Israel-Palestine Feature: Trip by US Envoys Backfires, Palestinians Proceed to UN with Statehood Bid (DPA)

US Envoys David Hale & Dennis RossA last-ditch U.S. attempt to sway the Palestinian Authority away from its planned statehood bid at the United Nations and toward resumed negotiations with Israel achieved only in convincing the Palestinians that recognition in the UN was their only possibility, a PA official said on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters in Ramallah, Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath said that a plan
delivered at the last minute by U.S. envoys David Hale and Dennis Ross did not meet several Palestinian demands, thus convincing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the U.S. was not serious in trying to negotiate peace.

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Israel-Palestine Special: Assessing the Move for UN Recognition of a Palestinian State

This time, Washington has to bring something more than Obama’s speech, with more flexibility for the European Union initiative, to the table. One possibility? Acknowledging Hamas behind closed doors, giving Abbas a guarantee that Ramallah will never need to recognise a “Jewish state”, and promising a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital in a year.

At the same time, a sign can be given to Prime Minister Netanyahu that he can be a peace-making hero ahead of Israeli elections. How? The release of Gilad Shalit, the detained Israel soldier, by Hamas.

And if this is not pursued? Well, get ready for the September display at the United Nations.

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Israel-Palestine Special: Assessing the Move for UN Recognition of a Palestinian State

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Palestine Feature: Secrecy, Intermediaries, and Deals --- How Fatah and Hamas Reconciled (Fisk)

Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled MeshaalSecret meetings between Palestinian intermediaries, Egyptian intelligence officials, the Turkish foreign minister, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal --- the latter requiring a covert journey to Damascus with a detour round the rebellious city of Deraa --- brought about the Palestinian unity which has so disturbed both Israelis and the American government. Fatah and Hamas ended four years of conflict in May with an agreement that is crucial to the Paslestinian demand for a state.

A series of detailed letters, accepted by all sides, of which The Independent has copies, show just how complex the negotiations were; Hamas also sought --- and received --- the support of Syrian President Bachar al-Assad, the country’s vice president Farouk al-Sharaa and its foreign minister, Walid Moallem. Among the results was an agreement by Meshaal to end Hamas rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza --- since resistance would be the right only of the state --- and agreement that a future Palestinian state be based on Israel’s 1967 borders.

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Israel-Palestine Special: 4 Ways to Understand Latest Situation (and Why Hamas is on the Rise)

Israel should understand that its state policy of collective punishment has cracked, if not come to an end: Egypt’s announcement that it will permanently open the border crossing with Gaza and plans for a new Gaza flotilla in June are only the drops of a shower washing away West Jerusalem's approach.

If the terms of the Shalit deal are made public, with Hamas offers a relatively "better" deal --- which it will do to increase the international pressure on Israel --- the Gaza group will not only advance in the hearts and minds of millions of Arabs, and possibly some Israelis, as well as boosting its credibility in the eyes of Western capitals. 

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Palestine Special: Fatah & Hamas Make a Deal --- What Will Israel Do?

With smaller Palestinian factions’ signatures, Fatah and Hamas formally ended a four-year conflict on Wednesday. Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas’s Syria-based leader Khaled Mashaal were present in Cairo, and Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank celebrated by raising Palestinian, Hamas, Fatah and Egyptian flags.

The Ramallah-based website, Palestine Monitor, claimed to have the text of the reconciliation deal....

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Israel-Palestine Latest: Mortars and Airstrikes on Gaza & Jerusalem Bus Bomb (Al Jazeera)

Al Jazeera English summarises latest developments:

Israeli jets have staged three air strikes over Gaza, hours after a bomb struck a crowded bus stop in West Jerusalem, killing at least one person and wounding 30 in what authorities said was the first major attack in the city in several years.

Palestinian sources said early on Thursday two of the raids targeted the city of Gaza while another was aimed at a tunnel near the Egyptian frontier at Rafah. No casualties were reported.

An Israeli defence spokeswoman confirmed the sorties, saying: "The air force targeted two tunnels at the south of the Gaza Strip and a terrorist target in Gaza."

Jerusalem blast

The strikes came after a bomb ripped through a Jerusalem bus, killing one and wounding more than 30 on Wednesday.

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The Palestine Papers: The Palestinian Authority Tries to Hit Back

Last night Al Jazeera completed three days of special broadcasts on the "Palestine Papers", the more than 1600 internal documents about the Palestinian negotiations with Israel from 1999 to 2010. The documents themselves carry on, posted not only by Al Jazeera but also by The Guardian of London.

On Tuesday, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, tried to strike back, calling the documents "fake". He told the crowd denouncing the Qatari regime, which owns Al Jazeera:

The Palestinian principles ... have not and will not change and the first of them is that East Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Palestine. No one in the world can make us give up on a centimeter of our land, the issue of the refugees or the issue of Jerusalem.

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Russia-Palestine-Israel Triangle: Moscow Seeks A Bigger Role

Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Palestinians will ask the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to declare Israeli settlements illegal and to demand a halt to their construction.

In advance of the meeting, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was in the West Bank, holding meetings with Ramallah's officials including the Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Medvedev said:

Russia's position remains unchanged. Russia made its choice a long time ago....We supported and will support the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to an independent state with its capital in East Jerusalem.

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Israel Interview: Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon's Messages for Palestine, the US, and His Own Side

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, appeared on Rusty Mike Radio on Tuesday. Excerpts from the chat:

Settlements and Deadlock: Ayalon said that Palestinians were doing everything except sitting with Israelis for negotiations. He said that Palestinians were doing three things: making excuses and pre-conditions, threatening to use unilateral action, and exerting political power on the international level. 

As for the issue of settlements, Ayalon had a message for the US: they have never been an obstacle to peace and it was a mistake to single out this issue.

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