The historic Palestinian Shepherd hotel ruined by the Israelis
February 11 2011
By Khalid Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem
As Hillary Clinton sought a stronger "alliance" with the Gulf's Arab states, America's real friend and client, which is Israel, was demolishing yet another Arab property in occupied East Jerusalem. The demolished building was the Shepherd hotel, which served once as home to the former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, the late Haj Amin Husseini.
The demolition of the highly symbolic building was carried out despite objections from many quarters, including the European Union and Obama administration.
The visibly helpless Palestinian Authority (PA) once again appealed to the international community to take a strong stand against Israel.
"This intransigent and illegal behavior on behalf of Israel must not be allowed to proceed unchecked," said Chief Palestinian negotiator Sa'eb Ureikat.
He added with desperation and frustration clear in the tone of his voice "what is happening today is part of the political program of the Israeli government to preempt any solution on Jerusalem . While Netanyahu continues his public relations campaign regarding the peace process, on the ground he is rapidly moving to prevent the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state.
"Israel continues to change the landscape of Jerusalem aiming to change its status and turn it into an exclusive Jewish city. This process of cleansing and colonization must be stopped to change the dark reality of Israeli occupation into free and sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."
Ureikat's exhausted words, which had been uttered ad nauseam but to no avail, are most likely to fall on deaf or indifferent ears in the West especially in Washington where the Obama administration has discovered, probably belatedly, that it would be the ultimate loser in any confrontation with the current Israeli government, the most hawkish in Israel's history.
Clinton, who has toured the Gulf Arab states to instigate their sheikhs and emirs against Iran , has renewed US rejection of any Palestinian effort to seek redress at the United Nations, even to complain about the ongoing and unrelenting Jewish settlement expansion.
"We continue to believe strongly that New York is not the place to resolve the longstanding conflict and outstanding issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians," Clinton said. "We do not think that that is a productive path for the Palestinians or anyone to pursue."
Clinton, a close friend of AIPAC who recently offered to give Israel the best of the best of the American military technology just in return for Israel agreeing to freeze settlement building for 90 days, gave no ideas as to how to revive a peace process constantly undercut by unmitigated settlement expansion and ethnic cleansing all over the West Bank, especially East Jerusalem.
However, seeking to appear as if the US was still really "involved " and playing a central role, Clinton signaled that the Obama administration was pushing wealthy Arab sheikhdoms and emirates to increase their financial assistance to the Ramallah regime, mainly in the hope of making it come to terms with-or at least keep silent about- the devouring by Israel of the remainder of East Jerusalem.
One Palestinian Authority official , who is close to the negotiations department intimated this week that Hillary Clinton told an American Jewish politician not to worry about what the Palestinians might or might not do.
"We will keep their mouths shut with money, and the money will not come from the American tax-payer."
The American policy of bribing the PA into silence, which means, at least in de facto terms, coming to terms with the Israeli fait accompli, goes far beyond requesting more money from the Gulf Sheikhdoms and emirates for the PA to be happy and afloat. (The head of the PA monetary Fund Jehad al Wazir has affirmed that the PA financial standing is excellent). In fact, USAID has lately supervised the pavement with asphalt of thousands of kilometers West Bank roads.
Locals in the town of Dura , 12 kilometers south west of Hebron , voiced their surprise at the efficiency and speed with which the paving and rehabilitation of their roads have been done.
"We haven't seen this kind of work since 1967. It seems they want to satisfy us by all means," said one of the locals.
But what he didn't know is important. The projects being carried out by such American organizations such as USAID hedge on "good behavior" on the part of the PA.
Needless to say, for those who don't understand what connotations and denotations "good PA behavior" has, they should pay attention to the PA clinging to the futile peace process despite continuing Israeli provocations. This PA embrace of the process, however reluctant, constitutes "good behavior" as far Washington is concerned and is sufficient to keep the influx of US aid going through.
There is no doubt that the Obama administration will keep up the game of cajoling the PA and other "moderate" Arab regimes either by making vague promises or by displaying disingenuous consternation about unilateral Israeli behavior, such as the demolition of Arab property in Jerusalem.
Eventually, what counts is not what Clinton , a thoroughly Zionist-minded political whore devoid of any sliver of honesty or immorality, says but what the US does.
And what the US is doing is no less than enabling Israel to liquidate the Palestinian cause with the de facto consent of a pornographically mendacious and manifestly treasonous Palestinian entity that claims to be protecting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian rights.
We in Palestine say that all that is based on wrong is wrong. Hence, there is no doubt that all these conspiracies, lies and prevarications will not produce a just peace in this land, tormented by racism, violence and bloodshed.
And even if certain arrangements were to be reached by way of deception and manipulation of the game of international politics, these arrangements wouldn't live long and be durable.
The demolition of the highly symbolic building was carried out despite objections from many quarters, including the European Union and Obama administration.
The visibly helpless Palestinian Authority (PA) once again appealed to the international community to take a strong stand against Israel.
"This intransigent and illegal behavior on behalf of Israel must not be allowed to proceed unchecked," said Chief Palestinian negotiator Sa'eb Ureikat.
He added with desperation and frustration clear in the tone of his voice "what is happening today is part of the political program of the Israeli government to preempt any solution on Jerusalem . While Netanyahu continues his public relations campaign regarding the peace process, on the ground he is rapidly moving to prevent the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state.
"Israel continues to change the landscape of Jerusalem aiming to change its status and turn it into an exclusive Jewish city. This process of cleansing and colonization must be stopped to change the dark reality of Israeli occupation into free and sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."
Ureikat's exhausted words, which had been uttered ad nauseam but to no avail, are most likely to fall on deaf or indifferent ears in the West especially in Washington where the Obama administration has discovered, probably belatedly, that it would be the ultimate loser in any confrontation with the current Israeli government, the most hawkish in Israel's history.
Clinton, who has toured the Gulf Arab states to instigate their sheikhs and emirs against Iran , has renewed US rejection of any Palestinian effort to seek redress at the United Nations, even to complain about the ongoing and unrelenting Jewish settlement expansion.
"We continue to believe strongly that New York is not the place to resolve the longstanding conflict and outstanding issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians," Clinton said. "We do not think that that is a productive path for the Palestinians or anyone to pursue."
Clinton, a close friend of AIPAC who recently offered to give Israel the best of the best of the American military technology just in return for Israel agreeing to freeze settlement building for 90 days, gave no ideas as to how to revive a peace process constantly undercut by unmitigated settlement expansion and ethnic cleansing all over the West Bank, especially East Jerusalem.
However, seeking to appear as if the US was still really "involved " and playing a central role, Clinton signaled that the Obama administration was pushing wealthy Arab sheikhdoms and emirates to increase their financial assistance to the Ramallah regime, mainly in the hope of making it come to terms with-or at least keep silent about- the devouring by Israel of the remainder of East Jerusalem.
One Palestinian Authority official , who is close to the negotiations department intimated this week that Hillary Clinton told an American Jewish politician not to worry about what the Palestinians might or might not do.
"We will keep their mouths shut with money, and the money will not come from the American tax-payer."
The American policy of bribing the PA into silence, which means, at least in de facto terms, coming to terms with the Israeli fait accompli, goes far beyond requesting more money from the Gulf Sheikhdoms and emirates for the PA to be happy and afloat. (The head of the PA monetary Fund Jehad al Wazir has affirmed that the PA financial standing is excellent). In fact, USAID has lately supervised the pavement with asphalt of thousands of kilometers West Bank roads.
Locals in the town of Dura , 12 kilometers south west of Hebron , voiced their surprise at the efficiency and speed with which the paving and rehabilitation of their roads have been done.
"We haven't seen this kind of work since 1967. It seems they want to satisfy us by all means," said one of the locals.
But what he didn't know is important. The projects being carried out by such American organizations such as USAID hedge on "good behavior" on the part of the PA.
Needless to say, for those who don't understand what connotations and denotations "good PA behavior" has, they should pay attention to the PA clinging to the futile peace process despite continuing Israeli provocations. This PA embrace of the process, however reluctant, constitutes "good behavior" as far Washington is concerned and is sufficient to keep the influx of US aid going through.
There is no doubt that the Obama administration will keep up the game of cajoling the PA and other "moderate" Arab regimes either by making vague promises or by displaying disingenuous consternation about unilateral Israeli behavior, such as the demolition of Arab property in Jerusalem.
Eventually, what counts is not what Clinton , a thoroughly Zionist-minded political whore devoid of any sliver of honesty or immorality, says but what the US does.
And what the US is doing is no less than enabling Israel to liquidate the Palestinian cause with the de facto consent of a pornographically mendacious and manifestly treasonous Palestinian entity that claims to be protecting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian rights.
We in Palestine say that all that is based on wrong is wrong. Hence, there is no doubt that all these conspiracies, lies and prevarications will not produce a just peace in this land, tormented by racism, violence and bloodshed.
And even if certain arrangements were to be reached by way of deception and manipulation of the game of international politics, these arrangements wouldn't live long and be durable.
Because all that is based on wrong is wrong. (end)
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