Palestinians threaten to turn to ICC if date not set for return to 1967 lines

[Jefferson23]

Report: Netanyahu and Abbas held secret talks before Gaza truce signed; no official Palestinian, Israeli or Jordanian source confirms that meeting in Amman actually took place.

By Barak Ravid and Jack Khoury | Aug. 28, 2014

The Palestinians plan to turn to the United Nations Security Council on September 15 to demand a deadline be set for Israel's withdrawal to 1967 borders, senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath told the Palestinian news agency Ma'an on Thursday.

If the Security Council rejects the initiative, Shaath said, the Palestinians would open their case against Israel at the International Criminal Court.

This is part of the "diplomatic surprise" Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas promised last week, Shaath said.

The Arab League will meet in Cairo September 7-9 to discuss providing Abbas with an Arab umbrella of support. Abbas is already backed in principle by Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

remainder: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.612918

[Jefferson23]

1. Here come the warnings:

France says Europe must be more than 'bank window' in Israel, Palestinian conflict

French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday Europe had to play a bigger role to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and could no longer just play the role of a "bank window" for reconstruction after each war.


An open-ended ceasefire in the Gaza war began earlier this week as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced strong criticism in Israel over a costly conflict with Palestinian militants in which no clear victor emerged.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4565247,00.html

[Jefferson23]

2. Gaza fishing zone expanded to six miles

The area of permitted fishing in the Gaza Strip has been expanded to six nautical miles as part of the understandings of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4565195,00.html

[Jefferson23]

3. Senior Hamas official Abu Marzouk arrives in Gaza for first time since operation began

Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk arrived in the Gaza Strip, entering through the Rafah crossing. This is Abu Marzouk's first visit in the Gaza Strip since Operation Protective Edge began on July 8th.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4565270,00.html

[Jefferson23]

4. Report: Abbas, Netanyahu met in Amman before Gaza truce

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Amman days before the Gaza ceasefire was announce, Jordan's al-Ghad newspaper reported Thursday.

The Jordanian daily did not provide details about what the senior officials discussed during the secret meeting.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723941

[Jefferson23]

5. Aid convoys trundle into Gaza as ceasefire holds

GAZA CITY (AFP) -- Life in Gaza resumed some semblance of normality Wednesday as a long-term truce took hold following a deal hailed by Israel and Hamas as 'victory' in the 50-day war.

Millions in and around the war-torn enclave enjoyed a welcome day of peace during which there were no strikes on Gaza, nor Palestinian rockets fired at Israel, the Israeli army said.

More than 200 tonnes of aid from Saudi Arabia, Oman and Turkey trundled into Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, a border official said.

Earlier, a World Food Programme aid convoy headed into Gaza from Egypt for the first time since 2007, carrying enough food to last 150,000 people for five days, the Geneva-based agency said.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723933

[Jefferson23]

6. Netanyahu, Abbas met secretly in Jordan —

Two leaders held summit in Amman days before truce with Hamas; PA official confirms push in UN for West Bank withdrawal

By Stuart Winer August 28, 2014, 2:44 pm

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met secretly in Amman several days ago, a Jordanian newspaper reported Thursday.

The report in Al-Ghad said the meeting, likely sponsored by Jordan’s king, took place several days before Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire on Tuesday.

snip* Ramallah was heavily involved in talks to end Gaza’s fighting, and the ceasefire was announced by Abbas on Tuesday night.

Senior Palestinian official Nabil Shaath told Ma’an that the US pressured Israel into agreeing to the truce even though it didn’t include a demand that Hamas, the de facto ruler of Gaza, give up its arms.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-abbas-met-secretly-in-jordan-report/

[Calista241]

7. Strongly worded letter INCOMING! n/t

[Jefferson23]

8. Meshaal: Israeli assault strengthened Palestinian national unity

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on Thursday said that the Israeli assault on Gaza had failed to undermine Palestinian national unity and that the bloody offensive of the past seven weeks had "proven that the resistance cannot be blockaded."

"Israel wanted to attack national unity and is currently looking for an imaginary victory," he said, in a press conference in which he congratulated the Palestinian people on their "victory" in confronting Israel in a more than 50-day assault that ended earlier this week.

Meshaal said that "without the popular support in Gaza, the resistance would not have won. One of the targets of the assault was to strike the national Palestinian reconciliation, because Palestinian reconciliation was firm throughout the assault in (the battle) and negotiations."

"When Israel failed in its siege of Gaza they chose to destroy it, but it is the duty of the unity government and the world to rebuild it," he added, referring to an April agreement between all major Palestinian factions that established a united government for the first time in seven years, which Israel strongly condemned at the time.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=724079

[Jefferson23]

9. Gaza fishermen reap rewards as restrictions eased

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Palestinian fishermen in Gaza say they are already seeing the benefits of an extended fishing zone, with thousands of kilograms of fresh produce caught only days after Tuesday's ceasefire agreement.

Fishermen say they have brought home a varied catch of sardines, squid, shrimps, crabs and lax to Gaza's markets since Tuesday, with some varieties of fish unavailable for years due to Israeli restrictions.

Muhammad Abu Arab, a local fisherman, told Ma'an that "when these huge amounts of fish are available the demand increases and we sell it for cheaper prices. We can hardly wait to be allowed to fish 9 or 12 miles (from the coast)."

"We could not even see these types of fish when we were allowed only three miles out," he added.

Fisherman Faraj Qasem said he now sells shrimp for 35 shekels per kilo, compared to previous prices of up to 70 shekels due to a scarcity in produce.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=724134

[Jefferson23]

10. Analysis: For liberation, Palestinian unity must be preserved

By Daoud Kuttab

Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist and former professor of journalism at Princeton University.

It was no coincidence that the announcement of the permanent ceasefire agreement was made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his Ramallah headquarters.

While Abbas may have been battered in social media and in activists' circles, it is clear that, in real terms, he emerged as a key player.

Hamas' enmity towards Egypt and Israel, the two countries neighboring Gaza, played into Abbas' hands.

Sending a united delegation to the indirect peace talks headed by a Fatah leader cemented this new-found unity.

It was ironic that the two men who negotiated for a long time the Fatah-Hamas agreement would be the leaders of the talks in Cairo.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=724069

[Jefferson23]

11. Analysts say boycott could have major effect on Israeli economy

NABLUS (Ma'an) -- In the last two months, Palestinians across the West Bank have begun heeding calls to boycott Israeli goods in increasing numbers as popular campaigns have taken to the street to promote the campaign.

Economic analysts say the campaign could potentially have a major negative effect on the Israeli economy, and buoy the Palestinian economy as well.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the annual Palestinian consumption of Israeli exports around $3.5 billion, while Palestinian exports to Israel only amount to around $600 million.

Azmi Abd al-Rahman, the Director-General of Policy and Economic Studies and spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Economy, told Ma'an that "If applied well, the boycott could create between 70 to 100 thousand job opportunities in the Palestinian lands by providing billions of dollars annually," which were otherwise being siphoned off to Israel.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723743

[Jefferson23]

12. A Freedom Summer, but with Palestinians

The next step for liberal Zionists after Gaza: a Freedom Summer with Palestinians
In an era of direct action, supporters of the two-state solution must start putting their bodies on the line.

By Peter Beinart

The third Gaza war in less than six years now seems to be over. On the surface, despite the horrifying destruction, it doesn’t appear to have ended much differently than its two predecessors. But if you think of each war as a snapshot in political time, you can see how the picture has changed.

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.612998