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Israel's ongoing occupation of the West Bank: Updates and Discussions

Hopefully we Arabs are more decisive by then, lol. :lol:

I don't see Arabs uniting anytime soon but you never know, humans usually perform extraordinary when put under extreme situations.

This is what is to come for the Arabs who live near Israel.

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You know there used to be a Jewish neighborhood in Damascus but nearly all the Jews were kicked out

They were native Jews who lived there for centuries, it was unfair to kick them out not some European illegal immigrants who happen to have a Jewish ganraddaddy or grandmommy. :lol:

So why shouldn't Jews someday return to Damascus and build their neighborhoods anew

Hey I'm neither against it nor for it, if you are powerful enough you would one day control Damascus and when the local Arabs fight back you would call them terrorists. ;)

why should Pakistanis care if some Arabs are offended about it?

Because the consequences would be felt outside Middle East including in Pakistan too.
 
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SAUDI KING INVITES ABBAS TO RIYADH SUMMIT WITH TRUMP

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz has invited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Muslim leaders in Riyadh later in May, local media reported Wednesday.

Jordan's King Abdullah and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika are also among the dignitaries reportedly invited to the summit taking place during Trump's stop to the Gulf nation as part of his first presidential foreign tour, which also includes visits to Israel and the Vatican.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, Saudi embassy representative in Jordan, Tariq bin Mohammed Rashwan, delivered the invitation to Abbas in Amman for the May 20-21 gathering. Abbas was said to have agreed to attend the event.

According to regional reports, the Saudi-hosted 'Arab, Islamic and American Summit' was expected to address issues in the Arab and Muslim worlds and open a dialogue about forging new security partnerships.

Meanwhile, Abbas was reportedly preparing to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under the good offices of Trump.

Trump is expected to announce such a trilateral summit when he visits Jerusalem and Bethlehem on May 22-23, according to Israeli and Arab media reports.

In a press conference in Ramallah on Tuesday Abbas said, “We affirmed to [Trump] that we are ready to cooperate with him and meet the Israeli prime minister under his auspices in order to make peace.”

For the last eight years, he has made two primary demands as a precondition for talks; the release of Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails and a freeze of all West Bank settlement activity and Jewish building in east Jerusalem.

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Saudi-king-reportedly-invites-Abbas-to-summit-with-Trump-490426

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@Sharif al-Hijaz @EgyptianAmerican

I'm not highly optimistic that a peace deal will finally come out of this, but nevertheless it is interesting since Trump will likely listen to Arab leaders if they shape an overall long term outlook of how the region will prosper if this can be achieved along with more major issues like internal security, extremism, etc.... I'm looking forward to see if some defense pact will come out of it too. I think that's more likely, your thoughts?
 
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I'm not highly optimistic that a peace deal will finally come out of this, but nevertheless it is interesting since Trump will likely listen to Arab leaders if they shape an overall long term outlook of how the region will prosper if this can be achieved along with more major issues like internal security, extremism, etc.... I'm looking forward to see if some defense pact will come out of it too. I think that's more likely, your thoughts?

Well, you never know, so far Trump has shown to be extremely understanding of the Arab side unlike all of the former presidents like Obama and Bush.

We can probably expect to see some actual change in the region under trump.
 
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SAUDI KING INVITES ABBAS TO RIYADH SUMMIT WITH TRUMP

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz has invited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Muslim leaders in Riyadh later in May, local media reported Wednesday.

Jordan's King Abdullah and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika are also among the dignitaries reportedly invited to the summit taking place during Trump's stop to the Gulf nation as part of his first presidential foreign tour, which also includes visits to Israel and the Vatican.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, Saudi embassy representative in Jordan, Tariq bin Mohammed Rashwan, delivered the invitation to Abbas in Amman for the May 20-21 gathering. Abbas was said to have agreed to attend the event.

According to regional reports, the Saudi-hosted 'Arab, Islamic and American Summit' was expected to address issues in the Arab and Muslim worlds and open a dialogue about forging new security partnerships.

Meanwhile, Abbas was reportedly preparing to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under the good offices of Trump.

Trump is expected to announce such a trilateral summit when he visits Jerusalem and Bethlehem on May 22-23, according to Israeli and Arab media reports.

In a press conference in Ramallah on Tuesday Abbas said, “We affirmed to [Trump] that we are ready to cooperate with him and meet the Israeli prime minister under his auspices in order to make peace.”

For the last eight years, he has made two primary demands as a precondition for talks; the release of Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails and a freeze of all West Bank settlement activity and Jewish building in east Jerusalem.

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Saudi-king-reportedly-invites-Abbas-to-summit-with-Trump-490426

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@Sharif al-Hijaz @EgyptianAmerican

I'm not highly optimistic that a peace deal will finally come out of this, but nevertheless it is interesting since Trump will likely listen to Arab leaders if they shape an overall long term outlook of how the region will prosper if this can be achieved along with more major issues like internal security, extremism, etc.... I'm looking forward to see if some defense pact will come out of it too. I think that's more likely, your thoughts?

It's hard to tell. Things are obviously better under Trump (so far) and he/his administration (contrary to popular belief albeit pro-Israel naturally) seem to be understanding that peace between Palestine and Israel is crucial for the region.

Anyway sadly I don't think that anything will happen unless Netanyahoo and his Likud party and the powerful pro-Israeli/Jewish lobby in the US become truly interested in a two-state solution.

Not even the US has been able to influence Israel to adopt the 1967 borders.

So as usual, as with the Arab Peace Initiative from 2002 where KSA played a key role ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Peace_Initiative ), the ball is in Israel's court and they don't seem to want to pass it back!

Anyway imagine for a second if a president like Trump, of all presidents who tried, becomes THE US president who broke a real peace deal? That would be something truly historic and unexpected and seeing how many unexpected events that have occurred lately in the region, as much as I doubt it personally, I would not be totally surprised if he manages to help pull such a "project" off. As strange/unrealistic as that sounds currently. Something in me tells me that we are closer to a deal than we were under Obama.

It's like comparing this feeling with an upcoming exam that you have not studied enough for but somehow you are convinced of doing a good job at the exam and receiving a good grade.:lol:
 
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I'm not highly optimistic that a peace deal will finally come out of this, but nevertheless it is interesting since Trump will likely listen to Arab leaders if they shape an overall long term outlook of how the region will prosper if this can be achieved along with more major issues like internal security, extremism, etc.... I'm looking forward to see if some defense pact will come out of it too. I think that's more likely, your thoughts?

Forgive me for barging in, but I am not as optimistic as you fellas are, here, sorry. I hate to be the glum & gloom about this and always prefer to be optimistic about issues and particularly this, long and dragging one. But let's not get too carried away with ANYTHING this new POTUS says. First 112 days and all the ridiculous things that have happened within this administration have proved that not only is this the most laughable and disorganized administration, that not only has it cemented the partisan divide between democrats/liberals and conservatives, but has been an embarrassment of mistakes and in-house fighting and firing and is really the front running joke of current American politics.

So what Trump says about the Palestinian issue should be taken with the finest grain of salt. Here's a guy who said he wasn't sure why the conflict has been so difficult to solve and should be easy!!! The same guy who before his first 100 days said he didn't think the job of the POTUS would be this difficult!!! So we should ground ourselves a little and realize what a joke this guy is and his lack of knowledge in American history is an embarrassment, let's not expect him to know the ME's history and how it could be solved. A president of the US with no political experience should at least be familiar with the country's largest moments in its history, right? Well, a few weeks ago a reporter took a picture of Trump in the Oval Office with a new picture of Andrew Jackson (7th president of the United States) on the wall behind him and asked Trump why he had his picture in there. He said that AJ was a tough guy but had a good heart and that people don't ask why the Civil War was fought. Excuse me? As if that wasn't bad enough, but then he claims that Andrew Jackson was upset about the Civil War and he would've solved it without a war! This is just embarrassing on so many levels because first of all, Andrew Jackson was dead for 16 years prior to the start of the Civil War LOL so unless they asked his skeletal remains, no one would know how upset he was about it, let alone how he would've solved it without a war. Forget about the fact that the southern, confederate states were mostly democratic states which started the war under the pretext and notion that they would separate from the Union and that winning the war would mean the secession of those states and the creation a separate country! But the main reason was that they were racist and wanted to keep their slaves. They never agreed to Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation which was a prelude to passing the 13th amendment through a congressional vote to free all the slaves and the south wanted nothing to do with that. On to top of all that, Andrew Jackson was a democrat, from Tennessee (one of the confederate states) and a plantation owner who owned over 150 slaves LoLoLoL

He probably doesn't even realize that the Civil War was the most important part of America's history because the Confederate States attacked the Union States and had the Union lost, America would've been divided into 2 countries!!!! That was how serious that war was (which had 650,000 casualties!!!) and there was no way, a racist, slave owner, who wasn't even alive at the time would've had a clue on how to solve the separation of the South from the Union and abolish slavery without a war! Unbelievable! But like all other major gaffs from this administration, it will get lost until the next one comes along.

So I apologize for the rant about this particular incident (which is one among many embarrassments), but it's fitting in that here you have an individual who became the president of the United States, who (of all the choices in presidents to look up to) admires a known, slave owner and didn't know that important part of his own country's history and then expects people to think he knows about the most complicated part of the world's political history in the Palestinian conflict. Perhaps he views the Israelis and Netanyahu similarly to Andrew Jackson? Maybe he thinks (because he claimed in his campaign to know more than the military generals themselves looooool) that he can easily solve this? While Israel is trying to make Jerusalem the capital of Israel and the US ambassador suggesting to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, yep, I think Trump can easily help solve the Palestinian conflict. Sorry for the tasteless sarcasm. :-)

At least Obama openly opposed Netanyahu over the building of settlements that created a riff between them but still held his ground! When was the last time a US president stood up to one of those Likudists? Obama brokered the Iran nuclear deal and made Israel stand down from their dream of attacking Iran and dealt with it in a diplomatic way, first, instead of approving a last resort and giving Israel the green light. Trump will only acquiesce to any and all of Israel's demands. I wouldn't hold out any hope this guy will make a difference in the right direction, unfortunately.
 
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So what Trump says about the Palestinian issue should be taken with the finest grain of salt. Here's a guy who said he wasn't sure why the conflict has been so difficult to solve and should be easy!!! The same guy who before his first 100 days said he didn't think the job of the POTUS would be this difficult!!! So we should ground ourselves a little and realize what a joke this guy is and his lack of knowledge in American history is an embarrassment, let's not expect him to know the ME's history and how it could be solved.

At this point we don't need a competent or a very smart president. What we need is a president who is willing to back Palestine when Israel refuses to co-operate, something other presidents have shown little initiative for. Trump cares about 2 things at this point, His legacy, and his re-election.

If he backs Palestine and actually forces Israel to sign a deal then Trump will be yelling at the top of his lungs about how he did something no other president for over 60 years has been able to do. He can trumpet it from the rooftops and scream at the top of his lungs if he actually backs the Palestinians.

Hopefully trump notices that backing Israel gets nothing done and just allows more conflicts. If Trump can realize that if he backs the Palestinians then he could get this done and dealt with. Palestine has always been ready for negotiation but Israel hasn't. The sooner trump realizes that it is Israel that is the problem, will hopefully be the time that he backs Palestine.

At least Obama openly opposed Netanyahu over the building of settlements that created a riff between them but still held his ground! When was the last time a US president stood up to one of those Likudists?

At the end of his final term but every other?

Other republican presidents have done far more against Israel then Obama ever did

"Under Reagan, the United States had withheld promised warplanes from Israel to punish it for destroying Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor in June 1981 and voted to condemn the action in the United Nations Security Council. It had publicly criticized Israel’s July bombing of the PLO headquarters in Beirut and the ensuing civilian casualties. And it had suspended discussion of a memorandum of strategic cooperation after the Knesset voted to extend Israeli civil law to the occupied Golan Heights."

Obama’s prodding of Israel looks less like throwing the country under a bus and more like poking it tentatively with a salad fork.

But one thing all these presidents didn't do was stop-backing Israel which is the problem. If you backed Palestine then a deal would be made immediately. If Trump can get it in his head that to stop backing Israel was to essentially end the conflict then he would do it immediately but only for two things, Legacy, and re-election.

We don't need a president that understands MENA history or even American history, we need a president that will back Palestine. Yes, the odds are slim but there is nothing wrong with a little hope for a change.
 
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@Gomig-21

I wasn't referring to the I/P conflict, rather a general pact between Arab nations and US revolving around Iran and internal security matters. Nothing to do with the Palestine. :)
 
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Senior member of Trump team said to tell Israelis: Western Wall is not your territory

In a bitter diplomatic incident, a senior member of the US delegation making preparations for Donald Trump’s visit to Israel next week angrily rejected a request that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accompany the president when he visits the Western Wall, and then sniped at his Israeli counterparts that the Western Wall is “not your territory. It’s part of the West Bank,” Israeli television reported on Monday night.

An official at the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed the Channel 2 report, telling the Times of Israel that Israeli officials were “shocked” by the comments and have asked the Trump administration about the incident.

The official said that Netanyahu is certain that the comment does not reflect President Trump’s policy.

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http://www.timesofisrael.com/senior...-israelis-western-wall-is-not-your-territory/
 
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At this point we don't need a competent or a very smart president. What we need is a president who is willing to back Palestine when Israel refuses to co-operate, something other presidents have shown little initiative for. Trump cares about 2 things at this point, His legacy, and his re-election.

EA, his chances for reelection are predicated on his domestic policy much more than anything he would help broker in his administration's foreign policy. Building the wall and making Mexico pay for it; Repealing Obama-Care; Makin America Great Again. The Palestinian issue will be the 97th out of 100 items in the list of reelection priorities, I'm afraid to say.

If he backs Palestine and actually forces Israel to sign a deal then Trump will be yelling at the top of his lungs about how he did something no other president for over 60 years has been able to do. He can trumpet it from the rooftops and scream at the top of his lungs if he actually backs the Palestinians.

Hopefully trump notices that backing Israel gets nothing done and just allows more conflicts. If Trump can realize that if he backs the Palestinians then he could get this done and dealt with. Palestine has always been ready for negotiation but Israel hasn't. The sooner trump realizes that it is Israel that is the problem, will hopefully be the time that he backs Palestine.

How do you expect an ignoramus to even begin to understand the complications of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict when he doesn't even know the history of his own country, and actually favor the Palestinians wishes over Israeli ones? Hard to believe, bruh.

Other republican presidents have done far more against Israel then Obama ever did

Jimmy Carter who was a democrat did a lot more than anyone else in brokering the Camp David Accords, as you very well know, but even Bill Clinton brought Yasser Arafat and Ehud Barak and made a legitimate effort despite it failing in the end. He was also a Democrat and these two alone did more for the Palestinian cause than any Republicans in the history of US presidents.

"Under Reagan, the United States had withheld promised warplanes from Israel to punish it for destroying Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor in June 1981 and voted to condemn the action in the United Nations Security Council. It had publicly criticized Israel’s July bombing of the PLO headquarters in Beirut and the ensuing civilian casualties. And it had suspended discussion of a memorandum of strategic cooperation after the Knesset voted to extend Israeli civil law to the occupied Golan Heights."

You realize that move by Ronald Reagan and Co. was nothing but a political ploy to consolidate their support and ally-ship of Iraq against Khomeini and the aftermath of the Iranian revolution that was barely 3 years old and the hostages were still captive? The Reagan administration even admitted years later that they were actually glad the Israelis did what they did once they decided to move into Iraq in 2003. Gamesmanship, only, but no real support whatsoever.

Obama’s prodding of Israel looks less like throwing the country under a bus and more like poking it tentatively with a salad fork.

Obama actually stuck to his words and was completely against Israeli settlements to the point where the relationship with Netanyahu was very strained. The Israelis are super psyched that Trump is in office, although they would've been just fine with Hillary as well considering her undying support of Israel was much greater than Obama's. But I give Barack a lot more credit for standing his ground against Netanyahu and the settlements and actually straining the relationship with Israel, much more than any of the previous presidents did.

But one thing all these presidents didn't do was stop-backing Israel which is the problem. If you backed Palestine then a deal would be made immediately. If Trump can get it in his head that to stop backing Israel was to essentially end the conflict then he would do it immediately but only for two things, Legacy, and re-election.

I wish I could share your optimism, bro, I really do. But do you honestly think that a business man, and not a student of politics (let alone history), who became president on a sudden and ambitious whim, and a billionaire, mired in controversy in just his first 100 days, who's lifelong intentions have been nothing other than to make money and deals along with some of the other biggest billionaires, wouldn't be influenced by the Jews who run the world's financial conglomerates? His legacy will be far more cemented by making the bankers and corporations of America richer and regulations-free than they already are by making the policy changes that favorably influence those deals --and only those deals -- and those who will be the beneficiary of those deals are none other than the elite Jews of America who hold a powerful and influential sentiment towards the growth and strength of the Zionist state. How can the poor, weak, Islamic, Palestinian cause ever be anything remotely more worthy to this individual's mind?

We don't need a president that understands MENA history or even American history, we need a president that will back Palestine. Yes, the odds are slim but there is nothing wrong with a little hope for a change.

Well, IMO, there's nothing wrong with it but only if there seems to be a glimmer of hope. I don't even see a negative percentage of a glimmer of hope. Sorry to be so negative, but I try to be realistic based on the pattern of things I see.

And BTW, being an admirer of great quotes as you are and concerning Trump and his lack of understanding history (especially his own country's, let alone MENA) -- what was that great quote by George Santayana -- "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." :-)

@Gomig-21I wasn't referring to the I/P conflict, rather a general pact between Arab nations and US revolving around Iran and internal security matters. Nothing to do with the Palestine. :)

My bad. I used your quote to make my point when it didn't even make the assumption I was addressing. I apologize. I do agree with you that a solid, joint, Arab pact against terrorism and security matters would be something he would want to address and make it a part of this administration's declared policy. Once he gets past the issue of terrorism and how Arabs need to work with America to dissolve ISIS and the likes and Israel's security is established under his remaining term, it will be very interesting to see what the view is toward Iran, considering all the mouthing he did during the campaign on how the Obama-brokered, nuclear deal with Iran was nothing but a fiasco and his recent rantings that Iran is not living up the the "spirit" of the deal.

BTW, if you guys are watching the news right at this moment, Trump is getting bashed for today's Washington Post article revealing a huge bombshell that Trump shared classified information with the Russian in last week's meeting! It has reached a new and unprecedented low. My goodness.
 
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EA, his chances for reelection are predicated on his domestic policy much more than anything he would help broker in his administration's foreign policy. Building the wall and making Mexico pay for it; Repealing Obama-Care; Makin America Great Again. The Palestinian issue will be the 97th out of 100 items in the list of reelection priorities, I'm afraid to say.



How do you expect an ignoramus to even begin to understand the complications of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict when he doesn't even know the history of his own country, and actually favor the Palestinians wishes over Israeli ones? Hard to believe, bruh.



Jimmy Carter who was a democrat did a lot more than anyone else in brokering the Camp David Accords, as you very well know, but even Bill Clinton brought Yasser Arafat and Ehud Barak and made a legitimate effort despite it failing in the end. He was also a Democrat and these two alone did more for the Palestinian cause than any Republicans in the history of US presidents.



You realize that move by Ronald Reagan and Co. was nothing but a political ploy to consolidate their support and ally-ship of Iraq against Khomeini and the aftermath of the Iranian revolution that was barely 3 years old and the hostages were still captive? The Reagan administration even admitted years later that they were actually glad the Israelis did what they did once they decided to move into Iraq in 2003. Gamesmanship, only, but no real support whatsoever.



Obama actually stuck to his words and was completely against Israeli settlements to the point where the relationship with Netanyahu was very strained. The Israelis are super psyched that Trump is in office, although they would've been just fine with Hillary as well considering her undying support of Israel was much greater than Obama's. But I give Barack a lot more credit for standing his ground against Netanyahu and the settlements and actually straining the relationship with Israel, much more than any of the previous presidents did.



I wish I could share your optimism, bro, I really do. But do you honestly think that a business man, and not a student of politics (let alone history), who became president on a sudden and ambitious whim, and a billionaire, mired in controversy in just his first 100 days, who's lifelong intentions have been nothing other than to make money and deals along with some of the other biggest billionaires, wouldn't be influenced by the Jews who run the world's financial conglomerates? His legacy will be far more cemented by making the bankers and corporations of America richer and regulations-free than they already are by making the policy changes that favorably influence those deals --and only those deals -- and those who will be the beneficiary of those deals are none other than the elite Jews of America who hold a powerful and influential sentiment towards the growth and strength of the Zionist state. How can the poor, weak, Islamic, Palestinian cause ever be anything remotely more worthy to this individual's mind?



Well, IMO, there's nothing wrong with it but only if there seems to be a glimmer of hope. I don't even see a negative percentage of a glimmer of hope. Sorry to be so negative, but I try to be realistic based on the pattern of things I see.

And BTW, being an admirer of great quotes as you are and concerning Trump and his lack of understanding history (especially his own country's, let alone MENA) -- what was that great quote by George Santayana -- "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." :-)



My bad. I used your quote to make my point when it didn't even make the assumption I was addressing. I apologize. I do agree with you that a solid, joint, Arab pact against terrorism and security matters would be something he would want to address and make it a part of this administration's declared policy. Once he gets past the issue of terrorism and how Arabs need to work with America to dissolve ISIS and the likes and Israel's security is established under his remaining term, it will be very interesting to see what the view is toward Iran, considering all the mouthing he did during the campaign on how the Obama-brokered, nuclear deal with Iran was nothing but a fiasco and his recent rantings that Iran is not living up the the "spirit" of the deal.

BTW, if you guys are watching the news right at this moment, Trump is getting bashed for today's Washington Post article revealing a huge bombshell that Trump shared classified information with the Russian in last week's meeting! It has reached a new and unprecedented low. My goodness.

Fair points, you make a lot of sense. I know I am being too optimistic. ALAS! it was possibly too good of a dream even for me.

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Israeli settlers set fire to tractor, spray racist graffiti in Nablus-area village

NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israeli settlers set fire to an agricultural tractor and sprayed racist, anti-Arab graffiti “demanding to take revenge on Burin village,” south of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank on Thursday night.

Locals from Burin told Ma’an that a group of Israeli settlers raided the village, set fire to an agricultural tractor owned by local resident Abd al-Athem Idris, and sprayed racist slogans “against Arabs” onto cement blocks in the area.

Israeli police said in statement that they were informed of the incident by Palestinian officials, and were opening an investigation.


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Many Palestinian activists and rights groups have accused Israel of fostering a “culture of impunity”for Israeli settlers and soldiers committing violent acts against Palestinians.

In March, Israeli NGO Yesh Din revealed that Israeli authorities served indictments in only 8.2 percent of cases of Israeli settlers committing anti-Palestinian crimes in the occupied West Bank in the past three years.

Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law, with recent announcements of settlement expansion provoking condemnation from the international community.

https://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=777156

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