Opinion Editorials, June 2013

Palestinian Choices and the Coming Endless Round of Negotiations With the Israeli Occupation Government

By Mazin Qumsiyeh

Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, July 22, 2013

Mr. Abbas agreed to go back to public negotiations with a pathological liar (Netanyahu, see below).  Private negotiations have been ongoing behind the scenes.  

Public and private negotiations for the past 20 years produced nothing tangible except increasing the number of colonial Jewish settlers in the West Bank from 200,000 in 1992 to 650,000 today and subcontracting Israeli security to Palestinian security officials.  

Israel will release some prisoners (and replace them with others) and the US will give more money to corrupt officials on all sides.  The question is whether the only two choices available to us are sitting around not doing anything or going to fruitless unbalanced negotiations intended to liquidate Palestinian rights?

Do we really give up on resistance, on democratizing the PLO or on freedom or on human rights?

Below are some news showing that the BDS movement is working thanks to global and local activists even as it is not supported by Mahmoud Abbas and high level officials who continue to meet and normalize with Israeli officials (the last was a high level meeting with Likud and Shas leadesr at the PLO headquarters).

So that we are reminded who we are dealing with:  Netanyahu, caught of-camera speaking his mind (not hasbara) about how he scuttled peace etc http://youtu.be/3-5hUG6Os68

Despite heavy Israeli pressure, the EU published new guidelines asking all Eropean entities not to deal with any Israeli entity that works in the areas occupied in 1967.  Future agreements between the European Union and Israel must include the explicit exclusion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank or East Jerusalem, according to a new EU directive described by an Israeli official as an "earthquake". This include the illegally annexed Golan and Jerusalem. 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/16/eu-israel-settlement-exclusion-clause

Consensus wisdom: The boycott of Israel is working: The only way to stop its spread is to end the occupation, say a growing number of prominent voices (none of whom, by the way, support the boycott).  

http://972mag.com/consensus-wisdom-the-boycott-of-israel-is-working/74297/

[USA] BDS Campaigns Nationwide: Use the map below to connect with groups working on specific BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns. You can also search groups by state and resources they offer. If you would like your group's campaigns included, please email Ramah Kudaimi at [email protected]
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=3383

Kairos Palestine strongly condemns the planned displacement, dispossession and eviction of tens of thousands of Palestinian Bedouin citizens of Israel http://www.kairospalestine.ps/sites/default/Documents/Letter%20of%20Condemnation%20-%20Prawer%20Plan.pdf

 [action needed] Announcing the launch of the “Freedom Stitchers” project to create self-sufficiency for marginalized and jobless women in Gaza. http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/freedom-stitchers

Stop the racist Prawer-Begin plan to ethniocally cleanse Palestinians of the Negev
http://adalah.org/eng/?mod=articles&ID=1589


A visit to Al-Araqib, the desert village that refuses to be erased by Alice Rothchild on July 1, 2013 http://mondoweiss.net/2013/07/desert-village-refuses.html

Mazin Qumsiyeh
A Bedouin in cyberspace, a villager at home
http://qumsiyeh.org

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