Under the terms of the Goldstone Report on the Gaza War, now approved by the UN Human Rights Council, Israel and Hamas are required to conduct internal enquiries into the conduct of their military forces.
Fat chance.
On Tuesday, Israel’s President Shimon Peres told CNN that the Goldstone Report “one-sided” and “unfair”.
Peres’ statement was mere prelude to the full Israeli resistance. In fact, for resistance, insert “counter-attack”. On Tuesday, the Israeli Cabinet and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, promising a lengthy battle to “delegitimize” the findings of the United Nations commission, established a committee to deal with the prospect of “legal proceedings abroad against the state of Israel or its citizens.”
Even Defense Minister Ehud Barak, seen as the moderate amongst senior Israeli ministers, refused to discuss the possibility of a Governmental investigation: “There is no need for a committee of inquiry. The Israeli military knows to examine itself better than anyone else.”
The policy of subversion carried out by the Palestinian Authority against the State of Israel, which follows decisions at the Fatah conference in August in which there were calls for the resumption of the armed struggle, raises serious questions about the real aims of the Palestinians. The question now is whether the Palestinians want to establish a state, or to destroy the state of Israel.
It looks like the 30 August trip of Javier Solana, the head of the European Union’s foreign policy, to Syria has had a significant and controversial outcome. An Israeli diplomatic source claims the EU will sign a partnership deal with Syria later this month:
Even if this deal is far from what Israel has with the European Union, this step is not in line with the European Union’s policy on the subject of human rights.”
This is a double message – with a country like Syria they further relations, but with Israel they freeze the uprgrade [referring to the freezing of a planned upgrade of relations between Israel and the EU earlier this year].
1955 GMT: How to Claim Victory. The Times of London slaps the headline, “Iran bows to sanctions pressure to allow inspectors”, on its summary of the Geneva talks. Hmm…. There’s nothing in the article to suggest an Iranian concession to a meaningful sanctions threat, and having been up-close-and-personal with Press TV tonight, trust me, the Iranians aren’t bowing. Posturing, even swaggering a bit, but not bowing.
1945 GMT: And Now Obama. The President has given his seal of approval to the US line: a “constructive start” but if Iran does not live up to its obligations, US will move to “increase pressure”. He signalled that Mohammed El Baradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will soon visit Iran. “Hard work lies ahead.”
1935 GMT: The Deal? Meanwhile, the Western media continues to miss the announcement, enthusiastically proclaimed by Press TV, that officials from Iran and the “5+1″ powers will have technical talks on 18 September on “third-party enrichment”.
A further signal why this is important: “Russia is ready to further enrich Iran’s uranium stocks for use as fuel in a civilian research reactor, depending on approval from the United Nations, a person familiar with the matter said today.”
1920 GMT: Hold the Line. As the US Government prepares to consider its position after today’s talks, no doubt in a domestic environment with critics screeching “appeasement”, Hillary Clinton amplified the American statement (see 1753 GMT):
It was a productive day, but the proof of that has not yet come to fruition, so we’ll wait and continue to press our point of view and see what Iran decides to do….We want to see concrete actions and positive results. And I think that today’s meeting opened the door, but let’s see what happens.
1830 GMT: Another twist in the line of Foreign Minister Mottaki over the revelation of the second enrichment plant. Having put forward the case of four Iranian officials and scientists who have “disappeared” since 2007 (see 1350 GMT), Mottaki told the Council for Foreign Relations, “We think in Pittsburgh President Obama was misled based on wrong information and wrong analysis. The wrong analysis was provided by the British. Wrong information by certain terrorist groups.”
It appears that, even though this issue has been overtaken by today’s talks, Mottaki’s statement points to a wider strategy: blame the British for being “hard-line” while praising the US as “flexible” and willing to negotiate if they are not misled by their partners (see 1710 GMT).
1723 GMT: In contrast to the forceful moves by the Iranians, the US post-talk statement is, well, weak: “[Undersecretary Burns] addressed the need for Iran to take concrete and practical steps that are consistent with its international obligations and that will build international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of it program.”
Less than a month has passed and Lieberman may count himself lucky not to be hearing his President’s words as Shimon Peres tours Africa. According to Peres, Salam Fayyad is a “Palestinian [David] Ben-Gurion,” the first leader of modern Israel.
Meanwhile, according to Haaretz, a senior diplomatic source said on Saturday that the proposal of the European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, for the United Nations to accept Palestine as a full member within two years, was made with the support at the highest levels of the U.S. administration. Palestinian and European Union sources told Haaretz that Israel’s talks with US special envoy George Mitchell, who arrived in the country on Saturday night, will initially focus on determining the permanent border between Israel and the West Bank. Although Palestinians want to draw temporary border lines before the final agreement, a mutual determination on borders next week would constitute an “early recognition of Palestine” by Israelis.
Despite obstacles such as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s non-negotiable position on the status of Jerusalem and on the right of return for Palestinian refugees, both sides are expected to find common ground through the exchange of land rather than a focus on the pre-1967 borders.
In the event a final agreement on the settlement freeze issue next week, a tripartite meeting is expected in New York between the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu, and President Obama at the UN General Assembly this month.
I strongly condemn the attacks that occurred this morning in Jakarta, and extend my deepest condolences to all of the victims and their loved ones.
Indonesia has been steadfast in combating violent extremism, and has successfully curbed terrorist activity within its borders. However, these attacks make it clear that extremists remain committed to murdering innocent men, women and children of any faith in all countries. We will continue to partner with Indonesia to eliminate the threat from these violent extremists, and we will be unwavering in supporting a future of security and opportunity for the Indonesian people.
The American people stand by the Indonesian people in this difficult time, and the U.S. government stands ready to help the Indonesian government respond to and recover from these outrageous attacks as a friend and partner.
On Tuesday, North Korea announced that it had successfully conducted its second underground nuclear test, producing an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.7. The first test in October 2006 was followed by protracted negotiations in which Pyongyang would disable its nuclear facilities in return for energy aid and removal of its name from a US list of states supporting terrorism. However, from February 2009, North Korea once again moved towards nuclear armament.
International reactions and background follow the video of President Obama’s statement:
Amidst general statements about the response to piracy off the Somalian coast, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s four-point plan announced earlier this week, Teri Schultz of Global Post assesses the possibility of the fight being taken into Somalia:
Leaders to discuss taking pirate fight to land
BRUSSELS — The dramatic tale of the Capt. Richard Phillips’ rescue in the Gulf of Aden earlier this week captured the attention of the world and trained unprecedented attention on the increasing problem of Somali piracy.
Now U.S. and European officials are increasingly discussing the possibility of bringing the fight on land to address the roots of the problem in Somalia. Read the rest of this entry »
Update: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has warned of “a sharp, painful, and strong respone” if the firing of rockets from Gaza into southern Israel does not stop. Nine rockets were launched this weekend.
On the eve of the Gaza donors’ conference, which is more of a political dance than a significant effort to rebuild the area, and the tour of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (pictured) of the Middle East, there are a lot of meetings for show but no substance…yet. Read the rest of this entry »
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It looks like the 30 August trip of Javier Solana, the head of the European Union’s foreign policy, to Syria has had a significant and controversial outcome. 
1955 GMT: How to Claim Victory. The Times of London slaps the headline, “Iran bows to sanctions pressure to allow inspectors”, 
When Salam Fayyad, the Prime Minister of the West Bank, said in August that 
Amidst general statements about the response to piracy off the Somalian coast, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s four-point plan announced earlier this week, Teri Schultz of Global Post 
Update: 
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