Arab League Pro-Western Despots

By Stephen Lendman 
November 20th, 2011 
Courtesy Of "The Peoples Voice"

On November 12, New York Times writer Neil MacFarquhaqar headlined, "Arab League Votes to Suspend Syria Over Crackdown," saying:

"Syria's formal suspension is to start in four days, offering what senior Arab League officials described as a last chance for Mr. Assad to carry out a peace agreement his government had accepted....to halt violence directed toward civilians (and) withdraw all security forces from civilian areas...."

On October 10, a Times editorial headlined, "Enabling Mr. Assad," saying:

"There is a lot of shame to go around after the United Nations Security Council failed last week to pass a resolution condemning Syria's brutal crackdown."

Fact check

Since March, anti-goverment protests began and intensified. Replicating Libya's model, Western backed insurgents stoked violence. Insurrection spread from one city to another.

Trapped between waring sides, civilian casualties keep rising. Hundreds of security forces have been killed.

Imported weapons are used against them. Syria's wrongfully blamed for confronting an armed insurgency. Unresolved conflict rages.

At issue is destabilizing and toppling a Baath party controlled secular, anti-imperial regime, supporting Palestine, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran.

Washington and Israel want it replaced with a pro-Western Islamic republic puppet state similar to other subservient Arab ones.

Russia and China blocked America's (Western supported) Security Council resolution. If passed, it would have been a first against Syria, perhaps opening the way for greater conflict or war like against Libya.

Despite watered down language, both countries opposed options, including the UN Charter's Article 41 provisions, stating:

"The Security Council may decide what measures not involving the use of armed force are to be employed to give effect to its decision, and it may call upon (UN members) to apply such measures."

"These may include complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations."

In other words, stiff sanctions further harming Syria's weakened economy might topple it. If not, war might follow.

"Despite the disgraceful outcome, the United States and Europe were right to push for a vote. It left no doubt which countries stand with Syria's courageous opposition and which stand with the ruthless autocrat."

Its bloodstained pages still wet over Libya, Times editors want another country ravaged, colonized and plundered.

They've fallen far from revealing Pentagon Papers secrets, exposing Johnson administration lies about America's Vietnam war.

The League of Arab States

Calling itself "a voluntary association of independent countries whose people are mainly Arabic speaking, (its) purposes are to strengthen ties among the member states, coordinate their policies, and promote their common interests."

In fact, pro-Western despots head most of its 22 member states. In 1942, Britain hoped to unite Arabs against Nazi Germany. In 1944, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, North Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Transjordan (Jordan and Palestine) agreed to form the League of Arab States.

In 1945, a formalized Arab League Pact inaugurated it. Years later, its charter members expanded to 22. In 1976, the Palestine Liberation Organization was admitted. In 1979, suspension followed Egypt's peace treaty with Israel. The league's headquarters relocated from Cairo to Tunis.

In 1987, diplomatic ties with Egypt were restored. In 1989, Egypt was readmitted and League headquarters returned to Cairo where it remains. Four observer states include Brazil, Eritrea, India and Venezuela. Effective November 16, Syria will be suspended.

In most Arab League states, constitutional and statute laws affirm Pan-Arabism. In practice, most ignore it. PLO de-Arabization was a US/Israeli Oslo prerequisite. Most Arab states went along.

In 1998, 12 PLO National Charter articles were deleted and 16 amended without Arab League objection. Most dealt with Palestinian Pan-Arabism.

Palestinians get rhetorical support only. Member states didn't condemn Israel's (2008-09) Gaza or (2006) Lebanon wars. Nor have formal measures rebuked its lawlessness, let alone isolated the Jewish state.

For over two decades through June 2001, former League Secretary-General Amr Mousa held top Mubarak regime posts, including foreign minister and other diplomatic positions.

Supporting its military junta, he'll seek Egypt's presidency next year. On July 1, 2011, Nabil Elaraby replaced him, another former Mubarak functionary.

Notably, Arab League states didn't stop:

• Israel's 1947-48 Nakba;



• its 1967 West Bank/Gaza/East Jerusalem occupation, as well as parts of Egypt and Syria at the time; Syria's Golan remains illegally occupied; so does Palestine for over 44 years;



• its 1982 Lebanon war and occupation of Southern Lebanon until 2000;



• its continued Lebanon Shebaa Farms occupation;



• Washington's 1991 Operation Desert Storm; and



• its 2003 Iraq war and occupation.

Recent Arab League Duplicity


In March 2011, League members backed UN Resolution 1973, Libya's no-fly zone prelude to war. Once it began, they supported NATO's campaign.

Backing Western imperialism, they condoned Libya's ravaging, including massacres too great to ignore. In March, they recognized puppet Transitional National Council (TNC) leadership. In August, they formally restored Libya's League membership after ousting Gaddafi at NATO's behest.

They're silent on NATO's plan to colonize, occupy and plunder another Arab State, as well as ongoing atrocities in Bahrain, Yemen, Somalia, Palestine, and elsewhere in the region.

Since March, they supported Western-backed anti-Syrian insurgents, heading perhaps for more war, occupation, and regional instability.

On and off for months, half or more of League members attacked, killed, arrested, imprisoned, and/or brutalized their own people for protesting against political, economic and social injustice.

Effective November 16, Syria's membership will be suspended. Political and economic sanctions target it for battling Western-backed insurgents. Short of NATO bombing, doing so replicates Libya's regime change model.

A Syrian National Council (SNC) was established, similar to Libya's puppet Transitional National Council (TNC).

Originally formed in 2005, it was revived on August 23, 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey. It represents Western-backed internal opposition elements against the rights and interests of most Syrians.

It called for a Libyan-style "no-fly zone" and foreign intervention. It supplies intelligence to Washington, other Western nations, and Israel. If unconventional tactics fail, stepped up violence and war remain options.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, Arab League officials said if Syria ignores Western demands, the League will formally recognize its SNC opposition. Informally, it's done. Bashar al-Assad's government is increasingly isolated.

SNC secretary-general Wael Merza said the decision marked "a historic day for Syria as a country, the Syrian revolution and the Arab League."

In fact, once again it showed League subservience to Western demands. Syria's Arab League representative said suspension breached the organization's charter, "serving a Western and American agenda." He added that it's "not worth the ink it was written with."

Obama called on international bodies to do more, saying:

"After the Assad regime flagrantly failed to keep its commitments, the Arab League has demonstrated leadership in its efforts to end the crisis and hold the Syrian government accountable."

"These significant steps expose the increasing diplomatic isolation of a regime that has systematically violated human rights and repressed peaceful protests."

In fact, America's by far the world's leading human and civil rights abuser, waging global wars on humanity. Syria and Iran know they're targets. So do other nonbelligerent states, whether run by despots, democrats or others in between.

Obama stopped short of calling for Assad's ouster. Some observers expect he'll do it. Joint Chiefs head Admiral Mike Mullen ruled out military intervention. Saying it means little if nonmilitary measures don't work.

Whether diplomatic, economic, or military, Arab League support is assured. Despots throughout the region back America's worst crimes.

Why not when they commit so many of their own against people who revile them.

Why else would Arab Spring uprisings have occurred and continue across the region without major media coverage.

Perhaps they'll notice if one, in fact, succeeds. Expect it, followed by others, inspiring people across Europe and America to press harder for real change.

Sustained struggle, pain and sacrifice is the only way to get it.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

The Burden Of Leadership

Air attacks by coalition forces have destroyed equipment belonging to Gaddafi's regime, but critics say too many civilians have been killed in the process [AFP]


How Can The Arab League Support A No-Fly Zone Over Libya and Then Complain After It Is Put In Place?

By Robert Grenier
Last Modified: 26 Mar 2011 18:27
Courtesy Of "Al-Jazeera"

No good deed, they say, goes unpunished.

Still, the haste with which Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League, began to chastise those implementing the no-fly zone over Libya mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 1973 – a resolution, mind you, solicited only days before by the Arab League itself – was almost breathtaking.

It may be bad form to quote oneself, but this aspiring pundit cannot refrain from noting his prior observation in this space that the League's resolution endorsing a UN-sponsored no-fly zone to protect Libyan civilians fairly reeked of ambivalence.

In the same piece, this correspondent noted that it was perhaps too much to expect the US to take a leading role in promoting and then implementing a no-fly zone, if one were eventually adopted by the Security Council, given America's parlous standing in the region, where any perceived misstep would certainly be seized upon by its erstwhile Arab enablers as a sign of malevolent intent.

Nonetheless, and acting perhaps against his better judgement, president Obama took the League's resolution as an indication of regional support and joined the British and French in pressing for a UN-sponsored no-fly zone.

Diplomatic Language

The Security Council, fortunately, was alive to the reality that a measure designed ostensibly to protect civilians, but which limited itself to the threat from aircraft, ignoring the far more deadly menace posed by Gaddafi's tanks and artillery, would amount to little more than posturing.

The Council therefore adopted language permitting "all necessary measures" to protect civilian populations "under threat of attack".

It is good that this language was included. Without it, French jets would not have had authorisation to attack the tank columns closing in on Benghazi and Ajdabiyah. Without it, significant regime elements might by now have penetrated in force into densely-populated areas of Benghazi, beyond the effective reach of coalition aircraft, and prepared to visit Gaddafi's revenge on the turbulent people of Libya's second-largest city in their own way, and in their own good time.

Perhaps it was just this action which gave Amr Moussa second thoughts.

Whatever the proximate reason, sure enough, the secretary general was voicing doubts barely hours after the resolution went into effect, expressing concern over the vigour of coalition attacks and the possibility of coalition-induced civilian casualties, throwing continued Arab League support for the effort into considerable doubt.

As Raghida Dergham of Al Hayat newspaper put it to him in a subsequent interview, did he not know that enforcement of a no-fly zone would "require bombings on the ground"?

In that same interview, questioned as to the prospect of continued violence and an open-ended Libyan civil war, Mr. Moussa suggested the likelihood of quick success for the UN's humanitarian mission, with the prospect of a ceasefire and international observers in place.

This is pious nonsense, and Moussa knows it. Anyone having the barest acquaintance with the Libyan regime is fully aware that there will be no ceasefire worthy of the name, and that Gaddafi will stop at nothing until his enemies are eradicated.

The rebels know this full well: This will be a fight to the finish, and the price of failure, at least for the rebels, will be death.

A regime schooled for years by the East Germans in the use of domestic terror as a means of political control is not about to reach a "peace of the brave" with those whom it regards as traitors.

Indeed, one shudders at the thought of what must be happening, as these words are written, in areas thus far retaken by the regime.

Power Without Responsibility

No, the words of the outgoing secretary general and aspiring president of Egypt are those of one long accustomed to operating secure in the knowledge that he will never be expected to act upon his words, and can leave those actions to others; that he will never have to take genuine moral responsibility for unintended consequences he can neither foresee nor control; and that he can content himself with demands for outcomes free of moral ambiguity, without having to produce them himself.

Those days, thankfully, may soon come to an end. The demand for changes in the quality of Arab leadership will come both from the international community and from Arab citizens themselves.

The text of resolution 1973 explicitly exhorts members of the League of Arab States to involve themselves in carrying out the military actions it provides for; thus far, only little Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have pledged to do so.

Obama has wisely insisted that the US step aside, once having made those contributions only it can make, in order to cede leadership to others, including those in the Arab world, whose interests are far more directly at stake in Libya than are those of the US.

And Turkish prime minister Erdogan has very wisely insisted that, while NATO may take on the role of operational coordination of military actions in Libya, the burden of political guidance, in what will inevitably become a highly complicated and politically uncertain situation, be far more widely shared.

Here especially, Arab nations should not be allowed, and should not allow themselves, to avoid responsibility.

Of the three elements of UN-mandated action in Libya – a weapons embargo, a no-fly zone, and protection of civilians – the first two are relatively easy; the third is exceedingly ambiguous and difficult.

As the Libyan rebels continue efforts to free themselves from a vile regime from which they can expect no quarter, the international community is sure to be confronted with a series of difficult choices.

When and where should coalition aircraft intervene to attack the regime's superior armour, artillery and rocket forces, when their mandate is restricted to civilian protection?

The logic of the situation dictates that short of outright regime change, large numbers of Libyan civilians, who can never again be considered reliable by the regime, will remain abjectly vulnerable to the tender mercies of Gaddafi, even if far from the front lines of battle. Who will protect them?

Libyans In Control

Virtually no one argues that the international community should remove Gaddafi by direct use of force, no matter how fervently they may desire his fall.

Clearly, Libyans must be the agents of their own liberation, if free they are to be. For this, moreover, they will have to pay a heavy price in blood.

But the action or inaction of international air forces will doubtless play an important role in determining whether the Libyan people's sacrifices are to be rewarded with success or with tragedy. The Arab world must share in the moral responsibility for those choices.

Already, detractors of Obama are attacking him for what they describe as his timidity in trying to cede leadership in this crisis to others. Seizing upon the limitations and internal inconsistencies of the recent UN resolution, they are demanding that the US provide the consistent leadership that is unlikely to come from an international committee.

Obama will be wise to ignore these taunts.

Yes, some Libyans may well die needlessly due to the vagaries and inconsistencies in tactical decision-making which will inevitably occur as those who take up practical implementation of UNSCR 1973 over the longer term struggle with that responsibility.

But the American president must also remember that the struggle within Libya, no matter how gripping and morally compelling to some, including this observer, does not engage core US national security interests.

In this instance, it should be an element of US leadership to demand a greater degree of responsibility and political maturity from others – including those in the leadership class of the Arab world. Eventually, the Arab people will demand nothing less.

It is part of the logic of the democratisation process in the Arab world, however lengthy and uncertain that process may be, that those who have taken their lives and their destinies into their own hands, who have assumed responsibility for their own fate, and taken decisive action on their own behalf, will demand the same of their leaders on the regional and international level.

Amr Moussa, who aspires to leadership of the country in the vanguard of that process, would do well to keep this looming imperative in mind.

Robert Grenier is a retired, 27-year veteran of the CIA's Clandestine Service. He was Director of the CIA's Counter-Terrorism Centre from 2004 to 2006.

The West Bombs, The Arab League Ducks

By Pepe Escobar
March 23, 2011
Courtesy Of "Asia Times Online"

History will surely register the irony that the new war doctrine of United States President Barack Obama took shape on board AirForce One on the way to deeply pacifist Brazil; then in a message delivered to America Odyssey Dawn was launched from the tropics, and not from the Mediterranean); and finally in a war room set up in sunny, sexy Rio. 

Here are the parameters. 

1. The Pentagon must conduct a "limited operation" with no ground troops involved (think the 1990s Bill Clinton approach to Bosnia and Kosovo). 

2. The US is part of a "coalition" (of the willing), but is not leading it (think the opposite of George W Bush in Iraq). 

3. The operation is to "protect civilians", and not about "regime change" (once again Clinton trumps Bush). 

4. It's all based on "solid international legitimacy" – conferred by UN Security Council resolution 1973, which is more explicit than the one authorizing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to act in Kosovo (not to mention the non-existent resolution for Bush to bomb Iraq). 

Yet immediately after the Tomahawks started flying the White House ran into trouble. The "limited operation" - as in bombing Muammar Gaddafi's air defenses and military installations - may be practically over, and the Americans are dying to be relived of the heavy lifting. But who's going to be in charge? General Carter Ham, the head of the US Africom and the present commander of Odyssey Dawn, pretty much summed it all up, saying, "The first thing that has got to happen is identification of what that organization is." 

You Fight, We Watch

It won't be the Arab League, whose vote for a no-fly zone overLibya has been extensively pimped by every single Western diplomat as laying the groundwork for the United Nations resolution. But then Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa backtracked, saying the attack had gone beyond the initial objective, which was to protect, not kill, civilians. And finally the demagogue, opportunist Moussa got his marching orders again from the House of Saud (who pushed heavily for the no-fly zone); another about face and he said the resolution was fine. 

What is never mentioned by Western corporate media is that among the 22 Arab League members it was Saudi Arabia - as leader of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - which obsessively lobbied for no-fly to apply (thanks to visceral bad blood between King Abdullah and Gaddafi (see The Odyssey Dawn top 10 Asia Times Online, March 22); and that only Qatar will actually send a maximum of four of its Mirage fighters (no one knows when). Even though Obama personally called Sheikh Khalifa, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) backtracked from sending its jets and will only assist in "humanitarian" matters. 

The head of the GCC, Abdul Rahman bin Hamad al-Attiyah, insisted in Abu Dhabi that Qatar and the UAE were part of the "coalition" - but he refused to explain how. As for the King of Bahrain, Hamad al-Khalifa, he preferred to dabble on how the tiny kingdom had thwarted an "external plot" to undermine its security and stability; he also profusely thanked the Saudi invasion forces who are now helping him to repress any peaceful protests. 

The GCC/Arab League astonishing dithering and hypocrisy is compounded by the outright hostility of the African Union (AU) to the "coalition", expressed by a communique from Nouakchott, Mauritania, calling for "an immediate end to all attacks". The AU only demands that Gaddafi makes sure "humanitarian aid" arrives for those who need it. 

This explodes the myth that the "international community" is behind Odyssey Dawn. The Arab dictatorships - which once again have sanctioned an attack on a Muslim country - are scared to death of the backlash from their populations if "collateral damage" balloons. 

The Arab blogosphere is saturated with accusations that the UN and the Arab League have sanctioned a shameless Western plot to get Libya's oil. The African countries are mostly against it. The key emerging powers - Brazil, India, Indonesia, Turkey - are not part of it. The four top BRIC members (Brazil, Russia, India,China) all abstained from the UN vote. 

China has been very much aware that in both Africa and South America - where its business interests are now rivaling America's - support for the "coalition" is minimal. And Russia has gone one step beyond; according to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, "The resolution is defective and flawed ... It allows everything. It resembles medieval calls for crusades." True: Russia has weapons contracts with Libya to the tune of US$4 billion, half of it pending. No wonder Pentagon supremo Robert Gates has not managed to convince Moscow to support the "coalition". 

Catfight 

This means this "coalition" is in fact all about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Or is it? 

There's a major catfight going on inside NATO. No one knows how to interpret this "allow everything" resolution. In Britain, the Ministry of Defense swears that taking out Gaddafi is not part of the mandate (mirroring Gates, who said it would be "unwise"). But the David Cameron government thinks this is all about regime change. As it is in practice for the Obama administration - see everyone from President Obama to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisting "Gaddafi must go". 

France - following President Nicolas Sarkozy's Napoleonic syndrome - doesn't want to relinquish command to NATO. Other NATO members loudly complain that the Anglo-French plus the US monopolize all the decisions. 

Turkey, extremely worried about civilian deaths, and most of all worried about preserving its current very good standing in the Muslim world, is adamantly against a NATO intervention - calling instead for a review of other possible strategies and even for an immediate Western ceasefire. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "Military intervention by NATO in Libya or any other country would be totally counter-productive". 

In this context, it's absurd to believe - like the proverbial think-tank suspects - that a NATO intervention modeled on Kosovo would be "a success". In 1999, NATO bombed Yugoslavia for 78 days; dropped no less than 20,000 tons of bombs; and produced thousands of "collateral damage" - all in the name of humanitarian "protection" of Albanians in Kosovo. The Srebrenica massacre, by the way, happened after NATO imposed a no-fly zone over Bosnia. 

League Of Crooks 

The Anglo-French-American consortium leading Odyssey Dawn has fallen for its own propaganda - blindly convinced that the Arab League is on board. And even if the Arab League were totally on board, this means Odyssey Dawn is endorsed by the very nasty people the great 2011 Arab revolt is trying hard to get rid of. 

The Arab League's position is based on two very shady motives. One is King Abdullah and the House of Saud's obsession on taking out Gaddafi. The other is Moussa's campaign to become the next Egyptian president. Moussa takes orders from the House of Saud while trying to seduce Washington to support his bid for the presidency. 

The UN resolution has nothing to do with a ceasefire. The "rebels" themselves already said they would settle for nothing except regime change. The resolution points towards regime change - no matter what the British and American militaries are saying. Expect more cruise missiles visiting Gaddafi's compound in Bab al-Aziziya. 

If Gaddafi holds, things will get even messier. Under international law, his regime will still be legitimate. He may even invoke the right to fight against an armed insurrection trying to topple his regime - in fact much more of a right than the dictatorships in Yemen and Bahrain, who have been shooting unarmed protesters.

The real test for the new Obama war doctrine - and its European minions - will be how to get regime change without a land war. Yet history may rule that just like in Georgia, Cyprus, Nagorno-Karabakh, Kosovo or North/South Korea, we may be on our way to kiss unified Libya goodbye. 

Pepe Escobar is the author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War (Nimble Books, 2007) and Red Zone Blues: a snapshot of Baghdad during the surge. His new book, just out, is Obama does Globalistan (Nimble Books, 2009). 

He may be reached at pepeasia@yahoo.com. 

(Copyright 2011 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved.from Brasilia (yes, Operation 

Arab League Splits From West Over Libya Bombing

The Arab League Has Criticised The Military Strikes On Libya, A Week After Urging The United Nations To Slap A No-Fly Zone On The Oil-Rich North African State.

Courtesy Of "Yahoo News"

The Arab League chief said that Arabs did not want military strikes by Western powers that hit civilians when the League called for a no-fly zone over Libya.

Reuters said Secretary-General Amr Moussa was calling for an emergency league meeting to discuss the situation in the Arab world and particularly Libya under UN resolution 1973.

"What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians," Mr Moussa told Egypt's official state news agency.

The volte-face by the Arab League raises uncertainty about the unity of Western and Muslim leaders and highlights varying interpretations of tactics and strategy.
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Tension has appeared in domestic corridors of power as well as between the West and Arab worlds.

Arab League Rejects Intervention Over Christian Attacks

– Sat Jan 8, 2:50 pm ET
Courtesy Of "Yahoo News"

BAGHDAD (AFP) – Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussarejects the potential "exploitation" of attacks on Christians in the Arab world as a pretext for intervention by outside powers, he said in Iraq on Saturday.

"Exploiting these events for intervention is something we cannot accept," Mussa said at a news conference in response to a question about attacks on Christians potentially being used as a pretext for outside intervention.

"We should be clear while talking to any power who has something to say in this, because there is a difference between being interested and being compassionate, and the exploitation of the issue," Mussa said.

"What happened is of great concern for us," he said of a January 1 bombing that killed 21 people at a Coptic church in Egypt's second city Alexandria, and a spate of attacks on Christians in Iraq.

Christians "are of the Arab world, and we should provide them with security. Everyone was opposed to the terrorist acts, and these acts confirm that public opinion in the Arab world is against these terrorist crimes," Mussa said.

On October 31, militants stormed Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad, leaving 44 worshippers, two priests and seven security force personnel dead in an attack claimed by Al-Qaeda's local affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq.

Ten days after the church massacre, a string of bomb and mortar attacks targeting the homes of Christians in Baghdad killed six people and wounded 33.

And on December 30, at least two Christians were killed and 16 others were wounded in a wave of bombings on Christian targets in Baghdad.

Mussa also addressed recent threats made by Ansar al-Islam, an Islamist group, against countries taking part in an Arab summit planned for Baghdad in March.

"Those who are threatening attacks have accused the Iraqi government of being non-Arab oriented. What do they want? To turn their back on Iraq, or isolate it?" Mussa said.

"These threats should push Arab leaders to convene and discuss the differences" between them, he said, adding that differences of opinion should be respected.

Iraq has not hosted an Arab League summit since 1978, although an extraordinary meeting of leaders took place there in 1990.

Arab League Chief Supports Besieged Gazans

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, left, and Gaza’s Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh during their meeting in Gaza City on Sunday. (AP)

In Boost For Hamas, Top Arab Diplomat Visits Gaza

By IBRAHIM BARZAK - Associated Press Writer
Sunday, Jun. 13, 2010
Courtesy Of "The State"

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Arab world's top diplomat declared support Sunday for the people of blockaded Gaza in his first visit to the Palestinian territory since Hamas violently seized control of it three years ago.

The visit was latest sign that Israel's deadly raid on a flotilla trying to break the blockade of Gaza has eased the diplomatic isolation of the Islamic militant group.

Israel, meanwhile, appeared to grow more isolated in the fallout over the May 31 raid as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak abruptly canceled plans Sunday to visit Paris.

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa of Egypt, center, waves to Palestinians following a visit at Gaza City's Shifa hospital, Sunday June 13, 2010. The Arab world's top diplomat made an unprecedented tour of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday as part of a growing international push to end a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the territory. Moussa's visit was the first by a senior Arab official to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized the territory in 2007.

- Lefteris Pitarakis /AP Photo

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa of Egypt, center, shakes hands with a disabled Palestinian in Zeitoun, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday June 13, 2010. The Arab world's top diplomat made an unprecedented tour of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday as part of a growing international push to end a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the territory. Moussa's visit was the first by a senior Arab official to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized the territory in 2007.

- Majed Hamdan /AP Photo

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa of Egypt, left, shakes hands with a disabled Palestinian in Zeitoun, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday June 13, 2010. The Arab world's top diplomat made an unprecedented tour of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday as part of a growing international push to end a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the territory. Moussa's visit was the first by a senior Arab official to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized the territory in 2007.

- Majed Hamdan /AP Photo

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa of Egypt, watches as a Palestinian girls shows him a picture of a relative, imprisoned in Egypt, during a visit at the area of Abed Rabbo, damaged during the offensive Israel launched in late 2008-early 2009, eastern Gaza Strip, Sunday June 13, 2010. The Arab world's top diplomat made an unprecedented tour of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday as part of a growing international push to end a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the territory. Moussa's visit was the first by a senior Arab official to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized the territory in 2007.

- Lefteris Pitarakis /AP Photo

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa of Egypt, 2nd right, talks to an aide, while Gaza Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, left, talks to members of the media, following their meeting in Gaza City, Sunday June 13, 2010. The Arab world's top diplomat made an unprecedented tour of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday as part of a growing international push to end a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the territory. Moussa's visit was the first by a senior Arab official to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized the territory in 2007.

- Khalil Hamra /AP Photo

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa of Egypt, right, and Gaza's Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, left, are seen following to their meeting in Gaza City, Sunday June 13, 2010. The Arab world's top diplomat made an unprecedented tour of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday as part of a growing international push to end a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the territory. Moussa's visit was the first by a senior Arab official to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized the territory in 2007.

- Khalil Hamra /AP Photo

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, center, laughs while talking to the media upon his arrival in Gaza through Rafah border crossing, southern of Gaza Strip, Sunday June 13, 2010. The Arab world's top diplomat made an unprecedented tour of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday as part of a growing international push to end a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the territory. Moussa's visit was the first by a senior Arab official to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized the territory in 2007.

- Eyad Baba /AP Photo

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, second right, talks to the media upon his arrival in Gaza through Rafah border crossing, southern of Gaza Strip, Sunday June 13, 2010. The Arab world's top diplomat made an unprecedented tour of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday as part of a growing international push to end a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the territory. Moussa's visit was the first by a senior Arab official to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized the territory in 2007.

- Eyad Baba /AP Photo

Back dropped by a picture of the Dome of the Rock mosque located in east Jerusalem's Old City, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa of Egypt, left, and Gaza Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, right, are seen prior to their talks in Gaza City, Sunday June 13, 2010. The Arab world's top diplomat made an unprecedented tour of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday as part of a growing international push to end a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the territory. Moussa's visit was the first by a senior Arab official to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized the territory in 2007.

- Khalil Hamra /AP Photo

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, center, talks to the media while standing between Hamas cabinet minister Bassem Naim, right, and Fatah leader in Gaza Zakaria Agha, right, upon his arrival in Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, southern of Gaza Strip, Sunday June 13, 2010. The Arab world's top diplomat made an unprecedented tour of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday as part of a growing international push to end a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the territory. Moussa's visit was the first by a senior Arab official to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized the territory in 2007.

- Eyad Baba /AP Photo

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, right, welcomed by Raji Sourani, a human rights activist, left, upon his arrival in Gaza through Rafah border crossing, southern of Gaza Strip, Sunday June 13, 2010. The Arab world's top diplomat made an unprecedented tour of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday as part of a growing international push to end a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the territory. Moussa's visit was the first by a senior Arab official to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized the territory in 2007.

- Eyad Baba /AP Photo

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, center, waves to Palestinians upon his arrival in Gaza through Rafah border crossing, southern of Gaza Strip, Sunday June 13, 2010. The Arab world's top diplomat made an unprecedented tour of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Sunday as part of a growing international push to end a 3-year-old Israeli blockade of the territory. Moussa's visit was the first by a senior Arab official to Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized the territory in 2007.

- Eyad Baba /AP Photo

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• AP Video: In boost for Hamas, top Arab diplomat visits Gaza

Barak's office said he canceled his trip while Israel forms a committee to investigate the raid. The statement denied that the decision was connected to attempts by pro-Palestinian groups to seek his arrest.

Israel said late Sunday it was setting up an inquiry headed by a judge, to be joined by two high-ranking foreign observers.

The government statement said the Israeli Cabinet would be asked to approve the "special independent public commission" on Monday. The chairman is to be Yaakov Turkel, a retired Israeli Supreme Court justice, the statement said. The two foreign observers are to be Lord William David Trimble of Ireland, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and retired Brig. Gen. Ken Watkin, the former chief military prosecutor in Canada.

The Obama administration and the U.N. have urged Israel to involve foreigners in the investigation, while Turkey and others have demanded an inquiry without Israeli involvement.

The White House said later it backs Israel's inquiry into the deadly raid, saying the independent public commission is "an important step forward."

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says Israel's panel can meet the standard of a "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation."

Washington's ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, told Fox News on Sunday that while the United States believes Israel can conduct a "credible and impartial" investigation, an "international component" would "buttress its credibility in the eyes of the international community."

Israeli defense officials said Barak called off his trip to Paris over concern about the unwanted attention his visit would attract. In particular, they pointed to the heavy media focus and difficult questions he would face as well as the heightened security arrangements the visit would require. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.

Activists have previously tried unsuccessfully to arrest Barak and other Israeli officials in Europe under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

In another development, several Turkish educators and officials pulled out of an international Holocaust education conference in Israel to protest the raid, organizers said. The raid, which resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists, has severely strained ties between former regional and military allies Turkey and Israel.

Arab League chief Amr Moussa's visit to Gaza is part of an international push to end the three-year-old blockade that gained momentum after the naval raid.

"The siege must be lifted," Moussa told reporters. "All the world is now standing with the people of Palestine and the people of Gaza."

It was a significant declaration because many Arab countries have held the Iranian-backed Hamas at arms length, and Egypt, one of the Arab League's most important members, has been Israel's partner in keeping Gaza largely sealed.

Widespread outrage in the Arab and Muslim world over the raid has prompted Arab leaders to join the growing international demands for opening Gaza's borders. In a first step, Egypt has eased the very limited travel at its Rafah crossing with Gaza.

Israel says the blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, but critics say it has failed to dent support for the Islamic militants and has left 1.5 million Gazans more deeply mired in poverty.

Moussa was the first senior Arab official to visit Gaza since the territory came under the control of Hamas, which much of the West considers a terrorist organization.

The head of the 22-member Arab League met Sunday with the top Hamas leader in Gaza, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, in a significant diplomatic boost for Hamas. The meeting took place in Haniyeh's home in Gaza's Shati refugee camp, and the men later walked around the neighborhood for 10 minutes.

"The acrimony between Gaza and the Arab nation ended today and forever," said Bassem Naim, a Hamas Cabinet minister who greeted Moussa.

Moussa said Gaza reconstruction projects are ready, but there must be a "national unity approach" for them to be implemented, a reference to the split between Hamas in Gaza and Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.

As part of the border blockade, Israel restricts imports to Gaza, only permitting a few dozen types of foods and medicines, while barring raw materials, including construction supplies. Virtually all exports are banned.

As a result, more than 70 percent of Gaza's 3,900 factories and workshops stand idle or operate at minimal capacity, and tens of thousands have lost their jobs. U.N. officials say 80 percent of Gazans now receive some type of aid.

In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated to his Cabinet Sunday that Israel must maintain the blockade to prevent weapons and goods that could be used for military purposes from reaching Hamas. The Islamic group has fired thousands of rockets at Israel.

"The principle guiding our policy is clear - to prevent the entry of war materiel from entering Gaza and to allow the entry of humanitarian aid and non-contraband goods into the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu said.

President Barack Obama said last week that the blockade in its current form is unsustainable.

Gaza Siege Must Be Broken: Moussa

By AGENCIES
Published: Jun 13, 2010 23:51
Updated: Jun 13, 2010 23:51
Courtesy Of "The Arab News"

GAZA CITY: Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa visited the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the highest Arab official to do so since its seizure by Hamas in 2007, and called for an end to Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory. Moussa crossed into the enclave from Egypt, two weeks after Israel's deadly interception of a Gaza aid flotilla.

"This blockade ... must be lifted and must be broken and the Arab League decision is very clear in this regard," Moussa said. "Not only the Arabs, but the entire world should stand with the Palestinian people against the siege of Gaza and what is happening in the occupied territories, especially East Jerusalem," he said, referring to Jewish settlement growth in the annexed Arab half of the city.

Egypt had kept its Gaza border largely closed, bolstering Israel's embargo, since Hamas, which won a 2006 election, seized sole control of the Gaza Strip in a war with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction three years ago.

But Cairo reopened its Rafah crossing with the enclave after Israeli marines killed nine pro-Palestinian activists in a May 31 raid on a Turkish-flagged aid vessel.

Palestinian and Arab League officials said Moussa's visit was also aimed at giving momentum to reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah that Egypt has sponsored but which have failed to remove deep mistrust between the two rivals. "Reconciliation is the basic and principle question. It is a question of will and not a mere signature — it's a will, it's a policy, it's a position that translates into an agreement on all issues," Moussa told reporters. "History does not halt before a sentence here or a paragraph there."

In an apparent bid to avoid any impression of Arab League recognition of Hamas' Gaza takeover, Moussa met Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas government, in his home rather than in his office.

"We see this visit as a practical step along the way toward breaking the siege," Haniyeh, with Moussa at his side, told reporters after their hour-long meeting.

Moussa toured some of the areas most devastated by Israel's December 2008 assault on Gaza, in which some 1,400 Palestinians were killed and thousands of homes were destroyed or seriously damaged.

Amid an international outcry over the bloodshed in the flotilla raid, Israel has faced mounting pressure to ease or lift a blockade critics have described as collective punishment.

Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants have been under the crippling blockade since June 2006 after Palestinians captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid. The blockade was tightened a year later after Hamas seized control of the enclave, with Israel and Egypt sealing the territory off from all but basic humanitarian aid and strictly limiting travel in and out.