U.S. Lifts Embargo To Help Abbas
Testimony on U.S. Assistance to the Palestinians before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 23 May 07:
Rep. Gary Ackerman, Chairman, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
David Welch, Asst Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
LTG Keith Dayton, U.S. Security Coordinator
Mark Ward, USAID
Israelis, Arabs Meeting to Shore Up Abbas
25 June Washington Post - Israelis, Arabs Meeting to Shore Up Abbas by Ellen Knickmeyer and Scott Wilson.
Israel and its Arab neighbors readied for a summit Monday to explore restarting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in an attempt to shore up the emergency government of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert headed to the meeting at Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh with a message that his government would support Abbas, whose administration now appears limited to the West Bank. The Palestinian leader swore in a new cabinet on June 17 after fighting in the Gaza Strip in which the rival Hamas movement overwhelmed security forces loyal to Abbas's Fatah party and effectively severed political links between the two Palestinian territories...
ICG, 18 Jul 08: Ruling Palestine II: The West Bank Model?
In June 2007, as Hamas took control of Gaza and a new government was formed in the West Bank, observers ventured two scenarios. The West Bank might become a model, whose economic revival and improved relations with Israel and the wider world contrasted with Gaza’s sorry fate; or, given continued occupation and the structural dysfunctionality of the Palestinian Authority (PA), it would see little progress. Both were wrong. Under Salam Fayyad’s competent leadership, it has made gains, particularly in law and order.
But a model it is not. The advances are insufficient to persuade Israel to loosen the closure regime or halt military incursions deemed critical to its security. Absence of a functioning parliament and Palestinian security services’ harsh tactics against Hamas sympathisers are inconsistent with accountable, transparent, legitimate governance. Israel and the PA should improve coordination; their international partners should prod them to do so, while giving significant financial aid. But ending the geographic division and restoring parliamentary democracy are critical for longer term stability.....
U.S. official preparing scathing report on Israel's West Bank policies
Ha'aretz
Last update - 07:51 22/07/2008
U.S. official preparing scathing report on Israel's West Bank policies
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff
The United States security coordinator for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, retired general James Jones, is preparing an extremely critical report of Israel's policies in the territories and its attitude toward the Palestinian Authority's security services.
A few copies of the report's executive summary (or, according to some sources, a draft of it) have been given to senior Bush Administration officials, and it is reportedly arousing considerable discomfort. In recent weeks, the administration has been debating whether to allow Jones to publish his full report, or whether to tell him to shelve it and make do with the summary, given the approaching end of President George Bush's term.
Wow, I love the smell of a cover up in the morning....Originally Posted by Rex Brynen
Smells like...election year
It is a little off-topic, but I rather liked this advice for Barack Obama from one of the columnists at Ha'aretz.
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