Palestinian and international peace activists take cover from a tear gas grenade shot by Israeli border policemen during a demonstration against the separation wall in the West Bank village of Bil’in. Recent Photo.
The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) provides journalists with quick access to information about Palestine and the Palestinians, as well as expert sources, both in the U.S. and the Middle East. That’s its description.
This letter which was received from IMEU this morning (November 13, 2007) pertains to the Annapolis Conference organized by Condi Rice who intends to conclude a Middle East peace settlement; only it is still not clear whether the Conference will ever meet, and if it does, whether Israel’s insistence on generalities doesn’t undermine hope that anything will ever come of it. It is the same old avoidance of peace initiatives, like the deceptive Oslo Accords and Camp David negotiation, that Israel has preferred since the ethnic cleansing of 1948.
Here is the letter:
President Bush called in July for an international Palestinian/Israeli peace conference this fall. Although firm dates have been elusive, the meeting is tentatively scheduled to happen late this month. What do Palestinians and Israelis want from such a meeting? And what’s at stake for Americans if the effort fails? The Institute for Middle East Understanding (www.imeu.net, 510-451-2600) can help you answer these questions and more.
Check out these FAQs and contact us to interview experts in the U.S. and in Palestine, including:
Samar Assad, Executive Director of the Washington, DC-based Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development.
Diana Buttu, a Ramallah-based attorney and former advisor to Palestinian negotiators.
Omar Dajani, a San Francisco-based law professor and former legal advisor to UN Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larson, and to Palestinian negotiators.
Nadia Hijab, a Senior Fellow at the Washington, DC-based Institute for Palestine Studies.
On a different note, read about a record-setting athlete from Gaza who will compete for a world title this month in California. Ahmed Abukhater is the 2004 US National Bench Press Champion. He’s also a water resources specialist at the University of Texas who can comment on the water crisis facing Gaza’s 1.4 million residents.
Simply call (510) 451-2600 or email us at info@imeu.net and we’ll connect you with the above sources – and many more – as fast as humanly possible.
Sincerely,
The IMEU team
FAQs on the conference included this question, which unmasks Israel’s intentions at the conference.
What have been the major developments in the West Bank and Gaza since July when Bush announced the conference?
Since July, Israel has continued to conduct daily raids in the West Bank and air strikes on the Gaza Strip. 140 Palestinians, three Israeli soldiers and no Israeli civilians have been killed.
In September, Israel expropriated 1,100 dunams (272 acres) of Palestinian land in the West Bank to facilitate the development of E-1, a five square mile area in the West Bank, east of Jerusalem.13 In E-1, Israel plans to build 3,500 houses, a hotel and an industrial park, completing the encirclement of Jerusalem with Jewish colonies, and cutting it off from the West Bank. Israel has already begun construction on a four-story police headquarters in E-1.14
Israel declared the Gaza Strip a “hostile entity” on September 19, opening the way for it to collectively punish the population by cutting off money transfers from the West Bank, and electricity, gas and water supplies from Israel. Already sealed off from the rest of the world by Israeli closure, Gazans are running desperately short of medicines, foodstuffs and virtually all other goods.
Israel released 86 prisoners in October but in the meantime arrested hundreds of other Palestinians and continues to hold more than 12,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel announced a route change and extension of the illegal separation wall being built in the West Bank. With the new path the wall will seize a total of 12 percent of the West Bank. Along with the settlements and settler-only roads, this means if were Israel to withdraw from the rest of the West Bank, it would still maintain full control over 46 percent of it.15
The expansion of Jewish colonies and the demolition of Palestinian homes continue.
IMEU is an excellent site to keep up on what is going on in the Palestinian territories.
A selection of recent articles and media presentations are available from the site:
A very bad year for humanity. Akiva Eldar, Haaretz (Nov 13, 2007)
U.S. media corporation offers biased trips to Israel. IMEMC (Nov 13, 2007)
The road map’s dead-end. Ian Williams, The Guardian (Nov 13, 2007)
Haniyeh renews call for dialogue. Maan News (Nov 13, 2007)
The PA cannot remain transitional. Ghassan Khatib, Bitterlemons.org (Nov 12, 2007)
Deadly clash at Arafat Gaza rally. BBC (Nov 12, 2007)
All not quite aboard for Annapolis. Peter Hirschberg, Inter Press Service (Nov 12, 2007)
U.S. and Israel play down hopes for peace talks. The New York Times (Nov 12, 2007)
300 to 400 Palestinian prisoners to be released before Annapolis. Maan News (Nov 12, 2007)
Israeli-Palestinian talks run into roadblock. Reuters (Nov 12, 2007)
Film Review: “USA vs Al-Arian” IMEU (Nov 8, 2007)
Olive trees in Palestine: The story of a drop. Hitham I. Kayali, This Week in Palestine (Nov 4, 2007)
Film Review: “Since You Left” IMEU (Oct 17, 2007)
Married to another man: Israel’s dilemma in Palestine. Sonja Karkar, IMEU (Oct 10, 2007)
First class entering Academy of Art Palestine. Maria Khoury, The Palestine Chronicle (Oct 5, 2007)
Palestinian poet gives new life to art form. Sarah El Deeb, The Associated Press (Sep 28, 2007)
The Palestinian kitchen: Foods of Ramadan. Sufian Mustafa, This Week in Palestine (Sep 22, 2007)
Jericho Governor Sami Musallam on Christianity in Palestine. Joel Carillet, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (Sep 14, 2007)
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. Michael F. Brown, IMEU (Sep 4, 2007)
The Samaritans of Palestine. Tareq al-Qudsi, This Week in Palestine (Sep 1, 2007)
All you ever need to know about this conflict is available here. And if anyone believes that Palestinians don’t exist or that they are just Jordanians, plug into this site and get educated.