Barak urges end to occupation

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/04/2010419132843919286.html


Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, has said that his country must recognise that the world will not put up with decades more of Israeli rule over the Palestinian people.


Speaking to Israel Radio on Israel's Memorial Day on Monday, Barak acknowledged that there was no way forward in negotiations with the Palestinians other than to meet their aspirations for a state of their own.

"The world is not willing to accept - and we will not change that in 2010 - the expectation that Israel will rule another people for decades more," he said.


"It is something that does not exist anywhere else in the world.


"There is no other way, whether you like it or not, than to let them [the Palestinians] rule themselves."

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been stalled since Israeli forces launched a 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip in December 2008.


'Alienation'


Barak heads the Labour Party, the most moderate member of the government of Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and it was not clear if his remarks were his personal opinion or reflecting a changing attitude within the government.


He said that Netanyahu's government had "done things that did not come naturally to it", such as adopting the vision of two states for two peoples and curtailing settlement construction.

"But we also should not delude ourselves. The growing alienation between us and the United States is not good for the state of Israel," he said.


Washington and its long-time ally have been at odds in recent months over Israel's continuing settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.


Barack Obama, the US president, recently issued a pessimistic assessment of peacemaking prospects, saying that his country could not force its will on the Israelis and Palestinians if they were not interested in making compromises.


The Israeli defence minister said that the way to narrow the gap with the US was to embark on a diplomatic initiative "that does not shy from dealing with all the core issues" dividing Israelis and Palestinians.


Chief among these are the status of Jerusalem, final borders and a solution for Palestinian refugees from the 1948 Middle East war.


Meanwhile, in an interview Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America", Netanyahu south to minimise differences with the US and said he would not accept Palestinian demands that Israel stop building in predominantly-Arab East Jerusalem.


He said that the US and Israel "have some outstanding issues. We are trying to resolve them through diplomatic channels in the best way that we can".


Later on Monday, Netanyahu told the audience at the national cemetery that Israel is eager for peace, but is ready to confront its enemies.

"We extend one hand in peace to all our neighbours who wish for peace. Our other hand grasps the sword of David in order to defend our people against those who seek to kill us," he said.

Israel's Memorial Day, which is dedicated to the nearly 23,000 fallen soldiers and civilian victims of attacks, is observed with a two-minute nationwide siren when people stand at attention, traffic is halted and everyday activities come briefly to a standstill.


At sundown on Monday, the sombre Memorial Day will switch to Israel's 62nd Independence Day celebrations.

Secret US memo urges war on Iran

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=123635§ionid=351020101


A secret memo by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates urges Washington to consider the use of military force against Iran if diplomacy fails to scrap the country's nuclear program.

In what seems to be a new twist in US efforts to tackle Iran's enrichment activities, The New York Times reveals that a three-page memorandum, which has been circulating in Washington since January, has advocated military action against Tehran.

The classified memorandum, according to unnamed government officials quoted by the Times, warns that Washington lacks an effective policy in dealing with Iran's nuclear program and should therefore come up with new options.

One senior official has said that the memo accuses Iran of weapons development and lays out a set of military alternatives to counter Iran's progress in nuclear science and technology.

Some US officials, however, have played down the significance of the report, saying that the Obama administration has always "anticipated the full range of contingencies" against Iran.

"It is absolutely false that any memo touched off a reassessment of our options," AP quoted National Security Council spokesman Benjamin Rhodes as saying.

"This administration has been planning for all contingencies regarding Iran for many months," he added.

The memo has surfaced at a time when Washington is trying to garner support for a new set of sanctions on Iran over its refusal to give up uranium enrichment.

For years, Washington has accused Iran of having plans to build a secret nuclear weapons program "in the near future."

Iran has rejected the accusations, saying that its nuclear program is intended for energy production, not weapons development.

Clinton urges Kyrgyzstan on Manas

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122996§ionid=351020406


US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called interim Kyrgyz leader Roza Otun-baye-va after Bishkek announced it would close a Key US military base in the country.

"Secretary Clinton spoke to Ms. Roza Otun-baye-va to support the efforts of the Kyrgyz administration to resolve peacefully Kyrgyzstan's current political problems," AFP quoted US spokesman P.J. Crowley as saying.

Clinton spoke about "the important role Kyrgyzstan plays in hosting the Transit Center at the Manas Airport," Crowley said on Saturday.

He added that Otun-baye-va confirmed the Kyrgyz administration would abide by previous agreements regarding the Center.

According to the spokesman, Clinton will send Assistant Secretary Robert Blake to visit Kyrgyzstan to follow up on her discussion.

On Saturday, the US stopped all troop flights to Afghanistan from its controversial air base in Kyrgyzstan, a day after the country's new leadership said it would shorten Pentagon's lease on the Manas military base near the capital.

Hamas urges trial of Israeli war criminals

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122927§ionid=351020202


As Palestinians observe the anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre, Hamas calls on the global community to bring Israeli war criminals to justice.

In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Saturday, Hamas has called on international, Arab and Palestinian courts and organizations to arrest and try Israeli war criminals.

According to the statement, the process of the Judaization of al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the expulsion of its Palestinian residents along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip incidents indicate that the Israeli regime is founded on "crime, slaughter and aggression."

"Israel's bloodshed will not break the determination of the Palestinian nation; quite to the contrary, it will make them more resolute in winning back their rights and land," it said.

The statement was issued on the anniversary of the 1948 massacre of Deir Yassin in which more than 250 Palestinians including women and children were killed by Israelis.

India urges dialogue on Iran nuclear program

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120939§ionid=351020104


India on Tuesday announced its opposition to any sanctions that would affect the Iranian people, amid western struggles to punish it for uranium enrichment.

"It continues to be our view that sanctions that target Iranian people and cause difficulties to the ordinary man, woman and child would not be conducive to a resolution of this question," said India's foreign minister, Nirupama Rao, in Washington.

"We believe, Iran has both rights and responsibilities. Responsibilities, stemming from its membership of the [Nuclear Non-Proliferation] NPT and also rights to develop its nuclear energy for peaceful process," she said.

Iran, a signatory to the NPT, says its program is aimed at the civilian applications of the technology. The West, however, accuses it of seeking nuclear weapons.

The Indian minister, meanwhile, called for dialogue, saying Iran has a "very important role" in the Middle East, The Hindu reported.

"We do not want more instability in that region," she said in an allusion to the two ongoing wars in the Iraq and Afghanistan.

The White House has stepped up efforts to impose new UN Security Council sanctions resolutions against Tehran. However, China, which relies on oil imports from Saudi Arabia and Iran, has forcefully rejected the move and has called for negotiation to resolve the standoff.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently visited Riyadh to lobby for Iran sanctions, and to force the Saudi king to assure the Chinese of oil supplies after new sanctions were adopted against Tehran.

Riyadh, however, reacted to the request and said China knows what it should do in regards to Iran, AFP reported.

"China is perfectly aware of the scope of its responsibilities and its obligations, including in the position it holds on the international stage and as a permanent member of the (UN) Security Council," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told Al-Riyadh newspaper.

Iran urges Germany to end support for terrorists

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120503§ionid=351020101


The German Ambassador to Tehran has been summoned by an Iranian parliamentary committee over Berlin's decision to release the leader of a Kurdish terrorist group 'Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK).

"As a country which has broad relations with Iran, Tehran expects Germany to end its support for the PJAK terrorist group," Mehr News Agency quoted the Chairman of the Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi as saying.

He added that Iran has strongly called on Germany to hand over the PJAK leader Abdolrahman Haji Ahmadi who is responsible for the killing of almost 300 Kurdish Iranians.

"The terrorist nature of individuals does not change through different nationalities. Germany should bring the PJAK leader to trial if it is truly determined in the campaign against terrorism," Boroujerdi said.

He expressed regret that the German police released Haji Ahmadi after his capture.

The German Ambassador Bernd Erbel vowed to convey Iran's concerns and expectations to his country's officials.

PJAK is an offshoot of the internationally recognized terrorist group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which conducts deadly operations in Kurdish-populated regions of western Iran, as well as Turkey.

According to a New York Times report in October 2007, PJAK has "direct or indirect discussions" with American officials. Its ringleader reportedly visited Washington in the summer of 2007.

The group is even branded as a terrorist group by the United States.

EU delegation urges trial of Israeli war criminals

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116234§ionid=351020202


A high ranking European parliamentary delegation in the Gaza Strip has called for the prosecution of Israeli officials over war crimes in the territory.

The high ranking delegation which includes 60 parliament members of 12 European countries, crossed into the strip on Friday afternoon through Rafah border crossing, Xinhua reported.

Speaking at a press conference at the crossing, British Labor Party legislator, Sir Gerald Kauffim who is also the head of the delegation described the visit as "a message of solidarity with Gaza to end the Israeli siege."

"Our suffering to arrive here is nothing compared with the longsuffering of the Gaza Strip population due to the suffocating [and] unfair Israeli siege imposed on them," said Kauffman.

He also called for the prosecution of Israeli officials who had "authorized the use of white phosphorus bombs" against the Palestinians during Tel Aviv's December 2008-January 2009 offensive against the Gaza Strip which left over 1,400 Palestinians dead.
He also expressed support for the attempts by pro-Palestinian groups in Britain to seek arrest warrants for Israeli politicians and army officers in the country.

"We have had a fuss in our country about the inability of certain Israeli politicians to visit Britain for fear of being arrested," said Kauffman adding that "anyone who uses the white phosphorus against civilians must be taken to court for war crimes."

Israel canceled the visit of a delegation of senior military officers to the UK this month after Britain failed to guarantee that they would not be arrested over alleged war crimes.

The incident provoke anger among Israeli officials, who cried that the British legal system's acceptance of pro-Palestinian group's lawsuits was threatening to "undermine relations" between London and Tel Aviv.

Last month, the office of the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband issued a statement and called for an end to the "absurd situation," in which arrest warrants were being issued against Israeli officials.

This is while, a report released by a UN fact-finding team headed by South African Judge Richard Goldstone in September 2009 accused Israeli military forces of war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.

Based on the report, Israel used disproportionate force and failed to protect civilians during its offensive on the territory.