'Never in My Life have I Experienced Such Pressure'

Miftah - On July 29, the Arab League gave the Palestinians the green light to enter into direct negotiations with Israel, but said the final decision was President Mahmoud Abbas as to when the time was right to move forward. Qatari Foreign Affairs Minister Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Ath-Thani, who headed the meeting said that while "there is agreement, it is an agreement over the principles of what will be discussed and the manner of the direct negotiations," adding that he was "full of doubts" over Israel's seriousness.

Abbas, who was at the session held in Cairo, asked his fellow Arab leaders to continue to back the proximity talks until the original four-month period was over, saying the Palestinians would not return to direct talks until progress in proximity talks were made and Israel froze settlement construction. That is unlikely to happen, however, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 28, who told Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos in Jerusalem that continuing the construction freeze in settlements "would be impossible politically."

Nonetheless, the Palestinian President remains under immense pressure to return to talks. "Never in my life have I experienced such pressure," he said.

In this regard, PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi also described this pressure on the Palestinians in an interview with the Palestinian press on July 30. Ashrawi explained that the US has put such tremendous pressure on the Palestinian government to start up direct negotiations, it has come down to the message of "no one will stand by you or support you if you say 'no.'" 

This pressure was not only from the United States. On July 25, the Palestinian press reported that President Abbas had received phone calls from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, all urging the President to start direct talks with Israel.

Meanwhile, Israel is stepping up measures in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. On July 30, 40-year-old Issa Batran from Hamas' military wing was killed in an Israeli bombing near the Nuseirat refugee camp. Eight others were injured. Israel bombed the Strip overnight in what Palestinians are calling the heaviest bombardment since the war on Gaza over a year ago. Israeli military sources say the bombings came after a Grad missile was fired into Israeli territory, falling in Asqalan. The National Resistance Committee claimed responsibility for the rocket, which caused no casualties.

Still, Israel wasted no time, lodging a complaint with the United Nations about Palestinian mortar and rocket fire from Gaza, claiming that they violate international law. "In response to the escalating threat of terrorism, Israel will exercise its right of self-defense and will continue to take all necessary measures to protect its citizens," Israel's UN ambassador Gabriela Shalev wrote to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

In the West Bank, settlers have gone on rampages, particularly in the north near the city of Nablus. On July 30, dozens of settlers raided the village of Bourin, setting fire to the fields. The settlers, mostly from the illegal settlement of Bracha, broke into a new home still under construction in the village and tried to demolish it before being stopped by villagers and Israeli soldiers who intervened. In the ensuing clashes, the Israeli army tear gassed the villagers to disperse the crowds. The settlers, who started their rampage into the village three days earlier, were protesting the Israeli government decision to remove mobile homes in a settlement outpost near Bracha. On July 26, the first of the clashes broke out in Bourin during which three settlers and four Palestinians were injured.

In Jerusalem, nine families found themselves homeless on July 29 when Jewish settlers forced them from their apartment building in the Saadiyeh neighborhood of the Old City. The Qirresh family said Jewish settlers forced themselves into their homes after claiming ownership of the building. The family filed a petition with an Israeli court demanding an immediate evacuation of the settlers but must wait until July 31 for a hearing. Meanwhile the families spent the night outside their blocked off homes in the streets in hopes that the army, which stood by for the settlers' protection, blocked their entry into the houses.

UNRWA condemned the settler takeover, saying that two of the nine families are registered refugees and must be protected. UN Special Envoy to the Middle East Robert Serry also denounced the takeover, saying it was an "act of provocation at a critical time in the international community’s efforts to move the peace process forward.” 

Inside Israel, the Bedouin village of Al Araqeeb was wiped off the map on July 27 when Israeli bulldozers with a backup of 1,300 policemen literally demolished the entire village. The government justified the move by saying the village never obtained official recognition and was therefore illegal. Thirty homes were torn down and trees uprooted.


Finally, a report by US government watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office revealed that Israel hinders even the training of the PA police. According to the report, released on July 25, the Israeli government has, over the years, delayed the transfer of weapons, vehicles and uniforms to Palestinian security forces, thus hampering U.S. efforts to train these forces in the West Bank.

"The implementation of the U.S. security assistance programs faces a number of logistical constraints that are largely outside of U.S. control, and these security assistance programs outpace efforts to develop the limited capacity of the PA police and justice sector," states the report. Furthermore, the report says, despite Israel's demand that the Palestinians fight "terrorist groups", Israel has shunned American efforts to train Palestinian forces in combating terror, saying the Americans wanted to set up Palestinian counterterrorist units, but were opposed by the Israeli government.

The report continues that Israel does not only hinder the transfer of weapons, but even innocuous shipments to the PA such as raincoats. According to the report while one shipment of raincoats was approved, says it cannot guarantee the approval of future shipments of "comparable types and quantities."