Posts tagged Israel
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Should The U.N. Grant Palestine Full Membership?
Last September, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas requested full membership to the United Nations for a state of Palestine.
With negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders at a stalemate, is there another approach that could offer a diplomatic solution for peace?
President Abbas’ request has yet to be decided upon, and it is almost certain to be turned down. But a group of Middle East experts debated that proposal in the latest Intelligence Squared U.S. debate, facing off on the motion “The U.N. Should Admit Palestine As A Full Member State.”
Before the Oxford-style debate, moderated by ABC News’ John Donvan, the audience at New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts voted 37 percent in favor of the motion and 30 percent against the motion, with 33 percent undecided.
After the debate, 55 percent of the audience agreed that the U.N. should admit Palestine as a full member state, while 37 percent disagreed — making the side arguing for the motion the winners of the debate; 8 percent of the audience remained undecided.
Graphic: What would a Palestinian state look like?
As the Palestinian Authority’s at the UN moves forward, the National Post looks at what a Palestinian state would look like. For a large version of this graphic, download the PDF here.
With all the excitement surrounding this year’s UN General Assembly, check the above map to get a better understanding of the situation.
The Green Party of the United States endorses September 15th Rally for Palestine at the United Nations
China: ‘Pakistan is our Israel’
When a US delegate once confronted a Chinese diplomat about Beijing’s uncompromising support for Pakistan, the Chinese reportedly responded with a heavily-loaded sarcastic remark: “Pakistan is our Israel”. But judging by China’s unrelenting support for some of its allies, including North Korea, Burma, Zimbabwe and Sudan, its protective arm around these countries is no different from the US and Western political embrace of Israel - right or wrong. While China is battling the West over exchange rates, import tariffs and its territorial claims in the South China Sea, Beijing is also lobbying furiously to stall a Western- inspired proposal for a Commission of Inquiry on possible war crimes by the military junta in Burma (Myanmar). “Such a commission should not be seen as a way to punish the government, but to prevent impunity and help prevent further abuse,” says the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana. But China, which in January 2007 exercised its veto, along with Russia, to prevent Security Council sanctions against Burma, has not shown any willingness to back the proposal - even for a watered-down commission. “Clearly,” says one Asian diplomat, “China is trying to reassert its political clout at the United Nations as a counterweight to its defensive stand on currency and trade issues.” The New York Times newspaper said on Tuesday that the US administration is facing a “confrontational relationship” with an assertive China and is trying to respond to “a surge of Chinese triumphalism” by strengthening Washington’s relationship with Japan and South Korea. US President Barack Obama is planning to visit four Asian countries next month - Japan, Indonesia, India and South Korea - while bypassing China.
Sometimes art conveys messages that words cannot…
James Longley’s groundbreaking documentary “Gaza Strip” is now free online.
In early 2001 I spent three months in Gaza filming material for this documentary, GAZA STRIP, working with local fixer and translator, Mohammed Mohanna. The second Palestinian uprising against Israeli military occupation had begun in September, 2000, and there had already been large numbers of deaths in Gaza when I started this project.
Though the period this documentary covers includes the election of Ariel Sharon as Israeli Prime Minister and large incursions by the Israeli Defense Forces into Gaza, in retrospect the time depicted here is one of relative quiet. More recent Israeli attacks against Gaza have been far more destructive and deadly than what falls into the scope of this film.
The time since the release of this film in 2002 has seen many changes, including the evacuation of illegal Israeli settlements inside the Gaza Strip and the election of Hamas. However, the occupation and attacks against Gaza continue, and the blockade of Gaza has intensified. It is my hope that this film will provide a partial introduction to Gaza for those who have come to the subject recently, and also serve as a document of its time.
- James Longley
Mobile Upload: Headline: Has (Mubarak’s) Wealth Been Smuggled to Israel? … According to this article it’s the safest place in the world and is immune from prosecution due to Mubarak’s and Hussain Salem’s (pictured on the left) close relationship with Israel. So far Switzerland has been the most aggressive about freezing the former president’s assets in that country. The US and the UK, where Mubarak and his family also have interests, have been slow to react.
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