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19/09/2019
| | The end of the Netanyahu era doesn`t mean the end of the occupation
Haggai Matar - As election results started pouring in Tuesday night,
one could hear a sigh of relief – and even some cries of joy – among
Israelis who identify with the center-left.This is no small matter.
Given political patterns in Israel over the past decade, the
departure of Netanyahu might signal a shift in a new direction. We
might be seeing the last days of a decade-long, Trump-like style of
leadership based on racist rhetoric toward Palestinian citizens,
left-wing NGOs, the media, and the judicial system. This is indeed a
reason to rejoice.
The occupation, however, is not going anywhere. Israeli military
control over the day-to-day lives of millions of Palestinians in the
West Bank, the siege on Gaza, and the structural discrimination
against hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in East Jerusalem are
all here to stay. None of these three aforementioned groups were
allowed to vote for the government that decides their fate.[ak]
| | | Muddy results clearly show Israelis unfazed by prospect of life after Netanyahu
David Horovitz - Not enough voters were persuaded that, after 10
consecutive years in office, Israel would be lost without Netanyahu
at its helm. Not enough Israelis were persuaded that Israel might be
more vulnerable to its external enemies under a leadership including
ex-IDF chiefs of staff Gantz, Moshe Ya’alon and Gabi Ashkenazi.The
Joint List, an alliance of four Arab parties, appears to have done
extraordinarily well. Netanyahu’s attempts through recent years to
denounce the Arab electorate and its leadership, and to suppress the
vote by deploying partisan observers with cameras at their polling
stations, would appear to have backfired spectacularly.[ak]
| | | "A serious breach of international law"
Maja Kocijancic - EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs - The Israeli
government approved a proposal on Sunday to establish a new
settlement, Mevo’ot Yeriho, currently an outpost in the Jordan
Valley. The European Union reiterates that all settlements in the
occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, are
illegal under international law. The EU calls on Israel to end all
settlement activity and to dismantle the outposts erected since
March 2001, in line with prior obligations.
This decision follows recent announcements about the possible
annexation of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea area. Such
steps would, if implemented, constitute a serious breach of
international law, challenge the viability of the two-state solution
and threaten regional stability and the prospects for sustainable
peace. The EU will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967
borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed
by the parties.[ak] | | | Cisco’s Involvement in the Israeli Occupation
Who Profits - Through its owned Israeli subsidiary, Cisco – Israel, Cisco Systems is currently involved in the establishment of technological hubs in the occupied Palestinian territory and in the Syrian Golan, as well as, in the Naqab (Negev) region. The company is complicit in Israel’s expanding visual surveillance apparatus in Jerusalem and has won an Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD) tender to provide servers and IT support to the Israeli military.
Further, through its Israeli subsidiary, Cisco Systems is involved in the emerging Palestinian hi-tech sector. This involvement takes the guise of technological development and job creation but in fact, contributes to the structural dependency of the Palestinian economy to that of Israel.
The company’s involvement in activities related to Israel’s occupation comes in violation of international law and contradict its stated commitment to human rights and the UN Global Compact for Corporate Social Responsibility.
[bz] | | | Netanyahu wanted to postpone elections for a war in Gaza
Anna Ahronheim - Jerusalem Post - Prime Minister Netanyahu almost
ordered the IDF to go to war in the Gaza Strip, which would have
postponed the Tuesday general elections. National Security Adviser
Meir Ben-Shabbat had met with Central Elections Committee head Hanan
Melcer at the urging of Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit, to
discuss the possibility that a war in Gaza would force a delay of
the elections. In practice, military action was aborted “at the last
moment” by Attorney General Mandelblit, who said that the war plan
required the approval of the security cabinet.[ak]
| | | In defeat, Netanyahu holds to anti-Arab rhetoric
Anshel Pfeffer - Haaretz - There were only about 300 die-hard
supporters still left cheering for Netanyahu in a hall that can
hold over 1,000, and that not all of Likud`s ministers had arrived.
But his nemesis Gideon Sa`ar was there, smiling his cryptic smile.
It was not a concession speech. Netanyahu¡¯s plan is ¡°to enter talks
in order to form a strong Zionist government and to prevent a
dangerous anti-Zionist government.¡± In other words, the political
landscape may have changed Tuesday night, but Netanyahu is sticking
to his principles. The left wants to form ¡°a government that relies
on anti-Zionist Arab parties. Parties that deny the very existence
of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Parties that glorify
bloodthirsty terrorists who murder our soldiers, citizens and
children.¡± This must be prevented, he said. [ak] | | | ‘We don’t care who wins’: young Gazans see little choice in Israel’s elections
Donald Macintyre - The Guardian - On Gaza City’s quayside, Palestinians fear
that Benjamin Netanyahu’s rivals in Tuesday’s poll are as belligerent as he is [ry] | | | Netanyahu vows to annex Jewish settlements in Hebron
Ynet - PM tells Army Radio if he is reelected in Tuesday`s election, his
government will apply Israeli sovereignty on areas in the largest Palestinian city
populated with Jewish settlers; remarks come just days after Netanyahu said he`ll
annex the Jordan Valley [ry] | | | Israel`s Netanyahu sharpens focus on settlements, two days before ballot
Jeffrey Heller - Reuters - "Appealing to far-right voters and Likud’s own supporters
to turn out in large numbers, Netanyahu has been portraying himself as being in
lockstep with ultranationalists over retaining West Bank land through annexation"
[ry] | | | Two Elections, One Apartheid State
Ariel Gold - AntiWar - "Most polls predict that Netanyahu will continue as prime
minister. But as we watch this round of voting in Israel, let’s remember that only
30 percent of Palestinians living under Israeli rule have the right to vote. That
alone is enough to counter the absurd proclamation that Israel is a democratic
state" [ry] | | | For previous articles since 2004 go to respective sections | |
Recommended articles
| | Jason Ditz:Netanyahu Hits Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon in Desperate Reelection Bid | | Dror Etkes:What occupation looks like for Rashida Tlaib’s village in the West Bank | | Jeff Halper :The Meaning of Israel’s Massive Housing Demolitions in East Jerusalem | | Daoud Kuttab:When the `squad` goes to occupied Palestine | | Ilan Pappe:Israel’s latest attempt to erase Palestine | | Al Jazeera:Israeli forces prepare to demolish about 100 Palestinian homes | | Ynetnews:Israeli demolition order on Jerusalem outskirts stokes Palestinian fears | | Jonathan Cook:The plot to keep Jeremy Corbyn out of power |
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