Sweden to recognise Palestinian state

Sweden has just elected a new centre-left government led by Prime Minister Stefan Lofven (second left)

Sweden is to "recognise the state of Palestine", Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has said, the first long-term EU member country to do so.

"The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution," he said during his inaugural address in parliament.

It should be "negotiated in accordance with international law", he said.

Sweden last month voted out the centre-right Alliance coalition of Fredrik Reinfeldt after eight years.

That allowed the Social Democrats led by Mr Lofven to form a government with other parties on the left including the Greens.

"A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful co-existence. Sweden will therefore recognise the state of Palestine," Mr Lofven said on Friday, without giving a timeline for the recognition.

Sweden will join more than 130 other countries that recognise a Palestinian state.

Most of the EU's 28 member states have refrained from recognising Palestinian statehood and those that do - such as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - did so before joining the bloc.

Long campaign

The Palestinians have long sought to establish an independent, sovereign state in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Gaza Strip - occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War.

Correspondents say Sweden's move is likely to be strongly criticised by Israel and the US, who argue that an independent Palestinian state should only emerge through negotiations.

Palestinians say the peace process is hampered by Israeli settlements like this one in the West Bank

In 1988, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat unilaterally declared a Palestinian state within the pre-June 1967 lines.

This won recognition from about 100 countries, mainly Arab, Communist and non-aligned states - several of them in Latin America.

The 1993 Oslo Accord between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel led to mutual recognition. However, two decades of on-off peace talks have since failed to produce a permanent settlement.

In 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to that of a "non-member observer state".

It followed a failed bid to join the international body as a full member state in 2011 because of a lack of support in the UN Security Council.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29479418

British MPs back recognition of Palestine

Motion adopted 274-2 by House of Commons urges government to "recognise state of Palestine alongside state of Israel".

Last updated: 13 Oct 2014 23:07

Final motion passed by 274 votes to 12 at the House of Commons, the lower house of the parliament [Getty Images]

British MPs have voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state in a move which will not alter the government's stance on the issue, but which carries symbolic value for Palestinians in their pursuit of international recognition. The UK does not classify Palestine as a state, but says it could do so at any time if it believed it would help peace efforts between the Palestinians and Israel. David Cameron, UK prime minister, abstained from the vote, which was called by an opposition MP, and Cameron's spokesman earlier said that foreign policy would not be affected whatever the outcome. However, the vote was closely watched by Palestinian and Israeli authorities who are seeking to gauge European countries' readiness to act on Palestinian hopes for unilateral recognition by UN member states. The final motion, which passed by 274 votes to 12 at the House of Commons, the lower house of the parliament, stated "that this house believes that the government should recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution". The vote comes just as Sweden's new centre-left government is set to officially recognise Palestine, a move that has been condemned by Israel, which says an independent Palestine can only be achieved through negotiations. Earlier on Monday, violence flared in East Jerusalem when hundreds of Israeli police forces raided the al-Aqsa mosque compound and clashed with Palestinian worshippers. Protesters in East Jerusalem have fought almost nightly with Israeli security forces in recent days. The unrest has been fuelled by a number of factors, including the murder of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdair and the recent war in Gaza.

Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/10/british-mps-back-recognition-palestine-20141013214237623951.html

Wikileaks: Ban Ki-Moon Worked with Israel to Undermine UN Report

The General Secretary of United Nations (UN) Ban Ki-Moon collaborated in secret with Israel and the United States to weaken the effects of a Board of Inquiry's report accusing Israel of human rights violations in Gaza in Dec. 2008 – Jan. 2009.

Wikileaks released documents on Friday that revealed that Ban wrote a letter to the UN Security Council asking its members not to take recommendations by the UN Board of Inquiry about Israeli bombings in Gaza into account.

The report demonstrated that the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) had a direct role in seven of the nine attacks against buildings of the UN in Gaza strip, and accused Israel of having breached the inviolability and immunity of UN premises.

According to Wikileaks, Susan Rice, White House National Security Advisor, spoke at least four times with Ban Ki Moon “to discuss concerns over the Board of Inquiry's report on incidents at UN sites in December 2008 and January 2009".

The report's recommendations included the need for a deeper and impartial investigation into the recent “incidents”, and into the bombings of UN facilities.

According to Wikileaks, Rice first asked Ban not to include the recommendations in the final report's summary, supposed to be transmitted to the UN Security Council on May 5.

Ban responded that “he was constrained in what he could do since the Board of Inquiry is independent; it was their report and recommendations and he could not alter them”.

In the second conversation, “Rice urged the Secretary-General to make clear in his cover letter when he transmits the summary to the Security Council that those recommendations exceeded the scope of the terms of reference and no further action is needed."

Ban then replied that "his staff was working with an Israeli delegation on the text of the cover letter”.

He confirmed in the last phone call that “a satisfactory cover letter” had been completed. In the letter,

Source : http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Wikileaks-Ban-Ki-Moon-Worked-with-Israel-to-Undermine-UN-Report-20140809-0020.html

Japan condemns Israel’s new settlement plan in East al-Quds

Japan has condemned the Tel Aviv regime over attempts to construct more illegal settler units in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), as international outcry gains momentum over Israel's plans to expropriate more occupied Palestinian lands in the West Bank.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry in a statement released on Tuesday said the plan “clearly contradicts…efforts currently exerted by the international community” for Middle East peace, calling on Israel to “reverse its decision.”

“Israeli settlement activities violate international law…. Japan constantly calls on Israel to completely halt all settlement activities,” the statement said, adding, “The Japanese government strongly calls on Israel to refrain from taking any unilateral actions that could change the current situation in East Jerusalem (al-Quds) as well as in the West Bank.”

The Tel Aviv regime plans to build over 2,600 new illegal settler units in the Givat Hamatos settlement in East al-Quds.

The European Union's External Action Service in a statement issued on October 3 described the step as "highly detrimental" to diplomatic efforts for Israeli-Palestinian peace, urging Israel to "urgently reverse" actions leading to settlement expansion in East al-Quds.

US State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, told reporters in Washington on October 1 that Israel’s move would send a "troubling message."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also censured the plan in a statement on October 2, saying, "If this decision is upheld, it would mark the creation of a new settlement in East Jerusalem (al-Quds) for the first time in more than 15 years."

More than half a million Israelis live in more than 120 settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank including East al-Quds in 1967.

The Israeli settlements are considered to be illegal by the United Nations and most countries because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are thus subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.

MP/HMV/SS

Source: http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/10/08/381495/japan-slams-israel-settlement-plan/

Palestinian presidency 'encouraged' by France, Sweden

'Recognizing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital is the only path toward security and stability in the whole region'

The Palestinian presidency on Monday described as "encouraging" latest Swedish and French statements that the two countries would recognize the state of Palestine.

"These are encouraging steps," Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah said.

"They serve the future of peace in Palestine and the region," he added in a press release.

Earlier on Monday, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said that there was an "urgent" necessity to move ahead with the two-state solution, which requires mutual recognition and the will of both Israel and the people of Palestine to co-exist peacefully.

"This is the solution that the international community supports," he was quoted by French media as saying.

His statements come hard on the heels of statements by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Loefven that his country would recognize the state of Palestine.

Abu Rudeinah said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the stated positions of both France and Sweden.

"Recognizing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital is the only path toward security and stability in the whole region," Abu Rudeinah said in the press release.

He called on other countries to follow in the footsteps of both France and Sweden by adopting similar "courageous" positions.

"We are still astonished by some countries that still move against the logic of history and a successful peace process that paves the road for the return of security and stability to this restive region," Abu Rudeinah said.

Last week, the Palestinian presidency distributed a draft resolution for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by November 2016 to the representatives of the 15 member states of the United Nations Security Council.

Source : https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/14533-palestinian-presidency-encouraged-by-france-sweden

UN calls on Tel Aviv to lift the siege of the Gaza Strip

The United Nations has called on the Israeli government to lift the siege that has been imposed on the Gaza Strip for more than eight years now, while also expressing support for the agreement allowing the entrance of construction supplies and materials into the Strip.

Al-Amat Online quoted a statement issued by the UN's press office, saying that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon insisted, during a recent meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the "urgent need to lift the siege of Gaza while meeting the legitimate security concerns of Israel".

Ki-moon explained that the return to the status quo ante "is no longer an option", stressing the urgent need to address the underlying causes of the political crisis.

In the same context, the Secretary-General welcomed the tripartite agreement between Tel Aviv, the Palestinian Authority and the UN regarding the entry of construction materials into Gaza and the reconstruction of the Strip, expressing his hope that the agreement would be implemented soon while "restoring the political horizon without further delay".

The Israeli government has imposed a siege of the Gaza Strip ever since the Islamic resistance movement Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006 and took control of the territory in June 2007.

On 7 July 2014, the Gaza Strip was subjected to a massive Israeli military operation that lasted for 51 days and involved the launching of thousands of air, land and sea strikes that resulted in killing about 2,160 Palestinians and wounding thousands, in addition to destroying thousands of homes while horrific family massacres were being committed.

Source : https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/americas/14472-un-calls-on-tel-aviv-to-lift-the-siege-of-the-gaza-strip

U.S. church body calls for boycott and divestment from Israeli occupation

Companies such as Caterpillar supply the Israeli government with bulldozers which are used to enforce and extend the occupation of Palestinian lands

The Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC) has endorsed a call for boycott and divestment from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Delegates adopted the resolution at the end of last week in a 101-11 vote at the annual meeting of the Central Pacific Conference, which includes around 50 individual churches. It is the fourth such regional Conference of the UCC to pass a boycott and divestment resolution, following on from New York, Central Atlantic, and Northern California.

The resolution calls for divestment from specific companies who have continued to profit from Israel's military occupation, after years of "engagement and dialogue" produced no results. Companies named in the resolution include Caterpillar, Motorola, G4S, Hewlett-Packard, and Veolia.

The resolution also calls for a boycott of products such as SodaStream home carbonated drink machines, Ahava Dea Sea skin care products, and Hadiklaim dates.

Source : https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/americas/14464-us-church-body-calls-for-boycott-and-divestment-from-israeli-occupation

Other Related link : 

Letter from a Palestinian Christian to the news director 

http://stateofblood.blogspot.com/2014/08/letter-from-palestinian-christian-to.html