The 'Right of Return' - An Historical Note

When discussing the so-called 'right of return' of Arabs from the area of the Mandate of Palestine, much emphasis is placed on whether  that "return" is in addition to the compensation element of UN 194, an alternative to compensation or neither as such a "right" does not exist.

Israel has always pointed out, on an across-the-board and all-inclusive political spectrum of left to right that any return would affect the Jewish character of the state and the refugees would pose not only an immediate security problem but also a long-term demographuic one.

One aspect, however, is overlooked.

It can be found in this UN document,

UNITED NATIONS CONCILIATION COMMISSION FOR PALESTINE, 

COMMITTEE ON JERUSALEM, THIRD PROGRESS REPORT 

TO THE UNITED NATIONS CONCILIATION COMMISSION FOR PALESTINE,

A/927, 21 June 1949, A/AC.25/Com

which reads

31. It has already been indicated (see paragraph 17 above) that, for their part, the Arab delegations made a proposal that the refugees coming from certain areas defined on the map annexed to the Protocol of 12 May, comprising those from Western Galilee, from the town of Jaffa, from the central area including Lydda, Ramle and Beersheba, from the southern coastal zone and from the Jerusalem area as defined on the above-mentioned map, should be enabled to return to their homes forthwith. In the course of discussion with the Commission, the Arab delegations have indicated that this proposal bears a territorial aspect, since it envisages the return of refugees to areas designated as Arab territory, and which are in principle to be recognized as Arab territory.

In other words, the return of Arabs could result in Israel's territory being removed from the state's sovereignty.  That was the operative intention.

The Arabs, including the Palestinian Authority, have always been nebulous about numbers and the framework of that 'right of return'.  They have been also quite clear in the past as to designs on pushing Israel back into the 1947 boundaries, those the Arabs rejected and then went to war on November 30, 1947.

The 'return' of refugees was not a humanitarian measure but a method for undoing Israel's existence then and could be so exploited in the future.

^

The UN Develops and Supports Jordanian Lies

This Arab-language news report informs us that there was a two-day "religious diversity" conference, which was launched in Amman, Jordan on Tuesday, organized by the United Nations Development Programme and the Centre for King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz for Global Dialogue (KAICIID) and attended by Muslim and Christian religious experts and media professionals from 25 Middle Eastern countries, and with the participation of more than 100 persons.

No Jews?

Jordan's Waqf Minister Wael Arabiyat said there that

"UNESCO's recent decision on Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque confirmed the right of Arabs and Muslims to the entire Sanctuary of 144 dunams."

He added that "this compound is not only just a mosque but that it has no relation historically to the 'holy city' of the Jews," and stressed "the right of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in the exercise of its control and the protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque."

Jordan's Minister of the Waqf explained that the UNESCO decision "confirms that Jordan has many options in this aspect can be practiced what he can from the protection and guardianship of Jerusalem and Islamic holy sites."

Oddly enough, he also said this in complete contradiction:

pluralism is a universal norm and that humans cannot live alone. To survive, humans need material wealth, spiritual welfare and security...these factors are the basis for positive dialogue...the civil state has existed since the beginning of Islam, citing Medina as an example of accepting the different components of society regardless of religion, race or colour.

Diversity?

Pluralism?

Spiritual welfare?

Positive dialogue?

Different components of society?

What BS. What lies.  And under the auspices of the United Nations.

^

You Will Be Pilloried, King Abdullah

Thus said Abdullah II, Monarch of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (aka eastern Palestine) in the United Nations yesterday

...Safeguarding Jerusalem is a key concern ... the Holy City; a strategic linchpin not only for my region but for the world. This is a priority for me personally, and for all Muslims. We utterly reject attacks on Muslim and Christian Holy Sites ... and any attempts to alter the historic Muslim, Christian and Arab identity of the Holy City. As the Custodian of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, I will continue my efforts to protect these places, and stand up against all violations of their sanctity, including attempts for temporal and spatial division of Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif.

Sir, there are no "attacks" but visits, with Jews being restricted by Israel's governments to tours only, as if Jews had no rights to this holy site.

The only "altering" is the work done by the Waqf funded by you to either destroy, deface or cover-up the Temple Mount's Jewish past or to new construction.

It is you who seek to change the "identity" of the site or falsify it or deny it.

If you do not adhere to the terms of the Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty which are

Each party will provide freedom of access to places of religious and historical significance...The Parties will act together to promote interfaith relations among the three monotheistic religions, with the aim of working towards religious understanding, moral commitment, freedom of religious worship, and tolerance and peace...The Parties will seek to foster mutual understanding and tolerance based on shared historic values, and accordingly undertake: to abstain from hostile or discriminatory propaganda against each other, and to take all possible legal and administrative measures to prevent the dissemination of such propaganda by any organisation or individual present in the territory of either Party;

then you are the one to be pilloried in international forums.

___________

P.S.

I realized that I need to clarify a point for the newcomers to my blog.

Abdullah refers to sites. That means not only the Haram Courtyard but all over (is that "conquest expansion"?) and as an example here is an item from 2013:

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs Nasser Judeh on Thursday voiced Jordan's total rejection of what has been reported by the media on Israeli plans to expand the Buraq Square in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Mosque in a way that threatens the Islamic monuments.

The Buraq Square is none other than the Western Wall Plaza which is outside the Haram precincts.  That is definitely upsetting any status quo.

^

Ban-Ki Moon - Is the UN Occupied?

as oppressed peoples have demonstrated throughout the ages, it is human nature to react to occupation

That was from the United Nations' Secretary-General's remarks to the Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East [as delivered], New York, 26 January 2016.

Are the "Palestinians" a "people"?

Are they "oppressed"?

Is there an "occupation"?

When there was Arab terror in 1920, 1921, 1929, 1936-1939 and when the local Arabs launched a war of aggression against a UN decision and then set up the fedayeen terror group in the mid-1950s and when they founded the PLO in 1964, was that in reaction to an "occupation"?

Or is Israel oppressed by the UN and is it illegally occupied by Arabs?

_______________

UPDATE

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Tuesday, 26 January 2016), responded to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's remarks:

"The UN Secretary General's remarks give a tailwind to terrorism. There is no justification for terrorism. The Palestinian murderers do not want to build a state – they want to destroy a state and they say this openly. They want to murder Jews simply because they are Jews and they say this openly. They do not murder for peace and they do not murder for human rights. 
The UN lost its neutrality and moral force a long time ago and the Secretary General's remarks do not improve the situation."

^

The PA Proposes, the UN Disposes and to Israel No Roses

Those you are veteran readers of my blog know that this

Palestinian proposal to UNESCO: Western Wall is part of al-Aqsa  A new proposal to establish that the Western Wall is part of al-Aqsa Mosque is set to be submitted by the Palestinians to a vote at UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) next week, Ynet learned Thursday.The proposal states among other things that the Western Wall is part of al-Aqsa Mosque...Yedioth Ahronoth received a copy of the proposal, which reveals the main points:1. To declare and confirm that the Western Wall is part of al-Aqsa Mosque, and is called Buraq Plaza (as the Palestinians call the Western Wall). The same applies to the Mughrabi Gate...

is old news.

How old?

Well, in the British White Paper of November 1928, the Mandate Authority basically created or recreated the status quo we're all talking about in a primitive version and while one pro-Arab MP tried to have it that

the Wailing Wall is legally the absolute property of the Moslem community, with the strip of pavement facing it; that the placing there of tables, chairs, screens, etc., is against the status quo;

the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies William Lunn, however, declared in parliament that

a memorandum relating to the Western or Wailing Wall in Jerusalem was presented to Parliament in November last as a White Paper (Cmd. 3229)...These regulations were promulgated, with the Secretary of State's approval, as a matter of urgency with a view to the preservation of good order and docorum. As the High Commissioner has announced locally, the regulations are of a temporary and provisional character. They do not purport to define the existing rights of either Moslems or Jews, nor do they prejudice the rights and claims either of Jews or of Moslems. 

However, things got a bit out of hand and following the murderous riots of August 1929 and the agitation of the Mufti, the Mandate appointed an International Commission of Inquiry and its report of December 1930 was inimical with its unjust restrictions on Jews by the Western Wall in addition to awarding to the Muslim Waqf the ownership of the Wall and the small courtyard which served as the worship site.

And let us not forget the December 1931 Islamic World Conference of the Mufti:

I pointed out a decade ago that Israeli officialdom either were ignorant of this element although Arafat was proclaiming it from the rooftops or preferred to ignore it as if it would go away.

Sheikh Tayseer Al-Tamimi, former Chief Justice of PA Religious Court:
"...the Jews have no right to it. No party, no matter how much power and international support it has, can change this established fact by giving the Jews any right to it, or the right to pray in any part of it. The Al-Aqsa Mosque includes all its courtyards, foundations, skies, gates, domes, walls, and specifically, its western wall (Al-Buraq Wall), [parentheses in source], which is, after all, a part of it...It is with great pride that we remember the attitude of President-Martyr Yasser Arafat, of blessed memory... who refused to give the Jews any right to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."
[Al-Hayyat Al-Jadida, Feb. 17, 2014]

As made clear here:

the denial of Solomon’s Temple is expressed through the use of the word al-maz’um (alleged) with al-haykal (the Temple). The use of the word al-maz’um is a direct attempt to negate the Jewish claim to the Temple Mount. The main argument made by those who deny the existence of the Jewish Temple is that no proof of the Temple’s existence has ever been found. Palestinian officials have adopted this position. 

This denial is an important element in local Arab crypto-nationalism:

Furthermore,

The Israeli government also contributed indirectly to the erosion of Israel’s rule over the Temple Mount. In October 1993, then-foreign minister Shimon Peres wrote to his Norwegian counterpart that Israel would not interfere with the activities of “all Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem… and holy Muslim places.” Although Peres’ letter did not specify what it meant exactly by Muslim holy places, Arafat nonetheless later claimed that Israel had implicitly recognized the PA’s jurisdiction over the Temple Mount.

I only hope that the UN Delegation is adequately prepared, with all this documentation and more, to counter the PA move.


______________

UPDATE

PM Netanyahu's Remarks at the Start of the Weekly Cabinet Meeting
(Transcript Communicated by the PM Media Advisor)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this morning (Sunday, 18 October 2015), made the following remarks at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting:

Israel cannot accept the French draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council. It doesn’t mention Palestinian incitement; it doesn’t mention Palestinian terrorism; and it calls for the internationalization of the Temple Mount.

Well, we've seen across the Middle East – in Palmyra, in Iraq, throughout Iraq and elsewhere how the militant Muslims blast each other's mosques to the sky. We've just seen it in a Jewish holy site, Joseph's Tomb. Only Israel, Israel alone, is the guarantor of the holy sites on the Temple Mount.

The reason the status quo has been violated is not because we changed it. We didn’t change anything. The orders of prayer, the visiting rights have not changed for the last 15 years. The only thing that's changed are Islamist hoodlums paid by the Islamist Movement in Israel and by Hamas, who are entering the mosque and try to put explosive [unclear]and from there emerge and attack Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount, and Christian visitors. That's the only change in the status quo.

Israel will protect the holy sites, will guard the status quo. Israel is not the problem on the Temple Mount. Israel is the solution.

^ 

A Tale of Two Speeches

I selected excerpts from the "Full Official Text of President Mahmoud Abbas' Speech at the UNGA, to be delivered on September 26 with my underlining.

But there was a problem.  A different speech, in part, was delivered on September 27.

First, the pre-version:

The Question Palestine is intricately linked with...the plight of Palestine refugees, who are the victims of Al-Nakba (Catastrophe) that occurred in 1948...

...Over the past year we did not leave a door to be knocked or channel to be tested or path to be taken and we did not ignore any formal or informal party of influence and stature to be addressed...all of these sincere efforts and endeavors undertaken by international parties were repeatedly wrecked by the positions of the Israeli government...the Israeli government refuses to commit to terms of reference for the negotiations that are based on international law and United Nations resolutions, and that it frantically continues to intensify building of settlements on the territory of the State of Palestine.

Settlement activities embody the core of the policy of colonial military occupation of the land of the Palestinian people and all of the brutality of aggression and racial discrimination against our people that this policy entails.  This policy, which constitutes a breach of international humanitarian law and United Nations resolutions, is the primary cause for the failure of the peace process...

...a horrific picture about the size of the settlement campaign, which the Israeli government does not hesitate to boast about and which it continues to execute through the systematic confiscation of the Palestinian lands...The occupying Power also continues to undertake excavations that threaten our holy places, and its military checkpoints prevent our citizens from getting access to their mosques and churches, and it continues to besiege the Holy City with a ring of settlements imposed to separate the Holy City from the rest of the Palestinian cities.

...At the same time, the occupying Power continues to impose its blockade on the Gaza Strip and to target Palestinian civilians by assassinations, air strikes and artillery shelling, persisting with its war of aggression of three years ago on Gaza, which resulted in massive destruction of homes, schools, hospitals, and mosques, and the thousands of martyrs and wounded.

...In recent years, the criminal actions of armed settler militias, who enjoy the special protection of the occupation army, has intensified with the perpetration of frequent attacks against our people, targeting their homes, schools, universities, mosques, fields, crops and trees. Despite our repeated warnings, the occupying Power has not acted to curb these attacks and we hold them fully responsible for the crimes of the settlers.

...the 1948 Al-Nakba, one of the worst operations of uprooting, destruction and removal of a vibrant and cohesive society that had been contributing in a pioneering and leading way in the cultural, educational and economic renaissance of the Arab Middle East.

...we agreed to establish the State of Palestine on only 22% of the territory of historical Palestine - on all the Palestinian Territory occupied by Israel in 1967.

...1. The goal of the Palestinian people is the realization of their inalienable national rights in their independent State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on all the land of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip...and with the achievement of a just and agreed upon solution to the Palestine refugee issue in accordance with resolution 194...

2. The PLO and the Palestinian people adhere to the renouncement of violence and rejection and condemning of terrorism in all its forms, especially State terrorism...

4. Our people will continue their popular peaceful resistance to the Israeli occupation and its settlement and apartheid policies and its construction of the racist annexation Wall...

5. ...We only aim to de-legitimize the settlement activities and the occupation and apartheid and the logic of ruthless force, and we believe that all the countries of the world stand with us in this regard.

...we have been strengthening what we seeking to be the features of our State: from the preservation of security for the citizen and public order; to the promotion of judicial authority and rule of law; to strengthening the role of women via legislation, laws and participation; to ensuring the protection of public freedoms and strengthening the role of civil society institutions; to institutionalizing rules and regulations for ensuring accountability and transparency in the work of our Ministries and departments; to entrenching the pillars of democracy as the basis for the Palestinian political life.

...It is a moment of truth and my people are waiting to hear the answer of the world.  Will it allow Israel to continue its occupation, the only occupation in the world?  Will it allow Israel to remain a State above the law and accountability?  Will it allow Israel to continue rejecting the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations and the International Court of Justice and the positions of the overwhelming majority of countries in the world?

...I come before you today from the Holy Land, the land of Palestine, the land of divine messages, ascension of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the birthplace of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people in the homeland and in the the Diaspora, to say, after 63 years of suffering of the ongoing Nakba: Enough....

And now, from the actual one:

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,

In this year, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Israel has chosen to make it a year of a new war of genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian people...the occupying Power has chosen to defy the entire world by launching its war on Gaza, by which its jets and tanks brutally assassinated lives and devastated the homes, schools and dreams of thousands of Palestinian children, women and men and in reality destroying the remaining hopes for peace...

...I have...cautioned that the colonial occupying Power was preparing for a new Nakba

Here we find ourselves, full of grief, regret and bitterness, raising the same long-standing conclusions and questions after a new war, the third war waged by the racist occupying State in five years against Gaza, this small, densely-populated and precious part of our country.

The difference today is that the scale of this genocidal crime is larger...this recent aggression is unmatched in modern times...This last war against Gaza was a series of absolute war crimes carried out before the eyes and ears of the entire world...

We must also assume that no one will wonder anymore why extremism is rising...I affirm in front of you that the Palestinian people hold steadfast to their legitimate right to defend themselves against the Israeli war machine and to their legitimate right to resist this colonial, racist Israeli occupation...we will maintain the traditions of our national struggle established by the Palestinian fedayeen and to which we committed ourselves since the onset of the Palestinian revolution in early 1965.


...Amidst a torrent of massacres and storms of massive destruction, we witnessed the peoples of the world gathering in huge demonstrations...manifestations of true solidarity constituted an important message to those who were facing genocide in Gaza, helping them to feel they felt that they were not alone.

and on the question of Jerusalem, he was more specific

The occupation’s campaign specifically targeted the City of Jerusalem and its inhabitants, attempting to artificially alter the spirit, identity and character of the Holy City, focusing on Al-Aqsa Mosque, threatening grave consequences. At the same time, racist and armed gangs of settlers persisted with their crimes against the Palestinian people, the land, mosques, churches, properties and olive trees.

As usual, the Israeli government once again failed the test of peace.

So, what happened in between?

^

The "If" is Missing (UPDATED)

So, that commission, on which William Schabas will serve as Chair, what's it supposed to do?

The newly-appointed independent, international commission of inquiry of the UN's Human Rights Council, we read, is slated

to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, in the context of the military operations conducted since 13 June 2014. of the three-person commission mandated by the Council at its last special session...whether before, during or after, to establish the facts and circumstances of such violations and of the crimes perpetrated and to identify those responsible, to make recommendations, in particular on accountability measures, all with a view to avoiding and ending impunity and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable, and on ways and means to protect civilians against any further assaults.  The same resolution requested that the commission of inquiry present a written report to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-eighth session in March 2015....

So innocuous-sounding, right?

a.  where's the "if"?  If committed.  If violated. 

b.  what has "East Jerusalem" to do with Gaza?

c.  why pick June 13th?  Was not Hamas firing off rockets before?*

________________

*

EOZ expands:

June 13th? Operation Protective Edge began on July 8. So why is the UN choosing June 13th?
The answer tells you all you need to know about how biased the UNHRC is.
Hamas kidnapped and murdered Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah on June 12th.
Israel started searching for them in the Hebron area on June 13th.
The commission is being given a framework where they are supposed to believe that the kidnapping and murder were not acts of aggression, but Israel's response was.

^

The UN and Human Rights Consideration

How the UN's OCHA deals with the kidnapping:

"Significant humantarian impact".

"Concerns over collective punishment".

^

Deeply Troubling

For the record:

The Secretary-General of the United Nations in his message to the Meeting stressed that the UN remained committed to a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine resulting in the two-State solution...Increasing incidents at Temple Mount/Haram Al Sharif were deeply troubling, as they could be perceived as serious acts of incitement in the wider region.

If anything is troubling, it's the UN.

^

UN Unit Snows Over Jewish YESHA Communiites

The UN even maps out "occupied" snowfall:

The snow was so heavy that it whitened out and covered every single Jewish community in Judea and Samaria.

And look what they do to Jerusalem, turning it into "settlements":-

And on second thought:-

^

UN Wipes Israel Off Its Web Site (UPDATED)

If you go here, the UN General Assembly's official site, you can read that today's speaker No. 12 is

• Israel

  H.E. Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu
  
  

  Prime Minister

But if you go to select the speaker and country to review his or her remarks, there's a problem:

That's right.

Israel has been removed for the UN.

And "Palestine"?

Read Netanyahu here.




P.S.  Some say that those are the speeches that have been made and that Bibi hadn't handed in prepared remarks.  But Bibi's speech has been up for over an hour now at his site so what's doing at the UN?

___________________

UPDATE

 


Israel is now back up there.

Of course, they could have had "Israel" listed with a note "transcript not yet available".  But that would have required some thinking.  And imagination.

^

When Israel Deported An UN Official

More than the deportation itself, the idea that the IDF dumped him in TransJordan by plane was cool.

^

UN As 'Protector' of Civilians (No Jews Need Apply)

Every week, the UN publishes, through its United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) [address: Mac House, P.O.Box 38712, Jerusalem] a weekly report entitled

Protection of Civilians Weekly Report

Here is the one for the week 5-11 March this year. 

I have asked them in the past  -

a.  do they have a mechanism of on-site confirmation of claims?

b.  do they periodically review the claims?

c.  why are no Jewish injuries or property damage reports included?

No response.

Not even an acknowledgement.

Maybe you'll also write and after a few hundred request for information, they'll respond?


Contact info:

Tel:++ 972-2-5829962/5853
Fax:++972-2-5825841
email:ochaopt@un.org
www.ochaopt.org

 
^

Read The Fine Print

Thank you AP:

The Palestinians aim to win two-thirds support in the 192-member General Assembly at the United Nations — or 129 countries — and are now about 13 countries short of their target.

The assembly's decisions aren't legally binding.

Makes a bit of a difference, eh?

^

How Do You Say "Chutzpah" to a Moon?

Israel, I've heard, got bashed by UN head Ban-Ki-something or other (they're always banning Israel) for revealing quite illegal and terror activity by Hebollah. You know, like storing ammo dumps, etc. amongst civilians.

But what happens when a country that killed recently 20,000 (yes, twenty-thousand) civilians by-the-by gets angry at the UN?

Here:

A Sri Lankan cabinet minister started a hunger strike Thursday in front of the U.N. office after the world body refused to halt its investigation into alleged human rights abuses during the country's civil war.

Buddhist monks chanted blessings and some 100 national flag-waving supporters cheered as Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa got on a stage and proclaimed he decided to fast to stop what opponents believe would be an unfair prosecution of Sri Lankan armed forces and political leaders for war crimes.

Human rights groups have accused government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels of deliberately targeting civilians last year as fighting drew a close in the 25-year war.

How do you say 'chutpah' in Sinhala or Tamil that they speak in Sri Lanka?

In fact, how do you say 'chutzpah' in Korean?


- - -

Sorry, Serry, I Can't Tolerate UN Hypocrisy

The Dutch term for hypocrisy seems to be either huichelachtigheid, schijnheiligheid or plain hypocrisie. I just want to make sure Mr. Serry gets my point.

Robert Serry is the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. I heard him almost a year ago. He has has expressed concern over Israel's inclusion of Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs and Bethlehem's Rachel’s Tomb in the National Heritage Plan. He claims as a result of this announcement that there are

"heightened tensions."

The official source is here for this:

"These sites are in occupied Palestinian territory and are of historical and religious significance not only to Judaism but also to Islam, and to Christianity as well. I urge Israel not to take any steps on the ground which undermine trust or could prejudice negotiations, the resumption of which should be the highest shared priority of all who seek peace."

And this from the UN spokesperson's office at the press conference:

Question: Regarding the presentation done by Mr. Serry, is he going to make any further contacts, Robert Serry, on Hebron and the recent attachments? Is he going to do any further contacts with the Israeli Government to rescind these decisions?

Spokesperson: Well, as I said, I’ve read out the statement, which you also have available, and he is obviously speaking to the authorities, the Palestinian Authority, and speaking to the Israeli Government the whole time. So, I would not rule that out. But, for the moment what we have is what is in the statement, which is that he is very concerned about it and he is urging Israel not to take any steps on the ground that could undermine trust or prejudice the negotiations.

Question: Besides such statements, is the Secretary-General going to do something about it, through the Quartet or through making any special contacts with the Israeli authorities…?

Spokesperson: Well, at the moment, the most import thing is we have the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry. He is on the ground. That’s his job; to engage with the Israeli authorities and with the Palestinian Authority and with other in the region. And I think that that’s the right chain of command, if you like, for the moment.

Well, Mr. Serry, let's get back to huichelachtigheid or whatever. I won't even get into that "occupied Palestinian territory" mantra. So uncouth. Let's talk about what "significance" really means.

You denounce Israel's declaration of a heritage preservation program while at the same time the UN and you ignore the desecration and destruction of Judaism's most sacred religious, cultural and historical site: the Temple Mount. The Waqf Islamic Trust seeks to erase, and has been fairly successful over the years, all Jewish identity connected with that site. That's not significant?

Earth has been dumped out, left for Jews to sift through. Remains have been covered over or outright defaced and destroyed. That has no significance?

The UN should have been the first institution to come to our aid and assistance when those things occurred and while they continue to happen. And here are the warmongerers.

I don't understand why there hasn't yet been a demonstration or protest vigil outside your offices.

But there will be a Temple Mount Awareness Day soon.

New UN Aggression

This report was summarized thus by Ha-Ha-Haretz:

A report released by the United Nations last year says settlers angered over the destruction of outposts could exact revenge on 250,000 Palestinians in the West Bank.

The report, by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Occupied Palestinian Territory, claims settlers may employ the so-called price tag policy, by which they exact a "price" from Palestinians in response to terror attacks or Israel Defense Force actions to evacuate unauthorized outposts, placing Palestinians from 83 villages in harm's way...

According to the report, if Israel takes significant action against the outposts, around 250,000 Palestinians in 83 West Bank communities will be "highly or moderately vulnerable" to settler violence. Of these, 75,900 people concentrated in 22 communities - six in the northern West Bank, three in the center and 13 in the south - are considered highly vulnerable.

The report also specifies risky junctions and road segments. These include the roads surrounding Nablus that are used by both Israelis and Palestinians; the Wadi Kana road; the Qalqilyah-Nablus road, which passes through the Karnei Shomron settlement; the eastern Gush Etzion road; the road near Bat Ayin, and the main road to the south Hebron hills.

In addition, the report identifies a number of settlements it says pose a particular risk to nearby Palestinian communities: Havat Gilad, Kedumim, Itamar, Yitzhar, Ma'aleh Levona, Shilo, Adei Ad, Nokdim, Bat Ayin, Neguhot, Kiryat Arba, Beit Haggai, Karmel and Sussia

Funny thing is that the report even quotes Yesha publications, as in this footnote:

for example, Roi Sharon, Amir Rappaport and Amit Cohen, “The Wild West Bank, No Man’s Land,” 10. Ma’ariv, p. B8, 8 August 2008. See also, Hagit Rothenberg “Decision makers will think twice next time”, BeSheva, Issue 29, June 2008; “Mutual responsibility as the key to victory”, Kdumeida [regular factsheet issued by the Local Council of the Kedumim settlement], 28 June 2008, p. 11. Both items were cited and attached to Yesh Din, “Settler terror infrastructure in the West Bank”, 2 June 2009.

Of course, it's a NGO [that stands for no-good] that provides the material - a new line of coordination and cooperation between Israel's far-left network and the UN.

One of the report's recommendations could and should be applied to the PA:

Adopting all necessary measures to ensure that there is no impunity for crimes committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians;

except, of course, the other way around.

Oh, and the sole picture is of a male Jewish resident, from the rear, with a rifle slug over his shoulder.

But there are nice maps and charts and demographic data on Arab residents.

Pictures From Yesterday's UN Rally - with comments

Photos from yesterday's rally at the UN sent to me by Sholom Alfassa:


1. Which Ahma do you like best? This one?


2. Or this one?


3. This gets a special catewgory prize for 'best sign'. It modular and cann be brought to any demo, pro or con, anywhere at anytime. Of course, if you asked a Hadassah lady, she'd just say she's multi-tasking:


4. Now, what we do without the nutty Neturei Karta kooks? Anyone for dismantling them?


5. "Because we are Jews against Israel" is the only reason Ahma tolerates you. Otherwise, you'd be pigeon feed yourself.


6. A better coalition.


7. And my friend and fellow activist, Rabbi Avi Weiss (l.) with a happy Jew:



(Kippah tip: BT)

Keeps Rolling Along

I blogged about exploiting a UN award which used the term "settlements" for the purpose of promoting the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

My friend, David Ha'Ivri put it up at his web site. Arutz 7 copied it.

What next?

Ma'an New Agency reported on it (and it was copied here):

Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - A group of Israeli settlers has launched a campaign for the United Nations Habitat Prize in "human settlement," the West Bank-based Israeli Channel Seven reported on Wednesday.

The annual prize, the Habitat Scroll of Honor, is handed out annually to acknowledge "outstanding contributions in developing and improving settlements and the quality of urban life," according to a fabricated quote on Channel Seven's English-language website.

The awards are actually presented for "outstanding contributions in various fields such as shelter provision, highlighting the plight of the homeless, leadership in post conflict reconstruction," and finally improving human settlements, also known as cities or towns.

Channel Seven quoted "Shomron Liaison Office" director David Ha'Ivri as saying that by voting, "Now you can show your appreciation for the dedicated pioneers of the Jewish communities in the Shomron," a Hebrew word meaning the northern West Bank in English.

But Ha'Ivri and his ilk may run into a number of problems in the application process, which according to the UN includes suggestions that projects have a "positive impact." Applicants are asked to list "types of beneficiaries (e.g. women, children, poor, war victims)," and to describe "how long the positive impact has been sustained so far."

However, Israeli settlements are all but universally considered detrimental to the indigenous population whose land was stolen to build them, and even a large percentage of Israeli society believes the colonies are immoral and destructive.

Award judges may also be concerned by information obtained from the applicants' required background submissions, including "substantive information about the organization or individual being nominated including their mission, goals, history, size," and length of experience, which if undertaken honestly would include admissions of radicalism and religious fanaticism.

But the eighth award criterium could derail the whole application in its entirety, as it asks for "a list of references, articles, publications, media reports about the initiative starting with the most recent ones and where possible, send copies of the actual articles as an annex."

The most recent winners of the prestigious award, which has been presented annually since 1989, have included efforts to improve shelter and urban services.

If the settlers are successful, they will win a plaque engraved with the name of the winner and their achievement will be presented during the Global Observance of World Habitat Day on 5 October 2009, according to the award's website.

Five initiatives will be selected, and winners will be announced in October.

Will we win?

Biden's Right - I Don't Like It

Biden told a pro-Israel lobby that

"Israel has to work toward a two-state solution. You're not going to like my saying this but not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement."

Despite the garbled syntax, I still don't like it.

As for "freedom of movement", see this.

P.S.

And I do not like this:

President Obama also reportedly told the king that he wants the United Nations flag raised over holy sites in eastern Jerusalem, where the PA would have total sovereignty under the Saudi plan.