PLO will be left to hang out and dry — having been responsible for prolonging the Jewish-Arab conflict that should have been resolved decades ago.
 
(Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones” — one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators— whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog)