Middle East Inside Line: Palestine-Israel Dialogue?; Britain & Arrest Warrants for Israelis; China & Iran

Indirect Israel-Palestine Dialogue: On Wednesday, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, found political cover to enter into an indirect dialogue with Israel, as 14 ministers of the Arab League agreed in Cairo that the PA should engage in indirect negotiations with Israel for a preliminary four-month period. The Arab ministers also mentioned that no progress will be possible without a complete settlement freeze, indicating that the four months will be an assessment process.

"Despite the lack of conviction in the seriousness of the Israeli side, the committee sees that it would give the indirect talks the chance as a last attempt and to facilitate the US role," said Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_PNUq8uM_c[/youtube]



Following the news from Cairo, a senior U.S. official said that special envoy for the Middle East George Mitchell will travel to the region over the weekend to see if Israel and the Palestinians are ready to begin indirect peace talks. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton added: "We were very pleased by the endorsement that came out of Cairo today. (We) are very committed to try to bring about the two-state solution and we hope the proximity talks will be the beginning of that process."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the decision of the Arab league and said:

It seems that the conditions are ripening for the renewal of negotiations between us and the Palestinians.

In the Middle East you need two to tango, but it could be that we need three to tango and we might need to leapfrog at first but the obstacle isn't and never was Israel.

On Thursday, Haaretz learned that Mitchell will land in Israel on Saturday night and both parties will declare the beginning of indirect talks on Monday, as US Vice President Joe Biden arrives.

However, Haaretz reports that Israeli President Shimon Peres, in his private conversations with various political figures, has been saying that Netanyahu is restricted because of Israel's right wing in moving forward, so the Prime Minister should offer a good deal to the "centrist" Kadima opposition to join the coalition. In response, one of  associates said: "Even if [Avigdor] Lieberman is forced to resign, Bibi won't name a replacement as foreign minister."

Britain to Block Arrest Warrants Against Israel's Officials: On Thursday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced plans to stop politically-motivated campaign groups from securing arrest warrants for visiting foreign officials. Brown wrote in The Daily Telegraph: 

Britain will continue to take action to prosecute or extradite suspected war criminals - regardless of their status or power... But the process by which we take action must guarantee the best results. The only question for me is whether our purpose is best served by a process where an arrest warrant for the gravest crimes can be issued on the slightest of evidence.

A statement from the office of former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who faced a British warrant, said:

The British legal system has been abused by cynical elements in the United Kingdom. This is important news for every country in the Free World which is fighting terror.

China Reject Sanctions on Iran: Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gan said on Thursday, "We've been making diplomatic efforts and we believe they have not been exhausted, and we will continue to work with other parties to push for a settlement to this issue."

Comments

[Dave]

I think the arrest warrants are a consequence of the Islamist infiltration of the Labour Party. This must be a real embarrassment for Britain.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/7333420/Islamic-radicals-infiltrate-the-Labour-Party.html

[Mike Dunn]

The Telegraph article is about alleged IFE infiltration of the Tower Hamlets Labour Party/ local council. The arrest warrants thing is aimed at stopping groups in the UK asking the courts to issue warrants based on alleged war crimes, like happened to Livni last year. They're completely separate things.

The pro-Tory Telegraph's headline is pretty selective in another way too- two paragraphs in we learn about "a secret party within Labour and other political parties." Anyone would think there was an election coming up...

[Mike Dunn]

Ooh and the ever-original Daily Mail carried the exact same story a couple of days later, with the bizarre addition of a photoshopped picture of a "hijab-inspired arch" which has nothing to do with the story!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1254374/Islamic-radicals-infiltrate-Labour-Party.html

[Dave]

Don't knock the Mail. It has its faults, but it's the only British newspaper that supports orthodox Anglicans. The rest of them support the pansexuals and their supporters - the people that want to destroy the Church of England and Anglicanism itself.

[Bill]

Mike Dunn,

The photo your referencing was directly connected to the IFE. The photo was actually a rendering of what it would look like prepared as part of proposal to get it approved. Guess who was backing it--you guessed it the IFE. Here is the direct quote from the Telegraph: "In the borough’s well-known Brick Lane area, council funds were switched from a largely secular heritage trail to a highly controversial “hijab sculpture”, angering many residents who accused the council of “religious triumphalism”. The link is: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/7333420/Islamic-radicals-infiltrate-the-Labour-Party.html

Beyond this reference I have not come across any others but maybe you might know a source that could validate it. As for Dave's original reference I believe like you he was a bit off mark. I do however believe it is a type lawfare endemic across Britian to attack those pro Israel and to larger extent those offering a critique of Islam. The US actually passed a law shielding critics of Islam in the states because so many were using England to make it "cost prohibitive" to critique Islam. Not all the lawsuits are wrong but many are clearly meant as intimidation. Here is a link providing some background on this type of lawfare: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/feb/09/libel-reform-radical-islamic-groups

Thx
Bill

[Bill]

No doubt the Iranian regime has their panties all up in a twist over the possibility of Arab reconciliation with Israel. God forbid if that happned--they would have nothing to talk about let alone anything to distract the people of Iran from their oppression. Lets hope all sides use logic and common sense devoid of religion to resolve this crisis.

[Mike Dunn]

Bill, I still don't think the Mail really needed to print the artist's impression of the sculpture- that was a two-ish week old story, and while it may have been in the same borough of London and had the IFE's backing it was out of context and was not really explained- more Mail fearmongering about Muslims in my opinion.

And I think you're right on the other point- I've been hearing a fair bit about UK libel law and the need for reform connected to the Simon Singh Guardian article. The whole system seems like a complete mess. There's a bit on Wikipedia about Singh if anyone's interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Singh#Chiropractic_lawsuit

[Bill]

Mike,

I do agree regarding using the pic was a bit of grandstanding. But hey we know controversy sells papers!!! Least off all lets not forget Daily Mail is the UK's fox network and we know how they like to stir the pot!! So much for objective journalism when were all slaves to the almighy buck!!!!

Thx
Bill

[Bill]

God I need to learn to type better or you guys need to put the edit function up!!