Inside Story - Can Muslim Leaders Change Trump's Jerusalem Decision?

Jerusalem's status as part of Israel, or Palestine, or both has long been a controversial issue many politicians have shied away from. But Donald Trump changed decades of US policy last week, by recognising the holy city as Israel's capital. That decision set off worldwide protests and condemnation. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan called a meeting of The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday to discuss a response. He said the US decision was illegal and a threat to all humanity. But what can the 57-member organisation realistically do to pressure the US?

Presenter: Laura Kyle | Guests: Yusuf Kanli - Former Editor of Turkey's Hürriyet Daily News; Gedeon Levy - Columnist with Haaretz newspaper; Mouin Rabbani - Senior Fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies

Inside Story - Does the EU Have a Rôle in the Middle East?

There have been widespread protests and condemnation since the US announced its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. As activists around the world take to the streets in anger, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on his own tour to change minds. He is hoping to convince European leaders to follow the policy of US President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu met EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. The Israeli leader is also expected to open the issue of the Iran nuclear deal. Most EU members have expressed alarm over Trump's decision on Jerusalem.

EU leaders say they want Netanyahu to resume meaningful negotiations with Palestinians. But as European and US policies towards the Middle East diverge, what options does Brussels really have?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan | Guests: Ali Fathollah-Nejad - Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Doha Center; Robbie Sable - Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; James Moran - Associate Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy.

Inside Story - Another Attempt at Peace for Palestine and Israel

Delegates from 70 countries met in Paris to try and jump-start stalled talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders - and reaffirm their support for a two-state solution.

White House Plots New Snub to Bibi with UN Resolution to Force Peace Talks on Palestine

DAILY MAIL: Obama may end US opposition to a UN Security Council resolution designed to force Israel into a two-state solution with Palestinians / White House is upset that Benjamin Netanyahu was re-elected, especially on the U-turn promise that he wouldn't agree to a Palestinian state / Palestinian Authority threatened to file war crimes charges against Israel in the International Criminal Court, related to rocket attacks last summer / US Congress would cut $400 million in annual aid to the PA is it followed through / Obama's spokesman refused to characterize the president's reaction to Netanyahu's reelection on Thursday / He would only say that the Israeli PM's comments on Palestine had lead the president and his advisers to 'evaluate what our path is forward'

The White House is reportedly considering a new power play in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would paint Benjamin Netanyahu into a corner just days after his stunning come-from-behind victory in his country's hotly contested elections.

In the final days of campaigning, Netanyahu vowed in an historic U-turn that his government would never agree to the creation of a Palestinian state. But now President Barack Obama is contemplating using the United Nations as a trump card to force the issue.

Under a plan outlined by Foreign Policy magazine, the U.S. State Department would ease away from decades of opposition to a Security Council resolution demanding peace talks and a final rapprochement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The White House cautiously avoided commenting on its future plans on Thursday when it was bombarded with questions by reporters on the topic, saying only that it would 'evaluate what our path is forward' is in light of Netanyahu's comments. » | David Martosko, U.S Political Editor and Francesca Chambers for DailyMail.com | Thursday, March 19, 2015

Pat Condell: Boo Hoo Palestine

The biggest political con trick in history, and we fall for it again and again.

Sweden Officially Recognises State of Palestine

THE GUARDIAN: Sweden becomes first EU member in western Europe to make move, saying ‘we hope this will show the way for others’

Sweden has officially recognised the state of Palestine, the Swedish foreign minister said, less than a month after Stockholm announced its intention to make the controversial move.

“Today the government takes the decision to recognise the state of Palestine,” Margot Wallström said in a statement published in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper on Thursday.

“It is an important step that confirms the Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” the foreign minister said. “We hope that this will show the way for others.” » | Agence France-Presse in Stockholm | Thursday, October 30, 2014

The History of the Middle East Conflict in 11 Minutes

Hamas Founder's Son Speaks Out against Terrorist Group

Jul. 30, 2014 - 6:46 - Mosab Hassan Yousef on why it's time to stop the organization

Netanyahu: Two-state Solution Impossible, Israel on Frontlines of Jihad

JIHAD WATCH: This is, as far as I know, the first public acknowledgment by any world leader that a “Palestinian” state would like become just another jihad base for new attacks against Israel, just as Gaza did. It is good that Israel has such a clear-sighted leader in these difficult days, but noteworthy that this rather obvious truth is so obscure and so seldom articulated. Is Barack Obama really so naive as to think that a “Palestinian” state would result in peace, or would he like to see the advent of another jihad base against Israel? Read on and comment » | Robert Spencer | Sunday, July 13, 2014

Al Jazeera Correspondent: Identity and Exile

Al Jazeera's Matthew Cassel examines why so many American Jews defend Israeli policies regardless of the issue or cost.

Britain Summons Israeli Ambassador In Protest Over Settlements

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain summoned the Israeli ambassador and considered withdrawing its own envoy from Tel Aviv on Monday in protest over plans for another 3,000 settler homes on occupied Palestinian land.

If London were to recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv for consultations, this would be an unprecedented step.

The diplomatic row follows last Friday’s announcement by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. He promised that his government would respond to the Palestinian decision to seek upgraded status at the United Nations by adding 3,000 new homes to Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

In addition, Israel would also begin the planning process to build in a highly sensitive area known as “E1”. This cuts off East Jerusalem – which the Palestinians claim as their future capital – from the rest of the West Bank. It also divides the northern and southern halves of the West Bank, potentially depriving any future Palestinian state of territorial contiguity.

British and French diplomats saw this decision as a calculated rebuff by Mr Netanyahu, particularly as both countries had supported the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, where eight days of air strikes and rocket barrages claimed 166 Palestinian and six Israeli lives last month.

After Mr Netanyahu’s announcement, Matthew Gould, the British ambassador to Israel, and his French counterpart, Christophe Bigot, are understood to have held a “very tough” telephone conversation with Rafi Barak, the director general of Israel’s foreign ministry. They urged a reversal of Israel’s decision. » | Robert Tait in Jerusalem and David Blair | Monday, December 03, 2012

Israel 'to Build 3,000 New Settler Homes in Wake of Palestinian UN Bid'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Israel is to build 3,000 new settler homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank after the Palestinians won recognition as a non-member state at the United Nations, according to reports.

An Israeli official, when pressed by AFP, France's national news agency, confirmed a report that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, had decided to build the 3,000 units in response to the Palestinian success at the UN.

The decision was revealed in a tweet by the diplomatic correspondent of Haaretz newspaper, who said some of the homes would be built in E1, a highly-contentious area of the West Bank which links annexed east Jerusalem with Maaleh Adumim settlement. » | Friday, November 30, 2012

Doubts Over Middle East Quartet's Rôle
The Middle East quartet - made up of representatives from the US, EU, UN and Russia - has called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to work towards resuming direct negotiations, which stalled two years ago. Alan Fisher reports.

Palestinians Are an Invented People, Says Newt Gingrich
THE GUARDIAN: Republican frontrunner says Israelis have a right to their modern-day homeland but implies Palestinians do not


The US Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has declared that the Palestinians are an "invented" people who want to destroy Israel.

The Jewish Channel, a cable TV station, posted online its interview with the former US House speaker, who has risen to the top of Republican nomination candidates to challenge Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election.

Gingrich differed from official US policy that respects the Palestinians as a people deserving of their own state based on negotiations with Israel. "Remember, there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire" until the early 20th century, Gingrich said.

"I think that we've had an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs and who were historically part of the Arab community. And they had a chance to go many places, and for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s, and it's tragic," he said. » | Associated Press | Saturday, December 10, 2011

Iceland Votes to Recognize Palestine
YNET NEWS: Iceland 'first Western European country to take this step,' FM boasts; Abbas reaffirms statehood bid

Iceland's parliament voted on Tuesday in favor of recognizing the Palestinian territories as an independent state, the first Western European country to do so according Iceland's foreign minister.

The vote paves the way for formal recognition by the small north Atlantic island, which led the way in recognizing the independence of the three Baltic States after the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991.

"Iceland is the first Western European country to take this step," Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson told Icelandic state broadcaster RUV. "I now have the formal authority to declare our recognition of Palestine." » | News agencies | Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Israel Freezes UNESCO Funding after Palestinian Membership
HAARETZ: Netanyahu decides to hold $2 million Israel transfers to UN cultural body yearly; Israel decided Tuesday to expedite settlement building in West Bank in response to PA's UNESCO membership.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided Thursday to freeze funding to UNESCO after it had granted the Palestinians membership on Monday.

Israel transfers some $2 million to the UN cultural body yearly. A source in the Prime Minister's Office said that Netanyahu instructed to transfer those funds to initiatives working toward regional cooperation. » | Barak Ravid | Thursday, November 03, 2011

USA stoppen Unesco-Zahlung nach Palästina-Votum
WELT ONLINE: Nach der Aufnahme der Palästinenser verweigern die USA der Unesco den November-Beitrag in Höhe von 60 Millionen Dollar. Ein Horrorszenario für die Organistation.

Nach der Aufnahme der Palästinenser als Vollmitglied in die Unesco haben die USA ihre Zahlungen an die UN-Kulturorganisation vorerst gestoppt. Der November-Beitrag in Höhe von 60 Millionen Dollar (43 Millionen Euro) werde nicht gezahlt, erklärte US-Außenamtssprecherin Victoria Nuland am Montag in Washington.

Die USA hatten vor der am Montag erfolgten Aufnahme der Palästinenser in die Unesco mit dem Zahlungsstopp gedroht.

In der Generalkonferenz in Paris stimmten am Montag 107 Mitgliedstaaten für den umstrittenen Antrag. Von den drei größten Geldgebern votierten die USA und Deutschland dagegen. Japan enthielt sich der Stimme. Die Palästinenser reagierten begeistert. Israel drohte mit Konsequenzen. » | AFP/dapd/dpa/sara | Montag 31. Oktober 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: US withdraws Unesco funding after it accepts Palestinian membership: The United States severed funding to Unesco, the UN's cultural arm, after it defied the White House by voting overwhelmingly to accept the Palestinian Authority as a full member. » | Adrian Blomfield, Jerusalem | Monday, October 31, 2011

Palestine Secures Seat in UNESCO Despite US Threats

Première victoire diplomatique pour la Palestine dans sa quête d’un Etat

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: C'est une première victoire diplomatique pour les Palestiniens: une recommandation à l’Unesco pour faire de la Palestine un membre à part entière de cette organisation a été approuvée.

Les Palestiniens ont engrangé mercredi une première victoire diplomatique dans leur quête d’une reconnaissance internationale d’un Etat, avec l’approbation d’une recommandation à l’Unesco pour faire de la Palestine un membre à part entière de cette organisation.

Selon des sources au sein de l’Organisation des Nations unies pour l’éducation, les sciences et la culture, le conseil exécutif de cette agence a approuvé à une forte majorité, par 40 voix sur 58, une recommandation d’attribuer à la Palestine ce statut de membre à part entière.

Quatre pays ont voté contre, dont les Etats-Unis, et 14 se sont abstenus, dont la France et l’Espagne, selon les mêmes sources. La recommandation, initiée par le groupe des pays arabes, va être soumise à la fin du mois à la Conférence générale de l’Unesco.

Pour que la Palestine obtienne un statut d’Etat membre à l’Unesco, la Conférence doit approuver la recommandation par une majorité des deux tiers de ses 193 membres, lors de sa session qui se tiendra du 25 octobre au 10 novembre à Paris où siège l’organisation. » | AFP | Mercredi 05 Octobre 2011

Netanyahu: 'Peace with Palestinians Impossible through UN Resolutions'
Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that peace between his nation and the Palestinian Authority could only come about through direct negotiations and only after the Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state.