August 26, 2005

MAHMOUD ABBAS SETS THE LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS FOR THE 25TH OF JANUARY, 2006> WARNINGS FROM EXTREMIST ISRAELI PLANS TO DEMOLISH AL-AQSA MOSQUE. EXPECTED POLITICAL CHANGES IN ISRAEL. President Mahmoud Abbas has set, the legislative elections for the 25th of January, 2006. In a statement delivered before the Palestinian Young Parliament, in Gaza, President Abbas said that he issued a decree ruling the 25th of January as the date of the parliamentary elections. He added that the "battle of building" is the next step after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. President asserted on the necessity of ending Israeli judaizing of Jerusalem and the Apartheid Wall being built inside the Palestinian land. He affirmed that such issues hurt peace, adding that "who wants such issues to continues, does not want peace". "Our message to the world is that such Israeli activities, in the West Bank and Jerusalem, are an obstacle in the way of peace, such activites should be ended". He also stressed on the resolving of the issue of refugees according to the UN resolution 194. President Abbas also signed a decree appropriating Jewish settlement land for public use once Israel's evacuation of Gaza is complete. "We have issued a decree today about the land, which represents 97 percent of the area that is being evacuated, so that no individual will be allowed to benefit personally," President Abbas said. The 21 settlements, with 8,500 residents, and several military installations controlled about 20 percent of the land in the narrow coastal strip that is home to 1.3 million Palestinians. About 9 percent of the land expropriated by Israel is claimed by private Palestinian owners, who will have an opportunity to reclaim their property, while the rest had been in the public domain. President Abbas said 3,000 new houses will be built for Palestinians on what was known as the settlement of Morag. Morag lies just a few kilometers from the town of Khan Younis. President Abbas added that the settlement of Netzarim would also be used as part of a new port complex in Gaza. Israel and the Palestinians have agreed that all of the homes of the Jewish settlers should be demolished after the completion of the withdrawal. Following is the text of the decree setting the Parliamentarian elections for January 25, 2006. Presidential Decree on the call for Legislative elections President of the PLO Executive Committee President of the Palestinian National Authority Having reviewed: The amended basic law of 2003 and its amendments Elections Law No. 9 of 2005 and, Presidential decree No. 11 of 2005 concerning the postponent of the general legislative elections and, Based upon the powers bestowed in us and the public interest We hereby decree the following: Article 1 The legislative elections shall be held in Jerusalem and all Palestinian governorates on Wednesday, 25/01/2006. Article 2 Candidature for the PLC membership shall commence on Thursday, 24/11/2005 and shall end in the period specified by the law. Article 3 Presidential decree No. 11 of 2005 and any other provisions that goes against this decree are hereby cancelled. Article 4 All competent authorities, each within its own jurisdiction, must implement this Decree. The Decree shall enter into force upon its issuance and shall be published in the Official Gazette. Issued in the city of Gaza on 20/08/2005 A.D. Mahmoud Abbas President of the PLO Executive Committee President of the Palestinian National Authority. On the other hand Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Information, Dr. Nabil Shaath, said that the Palestinian people and Leadership will not accept a solution based on a state with temporary borders. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Information, Dr. Nabil Shaath, said that the coming stage is for reconstructing what the Israeli Occupation had destroyed. He said in a meeting of the Consultation Committee of the Palestine TV, that the Palestinian people is passing through an important stage needs to enforce the national unity through democracy and elections. Shaath stressed the necessity to continue the Palestinian struggle so as to regain the West Bank (WB) and Jerusalem city, the capital of Palestine, adding that Israeli must stop annexing lands around Jerusalem, constructing the Apartheid Wall and to release all the Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails. Palestinians will face Israeli policies aimed at expanding settlements in the West Bank with greater perseverance and resistance, said Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Information Dr Nabil Shaath. He called upon the international community and the quartet members to "implement the 'Road Map' and pressure Israel into halting its aggression." He added that scheduling the Palestinian legislative elections for next January "is of no relation to harmonizing the Palestinian arena" and that "relations between the authority and the factions are as good as can be." The central Palestinian electoral committee had announced that candidate application would be received starting November 24 in preparation for the elections to be held on January 25. Meanwhile Israel will hand over control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian National Authority (PAN) in early October, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told the Cairo-based Voice of the Arabs. The ongoing Israeli withdrawal from all the 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four smaller ones in the West Bank will be a step forward toward achieving a just peace in the region, Erekat said. Palestinian and Israeli officials were currently in contact to avoid turning the strip into a large prison for the Palestinians, he said. Israeli forces entered Sanur and Homesh in northern West Bank to evacuate the last two Jewish settlements under the government disengagement plan. The evacuation started in northern West Bank after the troops completed the historic pullout of Jews from all the 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon expects to evacuate all the 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four smaller ones in northern West Bank in a month period. But the mission might be completed ahead of schedule. The Palestinian side welcomes the Israeli move, while urging the Jewish state to quit all the occupied Palestinian lands. Israel has begun to confiscate West Bank land to extend its "separation barrier" around the Jewish settlements that it wants to keep. Even as settlers were hauled from Gaza rooftops, the Israeli Ministry of Justice gave the all-clear to extend the 680km (425-mile) barrier in a loop east of Jerusalem. Palestinians protested that separating East Jerusalem from Palestinian towns would cripple chances of a viable state. The Palestinian Authority fears that Mr Sharon has a hidden agenda to tighten his grip on West Bank settlements near Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Copies of confiscation orders were sent to the Palestinian mayors of the villages of Abu Dis, a-Tur and el-Eizariya by the Israeli military commander who said that they were "necessary for military requirements . . . and the need to take measures to prevent terror attacks." The razor wire and concrete, costing £1 million a mile, will move 15km into the West Bank. The East Jerusalem loop was approved in February. The orders were denounced by the Palestinians. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said: "Such decisions will only serve to undermine any efforts to resume [peace] negotiations," said Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian official. He accused Mr. Sharon of taking advantage of the international goodwill gained from the Gaza pullout to establish new facts on the ground in the West Bank. "This will destroy [U.S.] President [George W.] Bush's vision of a two-state solution." Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon swiftly dispelled Palestinian hopes to build on Israel's Gaza evacuation to reactivate the peace process by defiantly announcing his determination to continue expanding the illegal Israeli colonies on the West Bank, hours after President Mahmoud Abbas called for implementing US President George W. Bush's vision of two states and urged Israel to stop all its settlement activity if it was serious about peace. Palestinian President called during a joint news conference with US envoy David Welch in Gaza for implementing George W. Bush's vision of two states -- Israel and Palestine. "We have to reach the moment when the vision of President Bush to have two states for the Israelis and the Palestinians is implemented," President Abbas said. President Abbas told reporters, "A Palestinian state would live side-by-side in peace and settlement with the state of Israel," adding that Welsh's visit "indicates the importance of what is happening in the region for the United States." Announcing that the US has sent the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) $50 million for housing projects and job growth, and another $30 million for water projects, he added that the United States is very much concerned and interested with what is happening in the Palestinian territories, mainly the implementation of the Israeli disengagement plan, the evacuation of settlements and the withdrawal. "The United States is very much interested in the future of the whole region," he said. Welch on his part said the Israeli pullout could "re-energize" the Quartet-drafted and UN-adopted "roadmap" peace plan, which targets the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. Welch said his country sees the Israeli unilateral "disengagement plan" as a good opportunity to reactivate the "roadmap" and carry out steps toward a better future for both Israel and the Palestinians. Meantime the Secretariat General of Makkah-based Muslim World League (MWL) has urged the international community and its institutions, notably the UN, to take the required measures for the protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The MWL's Secretary General Dr Abdullah Al-Turki, in a statement on the occasion of the anniversary of burning Al-Aqsa Mosque, said that extremist Zionist groups have been continuously threatening to demolish Al-Aqsa Mosque. 'The Israeli newspapers have so many times published plans prepared by extremist Zionist groups to attack Al-Aqsa Mosque', said Dr Al-Turki noting that the extremist Zionist organizations are planning to attack Al-Aqsa Mosque. Dr Al-Turki drew attention to the resolution number 271, issued by the UN's Security Council, which made it clear that demolition of sanctuaries would undermine the global peace and security. He underlined the importance of cooperation for the protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which has an important and special place in hearts of all Muslims. The Secretariat General of Jeddah-based Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has reiterated the inalienable stand of the OIC vis-à-vis Al-Quds, and urged the member states to unwaveringly extend support to the just Palestinian cause. The OIC's Secretary General Dr Akmaluddin Ihsan Oghlu, in a statement released, said the day of the Islamic solidarity with Al-Quds and the Palestinian people comes at a time when the occupying forces have started to withdraw from Gaza. 'It is hoped that this step will be followed by the withdrawal of the Israeli forces and the Israeli settlers from all occupied Palestinian territories including Al-Quds', said the statement. The statement underscored the importance of lifting the siege imposed on Al-Quds and ending the continuous threats directed to Al-Quds. It drew attention to the painful situation in Al-Quds caused by the repressive and illegal measures taken by the Israeli authorities which aim at judaization of Al-Quds and changing its historical and demographical landmarks. Confirming the importance of Al-Quds to all Muslims throughout the world, the statement urged the international community to take the required procedures for ending the Israeli aggression and the implementation of the resolutions pertaining to Al-Quds. 'The Creation of such a positive environment will make it possible to resume the peace process and to enable the regional and international forces to resume their efforts for the implementation of the Road Map and bringing about the desired peace in the region', the statement added. Meantime the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) said the Al-Aqsa Mosque is still a target to the Israeli extremists. In a press release, on the 36th anniversary of setting Al-Aqsa Mosque on fire, the PLC said the Israeli extremists still represent a threat to the Holy Site. It warned of targeting the Al-Aqsa Mosque, calling upon the Arab and Islamic nations to protect the Christian and Islamic Holy sites in the Jerusalem and to put an end to the extremists' threats, which will lead the entire region into a non-stop cycle of violence. The PLC also appealed to the international community and the Quartet Committee to immediately intervene to push Israel to respect the international law and resolutions. On 21 August 1969, a radical Jew following dawn prayers, when it was free of worshippers, set fire to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The issue gave birth to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, an organization concerned with the Muslims problems and affairs all over the world. On the occasion of the anniversary of the passage of 36 years since the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Sheik Dr. Yusuf Jum'ah Salamah, Palestinian Minister of Religious Affairs in a statement "called on Arab and Islamic nations, the free people in the world, and the human rights organizations to put a stop to the true dangers posed against the holy shrines in Palestine by the Israeli conspiracies aiming to control the mosques, particularly the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque [Jerusalem] and Al-Ibrahimi Mosque [Hebron]." He alleged Israel intended to "[continue] escalating attacks, desecrating our holy shrines, insulting the person of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, storming the mosques, preventing worshippers from entering them, and banning the calls to prayer in these mosques, which contradicts all heavenly and international laws and legislations that guarantee the right to worship." Meanwhile Sheik Ikrima Sabri, PA-appointed mufti of Jerusalem warned of threats to Al Aqsa: "Everything is possible and relevant. What is painful and what raises more concern is that the Israeli government knows the identity of the extremists threatening to storm Al-Aqsa and leaves them without punishment "The Jews have their eyes on Al-Aqsa Mosque. They await the opportunity and they create pretexts to swoop down on Al-Aqsa. They have linked the pullout from Gaza to the storming of Al-Aqsa. We declared that we reject such a linkage. Al-Aqsa cannot be subject to bargains or to concessions. Al-Aqsa is more sacred than to be tried or be subject of negotiation. What we fear from the issue of Gaza and as a result of the pullout from Gaza is because they, government and state, are trying to Judaize the holy city in the period they are withdrawing from Gaza." The arson attack on Al-Aqsa, Islam's third holiest Mosque, in 1969 by an Australian Jew named Denis Rohan, had destroyed the priceless one-thousand-year-old wood and ivory Minbar of Saladin. Palestinians at the time accused Israeli authorities of failing to exert enough efforts to put out the blaze. For its part, the Israeli government always tried to distance itself from the crime, claiming that the perpetrator was insane and therefore could not be prosecuted. The Israeli forces tightened up security measures in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem for fears of disturbance in Al-Aqsa mosque in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The Arab world accuses Israel of being responsible for the fire of Al-Aqsa mosque following its seizure of the area after the 1967 war. A Jordanian government official said there was "crystal clear proof" that Israeli authorities were involved in instigating the fire in the holy site, the Washington Times said Saturday, August 21, quoting the Jordanian official Petra news agency. In response, Israel rejected the accusation, saying it was part of the wrong claims of the Arab world against the state of Israel. In 1996, Israel secretly opened a tunnel under the mosque, which Muslim archaeologists have said could undermine the foundations of the old structure. The opening of the tunnel sparked bloody confrontations and street battles that led to the killing of 65 Palestinians. The Noble Sanctuary, Al-Haram Al-Sharif, is at the heart of occupied Jerusalem and it encloses over 35 acres of fountains, gardens, buildings and domes. At its southernmost end is Al-Aqsa Mosque, and at its center is the celebrated Dome of the Rock. It is the third most important site in Islam after Makkah and Madinah, and a showcase for Islamic architecture and design from the Umayyad to Ottoman empires, which continues to be an important religious and educational center for Muslims to the present day. The entire area is regarded as a mosque, and comprises nearly one sixth of the walled city of Jerusalem . Meantime the Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine condemned the desecration of the Hassan Bek Mosque in Haifa city. A group of Jewish terrorists threw a pig's head, wrapped in a red and a black keffiyeh with the word Mohammed on it, outside the mosque. Sheikh Ekrema Sabri described the attack as "shameful", and called for an end to such horrible acts, stressing that all heavenly religions forbid attacks against holy sites. He also said that the attack was not the first of its kind on the Hassan Bek Mosque, and called on Muslim residents to defend Islamic holy shrines in the occupied territories. On the other hand President Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon discussed, over a phone call, the latest developments of the Israeli withdrawal. Presidency Spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdainah said that President Abbas stressed the necessity to keep the peace process going forward. He added that President Abbas asserted the Palestinian National Authority's adherence to the peace process to achieve the just lasting peace that will lead to security and stability for all. President Mahmoud Abbas also met with the special EU Envoy for the Mideast peace process, Marc Otté, in Gaza. Abbas briefed Otté about the latest developments in the OPT, especially the issues relevant to the Israeli withdrawal. President Advisor, Nabil Abu Rdainah, told reporters, following the meeting, that there are European Palestinian efforts, and the Quartet, to follow up withdrawal and to revive the peace process as well as implementing the Road Map. Abu Rdainah added that the Quartet exerts, in coordination with the PNA, efforts for ensuring the success of the Israeli withdrawal. He added that the PNA asserts that such efforts should be exerted for withdrawal from the West Bank and implementing the Road Map. On his part, Mr. Otté praised the PNA plans of "improving the situation." He affirmed that the EU would continue supporting the Palestinians in (occupied) Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. Regarding the Israeli reinforcement of colonization in the West Bank, Otté said that according to the international law, all colonies are illegal. He asserted on implementing the Road Map which demands freezing colonization. Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon plans to address the United Nations, a long-time critic of the Jewish state, after Israel completes its pullout from Gaza and the northern West Bank, a government official said. "There is a plan to go to the UN. It depends on how things go. Nothing has been finalised," the official said without elaborating. Sharon's address to the General Assembly would be the first by an Israeli prime minister since 1998, when Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about interim peace talks with the Palestinians. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom gave a speech there in January. Israel wants to complete its evacuation of all 21 settlements in Gaza and four of 120 in the West Bank by September 4. Sharon will sum up the pullout to the general assembly in mid-September to try to win world support for it, government sources said. The Israeli leader may also meet US President George W Bush. They last met at Bush's Texas ranch in April 2005. The United Nations has for decades criticised Israel for its policies in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, home to 3.8 million Palestinians who want to build a state there. Israel has traditionally viewed the United Nations as hostile but welcomed its declaration that Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000 was complete. Washington hopes Sharon's plan of "disengagement" from conflict with the Palestinians will lead to revived peace talks. US envoys have worked with Israeli and Palestinian officials in recent months to help coordinate the withdrawal plan. Palestinians welcome the withdrawal but fear Israel could use it as an excuse to tighten its hold on large West Bank enclaves, which Sharon has vowed to strengthen. The World Court says Jewish settlements are illegal. Israel disputes this. On the other hand Israel's Labor party is likely to quit the government by November since the disengagement plan has been implemented, Israel Radio reported. "I presume - and also hope and believe - that by November the picture can be different (and) the Labor party will not be part of the unity government," Labor Party Secretary General Eitan Cabel was quoted as saying. Cabel said his party considered Labor must leave the government if it is to present itself to voters as an "alternative" to the current government led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Cabel said Labor would make every effort to reach an agreement with the government on a date for general elections. Labor joined Sharon's cabinet last January, forming a coalition government with his Likud party to push forward the pullout plan, which was completed. Meanwhile, Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently resigned as finance minister to protest the disengagement plan, will announce next week that he will run against Sharon in the party primaries, Likud parliament member Michael Ratzon said. Israel evacuated all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank this month, its first withdrawal from lands wanted by the Palestinians for a state. Sharon said this plan is designed to "disengage" from conflicts with the Palestinians.