Iceland becomes first Western European country to recognize Palestinian state

Published 21:36 29.11.11 Latest update 21:36 29.11.11

 Icelandic parliament approves measure on United Nations' annual day of solidarity with the Palestinian people; Palestinians reaffirm bid for UN membership.

By Reuters and The Associated Press


Iceland's parliament voted on Tuesday in favor of recognizing the Palestinian Territories as an independent state, the first Western European country to do so according Iceland's foreign minister. The measure passed symbolically on the United Nation's annual day of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The vote paves the way for formal recognition by the small north Atlantic island, which led the way in recognizing the independence of the three Baltic states after the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991.



"Iceland is the first Western European country to take this step," Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson told Icelandic state broadcaster RUV. "I now have the formal authority to declare our recognition of Palestine."

Palestinian UN observer Riyad Mansour read a message from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at UN headquarters on the occasion of the day of solidarity with the Palestinian people. He reaffirmed the Palestinian's bid for UN membership, saying it should complement peace negotiations, provided that Israel is prepared to negotiate on the basis of the 1967 borders.

Abbas said the Palestinians are not seeking "to delegitimize Israel" by applying to join the UN "but to delegitimize its settlement activities and the seizure of our occupied lands." He added that sanctions imposed on them by Israel because the Palestinians won membership in UNESCO are "unjust" and that Israel has no right to withhold their customs and tax revenues.

The Icelandic parliament resolution allowing for the recognition of a Palestinian state within the pre-Six Day War borders of 1967 was decided by 38 votes in the 63-seat.

"At the same time, parliament urges Israelis and Palestinians to seek a peace agreement on the basis of international law and UN resolutions, which include the mutual recognition of the state of Israel and the state of Palestine," said the resolution, proposed by the Icelandic foreign minister.

It also called on all sides to cease any violence and recalled the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.

Iceland's recognition, however, is expected to amount to a little more than symbolic step as the Palestinian Authority strives to get United Nations recognition. Its quest for a seat at the international body has so far failed.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/iceland-becomes-first-western-european-country-to-recognize-palestinian-state-1.398533

French JDL recruiting Jews with military experience to 'defend' Israeli settlements

• Published 19:12 11.09.11
• Latest update 19:12 11.09.11

Rightist group, founded by late Rabbi Meir Kahane, is bringing volunteers to counter Palestinian marches on settlements planned for week of September 20.

By Danna Harman

An extreme right-wing Jewish group in France is recruiting Jews with military experience for a solidarity mission to Israel in order to help “defend” Jewish settlements in the West Bank from Palestinian protesters who are expected to march toward some of them on or around September 20. 

The organization that put out the call for militant Jews is the French branch of the Jewish Defense League, or Kach, an organization established by Meir Kahane in the late 1960s and banned in the United States and Israel, but tolerated in France.

According to a spokesman for La Ligue de Defense Juive, the mission will take place between the 19th and 25th of September and will be made up of five groups of eleven people each, who will take “positions” in five different West Bank settlements. All expenses for the participants have been paid for by French donors that the group declined to identify.

	Beitar Jerusalem supporters holding the flag of Meir Kahane's Kach movement.
	Photo by: Haggai Aharon

The participants, French men and women between the ages of 23 and 34, all have military training, which was a prerequisite for joining the mission, says Amnon Cohen, a spokesman for the group, who himself was a soldier in the French Foreign Legion for 15 years. The plan, says Cohen, is not to “provoke the Arabs,” but rather to “be on hand in case the settlements need our help with defense if the Arabs attack… at this precarious time.”

In the U.S., the JDL is considered to be a violent, racist and extremist organization, and is on the FBI’s list of terrorist groups. Similarly, in Israel, the JDL’s sister movement Kach, as well as its offshoot Kahane Lives – whose stated goals included the violent expulsion of Arabs from the country-- were both outlawed in 1994, on the grounds that they were terror organizations, and as such, a threat to state security.

Over the years, LDJ has participated in a number of demonstrations in France, some of them violent. The group has protested a speaking event of an author known for anti-Israel views, a performance of a well known comic critical of Israel, a photography exhibit showing pictures of victims of war in Gaza, and the offices of various news organizations that the group believes to be biased against Israel.

The LDJ demonstrated against Palestinian politician Marwan Bargouti when was honored by a local municipality and also mounted a protest outside the Percy hospital when Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was brought there for treatment, chanting: “Arafat, bastard, the Jews will have your skin.” Over the years, various leaders of the organization have clashed with the police and several have been arrested – but the group has not been outlawed.

The LDJ had no trouble organizing logistics for its upcoming mission to Israel, says Cohen, and everything has already been coordinated in advance with the five settlements that are awaiting their arrival. The participants will not fly to Israel as a group, added Cohen, but rather are coming on different days, independently of one another, leaving from Paris and Nice. Some of the group have already arrived in Israel, he said.

American Envoy failed

08.09.11 - 16:29
An American Envoy of David Hale and Denis Ross failed in their mission in convincing the Palestinians not to go to the United Nations. The envoy made it clear to the Palestinians that “the US is against the bid of a UN state”. According to Palestinian spokesmen who spoke with “Al-Hayat”, Ross and Hale didn’t have any offer to appeal the negotiations; they only explained the negative consequences of going to the UN, including “cutting out the Aids from the Palestinians.” The U.S. Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton spoke to Abbas and asked him to “cooperate with the US to avoid a negative scenario in New York by the end of September.” The Secretary of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Yasser Abed-Rabbo, said in a meeting with some peace activists in Ramallah, that he “will ask for an International conference after the recognition of the Palestinian State in September to solve the case after the UN decision.” He also added that he will ask for state borders according “to the 4th of June, 1967”, announce the settlements as illegal work and start negotiations with the Occupation according to a given time frame. Assistant U.S. Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, declared that “the US will use the Veto against any attempt for the recognition of the Palestinian State.” Sherman said in a hearing session in front of the U.S. Senate that “in case there would be any decision concerning the recognition of the Palestinian State in the UN, we will use the Veto against it.” She also added that “the US President, Barack Obama, the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, and myself will do our best to make sure this subject won’t move forward”.

http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10658&Itemid=61

PPSF member detained at Ramallah checkpoint

Published yesterday (updated) 08/09/2011 14:11

 

 

NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces detained a member of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front late Wednesday after holding him at Atara checkpoint north of Ramallah.

PPSF member Monadel Hanini told Ma'an that Israeli forces detained Awni Abu Ghosh, 50, while he was on his way back to Jerusalem, where he lives, from Nablus.

Hanini demanded the immediate release of Abu Ghosh.

Israeli forces are implementing a widespread campaign of arresting Palestinian political leaders because of the upcoming UN bid, he added.

Israel detained 120 Palestinians, mostly Hamas supporters, in Hebron on August 21 in one of the largest detention operations in the city since 2003, Palestinian security officials said.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said arrests were made in the Ramallah area Wednesday as part of routine "security procedures."

 

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=418463

Israelis could face trial in The Hague if Palestinian statehood recognized at UN, experts warn

• Published 01:59 08.09.11
• Latest update 01:59 08.09.11

According to the statute of the court, the direct or indirect transfer of an occupier’s population into occupied territory constitutes a war crime.

By Tomer Zarchin 

Recognition of a Palestinian state could, in theory, lead to Israeli officials being dragged repeatedly before the International Criminal Court in the Hague for claims regarding its settlement policies in the West Bank, legal experts say. 

According to the statute of the court, the direct or indirect transfer of an occupier’s population into occupied territory constitutes a war crime. 

	United Nations General Assembly Hall on Oct. 12, 2010.
	Photo by: AP

“The jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in the Hague is a complementary jurisdiction, meaning that the court will not intervene in cases when a war crime complaint is being investigated by Israel and those responsible are prosecuted,” explained Prof. Robbie Sabel, a former legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry and an expert in international law. 

“But in instances in which Israel is not conducting a war crime investigation and is not trying to ascertain the guilt of the accused, the court may get involved,” he said.

“The settlements are a prime example of this, since in theory one could say that we are talking about a war crime, that Israel is not investigating it and not bringing those responsible to justice. Thus, the court could get involved and investigate.” 

Sabelisn’t convinced, however, that the Palestinians will use this tool very often, if at all.
“Interestingly, except for Jordan, no neighboring Arab state [has accepted the court’s jurisdiction],” he said. “Why hasn’t Syria joined? Syria could have joined and asked that an investigation be opened against Israel for settling the Golan. The reason is that if Syria joined, it would also be exposed to having its officials being tried for war crimes. 

“It could be that the Palestinians will get caught up in the issue of the settlements, but at the same time, any Palestinian that, say, shot at Israeli civilians would also be subject to the court’s jurisdiction. Undoubtedly Israel could come up with a long list of terrorists that harmed Israelis and were never tried by the Palestinian Authority and turn it over to the court for handling.” 

Another issue is whether the newly minted “Palestine” could make claims regarding incidents that occurred before it was recognized as a state. The court has jurisdiction only for claims made by UN member states. 

Attorney Nick Kaufman and Prof. Daphne Richmond-Barak, both international law experts who have worked with the International Criminal Court, believe the Palestinians will certainly try. They may even ask the court to investigate incidents that occurred before 2002, which is when the court began operating, even though as a rule, such claims are not accepted, says Richmond-Barak. “The chances that Israelis will find themselves in court in the Hague will be much greater after September,” she said.
Kaufman, meanwhile, petitioned the ICC this week on behalf of the Regavim advocacy group, which asked the court to reject the request by the Palestinians in 2009 to investigate events pertaining to Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. 

Regavim argues that the Palestinian intention to declare a state and ask for its recognition now proves that at the time they filed their request with the court, they were not a state. The court thus has no authority to respond to their request and must reject it out of hand, Regavim says. 

Meanwhile, attorneys Limor Yehuda and Anne Sucio, of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, issued a position paper yesterday on the possible ramifications of the recognition of a Palestinian state on civil rights in the territories. 

Yehuda disagrees with what she called the “impassioned” approach to the legal changes, including the possible involvement of the ICC. 

“You must remember that Palestinian ratification of the Rome Statute [which created the ICC] will obligate them to uphold human rights − for example, to refrain from torture and avoid firing on Israeli civilians,” she said. “It is liable to increase both sides’ commitment to human rights.” 

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israelis-could-face-trial-in-the-hague-if-palestinian-statehood-recognized-at-un-experts-warn-1.383144#.TmhDqlQ3p3I.twitter

France Warns Against Palestinian UN Bid

Saturday September 03, 2011 02:34 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe, warned the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank of heading to the United Nations this month, and claimed that “heading to the UN to seek international recognition of statehood, could lead to a serious diplomatic crises”.

Flag Of France

The statements of Juppe came as he was talking to reporters in Sopot city in Poland where EU Minister met for two days, and held informal talks on the issue.
He said that “Paris hopes that the Palestinians will seize the opportunity to reopen the paths of dialogue instead of risking a serious and deep diplomatic crisis”.

Juppe also said that “all 27 EU member countries must have a united stance regarding the September Palestinian UN move to seek recognition of statehood”.

Also, Austrian Foreign Minister, Michael Spindelegger, suggested that the EU should present its own proposal to UN, while several EU diplomats opposed the idea.

Furthermore, EU Foreign Policy Chief, Catherin Ashton, stated that EU countries currently have no time to make a decision on the issue, and how to act at the United Nations, and added that Europe must focus on mediation between Israel and the Palestinians to ensure the resumption of talks.

Ashton added that the changes and revolutions in the Arab World gave the European Union the chance to be part of determining how new democracies in the region should develop and advance.

On Wednesday, French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, called on all European countries to have a united position regarding the Palestinian UN bid.

On Thursday, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, threatened that should the Palestinians go ahead with their plan to seek international recognition of statehood at the UN in September, Israel will void all peace agreements, and the US support to them will be jeopardized.

He said that Israel will not be committed to all signed peace agreements, and that “there are agreements that were signed with the Palestinian Authority, and not the Palestinian government, including agreements regarding exports and imports, water, and security cooperation.

The American born ambassador claimed that “the Palestinians will use the international recognition to file lawsuits against Israel in international courts”, and that “an international recognition of statehood will reduce the possibilities of achieving a peace deal”.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated Wednesday that the Palestinian decision to head to the UN is not, in any way, an alternative to peace talks with Israel, but a move to achieve international support to the legitimate Palestinian rights.

Abbas affirmed that the Palestinian Authority is committed to peace and security with Israel, based on the two-state solution based on the Palestinian right to live in an independent and sovereign state, living in peace next to Israel.

The United States said it strongly oppose the move, while several officials stated that Washington will use its Veto power to void the Palestinian UN move. The US believes that direct talks with Israel are the only means to achieve a peace agreement.

The Palestinians had to withdraw from talks with Israel as it violated its obligations, and resumed all of its illegal construction and expansion of Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank, including in occupied East Jerusalem.

The P.A decision was also made in protest to Israel’s ongoing violations and military escalation in the occupied territories. 

http://www.imemc.org/article/61936