Aynak

Khamaneh-ee Totaly rejects Palestinian UN statehood bid

 //in.reuters.com/article/2011/10/01/idINIndia-59652720111001

 Iran's supreme leader
rejected the Palestinians' U.N. statehood bid on Saturday, saying any
deal that accepted the existence of Israel would leave a "cancerous
tumour" forever threatening the security of the Middle East.

8 members of UN have already endursed Palestinian bid

ISLAMABAD: The UN Security Council’s Standing
Committee (SC) on Admission of New UN Members has considered on Friday
the crucial move of Palestine for full UN membership. The SC comprises
all the
fifteen members of the Security Council - five permanent and ten term
members.

At the very outset eight out of fifteen members have,
international reports say, already declared their prompt support to the
Palestine petition for UN membership, laid earlier before UNSC by
President
Mahmoud Abbas during the ongoing 66th annual session of the General
Assembly in New York.

The Security Council members declaring
prompt support
to Palestinian UN membership are China, Russia, Brazil, India, South
Africa, Lebanon, Niger and Gabon. The EU and OIC also support Palestine
to be UN
member. From among EU members, France and Britain are also permanent
members of the UNSC.

Meanwhile, Palestine UN Envoy Mr Riyad Mansour told
media that they have also mustered support of the ninth member on the Standing Committee.

As
per UNSC norms support of nine members out of
fifteen means procedural and technical backing of the whole Standing
Committee on Admission of New UN Members. This is the biggest initial
victory for
the Palestinians struggling since 1948.

But this initial win of
the Palestinians faces the potential veto by the United States, a sword
to cut
international mandate to resolve the Middle East crisis via UN into
shocking shreds. “US is habitual of using her brute vetoes in keep the
disputes bleeding as her past role in the UNSC shows”, a professor of
international politics commented.

The US has already shown its ire
when withheld $200 million aid to the Palestine Authority as pressure monetary number one.

Earlier,
on Wednesday the Security Council
accepting the Palestinian UN membership dossier had taken within two
minutes the decision to refer it for consideration under procedures to
the
Standing Committee on Admission of New UN Members. END

It may recalled that the UNSC resolution No. 181 of November 1948 prescribes a two-state
– Palestine and Israel - solution to the Middle East dispute.

A thought worth repeating .....

"The above 3 countries are the main obstacles for progress in the region.   All three must be attacked for their violations of basic human rights principles"

For the sake of peace and justice, lets hope for a "YES" vote by all 15 members.

'Hambastegi' is the main key to victory 

Mehrdad

World Leaders Condemn Israel's East Jerusalem Plan

//www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Is...

 VPK:

There is strength and as you know there is illusion of strength.   As you suggest, many outside Iran, have fallen for the rhetorics of  Ahmadi-Nejad.   In my interactions, I always try to set the record straight, that Islamic Regime apartheid and Israel apartheid and the barbaric Saudi Regimes are the 3 pilars of backwardness in the region:

Islamic Regime, for being full of empty slogans without delivering any solution to the real problems.   As we see domestically.   Some friends from Syria were first skeptical, but now with Assad they see the full light.

Israel, is the other destructive force, in that it has hijacked principles like democracy, and where as people see every day the crimes committed under that name, they fault the concept rather than misuse by Israel.

Then of course is the most reactionary regime anywhere in the world.  Saudi Arabia.   Due to Saudi's backwardness and enurmous power, they have huge influence in keep the region backward by promoting their backward ideology of Wahbism and their tribal leadershp:   From Pakistan to Egypt, the most reactionary forces are backed by the Saudi's.

 Our task is to show democracy as a principle, is something NO one has monopoloy on, and is the best solution to bring the region to modern time.   The above 3 countries are the main obstacles for progress in the region.   All three must be attacked for their violations of basic human rights principles.    we are all humans before being anythning else.

Aynak

Israel is never going to give up East or any other part of Jerusalem. Not willingly anyway. That means US policy will fail. It will get the Arab people more pissed off at USA and more pro Iran and pro IRI.

The result is that  plans to break up Iran will fail. Because Arabs are more "with" IRI than USA. I have met many Arabs; Pakistanis and other Muslims in America. They don't know I am not Muslim and assume I am. They open up as soon as they know I am Iranian. Then share how glad they are Iran is "strong". I don't personally agree with them but go along. Because I want to know what they think. And they want a strong Iran. That is all they see in the region to "stand up" for them. 

I know IRI has a horrible human rights record. But it does have the "hearts and minds" of Arab population. Mostly thanks to America and its self defeating policies. Now lets have the usual suspects accuse me of working for IRI.

Israel approves 1,100 new homes in East Jerusalem

This is probably the official Israeli pre-emptive  response to the application for U.N membership of Palestine, which will be formally processed by U.N tomorrow:

//news.yahoo.com/israel-approves-1-100-homes-...

This is really coming at a big expense to U.S.    U.S has been arguing that peace will only come true existing "peace plan" negotiation, and not through an independent palestinian state.  However, Israel is proving U.S wrong and the world right by this latest action.

BTW, already there is news of enough votes in general assembly to counter a U.S veto, again a move that will come as a direct result of U.S prestige taking a back seat to AIPAC nonsensical policy.   How many countries have to be for Palestine for policy makers in U.S to recognize they are on the wrong side of history and fairness?

Powerful Abbas speech:

Core of Abbas's talk:

 "A year ago, at this same time, distinguished leaders in this hall
addressed the stalled peace efforts in our region. Everyone had high
hopes for a new round of final status negotiations, which had begun in
early September in Washington under the direct auspices of President
Barack Obama and with participation of the Quartet, and with Egyptian
and Jordanian participation, to reach a peace agreement within one year.

We entered those negotiations with open hearts and attentive ears and
sincere intentions, and we were ready with our documents, papers and
proposals. But the negotiations broke down just weeks after their
launch.

Settlement activities embody the core of the policy of colonial
military occupation of the land of the Palestinian people and all of the
brutality of aggression and racial discrimination against our people
that this policy entails.

 This policy, which constitutes a breach of international
humanitarian law and United Nations resolutions, is the primary cause
for the failure of the peace process, the collapse of dozens of
opportunities, and the burial of the great hopes that arose from the
signing of the Declaration of Principles in 1993 between the Palestine
Liberation Organization and Israel to achieve a just peace that would
begin a new era for our region.

  Yet, because we believe in peace and because of our conviction in
international legitimacy, and because we had the courage to make
difficult decisions for our people, and in the absence of absolute
justice, we decided to adopt the path of relative justice - justice that
is possible and could correct part of the grave historical injustice
committed against our people.

Thus, we agreed to establish the State of Palestine on only 22% of the
territory of historical Palestine - on all the Palestinian Territory
occupied by Israel in 1967.

The goal of the Palestinian people is the realisation of their
inalienable national rights in their independent State of Palestine,
with East Jerusalem as its capital, on all the land of the West Bank,
including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, which Israel occupied in
the June 1967 war, in conformity with the resolutions of international
legitimacy and with the achievement of a just and agreed upon solution
to the Palestine refugee issue in accordance with Resolution 194, as
stipulated in the Arab Peace Initiative which presented the consensus
Arab vision to resolve the core the Arab-Israeli conflict and to achieve
a just and comprehensive peace.

The PLO and the Palestinian people adhere to the renouncement of
violence and rejection and condemning of terrorism in all its forms,
especially State terrorism, and adhere to all agreements signed between
the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel.

 I am here to say on behalf of the Palestinian people and the
Palestine Liberation Organization: We extend our hands to the Israeli
government and the Israeli people for peacemaking. I say to them: Let us
urgently build together a future for our children where they can enjoy
freedom, security and prosperity.

Let us build the bridges of dialogue instead of checkpoints
and walls of separation, and build cooperative relations based on parity
and equity between two neighbouring States - Palestine and Israel -
instead of policies of occupation, settlement, war and eliminating the
other."

Emphasis are mine.

HOPE we can believe in ....

Comes from an unexpected corner of the world, the Palestinian land.  This is the step that should have been taken a long time ago, perhaps a decade earlier.  Nevertheless it is a welcoming and exciting step in the right direction for Palestinians and all freedom loving people around the world.

  The sentiments exhibited by the member nations not only in reaction to  Abbas speech, also to Obama’s speech is a good indication of where these two side stand in the worlds view.

'Hambastegi' is the main key to victory 

Mehrdad

Key points of Abbas speech

He heeds a warning: "'Loss of hope is the greatest threat to peace; despair is the surest route to extremism"

" I am here to say after 63 years since the naqba, enough, enough, enough."

 "I am here to say, on behalf of the Palestinian people ... we extend our hands to the Israeli government and the Israeli people. Let us build the bridges of dialogue instead of checkpoints."

   "The PLO is ready to return immediately to negotiating table if there is a complete cessation of settlement activity."

  "All of these sincere efforts and endeavors undertaken by international parties were repeatedly smashed against the rocks of the positions of the Israeli government, which quickly dashed the hopes raised by the launch of negotiations last September."

    "Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand", he pleads, referencing his predecessor Yasser Arafat's speech when he applied to the UN for recognition.

Report of Abbas speech at UN

  UNITED NATIONS — Defying U.S. and Israeli opposition, Palestinians asked the United Nations on Friday to accept them as a member state, sidestepping nearly two decades of troubled negotiations in the hope this dramatic move on the world stage would reenergize their quest for an independent homeland.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was greeted by sustained applause and appreciative whistles as he approached the dais to deliver a speech outlining his people's hopes and dreams of becoming a full member of the United Nations. Negotiations with Israel "will be meaningless" as long as it continues building on lands the Palestinians claim for that state, he declared, warning that his government could collapse if the construction persists.

"This policy is responsible for the continued failure of the successive international attempts to salvage the peace process," said Abbas, who has refused to negotiate until the construction stops. "This settlement policy threatens to also undermine the structure of the Palestinian National Authority and even end its existence."

Rebuffing an intense U.S.-led effort to pressure him to drop the statehood bid, he said he had asked U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem and grant it full membership in the world body.

This is Richard Falk;

This is Richard Falk; Colombo was Peter Falk -- though Peter Falk's political judgement might be better than that of Richard, given the latter's enthusiasm for Emam and the Twenty-First Arab State (aka Palestine).

Falk the actor?

What does Colombo have to do with Khomeini? 

Yup, Richard Falk was an early Khomeini Groupie

It's perfectly fitting that a Martyr for Palestine, like Falk, also was a promoter of Emam on the NY Times Op-Ed pages in a piece called "Trusting Khomeini". He visted Emam in France. Here's a piece he wrote for the Times shortly after Emam returned from France :

For him, to be religious is to struggle for these political goals, yet the 
religious leader's role is to inspire politics, not to govern. Hence, it is 
widely expected that he will soon go to the holy city of Qum, at a remove 
from the daily exercise of power. There he will serve as a guide or, if 
necessary, as a critic of the republic. 

In looking to the future, Ayatollah Khomeini has spoken of his hopes to show 
the world what a genuine Islamic government can do on behalf of its people. 
He has made clear frequently that he scorns what he considers to be the 
so-called Islamic Governments in Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Pakistan. 

Despite the turbulence, many non-religious Iranians talk of this period as 
"Islam's finest hour." Having created a new model of popular revolution 
based, for the most part, on non-violent tactics. Iran may yet provide us 
with a desperately-needed model of humane governance for a third-world 

Didn't Richard Falk also had some support for Khomeini, up to

early 80's?

Israel rejects French plan! Richard Falk in support ...

//www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Sep-23/149515-israel-rejects-french-compromise-on-palestinian-state.ashx#axzz1Yl6SpPZC

 JERUSALEM: Israel on Friday rejected a proposal by French President
Nicolas Sarkozy to upgrade the Palestinians' U.N. status and admit them
as a non-member state, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.   ,,,,

 This is pretty absurd,  it is like two people going to a court and one person trying to sue the other person, and the person getting sued defining all the rules.  

Also, UN expert Richard Falk calls for full membership of Palestine:

In a statement, Falk “called on every United Nations Member State to
recognize the reality of Palestinian statehood, and urged Israel to
listen to the will of the Palestinian people.”

“The upcoming debate on Palestine’s initiative at the United Nations
provides a momentous occasion for the international community to respond
to a legacy of injustice,” he said.

“The will of the Palestinian people must be respected too, starting
this week at the United Nations and until Palestinians can enjoy the
right they share with all other peoples of the world – the right to
self-determination,” added the special rapporteur.

“Nearly 20 years of direct negotiations have actually given Israel time
to undermine the two-State solution,” said Falk,

Tomorrow will be a historic day.

Aynak this is insane lol

So you are keeping vigil night and day to see which country is goint to vote in favoour of recognising Palestine ( or not as the case maybe). 

I've got a task for you every 8 hours an Iranian hangs. Two public hangings in two days. 23 alleged drug traffickers killed the day before that. Three homosexuals hanged for sodomy last week. Why don't you hold a vigil to your dead compatriots and count with your fingers  the number of Iranians being killed on a daily basis by this evil regime. 

Why can't you put Iran first?  

Latest: France is proposing observing nation as first step

//www.aysor.am/en/news/2011/09/22/sarkozy-palestine-un/

This may actually translate to a abstaining from vote than a no vote.

Responding to the Professor...

For articles on the Badr Brigades targeting of Palestinians in Iraq, look up Nir Rosen, who is antiwar. For articles on the "Battle of Baghdad" and Sunni atrocities towards the Shia and vice versa, there are many such articles, including by antiwar journalists such as Patrick Cockburn. For the shelling and siege of the Palestinian camps by the Shia Amal militia in Lebanon, you can read Robert Fisk's Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War (again, an antiwar author). Now, please continue with your many falsehoods.

As usual, you are barking with utter nonsense

This blog will no longer be on the front page to continue this. I'll respond to you in another opportunity. If anyone is lying is you. If anyone is exaggerating is you. The criterion for the thruthfulness of what you or I say is not what you or I say, but credible sources. You have none, but I have many that I have put in many articles with links. In the next opportunity I will bring them up.

No, your beloved Bush administration brought to power the Shiites in Iraq. This is what everyone acknowleges, except you, of course.

And, in your haste to propgatate garbage, you do not realize that some of the things that you said are in fact what I said too. But, hey, if you say it it is different!

Mammad

Obama supports

Palestinian statehood after he wins his next reelection :-) Before that it is too much political trouble to be worth it! Just like Jimmy Carter who towed the line while President. Once kicked out he changed his tune.

Folks this is all politics. The most powerful lobby wins. AIPAC is very radical and very powerful. So no politician who wants to survive in America will support statehood. At least not until Israel gives them the geeen light.

Therefore do not expect anything from USA except for opposition. Neither Obama nor anyone else except maybe Ron Paul will do a *** thing. Because they want to be returned to their positions. 

PS

By the way that is why NIAC is so passionately hated. Because it is an effective lobby. It threatens AIPAC.

Looks like Mahmoud Abbas plans to go ahead with

planned statehood motion.  Obama's position here is very unreasonable.  He says he supports statehood, yet not now.  The question is, since last year when he declared at U.N that Palestinian deserve their own state, what concret action has been taken to push for resolution of the conflict or creation of this state?   Only expansion of settlement.  In reality, there is no incentive for one side of this equation to ever come to a resolution, as they are happy with status quo.

 Unfortunately U.S governments position (inspite of more American being in favor of the motion than against) reminds me of the resistence to end South African aparthied system.   Absent any tangible progress, how can they stone wall the process?   The plan will be submitted most likely on Friday.

The Professor's Ridiculous Lies

I literally do not have enough time to do point out the numerous falsehoods, half-truths, fallacies, and gibberish that the Professor engages in, so I will limit myself just to one of the more egregious ones:

After Iraq's occupation, most civilians that were killed were murdered by either U.S./British forces, or by Sunnis. 

The overwhelming majority of deliberate murders of innocent civilians that have taken place in Iraq have been either at the hands of other Iraqis or terrorists from other Muslim-majority countries. There are a number of proven cases or credible allegations of U.S./British troops deliberately murdering innocent Iraqi civilians, but they constitute only a small portion of the total number killed in Iraq. Both Iraqi and foreign Sunnis and Iraqi Shia (backed in some cases by the IRI) have engaged in acts of terrorism, "ethnic cleansing" and targeting of civilians. In fact, it was the IRGC-trained Badr Brigade and the Mahdi Army of the clerical thug Sadr (recently "studying" in Qom) who helped the Shia triumph over the Sunnis in part due to a very violent campaign targeting Sunni civilians, including by the way Palestinians living in Iraq (because they were considered to be loyal supporters of Saddam) -- naturally enough, don't expect any crocodile tears for those Palestinians, nor for the Palestinians slaughtered in Lebanon by the Musa Sadr-founded Shia, Amal militia during the War of the Camps. Suicide bombings and beheadings were the favored Sunni modus operandi, whereas the Shia Badr and Mahdi Army forces favored torturing their victims to death with power tools, kidnapping them for ransom or leaving a bullet on their porch as a warning to abandon a particular Baghdad neighborhood.

Simorgh

While I do intend to get into a debate that will go nowhere, your response, as I said in the my original comment, is old, worn out cliche. Let's see:

Do you reaaly? I wonder?

What have I said that makes you wonder? Wondering why I said human rights are universal value and one cannot support the rights of one people, but not others'?

I've never seen you or Aynak, who ofen talks about Palestine, dedicate a single blog to Sudan or Chechnya.

In case you have not noticed, I do not post blogs here. I only comment on blogs. You post a blog on Chechnya, and you will see my comments. I post my articles elsewhere. Those who know me well in this website know that.

You should tak about Iraq because the Shia Islamist Terrorists which
blow up women and children in fruit markers are often supported by the
Terrorist IR regime.

You don't get it, do you? I said I was opposed to invasion of Iraq, even though Saddam Hussein was killing the Shiites. So, this is not a matter of Sunni versus Shiite, or supporting the Shiites. Most Palestinians are Sunni anyway. After Iraq's occupation, most civilians that were killed were murdered by either U.S./British forces, or by Sunnis. Eight of 10 terrorists in Iraq came from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, etc. This is well documented.

All Aynak talks about is just Palestine. Why?

Ask him.

So do you condemn the terrorists atatcks? The suicide bombers taking lives of people on busses and pizza parlours? 

Yes, I do, terrorism is terrorism, regardless of who commits it. But I also condemn converting Gaza to the largest open air jail on earth with 1.5 million Palestinians jailed in their own homeland, destroying their historical heritage in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and stealing their resources, including water.

Why didn't the Palestinians do this to their Jordanian occupiers in the West Bank or the Ottomans?

Ask them. I only defend their rights. But, you are being ridiculous by asking questions about a century and two centries ago.

Israel's creation which no one will argue harmed the Palestinians

Wow! That is novel. Even many Jews do not say that. Yup! Palestinians are just a bunch crazies that complain about nothing. Ask the pregnant woman in a village in the West Bank who, in order to reach a hospital, she should pass too many checkpoints in the WB. Ask the Palestinians in the West Bank whose lands have been cofiscated to build settlements for Israelis. Ask the families of the 1000 Palestinians that were killed when Israel invaded Gaza. Ask the people of Lebanon when Israel occupied southern Lebanon for 18 years. Ask.....

Why its Arab neighbours keep them locked up in refugee camps especially
in Lebanon where many of them are denied citizenship and the right to
take up professions such as doctors.

Why should they be granted citizenship, when Palestinians themselves want to go back to their homes and their own nation? You repeat, word by word , the AIPAC propaganda and extreme right in Israel. Racists like Lieberman say, "Throw the Arabs out. Send them to Arab countries."

If you put Iran above all other countries then you will support
hostilities with Russia first which has invaded and rabaged not just
Iran but its other neighbours.

That is novel too. So, if I want to support Palestinians's aspirations for statehood, I should support war between Iran and Russia? Wow! That is really really novel.

Israel is too small a country compared to the plight of other people

Another typical line of propaganda. "Israel is too small. Israel is defenseless, ..." Have heard that thousands of times. Facts on the ground, at least since 1967, if not earlier, indicate otherwise.

People like you do not get a fundamental point, or prefer to ignore it: The root cause of the problem is occupation of Palestinians' land by Israel, at least since 1967. What Palestinians do in response is the reaction to occupation. All international treaties recognize the rights of occupied people to resist the occupiers in any way they can.

Mammad

Is Israel Over? Sep 11,

Sep 11, 2011 11:00 AM EDT

//www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/09/11/first-report.html 

Reform requires the consent of the corrupt

Re: There is nothing wrong with ....

Onlyiran writes:

"On another note, I can't wait to see how the IRI will vote on the issue.
Are they going to support Mahmoud Abbas?  That's like writing a big
"g#h khordam" across their foreheads.  On the other hand, if they vote
"no," they will be one of the only countries that join Israel and the
U.S. in doing so.  What a delicious situation to put the IRI in. I'm
loving it!"

 Exactly.   Islamic Regime is opposed to a 2 state solution, as that would mean recognition of Israel.   I think some folks are too dense on IC to fully understand the implication of this vote.   I would not be surprised if they would either vote against, or more likely abstain.   That would tell a lot about where all the extreme forces unite.

Onlyiran

You are one of only a few people here who actually gets what is going with this Palestinian statehood bid in the UN and how it is a moment of truth for several parties, and not just the Palestinians and Israelis. Besides the usual parties, the very legitimacy of the IRI's crocodile tears over Palestine is on the line here. While their client HAMAS has eaten crow and said they are supporting Mahmoud Abbas, the IRI seems to be squirming every which way.

Got to love the irony!

Appears US is positioned to veto the move

After Obama's speech, it appears that U.S will veto any move,

//www.voanews.com/english/news/Analysts-Debat...

  stay tuned for further news.

Mammad

I care about human rights everywhere. I care as much about Chechnya, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as about Palestine

 Do you really? I wonder.

I've never seen you or Aynak, who ofen talks about Palestine, dedicate a single blog to Sudan or Chechnya. You should tak about Iraq because the Shia Islamist Terrorists which blow up women and children in fruit markers are often supported by the Terrorist IR regime.  

All Aynak talks about is just Palestine. Why?  

 Lets talk about Israel. So do you condemn the terrorists atatcks? The suicide bombers taking lives of people on busses and pizza parlours? Why didn't the Palestinians do this to their Jordanian occupiers in the West Bank or the Ottomans? Israel's creation which no one will argue harmed the Palestinians does not justify why its Arab neighbours keep them locked up in refugee camps especially in Lebanon where many of them are denied citizenship and the right to take up professions such as doctors. 

If you put Iran above all other countries then you will support hostilities with Russia first which has invaded and rabaged not just Iran but its other neighbours.

Israel is too small a country compared to the plight of other people so I'll ask you again why do you care so much?  

Simorgh

I care about human rights everywhere. I care as much about Chechnya, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as about Palestine, but above all Iran. I was outspoken about illegal and criminal invasion of Iraq and wrote a few articles about it. Similarly, Afghanistan.

People like me do not care about Palestinians with the hope that they would reciprocate. That is not what a defender of human rights should pay attention to or care about. This is not a trade or barter deal or bedeh bestan. It is believing in certain values and being ready to practice what one preaches.

Mammad

A 17 year old boy is hanged

A 17 year old boy is hanged in public and all you guys can talk about is a Palestinian 'statehood'! Khejalat dare 

 //iranian.com/main/news/2011/09/21/photos-murder-convict-hanged-public-iran

Sometimes you need a reality check to get some persepctive in your life. Just look at this map of the Middle East and point out where Israel/Palestine is:

 //i.infoplease.com/images/mapmiddleeast.gif

Compare Israel/Palestine to the size of Iran where 65 million people are living under a brutal regime which rapes, tortures, imprisons and kills several hundred each year.

Look at the size of the other Middle Eastern countries which are Arab and ask yourself why this conflict is so important to you given the the tiny size of Israel compared to the rest of its neighbours including Jordan (historically Palestine).

Now compare the size of Paleastine/Israel to Darfur:

 //geology.com/world/sudan-map.gif

Where Muslim Africans have been ethnically cleansed, burnt, starved to death and taken to slavery.

You can talk about what you like on I.com but why doesn't  Aynak and others Iranians not devote a blog to Sudan?