Etiket arşivi: Palestine

The Middle East Sending Reminders

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February 6, 2023

At the end of January Secretary of State Blinken visited Egypt where he met with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and President El-Sisi. His remarks there were full of praise for Egypt and the strategic partnership between the two countries. In remarks to the press with the Minister he also said:

“Making tangible and lasting improvements on human rights is essential to strengthening even more our bilateral relationship.  It’s a priority for members of our Congress from both of our parties.  And it’s fundamentally in the interest of the Egyptian people, which is why I know the President is pursuing these efforts.”

In brief, it was a well-known routine.

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The Gaza Cease-fire

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May 24, 2021

With the Egyptian-brokered cease-fire taking hold last Friday, the 11-day Gaza conflict is hopefully over.

By and large, this latest episode also conformed to the pattern of Gaza confrontations. There were clashes at Jerusalem’s holy sites; Israel reacted with force to Hamas rockets; Gaza suffered devastation; divided Palestinian leadership called for an end to subjugation and occupation; UN Secretary General and some countries urged de-escalation; Arab governments expressed indignation; and a senior US diplomat traveled to the region to help achieve a cease-fire.

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Gaza Violence (2)

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May 17, 2021

In my last post I tried to highlight the roller-coaster pattern of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

In his New York Times article of May 14, titled “Arab World Condemns Israeli Violence but Takes Little Action”, Eric Erlanger started off with the following:

“The Arab world is unified in condemning Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and the way the Israeli police invaded Jerusalem’s Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites. Governments have spoken out, protests have taken place, social media is aflame.

“But by and large the condemnation is only words, not actions — at least so far.”

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Gaza Violence

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May 13, 2021

Palestinians remain more than frustrated with the status quo and in the absence of any progress towards the two-state solution their discontent usually hits the surface in the form of some violence.  And whenever there is violence, Israel says that it will not tolerate incitement, terrorism and reacts with disproportional force; Palestinian leadership calls for an end to subjugation and occupation; UN Secretary General urges calm; Arab governments express indignation; they remember the Arab League; the Quartet issues a statement advising restraint; the EU expresses concern: finally, either the US Secretary of State or some other high official travels to the region to find a way out because such violence always puts Washington on the spot by virtue of its unique relationship with Israel. And a roller-coaster pattern of violence goes on.

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The Trump Legacy: A View from the Middle East

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October 26, 2020

This is how I started off a post four years ago. The title was “The Obama Legacy: A View from the Middle East”[i].

“It was a few months before the 2008 US Presidential election. I was talking to my American colleague at UNESCO. I said to her that since American presidents’ decisions have global implications, democratic countries should also have the opportunity vote in those elections within a reasonable quota to be shared among them. She responded, ‘interesting idea…’ We both laughed.

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